The LA Kings and Splitero Expand Strategic Partnership to Support Homeowners Across Southern California and Beyond
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two-time Stanley Cup Champions the LA Kings and Splitero, the financial technology company that provides homeowners better options to access home equity, are renewing and expanding their strategic partnership. The multiyear renewal agreement, brokered by AEG Global Partnerships, reinforces Splitero's role as the LA Kings' Official and Exclusive Home Equity Partner, marking their shared commitment to serving Southern California homeowners with accessible, debt-free financial solutions. Additionally, the enhanced relationship provides Splitero with new opportunities for fan engagement, impactful education, and brand integration at a time when demand for smarter home equity options is at an all-time high.
'Splitero represents the kind of partner we value—innovative, consumer-first, and deeply invested in making a difference,' said LA Kings President, Luc Robitaille. 'Together, we're offering fans more than entertainment, we're delivering real value, and we're excited to grow this partnership for seasons to come.'
With interest rates remaining high, inflation impacting everyday costs, and traditional credit tightening, many homeowners—especially in expensive markets like Los Angeles—are looking for alternative ways to access cash without sacrificing historically low mortgage rates locked in during prior economic cycles. This partnership comes at a pivotal time, offering thousands of Kings fans access to a powerful, underutilized financial tool: their own home equity.
With Splitero, fans are offered a differentiated alternative to traditional home equity loans or lines of credit. Through its innovative Home Equity Investments (HEIs), the company provides homeowners with a lump sum of cash in exchange for a portion of their home's future value—without requiring monthly payments, interest, or income verification. Its proprietary Maturity Match™ model aligns the HEI term with the homeowner's remaining mortgage timeline, offering unmatched flexibility to repurchase their equity share at any point within the term, penalty-free.
As the Official and Exclusive Home Equity Partner of the LA Kings, Splitero will be prominently integrated across multiple touchpoints during the NHL season. Fans can expect to see the brand featured on static dasherboards, LED ribbon boards, scoreboard halo signage, and digitally enhanced dasherboards during all home games at Crypto.com Arena, as well as during select nationally broadcast matchups. The company will also be embedded into the Kings' social media presence through recurring branded content, including the team's 'Kings Keys' feature.
Headquartered in San Diego and operating in 13 states, California is Splitero's home base and one of its most important markets. With Los Angeles County representing its largest metro market, the expanded partnership gives Splitero a powerful platform to reach equity-rich, cash-constrained homeowners through one of the region's most passionate and loyal fanbases.
'This renewed partnership is about more than visibility—it's about impact,' said Michael Gifford, CEO and founder of Splitero. 'With so many local homeowners sitting on record-high equity and facing today's financial pressures, this partnership with the LA Kings gives us an incredible platform to raise awareness and offer a smarter solution. The Kings have been a phenomenal partner, and we're thrilled to continue building on our momentum together.'
With U.S. home equity reaching a record $35 trillion, and more than $11.5 trillion currently accessible, nearly 48% of U.S. homeowners are considered equity-rich—yet many are unaware of alternative ways to access that wealth. This continued partnership aims to change that through community engagement and education.
Beyond signage, the partnership includes deeper experiential components. Splitero will participate in the team's Fan Fest, offering hands-on fan engagement opportunities before select home games. A co-branded sweepstakes campaign will also roll out during the season, giving fans the chance to win unique prizes, while further aligning the brand with unforgettable experiences.
'Splitero has a timely offering, a clear message, and a community-first approach,' said Josh Veilleux, senior vice president, AEG Global Partnerships. 'This renewal reflects the success of our first year in partnership and the strength of our alignment between mission and market. We look forward to connecting more of our loyal fans with their incredible offerings at a time when it matters most.'
ABOUT SPLITERO
Splitero is a financial technology company that provides homeowners with better options to access their home equity. Founded by real estate veterans, Splitero provides a lump sum of cash in exchange for a share of the home's future value. Splitero can help homeowners in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Washington access their equity with no additional monthly payments or new debt. For more information, visit www.splitero.com.
The LA Kings have enjoyed a rich history of excitement, passion, and championship glory in Southern California while demonstrating the utmost commitment to their fans, partners, and community. Owned and operated by AEG, the Kings began play in 1967 and now play at world-famous Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Since our inception we have strived to be the ultimate leader as it relates to employing many of the greatest players in National Hockey League history, and hosting and participating in incredible events highlighted by two Stanley Cup Championships.
