Spittin Chiclets - Spittin' Chiclets Episode 27: Featuring Kevin Weekes

Episode Date: April 21, 2017

On this week's episode, retired NHL goalie and current NHL Network broadcaster Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) joins the boys to discuss playoff surprises, his 11 season NHL career, the job transition from crease to studio, and much more. The guys also break down Jack Eichel taking care of all family business in Buffalo, how a depleted D affects the O, the sublime Erik Karlsson, the emergence of Charlie McAvoy, and what's going on in the playoffs. Tune in, eh.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. This episode of Spittin' Chicklets is brought to you by BetDSI.com. The NHL playoffs are finally here. My favorite time of year to get some action. BetDSI.com is over 20 years of experience in the business. I use them for all my puck action, puck lines, over-unders, live action. It's got it all. If you like to play the NHL playoffs like myself, can't recommend it enough.

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Hello, everybody. Welcome to episode 27 of Spittin' Chicklets, brought to you by Barstool Sports. What up, what up? I got no voice. We're joined by Frankie Five Angels, Frankie Pantangeli over here from The Godfather 2, and our producer, Mikey Grinelli. Say what's up, Grinelli. What's up, boys?

I wish I had a better voice, and unfortunately, it's not from a band. Michael Coyle on this, Michael Coyle on that. I was not. Yeah, sure. I was not on a fun boys trip. I'm just sick. Fuck. You know what, Wits?

You're probably feeling a little bit better this morning than Terry Murray and Disco Dan Biles are up in Buffalo. Oh, my God. Does Eichel have some power in Buffalo? To keep with the Godfather theme, he pretty much had his own christening in Buffalo this morning where he whacked fucking Barzini, Carlo, the Taglia, the whole fucking crew. No. Crazy stuff, dude. Basically, just to get you up to speed, on Wednesday morning, Buffalo Sabres team account tweeted out.

Thursday morning. Thursday morning. I'm fucking all over the road. Either way. It's 420, dude. I got an excuse. Either way. Either way.

Fucking Buffalo fired their coach, fired their GM, each of whom I believe have three years left on the deal. There was a report early in the day. Yesterday was Wednesday. There was a report in the day that Eichel said he didn't want Biles back. If they were going to bring him back, he wasn't going to sign an extension. If it was said, it got leaked. Of course, we got the requisite agent denials.

And then Eichel actually did, he went, did an interview, you know, with one of the stations or outlets up in Buffalo to deny everything, basically. And then the next day, everybody's gone. It's like, holy shit. I think, and obviously just pure hypothesis is that, you know, he probably did give Murray that, you know, some sort of thing like, you know, yeah, if B Biles is here I don't want to sign and somehow it got out and I think that fucking the fact that what a player said to a GM in an exit meeting I think Pagula probably got pissed off like in other words that should have been kept in house it sounds like what if Eichel did in fact say he didn't want to sign extension or something similar to that and it ends up getting to the press. That means like exit interview shit. That's the type of stuff that shouldn't be getting leaked to the media.

Yeah, but you just don't know, and I don't know either. It could have been leaked by Eichel's camp. So you don't know if his agent is saying something. And this is like us. We're playing a guessing game. Totally. But where there's smoke, there's fire. And a report like that, well, unfortunately, it's just coming out of your nose.

Unfortunately, well, not unfortunately, but in a case like this, this wouldn't just appear. If Eichel was really happy playing for Bilesma, this report doesn't come out. So you've got to think for something to come out, and they came out and said, listen, and they kind of, what's the word, refuted it? Is that the word? Yeah, his agent said it's bullshit. Yeah.

He never said that. They come out, and if they did leak it, maybe that's a play when you say, oh, we didn't say that. Or maybe he changed his mind, like, I don't want to deal with this. But either way, right away, you know, all right, somebody knows something here. And this kid is so good. And I don't know if you guys saw his exit interviews, and this is kind of where it all started,

but he was very vocal to the point of calling guys out, not by name, but being a young leader, which you, I mean, as the GM, I'm sure Tim Murray loved it. You mean in his final press appearance? Yeah, just to clarify for the audience. Yeah, I was going to go into where he just said, there's a lot of guys in here who, and I'm kind of paraphrasing, I am

paraphrasing, but it's, don't want it, don't want it enough. Their effort isn't where it needs to be. They're too okay with losing. And it's just, to him, it was unacceptable. And I don't think this kid has ever been on a team where they weren't one of, if not the best team, one of the best teams. He grows up around Massachusetts.

He's playing with kids all around him. He's always been a complete stud. And he's on these great teams. Then he goes to the USA team. He dominates there. Then he goes to BU. He dominates there. Then he goes to BU. He dominates in college hockey as a young freshman, and the team goes to the national title game.

And so he gets to Buffalo and is like, what the fuck? Dysfunction city. There's guys here who do not give a shit. It's a player's league now. Like you said, when Julian got canned and Spooner and Vetrano came out and you were pumped that they came out and finally said something, it's a player's league now. Like you said, when Julian got canned and Spooner and Vetrano came out and you were pumped that they came out and finally said something, it's a player's league now. They make the calls.

Yeah. In a way, it is true. So Eichel came out, and that was all about guys on the team and certain guys on the team that he felt. And you know what? Look at McDavid, who is the captain. I think Eichel will be the captain next year in Buffalo. This is what they should be doing.

It's a different game, and it didn't happen years ago. But these are the best players. These are the franchises. So good. He's coming out, and there's people there he doesn't want. Shouldn't be there, and they probably won't be there. But Biles was never mentioned in any of that. But in your mind, you've got to think that he's talking about these players

and also thinking, well, where the fuck's the coach to realize that these guys are fine with losing and there's too much mediocrity in this locker room? And I don't think – and now I'm thinking as I call – I don't think Bilesmo did a good enough job to maybe sit one of these bad apples down. And, I mean, God, I've been in a spot where I was probably the guy that people were disappointed in. In the end of my career in Edmonton, you look back, you're like, what were you doing? But until you have a coach tell you you're being a fucking punk, you don't change anything. So maybe Michael thought that in a way he didn't get enough out of Bosma in terms of making this team really kind of hate to lose and be a better club. Yeah. And, you know, he definitely looks around, sees, you know, Matthews across the lake. They're already in the playoffs, Toronto. You know, Edmonton, McDavid's got those guys in a series at San Jose.

Now, his actions here, you know, like, I mean, he even said in his interview yesterday, I forget which outlet it was up in Buffalo, you know, perhaps his actions in his final interviews with the media, his final media appearance, you know, his body language wasn't so great there. I mean, I read one column up there that kind of described him as petulant. Now, is this kid, is this what he's doing now? Maybe he's just like hungover or something. No, I know. Do you think what he's doing now is kind of sort of in a place of leadership

where he's kind of saying, I don't want to stand for this. I want us to be better. Or is it like a millennial hockey player airing gripes in places he maybe shouldn't? I'm not saying, I'm asking your opinion. No, no, no, I know exactly what you're saying. I just think more than, we can't answer it, but from what I know, and I've met Jack a couple times, skated with him, so I'm biased, but he's a good guy.

Yeah. And he's not one of those was handed everything punk fucking millennials that you talk about, but he's a kid who really works. And I think it was more him being like, listen, I want us to be great. I have the drive to be great. This kid trains like an animal. He's a winner. He's a machine.

He has that savage. Yeah, and he played this season. He was just under a point of game coming off a sprained ankle, which I've had three of them. You sprain an ankle, literally, at the beginning of usually your whole year, shit, because you come back and you keep tweaking it. And he did a little bit, and then he still kept dominating as he got healthier and healthier.

