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I know that some in our audience know the finer points of hockey. The Chris Johnston Show. We are your friends. The biggest stories bringing you inside the game. What did you hear? The Chris Johnston Show. What is going on? Here's Chris with your host, Julian McKenzie.

Part of the game. Cj, let's talk about Elias Patterson. We saw reports over the weekend that the Knux were taking calls on him. People in Vancouver flicked out. There's been a lot of talk about Elias Petterson in his future, but it seems as if the winds are changing a little bit. There's been reports now that significant progress has been made on a contract extension for Elias What can you tell us about Elias Petterson, his contract situation, and the Vancouver Canucks?

Well, the biggest piece of progress is that he's willing to talk. Because until now, where all the speculation emanates from ultimately is just this feeling of uneasiness or the unknown because Elias Petterson didn't want to engage in contract discussions through the season. To be fair, and to his credit, he's been consistent about that since last summer and hasn't changed his position, at least until the last 48 hours here. But the Canucks, I think we're getting uneasy with that weight. Obviously, it leads to media and fan speculation, lots of noise in the marketplace. We heard Rick Tucket mention that he's a human being. It might be weighing on him. Where the biggest piece of progress has happened is as of Tuesday night and into Wednesday, Elias Petterson gave the green light to his agent to have a discussion with the Canucks and for them to engage on this extension. The reason that alone is the piece of progress here is that I think the Canucks are highly motivated to get them signed. They're well aware of what the market for a player like him is. There's no reason to think that with now some momentum going in the talks that they can't just run it across the finish line and basically take care of that big piece of business, which will secure a big chunk of the Canucks' future amid this great season the team's having.

Obviously, from ownership on down, the Canucks want to have as few distractions as possible, want to put this team in the best position that it can be to have success. They've had a bit of a bumpy ride here since the All-Star break, at least compared to where they were ahead of time. But I think they're still in great position to have a playoff run and chase what they're trying to chase. I think that the breakthrough was the fact that Petterson is willing to stay because until he indicated a willingness to talk, as much as he could say publicly, I want to be here, I think that there's at least a question, well, does he really want to be here? Is there an ulterior motive? That gets removed with his agents now at the bargaining table with the Knux. They're going to make him a very rich man, I think, here in the next little while, if they're able to find agreement on this contract.

Exactly how rich, CJ?

Well, I'll point you to the William Neelander situation, and it's the same and different in equal parts. William Neelander was going to be an unrestricted free agent on July first until the least sign them in January to his eleven and a half million extension over eight years. I think that that's a pretty good base starting point for where the Petterson contract is going to go. What's a little different in Elias Petterson situation. Why I think he was saying, Why do we need to rush through this? Is next year is a restricted free agent year. The Knux still own his rights for next year. He wasn't able to go to July first and just sign with any other team. He could sign an offer sheet, but of course, in that case, the Knux could match. But he didn't have the full UFA status. Those RFA years are valued differently when teams and agents hammer out these contracts. I think I'm pretty confident to say this contract is going to end up above the knee lander number. But how above might be restricted a little bit because it's not a pure UFA deal. If you say the seven years that are UFA years are valued at what?

12 million a year? Maybe next year is valued at 10 or 10 and a half. That's 94 million over an eight contract. I mean, 11:75, 11:08. Maybe he gets it to 12. I mean, certainly, I think if the player has a specific number he's dying to get, he could get it there because I do think he's got a lot of leverage in this situation. He's having a great season. Obviously, the Canucks have eager to get this thing done and get this big piece of business put to bed. So I think it ends up above Nylander, but maybe not as far as some out there have said, because I think they're overlooking the fact it's not a pure UFA deal.

One week away from the NHL Trade Deadline, do we expect any more business from Patrick Alvine?

I think it's possible, certainly. I mean, the Knucks were among the teams, I think, that were keeping tabs on Chris Tanev before he was traded to Dallas. I don't I think that they're in a position. There's been some reports linking them to Jake Gensel. It doesn't seem like there is locked in on upgrading one specific aspect of the roster. Keep in mind, they still got Phil Kessel skating in Abbottsford, and I believe he's likely to sign a contract with the team. So So they're certainly looking for every little bit that they can find improvement. I suppose that would be the answer from just about any team this time of year that's headed for the playoffs. But I think in Vancouver in particular, they really want to make sure that they're in the best position possible to have a long play off run. They've already made two reasonably significant trades, getting Zdora back in December and then the Elias Lindhome trade over the All-Star break. I don't know how active they'll be. Look, if they're able to get a new contract done with Petterson, That's probably business enough for that organization. I think that they'll be pretty pleased if that gets put to rest and put to bed now.

It gives them some longer term security, too, or at least clarity, maybe is the better way to put it. If they do sign and donate your deal, they just have a better idea of where their cap is going to be next year. In a lot of ways, teams like to get these things done as quick as possible, I think, with their best players, with their star players. Obviously, it ensures that you have the core of a good team in place, but I think it also allows you to make other decisions down the lineup and roster moving forward. The short answer is yes, I think that Knux will be kicking around all these players. What's interesting, and we could dive into this a little bit more, is the trademark The market itself hasn't really taken shape yet. I think teams like the Knux are smart to stay in the conversations just in case maybe some of the prices don't end up being as high as what we've seen in past years or what we're anticipating heading into March eighth. Maybe there's a way to add a good player, and you're not giving up quite the number of assets you would have thought.

