32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Ryan McDonagh

Episode Date: January 11, 2023

Jeff and Elliotte are joined by Nashville Predators defencemen Ryan McDonagh at Terroni on Adelaide in downtown Toronto. He talks about his relationship with pain, love of fantasy football, playing in front of three all-star goaltenders, the art of blocking a shot, why Nashville was the right fit, his AHL days playing with Wade Redden, being asked to sign a truck in New York, playing physical against your friends, better travel schedule in the Central Division, the emotions of going from the Stanley Cup Final to being moved, and he talks the guys about his passion for the grill.Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call The Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailMusic Outro: HalfNoise - Moody Disco BlueListen to the full track HEREThis podcast was produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: Bally Sports Sun, NBC Sports and Sportsnet.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Ryan McDonough, Nashville Predators, Stanley Cup champion, twice. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, Ryan McDonough. Welcome once again to 32 Thoughts to Podcast, interview edition, presented as always by GMC and the new Sierra AT4X. Today, our conversation with Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan McDonough. But first, a quick bio. He's from St. Paul, Minnesota, won the state hockey championship, won Mr. Minnesota as well, the hockey award for top senior in the entire state,

played his college hockey at the, how shall we call it, the defenseman factory that is the Wisconsin Badgers. It was the first round pick in 2007 of the Montreal Canadiens, was sent to the New York Rangers as part of the Scott Gomez deal. He helped the Rangers to the Stanley Cup final in 2014. Of course, they lost to the Los Angeles Kings.

He was named captain of the Rangers the following season. Was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018 as the New York Rangers announced a rebuild. He helped the Bullets win two Stanley Cups and made the Stanley Cup final last season, all the while mangling and bruising his body, blocking many, many shots. Last offseason, he was traded to Nashville in a cap move by Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julianne Brisebois. Tuesday morning, we sat down with Ryan McDonough at Taroni,

which is an outstanding restaurant in downtown Toronto. Thanks to everybody there who made us feel at home. We sat down with McDonough, and the interesting thing about him is he doesn't really do this. Like, we've seen him in post-game scrums, certainly little sound bites here and there from McDonough, but long-form interviews, he doesn't do many, if any. So we're grateful for his time, and we thank Kevin Wilson, Communications Director of the Nashville Predators, for putting this one together. Enjoy Ryan McDonough, defenseman for the Nashville Predators, on 32 Thoughts, the podcast.

Listen to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Elliot, we're at downtown Torrone on Adelaide, beautiful restaurant. Wanted to have a really nice setting because Ryan McDonough doesn't do very many of these. Ryan McDonough, defenseman for the Nashville Predators joining us. First of all, thank you so much for taking time out. I know that this is maybe new territory.

Your reputation is great teammate, fearless leader and lead by example, not a big talker. I like to do all of you talking on the ice. First of all, how are you? Because last night we're watching the Ottawa game, and when I think of Ryan McDonough, there's one visual that comes to mind. It's you going to the bench wincing, and we saw it again last night in the game against Ottawa. I always have to ask, how are you doing?

I'm doing well. I'm in one piece today, which is good. No broken bones at this moment. So that feels good. And, you know, last night took another puck to the shin there, but it was late in the game and trying to hang on to a shutout there for our goalie who's been unbelievable this year. So it felt good for us to come through for him there.

You know, I asked some people who are in Tampa just about you. And one of the things they talked about was, as you walk down the corridor to the dressing room in Tampa, there's a picture of you on the mural and you're down blocking a shot. And they said that is the perfect memory of what Ryan McDonough did here. Now, you got pretty hurt this year, and we've seen a few of them. I'm just wondering, is there any more fear in you, like the way these kids shoot today,

about going down and trying to block these shots? Yeah, I think you try to have a little bit more calculations to it at times, different points in the ice, different points in the game, but you still know the difference that it makes. Shot blocking pays dividends and wins and makes a difference in the long run. And, you know, for me, joining a new team here, trying to, you know, show my teammates and show the team different ways to win games and the sacrifices

that it takes. And so, you know, I'm always going to be willing and able because I've seen the dividends pay off like I talked about. What's your relationship with pain like? I'm really curious about this. A lot of athletes are treated differently. You know, marathon runners will talk with, you know, sitting with their pain, almost like pain is something separate from them and it's something they carry with them and they have a relationship

with it. How would you describe your relationship with pain? It's a love-hate. I mean, yeah. I mean, you know it's going to hurt. You hope it doesn't. You hope it catches you in the pads at times.

