Empty Netters Podcast - 58. Garage Sales and Hype Vids with Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson

Episode Date: October 18, 2023

The NHL is back! Devastating news for Montreal as Kirby Dach is done for the year. The Knights remain a wagon, and the Oilers can’t stop the puck. Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch join the podcast! The boys talk about the Sabres pursuit for the playoffs, and how Buffalo just might be the most fun team in the entire league. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome, welcome, welcome back to another episode of the Empty Netters podcast, and we are a week into the NHL season and my balls are tingling. I've never felt more alive, dude. Oh, dude, it's just so nice. There's hockey on every single night. Teams are buzzing. Teams are not buzzing. Yeah. But we're buzzing. As you can see, we got the Chicklets Cup here. We teased you guys a little bit last week. I know the Chicklets Cup was a couple weeks ago, but we have. had for the people on YouTube. Look at this.

Can you see that on that? Brian, can that camera see this full thing? Yeah, definitely. Look at this trophy. Yeah. Gee was like, dude, these trophies. He's like, you like the trophy?

And I was like, yeah. And he's like, good, they're fucking expensive. And I don't, I don't doubt it. I could barely get this thing on the plane. Oh, it was a grind. Also, has this been cleaned yet? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because we, there was some shit.

It was disgusting. There was some shit that we drank out of here. A lot of people. Yeah. Rock bands and everybody. We had a crazy trip. We were in Buffalo, then in Boston. We had Milan Luchich on the pod last week.

We've got a couple of amazing guests in this episode that you guys are going to be psyched about. Before we get into anything, massive, massive shout out to the Spit and Chicklet's team. Yep. To Barstool. What an amazing venue. What an amazing tournament. What an amazing event. The guys just do it so big and so well.

And they make time for everybody. They make sure it's so much fun. And then, hell yeah. Yeah, man. Buffalo River Works. Dude. What a spot. Two roller rinks right next to each other. And then outside they had five.

Yeah, yeah. Three hockey courts. And that was like that. Yeah, yeah. They brought the boards. They turned in the ball hockey rinks. They made like six of them or whatever. Yep.

And when it was over, they were down in like 30 minutes. So shout us to the team. Everyone there. Just such a cool spot. Yeah. And then there was like, you know, food trucks and RA, pop a shot and like, you know, a ton of activities. Parties at night. they treat the teams well

meal tickets the whole the whole works and it was well oiled dude like games were on time you know and it was actually kind of cool the well first of all ball hockey is gnarly

I have literally no desire this is my message to everyone on earth don't play ball hockey oh my god that shit is crazy they're just sticks slashing and slanging everywhere you're hitting each other they were hitting each other there are fights going on it was nuts

but the roller was awesome The roller was two 15 minute periods running time and you just play it. Like even if you score, they just take it behind their net. So it was just, it was like constant action. So much fun. Everyone that was following the page kind of saw like our game recap so they know how it went. But it was interesting coming in because I, some people, we don't play roller. We don't ice hockey guys.

So it was, there are roller freaks out there and that I was worried about. Shout out our boy Johnny Las too. Yeah, roller freak. He's a roller guy. Yeah, that was awesome. A lot of roller in New York. And it showed. Kid was a weapon on the court.

And so we were kind of sneaking by the first few games, semifinal, super tight. And then the final, we were playing some team that had beat everybody like 13-0. And I was like, oh, man, this is not going to be good. I don't want to stroke ourselves off here. But what I think happened was there's a strategy to roller. Yeah. It's like it's a possession game. It's kind of like three-on-three OT in the NHL.

If you don't have a good situation, you kind of come back in your zone regroup. I think the team that we played in the final was doing that all tournament and was waxing guys, waxing teams. And then we got there and we were just better at hockey. We were just played hockey. So we were just like, sorry. Go, go, go. We were just going to play hockey and beat you and we did. We won like 11.3.

But yeah, man, it felt good. Teaming up with the hockey guys. Shout out to the boys. shout out to Steph in net Absolute Rick Wall Dude stud MVP Oh my god

That was insane And it's not even close It's losing my mind And then obviously shout out to The third empty netter Johnny Laz We had a we had a wagon of a team We were a wagon Yeah we were wagon

And you know I think that there's no doubt about it There was part of me that was like This might be a one and done Might hang up the roller wheels Yeah yeah But we were too good I think we got to run it back next year I wouldn't want to see SNA next year.

We brought home the cup. Do we got a mug? We got a mug. We got a mug. Finally. But the trip was amazing. I mean, Buffalo, that's my first, that was my first time in Buffalo. Same.

And I love Buffalo. Me too. I love the people. I like that they got Tim Hortons up there. There's Labats everywhere, dude. Shout out LBLs. That was sick. Going to every bar, knowing I could get an LBL, that's rare around these parts.

Extremely. That was money. And for me. me, we kind of, we, me, C. P. and Redmond. Producer Redmond. Yep. We ate collectively, like 2,500 wings. Okay, hold on. Before you get into this, because I want you to keep going, but I just wanted

to say one other Buffalo thing. Yeah. Also sick that the General Mills plant is there, pump, like making Lucky Charms all the day. So like, you're just walking on Buffalo. It literally smells like Lucky Charms in the entire. You're like, oh. I'm a big, Serno guy, I would have loved it. You would have loved it. We got there and the first day we were like, what the fuck is that? We must have thought there was a, or we thought there must have been a bakery or something around the corner. And then we were walking to the bar one night and you just, it's like off. And it looks like, it feels like you're in the 1800s. There's like one giant factory in the town that's supporting the entire community. And there's just smoke

billowing out of one of the whatever fucking chad of chimneys stacks. Yeah. And it's just like a big General Mills logo. And someone's like, yeah, it's just cereal. Smells like zero. That's what you're smelling. And I was like, oh my God. It was amazing, Brian. It was so funny. So, yeah, but then also the wings. Yeah, the wings. We blew it. We didn't get to Barbell. That was the one place. I was like, we have to go to Barbell. Have to go to Barbell.

But we didn't get there. So Buffalo, we're definitely coming back. And we'll get to Bar Bill. But I want to give a shout out to Wingnuts. Wingnuts was great. That was my favorite. There were a few other awesome ones. But no doubt about it, the biggest shout out goes to Townhouse. Yes. So, and we're going to talk about this more in a second, but Alex Eye Foll is Family's Place Yeah Townhouse in

Hamburg which is like 15 minutes outside of Buffalo Easy, easy Uber Um we got posted up there and again

we'll talk about it more in a second but we had wings there so my ranking went like this Wing nuts one Yeah townhouse two Yep no doubt Um

Labat house I think Or like Labat brew house Yeah yeah Where we had it in the speak easy three Um Then there was that like

Pearls And what was the other one Pearls Yep Oh, and then the brewery was my least favorite probably, the fifth one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So wing nuts, townhouse, Labat, brewhouse, pearls, and then the brewery that's in the Marriott.

Yeah. That was my five. I think I'm the exact same. Yep. And wing nuts was one. Townhouse is delicious. Delicious. Wingnuts was one just because they were fucking massive.

I don't know what type of chickens they're using. Yeah. Those wings are huge. Have you ever heard of the ooze? The secret of the ooze. Yeah, it's probably, yeah. But, dude, townhouse, if any, you guys are in Buffalo right now and you haven't been if you're headed to Buffalo, it's

an easy Uber, go to townhouse in Hamburg. Hamburg. Yeah, it's Alex Iiophalo's family. There's, there's a couple things for me that were like the money shots for that place. All of the IAfollow family heirlooms and paraphernalia was so fun. It's, it's cool that you walk into this bar in Buffalo and there's immediately Kingstuff and Winnipeg Jets. and there's just a bunch of old school clippings and stuff from AI's life and his sister's life and it it's just really cool I love that and whenever you go to a place like that I love it the big thing for me man it was definitely a timing thing that helped a little bit because we were on the tail end of a long weekend I am a sucker sucker for any bar or restaurant that you go in

and you immediately feel like you're at home yeah and holy shit townhouse dude we went in and the family was so welcoming to us giving us hugs the bills played it in london yeah they were on at nine a m so they opened early at nine and the kitchen wasn't open so they encouraged people to bring food so people were like ordering pizzas bringing cookies and they made they provided something like they made food for all the guests yeah food there was just stuff out and they're like please help yourself to anything it's free and i was like this is the coolest thing ever but truly just it was the most hometown vibe bar i've been in in a long time and you go in, it doesn't matter where you're from, you felt like you were part of that hometown.

People were so nice to us. They're giving us tours and they got the Halloween stuff up. It was just like what a place to hang out to watch a game. They had the Jets flags up too already. You know, like he hadn't even played yet and it was like Kings Flags Up, Jets Flags Up. It's so sick. So all in all, Buffalo, amazing time. You know, we hadn't got a chance to talk about it in the cup. God, look at our mind.

Can't wait to go back. I got some Saber swag. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got a lot of it. I cannot wait to go back. we'll be back for sure. All right, before we get into the rest of this episode, which we'll touch on in a second, we got hot ice. And it's in fact, Howie's hockey tape, hot ice.

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Let's get right into it, dude. We are a week into the season, and it's just the best. It's the best feeling in the world. We're back. What's your first one? I usually, like, I'm a bad news first guy. Do it.

So I have a couple sad things I want to just talk about first. And then everything else I want to talk about is pretty good news. A couple bummer injuries already. A few bummer injuries. Tan have out four to six weeks. Werensky out, hopefully just one, but maybe two weeks. And then our boy, Kirby Doc. Did they say it's ACL yet or we don't know?

