As the world turned its attention to Michael Phelps during the 200M butterfly semifinals Monday night, the 19-time gold medalist revealed his game face, and the internet jumped all over it.
While meme enthusiasts rejoiced, Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews - appropriately nicknamed Captain Serious - also got in on the fun.
On Jan. 2, Busch Stadium will transform from a diamond to a rink, as the St. Louis Blues host the Chicago Blackhawks in the ninth running of the NHL's Winter Classic.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, along with executives from both teams, gathered at the home of the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday to discuss the game. Bettman said he's thrilled to be hosting the event in a rapidly growing market.
"What better way to celebrate 100 years of NHL hockey than playing in the shadow of the Gateway Arch," Bettman said, according to NHL.com. "At the same time we will be able to spotlight the incredible growth of hockey in St. Louis. There will be plenty of history to commemorate and lots of excitement to anticipate."
The Blues are coming off their most successful season in recent memory, advancing to the conference finals for the first time in 15 years.
What's more, five St. Louis natives were taken in the first round of this year's draft.
Player
Team
Overall pick
Matthew Tkachuk
Calgary Flames
5th
Clayton Keller
Arizona Coyotes
7th
Logan Brown
Ottawa Senators
11th
Luke Kunin
Minnesota Wild
15th
Trent Frederic
Boston Bruins
28th
The football team may have left town, but hockey is alive and well in The Gateway City.
Weber is a seasoned veteran, amassing 11 seasons in the NHL with three Norris Trophy nominations and two Olympic gold medals to his name. While the wound of Subban's trade to Nashville may be fresh for fans, Weber's new teammates are happy to have joined forces.
Goaltender Carey Price, a fellow British Columbia native and Sochi teammate to Weber, is no exception.
"I've known him for a few years now, and he's a very strong character guy. He's going to bring a lot to our hockey team," Price told TSN, according to NHL.com. "I'm definitely happy to have a guy like that in front of me. Like I said, he's a big presence on the ice and off the ice. He makes it difficult to play against every night, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in front of me, that's for sure."
While Montreal is more of a hockey hotbed than the Music City, Brendan Gallagher doesn't see Weber having trouble adjusting to the pressure of playing in La Belle Province.
"I don't think Shea Weber will have any problems adjusting (to Montreal)," Gallagher told Steve Ewen of The Province. "He's experienced enough. He's been in the league for a long enough time. He's played in big playoff games. He's played in gold-medal finals. I don't think there's any more pressure than putting on the Team Canada jersey for an Olympic gold-medal game. He understands how to deal with that. I think he'll be just fine."
Another big offseason acquisition, forward Andrew Shaw, is well acquainted with Weber after years playing in the same division while Shaw was with the Chicago Blackhawks. He thinks Weber will quickly win fans over.
"They're going to love him," Shaw told media Tuesday.
After all, Shaw would know it's better to play with him than against him.
Andrew Shaw said Weber broke two of his ribs battling in front of the net in the '14 Playoffs. He's thrilled he's now on the same team
Heading into the 2016-17 campaign, several players are hoping they can right the wrongs of last season.
Many of the the game's stars took steps back last season after a 2014-15 campaign that ranked them among the league's best.
With that, here are five players who will be looking to rebound this upcoming season:
Nick Foligno
After having a career year during the 2014-15 campaign, Nick Foligno's play took a drastic step back.
Following a stellar 31-goal, 73-point - in 79 games - year, Foligno managed nearly half that this past season with just 12 goals and 37 points in 72 games.
To make matters worse, the Blue Jackets inked their captain to a six-year, $33-million contract midway through his career season.
If he wants to avoid a possible buyout down the road, Foligno has no choice but to bounce back with a better effort starting this fall.
Jakub Voracek
For a large part of the 2014-15 season, it was Jakub Voracek who paced the league in scoring.
He ultimately tailed off, but still finished fourth overall with 81 points in 82 games.
One year later and Voracek failed to relive his career year, finishing with just 55 points in 73 games. He scored half as many goals, netting a mere 11, while managing just a single goal with the extra-man - 10 fewer than the season prior.
The 26-year-old saw his shooting percent drop from 10 percent to 5.2, all while the Flyers manged to secure a postseason berth after failing to qualify the previous year.
Much like Foligno, Voracek signed an eight-year, $66-million contract following his career season. So if he wants to live up to it and aid the Flyers in another postseason run he will need to get it together.
