Spittin Chiclets - Spittin' Chiclets Episode 109: Featuring John-Michael Liles + Barstool Big Cat

Episode Date: September 20, 2018

On a Thursday episode of Spittin' Chiclets, the guys are joined by Barstool Big Cat, and former NHL defenseman John-Michael Liles. With the guys previewing the Central division, Big Cat joins to break down the Chicago Blackhawks and what to expect out of them next season. The guys then talk to John-Michael Liles who was one of the most underrated interviews since Spittin' Chiclets started. JML talks about his time in Colorado, Boston and a ton more.You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/schiclets

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whether you're studying or on a long trip, partying or on the ski hill. Eagle Energy is always within reach. Go to eagleenergy.com and use the promo code CHICKLETS for 20% off. That's C-H-I-C-L-E-T-S. Hello, everybody. Welcome to episode 109 of Spittin' Chicklets, brought to you by Barstool Sports. Let's say hello to the fellas this evening. First, we'll go to our producer, Mikey Grinelli.

Mix it up. Hello, gentlemen. All right. What's up, Mikey? Next up, boy, just on the outskirts of Boston, Ryan Whitney. What's up, brother? What's up, dude? Not much, guy.

Next up. Let's go. Let's get this thing going. The Dirty Desert Dog, Paul Bissonnette. What's up, buddy? Ow! All right. There's go. Let's get this thing going. The Dirty Desert Dog, Paul Bissonnette. What's up, buddy? All right, there we go. Nice. Which of those fleas?

Before we get to the news roundup, I want to let you know we do have John Michael Lyles going to be joining us a little later. Absolutely hilarious interview. Most underrated, I would say, since I've been part of the podcast. I was fucking dying. If we can hear about Petereter forsberg dude we'll take him he's gonna be a reoccurring guest i believe absolutely he was electric guest uh and uh also before we get to the i'm sorry we get the central division preview coming up but before that we're

just going to do a quick little news roundup just to keep everybody up to date who follows the hockey world a couple contracts to get you up to date on don l nurse re-upload edmonton two years 6.4 million sam reinhardt re-upload buffalo two years 7.3 million a couple guys are holding out haven't reported to camp william neilander in toronto talks said to be ongoing nothing imminent nick ritchie and anaheim they're talking nothing imminent this is all per nhl.com by the way sheaodore, Vegas Golden Knights, said to be not close. Miles Wood, New Jersey Devils, said to be far apart. Man, Rocket. Little dialogue.

A couple other tidbits. A couple captains were named. Biz actually mentioned them last week. Alexander Barkoff, he was named the captain in Florida for the Florida Panthers and missed the game seven. Justin Williams got the C in Raleigh for the Carolina Hurricanes. So that's our little news roundup. Any takes on those boys?

I think the contract for the defenseman in Winnipeg kind of set the tone for Darnell Nurse to sign that one. Very similar. And I can't imagine Theodore getting much more than that. I know I had a great year last year with the Vegas Golden Knights, but I see a bridge deal coming. Yeah, and Sam Reinhardt, another guy who comes on the show and gets paid not too long after.

Weird. Pretty funny how that keeps happening. Shocker. All right, so let's jump it right into the Central Division, the NHL's lone 17 division. Go ahead, Biz. Although I did want to talk about JT right now. Were we not going to talk about that right now?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is some big news, and I think that we kind of skimmed over it on the last episode, and we're going to have our producer, Mike Grinelli, read the quote from Lou, and then, of course, we're going to talk about JT's response. So this is – Read it in his accent, Grinelli. So Lemarillo said, it's different if they had won championships.

It's different had they had a lot of success. They haven't done much, and I don't say that with any disrespect. Haven't been to the playoffs the last couple years. Things haven't worked out the way everyone would like them to from what my understanding is. And that's in regards to JT of course deciding to go to Toronto so boys I would consider that a little bit of a jab your thoughts it comes off as a jab certainly I think that if I were to guess it's a little bit of trying to be the leader of the

Islanders like saying who gives a shit we don't need them right I mean you got to do what you can to play a mental game of getting guys not to be thinking about it or thinking that or using it as a slight almost to try to fire them up uh within the islanders but that's a reach i mean i i i don't think it was very i don't think it was necessary um it's like saying uh oh well the red sox never won when ted williams was on the team or it's like, well, you still want him to be there. I mean, you can't blame the Islanders not winning championships on Tavares. Jesus Christ.

He did everything he could. Give him some people to play with. He'd probably have three rings. So he's good enough where I'm sure he knows that this is just whatever, sour milk, sour grapes. What's the saying? Sour milk or sour grapes? Sour grapes. What the fuck is sour milk, sour grapes. What's the saying? Sour milk or sour grapes? Sour grapes.

What the fuck? Sour milk. Sour milk is just disgusting, but you don't cry over spilt milk. Okay, there we go. Okay, there we go. You know what? Honestly, Biz, I'd like to hear the audio of the question and the answer because I think sometimes the tone and context of a question in a media scrum

kind of gets lost when you read it in print. Like when you read it with a headline thatum kind of gets lost when you read it in print. Like when you read it, you know, with a headline that's kind of inflammatory, maybe that Olimpio was giving shit to Tavares when, you know, his comments were echoed by Barry Trotz. And, you know, they're a couple of classy guys, I'd say. I think it was just kind of a quote of more of the case of moving their team forward, just like telling the Islanders, forget about it. He's not here anymore.

Let's just turn the page. And, you know, in the course of those context remarks that, yeah, you know, there's a legacy here, but they didn't win anything. It's not like he won five cups. Sure. So, and honestly, I saw Tavares' response, and I think kind of he took it in that spirit. He didn't seem to be angry.

He just said, yeah, we could have done better, but I did everything I could there. And, you know, I think it's just another case of the media trying to stir shit up. Yeah, I mean, Lou, yeah, we don't know how Lou actually said it because I didn't hear the audio on it. You know, I felt it was still a little bit of a jab. He might be sick of hearing the question about Tavares

and just wants to move on. But I will say this, hats off to Tavares and how he replied to that because if that would have been me, I probably would have went back a little bit. And what Taveras did, he shouldered the responsibility. He said, you know, as the leader there, we didn't make it past the second round once. And we only made it to the second round once. And I think they made playoffs, I believe,

twice while he was there. So he, yeah, he took it. And if you're a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, you've got to be excited about the way this guy carries himself not only on but off the ice. Do you think that Lou Lamorello would be the last guy to ever come on this podcast? Yeah, let's – I mean –

Like, I feel like he's so far. He would – oh, Babcock probably wouldn't either, though. Well, now, we could somehow – Get Babcock to defend himself against Commodore? We never actually shit on Babcock. I guess maybe have. I'm team Babcock, boys. I don't know about you.

I'm just saying, I think of Lou Lamorello. He makes guys use... I think you can only use clear tape, and you can't tape your socks a certain way. I mean, this guy's psychotic. Our podcast, I feel like, would not fit with Big Lou or Little Lou. I guess he's shorter.

That would be fucking hilarious, though. So, yeah, it was a little dust cloud that the fucking media played with. I was going to move on for that. We're going to talk quickly about Elias Peterson's highlight goal after Whitney gave him the shout-out. Basically called the fact that he was going to be a superstar in this league. move on for that uh we're gonna talk quickly about Elias Peterson's go highlight goal after Whitney gave him the shout out basically called the fact that he was gonna be a superstar in this league sure enough I didn't know who he was in the next day he fucking backhand toe drags a goalie in training camp I don't know if you saw the clip uh Whit oh did I see it I think 20 people DM'd it

to me did I see it I said this is is people saying, Whit, you called it. You called it. I got so many messages. Hey, Whit, you called it. You knew about this guy. Yeah, I know. Why do you think I said it? Why do you think I brought him up? This guy's a stud.

And by the way, the one today was even better. I think Ryan Strom's going to retire after what he did to him last night. He actually texted me he needs some more of that CBD oil for his groins. He did. He legit texted me that. No shit. Well, I mean, it was a filthy – it was a Datsoukian deke. I think that's what Doc Emmerich calls it.

It looked like Datsouk. And then, you know what? People are saying, why don't you keep running the clip? Why don't you keep running the clip? He ends up whiffing on a one-timer. I don't care. By the way, I didn't watch the clip. I saw a gif from someone.

Gif or gif, right? A team gif, yeah. Gif. Saw a gif from someone and I retweeted it. I don't care what he did after that because just doing that's enough. That's enough for me. I'm not necessarily about the end pocket. I'm just about looking good, doing whatever you're going to do.

I'd say my biggest regret is maybe underestimating Vancouver as a whole. They got some young studs. So all you Canucks fans, I know I got a couple messages. People were a little upset that we kind of counted them out. But I think Green's going to get those guys together, and they're not going to just roll over and die this season. Hey, one other clip. Did you see, as a Pro-Ins fan, he had me shit my knickers a little.

That Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the Finnish kid. He looks like he's about 11 years old. Did you see that goal he scored the other night? That was another gift going around. I think they took him in the draft last year, like fifth or all the kids. He makes Clayton Keller look old enough to buy booze. The kid, I swear to God, he looks like he's 11 years old. Holy shit, all right. That was a good joke.

Hey, Grinnelli, cut that and put it on the gram right now. Put that on the Spittin' Chicklets account. But, yeah, yeah. He's got to be redeemed first. Caught in the Emmy, man. This kid, he fucking looks unbelievable, man. He's going to be haunting the fucking Brimstone. All right, well, I'll have to look out for that name too, R.A.,

because I didn't know it. But let's move on to the Central. Let's break them down, and let's start with Colorado. The Avalanche. Avalanche, last year they had a huge turnaround. They nearly doubled the previous year's point total. They were an NHL-worst, 48 points in 16-17, and they went to 95 points last year in a wild-card spot,

lost to Nashville in six. It was the fourth-highest improvement in NHL history. Man, Nathan McKinnon had an MVP Calabria. What can you say about him, Whit? What can I say? That guy, what a joke. Explosion. He just explodes all over the ice.

He's flying around. He stops on a dime. I noticed him stopping on a dime and cutting back as well as anyone in the league. And last year was, I'm sure to him, not a surprise. But for me, I mean, he came in and he was a monster from the beginning. I mean, his rookie year, he had 24 goals, 63 points as a 19-year-old, 18-year-old, whatever he was. And then he went down, you know, he got injured in that second year.

He went down, he had 38 points in his third season, 52, then 53. The fourth season, he played in all 82. The team was terrible. But still, I mean, 53 points. He's a former first overall pick his fourth season. That's when you're like, all right, let's go here. I mean, the elite of the elite, the top dogs by year four, man, they're dominating.

So that was where I go into the year thinking, what's this kid have? I mean, he's never really had a monster year. His biggest year was his rookie year. It wasn't even 25 goals. And holy shit, last year came and every question that was asked about him was answered. He had the ability to finish. You know, earlier I think he would get chances and not necessarily finish everything. 39 goals. And a lot of it has to do with the help he gets from Mikko Rantanen, who is like kind of a quiet, going to be superstar, lead player. Maybe not as good as Barkov.

I love Barkov. But that type of player, we don't know much about him. So this team's exciting to watch. And I think making that big of a jump, the fourth best in history, you said, that's pretty impressive. Yeah. I think I was on – I think Pittsburgh, my first and second year, must have been a top ten in terms of that.