But you make sure you take care of your training staff. That's for sure throughout the year because they're definitely looking after me a lot. You know what? It's funny you say that because I heard you took a lot of pride in Tampa about beating the training staff in fantasy football, and you made sure they knew that you beat them in fantasy football.

So that doesn't sound like taking care of your training staff. There's different ways, but no. It was a competitive group down there, and like many people in this world, fantasy football is fun to be a part of. True or false on that one, you came in second this year, Stamko's first. That's true. Yeah, it was tough down the finish there.

But Stammer got his first title. I've gotten one title. Who were you most pleased to beat along the way, though? Probably Pat Maroon. Now, do you have one in Nashville? Did you do one this year with the group? I did do one in Nashville, and I came in second in that was a you know original or I guess a season-long version so it was me and Tanner Janot in the finals but he came out on top there but at least I was you know happy

to make an imprint there with the new guys and and they know I like football and pay attention to it but there's some competitive guys there too, even some of the – Phillip Forsberg is a diehard football, fantasy football fan. So it was pretty interesting to learn that about him. Now, who was your best pick this year and who was your worst pick this year? My best pick this year was Travis Kelsey. I think many people would agree. Tight ends were kind of hard to find consistency this year,

but, man, that guy was a beast. I did take Cam Akers, and he was slow off the start and nonexistent, but then he finished kind of strong. So like it is, it's always an up-and-down season with fantasy football. In one of my pools, I had a number one overall pick, and I took Jonathan Taylor. And my team did pretty well this year. I got knocked out

in the quarterfinals considering where I started but he killed me that's like the war the week I got knocked out was the week he got hurt in the first play of the game and I was like I don't take this stuff quite that seriously but that drove me crazy fantasy football it makes people crazy yeah it definitely makes watching football a lot more better a lot better along the way in your career you've played with three really distinct goaltenders i'm always curious about the relationship between a defenseman and his goaltender henrik lundqvist andre vasilevsky and now uc soros how are they different how are they similar your relationships with your your three main net minders i mean yeah i was obviously a rookie when i first got to know longquist and play alongside

him and pretty intimidating guy as far as being the face of new york there and the legend that he he was there for the rangers but um you know obviously as you get to play longer with him you know he cares about his teammates and and you know, wants to win. Super competitive. All three guys, for sure. Some of the most competitive guys that, you know, I can remember playing with as far as teammates go. Preparation, same thing. All three guys work extremely hard.

I mean, I remember Lundquist would stay on the ice for hours, you know, before and after, taking breakaways, working on different things. And Vasilevsky is the same way. He's in the gym all the time, beast of a player as he is, and he still takes care of himself so well. And Saros is the same way. After games, you know, we've been giving up a lot of shots lately, but he's going into the gym, biking, stretching, doing a little bit extra.

So when you have three goaltenders like that, kind of the backbone of your team, and setting an example like that, I think the rest of the team just feeds off that. So I've been, like I said, very, very fortunate. One of the reasons why I ask is, like we've been talking about to start this interview, you're not shy about getting in front of a puck. And I know a lot of netminders will say,

get out of the way, give me the shot, give me the shot. Has there ever been a conflict between you or the goalies you're like hey man my game is i'm jumping in front of these things and your goaltender is saying i got the pads on here let me take the shot yeah for sure and i think i've learned too where there's a time you've got to trust the goalie and maybe not go for that block and that screen where you know an elite shooter might use you as a screen so to speak and I guess maybe try to understand where you are on the ice and not cross in front of the goalie's path and maybe stay maybe on one side of the net and try to take away something like that or maybe take away the backdoor pass so the goalie knows that he can come out and be more aggressive I

think that's what I've really learned over the the course of playing for a long time and definitely playing on the PK is there's different lanes and different areas to try to take away and where's the right play at the right time. I wanted to ask you about this year. So you guys go to the final again. You come two wins away from winning your third straight cup. And then, you know, kind of how did everything unfold after that, Ryan?

