Chasing the Sun and the Snow: Players Share Bye Week Plans

NHL All-Star weekend wrapped up on Saturday, which marked the end of a weeklong break for the Penguins. On the plane ride back to Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby shared some photos from his trip to Montana before heading to Toronto for the festivities, which included a stop at a wolf and bear conservatory at Yellowstone National Park.

As he said in this feature, “Most guys chase the sun, and I chase the snow a little bit.” We talked to some of Crosby’s teammates about what they did during the bye week, and like the captain, Tristan Jarry also sought out colder temperatures. He and his wife Hannah went to Banff, Alberta: “We skated on Lake Louise. When we first got there, there was a hockey game of about 50 on 50. We went bowling, then the next day we hiked Johnson’s Canyon, that was cool. We had to rent ice cleats.”

Alex Nedeljkovic went to Nemacolin and enjoyed family time with his wife Emma and son Greyson: “Went Sunday-Monday-Tuesday. So, that was a good little retreat, spa day and all that. That was good to just do nothing. Then I came home and spent the rest of the break with family, just good family time. Walked the dogs, was a dad.” 

Jansen Harkins and his fiancé went to Cabo, Mexico: “Just tried to get into some shorts and a t-shirt and feel some warm air. It’s pretty refreshing and it’s pretty special to get a break and to do that. I mean, the year kind of comes at you so fast –before you know it you’re kind of in the midst of everything from training camp on. So, it’s nice to kind of take a breath.” 

Rickard Rakell, his wife Emmeli and their daughter Daisy went to Palm Beach, Florida with Marcus Pettersson, his wife Beatrice and their son Frans: “The highlights were we didn’t do much. We just had a good time, eating some good food, hanging out by the pool, beach. Just stayed at a resort so we didn’t have to go anywhere. Petey’s kid was a little bit sick, so that was a bit of a bummer, but they had a great time. My daughter, she loves going to the pool now, so that’s all she’s talking about. We thought it was going to be a tough flight home and we were ready with iPads and everything, but all she wanted to look at was the picture of her swimming. All she was saying was, ‘swimming, swimming, swimming!’”

Noel Acciari, Bryan Rust, Chad Ruhwedel and their families all ended up in Boca Raton, Florida: “It started as like, ‘where are you going?’ and, ‘we’re thinking of that too!’, and then we all ended up there. It was good, we had some babysitters, so a couple of nights we all went out to dinner and then the other nights we were just with the kids. The resort was great for the kids, we stayed on the beach side and there’s a boat shuttle to the other part of the resort. They loved it. The main pool had waterslides, splash pads for the kids, a lazy river as well. So, it was a good time.”

Jake Guentzel, his wife Natalie and their son Charlie went to Alys Beach, Florida: “My wife’s family is down there, they live down there. It’s just nice to have a little break and hang out with people… get away and see some sun and just kind of get your mind away from things.”

P.O Joseph went to the Dominican Republic: “I played some golf in some major places. I went to Corales where the (PGA Tour) tournament is. I went to the Punta Espada, it was one of the most beautiful courses. Like, 14 holes on the water… it was a great time. I got some beach time too, we went on a catamaran for a day. That was good stuff. My brother (Mathieu, a forward for the Ottawa Senators) showed up on Thursday, so my buddy and I had some solo time, just the two of us. We went to the beach and just enjoyed it.”

Drew O’Connor headed south: “Got a little bit warmer weather. It was a good break. I think it's kind of a good reset for us and I think where we finished the last few weeks, I think it puts us in a good spot to kind of make a climb here. So, we got a couple of months to play for a playoff spot.”

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