LOS ANGELES – Blake Coleman’s first opportunity for a team dads trip as an NHLer didn’t go exactly as planned.
To put it mildly.
The trip was a bit different than the Flames current two-game road swing to L.A. and San Jose with their fathers.
Then a member of the New Jersey Devils, Coleman and his dad Rusty showed up for a home game before everyone was going to board the plane after for a road game together.
When they got to the arena, Coleman was told they had to go home as the team was working to trade him.
“So, we showed up to the rink together,” recalled Coleman, standing beside Rusty after the Flames morning skate at Crypto.com Arena ahead of tonight’s tilt with the Kings. “I walked in, and (Devils interim GM Tom Fitzgerald) was kind of waiting in the in the garage bay there, and gave me a little finger wag, and I walked over, and he's like, ‘Hey, you guys got to go home. We're in the middle of trading you.’ He kind of gave me the rundown of what was going on. So, I went back over to my dad and said hey, we got to leave. He's like, ‘What do you mean got to leave?’
“And that was it.”
They hopped in their car and drove back to Coleman’s place, where wife Jordan – who was 10 days away from having to their first child, Charlie - was waiting with her mom who had come to town for the impending birth.
They all hung out before the eventual word that he was dealt to Tampa Bay.
“Maybe not the best trip for him,” said Coleman with a grin, “because I think he had to stay behind and help pack up our apartment.”
“Ya, at least I did something productive,” laughed Rusty.
But in all seriousness, being a young guy in the NHL in that situation, about to have a baby, no less, having his dad there to help him through it was a godsend.
“It was,” agreed Rusty. “It was kind of a microcosm of life.”
This is now their second dads trip together, having one previous with the Flames, but this time around there were was another fly in the ointment.
Rusty and Blake’s mom Sandy had planned a trip to Hawaii – their first together in quite some time – before the Flames’ trip was put together.
Once they found out the dates overlapped, it meant some juggling as Rusty flew out of Maui Friday and got to L.A. late last night, after the first team dinner with the dads.
Sandy is leaving today, heading home to Dallas, then coming up to Calgary where they will all meet up.
“It was a bit complicated,” said Rusty.
Which is why Coleman and his dad, like all the Flames players, don’t take these trips for granted.
Perhaps even moreso, now, that Coleman is older with a family of his own. Getting one-on-one time with Rusty is a rarity and a real gift.
“Yeah, it's precious because with the distance and all the activity that goes on, yes, you can get on the phone and talk and FaceTime and so forth,” said Rusty. “But being face-to-face and having a day or two or a dinner as part of this overall opportunity here is great.”
His son couldn’t agree more.
“It's fun,” said Coleman. “Obviously, when I'm home, it's chaos and my kids are all over so to slow time down a little bit and enjoy some time together, we're really gonna enjoy it. And, you know, we get a night here coming up where we can go have some one-on-one, and have dinner and reconnect. It's just time that you want to make for people all the time, but it's hard to do in the thick of of life. So really appreciate this opportunity to do it.”
