Spittin Chiclets - Spittin' Chiclets Episode 34: Featuring Eric Nystrom

Episode Date: June 8, 2017

On this week's show, the boys kick things off by recapping RA and Grinnelli's wild trip to Nashville for Games 3 & 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, from the insane atmosphere to the generosity of our Southern listeners. The fellas also discuss the series and how the Preds evened things up to make it a best-of-three. Former NHLer and current NHL Network analyst Eric Nystrom joins the show to talk about Nashville's ascension to NHL contender, his time playing in Norway, and Pittsburgh's struggles on D. The guys also answer #AllRightHamilton questions and Ryan drops a major "Whitney-Bomb".You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/schiclets

Hey, Spittin' Chicklets listeners, you can find every episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Hello, everybody. Welcome to episode 34 of Spittin' Children. Sounded great. Brought to you by Bastl Sports. That is what Smashville sounds like, my friends. Say hello to our producer, Mikey Grinelli. Hello, gentlemen.

What up, what up to you fellas? Ryan Whitney. I'm interested as anyone right now to really hear this whole ordeal because falling online was classic. Holy shit. You guys look so banged up. We probably... Bad man.

We look and feel like the opposite of a million bucks, and honestly, I have absolutely zero regrets whatsoever. I got that for you. I've been... I mean, I, you know, I have been fortunate to go on a lot of trips, sports-related, otherwise bachelor parties, that type of shit, and somebody's getting bumped from probably the top five. Like, I don't know who yet.

I'm going to have to sit down. But somebody is getting their ass bumped from the top five greatest I don't know who yet. I'm going to have to sit down. But somebody is getting their ass bumped from the top five greatest trips I've ever taken. The games, obviously, the atmosphere, like we said online, college hockey meets European soccer or football in the most complimentary way possible. Participatory, rowdy, crazy,

never crossing the line. The concert in between periods, I love that. Very nice touch. It's good music too exactly it's every way you go i mean the potty atmosphere obviously the arena set up with a boss strip is genius idea i mean best spot for an arena in any like pros i've never seen a rink or like you know field or whatever baseball stadium this in the middle of it like fenway is great yeah but it's because Broadway's just that one street where you're just getting after it. Oh, my God.

And just before the game, I mean, you know when you're in a cup city, the vibe is in the city. Well, you've had it in Pittsburgh, even Boston, the Bruins were in the cup. But down there, it's already a party city. It's the bachelorette party capital of the world or whatever you hear it. Or AK Waste of Time when you're out. Oh, dude, there's so many Rockets everywhere And it's just

It's nuts Like I got up Sunday Dude I was dying I mean I was coming up with Colors that I never saw before Exorcist green Like dying

On the bull We found An internet angel Reached out Come on down We'll smoke you up Just such a necessity For you in Nashville

He left me on Broadway Dude I'm sure you did alright No no no I you in Nashville. He left me on Broadway. I'm sure you did all right. Actually, no, no, no. I stayed on Broadway. I volunteered to stay on Broadway. Okay, but can you tell the listeners what happened twice when we were sitting there for lunch? What did I do when I got up? Oh, yeah.

When I was eating lunch, he didn't eat all day, and he just kept going, throwing up. I had to leave the restaurant. Oh, so you were completely— I had to leave. You buckled yourself. I had to find an alley twice on Broadway. This is after game one. This was Sunday, yeah.

So also, I mean, I know, I'm assuming you two, I hammered the Predators. Oh, yeah. That was the biggest money. Puck line. Finally, two puck lines in a row, plus 220. Oh, juice, dude. Just laughing my ass.

I told every single friend I had to bet their house on game three in Nashville. And then when Pittsburgh went up 1-0, I just was like, no. That clock's not going to cancel again. No. Sorry. NHL fine. By the way, so this is like a – I find this funny in terms of you guys being down there, me being here, seeing both sides of these Twitter wars.

Pittsburgh fans are furious at the amount of respect and discussion the city of Nashville has gotten. Oh, petty. I now see all these ridiculous... So it seems like everyone's rooting for the Predators, I think. Maybe because I think a lot of hockey fans are at this point, just seeing the atmosphere. But the hockey now is like... Forget all the off the stuff that you guys have to tell me.

Just the fact that the two games went that way And we have a series now is the more exciting part for me I can't They can't lose in that arena It makes sense that they can't lose If they win in Pittsburgh they're going to have the chance to win it And they're going to win it at home And if they lose they're going to win at home

It's going seven I'm talking game five Will this be coming out Friday? We haven't recorded Thursday They're going to go It's going seven And talking game five Sorry I mean Will this be coming out What Friday Will everyone be hearing this Yeah we're just We are recording We have been recording Thursday We're recording Wednesday This week

It didn't matter Because we You know They're playing Unless we did a late Friday But you're Oh by the way Alright

You're going Are you going golfing Or something Yeah dude Yeah I actually got My honeymoon Oh It's out the bag The cat's out. Oh, it's out the bag.

The cat's out the bag. The cat's out the bag. Which is all done. He's a married man. Jesus Christ, as I eat an M&M. We do. Surprise wedding for yours truly. Friday night.

That's why I wasn't down there with these boys in Nashville. So hit the guys at the surprise wedding. Baby on the way, too. So it's all going down. It's all going down. Baby November 30th. This is good times in my life but I did really miss that fucking Nashville

trip. We've been swimming to Almertha for Whitney's sake over here. We've been sitting on that one for a while. That is why we have to record this being Wednesday. I will be out of the country. Big goings on. We've been sitting on that. We didn't tell anyone.

We told everyone we had a big, big party. You two are the only two who know about that surprise wedding. But honestly, surprise weddings are not nearly as cool as Nashville's. Can we please talk about that? All right, back to Nashville. No, it's funny you said that about the game situation because my thal and wife picked me up at Logan yesterday. We got in a little late.

