LAS VEGAS — It is 8:41 a.m. on Monday when Seth Jarvis walks down the hall of the 22nd floor of the Waldorf Astoria, four minutes early. He is clad in a casual oatmeal suit — think bomber instead of suit jacket — and a black tee, picked out by his stylist.
The Carolna Hurricanes forward is headed for room 2211, the first stop on a nonstop tour that will take him until nearly 4:30 p.m., leaving him tongue-tied and tired and, after which, the admittedly big fan of the midday snooze will walk off an elevator saying, “I’m going to take a nap now,” though he will not, in reality, get to do so.
But that is far in the distance, as Jarvis enters the bustling room, filled with nearly 30 people for his first appointment of the NHL/NHLPA North American Player Media Tour, the whirlwind of media and rightsholder appointments put on by the NHL annually. He and New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal are pulled over to an open laptop by Ritesh Gupta, the director of what will be this season’s answer to the “Tipping” ad from the 2024-25 campaign.
Gupta explains the concept, a send-up of the phenomenon that “Love Island” has become, the idea of people coming together to group-watch episodes of reality TV.
“The more you play into it, it just makes the joke funnier,” Gupta explains.
Jarvis is led over to the main shooting area, a couch with white fabric hanging in place of where the TV will eventually be. He is told to lean forward, to repeat the line, “Same, love the drama.”
“Give me the biggest version you think I’ll never use,” he is told. Then, a moment later, “One more, a little less.”