Page 36 of Playoff
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Fitch drove us to the airport for the trip south. It was late enough in the hockey season that road trips were starting to wear, but I was looking forward to reasonable weather instead of cold that seeped into your bones. Trips to play Canadian teams hadn’t been long or frequent enough to get me used to it.
And at least this wouldn’t mess with my internal body clock that was finally catching up to the Eastern time zone. The biggest plus for me in playing on this side of the continent.
When I’d arrived in Toronto, the early sunset in January meant that the ride from the airport had been in the dark, the landscape mostly a display of lights. Now, in daylight, I watched the city slip past the car windows. Things had changed since I last lived here. Condo towers stretched to the low-lying cloud cover, and more were under construction. The highways were congested, which was similar to California but not what I’d remembered. The sky was a different color here, even when overcast.
I looked at Fitch, his eyes focused on the traffic around us. “How do you like it here?” Fitch had lived most of his life in Cali. He’d find this a change.
He grinned. “I have to admit, I like it better than Edmonton.”
I shuddered. Being farther north than even Toronto, the days were shorter in the winter than any other NHL city. The days would be longer in summer, but who the hell would stay in Edmonton in the offseason?
“Do you regret it, going to Edmonton?” It had cost him his marriage.
He shrugged. “I could have been traded there or anywhere else in the league and that would have placed the same stress on my marriage. We’d have ended up divorced.”
“Do you want to go back to LA?” I couldn’t see myself anywhere else once the playoffs were over.
“Not while I’m playing.” He shot me a look. “There was a reason I didn’t stay there. LA was actually kind of shitty. You’ll find the environment better here. I like this coaching style, and the team has been welcoming.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Maybe for you.”
His forehead creased and then cleared up. “Right. JJ. Have the rest of the guys been a problem?”
I shook my head. As soon as I’d understood the issues with JJ, I’d assumed I’d be the odd man out, since JJ was established here and was one of the nice guys. “Cooper has been taking care of me. I’m getting along with you and Gerbs and Oppy and Deek. It’s been surprisingly smooth.” Coach had me practice with Oppy and Deek on the top line, so I hoped that was where I’d be soon.
“Told you. For the most part, this is a good bunch of guys.”
I wasn’t passing final judgment yet, so I shrugged.
He flicked me a glance, then returned to the road. “JJ is the only problem in the locker room. Your parents cheated his?”
The news had re-emerged in a big way after the press conference. “My parents cheated a lot of people.”
“Have you dealt with this before—someone with a grudge against you because of your parents?”
“Not a teammate. My parents had their ‘investment’ firm in Canada, and I’ve played in the US since I was drafted.” But considering that the majority of players in the league were from Canada, maybe I was due.
Fitch was still working it out. “Did you know about JJ when you were traded?”
“I didn’t know about him, but I knew being back here was going to stir up the story again.”
Another glance. “You’d have preferred to stay in the US.”
“Doesn’t matter, does it?” There were a lot of perks to this job. I was making good money, and I loved hockey. But our contracts weren’t flexible, and if management wanted us gone, we were out. My desire to stay in the US didn’t count for shit.
“Anything I can do to help, let me know.”
It was a nice offer, but there was nothing Fitch could do—either about the news of my parents being rehashed, or how JJ was dealing with it.
It was obvious on the flight that JJ still wasn’t handling it well. He sat far away from me on the plane, and when he had to pass me to hit the head, he couldn’t look my way.
The guy had been with the team for five seasons. He was on the top defense pairing with Cooper, the captain and best-known Blaze player. It was tough enough to be the new guy without everyone afraid to befriend you because they didn’t want to take sides against a veteran player. Cooper, Fitch and sometimes my linemates were willing to hang out with me, but most of the team was still trying not to upset JJ.
I put in headphones and listened to music with my eyes closed. Like they said on reality shows, I wasn’t here to make friends.
We managed a win in our first game. I was happy to be playing on the top line and had started to understand my linemates and how they played. I had a goal and an assist, and this time Coach didn’t yell.