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Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Greg Cote's Hot Button Top 10: Marchand Miracle rescues Cats, NBA, Coco, death of amateurism & more
GREG COTE'S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JUNE 8): WHAT IN SPORTS HAS GRABBED US THIS WEEK: Our Sunday Hot Button Top 10 notes column brings you what's on our minds, locally and nationally but from a Miami perspective and accentuating stuff that's big, weird, damnable, funny or otherwise worth needling as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. Welcome to the 106th edition of your HB10: 1. PANTHERS: Marchand Miracle lifts Cats in double-OT, ties Stanley Cup: Florida trailed twice in Game 2 Friday night and was at grave risk of going down 2-0 to Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final -- a hole that has buried 91 percent of teams in SCF history. But Brad Marchand rescued the Panthers with the Marchand Miracle, a goal in the second overtime for a 5-4 road win and 1-1 series heading back to South Florida for Game 3 Monday night. Two OT games to begin promise a crazy-good series likely to go the distance as the Cats claw for a repeat-championships and the Oilers fight for that club's first title since 1990 and the first-ever to heal what's missing on Connor McDavid's otherwise impeccable resume'. 2. NBA: Thrilling upset launches unconventional Finals: Oklahoma City and Indiana both chasing their first NBA championship made for a dubious national ratings sell, and the Knicks' sudden firing of coach Tom Thibodeau glommed attention as the Finals began. But Game 1 had to be a spike on interest as Pacers rallied for a 111-110 road upset over Thunder on Tyrese Haliburton's last-second jumper. League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rained 38 in the loss as Pacers overcame 24 turnovers. Game 2 is Sunday/tonight back in OKC in a Finals that suddenly seems must-watch. 3. TENNIS: Coco Gauff wins French Open! Another 1-2 final today: Heavyweight championship weekend at the French Open with Nos. 1 vs. 2 finals for both the women and men. Saturday, No. 2 Coco Gauff of Delray Beach (90 minutes north of Miami) beat top-seed Aryna Sabalenka, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, for Gauff's second career major at just age 21. Next Serena? Promising start. (Gauff en route to the crown in Paris had beaten French Cinderella Lois Boisson in the semis after earlier defeating Marie Bouzkova, girlfriend of Panthers star Aleksander Barkov.) In Sunday's men's final top-seed Cheatin' Jannik Sinner faces number two Carlos Alcaraz. 4. MONEY: Colleges directly paying athletes an historic breakthrough: Beginning on July 1 Division I schools may start directly paying players in all sports -- a first in NCAA history. It is the result of a federal judge approving a House vs. NCAA settlement that had been debated for several months. 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(Her option was Dame. Good choice, Vic.) In less happy news, FIFA continues to lower ticket prices over fears its 2025 Club World Cup could open to half-empty Hard Rock Stadium as it starts June 14 with Miami and Lionel Messi facing Egypt's Al Ahly. HRS is one of 12 U.S. host stadiums and will see eight matches including Real Madrid June 18, Bayern Munich June 20 and two round-of-16 games. Real Madrid, Man City and Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain are CWC betting favorites, with Inter Miami a middling 19th of 32 clubs. Meantime Messi is only MLS player on ESPN's latest FC 100 list of world's best players, selected eighth among 20 wingers despite turning 38 this month. 7. DOLPHINS: Questions linger as Miami wraps offseason with minicamp Dolphins end two months of offseason work with a mandatory minicamp this Tuesday through Thursday, club's last on-field activity until late-July start of full training camp. OT Terron Armstead's expected retirement became official but questions linger over when and to whom CB Jalen Ramsey likely will be traded, and whether team will give TE Jonnu Smith more money or trade him, too. Miami's '25 NFL season -- playoffs-or-out for coach Mike McDaniel and GM Chris Grier, it says here -- begins Sept. 7 at the Colts. 8. CANES BASEBALL: UM one win from return to College World Series: The Miami Hurricanes making the annual College World Series in Omaha was a near-annual occurrence for decades, until a recent program downturn. Now the Canes are one win from returning to the CWS for the first time since 2016 as four-time national champion UM has had a faith-restoring season under coach J.D. Arteaga. Sunday's rubber game of a three-game Super Regional vs. host Louisville will determine who goes to Omaha. 