Hello, everybody. Episode 325 of Spit Check that's presented by Pink Whitney from our friends at New Amsterdam Vodka and the old barstool sports podcast, Family. What's going on, everybody? A little over halfway through the season, we got a fire in this week. We got a goalie controversy up north. But our attention is actually on the NCAA tournament right now. We are in the running for Bitcoin. I still really don't know what it is, but we're in the hashtag barstool bracket busters.

We won our first round game at Ookla UCLA the other night. Gee, let's go to you first. How are you doing, buddy?

First off, maybe you can explain a little bit more about this while I'm doing fantastic because we dropped some new hats in the barstool sports store today. You're wearing an R.A. I myself am wearing it right now, has it on as well. Sheraton and salads.

Two nights right now. I can't be throwing that light on because we are we are in the bar stool bracket bracket blockers tournament, though. We have UCLA. We picked them. I picked them for the playing game. It was either UCLA or Michigan State. They advance so we could win a Bitcoin. I'm super excited.

Is it winning a Bitcoin or are we splitting like how's this work?

Is it one bitcoin for every person, a barstool who wins or is it one for each like group? And then we're splitting.

I think it's between bitcoin.

So so twelve people may we're going to get like a grand each go Cojocaru Grant to you.

It might not be a grant to me. A grant is still a lot of money.

No, I mean even if we're splitting it like eight different ways, it's still a lot of money. I think it's like 60 grand right now. We tried to get into Bitcoin when we had all 60 grand. We had Caleb Presley on. He was trying to describe Bitcoin. We don't have the slightest clue as to what's going on with that.

So, yeah, not to not to ruin the interview, but I'm pretty sure every single dollar he has in Bitcoin is what he said. So he's either just a step ahead of the game or he's just going to be dirt poor.

We were talking about it. We can't even spell the thing properly. Smeller Jesus spell spell y.

What do you mean by Yohimbe? Yeah, I think online you're spelling it separately. I think it's one word like.

Oh yeah. Right, right, yes. Yeah. Oh it's a bitcoin.

Not a bit like of a coin like oh honey my grandmother's.

I mean listen if you're going to come at me like a grandma police and not much CFC's, I got a million as a check.

That's not my God. I mean, I didn't get the memo about being Megan. Is it spin check Lietzau a majority stuff. Yeah.

You probably got a million cash underneath your mattress in your front bedroom back in the old days, maybe.

But anyways, that's of course, a wet and busy. Looks like you're back on Homeland.

Yes, I'm back back in Massachusetts. Disneyworld, guys.

It was great. Rider had a hell of a time. First day we got up Monday. We got up. My alarm was set at six thirty. I slept in the living room because the baby has been sleeping and then the bed was too soft in the main room. So I'm sleeping in the living room couch. I had my alarm goes off at six thirty.

It's pitch black because there is not one bit of sunshine sunshine outside Isaac. Oh my God. I'm doing this to go to Disney World. It's like not getting up to play a sick track.

It's all getting up for a big hot for yourself, for the kids, for Disney.

So we got over there really there's already like fifteen thousand people in there when the park opened. Seven forty five eight whenever that was.

We go right to the one ride we went to first day we went to Magic Kingdom and then the other day we went, we went to Animal Kingdom. First day went from like seven thirty to two and the Wednesday we went from about seven thirty to like four. Rider was Bockl at the end of these days, just absolutely exhausted. I'm waking this kid up after two and a half hour shutdown in the afternoon.

I do not go down to the Lazy River. I love the Lazy River. So it is an awesome trip.

It really was.

I played golf, played nice one. A bunch of money. Thank you. And I would more than anything like to say I am very happy to be home because you miss your friends. You miss you. I had you back in my life, you know, I had so much mail. Oh so many bills to pay. They all stacked up quick when you're go seven weeks. Who would have guessed that maybe it's time to turn auto pay on.

But I'm rambling. I'm excited to see you guys excited to talk and hopefully we can get an eighth of a bitcoin. I'm watching the game right now. So if reactions. Abigail Christian, if we can't beat Abigail friggin Christian, we have no business having a twelfth of bitcoin.

Avigail that's great. What's No what you buddy.

You didn't have time to stop in South Beach given all the festivities that are going on down there right now. What do you mean? Oh, my aura. You had to have seen the stuff going on down there. I think they the shut down South Beach during South Korea because it's been such a big break.

Why spring break? It's just going oh, I haven't seen I call it self-propelled break. That's all. I call it the weather. I Kholoud, that's what it should be called now after what's been going on down south for. OK, I mean, we all know that, like in Florida, covid didn't even exist, but baozi like it turned into 11 straight. Well, everyone's been locked inside for a year.

What do you think is happening right now? His life's coming back a little bit. People are losing when it is like bars are completely open.

Again, like Massachusetts, you still can't do anything. But when the whole country is pretty much open again, it is going to be a party unlike anyone on Earth has ever seen.

Maybe one was prohibition. Oh, shit. What was that?

When did that and the 30s are you weren't alive during prohibition. The Roaring 20s, Davy. Yeah. Was it. Yeah, I forget. So we can't talk to any eighteen guys and gals that really enjoyed themselves with each other post when booze was allowed again.

Now speaking of speaking of big news, though, I'm hearing at least on Twitter. So it has to be true that Britney Spears is going to be interviewed by Oprah soon. Now, I will be clearing my schedule. If it's a podcast, we're going to bump it back because probably would you consider the best interviewer of our generation, our. I don't know, man.

She never asked you never asked how somebody gained weight the way Larry King Jr. Khaleed that we forget.

That's true. He got right to the point. He did get ready to gain weight. Oprah is an animal though. She is like every time you're almost you're almost more interested in what she's going to ask.

Yeah, at least when I was watching the Prince and the Meghan Markle clown show in recent interview, she had Oprah's at Oprah's top notch.

I haven't watched that. Did you end up watching that that whole ordeal? I saw I didn't see all of it. Oh, you're asking. All right, let's play the role of Ari because I saw Ari, you tweeted something about it, so I figured that you'd watched it.

Oh, yeah. Like, everyone was so shocked, like Megami said, that they treated her in a racist manner. It's like. Yeah, you mean the monarchy that's been that's enslaved millions of people over the last two thousand years and invaded one hundred and fifty planets? Really, those people have that in it.

You shitting me countries. I'm sorry. I've talked to many of them.

So it's a pretty south break and aliens going another planet. Yeah, they're all over the fucking mouth. You guys are nuts. But then the dumb prince, Willy and his wife tweet out like Happy St. Patrick's Day to our friends in Ireland. It's like, fuck you, fuck. You can fuck with anyone more than you fuck with the Irish. You got to rub it in and wish him happy. St. Patty's Day.

I was off to get the green guy. We're cool now, right? Yeah. It's like go fuck yourself. You too. But as far as Oprah, yeah, she may be the best job interview of her generation. Obviously, 60 Minutes has quite a lineup, quite a crew. I know she's a little bit more of a celebrity type, but she's damn good at what she does. And yeah, the ratings for that interview on the prince and princess that were absolutely through the roof.

I mean, there's such an appeal to that in this country, for whatever reason. I think it's just the whole prince princess thing just still appeals to people on a lot of ways. But her in Britney do. That would be a huge Getman because no one's really sat down and talked or, you know, you see how she got treated in interviews 20 years ago. And I think we'd see a different can of worms this time. Free Britney, free Britney Spears.

How was it the result she needed? Would you be if you were going to sit down with Oprah for an interview?

Because, you know, there's kind of a hard hitting question coming. Like, I would be I would be very, very freaked out, like Ryan.

Ryan, can I get to point? But you want to smoke.

Why can't you hit a pot in the sandbaggers?

And then somehow they have music pumping in from, like, the garden that I'm doing the interview in. Dun dun dun.

There was another wild story out there that some guy I want to say it was in Connecticut, went to a yard sale, ends up getting this like old White Bull. And it was a 14th century or from the fourteenth hundreds, at least hundred since I was like, what do you mean?

Is that how you say it?

The fourth of fourteenth hundred fourteen hundreds and hundreds shut up anyway from the fourteen hundreds. And I think he bought it at the the yard sale for thirty five dollars and went and bought it, brought it to an appraiser and ended up selling on an appraisal for I think seven hundred and twenty five thousand dollars. Oh yeah. Yeah. That's a story in thirty five.

But like a kitchen bowl like it was, it was like there was only seven ever made and somehow it ended up at this yard sale in Connecticut and ended up selling. There's, there's a big article on it. And you ever watch those shows where they appraise things and sometimes they land flat and it's like, oh I don't know, like my you know, my mother's mother bought these earrings and here they are. And then it's like, oh, these are actually, you know, some princes or princesses and blah, blah, blah.

And then all of a sudden it's just like this crazy valuation. They sold it at auction. It went for just over seven hundred thousand dollars.

And this over Storage Wars story yesterday. I love that show.

Air rage, rage. You wonder how much of the shit is just out there randomly in basements, attics and, you know, fucking those storage facilities or whatever. I don't know. I throw all my shit out so I don't have.

Did you see that scumbag Ravell? What he tweeted to the person down? Raval Like somebody tweeted that all my dad passed away and we found his old cards in the basement and the girl takes a picture like all the old cars her now deceased father had Ravell to the guy. All those are junk.

They're not worth anything such he's such a dork, literally one of the biggest losers.

And I have one of the biggest losers I've never met. Let's put it that way.

I would love to be them just for the intrigue of having an actual conversation. So I'm afraid I'm going to read you this headline here. It says, It was actually the 15th century, which might mean the 14th.

Yeah, the 15th century is the fourteen hundred poesy year behind go year behind the century to the fourteenth hundred's 15th century bull bought for thirty five dollars at yard sale results for seven hundred and twenty two thousand dollars.

The small White Bull, adorned with cobalt blue paintings of flowers and other designs, is one of only seven such bulls known to exist in the world. It was in Hartford, Connecticut. I just found that. Imagine going to buy some for thirty five bucks and that's what you be sold and sold it. Yeah, I would be pissed. I would be like the guy who sold the lingerie, Victoria's Secret. And next thing you know, it was a billion dollar company.

I think you committing suicide. And I learned that in the movie The Social Network is packed.

That ball I we should mention, I guess last episode, we were a little late on that. We're going to get to them a little bit later. But we have Colorado Avalanche forward. Nazem Kadri had a great chat with him. And we also have Florida Panthers legends. Number one, overall pick Ed Jovanovski, the old Jovel up quite the character was great. Chat with him, but will get. That stuff later. First off, now that the nice weather is back, you're going to have to find your shot.

And what better way to do that than with pink lit from January 1st through March? Twenty six right around the corner and Hollywood given Checkbook's fans a chance to win a custom pink Gwatney shot machine. All you have to do is post a picture of you in your pink Whitney. And if you're in the United States, use the hashtags hashtag pink Whitney, hashtag take shot, hashtag sweepstakes. If you're in Canada, use the hashtag Pink Whitney hashtag. Take your shot in hashtag contest.

We'll be picking winners from the US and Canada every other week. So make sure you get creative submissions and of course, enjoy responsibly.

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Obviously, there's a little bit of a longer process. So tons of new product innovation. Of course, the people who are the hard core submitting stuff are going to be able to win. I've been getting tons of Texasville getting these shot machines. We're going to ask Gallow in New Amsterdam if they can make more so we can give them away to bars and other people. But as of right now, there are only four contest winners. So keep submitting your awesome posts posts and and we'll keep clicking away here.

There you I mentioned Canada is the north division. That's where the action is for some reason.

Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal, the top four right now. You got Vancouver just two points back, Calgary just four points back. But Toronto is always the big news right now. They got a little bit of a stumble, lost six out of seven, but then Jack Campbell and shut the flames out Saturday. I think we got a goalie controversy is what they call it. Freddy Anderson's been stumbling quite a bit. He's been feeling the heat, his goals against his last five starts, three five, three, four, four, not going to win a lot of NHL hockey games with that thirteen, eight and two on the air with an eight nine seven save percentage to nine one goes against is the loose make of goaltender move a lot?

Listen, we're not doing this Leafs nation. We're not doing this halfway through, OK? It's not always going to be smooth sailing and those guys are going to stay.

And for those of you oh, you work for the coyotes. You don't believe blue? I don't believe blue. When I was a kid, I'll never forget. My parents got me that leather Toronto Maple Leafs hat. I got it in my stocking stuffer. I went to the pen center in St. Catherine's to get Doug Gilmore killer's autograph. I waited in line for hours. I bled blue as a kid. That's where I come from, folks.

Well, in Ontario Club, like you, when you were nine years old watching the Leafs, it was your literal dream to maybe play for them one hundred percent, either them Buffalo or Montreal, because I got family there, too.

But whatever. Regardless, anyone to give you a paycheck, actually. But listen, when I saw Gilmore get stuck by Gretzky and Frazier didn't call it, it hurt me just as much as hurt. It hurt you people listening that bleed blue. Also leave Dubus alone. He's going to figure things out. There's no goalie controversy. The reason they got Jack Campbell was just in case there was a little bit of a hiccup halfway through the year. And I don't think Anderson's one hundred percent fully healthy right now.

And yes, is he not where he needs to be. But you can't where we would agree you can't be Peacon halfway through the year. You want to peak right before playoff time, correct? Yeah.

Islanders fans are worrying about that. That's what I'm being told. They're worried. And when you look at Toronto business, actually go ahead, finish your thoughts, because I do want to address some things you're saying.

Well, listen, they got the goal support. They got secondary scoring right now. We got Spezza and Thornton, but chugging from the fountain of youth who are playing unbelievable, I believe, spazzes in the top five right now in the entire league as far as points per 60 Minutes. OK, they got the back end. They addressed the defensive issues. Brody, what is it, TJ Brody or JT Brody? Either one. Flip them around. They got Muzzin, who's been playing great.

Riley's been playing like a stud this year. He's putting up a lot of points per game. He's basically the quarterback back there. Why are you giggling right now, Grenouille? There's anything in the world screw you up more than JT and T.J., I don't think you'll ever get someone's name if it doesn't matter how it's coming out. Everybody was buzzing. Don't let don't get in front of a runaway train.

Keep going because but like I said, I think I think right now, the one thing that they are missing is another piece. I know they got back in the lineup who might have had a rough first game, but he did have an apple when they want to do nothing against Calgarian and Jack Campbell had his back to back shut out. He is going to hold the fort for now, I would believe, on Thursday, Jack Campbell gets to start.

So for those of you saying there is a growing controversy, I think that that he's going to probably take over for a little bit here till Anderson finds his game back. But if you go back to last year and playoffs, Anderson was not the issue. If you go back two years, Anderson wasn't the issue three years ago. A little bit of a different story he had. I think he had a little bit of a meltdown, especially was it in game seven against the Bruins.

It was used against the Bruins. In the last two years. He has not been the problem. They they're going to be fine. I truly believe that they're going to make a big splash. Kyle Dubas said that any any prospects basically on the table right now to make this move, give it getting out of the north, is going to be as easy of a playoff situation as they're going to find moving forward. I actually think that they might make a move for Taylor Hall.

I think yes, I think I think that they might get Taylor Hall. I don't I can't see them adding another defenseman. I don't think there's only who's already.

What's that? I think only if he is already who. I think if they got a defense, then it would be a righty, which we know those don't even exist in the NHL anymore.

There's no right hander defenseman. And and if you look down the list right now, you've got I've been here and at Comb's name a lot now. He's not an unrestricted free agent. He's got one more year at a nice year.

They want a ton back for him. Well, I like what Muzzin got back. Well, look what they got from us and same type thing. Fair. But if you're going to make a big significant move and you're going to give up a lot, you might as well get a guy who you at least have for another year who's who's a competent guy in the back end, wouldn't even know which way back home shoots. The only other names that can pop up better, better competent defenseman that I think would be worth trading for is I think is Edler or did he end up resigning?

And in Vancouver, I believe he's up Duggie Hamilton's up, but I don't think that Carolina's moving him. I mentioned Gousse and John Wilson who are with the coyotes. I don't know. I think Darren Wilson's got that championship pedigree. He's a good shot shut down defenseman. Do I think it's what Toronto needs? No, I think that I think, like, once again, going back to it, I think Taylor Hall might be their answer.

OK, lot to unpack there. I mean, I'm not going to say there's a goalie controversy, but in a sense, they're just going to play whoever's better off. Campbell, Campbell is playing well. If he goes on a run, dude, he'll be their goalie. I don't think it's like nowadays, man, like whoever's hot going in the playoffs, Matt Murray and Florida, it's like I'm not at all comparing the situation for those types of goaltenders, but it's more like the Leafs don't care who who gets the job done at this point.

They just need they just need goaltending. And Anderson has been bad. I really buried my team. We we all know I'm a Leafs guy with this, but I said they were the classic Canada.

I know they've they've gotten shit pumped like six of the next seven games. Same way I don't beat the Blackhawks. They stink now after I said they were decent. So I've just completely missed my my Toronto, my blue nation, but.

I don't know about Halsy, I mean, I think they'll definitely make a move, you say Dubus is all in no doubt, but you've got to think about, like, what they actually need.

Like where would Halsy play in the lineup? It's it's a team that I think is still the best team in Canada. But the way Edmonton's looked, it's not at all. It's not at all. Edmonton has switched their entire season around since they got embarrassed by Toronto. And Drysdale had that quote, like, yeah, we love not getting the point in three straight games. And since then it's completely switched. But I don't even remember what I was saying.

Something else about Toronto, my brain all over the place, still still on the teacups, probably for me ranting on about the leaves and bleeding blue and kind of ground where the goaltending controversy, I wouldn't say it's a controversy yet.

I think that Jack Campbell for sure gets the net back on Thursday. And and if he keeps running away with it until Anderson's able to get the net back and find his game, that, yeah, it ain't going to flip back over. And that's what it was it was totally agreeing with you about the. This year, they got two rounds. Still, they're going to have to play like Tampa, Boston.

You know what I'm saying? Like, they they're going right back to the old division with those two teams next year. So it's like right now this is their time. So in terms of like going all in.

Yes, they are. That's exactly that's exactly what I'm saying, is this is going to be their easiest way to get to at least pass the first round hasn't happened in, what, 15 or 16 years. So a big splash is about to happen. And I believe in.

Come on, leave some. And now. And that's why they brought in Campbell, because we knew he was a competent backup, but now is he ready to take it, take it on as a starter? I don't know.

And and also, you can't mention the leash without mentioning Leith Jr. out West and Van, who are just grabbing guys off waivers from the Leaf's, Vick and Boyd. Yeah, actually, I just want to mention, because you did mention, Anderson, here, he has been suffering a little bit with a lower body injury, has been lingering. He didn't practice Monday. He's not expected Tuesday. So which we do got to throw in that.

We don't know how hard as he might be playing hurt and that that's probably affecting his play as well. I just don't think that's the body.

That's all of us getting caught up in leaf drama where it's like such a small sample size and we're ready to, you know, oh, my God, it controversy. If it isn't one thing, it's another in Leaf Nation. But we're we're hook, line and sinker on this podcast.

And we did mention that Vancouver picked out Jimmy Veazey and Travis Boy to Toronto with both of those guys in Vancouver.

They've got a nice little boulder themselves here, eight, two and one to crawl right back into the race.

Like I said, they're two points behind Montreal, although Montreal is a few games in hand that should Demko absolutely on fire last ten games. He's only given up more than two goals. Once they have lost Pettersen, he's gone to the long term injured reserve with an upper body injury. He won't be back till the end of the month.

But what have you seen out of Vancouver that you like? The fact that they've done this without without Peterson is nuts because he was really starting to get going as the whole team was, but you got to bring up Rick Thatcher, Demko, Boston College, and the way he's played has been outstanding. So they're right back into the race.

And then the guy that really like Bo Horvath is such a leader, like the way he plays the game, you know, it's like the the old school style hockey where he's so willing to do anything it takes to win. But he's also so good offensively. And, like, I think he can get a little bit streaky. I don't see them play enough, but I know, like, lately he's been awesome. And then business J.T., T.J. Miller.

That was going to that game in Montreal, he trucked Gallagher on a Peter Forsberg reverse head like crushed him.

He then scored one of the best OTTI game winners we've had this year with an unreal toe drag. It was actually Suzuki who's like totally watching the park. And I know it's so different now.

Guys don't get lit up, coming across the middle kind of with their head down a little bit. But he reaches for the puck and he gets made look foolish and they there, they own Montreal, I think. Are they three and three against the Habs this year? If it's not that, it's close, too close to that where they've just done such a good job getting into the race. And you really got to wonder, like they lost Mark Ström and the season got off to such a weird start and then boom, like any other team, you gets some goaltending and you go, so I like watching them play.

I hate their fans, but I love watching the team play.

Yeah. Know T.J. Miller's been buzzing and as far as as far as offense is concerned, I mean it's they don't have a ton of guys at the top of the lineup. But, you know, Blockbuster's had a great season. They also lost Tanner Pearson recently. He's he's out right now. I don't know how long he's going to be out. I don't see them as a playoff team. But the fact that they're working their bag off and playing as hard as they have for Travis Green, try to claw back and do it.

I just think they've played I think they've played a lot of games. They have a lot of game. They've played more games. And I believe Calgary about four or five. So it's it's going to be tough to get it done. And I don't imagine DeMarcus is able to sustain this. What has he got, a nine 50 save percentage in March right now?

Yeah, that's that's unsustainable, I think, for anybody. But he's doing it at the right time, by the way.

Yeah, exactly. And then and then I believe Elias Pederson's set to come back at the end of March, you said. Yes, yeah.

He's eligible, not eligible to return until March 31st.

Yeah. That's a massive loss. So let's hope they can keep keep climbing. All that's been a fun, entertaining team to watch as of late in Toronto.

They are split in first place right now, Edmonton Oilers, they've been on a tear as well lately. They've won three in a row. Seven of the last ten. I mean, only on what more can you say about them? The two of them remain on fire. McDavid got twenty one goals. He's tied with Austin for the league lead, leads the league in points as well. Sixty points thirty one. Twenty one goals. Thirty nine assists.

