Spittin Chiclets - Spittin' Chiclets Episode 118: Featuring Brooks Orpik

Episode Date: October 22, 2018

On Monday's episode, the guys are joined by two-time Stanley Cup Champion Brooks Orpik, also former high school teammate of Ryan Whitney. The guys talk about the recent Stanley Cup win, playing in Pittsburgh, and a ton more. The guys also talked about Jay Bouwmeester and his recent healthy scratch and look back on his career. The fellas touch on some other NHL news and wrap up with some good stories.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

Hey, Spittin' Chicklets listeners, you can find every episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Hello, everybody. Welcome to episode 118 of Spittin' Chicklets, presented by New Amsterdam Vodka. Let's say hello to the boys this evening on a Sunday night. Let's go to Ryan Whitney first. What's going on, guys? Just if you're wondering where I am, I'm in a little town called Milton, just outside of the greatest sports city in the world, Boston, Massachusetts, where we're competing for another title starting Tuesday with the Boston Red Sox.

So how are you guys doing? I'm doing fantastic. Not a big deal, as they say. You're a fucking idiot, man. Let's go next to our producer down in New York City, Mike E. Grinelli. Hello, gentlemen. A couple Pink Whitney's last night to celebrate the Sox

for the World Series. New Amsterdam vodka, of course. But yeah, city champs, baby. Enjoy it responsibly. Lots of Pink Whitney's out there. And, boy, I don't know if he's in the desert or where he is. Paul, where are you these days? I'm in Columbus, Ohio, boys.

Oh, beautiful Columbus. Yeah, beautiful Columbus. We're here for four days on a road trip. I don't know how we got here for four days. But a few things. Holy shit at the amount of people drinking and tweeting and sending us pictures about Pink Whitney's. I'd say they're good.

But if you don't have the Newman's Own, it's not. I told some kid on Twitter, it's like a 9.6 instead of a 10. A 10! She's a 10! Fox! You can't just say Newman's Own. You have to say Paul Newman, play a coach, regs them up. I think it's called Newman's Own, though.

But insane. Another thing, Grinnell was out NYC last night and couldn't get into a bar with him and his fucking 18 dude buddies. What the fuck? Shocker. Let's hear the story. Let's hear the story. All right.

So let me preface by saying this. In Boston, you can walk into any bar with as many dudes as you want. Yeah, because it's called Cone Perfess everywhere. It's not a big-time city. Okay, so I'm in line last night for a bar. I wait about 35. That's your first problem. I never wait in lines for bars, so I hate this.

I was already rattled. I was being like a little bitch in line complaining the whole time. And then it was me and three guys and one girl, or four guys and one girl. And we get to the front of the line, and the guy's like, do you have reservations? I said, no. He's like,

uh, well, sorry, man. You, you can't come in tonight. There's too many guys with you. It's like,

what the fuck, man? I thought like, you know, someone should have told me this while I was waiting in line. Well, I told him his first mistake was that you, you always go up to the guy and establish what's going on.

Especially if you don't have the bankroll to tip him, to let you and your boys in right away. Just be like, hey, what's the deal here? You guys let in groups of guys, and you always ask that question. Yeah, done deal. And then you know what you got. And I'm down with that because I don't want to be hanging out in a bar where it's 80% guys.

Like, I love my guy time. I love shooting the shit and having beers with the boys. But if I'm going out in NYC to like a lounge or an upscale bar, I don't want to talk Cobra Fest. I want to stare at some fucking sexy women, and I want to just stare and not talk to them because I know I have to. Anyway. Well, I can admit I don't like being the guy to go up and get myself into the bar,

but I'm certainly not going to wait, so I've always had a man. I think a Ned, my boy Ned. Oh, fall guy. You need a fall guy. Not even a fall guy. A guy just to go say, hey, that's what they call it. That guy's in the NHL, or now that guy's not in the NHL, but he has plenty of money to give you, and then I give him the money, and then Ned pays the guy,

or, and then I just walk in, but it was, I don't know, my money got us in, but I wasn't waiting in line or talking to the guy. I hate dropping the hockey bomb, and I get a little uncomfortable when even my buddies do it. Because you never played. Oh, snap. You're a fucker.

Hey, but no, on a serious note, I always go up and say, hey, listen, man, we're here for the night. Is it any good in there? What are my chances of getting in? And if you play the kind of like, hey, the innocent guy, we're here for the night. Like, is it any good in there? Like, what are my chances of getting in? And if you play like the kind of like, hey, the innocent guy and like I'm not here to cause trouble, usually they're like, you know what? Give me a few minutes. I'll see what I can do for you.

And then at the end of like five minutes, they'll be like, listen, but I can't help you. Or, hey, usually they're going to say, yeah, come inside. Just throw me a 20 or 40 or whatever. And the guy I mentioned, my buddy and many other guys, they got to be good at it. You got to know what to say. The minute you try being a hero to the guys in charge, it ain't going to work. So it's

about being a smooth talker. Be humble. And it certainly isn't about waiting in line with four of your buddies and a girl. Were you out celebrating your two-year anniversary as producer of the podcast? I saw your tweet today. It's been a quick two years. Quick two years, and I appreciate you guys taking a chance on me.

So I really appreciate that, boys. But yeah, I mean, I was. I was. I was trying to get in one. I was trying to get in one last night. And I was so rattled by this. That's like an hour process out of my night. It hurts.

And you know what? You know, Grinnelli is the perfect example of why you just shoot your fucking shot. You know, because Grinnelli shot his shot with us. He sent us an email out of the blue. Do you remember when it happened? Yeah, I remember the story. It was just like the night we needed some guy. It was randomly the exact day we needed someone.

Right. Something like that. Grinnelly sent an email, and I had gotten a few emails from, you know, prospective, you know, interns and whatever. But Grinnelly's like, hey, I'm in Bellrica. I'm close by. Burlington. Burlington. Whoa, whoa, whoa. No Bell Rica. I'm close by. Burlington. Burlington.

Oh! Bell Rica's disgusting. Oh! It's all the North Shore. Boston trips. Nobody knows what the fuck you're talking about other than people from Boston. So either way, Grinnelly shot his shot. Now, I remember, Mike, I remember reading

your email, and I got a few emails over the time. You kind of file them. I go, you know what? I'm going to put this one aside. And it was literally the next day, Wits. I don't know if you remember, Wits. We were on a fucking tear that day. It was just me and you in my living room.

And we cracked each other up for about a half hour straight. And I went over to hit pause on the fucking mixer and it was dead. There was nothing there. And I was like, are you shitting me? And I was like, man, we need somebody here to take care of this. And I remember I said to you, I goes, this kid from fucking Burlington sent an email last night. I goes, and I hadn't replied.

He goes, let me see what he does. So the point is Grinnelli fucking shot his shot at the absolute fucking perfect time. Literally the next fucking day, I'll mix his shit to bed. We called Grinnelli. He swooped in. Brought us to the next level. Then Biz come along with fucking 200 cc's of fucking steroids in our ass.

And now we're fucking unstoppable. Hey, Grinnells came a long way. He went from living in Burlington to getting shut down at fucking bars in NYC, man. So on that note, boys, there's quite a bit of hockey talk to talk about. I guess we'll start out with one wit.itt, and we know him a little bit because we went to camp with him, Jay Bollmeister.

Oh, tough. He's played 1,112 games, so 1,112 games. And, yeah, the other night was his first ever healthy scratch. You know what, Witt, I just want to get your comments on it before I kind of get going. So I have a couple comments about this. One being from the time I was about 14, 15, J. Bo Meister, he was the name. This kid from Western Canada, I believe he's from Edmonton,

one of the best skating young players, young defensemen you'll ever see. I always heard about it. He played, I don't know if he played in the WHL as an underage guy, but he might have played a couple games, if not the full year. Made World Juniors as a 16-year-old, one of the youngest players to ever make World Junior. Was going to be the first overall pick in the 2002 draft. That was my draft.

He was the first overall pick in 1999, people were saying. It was a done deal. This is the guy. He was the first overall pick in 1999, people were saying. It was a done deal. This is the guy. This is the guy. And I'll never forget the draft because I actually have a very clear memory of my mom saying, that sucks for this kid because Jay Bollmeister didn't go first. Rick Nash went first. And then Kyrie Letton went second.

And the whole time, the guy in the draft, and it wasn't up to him. It was maybe the guy running the TSN feed or whoever had it on TV, just kept putting the camera on Bo Meister. He's 18 years old and he hasn't gone yet. And obviously he went third to Florida, but he dropped a little bit. He was, it was kind of shocking, you know, to say the least. And I remember feeling bad for him. That kind of sucked, but he went on to be just such a steady D man. Like I said,

skates like the wind and he's the type of guy that never would be scratched because, yeah, maybe there's games he wasn't as dominant as he usually could be, but he was always reliable, always the guy you need in the lineup. 25 minutes, no problem, never missed a game. At one point, he was the current Ironman leader. Yeah, he's sixth on the all-time list. He had 737 straight games played before he missed one to injury. So he's

number six all-time right now, Witt, but there's actually three active guys who are more than likely... Yeah, well, Yans is one of them. He's not ahead of him yet. Let's hope, knock on wood, he does pass him. Patrick Marleau is right behind Keith Yandel, and then Phil Kessel

is actually right below him. So there's three current active players that are more than likely going to pass him. Of course, Cogliano was one of those guys, and I mean, say what you will about that suspension. Let's not even get into that, but he was on pace to definitely break that.

Go ahead, Ray. When a guy like that who has so much respect in the room, and he's been around for a long time, does that have an effect in the locker room or did the guys just take it in stride? Like, Hey, you know what, man, he might've had a couple of tough nights in a row. Is there any like after effect of, of a guy like Bo means to get scratched? Is there an after effect in the locker room with the teammates?

I wouldn't say an after effect. I would say maybe at the time. And what happens is you go, unless you talk to the coach beforehand, you go into the locker room pregame skate, and the lineup for that night's on the board. And the first time I was scratched in Edmonton, my name wasn't on the board. And you're like, oh, fuck. So maybe then a couple teammates come up, hey, it's all right.

Do you have to? No, actually, no, I don't need to distribute. Actually, can you talk to the listeners? How does that work when you guys are actually going to be scratched that night? I think that's interesting to tell the listeners how that plays out. Yeah, I was doing that. You either go into the locker room, you talk to the coach maybe the night before if you're a veteran, or like most guys, you get to the locker room,

pregame skate in the morning, and the boards got up there with your lineup that night. That's what are going to be the lines in pregame skate. I guess a lot of teams now don't even pregame skate as often. That's changed quickly since I got out of the league, which is now three, four years ago. But that's how you find out pretty much. That's how I found out.

