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Kevin Weekes explains reason behind his hilarious trade-breaking videos

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
|
Mar 24 2022, 8:37 pm
Kevin Weekes explains reason behind his hilarious trade-breaking videos
Kevin Weekes

For the last two weeks, hockey insider Kevin Weekes has been at the forefront of NHL trade discussions.

But it’s not necessarily the magnitude of the trades that has caught people’s eye: it’s how Weekes has been breaking them.

Working for NHL Network as well as ESPN, Weekes has posted trade news via social media video from a whole whack of locations: in front of a bamboo wall at the spa, on the side of the highway, in a hotel room closet, and perhaps most notoriously, with a recycling bin placed on his head.

For Weekes, it’s all about having a bit of fun with his job.

“I wanted to do something that was authentic,” Weekes said in an interview with Daily Hive about the videos. “It’s about the players, and our amazing fans and elevating our sport to a place that it deserves to be. So this is just another way of doing that.”

Weekes, who retired from the NHL in 2009 after an 11-season career, first posted a selfie-video on March 14 about the trade that sent defenceman Josh Manson to the Anaheim Ducks.

For him, the idea to post the first video came out as “really spontaneous.”

“I’d just come off the air,” Weekes explained. “I’m in the parking lot. I’m behind the truck.Ā  So, what am I going to do? Race back in there and run into the studio and upset the show that was going on that was in progress? No. So, I was like, ‘Okay, well, let me get this out.'”

Weekes said that the response to his video taken while he was at the spa of the Robert Hagg trade to Florida on Sunday helped him think about new creative possibilities with the format.

“That’s when I noticed that people were starting to have fun with them and they’re enjoying them,” Weekes said.

With the NHL trade deadline happening this past Monday, Weekes’ new bit was in full swing.

“From then on, it was just where I got the information, when I got the information once I’ve vetted and how creative I could be in that location,” Weekes added. “Information just comes to you at different times.”

Weekes said the 20-plus videos have picked up “north of 10 million impressions” on Twitter.

“Ultimately it’s about amplifying our sport. I’m always about amplifying the game and bringing the game to the next level,” he said. “When you earn the right as a player and now as a broadcaster to be able to influence… that is something that I take seriously, but I have a lot of fun with at the same time.”

For many fans, getting the Weekes video after a trade has already become a ritual, with many memes and jokes spawning off each new location.

Even though the NHL’s deadline passed Monday, Weekes broke a new trade last night, with the Leafs sending AHL defender Brendan Menell to Philadelphia.

“Business never sleeps,” Weekes said. “It’s a 24/7 thing… It’s not always juicy, but there’s always stuff happening.”

As for how long he’ll keep up the video format, Weekes said he’s looking to “continue bringing fans content bringing the behind the scenes and being as creative as possible.”

“Let’s put it this way. It’s not a one-and-done.”

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