That was actually – they were tied for that one as well. Okay, tied with me. Thank you. Yeah, tied on my team. Thank you. I don't want to – oh, go ahead, Witt. Sorry. No, I'm just going to say I think it's going to continue.

I don't necessarily think they'll have more points, but I think they're going, I'm just going to say I think it's going to continue. I don't necessarily think they'll have more points, but I think they're going to be in the playoffs, and I think it's about they figured out their core, Tyson Barrett in the back end, and I don't see a huge drop-off from last year. No, I mean, you pretty much stroked McKinnon right off. He's pretty much dry right now. But I'll put him and McDavid in the same class as far as guys who are so explosive, but their hands can match their foot speed.

And nobody else looks like them really. Like when they start going. When they start going. And that's not taking any away from anyone else at the top. I had him ahead of Halsey for the MVP. I know Halsey's still bitter. Halsey's still bitter at me. And I told him, I said, I wish they could have both won it.

Just because of you know they didn't really have each supporting cast and maybe that's why halsey won it because he had a little bit less of a supporting cast but now let's talk about the supporting cast around mckinnon landis dog who had an unbelievable year last year okay he's a handsome guy another swedes man hey you know what's crazy looking back is he was rumors that he was almost traded, right, at the deadline a few years ago when they had that horrible season. I think there was a package deal set up where he was potentially going to go to Los Angeles.

So I'm sure they're counting their blessings that they never pulled the trigger on that. As far as Mikko Rantanen, I actually played against him in the American League. We knew he was going to be a stud. You were never on the ice against him. No no no buddy but I had the best fucking seat in the house and I knew this guy was going to be a stud you piece of trash and uh they got a decent young supporting cast too I like how they're built they're young they're fast you touched on Tyson Berry on the back end he's a close friend of mine not a big deal and uh I could see a similar type

of situation where he has another big season and much like oliver eckman larson he's going into the he's got two years left on his deal i could see him having a big season in the next uh june 1st or july 1st i should say signing another big ticket to remain and have for a very long time all All right, off to you, buddy. Hold on. Quick, quick. Before you go. Tyson Joe's, too. First rounder. One of the chicklets, boys.

You know the chicklets bump. You know what happens. Grab them in your fantasy league. You know what happens when you come on this cast. Biz, I was going to bring up, they obtainedilip grubauer from washington earlier for a second round and then they signed him with three year 10 million dollar deal ostensibly to replace you know simeon valamoff who's in the last year his deal yeah i mean grubauer he's he was a backup but he played like a number one a lot last year he actually stole the job from um what's his face

hopey for a little bit remember we actually talked about it extensively on the show. His numbers are impressive. I mean, it's a small sample size, 229 GAA, 923 with three shutouts in each of the last two years. Nice, R.A., with the stats. Love it. Great goalie. And just to actually go before we go to Dallas, Nate McKinnon, we'll find out why they call him Mr. Sackick,

but we're sure Mr. Sackick is pleased that he's locked up until 2023 at just $6.3 million per year. Wow. That's going to be one of the best bargains. He was 39 goals, 58 assists, 97 points in 74 games last year. And, Grinnell, we're going to ask you if you could name the big additions and the subtractions from that Avalanche lineup. I know another one of our

guests had to leave the team he signed a big ticket in dallas yeah uh blake como is is kind of who you're mentioning there i think he'll be a uh a big departure um you have jonathan bernier you have um andrew hammond and you know that that's just some of the guys they lost some of the guys they added um you know they didn't add many big names. They added Ian Cole, Matt Calvert. Matt Calvert's good. He's a good little honey badger. And then, like R.A. said, Philip Grubauer.

Lovely, thank you. Matt Calvert was the savage. Remember, he blocked a shot with his face. His face, like, exploded. And I think he scored, like, the overtime or the winning goal. Big bandage on his forehead, face like exploded and then i think he scored like the overtime or the winning goal big bandage on his forehead looking like a complete hashtag hockey guy yeah i think he was like hockey guy of the season like it was playoffs uh maybe maybe i'm making this up he went to the espies and then lost to some fucking basketball guy who rolled his ankle um but uh moving on boys who i'd say a heavy contender this year in the Central,

the Dallas Stars, just that gave Sagan that big ticket. Boys, they've been struggling the past couple years to get over it. Yeah, but how could you say a major contender? Well, I'm assuming that a lot of this bad luck and things are going to turn around for them. You've got to think at some point with the amount of stars they stars they have in that lineup no pun intended not a big deal dad joke uh but yeah i i could see them turning around they got clinton clingberg on the back end is that how you pronounce his name am i fucking that up no you got it right brother and and they got

bishop in net so i mean if a couple of these guys have big seasons i could see them definitely uh coming in the top three of the central division well Bishop's your guy who has to have a good year, Biz. See, I think the biggest problem Dallas made was when they signed Cary Letton into that deal. I mean, they were giving him $5.9 million a year for the last five, six years. His safe percentage for the last four years of his contract, $903, $906, $902, and $912. I mean, that's just not getting your money's worth for almost $6 million a year. They brought in Bishop.

He wasn't as good as he needed to be last year. And if he won maybe three, four more games, they get to the playoffs. He had a 916, say, percentage, 249 GAA. He's got five more years at just under $5 million. And if he bounces back, they should get in the playoffs. I'll say their biggest problem has been the fact that they kind of play a little bit of run and gun, and they break down defensively.

And, you know, they haven't been able to keep up as far as the amount of goals they're letting in their net with those big stars up front. Whit, how's their depth looking? Well, that's why, you know, they go out and they grab Blake Como. They're looking, I think, for people that are harder to play against on the bottom two lines. They have the skill up front. The only issue being that last year they were kind of everyone's pick,

like, oh, here comes Dallas. I mean, they finally got the goalie, and this is going to be the team to beat, and they battled injuries. And then now this year I feel cheap like saying it again because it was said last year, and, you know, they really kind of struggled. You know, you think of a guy like Jason Spezza who I always – is it Spezza Biz or Spezza? I don't know.

We tend to butcher names on this show, so just take a guess. I know, but Spezza was like – man, growing up, like I'm an 83, so when we were like 13, he was the name. He was the best. Well, he's getting older, and that's not a job out of me. No, no, but I'm just saying he's getting older, but it's crazy to see it and crazy that I'm also fucking up his name because I've known about the kid

for about 25 years now, it seems like. But he is slowing down a little bit naturally. But on the back end, right, I mean, Mark Mathot, he missed a ton of time. He's a huge piece for them. They need him to stay healthy. And Klingberg, you mentioned, is this incredibly talented offensive defenseman, right? But sometimes he's a complete gong show. He's a bit of a liability sometimes and yeah and

you know what you're getting i mean you know putting him out there he's gonna get he's he can be like a 70 point d man he's insanely skilled so you gotta have him with my thought you're gonna have you know at least at some point in certain games not trying crazy things right you gotta know at what point in the game like like, all right, I got to kind of settle down a little. I got a question for you. This Valery Nishkushkin, I'm probably fucking that name up too, he was with Dallas and he went away to play in Moscow for a couple of years and now he's back. I saw the same thing and I remember he left,

he wasn't getting the contract he wanted and he went back and he played in the KHL and now he's back with Dallas. I have no clue if now he got the contract he wanted. And he went back and he played in the KHL. And now he's back with Dallas. I have no clue if now he got the contract he wanted or now he's like, oh, my God, I called their bluff. I can't do it anymore here in the KHL. Get me back to the charter planes with sushi and not cigarettes. He's like, I fucked too many hookers over in Russia.

I need to come back and get my life together. But he never really got over the hump. He never really got over the hump in the NHL. I mean, his third year. He has. When you see that guy buzzing down the wing with the puck, he's a monster that flies. I mean, this group up front, like I was saying,

as Spezza gets older, but he's still so skilled. He could have a big year on the power play, especially Sagan. You pencil him in for 40 and 40. It's insane to think, but he kind of will deliver that. He's automatic. He's automatic. And Ben's one of the best overall players in the NHL. I think he's going to want to come back from injuries that he's been dealing with for a long time.

So it depends on what they get from the kind of bottom six guys. And like I said, Blake Como's in addition there. Tyler Pitlick, he was in Edmonton with me for a little bit. He could be an absolute honey badger, as you say, Biz, and he's coming off ACL surgery. So there's a lot of guys that have a lot to prove, and that's why picking them to do well isn't shocking or surprising. It's just like after last year, we got to actually see it.

So I'm not sure if I'm ready to put them in the playoffs. I got no balls to pick him yet. I think the biggest X fact, though, and we haven't mentioned it, is they got a new coach, former Maine Black Bear Jim Montgomery. I believe this is his first NHL coaching gig, right, Biz? He's never been a head coach before, I don't think. Thanks for putting me on the spot there. Jim Montgomery, legend at Maine.

Let me talk about Jim Montgomery. I don't know if you've ever seen Out of the Woods. It's the DVD that covered the Maine Black Bears NCAA win when Paul Correa won as a freshman. Jim Montgomery was a senior, okay? You guys understand that this dude dominated college hockey like maybe nobody ever before. He would fly around, and this was for years before korea

got there so naturally when he came it just took it to another level but he played four years at maine dude his points were 60 81 65 and 95 his senior year with korea so superstar in in college hockey uh played a long time pro played a lot of time in the AHL. He was over in Europe. Played in the IHL. Played NHL games, obviously. I mean, 122. So he went on to then coach, and he's at Denver.

They won a national title, and he moves on getting the big bucks. I think that maybe was his dream. Holy shit. A little college history lesson going on over here. This guy, I think he's going to be a big deal. And then the Quakers came. Players love him. Players love him.

So I'll be interested to see how they do, but it's going to be a different approach this year, and that's going to be a factor for sure. Of course, Radulov is another guy we haven't mentioned. He's a big name up front. And Grinnelli, do you mind hitting us with the additions and subtractions? Yeah, absolutely. So first you have Dan Hamhuis on defense.

He's a defenseman at the Stars loss. You have Kerry Letton in. Spitting Chicklets guest, you know, didn't see much NHL time, but Andrew Bodnerchuk, he's a name. And so now to the additions they've added, Blake Como, like you guys have mentioned, Antcon Kadobin, Dobby is a backup goalie. And you got Roman Polak.

