Empty Netters Podcast - It’s About To Get Nuts In The Pacific Division

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

Drew Doughty is skating again and the Canucks are trying to trade JT miller for a bag of pucks. McDavid gets sussied and Vegas forgets how to play hockey. An epic game of what’s the connection has DP stumped. NEW EPISODES EVERY MONDAY & WEDNESDAY! PRESENTED by BetMGM. Download the BETMGM app and use code “NETTERS” and enjoy up to $1500 in bonus bets if you lose your first wager! SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS: BAUER. Bauer is the go to destination for all your training needs. Head to http://www.bauer.com/training to explore tools like the Digital Reactor Danger for stickhandling or the Reactor Slide Board to add strength to your stride. CASHAPP. Download CashApp and take control of your finances! https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cash-ap... RIKI. Head to https://rikispirits.com/ to find out where to get RIKI near you. Follow @friday.beers and @rikispirits to stay up to date with upcoming RIKI contests and giveaways FUNKAWAY. To check out the full family of FunkAway products go to http://www.funkaway.com to learn more funk’in cool stuff. And head over to Amazon right now and grab FunkAway products with just a few clicks. FIREBALL . Fireball’s iconic cinnamon flavor tastes fire and goes down easy, making it the ultimate crowd pleasure. Go pick up some from your local liquor store and join us in drinking Fireball during our game days this season! #IgniteYourRivalry EVERYMANJACK. Give Every Man Jack a shot today and go to http://www.everymanjack.com and use code “NETTERS” at checkout for 25% off your first order CBDMD. Visit http://www.cbdmd.com to explore their extensive range of products and find the perfect solution for your needs. Don’t forget to use code “FRIDAY” at checkout to get 30% OF + Free Shipping. DOLLAR SHAVE CLUB. Dollar Shave Club products are now available everywhere, so you can order from their website, Amazon, or get them at your favorite retailer near you. Visit their site right now for 20% off $20 or more, and get your products delivered right to your door. Visit http://www.dollarshaveclub.com/netters and use promo code NETTERS for 20% off $20 or more CHOMPS. If you are looking for the PERFECT on the go snack that has zero grams of sugar and packed with high quality protein, then Chomps is for you. To learn more about Chomps, click here! http://www.chomps.com/emptynetters 00:00 INTRO 01:11 NOT ICE 20:59 HOT ICE 48:44 BETMGM ODDS 53:21 BEER LEAGUE HOTLINE 57:18 POWERS RANKINGS 1:04:15 STARTING 6 1:08:12 GAME Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Empty Netters podcast, the Vancouver Canucks almost traded J.T. Miller for what? And Connor McDavid has entered his goon era. Ice is ready and we are back with another episode of the Empty Netters podcast brought to you by BedMGM. I am your host, Dan Powers, joined as always by my brother, the biggest piece of human trash I've ever met, Chris Powers. As always. And we are here ready to rock another episode. I am as noodleed as I've ever been in my entire life. I don't even recognize you.

Feel like I sound like you. Rickishay, dude. You usually are the one whose voice is gone and you're clinging to life. Yep. But this time that's me. And I also am clinging to life, but you are, you're hanging by a thread. Dude, I'm not well. I'm not well, but I'm here for the people.

Yes, dude. I'm here for the people that I love and for the job that I love. to rip the best podcast on the fucking planet. Yep. And we're going to get into some fun stuff. It's a holiday weekend. Happy MLK Day. Happy MLK Day.

We had a couple of good weekends. Skiing on different sides of the world. Yeah, wow. That's crazy. How about that? That's crazy. Dude, I have, literally. I've never battled so hard in my life.

I know. I know. With this. I got, just got slapped with a, you know, turning around three days of European travel skiing in the rain Yeah, it rained one day He's skiing in the rain

It was unseasonably warm in Oura So we got a little bit of rain one day So we were just ripping in the cold rain And that sounds terrible It was actually awesome No, it was not It was awesome because it was like It wasn't freezing cold rain

And it was just like we were kind of laughing about it And then you just pop in And you fucking operate your face off Oh, yeah, okay, so you stop skiing. Yeah, yeah. Because you go, it's raining. Yeah, yeah. This is awful.

So let's stop this and then operate. And, and, you know, you just, you stay up all night. This will happen. This is how it goes. This is the correct formula. So Mr. Old Dan, my body's a temple. I like to be, I like to eat so well and go to sleep early. I like to take care of my body.

Where did that guy go, dude? Where is he? Left him in the U.S. Yeah. Left him in the U.S. And here I am, I'm absolutely crinkled. Yeah. But had one of the best times of my life.

I'm so happy to hear that. It was so awesome. It's a big trip and you really want to make it count. Yeah. To making it count. Did you have a good weekend? Did you not get that? I did.

It's a Titanic quote, dude. I feel like we quoted that exact thing on this show like three weeks ago. Like we can't be quoting Jack Dawson from Titanic every three weeks. Like that's got to be a once a quote. quarter. Can I tell you the most underrated line in all of Titanic? Yeah, is it the old guy after that who goes, he-h-h-h-h-ha! No, that is goaded. Okay.

That's not underrated at all. All right. Can I get a couple more guesses? Sure. Underrated line? As in it's so funny, and I just cannot believe it's in the movie. Oh. Oh, yeah, I know what you're going to say, you fucking predictable loser. Wow. It's when Jack is freezing to death

in the water, and he says he's going to write a letter. A strongly worded letter. Dude, he says to Rose, She goes, we're dead. And he goes, no, it's fine. We're going to be okay. And she goes, really? And he goes, yes.

And when we get rescued. I'm going to write a strongly worded letter to the White Hart cruise lane. Yeah, yeah. It's a really funny joke, dude. To be able to deliver that while, well. Minutes before dying. Battling death. Minutes before freezing to death.

Can you imagine the letter they would have received from one Jack Dawson, who was in the Paavo cabin, dude? It is very impressive. Have you ever seen the, um, there's like memes. It's like a photo of old rose. like I cheated on my fiance with a homeless dude who whacked me in the back of a car

and then I left him to die. She went slumming, dude. Yeah, Rose maybe isn't the chillest. Yeah. But it was a Star Cross romance. How did she stay wealthy? Was her family rich too? Well, no, because they had lost everything.

They needed it. She married rich again. She married a rich guy. Yeah. But she went off. Did she know that? Yeah, yeah, yeah. She married rich.

Yeah. So she, I don't actually love her. Because I was going to say she did have the heart of the ocean, but she never cashed that ticket. Right. Because that's Jack. She couldn't let go. That's kind of a cool move by her. Couldn't let go.

But to then toss it in the water is absolutely insane. Outrageous. It's ridiculous behavior. Oops. Yeah. Wild. I was talking about the Titanic this weekend. Really?

Yeah. I think we don't talk about the Titanic enough. The boat or the movie? The boat. You know what? Maybe the movie, too. It's a phenomenal film. The Titanic?

is one of the craziest stories of all time. And I know there's a James Cameron film made about it. I know everyone knows the Titanic. But dude, the Titanic event is truly one of the more out of this world moments in world history. Like we don't talk about it enough. It was a ship built and deemed the unsinkable ship. And then literally the only thing it did was sync. it's first journey.

It's one for one on sinking, dude. Oh, man. That is insane. And it isn't even done killing. Like, people are... It's still taking lives, dude. ...juring to see it. And it's taking...

That's one of the greatest runs of all time, dude. It's not even done. The Titanic, over a hundred years later, still whacking people. That's fucking nuts. Oh, dude, it's... From the depths of the Atlantic. It's still...

You get in the weeds with that thing, too, and like everything that went wrong, you know, in terms of like they could have gone straight and hit the iceberg. Yeah. Like there were so many things, calamities that took place to cause that. And here's a question, Dan. Yep. If they survive that one, you know how it's like in the Bruins, the Bruins in 2023?

If they get past Florida, like Taylor Hall, just on Chicklet said, like, if I get past Florida, I think we win the cup. You know, you just got to like get past that first scare. Yeah. Do you think if Titanic survives that? first one. I think it then goes on to be the USS Constitution and actually is unsinkable and is possibly still running. Could you imagine? I actually think the hype train. They go, it's an unsinkable ship. And then on its maiden voyage carved open by an iceberg. It goes full full back direct into a iceberg,

splits it in half and sails on. Makes it to America in record time. I think people would start going, they obviously hit that on purpose. Like they are so cocky and confident that this thing could be sank that they bulldozed an iceberg just to prove it. I think we were one unlucky upset away from the Titanic being one of the greatest things in literally human history. One miscalculation away, dude. Unfortunately, those guys panicked. They panicked.

