Empty Netters Podcast - 67. Chris Kreider is the Greatest New York Ranger of All Time

Episode Date: December 20, 2023

In the last pod before Christmas the boys dish out some presents to teams and players in need. What clubs are getting good progress reports and what clubs are getting a lecture from their parents at the semester break? Lots of goalie drama around the league, the Bruins are in a rut, and a few super stars are going streaking. 04:40 - No Bucky Warmup  11:10 - BETSmas Recap  13:40 - Raanta Sent Down  20:55 - Flower is a Top 3 Goalie All Time 26:01 - Hot Ice 26:08 - Kredier is the GRoat  36:40 - The Bruins are Cracking  44:50 - End of Semester Awards  45:35 - Red Wings and Islanders Appreciation  47:55 - Panthers and Flyers Appreciation  51:46 - Devils and Sabres Demerits 56:10 - Senators and Penguins Demerits  1:01:25 - Predators and Jets Appreciation  1:04:30 - Canucks and Coyotes Appreciation  1:07:18 Wild and Kraken and Oilers Demerits  1:14:19 - Christmas Wish List  SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuf52MHW1O7guPMzsMvv2kA FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/empty.netters/?hl=en FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@empty.netters   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode of the empty netters podcast is brought to you by the crisp, refreshing taste of Labat Blue Light. Whether you're sitting in the arena at a game or on your couch watching hockey at home, there is no better beer in the game than Labat Blue Light. It is the crispest Pilsner you will ever have because every single can, bottle, and pint is brewed with Canadian kindness. And you know that is the best kindness that you could ever possibly find. So if you want to crack open a cold one, watch a game or just hang out with the first. fellas. LaBat blue light has you covered every single time, every single shift. Ice is ready. We're in Boston. I'm not thrilled with the weather. Dude, it is storming.

It is. But welcome back to another episode of the Empty Netters podcast. Dude, I flew here and I was just so excited to get some snow. I know. I was ready for that. Listen, I'm a California. I'm a California. you bitch now. Yep. I don't do well in cold weather. It's warm, though. It is so warm here, and it sucks. That's my thing, is like, I am a little baby boy now, but when I come home in the winter

for a couple of weeks, I'm like, give me it. I want it. I want to put on boots, and I want to walk down the street when it's dumping snow. And I get here, and it is monsooning, and it's 60 degrees. Dude, dad. What is going on? Dad said to me, he goes, it's going to, it's going to be rain in Monday.

And I have to think of myself, like, this is what happens when you retire. You just, you comment on the rain. Yeah, you just think about the weather. I love you, dad. But I was like, oh, it's going to rain, dad. And then I woke up this morning, and there's 100-mile-an-hour winds, and it's pouring. And I was like, oh, sorry, you were right. I didn't realize you meant it's a massive rain store.

The trees are blown sideways. I feel like I'm in a Tim Burton movie with what's going on out there. I parked under a very old-looking tree, and I was like, terrible move. My car is. is mom's car. I was like it's your mother's car. So it's going to get destroyed when a tree falls.

But we are thrilled to be here in Boston. The homies at Big Night Media hooking us up with this amazing studio. We've got a lot of hockey to talk about per usual. We're going to chop it up just the two of us this episode because we're heading into Christmas. We're heading into the holidays. The game doesn't stop. We've got Winter Classic right around the corner.

So let's get into our next. no Bucky warm-up. Talk about... Do you want to say that you're hurting a bit? Oh, yeah, I do. You can probably hear it in my voice. Shout out to our boy, Jeremy Swayman. Thanks for the hat.

Yep, thanks for the hat. You got me this hat. Come into Boston. Always get to see our buddy, the coolest guy ever. But God damn you. I just landed and all I wanted to do was order dinner and watch the football game and go to... Touch my little sweet...

butt to bed. Instead, Sway was the greatest host of all time, had a buddy in town. We all went out to Southey, which I thought my Southey days were over. No. No, sir. They sure aren't. No, sir. But I'm banged up, dude. Yeah, hell of a night. I feel like I sound like, uh, dude, what's Bradley Cooper's name and a Starzborn Jackson something? Jackson, Maine. Jackson, Maine. How could I forget Maine? And he spells it like Maine, too. I know. It's crazy. Yeah, I feel like Jackson Maine right now. The, I can't remember who it was. But the Bruins had a team party last night.

I think we can tell the story. And they did a Yankee swap. Yeah. And Sway got, Sway's been getting into pickleball. And he got a pickleball set. He opened a random, you know, his Yankee swap, you just opened. You don't know what it did. He opened a gift and got a pickleball set.

And then Riemers wife, Lauren, dude, swiped it from him. Dude, I'm on record. I'm on record. I've said this. I've said this at our office parties. dude Yankee swap, white elephant, whatever you want to call it, is chaos. It's a chaotic game. It is not in the spirit of Christmas.

There's stealing and swiping and everyone is upset every time. And it's just, it's just insanity. Edge is rolling over in his grave listening to this podcast. I know. He's like, well, he's just like Dan is such a little baby. And it's true, but I think that game is mayhem. Lauren, legal snipe. Legal snipe.

Legal snipe. Stick taps to Lauren. He got a nice bottle of J-mo. He did get a really nice. follow of J-mo. And listen, we don't need to say what it is, but Mason Lurie got the gift of the day. Big gift. Huge gift, so Mace. Congrats, buddy.

Use it well. Okay, no bucky warm up. Let's do it. Get into no bucky warm up here. We're going to start out with a little netter's bump. We're going streaking. Going streaking. Little Netters bump.

Boy, Jackie Aces. Jack Eikes. Ten game heater. Jackie. Jackie's out of a 10 game heater. Oh, fuck, Jackie. But playing out of his mind. Loved to see him getting in the mix.

He had the Buffalo game a couple of games ago. They lost, but he tucked a real nice goal, popped a nice little hit, gotten a bit of a scrap with Krebsy. I love that you can tell how fired up Jack gets for the Buffalo game. Both teams, by the way. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because Krebsy was chirping and, you know,

he doesn't want that smoke after, you know, like they... And I like it's all in good fun chirp's, you know. I think the boys love each other. But, like, Tucky scored, you know, that sick one, actually off the fucking ridiculous turnover. But Tucky scored that one and was fired up. Yeah. So that's a two-way street.

You know he was really coming alive, Zach Benson? Yeah, about time. What do you mean about time? Well, he was on, everyone was like, broken. He made opening day roster, dude, and no one on earth expected that. Yeah, but then they overshot it. He was a little slow. He's a child, dude.

He's a carny. He's a little bit of time. But he's playing out of his mind. But yeah, I love to see Jack buzzin. I said early, dude, I popped on our Twitter early this season. 100-point season for Jack. Yeah, dude, it's always been there. It's very much in the cards.

Yeah, it's always been there. No pun intended. Yeah, nice. They, we talked about this a little. Vegas. Yeah, yeah, cards. Yeah. Cascinos.

Crapes. No, that's dice. Fuck. Blackjack. Black. There we go. Blackjack. Oh, my God, dude.

We did it. We are full circle, right? We're buzzing. Stay hot. Stay hot. Stay hot. Stay hot. Stay hot.

Stay hot. I did want to say this, though. We talked about this last night. Of all the teams, I think you, a few nooners deep, but you put it best. last night, we were like, everyone in the league is a fraud right now. Correct. Every good team is actually a fraud and have fatal flaws except for Vegas.

Except Vegas is a wagon. It is absolutely insane. I said it on one of our AMAs the other week. Of all the teams, dude, everyone has a major issue. You're like, ooh, I wonder how that's going to look. Come playoff time. Even come the deadline. The only team that is a wagon is Vegas.

Shugging a lot. And they just might go back to back, dude. And that's how it feels right now. Yeah, not easy, but damn. But one of the other Titans in the league, who has another guy going streak in is Nate Dogg with 15-game heater under his belt. Ridiculous.

You have been the big, I mean, you said this last year, and I mean, they're at first right now, I think. Are you still in the camp that Colorado is just a titan of industry, and everyone somehow is just like, oh, yeah, they're not doing that well. Like, the fact that, I believe, can you look, I believe they're first in the Central right now. And just no one talks about it. They're a world leader, dude.

It's unbelievable. They, half the reason I picked Vegas to start slow this year in our previews was because Colorado did last year. And I was like, oh, see, that's just what happens. Like when you are that good and you won the cup and you party your face off, you kind of start slow. Vegas did not start slow there. Sure did. But Colorado, after their slow start last year. So if you go from like, I guess Jan 1 probably last year till now, so across both seasons,

I would like to see where the aves are on that ranking. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because like it's probably second, like the Bruins, Vegas and the aves, have the best record over that stretch, Jan 1 last year to Jan 1 this year. Yeah. The abs are nasty. We're going to get into some central stuff later, so I won't spoil it yet. but in the same way, actually, the Kings have been so sick,

but Dallas hasn't quite been the threat. I thought they were going to be. So the abs are like, yeah, where I mean, we're the class, class, class, class. They really are, dude. And you're right that they're just a monster. And their three big dogs, Nate, Moose, and Kale are all performing out of their shoes. And it's like, they're so good.

