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Hello, everybody, welcome to Episode three hundred and fifteen of spin triplets presented by Pink Whitney from my friends at New Amsterdam Vodka and the barstool sports podcast Family, What is up gang?

The NHL is back this week. We got wild new divisions, a crazy new schedule, lots of excitement in the air. But first, I'm going to send it out to the American Southwest to say hi to the boys.

I stayed home for health reasons. I'm fine. Just more precautionary than anything. But the boys are out the west, so let's say hi. Let's go to Jack.

All right. You're on the no fly list. That's why you couldn't come up here. He actually went to the airport.

They busted him with as much as I want. I had a hockey mask, like I got a mask on. Hey, I respect it.

All right? You're not going to be a super spreader. You know, it's not a little risk you stayed back. It would have been nice to have you here, but we got you on the big screen. So this is interesting. We've never done. Oh, God, I hope it's not in fourth.

Thank you, guys. See, boys, I am fired up, though. This is going to be a fun season. There's a lot of storylines. There's so much action because things had to happen so far before we got kicked off. So, first of all, thank you guys for coming out. And RJ, thank you for for battling through this and coming to us live via whatever the fuck you're coming to us. Yeah, it's like a vessel.

I feel like I'm on an old fashioned news feed here. It's not them, but yeah, like I said, I'm fine. My health is fine. I actually tested negative just but, you know, it's all over the place. And I you know, I didn't want to potentially risk you guys. If I did have something negative one day, it could be positive the next. So it was like I said, I was out of precaution. But what's up?

How's everything going out there? You guys are going to be able to approach my career negative.

You're negative ask, but you never know again.

It was good last night. We end up getting shamed on live. Big news today. Know we're going to get into that. But we've got to we've got a big episode for the opening of the season here. We got Jack Ickle and of course, a mentor of mine and longtime Arizona character. Shane, don't come on for about an hour or so. What have we got? About an hour and a half in interviews today? That's correct. Let's roll, baby.

Absolutely. We'll be before he gets to the NHL, because we do got to clean up a little from the world juniors. We did the show after the game. Of course, the story broke the next day. I hate attaching gate attached to attach date to stories. But Barel gate, this became known as the Americans. They had been doing this thing all tournament. It was based on the idea of was a myth or a true story with people crossing the Sahara and they would leave barrels every five kilometers.

So you know where the horizon was. It wouldn't get lost. And that was their theme all tournament long. Canada happen to be the last team, so they pulled the big blue barrel with it, drum, whatever you want to call it, and had, you know, Canada on it. So the optics of it, if you weren't familiar with the story, what kind of like people reacted and, you know, the true story came out.

But it was fucking hilarious for a couple of days, though, as well.

I think Ryan Rucha was the original guy to send the tweet out, and rightfully so. I mean, it looked like a garbage can being brought on the switch. Guys, I was rooting for Canada the entire time. I was a Canadian Team Canada jock sniffer the whole way we had Kirby Doc on and I don't mind a little bit of trash talking. I thought that if it was a garbage can with Team Canada logo on it, it was going to spark some debate online.

I know it wasn't, but ultimately I think we got enough excitement out of it and I'll leave it at this. I'll believe that that that was the case and there was no ill will and calling Team Canada garbage, essentially.

Well, it was it was a I mean, team team can and certainly isn't garbage compared to the way we played in the gold medal game.

They were. But in a sense of like overall Hockey Canada. No, you're not garbage. I think that our you misspoke a tad bit. We we all got together after the semifinal game, so we haven't even spoken since the gold truck. That was that was Tuesday night, the day that the episode dropped last week. What an effort by us. So proud to be a former alumni of USA Hockey. I mean, they've come so far. I said to someone on the rink shrinks Brian yanno.

And Mike model, check that out. And we were just saying, like, I'm really happy that I wasn't playing hockey around this time because with all the talent in different states that weren't weren't playing and didn't have talented players when I was coming up, I would never made the national teams. So it's become a powerhouse. And certainly, like the players, they produce Zegas in that tournament, the goaltending from Spencer Knight, it was an awesome effort and losing the first game in that tournament granted its round robin, they got spanked by Russia and to come back and not lose again and just go on the run, they did.

Congratulations. Now the bucket thing, the barrel thing, I think it might have been a poem or whatever it was. Ah, it's pretty cool story.

Now, even if it was a trash bucket, that would have been that would have been not the classiest move by any stretch of the imagination. But if you don't want stuff like that to happen, don't lose the game.

Like, listen, you can say gracious winners, all that it was a barrel from a run that they've had with a story they were following. Next barrel, next barrel, next barrel. They put the flag on the barrel. Next team up. Canada was the last one. Let's bring the picture. And if it was a big old gross BFI trash barrel.

And they put the Canadian flag on a little tough shit you lost, I just couldn't believe how many people were so upset by that. Well, you lost and you can't be upset about anything you lost. Be mad at your team. Be mad.

Actually, I'm actually happy I took the focus away from the trolls going after the players and more upset at at the actions because you know how that goes. And team kind of loses like Rick from Red Year's on. They're just going after guys getting fucking blocked and on Twitter rants about how the defensive. You'd be better now going back to the semifinals. I thought the US was in trouble because I actually thought that Finland had played them. And I don't know if it was just an off.

Right, but they survived it. And going into that game for the USA, you said they got to they got to get one early. They got to get one, five and five. And Canada is going to be shook. They had two lines going and they just rolled them. That was the one the one, I guess, issue I had with. And I was that coaching was a problem, but I feel like they were snap in the ice time around a little too much.

The team kind of where they needed to find. I'm not saying they needed to go to the cousins line, although they had been driving the bus most of the tournament, if they didn't maybe necessarily have their legs enough, go to a different mind, but you got to strike when the iron's hot on which line was going. I just don't think that really Canada maybe didn't even have a line. And that's why he just kept shuffling four lines going out there.

Is that is that a fair statement? I mean, other than other than the power play out there, there's so much talent to. So it's like you got this third line on Canada, fourth down in Canada. All these guys are elite scorers for the most part. So it's like we can get somebody going. It's really hard to shorten the bench when you're so deep like Canada's.

You know, the thing that was shocking to me and we I've I've always mentioned Twitter isn't really real life. It's not. But you saw the comments going in. It was like no chance Canada's losing. There's zero chance the Canadians are going to lose. And my thing was, it's one game already said it to one game. Anything can happen. And USA had all these sick players. It wasn't like it was one game against a team that doesn't even have a first round pick.

The amount of Canadians on Twitter, there is zero chance we're losing this game to OK, there's a nasty goalie in some fucking sick center that's going to dominate in the NHL, Trevor Xigris. And you're telling me that the US couldn't win this game. So it kind of went down as I hoped it would. And congratulations. I got a lot of heat for my one. Nothing USA PAC. Yeah, you did. You did.

And you were the closest and I won guys like, yeah, I'm sure they're going to shut out a team, a nice first round picks. OK, so I don't play the game.

I can agree with you guys in the assessment that Canada lost because they were just too talented. There's too many talented players, therefore it kind of scrambled them a little bit and and they couldn't find they got stuck because they got stuck not getting tested once.

And then you get to the goal. It's like they never had any adversity. I know it's not ideal, but in a sense, it can really help when you're going through issues and you're going through times when you're not in.

Didn't you not have the lead? They were just tied at the beginning of games. So I think that they ran into the best team besides them and attorney who played lights out. And it was just the perfect storm for Canadians to be buttered. Congratulations, guys.

Congratulations on the gold medal. We're going to have Xigris actually on the podcast and call Coffeeville. They're going to come on. Yeah, OK.

They agreed after the game. I don't know what they should do about this kid is a stallion. He looks like one of those like tick tock guys who just died, had some talking genomes. How's that hair? Hair solid.

He's going out to Newport Beach. Tough life. You think he makes the team this year? You think he's going to I mean, Anaheim hasn't done much in the off season. I know we're going to get into some of the and I mean, doing cousins is so and already he's going to play a big role for Buffalo.

I would think that kids at the same level, I would agree those two bone Biram along with those two were the three players in the tournament. You're like, whoa. And I think all three of those guys you're going to see this year play some serious minutes. All right.

As I love I love a good hashtag classi on Twitter, like classy Twitter. It's hilarious. And people bring that shit up on Twitter. You're on Twitter.

Shane Dolan was actually getting a few of those today when they tweeted out. But that's for different reasons. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's not a hashtag sarcasm. Yes.

Congrats again to the US to nothing. Gold medal winning game over Canada. The Finns won the bronze as well.

And also, congrats to Theresa Feaster. She made history first as the first female coach at the World Junior, then the first female coach to win gold as well. She works for Nate Lehman in Providence. She has for several years. She's a brilliant hockey man. So we want to pass on that for making some history up there as well.

So congrats to Theresa, for I love the good stuff.

Love to see it.

All right. Moving along, the one of the big restricted free agent names that was still out that has been signed, Matthew Bazile signed with the islanders three years. Twenty one mil. Seventeen ball cap hit. He'll be getting Formule this year, seven mil next year. Ten million year after his next deal. Whatever, wherever whoever comes in will have a qualifying offer of at least eight point four mil. Both parties will look at a six year deal.

He wants to stay there, doesn't want to go anywhere else. But the money wouldn't line up right now. Of course, the caps kind of staying static because of the pandemic. Azar, when asked about the possibility he didn't want to stay with the island, you said no, absolutely not. The whole negotiation was totally respectable on both sides. It's pretty clear. I love the island. I love being here. This is a fun place to be in, a fun place to play.

We knew this was happening, but still, you didn't initiate that quote at the end and suck it. Oh, my God.

I feel like the freshmen and dazed and confused right now lose Ben Affleck and he's got the fucking paddles chasing him out of a baseball game, the bullpen. We know what's wrong with my hot takes on the mound.

And he's fucking hit me with the paddle. You got to keep going. All right.

Sorry to not say what's the guy call whoever Coalhouse who played in Dazed and Confused.

That's what the guy that's actually actually him. Yeah. You guys look exactly like this guy. I got dragged into this battle by Sean Avery when he was going out, Frankie Borrelli, and rightfully so. But the fact that they were throwing the snakes at him and warm up at Tavaris on the ice when he came back to the island and I kind of hopped on this this bandwagon of trying to rip on the fan base and always, you know, stir the pot.

I have been taking L'il after owl after owl. And for them to lock this guy in and him to be happy and him to come out with that quote and get him not one, not two, but three years at seven million. Avivi and I don't know how many people were paying attention to the way it was structured. And people were a little worried because the last year, the deal he's getting ten million. I believe it's structure structured. What is it?

Is it four million? Seven million and ten million, correct. Yeah. And and so people are thinking all those qualifying offer on last year of him being a restricted free agent would they would have to go above ten. That's not the case. It's only a certain percentage above the above. So I believe that if you were to sign. I was wondering about that. Yeah. So if he were to sign a one whatever one year deal or a qualifying after a qualifying offer after this three year deal, it would be at eight point six.

So that would be his cap hit. But guys, this is an unbelievable kapit. This team is is very well spread out. And, you know, I, I thought that they would eventually get something done. I even said last podcast that it was a holdout and then Draga even dunked on me on fucking Twitter because I hold out is when someone actually has a contract and they aren't reporting. So I've just been getting my fucking ass torn apart by the islanders fans and we're out of a hundred back over to you.

Yeah, I mean, I've made a lot of comments about Islanders fans in the past, this podcast, and they've never dunked on me at all. Fuck them. I mean, you can say they swept the penguins that one year and then and then they got swept. And then this past year, I granted I said I thought they'd lose early, but my whole thing is they won't win the cup. So congratulations, because getting bars out that no sick what you said you're still not going to win the cup, but you're going to have a guy playing big time, a huge role on elite level player in the NHL making only seven million.

That's Bruins style. Very impressive.

I don't know. I I'm curious when the deal ends here. Do you know how many more years till he's UFA?

Yes. Just want one more year of Arafeh. OK, so that's that's going to be interesting. This is three years away. Let the I understand it. Yeah. A lot of enjoy but that's something where it's I don't know if he signs a one year deal, so maybe then he does love it so much. He plans on just signing a real long one then and just ending that one year into the UFE years, I don't know. But to get him at this numbers, great.

I think the islanders did get lucky in a way that all of this is going on with the money being left, the cap being an issue. And though no fans, it's like you can't really bend them over if you're Malpaso and want and continue to want the team to be playing at a high level at this at this time period with the pandemic and thing. I think that even so, from what I heard was and remember, I don't have the best sources because I'm just going to my own brain here.

I guarantee he he would have liked to have seen a little bit of a longer term deal at five years, at nine million. But I don't even think that the islanders could up because they just don't even have the money right now. So the fact that he was Basel was I guess he was. What's the term I'm looking for?

I don't know. They weren't really greedy in negotiations at all.

Like, I feel they had the leverage. They had the leverage. The islanders did big time. Fair enough. And I think that at seven million, I think that he could have probably held out for a little bit more, but he probably just wanted to get this thing rolling. And and given the situation with covid and stuff, I think it definitely played into to helping out the islanders. But at the end of the day, man, great job by getting the guy for a very, very good average.

Also, when you are an Arafeh, it's pretty easy to take when you qualify at all, there's going to be eight point four million little Eastpointe for I thought it was eight point six.

My bad.

That's all right. Because, you know, I fill out a sign and say I'm going to run through. Just chime in if you guys want to chime in. St. Louis made it official. No surprise that Mike Coffman one year, four million PTO was just, like said, a formality. So they can get to this point. The devil's brought back Sammy Vatanen, the defenseman. He was a free agent. They had trades at the deadline last year to a one year, two million dollar deal.

What else? They also resigned their own restricted free agent, yes, but brought to a two year, 5.5 million dollar deal. Nashville signed restricted free agent Lou Coonan to a two year four point six dollars million deal. They acquired him back in October for Nike Bonino. Let's see, Columbus signed forward all of a book to a five year extension worth twenty seven.

This one was a bit of a head scratcher. Having him and tortured had issues. I mean, that's not saying much, considering I think there was times that he was definitely playing at a level that thoughts didn't think was was enough. And I don't necessarily think he's always played that style where it's like in your face blocking shots. So difficult to play against. But I don't think that that deal is done right now without thoughts, maybe saying I've built some trust into this guy.

And I and there's been moments when he has been a really, really high level player. And I've loved watching his game. He is skilled. But yeah, when I read it, I was like, whoa, it's a pretty pretty good deal for a guy who's had his had his moments that I haven't really took in a deep dive into his numbers.

But when you see a guy like Hoffman who, you know, for the six years since he's been a full time NHL, he's, you know, 17th in the amount of goals he scored. So like you look at some of the impact some of these guys are making, you're like, wait, he he's he's getting a one year deal and he's looking for a place to play. And like, you know, other guys are getting these five year deals at big numbers.

So I don't know. It was it was a bit of a head scratcher. So I just wanted to chime in there quickly. While you're reading those off our what was it was five years.

Yup. That's five years. Twenty seven million. That comes out to five point four million.

Kapit worth noting, I mean, he's a twenty goalscorer each of the last two seasons last year.

Twenty one goals and just forty nine games. So obviously Columbus likes what they see and they don't just throw money willy nilly so they must really get good draft to the third rounder.

Yeah. Into it.

As far as far as Vatanen is concerned you mentioned him. I thought he was forty but I feel like that's about in the league for 15. Oh I think you just been hearing a lot about him. You know, he was a guy who was pretty highly touted early on and I think that that was probably another reason why they thought they had enough in the pipeline in order to move Theodore when they did when with the expansion draft and everything they thought he was he was, you know, enough to to give up.

He ends up getting moved over to New Jersey for Adam Henric. And I feel like he just he may have lost his game a little bit because he was on my favorite word. Here comes he was on this great trajectory and all of a sudden he just fell off. But nice to see he's going to get another opportunity there. I think that's a pretty fair number. And, you know, from from when I was watching him early on, because they are in the Pacific Division with with the coyotes.

I mean, he was a he was a solid fucking player.

Great one time or can run a power play. Not great foot speed, I would say. And then the thing about that trade that nobody will ever forget is the goal.

And he scored when he went back on that and then flipping it over his head was like the goal of the year.

Yeah, that was that was basically like. Kurnitz, Kurnitz did that to me, but like times one hundred by winning 15 Stanley Cups, but Henric still just going to win this trade right in your face and it's never been the same. No, no, it's a killer. I think being in New Jersey probably didn't help his career all that much either.

Oh, wow. No, I mean, the devils and stuff, you know, what a great, great, good team then. You know, you're not going to really something to help your career.

I mean, some guys might take advantage of a points wise, but, you know, I feel like they're there Chicago now where they had so much luck for so long and so many things go their way that I think that everybody needs a little bit. Who? The Devils? Yeah, just a little bit of I mean, they had another situation with I mean, that left them in a not really a tough spot, but with Corey Crawford retiring, you might as well hop in in New Jersey right now.

All right.

I've been speaking to Jersey. We had some big news coming out of there this week. Corey Crawford, he had signed a free agent deal with them in the off season. He retired seemingly out of nowhere after 15 pro seasons, including 10 of them as the Blackhawks starting goalie. He, of course, won two Stanley Cups in Chicago. He was a part of two Jennings trophies as well, franchise record with fifty two playoff wins. I mean, huge part of that Blackhawks squad.

I said I wanted to continue my career, but believe I've given all that I can to the game of hockey and I've decided that it is time to retire. I would like to thank the Devils organization for understanding and supporting my decision. Again, he signed with Jersey in the off season. Chicago just kind of let them walk, which was kind of an odd decision about pissed everybody off.

Right. That was kind of when a bit of the fireworks happened with leadership group and. Yeah, tough.

What's happened to Chicago as well in the well, the initial thought was that people thought they were going to be on the hook for his contract. But apparently when they did the last memorandum of understanding, they adjusted the thirty five and all the contracts. So the devils will not have his three point nine deal count against the cap for the next two seasons, which is a pretty big deal. Needless to say, big time, because I actually thought I was reading that, in fact, that they were on the hook for it because he was past the age of thirty five.

But you're saying that when they renegotiate and redid the CBA, they corrected that? Yeah.

It's the right of the athletic. Corey I think is going to butcher's last Mosaica.

I forget he's the devils bred, the athletic. He was the first one to uncover that and cap friendly I think retweeted him to verify that.

Yeah, they're not going to be on the hook for that, which that really changed a lot in my mind. And I've been through this on a way lesser level, way less of a career than Corey Crawford. And I was in Sweden. But I did go through a thing where you signed a contract with the team and you get over there. And then I realized I had nothing left. I wasn't going to help the team. I didn't love the game.

Now, I'm not putting words in Coy Crawford's mouth. I don't who knows what he's going through. I know he did make the one statement, but if you're mentally not there anymore and you can't even picture yourself getting up and going, doing what it needs, you needs to be done to get ready to play games. It doesn't really matter the situation now, you feel so bad that I felt so bad I signed in Sweden and you're only allowed a certain amount of imports.

And I remember saying to the GM, like, I apologize. So I'm obviously giving you back every cent you've given me so far. I know I'm put you in an awful position, but I just I don't have it anymore. And the guy was so good in Sweden. I apologize for not remembering his name, but he said I completely understand. He probably saw how bad I was to say, yeah, go ahead, dude.

You got the office because we got rid of burgs popping champagne on fucking they'll take it out boto anymore. So Crawford, though, when I saw that and didn't know about the contract, the cap hit not going on on against the team for two years, I was like, oh, it's got to good to call calling Tom Fitzgerald, who gives up eight million over two years. And now you get to tell them, sorry, I'm not going to be here for you as a goalie and you're stuck with my kapit like that would have been as a former player.

I'm sure Tom Fitzgerald would understand, like, this guy doesn't have the passion that's needed anymore, but God damn that he kind of screw us. So it's good for the team sake that that's not that's not going well.