They got their wing clipped. Through a pizza. Ended up in the back of your neck. They hate to see it. So here's another question for you. Titanic 2. Yeah. After unforeseen global delays, we have re-engaged with partners to bring the

dream of Titanic 2 to life, let the journey begin. The guy who's building it said the ship is scheduled to set sail June of 2027. You have to be a damn fool to get on that boat, dude. You have to be a fool of the highest order. Dude, if you are given a free ticket, if you, layers of years a question for you, you want to, you win a couple of tickets in a game of poker in your lucky hand. Do you get on that ship? Dude, you mail the tickets to your worst enemy.

I don't think you can get on that boat. You have to be a fool. Like that has to be the most cursed, bad omen thing that you could possibly do to get on Titanic 2. Outrageous. You have to be outside your mind. Correct. Unbelievable.

Won't get on Titanic 2. This weekend, I went up to Sweden for a wedding. One of the great trips of my life, as I said. went to Oura, nice little ski village in northern Sweden. So fucking fun. There's a lot of things that I got to talk about. Number one. European weddings.

Yeah. Particularly in this case, a Swedish wedding. They just do it better. We're not really calling that European wedding, right? Well, I'm saying European weddings in general because I've been to a few. Yeah. They're just better. Yeah, correct.

Better traditions, more fun, less getting ripped up. off by the venues. Yep. Less, less noise ordinances. Yep. I like, really, really like, I don't, I, I don't know if this is European, but certainly in Sweden, they do a toastmaster. So you, the bride and groom, you select toastmaster who's essentially your MC. Is this someone, so you hire this person, it's not one of the guests? It is one of the guests. In this circumstance, you could hire someone, but I think the better thing to do is one of your guests. And then, multiple people come up and speak almost like a roast. It's obviously not a roast

but it's like it's not just best man made of honor, father of the bride, mother of the groom type thing. It's like tons of people spoke. It was awesome. It was well-paced. You know, like after someone speaks, they play some music, you drink some more, you hang out, then another person comes up. It's like a whole event.

It's fucking amazing. Is this schedule? Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Toastmasters make it. Like when people said, like they were like, if anyone's interested in speaking, email us and we'll get you a slot. Yeah, it's not like a old, get up there. That's what I thought you were saying. They know who's speaking and when.

Yep. And it's just so great. Everyone there did such a good job. Every speaker, full Swedish. So, dude, you're just reading the room. You're just laughing when the room laughs. And for those who are unaware, I'm not fluent. I picked up things here and there.

But yeah, I'm really just gauging by their levels of comfortability up there. Yep. The laughs they're getting. the fluidity of their speech. But it was really, really fun. Really cool. Outside of the wedding. Actually, one more thing on the wedding.

Shout up Marty. I split my pants. Yeah, the picture is iconic. I might need Wax to put it in there because... Dude, I don't think we can put the picture in there. I actually thought about posting the picture of Wags. Have you seen this yet? Let me text it to you right now as I talk.

I haven't put... I thought about putting the picture on the Instagram to show people my commitment to the fucking dance floor. And I will say this. I'm usually really good about not splitting pants at weddings because... You can feel it coming. Yeah, and I'm good about maneuvering the pants,

good about, you know, hiking them up a little bit so it doesn't split. Yeah. What happened was I got unexpectedly grabbed by a buddy on the dance floor that pulled me into a squat and I didn't have time to adjust. I split it. from tip to taint, brother.

It's preposterous. And I took a photo of myself in full NFL center mode. Yeah. Bent over. Which really adds to the- Phone between the legs into a mirror. And I don't think we can post it because my whole situation is just really front row center for the viewers.

It's incredible. So you too, you can see it all you want. But I don't know that I need to traumatize the fan base. but split my pants, sign of a full commitment, a full send. Sign of a full send on the dance floor. There's one thing that I want to talk to you guys about. There is a thing. I'm a lunch guy.

I like breakfast. I like breakfast food, but I'm a lunch guy. I prefer lunch foods. Yep. I was introduced, which this is, I don't know why it took me this long for the introduction because I spent a lot of time in Sweden in my life. And I was introduced to Frala. Okay.

Frilla is a Swedish breakfast that is literally Christopher, just a sandwich. Oh, I thought you. Yeah. They do these unbelievable, fresh baked, like chabata rolls that are about this big. Yep. And out at breakfast every morning in the hotel, full basket. Well, there's a big breadboard with like sourdough, rise on there, a bread knife. You can slice, slice up a piece if you want.

But then there are these little rolls that you get. cut them in half, and then there's plates. You put a layer of cheese, a layer of meats. There's ham, turkey, salami, whatever you want. Then, usually some pickles, cucumbers, peppers, red, yellow peppers, a layer of lettuce, and if you want, you can do some like mayo or djean. And just the way that, just like the one layer of each of those things. And that's soft bread, dude.

Unbelievable. But that is lunch. You were describing lunch. It is a small lunch sandwich, but it's the bread specifically. It's like this specific, fresh-baked, soft, like, chabata-style bread roll that makes it from a... You're not just going out there and grabbing white bread. I don't know if I like this, dude. Oh, dude, you'll like it.

I had it every single morning, and it was the... You know me, dude. I don't wake up and eat breakfast, but I woke up every morning like I was shot out of a cannon. to run into that breakfast room and make myself some ferala. It was unbelievable. Okay. I would like to try that. You got it.

But I'm a huge breakfast guy, as you know, and I just don't know that. Good news is there's eggs and bacon still. So if you wanted that too. Could I have that on the bread? Absolutely not. Why? Because it spits in the face of freda. No, it doesn't.

You could cut yourself a fresh piece of sourdough. You're telling me it's about the bread is what makes the frella. But you have to put sandwich meats in there. No, you don't. Yes, you do. That's what it is. This is stupid and I'm going to talk to somebody about how stupid this is and you are. Don't disrespect this.

I'm not. It's fantastic. I'm trying to make it better. No. You're trying to change it to something. You want it to conform to your basic stupid ideas. We can't have that. All right.

I have one more thing to talk about on my trip and then we can move on to some hot ice, get into some hockey. Okay. My last thing, I'm traveling back today, guys. Yeah, that's right, folks. You heard me. Yeah. I just got off the point.

We both just came straight here. We are not the same, dude. No, I said you were more noodle than me. That's fun. I said that. I have a connecting flight in Zurich. I get into the lounge in the Zurich airport. And I watch a man.

And again, this is the lounge. Yeah. This isn't just the terminal. This is the lake, dude. Sir, this is a Wendy's. Yeah. We're in the lounge. It's not, it's early, it's really nice, it's quiet, beautiful spread of food out.

What time is it? It's like 9 a.m.? Yeah, 9 a.m. Okay. This man walks in, he's got somewhat of a travel pack on. It's like a big ski slash camping pack. He comes to the chair slightly next to me. Like, I'm at a chair here.

There's a chair next to me that he could sit in. and then there's a bit of a space between that chair and the wall, glass wall looking out over the airport. The whole airport, yep. He pulls out an air mattress. Not a full crazy size air mattress. It was probably, what's that, four inches? I hope so.

It probably pumped up to four inches high. Yep. But it was like a full body lane. He plugged it in? Or was it bat? He had a battery. That power. Had a battery powered one.

Pulled it out, unrolled it, pulled out a little blanket, laid the blanket on top of it, then his little battery pump, pumped that thing up, whirring engine. Yes, loud. You know, but for only like 20 seconds. Pumped it right up and he laid down, pulled out his laptop, put it on his chest, and laid there and started watching a movie. I imagine this, I had a long layover. He was there the entire time.

How long was your layer? Three and a half hours. So I imagine his layer had to have been like six hours or something. For sure. When I saw him do this, I was prepared to be like this. That is the most ridiculous. We've been talking a lot about etiquette. lately. I was about to be like, that's the most insane move of all time. As I watched him there,

and I was, I was doing the same thing, Chris, laptop on my lap, watching a show. I couldn't stop thinking how much I would have loved to have stretched out a bit. Does he, I wish you would, I wish you would see him leave. But I guess you saw him take it out. He just, he just rolls it right up. Oh yeah, it was, it was very compactly packed into his bag. That, I think, is amazing. I think it was I think it's actually a genius move if you can fit it. If it changes your bag situation, if you're like, oh, shit, now I check this bag. I mean, obviously you couldn't bring it there. So I'm not entirely sure he brought that for that purpose.