I would say on the surface, that's what it looks like in Dallas for the Krishtana of acquisition. From the stars' perspective, not giving up a first-round pick. They gave up their second-round pick in 2024, but they're one of the better teams in the league. So that's a pick that's going to fall somewhere between what, 50 and 64, basically. They gave up a fourth-round pick to New Jersey in order to have the contract, the salary be reduced twice, and the prospect. It's really not a whole lot if you're on the Dallas side of it. I know we'll dig into this. I'm not being critical of the flames. I think there's another argument for why this is not a bad deal for the flames, but certainly where the market for a guy that It's been one or two on our trade boards all year long since they launched in November, it's really not a huge return. Maybe that's a sign that we won't see quite as many first rounders change hands at this deadline. I think there was 12 first rounders in the run up to last year's deadline. I'd be shocked if we saw that many change hands.

And so teams like the Knux or the Bruins, just top teams that maybe are a little worried about giving up too many assets or wondering about what they have left, might be able to swoop in here and get to some upgrades a little cheaper, Depending on the market goes. Still, as I say, it's not fully formed, even though we're within eight days now of the actual trade deadline. It's just not clear if the leverage is with the buyers or the sellers. On one hand, I'd say the buyers have a fair amount of leverage, but who knows? Maybe none of these teams on the bubble will end up selling the Seattle's, the Pittsburgh's. Maybe some of these other teams will just say, Hey, we're not selling, and then the prices go up. That's part of what we'll be watching closely here in these coming days.

Let's get into it because C. J. Was already alluding to the details of the Chris Tanev trade that sends him from Calgary to New Jersey, then Dallas. We'll focus more on the Calgary-Dallas portion of it. We know New Jersey will retain some salary as a part of this trade. But Chris Tanev going to Dallas with a 2024 second-round pick going to Calgary, as well as a conditional third in 2026, and left-handed defenseman, Artem... Well, not left-handed, left-shot defenseman, Artem Grishnikow, which a Craig Conroy, very much into this player, young prospect, a Dallas Star's draft pick. He's obviously at the center of this deal.

He is. He'll probably be the siding factor if we look back in 5 or 10 years and whether This was a good trade. Look, we have to brand Winners and Losers. We do trade grades in real-time. We'll have Winners and Losers on March ninth. I'm sure you'll see that at The Athletic and many other of our competitor sites, but it's really hard to know. I'd say on the surface, it is an overwhelming return because we know Craig Conway was in the marketplace looking for a first-round pick. Multiple teams were told by the flames that I'm aware of that they were going to need a first rounder in order to make a 10F deal, and ultimately, he makes a deal for a second rounder. Now, in addition to that, he's going to get this prospect. Certainly, I've never seen him play. I'm not Scott Wheeler, and I can't really comment too much on the specifics of whether that was a good decision or not. But if he becomes a player, you'll probably look favorably upon this return. If he doesn't, we'll probably look back and be like, Well, it could have been a little bit more, but the market didn't yield that.

I suppose there could be questions about whether the flame should have waited a little bit longer to pull the trigger. But one thing I've been consistent in saying all along is you can't be dealing with multiple big files on March eighth itself. With Noah Hanifin still there, with maybe some other decisions pending, there is an order of events where it's beneficial, I think, to basically move off player and then start fresh on the next file because obviously you're dealing with multiple teams, multiple different dynamics with each potential trade. I think that trade will be, I don't even want to say win or lost, but I think it'll be dictated how successful it was based on where the prospect ends up. That's where Craig Conrad has got to rely on his scouts and those that have been watching this player play for the Texas stars. He's in his first year of professional hockey. Obviously, the flames would have a book on him because he was only drafted in 2021 from amateur side as well. I think that's where it comes down to. It's so easy to say a team got a bunch of first rounders in a trade.

That's a home run. But quite often, if you go look back at what those trades become, I was looking at the Montreal trade to Florida with Ben Sherat, it ended up being the 31st overall pick, and that pick has only just been made. I don't know if it was a successful one for Montreal and a prospect that didn't really... It doesn't look like it's going to amount to much for the Canadian. On the surface, the Canadian has got more for Sherat, who It was an expiring contract, similar type of player maybe to Tanev a couple of years ago at the deadline. But I'm not sure the return ends up being all that much better, especially if Calgary gets a player out of it in this prospect. That's one way to look at it. I can see why maybe there's some people questioning the decision. But at a certain point, it's been no secret that Chris Tanev was available. Obviously, there's been a lot of discussions to get to this point, and Craig Conrad went with the best deal he felt he had. We should mention, though, the Toronto Maple Leaves probably could have made a better trade, maybe on paper.

But I just wonder if, in this case, the flames aren't too eager to deal with I don't know if there's maybe a little of a Brad Trey living tax placed on any player that the least might acquire from Calgary.