I think it's. Yeah. I'm devastated about that. We didn't have the habs in the playoffs, but we were talking about what a young, fun team they are. And dude, he was, he, when he came on, was talking about how much he just is having fun playing hockey again with all those young kids on that team. And I, um, these injuries, dude, it is a tough part of pro sports medicine and doctors and science and all that stuff has come a long way and you can get back. It's okay. But because of that, I feel like we as sports fans, almost write it off. Like you're like, oh, he tore his ACL. Fuck, well, he's really fine next year. And it's almost like people are more mad at from a fantasy standpoint. And yes, he will be fine. But you don't realize the time and frustration that goes into rehabbing these injuries

when it's an eight-month rehab. It's a nightmare. You're a competitive athlete used to playing stuff at the highest level. And now you can't walk and then you can't even bike, you know. So I'm just gutted for him. He will be fine. We've messaged him already. it's going to be okay

he'll get through this no problem but fuck man I'm just I hate to see it so much yeah there's not much more to say dude it it sucks I think he is poised for such an amazing career and this season you know we heard him talk about it

it it was all there it was all set up and and you could see it so this is this is crushing but it's not forever and you know we shot him a message and I know everyone in his corner shooting him messages the same thing.

And this is a message to the fans as well. This is not a write-off. Yeah, yeah. It's not like a, well, that's it. No, like, he'll bounce back, no doubt about it. But you're right, dude, it is. I feel like a lot of times people are like, oh, yeah, he's out for six months or whatever. And he's just like, no, it's doing just as much work as if he were in the season.

And it's more frustrating because you're battling back. So signing all the best. Get well soon, boys. That's a fucking bummer. You hate to see it. Okay. Some happier news. CPs Austin Matthews for Hart looks pretty good early.

Dude, it looks pretty, pretty good, man. And you know what else looks good? We dropped a tier post with glue guy. Shout out glue guy. If you're not following, go follow immediately. We had the Leafs in the wagon category, and so many people were like, oh, yeah, more like in our year.

More like in our year, they stink. Dude, we're talking about regular season with that tier post, and if you don't think they're a wagon, you're dumb. So, yeah. Double hatty, dude. In the first two games. Are you kidding me?

It's also such a sick play for Austin because it's right off of signing this fat ticket too. I mean, we talk about all the time, guys sign a fat ticket. And if you don't perform, there's definitely a little bit more of a lens on you. And Austin signs the fastest ticket in an HL history. And he just goes like this, Hattie, Hattie. I hope he gets a Hattie next game. Is that the night? No, he played three, so he didn't get a Hattie in that game.

But I hope he gets a hat a game. but I hope we get to Hattie every other game from now on. He's going to score 70, dude. He is a savage. I love the goals he's scoring. It's a little Jack Hughesy in that he's scoring from everywhere, you know, like he's trying everything, bad angle shots, getting some puck luck for sure, a couple of deflecting in and stuff.

But he, and their big goals, dude. He had two goals to tie that game. I forget that was game one or two. But yeah, he is a, he is on a mission. I knew he would be. Nealander looks sick, which is going to make it all the more exciting and complicated down the stretch. Yeah.

Because we were talking with a couple guys in Buffalo, like if he's on pace for 40 at the deadline do you trade him for a defenseman? And I'm like kind of, but what if he's on pace for 50? You know, so their offense is going to be a real problem. I'm psyched about that. And Matthews looks money. Yeah.

Like leaf boner. So fucking good. Leaf boner just vainy and raging still, dude. I couldn't be happier. Come on, boys. Okay, a little bit more good news for CP. Oh my God. Sidney Crosby looks fucking fantastic.

Dude, I tweeted. I tweeted the, I think it was their second game. And I go, I tweeted, I tweeted like their second game and I was like, oh, fuck, Crosby's going to have a 100 point season, no doubt. He sure is. He sure is, boys. Dude, it's great. I mean, like, we put Crosby and our top 10 players in our 100 list.

And by the way, loved how the NHL dropped their top 100 and their top 10 is exactly our top 10. And I think only two players are swap. Yeah, we'll just like one swap. Yeah. But same 10 guys. So you're welcome. Puck knowers. Un-certified puck-knowers

And then also you're welcome in H-O You're welcome that we could pave the way Yeah Yeah dude I love it It's fucking awesome I do think Sid is

Sid is being asked to do too much By that team And I think he's happy to do it Yeah he is But like We saw it in the preseason game against Buffalo I know it was a funny situation But Sid's dropping the mitts against Krebsi

And he's just he's the guy still and I think when you're as good as Cindy Crosby you probably should still be the best player on that team even though you're 36 but he I worry sometimes I worry sometimes that they're asking too much of him and last year I remember

us being like oh it's the Penguins last dance which it wasn't but they were like oh they started so hot and then they really cratered and we made that joke like it was becoming I wanted an EDM song and it was becoming slow dance I so I'm not getting three games I don't get them ahead of myself but I admit

I was terrified when they lost to the hawks in the first game after being up to nothing or something. And I was like, oh, brother, the penguins still suck. So they've righted the ship so early, early, early. But Sid looks money and I'm super pumped about it. It's great news. What do you got next? Okay. Then I'm going to let him keep rolling.

Keep cooking. This is also legit. I said this to you. Well, we had talked about it during the preseason that I said it to you before the season started. Logan Cooley is lit. Certified good at hockey Dude He is making

I think he only has three assists only You know who else is dude Zach Benson Oh yeah yeah yeah Yeah I mean my sabers are fucking Oh and two I was at the game Against the Islanders

They should have won that But you know what's great Game one was tough Did not like that game one Against the Rangers At all But game two was solid Levi looked way stronger

Defense looked way stronger Right now the boys are just not clicking offensively like they were last year, which they will. Which they obviously will. But the great news is that line with Benson on it, they are cruising. So it's the it's the Tage, Tucky, and Skinner line that's going to just get into their groove any day now. And I, we're Owen too, but I feel phenomenal. Yeah.

Because I think that there's much better strength in some of the areas that were very weak last year. So like that offense will get going. Like, page, you're not worried about that. So far. And that will change immediately. But yeah, you watch, and again, he hasn't scored yet, but you watch the plays he's making. Did you see that backhand pass that he set up on the 1T? Yeah, he's ridiculous.

Dude, like his vision and the moves he's making out there, obviously we were stroking him in the preseason when he had that epic goal. But, and I, we had said this at some point. But I was like, I had written him off the call of their conversation because I'm such a fan. Well, yeah, because I was like, I'm such a fantilly guy. obviously Badaard, and then I was kind of riding Maddie Nyes of the world where I'm like, these guys, Luke Hughes, like these guys could win it.

Levi? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I had those five easily above Cooley. And again, so early, but I'm like, Cooley could do it. He looks so sick. The Yotes look good, too. And I said that. They look like bad good.

Like, they're bad, but they're a good bad team. They're good bad team. They're on the right track. They're moving in the right direction. Yeah. So that is really exciting. I'm like I'm going to be we used to make jokes last year and what to watch when I'd be like yeah watch the Yotes sharks game because it's Badaard watch now I'm like dude watch the Yotes games because it's hockey porn oh yeah and I love porn and tells is so fucking good small T's so fucking good um okay uh let's jump here because we're still riding good news stuff okay um Vegas is a wagon Vegas is a wagon uh I mean I I called that from the jump dude yeah and I I I I you You know, cup hangover.

I'm like this. They're cup hangover. They're going to finish third. They're too tired. We got the shrimp bet coming up with, that's going to be some great content for all of you with Jackie's. We're doing it with Jack. Yeah. You got your wish.

Congratulations. Jack is, uh, Jack's getting 100 this year. Dude, when he popped one in the first two games, I was like, I'm so fucking mad. He's, yeah. He's getting 100. Well, it's interesting, though, because that's what I said last year and it was all health. No, you didn't say that. You went over his, his 72 and a half.

Oh yeah, but I'm just saying, I was saying to you that I was like, oh, he's going to have the best year of his career, not on the pod. I was just talking about it. And you were like, it's all health, dude. And it's still that. Like I'm surprised to hear you hear this take. Because what he needed last year after a major neck surgery, he needed last year as his first full season post that surgery to like settle. And I was like, he's going to miss some games, which he did. But he's fine now, dude.

Okay. He got a mug. He had a, you know, shorter summer, but he had his summer and he's like, I'm back, dude. Hey, from your, what's the expression? From your lips to God's ears. To Jack's ears. To Jack's ears. Who is God.

A direct question, Jack is God. So they look really strong. And then the Rangers, Brian. Saw that fight last night. I'm fired up. Yeah. They, I still am not, we chirped him in the tears. I'm still not a huge believer in terms of like competing for the Met.

They're the same that they're going to be. But don't you think they look re-energized? They look a little re-energized to me. I don't think so. They're playing to their strengths. They went away from strengths last year, which I think was done. I think that they look like they've got a new coach, and they're doing that like, look at us, we're new. New club swag.

You striped the three wood for the first couple weeks. I think they're doing that. And I'm proud of them. Truly I am. But you got to show me more, in my opinion. Agree, but I just think they're, they're, if they're going to have success this year, they're doing it, they're going to have it the way they're doing it right now. Like how, Crider is scoring all their time? Yeah, like if he gets over 40.

That worked really well last year and the year before that. Like this... Were you talking playoffs now? They're doing nothing different. I don't know what you're talking. They change the lines. Goodrose off the second line, which I love. I mean, like, this Rangers team is good.

They look reinvigorated. I will say, again, this Rangers team is good. They look reinvigorated. They're doing nothing that I'm like this. Whoa! We're going to revisit this, Brian. Don't forget this happened, Brian. Don't forget this happens.

I'm time stamping it right now. When they look reinvigorating it right now. When they look reinvigorating. when we're into end of November. I just need you to tell me what you think reinvigorated. I don't know. There's something cooking. They got something in the water bottles.

