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The Chris Johnston Show. Let's go. Your number one destination for a behind the scenes look at the game of hockey. Is this thing on? Here's NHL Insider Chris Johnston and host Julian McKenzie.

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See? Congratulations. You and your great troupe at TSN correctly predicted the entire Team Canada lineup for the Four Nations Cup. How does it feel to get everything right?

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I wish we could always be that right. But in that case, it was not predictions. Obviously, we spent a lot of time working on our contacts there and we were able to go 23 for 23. So not that I was necessarily surprised, but you never know, because in this case, it's not as though Hockey Canada just emailed over the list to us or we're done. We need the team's GM shared it. So we had to go through the back door, but we found our way to the right list in the end.

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For For sure. And it gives us ample opportunity to dissect and discuss this roster. We'll try to touch off on all four of the rosters unveiled for the Four Nations Face-off in February. We should start with Team Canada. Should I just speed run through the names? Sam Reinhardt, Conor McDavid, Mitch Marner, Brad Marshawn, Sydney Crosby, Nathan McKinnon, Brandon Hagle, Braden Point, Mark Stone, Seth Jarvis, Anthony Cirelli, Travis Connectny. Jeez, going through all the names is pretty exhausting. Devante, Kael Mccard, Jordan Binnington, Aiden Hill, Alex Matreangelos, Shay Theodore, Travis Anheim, Josh Morris, Sam Banet, Colton Pareco, Sam Montombo. I'll be a little bit better for the other rosters, but that is the names for Team Canada. Your initial thoughts.

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Seth Jarvis is probably the name that jumps off the page the most to me just because he wasn't someone you would have saw on a lot of the mock rosters that were done. I know I did that exercise a couple of times. Just shows you what I know. I'm not sure how seriously I considered him, to be honest. And it's no knock on Seth Jarvis. But basically anyone who makes this roster, in this case, you've got Julian Breesba, Jim Nill, Kyle Dubas assisting in Scott Salmon assisting Don Sweeney and Doug Armstrong. You're going to obviously have a lot of different names to choose from. And the truth is, we would do this exercise no matter who they chose, there's always an extra, the next three or four players that didn't get chosen. So in Jarvis' case, pretty interesting. He was a cut at the World Junior team. Mike Sunheim, the Carolina Huracan's PR person, put out that tweet that in 2022, he was Canada's last cut at the World Junior tournament, and he's the only player. No players on that tournament are part of team Canada. So it shows that he is a little bit of an unlikely selection, but 22 years old and obviously off to basically a point per game start for Carolina.

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I missed a little bit of time this season with an injury, But he's a future-looking pick, I would say, heading into a world where we have a 2026 Olympic tournament, a 2028 World Cup, a 2030 Olympic tournament. Who knows what else internationally. Perhaps we'll one day look back and say, yeah, why was anyone even talking about Seth Jarvis? He's a mainstay on Team Canada. He's had all the success there. So he jumped out. And it looks to me with their blue line, they opted to go a little bit more for experience versus some younger options like an Evan Bouchard or Noah Dobson, where they were comfortable up front to maybe mix in some youth versus the veterans. Because someone like Seth Jarvis at age 22 has chosen over John Tavares, who's 34. Mark Shifley, who's a little bit older. I think that there's forward-looking at the front of the roster, but on the blue line, obviously, they're mindful of players who've been there before can handle it. And so you see someone like Colton Pareco get in. Josh Morris, even almost 30 years old. You have a more experienced blue line. And then obviously, Patrangilo, who has been at the Sochi Olympics in 2016 with Team Canada.

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They went for guys who've been there, done that, because I think The way Team Canada looks at this, and we've kicked her on the goaltending already, so we don't have to dissect. I think everyone's aware of where Canadian goaltending is at, and that it just not as... It doesn't feel like a sure thing as it's ever been. But Team Canada plans on playing nearly perfect in front of its goal tenders. The idea is that Canada is not going to rely on any goalie to steal them games. And so the idea then is that they don't make big defensive mistakes, that they're a predictable team, that they play to a certain system. And so I think that's why you saw Travis Sandheim, obviously, who's worked his way into this team, and he's definitely on the younger end of things. But beyond that, I think they've gone for what they feel is a little more safe on the blue line. And lots of players there that played big games that have won Stanley Cups. Five of the seven D have won a Stanley Cup right off the top. So I think that's how they landed there. And so it's an interesting roster.

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Be curious to see now what John Cooper does with it and his coaching staff in terms of lining everybody up, because there's not really time to mix and match, right? I mean, basically, for anyone who isn't familiar, the way the tournament works is each of the four teams plays the other three. So you play three games, and then the top two teams by points play a winner-take-all final. So at best, Team Canada is going to get four games together. At worst, it's going to get three games together. I think it's going to have about one practice before the tournament starts. So there's not a lot of time to fiddle. Basically, they're going to line it up, and what you see is what you get. Obviously, maybe some in-game adjustments, but not much time for mixing and matching.