I think, like I mentioned, his pack, I imagine he was doing like a ski or a camping trip where he was like sleeping on that thing. And he had it. And he was like, oh, I'll pull that out. That's what I assume. If he's bringing that just for lounge, lounging, then that's maybe crazy. I don't know, though. That's what I'm saying.

Because also, he went to a spot, a secluded spot. It's an international airport too, so you can, there are long layers. Like if he was, you know, in Nashville, I'd be like, what are you doing, dude? I think it's just crazy enough to work then, but do you think, I've slept not overnight, but I've gone to sleep at an airport before, like literally on the floor of like a fucking gate and just put my bag against the wall and look my head up against the bag, set an alarm on my phone to make sure I didn't miss the light. Yeah, same.

So I'm not saying I'm that scared of sleeping at the airport, but I just think if you are on an air mattress with like a blanket, a sleep, someone might be like, sir. In a lounge too, dude. That was why.

Aren't there like nap rooms in the lounge? They're actually, not in all of them. There was a nice one in this one. And I don't think that he saw it, but there was a specific area of this lounge that literally said relaxation lounge. And it was like beautiful reclining chairs. but not allowed to use computers or phones in there.

What? Because that's not relaxing? Yeah, I think it's literally for people to just lay back. But I'm like, if you have headphones in, who cares? Dude. I'm just saying, these are usually the things that maybe I kind of wag my finger at. And this one, I was like, I think this is kind of sick. It's a cool move.

He was getting a lot of looks at people being like initially kind of going, what the hell are you doing, man? But then they were like, it's pretty comfortable. That's pretty sick, dude. Yeah. I did like that he didn't get under the blanket. That would have been a step too far. That would have been fucking insane.

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Subject to eligibility requirements, bonus bets are non-withdrawable. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel, see betmGM.com for terms. U.S. promotional offers not available in New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. All right, talking about step too far. Steps too far. We've got a suspension that we've got to have time.

Sussie alert. Getting into some hot ice here, Susie alert. Connor McDavid has a meeting with player safety. dished out a three-game suspension for his cross-check to the face to Connor Garland. Tyler Myers of the Canucks also gets a three-game suspension for a cross-check. But we've seen a couple games in a row now. Connor threw out a little chicken wing elbow, hit Mojo.

Marcus Johansson right in the face, knocked him down. Now we got him here. Feed in some lumber to Connor Garland. And McDavid, hand it a three-game sussie. How do you feel? I'm surprised. I mean, I don't think Connor. is a dirty player, obviously.

I think it's kind of weird they're playing so well, and he's doing, like, it'd be one thing if you're like, oh, they've always have lost 10 straight. Yeah, I think that's what should scare everyone. Yeah. Like, they're buzzing, and Conner's completely wires crossed out here. I'm like, what are you doing? You are right?

Also, also, I thought that was harsh. Oh, I did not. Really? Dude, if you're feeding your stick to someone's teeth, three? It's, it's, they were scrapping. It doesn't matter. It's repeated. that's the problem like it's like one two three and you're like never counting games yeah one

yeah two game you want another yeah dude say something else hit him again um I'm gonna have you the rest of your natural born life and it was my boy Connor Garland dude do you think he's it was a Connor issue yeah yeah he does she's he's slowly trying to eliminate all conner it will be one badard he had on a swivel pal too um if you're hellabuck if you're if you're zary if you're if you're call Connor doesn't matter for first or last get got to watch out I guess maybe it wasn't harsh. But I wonder. I will say this, C.P.

I expected two. Yeah, yeah. No, I was... Actually, frankly, I expected one. I was like, they're not going to spend this guy. I think three is totally fine. It was a surprise. Not harsh.

It was a surprise. Oh, my God. Yeah. They... It doesn't matter. The Oilers are fine. They don't even need him. He missed time earlier and they didn't care.

They won a billion games. Leon Dry Settle is winning MVP. The spin zone, he might have needed this. Dan, this might be just what they needed. Get some rest. I really do like. Four nations coming up.

Yeah, wow. I also really like what you're saying about how it's scary because I do think as much as I love Sid, and he doesn't really do this shit that much anymore, but as much as I love Sid, it's like I would rather my, if my captain is going to be doing some suspect shit on the ice,

I would rather it being feeding dudes in the face than sack tap. thing, though. Yeah, correct. Stop cup checking people. Jamie Ben just did that to kale, by the way. Got him a real nice ball bag, whack. It doesn't feel good.

Here's the thing. You don't win cups unless you're pissed. Yes. Now, people get pissed for different reasons. But you saw Florida, Matthew Kuchuk breaks his sternum. They come back. He's pissed. He's livid, Dan.

They come back and they win. People talking shit about Bob. He comes back. They win. Boom. You look at the abs. those boys they went they got close lost

they were pissed they come and win Tampa they're in the bubble they play Montreal Montreal wins one game they act like they win the Stanley Cup pisses them off they win them right off you gotta get pissed Connor lost last year he's pissed

but isn't he already isn't he pissed or did he need this fight to no I think I think all this shit is a result of him still being pissed you know what else Dan do you remember the movie crank yeah with Jason Statham yeah for the first

those unfamiliar with this gem, Jason Statham is injected with an uncurable, no antidote poison. And the only way to stay alive is to keep your adrenaline maxed out. So dude, he is literally like fighting for his life to try to get back. But when he, when like he's starting to calm down, he'll just like wheelie a motorcycle through a red light into traffic and then get up, get a plane and jump out of it. You know, no shoot. Crank. I actually think Connor finished last season pissed.

and was like, God, oh, I get it now. This is how you win the cup. Yeah. And then he started the year, but it's a long season. It's hard to stay pissed. So he's doing stuff like this in his own crank situation to stay mad. I like it. He wouldn't like it when he's angry.

He's getting into altercations intentionally so he can stay fiery. That's a good strat, I think. Like, that is a good way to keep the energy levels as high as humanly possible. Like, that's clearly what we need. I like it, dude. I like it a lot. My question is, so there were a few people who were talking about it, and they were like, actually, our boy Wish said it very well. He was like, there, you know, a couple things can be true.

One, it's ridiculous that the refs are allowing Connor Garland to, like, you know, jump on McDavid's back and like guerrilla slam him to the ground. And then also, you can't be fucking feeding someone in the mouth with a cross check. Yeah, right. Now, I think that that is true. I also I am so out on the Protect Your Stars bullshit

Oh Why I think it's fucking ass dude Okay Okay And I know that that's dumb from a Listen if you're the refs And you've got stars of your league

Who are making your league money And making your league popular Of course there's going to be an emphasis on Don't let these guys get cheap shotted and targeted But I suppose what I'm saying is don't let guys get cheap shot at and targeted, but don't let anyone get cheap shotted and targeted. Yeah.

Like, protect our players. Protect our players. Don't just protect our stars. Like, absolutely, protect your stars. But just like, how about protect everyone? And I think my biggest thing is, you know me, in the early days when I was Team OV and you were Team Sid,

when Sid was skating around the ice, fucking ball bagging everyone, I was like, this is dog shit, dude. Suspend this guy. And they wouldn't. And they wouldn't. And I thought that was. stupid. I thought it was crazy that just because he was Sidney Crosby, he was going out there doing

one of the slimyest things you could do and never paid a penalty for it. That pissed me off. Yeah. So I think what I'm trying to say is here, yes, don't let Connor McDavid get like horse tackled or horse collared and wrestle to the ground. But, you know, don't let that happen to anyone. But if he gets up and retaliates in a cheap shot way, he's got to pay the Piper. And I like, just like everyone else. Yep. Um, yeah, okay, I'm on board with that. getting all cranked up getting all cranked up so it was good to see a sussie get tossed out

I think it hadn't happened can I give you a really bad take that's from you or a take that's from you've heard yeah I would love to hear something an ammo against you I think we're talking about people mixing it up actually you know what I'll wait

because this kind of has to do with the Rangers in Montreal game I'll wait to we're going to talk about a couple of those teams later on here and I'll bring it up then. Okay. It'll be smoother. Fair enough.

