Hockeyy Insiderr, An Anonymous NHL Source, Is Nothing But a Fraud

The Procedure

The first step was finding his email, which was quite simple. I remember reading several tweets last year in which he included his email, so I used a program to scour through his timeline, searching for the word “email.”

Within seconds, I had the information I needed, and sent him this inviting note:

"I’m the editor of Golden Gate Sports, a Bay Area sports site. Just heard from a source in the Sharks organization about a potential trade going down relatively soon…you want to hear it?"

Before I go any further, I would like to point out that I have no connections whatsoever in the Sharks organization. I have no sources, and definitely no inside information on trade rumors at all. Everything I sent to Hockeyy Insiderr was a blatant lie.

The next morning, I got the reply I was waiting for from the “insider”:

"Sure, what do you have?"

This was the crucial point in my scheme. Not only did I have to completely fabricate a trade rumor, but I also had to make sure that I sounded like I knew what I was talking about and that I had done this before.

February 2, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Ryane Clowe (29) warms up before the game against the Nashville Predators at HP Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

I decided to go with something involving Sharks forward Ryane Clowe, who has been involved in trade rumors in the past few weeks. Among the teams interested in Clowe reportedly are the Canadiens and Bruins.

I flipped a coin and went with Clowe close to being dealt to Boston.

Now, what would the Sharks be getting in exchange?

I searched up “Ryane Clowe Boston” on Google to see if anyone had put any rumors out there. Lo and behold, an ESPNBoston report indicated that the Sharks were asking for a prospect and a first round pick in exchange for Clowe, but the Bruins thought that was too high of an asking price.

So I needed to add a twist to make it sound like the Bruins had backed down. I thought about it for a few minutes, then replied back to “Hockeyy Insiderr” with the bogus trade report:

"The Sharks and Bruins are close to working out a deal that would send Ryane Clowe to Boston for a second round pick and a prospect. It was reported earlier this week that the Sharks were asking for a first rounder plus a prospect. My source tells me the Bruins are willing to part with one of their defensemen in the minors."

I can’t even name a single prospect in the Bruins organization, let alone a minor league defenseman that they would be willing to trade.

I did have a moment of guilt before I pressed “send,” because I knew I was completely making things up and that went against journalistic integrity. However, I knew that this was all just fun and games (for me, at least), and I really had nothing to lose in sending it.

I sent the email at 11:19 on Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2013. Now, sit back and enjoy the following timeline of events that unfolded…