32 Thoughts: The Podcast - The Final Four

Episode Date: June 11, 2021

The stage is set as Montreal, Tampa Bay, Las Vegas, and the New York Islanders battle it out for the Stanley Cup. Jeff and Elliotte recap the Golden Knights-Avalanche series (00:10), credit Peter DeBoer for the confidence he had in his team after going down two games, and wonder if he gets enough credit for […]

okay so I drive home the same route basically that amber does I live north of him I'm stopped at a red light right now and ambers and right in front of me and he's practically halfway through the intersection like I understand how this guy drives I'm aggressive I know where the white lines are okay welcome to another car cast edition of the podcast presented by the gmc sierra at4 welcome to 31 thoughts the podcast and um elliot as you make your way home after game six the knights prevail yeah they will go on now to face the montreal canadians we're going to get into this here in a couple of moments but i have a a question for you you're one that's not shy to put down a couple of dollars on a bet yeah what

is the over under on how many times in the next week and a half we hear the patcher ready suzuki deal referenced on hockey television radio podcast blog web space wherever 11 d billion so amber and i taped a hit post game now after game six and the first thing he says to me is we got to talk about the patch ready suzuki deal so we've already done it once i know the number is going to be at least one and we know this is going to get with three days off for four days off or whatever it is it's going to get talked to death oh yeah oh yeah absolutely get used to it everybody first of all uh the game the series it was good enough that you looked at it and you said that is stanley cup final quality yeah What of the last six games, because I do think there was a lot we can talk about even with game one,

even though it was a blowout. What in the last six games really caught your attention? What stands out to you from this series? Can I make that a more general statement about the four teams standing in the playoffs? Elliot would like to order off the menu. Yes. I know they say nothing a la carte, no substitutes, please. But I would like to take Jeff's first question and kind of change it.

Yeah, and ignore it. And ignore it. And ignore it. And basically what I would like to say is I think the four teams standing, Tampa, Islanders, Montreal, and Vegas have a couple of things in common. Okay. Number one, they all have strong goaltending. Fleury, Vesna nominee.

Vasilevsky, we all know how good he is. Price, people have disrespected him. Hello. But we all know what he is. And Varlamov, he's not like in the other class, but he has carried a team before, right? And he's a good goalie. He's an above average goalie.

So that's number one to me. What's the other thing they all have in common, Jeff? They all have big, strong defenses. Montreal, they're top four. Vegas has a big, strong defense. High levels of skill on their defense, but they're also big and strong.

They got so much better as McNabb, a really underrated player, got back in the series. Tampa's defense is skilled and strong. Their third pair is Savard and Sergachev. How many teams in the series. Tampa's defense is skilled and strong. The third pair is Savard and Sergachev. I mean, how many teams in the league could that be a first pair?

And the Islanders' defense is really good. You know, this year of all my ballots, the one I struggled with the most was the Norris. Like, there were a lot of guys who could have been on my ballot who weren't there. Are you going to say Adam Pellock? Yes. Yeah, I thought you weren't there. Are you going to say Adam Pellock? Yes. Yeah, I thought you were going there.

He was great. Well, Pellock and Pulak are turning into the premier shutdown duo. And think about how good they would be if they had Taves. It was in Denver now. But these are big, strong defenses. There's such a difference between regular season play and playoff play. And I'll say it until I'm blue in the face. It's not just refereeing. It's about the way the players play themselves and what they will ask of themselves and their bodies to do. I just think

that this is a reminder that not only do you have to have elite level skill up front but you need a strong tough nasty blue line and i think you still need elite goaltending play how much do you throw coaching in here and i want to turn this eventually here to peter deborah but where do you put coaching in that conversation first of all i think you have to be a coach that your players respond to you know good or bad i think there's still like a level of arrogance and i say it in a positive way like peter deborah there's an arrogance to him like we know what we have to do we can beat these guys what he said early in the series, and the team fed off that. I think Cooper

has an arrogance to him. Trotz I don't think really does, but they buy into everything he sells. There's no question about that. He's got like a Pied Piper mentality to him. His players buy into what he says. I think your coach has to be secure. think they have to be confident they have to get