I've been wondering, and maybe this is just because of the fact that we're on separate coasts. I've been wondering if the Emerson oilers were interested, were that interested in flipping a first-round pick for Chris Tanev. It's not that clear to me at this moment right now, but could you imagine if Craig Conroy was... Do you imagine all these teams had shown interest in Chris Tanev, and the only team that's willing to give you a first-round pick is your provincial rival. What do you do in that situation? I wonder how many teams were actually willing to flip that first-round pick.

I don't know that Edmonton was going to go there with a first-round, right? My sense is the oilers are going to trade their first-round pick, but it's going to be for help it forward. And so I'd be surprised if Again, it's not that they don't like the player. I just don't know that from an asset management standpoint, that was going to make sense. Ironically, there's always an Alberta tax. There's a reason why you don't think it's a tax-free province. But there's a reason we don't see a lot of Calgary Edmonton trades over the years. There's been a small handful, but it's pretty rare. Similar to Toronto and Ottawa or Toronto, Montreal, you don't see a lot of big ranger Islander deals. It's a funny thing. As much as there's 32 teams, there's a lot of different personalities involved. There's those regional things involved. There's ownership involved. It's not always just what is the absolute best return. I think that there's a few caveats built in there. It just seems like because the Leifs did have such long conversations, actually on Nikita Zdorow, too, going back to before he was dealt to Vancouver. Then the price on Tanev, the Leifs were told, was a first rounder or maybe one of their top prospects, like a Fraser Mitten or Easton Cowan.

Ultimately, on paper, anyway, it looks like this is maybe a slightly weaker return. Look, that's the prerogative. The Flames had a long history of Bradford living. He left on his own volition, and maybe there might be some feelings left over somewhere in that building.

I mean, if it's at that point and it's keeping you from making your return like that, I got to say, that's a tough pill to swallow for Flames fans. I mean, no shade to the prospect that they ended up getting, But I got to say- Could you imagine if that was actually on the table?

It sounds like that was the price that was put to the Leifs. I don't think the Leifs didn't meet that price. It's not as though the Leifs offered their top prospect and a first-round pick or anything like that. We should be very clear on that. The Lefs, they didn't put an offer on the table that was clearly better, but they were led to believe the price was going to be more than what it ended up being. They might not be alone in that. Look, ultimately, it sounds like Dallas was very aggressive on 10F file, going back weeks. The Flames prioritized that potential deal, got a lot of eyes on the Dallas prospects, and as they work through the trade conversations, and ultimately, he ends up I mean, look at it. I think he's a perfect fit for what the stars need. They certainly need help on their right side. He's an improvement on what they've had in their middle pair, bottom pair. And this is a team that isn't that far removed Cup final run. I know it was in the bubble. We all forget it, but it was only a couple of years ago.

And it obviously played in the Western Conference final last year and has star quality players at every position. So Dallas, I think this is a very smart swing by Jim Nill, and he didn't have a lot of cap room to work with, but managed to fit Chris Tanev's deal in there. And I think that it just makes a lot of sense from his end.

So Craig Conrad doesn't get a first round pick for Chris Tanev. Brad Brad Treleving gets to keep his for now. Ken Holland gets to keep his for now. Maybe that goes for Jake Gensel. So maybe Craig Conroy gets that first-round pick for Noah Hanifin. What about him?

It sounds like it's a little quiet with Hanifin in the moment. That's not a prediction that nothing's going to happen or anything. There's still lots of time here for the market to develop. But his situation is unique in that he's younger than Chris Tanev. Obviously, he and the Flames had talked about an extension quite extensively. I think it's reasonable to think that a trade involving Hanifin might have an extension as part of it. Kind of like we saw with Hampus Lindholme a couple of years ago when he got traded from Anaheim to Boston and promptly signed an eight-year deal, wouldn't surprise me if similar machinations happened in the Hanifin case. It's not as maybe easy of a trade, a little bit more mechanics behind the scenes that need to fall into place. I've reported that the Tampa Bay Lightning have been interested. I still believe that to be the case now. The Boston Bruins, I think, have kicked around on Hanifin. Sounds like a couple of other teams as well. Certainly, if a team is acquiring no Hanifin with an understanding or even with an actual contract in place, this sign-and-trade scenario, I would think at minimum, you're talking about a first-round pick coming back, plus a bit more asset-wise.

That's really the biggest domino left to play here. It seems like maybe the window of opportunity with Jacob Markstrom in a possible deal is gone. I suppose it could be revised, still we can change here for someone else to get serious on that file and maybe give Calgary something to think about. But Hanifin is the last major piece of the puzzle, who is a pending UFA. Maybe a larger point we should underline here is Craig Conway was consistent. Julian, as you would know, right from the start of training camp, he wasn't going to let anyone walk away from the team that's certainly among his most viable potential UFA's. And now he's traded three of those players. And I think Hanifin will be the fourth out the door prior to the deadline, even though the Calgary has played well. I mean, since the Lindome trade, they put a lot of points in the bank and hung in there in the Western conference wild card race. It's not inconceivable that they make the playoffs even after these trades. I know that sounds a little It sounds like it's incongruent. It doesn't make sense. But I mean, the way the flames have played, it's hard for me to say they're not going to make the playoff.

But clearly, management hasn't been swayed by the recent results and is looking at the bigger picture.

