Mark Bavis and Garnet "Ace" Bailey were scouts for the Los Angeles Kings. They died on September 11, 2001, when their flight, United Flight 175, crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
[Also: NCAA hockey referee arrested after making bomb joke at Alaska airport]
But, as the photo below illustrates, while they may have lost their lives, they didn't lose their day with the Cup. The Stanley Cup, alongside the families of Bavis and Bailey, visited the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero in New York Sunday.
It's not the first time Bailey and Bavis have been honoured since the Cup win. Back in June, New York-based Kings fan Dave Krasne took a "Stanley Cup champions" hat to the memorial and laid it between the two men's names.
But a hat is one thing. A day with the Cup is something else entirely, and it's great to see that the Kings ensure the Bailey and Bavis families still got theirs.
While the Kings began a new era with their Cup win, it's great to see that they've still taken a moment to look back.
Follow Harrison Mooney on Twitter at @HarrisonMooney
Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.
• Ugh. Some Justin Bieber fan has defaced the memorial to Rick Rypien outside of Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Sickening. [Pass it to Bulis]
• Michael Grange on the idea of the NHLPA going after the salary cap: "Suggesting the NHL should scrap its hard-won and dearly cherished salary cap would likely set off hockey's version of an intractable blood feud." Happy Opening Night*, people! [Sportsnet]
• As the NHL and NHLPA figure out what revenue split will be best, Jesse Spector ponders whether the NBA or Major League Baseball model would be suitable for both sides. [Sporting News]
• Ryan Clowe of the San Jose Sharks says that the players aren't cracking and hasn't put a lot of thought yet into venturing to Europe to play while a deal is being worked out. [ESPN]
• Daniel Alfredsson on the potential damages of an extended lockout:"If nothing happens, I could have played my last game. That's fine with me. I'm not going to try and push here. I want a deal that's fair. And if that means we're not going to play because the owners don't want to negotiate fairly with us, then so be it and that's the way it is. Do I want to play? I love to play. I'm having a blast when I'm out there." [Sens Extra]
• "Given that the NHL is so dysfunctional, greedy and uncaring to fans, it's time to consider a radical approach to solving this mess. One solution is to form a new, independent pro hockey league." Yeah, because that's been so successful in the past! [Toronto Star]
• Alex Ovechkin on his time so far in the KHL: "I can see the level of the game, I can see the guys, the skill of the players, how they have great techniques. I think right now it's — with the NHL not working — the KHL is the best league." [Russia Today]
• The ECHL is getting into the outdoor game business Thursday announcing that on a date between Dec. 26 and Jan. 4 in 2014/15 -- yes, two years from now -- the Toledo Walleye play host at Fifth Third Field, home of the Toledo Mud Hens baseball team. [Toledo Blade]
• Via Matias Strozyk, Vincent Praplan of Kloten's U20 team scores with the airhook move:
• Memorabilia company Frozen Pond has opened up their "Artifacts of Maple Leafs Garden" auction and one of the items that could be yours includes the original Stanley Cup banner from the franchise's last championship in 1967. [stick-tap Reddit]
• LA Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier is headed to Germany to play for Heilbronn Falken of the second division. [Globe and Mail]
• Scott Gomez has been cut by the Alaska Aces, but before you start cracking jokes realize it was just a formality as he never planned to play for the ECHL side during the lockout and the team needed to get under the veteran roster limit. [Anchorage Daily News]
• The Bridgeport Sound Tigers lost their team doctor, Ken Dressler, to cancer at the age of 52. [Sound Tigers]
Ken's old beer league teammates are playing a charity game in his honor. Here are the details from Matthew S.:
"The Stampede and the KGB have put together a game against each other both to honor Ken's life and to raise some money to donate to St. Vincent's cancer center - The Elizabeth M. Pfriem SWIM Center for Cancer Care. We will be playing at the Webster Bank Arena, home of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (what is a Sound Tiger?) before their home opener this Saturday, October 13th. Our game is at 4:30pm, theirs (those Sound Tiger guys) is at 7pm. Kenny's wife, Nancy, will drop the ceremonial puck for the Sound Tigers game as the organization is also honoring him. Kenny's son, Andrew, will be playing with both teams in the game, and I expect he will be a goal scoring machine as we will be setting him up all game."
• Taking a look at Brian Burke's moves as Toronto Maple Leafs GM. [Leafs Nation]
• Drew Doughty and Corey Perry are waiting out the lockout practicing with the OHL's London Knights. [Metro News]
• Bridgestone Arena is going to be empty for a while so in the meantime the SPHL's Knoxville Ice Bears will host the Huntsville Havoc. Predators and Ice Bears season ticket holders can attend for free. [Knox News]
• Finally, via Buzzing the Net, here's 2013 top-2 pick Nathan MacKinnon adding to his highlight reel:
It wasn't easy to notice on TV with the Oakland Athletics wearing their hunter green jerseys, but the team added a memorial patch for Gehrig John Neshek, the baby boy of pitcher Pat Neshek and Stephanee Neshek. He died less than a day after being born earlier this week. Worn on the right sleeve, it's a small black circle with white letters spelling out the initials "GJN."
Not only has Neshek rejoined the team, but he pitched in relief in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Tigers on Saturday night — just three days after Gehrig's death. Stephanee came with him to Detroit and presumably was in the stands at Comerica Park.
Neshek explained why it was the right decision, for him, to return to the A's:
"As soon as I got out there and started playing catch, it takes your mind off all the bad stuff," he said. "It's a good way of healing ... I don't think we'll ever get over it, but this is a good way to put the pieces back together."
And, Neshek said, "If nothing else, we want to do it in my son's honor."
Neshek tapped the patch as he entered the game from the bullpen in the seventh inning. He pitched to two batters, getting two outs including a strikeout in Oakland's 3-1 defeat to Detroit. Six of the eight pitches he threw were strikes, including the slider he threw Austin Jackson to end the seventh inning.
"I know it sounds like a cliche, but I really felt like there was someone watching over me and helping me throw that last pitch," Neshek told reporters. "That was the best slider I've thrown all year."
It's difficult to imagine performing so well at any task so soon after such a personal catastrophe. As sad as the Neshek's story has been, their reaction to losing Gehrig has been remarkable.
Here's the video of Neshek getting out of the seventh inning and then paying tribute to Gehrig as he walked toward the dugout.
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