Empty Netters Podcast - The Leafs Lose Another Game 7, Time To Blow It Up | LIVE.EP12

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

The boys go live for their 12th episode of puckline news, breaking down all the action from last night's NHL Playoffs. NEW EPISODES EVERY TUESDAY & THURSDAY! 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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beautiful sunny morning here in sunrise, Florida, aka Los Angeles here at the Empty Netters Studio for our Monday live show of Puckline News, brought to you by BetMGM covering all of the playoffs. We had another crazy weekend in hockey and a wild, if not predictable, if not devastating, if not glorious game last night up in Toronto. Holy shit, we've got the Eastern Conference.

Finals locked. We've got the Western Conference Final locked. And we're ready to rock here. I cannot believe you wore an elbow room t-shirt to this. It is actually the most fucked thing I've ever seen in my whole life that you would do that. Dude, we have honest, good, hardworking lease fans in this chat.

We do, dude. And I love them. Is Jack here? I love them and I feel for them. I actually wouldn't be surprised if Jack doesn't show up today. I love them and I feel for them. Oh no, Jack's here, dude. Jack's here. I love them and I feel for them. But at the end of the day, I made my bed.

I was on, I've been on the Panthers train for two straight years. And then I got horny about Tampa. And I issued an apology and Katz Nation brought me back in. And we are on, we try to be as unbiased as possible. Show love everywhere we can. We did that to Toronto. But I did pick the cat. So I'm going to, I'm going to show my, my Panthers fan some love.

And dude, just to be clear, this is how fucked this is. That's my shirt that you just want. And I had to buy this shirt last year because before game... Yeah, what happened? I think it was before game seven. It was. We did a pregame with all the chicklets boys at elbow room before we took the bus to the rink. And I put my fucking game seven outfit on and whatever.

And it was so fucking... Oh yeah, you just sweat through it. I was sweating through my game shirt. So I had to buy this on the spot and wear it at elbow room and then carry it with me till the game when I can put my game shirt back on and then kept that forever, obviously. and then you wanted to fucking rub it in so hard today. No, it's not,

I'm not rubbing it in. I'm just, I'm showing love to, to Florida. That's all, that's it. Yeah. That's it.

That's all it is. So, folks, we've got a, we've got a little bit of a run down here. Do we have the ticker going? We've got a run down here. We're going to get into the Jet Stars series first.

Then we will start talking about, we've got a Texas Star's picture up there. Nice. So we'll then get into the Florida series. But first, Dallas, Jets, Game 6, in Dallas, crazy, crazy scenes. Yep. Dallas moves on. But let's break this game down a little bit, CP.

Dude, let's say this. We have so much to say about the Mark Schifley situation. Yes. So we're just going to ignore that for a second and talk about the game. And then we have a lot to address about that. that was yet again a great hockey game this whole series has just been fantastic um and i i said do you remember we did i pick dallas and six i think maybe we both did um yes i believe so i think that was i think that was the pick actually um and then after watching

game one i was like i actually hope these i hope this goes seven because it would just be so awesome because every game's been amazing and this one was too and it didn't feel like who had said it to us oh JD Jada Widenadee was like Winnipeg has been brutal on the road and I was like they kind of played well

in game four they lost game four but they they had a lot of jump they outshots that Dallas Big Ten just audits them in his head and then I thought they came out in this game and then did the same thing Dan like they weren't they they weren't getting crushed in this game by any means it wasn't like one of those Dallas games you're like oh shit By any means.

This was a good game. Yep, exactly. So to see, and you're nervous. Like, I forget when I said it, but I was like, if you lose this game, and it's a low-scoring game and you're Dallas, and then you're going back home where Hellie isn't given up a goal in two fucking games,

you now go, oh, we are done. We're in big trouble. And as this was shaping up to be a low-scoring game, I think Dallas was like, oh, like, Hondo P. Actually, we might be in big trouble right now. You know, this Dallas team is very solid. They're very confident, and I believe that they think they can win every single game,

and they're sure a shit going to need that going against Edmonton. But you're right. We both said, if it is a low-scoring game, if Winnipeg can steal another one here and steal it in Dallas, you go home, and we were like, Jets will win. Yeah. Jets will win this series. So when Jets went up, won nothing, I was like, holy shit, dude, Jets are going to win. Like, if they're going to take this game, they're going to win this series.

That's how it feels. But Dallas locked in. They got their goal. But I do want to talk about Mark Shifley that you brought up. Yep. The night before the game, Mark Shifley's dad passed away. Obviously, absolutely devastating. We don't know the details of what happened.

But a lot of weight being carried around by Mark Shifley in that game. You saw all of the Jets players rallying around him and saw a lot of unbelievable gestures from the Stars players on the ice before the game, as well as from Stars fans. I do want to give some stick taps. There were a lot of $55. donations being made. Incredible, dude. To a foundation connected to Mark Shifley, which is just obviously a beautiful thing.

And it's tough to play a game like that. So tough to play a game like that. But Mark Shifley does. And of course, first goal of the game scored by Mark Shifley. Dude, it's one of those, this, we're in a simulation moments, right? Where I'm just like, this is too perfect, too scripted. It's unbelievable. It was also, the news, I think it was Elliot's tweet,

maybe that first kind of broke it to the hockey world. Yeah. But the news hit so fast in my cycle that I assumed it was, Mark Sheffley's dad's been sick for months and like the whole team knew and, you know, he was on his last legs or something like that, but that's not the case. And again, we don't know the details yet, but that's not the case at all. The report is unexpectedly. So to, to, I think he's always going to play.

I think, you know, like this is such a moment. It's a dream. And everything he said was right about how. this is a coping mechanism, it's what his dad would want it. But the unexpectedly makes it an actual massive factor. The fact that you get that news that morning, and like, not just Mark, the whole team. The whole team is dealing with the reverb of that news.

Yeah. And then to have them go out there and have the play the way they did and have him get the opening goal was like, I've announced that I was a rocket man and I have never been more rocket fueled than when he scored there. I was like, oh my God. It was a, it was a goosebumps moment. I mean, the second that puck, you saw that,

that puck bounce out, you saw a shife in front of the net, and I was like, oh my God, do it. Yeah. And he scored, and it was just like, you know, I had goosebumps all over my body, just full chill. It got emotional for sure. Like, I genuinely was tearing up watching the game in a bar. And I was like, this is insane. And you just, you know, you love that. Yeah, look at it.

Hannah in the chat says 55,000 was raised for True North Foundation in the 24 hours after the news broke. Like, that's hockey fans being incredible. So, yeah, man. it was a special, special moment. We were talking to Osh about it, and he was talking after his dad passed away. He had a similar situation, similar game and performance. And it's almost like you got that extra strength from your dad.

I thought it was really cool, actually, that Osh sent that text because he lived it, right? He went right through it and just hearing him be like, I would have bet my mortgage on a Shifley anytime goal today, just because, like, God. special. Once once the dust settles on this series, on that game, on everything for him, he will cherish that goal for the rest of his life.

No doubt about it. So that game, second period, Shifley goal, Stam Steele gets his first of the playoffs, ties it up. We get a scoreless third, and we go into O.T. Listen, we both picked the Dall Stars. I can't say enough good things about the Dallas Stars. And we talked about this series was brutal for us. Yeah, yeah. You're a rocket man.

We're also Rocket Men on the other side. And I've been loving Dallas all year. Early in, you can go back to the Twitter early in the year in like November talking to Dallas fans, having a blast, enjoying that community and enjoying this team. And here they are after like so many people, preseason talks, a lot of shit talk on the stars of just like, it's not up or shut up time. Here you go. Here they are again. Western Conference Final again. But we knew. this series was going to be tough because we just love both of these teams. So are we happy the Stars won? Yes, but are we sad?

The Jets lost, yes. Just a brutal series. But the dagger of Shifley in the box for this goal was so not needed. Like, of all the fucking things in this game and in this series that everyone wanted, I am certain, because we've seen some of the response, a lot of Stars fans, we're happy to see their team advance. And they're like, I hate that it happened that way. That just sucked.