But Mike Smith, the network is unbelievable. Eleven and three dialing back the clock here. Two, three, four goals against nine to to save percentage do shutouts Don hellbenders ten ten goals is a defenseman. Barry's got thirty points. I mean they're just getting contributions from all over. I know the depth. They'll be an issue best but Winnipeg on fire. I'm sorry. Edmonton on fire. Edmonton.

Yeah. What a perfect fit for Barry. They just needed an offensive defense to be able to get those guys the puck and make plays at the level that they do. I think he's the perfect complement. As far as Darnel nurse went, I don't know how many Oilers games you've watched, but I would say right now he's easily in the top five, if not top three for Norris candidates.

He leads the league and five on five points by defenseman. He will beat the shit out of anyone or at least go any one.

He's tough as nails skates like the wind.

He is an awesome player, a guy that they've really needed to kind of take that next step. And he has. And I got a shout outright sidelined.

And Connor McDavid, again, because they are the first two teammates to get to fifty points first and second quickest in the league, the first two teammates to do it two years in a row since Bobby Law and Phil Esposito in the mid seventies. So two years in a row to have two guys be the first to fifty points in the entire league.

It's just shows that this is next level Hall of Fame super super talent that needs to win a Stanley Cup. Right. These guys, I, I truly believe both of them. Well, I don't I don't know if it's this year.

Maybe it is good if they get hot.

My buddy said to me he's not even the biggest hockey fan other days, like man just from gambling and watching them like they can score with anyone. I said, yeah, with those two guys, you can just get so hot any night. Darnell Nurse is great. Now you talk about Tyson Barry.

From what I read, it's like now Oilers fans are so Oilers fans wanted a puck move or they needed a Pakhomov or he's probably their best puck mover since Pronger in terms of like I had one season.

I know where this is going. I don't know where is it? Oh, maybe, maybe tell me if this is where I'm. You think I'm going.

Holy shit. Because you messed me up there. I'm a mush brain.

My point is they always wanted this puck move or they needed this park movement. Well, now they got them and now it's being talked about him resigning and what he's going to get.

And they're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Exactly. Yeah.

So I've also been the fans who will say trade because he's valuable right now. And I think you got the guy to run the power play with these two.

He's lighting it up. And yes, like everyone, the haters like all those points on the power play. It's a Whitney point. Pass it to Crosby, who passes the Malkin goal.

But I don't know, man. Like, he's getting the job done, getting the job done. And I don't see how you don't want to resign. I mean, obviously, if the numbers are completely ridiculous, you don't.

But you got to pay for and Goussis and I hate to shit on Edmonton because, I mean, we do it a little bit as far as the free agent is concerned, how many free agents who are competent are willing to go to Edmonton and play and snap it around with those guys? I mean, now that the fact that they have Dry and McDavid. Yeah, probably a little bit more interest, especially guys wanting to have a comeback season. But in my opinion, if it ain't broke, don't fix it is not the same.

Yeah, I got it right. Oh, they all tire pump where you want to compliment me after you ditched on me.

They're just great. Thank you. Thank you.

But hey, I'm happy for the Oilers and I've seen Smitty go on to run like this. And there was even a highlight the other night when, you know, win in Calgary when things necessarily weren't going that great. You know, he likes playing the puck and he would turn it over and end up in the back of his net. Well, I threw a pizza the other night, set up his own highlight, ends up making a big save.

And when things are going well for him, things are going well. So look out for the Edmonton Oilers right now. And I think I think there was a stat to Connor McDavid, Tiwa, Serguei Federov, the quickest to sixty points and the fewest amount of games since like 93 or something like that. So he is just on this incredible pace. And if there's one guy who was going to break one hundred point mark in a shortened season in 56 games, it was going to be that kid.

Yeah, it's been a treat to watch.

It's great to be able to watch him to Monday night. We're recording on Monday.

But Monday night, Winnipeg jet Paul Stastny is scheduled to play in his nine hundred and seventy seventh game, which would match his Hockey Hall of Fame. Father Peter. They'd be the third father and son duo behind Gordie and Michael and Bobby and Brett. How games played in point. So hats off to Paul. Obviously one thousand down the road a little bit, but that's a cool little thing. But this was from Elliott Friedman with the other night after the Jets lost.

I guess Blake will it took the pocket, throw it in the stands after the game and they came a game misconduct far. Have you ever heard of that? A guy checking a pocket like that and getting panel penalties? Oh, it was hilarious.

I'd never heard of it. But quickly on stats. And he just wanted to say congrats to him. I mean, he goes back to Winnipeg this summer and it's like he's been sick there this season. And that's a guy who, even when he came into the league, wasn't the fastest player. But it's like hockey IQ. It's having a father who was a legendary player himself and an entire family. Right. Uncles and his brother was really good, but he's an awesome guy.

Actually reached out and was looking for. Keith, no. So I assume it was just to send him a congrats four thousand games, which is no surprise, but congrats to Stastny because that's an amazing accomplishment. The two families are behind.

It's like good for them and no doubt about it. And Winnipeg's A team that I don't get I don't get to see him play much, but they're definitely overachieving this year. They have some guys on the back end who have really stepped up their game. I played with that Derrick Forbert and they really seem to be loving him. He's a very steady defense man, a good top four. I would imagine that they probably look to resign him and they're just getting contributions from what I think are probably one of the more underrated forward groups in the league.

No, as far as Wheeler shapes.

So he he actually I don't think he has a point in three straight tonight would be four straight. So he's gone somewhat cold, but what a season he's had. And Wheeler. Yeah, he's getting older and still flies.

Yeah. Connor and Ale is to me and I think people sleep on Winnipeg now. Yeah they do. But halibut. Halibut though he's had a rough stretch these last ten games, his numbers aren't great. So I think that there's not something to worry there. But it is interesting to see like that guy's top goal in the league, at least one of them. And for him to, you know, completely be off his game for a 10 game stretch is a little surprising.

I don't think we mentioned Kyle Connor either. He's a fun player to watch. He's able to generate quite. Why are you guys laughing? Because you mentioned them.

Yeah, that's all right. Well, he briefly he said it briefly. That's all I said his name.

I we're all thinking and doing things on the fly him.

Yeah. And the number I saw was he's allowed three plus goals in eight consecutive starts. So that's a little. Shocking for him, uncharacteristic is the word, oh, you're always welcome. Yeah, great word. Oh, zing.

I know it's been a tough year for Auto when we actually had a little bit of a feel good story coming out of there. And it's kind of turning the other way. Joey decoyed. He became, like I said, a good feel good story. He ended up getting to the Senate. Murray got hurt. You get hurt in warm ups, joy decoyed comes in and gets his first NHL when he's a seventh round pick. He gave a great real ten to like, you know, what's the word, authentic?

Yeah, yeah. I felt that the ego a great heartfelt postgame interview that kind of went viral a little bit. I played at Arizona State, but unfortunately, he suffered a lower body injury last Wednesday versus Vancouver and he's likely to miss the remainder of the season. It's just a tough break now. Like I said, the kid's a seventh round. He gets a tie because a guy gets hurt. Warm ups. Looks like he might take the net over for Ottawa.

And then and then this happened. So wishing the best for Joey.

I know. I heard I saw the injury happened. I was like, oh, no, I don't think he tore his ACL or something, but it ended up being a high ankle sprain, you said, right, Grenelle?

Yeah, they said high ankle sprain, probably done for the year.

And boy, sometimes those things can linger. I had a bit of one one time and it lasted about a month. I've heard of guys doing it bad, but I think Cal Clutterbuck did a bad one year and he missed some significant time. And even when you come come back and try to play through it, they they say high ankle sprains are sometimes worse than a break.

The worst. That's what started everything for me. All playing handball fall in the fall. It be you one day a week.

You get up at six a.m.. No, two days a week before the season started. You get up at six a.m. one morning, you just play handball.

Forty five minutes, you're running around the field and the other one would be a lift. And I jumped up. This is after I got drafted. That summer was all pumped for software. I jumped up in the air because I was being an athlete, going up for the handball, and I landed on the the the the third string goalie.

No offense. Gee, I landed on his ankle and I rolled and that was it.

And I was this thing was so banged up, dude, I came back, I'm like, oh it feels good.

Ten minutes into like the first skate tweek boom done like I have to get off the ice and then basically you're told, yeah, dude, as you come back from this, like you're just going to have to deal with the tweaks like that until you have a legit offseason, this will bother you.

So that sucks because I'm just like I'm like twitching right now.

Thinking back to the original ankle sprain, how things would be different.

Coolants wouldn't have three more.

I'd have like five.

In a six volume in the third string now of the third, you don't know what she was doing, but I landed on them, so maybe it was me, but I had my way from the fifth overall pick when he's up in the air after the draft going into sophomore year.

Oh, I love that. I love even. I stopped playing soccer ball because I heard about a couple of bad injuries, which I never played.

But yeah, guys were getting like knocked out before an actual guest playing soccer balls at soccer game that you always see them playing. You know, if you're watching Hockey Night in Canada, they're showing the guys in the hallway warming up before games. I, I play with a guy, Curtis McClain, in Wheeling, and he battled all the way up. He played Division two college, ended up going playing in the coast. I think he was at a point per game.

I'd even made the All-Star team. I made two. Not a big deal. He got called up to the NHL, lit it up there, made the islanders. And when he was playing with the islanders, Canada snapped his Achilles playing. So that happened to him. Next thing you know, he's you know, he ended up recovering and playing in Europe a little bit. But it was it was you know, I felt so bad for the guy that the fact that he grinded his way all the way up to the top and then to sustain an injury like that, that that probably set him back big time.

So aside from that, our one team I think we had to cover was Calgary for sure, because I don't know how much we've talked to about them since Sutter's taking over. Yeah, I think they got a pretty good defensive bump when he come in, he obviously clean things up. He had them skate in their asses off the first day. They're four and two in the last six, but they're also the six team in which basically a 16 race right now.

I think we can probably count Ottowa out. They do got a couple of games in hand on Vancouver, but they just seem to need to get some consistent play. I mean, you take a look at the two goaltenders, their numbers aren't spectacular.

The maximum maximum had a nice little stretch earlier. He was hot as hell, but he's cooled off lately. I mean, I want to ask you big like what is Calgary you have to do to guarantee they get in the playoffs? Yeah.

OK, so this is not coming off as critical, by the way, because I'll get to my point. I believe Monahan's got two points since he was taken over and Johnny Goodrow might have won. Johnny, Goodrow and Monohan, they've had five different coaches in their eight years with the Calgary Flames, which I personally I have never had a coaching change other than when Dan Bylsma went up to Pittsburgh. But Todd Reardon took over. Same exact philosophies. Nothing really changed.

There wasn't, you know, anything drastic that happened. I don't know how many times in your career that you dealt with a changing of a head coach, especially now for them twice in the middle of the season. Back-To-Back seasons like this is like it's a it's a whole different philosophy and type of system and mindset. And that's got to be hard on these young guys, especially the top guys who have to produce offense while staying in the structured system.

I think it's totally different, too, though, because when you get a new coach in, if he is on the more hard ass side, guys, assholes or and right up, you know what I'm saying?

It's different because when you get a guy coming in and I'm not saying when word came in, it's like, oh, this guy isn't like we don't have to play hard for him. There's not a lot expected, but it's just different when the when the reputation comes in along with Darel, it's like I just think that guys are going to be more on their toes just because of what, you know, he's, like, done in the past are willing to do.

I think that the team it's almost like they're not they're not too far behind now to get in. But men like these teams are playing consistently so much better than they have. And yeah, six games, four and two is great. The good thing is they have two in a row against Ottawa, like, all right, where you're at with this many games left.

I know it's the season's buzzing by you've got to beat Ottawa, both games right there in six right now or they fifth or sixth.

So there's sex with. Yeah I mean you don't have it. You don't have a lot of time here.

So that's why the coaching change can be can be difficult. But I think when it's a guy who makes you a little bit more nervous, it's even tougher.

And speaking of coaching changes, I got a question for you because I got a text from Frank Bonomo and he was telling me that when when they fired Tarion that that morning, apparently he called you into his office and just laid into you. And then Frank Bonomo came up to you, said, hey, don't worry about that. They're actually getting rid of him later this afternoon. Did you remember that?

I don't know. I was that that that whole scenario and like that moment in time in my life and like what all happened is the craziest thing when I look back and I'll briefly tell you, I'll make a long story long. So we're in Long Island.

I've been I've been playing not not very good, right? You know, I'm struggling, my ankles messed up. I don't feel good.

And and yeah. And so, like, I'm like, oh, my God. Like, this guy hates me. I'm feeling the heat from the fans. I think that was the year that my buddies were at the game. And in the intermissions you could go in like paint their own like face masks. And they all like we're like. Get Whitney out of town and like a whole section was just all over. It's just tough. So he gets gassed and I'm like, oh my God, this is amazing.

Bylsma comes up.

We had it might have been an afternoon game we had, but Bylsma comes up and he's so different, he's positive.

He brings me and he's like, I'm going to get you going. I'm going to get you going. Like you're a better player than you've been playing. I know you got a ton in there, just the exact opposite of, like, Terry. And just he'd had enough of me blowing smoke in there. And he probably had an idea maybe he was going to get fired. I don't think so. But he was just probably like, fuck this Whitney kid.

Like, I'm not going to be nice to him at all if he keeps playing, like there's going to be meaner and meaner and meaner. So Bosnia is the opposite. So he comes in. I'm like, yes, we go to we actually lost.

And I played pretty well, I think. I mean, definitely like I wasn't amazing, but I felt better. I felt better about myself, my game or my mom at the time was dealing with like a brain tumor.

Right. So she she was she was going on the knife. They were removing it. And I was going home. I was going home to see her. Right, right after. And so I went back and I was there three, four days.

And while I'm there, I'm sitting in the hospital, her hospital room, I think a day or two after her surgery, maybe the next day and racial calls me traded.

I was like, oh, my God, because it wasn't just like my mom and like my life beyond hockey, which is so much more important, like sitting there with your mother.

It was just like. Wait, when I was with no, Bylsma is now gone, Taryn's gone like it was just the most shocking. So when I look back, it's just you remind me that it's it's the craziest thing because it was like such a high, such a low. My mom. She did. She's doing great now then. Such a low. I'm getting traded to Anaheim, of all places. I don't know anyone. It was just and by the way, the end of the story, Anaheim's in Boston, where I am that night to play the Bruins randomly.

I hadn't skated in four days. They they made me play. I was like, I can't play and Randy cause, like, you have to play. So I go in like jeans and a T-shirt because I didn't have anything because I was at home. Don't know a guy on the docks.

We lose eight Cobh. Oh, I'm even though I was in Iceland and I fly to Dallas and I'm on the docks and pro hockey.

Dude, done.

See, that's that's so it's it was a nuts week or whatever it was.

Randy was like, you want to know, get out there.

Oh my God. I find you for having jeans and a t on to. Hey, speaking of that and I no longer need him, I'm wearing like true religions and we're going to get to it later.

But that night, nothing performance from from New York on Philly. Two guys on the fliers, Dash six. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.

Even so, going back to Calgary, I think if they can get more consistency from those top guys and they're able to get comfortable with Darryl, I think they're going to be all right. I think they have a possibility to to sneak in the playoffs. But as you mentioned, they got to take advantage of these games in hands and they got to this next 10 game stretch is going to be very, very important. And it starts with going to an organized Ottawa.

I also that afternoon of the game, because I was told I wasn't playing, so I was playing video games at my place with my buddies.

Foley was over, so I ordered a large steak and cheese and a small cheese pizza and dumbed it and didn't sleep and then was called and said, you have to play to the Bruins were a wagon to God.

That reminds me of when I was I was playing bad. The Major and the junior B team needed someone and I crushed KFC. I think I was watching like what was this garage crazy show with Corky? It was a life goes on. Goes on. Yeah, yeah. I was watching Life Goes On with Corky and Muck and KFC. And next thing you know I'm playing playing in a junior B game. I think I made it out alive even there to with that avoid certain KFC.

Right. My guy. Right. Moving right along.

We got to head on over to the West Division right now and to the ABC's been on an absolute tear. They've won six in a row. And honestly, this is probably a good time to bring in Nazem Kadri right about now. I think we should have him on.

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I'd like to welcome my next guests to the show. He's currently in his second season with the Colorado Avalanche, where he had a monts the playoffs and the bubble with nine goals and nine assists in 15 games. Before that, he had a somewhat eventful 10 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs after they took his seventh overall in the 09 draft.

Thanks a bunch for joining us on the Spin and Sickouts podcast, Nazim Kadry.

How's it going, my man? Good, how are you guys doing? Doing good. I see you're in a hotel room as well as we are. Where are you right now? Oh, we're in San Jose at the moment.

You just got done beating the wheels off my fucking coyotes. What's your problem, bro? What's your problem there?

It was just nice to see some fans in the building went on for a while and said, oh, you guys had quite a few fans are actually you guys your fans are loud and proud and travel all over the place.

We did actually. It was it was nice to not see cardboard cutouts and some real people. So it was cool.

I bet I mean, you guys have been pretty busy. I mean, you guys traveled to Lake Tahoe for the outdoor game, probably haven't played as many games as some teams, given the fact I think some of you guys went through covid protocol. But overall, how has this season been going for you guys?

Pretty well, I mean, it's been a little scattered. You know, it's it's a unique year, that's for sure. But, you know, health has kind of been an issue. It's been nice to get all the boys in the lineup for a few games in a row here. But, you know, we're handling it well and everyone's got to go through the same thing. So I just got to deal with it.

We've heard a lot of you guys and, you know, players from Vegas kind of talk about what it was like going through that. But the delay in Tahoe, I'm talking about what how bad was that ice? Had you ever seen anything like that in the first period? I mean, the clip of the ref and other players falling was a circus, and it was terrible.

I was there. I can't even believe we played a period on that.

Also, now that I think about it in warm ups and even the beginning, the period was everyone like, I don't know about this.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. As soon as you stepped on the sheet, you could just you could just feel yourself sink right into an onside kick in their skate blades thinking it's their skates or the sharpening or something. But set it being the ice, it was literally collapsing from underneath us because of the sun. So I mean, the logo and the neutral zone was like the size of that entire zone. You couldn't skate through it. So it was pretty it was pretty nuts.

I was I mean, just from watching you guys play, you guys got a pretty big, heavy lineup, like even your skill guys like they like to get in the mix and throw the weight around. I mean, I even noticed that Bo Byram, I wasn't expecting him to be as physical as he is. He plays with an edge as well. I love it. I mean, he stands up for himself, and that's something I respect. So, you know, for a young guy, he's, you know, physically, I think he's he's he's built pretty good and, you know, got a fitness strong and he can hold his own.

So that's what he's been doing.

Were you surprised when he came up? I mean, we all got a chance to witness in that world juniors, but how good he is with the pork, how slick he is and how easy the game seems to come at that young or did you kind of expect that skating with him last year after the bubble?

Yeah, I've seen him a few times before, the world juniors. But now it's like any other young guys. It's a maturation process. You know, you gain that experience, you gain the confidence. But he's got all the tools. You know, he's been put in some tricky situations in the lineup because of injuries. And I felt like he's dealt with them pretty well. So, you know, silky smooth skater and he's got good hockey IQ.

So I'm looking forward to seeing what he could do.

That's like every guy in your fucking D squad, including Kelmer car, just posterization breaking ankles like an NBA or a joke. This Kelmer car, he's like a treat to watch. And I was actually talking to one of the scouts up in the press box. I didn't know that he'd got invited to the Olympics when obviously when the NHL was I think he stayed at UMass.

Yeah. And then he and then he ended up he ended up, I think, turning it down probably just maybe didn't want to be like overexposed. And he probably didn't know what to experience.

But like, this guy is a generational defenseman and all of a sudden he just comes in and he's like one of the best players, one of the best defense in the league. Like, what kind of impact is that to the lineup? I mean, you said it right there, you know, he's an important piece for us and. And the way that guy skates in, like his explosive power in his first couple strides is like nothing I've ever seen before.

And, you know, the guy's got Quad's like I've never seen always.

He wants Monster.

He's he's built pretty pretty powerfully. So, you know, he can even hold his own. His skating is just it's insane how he'll take one or two strides and, you know, just be flying up the ice and gaining so much space. So it's got a great shot to his. He's a smart player. And what I love most about him is, is, you know, he's he's not soft. He's not soft to lay the body. He'll you know, he'll crosschecking play gritty.

And, you know, that's something I love the most about.

I'm wondering, like we saw him just I think it was Ryan Hartman. He just embarrassed them. Is he doing that in practice? Like ppy like when those head fakes? Is he made anyone look foolish out there when you guys are just twirling around before games? Oh, yeah.

Oh yeah. He's giving me a couple of pointers because all that's happened to me a couple of times going out to be man and then walking around. Yeah. Faking the shot. So he's trying to give me some tips on how to approach that situation, but I'm not sure I'm not sure there's any really recipe for that. You know, for guys, just two quick. He's too quick and you're going to get beat. And then he's got an absolute bomb of a risk there, too.

So, you know, he's got the tools now.

So I want to go back to Tahoe for a second. I'm curious about how that whole process plays out, where this is a situation. It's a workplace hazard, essentially, like to the players mentioned to the refs. And it's also a hazard for the refs. Like, how did that all come about? You guys have an eight hour break between periods, like what goes on in that whole thing?

I mean, for us, like we're we're committed. You know, at that point, we just, you know, we wanted to just play and kind of get it over with. But, you know, we understood that it was a bit of a hazard. You know, you don't want someone catching in a rut, you know, messing up their knees or their ankles or something like that. So, I mean, it got pretty serious and not for the first period.

We were kind of just sitting there waiting and for the final word and the sun just kept getting hotter. I guess the ice was literally just disintegrating.

So I don't think I don't think it was possible for us to continue to play. And, you know, it was it was terrible having to undress. Yeah. Come back, come back for two periods, start on the power. I think we started with like a fifteen second five on three or something. So we're out there starting the game on a five. On three. It was, it was, it was different.

Did you guys go back. Was there like another pre game nap. Was it one of those or what did everyone do in that time and during the delay. I had two full blown I have to go back to go back to the hotel and just pretend like you're coming to another hockey game.

I've never seen a hockey game, two warm ups in the same game.

So how we came out for warm is, you know, chuck the biscuit around a little bit and I just got ready to go really suck for the health bombs that they get.

