Spittin Chiclets - Spittin' Chiclets Episode 120: Featuring Jordin Tootoo

Episode Date: October 29, 2018

On Monday's episode of Spittin' Chiclets, the guys are joined by recently retired Jordin Tootoo. The guys talk about where Jordin grew up, what it took for him to get to the NHL, his sobriety, his NHL career and a ton more. The guys also get into the recent NHL news regarding the league going all in on gambling. The fellas also touch on John Tortorella's comments about the league becoming a giant hug fest and wrap up with RA's gambling corner.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 120 of Spittin' Chicklets, presented by New Amsterdam Vodka. Let's say hello to the fellas this evening. I'm about to produce Mikey Grinelli first down in New York City. What's up, brother? What's up, boys? I'm ready to be a World Series champion tonight. Let's do this. Same here. Same here. Let's go. Our other Bostonian on board here, Ryan Whitney. What's going on, brother? How are you?

You fucking drink inventor. And finally, a boy out in the dirty desert, I believe. Paul Bisnasty. What's up, my man? Yeah, the Yotes are on a five-game homestand. They're a wagon, boys. I told you. We won't get into that yet, though.

Okay. Thank God. But we will get into last week's interview, man. I got to say, in almost three years of doing this, I don't know that we've ever had so much buzz around one episode and particularly one interview. I mean, people either loved him or hated him, but that was off the hook, man.

He moved the needle, no doubt. Yeah, there's a lot of people who had bad taste in their mouths about that one. And listen, he's got a different type of personality, of course, than anyone on this podcast. I appreciate different personalities in the game. I enjoyed his stories. Obviously, at some of the stuff he said about himself, I thought they were hysterical.

But he seems to just bring everybody out in the comments. I think we've never had people comment that much on a photo, even when it was just tomorrow, dot, dot, dot, people want absolutely ape shit. From a social media standpoint, guys, we've never had this much engagement, not even close. And that tells you everything you need to know. I know the answer, Witt.

I'm going to ask you, how many friends did you have message you about the fact that he was on and they listened? I got a lot of texts. Fucking Pierce just went yard. Two nothing Boston. Sorry, buddy. Sorry, buddy. Oh, look at Grinnell.

He's fucking jerking off with the herbal active. He looks like he came out of, he looks like he was a bouncer at the golden banana fucking North shore where Grinnelly grew up. I got a bunch of texts and one of the funniest one was, not even going to say it, Dave. I said, Hey, Holy shit. With that Avery interview, he's's completely nuts perfect for chicklets though i started laughing i go oh yeah he's he's a he's a

full-blown insane person but biz did we were you telling me on the side did we say in the episode his his text uh show me the numbers yeah no he that's so funny yeah he goes after he recorded the interview he goes he goes i want to know the numbers once they're out and boys if you don't follow him on instagram i do this guy is he's he's just funny because he's miserable but he's not i think it's like no i wouldn't say a shtick but just he plays plays up to his meanness and just how fucking bitter he is all the time. But it's really funny to see him on days where he's actually in a good mood because he'll mention the fact that he is, and he's a clown, and I like his personality a lot.

Hey, I turned that place upside down. I forgot. He must have said that 50 times. He turned everywhere upside down i forgot he must have said that 50 times he turned everywhere upside down he turned our our instagram account upside upside down too so credit to him but hey oh and by the way if you're a fan and you comment i'm not listening i don't fucking care i don't give a shit my paycheck ain't fucking changing. And your worthless opinion means nothing. So if you don't fucking like it, just don't even write a comment. Just wait until the next episode.

And speaking of guests, this episode, boys. Talk about a savage. Savage. That's a savage. That's the complete opposite of Avery. Just a little bit more salt of the earth kind of guy. No, I was talking about our interview today for Tutu. I was segueing to let people know that we're having Tutu on.

Oh, yeah. I thought you just said you were softer than Tutu. No, I didn't say that. The problem right now is you're paying attention to your gambling bet with the fucking Boston Red Sox, and you're half dialed into this episode. No, I'm not. This is more pride of another title, a championship,

a World Series championship. That's fair. And I wasn't mad. I was just correcting you. All right, but I did mishear you. I'm sorry. So we have a very special guest coming on for this episode, Jordan Tutu, just retired.

I know your people are like, oh, well, he's a retired guy. It should be Thursday. Now, we consider him a young guy. We're going to keep him young for one extra day. And it was an unbelievable 50 to 55-minute interview. It was a roller coaster. R.A., what'd you think? Interesting guy to talk to. I could have talked to him about animals of the Arctic Circle for an hour because he got a couple of wild stories about growing up in a place that's not accessible by vehicle. You need to get a snowmobile or a boat to get to where he lives. So, I mean, he told us he lived off the land his whole life.

It's a great interview. Can't wait for people to hear it. He made me very, like thinking back to when I was maybe 11 years old and I, for Christmas, wanted a miami hurricane starter jacket i wanted a game boy i wanted a cal a watch that had the calculator on it and then i bitched and moaned when i didn't get him he kind of put that all in perspective considering he was out like here he was out spear chucking seals i was just this piece of shit like baby crying i didn't get my calculator watch he's throwing darts through a beluga whale

talk about like being harder than someone else that's a that's a funny thing to say jesus christ i'm uh okay i gotta regroup here. Back to Avery. Unbelievable content. I laughed my balls off. That was one of the first episodes or one of the only episodes I ever listened to because I hate hearing my voice. I want to puke when I hear it. But segueing out of the Avery interview, we got to talk about his buddy, John Tortorella, and his comments.

He was a little sick and tired of these new school kids. And we're going to have Grinnelli play his comments, he was a little sick and tired of these new school kids. And we're going to have Grinnelli play his comments, and then we're going to come back from it, and we're going to hot stove it. Games changed. And for some dinosaurs that are in it, it's very frustrating, I have to admit. Conversations on the ice amongst opponents, on a face-off, and it's like a big hug fest sometimes i don't know if they have so many meetings with this nhlpa and all that stuff that goes on but there's no

there's no there's no hate and uh i miss that and um yeah i frustrates shit out of me, quite honestly. Damn, I miss the old school, I'm coming at you. We'll have a beer after, but do we have to talk about it on the ice right now? That's sickening to me, quite honestly. Well there, boys. Let's start with the old guy. R.A., what do you think? Who's the old guy? Who's the old guy? Where's the old guy? I don't see an old guy here.

Here comes the Simpson joke. Wait up. Oh, did I miss it? Sorry. Couldn't think of a good Torts-Simpsons Venn diagram there. Torts is old school, man. It's a big hug fest. We've talked about it quite a bit already this season. These young guys

are a lot more buddy buddy than certainly his generation there you know like i think he referenced shooting the between whistles something that his generation would never do you wouldn't talk to the the opponent and these guys are all kind of uh buddy buddy with them um i i think it's you know towards being towards man this is just the perfect thing that would that would piss him off he's an older guy he's old school he's cranky uh and he sick of he doesn't want the guys in his team, you know, playing grab bass with guys in the other team. I think it's no surprise towards the guy that saved this stuff.

Yeah, I kind of respected it. And, Biz, I mean, I always feel a little bad talking about stuff like this in terms of me saying I think he's right because I didn't play hard. I didn't play tough. I didn't play tough. That was not my game. So I always was so afraid of, like, you know, the coaches. Like people say, Tarion never fought and then wanted guys to fight. I don't want to be the guy that played the way I did as an offensive

defenseman and then tell guys you got to play hard or play mean or can't be buddy-buddy. But I did come up, like, early enough where there was no way. Remember back a while ago that if you got caught laughing with a guy during warm-ups, you didn't really do that. Are you fucking kidding me? There was no like you'd whisper to your buddy, like you'd try to talk outside of your mouth.

Yeah, I would say hi to my buddies like that and just kind of be like, yo, what's up, buddy? Yeah, maybe a smile or two, but that's in a warm-up. I'm all right with warm-up too. But warm-up, not even like standing at the red line chatting it up for a while. No, tying each other's laces. But, man, I think of guys like Jamie Benn. I think of guys like even like Kessler, like people that play

hard that, you know, their teammates really like, you know, like guys that are popular that are considered, right, this guy's a beauty, I love him, leader on a team, but he's not buddy-buddy with anyone out there. So you can't, you can't really come in and I guess if you're dominating offensively and you just, you can do whatever you want, right, who cares if you're buddy buddy but in terms of like the pace of the game and and how like after whistles you don't really see much anymore which could make games more intense i do miss that stuff i completely agree i'm on torts aside about this the most infuriating part of uh the the responses to his comments were the fact that he's saying oh go out go out there and injure guys, or go out there and headshot, or go out there and fucking fist fight everyone.

That's not what he's saying. Don't fucking spin your millennial bullshit on me, even though I'm a millennial. I know that. Don't have to tweet it at me. Not a real one, though. Not a real one. And so the first thing that, let's get that out of the way,

he just wants guys to not be buddy-buddy out there and play hard. My biggest thing is why would you ever let your opponent, like, just be like, oh, okay, yeah, we're all buddies out there having a good time. I played against friends, man, and I'd be, like, whacking the top of their skates at face-offs. Like, I was not friends. I had to fight friends. And once again, it's not really going back to that.