And like, the one thing that it does suck on is the fact that they probably could have went out and signed somebody else to be Blackwood's backup. For my understanding, it was probably going to be a situation where Blackwood was more of the starter, but he was going to be there to groom him and probably log given the season, maybe like a 60 40 split, maybe even a 50 50. So now with New Jersey being the fact that they need good goaltending because they're not quite there as a team yet, that's going to that's going to put them in a way more difficult spot as as as a whole, as a season.

I don't know who they're going to go out and get in order to to fill that void. But as you said, when you're just mentally checked out, there's really no you're not doing you're not doing yourself or the team. And it's and what a career.

And looking back, I mean, two to the Blackhawks got Dongqing Keith like fifty fourth of right at fifty second and then the next year twenty in the second round. In the next three they get Corey Crawford. Fifty second. I think he just dropped the ball so to two second round picks by the Blackhawks when you go into drafting and how much it matters that were key key key players, key cogs in those three cups, he'll probably end up getting his jersey retired there, I would imagine.

And from what I'm reading, from what I'm reading all over, that they're saying one of the most underappreciated Black Hawks of all time. Yeah, it's everywhere. Yes.

Yes. But all right. Mentioned to me or on the notes, I think, like, I don't know if Corey Crawford will be a Hall of Famer. He has the Stanley Cups and I would say not a Hall of Famer.

I would definitely say a ring of honor. As far as a Blackhawks, he's like he would be like their Jonathan Quick for like two cups. He in both times he was stellar and won one of the cases more than any one to I said three. Excuse me. Yeah. He stood on his head.

I think the was there for the first one, but it was his team. Yep. Yeah. But I would just as they're saying, the most underappreciated block of all time.

Yeah. I'll definitely go ring of honor there. In terms of like overall career, a lot of people say he was just with a great team. The old Chris is a good argument, but you know what I'm saying? Just like people like, oh, he wasn't that good. Well, talk to any guy that was on the Blackhawks. I'll tell you how good he was. So congrats on an amazing career. I'd love to chat with him.

He's probably got some great handsome fellow, too.

Yeah. Actually, it's funny you say, oh, was good when I was that's the first guy I thought of because obviously Guy ties to Cops Hall of Fame, the first thing people want to ask. But a lot of people think cause that should be in by virtue of his two cops. So I think they are very, very similar arguments to be made.

I don't think of Osgoode or Corey Crawford and thinking Hall of Fame.

I'll say that I think his number will definitely be retired, though, because, I mean, that's a no brainer. He's the best.

I mean, you can make the best goal structure six nine, six, nine. Let's get them on the fucking phone. Let's see if he's getting inducted in the ring of honor of the respect to Eddie the Eagle and Tony Esposito.

But, you know, Corey Crawford won two cups there. Neither of those guys can say they did that in Chicago.

So I also. It's Corey. Mr. Sack. I think that's how you pronounce it. Just put in people's names on here.

I also another time in Colin Wilson retired off the eleven NHL seasons to be played. His first eight Nashville, his last three in Colorado, had two hundred and eighty six points in six hundred and thirty two games. When I know you know Collin, he's been very open about the issues he's dealt with in his career, you know, OCD, self medication. So we certainly wish the health and happiness in retirement. I know you wanted to add something which.

Yeah, we actually chatted with Nathan McKinnon that'll be coming out in next week or something to do with the NHL season.

Boom-Boom Banger's. We caught up with him. And so we actually you'll kind of hear us chat about Willie because we were talking on the day he retired. So, you know, they got a chance to play together and he gave his thoughts. But I'll say I'll say what I said. Then the first time I ever saw this kid, he was an incoming freshman at BYU. And the form would be you guys would work out at their gym in the summer.

And I was over there. I think he had about 90 pounds hanging from them and he was doing pull ups like 10, 11, 12, like 18 years old, squat and 350 front squat. He was an absolute machine, this kid.

And I don't know if looking back, I'd love to get him on. He'll definitely come on and chat. I bet you he'll say he probably trained too hard and and he was going as hard as he could every off season during the year in like explosive lifting stuff that necessarily isn't great for the shoes that you have, the platform shoes on.

You know, he had the old shoes with just the things under the toe to work on your calves.

You remember, like the Castanza had of kid, but his speed and his vision, he was a high pick and he'd been. Like looking like a stallion to the whole time the guy's a man rocket, I'm very happy that he ended up playing as long as he did and to go through the issues he did go through and be open with what happened, I think that's really difficult. So he's a guy that, you know, he's recovering from certain things.

The stress of the game, I'm sure not worrying about if you're going to be healthy, if what you have to do to play can really help your mind in terms of when you do retire. I know it can be difficult for some people. In a sense, it can also be a weight off the shoulders. So I wish him all the best.

Great career, great run and really kind of. Deserved all of the things that he got because he worked his ass off, yeah, I actually spoke on the phone with him a couple of weeks ago, so we're going to get him on. He's a very interesting guy and we'll talk about that awesome long career. I think his father ended up playing a pretty long NHL career as well. Right. One of the things he always used to say, he's just trying to play.

As long as my old man, I was like is one line. So we'll talk about his old man when we get him on to and the career he had as well. All right, again, best of luck to those guys in retirement. Congrats on great careers. To the surprise of nobody, Patrice Bergeron was named captain of the Bruins. He's the 20th captain in team history. Brad Mailshot and David Qureishi have the A's was pretty funny what they did.

They kind of sunk them in the wrong, announced Mioshi as the captain. And I don't know if Bergeron was buying it because you couldn't smile at the mask on, but that was that allowed McCarthy to actually make the announcement.

So yeah, the mask made that like. So you're like, is anyone smiling? Yeah, well, good looking. But I think that this is the biggest.

No, I made fun of when the O'Reilly news broke, so we can't even talk about.

Oh, Bergeron's. In all honesty, though, did you feel like the the way they called Marshawn off? Did you feel land a little flat?

Yes, that's what I'm saying. And I don't know if that's unless it was the masks, I think the masks might have done it. But when I saw the video, I was like or Bershan like, give me my fucking jersey to see on it.

Yeah, they had to be at least one guy who was probably no fucking way like in his head. There's no gentleman in there.

Is it a person? That's why I think everyone's like that's like when it was it was like a GM thing, another joke.

And everyone in the room, the YES-MAN being like, that's a great idea.

We did this at Harvard and let's get some context. Let's get some you know, they use another word.

That's actually what the siegler's or that's what the ceasefire they gave them the content that was as bad as the worse than the joke was or worse or was it worse? Let's put it up.

You know, I was laughing. I just had my mask on for and jokes is amazing.

You're not comedians, guys. We're trying we're trying hard. We were occupiers.

Christ, we're not currently five teams. Captain, Detroit, New Jersey, New York Rangers, Ottawa, senators in Vegas, Golden Knights. The wings, of course, are expected to name Dillon Locke and at some point. But interest in some teams still opt to go with no captain in this day and age.

Well, Steve, because he was fucking ripping the bong fake like. Oh, shit. Yeah, people didn't name the captain. Oh, my. Sorry, my pen died.

I took the in the car, not the city of hey gang.

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We did mention covid earlier in the show because it's twenty twenty, twenty, twenty one hockeys back. So that means the covid beat is back. Unfortunately the Dallas stars just had six players and two staff members test positive, so they had to close up shop over the weekend.

The expectations that the team will not open this season earlier than Tuesday, the 19th, the PENS also had to cancel practice and scrimmage on Saturday. LeBron suspects that this will happen a bunch. He tweeted, My guess is the schedule is going to change many times for several teams throughout the season, in all likelihood because of positive tests. Get used to this. And I know the NBA is a different league, but these two leagues play the same schedule, essentially same buildings, and they've been canceling games left and right, the Celtics and Heat out of, I should say, postpone.

And he had to postpone postpone again. L.A. Kings also had five players unfit to participate. So boys and we we're having positive thoughts here. But when you see what's going on in the NBA, we've seen in baseball and football, it feels like covid might reach a little havoc on the NHL schedule.

Yeah, that goes without saying I'm so sick of the shouldn't be doing this. Look at these games are going to get postponed. You've seen it all year in the NFL. You've seen it around the world in sports. Premier League Soccer, they're postponing games, we're going to deal with it, the league, the season will get played and there'll be times where teams got to take 10 days off and everything gets refigured. There's no fans. It's going to happen.

But for all these people, oh, my God, the NHL has failed. What are they doing while they're coming off the most successful covid participation of all time in the two bubbles of all time.

Corvids been around a year, not even.

But you know what I'm saying? Like enough with the complaining. Oh, my God, look at this. Hockey is going to be a mess. Every sport's a mess. And when the games end up getting postponed, they'll get played later on and we'll figure it out. But the whole sense of like frustration and annoyance that the season's even going on is so ridiculous to me. Like, you do want hockey or not, because with what what's going on right now, you going to have to deal with the covid storylines of teams getting it and especially with the travel up.

I don't know, you know what, I'm so I was I was just taking it all in, I thought that was very well said, that I won so many like articles say, oh, my God, look at this. And it already. Yes. I think that kind of shows why the bubble was was the way they had to go. And maybe we'll will see that. I couldn't see them adjusting halfway through the year. But could you see it where it gets the playoffs, them redoing another bubble situation or the fuse?

I think the longer this goes, the better off everything's going to be as the vaccine's getting rolled out, hopefully. So as the season, you know, hopefully we get into May and it's getting better around the country numbers wise. I have no idea how that's going to play out, but I don't see a bubble again because the players hated it so much. Right. And Inara, you did mention that Dallas is one of those teams, and I believe that they were supposed to start the season against Florida.

Mm hmm.

And it kind of segues way into something else that we had to talk about as far as something that Elliott Freeman tweeted out. Now something to look out for. I don't know what's going on. I'm sure there'll be more that comes out with it. I'll let you read the tweet. There are. Yeah, bizarre.

Elliott actually retweeted George Richards, who covers the Panthers down in Florida.

He tweeted on Sunday, the Panthers split up team practice in what looks like game players and those on the fringe of making the roster. Defenseman Keith Yandle is with that second group. Joe Pennsville says the group can change throughout the week. He wants to see the team's younger defense and then he's right.

Still, dot, dot, dot in. This guy's not a click bait type guy. He's a pretty good journalist. And Elliott Freeman retweeted George and said this is something to watch. Over the next few days, Florida's first two games versus Dallas were postponed. Jandal's those eight hundred and sixty six games consecutively played Streak is longest active and fourth all time. And then Elliott asks, will there be a spot for him on Florida? So I don't. What did you want to chime in?

I haven't talked to Keith. I'm not going to bother him right now getting ready for the season. But when I saw this, it's shocking to me that he's not there right now and I don't know what's going on, but I can imagine that a new GM comes in. And looks to change culture, looks to get rid of guys that he doesn't consider the team going to. He doesn't consider the team will win a Stanley Cup with maybe guys getting older.

You know, things are going on when you become a new GM and there's changes you want to make. So maybe he maybe this guy's come in and he's not a fan of Keith, I have no idea as of right now, but there is no way I refuse to believe there is any chance that Keith Jandal's Iron Man streak will be ended when their season gets going.

Right now, not practicing with with the main squad and Kernville will look at the younger days.

I don't know. I don't know who's making these decisions. But if you look at Keith Randall's past 10 years, his whole career on the power play and offensively he is one of the best in the league.

This is not a guy who signed a long deal getting older and his games really slipped, like looking at like a guy kind of like Andrew Ladd.

Right. He's he's older, probably lost a step. And you've seen him spend time in the minors. And, you know, it's a contract where a guy does get older. We often talk about they're probably not going to be able to play to the level that you're paying them when you do sign it. That's not quite right now, specifically the fact that you signed them to produce offense, and I know that sometimes producing that rate of offense, sometimes you may be your own end might get sacrificed a little bit.

But as far as his numbers are concerned, they have not declined one bit. No, not at all.

And so knowing how much guys love Keith, I mean, probably many people who play with him would say he's their favorite teammate they've ever had.

And I don't know. And I'm sure this whole story will come out. But I right now refuse to believe 866 Keith Yandle Ironman streak will be stopped by a health policy and stretch to start this year. I'll flip a fucking table. I'll you that.

I'll I'll I'll lose my I'll take a sky dump on Xeros to find out if I can find out if it's Quen vote, whatever's going on.

I just actually refuse to believe it's going to happen though.

If that, if that goes down who's the, who's the current guy who actually owns the streak right now. Doug Jarvis I think has ended with, with a healthy scratch. Actually that's what I was telling when Shane Dolan was over here.

He said the guy that had it before him, it was one of the top. Oh, you're saying I'm wrong with one of my stats. That's shocking. And calling out your source, Shandon pozzolana.

I mean, definitely. Definitely something that makes no sense to me. When I saw those tweets. Right an hour. Another thing, too, is outside of Ekblad. I don't know if I could name you another DeMatte in Florida. Yeah, they were eager.

They got rid of Matthies into the penguins. And what keeps the issue? What am I am I missing something?

Yeah. So we'll we'll keep an eye on this, folks. I just didn't I just don't understand why. Yeah. Why the drama this early in Captain. And even if it is a case and like guys, this guy is our buddy. So it sounds like we're just defending a friend. If anyone's had an active streak like that who's done as much in the league as he's done and continue to do it, even throw it last year, if you come in as a general manager and you do essentially want to change your culture, you don't see is this as a guy who you think can bring you to a Stanley Cup and and a guy who can't contribute?

I say at least maybe sit them down or talk and say, listen, this is where we need you to pick up your weight and maybe focus on your area of your game in order to mold it to where more how we see it. You are not going to play them. And as opposed to even give a guy who's had that long of a career and and just maybe showing the disrespect to not even be able to prove himself doing it.

And there is one thing about continuing an Iron Man streak or a consecutive games played streak for somebody who isn't carrying their weight anymore is one thing. It's like I can't as a coach or GM, I can't keep playing this guy because he's got a streak going. I charra.

Yeah, I mean, I'm just was a joke. Did he have a streak going. But you know what I mean, Keith, it's not the play is an issue. So it's like something, something, something off. So there's something off down there and we'll know more by by next week I'm sure. Send him to Boston. We'll take them. Boston would be a six boardroom. You lost Krook. And if you Florida keep some of the money safe, Florida holds on to half of his salary and maybe maybe the Bruins send John Moore.

I mean, would you not love that as a Bruins fan?

Would love it is a Bruins fan. So we'll see it. We'll see what goes on.

But I refuse to believe that the streak, the streak will end on a healthy scratch by the shit bag panthers. No offense, Keith.

Yeah, it definitely feels like some sort of a staring contest here, Keith. He has three years left at six point thirty five million. He also has a no move class. So they can't necessarily trade him without his permission. But, you know, and went on own. Our GM could make I don't want to use the word threats, but can say, hey, if you don't want to oblige, we can do this to do that. So it definitely feels like some that for the fun of it, all involved has to come to a head at some point.

You know, I don't think you want to go on with the season now scratch and a guy like this and it just becomes a story that you created on your own.

So but we'll obviously keep our you're also devaluing and assets. Yeah. And in fact, one to trade. I mean, it's just it's it's a little bit bizarre, but we can move on. I think we've kind of. Yeah.

We're going to get to back shortly anyways. Just a couple other notes related to covid. Sorry, I hate to do it, but we got to talk about it. The Tampa Bay Lightning did reverse course. They are not going to allow fans in the building due to the recent court cases and hospitalizations in Pinellas County. Three teams will have some fans. The stars will have 30 percent cap, which is five thousand fans, the Panthers and the other side of Florida from Tampa.

They'll have a twenty five percent gap at five thousand fans. And you guys, the coyote's twenty five percent cap, which is thirty four hundred and fifty fans. And that doesn't include media and other people that are allowed to go in, but it's kicking off soon their best. All right.

I'm very excited, very excited to get going. Actually, we're going to do we're going to I'm going to head to the game on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks a little. I think they play them back to back. They play on Saturday as well to kick off the year. So excited to see Burnsy as well. And action so. Jose Sharks and other team looking for a bounce back year after they struggled last year, Erik Karlsson, another big name there.

So I'll get to see him live in the flesh and get my. How do you say that? You're my my my TV, my TV personality back on. So I have to have somewhat of a filter.

Busy. What does it peterman's biz. Peterman's business.

Culligan go. Yeah, it's going to take a little getting used to these baseball style schedules for sure. And one last note before we send it over to Jack Ickle. A couple of teams are going to partnership as far as the HL, Nashville and Carolina are both going to use the Chicago wolves in the NHL and Tampa Bay in Florida. Both can use the Syracuse crunch. The NHL just kind of kind of way. You can actually have a guy on your team and then go play them later in the season.

I know it's probably slim this year, but either way, want to pass that along. But boys, I think we should send it over to Buffalo Sabres superstar Jack Ickle right about now.

Well. But we're happy to welcome our next guest back guy making his fourth appearance on the show, I believe I might be a regular type for one.

He's heading into his sixth NHL season already and his third as captain of the Buffalo Sabres last season. He further solidified himself as an MVP caliber number one center in the league, while Posten career high some goals and points per game. Welcome back to the Spin and Sheppard's podcast, Jack Ikal. Welcome back.

It's nice to be back. It's nice to nice to catch up with you boys.

Thanks for making time for us during camp. We appreciate it. How's it going? It's been good, I mean. I guess with everything going on in the world and covid and everything else, it's actually been a pretty smooth Kantha The organisation's done a good job of keeping things pretty, pretty easy for us. And let us focus on the hockey more or less.

I think that it's crazy to think how long ago was since you played a hockey game. So it must be so exciting. I know you were battling a little bit of an injury. You must miss the first couple of days. Everything's good there.

Yeah. Yeah. I had something that I did train and probably like three weeks ago I was on the ice and and I did something to myself. So yeah, I took the first whatever, four or five days off of camp and I was skating just now with the group. And no, it's nice to be back with them. I mean, it's tough. Like you said, you haven't played a game in ten months and. My timing's just terrible right now, and it's kind of like I said the other day, the media is like I think people kind of have to understand, like hockey hasn't you know, we haven't played in a while.

And and for some of us 10 months and for some of us that were in the bubble, it's been. But just the break itself has been. So it's been so long and without pre-season and with a shorter camp, I can't imagine the start of the regular season being as crisp as it usually is by chance. That's just that's just how it's going to be.

I'm going on the overall the first few games, but sloppy hockey I'm looking at.

Do they make you guys do the same fitness testing as they normally do?

No, no, they didn't actually. We barely we barely do anything. I know some guy. I talked to some other guys in other places that are. That got absolutely bagged. I know that part of the agreement between the NHL and the P.A. and whatever was I think it was limiting the the fitness testing off the ice. But I know that some teams still bury guys on the ice with fitness testing. Luckily, our coaches. He's a pretty smart guy, not saying that fitness testing dumb, but he utilized all his time as much as he could and yeah, he didn't really bag he didn't really Bagus unnecessary.

Ralph didn't test you physically, but he's always got those mental tests going to tell you Sudoku puzzle around the room and crosswords.

This guy so smart because he's just intimidating. When I was talking to him, he's got he's got knowledge about, like, everything. So he's very, very well-educated.

I'll say that about Ralph Krueger. Yeah, he is one of the most. Yeah. He's he's one of the most diverse people I've ever been around. Like, he can talk to you about anything in the world.

So you guys didn't have a Russian training camp starts over in Columbus. So that's nice, that's all.

No, I mean, even even like Toronto, I was talking to a couple of guys up there. I know that their skaters was pretty tough this year. Really, they were I talked to a few guys that were complaining that they had absolutely no legs whatsoever when they got on the ice for practice because they just got completely smoked during the during the skate tests. But luckily, we don't do a skate this we did it one year. I think it was maybe flophouses.

First year is pretty tough, but I think that was that was the last time we did it.

I think that was part of the agreement with those signing bonuses they got that they had to have harder training caps because the wires come in and then they then they bag them a little bit.

Hey, just a jumping real quick. Just one you guys have like a dog biting on a toy or something.