They look re-energized. It's like we're, we pick them third in the metro only behind the, the wagon devils and canes. And they look exactly that. No, but I'm saying they look better. And you don't have to agree. I'm just saying look better than that because you even said,

they're lucky to be three. And I kind of agreed. And I'm like, oh, they might be in this fight the whole way. That's, okay. And I might be wrong. But I'm just saying they look. They look re-arge. Nothing has blown my mind with them, but I am like, they're fucking good.

Yep. So that's great. Okay, so then, dude, there are five teams in the league right now as of recording time without a win. The sharks, obviously. Oh, what a shocker. The spunkless cracking, which is tough for all of us in this room, I would say. They'll find their spunker. They are spunkless.

But they are currently spunkless, which is tough. Because you think after a long period of no spunk, after a long period of no spunk, you're ready to spunk immediately. And I thought they would come out spunking hard. They just got to find their rhythm again. I know. I do fear a little bit, though, that they are suffering from the, like, no one expected anything of them. But last year and now it's whatever.

So they are currently spunkless. That's tough. But the other three teams without a win are the kings, the Oilers, and the Sabers. Uff. Sabres I already touched on. I'm bummed, but they're totally fine. Sabers, fans, players, listen to me, we're fine. Like, truly we're fine.

Kings, so frustrating. The Canes game was mental. Game one of the season was terrible. But this is last year, dude. We're just starting slow again. And it's frustrating for them, and they are going to be fine as well. But, dude, like we said, man, what is the only question mark on this king's team? And it's the net.

And brutal to start this season. How many goals have they given? Dude, so I want to say, and I know you said Levi played better game to which he did, but it's such a killer if you're those three teams. Think about everything we've said about those three teams all preseason. Sabers through two games, eight goals against. Kings through two games, 10 goals against. Oilers through two games, 12 goals against.

And I'm like, leaky. Yeah. Leaky. And I'm like, hey, Oilers fans, remember when you were yelling at us for saying Stuart Skinner's not that good? I'm like, yeah. No, it's a, it's a huge thing. And it goes back to our goalie conversation. Obviously, Hella Buck resigned. But I don't know, dude. If I'm the Kings. If I'm the Kings or Oilers, probably Kings more so. Yeah, definitely Kings more so because Skinner's so young. I'm like, dude, make a trade right. now. Like, I would literally call Philly right now and be like, give me Carter Hart immediately. I would call Anaheim and go, give me John Gibson right now. I kind of, you're obviously, well, you're not being hyperbolic. They're not going to do that, but I almost don't even disagree. I'm not being hyperbolic. If a truly dude, I, and I hate to say it, because I think Copley's an awesome dude,

but I, with what's going on with Anaheim, by the way, great home opening went for Anaheim. Yeah, yeah. But with Gisley, Gapley. I'm saying what he has said, I would literally make that call. Just go get him. I would make that call. Because you are leaky right now. Yeah, you're leaky.

I mean, dude, what was that again? It was 8, 10, and 12? Yeah. Like, in two games. That's not. And granted, there's like a couple blood bass. Like, the Oilers lost 8-1 to the Canucks or something like that in the game one.

But, dude. Can I jump back and just say, you know, like you brought up the winless teams? Yep. You brought up some hot teams. Can we just talk about the disres. that you have shown the Detroit Red Wings by not bringing them up.

De Brinkette looks good. So does Larkin. So does Hussaud. So does their new revamped middle six. So does their revamped defense. Huge, emphatic 4-0 win last night. Two in one. Two and one.

And their loss was a grindy, 4-3 loss to the Wagoon Devils. in their barn. Here's what's funny, dude, just, you laughed in my face when I picked them forth in the Atlantic

and you may still get I was going to say, I'm going to, I can't wait to continue to laugh. We're talking about week one, I want some respect on the Red Wings name. Okay,

you know what? Very fair. They can have some respect. They're currently, based on Goldiff, second in the Atlantic. So, congrats.

But you know who else looks sick, Ottawa, which was like the biggest threat. You know, I was like, uh-oh. And you know who looks big sick? Brady. Actually, there was something I wanted to do with you. We can't, we don't have time to break down all these teams. But here's something I wanted to do. I'm going to very

fast rip off the top 40 in points so far. 40? Yeah. Top 40. Okay. Nah, I'm not going to do it. Jesus Christ. I was like you madman. Well, it's two to four. It's two to four.

It's two to three games into the season, so there's a million that are tied. Yeah, yeah. I'll give you, give me till you need, prove your point. I'll give you through tied for second. So it's like almost 20 names. Yep. And I want you to tell me who is a surprise here. Yep.

I'll just raise my hand when it's a surprise. Austin Matthews, Willie Nealander, Evgeny Malkin, Jack Hughes, Elias Pederson, Jake Gensel, John Tavares, Brock Besser, Brady Kach, Chris Kreider, Alex Debrinkett, Yesper Bratt, Chandler-Stevinson, Evan Rodriguez, Victor Headman. I think I got five surprises in there. Four or five. Evan Rodriguez with five is awesome. Chandler with five.

And these are all good players. I'm just like Brock surprising. Brachs surprising. But I said, you know I said Brock was going to come back huge this year. Yep. And dude, there's some fun ones down here. Oh, dude, there's been some awesome points.

Guys who are off to a hot, hot start. Crichtie with five, like just bearing goals. I love them. Reinvigorated. But Brady coming out so hot is awesome. The one I love in there. is Willie. Willie being like, I and saying here, I getting

paid, and he's just like this. Yep, I'm right up there with Austin with six points. It's incredible. It's fantastic. Guys, we are fully back into hockey season and you know what that means. You need to restock up on all of your tape, all of your hockey accessories, all of your apparel. It's a no-brainer, and Howie's hockey tape is

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It's gonna be a lot of it coming to this season. Before we move on to some of our segments and then get into the meat of the episode, we gotta talk about this awesome charity. Okay, so when we were at AI's spot, they're doing this really cool thing. It's called Sips for CP. And Brian, I'm gonna have you post this, probably,

post this pick of everything, but it's this Friday. What's the date? Is it the 16th today? 17th. 17th today. It's this Friday. October 20th, 5 to 9.

Okay? So I'm going to read this so you guys can hear it. The Make Lemonade Foundation for Cerebral Palsy is thrilled to invite you to Sips for CP on Friday, October 20th at Resurgence Brewery. As part of our ongoing celebration of World CP Day on October 6, we have a fabulous fall fundraiser to support the local CP community. CP is known as a forgotten disability despite affecting 17 million people worldwide. Proceeds from SIPC will be used to award grants for cutting-edge treatment at first-step

physical therapy. Since 2013, our foundation has awarded over $240,000 in grants to all. Offset costs typically not covered by insurance, but many more children and adults with CP still need this treatment to improve strength, mobility, and overall function. Join the party. They're looking for sponsors and donors to make this event a rounding success for the CP Warriors. So please, guys, check this out. We're going to put it up on the story.

We're going to have Brian post it. Tickets are $35,000. Resurgence taprum, 55 Chicago Street in Buffalo, Sips per CP. Very, very cool thing the IFollow family is putting on. Please, please go. Please support if you can. Yeah, a huge shout out to the Buffalo community. If you guys are around and you have some free time, you want to make a donation and just be there.

Your presence there would mean the world to this incredible organization and the I follow family. They're truly some of the best people we've ever met. And this is just such an amazing, amazing thing that they're doing. Fun event, too. Yeah, yeah. Whiskey tasting, especially brewed beers, food. It's like a harvest. Yeah, it's really cool.

So if you're around this Friday, make your way down there, it would mean the world to them and be in the world to us. So that'd be it. Yeah, post it, tag us. We'll spread the word. It'll be awesome. Want to get into hottest teams of the week? I do. It's our first one of the year.

Do you want to do three? Or do you want to do three and one or two? I want to do two. Okay. Hottest teams of the week. Coming at number three, it's a tie. I'm only doing it because there are four undefeated teams in the league that have played more than one game,

so they all deserve to get in this next one. The Colorado Avalanche are 2-0, and who would have thunk it? The Boston Bruins are 2-0. Me. I would have fucking. The abs beat the Kings. And you know why? They're D. Yeah. And their goaltending. And goaltending is good. Shout out sway and shout out Oli. They're fucking sick.

The Asb beat the Kings 5-2 and snucked by the sharks in a shootout. The Bruins beat the Hawks 3-1 on Centennial Night. We were there. So, it was unbelievable. I got emotional. Dude, all the Bruins legends were there. I couldn't believe. Timmy Thomas was there. Bobby Orr, everybody. We saw Bedard's first career goal in person. Sick. Bees won. What a night.

That was huge, and then they beat the Preds, which was also sick. So coming in a tie, abs and Bruins. Yeah, pretty good. Number two, well, well, well, they don't stink anymore. The Vancouver Canucks. It is amazing to see because these guys are just playing like we've said. They're playing like they look on paper. Yeah.

It's unbelievable. They beat the big bad Oilers twice, dummy them once, eight, one, and then won a Barnburner four to three. all the big boys, PEDY's way up there on the score sheet. Brock Bester is having the bounce back year, like I said he would. Captain Quinn is doing his thing from the blue line. As always, dish and assists everywhere. The whole team's buzzing. They look great.

They look good in net. Yep. Vancouver Canucks might be back. And the Oilers season is in ruins. Yes. Blow it up. Move on from Leon and Connor. They'll miss the playoffs.

Yeah. You heard of here first. Just do it. And your hottest team of the week, we set it up top, the Vegas. Golden Knights your defending Stanley Cup champions are the only three and O team to start the season. They beat the Crackin, the Spunkless Cracken, the Sharks, and the Ducks. So not the toughest competition, but Dan and Brian, they're 3 and O, and they've won every game 4-1. Hmm.

Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. You know what they won the Stanley Cup in? Four games to one. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Something to think about. I think we should just keep an eye on this. There's a chance they win every game this year, 4-1. Hmm. Hmm. Something to watch.