So if that's how he found out, you go in and you're just kind of shocked. You're like, oh, fuck, especially him. I was shocked, and I was one-tenth of what he was. So in terms of the surprise, it's tough. And maybe some guys come up to you right away and talk. But after that, man, they got jobs to do. They want to stay in the lineup. And that night, you're not thinking at all about him not playing

because that's pro sports, man. Guys get left out. You're not playing good. You get scratched. Maybe some guys don't agree with it. But that night, their play is not affected based on him not playing or being in the lineup. I'll say this, R.A.

I guarantee you, Yo is a player's coach. I guarantee you that conversation was him pulling Bo Meester in and letting him know personally. I don't think he's the type of guy where he just puts it on the board and Bo Meester walks in and finds out. Because if it was, I'd say, Yozy, that's fucking bullshit. He deserves a lot more respect than that. I guarantee that did not happen.

Unless it was on the board because that's what they did in the morning, and then right when Bo Meister got there, Yo found out. Tell the trainer, hey, tell me when Bo's here, and then he goes to grabs him and talks to him. Absolutely. I guarantee Yo did that. He's an awesome coach.

And keep in mind, too, here, Bo's played a long time. He's coming off hip surgery in the summer. He's probably not as fast as he was. The team has been struggling and they ended up going into Toronto and banging out a really big win. But I'll say this, as he starts slowing down, I think he might have this year and next year left on his deal or this year might be the end of it. But he is a true professional. He's a fucking unbelievable example to have in the locker room for those young guys. He shows up to the rink.

He puts his head down. He does his work. He fucking works. He works some more, and then he fucking leaves the rink. So shout out to Jay Bollemeister. Very quiet, but then a couple beers in him, and he won't stop talking. So it's pretty funny. But also what made me laugh when you just

gave that list of um keith yandel marlo and kessel i don't know about marlo but keith and kessel don't exactly have the best bodies so what does that say about playing a long time it says you know a lot of massage keith keith always gets massages he always gets rubbed out it's uh it's weird hockey's like the most jack guys are the guys that are always like on the IR or can't move around out there. Like look at Phil Kessler. His body defies science every time he steps on the ice. Now, moving on, boys.

Bob Cole. I mean, you've probably been listening to your whole childhood. This guy in his 50th year called his final game in Ottawa the other night, and they did a nice little video for him of all famous Ottawa Senators goal calls he had. And, I mean, just talk about it already. You probably listened to some legends in your day, like, I mean, Foster Hewitt and Danny Gallivan are probably the two guys

when you were growing up, correct? Well, I guess the best sports equivalent I could give Bob Cole would probably be Howard Cosell in America. Like, you know, a guy who was so much associated with one sport for so long and like Howard Cosell was that football guy for so long. And Bob Cole, yeah, unfortunately we didn't hear him a shitload in America because we didn't get satellite feeds for the last like 15, 20 years. But yeah, man, he's an absolute legend.

He was the voice of Hockey Night in Canada for so long, and we were lucky to get his feeds down here on occasion. But he was the epitome of hockey play-by-play in Canada, man. I wish we could have listened to him a little bit more down here, but it's the system the way it was set up. I just assumed that you'd listen more just because of the Boston Canadians playing each other. Maybe you'd get that feed.

That's my mistake. I just assumed that. No, we really didn't. And I would say that's more to do with the technology than anything. We just, you know, before the internet, we didn't have that option to listen to the Canadian feed over the years. But in the last several years, we have been able to listen to Bob Cole. And there's no doubt he's a legend.

Like I said, he's basically you guys' equivalent of Howard Cosell that we had here you know 20-30 years ago. Bob Cole for the people who don't know has been hockey net in Canada and that's the problem is what RA said we didn't we could never get it and I remember when I went to live in Ann Arbor my senior high school they got the CBC feed for hockey net Night in Canada. It's the best. I can admit it being American that when you get that Hockey Night in Canada game, something about it just – it's kind of just – It gives me chills. It always feels like a playoff game. The intro is the best.

Get the towel. I got the towel after the first period in Toronto. Oh, I did. I've done it. Let me keep this thing. Let me keep this thing. Let me have to rub you guys. How many towels do each of you have?

That's a pretty big one, getting a Hockey Night in Canada towel. I actually went and got interviewed after Healthy Scratch, and I was talking about – After hours? Were you after hours? Yeah, after hours. Playmates and shit. With Scott Oak?

Yeah, Scott Oak, yeah. We were talking about Jenna Jameson and shit. They're like, we're going off the rails. Holy shit, ding, ding, ding. They were loving it. They were loving it. He's like, oh, yeah. He's having a heart attack.

They have a healthy scratch talking about porn stars. Bob Cole, what the fuck? Another few guys I want to talk about, I i mean names that i think about when i think of play by play and like to me gordon miller gordon miller and ray ferraro are are probably the best tandem right now at least in canada where they just they flow perfectly uh ray's obviously credible very good very good he's to me he's the best color guy yeah and that's not taking a shot at anyone else i just like their vibe together they have they seem to gel here's the best color guy. Yeah. And that's not taking a shot at anyone else. I just like their vibe together. They seem to gel. Here's a guy who gets a lot of shit.

It's Pierre Maguire. I love the different types of personalities in the NHL as far as announcers are concerned. And, you know, everyone gives him shit, and they have drinking games every time he mentions, you know, what town they play junior in or where they're from or this. But I take every guy for what they are, and he separates himself from the rest just based on his little quirky thing. So I think that's fucking funny and I embrace it.

So is this Bob Cole's last, it is, this is it? His 50th and last season. And that was his last time. 50 years. 50 years, buddy. Imagine doing this podcast for 50. Imagine all rain. Which would have set up by 2020 with me. It's been like one and a half and I've aged doing this podcast for 50 years. That's it already. Which would have tapped out by 2020 with me.

It's been like one and a half, and I've aged 10 years. Which was done with me two years ago. Hey, same with Don Cherry. We got to mention he's named Don Cherry and Ron McClain, another two guys. Hey, how about Don Cherry's got makeup on his hands? He's got the hands out there, right? He just looks phenomenal. What's Don Cherry, 88 years old?

I have no idea. Dude, he's fucking awesome. Look that up. Get on that. Yeah, come on, Grinnells. He still coaches corner. Even my wife's like, oh, this is the Don Cherry guy. Because NHL Network pretty much every Saturday night plays the 7 o'clock

fucking in Canada. He's got outdated takes and stuff, but you embrace it because it's Don. He just says shit that you're like, dude, you're a little bit out of touch. Dude, it's Grinnelli Cherry how he can't pronounce names. He's that old uncle.

You just give him a little bit of leeway because he says things that might not be politically correct anymore, but you're like, okay, Don, you can say it. You know? The old uncle is like, what the Chinese kid say to the black kid? And you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I just wanted to give a shout-out to Bob Cole, and of course we're going to be touching on him more later in the season

when he calls his final game. And the rest of the guys who do a great job. We mentioned the names. So moving on, boys, we have a fairly serious topic before we throw it off to Brooks Orpec. The fact that there's less than 50% Canadians in the NHL and the number of Canadians in the NHL keeps declining little by little. Now, what are your thoughts on that, guys?

I have a couple theories myself. I'd be interested to hear what your guys take. I'd like to hear yours first, actually. Well, I have two. Okay. I want to hear these. So hockey in Canada has gotten far too expensive. And to get in touch with the top professionals, to get ice time,

to get the top equipment, all of a sudden, it's not really a level playing field for all kids that are, let's say, are athletic and want to take up hockey. So now you're taking the richest kids kids you're giving them the best resources well those kids that have money they're just like every other kid except that they have the best resources that therefore their ceiling can get higher faster where in fact we didn't know about those kids who got weeded out because they weren't able to keep up because they didn't have the stick handling coach they didn't have the power skating coach they didn't have the top

coaches because they they couldn't afford to pay travel well now all of a sudden that if we don't know what their peak would have been based on their athleticism if they were given that same type of treatment that those rich kids were well now you're you're dealing with a small group of people who have the money to do it well yeah they're still going to produce some high-end NHLers like a guy like Connor McDavid and, of course, like the Crosbys and the other guys that are just so good that, of course, they're going to make it. But we're alienating such a large amount of people that might have been more athletic and better at hockey in the long, but just couldn't afford it.

Now, my other theory is the fact that let's take the U.S. national program, for example. Well, all these kids get put into one area, Ann Arbor. Well, especially when you have a strong crop, all those unbelievable players that are on the national team are competing against each other, not only in practice every day, but then they're playing college teams. So better quality talent talent so they're having to adapt and be like guys like if we're not getting it done this way we got to use our minds more get smarter find the little holes

find the the other uh the other stuff they have to get bigger stronger and faster in order to keep up and then you have them like i said competing each other other day where all these top end junior kids in Canada, they're going off to their junior teams during the year while they're competing in practice against watered-down talent compared to what the Americans would have been doing. Same goes with the other national programs. Maybe they're not together all the time,

but those unbelievable kids, they're playing in the professional leagues either in Sweden or in Finland, so they're playing also against better talent for their age. So that's why I think it's getting better over there in, in Scandinavia and Russia and places like that. I feel like America is really coming on because especially when they have a big group like the Wierinski, Matthews, Kachuk, those guys, they're playing every fucking day against each other.

They're making each other better. They're exchanging tips on how to get shit done better. So that's my theory, and that was the two that I had. I think that the expense of hockey is a huge issue, and I know what you're saying in Canada. The fact that guys that are coaching 12-year-old, 13-year-old Canadian teams in Toronto are making – they're getting paid like 50 grand a year. Exactly.

That's crazy. But a lot of times if a player is very special, somebody is going to pay for them to play on one of those teams. So I think that it does maybe alienate kids from starting the game. But if you get to, you know, be 11, 12 in Canada, and if you're really good, you're playing on a good team, whether you're paying for it or not. Well, I agree.

I'm just saying I think that that's the reasons that I mentioned are the reasons that those other countries are starting to produce better high-end talent because at the end of the day, is it about making a bunch of guys better or the ones that are going to fit into the NHL box? Like, look, it's – and listen, they're still pumping out tons of Canadian talent. I'm just saying it's starting to get lower and lower and lower

compared to other countries, and that's why I think why. And part of it is the United States, these states that never had hockey and produced players, Matthews being the biggest example out of all of it, is starting to produce very good hockey players. Kids in Florida, California, and Arizona are making the U.S. stronger. Yeah. Well, and the fact that those markets have NHL teams now.

