Spittin Chiclets - Spittin' Chiclets Episode 410: Featuring Derek Lalonde

Episode Date: October 11, 2022

On this week’s episode of Spittin’ Chiclets, the guys are joined by Detroit Red Wings Head Coach, Derek Lalonde. Derek joined (01:51:03) to discuss hanging with RA in college, the Lightning, and the Red Wings. But first, the guys open the show talking about their weekends and the upcoming live show in Pittsburgh. The boys also give their entire Eastern Conference Preview with playoff predictions.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 410 of Spittin' Chicklets, presented by Pink Whitney. From our friends at New Amsterdam Vodka, here in the Barstool Sports Podcast family. What's shaking, gang? Huge week on tap for the boys. 30 teams about to kick off the season.

Merle's coming to America. Biz, back on TV. We'll all be in the Steel City very soon. Let's say hi to the fellas first. Merle's, where you at right now TV. We'll all be in the steel city very soon. Let's say hi to the fellas for us. Merle's where you at right now, buddy. I'm over in Stockholm. I'm getting ready for the big trip over to the steel city,

Pittsburgh. I don't know if I've ever been so excited for one of our chiclets trips, but when he got packed for you, I know you spring some goodies for the candy. That's not a drug either. I got a ton of candy for you guys and for your kids with you know i want them rotting their teeth like my i always do to my kids so um basically just clothes i didn't know really know what the temperature is over there it's well i guess i could have looked at my phone for that yeah it would take too much effort i just brought everything i brought all my

chiclets t-shirts all my chiclets hoodies and i'm ready to go when was the last time you wore non-chiclet stuff like after a shower in the morning when you do shower uh yesterday we went to a two-year-old birthday and she gave me the really spitting chiclets for the birthday we're gonna start making some ties and dress shirts soon then sport coats yeah it's big typist all right next up producer mikey granelli you all stuff dress shirt soon then. Sport coats. Yeah. It's a big ship of diapers. All right, next up, producer Mikey Grinelli. You all stuff of Pittsburgh there or what, big guy? Very excited to get to Pittsburgh.

And like I said before, I've never been to Pittsburgh. So excited to try some Primanti Brothers and just see the city as a whole. I also took some big deals to New Jersey this weekend, was dishing them out like candy. The beer is just 10 out of 10. Everyone loved it. Everyone was over the moon about it. So everything's all great over here. weekend was dishing them out like candy uh the beer is just 10 out of 10 everyone loved it everyone was over the moon about it so everything's all great over here where were you dishing out beers

like the sidewalk no i went to a uh it was a birthday party so i brought two uh two 12 packs over there and i was just dishing them out to everyone there and everyone seemed to love it oh man does it photograph well i'm telling you uh stuff's been absolutely flying off the shelves because of this guy the wizard himself paul Paul Biznasty Bissonnette. How are you feeling about the beer sales thus far, my man? Oh, I don't know exactly what the sales are, but the response has been incredible. So many loyal Chicklets fans sending tons of photos,

loving the taste of it. It was a nice little primer for all the people in New York at the Bills tailgate. They were firing it up nonstop. There was even one guy who made it an ingredient to New York at the bills tailgate, they were firing it up nonstop. There was even one guy who, who made it an ingredient to his chili at the tailgate. So we want to thank you guys for all your support. And I know there's some people outside of the original six,

eight, six States, four of which have been mentioned. I believe as the fifth already been mentioned at this point, by this point. Yes, it is Massachusetts. The fifth has been mentioned.

Okay. And, and I know it's, it's the biggest secret in the world. I was told we can say the sixth state on this podcast, Biz, if you want to say it right now. Well, Pennsylvania, obviously. We're going there for the live show for a reason. Legal gambling state for the Barstool Sportsbook. Going back to see our penguins.

We got the live show. And, of course, Big Deal Brewing will be available. I think the cat show and of course uh big deal brewing will be available i i think the cat was out of the bag because already a few distributors in pennsylvania mainly in pittsburgh were stocked up and loaded and sent out a picture so uh we we launched the merchandise for it so it's you know it's a special moment for us guys we've been working a long time on this and uh we want to thank everybody at barstool and labatt and in uh in cisco and and everybody behind in cisco fisco chicken fingers yeah yeah but uh no it's been great um and uh do i just kind of say what i did

over the weekend or what i'd love to know what you did this weekend i went i went for a hike i got mentally prepared for a crazy 10-day bender work trip because, of course, TNT is kicking off in Colorado. We're going to do the banner raising. Game one is going to be between Washington and Boston and then throw it over to Colorado and Chicago. We mentioned it last pod. I think the league put it on a tee for the avalanche

