Spittin Chiclets - Spittin' Chiclets Episode 31: Featuring Vincent Trocheck

Episode Date: May 19, 2017

This week, Florida Panthers All-Star Vincent Trocheck joins the show to talk about playing in South Florida, the under-appreciated Aleksander Barkov, how stunned the Panthers were after Gerard Gallant's sudden firing, what Shawn Thornton brings to a team, and much more. RA, Whits, and Grinnelli also discuss both Conference Finals series, Nashville's delusional anthem singer who is legit mad about being bumped by country superstars, the stellar play of Craig Anderson, players deciding to play with a concussion, the NHL's list of the 20 Greatest NHL Teams, and more. The boys also answer #AllRightHamilton questions and RA finally eats crow about Bobby Ryan. A fun episode so give it a whirl.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 ZipRecruiter.com. When you're building a brand new squad out there, whether it's a hockey team, a basketball team, or an office team, you need the best talent there is available. As Robert De Niro in The Untouchables said, you know, baseball is a team sport, so you need to go out and you need to find the best parts to make your company work. That's why you want to use ZipRecruiter.com.

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Brought to you by Barstool Sports Ryan Whitney in the house, Mikey Grinelli Hello gentlemen What's going on? We got a special show for you We got Florida Panthers All-star Forward Vincent Trocek Will be joining us In a little bit

A nice young Budding American All-star we have Coming up on the show Yeah he's gonna He's gonna be a guy That's making some noise He already has

I've seen I've taken notice Of him having been In the Bruins division He's a great Great player I saw him right When I got to San Antonio

In the AHL And I He was I was like This kid has no business Down here in the always hungry league. So he lasted about a full season almost. And he's been dominating the NHL pretty much since he got out. Were you the mentor to the kids in the AHL?

Or were you still the locker room guy that's busted everyone's balls? I was kind of the locker room. I would actually like to have on a guy, Drew Shore, one of my buddies. He would probably give a straight up answer. I think I was kind of a locker room guy. And then naturally, they maybe looked to me as a leader because I'd played in the NHL. But I probably should have been more thinking

I should be molding these young men. But I just showed them how to have fun. You were too busy guessing Lone Stars and checking looks. No, they knew I liked to go golf. I'd go golf after practice. Trochek, he's one of those players who, like, when you first hear his name, you're like, which European country is he from? Then you're like, oh, wait, he's American.

Yeah, what's he from, Prague? It's like Matt Niskanen when you first hear him. You think he's, like, Finnish. But then the opposite is, like, remember Robert Lang? Yeah, I'm like, oh, where's Langer from? Yeah. It's like, no, he's something like the Czech Republic or whatever. So, anyways, we got him coming up later.

Talk a little NHL. We've got some good stuff coming out of him. Playoffs, as of this recording, the Predators and the Senators both up two games to one. I know, dude. Next game, I don't know. When I heard these bets, I was like, oh, he has no chance with either one. And then even as each round's gone on, I'm like, well, I guess now you're – I thought of you, right?

When Ottawa went up one last night, I said – I'm sorry, Wednesday night. Four nothing and two minutes in the game. By the way, by the way, so I took – so that was – I worked Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at NHL Network. And the show was six to eight Wednesday. And at the end, they made me do a prediction. And so I was like, Penguins, they're going to come in there. They're going to roll in there. They're going to roll in there. They got all the confidence

in the world. 2-0, another shutout for Fleury. And I get in the car to start driving back to Boston and literally, what was it, fucking 2-0 in six minutes?

It was like 3-0 in seven minutes. It was insane. I'm listening on the radio. Also bet the Penguins. Also took a goal line. So that was a complete disaster. But,

you're now like four collective wins away from guaranteeing yourself some peace. I'm definitely like, you know, keeping things tempered. I've gambled all the time. I've been gambling. I'm going to be 45 in like a week. I've been gambling for like 43

years. I knew what a Quinella was before my fucking ABCs. So I, you know, I've been gambling a long time, so I know not to put the cart in front of the horse. Yeah, it's, I'm having a quinella was before my fucking ABCs. So, you know, I've been gambling a long time, so I know not to put the cart in front of the horse. Yeah, I'm having a hard time keeping my excitement limited because, yeah, it's good to know that. It's nice these games really matter to you. For the people who say it's boring, Crowley.

Right. And all these people are like, oh, Ottawa sucks. I'm like, fuck you. They're playing an awesome brand of hockey. You're on Ottawa message boards now. I got my GoSendsGoTaddy. Asking Bruins message boards, guys, if they'll allow you to. Speaking of puck line, I don't know if you caught my tweet.

I had auto on the minus 2.5 last night plus 650. I saw that. That made me even more mad that you had the complete opposite. And it was minus, yeah, minus. Minus 2.5. I laid 2.5 plus 650. Plus, Jesus. Yeah.

See, I can't do that. That's a great idea, though. If you think the underdog is going to blow him out, dude, you get sick odds that That's a great idea though If you think the underdog Is going to blow him out Dude you get sick odds And that's a solid bet Basically kind of what I mean not that I told

I mean obviously I thought that If I bet it But I mean I just You got a good bookie That's a good Not all bookies take that bet I'm telling you It's the offshores

If you got the offshores You got to look And not all of them do it The alternate puck line That's where the money is Because you know The standard one and a half with the favorite, you know, depending on who they're playing, you might get $1.50,

you might get $2.50, anywhere in between. But when you're the dog laying the alternate puck line, you get some fucking. I'll take that action because it would be such a win, really. I'm waiting for the book to come in during recording and, like, dummy you or something. Are you all, like, some days? Dude, dummy me. They're going to dummy me with fucking money over my head. That's about it. But, dummy me. They're going to dummy me with fucking money over my head. That's about it.

But it's funny. Actually, it's funny too because another puck line back when the Bruins game seven in Vancouver, I remember, forget it, it was two hours before the game

and I was at ice level shooting the shit with Brickley and we're talking like, Yeah, what up, Brick? What's up, Brick? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Humble brag, humble brag,

humble brag. So it's shooting the shit and I'm like, what do you think tonight, Brick? And he says, not only do I think they win, he's like, I think they win by a few goals. And I was like, yeah. I goes, oh, shit. So I went on.

The Bruins were minus three and a half. If you wanted to take a minus three and a half goals, plus 1,400. Threw a deuce. What did they win, five? Threw a deuce on them. They won four nothing on my Sean's empty netter from the blue line. Fucking, that made it four nothing with like four minutes left or whatever. That's a pretty sick. You've got some great

so I hit story. Every time I see brick I'm like I still hear that. I still hear that drink because I haven't fucking I told him I mean he may be like fuck. Yeah, but like I love how you say that like like what is what was brick going to say the Bruins color guy like yeah, they're going to get blown out. Well, no, I mean it was you know and after

well not off the record like that but like you know, we were just confident. Yeah, we were two guys shoot the shit and it wasn't you know, wasn't like oh, they're going to get blown out. Well, no, I mean, it was, you know, and after, well, not off the record like that, but like, you know, we were just confident. Yeah, we were two guys shooting the shit, and it wasn't, you know, it wasn't like, oh, they're going to win like home. It was like, no, I think he, I mean, he called it right there. The Vancouver was, you know, kind of mentally defeated or whatever, and the Bruins fucking jumped all over them. So, yeah, that was.

How did we end up here? Yeah, I have no idea, but I was just actually thinking, I randomly just, my brain's completely whacked, but when I say I met Trochek in the HL, and I was just actually thinking. I randomly just, my brain's completely whacked. But when I say I met Trochek in the HL and I wanted to bring in Drew Shore, this kid Drew Shore that I played with, I got some other buddies too. I'd love to get some feedback from our Steel Parliament Take award-winning listeners. Would you guys like to have on some of my buddies?

You may not know their names, but they're hilarious. They got great stories. I got a buddy, Matt Murley, finished this year in Japan. i'd love to have him on so can we get him in person yeah we could probably get actually a couple of those would be good we'd get some good stories so let us know if you're interested in it if you don't maybe not necessarily recognize the name but you still like some uh good old hockey guy talk you know what i'm saying? So, yeah, back to the playoff, Chad. Out west, Nashville, you know, can't be surprised at this point. I'm not tooting my own horn. I'm just talking about the series in general.

