As the Los Angeles Kings begin their five-game road trip, the team is paying tribute to the heroes battling the wildfires back at home.
The team posted on social media that players on both the Kings and the Jets will wear special helmet stickers for Friday’s game in Winnipeg.
The death toll still isn’t entirely clear, but officials have said at least 10 have died, including two in the Palisades Fire along the coast and five in the Eaton Fire more inland.
It has not been an easy situation for the Kings organization, given the uncertainty around the situation and having to leave family.
As Kings reporter Zach Dooley writes, some staff members have been displaced by the wildfires.
“We know people that have lost their home and have been affected by it in the most tragic ways too,” captain Anze Kopitar said. “Yeah, it’s hard, it’s bad timing. At the end of the day, I guess, we‘ve got to do what we got to do, but we’re thinking about the families and wishing them all the best.”
“It’s extremely hard to even comprehend what’s going on,” Kopitar added. “In my 19 years here, I’ve never seen anything remotely close. Yeah, there were fires, but not in a populated area to where people are losing lives, losing houses and pretty much everything that they’ve worked for their entire life. Obviously thoughts and prayers with everybody that have lost a loved one … it’s extremely hard. Hopefully, this gets under control fairly quickly.”
Forward Trevor Moore, who was born in Thousand Oaks, Calif., said a lot of people he grew up with lost family homes and he knows people who are on the front lines trying to contain the fires.
“We’re super grateful for what they continue to do.” said Moore. “We’re thinking about them a lot, everyone back home. Come tonight, we’ll try to play hockey and (help them) forget for a couple hours and then get back to doing what we can to help them.”
The NHL postponed the Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area.
The NFL moved the Los Angeles Rams’ wild-card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings to Arizona.