the players to rally around them a little bit but I think a little arrogance a coach mm-hmm I think it goes a long way because I think sometimes in the playoffs you really need the FU mentality as a player and a team. Like, I don't care what is going on out there. I don't care what anyone says. I don't care about the last game. We're going to fight through it. Like, one of the stories I heard about the World Championship team this week,

some people told me that the coaching staff and the managers, Gerard Gallant's staff and Doan and Luongo, set an incredible positive tone around the team. And apparently Luongo told a story to all the players before it started. He said when they were playing in 2010 that Steve Eiserman told them, sometime in this event, it's going to go wrong. It just is. You may not be able to prepare for it. It may come out of nowhere, but it's going to go wrong.

And at that point, you have to trust your process. And that message stuck with Team Canada. And it was one of the reasons that especially a really young group pulled their way out of it. I just think that that's the mentality a team has to have. And Peter DeBoer saying, we know what they're doing and we can handle them. It was such a statement in that time, like people are laughing at him and he doesn't care because he really believes it. And then the team does it. Right. So when you talk about coaching, I think you have to be a pied piper, but I think there

has to be a little bit of an arrogance to believe in what you've set up. So further to that, I'll say that there has to be some arrogance. And what we saw in this latest round in the playoffs, in the second round, was some really clever off-ice stick handling by these coaches vis-a-vis how the game was officiated. And there were two moments that stand out for me, Elliot. And I'll circle back to DeBoers here in a second. But Barry Trotz, in his very diplomatic way of calling attention to what he felt was patrice

bergeron cheating at the face-off circle yeah i don't have the exact quote in front of me it was something along the lines of well i think uh you know bergie's been a he's a really good face-off guy, one of the best. And I think Pager and guys like Zajac, Brock, they all study what he does. And the biggest thing with Virgie, and really the linesman can control this, he doesn't like to get a stick down. So he's got to come to a stop, you know, and then you have a fair fight and so you know he's he's a veteran guy who knows how to cheat on the face-offs and I'm relying on our very capable officiating crew and linesmen to make sure that the cheating doesn't go on because he's good at it and all the veteran guys are he's not the only one trust me but he's very good and he's very capable and he's been a top centerman for and a face-off guy for a long time some coaches when they saw what bergeron was doing or if they

thought that he was cheating at the dot might just come out and blast the officials for not catching him but the stick handling the trots does around that calls attention to the what he feels is an infraction and then flatters the officials into noticing not unlike what peter deborah did after game two yeah when the knights were piling up penalty after penalty um he went out there and talked about how the officials are fighting through this too i can't even blame the refs because, you know, they're fighting through the embellishment of, you know, grabbing your face or falling down or dropping your stick, you know, every period. So, you know, I can't even blame the referee on it. They fool them on it. And I'm reading all of this and watching these and I'm like, you guys are painting a Picasso here.

all of this and watching these and I'm like you guys are painting a Picasso here. This is how you finesse officials and I don't think you get to that point of understanding that's how you do it until you've had some years under your belt in the NHL. So no surprise

that it's Barry Trotz and Peter DeBoer. So you didn't go with the Cassidy approach? Yeah, the expensive Bruce Cassidy approach. But expensive bruce cassidy approach but it worked for cassidy too they didn't get yeah they got a couple penalties in game six although they didn't get the one i thought they should have which was paul mary on mcavoy yeah however like you know what i want to talk about that with the board someone pointed out to me that the amount of penalties that went down in vegas after that fine But I didn't think that was a badly called series. I didn't think so at all

I thought the amount of penalties went down on Vegas. I thought that was legit. I think that was a very well called series and To me Edmonton Winnipeg there weren't a lot penalties, and we all know now famously there were none called on McDavid. I didn't think that was right. I thought there were penalties that were not called there. But I think generally I thought the Colorado-Vegas series was not under refereed. I thought it was a legit, hard, competitive series. Like I said, Winnipeg-Edmonton, I thought there was a lot missed like you tell me if I'm wrong Jeff I didn't think Colorado Vegas there was a lot missed I

thought Colorado Vegas was a great series outside of that first game which was tilted was well officiated it was hard-hitting it was it was goals it was big saves it was a whole lot of what you love in the game of hockey I want to circle back to one more point about Pete DeBoer. Hold on one second. There was only one reason I was disappointed to see Vegas win. What's that? Because you don't get a game seven.

