Noah Hanifin did receive a round of applause when he returned as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights to the Saddledome in Calgary to face his former Flames on Thursday night. The defenseman was honoured with a video tribute and saluted his former fans during the first commercial break timeout of the game. While that’s great to see that Hanifin was appreciated for his time in Calgary, spread over six seasons, the local crowd quickly turned on the blue liner.
Every time he touched the puck, he heard the boos from the fans and dealt with the usual treatment given to a player that moved elsewhere, especially one that reportedly turned down a contract offer and got traded to a Stanley Cup contender.
When asked about returning to Calgary after practice on Thursday, hours before puck drop, Hanifin had mentioned to reporters that he was expecting to be booed by the crowd. He saw right, but at the time, he stated that it, in no way, changed the fact that he loved the time he spent as a member of the Flames’ organization.
“Can’t be worried about the distractions during the game and stuff like that, just gotta go out and execute and perform.
“Whatever does happen, I know I had a great time in Calgary and I loved my time here and the people I met in the community and in the organization are the people that matter the most to me and that’s really what I care about.”
He added, per the Calgary Herald: “It was incredible. I was very lucky to be able to play here and live in the community here,” Hanifin said. “I played on some amazing teams and met a lot of great people here, I really enjoyed my time. I’ve said it in the past. I kind of grew up here. I came when I was 21 years old and I was here for a long time.”
In the end, while Flames fans booed Hanifin and the Golden Knights, who are looking to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, they had more to cheer about with Calgary getting the 4-1 win over Vegas.
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