John Scott's wife gives birth to twin girls
Danielle Scott was in stands when husband was named NHL All-Star Game MVP
The wife of 2016 NHL All-Star Game MVP John Scott, who was nine months pregnant when the Arizona Coyotes traded her husband to Montreal three weeks ago after fans voted him to play in the game, gave birth to twin girls on Friday in Michigan.
On Jan. 31, Danielle Scott and her two other girls saw John score twice and captain the Pacific Division to a 1-0 victory over their Atlantic counterparts at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Scott and his teammates received $90,000 US apiece, which will come in handy with four little girls to support.
The American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps, the team Scott joined after becoming a Canadien, gave Scott time off to be with his family.
The Canadiens posted a congratulatory message to the Scott family to their Twitter account.
Congratulations to John Scott and his wife Danielle on the birth of their twins, Estelle Vera and Sofia Leland. <a href="https://t.co/Y60kjp4EJa">pic.twitter.com/Y60kjp4EJa</a>
—@CanadiensMTLThe six-foot-eight forward with five goals in 285 NHL regular-season games quickly became a fan favourite after the trade.
In the days leading up to the three-on-three all-star tournament, Scott wrote in a first-person account posted by The Players' Tribune that he received a phone call from someone at the NHL offices who tried to talk the former NHL enforcer out of attending all-star weekend and asking, "Do you think this is something your kids would be proud of?"
At first, Scott wrote, he accepted the league's position that he didn't belong in the all-star game.
"They didn't mince words — this is not a game for you, John — but I understood all the same," Scott wrote. "Honestly, on some level, I agreed. In the beginning, at least, I just wanted the entire thing to go away.
"So when they asked me to make a statement, nudging the fan vote in another direction and denouncing the John Scott 'movement,' I did it without hesitation," he added.
"I told the fans, 'Listen. I don't deserve this. Vote for my teammates.' And I was telling the truth. But while I don't deserve to be an all-star, I also don't think I deserve to be treated like I've been by the league throughout this saga. I'm an NHL player — and, whatever my set of skills may be, that I'm an NHL player is no accident."
Once Scott arrived in Nashville, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman welcomed him to the festivities.
With files from The Associated Press