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Is there anyone who's not on this team you would have liked to have seen in? I know you mentioned some of the guys admitted, but John Taveras and Mark Shifley are near the top of the list for me, and a lot of people are ringing over. Colton Pareco being included when a guy like Mckenzie Wigour could have been considered. Noah Dobson, you mentioned earlier. Evan Bouchard in Edmonton also could have been considered for that. I understand the thinking of having a safer look on defense. You make an excellent point with that, but a lot of talent excluded from this year's list.

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Yeah, but I think that some of that's unfair to Colton Pareco, to be honest. I mean, he's big. He's a great defender. And I'm not saying... Like any of the players you mentioned, if they had made this team, I wouldn't have blinked. I wouldn't be sitting here going, how could they put Dobson on this team? I mean, that guy had 70 points last year for the Islanders as a defenseman. Bouchard, we saw record-setting playoffs in Edmonton. I think that those players will still have their day for Team Canada. I really do believe that they'll be members of future Team Canada. But I don't understand that maybe the hand wringing over the Pareco pick. I mean, he's just been there, done that, and I think will be a sturdy option for them. To me, the next choice, quite honestly, is likely Drew Dautie. If If they encounter an injury on the blue line, I think Drew Dauti is going to find his way on this team over even the guys you mentioned. Now, that's assuming a couple of things. Drew Dauti hasn't played since October. It's assuming he gets back. He has a healthy return to the Kings lineup before the the Four Nations tournament starts on February 12, that he looks in any normal shape.

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I think in that case, he's probably next man up on the blue line, just for a lot of the reasons I mentioned. I mean, that guy, there's nothing Drew Tau, he hasn't seen in a hockey game, right? And he's He played in Vancouver and Sochi. He was at the World Cup. He's won two Stanley Cups in LA. He's someone that they know they can get in a big game and they can rely on him to make the right decisions on the ice. So I think he's probably next man up on the blue line if there's an injury at forward. And that's one thing we didn't really get into yet is this is the roster as of the start of December. It's very likely all four rosters are going to see some changes, unfortunately. I mean, I don't want to sit here and predict injuries, but it's two months of hockey. I mean, just the likelihood of all these teams remaining intact is very low. I think if Canada or when Canada encounters a forward injury, it'll probably depend on what player is injured, what I mean? What specific need they're filling. But I think John Tavares will be probably their next man up.

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Again, if it's a scoring winger, they lose, probably not going to be John Tavares. It's the next man up. But I think he's certainly among the mix of players that I think are on standby here that got a phone call saying, hey, you didn't quite make the team, but you're right there. And we'd like you to remain ready for February if you'd still like to come. John's had a great start to this I don't think there's really, honestly, anything more he could have done. He went to the World Championship. He was the captain, one of their best players at that tournament, and then had a turn back the clock season so far in Toronto. If you look at Tavares' defensive metrics, even He's scoring at roughly a point per game, filled in as the top line center when Austin Matthews missed a huge chunk of time in November. I think he put his best foot forward here. It's just they got to make that call about going to someone younger, someone older. And I guess maybe even just thinking what elements that player fills. I think specifically with the players at the bottom of the forward group and defensive group, they're looking at guys who can play both sides, right?

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That's Travis Sanheim. He's a left shot who primarily plays on the right side. It was probably part of the case Mckenzie Wiger had. I know that that's a skill set he has, that he can comfortably play in both sides. Because the other factor of the tournament is you have 7D. You could have one injured in game one, and And so to have someone who's maybe a little lower down the depth chart, but that can fill in is very valuable. And I think that that goes for Jarvis could play the wing on this team, has played some center at times, right shot player, could kill penalties for them. So I think they were really looking for different elements there. But I've got Tavares as the next man up. I'm previewing a story that has yet to appear at the Athletic, Julian, but I'm doing every team's next man up at each position. And to spoil my story ahead of time, if you speed listen to this before you've read it, I've got Tavares and Daudi at the front, and then I've got Logan Thompson and goal, I think. Probably a toss up between him and Joey DeCord.

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The whole Joey DeCord thing's funny. Can you get into that, please?

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Because that is very much a discussion topic worth getting into with Joey DeCord.

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Yeah, well, I mean, he's having a tremendous season in Seattle. Had a great season last year in Seattle as well, earned a big contract extension. And he is from the Austin area, but the son of a father who grew up in Montreal and a mother who lived in Switzerland, who was born and raised in Switzerland. And he's never played internationally. I mean, the way it works in the double IHF, and I might get the It goes a little bit wrong, but this is the high level. You have to hold citizenship of a country and you have to have played professionally in that country over two seasons to be able to play for that country internationally. This is to avoid, for example, someone becoming a citizen of a country but not actually living or playing there. This gets around that because you have to have lived and played there. Well, Joey DeCord played for the Ottawa senators, and so he has Canadian citizenship through his father, doesn't He's not in a passport at this point in time, but he played in Canada, professionally. And so he's eligible to represent Canada, professionally. Switzerland actually got in touch with him before last year's World Championship to see if he'd be interested in representing them.