So he's ready to take the next step, and I don't think it's him bitching. I think it's him wanting the rest of the team and to have guys who want to take that next step also but jeez what fucking clout though for I mean 19 was he 20 year old kid the Wikipedia of the Sabres was like owner Eichel president Eichel GM Eichel

coach Eichel it is easy I mean to Terry Pagula Pagula however you say it the owner I mean he's worth billions of dollars so you know having to pay I respect it yeah no exactly I mean he's got worth billions of dollars. So, you know, having to pay. I respect it. Yeah, no, exactly. I mean, he's got to pay those guys. I'm sure they'll probably get other jobs.

But if they don't, you know, he's got to pay it. It's probably a drop in the bucket for a guy who's literally worth billions of dollars. He's quick to the trigger, though. He's very quick. And it's just like, wow, man. Like, I don't know. He must not have liked what he. He obviously didn't like what he saw from Terry Terry Marty regardless of what Bilesman was doing because you have to think that it that Lee if it was in fact a leak from Buffalo about what Eichel said about not wanting

to re-sign here you have to you know well now you don't have to think I think that Pagoua just said wait a minute like how the fuck is this in making the media? Yeah, I understand that. I mean, I know Eichel's agent could have leaked that, but it wouldn't really strategically, I don't think, make sense to. Well, maybe though. Well, for him to say, you know. I think if the agent gets that out there, and I mean, think about it. Right. If the agent did get it out there, and Pagoula saw it and gassed him fucking rights at work.

Right. Exactly. That's like Game of Thrones style. If he agent did get it out there and Pagoula saw it and gassed him, fucking rights it worked. Exactly. That's like Game of Thrones style if you want to cut it that way. Shame. Shame. But, you know, of course, we don't know what the fuck goes on behind closed doors factor at any organization, any team. So there's always that stuff.

But, man, it's like Pagoula, it's like I don't like what I've seen this shit show the last couple of days. My stop play is not happy. There's supposedly leaks coming from fucking exit meetings. And that just seems like a no-no to me. I mean, these are player GM meetings, player coach meetings. And, yeah, maybe a couple months down the line you might hear it. But, you know, to have that kind of detailed drop, you know, you've got to think it pissed Pagoula off

a lot, and he probably don't trust Murray enough that he's willing to fucking cut bait. Go ahead, Grinnell. Do you think Eichel signs the extension this summer now? Yeah, I think so. He came out and said, listen, I want to be in Buffalo. I want to be a Sabre. I think he's made that clear. I think, and we don't know if he said it or not, but

he made it clear in college when he was chugging beers saying, Buffalo, I'm coming for you. And he's coming. He's taking over and he's their stud. And it's funny because, yeah, this didn't used to. No, you know what? I'll reword that.

People don't think this used to happen. But Eric Lin just cut you off and said, I'm not fucking playing for the Quebec Nordiques. So it's always in a sense, if you're a young superstar and if McDavid said, listen, I can't have Todd McClellan coaching this team anymore, Todd's gonzo. So that's what happens. If you're good enough, you pick.

Now moving forward, even if Eichel never even said any of this, this is going to follow him and he's going to have to produce and play well. Or else all of a sudden you get the questions of, this guy's making all these decisions. Coach killer. Coach killer, whatever.

But I think he will. I think next year he makes the step to 80 points if he's healthy, and I don't even think this is ever an issue again. But we should move on to the playoffs, but it was a very interesting thing to happen to a young superstar, and you see all the news everywhere this morning, and to be honest, I mean, you look at Buffalo, and they do need a change because it's been a couple of years

of just shit hockey, and the fans are sick of it too. So good for them, and I think they will make a big step forward. I just wonder who they end up hiring. Yeah, just to go back, I wasn't calling him a coach killer or a GM killer. I was just throwing out names. If I could call him that, I would. I don't want to have any fucking misquotes. Yeah, we'll go into the Bobby Ryan things you said.

Absolutely. Bingo. Bingo. So, yeah. Anyways, Jack Eichel kind of dragged his nuts across fucking the Buffalo's front office. And there's been basically a coup d'etat. Lindy Ruff, wonder if they'll bring him back. Of course, we always pick former players.

But he's actually not a bad coach. I think he's a possibility. Whatever. We could discuss that later. The playoffs,'s a possibility. Whatever. We could discuss that later. The playoffs, baby. Wow. Fucking. We got one.

I need to hear your number one surprise so far. We're going to talk to Kevin Weeks later. Yeah. We got Kevin Weeks, former NHL goaltender, coming up a little bit. Just real quick. We had handshakes already. You've called it Anaheim. Dummied fucking Calgary.

A couple of close games, but they swept them 4-0. See you later, Flames. Hey, Anaheim. Dummied fucking Calgary. A couple of close games, but they swept them 4-0. See you later, Flames. Hey, Anaheim. They've been extinguished. They've been done. Oh, I get you. I get you. A couple other series that are tied, and a couple are 3-1.

Biggest surprise right now, I know I got a lot of grief from the sensitive Blackhawk fans. You think they didn't fucking win three cups in the last seven years. That's the biggest surprise to me. I know I did pick the Predators to win that series. I know, and I thought everyone who's picking them, I was like, well, Pecorino could be great, but he's had an inconsistent year, and sure as shit

you called it. I mean, I'm shocked that Chicago has started this way, and losing games at home, the first game they got shut out was just, you don't see that out of the Blackhawks, especially with a team that seemed like it was poised. But it goes back to that thinking, and the same with Minnesota being down. When you finish the year and you're not playing well, and Chicago is struggling a little bit. They lost that game to Boston that Boston needed to win, but they didn't need to win games.

Sometimes you get in that first round and you're just not ready to get going and to play off hockey. And I think that that could be an example of Chicago and Nashville in the start. And I think – I bet on St. Louis. I mean, granted, that series is not over, but I don't know. Minnesota has not been good for so long, and St. Louis has gotten this amazing goaltending by Jake the Snake Allen. He's dominated.

But still, Minnesota was like minus 180. I'm like, how are they that big of favorites against St. Louis? St. Louis is solid. Yeah, yeah. I mean, they lost a couple guys last year, but Brian Elliott being one of them. But fucking Jake Allen's been way more up to the task. If it ends up being St. Louis-Nashville,

I think St. Louis will be Nashville too. You do, huh? I do. They're really good. They're deep and they're sneaky good. And when Allen plays like this, you never know. But I'm looking at, as a surprise to me, is just like how good Anaheim looked.

I liked them a lot. I kind of was like them in Chicago in terms of coming out of the West, but they really like even went above and beyond what I thought they'd be. And there were some close games against Calgary, but Getzlaff right now is on one of those tears that he's one of these guys that you don't know a lot about. I mean, diehard hockey fans do from the Olympics. Sopranos fans know him. He owned Vesuvius. That is a great – I remember you made lot about. I mean, diehard hockey fans do from the Olympics. Sopranos fans know him.

He owned Vesuvia. That is a great... I remember you made that call, I think, before we were with Barstool. If he's listening, Getzey, I'm ball to him. I'm team ball. He finally went to the wood, though. He finally just shaved off

instead of holding on to the sides there. But when I was with Anaheim, the one year I was there, we went to the playoffs as the eighth seed. We beat San Jose. We knocked off the one seed in the first round. Then we went to game seven, lost game seven in Detroit. And then Detroit ended up losing to Pittsburgh.

