Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - NHL SQUAD SHOW: Is the Four Nations a good idea, and who’s on the move at the deadline?

Episode Date: February 13, 2025

Welcome to the NHL Squad Show! Today our hosts Gil Martin (Locked On Islanders), Seth Toupal (Locked On Wild), Erica L Ayala (Locked On Kraken), Eddie Garcia (Locked On Kings) and Tom Callahan (Locked On Utah HC). Today we’re talking about the upcoming four Nations tournament, whether it’s a good idea, whether fans will enjoy it, and who could be on the move before the upcoming trade deadline. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!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.FactorEat smart with Factor. Get started at factormeals.com/lockedonnhl50off and use code LOCKEDONNHL50OFF to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping.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 Four Nations tournament gets underway this week, but is this a good all-star format? And do people care? We're going to talk about that and a lot more leading up to the trade deadline next on the NHL Squad Show. You are talking puck with the NHL Squad Show. From the Oilers to the Stars, Golden Knights 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. Welcome to the NHL squad. Sit back, grab your favorite beverage, and join us as we get you ready for another wild week across the NHL. We are part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Gilm. Martin from Locked on Islanders. I am joined here by our distinguished panel this week. Erica L. Iala of Locked on Crackin. Seth Tuple from Lockedon Wild. Eddie Garcia of Locked on L.A. Kings and Tom Callahan from Lockdown, Utah Hockey Club. Everybody, Four Nations tournament gets underway on Wednesday.

Let's start with this. How important is this tournament? in your opinion to the fans and to yourselves. Erica, why don't we start with you? Yeah, first, well, thank you for having me, Gil. Great to be with the squad for the first time for me anyway. And I'll preface this by saying, like, I've gone to an Olympics to cover ice hockey, men's and women's ice hockey.

I plan to go to Milano Cortina. And I just don't think that this is even close to what we're actually going to see in international competition for a lot of people. I think this is effectively the NHL's way to kind of get in on that conversation because they know that players have wanted to represent their countries. And this is kind of a way to do that. I do think that the All-Star weekend needs a little bit of a revival.

I'm just not sure that this has been packaged and sold in a way where, you know, it's going to be something that it can be or that it potentially should be. I can just speak from Cracken Camp. I know Ellie Tolvenin, one of his fellow countrymen in Capo caco will be representing Team Finland. And Ellie, for one, is going to be focused more on his vacation than what Capocaco is doing for the next few weeks. I would say from just an interest standpoint, as far as the players go, and it's certainly going to be individual for all players. I can tell you that Drew Dowdy of the L.A. Kings wanted this very badly. maybe as much as any player wanted to play in this.

It's extremely important for him to represent his country. Will he get a chance to do that for Canada at the Olympics or what his prognosis is going forward as far in getting to do something like this? I don't know. And obviously he only got in because Alex Petrangelo, Vegas dropped out. And so he got the invite. So it's going player to players.

Some players, I think, are really into this. There's a certain player in Pittsburgh that we could talk about as well. as far as for me personally, I'm interested in it. I don't know that I'm excited about it. I definitely agree with Erica that the All-Star game has become very stale for me. So if this is the alternative to that, I'm probably on board. But it also does feel a little weird that we have the Olympics next year. And so this isn't that.

As Erica said, I agree with her. So it's kind of an in-between to me. I think it's better than the All-Star game, but it's not the Olympics. And so I'm curious. I'm interested. I can't see, though, that I'm really excited about it. And of course, the injury issue. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.

Please no one get injured in this. And it affects somebody's playoff chances going down this rest of the season. Yeah. And that's a good way to kind of jump in here for me is Jewel Erickson, who has been injured for pretty much the entirety of the season, did not play against the New York Islanders because of an injury. But we were told after the game, don't worry, he's going to be able to compete in the four nation's face off.

And I'm like, you know what? A player like that could probably benefit from two weeks off. But look, I get it. Wanting to represent your country, that's a big deal to the players more so than to those that cover the league. And I do like the fact that this is kind of an appetizer to Olympic coverage. It just, you know, what are the, the big thing for me is what are the stakes? Like, what is, what are they all playing for?

for here that you're not going to get from the Olympics, but that is a step up from the All-Star game. That's what I'm going to be watching to try to flesh out. But beyond that, I'm like, just, just don't get anybody hurt. Like, there are much bigger for Team for Team USA and Team Canada. The aspirations are Stanley Cup, like for all the players on those teams. So just don't get anybody critically hurt that is going to be a key fact. down the stretch. That's all I ask. So what I'm picking up from everybody who said anything so far is two things.

