Empty Netters Podcast - 70. The Canucks Are Real But They Can't Win With Darren Dreger

Episode Date: January 17, 2024

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joins the pod to dish all the insider gossip, talk major scoops he missed, how he got to where he is today, and the best way to grill meats. Plus, how good are the Canucks really? What goalies are on the move at the deadline? What coaches are on the hot seat? And which contenders need to PANIC!?   Chapters 2:23 - Intro  11:24 - NO BUCKIE WARMUP 11:31 - Alex Ovechkin Is Not Human  13:34 - Leo Carlsson Back With The Ducks  14:39 - Are We Going To See A Goalie Trade?  22:30 - Time To Blow It Up For The Flames 25:45 - Valeri Nichushkin Enters The Player Assistance Program 32:05 - New Jersey Cannot Miss Playoffs 41:20 - HOT ICE 41:24 - Shane Pinto Re-Joins The Senators 52:00 - Are The Canucks The Real Deal? 1:04:00 - Which Slipping Teams Are We Most Worried About? 1:07:57 - Darren Dreger Interview  1:11:12 - OVERTIME 1:11:17 - Armchair GM 1:19:32 - Saucy Predictions  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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You need some Labat blue light to make everything a little bit better. Get yours today. Ice is ready, and we are back with another episode of the Empty Netters podcast, and I've got to tell you, boys, I'm really happy to be here. MLK pod. Yeah, I'm happy to be here with you. Maybe it's because it's a holiday, and we're not supposed to be here, and it feels kind of special, but I was just buzzing to get in and talk shop with you boys today.

It's where we want to be, right? It's where we want to be. And the three of us are alone in the office. Usually the place is buzzing, but now we get the run of the place. I had nothing else to do. Right? It feels like we're, you know, in high school, parents are away. We're having, like, a cool sleepover.

Yeah. Bills were going to roll on the Steelers. I already do that. Yeah, that's the vibe right now. We've got a great episode today. We got Darren coming on, giving us all the scoops and all the inside tips, which is an absolute blast. Nashville was fun.

Nashville was super fun. We did, I'm sure people saw, but we did that BetMGM event. They opened their sports lounge, which is electric, no joke. I was actually dying, Blake. The staff there, some, like, the Bed MGM people

that were there knew us because they brought us there. The staff at the lounge are just staff. So they were like, bartenders. Yeah, and they were wicked nice, truly all of them,

but they were like, didn't know that we were there to shoot content for Bed MGM, like that's why we're here. So, like, the third night in a row, after I've had lunch and dinner there every day. One of the bartenders was like, dude, you guys love this place. And I was like, oh, I'm working.

I'm not just... I'm being paid to be here, sir. Yeah. I really love the Tabasco seasoned fries here, dude. So good. Are you a Tabasco fan or like a hot sauce fan? Definitely don't have the great tolerance for it, but I definitely like it.

Yeah. But, yeah, I'm definitely glad I'm not involved in your sauce of predictions of the punishment. I might have to add you into that now. that you said. Yeah, people are going to be excited to watch that at the end of this episode. I was so close.

Everything with Cellios was awesome. Got more videos coming out. Yeah, he's the best. We've got tons of Cellios content coming out. He's the best, dude. We're hopefully doing some stuff with him in Toronto for All-Star, but Chelly's the man.

He really had a blast, which is great. We had a great time at the Preds game. They had a sick win, unbelievable finish. Goal, they scored the game winning goal with seven seconds left, and then an empty-kner

with 0.2 seconds left at the buzzer. and everyone that had the puck line fucking unbelievable win everyone that I had Carlson teased down the over to three and a half and then that hit dude two goals in the last seven seconds of the game and one of my favorite parts

about the whole game was we met this girl sitting in front of us named I think her name was Mary Elizabeth Mary Elizabeth! Mary Elizabeth! We were like decked out in Preds gear, knows all the Preds chance and everything we're like big Nashville fan and she's like actually no I'm a Leafs fan and an Islander's fan but I'm also from Florida That's like, holy shit, Mary.

It's crazy. Yeah. She bases her fandom strictly on who she has crushes on, which I think is awesome. Yep. And it's honestly a good strategy. Yep. I get it. Me too.

I get it for sure. I don't even want to talk about gambling because, I mean, I had some good wins in there, but I had one of the worst days ever on our last day there. I just got slapped in the face five different ways and that had one Hail Mary bet at the end. Yeah, that was crazy. But I do want to talk about this new strategy, I have. Yeah. So we've talked about gambling and sort of sports gambling versus going and playing blackjack or roulette or something like that.

And when it comes to hockey specifically, as we did with our 12 days of bets missed, like I feel like I've got a good idea of what's going on out there. I feel a little bit informed with these bets. So we obviously had a frenzy day. We had all 32 teams playing the other day. Whenever there's eight or more games, maybe eight. Yeah. I like 10, but I'll hear it. or eight, still works with eight.

Whenever there's eight or more games, and I pop up on the BetMGM app or whatever, the app you're using, but if you're not using BetMGM, you're missing out. And you just hammer down all the money lines. Go through the games. Trust your gut, dude.

Trust your gut. Who do you like? Who do you think is going to win this game? You stack up that parlay, all 10 plus game, eight plus games. Bet like five bucks? Yeah. Those odds.

I mean, I did my frenzy picks, you know, some upset, some not. You get all those money lines odds. I bet five bucks. I was set to win 16 grand. Yeah, dude. And you can, like, if you take one dog, like one significant dog, you can win like 33 grand. Yeah.

Like, I think mine was like 30 grand. And this is what I did. So I pick my, again, trust in the gut. I pick my 16, bet $5. My return was $16,000. But then I did two other parlayes with like four teams. more reasonable ones and I lost my mega parlay

I lost one of the other ones but I won the other one and I made it all made it all back The smaller ones win you like 20 bucks And I'm now in 15 Well it depends on what you're doing right Like you could bet a hundred bucks And you're way more than that

Like I bet 20 bucks On one of my parlays That was like plus 420 or something And I won like 120 bucks Yeah I think the point though Or at least for most gamblers Would be You want to cover the loss

You know so like you But that's what I'm doing with the smarter parlay. Yeah, but now I don't, if I miss that one, I don't want to be like, damn, I lost $115 today. I want to lose $15 maximum. Well, again, I did $20. Oh, I thought you said you'd bet $100. No, no, I'm saying you could bet $100. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I bet $5 on the mega one. Then I bet $10 on another one and $20 on another one. I won like $120 or something, and it covered my $35 investment. I put a $5 on the mega and then $5,55 on three small ones. Each of the return on these was $20. Yeah. lost the mega, lost two of those, won the other one,

made my entire 20 bucks back for a chance to win 30 grand. Yeah, I think prop parlays are the way to go. Yeah. And honestly, in football, definitely, but even in hockey, like I'm seeing, like, the shot prop bets, even saves for goalies.

Like, like, that game that you guys were at, was Sorokan versus Soros. Like, I was, if I were to bet on that game, my bet would have been the under, but you could also just go, prop bet on both those guys for saves in the game, probably hit that. Yeah. And you parley all those together, like you said, increase those odds.

I will say on the mega, you got to go, you trust your gut, but then go against your gut on like five. Because you will be fucking wrong. Every fucking time, you fucking lose her. This is the funny thing. Redmond was like, you'll never hit this. But I'm telling you, I will. Because again, it's not random. Like, I know what I'm talking about. For example, 16 games, I got 11 right.

Yeah. and you know the ones I got wrong I got wrong like the Jets flyers I was like Jets are easily winning this they got blanked yeah so you know yes there's a world where I'd ever win this but one day we'll hit it dude eight games or more where you'll see it

we're gonna be posting it I'm going to do this mega parlay on every single one of these so here we fucking go baby I love it I'm in you can follow along you convince me great I've got a couple just quick hitter things I wanted to talk John that I thought were cool Unless you...

It always surprises me with quick hitter shit that just stacks up. So let's see. I thought that's the point of no bucket warmup. Well, we're not even in No Bucky. I was about to say,

let's get into No Bucky Warmup. Okay, that's what I want to do. All right. Let's take it to the No Bucky warmup. Can we get an update on your groin? Oh, dude. Are you good? Better, but to the recovery

from the bull, like from the event, from the incident, was really quick. Like, I went to roll it because I felt okay. I was like, oh, I think I feel way better. The recovery from roller has been way slower. Like, I think that was not good. Can you believe how dumb he is, dude?

We're going skiing this weekend. And after the bull thing, immediately after the bull thing, he was like, I just, I really do not want to be hurt for this ski trip. And then he plays not one game, a double-header game of roller hockey last week, like a fucking moron. He looked good. I was in the game as well. I thought it was fun.

Don't lie, dude. Chris was good But then I'm like Like I'll go over to him You're good Like he's like leaning over the boards After every shift And I'm like

You good? Like are you sick or something? I had totally forgotten about the groin And he's like Dude my groin And I'm like holy shit Right God damn it

So I take it you're not playing Beer League this week Dude so I said to Dan the other day I literally refuse I go I go I'm gonna dump water on his gear Dude because we're lifting and shit At the gym

While we're in Nashville And he's like What are you doing in here And I'm like Well I'm not like I'm just lifting, you know, it's fine. But I'm like doing some shit I probably shouldn't be doing.

And then I'm like kind of slimping back to our hotel room and I go, dude, I might have to miss beer league this week. And he goes, you might have to miss beer league, you fucking idiot. So I was like, yeah, maybe I should. When you think about a groin injury, hockey strides is like the worst thing you could possibly do. And roller's the worst. Dude, truly.

That's just asking to blow it out. Exactly. It's a nightmare. Hey, thanks. Thanks for asking. All right, no Bucky warm up. Yep. Get me with some stuff.

First one, and I already said this to you, so I'm going to do it to Blake. Blake, Ovi picked up a lower body thing in the Hurricanes game a week ago or whatever. It was a game-time decision, two games in a row, played both, and then was a game time decision on, you know, Saturday or something, missed the game and then missed today or whatever. Yeah. That, how many, this is too hard of a trivia question, so I'm just going to tell you the answer. That is the, the last two games are the 33rd and 34th game he's ever missed due to injury in his career. Can you believe that? No, it's insane.

I knew that stat, but it is just insane how durable he's been throughout his career. And the style of play he plays, and remember how he played when he was younger, too. He would throw his body around like a fucking bowling ball. Oh, yeah. The man runs on Russian gas, beer, pasta sauce, just like all insane things surging through his veins. And that's how he does what he does. And it brings up a couple of things. One, in the Crosby OV comparison, it is not, because they're, I love it when you look at all-time,

all-time leaders in the league, and they are the two highest in the league on the all-time list, and they're right behind each other. It's like a two-point difference. But then you look at the, how many more games he's played than Crosby, because Crosby's missed so many. Crosby's missed three seasons due to injury his career. And it makes you be like, Jesus, Christ, Crosby is so good. Yeah. But then it also makes you go, because as we always say, the best ability is availability.

and that man is on the ice all the time. Yep. It's crazy. Fucking awesome. I think we're at 64 away from the record. Yeah, that's right. But I will say this. I'm glad he's out because I think...

You thought he's been nursing something else. I think he's been nursing something all year. And I think this is making him be like, all right, dude, like this is bad. Take care of it. And we might see the revival of Ovi here, hopefully. It's almost like take a step back to take two steps forward. Exactly. Dude, like, we know you're tough, you're durable.

you're this machine, but we also want you to break this record. Take a step back, take some time off. Yeah, I need it. Another quick one I have, and it's just nothing, I'm just happy. Leo Carlson's back. He played today. I don't know if he had any points. He did not, but big 5-4-O-T win.

Yeah. So that's huge. And, you know, he was supposed to miss six weeks plus and came back in less than four. And right when Zegress goes out too, you know, jumps right back into one C-spot there. And, dude, the kid was having a fucking 15 points in 23 games so far this season. I know Baderd's been all the talk, but Carlson and they're managing his load and all that bullshit. But I'm saying he's been fantastic. So I'm excited to see managing his loads.

It's just a fun way to say that. That's how they say it. Load management, baby. It's true. But yeah, so I'm excited that he's back in line up quicker than we thought. And maybe if he catches fire heats up that rookie of the year race like we were talking about last week. Absolutely. It is, you know, he has been fantastic and the load management does look like it's going well.

And, you know, when you look at Bedard, him, and Fantilli, it's, you know, they're all cruising along at a pretty impressive pace. So it's great to see him back in the lineup. Speaking of Fantilli and his Columbus Blue Jackets, we've got a trade request. Yeah. Elvis Merzleekins of the Columbus Blue Jackets has officially said, I want out, get me out of here. He doesn't like the way he is kind of bumped down in the rotation there, in the pecking order there. So we've talked a lot about guys like Gibson, Markstrom. possible goalies on the move here. Where do you see this ending up? And is Merzleekins a guy, to me, Merslikins is a guy that I'm not a team picking up Merzleikins and being like, boom, number one, Tendi here. But you know what I do see is a team like L.A.

