One of the best traditions during the Stanley Cup Playoffs is seeing the opposing teams line up to shake hands at the end of a series. The tradition is a wonderful display of sportsmanship and it shows that the players still respect each other even though they just got done beating each others’ brains in for two weeks.
Even though it’s a great tradition, the handshake lineup sometimes results in friction between teams. That’s exactly what happened with the Sharks and Kings.
San Jose eliminated Los Angeles from the playoffs with a 4-3 overtime win Monday night in Game 6. A few Sharks players were bothered that Kings coach Terry Murray didn’t shake their hands after the series and made their feelings known after the game.
Winger Jamal Mayers wrote on twitter “Kings battled hard! Tough series with 3 OT games! Too bad Murray didn’t have class to shake hands like players (who bled) and Asst Coaches!”
Devin Setoguchi supported Mayers’ statement and added “Would like to know why coach of the kings Terry Murray never shook our hands?? Might be a first??”
Murray told TSN that he never shakes the opposing players’ hands, so it’s not a first for him. If that’s the case, I suggest he make a change and start adopting the tradition. He only comes off looking poorly for not doing it and we end up with another Sidney Crosby type situation. Be a good sport next time and congratulate the team with a handshake, OK Murray?
