Hello, everybody, welcome to Episode 320 of Spin that's presented by Pink Whitney from our friends at New Amsterdam Vodka and the barstool sports podcast Family. Hopefully everyone's doing all right out there. Let's say hi to the gang first before we get crack. And Mike Ianelli, how was your Valentine's Day, young fellow?

Valentine's Day is fantastic, but I myself, I'm a big birthday guy. I know Ryan Whitney has a birthday coming up this week, so happy birthday, Ryan.

I hope all the listeners reach out and say happy birthday, February 19th.

Oh, yeah, you are a big birthday guy. Just happen to, like, drop it online. I accidentally. Next up, the best man I saw your Instagram photos. Looked like you had a nice Valentine's Day for yourself.

Simp nasty back. I told you guys I was taking those couples photos and I was holding them and I was waiting. That's what good boyfriends do, guys. They wait to release the Arsenal on Valentine's Day. I hit him with a big blast. What do you think of that with some nasty fakin? Yeah.

I mean, I remember when you told us about the couple's pictures, like, what did you guys do before your couples pictures were like we didn't know them till we had kids, but still they looked great.

You guys both look phenomenal, Mr. Veining. And you, he looked pretty good. Nice little gray beard on him. My Valentine's Day was phenomenal.

And listen, I got to go back and cheer up myself a little, but I think it was last year I got my group chat at home with all my best buddies. And I said something like nobody with the Valentine's Day post this year, guys, enough of this. It's ridiculous. It's not even a real holiday then. Sure. Shit.

I ended up posting on and I have been ridiculed by that night when they saw that I posted one after I wanted to say, don't act like I got buried.

So I just put a little a couple of pictures on the story. You know, I don't post a picture. It's like, come on, just do the story. I'm a big story guy. But Valentine's Day, like I said, what a crock of shit.

I think I still think, though, it's nice we had a date night, so that's always good.

Yeah. Down in Florida right now, I'm crushing a green smoothie. I feel healthy as ever. I'm going to the gym down here. I feel good. It's nice out playing golf later. There's a million things to talk about. So let's fucking rip it and roll it. Boys, time to go.

There are a lot of things to talk about. I actually had a pretty busy, busy week. And as far as work, we have to carry these games. I love taking in a few dorks, free Britney being one of them. This is where we'll get to that a little bit later.

I also watched another one about the Earth's soil, and it was specifically the United States and how it's getting dried out from all the chemicals they use and how, you know. You know what I'm talking about. All right.

I haven't seen that documentary, but yeah, I mean, we've been basically fucking poisoned the ground here for a while, so I'm sure it's in rough shape. It's called Kiss the Ground.

It's a documentary on the Earth's soil and CO2 emissions, and it's actually narrated by Woody Harrelson.

I recommended I was kind of a weird guy to have narrating, but it actually worked pretty good. And I really enjoyed the documentary.

And we're recording very early Monday. Well, very early for me. I should have just fucking stayed up all night because you're off to Aspen soon, correct? I'm leaving for Aspen in a couple hours.

I'm going to go skiing for the first time. I'm really excited. I got a buddy there, actually the buddy who ended up chipping in some money for that AECL player relief fund. His name's Sheldon Walinski. I think he played at our University of Alabama and then Huntsville and he was set up. He was part of that group that ended up saving the program. I think they raised half a million dollars, but your grass was tweeting about it and he helped out as well.

So I'm looking forward to a couple of days in Aspen, hit up a few restaurants and hopefully learn how to ski that John Denver is full of shit.

Man, we got a pair of guests who we have for a long time, NHL, Chris Thorburn. We spent about close to an hour with him. Great interview. We get to that later.

And we also have professional fan Cameron Hughes. Best chatted with him a while back.

So we'll get to that a little bit later. First, I want to let you know, now that hockey is back, you're going to have to find your shot.

And what better way to do that than Pink Whitney? From January 1st through March 26, we are given fans a chance to win a custom pink Whitney shot machine. All you have to do is post a picture of you and your pink Whitney and use the hashtags hashtag pink Whitney, hashtag take your shot hashtag sweepstakes. We'll be picking winners from the U.S. and Canada every other week. So make sure to get creative with your submission. We got one from some college in Canada the other day that was like one hundred bottles of Puck and pink Whitney in a pyramid, man putting some working up there.

So. All right, get into the news here. We had some tough news out of Canada, particularly in Vancouver, because Canadian telecom giant Bell, which owns TSM, they cut 210 jobs and suddenly shut down sports radio stations in Vancouver, Winnipeg in Hamilton. Daniel Toole being the biggest name who was laid off of Jay and Dan. Yeah, Jay and Dan fame. The Hollywood Reporter belt continues reducing operating costs while Canada's ad supported cable TV market shrinks amid cord cutting and the dominance of U.S. streaming services.

Bases loaded, but they're blaming it on money. But what was weird is they didn't tell anybody in the building. They literally just played a. It wasn't even a human voice, it was like a robotic voice, and then they played that Green Day song like We hope you had the time, your life. What's it called? Good riddance. It was like it was almost like a fucking cruel joke, but it's just awful man losing their jobs.

But it's always worse when it's just like a conglomerate who can can afford it, but they just choose, not the business. Yeah.

A lot of people in Canada are upset. It was it was a bit of a blindside, especially in the course of a pandemic, knowing that accompanies making pretty good profits. And then right after the bell, let's talk stuff. And it's just, yeah, it didn't look good, you know, to all the people who got laid off. I mean, we're thinking of you sometimes. Just this industry can be a kick in the nuts. And I don't know I don't really know what else to say.

It's just like a real shitty time for something like that to happen.

Did you say there was like an announcement over the loudspeaker of the building? No. People went to work that day. Nobody had any clue that this was happening. And then about this, like Nonu, the voice you're talking about or the 930 the radio station played went to this announcement. And if you listen to it, it sounds like an automated voice. Me like not even if it doesn't even take a human voice. And it's just like just imagine a crew.

Imagine the crew like that are sitting together, like, how do we tell them? How are we going to do this? And the guy's like, well, let's get this voice that sounds like Siri and we'll just announce it to all of them, like a computer. And then they're all a good idea. Jim will do that and then they decide to, like, actually pull that off.

That's a bunch of bullshit. I feel really bad for those people. And like you said, pray for it to just happen so suddenly.

It just makes it even more difficult for people in the building and getting text from outside saying, oh, sorry about it. And the people at the building, like, what are you talking about? They didn't even know people from outside would fucking text them because they did they might not have heard the message. Like when Bobby Mac broke my trade to Edmonton.

Yeah. Employees were told they had thirty minutes to collect personal items before corporate security implemented a shut down process. Like you're fired and you get a half hour to get out of the building like and I guess the stations in Vancouver and Winnipeg, they're going to go they're going to play stand up comedy routines like, I don't know, I would rob that place blind.

I was stealing their pens, t shirt to grab a computer, a couple Apple products.

What a joke. Well, hopefully all those people end up landing on their feet, can get back in the industry somehow because that's a bummer.

Yeah, just typical corporate scumbag shit. So moving right along, let's get to the hockey. That's what we're here for, the Central Division. We're going to lead off this week. Patrick Leahy was the huge story that happened just after we recorded last week as we came in Columbus. I believe it was benched by tortes. Everyone was guessing this, guessing that because he was lazy on a couple goals. But Columbus Dispatch Dispatch was the first to report he was benched because he, quote, mouth off to one of the assistant coaches.

That's a bad look for a fucking guy. Just get into a team. You know, I think all was well, Saturday did a six night. He fought Chicago's Brandon Hagel after Hagel bundled Jack Ross back. But I know you were champing at the bit to get to this one.

What a week. What a week for a lot. I feel like it's been a month. Hey, he's going to he's going to be the guy who wins, you know, is this the best week ever? And then a worst week ever. He was like both guys. I mean, he went from from getting benched. I don't know what was the verbal about just like maybe a defensive responsibility and him arguing with the coach. And next thing you know, he's getting benched.

The Internet's exploding. And I think I think Atkinson had a quote after that game. And I want to say line eight it pretty well, like he said, I got to be better. There's some things that I can improve on. And then Akesson, which we've been kind of reiterating from the beginning, like that culture inside that locker room, like they believe in towards they believe in, you know, what they feel that they need to the break they need to bring to the rink every night in order to have success.

And it seems like everybody is buying in. So the next thing you know, my name is to drink the Kool-Aid. He's part of the cult. Next thing you know, he's fucking try to keep guys faces and and and now he's now he's chasing gordie how hot tricks. What do you think went.

Well I thought that it was, it was pretty interesting why like people are all of a sudden making up and guessing as to why he got benched. He's lazy on certain plays and toreros very clear it had nothing to do with his play. It was all about and whether he said fuck off or what he said it was Brad Larson who played in the NHL, played pro hockey for a long time. He mouth off to him. And, you know, I think that right after he did something like that, he's like, what am I doing?

Right.

The the the emotions are high in the NHL, right. You're coming to a new team. You're trying to fit in and all of a sudden you do something you shouldn't have done and your bench. And I think that makes total sense. You bench a guy if he's going to mouth off to especially to an assistant coach. I think we've heard a different culture coaching player relationships in the past. When you talk about Hitchcock and guys kind of giving it back to him and him almost liking it, well, it all depends on who you are.

But if you're going to go with an assistant coach, that's one that's a that's a different thing where the head coaches say, hey, hold on, show some respect.

You just got your Gitche bag and now you're telling the assistant to fuck off. Exactly.

So lineI when he got on the ice the next day at practice or whenever they skate again, he went right over the last and. They had a long conversation, and by the end, you know, he's he's he's kind of tapping his chest and they're all good, right? Like, that's water under the bridge. Like I said, when the emotions are high, it's going to be over. But I understood why he's back. But Tortorella is upset with the media in a sense of it.

You guys are just creating reasons as to why I sat him down.

He's I don't want he I think he said I don't like pension players while taunts. I don't know about that. I think you love it.

But line in the end, I think will fit in there. And I think it's going to take a little time. But like you say, the culture is so solid and they're so aware of how they have to play and how Tortorella wants them to play. And I think the guys have all bought in, like you said. So it's a little bump early, but he's going to be a big part of that team and which Jesus, my rice.

I'm just going to go over to him quick because the line is benching was a while ago. And it was funny that it happened that quick. But once it came out, there was disrespect involved. It's water on the bridge. I repeat myself. Ross Slovik, Jack Ross Levitt. What a player. Yarmulke Kalayaan said when he got him.

He's a top six center and people thought of him as a wing and he never really got the chance that he won in Winnipeg. And we've been over. That's why I didn't even go to camp. We requested a trade as agents. Claude Lemieux, well, he comes over and he shows what he can do. And it's not just about his speed and his skill and that goal against Chicago. Was it Chicago or Carolina? Oh, my God. Maybe the goal the year so far, just through the legs dangles two people.

It was so sick. But not only that, it's his strength on the pork. This guy, he doesn't look that big. Six feet six, one buck ninety. But like, he's somebody. And you see so many players like this who don't look overly strong or or overly tough to push off the puck. But for some reason he is and he's able to get down low and create and hold on to it. And the one number, the numbers, they kind of stood out to me before he came to Columbus and lineI as well.

The bluejackets here at two point five, seven goals per game, which was twenty third in the league, and the power play was at five point three percent, which was thirtieth just one team worse.

And since then the jackets are three point one one goals per game, which is eleventh in the NHL in that time and the powerplays at twenty six percent.

So it's like this guy's rubbing off on everyone and he's able to play a role that he always thought he could play and he didn't get the chance. And it's just it's amazing to see because when a player really bets on himself and says, I'm not going get rid of me, it's like, all right, man, look, wherever you end up, if you do end up somewhere, you better show up. And he has. So it's good for him and good American boy.

And I mentioned before I Matthews talked about how sick this kid was when he played with them at the national program years back. And you can tell he still has that game.

It's that guy back. Is he officially back after that one left?

Never left to go to sleep. You take a nap. I'm back, baby.

Four goals, five assists the nine games so far on Columbus Gladius. Did you have that quote for Mackinson? Because it was right after the benching game.

I did. And his quote was actually before that why everybody knew he was benched.

But it still applies to toits. He says Tortes expects us to play as hard as we can. It doesn't matter who you are. And I think everyone knows that if you're not given 100 percent and look like you're trying, he's going to sit you. It's no secret that goes for everybody, myself included. I've been that guy plenty of times. He just wants the guys that are going to work. It's not always going to be pretty. You might be playing with a lot of different guys, but for the most part, if we play the right way and stick to our concepts of play in North and Fort Jackson hard, it doesn't matter who you play with.

And if my memory serves me correct, I believe Atkinson, after he signed that pretty nice deal that he got that next season, afterward he went through a bit of a rough patch where he ended up being health bombed a couple of games. So that's a guy speaking from experience. Yes, I believe it was Carolina. He had the two goals against. But how about how about Lione to put the cherry on top? He ends up scoring that beauty.

I think it was a restor off the top cheese against Chicago. And that was it. His postgame interviews, postgame interview, Grindley, roll the clip, put an active first period for you.

You had a goal and the fight. Just describe each of those, if you would. Yeah, I think I think, you know, the goal. I think I was textbook top cheese. You know, it doesn't really get any better than that. And the second one kind of and our legs weren't quite going, so I had to get myself going some other way. And, you know, that was a good, good spot. And he he accepted the challenge and had a pretty good, good tilt.

And, you know, just focus on the third now and get that assist in the third period and finish off your dirty Howe hat trick, right?

Yeah, exactly.

That's what I'm going for. And I got the two points.

I mean, fuck, dude, this guy is an absolute comedy show right now. I'm becoming a super fan. You might have to get a restraining order. I mean, if he continues this bullshit.

Yeah, his presses have become a funny call. The guy a pigeon earlier this year, too. So that wasn't the only surprise news out of Columbus. Michael Koivu retired after 16 NHL seasons. He signed with Columbus in the. Season, but played just seven games with them, you know, of course, this is another story because everyone jumped on all you happened right after the line, a bench and everyone's a oh, he doesn't want to play for toits.

And it was like, no, dude, like, settle down. Everybody had nothing to do with tortes. He made it clear he just he had nothing left basically is what he said. I think Jamal just took a shot on an agent countryman, a guy he's known for a long time. Maybe see what he still had his, you know, Minnesota let him go and basically didn't think he had much left. And he said he didn't have it.

He said what it came down to was I wasn't able to play at the level I want to play it. I feel for myself that if I can't do the job on the ice the way I want to do it, it impacts me in the dressing room with the things I trust I want to do. Every game is kind of like I had a push to get ready. I just couldn't get into the rhythm. I just didn't feel the way I want it to feel as a hockey play it and being also to enjoy the game.

You also pointed out how much respect you had for Tortorella. So hell of a hell of a career, a hell of a play. I know you played against them a few times.

Yeah, I've been playing against him since peewee tournament. No, I don't think Finland had a team that year. They weren't able to get in or at least they didn't make the finals.

Listen, this guy since I first started playing international hockey was such a beast.

And him. Oh, what a sherpa's. I love that.

Him and Tomaru Ruta, who ironically enough, both had older brothers, Jarkko and Saku Koivu, who may be help, of course, probably helped them growing up and becoming the players they were, but they were eighty threes from Finland and playing against them. It was like they were so much better than any 83 that we had in the United States. They were in the NHL real young, both of them, and they were just horses like as all these Finns are.

It's like the lower body. So much strength on the ice, so much professionalism. Even at a young age, I feel like Finns are just off the ice. They know how to approach the game. They know how to approach. And they'll also have fun. But they know how to get ready to play and get ready to improve before practice and training. So it's like watching Koivu at that age and we were seventeen, eighteen. I was like, oh my gosh.

So it was like a man amongst boys. This guy is going to be so good. And I luckily had the chance to play with Saku and Anaheim and what a guy. I think many times it's been said he was just a dream teammate and an amazing player and what he went through with his cancer and and Micah was really no different from what I've heard, because he showed up all the time and I thought it was cool is when you hear about his retirement, you saw Tortorella have some quotes in that when he met with him, he just told them, like, forget about what's happened here.

It's been so quick. Your career was as a Minnesota wild. And and I was always such a big fan of watching you play. Like, I actually think that we've turned Columbus into a team. This is Tortorella speaking that kind of played the way you did. Like our team tries to play the way you approached your career and it was just being tough to play against. It was never giving up. It was always being in the right place defensively and offensively was just an all around awesome player.

And so getting the chance to see a guy that I grew up playing against and to see how long he played over a thousand games, over 700 points. It's just an honor to have a chance to play against somebody like that. So I think when he looks back, he'll he'll he should be so proud. He never won a Stanley Cup or Olympics. He played in the Olympics. He played in world championships. He played playoff games. It was like this guy did it all.

He'll have his number retired by the Minnesota Wild for sure. No doubt when fans are back. I know that was mentioned. And I think when you talk about retirement, I've said the I read something by Bill Belichick.

I've said it before. Long ago, I read it's like, when are you ready?

Ready to retire?

Probably the first time you kind of start thinking and asking yourself, am I ready? It's like that's the beginning. And I don't know when that happened. And maybe it was just this offseason. I know he's got three kids like two, five and seven that he's away from right now. And if you don't feel the love and the passion towards the game, that's when you know and I think his his most telling quote was, wow, he mentioned like, I don't I don't feel like that that feeling before the games, it's like hard to get myself going.

And that's that's never happened to people. And when it does, you realize, like, my time's up, but what a run and what a player.

I couldn't agree more as far as like even really Scandinavian, just the way they handle their business. And I think that that's like they're so they're so in tune.

That's why I think when they get a little bit of leash, they get so fucking buckled when they go out and party, like when they love getting back and for fucking fucked, they get crippled to drink you under the table.

They'll smash your face.

And if you say anything to him, just savages and then they'll show up. They'll be the next person out, they'll be the first person at the rink the next day and they won't say a peep. They'll just be in their stall. And it's just like it was like Project X the night before. And you're looking at the guy like, really you're just going to you're going to stroll in here like nothing happened. You were the craziest motherfucker on the planet last night.

Yeah. That guy, you're getting your tip staked, let's say, last episode. They're taking your state right now.

You're taking your step after what you did at the club two hours ago. And then they're first in line to do the drills. And then they're also like going at you hard in a battle drill. Like, dude, I was literally in a cab with you home from the club like 90 minutes before this practice.

How are you doing this to me right now? One other note about Columbus.

Congrats to me. Yeah. Well said, well said, that was a hell of a tribute. Columbus also in the process of trying to get fans back in the building, they're just waiting on approval from the Ohio Department of Health. They'll be able to get 10 percent capacity, which is just under 2000 fans. So a couple other teams will. We'll get to that a little bit later, because next up, we're going to chat Nashville, not because they've been good.

They've been terrible. Yeah. Let's go to.

Well, actually, before we got to York, Adrian Data, he's been a long time avalanche beat reporter. He tweeted yesterday he's hearing whispers that, quote, John Hines is in some real trouble, definitely on hotseat. It's not a good sign for a guy who's only been there 43 games over two seasons. This team has clearly lost its mojo from a couple of years ago. Let's go to you.

Yeah, I mean, you know, there's there's quite a few stories going around the league, but I thought this is probably one of the biggest ones right now for a team that's like drastically underachieving. Some, you know, big contracts were given out. If I'm not mistaken. Heinz was hired like six days after you got canned in New Jersey. Right.

I'm not sure what the timeframe was along.

The questions that we know. No clue that you don't either. I love when you do that.

Well, it was a quick turnaround and he wasn't having any type of success in New Jersey. And then all of a sudden he gets this job, which coming out of that situation seemed like a bit of a dream scenario. You got a little bit more skill to work with some guys that are proven. I mean, you got like Arvidson as a legitimate player. You got Forsberg, you got a couple of aces on the back end. You got what, arguably one of the best, if not the best defenseman in the league.

Goaltending is pretty solid and this team just does not look good. And they're not getting rid of any of these guys who are locked into these contracts. So I don't really see any way out of this for Poile, who's the winningest GM, I believe, in NHL history with over 400 wins. So he's probably going to have to change this up. And I don't I don't know anything about Hines's his coaching habits or styles. But, you know, he had the opportunity.