That's it for hottest teams. Let's get into the Sabres interview. Yeah. It's going to be incredible. Are we going to do... Are we doing Top Watch at the end? Yeah. Okay.

All right. Do that again. Yeah. That's it for hottest teams. Let's throw it to the Sabres interview. Yes, let's. We got Tage Thompson and Alex Tuck on the pod right now. Such a fun interview.

We did it at Key Bank Arena in the bandits. fucker room. Tage was telling us he's like, I'm shy, I'm not talking. He talked the most the whole time. You guys are going to love it. But we've said a million times, this Sabres team is the most fun collection of guys I've ever seen. And these two on the line together, such good buds. They were a blast together.

We'll kick it over right to it. We'll kick it to it right now. But, I mean, so much fun with those two. Can't wait. Okay. We're here in Buffalo. Very, very excited to welcome on a U-18 gold medalist, a world junior gold medalist. Hockey East Legend at Yukon,

26th overall pick, and the 47th person ever score five goals in an NHL game. And, and another U18 gold medalist, another Hockey East Legend at BC, named all-ricky team, how are you, the 18th overall pick of the Minnesota Wild,

and the 1,480th person to ever score a hat-trick. Welcome to the Archie Dares podcast, Tage Thompson, and Alex Duck. What's up, boys? Thanks for having us. Dude, thank you for coming on. This is an absolute blow. last. Just to

get the gears moving here, we did want to chirp both of you real quick. Tage, congratulations, first of all. You semi-recently just had a baby. Very exciting. Thank you. You did a gender reveal. And you did a slap shot. I think I need a little

more creativity out of you. That was the obvious choice. Yeah. What would you have liked to see? I would have liked to seen some of your other talents. Like maybe hit a baseball or something like that. Or even like a one-timer. Like if someone kind of slid you on bottom left circle and you just popped on you know like if the wife tossed you a one T that would have been pretty sick I would have had to invite dolls to the there there it was uh that was cool though had the whole

family there it was maybe a golf maybe a golf shot golf would have been nice that would have been nice did you want to do it was the gender reveal your idea or did you go along with it um no i think it was kind of both my wife and i we found out together uh we did like the blood test you can do yeah really so we both knew for a while. Oh, interesting. We did the reveal for the family. We were back home for Christmas, so we did it for everyone else

and put on a little show. Did the fam know that you two knew? The fam knew we knew. Oh, wow. So it was more for that. For them. I've never heard of it. That's pretty awesome.

It's very nice of you guys to do that. And then, and then Tucky, I had to ask you, dude, we are here in the wing capital of the world. What did we get last night? Wing nuts. Wing nuts. We're going to go on a big tour.

A lot of fan. I haven't tried wing nuts. Oh, okay. I think like, isn't Alan, Josh. Josh is big on that. I think so, yeah. I'm like nuts or something like that, but I don't, I don't know. I've, I grew up coming to like duffs and anchor bar.

Yeah, yeah. Kid going through Buffalo playing hockey games here. Um, my personal favorite's Bar Bill. Okay, so yeah, we got to try that. Yeah. Cajun medium. Cajian medium at Bar Bill is unbelievable. Okay, so we're going to go on a big tour.

I don't know. What is it? Is it, what is it? Is it a restaurant? Just like a bar? No, I think it's a, well, actually, we got it to go. It was delivered. They were fire, though.

Like, I would high recommend, and I don't play around with wings. So, like, but barbill is what I've heard. Okay, yeah. That's where we're gone. So, yeah, you've grew up near here, you know, with Wing Capital World. I heard you were a ranch guy. Oh, a big ranch guy. Dude.

I'm from Syracuse. So it's like, it's a huge ranch spot in Syracuse. I'm telling you right now. You're telling us that Syracuse is known for liking ranch more than. All my friends, everyone that I grew up with chicken tenders, like chicken wings, pizza, I put ranch on. I put ranch on a lot of stuff. Do you not fuck with blue cheese at all?

Or is it you just prefer? I like cromily blue cheese. Yeah, okay. I don't really like the blue cheese dressing that much. Like, I'll eat it, but I'd take ranch over it. So Cajun medium ranch. You don't fuck with the cheese?

I think blue cheese is outrageous. Like, like, I don't understand it. This is crazy. Yeah. I mean, I'm going to get a lot of hate for that.

Can we cut this? No, no. We should probably cut this. I'm like him. I like ranch on that, like, Ranch for wings for sure. Like I'll do it with fries, pizza. Pizza, no doubt.

Barbecue chicken, I can't eat it like without ranch. I have to have it. Yeah. Our buddy at home calls pizza ranch shovels. Like he just, the only purpose of pizza is shoveling rams. It's just like I'm eating at. That's a good point. By the way, I think the, if I'm doing barbecue wings as opposed to Buffalo, I go ranch.

Ranch on barbecue is. Yeah. That's a better combo for sure. So do you guys do blue cheese? Oh, yeah. I do. Okay. But again, it's depending on the flavor.

Like, I think certain different rubs or different sauces... I can respect that, but... I mean, that's... It makes more sense. Yeah. It does make more sense. And I mean, listen, more people dislike blue cheese than they dislike ranch. So...

That's true. I think you guys are on to something. I think the ranch lovers of the world. I'm not from here, so I have an out. You do. Yeah, no. She doesn't have it out. I'm two hours.

Still far enough. She's in the ranch capital of the world. I didn't know that. I just on the ranch capital of it. I don't know about that. Can't go wrong with Hidden Valley. I mean, truly belongs in a museum, Hidden Valley Ranch. It's fucking beautiful.

All right. I want to get into your guys playing career a little bit here. Tage, you have a super interesting, you know, upbringing and hockey life. Like, you moved around all the time. I feel like you were in nine schools in nine years or something like that. But you've said that you kind of enjoyed that. It was like something you got used to and it didn't really phase you at all. But I was curious, you know, you end up at Pioneer, then you end up at the dev program.

then you end up at Yukon, which at the time was maybe a lesser-known hockey school. Do you feel like that bounce around and kind of almost being like you're always knocking on the door, like you were the 13th guy in the U-18 team? Do you feel like that helped and you kind of keep that edge still a little bit as you keep proving people wrong and always, you know, taking that next level up? Yeah, I think so. I think just moving around a bunch helped me for like you said going into the program as the 13th kid. And just changing schools all the time is probably something that's not very easy for a lot of people.

But it's kind of just second nature for my brother and I just moving around all the time. And then we didn't really know anything else. And then every time you move, you're going to a different team. So you've got 20 new friends right there on your team. So just kind of made it easy for what I'm doing now. And I think, yeah, like going in as a 13th forward and then going to Yukon, just kind of always being more or less a kind of an underdog. I guess. Yeah.

In a sense. Yeah, I just like proving people wrong. It's good feeling. It must have been sick being the new kid on nine straight teams when you're nasty. Like everywhere you go.

They're like, dude, the new kid is sick. This is awesome. Yeah, I mean, when I was younger, that was more so the case.

And then I think as I got older, as going to teams that had a lot better players on them and competition got a lot tougher. So that's good though. Yeah, it's always a good thing. Yeah. It's awesome.

I always laugh thinking about something you've been through. It's like, Tucky, you're Syracuse through and through, right? Like, I feel like you look back on your middle school, high school days fondly of the same schools. Is there any loyalty for you of like one place? You're just like, no, man, I was a nomad. Yeah, honestly, we lived like a gypsy lifestyle. Just pack up and move. Everyone, everyone always asked if we're in the military, every school I went to. Yeah. So we're gone every two to three years. So something that's unique, but I enjoyed it. Yeah, it's awesome. You know, can't unpack. Like Rachel's like, yo, unpack the boxes at the house.

I was so weird. When she first moved out and started living with me, like I think her first year coming out to visit in St. Louis and then that summer I got traded to Buffalo and then she came out

and lived in Buffalo and then I was sent down to Roch and she was like, what's going on? I can't do this. It was driving crazy. I was like, this is normal, yeah.

How long ago did you buy the house? What's that? How long ago did you buy the house? In Arizona? Yeah. Yeah, just this summer. It's like in like a year. Yeah.

And be like, all right, we got to find a new one. Yeah. Different golf course. Just programmed in your head now. Incredible. Yeah. It's great.

And then Tucky, you starting out, I read a couple cool things. Two, you were rollerblading down in Florida with your grandfather, you know, back in the day, kind of got you into the game. And then my favorite was hearing a story of your dad jumping into, like, his first beer league game, taking five stitches above the eye during lunch break. So he was like, I got to get my guy into hockey, which obviously led to the rink of dreams in your backyard. So talk to me a little bit about the influence of both those guys getting you into the game.

then some epic backyard outdoor rink stories. Yeah. No, my, well, my grandpa just did it for exercise, like rollerblading. But a little bit with him, he just turned 90. He watches every single one of my games, prints out every single article, and he'll have one glass of red wine, cabernet frenzia, like boxed wine. Every single game. What a savage.

Yeah. And then if we go in overtime, he'll pour himself a second glass. He's 90 years old. But, um, and that's why, by the way. Also, I want to pause quick. The, the printing out the article to read it on paper is such a classic move of that generation. Binders. Yeah. Binders of everything. So. Wow. Yeah. No, it's crazy. And then my dad, yeah, he was, before I was born, he got just randomly, his buddies at work were like, hey, like, come, like learn how to skate. Yeah. And we play. Like, like, come play. And he's like, yeah, sure. Stitches, loved it. As soon as I was able to, like, I rollerbladed that winter, he built the, he built a high. hockey rink in the backyard, 18 years straight of building a hockey rink in the backyard. Oh my God. Were you the ODR of the neighborhood? Like did everyone know it was coming to your house to go on the outdoor rank?