Who has the Copley news, which is brutal. Yep. And that might be like a good offer a little bit of help to Talbot here down the stretch. So very well said, Dan. for me it was like the when first of all I do want to say this too I love this I don't want to see the

NHL ever become NBAified where it's like guys are just the inmates are running the asylum and they get to pick wherever they want to play and form super teams and demand trades left and right but goalie specifically but really in any position in hockey this is a this to me is a good thing this can be a win win where you're like hey some other guy got the job

and you like his game more than my game right now and I would like to play because I believe I can start so move me somewhere I can play and then get something back to help your team and everyone's good. So I have no, I'm happy this is happening for Elvis. The, I view it the same way you do in that, almost like the Kings last year is a good comp with the Corpusallo thing where you're like, oh, okay, that's, that's interesting. Like I don't know that he'll be, I think when the Kings brought Corpian last year,

they didn't know he would be the playoff guy, but thought he might be. He could be. And I would imagine that's a similar attitude about Elvis's game. The only thing that worries me about that is, or any team that would hypothetically do that, is you got to spend big to make money, you know, to make a real cup push. And all these teams we've been talking about for a fucking month now that's like, dude, you're a goalie away, you're a goalie away. Go get your goalie then.

You know, I'm like, go fucking, you got to have to give something up. It's not easy. It's painful. But like, do you want to win a cup? Because these tiny deals for band-aids for like semi-backup goalies. And they're like, well, we made our move. I'm like, you're not better, dude. You're not significantly better.

I look at goalies. Like I look at quarterbacks in the league now where I'm like, in the NFL, obviously, where if you don't have a good one, you're fucked. And we talked about Aiden Hill. A couple people were like, the Knights one with Aiden Hill. And Aiden Hill stinks. And we were like wrong. Aiden Hill is like a top five goalie in the league statistically.

so you're a moron. You really have to look pretty hard. Well, Kemper. People kept saying Kemper too. And I was going to say that's the one. But you really have to look pretty hard in the last 10 years at a team that's won a cup without a really strong goal tender. So I'm shocked, and maybe they are. You know, we talked to Dreggs about this and he gave us some little info, but I'm shocked at more teams that are that goalie away. I would be fucking calling GMs every day.

Dude, if I were the Toronto Maple Leafs, if I were the New Jersey Devils, if I were the Hurricanes, if I were the Red Wings, I would be calling Boston every day all season long about Linus Olmark. I'd be like this, what do you want? What do you want and when can I give it to you? And if they keep going like this, we're not moving it, fine, but I would literally call them every two weeks and go, hey, just check on the temperature on this. Because it does feel like to me, there are a lot of teams, I just named four of them,

that you would think if they got to. a legitimate goaltender, it's like, whoof, that is a huge step up. Agree with you, why don't they do it? And I hope they do here. I hope we see some fireworks and we might hit the trade deadline and it's nothing that crazy. But fuck, man, I would be making every possible move. Because, you know, we've talked about it a number of times of if you're certain

teams, you can't really offload first round draft picks that often and assets that often, but you do kind of have to look at it as the trade for trade. You know what I mean? If you see a guy who's going to either has term or in your talks leading up to it says, you know, I'm going to sign long term here. It's like the Kachuk, you know, it was obviously in the stars, but when he gets traded to the Panthers, he then immediately signed. And if you've got a situation like that where you know they're going to be there for a bit, whether it be with term or signing a re-up, you look at that as the first round draft. You look at that as the first round draft pick that you move, that's your draft pick.

You know what I mean? Yeah. Especially if you've got a 23rd overall pick and you trade that for a certified first liner or a certified starting goaltender, you justified as going, we used our first round pick this year on that. Yeah, right. And you pray for that to be the case. So it's like if Jesus Christ, man, we talk about it like if you see Soros, if Jacob

Markstrom, who's obviously a little bit older, if John Gibson in a new situation starts playing like he has in the past, all of a sudden a first round pick gets you. you that guy for the next several years. You go like this. We used a first round pick on a starting goal tender for the next four years. You've got to be happy about that. So I think some of these teams that need a goalie should absolutely swing bigger. I think Elves is going to move because he wants to move, behoove the blue jackets to move him and he'll go. But swing bigger. What do you guys think about the trade, not official trade request, but this agreement to find him a new home? Do you think he, wait, I think with this request, he's basically now set him up

for a buyout. I don't think he's getting like who's trading for? Right, right. So they might not do it. Depending on what it is. But yeah, I don't think that there's a trade to your point. I don't see anyone going to Columbus and giving them this package that they're like, oh, sick. I think it's going to be like, you can have this

and we'll take him. And again, the Kings are someone that I'm like, I wouldn't hate that move. You know, is Mersleekin's an upgrade on Riddick? Probably. But yeah, you're not given like a second or third round pick for that. No way. He's signed for four more years, including this season, four years at 5.4, and he's 29. He has had the worst

season this year and last season of his career. So he's on the downtrend. He's demanding more ice time. He's now looking for a trade. And with all these other goleys out there, he might be playing himself out of the league come, you know, September. Dude, I don't hate the take, especially barring a big injury. Like if, you know, if someone, if the new need is created really bad, but even then, to your point, I'm like, he's not playing with it. I think there's other goalies I would trade for way before I'm trading to this guy. Way before. Don't get me wrong.

He's had some great years. He's been a good goalie in the past, but what have you done for me lately? Yeah. You just hope you get, you'd have to pay less. Right? Like, that's the only win for him is like, teams are like, I'm giving up way less to take a chance. You take his best performances like a couple of years ago and you look at that cap it and you're like, yeah, that's worth it. But the way he's playing now, absolutely, four more years of that.

Yeah. Disaster. So yeah, it's interesting. We just talked about Jacob Markstrom. Obviously, we tweeted earlier this week or over the weekend. You saw Kevin Weeks talking about it. And today, news broke that Jacob Markstrom was pulled off the ice during practice. Blake looks like you didn't know that.

Yeah, pulled off the ice during practice. However, however, there was no confirmation on why. Could have been an injury, could have been a personal thing, could have been a trade thing. We don't know. but Markstrom, like we've talked about, 33 years old, I believe, and Blake, what is he at? He's at 6 mil. 6 mil, including this year, and then two more seasons after that at age 33. Yeah.

Markstrom is a great goal time. We're not going to talk about Markstrom because we've talked about it. We are going to talk about the flames. Yeah. What do you think is going through their GM's head right now? And what do you think the move is here? Because we've got Tanev, we've got Hanofin, we've got Elias Lindholm, and we're going to include Jacob Marksum.

Those first three guys are guys who are UFAs after this year. All have been rumored on the trade mill. Drags mention them as well. And now Markstrom, all of the stuff that's happening with. Are we in full TNT dynamite blow-up area? Yes, according to me. I would love, and I feel bad,

because they looked so good. What was that fucking two years ago when they had that six series with the Oilers? Yeah, I was like, damn, the Alberta is like shaping up to be this epic run. And I think that series, that loss to Edmonton was so monumental. I think that was the turning team.

Dude, agree. That's when Kachuk decided. And Kudrow, they were like, we're out, dude. Yep. So it makes me sad because that felt like it was going to be something really cool. I also love Hubey, and he goes there, and I'm like, and I love Wendon. I said that a million fucking times. So I'm like, sorry to interrupt, but what's funny is they're six in the Pacific.

Sounds bad. They're fourth in Wildcard. Yeah. And they're only two points back from Seattle and Edmonton. Now, Edmonton has four games in hand. Yeah. So, fucking Edmonton's in first place. Yeah, correct.

But, you know, they're not out of it like the wild or the ducks or Chicago is, but it doesn't feel like they're going to make playoffs. Are they going to leapfrog any of those teams? I don't think so. Me neither. And here's the bigger problem. To me, they feel like, because you look at the roster with those guys. I mean, I know some of them are free agents pending here, but you look at that roster and I'm like, oh, my God, this is, you're a great team. What are you doing?

but to me they feel like like what happened to the wild this year if that's the flames next year and they're just worse that's not surprising to me at all this team feels like their fans maybe want to go retool just retool like we're missing a couple pieces here and then we're right back in it and I'm like oh no I think you're not back in it and you're going to slowly slip into madness so you'd better be better off jumping off the bridge now to begin the rebuild like the sooner you can begin the rebuild do So, like, if I'm them, I'm like, dude, this is all over.

Start again. Remember last year when Washington traded Orlov to Boston and Hathaway, and everyone was kind of like, whoa, are they bowing out? Because it felt as if they were still in a playoff hunt. I think Calgary could be looking at a situation where they're like, we're not eliminated, but we're not making it. Yep. And we always talk about you need those conversations. Are you talking to Hannafin and Lindholm right now? And you're going, are you coming back? Because I would be asking them that right now. And if they are like, I'm not going to sign. I trade them fucking yesterday. Yeah. It's just crazy town to not do it now. Let them gel with their new team as soon as possible. And you get ahead of the game before the frenzy starts, be like, you know, what can you offer me if you want this guy? I think it is high time that Calgary accepts their fate with these guys. If it looks. bad and just ship it all out. Yeah. Ship it all out. These are guys who are UFAs. Move them now.

No question about it for me. Some bad news in the league. The surging Colorado Avalanche have lost one of their best players for the time being. Valerie Nishushkin has entered the player assistance program again. Yeah. For a second time. So Blake

and I were talking about it earlier. Last year Nishu Shkin left during the playoffs and missed that first round against Seattle, missed all those games as they lost, one of their top forwards. He currently, I think, has 42 points and 40 games in a very balanced. I think he has like 20 goals and 22 assists or something like that. And he started slow this year.

We were just talking about this and then has been fired. Yeah. He is an absolute beast. But definitely struggles with some substance stuff. He released a statement. I'll read it right now. But Nishushkin has said, I have made the decision to seek help and enter the player's assistance program.

My goal is to address my issues and prevent any negative outcome. once and for all. I want to thank my wife and family, my friends, the Avalanche organization, and all of our fans for their understanding and support. I will do everything I can to get back on the ice and join my teammates as soon as possible. Now, you look at Colorado and how good they are and hopefully you look at this situation for Nishushkin. He spends a few weeks, several weeks, whatever it is, gets things under control and comes back even before the deadline, certainly before playoffs. But at the very least, you would think he'll be back for playoffs and hope certainly he's back for playoffs.

But brutal. And it's brutal that the guys go through stuff like this. You never know what's going on at home. So first and foremost for him, you wish him all the best, hope he gets the help that he needs. But as the Colorado team and fans go into this final stretch of the season here, that's a brutal blow. A lot of production going out the door. Dude. That first line is so good as we just heard.

but that's a lot of production on the second line there he's been really one of the drivers of that second line yeah now the abs are a veteran team well they're pretty young team but you know what I'm saying like that's an experienced team probably better word they're still a stacked team um and minus the surprising jets that you know they've still been right there as the class of the central so you know certainly you're not like well they ask goodness playoffs not that you said that, but I'm saying, like, they're fine in terms of, just get them back, get your shit together for playoffs. You might not be fine trying to win the Central, which you'd rather do, obviously,

than try to catch the stars or the Jets or something in the first round. So you've got to worry about that. I think if they, if he does come back, which I really hope he does, I think he will come back, he will seamlessly slide back in, they won't miss a beat, and they are all. almost even more dangerous than you expect because you kind of fell asleep on them. So part of me wants to write this off as like, dude, rooting for you, get better. And like, this is fine. Sometimes though, like one of those line changes messes up so much.

Because someone's from the third line has to come up and you didn't realize the third line had the chemistry that they were really working with. And then everything starts to unravel a little bit. Talk about it last year. Yeah. Like you think that could have been the case last year? I'm sure it was. I'm sure it had something to do with losing to, you know, an up-and-coming Seattle team.

Like that was fucking crazy. And no promises, right? Like, way different thing, obviously, but everybody last year was like, well, then Landy will come back and then whatever. And then he just doesn't. So you can't be sitting here like Val's coming back for sure because maybe he doesn't.

Yeah. So something to keep an eye on, absolutely. And a bummer to hear, because, you know, you just, he'd see the repeat thing happen. And like you said, there's a lot of stresses going on with these guys that nobody knows about.

So bummer to hear. Do you think Landy comes back? He was skating. He's fucking sick. But that knee is absolutely mangled. It's just bone on bone. Just starting a fire in that knee cap. It truly is.

God, I would love Landy to come. They should not, I mean, I'm sure they're thinking, but if he feels like he can come back, game one of playoffs, dude. Just chill and then come back then. But I'm, yeah, he's coming back. I'm sitting here, Landy's coming back, Dallas coming back. Everything's fine. In Colorado, though, I'm not buying at the deadline.

Oh, hell, no. Like, you don't have the prospects to ship out for that. You won the Cup two years ago. Yeah. Take a year to give it a sec. Like, I'm looking at their lines right now. Joel Kiviranta, Logan O'Connor, those guys are not second liners. They're great players.

