Last week, following his team’s game 7 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens, Brooks Laich demonstrated why hockey players are among the most selfless and humble athletes in the world. Well, most of them anyway. Laich stopped and spent just under an hour helping the Wangemann family change a flat tire on their van. Here’s an account of what else happened that evening prior to Laich’s heroics.
1) Brian Gionta drove past the Wangemanns. While he would have been willing to help them out, he realizes that changing a tire on an automobile isn’t the same as changing a tire on his Barbie “Jammin’ Jeep” Power Wheel.
2) The Kostitsyns offer the Wangemanns roadside ‘protection’ for a nominal fee. After they respectfully declined, Andrei broke the window of the van and declared they would be back later.
3) Seeing the family standing near him in a huddled semi-circle, Carey Price got angry and shot a puck at them.
4) Scott Gomez offered the family below average assistance for $8 million a year in perpetuity.
5) Upon seeing an immobile vehicle after a Canadiens game, a collection of Habs fans gathered in a mob and tried to burn it.
6) Finally, Laich was not the first altruistic Washington Capital on the scene. Alexander Semin saw the family in distress and decided to try and help them change the tire. After 44 fruitless attempts he was left to pound the wheel like a bongo in frustration.