Are NHL blood feuds a thing of the past? How the league's evolution has tamed its playoffs

ST. PAUL, Minn. — When Nick Foligno was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Minnesota Wild in March, one of the first texts he received came from Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene, one of Foligno’s closest friends in hockey.I hate that I have to hate you for the next few months. Of course, Duchene followed that text up with another one about how cool it was that Foligno would get to play with his brother, Marcus, and how genuinely happy he was for him. There wasn’t an explicit invite to the cottage this summer, but, hey, that’s always implied.No, in the NHL, hatred isn’t what it used to be.Advertisement