If If you account for Craig Conroy's work in the summer, you have to account for Tyler Toffoli getting moved as well, where they got Yeager Sharon Gobej in a draft pick. There's been a handful of pending UFA's gone, and Noah Hanifin obviously stands to be the next one in line on that one. One That's another question I want to ask, not to leap back into the Toronto Maple Leaps, but with Chris Tanaev off the board, are they still looking for a right shot D? Who else could they be pursuing?

Yes. I mean, there is not a right shot D on the planet they haven't considered. It's a very glaring need in the least lineup. It's been exacerbated of late because Timothée Lilligrens missed some time. He's a right shot on the team with an undisclosed upper body injury. Cotter Timmins, another right shot, is out with Mono, and so the Leaps in their most recent game against Vegas on Tuesday, drafted a lineup with six left shot defensemen in it. Sheldon Keefe, prior to the game, even before seeing the result, which ended up as a 6-2 loss, said, I don't like this. He's of the mind that it's a very difficult thing for the team to overcome. Obviously, Sheldon wasn't speaking out a turn there. He knows what the least priorities have been. At times, I think the least have been considering even adding two defensemen. I'm not sure if that's still going to be the case, but certainly one defenseman who can play the right side, preferably someone who can play alongside Morgan Reilly, I think would be the preference because T. J. Brodie has done that so admirably for years in Toronto, and this year, he just has not had as much success.

He is a left shot who's very comfortable on the right side, historically, but his results have not been there when he's played on the right side of Morgan Reilly this year. Whereas when Reilly was out with that recent suspension, on the left side, Brodie and Lilligren as a pairing performed very well. So I think the Leifs feel as though if they could find someone to play alongside Morgan Reilly, like they did at last year's deadline. It ended up being Luke Chen, which most people wouldn't have predicted, but that ended up being a dynamite pairing for them in the playoffs. And so that's where the Leifs are at. So who are they looking at? The obvious right-shot defensemen that are still out there include Sean Walker from Philadelphia, Matt Dumba in Arizona. I should mention both Philadelphia and Arizona wanted a first-round pick for those players. I wonder if that market changes now that you have the Tanaf price in. It could even change the math in Philadelphia. I'll say this, that the flyers, as much as like Calgary, have been committed to selling. If you're only getting a second back for Sean Walker, you're in a wild card spot as of today.

Maybe it doesn't make sense. Maybe that return, you just think, you know what? We're wiser to keep him, have him as an own rental situation. This is the way the market could shift here in this last week or eight days before the deadline. Keep your eye on Elia Labushkin, who the leaves acquired a couple of years ago. Oh, man, I'm getting a call from the GM.

Oh, oh.

Straight to voicemail. That's rough.

Wow, you just put him to voicemail?

What do I do? We're recording.

Are Are you allowed to tell us who the GM is?

No, that's not fair.

Okay, all right. I thought it was worth asking. I thought it was worth asking.

The person is doing me a favor by returning a call, so I don't need to be putting the receipts out online right away.

We're going to throw that into one of the many mysteries of this show, right up there with Jeff Carter's middle name, which GM tried to call CJ during a recording.

But when it comes to the least, yes. I mean, certainly, I would be stunned if we got to 3:05 Eastern Time on March eighth, and they didn't have at least one more defenseman capable playing the right side on their blue line in the fold. Who that's going to be, I think, is still a bit of a mystery box. I think the least would love to maybe get even a player with some term. It would be great if they could get Brian Adam Larson out of Seattle or maybe even a David Savard out of Montreal. But at this point, it's just not totally clear that those players are going to be available. That's what Bradtree Living and his staff are working through right now is just making the best decision. They are not keen on giving up a first rounder if they don't have to. The problem they have is they don't have a second rounder in this draft, the next draft, or the one after that. They might be end up shopping in the bargain bin, or they might have to part with one of their top prospects in place of a first round pick.

And so that's where the dynamic is right now in Toronto.

We might as well make this leaf's corner because I have Sheldon Keef questions, specifically with him getting the game misconduct earlier this week against the Vegas Golden Nights. I saw a little bit of the media availability afterward where he was asked about getting ejected, and he did not want to talk about that. No, sir. He'll be getting fined, right? That's what we should be expecting with him.

I would expect so. The League in September had all the head coaches at the GM's meeting in Chicago just before training camp. They showed a montage of about 20 clips of coaches losing their mind on referees, the stuff that goes viral on social media or It's frankly funny depending where you're sitting. But the league made it clear that they don't find it funny and that they don't think it's in anyone's best interest to have coaches melting down on referees, dropping multiple F-bombs, what have you. What's interesting about Sheldon is certainly he can run a little bit hot, and he's been fined once in the past in 2022 for the way he went at referees in a game in St. Louis just after Christmas time. But in this case, by the standards of what we call meltdown, I would say it It wasn't really a meltdown, but clearly, he had some choice words. He didn't like a penalty call on Mitch Marner late in that game against Vegas, and he was ejected from the game. This crackdown has happened this year. Greg Cronin was thrown out of a game. The Anaheim head coach in late October, he was fined 25 grand.