I, it was, it also, this is another thing that all happened so fast, but it was, the thing that sucks is it was Shifley's shot. Like, he kind of tried to wheel around and get one in. It gets blocked. He takes off after it. And then in that moment, I wish he hadn't gotten the shot block, but then in that moment, I'm actually not sure what else he's supposed to do because you're kind of, you're about to give up a breakaway.

And he, it wasn't, sometimes you just see the blatant trip. He dove intending to not trip him, obviously. He was like, I think, I can maybe get, I think I can, like, needle through here and get the pocket. And then it's a trip. And then, Dan, to be completely honest, I'm not sure how that wasn't a penalty shot. I think they're being like, well, I forget who was coming off the other side, maybe Pionk or somebody was like, oh, he's going to angle him.

But I was like, I think if that's not 14 seconds left of a game six playoff game, that's a penalty shot. Yeah. Because I was like, oh, oh, oh, no, oh, no. We've talked about a million times, too. A new rule we'd like to institute in the NHL is when there's a penalty shot team should be able to elect to take the penalty shut or the power play. Yeah, right.

I think there's a lot of teams that would be like this. I want the power play. Yeah, right. So the, yeah, depending on who you got. Yeah. But that, when they call the penalty, and I kind of see it shifely, agree with you.

I don't care who you're rooting for in that game. Even the biggest stars fans in this chat, I feel like you have to go, please don't score on this power play. Honestly. Win the game. Indimately, please don't score it. Please don't score it.

And then to have them get, I forget what the clock was, but there was like three seconds left in the penalty. Yeah. I actually think, I think it was. It was just about out. They got that last clear.

Like the stars were literally looping it back into the zone that one time. And then they just like, puck gets in the corner, the loose track of Harley sounded out front and all of a sudden bang. Yeah, he took a penalty with 15 seconds left in the third.

And then Steele, or Harley scored a minute 33 in. Yeah. So like, it was like 10 seconds. So the, after this, and I promise we'll get to all, the credit that the stars deserve, which is awesome. But I, like, watching Adam Lowry go into

the penalty box, because like, Shifley couldn't even get out of the box. Oh my God, dude. Watching Adam Lowry go into the penalty box to give him a hug. And then his teammates coming up, hellabuck, giving him hugs. And then the guys in the handshake line, there's been a million, how many times have you seen it online already of the Jamie Ben two, two days apart? Like literally punch in the face, $5,000 fine. Hugging at center ice. First in line, five minute conversation. about how much he means to the game and everything. Compound that with the post games. I don't know if everybody saw all of them,

but I watched the Pionk and Lowry one where Lowry is literally crying. Dude, I was, you were talking about being in a bar, I was so emotional during that. I borderline had to turn them off. I was like, I'm going to watch these later. Oh, it was awful. This is breaking my heart in such a deep way,

especially because they were just referencing the kill so much. It was not even just that we lost the game. We just wanted to get that kill for him so bad. And they did it. Yeah. They did it. And then 10 seconds. Yeah.

Dude. Like I, I, sometimes I joke with people where I, and all of you in the chat, I'm sure you'll agree with at least the beginning of this. The, you grow up as a sports fan. You love your team so much.

Like I was, I was a Bruins fan. And it's like, God, if the Bruins don't win, I hope every team loses. This sucks, whatever. I was never the guy that was like, whoever beats us,

I hope they win. I was like, I hope they fucking, I hope they never play again. So, doing this job and getting older, probably part of it too, when I'm a neutral. That's it for me, dude. I'm just too old to have any hatred for teams now. When I'm in neutral, it actually gets hard for me to watch the team lose because I just,

I feel legitimately sad for them, you know, because I have no hate for this random team. And the way this went down, dude, oh my God. I was, I have never, I wrote down in my notes. Let me see if I can find this somewhere. but I literally, dude, I just feel awful for Winnipeg. I don't know if we even have any Winnipeg fans that consistently come in this chat, but I feel, shout out if you are, I feel so terrible for them.

That team, the town and the fans, but like those boys, after what they've accomplished this year and winning the president's trophy and just coming together as a family and being so good, and everybody downing them, including us a lot of the time, where I'm like, they're not as good as Colorado or Dallas. And they're like, aren't we though?

And just like, God, to have it end this way, I'm like, I'm now, I want the Jets to win the Cup next year so bad. So bad. Holy hell. Let's, before we get into the Flowers for Dallas, which we'll do a ton of, let's talk about Winnipeg. Yeah. I do have a ton to say about Winnipeg. So this team wins the president's trophy.

They're amazing. They have a really unlucky bounce, tough first round against the blues, which got a little hairy, but then they took care of business. And then they come into this series, it goes six, could have easily gone seven. you lose an OT in Dallas in six. This team really has a 29-year-old Eilers, who is about to be a UFA. You've got Brandon Tanna, who you picked up is UFA. Then you have several RFAs, Gabe Valardi being a very crucial one.

Morgan Barron, I think, being a crucial one, Kupari, a crucial one. Samberg is a RFA on your defense. That's another one that you want to get locked up. But this team, their core, if you will, is here. And we saw, was it last year, two years ago, you had all the drama of Shifley and Hellebuck. Shifley and Hellebuck. They're about to be free agents.

They're like you're, you know, a huge leader, arguably your best forward. Your Vesna winning goal. They're leaving. No chance they're staying in Winnipeg. And then bang. They both sign $8.5 million deals till 2028. Like they are. Would you just seal, by the way?

So locked in. Yep. Both of them are so locked in. You get Blake Wheeler's money is coming off the books. So that's a little bit of good stuff for them. But here's the thing about Winnipeg. We'll talk about Eelers. That's a loss.

And that's one where if you were the Jets and Eelers leaves, you got to replace that immediately. You got to do what Carolina did when they lost some of their great defensemen. You got to sign someone immediately. This team, I think, has faced so much bullshit over the years with people saying no one wants to sign with Winnipeg. People getting traded to Winnipeg of the deadline. and then you hearing stories of them being like,

fuck me, I didn't want to go there. They have all the talk about their fans, you know, are people even selling out with the barn? Then the fans come to the defense, and they're like, the tickets are too expensive. Like, this team's constantly battling to be like, we are the shit. Our fans are amazing.

We matter. Watching the emotion of these guys on the ice was, like you said, utterly devastating. Oh, dude. And it makes me think, okay, folks, look at the not to call anyone out. But look at the contrast around the league

of some teams that lose in regular season don't make the playoffs and then lose in the playoffs and they're bounced and they're just like not like whatever, but the raw emotion from the Jets. And I know it's round two, a little further on, but like that's not a group you don't want to play for.

You know what I mean? And I'll say this. Obviously, the Shifley situation changed the emotion of everybody in the rank. Obviously. So it's What I'm about to say is borderline unfair, and it is also a ricochet, which I think you were just avoiding. But I am almost sure that the Jets fans weren't going to be throwing shit on the ice if they were losing that game. If they were just losing 3-1 and the Stars Squared Ombudsmanter, and I think the Jets fans would have gone, thank you so much for everything. Your best swing.

Yeah. You know, tough match. So, you know. I hope fucking they get a sick free agent, dude. I hope someone fucking wants to reload there. just run it. We'll see what happens with Eilers. We've heard a lot of things. We've heard that there's chances that he is going to be leaving, but there are great free agents available. There's someone that they could get. And they draft well. They've got good prospects.

So I'm with you, dude. Winnipeg is, as we said, right, if there is a Canadian team with a smaller fan, or not a smaller fan base, but a smaller community that just die hard, is die hard and rides hard for their team that we're going to rally around in what world? Wouldn't it be not listening here? So like here's our message to the chat. Here's our message to all of our listeners. We got a couple here, Dan, BW, Winnipeg, and I think there's maybe one more in here,

but there's a couple, there's a couple, there's a couple peggers in here. Love that we got some peggers in here. But yeah, this is my message to the chat. This is my message to all of our fans and all of our listeners. If you are an American and you are looking for a Canadian team that you're like, yeah, that's the Canadian team I have love for,

it's just, it's them. Jack says they can have Mitch. There you go. I think it's them. Winnipeg is just so. fucking awesome. And their players are the shit. And yeah, I think

they've got a bright feature. Let's see what happens with the Euler's bud. Would you say too that I think that per the rules? Per the rules, Otter is now the starter in Milan. He won the bet and that's the way it's going to go. But I would say that Helibuck should be proud of that.