So we had a good team that ended up going to game seven of the second round. Getzlaff and those, we beat San Jose in six and then we played seven against Detroit. So 13 games. I think Getzlaff had close to 20 points, maybe 21 points. He played 28 minutes a game. So in a sense, it was like even if we'd beaten Detroit,

the third round was against Chicago, and we would have lost because Getzlaff was going to be so exhausted. But that guy, when he gets going like he's playing right now, is one of, if not the best player in the league, right there with anyone else. He certainly is. Grinnell, what's your surprise so far? I mean, Toronto. It's crazy. I mean, Toronto. Yep. It's crazy.

I mean, Toronto. The R.A. said. I'm not goofing around, Grinnell. I mean, I'm not surprised at all. R.A. said, don't be surprised to see a 2-2. I thought you were full shit. I thought maybe 3-1 if it's not over. Is that what you were with me, right?

Yeah, I mean, I thought Washington would give him a clean sweep. I mean, I think experience is something that matters so much in the playoffs. And it's like proving not to. But I don't, in the whole month, like teams that show, I felt like Washington's just way too good to choke. I know, but it's not even a choke at this point. It's Toronto playing so well. They're so fast.

And Ari, you've said this, or you brought it up like does experience now like i'm sorry does the lack of experience for these young guys almost not matter in a way it used to because they're just going out there and playing i mean in a sense you just see these guys that just they don't it's like they don't even realize how big the moment is right because they're young enough and they're having they're having a blast. You can just tell. Like, Matthews and Marner and Neal, they're having a blast right now out there. Right.

I mean, obviously, they're cognizant it's the NHL playoffs. This is what they've worked their asses off their whole lives for. But it's almost like they don't even feel the pressure because they were such a big underdog and, you know, everybody has fucking Washington rubber stamped to the cup,

which is hilarious, given, you know, the history. And those kids up in Toronto have been under the spotlight all year. All year the spotlight's on them. Up there it's fucking every day like 40 reporters in the room. And they've been playing good all year. That's someone I've, you know, 9 million Twitter followers, people I follow on Twitter, but someone said, you know,

like this is how they've been playing since November. Like nobody should really be surprised. I mean, they're doing what they've done. And even last night, 4-1, they're down. Three goal leads have been disappearing faster than friggin' beers in my fridge 20 years ago.

Teams just can't hold that lead. Last night Toronto, they didn't stop. They almost tied it up late to take a 3-1 series lead. I know. And the one game, I bet Calgary, they were up 4-1 in game three. Or was it game? No, it was game three, and they lost. I'm like, what is going on?

Used to be in the playoffs, you had a three-goal lead. The game's over. Now it's like turn the channel, you go back. It's 4-4. Overs are locks, man. Unbelievable. Well, actually, no, I was at NHL Network the first three nights of the playoffs. The first nine games went under.

Yep. And it was the first time that the first nine playoff games had had five or less combined goals since 1955 or 1954. Locked. Which is crazy. So the over has not been a lock. It's been a Mikey Grinelli lock since game 10 of the playoffs has started. Yeah, and puck lines, puck line, when I say puck line for the record, too,

it's minus one and a half. I know some people out there, for whatever reason, like to bet the plus one and a half. I've never bet that because you've got to bet 300 to win 100. Insane. A fellow one of my followers last night tweeted said uh uh when on wednesday night i know i'm sorry the toronto washington game with the 5-4 washington one he said oh i got the late call from toronto to hit the hit my puck line and i'm like wait you you put fucking

300 to make 100 plus one and a half yeah i just from a you know gambling logical standpoint i get it there's a lot of close one-goal games. Some sites you can't bet. You always take one and a half, though. That's the problem with mine. That's the issue. It is. What it is, say, like last night, if you wanted to bet Toronto minus the one and a half,

that's where you need a site with the alternate puck line. Yeah. And it does get confusing, but generally speaking, when I say puck line, I'm always saying minus one and a half because I don't know why you would bet plus one and a half goals because you're basically betting for a team to lose by one goal. So if you like them to fucking lose by a goal, you'd probably like them to maybe win the game. Instead of laying 300 to make 100 to lose by one,

fucking put the 100 to make $1.60 or $1.80 the other way to win the game. I'll submit it to Urban Dictionary for you. Puck line means no matter what, minus one and a half. Fucking right, Urban Dictionary. You can't. Life's too short to be betting plus one and a half. Yeah, I just don't get it. Pigeon move.

Apparently, when we gave our prognostications with Kami, the disclaimer I left about saying these picks are just, you know, they're fun. We're making picks. If I didn't bet it, then it's not something you can give me shit for. But, man, everyone out there, they love to fucking drag you. Oh, how's that pick, Ari? I'm like, I didn't bet them, so I don't give a fuck how it ended up, you know? Yeah, people love chirping.

I mean, but I got to chirp myself. Oh, I love chirping, too. I think I'm one in seven in playoff games this year. I work for the NHL network. I'm one in seven. I can't this year. I work for the NHL Network. I'm 1-7. I can't even pick a winner in the fucking NHL playoffs. It's embarrassing. It's really driving me crazy.

On to baseball. I can't pick my fucking nose right now. Honestly, I don't know if I've hit a fucking bet yet. Another thing, too, speaking of the puck lines, terrible fucking. You can't hit a puck line to save your life. I think there have been four games where you can actually make money on the puck line because everything's so close because I'm the asshole who keeps fucking going along

with them. In terms of other surprises that I thought of that we have to get to, and Boston's in a bad spot, but McAvoy has been... That guy is going to be... He's like Drew Doughty. He reminds me of Drew Doughty. He's dominating when he's

out there. He's the fucking number... He's the best player on the Bruins right now, save maybe Rask. And he's fucking 19-year-old defenseman playing in what will be his fifth game Friday night. It's unbelievable, man. How about what he's seeing also? We'll get back to him, but

how about Carlson? Oh, God. Carlson what he's seeing also? We'll get back to him, but how about Carlson? Oh, God. Carlson is – I don't think I enjoy watching a player play more than him. He made that pass. Who was it to on the breakaway? Was it Zingle? He floated it over the entire ice like eight guys and landed it in an area the size of two hockey pucks that he could have landed in for this perfect Hail Mary pass from beneath his goal line.

Then the last game, he does this no-look pass to Bobby Ryan. He's by far and away been the best player, I think, in any series in the playoffs so far. He's been amazing. I'm a guy who, a couple years ago, I would knock him and he'd get the Vesna votes because I'm kind of... Not the Norris. The Norris. I'm fucking slow today.

