Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - NHL SQUAD SHOW: Aaron Ekblad suspended, Marchand to Florida, and who gets the western wildcard spots

Episode Date: March 12, 2025

Welcome to the NHL Squad Show! Today our hosts Gil Martin (Locked On Islanders), Eddie Garcia (Locked On Kings), Tom Callahan (Locked On Utah HC) and Jess Belmosto (Locked On Flames are talking about Aaron Ekblad’s 20 game suspension for breaking thee NHL’s rules on performance enhancing drugs, the whirlwind of the trade deadline including Mikko Rantanen to Dallas and Brad Marchand to Florida, and how the Western conference wildcard race is starting to get exciting! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FactorEat smart with Factor. Get started at factormeals.com/lockedonnhl50off and use code LOCKEDONNHL50OFF to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.IndeedNow, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to Indeed.com/LOCKEDON right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply.Trade CoffeeGet 40% off your first order with Trade at drinktrade.com/lockedonnhl. Wonderful PistachiosGet snackin’ and get crackin’ with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more!FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The trade deadline is behind us and the playoff races are heating up. We're going to talk about winners and losers at the trade deadline and how everything gets affected going forward. All that and more coming up on the NHL squad show. You are talking puck with the NHL squad show. From the Oilers to the stars, Golden Knife and the Panthers, the Rangers, avalanche, and yes, even the Maple Leafs. The Locked-on podcast network brings together all its local experts to provide the

scoops, breakdowns, and comprehensive looks at all the NHL with plenty of trash talk to go with it. Don't miss the hard hits and glove dropping hot takes on the Locked-on NHL Squad Show. It's time to drop the puck. Gilmartin here and welcome everybody to the NHL Squad Show. Sit back, grab your favorite beverage and join us as we get you ready for another wild week across the National Hockey League. We're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team, every day. I want to say hello to everybody. Let's welcome our panel this week, Jess Belmasto, from Locked on Flames, Eddie Garcia of Locked on Kings and Tom Callahan of the Lockdown, Utah

Hockey Club. Let's start with some surprising news coming out of Florida. Defenseman Aaron Eklad suspended for 20 games for violating the performance enhancing substances program, the league making that announcement on Monday. First of all, how surprising is this? And second of all, how much does it affect the Florida Panthers? I would say pretty surprising. It's not something we see a lot in hockey. As a matter of fact, when I first saw the tweet come out.

and I just kind of saw the 20 games suspension. I was like, whoa, did I miss something? What did Aaron Eggplant do? And then I saw the reason for it. So, you know, I want to say that the, I'm not naive enough to think that the NHL is somehow cleaner than the other sports. I don't know how stringent the testing policy is in the NHL compared to other sports. I got to believe these, you know, hockey players are as competitive.

and there's obviously money on the line to perform and be at the best you can be and everyone's looking for an edge. So why don't we see this more in hockey than we do in potentially baseball and football, it seems like? I don't know, but I was certainly surprised by it. He should be back for the playoffs. So when it's all said and done, right, I don't think it's going to affect Florida that much. But I was definitely surprised to see the reason why.

These guys aren't dumb. let's just start there. They're not dumb. They know what they're putting in their bodies. Some of them are so meticulous about it that they won't eat a gram more of protein than they need to. I have a hard time buying an excuse from any professional athlete that I did not know what I was putting in my body. And that's for any sport. I'm not just talking about hockey.

But in today's, I could see it honestly 20, 30 years ago when guys were still, you know, smoking cigarettes. and crushing beers and, you know, it was a different time. Now everybody's training regiment is so lined up. Everything is measured. Clubs have incredible amounts of money invested into meal planning with these guys, workout planning with these guys. I just, I don't buy it. I just don't buy it.

So it was it surprising? Yes, it was. But I just, I'm not, I'm not going to buy in on the excuse. I think he knew what he was doing and he got caught. I didn't even hear if he gave an excuse because I agree with you, Tom. I'm not going to believe it regardless. So he could say anything he pretty much wanted. And I don't buy it.

You're right. These guys are very sophisticated of what they put in their bodies. I don't. I just and also, you know, saying, well, maybe the trainer gave me something. I didn't. No, no, no. You're responsible for what you put in your body. So I agree with you.

I don't buy any excuse that they're giving as far as that goes in any sport. And, and Jess, I'm going to read the statement. And then I'm curious to get your take on this. this is what Eckblad said. As the NHL announced, I have been suspended for violating the NHL-S-Nh-L-Pearance Enhancing Substances Program. The news that I had failed a random drug test was a shock.