But I did just bring up the Rangers. We're going to talk about them next. There is apparently a J.T. Miller, New York Rangers trade on the board. What we have heard is that the deal included Philippeel, Ryan Lindgren, and a first-round pick. Apparently, it broke down due to guarantee stipulations on the draft picks. Didn't happen, but a trade sending J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers was on the table, which means J.T. Wheeler waived his no move to go to New York. I have two things to say to you.

One, I don't know J.T. Miller. I've heard nothing but wonderful things. No disrespect to the New York Rangers. I do not understand why he would ever waive his contract to go to that team. I don't get it at all. Do you want to get your second thing out? Yep. Yep. My second thing is, if this trade was in fact, Heidel, Lindgren, and a first for J.T. Miller, in my opinion, Vancouver should have fucking laughed that trade out the building. I can't fucking believe that they were. would have said yes to that. Now maybe I'm overvaluing J.T. Miller. Maybe I'm undervaluing some of these guys. But all I see is Band-Aid Philippeel, who is amazing, but he's a Band-Aid, and Rangers Twitter screaming till they're as hoarse as me, how much they need Ryan Lindgren off your roster. And I'm like this, so you're going to take Heidel, who hasn't played over 50 games in three years, cast off Lindgren and a first-round pick for a 99-point guy. I was real to say. I'm going to give his points. And Dan,

like a monster two-way center, an insane physical presence, a great leader. Yeah. That's what you're getting back. Here's his last three years. 99 and 80, 82 and 81, 103 and 81. Like, what the fuck are you doing? Like, if there's anything that can come from this segment, it's Vancouver, listen up. Do not, like, there's no issue here. This isn't one of those things where Kane went at the deadline

to New York and they knew that he was. like, I will only go to New York, so they got to fleece the fucking Blackhawks for them. This is like, you don't need to bend to anyone's will here. Like, get back value for J.T. fucking Miller. Dude, we talked about it with Tomer, and I said that I was like, it's going to be hard for Vancouver to get the value they deserve for these players if they have to move one of them because people kind of know the room is all fucked in, whatever, whatever. But, dude, imagine.

And by the way, I actually, maybe it says somewhere this report that I missed. I don't even know if the NHL works this way with picks. But you know how in the NBA, for example, you can be like this pick is protected. So if it's a top 10 pick, you don't get it yet. You don't my pick next year. Absolutely, picks are protected. So that means, like, if this breaking down due to guarantees,

means that the Rangers were like, also our pick that we're giving you is protected. You're not even, if it's a good pick, we get to keep it. And I'm like, this is the worst haul I've ever seen. And no offense to the guys. Yeah. And I'm like, J.T. Miller is, you don't trade the likes of J.T. Miller without getting, it's, it's the fantasy football thing we always joke about. Where people always want the stud for like two bench guys. And I'm like, bro, he's a,

that's not how fantasy football trades fucking work. And when you and Tom are said this, I disagreed with you. I think it's a very valid and good point by you that there is a world where teams are going to be like, we know you got to get rid of someone. But if I were Vancouver, I'd go, get fucked, dude. No, I don't. Exactly. You don't know what the issue is. And yeah, we're shopping things. But I don't need to. to make this trade right now. I got this guy under contract and he has a no move. Like,

what are you talking about? So I'm like, and again, we don't know if that was exactly what the trade was. But frankly, anything like this, I'm like, what the hell are you doing?

You'd be, if you are anyone, I'm sure Rangers fans are mad, put yourself in the Vancouver Canucks shoes. The fan, I mean, sorry, a Vancouver Canucks fan. If you were a Vancouver Canucks fan and you get this back,

you can't sit there and go, wow, thank God. cup back on, baby, because it back off. It's still off, staying off. Dude, like, Heedle has 18 points in 37 games. He had six points in 10 games the year before that. He had 45 and 74, 22 and 67. 22 and 43 and 60. There's so many Rangers fans who are like, I mean, Heedle, Heel's amazing. And I'm like, Heel's a great player. He's a great player. We're talking about J.T. Miller. Like, what is going to? going on. And it sucks because... And it's also one of those things, sorry to interrupt, but

we talk about it all the time. New Day and 8, 31 is not old. That is at least four years of elite hockey left from this player. Yep. I just, I felt like I was, I felt like I was taking crazy pills for multiple reasons. I couldn't believe that JT was like, I'll go to the Rangers. I'm like, why? Well, and then on top of that, the fact that Van was about to accept that return, I was like, this is insanity. That's what I was going to say, obviously he was there. but I'm like, you must just have had a great time, love the city. And dude, for some reason, though, maybe not for some reason, maybe it's obvious. He just does seem like at this stage in his career, elite person who doesn't want to speak to anybody,

a perfect Ranger, where they're just like, he's like, I'm not talking to anybody. He's like, great, no problem, you're not allowed to. Yeah, you're going to fit in perfectly here. Just be quiet. He's like, great. So, it would work for that. It has been this funny constant, however, with Rangers fans where last year going into the deadline, They're like, we need to get, you know, we need to get this elite 45 goal score to add to the team at the deadline.

We need to make this trade. We need to get this person. We need to do that. Blah, blah, blah. People are talking about Crosby. They're like, I actually, some Rangers fans slid into our DM and was like, what about Crosby dude? Yeah. And I was like, I highly doubt Crosby's going to go to a metropolitan team.

Yeah. If at all, anywhere. And they were like, yeah, what do you think the return for that would be? And I'd be like, to get Sidney Crosby, that's going to cost you like. you know, your future. A combination of two first-round picks, Gabe Perot, blah,

and they were like, not pro. And I was like, you guys are so fucking delal. They're like, we need to make a huge trade, but Gay-Paro is untouchable. And I'm like,

well, then you're not making a huge trade. Exactly. Like, what the fuck are we talking about? Let's just skip over to the town over, talk about the New Jersey Devils. Actually, a team where I think J.T. Miller should go. Yeah. It would fit perfectly.

That would be sick. The Devils are in a bit of a skid. Now, what's interesting is I think we've got a lot of teams here The Detroit Red Wings being one of them Go on a great run I think they're seven and seven three and oh Or something like that in their last 10 But they've lost two in a row and Red Wings fans are losing their fucking minds

We're here to remind everyone all the people in the fan bases right now Teams lose games Game of runs too Yeah, losing two, three in a row is not a skid Like everyone calm down It's like I feel like the Bruins broke the record two years ago And everyone was like this If our team loses more than 15 games in a season, you're a fucking failure.

Everyone relax, first of all. However, Devils, being as great as they are, two, five, and three in their last 10, they're on the two game losing streak, a couple of losses that they probably shouldn't have had. Yep. I want to talk about the Devils for a second. I have said a number of times.

People hit us up on Hockey Talk Sunday. We talk to people on the road. They say, what should the devil's expectations be? This is a team that unexpectedly made the playoffs two years ago, beat the Rangers in the first round, and then lost in the second round. Then last year, completely backslid. Yep.

Missed the playoffs. And now people have heard me say multiple times, the devil's goal should be going to the Stanley Cup. Agree. That does not mean cup or bust. It does not mean they need to win the cup. I'm saying their goal should be, let's get to the cup.

Well, yeah. If you lose it, yeah, but. Yeah, obviously. But I'm saying if they lose in the second round, That's not me saying a failure. It's me saying like they should have the mindset of we should get there. Why? Because I look at the East and aside from Florida and Washington, sorry, Carolina,

I really don't think the East is that strong this year. I really don't. Okay. I think that's disrespectful to Toronto. Toronto's very, very good. Tampa is very good. Carolina is very good. But I don't think these teams are like juggernauts.

And Florida, even though we know they are going to be that in the playoffs, isn't appearing, isn't juggernautting themselves right now. Yes, really only the caps are. I am operating that they're doing what Vegas has done in the last several years. So to me, I'm like, the devils are really good.

Markstrom's been great. They have really good pieces to make a trade here at the deadline or before. So I'm like, they should have a good, serious goal here. What's weird about the devils being two, five, and three in their last ten. They are third in the NHL in power play.

They're 10th in penalty kill. They're fifth in goals against average. 15th in goals for per game. That's the issue we'll get to. Seventh in save percentage. So they're getting really good goal. That's not just Marks. I know.

I know. I know. Bottom six scoring started off hot is absolutely killing them now. Again, something like 15th in goals four per game. If you watch this team, first of all, they take nights off like no, these guys. It's fucking nuts. Like you watch them, that game they fucking beat up on the Rangers.