They're not second liners. Jason Poulin, I have no clue who that is. Yeah. Andrew Cogliano, great player. Yep. Should be on the fourth line. Curtis McDermott. He plays defense.

Yeah. So, I mean, I just look at their forward depth, and I'm like, Yeah, how's that going to feel coming playoffs? Yeah, I think they're poised right now for another first round exit. No, no, no. They are top heavy, though. They are top heavy, I will say that. God, fuck, man.

You put, you put Nishuskin and Landy back in that lineup, and they are a weapon. Oh, it's insane. It's crazy. Unless they win the division, like, you get in the first round against Winnipeg or Dallas. Tough one. I'm not picking that. And that's why it's tough to, like I just said, maybe Val being out for an extended period of time costs you the division.

you're still good, but like, oh, the jet, you couldn't quite keep up with the Jets. Now you pay for that big time. You really did hope Rojo would be more of a second line center on this team. Like, I don't think when they scooped Ross Colton, I loved that pickup. They did not peg him to be a second line center. No. So I've heard a lot of Elias Lindholm talk with this team. You would look awesome.

Oh, my God, dude. But I just don't think they can get it. Their cap situation is going to look really good in the summer with that increase. So maybe if they don't get Linholm at the deadline right now. Wait for summer. Yeah. Lindholm, to me, I've heard a lot of teams that have Lindholm on their list, Boston, Colorado being two of them. I don't think either of them can afford him now.

I think Lindholm's going to do what O'Reilly did. Do a trade at the deadline, go to a new team, but not re-signed. And they resigned in his long-term home over the summer. Yeah. Is what I think is going to happen with that. Yeah. So we'll see. Right, right.

Speaking of hopeful buyers at the deadline, let's talk about New Jersey. We're going to get into this later with our saucy predictions because they burned me a little bit. They're riding the ship a little bit. They've had a few great wins here in their last eight or so games. Tough loss to the Bruins got blank three nothing today on Monday, MLK Day. But talk to me about where they are in the standings because they're, Blake,

they're right up against the cap too, right? I mean, they don't have that much wiggle room. Yeah, they're working with chump change up now. They've got 780K of, or wait, go back up. Their cap space is 420K. So it's not like they can make all these crazy moves. VTech is a disaster. Schmead is literally in the AHA, I think, or is he, I mean, he's up and down.

Yeah, he's been up and down. They called up that Nico Dawson. Nico Doss. He's a couple of good starts. I think that win against. Yeah, the Panthers. Yeah. Yep, that was huge.

He had a great first period against Boston tonight. I think he's made something like 16 or 17 stops in the first period alone. Dude, so here's actually all I want to talk about, because we've talked about this, the Met before, and the Devils certainly have been one of the disappointments so far this year. Tons of health issues. Jack's hurt again. Goaltending issues, blah, blah, blah. What I want to talk about, and is something that Blake wrote down, which I thought was such a cool question.

Does this core benefit from a down year? Now, obviously, you don't ever want to waste years of people's primes. You don't ever want to miss the playoffs, blah, blah, blah. But what do you think happens to the psyche slash morale slash grit of this squad getting this total gut check, like, pee-p-wack? Like, oh, shit, we actually aren't that awesome compared to what happened last year. I don't think it's bad. I don't think this is going to be a, oh, fuck, setback. But I think heads will roll.

I think Lindy might get tossed if they don't make the playoffs. That's one to keep an eye on right now. I'd like to circle back to that call. But I don't think it's good. I think they had such high hopes going into this. They've got a lot of people that are hurt right now. I mean, look at that injured reserve list.

They've got some tough people who aren't playing right now. But, yeah, I don't think this helps them. They've got some people, you know, Colin Miller, Brendan Smith are both UFA, but they're both low cap hits. The big one for me is Toff. They didn't, they haven't extended Toff. Toff is playing at what, 4.2 mill, I think, something like that, and he is a UFA. I thought the second they scooped him, long-term deal.

Long-term deal. And it hasn't come. And this is not just because he's a friend. Toff deserves a five-year contract from someone. He is such a high production winger. He is a great locker room guy. I'm shocked that they haven't given it to him. yet I imagine they will.

If not, that'll be shocking. But I think this is this is bad, not terrible. It definitely does, this benefits nobody, dude. Like, Jack Hughes and Nico Heeshire, and we'll even call it Luke Hughes. I mean, they've got Nemek on the, I mean, he is such a good defenseman. He might be better than Luke, honestly. It's crazy.

So their future is so bright, but it's also shining already. This isn't to me, Jack Hughes and Nico Heeshire are not two guys that needed a setback. In my opinion. They needed to stay right on track. And they've both had up and down injuries this year, which is fucking brutal for them. But this is a, this season has been inexcusably bad. And I think so much of it goes with goaltending. Their goaltending has been so disappointing.

But this is brutal, dude. If they miss playoffs, it's a fucking meltdown. So I think you're right hearing you talk it out. All I was going to pitch was if they sneak into a wild card and, and get bounced in the first round by, you know, the Panthers or whoever, you know, whatever onesides are there. In my head, that was possibly worse for them than missing the playoffs and having some fucking come to Jesus reality check moments. You know what I mean? And I hear you that probably it isn't, like you should just, you want more playoff reps and blah, blah, blah.

but sometimes it's not you don't quite you don't quite face the music on some of the issues if you keep like well we got in and like you know we took the Panthers to six games like we're right there boys we just had a slow start like if you fucking bomb out of the playoffs and it's not even just heads will roll but sometimes heads will roll sometimes you're like yo I need to work harder in the summer like we did not do enough over break to get better

we were resting on our laurels a little bit more and you learn that lesson harder and quicker with a really bad season. Who did they lose to in the second round? I thought it was the hurricanes. I don't remember. The Devils? Yes, it was the Hurricanes.

But I'm just saying this year. Like if they make the playoffs and they're like, if they're like, you know, we took the Panthers to six games in round one. Like what? We're right there. I'm just like, dude, it's almost better to have missed the playoffs and it's like, yo, fucking. How so?

Oh, no, I'm saying I think you convince me otherwise. But for me, I'm like, if this devil's team gets into the wild card, loses in the first round, they go, well, not that much has to change. We've got to get a little bit better, but we're right there. And I'm like, if you miss the playoffs, they all go home and go, Boyce, this is a good team, and we wasted a fucking year, and everyone get on your shit right now. I'm not sure that's right. That was kind of where my head is going.

It's not as crazy of a take as I initially thought. I don't agree with it, but that's not that crazy. I kind of look at them like the Keynes. Yeah. You know, I said last year and this year, certainly, time's up, Boyce. Like, if you're the Carolina Hurricanes, you've got to get into the cup with this with this core, with Rod the Bod behind the bench, with the way that you've performed. Like, you've got to take the next step. And I look at the Devils based on their performance last year as the Keynes of four or so years ago, where it's like, they, I mean, dude, they were the best team in the Met last year, you know, by many standards.

And Cayman had that electric win against the Rangers and then fell in the second round. But it was like, right, we gave them thumbs up. Oh, yeah, what a fucking season. Missing playoffs. That is like awful, guys. What the fuck? It's awful. And a first round loss, I'd be like this.

That's a step back, boys. Like, that's a bad step back. But this is awful. Yeah. So it's, yeah. And I think specifically for Jack and Nico as the leaders of this team. And Jack, I mean, I know he's been injured, but, you know, as a face of the NHL now, no. Boo.

This is bad. Yeah, it's bad. You can't do this. I more mean that they would benefit from a down year. in the terms of that core needs to kind of learn how to win and lose. They need to kind of gain that maturity. Like, Jack Hughes is 22 years old.

Yeah, that's great. It's a child. Hughes, or Heeshire, is 25. And then those two guys in the back end are 20 and 19. Yep. They, yes, they are all phenomenal players. They can get even better with some learning experiences. They keep having success all, you know,

throughout their young career. When they get that first taste of adversity, they're not going to be able to handle it. I think that's more what I mean. Like, obviously, everyone wants to win. No, I hear it. I mean, I think a good comparison is the Leafs. The Leafs, you look at their core of young guys of Marner, Matthews, Willie, Morgan Riley.

All they do is perform in the regular season and then get dick punched in the first round. And it doesn't, it's the joke every year, right? Classic Leafs. Here we go again. We'll try one more time. But you don't really face the music, if you will, all season long, every single year. year because they're buzzing and all the Leafs fans are like this. It's all we did it now, all year, we're going all the way and then the same shit happens. But you come back and boom,

you're in the playoffs again. People are happy. I could see what you guys are saying here of like this is a, this is a serious pee-wack for these boys that might, might wake them up a little bit. But it does, I stand by, I agree with that while also saying, this is unacceptable. You can't do this, dude. I'm not sure Devils fans are are as rowdy as some of these Canadian-based fans that they're going to really let them know. But, dude, Lindy Ruff's one of the greatest coaches in NHL history. I love the guy. But if you go into this summer as this Devils team and you miss the playoffs and you're like, dude, that was bad.

Let's regroup here. And you don't do anything. That's also an accent. Which wouldn't, right? That's kind of what I mean. Heads need to roll for this. First round exit. Not okay.

Heads don't roll necessarily. Miss playoffs, heads roll. So I'm like, sometimes. it's for the best. Yeah. I mean, their third last in team save percentage. So, I mean,

you look at that and it's like... Who's behind them? The Carolina Hurricanes and the Ottawa Senators. Fucker. The Carolina hurricanes, but I mean, the Sons... Yeah.

And then you got, above them, San Jose, Buffalo, Minnesota, Chicago. Buffalo, I mean, fuck.

Hey, shut the fuck up. Christ. Yeah, I mean, good God. Carolina, is Carolina. Look at where they are in the standing.

That was tough, line is a team. If you put a good goalie on that fucking team. Dude, yes. That's unlucky though. Yeah. Okay, let's strap on the Buckees and get into some hot ice. Start with our boy Shane Pinto. Yep. Dude, he,

we kind of talked about this when it happened. It's just such a shitty story. Yeah. Last year in 82 games, he had 20 goals, 15 assists for 35 points. It was his first full season. Yeah. He'd been played before, but it was his first full season. 20 tucks, dude. You're certainly coming into this year, being like step up.

You know, we did that call their thing where it was like everyone comes back a little bit, but you were expecting 50-something points. 50-60. I want a 50-60 from Pinto with pushing 30 goals, 25 goals. And to lose that production, the senators have plenty of problems per something Blake just said. But those holes aren't. That goalie stat. Sucks.

And looking at the big, everyone was like Corpusolo, Corpusolo. And if you remember, I was like, I'm not sure that does that much for them. But even you weren't thinking this. Like I wasn't saying Corpusola is now sick. I was like Corpusala will be exactly what he normally is. Yeah. I mean, I picked them to finish seventh in the Atlantic. Yeah, fair.

I just like. But I didn't put it on the on the back of because Corpsollosol is going to be a disaster. And I'm like. But yeah, so the 50 points, dude, in the nat. And I'm making this up because he only had 35 last year. But in your GMing brain, a projected 50 points isn't a super easy hole. to fill on a roster in an NHL roster. You don't just bump someone up and get 50 points a year.

So, yeah, it hurts. First of all, it sucks. The whole thing sucks for Shane. His quotes were crushing where it was like, it's absolutely heartbreaking to be away from the game, and I feel awful. And I'm so happy he's back playing now. Blake, you had phrased it like, is it too late? 100%.

It's way too late. They're fucked and they're missing the playoffs. It's a tough situation too. I mean, you look at their lines, Brady Kachuk, Grieg, Giroux, Bad Vlad, Stutzel, Batheson, Kubolique, Cardier, and Matthew Joseph are their top three lines, and like, Shane Pinto

fits right there where Cartier is. And I'm like, dude, they are stacked. Yeah, no, they should. This team makes no sense to me. They're kind of the, um, Canucks of the past few years where I'm like, how are you possibly bad?

And they are. Um, but this, there's no, Shane Pinto is not, fucking Gandalf appearing the light of the fifth day to save this fight. But I'm pumped he's back.

I'm pumped he's back to get him playing and get some reps, dude. I think if I'm him, not that you're obviously, it's a team game you want the team to win, but if I'm him, literally take all your projections and all your goals that you had, cut them exactly in half and try to hit those. Like, you know, see if you can get 30 points this year.

Get 10 tucks. Yeah, exactly. And then just be like, you know, whatever. We're going to figure out if we're sellers at the deadline, we're or figure out what the team looks like moving forward, but just try to get some good reps in the second half. It's a funny one for me where we talked about it. Him getting gassed is absolute dog shit for what happened. I think, do people, can I say this out loud what happened?

Yeah. People know now. Yeah, it's public. Yeah, for those of you don't know, it's public. Basically all that happened is Shane asked his buddy in New York to log into his Draft King's account and set his fantasy football lineup. That's it. Yeah.