Right now I do my fucking dogs on there.

I heard that he thought that that was a squeaky toy. I was wondering if those that was up to no good over.

Oh, my God. Look at that thing. Is that when you get right now he's biting on this.

Oh, I keep trying to throw it underneath me because I'm standing here trying to bite it. What's the dog's name?

Harold. Harold. That's a great name for Dog Harold.

What is a French fry? French French bulldog.

Yeah. That dog eat well, how much bigger, how much bigger will you get? A tiny is tiny. It's probably not going to get more than like twenty four.

Twenty five pound things. A chick magnet. Oh, I'm sorry about that, Mickey. I don't know. You know where you start the interview?

We have to cover it.

So I was talking to M.S. and I was I was doing a little bit of digging before this one and he says this thing's been shitting all over the house, all over it.

And he's got like good days and bad days. But I feel like sometimes if you're not, like, giving him attention and he's just like, fuck you, I'm in pain like this.

Yeah. Like, he's he's not potty trained at all.

My parents have have a dog and like my dog growing up, the thing's potty trained in a week. It's just like nobody it goes to the door, never gets you never have to worry about an accident. This guy you got to have an eye on him at all times. He's either piss in or shit and and then when he shit sometimes he eats it.

It's just like, oh yeah, he's sick. I was going to say happy thing. Like it's a puppy thing.

I was I was about to say I used to have this model. You named it Odel. I used to have the same problem, but it was a middle aged woman but she wouldn't eat that.

That was, that's a little fucked up man I know. Poor poor guy. He doesn't even know any better. You got to take him to the vet and get him some medicine that makes them not do that.

My wife was talking about a dog. Look at a breeder and they will train the dog.

I was that an option or do you choose to do it? Apparently you can get a dog sent. You trained.

Good to go. Oh. Oh yeah. Like I'm pretty sure McKinnon has a German shepherd. He paid like forty grand for the thing I like. Twenty five grand and the thing breakfast. Yeah. It literally came fully fully got a fully trained like I know a lot of people that have gotten the dogs fully trained.

This guy, I mean he's not trained at all.

Yeah. I'm the baby's name. I tell people like he goes when he wants, where he wants whatever.

We maybe we can keep track of the progression over your social media of how he's getting trained. You can do little lessons. Maybe, you know, maybe you could send them off to daycare or something.

I think yeah. I think that's got to be in the works for him to get to get to some sort of doggy daycare. So he he kind of figures out that he's got to go outside, not inside and. I mean, that is not bad, I mean, it's kind of gone through that like five month thing where they're like he goes through like humpin and phases and he's had that span.

Yeah, 30 years. This had it. But phases lasted for a lot longer than a couple of months, you know, and fortunately, nobody snapped them.

Hey, you would have had you would have to put the dog down if there's no you know, you just have a lot of fucking child support payments to make you at least you got the coin that all these old baby mama dogs.

So as the season gets going for you guys, it's so different. You mentioned covid. No fans who talked about it. But I mean, that city's a football town and the Bulls look special. I did hear there's a chance that some fans could be allowed into that playoff game. Is your chance you're going or what's the deal? I would have loved to have gone tomorrow at one o'clock, we have so we're doing a seven o'clock scrimmage tomorrow night like in our squad scrimmage.

I mean, we're just trying to replicate like a game day. So we're into to skate the whole thing game day tomorrow night. But the bills buy one. So obviously don't do the scrimmage at the same time that they're playing. We did a scrimmage earlier in the week. That was at 1:00, but it would have been nice if the bills had been they game, then we could have probably played at 1:00 and then and then be able to watch the game.

But I mean, I'm going to still watch it. Just sit at home and watch it. But I think there are fans going. I think that everything has to prove a negative covid test. And I think that there's some things they've got to do. But yeah, there are fans going. And I mean, the towns are going nuts about the bills for sure that they look like a wagon haul, that, you know, Josh Allen and all of you become buddies with him.

Yeah, he's probably the only guy in the team that I would probably say I know personally like in exchange messages with. And so I met him a few years ago and then, yeah, I just kind of like if I'm like I've been over to their facility a few times and and hung out with them there and whenever he's at the game he comes down. And so I mean, we've, we've been able to connect a little bit. But yeah, he's a he's a good dude and he's obviously a really, really good competitor and a SEC football player.

He's a host to is huge, huge fan.

Like when you get around and he makes me feel small really all along. I mean, obviously he's way wider, but he's he's like towering over you.

He's got to be like six four, six, five to 240, probably being a massive hands man. He's and he he and he can move pretty well to the jack.

And I know you're a Pats fan, but if the bills keep marching on, we could eventually see a video you smash through a flame covid table drenched in mustard and ketchup. I mean, are you going to catch the fever no matter what? Right.

I know. Yeah. I love I love the bills, obviously being here. And and I think a lot of the fans here know, like I mean, I'm a Patriots fan, right? I grew up there like I think it's I mean, you can't just like be a fan of a team and then go somewhere else and then not like that team anymore. It's just not how it works, you know what I mean? So people are like, you need to be a Bills fan now, like, I love the bills, like I root for the bills.

But at heart I'm a Patriots fan, so I root for the Patriots. And I grew up liking them. I mean, I've liked them for twenty years and that's that's just how it is. So I would I would love to I mean, obviously there's not the bills, tailgates and everything. Like I was saying, it's some the other day, like I'd love to go to one of the games if we had nothing going on and get squirted with ketchup and mustard with that guy.

I think it would be hilarious of you on real get get Hulsey to do it, get the fucking morale going for your guys season. The fans were going nuts. I feel like he's like the bills for a while actually.

Yeah. I was talking to today said obviously there's no football team in Toronto. So he's he's trying to get he's trying to get on someone's bandwagon. So I figured I'd jump on the bills, but I think he said I think he said he's been on the bills bandwagon for a little bit before he got traded.

Even there's a few NHL players who are pretty vocal about it. Logan Couture's always tweeting about them. There's a lot of hard core beliefs out there.

Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of a lot of Bills fans in Ontario, right, because I've seen a team, so a lot of a lot of those fans come down during the game. It'd be pretty cool if it ended up being seahawks' in bills because it would kind of create this like Canadian rivalry, there's a ton of people from Vancouver who have seasons to Seahawks games. Really? Oh, yeah, they are hard. I would say they probably have a bigger fan base in Vancouver that represent the Seahawks than maybe Ontario in the Bills.

Yeah, I mean, I know, like I know Rhino, I don't know if he is 16 anymore, but I know he's been to a pretty good amount of Seahawks games coming down from Vancouver when he was living there. The season when the season abruptly ended, you were having the best year of your career. I know it wasn't great for the team, but just lighting it up and everything comes to a halt.

So for a while, nobody knew if the regular season be finished. It was such a long wait in terms of how this thing was going to go down. What was the longest time that you didn't skate? I mean, was there ever like month, two months where you were off your skates or were you at least at most a week?

She's one time off. Yeah. I mean, I took some time off from the ice, I think when. Originally, yeah, we didn't know what was going to happen with the season, right. And and I think for that first, whatever you want to call it, month, month and a half of covid, nobody really knew, right? Everyone's kind of froze. So I skated for the first few weeks of quarantine, if you want to call it.

But it was more or less by myself where I was just going on the ice because there was nothing to do. So I found somewhere to skate and I was just going out and skating in the mornings or just just to get out of the house and go somewhere and skate and. Stay busy and do something that you like doing, because there is I mean, other than that, I was really just sitting on my couch and drinking wine and watching like I was nothing to do.

Right. So. You got your finger up. Oh, I just tells those guys that I'm going to happen next. Oh, yeah. It's like a little signal will play Colin over here, buddy.

All right. I'm out of work on a half wall.

All right. But no. So after that, I went down to Florida actually for a month, the month of May, and I just skated with Ozzy for a month. And so I was down there kind of hanging out. Obviously, the weather's a lot better. And so I went down there and then I think it was like either at the end of May or the beginning, I don't know whenever they said that they were going to go. Try and come back with this season, and they were going to the bubble and they had other plans set, but when they made the announcement that we weren't going to be one of the teams, I kind of put my bag away for a while and I still worked out and trade off the ice, but I probably wasn't on the ice as much.

So I probably I probably honestly took probably a month off of skating. I would say that's long for you.

Like you like your skating often. Yeah.

I mean, that's. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I've gotten more into like stay on the ice more year round and giving yourself more of a rest from lifting here and there than, than the ice. I just I my body reacts better to that so.

Yeah, but I probably gave myself a month off or so, and then I started getting back on and skiing gradually, more and more, but like even like I was back in the Boston area for most of the summer and. Like even being back there, it wasn't the normal summer where you have, like a bunch of guys skating together because the Bruins were in the bubble, a lot of guys were still playing. And so usually we're at warrior skating.

So it was like we had a small group of guys kind of up in Kingsborough skating together for a few months, which was fine. Like, you know, we made the most of it. It was it was ice time and we were working hard, but it wasn't the normal summer that we had. So but it wasn't a normal summer for anyone, you know.

Did you need that much time off because you were maybe burnt out or just like you just needed a mental break? And during that time, did it give you a lot of time to think about the future of the team? Because I know in the summertime and ended up coming out, you you made some comments and I thought they were fair. You're like, I want to win. I'm sick of losing. And they had to address some issues as far as bringing guys in.

Yes, so I think I took a bit of a break as a as a mental break. I had some injuries that I was dealing with last season, during the year, so when I knew we weren't going to play for a while, I took some time off to try and let myself get healthy and then to touch on the other fact that, like, yeah, I mean, I think at the end of every season, you know, it's either deemed a success or failure.

And, you know, unfortunately in Buffalo, we haven't been able to make the playoffs in the last few years. And that is frustrating. It's frustrating for me. It's frustrating for the organization, frustrating for the fans, the city. And yeah, I mean, I think I obviously in somebody who shows their emotion and I'll say how I feel, I don't hold things in too often. And I definitely expressed my frustration with where we were and where we're going.

With that being said, I think, you know, the organization made a lot of good moves this summer. You know, where you've played for Ralph? I think having a coach like that, having a guy like that, leading a team is huge. So, I mean, I think if you voice your frustrations but, you know, I don't think I'm the only guy that was frustrated either. You know what I mean? I think I'm sure you know, I'm sure my comments probably might hold some more weight.

I am the captain of the team and and I understand that. But, you know, I'm not the only guy that's frustrated. I think everyone is probably frustrated in their own way. But, yeah, I mean, everyone wants to win, right? We're competitors.

When you when free agency did come around as late as it was, was there a chance for you to talk to Halsy when he was thinking about Buffalo as an option? Or was that more of a surprise when you did hear the news?

Yeah, I had no idea. He really I had no clue. Like, none. So just like the NBA, I had no idea.

So I think it was I think it was I want to say it was either Kevin or Ralph had mentioned something to me like. I think it was Ralph had said obviously he played for. He he had Halsy and Edmonton, so I think he might have said that they were in contact with him and his agent and and he was considering us, you know, blah, blah, blah. And, you know, I don't I don't I don't know.

I had no idea. You know, you always think, like, you know, every team should go after a player like that. Right. So you think every single team in the league is probably trying to get in on Halsy. And, you know, it makes sense why. And he's obviously won the MVP a few years ago, Studd player. So it's like you think everyone's in on him. So, you know, I'm like, oh, like, you know, this guy obviously wants to win and and we don't have the best track record of the last few years, like, what are our actual chances of getting him?

And and then I remember. Ralph called me late on a Sunday night, the night that has ended up signing, and I was. I was away, I think I was I was at a lake house or something, having dinner. I don't know. I just remember missing the call and then within the time frame of of me being away from my phone and seeing it, I had already had like 10 text messages about assigning Halsy. And then I had called Ralph back and then ended up, you know, talking to Halsy for a little.

But yeah, obviously such a special player. And he's a great guy and we're lucky to have them. Jack, I know you miss the few days the stock camp and you haven't had a lot of time on the ice cream yet, but what's the early chemistry?

Well, tell yourself it's good. I mean, it's it's tough to build chemistry this quick in practice. And there's a lot of guys in the ice right now, so. You know, you're not getting as many reps as you probably would during the season, but, you know, we have the scrimmage tomorrow night, which I think would be important for us to try and build more chemistry. And, you know, with a guy like Halsy, I mean, he's so dynamic and so fast, like, you know, you kind of have to get used to that speed.

I think, you know, he's somebody who, you know, you can just put a puck to an area and he's going to be the guy and make a dynamic play. And he's somebody that can create so much on his own. So I think it'll be it'll be great for the two of us. I think, you know, we'll be able to work well off each other. But, yeah, I mean, I think it's just more or less just trying to continue to get used to, you know, the tendencies and, you know, where he likes to go, how he likes to play and vice versa.

I think the one thing you'll like is he'll go to the dirty areas to score. He plays hard, like cause he definitely I mean, he probably plays too hard at times or like, dude, to protect yourself a little bit. So, I mean, that's only going to help help you in terms of passing in connection with him. It's going to be fun to watch. I mean, I know that it's been tough and you've said that.

But even even auto a two we talked about teams are getting better. They're adding guys. Same with you. So it's definitely a year where you have some serious optimism, I would think. Yeah. And, you know, we had a guy like Eric Staal and we got Ekin, like, you know, we've definitely added some good players to our group. And, you know, these careers speaks for itself. But, you know, he's a he's I mean, still I mean, I don't I don't know how I don't know how old he is, but he's been playing the game for a while.

You're in his 18th season of a good news, as always.

Already past a thousand games. You guys don't get to buy him a fucking gift. That's a big that's all. I bet you the the boys are pumped after that, Sinon.

Yeah, but like, even in camp, like he's looks so good and like he's just such a smart player and he makes so many good plays. And you can just tell he's like one of those ageless wonders where like it doesn't matter how old he gets the guy, he must play hockey, you know what I mean? And so he was another really big signing for us.

Yeah, he's an established veteran cop. He's been a captain as well for a team largely in its twenties. What does a presence like like him into the room? Just, you know, in some respects, obviously.

But yeah, it's huge. I mean, I think. You know, we've had a young team for a lot of years, and, you know, when I first came to Buffalo, our team was older and younger over the last few years. And, you know, I've said this a few times. I think it's important to have that mix between older guys and younger guys and experienced guys like Halsy and install that, you know, guys in the room really respect.

And, you know, they demand respect. And I think it it brings a lot to the room, you know. And for me, like you said, as a young captain, I mean, you know, I'm trying to figure it out. So I'm I'm watching these guys every day trying to trying to get better at at my own job. And, you know, they're really good guys to learn from. I asked McCain the same question, what was the one thing that you felt that you needed to work on this offseason to bring an ad to your bag?

And guess what he said, try to guess his answer needs. Yeah, cos I don't know. The guy's got a lot of shit in his back.

So I was like, what's he going to say? Sure. Face off the chipper putter or what do you call the spin doctor? That's what he wants to add to his fucking bag. That sucks.

And bad guys. All the. Oh, that the club. Yeah. Yeah. But I don't know. Let me see. Well for me, I mean, I don't know, like for a lot of the offseason it was about getting healthy and, and getting my body in the position to play 82 games and try and take care of myself. You know, I feel like I feel like the biggest thing, you know, in our league. It's just consistency, being able to do it every single night, you know, or as many nights as you can.

And even those nights where you don't feel good being able to contribute. And I think that those are those are the things that separates the best players, you know, in the world. You know, the MVP caliber players from you know, from everyone else is like you just you make a difference no matter what in the game. And, you know, for me, it's just trying to find that consistency through the whole season. And, you know, a lot of that has to do with, you know, how how you feel physically and in trying to and trying to help yourself feel as fresh or as healthy as possible for as many games as possible.

And, you know, so, you know, part of my offseason was geared towards that. You know, part of your offseason is geared towards, you know, sharpening your skills, getting better at shooting whatever you want to call it, just all your things, whether it be power skating, you know. So I think you just try and touch on it all. And, you know, I think at this point, it's it's tough to, like, pinpoint one thing that you want to get better at as you just try and fine tune things that you feel like you might be able to get a little bit better at.

And I think that, like for me, working with Ozzy has been been huge because he's so good at, like, finding the smallest little details in your game that he thinks you can improve on. And obviously, the you know, the track record with him and players is huge around the league. Is there any times is there any time with him because he is so well educated about the game, that you kind of have disagreements where you're like, I don't know about that.

Like when you go back and forth, are you pretty much what he says almost every time you completely agree with and are willing to work on? Well, I'm willing to work on anything, right, I'm willing to work on anything that that he brings forward, but he always has probable cause and he always explains why we're doing something. He always there's usually there's always video to go along with whatever he's saying or teaching. Right. So. Not to give too many of his tricks away, but a lot of what he does as he watches the best players in the world do things and he watches their habits, and then he tries to teach people's habits, like it's hard to explain what he knows, but he dumps it down for us.

He's he's he's very, very good at looking at very, very fine details in a game and being able to look at what someone does and try to teach that. So whatever whatever skill he's usually teaching, there is a there's a there's video to go along with it.

Well, he talked about it when he was talking about one of the defensemen he was working with. I think it might have even been was it Luke Shen? And it was, you know, how many times a game are you going back for? Puck retrievals. We'll work on it like like consistently like repetitive to like you become essentially a robot in every situation. We were spending the most of your time on the ice. And, you know, as simple as it sounds, was this guy just going to work on going in and retrieving it?

It's just like, you know, it's it added so much to his game. Yeah, and like, that's what I started working with him after my rookie year and. Like, one of the biggest things that he's one of the biggest areas that he's taught me is how to be like a half ball player on your off side. So how to play the offensive zone? It would be like your left side where I play on the power play, how to play it, how to play it.

Five on five, how to play it, five on three, how to play it five on four no matter what like and and a lot of different things come off of that side because as a writer you're more dynamic from your left side than your right side. There's more options. So you stick to the middle, you mean. Yes, a lot. A lot of things, whether it's that we're pulling up, whether it's curling, you know, whether it's your power play, it's a one timer.

You know, there's just a lot of options over there. So, you know, we definitely spend a lot of time working on that area of my game because like you said, it's like a sense of going back back for a puck. If you watch a game, you spend so much time in that area, no matter what the offensive zone, you always float there. You float to the back door, you float to the half wall, you float to the circle.

Like if you watch a game, the tendency of players that you watch a Kane or Panarin or Koocher or some of these guys, they always find that area over there. And there's a reason. Right. That's that's where you're most dynamic. A lot of noise has been made about Dylan Cousins and him coming in and how good he looked, and we'll just I think he's going to make a great impact. Big time rookie, but d'Orleans, only 20 years old, these two two years in.

But you got to you got to think this year you'll see even a bigger step forward for him. Yeah, I think so, and I think the guys are seeing it camp like he's he's put on weight, he's bigger. I mean, I think some people forget he's so young, he's not even twenty yet.

Right. So his skill level is obviously incredible. And his. His competing passion for hockey is fantastic. He obviously wants to be the best. He works very hard at it. So, I mean, he's been great. And during Kampeas, he looked really, really, really good there in camp. So I'm excited to see what he can do. I think he's he's he's primed for a serious breakout season and he's going to he's going to do a lot of special things for our team.

So he's going to be you know, I told him when he got drafted, like, just be patient. You know, you're going to want a nurse in this league. Like, you're so good. It's crazy. The first time I skated with them, I called my dad after I was like, I think I'm skilled. Like, this is way more skilled than I am, really. That's how good it is. Yeah, I remember.

What's he doing with the puck? He's just so smooth.

I mean, the Swedes, the Swedes are just so smooth, but like just the way that he moves his body and his hands and everything, just such a smooth player. And so I think he's trying to have a huge year. Get a chance to see Cousins lighted up at the Junior's, I did, yeah. I mean, I was I was rooting for him to have a good personal personal term. And obviously not that I want him to be the.