I mean, like, that fucking defense, man. Like I said, the matchup may be not on the ice specifically all the time, but the story anyways is Nashville's D versus Anaheim's O. And Nashville's D is winning that right now, no? I mean, they just so much a part of that team's offense. It's crazy. It is actually nuts because P.K. Subban, you think of him as the third best defenseman on that team

and almost at times fourth. Now, granted, there's nights when you're like P.K. Dominate. He was the best. But Yossi and Ellis are so good, and they're not just good offensively. They're great defensively. They compete their balls off. Yossi, he might be my favorite player in the league.

I love watching him. So we're talking about these guys and going into the preview shows we were doing. And then about game three. Game three comes, Nashville crowd crowd but we by the way that place looks commies down there we can talk to call me maybe we need to get down talking to him if he can speak right now but so game three comes after we're talking about yosi and ellis and i look after the game nashville had 40 shots yosi and ellis had 15 of them And then the rest of the Nashville D Had 6 more

So 21 of the 40 shots by Nashville's defense Who just changed the game In different ways If it's a low scoring game they're great defensively If it's high scoring they add to the offense Yossi gets the game winning goal And Anaheim's offense for the first time Looked a little tired

I think Ryan Getzlaff game 3 was the first time I've seen him just look a little tired. Yeah. And right now he's playing 24 minutes a game as a forward. That's a shit load. He's carrying the offensive burden. He's carrying the offensive burden. I actually told the story to my buddy the other day

that Getzlaff, the year I was with Anaheim, I think I've said this before. I apologize if I did, but we lost in game seven of the second round to the Red Wings. And at that point, so we played 13 games. We beat the Sharks in the first round. He had 20 points in 13 games, and he was averaging 28 minutes a game. Wow.

So he's a horse that can do it. But now you get to the third round, and maybe it's just starting to wear him a little. Also, you've got the travel. He's not old. He's 32 years old. He's not young. 32 is now like fucking old as dirt, dude, in the NHL. So it's interesting to see.

I mean, we're recording on Thursday, obviously, so tonight will be game four. And I said it's without – Pivotal game. Well, it sounds so fucking cliche, but I'm like, it's not an elimination game, but it's a must win. It's huge, yeah. I mean, you go down 3-1 to Nashville, and it's pretty much it.

Yeah, definitely. I thought last game, I thought it might have been, I know he lost, but I thought it might have been John Gibson's best game of the playoffs. I mean, he's a guy, I think he's probably been overshadowed a bit. He's, you know, a young kid going against Rene. Idolized Marc-Andre Fleury, by the way. Did he really? Yeah, in Pittsburgh.

So, you know, he's a guy who probably gets, not getting his due, but I thought he was incredible the other night. I thought it was, like I said, the best game he played. It was a hard-locked loss for him. It was just one of those bounces. He lost the puck. Yossi, you know, pounced on the loose one, put it in there. Go ahead.

What do you guys think about Andre Fleury, you know, Mike Sullivan saying he might get benched? Dude, got to my point ahead of me. Yeah, he did not. He left it wide open In the press conference He definitely left it open door Yeah He didn't commit

He didn't commit to Marc-Andre Fly I'm not surprised I don't understand that Maybe But Quickly Let's go back to that

When we get to that series I just wanted to say About Gibson He's one of those goalies That like Carey Price sits there And everything just hits him Right

He looks like Everything looks so easy Gibson's not really that way. He's kind of, like, all over the place, but it's all about do you make the save or not. Right. And he's entertaining as shit to watch. Well, Timmy Thomas in his game, I think, you know? Yeah, a little bit.

I hope he wouldn't take that as an insult. No, no, no. As much as I, I remember I used to be like, Timmy Thomas is the ugliest fucking goalie. He's just disgusting. He's a street hockey goalie. He just sucks. Like, and then, But you're like, well, he keeps saving every fucking puck.

So in the end, it's like a golfer with a shitty swing. If you make birdies, who cares? That's just what I'm saying because I have a shitty looking swing.

You know what I mean? This kid just gets it done. A 9-3-5 save percentage is a 9-3-5 save percentage. I'm pulling that number out of thin air, but point for sale. It's probably around there

right now. Yeah, I know. By no means is Tim Thomas an insult to a goal-taker. But Pecorini had a brutal game, too. I think he did admit that in Anaheim. And he came back, and he still is undefeated at home in the postseason. And he's just looking like that guy that could win you a Stanley Cup.

How about this fucking donkey down in Nashville? The guy, he's... Oh, the anthem singer? Yeah, the anthem singer. I heard this story. What a fool. What a bitch. What's his name? We got to rip this guy. I. I heard this story. What a fool. What a bitch. What a name.

We got to rip this guy. I think I want to say it's Robert K. Morgan because he makes sure that the fucking Predators say K. Well, this guy, he's the Nashville equivalent. Explain it to them. Yeah, I'm sorry. That's right. He's the Nashville equivalent of Rene Roncloa. Rene Roncloa is the Bruins anthem guy.

He's been doing the anthem for 40 years. Well, this guy does. He's a clown, too. He does the majority of the anthems at the Predators home games. Now, the playoffs come, and they do this thing, which is the coolest fucking thing in the world. They don't tell the fans who's going to

sing the anthem, and they don't just bring out some local fucking pop in. It's Nashville. They bring out fucking the world's biggest artist. I mean, Carrie Underwood sold 65 million fucking records. They bring her out. They brought out fucking Keith Urban the other night.

I say a prayer every time I hear her name. Honest to God, I do. She's a gift to Earth. So this guy actually fucking complained. He went to the team and was like, I don't like what you're doing. It's like, wait, we're bringing in international

fucking huge recording artists and we're putting you on the sideline. He went to the team, actually on the sideline like and like the guy he went to the team actually told the team he was going to the fucking newspaper to complain the team was like we wish you luck go ahead knock yourself out like and the Tennessean did an article on him and I read it and like and he's like oh she's married to what so she's married to the captain and she's prettier than me and it's like buddy you're a fucking no name from fucking Nashville I don't you know you're a fucking no-name from fucking Nashville. You're a pigeon, dude.

Know your role. He complained, I'll have to look at the contract, make sure it's in the contract next year or something. It's like, buddy, where do you get this ego from, first of all? It's like, second of all, dude, you're getting replaced for the best country singers in the fucking planet, dude. Get a clue, bro. Get a clue. If this guy's married, his wife a thousand percent cheats on him. He's just that guy. He's just a complete

muppet. But if you think about it, if you're the GM, I'm sure it wasn't Poyle. Yeah, that's a game of operations. Whoever he went to and was like, hey, I should be singing. I'm going to the paper. I'd just be like, what the five fingers say to the face. Slap, you know, Chappelle

style. You can't. Like, are you kidding me? I hope they took away. I'm sure he probably has tickets. They should have been like, dude, you're done. You're done next year. He actually has season tickets. He's a season ticket holder already.

So, you know, I don't think they're going to revoke his tickets. But, no, that's the best. He went to the team, said, I'm going to the paper. And the threads were like, hey, you want us to text you the number? Like, you know. It's like, dude, like, know your role, dude. Skate your lane, to steal a phrase. It's like, hey, you want us to text you the number? It's like, dude, know your role, dude. Skate your lane

to steal a phrase. It's like, come on, bro. I mean, one thing if they were bringing out local bar singers or cute little kids

who couldn't carry a fucking tune, but they're bringing in Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood and fucking Lady at the Bellum. I mean,

Christ, I like all the country, but even I know these fucking bands are popular. Yeah, I mean, I saw that.

That's a hilarious take from a clown down in Nashville. But if you look to the other side, Grinnelli brought up the immediate point that I did want to talk about is, is he really going to sit Fleury? It wouldn't surprise me. It wouldn't surprise me. And the thing that sucks is it wouldn't even be because it's Fleury's fault. It's just because they're trying to change something. But fuck, man.