I think, remember in the run of Tampa? Yes. Where they win their back-to-back cups. The Tampa era. The Tampa era. Remember that. There's a lot of Tampa fans right now who are like, wait, is that over? Are we out of the Tampa era?

I'm like, oh, I have horrible news. I'm sorry, it's over. But remember the Tampa era when every deadline, they would just, like, they had no cap. Everyone thought, well, they can't possibly do anything. And then they would just add, like, the best piece. Yeah, third liner. And you'd be like, what the fuck? I think Colorado is going to do that this year.

I think they're going to flip someone. They might flip Joey or something. And I just think they're going to slide in a second line winger or third line center or something like that and just get so much deeper. And it's going to be another, oh, shit, Colorado is here in a real way. Because I think they would have done damage last year had they got by the spunk. Like they got spunked. No one was ready for that. and they got spunk in their gears and they got all jammed up.

But I'm telling you, if they get through that. We said that about the bees too. If they just beat Florida, they go to the cup. And it's like if the aves get by Seattle, now they're going. And I think it would have been really hard to stop them. I guess I'm trying to think who they would have caught next. Who did the Stars play? Or Seattle lost to Dallas, right?

So I guess they got, they would have got Dallas. I think they would have got Dallas. This is bad for us. This is a doubt. They would have got Dallas. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And, I mean, that's a tough one, but, like, their favorites in that series.

Yeah, no doubt. So, yeah, they would really go, where does each streak end call it right now? Jack's at 10, Nate Dogg's at 15. I think Jack gets to 14, and Nate Dogg doesn't end. The rest of the year. How many games left?

Nate Dog Street goes for about 50 more games. Yep. And I'd love Nate to get to, I'd love him to get to 20, but I think he gets to 18. Give me 17 for Nate Dog. Give me 21 for Jack. Oh, Blackjack. Nice. Give me 21.

That's how you, that's how you book in. I'm about to mush the shit out of both of them. I need to them to score another point. It's just awful. Speaking of Blackjack betting and gambling, you haven't fun with Bettsman? No. I'm having an awful time, dude. Did you hit a great one last night?

actually hit a sick fucking double bagger last night. But I've got a bone to pick with you. Yeah, I fucking wrote it wrong in the, I put a typo in the fucking store. So we're doing the 12 days of Bettsmiss, loving it. Yeah.

Picking, you know, 12 days of Christmas, each day, we both post one of our, one of our little parleyes or one of our picks. Last night, you did Vegas puck line, Av's puck line, parlay. Yep. you wrote on the IG money line.

So it doesn't count as one for you. But I put the odds, the odds I listed, and the money I was showing was all puck line. Yep. So anyone that was doing it, if they typed in money line for both, they would have seen, these are not the odds and not the payout.

Correct, yeah. And they would have heard me. So I think I have enough... The bad fact for me is that both hit anyway. Yeah, yeah, right. And I think I have enough data to justify that I clearly met puck line. Here's a question for you.

I, my pick was the devil's like an idiot and the ducks pumped them. Humped him. That said, the double money line of Avs Vegas was my pick, but you got your story up first, and I actually made that bet last night and won. So can my streak still stay? Hell no, dude. Hell no, dude. All right, fine, I'm going to get back on the horse tonight. How much did you bet on the devils for the competition? So I did. You were up to like $180. Yeah, I got $195, and I only did $20. Okay, so you're down to $1.75. Yeah.

I, dude, you have no money. I was getting to a point where I'm like, I'm like, I'm not even going to make it. Because I'm betting 10 bucks a day. It's 12 days of Bettsmas, and I only had $100 to start this competition. I wasn't even going to make it through 12 days if I didn't hit one soon. I'm pretty sure I cashed $31-ish on that. So I was down to 70 because I lost three in a row. So I was down to 60.

So I'm still under 100, but I think I'm at like $91 now, not the check, the sheet. But that was. So you're still doing pretty good. Well, not really, but that was a necessary win. And now we're hot, by the way. Just so everyone's knowing. Now we're very hot. You're hot.

And I'm about to go bonkers on this thing. Yeah, yeah. I'm going to get back on. I'm going to get back on the horse tonight, too. But yeah, follow along with the 12 days of Bettsmouth because we're having a blast. Some of us are having a blast. Yeah. I'm having a blast.

I think you're going to start having a blast, which is great. Let's talk about some goalies. Yeah, a lot to say here. Let's finish. Let's round out this Nobucky warm up with some goalie talk. We talked a lot of. about Carolina and how they're struggling. Ranta has cleared waivers.

Sent down. Sent down. When someone goes on waivers and they don't get scooped, you know it's not. You know it's dire. And we feel that this situation is just, is Freddie back? No. And here's Ranta 6-5 and 1 this year, 361 goals against 8-5-4, save percentage in 14. We did this the other day.

It's not great. Rod had some good quotes. His game's not there. It's such an important position. When it's not there, it's glaring. We've said that before. It's like, it's just so hard to hide. You know, when you're like,

we're playing okay, but you're just not getting that save. Absolute killer. Freddie's still out. Kachetkov 6-6-1-8-0. Oh, dude, it's brutal. All their goalie plays, brutal. The kid from Quinnipiac is who they've called up. Yep.

Yep. I think it's Peretz, thinks how you say it. He's been good in his life, you know, but it's just like, it's unproven. And we seem like guys like Levi and Wall, who we felt like was flashing, and that's hard. Even like Aden Hill last year with Vegas, even Copley last year with L.A. I do think that they are now fully in a, all right, dude, let's go to the pipeline. Let's see if someone else could. Because, dude, when your goalies playing this, and this is what fucking New Jersey should do, when your goalies are playing this poorly, just rotate, dude.

Like, is it, are you really going to be worse than like 3.8 goals against and a sub-900 say percentage? It's not going to be much worse than that. So give someone else a shot. I think that's right. I think you said it last app where it's like, you got to make a move pretty quick. Yeah. You know, I still think there's sometime because the MET is such a mess. Yeah, we definitely said this last time.

But it's like the, I like this. It's a trough, though, because sometimes you're like, they just need to see more pucks. I know, I know goalies when they're in a rut. They're like, don't sit me. That's not going to fucking help. I need to play. But I'm like, yeah, but you also, it's fucking everybody's net, dude. You're killing me.

So it's a tough call. But I respect them for making the change. And it's fucking sucks. I hope Randt finds his game in the A and comes back up and is sick again. They at least did something. Yeah. And I like what you just said there. like, I hate this for Ranta, because I think Rantta is a great

goaltender. Actually, curious. I, I won't lie, I was a bit surprised he cleared. Kind of same, especially because, listen to this, he was, this was with, I think, his career, 133, 78, and 28, 249 goals against with a 915 save percentage and 20 shutouts in 267 games. And I'm like, that's sick, dude.

He's a great goaltender. It's really good. He's a great goaltender, and it just, it did feel like there were some teams that could have been like, oh, you know, maybe it changed. just scenery, dude. This is a one of your deal, too, right? I mean, let's keep it, let's keep it in the exact same organization. Yeah, 1.5.

How great was Freddie when he left Toronto and went to Carolina? Yep. Different market, different environments. There's a chance your game comes alive. Perfect transition. I just, I just said it. Yeah, yeah. But we're okay with you.

But perfect transition into what we want to talk about now in L.A., Phoenix Copley to long-term I-R. Yep. So Phoenix was supposed to be the rising sun in, net for L.A. Started the season very, very rough around the edges. Brutal. Brutal at home.

And then out of nowhere, Talbo plays unreal. He's a top performing 10. He's doing the Phoenix impression from last year. 100%. Everyone's like, wait, it's you? And he's like, yeah, it's me. He's just out of control. And his unbelievable play allowed Phoenix to get into his rhythm.

Yep. Who has in his last 10 or so. No, he only has. Or not to, sorry. He only has eight. In their last like 10 games. He has played very well in those 10 games in his five or so starts. Yep.

But Phoenix has been playing very, very well. But no, listen, so he has last year, 24, 6 and 3, 26, 4 goals against 903, save percentage, 3-07 games. Yep. So, fucking save the squad. It was amazing. This year, so far, got hurt on Friday. This year, he's 4-1-2. 3-1-6 goals against 8-70, save percentage in eight games.

Yes. So it's like... But what I'm saying is, like, those four wins. wins, he has been better. Way better. Like, those numbers are bad, but they were much worse.

And he's, you know, he's figured it out, but he's now hurt. So they're now in a goalie situation, and that is one where I was like, Ranta would have been an interesting scoop for them.

Yeah. And all the teams we've been talking about a while, it would be, because like I just said, it's a one year 1.5 for Ranta. I'm like, oh, it's not like that was a fat contract.

No, no. I can't even be bothered. I'm like, dude, you don't want to just kick the tires on that? Which is kind of a testament to how bad he's been, unfortunately. But, yeah, Kings are another one, another team where it's like, man, that goalie can derail fucking everything, dude. So you just can't get hurt, you've got to get lucky. Yeah, it's fucking crazy.

You look at that King's team, and it's one of those situations where it feels like the majority of their losses this season has not been, you know, de-zone breakdowns or a failure to score goals. it's been goalie cracks. And, I mean, so many people come at us in the comments and comment us on Twitter, and not just us, like, everyone who's like, you know, if this team just got a goalie, they'd be a Stanley Cup contender. And people are like, well, that's goalie's part of the team. And I'm like, no shit, guys. But it's okay to say this.