to just have the ceremony. They actually get their rings on tuesday so very interested to see what the avalanche came up with as far as their rings because tampa kept pushing the envelope they had like the the hubcap spinner feature so uh we got that and then it's a 10 30 flight on thursday right over to pennsylvania uh gonna land in p in Pittsburgh, hit the ground running. We have a bar appearance before the Pittsburgh Penguins open up their season at home against the Coyotes. Grinnelli, I'm going to throw it back to you to let everybody know, or R.A., to let everybody know where that showing is going to be before we kick off the season in Pittsburgh.

It is at Tequila Cowboy. That is 380 North Shore Drive in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And the meet and greet is from 4 to 7. Morales, remember, what was that bar we went to for the Steelers games? High Tops. Oh, my God. The bars in this city, you guys, are the biggest gong show I've ever experienced in my life. And mainly, I guess it was the Steelers games that we'd be there.

I remember we were at. What was the other one? Oh, I know the one where it's when you met Mario and you had bloodshot eyes. It was tequila. Willie's 50. So I thought it was the drinks, beers on Wednesdays. Yes. Why did you have bloodshot eyes?

Because you puked. Because I got bugsy the night before. Oh, OK. And I was throwing up the whole morning before I was at the rink. And then I met Mario after with morals. I couldn't even see straight alone. Rookie bitch. But I just in saying

Tequila Jacks, sorry, G. Tequila Willies. Tequila Cowboys is where we are going. I heard tequila and I thought of Pittsburgh bars. All right. So Tequila Willies. We'll see you Thursday. Oh, my God. Cowboys. Tequila. Cowboys.

Can you just say the goddamn name right for the fans? Three. Cowboys. It's 330 on a Monday, guys. I'm completely fine. I don't know what's going on. This is the type of performance you have before they made the call to get Kunitz over for the trade is in. It's a one for one.

What do you do on those hikes biz is this like headphones in or are you just full no i actually uh i actually went with my ex-girlfriend we had a great little hike and uh you know just uh whoa yeah yeah yeah all right buddy i like hearing that good for you dude but but i had to take it easy because we got i mentioned the 10-day uh work bender we have coming up and it doesn't stop there tequila cowboys off to the rink to watch pittsburgh coyotes the next day a little sound check in the morning make sure that make sure the mics are actually working for this one and one of the biggest moments in in chiclets history we have a live show at a theater we sold out uh 800 tickets in eight minutes and then we decided to put another 200

on sale. So we have a thousand people live in attendance at what venue, Grinnelli? I'm gonna throw it back over. It's called Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall. So we will be there. The live show will kick off. We have some special guests that we're, we have a very special announcement. That's all we're going to say for now. And then we keep on rolling. We got a sandbagger on Saturday, unnamed guests as of right now. And then Saturday night, a live viewing party to, to get the barstool sports book going.

I'm sure Merle's is going to have a couple of fun props. You have been on fuego lately, and that should tap off the trip. We will try to get the, the Steelers Buccaneers game in on Sunday. Not sure if we have tickets quite yet. And then, of course, a live recording podcast. But what the fuck has been going on with all these bets, Merle?

It's a heater. I came on here. I don't think you – I think it was when R.A. and Grinnell and myself, we did one of the interview pods, and we were talking about preseason NHL. And I said, you can make a bundle on it if you want to put in the work and check the lineups, because a lot of these teams send up the AHL squad for the road games. So I just hitting those. And then it was so hot. I said,

why not dabble into the NFL? So I start hitting the NFL games. And then my favorite one, I picked Cleveland Indians in baseball because Ohio got announced that day as the big deal brewing state. And I said, Hey, when you're this hot, that's the kind of mojo, the karma you need. And they won that game. So they swept in there. Yeah. They won. They won both games. So it's been a hell of a run. I've got like nine windows open right now with all the different lines and

matchups and, and I'm ready for the week. The problem is, and, and for anyone who knows Merle's very well, you're well aware that he's so hot, right? As we're all going to meet each other and God damn it, this could be tough to continue because when we're all together, Mer, we have to finally get some wins because it's usually the exact opposite. Yeah, I'm excited. I hit the I hit the barstool prop from Big Cat that judge would hit the 62 home runs. So that's been sitting in my barstool account since last

time we were in Jersey. So it's going to be a good trip. You made me a bunch of dough last week. I had a nice little winner to not too often. You hit a 50 to one shot Thursday night's game. I put a bet and there'd be no touchdowns in the game. There were no touchdowns. No shit. 50 to one. That was 50 to one. I had on it. Yeah, no touchdowns. And I don't know if you saw the game with like how many times they almost got a touchdown. It was also one of

the worst games of I've ever seen. Ray was the only happy man in America that day. Exactly, man. I whacked it pretty good. I was pretty fired up. And then it went like literally down to the last play. If they score a touchdown, Wilson, that last play, I get toasted literally at the end, knocked it down.