They get bagged again. Well, we like, you know, usually with guys, we go back to the beginning and just a super prospect.

I mean, a really high pick. But even before that, how did you get into the game? Was it your father? Like, what really kind of help you grow your love of hockey? Oh, yeah, my old man, for sure, he you know, he loved the Habs, he watched the Saturday night games every single weekend. You know, we were big Team Canada guys. So I actually my family doesn't really have any hockey background.

No one's no one's played besides me. So, you know, you just you just love the game and, you know, put me in and out at an early age. And I just love the camaraderie and, you know, the the team value and just fell in love with the sport.

So I keep playing with him, with him, not with your father not playing or nobody else in your family. Like, was he still kind of trying to give you pointers or was he open and saying, I don't know much about the game, but as long as you love it, keep going, you know what I mean?

But, yeah, that's that's the thing, man. My my my daddy, he's never played, but he he knows a lot about the game. He's watched a lot of hockey and he's essentially been my coach from from day one. Everything I've learned for the most part has come from his mouth.

So, you know, he's really good at analyzing the game and breaking it down, even though he's never played. He just didn't have the opportunity. Not that he wasn't capable. He just didn't have the opportunity. And, you know, he's taught me everything I know. So that's all him.

You're the fourth NHL are of Lebanese descent, correct? Fourth ever? I think so, yeah. Yeah.

So you grew up in London, Ontario, was watching the Knights.

One of the things that got you even more involved and more excited about hockey, you know, played my mind or hockey hockey down there on the triple play program and then went to Kitchener and played two years in Junior and then went to the Knights and played my final year with my hometown team. So that was pretty special.

One when you were younger, I mean, coming into OHSU draft, you were you kind of hoping like you could go to London or you're not even that big of a fan of that team necessarily, even though you'd grown up there?

Oh, no. I mean, I was no, I was I kind of wanted to start I wanted to stay close to home.

I knew that. And, you know, there was a few teams that were trying to scoop me up a little earlier than a little earlier on the first round for my overall draft.

And I just gave them the I'm going to college.

No, I will not be going there. I've I've played that card. I think, you know, I think the Plymouth will is try to scoop Myanmar.

Boy, what a brutal place the place was like. I think I'm like, I'm going to go to the NCW. And sure enough, I mean, Pete, Gábor was a coach at the time. Steve Spot had a great conversation with them and I was set on going to Kitchener. So I just tried to hold off as long as possible.

And sure enough, the Rangers grabbed me and that's it.

Now, just that had you skating at three years old, you were playing house league at four. I mean, you must have just been a natural to be that good at that young of age.

Oh, yeah. I guess I just when I when I was younger, I just love, love the game. I love being on outdoor rinks. No, you'd have to fight me to come inside. My mother would always say and I was playing competitive hockey and when I was six but I was playing with the seven year olds and like Drew Doughty and Logan Recher that that class. So, you know, I was playing up and up in age group and I feel like that kind of help, you know, morphing into the player I am.

Even though I was so young, I and I got an early taste of it was I was just saying I was a particular reason.

You ended up getting traded from Kitchener to London. Was it just a matter of fact, if I got that point, you to establish yourself and you're like, hey, I want to go back home and play? Or it just so happened that a spot opened up right where there was a move possible?

Oh, well, I always wanted to play in London, my hometown, New York City. So we hosted the Melbourne Cup, the Rangers in my second year. And we made a big trade for Steve Mason at the time, solidify our goaltending spot. And the trade happened the year the Cup midway through the season. And I was actually involved in that trade, but I was the future consideration. So they had told me and all people in the office and he was he was there that year.

Spotter was leaving. All our veteran guys were leaving. So our team was, you know, wasn't going to be good the next year. So we had a conversation and it was basically like, you're going to play out the rest of the season here, play the Melbourne Cup. And then in the summertime, you're going to go over to Hornsey and play for the night.

That's a I honestly think to this day they changed that rule because of that trade. Yeah, that sounds illegal as shit in the queue, though. Now there's no future considerations left.

So I knew I was traded in that involved in that trade when the trade happened, which is midseason. But I was able to finish out the rest of the year, play the Melbourne Cup, the playoffs cup, and then go to one in the summer and secure the back of.

I was I was hopping in there in the queue, I still even think it flies, they would move like every superstar over to one team. And the next year that team who gave up their superstars would then get all the superstars.

It became a bit of a fucking Gong Show in the Q, but I'm surprised London was able to finagle that to never get away with it. I think. Yeah, I'm sure I'm shocked actually.

Oh, quickly. I got a question about that. That Memorial Cup though. And for people, maybe Americans who don't know if you host the Memorial Cup, you automatically in. So what happens is like even if you lose first round NHL playoffs, you got to wait around for them. Cup. How did you guys do that year in the playoffs? Were you able to at least kind of get to the finals or.

Yeah, yeah. We we won. Oh, you won it. All right. Nice. I didn't know that we won at all. We had a stacked team and I was sick. Yeah, we won the championship that year and advance the feeling pretty good, you know. Probably should have won that one.

Who took it on Spokane. Oh catchiness took it. I think we shot them like sixty to twenty five in the final game. Who's our goalie.

Just I think it was Tokarski. Yeah. He just stood on his head. We threw everything at him and hey, it is what it is.

And then you end up going over to London. I mean you get drafted by Toronto and I feel like if you're playing in London, it's like the Mecca of hockey is better than the NHL. You're going downhill, going to the age of seriously fans and everything.

It's true. Yeah. And I mean, you get used to essentially performing and being the star of the town like that, like, what was that like and did it essentially prepare you from get drafted to Toronto and playing there?

Absolutely, man. Absolutely. You know, London's one of the best junior hockey cities, I think in and the entire on the entire planet, you know, we got sellouts every night.

Die hard fans. The whole city loves the team, big time support and you kind of get a lot of the spotlight. So it's it's like a big market junior team. So it definitely prepared me in a sense. And, you know, just being under the Hunter Hunter brothers with Dale and Mark and I feel like they they prepared me as well. So, you know, it's it's kind of nice. I worked out that way. Looking at your draft.

I mean, the top you were the seventh pick the guys who went before you, just seven studs right there. And I'm wondering, like going in, did you have an idea about Toronto? You know, Brian Burke's there. What went on your draft day? And leading up to that, how did the combine go for you? Oh, yeah, I mean, it was it was it was a cool experience combined with a good fall, like I did pretty well at that time, I was like 160 is pretty skinny.

Could barely even, you know, how they got the what's the beep thing they do with the beep test is like the bench press. Oh.

Tonight I think you got the volume or the metronome. Yeah. And it gets it gets going quick to God. You even know what a metronome was till you got there.

I can barely lift that thing off the rack and it was a struggle. But I was it was cool. It was cool. I had the meetings with all the games. I felt like I was going to go somewhere in that range. I felt like L.A. was really interested at 5:00 and I figured it was going to be, you know, them or Toronto. And then, you know, Burki made that play on the floor and told Murray was taking me or whatever.

And, you know, that was it. Now, I want to go back to Dale Hunter for a minute. He's a guy, you know, he's had a taste of the NHL life. Apparently, he likes to be a teacher. Like, what did he teach you as far as being a pro? What did he do for your game that got you to the level you're at now?

I feel like, you know, when you're in junior hockey treats you more like a pro than a kid. I think that's what prepares you for the next level. He kind of lets you do your thing and hold you accountable at the same time and marks the same way. So they just treat you like men and, you know, they expect a lot from you. And, you know, I feel like that that grooms you well for the next level.

Do you like the I don't want to say old school because he is kind of a player's coach and essentially he communicates well. But do you like when when coaches are a little bit more stern with the group and a little bit more more old school, I guess.

I don't mind that I mean, I have a type of personality that I can handle that I mean, I don't I don't know if it's necessarily for for all guys and also for me personally, I don't I don't mind. I feel like, you know, I'm pretty hard on myself to begin with. So, you know, it's it's it doesn't matter for me. Now, I know your first couple of camps in Toronto, they were a huge story the first year you get sent back to London, you did get the one game emergency call up next year.

You started the show. Looking back, do you think you were already back then and they made a mistake not having to show up or did they make the right move?

Looking back, I feel like I personally could have could have played, I think my first preseason. I led the team in scoring and had a lights. So pre-season lights out camp. I mean, the team at that time wasn't it wasn't great. So, I mean, I could see what they were thinking and sending me back down to Junior and trying to let me develop. It was kind of that transition phase where that was still part of the mentality, whereas opposed to now you want your young guys playing as quick as possible.

So it's a bit of that that transition period. And they wanted me to gain some more experience playing with men. And that's that's how it ended up going.

I just remember I mean, you know, I didn't I knew who you were coming into the league, you know, big name, big prospect. But I remember Don Cherry just yelling every coach's corner, bring up Kadry, get khodary.

Appears like you had to at least love that that was going on, even if you were probably frustrated. I mean, that third year pro, you're still playing to light it up. It's like, come on, guys, let's go. Right?

Yeah. I mean, that's exactly what happened. The lockout training camp, they finally. Well, I mean, I appreciated that. Obviously, they graps put a little bit of pressure on the organization to get me out there running up coquetry.

And I was loving every second of it. So, you know, I was I felt like I was prepared.

I mean, when I came up, I struggled a little bit. But now there's all different factors that came into that.

But, you know, I was I was ready to go and it was just a matter of time, I think was I mean, you're not making world juniors.

You talked earlier about how you were a big Team Canada fans. And that's really what sucked you into becoming such a big hockey fan. I mean, playing world juniors on. Are you guys end up falling short, winning the silver that year? Was that at that point that have been the pinnacle of your hockey career and probably one of the biggest moments of your life? Oh, man, that I was sick, it was it was great being on home ice in Canada, it was in Saskatoon and it was like minus fifty five.

That was I was a little too much. But besides that, you know, it was it was an unbelievable atmosphere, that gold medal game. Now I still remember it like it was yesterday, the chills and obviously playing the US, it doesn't really get much bigger and better than that. So and it was an unbelievable game to to do it. So definitely something I cherish for the rest of my life.

Is that one of the moments where you you knew you kind of became a household name and maybe when you go in Toronto or wherever you were and people would definitely recognize you more for sure.

I mean, that's that's what the tournament does. It brings attention. Everyone wants to have a big tournament, kind of get their name out there. And and, you know, that's that that could be a breakthrough moment on, you know, eventually getting to the NHL. So it's a big tournament in terms of, you know, attention, media attention and just kind of put yourself on the map. Now, as I mentioned, that one game you got called up for an emergency call, did that not burn off a year of contract like it does nowadays?

I was because I looked at Cap Friendly after it didn't look like it did.

No, I don't think it did. I'm not sure if the rules are different or what was what was happening there. But that was probably one of the coolest, coolest parts of my entire career. Also, I was playing in Junior and then I was called up on emergency call a basis, hopped in a car and sent me a car, rolled to the FCC, dropped them off for my first NHL game. And then after it was done, I went back and played junior hockey.

Just thought I was the man.

So there was I was sick. That might have been the other scene that put you on the map.

It was cool how it all and all worked out. But just to get a little taste and you know who we're playing against at the time, it was you know, I think I started the game and on the other side there was like four or five Hall of Famers, you know, lining up on the other side of me. So it was and I had to pinch myself for sure.

All that kind of just makes me think of another question. Who was your idol growing up? I mean, was there a guy you really looked up to?

Oh, yeah. I was always a big Paul Korea fan. I had his jersey in my room.

And, you know, I just love the way he played because I was a bit of a smaller player growing up, too. And, you know, he was just felt like he was a great leader. And, you know, he was just a warrior, too. Just the guy was an animal and the ultimate pro. And, you know, he was small, but he was tough and gritty. So I respected that.

Do you like geek geek out on him in a sense, like you like would listen, if I noticed his routines. And also there was a feature on TSM that came out. He ended up talking finally after forever, like, did you did you consume all that? Yeah.

Yeah, I watched it all. I mean, I, I followed his career pretty thoroughly growing up and, you know, just always had respect for the guy. I mean, even after obviously that that, you know, everyone knows about that notorious city from Scott Stevens in the playoffs comes back and buries like remember the breath to remember he took that you're like, oh, my God, you like you can't you can't make that shit up.

You know, that's that's your in my eyes. And, you know, I loved it.

So I just got off a little track there. We were talking Toronto. But, you know, you played for Ron Wilson. I experience playing for him in the Olympics. I was just the clown on the team, so he didn't even deal with me. But then you had Randy. Karl, I don't know Ron that well, but Randy, he despised me. I mean, guys couldn't stand him. It was just like, oh, my God, Randy, here we go again.

What was your relationship like with him? I think it was fine. Yeah, and like I said, I mean, to be honest, I just kind of minding my own business. And I was a young guy, just, you know, worked every day. And I know it doesn't really bother me if someone's hard on me or or, you know, gives me a kick in the ass every once in a while.

So for the most part, I mean, he's the kind of guy that, you know, really gave me the top six opportunity and really solidified myself.

So that's something I could appreciate. But he was definitely, you know, hard on some guys. But, you know, I guess that's just it is what it is.

And I'm like, Getsy would give it back to me a little bit like, was there any like Deon giving it to him was heister because it was a toaster, giving it back to him 24/7.

And of course, of course, you got to I mean, he didn't mind.

I think he was a little bit like Hitchcock where a guy said, give it back. And I think he liked it if you were good enough.

Yeah, exactly. And like, Babs is kind of the same way. And all those, like traditional coaches, you know, they like a little little piss and vinegar, you know. So I think I think the pushback is good. And I mean, to a certain extent. Right. You got to you still have some respect. But, you know, you're going to you're going to end up butting heads every once in a while.

And I think it's just important to stand up for yourself.

And you have three hot ass coach coaches in Toronto. You went from Wilson to Carlisle to Babcock.

Which guy worked best for you? And oh, yeah, I mean, you kind of play the same role with all of them. Sorry to interrupt. I feel like you're always top six.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I. I think I was I mean, to be honest with you, I think I think Babs is good. Babs is good for me. He taught me a lot about the game, is a good coach. I think he made me a better player, that's for sure. And just get me dialed in with the details and stuff like that. I mean, did I question his methods sometimes and how we approach certain things?

Yeah, but, you know, like like we were talking about you just, you know, you got to give a little push back. We don't if you don't agree, I agree with something. You you know, you stand up and say it. And I think that's one thing that was really appreciated. You know, is is someone standing up for themselves. Yeah.

Call me a big fan of him to my comment or I'm curious, like, so you get to Toronto, you're a big prospekt, big name. And the team, you know, you made the playoffs the one year early and then it's a struggle three straight years without. And I'm sure you probably felt pressure from media, from fans in terms of like I'm one of the top guys. I'm now catching heat. Was it tough then? And were you able to kind of deal with, like, all of a sudden I'm going from the prospect to the guy that's like, well, what the fuck?

We're not in the playoffs. And Kadry is at fault because of this. And that is. Did you feel that?

Yeah, of course. I mean, it's hard not to like you guys know what comes with that, especially in a big market, you know, being a top six forward, I think, you know, and they can be a little bit hard on you for sure. But at the end of the day, I think, you know, you just got to handle it and deal with it the best you can and just just come ready to play.

I mean, at the end of the day, that's that's what they want. They want to see you work and to see you try to give effort. And, you know, usually with skill players, if you're competitive enough and you work good, things are going to happen.

And that after the third straight year, no playoffs, that next regular season, you hop, you know, hop on 32 goals. Right? I mean, like, did anything change that off season? Did your game change? Did you just feel stronger and just better overall? What happened there?

Because there's two straight years, the thirty two and just, you know, a good opportunity. I think, you know, like I said with young players, once you start to figure out what the leagues like and get some experience, you start to understand what you're capable of and what you can do on a consistent basis. So for me, it was just, you know, we had we had a six hour play at the time, you know, some good players around us.

Everything kind of just worked out. And, you know, you just find ways to score.

That's those first couple teams draw with Toronto. I noticed look at the rosters. There weren't a lot of like what you called grizzled vets on those teams. Was that like an issue in the locker room? We had maybe too many young guys where there wasn't someone to kind of take hold of that locker room. Oh, I mean, I don't know if that was the issue, but, you know, we had some guys, just a lot of guys, it was like a bit of a revolving door the first couple of years.

You know, it just guys coming in and out and, you know, just constant new faces. So I think that, you know, takes a bit of an impact on the team. And when, you know, when you can't play with the same line mates, you don't see the same guys consistently. I think that that might wear on it, too.

What about the I'm not going to say pick on guys, but when the front office is talking to the media as much as they are, does that make your job more difficult? Like, it's like I already know what your job is. Your local kid play for the Maple Leafs GM, where you coach kind of like Drebin to the media. Does that make your job tougher?

Oh, yeah. I mean, I suppose yeah. Because it brings more attention to the things you're doing or not doing.

But, you know, at the end of the day, you know, when you're playing in a market like Toronto, you just got to understand that, you know, it's just some crazy stuff is going to happen. And, you know, the amount of times I've been posted on front pages of the Toronto Sun is like the shittiest headlines. You know, it's something that you can't let bother you and you just got to keep moving forward. And, you know, it's it's definitely got to have a mental toughness for sure.

Like not to dig too deep on it, but like the Babcock stuff, like now that it's all coming out and it's a little bit more to the surface while you're playing there, like, did you notice anything that Rick really crossed the line? I know you said you questioned some of his methods, like anything that you thought was like really over the top to where he's he's continuing to deserve this barrage that he's getting.

I mean, I don't know that that one's a bit of a delicate one because, you know, for me, you know, I think I actually had a decent relationship with that because, you know, I didn't know. I didn't really let them, you know, push me around or you just got to stand up for yourself and have your own voice. But, you know, he's a detail oriented coach like Bab's as he prepares and his detail in the game is like, you know, the best I've ever seen.

And in terms of preparing for a game plan, you know, the way he approaches some some situations is or set some certain things maybe that that crosses the line. But, you know, I understand from a coaching perspective how you want to get the most out of your players. You want to push some buttons, but you got to know who that works for and who doesn't. And, you know, that's that's it at the end of the day.

So basically, like I mean, you as a leader at that point there, you never saw it to where it was affecting a guy where you felt like you needed to step in or it never even got to that point.

No, I don't think it got to that point. I mean, he was you know, that he loved is like one on one meetings, too. And a lot of times you wouldn't necessarily say it in front of the whole team. So if something was going on, you maybe with another player, you maybe wouldn't know about it as much as you would have if it was in front of the whole team. So, you know, he kind of kept that between, you know, certain individuals.

But yeah. And he he definitely tries to push pushing for sure.

The one on one meetings. You ever have any fucking matches with him? You just go in there and say fall back and forth all the time. And, you know, but that that was the thing.

That was the thing. We had a relationship that, you know, we actually hash it out like and, you know, you might get into one of those battles.

But at the end of the day, you know, you flush it and, you know, you want to be better for your team. So like I said, you just got to know you just got to stand up for yourself.

So you never took a shit on his desk? Yeah. No, I didn't go. That's not going to cop to that.

Well, I mean, with all the success you had in Toronto as a player and you grew into not just a top six like offensive player, you're a pain in the ass to play against. There was, you know, two moments that was tough. April 12th, I think is probably a tough day for you. You're suspended in twenty eighteen in the first round against the Bruins and the next year, again, which ended up being that, you know, the end of your Maple Leafs career, when you look back on that suspension with the Brosque, the crosschecked, like, do you really regret it?

Do you look at it just happened so quick. It's just kind of how you play on the edge. Like, what are your thoughts on kind of the end of your career as a maple leaf, even though it was probably tough to deal with at the time?

Yeah, I mean, a little bittersweet. You know, I think I think that's just the type of guy I am and I always will be and stand up for my teammates.

And you know that I. He hit Marlo, right? Yeah. Yeah.

I pasted Marlo into the Dosher there. I didn't like it, you know, and I try to go over there and cross-check them in the face, you know, definitely not just kind of came up a little high. And, you know, I served my time. I took accountability.

Obviously, I you know, I wasn't a huge fan, I wanted to play in the playoffs and at that time I was always playing to play nice, you know, I was playing nice.

So it was you know, it was a bit of a shitty thing for me to go through, but. You know, you can't think I was going to do that again for a third time. Yes. Well, did you think was it feasible?

Did you have a feeling of of that you were going to get traded like when you heard the news? How did that all go down?

Yeah, I was. I mean, it was I kind of had an idea that maybe something might be in the works. I think it was, you know, maybe a 50 or 60 percent chance I might be returning. But, you know, for me, I'm always trying to be optimistic and positive. And, you know, my thoughts are I'm coming back and we'll be ready to play.

You know, I'm going to, you know, prove these people wrong or whatever little chip on your shoulder. But, yeah, I heard there was some talks. And the deal, obviously, that Calegari situation, I, I nixed hoping to stay in Toronto. But, you know, clearly they were they were shopping me.

So not just luck. Luckily I you know, I ended up in a great place like Denver playing with some great players. Knowledge. No, I'm thinking taking my career to the next level.

Yeah. I mean, considering you went to Colorado, probably easier to get over. But like this part of you feel like kind of like, you know, fuck you. You didn't think I was one of the pieces to answer your problems. Like, do you have? You know, I think that's probably a normal emotion to have given what you gave to the organization throughout your time there. Oh, yeah, no, no, no, no, I mean, I I'm a competitive guy and I'm always I'm always looking to prove people wrong and just, you know, come back even stronger.

So mean for me, you know, I was a little bit better at the time. But, you know, now that I've just settled in and, you know, are able to just take a step back and look at the situation I've been put in and the opportunity that I have living in a great city, playing with some great players on a great team. You know, I can't be upset now.

So I want to ask you about that. Now, you had a modified no trade clause. So at some point you must have been clued in that they were looking to trade you. How did that play out? Do they reach out to you a month before? Is it a list you give prior to how does that situation play itself out?

Yeah, so, I mean, you you obviously negotiate that had a limited no trade and you submit on 12 teams or whatever it is on 10 July 1st.

OK, yeah. Buffalo, Columbus, Gama'a is the goods.

I was I mean, you banged all out, right.

No offense to those. We love those franchises. Of course, that's all Kadry saying that folks, not us.

