The NHL is heading to TNT beginning with the 2021-22 season, so on Tuesday night's "NBA on TNT" postgame show following the Bucks' 114-104 win over the Hornets, host Adam Lefkoe asked Shaquille O'Neal about his hockey knowledge.
"Shaq, how is your NHL knowledge?" Lefkoe asked.
"I don't have any," responded Shaq.
Well, he may not be the only one.
Let's break down the video:
1. Lefkoe asks Shaq to name three NHL teams.
"New Jersey Devils," was the first team he mentioned, which makes sense as he dropped the ceremonial puck before the Devils hosted the Panthers on Jan. 11, 2014, sporting an Alexei Ponikarovsky jersey 2012 Stanley Cup Final jersey. Super odd, but let's not digress.
"California Kings" was the next answer the 7-1 O'Neal gave. OK, that was close. He then corrected himself and said: "LA Kings," to which Candace Parker can be heard saying: "Thank you." Parker, by the way, played for the LA Sparks for 13 seasons, capturing the 2016 WNBA championship. The Kings and Sparks both play at Staples Center.
2. But then Lefkoe made this blunder:
"You can't get the whole state."
Well, why, yes, you can. Just ask the:
- Florida Panthers
- New York Rangers and Islanders (although the Rangers are "New York" for the city and the Islanders are not.)
- Minnesota Wild
- Washington Capitals (when D.C. finally gets statehood)
- Arizona Coyotes
- Carolina Hurricanes (technically two states!)
- New Jersey Devils
Speaking of those Devils, they responded in kind on Twitter:
Who is this host saying you can't have the whole state after Shaq literally names us first?
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 28, 2021
And @SHAQ , you're being modest. You know a few things about hockey. https://t.co/xa1EWC8AN4 pic.twitter.com/3WsX2NFDcc
Parker then gave Shaq a bit of an assist on the last one when she mentioned her hometown, Chicago. He initially said Bruins but then corrected himself rather emphatically with "The Blackhawks."
Parker, by the way, grew up in Naperville, Ill., and signed with the Chicago Sky in February.
3. But that wasn't the worst of it.
The start of the clip was — and it had nothing to do with Shaq.
To lead into the chat, TNT ran a promo board touting the deal, including how three Stanley Cup Finals will be on TNT, that the network has the rights to every Winter Classic and it will stream live on HBO Max.
It even included a picture of superstar Alex Ovechkin, but . . . when it came to the other guy, the guy in the Oilers jersey with the "C" on it, you'd think it would have been Connor McDavid.
You'd be wrong.
It was an image of Andrew Ference. Not Connor McDavid, who, you know, has won the Hart Trophy once and likely will again this season. It's Andrew Ference, who hasn't played since the start of the 2015-16 season following season-ending hip surgery. Sure, he was the Oilers' captain . . . from 2013-15.
...and my wife thought I was throwing money away on that Google Ad buy. https://t.co/a7jlrSsOkc pic.twitter.com/XtaBNojjys
— Andrew Ference (@Ferknuckle) April 28, 2021
If you do a quick Google search of "Oilers captain," it returns Connor McDavid, as it should. If you search images, the first one is of him without the "C" (from when he was named captain); the second is with Wayne Gretzky (not great for a graphic); and the third one is, yep, you guessed it: Andrew Ference (when he was relinquishing the captaincy to McDavid).
Hate to call out the graphics PA, but Shaq's not the only one who needs to buck up on hockey knowledge.