New Jersey, it landed extremely flat. We're seeing that type of success that they're having now, or at least more than they did with him. And then now this in Nashville. So I messaged skills and I'd like to get either him or Mason on here to give us a more in-depth look about what's going on. They just have no mojo. And one of the most, I'd say obvious situations is probably the, you know, the contract, the Duchaine and maybe the lack of production out of him.

I mean, Forsberg is really the only guy to Johansen's Johannsson big. He hasn't been healthy. Right. Just games.

But I mean, he doesn't have a goal in ten. It's like that's why it's I understand if you're going to the coaches on the hot seat and for sure like he comes any the team hasn't done anything.

But you look at the players and like the lack of what's the lack of production by these guys. It's now is it the coaches fault for the system they're playing the lines that he's putting out there? Is it just kind of on the players not playing great? And you have two good goalies, especially regular season wide. He's got both of them aren't playing well. It's like Soroses beneath nine hundred, say, percentage. I think that is just above it.

It's like the whole team's underperforming. And this is one of those situations where it's a team that you think could make the playoffs.

There's certainly like in their window. Right. And it's one of those starts like can you come back from a start like this? I mean, there's so many teams in that division that have missed so many games, they're going to catch up.

It's like I don't know, it's it's a weird it's a weird thing going on there. And maybe it's a team who really struggles not having fans in their building when you get such a home ice advantage there. But they're not terrible at home. They're awful on the road. I think they've won once.

So weird time to see if the coach if the coach gets changed, which would be a quick, you know, turnaround again after the firing of LaViolette. And then also if there's if there's a trade to be had.

But it's definitely probably a stressful, stressful couple mornings and afternoons and evenings for David Poile right now, Shirota Grenelle.

So he was fired on December 3rd and hired on January 7th. Maybe I was thinking of Deborah, another coach, where it was a quicker turnaround. But, you know, ultimately he he wasn't left on the bench very long, got that job right away. And a little over a year later, he's once again on the hot seat. And I think that they have the type of group and in the, you know, the players that they could definitely turn this around.

And that's why I think that if you see one or two more games, the way they've been playing, I wouldn't be surprised if they had to, you know, had to replace him. Now, who are some coaching candidates that are on the shelf right now? They're just waiting for a job. Is there any any big names that are popping out? I can't see Babcock getting a job this quick. Boudreaux is probably the first name that comes to mind, Bruce Boudreau.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know how much damage the barbecue sauce in Nashville on his shirts.

Oh, you thought it was bad in D.C. or Anaheim. I want them just to get higher.

And they could do like a once a week rib eating contest or some shit just to see how that'll go. I'm sweating, Rajakulendran.

Oh, yeah. I'm looking at an article from Adam Vinken on the athletic saying that Hynde's is getting the most that he can out of a flawed predator's roster.

So maybe there's people who aren't blaming him and it's just talking about like the actual players on this team. But crazy to see how bad they are.

I mean, they're right above Detroit. And take a look at their cap situation. I mean, they got Duchaine at, what, eight million for five more years after this year. Johannsson, he's making eight million as well. He's got four more years left after this. They got three goals between them. I know, like you said, what has been dinged up on the injuries right now. But, you know, that's just not production. You've got to get better production for that kind of fucking money.

No, and they got call them out right now three. So that's not a good sign. And I, I believe they have one more game against Tampa.

So, I mean, if you're going to get tested, that's the team on the other side, allegedly Chicago Blackhawks, man, they had a tough start, but they've been on fire since. They are just to regulation losses over the last 13 games. Like our buddy chief wrote, this team works hard. They don't quit thirty four point seven on the pile, placed second in the league, and they got a bunch of rookies helping out shoot off the goalie, Lankin and Chuck Hagel, Bowdon Mitchell, these guys are stepping up by Patty Kane.

I mean, what he's doing is incredible with no change there. Seven goals, fifteen assists, twenty two points tied for third and scoring in the league overall.

All also chief stroke in the Hawks off now, is it. Yeah.

So now he's playing Tommy Sticks with Stan ever since I don't look down and and now they got the goaltending and Patty Kane is. Oh my goodness. He's, he's probably he's probably in the top three for the heart right now. I think he's got what, seven goals. Fifteen assists. He's he's leading that team. I mean, we've got no Jonathan Ta'izz, no Kirby Doch. And how how soon is Dork out? I mean, do they say he's probably out another couple months?

Yeah, I think it was four to six months, his four to six months, but wrist was mangled.

I thought the goal the other night. Who got that goal? Why am I trying to. Because they can't get. No. Oh, my God. That was sick. Just the hand. I just knocked that thing to himself once and then right past the tender habits. You were good at that?

Oh, I think that I think Kane is just proving like he's kind of like it's like Bergeron, like Fountain of Youth, like, will he slow down?

It's like he continues to get better. Just doesn't matter who he's playing with, doesn't matter where he is. Well, not where he is. He's in Chicago. We know that. I mean, like in terms of his line mates, it's it's insane. And the speed down the wing and the vision and just so fun to watch without him, the hawks are completely fucked.

And I do think that it's a team that's way more difficult to play against. And we probably imagined when we were dogging him earlier in the year. But at the same time, I don't think they're going to make the playoffs. I mean, they're not in the playoffs right now. And half the teams in their division have played like eleven or twelve games. They've played sixteen. So I think that it's more impressive than what people thought it would be going in.

At the same time, I don't think they have what it takes. And in the end that almost fucks them even more. It's like if you're going to be bad, be bad. We've talked about this. Are they going to be middling and then finish fifth in the division? It's like that doesn't help them.

I'd be lying if I didn't think that the chief Stan Bromates blocks still hates is. I think he stepped on them like somewhat recently about something he did. And this was post interview.

Chief Hatam, he's going to be on page six, are going to be out for ice cream together, page six on Michigan Avenue in the shop in chief and Stan share in the same bag from Lulu Frank at eight goals, eight assists as well.

And with only twelve games, he's been tearing it up too.

Like you said, we also have now and that's a big comeback year for him because after he signed the deal last year, he struggled. And you see what he's doing now.

And I know Ken's a big part of that, but happy that guys, hey, they're hanging out at Viag or Triangle there by Sutton Place.

Oh, yeah. What's that? Where we get that steak before the live show that we didn't have audio. Gibson's Gibsons.

Yeah, he's okay, Stan. You be the bad cop. I'll be the good cop tonight, buddy. Faggotry, that's what they call it there.

It's we're all like the fifty year old guys like Boogie today's roll up and they're, they're fucking twenty year old Instagram model guys. We got a fire, a triangle here in Scottsdale. Oh I'm in Jupiter.

Jupiter is the Viagra triangle of the Bermuda Triangle Triangle.

Oh it's it's like that you you went there already on vacation. I believe it's in Daytona Beach. No, not Daytona.

Didn't you go to Jamaica to to the sex organism to I thought you're going to save this for a rainy day. Yeah. Hedonism too. I went there phreaks. It was supposed to be this big fuck fest, like all heard, it was advertised in Playboy and Penthouse was supposed to be a big orgy place and like I went to a place called Oktoberfest, but it was so they'd know it was the fucking bait and switch.

I flew two thousand miles to make out with a girl from fucking Hyde Park. And the only one of my buddies who got laid was the fattest guy there. And he banged some guy, some schwing, his wife in the hot tub right next to.

So that was the extent that I pay a lot of money to be able to go back in time and go on this trip with Ari just to just to watch it all play out.

But I will say the vegetation in Jamaica is definitely worth going down for all the vegetation down there. OK. We all started trading this division. Carolina obtained Cedric Paquette and Alex Galkina from Ottawa for Ryan D, who returns to the senators after they trade him a few years ago. All players are pending UEFA de Zingales got three point three seventy five left, Paquette one point sixty five, Yatsenyuk one point zero five Calcaneus 2.0 on the off season, I guess each as last year in the league for Alex Chadwick.

That's it.

Fifth or sixth team. He's Bledsoe. Also one other note. What were you watching the Dallas Carolina game Saturday night when I was going.

Oh I was it. I could have buried it now they ended up winning the game for poor people. I'll take you through this little wite meltdown watching.

I had Carolina in the game, so Carolinas up three, two, and I was coming down the left wing. The goalies pulled. And he has an easy shot from just outside the offensive blue line to bury it and win by two. Thank God I didn't have him pork line and he goes to throw it over, which I totally understand. Is that unselfish play. You know, you want the other guy to get the get the gold even in a sense, maybe he thought his angle was off and he just give it to the guy in the middle.

Well, the nastiest young defense in the league maybe turns and fires his stick around backwards marusek in and knocks the pass away. It goes right to I think it went right to Jamie Benn who gives it to Pavel. Skil goes down and buries one shelf to tie up the game with under a minute to go. I was losing my mind. It's like Dude buried an empty nester asshole who I've kind of said isn't at the top of his game, even though is playing well and Carolina goes on to win in a shootout.

But oh my God, if they had lost, then you look down the year, took down the season and you missed the playoffs by one or two points. It's like, oh my God, when you have the chance to put it away with an empty nester players at home, don't be the unselfish guy, be the apple guy, be the cookie guy. All you care about yourself and the team and put in then that, especially if I bet on you.

Yeah. I mean, you do that. You do that. You and your team. And I want you to know unbelievable player to play. And then Pavlovsky comes down snipe he's fucking Pavlovsky. Nine goals, eight assists in twelve games. I mean San Jose. We're going to get to them later. But what a fucking disaster. Letting him go upstairs. Oops. A daisy.

Actually, people people have been comparing Lidstrom a lot to this husking in the way plays it even. Let's try chimed in on it. He had a pretty interesting quote basis in the from games I've watched. There's a lot of similarities to the game and obviously that's high praise and maybe some media members, you know, stroking them off a little too much at this point. But ultimately, like watching this guy, he's just a special kid. Let's yeah.

You're like and this gym did chime in. It was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on.

I don't think so. Yeah. Kind of like what what was the comparison, you and Shane Weber last episode?

I know, regardless of my contemporary. And then she fucking threw up all over the shape. Maryland all over.

You go to them, it just means you played at the same time together. That's all I was thinking of a team world police when the guys Peukan La La that gives the best.

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Have you guys heard the story about the Red Deer rebels, how all the players and coaches and stuff, they're sleeping in the boxes, the suites, they turn the suites into bedrooms. So they got mattresses on the ground just just chillin inside the arena.

So you really can't get away from hockey when the guys want to crank it. They all agree on a Yuji's film and they put it on the big screen in the middle of it. It's like turn out the light. It's starting now.

Every night, half of the last call, there's a banging on the door outside. And I think it's Rick again, fucking trying to get in here.

Oh, the junior, you know, hats off to the junior leagues.

They're making things happen. I know. It's been probably too long of a season. You feel so bad for the draft hopefuls not be on the show. Their stuff, a lot of them. But it seems like all the leagues are finally getting things going over. The HL is going to have a bubble and things. Twenty five game season, whatever it is. But these kids need to play, get these kids playing, get the kids back in school and get these kids playing.

That's my that's my soapbox rant.

OK, all right. Moving on to the east, big news out of that was in the front office, Pittsburgh. They brought in Ron Hextall and Brian Burke to take over as general manager and president of hockey operations, respectively. Fire legend Ron Hextall actually lived in Pittsburgh as a little kid when his dad was a penguin and his dad was teammates with Jimmy Rutherford. Pretty crazy how that works out. You mentioned how he missed sit back and all five of the draft, but he has them now.

And I don't know if you guys caught caught it the other night when Bercu was signing off TV for the last time. David Amoco's see you next year. And now we're going to have to wake of that. Even he was pissing himself. I mean, it's not too often the front office is back on the news.

But let's go to you first as a former penguin. Yeah. So I wasn't surprised at all to see Hextall get this job. I think that he's been rumored for a long time to definitely get another chance in the league. And we can talk about what went on with him in Philly and the maybe the good things he did and the mistakes he made at another point.

But I totally saw that. Where I was surprised is Pittsburgh hiring a president of hockey operations. That's where they got Brian Burke. And the main reason is when you look at Pittsburgh, they've never had somebody in that position. And part of the reasons is when you're co-owners, Mario Lemieux, like, do you do you need a president of hockey operations? That's kind of been the feeling while Lemieux is the one that ended up really wanting Brian Burke to come in and do this, and Brian Burke had been helping that team out in terms of helping us, helping them find a GM and kind of like talking about different options.

And then all of a sudden, I think he was he'd never worked with Hextall, but they've known each other for a long time. So he's all aboard on Hextall and then Lemieux's all in on having Brian Burke come in and help run the show with him. So. What's crazy to me is when we had on, it's upsetting, we probably won't be able to have mine. I don't know if he'd still come on now, but we talk to him about Pittsburgh.

And I don't remember when that episode was going on, but he said how he thought their window had closed. He said how, you know, you got to figure out what you're going to do. But he looked at Tampa. He brought up Tampa. He brought up Boston. He brought up Washington. He said Pittsburgh's not better than any of those teams. So now he's there. And certainly, like, you know, your tune changes when you get there and they have a job to do.

And that is really on Hextall, I think, in the most sense of like getting the most out of these next two years. It's like LA Letang and Malkin are down after two years. Can you win again? And how are you going to approach kind of rebuilding on the fly? Because the last thing the Pittsburgh Penguins want is a is a kind of a Chicago L.A. thing where you go from the top down to the bottom right. It's like it needs to be fluent.

It needs to be a transition where maybe you're not a top team for a couple of years, but you're certainly not a bottom team.

And when you look at trading like one of the core guys and Darren Driggers talked about possibly Sidney Crosby moving on, you've heard Malkin rumors that possibly he feels like he is like doubled down on this.

I am drinking the Kool-Aid at this hour.

I mean, I feel like he wouldn't be making stuff up. I'm sure he knows people that that really are in tune with what's going on.

But Hextall, like right now, OK, if you look at that team, if you look at that team, you're going to need to make changes you're going to need.

And so how do you go about making them? Because they don't have a first round pick, a third. A fourth like a six. They have no picks coming up in this draft.

Yeah, that's kind of what I want to ask you about. So, like going into it and taking Barq's our opinion before he was hired to, like, throw that out the window. Right. Because I think that was a very fair point in the fact that that team is not better than the teams he mentioned and that they might be looking at a rebuild based on everything else. Do you not get the sense that they're going to have to go in there and get a feel for what they want to do with that?

Or are you convinced that they're going to try to go one more kick at the can with that core group?

Because I'm convinced they will, because and hold on part of it. Let me answer your question quick.

Part of it is that they cannot they cannot move on and move on from these guys and then have fans coming back into the building like they need when fans back, they still need, like the penguins to be the penguins. Right. I mean, you know what I'm saying? Like, if all of a sudden they make moves and trade, like some of these core guys and then fans come back, it's like, whoa, what?

I mean, nobody went to Penguins games before Crosby. They were awful before they got Lemieux. Nobody went awful. Before they got Crosby, nobody went. And so it's like I think you have to give it a go. And now here's the thing. Like Ron has always been known as a development guy, a draft guy.

Rutherford was the opposite fair.

But if you don't necessarily have any assets to give up in order to make this team better in the short amount of time, you'd be smarter trying to start the rebuild now more so than later. I think Sid's got four years left on his deal, right. Do I think that they're going to move on from him this year? No. Dreger seems convinced. And obviously the the obvious landing spot would be Colorado. They are coming in their peak. They have a shit ton of assets, I think that they could probably dispose of of Beau Biram.

They could probably offer up at least a couple first rounders. And I think they will go all in in this little window here this next two or three years to try to solidify and get set over there in order to get their cup. And they have the cap space in order to do it and they have assets to give up. How the fuck is Pittsburgh going to rebuild? Mind you, do I believe in that core group 100 percent. But they also don't have a goal, a proven goaltender right now, as crazy as this sounds that I could be pulling this out of my ass, there has been rumblings that they might be looking to bring back Fleury.

Have you got that at all?

Yes, I have. But that's being shut down. He is on fire five, I guess he put a clinic on Sunday night against Colorado. But here's the other name is Jonathan Quick.

Jonathan Quick who?

Hextall was the assistant GM when they want to stand and then he's got two more years. But you're right. You're right, because with the current goaltending situation, there's no chance.

Yeah. I mean, like even I mean, their back ends not the strongest. You got Marino, who's, you know, in a sophomore year, you're not exactly sure what you have. Right.

They got guys hurt, though. They need to get Duemling back.

Patterson, I'm just saying this is going to be a very interesting time to see what they decide to do, because the first the first thing is going to be getting the big core group inside inside that room and saying, you know, what do you guys think you need? What do we think we need? And so on and so forth. So definitely I see said being the piece that moves first, if in fact they do move them. And as far as Malkin's concerned, I mean, another thing, too, is Balcon plays way better when he's the guy.

Whenever he whenever CID's out of the lineup, I mean, he has been with with the head injury or. Who else was he out with? Did he have a knee at one point? Since had different things, but whenever he has been like the number one guy, Gino, his numbers are even better than his career. On a whole, it's nuts. And maybe to maximize the return on said that you could still have a very solid foundation with Letang having Malkin.

And of course, you don't have the biggest piece of them all, but also what would be coming back for him. All right. What do you think? Do you think that they're going to keep keep keep trying to take a stab at it with these guys? I don't know, man.

Are they really going to get rid of both of them? Gino's got one more year left after this one on his deal, nine point five million. You would think that would be the guy they trade in. Keeps it.

I mean, it's going to be he wants to go and he's staying. If he wants to say, well, this is up to Sidney Crosby and I think that's been druggers biggest thing.

Yeah. And I think whatever he wants to go, they'll try to accommodate him as much as they can. Now, if they have a better offer somewhere, will they take it? Maybe. But, you know, when you think back to rebook what? No, they were trading him and everyone thought he was going to Philadelphia. And it turns out Colorado gave him a better deal. And, you know, he wanted to go to Philly. He wanted to stay in the northeast and they didn't accommodate him necessarily.

It worked out for the best, obviously. But yeah, I would think Pittsburgh would try to accommodate said as far as the draft this year, they got a second round of a fifth round and a couple in the seventh game.

How are they going to rebuild? I know. And like, yeah, it's the first round pick was sent for the Zucker deal. I think the six rounder might have been part of the Kessel deal. At least they got that Joseph back. He's a nice looking is.

I don't know. Yeah, it's a crazy time in Pittsburgh, but I think that Burke and Hextall together are going to be a really solid team. I think both of them are straight shooters, both of them going to tell you exactly what's going on. They've both been around the game so long where they are going to get an idea of how they want to approach this. And Hextall, I do want to shout him out a little bit and that he was kind of given a little bit of an early exit in Philly.

I think it was four and a half years. I could be wrong there.

But a lot of times you kind of ask for a little longer as a GM to get your signing's get your draft picks and give them a chance to really develop. But he if you talk to anyone within the flyers, including is it Cliff Létourneau, Chuck Fluctus, scuse me, they talk about like his handprints all over that team still.

I mean, Carter, heart problem of connecting to Joel, Faryab, Travis Sandhamn, all picks by him. And the one you could maybe question as he picked Nolan Patrick second before has in and Cal MCCA Annalise Patterson. And so maybe there it's like I know he's had injuries. You can, you can doubt that second pick. But even going into that, Patrick was the consensus second pick in that draft. So I think Hextall really did deserve this chance.

And I think he's going to do a lot of good things.

I think his only downfall was the fact that he held on to Hextall so long. And he I, I want to say he was not refusing to fire him, but but believed in him. And he clearly wasn't the answer. So I don't know if that was the downfall, but but I agree with you that there's a lot of positive there. And yeah, if one guy can do it, it might him been burki little tag team Bushwhacker style.

If one guy can do it too, can you got to think, you know, one guy could do it.

There's two of them we're talking about.

Whatever the issue is that Releford left, you got to figure they hammered that out for us because, you know, there speculation Rutherford wasn't being allowed to trade somebody and that's why he ended up leaving.