And just how hard was it on you? I mean, yeah, you're talking about a pretty wide range of emotions. You know, going on another exciting deep run and with a group that's already so tight, been through so much together, you know, a lot of success and some downs along the way. And like you said, when you come up short uh you know your body's just kind of in shock and trying to recover and rest and just also trying to realize what you've accomplished

the last couple years and how close you were again that third year and then to you know kind of get your world flipped upside down there with the trade rumors and the trade possibility of happening uh you're just trying to keep your focus on trying to find the best situation, the best scenario for you and your family to continue playing. And how come you chose Nashville? Well, for me, it was, you know, things move really quick and it was kind of an awkward time because it was later in the off season. It was coming up quick with free agency and teams were kind of, or maybe it was the draft too, and teams were kind of trying to make moves with the cap and maneuver and position themselves.

So it was going to take a lot of time for maybe more teams to get involved. And, you know, we had a couple of teams right away reach out and try to work something, but, you know, they kind of needed some time to make moves and needed the draft to come around and make moves. But, you know know Nashville kind of

came out of nowhere and and when I reached out to them they were really excited and it just kind of snowballed into a positive relationship and positive uh scenario so to speak and it was really fortunate that they stepped up at the end and made a move and for me you know I was thrilled to kind of stay with a competitive team and a team that had some older guys and some young guys coming up. And like you talked about, a great goaltender and the difference that could make in the playoffs going forward and as far as having some success. So I was fortunate to, like I said, join a competitive team

that was, you know, trying to win still. It's probably the toughest question I have for you, but are there any hard feelings at all with Tampa? Oh, I mean, for sure. Like I said, I think it would be a little different maybe if we got knocked out in the first round or didn't make the playoffs, and maybe you thought you needed to make some moves, shake things up, so to speak, but to go all the way to the finals again and to game six

and almost make it a third run, you feel like you can keep going with that group and keep having success. So to move on from that was probably the most difficult thing for me. What are the memories that have the most gravity with you when you look back at Tampa, the two Stanley Cups, the run to the final? You had a run to the final with the New York Rangers as well,

but what are your most vivid memories about playing in Tampa? I mean, we had so much fun, and obviously the excitement around that 62 win regular season run. Yeah. And then it comes crashing to a halt. Yep.

We obviously remember what happened there, but you want to talk about adversity as a group and facing it head on and management and coaches sticking together and sticking together in a group and believing in a group and not necessarily blowing it up or making too many big changes um to go through that come out of it the way we did i think i mean it's a grand scheme of a memory but yeah i think you know you always have adversity over the course of your career and life in general and for us to come out of it the way we did,

I think just really speaks volumes to that group as far as coaching staff management and players all coming together and, I guess, putting aside their personal matters and putting the team first to try to do whatever we could to win. Do you remember any one specific player or message? Because I heard that Cooper in particular really trusted you. Was there any one particular player or message? Because I heard that Cooper in particular really trusted you. Was there any one particular message or comment or anything that a player said or a team coach or executive said

that you thought really mattered? I can't remember one player, one meeting per se. We had a lot of great leaders on that team. And obviously bringing in Pat Maroon after that season was a big moment too, having a guy that had just recently won, you know, the Blues were in almost dead last or whatever it was in January, and then they go on that crazy run. So as far as handling adversity, you know,

we could kind of believe his words and how he transformed that, helped transform that Blues season. And so when he came in and he started kind of getting a vibe of our team and you know realizing that you know there's got to be more to our game in order to win it can't just be the high flying skill offense that we showed for the regular season there and getting 62 wins so I think you know kind of his message and the coach is changing some things in our tactics a little bit a little bit of our message and you know over the process of the training camp in the summer our group realized that uh you know we had to change a little bit the Kucherov

press conference were you watching it live did you have any idea the one where he's buckled well there's kind of two the bubbly was just as funny too but i think you're talking about the one in tampa yeah yeah yeah i'm so happy we i didn't want to go back to montreal but they acted the fans in montreal come on they acted like they won the stanley cup last game are you kidding me are you kidding me John Romano Tampa Bay Times their final was last last series okay was it long enough answer I took I took a time hey I kept it a whole year in my in the inside I think we knew it was going to kind of come about again he's a very uh you know unique personality but uh very diligent in his work and his preparation as far as his craft on the ice but uh he can have