Prior to be firing in Edmonton, actually, Jay Woodcroft was ejected from a game in Vancouver for yelling at the referees. I believe he was going to be fined. The only reason he wasn't, unfortunately, he was fired a couple of days later before that fined came down. And so he was spared by losing his job, so to speak. In Sheldon's case, I'd be surprised if he wasn't fined, although as of our recording now, nothing has been announced from the league. But it just seems to point in that direction because I think the league really is trying to send a message about keeping things civil between coaches and officials. I would say this, I haven't spoken to Sheldon, but I bet what he would say to you is he's in a disadvantaged position because there's more cameras in Toronto. There's obviously more spotlight when these issues happen with him. I'm sure we could find multiple instances this year with relative ease where coaches have been far more animated on a bench for another team that maybe doesn't get as much media attention and those coaches weren't fine.

What I was just going to say is maybe the next phone call you'll get will be from the Department of... Well, you wouldn't say player safety. I guess the Coaches Association or something. I'm not sure.

Yes.

All right. Stay close to your phone, CJ. One more trade thing, actually. I realized in that situation, I was either going to be hopping from leafs to other stuff or trades to other stuff. I decided for the leafs corner option. What about the New York Rangers? Let's do a pulse check on them. That's a team that's been looking for a center, they have at least been linked from when Elias Lindhome was available. Obviously, the caliber of options is not the same on the trade deadline now, but who could they be looking at?

Well, I think that they're looking at some of bigger names on the trade board. It was noted that Pat Verbeek attended a Rangers game here in the last 24 hours. As much as I would caution on a previous episode about making too many conclusions about who's scouting which games. Look, the Ducks have two pretty attractive forwards, Adam Henrique and Frank Vetrano. Henrique is a pending UFA, can play some center, I think certainly has some interest on the Rangers then. And Vetrano, someone who's played for the Rangers before is having a great season. Maybe a little bit below the radar on a national level, but 26 goals this season already. Always been a great finisher and someone I think that fit in well in his previous tenure in New York and could make sense for them coming back. They're certainly, though, I think, going to add a forward at this deadline, at least one. Look, that's in the DNA of the Rangers. Last year, they got Tarasanko and Kane. I don't know that those quite as well as they'd hoped, but this is a team that's just won a ton of games lately. You'd put in the class of that group that could get it together and win the whole thing.

I look for that Ducks connection to be pretty strong because there's not a ton of names beyond that. I think a more interesting name to other teams, I can't connect them directly to the Rangers. I don't know where they stand on the player. Is Tyler Toffoli's name has emerged here in recent days as someone who might be available with the Devils, following a drift of a playoff spot. They did have a big win in San Jose a couple of nights ago. But I think that once this California trip is completed, Tom Fitzgerald is going to take a real hard look at his team and decide maybe as much as they had higher hopes for this year, and they do have tons of cap space. Look, they were the third-party team in the Calgary-Dallas trade, picked up a fourth-round pick for their trouble. Maybe it makes sense to trade a player like Toffoli, who's having a great season for them, a player really like. And so I know some other teams that have been scouting the forward market pretty heavily like the idea of it to Foley. And so maybe I just wonder, I don't know if the Devils and Rangers are subject to that same interest aid or intra at tax, but maybe he could be someone they'd look at.

But I certainly think it makes sense to connect the Rangers to the top forwards available. And it does seem like there's something cooking there with the players in Anaheim.

That'd be really interesting with Tyler Toffoli, who began last summer, was in Calgary. It seemed like he wanted to stay, but didn't get the contract demands he wanted. He wanted to stay there long term. It seems like, flipped to New Jersey, could you imagine him going to a New York Rangers squad or just somewhere else. That is an interesting last 12 months, even if it gets to that point.

And not to pivot back, but if it ends up being Adam Henrique, I mean, a lot of Devils fans still remember Adam Henrique pretty fondly, right? And they would probably be weird for them to see him in a ranger's sweater. So That's the reality of where we're at. I mean, in Toffoli's case, the Devils really like the player. They've actually had some discussions with his agent about a possible contract extension. I think it's just you get to this point and you're looking at the math and there's all kinds of reasons the team's underperformed, whether it's goal-tending, whether it's the injuries they faced. But if you're realistic, it's like, Okay, if we keep him, what are our odds of getting in? If we trade him, maybe they get a first-round pick. I think that the Devils are not I don't think it's unrealistic to think that Toffoli could yield a first-round pick at this point in time. That might actually have more value just in this moment with where the Devils find themselves. I think that's what they're wrestling with. I don't get the sense as of this moment that they've decided 100% they haven't declared them available, but they're certainly thinking down those lines.

They've received interest from teams, and they've got a game in Anaheim and Los Angeles here in the next few days. I think once they get through that stretch and look where they're at, they're going to have to make a determination 100 % one way or the other.

Anyone else bubbling under with a week to go ahead of the trade deadline that we should be looking at? Trying to squeeze out as much as I can on that.