Getting the guy I kissed the first thing I said. I'm going back. That was the second thing I said. We're all even at two, baby. That's legit the first thing I said I'm going back that was the second thing I said we're all even at two baby like that's legit the first thing I said yeah well you have big time I mean you have a lot of rooting interest in this

very much so and of course you know even if I was neutral going down you'd become a French fan going there and yeah

Pittsburgh fans are being so salty and pissy I love Fidel Berg called him out on the blog that donkey meteorologist, like, oh, one playoff run doesn't mean you're a hockey team.

And then someone dunked all over him with their nuts in his face when they pulled that article from 10 years ago when nobody was going to fucking Penguins games and they almost went to fucking Kansas City.

Well, I was playing there. Exactly. But it became incredible once you had a really good team. Exactly. And Pittsburgh had struggled for so long. So Nashville gets really good

and they have fans. So what are you talking about? Listen, Boston is... We might be title town. We're also bandwagon fucking title town because I went to the Garden when there's 6,000 people. Foxborough when there's 11,000. But people are bandwagon here.

Everybody's bandwagon every day. That's the point. When you get a good team, people who weren't interested... I jumped on the fucking Celtics bandwagon a few years ago. Whatever, it's sports. And I think, honestly, that that's, in the way that Vancouver's biting and fucking bitchy tactics

turn the hockey world against them, I think Pittsburgh's sniping from their fans and media. It's like, shut up, dude. You're cup champions. You guys have been a contender for 10 years, and you're complaining that you're not getting the attention. It's like, settle down. And it's two to two.

I feel like Pittsburgh can still easily win this series. Absolutely. So it's just them being sour, I think, that the two games went that way. But Grinnell, you did mention it. I didn't want to get past it. The atmosphere in terms of those games and them not being able to lose, it was that noticeable to you guys. I mean, to me, SEC football and English Shocker,

it was like the craziest thing I've ever seen. So warm-ups, you guys were completely full. Now, I've seen this story now. You guys were there. We were in the building both nights. Because I wouldn't go before warm-ups. Dude, I didn't go to warm-ups when the Bruins were in the cup, dude. Yeah, it's like warm-ups, dude.

Some guys' hair looks great. Yeah, warm-ups are like a couple extra pints at the greatest bar or something before you go into the game. Shout out, Grinnelli. But no, down there, we're like, no, we want to get in there. Plus, I mean, the security lines were long and we got to our seats probably 15 minutes before warm-ups

because they got music playing. It's just rocking in there. You grab a couple drinks, they're hanging out, and then the big predator head drops from the sky. And dude, that Nash, the mascot, dude, he must have been an army ranger or something, dude. He rappelled like a son of a bitch. Then he stood.

It was like fucking Mick Foley. He climbed like a 30-foot ladder with nothing tethered to him. Stops waving the towel to him like in a fucking mascot suit. I was shitting my pants. It was like a Russian YouTube video watching the thing. So when you're there, do you notice that right away Pittsburgh looked hot of it? Is it just that hard? When Nashville got the pucks going, it just seems to get even louder and louder.

And then they have power plays and you can't hear anything. Yeah, the fans definitely know the game down there. That's one stereotype. Really? I mean, I honestly at one point didn't say to myself, geez, these guys don't know the game. I don't know about maybe Grinnelli. Yeah, no, and they don't sit down.

In the lower bowl, they don't sit down either, so half of them are standing the entire game. Yeah, it's just, I mean, that's why I said, they can't lose. After we went to game three, I'm like, someone said, oh, what do you think, game five? I said, they cannot lose in that building. I said, it's just, and if you're on the other team, now, all right, let's go to you, a former player.

Now, say that's you on the road. Like, you know, would that, does that have an opposite effect on you guys? Does that not get you fired up as well because it's just such a vibe in the building, but it's not for you? How does that work? I mean, that's the thing. It can really work, and you're seeing it right now with Nashville.

It's more so their team and how good the team is. I mean, they played awesome in Pittsburgh, too, because San Jose is crazy also. Pittsburgh went in there and won the cup in there last year. So a good enough team, and I'm not saying Pittsburgh isn't good enough because they could still win this series, but that doesn't create that much of an atmosphere like we can't win here. You know what I mean? Right, right.

I never thought that. No one I ever played with did. It's just once the game gets going, like Pittsburgh scores the first goal game three, I'm sure they felt great. Like, oh, boys, let's take them out of it. Like, not that you can with that crowd, but. But the crowd. Did you notice, like, you know, people.

I thought Crosby was amazing in game four. He got a little shit in game three. And people are writing that game five is Crosby and Malik in the legacy, which is complete. So, dude, that's one of the worst articles I ever read was by this guy. ESPN Canada writer. I don't even, I can't think of his name because I read,

I was like, this is so, and a Pittsburgh writer actually said, this is the worst article I've ever read. That's how I saw it. And I was like,

holy shit. Must have really been bad. But basically, did you, did you see them not have, like, from you guys being in the game, did they look out of it

in at least game three or did they look good? Like, what did it look like being there? Game four, Sidney obviously was noticeable. He was flying. He was flying in the game, did they look out of it in at least game three? Or did they look good? What did it look like being there? Game four, Sidney obviously was noticeable. He was flying that game. He was flying in the two breakaways. Actually, the goal he scored was right down our end.

It was a fucking sweet move. He was no... He still looks so lucky. He hit the post, then his foot. Yeah, that's... Sid gets every bounce, too. It's funny because they didn't show the replay right away. What's great about texting is my brother's watching,

so I'm like, I can text him right away. He's like, hit his foot on the post. Post foot. Post foot. He goes, oh, he meant to do that. That's exactly what I said. I was pretty buckled for both games. My memory isn't great.

