The New York Rangers’ Martin Biron surrounds himself with chickens. Which is not to say that the Blueshirts’ goaltender dresses alongside a bunch of players afraid to drop the gloves, but rather that he literally lives with fowl (watch below).
Atypical of your New York City pro athlete — whom you picture in expensive slippers ordering fancy room-service omelets scrambled with the finest of imported eggs and not farming his own — Biron lives north of Manhattan in a house with two dogs, three children and four chickens.
We know this because of the National Hockey League Players’ Association initiative to arm a handful of hockey stars with PlayBooks, encouraging to them film their off-ice lives.
The Rangers’ netminder/poultry-minder has embraced the project.
“The fans are absolutely going to love it,” Biron told the Canadian Press. “It’s good to see the everyday life, where the players are.”
The series has given fans a glimpse into the day-to-day of Biron, a 14-year vet now serving as a backup to one of the steadiest starting goaltenders in the NHL, Henrik Lundqvist. Even though he’s only played 18 games this seasons behind that ice-time hog Lundqvist, Biron (2.25 GAA, .909 SV%) has posted 11 wins and two shutouts in relief.
The 34-year-old Quebecker from Lac-Saint-Charles, is one of only four NHL players to suit up for all three franchises based in the state of New York.
Because he lives outside of the city, the team puts Biron and the other commuting Rangers — “there’s not a lot of us,” Biron says — up in a hotel when they play consecutive home games.
That way, he appreciates the clucking even more when he returns home.
Martin Biron lives with four chickens
Martin Biron’s drive to work
What’s the coolest thing about living in New York?