fun too and and uh i think he took it a little bit further than we were anticipating with some of the comments he made but uh you know he can he can back it up with his play for sure. This year, you go back with Nashville to Tampa. He couldn't play, but they put up the video. One of the things someone said to me was, Tampa was carrying that game. And they put up the video, and it was so emotional, and all the Tampa players fell apart,

and Nashville scored a shorthanded goal. Who drove it in the corner preparing. Sanders is trying to find Sorelli. And now here comes a shorthanded break for Nashville. Off the ice, that's Jankowski. Waits, holds, shoots, scores. Mark Jankowski with a shorthanded goal cuts the deficit for Nashville to one. Two teams who did not have a shorthanded goal for

are these two guys. That unfold that way? Did you see that all happen that way? That was kind of ironic. They were out to a quick 2-0 lead. Yeah, that was a great video and tribute by them. Like I said, thankful for me to be able to get back there. Would have hated to have to wait a whole other year.

Like I said, even though I didn't get to play, it was great to be back there in the arena again but yeah I guess some of the guys kind of got a little fazed by it a little bit off their train of focus and whatnot and maybe a pump Nashville and our boys up to a little bit and got them going so it was funny afterward Coop's comments that I still had a little bit of an impact in the game

even though I wasn't playing so yeah we we needed that I it was uh we came out of the gate phenomenal had the two goalie to be honest what derailed us or derailed me anyway was the McDonough tribute it was like the worst timing ever because we're rolling, and I don't know if there was a dry eye on the bench. That was one of the best tributes I've seen definitely here. So it was pretty moving, and then we coincidentally gave up a shorthanded goal right after that, so I blame Mac. He had his imprint on

the game sitting in the stands uh what's that yeah he he literally does so it was uh it was a really moving tribute it was it was great he deserved everything and um but you know just shows how much he meant to this organization. He did a good job of kind of slowing you down. That was funny of him. Just some plays from your time in Tampa that people remember. One of them was you guys are in trouble against the Islanders and you throw a great pass to Kucherov that wins a game in regulation in the bubble.

Right in front, Palat turned and missed the net. What a chance for Andre Palat. Here's Ryan McDonough back to the front of the net. Good shot, score! Kucherov gets the goal with eight seconds to go. And the lightning will go up to nothing in this series. You've got an absolutely stunned New York Islander bench. The look on Varlamov's face says it all three great chances by the Tampa Bay Lightning it

started with Gord the backhand but the key here is they kept the play alive kept it down low kept the New York Islanders with a mishmash of a line you got Andrew Ladd there in front can't get his man Palat had a great chance just missed to the outside a bouncing puck that Green can't control a good pinch in from the corner and how about that pass by Ryan McDonough right through the seam nobody able to take the most dangerous man left in the lineup and Kucherov look at that reaction you don't think he realizes and the question I was told to ask you was did you black out

when you made that pass I mean no doubt it was a very fortuitous pass but you play with Kucherov long enough you know that's kind of where he hangs off that right side of the net I knew there wasn't much time left you know so it's kind of one of those hope plays that if it happens,

you know, it's awesome. If it doesn't, you know, the buzzer's going to sound in a few seconds. But it's definitely an area that, you know, he knows and he wants us players on the ice with him to know that he's going to be over there. So it's, like I said, it was kind of a hope play and it definitely changed the series for us for sure. Winning the Cup is hard.

We talked to Stephen Stamkos a couple of years ago at the NHL Players Tour, and he was trying to drive home the point that you know we don't really care of course you care about the regular season and wins you have to get in there but his point was doesn't matter where we end up as long as we get in we know what to do when the playoffs start we always hear about and think about teams that know how to turn the switch what does that mean to you because we see it like we watch tampa we've always said it's a foolish person who bets against tampa in the playoffs what's the switch the way we were playing it you try to take some of the risk out of your game for sure because for us we feel like with that group you know