It's like when you go to a Red Sox game, and then the next day you see the highlights, you're like, what? But I do remember saying to him, Malkin looks like shit. isn't great. It's like when you go to a Red Sox game and then the next day you see the highlights and you're like, what? But I do remember saying to him, Malkin looks like shit both games, being like,

he looks terrible. He looked exhausted, I thought. He didn't look like he cared. Obviously, that's not the case. No, I know. He can look like that

with a big guy too, especially, but he wasn't what he'd been the entire playoffs. You didn't, I didn't notice him. I said it. I'm not sure if he had

a shot on goal to set off game four. I know he didn't in game three. I said after the game, you didn't even notice him out there. And I think that's not just on Mark. I think it's a testament to a guy or two guys we've been used to seeing offense from and they're playing defense. P.K. Subban,

man. I mean, you know, we haven't seen as much of that. I know your best friend. Yeah, I know. I saw that. I got a picture with P he's, you know, we haven't seen as much of that. I'm your best friend. Yeah, I know. I knew BFF. Yeah, so you guys, I saw that. I got a picture with PK. Yeah. Yeah, well, yeah, we saw, we bumped up. We're boys. We're boys. You know, we spit and chick, let's take Nash. We managed to get to the plow. Is he going to join

us at some point? We try, you know, we threw it out there. R.A. made best friends with his dad. That'll get us in. Dude, I hung out with Kyle for about 20 minutes, shot the shit with him after the game. First name basis us in. I hung out with Kyle for about 20 minutes. Shot the shit with him after the game. First name basis.

Dude, that's where we're at now. Hey, Carly. He's a wicked great guy. No, seriously, we shot the shit for a while. Awesome dude. We briefly met Roman Yossi.

How handsome is that guy? Hunter in person, dude. He's a legit supermodel. Dude, I got a little leak. Just wanted to run my fingers through his hair. He's nasty too out there.

That goal he scored, was that the slapper? That was game three, I think. What a, I just wanted to run My fingers through his hair He's nasty too That goal he scored Was that the slapper That was game four That was game three I think Yeah What a I mean

Nashville's D Is what we talked about And the weird thing is though Is how good Rene is at home And how He's been shit on the road Five and five on the road This playoff season

It's not weird to me though Like I said Once you're You're just so confident In that arena It's just You're just so confident Yeah when arena. You're just so confident. Yeah, when they're behind you, they're all behind them.

They're chanting his name. There's just never even a question in your mind that they're going to lose the game. Luongo had a great tweet, by the way. He's the best. What did he say? I'm going to be insulted if I don't get it. It's an all your fault. If he doesn't hear it next year, he'll be pissed.

By the way, Bobby Lou, if you're listening, we'd love to have you on check. Yeah, I asked him. I got no response. Come on. Thanks, buddy. Come on. Be a paisan, Bobby Lou, if you're a listener, we'd love to have you on check. Yeah, I asked him. I got no response. Oh, come on. Thanks, buddy. Come on. I'll be a paisan, Bobby Lou. What's my name?

Skip? Oh, hey, yo. So what the hell else down there? Just, oh, Zolna Cech. He's a listener, too. Good for him. He's playing a good role for flying around for the predators. Yeah, we bumped in on a PA parental.

We bumped in. Oh, I think we might. AC, I ran into as well. AC Collins? After. No, Anson Carter. Oh, okay. God damn, you know what's me. we bumped in oh i think we might we uh ac we i ran into as well because uh he comes after no anson kata after oh okay god damn you know it's me it's ac that's the best we know afterwards i i buddy from boston he sent me a uh text like one day hey we're at ff what's it florida fgl i'm not the bars down there huh yeah so we went i was it was like the you know there were a few preds hanging out florida georgia line over that new brand new bar down there yeah huh? Yeah, so we went It was like There were a few Preds hanging out Florida Georgia line

Over that brand new bar down there Yeah, I closed it down Sunday night Shocker Shocker Wow, so When you're going out So, Grinelli

When you went to game three Right, that was Saturday night Yes Then Sunday What time were you back on Broadway Boozing? Right, the second we went out to lunch When we were at lunch

And what time did you make it Till that night? Three in the morning? Yeah So you were on a You were on a complete Four day shift Oh yeah, better Right the second we went out to lunch. And what time did you make it till that night? Three in the morning? Yeah. So you were on a complete four-day shift. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he had something. I miss those days.

He had a straggler. She wouldn't leave his side. Literally, she followed us to about three bars. And it was like that drunk girl hanging out. Was that a spitting chick? It's groupie, Grinnelly? I think it was because... Do we have a fresh Groupie story?

No, I think it was because at the bar we were at, the reception that R.A. got from this one kid... Some kid went more nuts than I would... It's like R.A. saw when he sees the Stones.

This kid went crazy. He didn't try to blow me. He went crazy. Jack is like, that guy from Boston. Holy shit. Went right for my dick. Yeah, so. Wait, so what about, how did you guys get the tickets?

Internet Angel. Internet Angel. No shit. Yeah. Somebody who was a fan of the show appreciated that we wanted to go down to Nashville and went Internet Angel. And we had a couple Internet Angels down there. And you had a Sunday Internet Angel too.

Yeah, Sunday. Yeah, like, you know, it's funny, man. Like, Barstool related, someone's, hey, hey, my buddies are down there at this bar. They want to grab, buy you a beer and smoke nugs with you. And I was like, what bar and when are they there? And like,

legit, 10 minutes later, I actually tweeted out the vape. I picture the vape. It was like, help me, Obi-Wan. You're my only hope. That was Saturday and then Sunday when I was dying like I said ducking into alleys

to puke and I was I got an invite went over dude internet angels down in Nashville ripped about fucking

I don't know however many bong hits I could in an hour I stayed on Broadway is there any chance of you going back down there for game six is that just tough

right now no I would put it at about a 95% chance if it's a clinch you might back down there for Game 6? Is that just tough right now? No, I would put it at about a 95% chance. You might just move there. If Nashville wins Thursday night and they can clinch Sunday, if I can line up,

I don't have to worry about hotels. Oh, by the way, it's Country Fest down there. Country Fest. It started yesterday. It ends Sunday, the same day as Game 6 down there. 100,000 people are predicted to be on Broadway. Hotel rooms will be a no-go, but again, internet angels. I've already got a couch or two I can flop on if I need to.