That's all he did. And I think it is absolute jackassery. that this kid is not allowed to fucking play draft kings fantasy football it's not his sport it's completely good but but to be clear those are the rules are you can't and he was and if you want to set the rules and you want to give him

a slap on the wrist fine but gassing half a season for him 42 games or 8 41 games that he was not allowed to play that's fucking crazy and it's an interesting situation where he's coming back and I'm sure that there are diehard Sends fans who are disappointed to him and all that but this wasn't a Sends

decision this was a lead decision So I imagine there's zero ill will for Shane getting back. He's so psyched to be back. It's not like he's like, hey, guys, this is awkward. I'm sure they're pumped to have him back. And I really hope that the Sends fans are like, behind him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

when he steps on the ice. We're going to try to get him on the pod here to talk about it. And he said that he wanted to get a couple games under his belt, which hell, yeah. Understandable. But it's a huge addition for them. And I hope he just hits. the ground running, the ice skating, if you will,

because he's such a good kid, and I think he's a great player, dude. Yeah, oh my God. I think he's... Super bright future. Yeah, it's crazy. Yeah, it's a tough situation, tough circumstances.

And I mean, with sports gambling becoming such a new thing and so many new areas, like, it was kind of bound that something like this was going to happen. Oh my God, dude. And, like, it's a terrible situation. And again, we don't agree with the rule

of the way it's laid out, but I wasn't that surprised that a player got caught. something like this. Oh, yeah. Just because of how new everything is, and it sucks because I think the, you know, sports in general, I don't want to throw the NHL into this solely, but I think they kind of made it a little bit of an example out of him.

A hundred percent they did, dude. They were, you know, trying to scare other players away from doing anything remotely similar to this. Yeah. If you're like a top player on a top team, you saw that and you were like, Jesus Christ. Yeah. Like, I know firsthand, I'm not breaking any news here. I know firsthand, there's a lot of guys in the league that are gambling every day.

Yeah. And this is the type of thing that makes you be very, very careful. Yeah. So for the record, any boys in the NHL listening, do not have anyone log into an account that has your name on it in a different city because you will get fucking gassed. Yeah, and it's crazy. Like all the betting services and apps, they have like automated ways to flag those kind of instances that like, hey, so-and-so is a pro athlete. they're playing here on this night and then their account got some activity

in New York but meanwhile they're in California playing a game like there's systems that are literally in place to do we talked about this when this broke whoever the fucking snitches that shit dude here's the computer here's thing I wonder

I wonder um I wonder what his lineup looked like I wonder what the roster looked like yeah best she was nothing as good as mine I took home my first ever fantasy football belt this year who was it was it on the backup

Who was your stud? Who was your workhorse? Isaiah Pacheco or Rahim Mostert. I had the first overall pick, took Justin Jefferson with, and then he missed half the season. Disaster. Wow, that's an incredible win for you. To win still?

Yeah, that's pretty impressive, dude. And I knew nothing about football like four years ago. Yeah. Just a fanatic now. Hey, good job, dude. Get back to the better sport, though. Yeah, yeah. I said I wanted to circle back to this.

Before we move on to the next thing, we're talking about the devils. There are three, three gentlemen that I would like to speak on. And as we said before, We never would talk about someone's livelihood and their job. But saying with this devil's performance, I think Lindy Ruff's on the hot seat, they were trying to fire him halfway through last year. Yeah, yeah. And they got hot.

Not even half, dude. Remember, it was like five games. Yeah, yeah. And then they were like to fire Lindy. And they started chanting, sorry, Lindy. I would like to, this is just me talking. I've heard nothing on this. Yep.

I would like to put Lindy Ruff. I accept. On the hot seat. I accept. And there's two seats next to him and the two gentlemen that I would like to join him there are Sheldon Keefe of the Toronto Maple Leafs. I potentially accept.

And Todd McClellan of the Los Angeles Kings. Do not accept. I'm telling you, dude. I think those are two teams who are drastically underperforming. And I think... Like right now, you mean?

Yep. Right now. They're on the... Dude, they're having great seasons. I do not think... I think going into this season, the Leafs are in third place in the Atlantic, and they're pretty, like, settled in third place. I don't think the Panthers are at all threatened by them right now. Broston's not at all threatened by them.

They have so many games in a row here where they have absolutely choked on their own cock and lost. And I look at that Sheldon Keefe interview after that Colorado game, where he is double-ristering, glucking the Colorado avalanche. He's like this, when you're out there and you're playing the guys, Nathan McKinnon's line with McCarr and Taves out there. that's not the NHL, that's something else. Dude, look at your roster.

Shut the fuck up. You just choked so badly in that game, and then you are out there just servicing their top line. Dude, not it. And I don't think that that is acceptable. And I think you just can't be having the talent that you have on this Maple Leafs team with the record without having a little bit of heat up your bum.

That's all I'm saying. I'm not saying he's getting axed, but I think the seed is hot. And I thought Keith should have been fired last year. So that's why I'm like, I think I accept just because I'm like, what, this, what did you, you brought, you made all these changes and you're the same team. Yeah. So maybe the problem was there. So that one I'm with. Todd, dude. Todd for me is this. I think you're out of pocket on that one. The Los Angeles Kings just got a big win today. Huge, huge win today against, who the hell were they playing? Carolina. Carolina, yeah. I think that in the last 10 games, after looking like one of the hottest, dude, I literally, one of my saucy predictions to start the new. year was I think that they're going to go to the cup. Yeah. And then Jesus Christ, they start this year.

They're two and fucking eight in their last 10. They're now three and eight in their last 11. But they went two and eight in ten. And they look brutal. And I think Todd McClellan's in the last year of his contract, I just think if they don't write the ship here, and it starts today, it started today with a big win. But the next 10 games, I think, are very important for him. I'll hear you that.

The dip was correct. I mean, they have the seventh highest win percentage in the league. still, even after going to an eighth. And that does not get a coach fired by any means. But I hear you, if they free fall out of the playoffs, then there's a fucking serious conversation to be had. It's not even that, dude. I mean, it's, again, I'm saying your seat's hot here.

I'm not saying you're on the chopping block. Your seat is hot, though. All I'm saying is that McClellan is not sitting there like this. Oh, you know, in a rough patch, whatever, we're fine. I think he's sitting there being like, Jesus Christ. I'm going to figure it out here. because remember we talked about last year they lost to the others and you said do you think

this is a setback year? And I said no. And I agree with you. If you lose in the first round as this Los Angeles Kings with how good you have been all year, someone's getting fired. Yeah. As they should be. As they should be. Let's kick it over to a Western Canada team and talk about the Vancouver Canucks. Blakey asked the question, is this team real? And it's funny timing because we did a little special edition hockey talk today

and someone said, what is the realistic expectation for this Vancouver Canucks team? And I look at the Western Conference and I personally think it's for them, for these boys, I think it is Western Conference final or bust. Really?

Whoa. Oh my God. I don't think this team has any fucking prayer of making a playoff from it. And I think they're nasty. Don't get me wrong. Yeah, I think that they have way better depth than people realize.

I think they've got it. through a few tests already this season. They slipped for a little bit, and then they went right back to their winning ways. They are shit-pumping teams. They have five fucking all-stars. I think with the look of it, we've got a Jack Eichl and Markstone injury.

That, Jack Eichael, by the way, that injury might be very bad. I can't even talk about it. So we'll keep an eye on that. I'm praying to God our boy Jacko is fine. But Vegas has been slipping. Kings have been slipping. We've got this Colorado news

with Nishushkin, other than the Jets, I'm looking at the West. It's the Canucks and the Jets, the two best teams in the West. Yep. Dallas is having goalie troubles. Haskinen's out for a little while.

Dude, I think this team, and listen, if they lose in the first round after being as bad as they were last year and then being this good, getting into the playoffs is a win. You have won the season. Oh, my God. No doubt.

But I think if this team, how they're playing loses in the first round, they are very disappointed. So again, I'm talking about them. I think those guys are looking and seeing how they're playing and how they're performing, and they're all going like this. Boys, we can make a run here. That's what I'm saying.

I agree with you. I'll say this. We'll have a couple things here. The Panthers are a plus 25 this year. Stars plus 26, abs plus 27, B's plus 30. And then the Jets plus 42, Canucks plus 54. Like head and shoulders above the other squads. So I agree with you.

They are doing it on both sides of the ice. Yeah. Special teams, everything. They're wagons. Can I see their cap space, Blake? The, oh yeah, that's a good question. The, zero. Bang, zero dollars. They're a money-in, money-out team like that.

They made their kind of trade with that Zedorov move. That's when they had some cap space. Now they obviously don't. But I know they have some contracts that they want to move out. Like someone like Connor Garland, someone that they could trade at a 4.9 cap it for the next three years could move on from him. I know they've been rumored and they're looking at upgrading their top six,

so probably that's second line. Well, dude, on that topic, can you go back to their lines because that's what I wanted to highlight. They, just as we were talking about with the abs a little bit, you look at their top line and you're like, holy fuck. And then you kind of go down a little bit and you're like, oh, I can see where teams could beat you here, you know? And this top line is fucking going off this year.

Oh my God, dude. J.T. Miller, PD, Brock, Besser. All all stars. All dominant. Weapons, all well above point per game. Incredible, right? And that... Then you have the best defenseman on the league. Yeah, truly. That can be a good thing and a bad thing. Yep.

So, after Swamman. You see in the playoffs, though, because the Bs did this with the perfection line forever, where it's like, oh my God, that line's for fucking hundred goals. Yeah. More, whatever it was. And then the top D pairing goes out against them every shift in the playoffs, you slow them down a little bit, and then you can't win. Absolutely. So one thing I wanted to keep an eye, and I'm kind of arguing against myself here, because I just said,

I don't think this team has a huge chance to make a run. But, dude, Andre Kuzmenko, last year, weapon. Absolute weapon. He was 26-year-old, first year NHL are 81 games, 31 games, 39 goals, 35 assists, 74 points. Okay? Through this year, he's played 37 games. He has eight goals, 11 assists, 19 points. He's on pace for 17 goals.

He's on pace for 42 points. Yeah. Massive step back, right? Okay, but here's one thing that I flagged, dude. Last season, he took 143 shots. I'm on a shooting percentage kick. Yeah, you sure are. But it's nice, dude.

He took 143 shots last year and had a league high, 27.3 shooting percentage, which is fucking moronic. We'll talk about this all the time, dude, guys have got tape on him now. Yep. But dude, check this out, Dan. In my mind, when I went to look at his stats for this year, I was like, I bet his shooting percentage this year is fucking 8%. Like he's maddie Kachukking himself.

His shooting percentage this year is 14.3, which isn't bad at all. kind of in the range. I think pasta was like 60 and whatever. That's kind of in the range. It's not getting shots. Dude, he's only taken 56 shots on pace for 124. I'm like, shoot the puck, baby. You had damn near 40 tucks last year. Well, it's got to be a line situation.

Agreed. Because Besser was out last year for a huge portion. And, you know, you're looking at Mikhail, Paiasuter, and Cusamenco on the third line. Yep. And yeah, I mean, Kuzimanko is a guy that I'm like, dude, bump that boy up. Well, that's what I was just thinking. If you move Garland, even if you traded Garland for

for a typical third line guy, I would do that and move Kuzmenko up. Like I'd be like, boom, that's my switch. Like, I'm not trading for a second line goal score. I have one on the third fucking line. Move him up, bring in a third line guy. Because we've seen it a million times before. I say this about Blake Wheeler all the time

where he was just buried on the third line asking to do things that wasn't his skill set. And then he finally went to Winnipeg and got a chance to do that and then was fucking nasty. Yeah. So, Coos to me is a guy that drastically benefits from a great center. Yes, dude. Set him up with.

a really good center. And with the proof in the pudding last year, I'm not even asking them to take a flyer on the kid being like, dude, trust me, he could score 40. I'm like, you literally know he can score 40. Fucking go, let him live. And when you look at this lineup to Blake's point and you want to beef up their top six,

it's center. Yep. Like a center would really be an interesting, interesting ad here. And dude, I mean, you look at that Zadurov trade. It would have been fucking fireworks if they had figured out a way to get Lindholm to. So anyway, if Koumese,

starts going, this team becomes even scarier to me. Because we've definitely played along enough in the season that that top line is what they are. You're going to get everything from that. You're going to get everything from Quinn. And they have the potential to go even more nuclear. And so they're very much real.

