Hockey Puck Shatters Photographer's Lens During NHL Game

A photographer’s lens “shattered into about 1,000 pieces” during an NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning this week.

Denny Simmons tells The Tennessean, the publication he was working for, that he was positioned along the glass using a purpose-built hole for photographers. The camera-friendly hole means photographers can shoot unhindered by any extra glass. It is unlikely that the puck makes it through the hole, just large enough for a professional camera lens, but as Simmons found out, it absolutely can.

Last night, our photographer was shooting rinkside at one of the camera holes at Bridgestone Arena…

… here’s what happens when a puck obliterates a camera lens. pic.twitter.com/oW9g5erqkD

— Alex Daugherty (@AlexDaugherty1) October 29, 2025

The culprit appears to be one of Nashville’s defensemen, Justin Barron, who struck Simmons’ lens as he was clearing the puck. The puck appears to have stayed in play; perhaps it bounced off the lens. Some of the players are seen appealing for the referee’s whistle, since if the puck strikes anything other than the boards or glass then play should be stopped, but in this case, it wasn’t. The incident happens about 10 seconds in the footage below.

Btw I believe I found the moment his lens was shattered. Justin Barron was the culprit.

Also Tampa scored a few seconds later, how crazy pic.twitter.com/leOEhukEMP

— Alex Daugherty (@AlexDaugherty1) October 29, 2025

As well as losing his camera lens, which appears to be a Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 (PetaPixel attempted to reach out to Simmons), the photographer also got a small cut on his nose, which required a bandage. The incident happened toward the end of the second period, and Simmons was bravely straight back out for the third.

“I’m a lot better off than my poor lens,” Simmons adds.

Unfortunately, smashed lenses can be an occupational hazard for sports photographers. In 2023, Jim Rassol’s $12,000 Sony 400mm f/2.8 lens was struck directly by an errant ball while covering an MLB game. The ball hit at 104 miles per hour.

That was a very expensive foul ball! pic.twitter.com/cj22RFY789

— FanDuel Sports Network Florida & Sun (@FanDuelSN_FL) June 24, 2023

But kind-hearted people led a crowdfunding campaign to have his lens replaced, which Sony answered and restored his broken gear without charging Rassol anything.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.