All of the deserved fanfare and attention around David Ayres in the days after his Saturday night heroics reminds one of the John Scott All-Star Game saga in 2016, in that it had the potential to be an enormous embarrassment for the NHL until it turned out to be the greatest thing that could have ever happened.
To be sure, the way the story unfolded and its aftermath have been nothing but good for the NHL, Ayres and the Carolina Hurricanes. The world, both inside and outside the game, has fully embraced the story of a 42-year-old Zamboni driver and kidney transplant survivor who came into an NHL game halfway through and won the game, a victory that will be recorded for all to see for all time.