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He's not eligible because he hasn't lived or played in Switzerland for two years. But if he lived or played in Switzerland for two years, somewhere down the line, he could still represent Switzerland. And of course, he can represent the US as a US-born player. And so two things to consider. First of all, no matter who he played for in this tournament, if he did, he could still play at the Olympics or the World Championships, because this isn't a double IHF tournament, it's just an NHL event. And so down the road, he will maybe have a decision to make when it comes to a World Championship or something like that. But It sounds like he was open to playing for Canada. I think Canada did its due diligence. And I do think that Canada is open to bringing him if he gets a passport here between now and February and they encounter an injury. Obviously, he wasn't among the three goalies named to this point. So Joy to Cord remains an interesting in the background. But in talking to some people around that know him and that have worked with him, they say that the bigger the game, the bigger he plays, that he's really a rise to the occasion type of goalie.

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And so there's still a world, even though he wasn't named, where Joey DeCord from the Boston area ends up representing Team Canada at this tournament. I mean, it would count on someone else getting an injury. It would count on him being willing to do it, which does seem like there's some indication he would be, but that would be an unusual one. Typically, you're used to maybe Canadians with dual citizenship playing somewhere else. It's not so much that when you're a secondary, we'll call it Canadian citizenship, and I'm not trying to demean his citizenship, but he obviously wasn't born and raised in Canada, that you end up finding your way to the national team.

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Yeah, I think that's a really fascinating story. So I appreciate the context there. Anything else you want to mention about Team Canada before I look at some of the other teams?

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No, I'm just curious to see what they do. I'm wondering if John Cooper, and he's not going to tip his hand just yet, if he goes with the old Nova Scotia line and you get the Marshan Crosby, and maybe Nathan McKinnon on the wing. That's pretty intriguing because if you do that, you have a few different options for who you play with with McDavid. I would think Mitch Marner probably ends up with McDavid if he does what I said with the first three players. On the left side, maybe Sam Reinhardt. I mean, it's fun. It's almost like fantasy hockey, like trying to build these lines and things. I can't even imagine what it's like to do it for real. Even picking the rosters, right? The players that have been left off this team are like, some of them are going to the Hall of Fame. Obviously, some pretty acclaimed guys, guys that if you're Don Sweeney or Jim Nill or Kyle Dubas, it's guys that you would want on your NHL team in a second for the most part. And yet they've got to sit there and pick apart their games and find not necessarily weaknesses, but identify how it all fits together and all that.

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So anyway, what an exercise. And it's cool that it's got here. And now, as I say, we just wait with pated breath to see the injury replacements, because I do think that is only a matter of time, not just for Canada, but all the teams.

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Absolutely. Team USA, we got to get to those guys. Stacked at forward with the K'Chuck brothers, Austin Matthews, Jack Hughes being there, Quinn Hughes at the back-end, Charlie McAvoy, Adam Fox, and the goal-tending, obviously. Connor Halebuck, Jake Oettinger, Jeremy Swaiman. So many different names. I'm not going to go through all of them. I think it was exhausting the first time with Team Canada. But I mean, on paper, Team USA looks like the team to beat at this tournament. What do you think of this team?

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For sure. I mean, the beauty is the game isn't played on paper, but they're going to be touted as the favorite setting in this tournament, and it's deservedly so. I don't think it's hyperbably. I don't think it's anyone pushing a narrative top to bottom. I just think they're the most solid team. Where you have an argument, probably in a Canada versus US scenario is any team that has McDavid, McKinnon, and Mekar as its engine, from the high end, can they really be considered not the favorite? Because I would still put that up against, say, the top three or four US players on paper. Again, not demeaning those players in any way. We're talking about literally the best of the best. But I think Canada's core guys are stronger or have a whatever. They're more elite. They're more... What's the best word? But from top to bottom, the US is stronger. And obviously, the goal-tending thing is not insignificant in that the US has three goalies that at some point in their career could win a Vesna. I think it's fair. I don't think that- You're the one that won already. Right. But I mean, the other two could win a Vesna.

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It's certainly they're at the stage of their career Yeah, I'm not talking about Hellebach, but the Oetinger and Swayman are both younger goalies that could reach that level themselves. Canada has got two guys that won Stanley Cups in Aiden Hill and Jordan Binnington. Samuel Montembeau won the World Hockey Championship in 2023 gold medal with Team Canada. So they've got winners, but I don't know that they have players that you're going to say in a given year are the best in the NHL at their position. So what a stacked team. They made some interesting choices. Like Canada, there's just too many good players. There's not enough roster spots for all the good players. But leaving Tate Thompson and Cole Caulfield in particular at home, at the expense of Chris Kreider, who's getting a little long in the tooth, obviously a great goal score, someone who can play around the net on the power play. Certainly, I can understand why they wrestled with that and landed where they did. It's not a criticism, but that's a big decision because Thompson and Caulfield are both having much better seasons right now when you're just talking about current form and their younger players potentially more upside.