Fleury goes through all last year. We've talked about it a million times. He has the best attitude in the world. Doesn't make us think at all. And he ends up getting a chance this year. And he's doing great. He's carrying them to where they really are right now. And he's just going to get gassed because of

one game where he wasn't even really the issue. The Penguins just didn't show up. Right. And it's not that they're blaming him. It's just the kid did it last year. I mean, the kid was unbelievable in the playoffs last year. So by going with him, you know, Sully is going with a proven commodity. It's not like he's throwing it to an unproven kid.

Off of an injury and not playing for what, a month? But he looked pretty sharp last night. I know he let out the one goal late when Torres outweighed him. It was a nice move by Torres. I wouldn't really pin it on him. He did look good. And the fact that he actually got in instead of deciding,

like Fleury played the entire game maybe, and then you're like, oh, no, we're going to go with him. He's got into some game, actually has some speed. So I'm not going to say that it's the wrong decision. I think that if they were to go in and Maroudo play really bad, you could then say that. That's fucking obvious. But if they go in and win, it's just you feel bad for Fleury a little bit.

At least I do. Right, yeah, you all obviously know him. You have a personal relationship with him. As far as the cold calculator world of pro sports and doing what's best for the team, maybe Sullivan sees, maybe he saw something, again, not pinning the game on Florida last night, but maybe he saw something in his game like, all right,

that was a hiccup like that reminded him of when he played bad. I remember a couple of years, he had a couple of years stretching the playoffs and he was awful. Against Philly. Maybe Sullivan just saw something there and, you know, okay, I don't want to keep going with him. Or maybe it's just like, all right, fuck me. I don't like what I'm seeing out of my team right now.

They need a spark, which is they just like, all right, fuck me. I don't like what I'm seeing out of my team right now. They need a spark. They lost Rust. They lost Schultz. Hornquist is banged up. Crosby, I don't care what you say. He's got one garbage time goal in three games. He had, I think, one shot in game two. He's not nearly the presence he was in the previous series prior to

getting the Niskanen hit and the second hit. So, you know, I get it from a hockey perspective, from a coaching thing. This team needs a jolt. And, you know, what better way to do it than to change the goalie? And, again, it's a kid who had a huge role in them winning the Cup last year. So, I don't know. And, again, let's clarify or reaffirm that he didn't actually say he wasn't,

but, you know, it was noteworthy in the press conference that he did not commit to Florida for the next game. That's what the story's from. So, yeah, it'll be an interesting story to keep tabs on. I think that if you look to pretty much all athletes, and most coaches were former athletes, you're superstitious, and you wouldn't be surprised if Sullivan's sitting there and Murray's in the net at the end of that game. He feels comfortable, and you just think back to it. This kid won stanley cup less than a year ago and it's like i want to

get him back in so that's where i say i feel bad for flurry but you totally see the other side yeah um it's just one of those situations where it's kind of like the person that really should get the credit for for the chances pittsburgh has to do this is rutherford because we talked about it uh before we started recording that he went out. Not only did he not trade Fleury, which is kind of obvious because he didn't have to, but he went out. He got Ron Hainsey, who's played a big role.

Big pickup. He went out. He got Mark Stride, who they put in last night. Now, granted, they lost 5-1. Just the fact that they were able to put in a guy who's played 800 NHL games as opposed to an AHL kid who's never played in the NHL. He's got a presence.

So Rutherford's done a great job, but you said with the injuries, man, it's like at some point, when does it end up catching up with you? And I know that Crosby, Malkin, and Kessel aren't injured, but something is different with Sid right now. You've got to at this point say that um he's playing at the maybe the best highest level he's ever played out i think that's what bisonette said the best he's ever been playing was gets the niskanen cross check and it's just been different so yeah um i just don't it's weird it's hard to come back from an injury but you can't i don't want to say that it's he's feeling the effects of a concussion because i wouldn't think he'd be playing well unless unless he's like we said it before. Unless he's

a savage. How about Gisele coming out and saying Brady. Maybe he does have him. You know these guys are competitive and it's like, okay man, you know what? I got one, but it ain't as bad as the last one. Fuck it. I'm going out and playing.

That's the thing. How do you protect guys from themselves? If it's ultimately your choice to go out and do it, then who can stop you? I mean, and unfortunately, sometimes, and I'm not saying this is the situation, but there are times where somebody needs to be stopped. And obviously, the concussion spotters, they do what they can. But when a guy, a spotter can't come out and say, oh, take him off the ice because he hits his head off the fucking boards and not the ice.

Then there's a problem with the concussion protocol, you know? Yeah, I actually remember like thinking at one point, like when my feet really got really bad and I realized I couldn't really play anymore in the NHL really. And I kind of realized my career was ending. I remember like you have days of like depression. I'm not saying guys with concussion definitely go through that. It's really different. But I remember saying like, oh, I would take years

off the end of my life if I could just be healthy and play hockey again. And it's like, it says, it's crazy to think, hear myself say that now that I'm retired.

But when you're playing and like, it's true to think that in football and hockey, like, if they want to play, they're going to play. And a lot of people

probably think like, I don't give a fuck what happens later. And if you're Crosby, look how close he is. I mean, he's within a series of another Stanley Cup. He's won two. He's played in three. I mean, his eyes, like, first team to repeat since the Red Wings 20 years ago.

Add another cup to his legacy, his Hall of Fame. All these things, I'm sure, go through a player's head. Like, you know, that we're going to overrule the fact that, yeah, I'm a little dinged up now. But fuck it, man. This is what I live for. This is what I play for. And, you know, it's a kind of chicken and egg thing. The way you said it is good, though.

How do you protect players from themselves? Because that will always be an issue. Now, I love, like, this is like previewing of games. But he could go out and have four points game four, and we're going to be like, okay. No, absolutely. I mean, he's still fucking Sidney Crosby at the end of the day and I mean I want what's best for the guy I mean I want to see him healthy and I certainly don't like to see the guy hurt I mean I know I know I got money on all that shit but look I want a guy to be healthy I don't care about a bet when it comes

to a guy's you know health and livelihood uh one guy I don't think we've talked about enough um I mean obviously I've been all over Carlson's jock for two months now He's been phenomenal But fucking Craig Anderson man I mean this guy He's not getting talked about in the Conn Smythe talk Because people are looking at the save percentage And it's not where you expect the

Conn Smythe save percentage to be I think the early round series A couple shootout games are going to do that To your save percentage but this series man He's been otherworld percentage. But this series, man, he's been otherworldly. Even going back to the Rangers series, he's been otherworldly. I mean, he's been stealing fucking games left and right in the playoffs. I think he doesn't maybe, not just a save percentage in terms of getting respect, but he also kind of gets caught in that everyone says Ottawa just sits back

and he doesn't have to do much because they block so many shots. But the way he's played, and it's the same. The Rangers series was crazy for him because not only at the end of the day did he outplay Henrik Lundqvist, he got better as the series went on. And game six, the clinching game at Madison Square Garden was his best game in that series. He was unreal. And then it's just, you see in this Penguin series, he's getting better as it goes along. And I think we had an episode in the middle of the season

when his wife was sick and we talked about him crying after that game when he got first star. Yeah, yeah. After treatment. Philadelphia, I believe. So he's been through a shitload this summer. I don't know. I've met him a couple times.

But in terms of what he's doing on the ice, it's kind of legendary in a sense that if they go on to win the Stanley Cup, which sounds crazy, like, fuck, I still can't believe I'm saying that they could have a chance to win the Stanley Cup, but his run here and his season that he's had would just go down kind of forever. I mean, the chance that the Senators can actually win the Stanley Cup, what do you think their odds were in January? I remember telling the guys up at Sportsnet, Jeff Merrick, we've had him on here before, and he was like, I don't know, I don't know.