And I guess we could consider that Russian that I can't say who was there and then came back from Moscow. Nikushkin? Nikushkin. Nikushkin. Quickly before we move on, everyone needs to YouTube the best clip of all time when Radulov slashed his coach in the face in the KHL

and then pretended like he was sort of saying sorry and like he didn't mean to do it. It is one of the funniest videos you'll ever see. Get on there right now. I want to learn Russian just so I can hear what he's saying on Instagram. He sounds like a wild man on there, and I have no fucking idea who he's talking about. Slash his coach right in the head. It's the best clip I've ever seen. He always has his fucking fake teeth out,

so he's always walking around with no teeth in his fucking IG stories. It's hilarious. Well, boys, I think we covered Dallas pretty good here. We're going to move on to Minnesota, a team that did pretty well last year, finished third in the Central. And, you know, let's dive right in. What do you boys think? I hate to pick on them,

but is there any more, like, nondescript team in nhl than the wild they're just a little boring a little boring yeah they're just it's not like a lot of pizzazz to them a lot of flash to them and they do have a really nice team on paper they have a well-balanced scoring attack you got eight double digit scores eight double digit scores last year pretty solid decoy led by suitor and uh dumbo dumbo dumbo jared spurge another one and devin dubnik and net as solid as a number one goal you solid decoy led by Suter and Dumbo. Dumbo, not Dumbo. Jared Spurgeon. Jared Spurgeon, another one. And Devin Dubnik and Ned is solid as a number one goal you can get. You know, I think eventually you're going to start wondering,

where does Bruce Poudreau factor in here? He's got 10 years of playoffs. He's never gotten out of the second round. I'm sorry, he did once when he was with Anaheim. You wonder if, like, is his time going to start, like, being up with this team? I mean, you know what I mean? Like, Bruce Poudreau, he seems once when he was with Anaheim. You wonder if his time's going to start being up with this team. You know what I mean? Bruce Boudreaux seems to have a time limit with his teams. About five years, then they start to tune

him out. I wonder if that's going to happen here in Minnesota. It's like when they see him with food on his dress shirt for the 25th time, he gets fired. They're like, we're at 19. Before this season, he could be done by christmas if he has some barbecue it's amazing last in washington so long after ovi was mixing the sauces and splashing

around before in pregame meal he probably would hang out at the other side of the room uh i think we've mentioned before bruce pedro apparently was the wayne gretzky of the of the ahl i think he had like an insane career in the AHL, and he's a beauty of a guy. But still, he has food all over himself. Any guy who's in Slapshot's a legend too. Biz, random name to mention when we're looking through Minnesota, but I'm looking through their roster earlier,

and I saw the name right now on their team website, Michael Leambus. Is that that kid? Do you know him? Is that the kid who got kicked out of the OHL forever? I don't know. I don't know if he'll be in the NHL. He could have been an AHL sign-in, but we'll have to look into that. We'll be reminded of it.

One thing that sticks out, though, is this team, as far as their stars are concerned, are getting a little bit older. You know, Zach Parise, he suffered some injuries last year. He's breaking down a little bit older. You know, Zach Parise, he suffered some injuries last year. He's breaking down a little bit. But I'd expect him to have a good bounce-back season. He's a true professional. Do you guys think that Eric Stahl can maintain that pace that he had last year? I mean, that was an unbelievable career resurrection last year.

42 goals at age, well, he's 33 now, I think. But that's going to be tough to match, man. But if he stays healthy, why not? And then, I mean, Mikko Koivu, he's played a lot of hard minutes over the years. And, I mean, I don't know, looking at the back end there, Suter, he's coming off a major injury. I think he had ankle surgery, did he not?

I'm not sure off the top of my head, to be honest with you. Ankle or foot surgery. He missed playoffs last year. That was a big loss for them. I think as soon as he was out last year, everyone kind of counted them out. And he's got a nice contract this summer. He's pretty good on the back end.

One thing I will say is they're mobile back there. Yeah, they are. They can skate. They can skate for sure. They can skate. They can skate for sure. They can skate. And in net, boys, I don't know too much about their goaltending other than Dubnik. Alex Staloc, what do you got on him, R.A.? Staloc, he's kind of, you know,

run-of-the-mill backup, you know, not a scrub. You know, he does the job. You bring him in, his numbers aren't outstanding, but he's basically exactly what you expect from a backup. I probably should have mentioned too, Biz, they did have the misfortunate draw in Winnipeg in the first round last year. I mean, they had a pretty good regular season last year in Minnesota, but, I mean, Winnipeg was a fucking wagon in the first round last year,

an absolute wagon. That's what I was going to say. When we called them kind of boring, they still had the roster that they're going to probably be in the playoffs. I mean, they're not an easy team to play with. They're awesome at home. Great, great arena to play in, by the way. I love that place.

So maybe they're not the most fun team to watch. Maybe when they're on the national game on NBC Sports, you're not that fired up. But they're a hard team to play against. It's just when you think about them, it's going to be probably a really solid regular season, and there's no chance they win the Stanley Cup. It's kind of crazy. They don't go into the season like that, but I do. And yeah, boys, it should be interesting to see if Minnesota can have another successful season and make playoffs in that tough central division. And as we move on to the Chicago

Blackhawks, a tough season for them last year, we are actually going to have on a special, sorry, a special Chicago Blackhawks insider, a first-time guest of the Spittin' Checklets podcast after we've finally handed out enough favors in order to get him on. And professional jock sniffer, Big Cat,

is coming in to represent the Blackhawks. What do you got for us, Big Cat? How are the Hawks looking this year? I'll tell you what, Miz. That was the greatest transition I've ever heard. I cannot believe you just did that without stumbling over your words. Good job, buddy. I struggled on special.

And it's been a long day. My phone died and just kaput. I had to spend half my day at the Apple Store. But putting that aside, how are the Hawks looking coming into training camp? Well, I follow all of my takes from my good friend, Chief, who you guys have had on many times. And he seems to just be mashing the panic button over and over and over. Now, I understand a few things about hockey.

I don't understand a lot, but I understand a few things about hockey. I don't understand a lot, but I understand a few things. And what I understand more than anything is the defense has gotten old overnight and the, the, the Kane and Taze contracts are a lot of money and that stupid fucking loon or whatever you call it up in Canada is not, is not strong enough to keep going up the, the loonies or whatever they are. So it's actually all the Canadians' fault that the Caps not going up

and has put Stan Bowman in a really bad spot. So I actually, before we get into how they're probably going to finish last place in the Central again, I thought when we first met that you were actually kind of a big hockey fan. And now thinking back, the Hawks were just in the Stanley Cup final, what felt like every year. So have you always just been fringe? Are you bandwagon?

Are you waiting until playoffs? No. Listen, I love going to hockey games is the best sporting event by far. Oh, my God, yeah. The problem is with our job is that we have to cover everything and it's like non-stop so it definitely like you know conflicts half the season conflicts with football and football i won't lie will take priority and then usually what happens for me is i'll watch i'll i'll watch i mean i get the package and everything so i'll watch uh probably about 40

50 games a year but i won't get really into it until about January because it's just too much going on in the first few months of the season to be fully locked in. But then once January hits, I'm watching the Bulls and the Blackhawks every night. So it's definitely – and my buddies, I got some friends that have season tickets, so they are as diehard as diehard gets. So, you know, the group text pops off with uh

anger all the time especially last year so other than the fact we've learned nothing about the chicago blackhawks is there anything you can tell us about the team yeah i mean patrick sharp retired he's a good friend of mine i don't know if you remember him but he has three stanley cup rings i went to his house and i got a rocket i i went to i went to his house. I went to his house, beautiful house. Got to party with the team. I actually got to party with the team twice. That's two more times than both of you guys who actually played in the league got to party with the Stanley Cup.

So, yeah, that's about it. Big Kev, why don't you go fuck yourself, buddy? Okay, no, let's talk for real, though. Yeah, the Blackhawks are kind of fucked if we're being totally honest right like they they uh they got they're stuck in that situation where they had to pay their two stars which i don't think anyone can say hey don't pay it the thing with the

blackhawks like it's not the the the kane and tase contracts it's that when you get when you pay two guys like that you can't miss on all the fringe contracts right like you can't mess up any of the third line fourth line guys because those that margin for error is so razor thin now with the cap not going up so i mean chief is chief has written a ton of really great blogs about it but it it seems like the consensus now with Stan Bowman is like, just kind of punt for the next couple of years and hope you can kind of rekindle the magic towards the end of their contract, but it's not looking good at present day, right? Not right now.

How about that for analysis? That was some good fucking analysis. It's not looking good. That was a professional podcaster right there. I'm a little more concerned about the Ice Girls. Are they still kicking around? I don't – there's been a lot of backlash. I mean, it used to be – they first came for the shoot the puck.

It used to be the third – actually, it was the second. It used to be trot out a little kid. Then they trot out a very attractive young lady. And then they would trot out a celebrity, and that slowly kind of went away. I think they still do it, but it's not as what it used to be, and I think the Ice Girls, yeah, are gone as well. So it's, you know, a different time, 2018, different year. First, they came for the kiss cam, Dan, but I was never on the kiss cam, so I didn't speak up.

Yeah, but will you guys give me your analysis tell me I I'm an expert I want to know if you guys know everything I know well you know I was going to make the comparison I said it about the Kings the other night um and I'll say about the Blackhawks you know they don't scare teams they don't scare me as a fan like they did four years ago I mean I think that they probably already peaked and that's a fucking pretty good peak to have three titles, you know, be able to call yourself a dynasty again. But yeah, man, it doesn't look good. It's like, like you just said, Dan, when you're spending that much money on your two top stars, you have to hit on a lot of the fringe guys and that roster, it's just not stacked like it was a couple of years ago. There's a lot, there's a lot of

potential on there. Whereas a few years ago, you knew what lot of potential on there, whereas a few years ago you knew what you were getting. But I wanted to ask you, if they do suck for this next little while, as does happen at Dynasties after they, you know, tend to maybe hold on to guys a little too long, will the fans, like, leave the team again, or do you think they'll sort of hang on a little more this time? No, I think there's – with those two guys, I think you'll still be able to sell a bunch of tickets and it will still be, you know,

something that people want to watch. I also, the, the Blackhawks have also had the, the, the one thing that's gone their way is the bulls have been pretty frustrating in a long time. So they haven't had as much competition.

It will be interesting to see if the bulls can ever put it fully back together, which I'm not holding my breath. Will that be competition? And, you know, what will be the dynamic there? But, yeah, I mean, it's going to be an interesting couple of years. And now, obviously, last year was a disaster. But there was also, you know, Corey Crawford,

like you can't lose your goalie. You can't, you know, you can't have that happen. And Dunkeith, basically, I don't know what happened. He went, he aged overnight. Seabrook has been old for a couple of years now. I mean, all great guys, but this is like you said, RA, this is what happens. The dynasty kind of, it can, it can kind of, you know, evaporate almost in a blink of an eye. I mean, they, when they got swept by the Predators two years ago, they, they won, didn't they, weren't they the one seed?

I'm remembering that correctly, right? I don't know. I thought you were the Blackhawks fan. They were the one seed. They were the one seed. Yes, they were. Thank you. Thank you, Whit.

I know more than Biz, and Biz fucking watches hockey for a living and is a fourth-line little whatever, grocery stick or whatever you call it. Big Cat, what do you make of every Blackhawks guy begging to come to Arizona, like Nicholas Jarmelson? Of course, Marion Hosa was sick and tired of Chicago. He was begging to come to Arizona. Ah, no.

Vinny Hinnestros was from Chicago. Vinny Hinnestros was from Chicago, and he was like, get me out of here. I want to go to AZ. They're going to be a wagon this season. They're going to fucking speed bag this Blackhawks team every night. Okay, two things. One, don't say that about

Mary Jose. He had a life-threatening disease with his pads. So if you want to make fun of that, you are a terrible person. I never made fun. I said he was begging to come to Arizona. Yeah, you kind of, you danced around. He wouldn't go there because he's got memories of Rafi Torres, that fucking scumbag. Two,

I think they probably all heard of the House of No Return. I, yeah, they're actually, Vinny, Vinny and his girls are renting a room. You actually live in there. I got you there, Biz. You didn't expect that one out of my mouth, did you?

