Bruins & Panthers honor Jimmy Hayes during the same game.

The passing of former National Hockey League player Jimmy Hayes has had a profound impact on the sport of hockey and on those who follow that sport closely. Hayes' sudden passing has left the hockey world in shock and the decision by his family to come forward with the tragic details of his passing has made the loss of life all the more difficult to make sense of.

Unsurprisingly among those most impacted by the passing of Hayes are many of the players in the National Hockey League as well as the staff that work on the league's many teams. On Saturday night we saw proof of that when both the Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins made the decision to honor the late Jimmy Hayes on the very same evening. To see the Bruins honoring Hayes came as no surprise given his close ties to the team and to the Boston area. On Saturday when the team hit the ice, the Bruins players were all wearing a jersey that had the name "Hayesy" written on the back of it, a tribute to the nickname that Hayes had among many of his former teammates.

The Bruins did a great job including playing a tribute video for Hayes and calling for a moment of silence as they honored his memory prior to Saturday's game against the Panthers.

The Panthers also joined in on the tribute, which was rather fitting given that Hayes had spent a significant amount of time playing for the Panthers organization during his time in the NHL. In a tribute that very much mirrored the one that the Bruins were doing, the members of the Florida Panthers all skated out onto the ice with a jersey that read "Broadway" on the back. Once again this was paying homage to a nickname that Hayes had earned among many of his teammates.

No doubt both teams planned this out when they heard the news of Jimmy's passing, but nonetheless it was beautiful to see the teams come together for this very special tribute.