ESPN announcer Leah Hextall caught between confrontation on NHL benches

Pat Maroon and Wayne Simmonds had been in a smack talk-off, and Leah Hextall was proper in the course of it.

As ESPN was broadcasting Lightning vs. Maple Leafs, Hextall was perched between the 2 benches as the 2 sides began chirping forwards and backwards. Hextall, being the professional broadcaster she is, defined what was occurring to the viewers in actual time.

“It retains going. Simmonds, Maroon. Simmonds, Maroon. Right here we go,” Hextall stated, pointing to every aspect as they traded barbs.

At one level, Maroon, a 33-year-old ahead on the Lightning, requested Simmonds what number of Stanley Cup championships he’s gained. Maroon has gained two with Tampa, and a 3rd with the St. Louis Blues.

Simmonds, additionally 33, had stops with the Kings, Flyers, Predators, Devils and Sabres earlier than touchdown in Toronto, and the Stanley Cup has so far eluded him in his profession.

Hextall comes from a royal hockey household. Her grandfather, Bryan Hextall Sr., is a Corridor of Famer who was a significant contributor for the Rangers of their 1940 Stanley Cup conquest. Her uncle, Bryan Hextall Jr., performed 10 years within the league within the Nineteen Sixties and Nineteen Seventies. Her cousin, Ron Hextall, performed goalie for 13 years for the Flyers, Nordiques and Islanders.

She remarked that Leafs-Lightning “can be a superb first spherical [playoff series] if we get that, boys.”