On Saturday, will show the Dallas–Colorado NHL match from 22:25. The broadcast also discusses the twists and turns of the NHL’s transfer limit.
The cold metal bar squeezes Erik Haulan neck. The gaze is riveted to the front and sweat runs down the temple. The legs are sore, but the mouth is smiling.
The Boston Bruins offense is gearing up for another season.
The night before, Haula had a good and long conversation with the Bruins’ new head coach by Jim Montgomery with about the Finn’s role in the upcoming season’s team.
The positive energy received from the call is still felt in the whole body, when the thighs of the citizen from Porir squeeze the legs straight after the last squat of the morning.
After barely a couple of hours of sweating, it’s fine to take a short break.
Even though the midsummer sun shines in through the windows, the big TVs in the gym play non-stop the best bits of the world’s toughest hockey league.
It’s the thirteenth day of July and the off-season transfer window has opened at noon.
In the locker room, Haula runs into her training partner, who is sitting on the bench with his face on his phone.
He looks up and stares at the Finn.
– You probably haven’t noticed yet, but you’ve just been traded, the guy throws.
Haula laughs and acknowledges back.
– Good joke.
The cell phone screen raised in front of the face reveals that it is not a joke. The sixth club transfer of his career is a fact.
On the way home, the 31-year-old Finn’s thoughts are racing.
The phone call from the previous evening with the former head coach, the burden of moving ahead, the search for a new apartment and new teammates.
A half year old Henrik– the boy is moving now for the first time, Christian-the wife is faced with networking again in a new community and environment.
You have to play, but you can think about it later.
The transfer is realized more and more strongly during the drive, when the phone rings constantly and the messages are pouring in non-stop. However, one call must be made before the others.
Haula dials Kristen’s number, raises the phone to her ear and waits.
Judging by the happy response, the news has not yet reached the home crowd.
A deep breath.
– Well… We’re going to New Jersey.
A moving professional
– Wait a little while longer, I’ll bring you coffee, sighs Erik Haula from the corner of the red brick house.
Many months have passed since the events of the summer and the Haula family has settled in New Jersey. Dates have been arranged in front of a nearby cafe.
In the suburbs of New York, the afternoon sun still shines high between the houses.
The distance to the shore of the Hudson River is about 300 meters.
– That move was a shock, but moving is already quite routine, Haula laughs on the way to the river bank.
After the early years of my career, there have been enough changes.
Haula knows what Jesse Puljujärvi and several other players are going through right now. The NHL transfer deadline expires Finnish time on Friday. Before the end of the transfer period, many players change scenery.
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In the NHL, Haula has represented Boston, Nashville, Florida, Carolina and Las Vegas in addition to the Wild and Devils.
– In a way, I would have hoped that the traveling would have happened right at the beginning of my career, when there were no children, Haula says while looking at the skyscrapers of Manhattan rising on the other side of the river.
It’s hard to see the positives
– Ok, you are good to go, says the media representative dressed in a dark blue suit.
A black metal door opens and behind it a hall is revealed, the text of which reveals that the journey leads to the devils’ cave.
Raise the bar, raise each other, raise hell – Raise the bar, raise each other, let the hell out.
Most of the New Jersey Devils’ players have already hung up their gear to dry and left for the locker room, but the oldest Finnish field player in the NHL is currently sitting right next to the door.
Erik Haula has a nice chat with familiar journalists without losing his sense of urgency.
The man is at home in the booth, whose logo adorning the floor shines in the same colors as the breeding club Ässi.
The NHL season is in full swing and the Devils are at the top of the league.
– It’s hard to see the positive aspects of a deal if it comes unexpectedly, Haula says, referring to the events of the summer.
– However, things have turned out quite well, he sighs with satisfaction.
The fall union took the Devils to set aside the club record of the 2000-2001 season: 13 straight games won.
– We have played evenly throughout the season. The self-confidence gained in the early season has paid off, and as a result, even with a worse performance, you can get points, Haula reflects on the reasons for the good season.
Stanley Cup as a dream
Erik Haula, who soon played six hundred NHL games, has reached the playoffs every season of his career. The great streak will most likely continue this spring.
The Finnish striker has once come close to the coveted Lord Stanley pitcher. It happened with Vegas during the team’s fairytale rookie season in the summer of 2018.
Now the brightest crown is sought instead of the heat of Nevada in the armpit of the Big Apple. The hunger to win lives strong.
– The Stanley Cup is a dream. As a player, you don’t even understand what it takes to win before you get to the finals, says Haula with a glint in her eyes.
– However, a lot still happens before then. The only thing you can do is give yourself a chance.