I had the whole club going wild, rooting for me. It was pretty good. Since you've already brought it up, like I almost feel bad for the guy. It did come out afterward that he's injured. But when he went up to the podium and gave his post-game press conference and then afterward he he like drops the let's ride as he walking away it's just oh remember i asked a couple weeks ago like what's the deal with the aunt so i'm so emerged in like the the memes of russ let's cook it's the funniest shit i've ever seen on the no it's let's ride let's run oh that's no but it's also let shit I've ever seen on the internet. No, it's let's ride. No, but it's also let Russ cook.

I think that's one of the things. He says let's ride. He's trying to get on the bandwagon of everybody rides. EBO, stay away. Get out of here, Russell. Go cook somewhere else. But he, Biz, I don't think he has a clue. I think that's the whole

humor in it. This guy is absolutely foolish when it comes to reading the room, right? That's kind of the saying, like, dude, you just had one of the worst losses ever. You signed for $270 million, and you can't even throw a touchdown. Like, he – it's very funny, though. It's very funny to see how it's all going to play out, because if he keeps up this, like, positive attitude stuff, imagine if he wasn't in Denver and he was in new york someone would have killed him by now so one of his teammates

don't i don't know football very well i just see the memes i think it was number 25 for the broncos was giving him the stank guy on the sideline worse than i've ever seen and then of course when he missed that wide open guy on one of the final drives or if not the final drive he just pigeon tossed his helmet he was just fed up with but but once again it came out afterward that he has a torn lat so i don't know if that's playing into the decision making and and lack of touchdown throwing but uh speaking of tearing shit ra how you feeling buddy feeling a little right now yeah a little better yeah i i didn't do any i didn't like usually you

tweak it back even something at my age something like sneezing but i did nothing i just all of a sudden felt this like wince and pain friday then a couple times friday night and then saturday man i couldn't get out of bed i had to like crawl to the bathroom i look like quasimodo walking around my house and uh i did a twitter poll and uh it's funny like usually there's all kinds of assholes on twitter and stupid replies. I think 99% of the poll replies were genuinely like, I think it's this. I think it's that people are actually pretty nice because you don't web MD. You're going to die tomorrow if you read all that shit. But yeah, I feel a little better today.

I didn't go to the clinic because obviously we're recording the show today. So I'm going to get up tomorrow and see if it's if it's if it feels like this. I'm going to go to the clinic, check it out. But I don't care if they got to put me in one of those Hannibal Lecter fucking things and fly me down to Pittsburgh or one of those and wheel me around i'm gonna fucking i'm gonna be there if i gotta get a man servant or what but i ain't missing this fuck i'll push you i'll wipe your ass all right i won't do that all right when you say clinic are you gonna go to your doctor or like go to a minute clinic

no well no i get the bunker hill clinic right up the street. I have my PCPs out there. They're all part of the MGH thing. So, yeah, I kind of got a bit of a hook up there. If I text someone, they can get me on the sneak usually quick. So they're probably going to want an MRI. A lot of that stuff can end up being like a disc being herniated. And then it's on the nerve. Yeah.

And then that's like the pain where you actually full blown debilitating. Like when you texted the group i felt so bad for you because i've been there and it's it's hell on earth at biz we know bill biz in the l5s1 crew you should have t-shirts made no i'm an l5s1 expert at this point all right i i would advise even anyone like i i didn't go through a surgery like i i ended up getting mris i got the the cortisone shots uh right up the hoop But anything you can do to avoid surgery, because at that point, then you could potentially be in one for the rest of your life.

The natural approaches is usually what helps. I don't know if you ever, do you ever foam roll RA? No. Wait, is that a sex joke? They're foam rolling? I don't know. We have to beg them to start going on a walk once a day exactly on a lacrosse ball that's what happened i try to exercise see this lacrosse ball i go right

at my arse with this lacrosse ball and it just relieves a lot of the stress around the back the lower back area anyway or ra maybe maybe some bickram yogam i could see you hitting up some hot room yoga i know there's a wicked lot of fat in there. I was going to say, I might want to put a clothespin on my nose. But like I said, I don't have a history of this. I don't have back issues. I obviously wasn't an athlete. So that's what it is.