So he was trying to trade, said Malkin and Letang. For Ficano.

That's come out. That's come out. He was that was those proved to be false. I was just starting a rumor. Can I start my rumors, please? Let me do my thing. Say somebody's fat.

Let's say fat boys out in the league. All right. That's it for Pittsburgh. How about the fucking Rangers Bruins Friday night? Awesome. Old fashioned. I mean, this was playoff intensity. Fantastic game. The Bees won one nothing. That's not what is a fantastic game was a great game. Otherwise started off playfully. Had Mashonaland Zabin a jet APESMA for the last guy. If they sat there for six minutes, that's like an eternity to sit there and just wait a guy out.

Oh, no, I think it was longer. It may have been. I thought I saw six. I think it was longer. I think it was. And they were taping there. They were sticking their tape or whatever it's called, the chicken. They're stapes.

And also, I really, really thought once Marshawn lost the rock, paper, scissors, he was just going to be Marshawn and still knock it off the ice.

I was like, I don't know, man. Like, the rat is the rat is the rat.

And he really looked up to his end of the bargain and losing. But interesting how guys can be so superstitious to to want to stay on the ice. I used to sprint off, take my pants off and take a smash.

I'd always even if I couldn't go it. So he would always shit after a warm up. I try. I couldn't always do it, but I try.

Interesting. Yeah, I'm a weird cat. I was an old school game. We had three fights man. Actually MacAvoy in trouble. One at a trooper hit the ball pretty high. He ended up getting a Roughan penalty for that. Now, Zabar I'm sorry, Trubridge MacAvoy didn't get fight in penalties. They only got roughened. But you I would still call it a scrap in 2021. But then the other fight, Brendon Lemieux and Trent Frederich, absolutely best.

Did you think you might get a little bit of an early jump there or what?

Yeah, he didn't give a fuck. He's not there to make friends. Yeah, he he got the quick jump on him. And I think Frederick was pissed and a big reason as to why we kept seeing the clip because we're fucking going again as they were heading to the box. Now this Fredricka kid, he's one hundred percent all in on trying to establish himself as a Bruin type player, where most nights he's trying to get under somebody's skin, fucking get in front of the goalie, cause fucking havoc.

Very similar to like a Matthew Kucuk type. Now, is the skill set there? I don't know. I haven't had a chance to watch Boston much. How is he as a player?

I think he's doing what he needs to do because the offense isn't there. One assist in fourteen games. He hasn't scored an NHL goal yet.

He was a former first round pick. But like we say, bring something to the table if you are going to score. He's like, all right, I got to stay in the lineup by being an absolute menace.

And and he St. Louis kid, I saw our boy Cam Jansen talking about him, tough kid. And he's shown like he's willing to play that role. And there is a reason you're not your numbers are that bad and you're in the lineup right now. And that is that he's doing that and he's showing up being a prick.

And sometimes certain guys have to come in the league. They have to establish themselves like that. I'll use I'll use Tom Wilson as an example. Did I ever think in a million years Tom Wilson would end up scoring and making plays at the NHL level like this now and being a first liner? No, but when he came in, he fucking ran guys. Yeah. Did he have to deal with a couple of sources? He fought guys. He basically created his own space out there.

I don't want to go near him because he's a piece of shit, especially in an 82 game season. You guys are like, oh, God, we've got to play this Frederich guy tonight. Like, it's going to be a fucking disaster, is going to be runarounds, going to be amazing to me that me challenging me to fight. And eventually you get that space and then sure enough, the points are coming.

So I wouldn't be surprised at all if all the floodgates are open for this kid. And and as far as the rest of the games are concerned, that's old time hockey. We're seeing it because of these back to back games against the same teams. And people love the hate. It makes the game so much more interesting and fights are unreal.

I'm sorry. Fights are unreal.

Like there are people who know nothing about hockey that say like these guys who was the rapper recently, like these guys are allowed to fight Rick Ross. Yeah, it's just it's the fights are unreal. And let me tell you, we go into this game.

There's one more Luza Lozan. B.M. is the absolute wheels.

Olavo, Booch navigational, probably a little beukes nave. It's a little bit of a mismatch, right.

I mean, a Russian I don't know how he's fought that much, but like body shot, body shot, body shot headshot. And why did he get a misconduct for that.

I don't know. He was like he wasn't playing the bongo drums. Like someone beat him up too much. Seriously, I think he got a ten minute for beating the shit out of them. Yeah. They never came out and said what that was for.

I think it was I think it was not Ice Cube. It was ice tea. Who mentioned it recently, like, how are these guys allowed to fight on the ice? But with the clip that you said, Rick Ross know, the clip that Ghirardelli is talking about is a throwback clip play that play at Gradoli for everybody.

That's the game that's set up for the savage white boys. And jeez, yeah, I like a good fist fight. I'm saying those broke shit like that. I'm saying I never been there, but it's always good to see a nice big pack of tough white boys. And I'm saying that sliding on the ice and I'm saying you look over, I fuck with them. I'm saying I like this shit.

I think that happened like I think that happened like four or five years ago. But it's an all timer. But yeah, recently. But like I said, guys, I think it's good for the game. Like, I think we're well aware that I could cause cause issues. I have a certain feeling on it. I like the controlled organic stuff. We're in the midst of a game like Lemieux and Frederich. They hate each other's guts off the face off.

Let's go. But yeah, it's nice people.

All the people who don't like it are telling the guys who are signing up to do it what it's like, what craziness. You don't like it.

Don't watch part of the game. Now, I just said, why is fighting allowed? He said, don't answer tradition. So I replied, I was like, because the players vote for I like the union allows it. And as long as the union, it's their workplace conditions. That's what people are going to fight. It's going to go away. People are going to complain. I'm like, no, it's not going anywhere. The players union says we don't want anymore.

And I've said this a million times in five years of the show. But it's like in case of emergency break class, that's what NHL fighting is. If you need it, it's there. If you don't want to fight, you don't have to. But it's not fucking going anywhere.

We're going to now is great. And it is. And keep in mind, UFC is it's on a rocket ship to Mars. Yeah, OK, so we'll take a little bit of it mixed in with everything else I do. I want to see it like it used to be. No, but it still has its place and it's electric factory. And any time it happens like it did the other night, everybody's talking about it.

I mean, look at that East Coast fight. We tweeted out from the chicken's account, Tulsa versus Rapid City. What's that guy's name got? Spins the fucking doo doo now Ohno's.

So Nello Ferrara reached out and he he skates with this clot's guy. He's like the last of the heavyweights, apparently in the all wet. We ended up retweeting the clip of this fight for the Rapid City Rush. This is guys, if you want to watch an old school fight, go to our Twitter account and watch the haymakers being thrown by this clot's kid. And who knows, maybe at one point we get them on to talk about what it's like playing in the jungle.

Still, I would imagine things are a little bit different with the way that league set up right now because of the covid shit. So it'd be nice to get get get get a Ecology's Tost League, as they call it, guy on the podcast.

We also had a Wednesday game between the Rangers and Bruins and the only controversy there was replay related. Jake Dabrowska look like he went back down. They reviewed it. It wasn't called the goal on the ice. They reviewed it and they couldn't tell if it conclusively went over the line. Goal, the puck bounce.

Now, what my issue is, which is why can't we have a definitive answer on whether or not it crossed the line like we need in the in the fucking crossbar or the post.

And you need I don't know exactly how tennis does it, but if you've noticed, tennis is able to zoom in and see if the ball is in absolute. Mm.

Outside the line and I don't know Auki, but I don't think it could work in the NHL because really. Yeah. Because the nets and it's like it's impeding the vision.

So it's all about the camera having no like nothing to get in front of the. It's Hawkeye cat work, I think they've tried they've tried it, but they know it was it was an idea of how they should try to try to fix it. I know that was the whole goal, because all you're saying is how have they not been able to figure out to get different angles to where no matter where the puck goes, you'll be able to definitively see if it crosses the line?

I think that's maybe one of the reasons they're trying to put the chips in there. But I don't for I haven't mentioned how many times does something like this happen? A season already? Like once or twice?

I don't know. I'd say more than that. I mean, Jake did say after the game it wasn't a gold. You didn't see the white on the replays. But just because you didn't see the white doesn't mean it didn't happen. Because, I mean, like Youngblood, it was like the end of Youngblood when he takes that shot the way the puck bounces because, yeah, you look at all it didn't cross, but if it bounces in the white, it's a goal.

But either way, how about Tuka late in that game, that fuckin tie game fucking ball to go to it and he starts going to the bench. He either forgot like the score or thought they said he thought they were down to one.

That was hilarious. I was watching Zach. What the hell. What the hell. What the hell. Imagine the guys in the bench turned around. I was crazy. So little bit of a brain fart. But for all the people try to go through to call Foley, he hasn't looked good at all. Fucking dummies.

Yeah, I fully fucking buried on the park suck. It falls for one of the nobody got in the Bruins.

Will you freeze. No. Retirement has been moved to January 18th of 2022. The NHL asked Willie and the Bruins to move it so they could do it at a full bar and everybody agreed. I think what you are the one who first said that as far as I know, you know, why do it in an empty building if you're going to honor the guy? So it makes a ton of sense. I also, like I mentioned a few minutes ago, New York State is going to allow fans back soon.

Well, unless Cuomo is full of shit, once again, they're going to allow 20 percent capacity ranges, islanders, Buffalo Sabres. So, you know, we're making some small inroads here, getting some people back on a building. And, you know, I know everybody has opinions on it simply if you don't want to go, you don't have to. You know, it's it's pretty fucking basic. Congrats to New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello.

He was thirteen hundredth game, just the third GM to pass that number out. David Poile and Glancey, they're ahead of them also. Barry Trotz, one is 850 at the pass. Hitchcock, the third all time after Bowman and Q But how about Lopez? I can still get it done.

You want me to tire pump Lou? Yeah, he's he's the fucking best and he keeps shoving it up my hoop. What else do you want.

What else do you want from me?

All right, let's tire pump the guy that won't let anyone involved in his organization come on our podcast. Take a hike.

Lou, congrats. Fucking years old. He is he still still getting it done? There's no there's no way we could manage. Can't do it. Won't do it.

Ain't going to have it quick. Yeah. Quick run through in the East this week. Philly, New Jersey, Buffalo didn't even play because of all the covid postponements and stuff. So not a ton going on elsewhere in the division this week. Right.

By the way, I haven't heard from any islanders fans. You guys think you guys are not a good team, you can't score and all of you have gone a little quiet. All the chirping, all the mentions have disappeared. I don't see you guys. What's the first year for you for the playoffs right now. But you're not that good.

If it wasn't for Basel, you guys would be in dead last. You should be maybe in the whole league. Let's talk about better than you, though. Don't, don't, don't don't forget about these days. Islander's fans, when when Basel walks away from you guys in three years because he's sick and tired, because his back sore from carrying in that whole entire squad.

OK, rumour has it they're trying to trade him now, but he's putting he's putting lipstick on a pig right now is what Basel is doing.

You should be kissing his feet. There should be a big mural him inside the arena.

Oh, that's of cause him still smells even with no fans in the building. All right. We're going to get to Chris Thorburn on one Thorburn and one second. Just had a quick word for you. Whether you are an exhausted traveler, a stressed out parent, are you working out again for the first time in months? Sleep is crucial to getting the most out of every day. And luckily, our friends at CBD, MD, have exactly what you need to sleep like you used to.

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And now we're going to send it over to Chris Thorburn.

And I go on to my next guest on the show, this hognose right wing was a second round draft pick in the top two thousand one draft and went on to play over 800 NHL games with four franchises, played most of those games with Atlanta, then Winnipeg, before finishing up with the St. Louis Blues, where he capped off his career by raising the Stanley Cup here in Boston. And in June, he announced his retirement after 16 seasons of professional hockey.

Thanks for joining us on the Spin Check podcast, Crystal. Brian, how's retirement treating your brother?

Hey, guys, thanks for having me. It's been good. It's been weird, obviously, going through what everyone could relate to this pandemic. So it's been kind of crazy. But nonetheless, it's been enjoyable.

Hard nosed winger already scored or already flying the surface. Snuck that right in there.

OK, so Chris Thorburn played with you and Junior. I was I mean, I called you their day to line this up. And we I think we talked for 20, 30 minutes. The stories that I was reminiscing on. We got a lot of things to go through. Now, I got to ask you how we got to keep it. I know you're a family man now.

I sent my mom a text yesterday. I said, I'm going on the podcast. I swear a lot. You just like, you know, emojis, you know, with emojis. And then she said that you never saw North Bay like Maya. That was like two and a half decades ago. Whatever.

You didn't swear in Junior? I told him before he came on, you were the Shane Doan of junior high drink on the rig. I know.

Like, yeah. Like Rivers to man like my brother. Still to this day, he's got thirty to thirty four and he doesn't swear either.

So I just playing volleyball. That's why we play for three different teams in the OT. Then I get this guy out of here. You won't even swear it's good a weirdo.

Oh it's nice.

He only played for two because we all moved over. Our organization got moved, we got moved from North Bay to Saginaw where we got sold in the midst of my junior career. I felt so used Starboy. I'm like I'm seeing I'm seeing fifty bucks a week, fifty dollars a week checks. And like I'm reading in the newspaper, this organization is getting sold for millions of dollars that add up.

But it was crazy because I got sold in the mail from north to Saginaw and then we got sold in the NHL from Atlanta to Winnipeg. So by the time you want to take half our season, you know, called the boys are like this. What happened to it? Like you've got to do pack a suitcase and get on a plane. Let's go. Yeah, crazy experiences.

Were you, like, of like Studd coming up by going, oh, HL Draugr, you kind of a late bloomer. I mean, you're a big cat. I don't know if you were your whole life, you what kind of what kind of was the beginning of getting to North Bay and even kind of before that.

Well yeah. So I play travel hockey throughout my, my, my minor league when I was a kid and stuff which is such a cool experience. And the school, we have my time coming up. We had a ton of talent, so nails. Right. Well Bales' was from Toronto, but shouldn't assume he came off the ground through the draft. But no, we had we had a lot of talent coming up and I was very competitive. And then there's like scouts and agents at all our games.

And one of my you know, my dad's friend growing up, he got a coaching job. But Ellie Lake for the ice at the time, it's his junior eighth year two. So instead of putting my second year bantam, I want to play for him in Elliot Lake. And what a great experience that was. And that's kind of what I got put on the map, you know, because you're playing against the twenty one year olds and and stuff like that.

So I ended up getting drafted by North Bay and then, you know, not that I was a huge point guy, but I was considered more of a point guy, not so much of a rough and tough kind of player. Hard yards to kind of evolve into that. But yeah, throw junior, like I said, not crazy numbers, but productive in some sense. And then I got drafted by Buffalo in the second round. And when I went to Rochester, that's when my game changed.

Randy Cunningham, it gave me that unreal tip. As far as you know, we have Jason Palmer, Bill Derrick Roy worrying about me at the time. Paul got Banach. What's coming up? It's like Buffalo is filled with skill. Talent is like you might want to make it to the majors. You know, being a bigger, taller guy wasn't I wasn't big, but I had the height. And from where I'm from, we got a lot of meat in the soup.

Like we got like really tough guys that made some career, their careers out of doing exactly that. So I go home in summer skates and pick their brains and, you know, just ask them about the techniques and stuff like that. Well, I went back my second year pro had like seventeen majors. So mind you, a lot of you know what I say. I learned how to fight. That was the process.

That's why you have an elbow on your face now. I mean, I took some Lykins man, but I learned through that process and it was fun and yeah, just a cool experience all the way around.

We've asked so many different guys because so many players, you have to change your game to move up a level. It happens. Say quite often, and for the guys who had to get more physical like you and start fighting more, so that's something more right away he tells you like, boom, all done, all in. Or were you like, oh, man, like, I thought I was going to be a power play in the NHL.

Like, what was the attitude as to when you heard that news?

No, he told me in my ear and my you're in meetings to warn him. That summer I had had this advice. So I talked to Mike my whole career. I never I wasn't one to complain about any opportunity that I didn't get or got. I was just like, give me the advice and I I'll do whatever I can and run with that. And to this day, I truly believe that that was the best advice I ever got, because I truly believe that that's what helped me, you know, get into the NHL and kind of, you know, create a brand for myself or a style for myself.

You know, I'm saying I'm tilts later.

That was a good guy and I'm getting kind of ahead of myself. But when we met, when you got to Pittsburgh, Tarion was a huge fan of yours, by the way.

He really liked you.

But I remember thinking, like, wow, this guy's difficult to play against big guy. But no offense, I wouldn't have guessed 800, right. I mean, I'm guessing you wouldn't have either.

I well, and that's like looking back on it, too, because, like, the stints in the minors and like I finished my career in the minors, essentially, like my last year was in San Antonio for the majority of the year, except for the the run for the Stanley Cup and then two weeks before the season ended. So it just helped me realize, like I could have got stuck in the minors for my whole career. You don't say, but for whatever reason, you know, I'd like to believe that it was my work ethic, my attitude and stuff that I can control helped me at least get my foot in the door.

And then it was up to me. And I just I just try to take advantage of any opportunity, whether it's got four minutes of ice time or, you know, playing on top line, because I there were some opportunities that came along the road that were just like, what am I doing in this position? You know what I mean? And for whatever reason, it worked out, man. But like you said, I would have never guessed 800 games.

And I'm super proud of it, obviously, because we get to go back even further.

You played in the ninety seven Cloobeck peewee tournament, correct? I did, yeah. We lost to the Russians. So you guys, did you guys play against each other. Any recollections against games.

What team were, you know, on the Suzu reps. But I think you're a year behind me though. No I'm an eighty three. I'm an eighty three. But I was drafted year after year because I went to college, dude.

So that Russian team in the nineties. Yeah. We won it.

And the Russian team I listen to listeners at home, I think I've mentioned before they were loaded and so was Compuware or Little Caesars. And I don't know if there's been a peewee brawl like this.

There was Russian coaches fighting guys from Michigan coach and Caesars.

I remember Eric Warner was beating the absolute piss out of somebody he was in.

And we went to Michigan and and I think both teams rushed him to beat him or season.

I remember who won. Both teams got the boot. So that probably helped the Kings walk to the title. I maybe should have said that.

Right. They did get some qualified, right? Yeah, I do remember that. Now that you say that went up. Yeah, I do remember that because that Russian team was a powerhouse. They beat us like seven one or whatever it was.

They're all juiced at that age. You're getting there was a large there was a kid smashing a kid with his helmet rushing out, his helmet off and on.

Little Caesar's players was smashing them in the head with his home.

Oh, it was or not. I'm not. JJ Imagine smartphones are invented back in the day like that. Oh, my goodness.

All the videos with the crazy hot shit that was going on back. John, don't kid.

And what was your what were your parents like your father? Was he crazy hockey dad? Was he was he real influential? How how was he like with you growing up?

He was a good man. He was hard. He was he coached me a couple of years, actually coached all my siblings, great coach, but very stern and very, like, informative. And, you know, he kept my head on. Right. And told me exactly what I needed to work on, even though I didn't believe it was your dad. You take you know, you don't want to trust what he says. And I'm like, but he had some great tips.

He gave me every opportunity, obviously, like, you know, we all have the stories of the morning practices, the outdoor rinks. And and he was just he was just there the whole time throughout the ride. And he just always, you know, gave me the support I needed or the kick in the pants that I needed when when I wasn't going the way he thought I should be.

There was there was like a wave of player during that period of time, though, to that you're probably playing with while growing up like Ryko, Fadal was there. Drew Fatta was also there. Will Jarrett. Patrick Jarrett, who I played with drones. Yeah. So do you think that had a big influence on kind of like raising the level of play coming out of that area?

I think so, too. And I think that's too like it it didn't create parental competition. But like, if this if this sun's going to a hockey camp because, you know, when we were growing up, like, you get invited to hockey, can't get letters in the mail and like, you either commit to it or not or there's prospects tournaments throughout the summer. And you get when that one of the guys is going to the tournament and like the other guy, OK, you.