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But maybe don't bring the full elements of the game that Team USA was looking for. Vincent Trochek has had a tough season in New York as well. We've talked about the Rangers a lot on the pod. It's just been a tough year there, but he gets the nod. Brock Nelson. They went with some, I guess, What I would call veteran character, maybe a little bit of grit, but just they went with experience in some of their final forward roster decisions over a bit more glitz and glam. I mean, Cole Caulfield has just been filling the net since the season started right up there among the lead leaders and goals. Thompson's a big, big man, and he's had a pretty good year in Buffalo, too. Those were among the interesting choices. I think next man in is going to be Thompson up front on defense. I've got Jake Sanderson. Tough, tough year for him. I mean, look, Zack Wrenske was on the bubble of this team, and he's maybe the Norris Trophy favorite right now. I mean, he's had a tremendous year in Columbus. And so the way he started the season gave him the edge at the bottom end of the decisions on the blue line.

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John Carlson had a good start in Washington. The Caps, interestingly enough, I believe, are one of two teams that don't have a player at all in this tournament. Given how strong their season is, they've been such a good story in a lot of ways. Tom Wilson, Logan Thompson left off from the Canadian roster. Obviously, Alex Ovechkin isn't eligible to play being a Russian. I'm just looking at their top players. And Carlson has had a good year in the blue line. Misses out on the US. But I think Sanderson probably would be the next guy up if they had, if they get an injury on the blue line ahead of the tournament. But hard to find any faults with that team. I'll say this, with the top to bottom.

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Yeah, Sanderson, I think if he continued the momentum he had at the beginning of the season, definitely would have been in a situation where he'd be among those defensemen there. But yeah, I think just the fact that it's partners, it hasn't been the same with him all year. Just some of that. His statistics just falling off. Just making the case for Sanderson here. But yeah, that explains why he's in next man up territory.

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I look at him like Bouchard and Dobson, honestly. I think it's the same type of thing. We I would expect all of those players to represent their countries. It could even be at next year's Olympics. Honestly, it could be that soon. But even if not then in this window now where international hockey is coming back, I think those guys are... The fact they were so close now and didn't quite make it isn't necessarily a bad thing. I mean, I'm sure there's some disappointment for them as individuals, but it says how close they're going to be and how important they're going to be as these teams evolve over the coming years.

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Did you mention who the next man up would be for goaltending for Team USA?

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I did not. And I'm going with Anthony Stollars, who's really... If you look at the numbers among American goalies, he had an argument. He doesn't have the pedigree of the other guys, perhaps, but he had an argument that he's among the best three goalies for sure, American-born goalies this year, this season. He had a great season last year. And I think, again, depends on which goalie goes down, maybe. But he'd be an ideal number three, I think, in a tournament like this, because if If you had to go to him, I think you'd be comfortable. But he'd also probably be happy to have the experience and just have a chance to go along for the ride. So I think he'll be the next man up in the net for the US.

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Okay. Anything else about the up? Anything else you want to mention about Team USA? Actually, one thing I want to mention, JT Miller being on that team, does that mean anything in terms of when he'll actually be available for the Vancouver Knucks in the foreseeable future? We know he's been out for personal reasons.

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I think all it means is It's a reflection that they're comfortable that he's going to return in the relatively near future, and that by the time we get to February, this break will be forgotten about, if that makes sense, that he will be playing hockey regularly again at that point in time. But I know that they've been in touch with JT Miller's people around him before making that decision. I don't think there was much debate based on his play. He would be a guy I would have called a shoe in for this roster, just talking about what he can bring as a player and the performance he's had the last couple of seasons. Everyone was comfortable with them naming him now. And look, if that changes, it's no different than an injured player that they could still replace him right up until the first day of the tournament. So let's hope for JT's sake, that won't be necessary, but certainly sounds like we're going to see him back in a Knux uniform pretty quickly here.

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Okay, let's get to Team Sweden. Some pretty familiar suspects here. William Nylander is there, Philip Forsberg, Elias Petterson, Jesper Brott, Mika Zbinajad, Victor Headman on the back, Rasmus Dahlien is there, Jonas Prodine, Erik Carlson, Lena Salmar, Jacob Markstrom, among the goal tenders on this team. Rasmus Anderson is there, too. What do you make of Team Sweden?

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Well, with their most, I guess we'll call it, roster fringe decisions around the edge, they've done what some of the other teams have done. They've gone a little more veteran than with leaving off players like William Ekeland or Fabian Zetterland, who are Both actually off to really good starts in San Jose, and I think would probably be in the mix. But they're guys in their early 20s versus, say, Victor Arvidson, who essentially is the 13th forward for this team. Victor is out injured now. He's missed time earlier in the season at Edmonton. I think he's probably a little bit of a surprising choice. Even Gus Nyquist, who had a great season last year in Nashville, but he's into his 30s. I think they've gone with experience there rather than bringing along some of the younger players. And it was funny. I was on the conference call with Sam Hallam, their coach, and Joseph Boumiedin, their general manager. And a lot of the questions were like, why didn't you pick this guy? Even they got a direct question, Hampus Lindhol left off their blue line, why didn't you pick Hampus Lindhol? Yeah, he's injured, but so is Jonas Brodine, and you pick Brodeen.