It's just come out of nowhere. It's not like I could point to one thing. But we're going to suck it up, work on it. And like I said, they're going to fucking drag me from, keep me from Pittsburgh this week. There's a business opportunity for you. Start doing hot yoga. Wicked lot of fat and hot

yoga studios. Sounds right up my alley. We haven't gotten, well, we have, but Ryan, the Whit Dog Whitney, what's going on, guy? What did you do all weekend? This weekend played golf. It was beautiful out, played in the morning. Just an amazing, amazing couple days.

And it all started last week, boys. We recorded Monday night last week. Well, I was in the first day of the Old Sandwich Pro Scratch Invitational, where a pro plays with an amateur, and you go out, and you have a two-day four ball, so best score. I mean, Ian Baker Finch has won this tournament. The guy's won the British Open. You know, in the locker room, you walk into Old Sandwich this tournament. The guy's won the British Open. You know, it's in the locker room.

You walk into Old Sandwich Locker Room, and there's a kitchen area. It's a men's locker room, but there's a nice, like, it looks almost like a little restaurant. The fireplace and a painting of one of the beautiful holes. And then the bar. And then if you keep going through some cowboy doors, you, tequila cowboys showed out Thursday night. You keep going down, and that's where all the lockers are.

In the bathroom, in the shower, in the steam room. What makes the place so special? And on there, they have the boards of holes in one, you know, people at hole in ones on each hole. And they have the member member winner and the member guest winner. But in the first area, you walk in where the restaurant is, where everyone sits after rounds in this beautiful hangout 19th hole, there's one board and it says the old sandwich pro scratch invitational

and now Jim Renner good friend of myself PGA tour player right now I believe he's got some medical starts in the corn fairy tour we had an amazing golfer and yours truly sits on that board till the end of time and it was probably the best moment of my golfing career in winning it because it was so memorable being out there with two good buddies like i said jim renner our buddy our friend our caddy mike carbone also played in four or five pga tour events a special two days and we finished it off in the rain and we shot four under the first day and in the second day we're three under through five holes seven under right let's keep going it's fucking blowing 30 miles an hour it's 50 degrees and it's raining it's just absolute british open type weather and we go about we go about our business and there's bogeys to be had we made a couple bogeys and then we made a birdie back. And then we get to 17.

It's a par three, 210 yards, Biz. It's playing 240. My buddy, he rips it dead left. Rendog, first bad shot of the tournament for this guy. I go in the bunker. He makes this miraculous shot out of the woods just to get on the green, and he nestles the putt up there, and he taps in for bogey. That's big, right?

Because I actually hit a great bunker shot to about 10 feet. The next putt doesn't matter, Biz. We're thinking we're in the lead by maybe, maybe two, but probably one. I leave the putt three fucking feet short. Next one doesn't matter, Biz. I leave it three fucking feet short to a bogey. All right, let's go to 18. 18, my buddy Rendog.

And mind you, the first day, the guy shot 68, I think, when our team scored 67. Amazing player, but 18-T, sorry, Rendog. He blew it 400 yards right. This thing's fucking gone. The hole is 495, par 4, playing dead into the wind. I hit driver. I'm in play, thank God. I hit three wood.

I still have 40 yards to the green. But we never found his ball, mind you. But while we're over there looking for all these balls, we found six, seven balls. None of them are his. It's like, got one. Fuck. No, it's just so miserable. We threw them all in the back of the car, just whatever. And then we go on. I chip it up. It rolls back to like 30 feet. It was up close. It hit the spine, rolled back 30 feet. It was a tough pitch. I now have to two-putt for bogey. I nestled up there to a foot, knock it in. But bogey.

Bogey, bogey, we just finished. We think we lost. I'm devastated. I'm like, are you fucking kidding me? We just lost that tournament. And Renner and Carbone said, let's just drive in. You never know. Fuck, what are we going to do now?