I want to give you more juice. I mean, look, I'd say look at a team like Seattle. It sounds like what they've been telling their players that are pending UFA is, if we're in this race, we're not trading any of you. But they've fallen back a little bit. I mean, it's so tight in the West. I'm not declaring them out by any means. I mean, they have the game in hand a couple of the teams above them. They're chasing a pack that includes Minnesota, St. Louis, Calgary, Nashville surged here of Late. Seattle, I think, could be an interesting swing team, whether they trade their players or not, because if they make their players available to market, you've got the likes of Alex Wendberg, Jordan Eberle, Thomas Tatar, maybe Justin Schultz. Those are all pending UFA that they could move, and I think would spice up the available player pool a little bit. Nashville is an interesting case because I had them as a selling team, but they've really surged. Ever since they canceled the concert trip to U2 to the Sphere, they've done nothing but win games and put points in the bank. Now all of a sudden, Barry Trotz is saying, UC Sarras is essentially off the market.

His pending UFA is like Alexander Carriere, another right-shot defenseman that I know Toronto and other teams were looking at. Sounds like they're inclined to try to extend him rather than trade him. Tommy Novak, they're trying to extend now rather than trading. It's a weird deadline. This is a late developing deadline with a lot of teams that could go one way or the other. I don't have any more new names really to toss out there at this point in time. We haven't talked about Max Paciaredi. I think there's some interest around him in Washington, and he's got the ability to control where he goes, and I don't think he'd go just anywhere, but maybe that's another player that seems to have gotten his feet under him a little bit after returning from a second Achilles surgery. That could move, but it's a tough deadline. It really is. I don't want to... As much as I want you to watch Trade Center on Monday, or sorry, Friday, March eighth, as much as I want you to keep listening to our shows, it's not as deep of a trade deadline as we've seen in the past. I still think we'll see a volume of trade.

I just don't know how many will class as headliners. Hopefully, we got a surprise or two. I think that's usually the best case scenario.

I'll tell you what, I'm watching regardless. I I don't have anything else to do.

Watch James Duffy tap dance out there or what?

Well, if he's doing that, then the ratings are going through the roof. Nice. Love you, James Duffy. Okay, since that's enough out of you with trade stuff, we got to save the juice for the next few days. How about Gary Bettman in Winnipeg, the NHL Commissioner, making an appearance in that city? I believe someone had an interview with Mark Chipman a couple of days ago. Do you know who It was me. Yeah, we know that. Some really interesting comments from Bettman, pretty positive about the situation in Winnipeg. One quote that I'll read for you here. I think there was a lot of speculation as to why I was here today. This is a place where hockey matters. I believe that this is a strong NHL market. I believe that ownership has made extraordinary commitments to the Jets, to this arena, and to the downtown area involving hundreds of millions of dollars. I'm not sure why people are speculating that somehow the NHL is not going to be here. So yeah, positive, but also interesting. It felt like there was a jab in there at the media speculation. But of course, that's- Well, that's what we expect from the Commissioner.

I'll say, look, if you take his quote of face value, he's totally right. Winnipeg is a great hockey market. It is a place where hockey matters. It's a place that they've proven they love their team. All those things are true. That doesn't change the fact that You still have ownership mentioning quite openly that they're having struggles selling tickets and that could bring about challenges over the long term if it doesn't change. Obviously, I stand by my story. I mean, I quoted the owner of the team. I mean, yeah. Quite extensively in that piece. But it's so funny. Of course, you want to be ahead on a story like that. I'm not going to lie, that really worked out well on a personal level. But it's weird when you're ahead of a like that because then there's this whole wave of reaction that comes after it. Then you have Bettman. It's like he's like the second wave of reaction. You're like, Are they all subtweeting the original story now? Are they trying to chip away at its validity? I think Bettman did the right thing, though. There's no sense coming in there and issuing any threats.

Clearly, that market, and I think understandably, I'm not saying this as a criticism, is sensitive to anything that might be interpreted as a threat that the team could leave again. Nowhere in my story did I say that they could leave again. I really only said pretty high up. But if this doesn't change, then we get to the position where you have to wonder if those conditions come into place. But there's no timeline's put in place, no suggestion in the next year or two or anything like that. I don't think that this is full-out crisis or anything, but you're probably one or two steps before the crisis if things don't change. So the good news is the Jets have won on the ice since that was published a couple of games. They're still in a great spot in the Sandings, and I think they still have a chance to have a nice playoff run or maybe even a really long playoff run. The ticket sales tend to take care of themselves with the teams having that level of success. We'll just have to see where it goes from there. But I thought the Commissioner... It's scary.

I don't take any of that personally. I don't know if you're getting at that or what.

No, I was not. Well, it's funny. The big It's funny that I read the quote the way that I did because the one part of the quote that's gone around a lot is the part where he says, Hockey matters, and it's a strong NHL market. The extra stuff about the speculation, that hasn't been out there as much. But I wasn't reading it to suggest that you have beef with Gary. I wasn't trying to do that. I was just trying to read the quote that we put up at the F1.

This is all the game, right? This is the whole game. It's the game. These are the playing rules. If you step on the field with Gary as a reporter, you might get stepped on a little bit. He likes correcting. He hates narratives. He likes correcting things in a way that suits his vision. I actually have come to appreciate the back and forth with Batman. I like those press conferences, but I've grown up, he's been the Commissioner my entire time as a reporter. So it's a long, long, long time, and I appreciate it.

Do we have any insight on how his talks with corporate sponsors went or anything to come with Winnipeg and the Jets?