You can sleep on the sidewalk down there. If I can get an arrangement, if I can get in the game guaranteed, then I'll be there if it's a potential clincher, yeah. Yeah, and you're a big cup in the building. You're their guy. I mean, you know, I've seen it four times, man, and four out of seven cups. This is my eighth cup. And by the way, in my eighth cup, I've been to

not a big deal. Only two on a press pass. And this blew the others by far. I mean, just like the whole, the game, the atmosphere, the vibe. I've never experienced anything like it. And I know people, people just such haters. Yeah, if that's the case, I don't know why people are so mad if that's the case. That's why I said I could have the plane yesterday come home.

Like, how can you get mad at that? That's like the pure joy of sport. Like, wow, we're all here. Like, have fun. It's not like you're shitting on the other places. You're just saying this place was a better atmosphere. No one's talking about, oh, Pittsburgh. And I've said it before.

I know I'm dumping on Taylor. I love the city. I've been there. People are great. Pittsburgh better atmosphere. Exactly. No one's talking about Pittsburgh. And I've said it before. I know I'm dumping on Taylor. I love the city. I've been there. People are great. Pittsburgh's atmosphere is great. My original internet, Stanley Cup Angel, is from Pittsburgh. My buddy on Twitter, he's the guy who picked me up at the airport, gave me a fucking hotel, said,

you work for this company for a discount, took me to lunch, bought me a beer. I got enough for love for the people of Pittsburgh. Just some of them are being bitchy right now. I think what it is is you said it, Grinnelli, that you can basically party there all day on a Tuesday in the middle. It doesn't matter. You just walk up and down that street any day of the year and people are drinking. So to add that, it's a little different than any other city

where that's only happening on a Saturday afternoon. It's like Mardi Gras meets Slapshot. That's legit. Did you guys beat the shit out of the penguins car i thought there'd be video you guys doing that we saw that speaking of oh i i don't remember seeing it yeah i tried to hump it i said i said that to somebody i goes you know we were at a buy like sunday i goes you know what? I goes, I haven't seen anything remotely close to sniffing a confrontation down here. I go put on my phone, Barstool, fucking who's the only idiots fighting in fucking Tennessee? Rex and Rob Ryan.

Rex and Rob Ryan. I thought I was going to see you in the middle of it too. All right. And of course, they're in fucking Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville, like the most commercial bar on the strip. All these like bars have been there for hundreds of years that are local legends. What is the story? They actually tried to fight it?

I mean honestly knowing people were probably donkeys to them and they probably were standing their ground I mean like you know people are irate sometimes but just the hilarious

that the one I mean literally like it's such a fun vibe like I mean we're assholes and you know we fucking we can be Shirley you don't have to go

chucking nuts dude that melts away and like you know me and Creel hadn't been the happiest campers going down doing like whatever life shit we don't bore people with.

But you get there and like, I didn't even think about Boston until like 40 hours. Oh, yeah. That's a straight up complete vacation. If I'm going to show up at a bar in Boston, they're like, fuck you. And down there, they're like, oh, let me buy you a drink, bud. I'm sorry. So many bars. Like people like, oh, we saw, we watched the game the other night.

We had to be here. We drove down. You have tickets? No, we just wanted to come down. We flew down. We're going to people from all over. And then even the chicklets listeners, dude. Guys like, you guys, I won't say you.

You guys are huge in Birmingham, Alabama. I was like, what the fuck? I was like, that is awesome. Hey, it's funny you say he said that because Justin Thomas, superstar PGA Tour golfer, follows our Instagram account. I saw that because I follow him.

I'm like, all right, well, he's an Alabama guy. Maybe we have a little following in Birmingham. You know, we know we got Hockey Marcus and Edmonton guys. We hung out with some Edmonton guys the other night. They were big fans of Witts. Yeah, right. No, no, no. I swear to God, they were.

Did you see the video I sent you? Yeah, I did. I couldn't understand anything you guys were saying. I just kept watching it. I loved it, though. But, like, to know that... But to know we're getting into, like, non-traditional markets and people listening in, that's what, like, you know,

we're here to have fun but also preach the gospel of hockey. And, yeah, that was awesome doing that. Oh, is that a pun? Because Alabama's the... That was pretty good. Testify, Whitney. That was awesome. Is that a pun? Because Alabama is the... That's pretty good. Testify, Whitney. That's pretty good. RA interviewed some guy and asked him what number four meant.

And it took the kid... I thought he was going to rip his head off. He said, we'll ask some hockey questions. He goes, number four. The kid's like, number four? What are you talking about? I'm sure he was programmed. He got NASCAR first.

Did he get... He traded NASCAR driver for... No, no. He goes, Bobby Orr Oh he got it He got it One spoiler No we got a mega

It's going to take Grinnelli a couple days To edit the video Because it's like We got a lot of content But we're going to have A nice mega video I got to stop

Write my blog I literally got in Yesterday Went ahead of work Last night Woke up today And started doing this So we got to jump

Right back into it. So, all right, well, now it's good that this is all happening in the middle of this National Cup Finals that we're going to have on my buddy, Eric Nystrom. I played with him back in the day at the United States National Development Program. And he's really wanted to come on. So let's welcome on Nye. He's really wanted to come on, so let's welcome on Nye.

And now we're going to bring in 10-year NHL and current staff member of the NHL Network, Ryan Whitney's co-worker. It's Eric Nystrom, who actually was just playing with the Predators. Eric, welcome to Spitting Chicklets. Appreciate it a lot. Oh, thanks for coming on, man. Now, just to get some people up to speed, you had played with the Predators for the last few years. You had one year remaining on your deal.

You were bought out last summer. So as a guy who was just with so many of these players, is it a bittersweet feeling that they're going to the Cup Run, or are you kind of pulling for a lot of these guys because they were kind of your brothers for the last few years? You have a little bit of hard feelings against those guys. But at the end of the day, it's a business. Obviously, you know, you wish you were in there in the locker room with the boys and experiencing this. But what are you going to do, you know?

Yeah, I know. I hear you. That's life. I went through the same thing, Nye. But listen, I actually wanted to talk. I haven't talked to you in forever. But where did you play this year? You went over and played.

