OverDrive - Bowness on the Panthers' top-notch style, coaching perspective against Florida and Marchand and Bennett's performances

Episode Date: June 17, 2025

Longtime NHL Head Coach Rick Bowness joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines for the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers' championship winning ways, Stuart Skinner back in the crease, the perspective of coaching against the Panthers, Brad Marchand's incredible performances, Sam Bennett's integral skills and more.

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Includes auto-pay credit, conditions apply. Visit a Virgin Plus store or virginplus.ca for details. Here's longtime NHL head coach and allegedly has a two iron in the bag, Rick Bonus joining us here on Overdrive. How are you doing, Rick? I'm good. Listen, I'm too old to swing a two iron, man. I just don't have a chance I'd get that in the air.

Yeah. You had one though. For sure you had one at one point. Yeah, I think I did a long time ago. The swing speed is not now what it used to be, so yeah. We do go to the hybrids, but I do have a fly iron in the bag, but I have a 22 degree utility club. I use that as my forearm.

I like that, man. I have the same setup. It's a beautiful setup. I will proudly say I got a four hybrid, and I love everything about it. But yeah, you're right. Just looking at a two iron would be terrifying, man. Like how you possibly could get that off the ground,

I don't think it's possible. I really don't. Well, I played golf with my son Ryan last week in Ottawa and he hit a driving iron and I hit that a couple times because it's on a T, so you have a better chance of getting the thing in the air. And actually, I didn't mind that at all a it's a nice club and he hit a great uh... i even good a couple of times it's worth a try

yeah the driving i have seen it i think you know one of those frankie don't you know i've seen you motor one of those are all put it in and out of the bag i'll switch it out with the three hybrid every once in a while depends how i'm feeling okay and then i was in the sun i started slashing that driving iron and it came right out of the bag back to the hybrid yeah you gotta be flexible with that you have to be uh... so rec what do you what do you make it tonight like we've we've spoken on both teams a lot of the last couple of days

uh... you know that that who do you believe will dictate the pace of the game the style the game tonight is it more likely to be florida or the desperate edmonton orlers on the floor listen i just think for is a better team and if you break it down to go to the better the top four d or better the top nine ford to better than i will see

evans is missing i mean i just think ford is a better team idle in the a blake when they don't want to run the risk of going into game seven now you give them to the kind of credit cause you know they're going to come out hard and they're going to come, coming after them. I think it's, uh, if you get into that first time out and Florida's got things under control and they're going to feel pretty good about themselves. Edmonton has to come out of the gate hard. But the biggest thing for me with Edmonton, man, they've got to play whistle to whistle. They got to get away

from these scrums and, and all this other thing. You are not going to intimidate the Florida Panthers. You're just not. You have to play whistle to whistle, whistle blows, get out of there and get focused and get ready for your next shift. You get into all these scrums and push and shove and then face washes and everything, you're playing right into Florida's hands. So they've got to be desperate, but they've got to play with controlled emotion they can't let the

emotion get out of the get out of hand and get into those scrums but I do believe that Florida is going to persevere simply because they've been there they know what it takes and they know they do not want to go into the Prairie Game 7 so I'd go with Florida tonight. Rick a lot of head coaches I talked to say the conversations with starting goaltenders are very minimal like it's between the goalie coach and they kind of filter things back to the head coach would that be the ultimate case tonight for steward skinner and not block like

what could you possibly say i'm sure everybody knows what's on the table he picked him he's just gotta go out and do a job, I would say that's a conversation between the three of them and the head coach should be in there with the goalie coach and and Stewart and he he's supposed to be their guy. He's supposed to be their number one guy. He's bounced back from bad games before. They're going to need him to be at his absolute best and if they have any chance at all, he's going to have to maybe steal a 10 minute for each period when things aren't going their way. He's going to have to make some saves that he's not supposed to make.

