Tottenham Hotspur found themselves at the centre of an unlikely hockey story this week after a since-deleted post on the club's official X account appeared to show something unexpected involving Boston Bruins captain David Pastrnak.
The post detailed midfielder Xavi Simons' time "on the recovery trail" in Boston, where he visited the Bruins' training facility. According to the post, Simons "exchanged jerseys with captain David Pastrnak and linked up with Celtics star Jayson Tatum." A photo accompanying the post showed Pastrnak holding a traditional black Bruins sweater with the team's spoked-B crest, but notably without the captain's "C" on the front. The jersey appeared to carry Simons' No. 7 rather than Pastrnak's usual No. 88.
Shortly after going up, the post vanished from Tottenham's account, with no explanation from either the club or Simons. A separate article on Tottenham's official site, linked in the original post, instead referred to Pastrnak simply as a "Boston Bruins ice hockey legend," recapping his career achievements and a prior visit he made to the club with the Bruins back in 2023.
The oddity of the missing "C" was enough to fuel speculation, especially given Pastrnak wore an alternate captain's "A" — not the full captaincy — during Tuesday's exhibition game against the Flyers.
Asked about it, Pastrnak brushed off the intrigue. "I had a couple of texts," he said. "You know, it's a football team, so I don't think you guys should worry about the football team. It was great to have Xavi around and meet up with him."
