The Penguins made a controversial trade this offseason.
The move I'm talking about, is of course trading Andrew W.K.'s "Party Hard" for House of Pain's "Jump Around" as the goal song.
Some fans prefer the old song, some prefer the new song. Some fans think it was time to move on from "Party Hard," but aren't crazy about the new song, either. Other people just don't care.
If you ask some of the guys in the Penguins' locker room, they're happy with the change of song.
"The one before was kind of weird," Teddy Blueger said. "It's not that I didn't like it, but I probably like this one a bit better."
"I like ('Jump Around'), this one is great actually." Dominik Simon said. When I asked if he liked it better than the old one, he said he thinks he does.
Zach Aston-Reese said he didn't realize the Penguins even changed the song. He said 'Party Hard' "wasn't the best, wasn't the worst."
With all the goal song talk, I was reminded of something the Charlotte Checkers (AHL affiliate of the Hurricanes) began doing last season and are continuing to do this year, which is allowing players to pick their own personal goal songs, sort of like how baseball players have personal walkup songs.
The Checkers players have some pretty interesting picks for goal songs. Former Penguin Brian Gibbons is going with the John Cena theme. Forward Julien Gauthier is using "It's Raining Men." Defenseman Cavan Fitzgerald went with "Tequila." Swedish defenseman Fredrik Claesson is going with a real crowd favorite, the Swedish anthem.
The Checkers aren't the first team to try individual goal songs, either. The Canucks used individual goal songs in 2016. The Lightning use a team goal song, except for when Tyler Johnson scores. He gets Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode."
Naturally, I had to ask some of the Penguins players what they would choose as their goal song, which is apparently an incredibly difficult question.
One of the first guys I asked was Adam Johnson, who was stumped.
"You put me on the spot here," Johnson laughed. "I just listen to chill oldies, so none of my music is really a very good goal song. I've got nothing off the top of my head."
Johnson's next-door-neighbor in the locker room, Jared McCann, heard Johnson struggling and interjected.
"My first year in Vancouver we had individual goal songs," McCann said. "I didn't pick mine, someone picked 'Tsunami' for me. It was the worst goal song I've ever heard in my life."
You can hear "Tsunami" after this McCann goal in Vancouver and decide for yourself:
Most guys had trouble narrowing it down to one.
"Oooooh, which one would I pick, that's a good one," Simon wondered aloud. "I have a couple of favorites, jeez. I would go AC/DC for pregame, but for a goal song? There's too many good songs."
"That's such a tough question," John Marino laughed when I asked him. "A good goal song? Something rock and roll, something like that."
"It'd have to be something with kind of a catchy chorus," Blueger said.
Juuso Riikola couldn't think of a good song, saying he likes "every kind" of music. I asked if he'd go with something Finnish.
"Uhhhhh ... no," he laughed.
Only a few players were able to come up with actual songs on the spot.
"I don't know what it's called, but you know darts?" Dominik Kahun said. "There's always the big tournaments, the World Championship. When they hit the 180, there's a song. That's probably it."
This song "Chase the Sun," appears in a few darts videos in several different years on YouTube, so I'm pretty sure this is the song Kahun was thinking of:
Joseph Blandisi went with 'Shots' by LMFAO, which makes sense, because, you know, shots:
Sam Lafferty went with "Kickstart My Heart" by Motley Crue:
I told a few of the European players about the Swedish Checkers player going with the Swedish anthem, and asked if they wouldn't go with their own country's anthem.
"No, I probably wouldn't do an anthem," Blueger laughed.
"Oh, that's nice," Simon said. "That might be the play."
Some players liked the concept of individual goal songs.
"I feel like that could bring a little more attention each time you score," Marino said. "You kind of know who scored without even having to look. It's an interesting idea."
"It sounds fun, it sounds pretty cool actually," Simon said. "To hear your song if you score? It's an idea."
"If the team decides all together that they pick one, I think it's good," Kahun said.
Others weren't that crazy about the idea, with the general consensus being that being united as a team in that regard is better than using the moment after a goal is scored to show some individualism.
I figured it was only fair to ask goalie Tristan Jarry for his thoughts, since he's scored a goal before for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
"It's something you don't really think of in hockey," Jarry said. "It's such a team sport. It's something where when the team scores, you always hear the same thing. It's like, every other team knows when you score."
"I don't like the idea," Lafferty said. "I like in baseball how guys have walkup songs, but that's different."
"I think if I had it my way it would be the whole team having the same song," Adam Johnson said. "I'm not big into the new music so I don't have many ideas."
"I think you should have one as a team," Blandisi said without hesitation. "You shouldn't be able to tell who scored, it's one goal."
So, don't expect the Penguins to go with individual songs anytime soon.