Yeah, you are. The Norris trophy. Because I'm big on the, well, you got to play defense to win a defensive award. He's obviously gotten a lot better in that game. He is fucking unbelievable

to watch. Like I said, his skating, plus his bye guys, they're not even moving. He's the best player in that series offensively and defensively. Right're not even moving he's the best player in that series offensively

and defensively right I know he's the difference maker and when I wrote my preview I said you know put a body on him he was hurt coming down the stretch

because he had to sit out a few games I said even 50% Collison's better than most of the fucking defensemen in the league I know you can't hit what you can't catch

but have the Bruins hit him fucking twice too fast he's so I know and that's such a I can't even when you can't catch but have the Bruins hit him fucking twice this season he's so I know and that's such a I can't even imagine how many people

in the balcony at the garden have been like hit him fucking hit him shoot hold on pass me my alabia

pass me my alabia hit him but you can't the guy is so fast and so quick and deceptive that like you go

here's the problem as a winger the coach is saying with any offensive defenseman Brent Burns same way when the tank's healthy Duncan Keith they're like listen finish these guys when you can but you cannot let them beat you up the ice because if a four checker goes to hit

these elite puck moving defense and they can all skate like the wind all they do is a quick little move out of the way you hammer the glass like a clown, probably knock over somebody's beer, and then they're busting up ice. They got three steps on you, and that's what creates a four-on-three

or a four-on-two if the forward's had a three-on-two. So you want to go hit him, but you can't even risk him beating you up to ice. So you're so timid that you can tell he's so, not in the heads of the Bruins players, but just the fact that they're so aware of where he is that they're not even playing their own game. They're worried about him,

and then he's doing these amazing things anyways. The amount of odd man rushes he creates is absurd. As a defenseman. As a defenseman, it's absurd. I know. It's been incredible hockey by a player who probably, because of where he plays, isn't as well known as a lot of guys. I would say in America that Carlson's not known as much as he should have

or as often as he should have. How do you think he would do in a different system? I don't think it matters if he's playing for fucking Mike Keenan, Guy Boucher, Claude Julien. He's going to be dominating. And with guys like that, if there are clown coaches

out there who are like, you're not leading the four-track ever. A guy like that, you're just like, do whatever you want, buddy. Great game again. Great game again.

Keep it up. Keep it up. He's fucking, he is phenomenal to watch. And like you mentioned before charlie mcafoy i mean i didn't read the column the column or the article in the globe today but they have them both their names in the same headline like mcafoy has pot of collison's game i mean it's like they gotta slow it down a little yeah exactly like you know i i got a i got a little you know

fucking coho in my pants over what i've seen out of McAvoy early, no doubt. I sure would. Yeah, I sure would. But, you know, like putting that kind of headline out there. Again, I haven't read the story, and headlines can tend to be clickbaity, but it's like, all right, let's wait a little bit before we start making those kind of comparisons. And that's not a knock on McAvoy. It's so fucking – it's an acknowledgement of how good Carlson is. As far as, like, circling back to the Bs, we haven't talked about them much lately, but they're on the brink of elimination.

No, we really haven't, but they're on the brink of elimination. They lost half their D in the playoffs. They're playing with journeymen and guys who are probably better suited for the AHL, perhaps. Now, me and Ryan talked a little before the show. Now, when you have an inferior inferior d adding three guys like that you know the bruins aren't scoring how if it even does happen ryan how does an inferior d like when you have to put three new guys in who aren't as good that's going to obviously tax the d now does that in turn tax the offense and is that why the bruins aren't scoring because the forwards have to do a little

bit more work to help the D and it's somehow attacking. It seems to be like a connection A to B, but I'm not sure how to make it. Maybe you can elaborate for us. No, no. I think – so I completely understand. You're basically saying that when you lose three defensemen, you know, Krug, Carlo, McQuaid, and you throw these guys in, like does it just affect the D or does it affect forwards, right?

And it really is a five-man unit so you can never say like oh the forwards I mean they shouldn't be affected by the missing D because what happens is you get a guy like Krug especially he comes to mind immediately because and this is this is nothing against like you know Tommy Cross a solid player and he's got his first NHL playoff game, but he's not going to see a play wheeling the net or see a center through a seam like Torrey Krug can. So you look to all these forwards who, yeah, I mean, once they get in the offensive zone, you can say, well, then they're on their own then, but they're not

because you look back to the point, you can ask any good player. If you wheel out of the corner and you look back to the point, you can ask any good player. If you wheel out of the corner and you look back to the point and you see Eric Carlson or you see John Carlson on Washington or Shattenkirk or a million great defensemen, or you look and see Roman Polak, you're making different decisions. You see a guy up top and you get a puck through, you're going to snap it back to him. That creates a five-man unit in the offensive zone.

And the same defensively where a guy like Marchand or Bergeron or Pasternak is used to maybe cutting through a seam hard and knowing that Krug's going to make that 30-foot stretch pass tape to tape and they're gone. And that gives him a three-on-two or that creates a four-on-three with the other defenseman hopping in.

And now with certainty out, you don't have that aspect of your game because you got more chipping it off the wall, and then you've got more issues in terms of guys coming back and really kind of figuring out, all right, where's this defenseman going with this puck? Right. So it's not something you can just point to, okay, this happens here.

But like I said, it's a five-man unit, and when you've got guys who simply aren't as good as the guys who are there and haven't played the system, you know, it has an effect. But, yeah, the bottom line is that that fucking team has to score goals if they've got to move on. As a Bees fan, not looking so good. As a gambler, 50-1 on Ottawa is a nice little consolation prize. Do you right now?

Yeah. I think it's actually – I have Ottawa and Toronto. One of them is 50-1. The other is 40-1. I have to pull them up to see which one. I'm pulling for those two squads if the Bruins should get eliminated. In terms of, I know we've been watching. There's been some great playoff hockey.

Oh, yeah. I think, if anything, you've seen some injuries. You know what I'm saying? You don't want to see it, but it's always going to be a part of the game. Speaking of Roman Polak, dude, his might have been the worst of the playoffs so far. Yeah, that was not good at all. But what I'm thinking is that the better off in terms of health guys will be is the more Warrior equipment they need.

I'm telling you right now, Warrior has this all-new alpha protective gear. They got shin pads, shoulder pads, elbow pads. They're lighter than they've ever made them before. They're just as protective. They move with the players. They move with their body. It feels like you have nothing on. Warrior sent us everything.

I've been checking it all out, skating, and it just feels incredible. So I think that if anything, these guys want to get more of that stuff on. Dude, my mic work is unbelievable control right now. I'm wearing a Warrior glove on. Honestly,

I think I'd be doing even worse if I didn't have my Warrior gloves on because I'm having a rough day. You guys know how I feel about Warrior hockey. Oh, Grinnelli. Protection kits for $100 for kids all the way up to $400 for a top-end NHL-level product for like Grinnelli over here who fancies himself an NHL-level guy. Exactly.

And I think if anything, you want to see your local Warrior dealer. And I'm telling you, if you're a men's league player or you're a young kid that's a great player, tell your parents to get you warrior stuff. It's really good. It's really light. And I promise you'll enjoy it.

And in terms of wearing what NHL guys wear, the official supplier of the NHL and warrior is a company that is just not only great now, but just getting better and better. Well, you know what? Now we're lucky enough. We're going to bring in Kevin Weeks, that is just not only great now, but just getting better and better. Well, you know what? Now we're lucky enough. We're going to bring in Kevin Weeks, who is just a great guy. And I think he'll show you what he knows about NHL and about his career and how he went through everything.

And now we are very happy to bring in former NHL goalie and currently the top analyst on NHL Network, the star of the show there kevin weeks weeks he thank you so much for joining us buddy anytime with what's going on man what's happening in bean town talk to me dude bean town is a scary place right now with the bruins down 3-1 rear admiral's over here choking himself out it's getting a little scary but we more wanted to talk to you first off what's your biggest surprise so far in the nhl playoffs first round well i would say the way teams have played on the road for sure I mean the way that teams have played on the road has been pretty surprising especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs everybody we all know about the value of home ice in the playoffs especially given how young the league is with all the young players you'd figure that home ice would matter more so the road teams have

done a really good job I mean the Toronto Maple Leafs being in 2-2 now with the caps they could have very well beat the caps the first game was ot i would say yesterday even though they made it close they were off their game so to speak but they could be up 3-1 right now but the fact that it's 2-2 uh as for such a young team an inexperienced team, up against the NHL's best regular season team for the last two years that have won the President's Trophy. That's pretty incredible, man. I don't think anybody saw that coming. But as you know, those young players on Toronto are stars

and soon to be superstars already, led by Austin Matthews, of course, and Mitch Marner, Willie Nylander, Michael Nylander's son, Connor Brown. I mean, you can go up and down. Kadri's had an amazing year. JVR's played well. And having Freddie Anderson in the net has really helped just stabilize that team. So if I had to pick one team from a series that's been the most surprising, I'd have to say the Leafs being tied up with the Caps 2-2 so far.