So those guys who play for those teams now have kids and now they're coaching. So they have NHL ex-players coaching kids. Look at Arizona. There's tons of guys still around. So now those guys are the ones teaching these younger guys and even not their own kids. So you never know what you're going to get now. And you saw that with the Blues. I think there was three, four, maybe five first round

or high draft picks out of St. Louis the year Clayton Keller was picked. So that's kind of a very strong piece of evidence to show that guys don't move and stay where they played. The crazy thing about all of it is Sweden and Finland. I mean, there's 300 million people in the U.S., over 30 million in Canada. Sweden has, what, 7 million people in it? It's incredible, the talent that they produce.

And I love how they play. They play for the same – I mean, there's the Moto team in Ornskold, where I played. Kids are on Moto when they're 10, and then they end up maybe playing from the Moto men's team in the SHL. So it's pretty cool that you kind of stay in the same systems. Similar to what soccer is in like the British Premier League. But one other point I wanted to make in Scandinavia,

all right, before I pass it over, is they do a good job of passing down gear as well. So now it's less expensive and everyone's able to afford it. I was talking to one of the Coyotes goalies a few years ago. Fuck, I'm forgetting his last name. He was a goaltender. He played in Nashville. Must have been good.

All right. No, I mean, he's not. Quick jab by Witt. But I'll think of it after we send it off to Orpik here. Go ahead, Ari. All right. Well, before we send it off to Brooks Orpik, the nationality distribution, Canada, 43.7 percent of the nhl

right now usa 26.3 uh sweden 10.2 finland 5.8 so you know canada usa dominating what's russia at now ra does it tell you russia yeah russia is 4.5 percent of the nhl and that that's not a lot i mean it's not here here's why., I believe about the Russia thing, and thank you for getting us those numbers, is because they're either high-end talent in the NHL or that's it. You don't really see – they don't really learn the game like that over there. They try to produce them to be high-end skilled players where I don't think they learn the game as much defensively.

And their hockey smarts aren't there compared to other countries. That's my opinion on that. Well, they're stuck in the Stone Age. They still practice for six hours a day. They haven't adapted. The joke is over there, it's like if you survived Russia hockey, you end up making the NHL because they just beat you. They skate on unflooded ice in order to become stronger skaters,

and they're doing it for like two hours. It's fucking insane over there. I'm curious to know. I don't even know in order to become stronger skaters, and they're doing it for like two hours. It's fucking insane over there. I'm curious to know. I don't even know if we could find out. But if it's 46% Canadians NHL now and 26%, whatever you said, American, I wonder what it was 15 years ago. I wonder if it was that big of a difference, but maybe we could see that at some point.

Whatever followers will let us know. Yeah, exactly. America has obviously gotten a lot higher. But one thing, too, the North American breakdown I thought was interesting. Ontario has almost 20% of NHL players from North America. At 19.1, it's Ontario. Well, yeah, I mean, it's condensed, right? It's the biggest city in Canada.

And that's where all they're producing them. That's where all the highest talent goes. That's where all the best training is. That's where all the best coaches are. So anyway. Yeah, it's interesting. So enough of that. Let's go to Brooks.

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blackbuffalo.com follow them on social at black Inc. for exciting updates and announcements. Black Buffalo. Born in Midwest. Raised in the South. Charge ahead. BlackBuffalo.com NHL for the promo code. And now we're pleased to bring on the podcast a longtime friend of myself. Sort of friend of Biz, even though Biz is a scumbag. We'll get into

that later. Two-time Stanley Cup champion. Not only a former teammate of mine in the pro game, but also in high school at Thayer Academy where we dummied the ISL for a year together. Brooks or Pick? Thanks for coming on the Spittin' Sheets podcast. Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. Hey, what kind of cell service you got next, Tel? It's actually terrible.

I'm out on my front deck here because I got no service in my house. But you'd think I'd be able to afford some decent cell service. You need that special phone that Gino Malkin used to have that was wrapped in gold. Yeah, the Chernobyl one. Hey, so Orp, before we get into all your career and comings and goings, I need to reminisce of a time when you and I met Biz. I think we were together when he came. Do you remember when I called him when he told us to call him Biz Nasty?

Yeah, I think there was a time where you were trying to convince everybody else to just throw that out the window and call him Biz Idiot. It didn't go over too well with Biz. No, Biz is going to dummy me. Hey, Orbs, I think that all started when I roasted Witt when he was doing his fitness testing in Pittsburgh, and I said, oh, fuck, this guy must not have any cap raises in the summer program.

You howled and Witt and tattletale on me. Oh, man. Yeah, I mean, man, I was actually thinking today before I came on, I mean, there were so many good stories from Pittsburgh, but I don't know when the first time I met Biz. I mean, I remember your first camp when you came in as a defenseman. I think you were the last cut, honestly. Like, I think you were the came in as a defenseman. I think you were the last cut, honestly. I think you were the last cut as a defenseman, which no offense,

because nobody's going to believe me on this story. But you were coming out of Saginaw. And this was, I think you got everyone's attention when you and Carsey got in that fist fight at about 8 o'clock in the morning, right after they told us no fighting in the scrimmages. Two guys that are supposedly best buddies just going at it, punching the face contest at 8 a.m. Oh, fuck.

So, yeah, we were obviously really good friends when we played together, and, of course, we were drafted the same year. And, you know, Carsey, he was sticking me on the way back to the bench, and I kind of shoved him back, and then he pushed me into the bench. And yeah, you weren't kidding. It was about 8 a.m. in the morning, and we're still fucking getting the eyeburns out of our eyes, and we're checking knuckles. Yeah, so yeah, that's probably the first memory I had.

That one in that pregame, or pre-season game we had down in beautiful wheeling west virginia against the islanders um you me and drake barahowski on the back end biz a drake barahowski scared the shit out of me because the first day of camp chris beach i think he kind of like slashed his stick a little bit and drake barahowski dropped his gloves and beat the fuck out of chris beach and i was like geez like kind of a nice guy like i like i felt bad yeah it's pretty it's pretty eye-opening that first camp um especially going from junior right to the nhl or college the nhl it's uh you you don't know what to expect but it comes at you pretty fast so yeah that's actually what I was wanting to ask you mainly about.

You turned pro what? You're 2000, 2001? 2001, yeah, right after my junior year at BC. He was part of the X generation. Yeah, X generation. We were X generation members together, Orp. X generation, yeah. That was kind of like the big plot to lose as many games as possible

and try to get Malkin or Ovechkin in the draft, and then we want to get Malkin and Crosby. So mission accomplished. Yeah, X generation. If your X generation is Whitney, Colby, Armstrong, like Thomas Sarovi was in the X generation, it's like, holy fuck, what's this team going to be doing? Yeah, I'm pretty sure they knew

what we'd be doing so um but but we made the best of it those were some fun years even though we were only winning like 20 games a year that's when bugsy malone was on the team right oh god bugsy yeah it's shocking that i played more than one year in this league after hanging out with Bugsy my rookie year and nothing's changed he still just smiles at you I remember Orp was like oh wait till you meet Bugsy he's gonna bury you and sure enough the first time I met him we went out I ended up throwing up the next day and meeting Mario a new 10 minutes later with a popped eye blood vessel because Bugsy Malone

got me a pizza. Absolutely the worst guy to try to hang with or keep up with. I got to ask you, so you spent two years in the minors right when you turned pro. Were you a part of the I don't know if it was you or Scud's time in the story of the St. Patrick's Day massacre with Syracuse

and Wilkes-Barre? I was actually funny you bring this up because I was just showing one of the rookies on our team. He's like, yeah, he's like, tell me about old-time hockey. And I'm like, Jesus, old-time hockey? I'm not that old, buddy. But I'm like twice his age, so he looks at me as pretty old. So I'm like, man, I've got to show him this video from Wilkes.

Yeah, it was St. Paddy's Day. And this was – so like I said said i left school a year early and i remember sitting there on the bench some of these games and i think we had we might have had the top four guys in the american league in penalty minutes like we had i'm looking right now we had we had 300 yeah and it was i mean you basically could do whatever you want and no one's going to touch you with this lineup. So it was good for a young guy. But, yeah, this St. Paddy's Day Massacre, it's still on YouTube. Just put in Wilkes-Barre St. Paddy's Day Massacre. I mean, you'll never see that anymore.

I mean, we're getting guys two-game suspensions for unsportsmanlike conduct now. So those days are long gone. Oh, you got some thoughts on something, don't well actually yeah you should well it's a fellow bc guy too so and uh i actually know him pretty well um so i felt bad for the the situation he was in but it's um you're talking about matheson i don't know man they get yeah yeah matheson it's um i'm sure everyone's gonna have their opinion on it but this is the one where we're i personally think this is gonna be a tipping point for a lot of players i said that i said that i said this this one's bad because man i mean fuck if we're gonna start suspending guys for that

what's next yeah and it's you know like the players like we all realize that you know George Peros and his staff there has like a really tough job to do and I don't think anybody envies that position to be honest with you but a lot of times you know players are like well I don't want to speak out because it's going to put a target on my back and then

anything I do that's even borderline you know like they're coming down on me and I think that is generally the case I'd know, like they're coming down on me. And I think that is generally the case. Like it's good because a lot of former players are coming out voicing their opinions, which is good. But really, I mean, like you need more current players voicing their opinion because right now, I mean, you might as well put a poll up on Twitter

and just let the media and fans go at it and decide what the punishment is going to be. Well, think about it this way. You've been playing for, I mean, fuck, dude. You're going to play for like 20 years. You're a sicko. But if you YouTube or pick the shift in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings where you bundled like 16 guys in 10 seconds. All of those hits, you'd hit

them and you'd finish them with your strength and throw them down. That's hockey. To see it now, that'd be a suspension. I can't even imagine how guys are going to hit moving forward now. If you're too strong, you get suspended. Exactly. The hits to the head,

I think everybody... I think players are doing a much better job Trying to get those out of the game It's a slow process The game's getting quicker It's even tougher on guys Making hits Taking perfect angles

There's some times where you can't even Try to make a hit because You don't know what's going to happen But yeah, like this one here, I mean, it's how many times have you seen the exact same play, but then the guy's 200 pounds and he's a lot stronger. He's not a rookie.