I think Helibuck answered a lot of questions in that game. I'm glad you brought this up because I was about to move on. here's the deal I think Otter is your starter now and I don't even think he's the starter

I don't even think it's debatable like we can do our joke bet but if you were a Jets fan you cannot yes did he answer questions absolutely but are there still questions remaining that are unanswered absolutely as well I just don't I don't see any world

where you could confidently start Connor Hellebuck in something like that and be like yeah there's there's no demons or anything lingering. And I'm so proud of him for his game seven against St. Louis. And I'm so proud of him for his game five and six against Dallas here. This was a great game.

Only 20 shots, I think, for Dallas, but it doesn't matter. You gave up one goal in the second period. You locked down all third and you lose an OT on a power play. On a power point. And yeah, like, some people were like, I saw some people being like, because it just misses his blocker. And they're like, he's got to get that up. And I'm like, he literally can't see anything.

Yeah. So answered a ton of questions. That said, before that, I was like, we had conversations about this in private. Well, I didn't say that. But you do if you kept that out. If he wanted to Dallas here and he got fucking pinballed, Winnipeg would legitimately have to be like, we might have to trade this guy. And it might be one of those situations where like, I don't know, maybe it's just here.

Maybe it's something about the travel, but it's not working. And I am very glad to say, in my opinion, you don't have that issue anymore. Like, you're going to be okay. I'm proud of it, truly, dude. And I think maybe I was just, the emotions were just hitting me everywhere. But literally, I just like, even watching him in the line and Otter talking to him, I was like, two great competitors. You were a great goalie, Connor. Please don't.

I mean, dude, think about the actual pressure on pro athletes and the stress of pro athletes. He must have been in hell of this whole playoff run, frankly. So to just get that game, I was very proud of him. And I hope he's proud of himself. Definitely. And I will say this. We talked about this last night in the car. CP picked me up from the airport.

Good guy. Bang, midnight, dude. Midnight pickup. LAX slammed still. Who gives a fuck? Pretty cool. Edge wouldn't do that for me. Son of a bitch.

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Find an agent today at Dejardin.com slash business coverage. The regular season means nothing. Oh yeah, yeah. This is your take. This is my, I don't want to get into a big take on this, but I'm here to say that in the NHL, the regular season means fucking nothing. And if there is anything that proves that more than,

anything else, it's the fucking President's trophy curse. It doesn't mean fuck all. Home ice, sure, that's a little bit important, but it's nowhere near as important as it is in basketball or something like that. And we're seeing it with Florida two years, three years ago. They're a wild card. Yep. They beat the Bruins as the President's trophy winner, and then they go straight to the

cup. And then we're seeing it with Edmonton this year. They were a little wonky all regular season. They got the three seed in the Pacific. They didn't care. They just went, just get to playoffs. So my message to the Jets, you guys have been great for years now. You won, you were wire to wire, best team in the league this year.

You win the President's trophy. You're out in the second round. Now, that's not a knock on you, but it is me saying fans, teams, lock in playoffs. The Jets are now where the Dallas Stars are, perfect transition into the Stars, where it is not up or shut off time. So let's get into the Dallas Stars, big round to win in six against the President's trophy winner. Dallas, for me, probably has had the biggest gauntlet in the playoffs, right? Oh, my God. You played, in my opinion, you played in the Western Conference Final against Colorado.

Now you played in the Western Conference Final part two against the Jets. Were they, Dallas was favorites in this series? Yes. Yeah, because like, which is kind of nuts because it's. Agree, but it's like. But it was Winnipeg went seven against the wildcard team. And I think to like, says someone in the chat, flow in the chat says, boys, the Jets didn't get a single away win.

Hell, he's numbers are horrible. He had a single good game on the road, but they lost. What are we talking about here? And my pushback would be to that one is, yes, the St. Louis series is a disaster. If you're the Jets, the Dallas series isn't a disaster. That's what I'm talking about here. At all. So that's what we're talking about. Yeah.

I thought you're telling me a shutout and then a one goal game in two elimination games isn't impressive. You lost in six to the team that was favored over you. Yeah. And I thought there was some good punches and you got outplayed by Otter. Like I think Otter happened to win that series. And it's another one of those things. It's like we talked about with LT and the caps is like, you can shit on Hellebuck all you

want. Yeah, only 20 shots in that game. but at the end of the day, dude, your great high-powered offense scored one goal. Yeah. And like Hannah here says Dallas has had, and last year have the most brutal path to the cup, which is true.

Brutal. And like Dallas gets Edmonton again. Oh, yeah. Dallas's run is actually hercules. They played Colorado, who we said was the, we were like, that is the best matchup of the playoffs.

And I stand by it. Yeah. Then they get the president's trophy winner. And now they get the inevitable oilers. Like, it's just getting worse and worse and worse. So for me, my Dallas takeaways are Harley

is a fucking he's such a dog man dude he's and just like all the big moments too like he has multiple OTI winners right like he's yeah I call I called him out this spring spring this fall

as one of the most underrated players in the league and I was like this guy's a fucking weapon we called him out to make four nations roster which he did and when he got brought up with the injuries he was unbelievable I know. Unbelievable. Shea Theodore goes down.

He comes in. He plays amazing. And then Hayskinin goes down. He picks up Slack, plays amazing. And now here he is, scoring fucking O-T players. I had another buddy in the chat, a Dallas fan, say to me, he was like, I kind of hate how it's like the hack trick, like Brandon Hack trick. He's like, I wish we'd spread it out a little bit.

Remember that I always do the sports crossovers? Remember when the Sox won that World Series? And they just kept hitting Grand Slams at Opportunity. Oh, it's absurd. But I was like, who cares? Like, you're getting them, you know? Yeah. So I actually don't mind the hat tricks because it's, it's ranting in today, it's gambling the next day. You are spreading it a little bit. The thing that does worry me is

you are getting nothing from Rovo. Oh my God, dude. Not like, this isn't like when you're going, oh, even that Austin Matthews did, which we're going to get to, obviously, but even Austin Matthews is like, we're getting nothing from Matthews. And I'm like, well, you're getting point per game from Matthews. You're not getting enough goals from him, but he's got, you know, a point in, I think he finished maybe one off point per game or something. And dude, points are getting nothing from Jason Robertson and I know he was hurt, maybe he's still

hurt, whatever, but like, you will not win. How many times have we talked about Edmonton's layered scoring? Like, you will not win if he does literally nothing. You can go further than that too, because leading your team is Miko, Beast. Which is fine. 19 points and 13. But after that, it's Harley.

Harley has 11 points in 13 games as a defenseman. And then after that, you've got Rupé, you've got Wyatt, you've got Granny, you got Sam Steele. So there are guys like Dutchie hasn't scored yet. Five assists. Sagan has two and three for five, sure. Marchman has one and three for four. Ben has one and two for three. You need, Robo has only played six games, but he has one assist. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. So, so, yeah, like, you're right is what I'm saying. So, Stars, you are playing so well. And what's funny is after game four, everyone, I'll, I'll,

Oilers Nation was shaken and they're like, fuck, Dallas is a wagon. Yeah. You know, they're not worried, but, you know, when I say shaken, I mean, you're acknowledging a great team. Yeah. Dallas is a great fucking team. And they're not even going. I know.

Their second leading scorer in the playoffs is Thomas Harley, who is nasty. Yeah. But he's not kale. You know, he's not Quinn. Like, he's not this, like, crazy high-flying offensive defensemen who's going to rip all these goals. Like, Thomas Harle is. is playing amazing, but you've got so much talent that we've said a million times, like,

these guys need to step the fuck up. Imagine if they didn't get Miko. I know, dude. That's what you need to be asking yourself. If you were, if you were a Dallas Stars fan, you need to be asking yourself, if we didn't pick up Miko, where would we be B right now? Because yeah, your guys, Rupé, Waiet, Robo, like big time, Robo. And then, yeah, the role guys of like, Dushain, Ben, Sagan, Marchman, Steele, those guys aren't firing yet. And I'm like, like, fuck me. And Matt Nolan in the chat says, quote,'s healthy. Give me a fucking break. I'm sorry. I'm so, no, I'm fucking sorry. If it comes out that he has a ruptured lung and spleen, and sometimes that happens. Like what the fucking Bergeron

had that one season, literally had a ruptured lung. Yeah. If that is the case, okay, but wake the fuck up people. Everyone is hurt in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Please, when your team is struggling when your team loses. Enough with the, I can't wait to see the injury report. Shut. I promise you, McDavid and Dryside Alert. A hundred percent. You think Connor went a thousand miles power into the boards and he's not hurt? It's like, stop with the fucking injury excuses.