Kev, do you think that the youth is actually a benefit for them? It's almost like they're almost oblivious to the fact that what the pressure is, a playoff team in Toronto, that they're just going out and playing hockey. It's almost like their youth is a benefit where normally it's kind of a hindrance. Do you think any credence to that? Yeah, I definitely give some credence to that. I've had a chance to be around those young guys on that team several times. And first of all, they know that they're good.

So they believe in their skill set and their talent and then those guys work really hard like those guys are usually the last guys off the ice it's usually any of the four between marner brown matthews nylander i mean those guys are usually the last ones off the ice every single day and putting in extra time i know i've seen them a couple pre-game skates here in jersey where i'm i'm telling you like 45 minutes after practice was done those guys were still out there working on things and no coaches were even out there at that point so i'm not surprised from that standpoint but being young being inexperienced and just being a little bit oblivious as you said that certainly helps and the fact that you know that you've delivered i mean all those guys have

delivered before. Willie Nylander was a point-of-game guy in the AHL for half the season at 18. He led the AHL in scoring last year until he got hurt at the World Junior. He played against men. His dad, Mike, I played with him in New York. Willie Nylander grew up in the NHL.

Mitch Marner was, you know, CHL Player of the Year last year for London in the OHL. They won the Memorial Cup last year. Him and his top line mates, it was him, Christian Dvorak for the Coyotes, and Matthew Kachuk for last year for London in the OHL. They won the Memorial Cup last year. Him and his top line mates. It was him, Christian Dvorak for the Coyotes, and Matthew Kachuk for the Flames. That was their line. And then Austin Matthews has just been shredding it up ever since he was like 14. I remember Donor, Shane Doan, telling me about him.

He started skating with those guys in and around 15, 16 years old in the summer. And Donor was raving about him then. And, you know, not to mention everything he's done for the U.s program world juniors men's world championships world champ i mean world cup of hockey this past september and playing in switzerland last year like what 18 year old 17 year old says hey i'm gonna go and play in the swiss elite league and i'm gonna shred it up before in my draft year and he was able to do that so all those guys are really special in their own way so yeah man they they believe in themselves they've had success at every level and they put in the time and the work to complement their skills yeah and we see it's funny because i think

back when when you were playing and i was playing uh you were longer than i did before me but it then it used to be like the bus is at 11 30 let. Let's fucking go, young kids. Let's go. And now you're like, take all the time you need, boys. You're our entire team. Do what you need to do. Get some massages. It's so true. Right? It's so true.

I used to be like, pick up the bucks and get on the fucking bus, witch. And then don't even think about being first in line at the buffet. And now Matthews is probably getting carried to the front of the buffet. Oh, totally, man. I used to see Brian, and I would literally see him walking. I would turn the other way and duck into the trainer's room, duck into the weight room, start cranking out sets, get on a bike. I would hide as best as I could.

At the time, there were two brothers on the team. Peter Worrell, now he looks like Shaq, but Big Pete. I would hide as best as I could. There's no, at the time, there are two brothers on the team. Peter, we're all not. Now he looks like Shaq, but big Pete is such a big man, but at least tell them I still, I would be every time I saw Brian Murray. And now,

yeah. And you're right. And same thing. You get on the bus, head down, last guy on the bus, no eye contact. You're an old school, like old school communist Russia.

Kind of, you know what I mean? Like you old school communist russia kind of you know what i mean like you everything was just marching orders you know what it was like wit oh yeah you didn't really talk unless guys talked to you you didn't eat any food on the plane until somebody gave you permission to go and eat on the plane or whatever but yeah a very hold on a very different reality you hear the cat you hear the guys say now or not now even once this kind of young trend started coming around guys are like the games change boys the games change and it's true it's so true it really is and that's how it is now i think it's going to remain that way there's so much money kids are so good at singing at such a young age kids play at the NHL at 18 now. It's so normal. But for you,

I think a lot of people we see know you as this really vibrant, really good, well-spoken TV NHL analyst. But you had an amazing career as well. And as that career came to an end, how did you get into TV? Because I've told before how much you helped me and how I talked to you about what you did and how I enjoyed it. Now, luckily, I'm doing it occasionally. But for you, what was the beginning of that and how did that start? I appreciate that. Thank you.

I mean, the main thing for me really was even when I was a kid and I was younger, I was never afraid to speak, really. So at school, you know, school stuff or whatever. But more importantly, like playing on my teams, even when we got to junior, like right from when we got to junior, the CBC backup in Canada that they have the show called the Fifth Estate and they were doing a profile on prospects. And this was this behind the scenes, kind of a 24-7 really on prospects. So myself, my boy Anson, Anson Carter, Steve Gowalla, who played foron carter steve goala who played for the sharks for a while who played with that's that michigan state and a few other prospects at the time they

basically followed us and i was kind of the lead in the show so imagine me pulling up to ohl training camp and i've got cameras rolling pull up to ow Sound, Ontario, two and a half hours northwest of Toronto. 21,000 people in the town. My dad drives me up for training camp. And we walk in, and I've got these cameras rolling behind me. So that's kind of worse. Like you're Eddie Murphy. Like you're Eddie Murphy walking into camp.

Yeah, exactly. Right? Exactly. Thank you. So we pull up and get in there. And guys are like, well, I mean, the team had already been notified. The CBC had contacted the team.

But guys were like, what's going on here? But literally, I mean, they were embedded with us. They were on the bus with us. Wayne Primo and I sitting. I mean, Primo's a 6'4", 6'5". I was 122 pounds or whatever, literally. Like, I was 146, 147 pounds my rookie year junior were you a high pick in the oh were you a high pick in the oh sorry to cut you off yeah no worries i was a

third round pick in the oh uh they had already had jamie store at the time on sound and then they drafted me so i was like what what wait what yeah where am i gonna play uh yeah but i ended up playing quite a bit my rookie year but yeah so i'm sitting beside wayne primo on the bus i mean these the cbc camera crews with us the whole time so i was really just cool with the camera and natural with it i didn't really see this big like separation or filter between me and the camera i just felt like i was whatever just natural with it and then you know you have events for the team fundraisers appearances at children's hospitals boys and girls clubs YMCA's that type of thing and then that kind of came into speaking engagements and I hosted a lot of my own

charity events over the years both in Toronto and in Barbados my parents are from Barbados in the Caribbean so I've hosted a lot of, my golf tournaments and that type of thing. And I've always been cool at the mic. But to kind of tie it back, how it all kind of came to be, literally after what turned out to be my last year playing in the league, that offseason, unbeknownst to me, that offseason, my agents like, yeah, man, you're going to go to Philly. They need an experience backup. You're going to go to Columbus. They need an experience backup. You're going to go to L.A. They need an experience backup. You're going to go to Columbus. They need an experience backup. You're going to go to LA.

They need an experience backup. You're going to go here. You're going to go there. I'm like, oh, okay, cool. So next thing you know, we're in Barbados at the time, this offseason, right around free agency. And the day free agency starts, I'm looking at my phone. This guy goes there.