Yeah, everybody. Everyone would come. We'd have my whole hockey team over, but like even kids that didn't play hockey and stuff, uh, put, lacrosse was really big and yeah, growing up. So all my lacrosse buddies would come over and just skate and love that. It was awesome just like, because Syracuse is so much snow. Yeah. So we'd always have our, we'd have boards, but they were knee high or a little bit above

so we'd level each other into the snow and it was so much that was always great just bundle someone over the boards know it know they're gonna be fine oh yeah especially my little brother started skating yeah yeah yeah and i just throw them around see yeah yeah i saw an epic quote from your mom that was like your dad took better care or paid more attention to the rink that he did to her during hockey season that's like yes it's not false that's a dedicated that's a dedicated idar manager so awesome that's really cool um so you know we're here in Buffalo now, things are starting to go so, so well for you guys. Tage, what was it like for you? You know, you're at Yukon, have a couple amazing years. You leave after sophomore year, after being

the fifth Husky to be drafted in the first round. And you obviously, you know, you go to St. Louis. Then that huge trade happens. You're up and down a little bit. And then Donnie comes in. And I feel like you made that switch to center and things like really started buzzing. How has that been feeling? And what were some of the things that really stuck out to? you that were pivotal moments as things have really started been ramping up here. Were you resistant to that change at all? Were you like, I don't want to be a center? No, so I think that the change to the center is probably, I don't want to say the least,

the thing that had the least effect. But I don't think it was as high up as people think. I mean, I definitely helped. But for me, I was a center growing up my whole life. I played youth hockey as a center all the way up until Yukon. And then once I went to Yukon, they had a kid Max Latunov who, was supposed to go to BU and his visa fell through or something like that happened and we picked them up and he was a stud and so I played wing with him and then my sophomore year went back to

center for a little bit played wing again with him was kind of off and on and then once I turned pro I was just wing I just didn't play anything else and then kind of go full circle I played with donnie you know back at the program as my coach and then he's like hey I think I want to move you the middle, are you cool with that? And I was like, oh, absolutely. That'd be great. So, like, I was excited to get back in the middle. I feel like that was kind of, you know, my position that I grew up playing and just felt comfortable with. So I think it was kind of a combination of being moved back into the middle and then just Donnie taking over and being familiar with him and the way he likes to coach. And I think he knew what kind of player I was. And I had so many

coaches up until that year, I feel like I think I had a coach, a different coach every year. so no one really knew what kind of player I was. It's crazy. Can someone offer him some stability, please? So that's a stability right there. As Donnie came in, he had known me as a player. And he flat out told me he was like, I'm going to give you a big chance. It's up to you.

If you take it, great, if you don't, then that's all I can offer you. So, you know, he gave me an awesome chance. And fortunately, it's been working out. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I feel like you've had such an unbelievable attitude every step of your It's like with all the movement, always being ready to battle, find your spot in those early days, both in St. Louis and here, when you were still kind of playing wing. Like you got to a pro, like you just said, and you were a wing. Was there any part of you that was like, yo, can I get a look at center or were you just going to do whatever you had to do? No, I was just kind of just grinding, doing whatever I could do to stay. I think, too, like, I had my dad. He's been through it. He played for a long time and he's a coach now, too. So he's like, give me, you know, tips and insight into, you know, what I can do to. to make it and stay and hopefully learn from some of the mistakes he's made throughout his career. For sure.

For me, it was just kind of put my head down and work. And when I got that opportunity, just be ready for it. So just trying to stay prepared. And then Donnie came along and got that opportunity and just kind of rolled with it. Beauty, yeah. Yeah, moved to the middle. And then the dream scenario of this guy. Yeah.

It hasn't been too bad playing with him. Yeah, not too bad at all, huh? And you said centers maybe the least important. What would you credit some of the other things, just getting more comfortable? and filling out. I would say just the confidence. I think anytime you give a player confidence, I think you're at the NHL level.

I think everyone's been, you know, an elite player growing up. And I think confidence is such a big factor in the game that a lot of people think about. And I think I just felt comfortable. No, there was a good relationship between me and Donnie. I knew I was going to get ice time. I knew I was going to have a little bit of a longer leash

to try some things. And he was, like I said, pretty flat out, like I'm going to give you chances to make plays and you're going to go back over the boards and if you make a mistake you'll have a chance to correct it where as in the past it was if I made a mistake as hey you're up in the press box

so maybe you're not willing to try certain things out there and it kind of just freed me up to go playing my game and playing with some great players too and yeah the leash getting longer is a nice thing yeah it's just like it's the freedom it gives is so amazing you can see it too

it's like as a fan watching you guys like you two that when you see that freedom start to be released and the game just opens up so much it's just a beautiful thing so yeah you can start trying some four-foot toe drags out there yeah hopefully they're not too many but if they work they work if they don't then that's kind of the thing right you get a chance to correct it and make up for yeah exactly you get a guy like this on your line he'll go get the puck back and dude i heard you said you played center your whole life but i heard that your dad was trying to try you at D, young, and even goalie, but the first shot you ever faced went in.

So the next Ben Bishop, you were not. Yeah, I think my team was pretty good, I think, when I was little, and they had kind of rotated, like, kids in that. And I think one of my games was my turn, and I didn't see a shot all game, and I was just kind of sitting at the other end, and they shot and scored on me, and I was like, I have enough of this. And I quit. And then go back a little bit, too, when I had a huge phase where I wanted to be a goalie,

and I was actually in Providence, Rhode Island during the lockout season. my dad was playing there and bergeron was playing there as well along along with some other guys but he'd always come over and my dad would tell him hey like go out in the street and like light him up yeah yeah so bergeron would shoot on me and just pepper and just snipe me and I was like I had enough of this I don't want to goatee boy that is epic so the reason you're not a goalie is because petriez burge's burge run lit you out yeah I mean what a unique experience that you have I mean with that story specifically what was it like when you know faced off against burgy the first time and you're like this guy used to chitter me all day long and street hawk.

It was cool. I didn't know if he was going to remember me. He came up to me right away. He's just a class act too. He's a great guy. And he was asking about me and my brother and, you know, just the whole family, how we're doing. That was pretty cool to me because I didn't even know if he was going to remember me. So it was a pretty cool experience.

And in every game since, he's always had something to say. So it's been cool. That's amazing. It's also nice to remove the trauma. Yes, yes. Experiences with Burgundy at first were like, God, this was awful. I was like, I want to be like that. I want to score.

Yeah. That looks cool. God. And then Tucky, you get, you know, I think it was six games with the Wild or something. And then you have that this is the expansion draft with Vegas. And I think I read that you were like, well, I'm not even eligible to get scoop. But then it's like you go in a trade. So talk to me a little bit about being on an expansion team in a city that never had hockey in that city specifically. And then you guys go to the cup right away. Like did you, did you feel, did you become guilty of that thing that I've heard players say where when you go to a cup earlier like, yeah, I'll do this. We'll go back all the time. Like was any of that, I'm going on what was all that like uh yeah the all the time i i mean like you have expectations like on your team and everything like that but just being so young and like i i didn't really understand it and i really wish i was almost older so i could really like i wish i would have been able to like think about like oh my god this is awesome but really i was just like i was just playing hockey i was also 21 years old in Vegas and it's crazy yeah not a lot to do you know nothing

It's very quiet, very boring. No, it was insane. The whole year, I mean, I found out that I was traded on Twitter. Yeah, dude. I found that out and then got to. When that happens, are you pissed? Like, do you hit up your agent? You're like, what the fuck?

Like, why am I fine? And you don't need to sue anyone here. No, I mean, kind of, but like, no, they weren't allowed to tell people until 11 a.m. Oh, damn. But it had leaked at like nine. And walking into the gym, my buddy was like, hey, you just got traded. You played for Vegas, dude. I was like, what do you mean?

Get off the property. I was like, I can't. I knew the rule, so I was like, no, I can't. And they're like, no, like this is what it is. And it's like, talk likely on the move. I was like, all right, well, I guess I'm going to Vegas. And then Chuck Fletcher, GM at the wild at the time, called me at 11 a.m. And he was like, hey, sorry, I have to do this, blah, blah, blah.

You're getting traded. And then I was like, okay, I'm going to Vegas. Like, I was still just trying to make the team. And then you're just trying to stay in the lineup. So is, and then you're just trying to stay in the lineup. And then you're just trying to enjoy it. And we had a great group of guys too. So it was a lot of fun.

And then kind of just proving people wrong and almost surprising yourself too to to a certain extent. But really just having fun with it. Because I think that's something that you two can kind of relate on. Right. It's like in St. Louis, like you were trying to break through, make the team and then you get traded. Is that a demoralizing moment?

Or do you just put that in the backseat and go, whatever, I'm on to the next spot. I'm going to keep fighting no matter what. I think it's both. I think it depends on how you take it. I think it does give you a little chip on your shoulder, but you also can't focus on that because where one opportunity goes away, another arises. So you have to kind of just capitalize on your opportunity.

And I think that's what I try to do being traded at Vegas because I was still in between in Minnesota, and not sure if I was going to make the team. And then Vegas kind of presented it with a unique opportunity where they needed to insert a couple of young guys in the lineup. And I was one of the, I was that young guy that they wanted to insert in the lineup. Yeah. Was it 60 and the fans go nuts for you guys?

Like, I can't believe how immediate big. Yeah, they didn't really know what they were yelling about half the time. But they were watching the medieval shows at the beginning of the game. I remember playing at one of my buddies lining up next to him. And he looked at me. He's like, what is this? I go, dude, I still don't know. It's like 30 games.