we could only need about 10 12 scoring chances for and with the skill that we'd have we'd probably break through on a handful of them and try to win the game you know 2-1 or 3-2 something like that so you know obviously in the regular season it might be a little bit more open game at times and and you play a little bit loose but you know in the playoffs with the tight checking the puck management is so important and you know any kind of turnover can lead to a good chance so you just try to play so supportive take a little bit of risk out of your game and a little bit of patience to your game and just try to swarm them defensively and let them kind of force it so to speak and i think that's where our game really evolved is instead of you know scoring two in the first period and thinking we've got to get to five

or six yeah you know we would be fine staying at two and just being a little bit conservative, so to speak, and letting the game come to us a little bit more. Tell me about the time you autographed a van. That was, I don't know what year that was back in New York. We used to always go up for pregame meal at Italian spots and walked outside. And then one of the food trucks there was Mack Truck.

And right beside it was a Rangers fan too. And he wanted us to sign his van. I think it was a plumbing company of some sort. And I think it was Stepon and I, Callahan and Girardi and Stahl. I think all five of us signed it. So it was definitely a first, but not something maybe out of the norm for Sydney. Well, that's what someone said to me was the

reason you said you did it was because it was a one-time thing and you're never, who else is going to get, where else are you going to get a chance to autograph a van? Yeah. I think that's fantastic. Just, yeah, just hearing the question asked, we were just so thrown off by it.

I think it's great. Like that's, that's meaningful to someone that you did that. I think it's fantastic. Like that's, that's meaningful to someone that you did that. I think it's fantastic. Now there's the legendary story about Stepon too, is you guys played Minnesota, I guess, high school hockey against each other and he went around you once and the next time you saw him,

you made sure to just drill him for revenge. Have you done that to anyone else in the NHL? Like maybe a person you knew or a former teammate where they got the better of you once or they were friends of yours and you made sure you just drilled them another time to let them know you were there. I don't know if it was the same kind of hit, but I do remember in the World Cup playing against my good friend Zuccarello.

And I think it was one of my first couple shifts against him. He was playing for the team World, Team Europe. And it was just kind of a neutral zone pass up. He was right at the red line, and I'm going up to close the gap on him. A lot of times you'd finish on him. I just kind of let him make the play, and he chipped it to a guy with speed. He went down and scored, and I was so mad at myself because I could have ended the play and hit him and blown it up and I remember the rest of that game I was not letting

him have an inch out there and just trying to hit him the rest of the game and then he was getting a little frustrated at me and whatnot but obviously they had the better of us in that that game but I remember yeah you've got to remember that there's no friends out there at times and that could be the difference. Is there anyone that you've ever lined up and said, oh man, I'm going to feel bad about this later and you just did it anyway? I mean, that Islander series, I had a couple big hits against Brock Nelson. We trained together in the summer and skate

together a lot and, but I learned that lesson cup run with the Rangers playing against the Kings and Dustin Brown. I thought he was going to be a friendly teammate out there to me because we had played together in the Olympics. But my gosh, he was just destroying me, getting under my skin, getting me to take penalties. And sure enough, they had won a cup before.

He knew what he was doing. They won again and beat us. And I never forget that, going through the line with him and him apologizing. He said, sorry, Mac, but it's the cup. That was a lesson right there for me that if I ever get back and make another run, that I'm going to make sure that I leave no prisoners out there and no revenge. Sticking with the Rangers days, you haven't spent much time in the American Hockey League,

but you spent a little bit of time with Hartford. And I'm curious what that was like at that age, you're looking around the room, and Elliot and I talked about Wade Redden a couple weeks ago on the podcast, and you're looking around that room and there's Wade Redden. Yeah. What was that like for you did you have any type of relationship we've heard all these stories about how you know he took care of a lot of the

kids there and took care of a lot of the guys what was wade redden like for you yeah he was my roommate too my first roommate too so it was really uh pretty incredible i mean this you know guys played how many games in the nhl and then then I'm just starting my career, and then he's my roommate. And I think the first thing was just the calmness about him. I mean, we all knew he was going through probably a pretty tough thing being sent down at that time of his career with his family and everything he'd gone through at the NHL level. But for him to kind of come in and just be calm, be himself,

keep coming to the rink with a smile on, and like you said, try to have a positive attitude around us young guys. Just helped, you know, for sure me as far as trying to settle in and learn how to play more games and kind of get my feet under me as a pro. And his calmness on, you know, on the ice with the puck, you know, down there it can be pretty feisty of guys running around trying to hit you. But, you know, he was calm and poised at all times. It just kind of showed and gave me confidence out there as well. I want to ask you a little bit about here in Nashville.