That goalie goes there. That goalie goes there. So I'm blowing up my agent i'm like yo what's going on here i thought you said i was going to at least all three of those teams so the craziest stuff that you wouldn't even believe when i was in the old ihl in the minors the detroit vipers i played with a guy named andre trefoil up russian tender who had played in the nhl for a while with buffalo back to pashek anyhow i get this call from andre treflov i haven't spoken to this cat since 97 98 don't ask me how he gets my phone number

we're literally on a boat we're on a catamaran off the east coast of barbados and i get the call you want to come russia you want to come russia i give you give you 2.5 million I'm like Treffy is that I haven't heard from you for how I was married at the time like let me talk it over with my wife let me talk it over with whatever I'll be in touch 20 minutes later weeks you want to brush you 2.0 2 million 2 million so now we've already gone down 500 grand i haven't even started negotiating with this cat he wants an answer calls me back an hour calls me back an hour later week see you on cabrache 1.5 so a million's already shaved off the first call you have to know he calls me back the last time week see one million one million. One million. I'm like, listen, Treffy. Hold it.

I played more games in the NHL than any goalie at that time that played in the KHL. Except for Nikolai Habib-Boulin. So you want me to go to Atlanta where Ray Emery just played? I played more NHL games than Ray Emery. So I know what Ray Emery made. You better opt that off. So anyhow, all of a sudden, TV calls start coming in. Hockey Day in Canada calls.

NHL Network calls. MSG New York calls. NBC is in the mix. And then I kind of have these four networks that I'm going back and forth with. So I'm leveraging all this versus playing, versus broadcasting. And really, once I got the opportunities and the roles that i wanted and the bread that i wanted to make the transition nobody knew it was coming except for my family and literally that october i just started bank just went on the air and started with the nhl network doing four or five days a week started doing flying as i would you would see i would see you every other weekend

flying out to Edmonton. Yeah, you were doing the West Coast CBC game. Yeah, yeah, I was doing the West Coast late game for NHL, for Hockey Day in Canada, excuse me. So I'd literally be on the air anywhere from three to four days, Monday through Friday. And then Friday afternoon, race to the airport in Toronto. And then fly out to Edmonton Calgary Van, do the game. Fly home Sunday and then do it all over again. So I just really wanted as many reps and touches as possible.

And that's kind of how I got into it. But unknowingly and knowingly, I kind of built up a reel over the years of, you know, whatever going on, doing appearances, going on different TV shows and that type of thing, different hockey, different radio stuff. And I kind of built a reel up. So that's how it all kind of came to that point. What do you think you're better at? I would say broadcasting. I mean, I was a good goalie. I was talented, very athletic, intense. And I could go on little streaks here and there, but I wasn't a guy that was going to be elite and maintain that.

I mean, I was talking about this just yesterday in a meeting, and in appearance here, Brad Richards and I were together here in New York. And it's crazy because I could touch that level. I could practice at that level. I could touch that level two games, three games, three games, four games. And then you come down from 30,000 feet to about 22,000 feet. You know what I mean? And you realize that, hey, hey man this is why at the

time michael i have people it's who he is it's why um patrick waugh is who he is or grant fewer is who he is or why timmy thomas was able to become what he did because those guys were able to play at that level and give you that performance that 30 000 feet stand on your head performance every night you know what i mean or the majority of the times. And you see that separation. So I was cool with that. I had the ability to start as a backup, become a starter, play a lot of games, and then finish my last four years as a back.

I mean, I was here with Henrik Lundqvist, came in and rocked the show at the Garden. And I was like, oh, hey, this guy is the guy. He is the man. And I just wanted to become the best backup in the league after that and i won 14 games that year i think 15 whatever games it was as a backup to hank and you know he was he was an instant rock star but you see how great those people are

every day every night nine out of ten times and uh so i would say broadcasting i would say broadcasting in a different way. And I just feel like I can express myself more. I don't feel any pressure, but it's interesting. I feel like in wits, I'm not sure if you feel this way too, having played in the NHL under the bright lights,

especially pressure packed and being a goalie and everything else. And it being unconventional as a black goalie in the league and whatever else for TV, I'm just like, turn the camera on like yeah for any type of just turn the camera on i've already played at madison square garden and cd garden and bean town or whatever else and know what it feels like to win know what it feels like to lose to be booed you know to get stars of the game whatever man so for me i like i'm a lot more relaxed, I guess, if you will, in TV, but in large part not just because of speaking, but I think you probably feel the same way, because nothing can really fully replicate that pressure of playing.

So it's kind of like, all right, well, no biggie. Yeah, no, I completely agree. And I think that one of the things is if you, over the course of a career, and you were definitely this way, and I think I was this way, you'd talk hockey with guys, and you'd talk it with kind of media people who would be around your stall, and you'd be someone that'd be willing to talk to them, and you'd talk hockey, and you could tell they enjoy your opinions on the game, and I would have opinions that you'd then have good convos with with other media guys.

And then you realize, like, all right, well, all I'm doing is kind of talking about what I know and what I love and what I've only really done my whole life. And people seem to enjoy how I talk about it or how you talk about it. So then you get on TV and yeah, the first time the light comes on, it's a little, it's nerve wracking to be live in a sense, but then it's, you're just doing what you've always done. And for some reason, I mean, there are reasons, obviously, but people's people enjoy it so i think with you it's it's been it's been great because you're really good at i think you help people understand the game better uh i know all my buddies are big fans

but when i'm looking back on your your career and how you talk about the great players that could you know and you had games when you did reach that high level and i was the same i'd go on a five game stretch with five points be be plus one every night, play 25 minutes. And then it was the inconsistency. And I think people don't really understand that those superstars, it's mainly consistency. They have this elite-level skill. But a lot of guys in the league have that. But they can't do it every night.

Just like you said, you worded it perfectly. And I think Zach Kassian in that game and it uh game two for edmonton he dominated with the game of his life right but like crosby and other guys are able and gets left they can do that 70 times a season so that's a great point but going back to your career just quick who do you think and i ask all the former players we have on here and for a goalie it might be different but who was the who was the best player that you ever played with like who was the guy whether it be goalie defensemanman, forward, that you forever, you'll just say, holy shit, that was a different level?

I was fortunate, really, to play with so many Hall of Famers and soon-to-be Hall of Famers, so it's really hard for me to say. Just listen. Let me rattle off some of the names, okay? Kirk Muller, over 1,000 points. Dave Andrachuk, obviously over a thousand points 600 plus goals dino cicerelli hall of famer brandon shanahan same thing same neighborhood of points mark messier say no more yermir yager say no more uh rick lundquist say no more roberto longo

ronnie franchise say no more rod brindamore so just as a sample size of the guys that i was privileged to play with of all of those guys i would say my top three would be mess jogger ronnie ronnie franchise ronnie francis thing about all of those guys for me is they all did it in different ways you know what i mean they all did it a different way they had their own swag they had their own style ronnie francis assuming professorial type you know what i mean you looked at ronnie you're like okay he had a calming effect on you because he was just so chill under understand dated but dominant go out there make plays forehand backhand win draws sauce the puck over two sticks under a third stick through a guy's leg backdoor tap in

one of the greatest ever played i think he's one of the armor jogger i'm sorry i think france that's what he's saying he i think he's one of the most underrated players to ever play in the league i mean we you know the names we're throwing out now mess Messier and Jaeger and, you know, obviously Gretzky, all these tremendous players. And you don't always hear Ron Francis' name thrown out there, but when you look at the stats, he's among the – he's past half of them, more than half of them. I think, you know, he played in, I mean, obviously Pittsburgh for a while,

but Carolina, Hartford, there was a lot of his career there. I don't know if that's a reason he's undershadowed, but there's a guy I think is probably the most underrated Hall of Fame name when we discuss names like this. Ron Francis, it doesn't seem like he comes up nearly as much as he should. Totally, totally. I remember being in practice and talking shit. I'd be like, Ronnie, come on.