But that being said, I just I don't know that they have the playoff jobs yet. I know it's not like automatic, but it just feels like a real thing. You know, I'm being reactionary. And again, I'm not predicting them to go to the, West and Carman's finals and bust. I'm saying, I think

this group of guys is having that conversation amongst each other. I mean, you're this good, dude. You want it all. You know, and it's going to be first time playoffs for some of these guys. And that's a huge thing. So, the discussion is,

is this team real? I think absolute. Yeah. I do not think that this is a, oh, their first round and out. Like, Thatcher Demko is no slouch, dude. No, he's not. I don't think he's the guy either that's going to get to the playoffs and be like this. Oh, my God. You know, I think these boys are going to be okay.

the one knock that I have on this team. We got a little inside info this weekend, and we're not the first guys on this, so I'm not going to sit here and be like, oh, you haven't heard it anywhere else. There are serious conversations being had in Vancouver that Elias Pedersen is not resigning. That is, again, you're not the first people to say this,

but it's something that came up this weekend from certain people, and it's being talked about a lot and it's not those conversations aren't stopping he's a restrictive free agent so they're not at risk of losing him but they are at risk of him going you know him going Maddie Kachuk

and going guys I'm not coming back and dude I can't think of anything more devastating for this team after being so brutal last year not you know with the talent on the roster underperforming and then finally figuring it out

this year naming Quinter as captain having this great new identity and being one of the best teams in the league and now your top forward goes like this I'm out dude yeah I think I think they offer them I think it once they get down to it in the summer they got to offer them like

Neeland or money dude well I was going to say he doesn't want to resign in my opinion he sees fucking 8 by 12 hold on hold on hold on this is a great conversation for the three of us here Elias Pedersen is worth way more than William Nealander, in my opinion. He is, what, he's four years younger. Yeah, I just want to see how old is.

How old is PD? 22? 25. Okay, okay, sorry, I'm way off on that. But he's, he's two years younger. 27? I think so. Two years younger.

He had over 100 points last year, much higher than Willie's ever done. And he's got, where is PD in comparison to Willie right now? Willie right now? I think they're pretty neck and neck. Yeah, they got to be. Willie is around 57 as well. I got you right here. Yeah, yeah.

And I know that, and it's been reported externally, but he doesn't like negotiating during the season. Yeah. Like he wants to just play and not talk about it, not talk to his agent. So that's, it's going to, the season's going to end, and this is going to get heated fast. Very heated, very fast. Yeah, Willie 57, PD 58. Okay, so he's already, you know, it's one more point, but he's got more.

points than Willie. Yep. He is younger than Willie. He had a better season than Willie last year. I mean, he's asking. He's asking for 12. Yeah. And that's what I mean.

Like, maybe he doesn't want to resign until he sees 8 by 12 and a half. And he's like, oh, okay, actually, that sounds pretty good. And I also think that the Cedines are going to get in his ear and really convince him to stay and be like, look, you're going to be the leader. This is going to be your team, your city. Take the bag and play here. Yeah. Because like.

Twist my fucking long. the thing, though, it's, I think you're right. Yeah. But how didn't they do that this summer? And the question comes down to this. Did Pete, because we, that was being talked about a ton this summer. They wanted to lock this up and they didn't want it to be a conversation

at all. But they didn't. And there were a lot of rumblings that were, that was, it was him going, no, I don't want to resign. Right. Yet. But I always think that's, that's tough. So maybe Pete was going like this, dude, I, I bawled out.

last year. I think I'm going to do it again. I'm betting on myself and I want to get the fucking bag. So maybe that's what happened. But all I'm saying is we're hearing, and I'm not calling a shot here, but we're hearing, a lot of conversations of the stall here is him being like this. I don't want to. And it's not the first time we've heard it

either. So that's very interesting. So that will be crazy. And if it happens, it will be a blockbuster trade. Like this will be a absolute stud for absolute stud. And who knows. But he'd look great in a Bruins jersey.

We can't afford him. In the off season. We could. Yeah, in the off season. Yeah, in the off season. What the fuck would you have to give up for that? Jeremy Swainman. Yeah.

No, I'm kidding. No, not even. Not to them. Like, I mean, fucking A. If that, that would be like, you don't even have, you don't even have the piece. I mean, you could. Actually, I don't even know if you have the piece to get him.

I don't think there's any one of the Bruins you could trade. I think that's at least, I mean, it's one first round pick, probably two. and it's like Lysol, Potra, and maybe... You could do it. It could happen. It'd be a fucking ridiculous holiday. My God's making my head spitting. Think about it.

Jesus Christ, that would be insane. Stir the potra. But yeah, that is one to keep our head scratching on. Yep. So you wanted to hit us with one more thing. Just last thing. I was talking about thinking in my head about these top teams,

these really contending teams and each conferences that are showing somewhere Bear and tear. So let me hit you. I've got five of them. Here are the last 10 games from these five teams. Stars 5-4-1, Kings, 2-4-4-4-4-4-4. And keep in mind, the third number is a loss. It's just a loss in overtime. Yeah. 2-4-and-4-4-4-4. Rags 4-5-1. Rags 4-4-4-2. Awful, 10-game stretches. Yeah, yeah, brutal stretches. Of those, and the other ones, by the way, are firing. Fucking jets are 8-1, but, you know, everyone's doing well. Of those five, who are you like, I'm actually a little bit worried.

about you. Yeah. All right. From least worried about to most worried about, I think I'm going Leifes. Leifes Just because they are what they are. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Sorry, Blakey, but like, nothing's changed. This is, this is the same old thing. Yeah, this is just it. It's January. This is called January.

In fucking Toronto. There's nothing's different. Leifes, stars, Rags, Kings, Vegas. You're most worried about Vegas. Yes, because of Jack. Oh, oh, right. Yeah, yeah, fair. If this Jack, we heard some, again, we don't know anything, but if the Jack Eichael injury is bad, bad, then I think that is why I would flop those two if I had in, if it was like Jack will be back by playoffs at the very least. Then I'm flopping them.

But if Jack is a bad injury, then I'm very worried about them. Because Vegas was going to be my least worried about, but if it jacks four weeks, you know. Cup runs, cup runs wear and tear on you, dude. Sometimes it's not right off. the bat, but like here we are. We're in the latter half of the season. We're in 2024. They're just banged up. They're banged up, but that's part of it. I'm still putting them in these. Like when is Aden Hill

coming back? Because Logan Thompson's been struggling. He's a great goalie and he's solid, but he has been struggling. And he's a head guy. Like, you know, he starts struggling, you worry about the mental side. So. Yeah. I'm still going Vegas least you know, and if Jack's really crushed, then whatever we assess. But like, I just

think they're really hurt right now and they doesn't matter. Like, they just need to be healthy for the playoffs and they'll win the fucking cup again. So I'm going lease for Vegas. I love that. We're so fucking. Yeah. And I'm actually going second least on Kings, dude.

Like, they aren't worrying me either. I know this is an awful stretch. But those teams don't worry me. And then I'll put Leafs third because you're right. It's just the Leafs. Then second most worried about the stars. Because they've been playing that too. but they're also a little hurt.

They have a winning record. They're hurt. They have a winning record in their last 10, and Hayskinin is wheat to wake. He'll be back. And that is one though. Like, Hayskinin's one of those puzzle piece guys where like when he's out,

they are completely dead. Yeah, it's crazy. It's nuts. To the point where Dallas, if they're looking to add anything, you should add defense. He's like, holy shit, dude. And then I'm most worried about the rags

because they lost four fucking straight. They just won, but they lost four straight for the first time all year. the this will get into this a little bit more later but if you look at the rags where they are in the standings with the hurricanes and think about how the season started you must be like wait what happened oh dude yeah and the high that they were right those fucking fans man oh dude they were levitating yeah so and i'm kind of like i thought the rags were pretty good and they are playing pretty good like i think they're not bad i'm just like now

you're playing this is who you are yeah so i'm like oh so that's that's got me stressed if i'm a rags Fair. For sure. I'd like to just, my King's explanation is, because those are a couple of bad bounces, right? Two, four and four. That could easily be six and four. So then the worry for me is the goalie situation.

Yeah. I just think, coming down the stretch here, like, you just can't put too much of this weight on Talbot's, a 36-year-old Talbot shoulders. I need them to figure something out there. All right, let's kick it to this Darren interview. Obviously, huge, huge

huge stud in the hockey world, breaking news all the time. So fucking cool. Loved our chat with them. Let's get into it. Hope you enjoy. Well, today, ladies and gentlemen, we are joined by a Saskatchewan native, a former voice of the Brandon Wheat Kings, where he was

briefly co-workers with Mr. Hockey himself, I might add. Yes, indeed. A former voice of the Manitoba Moose, the 2010 Gemini award winner for Best Sports Reporting, a backyard rink enthusiast and current TSN Hockey Insider. Darren Draker, welcome to the Internet podcast.

Hey guys, thanks for having me. Man, you nailed it. Like, I mean, I've been asked multiple times. We'll take us down the path. Like, how did you get to being a hockey insider for TSN? And it probably takes me the better part of 10 minutes to explain, all right, well, you know, I stopped playing hockey. Here's what I had to do.

Here's what, you know, I started here on radio and went there to TV. So you did that in 40 seconds. It's very impressive. You just keep that recording. You can use it. You can pit play back every time you need it from now on. Next time someone needs the elevator pitch, just be like, oh, hold on one second. You'll play that recording and it'll be perfect.

One thing that popped out to us immediately, we're big Celtics fans. And we saw that Doc Rivers gave you the nickname Double D. And that is a pretty special. That's pretty sick. Yeah. A pretty special feather in the cap. You know, bizarre story, I mean, it may shock you or not. You know, growing up in Saskatchewan,

basketball fan, NBA, you know, expert, no, was not. So I land on the network scene at, well, at the time, it was CTV Sportsnet back in, I jumped in 1998. So whatever year we're talking about, it was just after that. But, you know, I was doing hockey. It was the national host for the NHL on Sportsnet. And, you know, they're varying stretches over the course of the season where, you know, they needed a seat filled here or there.

And Scott Moore, who was the boss at the time, said, hey, you know, I'd like to branch out. You know, you're the hockey guy, but maybe we can do a little bit more. Would you be interesting in subbing out and hosting some basketball on CTV? And I'm like, don't know much about it. I played high school basketball. I'm like 5'10. I wasn't very good. It was rural Saskatchewan, so it wasn't high quality.

but yeah, why wouldn't I? And so, yeah, I did two or three games. And one of the first games I did, we do a conference call with Doc Rivers. And he's done a little bit of homework, and he can put two and two together, Darren Dregor, Double D. And instantly, we're on this call. And whoever the producer was at the time says, hey, Dregs, I'd like to introduce you to Doc Rivers. And all we hear is this, double D, how are you? And so whether or not he coined the double D, again, pretty obvious.

Darren Dregor, Darren Detition, he gets double Degger all the time. So anyway, it kind of stuck. So, hey, I'm willing to give credit to Doc Rivers. Yeah, I'm good with that. There's a connection there. It wasn't expected. And he's a guy with such a well-known and famous nickname. You know, if a big nickname guy is giving you a nickname, then you take it and you roll with it.

Yeah. Exactly. When you get it in that vintage Doc Rivers voice, too, that's, you know, that's going to stick with you. But you kind of just touched on the story of your beginnings and stuff. And I wanted the listeners to kind of get a little framework of how you got to where you are. You obviously went to Western Academy Broadcasting College. You got job offers right out of school, started reporting on the Oilers. And then you wound up at Sportsnet.

And then 2006, you ended up at TSN. What was that journey like? How did it all come together? And even before that, you know, you went to a broadcasting school. How early in your life and your career did you realize that this is what you wanted to do? You know, probably not until I got to Edmonton in 1997-98, and I was part of a startup station there. It was doing a little bit of everything, including hosting NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers. And the Oilers, more or less unexpectedly at that point, made the playoffs.

And so I was part of the travel and doing live TV. But, you know, you go back then, doing live TV, unless you were part of the actual production, was an ordeal. So I got a taste for it. I had a real good rapport with the team. So I had excellent relationships with a number of the players there. And I just thought, you know, maybe there's more to this. Because there were so many missteps along the way that I wasn't really sure. I grew up as we have already established in a farming community.

So back in the part of Saskatchewan where I was born and raised, you either were part of a farming family or there were potash mines. right? I don't know if you guys have heard of potash, but I mean, there were a number of mines in that area. So either worked at the mine or you were farming or you got the hell out. Like, I mean, those were the three options. Yeah. And I didn't want to farm. And my family was on the cusp of kind of getting out of farming just, you know, my stepfather wanted to retire and all of that stuff. And I knew I didn't want to, you know, go underground and mine for potash.

So I'm like, all right. And I also knew that my hockey career was over. It was pretty simple. Late teens, it was done. I was not going anywhere. And I was, we were driving to the city, Yorkton, Saskatchewan. I don't know how many people live in Yorkton now, but it was a small, like as small as a city can be to qualify as a city. Yeah.

At the time, that was what Yorkton was. And I heard this ad on radio for this Western Academy. And I'm like, you know, I get a big mouth. You know, I got a strong opinion. And then I can chirp with the best of them. Yep. Maybe I need to investigate this. And so that was the path that I chose.