Oh, so you're a fan of the podcast, are you? Actually, you told me that story personally. I think you got into more detail than you got into more detail than you've gotten into it on the podcast well um big cat i have a question for you did i just steal his tongue no all right my question well actually first i have a statement i'm back you know you're you're you're part of uh you're part of the number one sports podcast in the world.

You cover all sports, but you're mainly a football guy. That was a tough Patrick Mahomes take you had prior to the season. Yeah, so that's, you know, you guys know. Yeah, you guys know you're in the podcast biz. You're in the media. You're in the take business. Sometimes you watch one gif online of

him looking bad and then you make a sweeping generalization based off of that and that's what I got caught up on. I saw one gif from a preseason game where Patrick Mahomes didn't look good and then I decided he's a bust and he stinks and I'm going to admit my bias

here. This is – you guys – I mean, you guys all watch football. You all know the game. What happens – and this actually happens in every sport. So it can happen in hockey too. When you have a draft and you take a guy and then two stars, potential stars go after him, that's the worst case scenario for a fan to sit there and be like, okay,

we believe in our guy, but these guys look good. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Like, so Patrick, the same draft class as Mr.

Bisky. So my bias is definitely there and I will full hand up. I'll admit it. I was very, very wrong, but now I watched him against the chargers week one. And that guy, I mean, he's something special. Like, he is going to be something special.

He is so much fun to watch, and that offense is so much fun to watch. And I'll give you that lock of the week, take the over in that game. Chiefs are officially, like, bet the over no matter what the number is until they start slowing down. I'm on it now. I'm on it. Second part of my question is that, you know, now you're hanging out with all these big-time football players.

You're hanging out with big-time hoops players. It's just you guys are just top of the game. But you've partied with all hockey players. Are we not the biggest beauties and the funnest guys to hang out with and the best overall people in pro sports? Thank you very much. Okay, okay. And the biggest man, Rockets.

Yes, I will absolutely back that statement up. Hockey players are – it's not even close when it comes to hanging out with athletes. I think it's because hockey players are so close to not being professional athletes that they still remember what it's like to be like a regular guy we're semi-pro yeah right no but it's not even close and honestly it's like like i i obviously mentioned patrick sharp scott darling like those guys welcome me in and like hung like i'm genuinely friends with them and i don't think you can really get that with most pro athletes because hockey guys like i mean it's why you guys are such you know the number one hockey podcast you guys are just regular guys feel

people feel like they're just hanging out with you guys when you tell stories and talk about the game and i don't think you can get that uh with any other sport so i agree with you there big cat we know you're not the best looking guy did you get any sympathy kills from hanging around with the guys with the Stanley Cup when they won in Chicago? Did it really take you that five minutes to come up with that? Jesus Christ, man. I think he wrote it down last night. Yeah, those parties, I'll tell you. And, again, I don't want to rub it in.

Actually, R.A. knows what these parties are like because I think, R.A., you partied with the Cup, right? Yeah, I've been at three Cup parties. Yeah yeah but you didn't yeah okay party in a chokehold oh oh did that oh yeah that's right not so it happened to you already got putting an arm bar and taken out of a stanley cup party two of the three i left i left voluntarily the third i was i asked i was asked not so politely to leave i actually i got kicked out once and third i was uh asked i was asked not so politely to leave actually i got kicked out once and then i was being a pest and i went back because i had nothing to do except go back to the hotel and the igloo has so many fucking doors and i walked in another door and i walked in and it

was the same party so i stayed there and then i made eye contact with the security guy who already threw me out he looked like the killer in the fugitive and he fucking like pound my head like a basketball and fucking ran me out he He must have been a former cop. It was enough to distract Chris Chelios from his cup celebration. Thought he was going to deck me, too. Well, there's a question. Big Pat, did you ever get to hang around with any of the old school Chicago Blackhawks guys, like maybe like Roenick or Chelly?

Yeah, I've hung out with Roenick once. Obviously, you know, Edzo's a legend. He does all the Chicago radio stuff. He does the Blackhawks telecast. He's a great guy. I've hung out with him a couple times. But none of the old, old school guys. But, I mean, they're all, like I said, hockey players are all the same.

You guys are like, they're just regular. I mean, that's why biz. That's why, you know, all bullshit aside, we became best friends in like 24 hours when you came to New York. Dan, I know Stanley's on Lincoln is a great buy. I know you spent a lot of time there. Have you ever hung out with randomly like John Cusack or Eddie Vedder? I know they pop in there every once in a while. So Stanley's is gone though.

Oh, shit. Really? I know Donnie passed away of r.i.p he was a great guy but i didn't know they what they sell it i think i think they sold it so it was uh an all-time bar i mean that that's the bar that i sang uh karaoke with theo and uh rizzo because that that was that type of bar it was every sunday night live karaoke and you literally could like you just said john cusack would walk in, and it's like, what? What's going on?

He would just be doing karaoke. That was that type of bar. Yeah, it was a wild bar. And actually, funny, addendum to the story, I actually did see Chelios in there a few years later, and I was like, hey, buddy, last time I saw you, you wanted to kill me, and he was bombed.

He's like, hey, this is the guy. He gave me like a hug and shit. He was fucking trash. Oh, look at this guy. That's four to one. He's like, hey, this is the guy. He gave me like a hug and shit. He was fucking trash. Oh, look at this guy. That's four to one. That's what I'm telling now. Well, Big Cat, we wanted to thank you for popping by. Well, me, not really.

I didn't really learn one thing from you. We didn't gain one insight. But I'll tell you what I did enjoy. I gave you guys some insight. I gave you some insight about the House of No Return. I got some stories for you boys when we get out there. You gave us a lock that'll 100% lose. I'm still taking it

anyways, though. Can I tell you what I did enjoy, though, was Rodgers fucking bending that Bears defense. He literally took the first half off. Thank you for joining us. Kiss my ass. Aaron Rodgers runs your show. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, biggest jock sniffer in the league, Big Cat.

Thanks for coming. Thanks, boys. Once again, big thanks to our buddy Big Cat for joining us tonight. He's always a pleasure. And his interview was brought to you by MyBlue. Sometimes it's hard to find a satisfying vape that's simple and convenient. Blue, who introduced vaping to the world, is now introducing MyBlue. MyBlue gives you all the satisfaction with none of the hassle. You just click and go.

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Warning, this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. Well, big thanks to Big Cat for stopping by. Not really, though. I've got to go to you, R.A. We're moving on to one of the wagons in the West, the Nashville Predators. They've got to be at the top of your list, no? They're up there.

They're a team that also got dummied by Winnipeg in the playoffs last year. But this is a team, Biz, that doesn't really need to change a thing. It's a team in their prime average age of 28.4 right now. They're not too young. They're not too old. They're right in that kind of 28.4 right now they're not too young they're not too old they're right in that kind of sweet spot right now their oldest forward christ is only nicky bones he's only 30 damn ham hughes who they brought back after he left vancouver and dallas for a few years he's 35 he's the oldest guy on d but everybody's kind of in their mid to late 20s they're peaking in their career uh they just ran into a tough a tough tough matchup at winnipeg

last year. And, you know, their goaltender was a little better. They were a little better than Nashville. But, nah, this team doesn't have to change anything. They just got to go out and do what they did the last couple years. You got to think that at some point they got to get over the hump. Tough draw with Winnipeg in the second round. I think a lot of NHL fans were a little upset about that.

Just, you know, that should have been a Western Conference final for sure. But what do you think? I think that if you're a fan of the team, you should be as excited as anyone. The best top four in the league on the back end, you got Ekholm, Ellis, and Subban along with Roman Yossi. That's as good as it gets for a top four. 31 teams, that's as good as it gets for a top four. 31 teams, that's as good as it gets. Do you think that the Ellis with the cherry on top makes them better

than San Jose's top four? I mean, classic. Yeah. Really? That's three. I mean, even if you throw in a scrub, that's still a good top four. Yeah. And maybe Brendan Dillon's top four.

I don't – I mean, it's my opinion. There's going to be a million people that don't agree with me. Just the way that Nashville, that unit, that top four play together, they've been doing it for so long. Well, I mean, Subban hasn't been there that long,

but you know what I'm saying? They're used to each other. They've gelled with each other. They've been to the cup final. They've had an incredible series in the second round last year. They probably would have been to the, you know, I think they would have been to the cup final. They've had an incredible series in the second round last year. They probably would have been to the, you know, I think they would have gone to the cup final.

Who knows though? Vegas was that good, but it's an exciting year, not only because of the D but up front too. And a guy that is going to kind of, you know, I'm big into dropping surprise names. You know, I talked about Patterson for the Canucks. Look what he's done. Can we talk about that?

Well, I got another name for you, Eli Tolvanen. And this guy came over last year from Yokoret. He played in the KHL, young stud. I think that hopping into the playoffs, it was just a big jump. So I think this year, getting to have training camp, getting used to the speed of the NHL. Maybe he spends time in the minors. Maybe I'm completely off base on that,

but he's going to be a very good player, and he's an addition for them that not many people may know about. Whit, where are you finding out about all these prospects? Are you like an NHL star? Yeah, who's helping you out? Who's fucking helping you out back there? You play golf all the time. I'm a little bit of a hockey nerd.

I know about young up-and-coming great players. I like to watch international hockey such as the World Juniors. I played in two of them. So I appreciate looking back at the best players in the world that are under 20. And that's where I learn about these guys. And from then, I go to the golf course

but my work doesn't stop. I stay on my phone. I see scouting reports. I see reports from the Under 17 Challenge. You know, I just know young prospects. It's on my phone. I see scouting reports. I see reports from the under-17 challenge. You know, I just know young prospects. It's how I do things, Grinnelli. Well, boys, I want to hop in here. We talked about San Jose and how they're built well as far as foundation with the goaltending.

Well, they got Rene, similar to Jones. We talked about their back end, unbelievable. What I love most about the way Nashville is set up is just they come at you in waves, and throughout their entire lineup, they have speed and skill. I mean, Ryan Hartman right now is listed as our fourth line right winger, and they sent him over from Chicago, and he did well for them. You got Craig Smith. You got tons of guys who can contribute.

This Victor Arvidsson is unbelievable. And they don't have any forwards other than Forsberg and Johansson who are going to light it up. But all of them stay fairly consistent around that high 40s, low 50s points total. So they just have such a well-balanced lineup, and they're going to be good for years to come. So, yeah, they look out for them in the West.

And, boys, we're going to move on to St. Louis. A lot of changes going on there. Changes, big time. And one of your buddies went over there, O'Reilly. I'm not buddies with O'Reilly. You are not? No, I wish I was. He's a cool cat.