I mean, look at that Toronto team. If you put fucking Vaslefsky on Toronto, are they a different team? Yes. And if you disagree, you are an idiot. And, yeah, do they need better? better defense as well? Yes, dude, but you don't, some people don't consider how much great goaltending helps your defense. And it helps your team. It helps your breakout. It helps the flow of the game. If you have a goaltender who is giving up goals at a, you know, 870 save percentage,

that is crippling to your confidence on the ice. Because when a team gets an odd man rush, you're sitting on the bench going, ah, fuck, I don't have confidence in our goaltender to make this safe. It's like the Hasick story back in the day when he would tell his guys he'd go, I'm not letting it another goal today. Give up three on once. Take chances. Take chances. Go score because I'm not getting scored on again. If you have a goaltender with that confidence,

it boosts up your player's confidence. It boosts up the defense's confidence. It changes the entire game. So, yes, I think the Kings fall in this category of, listen, is Talbo going to out of nowhere go like this? Yeah, I'm just going to go John Sebastian Jaguer this season,

and I'm going to carry us to a cup. That'd be amazing. But I think it's a little foolish to assume he's just going to go wire to wire. A little reckless. A little reckless. So just another team to keep an eye on, and Phoenix got to keep an eye on this injury. When is he coming back? Does he come back healthy? All these

crazy things. Last goalie talk before we move on. Flower. Mark Andre Fleury might be playing his last game in Pittsburgh tonight. So this will come out Wednesday, but he's playing it tonight on Monday. Monday night. Maybe.

Maybe he retires. I don't know. He'll get a great ovation like he always does. I wanted to ask you this, Dan. He's at 996 career games played, which is sick. Pretty sure only three goalies have ever gone over a thousand. Seriously, playing a thousand games as a goaltender. Patrick Wah, Luongo, 3, 2, Roder, the most.

1266 for Rourder. Flower has 548 wins. Legend. Wa 551, so three away. Yeah. And then Broder is 691. Those are the top three. 691, dude.

Those are the top three winnings. Can we talk about that? 691 wins from Martan Broder. Insane. Good God. Flower has, you know, 100 more wins than Luongo, then Lungquist, than Eddie Belfour.

Where is he knee-jerk? Where is he on your all-time goalie list? Top five. Top five? Yeah, yeah. Is he top three? That's what I'm saying. Well, yeah, this is where you go.

It's always Bruder and Waugh. Yeah, this is everyone. And now you go into the like annals of history to, you know, pulling out guys like Grant Fierre. He's got two mugs? How many cups does he have? Three mugs. I think he was on that team, that third cup team, but Murray was playing. But he had even won the third.

Look that up actually This is another one of those Tangor situations where Tangor has three cups We confirmed that That was a bullshit article That was

Yeah But I'm pretty sure he's got three mugs He is It's the core four Right It's Crosby Malkin Tanger Flurry

Without him They do not do what they have done For him to Then go to Vegas Then Chicago now Minnesota and be as good as he has been and a guy that these teams rely on to be that good for this long for four different franchises. I mean, dude, you are a legend. And like you just said, we're going to see him play over a thousand games now.

He's going to get his, he's about to pass Patrick Waugh for most wins. And the all-time wins list. Like, that is an all-time guy. I don't know if he'll catch him on games, but he'll hit the thousand mark. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So yeah, it's Broder, it's wa. And flower, dude.

That's what I'm saying. I think he might be the third best goalie to ever fucking live. I think I put Hasick above him. Yeah, okay. On sheer like, you know. Well, that's a tough one. Just like, Hassick's kind of like the, I mean, he actually played a lot of games too. Let me see how many he played.

But I was going to say it's kind of like the Barry Sanders thing where I'm like, well, he was the best. You know, like maybe he didn't have the longevity. It's that you asked the question. but don't do it in the sense of stats. Don't go, who, you know, who's the best statistical goalie of all times? It's the, you need a win. Give me your top five goalies. I think I go, Wa, Brodor, Hasick,

and then Flower comes in in that top five conversation for me. He's unbelievable, dude. Okay, I think that's right, because it's Luongo's way up there. He's also prank Sinatra. Yeah, I mean, he's the man. He's the man. He's an absolute beauty. Imagine me in that good and that cool.

Yeah. We always talk about it. It's diabol. We've had some fun nights with Marty. Like, he's getting after it still. Oh, yeah. He's my guy, too. And Patrick Woss has got...

I like, oh, dude. I've seen him get very mad, and I kind of dig that, actually. I love that. I kind of dig that. I love Waw because he's out of his damn mind. And I like a guy. Hey, I like that. I like that.

He's got a screw loose, dude. And that's good. That's a tough one, dude. Yeah, maybe I have to go four for flour. Yeah, I'd go floor. But I'm not sure people know that, dude. I'm not sure people are like, I'm like, what do you think about flower?

And they're like, he's pretty good. No, they say more than that. They're like, he's really good. And I'm like, well, he's the third best goal to ever live. So did you know that? You imbecile? Yeah. Do you know he's top five goal eight all the all time?

You fool? Because that's something to think about. Yeah. But that's going to be cool. I'm going to keep an eye on that tonight. It'll be fun to watch him play there again and possibly for the last time. That's crazy. Do you think he retires this year?

I hope not, but this wild season is shit and it sucks. Yeah. I don't think he's like. I think he could find... Especially when Sid goes barred down on him. I think he could find a new home next year. And then call it quits. Yeah.

Does he want to? I don't know. Do you want to move again? That's, you know, we'll get people screaming at us again for being like, there's such things a no move clause. And I'm like, but dude, don't you think Flower would be a good trade deadline acquisition for one of these teams? Hell yeah. I would love to see Flower get traded to New Jersey.

That would be amazing. That would be amazing. All right. Let's strap on those helmets. move on from no bucking warmups into hot ice. We've got two topics on hot ice. Go. First one I want to talk about is my old buddy.

Chris Kreider. Yes, sir. On one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now? One of? Yeah, one of. The... I don't know. Oh, come on, dude.

I guess we just stroked Vegas, but the rags are amazing. Having an unbelievable season, Criedy's got 24.16 goals, 8 assists, and 20. games having a vintage... How many goals? 16. Having a vintage Chris Kreider season. How many does Matthews out?

18? Goals? Yeah. No, he's got 21, I think. Might have 22 at this point. But Crudy's up there. He's easy top 10. He might be top 5 in the league right now.

But... Sick. Chris Crider, I believe, has... I was saying this last year. Maybe even two years ago. I believe... that Chris Kreider is getting

20 pulled straight into the rafters at Madison Square Garden? I don't even think it's a question anymore. Okay. And it's crazy. And I mean this with respect, but it's like, it is crazy to me to think about the sentence that it's not even a question that

Chris Crider's getting his jersey retired with the Rangers. Dude. Just because he felt like, and he's a friend of ours, I think everyone knows that at this point, but he's a friend of ours, and watching his career, playing at prep with Dan, BC was so fun to follow. 17th pick, I'm pretty sure.

19th, overall. And I was like, great, I'm pumped for the kid. Stayed at BC three years. Two 90 championships. And that's, obviously they had a good team and he wanted to come back, but I only bring that up to say, it's not like he's one of these kids

where he's in college one year, and they're like, yo, get him up. He's that nasty. You know, it was like, stay in college, dude. Like, get bigger, get stronger, or whatever. So he finally comes up, has this epic place. playoff run because he came up for the playoffs, remember?

And literally left BC. I think they won the Natty, I think. They did. And then went straight there and had like seven goals in the playoffs. O.T. winner against Boston. Which was a record. I think Kroog maybe even tied that record or something with like playoff goals as a rookie or that first year.

Anyway, had this incredible playoff, but then kind of like settled in. And I was like, yeah, Crider's a fast winger who will get you 20 a year. And that's great. and from a mid to high first rounder Drafting's tough dude You know like you want your studs up high you want them Yeah But like if you got a consistent winger

Who can like give you some power play minutes And score 20 goals a game from the 19th pick Yeah You're like I'm happy Do I wish it was a little bit better sure But you're not that mad about it And I was like good for you dude I'm so happy for the kid

His family what an awesome career And then he kind of was like Even before the 50 Burger He was there long enough That I was like Because every year it felt like maybe Crieder gets moved. You know, that's a good ad for a team. And it just never quite happened.

I felt like it was on the table, though. Yeah. It never quite happened. So then he was there long enough that you were like, he's a, what a ranger. What a storied ranger he is. And then it was all hell broke loose. So this is exactly my point.

I feel like Criety came into the league. He had a bit of a struggle in that first year and a half with torts. Yep. And in I believe his second year, maybe first full season got a couple of injuries and there were people being like ah man i hope he doesn't have an injury thing he absolutely leaned into that everyone was like crider solid guy yeah solid guy he's gonna get you 20 that was it it was like he's gonna get you 20 gonna get you 20 was never an all-star until the 50 year where he popped off but people paying attention

were like wait a minute this fucking guy is the pit-person of consistency. When you look at his career, he plays damn near every single game of the season, and he is going to get you 50 points every single fucking season. And, dude, when he was drafted and interviewed, someone asked what you're going to bring to the New York Rangers, and he says, he was like, I think I'm highly coachable, I think I work really hard, I think I'm a good two-way player. And damn it, if that is not the most accurate representation of what he does on the ice.