I was like, this is awesome, but then they come back and they lose to the range. Yes. They take nights off like nothing I've ever seen. And, yeah, the bottom six is absolutely brutal. And I look at their D-Corps, and pull up daily face off. Shout out the boys' Daily Face Off. But pull up their line combos. Their D is Dougie, Peshy, Luke Hughes, Seagenthaler, Dylan, I think, and Kovicevich is the Sixth Man.

you've got Simone Nemich. Yep. Who's pissed. I can't believe. Rightfully so. And you've also got Seamus Casey. And then who's the fucking kid they just drafted? Just look that up right now.

They're 2024 draft pick. I don't know why I'm spacing on that. But like I talked about, this team, dude, has like so much flexibility with those guys on the back end. Who is it? Salia. It was Saliav, dude. That's right. Yeah.

Like the, the probably, I think going into that draft, he was like the second or third ranked defenseman. And then he fell and we were like, are the devil's going to take another demon? And they took saliva. And I'm like, Jesus Christ. So they've just got all of these pieces, frankly to the point where I'm like,

you can't have this many D guys. Yeah. You got to do something. And I just look at those line combinations that middle six is like, you could add a, you could add an Al. tuck. You could add a Brock Nelson. You could add a granny, something like that. Some guy that's going to get you 30, 35, 40 goals. I know, dude. God. And all of a sudden, your third line is

buzzing. Like, Mercer is playing on that third line. Like, he gets going more if you get a really solid player in that third line. Yep. Like, what's Mercer? Yeah, Mercer 10, 11, 21, and 49 games. And it's just, it is two, five, and three in your last 10 in this stage of the season is a point where I'm like, don't slip too much. Yes. And I know you're not saying a good team. Yeah, we both think they're completely fine. Yeah.

But it's like these are the, it's these skids, Dan, don't cost you, um, the season. But what they do do is they shine a light on future problems. Yeah. Or even your weaknesses like in season. That's what I mean.

Where I'm like, hey, this is what you got to show up. That's what you can learn from these kids. Steer, steer into the skin, dude. 100%. I was talking to Pasha about it today. What, what's, looking at it, a team that I think is really fun and exciting. And I love that addition of

Markstrom. I love the addition to Pesci. I hate to say it, but they look exactly like the Boston Bruins of the last 10 years. Like, oh, great, you got two unbelievable lines. Like Jack Hughes, you're one of the best players in the world, unbelievable. You get into the playoffs, you start playing really good teams and they just match up their best shutdown lines against your only two lines. And then you go, ah, we can't score anymore. Pausing the pod for a second, talk to you guys. guys about Soco with its original blend of fruits and spices it is the OG ready for anything spirit and you can mix it with anything you just got to find your comfort zone baby listen something you can have it on its own you can do a little OJ you can do a little lemonade I'm a Dr. Pepper guy

Dr. Pepper's having a moment I'm a diet Dr. Pepper and Soco guy it's unbelievable because it gets me going pre hockey games it gets me going post games up at the bar or having parties on the weekends I even bring them on the golf course so my Soco specialty I found my comfort zone we are challenging you to find your comfort zone. So go out there and get yourself some Soco, mix it with whatever you feel like, find the best blend, the best concoction you can come up with, and then send it to us because we want to hear about it. And we're going to rate the best ones we're hearing, and we're going to shout them out on future pods. So if you know I'm in my comfort zone, I want to see you and your comfort zone and find the perfect Soco cocktail for you.

That is a fucking problem. And you've got to get ahead of it. And you have to. And you can, though. You have the pieces. Some people don't have the pieces to do it. Yes. Speaking of pieces, huge, huge addition Coming back into one of the lineups on the West Team that's making a lot of noise this year That was a bit unexpected Drew Dowdy Is officially back at practice for the L.A. Kings

Drop the video, he's skating around in a non-contact jersey He's not back just yet But he is practicing participating, skating with the boys He's flexing it, dude I saw some real good ankle extension Oh yeah, he is dude And like we've said, he's told us he's like, it fucking feels better than that.

Yeah. And he looks amazing buzzing around out there. This is a monster ad, the L.A.K. You said it before the season started. Like, that's your in-season pickup. And I bet I'm not saying they won't make more moves or be trying to make more moves as the deadline approaches, but that is a monster in-season pickup.

Oh, yeah, dude. Right now you've got Mikey Anderson and Vlad Gavrikov playing together, Edmondson and Brandt Clark, and you got Spenny and Moe. really good defensive core and if Mo drops out and is your, you know, Mo plays in the left,

Dewey plays in the right, but Dewey's going to be right back on the right side of that first line. Yep. It's very, very exciting to think that you are adding Drew Dowdy to this first line pairing as well as your power play.

And also you've seen the way Brant Clark has taken over the role that Dewey plays. You can now put Dewey on the wing playing power play and you get this power play. And you get this power. play, which is I think currently sitting 29th in the NHL.

Ooh, great staple. Horrible. That pumps way up and you get Dewey now shooting the puck, maybe getting some One T's sitting in an office, something he's never really done in his career. He loves one T's. All of a sudden, he starts scoring a ton. It's really, really exciting.

This is a team, too, that I look at their line situation. You've got your Fiala Dino, Trevor Moreline, that's been a little quieter this year. if you injected something into this lineup, Tanner Jeannot playing a bit of second line right now. Maybe Tanner bumps down to the fourth line. You pick up a middle six guy. Get some goal scoring, maybe a power play guy, like we said.

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Find an agent today at Dejardin.com slash business coverage Yeah, 16. All of a sudden the already very exciting kings Add Drew Dowdy And then maybe you add something at the deadline Dude, it's pretty cool stuff It's extremely cool.

It's a monster ad because he's not only a wildly talented Hall of Fame player but he is he is one of the pillars of that team. Obviously he's a locker room guy. Anyone that's seen a Kings game or seen him in videos, whether it be ours or anybody knows

how fun and funny he is. But that, and like Brownie, obviously, quickie when they were there. I'm not diminishing anything they do. But it was often said about the bees, for example, Bergeron's, the straw that stirs that drink.

Copie is, the guys rave about him at his ability as a hockey player at his age. It's fucking insane what he's doing up there. But it's, I view the Kings as like, they need the two of them. You know, like, Copey is like, not Captain Serious Jonathan Taze, but he's like, I'm a professional. I'm a professional hockey player. And this is what we are here to do. And then Dewey's like this. This is the most fun I've ever had in my life. Dude. And those two concoctions put together, allah a Julio Rojotoro, Toro, create something special, the likes of which the world has never seen. Correct, dude. I think it's one of the great

leadership group combinations in NHL history. It's like John Terry and Frank Lampert. Yeah, wow, what a fucking reference. Such beautiful, beautiful combinations of the two of them. Talking about the excitement of the kings, dude, it made me think, how have we seen

a more mutually beneficial trade in the last 10 years than Kemper for a PL? Dude, no. Did we talk about this last step? I don't know if we did, did. I think I definitely talked about it on hockey talk. Maybe we talked about it, but like PL, like we said, PL's getting paid in my opinion to make something around or pot something around 80 points.

Like he's supposed to be a first, second line center. He is currently on pace for something around 60, 62 points, 15 goals. But he's got 828 for 36 and 46. He's a plus 15. And he also, him and Jacob Chikrin, two probably the two biggest ads for that team. I think in the last month, month, month and half are leading the caps and points. Dude. Like, it's just unbelievable. And then Kemper, dude, not so quietly in 23 games is 13, 4, and 5 with a 2.10 goals against at a 920% percentage.

Like, he's a fucking certified starting goal. It's wild. It's just the best trade I've ever seen. And Drew was talking to us about that where I was like, yeah, you know, you kind of really need that from Kemp's if you're going to, if you guys are going to be serious contenders this year. And he was like, I think we're going to get it. But I was like preseason, dude.

And I was like, okay. And then now he's a fucking wall. Absolutely insane, dude. So, huge, huge addition that's going to be added to this Kings team that's right there in the mix. Dude, the Pacific is tight. Yes, dude. Tight, tight, tight with Vegas, Edmonton and the Kings right now. Do you, if you're the Kings right now and you're getting Dewey back and you're getting better goaltending than you've had probably in the last few years, are you, what is your confidence level from zero to 100 to 100?

to 100? From zero to 100, your confidence level on we can beat the Oilers in the playoff series. 65 to 70. Why? I think this team is better than last year's team. Absolutely. Better than last year's King's team.

