Analyzing the 2024-25 player playlist

What are your thoughts on the players’ tunes?

Preseason hockey is underway, and the puck drop on the 2024-25 regular season is just around the corner.

With some of the best hockey players in the world hitting the ice night in and night out, they often have to get into a zone few of us mere mortals know anything about. That zone can be entered with the help of some pregame tunes.

On Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins dropped their 2024-25 player playlist, highlighting what the players are listening to in the locker room or on the plane.

Note that this review is not all-encompassing and I will be providing hot takes for some.

I am notoriously anti-country as a music genre. My apologies to the players and anyone who sees this who likes the genre. And that’s like almost half of this playlist, so that’s great.

Right off the bat, Sidney Crosby, the notorious bowl of raisin bran he is, going with the bland “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” fits the player like a glove. Love ya, Sid. Hate the song.

Kris Letang picking Cyndi Lauper’s all-time hit “Time After Time” is surprising to see. I did not expect the grizzled veteran Letang to go with a pop/soft rock love song.

Michael Bunting gets some local brownie points for going with Pittsburgh legend Mac Miller’s “Best Day Ever.” The same can be said for Ryan Shea going with Mac’s 2018 retrospective on his life, “2009.”

Ryan Graves going with RHCP was something I did not expect. I jive with it, personally.

Tristan Broz going back to the 1960s with the Beach Boys is great. Broz, 21, picking a song that came out over 35 years before he was even born is something of a shock. But the Beach Boys transcends generations, so I won’t critique it too harshly, especially as a Beatles fan.

“Johnny B. Goode” goes back even further than the Beach Boys. That opening riff is so good, so iconic. Rock is not dead. My personal bias is showing. Oh, well.

Also, I have to say as an ending note the Penguins’ goal song, “Party Hard” by Andrew W.K. is a certified banger and goes hand-in-hand whenever they score a home goal. It does not need to be changed, especially after that short-lived “Jump Around” phase. Yuck.

My review could easily ignite a firestorm in the comments. So, let me know why my takes are wrong, and which songs you prefer, down below.