But to your point, like I didn't really know I was in it for the long haul until that run with the Oiters in 97, 98. And while we're in Dallas for that playoff run, I thought it was being punked. Because the trainer comes out, and this is before, you know, not everybody carried a cell phone and all. that, right? So the trainer comes out, we're in DALS, and he says, hey, Dregs, there's a, there's a call for you and the trainers are, I'm like, pardon? Like, what, yeah, I'm not part of the team. I'm working with the assembled media. I go in there and it was Scott Moore, who was the head of CTB Sportsnet. And he's like, how come I have never heard of you before? I'm like, geez, as far as opening lines go, man, that's a tough one. Like, you're, you're, and I'm, I still think I'm getting

punked here. But it was a TV executive in Edmonton who happened to be friends with Scott Moore who said, look, I'm going to send you a tape. And back then, that's what it was. It was like a big beta three inch tape, whatever it was. It was the size of the laptop I'm looking at now. And this guy viewed the audition or the game that I did. And a couple of months later, he said, I want to bring you to Toronto. And honestly, that was, that was a huge stepping point. And then I just got lucky and lucky and lucky after that and landed at TSN. And here we are today. It's unreal. When you were, maybe even before Western, maybe after Western, but when you started to get into the play by play stuff right away, was that, were you like, oh, this is way cooler. I want to do this.

And that was a hard pivot out. Or were you like, oh, I never even wanted to do the play by play. it was just the opportunity that I had first. You know, I had no idea to be fair. I, you know, in listening to radio and watching TV and all that, I just, I didn't have any aspirations. Like I, again, I knew I wasn't going to be a good enough athlete that I was going to be able to advance in that category. But I thought, I do, the sports world generally is drawing me.

And, you know, I grew up again in a small community where it was hockey or curling. And I don't know how familiar you guys are with curling, but you can't make a living, doing anything media-related, really for the most part. The play-by-play is a little different. Yeah, and I did it. I did play-by-play a curling both on radio and TV. I feel like being a curling insider,

there's not that many scoops you can really come up with. Yeah, no, it'd be tough. But, you know, again, as I edge my way through, so now I'm working in York and Saskatchewan, right out of Broadcast College. And I was doing some work with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. But I was more of an analyst than I was a play-by-play guy. But I did get to do a couple of senior hockey games, believe it or not, in Saskatchewan.

Nice. And I end up getting a job in Brandon, Manitoba, the home of the Brandon Wheatkins, as you mentioned earlier. And the rights changed. And, you know, I'm this low-level sports guy at, a CKLQ radio in Brandon, Manitoba. And they're like, well, we need somebody to do play by play. You want to give it a shot? And I'm like, yeah, I can do that.

Why can't I do that? And I loved it. Wow. Absolutely loved it. Then, you know, kind of things progress from there. And I had a short stint in TV in Brandon and then moved to Winnipeg. And the Winnipeg Jets, not to drag you through that old saga, but obviously, as you remember, they leave to go to Phoenix to become the kind of.

And so now what do we do? And I was literally on the cusp of leaving the business because my, my wife was a school teacher and Brandon and we're like, what are we doing here? I'm not making any money. Like we're spinning our tires. So I had, I just started the real estate course. I was going to quit it all and become a real estate agent in Brandon, Manitoba. And while this was all happening, I had the opportunity to do,

play-by-play for the Manitoba Moose, who changed from Minnesota to Winnipeg, you know, from in the international hockey league, loved it. Absolutely loved it. And that was after doing some play-by-play again, the brand of wheat game. So I got a taste there. And then when I moved to sports and I actually did a bunch of Ottawa Senators games, but, you know, it's such a transient business in terms of how much you have to be away from home and all of that, that I just kind of you know, honestly, it was a relationship that I made in Brandon in working with the Brandon Weekings, the relationships I made in Winnipeg. These players that I dealt with in junior hockey became pros.

And then they became coaches. And then they became executives. And all of a sudden, information is coming my way. And I kind of morphed into the role of being a hockey insider. So it was a it was a landfill sort of or a minefield sort of path, but I guess I made it through. And that is just, I mean, that's such a cool journey, but the way you lay it out, it does make sense. You know, it's cool how you sort of morph into these new areas. And I am curious, do you feel like you ever miss the play by play?

I do a lot. And really, it's changed considerably over time. But when you're a play by play by play guy for a team, it's just, it's the closest thing to being part of the team without actually being part of the team and be it a manager or a coach or a player i mean the investment isn't the same i mean these guys they they're blood sweat and tears their job is on the line like virtually you know in segments of games and you don't have that level of pressure but you do get to ride the highs and then you ride the lows and and the creativity that that these people show in painting the picture always intrigued me and what happened as soon as i called my first

game back in the day. Then I started to listen and appreciate, you know, the nuance of what they were saying. And my brain started to think about the sport or sports in general differently, right? Because you're literally trying to, you know, create this visual image, even though unless you're watching your car drive at home, you don't have that luxury. So I think in many ways it helped me in a lot. It did, not just the relationships, but just the storytelling that went along with it. Absolutely.

And I think you're so right. It's why you see so many of these play-by-play guys get rings when their team's because they really are a part of the journey. And it's a huge investment. And then they become so important to the franchise. You know, I think that's awesome. I will say to, Dregs, that it's not that you wouldn't have become the biggest play-by-play guy on Earth, but those jobs don't open up that much.

You know, it's kind of a tricky career because these guys just do them forever until they retire. So I love the pivot you were able to do based on the relationships you were building while doing play by play. That was a really cool progression. Well, very lucky to be fair. And I, you know, I think back at all the greats. I'm not sure you guys would be familiar with the name Kurt Gilback. But he, you know, for anyone listening, just Google him, like, because he'll take you back to the day. And he had this just electrifying, booming voice.

And his goal calls were just off the charts. And I knew I wasn't that. And I think of Vanar-R-R-R-R-Right. You guys remember the old sportscaster back in the day. And I was like, I don't have that sort of theater in me, but I think I have that level of passion. And I certainly have that want to learn more. And I think I have the knowledge to carry on.

But then you get to the network level, and you're surrounded by people here in Canada, Bob Cole, legendary, absolute legend. Chris Cuthbert, who currently does the games on Hockey Night in Canada here. Gord Miller is a really good friend of mine. I've traveled all over the world with Gord. And I know that I'm not that. I'm not in that category.

I probably would have never have gotten in that category. I think I would have been good enough and connected enough that I would have landed a team job. So, you know, there is a little bit. of regret there because of what I stated, you know, a couple of minutes ago in that once you're in that team experience, a team environment, and it's, it's hard to beat. But I'm good with where I'm at. And I'm, I'm very grateful with how things have turned out over the years. Yeah, you're doing a damn good job of it too. Do you, do you ever feel like when you're in the shit during, you know, the trade deadline and stuff and things going crazy? Do you love that moment? Like, are you buzzing

with all the excitement or sometimes is it overwhelming? You're like, Jesus, I should have been a fucking farmer or something. Yeah, both, man. Like, all of the above. Like, yeah, when you're in the moment, yeah, it's a high, you know, because you're chasing, you're chasing. I would say that it was more gratifying prior to social media. Now, we're going back for you guys maybe.

I don't know. Like, we're going back a long time. This is a cool take. Yeah, keep going. But it is, you know, because those were clear kills. And I know that sounds graphic, but you were connected. And then those contacts would deliver a trade or a signing or a firing or something like that. And either, you know, you posted it on the website or you, you know, if you were affiliated with a radio station, you'd break it that way.

Or if you were lucky and you had all of the above, you'd do it on TV, the website and radio all at the same time. Well, now it's very fleeting, right? So, you know, you post a breaking trade or something that happens on X or your social media channels. And it's basically out the window, right? And 30 seconds later, somebody else is coming in with more. And then just the response, the reaction from the fan base kind of takes over. So I don't have the same sort of jam that I had 10, 15, certainly 20 years ago. But I can tell you, man, when you're surrounded,

by the best in the business. And I, you know, Bob McKenzie's a good buddy of mine. He is my mentor. He's the reason I, I kind of went down the road that I did. You know, he calls himself semi-retired. And I guess he is because he doesn't put in the same amount of work that he once did. But you're in that studio. And Studio 6 at TSN is monstrous.

Like it is a movie type studio in terms of size. You've got multiple desks and so many different personalities and people coming in. But the truth is they're kind of relying on us to be the heartbeat of the date. I mean, James Dothi and our group at TSA are super talented. So there's the entertainment aspect that comes in with all of the people that they bring in, the fun that we have and all of that. But, you know, trade deadline doesn't happen unless you've got your tradebreakers who are actually delivering the information. So

that day is fun. Free agent frenzy, July 1st, is fun. Yeah. Well, I don't like and I stopped apologizing but they're you know honestly the first 10 15 years of my career again network TV now um I would send a text of apology to all the general managers because like it would take me 11 months to repair the damage that I did in the month leading up to the trade because you're carpet bomb and everybody man you're pestering the snot out of every you're not going to, like I would literally send general managers a text. They wouldn't respond. Another one wouldn't respond another one. Then I'd come back and say, I'm going to pester the

living shit out of you for the next hour. So you're either shutting your phone off and you're not getting calls from other managers or just answer my freaking question. And normally they answer that. That's a strategy, man. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Yeah. Well, it's amazing. That's fascinating. because I would have guessed the exact opposite that it felt cooler to get scoops these days because of how easy it is to blast something out on X. But now that you say it, I'm like, oh, no, it makes perfect sense that it was way cooler before when it was like you go on your website, your TV thing, your radio spot, and actually have a break. Yeah. Perfect segue, Drake.

So I wanted to ask you about this. As you said, Bob, the Bob father, kind of going into semi-retirement. But we both saw this comment that you said, I think it was about something maybe Bob had said to you guys, but it was that this isn't an individual sport, which you guys do. It's a team sport. You work better as a team. And I think from our POV doing this too, we had a similar reaction when we started

because the spit and chicklets of the world could have felt really competitive and been mean to us, but instead they actually were always reaching out and we're so supportive and sharing stories. So I feel like most people think insiders like you, it's a really cutthroat thing. And it's a very individual focus, but I love to hear you say that it's not.

So could you just talk about that? that a little bit, the hockey community, how it helps each other? Yeah, no, no question. I mean, yeah, sure, we're competitive, right? I mean, Frank Servali was a very good teammate and a good buddy. He still is a good friend of mine, you know, worked at TSN, and now he's, he's one of the head haunches of daily face off and puts out a tremendous amount of content. And I feel great for Frank, because I know that that's doing good things for his family.

Do I want to beat him in the back alley? 100%. Yeah. Like a lot of time, because, you know, he's so good at what. does. And I'd say the same of Elliot Friedman and all those that we go up against. You know, look, I mean, I'm fortunate that I'm surrounded by good people. And that starts with, first of all, you know, your superiors who continue to invest the kind of money that we do at TSN to employ us all, but to invest in trade deadline and free agent frenzy. And, you know,

then you had good hard workers like, you know, Chris Johnson and Pierre Lerner, LeBron, but none of that happens, guys, without Bob. I mean, honest, like, it doesn't. Like, Bob made his way up. I'm sure when Bob started, in fact, I know, because I've talked to him about this, you know, Bob was like a really good columnist. He was an excellent reporter, you know, big time reporter. And then the TV world got a hold of Bob and said, oh, no, we can make Bob into something

more than that. And, you know, then they realized, okay, well, he's got these terrific junior hockey chops, So let's morph that into the cottage industry now that is, you know, all the draft rankings and everything that goes into the building of the National Hockey League draft, which, you know, years and years ago, it was a day. And now it's, it's become a yearly focus for so many people all around the world. So, you know, I'm proud to be part of something that has grown substantially over the years. but I say that and I'm also worried about where we're headed. And, you know, I took in a game. So I've got a 22-year-old son was a good hockey player.

We went to the Colorado Toronto game on Saturday in Toronto. And, you know, sadly, and I don't know if you guys consume information the same way he does, but they, like he barely watches highlight shows anymore, right? Like it's all, everything is on the is on your phone. So, you know, you want to watch goals, you want to watch fights, you want to watch anything that comes out of any sport, boom, there it is, on your phone. And so I feel like I'm in some way, shape, or form from a TV in a bigger scale, I think I'm the last of a dying breed. There's always going to be insiders. It's just how that information is being dispensed is going to be way, way, way different than anything that I've experienced to this stage.

definitely is there a scoop or a trade or something like that that comes to mind that you you always think of that you wish you broke a story on and it slipped by or something like that well there's a couple so one that comes to mind and it involves bob bob broke the trade and i guess it would have been roberto loongo going from the uh vancouver canucks to the florida panthers now i mean it's out there publicly uh Dave known who was general manager of the Vancouver Cadux, I believe at the time or, you know, assistant GM, I mean, my dates are clouding. He's literally my second cousin.

Oh, no way. Yeah, like by blood, we're related. Wow. Oh, God.

And I always say he was terrible at giving me scoops. You know, he was always good at after the fact, oh, here's why we did this and here's why we did that. Mike Keenan was ahead of the Florida Panthers. And Mike and I worked close. closely together. We talked about me doing play by play earlier. And I did a number of games for the

Ottawa Senators and Keenan was the color analyst at the time. And I mean, friendly to a point where we're visiting each other's cottages and things like this. Like we're pretty tight. And I had worked on that trade for days, if not weeks. And I still bug Bob because he legitimately was hiding in a potted plant in a... Hotel lobby, maybe it was Vancouver, wherever the hell it was. But he knew that this story was developing. And he happened to bump into Keenan or Nonas or whoever it was. He scooped me like there was.

