The hockey world received out of the blue jab in the form of a tweet sent earlier this month from Anaheim Ducks centre Ryan Kesler.
Kesler tweeted at Predators middleman Ryan Johansen asking "How’s summer training going? Want to meet me in the streets before we get going on the ice?"
Johansen responded, although not directly tweeting at Kesler with “I’ll pay for your parking.”
Speaking with Adam Vingan of The Athletic Nashville, Johansen further explained the beef between the two Western Conference rivals and why Kesler decided to spice up the offseason.
“I don’t know what he was doing that day,” Johansen said. “Clearly I don’t think he was thinking right because he made a little bit of a fool of himself.”
The beef stems back from the 2017 Western Conference Final when Johansen called out Kesler post-game for his controversial style of play, including an elbow that caught Johansen in the jaw.
"I mean, it just blows my mind watching," Johansen said at the time. "I don't know what's going through his head over there. Like his family and his friends watching him play, I don't know how you cheer for a guy like that. It just doesn't make sense how he plays the game.
"I'm just trying to go out there and play hockey, and it sucks when you've got to pull a stick out of your groin every shift."
The Predators and Ducks will meet on November 12th, but it’s unknown if Kesler will be in the lineup. Earlier this season, Ducks GM Bob Murray hinted that Kesler may miss some time this season with a hip injury, so don’t rush to circle your calendars for that matinee match in November.
Johansen, 26, registered 15 goals and 54 points in 79 games with the Preds last season and added another 14 points in 13 playoff games. Kesler, 33, recorded his lowest point total per games played at .32 (14 points in 44 games) since his second season in the NHL.
Whatever you think of the Twitter exchanges, it certainly adds a little more ammo to an already strong rivalry between the Ducks and Preds. The NHL could use more of these type of exchanges, even if they come off as petulant.