Ultimately, I made a mistake by taking something to help me recover from recent injuries without first checking with proper medical and team personnel. Then he goes on to say you let everybody down. I get it from a PR standpoint, definitely, because, I mean, if you come out and say, yeah, I did that. There's a few more implications there. But I agree with you guys.

They have so many resources at their disposal. I think of like Tom Brady and I obviously not hockey, but like he wouldn't eat tomatoes. Nathan McKinnon won't touch regular pasta. Like you're telling me these players are going to ingest something they're not familiar with without checking or, I mean, they have so many doctors, physicians, dieticians, whoever. And it's not, I think you'd be very naive to believe that they didn't know. Well, that's the other thing, isn't it, that the statement implies, Gil, he says, I didn't check with the team, essentially.

So he's implying that he went outside the team for this. which if you believe him and I'm not saying I do, that would have been his first mistake for not to check it. Because they have those resources. And the team, you know, you're having a sucking candy and the team will tell you, hey, you know, this has so much sugar and you shouldn't do more. I mean, they have everything down. You take allergy pills.

They're going to know about that. So it is a little difficult. Now, it is going to be the rest of the regular season. and the first two playoff games that he is going to miss. So first of all, obviously by the time the playoffs start, he is not going to be in game shape anymore. And without Ekblad, who is probably their best defensemen, how does this affect the Panthers and how much bigger is the acquisition of Seth Jones now for the Panthers?

Yeah, that's what I was going to say. it makes that move of getting Seth Jones look even better. But, you know, look, they're still in a great position looking to win the division. If somehow this affects that and they end up having to face maybe a Tampa Bay in the first round, you know, and that might be a little bit more difficult of a task than that certainly would be a bigger story. But, yeah, I think, as you mentioned, Seth Jones coming in is obviously an even bigger – deal now for them and it was pretty big i thought beforehand going in so that that certainly helps yes yeah no i definitely agree um i mean anyone would love to have x flat on their team uh great addition and

you know being without him is going to be very tough and brutal especially composed season but i think like eddie said adding set jones is a lot more important important now. Plus, ECBEC gets hurt a lot. It's not like they haven't played without him. I know it's a couple of playoff games and I'm not trying to say that isn't important potentially, but I think they can survive a couple of games without him. I think so too. The other thing, though, is this, you know, they're right now four points up on the Maple Leafs, five points up on the Lightning in that race for first place in the Atlantic.

and both the Leafs and the Lightning have a game in hand on Florida. It is a big difference to have to play either, you know, Toronto or Tampa Bay in the first round or have to face the second, the first wildcard team. I mean, there is a big difference in first round opponent between those two things. So finishing first is going to mean something. And I think for Florida and the race therein, Tampa Bay has been heating up lot. Toronto's been playing well, although they're starting to cool off a little bit now. That one is going to be tight right down the stretch. And that's kind of the fun part of it, right?

That's why they go out and they make those deadline deals. They get, you know, Marshan, they go out and they get now Seth Jones, as we mentioned, is going to be a huge piece. But they're still trying to figure out ways to fit everybody together, make it work. Now there's a gap with that blad. So that's going to juggle it even more with this adjustment down the stretch. I'm going to be interested to see how it affects their decor. Florida is not the tightest defensive unit, but they're good. But really, I mean, they can put the puck in the net and they, they spend a lot of time with the puck, and that's why they're able to dominate other

teams. So I'm really from like a puck possession standpoint, from, you know, whether it's the dumpins and the chase and the puck retrievals, how are the forwards going to help out the D now and how is everybody going to glue together? Because then in the third game of whatever round of the playoffs they appear in, guess what? You're going to add this guy back to the mix. and now you're going to have to move everything again. Got to readjust all your pairings and all of that. And, well, I guess it is almost like another trade deadline acquisition in a weird,

twisted kind of way. And then, you know, it popped into my head and then there's no proof of it. Is it possible when they acquired Seth Jones? They knew there was an investigation going on or that Eklad might be in trouble. Just sort of crossed my mind. I don't have anything to back that up right now, but any thoughts? I don't think the teams are dumb. It's kind of like last year when there were players that conveniently took a leave of absence at a certain time.

And everyone in the organization absolutely knew there was some sort of investigation going on. And I don't think the league would necessarily hide that from, the Panthers. Well, let's see how they deal with it. It's certainly a big development right now across the league. And the defending Stanley Cup champions do now have to face the challenge of playing without their best defensemen. We have got a lot more to discuss on today's show.

The trade deadline is behind us. But who are the big winners? Who are the big losers? What were the biggest surprises? We're going to talk about that. And a whole lot more coming up next. on the NHL squad. Today's episode is brought to you by Fandul.

