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Normally, seeing one of your team's best players on TMZ would be cause for concern. In this case, it turns out the story is a happy one, albeit very unexpected and a little surreal.
A few months ago, we read that Mike Bossy's 50-in-50 puck, the one he scored the historic goal with in 1981 against the Quebec Nordiques, was being auctioned off on ebay by some guy despite Bossy asking for its return. In 1988, Bossy's daughter mistakenly gave the puck to the ebay guy as a gift and he sat on it for decades. He claimed he wanted to give it back in a face-to-face meeting with Bossy, but the Hall of Famer wasn't interested. Eventually, the guy decided he wanted to make some dough off of the puck and Bossy decided he wanted it back.
Fast Forward to current day Las Vegas, where casino magnate, former Sacramento Kings owner and all around crazy rich guy Gavin Maloof became Mike Bossy's least likely linemate. Maloof heard about the auction, won it and is giving it back to its rightful owner, according to TMZ:
"I said, 'We need to get this puck. It means a lot to Mr. Bossy,'" Maloof tells TMZ Sports.
"50 goals in 50 games. Only a handful of people have ever done that. I needed to buy this puck. I don't care how much it costs."
Long story short ... Maloof sealed the deal for just under $7,000 and immediately got on the horn to get in touch with Bossy so he could give it back.
"We invited Bossy to Las Vegas, put him up in the Bellagio and are taking him out tonight for a nice steak dinner."
Maloof also showed Bossy a model of the hockey rink that's being built in Vegas to house the team that Maloof and Bill Foley are inching closer to bringing into existence.
The whole story sounds a little like a lost episode of Entourage, and probably one series mainstays and Islanders fans Kevin Connolly and Doug Ellin are kicking themselves over because they didn't think of it first. Expect to see it retold with less humor and more nudity in the inevitably upcoming feature film, Entourage 2: Vincent Chase and the Turtle of Doom.