Well, they got some depth at Sun and Rice. I thought you were buddies with them. And then they got another guy in Bozak. But I'm going to hand it over to you. What do you think of their lineup? I like it. Some big changes. They got rid of a lot of players that had been there

for what seemed like a long time. You think of Berglund and also Sobocca. And there was just other people that seemed like they were going to be there for a long time, and they're not there anymore. But to get Ryan O'Reilly, that's the big one. That's the one everyone's talking about. A very good top two center in the NHL. But for me, the signing that's not more important,

but it's right up there, is them getting Tyler Bozak. Because all of a sudden now, they have three really good centers. And if you want to Tyler Bozak because all of a sudden now they have three really good centers and if you want to call Bozak the third line center he probably will be but he's very very good at that role and I think because of that to have those guys and you know even if he is playing second line center you know you got Jaden Swartz up front, Alexander Steen. We saw how he worked biz. Tarasenko, I mean, this is a very skilled team up front. And on the back end, they really rely a lot on Petrangelo, who, by the way, do you know he had triplets this summer?

Are you shitting me? What? No way. Yeah, dude, he had triplets. Congrats to him. Yeah, congrats. I saw it on NHL.com. I was like, oh, my God, dude, I got one kid.

I can't even – I'm losing my mind. I can't even handle it. He's got three now. So, Jesus. All right, before you step in here, I got to commend their front office. They've done a good job of reloading. They've had a good stretch of hockey here for the last few years. Never been able to get over the hump, you hump, but they've always had winning teams.

But they did a good job in getting some new personnel in there. Of course, they got Maroon Dirt Cheap, which if he has a big year, that's going to be massive for them. Tons of depth up front. I mean, to me, the biggest wild card here is Fabry coming off two years of missing hockey where we all know what he can do. Remember that camp?

Remember when we took him to dinner? Well, you know who he reminded me of? Well, he came before Keller, but he brings that same presence on the ice, just finds the pockets, can dish, has scoring touch. And as far as their back end, I mean, they've got Vince Dunn. That Perenco is a mutant. Yeah, Perenco, he's great. Joel Edmondson's a great complement to Pietrangelo.

He's a bit of a stay-at-home guy who can provide a little bit of offense too. He got a nice little ticket this summer. And, I mean, Jay Bomeester's no slouch either. So their biggest issue has always been in net and in R.A. I don't know. What do you think? You know what? St. Louis is one of those teams where I really feel bad for their fucking fan base, man.

Talk about blue balls. Last year, all they had to do was win the last game of the season versus Colorado. They get in the playoffs. They get smoked. No playoffs. They just – the last few times, they did get to the playoffs. They get smoked. No playoffs. They just, the last few times they did get to the playoffs, they just can't. Talk about not getting over the hump.

St. Louis, just as a franchise, I mean, they're a good organization, but they just can't win, man. If I'm a fan, I'm pissed off. Jake Allen, you know, he looked like the answer. I'm trying to pull up his playoff numbers here. I don't remember. Let me think. Yeah, well, 2017 is last playoffs. Actually, he was lights out, but they didn his playoff numbers here. I don't remember. Let me think. But, yeah, well, 2017 is his last playoffs.

Actually, he was lights out, but they didn't play the year after. I think he's going to be fine. I think he's the answer for them in net. But they just fell apart last year. They just didn't really play as well as they needed to. I mean, one more game if they won, they would have been in the playoffs. I'm just – I don't know. They're just one of those teams that, like, sort of like Minnesota. Like, they just – Yeah, I would have been in the playoffs. I'm just, I don't know. They're just one of those teams that like, sort of like Minnesota.

Like they just don't have the exact same category. That's a good call. They don't have that like, sort of like, I don't know, personality of a team. You just, you know, they don't like play hard, rough against you every night. They just don't have like a lot of personality. And another, I meant to mention too, Minnesota fans,

they're very angry as well. They're pretty frustrated too. But with St. Louis, man, I just, they don't scare me. I mean, they should get in the playoffs, but whatever they do very angry as well. They're pretty frustrated too. But with St. Louis, man, I just, they don't scare me. I mean, they should get in the playoffs, but whatever they do won't surprise me. They could end up last in the division or second in the division. I wouldn't be surprised either way. Like you said, Biz, they made a lot of moves to, you know, to freshen up the team, whatever, shake things up a little bit. But I don't know if that's going to be enough, man. That's such a tough competitive division where you have to be better than average to get one of those top three spots. Piz, remember when we went out to dinner with Fabri?

Not really. No, I don't remember that. Really, dude? We took him out, and we were just clowning around the entire time. He was just laughing at us the whole dinner. No, I don't remember that. Yeah, because i fucking paid for it probably oh yeah that's right oh no you know what i do remember it i was on my phone

uh but but we've stressed it enough uh but what i was doing is i was complimenting the front office and being able to have a winner for so long and then reload with some personnel where maybe that can take them over the hump so So I guess we'll see. And last but not least, I would say the biggest wagon in the West, the Winnipeg Jets. R.A., let's put it to you first. Oh, Grinnelli, I forgot. We've got to add the subtractions and additions.

My fault. Yeah, so with St. Louis, like we mentioned, they lost Patrick Bergling, Carter Hutton, Vladimir Soboka, Tage Thompson, Scotty Upshaw, your boy. And then for additions, I mean, who's had more additions than the Blues? Tyler Bozak, Chad Johnson, Pat Maroon, Ryan O'Reilly, David Perron. So, I mean, they added more than just about anyone. There you go. Credit to Doug Armstrong. Ryan O'Reilly, David Perron. So, I mean, they added more than just about anyone. There you go.

Credit to Doug Armstrong. And now we're going to move over to Winnipeg. R.A., what are your thoughts, buddy? Let's hear it. My thoughts on Winnipeg are very much the same as they are with Nashville, Biz. Absolutely, really, no need to tinker with this team at all. They got pretty foul last year. They ran into that Vegas wagon that knocked them out. But they were

built as well as anyone in this league right now. Blake Wheeler, I mean, talk about a guy who's finally arrived. 91 points last year, got some MVP votes. Patrick Laine, one of the best young snipers in the game. 44 goals, still a teenager. Nikolai Eel is, I mean, Shifley. Kyle Connor, I mean,

Dustin Bufflin on D. This team is fucking stacked, man. Matthew Perreault, I mean, you could sit here and name players all day. Connor Hellebuck is the real deal. They got him signed for the next several years. They're a wagon, man. I mean, this feels like a team if they don't win a Stanley Cup in the next

four or five years, it's going to be a disappointment for them, I think. That's how good they are. Yeah, I would say two or three even. And you think of them being a wagon, and wagon just reminds me of Big Buff. Buff's at the point now where he can almost produce a highlight every single game, or he does produce a highlight every single game, whether it's a 100-mile-an-hour one-timer shelf and then a hilarious celebration where it just shows he doesn't give a flying fuck

or it's him just crushing somebody whether they don't know he's coming or they're trying to hit him and he sees him at the last moment they bounce off him like oh like the like the big fat or the little fat guy in ice hockey for nintendo remember but he's tall like ding ding but he's like he's like one stacked on top of the other. So they're so fun to watch. I mean, you guys said it all. And Biz's boy from Warrior, Shifley, that guy has – Superstar. Yeah, superstar status.

And I said a while back when I saw him play, he reminded me of Ryan Getzlaff. And I think they are similar in many ways. I mean, he's just that dominant of a force out there. And they're not going to slow down at all. It's funny. Last year, you look at the standings in the Central Division, and I think that if you were to go into this year, I could see him finishing the exact same way.

I mean, I don't see that much of a difference there. Maybe Dallas is a little improved. But these – Winnipeg along with Nashville these two teams they're the top of the top of the division it's not going to change this season my only question mark boys is last year they came into the year and Hellebuck was not the starter he ended up getting that job very early on and obviously ran with it Whit I think you touched on it in playoffs last year. He had the most wins for an American goalie. Yes, yes. In a season.

Can he repeat? Now all of a sudden he's the starter coming in. Now the pressure's on. It's a little bit different as far as a mindset. So that's the only question mark I have for this team. I believe he's going to do it again, especially having that goal support in front of him so I guess we'll see boys and I predict they're probably going to win that central division either them or Nashville so that wraps it up and R.A. do you want to send it over to the most underrated interview we've had

on spit and chiclet since I've been I've been a part of it i'd love to man this is this is great john michael lyles had a great career as a defenseman mostly probably known for colorado and yeah i had reached out to one on twitter he was following following me and he humble brag humble brag so i said hey you know you want to come on the show and he said yeah and then grinnelly i think he reached out to grinnelly or grinnelly might have reached out to him and we were off and running and yeah he was one of those guests. You know, we got a lot of guys. I don't, you know, I obviously don't know him. Sometimes you don't know him, and we don't know what to expect with a guy. He was absolutely electric, man.

He was hilarious. He was having fun. Like, a lot of the guys. He's just trying to get back on the call. We should just talk about how awesome he was and not even put on the interview. Yeah, that's all. Let's just praise him for an hour. No, fuck it.

So, anyways. Well, let's send him over. Without further ado, John Michael Lyles. This interview was brought to you by Mugsy. If you're a hockey guy or an athlete, you've struggled to find clothes that fit you well before. Let's face it. Most men's clothes aren't designed for guys with bigger thighs or a bigger ass. Or like myself, no ass. Especially when it comes to jeans. I know I hate putting my jeans on.

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That's M-U-G-S-Y-g-e-a-n-s.com promo code spit and snag a pair of the most comfortable men's jeans ever made and now we are pleased to introduce as my intros for people are getting better and better i'm loving it i'm growing today we have my good buddy, smooth, silky skating defenseman. The kid was an American. He still is an American. He lit it up, skated like the wind. National junior team, I looked up to him. He was three years older than me.

Goes to Michigan State, ends up playing a long time in the National Hockey League with that silky smooth stride, and I know we have a lot of wrench talk. The guy has a complete rope, John Michael Lyles. Thanks, buddy. Brad, I got a question. Is he smooth skating? Just wheel boys.

That's all I think about when I think of Lyles is just... Yeah, you said it three times. I was like, geez, this guy must be fucking good. Biz, do you remember this guy or what? No, I was fucking eating hot dogs in the press box when we were playing Lyles games. Where are you at right now? How is life?

What's going on? Oh, my God. We got a five-week-old at home, so I am in the weeds right now. Wow. We're a broadcast of a lot of guys with newborns a lot of new dads lately yeah so yeah no I mean

everything's good we got a three year old and a five week old so I'm just if I'm not chasing the three year old around I'm changing diapers which I pretty much forgot how to do after the three year old where do you live in these days? We live in Vail, Colorado.