I mean, like I said, I was just hoping to stay in Toronto and I really wanted to be there because I knew I was just going to get better. And and, you know, I wanted to provide more for the team. But, you know, they they they all decided to go in a different direction. And I'm OK with that.

And I think they probably were looking like, let's get them, let's get them out west. We don't really want to deal with this conflict.

If this was going to bend us over and shove it right out of the sky, it's going to come back and crosscheck four of our players. Yeah. Thanks a lot, Toronto. You now I'm going to watch this guy get one or two against my notes for crying out loud. Hey, but walk you through this in all seriousness. In all seriousness. I mean, you go from Toronto where 45 reporters a day in the room and now it's Colorado.

It's pretty chill. I mean, they're huge. Fan base is incredible. It's just not the same. That must be nice. And now, granted, it's totally different. You don't have media in the room. Everything's done by a zoom, but the pressure doesn't probably feel the same, which can really help players. Oh, would you agree?

I would agree, definitely. You know, I didn't mind the pressure so much, really, but, you know, it is nice not having to do a, you know, 30 person scrum every single game. You know, sometimes in Colorado, I just get undressed and I wouldn't talk to anybody. And it's just like something I wasn't used to. And I was like, oh, this is great. You know, I don't got to sit here and ask the same questions over and over again so that that part was a little bit relieving for sure.

And just, you know, you're able just to do your own thing in the privacy aspect, too, in Denver, like nobody's bugging, you know, you know, so you can kind of kind of do what you want and go about your own business, which which is great.

And any media members in Toronto that you'll forever despise or you kind of pleading the fifth on that one?

I'm pleading the fifth. Oh, OK. We'll help you. We'll have a beer sometime. I'll get there. I'll get the real answer. I'll see.

I'll see. Steve Simmons. I thought I'll give you something. All right. Fair enough.

You said you're going to continue to get better. Like, what is it at this point that you can keep improving on in order to keep sustaining what you're doing? Like, is it more skilled work? Is it more video work? Is it a sense of like you're just you just been around so long enough or, you know, you have to be in these position? Yeah, I mean, exactly, just gain that experience and, you know, I know what my job, my responsibility is every single night.

Obviously, you know, you want to provide as much as you can offensively with with without being a liability defensively. So just trying to play a complete game. I think, you know, I've been working on my face off to just trying to, you know, snap some some drawers back to have more possession and spend more time with the box. So, like, you just constantly evolve.

And, you know, I think the older you get, maybe maybe you get a little stronger and, you know, you can you can do what you do.

You said face offs. Have you been going against McKinnon? Because I think coming into the season, he came on here and said it's a number one thing he needs to improve on his face offs.

Oh, yeah. I've been I've been on about that for sure. So he's he's the type of guy that didn't really I mean, didn't really worry about George too much. I mean, the guy's got so many other things going on.

But, you know, he you know, he understands that now if you want to face off or two, you're going to have the puck a little more that that could potentially mean more offense.

So, you know, when I told them that, as I just said, you don't get down for a second, I give it to a chance for once now.

Now he's been down the you know, I've I've been really impressed to watch watching you evolve in that category.

So Landis scored, whereas the C there see the guy in the room that's that's loudest pregame or is there somebody else who's kind of the the voice of the room getting guys going is that, you know who's coming out?

The man back. The voice. Laughing Yeah, I am. And I'm always joking around keeping it you and I don't. Yeah. I mean, it's all got all the players are different. A couple leading up to game time. But, you know, for me, I like to keep things light. Obviously, you understand what you've got to go out there and do, but know I'm joking around till the last possible second.

So I like to keep it loose.

And we have a fun dressing room. Guys get along and, you know, it's pretty entertaining.

And they said, yeah, pretty much like a swag God. Like, you just you got a lot of swag.

I guess you have the trip where the trip to the Rockies College, you got a sick new mask you're wearing to the game, a designer mask over the snout in the mouth.

I mean, I'm not I'm not overly flashy, but I mean, I. I think you've got to have your confidence. You know, you got to you've got to believe in what you can do. And, you know, that's where, you know, a lot of a lot of players very you know, they can be such a great player when they have confidence. But, you know, that same player, if they lose their confidence, they they end up not being as good as good of a player.

So I think you just got to believe in yourself. And, you know, if I can bring that positivity in that confidence, the team that can helps us.

I just want to ask you about Mark. Like, what's it like going to the rink every day? You're playing with one of the top players on the on the planet just like that, that competitive drive and that like it's a little bit fucking crazy.

Crazy and it isn't intense. Do dude man, he's intense, but he he's a competitor. He's one of the most competitive guys I've ever seen. And man, this guy this guy works to like me. He backs up everything he does.

And, you know, he's out there ripping POCs from the start, you know, first one on, last man off, that type of thing. And, you know, he holds himself accountable. So he's definitely an intense guy. But, you know, I'd have it no other way.

Now, you've got a great story. Your grandfather emigrated from Lebanon to Canada. You know, obviously, just like Biz mentioned, there's only been four and he tells of Lebanese descent. So when your games are on, are they a big deal back back on Lebanon like it's a whole as long as you watch it?

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, people people watch.

I got a lot of relatives back back there, too. And yeah, I mean, I don't think there's been a player that's between those Lebanese player that's been playing as long as I have and like Ben is established.

So people pay attention now and they're starting to play hockey a little bit over there, building a couple of breaks, you know, so that's that's good to see. Just the game of hockey growing, right, buddy?

Well, we we appreciate you coming on and let McKinnon know he still can't hit a wedge. We owned him in the first game. I don't know if you ever saw that, but, man, it's it's been a treat to watch you for Colorado team that could definitely win the Stanley Cup. So we wish you all the luck the rest of the year. Thank you for joining us. Appreciate that, guys.

And tell them I you I could beat them best of five and a face off. Let's content please don't by him because has a torn ACL I took for my NHL career. I won three of them so and one of them I think was against Jeff Carter to stay on the cops. Not a big deal was hung over my back. Please. Thank you. Tell him it's a challenge.

I'll let them know. All right. Thanks. Thanks, buddy. Thanks a lot. Yeah. Accent A.M. Kadry for join us, enjoyed the chat, hopefully we'll get them back again. I do want to mention, if you are a business owner who's hiring, you probably face a lot of challenges when it comes to finding the right person for your role. Lack of qualified candidates, tons of resumes to go through with a post a job. Well, that's why hiring can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

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We do want to mention all we did talk to Nazeem. It was right after the Lake Tahoe games a few weeks back. So I'll just give you that perspective they hadn't been on.

Well, Peter Chilcote's, Bump Colorado.

What do you they one in a row now. They've been and they were doing it all with kill car or without excuse me. And then he just came in the lineup last game, I believe, and Chiaretti got them back to back. Holy shit.

They actually just made a move to they acquired Direness Johannsson from Buffalo. He's a goaltender for a six round pick in this year's draft. You know, basically, they've been playing his ass off. He started basically the first Colorado goalie since they had Varlamov back eight years ago to start twenty of the team's first twenty five games. He's got five shutouts. Paval, for instance, who was the backup? He's got a lower body injury, so they had to go through the depth chart.

So basically they picked up this guy, Jonas Johansson, from Buffalo to shore things up. I think they're going to keep rolling either way.

He sprinted to the airport. They're like, no, I got my own flight and I get the Uber superspeed, please.

Wednesday night, buddy Revo, he got his first of the year and he got the second spot. And he said one of the best quotes I've heard all year, he said after the game, quote, Any time you do anything against the sharks, it's fun. It's no secret. I hate every one of them over there. Any time I could do anything like that, it's a good time, end quote. Like that rivalry is something special that he has with.

He was on Men in Blazers, too, which is a show. I think it's NBC Sports, maybe, but as I saw I saw today.

So the outcome was good. In the same game two, Markstein and Thomas Hertel fought and then Mocho and Kotula probably for unlikely fight patterns, if you were going to draw names at the beginning of the night, you know, Revo saying basically, I don't want those guys doing that. You know, like, that's that's my job.

So also, too, there was a controversial call Saturday night, third period, San Jose Luis Tigan and Patrick Mollo. The guys played more games than anyone in the league right now. He got a penalty for a face off violation. I mean, you never, ever see this penalty called, I should say, very seldom, let alone a guy who's around the league. That much. You think you might have got a warning? I know they had already waived the other guy out.

I guess he didn't touch a stick to the ice. I mean, what is that chintzy as all hell?

A lot. Yeah, more than anything, it's who they called it on. Yeah.

It's like, oh, my God, this is like fake rule that I've never I've never actually seen. It called watching game.

I've only seen a tweet or a replay to call it on Marleau. That was the most bizarre.

I think both teams would be like, dude, we define a four lane stay in your lane.

But Patrick Marleau, you give him a face off penalty.

Yeah, I was the umpire who actually ruined that guy's perfect game.

He switched over leagues, or at least that guy felt bad, though I think that guy was so depressed about ruining that guy's perfect game.

Was that against the Detroit Tigers? The Tigers was the Tigers pitcher and he was out. He had the guy out by four feet.

Yeah. And then and then Jim Leyland had the player go give the lineup card the next day. Do you remember that pot in the guy was like crying or something?

Yeah. Yeah, I felt horrible. Felt horrible. Well, that's like I know you guys weren't even alive. The eighty five World Series that was the Kansas City won it, but St. Louis should have won it in six. But the umpire made an awful call. No can rally and wins game six wins game seven.

They had seven.

They say they should have won it like wait bottom of the ninth. They were leading it. Yeah.

They will even go into the bottom of the ninth. Todd Warrell, who was one of the best close's in the game, was on the mound. They had. Yeah, I think I don't those one out when he made the call them out of no outs, but basically St. Louis had a lead with one of the league's best closes. And Don Denkinger, he just totally muffed it. And what he did first base a play at first a play to first base.

If he was out by a step or two, I mean, when he's on base, he's looking to tie it up, boom.

And I end up rallying a couple of couple hits when the game forced a Game seven in which they had the ace going. But this this umpired that he actually got to either a picture or a painting of the of this mistake in his office just to always remind him, like, hey, we're all human, we all fucked up, we all make mistakes. But I mean, I personally, I wouldn't want a daily reminder of my biggest fucking fucked up, although I do Instagram, I get them every day anyway.

There's like, yeah, if you mess up a call like that in soccer and like South America, you're dead, they'll murder you.

Andre Ziska Bogert killed Chelsea fans, but yeah, other fans would.

Yeah.

Look, I say with an Arsenal they stink real bad.

Then Minnesota defenseman Carson Soozie got a one game suspension for charging kind of guy. I mean, it was more of a hit to the head than anything that's called charge. And he kind of jumped up and a lot of his feet. Yeah, left his feet. Just a dirty hit. I mean, I'm honestly surprised just given up what they had because you only got one game because you in the league saying we want to crack these hits down and then you got one there and they want to give the guy a game.

I thought, you know, yeah. Direct hit on the head.

Hey, listen, you know you know, I won't be bitching out here, seem all biased and stuff, but yeah, whatever. I mean, I think the problem is first time being being suspended. What was surprising is you've got to stay in the game. But Guy, what's his name, Lawson Carlson ended up turning him up. I clean him up pretty good, but then lost and cross got tossed because when he got him on the ground he kept wailing away, which I mean, there's a mood for that.

Yeah. Oh yeah. I think he got the aggressor because he kept he must have thrown three or four shots when the guy was on the ground and a but sending a message because it's been a lot of times this year, Conaghan Garland's been taking some abuse with their best player.

Yeah, no retaliation. So yeah, it's been tough sledding. I mean, they had a tough ride against Minnesota there, but they ended up going off to Anaheim. And if we're sticking to the theme of the West, I got to see Xigris first game when they played them earlier in the season. And then this Drysdale, who looked really good, really comfortable in the back and great skater, ended up getting a goal and an apple on his first game.

They ended up coming from behind from two nothing. So Troy Terry looked pretty good. So the young guys, four for Anaheim, really getting that done. And they got you know, they got a bright future ahead of them, but definitely some tough sledding this year. Miller Miller was he was struggling in between the pipes, that's for sure. I think you got the Yankees game to drive.

Still tried. Still is money.

He was walking the line head up, but he's going to he's going to be special. You saw in the world, Junior. So him and Xigris together, some great things in Anaheim, maybe in the future, but a long time since they've had a Drysdale to root for in Southern California, even with this dawn ring.

A bell, Don Drysdale. Yeah.

I mean, he creates. Even me, for chrissake, but I remember him from being on The Brady Bunch back in the day, and it's I remember Don Drysdale what else we got.

I actually one other thing on to know was a was a player on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yeah, he was. Oh, I don't I don't know.

Brady Bunch. He was on The Brady Bunch. He ended up being an actor while he was on The Brady Bunch.

I don't know if there were a lot of athletes who popped up on The Brady Bunch.

Oh, he was it was just a one time I saw my dad died. No, no, no, no.

I think more people would have understood you as opposed to how I took it. I feel like there's a few guys this year who have been put on waivers who ended up not getting sent down and stuck with a team. Adam and Adam Henric, as I say, Henry and Henry go. He's one of them. He's got eight goals in the season now. And, you know, he's really elevated his play after getting put on waivers. And I think Spezza was another guy at the beginning of the season who got put on waivers, who's been lighten it up since.

So I don't know if that's the that's the spark you've got to give guys. Now, you just put them on the waiver wire and then all of a sudden they go on a heater. But he looked pretty impressive to the desert winner in that first game against the odds.

Yeah, I think teams do it just because why not have someone fucking takes a flier on a guy and takes that contract off your hands? You know, I mean, they're not. Fair enough.

So St. Louis followed. Oscar Sundquist is going to miss the rest of the season that he tore the ACL in his left knee after he collided with teammate Kyle Clifford. Sucks to have that. He's a big part of that squad. They've been scuffling a bit offensively. The L.A. Kings sign pending restricted free agent defenseman Matt Royte to a three year, nine point forty five million dollar extension that kicks in after this season. He's third on the team in ice time with nineteen thirty to a game played at Michigan Tech.

Seventh round pick in the 15 draft. What can you boys tell us about us?

I play with them for a little bit. He came in at the end of the season, my last year when I was hobbling around on No ECLSS, but just Steady Eddie. Just a very, you know, one of those guys where you see that's scary. I think he's got a little bit more on offense. You can make make plays. Scuds was kind of an off the glass and kind of guy good on the penalty kill.

But yeah, I was making more than that. He was making four million a year I think. Yeah. Oh yeah. Just yeah. So this guy's three nine. Yeah.

Yeah. So he, he's coming off of his I believe his entry level sign in that deal. So a pretty, a pretty nice deal for him. You know, I haven't had a chance to watch him play a ton, but I know when he did come in in the American League like you were just like, oh, this guy just handles himself as a professional and and man, L.A. and their scouting staff, they end up finding so many gems in the later rounds and their ability to draft and develop is is very impressive.

And to stick with the L.A. theme, they had a really cool thing happen in Ontario where I used to play for two years. I ran all to you up for that.

Yeah, for my Instagram feed. The Ontario, Ontario Rain had the first all black line in pro hockey since 1941 when they put Devante Smith, Peli Quinten by Field and Aqeel Thomas all together. Those last two, obviously a couple of prospects you mentioned best way back in forty one, the great herb kind of guy who was said to be the best pro play. My best hockey player, not in the NHL. Back then, his brother Ozzie and Matty MacIntire, they formed the line for the Buffalo Anchorite Bison's that was nicknamed the Black Aces.

Like I said, he was a terrific player. I, Jean Béliveau, basically copied what he did. Everyone said he should have been in the league. But, of course, you know, he had racist owners who wouldn't allow you to break the barrier, but he should have probably been the first guy in the league way back then.

They got another black player on their team. Boco Amama with this guy is a nail gun. He got in a scrap the other night. You got to see the way he dealt someone and he has a short work on him to absolute killer. I hope he ends up breaking into the league, too, because he is just a ball of energy out there.

Where is he from? Montreal.

And he's just I'll send you this clip of this fight, folks, if you get an opportunity to go. It was funny because the defenseman kind of was like he Simmie shook them and got away from the official. And then the minute he saw Boca's reaction, he was like, oh, shit, oh, shit.

And he just went over and AAMC and Gavin Morgan tape up the. Yeah, I don't know how many new listeners we have, but there is a funny moment. BHL, when when Koby Armstrong, he was feeling a bit of pressure from from Tarion, wasn't it, to play a little bit tougher, had been called out in the locker room.

This was down in the minors. This was like before I was even proletarian, wasn't his coach or wasn't wasn't. Yeah, it wasn't Tarion, but they were in Hamilton, I think it was.

And yeah, I mean, people must know that story, but people who own armies, like, I got to get in a fight, I got to get in a fight.

And he was out and sees this Gavin Morgan guy who's a little maybe undersized, shorter but jacked and he's like, let's go.

Or whatever happened, they ran into each other in front of the 90s, like, we're going armis, like we're going.

So he's like, all right, I'm fighting. Next year, I'm going to fight this guy.

He's on the bench and he looks down the bench and Gavin Morgan is looking at him, clean up his wrists, being looking at him, nodding, nodding.

And he gives and he gives it and he gives the the the helmet. He gave the helmet to the trainer behind him who's taken the visor off.

So Ami said, oh my God, that is such a boss move.

And he and Gavin want to beat the absolute wheels on me. That's the famous line when I said his face as the team comes in and Alexander the Daigle goes, Check the holy fuck AMI, check the game notes.

But Gavin Morgan at about one hundred and fifty pounds or whatever it was at the time.

Yeah, not usually a good thing when you're when you're looking for your first one and you look down after did a couple of guys on the bench go, jeez, I don't know. I mean, the guy's pretty tough. That's what he looked. It was like, who's the dead man at the saltshaker? And it looked like the book of Genesis from the checklist.

That's that's an early one.

But back then, you didn't have to wear a visor in the American League. That's like all these all these guys are wearing visors in the NHL now because they grandfathered that rule. And but, you know, he obviously was wearing one to protect his eyes. But, you know, when it's time to go, go time, hand it over to the trainer, take the visor off, do it like the man show.

True for your first one best. And then you have the adrenaline of waiting till the shift happens. And then you look and he's doing that.

It's like, oh, even if you're faking that, if you're getting more in your head, I think I got a cramp. Trainer go down the tunnel, abort, abort.

Oh, I don't know how we got there.

That's that's checklist. That's what we do. We fucking ramble all over the place. Now we're going to ramble over to the east. Lots to talk about East this week because the big news, Buffalo Sabers once again. But they actually did go and fire Ralph Krueger after the team lost the twelfth straight game. He went thirty six, fifty and twelve. During his tenure in Buffalo, Don Granato was named the interim coach with the assistance, Matt Ellis, Dan Girardi.

The team lost their first game with the new coaching staff. So they owe eleven and two in the last three and a half weeks, just two points in that time sabs of the first team since the old five lockout. To have multiple winless streaks are thirteen or more games. They all set a fourteen game winning streak back in the fourteen fifteen season. I mean, we've been beating this dead horse. Obviously it's news. We got to talk about it.

But have either of you guys ever been on a team this bad or even close to this.

I don't even think I let them in the fucking sickouts pond hockey tournament at this point. Right. I mean I got the right.

Ralph Kruger must have had a little bit of relief, right. He's making, I think, three point seventy five, so at a time next year or two and at a time when. Everyone's just making zero money, these teams are making they're just what is the word, siphoning money out?

Is that the word cyberchondria taken from some hemorrhaging boobies, plus two of it sticks business dictionary cranking it and it all words.

I needed a bounce back performance after last Padbury. Yeah, you had you've had it time.

They were humming. I mean, what was I saying? Hemorrhaging. Oh yes. Oh so. So, you know, like. You don't want to fire a guy, then you're going to be paying him next year, you're already losing all this money. I mean, obviously three point seventy five is nothing, the bagfuls.

But still, if you're a cougar, it's like, oh, my God, thank God. Thank God.

I can't keep answering these questions. This is this is a this is a hopeless situation. I don't know what they do there. Besides start over. We can't keep saying it. I feel bad. Kruglik There's a there's a step. Go ahead, miss.

Curvature of self to a timeshare in Hawaii as a celebration to get the fuck out of there. Guys, this is this is ugly as I've ever seen, ever seen it at the National Hockey League level and especially coming off a lot of disappointing, disappointing seasons in a row. I don't even it's hard because like I'm sure a lot of them are looking from the inside, like, what do we do? What do we do? And I don't really see it changing for this year.

They're going to have to be able to address things in the off season. But I. I don't know what.

It's Monday and the game hasn't been played yet, if they lose this game, if you look right now and it's early in the morning, you just started listing and driving to work.

Check the score app. If the if the Buffalo Sabers lost, that's 14 in a row, which ties the longest losing streak in the shootout ever since two thousand five.

And I don't know who they got after the Rangers last night. I don't know the next tilt.

But when will they win a game? And I just I just feel for the guys on the team, I mean, having been through a tough situation, it is.

And I was in a tough situation when on the road you could go out and still have a blast. At least let's blow some steam off guys here in Chicago for an extra night. We can't get a win. Now you're stuck in the hotel covid. So if it's a bad year to be a bad team, this is times 10.

I'd be getting the hookers and blow in the fucking hotel room if I was the Buffalo Sabers at this point. Now it's gotten so bad Grenelle. He wants to chime in.

I was just going to say do you think if the sabers get the first overall pick on power he's going to be a stud defense in the NHL. Do you think they get, do you think that's more likely that Jack ickle stays? I mean there's a lot you can do with the first overall pick.

Before I answer that, I don't know, but really want it to happen because let's maybe go back to the beginning of this when Quirinale made the T-shirts.

Oh, my goodness. It is his fault. We've got to we've got to stop. You've pretty much ruined the sapers.

In order to reverse the curse. We're going to have to give you to the US. We're going to sell you to the populace.

You're a sex slave for the ruling family.

I'm sorry, Buffalo. I'm sorry to Buffalo.

I don't think a big demon who is, you know, not a project, he's a great player is going to have Jack. I'll be like, I got to stay now. Maybe it was like a convict David type kid. Yeah, I don't I wrote last week, I wrote a blog based. I think they should have like a life, a hockey life, a woman who knows how to run a team. I mean, Kevin Adams, all the respect.