Yeah, I didn't want him to be the states, but I know it's good to see him doing well. And I think he's another guy who, you know, we're obviously happy to have in the organization. And somebody is probably going to make an impact on our team at some point. So I think he I think he's in Buffalo now and, you know, hopefully we'll see him over the next few days. I haven't seen him yet, but they've been doing a good job of separating guys and different covid rules.

And there's a lot of a lot of a lot of stuff that goes with it.

Yeah, he's he's in quarantine. If you take a private jet, it's just smaller quarantine.

So I know I was I was in a locker room. Must be nice. I just finished the game. Jump on a PJ. You're off the buffalo. I've never had it that good luck.

Yeah. Try playing in the minors like business. They got an East Coast Hockey League jersey on you like that one going the other two times.

Willie Nelson, my my best buddy played in the Wheeling. There's a couple of years ago.

He's still playing, isn't he, deafly? What a handsome bastard. He's over in France, this guy. No way in the life. What's it like in the life of living the life we got?

Should we get them on to talk about it? Is it a fun league?

Well, I was going to say more or less. His his extracurricular activities is what living the life means like.

So I was talking about like a model is easy. Go Instagram model.

No, no. So he actually booked modeling gigs over in France. So he's been gone. This guy must be he's been modeling. So he had like a French drink all the ladies and make a long holiday break. So he went to Spain for ten days. He was in Madrid enjoying himself, and then he went to Portugal and surfed for another week.

And now he's back in France plan. But, yeah, he's living he's living pretty. He but he did he is doing the modeling thing. He's actually taking it serious. So hopefully the guy starts bringing in some cash. I don't have to pick up every one of his tabs anymore.

Oh, Portugal got some sick surfing to watch the surf he's had. I was going to ask you about that. You're a surfer. You're not. Oh, no.

I got in the water with them once this summer and I got right out.

I thought was it is that I thought maybe that's why that's why you're growing out the hair, because you're going now. I was just going out there for looks good in your helmet.

I should go you should go rattail playoffs and then keep the braider over the shoulder at the face off circle. Guys won't even fucking want to step in there with you, eh.

You did the you did the music vote on Instagram.

I like that. Yeah. I never finished it man. I figure gram for life. I deleted Instagram for a little bit during the summer. I was just like, I don't need to look at all the stuff going on. Like there's obviously like a lot of conflicts going on there. Country and people. Everything is just people who are very critical at the time and.

Yeah, no what still like it was just.

Yeah, but it was just, it was getting a lot for me to look at every day and I was just kind of getting fired up with what people were saying and doing. So I just took it off my phone. So I stopped doing the music bracket. But I, I did do that for a little and I should finish it. Everyone keeps telling me to finish. I think we're through like the Sweet Sixteen or something. Yeah. All right.

So that's going to that's going to reappear. That's starting back up.

I think we've talked about the music on here before, but what is it with the older tunes and bands that resonate with you? Is that your old man playing it around the house?

I mean, it's just like it's just like what you grew up on, like. So I grew up on a lot of the older music with my dad and then. I got into a lot of it myself where, like he would he kind of got me on a good pathway in music, I would say, and then I started kind of. You know, learn in a lot of a lot of things on my own, and I kind of delve into it myself, whether it's different groups that I like, that he wasn't as into whether I just kind of I carve my own path through it and I'm still going through it.

And you'll find a new people I like and new songs, just albums, whatever.

That might have been our first big scoop. We're finding out that Jack was a classic rock.

Has all the young kids used to like that? She did assume the other day, I don't know. I saw a picture of it on Twitter or something. You had a Rolling Stone magazine cover framed. Is that in your home, too?

Oh, yeah. It's like you got Jim Morrison's on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. It's in my kitchen. So this dude's dialed in.

So who would you be listening to as far as new artists are concerned? Any of the new artists interest you?

What genre? I mean, I listen to everything like so like I really like. Did you see you like my morning jacket?

I do. Started up show him and I'll be in. A bunch of the guys brought me to Bonnaroo and that was the first time I'd ever seen them or heard of them. And I was like, this is like how come I never heard of these guys saying, oh, it was unbelievable.

It just released their new album, the one with the eyeball on it.

Yeah, yes. I mean, I got I started getting O'Reilly's obviously a big fan of them. So he had kind of turned me on to them a few years ago. But I never really I never really delve too deep into the the group. And and more recently, I have gotten into them. I started to get entertainment. Paul, I don't know if you know who that is. Kevin Parker. He's like Australian musician. So he plays sort of like it's like indie rock, psychedelic rock.

So I started getting into him and he's been he's been on the top of my list recently.

So do you got the score in the locker room or do you have a big say in what's being played? Yeah, there's only like we were talking about today, I don't know, like four or five guys that really care about where we listen to. So I get in there early enough. I usually put on what I want to listen to and but you guys are pretty easy. No one's no one's making bad decisions on the music, so it's it's not too bad.

OK, you said early enough and it reminds me of one of the stories that I dug up. So Matt Morrison talked about when you live with them, he like to go to the rink early in one day that you ended up driving there. You know what story I'm referring to?

Yeah, we were going to a game. I think it was against Colorado. Yeah, it was against the Colorado Avalanche, if he remembers it like it was yesterday. Yeah, it was February in Buffalo, so it's pretty cold and I think I was out to dinner the night before and I didn't want to pump gas because how cold it was.

I always do that for me. And most ran away to the game. And I was I had not much gas in the tank. So I with the heat blaring in the car, heated seats going, music going, whatever, we were probably like we're probably 10 minutes in the rink, one o'clock game too.

And all of a sudden the car just starts slowing down in the highway and I run out of gas on the way to gain some panicking. But like we had left early enough, we weren't going to be late, but we weren't going to be on time like we were going to be late. Right. So 1:00 a.m. I want to be there, you know, before 11:00, like we were going to be there for 11:00, probably. And so my car, I pull over and on the off ramp and I'm in a three piece suit and and there's there's a good amount of snow on the ground.

And I'm trekking through the snow and there's not like a close gas station off that exit. So I'm trekking through the snow, off the exit. I'm running down the street. And three piece I get to the gas station, I'm freezing. I'm like I go in, there's there's like the gas cans, whatever. So I'm buying one. And a guy walks in with a bunch of savours stuff on. He looks at me, he notices me.

He's like, Oh, Jack, Michael. Right. And I don't even I'm just like, yeah, can you help me? He's like, yeah, yeah, sure. Like what do you need? And I'm like, my car broke down. I'm on the way to a game like, can you help me out or whatever. And so he he ends up pumping the gas for me. I'm sitting in his car at this point. He drives me back to my car.

He gets out and the animals sit in the car while he pumps the gas into my car for me, we take off to the game. I got the guys no, I left them some tickets. I have exchanged messages with them and it was really nice of them. But I remember just being so cold and this guy was out there and his hands must have been so cold trying to pump the gas and he couldn't get it. But yeah, most wanted to kill me because he's like he gets so anxious if he's going to be late or what he needs to be there early.

But the best part about it, he's like, I was a bit of a mental midget the rest of the night here. I'm having a tough game.

You have to score first shift, he said I said, yeah, I scored in the first shift and he was like, God damn you. I think I scored pretty early. So he said, I got to run to run out of gas before every game.

Now, yeah, I've imagine Crosby would have talked. He'd be pulled over on the highway in Pittsburgh that well icks.

Thanks so much for hopping on with us. Dude, you got another one. I just wanted to ask you, I think you're building a new place out in New Hampshire. You're going to have your own rink. You bought a place in New Hampshire?

I did. So I bought a house on I bought a house on Seebruck Beach, actually bought it in the fall.

He bought New Hampshire so much more like great repassed Plum Island, Georgia. So is it is a beach I grew up going to you know, I had been looking in the city for a while and I just said I'd rather wake up to the beach everyday. So I rented a house there for a little bit this summer, loved it, decided I'd go back. But yeah. So we're we're in the process of of knocking the house down and building a new one.

So, yeah, we'll have to have a we'll have to do it in Schaikewitz Crib's or whatever. You guys can come up and we'll have a couple of beers on the beach and and hang out there. All right.

Well all around you get let's let's hope we don't get bent over by the contractor like MC Dave. At least get make sure you get higher ceilings in the shooting gym.

Yeah, I know. That's been like one of the big things in the plan is ceiling heights. And it's crazy how much goes into this. But, you know, there's there's some good people taking care of it, so I'll leave it to them.

Beds will fit right in the it all those tattoos it to take a shower.

Oh yeah. I don't go I don't go over the border in the hant inside but we'll let this go there. Oh over the border.

Now it's a book. I bought a place in New Hampshire and he turned up to training camp. He smoked cigarettes. Now it's crazy. I, I single handedly brought that state. I called her.

I mean it's not too far away.

I guess that's Vegas. Oh. By the way, last thing I'll say, you and I'll have to bring up the other story that Molson told me next time. But the answer that McKinnon gave was faceoffs. You went into this whole spiel about all these skills you need to work on. He said, face off. So I said, you know, you're nasty with the only thing you can think of is face offs. Yeah.

I mean, let's be nice, but yeah, Jesus, he doesn't need to work on too much based off of work.

Jack, imagine a veto earlier. Would what you go to for wine gelato.

Yeah, I usually buy in the bag. Aaargh! And slap it. Hey if it's red it's dead already. Do not hear him say he lives in New Hampshire. Of the twenty times I drop the yellowtail joke in this bar, let's go to I don't know.

I mean, what happened was a lot of different lines that I like, you know. Yeah. Like I'm just I like cabs. OK, so. All right. Molson Molson, OK. Okposo have had been my biggest wine influences, so I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Make your wallet take more of a hit, but at least you learn good wines.

Boatswain's Auto teamed up with the hoverboard story, but we're going to save that one. So thank you so much for joining us.

And this is thank God we're safe now away from Episode five. Yeah. Hi, everybody. Thanks so much. Good luck to you. And thanks a bunch, Jack. Yep. The season, buddy.

But thanks to Jack and his pooch, Harold, for joining us. Always a pleasure to have him on and also Happy New Year from our sponsor, Manscape.

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New Year. New Bawls. Oh yeah.

Oh yeah. Definitely. I clean up. I cleaned up with that. Absolutely. Come on in the day I'm going to shake your hupert.

All you guys ever. I've narrowed it even there. Yeah it's ridiculous.

I would pay ten grand that little bit.

You'd pay ten grand to watch me now. I would pay ten grand to have laser removal from my fucking my belly button down shirt for no cost you less than that.

OK, well I'd fucking take it.

Yeah baby we can get a sponsor. We should do it. You'd need to go like seven times. I get my hoop waxed for on camera for the curb. Not what I mean.

God ladies, let's get it lasered. So you're never doing that again like the girls do. Just do that. Just do the landing. Strip their do their little love. Oh. Do you have a flavor of your horn. A little. A little bit. All the French guys got that little flavor. So all he does is keep a little hair in the shape of a joint right above.

It does look like a giant. My cock working on it.

Fucking good is sick ship LeZion.

My favorite part of this new season, I think is the divisions man. I mean, obviously, this isn't something I'm going to do every year. They have to kind of work on the fly here. We got north, west, central and east. We're going to kick off with the east, which basically is like the northeast corridor of Amtrak, Boston, Buffalo, Jersey, the island this ranges, Philly, Pittsburgh and Washington.

We're not going to do a team by team breakdown because I don't think that gets a little tedious. Golden team, the team. But we're going to have to take more.

Yeah. Yeah, basically. All right. I'll jump in first, boys. I think Boston wins the division. I mean, they were the president's trophy winner last year. I know they lost and crew, but I don't think they're insurmountable losses. You know, this isn't the trier of five, ten years ago. I still think they're the team to beat, not division. Obviously, Champ is not there anymore. Let's go to you because what do got going on in the Northeast?

I'm going to go off the board here.

I'm going I'm actually going to pick the Rangers to win that division. I think this is the closest division as far as like like it's anybody's game. I mean, I mentioned how the islanders look now with Lorcan and Basel and how solid they are. But I'm looking to New York with some of these young guns. They're saying this Andre Miller. Is that how I say it? As I say it properly? Yes. Yeah, yeah. OK, thank you.

They're saying this kid's going to make the team at a camp. So there's another guy on the back end who's going to step up. They got who's the guy? They signed the big contract, Trueba, I would imagine, with its Kadry Miller steps in. I don't know what's going on with this D'Angelo. I mean, he's got a lot of the AFI stuff that's going on right now. They've had to talk to him a few times. He's playing the left side currently, but the game is there.

Yeah.

You like him offensively. I mean, yeah, he's a he's a kind of a riverboat gambler. I mean, defensively he's not the strongest. But I think they just the overall their team's good. The two goalies structure, they got the two young Russians. So, you know, in a shortened, condensed season, they can flip flop. But, you know, ultimately, I like how young their legs are. And I think they're going to surprise a lot of people.

And, of course, the number one pick coming in, that's just going to add a little bit more to the offense.

People forget about Kakul, capital, capital. I know he's number two overall pick. Yeah. And in one of those guys who maybe didn't pop off off the start, but neither did Jack Hughes. So looking. For him to really elevate his game along with Furnier and of course, Panarin Spanish adds a Badajoz another guy. So as far as the back end up front and then having two guys in that who are competent, I really like their chances coming out of nowhere in two years, just completely turned organization around.

David has done a phenomenal job and they've quickly kind of gotten things going again.

In a sense, when they signed Panarin, I was like, I don't know, like all this money.

And when does it seem like it was being rushed? Yeah. When are you going to start winning? And either they knew it or they got lucky and that this guy can actually carry a team, because when the season ended last year with Carone, I believe they were in the playoffs. If you'd started the playoffs right then mid-March and nobody saw that coming, they won on a big run. And you mentioned a bunch of guys that I really like.

But for me, no brainer is Philly winning this division? I think the Philadelphia Flyers are are set up to to go and win a Stanley Cup this year. I think there's a legit chance that they could get it done. All I've heard is that our boy Kevin has said that one of the best camps going Shorten camp came in ready to go, playing awesome couple of goals in the scrimmage last night, Sunday night and. Nolan Patrick is a guy that just comes to my mind because we talked earlier about how much he's had to battle and go through since he came into the league.

Another huge prospect. Second, overall, I believe. I don't remember the exact year, but a guy who's like the future of him looks so bright, so much potential. And then the concussion thing, which is so scary and what guys go through and, you know, you don't know if you'll ever get back to that level. Well, in talking to people around that team, he looks as good as anyone on the ice. So I know the issue right now is a Flyers fan is like it's not an issue.

But if you're looking at what maybe could pop up as if Giru and Vasek don't really play at a high level and in the playoffs, it's kind of been an issue. But I still think there's enough there. Young guys, Wise and Carter, Hapi and the goalie, along with Rayvon Prokhorov on D, who I think could could win Noris. I mean, not only is his game great on the offensive side, but he's way better defensively than people realize.

Plays a ton of minutes and is known as the hardest working guy on and off the ice for that team. So he's an animal trainer. There's really strong up the middle.

Yeah, he absolutely loves playing for that team, as do most guys. I think everything's different this year. The Phillies got a good home ice advantage. It seems the crowd is into it. It's not going to be it's not going to matter this year. But their team's good enough to really not have it affect them, because I think there's a there's a ton to go on in terms of the other three playoff teams. I'm going Boston. I'm going Washington.

Oh, man, so that means pit or the Idol or the islanders or the Rangers wouldn't, I think it's crazy, man. This division between this division is murderer's row, as they say it, murderer's row. And I think it just sucks because there's going to be two, if not three really good teams that don't make the playoffs. Philly, Boston. Rangers'. Pittsburgh, Phuket, Washington, Phuket Islanders and Phuket, Buffalo. Buffalo Airport, I don't think Buffalo is getting in this year.

Would love to see you got for your four teams, like I said, Boston for the division. I get the islanders in there. They're essentially recharged. Make it by no chance I'm picking them.

Yeah, they're essentially bringing the same team back. I mean, they lost they last time is great, but they're bringing Sorokin in from Russia's probably maybe the best number two in the league. We'll find out soon. I also like Philly, another team that really didn't have that to do much to their roster that they lose Matty Niskanen when he retired, but they brought in Gustavsen to essentially replace him. And I like the capitals as well for the fourth playoff team.

I know they lost Holtby, but the high on Sampson off the still got a good squad. I know that window is going to be close. And so, again, to reiterate, Boston, to win the division with the island is the flyers in the Capitals finishing off the playoffs, three Patrick division teams. But they are with every division. You're going to get to this one, not maybe not every, but how do you believe this team out?

But that's what's crazy about this year is a lot of good teams. I'm going to make the playoffs.

I got Boston, Philly in both New York teams, and I will leave Buffalo out, I think.

No pit, no wash, no bottle pit, no walk with you on that. Yeah. So there's my heart take. I'll probably go.

There goes there goes your Penguins alumni newsletter. Dad.

Huge roster turnover too. I mean you bring in five, six new guys and a bunch of guys going out. I don't know man.

I don't know if you're going to have that cohesion right away when somebody new pots work with each other. Crosby Yeah. That's really strategy.

No. And said but. All right, boys, we're going to go over to the next division. I've been call it the South Central Division because it's basically they call it the central. But there's a lot of teams down south and central part of the country.

We got, let's see, Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Nashville and Tampa Bay. This one pretty much a no brainer. I mean, the Stanley Cup went to Tampa Bay. I don't see how they do not win this division now, pretty much coming back as of today with the same team, although they did just wave Tyler Johnson today. I don't know if he got picked up before we started recording. They lost and correct Bogosian trade Paquette and Colbran up to Ottawa.

But I don't think these guys are irreplaceable. So I got to sample one in this division pretty handily.

Let's go to you first, because I'm going to pick Dallas. I think that they're going to come back with vengeance. I think that they're going to have a bitter taste in their mouth. The fact that they spent that long in the bubble and didn't bring home any hardware. People forget they didn't have their number one goalie in the bubble with them. I think that they have a perfect one to punch and that they have a couple of young studs on led by asking him, is that how he said it properly?

I think that's close enough to invest in it.

He's going to give is this thought I mean, you mentioned Prokhorov as a potential Noris candidate. I think that, you know, he's he's going to might be one of the most underappreciated defensemen in the whole league. Just ask all of his teammates. And as far as forward, they just they just get it done collectively. They've got a good leadership group. I would imagine, after all the the bumps and bruises that siggins out a while, that kind of hurt.

Well, I see I see them. I see that opening up an opportunity for a few of their young guys to get a little bit more ice time, prove what they can have. And he's going to come back in right in time for playoffs. Dark night style. Who else is doing that right now? We said that they're going to come back the perfect time up. Coach Rob Simmons, in my opinion.

And yeah, I like Dallas and especially I like a hungry team, similar to the year when Pittsburgh went to the cup final. They didn't win. And then next year they got rid of it and then did win it. So very similar.

I'll tell you right now, if Tampa doesn't win this division, which they are my pick, it's important everybody. If they don't, Carolina Hurricanes are going to be your division.

But the Carolina Hurricanes, I love that fucking I love good hockey team. And who is the most underrated player in the league? It's starting to change. I absolutely love this team. I know that they added in. Yes. Super fast to who plays at a high level. He's a place, plays a game quick. He's always in your face. He's done a good job. Carlton Doug Hamilton on the back. Bucky Hamilton was injured a lot of last year and I been great.

But then Chevette fetch Niccol check point per game player.

I think. I think Carolina makes the playoffs. No doubt in this division. Tampa is my winner. Carolina, if Tampa doesn't get done, the other team.

Let me just hop in here and no offense to Carolina. I love the culture there. I love the head coach.

It feels like everybody's bought in. Who is playing that pardon? Who who's playing that for the Carolina Hurricanes?

That's been my biggest question mark for them is their goaltender, David, and it seemed to last.

That's a good one, Raimund. Razaq. Yeah, I just I don't know if that's going to be able to get them over over the edge. I know they've got this nice to goalie system going, but I just feel like they need to get somebody in there to solidify their goaltending. And that's just my opinion.