Not too shabby. Hey, that place, talk about just an undercover. Well, I guess it's not undercover. People know, but what a gem. I've only been there in the summer, so, I mean, it was incredible then. It's not even anything compared to the winter, no? Man, honestly, I think summer's the best time. I mean, I know you think Vail and you think skiing,

but summer's unbelievable. The golf here is great. And just, I mean, the weather's 78 and sunny and no humidity. It's kind of tough to beat. Are you still, do you skate with that camp that goes up there with Crosby and all those guys? They were in town a couple weeks ago, and Sid texted me, asked me when the last time I skated was, and I said,

oh, I skated last night in a drop-in with a bunch of guys. I guess they had an injury, and he was like, we may need you for the scrimmage. And I was like, well, if you really need me, maybe I'll show up. But, I mean, I'm going to hurt, if you really need me, maybe I'll show up. But I mean, I'm going to hurt myself if I go out there with you guys. No, you don't want to end up

on the Spittin' Chicklets Instagram getting fucking walked because Grinnelli posted it and now you're on blast. It would have been 100% I would have been getting walked. I watched those guys one of the days

and I was like, yep, nope, I'm good. I don't need to ever try and come back and play in the NHL. You're like, Sid, I can make it over there, but if I get in the goddamn locker room and you're on the other team i'm walking straight out of that fucking arena that that barzal kid yeah he's nasty so good is he so much so good he's the real deal they were doing they were doing uh and i mean they were doing like like small space drills and i

could not believe how good he was in in like he like gained speed when he when he does like a tight turn i i don't even know how you do it yeah i watching him he he comes out of turns and i've never seen someone go as it's actually incredible that you mentioned coming out of turns i i also like he has a swagger about him like watching him practice mentioned coming out of turns i i also like he has a swagger about him like watching him practice even do you notice like i just feel like he's cocky as shit we gotta get on this fucking boys i filmed a commercial with him in the summer i made a commercial for a company he's unbelievable he was a boss in it i'll send you the commercial right after this interview he yeah he's handsome uh when

i was at um nhl awards when he ended up winning the calder we i brought them to marquee one night while they were in the table behind us but that's who he was jumping around all over the place i don't think he parties much he's pretty into the training stuff but this guy was all over the place i'm like holy shit man that's the first time you ever partied? You've literally been to every fucking table in this club right now. So, yeah, he's an awesome fucking guy, man. John, you obviously spent a lot of your time of your career in Denver. It's not a city we've really talked about a lot in the show.

We just, for whatever reason, haven't had any avalanche on. What was it like playing there? It's not a city we hear much about on the show. So can you illuminate our listeners a little bit? I think Denver's an amazing city. I think it used to be definitely under the radar, and now people know. I mean, it's a great place not only to live

but to play as a young player, and I was pretty fortunate. I had a lot of guys take me under their wing when I first came in the league and and I mean my my rookie year was our top two lines were were Sackick, Tangay, Heyduke, Forsberg, Solani, Correa. Whoa um yeah it was it was it was awful. Uh did they not did they not follow you around with a camera crew that season when you had all those guys?

You guys had like a 24-7? Yeah, that was that ESPN – yeah, that ESPN. I forget what it was even called. But, yeah, I mean, I was like just, you know, 22, and I didn't know anything. And I was just – I mean, it was – I can't even believe, you know, that was my rookie year. You, like, walk into the league, and there's like six Hall of Famers on that team. I mean, Rob Blake and, you know, that was my rookie year. You, like, walk into the league and there's, like,

six Hall of Famers on that team. I mean, Rob Blake and, you know, Adam Foote was on that team. Derek Morris. I mean, it was – I'm actually looking at that team. Who was the fighter who used to give it to Korea about being cheap all the time? Jimmy Cummins. That was the funniest part.

That was the funniest part. Jimmy Cummins did not let up on Paul Correa the entire season. It didn't matter. The camera just honestly followed Jimmy around. They went and bought a TV together one time, and Jimmy just ripped on Paul for not buying the most expensive TV. He drove a Lexus. He drove a Lexus yeah but it was like a it was like a like a Lexus SUV kind of I don't know it was it was a soccer mom SUV exactly yeah it was and I mean Paul he was awesome he's like he's an unbelievable guy I

loved him I mean but it was so. Jimmy would be all over him. Adam Foote used to hold him down in the aisle on the plane and tickle him. I mean, he was like Guy's little brother. It was so funny, man. I just hid in the corner. Thank God Paul was on that team because I think I would have just gotten owned for the entire year. Hey, I'm looking at this team.

I actually have to ask you about a couple of these guys. Yes. owned for the entire year. Hey, I'm looking at this team. I actually have to ask you about a couple of these guys. Yes. Before we get into guys I don't think that have ever been asked about on this show by any guests, my one question, I got the chance to play with Timu, but this was when, like, Timu had, like, his worst year ever, and then everyone thought he was done, and then he went to Anaheim. What was up with him that year?

So I think, as I remember, I think he had a knee injury that might have happened in camp, and then he played through it basically for the majority of the year or the whole year, and it just held him back. And then he had surgery. He had that lockout the next year full year lockout nice kick in the teeth and uh and then uh and then Tivo came back and he was like he was ridiculous he was he was so fun to watch and practice though I mean he like

like coming down on two-on-ones I mean what you know if you like you practice with him he doesn't stick handle he just holds it he pushes it and then it's like a quick shot or a quick pass. He never stick handles. It's like the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Well, do you not agree? I've sat on here before. He has like a muffin. He doesn't have like a hard snap shot.

Just a muffin that would find every hole to snipe every time. Every hole. Every hole. And then you you got Paulie Correa wiring like 80 mile an hour backhands that you're just like, are you kidding me? This guy could one-timer a backhand.

I've never seen anything like it. I bet you could agree about Sid is kind of similar where he doesn't have a rocket, but he always has it ready to go and it's just like a quick flick of his wrist and it's right where he wants it. That's like Timu's just like a quick flick of his wrist, and it's right where he wants it. That's like Timu, too. I would say flick of the wrist. He honestly would just flick his wrist

and it'd be in the net. Crosby, though, I think he gets... Crosby's backhand is harder than his forehand, I think. He shoots it 100 miles an hour off the backhand. Alright, Lyle, going through, going through. Another guy that... Another guy, I don't think we've ever had a guest that's

ever talked about him peter forrest like dude don't sleep on the fact if you're like uh three i get the chance to pick three best players to make the greatest line ever created that peter's forrest burger is prime he really is on it on that line On that line. Like, he could be. I'm saying he's not that far, no? Maybe the best Swede ever, maybe. Oh, he was so good. He practiced maybe ten times that entire year. That's a legend. I love guys. He was absolutely – and he was playing on one leg at that point.

I don't know exactly what it was, but he had something where, like one of the muscles in one of his legs died or something and he was legit playing on one leg like i remember them strapping like a stim unit to his leg to fire the muscle in the games that he played i think it was his foot yet he had his foot yeah his foot yeah exactly he had the same surgery uh we both had osteotomies um he had like yeah he had a osteotomy from the same doctor I did, this guy in North Carolina. It really worked out good for him. Oh, really?

And I think he went and did another surgery on his foot in Germany or something, like an experimental one, and I don't know that that went very well. I will say this. went very well um so i i will say this so so for my rookie year um oris bergen his girlfriend split up and it was in the paper in denver that he said he was single oh i got a play by him he probably did that on purpose put out the bats and so we were on a flight back one time, and I had actually – I broke up with my college girlfriend around then. And he was like, hey, Johnny, do you want to go out with me?

What? I remember Dan Hino pulled me aside, and he's like, yes, you're going. And I basically swam in Pete's wake for like two months. Residual kills. going and i basically swam in pete's wake for like two months residual kills you had two months you had two months of running single with peter full pot the great one forsberg yeah and i was just i mean i like i i just sat there and i was like yep hey how you doing i'm john nice to meet you i feel like he has that aura about him where he can walk in a room with girls in it who don't know who he is. Yeah, don't know. But they're just like,

whoa, this guy's somebody. I want to suck on his weens right now. I don't know who he is. I don't know what he's about, but I want to take him to a urinal in the bathroom and take the wheels off him. So, let's not leave the Forsberg conversation yet. This guy's hair and his beard.

Get him over to me right now because I don't even know who he is, but he's someone. But all right. My question, I've never gotten the exact story. I just make up numbers when I tell like my version of this story. Was he not the initial investor into Crocs? He was one of the initial investors. I believe he bought all the rights to Crocs

in Scandinavia. So what I heard was Sweden, Norway, Finland. So they didn't even call him Crocs over there. They called him full pause is what I, what somebody told me. And, and then he got out before the bottom dropped out. So, I mean, the rumor was the rumor was, and I don't know if this is true that he made more money on Crocs that he made playing hockey, which is an insane amount of money. Hey, I'm going to chime in here. I heard that a guy came in the locker room, threw a bunch of them on the floor,

and they were there when the guys walked in for practice, and everyone picked them up, and they were all laughing and joking around, and they made a joke of it. And he picked it up, looked at it. I think he put one in his stall, and then he ended up working out a deal where I think he invested maybe $100,000, maybe a little bit more.

And from what I hear, he's made close to $50 million off Crocs. That was the number that I heard was right at that. I feel like it's true then, obviously, if we both heard it. Not many people can make Crocs cool, and Peter Forsberg is one of them. There you go. Do you remember Mayday? Yeah. Do you remember Mayday on the golf trip with the Croc golf shoes?

He was like, this is the next big thing, boys. This is the next big thing. The next big thing in anti-pussy. These shoes were straight up rubber. They had holes in them. He still wears them, by the way, Mayday, and he's like, they're unbelievable. They had holes in them. He still wears them, by the way, Mayday, and he's like, they're unbelievable. They're so light. I go, well,

we got a damp day, dude. It was like he was walking barefoot in the grass. Oh, my gosh. We got to get the story on why Lyle's got the boot. Remember he got kicked off the Commodore Tour? Oh, fuck, Johnny.

Oh, man. He had a baby, I think. That's selfish of you, first of all. My wife, I tried everything, man. Did you hook it or did you just shank it? Our due date was the week of the actual trip, and there was no way I was getting around it, and I've never gotten the invite back.

There's no chance that I would ever have gotten my way around it either. I got to be honest. I say, like, I mean, how the fuck would you have gone on that trip? You can't do it. No. First kid, right? First kid. We know it's a girl, and there's no way I'm getting out of it.

What trip were you on? I wasn't trying, but. What trip were you on? Is that when we went to, like, Charleston and Pinehurst? No, so that was the one I missed. I was on L.A., San Fran, Pebble. Oh, yeah, and that was a trip. Cyprus.

That was a trip. Thank you. That was a trip. We started in L.A. for two nights before we ever played golf. And then Cyprus to finish. And then I was Ireland. And Bandon. We went to Bandon that trip too, didn't we?

No, uh started in LA and then we did Olympic in San Fran and then we did Pebble. Do you remember? You and I were playing together, I think, when I took a huge chunk out of the green on the preserve when I double bogeyed that hole. I almost got kicked off the trip the first trip. Lyle's took a fucking putter just chunk out of the green at this private track. Did somebody see it? Oh yeah, the caddy was like,

what are you doing, man? I took like a it was like six inch, it was a six inch chunk out of the green, maybe five inches from the hole. It was basically a fuck you. It was like, you might as well come and piss on the green and then take a shit on the tee box. That was like, you might as well come and piss on the green and then take a shit on the tee box.

Hey. That was like our third round and I thought Bear was going to kick me off the trip on our third round. Oh yeah, he was rattled. He was very rattled. Hey, another question I've always had for you or I've asked when I've been

inebriated, if that's the right word, and I don't remember. What is Culver Military Academy? Can you give me the, like, is that a good hockey school, like Shattuck? Or how did you end up going there? Is it, like, legit military? So, I mean, it's military-based. I wouldn't say it's legit military. Like, you're not walking around.