And I'm like, I don't know. I'm just here to have a good time. Yeah. How did you find out you got traded? I got a phone call. Actually, so I missed a phone. phone call during the summer. I think I'd just come back from Worlds and I was sent at my parents' house and so I missed a call from Doug Armstrong and I was like, oh, missed a phone call. I

like better call him back and then my family's kind of joking. Maybe you got traded. I was like, yeah, call him back. He's like, hey, Tate's just, Doug Armstrong here. We had an opportunity to grab Ryan O'Reilly and we took it and you're part of that trade. It's going to be you, Berglan in Suboka. Just want to thank you and wish you luck. Give you some time to process it. You have media and I'll call you about 30 minutes. I was like, all right.

Yeah. And that was just kind of like, like Tucky said, there's a lot of different emotions going on. You're upset. You're excited and just kind of trying to process what just happened. And I think for me, like I said earlier, I had my dad there. He's been traded a lot and just kind of help walk me through that.

And I think for me it was exciting more or less. I was in the NHL. I'd been playing well, and now I'm going to get another opportunity somewhere else. It's kind of a fresh start, I guess. Yeah, it's excited to have you, right? I asked for you. Exactly.

So I think that was kind of the way I just tried to approach it. And, you know, I think you just keep that mentality. Things will kind of work themselves out of sleep. It's funny how often those things happen in funny ways. Like we were talking to Tafoli and he said he was, when he was in L.A., he was out of dinner and got a phone call. and Dustin Brown looked down at his phone and saw who it was and was like, oh, you're traded.

And then he picked up the phone at dinner and sure enough he was. It's just fucking nuts. All right, do you guys mind if I slide in a question that's brought to you by our partner's eyeslide? You're going to get a gift as a part of it. All right. Sounds good. So you both, another fun connection here, you both have interesting experiences where you

were traded from a team that then won the cup very shortly after that. with how good this Sabres team is and the excitement around the boys in the locker room, how good the team was last year, you were so close one point away from playoffs last year. How does that kind of add to the motivation for you two of being like, this team can win, this team can get in the playoffs, like how much does this fire you up? Yeah, I think a ton. I think the conversation around here always used to be like, hey, like, you know, we're going to be the team to make playoffs.

And there's always that belief inside the locker like, hey, we can do it. And then I think last year hit and we're so close, lost by a point. And then you see Florida who gets in and how far they make it. And it was kind of just like one of those things where it's like, okay, we're like close to winning. Yeah. Like anything can happen. You make it in playoffs, anything can happen. And I think we're a playoff team.

I think everyone in the locker knows that and has that confidence. We've got a young team, but a team that's been together for a couple years now. And I think the adversity that we've faced over those couple years together as a group without any turnover, you know, as far as new people coming in, new coaches, we've got that same group. So we all have that shared experience together. And I think that's kind of why the confidence we have going into this season is kind of on another level. So high. And it must be like, how do you guys, because we read that the Dalene article he did with Deer Buffalo, whatever it was called, that's like, you know, we read that. And we were like ready to get Sabres tattoos across our back. You know, I'm like, let's fucking go, boys. And it's like, what does it feel like? Yeah, you got one. What does it feel like to, like, you obviously want to win because you want to win.

You guys grew up playing hockey. You want to win the cup. But like, talk about what it feels like to win for this place, for these fans, you know. Like, that must be a cool part of it too, right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, like, personally, I grew up Sabres fan. Like, I watched how the city, like, how they reacted during that, during the cup run, 05,06.

And just those teams that they had in the early 2000. and how dominant they were and how excited the entire city of Buffalo was to be a part of those runs and that success. And like, you know, they have Bill's Mafia here, but I still think through and through this is a hockey town. Definitely. It really is. And, you know, what, we've seen them get behind us through, like, RJ Knight and Ryan Miller

night and times like that. But, I mean, the excitement's growing. The expectations are growing. And it's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be a great place to play. And it's going to be a great place to come watch a game. Yeah, man. I mean, it already has been fun, too.

It's like, obviously last year, playoffs in the cup is the goal and fell a little bit short. But the energy that circulates around you guys and this team and this city for even non-fans. Like last year, I think it was week three of the season. I was the biggest Sabres fan in the world. I've never been a Sabres fan. And I'm not bullshitting even. Like it was a bit on our podcast. We did the whole, the whole, we did the playoff trail the whole season, tracking you guys trying to get in the playoffs.

It was incredible. And also, the amount of. times the fan base has been so funny because the amount of times where I mushed you guys yeah it was awful like I was like we're on a but we're buzzing here we need like two wins and then we're in a playoff spot and there'd be a loss and it was like we love that you're on board but shut the fuck up and I was like yeah my bad my bad but it is like I mean the way this community welcomes anyone in is just what makes it so exciting it's so fun to watch and and talking about expectations right like you go into this season with much different expectations do you guys

have anything not that you write it down but is it like are you guys like yo we are making playoffs or we are finishing as the three seed or are you kind of like

oh we'll just let the chips fall as they may like I want to know if your whiteboard says I will score six fucking goals in a game this year what kind of things do you guys but I think as a team though like I said earlier like our expectations internally inside

you know those doors are a lot higher than even the expectations that anyone else has put on us and I think for us we really feel like we can win a cup. And I think that is our goal. And then in order to win a cup, you got to get a playoffs, right? And that's kind of been, you know, Kevin and Donnie's motto is we're going to win a cup.

It may not be this season. We're going to win one. Yeah. And I think that's our mindset going into this season. And we really believe it. And I think there's so much excitement, like you guys said, around the city, but in our room as well, we have like one of the most fun groups I've ever been a part of. Yeah. I've been saying that for, you can tell.

When you have fun playing the game, and you love the game, the game will love you back. I'm a believer in that. We have a group of guys that just love coming to the rank every day, trying to get better, trying to push each other. And I think you can, at least for me, you can feel something special building. So it's not all BS. And I think it is something truly genuine. I mean, we've had Craig Anderson who's played, you know, for a long time. And he said on his way out that this is the most fun he's had playing on.

Wow. Look at that. Huge line, yeah. Unbelievable, man. I mean, you kind of answered this, but it is like you're trying to get in the playoffs, right? Like, that's the goal. But it must be for you guys. Like, you know, people are predicting the Atlantic Division and all this stuff.

And while, you know, you missed playoff last year, you could say like, all right, let's just get in. Do you guys feel like you're kind of like, no, let's fucking win the whole thing? Like, let's win the Atlantic. Like, we can win the Atlantic. That's got to be the mindset, right? I think if we go in with the mindset of let's make playoffs, I think we're selling ourselves short. Yes. Well said.

Kentucky's extra sick for you, right? hometown squad. must feel pretty cool. No, yeah. No, I grew up, like I said, Sabers fans. So I want to do it. I want to do it so badly. And it's, yeah, like he said, it's not, let's make playoffs.

It's let's win the cop. And that's our expectations. But it's also like we, I think the experience that we've gained, like even the last 10 games last year, see how hard it is, but see how capable we are of dominating in this league. But we also know that it starts October 12. We aren't going to be looking at April, whatever, 15 or 20th, and we're looking at that date to see if we're going to be in the playoffs or not,

and to see if we have a chance of the cup. We have to come in and we have to win against the Rangers game one. That's what we have to start with. And I think trying not to get too far ahead with such a young team, I think that's going to be a huge advantage for us. Because all these other teams are like, oh, it's playoffs or bust. Oh, it's cup or bust. It's like, okay, the Sabres should make strides,

but like to be able to make those strides, we have to not look so far ahead like all these expectations and all these articles and all these beats that all these people are writing on and trying to predict the future and stuff. So yeah, it's a great point. It's a great point.

Do you have any idea how many cup tickets you're going to have to give away if you guys make? Not with the rules. We only get two free tickets. Tell a family to watch at home. Yeah, you got a big screen. It's better.

It's their viewing experience. We got to get the grandfather there, though. I'm like, well, there's plenty of red wine. So I got into a game this year. Yeah, did you? Yeah. So he lives about four and a half hours away. We got him to a game.

I got him in the locker room afterwards. He has, like, no hearing. He went, he, like, served in Korea. He's got no hearing. So I brought him into the coaches room because he really wanted to be down. I brought him in, and he started screaming. And I'm just sitting there. Okay, turn it down.

That's incredible. But it was great. Like I, yeah. Hey, they get red wine here. Dude, he'll have a blast. There's plenty of wet red wine. Oh, yeah. No, it's good.

But he loved the experience and stuff. I don't know if he'll be able to just physically make it to another one. But if we make the playoffs, when we make the playoffs. Yes, sir. Tough finals, I'll definitely get them on. Okay. There you go. All right.

You deserve this. There's a brand new empty next slide. Very cool. Hey, listen, they're great for house chilling. They're great in the shower. Anything you need. Actually, I like them. I put him my golf bag.

You know, out of the spikes. That's actually a good. Not too back. Not you bad. And if you want to put tape over the empty netters part, that's funny. I like it. We need to talk about eye slides for a second. They are the most comfortable sandals in the game.

We are dapping up the entire league. Everyone that comes on the pot is getting eye slides. We've got eye slides. Our boys have them. If you like hockey, if you play hockey, if you watch hockey, if you think about hockey, you are going to love these things. They're amazing. They have NHL teams.

They have other pro leagues. They have college teams and they have that swaggy empty netters line. They also do custom jobs. If you have a team, you can get eye slides for your team. It's awesome. So go to, IslideUSA.com and use promo code netters. That's N-E-T-T-E-R-S for 20% off.

We kind of talked about this in Vegas. You just mentioned you guys got one of the most fun teams and the locker-rooms a blast. Do you have any guys in the locker room that are just clowns? Like, who's the biggest presence in the locker? You want to talk about the two that are at your card table? You want to talk about them? I mean, yeah, you could, honestly,

I think that's what makes our team so fun is there's so many different personalities on our team. But yeah, our card table on the plane is pretty fun. It's me, Dahlene, cousins, and Krebzi. I think Krebzi is, he's up there for one of the most funny people I've ever met. He's completely different. So I met him when he was in Vegas. Like drafted by Vegas.