So I think you're in it and I think they're hoping that Marusek kind of takes over and is the full blown starter. We'll say where to go.

We'll see, but. This Rastaman Slavet on the on the defensive side, they're good, they're good, but I need my other two playoff teams, Tampa Bay and Carolina and my no brainers.

I then think Dallas and Nashville get it done.

I mean, I think it'll come down between Columbus and Nashville in terms of that last playoff spot in that division.

I got Tampa no brainer. I got Dallas. I'm going to pick Nashville over Carolina, guys, OK, who's your fourth, Carolina or Aidala? Worse for the season. And I said that last episode, I think the Columbus Blue Jackets are going to surprise a lot of people again and they're going to make playoffs. I really like I like their lineup. I like I think that the shortened season plays right into their hand.

And we'll see the devoir effect. We'll see what goes on there.

I think I think Tortes is trying to light a fire under his ass and we're going to see Dubost coming out party and maybe a few fucking matches on the bench, too, for our entertainment value.

Interesting. Both Cup finalist from last season are in this division. I don't think we've seen that since probably the seventy eight cup without double checking my work.

When the Montreal and Boston played, of course things were configured much different then, but just kind of while they have both cup finalists in the same division.

Either way, I got Tampa one in the division. I think Dallas gets in as well as the Columbus in Carolina. Yeah. Going to be some tough teams, good teams not making the playoffs, but that's such as the Yalea in this year. All right. Game. Before we throw it over to Shane Doan, I want to let you know that Jan is important for setting the tone for the new year. And in twenty, twenty one, that has never been more true.

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Check them out. All right, gang. And without further ado, we're going to send it over to Shane Doan.

This guy doesn't really need an intro played a hell of a long time, the National Hockey League for the Arizona Coyotes organization, and really happy you guys already know the news because it dropped on Monday. This comes out Tuesday morning. Welcome back to the Arizona. Don't I never thought I'd be saying those words.

I never thought you'd live something, say you a business mentor to. That's not out of the intro.

Yeah, well, I'm happy that they announced it and they brought you back. I mean, what exactly is going to be your role with the coyote Shindou?

Yeah, thanks. Because I'm really excited to be back because obviously I have, you know, as my passion and love playing for him and love the whole organization and doing whatever he could for them and for them to for the new ownership to to bring me back and give me a chance. What I'm doing is I'm just going to kind of be helping in as many areas as I can with help, Mr. Murilo. And how the air and then that's the owner and the president.

And then I'll be helping out with Bill with the gym. When they need advice, I'll give them advice. And really, that's kind of I don't know too much. I mean, as we go on, we'll kind of figure it out.

But both that sounds like kind of a boss boss position for this guy.

Yeah, I just bounce around bouncing around Jack of all trades, master. And if anything goes wrong, definitely not in charge. You guys, if I can handle that, I'll just keep kissing babies and shaking hands in the face of this franchise. Good to know. But yeah, the master of none I think is the key and all of that.

So while you're away, you're working for the league and every time I talk to you, you're in a great mood. You really enjoyed your experience. The some of the players you get to hang out with, who you're working with hand in hand. You mentioned that you've become a massive fan of Bill Daley and just, you know, his his whole lot behind the scenes humor and all this. Yeah. You know what the I had an absolute like the best time.

Like when you step away from playing, it's I had no idea that it was going to be that hard, but it was really, really hard and emotional, like it was like some bad days of just trying to deal with and and to be able to go into a group with hockey ops at the league that treated it like a team.

I remember I was flying in to Toronto and as a first time this is like in right at the beginning of the season, the year after the summer after I'd kind of retired. So the season would start. I was flying into Toronto for the very first game and I hadn't officially signed with the league or agreed to do anything, but they wanted me to come in and see if I wanted to do it. And as I was coming in to land, the guy sitting beside me, it's like, So what are you doing?

And I was like, oh, you know, just and I remember thinking because I'm going to work. And it was like the first time I was going to work by myself. Like, you always have your boys in your team with you. And it was a little low. I was almost emotional sitting there by myself, like, I've never done this by myself ever. And to walk into that room with all of those guys that were just like Chris King and Rob Pasma and Kay Whitmore and and then Murph and Mike Murphy and Colin Campbell and Steve Lokman, all those guys, it felt like I walk back into a dressing room and it was like, oh, yeah, I feel at ease.

Yes. Kengor kind of the one who helped to ease them. Yeah. I used to play with Kingara. Yeah.

Kanger was my captain my first year, so Kingara was my captain, my first year in Winnipeg and one in Winnipeg.

So that's how I played for them when the other one. Yeah. The salon you get into when it when it came back into play. When they came back. Yeah. Yeah.

So it was so nice. And then getting to know Koelie and, and Murf and you know Gary Bettman and Bill Daly in the way that they are. I had such a neumont like I had an interesting relationship with, with Gary and Bill because of the team when we were owned by them, that I dealt with them a bit. But to see it again was it was it was it was encouraging. It was just beyond encouraging. I was so grateful for that.

And I think that part of the reason it it feels so good for a former player to get around the guys is the guys you're going to see that are putting you at ease.

They've all been through what you're going through. So it's it's such a feeling of like, hey, dude, I hibat.

Yeah. Pretty bored. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, it's like you have the routine and I could not agree more because I never thought it at the time.

Guess I'm so out to lunch. But now that you say it, when I got to NHL network it was like you got into Jersey, showed up at Secaucus and then you got to like Uber at four thirty by yourself.

You showed the studio like, oh my God, I'm going to work. Yeah, it's so different.

So that that's I mean, I imagine that when you get in the room and you're pretty much just watching it at the beginning in terms of like what they're looking at in games when questionable hits or happen and who's doing what. Right.

You just kind of like doing what you're doing down in Arizona in terms of at the beginning, they're just chillin totally like. I never I mean, the story of bids coming in hot, I never wanted to come in hot ever. I was kind of I was always I was a common Hawkeye's to count. And I was like a rock like, hey, like our plane. Our guy who drove our plane in Arizona drove our plane are who fly.

Fuck. There you go. Remember how we used to land so hard? Sometimes it was hard. The guy, the poor guy. It's hard to land a jet like it's the from the fucking quixotes guy under the bus. The owner, they're going to I'm going to get the pilot firing Ackles in the pilot.

I just going to show up at this Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. You're flying along. And what's Wallkill like in there?

I loved him when he official that I was awesome on the ice. It was so cool. Like, the that room is such a fun room to be in because you're watching every team play every night. And and it's amazing. The thing I learned the most was you'd watch one team play a game, so you'd be watching Tampa play Florida. And you're like you're seeing how good Tampa in Florida are right beside them. Then you're watching, you know, Arizona play L.A. and you're like, you see the difference in style when it's up on the screen side by side and you're watching one period and then flip in to watch another pair.

Then going back and forth for walks is awesome. He is he is a good man. And he is he is the leader of those officials. And I mean, I, I had I had him when he was when he was a ref and then when he came back and then he went back again to being the head of officiating. Yeah. I get along good with locks.

You he was unbelievable with the refs names for every game he would make sure he would get a briefing from service and he had to do all the talking to him. But the fact that he can remember all their names because was usually complaining to them about the off sides and stuff. So he even had to know the linesman names. So, yeah. You sure? I did speak to the officials, so I would imagine that was a pretty smooth transition.

Yes and no, because I usually yelled a lot of them we were know but gave it to officials.

Yeah. I said, are you freaking kidding me? Be on the fence just so that after my shift I played angry.

No. And so then I had to apologize to a bunch of them. But I actually went to the refs like training camps and they're they're such good guys. It's like they start to you see, you know what? It's amazing on how much they take like and how good they are at deescalating and kind of making sure that, you know, guys can get emotional, everyone's emotional on the ice and you can only get called so many things before you start to react a little bit when you have to deal with that for like three hours in a row.

At some point you're going to snap. Yeah, I mean, I actually one time one of my most embarrassing moments, I screamed at a linesman who, like, screwed an offsides up.

And Mark, I go apologize to that guy after the game of the wrecks, like, you know, this old legend. I was I was like, sorry, you know, I was like, oh, my gosh, down to the restroom.

Yeah.

We might have met in the hallway. I had over Fozzy in terms of when I and where I apologized.

But Rex was like, dude, come on, I've I had to apologize.

I'd say three or four times throughout my career to different refs were being like when I got a little too emotional in that one. And I never I wouldn't swear and I wouldn't yell at them like say anything like that. But at the same time, I had to just make sure that, hey, this was this was I shouldn't have said it like that.

And you were right. I was more your heart on your sleeve. Chrebet Yeah.

And if I saw that I was wrong, I would always usually in between periods I'd be like, hey, show me that again. And I'd be like, hey, I totally was wrong on that. You were right. I was wrong. Oh, yeah. Officials must love that. Yeah.

But sometimes I would be right and I was and they were wrong here because they said it even more. I'd be like, oh no, come down come my daughter donors. Probably one of you should have been a lawyer.

The way that this guy would argue at Superball and I always get his portion when I run. And I was also the choice. I just bully the not you're out. What do you mean? Oh, no, you're out. Definitely. We're going to turn off your shoulder. Don't know. It didn't go off the wall.

We were actually talking about your this guy had gone so long in the NHL without hattrick. I think you had the NHL record at one point for most two goal games before getting a hattrick, before you ended up getting it in the dying seconds against the islanders.

Yeah, yeah. And with a point like we actually I believe I'm the only person that got to celebrate his hatrick, not in overtime, in regulation time with the whole team on the ice. Yeah.

Like that's how like late in the game the lawn went and they left the ice because it was a five one game, like it wasn't like a nail biter. So the horn went, they left. They had to go and review it to see if it counted. So everyone stormed onto the ice, was celebrating with me in the corner. And this kind of gone more perfect. Yeah, I know. Big win. Oh, well, here's the best part.

So I think, you know. It gone, it was always the storyline, how many to go get at first in the first couple of years I play with you, it was at forty forty nine or.

Oh yeah. Like to the point where it was mentioned that you want to say 20 ish, 50 times like I just need one more. So I'm always a healthy scratch. I'm watching like in the locker room with Petey and and there on my donors never had a hat trick.

That's fucking nuts. It's like a pigeon. And then it kept going, kept going. And, you know, last last shift of the game, he's probably out of gas. You completely played me like the last nine minutes of the game to try to get it. So last shift, storming down the ice as a clock, dying down. He comes right over the blue line. And I think who was in that Rolston? No, Nabokov. Nabokov.

And I feel like he kind of just like they give it. He's like, the game's over.

Why are you even shooting this? Like, oh, yeah.

So it's kind of more like what's going on? It's going to be a fight if it wasn't, you know, hatcheck and it's split in between his legs, I believe. And there it was. Well, we're coming back. I missed I missed like four really good chances. Right, right before that. And Ray Whitney was on the ice. And I never really wizzard and I never played together. And I miss again for, like, whatever the fourth time.

And there's like fifteen seconds left in the game and we're heading back in less than eight seconds left in the game. We're heading back into our zone and I'm like, screw this, you're kidding me. Or you don't backtrack anyway.

So I'm, I'm going back and somebody turns it over like a bad turn over right at our blue line. And Wizards picks it up and looks at me and he's like, let's go. I'm like, I have no legs left. I can't even get I can't turn. And he's like, come on, come on, come on. Yelling at me. And I'm trying to catch up and I catch up and he crosses and as he crosses, we've done it and practice a few times.

We're like he, he like to work on stuff like that. And he crossed in front of me and slides back and I take a one timer from the top of the circles and it goes in between his legs. But the horn sounds as it goes in. So you're like, I don't know. I don't know if I count it like I'm like that might of an odyssey at this point. I was assuming it wasn't going to I'm like, there's no way this just counted.

Everything is I've had posts and had empty nets that go off side and like kind of a cool record to have.

Yeah, well, once you stop, once you don't have it. I got Melendi so that was a but yeah, it was a lot.

You did did the team in on the ice and then like wait for the official ref call down and went crazy again. Jelly's over at the penalty box so he comes in, doesn't even come to me, go straight to the penalty box and go straight over to the penalty box. And he's at the penalty box arguing with the referee. The ref say, come on, you got to give it to him. And they're like, that's what that's what that's that's when he sold the soul to the league.

That's what had to go work for them for a couple of years. He actually wasn't even let go by the coyotes. It was just all a big cover up. It's like it's like fucking the Jason or the Bourne Identity shit. Some some awesome script. Yeah. So and then that he's going he was more excited than I was. I was so tired because I'd played for literally like nine hours. Tip was so good about it. Like he was playing me like ridiculous once I scored two prior to that.

Didn't play me that much all the time, but once I scored two he'd play me a ton.

I don't want to get like too serious, but obviously, you know, you said the transition was a little difficult at first. Like thinking back, you don't have the guys in the locker room like it was probably hard the way it all went down at the beginning when, like, I mean, I don't know how much you want to go into it, but when you weren't affiliated with the team, obviously things had gotten a little bit sour. Like, can you if you had to say anything to the fans and to people who really care, like how how were you feeling after that went down?

Oh, yeah.

Like, it's so weird because I was so beyond grateful for everything that like the reason that I got to be like where I was that was because of what the coyotes did. So there is like.

No, like I wasn't I wasn't, I guess, mad. I it wasn't the way that I had kind of saw it happening. Yeah.

And so I think that made it where I was like, but we all do like we've talked like it ends bad for everyone. Like I can't tell you how many guys I talk to that hate their last coach, like everyone hates their last coach. And it's like, is it because none of us see that we're done? And the coach is kind of he sees it. We I still thought that I could do more Antep. And I've had awesome talks like Tip and I get along good.

But it was hard my last year on our relationship to my because it just he never really see it ending the way it ends. You have the storybook kind of John Elway kind of when, you know, at the Super Bowl go out, you know, Ray Bourque kind of especially along Gola.

I mean, it even even happened with Teemu Saloni a little bit towards the end. Going to put him in Bujar. We're kind of arguing about ice time where it's like yeah it's a you know, it's, it becomes a situation where you feel that you need to get your reps and. I guess the reason, though, why it was like, I guess a little silly, because at that time it wasn't like they they didn't have like a ton either.

It wasn't like they were like completely loaded where you're playing fourth line and maybe happened because you guys were happy because you guys are still winning a lot of games. Yeah.

And obviously that made that always makes it way easier when you're winning and it's and it's going your way. And it definitely wasn't at that point for us. Yeah, but you know what?

It was like the fans and they treated me like I, I was an okay player. I was just around a long time. I wasn't like it's like there's guys that are like superstars. They don't get the treatment that I got from the fans. Like I wasn't there anything close to that. I was around a long time and got to know a lot of people.

And so because of that, I think I think I think leadership and I think it's how you played how you played All Variables Considered donor. I thought you were a tremendous player, great leader. And even in situations I always tell the story. I think the one year might have been my first year here. There was like 20 games you went without scoring.

And and yeah, probably I'm really digging in here with the no hatrick thing and the twenty. Maybe it wasn't that long, but we probably could have been. I think. I think. What year did you come? 09, the year, the back-to-back years. We lost the Detroit in the playoffs. I was here when it all turned around, when we all turned around as when I showed up. Right.

The first year was the year that there was in Detroit the. Yeah, the first year where we lost, I believe in seven the next year or hurt. But the point being is your role was diminished. But given the fact that the team was having success at that point, he was like, Tip, I know I'm going through a tough stretch right now. I'll play, you know, third fourth line. I'll I'll I'll do what you need for me.

As long as things are going well. I'm pulling the rope the same way as everyone. And like that was kind of like that's what it's about right there. It's no no egos involved. It's for the betterment of the team. And like you kind of alluded to it, you know, it's like it's a little harder when when the team's not doing as well. It's kind of like, hey, let me, you know, maybe get a little more of my reps as this thing is coming to an end.

One thing that you said in order to know if you want to say it on here was that even in that last year, you were not planning on coming back? No.

Yeah.

Like, I had made my mind up the probably about three weeks to go. Like, I just wasn't I didn't know the game wasn't fun. Like I was I couldn't do what I wanted. Yeah.

Like I couldn't do what I wanted to do. Like you'd see something going to the rink. Oh it is. And I, I and to be honest, I was I knew my daughter was leaving home and I didn't I wanted to be able to go see her whenever like she was going away to college, which is crazy because I was into my. And so she's going away to college and I'm like, OK, if she calls, I'm leaving like I'm not missing.

And like, if and I was fortunate that I got to be there for a lot of everything, for the most part. And I just I knew I'd pretty much done. And then a couple of people around me were like, just don't say anything like don't make it a traumatic thing at the end of the year, even though the. I probably might have been a little bit better for everyone if I had, but looking back, looking back, I was sure I could have I could have had a ginger.

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. No. Is it. Was it. Yes, Papa. Big Papi. They had the big, big poppy talk in your all access for the team, but. Oh yeah. And then I was like, OK, we'll wait and see. And then at the end of the year, as you know, humming and horn through different scenarios and but yeah. And then when it ended and I can understand like they're there, I don't think there is any there is nothing that was, you know, vindictive about it.

It was just a business decision that they had to move on. And as a player, we all overreact. And I didn't say anything or do anything that was I regretted like I was positive and grateful for every chance I got with them.

That's the one thing about you and is like I mean, I guess I guess like you're good. I guess a thing of handling your ego maybe. Whereas like, I think if I would have probably accomplished those things and been treated maybe the same way as I might have came off the top ropes, I might have been like fucking sitting in the rafters at Hilar River coming down for the season opener, like, you know.

But no, it's a testament to who you are not by not overreacting.

Yeah, but that was in public and private. I was going crazy like, OK, so. But you know what? Oh, that's why you have the UFC dummy. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I tried all that stuff.

Yeah. That's the self control dobis. Yeah. That's what we need. Yeah. No he doesn't get the Twitter fingers he's on. What do you her so much. Oh that is that is that a dating. Yes that's a dating. Well you're just using it to meet friends. Yeah. He just wants to meet fellow farmers, talk about their tractors.

Yeah yeah yeah. Yeah.

Well you bring up that you were when you were done with, with playing your daughter's just going to college which is like my, my two sons were born when I was done playing.

It must have been great for, for you to have your kids old enough to remember all all the things you accomplished in like being like your son, being in the room.

Like, that's that's so cool that you had kids young enough to experience all that.

It really like I didn't there is times when I when we had them that I'm like, man, this is really hard and it doesn't make sense.

Playing when my wife was like doing everything and I'm like, I got to have a pregame nap. So I'm just the guys. Can you guys keep it down in there? Because I'm trying to sleep over here and my wife's got four kids and but at the towards the end of my career like business, we'd have they'd come and have pre game with us like we had pre game together. We have pre game together and we do like they got to do everything with us and they got to go on trips.

Like my kids were kind of got to see the world through hockey. Hockey's eyes, like we went to Russia for the world championships. We went over to we went to Italy. We went to how many gold medals you win in the world championships? I just do.

I got two gold medals and three No. Three gold medals, two or three. And then I got three silvers, too.

You were kind of like Captain Canela there.

Yeah, you which a it it's not exactly a good thing you're making the best out of not the exact situation.

How do you know what. That's something that I don't understand why players don't do. Like I really don't get it.

I know because some of my best friends are from like because you're going over there and you're getting crippled every single night.

Oh, we had so much for like ten days at least before the families come inside.

I'll say this once I went and played in Europe, it made even more sense why that tournament that means so much then their national team, they they got that. They get the one a couple of week breaks to all national team games like to play in the world championships is a huge deal and it is fun.

And like I like you said, you meet guys that you actually stay in touch with forever. Yeah.

Donors bankrupting hockey, Catholic. They got to bring over who's got the fucking 10k. Oh, we had everyone to we brought the one time we brought everyone to Austria like everyone.

Well it's a great honor of you and it's so nice. So we brought everyone. That's a great idea is to bring like a nine month old over to Vienna and then fly all the way home at the end. No, after not sleeping the night before you were celebrating. No, we lost. OK, you still got Arthur? Yeah, we lost it at the guy and money in nine. My my nine month old is sitting up in the front with us or with me or anything worse.