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And when I win, I get paid instantly. There's just no waiting around. So visit fanduel.com and get in on the college hoops action all tournament long. That's fandul.com, your home for betting excitement on college hoops. So the trade deadline is finally behind. behind us. We've been talking about it for so long. It feels like, you know, it was never going to get here. Let's start with the Miko-Rantanin situation because it just seems so crazy. And now all of a sudden, Rod Brindamore has some not-so-lovely things to say about Miko Rantan and his time in

Carolina. First of all, I find it ironic that he ends up in Dallas after starting the season in Colorado. Your thoughts on the whole Miko Rantanin thing, Jess, let's start with you. I mean, good for Rantan. He's earned the right to decide where he goes and he has that agency. I do think that Brindamore is a very passionate coach who it's not his first time spouting off, regardless, you know, if it's officiating or anything like that. So, I mean, I'm not shocked, but I do think that it's kind of, I don't know, you look like a bitter betty. Like, okay, this guy didn't want to be here.

So I'm sorry, but that's life. Well, I can imagine him being bitter because it doesn't seem like anybody wants to play in Carolina, which, you know, he's obviously a guy that was a captain there. a cup there. And, you know, seems like a lifelong guy there. So I can understand him being a little bit of an offended by it. But I just think it's a cautionary tale, really, you know, I admire general managers who are bold and want to go for it. But if you're going to try and land a player like that, you better have a pretty good idea that he actually wants to play there and he wants to sign there. And then just to make a move like this and then hope to convince him that it's a good

place for him, which it seemed like Miko Randen never had any inclination to try and, you know, want to stay there. He seemed to know right away that wasn't a fit for him or didn't want to be there and pretty much made it be known, I thought, maybe through his play on the ice and with his statements, with his words, that that wasn't a place that he wanted to be and he wasn't going to be there. So, you know, what Dallas obviously wasn't going to make that deal unless they knew they could sign Miko Randan and they did. So you just, again, I had, admire going for it. I admire being bold, but you just got to be smarter about this.

And to think that they, it's seemingly, Carolina had no real idea if he really wanted to play in Carolina or not. And then to make this move regardless. And then in the end end up being less than the team you were before you even made the trade is obviously a pretty huge swing and a miss for them. Eddie, I couldn't agree more with you. How do you not through the NHL grapevine know ahead of time? I'm not saying you're calling and tampering with the player,

but how do you not know? That's a huge miss. And even Brindamore said on the radio station, he's quoted saying today that Randen said there's four teams I'll play for, but you're not one of them. So, okay. Great. Very ambiguous.

Yeah. How did you not know this ahead of time? There was one of four teams that Miko Randan was willing to go to and sign with and end up in a trade where he would actually be happy. So as Jess said, I mean, yes, the players have the agency and they're much more vocal about it. these days, but I am a little shocked. And look, some organizations will make a move for a player in the hopes that they can win

them over, right? They'll be like, yeah, I know you don't want to come here, but come on and see how cool it really is, how awesome this place is, you'll love it. And maybe that's a gamble they took and they lost. It's a big gamble, though, when you're talking about a player of that caliber and the price they had to give up to get him. And it's, if you win. And it's certainly ironic that he ends up signing for pretty much what Colorado was going to offer him.

So that's certainly an interesting aspect of it. And did he go to Dallas? Maybe not only because it was a great fit and they were a great team. But oh, by the way, he's going to probably get a shot at his old team as well. I mean, that first round matchup, if it is Dallas, Colorado, that's, I mean, sign me up for all seven games of that. And that's even honestly without the subplot of rant and going up against his old team because they're both that good and they both improve themselves that much. And to think that one of those teams is going to be out in the first round, let the complaining begin of how unfair the playoff system is for the loser of that series. Yeah, Central Division is loaded now because you also have to add Winnipeg into that mix.

And you know, you've got three teams right there that are unbelievably talented. and like you said, at least one of them is going home after the first round of the playoffs. What was the biggest surprise to each of you regarding the trade deadline, whether it was a move that was made or a player that was not moved? What caught you by surprise, Tom? You know what? This is low-hanging fruit, but I'm just going to throw it out there. How does Brad Marchand end up on Florida?