And he was very like straight and narrow, reserved, everything like that. And then he came the Buffalo. Then he came out of his shell. Just somehow just took a deep breath, came out of his shell, completely different person, hilarious. Like, there's a couple of us older guys on the other card table, and we'll sit there, a glass of wine, and just laugh and watch the dogs. They're just listening to them. They're throwing candy at each other. He's getting pissed, punching the window.

Like, it's awesome. But no, we have a couple. And then we have guys like Jess Skinner who, oh, dude. It's got a whole show in the line. Just always stirring the pot, same way he plays. Yeah, that's funny. Always stirring stuff up. looking to poke.

Loves getting into my skin. He wrote that whole thing, by the way. That was his. Oh, really? He's written the whole script. You can kind of tell. You can tell the shit-eating grin he has on before every question. I'm like, he knows what he's doing.

So wait, you keep the competitive spirit playing cards too, eh? Yeah. I mean, I think we all do. But, yeah. I mean, playing with some of those guys is frustrating sometimes. Who's at your car table? It's me, Oposo, Gert. and then we have a new addition this year at Casey Milestat.

Oh, so he was part-time last year. He was full-time this year. It was nice. So you're at the adults' table and you're at the kids table. Table A. The A table. That's incredible.

There we go. We have more fun on our side. Yeah, yeah. It's growing candy, dude. That's amazing. I'll have the energy for that. Yeah, yeah, at my younger days. You're trying to wind down with a glass of red and these guys are just buzzing over there.

Okay, here's the last segment. It's a game we play with everybody. Oh, yeah. It's a racking system. called pass shoot score. We'll give you guys a couple categories of things we think you guys like. You have to rank them pass shoot score. Pass is your least favorite because the sister cool, but you know, chicks come out for the goals. Shoot is your second favorite because shots on net or how we score and score obviously is your favorite. Okay. All right,

Ted, you get the first one. This category is like kind of your happy place. What makes you feel good? Like you're feeling really good about yourself when. Okay. Here are your three. Pass shoot score. When you're walking around in a perfectly tailored Hugo Boss suit. just dress into the nines. When you have had a really long day, you come home and there's just a perfectly cooked steak with some mashed potatoes and broccoli on the side waiting for you for dinner.

Or when you're sitting alone, maybe in the basement, cutting up some NHL hype videos for Tommy Dangles on YouTube. I forgot about that. Yeah. That's a tough one. Yeah. Because those are fun.

Yeah. Those are fun. Yeah, I'd probably go. let's go coming home to steak and mashed potatoes. It's phenomenal. Yeah. It's great. Probably my favorite meal.

So is that your score? No, that'll probably be my pass. I like it. What kind of steak? What's your favorite cut? Honestly, I'll eat anything. I like a New York strip.

Oh, yeah. New York trips have a moment, by the way. Then we'll go probably the suit. Okay. Looking fresh in a suit, it's nice. But I'm not like a huge suit guy. I'd rather be more like casual clothes, but wearing a suit is off.

And dude, you do it so well. You feel like you say that a lot. Thank you. Thank you. I would rather be like casual clothes. Okay. Okay. But if you're going to dress. If you're going to dress, you're right. Yeah. So I would do that. And then, yeah, there's nothing like cutting up film. Like, put them together a nice montage.

Dude, you guys got to make, you got to make a Sabers hype video for playoffs when you guys get in. Or maybe we'll make it. Yeah. And like, will you make it? We'll post it. So you don't have to say you did it. But like, we'll know you did it. And you cut one up and get the Tommy Deng. I'm sure that one got a lot of guys fired up back in the day.

Yeah, definitely. It's like you are larking with the D-Boss videos. I don't know which one is better from being honest. All right, Tucky, you're next. We have this in common, so this is great.

You are crushing it. Tage's crushing it in the suits. You're crushing at Halloween. Great Halloween costumes. So we're going to pass-shoot score your favorites, your Incredibles costume, Beauty and the Beast,

and your wretched, and your woody costume Oh I've got mine for that Oh I have mine too by the way You know what I got a pat

I love the Incredibles But I got a pass Damn For the Incredibles Super underrated movie dude I love them One of the best Yeah honestly

And it was it was great But it was kind of like It wasn't We didn't try too hard on that The wife and I Yeah Just slipping the onesie You went to the storebought costume

I saw Yeah Went to the starbought costume Oh You know, it's because of the process, I'm going to have to say the beast, it was four hours of makeup. We had a professional makeup artist come in and do that. Never again. Yeah, yeah.

But it ended up being really cool looking. It was amazing. And also the process of getting that off. It took like two full days of showers to get all the makeup off. But definitely me and my buddy, Malcolm Suban, being Woody and Buzz, that's definitely the score. That's definitely that was my favorite Sorry, Kai, but I got to go to my buddy Malcolm There, yeah. I mean the four hours of makeup will do

That to you. Yeah, no, that crushed me. All right, so the follow-up is, like, do you have a Disney thing? Like, what's, you're a Disney movie? Oh, yeah, I love Disney Plus. That's my go-to. Like, anything, like Star Wars, Marvel, like any animated movie. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He's 15 months. They're just sitting there neck together next to each other, hammering Disney Plus. That's funny. My buddy, Brooks is my boy. Best babysitter squad, dude. Uncle Tucky, you, dude. It's beautiful.

I can't, like, I got a kid coming in December. I got a son coming, like, we're going to be it. You're just doing prep. Yeah, I'm prepping. Yeah, I'm making sure I know all the characters and everything like that. Yeah. What's on deck for how to you coming right up to? You got your one piece to have something picked out.

No, I don't know. So my wife's like seven months pregnant. So, like, we're trying to like figure out something. We can work that into it, though. I don't know. I had some ideas. She didn't like them. but I don't even, I don't think I should.

I mean, you got a big catalog to work with at Disney Plus. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah, I think she's sick of me going to pulling her through Disney Plus. Yeah. But no, yeah. A lot of pressure now. I didn't know that that was a big Halloween costume guy, I guess.

Yeah, I don't know. You're doing great. I mean, listen, it's easy to mail it in and you don't. I mean, a four-hour makeup session for Beauty and the Beast is... We'll do some brainstorming up for you guys. No makeup. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

No makeup. Okay, Tage, your next one. We're going to comedy. Movies. Okay. Hangover one. Step brothers. Super bad.

Oh, those are three. Three of my favorites. I know. Heavy hitters. Dude, I know you're a movie guy and we have some similar movie taste. It's very exciting. That's great.

Yes. Those are three really good movies. Yeah, it's not going to be easy. Yeah, it's going to be tough. If I'm going based on movies I throw on all the time and that just make me laugh every time. I'm going to probably start with Superbad.

Pass Superbad. Pass Superbad. It would be close though between that one and Stepbrothers. Yeah, I think I'm going to stick with Superbad pass. Stepbrothers for shoot. Tuck is rattled, right? And hangover for score. Hangover, I laugh every, dude, Alan's too funny. I might flip-flop stepbrothers and super bad.

No, I'm just, I'm off on that. Stop brothers. This is too bad for the shooter's score. I got hangover as the past. Wow. Wow. I don't know why. I said it for movies that I throw on that make me laugh.

Because you lived it, Tucker. You lived it in Vegas. Yeah, that's why I got you off. You had your own hangar. That's for a hell. Yeah, you're like, get that pass out of here.

I don't want to deal with that anymore. I think for me, yeah. If you would have said hangover three, it would have been no doubt. See, I like hangover three better. That was going to be my, you actually like three more than one? I love three more than one. Why?

Because Alan's got more role. like yeah you're an hour guy I'm a big hour guy shit dude glad say that we get to tell john yeah Blas will be thrilled about that's great that is crazy um and then the other fault dude when you were on chicklets biz said shutter island stinks that's the worst take

I've ever heard in my entire life one of the best and I asked if he watched it and he said no yeah he like couldn't say a single thing I talked to him about it I was like do you seriously not like that movie and he was like I think I got a great movie I was like what are you talking about that movie's incredible so good you also dropped a primal fear primal fear uh big ed norton guy oh my god oh my god

primal fear the The score. You've seen the score? Yeah. Fuck yeah. So good. Oh my God. You've obviously seen rounders too, right?

I actually haven't seen rounders. Oh, great one to add. Yeah. Big Ed Norton performance in that. Yeah. Unbelievable. All right. Talk, I'm going to take you to some food here.

Another passion of mine. So your passion would score. Chicken Parm at Carbon in Aria in Vegas. Oh, geez. Popcorn with salt and vinegar seasoning. Or. your hot dogs that you're dishing out at the Radisson garage sale. And you guys had some crazy digging on these.

Oh, man. Oh. I love when we put them through the road. Yeah, this is really tough. I'm going to have to pass on the salt and vinegar popcorn. It's one of my favorites. It's my wife's absolute favorite. Okay.

I do want to just give you a quick stick taps. Like seasoning on popcorn is the move. Dude, and also after I want to know where you get that. Because I love salt and vinegar chips. I want to do it in popcorn. So they sell it at Wegman's. Oh, okay. They sell it.

It's like this little like popcorn guy. It's this popcorn flavoring. They have all kinds of stuff. But if you go on Canadian munch, they have like all dressed too. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Which all dressed? Oh my God.

I love all dressed. My wife's from Vancouver. So she's like big onto like Canadian candies and stuff like that. Okay, we're getting off track. But I'm sorry. Past popcorn. Pass popcorn. I'm going to have to, I mean, the Hoffman hot dogs at the garage sale is going to be probably shoe.

Those are so good. That's one of the coolest stories I ever heard, dude. Yeah, we did 1,500 one. Do you know about this? No, I have no idea what this is. Talk about the garage sale, dude. So Radisson was a community I grew up in. There's an annual garage sale.