Not like the worst part is I'm not like I'll spend money and I don't care like but I'm not like a big spender or not but I'm not like I'll buy it and do whatever I want. So my wife is like very frugal and very aware of money. And so I'm like, hey, we'll fly first class. And she's like, no, no, no, no, I don't need first class. Like I don't even use a whole seat and we'll just get the whole row and the kids and I.

And it's actually better because in first class you have to here to there. And my youngest, my daughter was. Nine months old, my son was only two and a half or three, he was three and then my oldest daughter was seven or six or whatever was. So they're little and she's like, this is perfect. We get a whole row. She brought a friend with her, this girl that she was really good friends with. So there were like they had a role for on the international flight anyways.

How about halfway through the flight?

My wife's like, Hey, Charisse, my youngest daughter won't sleep at all. So she's coming, bringing this baby up to first class and telling the little old guys.

Yeah, said she's telling the overhead they're just going to keep this here. Just just stuff it in there. I hear the crying when it's close. If you put if you put a blanket over and you really drowns out the noise. Yeah. He's going out in the cockpit here with you guys. Thanks. So the flight attendants like looking at her like, what are you doing?

And she's like, it's his daughter. And then the flight attendant comes up to me and she's like, there's a lady back there that's behind the curtain, behind the curtain that has your daughter. And I'm like, Oh, yeah, yeah.

And then she looks at me like I'm the worst husband dad in the history of like swip the arama.

I'm like, yeah, I'm like, she wanted to sit in the back like I have up here sleeping and don't look straight in her eyes. He hits the fucking pulls the exit door. The stewardess she sees like his wife in the back, change it up. Another kid like jumping on the hold of another kid. Oh she's like excuse me, more champagne. She's ready to kill me. Like she's and I'm like trying to justify myself to the flight attendant.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. But there's no excuse. Like, there's no excuse. Like, I should be back there. But really if I'm being a gentleman. Yeah. So then she brings out this like baby thing that you can stick in the first class that it lays down. There's a little crib there and I'm like, oh, that's beautiful. So I'm trying to go to sleep. But every time I'd fall asleep, my daughter would start to cry.

And so I sit back up and. And then you're so uncomfortable because everyone around you is ready to kill you. You're flying from feeling you're flying from Vienna to Washington and everyone's ready to kill you. So then I'm like waking up the whole time and now I'm starting to get grumpy, like, why the heck? Why isn't she up here, too? Like, why? Like, we should all be together. I'm getting more angry. We land in Washington and then our flights delayed.

It was like twenty nine hours of traveling with three kids. Oh my God. We pulled up to the house and my wife and I, we don't we don't get too heated at each other. It's like we are it is this World War Three, like we're getting divorced one hundred percent tomorrow. I never going to see you again. And we wake up the next morning and just started laughing like I thought that was dumb. We're never doing that again.

And from then on, we took two kids and no more like we'd be like, we'll take two once a old owner telling that story.

And I got snipped when I was like, I can't even if I can get. Yeah.

So it was one of those embarrassing moments. But that flight attendant's eyes, when she looked at me like you're you're you're going that you're a scumbag, you're the worst dad husband. I can't believe that you did that to your wife as she's trying to get the baby up to the front. Speaking of kids, Josh, he's playing in the USA. I'm playing with the Chicago Steel. Yes. And they got that. They have a wagon of a team.

Well, they got the kid who's supposed to go first overall last year. Oh, he was OK. So last year their team was like historically good. Like they had the number that the leading scorer in the first sec, the one, two, three, four and five leading scores of the league on their team and then three, four and five, all on the same team. Then they had the number one defenseman who is the leading scoring defenseman, and he's not draftable till this year.

He's going to go number one overall. Well, what's his name again? Own power on par.

He kid coming out of the USA first overall. Yeah, he's from Ontario and he's played there. He's going to go first. He's he's a Canadian kid. That's well, I think he's going to go first round six six six five like two fifteen to twenty eight to go to college or something.

You know. Junior. Yeah. He's playing in Michigan.

All London Knights offer him a fucking one way deal. Well, he's it's too late. He's going to do it.

Yeah. Oh, excuse me. I thought you meant he was playing the U.S. jokingly. This was last year. I messed that up. Yeah, but if he was draftable, like he's a late otu, so he. Yeah, but he's playing college hockey this year.

OK, so then he was on their team and then they had like top three goalie on their team and then they're number six score on their team, came to their team halfway through the year from a college team like he decided to come back and he ended up finishing like with ridiculous points per game. But he was there number six score on their team like the team was. So he wasn't getting much ice last year. But, yeah, he didn't get much ice cream.

But they do get canceled.

Yes, it it and it's so bad because they were going to run away. Yeah. They hadn't lost the game too. I think that they're like thirty six and off against the top ten teams in the league. They lost I think seven games in all to the bottom six teams think it was.

So your son was experience and not being the big guy the. He was just watching like, wow, I'm going into a great team, it's a pretty good way to learn. I don't know, it was a big kid, your son or is he?

So when he got in, he was one hundred and fifty seven pounds, like five nine and all the food at home and the other fucking hands. So Dad, I want.

Yeah, exactly. It's just it's just a sliver. Get some crumbs. Got it up. And, and now he's. Yeah. He's grown now like he's at some heated heated for pull ups at camp last year and this year Christmas he did twenty four. So he's all jacked up that he's and he went from one fifty seven hills. He'll say one sixty bodies like one fifty seven and now he's like 103. So he's moving up in the right direction.

He so he's, he loves the game. He's all my goal really. Well you said he was on the break. You. Yes. Well that he was, it was during the break he was on with Matthews and McDavid like keeping up with those guys. Like that's got to be a huge boost for him. He was he didn't actually get to go on the ice with McDavid because McDavid came after their season started. But, yeah, he got to Austin has been unbelievable to him.

And he got to skate with the coyotes last summer a little bit. And then Austin, when we do the you know, in the pro skates where before we lost RAPEX.

Josh, is that right? Yeah, maybe, I don't know. I don't think so, but yeah, I mean, a little door, so. Yeah, but now this year he's getting his check and they got a great team. They got the number one, two and three scorers in the league this year and they got the fifth score and they're doing well again.

And then he's he had a good weekend. What happened? He had four and he had four goals, six assists this weekend in two to three games.

So he's heating up. So he's recently and he was you said he was a little cold off off the hop as far as numbers was.

Yeah, well, yeah, the floodgates opened. Yeah, he had. And he didn't have a point and he had no he had one assist in the first five games he got in a fight yet. No he hasn't. And he thought I could change there at all for fighting.

No, just five minutes. It's all good. Yeah. I think yeah. You get five and you can thinking so play. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. You get fight in fight. I think you might get a ten though to get five and a ten. It's not as often as it was.

Don't make sure. No I will study as he is talking to colleges.

What's the one who makes him do Bible studies. Why not study. But you just sit around. I, I like, I love doing Bible studies. I want to do the Bible study. Do it.

You know, this is this is for every day where Keithan overcoming the locker room and torture me and this guy would be fucking has his face in his jerseys because I was like the cotton. Yeah. Now you got the mike. Now I got the I get the term.

Yeah. Yeah you're you're right. That's right.

But going back to him, skating with Austin in one scene, Connor being around the NHL, this is kind of like these kids are getting to this like different level than it's ever been before. It's just it's you said you witnessed it a little bit when they were training and just what they're doing with their time on the ice and how they're training for game situations.

It's like I think like the way we used to do it is like when I first came into the league, you would kind of take a group of pucks and you'd shoot pucks from like a stationary spot. Like that would be kind of like your practice. You'd take pucks at the top, the circles, and you'd shoot, shoot twenty five pucks. And then as you get old, as I got older, it was like, OK, now we went past me and I'm going to start doing one timers because I don't know, Boris farming was kind of the guy that started the one timer.

Yeah. Jackie Moon and Semipro like everyone used to catch it on their back and then turn around it and take that. There is no one timers, which I didn't really know. So then when I got a little bit further into my career, everyone started taking one timers. Brett Hall obviously was just like, unbelievable. And so everyone kind of wanted to be like him. So we all started practicing it. But then it was just you being stationary.

Yeah, taking a one time or like you stand over there, I'll stand over here, pass me a puck, and then I'll take a one timer. And then as we advance has got to the point where I'll pass you apoc. Now you pass it back to me and then I'll take the one timer, take all we're getting good now. Yeah. Well we want to give and go and you got to get someone to go trying on it.

So then you move. But now the guys like OK, like Austin and Conner, they're like I'm going to skate as fast as I can. Pass it to me any way you want. I'm going to catch it, handle it, beat to go underneath the stick over another stick, pass it to him, give it back to me one time or I think, wait, OK.

What he lost me when you said pass it like like they're just they do everything as fast as they can. They do stuff with the puck that's just so quick.

And so it's just it's by the way I picture him like showing up to run the skate and he's like putting them through the peanut donor.

You guys don't do the peanut anymore. Walking Mariga hours. I had my second there. OK, everyone go this way now. Everyone go that way. Yeah. So the crossovers. OK, ankles. Yeah. Yeah. OK, back this way. Don't go back that way man. I hated that.

Yeah. The, the, I don't know Matthew's shot.

I'd love to like just see that if you go like a pregame skate or some just the releases and then McDavid his skating and some of these guys we just talked to McKinnon to the training they do.

I mentioned how often he's staying on the ice now like he's they don't really take the time away from the rink. I mean, I'm sure some guys do, but I don't know when I was playing pretty much everyone from the time your season ended, you didn't ski for two months.

Oh, yeah. You didn't start skating until there was a few guys. I know.

Tom Podi Podio. I dated. I did. Every day. I think that the guys who were ahead of their time were the guys were smart were they weren't necessarily training too hard, but they stayed on their edges throughout the whole year because like I found, by the time I kept coming back, it took you so long to get used to your edges again where these guys aren't taking their time, even if it's once a week. Just getting. What are you laughing at?

What are you guys. Oh, no, no. I was waiting for him. No, I was laughing because he started out like this. I thought it was funny because it's like. Yeah, outside edge. Inside edge. Oh, it's like when it's new, you know, if you break a blade you got. To put new set in. Yeah, but I know you meant 100 percent, you got to get on the ice and you're like, oh yeah, yeah.

I more than anything, it was like the hands. Oh, yeah.

You couldn't stick I've ever had, though, so I wasn't I had already crossed that off the list.

Hey, do they know that you had made Pittsburgh? Have you ever told the story that you made them as a defenseman? Well, I didn't. I was Loskarn last cut.

But who would you get cut for?

What's his name? Dan Folch. Is that his dad? Fokine. I cut for Dagong. He was in Chicago Redrafts. Yeah, I remember.

So I was coming in. That's right. Next year or two years later because the local and and, you know, looking at who's on the team and there was all these one way and then I was like all this business kid you don't remember.

I heard he almost made the team then.

I mean, he's fighting Carcillo in case they go.

They're like they just saw. Everyone knows no fighting. First scrimmage, day one forward. You know, still a I was I was I believe I was still a demon camp. And like, the scouts are just probably getting their coffee and me and sucking on the door at sunrise and eight fifty eight fifteen guys are having he's eating this fucking Donalds in the locker room.

That's well that was oh. A couple of things I want to talk about.

You're part owner in the Kamloops Blazers, right? Yeah. So you know, what's going on is like an owner in that league. I don't even know if games are being played right now. I think they're kicking things off pretty soon. How is that going? And I mean, I know you had a long history of playing there, winning some championships.

Yeah, it's you know, what we have, Matt Basely is our GM.

And the guy's done an amazing job. He's a guy that is he's just got an unbelievable story.

He kind of came up through Portland. He's from Portland, Oregon, never played hockey, loves hockey, started out at the arena work and kind of is doing the Zamboni and kind of taking care of the Zamboni.

How did he end up in Kamloops, started working up through Portland, doing the Zamboni stuff, then offered to help out as a trainer, then got Mike Johnson, got involved with him. Travis Green got involved with them. They just loved them. And they're like, hey, come help us out. And he started watching hockey and watching hockey, kind of like a Hitchcock situation.

But just the most truly, you know, when people just treat people right, that you're like that guy got to do well, like he's going to he just he does everything right. And as an organization, we've been pretty lucky to get him. And he's come in and done a great job with Stu McGregor before that, who was my GM and now Matt. And so they kind of got it going in the right place.

He was the GM from where even when you were playing there, he was assistant GM when I was playing there because this guy was around for what? He went to Edmonton.

He actually he had he was in Edmonton when Ryan was there. Yeah.

He was like I had one of the scouts, one of the head scouts and one of the guys. It's like, get rid of six. So nice. I mean, I scout for you guys.

So it's been but it's been good. And now so this year, going through everything, it's been like I thought we'd talk to Matt and find out what's kind of going on. And we just had a big there's a big meeting two days ago and they're kind of they're committed to playing. They're committed to to getting some games in. They've come up with a strategy of maybe twenty four games to at least get the boys a chance just because it's like, what are they going to do with this draft situation?

That's a part that it's going to be so hard to figure out. Like it's not fair. Some of the boys are going to get, you know, the short end of the stick on the sick.

That's just players who, like, were, you know, had a great summer and out to prove themselves. And maybe they weren't on the radar yet, were they? You know, they could have had at least a fair number of games to play in order to show their stuff. Now, it's like it's such a crapshoot. And and how much preparation has the wave in front of them? Who's had access to all like that? Being able to play games and like even, let's say, just the world.

Junior kids are much more of an advantage if they had to develop over this period of time where they're just other guys are sitting at home.

Well, you look at like my son is in the NHL and he's played his 17th and 18th game like this weekend. And two of my two boys that I'm really, really close with, they've played one has played three games in the BCG or five games in the BCG. And the other one hasn't played a game yet. And they're both. And I play a game through the New Year. Yeah.

So you're looking at nine months.

These guys haven't played a hockey game and you're just you're heartbroken for him because of that age and the the anxiety that comes with, like, just your routine not being what it's been. So I'm excited that the that the league the Western League is kind of they're trying they're trying to I mean, we're obviously you have to you have to honor what the government and is doing and what they say. So each province is a little bit different, but it sounds like the B.C. division in the Western League is going to get started, hopefully.

Eighth to the 10th of February.

We're going to do it in kind of some I think they're going to not hub cities, but we're going to have maybe PJI come down to Kamloops, have Victoria, maybe go to Cloner and then have those two camps, Clonan in Vancouver, have all all the teams in there. And so we can play five all five teams can play in and get the boys an opportunity to play because, I mean, that's that's what you want to have. The boys have their normality back a little bit in their lives, just the amount of scrambling to even with the NHL even pumping their tires so much.

And we talked about Batman earlier, like the way they've been able to, like, syphoned through all this shit and make change.

And I know they've been dealing with some issues lately, but the way they executed the bubble and just the way they've handled it in general, you don't realize how important leadership is until you really get to see it. And I mean, the way that Kerry did was like he was adamant that we're doing the bubble and we're going to do it and we're going to get through this. And we did. And that's a I mean, a testament to a lot of people were questioning whether or not that was going to happen, like a lot of people were and questioned.

I said I was like, I don't know, is this going to end up going down? I know they're going to do this. And they did it as masterful as anyone has since this whole thing started. It was incredible.

And to see all the stuff like that, Zoome calls on, I'm so glad I don't have to be on a call on those. Again, we do know this is our first live interview.

And while since, I guess Boston. But it's so much better. Life gets such a better feel. Yeah. And you just the collaboration like Uganda, you need the video on for the Zune through the audio.

I didn't get why I don't need to be like looking at you and stuff.

Yes, I agree. And it, it's just ah it's but I can't believe that he was so adamant and so determined and really pulled a lot of people along behind. And then once more and more people got on board and really got going. And then the way that the hockey ops like Rod Pasma and Chris King and and quit more in those guys that they were the guys are kind of running the the the hubs or just seeing the stuff with the hubs, like trying to organize, talking to like hotels about, hey, you're going to have to up your broadband because these guys are going to be starting.

Some of you think it means, by the way. Yeah, it means something related to what you're thinking. It's going to be watching you porn.

Yeah, I'm in the bubble. They're like these towels are walking around or around the place. At this point, guys can be like, get some bleach in this fucking place for you because you didn't have you didn't have anyone come to clean them. Oh, Jesus. Because he could only come like once a week. Oh, really? Because no one was allowed into your room like it was it was unreal. But like down to like like figuring out where you like what food you can get and how you can get it and you couldn't.

It's not like you're on a road trip where it's like, oh, let's just go grab some tea or let's go for a walk or let's. You couldn't. You couldn't. And the guys, the players were incredible. It was I mean, they could have complained and I couldn't believe how, you know, what it showed on each team that the guys like. Well, you know, once once a group of guys starts saying, this is good and this is it seems like everyone follows because if somebody goes like, no, this sucks, this is terrible, then it just holds it just pulls a whole group that way.

And the guys constantly kept being like, no, this is good. We can do this. No problem. Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

We knew it was pretty impressive, but there was no chance they were doing it again this year. I was like, OK, we did that. No, no.

Why didn't Gary have the fake boos come in the crowd, you know, you know, when he went out and there's normally people and I mean he I yeah I didn't ask him that. I feel like he executed it perfectly. And that could have been like the cherry on top or he makes fun of himself or he amplified the boos.

Yeah. That that foot of sea. That's what you need. People like you around this, that the little details is the type of guy he can laugh at them. Yes. Yes, yeah. OK, so maybe maybe I could be his content guy. I could follow him around the Twitter account or. Yeah, I don't think about it Gary. I doubt that, but yeah. Yeah. Think of it Gary. Oh.

What else is we got tomorrow. We'll be taking this guy on in a little round of golf in the sandbagger classic.

What do you think about this.

What I've seen you swinging are you played in the he drives with a three. What, he doesn't use the pro-am at TPC. Yeah he did.

Yeah. Yeah. It was fun. Yeah. But that's there's fans out there. That's OK. Hey, I'm going to the golf. How many people were on. Sixteen. Sixteen was hard. Sixteen was hard but it wasn't that bad. They actually used my shot on sixteen.

Thank you. Yeah. Nobody gave you the number two. Yeah. Yeah. This was actually busy at two on sixteen. I had a small I was like hey hey do the knee down. No, no. But he took it about back to about Jovanovski I would say to about I'd say eight to. For 18 to 24 inches past, his foot was just from here. I got nervous. Straight, straight from here, straight through his heart as he goes yes or no to the mechanics, the mechanics get messed up the farther you go back.

So I knew I yeah. I just so I could punch it and I did punch.

Did you hear I was on the French. That is good. They were ruthless. They still fucking booed me and I still was pouring pickaninny down their throats. Yeah. You are only by no number 10.

No 10 was like so no. We started part four dogleg right. Yeah. We start on ten. There's water left.

No, no, no, no. There's water left up. OK, but on ten everyone is around ten. Like if you start on one, no one's around one bottle next to everyone bottleneck. So there's like oh fifteen thousand people around ten and I'm like, oh boy, this is your first swing. So I'm, I hit last too. So first guy gets up. Is it Matsuyama. Yeah. Matsuyama like pounds it down the middle gives a little pause at the glutes.

She looks a lot like Krosby and just crushes it, hits it through the fairway, hits it through the fairway.

And so then Archie Bradley was up, he played with us and then a couple other guys that were actually new. The one the one guy with American Airlines, really good guys.

And I'm last to hit I like bumped the ball off the tee as I'm trying to set it down.

I'm so nervous. I'm like, oh, my, he's porin like pink witness for everyone running around free for everyone. Oh, yeah. I'll kill all pointed out everyone. Everyone's got hops out. He's running down the stairs. I need a club. Yeah he's this is pretty covid so like we're all like everyone's got the glasses out spraying it on people like it's unreal and I'm trying to hit and I'm like man, you're not safe on the right or the left when I'm hitting it off the tee, like I can snap, hook and kill somebody, that's like, oh, close enough where you're thinking you could hit somebody.