He's a first time GM. I don't know what he experiences, but I think they should have a guy like, you know, like a gym rather fit, if not specifically him, who can just come on and just kind of rebuild everything.

And it's all, you know. Yeah. I mean, Jim Rutherford would be a great example, R.A. But like so here's what's hard is like when when something gets so bad. A lot of times the people who are that good usually wait out for a better situation, especially in the coaching department. Yeah, there's a lot of good coaches that would probably say I'm not going anywhere near that because if I get gassed again, then I could be done so.

So Darryl Sutter made comments about it recently. He's like, nah, he's like the he goes, there's people who want to coach, like, you know, become lifetime coaches. He's like, no, I want to coach teams that I think can win the Stanley Cup and you can go back and read it. So where I agree with you, RJ, is in order to people, people have also been throwing around Babcock that.

Hey, hey. Yeah. I mean, might as well might as well right at this point. Yeah, it's going to be interesting. I mean, what they're going to do, I don't know if they're going to keep Granado, I don't know if he can even win this job. I thought they should just put some the GM behind the bench instead of fucking.

I don't know how they get the season to run a contest. Yeah, they're pretty much turning into, like the major major league, Cleveland Indians, like the guys in the stands that are banging the drum when there's twelve hundred people in a 50000 like they should start allowing fans to really get involved in picking the roster the rest of the season. They should do auctions for like you can pick tonight's lineup.

The key right now be seeing what they can gain in assets for four guys, that they have somebody who's been throwing out Reinhart's name as far as trade value, he's he's another really good player who's been having a, you know, one of the bright spots in that lineup so far this year. So, guys, we don't know. I know we've been ripping on the sabers like on a serious note, it sucks. We never want to see organizations struggle like this because we know the fans are the ones who probably feel it the most, including the guys in the locker.

And that is having a good with a great.

Sorry, I didn't mean all your time, but you're right, especially with this team, because, I mean, they love hockey, they love the sabers.

And even if the sabers aren't in it, it's always a market that's watching games. They deserve a good team. They deserve better than this.

I know what you had a little twist on the other night about a particular hit, Brandon Tantallon, Jared Dinwiddie. God, I mean, he got five full board game misconduct. You weren't happy with the call Burke. He wasn't happy with the call. I didn't think it was a penalty when I watched it. I know there was a replay later that showed he did come from across the ice that if anything it was Jörgen. Did you think it was even graduate if you saw that replay?

If you're going to call anything, OK, call a charge, but you can't tell me if you're a fan of the game of hockey for a long time, that you think that that head is should be having getting a guy kicked out of the game.

I had I had people reach out, that's boarding, that's the definition of boarding, he wasn't even near the boards, like he hit them so hard that he ended up hitting the boards. But if you're going to if you have a freight train coming, which is the game, you that can have so much ground. That kid covered.

He is an A. He's a he skates as well. I'm not gonna say as well as anyone, but he's explosive and he's heavy.

And he ran over to nobody who had his head down who was skating up the ice, like you're carrying the puck up basically the middle of the ice inside the dots and you have your head down and you get crushed.

That is not a dangerous sport. These are the guys who give Wilson boarding, right. When he got suspended for that head on Karlo. Now, that call man, that is a guy who is bigger, faster and stronger than the defenseman who unfortunately was injured. That was the shitty part. And nobody wants to see that.

Nobody, no hockey fan is looking to see injuries, but they're looking to see intense physicality. And they got that. And unfortunately, an injury happened.

Yeah, there's no part of that hit. To me, that is a bad call. Two minutes charging if you want to give it a penalty. But kicking a guy out of the game is bullshit.

I agree on that second angle. The the most fair I can be on it is give him two minutes and then we're off and running. But to nobody, it seemed like he thought he had that clear lane because at the point where he got the puck, he was only a couple strides from the red line in order to get it and then get the dump in. Right. The amount of ground that ten of covered weights. And he thought that he was going to be able to get there, actually.

I mean, that's probably why it seemed as if though he he didn't expect it and he was nowhere near the boards, it was just an unfortunate fall. And at the angle that he got him out and on top of that, he couldn't hit him any more clean. His elbows were down by his side. I think he got a more like in the midsection than even in the shoulder. Even so, I think that's probably what why the trajectory went the way it did.

And and you said a very shitty result. But the fact that they were able to review it and they still called it a five is what made my mind explode as a playoff game.

And if you look at. Somebody could say to me, defenseless player, it's like, buddy, he's got the puck in the middle of the ice, he's looking up at everything in front of him.

And if you've seen Duncan, Keith or Keith does it, Keith Yandle does a decent amount where you get to the red line and you stop on a dime and you dodge that goal. You know, the guy's coming and you literally stop as you get it over the line and into the zone.

It is just very, very shocking to see a guy kicked out of the game for that.

Well, you just talked about it before about the Suzuki play in overtime with TJ Miller. Yes, I know. It's JT Miller. When he told you to told him because guys go after the puck now. Well, guess what if a depth player like Panov, although he or he may be playing second line there because of how good he's been since he signed that nice contract, if he goes for that puck and he told Dragsholm and then they go down and score a goal while then he's sitting in the middle of the bench, or he's got to feel all poopy pants because it was his fault not play the game the right way.

Separate the man from the puck. He's in the middle of the ice. He worked hard to put himself in that position where he could make that hit. No penalty. Fuck off. New generation hockey fan. That's all I've got to say about that. That's the aggressive Forrest Gump, no, not aggressive at all.

Speaking of the Pittsburgh Penguins as well, Evgeni Malkin, he was on a massive 12, 12 points in an eighteen point streak.

He's going to be week to week with a lower body injury after the hit he took from Germany, which was the hit. The reason by 10 have hit him in the first place, penguins, 13, five and oceans bringing in the Burke Hextall front office change, which is interesting. It seemed like that really got the team's attention without having to move anyone from the room. But Washington there probably the story for the last week or so, seven and all.

They went without Tom Wilson, who was suspended. Caps have been absolutely red hot, but we got to give props to Ovechkin. He passed philes biocidal for sole possession of sixth place on the all time goal list when he scored a seven hundred and eighteen. He's just the second act of play with thirteen hundred points in the thirty fifth overall geophones.

The other active player currently has seven hundred and twenty right now. We got two more since then. Marcel Dion is up next with seven hundred thirty one and then Brett Hall. Seven hundred and forty one and one hundred and forty seven. Multi goal games tied with gaudy half of fourth overall. And then this tweet was from Friday I think from Dimitri Filipovic, his last ten games. He had eight goals. Forty seven shots on goal. Ninety four shots again I'm sorry.

Forty seven shots and goal. Ninety four shots. Attempted goals in five straight games. But this Cavs team is just roll because they're unbelievable.

I watched that game against New York where they ended up coming back in the third period. It looked like it was a replay of the first goal. He ended up getting to that game and you mentioned his hundred and forty seventh multi goal game of his career, which is absolutely Bananaland. And he finds a way to score them in different areas. Both those ones were right in front of the net, going to the blue paint. Now there was another video that Pavel Barba ended up tweeting out that was pretty funny.

It's like it's like the the example of when the remote control gets unplugged in video game where he's just standing off to the side and he's completely straight legged, as if he's not even interested in the shift in his little territory there when he's waiting for the one timer. How fun would hockey be with if you were able to act like that on the ice and there was no punishment for it? You just want to stand there like a statue for a minute because, you know, if the puck does come to you, you're probably still going to get your job done.

That's when you know you have life made.

Actually, there is another picture earlier in the season when there was like four on four in the corner and all three were still standing in that spot all alone. And I think it was Dimitri Filipovic who tweeted that one, too. He's like, when you don't do anything on a group project but still get Ney. And he was off to the side. So this this guy is just a freak of nature, continuing to get it done and scoring goals from from anywhere on the ice.

He is a Mushtaha Russian machine, but a machine, as you mentioned the whitewashing earlier that the Rangers put on FILEA nine nothing.

What's interesting is they did that with no coaches on the bench. It was the largest victory since 1986.

The Rangers, two of the fliers ended up a minus six on the night. Elaine Elaine Vinyard coach said couldn't defend and couldn't make a play.

I'm truly embarrassed, right? I don't mean to. Yeah, because people some people might not know. There was coaches on the bench.

There was nothing there. You're right. So they had the NHL coach and then Chris Drury, who just hops on the bench. What can't Chris Jerry do? Little League World Series rookie, the year Stanley Cup. Now he's a coach.

So I was I was I was surprised to see that because Philly man, Philly Philly astronomy.

Go ahead. About the range is Philly is Carter Hart my pick? Philly was one of my picks this year. They got picked to win this division. Yeah.

You picked Washiness playoffs and they've they've they've gone seven in a row. And then I believe you. You picked Chicago to make playoffs and since.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

I picked Chicago to not make the playoffs, said they were brutal and then said there's a chance. I only admitted there's a chance and at the bed.

OK, well, since you said there's a chance that one in five and they've been rubbish and I was great and then wanted sex.

So basically, now that I'm all over Colorado, they're fucked. But Noemie down, let's see what else the New York Islanders, this is bad news for them. They lost Captain Oneida's leave for the year. He took his ACL on his right knee, had 12 goals on the year, put him on long term injured reserve. They can't use that money. Seven million dollars in cap space.

Lou Lamoriello said, we're always trying to find a score and we know whether it's because of on the situation, not everybody is. That's not something easy to do. If we can, we will. The team has won two out of three without Andy's league. He's expected to be ready for camp next season. Obviously a huge loss, but there was a nice story, I guess. Balance that out. Tommy Hickey played his first game in almost two years.

Saturday night. He had to assist in his first game since May 3rd of twenty nineteen. He had a bunch of injuries in that interim head, including a concussion. He recently lost his brother Dan to cancer, just thirty three years old. So that was a nice little feel. Good story. Went to see Tommy Hickey get back out there.

It was great. He was a high pick years ago and I talked to Ed Bradley quickly, who just said he's like one of the best guys going like there was so happy for him and the road he had with the injuries.

And his brother is just so brutal.

And then you see somebody you to come back, he gets the two apples.

And I think what what had happened was I think, well, he was out.

That's when Davon tapes really came on the scene.

And, you know, at some point you kind of lose your job a little bit. Right? I mean, Guy comes in, plays well and, you know, he moved on to the Avs.

But this was a story that's like for a guy who's played as long as he has and gone through what he did, losing his brother. So happy for him. Those those great news islanders are a wagon series. Jesus, that teams good. They lost the one game to Philly, then pounded them the next night, like you said, R.A. And it's it's a great story. And it's a year when you're looking for more of those.

Yeah. He had a heartfelt Q&A after the game and, you know, just really opened up about, you know, the last couple of years, going back to the beginning of the podcast when I said that I think that Toronto might make a stab at Taylor Hall, obviously this injury and knowing that Annesley is going to be out the rest of the season, this makes the Taylor Hall move making even more sense. I know you mentioned it at last podcast.

Are you very confident you think that they make a stab at Taylor Hall? Because right now.

No, I'm not I'm not very confident. I just think that Lamoriello in his history looks into every single possible person that he could trade for.

He just seems like a guy who would make calls on everyone to see who was available. Who could I make a run at all right.

All right, boys. I think we should send it over to Ed Jovanovski shortly. First, I do want to talk to you about Woop. You've heard us talk about wub quite a bit. It truly is our favorite fitness wearable. It's the fitness tracker that provides 24/7 personalized sleep training and recovery insights to help you unlock your potential each day.

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Are I fucking right. You're buzzing. Yeah. Thanks guy.

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On that note, what do you say we send it over to one of the best nicknames ever. The Jovel. Come up.

Let's go. It's a pleasure to welcome this guy to the show after all these years, he was the number one overall pick by the Florida Panthers in the 1994 NHL draft, went out to play for 18 seasons, including playoffs.

He played over twelve hundred games, tallied 530 points for the Panthers, Canucks and Coyote's. He also made the all rookie team played in five NHL All-Star games and won gold at the World Junior, the Olympics and the World Cup. These days you can catch him on Fox Sports, Florida, doing game analysis for the Panthers. Thanks so much for joining us on the spin. Check this podcast. Ed Jovanovski. Yeah, thanks for having me.

Jovel Cop is one of the all time great names, decent career.

When did that one come around, junior or NHL? That was my fourteen years old Chris Moore.

Actually he was there, a radio guy in Florida, my rookie year get on the bus.

He's like Jovel. Like, what's up? He's like, I got your name for you. I call you the jovial cop on the air tonight, and it's. Thank you so much. Yeah, thanks. So you were obviously wearing 55 at the time?

I was. Was that part of it?

Like you monitor the speed limit or somebody said, was that it or all?

Or am I just being a clown? You know, all those kind of came, you know, in the future. I think for you know, for me, it was just, you know, something that he threw out there and made a couple bucks from it.

Yeah, I know some T-shirts. I that's the Apple trademarks. Yeah, exactly.

Well now I mean outrageous. Just mentioned Fox Sports. How are you enjoying the TV intermission stuff. Are you into that. I mean klores. Have a nice season. Makes it easier. It does.

And which I think for me being out of the game for a few years it was just getting tiresome. Yeah. I wanted to kind of get back into, into hockey. And, you know, for me this opportunity came up. Sean Thornton reached out to me, asked me if I had any interest doing it. Yeah, it's fun. It's not as easy. I thought it was. You know, you go on live TV, there's a lot of moving parts.

So once, you know, you got you got so many thoughts and you got great valid points. Once the lights go on, it's like, shit, I didn't use any of the stuff that I was thinking of. Yeah. And you're staring right in there and, you know, your partner's talking. You don't want to look at him. You look at camera nine Jovel, you got buzzing all the panic, you know. So but but I'm enjoying it.

You're right. Teams playing well this year. So it's fun going to the ring, seeing them succeed and hopefully they can keep it going.

He's got a big old notepad and then the camera goes and he's just like, all right.

I'm going with Todd Walsh on TV where he's like throwing it to me. And I had oh, I wish I had the best idea coming to the rink about what I was going to say. And then I'm like, Walsh. I completely forgot what I was going to say on live TV of them. Right. Have you ever had one of those you don't want the guy to work with?

Craig Minervini is pretty good and he sees what I'm going to fumble. But he jumps, he jumps right in and saves me.

So but they it's amazing how good these guys are because there is a lot of, you know, things that they're throwing out there and they make it easy for me.

And I guess in our position playing the game, we just want to be, you know, insightful and let the fans know because Florida's, you know, different market. Right. So you're still kind of teaching, you know, the game. And you just the question I was on is told is explain it as why why is this going on? So where a lot of markets, you know, you don't really have to do that. So but it's been fun.

I'm enjoying it.

I just remember, like NHL network, the only thing for me that drove me nuts was almost the opposite, where I'd be talking and then in my head. So you've been talking way too long and you just have this, like, self-consciousness of like, shut up and then you can end it like awkwardly because you were buzzing along and it just comes to a complete halt. So it's like, I feel your pain.

It's like anything. Right. I think, you know, as you move along and you get more experience, what you find is the same in hockey, less is more. Yeah, I think once you get to the point, say what you need to say and then stop, because once you start rambling on, you're just kind of that's in the meter. Just kind of. Yeah. Then you guys start making fun of the hamster wheel gets going.

Let's I mean let's dove in your career. Born in Windsor, Ontario, what was crazy to hear when I was playing with you is I didn't realize that you started playing hockey at such a late age.

Did you start playing hockey at eleven years old?

I did. Never skated before. Ever school.

I skated. I skated, but I never played organized hockey.

So seven years after your first game, you were picked first overall. Yeah. Holy shit. Why was why was it not like a part of your life at eight, nine and ten. You're my dad played professional soccer in Europe.

So when they when they came over to Canada, you know, I was just playing soccer. So it was I mean, I played street hockey and skated on the ponds and public skated that all that. But as far as playing hockey, it was really something I didn't really wasn't craving at the time until my brother started. And that's how the whole thing watching him.

Yeah, he he you know, he was playing and I was kind of working the door, his doorman. And then I said to my dad, I said, listen, I don't want to start playing his lecture. So sure enough, he signs me up and, you know, start playing for this club.

I think it was Shoppers Drug Mart at the time.

And yeah, it was crazy how and I've been you know, I go to my first practice for this whole league team and a guy comes to my dad and he said, hey, is that your boy there, the tall one?

And I was like, yeah, he's like, does he want to a trial for the travel team tomorrow?

That's like play or play. This is his first time actually playing organized hockey. So my dad tells me I'm happy.

You know, I'm excited. I'm like, yeah, I'll try out.

So sure enough, I make the team, you know, that's double team. And I was. Forward and, you know, following year, make the trip play and then so, so quick, it was so clear you really were really good off the hop or you actually like, oh, man, I don't know about this.

They are not trying to really get I mean, I think I skated decent. I hey, I think my size was in my favor and a big kid.

But no, I mean as far as like knowing the game and I just had fun.

I mean, I just I think I worked harder than the guy next to me. And I knew that, you know, I love playing. If I'm going to play this, I'm going to my parents are going to sacrifice a lot because they didn't have much. You know, they did everything for, you know, us to play hockey. And and I wanted to make the most of it. And then all of a sudden, you know, things started rolling, you know, started really seeing signs of improvement.

And you had before, you know, on and playing Junior B that I'm drafted by Windsor.

And then just like, holy shit. Yeah, well, I have an agent now.

What the hell is going on, agent? What do you mean age away from having a Timbits jersey for shoppers drug mergers.

ETM getting on stage at the NHL draft when you were playing soccer before hockey, you like dummying guys out in the pitch. I mean, similar to your hockey style? Not really.

I mean, it was, you know, playing I think it was a center forward at the time. So just like any kid, you like scoring goals and but yeah, I was still even in soccer being the tallest kid, you know, out there.

But it wasn't something that I knew at that age of taking guys down and being aggressive.

Were you did right away in hockey? I played both. I played forward when I came out and then I had a coach that said, look, here, you got some size. Let's try you on the back end. Yeah. What a move by that guy.

Right. So when you were you drafted by Winzer? I was drafted by WINZER, so it worked out pretty good. KINGSTON It was actually pick picking number one that year. And I'm like, holy shit. Going to Kingston. No, sorry. Ottawa was picking number one. Alan McColley went to to the sixty seven and then Windsor was picking two. So I got to stay in my hometown.

Oh that's so nice. I mean just make such a difference. Right. I'm guessing. Did your brother play in the O2.

You said your older brother was. I know. OK, now you just played, you know, rec hockey so you get kind of getting drafted by your dad. Shane Parker is a coach your first year. And then you had Mike Kelly, who I played for North Bay. So you played two years in the. Oh, and then you were gone like as far as your development there, like like what were the teams like? Did you right away, did you feel comfortable playing at that level?

Like how did that all go down? It was it was an adjustment.

I mean, gone from Junior B, I think you're fifteen sixteen year old, you're playing in Junior B, you're playing with, you know, eighteen to twenty two year olds, you know. So I think as far as the physical part of the game, I handle myself definitely the pace was, was something that was, you know, a lot, lot faster.

Some that you need adjust to.

But I don't know. I think it was just ready. I think once I, you know, came into into Windsor for the Spitfires, I think it was was one of the kind of right from the start.

You know, we had a veteran team that really helped us young guys along. And and it was just clicking. I mean, it wasn't a huge point guy, but just played hard, you know, got a few fights. Yeah.

You were fighting a little bit then. Yeah.

I mean, yeah, it was so I think I had like a like close to probably a couple hundred minutes, you know, my, my rookie year in Windsor. I think I had like forty five fifty points.

So, you know for four. Yeah.

And it wasn't, you know, I wasn't an underage pick you know, so I went to my draft as an, as an under or and I sat through those three rounds and misery on you actually when I actually went because there was a rumor that, you know, I was going to be taken at some point, not first round, possibly second, maybe third.

And I sat through that and it was tough. It was tough.

So, you know, what does that make you do? Makes you go back, work harder and see where you you fall. But it all it all worked out for me, especially Austin and Windsor getting to stay home with mom and dad standard. Yeah. There's not a lot of changes. So it worked out well.

And I'm imagining the nature that I mean, that's what, 93, 94 or no earlier.

Yeah, 92, 93, 93, 94.

So old school hauk. You're talking like there's a lot of fighting going on. It's way different than current current. So that was just something that maybe came naturally to you. But you also were like, this is what you do. Yeah, I'm a hard nosed physical defense when I'm fighting.

Right. And Windsor had the small arena. Right. So they did the corners. We're almost somewhere else. So you take two strides from the blue paint and you're just you're just hammering guys in the corner.

But, yeah, I was you know, I think league is tough league. Yeah.

The guys were you know, I think it was a definitely a lot more fighting than there is now, obviously. But I remember one. We're fine. I don't know is a. Playoff series, the guy end up taking my helmet off and started pounding me over the head with my own helmet, and I'm trying to think of as think of his name, but it'll come to me.

But, Miles, so I'm assuming you connected a few times if you can't remember his name. Yeah. Yeah, I know. That's a scary. I got him back. I don't remember it, but we had Joe Smith.

I played with D.J. We had this guy, Adam Young and myself. I remember we were all in the penalty box versus Sue in Windsor somehow or another.

We ended up, you know, in a big fight in the penalty box. So three on three in the penalty box, you know, kind of hence why they got the glass there now, you know, but it was crazy times and I mean something like that. Nowadays you're getting 15, 20 calls for. It's crazy. So you're getting arrested, right? Exactly.

You won't see your fifty dollar a week checks if you got two hours and hours or forty or fifty. Well, they took time away to put away for the end of the year. They try to make us smart with our money. That's how it seems we would see.

Eighty dollars your 401k in the old one hundred and eighty bucks. I lived at home so I actually collected a little bit more. Oh that's two hundred dollar Belichick. Yeah. Oh that's nice. So how early on in that second season were you like there's a possibility that I go first. Overall are you just trying to be is like hyper focused about the hockey side of it and trying to you know, that's that's a possibility.

I'm guessing, though, you start hearing the rumors. Well, you know, I was I was actually drafted after my first year. Oh, really? Yeah.

Oh, I guess you weren't picked. Right. Right. Yes, right. So I was drafted, you know, at some point during obviously when these central scouting rankings come out, I'm like, shit, man. Why are my names like in the top five? I'm like, what is unbelieve? What's going on? I just started playing hockey last week, you know, it's like and yes, you know, then then you're like you really like shit, man.