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So it's not only in Canada and the US, where the decision makers get their feet held to the fire a little bit. So for Sweden, I think that they've got to... It's funny. Everyone's going to call Finland the underdog. I think there's an argument there. I think there's an argument that the thing is Sweden's blue line is pretty damn good. It's hard to get around that fact. And obviously, I think that they are comfortable with where they're at in net. But between Sweden and Finland, the Finns don't sleep on them. When they've got Rant and Barcov. They have some high-end firepower, whereas Sweden's got Mika Zbinajad, but he's, again, another player from the Rangers. It's had a tough year. I mean, William Neillander's pop for them. Jesper Bratz having a great season. So they'll be the main offensive drivers, I would think. But I think there's a debate there between the Swedish and Finnish rosters about which is actually stronger.

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Who's next man up, you think, for Sweden? I'm I'm wondering if Michael Backland gets considered. You mentioned the veterans on this team. I think Sweden could benefit from a guy who I think is one of the most underappreciated defensive centers in this league in Michael Backlen. I think he would be my next man up. I'm not just saying that as a Calgary guy. I'm just saying that as someone who's actually gotten to see him play.

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Wait, are you a Calgary guy or are you a Montreal guy or are you an Ottawa guy? We don't know.

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No one knows.

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We don't know what to associate you with.

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No one knows at this point now. I've been in too many cities.

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My point What is I would never accuse you of being a Calgary guy, although I know you have much love for that city and enjoyed your time there. Yes, sir. Yeah, I think Backland... I actually haven't written the story yet. I had Backland on my list, but I was also looking at one of those younger guys from San Jose. Maybe you've convinced me to do Backland. Here's the thing. Neither of those would be a bad choice. I do think that's the real list. I think the list is Zetterland, William Ekeland, or Backland. That's the next three men up some order on forward for this team. Again, probably the same thing I put on the Canadian team. Whoever gets injured, whatever player it is, might dictate which direction they go. On the blue line, I'm going to go with Hampus Lindhome, and And maybe Adam Larson in Seattle, because Lindhome, I just don't know his injury situation exactly when he would get back. And then in goal, it's going to be Samuel Eursen, the flyer's goal. He's actually had pretty nice season, a little under the radar. But Philadelphia He's knocking around that playoff spot again.

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Second straight year, they're flirting with the line. And he's a young goalie who's had a pretty good performance this season. So that's what I'm thinking for them.

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Let's get to Finland. Miko Rantinen is there. Barkoff is there. Sebasha Naha is there. Patrick Laine is there. Patrick Laine returned to the Canadian lineup this week, scored in his Montreal Canadian debut. And after all that, he gets to be on Team Finland for the Four Nations Cup. And then on defense, guys like Miro Heiskanen, Essa Lindell, Ali Mata is there, Hussle Vallimaki is there, and then your goal tenders, Yussi Sarras, Ukopeca Lukinen, and Kevin Lankinen is there. One other name we should mention for the backline for the defense, Yanni Hakenpa. He's played like what? Two games of the Toronto Maple Heels this year. We've talked about his knee issues. Can we focus on Yanni and Patrick Laine? Why are those two guys with the injuries that they've dealt with? Why are they still on this roster?

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I'm glad you asked because I put that exact question to Yuri Letton, the Finnish GM, yesterday. Two things I'll point out before we get into it. There has been 45 players of Finnish descent that have played in the NHL this year. So if 23-man roster, do the math, basically more than half the players that are finished in the NHL this year got a roster spot. So they had the smallest pool of players to draw from. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, I think, because they have high-end players, as I've mentioned already. The goal-tending with UC Sarros leading the way, pretty damn strong. And their defense, well, maybe not... Miro Heiskanen is an elite player in the league. But beyond that, maybe it's a little bit more They're anonymous, but every one of those players, 6-2 and above, pretty strong in terms of their fundamentals and the way they play. I think that this team could set up really nicely to play the role of spoiler or whatever you want to call it. With Line A, it's my understanding he was not going to make the team earlier this fall, especially when he first went down with that knee injury.

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There was some thought he might not play until January. And when you couple that with the fact that he missed so much time last season, he's played just the one game in calendar year 2024, one meaningful game. He did play a preseason game as well. But ultimately, when the decision makers looked at the factors, they obviously were in touch with Line A. Personally, to see where he was at, he comes back sooner than expected. And I think that they're just worried that they don't have quite enough scoring. They talk about the need to have a good power play. And obviously with his shot, that's a world-class shot. Very few in the world can match him with that. And then what a great story. They'd already named him on Monday, but he plays Tuesday and scores that goal against the Islanders in his return and got a great pop at the Bell Center from the Canadian fans. Just wrapped a big hug around him, it seems like. I think he's an interesting player. And one thing you're letting said to me, their GM, was just that they feel with that two months is a long time for him to get back up and running.