He is so insanely coachable. Look at how many coaches he's had with that team. He has lasted through so many regimes. He's signed multiple contracts with them. He's played with multiple different players, different centers, different wingers. He has been a leader on this team for a long time now. And, dude, I look at this guy, and he's been in the league for a decade. He is one of, if not the best power forwards in the NHO.

You'd be hard pressed to find a guy who's better in front of the net. and to just be doing what he's done for this long, he is fifth all time, fifth all time in New York Rangers history for goals. I thought it was even higher than that. Is it fifth? He's fifth. He's behind Rod Gilbert,

Jean Rattell, Adam Graves, Andy Bathgate, and then Chris Criter. Dude. And I'm like, dude. Fifth all time. He just got his 500th career point. And I'm telling you, dude, this guy. He's 15 goals.

or points, goals. Fifth and goals. Fifth and goals, all time. Power play goals, fifth all time. Power play points, he's up there as well. And you know he's up there in

playoff points as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. My thing with Cridey is, dude, knowing this guy how he plays the game, how he takes care of his body, he is nowhere fucking near.

Done. He's 33 years old, I believe. He will play until he's 38, 39, no question about it. And, dude, it's just so insane seeing him on this Rangers team having this unbelievable season. And I just think the general hockey world is like, yeah, Chris Kreider. Yeah.

And I'm like this, no, no, no, no. Chris Kreider is one of the greatest New York Rangers of all time already. And I'm like, like I said, he has at least, at least four more years in this league. and I bet they're all with that team. And my greater point here is, I believe that Kreider, at the end of it all, is going to have a claim for greatest New York Ranger to ever play. Dude, the, here's what I want to say.

How about that? Here's what I want to say. The longevity thing on that point really quickly, early in his career, he was the fast guy. And he was always strong, but early in his career, he was the fast guy. And that can get scary because you're like, that goes eventually.

And dude, he did such a good job of building that lower body strength that now he just can plan how to plant. And he's still so fast. Yes, of course. And I dare you to try knocking him off the bottom. That's what I mean. That's what I mean. Because he's not even like a fighter. Like, you know, Lutra's a power forward and he was fighting.

People like, Criads isn't like dropping myths every game. He's just like, I'm a beast in front of the net. You can do in the corners everywhere down low. It's ridiculous. And I say this with knowledge on the subject. That man is carved from marble. Yeah, it's insane. It's like, he's not a brick shit house.

You know, it's not like one of these guys. He doesn't have the hockey butt, and he's like kind of barrel chested. He is chiseled from stone, and he takes care of his body and his preparation so insanely well. So he's going to keep doing this, dude. He's just going to keep doing this. And the other thing I was going to say, dude, is, this might be a chirp, but I just like, I think the Rangers, franchise needs to step it up. Like, I can't believe this is, like, when they were like, Cries is the fifth leading

scoring ranger of all time, I was like, what? No, but see, you're doing what? I think too many people have done. Dude, he is that good. I know, I know. He is that good. But it's only recently. Like, he went 50, two years ago.

Yeah. And then I think last year he went 35, which is sick. Yeah, but I'm like... He's always doing that. Dude, scoring over 30 in the NHL is ridiculous. I just think he ever had. That's my point. No, yeah, yes.

Check that, dude. Because, like, I'm pretty sure. sure he had never scored more than 20 something until the 50 burger. But, okay, but even 20-somethings are insanely impressive. This is an original six franchise dude. Like, fucking who it was on the Rangers? Like, what is happening? In his career, he's gone.

Tell me he's gone over 30 before. 17, 21, 21, 28, 16, 28, 24, 20, 52, 36. Now he has 16. Yeah, so he had never gone over 30 before the 50 birthday. Yes, but he's always, he was flirting with it all the time. It's like those, the 28, 28, 28, 24, like he gets you, you know, 20 plus. Do you have the top five Rangers scoring scores right now? Yeah, I sure do.

I'm going to check the... I mean, I read them to you already. Yeah, but I want to know how many goals they have, actually. Most goals, 406. That's number one? Yep. Okay. Gilbert.

336, 280, 272. And, oh, wait, Chris Kreider is... Sorry, Kreider's fourth. Yeah, he's over, Andy. He has 280. Okay, so the 406 would be the 370. third. Or he might be over...

Let me look at this recent's at it, because he might have just passed... Yeah, I swear he's third, dude. I swear I thought... But I might be completely making that up. Yeah, 281. Sorry, 281. He just passed Graves. So he's fourth?

No. He is third. Okay. The 406... He's just behind Retel and Gilbert. The 406 would be the fourth highest scoring Bruin ever. I'm just checking original six teams. Here's Blackhawks.

It would be tied for a fourth. highest scoring Blackhawk. Like I, but my point is like 406. The Blackhawks leading goal score is 604. The Bruins is 500. Yeah. I just can't believe the Rangers

leading goal score ever is 406 goals. That's fair. Is it because people are leaving the Ranger? Like what is happening here? Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. But this is what this is, to circle back.

Yeah. This is why I'm saying at the end of it all, dude, I think he legitimately might be able to say I'm the great. If, if Criety gets a mug, if he brings a mug. Oh my God, bro. If he brings a mug back to Madison Square Garden, I'm telling you, he will be considered the greatest ranger of all time.

You're 100% right about that. It's insane. You are 100% and even fucking without it. Like there's a chance you can do it without it, but if they win the ship, like, Lunk, because it's, you know, Lunk was his way up there, but he never won it. So it's like, Jesus Christ. Let's shift to another original six team perfectly because we're here in Boston. You said earlier we talked about how we think everyone in the league is fraud.

Fraudulent. Bees got right. back to where they left off last season, top of the Atlantic. They remain at the top of the Atlantic. But last 10, been a little shaky. Yeah, I think they're five and five or five and six in their last 11s, I'm like that. A couple tough losses here and there. People on Twitter got big mad at us for saying that they might be on fraud watch. Yeah. First of all, guys, fraud watch doesn't mean you're bad. It just means you might be fraudulent. It might be fraudulent. There might be fraudulent activity on your car. There might be some fraudulent activity. Doesn't mean

you're a bad team. We will refund you and send you a new one. But we've got Zaka, your 1C, Maccoy, one of the best defensemen in the world, both on IR. Pasta gets tossed last game for a boarding call on Lindgren. The Bruins are on the struggle bus. And my question for you is this. Sorry, Bruins fans. You said early, this team is a depth. problem.

Yes. And if injuries happen, it's going to be a big wake-up of like, oh, boy. And here we are. We're looking at it. We've got guys getting called up to this team to play while people are injured that you've never heard of. That people are like, wait, who is this person?

The last three games, I believe, two of which were losses, this team has failed to get 30 shots on net. Are the Bruins staring? down the barrel of a this is what you're going to see in a deep playoff run. Or we get towards the end of the season more injuries happen.

These struggles are going to continue and you cannot ask fucking Sway and O'Mark to make 38 saves a game, which is literally what they're doing. Like that Rangers game, are you fucking joking me, Bruins? Sway is standing

on his head and they get a power play goal that sends it to overtime and you eventually lose because everyone of the Bruins falls asleep in overtime and leave someone nude backdoor. Dude, you cannot have your goalie making over 35 saves and you guys score one goal. Like, come on. Come on, boys. And this is the, like, dude, what is going on with the Bruins? It's basically what I'm doing. Dude, for me, it's exactly what my fear was. And I think they have great defense. I think they

have great goaltending. And I was wrong about that hand up to start the year. That, that, carried them more than I thought it would even. But if you just look at this roster, dude, like straight up, they have stars. And some teams don't even have that. Posternak is a fucking star, elite elite goal score. McAvoy is a star. The goaltending are both stars. But look at the roster.

Compare it to other great teams in this league. This is not a great roster, period. And maybe it's some of their parts is greater than the hole is greater than some of their parts because of their chemistry, because of the leadership. Marci too, I should have said Marcia, and he's still a great, great player in this life. Absolutely. But I'm like, this is a, I probably was harsh on him in my preview, but like this is a mid-playoff team to me. When you just look at roster construction.

And I think they're better than fucking five and six in their last 11 because of the injuries and stuff like that. But that's fucking NHL boys and girls. You know, that's how it works. You've got to go through some adversity here. So this is worse than they are. the start was better than they actually are. But I feel that Bruins fans got a little drunk on that start and was like, oh, dude, we can lose Berg and Krati and everything is fine.

Dude, and we were making jokes early, I was betting, and I was posting this, I was betting the Bruins under every fucking game, dude. Every fucking game, because Sway and O-Mark are not going to give up more than two goals, and this Bruins team was winning games 3-1, 2-0. And the under would hit. every time, and the Bruins were winning. But if that goal scoring, which is already low, even slightly dries up, oh boy, are you in trouble?