We need to get there because there's exposure. So but as far as like individual, like I played with Kolja, Andrew Fatta, I mean, them to coming up were absolute weapons, manlike hard shots. They were big boys. They hit puberty like way ahead of everybody.

Jeremy, I remember once the little guys fatta withdraw and you could chuck them too and he would tell you they hated him more than more than both of us.

So he was in the he was in the coast with me. That's how much Tarion like them.

They're yet again when he was buried in the coast, he was a good player.

He would be a good segment. He's he's a character. I still keep in touch with him. And he's doing well to. As she broke into Buffalo, I know you only had two games with them, but you had a crooked number, seven penalty minutes. So who your first NHL fight with the first? It wasn't anything cool. I mean, he's tough in my box. He's tough. And I think you guys would agree. But it was Cody McCormick.

It wasn't like an old school like guy that was kind of exiting at the time. It was like a guy that I played in the minors against and all that. So you got the better of that fight for sure. But yeah, I was in Colorado and then I had to fight them. And then you ended up in Pittsburgh.

Was it disappointing to have Buffalo basically get rid of being a second round draft pick for them?

Yeah, it was yeah.

It kind of sucked at the time for sure, because, you know, I was drafted there, did all the prospect stuff throughout the summers that made some really cool relationships while I was there. And actually funny story when I got because it was my fourth fourth year. So my second contract now I can go through waivers. So Darcy Regier calls me in and it's like the last cut. So it's like me and Danny Pyi and they're deciding on which extra forward to keep or if they're going to keep an extra forward.

So Darcy Darcy calls me into his office and Lindy Ruff sitting across from me and Darcy like Daubs, he's like, you know, we love we love having you. He's like, but I wish I would have known your potential before I gave you your signing bonus. And just looking at lady already has his head. I don't know. You just I don't know if he was just upset for me or I was I hope he was it that way.

And Darcy is like, yeah, he's like, I wish I would have realized the potential and how it wasn't going to work out. He's like, oh, wait a sec.

You're signing bonus and bought a bowl of just like, dude, he's like, we're going to we're going to put you on waivers.

I like, oh, my.

You know what I'm thinking that's a low blow.

Ryan didn't did he give it the chuckle after or was he like deadpan. He was pretty serious. Chuckle would have made it worse. Yeah, right.

Yeah. So I'm just like, all right. Well, I appreciate it, like I said, but he was just put its head down. I'm just I'm just like so I leave, I leave the room and the guy's like, what do you say? What do you say? I'm like, do you guys want to leave this? So when I tell the story, you know, that story travels. I still pull that every time I've been on.

I mean, but to be honest, it was the best thing that happened for me. So when he said he's like, come up for practice, you know, get your reps in and we'll see what happens. And then I get off the ice the next day and started playing me, you know, that day. But like, the thing that helped me was we played two times and exhibition that that year and I just ran around. I was just hitting guys.

And so I think that kind of made a little, you know, impression. And then they gave me an opportunity and that kind of kicked off my initial career. Really. I was in one of those preseason games.

I remember being, in this case, a lunatic out here. He's hard nosed, but after I said hard nosed.

But when you got put on waivers, is that something like am I going to I think I'll get picked up or oh, I think I'm alone.

What's your vibe going into that?

Well, for me at the time, like, I wasn't I didn't know. Like I did. Yeah. You just so I mean, I knew the process, but like, I was I was young man and I had been through that experience before. And you always think you're hope everything's going to work. OK, but, you know, now that I'm retired, I went through the process like it might not, you know, now I realize it might not have worked out.

I kind of got buried in the minors. So at the time, I was just young and dumb. And then, you know, veteran guys around Buffalo were talking to me and know, just stay positive. Do you do your thing, man? And hopefully someone picked you up. You get a chance somewhere else, you know.

So when you got over to Pat, do you remember your first meeting? Because obviously you get in, Terry, going to bring a new guy in for meetings. What's going on?

What's what's with the boat going to go to dance again, though? I don't remember my initial meeting.

The one thing I could say is that ratio was top notch, man. Like I. I remember him kind of bringing me in and kind of explain the situation and not just the first day, but like through the process, which was huge, man, because there's like a lot of gray area, quiet time that, you know, you think a lot and you just like you don't have no idea what's going on. But he always kept me in tune, what's going on?

And I'm super appreciative for that. But the one thing about Terry was. I played 39 games straight and then we picked up Georgia Rock and Gary Roberts at the deadline. So when they came in, I was like a healthy scratch for. Every other game, pretty much so, Tarion calls me and dude, I'm telling these stories that they're like they're funny to find out they're funny.

So he calls me in and, you know, I brought the long hair that was just part of my look. And he calls me and I'm thinking he's going to give me, like, a dude. Great job. You're keeping your attitude right. Keep working hard. You can get an opportunity. I'm thinking it's cool to go that way. So he calls me and he sits down. I'm like, why are you doing? He's like, well, he's like, look, if you want to be a fucking rock star, will be a fucking rock star.

He's like, You want to be a professional. Cut your fucking hair. OK. I'm like, well, actually I grow the hair because it kind of blends the sides of my nose like I don't care.

So I leave his office and I go rake the fucking sports clips and I'm like, I need my haircut. So what kind of style you I'm like, I don't know. But just bring it up around my ears and short. I got the worst Eric I can remember to go fucking Bob cut the next day on the way to the big tube. Like I remember Eric Karens calling me like Thorpes. Don't do it man. Don't do it. They truly are like boards.

I'm like, I got to the end of the play me one more game. So I was like, fuck, I'm just going to throw in my hair.

Yes, I think I think there was a couple. You get a free bowl of soup with that one.

Me the next morning you had like a Jerry Curl. Like I don't, you can't even describe it.

The Patrick Moore.

Patrick Mahomes right. She cut my straightener out so my hair just what looked like ramen noodles on my head. I was like, that team was fun, though.

I mean, that was like once we got to. Yeah, we had a crew that was Crosby's probably as sick as maybe he. Yeah. He was the one MVP. And I remember though, that was a really close group like you came in, boys loved you. It's just a lot of fun. And then do you have any memories of Gary Roberts?

You remember how much of a machine he was, dude, like I remember he changed the water flavor or the flavor, the brand on the airplane. I think we were drinking like the CENI or something at the time.

And you got to switch the balance water. That's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, now it's like the Italian water, I think. I don't know. But, yeah, changing, but Rob's van, you can't really fault them, you had a long, great career and he was one of the guys, too. Like when things are going, you know, healthy scratch after healthy scratch, you always talk to him and Johnny LeClaire, they'd be just like Dawber.

Just keep going. You're doing you're great. You're just keep your mind or your attitude. Right. Like you are. And so all that stuff helps. And I think that kind of made me who into the better than I was, you know what I mean? Because whether someone was having a tough time or a tough go, you always like, you know, put your arm around them and try and help them out and get them out of it.

After Tarion had said that to you and you went back the next day with the haircut, like, was there any like any type of dialogue? Like did the did any more chirps continue? Was he all over you for the rest of the time you were there? Not sort of.

So I don't know if you remember that. So this is like shortly after my haircut thing we go out to after one of the games go to diesel. It's like New Year's Eve, heard of and we go to Diesel and me and me and my girlfriend or my wife fell, but we stayed at like 4:00 in the morning. And do you remember D.J. H. Yeah. So he was a D.J., a diesel. He ends up driving me home.

It's like driving us home. And I was like, geek, that gets into our complex and I cannot get through this gate. We can't remember the code. So I got my arm in arm. My my girls are on this side and my toes are dragging me my apartment complex and like it's Hilly and Pittsford. So we got there. We have practice at whatever was eleven next morning. So I get up, you know, at nine drive to the rink, I'm still like holy, I can't believe.

And I'm a young guy so I'm nervous and like, oh my God, I can't agree. So I get out there, I fuck, I talk, I pass the parks, we're doing like line Russian, like a line Russians. I pass the puck into, like, the fucking guy standing on the wall. And then I go the other one. It's like I take a pocket shoot like twenty feet over the fucking net. So get back to the line.

And my mistake, I still say Tarion and he's like he looks at me, he's like, can't shoot, can't pass, can't skate, fucking embarrassing. And then you come by and you give me like a light elbow to the chest. And it was like banana peels on my skates.

And I just want to I landed on the back of my neck, broke my vertebrae. I go down like, what am I.

Hey, Terry told me I had to be more physical that practiced something that's already shitfaced.

Oh, no bell. It's better you just give me like, oh goodness.

And she's in the middle of the topic, the anxiety. And then it's all. It's all. It's too late. It's all it's all downhill from there because the damage has been done by so bad.

I know, but I do it all. Part of the stories story I just all my stories but even the ones that tell them, like it just it made me who are who I am and I really appreciate like and was hard on me, but he I truly believe he respect me and he gave me opportunities like he put me on the line, would sit in Genwal like I mean that was so cool, you know. I mean that's how he saw my first goal.

So I've long said the guy is old school and was mean as shit, but he was a pretty good coach too. You could get a lot out of teams that he coached. He would go to places and the teams would get better and then sometimes it would wear off. But they always at the beginning were kind of on a trajectory.

Oh, yeah, short shelf life, unless you're in the minors where you can be a legitimate drill sergeant and they kind of love that.

And just all you want to do is get to the NHL so you can get verbally and mentally abused you day after day by that was that was that that was that was that.

That time period, though, like all the coaches were like, oh yeah. I played for like five different coaches. And for the most part they were all like that, like stern, hard nosed like but now like now it's just like the coaches have had to evolve because I think kids are a lot more sensitive and you got to treat them a different way. You know, I'm saying for trying to I was I was going to shift it over to Berube.

I mean, being in that locker room, of course, that was unreal experience for you. So you finished the year in the HLL or did they pick you off at, like, the deadline? How did that work?

You know, so they called me up before the we had both both teams had, like, I don't know, three games or two games later. Actually, San Antonio had more because the season ran longer. But with two weeks left, they brought me up and ask for, like for some reason that I'm forever thankful for, because if I don't get called up before the season ends, I don't qualify for any job insurance beyond that season. So if they would have called me up as a blackies after the season had ended, I don't qualify for NHL insurance.

And NHL insurance is we all know it's the best. And for our family, it's very helpful. And army, he understood that and what he did as far as call me up at that point to make sure I get any insurance through the summer and then qualify for the COBRA, which just I mean, that's top notch. And so. Yeah, yeah. So there's there's a few things that went into it.

But yeah, they called me up a few weeks left in the season and I was talking to Otter today and he goes, man, he was like just a bigger part of that run as anyone and aaargh!

You pointed out before Dawn Cyto but you had already pointed out you were you were the fourth or fifth player to get the cop after they'd won it.

Yeah, dude, it was so cool because I got it from Alexander Steve and you guys know Steve Harvey. Oh, my guy. I just I think we could have a show. Right. So he's top notch and I got it from him and. Oh, so it's the coolest thing. But David Carradine played a big part in that, too, because he was pushing me to the front. And like I was like I'm like I was like, I'll get my chance.

But he he tipped me off really like up pregame meal. He's like, get ready, man. So you're getting the cup tonight. I'm like, dude, just good luck. Go do your thing like this.

I'm getting chills. Right. And then so we ended up winning it and we're all around it after Patrick gave it to Bo and DPE finds me and he's pushing me to the cup and I'm like, I'm like a two foot snow plow stuff.

And I'm like, what if I get what I'm like, get out of here? Can I? I was like, but if I get picked up on national TV, you know, snowplow stop. And I'm like, oh my gosh, thank you man. So he pushes me towards cleaner and greener pastures to me and it was just fucking awesome.

And then the banana peel came by magic. I would be so fucking nervous, especially if he hadn't been on the blades that night. Were you a little nervous getting it? Well, yeah.

And I wasn't done up the right way to cause we're in a rush in the dressing room getting ready to start supertight. You know, I don't have by all my finger pads and all that, so I feel like, you know, a little bit loose, so. Well, yeah, I worked out a drill. And if you get that cup in your hands and like, it felt so friggin heavy, I'd like to hold it now just to feel different, you know, because I remember feeling like fucking really have you have the adrenaline in my arms.

What not. You know what I mean.

For so many people, what a sick way to like, go. Oh, man. They just say it's like a dream for you.

And and I guess that if you look at it ending like that, you never really could have imagined it.

But when you when you were around St. Louis throughout that run and with that team, like, was there any sort of like panic at any point? Because that Dallas series was scary and there was times when it didn't look like they were going to walk to the cup.

No, even the Winnipeg series was tough. Yeah, we scored some big goals, man. Like the one Schwarz's score game. I want to say five. I'm not sure. But Bozie threw it across kind of in the air and knocks it and do it in like that was a huge goal. The Dallas series, I mean, go seven games and double overtime. Patty scores that goal hometown boy. I mean, once that happened, it's almost like, all right, this is almost like storybook stuff, you know?

So, yeah, that was that was that was a tough series, mind you. I'm watching.

So it looked up, which is more nerve racking. Yeah, it is. And then the Boston series was back and forth too. So yeah. I mean it was it was crazy. And for me I only have four playoff games in my career, you know what I mean? So everything past the first round we played, I played one round with Pitt, we lost to Ottawa, we got smushed.

We got Stephen Moore when I was with Winnipeg against Anaheim. We got swept in four. And then so after the first round, all this stuff was new to me. So the stuff is not like, oh my God, they have like like the media and, you know, the the stuff with the players. And it was just the whole experience was was unreal, man. And for them, for the I got to say, man for the St.

Louis Blues, that team, those players in that locker room, the treat me and even the other members of the Black Aces and the guys that were playing the way they treated us and made us feel a part of it. Man, it was it was it was crazy. It was worse. So I'm so appreciative of it. And with honor says there about me being a part of it. I mean, I just love the way that they include me.

So just a great experience all the way.

And I have the tendency to ask a couple questions in one. Sometimes I kind of glanced over the Roubaix aspect and I was just kind of he kind of had that hard nosed mentality. But I feel like he's like didn't really need to say much just because, like, everybody maybe like a little bit scared shitless of him.

Yeah. Yes. TerraCycle, he didn't really. Because when she came in, Terrazzano didn't really know who she was. And I forget who told him I haven't seen her. I could be wrong, but someone told him he's like you. YouTube. Craig Parubiy. So YouTube. He's like, oh, he's like, OK, this guy's like, yeah, he's legit.

You thought it was intimidating, but you wouldn't know it, man, he's got such an awesome demeanor and yeah, he doesn't have to say many words, man. You know what to expect. And I don't have much experience with the head coach, but his assistant coach, there was nothing cooler than when I had a fight. And I came back to the back and she put me on the shoulder like, nice job because like where he's been and what he's done to come from a guy like that.

Oh, my gosh. And then he when I was in the minors, he would text me once a month once we thought I was going out the family doing just a great, great guy, man. Great throughout that organization. Great people.

How impressed were you with Ryan O'Rielly both on and off the ice? I know people around the league knew how good he was, but that was a real coming out party from that playoffs.

Yeah, he is so cool to watch. I mean, the stuff that he can pull off. But it's understandable because of the work he puts in like this guy. And I'm an extra so like the last thing I want to do, I mean, for the most part I know I'm not playing. I want to get off the ice. Well, you can't leave the ice if you're number one players out there doing skill drills and, you know, working for an hour after the hour of practice.

So I'm like, holy factor in my head. Obviously, I'm like, OK, dude, I'm like, I'll give you five more minutes. Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go. But I'm then I just I sat back, I'm like, oh my gosh, you learn stuff, whether it's like after my post career, but like pick up some of the drills that he's doing, like because they're all skill drills. So yeah, I have experience to watch him do what he does, not only during games but the preparation that goes into it.

I mean, it's no wonder he's he's a phenomenal player and arguably the best player in the game. I love we're just jumping around that, that usually means we're just we're buzzing, but it's like, hey, where we.

We haven't even gotten to the time where it was my first year junior. And I was talking to this girl across the street from my parents, and she was a cutie and I was still a virgin at that time. And sure enough, sure enough, I think we're out as a team somewhere.

And who comes welling up? And Jeff, Jeff Doyle's Denali is this guy and the girl who I thought was going to be my future wife. And he was probably plowing her idealist's. And I had the squarest wheels at that point and I was still a virgin. No shit. Like I think three weeks later, I was like three weeks later it was after the season and I'd already gone home. I lost my virginity because I was like, you know, like a girl and a boy.

He mocked me as he was like a coach.

He was just firing you up to get out of your shell. I could not believe this became how.

So how big of a smoke was she? The one across the street you do. She was an opera. She was. But you always you you are. Because like, when we went to high school, like we we were hated because like we come in for six months, you know, the girls, you know, we're the new kids in school. So the girls kind of have interest or whatever. And then like, nobody liked us. But you always had, like, girls around you, guys around you.

Like he was a former friend of girl, you know, it's bad. Like so you always, like, chatted up. You got away from the ring buddies as well as, like the hockey buddies.

That's how I got that's how I got Russ Moyer's fake ID, because I ended up making friends because his girlfriend was going to the high school. So she's like, hey, my boyfriend looks just like you. Hey, I was sixteen years old, Junior, and that's how I got into Fanis.

What a place you.

Yeah, but how often did you use that idea because you didn't drink one time at Fanis on the way before I left town and then I ended up losing my virginity a few weeks later because I was so mad that you stole my goddamn girlfriend. Yeah, I was I was a good talker.

I was innocent too. But I don't know. Those are good times. But did you get it? I did.

You I have a million stories written down from North Bay. We had such a weird group of guys. Go ahead and hop in here. Did you guys have curfew?

They call your house. Was it kind of like the Wild West?

No, we had curfew pills. What? I tried to use it, but the time changed to my advantage. So it was like fall back. So like I used like I tried to get the extra hour to stay out while we got hammered, like we got caught, hammered, got as well as like we're all but Mike Kelly called and yeah, we weren't home, so he ended up sitting me out of the game. We're playing Steven Weiss.

Plimoth was coming in town. It was a big game because of like before world junior camp and stuff. And like there were some scouts there that were coming to see getting invited to camp. And yeah, Mike Kelly set me up and me and a couple other guys.

So he he he was a hard nosed coach and a few other things I had written down, which was do you remember the do you remember the two big, big skates we had one being after Super Bowl and then the one after the first game of year, the year against Barry and Barry. We got beat seven Cobh, and then we went back the next day for what was like Navy SEALs training. Do you remember that?

That was nuts. Are you telling us going, oh, you're going to you're going to tell it now? I'm going to chime in after with a few more of the details.

Yeah, well, make sure you fill in the gaps. And by the way, I was a healthy scratch, so fuck you for your love on that night you asked.

I think I was plus one actually. Oh, seven. Nothing bad. My guys. My God.

My God, no. Yeah. So we get in. I don't even know what time was like two in the morning from Barry. We bring her bags and hang it up. We get back at what was it like 7:00 or 8:00 o'clock. We say I'm ready to go. Ready to go. And a beer was even dry. It was still like crispy from being cold but grinding under the bus. And we went out for an ice session. Well, we're all like wondering what's going on, what's going to happen, what's going to happen.

And then the assistant coach comes down, Mark, right in front of you, friend. She came down and he's like, all right, put your be out in ten minutes. So we go out there, we fucking bag skate for our right. Oh, yeah. Come back off. We do an awful workout. Then we get to report back on the ice. So we get dressed again, we go back out and it just went back and forth from honest to honest office for out to about 3:00 in the afternoon.

We did I think we did four honest sessions. And then the fourth workout is when we had like subs. And I never forget, like, Jeff called his agent and he's like, this is abuse and like legit.

I think Mike Kelly hated his guts, like the rest of the time he was there. But the fact that we had to do get we were doing battle drills at practice three where we'd barely had anything to eat, if anything. And this is after game one of the season. And then the other one was Super Bowl Sunday. We weren't allowed to go watch Super Bowl because we got bent over by the St. Mike's majors. We didn't come back. Go ahead, though.

Well, I don't remember that one. Do you remember back skating after the game? After games? Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. So that was that was one time we did that. Yeah. We play a game and then he'd he'd be like, no, it wasn't good enough. Put your shit. Don't hang it up boys. Put it on. We put it back on and some fans stuck around to watch this fucking pigskin wants to skate. Well, not crazy, but good times, good times, that's die hard fans right there, though, that's junior hockey fans.