I went over. Wait, do you know that it's been almost 15 plus years since we played together i know that's crazy where does the time go man i know it's a usa program that seems that seems like i was over in that was the beginning and it just all of a sudden it was over it's like it really did go way too quick way Way too quick. It is time flies. This year I was over in Norway. I was sitting on my couch for about three months doing nothing. I didn't even know where my hockey equipment was.

And then I ended up getting a call. Well, actually, I got a direct message on my Twitter from the general manager of a team in Norway that I played with in the lockout. He said, you want to play? And then I just said, hey, go to the owner and see how much money, you know, the most money that he's willing to pay me and uh it came back with a pretty decent number so i said all right so i just picked up my gear and basically left for norway like uh two days later and had a blast we ended up winning the championship but they win every single year so i won a little silver cup but it wasn't the stanley cup oh that's unreal. Your dad still has that over you. For people who don't know, Eric's dad, legend Bob Nystrom,

scored the game-winning goal in overtime in, what was it, 1989? 80. 1980. Holy shit. And he still looks like he can play. That guy still would beat my ass. He's a machine. He would beat the shit out of, like, 99% of people out there.

Straight-up animal killer. Doesn't he still do CrossFit? Especially the way the league's going now. I know. So that's great that you won it over there. It's pretty fun playing over there. I just wonder, that basically meant when you were on the coach, you hadn't really retired yet and you could tell you weren't ready yet?

I basically was telling everybody that I was retired and I was still keeping in pretty good shape. I like to keep the fitness tight and walk around the beach in California. You got to have the abs popping through. You know that way. You got to show that tattoo you got down there too. That unreal tattoo. We'll leave that one out of it.

But you weren't ready. You weren't ready to stop skating. I respect it. What about next year? I'm doing some school stuff stop skating. I respect it. What about next year? I'm doing some school stuff too now, so I was pretty involved in that. So it was good to get my mind off that a little bit and give me something to do. But I got some feelers out for Europe next year possibly, but if not, I got some other calls in the fire. Maybe it's time to just put him up in the stall for good.

As Whit mentioned, your dad scored that huge goal to kick off the Islanders dynasty. And as an older Bruins fan, I think the Islanders sometimes get overshadowed by the Canadians and the Oilers because they're obviously other dynasties. But those Islanders teams were one of the toughest, best teams I saw, and they dummied the Bruins for a good decade on their way to the dominance. So hats off to your old man. Just as a long-time NHL fan, he was a joy to watch.

I'll tell you the best part of Bob's career against the Bruins is when he beat up Mike Milbury. I watched that video yesterday. I think he did a lot of people some justice by beating up that guy. It sounds like something we'll have to tweet out. Everyone's happy to see that guy get his head punched in. It's just crazy that at this stage of the playoffs,

the NHL is in the finals, and that guy is the face of the league every single night. It's just like— I know. I don't get it. It's really questionable. I don't understand it. They used to look a lot different until your father got a hold of them. Yeah.

Exactly. Nye, so, like, going into, like—I want to go into your career in a little bit, but growing up around your dad, like, how cool was that to be around when he's playing pro hockey be around like the rink and i'm sure that gave you like you know you were always really passionate guy about hockey you loved it and what did it all start being around the guys in the room at that time in your dad's life yeah you know that's a good question my old man when he retired when i was really young when i was three but he was always involved in coaching for the next like five years. He was a,

an assistant with the Islanders for a bit, but then he was involved doing the alumni stuff, the organization did some like radio commenting. So we would go to Nassau Coliseum at like six 37 in the morning. And he had a key to the arena and him and I would just go on the ice at two of us. Like what kid gets to go and skate with his dad at an NHL arena, just the two of them. And we would just, you know, play keep away and play games.

And, you know, that was a huge advantage. I was around the dressing room and it was just, I was so lucky to have that. And I don't ever take that for granted. It was something that I was so fortunate to have. And Bob, obviously, you know, in a keep away game he he's like you're not getting a kid 1980 cup finals yeah he's like elbow me in the head when i was like eight wanted to go me if i stole it from him he's like give me a little puke fuck you oh shit it's my son hilarious exactly eric you had some some pretty uh pretty good pit stops along the way in your career obviously

hockey mad calgary um hockey mad minnesota but you know then you got to experience the southern Pretty good pit stops along the way in your career. Obviously, Hockey Mad Calgary, Hockey Mad Minnesota. But, you know, then you got to experience the Southern culture that, you know, I wouldn't say still burgeoning. I say it's here. People still talk about it like it's 1990. But you played in Dallas, and then you played for three years in the city. Me and my producer, Grinelli, just came back from Nashville. Talk about the experience playing there.

I mean, what's going on down there? I think it's stunning a lot of people, but what was it like playing there? Have you recovered yet? No, dude. His eyes are bloodshot. He's looking like he's all twerked out. He's just feeling it. Can you hear my voice?

Oh, yeah. Playing in Dallas and Nashville, I was so lucky with that also because I was freezing my ass off up in Calgary and Minnesota for the first five years of my career. But getting down to Nashville, I kind of right at the right time. My first year there,

we, our team, we faced a lot of injuries and we didn't quite have the success. But then at the end of the year, we just went on one, some, some sort of tear, like we want 10 straight.

And then it was the next year that we really started rolling and i don't think we lost two games in a row and until uh march or something like that we went like 33 and 7 at home or we had some crazy home record and then it was the next season that we had the the run to the playoffs uh that was that was last year where we made it to the second round game seven and then obviously this year you can see that it's just been picking up this momentum but the fans there are just insane they just i don't know if it's because they're you know a mix of they got the hockey fans that know what's going on and then the other half are just like the drunk you know uh southern you know rednecks that are just going crazy when anything happens out there so it's just such a unique mix of fans down there that just

make this atmosphere that's incredible and it's almost like a college football game they got the chance going they got everything and they've really embraced the team there the predators gold is everywhere you go down the street they got banners everywhere the houses have flags it's that it's a really great hockey city gets very's very underrated. Yeah, I said the same thing even playing there before any of this. It was always a fun place to play. The crowd was always great down there. And just being right on Broadway and being so close to just walk from so many bars is just the perfect scenario.