Yeah. And yeah, it's, I think the big thing for me was you've lost Bergeron, you've lost Craich, and some of your later ads, you lose the Bertuzi that you bring in. Like, those are big. Those are big things. This year was an interesting opportunity of seeing who's going to step up. You've got new opportunities. You're one of the big

dogs now. I think Charlie Coyle has stepped up beyond belief. Like, holy moly, is he playing well. I think Zaka is playing well. Yeah, yeah. He's playing exactly as well as he did last year. But to what we said, I don't think either of them are playing one C level hockey. I think they're both two Cs. Yeah, yeah. So that's a problem. And then Marcy's unbelievable, but he's 36 years old. I think he is maybe a bit of a dip that he usually is when he has Bergeron. So that's a regression, we'll call it. I think Jake DeBrusk has not performed like he would have wanted to. And Jake's streaky. He's always been streaky. So there's a chance that in the next 20 games, Debrusk has 25 goals. Like, that's how he plays. But it's a gamble like we talked

about. You're hoping for that. I think you wanted maybe a bigger jump from Trent Frederick. Absolutely. I think you wanted a bigger jump, or not jump, but a bigger performance from geeky who is a, you know, big, not a big ad, but that was one of your bottom six guys that you're like, we really hope this guy kind of makes a name for himself here. So there's just a lot that's being asked from guys who aren't necessarily delivering it. And as we've talked about, you don't have the capital to make a huge trade deadline move. So what goes on? And I'm not saying we need to get into it. Yeah. But the thing we've said that we're never going to talk about, because I think it's stupid, and I still think it's stupid.

But you look at the league, the state of the league, and how many teams need a goalie? Yeah. And if someone comes with an offer for O'Mark, that is a king's ransom, the Bruins now, and Ty Anderson is going to jump down my throat, as you should, because I've been on his team this whole time.

Their identity is the goaltending tandem. But if this... It might be good business. If this struggle continues and a king's ransom is offered for O-Mark that makes sense with the cap, the Bruins look at it from a business decision. And I think it is going to be a very difficult business decision. Yeah. So unfortunately, I feel like, well, no, they are in a slump that is worse than they are, I think.

But all I was going to say is I am like. It's because of the injuries. I am like, I guess I haven't been, I haven't come. all the way back from my harsh preview on the bees yet. Like, I'm still not like, oh, shit, I was wrong. They're going to be, they're great. I'm still like, they're okay. I think that they very well could and probably will win the Atlantic.

I think so. I still think that. But that's injury dependent. Like if these guys are out for a long, yeah, yeah, no, that wouldn't count. Dude, this team's fantastic. Dude, that's a good bet. I'd make that bet with you right now. That I would take, do I get the field?

Yeah. You get the bees. I get the field. Injury dependent. Yep. Yeah, if there's a, if either one of these or a future injury, I'll still wipe it if there's a future long-term injury. But I'm like, I guess it's honestly, though,

because fucking Detroit's not doing it. So it's like, it's only Toronto or Florida. Yeah, I'll make that bet. Okay. We'll figure out what the stakes are for, but, you got bees. It can't involve food or shrimp. Fair. Okay, it's the Christmas season.

Yep. We're coming up towards the Christmas holiday and then New Year. Yep. I would like to do a little end-of-semester accolades. Everyone's going on Christmas break. All the Boston kids are out of school. Fucking Logan was a zoo. Oh, my God.

So, yeah, let's hand out some. Let's do end-to-semester accolades. I'd like to do from each conference. I'd like to do two teams that you're proud of. Yep. And then two teams that you'd like more from. You got some work to do over the holidays. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Christmas reading. Which conference you want to start with? Let's do Eastern Conference. Eastern first? Yeah, who are your ups? Okay. Who are you proud of? Two teams that I'm proud of.

Two teams that I'm proud of that I would like to give a pat on the back and say heading into the next semester, I'm really loving what you're doing, and I'd like to see you continue on this path. Number one, obvious, you could have guessed it from me, the Detroit Red Wings. I am incredibly proud of this team, sitting in a playoff spot currently. Great record. They've got great performances. Tough sledding last five or six games. Larkin being out is obviously very brutal.

Wishing him all the best, as always, that's my guy. I think he's going to get back in the lineup in the new year here, and they're going to get right back on track. Also, not great record since Patrick Kane has joined, and he has one goal and one assist. So need the Patrick Kane performance to bump up a little bit, to silence a lot of the haters. A lot of salty Rangers fans on Twitter dancing on that grave.

So hopefully that's a little bit of motivation for you guys. You get Larks back in the lineup. Paddy Kane get going a little bit here. but I'm loving what they're doing, and I would love to see them hold on to this and stay in the playoffs. And I would like to say, I agree with you on this one. Yeah. I support, I think what they've done, because I had them super low.

Yes. And I think what they've done deserves proudness. Yeah. Well said, sir. You know who did have them in the playoffs? You, me, I believe. The other team that I'm very, very proud of than I would like to give a pat on the back to is the New York Islanders.

Yep. Good one. I feel as though, we said this a couple episodes ago, we talked a little bit of shit, and they have since performed. I think the thing that I like most, you know, I'm not even going to bring up the boring thing. Yeah. I would never. A lot of guys on this Islander's team that we have given a kick in the pants to are playing.

Yeah. And I love that. Yep. And we've said a long time now, Sorokin deserves this. He deserves some support from the boys, and he's getting. and support from the boys. And I just think I'm loving what I'm seeing from the Islanders fans. They're rocking UBS.

The team is playing as they, as well as they can. And that's always great to see. So Islanders keep it up because it's real, real fun. Yep. Yes. Okay. I don't quite buy them as much yet.

I'm not saying I do either. They deserve a pat on the head. Enjoy your holidays. Hey, well done. Enjoy your holidays. Have a very merry Christmas. My first one's going to be surprising that you think I, that I think they deserve a good job. But I'm going to give it to them.

Okay. That's how I feel. Okay. Yeah. I'm allowed to do what I feel like. I'm allowed to do what you want. The first team I'd like to in the Eastern Conference is the Florida Panthers. And.

Why would I disagree with that? Just because I think everyone is like, yeah, they were, they're supposed to be good. Like, and they're in third. You know, it's not like they're world beaters or anything. Are they in third or are they in second? They're in third or they're tied. I mean, they're the same amount of points as the least, two extra games, though. The Panthers, I would love to go back.

Literally everybody, including you, was like, the Panthers are going to be, have a slower start. They had a bunch of injuries, you know, like, they'll get good, but like they've got this cup hangover, short season, everyone's hurt. They are going to be, they'll surge late, but they will not be in the mix right from the start. they were in the mix right from the start. I disagree with that. They were too. I think, like, I think, I think 10 games in, they weren't. I think it's quicker than that.

No, I'm serious. I think it's going to be quicker than that. It might have been, it might have been like six years. They had, they were, like, got a rough patch right off the bump, but, like, we're talking like a handful of games. And then they were bang right there. And they snuck up on people, I think, because everyone was waiting for that. They are going to be a really good team the whole, the whole way.

And I think maybe only Keith. who announced that it was the Catlantic. He was the only one that was on him early. He was like, he was nasty. He was like, Atlantic runs through Florida. And I was like, shut up, dude. But then he was 100% right. So they get to take some, kick the shoes off on the holiday break.

Enjoy yourselves. That one made me happy. The second one. Can I say real quick on that team too? Chucky has been slow. And I think he's, you know, Matthew Chuk, for the record. I think he's dealing with the fact that he's recovering from a broken fucking stonum. body split in head. And I think the holidays and all-star break is going to be a real nice rest for him.

And we might see him a big time wake up in the latter half of the season. And that would be huge for them. Second one, of course, is the Philadelphia Flyers. Oh, yeah. Thank goodness. Are you, hey, are you kidding me? Dude, the Flyers. And here's what I want to say. Are you kidding me? Dude, the Mets all jammed up, but they're in second right now. Through 30, fucking games, damn. Like, this isn't, like, the beginning of the season. I cannot-

fucking games. I cannot believe. I can't believe. And here's my... This is two weeks in a row, I'm saying it. I can't believe that I like a Philly team this much. The flyers, too. Here's what I want to say about it.

And I'm going to be a plus-minus bitch in this segment a little bit, so forgive me. But I really like that stat. Dirty to me. I'm bricked up under him. You're talking about plus-minus. I really like that stat because it can kind of show you which teams are kind of faking it with some records. and everything. But dude, everyone

in the Met, every team is zero or negative in plus minus, except for three of them. And the rags, who are world beaters, are a plus 16. Like, to keep in mind, like the Canucks are plus 41.

Like, the rags are a plus 16 and they're world beaters. And the flyers are plus 11. Like, it's not like they are this team that's like, oh, we've got a bunch of lucky wins, but we're minus 30. Like, kind of like the caps, by the way. The caps are 15, 9, and 4, and a minus 10. And I'm like, you stink, dude. This is all fake. The flyers are plus 11, dude. Like, they're playing good hockey. Yeah, they're a very good team. They're very good team.

