NFL schedule release day has become a huge day on that league’s calendar, with social-media teams seemingly all trying to outdo each other on their videos.
The Tennessee Titans, in particular, generated plenty of buzz with their Broadway-themed offering the past two years.
It’s not quite the same hoopla on the same day on the NHL calendar — the 82-game offering doesn’t offer the same level of hype as a once-a-week, 17-game docket — but the world’s top hockey league also tries to have some fun with its schedule release.
The New Jersey Devils seemed to earn the highest marks on Tuesday for their video — a geography class hosted by Professor Douglas D. Admin, who usually goes by the name of Dougie Hamilton.
Prof. Admin, with the help of teammate Curtis Lazar, uses a map to make fun of the locations of various teams the Devils are playing.
A highlight was the professor pointing to Arizona, but then realizing the Coyotes no longer exist. He then points to Utah and says, “I don’t know anything about Utah.”
At the end, he points to New Jersey and gets emotional: “It’s just so beautiful and perfect,” the professor says. “I can’t. … I might need a minute.”
Not every team did a video within the first two hours of the schedule release. This list included the Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers and runner-up Edmonton Oilers, whose fans can easily make fun of others without social-media videos.
But there were some laughs to be had for others.
The Pittsburgh Penguins did nice work poking fun at a schedule release for being a big deal at all.
The Chicago Blackhawks took some playful jabs at others, including the Toronto Maple Leafs with this line before revealing game dates against their Original Six rival: “Is your team more concerned with hanging out with Justin Bieber than actually playing hockey games?
Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens got Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas to help out.
Here is a look at some other teams’ offerings.