Well, I was actually going to say because I don't get to go to Vegas, I don't think. But no, because I know one of our biggest fans, Gary Lawless, is going to be insufferable. I'm scared to pick up my iPhone because I know the text is coming in from Gary. We always appreciate you

listening, Gary. And we love the texts. The I told you so's are awesome from Gary Lawless. I love it. Does Peter DeBore get enough respect around the NHL? Here's a guy who has taken the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final, done the same

with the San Jose Sharks, has now taken down the Colorado Avalanche, a team that many, yours truly included, thought was going to win the Stanley Cup, even though these two teams are pretty evenly matched. And listen, DeBoer might do it again,

might get to the Stanley Cup final. They got to get past the Montreal Canadiens. When we talk about the great coaches in the game, coaches that have done things, taken their teams places, does he get enough notoriety for what he's done in the game? No, I don't think he does. And this would be what his third final

four in the last four years yeah and i think fourth in the last six i want to say um he's the thing that i really like about him too is that as you know he was a hotshot coach and junior. Oh, boy, yeah. And his first NHL job was in Florida. And, you know, one of the things I've heard him say before is that when he went to Florida and it didn't work, he realized, like, it was kind of like he said, you know, you get into your first job and you think you're a star and I'm going to be a big success. Like, it wasn't so much like that, but it was kind of what he, he didn you get into your first job and you think you're a star and I'm gonna be a big success like it wasn't so much like that but it was kind of what he didn't say it like that but he was kind of talking about it like that you think I'm invincible I've made it now I'm gonna be the guy I'm gonna be a super head coach I'm gonna be a huge success and it doesn't work okay and then you realize how much of it is not necessarily about

you but getting good players and finding the right situation and since then if you take a look at the places he's gone to he's gone to places that have good players and strong structure. New Jersey, of course, San Jose, before they hit their recent struggles, was probably the most consistent franchise in the league. And we all know what Vegas has done in a very short time. So I think he's just smart enough to know that you know as good as a coach as he is if you don't have the right situation it's going to limit your chances of being successful and I always think it's smart to realize that you see

one of the things that I thought was that was real smart and we talked about this a little bit last podcast by him. And it may go down as when you consider, you know, the series we just saw Marc-Andre Fleury turn in. The decision to start Robin Leonard in game one. Yeah. It was a great one. You look back on it now, you say, okay, yeah.

And as we mentioned last podcast as well, good on Leonard for being the great soldier and just saying, I got to eat one here. This is going to be a tough game for us, and I'm going to stay in for all of it. Vegas is lucky they didn't galaxy brain that one, though. 100% true. 100% true. You know what? I know people are going to want to hear what we have to say about Colorado.

That Nathan McKinnon clip. For sure. I mean, there's always next year. That's all we talk about. I feel like, I mean, I'm going into my ninth year next year and I haven't won shit. So I'm just definitely motivated and I'm just, yeah, it just sucks, you know, losing four in a row to a team. And, um, you know, it felt like last year was our first real chance to win. And this year we had, I mean, we mean, I thought we were the best team in the league. For whatever reason, we just couldn't get it together. And I'm sure in training camp next year, we'll figure it out and dissect things and come back better.

That's real. That's an incredibly disappointed player. I want to take a couple of days and think about Colorado and what this means. They've got some huge decisions they have to make. I think it's going to be very interesting to see what happens contract-wise with Makar. Makar is a restricted free agent. Yes. Gabriel Landeskog is an unrestricted free agent. Brandon Saad is an unrestricted free agent. Brandon Sod is an unrestricted free agent. I don't think Brandon Sod's going to be able to stay. I think it's going to depend on what he wants to take.