And I was like, they just, like, piss off every team they play against. Everyone gets so annoyed with them, they just trap and play the 1-3-1, and then teams try to force it, then they score off turnovers, and it just hasn't changed. And Bobby Ryan actually had a funny quote. He said, when asked about the ratings and how people say they're so boring to watch he said uh damn the ratings at this time of year i'm paraphrasing but um we know what we have to do to win and that's what we're gonna do it's all about winning the stanley cup we don't give a

shit and then gee boucher said listen we got the pittsburgh penguins across from us if we get in the track meet we're gonna lose so why the fuck would we try to play, you know, offensive style against them? By the way, speaking of Bobby Ryan, I like my crow with a little Jack's hot sauce on it. A little celery and blue cheese on the side. Because I'm going to eat crow on that. I mean, that was just, you know what that was? That wasn't like you in terms of knowing hockey. You were just so, that was your Bruins.

Like, we're going to win this series. You had your diehard Bruins moment. You're like, fuck everyone on Ottawa. Because I didn't believe you actually thought. No, let's clarify. You had a bad offensive season. I didn't say he was a bad player. I called him soft.

And I think there was a difference there. And I'll use Pierre Turgeon as an example. We talked about this before. He scored 500 goals. He was a guy that in his era you would call a soft player. Not a bad player. A fantastic player. Yeah, but dude.

But he's, no, that's what I'm saying. I stand corrected. Bobby Ryan is tough as nails. What I've seen out of him this run, I shot my mouth on it. No, not even that. Like, that's what people say. And maybe I'm sensitive because I was, I am and always was considered soft. But Pierre Turgeon, like, soft in a sense that he didn't run guys over.

But dude, to score fucking 500 goals you gotta be you gotta go to those areas and like he wasn't he wasn't a soft well like I said in his

when he played in his era he he was again I'm not calling anyone a pussy I know and I'm not calling anyone's man

obviously if you're in the NHL you're a tough fucking son of a bitch thanks man thanks man even if you're a fucking sultzer or pussy. No.

If you're already in the NHL, you know, and these guys, what they go through, obviously, you have to be tough. But in the realm of that world and the NHL and how you might be perceived by other guys in the league, you know, in his era, yeah, I think Turgeon was considered soft. Again, it's a tough word for a hockey player to say. I think it's in terms of when there's a scrum and someone's getting face washed. He's not chucking knocks. Right. I think that's what we mean in terms of that stuff.

We've seen Bobby Ryan. He took a fucking shot the other night. He's been all over the place. I think he's single-handedly changed his reputation. You were just smart. You just got out in front of that one, so I couldn't rip off your face. Hey, dude, I was a fucking PM agent.

Guys, in terms of Ottawa, where do they stand in the Canadian market? Dude, nowhere. It's like they're like the most – there's been articles saying, like, will Canada take on Ottawa as Canada's team? And I feel like they won't because they got Toronto fans in Ontario and the Montreal fans right next door, so it's just like these little people that are like half-speak French, half-speak English,

Ottawa, the capital that nobody wants to be associated with. They're almost like the Devils, I think, in a geographic sense because, you know, I mean, the Senate is literally... The armpit of America as opposed to the... Between the Canadians and the Maple Leafs, and you got the Devils maybe not geographically between the Islanders and Rangers,

but they're right there. They're right outside that bubble, that area. The five-hole of Canada. But, yeah, Ottawa, man, they will, I'll tell you, because it's Canada. Well, the whole nation is going to be rooting for them. And going back to Anderson, I think that a lot of people, if they're not already aware of the situation with his wife and how he took a month off to be with her while she was getting treatment for cancer back in December.

I mean, once people become aware of that, how do you not get behind a story like that? And then you can further with the Clyde McArthur guy missed about close to two years with concussion issues. And he's coming back. And now he's come back. He's had a party at the, you know, the series winner versus the Bruins. So, you know, certainly, you know, sentimental favorites, man, the stories of Ottawa. I think people are definitely going to rally behind him should they continue on to the Stanley Cup. But that series, though, is just. It's not over.

No, it's not over at all. I think Ottawa's going to need to. I mean, last night they scored, but that's going to need to, you know, they're not going to be able to win two more games, you know, 1-0, I don't think. You know what I mean? They're going to have to continue to score. So I think a couple of guys got goals that really needed to last night, like Mike Hoffman to get on the board, a guy who's like a sniper regular season,

just to get back one, get a little confidence back. So right now it's tough recording when we are because 2-1, we don't know. I think right now that Nashville and Ottawa are kind of leaning towards looking like they're the favorites, but it's because they won last game. Although I was surprised. A guy at NHL, Nett, told me winners of game three win 67% of the series. So winners of game five end up winning 85%. So obviously it goes up, but still,

that's a pretty big odds in terms of getting that game three win. Yeah, plus, you know, next game is, for both series,

is game four. Like I said, if a team can go up 3-1, I mean, you're basically donezo. Unless you're the Golden State Warriors. Dude,

yeah, fuck, man. I was talking basketball. Jesus. That's hilarious. Like, I don't even watch. I don's hilarious. I don't even watch. I don't even... All I see is...

I think game two in that Golden State series with San Antonio was 136 to 100. Yeah. They should have just had Cleveland and San Antonio meet back in fucking October and save everybody the time. Although the Cavs were only a four-point fucking favorite last night. That line was so low, it was like suspiciously low. Yeah, like somebody knows something here. But Celtics minus three and a half, second half, boom, done. Yeah, that's a great bet.

You were hot last night. But all right, we're going to now welcome in our boy Vincent Trocek. You know, we really appreciate him coming on. So here we go with Trouch Dog. We are now pleasure to bring in, not join, Vincent Trocek, stud winger for the Florida Panthers, a guy I had a chance to play with in the minors. I knew right away how good he was going to be.

Troch, what's going on, buddy? How you doing, buddy? How you been? Where are you at right now, first off? What's the summer's plans give me all the good stuff i'm back in pittsburgh staying here for the summer the burg uh basically just uh golfing yes dude how's your game plans how's your game it's getting there i mean i'm not up to the level that you're at but i'm starting to get i paid him to say that i actually made him to say it did you uh quickly did you decide did usa hockey not ask you to go play or did you decide not to go play

i have uh i tore my leg from like towards the end of the year no shit yeah so it was kind of just a needed to get healthy kind of thing and uh dale didn't really want me to get even more injured at that world. That makes sense. I just figured you'd be ripping it up on the big ice over there. Did you need surgery for that? No, it was kind of like up to me whether or not to get surgery. And I decided to just kind of strengthen it. And hopefully it doesn't happen again.

Awesome. Well, we're wishing you the best. Vince, you grew up in a hockey mad city. I'm assuming were you a Penguins fan growing up, I'm guessing? Yeah, I was. Who were the players you idolized from Pittsburgh when you were a youngster? Ryan Whitney. Yeah, dude, idolizing my off-ice antics.

NHL needs to increase their drug testing, it sounds like. Obviously, guys like Sid and Gino. I was able to watch Mario and Yogs a little bit whenever I was younger so I had quite a few guys that I could look up to and try to emulate my game after now how long does it take to watch that fandom out of your system like

obviously you grow up you know cheering for them rooting for them and then now all of a sudden you're in the same league as those guys does it just kind of go away instantly or does like the fandom still linger at all at any point, even though they're a competitor to you? I'm a pretty competitive kid, so basically after the first time we played them, I started to hate them.

Yeah, that's exactly what I figured you were going to say. Let me ask you right now, with the current playoff situation, the Penguins, we're recording, the Penguins just went down 2-1 to the Ottawa Senators last night. They got blown out in Game 3 in Ottawa. So what is the fandom in the Pittsburgh area

talking about Marc-Andre Fleury today? They're definitely blaming him. I was just talking about this last night. I can just imagine how many people are going to start blaming Marc-Andre Fleury for the game last night. Honestly, in my opinion, he's been one of the best goalies in the league. So I don't understand that. I think he's been the hottest

goalie in the playoffs. He's been the reason that they've made it as far as they have in a lot of games. Yeah, he's just been so good. And he's such a good guy. I don't know if you know him a little bit. But do you, like, so when you're watching these games right now, well, first off, actually, I wanted to ask you, everyone remembers their first game back in their hometown. So what was your first game in Pittsburgh like?

