Skip to content

Canadiens' Smith-Pelly on smile tweet: 'Obviously I didn't want (the Ducks) to win'

Eric Bolte / Reuters

A smile can go a long way.

In Devante Smith-Pelly's case, it may have gone too far.

The Montreal Canadiens forward tweeted a smile after the Anaheim Ducks fell behind 5-2 against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final on Saturday, which created quite the uproar on his Twitter account.

Smith-Pelly, who was traded from the Ducks to the Canadiens, spoke with Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette about the incident on Sunday.

"I didn't think it was a big deal," Smith-Pelly said. "I didn't think people would be that upset about it, but that's the way Twitter goes, I guess."

The forward said the tweet was all in good fun, while also admitting that he didn't want his former team to win.

"I tweeted that literally right after the game went to 5-2. I figured it was over, so I just put out a little smiley face and that was it," said Smith-Pelly. "I mean, obviously I didn't want (the Ducks) to win. I thought at the time it would be pretty funny. I didn't think people would think it was serious. They were pretty upset.

"I talk to a bunch of (Ducks) guys all the time. I have a lot of close, lifelong friends on that team. But I don't want them to win. I think that's human nature or whatever you want to call it. I love those guys. They're awesome. I want them to do well, but not this year. No."

Smith-Pelly said he doesn't plan to take the tweet down.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox