If you have ever been to an NHL team's practice rink or stayed at the same hotel as a professional sports team, you know all about "seekers". Seekers are people that hang out outside the players' hotel and rink day after day with a cache of memorabilia for players to sign in hopes of finding eBay fortunes. Some of these "seekers" have well-designed systems and stoop so low as to hire kids to trick players into signing items. Each player has his own way of dealing with these pathetic losers.
Alex Ovechkin: false promises and signing for real fans
Ovechkin's strategy seems to be to keep the well-known seekers at bay with false promises. Nice touch by Ovie to sign for a kid that appeared to be a real fan who just wanted an autograph from his favorite player.
Sean Avery: put these people in their place
I am not a big fan of Sean Avery, but I love how he put this guy in his place. Now, THAT is how you handle a heckler (or in this case a seeker/heckler hybrid).
Sidney Crosby: never let these people know where you live
The poster disabled embedding for this video, but this is the worst seeker behavior I have ever seen. This is a total invasion of a player's privacy. These tools found out where Sidney Crosby's parents lived and went to their home when Sidney was believed to be there, knocked on the front door and asked for an autograph.
Zdeno Chara: just keep walking
I love how the fat kid tries to talk shit to Big Z.
Dennis Wideman & Tim Thomas: just give in and sign but avoid conversation by talking on your cell
While Chara chose to ignore the tubby, foul-mouthed seeker, Dennis Wideman gave in and signed for the same "fan".
Timmy Thomas is just too darn nice.
Boston Bruins: practice earlier than expected