Did you guys get the dub? We got smoked. 5-1. What did Crosby do? I had the only goal for the Panthers, which was pretty cool. I had like 60 family members in the stands. It was bananas. I had to

go up and say hi to everybody after the game and I had three minutes to say hi to everybody. But it was really cool. After getting completely shit-kicked, you gotta be like, hey Grandma, here's my puck, here's my score. Grandma, sorry I got shit-kicked. Nah, you played so good, honey. So how – like everyone says like the first time they play against Crosby, they actually do – you know, you can't help but watch them.

Were you kind of blown away? Were you surprised or did you – did he do everything you expected? You know, in terms of like one of the – he is one of the best players of all time so i was interested to see after growing up and watching him were you was just as impressed as everyone else has been yeah the first time i played against him i was kind of like in a third fourth line role so i didn't have to play against him luckily but uh you sit on the bench and you see some of the stuff that he does that like most guys wouldn't even think of trying just because it's so risky or it's just impossible to do. He's a freak of nature.

So, like I said, Vinny, you went from growing up in a hockey-mad city to Pittsburgh, and now you're playing the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market, which is a little bit different. What are the best parts of playing down in, well, I don't want to say Florida because people think the whole state and, of course, the Tampa Bay Lightning, but what's the best part of playing in Miami- well, I don't want to say Florida because people think the whole state and of course the Tampa Bay Lightning, but what's the best part of playing in Miami, Fort Lauderdale area and what's probably like the not best part of playing there? I don't want to say the worst, but. I mean, the weather is obviously

unbelievable. You can't wake up in Florida and not be happy with the sunshine. Yeah, because you're playing G. Because you can play G whenever you want to. And tell some guy a meth runs by with a bottle rocket up his ass. It's like, oh yeah, I live in Florida. I mean, it's cool.

We don't get noticed too much down there, which is kind of a good thing, too. You don't have to get bothered too much whenever you're going out to eat or something or you're going out with the boys. I mean, obviously you wish there'd be a little bit of a bigger fan base down there, and I think we're trying to build it, and it's getting there a little bit more each year.

The more we win, the better the fans will get, obviously. Yeah, and I think it's not the players' fault. The Panthers had a great run back in 96. You remember that, right? Yes, yes, yes. John Van Beesbrook won on a roll, and the whole city jumped behind him, but Miami's just a tough area fan-wise,

because Tampa has, the fans have come, they've stuck there, but it's just something about that area. I don't know if it's it's miami's just a tough area fan wise because you know tampa has the fans have come they've stuck there but it's just something about that area i don't know if it's because of all the clubs the ecstasy the beaches no in florida in florida you have either you have really rich people or you have people that have like find eight foot long snakes in the ceiling like that's like there's like no in between and trocha is going to be a really rich one soon enough but yeah i was trying to i was trying to explain to these guys earlier that um when i my last year playing over north america i got sent down and i that's what i met met you trocha in san antonio and i told you right away i said you're not going to be here very long um this is this is going to be a short stay for you and so it's funny you had tom row down there and you had him and you had him this year and

with how skilled your game is and how much success you had early in your career, was Tom, did he have the leash on you, or was he kind of holding you back? Like I know in times in San Antonio, he would just be giving it to you when you tried to make some plays happen out of nothing. Oh, yeah, he did. You were there. You remember it. I mean, he was tough on me for sure.

In the minors especially, there was games where, like, I almost had to change my game to kind of try to be a grinder to do what he wanted me to do and stuff like that. But I think, in a way, I guess it could have helped me out a little bit. And he pushed me to kind of get my work ethic up a little bit. And then this year I had him again. And he did change. He changed a lot from whenever he was in the minors to the National League.

Obviously, you've got to change. You can't be yelling at guys left and right. I mean, you can't be sitting there yelling at a 45-year-old jogger to get on the floor and start hitting people. So I think he kind of figured that out a little bit, and he changed a little bit of his attitude.

You're like, just take the weight belt off, Yags. Holy fuck. Jesus Christ. He's skating around post-games with that thing still on, right? He's got the weight vest. He's got the primaries when he was 13 years old. Now, when Gerard Gallant was kind of unceremoniously dumped in the middle of the season, what kind of impact did that have in the locker room, Vincent? It seemed like it kind of came out of nowhere.

I mean, what effect does that have on the players when no one sees it kind of coming like that? Man, Turk is one of the greatest guys that I've ever been able to be around in an organization he was a great coach everybody loved him so whenever he was fired it was tough on everybody I mean uh the locker room was definitely the morale was real low whenever he got he got let go um we didn't really know what to expect we didn't want to have to go from having Turk uh kind of giving us free reign to do what we want to somebody that was just going to torture us. So it was obviously a little scary, but we were able to manage.

Is that Gallant's nickname, Turk, the Turk? Yeah, sorry, Turk. Turk is Gerard Gallant. I've heard nothing but just great things in terms of the type of guy he is, and he's really honest with players, so that's no surprise to hear you say that um you know i i tried talking about we talked about your team throughout the year because you guys went on such a good run at one point and then it kind of ended and i was trying to explain to these guys and and kind of fans that are fringe hockey fans that aren't really uh into seeing what every team has in terms of rosters but how good of a player is barkov for people who don't get to see, like,

that guy play regularly? Oh, man, if he was in a big market, like, if he was in Toronto, he'd be the talk of the league. The kid is an absolute freedom maker. I said the same thing. He is the sickest hands I've ever seen. He's stronger than anybody I've ever met. Like, it's ridiculous the tools that he has.

Like, it's just watching him play. Have you seen his shootout goals? Like, the stuff he does at the blue line? Like, I'd be afraid to lose the puck at the blue line. He's doing, like, stupid shit at the blue line. It's insane. Yeah, he, I just was, I couldn't believe that kid when I saw how big and strong he was. And I don't know if you agree with this one, but it's almost like, it's really similar to, like, Andrzej Kopitar.

And almost in a way, like, even maybe a little more skilled or a little faster but just a guy that like in the next few years really i think will lead you lead your team into like that next level he's that type of player and you get i mean as a as a reference if i'm going to compare him to anybody it's andre kopitar and i i say the same thing he's a little bit more skilled he's got better hands and he's his work i think is i, he's been kind of following in Yog's footsteps. Like he stays after games just to work on his shot, work on his hands, work on his strength. It's awesome to watch. Yeah, that's beautiful.

Trochi, so we're the same age. You know, we're both. Trochi! We're both whaling dimes. So my question to you, you you know you're a millionaire i'm i'm broke as hell venmo how how awesome well yeah you need an assistant um how awesome is it just to be 23 24 years old living you know having a ton of money living in south florida just absolutely crushing it like how awesome is life just Just tell me, man. Just give him something to crank it to tonight.

Yeah, please. I don't know, man. I mean, it's almost like I'm not 23, 24 years old. It's kind of weird. I mean, we've been, everybody who's in the NHL right now, they've been working out their whole life to get here. So it's kind of like just the norm. And I don't feel like a young guy anymore because I've been in the league for a few years.

But, I mean, I'm definitely not going to sit here and complain about living in Florida playing hockey and we got a great group down there so we definitely have some fun I think I think that I will say no one's coach a little bit it's more when you say that it's in terms of um you appreciate it like a lot of guys really do like they don't take it for granted but at the same time like you said it is amazing once in a while to sit back and think about it but in your first so your first two NHl years pretty much here give me the best player not to put you on the spot the player that you've played against that you've just been like holy shit like he has been noticeably the the the number one guy that you've seen in a game competing against him d-man maybe forward maybe like is it sid it's kind of hard not to be him i guess yeah it's hard to

not pick i mean if i was going to say the toughest guy to play against Shea Weber's easily really guy that I cannot stand going up against he's the meanest strongest human on the planet and I definitely when I'm out there on the PK I'm doing my best to stay away from whenever he's in the one-timer side you're like I'm a half wall guy I'm all set over near where he's crossing here comes the Weber bomb and then obviously Sid I mean he it's tough to not say that he's the best player to play against. I mean, if you're trying to – I was in a little bit of a defensive role against Pittsburgh this year trying to shut down Sid and just keeping up with him, his work ethic,

and how he can go for hours without stopping. Yeah, he's a fucking energy. It's exhausting. What about Eric Carlson, man? I mean, obviously, you're in the same division as him. How unbelievable has he been in this playoffs, particularly playing with a couple hairline fractures in his foot? Yeah, and then he's golfing at Oakmont on the off day.