It's just going back to competing. And, and I think I put hockey and hockey on a different sport than, than most the, the football guys. It's like, Hey, every play they're looking to fucking hit each other. And they respect that they can end each other's career. They do. I think they're just like, and then they reach the gut for the guy's hand and like, pick him up sometimes. I'm cool with that. I'm cool

with a baseball player hitting a single and going to first base. Yeah, that doesn't matter. He's never even competing against that guy, really. It's him or the pitcher. Okay? But basketball, I mean, that's right off.

Right, but that's what hockey's kind of turning into, and I think that's right off. Right. But that's what's hockey's kind of turning into. And I think that's the comment that he's making is, is enough with that shit lineup at the face off. You can talk to him after the game down the hallway. Like just, just keep it off the ice, compete a little harder. I bet it's similar to basketball because what you're seeing, like all these kids, they've known each other. A lot of them, you know,

if they start playing against and with each other when they're, you know, some cases 10, 12 years old. So by the time they're in the, you know, NHL at 18, 19 years old, they've known some guys for 8, 10 years. And it's just, you know, there's so much more, I think, friendships off the ice that, you know, when guys are playing on the ice, yeah, there probably isn't as much hatred out there as Tortorella would like. But I think, you know, guys are just playing in competitive leagues.

They're playing in tournaments. And, yeah, that probably is the similarities with basketball because, you know, those guys love each other. You know, they're playing basketball. Two minutes later, they're hugging each other. And similar thing, they've been playing in AAU camps and all, you know, different colleges, whatever, for so long. They're buddies now.

They just, you know, it's almost like they're getting time at the gym. And if anything, basketball is getting a little more hardcore after that rondo incident yeah that was a tilt and a half so we got to beef it up hey quickly i do think still a lot of players bizdo would run through their best friend to score a goal or make a play i i i think there's a little more familiarity and being buddy buddy and the hug stuff hug stuff he's talking about, but there's still a lot of players. I think it's odd to see any of it on the ice. Even if it's only a couple times a game, like, fuck off. If I see one of my players do that, I'm going to say, listen, buddy,

take your tummy stick fest down to the hallway after the game. I'm down with it. Well, have an ambo with him the night before. I don't give a fuck. I don't care what you guys are doing the night before, and we won't get into details. Moving along, our boy Nate Schmidt got a nice new contract, boys. $35.7 million with an average of $5.95.

He's suspended until November 18th. Another very similar deal to Tuck. He hasn't played that many games, hasn't proven himself that much. That's a pretty big financial calculated risk, I would put it. He's played 276 games. He's got 13 goals, 66 assists for 79 points in his career. Last year, he had five goals, 31 assists for 36 points. Very similar to Tuck, as I mentioned. He hasn't proven himself to get that number, but I'm imagining they think he gets there. Yeah, he's their best defenseman.

Last year, I mean, he changed the game. He changed the pace that they could play. I remember the year before in Washington, you started really seeing him then. He came on the scene, and you could tell George McPhee said, I mean, this guy i like this guy a lot and he brought him right over i i don't remember if it was i think he they had to put him up on the was it a was he a pick in the in the draft in the expansion draft i think he was

either way he's turned into a freaking hell of a player top four d man through and through and his skating is what separates him. He flies around. He's tight turning. Tight turning guys on the breakout. He's down below the offensive goal. He's the first guy back. He's nuts. I mean, he also – I mean, he gave a hell of a case for not thinking

he should be suspended after, you know, we went through that one episode. He got kind of fucked on that. But they need him back. So that's a big signing for him, and he's rich forever now, as long as he doesn't blow his money like some asshole NBAer. So congrats to him. Yeah, you know, he could potentially be leaving money on the table, like we've talked about before.

But, you know, it's a good contract for him, man. I mean, the way he's kind of proceeding along, which, like you said, he was all over the ice last year. He could potentially get in that, you know that $8 million, $9 million stratosphere in another two years if he kind of keeps progressing along. But, you know, what's the old saying? A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. He'd rather get the guaranteed though now, and I can't knock a guy for it.

Oh, absolutely. I imagine with what they're paying him, everyone expects him to be around that 8 to 10 goal mark, probably about 40. 45 points. I was going to say 40 to 50 points. Which I think he will. If you get 50 points out of him, you're laughing. I think that would basically be like, what happened?

What happened? I had 59 one year. Just going to slide that in there. Okay, well, moving along from that, Ryan Suter, 1,000 games, boys. He was the 11th american defenseman to hit that thousand game mark 77 goals and 425 assists for his career he's a plus 114 too so i know plus minus somebody uh some of you guys are like ah fuck plus minus especially you guys like you wit uh but uh he actually joked around before the 1,000th game celebration,

which would be before the 1,000th first game, about calling in sick and not wanting to do the ceremony because he – I don't think he likes a spotlight like that. He doesn't like any immediate shit. No, he'd come on here and just be like, hey, Witt. No, I'm not really answering that. He's just a quiet, down-to-earth guy. He was born

in 1985, so I was in 83, so I started hearing about him. I'm 16, 17. There's this superstar 15-year-old coming along, and he has never disappointed for one minute because it started 2003, the best draft of all time, mind you. He went...

That was my draft. Yeah, I know. That's why. You make it the draft of all time, mind you. Yeah, that was my draft. Yeah, I know. That's why. That you make it the best of all time. Seventh overall pick, by the way, the Predators then got Shea Weber in the second round of that draft. So how about the Preds? The Preds got those two guys in the same draft in 2003.

But since he's coming to the league, this is a steady 26 minutes per game. I mean, I don't know the career average. It might be higher. I think he's had years at 30. 40, you know, I'm going to get – maybe he hasn't actually always got 40 to 50 points. Let's say 30 to 40 he kind of always guarantees without checking out his stats. I'm going to pull those up as I do this.

Yeah, I mean, yeah, he's always 40 and 50 right around high 30s. Just an incredible player, though. No weaknesses. No weaknesses at all. And he has that ability. He's got that Lidstrom ability. He doesn't get hurt. Been real lucky on the injury front.

I mean, he's battled a couple injuries here or there, but the amount of minutes he plays, and it's not a soft game. I mean, he's not an overly physical guy, but he's got such a good stick. He doesn't allow himself to get hit up by the four checkers. Just the most reliable guy you can have that every single night, whoever's been his head coach always knows. You're getting 26, 27 minutes of mistake-free hockey. Congrats to him on a hell of a run to 1,000.

Yeah, he's been a joy to watch. Sorry, Biz. He's been a joy to watch for the last 14 years. I mean, we used to always think of him as a predator. He's been with Minnesota for as much time as he was in Nashville now. So, you know, we're kind of hoping he can get a little bit, you know, a little bit more of a legacy, I guess, as

far as the playoffs. You know, we'd like to see we say it all the time, the show Minnesota going to run. They got great fans there. They're always complaining to us about their team not being able to, you know, get out of the second round or whatever. They're a boring club. They're boring. Exactly.

You know, they just need to get a run. I mean, they haven't had one since 2003. But as far as Suter, man, congrats, dude. 1,000 games. I mean, what much more can you add than that? It's a hell of an accomplishment. That's the second one we've seen in the last few weeks. So congrats to Suter, and hopefully get a few hundred more.

On to some less positive things. Potential coaching change in L.A. They've been struggling mightily. Of course, they snapped that six-game losing streak with a win last night against New York at home, 4-3 victory. They ended up scoring a goal in the last minute there to pull that one off. Six-game losing streak with a win last night against New York at home. 4-3 victory. They ended up scoring a goal in the last minute there to pull that one off. Boys, before that, that six-game losing streak,

they had eight goals in the six games. They've only scored three goals or more in three games this season. Of course, they won all three, but they're last in the Western Conference right now, and hopefully they can continue nights like last night or I would imagine that Stevens is the first guy leaving town. Yeah, and I think that Rob Blake had come out and said it was way more on the players or the report came out. He told the players, this is not – I'm not blaming the coaches for this.

Sometimes they come out. I mean, if you can't make a trade, you might have to fire the coach. I actually heard – well, I shouldn't say I heard. It was kind of rumbling through Twitter and the grapevine that if they lost the game against the Rangers, there could have been major changes, whether it was trade. That's what I'm saying. I mean –

Hey, could you imagine? He's like, hey, this is more on the players than the coach. They lose one more. He's like, yeah, we're going to have a coaching change. He's like, yes, and then he gets the coach. They lose one more. He's like, yeah, we're going to have a coaching change. Steven's just like, yes, and then he gets the call. You know when you get the call and you're like, oh, no, no, if I just don't answer it, nothing will happen.