Rick Nash
Rick Nash's drop in goals from the 2015 season to the 2016 year was larger than the total number of goals most players managed last season.
After scoring a career-best 42 goals during the 2014-15 season, while adding another 27 assists in 79 games, Nash tallied a career-worst 15 goals - 27 fewer than the year prior - for 36 points in 60 games this past season.
While Nash did play fewer games, he was still only on pace to hit 19 goals and 47 points in 79 games (what he played the season prior).
Nash will make $8 million and $8.2 million the next two seasons. It is unacceptable for a player making that amount of coin to produce fewer than 40 points.
Tyler Johnson
Tyler Johnson didn't start producing like we expect him to until the regular season concluded this past season.
After matching Steven Stamkos for a team-high 72 points - 29 of those goals - during the 2015 season, Johnson put up just 38 points in 69 games this past season.
Don't get too hung up on it though, as he rebounded in the postseason with 17 points in 17 games. Lightning fans shouldn't worry about Johnson going forward, but with that being said, more consistent production would surely help going forward.
Pekka Rinne
It's hard to imagine just how dominant the Nashville Predators could have been last season if they had received some elite goaltending.
The club finished with the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference with 96 points, while giving up the fewest shots per game at just 27.3 per contests. However, they still gave up the 17th most goals against.
Pekka Rinne can be attributed to much of this as the 33-year-old put up a save percentage of .908 and a 2.48 GAA, good enough for 45th and 27th, respectively, among goalies with at least 20 games played last season.
Rinne constructed a fantastic stat line during the 2014-15 campaign with a .923 save percentage and a 2.18 GAA. The Predators would benefit greatly if he could get back to these types of numbers next season, especially now that the rugged Shea Weber will no longer patrol the ice in front of him.
Honorable Mentions
Ryan Johansen
Not since his 40-game debut in the league has Ryan Johansen put up fewer goals than he did this season. After collecting two straight 20-plus-goal seasons, he put up just 14 in 80 games split between the Blue Jackets and the Predators.
He saw an 11-point decline in points, which can be attributed to his rough start in Columbus to start the year. The Predators have a talented center on their hands in Johansen, he just needs to get back to scoring like he's shown he can.
Sergei Bobrovsky
After posting a record of 30-17-3 and an admirable .918 save percentage and 2.69 GAA, Sergei Bobrovsky saw his numbers dip while only managing 15 wins in 37 games this past season.
Two years removed from a Vezina Trophy win, Bobrovsky must be better if the Blue Jackets hope to take advantage of a roster that is at least strong on paper.
After pacing the Western Conference with 109 points and reaching the second round of the playoffs for the first time in nine years, Seguin feels the club is trending in the right direction, with their best years still to come.
"(It's a) young man’s game now. I'm starting to feel a little bit old turning 25 with all of these changes, but I think our team has been great the last couple years," Seguin said, according to Mark Stepneski of the Inside Edge. "Our window just opened, and I think every team's got kind of that window that opens where you can win a championship, so that part's exciting. Getting a veteran guy like (Dan) Hamhuis, it makes you even more excited for the season to start."
Prior to last season, the Stars made the playoffs just once dating back to the 2008-09 season, when they were knocked off by the Anaheim Ducks in six games in 2013-14.
Now with a stronger nucleus of players - including the addition of Hamhuis - and a better taste of the playoffs, Seguin feels the club is extra hungry to get back and build on its recent playoff appearances.
"You can talk about playoffs all you want, but until you win a game, until you lose a game, until you win a series, until you lose a series, you don't know that taste and what it's like," said Seguin. "That’' the kind of stuff that drives you, gaining that experience. Obviously, a couple years ago we made the playoffs, but when you look at our team, this was the first real run a lot of guys have had, so that's good for us and something we want to build on."
Time will tell if this Stars club will be able to replicate its 1999-00 predecessors who captured the club's lone Stanley Cup.
KHL's HC Sochi offered fans the opportunity to be shaved during one of their recent games, except instead of a straight razor, the barber used the blade of a hockey skate.
Donskov previously spent time as an associate coach and assistant general manager in the OHL with the Ottawa 67s and London Knights. He's also been involved in player development for the Columbus Blue Jackets and now defunct Atlanta Thrashers.
General manager George McPhee continues to put his stamp on his team. Here are his recent hires:
Kelly McCrimmon, assistant general manager
Wil Nichol, director of player development
Katy Boettinger, director of hockey administration