And we're just, yeah, you're right. You're right, boys. And we go in, and we're just standing around. We're standing around the cart, just a little despondent. I'm just like, what the fuck? why can't you just do something ryan you leave that putt short on 17 and i'm just staring at all the balls we found and i just grabbed one randomly and i looked at it and i said holy fuck boys i think we won like what are you talking about the ball i found for chicklets listeners you You remember Ned Haven Haven benefits strategies because a month prior me and Ned are playing

and he hit one on 18 and we never found it and we never found it. But one of the balls one of us found happened to be his and I realized I go boys. This is a good sign. We walked in one by one champions forever champions

forever. Hey, I'm talking, did you have his surprise 40th birthday party? And then Nettie's surprise 40th birthday party was Saturday. I should have mentioned that. I'm telling you, the wildest pack of characters ever come together for one. It was basically like a wedding. Let's be at Loco in South Boston at 6 p.m. Ned's arriving at 630. The guy came in.

He didn't have a fucking clue. He's like, oh, no. Well, apparently his wife somewhat gave it away a little bit before they were leaving the house, but she had a million things running. I still don't think he knew. I was with him a couple of days before. He didn't even mention a thing.

So it was a time. I saw Ryan Landon, former Chicklets guest. Saw a bunch of characters. He had his dog with him. He had his fucking dog with him in the bar. In the bar? Yeah, he's got this little dog. I don't remember his name right now.

I should remember his name. Sorry, Lano. But he's been on the show. So it was a fantastic week for myself. I got to be honest. We're flying high right now. The show's doing great. I'm feeling good.

Kids are running around buzzing. Ryder's doing hockey. It's just been great. And now we're going back to Pittsburgh. We're going back to Pittsburgh. I think I got some family coming for the live show it's gonna be a time it's gonna be a time my parents are coming in for it are they yeah so we have to keep it pg yeah right yeah sound you're just like some guy comes over to your mom right as you start talking just gives you these

giant headphones she's like what's this just for 10 minutes and three seconds put these on we're about to hear something you never want to hear as a mother. Biz, I'm not sure if she's heard it all. Trust me. She's heard and seen it all. Oh, come on. Well, she has. She's walked in on you 14 times. Biz, I'm not sure if we mentioned the Watch Party bar. It's at McFadden's. Gene could probably pull up the address for us in a second. McFadden's for the Watch Party, Saturday night in Pittsburgh. I have an apology to make once again to the fellas in Dirty Honey.

When I was talking about Bowie, the mascot, last week, they said he played with Mud Honey at Seattle, and I got my honey bands mixed up. So Mud Honey, you probably already hate me from the last time and just want to apologize for calling you Mud Honey, not Dirty Honey. So I fucked that one up. So D honey's the band that are already prior to this had the whole crowd chanting fuck ra right yes yes yes i'm interested to see what the next punishment is they need to write a song like legit fuck ra okay so um the word punishment just got got something

going in my brain so did you watch the last TNT broadcast towards the end when we were talking about that goal breakdown between Dallas and Colorado? No, I actually caught you guys for the early game you did. Yeah, and me and Toc were going back and forth on a play where it was somewhat of an odd man rush coming across a blue line where Gerard points to the far guy for the back checker to get a little bit of confusion. New hook ends up up over back checking and then they score the first goal of

the game doubt to put Dallas up one nothing so uh it was uh considering you didn't see it I guess I don't go need to go any further in it but that's that's one of the the awesome parts about uh working with talk is he's constantly giving you the coach's perspective and breaking down these types of videos so I'm learning constantly about, about, you know, back checks and little details of the game. So I ended up taking the L on that because he ended up messaging Berube and coach Sullivan for Pittsburgh, and they both ended up agreeing with him. So I just figured I'd take the L and put it on my forehead.

Cause I don't know if talk's going to be listening, but I was wrong and I will do my pushup pyramid as punishment, Mr. Talk It. Gee, we got to talk to you about a little content that went up last week from the big boss, El Portnoy. I had a blog about you when you gave us the address as well. I mean, yeah. First off, it's just great to see the boss man blogging. It's truly setting an example from the top. So that's something you just respect and

you truly just love to see it. And two, anytime the boss agrees with you, it's an unbelievable feeling, especially a man of Dave Portnoy's stature. When he agrees with you that this deal that Bob Metairie fucking threw away from the Nelk Boys is fucking asinine. It's insane. Yeah, it's a great feeling. So a lot of people were coming at me being like, how are you feeling, Mike? Dave's coming at you. I felt great. Dave agreed with me. Nothing he a great feeling. So a lot of people were coming at me being like, how you feeling, Mike? Dave's coming at you. I felt great. Dave agreed with me. Nothing he said was wrong.