And I will eat crow if it comes out that this person has a fucking shattered clavicle. And I'm like, okay, my bad. But if it's just the normal wear and tear that everyone has, I'm like, it just can't be an excuse. Do we feel bad for the player? Absolutely. Does it maybe answer some questions, absolutely. But it is not a fucking excuse. Oh, but I will say this, though.

It's not an excuse. Christ, sorry. It's not an excuse that this is why my team only lost because we had Knox. That's not an excuse. Everyone has knocks. What is an excuse, though, is when guys are lacking production, depending on the injury, but even if it's like, he's like, dude, my groin is fucked. I can barely stride.

Then when they go, why didn't you have any points, you go, that's the difference maker. Literally. It's, I can't get to spots as quick as I can normally because of my fucking knee or whatever he did. 100%. And there are players right now who are like, you're a fucking idiot.

But I'm going to say, no, I get it. I get that that's why you're not producing. But I'm saying for fans, I don't accept the excuses. It's like everyone's dealing with something. Does it affect their play?

Yes. And that sucks. But a testament to a lot of the lack of massive production from the stars is how good Otter has been. Oh my God. And they're D. And they're D.

But I want to say, because Otter, you always bust my ass because Otter had that one year, the seven gamer against Calgary? Who the fuck do they play? Yes, Calgary. Yes. But I want to say this before you get into this,

because we talk about this all the time. There was a decade where Chris is, the most important person in Chris's life, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, didn't win shit. And as a also Brady jock rider, I, as I am often, was tough on him because I was like, we need to stop acting like this guy is the greatest person

who's ever lived and walks on water if he hasn't won shit in 10 fucking years. And then what did he do? He heard my critique and he won four more bowls. And then you were allowed to talk that way. No. Fuck you. Because without me, it wouldn't have happened. So with honor-

I had his back the whole time. I had his back too. That's what lifted him to greater heights. This guy's right. I believed. I believed. No, you had blind belief, which leads to failure. No, no.

You need to have honest belief. called faith, Dan. Faith is a fact. Do I say faith is a fact? We're quoting arrest development way too much these days. But when you say I get on your ass about Otter, it's me saying,

I think Otter's nasty too, but even Otter knows he's got to get the next hump. And these playoffs, he's been fucking fantastic. Actually, I'll do this for you, chat. He's been nails. He's been nails. And I would say, though,

he hasn't even been that Calgary guy, which was fucking unconscious. That was like Jaeger shit. Yeah. But he has, he's above career, he's above his career, average is 919247. You can win with that. You can win a cup with that, dude. Yeah. Are you kidding me? 919247 in today's game with how much scoring there is, I'll take that all day.

I think that's to kind of, and listen, the entire pod tomorrow is going to be conference finals previews. I don't want to get too much into any of that in this live. But I will say, we talk about how tough the path's been. Yes, it's been brutal. Truly. And that sucks, dude. Like this path, some teams have it easy. This path has sucked. You're telling me you've got go Colorado, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and then whoever comes out of the fucking east, nightmare. But, with that being said, all you Dallas fans everywhere,

guy got texts coming in, begging me for this Edmonton rematch. Yeah, they wanted. They want it. They wanted it. We should have beat him last year, which I agree. I had you over the Oilers last year.

But the same things that I'm seeing in this matchup that might make me want to pick Dallas, I don't know what I'm going to say tonight when we record, we'll see. But the same things I'm seeing, I was seeing last year. Like you're telling me, I'm going to walk into a Jake Ottinger

Stewart Skinner match and the Oilers are going to win in six? No way. Bang. They smacked you around and won in six. No way. No way. So, dude, if you want this rematch so bad,

how many times have I said Cain's nut up or shut up? Yeah. Bro, this is Dallas's third straight Western Commerce Final, fourth in the last five years. Yeah. We talk about Colorado's closing

fucking window and shit, or Colorado's wasted window. Or the Cains. Not closing, wasted window. Yeah. Yeah. What are we talking about here, dude? You're in the semifinals.

Every fucking year, you have no cups to show for it. You need to get there and you need, this is what you want it. The path sucks. I agree. The path sucks. But you have to go to the cup this year. You have to beat the sororless team. You do.

And you're right. I want to save this for the pod that will record later today. That will come out tomorrow morning. Guys, make sure you're subscribed to the YouTube. Make sure you're giving us five-star reviews on Spotify and Apple. I look at this Dallas franchise, Chris, a lot like Florida. And that over these years, they've drafted really, really well. They've given out really, really good contracts.

They have made a key trade that could be the factor. Matthew Kuchuk trade. Now we've got the Miko Raton and trade. That means that is then an immediate signing. If you look around the NHL and you don't have Dallas in your top five, maybe top three well-run franchises, you're out of your mind. Look at how well they draft. And sometimes it's a process.

Sometimes it takes a few years. It takes growing pains. It takes struggles. and this is it. This is where you are, Dallas. You are now facing Edmonton again, and I believe you are the better team on paper, but all that matters is can you perform?

And in a close-out game, Chris, at home, Otter had a 9-5-save-safe percentage in that game. Give up one goal, and they win an O-T. And that's it. That's the shit that's like, okay, that is a good sign. That's the win that we needed to show, we're doing it. So, dude, I love it.

I think you're in a good spot if you're Dallas. I love the fucking the voodoo tiki hut's going to go crazy before this series because they don't even have to hurt their stars. It's like, it's like Henrique and Connor Brown and Yan Mark that's killing them. I know. So Dallas's third line and fourth line guys are like, wait. I'm sorry, dude.

Jesus Christ. Boom, there goes your knee. There goes you need. We can't have the one of his third line killing us. Echolm's coming back. So like what is going to happen here? Miro Miro. Mike and Madano is going to fucking suit up.

Miro takes another step. I think Miro takes another step. There we go. To hell. All right. It is time to move on what a lot of our East Coasters have been waiting for. The Toronto Maple Leafs versus the Florida Panthers Game 7 in Toronto. And it was an absolute bloodbath.

Dude, we're going back to elbow. Dude. I want to say this. And Jack, Jack, this is for you, dude. I I genuine Because I picked Everybody that was on the live on Friday

I fucking said You all everybody here Dude Dr. Locke's in here You up in here Everybody's like cats Slapping in game six It's over whatever And I was like dude

I got give me the Leafs Yeah Give me the Leaves I just think It's they They know they were embarrassed In Game 5 Give me the Leafs to bounce back

In Game 6 And they fucking did And I was fired up about that Yeah And I love Austin Matthews, dude. I will always love Austin Matthews, and I hate to see this shit happen to him. And I was ready for this take. If the Leafs, and I know there's a ton of Panthers fans in here too, but you're going to have to agree with this. If the Leafs lost game seven

at home in a fucking tilt, like a three two barn burner where just kind of like Bob outplayed wall, but like, got a goal from Matthews. Maybe like a three two OT or four three. Three O.T. The take was going to be this. Get off their ass. Because they played a fucking hell of the last quarter of the regular season to win the fucking division. They played a great series against Ottawa. Everybody was like, here comes the reverse sweep. Fuck off.

They went up 3-0. They lost like an OT game. And then they lost one game and then went to Ottawa and closed it out. Yeah. And then they play who we all basically think is the best team in the fucking east. And they hold serve. Maybe the league. They're the defending champs.

They hold serve at home. Then they lose two in Florida. Like that's not... One being OT. Yeah, that's not a big deal. Like, then the best team held serve. And then, yes, you had a tight butt hole and embarrassed yourself at home in game five.

But then won a fucking gritty game six, dropped your nuts on the table. Yep. And one in Florida. And then you lose an absolute barn burner three, two, at home, but like, fuck off. I would have been like, this Leaf's team deserves your respect.