Well, they were booing us just like they fucking like cheering while we were bags.

Gamosa lawyer Jeff Platt, by the way, little did he know that he thought that was abuse. He's played the last 12 years in the NHL.

So I don't think he realizes what a real training camp Canadia probably like looking back and his brother days in North Bay.

Yeah, that was that was a Russian training camp getting ready for. There was also some of the older guys used to have these, like egg wars where they would drive around egging each other's cars. And one guy got cornered in like behind like a 7-Eleven, I think it was. I think it was Army who was the one who cornered the other guy in and the other guy ran out of eggs and there was a plastic bag next to the dumpster and he grabbed it and he chucked it over.

And it had caught like the other guy's door was open and it caught between, like, the end of the door and it ripped it open. And it was fish guts, rotten fish guts. And it got it got in all throughout the interior of Ami's car.

So his car, his car reeked the entire year. He got a he got privately cleaned. Nothing could get the smell out of these fish guts. So this is my first exposure to like somewhat of a professional hockey was coming to the right.

It was a just leg. I think it was Léger that they had cornered and later shot the guts of Peter Veltman. Maybe there were so many things like that. It was so cool because, like, it felt like no responsibilities. And we just, you know, we played hockey, but everyone got along and we just had a great time. And especially as young kids like you coming in the same thing as my initial career. We had such good veterans that kind of showed us the ropes, you know, and not never crossed the line like nothing that we're singing Fabiano up in front of the school.

This was our rookie prank. We had to put all of the girls, all the volleyball uniform. So we had the short shorts on. And this guy, you could tell a story.

So, yeah. So Fab's and actually I was talking to them up to about, you know, when I was in Winnipeg, I was still chatting with them a little bit. And well, when he was in Germany, when we know we all go through puberty, well, he got hit with the acne like bad, you know, and these guys would not lay off them. So with his volleyball open on the guys, made them go up on stage and do the commercial, the Acme commercial that saying, like, I ate too many chocolate bars, that I don't wash my face.

And he had to you have to recite the whole commercial. And he was such a good sport about it was a great sport.

Yeah. And I felt bad for him just because the. Yeah, but he's all cleared up now type of shit.

That'll be a scandal nowadays because I want to bring a huge part of your career was when Pittsburgh traded you to Atlanta. That was your home for the next ten years. You were in Atlanta for four years, then they moved to Winnipeg. You were there for six years, by the way. You got traded for a third round pick. Do you know that third round it turned out to be Robert Byrd.

You know that crazy. Yeah. Yeah, we did the research. We did the research when I was in St. Louis. And he didn't know what time either. It was. That's pretty cool to bring up at that point. I didn't know either. But I'm like, check this out. But yeah, I was Bobbo. Yeah.

You know, I don't really play twelve seasons there. It certainly didn't seem like it. And they're obviously open to what Hockey did. Probably aren't going to get another chance. But why do you think they feel down there. You you were there long enough to probably see what happened up close.

Yeah, not that it's not up close, but I think it's just a lot to do with management. I think I mean, we had like I mean, I know what it was like. Sixteen owners or just a ridiculous amount of like owners so we can never dial that in. So, yeah, telling the truth. I like when there was like rumors of leaving because I signed my extension the winter before we moved. So at that time too, I was just like, well what's our you know, there's rumblings going on, like whatever, you know, what's going to happen.

And no one knew. I really thought no one would inform us or me, my agent. So we're just like guaranteed money. That's the one thing I told myself throughout the career. Someone's giving you guarantee, you take it. So we signed the contract and then we ended up moving. And I tell you what, as much as I love Winnipeg and had a phenomenal time there, when we when we when we got sold, I want to I want the pep rallies and like, feed the team rallies.

I called out Gary Bettman on, like on the local TV station. I'm just like, well, keep us here because I love Atlanta, too, you know what I mean? Not knowing anything about Winnipeg or how my experience was going to go in Winnipeg, which was absolutely phenomenal. But at the same time, I was trying everything I could to keep that team there didn't work. And let's say I'm glad I did it. But at the same time, Winnipeg was such a cool experience playing in the Canadian market and, you know, just having a blast there.

What do you first remember about. I never say his name right, Kovalchuk or Kovalchuk. What do you say, Coorg, Kovalchuk, Kovalchuk?

So what I remember I mean, he was a rock star at that point. You went in there. I mean, that's kind of the best Hawkie he ever played.

I would say some of those years, dude, like we had him we had Kobe, Merian Hosa, Bobbio League, Slava Koslov, like, you know, Shelly Marcelli notes of the year before. But then we had Chelios retired there. He played his last game there, Matthew Snyder. I mean, we had so many guys, man, that. Veteran guys, and just a great experience as a young guy to be able to learn and be a sponge and learn off all these guys, but Kobe man, Kobe is a rock star and he.

He all he wanted to do was hang out with the boys, you know, you just wanted to be around the guys in team dinners were his thing, whether it was the whole team or, you know, a handful of guys. But he'd always want to be in the mix. And I just thought that was super cool because up to that point, hearing about Russians, like they just want to be by themselves or, you know, secluded, it was totally wrong.

And this guy. You just wanted to be around and you just absorb people and just a super cool guy. Were you on the ice or on the bench when Evander Kane, Kayode, Matt Cooke? I was on the bench. I was on the bench, but I haven't heard. I know I keep in touch with Gayner a little bit and he brings it up every conversation, you know what I mean?

So. So he's still living out.

There was a shocking story I was going to ask you. Were you there for the whole tracksuit incident? In Vancouver, is that is that common knowledge now how it all went down, or is that is that still the closed door stuff? No, I think so.

I think I think it came out where the stuff was in the shower. And you just said at that point, had it not been using its own towel, went home and, you know, wanted to move on and did you know? So, yeah, that's what I was going to say.

I don't think there's anything more. I got no information. It surprised me, too, that because I wasn't even in on it, I didn't know what was going on. But I just remember we're having a meeting and you walk through this tracksuit on and then after practice, you've done so. Hands up, sorry for killing the mood. That's right. Hey, look, we'll be having some fun out of a big buff. You played with Big Buffer.

You must have some adventures with him for the big buff.

Like we're on the same page, man. Like we. You know, wrote you up and there's like you go out and there's team dinners, there's, you know, you go to clubs, you go to bars. But for me, I thought the best time was room parties. So you get a bunch of beer in the room, invite as many guys you can fit in there and you just drink and tell stories like that was my favorite because I love listening to stories and where people come from and what they've experienced about their careers.

And it was a big part of that, too. And there's one time in Vancouver I brought my clippers, my hair clippers, and I was going to fucking trim up my beard. And so me and Bufferin, they were having a couple drinks and sitting in the bathroom and he's telling me what to do. I can't see this one side of my face, my neck was kind of came and I'm like, dude, help me out here. Like, I get my get married.

I get married now a little bit more. A little bit more. And then also I was just like and his giggle. Giggle was just fucking priceless. I'm like, what? I look down on the floor, there's a Chuka hair on my beard because I had a big beard. And I had the fucking groom that thing into like a chinstrap, and I'm like, Pop, you fucking idiot, man, I'm like, get out of here.

And, you know, we're all, you know, a little bit gooner up. And then another story about and I told a total bullshit was going to tell this one, we're in Pittsburgh and we both Benny Eger and Boadicea in a hotel room in Pittsburgh and both used to always do this thing called stupid money. It's where were the rope for dinner or anywhere, if he gets a pool of money together, we'll do whatever we kind of ask them.

So we're in the room and Penny Eager Buffalo, but let's shave your head. And this guy is 33 years old and he's got three kids at the time and he's like Cool Runnings. He's in charge of the phone fund. So we call Ronnie. We're like Ronnie. It's like 4:00 in the morning. We're like Ronnie, the guy like you want to do stupid money. He said he'll do it for fourteen hundred, shave his head. He's like, do it.

So we're like I said, do it. So fucking Benny Eger and we're in the bathroom and I'm on the bed. So I don't know what's going on. I know what's going on, but I don't look, they shave his head bolts. He comes out and he's fucking down to like his you know, he's got like a little prickly on his head, like all over on the cold shit. Boultbee, what are you doing? And Benny, Benny Yeager and Boxer, like, get back in here.

Both have got to Rieser. They fucking put the soap on his head and they pick his fucking head. And like I said, he's thirty four. Thirty three years old, three kids. The next morning walk on the bus and Popsy kid walks off with his cueball headband and he's coming down the aisles and the reaction on the bus van was just fucking priceless.

Now we go to Toronto and he's got to do his first, like, fuck you, no Buchinsky for warm up and do his head with, like, red, because it was like for like for us, the guy who was probably cuts on it to that had to be a couple of neck like fucking toilet paper here, over here.

But the bus was always in for a good time, man, and I'm super happy to play with them.

Patika things like I don't want to make this sound like he wouldn't be upset after games when the team lost or anything, but he really didn't care, huh?

Like I said, it's like he loved hockey, but it was like it wasn't the be all end all. And you saw how he retired. It was just like, all right, I'm kind of all set. Is that is that accurate?

Yeah. No, Buckcherry, man. I know. I know.

But that's what I didn't I didn't word that correctly. I know he cares what's going to be a lot looser. Like normally guys like like no music on. Everyone's going to act grumpy, like they're like the mafia.

Like he'd be like it ain't the end of the world. Like I don't know. Yeah. He puts stuff into perspective for sure and he keeps it loose like when things are tight man like and I get nervous for games but he'll come by and he'll flick my ear or something or you know, just to, you know, loosen things up. But Bush does care and just has a different way of showing it. But he is so productive on the ice man.

It's absolutely insane. Like he this guy like the way he warms up is hilarious. He wears like a weight vest and like those jumping jacks, just like it's almost like a pretend workout. And then I'm like, you're going to you're going to hurt yourself or do something. But then by the time Puck drops Matt, he he's a force. He's just doesn't even make sense. It's almost frustrating because I know how hard I work and prepare and Buff just doesn't have to do any of that.

And he can take over a game, a control game whenever you want it. I was going to I was going to happen quickly, just aaargh with the sagging of talk because I didn't ask anything about as a first time you became a captain in the NHL, right. In the first year, they're like just about that year. And then you ended up getting moved over and playing with Steven. Steven, is how you say his last name?

Weiss. Weiss. Weiss. Yeah. They just talk about that year in general. And just like what it meant to be an NHL captain. Yeah, no, it was cool, man.

And I remember getting getting a C and it was just it was just super cool. Like, I've never really I've never worn one. So, you know, there's responsibilities and stuff that I even know about except for the previous captains that I had, which were awesome. So I kind of had like a little baseline, I guess, but I'm super proud, super honored to wear it. But I was only there for half year. And then and then I went to Plymouth.

But did you take the C over the following year?

No, I think I yeah. Maybe the or the remainder of the year or that next year.

So that's why you moved over for that like last playoff run because you knew you were going to end up moving off to pro and you know, as the first time you'd moved organizations, at least I know that we could switch things up. But, you know, you went over there and got to play with some pretty good players, general being one of them.

Right. So I picked up a piece that was our general manager at the time. He called me in and he's like Daubs. He's like I got he's like, we're not going to make the playoffs. We're not going to go on a run like your. Last year, I got two teams that are interested. All I need to do is pick one. I got trades lined up for both and he was like Clement or Kitchener. And I'm like, man, I would call.

Jarrett was one of my best buddies growing up. I'm like, I got to I'm going to Plymouth. It's just down the road too. Right? So, yeah, I get in the car or PR guy Proctor drives me over to Plymouth and I join the team there, but we went on like a crazy run. Chad Leros was there, Paul Jarrett, James Wasniewski, Ryan Ramsey, who was an unreal junior player, pro player. But yeah.

So we go on a huge run. We end up losing to Kitchener in the finals and they Kitchener goes on that year to win the World Cup. So hindsight. Twenty twenty. Right. I'm like l thing. I picked the wrong fucking team. But nonetheless, dude, we had we had a great team and just a great experience. And I mean for Costa to do that, I mean that was awesome. So no good time.

It was Patrick Lyonnaise first. Yeah, of course. He just had a bunch of drama that got traded to Columbus. What was your experience when I approached him?

It was he a pretty unique kid.

He seems to be like a a different kind of guy, I guess.

Yeah, no, he's he's very intense. You know, he wants to he just wants to do well, like, he wants to be productive in the way he thinks you can help a team is by scoring goals and being productive offensively over the last couple of years. His defensive game I think personally has gotten way better and he takes pride in it. Yeah, I was I sat next to him for the two years that I play with them and just a great kid to converse with and.

Very intelligent on his craft, you know what I mean, even from looking at my Kirby, he tried to get me to change my curve and get the fuck out of here like you use a shovel and get them out. So but, yeah, just a super, super polite kid like and this is these are my experiences with them. But I got nothing bad to say about Patti Lynagh. He was a super talent talento. One of the Chicot favorite interview guests you got to spend the season with, and that's Tim Stapleton.

Are you guys there Busty?

So it was he was he is like ridiculous as as we all know him to be when you're playing with him, or was he more quiet in the room?

No, he was he was Okoye man, and he was such a fun guy to be around, like just just an enthusiastic and if there is a good time to be had, he was going to love you.

You want to be a part of it?

Yeah, we had we had some fun times with Stapes Fan. And for a small dude, I tell you what, like he is, he was a heck of a hockey player and fast and shot and intensely and just like a fucking pit bull, you know, but just a great person to man.

He was he was a good teammate to have about what's next now that you're retired, like you want to stay in the game or you're going to try to coach. I want to I would love to get back in the game, like I said, I ended up in the minors, so I kind of went full circle. I started in the minors. And my career pretty much in the minors, and nothing's changed, you know what I mean? And I took a lot of pride in it as far as the kids came up to me and I was a veteran presence, whereas before, like when I started, I was like a kid asking the questions.

So I loved the kids coming up to me and asking me, like even just how is the NHL, how's the food in the NHL or what can I do? Can you help me on this? I took a lot of pride in that. So it's a shitty situation as it was. Those kids were awesome. And just to deal with the play with to be teammates with them. And it just made me think I'm like, there's something missing.

Like, I would love to get into player development role, but like it's mentor role, so. I would just love to be able to have these kids be able to call when they have a bad practice or a bad game or something happen, and I'm not a doctor and anything, but I think a conversation is important or at least the opportunity to have one and for them to have someone to call it, you're going to call your agent. And I was I was blessed to have a phenomenal agency, but it was top notch.

And he's almost like a family member. But a lot of these kids are part of big firms where they got 50 clients. And when they call with issues, I don't think they're getting the advice or the care or the. They're looking for words, if they had a guy to call and say, like, listen, I just need to talk to someone, I need to vent. Any advice you can give me would be great. I just think that's kind of missing with these young kids, because, like I said, they're a little bit more sensitive and the game kind of moves fast.

And if you can help them, you know, move along and make those jumps and those steps, I think there's value in that.

And some of these parents don't have any experience in the field either, like, you know, they maybe didn't play hockey growing up. And they're just, you know, you know, their kid doesn't necessarily get that hockey side advice anywhere else. And some and some guys are like some guys are more shy than others. I mean, I don't think it was ever a shy guy in the locker room. I definitely wasn't. But, you know, you know, look, looking back, we are a lot more naive to a lot of things that were happening just because we weren't very aware of our surroundings.

We were just living in this like crazy dream, bubble bath dream.

No matter where our schedules lined up, they give you your tracksuit. You know, everything's everything's really done for you.

Your decisions are made.

And the thing is, like you described that perfectly, all three of us started in the NHL, ended in the NHL. And when you turn pro, you get there, it's still awesome.

It's like, wow, it's better than Junior, it's better than college playing pro hockey. You get you know, you haven't because it's just different. Then you get to the NHL, you're blown away. And then and then as the ride comes to an end, you get back and you go back to the NHL.

You're like, oh, my God. Like, I it's so much worse.

It's so much different. What you're able to express to guys like you have to strive to get there because you don't even understand how much better you can have it.

When you don't have that, you'd build it. Absolutely, man.

Like the NHL is, oh my God, I wish I could do it over and over again. I mean, not like. Oh, my God. Yeah.

Well, what about the first time you're on the air on a on a private plane and somebody bringing your food sushi. And then if you're like, hey, can I grab a Heineken and they go get their sushi when you first come on unlimited snacks. Like to check these hotels, these hotels on the road.

You're like, this is the sixth hotel I've ever seen, but I have to stay here.

Right. Remember, speaking of hotels and I apologize for jumping on this one, but do you remember in Pittsburgh when and I know you were fucking part of it, I still was there. I don't know. But I have a pretty good idea. Me and stole the Jordans stole we're roommates.

And so I get in that room, oh, dude, I'm like floor four. So I get in the elevator and by myself, I just got back from dinner with a buddy on Tampa and I press for and I go to the fucking level and Salty was OK too and a couple buddies and so I press for go up before the doors of the elevator opened and it's like a fucking VIP room. So like the beds are set up, the ironing board, the fucking dresser, the TV, the notes were on the fucking pillows.

I'm like, oh shit. I'm like, I got to get back. Like whose room was it? So I got back on the elevator, the doors closed. I pressed for again. The elevator opens again. I walked out.

So I got off the pillows. I look at the cards on the pillows once a stall and one says, Thorburn, I'm like, no shit. So then I realized it's a hallway. I go down the hallway, I go into my room. All that's in my room is the steel part of the bed frame, everything else they set up outside the elevator. But it was that was like the best prank anyone's ever pulled on me in my whole career.

Man, that was I still tell that story. It was hilarious.

Me, me and Malone literally spent three hours doing that and security came up. Security came up like, what are you doing? Like, Oh, these are our buddies. It's just a big prank. They were actually cool about it.

I remember. I remember. We were like, hey, we're all done. We're all done bugs. He's like, No, no, hold on. There's a little rest for the chair. We forgot that it was I think we brought the stuff from the bathroom out. It was well, then you can see all the toilet paper, the shower ran.

So that was it was the best prank, like like you said, you must have spent. And I knew you would bug me. Had something to fucking do with it too. But I was that was legendary bro.

Instead of the guy instead of me saying like, oh my God, I was tortured my entire rookie year, I would never do that to anyone else.

I was like, I can't wait to do that to somebody else. It was like that movie biz when it's your turn to paddle the freshman.

Yeah, I like what we just talked about it the other day. Help us out. Our Dazed and Confused. There you go. He's the movie guy. He's the movie guy. Longevity. More questions. All right.

Not really. I mean, just stuff we don't want to go back to at this point. I mean, we've held him up for an hour here. I did want to note Ginelli. Want me to let the listeners know other viewers. We're not filming a David Fincher movie tonight. We had to do some on the fly lighting. So that's why it looks a little funky.

And Chris is like, so when there's show to that's the reason why we're going to waterboard.

After the interview, he didn't want to bring up that as good as the career was, he lives in a truck now with better days.

Well, it's like most of the. I got one more for you, just like we'll finish it off.

Who would you say the funniest teammate you ever had was? Oh, I know it's tough, but dude, you got to pick someone you like some of my antics, my my first year as you were, you're up there. You're like my top 70 for sure. 70. I know I didn't need any. I just meant sometimes our fans like hearing about the antics. Like, I don't even remember what stupid shit I was doing back then.

I remember what we had. So I was the captain, like you were saying, I was the captain. So instead of going to the movies and stuff, my girl was 19 at the time or 21 at the time in the States and she was leaving. She's like, you want to have your team over, take my apartment and my coach. I'm like, yes. So we she buys us the beer, she gets it all in the apartment.

And we all the guys start coming over and then all of a sudden the parking lot come to the door and I open the door and it's fucking bizarre and bizarre to fucking six pack a root beer. And I'm like being a nerd.

Ordinarily I never drank.

I never drank till I never drank. Prom was the first time I ever drank it. And then the rest is history. You turn me into an alcoholic and a sex addict. Thanks a lot. Party. Yeah, they make jokes for that. Do it. No. The two funniest guys that I played with. That is Eric Bolton and Andre Walt was there with my letters to the media.

