leave Bedsy alone

I've thought about this a lot. There's really no rush on Will signing, and it's probably in his best interest financially to bet on himself & wait. He's poised to have a breakout year, and if he can stay healthy I have very little doubt it's coming this season.

But there are a few reasons I think he might extend soon. One is to just quiet the noise. There's not as many eyes on him as Mack or Bedard or Fantilli, but once all three are signed he becomes the next talking point. It might be too distracting to have that hanging over his head, the constant questions from Sheng & company about when he'll sign.

Another is pressure from the Sharks. They're going to want him to commit there long term, to show that everyone is on the same page, that Will believes in them & they believe in him. (This is why I think he'll be offered a fair amount to sign now btw.)

The last reason is him & Mack wanting to be seen as a duo. If Mack signs & Will doesn't, the speculation about why could become deafening. I don't just mean in rpf circles, I mean all over social media & on every podcast.

(Side note, slightly rpf: I do think there's a world where they *both* wait. Mack recently said there's no rush, which is true. He's already proven himself, he'll already command top dollar, so there's no urgency from his perspective. If Will wants to wait, maybe Mack waits too. It wouldn't be the craziest move ever.)

As for Will staying on the 1st line, I'm just not worried about that at all. If Warso was willing to keep him there even through some struggles last season, I don't think he'll move him now. I only expect Will to get better and better.

I am so sick of opening tumblr and seeing willmack shippers. maybe this means that tumblr is not the place for me and if that’s the case so be it, but i just want to put this into perspective if i can.

speculating about relationships between people that you know in real life is weird. speculating about relationships between celebrities is weird. speculating about a relationship between two people who you don’t know and who, to the public’s knowledge and perception are straight is WEIRD. not to mention that while nhl athletes are 100% a part of the public eye, an athlete and an a-list celebrity could not be more different.

I understand that a lot of new hockey fans came from heated rivalry. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, however i want people to understand that there is so much stigma around queer people in the nhl that the chances of an openly nhl athlete existing at this time is unfortunately unlikely, even in 2026. Even events like pride night receive insane amounts of backlash. Not to say that this is by any means acceptable, but it is the reality for right now.

I also would like to enlighten those who don’t know that heated rivalry is based on the rivalry between sidney crosby and alex ovechkin (the very same mama sid) and while there is nothing wrong with this being a source of inspiration, it is so important that we separate fiction from real life.

going back to willmack, i want to compare their friendship with louis tomlinson and harry styles. i have no doubt in my mind that the willmack shippers who are also directioners believe in larry. if you don’t, you’ve just proven my point. regardless, by forcing these two people together as a couple who are simply not, you are creating a false and uncomfortable narrative between the two. this is because they are real people with real feelings thoughts and emotions (big shock i know) who aside from being friends are also coworkers. they’re fucking amazing as line mates and as teammates, and nobody wants to see this get messed up by dumb rumours on twitter, or by people psychoanalyzing every time they look at our touch each other on tumblr. If ever they were to come out or reveal a relationship, that’s insanely cool i agree. if not, i hope that one day our hockey league does get there. As a queer person i absolutely LOVE that this community is becoming more and more of a safe space, and i appreciate that heated rivalry has done so much for queer hockey fans. I have made friends and found community from this without a doubt. I just want everyone to remember that even though you may see it as fun and harmless, these are real people.

stay safe out there, have fun, and for gods sake get off the fucking internet i beg (yes im a hypocrite, do it anyway)

ps if you missed it im gay, get over yourself ! lets lift each other up instead perhaps😘

ALSO LEAVE MY BOY WSH ALONE ABT THE TRAINING THING JESUS CHRIST Y’ALL SOME OF YOU HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED OFF-SEASON AND IT SHOWS🥱

He’s walking around with those sticks in hand just to show that he is, in fact, training