Less than an hour after the trade that sent the forward to the Philadelphia Flyers and Jakub Voracek to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Atkinson met the media wearing a Gritty T-shirt.
The shirt belongs to his wife, Natalie, who got it while they were visiting former Flyers forward Scott Hartnell last summer.
"My wife loves Gritty and we couldn't leave Hartsy's without a Gritty T-shirt, so it's everything aligning perfectly," Atkinson said. "I told her to go run up and get it. I think she actually wore this, and I'm not even kidding, a couple of weeks ago to bed. So we're ready for this, and couldn't be more excited."
News travels quickly, so of course Gritty himself chimed in with a message of approval.