So what do you think moving forward in the series? I've said there's zero chance they're going to lose at home. So either they force a Game 7, if they lose game five, or they're going to win the cup next Sunday night. So what do you think, moving forward, how this series ends up here? Yeah, that's what I was thinking. The same thing. The first home team to lose is going to be the team that loses the cup.

Whoever wins that first road game, if the Predators can squeak out a win in Pittsburgh tomorrow, there's a good chance that they can be hoisting that cup but you know it's conversely the same thing if uh the penguins can win the next game and then come back to bridgestone and somehow find a way to win in that arena they got a good chance of closing it out as well but i mean the pred the first two games i don't think you know that the scores really indicated where the series was. I think the last two games were a little bit more truthful. But I'll tell you what, there are a couple guys on the Penguins back

end that are glaringly brutal, but I don't want to name names. They need to make some personnel changes back there, I swear. I'm telling you, that's the hardest part about you've been on NHL Network, you and I have done a little bit of it this year and it's so hard because sometimes people really suck but as a player you're like fuck i don't want to rip this guy

he's doing his best because you remember i remember getting ripped but it's like oh my god if i'm paid to do this like these guys like holy mod has got to get it going. Holy shit, dude. Thank you. I was hoping you were going to say that name. I don't know what he's doing out there. Can he hit the outlet in the middle without icing the puck? I mean, I'm sure I was the guy who got ripped on plenty for being a plug. But this guy cannot hit the middle without an icing. It's like he looks like a peewee player out there.

It's a simple, like, 10-footer, too. Dude, I mean, I did plenty of bad shit, but just come on, buddy, here. It's like Game 4, Cup Finals. Like, just snap the puck up to the guy's tape in front of you. Shoot it off the glass. Do something. Dude, like, it's just turnover after turnover after turnover. It's amazing.

Like, the amount of times that I've said that, I'm sitting on the couch next to my wife, and I'm going, here's Mata. And next thing you know, it's like a Predators flurry of six chances in front of the net. They're just chomping their bits. Craig Smith's getting out there. He's like, Mata, here we go. Chance time. I think everybody's licking their chops at that.

It sounds like I feel real bad naming names, by the way. I really kind of went back. But hey, you know what? That's why it's called. But I'm glad that it's that guy because I don't know who he is. If we met in a back alley, I might be able to take you. Yeah, you got him tied up. It's like Homer Simpson when he goes to drunk school and they have to show the videos of everyone getting killed.

He's like, that's funny because I don't know him. All right. Going back to Nashville. Back to Nashville. I don't know. Did you see the mayor? She tweeted out a note for everybody to be tardy for work yesterday. It said, dear, like with dear fill in the blank, please excuse this person for doing their civic duty and cheering on the predators last night. Allow them to be one or two hours late for work.

It was like sort of tongue in cheek. But I thought that was pretty, pretty funny stuff coming from the politician down there. Yeah, and that just shows how involved the community is with that team. And that's basically the foundation that they've built. They're sins of Smashville, and when you renew your season tickets, it's called renewing your citizenship. It's all community-based. they have the seventh man banner yeah so they're really tied into the community there and that's that's basically what they build their roots around in the organization and over the last probably five years I mean in 2007 they were talking about moving

that team and over the last you know since then they've got new ownership new management obviously they get a little bit of revenue sharing from the league which you know you get to play with but you know they've done an amazing job of building the fan base and and you know building a strong team on the ice that's obviously the most important thing yeah i agree um but i i don't want to forget to bring this up. Playing with you when we were together, we were 17 or 18 years old. You went on, you played your freshman year at Michigan. You had this incredible season.

You go on your first-round pick from Calgary. So when you got to Calgary, I know you ended up playing four years at Michigan, but did you have a guy like I always bring on this podcast, like Lyle Odeline and John LeClair. When we came up, there were still those veteran legend names. Was there anyone in Calgary that you remember took you by your wing or tortured you as a rookie? Certain guys that you'll always think back to your first years in the league as guys that were just fun to be around?

Oh, yeah. I was playing with Bertuzzi and Jerome McGinley and Craig Conroy, Robin Regeer, Owen Nolan. Owen Nolan. Yeah, Owen Nolan. Like, you look at that list of names of the guys. I played Cujo was the goalie. Like, I'm like, no, I played with Cujo. So, like, you know, you look at that list of names and you're just like, man,

Darren McCarty, Brett Warner. These guys were going from those guys to the way the game is now. Those guys, they just don't exist anymore. These guys would plan these team events. It was so much fun. They would plan team events and be like, no wives allowed. You can't do that anymore. I know, exactly.

And they would have, like, limos would show up at Warner's house, and there would be, like, a scavenger hunt, and you had to, like, five guys would be in a limo, and you'd go on a scavenger hunt around Calgary, and you had to do something at each bar. Like, you know, like, that stuff now, man, it's everything. It would be on Twitter or some sort of social media now. You can't do anything. Oh, yeah, it would be like Calgary has gone patriarchal

and they're drinking the town dry. Where is everybody? This isn't inclusive. Yeah, exactly. What about, okay, so what about when you look back now, do you have like one thing that was like your favorite part about playing in the NHL? One memory that you'll always just think back when you tell stories later on? And I know you'll be telling lots of stories about your career.

Well, obviously I had a four-goal game. That was like the stars aligning. I put an Instagram about that. It was you next to St. Louis and Ovechkin. I'm like, what does one of these guys have to do with the other two? I was talking on the NHL network. We were actually talking about that. And every time we go on to the ice in Bridgestone Arena,

there's a record board with all these guys with single season records, the playoff records. And the most goals in the franchise in a single game is Eric Nystrom. That is quite possibly the most impossible thing to ever happen. And I'm holding the franchise record for goals in a game. I think I had like 11 that year, four of them in one game. So that's one I'll definitely be telling people.