Yeah, father's dead. Instead, they text you, hey, you're gassed, dude. Pack up your stuff. All right, what do you think, buddy? Why can't they score? Because they're fucking old, man. They're old, dude. The league average right now is 27.6 years. The Kings' average age is

29.1. I mean, they're a year and a half older than everybody else. You take a look at the roster, and not knocking these guys. Age is age. You guys knock me for being old. I don't get mad because you can't control age, but Jeff Carter, 34. Anze Kopitar, he's 31, still productive. I mean, they sign Ilya

Kovachuk, they bring in. I mean, he's 35 years old, no spring chicken. Alec Martin is 31, Fnuf 33, Quick 33, Nate Thompson 34. I mean, they got some old guys, man, and, you know, you can have all the heart in the world, but time fucking takes its toll on everybody, and I think the bills come due for the Kings for the nice run they've had for the last six, seven years. No, I think they're going to turn it around.

I would agree with the age factor that the game keeps getting faster and faster. Of course, they're not that young. The problem being is majority of their core group and the guys who are lugging all the ice time are probably even a higher average age than you mentioned, the 29 and a half years or whatever the exact number was. So I just wanted to touch on them. Hopefully they can turn things around. A lot of awesome guys in that locker room.

But swinging it to more positive, Carolina Hurricanes. Holy shit, boys. They're gaining some steam with that celebration. The fans are really having a good time. Did we ever get an explanation exactly what they're doing or are we just kind of enjoying it? Have they explained it anywhere?

No, but what's his name? Dougie Hamilton was doing the... What's that new dance call that all the kids are doing? He was flossing. Flossing? Flossing? Dude, when I floss...

Flossing was... I get blood on the mirror when I floss. Flossing is a nightmare. Wait. I pull out old Tostitos, pizza rolls. Like the landlord in fucking Kingpin? Yeah, dude, legit. Blood everywhere.

I'm like, I got to start doing this more often. You know what's crazy? Is that you guys are saying that the floss hadn't already been invented. When you take your towel and you clean out your nuts and ass crack. Oh, especially hotel towels. You just rub your cornhole and you just like see it. Oh, man. I'd hate to be the guy who gets the towels after me.

Oh. Mine are standing by the time I leave hotel rooms. There's enough DNA on those towels to be another human being. Yours is already dried into like a teepee towel that just rock hard. What the fuck? It's basically a belly button soup catcher. That's BS. I don't even know.

Oh, we were talking about Carolina. We kind of got off the rails there. But they're turning things around, and I like it. A non-traditional hockey market. They're having some fun after some wins, and they got the morale high. Montreal also playing very well. Julian's got two coaches that are kind of opposite ends of the spectrum in that Rod Brindamore's new as a head coach. I think he's a very motivated, prepared type of coach

where guys really listen to what he says because he's done it. You know, he carries a lot of weight the way that guy played hockey. He didn't have much pressure because he's new. And then the other end is Julian, who, I mean, God, he got that five-year deal, $25 million after getting fired. The Canadiens were terrible last year, granted a bunch of injury issues. But he had a lot to prove. I mean, all of a sudden they start off bad this year.

It's going to be a nightmare for him. And he showed up, and he's obviously got that team playing a certain way. Brendan Gallagher, fuck, man. That dude you want on your team, that guy is a complete gamer. He's undersized but never stops. He's just a pain in the ass to play against. Do you know him, Biz? Yeah.

He was on the video, huh? Yeah, he was on the video. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He takes his offseason extremely serious. His old man's his trainer, and they just fucking hit the gym like maniacs. Yeah, he's been a big reason they've had a lot of success. Of course, Carey Price being back to Carey Price, 2.13 goals against average right now with a 9.22 save percentage.

And another guy who I'm happy for, Max Domi. Ten games played, five goals, six assists. You know, I still like to trade for Arizona, and we'll get to them after this. But sometimes just two guys need a change of scenery and it seems to be working out for Max Domi. He's in a fun market. I wasn't crazy about his old man's comments about my beloved coyotes,

but Hey, he's a, he's, you know, he's outspoken guy and we'll leave it at that. Rough and rowdy six. Oh yeah. Right.

No, actually I wrote down the Canadians last week to talk about. We were busy. We never got around to it. But, yeah, I got to give Claude a lot of credit because that's a roster we talked about at the beginning of the year we didn't think was going to do much. I know Shea Weber, a lot of turnover with guys, getting rid of guys. But I think it's a testament to Claude.

We saw what he did here in Boston. He's able to wring a lot out of guys that you might not expect, especially on the defensive end. So, yeah, kudos to the Habs. It's early, but they're surprising people so far. Another Hab I want to bring up, former teammate of mine, Jeff Petrie. Oh, yeah. I don't know if you guys know a lot about him, but, God, this guy,

right when he came into Edmonton, I could tell, like, this guy's going to be a player. He skated like the wind, snapped a hell of a tape-to-tape breakout pass, and was putting it all together, right? It was kind of up and down. And then had a couple real good years with Edmonton, and he looked dynamite. I mean, he's kind of taken over a power play role, too.

And granted, Weber's out. That'll probably change. Scored a couple rocket one-timers. Also, I wanted to bring up on Montreal, that Byron Biz. Do you know him? No, he's a fast little guy. He just signed a deal before the season started.

Yeah, I remember we talked about it. They got him on waivers a couple years ago. So, I mean, that team – just last night, I should have said that. Saturday night, I was with a buddy. He's like, what do you think about the Bruins tonight? I said, dude, Montreal's actually playing pretty well. They're plus 140. My buddy goes, all right, dude. He just about the Bruins tonight? I said, dude, Montreal's actually playing pretty well. They're plus 140. And my buddy goes, all right, dude, he just took the Habs.

Pretty easy win. They just came into the garden and dummied the Bruins. So they're feeling it. They're feeling it for sure. Yeah, Montreal fourth in the Eastern Conference. I don't know if I mentioned it, Carolina seventh in the Eastern Conference. And last but not least, as far as teams go, boys, Coyotes, they've really turned things

around i know you guys are probably gonna shit on me for mentioning it they had four goals in their first five games they had they've had 22 goals in their last five and uh you said they've won four of the last five and even when they weren't scoring they were out shooting teams at the end of that first five games they they were out shooting teams on average by 10. So they were averaging 36 shots for, 26 shots against. They finally got Galchenyuk back. Obviously, that bumps down guys domino effect style. They have the recipe for success.

It's a very overlooked team. I know you guys were shitting on me earlier, but this team looks fucking good right now. They beat fucking Tampa Bay 7-1. Yeah, they beat the wheels off Tampa. Tampa probably ripped it in Old Town the night before, though. You're the analyst, Biz. So what are they doing different now that they weren't doing at the beginning of the year?

Nothing. The puck's going in the net. They had the recipe for success. It all evens out in the wash, right? If you're out-possessing and out-shooting teams, they have the best goal deferential in the Pacific Division, too. So take those fucking nuggets and shove them up your ass. Boys, I think we've got to kick it off.

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Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to welcome Jordan Tutu to the podcast. Jordan, welcome to the show. Hey, thanks for having me. It's been a long time coming. Yeah, you just officially announced your retirement uh this week i know you didn't play last year uh we were talking before the show we were all wondering like you know we read that you left home for alberta when you were just 13 or 14 but how did a guy like you first pop up on scouts radars in a place that can't even be reached by automobile how does that happen

well when you when you eat all that fucking raw beluga and caribou meat you know sometimes it makes you go nuts so the first time i ever made it down south i played in a native tournament in edmonton alberta and i just i was fucking crushing guys and uh you know, I was only 13, 14 years old. So, yeah, guys were going down like flies. And next thing you know, parents were fucking jumping over the glass, trying to come after me and whatnot. And I guess that caught the attention of a lot of scouts. So you guys head down there and just dummy up all these teams you're playing against. All of a sudden, are teams calling you or, like, talking to you talking you at that term like you got to come play bantam here like

we got to figure this out we'll get you a billet family yeah so basically what happened is we drove from yellow knife northwest territories in like two minivans or whatever there was fucking 20 of us 20 native kids and imagine the fucking smell in those fucking vans after 15 hours of being crammed in there with your your hockey gear uh so we yeah we made it to edmonton and our first game we just fucking we were just crushing guys uh we only knew one way and that was balls to the wall uh and next thing you know what we we came out we won the whole whole fucking tournament and um yeah so a coach from spruce grove alberta happened to be there and um he gave me his contact info or whatever and i didn't think nothing of it i'm like who the fuck is this guy like i just come down here for a for a hockey tournament and this fucking

random guys all over me anyways um the following fall uh ended up moving to spruce grove alberta and playing triple a banham pretty much the first first year of organized hockey for me at 14 years old. And then, A, what was it like living away from home for the first time? Dude, it was a nightmare. Really? Kid coming from Nunavut, you know, everyone knowing everyone, and they throw me into the city you know with all these high rises and um bunch of cake eaters oh buddy it was it was uh it was

a gong show anyways I I go to I go to the first week of school all these fucking kids are eyeing me up like who the fuck is this native guy coming into our school and oh you're like i'm gonna know someone oh buddy wheeling all the all the broads there and shit you know you know how it is then well i don't i know about being the new guy but i don't know about we on the broads i didn't have any money yet there's nothing to distract my face from uh from anything so so i i came down there with fuck all just basically a carry-on bag couple change of clothes and my hockey gear and you know i go to this school and pretty much dummy all the boys there like they just fucking they're trying they're calling me out and I'm fucking grabbing them, you know,

taking them outside and walking home. Guys are trying to gang up on me and I'm just dummying everyone. And you know, that's just, that's the way, that's the mentality I had ever since I was a young kid. And, uh, you know, I came there with no money, whatever. So all these guys in school during breaks and stuff wanting to arm wrestle me, and I was like, yeah, throw $10 down. So I was making money arm wrestling on the side at school.

