Matthew Knies remembers the elevator doors sliding open.

The Toronto Maple Leafs winger and now-former teammate Mitch Marner made room for a small group of fans as they all headed down to the hotel lobby.

A youngster walked up to Knies and, without uttering a word, latched onto the big forward.

“The dad’s like, ‘Oh, he’s a hugger,'” Knies recalled with a grin. “From that game on, me and Mitch would pretend to hug each other and say, ‘Oh, he’s a hugger.'”

And with that brief interaction, a hallway ritual was born.

NHL players are often creatures of habit and routine. Some have lucky suits. Some have lucky routes they take to the rink. Others have to pull on their equipment a certain way at a specific time.

Those moments, however, are largely for the individual.

Hallway rituals — hand

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