This Windsor man has seen games at every NHL arena
Johnnie Nantais, 78, completed his journey in Utah last November
A Windsor man has checked every NHL arena off his bucket list.
Johnnie Nantais says his journey began after an OHL player billeted with him — and it's taken decades to complete.
There are 32 teams in the NHL, and he's now seen every single one of them play on their home ice. However, he's been to 41 NHL arenas in total, with some teams moving into new facilities or other franchises switching cities.
From Montreal, home to the largest arena in Canada, to the raucous energy of Las Vegas — he's been there.
Nantais says he was born with his love for hockey. He grew up in the Ottawa area, and later moved to Windsor.
His first game was back in the late 1970s in Washington, when he was in the city for a conference.
The 78-year-old and his wife got the bug for travelling to more NHL arenas after they billeted Windsor Spitfire Claude Loiselle in the early 1980s. Loiselle eventually made the jump to the NHL, playing for five teams in the league. The Nantaises would follow him around to various east coast road games.
Later in life, Nantais bought a motor home, which made it easier for longer road trips.
You have to be careful for hockey because it's wintertime," he told CBC Radio's Windsor Morning host Amy Dodge.
His granddaughter made him a sign that said he'd been to every NHL arena.
"They put it on the screen and everybody clapped hands in the arena. [It] felt good. I got goosebumps. Makes it worthwhile."
Nantais collected pins from every arena. While in Edmonton, he says they weren't selling any pins at the time, so an usher who overheard him ended up giving him hers.
As for his next bucket list, Nantais says he wants to live to 100.