What did you first see about this group and this team when you first got into Tennessee and started meeting the group at the skates and things like that? Yeah, it was a good mixture of a handful of older guys. And I think first and foremost, getting to know Roman Yossi, the captain, having watched him now for a handful of years and then see him up close on the ice, his incredible plays, incredible seasons he's had.

I think just his smarts on the ice and his want to win, his love for the team. I think that stood out to me as the guys really love each other, care about each other, and want to get to that next level as far as being a lead team and a contender and try to go on these runs. So for me, it's fun to kind of have that winning experience and try to share that, implement that in with these guys. And like I said, through the course of the season,

we've had some ups and downs, but now we're starting to kind of roll and realize the little things that helps to win games, and hopefully we can make it continue. What's the question that you get asked the most? Like, you're coming from a situation where you won a lot. What's the question that these players ask you the most? More so kind of what players, how are players interacting. For sure you get that a lot, but just little

things that we did. More so in practice, I said some of the drills, kind of different tendencies, and we're kind of doing some of the same systems. Tampa's run, and for sure getting asked a lot on the penalty kill, because that's a big role for me in an area that is expected a lot for me so just little little things in practice and obviously things guys try to do in Tampa and work on anything that it can help with with some of the young guys here in Nashville. Is Nashville's travel better than Tampa's? That was what some guys told me the only drawback of playing in

Florida the only one is the travel. Yeah for sure I mean Tampa is obviously in that Atlantic division with you know the teams up here Toronto Montreal Buffalo Ottawa so you know long flights for your division Nashville is kind of centrally located that it's kind of nice being in that central time zone you're not having to switch too many time zones to go out west and only one going east so that's kind of nice Tanner Jeannot is a. And this is one day after he had that big dust up with Kastelik, which was, whoa, old school. No, there are still fitness records that stand in the Western League that Tanner Jeannot said may never get broken. In your experiences in hockey, can anyone compare with him?

Or is he just standalone, the most freakish fitness player in the nhl yeah i mean right now he he would for sure i mean the big guy in tampa was my partner there eric chernak was big strong dude too and both guys can skate like the wind and whatnot and but you know yeah he's he's got that toughness element to him too and yeah just fearless and courageous and takes care of himself so well so it's great to see him uh continuing to do well who on this team it's always interesting you know you have an idea of who a player is and what they're like and then you get to that team and you say wow i knew he was good i didn't know he was that good are there a couple of players on players on Nashville that you came to that realization around?

I think my first off-season summer skate with Forsberg was insane. I mean, I know it's a summer skate, but his hands are unbelievable. His puck handling skills, picking it up and flipping it around. And I mean, he's done a handful of those highlight reel goals and tricks and stuff.

But seeing him in person is pretty impressive. And for him, too, his shot, you know, is such a quick release. You know, I've had some elite players and teammates in Tampa there as far as shooters, but his little wrister is unbelievable, too, so accurate. So I think my first few skates with Forsberg were pretty eye-opening. All right, most hated opponent in all of your years. Guy you hated the most.

Pretend the camera and microphone's off. I always hated playing Matt Cook there in Pittsburgh after that hit he had on me. Well, we got a penalty coming to Cook. He got McDonough up high. He might be gone. He might be gone. Derek Amell, the linesman, is taking him off the ice right now.

McDonough is back to his feet. Let's see this from the opposite side. Oh, that is nasty. That's a flying elbow. He's going to sit some games for that one. He had one thing in his mind, and that was to separate the helmet from the head of Ryan McDonough. We saw a similar elbow like that earlier in the week.

Definitely. You excused him, too. I remember publicly you said you went easy on it. I remember. People gave you credit for that because not everybody said they would have been as charitable. Well, I was a young player in the league, so just trying to be respectful.