How unreal is that? We were going to talk about that before. I couldn't believe it. He probably went out and shot like even par, too. That kid's just the one who's nasty at everything. He is unbelievable. He's one of those guys that you can just do and and show up to the rink and be the best and obviously in these playoffs he's been lighting it up he's so skilled it's insane

how sick it would how sick would it be troach um to have a have the coach actually say to the media that he honestly really doesn't have to practice he doesn't like that would be like i have to play with a chew in his mouth you're like you, you're like Ernie McCracken. It's like, I'm finally above the law. Vince, I know we're going to be wrapping up soon. So I got one more question for you. There's going to be a huge, huge hole in the Florida Panthers locker room next year. Sean Thornton is all done with the NHL after an illustrious two-cup winning career.

Talk about what a guy like that means to the locker room. And, like, you know, although he didn't, you didn't play as much this year because his role, obviously, in the league has kind of diminished, but what does a guy like him mean to a locker room? How much does he hold it together? Yeah, he's the glue in the locker room. Even when he's not playing, even when he's out of the lineup, he's still that guy in the locker room you kind of look to as a role model,

and he knows what it takes to be a winner. Obviously, he's an old-school, work- you kind of look to as a as a role model and he knows what what it takes to be a winner and obviously he's a old school work hard kind of guy and whenever he is in the lineup definitely feel three feet taller just having him around because you know nobody's gonna master you because he'll be the uh and away from the rank he's a great guy i mean what can you say about sean thorny just likes to have a good time. Golf nut, too. Golf nut. Loves golf. His goal is to play every course in the top 100, so I think he's got like 57 right now.

I'm at 53, so I'm behind him, but that's my goal, too. We'll have to get it done together, maybe me and Thornton. Yeah, you'll definitely have a good time if you're out there with Thornton. So, you know, I know we're going to let you go, but i do want to know because i could tell how driven of an athlete and a person you were when i met you so this summer what are you kind of thinking of in terms of um like i want to improve on this next year i want to come back i want to be better at this it's like you hear you hear the best players always say one every year they improve something so what do you got well i mean it's tough to do in the offseason but i definitely want to improve

the defensive side of my game which i've been working on a little bit with with coaches and video and stuff like that and the one thing that i've been focusing on i think the most is i think just having a an incredible shot in this league is going such a far away like right now i mean you see guys like ovechkin kucherov on the half wall just take him one tease has like 30 goals from that same spot i think if you can have a great shot in this league, it's going to take you a far winner. Dude, it's so hard to get to the net now that if you're able to score from the top of the circles, you completely separate yourself from everyone else.

So I think that, I mean, I've seen a couple, you had a couple cheese snipes this year coming down the wing, so that's great to hear. But we really appreciate you coming on, dude. We know you're running around. Good luck with that golf game. Practice your short on, dude. We know you're running around. Good luck with that golf game. Practice your short game, dude. Remember that.

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shirt. Thanks a lot to Vincent Trochak for coming on and joining us. I think that you're going to see a lot of big things from him in the future. It's nice to talk to a young American who's going to make a difference in the NHL. Absolutely. And hopefully this summer, in our live from our South Boston studio,

we'll hopefully have some more American stars. If you guys are listening. Keith Yandel, he promised me he's coming in for an in-person one. I will preface that, Trochek's teammate, my good buddy Keith Yandel, the funniest person I've probably ever met. So I think we'll enjoy him. I know that's setting it high. We need Eichel in here as well.

Yeah, Eichel. Maybe we'll get Eichel. Did you guys see the NHL.com they released? It's pretty cool. You're now voting. You can go and vote on the greatest NHL team ever assembled. They got 20 teams listed that you can kind of vote from. I think it's pretty cool when you look back. And even, you know, I don't know a ton about the teams

in the 70s, but I, you know, you go back and you look back. Oh, let me tell you. Yeah, dude, your RA's 48 going on 93. So my team actually isn't even on there. I loved the 96-97 Red Wings. That was their first Stanley Cup in a long time. They actually have on the 97-98 team, which I'm assuming had better numbers in terms of points and things like that. But the reason I love the 97 team is because I grew up – Steve Eisenman was my favorite player. That was like – I remember when I was 11, my dad got me the Red Wings – 1993 because it had the great patch of the guy raising the cup. And it was the Eisenman red jersey with the captain sign on there. And that was the thing I wore every pond hockey thing until I grew out of it.

But I love the wings. And that was when they had the Russian Five still together. So the team that NHL.com has listed, Vladimir Konstantinov, that summer, actually was paralyzed. I don't know if people even – people probably don't even really – a lot of people probably don't even really remember. A lot of people probably don't know or remember him, but that was an incredible player. He was part of the Russian Five. They had Slava Fetisov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Igor Larionov, Victor Kozlov on the left side, and who was the right winger at Russian?

Kozlov, Larionov, who was the right winger at Russian? Kozlov, Larionov, Fedorov Fedorov, Fedorov, Fedorov And so just the fact that Konstantinov was on the team that I loved He hammered guys He was like Ken Danico but with more offensive skill He was just a motherfucker to play against Fantastic And then that summer he actually got

He was paralyzed in a limo The limo driver ended up going to prison he was shit-faced driving these guys around so they had the limo post stanley cup celebrations in the middle of the summer and um terrible him and the team masseuse another russian was paralyzed and it's just so sad you think back about how amazing his career would have been uh but that's why i just always think back i love that that first wings have been. But that's why I just always think back. I love that first Wings Cup in 97. Yeah, that was terrible. They went and they did the right thing. They swept the Flyers.

They went out and they got a limo to drive around. The fucking asshole got drunk and he damn near killed the both of them. But Konstantinov, I loved watching him play. He was big, mean, nasty. He was kind of like, you know, maybe not quite the offensive game. Don't forget Fedorov, by the way. Slap me in the face. That was the guy I forget.

I was thinking older Russians. But Konstantinov, if I were to compare him to a modern-day player, kind of easy for me. Maybe like the offense a little bit less, but Shea Weber, man, as far as like, you know, two-way player. Yeah, in terms of how hard he was to play against. He can bury it. He was a mean, nasty defenseman.

Trochek loves playing against Shea Weber. But taking a look at the list, and obviously, well, it's basically a post-expansion list of the 20 teams. Who's your pick? Man, I mean... Bruins, 70.

Org, Old, May 10th, 19th, Chevy. That's my team. Mark it down. It's like I got no teeth or something. No, I mean, obviously, I'm sentimental to the 70 Bruins, but listen, man, I grew up fucking,

had my childhood fucking tooled and abused by the 1970s Montreal Canadiens, dude. My dad says that too. They were the greatest team I've ever seen. Hammer and nail, right? With the Bruins. Yeah, exactly. Like I said, there was no rivalry. It was hammer and nail.

Fucking, I mean, you had Larry Robinson. I always call it, you know, what you need, a playoff triumvirate. You had Ken Dryden, you had Larry Robinson. I always call it, you know, when you need a playoff triumvirate, you had Ken Dryden, you had Larry Robinson, and you had fucking Guy Lafleur. I mean, you could pick any, I mean, fucking any forward based on that team, but those three guys killed the Bruins for a decade. I mean, Kenny Dryden was phenomenal.

I mean, starting 71, he'd come out as, wasn't even a rookie yet. He actually was a rookie the next year. Larry Robinson. Cornell University. He was the, Larry Robinson was like the, Cornell College, I don Robinson was like the Zidane O'Chara mold, basically. He was the big, nasty defenseman who can also score. Guy Lafleur, one of the best snipers ever.

