At 2 p.m. on Friday, he found out he was no longer a member of the Montreal Canadiens. It was no surprise really, as Hal Gill had heard his name connected to half the league as the trade rumors swirled around him.
Four hours later, Gill arrived outside the visitors dressing room at Joe Louis Arena to join his new team. Wearing gray dress pants and a long black coat, the 6-foot-7 Gill was immediately a presence, as the young Nashville Predators walked up to introduce themselves one by one before resuming their game of two-touch soccer in the hallway.
"It's exciting," said Predators forward Nick Spaling minutes after the introduction. "A new face, it's exciting around the locker room. You don't like to lose guys you play with like [Blake Geoffrion], but to add somebody old and experienced like him, you can learn a lot."
As Gill turned to leave and join Nashville coach Barry Trotz for a quick meeting, a member of the Detroit Red Wings looked up from down the hall and spotted Gill. If he didn't know the trade had happened, he knew now.
He smiled, then shouted a bit of profanity in Gill's direction.
Gill is a rival now, playing in the West for the first time in his long career.
But this addition for the Predators represents much more than that.
To read more from Craig on how the Predators are going all in this season, sign up for Insider today.
- Senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine
- Wrote for Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Wrote for The Sporting News
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Craig Custance
Craig Custance joined ESPN in September 2011 as an NHL reporter for ESPN the Magazine, ESPN Insider and ESPN.com. A graduate of Michigan State University, he lived for nearly a decade in Georgia working for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where he spent time covering the late Atlanta Thrashers. He was the only Thrashers beat writer to get the team to the playoffs.
From 2008-11 he was the national hockey writer for the Sporting News, writing regularly in print and online. A member of the PHWA, he's a proud voter for the major NHL awards and can occasionally defend his selections.
Like hockey, he left Atlanta to return north where he currently lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, with his wife Cassie and their three kids.
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