What about Grubauer? You know, Grubauer had a phenomenal year. You know, someone texted me right after the game and said, the difference between Fleury and Grubauer is you've got one guy there who knows what you have to do every year to get to that level. And one guy who still is learning to get there. This is a guy who's a goalie coach and he's a big fan of both goalies,

but he says that, you know, the difference between the good and the great are the guys who understand what it takes to get there every day in the playoffs. And Fleury, he said, knows it, and Grubauer doesn't yet. And it's an interesting call for Colorado. I want to think on the avalanche for a couple of days, but I think the biggest one is what does

mccarr wine and what are we talking bridge or are we talking term because if we're talking term for mccarr i think we're talking about a really big number yep and that could really have a huge ripple effect on what the avalanche could do you know hearing you talk about talk about, and I agree with you, and we'll move off Colorado here after this, but hearing you talk about, you know, Grubauer and Marc-Andre Fleury and goodness versus greatness, there's a wonderful quote that someone reminded me of the other day about success and success in, not just in sports, but success in life in general, in any business you're involved in. And the quote's a brilliant one. Success requires that you have the talent to manage

your own talent. And I think that's what the greats do. There's a lot of great players, players with a lot of skill, but I think how you manage your talent decides whether you're going to be a winner or a loser and you're going to succeed or you're not um a couple more things i want to get your thoughts quickly on what's next for a couple of other teams that have exited most recently yeah the carolina hurricanes and the boston bruins we'll start with the canes when we talk about the canes we tend to always start with rod brindamore yeah you have a you have a feeling on this one okay i don't know what to say here i got a really cryptic text on thursday kind of like buckle your seatbelts here and I'm like really and they said yes

buckle your seatbelts about brindamore yeah and like look like I really believe this I have always believed that it's Carolina or he stays in Raleigh and just doesn't coach. And I don't think he's really that interested in going anywhere else. I think some other teams, they'd love to ask him. At least talk to him, see. I think the Rangers have felt that way. I think Seattle has felt that way. But I don't know if anybody really believes he's going anywhere,

but I just think you want to talk to him. You want to shoot your shot, right? I just think the danger for Carolina here is what? I'll call you back in five minutes. Hello? Here we go. We got you.

Okay. This should be the last time with this, okay? I'm not getting out. Well, I'm low on gas. I have to pump gas. I'm multi-talented. Now, back to our program. I think other teams want to talk to him,

but I don't think they really believe that he's going anywhere i just think you know it's like if the most attractive person in high school is single you go and you shoot your shot right but i think the danger here for carolina is i think people are going to look at it like if you don't take care of this guy, who are you going to take care of? Here's my question about it. And yeah, like here's a guy that just wants to be in Carolina, period. Is it essentially for Rod Brendamore? And by the way, right now, Elliot, correct me if I'm wrong, is pumping gas.

That's true. As he does this podcast. I can hear the beeps going off in the background. Is it Carolina or bust for rod brindamore everybody believes that that's what he wants i don't know i don't know like every day this goes what i think jeff yeah but everybody's wondering just wait they're waiting for the final announcement clarity and you know what i think like this hasn't all been nailed down yet what do you see happening with this team in the off season there's a uh dougie hamilton situation there's a goaltending situation um There's a goaltending situation. There's a, hey, look, we now have cap space situation.

What happens with Carolina? I don't think their identity is going to change a lot. They're a team that has made a lot of really shrewd moves. A lot of their gambles that they've made have been very good. They're not a hockey-dumb organization. They do a lot of things very intelligently. I think another story here that's going to be

interesting is going to be Svechnikov. We've talked about his negotiations in the past. He turned down a long-term deal. I think he cares a lot. I do think he's a very big part of their team. I think ownership has a lot i do think he's a very big part of their team i think ownership has a loyalty to him he was their top pick and they really like him a lot internally so i think where does that go you know i don't expect dougie hamilton to be back i think the bidding for him

is going to be very interesting like i think there's going to be a ton I think the bidding for him is going to be very interesting. I think there's going to be a ton of interest in him. Is that going to be a Alex Petrangelo type bidding? It could be, yeah. Type interest? Yeah. He's a big strong guy who can score. I don't know if he's going to quite get that

number. He might. He's going to be up there. You know what Sveshnikov needs? What's that? He needs a Marc Bergevin. Why do you say that? He needs an Ajo offer sheet. That's what he needs to get that deal done. I've got to tell you something.