He was what you were the noises you make. Oh, my gosh. Do you remember when you went to Tampa after Tampa's pregame skate? You went into the locker room, sat down and said, listen, Tortorella is like pre pregame skate, like meeting, and Tortorella is like, what does he want for you to get out?

And then like two weeks later, they traded for him until he was he was awesome.

Yeah. Eric Boehlert. And I just it's a funny thing about Bolton. This is like he was petrifying on the ice.

I was scared shitless of him. And then always everyone for the most part, like most of those guys, it's like, yeah, he's the man off the ice and just cracks people up.

He's yeah. He's he's got some great stories to man. He's he's legendary as far as the teammates stuff goes, you know, but him and Mosi, him and Marty stand out for sure. As far as like the funny guys in mind. When I joined them, I was a young kid, so I laughed at everything. And for the stuff like Ozzy bolted, that man, everybody is there.

Is there one thing about wit that you remember from your time playing with him that you think the fans would find funny? What do you remember? I think Bugsy did it remember the spray painted your shoe blue and then mailed it to the fucking store.

You know, hey, so you're you're mistaking two different stories. I've told this a bunch. That was the year before. It was. It was. Oh, no, that was that year. You're right, they were burying me that New York it was rookie party that night. We had an afternoon tilt against the Rangers. We lost eight one. Tarion had a meeting with 17 players after the game.

Everyone just won one, one by one, one on one meeting.

Each one was at least five minutes, 17 guys. And then he knew we were going out.

He was so furious. But finally I was like, where are my shoes? They're under the towel over there. And they were spray painted fluorescent blue with No. 19 in black on the toes. And then the other one was last game of the year. We played the piano at home and we had a back to back to finish the year.

We weren't in the playoffs. We were terrible.

And I go to grab my shoes out of my locker and this fucking nails in the toes of them. And I go to pull and they aren't going anywhere. And I do. A Pittsburgh Penguin team issued terrible sandals with my suit to the plane and I got fined for that.

Oh, boy.

Oh yeah. Like we said, we would do anything. I'd let you break both of my arms, let me go back in time and do all that stuff again. You don't realize what you have till it's gone for good.

I give him my knees, but they already took him or me. This was great. It was awesome.

You know, I hope I hope that that's a great idea that you have working in the game and staying in the game and how you could help players coming up. And I think that you did it all, man. And I'm really happy. Happy to see you in a good spot post postretirement and and we appreciate it.

Thanks, boys. I appreciate guys having to have a great talk, talk, talk and talk about memory. Now, for the most part, they were all good memories, man. I just wish I had a better memory to remember everything.

And I know those guys that wrote stuff down, but I just thought I'd always remember and I don't you remember that when we scrapped in practice, you know, you brought this that you brought this up.

But I can not I can't. I've tried to think about it.

I fought I fought three guys in practice. I used Steve Decs. He broke my nose.

I remember Dixie's fight. I do remember that one. Yeah. Yeah. And then you blew your nose up. Oh yeah. That was I was talking about he thought he was one of the toughest guys I ever played with. Darby, thank you so much for joining us. People are going to love this. Congrats on the way it all ended. Storybook ending and best of luck in your post career, my friend.

Oh, my gosh. Thank you, guys. And we'll be in touch talking to. Thank you so much, Chris Thorbjoern, getting the chance to play with him was a thrill. Same for Bears and Junior, even though he's one of the few men who could ever say they cocked Paul Bissonnette didn't happen often.

I think you were the guy usually CUK and other guys, but beyond you and Junior and Chouteau to where he was giving that interview because it looked like he was in a cave in Afghanistan with an little light on them.

But we appreciate him coming on. Oh, my gosh. Speaking of Cuck, I put the couple's photos up some nasty style, and Meems sends me just one to myself. I didn't know if he posted it because sometimes I delete my social media. It was me, my girl. And instead of in there, he put Berry. He put Berry in the mix. And most of you guys who follow me know exactly who I'm talking about. The guy, the guy we use to get the text that used to open it up.

And it would be the guy with a huge hammer sitting on the end of his bed.

You see the meme of him like at the end of the go scene when they're doing the voiceover, he put Berry instead of who?

Instead of I don't think Meems did. Somebody said to me, so Barry's like upside down.

And when you see them with the hand, like making the vase, like you see, oh my God, this guy looks like he won't go away and nor should he.

I love Barry. So, I mean, I was happy that Meems didn't post that on the main thing. I would have been getting roasted the Cookie Monster back non-stop rostand. All right.

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All right. Moving right along. We're going to head over to the west right about now because you were just covering this crazy best of seven series on the middle of the season due to all the crazy scheduling and rescheduling a postponement. Arizona and St. Louis have played a best of seven in the middle of the season. Game seven, if you want, if you will, is actually today, Monday afternoon. And then the votes of Hung with the Blues brother.

Yeah, kind of garland. Six goals, eight assists, fourteen games.

As a kid, I love watching him play because what you take on the state of the Youtz, I know I'm a homer, but boys have been playing awesome so far in this series. They've played six games. Each team's got seven points. So I'm going to Aspen. I got Monday off. They're playing a matinee game. I didn't realize it was Presidents Day. I was unsure why they were playing in the afternoon. But they have an opportunity to, you know, you know, show the league that they're for real.

I think St. Louis was considered a top dog in the West, then Colorado in Vegas, definitely at the top. And as you said, our the boys have been hanging with them. That top line for the coyotes, Rick, talk it, put them together, called the short leash line. A couple of young guys, Garland, Garland, leading the way. But Keller's been, you know, coming into his own. That Schmults kid has definitely impressed.

And as far as our second line, this Christian Devora played in London. Shocker by making more than we know. He's been awesome as well for the coyotes. And then, of course, Darcy Kemper net. But but overall, it's been fun to watch. It's gotten chippy. Garland is definitely getting a lot more attention these days as far as guys stick them. There is a clip with our boy. You know, our twos are giving him, what, the shimmy shake from the bench.

But it's been a very chippy series. There's been some fights. There was a head shot. Larsen ended up getting suspended for two games. So, you know, if you're a hockey fan and you like this chippy hockey, I would definitely hopefully you get to catch the game on Monday afternoon. And I hope the coyotes can pull this off. I think it's going to give them a lot of confidence moving forward to show that they can hang with one of the top dogs.

Where have you been watching that series at all?

I have been it's been interesting to see how hard they've played against him. And I thought St. Louis would end up kind of taking over and, you know, winning that series five to two and coyotes can make it five two for themselves with a win today. Right.

In the seven games, it would look right now they've each got three wins. Seven. Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, I thought it was no coyotes were up three one in the series and then the last two they've dropped at home. As far as St. Louis is concerned, Fox looked really good. He's probably been their best defender. Craig's been solid. Perico just has not looked the same as he as he once did.

I don't know if he if he's struggling to find his game. I know the bubble. He was struggling a little bit as well. So, I mean, easy, easy to say with no training camp guys.

A lot a lot of guys are struggling right now to find their game. But, you know, overall, overall, maybe, maybe St. Louis is not as impressive as we thought coming in.

I think that the guy in St. Louis that needs to be mentioned is this Jordan Chiru. Yeah, because you want to see somebody play with speed, a new age NHL player. I say that, you know, tongue in cheek, New Age. Everyone's been fast for a while now, but oh my God, does this dude motor?

He he like he's taking guys wide. He's making plays. He made a sick pass the other day, I think it was to Faulk who buried it. And you know, he was a second round pick five years ago now. So he's coming on. He's a point a game player. And he was able to, you know, play a little bit last year and not have the offensive impact. But he was in the HL point a game. And now this year, Beaumaris times so much speed in a way to just really change change St.

Louis style play when he is on the ice, sometimes they can grind you down low with him off the rush. It's a different game. And I know right now Robert Thomas is out, correct? I don't remember what he injured, but he is out. So that's a guy they really need to get back. And still they're sitting in a good spot there. And second, in that division, everyone kind of knew would be Vegas, Colorado in them.

Right now, they're above Colorado. The game's played has been certainly different with the covid situations. But I still like St. Louis to really get in the playoffs and not be an easy I keep forgetting they got Telecinco out to.

So, yeah. I mean, this team. Exactly. They just got they just got to hold their head above water until guys are back.

Wow. Talk. It's done a great job so far though with the coyotes getting these guys playing hard. I don't think expectations were were that high coming into the season. And the boys look mighty impressive.

You know, expectations for the. Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, for the for the crowd is like their bottom six have been getting juggled around to. So just as far as everything is concerned, last guy I'll mentioned chicken. He's with all of Rackman Larson when he was out for ten games, really took some strides. I think he's got like ten or eleven points right now.

So definitely coming into his own and establishing himself as a I would say at least a number two at minimum.

Yeah, I agree with the Ducks, man.

They've been a pretty big surprise, too. I don't think a lot of people had expectations for them. Fifteen points tied for third in the division, getting some outstanding goaltending.

Yeah, but but I actually want to go to San Jose.

We members want to bring up the Collison situation there. He didn't play the final eleven minutes Saturday night in the third period. A lot of people are speculating what was going on. He was in the training room after the game. Bogdanov said it was a lower body injury, but nothing serious. The athletics Kevin Kearns, he wrote an article that night basically pointing out his deal and canes and the awful, awful cap situation that the sharks are in right now.

He's got eleven and a half million he's going to be making through 2027. And, you know, the production is not there. The play's not there. His article basically, he's obviously watched the sharks a lot more than I have. And I guess the guy just doesn't that guy just doesn't seem too fuckin interested in playing this year. That contract looks like a huge albatross right now, though, right?

I mean, as far as Carlson's concerned, Norris, the Fed's been, you always think a guy who's been able to achieve that, you know, that success and play up to that standard could find it once again. Right. I'm going to give those types of players the benefit of the doubt. But looking at their roster and how much money is allocated to the top four or five guys and where they sit and and just the eye test by watching how they're playing on the ice like it's it's ugly in this, could this could, in fact, get a lot uglier.

So I don't know how you manage this situation. I think Carleson even commented on it when asked about it. He said, I don't think his confidence is there right now. And if anything, when I watched him play the first two games of the season, him and Burns were playing north of thirty minutes. Now, I think maybe to get Carleson maybe back to where he was, I think they have to dumb down that ice time a little bit.

And also regarding him getting sat the last eleven minutes, they did say it was a lower body injury. I believe our.

Correct, correct. Not serious, but that's what bogeys after the game.

And I want to say that it was something that last year that it was affecting them, lower body, not sure if it's the exact same injury. So if he's not completely healthy, it's also hard to hold him to that standard of what he once was playing. So if he's trying to battle through it, then it'll all be a lot more lenient. But they're they're they got some tough contracts. They're looking forward.

Yeah. And we can get into the rest of the season. Evander Kane versus the Golden Knights, after what he did to Smith, that could be interesting. But quickly about Eric Carlson. What's crazy is he's. Thirty years old and granted, he's had some injury issues with the way skate has always been just such a like a game changer for him, but he had years, 20 goals, 21 goals, 16 goals, 17 goals. That was from 2013 14 to 2016, 17 in the last four years.

That's this year included. He's got one hundred and ninety three games played. He's got 18 goals.

It's like he had six last year, he has none this year, it's like to see that drop off and he's not old. It's just so odd. And maybe maybe, you know, like you said, he doesn't have confidence. But for this long to just like a guy was so able to able to score so easily playing defense. And granted, people always said he didn't play that much defense, but with how much he had the pork, he really didn't need to.

And now it's like it's just odd. And to see San Jose sign him to that deal, I feel like they could have seen some of these things coming. But it is a scary time to be a Sharks fan because they're one of those teams that looks like they are just headed nowhere but down in the foreseeable future.

I look at it as doubling down. I mean, they gave up so much to get him and then they're like, well, since we gave that up, we have to justify it by signing them where, you know, if this type of play continues at that dollar amount, that's, you know, in today's cap world, that's going to that's going to cripple you.

And also, I mean, even if he was producing and put in the numbers he used to, that's still a fucking huge tag for a guy. Eleven and a half million in a regular year. Then you add in the whole pandemic situation and you know, the effect that's had on caps. That's a wild fucking pad.

You have a blocked until 2050. So fucking Jesus. Now, I know the article I referenced, he also had Keynes deal in there. I don't think Keynes deal is anywhere near the same level as Coleson.

Cain has got, let's see, four more years left after this season at seven million a whack that deal. I don't think it's in the same company as Coulson necessarily, but he's got to stop taking the bait from Revo man. I mean, it's such a great trade off when Vegas can get fucking Cain off the ice and trade off a rival. They've gone at it again the other night. Some great penalty box, Jatta Wishin. And then after the game, Alex Tuck said, Jump in a guy like Smitty.

I think Avenges got hit by a few pounds for sure. I know he's going to have to keep his head up every game we play. The next seven games we play a Vandar better be looking over his shoulder. So I mean, we don't get too many friends. We use them.

But that's no reason for me to watch the sharks. But next time they play Vegas, I'm watching. I'm tuning in. We talked about that hate. And I tell you what, man, that's that's pure entertainment. We got to get these guys miked up, HBO 24/7 style for that next game. We've got to stretch beyond.

Couldn't even fucking release the footage. But the what?

The amount of bombs being dropped?

No, I'm just assuming what they're saying back and forth to each other is just ridiculous to just zoom in on the penalty box attendants to the Curb Your Enthusiasm music. The guy retires from being a penalty box attendant right after that. Oh, my God, that fucking unreal save Marc-Andre Fleury made Thursday night another save the candidate. I think he's got three or four of them. His numbers absolutely insane. Seven and one nine four four percentage one three eight goals against got a second shot over South Carolina's Colorado Sunday night.

Cost me a couple pesos. But the real talk about Vegas, the gold helmets this week, what what's your take on those.

withI so I didn't like them, but I like that team in Vegas. They can kind of do things in the white gloves they had or have whatever they like being in Vegas.

I don't mind it. I don't think they look good. But I think when fans are in the building, it'll be it's just a show. It's an atmosphere. Everything's different there. So I don't actually hate the look like for that team. But looking at them right away, I was like, oh, my God.

Like, who's the guy from Star Wars? Is that you compared it to see three people, cp3 CP three.

No, I want a comparison. What a comparison. Because right away I saw it.

I was like, oh, well, you could see him pulling it off with that bump it and them going maybe to the Stanley Cup final this year. Who knows if we'll see him again. I lost, though they may not wear him again. It was a losing effort.

No, didn't they? Oh, they did. Yeah, they lost the game before. But as far as all their their jerseys are concerned, I like the white ones definitely a lot better.

But next thing you know, they do it for the attention. Next thing you know, they're not going to be wearing them. I couldn't imagine them maybe wearing them next year. Even with that, they're gray. The I don't I hate the reverse retros. They have the red ones, but ultimately, like, they're doing it to draw attention. It's very Vegas. And next thing you know, they're going to have different third jerseys that you're complaining about.

So just the rotation continues.

Did you see what Pete Blackburn did? He you know, he he took the weekend from the Super Bowl show and he put it in the helmet when he was walking through all those gold walls.

He's if I can get a little Moema himself. Good stuff. Like said Colorado. Not much to say there. They played their first game in twelve days Sunday night in Vegas, got shut out. Minnesota did not play as well. So nothing really to report there. So we're going to chug along to the North Division, a.k.a. the Canadian division. And the big news there was Vancouver, Vancouver owner Francesco. Aqualina, he had a tweet thread Saturday that said he wasn't going to fire anybody in the team still getting used to each other.

I'll pull it up here. This has been a unique gif. Everyone roster changes, very little training camp, no preseason. In just a few practice days. It takes time for new players to fit in in a new group, chemistry to take hold both on and off the ice. Of course, I'm disappointed by a poor start, but the last thing we're going to do is panic. We've been better in recent games and I believe we'll continue to improve.

Our fans are passionate, knowledgeable. They have every right to express themselves. But when the media stop putting gas in the fire, dealing in rumors and misinformation as if it's fact, it's time for me to speak up. Contrary to what you may have read or heard, we're sticking to the path we're on. Building on our core of young talent progression is not always a straight line. There's no easy fix, only patience, commitment and hard work like Pessah, Pettersen and Choose Hoaglund was an excellent pick.

It looks like he'll be a great part of our future. Our hockey group believes Putt Putt Colson will step right into the lineup as well. I have full confidence in Jim Travis in this group. I have no plans to make changes. And then they went out and played their best game of the season.

First Calgary that night that was I had an obvious effect on the team.

Yeah, that was quite the response. I mean, I don't blame him with his comments. It is still early and they did not have a training camp and and they made a few significant moves. Now, as far as he's concerned, probably one of the more involved owners in the league as far as what's happening with moves like I've heard in the past, when Mike Gillis was GM, he would like Nix trades. He'd say, no, we're not moving this person for this person.

So sometimes as a general manager at handcuffs you a little bit. So it's hard. It's hard for me to be very critical of Benning and maybe the cap situation or some of the moves he's made, depending on what information and what he's allowed to do as far as the ownership is concerned. Now, their play was was not very good. They've definitely had a few guys under achieving, as far as, you know, bad contracts moving forward. I don't think the Tyler Myers contract looks very good.

I don't think Schmidt's been able to come over and make the impact that he's one or two so far.

But as I said, as a guy who is going to be a little bit more lenient in the fact that they didn't have a training camp, they got some pretty good weapons there that can that can turn this thing around. Now, the only question moving forward is, you know, are you going to be able to button up these these young guys, mainly Pederson and Quinn Hughes, to tonight's contracts? Their their their cap situation is not very good.

Batting is not done a good job with that. As far as drafting and developing some of these young prospects, I think they're they've done ten out of ten. Would you not say as far as talent pool young guys with they're probably one of the more superior teams in the league. They're right there, goaltending has been horrific when neither goal is above 900 save percentage, you know, you're going to have issues and that's been the case. And I think that their effort against Carrie the other night was that was great to see.

If you're a cannabis fan, they're really answering the bell in terms of how things have started now. Yeah, they do have some great young talent. I think right now some of those guys maybe are playing up to snuff, but they will. I'm not I won't be surprised at all if they will. Now, you look, not every draft's going to be a home run, but like 2016, they picked that, all of you, Levi, and they picked him.

Fifth overall was before mascot Matthew Karkoc, Charlie MacAvoy, Jacob Chickering. It was a lot of different players that they could have had. He hasn't done much. Right. So that's a guy where you're looking at a top five pick. You kind of need to hit home runs there. He struggled so far. He's got a goal this year, but just hasn't really made it made his presence in the NHL. It's been five years, which now kind of seems like a long time after the top five picks come into the league.

So there's definitely issues there. I understand where the owners coming from in terms of not making changes. Last year was great and we lost some key players marks from being the biggest one. Why would I rush to judgment right now? The thing is, though, if I look at that division, I think Toronto and Montreal have shown to be the class of the north. And I think after that, you're looking at Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. And one of those teams is going to miss the playoffs and two of them will get in, I think, also in Vancouver already with these starts, I don't think they'll they have a chance.

And so you look at the top two, I mentioned they'll be in and then the other three remaining, one of those guys will be out. So it's definitely a tough season if you're a Canucks fan and some of these players. And I don't think that they they can't turn it around and definitely start winning games. And and, you know, you see Patterson make more plays and probably definitely go on one of those runs where he's getting twenty points over a twelve game span, something like that.

But still right now, it's it's disappointing. And that's kind of just there's no other way to put it in goaltending being one of the main issues. You can't win in this league without getting good goaltending. It's impossible.

And going back to actually these comments, he believes in his general manager. That's fine. I read this on Twitter. Mike Gillis was fired after an eighty three point season, a mark the Canucks have beaten once in seven seasons under Bening. So at what point? For a guy, you know, you fired one guy for underachieving. Now you've given Guy seven seas, one guy seven seasons or make things right. If they don't make playoffs, all of a sudden you did trade that first rounder for JT Miller.