Yes. I think this Edmonton team is worse than last year. And listen, the Oilers are buzzing right now. I think that they're worse, dude. That might be stupid, but I really think that Dry and Connor are carrying them right now more than they ever have. and I think Skinner is on a hot streak right now and wouldn't you know

that's exactly what Skinner does every fucking year yeah he's a streaky goalie he's a streaky goalie. They got the best as Wish told us as Wish said on this very show they got the best two weeks of Skinner's life during the playoffs last year and it only took them to game seven loss

in the finals and I my stance I'm with you on the Oilers in general like my stance is still they did just at Klingberg so they're not quite a yeah but they're not quite a, of course they're a cup team.

Of course. They proved that last year they could win the cup. Of course. They're not my pick to win the cup. No. They're amazing. I don't want Oilers fans to mistake. This is me talking shit.

And again, that's 65 to 70 out of 100. It's a bit of blind confidence. But what am I going to say? Under 50? No. Like if you're the Kings, you can't be like this. We've got a less than 50% chance. You have to be confident.

And I think there's elements of it that are blind confidence. But I think what about you, the hockey analyst? truly, dude. The playoffs started tomorrow. Boom. King's Oilers. Or I guess, give the gun to me back. If you put a gun to my head, I would say the Oilers win that series.

But it would take the gun. Yeah, fair. Like, I genuinely, if they got matched up and Oilers fans are like, get ready, L.A., we're going to fucking, I'd be like, oh, you are sorely mistaken. I really don't. Dude, this King's team is hard to score against. Yes. Hard to score against.

They're pissed. They're pissed. You're also adding Drew Dowdy. Everyone's pissed. That's the anger series, dude. It's coming. Canceles out. It actually turns into the most powder puff series.

They actually love each other. Ridiculous. All right, let's move on to some other stuff. All right, we're going to get into a little bed-em-j-j-ad odds match. Let's do it. Okay. Did this last step. Did not go that well.

Yeah, we humiliated ourselves again. Yeah. Let's see if we can do it. Yep. For yet another time. This time, we are matching these five teams with their odds to win the Eastern Conference. Win the Eastern Conference. Yep.

We've got the Islanders, Rangers, Blue Jackets, Flyers, and the Penguins. And for the odds, we have plus 4,000, plus 2,000, plus 10,000, plus 15,000, plus 8,000. Okay, Dan. Okay. I think the Islanders got to be worse. They have to be 15. gotta be the worst. They're in dead last. Okay, so I like where your head's at on that one. And then next, very interesting, dude. Like, this is, this is a tough, I know, tough board.

Tough board, dude. Like, who do we like the most here? The, well, I like what Wags has done here. He picked all, like, none of the horses. Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. You've got all lame ducks. it's got to be like who's the 2000 the penguins like they're they're one point out of a wild wild card spot or the blue jackets damn like they're they're like in a wild card's yeah the blue jackets are the best team here uh the fact that someone is 2,000 yeah versus 4,000 is very interesting you know and I'm sure like the the caps are like plus 300. You know, like they, I'm sure that like they're, yeah. So I would go blue jackets or penguins. I like blue jackets, honestly. Yeah. Which is interesting, but I, I think Rangers are next.

You think Rangers are 4,000? The Rangers have been over the penguins, really good, really good recently. And I think that they're surging in the league. No, like the Rangers won. They were the president's trophy winner last year. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So they're like, oh, they're back. Honest to God, I wouldn't be surprised if Rangers are won here. That'd be crazy. All right, let's go Rangers 4,000. We're going to go Blue Jackets 2,000, Rangers 4th. Then, yeah, I think we go, uh, penguins, penguins, 8,000. Or, yes. Yeah.

And we're going flyers, 10,000, and 15,000 for the blue jackets. Okay, so wags, we have, or for the Islander, sorry. So wags, we're going blue jackets, 2,000, Rangers 4,000, penguins, 8,000, flyers 10,000, Islanders, 15,000. You have two correct. Which ones? That's not bad, Dan. That's not bad.

Pretty good. You have the flyers and penguins. Okay. So the flyers and penguins are correct. So 10,000 and 8,000 is locked. All right, Chris, what I want to do is go Rangers 2000. Okay, so we go Rangers 2000. And then...

And then... Damn, Islanders. Fourth out? No. That can't be right. It... Does it have to be right mathematically? I mean, we've got only three left.

So, yeah, we're going to go. No, no. Why don't we... We're going to do the blue jackets dirty here, dude. The blue jackets are 15,000. They're in the wild card spot. They're the only team on this list who are in the playoffs. Are we being nuts?

But is that what has to happen? Maybe the blue jackets. We just had the blue jackets as one. We just had blue jackets at two, Rangers at four. Yeah, and now we're doing Rangers. And we have to switch all three of those. Correct. So we're going Rangers.

But if you put Rangers at two... We could do... Why don't we go like this? We're going to go Rangers. 15,000. Okay. We're going to go Islanders 4,000, blue jackets, too. No, blue jackets were two.

So Islanders. There's literally no way. There's absolutely no way. There's absolutely no way. I'm telling you it's Rangers 2000. Okay. It's going to be Islanders 4,000 and Blue Jackets 15, which is, that is insane. I agree, but that's what we're doing.

All right, Wags. Rangers 2,000, Islanders 4,000, blue jackets, 15,000. You guys got them all right. Unbelievable. Vegas is on some ayahuasca, dude. Rangers are coming all the way back to win the Eastern Conference. The Blue jackets are falling off a fucking cliff. They're in the playoffs, dude.

They're falling off a cliff. Oh, my God, dude. That's insane. Unbelievable. That is ridiculous. Let's get into more ridiculousness. All right, it's Beer League hotline time. Wags hit us.

I play in a middle division beer league. The other night, my team is up 4-1 with 45 seconds left. No. We get a two-on-one, and I get past. the puck, but instead of shooting, I skate it down to my end and stop behind the net to run out the clock. The other team is livid, calling me everything possible. One guy tries to fight me, which I declined, but he takes my stick out of my hand and throws it across the ice. Just curious, is there some code I violated or did I pull a scumbag move? I had no idea where this was going. I thought,

when he said, my team's up four and one with 45 seconds left, I said no, because I thought he was going to say, for sure they lost. Oh, oh. I was going to be like how in the world Not possible I thought he was going to say He bottle service the guy And then got into a line brawl That would be a scumbag move

Yes That I feel like would be worthy Of getting your stick tossed across the ice Not shooting I think is Dude I actually man I don't mind The late shots in Beer League

I know people get pissed about that But I'm like Whatever bro It's a two on one It's fucking you guys are in the C league Like he's trying to go on fucking goal Go home to the old lady you'd tell her he had one, dude.

Yeah. Also, who gives a fuck? Four to one's not a thumping. Yeah, you thought they could lose. You thought they could lose. Yeah.

You're not, you don't need to be pulling shots in a four one game. So I do think you're, you're being a bit insulting by being like, dude, we're beating up on you so bad that I can't even shoot. However, ridiculous reaction.

Yes. But did, is there anything to that he went all the way back? Like, if he doesn't shoot that, if that puck comes across, he just takes it and plays it into the corner or whatever. Yeah.

And then just skates back to his bench because they're running out the time. I don't think they freak. But maybe it was the like skating, looping it all the way back to your end. I mean, he clearly caught this pass in the ozone with like a good look at net and then. And then whipped around and skated all the way down to the other end and parked down. Which makes you wonder like, why were you even going? Why are you even going down the off way if you were not going to shoot it? Yeah.

All right. I'm starting to see the scumbaggery. Why were you even there, dude? I'm starting to see the scumbaggery. Why did you get set up in the office if you were going to go work from home? Stick at midnight, dude. Stick at midnight.

Then you went back behind your own net. You shouldn't have been there, dude. However, you shouldn't have been there. I still think they overreacted. They definitely did. Because, dude, we like run the clock. Like if there was a whistle in our games, dude, if someone's up 4-1 and there's like a face-off

with 30 seconds off, I'd just go, let's get out of here. So they shouldn't have tried to fight him. I think where I'm netting out on this. this is this is a message from your uncle bill yeah if you are winning by anything less than six fire away shoot it fire away shoot it six plus ease up maybe relax a bit but you do not need to be wheeling back behind your own net do so potentially to help our to help our friend actually You know what? Potentially that is an unwritten rule.