I would have guessed that it would have been like most goals in an optional practice, Eric Neistat. Yeah, exactly. Speaking of guys whose names are kind of popping up, maybe you don't expect them. Frederick Goudreau, did you play with him at all? Did you interact with him? I know obviously he was in Milwaukee for a little bit. Yeah, definitely. What's shocking? Is you interact with him? I know, you know, obviously he was in Milwaukee for a little bit. Yeah, definitely. Like, what's shocking?

Is this shocking to you? You know what? He was pretty highly touted in the minors. But he was undrafted. But once he got into the organization, he was definitely a guy that they were very, very impressed with. And I was injured for a big part of last season. At the end of the year, I went down to Milwaukee and played a couple games on a conditioning spin. And him and that Pontus Aberg, these guys were, you could see that they were going to

be solid players. And now Gaudreau's coming up and he scored three goals in the cup finally. Are you kidding me? Like, who does that? Doesn't play one NHL, you know, plays like seven NHL games or something, goes into the finals and is burying three goals. But he's definitely a solid player. He's going to be a solid player for that team going forward for sure.

Yeah, no, it's been really impressive. And, Nye, dude, I wish we could stay longer. We'd love to have you on again, but thank you so much for coming on. I always enjoyed our time. It's funny, we stayed pretty close for guys who played together when we were 17 years old, till now we're just these old weathered goats, although you still have abs in California.

I know. I know, but dude, thanks. Let's play some golf. Yeah, exactly. Let's play some golf soon. Thanks for having me, fellas. Anytime, buddy. Eric, thanks so much for coming on, buddy. We really appreciate it. Alright, see you, fellas. See you, man. Take care, buddy. Alright, thanks once again to care, buddy. All right. Thanks once again to Eric Nystrom for coming on.

It was actually pretty timely. He just played in Nashville. His father dummied my favorite team growing up. His father dummied a lot of guys. His father dummied a lot of guys. So did Nye, actually. And honestly, that Islanders team, I do sometimes think they get overshadowed because they were between Edmonton and Montreal,

but they were pretty fucking dynastic themselves. All right, Hamilton, Grinnelli, special Nashville edition. I don't know, fire away. Yeah, well, Eric Nystrom, pretty funny guy. So Danny Stewart asked, teammate with the driest slash funniest humor that you wouldn't guess, and he says he heard Girardi for the Rangers is fucking hilarious. All right, Hamilton. I could see that.

He looks like he's got the driest humor. I always say Rob Scuderi had the driest sense of humor ever. Actually, his father, where he probably got it from, first time his father met my dad in Wilkes-Barre, walked up behind him.

I was like, hey, Dan Whitney, nice to meet you, you know? And Mr. Scuderi gave him a pat on the back, and my dad's like, what a good guy this guy is. And then an hour later, my dad's like, people are all looking at me.

And it was a sign like, I'm an asshole or something. So that's how Rob Scuderi gets it from his dad, who was a cop for many years. So he was always classic to be around. Not that I was around a lot. A Jets and Mets fan, by the way. Oh, tough. My sympathies. They do make for good Twitter humor. Not that I was around a lot. A Jets and Mets fan, by the way. Oh, tough. My sympathies saw that.

They do make for good Twitter humor. I mean, not that I was obviously not around a locker room as much as Witt, but Sean Thornton is like... He's hilarious. That was like his kingdom when he ran that Bruins locker room, and he is a fucking riot, dude. He's just a funny bastard, dude. Yeah, he is. When he came here, he already had that Irish wit. He just fit in he just that guy was just built for boston yeah exactly exactly all right so uh

nashville great city great hockey town uh matt asked what is or was the worst nhlc to play in worst fans facilities worst nightlife and i said and i asked this too also because that arena the bridgestone arena, I told you. Built the same year as the Garden, and it's amazing. And it feels 15 years newer. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's crazy.

But the Garden, in terms of built in 95, it's already fucking terrible. Toast. I think the worst for me, and it's tough because when they were winning, it was awesome. But Carolina, it's usually empty. It's in the middle of nowhere. It's right next to NC State's football stadium. And it's like there's no real city around. I think if you're a married guy with a family, you'd like playing in Carolina.

But as a single guy, it seems pretty miserable to me. To piggyback on the point about bridgestone man that like you said a lot of arenas they build that sound like dallas for example around the same time dallas is it their arena it's uh yeah where the stars play they build that in like the mid to late 90s oh that's that's even better than nashville's too so that's a joke in terms of the garden because well what it would it those what those places had was a huge space to build on. See, the garden, because they were determined to put it on that same spot at North Station. And also determined to keep playing the garden.

You know, Jacob shoehorned himself in. He had the garden in front, the trains in back, 93 on one side. There's nowhere to make it real nice. Literally nowhere. So he put, I mean, you talk about shoehorn. That garden is shoehorned in. There's no leg room. There's no ballroom. it real nice. Literally no way. So he put a – I mean, you talk about shoehorn. That guy in his shoehorned in, there's no leg room. There's no ballroom. You can't move at all.

And it's like a fucking yellow cinder block. A cinder block, he painted yellow because you know what? They're going to fucking come anyways. And then when you go to a city like Nashville or you go to a city like Dallas or you go to fucking Anaheim where the Ducks play, and it's palatial. It's a beautiful building. It takes up three city blocks, and you could walk in it for hours. And, you know, yeah, Boston fans, we don't need that.