He's got to make all the saves he's supposed to make. But I think that's a conversation that three of them have. But again, he's supposed to be the guy and that's up to the head coach and the goalie coach that can, you are the guy. We have total faith in you tonight. And that's why we're going right back with you. So again, those conversations are crucial. Uh, and they have to lay out all the cards on the table, but again, as you said, they all know, listen, you lose your goal. It's over. So, uh, everyone's well aware of it. Uh, I think a little pat

in the back from the coach and the, and the goalie coach is going to help them, but it's all going to come down to Stuart and the way he handles himself in his preparation for going into today's game. And that being said, he's going to need a little help. They can't be giving up some great A's early. They can't be getting in the penalty box early and getting Florida's a lot of momentum. Bones, how frustrating would it be for you as a coach if you have to prepare your team for the Florida Panthers, but there's no surprises. Everyone knows what the Florida Panthers are all about.

Like how do you kind of go about that and what are you preaching to your group at this point, you know, to try and get something more out of them in such a crucial game? Just to focus on what we mentioned earlier, just that whistle to whistle. You get out there, puck drops, be ready to go. Your name's being called, be ready to go. And get away from all the other extracurricular things, focus on the game you have to play and be the best version of yourself you can be. They have to have the best version of each and every player going into tonight's game. And you do that by getting your preparation and the way you get ready for your next shift and it'd be innocent. Every shift is not

going to be Picasso, right? It's just not. You have a bad shift, get back to the bench, figure it out and get ready for your next shift and your teammates are going to be relying on you to do that. They're going to have to have a consistent effort and then pretty much every shift when it doesn't go well, make sure the next line on you to do that. They're going to have to have a consistent effort in it. If you're in a jibby shift when it doesn't go well, make sure the next line up is ready to go and gets momentum back. But you really, really want to focus on just being the best version of yourself. Get away from all the extracurricular activities. Whistle to whistle as hardy and as smart as you can and as together as you can as a line or as an offensive pairing as

a five main unit. So as far as that momentum goes you know you have two great weapons if you're Chris Knoblock you have McDavid and Dreisaitl like how early into this game are you kind of pushing that button saying I got to get these two guys together because I can maybe feel the game swaying in one direction and I want to capitalize on that. You won't be able to hesitate tonight. I love the way you can back after a repowered and penalty killer. He's coming right back with them and gives them a couple of shifts together to get momentum

back on their side. So I don't think he'll hesitate. And you know, icing's come into play here. He was right. Florida ices the puck a few times. They throw those guys out for the ozone face-off. So, obviously Florida can't change and icing's come into play a little bit here

because every ozone face-off's a potential scoring opportunity should you win the face-off. So, those little things are gonna come into play, but I think if things aren't going well and you've gotta get momentum, then he's gotta have to put them together. Now, that being said, a lot of that depends on the health of Nugent Hopkins.

When Nugent's playing like he has been, and he's able to do that more because you come right back with Nugent Hopkins as your second line center. You have dry sailing with David out there, you've got to have a second line center coming in there. Hopkins and Nugent Hopkins is the perfect guy. So, a lot will depend on how he's slaying and how he's feeling. And if he looks fine and he's feeling 100% then you can do it more often. If he's struggling then you're not going to be able to do it as often as you would like.

Rick, if the Panthers pull this off tonight, what do you think it would mean for Paul Maurice and his standing amongst the coaches? It would be four trips to the finals, back to back cups, it's pretty impressive stuff. Well it is, I'm actually, listen, nothing but total respect for Paul. He's had a great career and he's a great coach and obviously that's, like you mentioned, four times to the Stanley Cup finals, you get back to back to Stanley Cups, you're doing a lot of good things. And I give Bill Zito a ton of credit here. Listen, and forget how Johnny is done.

Right, and like don't ever underestimate what Bill Zito has done for that hockey club. And it goes back when he picked up Matthew Tichuk. And all of a sudden you go get Bennett, and all of a sudden you go get Marci. And Seth Jones, this is the best I've seen him play. It shows good players need to play with good players. And Seth Jones has been a perfect fit for that.

So Bill Zito has done a great job, but certainly Paul is one of the coaches. He's right up there. He's a great coach. You couldn't be happier for him. And if you get back to back, Stanley Cubs, you're doing a lot of good things. Yeah, there's no kidding when it comes to that front.