They played their ass off. Fuck this narrative. Yeah, they lost, but they lost to the best goddamn team, and they took them seven, and they won in Florida, all that shit. That was the take. All that had to happen was you didn't get absolutely ragged again in games ever. Rinsed off the ice. And that sucked my pitch.

For a period, this game was wild. Because the cats came out, they had seven unanswered shots, I believe, and it felt like 25. Yep. And the second period was insane. Wall's just making all these saves. And I'm like, oh, shit, okay. you got out of that first period tied.

And I was like, that's a huge win for Toronto. I know you're on home ice, but get the nerves out. Get out of this first period. No blood. You're feeling pretty good. Second period starts. The onslaught continues. And, dude, you blinked.

Yep. Blinked. And it was three to nothing. And that game was over. And what's wild is, Domi gets that goal. I think he was the one player on that Maple Leafs team who was not a dash in that game. Oh, wow. crazy yeah. Domi gets that goal.

Early. Well, yeah, no, it was early in the third. You're right. Sorry, I was like, let's fucking go, dude. It's the third period. But yeah, early in the third, and we've been calling the Leif's the emergency response leaps, all fucking playoffs, dude. And is it just not so typical Panthers to rub it in your face even more?

You're like, oh, remember when teams would score? And it looked like they had life and then bang, you would score me? We're going to do that to you. And they do that. and then it's and then it's big time over. Yep. So my question for you, dude, is in this game, there's a few things. Talking about the Panthers first.

Dude, I have some fucked takes. The Panthers third line is the best line in hockey. It's insane, Dan. Brad Marshan said in an interview, he was not sure how he would transition to a third line type of role. We talked about this. Remember, it's like you're misusing him. Yeah.

Looking, but even before that, because like we saw it and we were like, oh, yeah, like, look at him. on the third line before he even went to Florida. He was talked to as he was getting older in an interview and he said, I'm not sure how I'll transition to that because you look at guys around the league like, Sakes, look at Sakes, his buddy.

And he's like, I'm not sure how I'll do with that. He gets to Florida and it looked, not like it was going poorly, but it was like he is so talented still and I don't know if this is working that well. And in my opinion, in round one and even early in this series, Brad was making a lot of those like quick, shifty, offensive-minded plays.

And Lusto and Lundell were like, we have not really played with a guy like you before. Yeah, yeah. And the way in this series, as it's gone on, that they have figured him out, and that line is brutal to play against. Because think of the matchups they're getting. We got baby Barkov, you got Listo who's so fucking good. And then Marci is just still Brad fucking killer Marshand, the Rat King. Yep.

And they have figured each other out now, and they are devastating to play against. And they borderline won this game. Like, they just went out. They won every single battle. They got, they had so many points. And it's just like, fuck me. I don't know how you possibly play against that line. And then I will leave this to you because I want your take on this big time.

Dude, it, we see this a lot. The rebirth of Seth Jones. Yeah. On this team. must just destroy so many fan bases who felt like they had Seth Jones and didn't get the best version of it. Bro, it's absolutely insane.

The moves they made, you talked about Marci, now we're talking about Seth. This Panthers team lost some guys, lost Brandon Montor. Yeah, they lost some guys. O'EL. O'EL was a big one.

And the pieces they brought in, and the way they are built, Kachuk said it after the game, we're built to wear you down in the seven games series and within a game. And whatever they're getting from Maurice, too, Brad said some really complimentary things about Maurice, how he gets the guys going.

What's his game seven record? Do you see that? Maurice is, I think, 6 and 0 in game seven. Six and no now, yeah. That actually would be such a tilt if it was game seven in the finals, DeVore versus Maurice. But anyway, epic.

Do you imagine? But this Panthers team has proven to be such a, you said it to me off air, just a pedigree, playoff pedigree, well-oiled machine, built for these moments. Yeah, I can't believe it.

You can see them just, I know it sounds so dumb, but everyone that's played a sport, like it seems so dumb in the pros that they're like, they all want it. They all want to win. But literally, dude,

you can just see the Panthers want it more, period. Like, it's just every single fucking loose puck. Every single loose puck is like kept in at the blue line, chipped out of their zone. They're on it every fucking time. It's insane.

It is, it seems so, this just came into my head and it seems so childish to say. The Panthers team is just a bunch of men. Yeah. Dude, after the game, Biz said the first comment

Biz made, they all cut to him. I'm like, well, busy. And he goes, men versus boys out there. Men versus boys said. I don't want me to sound like a cliche, but they're just men. We always talk about,

okay, it is game seven. Yep. Are you going to go win that puck battle? Are you going to get shots on net? Are you going to beat up your opponent? And the Panthers team, pay the price. For three straight years,

we've seen them go, yes, yes, we are. And since losing to Vegas in the final, that we haven't seen them loose because they just, they go into these battles every time, dude, and just win. And yes, Seth Jones, I just saw someone say in the chat, I don't know if I can find it.

But, you know, my guy, one of my favorite players to watch, Gustav Forsling. Seth Jones was better than my guy, Forzling, in this series. That is fucking insane. That was the dream that was Rome when you drafted Seth Jones, what we saw.

And what we've seen, frankly, is like, great D, but puck moving, scoring. Big body. Holy shit, dude. Offensively imposing. Crazy. I do want to discuss, I promise my boy, Dave, that we would get into a couple of the

wonk. Yeah, we'll call it won't call it won't call. Oh, I also do want to say, quickly to the chat, to the world, referee Chris Rooney. Yes. Took a stick to the eye in that game. Really, really scary play. Was bleeding a lot. He is confirmed, okay, no damage to his eye.

He's got one hell of a shiner. Like really legit, Shiner. But he's okay. We'll hopefully see him back here pretty soon. But totally fine. Love you, Roots. Yeah. Get well.

And yeah, I know we got a lot of people who bitch and piss and moan about refs in this league. Chris Rooney is one of the greatest people we have ever met. Correct. And a dear friend. And we absolutely love him. And you should too. Let's get into a couple of the wonky plays. First, the goalie interference.

Okay, start with goal number four that did not happen. Seth Jones would have a second goal than that. Actually, no, let's start with the off sides because that was goal number three. And that was a big goal in the game, obviously, because... Huge goal. Makes it 3-0-0. So we had this play, guys, where... Who was coming out?

I think... Doesn't matter. Seth Jones... I think Gadgev was coming out. I think it's him. I think he scored. I think it's him. Who was?

Gad, I think he's going to come out of... Oh, yeah, yeah. I think that might be right. And I think he turns right back around and scores. I think that's right. Yeah. Seth Jones enters the zone. Gad is coming out.

And Seth Jones, while carrying the puck, pushes the puck into the zone before Gad checks out. By a mile. But Seth Jones does not play the puck until Gad has checked back onside. He doesn't touch the puck for sure. Yep. Oh, yeah. No, no doubt. That is the rule.

The debate is, does Seth enter the zone before Gad is out? And it is razor thin. It is razor thin. but I think if you look at it, and a lot of people are saying it was the correct call, and I think it's, I think, and just hear us out, I think it's correct that, or it's too close to call, let's say,

that Seth has got his back, right leg hanging, yep, Gad makes the tight turn and is completely out before Seth is completely in. I think that does happen. And I am here, I agree, and I am here to say, for me, one zero percent, that was the right call.

I frankly love this rule. Okay. I think it was, it showed remarkable hockey IQ by Seth Jones and that's one of, that's a Bill Belichick moment. Yeah, yeah, fair.

If you don't know that rule, shame on you. And clearly Seth Jones did not, like that, don't say that that was lucky. That was a conscious decision by him. And I think it's, I think it's a cool rule.

I think it's a good rule. I think you see that it doesn't get challenged because Toronto's like, yeah, I bet Barubi's like, yeah, that was a good play. Like, he's on. And he didn't play the puck. Well done. Dude, I, watching it live was like, that's a thousand percent offside. And then when it wasn't, I was so rattled. And then they explained the rule to me. Because my knee jerk was I actually don't like this rule.