Number one, this is more important to the veteran and or fringe guys. The older you are, it sounds like the more important this is. Maybe because you might not have a chance, same with the fringe guys, at playing on your Olympic squad for your country. So I think it does have a heightened importance for them. It is a big deal to represent your country. you're still elite in some sense of the word. The other thing, though, I'm going to go back to what Erica said at the beginning is,

what are we marketing this as? Like, I understand it is an all-star game-ish, but who are we marketing this to? Who are we saying, hey, come on in and watch. This is it just generic hockey fans? Is it just, you know, rich people who can afford tickets in Boston and Montreal right now? Like, who are we marketing this to? How are we marketing this to? How are we marketing this?

Are we saying it's going to be intense international competition and then it falls short? I think that's one of the things the NHL has quite frankly fallen way short at in the last couple of years is telling me what the product is supposed to be about. I'm a lifelong hockey fan. Great. I know what I expect to see. But the National Hockey League, like the playoffs should sell themselves. The NHL needs to do a better job of getting out in front of telling me why I should be interested in things,

especially if I'm a casual fan. Die hards are going to be there. But the casual fan, what are you saying to them? And I'll be honest with you, I don't even know what their messaging is. That's not good. I mean, and kind of to that end, and I think it goes back to what Seth and I think, Eddie, you also maybe mention this.

For players who are coming off of injuries, who maybe are injury prone, and I can think of, you know, if there were certain federations, I would not want certain players from the crack in playing at all because they can, you know, they can't walk. and chew bubble gum without getting hurt, it feels like. You know, so what does that mean for the

quality of the game, right? Because if it's not quite an all-star where we kind of know the guys are not going completely full tilts, right? But this is, you're playing for pride, you're playing for your country, but also don't get hurt. So what is what does that look like as far as the hockey product? I think hockey fans, right, want to see good hockey. And I don't know that it matters too much what the circumstances of the teams are. We just want to see good hockey. And I don't know what we're going to see in this game. Now, what about this? How is the league going to handle, like fans, for example, of a given team? Do you think those fans are going to root more for if they're a Canadian base, they'll root for team Canada? Or if you're a Maple Leafs fan and

the Maple Leafs have players on Team Finland and Team USA and Team Canada, are you rooting for your guys? rooting for your country? Is it a combination of both? How will fans emotionally respond to this tournament? Well, I think to Tom's point, like the NHL just really hasn't done anything to market this other than literally the only thing I can think of is when the Four Nations face off on X posted, here are the rosters. I don't recall seeing a single thing since. And that's not to say that they're having. been but it's just it's just one of those things that they just it's like passing a like you're walking down the street and you pass a street vendor saying four nations face off get your four nations face off and you just are like I don't know what that is so I'm going to just keep walking like they haven't really tried to pull and this is this is a big problem for the NHL is like you're dealing

with a lot of really passionate fans who know the products you don't really have to go out and get them but you're not going out and getting people that don't really follow and saying, hey, this is a big deal. You should follow this. You're just putting it out there and just saying, well, if people want it, they're going to seek it out. But you're not really trying to turn it into a big thing. And we live in a world now where between the sports betting and the sports fantasy football,

hockey, blah, blah, aspect, because of those two things, the culture around sports has changed. And I think it has stripped away some of the pure fandom of a team of a franchise. So I think fans, Seth to your point, are malleable. I think, let's say you're a Penguins fan. You're going to root for Team USA because you're in the United States. However, you're also going to root for Sidney Crosby. And I think at the end of the day, you're okay if either one of them wins. You know what I mean?