We live in Toronto, so I knew I was going to get this question for one of my friends, but he said ask McDonough if Tampa thought they were in trouble last year in the first round against Toronto. Yeah, we felt it a little bit for sure I mean that was one of the tougher series I can remember and in all my playoff series that the confidence that they were playing with obviously the speed and skill but just the uh I guess kind of like out of structure that they were they kind of just read and react a little bit more than some teams. You talk about playing the Islanders,

it was just like you knew where they were going to be at all spots on the ice, but the way the Leafs were playing, they were kind of in between you, just kind of baiting you and reading and reacting, and it was tough to kind of be predictable in our system at times because they were just so fast on you, and sometimes it would be one guy, sometimes it'd be two or three guys swarming you. So they just had a little bit of unpredictableness about them that kind of created some confusion for us at times.

Last one here. Give us a snapshot of the Predators right now. I mean, you're on a roll, games in hand on the Alberta teams. It's great that we're seeing races right now and Nashville is right in the thick of things. Give us a snapshot of this team right now. I think maybe the first 20 or so games, we were finding

ways to lose games and it was on us and with our puck play and decisions and a lot of sorts on our special teams, but right now we're definitely finding ways to win games. Giving a chance not hurting ourselves kind of taking some of the risk out of our game like i talked about you know allowing plays to happen allowing the game to come to us and and you know at times you know forcing our will on teams too and we we feel like we've got

depth up front and a decor that can really skate and be tough to play against that way um but just love the fact that we're skate and be tough to play against that way um but just love the fact that we're we're finding ways to win games i mean you guys know it's not an ideal recipe to give up 60 some shots to carolina but we found a way to win and it's okay he was incredible that was an unbelievable performance but you know along that was a ton of block shots, and we're seeing everybody in our lineup do that and different guys scoring goals and timely goals by our power play,

which we weren't having before. And, you know, even last night we had to kill eight penalties or something like that or seven penalties to Ottawa, whose power play was rolling. So I think we're just finding ways to win games and finding confidence that, you know, no matter where we're at in a game, we can somehow come out on top. So it's a good confidence to have.

Summer night, you've got the grill out. What are you cooking? I would just love a big tomahawk ribeye on the Traeger. I've heard you're a Traeger guy. Do you have a specific steak? Is there like the McDonough cut? I mean, no. We had a great butcher shop in Tampa,

and I'm following some in Nashville as well, but just love the big tomahawk ribeyes. I can guess who probably told you that. If I were to guess one guy. Tell me. Give me a guess. I think Luke Shen might have revealed that. It's not actually Luke Shen.

But I should have gone to him for information. He's the king of ordering ribeyes and steaks. And how do you make them? I like to slow cook them, reverse sear it's called. Slow cook them at about 215 on the Traeger for about an hour, and then crank it up and sear it for about five, seven minutes. Perfect. I think we see a second career here when hockey is all done.

I wouldn't mind that. Yeah, look, he's got the biggest smile he's had during the year when he was talking about the steak. He's going to have a big game against Toronto on Wednesday. Listen, you don't do this very often, as you mentioned. Really appreciate it. You gave us a lot of time. Really appreciate it. Good luck Wednesday against the Maple Leafs and good luck the rest of the way. Appreciate it. Thanks, gents. Thanks for having me. Thank you.

Hope you enjoyed that interview with Ryan McDonough. You can see the full-length video of that interview on Friday at our YouTube channel, shot really well by Mark Utley, direction from Jeremy McElhaney. It really looks nice, and none of that has anything to do

with either me or Elliot's. Enjoy it. Coming out Friday at our YouTube channel. Taking us out today, an artist who lives between genres, mixing synth pop and surf rock in a very unique way. Currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee,

you get the tie in, Zac Farrow, stage name Half Noise, is best known as a drummer for Paramore, but his solo work as Half Noise stands out as something you might hear walking by a speakeasy on the Lower East Side. From his Natural Disguise record, here's Half Noise with Moody Disco Blue on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Give it all for nothing again Won't be there Anywhere I don't care Care

I just want your lovin' Give it all for nothing again I've walked down your hall But did you put a wall to see all of you? Yeah, all of you But your arms are playing Down at the bushing Cause all of you

Cause all of you now I'm feeling it all You said I dropped the ball Cause apologies