He and I still have a big, well, he laughs. I don't laugh. Yeah, yeah. It's funny to him. Yeah. But yeah. So that was one that got away. But the most nerve-wracking trade of my career without question was Joe Thornton to

the San Jose Sharks from the Boston Bruins. Go on. I wasn't an insider at that point. I was at sports sense still, and I was just kind of dabbling. You know, I developed contacts, and I was doing some insider stuff,

but I was still more or less a host. And again, this is pre-Twitter. This is pre-social media. So the way to break a trade was to do, as I described earlier. You post it on dotCA. You try and connect with, your radio partner and away you go.

So I post this and, you know, I'll share my source now and I really shouldn't. I don't think I have publicly. Maybe I have in the past. It was a late great John Ferguson senior who I still have, he's one. I don't know, you know, we've all lost people in our lives. I still have seniors phone number in my, in my contacts and I won't delete it. And he's been gone for so long. But that's awesome.

He, he's, I talked to him a day or two before about the potential of this. And so he calls me and he says, yeah, the deal's done. And I got to remember. I, I, I should remember all of the components. I remember Wayne Primo and Marco Stern and there. Anyway, I report this trade and Bobby Matt, like, I'm not working with Bob. I'm at this, you know, small, you know, network called Sportsnet. Bob is at the Empire, TSN.

end. And I couldn't have been more panicked. And nobody is confirming it. We're not hearing anything out of Boston. We're not hearing anything out of San Jose. And it was probably an hour and a half, two hours before it was confirmed. So that was, it was both great, but probably took about five years off my life. Yep. Worse two hours of all time. No, worst two hours of all time. I mean, Bob hasn't, if Bob isn't reporting, what if I'm wrong? I'm going back to the farm. I'm going back to the potash. Potash, baby, yeah.

Yeah. There's no question about it. So a few years ago, this is before we were even doing the pod, but I think about this all the time. Through work, I had a mutual friend who was very, it is very close with Ron Burkle. And invited me to go to the Hollywood Bowl to some, I think it was a John William show. And I'm at the Hollywood Bowl with this friend and Ron Burkle. who, you know, thinks I'm just some random person.

And just casually is talking about, and this is back when they asked Jim Rutherford. Yeah. And he said, sitting in that box, he's like, yeah, I'm done with Rufford. I'm going to, I'm going to fire him tomorrow. And I remember in that moment being like, oh, my God, I have this information. And I think about that all the time being like, I wish that it happened today. Yeah. I could just drop it on the podcast.

It's so funny. But, Dregs, I wanted to switch up from hockey talk a little bit and get into the personal stuff because I saw that you whipped up an unbelievable tomahawk on the pit boss on Christmas Day. I'm a big, big, big cook, big Christmas day cook too. So I saw that. Yeah, and I saw that and I was like, oh, shit. So I wanted to hear, is this like a casual hobby or are you out there grilling and stuff up all the time? Because we love a pit boss.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's not casual. I'm constantly grilling. And again, my son, Mason is, you know, he's, He's better than I am. He's got the bug. So it's a fun story. So, you know, our Christmas is pretty small now.

So I have two adult children. My daughter, Katie, is, she's about to be a lawyer. She's in her third year law. And then Mason is, he works at a brewery here in Canada, Sleeman Brewery. He graduated and works at Sleeman Brewery in Guelph. But again, it's normally just the four of us. And sometimes there's significant others. So we decide that, okay, we're always.

over the turkey. Let's try something different. Yes. I've got an unbelievable butcher. I live in Brooklyn, Ontario, which is just northeast of Toronto. It's more or less small town. Shocking, I know, but I live in a small town. Great butcher. So I ordered a try tip. Have you guys done a try tip before? Phenomenal. Did a tri-tip on our buddy's Trigger a few months ago. It was unbelievable. You do it right. It's just can't miss. So I had pre-ordered this. And so I tell Mason, he's coming home from work. And I'm like, hey, do you need anything from Buckingham Meets? I'm picking up my tri-tip and there's silence.

And he's like, when are you thinking to do in the tri-tip? And I'm like, well, like Christmas Day? Like, that's probably, he goes, dad, he was, I got you a tomahawk for Christmas. Talk about the same page. Yeah, that's beautiful. So guess what we, I said, so what you're telling you is we're going to have meat sweats on Christmas Day. Yeah. And that's exactly how it turned out.

But it was delicious. We had a bit of turkey, just a turkey breast. And then the tri-tip and the tomahawk. But the tomahawk, as you guys see the video posted, that was Mason did all of it. He started it. He slow-cooked it on the pit boss. And then we seared it. We finished it on the searing plate.

So it was tremendous. It looked unreal. Did Tiny get a bite of any of that or not so long? Oh, yeah, yeah, probably. Yeah, she would have got a little bit. But again, growing up in the prairies, we used to, like the ribbone on that tomahawk was, I don't know, like 16, 18 inches long. Yeah.

And she's a great day. And so you'd think that, you know, you'd be okay to throw the rib bone and let her have at it for a couple of hours. But can't do the strict instructions from the vet. Do not. Oh, yeah. You cannot feed your dog this out. Yeah. Anyway, tiny got a taste, but she didn't get the ribbone.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, listen, I'm glad you're treating yourself to some nice meats because, man, you, you are on the road more than us. And I got to tell you, the snack life of the hockey insider can get tough in there. Oh, yeah. I saw you, I saw you, you went to the almonds, the bold almonds. We've been big on those. I like the salt and vinegars, but you had the spicy, spicy dill pickles.

Oh, buddy. And again, I, you know, I work with the old dog, Jeff Honie. in studio a lot. And James Dothi is actually our voice of conscience when it comes to nutrition. I mean, but he goes about his own thing. He's a bit of a nerd. Like he drinks his green shakes and whatever. And I get it.

I can appreciate that. And at my age, I probably should do a whole lot more of that. But then I'm drawn into the world of the dog. And as we're having this conversation, he texts because as we're recording here, So I've got Leafs and Oilers on Tuesday night. So Jeff O'Neill sends a text.

Let me read it to you here. Oh, here he is. He's like, wondering what we're doing after the Sports Center hit, it feels like we should be able to get out and get a really good meal. Those are the wins. Those are the wins. He's thinking ahead. He's thinking ahead.

That's good stuff. He's not thinking spicy almonds, man. He's going for like a big steak. That's what he's looking for. Yeah, that's a steak dinner. Yeah, that's a ribeye. We did that with Army when we were, uh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Those guys know how to live. Yeah. Oh, yeah, no doubt about it. All right. Well, before we let you go, we want to hit you with some, some of the pressing stuff right now. Sure. Did you want to? Yeah.

So we've actually talked about the Nealander thing a ton on, on our show. So I don't want to be it's death. But I just would love your POV because I saw the piece you did that. was like, you know, they're offering him in the offseason 8, 9. Nealander's camp's like 11 plus, but maybe they could have got it done for 10 and a half this summer if they'd gone there. So then they hold out. Nealander earns every cent of it, but he gets his 11.5 now. Just what are your thoughts quick on just the Leafs? They probably had no choice at this point, but what's your thoughts on their strategy of just, you know, that's four guys at essentially 11 plus.

Yeah. How do you feel about all that? Well, we talk about cap gymnastics all the time. And what that is, is, you know, the general manager and their cap gurus of management in general, just having twist and turn in trying to comply with a salary cap. Now, for Toronto, the advantage is that the salary cap in the NHL, not to bore everybody here, but it goes up to $87.7 million. Well, every dime of that is going to William Nealander, not the 877, but the increase in the salary. Yeah, right? Yeah.

But no, they didn't really have much of a choice. and nobody with the Maple Leafs brass is feeling sorry about themselves. I mean, it's a good problem to have. When you've got star slash superstar players like Matthews, Neelander, Marner, you know, Tavares, I think, is starting to slow down, obviously, a veteran player, but he's still a big part of the core as the captain. That's just part of doing business in today's NHL. And you hope and you expect the cap will increase, maybe another three, four million or higher

the year after that, and that gives you a little bit more flexibility. But what it tells me is Toronto has to be in the win it now mode. Yeah, and by win it, we're talking about contending for a Stanley Cup, right? And that's going to be a challenge. They're not playing very good of late. But they didn't have a choice. I mean, Willie dug in in the offseason. He wanted 11 million.

Toronto didn't want to pay that. So guess what? you know, the kid bets on himself and delivers. You know, he's just, he's a rock star. I mean, and, and, and I mean, I use that term, um, appropriately because Willie has the unique ability. He's like David Posternak with the Boston Bruins. It's just the, the, the, the ice water runs through the veins.

They don't listen to the noise of guys like me talking. They don't get caught up in the hype when things are going well. They just get to the rink every day. the same way. Hey, you know what? I love the game. I love playing. I love having fun.

I love everything around the world of hockey. So I'm just going to go out and do what I do. And what he does is change gains for the Maple Leaf. So money well. And he performs in the playoffs as well. So if you're going to bet on one of those guys, he's not a bad one to do it with. So it does make sense. Agreed.

And then, you know, it feels like this last couple of weeks, we had the Gautier Drysdale trade drop. And now, you know, there's some rumbings about Markstrom and Calgary. Merz Likin says he wants to be on the move. What are some names here coming up with the deadline creeping up that you think might hit the news of being on the move? Yeah, I mean, it's still pretty slow to be fair, and that's not unusual.

Usually it takes us to tell about the All-Star break before, you know, you start to see the pieces tumble a little bit. The trade between Anaheim and Philadelphia caught everybody off guard. Oh, my God. Yeah, that's crazy. You're talking about two highly, highly valued young assets in Cutter Goce, who I think is going to be a real good NHL player. And then in Jamie Drysdale, it's already shown that, you know, he's going to be a stud defenseman. And then, you know, Philadelphia gets a draft pick on top of that, which is kind of a headshaker.

So right now, aside from Merz-Leekins, who's requested a trade or so he said publicly, I think we're looking around and you're still looking at your pending unrestricted free agents. And so Philadelphia has a couple, you know, in Seeler and in Sean Walker. They've got a guy I risked the line and who's under contract, but they'd consider trading him. Calgary, of course, says Hanifan and Chris Tannoff. And they've got Elias Lindholm, who's a coveted center. You know, I'm not pushing back on the Markstrom trade speculation because, hey, I mean, where there's smoke, there's fire. but again, he's got a full no move clause.

Yeah. If Markstrom doesn't want to get traded in season, and lots of guys who are in season with families don't want to be traded, right? They don't. They're like, okay, I don't want to upset my family here. Let's wait until the off season. Yeah, of course, Jacob Markstrom could get traded, depending on what the offer is or if Calgary dives,

which I don't think they're going to do in the next, you know, a handful of weeks here before the trade deadline. So I get the speculation. I'm just not entirely buying it. It's kind of like the Trevor Zegra's speculation. That was my next question. Yeah. He's hurt now.

So it's kind of a moot point. But I was thinking of Zegris more in the offseason. And Pat Verbeek wants to really turn things upside down in Anaheim. Then you move a dynamic piece like that. But aside from that, fellas, I think it's more low-level stuff to be fair. There's always teams looking for defense. always teams in the market for centers, but beyond the players that I've already talked about,

it kind of gets pretty low after that, and the market sort of drifts. Do you think compared, because I feel like last year's deadline was chaos, a ton of huge names move. Do you think it'll be a big step down this year just because of the way contracts are shaking out? Maybe,

but I'm always loathe to say that because, yeah, right. You honestly don't know. And as we're talking here, we don't know. We don't know. Look at the standings. You know, like, I mean, we don't know who the buyers of the sellers are.

It's nuts. Right. You know, every year it's kind of. Yeah. We were talking about it earlier. The Met is just, I mean, the Met could be completely flipped upside down in a week. In a week. Yeah.

So it's hard to have any of these teams sort of heading into this deadline being like, well, we're definitely going to be sellers or we're definitely going to be buyers because there's only a few teams that are definitely one or the others. And all it takes is an injury, right? Like somebody, great call. Loses a long term defenseman or a center. or whatever and or goalie. And now they're, they're in a, you know, not a panic,

but they know that they've got to do something. And because it's such a cap league and the contenders are all capped out, right? That's why you wait until February to make your trades because the salaries are getting paid down. The cap is being limited and there's more flexibility in the system to make your deal. So, hey, look, I, you know what? We talked about the trade deadline earlier. for me, I'm going to have to do my stuff multiple times a week anyway.

But would I prefer for March 8th, the trade deadline, to be busier 100% because it's good for me. It's good for our industry. And it's good for hockey because that kind of gets the juices flowing among the fans as well. Yeah, absolutely. No, I think you're spot on. It does feel like I feel like we're going to see a lot of depth ads, a lot of depth moves to kind of. beef up teams middle six and there's some contenders

with some serious goalie questions and I'm not saying one will definitely happen but they'll at least be that fire down the stretch there like one of these teams make a move to try to try to make that final cut push yeah absolutely all right well dregs you're the best

thanks so much for coming on we'll let you get back to your day but is there anything you want to shout out or give what's up to before you let you go no you know what boys thanks for having me I appreciate the time um now you know we're looking at a busy week.