That Canadian team was just stacked. They have the 76, 77, and 78 versions. I know they won six cups that decade. Those teams are basically interchangeable. I know maybe the depth guys changed out, but any one of those Canadian teams, man, I put them on the best ever. They probably had some decent times in Montreal in the 70s.

Holy shit. No cell phones, no internet, and Montreal running around with the Stanley Cup. Big bushes on everyone. We all run around the Stanley Cup. Big bushes on everyone. Chez Paris. It's like, really easy, Wanda.

Who's yours, Grinnell? I'd say 01 Avalanche. Yeah? That's a good one. Fuck. I remember watching. Sackick, Forsberg. Sackick and Ray Bork, dude. Huge Ray Bork guy.

I remember watching that game. Ten guys got together. And that was like everyone just wanted the abs for Bork. Yeah, it was. How old were you then? I got eight. You were eight years old then? Yeah.

Wow. I was nine. I was nine. You were nine. Okay. I was at a wedding, actually, for Bork. The Bork game. Game seven.

It was a wedding down at Cape. And fucking 80% of the fucking wedding was staring at this little TV above the bar. Poor Brad. That was a- Ended up divorced too, but for the best. That was- No, he was an asshole. He's a free man.

So that was actually the time, that was like the lowest moment in Boston sports. They were so bad and then they had the fucking parade for Ray Borg. I can't believe that. And remember, it was, they were so bad and then they had the fucking parade for Ray Bork. I can't believe that. And remember, like, it was like, no teams won, everyone stunk,

and that was right before it all changed. It all started, yeah. It all started. You know what? That was like the last pathetic Boston thing, the parade for Ray Bork to win a cup

with the Avalanche. Hot take. It doesn't happen if Bork doesn't bring the cup to the side of City Hall. Yeah, dude, man, Borky, thanks, man.

You did that for us, dude. Dude, you ever see, like, you know, when the fucking butterfly effect? Dude, that's when Bork brought the cup there. It caused a traffic jam, right? Well, what ended up, Shirelli was late. He was able to sign Chara and survive, dude. It was fucking crazy. You won't believe it. Yeah, you know,

it's just one of those things where Ray Bork saved the city. Yeah. No, it is a good point. I'm not going to lie. I was over there. I had to check the cup. Little did I know I was going to be partying with the cup in a few years. You were over there probably taking notes and shit. You were just loving it, I bet.

Yeah, well, I didn't know I was going to get so close to the Stanley Cup a few times. There you go. R.A. set up the whole parade. Do you remember who scored the two goals in that game seven for the Avalanche? Was it Drury? Nope. No. Another amazing rookie, though.

Hey, Duke? No. Tanguy? Alex Tanguy. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He was a fucking awesome player. Yeah, he was a good player. Awesome player.

He played forever, too. Yeah, he had a ridiculous career. I heard a funny trivia question the other day. I couldn't believe it. Do you know what person in the Nashville Predators organization holds the record for hat tricks for Northeastern

University with 11? Say that again? Someone within the Nashville Predators organization holds the record for hat tricks at Northeastern for college hockey with 11. Wow. I would have never guessed this. David Poyle. David Poyle, dude.

I gave it away by not saying on the team, but I didn't even know that guy played hockey. 11 hatties in college. I'm too sure. By the way, shout out to Massachusetts coaches, dude. We got two of them in the Final Four. I actually said, though, Peter Laviolette, he sounds like he's from Moose Jaw. He has a legit Canadian accent.

I don't know where that came from. I think it's, you know, well, he is a fucking coach and all over the place. Remember? Actually, remember the Bruins actually groomed him to be their next coach? They fucked him. They bypassed him three times. Now, the first time. He's been to two cup finals.

For Pat Burns, okay, yeah, you know, Pat Burns. Then they did it for Keenan. But then they had an opportunity to... Okay, now, he's 39 years old. He's been coaching in Providence forever. Robbie. Robbie fucking Fatora. Local guy.

Who should be noted, never head coached in the NHL again after the Bruins fucking let him go. LaViolette go. I don't know LaViolette. I mean, I'm sorry. I don't know LaViolette, and I also don't know Futuric, but he got fired with six games to go in the regular season, and then the Devils won the Cup.

Oh, when he coached the Devils. Do you remember that? Yeah. That's just like, and then they had this LaViolette guy ready to go, and he's proved to be a great coach. Yeah, he won the Cup in Carolina, brought him to another Cup. Within two games of going to another one. But, yeah, two Massachusetts guys.

I mean, Sully's obviously down two to one. But, you know, I think it's just representative of what we do here in MA. We got any O'Reilly and Hamilton's? We do. And this was week number one of being able to submit them via iTunes review. Oh, go on and unsubscribe and then subscribe to us again, by the way. And then do that again. And then do it again and then leave a question for all of you at Hamilton.

Or Venmo Grinnelli money. Please, Venmo me money. Okay, so Joe Harrington asks, what is the most valued treasured hockey or sports item you have? All right, Hamilton. That's a great question.

I know mine. Can I go? Yeah, you can. I have a brick from the Boston Garden. It's not on like... I actually... All right, he's like, I smashed a guy's head with it one time too,

so it's really been helpful to me. See what you get when you mess with the orphans? No, I do. I have a legitimate garden brick. When they were taking the garden down, I went over and, you over and they had the fences up and shit. It was funny. There was a Boston cop there. I was like,

can I grab one of those bricks? He's like, I don't see nothing. He goes, just don't let the security guard see you. The fucking Boston cop said that. I thought you meant you got one that they sold with a plaque. You just grabbed this random brick? I just got it off the excavation site so it's 100% legit. You can't even prove it.

I'm telling you I did. You technically called me a liar. I believe you. I believe you. No, I believe you. 100%, yeah. Imagine I just went out back to them. I'm like, yeah, this brick's from Master Square Garden, original.

Yeah, it's not like I'm just going to sign it. I'll probably get it fucking cremated into something. That's classic. The cop was probably like, dude, I don't give a shit. Yeah, he absolutely didn't care, yeah. Actually, it was a cop that got me in the game 6 of 86 Celtics, Houston Rockets, man. Remember back in the old garden, the nine of us would try to sneak in? Yeah.

I think I probably told this story before, but a bunch of us tried to sneak in. I got grabbed, and my father was like, hey, go out and find a cop. Ask for so-and-so. And I was like, hey, you know my officer so-and-so? He's like, who are you? And I'm like, oh, my dad's friend, blah, blah, blah. He's like, follow me. And he brought me right into the elevator dad's friend, blah, blah. He's like, follow me. And he brought me right in the elevator, 150 Causeway.

This is 30 years ago. He's with me. No, okay, officer. Brought me right up the elevator, 150 Causeway. He's with me. Walked me right in the garden. There you go, kid. Enjoy the day.

That's beautiful. Fucking beautiful. Old school. Old school. Mine's tough. Dude, I got to, when you play in the NHL For I think a couple years I didn't do it when I was a rookie But you start

At least I don't know if they still do it I think they do You ask the best players for sticks So I asked But I didn't do it a lot But tons of times That's why I asked for yours, man Crosby would get the trainer

Like, hey, this guy There's two guys that want sticks over there So he'd send them over to sign. And I got Lidstrom's. He was my favorite player growing up. That one was probably great. Maybe the silver medal I have. That one's, you know.

Did I ever tell you guys I played in the Olympics? I heard something about that. You did? Yeah, I did one time. Semi-big. Just for a couple games. So the silver medal. And then I actually got the

I was at the Masters this year. I don't know if I did tell you that to you guys? No, you didn't. You didn't? Oh, really?