He's not 18 years old, 150 pounds. And it's the exact same play, but a different result, you know? And so, man, like,

I don't know. I, I haven't talked to Mike Matheson. I'm sure he's really frustrated. You know, it's, um, I don't know. I mean, if, if if anything maybe it's a two-minute penalty but and I'm sure there's a lot of people

in Vancouver and other other cities that feel feel differently but I know uh like I said I know a lot of players are gonna think differently about this one I I just I hate that if you think that you don't think it was a suspension worthyworthy hit, which I don't. I said I thought it was going to be two games just on base, how the internet reacted like they do every fucking hit now. But like you said, it's gone now to fan polling on the internet and just keeping everyone happy to people who never set foot in a boot, in a hockey boot, not knowing what's going on in that player's head.

And as you said, that plays happen a million times. And then the worst part about it is if you say it's not a suspension, they try to basically put you in the box where you're advocating violence and you're okay with players getting injured. Like no one wants to see that guy get hurt. Yeah, no, exactly. I mean, the guys are, I mean, yeah, I mean, you try to empathize with the guy who's on the receiving end of it,

you know. I mean, there's, you ask anybody, I mean, especially regular season. I mean, when you get to the playoffs, it's a whole different animal. You know, you're playing a seven-game series, and you're trying to wear teams down. So, I mean, if you can get a guy and give him a little extra, you know, and, like like maybe a shoulder or something's not working 100 for the rest of the series and then that's an advantage for your

team you know but the regular season especially even guys like guys are never like i don't think i mean you can probably count on one hand guys are actually out there trying to to actually hurt guys you know um but yeah that's i don't know it's like i think that people may think a little hypocritical considering that you're on the same team as tom wilson now i don't i think that a lot of his are are kind of like a new school fuck tough to get away with those but i mean i'm sure we don't know yeah no i'm aware of that and guys oh who been, oh, who's this guy? He's been suspended before. But I can tell you there's guys in our locker room who are ultra-skilled guys that thought it was crazy that Matheson was even having a hearing. So, like I said, it's a tough job those guys have to do.

I don't know why you'd ever want to have that job, to be honest with you. But it's one of those things, like I said before, that's probably the last thing I'll say about it, is that earned players feel free to voice their opinion on these situations. I completely agree. Should we talk about more fun stuff?

Yeah, I want to ask because I have questions about Washington. Are you having sex with your phone, Orbs? Are you? 100%. He's doing push-ups. He's got his AirPods in. Guaranteed. Yeah.

No, no. It's like your fucking Darth Vader over there. Hey, so you became pretty good friends with Malkin. I always thought. I mean, I felt like you guys were close even before he could speak good English. Can you

remember any funny stories that crack you up about him? I mean, I just was out of there before you were, but I already can remember the deal that he was hilarious. Man, top of my head. Yeah. There's a lot of stuff about that guy, man. What a guy. Hey, tell him about this time

you went to the Louis Vuitton store at 9.30 when it closed at 9 and he made them open the fucking store. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He held him hostage. He's like, we'll only leave this open if you spend X amount of dollars. He's like, that's it? I'm like, what?

And then he just bought like half the stuff. No big deal for him, you know. But I'm trying to think, oh, there's some good Geno stories. I mean, you were around that rookie party we had in L.A. at the Mastros. I mean, this was like his – this had to have been like his fourth year in the league. And it was – we're in that little private room and somebody's like i mean we got going pretty good this is like halfway through dinner and someone's like you think gino knows

anyone's name in here and uh so we started making wagers how many first names can gino name right it's like this is like a third or fourth year it's not like a few games into his rookie season. And I think he got – we convinced him to do it. And I think he named like three. And then there was some guy who couldn't even get the last name. You know, he was like – he's like, I don't know. He's 17. And we're like, what? He's number 17.

We're like, Gino, you played with him for four years. You don't know his name? And then he got all frustrated. And then it was all downhill from there. Oh, what a guy. I swear to God, though, it's funny that you guys say that because I actually asked him after I played with him if he remembered my first name.

And he's like, you're a bull. And he knew it. I was shocked. Really? Because he would always say, bees. Yeah, but he loved it. He was like, yeah. Remember how he used to kick guys out of the front of the line

to the back of the line in practice? Yeah, the bully. The bully. He's the biggest bully in the world. Hey, remember when he did five assists against the Maple Leafs at home and we came in the locker room and he was smashing his stick into a million pieces and didn't score? Yeah.

And then he probably used like Scorro's stick the next day and had a hat trick. You remember him, Gaunch, and Socorro, they would just switch with each other in the middle of the game, sticks. I'm complaining now that I don't have the right sticks now and I score one goal a year

and I'm making a big deal out of it. These guys are switching sticks. They're, like, six inches longer, different curve right in the middle of the game. The other hand. But, you know, that kid, yeah. Hey, the other hand. So they could have a backhand like Crosby. Yeah.

I mean, Gino probably could, let's be honest. Akes, which cup was more memorable, the one of the or the most recent which fan base you yeah i know it's a tough question i'm like i can answer this a few different ways um hey it's fucking rl stein most people probably don't think the second one's very memorable because of the way we party we probably don't remember much about it but um man like i guess the best way i can answer this is that they're they're equally as special um especially in terms of like the group of guys but i think definitely the second time around um like your appreciation for it and like how hard it is to do it is like

it's so much greater um like mine were what nine years apart um and i mean i remember at the first one with the team we had in pittsburgh it was like oh okay this is the first one yeah we'll rattle off a couple more in the next couple years and well they did and that didn't happen yeah yeah no no who yeah but uh dead weight oh yeah a lot of dead weight i know it. That's why people always ask me, like, how weird is it playing against Pittsburgh? I'm like, it's not that weird anymore. There's like three guys left from when I was there. Yeah, the X generation. They had a lot of turnover.

No, that was long gone, the X generation. Hey, can I ask you? Olby, Yanni, Rita. Who's more of a Russian, Olby or Malkin? Oh. I feel like Ovi's a farm animal. Oh, oh, oh. Yeah, Ovi's just a savage man.

Does Ovi still cross the sauces at the pregame meal? Oh, yeah. I mean, this guy. The fact that this guy is moving is incredible. On this guy's diet, I guy, I mean, the fact that this guy is, like, moving is, like, incredible. I mean, this guy's diet, I would have been out of the league, like, 15 years ago. I mean, it's, like, it's unbelievable.

Now, like, yeah, bread, like, he's got Coke on the bench. I mean, it's, you grab the wrong water bottle on the bench and, like, see you later, Matt or Dr. Pepper. It's a Captain Coke for Ovi. Just, just i mean he goes through dr pepper and coke i mean it's got to be like four or five a game yeah oh man it's it's impressive man like every year i'm like all right this has got to be the year he starts slowing down and then like last year hatrick first game this year i think he had two he he's just buzzing around, killing everybody. It's like – I don't know. That's the craziest part. He just runs around and fucking kills guys and scores.

Yeah. And it's – then he has – Is he way up? Is he over 230? He's got like – man, he's got like 30 pounds on me. So you guys can figure out how much I weigh then. But yeah, I don't know, man. And the way he moves, it's hard to fathom.

I'm like, how does this guy do this on a night-to-night basis? Yeah, like I said, man, your weight you just, you're weight, you're like, like this is just going to sneak up on them. And then it's just, it just doesn't happen. I don't know, man, this guy, he's a legit machine. Like it's, it's crazy. I'm wondering if you'll get, I'm wondering if you'll get this, this question I have. I'm wondering if we'll think of the same person, but the biggest savage teammate you've ever had in terms of off ice.

Are you already laughing? Cause, cause you know the answer. I got a handful. You're going to finish the question now. Biggest savage teammate in terms of preparation for games, practices, diet,

and what you do before and after games to get ready for the next one. Oh man. Biggest savage. diet and what you do before and after games to get ready for the next one oh man biggest savage so like this is like discipline or like good stuff not like bugsy savagery like professional yeah not like have to go out and fucking drink your bombs and and then yeah get no pre-game sleep because you went to a strip club routine. And be the best guy on the ice in pregame skate somehow. It's amazing, that guy. Has he been on the podcast yet, by the way? No, he's coming on. He came on once, but it was when he was trying to make his comeback. Dude, I said it was like it was like a

Tyson's 14th comeback when Bugsy tried to play last year. Yeah. Hey, so I saw him this summer on their golf trip. They do a golf trip. Mike Smith was their stammer. Teddy Purcell, not a couple name drops. And I ended up going

out with them one night in Vancouver, and he hasn't fucking changed a bit he he was yeah it's in the blood there they've been playing a game for four or uh yeah game for four days a drinking game whereas if when you weren't paying attention if they were able to scoop all of your ice out of your cup you had to chug it they've been playing this for four days straight so i'm just like meeting them up from grabbing a couple like gonna take it next thing you know it's fucking 3 30 in the morning and it's like we're like i've chugged 30 drinks and i can't even stand up because he's still playing drinking games well you remember you remember you know you remember his wedding with

oh they were like everybody had to get a tattoo and do a shot of jaeger to get in the wedding so there's like poor like 80 year old grandmas doing shots of jaeger out in the lobby getting tattoos just so they can get in the wedding and bugs he's like i prefer if people put the tattoos on their necks so you can see them oh man i was speaking of bugsy so i was thinking i was thinking of wit today and um you guys had like that i mean you guys were like big brother little brother relationship but oh yeah you'll i mean you have to remember this story but um good old melon arena awesome place to play

um you know like crowds right on top of you but let's be honest like even the home locker room was like pretty pretty nasty nothing luxurious and it's um i remember bugsy and i before the game were right before you go on the ice we got that little that little stick room with the old saws and we're up there and and bugsy's got his one leg up saw on the stick uh holding it with the other foot and sure enough this huge mouse goes goes underneath our legs and we're like oh shit and he's like you see that i'm like yeah he's like it's in the corner so the thing comes out he's like just wait for it i'm gonna dig it out of here he's like he's like literally he's like hit it when it comes out i'm like fuck i'm not gonna

be able to hit it so he chases the thing out sure enough whack like hit it straight on mouse is dead and i'm like all right great bugs you now what do we do he's like we're gonna fuck with wit i'm like oh boy so i'm like he's like we're gonna put it in his dress shoe and i'm like well how are we gonna get it through the locker room everybody's in the lounge right now during the meetings he's like he's like just put it in your pocket i'm like no dude like put it in your pocket. I'm like, no, dude, put it in your pocket. He's like, all right. So he puts it in his pocket, walks through. It was like the PK meeting or something was going on.