I mentioned Ray Ferraro earlier. You know, we've got two podcasts each week, the Ray and Dregs hockey podcast. So we're working on some big guests for later this week, but he's always, I mean, the beauty of Ray is you get one of two versions. You're either getting surly Ray when he's tired, which isn't normally coming out of a weekend.

But that's good Ray too, because, you know, then he gets pissy and he starts looking at some of the stories around the league and he gets really opinionated. So we're going to post something on Tuesday, so look forward to that. And then we'll have a guest on Thursday as well. Fantastic. Yeah.

So everyone makes sure to give that a listen. No doubt about it. All right, brother. Well, you're the best. Hopefully we can chat with you soon. Double D. Thanks a lot, man. Double D.

Thanks, fellas. Have a good one. That was our interview with Darren. Such cool insight. That was really fun. He's a great guy. I can't wait to have him. more. Hopefully we get Ray on some more.

But just one of the coolest guys in the biz. Let's get into overtime, and I'm nervous. We're going to do Armchair GM first. We're going to start with Armchair GM, but as you can see, if you're watching, we got a little bowl here, and we're going to get into the punishments of saucy predictions. But Armchair GM, Blake, take us away. How did we do? Yeah, so after our first week of Armchair GM, Dan is in the lead with 34 points, and Chris is in the last place or second.

in place. Depends how you look at it. With a measly 23 points. Oh, he bombed, dude. So the leaders of the week, based off of who you guys drafted, Swayman led the way with eight points.

That's my guy. Love you, Jay. And also, pasta also at eight points. So, clearly a Bruins fan, eh? Yeah. But, yeah, you guys both pick goalies that got shutouts. The one thing I think that hurt

Chris a little bit, as I think one of his guys only played two games in the week. So just, you know, things to think about. And I think going forward, not this week, but, you know, in the coming weeks, we'll do some themes for these drafts. So, you know, maybe next week it's only European guys. Maybe the week after it's only guys on their entry-level contract. Oh. It's, you know, something similar to that.

So, but yeah, hey, this week. And what did we say, too, you can't pick a guy back-to-back weeks? That's what we're going to do this week. You cannot pick anyone that was on. your team last. Can you read me my roster? Why don't we do it?

Both. Yeah, either one of you. Like no one you picked is available to me either. So the players that are no longer available this week would be pasta, McKinnon, breadman, Quinn Hughes, Morrissey,

Swamen, Kucherov, McKinin, Gensel, Dahlene, Macar, and Hellebuck. Okay. Say McKinnon twice. Yeah, but that's okay. Sorry,

Macon. McCarr. Okay, and who picked first last time? I think I did. Yeah. Okay. Wow, dude. Wow, wow, wow.

Can you read me the D that are unavail? Dahlene? Horsey, Cues, Dahlene, and McCar. Okay. No one took Nealander last week, right? We didn't actually do that. Correct. Nope.

Give me Nealander. Was he left wing? Right wing. Right wing. Okay, first off the board for me, I'm rolling with the hot hand. give me J.T. J.T. Miller. Okay.

Between him and Pedy for me. That's good, Dan. That is good. Let's see. How many games they got? How many games they got? Yeah, okay. It's a pretty busy week, honestly. Yeah, that's just what you've really got to avoid. Okay. I'll take...

P.D.'s left wing? No, he's a center. Oh, yeah, but isn't J.T. Plains that on that line? Kind of flip-flops. They're both listed as... They're both listed as center on NHL.com. And who did you take?

I took JT. But it's a tough one too because like... You can take PD still. Yeah, yeah, but is that my center or is that my left wing? Or I get to choose. He's playing left wing on daily faceoff. This is bullshit, dude.

That's fucking bullshit. Well, hold on, hold on. I'm going to take Matthew Kachuk. Fuck you, dude. I was going to do that in your eyeball. That is some bullshit. That's how you play, bitch. That's some bullshit.

That's how you play. I think there's a better player on that team to take. I know. Okay. So this was going to be my next pick. What does Daily Faceoff have him as? Because I feel like he plays right wing, but he's listed in here as a fucking center. Okay.

I want to be... Actually, I think Daily Face Off should be the decider. Daily Face Off is our decider. Like I... It does get updated pretty regularly. With my second pick, I will be taking Sam Reinhert. Okay, but also, does that mean I can't take Matt because he's listed as right wing here? Oh yeah, it does. Fuck you.

Okay, so I get to go back. Yeah. I'll take Pedy because he's listed as a left wing. Fair. And now you, because my right wings are taken, so I couldn't take either one of them. I'm going to still go with Ryder. Fucking Spaz, dude. Okay, so I got, um, let's see here.

Give me, do you think Moore Games is, good for the goalie because it's like more chances to get. Yeah. You're not going to lose points. Right, right, right, right. Okay, yeah. And who would you take? Hella Buccan Swainman. Yeah. All right, yeah, give me Cirokin. He looked nasty. I like it.

I'm going to stick in that team and I'm going to go Noah Dobson. I almost took him last week. I'm taking him now. Yep, okay. Give me Matthews. All right. Wow. Okay, I think I want to go. I'm going to go with my boy Vince Dunn.

Oh, wait, he might have got hurt. I'm looking out for you. You are. Is that true? I think he just got him in Beneer. Did he just get hurt? Yeah, it was a surprise scratch. Check, though.

I think he's been on a heater recently. I'm going to stick with my hometown boys. I'm going Charlie McVoy. Oh, fuck, good pick. Yeah. He's been hot. Give me, give me Evan Bouchard.

Ah, that's a great one. Shit. that's a great one okay so I need a left wing and a goalie I think this guy's also been hot we're going to see him at the all-star game I'm going to go with philip forsberg damn good one dude uh give me victor headman

good pick that's a great pick and then I'm going to round this out with stay with the hot team thatcher demko go good one good one good one good one good one good one All right, I'm down 11. Yeah, down 11. Okay. A lot of games to go.

A lot of games to go. Now we're into saucy predictions, folks. Saucy predictions is our new segment where Chris and I both are a saucy prediction that we're going to see play out over the course of the week until the next episode. Last week, I said that the Devils would be ahead of the New York Islanders in the standings, and I missed that by one point. I don't know. What's the Islander score right now? Oh, yeah, maybe they're winning. But I just barely missed.

They played today. Islanders getting pumped 3-0. You would have had it. How sick is that? They played today against Boston. If they had won, they would have been one point ahead of the Islanders. That is an L for you. But that is an L for me.

I had that Willie Nealander would have a 4-point night. He had four games last week, and I was like, you had a 4-point night. In his first game, he has three apples. Just missed it. And I was like, oh, no-brainer. In his next three games, he goes pointless, like a nutless monkey, dude. And I was like, are you fucking kidding me, dude? So I should have had it in game one.

I did not. That is also an L. So before we make our new saucy predictions for the upcoming week, we have to eat this fucking hot sauce. Okay, what if you guys get your predictions? Good question, Blake. Should that mean, then I have to eat it? Oof.

Oh, wow. I don't know that that's fair. Well, actually, maybe that is fair. I was pitching that if I get it right, he can also, Dan has to eat my wing. Like, if you get it wrong. Stick with that. Yeah.

There you go. I do want to point out real quick with the Islanders getting pumped, we're about to see Mark Andre Florey get past Patrick Walker. Yes. God, he's starting today.

That's amazing. That's great. That's great. That's great. Okay. All right, so Chris and I have a bit of hot ones last dab,

the 10th hottest hot sauce here that we're going to have to eat before we get into our... Do I have to eat this whole thing or do I take a bite? I can smell it from over here. It's so bad, this is really hot.

I mean, it's good. I'm sure. but it just, it smells. Like, don't touch anything, dude. Here we go. Congratulations. Cheers it. For our bad predictions.

Sossy predictions. Why? Damn, dude. Fuck you. This sucks. Do I need to finish this? You got to, no, just finish the bite. Yeah.

Fuck, dude. This sucks. Yeah. I think you have a bit of your bite still hanging off there. Me or him? C. Oh, right here? Yeah.

Yeah, that was a huge bite. Yeah, DP, you really went in for that. Well, I shouldn't I shouldn't chew into fucking mic. I know, sorry. Dude, it's the lips. That's what sucks. Hell yeah.

Okay. I can already feel the hiccups coming. But there's the... It's like... There's the last dab. Downed. If this isn't reason to make sure I don't mess up these saucy predictions again, I don't know what it is. Because it's hot.

My eyes are starting to water. I've got my saucy prediction, I think. Oh, my God. Should I go? Yeah, go. Put it down. Okay. My saucy prediction of this week.

and boy golly do I not want to mess this up dude I was just thinking that mine is too um is I went harder than I should have I think Jacob Markstrom will be traded within the week and if you're listening right now

you just heard drag say he's not buying that he was like I don't think he's moving oh yeah that was actually a good data point dude because I was gonna say that this is a bullshit pick because it's too obvious he gets pulled out of practice and Dan gets to be like oh he's gonna get traded I'm like no shit he's gonna get traded I have to eat fucking two wings next week, you bitch, you're cheating.

But then Drake's was like, he's not even going to get traded. And I was like, actually, fuck you. Keep that prediction. Don't touch anything, dude. What do you think I'm going to touch? I don't know. Don't touch anything. Okay, so that's it.

He's traded within the week. Okay. I'll give you a bonus second wing that I have to eat if you pick the team. No punishment if you get it wrong. the devils oh shit okay all right here's mine

I think that the it gets worse yeah correct exactly that's the problem I'm just melting here and it just gets worse the hurricanes are three points

back from the Rangers right now I just said this the canes have the kings the red wings and the wild on a huge homestand are going to get all six points oh the rags have the cracking at home

who are firing and then a road trip to Vegas, L.A. and Ducks. I think the rags get a win and an OT loss. Go one, two, and one on that trip, get three points. The Keynes win all three get six points. And by the time we are recording next Monday, they are tied with points. Does the canes losing to the Kings today

make you feel a little less confident about this pick? Are they already losing? They already lost. They lost. Oh, they lost, dude? Okay, I have to do this again because they literally can't mathematically do that anymore. Oh, you were including.

that game? Yeah. Okay. I forgot we were, in my head, we were recording before that game. Dodged a bullet. Okay, mine is the, Sam Reiner, scored tonight, today, already as a time of recording. He's currently,

he's currently, one goal behind Matthews, 32 goals, he has. Matthews has 33. Okay. Matthews has three more games this week. Reiner has two more games this week. But I am saying that by the end, by the time of recording next week,

Reiner will lead the league in goals. Pass Matthews Okay That's pretty good one Yeah, putting a wing down on it All right So predictions Markson will be traded

Reinerd will overtake Matthews For goals Amazing Okay Anything else Nope Dead armchair GM

Those are Assassey predictions That's all I got Okay I got one question Just for you guys What's your take On the leaked All-Star Game

jerseys. Oh my gosh. I think they're horrible. I think they're like, they literally look like a crayola crayon box. Someone said to me that they, they like are pandering to the youngans out there and like maybe the Gen Zers will love them.

Is it the kindergartners? They're panning to the kindergarten. That's what they mean by youngers. I think they look so bad. I love, you know, getting more celebs involved in the game. So like Bieber being around the game, You know, people can talk shit. I think it's good for the game.

But this collab with Drew, which I think is just such a shitty ass. I think Drew's stuff looks so dumb. And these, I think these jersey look awful. Awful, awful, awful. Like, maybe make a hoodie and a t-shirt with Drew House. Sure. Why are we making the jerseys with that? I don't know.

It's a good call. It's like the Adidas, Beaver, NHL All-Star thing. I don't think they're awful, awful. I think they're not great. Yeah. And I need to see them with the helmet's gloves. pants. As always. That can save it.

But I've seen in the past, though, sometimes they just do all black or all white, and I really don't want to see that. If we can get something that actually ties the jersey together, then I can make an argument for it. But yeah, as of right now, it looks like Tim Bitts hockey also game. Truly, dude.

My fear is they're going to do black pants, black buckies, maybe even black, like black and color gloves and just like the same color socks as the jerseys. And it's just going to be, they're going to look like fucking, you know, color colored pencils out there.

Like you remember going to like a main camp for a junior team and that's what it's going to look like. Yeah. To me, I mean, last year they had the Miami Vice flare in it, but they did the throwback to like the 96. I thought those were so gas. It might be the best. Do more throwbacks. That was sick. I forgot about that.

Do more throwbacks. All right. That is it for us this week at the Empty Neers podcast. We will be back next week. Let's see whose predictions come true. We're going to drink a ton of ice water right now. And until we see you next time. Oh, actually, I had brunch today before we came here.

At Great White, it was awesome. And this kid came out to me named Dalton, and he said, What's up? And I hope he loves our show and hopes I have a great brunch. I hope you had a great brunch, Dalton. Thanks for saying hi. And until then, Skate Hart.