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And they just feel they needed him, but he probably wasn't going to be there. Had he not worked so hard to get back this soon, I think that this is very possible they would have passed him up for this team. With Yoni Haukempa, I think two things work in his favor. He's played a lot in playoffs. He's... Some of the things I would say about Colton Pareto transfer over. He's got a hugely experienced guy, very big man, 6'7. He's played a lot with Essa Lindell, who is already a member of the team. They were teammates in Dallas. And they've been in contact with him. And it sounds like it's basically give them assurances that he thinks he can play. And so, Hock and Pah situation is weird because we've talked a lot about it, but he's got this knee issue. And my understanding is, it's not going get better. They're not waiting for something to heal. It's really about him managing the issue, doing what he can to play through it, essentially. And he's only managed to play those two games. You're right, in the NHL for the Leaps this year, also had a conditioning in the American Hockey League.

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But they feel in two months time, he's going to be ready. And Letnan said, we're going to have a lot of skill coming at us. He's one of the Ds we trust to play against the best players in the world. And so they're not just bringing him. He's not their seventh guy in their mind. They're bringing him as a matchup defenseman. And so I think that's intriguing. We'll see what happens. They have the same, I guess they have the same out, we'll call it. If Hakenpa is unable to go, then they can call someone else up. But you're right. I was surprised to see his name there just because they have Henry Yokeyharu in Buffalo, who's been a regular member of that team. They passed up guys playing regular in the league right now for one who's in and out of the Leifs lineup and mostly out so far.

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Okay. Give me your very early prediction for the Four Nations Cup between Canada, Finland, US, and Sweden. Who's winning?

[00:32:12]

Here's one thing I'll say before we put this to bed. The one thing I don't know about is I don't know how much the players are going to care. And I'm not saying they won't care because obviously, these are proud guys. We know how much excitement some of the young stars in the league get to finally play in best on best or some version of it. But But are we going to get into it and is it going to be full throttle? It's just hard to know. Is Matthew K'Chuck going to line up and throw a big hit on Sam Reinhardt? Sorry, I'm just alluding to Panthers' teammates.

[00:32:48]

That's a good point, though.

[00:32:49]

I don't know because it's in season and it's so few games. So it's really hard for me to predict who's going to win. I think it's going to be chaotic. I want to pick Finland, honestly.

[00:33:03]

No. I think that- No, no, no, no, no, is not a small thing.

[00:33:17]

And I think the Finns are very comfortable playing together. There's four members of the Panthers, for example, on that team. As I mentioned, you got Lindell who can play with Hakenbach potentially. I just think there's a lot of synergy built in, and I think that I could see them shock in the world. But...

[00:33:36]

Wow. Okay. I like it.

[00:33:38]

I'm going to go with Finland, and I'm not trying to be controversial. I actually just think only one or maybe two practices before you play, not a lot of time. And again, I don't really know. I just don't know what hockey we're going to see. It's certainly not going to be on the level of the Olympics in a year's time. I'm predicting chaos, and I'm predicting Finland. Dylan.

[00:34:01]

The only thing I'll say to your first point about how full throttle these guys would be in that type of tournament in midseason, how many times have you thought that same concern for when those players play at the Olympics? But is it just that it It's because it's the Olympics, it's a much different final? It's because it's the Olympics. That's your right.

[00:34:18]

You're playing for your country. Sorry, I know you're playing for your country here, but you're at the Olympics. These guys are in the athlete's village, around the other athletes. There's something about being at Olympics. It's the best drug in the world that's legal and doesn't hurt you. And you're playing for gold medal, too. That represents something, right? I don't even know what the trophy for this tournament looks like. And I'm not picking on that. I'm not edged out on this tournament. Look, I'm going to cover it. I'm excited about it. But I'm just saying we can't pretend it's the same thing. It would be disingenuous for us to sit here and say it's the same thing. I'm working on a story with Dan Robinson, actually, about how this term came to be And I spoke with Roman Yosey this week, and he was part of Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup. And he was saying what a great time it was. And it's a good memory for him. But he's like, we really didn't know what we were playing for. He said it was still just weird In that case, he meant he wasn't paying for the Swiss national team.

[00:35:19]

He was playing for the guys in the room, I guess. But he said it was strange. And so I think that even though anyone who pulls on a Team USA sweater or the the three crowns of Sweden or the Canadian mapleleaf. Obviously, there's pride in your country. And I think being selected for a team like this is a huge honor. But I just... I don't know. I'm not saying it's going to suck. I just don't know. I'm fully admitting, are we going to see them go to war, go to battle? Is it going to be crazy or is it going to be just a glorified All-Star game? I don't know.

[00:35:55]

We'll have to wait until February to find out, and we will definitely around that time, revisit your very early prediction for the Four Nations face-off. Love the pick.

[00:36:05]

Absolutely love the pick. I'll say this, the Saturday of that tournament week, and I should know the date, it's like the 15th, maybe, or 16th, whatever, February. That's the rivalry day. I think we will figure it out because each team will have played a game by then, and that's the second game for each team. But in that case, the second game is Sweden versus Finland in the afternoon Eastern Time, and then Canada US at night on Saturday, double header, and the rivalry double headers. And I think that's the day where we'll learn for sure truly how much everybody cares or maybe isn't fully invested in the outcome.

