NHL teams, players celebrate Veterans Day and Remembrance Day
From warmup jerseys to tweets to pregame ceremonies, league thanks military
NHL.com @NHLdotcom
The NHL celebrated Veterans Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Canada and there was no shortage of honoring the men and women that served their country this weekend.
Teams around the NHL donned special camouflage uniforms for warmups, which will be auctioned off to support various military-themed charities.
New Jersey Devils goalies Cory Schneider and Keith Kinkaid each had special military-themed masks for their game against the Florida Panthers, a 2-1 victory.
"It's huge," Kinkaid said of honoring the military. "The amount of work and sacrifice they do for our country is tremendous, and we can't thank them enough and even [a military-appreciation night] doesn't thank them enough for what they do. But to have a night for them is tremendous, and we'll do our part to try and make it special."
The St. Louis Blues invited some servicemen to rappel down from the ScottradeCenter celing to drop the ceremonial first puck.
Video: NYI@STL: Blues welcome Savre for puck drop
Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader went the extra mile Saturday by meeting up with servicemen and women at the military appreciation luncheon.
Philadelphia Flyers goalie Brian Elliott shared a thank you to servicemen and women, and also photo of his wife Amanda from her time in the United States Air Force.
Other NHL players, including Kinkaid, took time out from their days to voice their support and admiration for the military.
Arizona Coyotes defenseman Aaron Ekman-Larsson went with the camoflague suit jacket pregame before wearing the special warmup jersey.
Teams also got in on the appreciation and here is a short sampling, including the Winnipeg Jets nod to the late "Kroppy."