Come on. You had like a kissing booth, but it was some arm wrestling. Snapping guys' wrists. Were they picking on you, Jordan, because you were the new kid or because of your ethnic background or a little bit of a combination of the two? I think it was a combination of both.

And he was crushing everybody's old lady. Oh, fuck. Yeah, it was quite the experience, but I battled it out. You know, I just, you know, for personal reasons that was happening back home, you know, obviously it was an out for me to get out and do what I love,

and that was to play the game on a competitive level. And, you know, my parents were all for it, which was great. And, you know, they supported me. And I thank God I had a Billet family that was unbelievable, you know, just kind of pushing me every day to get through the tough times. And, you know, they just brought me in like I was their own kid. And it was just, you know, I couldn't thank them enough. And then the next year, well, obviously you probably end up getting drafted

and then you go to, was it that year you went to Brendan Wheat Kings for the first year? Yeah, so midway through the season I was getting phone calls, interviews for this fucking WHL Bantam draft, and I didn't know fuck all about it. You know, I was just like, what the fuck is this? Anyways, I got drafted by Brandon. I think it was my fourth or fifth game into the season,

and I fucking dummied like four guys in two shifts, like in one shift. I got suspended for 10 games and I was like, what the fuck is this? This is a joke, you know, because I grew up playing pretty much pawn hockey and fighting all my buddies and, you know, you throw your shit back on and you give her again. That's how I thought it was. So anyways, you know, that being said, my name started circling around the league and getting phone calls. And yeah, I got a phone call at the end of the year saying I was drafted

by the Brandon Wheat Kings, never heard of them, didn't know where it was. And one thing led to another. Yeah. So then that went to their spring camp or whatever and once again dummied a bunch of kids and had fun and yeah when uh when you ended up going to brandon did you fit right in or was it kind of similar situation at school like was it was it more of a fitting in process or you kind of been through it once and you just slid right in? No, it was, it was the whole process over again.

You know, I just, it was just one thing after another. And, you know, like I said before, the, the mentality of, you know, being the predator and, and, you know, not taking shit from anybody kind of attitude. And yeah, I just snowballed after that. And guys, you know, people started respecting me and, uh, you know, I wasn't the biggest guy, but I got a fucking set of moose nuts on me. So go to battle with anybody. Wait, so you get into Brandon. At this point, you're telling me you don't know shit about the WHL before you go there, so are you still not even considering playing in the NHL?

You're just out there smashing guys' heads in, running people over, and I don't know what's next, or are you starting to think, dude, maybe I'll play in the show? Not a fucking chance. I was like, wasn't even in my thought process. I was just like, okay, the WHL, this is like the best of the juniors. And, you know, now I get to really play hockey. And, but, you know, back then, 20 years ago,

fighting was like a major part of the fucking game you know in junior hockey and you know the just the the battle levels were a lot harder you know you got your blue collar farm boys who just fucking oh whl was a gong show back then like it was you if you weren't fucking tough you weren't making it out alive you wouldn't even make it out of training camp oh buddy training camp 10 fights no you know guys are just fucking going at her and uh i survived that and you know i'm 16 years old going against fucking 20 year olds that are just fucking meat you know i'm still a kid myself, but I stood my ground.

That being said, every team had fucking 10 tough guys. It was bench-clearing brawls, coaches throwing shit. That's how the movie 300 was created. It was just basically any WHL game back then.

Just fucking. Yeah, no more. For sure. Jordan, so, you know, your first year in the dub, you played 45 games. You had 16 points, 214 penalty minutes. Assuming that by the time that year was finished, you're now probably the fan favorite. Kind of like the Rocky story.

Like, it's an unbelievable story, right? That next summer, do you go back home to train and get ready for the next year because that's kind of when you you kind of came on the scene the next year you had 20 goals 28 assists like all of a sudden now you're a player in this league not just a guy running around dummying guys not at all biz my my thought process was go home and just fucking party my ass off. You know, just, it was, it was a gong show every time I went home and,

uh, you know, hockey was kind of, uh, on the back burner, to be honest for me, like, because I,

you had your life. Yeah. The party life, you know know that's just what everyone did back home and I I don't think I probably train up up until two weeks before training camp but I just you know my mentality was just battle through whatever is put in front of me and just fucking get her done. And, you know, that put me through, you know, all the testing and fucking all nice shit, whatever, you know. Like, so just survival mode pretty much. And, you know, the next year, score 20, 30, the last two years or whatever.

And, I mean, the rest is just details. Toots, I got one question. You said you used to go back home every summer, hang out with the boys. I got to hear, like, what are you guys doing in the outdoors? Like, tell me some fucking crazy stories. Like, were you guys wrestling bears and shit? Oh, biz, you think you're fucking tough, biz?

Like, come up there and wrestle a polar bear with me. I had Looch here in Kelowna calling me because there was a fucking deer in his backyard. And he's like, Toots, grab your hunting knife and get rid of this fucking thing. It was, yeah, no, I mean, it's a totally different lifestyle up there, guys. Like, I can't explain it. One has to experience it to really understand what it's like up there. But going out on the land with basically guns and ammo and whatever you kill, you eat it out there.

That's how I grew up. Hunting is not a sport for us. It's for survival. And a lot of people don't understand that, you know, this is our livelihood. This is what feeds us. And, you know, it's just kind of the circle of life out on the land. And, you know, all this materialistic shit, you know, fucking Louis Vuitton, you know, all this materialistic shit, you know, fucking Louis Vuitton, fucking Gucci, like up there, the women are looking for great hunters, providers, you know, you kill a seal, you harpoon a seal, you treat the skin and, you know, you make clothing out of it and that's that's a inuk way of showing

you know that you're well looked after you know fuck all this Louis Vuitton they I mean it's it's irrelevant up there so I mean I'm thinking like you guys are tough, tough people up there, and I'm assuming you're growing up very young. So at what age are they like go out there and fucking kill something? Or what age you start? You're just chucking nooks with your buddies? I mean, I'm picturing seven, eight years old, and you're out there doing shit that I was probably still getting my ass wiped

when you were doing savage stuff outside. Well, yeah. I mean, you learn from a young age. I mean, 5, 6, 7, 8 years old. Like most kids have caught their first caribou. Or, you know, by the age of 12 years old, you harpoon your first beluga whale. And, you know, that's just, like i said before survival mode you know the mentally like i look at these kids nowadays and they're just fucking mentally weak you know when i my last

few years in the show you know i young kids would come in and be like you know it's it's mind over matter you know just get it and they look at you like what the fuck is that and mind over matter, you know, just get it. And they look at you like, what the fuck is that? Mind over matter, you know? And I'm just like, you know, it's just a different breed, but yeah, like these kids that grow up in the North and the isolated communities, you, I mean, just, you watch them. And the, when you look at their mental toughness it's just it's beyond what your average person kid down south goes through and you know that's what that's what led me into getting you know into the nhl yeah jordan Jordan, that's a great point.

Before we get into your NHL career, though, we got to talk about the Canadian World Junior stuff. That was 2-2 mania. That's when shit popped off for you, like as far as being a household name and everybody in Canada was fucking worshipping you. Oh, buddy, that probably the the most pivotal point in my hockey career where my name really fucking took off and you know that that whole fucking three weeks was just a unbelievable experience um you know i remember just fucking crushing all these Euros.

And sure, Witter, you can tell a few stories about me running around out there. Oh, you played the same World Juniors, Witt? Yeah, dude. This dude dumped it in my corner in the semifinals. Dude, how sick was that game, too, when Wawika, Jeff Wawika scored two minutes left, I think. Wawika. Wawika? Jeff Wawika scored two minutes left, I think. Wawika. Wawika.

Yeah. But Tutu jumped it in my corner that game, ran me through the wall as the whole place went insane. And he's like, I'll fucking kill you. I was like, Jesus Christ. I was like, this is international hockey. Yeah, he was just a – that was – This was in Halifax, correct? We were a that was – This was in Halifax, correct?