We just want the hockey, but you realize how much we got fucked out of a really nice arena when they did the quote-unquote new garden. To answer your question, I mean, two teams have left, so obviously Atlanta was probably the worst city ever for hockey. I mean, at least Carolina is still there for who knows how much longer. She is, though. And the Panthers, I mean, Panthers, they get picked on a lot, but credit to the Panthers' ownership, the people who work there,

they're doing what they can. The players do what they can. South Florida is just a tough fucking market. I mean, it's a tough market for sports people really like there, let alone for a sport that's not native. But Atlanta hockey, done. I tried it twice. So Sean Kaufman asks,

the NHL can improve on a ton of things. What do you guys think the players would like to see changed? All right, Hamilton. Man, that's a good one. I feel like so out of touch with being in the nhl right now because i wouldn't know consistent the inconsistency of refereeing perhaps yeah i think that that's frustrating to players i think this i mean just for me right now though because it's happened is this offsides call

is so i know we talked about it last week with the with when you lost it was a big no that was a big deal for you. That sucks. Players, I don't know. That's a great one, actually. They probably would want to get rid of back-to-backs. What about... I wouldn't mind seeing back-to-backs gone. Could the players somehow negotiate getting rid of the instigator rule, or is that something that can't happen?

Is that the NHL rule? I think that that's kind of... At this point, the game's so different now anyways. How many guys really want the interior back? You always hear people say they're going to get the interior back. It's always fans who want somebody to get punished if they do a dirty hit. It's like players don't talk about that that much. I do think though – I think I've always thought it would be cool if hockey had a little more baseball in it

where maybe sometimes you go and you play L. uh la two in a row or or home and home series yeah like series and like and then for players you get to like i'm so jealous baseball players get into boston on monday night and then leave like friday morning oh my god talk about living it up on the road you get comfy unpack your bag so that'd be cool if you're playing i don't think that could really ever happen in hockey but it'd be nice to see talk about padding the stats and not to mention scoring a few goals figuring out where you want to go to have supper you know what I mean yeah among other things um if I was a player of course I'm not uh my my gripe and this is not really on ice would be like let's have every fucking game of the Stanley Cup on NBC, not the first game on NBC, and then people have to watch games two and three on NBC.

I was like, wait, these all aren't on NBC? I mean, like, you know, I get that's the network they want to showcase it, but listen, the priority here is getting the most fucking eyeballs on the game. And by putting the Stanley Cup game two and three on NBCSN, you're doing a disservice to yourself, not to mention viewers. It's just easy. I mean, it's the fucking premier event. It should be on the premier channel on the network.

So that's my player complaint. I'll give you that one. I like that one. Thanks, buddy. All right. Any more of these? Mike Marini. I'm going to play golf today.

Ooh. Mike Marini asked, what are the best and worst goal horns and what is the loudest and most obnoxious? All right, Hamilton. The loudest, most obnoxious thing in the NHL is that fucking cannon in Columbus. Every single... I think I lost like three times there, giving up seven. But every time, it's like, boom! And you're like, oh, you just jump.

You're like, oh, shit. But that drove me nuts. I like Chicago's loud. I like their horn a lot. You know who has a good one? The Devils. I like the Devils, yeah. Yeah, but there's like eight people there.

The Devils! The Devils! Putty. David Putty, man. I got to say, I probably would have given a different answer five days ago, but singing along in the country songs. I like it. I love it.

That's a great goal song. Unreal. It sucks hearing it when you're down there and not on the pedestal. You're like, oh, God damn it. That first game, well, game three, I was so buckled, dude. I was faking the lyrics. I didn't know the chant. I knew the new you suck ones, but I had to fake it, but I didn't care, dude.

It was so much fun to sing along and be participatory and all that. How's the bank account looking, Grinnelly? Do you really want But like I had to fake it But I didn't care dude It was like so much fun To sing along And like be participatory And all that so How's the bank account Looking Granoli Do you really want to know Yeah $14 in the bank $14 in credit card

$450 in debt But so worth it dude I get paid Friday So worth it buddy Yeah it should be I mean It was the best trip In my life

That is just awesome Besides Super Bowl I love hearing that And it could be like They call it Smashville For like the hockey But it's also like Off the ice

Yeah They could call it Smashville Because I mean honestly Like I said I barely even drink I have a couple beers here and there R.A. Woods wrecked I answered the bell

Fucking like Three days Just because you're there Getting up in age too It's tough to answer the bell Two or three nights in a row anymore You hit that hot sun Hungover dude

And the next thing you know You're puking in an alley On Broadway But like you'll just fucking You're just like I can't I'm in Nashville dude Like it's just

It's like a track that Pulls you there Like I can't sit In a fucking hotel room No no no You're an absolute loser If you're sitting In your hotel room

Up and at them every day It was dynamite The hospitality as well Everyone was so just so nice down there and yeah like the like the Kip Rad

we interviewed we did a lot of man on the streets played some chicklets with some I mean I'm sorry asked a millennial with some fans

gave some gear away it was fun and one guy said he goes man he goes you know Tennessee wants a winner he goes you get a bunch

of SEC fans give them some beer and send them in and it makes for a great time and send them like send them in to it makes for a great time and send him to watch something with hitting

and physical exactly oh here we go Weber Bomb Weber Bomb and oh just to call back I know we get

closing up here the original Predator I call it we told the story about how they found the Sabertooth Tiger well they have the original on display

that they found when they dug up I mean if you're into fucking Jurassic Park artifacts, it was fucking dynamite. They had a bunch of other animal bones they found, too. So I tweeted out over the weekend, but we'll put it in the blog as well. That's beautiful. And one final shout-out to that dude who made us that on Twitter. I didn't write his handle down.

Shame on me. We'll tweet it out again. That awesome fucking chiclet sign he made. Oh, yeah, with Benz and Kami. With Benz and Kami and us guys. It was good stuff. Our boys. Thank you very much for Eric Nystrom.

Thanks again. Join it on. Get to Nashville, man. I don't care. If you're one of those grumps like, oh, I'm sick of hearing about Nashville. GFY, because you're just being a fucking load with a dump in your pants. Enjoy it. Yep, enjoy it.

Get waffled. All right, Pete Frankie. Peace out. Peace. Thanks, fellas. Back about 18 and 25, I left Tennessee very much alive. I never would have made it through the Arkansas mud if I hadn't been riding on a Tennessee stud. Had some trouble with my sweetheart's pa. One of her brothers was a bad outlaw I wrote a letter to my Uncle Fudd

And I rode away on a Tennessee stud The Tennessee stud was long and lean The color of the sun and his eyes were green