9. MARLINS: Getting swept by sub-sad Colorado defines Fish season: Swept at home by a Rockies team hurtling toward historic awfulness will define this season for the low-spending, no-shot Miami Marlins. Fish are now 24-38 in the midst of a season-long nine-game road trip. With all-star voting underway, Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers has the best shot to rep Miami if voters are feeling charitable or looking for a token Fish. 10. NFL: Rodgers decides his fizzling career will end in Pittsburgh: The ghost of Aaron Rodgers, 41, will sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers (assuming he passes a physical) and says he'll be at team's mini-camp this week. The not-unexpected news sets up a season opener vs. his most recent former team, the New York Jets. Rodgers was as desperate to not retire as the Steelers were for a proven QB. Pittsburgh let Russell Wilson and Justin Fields leave as free agents and had only Mason Rudolph left. Rodgers' is a one-year deal, so expect more will-he-retire drama next spring. THE LIST: FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP FAVORITES: Betting odds as of Saturday via FanDuel for favorites in the 32-team tournament opening next Saturday at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium: Club (Country) Odds Real Madrid (Spain) +410 Manchester City (England) +500 Paris Saint-Germain (France) +500 Bayern Munich (Germany) +700 Chelsea (England) +1000 Atletico Madrid (Spain) +1500 Inter Milan (Italy) +1500 Note: MLS side Inter Miami is tied for 19th favorite to win at +6000. 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USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
What we learned in Oilers-Panthers Stanley Cup Final and how it affects Game 3
What we learned in Oilers-Panthers Stanley Cup Final and how it affects Game 3 Show Caption Hide Caption NHL rescue dogs, all available for adoption, compete in the 2025 Stanley Pup 32 adorable rescue puppies representing each NHL team will compete in the 2025 Stanley Pup, airing June 6 on TruTV and Sportsnet! The 2025 Stanley Cup Final is changing venues this week with a 1-1 tie in the best-of-seven series. That's a big difference from last year's series between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers when the Panthers won the first three games and the Oilers won the next three before Florida clinched the championship with a Game 7 victory. Last year had no overtime games but this year, both games have gone past regulation. The Oilers won Game 1 at home on a Leon Draisaitl overtime goal. But the Panthers took away Edmonton's home-ice advantage by winning Game 2 on a Brad Marchand goal in the second overtime. Here are some trends from the first two games and how they might affect the series heading into Game 3: Sam Bennett will earn a big contract The Panthers' pending unrestricted free agent entered the final with a league-best 10 goals. He has added to that with three goals in two games. Bennett has scored 12 playoff goals on the road, setting an NHL record. Toronto's Mitch Marner is the top UFA, but Bennett's playoff prowess will have suitors lined up. He's highly effective around the net and has a habit of bumping goalies. His Game 1 goal as he fell into Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner survived a coach's challenge, but he was called for goaltender interference on a similar play in Game 2. Is he being watched more closely by on-ice officials? "I was pushed and then I think the goalie kicked out my heel, which made me fall," he said. "I didn't agree with that (call), but I'll move on." Will Bill Zito finally win general manager of the year? He's a finalist for the fourth consecutive season but has yet to win. He changed up the Panthers' depth players last summer after winning the Stanley Cup, but his biggest moves were before the trade deadline. He added defenseman Seth Jones, who played more than 30 minutes in each of the first two games of the final and had a goal and an assist in Game 2. Marchand, the former Boston Bruins star, has been critical to the Panthers' success. He scored on two breakaways in Game 2, including the winner. "I think our whole bench stood up when he had that breakaway," Bennett said. "It was just a huge play at a huge time. He's been incredible for us this whole playoffs, scoring massive goals at massive times." The voting is already done for the GM award, so we'll see if it's finally his turn. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl working their magic Draisaitl has three goals in the first two games and McDavid has five assists. They connected on the Game 1 overtime winner and the Game 2 setup was even more impressive. McDavid stickhandled past Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov and No. 1 defenseman Aaron Ekblad before feeding Draisaitl. The Panthers will continue to need to figure out how to limit those two, especially when coach Kris Knoblauch puts them on the same line later in games. Florida has the last line change in Games 3 and 4 and can get the matchup it wants. Oilers need to play better in the second period The Oilers have been outscored 3-1 in the second period and outshot 31-16. Florida turned around its Game 2 fortunes with its performance in the second period, when there's a longer distance to get to the bench for a line change. "Our passes weren't sharp. We gave away a lot of pucks," Knoblauch said. "If you can't make that first pass, you're stuck in the defensive zone. … If you just get it out to the neutral zone, you can't change." The OIlers, however, have outscored the Panthers 2-0 in the third period, tying both games and forcing overtime. Goalies are playing better than their numbers Skinner and the Panthers' Sergei Bobrovsky each have given up eight goals, albeit in elongated games. Though some goals against haven't been great, such as Evander Kane's in Game 2, Bobrovsky made a big pad save on Draisaitl before Corey Perry tied the game. Skinner stopped several breakaways before Marchand's winner. "There were some good saves made at both ends, high-end saves," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "There's some world-class shooters here."
