NHL Lockout: 'Days of Our Lives' Rerun Replaces Thanksgiving Showdown

By Emma Harger
A photo from last year’s Thanksgiving Showdown. Bob DeChiara-US PRESSWIRE

As Thanksgiving winds down, at least here on the East Coast, it’s worth taking a little time out from celebrating to note how the NHL lockout has affected today and tomorrow.

Last Thanksgiving, there was a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade advertising the inaugural Thanksgiving Showdown the next day. I distinctly remember the presence of Boston Bruins president Cam Neely since the game featured the Bruins. This year, they used the same float, adorned with adorable hockey-playing kids, except the kids were not attired in NHL gear. The float also featured Canadian pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen, whose breakout “Call Me Maybe” is rather popular among hockey players. Who knows if she would’ve been there if the game were still on, although I can’t deny I’d love to see Bam Bam Cam share space with Jepsen.

I’ve also heard that NBC’s groundbreaking showing of the New England PatriotsNew York Jets game on Thanksgiving night was supposed to include some tie-ins to the Thanksgiving Showdown, which would make quite a lot of sense.

Of course, all that’s gone now, but that’s not the only thing that the lockout has affected with regards to NBC. The network now has to fill some time in the middle of the day tomorrow that would otherwise be occupied by the Bruins and the New York Rangers. So, out of the humongous archive of stuff the National Broadcasting Company could use, what do they choose?

An episode of “Days of Our Lives” from 1997.

No, this is not a joke. To prove it is not a joke, I took a picture of the DirecTV guide for tomorrow at 1 p.m. with the full listing for the episode to show that it’s a throwback from a time when Bill Clinton was president:

Seriously.

Local affiliates do have some say in scheduling things, but this little replacement appears to be nationwide.

Considering the nationally-televised Winter Classic has also been axed, who knows what NBC will pull out of its bag of tricks to replace that? Maybe it will be a soap opera episode from the 1980s, back before some of the players in the NHL were even born.

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