I think it's stupid because the point is like he's not out. Dad didn't get back out and the puck is back in. That is bullshit. it. But then somebody I was with described it to me like, let's say you're in the zone, right? I'm playing D, you're, well, whatever, you're a four, they chip it out. I catch it in the neutral zone and I dump it in. I'm not even carrying it. I just dump it in and you're way in the zone. I dump it in and I just wait for you to come out and then I begin for a check. Yeah. That should be allowed. Of course. Because then it'd be like, oh, you dumped the puck in

before Dan got out. It's automatically offside forever. Once you think about it in that context, I'm like, oh, right, of course the puck should be able to go in before anyone's out, because I'm just chipping it deep. Yeah. Which is essentially what Seth Jones did. He just dumped it in by like pushing it into his own. But a little sandwich. A little sand wedge in with some backspin on.

Because if you, if you, my needrick was changed the rule. Hey, hey, CP, great explanation. My knee jerk was changed the rule. Then I was like, oh, then you literally couldn't dump the puck in ever again. It's the same thing. It's just like that one was so close. That's what happened. That's why it is a sick rule.

That was why it is a sick play by Seth Jones. and that's why it was fucking dagger. It's a good rule. I know that that one was a sketchy play. There are some people in here who are like, what a horrible rule. Think about it the way CP just explained it because it's the same thing.

It's not a bad rule. It exists for a reason. And it's good that a player like that knows it. Moving on to the goal of interference. Also, Seth Jones. Yep. You think that this one was a good goal? For me, that goal was...

And I don't know if everybody else on the TNT broadcast, the head dude, it was the replacement ref for Rooney. So they were like, well, now we'll hear from the backup ref and he comes in and the mics off. And I was like, you're fired, dude. But I don't know if anyone else, whatever you guys were watching it on, maybe you did here.

So I had to message some people, but they were like, oh, they're waving it for goalie interference. I thought in real time they're waving it for kicking motion, which you guys have all heard me rant and rave about this. I think anything off your foot shouldn't count. But if we're going to allow the rule the way it currently is, that obviously wasn't a kicking motion. he's literally baseball sliding, so whatever.

But then they were like, okay, goalie interference. I watch it again, 100% he hits Joe. I don't think it hindered Joe's ability to make the save. Usually goal interference is like, I'm in your way. You can't get your leg out. He hit Joe on this side. It went in over here, like whatever. And the contact was initiated by the defense

when I forget who that was. So in my opinion, if that had been challenged, it would have been overturned and been a goal. But I think Maurice actually, maybe he was taking a page out of the Jim Hiller, mistake playbook and was like there's just no need for this because if they don't give it to us because goal interference is the most fucked review ever if they don't give it to us and then the least get a power play and then it's 3-1 I'm like wow that was a bad thing and it's you we always talk about you have it has to be very very conclusive to change the call on the ice yeah that's just

good coaching not not to dog on jim hiller but guys that's great coaching you're up 3-0 you get a goal that you're like that probably was a goal but worst case scenario is you challenge it and then you give them a power play and now it's three it's like that was brilliant coaching i agree it was a good goal weird play but i am going to say the contact on riley a lot of people like riley knocks him over i thought that was a good play by riley me too that was not a penalty like if that if that puck didn't go in that's not a penalty so given that i think it's almost difficult to say that he knocked him into uh wall you know it's it was it was wishy-washy but I think it probably was a goal,

but ultimately the point of bringing this up is phenomenal stuff from Paul Maurice to not challenge that. And phenomenal response from the cats to hold that 3-0 lead into the third period, get scored on and then bang goal again. Dude, real quick, Zach says, how about TNT missing the Reiner goal? Dude, crazy.

I was literally, obviously it was kind of out of hand at that point and getting late in the game, but at one point I looked up and I was like, did I just miss? Was I not paying attention for the goal? And then the people where they were like, no, they didn't even fucking show it. It's so crazy. Chat, chat seems to be in very much agreement.

That was a good goal. Yeah. I mean, we don't need to say we agree. It's our take. It was a good goal, but just a great coaching decision. Yeah. And then response from the boys. A couple of things in this game.

Yep. We've talked a lot about the Panthers, how fucking good they are. Their response. Before we get, I think we got to spend a lot of time on Toronto. For sure. Before we get into that, there's a couple of things about the cats that I want to say. You brought it up. up earlier about their mentality.

The comments that Matthew Kachuk made about their team being built to break a team down over seven game series, that's so true. I love Matthew Kuchuk so much. He's such a pest, but he's also so much, he sees the game. Oh, dude, he sees great, man. He sees the game. Makes the right play almost every single time. I know there's going to be a lot of Katz fans in the chat because you guys are

amazing fans. You're going to be like, no, I'm melting down the whole time. But actually, shout out to my boy Dave again. I would fucking kill to be a cats fan. They must be so calm all the time. Like going into this year, so many cats fans were coming out our DMs. Like, what do you guys think? And I was like, listen, we picked the cats.

Like, I'm on the cats bandwagon. But damn, this Toronto team, I don't know. We'll see, we'll see. And all of them were just like, oh, we're chilling, dude. And like, you've earned that. Yep. You've earned that feeling. Zito or Zeno.

Well, yeah, Zito, too. But Marie, 6 and O now in Game Sevens, like, these boys are just, they've got such a good record in Game Sevens. It must just be such a fucking lovely feeling. knowing your team is filled ironically with fucking dogs. You have so many dogs on this team. It must be amazing. Now, a transition into Toronto while making a comment about Florida. What did you think about Maurice and Marchand's comments about the Toronto team?

Because I'm actually shocked to say, I didn't love it. Because you thought it was, they were patronizing them? No, I didn't think they were patronizing them. I think that they were legitimately showing sympathy. Yeah. To basically, guys, to paraphrase. for the chat, Maurice and Marchand both did their own version of

saying, the narrative of this is going to be to crucify these guys. It's going to be to make fun of the players on Toronto, but they just went in a seven game series in round two against the defending champs and some bounces went our way. That's why we won. And I think that that's incredibly mature

and respectful of those guys. I didn't fuck with it at all because I was like, and I'm not to hear saying you should crucify those guys, but I'm like, all right, let's not let's not forget the fact that you guys just won 6-1

in a game 7 in Toronto like what are we talking about I think dude you're right you're right but I think it's partially... Don't kill him but it's partially my rant at the beginning about they're like hey they played a good series

they went 7 you know and dude I said this to you on the way in the thing that pisses me off about the playoffs sometimes is I'll go all the way back to the Bruins Panthers, 23. Boss, everybody in my life that's a huge Boston fan

references that as like the worst choke of all time, which of course, you broke the regular season record for wins. And they're the wild card team, last team in. It looks horrible. But in my opinion, what we know now about the Panthers is they are one of the best teams going. And that's what they were then. They had a

great second half. They made the playoffs, whatever. So in reality, that was the Bruins against the Panthers, probably the two best teams in the Eastern conference that year. Yeah, it was the first round, but that was essentially the Eastern Conference finals. Yeah. And the Bruins lost in seven. They should have won, but they lost in seven, especially when they were up three, one. You know, there's a million fucking fucking fucking fucking things you can say, but now you're right. It was a fucking really hard series against two really

good teams. So was this. This is a seven game series against two really good teams. So I understand where, why they're trying to throw sympathy. And I think Brad's additional comments of it's, it's, it's all the extra shit they're dealing with. You know, like, it's so much, I'm not trying to make excuses for them either because it's like that's they don't deserve the excuses but it's like god there's so much fucking going on everybody in the panthers chat saying like dude they're we're chilling we're chilling no one's chilling in Toronto no one no one it is it's it's not Ruby not the coach or not the players no so it's like fuck man it is a constant mental prison that you are in as a player as a fan as a member of that community and it's fucking

absolutely preposterous and it's interesting when you look at those marner quotes from last year when they lose in the first round of Boston. And he goes, we're gods here. People kind of dogged him for that comment. But it's true. They definitely are. And at the same time, they're tormented day in and day out. You wonder, it's, when you think about the, let's talk about the tax issue in the league,

you think about the insanity. While you go, look at these graphics rolling. Look at these leaf choke graphics rolling on the lower third right now, which look fucking sick, by the way. Yeah. This is what, this is the baggage. This is the shit we're talking about.

Like we, this is just, these graphics rolling on the screen right now, chat. Like, this is the shit that is tough. Jack says, please move on.

Sorry, Jack. But this is the shit that's difficult as the players and as the fans. But my point is, you know, tough taxes in Toronto. It's an expensive city to live in. And you've got this insane pressure. And then you look around the league.