And I mean, everything Florida's done has worked. You mentioned obviously their head coach, Maurice, being a big part of that Bill Zito being a big part of that, their GM, and he acquires Jones. He acquires Brad Marchand and you're familiar with Brad and the way he's playing like there are, there are some making the argument this is the best he's ever played in his career. Where do you stand on how much Marchand has popped since he's been in Florida and how much he evidently still has left in the tank in terms of being an impact player throughout the rest of his career?

Well he's loving it right now. He's loving the attention he's getting. But let's go back to 2011 we lost game seven against the Boston Bruins and Marci was great that whole series. So that was my first real, you know, watching them play up close on every second night. And you realize what a great player he was. It already is. And right now he's, listen, he's in the perfect role.

And he is, he's on that third line. He's given them a lot of energy. He's not on their number one power play, but he gets some power play time. It's a huge part of their penalty kill. So I love the role that Paul's putting him in, and he's been a perfect fit. Because I know when he first got traded there,

and they had a lot of injuries. They were having a tough time. Okay, where are we gonna play, Marcy? Who's he fit with? But with all the injuries they had, it took a while to get him in that right role and with the right people. And his they had, uh, they had, it took a while to get them in that right role and with the right people and his line makes that third line is man, that's, that's a dangerous line. They can play against anybody. You can make them to

vote against David and dry settle and then check them and do a great job with them and make them make it hard for them to play. So I love the way Marsha's playing. He's listen, he's unrestricted free agent. He's, but he's enjoying every minute of it out there and he loves being the rat he loves the attention he's getting on the case from Edmonton and I couldn't be happier from these Halifax kid as we all know we got a pump yeah of course right right got a pump those guys but I couldn't be happier for him and listen that was a great trade He's a perfect fit for what they needed and he's the perfect fit for that role that he's playing right now And he's taken full advantage of it and I had to have a vote in that constant night right now It's Brad because he's of the tiny goals. He scored. It's not yeah

He's got a lot of goals but man he's scoring some very finally timely goals and the overtime and the first goal in the games. Those things are huge for a momentum-delicative team. He would get my vote as going into tonight. He would get my vote for the Conn's night. Bones, you've obviously been in the NHL for what seems like a lifetime. You've been on so many different teams, great teams.

You look at this Florida Panthers team and everyone seems to fit perfectly. You're not force feeding guys into situations where you may be asking too much of them. Over all your years, how rare was it to find a team or to coach a team where it's like all the pieces of the puzzle just kind of fit perfectly and I'm not asking too much out of this guy or that guy because that seems to be the case for the puzzle just kind of fit perfectly and I'm not asking too much out of this guy or that guy Because that seems to be the case for the florida panthers. It's just it's a perfect fit for seemingly everyone involved It is they're all playing the perfect roles and they are you get set jones playing behind ecblet

Yeah, marcy playing third leg. Uh, you know sam ben to find a better second rank center in the league. He can't Uh, so and the roles are they're all perfectly fitted for the roles that they're being and and the minutes that they're asking They're like that's just as important You can have all the rules you want but the minutes are important and they're all playing the right amount of minutes and just You know that nature did a lot of credit. Look how well he's fit in there and how well he's playing on that third pairing D. So it is, it's, it's, it's, so I go back to Bill's even then that's a perfectly constructed team. They can be you at any type of game you want to play.

They can beat you at it. You want to play nasty. Okay. We'll play nasty. You want to play fast? Okay. We'll play fast. You want to play physical?

We'll play physical. Like there, there's a perfectly built team and there's the rules and the minutes that they're being asked to play and it's it again it goes back to being a very well coached team by Paul and but you're absolutely right that that team has been a lot of thought went into that a lot of effort went into that and building that team but it's a perfectly constructed team and it can be again it can beat you any way you want to play, they'll find a way to win.