I'm very curious to see what the offer sheet numbers are going to be this year because they're going to be low. Yes, they will. From Carolina to Boston, the Bruins are out bounced by the islanders questions about players like tuka rask david kreitchy taylor hall where do we go with the boston bruins now and does all of it revolve around what happens with the goaltender i think it's more than just the goaltending so what do we know about tuka Rask? We know that he wants to be a Bruin or nothing

else. We know that he needs surgery and he's going to be out until sometime in the middle of next season. So maybe they have to go out and get another goalie too. But you know, I think the thing with Rask is like, I only judge other people how I judge myself. And I try to put myself into other people's shoes and think, what are they thinking? First of all, we all know that guys compete in the playoffs when they're hurt and sometimes really badly hurt. But part of me wondered if Rask look at all the criticism he took last year for doing what any father would have done, going home to be with his family in a very tough situation where his daughter was really battling things,

and said, you know what? I left last year. I can't leave my team this year. I got to play. I mean, all he had to do was watch the games to see he was really battling it. And I have no doubt that part of him is thinking, I have to stand up for my teammates.

I left last year year and I'm not doing it again this year. Cause I know that in that situation, I would probably be thinking that like one of the reasons Shifley is so upset is because he gets injured last year and he gets suspended this year and he can't be with his teammates when they've lost twice, whether you agree or disagree, that is the way he feels. And so I wondered if Rask is going through some of the same things. But now at least we have a clear opinion or idea on Rask. We know what he's thinking.

So that to me is always the big question about the Bruins is who's coming back. You know, Bergeron, he has said that he's a year-to-year guy now, and I know he's got another year left on his contract, but I always wonder, is this the summer where he says, it's time, my body's just been through too much. Now, he got through this year healthy and okay, so I think that's a good sign that he's back, but you always wonder with him,

is he the kind of guy who just says you know what i've reached a point where my body can't handle it anymore and it's just time now it doesn't sound like that's the case but whenever i'm dealing with boston i always think about that like these are guys who've been through a lot they've done a lot together their bodies have been through a lot and i really felt it last year that they knew especially with Chara that he may not be coming back and he didn't so I always wonder do they sit there amongst each other and say who's coming back and who's not and it sounds like they all want to come back which is a good sign but until you get through a few weeks in the off season, you never know.

Here's what I think on Taylor Hall. I think they've been talking. I definitely believe there have been contract discussions going on. I know there are some people out there who believe that there's a possibility he gets signed and it doesn't happen until after the expansion draft. And I've had other people say to me, it's too soon to say that, but they are definitely talking about an extension and I think he would like to stay you know Boston kind of turned the taps off a

little bit last year because they weren't sure about what a post-COVID economy was going to look like I think they'll turn the taps back on this is not an organization that deals well with defeat they cannot stand it from nearly on down. And I expect them to be active. And I do think they're already talking to Hall about a return. Will they, even though maybe at first blush you'd say they don't have the assets to do it, be in the bidding for Jack Eichel? I think you have to be. I think this is going to be a wild off season, at least

in terms of rumors you hear. Totally agree. I think there's going to be so many good players out there for changes of scenery or someone said to me that, you know, they think there's going to be a lot of trade requests because it was such a hard year and people are going to value their situation over anything else and if they don't like their situations they're going to say i'd like to go somewhere else i don't know if all these teams are going to be able to honor them all but i think there will be uh okay a couple more news and notes um things to clean up here before we uh we let everyone get uh get on with their day

columbus yep brad Larson named new head coach. Was there any, before we get to Brad Larson, was there a, a thought on Gerard Gallant here? Yes, there was Jeff. And not only was there a conversation,

but I do think they went pretty far down the road. Like I do think it was something that, that Columbus considered. And I think Gallant was potentially interested. Now the other name I think got really far along the road here was Mike Vellucci the assistant coach in Pittsburgh yep I heard he interviewed twice there and I heard he interviewed pretty well but you know they went with Larson who they know as you know I think the biggest challenge in this situation is can you move

from assistant coach to head coach on the same team? I think it's a very hard thing to do. There had been rumors that if Columbus had let go of Tortorella during the year, Larson was going to be the guy to take over. So I know internally they thought very highly of him, but I will say that I definitely think they talked to Gallant. I think there were even potentially conversations for about like what number could everybody get to here.