Potentially you did violate a code that I didn't even know about Till this question. You know what? That might be a code. These guys overreacted. You are an asshole. Can't go behind your own net. You cannot. Like what I'm thinking about it, it's like, dude, just catch the pass and like snap it around.

Like, what were you doing, skating it down to your own end and making a cup of tea behind the net? That was a crazy move. I am now seeing it. Again, they overreacted. Other team, you guys need to calm down. Good job declining the fight. But that was a douche move. Yep.

There is a code. I didn't know that. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Hey, you've taught us something today. Now I'll never do that. No.

Can't. Beautiful stuff. Let's get into some powers rankings. Ranking the top five teams in the league this past week. This episode of the Empty Niders podcast is brought to you by Better Help. Guys, it is the start of a new year, which means we have an unreal canvas of 365. new days for you to write your own story and be the best version of yourself and better help is creating a great way for you to do that better help is providing you strictly online therapy sessions which means

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Write your story with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash Netters. again and you're going to get 10% off that first month. That's BetterHelp help.com slash netters. We've got some games that are happening tonight. I know, I know, I know. But let me hit you with some teams. I think, Chris, I am right now sitting here prepared to say that the Edmonton Oilers are number

one. Dude, what are you talking about? The Edmonton Oilers are eight and two in their last 10, and they almost completed a picture perfect trip. I know. before losing a tight one to Vancouver. Edmonton is number one, I believe. But we got the stars

who are 7, 3 and 0 in their last 10. They've been good, dude. Looking great. They've been like really good. Putting it together, big win over Detroit, kind of stopping Detroit's train. The Canadians are 7-2 and 1. You always want them in, dude.

I'm so glad Tomer would be like fucking peepy whacked you when you were like, how about the half? But they're 7-2-1 in their last 10. They just won maybe the game of the year against New York. I know, but they are not. Yeah, what a good game that was. Unbelievable.

But they're not the top five best team in the league. Right now. They might be. They might be. The caps are 70 and 3 in their last 10. Yeah, I think we have to go. They're on a four-game winning street, and the Leafs are 7-3-0 in their last 10 on a two-game. I think we have to go caps one.

No, Edmonton is one. Dude, the caps haven't lost in regulation. Chris, Edmonton against all odds has chased down Vegas, and they are eight and two in their last 10. Edmonton is one, you idiot buffoon. They've lost in regulation. The caps are 7-0 and 3. Don't care. They can't even get beat, dude.

Fine. Oilers 1, caps 2. Yep. Leif's, I think, three. Maybe stars, though. Oh, I'm happy with that. I'm happy with that. I think maybe star.

The Leafs did if my memory serves just got a really, I mean, they're playing right now, are they not? Yeah, I think so. What's the score of that game? Let me check that right now, because they're playing. as we speak, or they just wrapped up, they won 5-3 against Tampa. That's a good win.

So they're actually going to be like, okay, maybe give me Leif's 3. Yeah, it might be, dude. It might be. Okay, so it would be Leifes 3, Stars 4. Yeah, so we're going to go, Edmonton Caps, Leif's Stars. But the Stars did just tag the Leafs for one.

Oh, the other night in Toronto. Oh. I'm back on Stars 3. You won't have to give it to me because I gave you the fuck-out Oilers first. You did. Edmonton 1, Caps 2, Stars 3, Leifes 4. And then now it's complicated. Yeah.

Well, the Rangers are 6, 1, and 3 in their last time. That sounds like you. That sounds like you. They haven't lost in regulation in the year of 2025. What about the Rangers? Bet MGM has the plus 2,000. What about the Rangers? They're going to win the Eastern Conference.

Maybe the Rangers are in the top. Did you say that last tweet with the Caps record? Actually, that was a really good tweet. Someone was clapping back at him, but it was like in 2023, the Caps, or sorry, the Panthers, the cats were 21, 20, and whatever on like the same date that the Rangers were 21 and 20 and whatever. And then you just sneak in the playoffs. You know, hockey's weird. You get eight seed can take anybody.

So season, and I'm not even chirping right now. I thought it's great season ain't over at all. Yeah, it is crazy. Yeah, it is crazy. Well, the key difference for me is the Panthers had absolutely no business being that. bad. And they're filled with star players. And they inserted Bob. Yeah. I mean, they have Chesdy though, so like he could do that. Yeah. Yeah. Season ain't over. But no, it's not the Rangers at five. I don't want to do one of the Canadians or Blue Jackets, even though it's, they're, it's so fun.

At some point, like if next week these teams are another version of 7-2-1 or whatever, then we have to go, it's been three straight weeks, dude. Maybe they are. Yeah. But I'll let it sit for one more week. I would say Colorado is interesting here? They are interesting to me because they, they are scary. Like they, that team, I'm like, they are, but they are the most. They run on Nate, dude. Yeah, that's funny.

Like Nate and Kale. And if one of them goes down, it's similar to Edmonton. Like, if one of Connor or Leon goes down, I'm like this, you are dead. Dude, I felt so bad for Bouchard on that Nate goal because it's like, it's like, it's like, Nate tries to go between his legs. He kicks it. He gets him. Like he blocks it, but then he just, Nate does it again.

You know, like, and then by then. But now you're in a kicking motion, so like you can't even turn. You're dead? I was like, oh, God. You're dead? Okay, fine. We don't like the canes here at all? I don't, I don't hate the canes.

The canes are 5, 3, and 2, and they haven't looked the best, their best version of themselves. Who do you like of Columbus or Montreal? Columbus. Columbus, definitely. Columbus is like, but what's interesting. Like Tampa is 5, 4 and 1, but Tampa is just a great, and like, even Florida, 5, 4 and 1. Yeah. So Florida.

my point. Those teams are better than the Blue Jack. Yeah. But I like giving people some love, dude. Blue Jack's been ripping. No, not yet. I actually like it. I'll go Colorado. Okay. Colorado rounds out of five. Edmonton, Washington, Dallas, Toronto, Colorado.

Fantastic. Starting six, started off at left wing with our boy. Flip Forrestburg, 11 points in his last five games, five game goal streak in which he has six goals. Absolutely tucking. Yeah. The Preds have won three straight, including wins against Vegas and Minnesota. Yeah.

We had our boy Chris Carlson, Texas, are his boys, the Preds back. And I just unfortunately said, they're playing very well. They are too deep in the muck, in the insane central, that there is no light. It's too little, too late. How far out of the wild card? Just for shits, are they? The second wildcar team is the Calgary Flan. I mean, there's so many teams.

You have to jump, which suck. Yeah. But it's like the flames have 51 points. And I know, I'm sorry, I always trash on the flames this year, but I still don't believe. And the pre-the- Yeah, God, they're 39. They're behind the ducks. I know, dude. Like, they have 39 points, dude.

Too little too late. I think it's too little too late. I fear it's too little too late. At center, Tom Osh, Hurtle. Nine points in his last five, dude. Vegas has lost four in a row and six of the last center, which is not good. But Hurtle has been all over. The points.

Are you worried about the Vegas? No, I kind of think this is what Vegas does. I did think that maybe this was a new era of like they were going to go wire to wire a little bit here. It's just like we are a wagon. But apparently they are just kind of taking a little break here. Extraction it out. They'll be all right. Right wing, give us David Posternak, 11 points in his last four, five goals.

He had three three point games in a row. B's going to need him because secondary scoring is just not coming. They don't have it and it's not coming. That loss to the Sends. I promise to give the Sends some love on the pod to a bunch of Sends fans, which I will do. Sends right now are in a wildcard spot. They're in the first wildcard spot with 52 points.

They've been really good. And from their perspective, a great win against Boston. Yeah. But I think Boston gave up two goals at the end of that game to let it get to a tie, which they then lost, one of which was with less than 20 seconds left in the game. Like how many fucking times you're going to do that, Boston Bruins?

you're a joke. But the Sends are scrappy, dude. And they're in and out. I love that team. Yeah. They're in and out of that playoff spot all day long. Very exciting to see. And like we said, dude, pissed off Brady.