And he goes in there, and he's like, all set. It's in his dress shoe. So I'm like, all right. So we play the game. That was back when we had like 15 guys. Nobody was married. We all went. Like after every game, it was like 15 guys going out i mean it was yeah it was a rodeo like every other game so i'm i remember we get the showers and everybody's just like waiting for wet to get to get dressed and we're like this is

gonna be good and uh so we're sitting there we're waiting and uh so we're kind of peeking around the corner like we're looking in the mirror and um we're wicked stressed and like no big deal put your shoes on and we're like shit like i wonder what happened like like this thing was dead there's no way this thing was like still alive and like moved so now we're now we're all like scooting out of there and we're all waiting out in the lounge and there's like 15 of us just sitting there and wick comes out and sure enough there's like 15 of us just staring at him giggling and you're like what what like what now and i think you looked right at bugsy because obviously it's something to do with bugsy and bugsy's like uh what's in your shoe and you're like nothing like there's nothing in my shoe and he's like yeah

there's something in your shoe and he's like no bugs there's nothing there's nothing in my fucking shoe so we're all sitting there giggling and so finally like he gets you to take your shoe off and you're like shaking it nothing and i'm like holy shit i'm like where the hell is this thing and uh he's like no no reach in there and sure enough you reach in there and there's a dead mouse in the shoe. But you're walking around with a mouse in your shoe. And I'm like, holy shit. I'm like, if we didn't tell him, like, he would have gone out the whole night

with this dead mouse in his shoe. And then who knows what would have happened later if he had any baggage coming home. Talk about having shoes that are too big. Oh, man. I thought the end of the story was going to be they were in, like, Mario's shoes or, like, Sid's or something and you guys got the wrong fucking shoes.

Bugsy probably would have true pranked Mario. Yeah, Mario wasn't off limits for Bugsy. Oh, he used to fuck around Mario? Oh, yeah. That was weird, right? You're playing with Mario and every two weeks you're getting your paycheck signed by Mario.

That was a little awkward for most of us. But for Bugsy, of course, it was fine. Hey, Orp, I was laughing so hard the other day telling stories about my rookie year, your second year. Remember how hard Ziggy Poffy would chirp Lemieux? It was unbelievable. I'd never seen anything like it. He's like, holy like oh my god wake up yeah make a pass make move your feet mario and i'm like oh my god and ziggy palafi was nasty

player too right but i mean like nothing in comparison to mario we're like didn't he retire i mean it just kind of took everyone or or after yeah no yeah yeah you there? Hordachuk and Nashville. We were both there. I mean, do you remember that wit? I mean, that was like one of the biggest hits I've ever seen. The next morning, Mark Rickey, he said, hey, did you hear about Ziggy? He's done. Yeah, he's done.

And we're like, what? And I'm like, and then like a week went by, and I saw him at the gas station. I'm like, Ziggy, what's going on? And he was like, I'm like, are you really retired? He's like, yeah, I'm retired, but I'm just going to live here for two months because I'm trying to get my citizenship. And I'm like, what? And he was making like $9 million that year. He just walked away.

He had two more years, I think. Yeah. And then I think, I don't know man i think he went back and uh i think he i think he wanted to play in slovakia where he's from or maybe czech i don't know that jacob ron on our team here this this young kid um he's a stud but he uh he's got this tattoo like it's uh I've seen better tattoos, but it's just a huge 33 right on the inside

of his bicep. Yeah, and I'm like, I'm like, V, what's, what's 33? Because a lot of times,

you know, it's like something sentimental, and he's like, oh, no, Ziggy Palpy, he was my favorite player

growing up, so I just got a big 33 on my bicep. Whoa, damn. Like, whoa, okay,

okay. But yeah, Ziggy, he was, he was an interesting character. You were telling the story about when he was chirping Mario. Yeah, it was every game, man. I think even Mario didn't know how to react to it.

Mario was just like, because I'm sure Mario had some influence on who we were bringing in. That was when we had him and Rex and Johnny LeClair started bringing in some established guys. I think that was right after they put the salary cap in. But, yeah, he was – I think everyone was surprised by it. I'll be honest with you. I don't think Mario gets too uncomfortable with stuff,

but he didn't know how to react to it. It was definitely weird. Like it wasn't like they were boys and he could – they were that comfortable with each other. You're saying, like, off the ice, they weren't hanging out. He would come in the rink, put his gear on, and then if Mario made a bad play, just lay into him. Yeah, man, like, it was weird.

Like, Ziggy, I mean, I guess it was actually good, right? Like, Ziggy just kind of talked to whether you were a rookie or – He talked to anyone like that. Yeah, I mean, it was – which was probably – and I think actually Mario, like like i don't want to speak for him but but i think he actually kind of liked it he so used to everyone just being afraid of him kissing his ass and he was like wow this is well that's probably why he liked it just like he would an eight-year-old ground at his wedding yeah you. You know what? Remember how sick

Johnny LeClair was at tipping pucks? Dude, that guy was, he would stand in front of that after practice and tip 700 pucks in a row. He would never miss. Dude, and remember

that stick he used? To this day, it's the worst hockey stick I've ever seen. Like, he's the best tipper I've ever seen and his stick was curved

both ways. It it was like and he shoot the puck 100 miles an hour and flower remember flower is just so scared he like he's like this guy just shoots the puck as hard as he can has no idea i was just going to comment about that we were playing the rebound which for some of you that don't know is an after practice you play it's up to 10 the goalie well gets a point if uh if you don't score you get he gets two if you miss the net and we get you get what one if you score with on a rebound and then two if you score from the top anyway john leclerc was at the hash marks uh as the shooter he would take full fucking slap shots fucking mark andre flurry's. And then Fleury kind of like finally said something.

And then Leclerc was like, shut the fuck up and get in that. And I'm like, oh, God. It's about time I grab my other stick and leave the ice because it's really uncomfortable. I couldn't believe it. Like there's a rule. You don't take poppers. Like that's like an unwritten rule.

We had some legends that year, though, man. Like, we had a group of just, like, legends where it was – I mean, you guys remember, man. I was, like, in awe that these guys were our teammates at the time. I was like, man, these are, like, the superstars that we watched growing up. So, it was like – Yeah, that was – They pretty much had free reign to do whatever they wanted, you know.

We were just – Even as teammates, we were just like – Hey, talk about Billy G, Billy Guerin. He was the man. Billy, yeah. Like, Billy – so I kind of knew Billy a little bit just because we went to the same college, but I didn't really know him that well.

Yeah, I remember we played the Islanders in 2009 in the spring, and he, like, just randomly, randomly like came to start talking to me after the game like saw me when i was walking out to the bus and was like just kind of putting some feelers out and i don't think i think he was kind of butt heads with whoever the coach was at the time and he was um yeah you guys have a good squad but like like what's going on there and um that was before we made the coaching change. So he was, I was like, man, like,

I don't know. I'll throw it out there to, to our GM who was Ray Shiro at the time, like real easy guy to talk to. Yeah. And then it was like two weeks later, we got him at the deadline and he was, yeah,

I don't know. Billy, he's just an awesome guy. I mean, he's got like that calming presence about him. Obviously, like when we got him, it was like instant respect of the whole room. But yeah, he's just like one of those old school guys, man. Like, you know, like drink 20 beers, come in the next day, sweat it out.

Like just an awesome professional. Good guy to learn from. Hey, is it ever weird for you, now, I mean, you see Mark Bergevin, he's the GM of the Canadiens, he's always at press conferences, but I remember you telling me he was by far and away the funniest person you ever played hockey with. Yeah, man, yeah. It was, I can't even take him seriously now.

And, like, he's got to get my stuff up. that's one of the toughest jobs right like in in hockey being the gm in montreal and it's um it's funny because i uh so i play cards with oshi and then um lars eller and uh davante smith pelly and devo and when Lars played Montreal for Bergie, and not only Bergie, but Michael Terrien. So, I mean, it's fun comparing stories, but no, it's funny because those guys had never played with Bergie. They hear all these stories, Bergie, and it's almost like one of those weird ones where I think Bergie, he knows that all the younger guys

know what he was like, so he has to be, like, extra, like, serious and strict so that they don't get to see the funny side of him. But, yeah, man, he's that guy. I mean, like, he'd have you in tears every day. I mean, he was awesome to have around. Yeah, he was. I think he might have been my first D partner. Orbs, this is my thought process on Bergie.

Yeah, get both corners, Or'll take the front of the net oh yeah yeah yeah he's like hey orp uh he's like you take care of both corners tonight he's like i'll take care of the front but he was he wasn't kidding right like it like it would be oh yeah like you you i'd be i'd He'd just gas after every shift. He'd be like a traffic cop in front with his stick just pointing, like directing me where to go. I was like, Jesus Christ, Bergie. But he earned it.

I think it was his last year. The craziest thing about him was the fact that he would get all of his equipment off between periods and go have a shower and then put all of his equipment back on. Did he? Yes. Well, he did it when I was there in training camp. This is my

thought process on him as a general manager. He's such a players guy. He loves the boys and stuff. I think he thinks too much with his emotions because he was a player. It's difficult for guys to transition and leave the emotion side of it behind.

Would you agree on that? Yeah, well, it's weird because a lot of the GMs now are former players. Yeah, but not all of them are successful. Yeah, and a lot of the guys that you think would be really successful aren't. Right. So, yeah, maybe you're onto something there. I don't know. I think especially, like I said,

I think that's got to be the hardest GM job. I mean, maybe probably up there with Toronto just because of the media and then the fan pressure. But yeah, Berge, he's aged a little bit the last couple of years with that job. Any other funny stuff about the the caps now because we haven't really talked a ton about them uh like you said this verona guy's a beauty who are these like these young guys who just make you laugh just the shit that they do oh man yeah him and uh him and

andre burkowski um i mean they're yeah i mean they don't even try to be funny, these two guys, but they're awesome. They're both awesome players too, man. But, man, it's fun being, especially being an older guy with kids coming in and these guys are refreshing. They just keep it loose. And then, yeah, I actually became really good buddies with Tommy Wilson. I know he's kind of like a hot button issue as it goes you know it kind of it kills me to hear everyone just call him a

scumbag and he's he's this and that and he's like like i i swear to god like he he's the kind of guy like i got two daughters now but but he's the kind of guy like he's the best teammate like like just super respectful anyone he comes across like he literally and i i don't say this loosely like like he's the kind of guy that like your parents but yeah i want tommy to meet like uh your daughter and then like really he's that kind of guy you know you'd want him to date your daughter like like that's how much he's he's a good guy obviously he is like five but i meant like yeah yeah yeah exactly yeah no no but you get what i'm saying. I mean, he's... It's like...