Like, you're not firing guns, but you're marching in formation, and your room has to be – like, your bed has to be made, and stuff has to be lined up, and, like, there's parades on Sunday, and it's part of, like – it's part of building the whole individual, I guess. So I would say it's military-based, and then the hockey program is really good. So Shattuck is kind of their main rival. Oh, shit. Yeah.

I mean, I grew up in Indiana, man. There's not a ton of great hockey. There's not a lot of great hockey in Indiana. So our team played one of their JV teams when I was in eighth grade. And, uh, and so I was like, Oh, I mean, I watched a couple of the older teams, like the prep teams games. I was like, Oh, this is, I mean, this is good hockey. And so I ended up taking a visit and ended up there.

And that's, I was only there two years and then I went and played for the program. But, uh, my brother was there for four, and he went to the Naval Academy afterward, and he kind of turned it into an actual military career. So, oh, did he really? Yeah, so he flies in the Navy now. What a stallion, huh? A little Tom Cruise, a little Mavis. Dude, what an incredible job.

Like, you never meet anyone who actually does that, I feel like, like flying jets around that's was he always like was he smart growing up or was he just a mutant yeah he's yeah he's way smarter than me he's uh he's he is really smart i mean he's not even close and uh yeah i mean you talk about like forsberg walking into a room room you get like my brother walked into a room in a flight suit and there's like drip drip drip, drip, drip, drip, drip. Any fucking suit, might as well bottle it and resell it at a fucking wholesaler. What's it called, a flight suit?

Yeah, like flight suit or his dress whites. I mean, they got like 10 different things they could wear. It's like a sailor walking in with his white outfit into a bar when they dock. Yeah, fucks. Game over, man. What's he think of Top Gun, the movie uh what's he think of top gun the movie what's he think of it yeah you think it's trash or is he a fan i mean who who isn't a fan yeah i don't i've never asked him like hey is this accurate but i mean he flies like they fly like

big ass like 737 they fly like 200 300 feet off the water. No shit, huh? Wow, that's fucking wild. I might have... Go ahead. I want to go back to Avalanche. You mentioned Cummins. Is he the one that's got the biggest wrench ever? Is that the same guy? No, that's... I think it's

Jim McKenzie, isn't it? Yes, Jim McKenzie. Shane Doan told me about him. I think this's Jim McKenzie, isn't it? Oh, yes, Jim McKenzie. Oh, yeah, Shane Doan told me about him. I think this was brought up in another podcast, too. I've never played with Jim McKenzie, but I've heard that through the grapevine. That's right. It is him. One other guy I wanted to ask about was Pete Abudai, the longtime goaltender.

Well, kind of backup goaltender, different bunch of people. I play with Boots in Ontario with the name. Now, wasn't it true in the locker room his nickname was Flanders, like from the Simpsons, because he was a Jack Christian and he got it painted on his helmet?

Yeah, he had Ned Flanders painted on his helmet. I mean, yeah, that was kind of like, he kind of embraced that nickname and then for some reason we could we started calling him jimmy budai one day and he he hated it then his nickname became jimmy from then on we still call him jimmy to this day oh cuddly neighbor wait yeah exactly yeah uh also that team, right? Like, forget how nasty he was. Forget how mean.

Oh, my God. But just what type of guy? No, I want to know, like, is he just the best guy going, too? Is he exactly what you think he is? The best guy going. The best guy going. I mean, my wife threw me a retirement party last summer, and he sent a video in. I haven't played with Blakey since like my third year sent

a video in like congratulating me on my retirement he's like he's he's all time he's one of the best guys you'll ever meet he I remember like my first first two games or whatever I don't know exactly which one but he was my d partner like my first two or three years in the league and he like first game he goes Johnny when a guy's coming down i was forced into the middle and i'm like oh okay whatever forced him to the middle the first time he came across with the ass hit like not the hip check but like the the back hit dude i was like picking my gear up for like 10 seconds the guy that he hit and me were both like we were like trading sticks back and forth we're like like, oh, is this yours?

And he's the only one left standing. I honestly was like – I was like, oh, that's why he wants me to force in the middle. I never even thought twice about it. I was like, oh, just force in the middle. It's like he said force in the middle. You're picking up your elbow pad somehow. You're like, oh, my God. I don't wear a jofa.

Yeah, like how do my shoulder pads come out of my jersey? It's still on. Lyle, so I heard a rumor he was one of the worst practice players of all time, so you had to be partners with him. Is that true? Oh, yeah. Really? Oh, yeah, 100%.

No one came a close second. No, it's not even close. And so my rookie, Tony Granato, was the coach, and he was the best man in Blakey's wedding. And so Blakey would fire me these grenades on D-to-D passes that would hit me in, like, the knee. Like, I'd be catching them in my gut. And Tony would be screaming at me to, like, handle the pass.

You know, and I'm, like, 22, no idea what's going on. And I'm, like, what the hell? Like, Blakey just's and he did it all year and he just dying laughing the whole time oh man imagine your coach is your best man what a freaking year you're gonna have oh it was i mean god dude unbelievable i heard i heard uh blake or maybe it's chelios one of them has apparently the best spread. They have two lots right on the beach in Manhattan Beach. Have you ever been to his place? Yeah, it's Blakey.

So he was my assistant John when I was in L.A. And so apparently when he got to L.A., he purchased it, and he got a really good deal on it. And a year later, people were knocking on the door asking him double, triple what he paid for. His spread in L.A. is probably worth about $20 million. Oh, my God. And he made big boy money, and he's done well on investments.

And as far as a guy's concerned, he used to tell us if we'd win three out of three in the American League, he would get us the team card. And we'd be in the American League going out. I remember we won the second round against the San Diego Gulls. I think we spent 20K between dinner and the club because I had control of the card. Team club, they paid for it? But we went to Ciccone's in L.A. And then we went to – I think it was a towel or one of those fucking clubs.

We spent 20 grand as a team and they were like, all right, I think you guys are done getting the card. Yeah. He's, he was, he was one of the best. He was,

he was so good for me. And that was back like my rookie year. That was back when you could hold up going into the zone and you didn't just get run through the boards every time. And he was like, Johnny, you go back and get every puck. And he just stood there at the blue line on every chip puck. And he would just put his cross check stick right into a guy and hold them up.

I got hit like maybe twice that year on four checks. And Blake, he just, he just picked guys going into the zone all day. He was a hell. He was an unreal player, i want to ask you about uh the lockout yeah john you played in germany for but 17 games what was what was that experience like like did you not play a full season or did you get hurt i honestly don't remember that far back so i i played in the world cup uh in i i went over to germany i actually went over for training camp when when we thought we were going to lock out. Then I got called back. Hal Gill got hurt in the World Cup. I got called back.

Skilzy, yeah. I got called back, played a couple of games and Alexey Yashin broke my foot in the World Cup. I ended up getting paid during the lockout until Christmas. Because I got hurt. Which is jizzed himself. I ended up getting paid during the lockout until Christmas.

Even I thought you had to be hurt. Because I got hurt. Which is just themselves. In an NHL event. In an NHL event, so I got hurt. You're right. Wait, I didn't even remember. I got hurt in the event. I didn't even remember that that's how stupid that lockout was.

They had the World Cup, and then the lockout happened yeah yeah marion gabrick's groin and and ended up collecting like for half a year and he and he was making like 10 million in york at the time yeah yeah gabrick uh i'm trying to adam foot hurt his elbow in the world cup he he had that surgery surgery. I hurt my foot. It was possibly the longest broken foot rehab of all time. Everybody was like, Al Shervick and Caddy Shaq, you're like 100 Gs every two weeks.

I'm like, my elbow, oh my god, this thing won't get better. What a smart move by some guys. Some guys probably abuse that by knowing that and just like faked an injury at least for a couple months oh yeah it was i mean it wasn't surprising i'm i'm you know you comment too much on it but yeah uh and then i went and uh they had that that img tour through europe um in december and i on that and it was like myself,

Barrett Jackman, like Sundin, Domi, Blake, Federoff was on that and we went and played. We played like 12 games in 15 days on this tour through Europe and it was an absolute, it was

unbelievable but it was a disaster. Like the alcohol? Like a barnstorming tour? Exactly. Give me Federoff. Oh, yeah. I mean, like we – Federoff showed up on our plane in like Uggs boots

and like the biggest fur coat you've ever seen. I honestly – I was like – I was just dying. It was such a cool trip. I mean, the guys that were on – Marty Brodeur was on that trip. Hasek was on that trip. Like, Hasek, Ray Whitney was on that trip. Ray Whitney's dad had to play goalie for us one night because Hasek was too hungover from the night before.

He couldn't leave the training room. He was in full gear. I swear to God, he was in full gear, asleep on the trainer's table for the entire game. We played in the Czech, and on the trainer's table for the entire game. We played in the check. And they had to dress Ray Whitney's dad. And he got in for the last five minutes of a game against a team in Sweden. Oh, my God.

Holy shit. That is hilarious. Hey, like Sergey Fedorov. Like, were you out at a club with Sergey Fedorov? Like, that's another name. I mean, Jesus, what a list. I don't think I ever was out with him. You out at a club with Sergey Fedorov? Like, that's another name. I mean, Jesus, what a legend. I don't think I ever was out with him, but, I mean, we were all –

in Sweden, I mean, we went out in Stockholm with Matt Sundin, and I don't – I mean, aside from Peter Forsberg, is there a better person to go out with in Stockholm? He probably was like, all right – he had his number one man. He's like, do you want me to give Lyles the go to join us tonight? He's like, no, no, no, no, no. He's not coming. Keep a tight group.

I was that night in Sweden. I think I just, I don't know. I got too overwhelmed and I drank myself under the table, I think. It just never panned out. Yeah, shit happens. So, good. All right. Look, give me a little background on the golf game.

How is it right now? People who don't know, why was it sick? It was really good early in the summer, and then, you know, my wife being pregnant, we had the baby at the beginning of August, and I've only played three times since then, and it's eaten at me. Did that make you sick? It's tough. The weather here is so nice right now, and all I want to do is go out and play.

But sometimes you've got to bite the bullet. But I was playing really well. My brother-in-law, who I kind of walked into the best situation ever. My brother-in-law plays on the Canadian tour, in-law who's I kind of walked into the best situation ever my brother-in-law plays on the Canadian tour and so he gives me lessons whenever you know whenever he's he's back in town and so he gave me a putting lesson and I I I it was I don't know I mean like literally he's like just move the ball up an inch and I I didn't couldn't miss a putt and that was I mean that that saves me usually because I don't hit the ball very far or anything like that. But what, what's this, is this guy want to give a shout out,

like a little Canadian tour action? Like, is he a chick? He is. Yeah. His name's James Love. So he married, he married my wife's sister and, and it's pretty much the best brother-in-law situation you could ask for. Yes. Cause when he's back in town, he's got, you know, he plays golf. That's his work. And so I get, you know, I go out with him and James has got to work. You know, I go play golf with him.

Oh, that's living, dude. That's living. I was going to ask you, are you doing anything involving work right now? I mean, you're just sitting on your money like wit. I work my balls out. Hey, wit, we fooled him for a long time. You just fool him as long as you can, right? Yeah, and I think you made more than I did, too.

Like, you're a big money machine. What was your biggest one? Brian Bird texted me. It was my first big deal with the abs was four years, I think 16-something. 16-8. 16-8, years, I think 16, something. That was, I mean, that was my 16, eight.