[00:36:37]

I like that.

[00:36:38]

Because you will have a feeling out game. I'm just going to say the first games will be weird in general. It's not because the But then I just think we get into those rivalry games and obviously one team will have won a game and one team will have lost a game. And it'll just be... I think that that's what we'll learn if this thing really is... Was it worth doing or not?

[00:36:58]

Man, I feel like we're going to sleep on Canada here. I think the US is going to win. You've got a lot of love for Finland. Sweden also just hanging in the background, just chilling. Not a lot of love for them. Now I'm really excited for this tournament. I really want to see what's going to happen now. You got me really excited for the Four Nations Face Off speech.

[00:37:16]

There you go. My job here is done because I am legit excited. It's not fake anything. Honestly, this has given me life this season, even just covering this, the decision making. It's been nice. Obviously, We should talk with the NHL a little bit, too. But it's been a nice sideline because I feel like it's been far too long since we've seen anything like this. I mean, eight plus years is crazy. Jacob Markstrom was asked about it on the conference call yesterday, because because he was at the 2016 World Cup. He's like, Man, I was a young kid then, basically. It's been so long. He can barely... He just said it was cool to be there, but he almost doesn't remember it. And so I'm pretty pumped to see it, but I'm going in and fully understanding understanding that there is a chance the buy-in isn't as crazy as what we're going to... I have no doubt. Put it this way, we will not be having this conversation a year from now heading into the Olympics. I have no doubt that will be no holds barred. Because the chance to represent your country on that stage is just...

[00:38:18]

I mean, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity for most people.

[00:38:21]

100 %. This is actually a good way to segue into the NHL, speaking of the league that we both cover a lot, more so you than me in certain respects. But anyway, no one's counting. No one's competing with that. Really interesting out of New York with the Islander, specifically. Patrick Johnston, out of the Vancouver province, no relation. Putting out a report seeming to suggest that Lou Lamorello's days, very curious about how long they'll last as GM of the New York Islanders. Not that great of a start for their season so far. What are you hearing out of the Island?

[00:38:56]

Well, I think it's obviously a time of a little bit of turmoil there. They made the coaching change last year with Patrick Ouaha. Let's call it as it is, Lou Lamorello is 82 years old. So he was not going to work forever. Not that I'm pushing him out of a job. I'm just saying it's a pretty remarkable achievement even to have done, met the demands of that job as long as he has. And they're locked into some difficult contracts and they're not performing Coming up to the path to them becoming, getting back to where they were even a few years ago when they went to those back to back Eastern Conference finals just seems a little rocky, right? And they have some big decisions. They have Kyle Palmmary and and Brock Nelson, the after mentioned, both as pending UFA's. Both players that I would say with a team typically in their shoes would be starting to think about moving on from at the head of the trade deadline to turn things over. Now, We know the Islanders and Lula and Raul specifically do things on their own beat. And so I'm certainly I have no intel yet at this point that either those players will be available, but I certainly think it's a possibility.

[00:40:11]

And so, yeah, I think where the Islanders are at is they have They're at a point, inflection point, where they need to decide what the next steps for the organization are, the best path forward. And that probably includes some succession planning. I think that that's the best way to put it. Certainly, this talk has been out there a little bit, even before just now, when it comes to Lawn Rivel's future. That's the best way I can put it. They got to make some decisions, and I don't think those decisions have been made just yet.

[00:40:43]

Okay. I'll say this, though. Brock Nelson, Carl Paul-Merry, those guys would look pretty good on some contending teams right now. Maybe closer to the deadline, but you know what I mean.

[00:40:52]

Nelson, in particular, I think if they make him available, will be in huge demand just because he's very versatile. The League. He can play truly. You could slot in as even your second-line center, I think, on a good team. He can play the wing. He scored pretty consistently. Big guy, strong guy. I think he's the player that teams gearing up for a long playoff run would look at and go and salivate about, not to mention, even all the good teams in this league, they all seem to feel like they're down a center. You know what I mean? They all seem to think that they have three and a half centers or something. Just the idea that he could at least potentially be that, or even if you don't use them as that initially, but he could play the wing, I think that teams will be tripping over themselves to try to get him if he becomes available. But still a little premature to dive into that too deeply. But I'm just saying, if you're out there and you're cheering for a team that needs a forward, good chance he'll be interested in Brock Nelson, should he be available.

[00:41:50]

Okay. We need to do another once over in the infirmary before we get to stick taps. Not to make light of injuries, but it's just we keep talking about player injuries throughout this point of the season. Two guys coming to mind this week, Tyler Sagan in Dallas out long term, and Trevor Zegris picking up a weird leg injury yesterday for the Anaheim Ducks. What are you hearing out of both of those players.