I mean, if people would get like the chance to actually beat this guy and like I know it's hockey, right? Like people just watch the game and they're like, oh, this guy's a scumbag.

Right, yeah. He's out there doing this. He's bringing him out of prison for every game. And he's really mad. He's just so big and like strong and like the guy

he can skate to. Like the rink isn't big enough for him. Even when he tries to hold up on guys, it's still catastrophic. I don't know, man. Yeah, we don't need to get going on that. Yeah, you already

ripped the league with the Matheson hit, so we don't want to get you suspended. Are you still a prankster like you used to be? Yes. No chance you're not. Yeah, I don't know. It's weird, man.

Washington's not as, like – I mean, it was something every day in Pittsburgh, man. Like, it was, like – I was nervous. Your car wouldn't be there. Like, your – like, Witt's car would be over at the valet at the Marriott. Or, like, somebody's pants would be hanging from the scoreboard like it was something every day like in pittsburgh it was probably i mean flurry was responsible for half of that stuff oh is he a prankster um yes oh flower yeah but he would never admit it he's probably got no allies oh yeah no just sneaky sneaky yeah but yeah i

don't know there's not a there's not a ton of like pranks to go on here it's weird because it's Just sneaky, sneaky. There's not a ton of pranks to go on here. It's weird because it's such a fun group too. So you're not like you were in high school when you pranked Witt about the hockey team? No, no, no. Can you tell that story and your last story of the pod? I don't think I remember that one as well as Witt does. I just, oh my God. of the pod? I don't think I remember that one as well as Whit does.

Oh my god. He was like the star going to BC, going to be a first-round pick. Just jacked. I'm like, what the fuck? Actually, you weren't that jacked then. You got real jacked out. I'm walking to see the team list and he's like,

Whitney, you didn't make it. I'm like, oh, my God. Yeah. But, I mean, dude, I was 14. I was wearing corduroys, fucking, that didn't even fit me. I didn't know the story. I honestly don't remember the story. I remember Witt coming up, but, like, believe it or not, like, Witt was pretty quiet back then.

Witt was, like, yeah, I mean, Witt was a freshman. So, like, yeah, there was a big, big difference there. Like, you hadn't gone through your high school years, obviously. I think Witt was, like, 6'4". A buck 60. Maybe a buck 40. Skinniest red. Yeah.

And he was, yeah. But, I mean, you could tell Witt was going to be, like, a sick player. You know, like, I remember talking to our coach, Jack Foley, there about him. He was like, oh, yeah, Witt was going to be like a sick player. You know, I remember talking to our coach Jack Foley there about him. He was like, oh, yeah, this guy's going to be a stud, and the Bulls have been through it for years. You know, he coached a lot of good guys. Actually, Orbs, before you go, I want to ask you one last thing. We didn't really get to talk about Sid much.

Just, you know, what was your relationship like with him? And, I mean, fuck, you've played with some of the best players in the world, and that's probably the best. Yeah, probably, guys uh i could probably say the same thing about wit you know like i've played behind a lot a lot of good forwards so they make you look a lot better and make you a lot more money than you probably deserve but um man you know what's funny like last year in the uh was it i think it was the finals like we played pittsburgh but nobody asked me about then all of a sudden get to the finals. Like we, we played Pittsburgh, but nobody asked me about it. And then all of a sudden we get to the finals and there's just one Pittsburgh

reporter just kept asking me, he's like, you know, talk about Sid and Ovi, like, like compare the two of them, like talk about their similarities. And I,

I told him, I'm like, buddy, I mean, there's, I can't think of one. Like they're both, they're both superstars.

Yeah. Sid ain't crossing. The way they go about it. Like, you know, like, like Sid to this day is probably the hardest working guy I've ever played with you know like like I played with a lot more guys that are like naturally

more gifted than Sid but Sid is like the most competitive like hardest working guy I've ever played with yeah he's psycho but but that's but you say that in the best way possible you know like that's that's why he is like as good as he is and that's why the teams are as good as he is because this guy's like the first guy out there like working on god knows what like he's got somebody like firing pucks at his chest from the corner and he's like bunting him in the net and he's uh but like when when your best player is working that hard um like day in and day out it just like forces everybody else to just kind of step up. Like that's, but yeah, I mean, he, he,

he's an awesome guy, man. He, um, like I said, I mean, it's, uh,

it's a little bit different now cause I'm playing for Washington. Um, but yeah, we, we, we still get to talk, uh, here and there,

uh, when we play, play each other. And, um, I was actually going to shoot him a text today cause he had that cool, uh, I don't know if you guys saw that Tim Warren video with him and like that

Kenyan hockey team. It's pretty cool. Yeah. So put my wife in tears when I showed it to her. That was unbelievable. Yeah. Him and Max, such great guys,

great ambassadors. Like fuck man, not, not a bad bone in their body. They're just good human beings. Yeah. And that's what was weird too, right?

Like I go from Pittsburgh to Washington and everyone just expects you to like shit on sit and i'm like man like i get it like i'm on the other side of this rivalry now but i i literally can't come up with one bad thing to say about this guy so just like like stop trying to get me to say something bad you know like it's just other than the fact that he runs an underground drug ring. Go ahead, Whit. People just – they're so shocked when I'm like, yeah, he's actually a really normal guy, like very professional. He works his balls off. But when you're just hanging out watching football,

he's just one of the guys that are like, what? No. I'm like, yeah. I don't know why people get so shocked when I tell them that. Yeah, right. makes like a conscious effort to just be like to just try to like normalize himself right like he i don't know man there's a kid like like i said man like i don't have enough good things to say about him and this kid the schedule is a grind as it is and there were times i honestly i like to this day i

don't think i've ever seen him turn down an autograph. And there's times where it's just like diehard Seegers, right, that have probably had him sign a thousand things already. It'd be 2 in the morning, like getting off a flight, and this kid's like walking. All you want to do is get in your hotel room, like get in bed, and this kid's like walking 50 yards over to sign for these gremlins. It's like, it's crazy. Some of them are our gremlins not all of them but no they don't have phones some of these gremlins they just have cards it's ra they're ras

they just have upper i'm gonna meet this ra guy next summer with beauty is a beautiful because i was late to this podcast like i i think i've listened to like six of them at this point. I got to go back and listen to the one with Mott's on it too because I heard that's a good one. Mike Mott. I got to meet this RA guy next summer in Boston. Yeah, dude. Well, thank you so much for coming on, Orp.

It's actually great to catch up with you. Dude, I can't say I'm surprised at all the success and how long you've played with your work ethic. It was pretty incredible to see up close. So congrats on last year, another Stanley Cup, and you've got to come on again later on in the season. Maybe in a retirement. We can give them some better stories.

They're tired guys to let loose. Hey, just come on before you become the fucking chief of the Department of Player Safeties or whatever, considering you do such a better job, you fucking loser. Anyway, thanks for joining us. We love you, Orbs. All right, see you, buddy. See you, fellas. And that interview was also brought to you by Quip.

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And if you go to getquip.com slash chicklets, that's C-H-I-C-H-I-C-L-E-T-S, get your first refill pack free with the Get Quip toothbrush. That's your first refill pack free at getquip.com. Unbelievable interview with Brooks Orpik. I thought he was very candid. I liked his comments about the Matheson hit. It's nice to hear guys' opinions, especially fresh after something like that. I think Matheson is just a strong boy,

and the other guy was a victim of circumstance. I thought two games was very fair, and we don't have to really go back into that. But what were your thoughts on the interview, Orps? Or fuck Orps, whip. Oh, he's going to snap. He's like, you fucking think wits me? Jesus Christ.

I think that Orps had an incredible career, and he's just turned himself into someone that people hate playing against. That's kind of how he's played so long. A guy who's, when he was at the peak of his career, one of the best skating D-men in the NHL. Powerful stride. He looked like skating D-men in the NHL. Powerful stride. He looked like a linebacker in the locker room. Yeah, he looked like a linebacker

and skated like he wasn't a linebacker. I mean, he was so fleet of foot that, you know, guys really couldn't beat him wide. It was just a very mean player, tough to play against, and it was a good chat we had with him. It was really funny. I mean, I would love to see a picture of me and him his senior year at Thayer when I was a freshman in 1998.

6'3", 155 pounds, Ryan Whitney. Going back to him, scared shitless. Thanks again to him for coming on. And another huge announcement in the NHL. R.A., I'm going to let you take this one away, the Jordan Tutu retirement. Yeah, Jordan did announce his retirement this week. He was the first Inuit to play in the NHL, which is a huge accomplishment. You know, when you consider the history in the NHL that he was able to get that far,

he overcame a lot of hurdles. And even when he did play, he had a lot of, you know, a lot of incidents that he had to overcome. And he lost the NHL career for a little while, wrote a book, came back. And I think he's quite an inspiration to everybody. But he did end up calling it a career this week, and hopefully we can get him on the show to fill us in on what he went through in his career. What do you think, buddy?

I think back to 2003 World Junior Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Jordan Tutu played on Team Canada, and I have never seen an arena go more crazy for a player. I'm not kidding either. I'm talking Crosby and Pittsburgh. It didn't matter. This guy, the fans were obsessed with him because he was running from the red line,

dumping the puck in, and murdering any defenseman that went back for it. It didn't matter. It was the Tutu train was coming through, and the crowd, they would just build up and get louder and louder as he forechecked, and then it was just... And then he'd get the puck. He was just tough as shit. He went on in the NHL.

By the way, that world junior, Alexander Ovechkin, a little 16-year-old hat trick against Team USA. I'll never forget that one. I was like, who is this kid? He's got a cage on, dummying me. But Tutu, I mean, I didn't know how – I knew how physical he was and how fast he was, able to just pressure D to turn the puck over,

so intimidated by him coming. You could hear him coming because you could hear the crowd. But then he got to the NHL. He could chuck him too, Biz. I don't know if you ever fought him or had any run-ins and i you know i hadn't seen him in the whl when we were younger but no surprise that he's tough as shit and a guy that nobody wanted to play against that's what makes a lot of people very special in the nhl and he was no different and like ra said uh battle and substance abuse and coming back from that i know he lost his his brother along the way who passed away.