You were a bulldog. It was in Halifax. Oh, God. That rink, that rink, that was the loudest rink I've ever been in in my life. I'll never forget it. Oh, buddy, it was – it was pandemonium there. Like, yeah, when we played you guys in the semis, I mean, fuck. It felt like the roof just blew right off and uh you know that that like i said

like that whole three weeks or the time we were there like biz like we were fucking partying and yeah i know i heard it was a revolt what was that place uh the dome the the remember that dome with all the bars inside oh yeah buddy yeah. Buddy, the liquor dome. The liquor dome. Were bubbles in the trailer park boys hanging around? Oh, yeah. Yeah, they were around. Oh, my God.

You think guys in the World Juniors are boozing now during the tournament? Winner. Like, come on now. These guys are like robots nowadays. It's just's just you know no fun in the game you know these you take a kid out for for dinner on the road and can't even have a conversation with the fucker because he's too busy looking up stats and fucking highlights and you've been out to dinner with Biz? Biz is on a fucking gong show. I'm trying to line up interviews

for this podcast, Whit. Jesus. Are you trying to line up fucking dates every fucking city you're in? I got no time for women anymore, man. That's why me and the old lady broke up. I couldn't give her enough attention. You're all fucked up. And they deserve it. And they give her enough attention. You're all fucked up.

And they deserve it. And they deserve it. He said you're all fucked out. Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. Jordan, you talked about culture shock going to Alberta. So what was the culture shock like going all the way down to Nashville? I mean, from anywhere in Canada to Nashville, but particularly where you come from, how was that adjustment?

Dude, the first time I stepped foot in Nashville, you know, I was middle of July. It was fucking 95 degrees. And you take a kid from fucking Nunavut and dude, I almost fucking fainted walking from the airplane to the terminal. Like it was, I was just like, nah, fuck this.

I can't do this. But I mean, 20 years old going into, uh, a newer city, you know, a newer team. Um,

you know, the, the city just took me in like, like their own. And I mean, the people of Nashville are unbelievable. They're friendly. And I know a lot of guys that come through there, you know, make it their home.

Hey, one guy who was actually – I told him you were coming on. He was actually pissed off and he had to pretend to be your friend when you first got to Nashville. It was a guy that you blew at his knee in juniors heartsy scott hartnell you buckled his knee in the duck it took his knee out what happened dudes well we're up in pa and hearty you know first rounder fucking guys skating around like his shit don't stink and trust me i love heartsy to death he's my boy and you know he's wheeling around there fucking he's got the flow and all this yeah i'm a fucking first rounder and all this cuts across the middle of the ice at the blue line and he just i just fucking took his knees right out. He's done for a month or whatever.

Of course, my first fucking trip to Nashville, Hartsey introduced himself, and I was just like, holy shit, like, I remember you. Hey, how's the MCL, bud? Yeah. I think there was a little animosity there for a little while. Well, you think you blew at his knee, and then now you trump his retirement. A week later, you're sitting in the weeds waiting for Hart to retire,

and then you're like, now's the time to drop it. Did you guys have a scrap at any point in training camp or anything? No. Fucking Archie's a puss. Well, we know you're not. Another old teammate of yours wanted me to ask you about the time you were arm wrestling

in Nashville. You used to set up matches like you were in grade school. But they said up he said yeah I'll let you tell the story yeah no so yeah going back to the whole arm wrestling thing you know obviously started young and I got the techniques down and go out to the bars in Nashville we uh it was our Halloween party and we're all dressed up and i'm dressed up as a mexican and all these mexican people are coming up to me speaking spanish and i'm just like dude i don't know if i can like a spanish like you know i probably look like i'm mexican or whatever but

anyways this guy just kept Hounding me Let's arm wrestle I got my sombrero on I got the duster on I'm like fuck it Fine Set up shop right on the Fucking the bar

And about Two seconds in Just fucking snapped, broke the fucking guy's arm in half. Oh, my God. The whole bar was like, what the fuck was that sound? Like, this guy...

No. You know, I fucking... You're the pop. Oh, yeah. Popped his fucking arm, and I made sure I finished it, and I fucking slammed his fucking arm right on the

table and grabbed my beer and chugged her back and I said, thanks for the hundred bucks, buddy. See you later. That is fucking ruthless, man. And he was bugging you. He'd been bugging you all night too, right?

All night, bugging me. Dude, that's the first guy's arm i broke i fucking broke another guy's arm probably two months later at the tin roof same same same ordeal was it a was it a bet was your name going around town where these guys knew that you were an arm wrestler or arm wrestle yeah okay yeah i guess because this guy come up to me, he's like, fucking $200, let's go. I'm like, dude, no, I'm never fucking arm wrestling again. I'm done. Just kept hounding me, hounding me.

And of course, we stay after hours. It's three in the morning and fucking, I'm like, dude, I'm just fucking smashed. And I'm like, okay, let's fucking go. Show me your 200 bucks and you know there's like 20 of us in there and fucking grab his arm and pop snap his fucking arm in half and i'm just like are you gotta be fucking shitting me jesus it's like that fucking stallone movie over the top hey toots yeah you said uh you said the tin roof dude i heard that your old man barney used to run the show at the tin roof also for people who don't know he'd be on the big

screen he was on the big screen when i played you in nashville one time with all these rockets sitting around him old barnyard yeah he's still kicking kicking around but that was his city he fucking he loved nashville and yeah i mean i'd go home and next you know it's four in the morning my dad's got you know a shit load of people coming in and i'm just saying holy, I got practice in the morning here, Dad. Like, what are you doing? We'll roll reverse. He definitely took advantage of that city. So your first season in Nashville, it was also the first season that the Predators made the playoffs. I think it was their sixth season in existence.

Did you know back then that Nashville was going to be a market that would work in the future, that it would succeed long-term just by virtue of that first playoff year? Well, coming in as a 20-year-old, I was basically enjoying the whole fucking NHL. I wasn't looking years down the road. I was living in the moment and i was just fucking soaking it all in and uh you know just seeing it year after year just the the following that the predators had and you know teams coming in and the building just getting louder and louder and you know by by my eighth season you know it just it just took off

and you know it's i'm happy for the organization and you know the city of nashville deserves a a stanley cup contender every year because i mean look at the city it's there's a lot of buzz going on around there and uh we all seen it during playoffs over the last three or four years. You know, it's just, it's been on fire. I mean, you did something your first eight years that not a lot of guys do, and that's play for the same coach for your first eight seasons. That's such a rare thing in the league now. And that was Barry Trotz.

You know, what kind of a coach was he and how did he help not only your career, but your personal life as well for the time you were there? You know what? Trotsky and David Poyle are people. They care about their players, and that's first and foremost. For any guy coming into the league, you just want to be treated respectfully, and you're brought in for for a reason and you know ultimately they care about their guys and and you know trotzy seeing me you know grow up and mature

as a young man and knowing that i had a lot of shit going on and, you know, just believing me year after year when, you know, they could have fucking, after being called into Poyle's office 30 times, you know, every season, getting a earful from him, they could have just cut me. But they cared about me and, and you know they obviously gave me the best gift you know that i could ever ask for and that's you know offering me help with my alcoholism you know i give full credit to them for making me the person i am today another another player that you played with in Nashville,

a guy whose name has been brought up on this podcast a few times, is David Legwand. We've been told he's quite the beauty. What kind of stories can you tell about David Legwand that are okay to tell in this forum? Leggy. We called him the donkey. Why is that?

I don't know if you guys ever met Leggy i'm witter i don't know yeah i know i know legs yeah he's just he's a goofball and he's like a he's like a little kid you know and you know it was great to have a guy like him who was you know very loosey-goosey. And, you know, it's almost like he had zero fox, which was, you know, great to see. But at the same time, when it came down to playing the game, he played hard. But Leggy and I spent a lot of time together back when he was uh it's back when he was single and yeah we uh

i don't want to get into too many details but like he's a beauty dudes um you know obviously after all that success and crazy years in nashville like your i guess your whole career up until that point, um, you know, being the first ever e-nuke to play in the NHL, did it ever get to a point where it was just too much? Like, you know, that's a lot of pressure, you know, you're going home and you're, you're basically the fucking celebrity, uh, you know, even in Nashville. And obviously you said you were having a lot of fun.

Like, did it, is it, did the pressure mount to a level where it was like unbearable well there there are times where you know i i sat in my room just kind of i was just like holy fuck like what the fuck is going on you know like i'm basically drinking myself to sleep so i can just numb all the pain and you know kind of forget about everything in that moment um when they're you know there are a number of events that led up to ultimately me going to going to rehab and and getting myself fixed but you know in that span probably you know my last three years in in nashville you know my drinking just became out of control and you know that was for me to you know numb all the fucking shit that was going on you know i always i remember one night sitting in my room i'm like is this is this really what i want like i don't know like you know what i mean like

there's just so much pressure from everywhere but that being said i wasn't in a clear state of mind so you know in order to fix that i i had to fix myself first and and what was what was the tipping point or was it just like you you just were like I I need this was it somebody reaching out to you how how did that all go down well there are a couple events that led up to deciding that okay i i need to fix myself and the last the last weekend we played on a saturday night on i think it was like december 17th or whatever um and of course we have sunday off so me and obi shane o'brien we all know what kind of guy he is he's just a fucking beauty he's a yeah yeah so we started giving air Saturday and then Sunday the Titans were playing so of course you get up still have snap and going, go tailgating and do the game.