Jealous Brady is like, you know, the Sends are just, they're playing well, dude. And like, you know, All Mark's getting back in the mix. Forsberg has been playing really, really well. If you're a Sence fan right now, you're happy. No doubt about it. Starting off with the D, we're going Victor Hedman. Six points in his last five.

two goals. He had seven blocks in his last two. Sick. That's how you get on this list, dude. And dude, that is why he is my Norris winner every year. Like, he is of all these guys that are getting the attention year after year, he is the guy who's scoring 70 points, but also doing it both ways. Yeah. He just remains the gold standard for me. He's absolutely insane. Right, D. Give us Roman Yosey seven points in his last five. Everything I said about the flip forceburg I'm saying about here. Three wins in a row.

The boys look good. Too little too late, unfortunately, but he's still in absolute stud. It had a great week. Yeah. And rounding it out at goalie, a guy maybe we haven't given enough flowers to this year. My boy.

Your boy, Logan Thompson, L.T. 4 and O in his last four starts, including two shutters, second in the league and goals against, third in the league and say percentage. He is having a preposterous season. Dude, and the re, Stollars. If he played more games,

he is in a Vesna conversation. Correct. And Hela Bucke. season is currently moronic. So, dude, like, it would take an act of God to unseat him at this point. But that's too bad because there's some really fun guys behind him in top categories. It's true. It's true.

Okay, Dan, you're ready to play a game? I sure am. Before we get out of here. This game is, we actually haven't played in a while because I got out of order, but this game is, what's the connection? For first timers, I ask Dan 10 trivia questions. he tries to guess the answers to all of them. The 10th question is simply,

what is the connection of the previous nine answers? So they'll all have to do with something, and then he has to try to get 10. Are you ready? Yeah. Question number one. Yeah. In the same way that major awards in the NHL

are sometimes named after players, like the Selkee Trophy, this player would be a good candidate to get the long-term IR named after him. And you can say, yeah. You should say your answers, but I'm not going to tell you if you're right. Mark Stone is my answer. That's your guess.

That's your guess, Stan. Yeah. Okay, question number two. Matt Zuccarella blocked a shot in an unfortunate place this season. Cracking his equipment in half and rupturing one of these. What is the slang word for this body part, a term that might also interest a squirrel? Nuts is my answer. My guess.

Okay. Okay, question number three. Any more brain busters, dude? You're going to give me one that makes me scratch my cranium a little bit? Question number three. This piece of NHL equipment used to be made of cotton, but the switch was made to nylon for a lighter feel. Sox.

Moving on. Question number four. With one Norris and one Khan-Smith, this first ballot hall of famer has been the cornerstone of a modern NHL dynasty, but many assumed he would never wear a sea on his sweater. That was until a very surprising free agent. move gave him the promotion. I was talking all that shit.

A little brain buster. Fuck you, Dan. You can pass. You can pass. No, no. I can read it again, too. No, a con smite. Oh, yeah, got it.

Victor Hedman is your guess. Yep. Number five. This Philly Netminder won rookie of the year and the Vesna and the Khan Smyth in his first year in the NHL when the Flyers lost to the Oilers in a seven-game series.

knowing his temper he probably didn't take it well. Yeah, now it's getting a little hard in here, Dan. Getting a little hot in here. This Philly Netminder won Rookie of the Year and the Vezna and the Kahn Smythe, for his only Vesna, by the way, in his first season in the NHL when the Flyers lost the Oilers in a seven-game series

for the Cup, knowing his temper, he probably didn't take it well. You can pass. Feel free to dig deep into the bowels of your brain. Philly Netmine. who won rookie of the year. And the Vesna and the Kahn Smythe. What a fucking season.

In a loss. Game 7 loss. Is this like we're going deep here? Like is this Hextal? You know since the Oilers won the Cup, it was not recently because... Yeah, yeah, yeah. No one from Canada wins the Cup. Ever.

Not allowed. You can have that in your holster. Yeah, I'm going to keep Hextall in my holster. Okay. Question number six. Yep. This OHL team wears the colors green, yellow, black, and white, and has produced many NHL superstars. They used to be called the Nationals before switching to their more medieval mascot that they used today.

London Knights is your guess. Is my guess. Number seven, at the SAP Center, players come out for warm-ups out of a giant one of these. A shark is my guess. I would even get more specific with your guess. A shark head? Great. If you want.

Question number eight. This is our one. A five-time All-Star and Stanley Cup champion, and one-time Stanley Cup champion during his 13 years with the flames. It wasn't until his second cup with the Red Wings that this goalie won his Con Smyth. Say it again? This is a tough one. Yeah.

A five-time All-Star, this person won the Stanley. cup during one of his 13 years with the flames. But it wasn't until his second cup with the Red Wings that this goalie won his Kahn Smythe. Red Wings Kansmithe goalie. I'm willing to go

slightly more specific in this one. A Red Wings Kansmite goalie that played for the Flames? 13 years. That's going to be oh, I know who that is. I think.

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Do that, do that, do that with Acrobat. Learn more at Adobe.com slash do that with Acrobat. Maybe I don't. I'm going to pass. Okay. I think that one you might get, um, when you get the connection.

Okay. That was eight, right? Yeah. Okay, number nine. What the fuck. In the 2011 first round, the Vancouver Canucks beat the dreaded Chicago Blackhawks in overtime of game seven when Alex Burroughs rifled home a slap shot.

Famously, this goal was said to allow the Canucks to blank a three-word expression. Fuck. We just talked about this. Yep. Uh, okay, Burroughs goal against the Blackhawks. He scored and said the Canucks, blank, a three-word expression. Yeah.

Which ones are you missing? Is it got over the hump? Over the hump? Nope. In that tone, though. You're in the right area, but it's much more, uh, majestic than that. Shit. And it's, I'll even tell you it's blank the blank.

Slade the dragon. That's what it was. Thanks. Very nice, Dan. Yeah. It was Slade the dragon. Okay, what are you missing? Okay, hold on.

Was eight? Yeah, no, it's just eight is the, eight you passed. Eight's the goalie. So number one, you have, you believe it's Mark Stone. Number two, you believe is nut. Number three, you believe is socks. Number four, you believe is Victor Headman. Number five, you believe is Ron Hextall.

Ron Hextall, thank you. And then London Knights, Shark Head. Number six, you believe is London Knights. Number seven, you believe is Shark Head. number eight is a pass and number nine is slated dragon. So I believe I know what it is. Number 10 is what is the connection?

Yeah. And you think you have the connection, Dan? I think I do. I believe the connection is Harry Potter. Why do you think that? Well, I'm thinking Sorcerer's Stone with Mark Stone. I'm thinking Dobby with socks. I'm thinking Victor Crum with Victor Headman.

I'm thinking Hex with Ron Hextall. Or? or famously Ron or Ron Weasley London Knights I'm just thinking it could be London or Knights frankly a shark head is also what Victor Crum uses

when swimming around looking for Hermione slaying a dragon there are dragons in that very same book and nut and oh a nut is a piece of money

so eight is going to be a goalie that won a Stanley Cup with the fucking Red Wings. In the late 90s. So that's the 1990s. Yes. But to my knowledge, that's Chris Osgood. And I just feel like Chris Osgood did not play for the Flames.

You're correct. Actually, I don't know if Chris Osgood ever played for the Flames. Let me look that up. So if... I don't want to besmirch the Good Flames name in case they ever had... If it's the 1998... Detroit Redwood. Chris Osgood, no.

The goalies on that team were Chris Osgood. I think Kevin Hodson was on that team. This goalie won cons might. Yeah, like, what is happening, dude. When I was getting this clue, I was like, this is a tough one because you won't, this guy is not top of mind at all. Well, as a fucking, you know, self-proclaimed, uh, Red Wings fan, like, I gotta get this. Correct. It's the 96-97 team for what it's worth.

Okay. They won the chip, and you won a Con Smythe, and then he was promptly shipped out of town. And I got to relate it. Can you give me a hint on what is the Harry Potter thing? It is a character's name. But the last name of the player is the first name of a Potter character. Okay. A goalie on the 97 cup.

Mike Vernon. Mike Vernon, Dersley. Mike Vernon did. Shit. Very good, Dad. Very good. Wow. Mike Vernon Dersley, dude.

Wow. Okay, so Mark Stone, nuts, socks, Victor Headman, Ron Hextall, London Knights, Shark Head, Mike Vernon, Slade, the Dragon. Harry Potter is the connection. Bingo. That is really, really good. Fantastic stuff. Great, great stuff. Great game. Great episode. That is it for us here at the Empty Natters podcast. I am Dan Powers. I will see you next week. So will Chris Powers. And until we do that. You know what to do? Skate hard.