This thing, you know, I'm going I'm going to be drafted.

It's a foot in the door. I got a shot, but by no means. And that say this honestly and sincerely that I had no idea that I was going to go on number one. I mean, it never crossed my mind that, listen, I got an opportunity or a chance here to go in. Number one, I wanted to work as hard as I could to put me in the best position to be drafted. Just wanted to play in the NHL.

And as we got closer towards the end of the season, now, the now the rankings are getting a little bit more firm on kind of where they rank guys.

And kind of throughout the year, even the second, third and fourth rankings that came out, I was always in that top three group. Yeah.

And it's just such a good feeling seeing that you're just like, all right. Well, I at least have an idea where I'm going.

And I guess throughout the year, if you say you don't know, come draft time and your memory of the draft the night before, had you already figured out that Florida is going to take you know, and I don't think, you know, now it's clear cut. Yeah, you guys are. And you can almost bet your house on it on who's going to go. Number one, I think for me with Ottowa, with Florida, Anaheim and Ottawa picking one, two and three, those are the only three meetings that I had, you know, a night before you meet the, you know, go with your draft meeting.

But heading to the draft, you know, until my name was called. No idea.

That's crazy. No idea. Sort of. I see them and my son keeps pulling up that draft video. When I got the.

How was your shoot? Double-Breasted suit Gray popping up on the NBA draft.

But it was like it was like the size because it was just like yours. So it's like, oh, my God, shit, man. I just got picked number one overall by Florida. And I think it's something you just can't you can't take away from anybody. Right.

And now it's so different where, you know, first overall picks there in the NHL, pretty much no matter what. And you went back to Junior. Was that the case right away? Or did you think for maybe a little bit I might I might play this next season?

Well, I had a great camp, and I. I feel that it's physically ready to play. The lockout happened. So that kind of set. Oh, no shit. It was that year. Right. So I went back to Junior. I play in the World World Junior Championships. We had a stellar team and we had we had all these guys thought, Harvey, all these guys.

I came back during the lockout, so I had fun doing that. But yeah, I mean, you want to be drafted, you want to play right away. But, you know, for me going back, I think it's probably get that other right.

And you see a lot of guys in today's game that aren't just ready. There are high pick and you almost can feel like that they need a little seasoning. Yeah. And maybe we see that a little bit with Laferriere this year and.

Well, and, you know, and he was get a lot better. But this year he's been better. But now that that's what it's almost good.

You you just went back and you're saying it helps because now it's like, oh, half. I have to be in the NHL and doing what these guys did. It's like it just adds this pressure that makes it way more difficult. I think, you know, you're playing with men, I mean, it's just a crazy. I mean, for being a teenager, playing against guys. I mean, you guys know, playing against men.

And so, I mean, it's just a different it's got that that old man strength, they're just kind of tossing around.

And for me, that exterior, I felt helped your second year when you averaged more than 40 minutes a game plan, what, 40? That's I read two articles.

It said you you were playing 40 minutes a game, maybe maybe a few nights. But I don't think I was that wrong, that there had to be a lot of power plays if you were doing 40 a night.

Yeah, I double I read in two different articles. That's what I want to ask you. I mean, you must obviously lie about it and tell our fans that you did.

Forty three. It was forty three. Oh, one was the final time probably. You know that's a little high.

High for sure. Guy. You were a horseback. There was.

Yes. Close to 30. Not unheard of for. Were you using that short really stiff stick back in June. You're the this guys doing. Let's talk about if I had a dollar for every time he looked at me going up ice and doing the wrist curls in practice because we'd be about fifteen feet apart and you would zip them.

NHL passivism, Pronger with the snappiest parsers in the league in practice and they just look at you, NHL passport, it was it was a mini stick and it was about a 120 flex.

You know, when I finally my last year, I went to a one piece, I think it was like at 110 or 115, whatever they may become.

But I was always yeah, I was always taught to pass hard.

And a lot of people ask me this question, you know, you know, in practice, why did you pass out? And I said, well, I was passed out because I wanted the puck to get to the guy quick. And usually when I pass that hard, I never missed you know, you just when you kind of lollygag that are trying to make a nice pass to someone, you know, it's it's either going to go ahead of him or the guy is not going to catch it or whatever, throw it in his skates until in Phenix.

One time I pass the puck hard and Gretz blew the whistle. He's like Kemmerer.

He's like, check the highlights, see if I ever pass the puck as hard as you.

You don't need to pass the puck 100 miles an hour. Jovel, you know, you can make a soft little finesse pass to someone. So actually, Gretz is the first guy that ever tell me, listen, you don't have to pass, you know, the puck that hard, but.

Well, how many people could have said it? Gretzky's I could say this to fucking anyone.

I want it right. You know, but, you know, as kids, we grow up, you know, you do everything kind of hard and, you know, it's just something that stuck with me throughout my career. I didn't mean to break your stick or make for my confidence or true. Yeah.

Hey, listen, if you can't take a pass on your back end, it's my fault. You're right. But you've got to be. I went and then I went to the weight room and I did risk the rest of my career. And that helped me with the fight.

And that's why you fought? Because Jovel it too hard that you realize you can't deal with the puck when you are to Florida.

You come in rookie year, just this insane run, the year of the Rat and you guys go to the Cup finals like you had a great regular season and a pretty sick playoff, too, like you had to imagine. This is just the beginning. And everyone says if you go at a young age to the finals and you take it, take it for granted with that kind of you, you think I'll be back, right? Yeah, everything kind of Kammenos.

You know, our team was was made up of a lot of guys that were, you know, left unprotected. So it wasn't really a star studded team. We had Van Bobrick unit who was obviously a big difference. Melanie, right.

Melanie and Stu Barnes. And, you know, Brian Schoolin was their captain and it was a meat and potatoes team, you know, and and we found ways to, you know, to gel at the right time. I think heading into the playoffs, we had a nice little run and knocking off Boston, Philly and and Pitt in game seven in Pitt.

I was like, oh, what just happened? You know, Tommy Fitzgerald with the Shorty. Yeah. And then get in the finals and get really get taken to us by Colorado. That team was great, great Colorado team. But yeah, I mean, you're a teenager still, right? And you're like, shit, I'm going to be back. I'm going to have this opportunity to do it again. And and we had great teams in Vancouver.

Oh, yeah. You know that we felt that we let's, you know, a couple of years slip by. But yeah, you never know when it's you know, you go to kind of guys have great careers and never get a chance to kind of play in the finals and or have a chance for the cup. So that was pretty exciting.

Where was that? Sorry, where was the arena then? It was in Miami. What must have been awesome. Right? Well, it was awesome. We didn't know any different. I mean, if the rink was there now what we know I mean, I'm sure guys would be living in South Beach or probably actually a good thing.

Right?

I mean I mean, I remember after games and our parking lot was wasn't attached to the arena. So we had to walk through, you know, the seekers' right to our you know, right to the our parking lot. But it was kind of right on 95 head back north and 45 minute drive back home. And so everyone never, never. Yeah, everyone lived north. I don't think, you know, one time in three years that I actually went down, you know, for between Miami after just the 90 different that first Panthers team, like you said, very much a gritty veteran team.

How did you blend in? Did you just kind of get there and keep your mouth shut for a while as a young guy? Pretty much.

You know, I think, you know, you go on there, you want to learn, take everything you can, you know, from these guys.

And who was allowed in that room? Oh, man.

They Tony Fitzgerald, is he talking a lot? He wasn't talking like screw you was always, always the guy, you know. Come in. Hey, Joe, what do you do last night? All the same stuff. And what stories? You know, these guys love all the guys love them, you know.

But we had Warner, who a good buddy of mine, and Rodeck Dvorak was another rookie. So, you know, we'd hang out together. But as far as. Yeah, I mean, it was different. I mean, we it's almost like you hear the pregame meal stories. It was like that. It was kind of like let everybody go. And then, you know, we went and we didn't say much as as rookies. We were we spoke when we were, you know, spoken to and we just went out there and played hard and try to give that group as much enthusiasm and jump as we could.

Your first year, didn't you have to go to the store where you would buy the whole room to furnish your place, remember?

No, no. I went to. I went to rooms to go rooms, rooms, rooms to go, and I had like this 20, 300 square foot like down home that I bought, it was my first home, bought it.

Yeah.

I went to rooms to go on it and I furnished a whole house in an hour.

I mean that that 50 grand I furnished the whole house. I furnished the whole house in an hour. Hey, the person to help them with the stories like this is the jack. Oh yeah. The Golden Goose. I met him. Right. Right. Yeah. So it wasn't it wasn't like, you know, nowadays, OK, let's just let's concentrate on this room and then, you know, let's let's see how this room really kind of fits our needs.

It was just like, no, I like that. And three bedroom sets and it's over. Yeah. Gonzo Furniture is TV and I want a hot bed of the year, the rat.

So during the course of playoffs, at one point they they made up a rule where if the fans threw it, they were going to give you guys a delay of game penalty, correct? Right.

This was I think it was at least one could have been two years post that playoff series because it was a joke.

It was like ten minutes, like it was a joke. I mean, you see that you go get like the rats back for the next grab control. You get the rat patrol out there scooping up Salame. Yeah, we're throwing them at Patrick.

Watto Yeah. There's that one. There's one great picture of him, kind of Inactine under the net and the rats are flying. But you know, some that you know, obviously, you know the story of Malaby, you know, hitting that. So it really something that took off that the fans had.

We'll tell tell the back story behind the rat thing, because a lot of our listeners are young and they have no clue what the fuck.

Right. So we're going to we're before the game in Miami. Arena was old, you know you know, the bowels of the you know, it was just it was a dump where the heat play in there.

The heat were playing there, too. And and so we're sitting in the locker room and all of a sudden you see this rat, you know, a good size rat, probably took a flight from NYC, came here for the winter.

Right. And then Scott Melendi, who is closest to this rat, kind of wanted it and just just didn't quite make it that night. He had two goals. So the story came out. They got a rat trick. And and, yes, I mean, obviously, the fans picked up on it and then and then the next game, you know, we score and all of a sudden there's like, what the hell's going on?

Rain and rats. And it was just something that, you know, continued and kind of went away. And then when I came back in eleven, started doing it again, you know, I was like, oh, boy. But they've gotten better at cleaning up, you know, the mess. It's nearly not is not, you know, as many as it was before as it scaled up by, like the end of it. How many rats were being thrown in the ice after after the first cold?

You just think, I mean, you got that rink was fourteen thousand seven hundred three was a sellout because I had this every game, it'd be a sellout. And I think it was a great regular season two and regular season. You know, my three and a half years there, it was sold out every game. So I just think every person around.

Right, at least, you know, someone's throwing around be like any teddy bears.

No one's puppies up in the guy who knows you actually saw Malaby killed the rat, right?

I must've been pretty wild. I just figured one time on a radical rock and roll. Yeah.

And you didn't know that it was going to turn into a like a phenomenon of throwing plastic ones.

I want to ask, when you've broken the leg, you start to make your bones back then and fight. Guys, always your first scrap. What, in the NHL?

Oh, Brendan, Brendan, Shannon, you got hurt. You hurt your hand. It broke my hand.

OK, you picked you picked a big dog to go first one with it, right.

Yeah. And I remember I remember it was behind the net. It was obvious with Hartford at the time.

And you know, we are it's a long fight too. But remember when the fight ended, I just got this sickness in my stomach and I looked down at my hand and my knuckles weren't in the right spot. So I missed the first eleven games. I had surgery and I missed the first eleven games of my of my career, you know, with that fight with Shanahan.

And then that year came back and still fought plenty. Right. You weren't worried at the hand was solid after the surgery and everything I wore, I wore the protective covering, you know, over it.

And then, you know, you're not allowed to fight when you got tape on your hand. So I said to the trainer, I said, listen, man, I'm being challenged out there and I got to answer the bell at some point, you know? So, yeah, it was healed up, you know, enough to, you know, to fight.

But get the big dog on it, like the football players club and guys, you know, the glove had the you know, and I had I think I wore the the Louisville gloves that were like there were probably like seven, eight pounds a glove, you know, all that long, too long leather, heavy gloves and then, you know, with the added plastic on.

Top of that and then, you know, the plastic and the tape on your hand, it was just got to be enough, you know. You know, the time is right when you can take it off, but you ready to go?

Was ready to go.

So I guess the next big thing in Florida was the trade. You wanted that three and a half years. Did it feel like they were kind of quitting on you a little bit?

I know it was a huge blockbuster. They were getting Paval Baret, but we are a little disappointed that they were cutting ties.

So I, I was, you know, I think for me, my daughter was six months old and I'm like, shit, man, I'm getting traded.

And you can change your life as far as you can go. Yeah. So I was actually having dinner and six o'clock, Brian Murray, you know, calls his age, although we traded you, you know, to to Vancouver. Was it summertime? No, it was it was January during the season that. Yeah. And I'm like, oh great.

So he's like, yes, you'll get you'll get contacted by someone to, you know, for your flight information, this and that. So someone Vancouver calls and said, yeah, you got a 6:00 a.m. flight in the morning. So from six o'clock, you know, dinner time, you know, I'm on a flight 6:00 in the morning. I fly to Dallas Iron Mike's the coach. I played twenty nine minutes back to back with Nashville. So we got Dallas, Nashville all star break.

So I played twenty nine like thirty minutes. I'm like, oh here we go. Ion's going to play me like crazy. I'm going to be his protege. I'm going to be his guy is going is it's going to be it's either going to make it or break it.

Unfortunately he, he didn't like it. It was the two games with him and then he was let go and then Mark Crawford came in. Yeah. Another tough I mean I would imagine that you ended up getting along pretty good with him, but like. Yeah. So all of a sudden it just a whirlwind. You get dealt, you get the fucking twenty nine minutes, you have all star break coming back after that. Like did you, you know, how long did it take for you to gel with that group.

Well I mean you guys all been to Vancouver, you know, so I got, I got traded there. I think the first 19 days it rained and I'm like and I'm driving over the Lions Gate Bridge a lot. And I'm you know, at some point you just think about stopping right in the middle of that bridge, you know?

But yeah, listen, I mean, going into any locker room and you guys know guys are great, you know, I can rarely and I played with kind of a dink of a teammate. I mean, all the guys I played with mostly good guys. So when you come into a new situation, they go above and beyond to make sure you feel comfortable. And that's what I did. I mean, Bert was there, you know, Marcus Naslund.

I mean, there was a lot of change over Brian McCabe was still there.

But he get dealt that year, the next year, or is it even longer?

I don't know. I don't even I don't even know when he a lot of younger Dallas was there, you know, so we had a pretty good veteran, Trent Klatt, you know, these guys. So it was it was a transition. It was it was different coming, you know, from from Florida now going to a market where, you know, hockey's everything. But at that point, you know, Vancouver sucked.

You know what? They weren't selling out. It was, you know, kind of a rebuild time for them and then start seeing improvements as the years went along.

Yeah, they brought in métier. It was a huge deal. He was named the captain, but that just didn't work out for whatever reason. How come it didn't, you know, his great leader new team?

And I played with I played with with Messi. I think the one year I think he was already he was already there. You know, at the time. I don't I don't know, OK. I think sometimes, you know, things work out. I think when you think of mess, it's almost like, you know, the oilor. And then, you know, with the Rangers, I think this situation.

Twenty years of doing it right. Had you ever seen a guy come in and just kind of essentially run the show? Because, you know, it's like practices like basically Crawford's looking at him. Yeah. Optional kind of thing. Right? I don't I don't think he was.

He's Keenon right.

Oh I see this with Keenum. He might overlapped with Crowell I think a little bit. But you know what, you hear the story.

I don't know, maybe I was just oblivious to it. Maybe. I don't know. I didn't really see it. What I did see with, with, with mess was with his equipment.

Him and Alex Mogilny wear like crazy guys with their with their equipment, with, you know, mess kind of moving the tough part, you know, drawing a line on the board and having the trainer move it over, you know, a little bit wearing two different skates and practice. I mean, just crazy. Just crazy.

It just always wanted to kind of, you know, feel better. And and this is the first with Alex Mogilny. I saw it was just in the stick room and he was always in the snake room screwing around with the sticks like he didn't score enough.

He took he took a wooden stick, cut it, shaved it down and put it in.

There was. Into his aluminum stick, so it wasn't an attachment. It was just it was it was one player's would stick. He cut it and shaved it enough where you can shove it into the Özal.

That's like that's when you're trying everything right. And then, you know, back then you're torching everything. You can smell it all around. And guys were just so, you know, crazy with their equipment.

But I think to the longer you play, the crazier you get because it's like you've just been doing it for so long.

And then if things start to feel a little bit off, like the story we been check as far as w Walt's like, he literally retired, I think, because you couldn't get a skates to feel right anymore.

Right. Yeah, I heard the stories with him but never played with. Yeah.

You had a skirmish with Giancola. You guys get sent to the locker rooms. He actually comes in the Vancouver locker room. What were you thinking? You look up, you see a guy you just fight with on the ice in the frigging locker room, you end up getting suspended for it.

So, well, you know, sometimes on the ice, you know, shit is said, you know, both ways and know I didn't like what he said and he obviously didn't like what I said back to him. And then before you know it, yeah, we're both kind of kicked out and he's in my locker room and we're going toe to toe in the locker room. Are the trainers just like I don't know. You know, you have the you know, the hall police, you know, and there are guys that, you know, security guards that you know aren't.

Yeah. Aren't that aren't going to do much. But yeah, it was a crazy situation that I believe he got a few game suspension for it. But good guy, same thing. I mean, just at the time you're kind of competing and and things are said that, you know, he didn't like and escalated.

Yeah, I guess so. Do I get into the Olympics.

Yeah. Go go where you want. I get other questions about Van Macall right ahead. No, I just like I think that one of the most underrated, like underappreciated players of all time is Marcus Naslund.

Like I just remember like to see some of the seasons. He had only had one hundred point season, but right when you went there was pretty evident, like this guy was way better player than maybe even you thought being like in Florida so far away from the Kanaks.

Yeah.

I mean just taking it all the time. Yeah. And a good guy, you know, just I don't know if it's sweet, sweet or if you never met a bad one.

They're all, they're all great guys.

They all like to have fun and. But Marcus was one of those guys. Yeah. You can see the potential there. And, you know, he had he had the even have a snapshot. Had the right shot. Yeah, he did. You know, and I run around the powerplay, you know, get the win the draw, drag it to the middle. He Lutfur Marcus Leupp up and boom shoreside all the time. And you know, but yeah, he was he wasn't underrated after a while where a guy, you know, guys just recognize him.

And I think that and we all and he also produced in the time where the checking was a lot. I know titer. I mean, he was always these guys with Burt Morwen. And as you were just always seeing the toplines and when these guys were role and they were tough to stop and it's helike finish, I think he's last year in the NHL.

He might at twenty five goals and he went back to school. He probably still could have kept doing it. I don't know. I mean, if you were still in touch with them then.

Yeah, yeah I think so. I mean he was always the guy that kept up with his was fitness. Yeah. And I think, you know, some guys just kind of have enough, you know. And I think Marcus, like you said, he finished off twenty plus goals last year. And I think for him just kind of wanting to stop at the right time, he was a real big family guy. And I think you wanted, as is group, to go back to and raise his kids there.

And what he was he was a great teammate, first and foremost. He was a great teammate, good guy to be around. And we had some fun.

You got to see this iodines up close. And with this Chaucerian, what they do, what some about those guys, maybe a lot of people don't know because they seem like pretty low key, quiet guys, or they kind of like, you know, low key funny in the locker room or something.

Yeah, there are always there are always low key that there weren't loud guys. You know, I still for three years, you know, playing with them, I still can fucking tell them apart. I swear to God, it was just like and I have twins obviously boy and girl twins, you know, but that these guys are these guys identical identical twins and but yeah. Quiet guys. You know, again, guys from Sweden really quiet, shy at the beginning, those guys weren't like, lighten it up.

Right. Could not like, oh boy.

Is like, you know, who's going to get crucified for this, you know, Mularkey Burki, you know, but you can see it in like some of the things, you know, in a game are different. Right. But you can see it in practice. These guys were going to be held player.

All right. Talk to the guys on the team. It was evidence like it's a matter of time. Yeah. Yeah, it was.

It was a matter of time for the. Because you can see it and and it doesn't always translate in. The games, I mean, something I think a maturity level two for these guys and and, you know, I don't know what it was, what it was just the switch.

You know, these guys just turn it on and and end up you watch them in the corner, cycling guys to death and and the sardine playing these. I'm like, holy shit, you know? But they work that.

And I mean, it wasn't something that they knew that they had to make, you know, those changes. But, you know, they're going to be tightly checked. And there were so good at the give and go play.

Oh, I mean, they're just that that I guess that twins kind of share brain right here. You kind of know where there are like in some of these plays that no look plays or and you're like, you might want to throw it to your other teammate. They're like, no, I know my brother is well.

I went from like 2001. People are like these kids ever going to make it. And then twelve years later, one of them's taking off from the defenses on the other one's taking a slap shot for icing, but he's getting to it first. It was just they were pulling stuff off that was just so fun to watch playing billiards out there.

Right. And good guys. Yeah. You know, good guys. And they were great in the community and they you know, it's good to see them have the careers that they did. I was going to ask about the Olympic year. We talked about your draft. You're kind of, you know, not knowing and trying not to focus on it too much. Were you well aware that you were going to be on that squad or did you have to go into that season knowing that you were going to have to fucking be at the top of your game to to get a sniff?

What was on? I was on the list. You know, summertime you go. I don't know where we I think we went to Calgary and we did, you know, some sort of kind of walk through camp, you know, so was on their radar for the for the group.

Yeah. I just I started I there's some that I, I really wanted to be a part of, you know, I think with Gretzky running, you know, I think to have you picked by Wayne to represent your country and the Olympics, you know, was something that, you know, I wanted and it's had a good start to the year.

And and getting that call was just getting. Yeah. Steve Tambellini actually, who was our assistant GM at the time, was part of that front office group for the Olympic team.

So he he called me, you know, and told me that I'd be picked for the team.

And I was like, man, it was just so excited to be, you know, part of that group. Because if you look at that team, you're like, holy shit.