What is going on? It's insane. And I'm pumped for him, honestly. And I'm pumped for torts, dude. I think we said that too, but I'm like fucking good, good on you. Year two, like he's got this team in the playoffs. I need them to make the playoffs. Insane. It'll just be so sick. I don't think they will, but it's just buzzing. And they're like, we're in the playoffs, dude. Okay, who do you, who are you mad at? All right, here are the teams that I'm mad at on the east. One of them is very obvious, so we'll save that for second. The two teams that I'm upset with, number one, the New Jersey Devils. Get your shit together. I don't know if they will. Me neither. That's what's fucked. I don't know if they will. They have officially hit the point

where I'm like, dude, what the fuck is happening to you? The goaltending is absolutely a problem. And like Carolina, guys, you've got to mix it up here. Something's got to happen. Something's got to happen, but I don't want to harp on the goaltending. Obviously, Jacko is playing great. He was out for a little bit. Toff's playing great. Brat's playing great. I need way more from Meyer.

Way more. Yeah. I need, honestly, Nico was hurt. Everyone calmed down, but I need you to get going again, dude. Because, you know why you guys were so good last year? Because Nico had his breakout year. Yep. So did Jack.

Jack's going. Nico, you got to get going. I need the defense to figure at the fuck out, dude. Getting shell, but ducks, by the way, spoiler,

they're not one of the teams I'm proud of. Yeah. But I am proud of them. So the ducks are good. They had that nice little run there. They did. They are bad again,

but they had that. They're not bad, right? Like, they're not, no, no, no. They're not bad. They're not.

They're not a good team in the league, but they're not, you understand what I'm saying? There's a difference between being bad and being low in the standings. They're low in the same thing,

but they are not a bad team. But you can't get fucking whacked by the ducks five to one. I believe at home last night. No, you cannot. You cannot. That's ridiculous. And I just made the joke about Philly 30 games. Like, wow, it's not funny if you're in New Jersey. Because before it was like, what's hell low? We're 20 games in, whatever. And now I'm like, dude, the season's half over. It's, yeah, like, truly, we're coming here at the halfway mark. You guys suck. Yeah. So New Jersey, it's just, this is unacceptable. So I need you to figure it the fuck out. and then obviously the Buffalo Sabres.

Guys, I'm still on the wagon. Maybe you need to leave. Maybe you're the problem. Stop it. I'm not the problem, dude. I'm possibly the voice of reason that they've needed. I remain loyal to my savers. I remain loyal to the people of Buffalo. But when was the last time you heard me say the wagon rolls on, dude?

I couldn't recall. And the thing that's really frustrating is they have great wins, they beat Boston. Yeah. They beat Vegas. But it's the same bullshit as last year. You can't have wins like that and then go, ah, we lost three straight to these like clown teams.

Correct. It's like, guys, what the fuck? I think all the pieces are there. Obviously, there's more that the team needs. But being in seventh, being in seventh in the Atlantic. is just it's not what we needed. Dude, I feel bad. It's not what we needed at all.

And the Atlantic is great, but it's time to get it going here. And I'm very disappointed. Dude, I feel bad for them because, and it's their fault, to be clear. But I feel bad for them because when we were there with Tucky and Tage, hearing them talk about how fired up the city gets

and what it would mean for them to win and go to the playoffs for the city, Dahlene's letter last year, to the fans, all that shit. I know they want it that bad. And what scares me and what sucks and I feel bad about is, even when we left, like, stopped recording, we left. I remember talking to them,

and I was like, you guys are going to be so sick this year. I'm so pumped for you. And that's what fucking everyone was telling me. I know. Like, they just listened to all summer to everyone being like, you're the new, you're the new, you're the new. But they feel it too. I know.

And I'm like, I think that hurt them. Like, I think they went into it being like, we're so fucking sick. We're going to fucking win the top this year. And I'm like, dude, you stink still. They still need to be the little brother. They thought that they went through their growth spurt, but they're still several inches shorter than everybody. And my big, big one for them, Chris, is if they finish this season worse than last, that is a nightmare, dude.

Nightmare. Because you enter next season if you aren't good again. Now it's like, oh, people are going to leave. Yeah, 100%. So here are my two, and these are personal ones. Again, I'll do whatever I want. First one, the second one's going to be obvious. First one, the senators.

Dude, they, I had them high. Like, you and I kind of went, like, you went wings. I went sends of, like, who was going to make that jump. It's clearly been the wings. And it's not over. I still believe. But, dude, I was just so excited. Like, Corp.

Not that he's a fucking going to steal you a season, but, like, oh, that's an upgrade. We're happy with the goalie change. Bad Vlad is here now. Like, that's a ton of goals we just added. It just felt like, and they were right there last year. You know, like, they started slow and came on so strong. Jaroos, like, I was like, This is a sick team.

And this has been a major bummer. Obviously, Brady talked about it when he came on. The beliefs in that locker, I think they can turn it around. But they're in a place now, like as it stands right now, where you have to go on a fucking heater for the next 52 games to make it in the Atlantic. And, you know, same with Buffalo. Yeah. Look at the fucking Atlantic, dude.

You were playing all of these teams all the time. Going on a heater in that division is impossible. Even if you play like good hockey, like playoff level hockey. Like playoff level hockey for the rest of the way, that's probably not going to cut it anymore. If you're Ottawa, certainly, and probably Buffalo, too. Like you have to be like, oh, we are. Kind of like what the Oilers did last year where you're like, yo, we're the best, we're sneaky, the best team in the league since January. You have to do that if you're Ottawa to make the playoffs now.

And I don't know if they can do that. I think they can play good hockey, but I don't know if they can do that. And I'm like, you fucked it, dude. You fucked the whole season through this start. And I'm super bummed about that. So fucking do your reading and get better. Seriously. Second one, obviously for me personally, is just the fucking peasant.

ends, dude. I can't fucking believe this. I know everyone else can, but like, I can't fucking believe. No, but even people like me, you know, I had them lower than you, but I still, I think I had them fourth in our predictions. Yeah. And even I will admit, and I'm a stubborn

asshole. Yep. This is awful. Dude, and like, dude, this is awful. Doing what he's doing, like, OV, who I fucking love, is not playing that well. No. And the caps are doing fine. Sid is like, I've got 15 fucking goal. Like, Sid is a machine, dude. He scores every

fucking game. I know. And I'm like, how could this be happening? Like if Sid slowed down, which I never thought was going to happen, but I'm just saying, if Sid came into this year and was really struggling, and they were fucking 13, 13 and 3, I'd be like, well, you know, Sid's bad. And I'm like, Sid is the best player in the league. How could you be 500?

Dude. What is going on? And how brutal of a look is this for Dubas? Dude. Because he leaves Toronto as the scapegoat. Yeah. And everyone was like, are you fucking kidding me? You fired Dubus? Like, he did everything that you guys asked of him, you fire him, then he has his whole, like, I don't know if I'm going to take a job for a while, immediately takes a job in Pittsburgh, immediately makes the

blockbuster deal for Carlson. And it has gone terribly. Dude, I won't even say it's gone terribly, though, because he's, he's producing. Are you insane? Are you insane? What did you think was going to happen, though? Like, everyone said when that happened, it wasn't like the penguins were going to be 20 and 5 else. You know, like, dude, every Penn's, We went, our whole thing was, did this make you better? A bit? Yeah. And sure, but that was us.

Yeah, fair. We're fucking dipshits. Yeah. I heard that take, though. I heard that take out there. And like, a lot of people in the media said, like, gee, Mike Grinelli was like, yeah, this is ridiculous. Like, they're not that much better. Yeah, he's going to score a bunch of points because he always does. So a lot of people had that take.

And, you know, that's what I believe. And, well, ho-hum, look at us. We're right. But Kyle Dubus is getting paid millions of dollars to prove us wrong. Right. To be like, no, that was the piece. Yeah. And it's gone exactly like we assume.

So I'm like, that's a disaster for you, dude. Because when you put your nuts on the table and gamble on something like that, it better fucking work out. And it is, and unfortunately for him, gone exactly like we all thought. Yeah. So I'm like this, give me your job, dude. Give me your money. Yeah.

I'll take your money, dude. But here's what the only thing I'll bring up to. They have had goalie problems also. and that one, to your point maybe, is like, I kind of saw that coming, so maybe we should have made a change there. I know that's harder, easier said than done. But I will say this, dude, I brought up earlier. The entire Met only has three fucking teams in the positive and plus minus. The rags plus 16, the flyers plus 11, and fucking pit plus two in seventh.

So it's like they are having- Because of one Sydney Crosby. Yeah, they are having bad luck. Like they are losing super tight games. And eventually, you just hope that regresses to the mean. shout out Brian Baker fucking loves that stat but you hope that regresses to the mean

and then I can see them because dude they are let's see Islanders in third right now 36 points 30 games Penn's in 7th 29 points or 29 games 29 points so 7 points out 5

if they win the game in hand the Mets all jambled up it could happen and I look at them above them Devils minus 3 caps minus 10 you know I'm like you're better than them I think or maybe not the devil's on paper

but I'm saying like you're playing better than them you're just getting you're losing super tight ones. But dude, that's another one where if you finish this year in seventh, it's like fucking nightmare fuel. Nightmare fuel. Oh, God. Okay, take us away with the West. Western Conference. My two teams I'm very proud of. Okay. First one, and this one's going to be a surprise, because very recently I was chirping them. The National Predators.