So I don't, I don't think there's the, man, I'm just hell bent to see insert country team here win the way maybe you are at the Olympics. You know, the Olympics feels different. Here, I almost feel like fans, yeah, like my team for instance that I cover Utah, two teams are going, two guys are going to Team Finland. Is that who they're going to root for? Yeah, maybe. Maybe Finland will pick up a bunch of fans, you know, in the Utah area,

which is not the worst thing, but I also imagine they'll still be cheering for Team USA too, you know. It's just, but again, we're wishy-washy about it. how important is this tournament? We're all scratching our heads. And I think the most important thing, if you're the NHL, is that you want people to care. Regardless of who they root for, you want them to have an interest.

You want them to actually care. And we'll see whether or not the NHL can market this effectively so that enough people do actually care. We have got a lot more to get to. We're going to talk a little bit more about four nations. The trade deadline is now less than a month away. We've got all that and more coming up here on the NHL squad show. So today's episode is brought to you by Factor.

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You know, the All-Star game is like one afternoon and then you have the skills competition. Are people going to tune in for 10 days of this? It's a great question. I think a lot will depend on how that first game goes, right? On Wednesday, pretty good matchup, Canada, Sweden, a lot of talent. If those guys go out there and put on a good show, maybe that lets our appetite for more. If not, then probably not. So I think a lot kind of rides on that opening game.

People probably will tune in be a little bit curious. Maybe they're just having some hockey withdrawals, but I think tuning into that first game could set a very big tone. And I'm guessing the NHL will tell those guys, hey, you're the first up, you're the first up. Let's see what you could do, put on a show and hopefully set a tone for the rest of the tournament. I want to ask you guys a question. Who's carrying this?

What channel? I honestly don't know because I haven't looked it up yet. And the league hasn't told me. They haven't put it in my face. I do not know. Who's carrying it up today? I know. It's ESPN, ABC, and TN.

Yeah, it's the, it's the NHL broadcast partners. I do know that because I quite literally just recorded and talked about it, which is why I know. But to your point, I, I didn't know until I'm looking at the schedule and it happens to be right there. So I think the, the, the, what is going to be the intrigue is the NHL expecting the broadcast partners to carry the storylines for the next two weeks. I mean, to the point about, you know, is anyone going to be interested in the actual hockey? I mean, I guess it will depend on how these broadcasts are able to build up.

I think just as an example, if I had to guess, Emily Kaplan is probably one of the most qualified people on a broadcast that comes from North America, I should say, that is able to engage an audience. And actually a player in some of what is happening, you know, from their own country perspective. I don't really think that's something that the NHL leans into. I mean, I've gone on rants a galore on the Locked-on Cracken Show. You know, we even get mad at guys when they correct us to say their name, how it actually should be said, as if it's an affront to the broadcaster and not an affront to the player for however many years they've been hearing their name said.

wrong. So I don't know. Like, I don't know. There's so many things, again, I come to the NHL from women's hockey where international competition is a big deal. We just finished the rivalry series. We've got world champions coming up for the senior national teams all leading up to an Olympics. And the PWHL, on the other hand, they are getting the traffic from all of that because now international fans can watch these players in one league. The NHL is trying to do it. the opposite way. And it's been a contentious relationship. NHL fans are not international hockey fans and vice versa. There has not been a road where these two could meet amicably, right, for a while. And so I don't really know what's going to happen here. I'm assuming from what

there is not available on NHL.com, for example, or maybe they're expecting the teams to carry it. There's only the one guy for the Seattle Cracken. And thankful for that because he came from a trade from the Rangers. But are they expecting the teams to carry the storylines? Are they expecting the broadcasters to carry the storylines? Either way, I'm assuming the answer is yes for both, because again, we just don't know if we look at NHL.com very much about what is expected. But then also, I just want to go back to another point about AllStar being,

effectively, if you really stretch it three days. But there are events. It is like a networking opportunity. for the players or anyone who works in hockey, the fans have all of these different activities and they make it a big event. When you have something that's stretched across two weeks in two different cities, in two different countries, what does that look like? A mess.