Not a whole lot, but I do think that that was an important part of the visit is the Jets are drawing from not only the smallest ticket buying fan base because they live in the smallest city, but they don't have the same corporate base as a lot of other places. And so I think it's important they look after their sponsors. I know they're really grateful for Canada Life, which recently is taking over the branding name of the arena. It's got a big building right beside a big corporate building right beside where the Jets play. And so it's a I think for the NHL to show its appreciation for those people, too, because the business of hockey is still... A lot of it is still boots on the ground type of stuff. It's a little different than the NFL or some of these other sports. I don't have any specific takeaways from that other than I think that it's something he does in every market. I saw Gary actually was in Columbus yesterday. I'm sure he's meeting sponsors there. I mean, that's part of what you do. I thought it was interesting, actually. One thing that That's come out since my story is the Jets have even had a few players meet with former season ticket holders, in addition to just Mark Chippman's calls.

Josh Morris, he spoke pretty eloquently on that. I mean, just shows to me the level that they're taking it seriously, that they're trying to change maybe whatever didn't work in the past, that they're trying to show a level of humility in the community, and that they're out there, they're hustling, man. The tickets don't sell themselves. I think we've learned that much. That much is evident. I applaud them for those efforts. And I don't think many people had the jets being where they are right now in the standings. And I know producer Drew might disagree, but maybe they could even win the Central. It's not impossible. I mean, one of Colorado, Dallas, or Winnipeg, I think ends up on top of that division. So they've had a really good year. They're on the ice despite some of their off-ice challenges.

But, producer Drew, we still haven't had any of our producers actually hop into the show, and we hear their disembodied voice. But producer Drew is a big fan of the chat feature that we use, and he just wrote, Boo, at the suggestion of the Jets somehow being better than his beloved Colorado avalanche.

I'm still wondering aboutLandis Cough.

Yeah. What about Landis Cough?

I mean, we know he's interesting. If we see him play in the playoffs. I checked in on this a couple of days ago. It sounds like there's really no timeline, but you have to know. I mean, he's back He had very serious knee surgery last year in the spring. The fact that it hasn't been ruled out that he could return at some point in the playoffs is interesting. It doesn't mean he's in, but it doesn't mean he's out. You know the way players are. The unfortunate nature of the surgery he had is that everything can go great. If he has one setback, it's almost back to square one. Obviously, they have to be very careful with him. He has to be careful. They've got a lot invested in the player. He hasn't played since they won the Stanley Cup that night in Tampa, believe it or not. But just bringing him back in, even if he's just not his full self after that layoff, I think could be such a boost to a team that obviously has got huge horses and has the firepower to win the Stanley Cup again.

Okay. Something to keep an eye out for for the Colorado Avalanche. Producer Drew will love that tidbit. Any thoughts on the PWhL what they announced yesterday. Their rules for the playoff, the top four teams in regular season making it. But the first place team has a 24 hour window to select its semifinal opponent. That's for playoffs. And then for tanking, they're using the gold plan in which the first overall pick will go to the team that gets the most points after being eliminated from playoff contention.

I love that they're trying different things, and I have no issue with either concept. The one thing about their gold plan, and this isn't their fault, but it's not as... In a league where four out of the six teams make the playoffs, really what you're talking about is between the last two, the fifth and sixth place teams, which plays best down the stretch after being eliminated, is going to get the first overall pick. It's really only competition between two teams in a league that small. I think it'd be far more effective and fascinating in a league like the NHL, where obviously half the teams don't qualify for the playoffs. I think it would really give those fan bases something to rally around. But that's the idea. It keeps the games mattering. It keeps the fans engaged in those markets. If you're a fan of the Sharks right now or the Ducks or the Blackhawks, what are you hoping for? You're probably hoping for losses on some way because you're hoping for luck in the draft lottery. If the league used that system, I think it would be interesting. When it comes to picking your playoff opponent, I love it.

I don't see the downside at all, quite frankly. I see that maybe feelings could be heard or it's bulletin boy material, but I think that's all great. I noticed your call out on social media yesterday, Julian, about televising the selections. I mean, it would be a quick show for one team to pick its opponent, but it would be cool if they did it live. I don't know how they intend to do that, but basically you're picking between the third or fourth place team. Which one have you had more success about? Maybe which is better travel? I mean, whatever it is, it just adds more spice right to that series before it's even a game has been played.

Even if it's a short broadcast, just having a team representative there, maybe a player from that team there. I just think it would be a good way to put more names to faces when it comes to the league. I think that'd be a cool idea.

It'd be awesome. It'd be awesome. So, yeah, I applaud. I mean, I've been very supportive of the PWhL. I think that they've hit all the right notes in their first year. I think that given that the league was thrown together in a matter of months, and it's gone as well as you could hope, the games have been competitive. I think these are both... I love that they have the power kill. In fact, there was one last night, Ottawa scored a shorthanded goal in its game, and it means the player comes out of the penalty box. So you not only get the goal, but you stop having to kill a penalty. All these are things that perhaps we'll see go into other professional league, men's or women's. I think that if you're going to launch a new league, it's a blank slate. Why wouldn't you try new things? The beauty is if any of them don't hit right for whatever reason, you can adjust in year two or three or four. I don't think anyone's going to be like, Well, it's always been done this way. They're going to be like, Yeah, we tried it, it didn't work.