Hey, Rabbo, Robor, Robor, Robor. Yep. 31 games, 18, 13, and 0, 36 points. They're sitting in fourth in the central. They are a plus five, which you know I love. They sucked and they were kind of bad last year. And then they went on that great win streak. And I was like, yeah, whatever, dude. Nice. You got hot. This doesn't matter at all. But they're playing pretty sick still, even coming off the win streak and like they've lost two games. But they've got some good wins. You know the fans love them. The rink is always going off. And I don't, I'm not being like, they're making the playoffs. I love them now, but I am like, dude, eat some cookies when you go home this break because good for you.

Yes. Because you did exactly what I just said, Ottawa didn't do. Where you're like, uh-oh, you're this close to having completely lost the fucking rails on this season. And then they were like this, boom, seven-game win streak or whatever it was, playing great hockey now. And everything is completely, everything is on the table for them now. Yeah. And I'm like, that's all you needed to do after that start and you did it. So congratulations.

Merry Christmas. And I'm buying stock. Yeah. Like if you don't see the stock rising with them. you're not looking at the charts well enough because they are a blast right now. Believe in trots. Yeah. Believe in trots.

Don't believe in idiots like you who said that they should trade juice because give me a break. And you know what really fires me up is seeing Flip playing. Yeah, the O.T. King. Just the fucking best. Love, love the Preds. My second one, I'm staying in the Central. My fucking boys, the Winnipeg Jets. Yeah.

Dude, I've been on the Jets train for so long. I know. And they, I was terrified, honestly. Because I'm a huge Blake Wheeler guy. OG listeners will know, I'm a huge Blake Wheeler guy. So I was kind of terrified when they stripped him with a captaincy. They ship him out of town. I was like, oh, God.

And it's looking like everyone's going to leave. Shifley's gone. Hella Bucks gone. This is a disaster. Jets are dead. And, dude, everyone stayed. And Kyle Connor, who we mushed so bad last week. God damn it.

But he's going to. be back. He'll be back soon, right on the same pace. Not that soon. Eight weeks. God damn it. But he'll be back. And that's, by the way, a real issue. I mushed the shit out of him.

That was not good. I'm so shy of Kyle. We didn't even have to say that. We didn't even have to say anything. Why did I do it? We were just like, the Jets are hot. And then we were like, Kyle Conner's the best player in the West, by the way. Why did I do that?

Just leave him alone. Dude. But my point is, they have long, and there's another team I bet you're going to name, that I have long thought on paper was really good. Yeah. And just never quite was doing it. Yeah. And they're doing it.

They're doing it. I love, and I love Jets fans, dude. I was going to say the other pat on the head is, dude, the people of Winnipeg deserve this so much. Go to the games. Go to the games. Yeah, they need it. Jets, fucking lower prices. Yeah, lower the prices. Then go to the games.

And, dude, there's not much to do there. They need this. Yeah, they need it. I'm fucking bump. Yeah, you love to see it. Okay, the two teams that I'm proud of, you absolutely right. You called it. the Vancouver Canucks.

I have been saying this since last year, why aren't you better? You can find five clips of me going, why aren't you better? And look at them now, dude, they're better. Look at them now. They are playing so well. That group of guys is buzzing. Quinn Hughes is the best defenseman on the planet. J.T. Miller is, we've also been saying this for a while, is just low-key and assassin.

And just pumps in goals. Brock, bro. Place such an insane. I mean, you know, 200-foot game, and then Brock Besser, dude, my boy, has just been like, oh, yeah, I'm back. Oh, I'm going to win a scoring title. Oh, I'm back. What the fuck are you doing, dude? And it's just great to see, dude.

You know, I love them adding Zedora. I thought that was a huge move. A little bit of a slip here, but right back on track. And that is why I'm so proud of this team. It's like, they faced a, you know, a little dash of diversity. And people were like, uh-oh, are they backslide? Nope. They're just still a great, great, great team.

And it goes into what we said is like, dude, you are so good on paper. Why isn't the product on the ice? And the product is on the ice. And that is another just group of guys that deserves it. I mean, there's not a single guy on that. We didn't even mention Petey, who's an absolute weapon. There's not a single one of those guys that I'm like, yeah, he's not really committed. He's not, like, they're just the best, dude.

And they deserve to be this good and it's awesome. And another group that I feel exactly that way about, because my goodness is the deck stacked against them is my desert dogs, dude. Yeah. The Arizona coyotes. Buddy, plus seven, I'm pretty sure. They're a good team. They're a good team. They're just getting good hockey all over the ice.

You love to see it for guys like Keller. And with the whole Mollett thing is like they've embraced. I feel like they embraced Mollett last year, but it was a bit of a like, this is ridiculous. And this season, it really does look like they're going, Mullets are a barn, dude. And you buy into it. You let that place get rocking. You've got great performances all over the place.

You know, Jersey comes in there, really makes that place his own. Lawson Krause is playing out of his mind. And to your point, it's that that plus seven. Like, they're not a fluke, dude. You know, it was cool. We saw them and the ducks start the season through 10, even 20. games more like 10. And I was like, whoa, look at these two guys.

And the Yotes have kept it up. And now we're hearing whispers of, uh-oh, maybe a new arena is happening in Arizona, which would be unreal. And I absolutely love it. Dude, I'm pumped for them. The teams I'm mad out over the holidays in the West. First one is the Minnesota Wild. That's one of mine as well, so we can double up on this.

I'll say this. the four teams like the Preds like when we're doing our previews and you're like it's always funny because you look at that and you're like

everyone's good someone's got to finish last though you know and when teams have surprising upswings someone's paying the price like that's how this works so well said

so yeah I'm fucking genius so you know you're fucking good at this shit you look at the Atlantic and it's like I'm like how was Auto so bad and it's like because Detroit's good yeah or because you know what I mean

like this is how this goes so the wild our pay the price right now. And it's their fault. And we've talked about the goal issues a bunch, so I don't need to get into it really. But I'm just, that is one where you,

and here's the good news. I've said this like three times now in this app, but they haven't, they're still like 500. They're not quite Ottawa frustrating yet. Like they could, if they get hot, not nuclear. Ottawa has to get nuclear. If the wild get hot, they can be like, we're back in the playoff mix

and this is okay. But that is hard. in the National Hockey League. And if they don't, and you finish down here, fuck, dude. Like, that is just such a bummer season. You said it all. You know, we talked about a couple episodes ago.

The Parisian suitor cap hits are brutal for that team. You know, 17% of your cap is just eaten alive. But there is a long, I believe in the long-term project of Billy G. Yeah. You know, people forget that Karel signed that bridge deal. And that's very strategically going to, be up when the Souter and Parisi deals are off the books. And I think that lines them up for

here's eight by fucking 12. But they're doing, the product is, or the plan is there. You can see the plan, but this wasn't part of the plan. Being this bad, having to fire your coach, the goalie struggles, maybe some guys underperforming was not part of the plan.

And yeah, you need them to, this is a, I'm disappointed in you, but I'm not giving you. up on you. Yeah, yeah. This is more of a slap on the ass. It's like, hey, come on. Do better in the second half. I'll do my next one because it's pretty much the same emotions,

pretty much the same energy that you just listed out there. The my spunk boys. Just a I think they are feeling a little bit of what I just pitched about with the Sabres where it's like you kind of get your tires pumped coming into the season, you're feeling yourself

and probably even more with the spunk than the Sabres. People know you now. You know, like, it's not like people weren't watching film in the league before, but just like, Seattle snuck up on a lot of people. It was super exciting and fun,

watching them sneak into the playoffs. Obviously, they tagged the abs and everyone was like, holy shit, but it was like, people are ready for Seattle. They don't have a target on their back, but, like, people are ready. And they did not, they are not responding. They are plus minus, plus minus.

They are a minus 18 on the season, 10, 14, and 8. Terrible. Dude, this is not it. luckily actually we should check the wild card because like the Pacific feels very top heavy

but luckily the wild they're not crazy out of a wild card hunt in the Western conference so it's like their season is not over by any means but this one I was personally super pumped to see to watch Seattle take the next step

and they've regressed in a big way so that's a bummer I agree they are spunkless and it's frustrating my last one is because I had the wild as well is the oilers. I was wondering if you're going to say this. And I am, but I have something to say.

I'm just incredibly disappointed. And obviously the new coach bump was helpful for them. They went on a tear, but they have lost a few now here in the last four. And I'm curious. I think the next 10 games, even five for them are very, very important. and I think they're going to be very telling as to what this team actually is. Because you've got your new coach. The new coach bump is over now.

Now you're just a team. And if they go 500 in the next 10 games, I'm like, they might miss the playoffs, too. And we'll see. And again, this is, I'm not giving up. I feel like the last four episodes, we've done nothing but stroke off McDavid as he deserves. And I love him. I love Leon. But this, even if they figure it out.

and they finish second or third in the Pacific. They get a wildcar spot, whatever. Either way, this has been a clown show. Okay. Going through what they've gone through for the first 30 games of the season is a clown show, dude. There's no excuse to be had. You should not have had to fire your coach, dude.

So no matter what, they're disappointing. And I'm disappointed in them. I was going to push back. Because at the end of the day, dude, they're in sixth. They're in sixth in the Pacific, and they're under 500 team through 28 games. And that is unacceptable for that team. When you have two of the three best players on Earth, I know we've hammered this into the ground, but this is unacceptable.