People from all over New York State come. In like Pennsylvania, like thousands of people. People from Pennsylvania. Yeah, it's crazy. It's like to a garage sale. Because the whole 10,000 houses And they all do a garage show On the same day

Yeah So it's like It's people from all Like a bunch of the A men of nights come Like it's crazy And like everyone loves it Because you come in

And it's like This is 75 cents Oh I'll give you 50 cents for it Yeah Like my mom lives for it Yeah It's just like I don't

I don't really understand it But We used to do a fundraiser For our hockey team We used to sell hot dogs To raise money And like Soda and water

But you have to get like Health Permit Like it was a process sense. People would come and stuff. But yeah, we sold 1,500 hot dogs one year. I would rollerblade and, like, bring them and sell them the people that were running their garage sales

too. But yeah, it was pretty crazy. A little entrepreneur. No, no, no. Well, yeah, the roller blading part, yeah, that was probably my parents just wanted me out of the house. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, but that carbon chicken parham, as long as my arm, as Ryan Reuss would say. Yeah,

that is, with the spicy regatoni on the side. Come on. Can't beat it. Incredible. That's a top five restaurant of all time. That's automatic. Yeah. Incredible.

Okay. Oh, it's too good. Last one each. Tames, we're doing hobbies. Okay. First one, round of golf in Arizona with the boys. Second one,

and you have to go back here, like transport yourself back in time, but fishing with your brother Tyson, Alaska. Okay. Third one, playing Call of Duty with the boys on Xbox. All right Probably Probably pass for Call of Duty

Kind of like been fizzling out of the Okay Is it just because you're bummed out Xbox died I just don't have Yeah I just don't have enough really time I mean I do probably I could probably scrounge up sometime Yeah I bet you could

I was never honestly I was never really good I was always just trying to keep up with the boys I was probably the worst player But morale guy But yeah like I would go take some bullets for the film You're a call duty guy too right? Was

Was okay Yeah so I'll go pass on that one And I'll go fishing for shoot Yep Fishing in Alaska can't beat it Must be so sick The best thing ever I love fishing I've never been up there

I'm dying to go Yeah it was so fun We'd go all the time And like every one of our buddies up there I had a boat and you'd max out And like you know three four hours Yeah sick and then I'll go for

round of golf and AZ Can't beat it Can't beat it Nothing better than that Nothing better than that Is Tucky in the dream Forsome on the team? Yeah I think I would have them in there for sure

Not skill wise Not skill wise Yeah If you're like a good time Being fun on the golf course Is better than being good on the golf course I think yeah I mean we have a lot

I would Pretty much everyone on our team But I think you gotta have Krebzi in there Yeah He's pepper in at least four houses And then case Cousy Cousy

Okay Bryce Is Cresi Yeah that's not fun Yeah Oh really Yeah Okay

We got a lot of good golf Yeah our whole team We got a lot of good golfers That's why you got the simulator Yeah Gotta catch out Yeah so I'll go easy AZ golf

Yeah It's an easy pick Does Crebsy get under your skin More than anyone else on the team Crebsy Yeah No he's no I love

Cousy You and Cousy Cousy Getting under my skin Well you were saying During the card game He's out of control Who Cousy and Cresby

No it's hilarious I just roll my eyes Yeah Big Eye roll guy When it comes to those guys But I'm It's a lot of fun to watch Yeah

Now Skinny loves trying To get under my skin I mean it's part of his shit Yeah I love for it All right And your last one Tucky

You're a big Thrones guy If you could bring back Or let's say Yeah if you could bring back any of these deaths in Game of Thrones. Spoiler alert for everyone has not seen Thrones. Ned Stark, Rob Stark,

Prince Oberyn. I should have fucking said this. You've seen Thrones, right? I haven't seen a single episode. I've already been on a little. We've talked about that. And I'm not going to watch one. He's not a TV show.

I'm not going to watch. The fact that I just spoiled Game of Thrones. If I'm sitting down, I'm going to watch a movie. Yeah. Me too. I'm with you on that. I'm with you on that. But I was a big Thrones guy. So I got to know from you. Yeah, that's a good idea.

I'm going to start that up again. I've been looking at it for something to watch. I did a rewatch of it recently. It's so awesome. It's so awesome. Oh, my God. The worst thing for me about Game of Thrones is when I first ever watched it, it was already on season six. Oh, no.

And I accidentally started on season six episode one when, cover your ears, John Snow comes back to life. Yeah. Oh my God. So I was like, I was so confused. I'm like, yeah, this John Snow guy came back to life. I was like three episodes in. And my buddy who would, who'd been like a season watcher was like, no, you started season six.

Dude, he'd ruined everything. But I got to say Ned Stark would be bringing up. He died way too early. So he could have been. He's a score. Yeah. Unbable actor too. Yeah.

Just like, oh, I mean, just. So good. That's the score. Yeah. Yeah. I think I got a pass on Rob Stark though I think we saw enough of them I'd you know what I I liked him I thought he was I thought he brought

he was he was a long great character yeah yeah yeah long enough had a few seasons of Rob yeah Oberin was the same as Ned it was like we got Obrin for like one season and then yeah so I'm saying that's a good yeah good rationale you pissed me off a little bit too yeah oh okay maybe pass him then leave him dead no I gotta bring him back he's good for the good stirring the pot

yeah stood the pot yeah He plays the Skinner roll on the Game of Thrones. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. It's incredible. All right, boys, well, we've taken up enough of your time, but this has been an absolute blast. Can't thank you enough for coming on. And before you go, anything you want to plug, shout out, say what up to you.

Say it up to someone. Thanks for the sandals. Yeah. They appreciate that. Hell yeah. Of course. Oh, dude. Quick thing.

Upset of the century that you have bigger feet than him. Oh, yeah. We got your sizes from your people. Oh, yeah. 13 and a half. Yeah. Crazy. And I also heard you have a bigger stick.

Is that true? Like literally you have a short hockey stick and you have a big one. The law. Oh, Jesus. Yeah, I use a short stick. Yeah. Crazy. I use a lot more comfortable with.

Yeah. There you go. That doesn't matter, dude. I like pushing myself out of the coffee. It's all about how you use it. Yeah, you're just trying to mix shit up. Dude, I get it. Keep things fresh.

Exactly. Someone's got to go strip people at the puck. Yeah, right. Someone's going to get forward check. Someone's getting in passing late. He's black checking. He's got a stiffer stick. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. Stiffer stick. So stronger. He's a lot stronger to do. There you go. A lot of leverage. All right.

Well, you guys are the fucking best. Thanks so much. It's been a blast. Thanks for having us. And can't wait for the season. There we go. Yeah. Thanks for having us.

Oh, yeah. This is the most exciting time of the year. We've got football on. We've got playoff baseball on. But more importantly, hockey is back. And we've got slates of games every single night, which means you need. to get in on this great partnership

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hotel. Massive, massive shout out to the boys in Royal Blue. What's that blue? Royal Blue. Massive shout out to the boys in Royal Blue. Yeah. What a time we had. Just fucking love those guys. They're the best. We actually just heard from, from Tucky that he's got his Halloween costume picked out. So, huge. Can't wait to see what that is. But as you guys know, I'm the biggest savers fan on earth. Tough start. Pick it up, boys. But we're going to be fine. And those two just, just, massive thanks. And then massive thanks to the entire Sabres organization. Bringing us in, showing us the arena, setting us up with that interview. Just such a cool group of people working over there. Buffalo, such a fucking awesome city.

Can't thank the entire community enough, the team enough, and those two boys fucking love them. The Sabers wagon rolls on, baby. Okay, let's get into our Toff watch. Tyler Toffley, we're tracking his staff this year. This is the first one of the year. We have him over 80? Was that it? 8. Or did we say 85? No, no. 80. 80. We got to check the tape on that. No, I think we said it at 79 and a half. Okay, so over 79 and a half. Our good buddy ties played three games. He has two apples. An assist in each of the first two games. Beautiful assists. Beautiful. The devils are

one one and one to start the season with a couple frustrating losses on, honestly. Yeah, yeah. Last night was poopy. Yeah. But he's one point off a point per game to start the year, and I love that pace. Me too. I think he's going to have a two point night this next game here. I am so comfortable because he's not even hot yet. The goals are coming. Yeah, he's not even hot yet and he's got two and three. Yeah, the goals are coming. He's fine. He's fine. All right, Dan, let's give some people some games to watch this week. You got anything? I do, but I want you to go first. Okay, I'm going Wednesday. The night this drops, penguins at your red wings. Sid's firing. The wings are firing. Should be a fun one.

Mm-hmm. And then Saturday, give me hurricanes at avalanche. Just two. teams I think are going to be in it till the very end powerhouse is colliding early in the season. Interesting, interesting. Okay, you know I love a Friday game. Yep. Um, 730 Eastern time Friday. We've got Devils at Islanders. I just went to UBS. It's a zoo. It's a really solid time, solid time. And I always just love a regional matchup. Yeah, yeah. It's a nice met matchup. That's really, really good stuff. And then did you do the game we're going to? No. Yeah, because that's my other one, no doubt about it. Saturday night. 7.30 Pacific time.

See you there. Bees at crypto playing the Kings. I always love a Bees Kings matchup. You know, for me, that's just a special spot. But I think it's going to be a great game. I think it's a really good defense of the Bruins, really high-powered offense with the Kings. It's going to be fun, fun stuff. Can't wait. We'll be there.

So if you guys are there, hit us up. but hockey is so back, dude. I'm pumped. I'm pumped. All right, that's it for us this week at the Empty Nerders podcast. We will be at that Bruins Kings game this weekend. If you're there, hit us up. If you're at any games this week, tag us.

Let's celebrate the NHL season being back. And until next week, skate hard.