And what this says to me is that Columbus is maybe thinking about, especially since the news got out about Seth Jones, a bit more of a rebuild. And, you know, Larson, you know, it was interesting to me that one of the guys who immediately came out and said something very positive about him was Cam Atkinson. Who's had him forever, right? Yes. And that says to me that they're looking at, they could be really going into a developmental

phase here and they believe in Larson's ability to do that. But I do think they took a long look at Gallant. And I just think at the end of the day, they figured it wasn't the right time for them and him. To your previous point about the challenge of going from an assistant coach to the head coach, we just saw Craig Berube do it and won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues. But your point's the right one. Overwhelmingly, that generally doesn't work the way that you think it will because players look at you differently when you're an assistant coach uh than when you're the head coach uh well formerly on the bench uh in columbus beside larson and tortorella was brad

shaw he now finds himself on the bench with Travis Green in Vancouver. And there are a few moves there. Kyle Gustafson from the Portland Winterhawks. He's on the bench now. Ian Clark on a long-term contract returns. You have a thought on what's happening with the coaching staff? And then I'll ask you about the Sedin situation. But the latest in Vancouver with the coaches. Well, I tell you, Brad Shaw has a great reputation.

People really like him. You know, Vancouver, I think, had to beat out a couple other teams to get him. I think Anaheim was in on him, and I don't think they were the only ones. You know, Shaw has a great rep. I think he'll do a great job there. You know, I remember starting to look into Shaw

years and years and years ago when we worked at CPC, Jeff, Jeff, we used to do the combination NHLPA player pool. They did it in conjunction with us. This was a long time ago, but players were asked who's an assistant ready to be a head coach. I remember Brad Shaw won that year. This has got to be close to 15 years ago. And I think that he has a great rep. Players really like him. I think he'll really help.

I think that's a great hire for Vancouver. Now, Newell Brown, who's the one assistant who won't be back, I won't be surprised if he ends up in Anaheim, potentially. He's got some connections to there. I think that could actually make a lot of sense. Brown's had a decent history with power plays. You know, Anaheim had a very rough power play last year. So I'd be curious to see if he would be a guy that could end up there.

I think the Canucks have a lot of business in the hopper. I think they have the scenes. I think they're grinding away at the Patterson and Hughes extensions. And the Ian Clark saga comes to an end. Yes, and he got his term. I think the Canucks quietly, they've done some pretty interesting things, and they're working on some interesting things. One of the things that's becoming very clear to me in Vancouver

is that they're well aware of how things were perceived by a lot of people in that market this year, and they are trying to address them. The market spoke loudly all season long. Yes, very loudly. Calgary as well. Yeah. Make some bench moves.

Muller and McLean. Kirk Muller, associate coach of the Calgary Flames. Cale McLean comes in most recently with Stockton. Heat of the American Hockey League comes in as an assistant. Thoughts on this one? Muller was another guy who I think a few teams had looked at. I think he was another guy on Anaheim's radar. Muller told us he wanted to be a head coach.

That obviously didn't materialize. So he goes there as an associate coach. I think at the end of last year, it was pretty clear that Calgary was going to look at changing some things. And this is probably the first step. I think there obviously will be some personnel changes that eventually come out of this too. You know, I think Mueller's a guy who he fits the Daryl Sutter mold.

Like they were both guys who got everything out of their talent, every drop they could out of their talent. And that's the kind of way they're going to teach their players. You've got to maximize your talent. And that's exactly what they both preach. So on the horizon, let's get into this one here. The Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Islanders. Barry Trotz versus John Cooper. It is the tough-to-play-against-New-York-Islanders-married-to-their-system-balanced ice time and scoring against a team, as described by Dougie Hamilton, $18 million over the salary cap. I got to say, maybe not everybody was $18 million over the salary cap. I got to say, you know, maybe not everybody was $18 million over the salary cap, but how many teams were over the cap? There were a lot of teams over the salary cap.

