Don't You Dare Even Think About Drinking A Drop Of Soda Around Nathan MacKinnon
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"He's crazy that way, he eats right. He doesn't drink. He drinks only water. Two years ago, in Colorado, he got rid of all the pop/ice-cream/deserts. He got rid of them from the dressing room, and pre-game meals".
Okay well now this all makes sense. The Colorado Avalanche recently renamed their arena this past season. Most figured it just had to do with a naming rights deal coming to an end. But turns out the Nate Dogg hates soda so goddamn much that he simply could not stand playing in the Pepsi Center. He said he wouldn't play another shift until a change was made, hence why we have Ball Arena today.
Now I know there are going to be some folks out there who read these quotes from Zadorov and think that Nasty Nate is a psychopath. I'm sure there are some folks out there who think he's being a lunatic here going on some sort of power trip. But holy hell, I don't think I could be a bigger Nathan MacKinnon guy after reading all of that.
This is what you need in your locker room. A guy who cares about winning and winning only. It might make him a crazy person as far as the real world goes. But flying around on a sheet of ice with a couple of knives attached to your feet and trying to win a giant, shiny, silver cup isn't exactly the "real world". So if making sure nobody is drinking soda and being a dick about passes that aren't perfectly snapped tape to tape is what helps bring the Avs that much closer to winning a Cup, then so be it. Drink your Dr. Pepper in the offseason, bitch.
The only thing that really bothers me about these quotes is the fact that MacKinnon spends so much on his dietologist, personal physiotherapist, and personal chef. Because that makes his contract that much more asinine. Buddy is making $6.3M per year. He's easily the most underpaid player in the league. Hell, Clayton Keller is making $7.15M. I love Clayton Keller but he's not Nathan MacKinnon. So the fact that MacKinnon is drastically underpaid and still shells out that much dough to keep his body working as a finely tuned machine? I don't understand how Colorado can keep getting away with this.