Oh, my God, I know.

Lemieux's unbelievable, you know, Eisenmann and all these guys.

And so it was what was the deal was you, Pronger, Niedermeier, Adam Foot, Broo Bruer and Blake.

Robert Blake. Oh good luck. You play well mostly. I played with Blake when I so I missed the first game. Right. So I was healthy, scratched in the Olympics. I remember Brian Burke calling me and said, listen, Joel will say the right thing. You know, you'll fold towels. If you need to fold towels, you'll get your opportunity. So sure enough, they got waxed the first game versus Sweden, country panicking countries panic grad's gets on the platform.

It's like this. Everybody said this Esposito moment. Right. Seventy two. Right.

And, you know, I got back in the lineup and just wanted to make the most of it. I didn't play, you know, crazy minutes to start, you know. But as the tournament went on, I started playing a lot more and most of the time was with Blake.

The I mean, I don't know if you're I'm guessing you weren't on the ice because Pronger made the pass. But when you make lets that puck go through his legs.

Yeah. And it was at Sacre-Coeur Korea, it's like that's one of the most memorable hockey plays I can think of. I mean, at the time, you realize how crazy that was at the time.

No. Yeah. I mean, other things happened so quick. But, you know, something, you know, have the wherewithal to I guess these guys thought at a different level, too, as well.

Right.

So, I mean, to see that play kind of just I mean, he definitely faked out a bunch of guys on the ice, obviously probably his own teammates, too. But we're waiting, you know, they're on the other side of it.

So but just seeing these guys, I remember walking in the room and why he would always be like doing crossword puzzles, you know, it's just like me.

Like us. We came in. Hi, this is that right? I be telling stories from the night before this guy you exercise, right? I mean. Exactly. So, I mean, same here. I mean, you go on there, you shoot the shit with the trainers. You know, you do your do your thing. But, you know, just seeing this kind of for the first time, because I never played with anyone that I walk in the room, started doing crossword puzzles.

Steve, why is the first guy that you saw. I do that. So but it was a great locker room.

Yeah.

There's so many strong personalities and guys who are first ballot Hall of Famers like to try to even understand the dynamic of, like, who's the one talking and who's the alpha who.

Yeah, who's the alpha, because they're they're all alphas.

Right. And I think you get. To that scenario, I think everybody needs it wasn't it wasn't like a rah rah room and it wasn't one guy kind of stepping up and kind of taking charge. I think, you know, when you look at that team, a lot of the a lot of the damage was done, guys performing and, you know, at the right time, you know, finding ways to help your team win.

But was was there was there one moment to where you were like, holy shit, when maybe somebody spoke up in that locker room at any point in time, like, is there anything they could stand out to you from from that experience in the locker room?

No, really. Don't panic then. Yeah, I mean, that's the thing. I mean, you're just there were there wasn't any panic. You know, there might have been panic from from the country itself. Wayne, put that to bed pretty quickly. Yeah.

We've put her in the net for. Yeah. Gold medal game.

Right. I don't remember actually.

They switched goalies or am I thinking of when it looked like it was it Kujo? And yeah, it was broader. I was thinking as well. Forwarder and the Longo came in and it was. Yeah. Oh it's OK. I put you on the spot stepwise doing the crosswords like Jovel. What's a three letter word for Citizen on Petrelis like I don't always like I remember trying to do crossword puzzles because people were doing them and I got one and mundanes was the easiest, couldn't get one.

And I was like, what is going on here?

These things would be a breeze, right?

You're looking at you're like, I got the crossword puzzle and then at the bottom they got the answers are like I was more of a Sudoku kind of guy.

Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you crush it. OK, OK.

You know, not to glance over Vancouver, but do you think that going to Arizona had a big part to do with the fact that you've proven yourself and Wayne had had been a part of Team Canada and seen that?

Well, you test free agency, right? So I think, you know, for me, it was always, you know, the rules were different now, right? Where, guys, you weren't as young, right?

I was thirty thirty one, you know. So I think for me, you know, heading into free agency was something that I always wanted to experience. And there was there was many teams.

I just you know, Arizona had had a decent team. You know, you look at the team when I signed there with, you know, veteran group, it just obviously didn't work out. It fizzled pretty quickly there, but it was somewhere there. I thought I had an opportunity to win.

What was it like having Wayne as a coach? I mean, I like you even said like they had some veteran groups and they always seem to finish just outside of playoffs and maybe didn't gain that success.

And I feel like I pack. Really? Yeah. They never go a high pick. I feel like he kind of got regnant on as as a coach.

Like, what was it being how was it being coached by him? Whether it was great timing. I mean, his is his passion for the game is it was there you know, he really loved his players. He'd go to bat for them.

You know, sometimes when you you know, for Wayne, it had to be like so tough for him to watch behind the bench being like, what the fuck are these guys?

See that guy? Holy shit.

You know, but we had, you know, Boddicker Tourie, you know, young guys were Wayne was a young guy and played. So then again, I mean, you look back and we talked about guys being ready to play. I mean, Kyle tourists and Michael Boddicker weren't ready to play. You know, I think just situation.

These guys were high draft picks. They're thrown in the fire. And I think they probably regressed the first couple of years until it, you know, maturity took over and they're better players.

But yeah, I mean, Wayne, we just listen, I you know, at the start, we just started bad and just continued bad. And when you get into that, it's just tough to you. Good luck getting out of it. Right. You're done. You're out of the playoffs by Thanksgiving. Yeah, I heard that at one point he came in the room.

He was just like, guys, it's five on three. Like, how could you just not put the pocket in that?

You have to actually, it makes sense that you have two guys boys.

Well, I watch hockey today and when there's a five on three, I'm expecting ninety nine point nine percent a goal. If you don't score, you shouldn't win the game.

Right. You know, so you don't change, Wayne, just, you know, so many great things. And I think he sees the game, obviously did see the game and and a lot different way than, you know, most players do. It just didn't it just didn't work out. You know, I think for for the coaching there.

I mean, you played so long so you can ask you about, like, different generations, but you saw the game completely switch after the full canceled season, whatever. Twenty four, five for you to come in.

You can't cook, you can't hold, you can't pick for your partner like. Because you were you were going along for 10, 15 years where it seemed like you could just straight up take a guy out of the play who's for a check and can opener. Right. And scanning was always kind of a strength of yours. It was strength of mine. So it was always like, OK, I got I got to make sure I'm in the right position where I don't do this.

But, yeah, there's been many times where you're like, how the fuck how are they going to call this like a love tap or whatever the case may be.

But the rules change and it killed a lot of players.

Oh, there were some older guys that just just were done right away. And if you didn't adapt and, you know, make changes or work on whatever you need to work on, I mean, this was an area where the league wanted to, you know, to, you know, get more pace in the game, more offense. So, I mean, what do I like better?

I mean, we all like the pace of the game the way it is today.

But some of the plays were you, you know, looking at some of the questionable calls, you know, you just hope that they even up at the end of the night and like the guy, like I always think, like Darian Hatcher, awesome career hit 12 years.

And then that that new league came.

And right here, you know. Right. He still had the physicality. But it's like you had to be able to keep up that. That's when a guy who could skate like you. It's like, oh, it's not as big of a deal is still different, though.

Why? So I started really, you know, towards the latter part of my career and all my hips were, yeah, you're going you have to fake hips. I have one.

Yeah. So and I played with one. I actually came back and I played forty games with it, but I remember I was back pedaling and Nathan McKinnon was coming down.

He was, he was, he was at the blue line. I was at the top of the circles. The gap Joel. I thought I like gap up gap. There's no chance that I knew at that, that point. I mean, you know, your passion for the game was there. You know, your excitement was there. But, you know, the legs weren't there anymore. And and also the grind of having to get ready for games, too.

I remember used to be cruising around. He parks all over the fucking noon. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know what? I always was the guy that I love coming in the rink early. But, you know, the last couple of years of my career, it was literally table the table. I'm like, what am I now?

It was like, OK, I'm going to get it. I'm going to get my, you know, initial kind of rub down. I'm going to go to that table and I'm going to get, you know, stretched and then I'm going to go get ready.

And but right before I go on the ice, throw some red hot on me, you know, then what are your back everywhere. Oh, back. You know, I'm growing. And then halfway during that game, I mean, it's kind of sliding. You're nuts. Are on fire. You're coming. You're coming in. I mean, it's it's crazy the shit that we'd go through, you know, to get through a game.

And we are towards the end, my body was just kind of hot enough.

How is the body now? Like, are you dealing with stuff or is it actually pretty good? I mean, well, you got another hip surgery coming down.

Yeah, I was supposed to get my my right hip replaced on, you know, early December and then with with covid and everything. I'd have to be there, you know, extended period of time and I just wasn't ready for that. So but that's hurting right now. It's her now I yeah. I can't tie my shoes or no shit up and down.

And yeah, it's one of those things that we kind of go through and pound.

And I always remember, you know, as a player, you know, when you, when you were a little bit sore and you had it checked out, it probably needed to be fixed.

But I was always told, you're good. I know you're good to go, you know, taping Advil to it.

Yeah. To throw a jetpack on, throw an Advil on it and tear it up. And your smoothie post game. Yeah, right.

So yeah. But it is what it is.

You know what, the league's been great to all of us. Yes. You know something that we signed up for. Yeah. No go.

Right. That you actually went to Germany for like plasma therapy. Did that work at all. Did it help at all?

When I went there, his name was Peter Whaling and I researched him through. He did. He was you know, he worked on Colby and Ray Lewis and almost this regenerative stuff. So I went to him. I spent a week in Dusseldorf so he would come in the inject it twice a day for five days. So I went there. Had that done, came back, was feeling great. Someone went inside outside on me and I ended up in the corner and I knew I had to get my fix on my surgically fixed.

But he told me my hip was like a sixty five seven year old. No shit human. What I went there he goes. You gave me like a twenty percent chance. But at that time you're just you'll take five percent if he can avoid surgery.

So I wonder maybe you know, but I'm guessing not like how many players. Played in the NHL with a fake hip. I mean, for you to do that, it's like that's pretty crazy. I mean, it's such a high level speed sport. It's one thing to do in golf, to play in the National League.

Well, I when I went when I went to New York, I bounced around to a bunch of Dr. Winterville saw Philippon. You saw Dr. Bird in Nashville. I went to Dr. Kelly and in New York. And he's the hip prevention guy. So he's your lady. He's going to fix your labrum to prevent to what I have today. He's like, go around the corner, buddy, see my partner.

Your playing days are over and oh, my gosh, you know, I played, you know, over a thousand games at the time. And, you know, it was it was a long career.

So it wasn't like I wasn't flawed. But I knew that I you know, hockey was everything to me and I wanted to play so, so tough to hear.

You know, long story short, you know, I go see Dr. Sue and he kind of threw this hip resurfacing on me. So it's not quite a hip replacement. They actually shaved down. They dislocate your hip.

They shaved down the femoral head to probably the top of that spinning chick lit swaddle or the pink Whitney bottle. And then they they cleaned out your acetabulum, which is your socket, and they put a new the new ball on the, you know, the head and they put a new socket in. So you have you have your underlining bone, but you have a metal hip and socket, some crowns kind of what is you get the same thing.

He had this, he had the same. And I had talks with with Casso. He was out he called me about the procedure.

So sure enough, I have the surgery and I feel great. You know, I go the tedious rehab. You know, the hip is, you know, you got to get the glute firing, you know, your quads. You got no ass. Yeah. Pizza box. Pizza box. That's so, so, so I started feeling good it.

But then I asked the doctor right before I when I started skating and said what one of the risks he's like really no risk.

I mean you, you snap your femoral neck and then you get a total hip.

So I said what's the pain threshold of the snapping of that snap in the femoral neck? You know?

So he's like, listen, at the socket, you know, we put in it's a big one. Your joint is bigger, got grainne bone density, this and that. So I went out and played. I felt good now. I was scared. I was scared getting hit. Right. I'm like, like, is this thing going to blow up on me? But I felt I'm like, holy shit man, I can actually bend. I felt great.

I like this is how you're supposed to feel anyway. I played forty games, forty five games and the next year just you know, I got the call about the buyout. I'm like I just came back with a fake hip.

Let me play on my last year. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway it all worked out.

Everything worked out but it was. Yeah it was you know it was, it was tough. Pretty, pretty satisfying.

Um gastineau to come back from that and like and play again. Yeah.

I just you know, I missed it so much. Yeah. I miss the guys. I miss the locker room. I didn't know anything different. You know, you kind of you're sitting around home and you're like, oh my God, you're pulling your hair. You know, your kids are just driving you crazy. Not even noon yet. It's not even noon yet. Like, you know so. Well, you know the drill. Ready? You go to the rink, drop the kids off at the school.

At school, you're at the rink three and a half hours before practice, you know, and then kind of sit around after.

And so you're kind of day your whole routine and now it's gone. Right. And it's they say it's like it's like PTSD.

And I never looked at it like that until, like, your your your whole life has been something and then now it's been stripped of you. So you're just you're like, right. And we played a game where the excitement and like the natural high. You're right.

You're not going to find something that me and I was so euphoric on scoring a goal or are watching your teammate, you know, do something special or win a game. There's just nothing you can duplicate that other than making a big birdie putt for the club championship with Theodores.

You two guys, you know.

Yeah, but yeah, it was I had this thing in mind that I wanted to play those forty, you know, and it didn't quite work out that a couple of years shy, but it was a nice little run and it was a nice run.

What do you remember of this clown right here on point?

And we had a we had a great time together because I think that the expectations were so low in Arizona the year this is the first year that tip got there to like everything with Waino. I don't I don't know why the break up.

I don't know if you get fired, Wayne. I think so. Yeah. Or whatever it was.

But then it was this group of misfits that, you know, I think they were we were ranked fifteen going in that season in the Western Conference, and we just had a galvanized group of misfits and we ended up fucking pulling it off. And you were there for like two or three years when I was there.

Right. When?

Tip came when Tip came in, I mean, you can see, you know, the structure kind of back from a coach that's been around for a while, you know, and and kind of reflected the way he played to he was a third line.

Ceccarelli, you had more of a game plan? One hundred percent. Yeah.

I mean, it was like I remember a tip was one of those guys to the the accountability was posted on the board every five games, you know.

So I mean, playing in Arizona, I mean, there's two guys covering it. One guy never put a pair of skates on in his life, probably, you know.

So you remember Tip, he would put these five games, five game segments.

This is how shitty analytics and the numbers. Every guy, every guy is. So you can't team's record and stats over five as each guy. Each guy. So because you need your teammates. Yeah. You couldn't fool anyone and you in the accountability had to come from within locker room. And, you know, so that's how Tip kind of got his message over to the guys. But listen, I was, you know, being an older guy with these guys.

I mean, I was I was in that, you know, were like scre was tough. So I'd be asking them for stories.

Yeah. It's a always, you know, it's going on. But this is like how long we got.

We had a good we had a good group, you know, we had a fun group.

You had you had a man who was starting to pop off and really come into his own right.

And, you know, see what he's done over, you know, since I remember coming in into Phenix or Arizona and seeing hands. And I'm like, this guy is a special talent. You know, he made some some minor adjustments to his lifestyle, his lifestyle.

He found a beautiful wife, you know, and and he grew up a lot in a lot of time. Right. And I think a lot of guys nowadays, I see, you know, how big the reward is.

So, you know, there's there's just so much, you know, out there for these guys to have.

And that's one message that, you know, I was told as a young player, you know, keep up, you know, with everything, your nutrition, your work and all this and that and play as long as you can because, man, it ends and it's like, oh, boy, where do we go now?

Yeah, I told before Jeff O'Neill, I was talking him on Twitter as well as still playing, maybe not in the NHL, but kind of asking him he was already into the media and he's like, dude, play as long as you can. He's like, right.

You can only golf so much. I remember being like, fuck, I was like, I might try to break that mold. I think I could play a little more golf than he imagines. But I still remember being told that from a guy who was done and being like, wow, it does hit home, keep it going.

Are you playing a guy like Gomer or this? You know, our old girl I played with Gomer. Were you in Florida?

Yes. Yes. So for a minute I told him I actually said that, Gomer. I said, were you serious when you told me this story, told me this. So we're lined up in Montreal and this is when he just like he with the the fans, wherever you got him, he scored a goal in one hundred games.

Every time he even touch the puck, just step on the ice. They're booing it. Yeah, it was so line up next to him. I think we were we're shorthand because I was lined up on the wing and he's like jovial.

When the puck drops, I'm going to expose my wrist, break my wrist because I had enough.

I had enough. You go, oh, I'll pay your fine, I'll pay your fine, you know. Oh, you miss, right?

Oh, there must have been so much more of that going on in your earlier days to like what were some of the crazy fucking antics, Vancouver and your first trip and Florida must have been nuts. My first trip back here.

Well, just like earlier on, I feel like these types of antics happened so much more in the earlier days where guys are so much more buttoned up. Yeah, for sure. Because there's so much, you know, more to expose. You're in trouble. And, you know, I think back then, you know, you get to the hotel room, first thing that happens is the phone comes off the ringer, you know, but I don't know.

I think listen, I think this whole social media thing, it's a great things for guys to, you know, get themselves out there. I wish I would have jumped on social media right when it kind of came out. I'm kind of old school that way. I kind of lived through my kids in that. But like, you guys, you guys do a phenomenal job. So we appreciate it.

And I finally grew up Jovel. Hey, not too bad. Not not that you're not OK with not much. There's Hempel's all over my back telling telling stories from the night before in Scottsdale, right.

Yeah. Those are those are a good five years.

You know, in Scottsdale we had we had fun and and and it's different.

Right. You're you're I mean, the weather there in the wintertime, I mean, you're playing in and in Arizona to by the rink was. You know, an hour away, but, yeah, you had Florida and Arizona, both spots are just middle of nowhere. You know, the best place was Vancouver, though, you know, for me, I had great years in Vancouver.

Team was good. Yeah. It was a tough it was impossible ticket to get, you know, after my first year and a half there. And the accountability, I think you were scared to be bad.

Yep. You know, you get crucified, you know, the media. And it always kind of stuck with me, that whole thing in Vancouver. But we had great years there and and just playing in a hockey market.

And it's just it's fun.

I was on a horrible team and a hockey market in Edmonton. I mean, Pittsburgh was as well.

But it's still pretty sick because even if you win a game, you lose forever and you get the one win, everyone's happy and right. And it's the good news. This is so sick, if only we could be successful.

But what did I want to ask the all Five Loko?

You didn't play at all that. Yeah. Was would you just take the year off what we heard? Oh, what was the story there?

Yeah, I didn't play. I got a call from Steve Tambellini who is running the World junior team.

And I remember clearly I was sitting I was sitting on the beach and while I was actually it's funny because those, you know, my ties, I was having a drink and this is where, you know, the people would come around the pool deck. So I had someone giving me a neck massage and someone was someone wrote in my feet already talking and talking to me on the phone. And I'm like, you know, but I haven't skated in a while.

And it was just like, and to go there and and and get hurt. Sure enough, what happened after that is kind of when all the injuries started happening. You know, you miss a year, you're kind of your body gets out of that routine and. Yeah, but on that, I just joined my kids, you know, at that at that time, that one one last one.

You stayed down here year round because it's hot as balls down here, Tony, much like the humidity adrover.

No, I don't. I don't. I mean, it's just you know what? I have the kids that are kind of in this area here and and I need to enjoy and enjoy them because they're you know, they're at their friends and they want to be around and they're still young enough where, you know, you just kind of can't pull them away for a while. But, you know, as they get older, I think it's definitely something I look at to get out of here in the summertime.

Sure enough. Yeah. You got to play golf at like seven thirty in the morning. Yeah. You know, and be done by eleven o'clock just to just to not lose twenty pounds. You take up golf and so.

Well Jovel. Thank you so much buddy. Best of luck with it. With a TV gig, any, any plans to maybe move on to coaching or maybe management at some point. Are you happy with just the TV and that side of it.

I'm, I'm happy with what I'm doing right now. I listen, I love the game. I'm watching a lot of hockey. I mean, down the road. Is there something that, you know, stay in hockey? I like to. I think it's a good start where you're at now.

You're just back in, you know, right here and kind of seeing all the games. And, you know, for me, it's just kind of staying in touch with with, you know, what I know in my whole life, because I dabbled in a few things and nothing kind of gets me going more than and seeing, you know, hockey games and talking about it and seeing, you know, what a great game it is today, because it's, you know, every year it seems to be getting better and better.

And the pace is getting and young players coming in and that generation of stars that we have today, you know, McKinnon McDavid, you know, taking over from, you know, Crosby and Ovie. So it's it's good to see games in a good place.

Well, thanks again, Jovel, your man. What a career. Thanks, guys. Thanks for all those free dinners during my code is yours. My pleasure.

Huge thanks to Eddie Jovanovski to join us. What a character man seemed like a well-liked guy when he played definitely a character hanging out with interview and so big thanks to the jovial cop. Once again, a gang summer is just around the corner.

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These things are great, man. I got a few pairs of underwear and they definitely keep things nice and snug, which you need when you an old man like myself, just carliner.

Not Saqqara. Absolutely. Yeah. A little cradle on the Med, the Central Division. We got to talk about the Detroit Red Wings or more specifically, their broadcast. They were given some love to the wet dog. The wet dog.

I didn't know you had the record wet for the being eighteen point lead at the latest into the season without having scored a goal. You had thirty one games. You had total twenty four assists. While Phillipe Rolnik was about to tie it, they talked about it before the game. And lo and behold, he scores a one hundred and ninety foot empty net goal. That means Whitney keeps the record wet dog. Let's go to you for reaction.

I think it's like the perfect kind of description of maybe my career in that. There was a lot of promise it was it was good for a split second in that I had a couple of big years and then this stat I was leading the team in scoring.

So when you hear that, that's good, right?

That's good. Thirty ones in 31 games in a season. Yeah.

Yeah, 31 games. This you're leading the team in scoring, so that's the good.

But then it finishes, it finishes off with without scoring a goal like it's like yeah dude you're leading the team in scoring but you're such a pigeon you don't have a goal.

So it was a little I mean not embarrassing because it was definitely a good thing, but it was like a dude, you don't have one goal and you play on every power play and you got Hall Eberly and you're Nugent Hopkins like, come on dude.