And then Sunday evening, George Strait was playing at the arena. So we had a team outing to go to the concert. And by then, me and Obi were just fucking blacked out. and by then me and obi were just fucking blacked out and i i don't obviously i don't remember but you know walking in through security you know i guess some of the security guys couldn't contain me or whatever and all that and um yeah got a call from davidoyle Monday morning and was like, yep, I cannot recount what happened the last two days. I need to fucking deal with this. And, yeah, that was the last time I ever sipped on a beer or had a drink. I think it was December 19th.

So Poyle was obviously a huge part of that went, went and got you to a facility or, or, you know, and just said, you know, take, take time for yourself. Yep.

Absolutely. You know, because we've had plenty of conversations about my actions and away from the rink and, you know, how I'm dealing with shit and, you know, just like most players would say, nah, it's all good. You know, fucking, I fucked up with shit and, you know, just like most players would say,

nah, it's all good, you know, fucking, I fucked up. Like, you know, I kept making pacts with my teammates. Like, hey, guys, I'm going to fucking, I'm not going to drink for the next month. You know, two weeks later, I'm fucking on the sauce again. And, you know, just so I started losing respect from my own teammates because I was fucking talking too much you know I just I would make packs and you know didn't fall through and I remember when I when I came back from rehab David Poyles we had a team meeting and David

Poyles said dudes do you have anything to say to the boys? And I'm like, nope, I'm going to fucking show them through my action. That's fucking unreal, man. I'm getting fucking, I'm getting a little emotional over here, boys. Jesus Christ. Might have to take a timeout. No, that's great stuff. And obviously when you came back, and let's go back to Poyle too, it's like, it's difficult for an adult to talk to another adult

because that's what he considers you. And to feel that he has the right to step in and say something, obviously there's probably times where he's like, you know, should I? But ultimately that was probably him showing you respect, but then it just got to a point where he's like, man, I'll probably feel like shit if something goes colossal and I haven't said anything yeah no totally and like like i said before like they you know they they care about their players and and that's ultimately you know i feel that any guy playing

the league wants to be treated uh you know treated treated like, you know, not just a fucking piece of meat where you're replaceable. Like, you know, you're on the team. Make everyone feel part of it. And that's what they did. You know, it was like a big, big family. So, Toots, that was amazing to hear, by the way. Biz is right.

But I'm curious as to you get sober, you get healthy, as you said, you get fixed, and then you continued to play. You know, you played a lot longer in the NHL. How much harder or easier was it when you're not boozing after games? Did you start feeling better on the ice? Or was it – I'm just curious to how it changed once you became sober and you were still playing in the league yeah so a lot of things changed in my in my life you know obviously my game got a lot better uh you know I was playing more minutes and able to condition myself a lot better.

I remember, you know, one of the first, a couple of the first games, you know, just the reception that I got from the fans and all that, and especially my teammates. You know, when I came back, I called a team meeting, and I told all the boys, I'm like, guys, I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable. You know, when we're on the road, you know, you guys do your thing. And if I feel uncomfortable, I'll leave. I don't need to explain myself, but I just want everyone to just, just be themselves. And, you know,

I think when I said that, it let guys, a lot of the guys just kind of relax. Because, you know, everyone's kind of on edge, you know, how it is when we go on the road and we all go for dinner and drinks and whatnot. And, you know, so they respected me, you know, and that's all I cared about. And I didn't want any of the guys to feel uncomfortable if I was around.

I, you know, told them, you guys do your thing. If you want a beer, have a beer. Like, I'm good. You know, if things start to get a little tough for me, you know, I'll just leave. Top for me, you know, I'll just leave. And I think that was the tipping point as far as my teammates letting their guards down and, you know, just being themselves. Well, it went from a point where you were the one being taken care of when you were hammered by your teammates to the opposite.

Because I was talking to Brian McGratton today and he talked about the time where you guys were roommates and then got split up because the Ruskies went out on the road in Scottsdale during playoffs and they had to split them up and you guys had to babysit each one of them oh buddy yeah the the tables kind of turned there pretty quick. And, you know, that being said, when we were playing, playing you guys in the playoffs there in Phoenix, like it was just, it was a fucking gong show, you know, like they're testing us as far as, you know, healthy scratching us or are these guys going to fucking go out and party? Like, let's see. You know what I mean? That's kind of how I felt. And one of these fucking Russian guys fucking blew everything up.

They just, you know, took it to a whole new level and i i remember a story actually because biz you were there right yeah yeah i was in phoenix yeah yeah because we were uh we had a team meeting or no this was during a game and trotty comes into the dressing room and i remember fucking trotty he lost it on us and he's like you you guys fucking see that bisonette guy he's a fucking ultimate team player because shea weber took a fucking slap shot from the point and you like dove head first towards the middle of the ice to try and block it and he's like this fucking business guy i'll take him over any any you fucking pussies oh no so you're fucking so you're like fuck this guy and the fuck that nose but you know you probably don't remember that he came from

like the hash marks and you fucking took three hard strides into the middle of the ice and webbs just teed it up and you're fucking flying in there face first looking at the fuck uh webbs is shot and they just fucking zing right by your mouth i was like this is it this is this is how it all ends yeah i'm like it was a good ride you know i mean i love you i wish my mom and dad could know that I love them more than I showed, you know? I'm surprised they missed that big old fucking bison head of yours. Well, dude, you're talking about wrestling polar bears. I mean, fuck, the next closest thing is a couple of drunk Russians

that you're trying to keep out of the bar with Radulov going bananas. thing is a couple of drunk Russians that you're trying to keep out of the bar with Radulov going bananas yeah I was uh it was a bit of a mess there for a while but you know I'm I'm glad I was sober because I'm sure I would have dealt in that situation a lot differently with you know boozing and stuff but uh like I said now I get to uh when we when we go on the roads now i get to fuck around with all the boys and tell them all fucked up stories about what they did the night before well you know who wasn't sober that night was me because the night that they were at the w before the game i was also there because i was at a table beside them and obviously all this stuff broke and i'm like like i knew they were there because they came

in the next day and there was a big thing in the media that they they clocked their keys to know that they came home at like three in the morning or whatever it was and i'm like damn it's like is that is that a bad thing because i of course was at the same place as them and i was talking to one of the servers and uh i forget which one i don't think it was radulov it was uh what was it kastitsyn yeah yeah kastitsyn so apparently she put ice in his drink and he's like he's like no ice and then she the other server came over and put ice in his drink to make him another one because they make your cocktails there and he fucking slapped it over her head he goes no ice no ice and i'm like holy shit like this isn't russia dude like you can't just fuck it like chill out just fucking pour the ice out you don't want to yeah i think those i think those days are long

gone now biz where you know guys go out for happy hour and uh and have fun it's uh it's a lot different nowadays. Yeah, I mean, that's an extended happy hour. Well, that was like fucking a $12 shift for them. Jordan, you listed at 5'9", and you were pretty much always giving up a size advantage when you were fighting opponents. Did you ever have one situation where you're like, holy shit, I bit off way more than I could chew right now

with anybody? I bit off way more than I could chew right now with anybody. Fortunately, I always had guys that were heavyweights. You know, I played with McGratton, Wade Belak, Jim McKenzie, Jamie Allison. So, you know, these guys took the brunt of the heavyweights. So, I mean, yeah, I can't recall any specific situation where, you know, I was like, holy fuck, this guy's 100 pounds heavier than me. But, you know, I just, honestly, just go in there and fucking grind away, muck it out, and see what happens.

I actually have one other question, going back to growing up on Nunavut. I butchered the name earlier. I want to ask, what was the most dangerous situation that you or a buddy ever found yourself in? What animal was involved? How close did you get basically to getting killed by a wild animal, I guess, the best way to put it? You know what?

There wasn't any death-defying hunts that i would make one up we'll edit this part out well well here's why you know we were we're out beluga whale hunting and uh we're chopping up the because we we cut everything up right there right so we beach the whale and we're fucking cutting it up and we always have a spotter right because there's fucking polar bears everywhere and they smell that shit from miles away and uh you know we were just going to town on this whale eating it while we're cutting it and fucking next thing you know a polar bear comes over over the hill and it's like you know 20 yards away and oh we were just like what the fuck and of course you know i grab a gun my buddy grabs a gun and we're fucking firing away but the fucking

thing ran away thank god because you know that's life or death that's that's the name of the game out on the land you know you you either you're either hunted or you're you're the hunter they move pretty quick too don't they pull a beers oh fucking they're they're sneaky yeah like you and and you know in that moment like there's a lot of fucking your mind starts racing you start flustering so you gotta you learn to become very censored and and calm and collected when you're out on the land because shit can happen just like that and that's that's when you get in a lot of trouble so i'm curious you just retired last week i think back um when i retired i i called my father and just all these thoughts started going through my head i remember tearing up i didn't know if it was

hard for you if you had a range of emotions that day if you just had a bunch of memories come flashing back how was that when you decided uh the to shut it down, hang them up? I mean, you know, like I said before, I get to walk away from this game at peace and kind of on my terms. And, you know, I've fulfilled a lot more dreams than I ever could have imagined growing up as a kid and having the opportunity to play in the National Hockey League. You know, it just, it came, it kind of came to me slowly. You know, there wasn't, it wasn't like one day I woke up and I'm like, okay, I'm going to call it.