They're lined up like those like are idiots and some of the idiots are not idiots.

But, you know, you don't realize by what's going on. Oh that's nice.

I'm like, oh my goodness, you haven't seen me golf. I'm really close to hitting you. Let's put that on the headline that these fans, idiots who are falling, I hit it.

Did you have some drinks to loosen up? No, I did.

And should have. I should have told him I should have. Oh yeah. I put an edible in as far as like the Gumby out there go.

Oh but it was fun so. Yeah but I'm looking for my partner.

Yeah. What do we, what do we have to know about him.

Oh Tyson Nash, he's, he's an interesting guy in the course. He's not doing the job but he chips and he putts like a hockey ball. That's, that's what you think thinks interesting. What about the fact that he hits with a driver left handed and his irons right handed?

Oh, I didn't even recognize the way we just wait to see it. Yeah, he does a good he was Pipestem. He was. Even though he said he did that we golf last week.

He was you're the only person in the world that would notice that the imagine working with this guy, he would just head on my body.

I'm I'm the sugar.

Is he he's just in his own world. That makes total sense that you didn't wreck. What did I say the other day or somebody mentioned they think about like six things before they actually make contact with the ball. I'm like doing like, what's my tone feel like? OK, I'm good. OK, it's my it's just like shot clock by Yance.

I get shot you get to see. My son told me about it. I was taking a long time apparently.

Apparently Walt Keith Kucuk he he like walks up to his ball, he hits it, he doesn't like doing rounds of golf there longer than my two and a half hours. Yeah. He's like flies through like and like it when you're ready. Like yeah.

No worry about like really. Do you need to worry if someone else like start zipping by guys had. No it's not.

He's a pretty good golfer too so he's not like and he lives on a course down the Cape Ridge Club. We were going to get some going with Matt and Brady at some point.

Oh. And well you know, he'll be out there torturing me and Ben. Oh, yeah. We did the interview with all three of them. It was hilarious.

The all star game in St. Louis said, like Keith sitting there the whole time, he's like, put your microphone up near your mouth, like just like giving it to his two kids. You could tell just bullies these guys. Yeah. I don't know if we asked.

Yeah. Or maybe we asked you last time you're on the story about like when when a couple of guys had a trip planned to Vegas because there was a day off the next day where you you were on the team.

Right. When you told us that story on the part, I think it was it might even been Rick talking. You're looking at me like you're getting a little nervous about what there's there is a few.

So that group of guys, we had the game late and they had a they had the last ticket.

You know what I'm talking about right here? Well, yeah, there's a few of those stories with that group of guys like there is, Rick. Talk to J.R. and Keith Kucuk and. You throw in like Dave Manson and Dolly Drake and right there. Oh, it was yeah like yeah it was a lot of fun. Bobby Corcoran. Dino Bobby Cauchon.

No, I remember he was just like a hard nosed defensive fool. Yeah, he played for a long time.

Yeah, he did. He's from he's from a bayou.

Is he. Yeah. Yeah. And he's like Craig Janni, who's an unbelievable guy. He was on the team too at the same time. And C.J. would always be like best athlete out out of New England, best athlete ever go to New England. So he had like a full ride scholarship as far as I think as a quarterback. And then he also had one as a pitcher. And then he ended up going as a hockey player like he and he's just a freak of an athlete.

But those guys were like and then we had Brian Noonan for a little bit. We had that whole Northeastern kind of it was it was a fun group of guys.

And so what was that like, common, where you'd have a day off and you guys would just jump on a flight to go over to Vegas? I mean, I don't know if you were part of that trip, but, know, the fact that they they tied the game up late and then he in they're like, oh, no, we're going to miss the flight. And he's like, no, we ain't. And he went out the next shift and he grabbed the pocket.

He, like, just went out there till he scored. And then he didn't he wouldn't do the interview postgame. He just went they said he he said by the time the coach is ready to walk in, he had a police brigade ready for him to get to the airport on time for his flight. Yeah, because we're right downtown and and like. Yeah, America where. So you come, you come Aria. You come right out the back there, shoot right over.

You could be at the airport in like fifteen minutes. Ten, fifteen minutes. You said a cannonball run. From there he'd get to the after when we'd land we'd drive all of our cars were there and we'd head home. I got pulled over one time we come out, we come out of America West and this is like a full cannonball run. And we're all like it's like two thirty three o'clock in the morning. You land from a road trip and we're leaving and I'm at the back of the pack.

There's like eight cars ahead of me and we go flying or going down Washington, which is five lanes wide open. They've put the light brown. Red. Yeah. So we're definitely speeding.

And I'm I'm like the last guy off the bus because I'm the youngest guy on the team, some of the last guy in my car in the first wave. And so I get in my car and I get going and I'm behind everybody and Norm McIver's behind me and they pull over. Norm McIvor, the cops pull out and we're all flying and the cop pulls out and pulls over Norm. And I'm like, yes, I get it.

And then let's Norm go get some pulled over and comes after me and pulls me over to how many miles ahead. I was like, he didn't get Norm all the way over, just got him to where he thought he'd stopped and then took off. So I'm like, oh, okay. I was out there. Oh yeah. He's trying to get all of us. And he looked at the flight schedule cause that I would happen all the time.

Well, so then the guys asked me, he's like, who are you racing with? He's just yelling who you race? And I'm like, I was racing like I was just he's like, who's a group of guys?

What game? Like, you guys, a gang. What's going on? I'm like, I'm not anything. I'm just sitting there. I don't he's like, who are those guys? I don't know who any of those guys were.

I'm just driving home. I want to get home. Who are those guys are? You know, as I'm as I'm sitting there, I'm like, I don't know.

Another wave of our guys go by, honk, honk, honk, honk the way. Don't give to me like this cop is like going bananas on me. I'm like, oh I am.

So then he's like, tell me. And there's an older cop with them and and the young guy is like just going crazy. He's like, fine, if you won't tell me I'm going to go find out who that other guy was. So he goes back and he's gone home and left.

Yeah. Veteran. Oh.

Because he never actually he left at like and so then he's like, who was that. I'm like I don't know. He came back. Yeah.

Because the older guy left and stayed there and the older guy was like, hey, you know, what are you doing? And I'm like, it was stupid, you know, whatever. We were speeding and stuff.

So anyways, it was going by the guys places. Yeah. I was like, I'll ride with you to your apartment. 312 go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. On the right, he's got the star map, so I ride it out. Every guy, especially some of the guys places that one of the funny prank stories you told me was when one of the guys had been traded and he went inside the locker room with Todd Simpson and he put all the guy's keys on the same ring.

No, he took everyone's keys off their rings, took all their keys off the rings, all their car keys off the rings, shook them up in a bag, and then went, goodbye, spread them all over the floor. So when we walked into the dressing room, everyone's mail, keys, all, they're like car keys on it. Everything's on its own, just laying on the floor. Guys didn't get their mail for the trade. And so he did that.

He got called off. Yeah. So that was the first thing he did before he left. He got picked up on waivers by Annahar bullshit. We're all God.

But that was him. He did.

He would he took he took the phone in the in the in the. Trainer's room and like the big old phones, you know, they've got the big block of, like numbers and everything and it's like unplug it and then slide it into your luggage. So at the bottom of your luggage and it's not that heavy.

So you pick it up and then this is when we're still doing like commercial flights and you'd go through like the like they put your bag to go through the X-ray machine and they'd be like, sir.

And they pull out this phone and you're like, what?

And you're on like a seven day road trip. And everywhere you go, you're like having to carry this phone and you're like they're like, you know, like that's not going to do you any good wherever like you you can't plug it in and plug it in and work. You're like, I know. And so you'd be carrying it for the rest of the trip. Oh, some of these like the dildo through the wrap it up in tinfoil.

So the whole thing would go off because where that was when we flew, he covered the one time he Vaseline the entire windshield of my car. He was hurt. So he Vaseline the windshield of my car, goes to a barbershop, buys a bag, gets a bag and dumps it on my car. So then I get so gross. I get home, I get in my car. Look, I'm like, what the heck's on my coat? Even like it's like two thirty in the morning.

So I get on my car, turn my windshield on and it's just like all this human hair all over. So then I go to the gas station. I got to drive with my head out the window to the gas station. I get to the gas station. It's me and Ladislav Naggy does it truthfully. And we're like like taking all this human hair and, like, thrown it onto the garbage can. But it's getting everywhere. The guy comes out and is like, hey, what are you doing?

Like, I'm like, just have to clean off my car to get rid of the hair. And he's like, what is that? I'm like, it's hair. So it looks like human hair. I'm like, yeah, it is. It's a joke. It's not like he's like, what do you guys do when you guys can't believe in human hair all over him? I'm like I to like the guy. I got to go. I'm getting out of here and I just it was awful.

But of course he did he do stuff like that all the time.

One of the worst ones I heard was the buttered popcorn when it ruined the. Yeah, that was Proudman in Vancouver that was on us. Oh was. And you guys know I've told this before and I think you told last time you're on the the purple.

Yeah. Ray Whitney. That was Ray Whitney. Well, he taught Simpson did it, but he got it from Ray Whitney with what had already done it. Yeah.

So they got so this one with this one was like it was pretty costly. Yeah. Really cost. Encima never admitted to it for like five years. He didn't admit to it and it was Hillary type shit like it was unbelievable. It was unbelievable.

So he got me the first time so he gets me with the purple people eater like he puts in my jock. And it's this purple dye that you put on money.

And if you put it on the money, it turns anything that's sweating or anything, just like not like a little purple, but like you're full on dipped your hands in purple paint like it looks like it's like you spray painted your hands purple. It's unreal how good it works. So he puts it in my jock and I come off the ice. I'm the last guy off the ice.

And I take my I'm like, oh my goodness. So I'm trying to figure out what's going on.

I'm like, oh, she's purple all caucus. Oh, like purple. Purple like all my died purple like junk is purple. Purple, not like a little purple but like full on purple.

I'm like, are you, are you kidding me. Like this is. And so I'm like OK, who's waiting around to see this. Like I'm going to figure out who's waiting around to see this. So I waited them. So I just sat in the room and did my usual take too long. And so he's hanging around, hanging around. And anyways, I go walking into the trainers and I'm like buck naked and the trainers are just cry and laugh.

And then I'm standing there. And so anyways, he waits and it lasts for like five days. So he waits. And every day I waited. He didn't. So he never, ever saw. So he didn't think it got me.

Oh, she didn't mean you didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing it purple because I was sure it was him, but I didn't know. So I so I didn't let him see. So then he did it to the whole team but he put in everyone's gloves, no everyone's gloves, but then didn't realize that he didn't have he put the right amount in for me. But he put in like ten times the amount in everyone's gloves. So everyone's like bang in their gloves out and it's getting in the air and people are walking through it and they're turning purple.

And it's like this mist, their jersey jersey is over, everybody. Everyone's purple jerseys.

I've heard of trainers losing.

It's like fifteen grand in like cleaning bill for like the rugs and all the walls and everything.

And it's gone too far. Branxholme waiting for and he did it the day of our golf tournament so that everyone had to shake hands with everyone with purple hands.

He does it. This guy was rude. He tells it to everyone, including himself, except for me.

So everyone's like, take your gloves off. Don't like what? And they're like. I don't get it. Yes, and I think it was probably retribution of the fact you didn't get your dinosaur cost. So so then so then that's why he killed again to a serial.

Yeah. Yeah, he's he's a serial prankster. Yeah. So then I'm lining up against Columbus and Ray Whitney is beside me saying, hey, I heard you got the purple people eater. I'm like, you do. Who told you? He's like, I don't I don't know.

I just heard like, who told you? He's like, What? No, I don't know. I think simar might I say I knew it. I knew it was him. So then I went back to him.

I'm like, I know it's you. He's like, are you kidding me. He would love to get me in trouble, which is a good argument because he would have loved to get them in trouble.

He's like, that's totally him. He's playing you. I'm like, no, I'm getting Jedi mind trick here again, like these guys. Anyways, it was. But it was his last line torpey. I took them like literally five years before I even would admit that it was him, but he finally did.

He showing up to guys too is so true. Who pranked you? And you're like, I know you did.

They're like, hey, I promise you, I know who did it, but it wasn't me.

That's like you're just like I know I'm 99 percent sure it's you, but like, you just sort of ruin this for. Yeah.

And it takes way too much time and energy to actually dig and find out. Yeah. Yeah.

Dorner congratulations man. This was great. This is awesome. I can't wait till tomorrow. I'm so happy you're back with the coyotes man. It's it's obviously what you should be. And we're actually we should probably announce it now. We're doing a podcast together every two weeks, milnor every other weeks. That's news to donor. So I'm glad. Yeah, maybe, maybe once.

I think there's a there's a vibe here between you guys. I think this is going to crush it. Yeah.

All coyotes news probably. Yeah. We found a name for it. So anybody out there listening and congratulations. You're back with the oats and you said one of these guys said Chase said yachts, not yachts.

Notes might be a good name. Stop at chases. Chase is looking for a raise here. So let's let's let's figure out a name and looking forward to the season donor.

Yes. And thank you, guys. So I appreciate you guys. I mean, I really do hope I didn't get in too much trouble. That's pretty good. OK, I think.

All right, let's do it. Wrap it up. Thanks, Dona. Well, Larry, normally it's you taking out of these things, but I just want to thank Shangela guy. What a guy these guys he was. He was like a father to me when I played for the Arizona Coyotes. And he bit of advice I needed. I would go to him. Always had the time for everyone. There is no reason he should have been never associated to the organization after his playing career.

It was unfortunate how it all went down, but they have made the right decision and bringing them back. The coyotes are now. Now officially away, I can look out, I. Just a small baby wagon with three wheels and a big old cover on it, yeah, so that's how many times they catch a Yank on it.

If he said he was like one of your parents, actually, I don't know if you would be in some of those.

Like when me and the kids would be shooting the shit in the shower, he would come in. Sometimes she had to leave there because he had a big weapon. And I was a little embarrassed and there with my little fucking shrinky dinky after the call thought. But now he's he's the fucking man and he yeah, he's the best.

I don't know if he told you guys, but he came out today. He was named chief hockey development officer for the coach as well. So congrats on that.

We were interviewing him and we didn't have a title yet. So we kind of just like, OK, and just basically whatever.

I basically just butchered the intro and then and then. Yeah, that was it. And then we kind of went on, just ask about all these pranksters.

All right. We'll get back to the divisions in a sec.

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Next, we're going to what I'm calling the Lois and Clark division, which is the West. And if you look at the area that black, it looks like the Louisiana Purchase.

If you look at the actual map, that guy, that guy made a while back, the color coded one that you thought you were triple, when you're looking at this either way, the new West Division, Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, San Jose, St. Louis and Vegas. This team had three teams that did not qualify for the playoffs last year. All the California team, San Jose, L.A. and Anaheim, probably one of the weaker divisions, I think you might say the weakest and leave early.

So just tee what up for the spike that's similar, similar to the east, the west, I think a no brainer, at least for me, maybe not a no brainer, but I got Colorado one of this basically.

I know St. Louis is going to give them some competition, but I'm down with Colorado, one of the the West division.

What dog would say, you know, Colorado is my pick. It's tough to go against them. And then I think it's pretty easy with Vegas and St. Louis don't know the order in terms of the second and third seed, the fourth seed in that in terms of who's going to come out of that division. Making the playoffs is kind of what's tough because you got really no clue what what L.A. or Anaheim is going to bring. They have so many different young guys playing Anaheim's, added Chaton Kirk.

But they got prospects. Both those teams you saw world junior guys and them taking the private jets. So there's a chance for both those teams to be young Arizona. No chance they're making the playoffs, take them out of the mix and then Minnesota's there.

I think Minnesota ends up grabbing that last spot, but it's certainly the weakest division when you look at, like, having to go on the road and play like two and three or three and four, whatever they're going to do.

It's not as tough when you're playing against Anaheim in L.A. then if you look at you got the islanders, rangers and then the easy one against the Devils, it's just that division really changes things because there is there's there's some top top teams.

And then at the bottom, there's there's not much in between. So I gave the four teams and go in Minnesota, fourth don't know, St. Louis. What was the other one. Vegas, two, three. And then Colorado.

Curtis Darcy Kamper is going to go fifty six and he's not going to let in a goal. All right. Incredible.

I'm speaking all Eckmann Larsen is going to win the Norris and then Conaghan is going to score 400 goals.

Keller is going to have a thousand assists. Kyrie are going to fucking roll. No one else in the division is actually going to make the playoffs because of the beat down that Arizona is going to put on them. So I got Arizona and Arizona alone.

Oh let's go desert dogs.

This is a man that knows this year's going to be rough. I left out the sharks. I don't know what the sharks are going to do. It's a it's an interesting team because they've been so good for so long that the one off year you expect them to come back. I just don't know if they have the pieces there to make it happen. But Burnsy filmed the Vikings. That'll definitely help.

They'll rip it up and they got some big time. They could sure can score and stuff.

Hurdle's looked awesome, but I don't know if the depth there.

Yeah, I think the two Southern California teams, they're basically. No, no, they're not going to do much this year. Anaheim really didn't do anything. They're going to probably have Xigris assuming he makes it, which he probably should. L.A. brought in to see you all. Imada Quentin by Fildes, expected to make the team as a bunch of other studs. Might as well.

But these guys, obviously, that this is part of their plan. They know they're not going to make the playoffs for these couple of years.

So what do you got if the league does show the other teams the division sympathy and let them, then I will pick Colorado, St. Louis and Vegas as the other three.

Now, Anthony, see you. He is going to be my Anthony do Claire of this year. I think he's found his spot. I think he's going to go up, put up some good numbers and he's going to find himself. It might not be staying there because we saw Anthony declaring what he did in Ottawa and he's got this contract now in Florida. I this kid at one point has to pop off that skill set, has to eventually come out.

And considering where l was at, I think that he's going to play with some good players and he's going to have some success. So that is my prediction for this episode other than the Coyotes role in that division.

So, yeah, the shocker was him not getting it done in Edmonton where I thought there'd be a fit. I definitely think he can be a top player on a on a on a bad team. I don't know if he's a first or second line player on a really good team, if that makes sense. So this year could be him getting minutes and him getting opportunities there on a deeper team. He wouldn't and he could pop off. He has all the skills and the speed is is a weapon that that he uses perfectly at times.

And other times it seems like he's just skating himself into trouble or skate himself away from where the plane needs to be made. So I think it's definitely a guy who's exciting. If you're a Kings fan in terms of he could help during a year, he's a wild card much.

But I don't know. I don't know.

I have I have sympathy for these guys. Were they kind of expectations that maybe never lived up to it to a certain point, like another example? No, but like you hear you hear all this like, OK, the skill set and potentially put all together. And another example would be with the islanders hosting, he ended up going to camp again. I saw today was on waivers like he's not going to get his chance there. I'm not saying that people thought he was going to go there and make that team at a camp.

But like, I like to see these guys you keep hearing about with the high skill sets eventually pop off. And and this is no insult to hosting at this point. It's kind of turned into like a rob shrimp story, rather rather than an attitude to declare story. You know, I'm saying in a sense of like I'd like to see these guys maybe get a chance to work with saying he's like slept through a meeting.

I don't know if it's all just him not popping off on the ice. I think there's some there.

Well, we'll get them on at some point because he did reach out to me via D.M. But I just you know, I have a soft spot for these guys. I want to see these storylines pop off.

You know, I got yeah, I like I said, I got Colorado one and it I think they only got better and inside and Devin Tibbs in the back. And I think the blues probably gave him a run for the division Vegas. They of course out of Pietrangelo Grant that they lost Schmidt for it.

But a Minnesota man, I think he really kind of retooled that roster a lot. A lot of guys let a lot of guys go. I traded them, brought in some new blood, and they brought in Cam Talbot. Some of that new blood probably solidify the goaltender position, although still going to have Minnesota as my fourth team making the playoffs from the West Division. The last one.

