Mitch Albom dug up a nickname Tuesday. It was bestowed upon Vegas Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant long ago.
“We used to call him Spudsie when he was on the team here,” Albom said as we chatted on his radio show originating on WJR-AM in Detroit.
Yes, Spudsie (or a variation, Spuddy) was Gallant’s nickname early in his career when he played for the Red Wings.
Albom covered that team, led by Red Wings legend and current Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman, for the Detroit Free Press.
The Spudsie moniker was inspired by Gallant’s home province of Prince Edward Island’s reputation as the potato capital of Canada (the Idaho of Canada, as it were).