There you go. Yeah, exactly. And then I had, I had another four year deal with Toronto. Uh, for what? Berkey still,

Berkey still gives me shit for 15, something. Berkey still gives me, gives me crap. So you made over 40 in your career. Oh, you made a lot of money, dude.

What's that? What's the exact number, R.A.? Hey, Berkey calls you and chirps you? So Berkey was at – I don't know where he was. He was somewhere with one of the guys I played with, and he got on the phone and he was like – he's like, Johnny, how's that house in Colorado that I paid for? And I told him, I go, I go, Berkey,

there's a Brian Burke suite in the basement whenever you want to stay. I missed it. About roughly 37, 38 mil according to CapFriendly. But of course that's before everybody gets their cut and taxes and all that. How much? How much? About 37 and a half mil per CapFriendly. It's crazy, Lyle. It's actually insane to like look back and think that we really don't have to work

if we don't want to. That is banana lands, man. I don't know if you sit back and appreciate it, but I certainly do. I definitely do. I'm trying to do what I want to do, not what I have to do. I'm just doing a little bit of TV work for doing a little bit of TV work for the abs. I did like 20 games last year. Oh, I'll see you this year then.

Yeah, yeah. So I – yeah, I'm just, you know, a little in-game analysis and wit and Army texts me every now and again and give me crap when we were playing the Penguins and tell me I look like shit on the TV. Well, one cool thing – I think you look fabulous. One cool thing about you is you kind of came in when guys started getting paid big boy money but you also got to experience the the end of the old

school era where where you know where guys were still drinking a lot on the plane playing cards and and you you still have like all these unbelievable stories and situations you found yourself in yeah i i man i i can't even tell you how how lucky i was to come into the situation that i did one i mean when i came into colorado i mean it was there's so many veterans and and honestly uh dj smith who's a assistant coach for the leafs now he got hurt in training camp and that was the only reason a spot opened up on the team I think he had an eye injury which was pretty serious and uh and that was kind of how I slid into like the number six defenseman spot and then just playing playing with all those guys that year and then you know

you kind of you're able to establish yourself and I mean the game's changed we say it all the time I mean how much has the game changed I mean – like, my thing was skating for my entire career. I used to be able to skate away from guys, and then all of a sudden it was like you're just getting crushed left, right, and center because every guy in the NHL. Then Barzell's stripping the parkway. You haven't even taken one step yet. Oh, gosh. That's like nightmare stuff for me.

Speaking of contracts, your last one was with the boston bruins here here in boston that's where i'm talking from wow what was your experience like here you played here a little while about a season and a half roughly uh did you have a positive time here with what was your overall uh experience here i absolutely loved it in boston um i mean aside you know from Colorado I you know playing here my first team Boston was was I think my favorite place to play I loved the city I was I was actually when we got traded there I was I was kind of scared you know you mean you go into Boston I always kind of thought of Boston it is a big city but I was really surprised at how you know small

it felt and how accessible it was and And my family loved it, man. We lived in the North end that year. And if we hadn't had roots in Colorado, I honestly think we would have ended up, you know, somewhere in Boston and stayed there. It was just, the organization was, was, was fantastic. The guys in the room, I mean, I can't say enough good things about the guys in that room. There's so many great guys in that room. They treat you so well.

I mean, Warrior Practice facility, the garden. Man, I absolutely loved it. I can't say enough good things. The only thing I regret is not actually scoring a goal as a Bruin, but when you don't score a goal for an entire year, I think it's time to hang them up. I went that way. Are you even a Bruin? You didn't score? Are you biz? I didn't score a goal for an entire year, I think it's time to hang them up. So I went that way. Like, are you even a Bruin? You didn't score?

Are you biz? I didn't score. Yeah, man, I didn't score. It was like, it just weighed on me. And I was like, well, I'm just never going to score a goal again. Yeah, it is a major city, but you're right. It is like a small town because it's a tiny place, man. You almost like know people here because it's such a small city. But a small town because it's a tiny place, man. You almost know people here because

it's such a small city. It was good having you here, man. We enjoyed what you did. I loved it. Thank you very much, buddy. I mean, hey, you weren't worse than Caberle. Caberle, the Bruins fans wanted Caberle for like 35 years and then he came there and they despised him

after one year. And you know what my theory is on that and and you guys as defensemen in the nhl level can can attest to this is he was playing 30 minutes a night in toronto the the type of rhythm you get into playing in 30 minutes if if all of a sudden you're bumped down to 16 it feels like you're playing four like you yeah it's it's such a difference. And I would talk to Jans about that all the time because when Oliver Ekman-Larsen came into Phoenix, you know, they were very similar in offense where Jans went from playing around 28 to now all of a sudden

it was like 22, 23, 24. And he mentioned it's hard to find that rhythm again because you're so used to playing at a certain pace for so many years years yeah and and then now all of a sudden you they're dumbing back your ice and then they want you to play a little bit harder defensively and you're like well fuck dude i've been doing this yeah i need a time to adjust here that's that's the that's the killer for offensive defense and they want you to play a little harder defensively i know what the fuck is that you're in the the league for a reason. Like, you know, there's a reason.

I tell Torrey Krug all the time, I'm like, buddy, I'm like, always try and get better defensively, but don't sacrifice your offense because you're in the league because you're a great offensive, you know, defenseman. And I love, I mean, that kid's like one of the best guys. I mean, I know you've had him on a couple times, and he's a great friend of mine. Well, we were going to have him on, but

Grinnelli got a restraining order put on him because he was fucking taking pictures of his fucking quads and shit. Fantastic guy. Great legs. Great legs. Great legs. He is an animal. Great legs. He is.

No, go ahead. Go ahead. Oh, no. I just – I mean, for like a man, I mean, I'm short. I'm 5'10". He's like 5'8". I mean, he just – he's an animal out there. Well, he did talk about it when we were on the podcast, and he mentioned how, you know, Julian was detrimental to him

getting better defensively, and he said he had to chuck weights like crazy just to be able to compete with these big guys up front and who can move. So he's done well for himself. Yeah, he has. Dude, we thank you so much for coming on, man. It's a good thing to catch up with you. It's been a while.

I'm going to have to talk to Cleary and Horkoff. I mean, maybe get this guy back on the golf trip. Or maybe I come out to Vail and we golf there. But either way, thanks for coming in. Thanks, Wetz. Hey, if you can get me back on the trip, I need it. I need it bad. Well, this is proof. They can listen to this.

I can hear the need it in your voice. That's real. Yeah. No reason he came on the podcast. I'm pleading my case on the internet right now. Well, thanks for coming on and joining us, John Michael. Thanks, guys. Appreciate you having me.

Once again, thank you to John Michael Lyles. What an interview. Great stories. And, boys, a little cherry on top again. We got R. Right Hamilton coming back. R.A. segment next week. That'll be the first time we bring it back on Monday. We're going to keep it.

What's the new rule on it, R.A.? Why don't you break it down for the fans? Yeah, All Right Hamilton, it's a listener question segment. We used to just do general questions, and they started to get repetitive, so we kind of put the segment on the shelf for a little while. But we're going to bring it back, and each week we're going to have it centered around a different topic. That way it keeps you fresh. And for the first week, I solicited questions based around summer vacation.

So anything to do with you guys, maybe with players. We got all kinds of good questions. So we bring it back for Monday's episode. My life's a vacation. Yeah, exactly. So it applies to you any time of year, unlike the rest of us. So, yeah, we'll have a different topic, like I said, every week so we can mix it up and then the questions will stay fresh.

Did you guys see David Amber from Hockey Night in Canada ask Pierre Dorian? What do you expect? Grinnell, play the clip for the people at home. Pierre, what's the number one thing you're optimistic about in terms of the Ottawa Senators? We're a team. I mean...

We're a team. What are you excited about? We're a team? No shit. I couldn't tell. I mean, I saw your logo under the team section on NHL.com, but I wasn't sure. And that Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Oh, they added that? They get me out of that? Oh, God. It's like Larry if he wants to go to the Unreal Chicken from the Palestinians or stay with the Jewish people on Curb Your Enthusiasm that won't go there. I just can't believe it. Yeah, I lost it. Can we hammer – can we – should we bet against them first 40 games,

do a good thing in the podcast? We're going to bet against them every game for the first 41, and we're going to see how much money we're up. Hey, do you think the guys inside the locker room are almost making fun of their own team? They probably hate our guts. No, I don't think so. I mean, they're probably like – at the guys inside the locker room are almost making fun of their own team? They probably hate our guts. No, I don't think so. I mean, they're probably like, at the beginning of the year, dude,

I was on some bad teams, and you're still fired up. You're like, we could surprise some teams. We could surprise some teams. But deep down in the places that you try not to think about, you know. Well, I meant more so on the overall standpoint with all the drama that's around the team. Well, if your GM's saying, what are you looking forward to? Or what are you happy about?

We're a team. Yeah, I'd be a little rattled. I would say the funniest part about it is how he looked at Amber after. Kind of like, are you fucking kidding me? Well, it took him eight seconds. But it was a generic question. It wasn't like he came out of left field and asked him something and put him in a pretzel.

Guys, as former players, do you think, though, having an owner who's kind of off the reservation a bit right now and a GM who gets dumbfounded with a question like that, do you think almost the team galvanizes itself around that? They'll just kind of circle the wagons and rally a little bit. Do you think that's going to happen? Grinnelli didn't play. What a YouTube former NHL is going to answer.

Well, I mean, yeah mean you can rally around anything but i don't know dude i'm a former player and i just know that usually in the room you know if you have a good team or not and if you don't know at the end of training camp you probably don't have a good team so auto is gonna have to really kind of figure out how they're going to play this year. I mean, if they try to play run and gun, it could be a complete disaster. Maybe they try to be very good defensively. Guy Boucher, he said the guy Alex

Formington is as fast as Connor McDavid. I think I read that. That sounds a little insane to me, but I guess he could be. I don't know. It's just that backstab made me laugh so hard. I'll tell you, the only rally they're going to be doing is a puking rally after their fucking rookie party this year halfway through the season. Or their bag skates.

Yeah, or their fucking bag skates. But, you know, like you said, you never know. Fuck. Everyone picked Vegas Golden Knights last year to probably finish last. So, anyway, boys, I think we should wrap her up. It's getting a little late here. And big thanks to everyone for tuning in. Oh, we got more?

No, quickly before we go, I just want to say, I've had people tell me that there's a possible acting role for like a movie being filmed around here needs like someone who can skate in their 30s. You think I would ever go? People tell me, you got to go do this. Wait in line to make $1,500 skating around. I can't even skate anymore.

So people were messaging you like you'd be interested to go do this. Like, hey, wait, go check this out. I'm like, are you insane, dude? Do you know? Do you know? I can't even skate anymore. Okay. All right.

Fair enough. All right. Big thanks to John Michael Liles. And I hope you enjoy skate anymore. Okay. All right. Fair enough. All right. Big thanks to John Michael Eilson. I hope you enjoy our Central Division preview. If you're at Pop Punk tonight, say hello and have a beer. Peace. Peace. Don't worry about a thing

Cause every little thing is gonna be alright. Say you don't worry.