You look at teams like Vegas. You look at teams like Florida. You look at teams like Florida. teams like Tampa, these guys live in Dallas. You look at these teams that are phenomenal NHL franchises with elite players on their team living in a beautiful place to live 24-7 with no state tax. And I'm like, why the fuck would you ever sign up for this shit? And, you know, it's a good transition into Marner's comments and Tavares' comments after the game.

Oh, dude, holy shit. So different. Tavares, you know, said, he's like, since I made this decision seven years ago, it's been the best experience in my life. I obviously wish we had done better. He quickly got asked by everyone in the scrum, do you want to come back? And he just said, yes, very bluntly. Now, I think that's always what he's going to say. And we'll see if Tavares takes a pay cut and comes back to play with this team. But I'm going to be honest, Tavares for me, feels like the quintessential. He is, what, 33 years old, still playing, still performing. I think he had 80 points last year. He played great again

And this year, this is a guy who I look at a lot of teams that might need a center. I mean, even someone in a high-pressure fan base like- Eight talks this year. Sorry? Yeah, 38-8 goals this year. I look at a team like Boston that needs a center. I look at a team like, you know, Vegas who could use another great center like that. And Tampa, actually. Great example.

And I just, I could see Tavares going down to one of these less pressure teams and just be the consummate. pro he is and just have another 75, 80 point season and win a cup. Yeah. And I'm like, get out of there, dude. And Marner's comments seemed like the exact, whereas Tavares, like you just said the obvious thing. Bye, bye, Mitch. Bye, bye, bye.

Hey, it's, it's lovely here in L.A. He's coming, dude. We'll see you soon. We'll see you this fall. The Tavares going immediately, yes, and you go, that's the obvious thing he's going to say. Clearly it's not because Marner was like, what an honor it was. He didn't literally say once. Yeah, he didn't say what an honor it is to wear this shirt.

But I was like, that sounds like a guy who goes, this has been a pleasure. And he did say they took a chance on drafting a kid, a skinny kid like me, you know. It just felt very like, thank you so much. Thanks for the memories. Yeah, you're right, Chris. And it did feel very much like he is kind of like, yeah, okay, that's that's that. Let's talk about Mitch's wake the fuck up moment. Yeah.

Everything in this gets dice. Mitch has that that slow-mo clip where he's screaming at the bench. Spenton. Horny hockey Twitter for that. But he says, wake the fuck up. And I'll add to, you got Matthews, because I saw this in the chat, it's too far back, I can't find it. But Matthews had the passengers quote after. So, like, he was kind of talking about that too.

And then Barubi, after the third goal, after the offside goal, was fucking giving it to him. So, like, this was a thing happening all game. Yep. So keep going. You know I love Mitch Marner. I defend his play all the time. For this team, only player over point per game was William Nealander.

Six goals, nine assists, dash three. Didn't have a great second round? No, he did not. But he had a lot of chances. After game two, after game two, he quieted down a lot. Mitch Marner, 13 and 13, only two goals. Matthews, only three goals. weird stat line for Austin Matthew

seeing the three and eight. Yeah. And then after that big drop-up, like Max Patcheretti, you're like, what the hell edition is. He was good. He was fantastic.

He's really good. But yeah, like Tavares didn't play that great. Riley didn't play that great. Nyes cooled off big time, and I've been banging that drum, heavy, heavy, heavy. But I am not entirely sure.

It's fair, the criticism that Mitch is getting when he is screaming, wake the fuck up and people are being like, you are not allowed to say that. but I'm like, yes, he is. He's got a letter on his sweater.

Yeah, that's what you need those guys to do. And Mitch is not a goal score. Let's be honest. Yeah. He's not a goal score. I don't know why people fucking always bring this up. Like, I think Mitch's career high in goals is like 33. Well, that's a goal.

30 goals in the national is a fucking year. Not when you're a 90-point guy. Yeah, 27 this year. Yeah, 27 goals. What's his career high? 35. 35. It's a hell of a year.

That's a hell of a year. But, like, Mitch is not a goal score. he is going to be your setup man he's got vision out the wazoo yeah so a a two and eleven for 13 points and 13 games is i would like four goals from him five goals at this point probably but it's like mitch is he's kind of doing his work out here so i think the criticism against him was pretty tough he's such an easy scapegoat and always has been for this fan base but yeah kyle in the chat says Mitch is the playmaker and i completely agree like if you look at willie and austin like who's the playing it's Mitch obviously did they ever keep going sorry oh no I was going to say is like you got

Austin fucking Matthews your 70 goal score with three goals in the playoffs I know and they I feel like what are you talking about tried to jumble it a bit but I don't know if they ever let I don't know if they ever split and it's one of the least fans in the chat can tell us I don't know if they ever split Matthews and Marner because I know they love playing together yeah but when you're when you're scrambling for answers here you got to try some different got to try something I was like dude with neither of them going maybe the way you wanted that might have been one of of my first looks just to mix that up or something. But I'm torn, dude, because I 100% think,

and so many people were saying, like, he just looked so not sweaty in that. Oh, dude, he's like beautiful locks flowing around after a period and a half of an NHL playoff game. I was like, dog. You, he's like, pick it up. Yeah. I was like, oh, no, dude.

Like, squirt your fucking water bowl on your face first or something. Bite your lip, like, be bleeding or something. Yeah, no, that is fair. That criticism is fair. And I don't mean to shit on him. I really don't. But sometimes you just got to go, who, this was also JD. It was JD quoting Mark Messier.

You got to do things that you're not comfortable doing in the playoffs. Mitch Marner, everybody, Mitch Marner is a set up guy. He's not a goal scoring guy. Okay, you are in the regular season. But right now, I need you to go literally run someone on the end wall in a four check. or go hammer a slap shot. I'm not saying it's going to go in every time, but just like have a shift where you get three shots

because you're like, I'll put one in. Just do something that's maybe not your normal game because our normal game is not only not working now, but also has never worked ever, literally ever. So talking about the core four, obviously we had Tavares on the island, and they've been to what, was it, two conference finals since the islanders? I think it was like the first two years he left.

Yeah, yeah. Tavares has never been with this team. We're going to see them broken up. There is no fucking planet where Marna and Tavars are both resigned. We've been saying that for years. Well, last two. But we haven't really seen a new contract for any of them. Agree.

It's always been, do you have to trade them? Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is way different. They're UFAs. There's no planet, in my opinion, where both of them come back. Yep. So we might see some of these guys exist elsewhere. What's interesting, dude, is look at Four Nations.

Marner was great. Yeah, yeah. And had an elite play in O.T. that won Four Nations for Canada. So there's some people in the chat right now saying, Marner will thrive elsewhere. And I think that that is so possible. I agree.

It's, I don't know. He thrives here. I don't know who will not in the playoffs. And that's all that fucking matters. Like we said, regular season doesn't matter. And I don't know who that's an indictment on, but it's an indictment on someone. And that will be interesting to.

see. Where is he going? I think L.A. I've been saying it for a while. I think L.A. makes a ton of sense for him. I'm not entirely sure it makes sense for L.A. Isn't it weird to go to a team that's had playoff issue? Like, you bring in a playoff issue guy when we're like, we have playoff issues. I think for him it's the setting. I really do. Which is crazy. He's a Toronto boy. I know. He keeps saying how much you love it. But it's just like, I think that plays into it. Like the fact that he says in that press conference took a risk on a small kid from Toronto. Like he's thinking about that at all times.

the bigger thing for me is I just think L.A. needs a center. Yeah. But if QB is going to transition to center and we know QB is a fucking beast, so that's great. But I think L.A. makes a ton of sense. I think Vegas makes a ton of sense.

There are a lot of Edmonton fans on Twitter yesterday being like, he's going to come to Edmonton. I was like, oh. You think? You think that's going to happen? You think Mitch Marner, who loves it in Toronto? The Big City Lights is going to go to Edmonton. I don't think so.

So, I mean, we'll see. We'll see. But I think he's gone. I think Tavares is probably gone. But I want to give you the floor after this. This is kind of my closing thought. The one thing I wanted to do on this episode is this. I would like to give a message to Toronto Maple Leafs fans.