I, so just in the time that we have been recording, I came up with two ideas off the top of my head, which is just more effort than the NHL put into marketing this at all. all. So a couple of thoughts. I think this theoretically will be more of a draw than the All Star game because it does actually feature games as opposed to a three on three exhibition where good luck goalies because it's going to be mostly offense, no defense. But you think about what I'm going to use the NBA as an example. Like they have basically a selection show for their All-Star game. Why couldn't you do that with these rosters for the NHL, where you have the GMs of each

of the teams say, okay, here's my roster. So then whoever's hosting, maybe it's, maybe it's the TNT panel, whoever's hosting can kind of push them on, hey, Team USA, no Tage Thompson, what gives? Like just, just create a little bit of a back and forth and turn it into something that the fans can watch as opposed to, hey, did you hear? that the rosters for the Four Nations were unveiled. No, I didn't see it. Can you send me the link?

And then, like, opening weekend, you could easily do some sort of like a red carpet event, where all of the players, okay, all the players have converged on these different opportunities. They get a chance to maybe meet the fans, sign some autographs. And then you have the opening game with everybody in one spot. That's just off the top of my head,

Gary Bettman, I'll take my fee. The scary thing is that you put more thought into this in the last 15 minutes than the NHL marketing department appears to have put into it in the last however many years that went into putting this all together. And then here's the other question. And Eddie, I think you sort of, you said, okay, these are games, whereas the All Star game is a glorified version of Shinny where nobody checks. but are we actually going to see checking in this tournament? Are we going to see defense in this tournament? Or are we going to see more of an all-star game kind of? I mean, look, no all-star game with the possible exception of Major League Baseball,

does the product actually resemble a regular game? It just, you know, the NBA is more playground basketball. The NFL is now touch football for the Pro Bowl. You know, the NHL is more like shit. So what's left? I mean, are we going to see typical hockey or are we going to see all-star game kind of hockey or something in between? Well, I think again, that's why I said that first game is so important to let us know what we're

going to see. My anticipation is that we're going to see something not quite playoff level hockey, but like a regular season game. That's my anticipation. Now, if it falls short of that, my interest is going to probably fall short. So again, I think that first game is going to be big. Are we going to see legitimate, at least regular season style hockey, which would include hitting, checking, some stuff after the whistle,

perhaps that kind of thing? That's what I'm anticipating. So if I don't see that, that's going to be a problem. We'll see. So you know what, Gil, you said something. I want to ask the panel this question. You said that, you know, Seth has put more effort than it appears, the NHL Marketing Department has put into it.

And we don't, obviously, I would imagine behind the scenes, they've been planning on this for six months. But here's the thing. So you say that. We feel that way in varying degrees. My question is, how important is this then to the league? Do you get the sense that this is important to them whatsoever? Or is this just a gimmick they came up with?

Somebody said, all right, let's roll with it. I think it's the latter. And I think, again, it's because the NHL, is maybe hoping that they'll have hashtag content that they can then push out for the next year. We're under a year from the Olympics. They are not right holders. Not many people are for the Olympics. And maybe that's what this is.

It's like, oh, yeah, look, these guys are playing in the Olympics. Remember when like a year ago they played in this kind of sort of all-star, but maybe not quite all-star game that we put together? And they were wearing jerseys that maybe kind of look like what they're wearing at the Olympics. Isn't this cool? Connection. Like I just, I don't, I don't know. I don't know.

That's my best guess here. I mean, Gary Bettman has made it very clear, again, whether I'm covering women's hockey, whether I'm following the NHL. He wants to promote things that the NHL can own. This is their attempt at owning international hockey. And I don't know that they're going to meet the brief. We shall see. All right, the trade deadline is just around the corner.

And once hockey resumes or regular NHL hockey resumes, we'll only have a couple of weeks. We're going to talk a little bit more about that coming up on the NHL squad. Today's episode is brought to you by wonderful pistachios looking for a snack that's both delicious and nutritious. Crack into a good source of protein with wonderful pistachios. Wonderful pistachios is one of the highest protein nuts. Each one ounce serving has six grams of protein, giving you over 10% of your daily value. Plus, they're packed with fiber and better for you unsaturated fats to help you feel fuller, longer. So don't forget, get snacking and get cracking with a snack that packs a protein punch.