It just kind of evolved and you know everything played out great you know my family you know they're just very grateful that I they got to watch me play on tv and you know being way up north like the traveling for them was tough for them to get down. But at the end of the day, you know, I just enjoyed the moment. And like you said, like a lot of great memories just started flooding back to my brain. And yeah, it's been a hectic week, but, you know, a great week. Jordan, we don't want to take any more of your time. I mean, I'm extremely happy for you in the fact that, you know, after everything that went down, you were able to basically have

another career after that, spent quite a bit more time at the National Hockey League level, and at least, you know, you could absorb that, especially being sober. And, I i mean now you're on to bigger and better things i know you have a lot more on your plate and a lot more to look forward to um you know regarding all the issues that you want to help out with in canada but uh buddy we we thank you uh congratulations on an amazing career over 700 games played for a guy who didn't even know what the fuck the NHL was when he was playing in Brandon, Manitoba. That's a,

that's a pretty good accomplishment, my friend. Thank you guys. I really appreciate you guys having me and give me a buzz anytime, boys. I'm good to go now that I have a lot of free time. Oh no, you're,

you're actually a new, a new cohost. Yeah. You're coming back on. Don't, don't worry. Pass the swearing test. You swore co-host. Yeah, you're coming back on. Don't worry. You passed the swearing test. You swore enough to hope this would work.

Actually, Toots, we got to get you and Uppy. That'll be a big-time one. You guys on together. Oh, buddy, we got – yeah. Actually, you know what? That brings up one last story. He actually just texted me and asked me to ask you to talk about the Speedos and the wrestling masks.

Really? He wants me to talk about that? Yeah. Why don't we talk about that together when we're on? Yes, yes. That's what I like. We got fucking – buddy, we can write a whole all right we got a cliffhanger then that's a cliffhanger for the you're excited to hear that one but uh

cliffhanger toots thanks buddy thanks a lot bud okay guys hey congrats for having me thanks so much congrats on the retirement and on the sobriety my friend that interview was also brought to you by black buffalo if you dip and you're not using Black Buffalo, it's time to make the switch. I love dipping, but I hate all the garbage that comes with it. Black Buffalo is the only tobacco-free alternative with nicotine that delivers the same experience as traditional dip, but without all that garbage. I use it, Carabash uses it, Fight uses it, Big Cat, the whole crew at Barstool likes it because, again, it gives us the nicotine without all the junk that tobacco gives you. They're live in Canada too now, so all our Canadian listeners, get on board, eh?

Our neighbors up to the north, if you want to keep the ritual and ditch the tobacco, you got to go to Black Buffalo. It's that simple. And first-time buyers get 30% off the first quarter. Use the promo code DIP30 at blackbuffalo.com. Again, first-time users get 30% off their first order with the promo code DIP30 at blackbuffalo.com. Again, first-time users get 30% off their first order with the promo code DIP30 at blackbuffalo.com. Wow, that was a pretty special interview. We want to thank Toots again for coming on.

I mean, that guy, like I said before, I mean, it's just savage. You think of him, that's a savage. So the career he had and what he's been through biz saw you even get a little emotional there that's pretty special and some powerful stuff and congrats to him on a hell of a career and we thank him very much for coming on once how many uh how many fights do you think he had career on and off the ice no joke he has to be over a thousand off ice fights, I would say realistically with on-ice and off-ice, 500, which that's insane.

No, but think about from age 9 to 13 living up there. I mean, you're getting one a day. I'll concede 1,000. I'll concede 1,000. You're like, oh, you broke my nose too. All right, you win. I have seven broken noses this year. You have three, but I have a broken knuckle, and then you broke my toe.

So, yeah, I got more broken bones than you do. Speaking of hurting themselves, Austin Matthews hurt his shoulder. Apparently not the same shoulder as last year, but very unfortunate considering the start he had. Quick thoughts, guys. Well, I immediately think that it's a little different this year because they can withstand his injury a little better because of Tavares. Now, granted, Nylander's gone,

but Tavares being there kind of helps them to be able to get through. And say he ends up missing five, six games, I don't exactly know what they're saying kind of day to day, I think. But they can withstand losing him for a little bit of time, obviously not for a big chunk of the year, but it still sucks. I am glad it isn't the same shoulder because that ended up being an issue last year. So you, you know, all of a sudden you're battling that again, two years in a row,

you start to panic. So hopefully he's back quick because that leaves teams fun to watch when he's buzzing. Yeah, man, you hate to see a guy of his caliber miss any games. All we can do is hope that he doesn't have to go on long-term injured reserve or even injured reserve. He's going to miss a minimum of one game. I guess they're going to reevaluate it.

But at least, I guess, considering some of the hits we've seen, I guess we can be happy it was a clean hit. It was a good, hard hockey hit with an unfortunate result. No head shots, nothing dirty. Just one of those things, man. You just hope that this doesn't become an annual thing with Matthews because you want him in 82 games a year, man. You know what, boys? I don't think he's going to miss

any games. You know why? I might ship him out some herbal active real quick for the game tomorrow. I think he's going to rub some of the balm they have. People ask him, what's herbal active? What's herbal active? I've been talking about it for two three months now

it's a hemp-based cbd product that's uh the bomb is unbelievable for muscles and joints if you have muscle or joint pain i've been getting crazy comments that's actually the stuff that you use on your elbow correct whitney your golfer's elbow it's basically rich man's disease yeah and my and my uh and my my hips. I got some old man hips. And your ankles. What? And your ankles. Yeah, my ankles.

I soak them in this stuff, my ankles. I put the balm in a big... I get tons of balm, and I put the balm in this huge fucking big-ass bowl, and then I stick my feet in the balm bowl, and the next morning, my feet don't hurt, and my ankles are getting stronger. Well, I shouldn't say that say that's maybe a little bit of a lie but my ankles are feeling better herbal active u-r-b-a-l-a-c-t-i-v.com herbal active biz 20 promo code that's a b-i-z-2-0 for you months for you dummies that can't spell biz 20. That's going to be 20% off for you.

So you're welcome. Christmas came early, little black Friday, dad joke, a herbal active, 100% hemp based CBD. It's unreal. They have the drops,

the hemp drops. I started with the level two. Those are great. They help out with mental clarity. They help out with my anxiousness. They help out with my little bit of my anxiety when trying to crack dad jokes on the podcast. But back to the Herbal Active, U-R-B-A-L-A-C-T-I-V.

Try it out. Biz 20, 20% off. And Austin Matthews, I'll be shipping some overnight, and you'll be back in the lineup in no time. Oh, God, yeah. Nice. Good stuff. And last thing before we set it off to the the gambling thing

i need help from our listeners uh we have a little segment five series segment of called well we're going to call it forge a fan basically where we take non-hockey fans people who've never been to an nhl game and we bring them and give them an unbelievable hockey experience and try to forge the fan but uh i don't think that's the best name we could think of it's called forge a fan right now they the forge a fan to me it's it's uh ringy it's catchy it rhymes uh first time long time is one of the other names they thought of i thought forge a fan was better so if you could send me tweets with what you think we should name this segment. And the first one we're recording is actually going to be with Jalen Ramsey,

the guy who was chirping hockey, who said he could make the NHL in six months. So I'm actually flying to Nashville and we're going to bring him to his first ever NHL game. We're going to, we're going to show them the experience and get him close to the action so he can, in fact, become a fan and maybe respect the game a little bit considering he thinks he can make the fucking show in six months. And he's been getting roasted every time I turn around watching the Jaguars. Ooh.

Yeah, not good. Maybe roller hockey is his thing considering everyone's putting on rollerblades. Zing! Yeah, not good. Maybe roller hockey is his thing, considering everyone's putting on rollerblades. So help with that name and make it catchy. Don't send me stupid names like NHL first timer or something. Okay? That's RA's old AOL screen name. Touchmehere.com. Let's go to your gambling segment,

and there's some big gambling news in the NHL. This week's R.A.'s Gambling Corner is brought to you by The Ridge. It's a perfect segue right here, guys. An ad for a wallet with The Gambling Corner, because you're going to need it after you get my winners. Everybody, you probably got an old-school wallet. You probably got a Social Security card, hotel keys, all that garbage. You get rid of it, man.