So I am disappointed in them. And yeah, I'm very, very curious what we're going to see from the next five to ten games. Because if they stay hot as fuck and they go four and one, eight and two, in those ten games, I'm like, all right, you know, you did figure it out. We're buzzing here. but if you go five and five yeah dude well here's the thing I am still on record

that I'm like I am positive the Oilers are making the playoffs and not even as a wildcar team like they are going to finish top three in the Pacific this is a joke that doesn't matter at all they are so nasty and they will they're going to go nuclear just like they always were going to I'm on record on that and I stand by it

but so I was going to push back being like this is not a disappointment because it doesn't fucking matter but you said you what you swung me over that they should get some some wrist slaps is the, this is a clown show. Like it is, it's a clown show. It is ridiculous that I even have to have this take that I'm like,

the oilers are good, I swear to God. I'm like, what are you doing? How is that even a conversation where that? Like we said, they went on a tear, but they've lost two in a row, and this is what makes me nervous about them. They lost seven to four to the bolts in a, they were up three, two in like a third period. Ninth straight win.

And then they lost five one to the, Panthers. Yeah. My point being, that's 12 goals in two games. Yeah. And this is why this... That was at home, right? Like, that was Florida teams.

Yes, both in a lot. Florida teams flying a billion miles. Yeah. And you get... Like, come on. Bitch slapped. And that, like, they're leaky, dude. And, you know, here they are in this great run.

And then you give up 12 goals in two games. And I'm like, well, that's a lot of the problems that were going on in the first 20. So, yikes. So, yeah. Okay. Let's wrap up this episode, some overtime, and let's do a little bit of a Christmas wish list. I'm going to hand out three Christmas gifts that we'd like to see. Do you want me to go first?

Yeah, give me your three gifts. Okay. My first gift is to Maddie Baneers. Hey. I hope Maddie comes down Christmas morning, and there's a brand new twig sitting under the tree with a bow on it. Remember those mornings? I would come, I feel like every Christmas we came down there was a, you could always... Lean it on the wall.

Yeah, exactly. Maddie has four goals, nine assists, 13 points through 32 games. He's on pace for 33 points this year. Yeah. Coming off his 57. Talk about a mush job, dude. You killed it.

I killed this boy, and I love him. And I feel awful. But you know what I feel good about? And I think that we, I know that we love the listeners. More than anything, truly. But when we did the Calder Curse segment post, there were a lot of people that came for our throats being like this,

What a ridiculous stat to look up. Like, you guys are reaching. You're reaching. Well, it doesn't feel like we're reaching. It looks pretty accurate. Looks pretty real guys. He's going to be, I think he'll get hotter. I hope he gets the new twig.

But he's going to be under what he had last year. And they, not as goes, Baneer goes the spunk. I'm not saying that, but they could really use him, his production. Yeah, because that would change a lot of things. second gift under the tree. A new glove for Vassie. I'm not saying his glove hands bad.

I was just trying to think about what gift I could give him. Maybe a new stick. New blocker. A new set. A whole new set. New set. A whole new setup. A whole new setup. It's expensive, but a whole new setup. The bolts, we thought, would start kind of slow. They had some actually pretty good goalie play

in the interim. Vasi's back. Ten games. He's five and five with an eight, nine, seven save percentage in a 3.02 goals against. course he was going to ease into the season. I'm not saying Vassi's bad now. But if Tampa wants to remain a threat in the Atlantic, they certainly, in their mind, banked on Vassie being a world-class goalie.

So that needs to happen if you're at Tampa Bay. The third gift I would like to give is, I hope, the Toronto Maple Leafs organization wakes up Christmas morning and there's a fucking whole bag of cash. because Willie Nealander is an absolute machine right now and they got to figure it out. We've talked about this before, but they need to,

something has to, you are facing just such a monumental decision that I'm like, actually I'm changing my gift. I hope the fucking Maple Leaf organization which I'm Christmas morning and there's a fucking crystal ball there and you know if you're going to win the cup this year

because then you keep him because if you aren't winning the cup, you can't keep him. Well, dude, here's the problem with that. they do have the cash. The question is, are they stupid? Right, right. And sorry, Lee's fans, you're not going to want to hear that, but we broke it down.

The guys coming off the books, the money that they're going to have is, I think it's something like 20 mil. They have a lot of money. But this is what we're talking about. Willie is going to demand 12 of that. Oh, yeah. And I know some people are like, the extra year he can take a team, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Dude, yes, they can sign him. And I'm sure that he wants to come back.

But, dude, as an organization, if you go like this, and here you go, Willie, you get even, let's call it 11, you get 11 mil a year, you have just slashed your free agency budget in half, and you have like six roster spots to fill. So your whole depth problem that you've had for the last five years is now even worse. Yep. So that's why it's a very difficult situation. All right. What are your gifts? My gifts are, number one, I hope that the Dallas stars wake up on Christmas morning with a big, strong defenseman under the tree. Yes, good.

I think we need some of the weight taken off of Miro's shoulders. I think that team really has one weakness and it's defensive help for Otter. Otter just picked up a little bit of an injury too. No, dude, I didn't like that at all. But, dude, you've been pumping Otter's tires forever here, and I just feel like too many times we see him facing too many shots. I was heard about to say they're kind of wasting him. That's not fair because they're a good team. They're not helping him enough.

Yeah, and it feels like I'm like, you got the hard piece. Yeah. Right? Like, you've got a guy like that. It's kind of like how I felt it with the Jets for a long time with Helibuck. I'm like, help him. And I think he needs help. I think that defensive core needs help.

I hope they get a big strong defensive defenseman to really shore up that back end. Next, I hope Trevor Zegris wakes up and has a vacation. A really lovely vacation. where he can go to his happy place. Yes, dude. We need Trevor happy. God. He obviously is getting healthy right now.

He's injured. But I think in the new year, we're going to see Trev get back on that ice. And I want to see that smile on his face. I want him to put aside all the girl problems, all the alleged. No, we've all got girl problems. We've all got guy problems. I want him to put away his girl problems, his guy problems. I want him to put away his contract problems.

Got a nice deal. You've got a great group of guys. Guys. Hockey's a fun game, dude. You're living in a wonderful place. Let's get him a little vacation, take him to his happy place, and let's get happy Trev back. I need happy Trev back on that ice because he is getting a lot of flack from the haters, and I will stand with my buddy Trev until the end of time, because he is an elite hockey player, and he is going to perform. Get him to his happy place, he's going to start playing well. And then last, my last gift is I hope my man, Alex of Vetchkin wakes up, and there is the fountain of youth. Ah, dude, he needs it. I hope the fountain of youth is sitting under that tree. And I hope you takes a big sip from it, and we get OV back. I want OV back.

Do you have his stats up? Look them up, because they're not as bad as you think. I know, but it's like... OV is playing subpar by his standards, and this Washington team is doing very, very well. Crazy. So if all of a sudden OV comes back, and I believe he must be dealing with an injury, because I don't think OV's cliff comes this fast. So I think he's dealing with something

So I hope he gets that fountain of youth Gets feeling a little bit better And we start seeing some of those OV's office goals Pumping in the net And all of a sudden he starts buzzing And the caps start climbing even higher in the Met That's what I would love Five goals, 12 assists

Through 28 games On pace for 15 goals this year That's insane That can't happen It can't happen And you know what's funny is he's going to finish the season with 28 goals. And it's like this next half

is he's just going to be pumping. Yeah, he's going to get hot. But that would be nice. It would be nice. You know what's fucking crazy, Dan? I'm fucking sick person. And I won't dwell on this. Because we're at the end of the app.

But I long felt like I didn't want OV to break Gretzky's record because I just thought it was cool that Wayne has every record. Like when you think about hockey, you're like, oh, who has the most blank? I'm like, Wayno. Yeah. Everything.

It's epic. So I was kind of like, I don't want Ovi to break it. And then as he was getting closer, I was like, oh, this sucks. He's going to do it. And then he hit a point where I was like, you know what, dude? It's actually cool to have seen. Yeah. We're going to see it.

The whole thing, right? Like, we obviously saw Wayno play a little bit, but I wasn't really watching. He saw his first goal and we'll see his last. Yeah. And I'm like, that's pretty sick. But I'll tell, you know, future generations like, yeah, we were watching Ovi in his fucking prime when we were really watching hockey. But now, and it was inevitable.

I'm like he's easily breaking it. But now that he's like slowing down all of a sudden out of nowhere, and I'm like, wait, he might not. I'm getting the sickness back in my head where I'm like, don't do it. Stop that. I don't want it. I don't want it. I don't want it.

I don't want to feel this way. We're going to get it. So we give out into youth. I'd be happy. I'd be happy. All right. Well, that is it for us today at the Empty Netters podcast. You guys won't hear from us until after Christmas, I believe.

Yeah. So I would love to take this time to say, Merry Christmas. Happy holidays to all of you wonderful hockey fans and wonderful listeners. We love you so much. We hope you have the greatest holiday spent with family and friends. And if you're listening to this episode on Wednesday or later in this week, put on some Christmas music, pop on a movie, enjoy the season. And until we see you next time. Find yourself a pond at ODR. Lace them up and skate hard.