Almost all of them. Yes. 2011, the Canucks were like this. Patrick Kane, 2015, Blackhawks won like this. Patrick Kane, 2015, Blackhawks, one like this. If nobody cares to close the loophole, and clearly they don't care to close the loophole. Do it. You know, hey, you just have to live with it.

That one falls on deaf ears with me. So next year when Anthony Sorelli and Vasilevsky have their surgeries, it keeps them out until the playoffs. We'll just look the other way and say, well, at least they're taking care of themselves. You think that's what it is? Like they point at these two guys and say, this year it's your turn. You're hurt.

You know, Paul Campbell from Ingold Magazine had a great tweet today referring to that saying, I hope that's true. And every year they rotate more players and they go a billion dollars over their over their salary cap and they have a and they have a team whose salary cap would embarrass the most all-star laden olympic team because the nhl needs like a traveling villain like this i'm going to make you one bet that that rotating chair never lands on vasilevsky he's never getting the regular season off not a chance i bet that's true anyway i say this to you all the time I say this to you all the time. I say this to Amber all the time. I never bet against the Islanders.

I think they're a great bet because they always play the same consistent game and they always do the same things. I think this is a tough ask for them. I just think Tampa is so good and so deep. I can see this one going six or seven games. I just find it impossible to pick against Tampa. I don't like to bet against the Islanders.

I find it impossible to pick against Tampa. The other series too, like to me right now, Montreal is Islanders light. They found an identity and they stick to that identity. You know, I had a buddy who called me from Montreal today. He's after the game, he called, who are you picking against Vegas? He says, you're not allowed to pick the

Canadians. He says, you are not allowed to pick the Canadians. You cannot jump on the bandwagon now. I'm not letting you pick the Canadians. He says, you Sportsnet guys, you never pick us. You can't start picking us now.

I said, you called me when I'm about to go on the air to berate me about getting on the bandwagon. He goes't start picking us now. I said, you called me when I'm about to go on the air to berate me about getting on the bandwagon. He goes, yes, I did. So I'm not allowed to pick the Canadians. Tough ask for them.

That is a real friend. There's a couple of tough asks here, but I'll tell you what, man, the trade deadline winner Islanders with Cal Palmieri. Lamorello knowing people. And I know that Palmieri was at the end,

but you know that he watched the Devils about as closely as he watched any team, right? 100%. Okay, Hugh, shoot. Okay, so I'm now in my driveway. Yep. Guess what text I just got at 1.19 a.m. Eastern time on Friday morning.

David Amber, I found a patio. Come join me. No. That's a good guess, though, but no. I got a one-word text. Oh, Gary Lawless. And guess what the word was? Insufferable.

Aw, well, did you give him a link to this thing? No, I did not. Oh, my God. He just texted me. He goes, insufferable. Is Gary listening to us recording this pod right now? Uh-uh. No.

He knew. I think I told him. I think I said a few days ago that the only bad thing about Vegas wedding is you're going to be insufferable. Atta boy, Gary. Well, congratulations to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Islanders, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Good playoffs so far. Very good playoffs so far.

Really good playoffs. Let's cross our fingers everyone stays healthy and we have another great round. Like the rounds we just saw, rounds one and two. Taking us out, a pair of artists who live on different continents, but connected on a new EP. I Am The Living and Teon Gibbs just dropped the JNGL EP, the Jungle EP, which is available on all streaming platforms. And from that album, here's Where Do We Go From Here on? 31 thoughts, the podcast. Where do we go from here, here, here, here Where do we go from here, here, here, here Where do we go from here, here, here, here

Where do we go from here? Is it really worth it? So focused on my journey, I'm just looking for a deeper purpose And they tell me I should take the verdict You pray a lot for change, but never see it working And according to this pigment they just shooting churches Have a f***ing girl up in boxes, cop a deep dirty Got they foot up on my neck and face up in the dirt

Feel like Motown on shuffle, call it self-searching I know my soul hurting Did I find myself or am I a different person? The devil's still alive, no he tried to hurt me And I'm feeling deep inside that I'm really burning Had to take a little time, see the world was burning Damn it feel different when the tide's turning While my pop still drinking, he probably leave it early

And the thought that I might make it really make me nervous I gotta deal with the things that live beneath the surface I've been losing my sight We've been standing at a crossroad