I please put him on the line and then having it come having it come down in the 11th hour two right right at the end right was a stunner it really was a stunner I don't understand how number one division rival number two yes the the kachuk history there like this is wild these guys in the same locker room again I want them on the same line I want to see how that goes but that just that was crazy to me when I saw that I'm like I did not have that on my bingo card him going to Florida like I say I know this is the obvious one, but I think it needs to be put out there because it really was that big of a shock. I guess that he told management that he, like, I want to go to Florida and that was really

one of the only options, I guess. I don't know. I just, I couldn't believe it. It was like 258 on the East Coast and all of a sudden I get a notification. I was like, this is great. Like we've survived. It's three o'clock. We did it. And then it's Brad Marjan to Florida. And that ruined my work day. And yeah, with Boston, so much for not trading within your division. I mean, shipping guys to Florida and Toronto. And anytime it's a captain and a future Hall of Famer and, you know, a guy that's probably going to have his number in the rafters there in Boston, it's obviously a big deal. I don't, I don't know if Jess maybe has a comment on this because I'm going to talk about a Pacific division team, but I was really surprised Brock Bessler didn't get moved.

I thought for sure he'd be moved because everything I've heard is that they're not close in talks and he's a UFA at the end of the year. And I know they're on the border there of competing for a wildcard spot in the West, but it doesn't seem like even if they get in that that's going to be the theme that's going to do much. You know, they already traded away J.T. Miller. So I was really surprised Brock Bester didn't get moved. Same. I was fully expecting him to be moved. and, you know, when the time came and went, it was just kind of like, you're going to regret this come summer more than likely.

So crazy move or not move. And that team just seems to have imploded. I mean, like the talent is there, but yet from with, it's like the Rangers in the East and the Canucks in the West, they just both seem to have chemistry issues that they can't get out of their own way. and they're not playing up to their talent level this year. Yeah, that's a crazy situation in Vancouver because now they're, and at Patterson, his motivation has been less than zero.

You know, they had to trade J.T. Miller, who is a guy I would take on my team in a heartbeat. And it just, it's crazy to see how it's all breaking down there. You're right, Gill. And, you know, the other thing, too, I just want to throw this one out there. How does Edmonton not get a goalie? Does everybody really feel like Stuart Skinner's the guy? I don't. No.

Yeah, I was surprised they didn't do much, especially your one game away from winning the Stanley Cup. You had some pretty significant losses in the offseason. I mean, they made a couple of moves, but nothing obviously close to what we saw with teams like Colorado and Dallas. We're just talking about the West. The Pacific was pretty quiet on the whole. Vegas usually does something. They really didn't do much either. But yeah, yeah, I'm pretty surprised with how quiet things were in the Pacific Division.

And Edmondson, again, they certainly don't look nearly as good as they were a year ago. I know anytime you've got the two big guns, you're going to have a shot, I guess, in any series. And goalies really didn't move at all. I mean, there was very little movement amongst goaltenders. Well, you know, Vegas couldn't do anything because they didn't have two players on LTIR. Zing. Not wrong, though. No, not wrong.

Not wrong at all. All right. Well, you know, we've talked a lot on this show over the last few weeks. about the wild card race in the east. How about the wild card race in the west? It's heating up. We've got three Western Conference hosts here. We're going to talk about that and more coming up next on the NHL squad.

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reach the right candidates faster. I've been in that spot when you need to hire like yesterday. The pressure is on and every day without the right person is a setback. That's exactly when Indeed sponsored jobs come in handy. They make sure your post is seen by the right candidates right now. Now you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 sponsored job credit. Just go to Indeed.com slash locked on right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring, indeed is all you need. So we've got three Western conference hosts here. And the Western wild card situation is getting mighty tight. Jess, I want to start with you because your team right now is in the second wild card spot

as we record this, right now, four points separate the second wild card, which is the Calgary Flames, and Tom, your Utah Hockey Club, about 18, 19 games, depending on the team left in the season, your thoughts on how this race is going to go down as we hit the last six weeks or so? This was not the plan. This was not the expectation at all. Dustin will I hope everyone has like bought him something nice

or at least treated him to a nice steak dinner and then again if they make the playoffs I don't know I don't know how they've done it outside of Wolf because they are last in the league for a shooting at five on five they cannot score they go

eight nine ten games without more than three goals and you aren't winning a playoff game, let alone a series, if you're not, if you're only scoring two or three goals, even with Dustin Wolf and Net. It's unrealistic. It is interesting to see, like I look a lot of goal differential, whether it's five-on-five, special teams, all that, and I like to break those things down. And Calgary is minus 18 on the season, but they're so good at home.