No. I got the pin though the first day of play on Thursday. It was the first Masters since Arnold Palmer so an Arnie's Army pin that they used to wear

when he was playing and all the women he was probably walking around following him. They would wear the Arnie's Army pins. Back in the day. So mine, going back to the Owen Avalanche, I actually have one of

my grandpa's a big auction guy, goes to auctions and stuff all the time. Yeah, I want an Arnold. Exactly, just like that. At an auction he got one of Ray Bork's playoff jerseys from that Colorado Avalanche run and it's signed. Still got the fight strap in it and everything there you go dude not something you'd ever wear right not something you'd ever wear right no no it's framed uh it's framed nice

frame that's a good one yeah that's a really good one all right what else anymore or was that it uh nope we got one more i also got a berger on rookie jersey oh that's a nice one so uh matt ogorek asks uh how does a player perceive being put onto the expansion list not being selected and returning to their original team um i mean i think that most of the time you probably know what's coming where your agent's like listen there's a really good chance they're gonna get you're gonna let you know be unprotected but um it's not necessarily a bad thing where you think right away, like, oh, the team doesn't want me. Because if you're in a spot, if you think you're a good player and you haven't gotten a chance on maybe a top two line and you may not get it where you are now, you're like, all right, dude, get me to another NHL team. I'll prove I can be an offensive player.

So that would be. Or maybe they don't want to pay you. The writing's on the wall. The writing's on the wall. But it's also different this year. I mean, it's Vegas, dude. It's kind of sick. Yeah.

Oh, you want to send me to Vegas? Oh, yeah. Oh, oh. Wait's making a comeback. Okay. Well, the team could always be like, hey, you know, if they put them on the list and then that one takes them. You could just be like, no, you know, we saw that phrase, if you love something, let it go. And if it comes back, it was meant to be.

Spin doctor. Big spin zone. Two nights in Vegas, though, and I'm like, dude, living there. I know it's different living there. People say you don't go on the strip and stuff. Yeah, you don't go out doing blow and hook until 6 in the morning. I mean, no, like, jot in the brochure Or a website Told me about it Like whatever

I've still never been Yeah dude We gotta change that We gotta fix that Maybe we'll do our 100th episode in Vegas We should Wow do you hear that

Nat Dini Wanna put that bill That would be a great idea Please Oh wow When the Knights open up business We could Little promo

Maybe it's like Maybe 500th episode I don't know I don't know We'll make it work Rob Brinelli Never been to Vegas How old

What 20 25 25 Yeah you know what Actually my first time Going out I was actually 25

So you should get there soon Alright we got time For one more We do It's What's the funniest way That someone's gotten injured As a result

And caused As a result And caused them to miss a game. All right, Hamilton. Pulled muscle, rubbed my one out. Did that happen to somebody? No. Actually, you can do it when you get like a leg cramp during sex.

What about the time... Remember Sammy Sosa hurt himself from sneezing? True. Remember when you told us about the guy who got drunk the night before the game and he faked the injury. He faked the ankle injury. We're skating around in warm-ups. I had another buddy when he was playing college hockey. Was having a night at a local BU bar.

And he walked out low and like, ah! And he went to just boot one of those orange buckets or whatever cones that they have for the city. And there was a cement block in there so he's like like his ankles fuck i think he i don't know if he ever missed the game but that was a that was a pretty classic and which one comes to mind um what was it it was eric johnson who had yeah he had the golf cart incident yeah that was that was from um that was actually no it was he was out on the golf course you know how how, like, if you're in a cart, you'll be dragging, sometimes you'll just drag your foot? Yeah.

He was doing that, and it just got caught and mangled his leg. It wasn't even anything, like, bad. Yeah. Would he have a little trouble at the Roadside Olympics if it was in a Chevy on 93? No, apparently it wasn't at all, actually. I know him. All right. No, no, I know that's one that comes to mind, obviously it wasn't at all, actually. I know him. All right. No, no.

I know that's one that comes to mind, obviously. Yeah. That sucks, though. That ended up kind of changing his career a little bit. Tore ACL when you're 20. I mean, fucking brutal. Yeah, that sucks. That's a downer. No 10, Dawn.

They never did find the anthrax guy. Debbie Downer. Debbie Downer. Tell us about your worst day ever. This week's All Right Hamilton was brought to you by us, the boys at Spittin' Chicklets. Let everybody out there know it's summertime. You're going to be gassing beers and probably chucking nooks,

especially if you're going to Faneuil Hall. Support the show by rocking our gear. Go to Bostlewsports.com slash chicklets. Order up our t-shirts, our tank tops. We have black and gold. We got Flyers colors. We got red, white, and blue. We're for July 4th coming up. Can't beat those colors.

Go to Bostlesports.com slash chicklets. Again, support the pod, support the squad, as you were. Actually, we'll end it on a better note. I know you guys didn't catch it. It was on after the post-game show last night. Kudos to NBC for putting a brand-new fucking show on at midnight, NBCSN. I mean, you want people to watch it, man.

I thought it was a repeat. Seriously, it was a talk show, I guess, with Mike Emmerich hosted. They had Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Sidney Crosby, and Jonathan Tabes. It was a roundtable discussion. Pure hockey porn. Name him again. Gretzky, Orr, Lemieux, Tabes, Crosby. So four

cups, Gretzky, two cups, Orr, two cups, Lemieux. That's eight. Tabes, three, eleven, Crosby. Thirteen fucking cups in there. You education right there, man. I'm a math guy. Ask my buddies. I'm a math guy. Taves 311 Crosby 13 fucking cups Yeah BU education right there man I'm a math guy Math major

Ask my buddies I'm a math guy Honestly I wish I mean it was only a half hour long I wish it was two hours long I mean it was You know a lot of Mutual admiration society

But Bobby was such a Fucking great guy I mean he's Obviously humility is To have his superstar status And to still remain that humble He's the best You know they were like

Busting each other's chops because they were like, oh, they were talking about three on three. And Emmerich asked like, Taves, if it was you, you, Crosby, and say Duncan Keith,

how would you do against them three? And it was like, you wouldn't be. It was like, you know, like busting chops. But even like, it was like,

you know, you had Gretzky there who worshipped Orr growing up and then you had Taves who worshipped Gretzky and Lemieux growing up. So it was like, you know, kind of big almost circle jerk kind of going on. But it was like You know kind of big That is awesome

Circle jerk kind of going on But it was It was great stuff Just you know Emmerich like I said He kind of ran the whole thing I wish they went A little bit longer

But anytime you can get Those guys together in a room It's obviously good shit So check that out I'm sure NBCSN Will be replaying The hell out of it I don't know

Whatever the hell the name is You'll find it there It'll be on at like Two in the morning All the greats Yeah like all the greats out there. So what else we got going on? Oh, Saturday night, if you're not doing nothing in Boston,

we'll tweet out the link from the Chicklets account. Captain Kahn's our buddy who runs the whole coast of Zero Block Dirty. He's going to be in town. There's a booze cruise down the, what's it, leaving from fucking the World Trade Center here in Boston. Seaport. Seaport, yeah. Operation Heal Our Heroes, I believe.

I don't have the link in front of me. We'll tweet out the link from my account, from the Chicklets account. If you got nothing to do, I know there's tickets still available. Open bar season. Open bar season. Yeah, it's an open bar, booze cruise. It's going to be beautiful weather. If you're in Boston or if you're going to want to get up here, it's going to be a great time.

R.A.'s a featured guest, too. On the invitation, it says. Featured guest time. R.A.'s a featured guest too. On the invitation it says Featured guest. What are you holding? The stand-up routine? Oh, jeez. I better get my fucking haircut and shave if that's the case. If you're in town and you're looking for something to do Saturday night, a lot of us stool guys are going to be there. You can't do any better than that.

Supporting a fantastic cause while gassing beers with some of the stool guys. Hopefully no checking next though. Those military guys will fuck you up. Yeah, they will. Legends. Yes, absolutely. We salute. So I think that about wraps it up. Go Preds. Go Sens.

That's it for me. Go Pens. Go Ducks. Fuck you. Peace out. This week on All of the Above with Norman Lear, deep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus sits down with Norman and Paul. Well, you know, there wasn't a script when I was first talking to HBO about it. There wasn't a concept. And my agent had said to me, listen, they're developing this thing at HBO about an unhappy vice president, an unhappy female vice president.

And I thought to myself, well, I've got to get in on this action because it's gold. And it's so amazing that nobody's done it before. Listen today on the Podcast One app or subscribe at Apple Podcasts or on PodcastOne.com.