Full disclosure: I grew up in a New York Rangers household.
The initiative aims to educate people about cancer risk factors and early detection, as well as encourage screenings.
So, how did you get into art, and what was the inspiration behind it?
I wanted to try it and see what it was all about.
This was probably like three, four years ago.
And what kind of pieces did you get started with?
Its cheesy, I know.
How did you get the idea to run into the canvas in your gear?
He would paint womens bodies and press them on the canvas and drag them across the canvas.
He was the artist, but they were the brush, essentially.
And hitting was unique to me, so that was where the idea came from.
How do you get into the mindset to create art?
Do you have to keep your phone in another room or generally minimize distractions or anything like that?
No, its like a hangout.
Im not good at just sitting around watching TV, so Im going there and actively doing something.
Theres definitely no TV, theres no couch.
When I hang out in the studio, sometimes Ill throw music on.
What kind of music do you listen to?
A lot of John Mayer.
Whats your favorite John Mayer song?
Oh, thats a trick question.
Probably Stop This Train.
Do people get surprised when they find out that you moonlight as an artist?
How do they react?
There are usually a lot of jokes.
All my buddies back home call me Picasso.
Id love to talk about the Get Body Checked campaign.
Howd you all get together?
The whole campaign just flowed together very naturally.
The body-checking on the ice, the body-checking with the canvas, and getting your body checked.
Were donating a painting that were going to auction off.
What does it mean to you personally to be involved with this campaign?
Do you have a personal connection to early cancer detection or screenings?
My moms had breast cancer scares, and she routinely gets mammograms.
I lost my grandfather, her father, to melanoma.
So thats obviously been a big part of my family.
For my mom, being included incommercialswith me was important to her because of my grandfather.
So the most I could give back to my grandfather is by encouraging people to get checked.
Early detection of cancer is a win for everyone.
I mean, its hard, right?
You want to convince people to get screenings, but some people are scared to go to the doctor.
How do you have those conversations?
She doesnt give me all the details, but just the impact speaking to families that weighs on her.
All these things are tied to early detection.
Everybody needs to do it.
Yeah, and its also about being there for your family youre a new father, for example.
Whats fatherhood been like so far?
How is he sleeping?
Great 8 to 8, which is perfect.
Whats been the most surprising thing about fatherhood so far?
Kind of a cheesy answer, but watching my wife has been cool, and watching him discover things.
Its been crazy to watch how much he changes every week.
Its like one week, theyre not eating real food, and then suddenly they are.
Hell make faces when he tries new food.
Are you going to encourage him to play hockey?
If he wants to, yeah.
I would enjoy coaching a kids team.
So obviously its the off-season right now.
How are you unwinding or staying fit and training?
Ive been going out to the practice facility, training out there.
Golfing, a lot of painting, a lot of playing with the baby.
Depends on my wifes schedule.
And are you watching the Olympics at all?
I watched a little bit.
I watched ping-pong, which was just crazy.
Thats an answer I havent heard from anyone.
Everyones talking about gymnastics.
Yeah, I watched gymnastics last night.
Andthe guy with the pommel horse.
Ive been very much enjoying the memes about him.
I was like, Wait, whos this guy?
My wife was showing me.
Im like, OK, can I see the routine?
Do you think about that at all, knowing youre going to be photographed?
I should do it more but I dont.
The first time I had to wear a suit was in college.
I dont really put hair product in my hair before a game my hairs always a mess.
Id rather just start thinking about the game.
I mean, Im kind of the same way.
I like to wear my pair of jeans, my basic top.
Youve got a lot going on getting ready for the game.
The more basic, the better.
Im not thinking about the outfit.
I know every suit that I have goes with a white shirt.
I mean, expectations are high not that thats a challenge.
I think thats a good thing.
We were close last year.
If you were on another team, would you drop the gloves with teammate Matt Rempe?
And why is that?
Because he would kill me.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