I think sometimes when you're a more established league, you're locked into a rigid way of thinking, a rigid way of doing things. Whereas one of the benefits the PWhL has is the teams don't even have nicknames yet. The trophy they're competing for at the end of this season, it still doesn't have a name yet. I don't say that as... I think that that can be a feature, not a bug. I think that it gives them the ability to do what they need to do to try to make it the most compelling entertainment product possible, which is really, at the end of the day, what they're trying to achieve.

Well said. I would think that everyone at the SDPN is a fan of the PWhL. At the very least on this show, big fans of the league. I'm still waiting on a franchise to pop up in the city I reside in now. That's going to take a while. I love a PWhL franchise. It's going to take a while.

I know. Just because of the logistics and costs and things like that. That's not Calgary would be a poor market. It's just I think it's got to be a regional league to start for it to make sense.

Yeah, but when I get back to Montreal, I don't know if I'll be able to be back by the time the season ends, but I would still love to go to a game. Anyway, Stick taps before we wrap up today's episode of The CJ Show. Do you have one?

You start. I have not thought of one at all. Dog ate my homework.

We'll probably share this. Oh, no. How many times have you given that excuse in life? Not much.

I was a pretty... I was a diligent student, believe it or not, back in the day.

Yes, I believe that. Did you have a dog? Are you a pet person?

I am. I haven't had a dog as an adult, but as a kid, we had a childhood dog for many, many years, from when I was in grade school right through to university.

What was your dog's name? Tell us about your dog. Digger.

Digger the dog. We got her from the pound. The reason she was called Digger is because when we got her, she had a scab on her nose because she had tried to dig out under the fence to escape the pound and got caught She was a pretty mangey dog when we got her. Obviously, had been astray, but was a huge part of our family growing up. Still pictures in my dad's living room of Digger. So part of the family always. The way my career has been and say, I travel so much, I've just never had a chance. I lived in a condo for years where it's not as conducive to owning pets and being away so much, I haven't had a chance to own a dog. But I could see a world in the future. I could see a future CJ getting a dog. I don't really appreciate cats, if I'm being honest, but I'd certainly get a dog down the road.

If you got yourself a dog, would you allow the SDPN community to name it?

Yes. Okay. But it's not happening next week or even next year.

No, but in the distant future, maybe.

Yeah. That'd be fun. That'd be fun. I'm down for that. Okay.

All right.

Stick to that. You're doing the first one.

I'll show some love to Helen Elliott, who had her last day at the LA Times- Helene Elliott.

This week.

Oh, Helene. Sorry. My bad.

I just wanted to make sure we got it right. I apologize.

No, but I'm glad that we have that right. Helene Elliott, 47 years in the business, 34 years at the LA Times, covering a whole bunch of different sports, obviously known the hockey community. Just wanted to pass along some stick taps to her on the great career. That would be my pick, CJ.

Man, I better second that one. 47 years is quite a run. I don't know if you had a chance to read her, Fairwell Call, and it was pretty heartbreaking.

I did, actually.

It was really well done. Talking about her and her husband's plans for retiring, and unfortunately, her husband died I have a heart attack in the last year. She was planning to cover the Paris games, and she just basically said, You make plans and God laughs. All the best, Aline. Spent a lot of time in press boxes with her around the league, and hope retirement treats you well. I mean, 47 years is a long run. I can't even imagine retiring. I'm obviously not at the age where you would, but you start to think about it. Part of your first part of your career, just like, I need a job and I need to establish myself. Then you're like, The decision to retire must be very difficult for a lot of people.

If you're able to do it.

Versus being fired?

Well, I don't know. Isn't the whole thing in our, at least with millennials, it's like, Oh, are we going to make enough money through the jobs that we do to retire? I don't know. Is that what I have to worry about?

I don't know. I didn't know that was the whole thing for millennials.

It might be more for people because I'm at the younger end of the millennial generation. You're at the older end.

Yeah. I mean, but yeah, I'm just saying, if you get to that age where you still love it, but you see where the industry is going, you maybe see that... She mentioned in her column, too, her decision to take a buyout from the LA Times, it resulted in another writer being able to keep his job. So You get into that situation, pretty selfless decision because, man, this beats working for a living. I will say that. It really does. Tell you that, man. And Lynn embodied that, and she's in the Hockey Hall Fame and the Writers division of that as well and covered tons of other sports. I got a lot of flowers out there in the last week or two.

All right. So on behalf of CJ and myself, we salute you, Hulina Elliott, on a fantastic sports writing career. And since we're sharing this, that means we have just the one stick tap, which means that's going to do it for our Thursday edition of The CJ Show. Well done, sir. Hopefully, you're able to get whatever rest you can get ahead of a busy final stretch ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline.

I'm ready. I'm locked and loaded, focused. It's going to be a busy 10 days here, but I'm ready for it.

All right. I'm ready for it, too. Be sure to check out CJ's coverage at The Athletic, my coverage at The Athletic as well. Subscribe to our podcast. Subscribe to the SDPN YouTube channel. We'll be back on Monday, everybody. Peace.

The Chris Johnston Show. Inside the Game, twice a week. Follow Chris on Twitter @reporterchris, and follow Julia McKenzie at JK McKenzie..