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
For No. 3 goalies on Stanley Cup teams, the NHL's least glamorous job still ends in glory
When his moment of glory approached, Scott Wedgewood knew his role. As the Lightning began the decades-old NHL tradition of passing the Stanley Cup to one another in Sept. 2020, Wedgewood hung to the back of the celebration. The goaltender didn't want to steal a spotlight that wasn't his. Wedgewood wasn't on the ice when Tampa Bay won the championship that year, beating the Stars in six games. Nor was he the backup on the bench. He was the No. 3 throughout the 2019-20 playoffs, brought along to the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles just in case something went wrong with starter Andrei Vasilevskiy or backup Curtis McElhinney. Nothing did. Advertisement Which is why, as Wedgewood and his fellow scratches burst onto the ice to join the championship dogpile, a voice in his head asked whether he even belonged. 'I kind of didn't earn it, but I earned it,' he remembered thinking. He watched as the Cup moved among his teammates, first from captain Steven Stamkos to defenseman Victor Hedman, then down the depth chart from perennial All-Stars to valuable role players. Finally, after every other member of the roster had received a turn, forward Mathieu Joseph handed the trophy over to Wedgewood. He took the Cup for a small loop on the ice — long enough to make a cherished memory, short enough not to seem selfish about it — and lifted it over his head with a wide grin on his face. As he wrapped up his lap, Wedgewood skated to Stamkos with a question. Jon Cooper, one of the NHL's top coaches, still hadn't touched the Cup. The team captain, Wedgewood figured, should have a say in who presented it to him. 'Do you want to give it to Coop?' he asked. 'No!' a euphoric Stamkos responded. 'You f—ing do it!' And so it was that Wedgewood, despite never playing a single minute for Tampa Bay, first placed hockey's most hallowed piece of hardware in the hands of a coach who is likely bound for its Hall of Fame. 'That's kind of cool, too, to be the guy to do it,' said Wedgewood, now the backup for the Avalanche. 'Definitely a little humble pie in the back of the mind, too: 'Am I really doing this?'' No one focuses much, if at all, on the No. 3 goalies during the Stanley Cup Final. Barring an emergency, they don't dress for games, and most of the world doesn't see the work they do. Still, Panthers coach Paul Maurice calls third-stringers a 'critical part' of championship teams. But No. 3s are valued, even if the emotional payoff of a win might be different from what players who actually appear in games feel. They're on call whenever someone needs extra work, Cooper said, as though they have a beeper in the back pocket of their goalie pants. And often in recent years, they find themselves in Wedgewood's position: passing the Cup to the winning coach, someone who will be remembered far more as part of the championship journey. Advertisement Craig Berube spent more than 1,500 games on an NHL bench, either as a player, assistant or head coach, before the Blues beat Boston for the 2019 championship. He was handed the Cup by Ville Husso, who had yet to make his NHL debut. Then-prospect Justus Annunen gave it to Jared Bednar after Colorado completed its championship run in 2022, and Maurice took it from Spencer Knight with Florida last year. 'That's a really important idea at the end of the day: that the players are the most important,' Maurice said. 'They come first.' That means all of them — even the ones with the least glamorous job. A century ago, backup goalies — let alone third-stringers — weren't much of a thought. In the 1928 Stanley Cup Final, after Rangers goalie Lorne Chabot took a shot to the face and left with an eye injury, the lack of a No. 2 goalie on hand led to 44-year-old coach and general manager Lester Patrick putting on pads and finishing out a 2-1 overtime win between the pipes. The NHL didn't even require teams to dress two goalies until 1965-66, but nowadays teams tend to carry three on the roster during the playoffs: two in uniform and one in case of emergency. A variety of factors go into determining which No. 3 goalie to use. If its affiliate is still alive in the American Hockey League playoffs, an organization might choose to have its actual third-best goalie playing games in the minors. Annunen, for example, didn't travel with the 2022 Avalanche full time until the AHL Colorado Eagles were