The saga of Jiri Hudler and his missing shoes

Jiri Hudler, an all-important leader (and, some would argue – namely us – father) of the Calgary Flames, has brought a lot of light into our lives. He had a career season, became a 30-goal scorer, and mentored Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan all the while. Would the Flames have made the playoffs without him? Almost certainly not.

Most recently, he won the Lady Byng, and helped save what was a pretty terrible NHL Awards show by coming up to recite his speech… without shoes.

“Vegas, what a city.” Jiri Hudler is on stage and is not wearing shoes. pic.twitter.com/CLPCGEjtvB

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 25, 2015

Hudler is not wearing any shoes, and because he's a gentleman who just won the Lady Byng, he was sure to apologize (as well as perform some standup. And to his credit, he's actually legitimately hilarious).

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3FGMjjePV_c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

He's very sorry, especially because he's not setting a good example for those who look up to him and are watching.

George where’s your shoes…

— Sean Monahan (@Monahan20) June 25, 2015

Or maybe it's better not to wear shoes? Either way, there are no shoes to be found on Hudler's feet.

Jiri Hudler bought suit when he got to Vegas. Shoes were “too stiff” so he’s down to #Flames red socks pic.twitter.com/4PZCKqM5Tz

— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) June 25, 2015

Just some nifty socks.

Hudler. Still no shoes. pic.twitter.com/YjJVmYA5G7

— Dean Molberg (@fan960boomer) June 25, 2015

And everyone found it awesome.

Devan Dubnyk on Jiri Hudler: “He wasn’t wearing shoes. That was the best thing I’ve ever seen.”

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 25, 2015

Give that man the Hart, right now. Hudler stole the show by being, by far, the most entertaining part of the night, and when you can unite everyone to actually like something that happened in the NHL Awards, you've done something incredibly special.

Jiri Hudler update: Still no shoes, and digging @RealKyper‘s vibe. pic.twitter.com/GmftB18onf

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 25, 2015

He may never wear shoes again.

Which begs the question: where did they go? WE KNOW HE ARRIVED WEARING THEM.

Showtime! #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/dcGbVe55cc

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) June 24, 2015

Look at those things! They look nice! And shiny! And they match everyone else's! Are they just sitting under his chair still? On the stage, abandoned? Did he give them away to a lucky fan? Did he take Johnny Hockey's lead and decide to set them on fire to honour his team?

We may never know. Judging by Hudler's state, he probably has no idea where they ended up.

Maybe one day we'll see them on eBay, but until then, Jiri Hudler has no shoes, and everyone loves him, rightfully so.

by Ari Yanover