I got a question for you. Do you think do you think that Vegas goes to the end of the season with both Fleury and Lunner and that you think that they'll last the season there? Yeah. Yeah, I think yeah.

I think because there's going to be so many back to backs in group game like group games all grouped together and shit.

So, yeah, I definitely think that's going to happen.

All right. Because we saved the best for last the North, the, the Canadian division, Canada Division, whatever you want to call it. Uh, let's see, I like Vancouver to win this division.

Don't I know you're probably surprised and say Ottawa, but yeah, I like Vancouver, man. I mean, they brought us they got Braden Holtby. I know they lost Maxton, but I would you could make the argument. I hope he's an upgrade. They added Nate Schmidt as well. I know they lost the Foley statue. Ten of, like I just said, my ekström. But what they made, they went viral this week in that camp is Tyler Martin, good, Adam Godet, Little Scrap and Kamba look like what my dad for Fotomat.

Let's get your expert analysis.

I would say that's a camp that's got some creepiness where a coach might have came in and said, like, hey, let's get the intensity up. We got a lot to prove. There's been some moves made. And, you know, this is this is a tough fucking division.

And it's a team where you have like three guys up front and every everywhere else spots are open. Exactly.

You know, like there's going to be some serious competition. And if you ever see Mark play game to game, he just he's a big ball of energy and he's the type of guy he's got one speed. And it seems like him and God that were going at it. Yes, I would call it a slow foot, although it was a tough angle from training camp. And I don't know who posted the video of it. You could probably dig that up while I finish my comment here.

But the funniest part is how after he did it, Godet dropped a stick and then slapped the stick away. And then you see the wires crossed and then right away practice Stonybrook. So I think that those things kind of set the tone sometimes. And in a season like this, you need some spunk coming out of the gate. We saw it with St. Louis guys. I've been in plenty of practice fights during my day. That may come as a surprise to you, given the fact that I got Hawk.

Yeah, I got a pretty short week with both not only Puck, but players sometimes. But this is going to come as no surprise to anyone. Toronto through and through is going to win this division. I am expecting big things. I see. If they don't get out of the first round, I will saw my dick off live on YouTube. Check on Shadyside.

Now she's like she's like, actually, OK, just don't cut your tongue off. Just keep your nose the same length tranel.

They look really good. They added somebody to the back end who's a good good at both ends. In fact, I'm drawing a blank here to guy came over from Calgary. Browdy Oh yeah. And Simmons adds that that salt and pepper, that sandpaper finish and Joe Thornton, that experience in the locker room, I think he's going to help with the special teams and what he's got to contribute, whether I would imagine he's going to be on them. But if he's not having him in a video session ain't going to hurt you and just common those those young guys down.

This team is still very young. And John Tarvaris has a lot to prove as captain. And I think last year left a very bitter taste in his mouth. And it's time for his team. Now that he left that shitty Islander's organization, he needs to advance farther than them in playoffs one time. Give me one time here. Give me one.

Give me to Utah. I think that the the old metro, whatever that's called now, the east, that is the toughest division. This is the most exciting division for me. The idea of the Matthews McDavid match up that many times, the idea of Patterson Peterson going against Kupchak and just the Canadian rivalries throughout that country and how special those Saturday night games are going to be. I'm beyond fired up. I'm also with Ubisoft. Toronto is my pick.

I think a lot of people say, well, you bring it forward, start and you bring in Simmons.

I mean, neither one of them are fast.

Well, the teams played fast for a little while and hasn't work. Maybe they need to play heavier. Maybe it's the thing where Toronto doesn't want to just be in off the Rush team. They want to be a team that's able it's going to be able to cycle you down low. So you add some size, you add grit. And you had thought, and who can pass the puck from anywhere? Yeah, he's not going to beat you one on one coming into the zone, but he's going to grind you away beneath the goal line and make plays.

So you saw the line that he's currently with with Marner and Matthews.

It's exciting. And Nylander needs to play well for Toronto to have a big year with the money he is being paid. No, no, it's not extraordinary, but it's enough where you need production from him. And he has it at times. He's also just kind of a little what do you call guy?

He can float out there at certain moments and you need to see him really diving in, playing physical and just getting involved in the play more than he always does. He can kind of disappear in my mind. But the team's great Riley is is a star defenseman. He's going to play twenty seven minutes tonight, who knows, maybe a little less with crunched in the season is together. Forty minutes.

I love that squad. I really do. And I look at the whole division and it's going to be a battle to make the playoffs. I think Toronto is in no doubt. I think Edmonton is going to get in because I just think McDavid being healthy right now, knock on wood and droits and what he did with him gone and that team kind of still on the upswing. Look, look for Yamamoto. Maybe he makes a little bit of a step this year.

That's a skilled player who did show moments. That was great. After that, it's like I can't see Calgary not in the playoffs. The Battle of Alberta is going to be off the hook this year. It's going to be exciting how many times they play each other and quick in quick amount of time.

And I love their school. I love their squad. Even though they lost Brodie, they're still nice. And Mark Ström is an awesome goalie. I said you said RJ that you could almost say maybe hope he's an upgrade. I really disagree with that. I think Mark Schrems, a different level goalie right now than hope is it'll remain to be seen the season after that.

So if I'm picking Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary to both get in, it's going to be tough because Edmonton in going to kick the shit out of each other that.

Fourth spot, a battle between Van and Winnipeg. I don't think Montreal has what everyone's talked about, Montreal and what they're going to do this year and how it's a totally different look. I know betting against Carey Price is tough, but.

I don't see them making the playoffs, I could be way that could be my my most fucked up pic, this whole this whole preview show. But I'm looking at Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, and then Van and Winnipeg battling it out for that last spot. And Ottawa is going to kick the shit out of some teams. I don't know if they're deep enough to make it into the top four, but they're certainly not going to be an easy game against them.

There's my Canadian division preview. Thanks for coming.

I hate to do this. And I'm sure that a lot of people from Alberta are going to be upset with me and the fact that I'm going to leave either one of them, the two best players.

Snow just got two best players in the world. Well, two of the best in McDavid and Dry Sitel not leading the Edmonton Oilers to playoffs. And I think that they are going to miss playoffs and who I do have sliding into playoffs as Montreal. I just did a bit of a culture shift. They brought in some, you know, some new guys and has been very vocal about the fact that he thinks that they've made enough moves to now put this team into that realm of conversation and its playoffs or bust.

I like Montreal sliding in.

They're probably in that four seed I told. Needs to be good there.

I definitely think Calgary I like the way they're built. I think John Gujral has lost his temper and I think he's ready to go.

I heard I, I heard that his gun is no longer and he is ready. Ready.

He went on a little diet that things he spanks on and he is ready to go. And I got one more coming at you here. I can't leave Vancouver out of the mix. I think I think Vancouver is definitely going to be able to squeeze in the playoffs. So those are my four. I'm sorry, all you Edmonton fans. I love watching McDavid and Drysdale go at it. I just I don't know. I just I think too much tougher competition this year.

Yeah.

This is the one division I scratched out and had to rewrite teams five, six times over. Like I said, I think Vancouver's takes the division, Toronto will get in and then the two Alberta teams, Calgary and Edmonton. I know this kind of goes at odds with me throwing a wager on the Ottawa senators to win the Stanley Cup, which got a little buzz on Twitter Sunday night best, but yeah, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver winning the division.

And I did just mention Ottawa. So that's probably a good Segway into the old Gambon corner.

I think Boice once in a while, my friends, but it has been a while. Quick, quick one note. Farhan Lousie was the one first tweeted out that video because you're asking about the God that might fight.

We like to go. We have to give credit due when appropriate here with other media outlets.

So not the gambling cornerman. Like everyone had a good laugh Sunday night because, you know, you guys tweeted out might be saying I was going to beat the Senate is to win the top. Now, again, I did also say of Matt Murray return to form, which didn't make the quote. But this isn't me saying Ottawa was going to win the Stanley Cup of predicting anything and it's going to happen. It's not it's it's thrown the shits and giggles play out there.

I mean, there are two hundred to one in some spots. You throw twenty bucks, 100 bucks, whatever you feel like you want to throw. And if it ever came through, I mean, we start well, at least in the IPL, a couple of years ago it lasted less than at least I don't I don't fault. You know, I mentioned last week the L.A. Rams, when they won the Super Bowl the year before the Pats beat them.

They were two hundred to one to win that year. So it's more just trying to take advantage of odds than anything else.

I'm not I don't really think talking about the podcast. Yeah, he was he's he loved that we chirped his tape job. I think that I think that when he comes on, he's going to be a joy to talk to. He seems like he's full of life. That guy, he loves the game. Very authentic. I'll say his personality is English is probably pretty good. They can all speak English.

And those Germans compound beers, can't they? They dummy. He's living a pretty good shot, too, so. Oh, my God.

Yeah. It's like, oh, hey, Saturday night game. We have three days off FaceTime still.

Tom Brady just put them on Instagram. They're doing the beer bong on Instagram live and shit like I think Whitney will sponsor their house.

We'll call it the Pink Whitney house. Then they do that in New Hampshire.

All right. Also, we're going to have we're going to have our boy, Matt Merly, hopping in and helping you with the gambling this year.

These two are going to be making lines are a some special different bets, some prop bets. Is that true, Mikey? That is true. That's been sending over some some write ups. He's getting into it. He's got so many prospects for the upcoming season. It's so true to generate that will fit right in in the chick lit group.

Yeah. Just to know we are coming up with the props, but not the actual odds. We leave that to the professional oddsmakers. But it is fun. I mean, this is all I've been obviously doing this stuff for a long time, so it's fun to be able to come up with our own ideas and then actually see them in a real casino. My father's never been more proud of me in his life. I don't think and check out, like you said, will be what?

The barstool sports book all season long. We're going to have props posted all the time. I'll be posting on Instagram right. Blogs about it. We're going to have the MERLY special, possibly in poly form.

But basically you can bet whether it game's going to go to Otey, the big nasty special, which team you think is going to have more penalty minutes that night. Popline Jesus, which is just the pocket, but Jesus is a cool name. The Whitney special was still hammering out the details on that. So I think what the first in the league who gets treated before the games over, I think, like I said, the funkiness of this new season, the new divisions, the schedule, I think it's worth the play, a long shot to win the mix.

We got the Keystone rivalry right now, Pittsburgh and Philly. You can you can bet which team is going to have more points out of those two. We also have a Norse division one as well, Chicago and Detroit back on the same division. So if you get a little wistful, like myself, nostalgic, you want to throw it away, drawn by all means. Go ahead, do so. Of course, you want to abide by local regulations at all.

Time is I'm not a big Chocho picks. I'm going to get to that. I'm not a big jock guy. I know it's easy to pick Colorado or Tampa or whatever, and I've never been a big betting on total points, like how many points for the season, but a couple of cup picks. I do like these odds from the barstool sports, but your your mileage may vary depending on where you go, but Boston at fifteen to one, I think that's some pretty darn good value for a team that just won the Presidents Trophy.

Again, I know they lost Jared Grug. I don't think they're insurmountable challenges for the team. Also the fly is it eighteen to one. They jumped out at me, the blues at twenty to one. Who is the team that just won the cup a year and a half ago? Dallas was just in the last year that twenty five to one. So tremendous value. I think again, if you want to really load up on a team for a couple of dimes on whatever you got, some real potential good payouts.

Ottawa Well, I mentioned there are a, I believe, two hundred to one of the Boston sports books, the Coyotes. I actually avoid it.

Let me put it as though that's possible. I was going to say I hadn't considered making that that Paul side didn't have a written down and life savings on it.

Let's go. Yeah, no disrespect, of course.

What else. Yeah. Oh yeah. Outros. This was a couple. This is what's good about the Boston sportsbook too is there's all kinds of stuff that to bet on. It's not just the Stanley Cup and the divisions and all that. You could pick the trophy winners, award winners.

That stuff is dynamite as far as I'm concerned, at Ross, Jack, Michael, we just had on twenty to one to win the hot Ross, which is the leading scorer.

Those are some pretty damn good odds for a guy who averages over a point the game.

And he's going to be playing with Taylor Hall on one side and all of a sudden on the other side. So for twenty to one, definitely going to take a flyer on that for the call that we just mentioned. Stutts all the German. He's ten to one, which I know those are pretty decent odds as well. I'll probably throw a bob on that because your coyotes of sixty to one to win the Stanley Cup. Yeah, I mean it's a nice return if you want to play it.

Who else would be a candidate for Rookie of the Year? Who's another guy who's coming in who people are really excited to see the front of him, that those are the two big names that are coming in?

Yeah, there's a lot of options this year. You saw in the world juniors. How many different young players are probably going to be in NHL rosters?

What are the who's got the best odds on that? The frontier.

The frontier is the best. The best for the call the right now. Yeah, I'm pulling them, pulling them up right here.

I got on second at ten to one. Let's see the front three to one in just Cistercians, also three to one to ranges at three to one.

Cappers off in Minnesota take votes from each other, the local media, the national media. In terms of who's more important to that team, I like that Stuto call.

That's I mean, 10 one man, you know, he's going to get a ton of ice, too, you know, like he's going to be playing as much as anything else from being with Pink Whitney as another guy.

You liked skin, and he's 20 to one for the noris to that side. Those are some also nice odds as well. And for the Vessna, you got Rasca, 12 to one to ten to one. So some some good value out there if you're looking for it as individual games. We're looking at open night Wednesday. My first play of the year is going to be on the Philadelphia Flyers. They're only minus one twenty against Pittsburgh.

I think there probably should be a high of favorites. I'm going to jump on them on the money line and also on the line, which is laying a goal and a half going to get get back plus two fifty on the return there. So Philly minus one twenty on the money, plus two fifty on the puck line. And on Thursday, I like the Bruins. They're open to playing New Jersey Bruins. Minus one and a half is plus one.

So we're going to be taking the Bruins on the puck line Thursday night as well.

Also to my daily wages, we obviously don't get to nine games till the day of the game. So follow me on Instagram, follow me and check out our blog at Reira Triplets on Instagram so you can keep tabs on all my place. So that'll wrap up the corner. We've got a couple of the notes we're going to get you before we wrap up the show. The L named Haley Maude's VP of hockey ops. He's a Massachusetts gal, so congrats to her.

She's currently the GM of the Boston Pride of the WHL. And she'll start her new job after the Izabel Cup. So good luck to her. Congrats to her TV notes. Some pretty big news coming out of the TV world. Mike Milbury will not be returning to NBC for this season. Let's see here.

Mike Millbrae will not be back. Doc is retired, so we're going to have a bunch of play by play folks. Kenny Albert, Mike Tirico, John Fauzan, Brendan Burke, Good Miller, John Walton and Randy Hart are going to be handling the play by play. Edgel Aanenson, Coraki Jones will be doing games and studios and in the studio as well. We're going to have Ryan Callahan, Dominic Moore and his name player Mike Babcock will be a studio analyst for NBCSN and he'll take on that.

Yeah, I'm interested to hear what he's got to say on there and how he's going to be in front of the camera.

Yeah, I first of all, Milbury, so many people wanted Milbury gone. I don't necessarily think that's a great thing because there were so many times where I agree or disagree with him. He got people talking. And I know that, like, people will complain if they don't like a guy's point of view and what he says. But if you're talking about the broadcast after the game, sometimes that's a good thing. Milbury is a grumpy bastard, it seems.

But there was also times where he made me laugh. So he did it for a long time. Shout out to him.

And Babcock coming on is very interesting because you're not at all going to get the guy that's been behind the bench and you wonder if he's changed.

You wonder if he's looking at coaching again at any point. I'm sure he is.

And everything that came out, the Mariner story of having him, great teammates and their work ethic and and Ratt know everyone what he said, what what friends of France and the Muhal, what he ended up saying he did to him.

So there's some real scumbag shit that Babcock's pulled throughout his career and now he's got a nice television job. He definitely has the vibe and the face to be on TV. Right. He can talk. He's got the head of hair. He's somebody that I think in terms of what he's accomplished, NBC looks at like, wow, we go at one point one of the top coaches in the league.

As far as what he's going to be bring into the broadcast, you mentioned he's going to have people talking afterward. Hundred percent.

I think that like him and Milbury, do you think he's going to be outspoken in calling guys out the way Milbury did? I think he's just going to have great insight where maybe he's bringing things and bringing a different perspective that hasn't been brought to the panel before because like I mean, OK, OK. Like I remember this one talks during the panel for a little bit. I definitely paid more attention to it because he was fairly current and he'd been inside a locker room and he's accomplished.

And I mean, look at look, I mean, Babs has been, you know, coach of Team Canada with, like some of the best times I've done it all. He's not at all now.

Now, my question is, will he if he wants to coach again, there's definitely going to he won't be calling girls distractions on there, but it's going to be fucking breaking down game tape and I'm sure bringing some unreal point of view. I know.

I'm just. Yeah, I agree. He knows a lot. The guy is a is a hell of a coach. I don't know how he treats people, if that's the correct way or not.

I've never met the shocking coffee and people face that was I. So who is that. What was the story Walshaw told on here. And the profits featured the producer.

SCOFFING I just don't think Babcock's going to be really calling guys out because that was like the thing people talked about when he got fired. How ruthless these are.

Yeah. What's the coach? That guy's got a tiny cock in the showers. Get rid of them.

You mentioned Brendan Burke, and I'm I'm actually wearing the jersey right now. I when I was playing and wheeling, he was doing play by play. He's with the islanders now. He was doing it for the really nailer. So shout out to Billy Higgins. He's still the the the trainer with no equipment manager excuse me, and him and a few people from the office in the organization sent this really kneelers. So thank you very much, has number 20 in the back when I said this last episode, didn't we?

Oh, did I really?

Yeah, well, the whole point and reason I want to bring up is to thank Billy Higgins again for sending this jersey over and to congratulate Burkean on getting to where he has he's unbelievable. One of the best guys to listen to, although he is affiliated with the islanders, that's even me playing Tommy Sexta, all you Islanders fans out there. So I used to be with him in the wheel and now he's now he's in the show at NBC. All right.

Any other note, you guys, before you close, we got along with you. But we talk about the divisions and we have to because I hope you guys enjoyed them. And other than that, I mean, NFL wildcard weekend was exciting. Go bills, go double move on. And the bills, I think they're going to smack Baltimore in the mouth on Saturday night. It looks like snow showers are a possibility in Buffalo Saturday. That's going to be a blast.

So I'm on the bill's bandwagon.

And other than that man Hockey's back, I think that people are excited. And I know that there's going to be games postponed. And we chatted about that earlier. But we're back, baby, and there's going to be some six storylines as these games get going and the hatred begins.

If you're still listening, live stream on Wednesday and Friday.

If you're still off, congrats to the Browns to wet Browns and their fans for six years without a playoff.

One quick correction. Frank Callahan went to the Stanley Cup final with Tampa and fifteen, not with the Rangers.

I always confused 12 and 14 Rangers' Devils who went to the cups those years. And also Hank Lundquist said the surgery went really well. And every day is a step in the right direction. We just want to say get well, Hank. Great guy. Great.

Guess the problem for us. Well, I was going to say the live streams that we're doing on Wednesday and Friday, they're brought to you by Rohlman and they're going to be on our YouTube channel. We're Twitter as well. YouTube and Twitter. Oh, no more Twitch. No more YouTube. It is. That's our spot. We can talk about gambling. We can let loose. I love it. All right.

Well, thanks for listening. Hopefully you guys like this episode to kick off the NHL season. Yes, they'll in the game.

Your nerves don't have a great week, everyone.

As always, we'd like to thank our awesome sponsors here and spend Checketts big thanks to our long time friends over at New Amsterdam, vodka and Pink Whitney, big thanks to our friends at Wub for letting us know what we need to do and what not to do.

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Check them out for you. CPD needs and a big thanks to a long time friend, Joe Redzepi crew to check them out. If you have a great week, everybody is.