Merry Christmas hockey fans! Time again for The Funeral Burgers

Merry Christmas, hockey fans! 

As is tradition here on Puck Daddy, we’ll be kicking back with presents and cookies and cookies we got as presents on Dec. 25. But no eggnog. Bleech … eggnog is gross. Just give us the booze without that painty goop. 

While we’ll only be posting for breaking news, we do have to publish our annual Christmas tradition on PD … THE FUNERAL BURGERS.*

In 2008, the story of the Chicago Blackhawks‘ surprise bus trip to the wake of then-General Manager Dale Tallon’s father, and subsequent visit to a small-town McDonald’s in Canada, became a national sensation after an anonymous email spun a tale of rickety bus rides (no heat!) and frozen landscapes and acts of generosity.

It was an instant Hockey Holiday Classic, for all the right reasons; at a time when athletes’ reputations are only as admirable as their next contract negotiation or TMZ video, the Blackhawks reminded hockey fans that tremendous moments of kindness and consideration can still come from professional players.

In order to give this inspiring yarn a proper presentation, we enlisted the help of the great Wes Johnson — actor, comedian and arena voice of the Washington Capitals — for a dramatic reading of the story we formally dubbed “The Funeral Burgers,” because every hokey Christmas story needs some sort of object-based title. (See: “The Christmas Shoes,” “The Christmas Toy,” yadda yadda.)

Merry Christmas from your friends at Puck Daddy, and thanks for reading and supporting this silly blog.

*As some might remember, this video used to have images to go along with the story. Alas, that video’s gone missing on YouTube. Please just enjoy Wes’s golden pipes.