Rick, you mentioned Sam Bennett not being a better second line center in the league. How would you value him moving forward? We all know how valuable he is in the playoffs but one of the biggest debates in the last month and a half with watching his success on the ice is he's great in the playoffs but are you gonna pay upwards of nine and ten million for a guy that doesn't get sixty points how would you view that if you were approached about the proposition of bringing aboard bennett to play second line center because i know my approach would be you pay him whenever you can

well exactly listen and so what your your approaches okay, we're going into this year, we want to win the Stanley Cup. That's the bottom line. We want to win the Stanley Cup. We have to improve here. Then you go get it. And it would have cost that much and it cost that much. You know, we get into the playoffs, he's going to help you win a Stanley Cup. And then I was convinced that's the bottom line. Every player you look at, you're saying, okay, can we win the Stanley Cup with this guy playing in that role? That applies to pretty much every player in the league. So now you look at every team around the league and if you think you're that close to the Stanley Cup, okay, we can really improve, upgrade our second line center.

And again, it's all those nasty ways he plays the face off and penalty kill. He does so many things that help you win. So you look at him, he helps us win the Stanley Cup. Listen, if you have to overpay him, you have to overpay him. If your goal is to win the Stanley Cup, then you have to overpay him and that's what you have to do because man you do win with guys like him. You love how he competes, you love what he brings and you love the consistency of how

he plays. It's every night, it's every shift. He's in your face. He's out there to win every shift and that's what I love about the guy. There's no shift off in the playoffs. Yeah, you have to get in the playoffs first obviously, but there's no shifts off and he's in your face and he's coming to play. And, you know, as coaches, we talk a lot about grit, grit, grit. One of the things I keep talking about lately is nasty. You got to be, you also got to have to be a little nasty out there, man. And because

that's what that's the intensity and the passion around cup. You want to win, you got to be a little bit nasty. He brings that to the table and he dragged everybody else into the fight because he's not the biggest guy out there right so you got to remember that and now you got this guy out there and the way he plays he drags everybody into the fight which makes you a better team which improves your chance in winning the Stanley Cup well he's on the verge of possibly winning his second one tonight. And if it doesn't happen tonight,

maybe it's on Friday, game seven. I'm pulling for a game seven, we all are. I'm sure you are too, Rick. Why not more hockey? But it's on Edmonton to pull their weight. We'll see how it plays out. It's always great catching up with you. Thank you for doing this.

My pleasure, guys. Frankie, because the CMA is doing a great job up there. Keep it going. Thanks, Bones, appreciate you, man. You guys. Frankie, good to see you man. You're doing a great job. Keep it going. Thanks, Bowens. Appreciate you, man. Thanks. You got it. There's Rick Bowens. Me and Hazer doing good too, Rick. Thanks a lot. Now you know how I feel. Years ago when we started, I used to tell these stories all the time. We'd have their teammates on and at the end it would be just like that. Oh, Noodle, great chat with you guys.

You're like, what, I didn't chat? Like, I was in a car. Those were the worst. They'd be like, oh dog, noodles, great to chat. Or they would just be noodles or oh dog. And it would just be like, ah, that was tough for me to listen to. It was cringe-worthy stuff.

Yeah, cringe. And you just pulled that on us. You came on here and Rick Bonus basically told O and I that we're two losers and nobodies and this is the Frankie Carrato show. I did not intend for that to happen. Although he is an unbelievable guy and a great coach. It was nice to talk to him.

Yeah, you talk about a coaching lifer, man. More games than anybody in terms of head coaching and assistant coaching. He's been everywhere. More games and also like more approval rating from his players than any coach you could possibly imagine. Like I don't know what the number would be, 2,500, 3,000 players, 2,500 players maybe played for Rick Bonas.

2499, love him. Like you know what I mean? Like he's one of those guys where guys love playing for Bones. Yeah, he just had an unbelievable career and he mentioned his son Ryan. He's the new assistant GM down with the Islanders. Ryan Bowness, he was with the senators

for the last few years and now he's down in Long Island. Assistant GM with the New York Islanders. Hey, this is Ruby Carr, the host of the podcast, Encore. You know how some artists grow to kind of hate their big hit? This is one of those stories, but I promise, still a likable one. Tune in this week to Encore, the stories behind the songs you love, or the incredible story of Vanessa Carlton's 2002 hit, A Thousand Miles. I recorded the episode while riding a piano around New York City.

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