Let's go, let's go. Whatever. Making some saves. He's scoring some goals. And then, whatever. If I was in conversation about it, I don't know. Let's say I was talking about Yager or Leach or whoever. Whatever. He'd kind of give me that look like

you know that I'm in that class. You know I'm head of that class, right? You know what I mean? He'd kind of give me that side eye like, yo, don't forget who I am. Don't mess with me. Circling back to your career. Back to your career, Kev. Just one more question before we wrap it up here.

You guys kind of had a great run back in 2002. The Carolina Hurricanes got a cup run. Ended up losing to the dynastic Detroit Red Wings. There's certainly no shame in that. Was that your career highlight? I have to imagine it was. I mean, I know you just said you're a career backup for the most part, but, I mean, you had eight starts in that playoffs.

You won a few games, and you put up some incredible numbers. I mean, was that the best it ever was for you at the NHL level? Good question. I mean, I had stretches where I was actually as good or better, but they just weren't under the bright lights, right? So, when you look at it, to me, it's all about playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs

and it's all about being a part of playoff teams. I was on playoff teams, I think six years, seven years of my career, but that's the best opportunity that I had to play. There's nothing like being a part of the Stanley Cup playoffs. I mean, Witt will tell you there's the best opportunity that i had to play and there's nothing like being a part of the Stanley Cup playoffs i mean wit will tell you there's nothing quite like that everybody especially when your team is good and you start rolling like nobody expected us to be good guys like honestly

nobody expected us to be good at all but all of a sudden we had we had the devils in the first round the devils and we've got marty who i should add among the greatest players i've played with we got marty brodeur and the devils down at the other end everybody said oh my gosh carolina they're gonna get massacred that first round not only do we beat them just up the street here at the meadowlands because i live in jersey literally up the street but we not only do we beat the devils then the second round we've got Montreal. And everybody's like, oh no. You guys are playing against Montreal. So next thing you know, we're feeling good.

Boys are feeling cool. No panic. Guys feel good on the plane. Boys feel good on the bus. Go out and shock Montreal. Next thing you know, Eastern Conference final. We got the Leafs. Oh no. No way you guys are going to be from Sundin to Gary Roberts to Kurt Cujo the Leafs. Oh, no. No way you guys are going to beat us. From Sundin to

Gary Roberts to Kujo Annette, Curtis Joseph. Not on our watch. We end up beating them when we go to Stanley Cup. And as you said, we end up matching up against the 10 Hall of Famers and how many more to come from that Detroit team. I mean, they had Luke Grover playing third line on that team.

How stacked they were. Sick. And we ended up losing that that triple ot game and after we lost that triple overtime game to them the series was a wrap i mean our guys played as hard as they could they battled but we just didn't have it that team was simply too dominant that was a hall of fame dream team type team that they had but i would definitely say that that was the highlight just because there's nothing like playing in the stanley cup playoffs and there's nothing like your team and your teammates having success you know like you guys are watching the playoffs now we're all watching it right and you see an

unsung hero hero like which just said zach cassian stepping up john will what he's doing yep yep you know what's real edmondson for st. Louis. You know what I mean? It's perfect. You know what's funny about that triple overtime game, Weeksy, was there's no way you remember this. I was at that game and met you because that was when they brought in the top five draft prospects for a finals game. Oh, no way.

I was actually at that game and they had us up in the press box, but it was so long. First overtime, I ended up walking down. I was in the corner game, and they had us up in the press box, but it was so long. First overtime, I ended up walking down. I was in the corner that Igor Larionov went backhand shelf and turned into that corner. I was standing right there next to John Bouchacast, actually. So we met a long time back, and we didn't realize it,

but I can't thank you enough for coming on here, buddy. You're crushing it at NHL Net. You crushed it when you played, and I think this is going to be a huge hit. So we really appreciate it. Thanks so much, bro. I really appreciate that. And we love having you on the squad. We need to have you on the air more.

So love being on with you on NHLNetwork. And thanks to you and the fellas, man, for having me on. But next time, we're not going to do a little 15-minute segment, okay? We've got to expand on things. We've got to take it to the next level. Absolutely. Next show. Absolutely, Kev. And maybe we're going to do a 20-25-minute one, okay? We've got to expand on things. We've got to take it to the next level. Absolutely. Next show. Maybe we're going to do a 2025. Hell yeah. And dinner on you guys

next time we're in Beantown. Exactly. I'm buying. I'm buying. Crosby's buying. Crosby's buying. Lemoncello's in the North End. I'm not going to sell you, though. Lemoncello's in the North End. We've got to get you over to Santopio's in Eastie for the best pizza in Boston. There's a plug. I'm down. All right, brother. I'm down. All right, we can see you. You're the best's in Eastie for the best pizza in Boston. Yeah. There's a plug. I'm down.

All right, brother. I'm down. All right, we can see you. You're the best, buddy. Thanks, Kevin. Thanks for having me on, fellas. Anytime. We'll do it again, buddy. And that interview was brought to you by dollarshaveclub.com.

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Get your first month for just a buck at dollarshaveclub.com slash chicklets. That's dollarshaveclub.com slash chicklets. That's dollarshaveclub.com slash chicklets. Thanks once again to Kevin Weeks, the NHL goaltender, not the salty gangster, for joining us for this week's episode. Kevin's always great with his insight on the NHL,

so big thanks to him. We'll get him back on. Definitely get him back on. Yeah, he's got a... Best in the game. And again, his unique path to the NHL, obviously not thanks to him. We'll get him back on. Definitely get him back on. He's got a best in the game. And again, his unique path to the NHL, obviously not a ton of black guys have played

goalie in the NHL. Freddie Brathwaite. Freddie Brathwaite, Grant Field. That's something tons of interview material we can get out of that. Obviously, priorities today were the playoffs and whatnot. So thanks again to Kevin. Time for our weekly segment, All Right Hamilton, in which we take listener questions from Mr. Whitney and myself and Grinnelli.

Let's see what we got. All right, boys. Number one starts off with Peanut Butter Jones. Peanut Butter Jones asks, In honor of the new dart trend in the NHL, who is the most hardcore smoker you ever played with or you guys have ever heard of? All right, Hamilton. Wow.

Hilarious. One guy gets a picture with a dot in his mouth and it fucking. No, that guy. Cigarettes are gross, by the way. That dark guy in Toronto, what a legend. That's hilarious. I mean, the fact that he's gone this viral is just hilarious to me. But you know what?

I don't know. You guys remember Danny Markov? Oh, yeah. Played for Philly. Montreal, right? Montreal. I'm trying. but you know what I don't know you guys remember Danny Markov oh yeah played for Philly Montreal right Montreal he was a lefty defense and wore 55 in Philly this guy

was a legend I guess like animal Russian ripped used to just rip darts in between periods like he had his own little smoking room

off to the side I was always told he also he also what's the bridge that connects like Philly and jersey if is there a bridge that does that uh the scumbag bridge i love you philly shut up is it uh like the washington

bridge or something am i making that up this set there's a there's a shitload of bridges some bridge in philly he or highway danny markov got a dui because he got on the wrong side was just going the complete wrong direction. So he's just probably loaded a dart in his mouth for that one. I don't know if it did specify current or all-time play. All-time play. Ally Afraidy.