[00:42:16]

Well, the say again situation is really unfortunate. He's had hip issues in the past, and it's a possibility his season's done, depending on how his recovery goes and depending on how long the stars play. I don't think that he's likely to return in the regular season. I suppose you never say never, but it's possible as Dallas Star's career ends this way. And so that's a difficult spot for him, difficult for the team. He's actually been playing well to start this year, the fact he's been sidelined now does give them, I think, a chance to use his cap space, especially once we get into the new year. I don't sense this isn't going to be, we need to make a trade next week to replace place this player. The stars are a deep team, and I think that they can withstand this in the short term, but they'll be out there on the market. I don't want to match make. We just talked about Brock Nelson. I think that he could be someone that there would be a fit in Dallas Again, not just in Dallas, lots of places when we get into the trade market.

[00:43:19]

And so the stars, obviously disappointed to learn that. And I think that you're going to see them position themselves to be buyers maybe earlier in the new year than they They might have. They might not wait right until the deadline because of this injury. But they need that trade market to take shape a little bit more before they're making any big decisions. As for Zegra, it's just a strange play. Got tied up with William Carlson, I guess. He got clipped on the back of his left skate. You just have to see the clip once to understand that did not look good. He went down in a very unnatural way, immediately waving for the bench. He's going to have an MRI on Thursday that I think will determine the extent of his injuries, probably knee type of issue looked like. And there's a whole range of possibilities. It didn't look good. You just hope that maybe it was a feeling thing and to get better than expected returns on that MRI. It does happen from time to time. Even Linea, for example, at one point, I think there was a concern he could be gone months and months and months.

[00:44:22]

It wasn't a small injury, but he ended up missing, what, two months, essentially, two plus. And so for Zegris, we just will wait the results of those tests. But again, he's another player, he's had bad luck. He had the ankle injury last year, missed a bunch of time for Anaheim, and just hasn't been able to get up and going again. And unfortunately, he's facing another setback here, and it might be a significant one depending on the results of that imaging.

[00:44:48]

Okay. And before we get out of here, your stick tapped for this week.

[00:44:53]

I'm going to take the obvious and go with Patrick Laine. It was really cool to see him score that goal. For someone that that's his bread and butter, that's what he does. I can only imagine the feeling he had after his long road back. And really neat to notice the way the Canadian fans have gravitated towards him, even when he was introduced, remember, on opening night, wearing that purple suit. But he got a huge pop in those introductions. Same when he scored in here. I think he can help the Canadians. I know the team has been really pleased with how hard he's worked, his attitude, everything. For a guy fighting his way back for his career from a lot of different things and faced share setbacks, that was a pretty cool moment. So I'll give you the stick tap, Patrick.

[00:45:39]

I like that one. I have two stick taps, actually. I'll give one to the Calgary Flames for their work in the presentation for the game they had earlier this week between the Flames and the Blue Jackets. Obviously, both teams coming together to commemorate the life of Johnny Goudreau. Both teams coming on the wearing Johnny Goudreau jerseys, the ceremonial face off, both teams joining together. At the end of the game, the Flames win that game. Johnny Goudreau is named the first star. Hard to not get emotional just watching that night. We know there's been different points over the last few months where both teams and other people around the league, around the hockey world, around the sporting world, have done their part to pay tribute to Johnny Goudreau. But I just thought what was done the other night in Calgary was really special. And I think the Flames in particular, deserve a lot of praise for how they handled that. So that's the first TikTok top I want to give. And the second one I want to give is to everyone who is tagging us on social media for their Spotify raps.

[00:46:42]

The raps.

[00:46:43]

The raps, they're out there. Thank you to everyone who has listened to our show this year, whether we're first in terms of your top podcast, listened to second, third, fourth, or fifth. Or we're just right around where the Steve Dangle podcast is. We We appreciate you guys listening to us. So we just wanted to shout you guys out and say thank you. We really appreciate you guys tapping in to our show every week.

[00:47:10]

We were first on James Myrtle's Wrapped. I don't know if you noticed that. That's amazing.

[00:47:14]

I did notice that. That's amazing. Jd Bunk has seemed to be a little upset. No, I'm kidding.

[00:47:19]

He wasn't upset. Jd was where he should be. He's lucky he's in the five.

[00:47:26]

Jd could take it because JD talks a lot of shit. Jd will take that. That's fine.

[00:47:30]

And I go way back with JD. I don't mind if he hears this.

[00:47:32]

I don't mind if he hears that either. Jd is good people.

[00:47:35]

Let's clip this and put it on social. It'll get a lot of love.

[00:47:38]

Oh, yeah, for sure. Jd will love that for sure. Shout out to him. Shout out to everybody who got some love from the Spotify wrap. And again, shout out to everyone who listened or watched our show in 2024. The countdown to 300 episodes is on, and we are done for this week. We'll be back early next week. Were you going to say something, Sejj? No. I feel like you were just about to say something.

[00:47:59]

Good job, buddy. Good job. Have a good weekend. You, too.

[00:48:02]

Get your questions in now. Subscribe to the podcast. Peace.

[00:48:05]

The Chris Johnston Show. Follow Chris on Twitter @reporterchris, and follow Julian at JKA McKenzie.

[00:48:13]

The Chris Johnston Show..