Visit wonderfulpastasios.com to learn more. Again, that's wonderfulpastasios.com. Here is a snack that is healthy and fun to eat. eat wonderful pistachios.com. So the trade deadline will be about two, two and a half weeks after the resumption of NHL play. We've heard a lot of rumors about a lot of players, but is there one player out there who you haven't heard a lot of rumors about who you think might surprise some people and be on the move at the trade deadline? Well, I threw this out there a couple of squad shows a go. And certainly it's a player we've heard of, but I don't know, I don't know how much

this is being talked about. But Miko Rantan, if he isn't giving Carolina an indication that he is going to sign with them, would they flip him at the deadline and have him join another team this year? I think that is incredibly interesting to see a player of that caliber, possibly being moved twice in one season. But I think Carolina has to certainly cover their bases. They can't wait until the end of the year. He either has to sign with them or give him some sort of ironclad guarantee he's going to sign with them.

And so far, I haven't heard any indication that he's really moved closer to giving them an answer on that or not. So to me, again, it's not really answering your question, I guess, Gil, because we've heard of him. It's not somebody who's outside the box. But again, for him to get flipped twice in one. year would be pretty ridiculous and crazy. But there's a basis for it though, right?

Because they got burned by Gensel. Natchez kind of has them, you know, up a creek without a paddle in a situation over the summer and now into the season. And so they had to do something about that. So are they just once bitten twice shy? I got an interesting one that just popped across my, my feed right before we started recording this episode. the Ottawa senators checked in on Braden Shen,

but we're told that the price is a little too high. The Blues have obviously made a ton of moves because they're just really not in it at this point, and they're trying to kind of reload and go at it a different way. I'm not saying Shen will be moved, but the fact that he has now been linked to a team, as far as they are looking into his potential price, don't be surprised if somebody else comes knocking,

to see if they can grab him. What about this? You know, in the east right now, there's a whole bunch of teams that are all bunched together. So maybe only one or two teams are really out of the race officially. Meanwhile, in the West, there's fewer teams bunched together. How do you think that's going to affect what happens at the deadline? Well, I can tell you from the Utah perspective,

that Utah has a glut of defensemen. and they actually just ended up losing one on waivers because they have a lot of guys now. They've brought in. They're dealing from a position of strength. So I know that there's going to be what I'll call mid-level guys available. But the true elites that'll be available in the West, even portrayed to the West, are going to be few and far between. And again, this year, I joined with everybody else in hoping John Gibson go somewhere and maybe has a chance to win a cup. But there's not a whole lot of game-changing guys out there.

but I will tell you that the teams that are in or are available to be busy and to part with guys like the ducks, Zegris's name keeps coming up as well, they could really, you know, Rupa King's ransom for some of what's out there. I know teams say now the price is too high and yes, the trades have started rolling, but there's nothing like the panic that pressure creates in the 24 hours before the deadline. Yeah, I think it's an interesting conversation just regarding the West. I really can't speak from the Cracken perspective because we'd be here for another 15 minutes. But I just get the sense from, you know, as the new team in the West, that did not come from somewhere else. You know, I think that there just doesn't seem to be a lot of traction or it's kind of like my New York Mets. You get them too early or you get them too late.

And then the value is skewed, right? So when you do need to make a move, you can't. So that's kind of how I feel about the West. Yeah, and the other part of this equation, too, is looking at the teams that are out of it at this point. Like you're talking Anaheim, you're talking San Jose, and they have young players, for the most part, that aren't really on the table. So it's it's about hoping that in these next two weeks, somebody really goes into a tailspin and has their decision made for them, essentially, about what they're doing at the deadline. but right now you've seen some big moves before the four nations just to try to secure people before this all starts so nobody gets hurt. But I don't know.

Do we do we see a ton of moves other than like deadline day? We're it. Do we see moves during four nations because there is no roster freeze? That's an interesting one. And I'll tell you what, if Vancouver becomes that team, I know they already moved Miller, Brock Bessor's name is out there. Does Patterson's name? resurface because as of right now, everybody's like, okay, it's not him. He's staying. But if Vancouver goes into that dive, does it become them who can be the movers and shakers by moving a really big

name? A lot of questions out there yet to be answered. And of course, we will cover it every step of the way here on the Locked on NHL Squad Show. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you all for joining us today. Always a pleasure talking hockey with you. We will be back next week, bringing you more of the top stories and we will have a better idea next week as to how this four nations tournament has at least started to play out. So we'll certainly be talking about that. Have a great week, everybody. And thank you so much for listening to and watching the NHL Squadcast.