You want to get the Ridge. It's the best new wallet in the game. Get rid of that old clunky thing, especially when you're going to get my winners. You're going to need someone to put that dough. The Ridge is a nice, sleek wallet. It's got two metal plates bound together by a durable elastic band. It looks nothing like a traditional wallet that your great-grandfather used. Titanium, carbon fiber, and aluminum options ensure that there's an option for everyone

i i got tons of these already man i went so much money with the gamble corner i go through so many wallets and you're going to be doing the same thing as well with the ridge get 10 off today with free worldwide shipping by going to ridge wallet.com slash sc again that's ridge wallet.com slash sc yeah we got a lot more to talk about than my picks. We'll get to those shortly. The NHL, they're having a press conference tomorrow. They're basically going to be getting in bed with gambling. A friend of the program, Chris Johnston, big reporter up in Canada,

he's been all over the story. He said that, quote, strategic partnerships with the gambling industry. That's how he described it on Hockey Night in Canada the other night, and that the NHL is going to be all in. Basically, I think we got a peek at it. I don't know if you caught the other story. It was Thursday last week. The New Jersey Devils, they signed a deal with William Hill US. Just to get you up to speed, William Hill is a well-known,

well-regarded British shop, British bookmaker. They've been around since 1934. They're publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. So there's a lot of legitimacy to them. So the Devils got in bed with them because, in case you don't know or forgot, New Jersey did legalize gambling. You can bet on sports. This is what's going to happen in New Jersey. And I think it's probably going to have a ripple effect with other teams. It's going to have a sports book in the Rock, the Prudential Center where they play. It's going to be the William Hill Sports Lounge. It's going to be in the arena. It's going to be

dozens of TVs with games from all over the world, all over the planet. Soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey. And they're going to have betting windows there. So basically, when you go to a Devils game, there's going to be a sports book at the fucking Devils game once this all goes through. Obviously, like I said, tomorrow the NHL is having

their press conference. Basically, they haven't announced if it's going to be the same thing, but you've got to kind of put two and two together here. There's been speculation. I'm just going to read what's his name, Elliot Friedman. They think that they want to talk about if they're going to sell the stats. I mean, it sounds like people can be able to bet on something as simple as like time of ice and how many shots a guy has on net, stuff like that.

This has the potential to be real good. So I'll be like, I'll take under three minutes of ice and how many shots a guy has on net, stuff like that. This has the potential to be real good. So I'll be like, I'll take under three minutes of ice for Biz and half a minute in penalties for Whitney and a billion-dollar parlay, please. That might be the funniest fucking thing you've ever said on here. Hey, did you have that written down? I might have. Oh, unbelievable. Bravo. I like that shit.

Imagine, like, I'm working a game for NHL Network. I'm just picturing this. And, like, we're coming back from commercial break or the show's starting. They're like, where's Witt? And then all of a sudden you turn around and I'm just going through all these bettances those people have dropped that are losers

because I can't find mine. They're like, holy fuck, you lost this ticket again. Witt, we're going on it. I'm like, fuck, this was a winner. And I'm just rippling through these. It's like being at the track in Saratoga just looking at a losing ticket. Yeah, you painted a nice picture. So, guys, does this mean we can make Biz a gambler now?

Because, Biz, you've always said you can't gamble because you work for an NHL team. Not a big deal. So does that. I don't think people affiliated with the team can gamble, I mean, especially not in the arena. Like, I know inside information. I think that would be totally against the rules. And, boys, I'm done gambling.

I won a bet last week, and I'm done. I picked KC over whoever they played. They smoked him. Oh, yeah, I put him in. I Venmo you, right? Yeah, you Venmo me the $100. I'm a winner. I'm walking away, right? Yeah, you Venmo me the $100. I'm a winner. I'm walking away a winner this year, so kiss my ass.

All right. You got any picks coming up? Yeah, I'm going to give you those. There was just one other gimmick, I guess we can call it. Talk about sponsorship. I thought Biz might have been on this one. They're going to have it when the Devils have their first line change of each period, it's going to be sponsored as the William Hill line change,

like a little double meaning there, a line change in a game, line change on the be sponsored as the William Hill line change. A little double meaning there. A line change in a game, line change on the players and the ice. Someone got paid the big bucks for that one. They're going to have odds posted on the scoreboard during the game. This is revolutionary. Gambling and sports were like oil and water for so long

because they thought it was going to be corruption. The sports leagues have done a total 180. Just picture walking and seeing on the jumbotron fucking sports odds. That's something we never thought 15 years going to be corruption. But the sports leagues have done a total 180. And just picture walking in and seeing on the jumble trying fucking sports odds. That's something we never thought 15 years ago we would see. Go ahead, Biz. And hockey's by far and above the least gambled professional sport. Only 2%.

Only 2% of the bets is hockey. So that's a big game changer. And, hey, that means more eyes on the sport if people start gambling more on it and that just means more revenue for everyone involved and that means me having to start like another podcast and downgrade my house this is a disaster at least before when it was illegal i'd try to hide it yeah boy so it's an exciting time man it's just this is the whole new territory like you know the sports leagues bed with gambling. Didn't think I'd ever see it. Speaking of in bed with gambling,

that's basically my existence. Last time out, I think I went 3-1. One of the winners was actually W Money, so it was almost like going 4-1. I will say that was the only fucking winning night I had that week, so I'm glad it was that night. I will tell everybody, tread lightly. I haven't been doing too well lately.

These are the two games I'm going to give you. With the warning, I'm not doing good lately. But I just want to let you know that. And it's with the goalies starting, correct? Absolutely. Always check your goalies. I want to remind you listeners, I know you don't listen to Rush. Which is tricky early in the season because early in the season,

teams tend to go to their backup more because they don't because goalies are just starting to get in game rhythm. They don't want to be playing them back-to-backs, which analytically they say always go with your backup goalie on back-to-backs. So there you go. There you go. All right. Excuse me. The first one.

Tampa Bay got blown out in the desert the other night. We just said a few minutes ago. I believe the final was 7-1. The Lightning, they're going to be back home Tuesday night with I believe the Devils in town. I don't care who they're playing. I like Tampa Bay on the money line that night. Make sure Vasilevsky's in net. I like him better than the backup

to Ming. The other one, I like believe it or not, Montreal. They're playing Dallas the same night, Tuesday night. If Carey Price is playing, he's kind of in the zone right now. I like the Habs on the money line. So, Tampa and Montreal, both Tuesday night, both the Moneyline. Make sure the starting goalies are going. That wraps up the corner this week.

Was that game in Montreal? I'm sorry, yeah. The game is in Montreal, yes. I'm interested to see that line. That's going to be a – because I think Radulov's out, or maybe he just missed one game. Either way, good picks right there. Hopefully, you get some winners.

I'm up big this week, and if the Sox pull this out, I'm just raking in the cash. Raking it in. Like instead of raking my yard, I'll just pay somebody to rake my yard with this cash because I'll be raking in the cash, biz. I don't gamble. I know what you're talking about. That wraps it up, boys. Great episode.

I know it ran a little bit long. Fans, we would appreciate your feedback on on sometimes we get the episodes do get long do you guys like the 115 range the 130 range or are you more the merrier type so your feedback is much appreciated uh ra great to see you not get suspended and turn it into a great cause a lot of people donated to the boys and girls club and we will be announcing that winner of that cooler. Help me out here, Grinnell. Monday.

We will announce it Monday. So right now. I was overwhelmed by the amount of people that threw in large donations to the Boys and Girls Club. So those people who donated, thank you very much. And, Grinnell, the ones who donated quite a bit of dough, even if they don't win the cooler with all the stuff inside of it uh the new amsterdam cooler shout out to our sponsor

uh we'll probably send them a little bit of merch correct yeah we'll do something special for them oh and should we talk about merch uh shipping to canada that's and wrap it up yeah boys we have a new canadian shipping policy Let's hear it. Let's hear it, buddy. Free shipping to Canada. Drum roll, please. Free shipping to Canada for $75 or more. And there will be a reduced price on shipping from the $20.

There will now be a reduced price on anything under $75. So load up with the boys. Do some team orders. There you go. Get everyone together and throw in some big spit and chiclets orders because we have a ton of more merch we're about to release, new colors, new everything. So it's big time to get some spit and chiclets merch.

Yeah, don't be bitching about having to spend $75 for free shipping to Canada. If you don't have a friend who listens to this, then you're not a fucking fan. A sweatshirt and two t-shirts. A sweatshirt and two t-shirts. A sweatshirt and two t-shirts. Perfect. Wrap it up. Great job today, boys. Subscribe, unsubscribe, review. Five stars. Thanks,

guys. And thanks to everybody who did donate to the Boys Club. My buddy who works there was overwhelmed. He was overwhelmed that so many people donated so much, and I want to thank you as well. Hey, are you a rock star at the Boys and Girls Club now? Definitely.

Now. Dude, you went and did a podcast when you left that day? You were cross-eyed. Start out to R82, the night the Red Sox try to win the World Series. He has a fucking New Jersey Devil t-shirt on and a Tampa Bay Devil Rays hat on. With that, I'm out.