I didn't think it was a great play at the time because I didn't think they were ready to make that next jump. All of a sudden, I believe that first rounder has been backed up to this year now. Well, what if they finished as a bottom feeder or you just gave up another, you know, top 10 pick to to not make playoffs? So I don't know. I, I think there's some stuff, some some head scratchers as far as an organization.

But they're not in the worst position, that's for sure.

I will say it would be a it would be a nightmare as a general manager to have an owner that's super involved in making decisions. It's like GMs don't even want to take jobs where they're not given full carte blanche to make the moves they want to make. Sorry. All right. Go ahead, buddy.

No, no, I wasn't trying to just to just say no, we're up against it. I don't. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I want to sit here and talk about we're cool. We still got a bunch of other shit to get to, namely Toronto. The Maple Leafs keep chugging along still. And for us, despite a Saturday night loss to Montreal, 23 points lead in the league. They get Jumbo back today, Monday after missing two games.

The foot injury was unfortunate, Joe said, but I feel really good now. I can't wait to get to play tomorrow. He's back on the line with Pable and Mitch Amarna. Seven goals, fifteen assists, twenty two points tied with Pattycake for third in the league. He leads all forwards in time of ice to twenty two minutes and fifty five seconds. That's pretty good. Matthews absolutely tearing it up. Leads the NHL and goes. I mean we've got to mention the Leafs.

I mean it always seems like we do every week but as long as they keep winning we're going to keep stroking them off. I suppose I'll keep it short and sweet.

I think they're going to win the cup. I want them to win the cup. I've said this. I want the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup this year. I'm openly rooting for them.

Yeah, I mean I mean, all the listen, our main criticism of that, that team is they gave the top four guys way too much money. And it's hard to survive in today's league when you're paying so much the top guys where you don't have any other players to contribute while they got guys on good deals contributing right now. I know Simmons is injured, but he was a main pick up for a million and a half. You got Jumbo Joe.

They got this Travis Boyd guy, this Travis. Everybody's going crazy over his Analytica numbers. I have watched a little bit. He has looked really good. But just as far as their top four guys between Marter, Matthews, Tarvaris and Nylander, I mean, they're basically clicking at a point a game. And I know I was a I was a doubter of Nylander when they signed that deal. I thought it was a crazy deal at the time because I don't think that he earned it, per say.

But I'm putting I'm putting the clown nose on for that one, because right now he looks good. If he can produce it in playoffs, that's going to be the sandpaper finish. The Muzzin trade was huge.

Also, he is he's a beast. He can he can pitch in offensively, but he's also just so difficult to play against. He's hard nosed. You saw what he did to Matthew Kucuk. He's a prick to play against. And then Justin Hall to who?

I mean, you know, I didn't know much about him. Right. He's he's played some big minutes. He's played like top pairing against top players. You talk about him playing against McDavid and things. So they're getting contributions from guys, whereas you're not just looking at the top four highest paid players. It's like you need the depth. And that's kind of the difference with this Maple Leafs team, I think, is that guys are really pitching in the Curfewed.

He was a great player to bring over, kind of he brings like all elements. It's just a fun team to watch.

I'll say that as we get closer toward the deadline here, and I know because of this covid protocol, it's a little bit harder and you're probably more inclined to make a deal a little bit before the actual deadline. But we'll talk about more of that in future episodes. But I think there's probably one more piece that they have to add. It'll be interesting to start scoping out like who's necessarily on the trading blocks as to who they could add to to put them.

I think I still think they need one piece.

One more piece.

Yeah, we still got deadline stuff to get to two. That's going to be an exciting time. A couple more notes from the division before we send it over to Cameron Hughes, the professional fan Edmonton Wave. James Neill, no surprise he wasn't scooped up with that deal. Montreal waived. Paul, don't call me Tom Byron for the purposes of send him to the taxi squad, three point four mil. Nobody pick that up either. And hey, most guys have tried different ways to last longer in bed, but thinking about playoff seedings and potential matchups doesn't always work.

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This super easy to use, you just take the swipes out of the packet, swipe it on, let it dry and you're good to get to. Good to go. That's it. Go to get Roman dotcom. Let's first month the swipe through just five. When you choose a monthly plan that's get Roman dotcom checklists, because you you interviewed this guy, you did this one. So I don't know if you want to give it.

How about that title? A professional fan? That is that's a pretty good gig he's got going. And listen, very humble guy, very grateful for what he does. I met him throughout the years and I thought it'd be an interesting guy to get on. And I think we should send it over to Cameron Hughes, the professional fan.

Well, this was kind of a random interview Tuesday night, I got another text from a guy who just released the book, a very odd job in the NHL, and I guess you'd be better to describe it. Welcome to the podcast, Karen Hughes and recently released book King of Cheer.

King of Cheer. Yeah, who knew I could be an author, right? I mean, I'm a bad dancer, but not a bad writer. Well, the reason I wanted to have you on is just because to explain your whole story and how it came to be. Yeah. You know, I was trying to find myself back in ninety four in the sense where a new team in the NHL, they were horrible. They were playing against the Jets one night in the middle of January, 30 feet of snow.

And I go to the game, my buddy gives me tickets. Eight minutes to go. I go watch this and he's like, oh please don't. I get up in front of 10000 people. I go crazy in my seat. And all the fans are looking at me like, what the hell is he doing? So I sit back down the Crace there's a buzz and then the next whistle blows and 10000 people turn around and they're like, Come on, Big Red, let's dance.

So I go to the aisle. Right. And the whole reason I've had this crowd at this gig is because I went to the aisle. I start dancing like a lunatic in my Canadian tuxedo, as obviously and the crowd goes nuts, standing ovation. I go back to my seat, the senators come up to me and said, hey, we want to hire you. And I'm like to do what? You know what I mean? And next thing I know, twenty six years later, fifteen hundred gigs.

And here we are. How many beers deep were you when you decided to do that? The first time.

OK, so I've been asked that a lot. The first night stone sober when they asked me to come back a week later, I went to the bar across the street. I had six beers and two tequila and then I was like I could do I couldn't really perform. Right. And so then I was after that game, I was like, I can't I couldn't balance. I was falling. So I haven't drank in the game since then.

But when I saw I don't even remember how we initially met. I would imagine it was in the hallways down below because I was always a healthy scratch and you were kind of running around like get your routine started. But at that point in time, your routine had been like crushing Red Bulls. Yes, actually, in the early days I was definitely crushing Red Bulls.

I was I was during the Red Red Bull phases when I met you.

Yeah, I've evolved. What's the routine now? Quick bump or what? No, hey, no, no. I actually like that's why I want a private dressing room just to have my own time, because I'm getting pretty old out there, you know. But yeah, no, I do have warm up around the arena. You probably see me stretch, right. I've seen you do quite the dynamic warm up. We just had Voytek Volsky on probably much like he has.

But just so obviously things get popular in Ottawa. Are you being shown on like the local news and then word picks up because that you ended up getting more gigs.

Yeah, well Ottawa I actually had an exclusive for two years in Ottawa. I got a bit of media coverage. They call me the dancing guy in Ottawa. You wonder why I was single, right? So then the Leafs are in the playoffs. I drive down to the garden. My buddy, who's an eight well, my buddy, a family, friends and agent. To Doug Gilmore, no big deal, calls Cliff Fletcher no big deal again.

And they go, I guess, names. I got this guy and they look at me and they're like, whatever, dude, OK, you know, so they give me two tickets to the garden, like nice seats right back in the day at the garden. And they go, good luck. So I bring my own t shirts. You know, I wore t shirts, right. Well, that's part of your routine. And you can get into that as well.

Yeah. So I'm at the garden. I'm going absolutely nuts. And the crowd's, like, loving it. Right? They've never seen anything like it for them. Then Harry Neil calls me out. He makes fun of me and hockey in Canada, like he attacks me like he was pissed about it because he's old. He was like saying clearly he thought I was drunk and I was like crazy. So a friend of mine, he was right.

Yeah. So he was one for one that night. So then a buddy of mine.

Emails from McClain and CBC Sports explains who I am. The next Saturday night I go to the game. It's a garden, you know, and it's like the place is just popping. Gardening's the whole thing. I go and do the game and I find out later that Harry Neil's not like, look at this guy, Joe. He's amazing. He's from Ottawa. He's a motivational consultant, which I don't know what that is. Right. But I got the suddenly everyone across Canada now is like, wait a minute, who is this guy?

And that was the moment I drove back. I had my Timmy Timmy's and I was like, this is what I want to do, you know? And it kind of lit the spark of me.

So then you figure it out. You started hopping around from team to team to to league to league. I mean I mean, talk about all the different places this ended up bringing you because you've transferred sports even. Yeah.

You know, so I just started to show up in other teams that call. I mean, remember when the Buffalo Sabres and Marineland Arena, the scoreboard fell, so they called me so suddenly I'm going to Buffalo, did ten games around Buffalo, and then Washington sees me. And then all these other teams start to see me. And then I got a booking agent who represents, like all. These acts, remember Morgana, the kissing bandit? No, well, you should check it out.

Yeah, you should as you might run wild. And she was she was kind of like the Dolly Parton of cheering, if you know what I'm saying. She had huge bombs. Correct. And she would run onto the field. And anyhow, I had the same crazy George. So I got a booking agent I started to tour around. I was doing like the Spokane chiefs and all these other minor league games. And then I started doing other sporting events.

And that's when it kind of like I realized I can make a living doing this because it took a long time to prove to people that I could add value right.

One all the way to the U.S. Open. I remember you were you dance during a game between Djokovic and was the other was a Federer.

It was a Djokovic match. And then I had another interaction with Federer. But yeah, it was live on ESPN. They called me onto the court and there I am dancing with Novak.

That's unbelievable. I mean, the what was the other thing I was going to ask you about? You ended up going over to Cardiff as well in England. So you've actually, I believe, dance for every single team. At one point that I've been on in Pro, that's been the goal.

But usually sometimes you're there sometimes. Yeah. Yeah.

You got to go down to the fucking thirty leagues, my friend then. Yeah. Did you play, did you do it in Wheeling as well.

Yeah obviously did four games and wheeling by the way, let's talk about that arena. Oh my God. Right up the West Bank. Oh baby. Let's go. We used to have Moondog bobblehead night. It was just a it was just a special place. Now I would probably say it'd be fair to pinnacle of your career. We've got to go back to the few of the Olympic stories anyway. Let's go back to twenty to twenty two.

It was crazy. My buddy was running the Olympics. He I got an RV bunch of guys we met and they it's not a good way to start a road trip. We go to we go to Salt Lake, we've got an RV, we've got all the Canadian flags on the RV, go Canada, go doing all these promos and then I get a pass to go to all the games. I was like going to all these events, not getting paid, just doing it.

It's the night before Canada is playing the US and the gold medal game. These friends of mine, the sponsor hotel coach, gave me a hotel room. I'm downstairs. And Saturday morning, the night before the game, Janet Gretzky walks by. She's just come out of the spa and she says, I'll see you at the game tonight. And I turn around. I'm like, oh, hi. And I tell her the story. We're in the basement of the hotel.

I go, actually, I've been banned from performing. She goes, That's bullshit. The US and OMG, they tossed him because he was too hard for Canada during all the preliminary games. No, but you were to know I was I was saying they were trying to. Nixey And that's why you told Janet the story, right? Yeah. So I tell you the story. She says that's bullshit. I'll talk to Wayne, meet me in the lobby of the hotel tomorrow morning at ten thirty.

The hits playing that night. I want to go on party with everyone. Oh, my God. And I'm like, I can't drink. I can't do anything. I got to be a good boy, right? I get down in the lobby of the hotel all the all the kids come down, all our friends. Janet comes down, she goes, all right, everyone on the bus. Now I'm on the bus going with the gretzky's to the gold medal game.

I've got tailers on my knee. I'm putting tattoos of Canada on. We're singing the hip songs and I'm doing I'm like, what the hell am I doing here?

They adopted you for the day. They did.

It was insane. So we get out of the bus. Everyone's high fighting, you know, Canada go, Canada go. She gives me the ticket. I still have the ticket. She says, have a great game. Let's get them tonight. And I'm like, that was it. I mean, that was the most unbelievable thing ever. Right? So I went to perform for Canada. That is unreal.

You get where you getting carried off after? Do they come down and get a security? No, they didn't do anything. They left specially after they started winning. Unbelievable.

Man, I must have been a pretty special moment.

And then years later, you ended up at, I believe the Vancouver Olympics was the 2010, 2010, you know, back in Vancouver hometown, you know, our hometown, that Canadian boy. And they hired me for twenty eight games. I had to do two and a half games a day. So I had a trainer going in.

I was no drinking. No party will stand them back on. Yeah. It's like Catching Fire with. What's the movie Saving Silverman. Yeah, I had a misuse in the room. No I'm kidding but it was insane. So two and a half games a day and it was amazing. And I was doing all this media and it was amazing. And halfway through the Olympics I got a phone call and they said, we have three warnings about your behavior.

I'm like, well, you hired me to be crazy, right? I was. I got in trouble for Dirty Dancing with the Girl. Yeah. Where were you flossing with one of the t shirts? A little too aggressively. There was a bit of a t shirt floss moment, and my friend was a photographer and he caught it. So I was guilty. I made a baby cry. Oh, well, that's the kicker, right? There was a Ron Burgundy just hunting babies off the ah, he did a dog, but they anyhow, Canada goes to play the gold.

We all know what. Know Sydney scores, I go and have my first beer, we go to the Molson House Party like rock stars. I see I'm going to go to the bathroom. I leave my buddies and I see an opening. It's where the VIP room is. Right. And I see Bob Nicholson had of Hockey Canada and Bob's waving at me. Come over here. Come over here. I go right through. No security. Security is chasing me, right?

Bob's like, no, he's with me. I'm like, damn straight I'm with you. Bob goes, Come on in. I'm like, What do you mean, come in? He opens the door to the president's room and there sit with his family celebrating because he didn't want to be in the main room where all the players were because it was just too much for him. So obviously he wanted a picture with me. So, you know, he got one.

No way did he actually ask you for a pic? No, but I'll tell you, no, he didn't ask for one. But then I went in the next room, OK? And every player has their own, like, lineup of Molson Canadian magnums of beer. And that's actually when Mike Babcock true story asked me for a picture of him and his family because I used to do the Spokane Chiefs games.

Oh, that's right. Yeah. I go on going back and he said, Zygi, I don't want to picture, but I got to tell you this story about this time. I went to Italy and we played the song. I don't know if you I don't know you heard The Joy of Italy story about said how superstitious he is and he told them the dog days are over story before every game for like a thirteen thirteen game. He because he's so superstitious.

But damn well it worked, right? Yeah. I mean, with everything going on in the world right now, of course, covid no live sporting events, it must be a kick in the nuts for you. But during this time you did get a chance to jot down all these stories. Was that already the plan before covid hit or did it just align?

Well, you know, I've always I've been working on for a long time, you know, because there's all these it's short stories, there's pictures, and it's like a bunch of journal entries that have a through line. There's heart. You know, I lost my mom as a kid and lost my dad a couple of years ago, like the night I was supposed to do a game. So there's a lot of heart in there, too. So it's not just like the crazy moments.

You know, it's it's about my journey of trying to make it right. But, yeah, I think once covid hit, I realized I had to do it, you know what I mean? I also because I don't have a career right now that's not going very well.

Well, not only that and just kind of how this silly thing turned into you being able to get into all these incredible sporting events. I mean, we might see it more now that you're on the podcast. All these people doing wacky, we got like a Cirque de Soleil going on in the crowd. Now, no one's even watching the play. I know. It's crazy, right? We've done fifty games there. Where else can you do Blue Man Group opening and then on a Vegas game, I've done a couple of Blue Man moments and crowds like you're really part of my face is painted blue.

It's the best way. Yeah. So you get to the more comfortable some of these teams get, the more they want to be innovative. And especially a team like Vegas must be so fun to work with because they're willing to go that extra mile to entertain.

Yeah. You know, they push it. There's this, you know, since day one and I think I saw you there in the early days, they gave their fans of permission just to go nuts as crazy on a Tuesday against Columbus as on a Saturday against the Blackhawks. It doesn't matter. Right. And they push stuff. They have a huge budget. They try things. They do the showgirls and the night on and on and on. And so I'm just part of that.

And you wouldn't believe some of the stuff I get away, you know, like it's fun.

Have you ever put yourself in the hospital doing this all up and down the aisle? Only eight times.

Like, what's the worst injury sustained from from being a clown up and down the aisles?

I think the worst sort of most embarrassing, though, is an all star game in South Carolina. And I fell down like a massive set of stairs and I didn't stop and everyone thought it was a bit because it was really well done.

So, dude, I'm literally on the bottom of the stairs. I can't get up. The play's going on. So the fans are watching me and I'm screaming for help and nobody comes and helps me. They just thought, oh, teacher guy is doing a funny bit. Yeah. Go ahead. Like a fifth, 10, 20 to 20 degrees. Spraying the trainers like you're an ass look like what you're doing that. I come back in the third period on crutches, my, my ankles like wrapped like a linebacker's leg and I got paid.

I was going to say at that point if you would have done the whole t shirt removal thing and spit it out and got it out, that would have been quite the icing on the cake will be the bucket list things that you want to achieve moving forward that I mean, Super Bowl, what's the mega ship?

I think, you know, it's funny. Yeah. Super Bowl be the one I did the Grey Cup, 68000 people. That was that was unbelievable. You know, they gave me 60 second time out to get the crowd going, you know, then, you know, Stanley Cup finals ottowa against, you know, whoever.

Did you ever have a panic attack before one performance because you got too amped up? Like, was there anything that, like, happened before mean that's like a regular occurrence. You don't know what you're going to get going in?

I think that I learned that. I mean, probably like a lot of athletes like you guys, you have to learn to peak at the right time. You know, like you have your nap, you do your warm up and then you get going. I used to come to the arenas and I'd be so excited that by the time the game started, I'd be white, you know. And, you know, the road road's exhausting, but I'm just a one man band, you know.

That's true.

You got your 60 seconds to perform the Roman swipe and then you're off.

Much of it is how much of it is choreographed or is you all just figured out on the spot?

Well, like the first big intro now is choreographed in the early days, I would just go, they'd play music and they'd try to catch me. And now we try to plan it just to orchestrate like a big wow. And then the fans kind of know who I am, you know, so they can play along and they're, you know, everyone knows the power of the Jumbotron. Oh, yeah, definitely a game changer because, I mean, back in, what, 2002 and it was in Salt Lake City, did they even have a Jumbotron?

I don't you know, I don't think so. I mean, they didn't when I first started, there's no entertainment departments. There wasn't all that stuff. And, you know, I did a couple of memorial cups and, you know, and, you know, some places they don't care. They just let go. You know what I mean?

Yeah. You're doing like the fuckin what's the DMX or whatever like that in front of, like, ladies breastfeeding. Like, one last story, actually, before we let you go, you kind of got the McDavid checkout's bump from from the McDavid one time when you're on a date.

Well, look, he was there in Quebec City receiving an award for Player of the Year. He was with Alex de Brincat Strome. They walk into a bar. They were just turned 18. I'm on my third date with a girl. Comes to Quebec City. Obviously romantic, right? You know, go see a guy who's trolling t shirts and. Yeah, that's romantic. So in walks the three guys. And I knew Connor's agent, so I walked over and said, hi, we're all having drinks for partying and we're just telling stories.

We're laughing, we're being goofy. And I see that girl over there, they're like, Yeah, I'm on a third date with her. They're like, wow, that's that's insane. And then I told her the movie she produced and they're like, can we meet her? The movie was MVP, most valuable primate.

Oh yeah. Solid Fleck Oscar worthy Oscar.

Right. So she she used to be in charge of the chimp and she would do all the promos around the NHL and the boys said they used to watch the movie on the bus and they're like, can we meet her?

And she's from Edmonton. So she doesn't know Conner is she lives in L.A., you know, so they come over to meet her and they're fascinated by her. And then we run into each other the rest of the weekend. And every time we'd see them, she'd tell them a news story about the chimp and all of its shenanigans. So cut to a year and a half later, this I got hired by the Oilers to do a game like Light It Up.