They're 18, 10, and 4 at home, which is part. of it, right? We have this weird little trend with some of the teams in West like Vancouver, way better on the road than at home, which I don't understand. But the flames take care of business at home. And to me, it sounds like they win the tight games. So, Jess, if I'm going to look at that, I would say that's what gives me hope for Calgary, is that if they lose, they lose. But if they win, it sounds like you've got, you know, Wolf standing on his melon. They win a tight game, two one, three, two. And that's how you survive. And that is, actually playoff hockey. So Utah hasn't figured that out yet. Utah is right where they need to be,

I think. This is where I expected them to be if they were making progress. They're on the cusp of challenging for a wild card. I didn't think they'd be there this year. I know a lot of national people were like, oh, they're a wildcard team. They're not. They're not there yet. And then all the defensive injuries certainly didn't help. They're figuring it out. This team's plan is to take these steps next year, wildcard team. Year after that, playoff contender. Absolutely. They're a team that could get in and do some damage, but they're not there yet. But if anybody wants to back up, if Vancouver wants to implode, if Calgary wants to forget how to score goals even more and Wolf wants to be human, you know, come on back

to the pack. St. Louis is a question mark right now. That's the best part about this wild card race, right? Who knows what could happen? And Eddie's Kings are four three and three in the last 10. So we'll see. Well, fortunately for my Kings, they've been phenomenal at home and they've got a lot of home games closing it out. So that's why I'm not quite as concerned with the way they've played of late as I would be otherwise. I will say through a weird quirk in the schedule, the Kings and St. Louis Blues met three times in eight days. I have no idea how that happens, but it did. And I was pretty impressed with the Blues. They played some pretty good hockey. You know, they didn't trade Braden Shinn at the trade deadline. They kept their captain. So clearly, Doug Armstrong there is said, okay, you guys are playing well.

enough at this point of the year that I'm not saying, you know, if you wouldn't have got blown away with a movie, you might not have pulled the trigger on it. But didn't make any trades. They lose Colton Pereko, though, unfortunately, with a knee injury. That's going to hurt with their best defenseman being out for a little while. But I've been pretty impressed with the blues. And Jordan Bennington obviously got put up a little bit with the Four Nations. He played there. He's been playing some pretty good hockey plate. So I would say St. Louis is a team that I would keep an eye on there for maybe making a move. Do you guys think the ducks are done?

I mean, they seem to also be hanging around just on the outskirts of the race. I think it's, I've been pretty impressed that they're playing some meaningful hockey games. The young guys are finally starting to emerge a little bit. Mason McTavish has played really well of late. I don't think, I would say they're not going to, I don't see them making a move late, a late push here to get in it. But I think definitely they have been some. rides there in Anaheim.

And who do you guys think? Go ahead, Tom. I was going to say, even if they do make a push, I just don't see them leapfrogging four teams is the real problem for Anaheim. I mean, they're playing great. I mean, they're doing well. I just, I don't think there's enough time for them to get ahead of everybody. I think they're like a year away. I think they're like one half step from being a potential playoff team next year. But, you know, every year is different. Who, who do you? you guys think will actually get the two wild cards in the West? I'm going to go in. I know that Calgary's got a couple of games at hand, but I'm going to

to go St. Louis. I'm going to see St. Louis gets the final wild card spot, and I think Minnesota will hold on for that number one spot. Just your flames stay in it? Yes, because they're the flames and they find a way to win no matter what. And I know I sound miserable about that. But we were projected to have a top five draft pick. Great. This team can't. They're not a playoff team. So, yeah, I would say that they're going to stick around and give us a run for our money.

Jess, are you almost thinking that it would be better long term if the flames don't make the playoffs this year? 100%. There's no, it just seems like a waste of. I don't know, like there's just, they're just there. They're not a truly competitive hockey team. Or, you know, Dustin Wolf, again, he's the one holding it up, kind of keeping it together. But if they get hot, they get hot.

And I guess I would just prefer a little bit better of a draft pick. I think Vancouver hears the message in the room that you guys, this is the team now, figure. it out. And I think they'll figure it out just enough to slide into that that final spot. All right. They, they, the talent is there. As I said before, I think that a team that really could do, or should be doing a lot more than what they've done so far. It's going to be a heck of a race in the West as well as the East, which is still bunched up real tight. So we have a great stretch run coming up here in the National Hockey League. And I'm looking forward to that. I want to

thank everyone for making the NHL squad show your first listen today. For your second listen, check out the Locked-on NHL podcast, bringing you the daily league-wide stories that matter with the local coverage you love from Locked-on. Find Locked-on NHL on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. It's part of the Locked-on podcast network, your team every day. I want to thank everybody for joining us today, Jess Belmastel of Locked-on Flames, Tom Callahan of Locked on Utah Hockey Club and of course Eddie Garcia of Locked on L.A. Kings. I'm Gil Martin from Locked on Islanders.

Have a great week, everyone. We'll be back next week with another episode of the NHL Squad.