The planet. Planet. Actually, did anyone ever call him that or was that just fucking DuPont's stupid nickname? If it was DuPont, I'd take it back. I'll never call him planetanted again. Ally Afraid. This guy used to smoke butts in between periods. I know that wasn't a big deal in the 70s and 80s,

but he was like a pack-a-day guy and he was fucking still wheeling and dealing out there on the sheet. He was a hell of a player. Unfortunately, when he got to Boston, he didn't really have much left in the tank. I think he was still kind of injured. I would be willing to bet that not one player is a regular smoker in the NHL. Exactly.

I mean, maybe there's a couple of Ruskies, maybe Radulov will dump me a couple of darts tonight, but I don't know about full-time smokers. Yeah, which is a good thing. See, I had Michelle Terry in there. Oh, dude, on the bus. Smoking on the bus from Wilkes-Barre to Binghamton. So Stephen Colomare asks, what player in the league would you pick to play Spicoli in fast times at Ridgemont High?

All right, Hamilton. Oh. So it kind of blends in with all right, Hamilton. Oh, wow. We're getting fucking meta up in this bitch. You know who kind of reminds me? Brett Burns a little bit. When he talks, he's kind of like, oh, man. He's pretty laid back.

I don't know him, but seems like he'd be a pretty laid back dude, a little Spicoli-ish. Like Joey T. Jumbo Joe. I could see that. I could see that a little bit. I got to go with Mike Ryder. I know he's not currently in the league, but he's definitely- The new fee.

The new fee. Great golfer. He's got that kind of iconic, laid-back vibe. I don't know any intel, but it wouldn't surprise me if he enjoyed the fruits of a day like today, for example, 420. In fact, I have more respect for him. Oh, is that what today is? Yeah, I know. It's kind of like I made a couple jokes about it, but fucking whatever, dude. Every day is 420

yeah Mike Ryder I'll give him I'll cast him as Spicoli what else you got Grinnelli alright so last and not least Jay Vogel

asked do you guys ever chirp in the handshake line Lou Cheech does yes Lou Cheech did who did he grab

that time it was D.O. Weiss no Comus did he grab that time? Dale Weiss. No. Comus Eric? I thought it was the Russian defenseman on Montreal. He's hurt right now. He's coming back.

Why am I drawing a blank on this? Not Emelin. Was it Emelin? It might have been Emelin. Or was it Dale Weiss? It was one of those. I thought it was Weiss, I think. Either way.

Either way, Lucic has done it a couple times. I don't remember ever seeing anything in the NHL after playoff series would end. But being younger, there was always shit. You'd always see a brawl here and there when you were younger. I remember a great Connecticut Yankees-South Shore Kings brawl back in my day. South Shore Kings, by the way, we won the Quebec Peewee World Championship. You ever heard of it? Oh, I hated the South Shore Kings.

You guys were the worst. Yeah, because we were the best. Because we were the best. No, because you just hate losing the South Shore kids. Yeah, I know, because we're so good. But do you remember when Claude Lemieux had that fucking dirty ass hit on Chris Draper in the Colorado, Detroit,

and it began their entire amazing rivalry? And Draper's face was fucking broken orbital, just an animal. By the way, Chris Draper was traded from Winnipeg to Detroit for $1. That's another story we can get into someday. But what a trade that was. But if you remember, Dino Cicerelli after,

they shook hands after that series, and Dino Cicerelli after said to the reporters, I'm sick, I'm paraphrasing, I'm sick to my stomach that I shook that puke's fucking hand. I can't believe I shook that friggin' guy's hand. Yeah, so I think in the NHL, part of it is like,

and the NHL haters or the people who make fun of it go into how much we love talking about the handshake line. But after a series, I think that it's just known in the NHL, like that was a hard-fought series and it's over. So you don't see anything, but there are definitely times where Cicerelli proves

you're just going to do it because you're not gonna be that fucking guy and lucic has his reasons and i love it love him for it but most guys are just like i'll just shake his hand but after i'm so pissed off i had to fucking say good game to that guy yeah i think they grit through it um you know i'm sure maybe things get said under their breath or sarcastic uh maybe lucic actually if it was in fact deal wees maybe lucic was just praising him for his role as Zed in Pulp Fiction. Hey, Lucic, by the way, has been exactly what Edmonton had hoped for. He's had a great playoff so far. When he moves his feet and he gets going with that speed, he can get going.

He's just such a difference maker. So him and Cassian and Maroon, Edmonton's looking good. I'm really interested to see how that series ends. him and Cassian and Maroon Edmonton's looking good I'm really interested to see how that series ends also was it last week's episode

when we brought up how Eichel missed out on two million yeah I know we talked about it before I should have brought this in earlier but I'm a dope

and we said at the time I think we talked like hey he should have talked to Dreitzel I'm like dude I'll give you some money yeah well

a certain Twitter person tweeted at me I wish I saved their name Dreitzel's two points that night Gave him a 1.6 million dollar bonus So it wasn't It didn't not matter So even if he offered him half

It didn't not matter for Dreitzel The way we looked at it He fucking made out big that night With those two assists as well So Thought that was interesting I need to get me a 1.6 million dollar bonus Yeah you will Grinnell

A warrior will give it to you I'll take the 1.6 dollar Also Eich, you will, Grinnell. A warrior will give it to you. I'll take the $1.6. Also, Eichel in the end, that $2 million is $2 million, but he's going to make probably around $110 million in his career, so he won't be too worried about it. Now that he fucking got Biles Murr and fucking Murray out of the way. Pagool is just going to give it to him. It's a coup d'etat.

All right. We appreciate everything from all you guys. It's playoff time, so we'll be back next week with some more, right? We'll be more action. Are you on the road next week again? I'm at NHL Network Tuesday, Wednesday night. So I'll be able to come back and record on Thursday when I land. I land Thursday.

I can come over here after. Excellent. Then I'm going golfing. Shocker. So yeah, I think that about wraps up episode 27. Again, big thanks to Kevin Weeks for joining the show this week. Any other, any other props,

promos, trucking, nothing. Grinnelly go massages. We got to get some stories out of you. Maybe next episode. I want to hear who, but Grinnelly is putting on the workbench these days.

All about it. All about it. All right, folks, we'll let you go. But yeah, with that wraps up the series. If your team's still alive,

good luck to them. I don't really hate them. Contrary to what you might think. And enjoy your weekend, folks. Peace out. As you go. But yeah, with that, wraps up the series. If your team's still alive, good luck to them. I don't really hate them, contrary to what you might think. And enjoy your weekend, folks. Peace out. As you were. I'm John Horne. I'm the host of Geffen Playhouse Unscripted. I'm here with our very first guest, Rainn Wilson. Hi, John.

Looks like I'm the first guest on the Geffen Unclothed. Unscripted. Unscripted. Yeah, let's go with that. A marriage made in heaven, I guess. Or Westwood. Tune in for some of our exciting upcoming guests, David Copperfield, Neil LaButte, Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Gad, Rita Wilson, and many more. Be sure to download new episodes every Wednesday on the Podcast One app and on iTunes.

And don't forget to rate, review, and share. And I'm Ryan Wilson, the first guest. You were the very first guest. This was a huge mistake. Of Gaff and Playhouse Unscripted. Huge mistake.