Yes. Stay with us, Jack. Stay with us, Jack. And actually, Jack is already in this category. The Toronto Maple Leafs have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967. They are an original six team. with one of the greatest sweaters in the game. Toronto is an all-time city.

Correct. So fun, so beautiful, amazing food, amazing people, amazing culture. Your team has been marred with devastation, brutal losses, and heartbreak. Toronto Maple Leafy's fans. You guys are Cleveland Browns fans. You are not... Is this supposed to see a pump-up? Listen to me.

Wait. Wait, listen to me. Call the suicide. Let me finish. Let me finish. This attitude of mecca of hockey, you, everyone down south, you guys don't know hockey. Hockey doesn't belong below this line. You could never understand Toronto culture.

This hockey, we are the elite of the elite in the hockey world. That is the only reason people don't rally around you. C.P. said it. you should be the most lovable losers on earth. That we're all rooting for. That we're all rooting for. There's so much to love about the city of Toronto and this team. But too many of you are arrogant assholes.

Well, the chat's saying they're Cowboys fans, which is what they are currently. Exactly. You want them to be Browns fans. I'm saying, yes, chat, chat, stay with me. They are acting like Cowboys fans,

but they should be Browns fans, is what I'm saying. Like when I said, you are Browns fans, I'm saying you need to become Browns fans. Stop being arrogant Cowboys fans. This is, this is just going to keep happening. It's going to be more and more devastating when instead the entire hockey community, the fans whose teams have been eliminated and you're still in it, they'll root for you. Because right now they root against the Leafs and it sucks. Everyone, the amount of posts going happy National Leafs Elimination Day.

Like, that doesn't happen if you become the lovable losers, if you become Browns fans. Stop being Cowboys fans. Become Browns fans. This is the key for you. You need to lose this arrogant schick because it's the reason people are like, you're fucking driving us nuts. Don says, think about bills. Love that fan base. Exactly.

Same idea. Love the bills. Love the Sabers. It's like, be lovable losers. Stop being arrogant losers. And there are some of you who are amazing. But a lot of you really live. on this like the 67, the mecca of hockey bullshit.

And I'm like, dude, we'll all rally around you. We want to come up to Toronto. At Medcan, we know that life's greatest moments are built on a foundation of good health. From the big milestones to the quiet wins. That's why our annual health assessment offers a physician-led, full-body checkup that provides a clear picture of your health today and may uncover early signs of conditions like heart disease and cancer. A healthier you means more moments to cherish.

Take control of your well-being and book an assessment today. Medcan. Live well for life. Visit medcan.com slash moments to get started. Dude, here's an interesting take for you, Dan. Where is the NHL Hall of Fame? Toronto. Where is the Football Hall of Fame? I actually don't know.

Can, but basically Cleveland. Canton, yeah, that's right. I didn't know that. You are the Mecca's. You're the home of the Hall of Fame of both sports. It's just be one with each other. Wow. Be that fan base.

It makes so much sense. Look at this. I mean, God. I feel like, folks, it's just, it's right there for you. Stop being arrogant. How many more lessons do you need? You pulled a couple crazy stats. Can you say those?

I did. We were just talking about the Sabres. Here's a crazy one. Well, first off, we had the Brad Marshand stat. If you guys didn't see that, Brad Marchand, is now 5-0 in his career in the playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs. 2013 win, 2018 win, 2019 win, 2024 win, now 2025 win. Oof.

He is your mayor. He's the mayor of Toronto. Give him a key to the city. And then this one was bad. And if this doesn't solidify what I just said, I need Toronto fans, I need you to hear this with your soul. This stat pole is crazy. I need you to hear this with your soul. Playoffs series wins since the 20 or since the 2000.

2004-2005 NHL lockout. Toronto, two. Buffalo, four. The Buffalo Sabres haven't made

the postseason in 14 years. That can't be a stat, and you have the attitude you have. That is awful. And it's like,

you every now and then you see it, you'll see like a Sabers fan coming and talk shit to Toronto, and they're like, you're a Sabers fan,

dude, you can't talk. Sabers fans, you now get to go like this. We have more playoff series wins than you

in the last 20 years. And we haven't made the playoffs in almost 15. It's a nightmare. That is a nightmare. And that is so embarrassing. Dude, you're 100% right. I want that attitude adjustment for the Leaves fans. But I'm still, I'm just as bad, though, because I'm fucking delusional with them. Like, I'm not even a fucking Leif's fan, and I'm just so delusional with them where I'm like, some people are saying your mic is dead.

Oh, oh, sorry. I'm, I'm... CP doesn't know how to talk into a mic. Yeah, it's my first podcast. I'm just as delusional as all of you, because I'm like, Austin Matthews is the greatest goal score I've ever seen. He's going to break Ovi's record. I think Joe Wall is a starting goalie in the NHL. I still think that. His future is so bright. It's a tough spot in the playoffs, whatever.

There's so many things that the least have going for them that I am still like, it's going to be okay. And it's harder and harder to believe that every year, especially for if you are a fucking actual die hard, die hard. Leafs fan. Dude, Matt's vibes just put this in the chat. I saw this yesterday as well. Florida is now 28 and O in the playoffs and games that they lead at the end of the first or second. God damn. That's the

shit I was talking about. Imagine being a Panthers fans. You have no worries ever. Yeah. If your team is winning, you're like, well, we've won. You just got to get up though, because you've got to, the Jets were like that too. They were like, fucking 41. 1 with the lead after 2. Fucking insane. So, dude, yeah, that's

that's, it was hard to not think in the middle of that game that the Leifes just aren't a serious fucking hockey team at times. With all the quotes after and all that shit. But I know they're going through it mentally and I just think that the Panthers are fucking awesome.

And that is getting lost in the Leafs narrative that this Leafs team should be embarrassed and here comes the choke. This Panthers team is very, very, very, very fucking good. And they rise up. Maybe that's the real. That's

the real narrative. These teams are pretty evenly matched more than people would like to admit. The Panthers can just find that playoff gear and the Leafs can't consistently find it. Because I do think they were doing it at times in this playoff. But they can't consistently find that playoff gear the way teams that can win the cop do. And to just piggyback on that Florida statement, we wondered if they would be tired. And they're just, they're not. I do think Matthew, Matthew, Chuck didn't score a single goal in this series. Yeah, right, right. And I think that that is definitely, I'm not making the robo excuse, because I, but that is definitely a, you know, he's probably a little banged up, but whatever, got to perform.

But they performed and they won, as they always do. And this Carolina series will be a huge test. And you will hear all about that in our episode that drops tomorrow morning on the podcast. And don't forget, he scored, Kichuk's the dude that scored all those goals against Carolina last time. this in these confines, like the OT, OT, one second left, like bus in 10, bus in and 10. So he's the last guy they want to see. Holy shit.

Okay. Unbelievable app chat. Wild stuff. We've got our conference final set. We've got our four teams. This is going to be unbelievable. I know I'm rocking this elbow room shirt today. We'll see what your pick is later. A lot of cats fans

saying that the tides turn to that series when they bought our elbow room tea. Oh, yes. I mean, someone in the chat earlier, I forget your name, said that he got the shirt, wore it for games three, four, and five, and then forgot to wear it in game six. Oh, huge. And then wore it in games seven.

Huge, yeah. So the elbow room shit, the elbow room shirt is crushing. Make sure you scoop that. I'm wearing a hat right now. You can get this hat in our merch store. I'll put it in the chat right now, guys. Emptynetters. Dot shop.

And you're going to find all of our new designed six. shirts, our crew necks, everything is so fun. Snag some of that stuff right now. Also, Keynes fans. Yeah, I was going to say shirts coming for every conference final team. Cains fans, Cats fans, Stars fans, Oilers fans. We've got an elite playoff

shirt coming for you guys this week. Every team's going to be represented. So scoop some good stuff. Subscribe to the YouTube right now. Send the YouTube to a friend, a hockey friend who might not know of us yet. I don't know how that's possible. But if they don't, send us to them, make sure they subscribe.

Start listening to the pod. Follow us on all the socials. We're going to be buzzing around as usual. Great stuff. And we're on to the conference finals. On to the conference finals. This ascent isn't for everyone. You need grit to climb this high this often.

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