The pregame nap is one of the most sacrosanct rituals for hockey players. Disturb a player at your peril, and doubly so if that player is a goaltender.
But for a suddenly large contingent in the Carolina Hurricanes locker room, someone else’s nap is now the key concern, on gameday or any other day.
No fewer than five Hurricanes players have welcomed a new addition to their family in the past year. Three of them, Jaccob Slavin, Jake Gardiner and Jordan Martinook, are first-time dads; Jordan Staal just welcomed his fourth; and James Reimer has a pair of his own.