Awesome crowd's amazing. Saturday night, Conner gets the first star scores of beauty and overtime. I'm about to cross over to go to my locker room. I got to go by the Oilers dressing room. All the guys are like, Wait, wait, wait. Please wait for all the players. I'm like standing there politely. Corner comes off, gives me a huge hug and he's like, Yeah, man, so great to see you. Oh my God, it's been a while.

Blah, blah, blah. And he goes off and he says, See you later. And the guys are like, what the fuck just happened? Yeah, I look at them. I go, Hey boys, what happens in Quebec City stays in Quebec City, most valuable primate baby.

Take a look at them. I mean, that just goes to show the encounters you've had with the hockey community.

They've really embraced you. And it's it's an awesome community, isn't it? It's a really special group of people. Yeah. And behind the scenes, the the fun and the respect to. Right. These guys have for for everyone for how hard we work and you know, what we put out there. So, yeah, it's been great.

Thank you so much for coming on. This was great. Check out his book, King of Cheer, Cameron Hughes. Thank you so much for joining us. Great to be on, guys.

Cherrie's appreciate it. John Big, thank you to Karen Hughes for jumping on, met him throughout my playing days. And how about that? A professional fan. What a gig he's got going going to amp up fans, Crank and Red Bulls and doing the Cockney Joe in the isle.

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This is the, this is the replenishable. I throw at least a couple of my water bottles every day. It just gives you like all those little vitamins you need, even if you're not booze. And I take the hydration replenishment as far as the pills are concerned. I had a remote at weddings and stuff whenever I got a mommy. And as I mentioned before, I go, I get text the next day. Why are you laughing?

Those are the pills you hand out at weddings. Well, I have before and I got I got a couple texts the next day of guy guys being like, yo, what was that pill you gave me? I feel way better than I normally do when I hit the fucking sauce. So shut that up. Your hope.

You'll need them for your après ski up and fucking ass.

Oh, I'm bringing I just put some in my water bottle right now. Look at these fucking hydration for a long flight that Aboitiz, you know, I'm about to take off here so I you guys can finish off the pot alone. But is there anything else we got to cover quickly. I blast.

Have a blast. Yeah. You mentioned Britney Spears dock of the party. Let's quickly talk about that. That is one of the saddest things I've ever watched. I think we'll dive more into it next podcast when we have more time. I know. All right. Why are you laughing? Where do you think I'm a little bit too crazy about?

Oh, I'm thinking of people at home. Listen to us talk about it now and saying we're going to go more in depth next episode.

Smash their face off if you think we're not doing a five part podcast series on freeing Britney Spears. Hey, listen, stop listening to this podcast. If you are not team Britney. From now on, any time you tweet me, use the free Britney hashtag, please.

Because what happened to her is one of the saddest things I've ever seen.

And it just goes to show twenty years ago the fact the fact that what was the woman's name, who was grilling her during the interview, being like, oh, this governor thinks that you should be basically shot and murdered. Diane Sawyer, Diane Sawyer, because you dressed a little bit seductive. And after saying that Britney's like, that's terrible, that somebody wants to be murdered for fucking tying my my shirt up the way I did to maybe show a little bit of cleavage.

And then fucking Sawyer doubles down by going, well, she does have a point. You kind of are addressing a little bit seductive craziness. Yeah, this is 20 fucking years ago this was happening. They drove her mad with. Yeah, it's certainly I caught part of it is so fucked up and to think what was kind of normal back then, to say it was like times have definitely changed. Everyone knows that. But her dad has like a special place in hell waiting for.

Yeah, he does. He's a scumbag. So we'll talk more about that. I'm going on my vacation. Great. Catch it up. Big thank you to Christine Brennan, Cameron Hughes and Authority to Cock Monster.

Got me and have fun. And if anyone says, like one more run, don't do the one more run. That's when you get hurt skiing.

Yeah. Yeah. Try the words to one more run. Only lead to injuries and we don't need you. You already got 14 torn ACL to stay healthy, everybody. All right. I love you guys.

Make a pizza if you have unsafe going down the hill. All right. All right, buddy. How's my boys? Bro, I chugging right along here with some other news stories.

The OHSU tweeted that the league is anxious to return to play, but have not yet arrived at an approved return to play framework for the for the coming season after ongoing discussions with government and public health agencies. Obviously, we'll keep you abreast of what's going on there. Happy retirement to the Lambro twins Monique and Jocelyn after 14 years with the U.S. women's national team. Jocelin, of course, scored that filthy shootout called the twenty eighteen Olympics to help the U.S. win gold.

What I knew you probably had a few words for these ladies.

Yeah, congratulations. Monique is married to a guy, Anthony, that I knew well. He helped train Bew. Great guy, good family. And she scored the tying goal in that gold medal game in twenty eighteen. Then for her sister to get one of the best shootout goals you've ever seen. Amazing career. And I think that both of them played for such a long time that you got to be really proud as to where they helped bring like women's hockey in the United States.

It's at a different level now. It's one of the fastest growing sports in the country. And they had so much success. So congratulations to them. Awesome job.

And I hope you enjoy retirement, by the way, Shirota us back in back together US three before that clown, that clown that just left join the show.

It used to be us three once a week hanging out. It feels like we're back in the old times and we don't have to deal with that lunatic yelling at us with all his ideas and all those bullshit suck on this because I know you won't hear it because you never listen, you piece of shit.

But I'm I'm happy to say I could sit and talk to you guys for an hour about anything.

I know we just got to fuck and I'll be in the same room on the couch the old school way. And that's that was five, five years ago. It's it's incredible how quickly it's flown by. I was a kid.

I was a legitimate kid, and I would ask the dumbest fucking questions.

All the world told me to tell everyone. I was like, oh, my God, I know you asked this question at dinner.

I had a piece of sushi in my mouth and I spit it and went flying under the table because I said, oh, my God, how did I forget you asking that awful question?

Go ahead.

The worst part was you, like, went with the question of a guy. I'm a team mate. You were not. You were. So I asked Jack ickle the first time we had him.

And this is like the first time we have an NHL superstar in person in the in our living room. And I and I raised my hand to ask a question and I say, hey, Jack, how many beers would it take for you to drink? He's nineteen at the time. And I'm like, how many beers would it take for you to drink, for me to score a goal on you and porn? Hockey. I just want to go.

He's saying that he's not a goalie. See, he's nineteen. He can't even legally drink g e cringe. The crazy Rudel worst question.

And let me tell you, all of us have asked horrific questions throughout the five years, but that one on us being number one and then me being like, yeah, man, how many beers?

And it just shows that we have grown.

It's insane.

Yeah, we all have a few do overs. We wouldn't mind, but I think collectively we're pretty proud of the work we've done. Chris Drury, named general manager of the twenty twenty one U.S. men's national team. Hopefully we'll get some Olympics. Obviously he's been working for the Rangers for a while. This guy is good at everything he does. So I think we could probably win a gold medal for the U.S. of Chris. He's the GM of the team.

Yeah.

And if you can kind of pencil in him being an NHL GM at any point when he wants to be because, you know, he didn't want to become Florida's GM. And then there was rumors he didn't want to be Pittsburgh's GM. And I think he's very happy where he lives and in Connecticut and he works for the Rangers. But it seems like a lot of teams want to bring him in with what he's done his entire career and how much people appreciate his input and his opinion and how professional he is.

So when he wants to be a GM, he will be it just seems right now he's pretty happy where he is. So good for him. And I think that he'll be great for USA Hockey. I'm not sure if you guys are watching well, Hockey Day in Canada was this past Saturday when Kevin Bieksa was on, he had that picture of Ryan Kesselman. Remember, he did the ESPN body issue a few years ago. And, you know, he's like a naked we actually had a framed picture of him on the shelf behind him, like you could barely see it, someone I forget who found it and sniped it.

And then Kessler tweeted it, usually by his bedside. But then if you noticed, it looked like it was gone later in the night. So I don't know if, like, one of the suits at fucking SportsNet, you know, texted me and told me to move it. But I mean, it's it's harmless. It's fucking it was on the front page.

You just had it up there until somebody said something or tweeted. But but apparently those two going back and forth and we talked to the guy how they fought before, and they were just basically like brothers, just always tripping each other and went went together like fine wine. I'd say they just really enjoy each other's company. So still going at it now after a time. It's great to see.

Yeah. Just some funny stuff and be like we got to get closer on at some point. Yeah, absolutely.

This is a fucking hilarious story. Our Karen Silversmith, not her actual name, but the daughter of the silversmith who was hired to make the original Lombardi Trophy, which is given to the Super Bowl when she was crying to the media because Brady passed the trophy from boat to boat turn the Tampa Bay Buccaneers championship parade. I mean, you fucking serious lady.

She said she hadn't slept in two nights like, oh, she was one of the most all time biggest losers I've seen on the Internet in all my years on the Internet. And you look at somebody who thinks talkable over evaluating your self-importance or your family's self-important. He was a silversmith who gives a shit big deal.

Do you know what guys do with the Stanley Cup? It's like this lady was actually on the news crying.

It was like a Saturday Night Live skit.

I couldn't believe it was real going at Tom Brady for throwing her stupid father stupid trophy all over a boat.

Who cares? By the way, if it fell in the water, they were a diver. Go in and get it. What a loser this woman was.

And did she not see Gronk play fucking baseball were a few years ago? I mean, she must have had a conniption when that happened. And he didn't like he didn't like.

Does that mean he was worked for Tiffany like he was fucking paid? He has a draw and make this trophy. It wasn't like his concept, like it was his passion or whatever. He was hired to make the fucking thing.

He was a silver. So waffled.

By the way, Brady, I mean, I imagine he only drinks like a handful of times if that throughout the year now was how he takes care of his body. But just seeing him get carried out, it was classic.

And by the way, before he did throw it, I think his daughter's like, no. So it's just a funny thing.

It's yeah, it's it's pretty sick to that, that the way the lightning did it, the the bucks could also just kind of have the bowl parade, what's going on, you know, social distancing and stuff. So I think Florida is a different beast. I'm down here. It's certainly way, way more open and available than many states up north. But I still could not believe that story. I first saw it when KFC tweeted it and he was like in all my years.

So the way I've never seen, I've truly I've never seen somebody who is that ridiculous. She's just embarrassing yourself on an international level.

Yeah. How about Brady's two million dollar boat? Just just.

Oh, no, dude, I kind of thought he'd have a better boat. I said that now he likes to go fast. You can tell he's one he doesn't want, like a big yacht that slowed him down. He likes to get out there and he likes to cruise. How do you know that? It turns me on. It's just I mean, I. I just feel it. I feel it when I look into his eyes, I don't know.

And I'd rather have a big yacht that's going around fifteen than some cigarette boat that Ari, I'd be driving on spring break at Hellenism Clinic.

And a dude speaking of booze and the boss, Bruce Springsteen got a DUI in fucking New Jersey, of all places. The initial report was that he took a shot of tequila or two with a few fans that before driving off on his motorcycle. The police report said he was wobbly and smelled of alcohol, but he only blew up point zero two, which is well below the legal limit. It didn't say anything without booze. And it sounds like he fans grabbed him, took some pictures, he did a couple shots and he ended up get Lugg.

So when he was below the legal limit, he was when they gave him the breathalyzer, he was pointed out to, which is basically two shots, two glasses of wine at dinner, exact same amount of alcohol. You know, it's like I mean, it's just I guess that's so surprising. He's one of the gods of New Jersey and they actually fucking rang him up. Yeah, but he's become so political now.

People despise him. So you could kind of see we lost our picture, but who knows what he's doing. Probably something bad. But I think that the craziest thing was, wasn't it from November oray.

Yeah. Yeah.

For some reason to just come out. I don't know. I don't know how that works. There's usually stuff supposed to be public record, so I don't know how that played out.

But either way, a bit of a surprise to see Bruce Springsteen actually get arrested.

Another note we're dropping out Battle of Ontario T-shirts this week, obviously how they designed it. Give us a little heads up. I haven't.

We're we're sticking with the concert tour theme. I think these are the Grateful Dead theme so that they have a Grateful Dead, Grateful Dead sense to them. There are some these concertino themed T-shirts are just a hit and we have more come in, we have Pennsylvania, we have a few more and obviously sent me over some recommendations if you have them.

Nice. We also have Breaking Busari. We just dropped this YouTube video and then we ventured into the hockey card. Community business is now breaking, which is where you're opening, opening these new packs of cards.

And we just put a video on our YouTube page. We'll go check it out there.

And listen, if you want to see one of the best chirps of all time, I think I think the guy, Charlie, called them the Chicago Chicken Hawks.

I mean, if you don't call the Blackhawks the Chicken Hawks the rest of the time after watching this video that I don't want to know you because just an all time chirp from Biz's new card buddy, Charlie. Yeah, definitely.

Check that stuff out. I actually wanted to grab him and bring it up for him, but bizarre to go catch his flight. A couple other things here with it.

What did you watch that movie? I told you to watch Judas and a Black Messiah. I know you're on vacation, not home.

No, I haven't seen it. Yeah. What's it about? What's it about? It's it's about a Black Panther, Fred Hampton, who I mean, it's just fucking part of history, not really spoil. And he was basically killed by the FBI, to be blunt. And that's the whole story. I mean, it tells you right in the first degree that fact. Yeah. No, that's that's that's fact. I mean, it's J. Edgar Hoover had had a campaign to take the Black Panthers down, essentially, but the movie was fantastic.

Man Daniel Kaluuya, the guy from Get out, get out there. This guy is fucking phenomenal. He's going to get nominated for an Oscar. Think he's going in his best supporting instead of best actor. But it's just a fantastic movie. It's a historical movie and, you know, five minutes and how it plays out. I mean, the title is essentially a spoiler when Judas in the title. But it's a great movie also like Keith Stanfield is in it.

He was also on guitar as well. The guy from Atlanta, Daniel Glover's show, just a great movie about a historical event that a lot of people didn't know happened or they might have been aware of. And they're not keen on the particulars. But, yeah, J. Edgar Hoover was a motherfucker. I mean, that's something that people have come to find out.

That movie that Leo Playdom was any good, I didn't care for it much. I know now I thought it I mean, he's a I feel like his life and. Yeah. What like what that guy did and how many different stories he's been involved with throughout history. Could have been an amazing movie. I haven't seen it either, but I worked with Leo playing it.

You learned a lot from it. I learned a lot. I mean, I didn't I didn't really know that much about the student that I did watch that. And I found myself like Google and stuff about him. And I did learn a lot about the dude. I agree with Ari. I didn't think it was the best made movie, though. Yeah.

I mean, he was an angry closet case. Like, I mean, who repressed homosexual just took out his fucking anger on everybody and just fucking made people's lives miserable.

I have a TV show recommendation. It's awesome. It's called Ted LASO.

It is walking phenomenal. And everyone at home, check it out. You still don't watch. He still haven't finished it, have you? No, no. I will though.

I will. Vacation. I'm literally I'm going to bed every night at 10:00 o'clock and that's. Yeah, there's just no time right now.

No time. Absolutely. The last thing I have here is, I repeat, Larry Flynt.

Sleep well, young prince. You made a difference in the world, though. I know I'm joking, but like this guy, you know, you could say what you want about him.

He was a fucking huge pioneer for the First Amendment man. I mean, if he didn't do what he did, who knows what kind of fucking reach the government would have as far as people's free speech. He fought all the way up to the Supreme Court because Jerry Falwell took a court for a parody cartoon he made. And fucking you know, I think I think there's a little bit of like Larry Flynt and Dave Portnoy, you know, I mean, as far as like, you know, a bit of a carnival barker, a great salesman, people, you know, a lightning rod for people, but also like, yeah, man, people should be able to say what they want in this country.

And, you know, there's a freedom of speech. And he fought for it. And he's definitely a fucking icon on that level. So. All right, Larry Flynt, for, you know, allowing Hustler leader Hustler was after Playboy, right?

Yeah. And Hustler.

And he was just like, I'm going I'm going to make it so dirty. Like, Playboy is not dirty enough for me. Like, that was kind of his thing. Yeah, it. Didn't Woody Harrelson play him in a movie. Yeah.

The People vs. Larry Flynt, I believe 96 it come out. Fantastic movie. It's Yeah. Milos Forman directed at the same guy I directed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It's a fantastic movie. It doesn't stray from the truth really at all. It kind of gives everything on a factual basis. And yeah, he had a crazy life. He got shot by a sniper when he would get taken to court every couple of months for obscenity charges. Just, you know, the 70s, you get some fucking moralistic, you know, evangelical like who was pissed off.

So they take him to court and he got shot outside a courthouse by a sniper. That's why he was paralyzed. And they didn't catch the guy till a couple of years later. And he shot Larry Flynt because Hustler had interracial photo spreads. So this guy was, you know, what are they going to sell?

That sounds like. But this guy, it was crazy what he also was like a serial. He killed like 13 other people, like that guy, the guy who shot Larry Flynt, and they didn't know until they caught him for the Flint shooting. Yeah, he ended up confessing like a bunch of shit. He was basically like a serial killer. Killed a lot of people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a crazy story. But, yeah, he started there were actually the Hustler strip joints you had.

They were before the magazine and then he started the magazine. Actually the magazine was our newsletter to give Piazza his strip joints and then it became what it turned into. Yes. Very graphic. Playboy know you see a nude woman there, Hustler.

It was like going, oh, God, I remember opening my gynecological book. Yeah. What is that?

The Full Monty, you might say, but yeah, whatever it doesn't if you don't like it, you don't have to buy it. But Larry Flynt, either way, a big, huge defender of the First Amendment and the people who work for and at Boston Sports.

We appreciate it. I don't think I've ever seen a hustler. I think that was before my time. Never really. Well, yeah.

Yeah. I mean, you guys millennials don't I mean, you've had the Internet, so you didn't you didn't know if I can box in the closet of.

Yeah. You don't like to have like my buddy had a he had a porno. It was Ozanian like an old VHS and it was in like out of the woods the the main Paul Korea season. So like nobody ever check but like that's how you had to hide your shit back in the day. Oh yeah.

The boys would fucking scoff VCR, VHS tapes all the time.

Any other the Calgary Flames get the big screen at the at the arena every night. Do the guys. The Red Deer rebels. Yeah.

Oh shit. All right boys. What else. Nothing. I don't think I wish we could have a camera on Bissonette skiing. Oh, my God. I hope he doesn't hurt himself. Skiing is dangerous is shit.

It's a lot of fun, but it's more fun to kind of have a drink, maybe enjoy like the the ski scene, because when you talk about actually flying down a hill bridge is not the person you want, like at the helm of keeping somebody safe on a on a on a snow course, snow course, sell a no course.

Of course. I'm going to of course, have a great day, guys.

Have a great week. Everyone, thanks so much for listening. A little catch a little throw back with us three and kick in. Oh, thank you guys. I appreciate that. 38 years young Jesus, what an old piece of shit. But I still I still love being a February birthday. I really do shout out to my brother Sean. It's his birthday today. Wow. I have to text him right now. Oh, no, it's tomorrow.

It's tomorrow. But still February birthdays where it's at also, I'm on the cusp.

People say, what's your sign? I'm on the cusp. I'm a Pisces and Aquarius. It depends on the day, February 19th that day. And I've always been told people on the cusp are special. So whether I'm special on a good, bad or indifferent way, I'm special nonetheless. Thank you guys for listening. Thank you guys for being my partners in crime.

And fuck off this. He. covid, Mr.. The feet of the. Make a supersonic man out of. Now, I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball of stuff now. You want to have a good time. Just finished. Stuff, good side stuff. Yes, sounds good time, a lot of stuff. It. I it out. As always, we like to thank our fantastic sponsors here on and chocolates big thanks to our friends over at New Amsterdam, Vodka and Pink Whitney, big thanks to our friends at Wub for taking care of our health and sleep big.

Thanks to everybody over at CBD and check them out if you need help sleeping huge. Thanks to everybody over at Tommy John for keeping us guys snug. Big thanks to everybody in Rome and for helping us guys out in the bed. And big thanks to everybody at No Day's Wasted for helping us by having a few pups. Have a fantastic week, everybody.