I don't know the guy, and I'd love to talk to him because he is someone who's battled through and beat a lot of tough circumstances to get where he was in the NHL and have a pretty incredible career. Well said, guys. I'm looking forward to getting him on the pod hopefully later this week, if not next week. I never fought him. He was one of those uh middleweight slash

light heavyweights that would fight heavyweights he he didn't back down he was a tough tough sob built like a brick shithouse just short stocky and uh i never met him uh when he before he was going through all the issues the personal stuff but i have met him a few times since and and man what a nice humble human being uh everyone i i know who taught who knows him talks very highly highly of him especially scotty upshaw but uh just a great example of overcoming a lot of adversity and shout out to jordan tutu on amazing career you defy the odds my friend and uh, and we'll chat soon. Actually, Biz, do you want me to read the last statement of his Twitter? It said, after 220 regular season games with the Wheat Kings in 723 games in the NHL, I have decided to retire from the NHL

to focus on giving back to the indigenous community. So I think that says it all right there. It's, you know, I came from a place where not a lot of NHL guys do, and he wants to go back and give back to that community. I think that speaks volumes about Jordan. And like I said, hopefully we can get him on this show and tell everybody else about where he came from. All right, boys, before we go any further,

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Head over to Thursdayboots.com and use the promo code FREESHIP2DAY. Again, that's promo code FREESHIP2DAY, and that's 2-D-A-Y. Money, power, and a great pair of boots are now only two days away. Well said, boys. Well said. I want to talk briefly about my experience at the United Center the other night. Another special. What a city.

Oh, my God. And this game had a little extra juice to it. Corey Crawford was back after 10 months. He was out with a concussion. It was his first start. They put him on the fucking Jumbotron during the anthem. Roof fucking fell off. Game was delayed.

They had to tie it back on. Also, Nicholas Dramlason, who's now with the Arizona Coyotes, won three Stanley Cups with Chicago. Most people who tweeted me about it said he was far and above the most underrated player during that cup run when they ended up winning three. They did a tribute to him on the jumbotron i was getting teary-eyed they did a whole thing for him and then they put his family on and he started crying so everyone else started crying and then everyone

was like i'm not crying you're crying uh but he they were putting him out there for the next shift and he you could tell he was still crying because he was still in the jumbotron. And finally, the talk was like, no, no, get him off. Let's get the fucking tears out of his eyes. And it was kind of like a funny moment, and they ended up changing him. And just a great win for the Coyotes, but just a great night at the United Center. What an unbelievable place to watch a game. I'm sure Joel Quimble was probably crying too. That team hasn't been the same since that guy left town or got traded out of town.

So a guy who helped – I mean, not just helped. He was a key force in those Blackhawks Cups. He's a mutant. Just a shutdown, shot-blocking machine. I think of Glenn Wesley against the Oilers in the Cup Finals in 05 or whatever it was. That was Yarmulson blocking every shot. You think of – I'm a big fan of that.

The unheralded guys, which when teams win the Cup know not every guy is a superstar you need guys like that and shawmelson went fucking three cups not being a superstar on that team and you know that's why the the black hawks fans love him so much you know what he was like he was basically like the scuderi and hal gill of the uh the yeah penguins first thing is Just, I mean, obviously more longevity. He's a great shutdown guy. But shout out to him. A very emotional night and well-deserved. Three cups, not a big deal.

And moving on to Alex Tuck signed a pretty little deal. Why don't you give us the numbers there? Let's get Grinnelli involved. Give us the numbers. Come on. All right, boys. So Alex Tuck signed a seven-year, $33.25 million contract.

That'll pay him an AAV of $4.75 million per season. Let's get your thoughts, boys. Makes sense. Makes sense. A beast in the playoffs last year in the run to the finals. I think he battled injury a little bit this year so far. Miss missed some time.

He hasn't played a game yet. Yeah, so he still hasn't even played. So it's pretty nice to sign that thing. He hasn't even had to do anything this year. But they know the type of player they have in him. And you've got to think Minnesota. Minnesota maybe regrets putting him up for the expansion draft when they did because he looks like a special player.

The speed coming down the wing, big body, some sick hands. I remember thinking some toe drags last year that he pulled off. They were incredible. Unfortunately, went to BC peasant, but congrats to him because he's rich bitch. All right. What are your thoughts? Yeah, man.

He's just one of these guys we've talked about before biz that the fucking Vegas golden knights actually got compensated for to take guys and now they're signing these guys in the contract i just can't get enough of the fact that they were like no no no take this guy in take this and these picks and all that and now these guys are signing fucking huge contracts it just it just goes to show you how much of a fine science it is in the front office. Like, you can think you know it, and you don't, because, I mean, fucking Vegas Golden Knights got played hard by fucking McPhee. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. McPhee did a great job. He's the GM. He played everybody else. Sorry. All right, that's fine. Considering that's your only stumble so far,

and you're completely shit-faced, I'm actually impressed. Thank you. But I think it's an unblagable deal. And this is why he, he had a very good season last year, 15 goals, 22 assists for 37 points. That was his first full season in the NHL based on what I've seen from him playing.

I've seen him play live a bunch of times. He's fucking big. He's six, four to 22. He skates. Well, he's got great times. He's fucking big. He's 6'4", 222. He skates well. He's got great hands. He's got a great shot. They don't see that being the ceiling for him.

I see him being a potential 60-point guy. 20, 30-goal guy maybe. I see him as a 20-30-goal guy consistently based on what I've seen. So they got a fairly good sample size with getting a full season. They knew he was good coming in. That's why they wanted him to begin with. He doesn't have to get a bridge deal. So he's going right to making 4.7 or whatever you said the number was.

If he gets to that plateau, let's say conservatively he gets to that 50 to 55 point plateau. Bar again. Yeah, once he becomes a free agent, he's fucking gone. Somebody's given him six based off all the other intangibles he's bringing. He's a solid player. This is a great deal. If he ends up staying the same player and is like a 15 to 20 goal guy and a 40-point guy, I think by the third, fourth year in his contract

and in the later years even, he's slightly overpaid. But I think they like the overall package this guy brings. I think that this is going to be a very good deal for Vegas in the end. That's my opinion on it. Some people commenting, oh, what a stupid deal, guys. One season puts up 40 points. It's like, no, this is a calculated risk taken by a team who doesn't have a lot of high, high-end talent

where they're going to rely on a lot of guys tugging the rope moving forward. I like calculated risk because it is a risk, but I think that they know the type of player that they have. They believe they have a guy who can reach that ceiling you're talking about, getting 20, getting 30 goals every year. And in that case, they got it for seven years at a good bargain. So good call on you.

You know what else is a calculated risk? What? Using herbal active i would not even say there's any risk it's just calculated yeah no that's a good point so hopefully you don't get offended by my start to this ad read but boys herbal active we've been talking about it cbd 100 hemp based with zero percent thg i know some people have been chiming in saying you need a little bit of THC in there to get it activated and make it work even better. Well, we wanted to give people the option who couldn't have it to potentially test positive on drug tests so that, therefore, more athletes can use it if they are, in fact, being drug tested. Also, the scientist that Herbal Active uses and the guy who's doing the extraction,

their quality of CBD that they're using in the product is so high compared to other companies that they don't feel the need that they need to even do that. I've used it. Witt, you used it. Fucking RA's been rubbing it on his grandma's ankles and calves and back and hammies

and quads. Where else have you been rubbing it? On myself. It really does work, man. It's a new discovery that people have found in the last few years, and anything that helps pain relief that's not fucking something you get addicted to is great stuff, man. So get on the Herbal Active. I highly recommend it.

Well, and another good thing is they hired a girl to run the social media. Therefore, any of your questions go to Herbal Active on Twitter or Instagram. That's U-R-B-A-L-A-C-T-I-V. They will answer everything. Herbal Active, you can go to their website as well. On their Instagram, they have some stories put up that are there all the time that'll explain certain things. And of course, as I mentioned mentioned the girl will answer any of your questions you'll get the discount code 20 off if you use biz 20 when you cash out that is herbal active u-r-b-a-l-a-c-t-i-v check them out i am fucking buzzing that was that was very good dude um last ad read by you that was pretty good last couple uh things one thing i had to talk about too is what you've been getting shit on about the way

you wear your hat some episodes i i don't care who cares i just like throw my hat on like people think i'm wearing it like backwards and sideways like I would leave the house like that. Actually, maybe I would, but I just chucked my hat on my head. I don't even realize how it's on there. Lay off me, everyone. Yeah, you're not doing it to be cool where some people would do that. I'm not cool. I know I'm not cool.

Some people are legit hating your guts over it. I would hate them even before they hated me, so it doesn't even matter. When you have 30 mil in the bank, you can wear your hat. I don't have that. If I had that in the bank, I wouldn't be sitting here. I'll tell you that. All right, what are you thinking about? I just want to say I was at a fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club of Boston

earlier, and there were a few people who grabbed me and pulled me aside that they were spitting chicklets fans. I was kind of overwhelmed. It's actually a very attractive woman who pulled me aside and said, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,

whoa. Getting away with just dropping a subtle comment. How were you chatting her up? We're all pulled you aside. No one, you were on this. You like, no,

I showed up. It was a fundraiser. My buddy has a, has a big job with the boys and girls club in Charleston. I went over to, you know, I support the club. I was a member of, and a female was there, and she said,

hey, I'm a huge fan of Chicklets. I just want to let you know I'm a big fan of the podcast, and she wanted to take a picture of me, and I thought it was awesome stuff. There was tons of it. Dude, it's absolutely crazy. You guys know every way you go, there are people who love the show, and for me to go into a building and have an attractive woman to come up

and say I want to take a picture with you because of your podcast that's just something I haven't expected and it's happened and it's good shit. I think she roofied you. That's why you're slurring your words. I know. Trying to get it in, eh, Witt? Look at little E.T. I don't even know what to say to that.

So are you going to keep the hat situation going on, or are you going to piss off half of our fan base? I'm going to keep having the hat on my head how it is, and if it pisses someone off, let me know, and I'll make sure I do it again. Unless I read your Twitter profile and I really like you, it most likely would trip me on Twitter over my hat.