So I remember getting the goal.

I got the first goal.

The season was in San Jose and it was late in the game. I think we were down. I think it was one of the it was a typical goal by me.

Right. Like we lost three one instead of three nothing.

But I was like, oh, man, now I'm on the score sheet. And then I got another one, like real quick. And at that point I was definitely having the best year of my life. And I was playing and our team was really struggling. But I was you know, it was it was it was a situation where I was probably like that year, maybe a number four on a good team.

But I was on Edmonson's. I was the number one, but I was playing awesome and boom, that was the end right there. That's when I stepped in the right in front of the net.

Nobody near me and looked and took the Skatoff. And the tendon was on the wrong side of the ankle bone. Oh, that was a year.

That was the year. And that was it. And I never could come back from that one.

So I did get healthy from the Pittsburgh ones and I felt great. And I wonder what would have happened if I didn't get hurt that game.

But that year was I was flying. So all of a sudden to see that kid, like approaching like my record in quotations because it's not really a record.

I was like, oh, my God, I kind of want to hold on to that one and boom, he gets the late empty nester after people tweeted me like a they're bringing you up on the broadcast. Didn't we have Mickey Redman on here?

No, we had Ken Daniels all weekend. Daniels Excuse me. Kent Yes. It was funny, funny, funny times to see. Finally get to go on San Jose. And we lost and I got hurt.

Suck it. Just like a trip down memory lane tonight.

And I guess that this division, all its competitive as hell. Tampa, Florida, Carolina, still of the top three spots. Columbus, man, they woke up, they're nipping at their heels. Chicago, I mean, even Nashville, they've they had the longest trip in team history. They went for three and one. They're not dead yet. They've won three of the last four. Dallas nipping at the hip.

I think this horse race, two horse race. Aaargh! I think between Columbus and Dallas, Dallas, obviously, with games in hand, surprising that Columbus has been able to do this without getting any protection from from winning. Patrick, line eight, one goal in his last twelve games. Now, I haven't been able to watch a lot. Now, I ask you, Columbus fans, are you still as excited about having this guy is as you were before you got him and now you've kind of seen exactly what you get?

We talked about it, and I know Winnipeg fans saw it firsthand. This guy could be the best player in the world for two or three weeks, and then you might not see him for another three. It's just the way it goes with this guy. So maybe that's a result of the of the kind of feud or maybe the the lack of trust that courts has in him and his playing ability and not putting him in the situations that he should be placed in because there isn't any trust in him, I don't know.

But nonetheless, they're getting the job done. And as far as Dallas concerned, they got a lot of games in a condensed schedule in order to make some ground up to get that last four spot. But as far as those top three teams, man, that's getting that first place is going to be so key because that matchup between two and three, that's that's probably going to be the best, probably the best two and three matchup in the league going in going into going to the playoffs.

It's crazy to think that Florida looks like is just there. They're going to be in you know, it's it's Tampa, Florida. Carolina. Right. And then the battles between those two. And to think like before the season, nobody saw that. Well, we saw Carolina, Tampa. But Florida has been awesome. I just I'm so shocked by Dallas. I know they're making a little bit of a push, but I think Dallas is one of the most disappointing teams in the league so far.

Injuries, injuries in the club and the covid issue and the goaltending. But it's like, oh, there was such high expectations going after the last year's run. I would say. I'll tell you what, though, that if they find their stride and they sneak in and they got sick again, healthy and bishops back healthy, that would be I mean, their back end is so strong. You saw that played at Klingberg made the other night. He is continuing to play absolutely filthy that way.

That could be the worst possible matchup for for for winning that first lead. So I guess in any case, in that division, there's going to be no easy game.

Well, no, it could it could be Tampa. Dallas, first round. Yeah.

You know, the only time in history, I'm guessing, the only time in history that two teams met in the Stanley Cup final, then met in the first round the fall for sure.

Somebody look that up for us Blackhawks one in five san come out with any comment.

Yeah, I'm a mush.

We went over this this episode. I'm a guy who says something and the opposite thing happened. So it's tough living that way.

Believe me, I know I'm a mush. I know. So when you let you let me have it online, it hurts my feelings. Yeah. The Hawks.

Yeah, they stumbled a bit, but it's still right in the thick of it. Tampa rolling right along Vasey tied the team record with his eleventh straight win as a goaltender.

I want to ask you guys, because Dallas is pretty much all white ensemble that they trotted out a few games back. What was what was your take on them?

The stormtroopers? Yeah, I love it. This is their team. And strange, brutal.

It's a little bit more aggressive than the Vegas Golden Knights because they're so much more white. I was talking about this on the Terry Ryan podcast. I think it's such an advantage wearing white, especially all white, because you blend in with the ice and boards. And given how fast hockey is and how peripheral it is, I find that to be such more of an advantage with. Do you think that that's a silly argument? Like, I'd much rather be wearing white jerseys than dark jerseys.

You can get out of there because when you're defending all white jerseys, like if you get lost for that split second, but I look at it the other way where it's like, I don't know if I'd be able to see a guy on my team quick. Like, it might be a little difficult, like with the white ice, if you just get your head up and you're just like, oh, he's blending in with the boards in the ice.

And this this this could be so like such a mute point. If these is it mute or mute, it's the question is moot. Fuck me, man.

You've been talking like me. You know what I got to do? A brain transplant. I got to do I got to go back to college. I promised my parents I'd get my degree and I got to go back to college and maybe I'll learn some more words and I got to get that degree.

I think I have a better chance of completing the Tour de France than you do getting your degree.

What was your major communications? Sociology?

Yeah, I was in the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston University.

I had the tournament big, big time. Let's go be you. We got a little word from our friends over at Nizza.

It can be a little frustrating, especially if you're in a hurry or running late to find yourself at a railway crossing waiting for a train.

And if the signals are gone and the train's not even there yet, you might feel a little tempted to try to sneak around across the tracks. Well, don't ever. To the naked eye trains often appear to be further away and moving slower than they are, and they can't stop quickly. Even if the engineer hits the emergency brake right away, it can take a train over one mile to stop. By that time, it's too late and the result is a potentially deadly crash.

The point is, you can't know how quickly the train will arrive. The train can't stop quickly. Even it's even if it sees you, it ends in disaster. Pretty simple, folks. If the signals are on, the train is on its way and you just need to remember one thing. Stop. Trains can't this I can be serious when they need those ads. Oh, my goodness.

But but last week we talked about fighting the actual number.

Well, this is going back a couple of days, up 42 percent over last season. Seven had a panel the other night with Dave Pullen, a Mike Johnson, you know, talking about that they need to have a conversation and stiffen penalties. It's like I feel like that's the same shit people been saying for 20 years, like the players wanted. It's their hired take. It's so old man.

It's like an even Pullens like I was a captain of flies. I know. It's funny coming from me. It's like, dude, it's no no one's no one is fucking asking to get rid of fighting except for a few randoms on Twitter who fucking don't like it in the game. I don't know. I just want to bring that number up 40.

I was like the hot topic like for like a couple of years and it kind of went away and I guess it's probably going to come back. It's just something else to bitch about. And it's like, listen, it's not going anywhere.

If the players don't want it to go, it's in division right now.

It's probably elevated for that reason. I will say, I, I do think that that I think that teams teams might have been moving away from it because of this media pressure where I think that moving forward that teams will get back into it, they will see the need for it.

I would really hope that guys wouldn't be making moves based on media pressure. But maybe you're right.

Yeah, I don't I don't I don't even know if there's even pressure there. I know everybody has topics they got to talk about, but. Well, what the reason they brought up was because when Richie knocked out what's his name, Kyra, they're on Edmands and he you know, he held them as he knocked them down. They brought up that is an injury. And then Ben Sharat hurt his hand in a fight. But, you know, I mean, we know that most concussions don't come from fighting.

It's like I said, I don't even I hate talking about it, but I did want to mention fighting is up. We we're happy with it. We can do it.

We do get some terrible news that came out of Russia in the last week. Nineteen year old player Tima Phase-Out Danoff, he died after being hit in the head with a puck during a game. He's a defensive dynamo St. Petersburg junior team.

And it was just like kind of a sort of a neutral zone dump that wasn't a like wasn't like a hot slap shot, but it caught him and a vulnerable area. He's collapsed to the ice, immediately was treated on the ice. And then he went to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

A few days later, just I mean, awful, awful news. I mean, you don't even know what more to add when something like this happens. It's it's such a fluke thing. But we obviously want to send out an analysis, you know, so just so sad to see the video.

And you could see how much pain the kid was in. It was just a horrific story. But rest in peace. That was that's the scariest thing you ever see, you know.

Yeah, you said it, not video. You could just see how much he panicked and he was, my God, grabbed his head so hard. And you're like, oh, no. Like, what was the pain like as soon as you felt it. And just to hear this. Yeah, like because I remember it ended up going out on social media that he went to the hospital and then obviously he was was was in a coma at one point.

They said I mean, they didn't say whether he's in a coma or not. Plus, what Russian media, not your choice to go by, basically said he was being treated in the hospital. So whatever whatever that until though it's just a horrible story and, you know, we hate to see it.

And again, our condolences to any family or friends who may or may not be listening to you can convey the word with terribly sorry to hear about it. So obviously, it's not easy to segway from out of that into anything else. I know Grenelle the NCAA bracket came out Sunday night.

As far as gambling on it, there's not a lot of hockey gambling going on. We did check to see if they're going to be any odds posted in the Boston sports book. From a general perspective, they're not going to have any pre tournament odds. They're going to check about game to game odds. Basically, there's really no licensed operators who offer college individual games. You can get a odds at the beginning of the season. But gee, who's your favorite anyways?

It's it's tough to root against North Dakota. I mean, really watch them play Denver the other night in the NCAA playoff and they had an unbelievable comeback when. Shane Pinto, absolute pleasure to watch this season. They have Jake Ryan, Whitney Sanderson as well, who's been awesome.

But I like I like our guy, Cole Coffield, American hero, and number four, Wisconsin.

They also are women and men. You think the women and the men double dip and yes, I do. What a crazy. And up in the women's national championship. Holy shit. That was on North-Eastern took took the L was it was ot right.

Yeah. Josh from behind the natsheh bounce it off the girls took us.

Yeah. Huh. And you haven't heard that one in a long time.

I love Wisconsin boys. I love love Wisconsin. OK, yeah. I watch that game. Those are tough. Tough break for northeast. I was born father my, my old classmate was the head coach and actually girl from my hometown was playing for the national championship too. But it wasn't meant to be tough. Tough loss for the Northeast lady. So hell of an effort, a hell of a season.

One other team. Wait, I know you're not going to want to hear this is B.S. that thought they could face be you to go to the final four. They could.

We'll see. We'll see tonight who he is. Unbelievable. Alex, New Hook, Matt Boldy there.

Wagon shut your mouth hook play for Team Canada at the World Junior. No. Yeah. If he played for Rodo Avalanched draft pick. Oh yes. Oh yeah. I know. Soccer team is loaded.

We had you guys. I'm sure I saw the video an all time goalie goal celebration. Todd Scott of the tri city storm. Just I mean, obviously guys are always going to go nuts.

I don't think I ever seen a bowling ball this apeshit over scoring a goal before I could look like he might not want to bet with scoring that goal, which I would be going just as not to score goal as a goalie like that is so uncommon and you have to be so quick and strong to pull it off like you never have.

I guess there are certain times you have a ton of time, but for the most part you're decently rushed, right? Unless it's a full blown dumping. But then you still got to get it over everyone. So I would be just as fired up. But he looked like he just made some money.

That he was that was one of the best natural celebrations I've ever seen, like he kept going, just pumped to the crowd, bodycheck in the glass, over the bench, through the knuckle, through the head.

And I feel like I'm living it up a bit.

Have you seen this Hotel Cecil documentary series on Netflix people have been talking about for the last couple of weeks, tweeting about whatever? No, no, Craig.

It's about the girl in the elevator. Yeah, it's my wife said it was horrible. It was terrible. Do it. It could have been an hour like wait so much time.

They talk to these like Internet sleuths, but all they do is like let them talk and say this stupid shit like only like to like shoot it down later. Like, the thing could have been an hour, obviously, that they want to suck you. And basically this girl went missing this girl, if she was a student from Vancouver because she was staying at this hotel, Cecil, which has a sordid past that's located near Skid Row, you know, they tell you about all the people getting killed there and serial killers stay in there and this girl goes missing and they can't kind of imply that like something nefarious happened.

Well, you know, you watch the four episodes and I mean, I don't know if you're going to watch or not.

If it's a spoiler alert, you tell me then basically ruin it for everybody. Yeah. All right. Yeah, I'm going to give it away now. Basically, the girl went missing and, you know, everyone thought something bad happened to her. Obviously, she she died, so that was bad. But no one else did it. What happened was she was a bipolar and she had taken her medication and she went she had a psychotic episode or when it's a psychosis or manic, whatever the proper clinical terms are.

And she was found inside one of the water tanks above the hotel, Paul. Like, that's why they thought, like, someone killed her and put her in, like the big water towers on the top of buildings.

Yeah, they found her there like two weeks later. And everyone thought, like someone killed her. And but like, they went through all the video cameras, they went through everything. And they basically no, she hadn't been taking her medication because they say there's a video of her in the elevator and all the online idiots like all those something going on there. It's like, no, it's just a video of her to try to show you what she looked like.

And everyone thought like she was kindred spirits or some crazy shit. But no, she had a manic episode. And basically they think they one of the I don't know was a doctor. They theorized that, like, when you're in that a person's in that state, they're just trying to hide from something that something's chasing them. And they think that you just fucking kept going. And they're like, she climbed into this fucking water tower, which is like crazy because, I mean, nobody could have possibly killed her entire up there and put her in the thing.

So they had a rule, all this stuff out. And basically, yeah, for four hours, you sit there, you think the hotel, that's nothing to do with it. And it's like, no, the poor girl just had a had a medical episode and ended up inadvertently killing herself.

I find that's a pretty big theme nowadays with these documentaries is they drag them out. Exactly. I don't fight financially for it, of course.

Exactly. They drag them out. And like they said, they have these people, like, given these dipshit theories, it's like, dude, you sitting on your couch like, you know, watching a video and you think you're like a detective. And then they would just shoot the theory down later.

But I had something written down. Spenceley wins his third consecutive NCAA wrestling championship with two torn ACL. Third consecutive. Yeah, it was his third consecutive. And I guess he I think he'd already had one torn and then he tore one to nine days prior to the third. Did you ever written down. Yeah, I did. Had that on.

So you got beat up by store and he won the NCAA title. Yeah, that's pretty much where I was going with it all animal. Now I feel shame. Yeah.

Where does he wrestle that? All right, you know what school is it the opposite from the story original, not sure at school I don't even know either. I just saw the clip online. He said excuses. And I said, OK, I wish I could have that mental toughness going in against Tartini, but I eat my eat my lunch and and that was it.

The Oscar nominations came out since we last met. If you guys care, pay attention. Boost.

Yeah, no, I was pretty fired up and no major surprises, I suppose.

But let me ask you this. How many. For once upon a time in Hollywood. Oh, no, that was last year. Oh, fuck. Yeah. Yeah, that's all right. All right.

They break the rules. What's that? How many for Braveheart.

For Braveheart. Trying to get me on that one.

Somebody with a charming bizarre usually tripped me.

That's Gone with the Wind.

How many actually do the documentary? That's the list I was looking for. There's a documentary. You got to watch this. It's called My Octopus Teacher. Right. I saw the title is like what? I watched it. Dude, it's incredible. It's it got nominated for best documentary. It's about a guy who is going through, you know, personal struggles, whatever. And he he lives in South Africa. He goes scuba diving, snorkel, and like, he can hold his breath like five minutes in the same kelp forest every day in South Africa.

And he fucking, for lack of a better phrase, becomes friends with like an octopus, like they kind of have a bond. But he's actually very like he's a smart Dutney, explains everything while as it's going on. So it makes sense to me telling you here, guys, friends in archeology sounds like a laggard a little. But when him you and when you watch the doc, it's and it's unreal to look at Tobi's like it's definitely on Spock.

So there's video evidence of him interacting with oh, it's all it's the whole documentary is 90 percent of it. Was he romantically involved with all this kind of like a troika in the octopus? Just like I just laying into this octopus every day. His wife said, where are you going? Is like snorkeling again, honey? No, no, it's it's crazy. Why is your ticket and gonna tell me the truth? Are you fucking the octopus like this?

Octopus does things you would never even think of doing to me the bank and stole the money back. I'm not fucking the octopus. Well, my yeah.

My octopus teacher. Dude, check it out. It's good stuff. I mean, even just like on a visual thing, the scenery is unbelievable, the cinematography, because it's all underwater or late.

Breaking news story. UCLA has officially won their NCAA game with bitcoin on. We are officially bitcoin owners. Move over.

Elon Musk had been shit talking going shit. I have. I'm pretty pumped, man. I was you know, it sucked that I missed the boat, but I'm back home, baby. Yeah, go octopus.

Oh, I got one of fire. I just started the show up on a couple episodes in a couple of my followers tweeted it at me.

It's called zero zero zero. It's on Amazon Prime and it's about basically the a basketball coach deal. As I've mentioned this on our part.

OK, I talked about it about the there's an Italian cartoon. Yep. And the Mexican cartel. And it's intertwines. It is great. That guy who's living in that cave. Ha. Great actor. Yeah. I forgive me.

I forgot you mentioned that I had seen it. That's why I didn't ring a bell. But it's called zero zero zero and it's about like the mafia in Italy, the cartels in Mexico and American Chipo, all how they're all involved in the shipment of like produce a fake movie, a true story.

It's a series that's I don't know, I would have gone I would assume it's based on a true story at some degree. That's a good question. I believe there was an Italian mob and I believe that there's a Mexican cartel. I believe they're shipping cartel. I believe shipping exists now has to be true. And and I read it on Geter.

So it must be it is based based on the book of the same name Zorba's. Oh, you're good.

Speaking of Twitter, I bumped that in their fifteen year anniversary this week of Twitter, Twitter dot com, which is basically how this podcast 2010.

So while it was around four years before I was on it. Damn yeah.

That's what people were tweeting in the last few years.

It started, I think as some some people tweeting like where they were going for lunch and shit just about the people that's hot. That's kind of think. Yeah, I think I read. Yeah, you're right. That's how I originally heard about it. I was like, that's stupid. Why would people be tweeting where they're going? And it's just like it sounds dumb. And then even Charles Barkley was ripping it on on television. So I was very anti Twitter until until Stati Upshaw told me to hop on it.

Yeah, I had to be talked into it, too, but I'm glad I did. Well, I have days I fuckin wish I did, but it's been good.

Good. It's been good. And the whole was very good to us.

All right, boys, I think that should wrap up. We got a nice, fat, overstuffed episode this week, episode three twenty five. I'm fresh out of stuff unless you have anything else. Oh.

Last thing I wanted to mention, Ari, you actually had it written down, but shout out to Dick Hoyt who passed away. And Ari, I'm sure knows knows a lot more about him than I do.

But just in reading the things and for people who don't know, this is a Boston native and his son, Ari.

What was the disease?

His son was born with cerebral palsy, cerebral palsy.

And when he was 15, he asked his father if you could help him run. I think it was a marathon and a half marathon to help somebody that was paralyzed at his high school.

And his dad did it with him and his dad pushed him in the wheelchair and he wrote that he trained by pushing a wheelchair with like a cement block in it to to get ready for pushing his son.

And he ended up running 32 or 33 Boston marathons.

This pushing his son, Rick. And and dude, he ran one of them in two hours and 40 minutes.

He did he did six different Ironman triathlons with his son, my boy, Kirk Minahan had a tweet when he passed away for the swim portion.

He used a rope attached to his body to pull a boat fork out for two miles and then one hundred and fifty miles on a bike and the twenty six point two mile run pushing his son.

And like you can you can Google, you can Google dacoit and you can read about them.

And just the most love you could see for for a son who was just born with, you know, shitty deck.

Right. And I was like, amazed reading all the stories about him and to see what he did.

And what he said was there was one quote that his son said, like he felt like so alive after they did one of the first races and did this guy. He did it for his son the whole time and he passed away. And what an unbelievable person.

I never knew him. But but read about them. And these are things that happen in different areas all over the world where there's like local legendary stories, people who are like so kind hearted and so impressive and like people that you just you can't help but root for and be awed by. And this was a guy in the Boston area. So the Boston Marathon was moved to the fall. But there should be a special presentation for him, I think, before this year's race.

You know, I appreciate you bringing up that story. Right. That's awesome.

I already had it written down. I was like, oh, that's great to talk about on those good. Yeah. Yeah, they already they already have a bronze statue for the father and son at the beginning of the. Do they. Yeah. It's nice to be awesome.

They already had done that while Dick was still alive. And it's you know, like I wrote a blog, loved Ginelli tweeted out from the crowd tomorrow when the show drops. But I said in a blog basically like, this is one the stories with that right when it comes, you know, before the father passed, you just get teary eyed because there was such a story about love.

And this the first time they finished.

And this is the first time I cried about a whole story because because it was sad. Because it was always such a joyful thing, you know, they were literally tears of joy. And then this is the first time they were kind of tears of sadness. Right, writing the bottom. And, you know, it was emotional to write it, but, yeah, just an absolute beacon of humanity, just a role model for every father out there.

And Detroit will certainly be remembered around these parts forever. Solid ending and thank you guys for tuning in, per usual, I know this is a long one, but we missed chat with each other so that once a week we just get gabbin. And I appreciate all the listeners, as we all do.

And check out the new lit's, too. Absolutely. I'm going to chat and have a great rest of the week. We'll talk to. Yeah, we always like to thank our awesome sponsors here on spit and chocolates so big thanks to our friends over at New Amsterdam, Vodka and Pink Whitney, huge thanks to our friends over at Simply Safe for keeping everybody safe during these days.

Huge thanks to our friends at Zipp recruiter. If you're looking to hire, by all means, check them out. Huge thanks to our friends over at group for keeping us in shape. Big thanks to our buddies over at Saks for making sure everything's good for the boys down below. And a huge thanks to our friends over at Nizza for keeping us safe on the roads. Have a great week, everybody.