eliminated. This year, Florida's AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, is still playing, so ECHL goalie Evan Cormier has been with the club as the emergency backup. Kaapo Kähkönen would almost certainly come up from the Checkers if something happened to either Panthers starter Sergei Bobrovsky or backup Vítek Vaněček. Meanwhile, the Bakersfield Condors, the Oilers' AHL affiliate, didn't make the playoffs, so Olivier Rodrigue has been with the NHL club the entire time, even backing up a few games when Calvin Pickard got hurt. Advertisement On some teams, Cooper said, the No. 3 job can be good for a developing player. Rodrigue, who is 24 and one of the Oilers' top prospects, falls in that boat. Wedgewood did, too. He took it as an opportunity to get daily one-on-one feedback from Lightning goalie coach Frantz Jean. Annunen appreciated the chance to watch how the Avalanche's high-level roster prepared for big games. 'You want somebody who's going to learn,' Cooper said. 'You want somebody who's glue, you want somebody who's going to work: not necessarily content in their role but (who) understands their role.' Other teams turn to veterans to fill that role. Jonathan Quick was already a two-time champion as a starter with the Kings when the Golden Knights acquired him at the 2023 trade deadline, bringing a level of experience far different from that of someone like Wedgewood or Annunen. Quick never got in a playoff game for the Golden Knights, and only started regularly dressing as Adin Hill's backup after starter Laurent Brossoit suffered a hamstring injury in the second round. But coach Bruce Cassidy said that Quick had a calming effect on both Hill and Brossoit throughout the Golden Knights' road to the franchise's first Cup. 'If you have guys with a bad attitude in your locker room, typically you're not playing hockey at that time of the year,' Quick said. Like Quick, Wedgewood was very clear on his role entering the 2020 bubble, joking that he 'wasn't going to play unless Vasilevskiy died.' So he made himself available at all times instead, helping Lightning players get away from hockey while isolated from the outside world with games of pickleball and rounds on a golf simulator. The goalie also estimates that he spent some 100 hours on Xbox playing 'Call of Duty: Warzone' with teammates, including Ondřej Palát, Victor Hedman, Tyler Johnson and Anthony Cirelli, often on game days after the morning skate. 'The first group of guys that would play would play (Call of Duty) with me before they napped, then the second group would play with me after,' he said. Wedgewood's constant availability extended to on-ice situations as well. With Vasilevskiy sitting out some morning skate drills because of how much he was playing, Wedgewood was always happily ready to enter the net when the starter wanted a break. 'No one wants the third goalie to be moody and annoyed to be taking shots,' he said. Advertisement He regularly stayed late at skates throughout the playoffs too, helping the other scratches — including Stamkos, who was working to return from a lower-body injury while in the bubble — get extra work. In total, the Lightning stayed in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles for a total of 65 days. Wedgewood said he was on the ice for all but three of them. Annunen similarly recalled his Avalanche teammates in 2022 using him to practice whatever they wanted after skates, whether breakaway practice, one timers or rebound games. As Maurice puts it, 'That's a lot of pucks, man.' The types of shots faced are also different. Whereas skaters might steer clear of shooting high when the starter is in the net, or a coach saves certain drills for when he leaves the ice, no such restrictions exist for the No. 3. 'I step on the ice, and there's a five-on-three or five-on-four power play set, and you've got Stamkos, Hedman, (Nikita) Kucherov teeing up,' Wedgewood said. 'You're not going to put any goalie other than me in that situation in case something goes (wrong).' In rare cases, No. 3s get called into action beyond just backing up. Injuries forced the Canucks to play three goalies in the 2024 playoffs, with the Penguins (2022), Avalanche (2020) and Canadiens (2014) among the others to do so in recent postseasons. The first postseason it happened was in 1928, when the Rangers had to use Patrick and then, with permission from the league, Joe Miller from the New York Americans, a fellow NHL club. Only one Cup winner since 1938, though, needed to use a No. 3 in the postseason: the 2016 Penguins. Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury were both hurt to start the playoffs that year, so Jeff Zatkoff played the first two games of the first round, going 1-1 with a .908 save percentage. The Penguins recognized his efforts: He got his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. Pittsburgh fans made their appreciation clear, too. Late in Zatkoff's first playoff start, the only postseason win of his NHL career, he was serenaded with chants of his name: recognition of both the rarity of the situation and the importance of his performance. 'Definitely sent chills through me a little bit,' he told reporters then. For seven seconds last June, Maurice and Spencer Knight held the Stanley Cup together. The Panthers coach whispered a thank you into the No. 3 goalie's ear, then bowed over the trophy, almost as if in prayer. He had been behind NHL benches for nearly three decades and was now an undisputed champion. Advertisement On the other side of the trophy, Knight wondered whether he had achieved the same honor. 'People say I won the Cup,' Knight said later that summer. 'I think I just say I witnessed the team up close win the Cup.' When it comes to sharing in glory, No. 3 goalies on a championship team are put in inarguably odd positions. Each contributed in small ways despite, aside from Zatkoff and a few others in the 1920s and 1930s, not actually playing in the postseason. Some — including Knight, Wedgewood and Husso — couldn't even fall back on the validation of appearing in a regular-season game during the championship season. Do they truly feel like champions? 'I picture the ocean: You can be above the water for some categories and under the water for others,' Wedgewood said. 'That's kind of how it feels at certain times.' Annunen, who was traded to Nashville by Colorado, ironically for Wedgewood, said it felt amazing to lift the Stanley Cup. He later received a championship ring, presented at a private dinner for Avalanche players, and Colorado played him a 'welcome back' video on the jumbotron when he returned to Denver as a member of the Predators, ending with a picture of him holding the Stanley Cup. Reflecting on the experience, he thinks of his 2022 teammates, such as longtime veterans Jack Johnson and Erik Johnson, and can't imagine how they must have felt hoisting the trophy for the first time. 'You feel like you are part of the group, but it's a little different,' he said. 'I don't know how to explain it. Of course, if I would have been around more or played more it would feel even (more) different, for sure.' Last summer, Knight got a customary day with the Stanley Cup, but his name wasn't engraved on the outer ring with the other Panthers. Including Quick, four Vegas goalies — the three who dressed in the playoffs, plus Logan Thompson, who led the team in regular-season starts before injury derailed his season — got their names on the Cup in 2023. But Annunen and Christopher Gibson, the Lightning's No. 3 in 2021, did not. Neither did Wedgewood, though he remembers Alex Killorn and some teammates messaging the group text that his name deserved to make the cut. The gesture touched the goalie, who still got to participate in the parade and received a ring and a miniature Cup trophy. Advertisement Perhaps aided by how much time he spent with the Lightning in the bubbles, Wedgewood still views himself as part of the team. He never dressed for a game in the 2020 playoffs, save for an exhibition against the Panthers before the round robin to determine seeding, and spent most of the regular season in the AHL, never appearing in a game for the Lightning. But he compares lifting the Cup to hitting a hole-in-one in golf: The way the ball goes in, whether off a perfect shot or off a ricochet off a tree, doesn't really matter. Still, he knows his role wasn't the exact same as those who actually played. 'Does the reunion come up in 10 years? Am I invited? I don't know,' he said. 'That'll be something up to them to decide.' Wedgewood got plenty of validation in the moment. The night the Lightning won the championship, they left the rink and sat together in their team meal room in the hotel, sipping beers and reminiscing while passing the Cup around. While there, Frantz Jean, the goalie coach, made a point to walk over to Wedgewood. He had tears in his eyes as he thanked the goalie for all the work he'd done. His role, glamorless though it might have been, was appreciated.