By the way, Grinelli, you did me so dirty in doing full body shots with my legs when we interviewed McAvoy and Eichel and you post these pictures. I can't believe that you showed my legs in those pictures. I have out

of bounds sticks. You know, I ever played golf. You know, the out of bounds sticks are just white and then they're skinny. Those are my legs. I try not to show them off. And I got every week. How many interviews did we do that day? Six?

Yeah, we did a bunch. The next time another one breaks, I go, great. I'm going to hear about my goddamn calves again. Online. Well, you know he likes taking pictures of guys' legs. Yeah, I know. He's cranking it to Krug, and he's choking himself out to mine. No denying that.

There's no denying that. Before we end this sucker, and I didn't take my gravel, so I don't really want to talk about your legs anymore. Is LaViolette having to wear the cow head on his head because the boys, his team, swept the Western Canadian road trip. I think all they had to do was win the first two. I don't even think they're done.

I think it was a two-game trip up northern Canada. Oh, I thought they were doing... I thought it was they swept the trip. It was a two-for-two. Man, would you guys not agree that I feel like everyone overall in the NHL has been a lot looser this year and just having fun. I agree. like comments are flying more so than usual like fucking rights

man like this is so progressive for the nhl there's so many storylines so many fun i mean of course the suspensions kind of take a paint the nhl in bad light and that's negative conversation but i think there's been far more positive talk this year um yeah and i will say theL, a lot of people have kind of brought into the discussion about fighting in the NHL. You know, it's a hot topic issue, okay? And I could see maybe some people don't want their kids to watch NHL because occasionally there's a fight. You know, guys are punching each other. But if you think that your kid's going to be safe watching an NBA game, I don't know if you saw Rondo and Chris Paul.

I love that. That was a fight. I mean, you want to talk about a fight? You talk about a scratch of the eyes by Paul, and then a missed left jab by Rondo, and then a bunch of guys jumping in there and breaking it up. He connected. Yeah, he connected with a muffin.

He connected with a Whitney punch. I probably throw harder than Rondo. That was a pathetic fight, and it was talked about like it was the brawl of the year, brawl of the century in the NBA. That was a terrible fight. That's not considered a – that's not like a – come on. There was drama. There was some drama there.

Rondo. You're the biggest NBA guy. I fucking love Rondo. I love Rondo. I like how he's all business. He hates Chris Paul. I love when Rondo, like, when the other team is shooting free throws and the ref tries to, like, give the ball back

and Rondo takes it and, like, tries to bounce it back. Yeah, I've seen that. I've seen that. This fucking guy's protocol. Other than the fact that he – didn't he drop a homophobic slur a couple years ago? Like, that was a tough look on him. I think he got suspended for that one.

Adam Silver's done a great job with that league, by the way. Yeah, we don't need that. But Rondo's the guy, you want him in your trench. Hey, how about – He's kind of gangster like that. You fucking touch his face, he's sucking you. He ain't thinking. There's no thought that goes before he's throwing that punch.

It's boom, It's out. How about if we get an NHL player this year who says they don't like water like Odell Baffin? Oh, fuck. I had that written down. What was that? What was that? Listen, I... That guy's so painful. I'm progressive. I like guys

who bring charisma and the fashion and all this. And I've made so many excuses for this guy. I'm done. This guy is a fucking clown. He's an asshole. He's such a distraction. It's embarrassing.

The water thing, it's like, bud, drink the fucking water and shut the fuck up. How about when he went on ESPN and he ripped on Eli and he's sitting there with Lil Wayne? What the fuck was Lil Wayne doing with him? What is going on? They're interviewing Odell Beckham, who's dogging his team

with Lil Wayne, who's just nodding. Yeah, yeah. Sick. What a teammate that guy is. And what a talent. Hell of a talent. Unbelievable. Makes catching the football look incredibly easy, but he is a headache and a hound. I've made enough

excuses for him in my own head to like him. $60 million guaranteed with nobody to throw him the ball, and now they know they're married to him, and he can be as big of an asshole as he wants to be. Drink the water. We should send Bobby Boucher after him. You're an idiot. All right, guys.

Oh, are we done? I mean, that's all I had down except for my suit story. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you guys all i had down except for my suit story oh yeah yeah yeah yeah do you guys want me to finish off with the suit story well hey this is not the end of the fucking suit story we're digging this one up so i'm very interested though yeah unfortunately my grandfather passed away this past summer and then uh one of the nicest things he's done so many no thank you all right you know i'm not trying to turn into like you know sympathy thing but i'm just you know i loved him and he did so much for me in my career and me getting draft. It was so important to him. And he, uh, he, he went out and bought me. I went and got fitted for a $500 brand new suit.

For the draft, huh? the whole family well my agency would pay for my way down like all the kids right so i would i was bunking with dan fritchie who was supposed to get drafted late first round to early second round so i was staying with him my family was at the same hotel well we i ended up going to the first day of the draft i was projected to be a a second rounder even with that hair but but it was fucking yeah but you say that but on the first day it was slicked back and gelled oh so that was like the here's the story so i looked like fucking like i looked unbelievable i had a 500 brand new suit on um that my grandpa purchased me i go to the draft i had the slick back hair i looked like ac slater i looked so good and i sat there for the first three rounds on the first day i was dead devastated. Oh, yeah. I was the fucking – no, it's just – no humble brag, just a brag.

So I don't get drafted. I'm devastated. And, you know, I've always been a guy's guy. And I'm like, fuck, where are the boys going? Although I feel like shit, I'm still going to go out and celebrate with the guys who were drafted. I ended up going out with Patrick O'Sullivan. I think Brent Seabrook was with us, a bunch of other guys.

Good for you, buddy. But I changed out of my suit, and I left it in the room that Danny Fritchie was in. Well, Danny Fritchie had been drafted in the early second round, and he was leaving the next morning because he knew he was going on the first day. So I ended up fucking bringing a girl home, and I had a good time that night. I played a road game, and it was a fucking good time.

Well, my cell phone was like a fucking – Did you tell her you got drafted that day? You're like, no no no because because patrick o'sullivan knew her like it was like it was a kind of like helped out like he got the apple on that one he was always a playmaker he got the apple on that one first so uh i i wake up a little late and i gotta go back to the draft next day because they did both days so i i get back to my room my suit's gone and so is Danny Fritchie packed up and he's gone he had a flight out that that afternoon early afternoon or early morning so I'm fucking panicking and I I call my agent I'm like hey can you get a hold of Fitchie to see if he's got my suit because the only one I had left was thankfully the one my mom told me to pack was my backup suit the fucking blazer was

horrendous and the pants the dress pants I used to throw in the washer and dryer. Like they were, it was, they were disgusting. So I throw this thing on and I didn't have time because I was panicking, calling everyone to do my hair. So that's why in the draft picture, it's like an Afro. Oh, I'd love to see it when it was like, I thought that's how you wore it. I have a picture. I'll get my parents to get it over to Grinnelli so they can post it.

Wits, why did you have such a Jew for when you're on draft pitch? Because that's what I have. Hold on. Finish this. So I call my agent. He goes, oh, Fritchie said he doesn't have it. And I never knew where the fucking suit ended up. I had to tell my grandpa that I lost the brand new suit that he just bought me.

He was upset, but he was like, well if somebody stole something stole it he was easy about it but i but i never i never had a conversation with danny fritchie about it or anyone taking it i no i can't just blame the guy for taking it like i could have been blaming it he probably just like saw it like he's like oh these are my suits i got no buddy my name was my name was inside of it and i had my agent call him to ask if he had it, and he said he didn't. So it's either, like, I want to do some digging here. We're going to make this a thing.

We're going to find out where the fuck that suit is. Where was your draft? Nashville. You think it'd be a little late to call the hotel 12 years later to see if they got it lost and found? You send them a picture of your draft picture, they're like, what the fuck? Look at this guy.

They're like, oh, yeah, we've been wondering whose this was. That could be the ultimate you versus the guy. Like she told you not to worry about me and you with like the slick back. I'm going on the first day pick versus you after I just crushed a pig and I look like a slob and my hair looks like this picked in the fourth round. Well, I don't know. But I had my money on Pittsburgh drafting picked in the fourth round yeah well i don't know but uh i had my money on pittsburgh drafting me because my meeting went so well so i ended up winning the

family pool we had about 220 bucks in it so just think so suck it fam but uh boys that was a great episode good chat with you guys all right you were you were unbelievable playing guilty all right for being that drunk you actually crushed it you That might have been your best pod. For listeners not to know, I said, R.A., you shit-faced. He's like, I've had some beers. I'm like, what the fuck? He's like, well, let's just see how it goes. And it went well.

So great job, buddy. Thanks, boys. He's still on his microphone. It is mute, Mike. I had it on mute. I had it on mute because you guys needed it on mute. Yeah, right. You're wasted. You're a fucking liar. Quickly, before I go. It was good. No, you on mute. Yeah, right. You're wasted. You're a fucking liar.

Quickly, before I go. It was good. No, you're right. It was good. You were buzzing. Yeah, there you go. There you go. Perfect.

I found that balance. For anyone who golfs in Florida or the warm weather states all winter, if you got any amateur tournaments, I'm trying to get in some tournament golf this winter, so a lot of them are invitationals. I can't get invited. But if there's some individual tournaments in the Florida area, can some people who possibly listen let me know on my Twitter?

Hey, in tournaments you can't get in, we'll have our followers go raid their social media and, like, fuck you. What the fuck did you do? Yeah, I was trying to – I texted JR about getting into the – oh, what's – it goes along with an LPGA event. It's something – let me pull this up i'm gonna pull it up right now because i they haven't even diamond resorts diamond resorts invitational so i'm trying to like maybe get into that maybe the one in tahoe but you know right now

i got no pull but we'll see but i'm talking about even regular amateur tournaments let me know if you would have people following you around the golf course if you told people. Then I'd be getting just loaded too. I'd be like, if I ever won the tournament, I've ever won the tournament. They're like, man, what happened out there? I'm like, well, I had an idol in terms of how to get this done, and it was R.A. on October 21, 2018. He did a podcast, completely shift phase.

So I figured if I had 15 Pink Whitney's, I could win this thing, no problem. Thanks a lot, listeners. Love you guys. Bye. Well, quickly, you could be like the Tiger Woods meme with all the people behind him because all the Chicklets followers are following you around this amateur event.

But I have like a shirt untalked and a black eye from the night before. That's the difference. All right, I got to go. I love you guys. All right, boys. All right, great job being shipping. Great job, R.A.

Take care, boys. Don't worry about a thing. Cause every little thing is going to be all right. Say, don't worry About a thing