So I feel good. I mean, I don't know how many people who are listening care about the drama or the podcast drama. I would say probably the biggest podcast scandal since the Call Her Daddy one in which Bob Menry started a podcast with the Nelk Boys. They have been getting pretty ugly online. Like, it's been pretty vicious now. The blows are going back and forth, where basically the NELC is saying in eight months of working together on the podcast, Menry made $1.2 million?

That's correct. In eight months? In his eight months, where also everything as far as flights, hotels, flying first class uh meals everything was taken care of on top of that received 50 of merchandise from the podcast sale so i would imagine they have a specific nelk uh podcast merch line granelli yes yeah that's correct full send yes what what so i'll read the full deal let me read the full deal. Let me read the full deal. It was 30% of all ad revenue. He got 7.5K per show.

And how many once a week? Once a week show? Yes. 50% of all podcast merch as well. So I believe that came out to around 1.2 million, 10 million. In eight months? And he wasn't happy? No.

I mean, that's what Kyle went off on. Bob went off on Instagram. Then Kyle went off on Instagram. And I just shot i we've come to i've come friends with these guys with kyle from now i've come to be buddies with him he came into our box in vegas he came into our box in uh in edmonton and i i just shot him a text was like anyone who throws turns down this deal is fucking crazy like that is a biz i mean you're a guy who who pays attention to this kind of like stuff that's a crazy podcast deal well and nelk had already built a juggernaut i guess the defense of menry is you know he did get a few big name guests and he does have a big social

following to begin with but what nelk has built they have an infrastructure where they're able to you know have ad sales and not saying that menry didn't bring any ads in either but i mean looking at those numbers man given it's their podcast and it seems as if though that was the deal that was signed now on the flip side is he's saying that that's not the full agreement and they're not posting everything and in fact somewhat some of the the ad sales were being hidden or swept under the rug so you just it ugly online. I would imagine it's probably not over and the pettiness ensues. So it's just, I mean, that's a, that's a lot to walk away from and put your foot in the ground. If, if you think you're entitled to more. And Dave's not wrong for

calling me out there. Cause it's like, it's the biggest, it's the biggest podcast drama in the world. And Kyle posts my text message to him on his story, which he asked me if he could do, I said, it's fine. But I figured he's going to post 10, 15 people being like, this is crazy. He posted just me in the midst of like a rant that probably got like 10 million views. And then like the one justification he uses is spitting chiclets. Producer Mike Grinnell says this is a terrible deal. So it's like, fuck.

I mean, Dave's right. Dave's right. I love my guy shops so the guy mennery guy probably hates your guts yeah i mean he whether he does or doesn't i have no ill will towards bob mennery i was just saying like the deal that was posted online was a crazy deal bob saying that's not the deal but i'm i mean kyle posted the contract i thought it was a crazy deal so i texted kyle why wouldn't he just like show him you have the contract too right everyone the company you sign

with has a contract and you have a copy of the contract so if they're not that that's a no that's a great point i never even thought of that if that's a tough win for him when the deal comes out unless the guy's legit lying about the deal. And then that's what it is. That's a lot. Dude, 1.2 million for eight months. Gee, that's a good question. So did Menary post what he said that the deal was afterward? So Menary posted what he said the deal was.

And then Kyle was like, no, this is what it really is. And then Menary then said what I just read, the 30% ad revenue, 7.5K per show. Menary said that was a lie and then kyle posted a picture of the actual contract with the legalities of it all and says that that is exactly what he was getting no wait you just got right to the point though it's like if that wasn't the contract send the real one over because if you signed a contract and you have a copy of it you're playing big ball if you don't have a copy of it then i don't know fire agent and if you sign a contract and you have a copy of it, you're playing big ball. If you don't have a copy of it, then I don't know, fire agent. And if you don't have a copy of a contract you signed, the contract's pretty much useless.

I do not have a copy of the contract. That's perfectly for everyone listening. There you go. Right there. That exactly proves my point. So that was drama. That was the podcast drama. Yeah. Hey, you got him blogging again, though, G. Yeah. yeah. So that was drama. That was the podcast drama. Oh, hey, you got him

blogging again, though, G. Yeah, it's just great to see. It's something you truly respect and love to see when the guy up top is blogging, setting the example for everyone. I doesn't even do his shows anymore. Guy, guys in Florida

doesn't do advisors, doesn't do because he's got to save money on taxes. Fuck gives up on his shows. Imagine one of us just quitting chicklets to save money on taxes. No, up on his shows. Imagine one of us just quitting chicklets to save money on taxes. No, I don't count me out. Don't count me out.

This is going to be on fucking Cayman Islands down there. Yeah. I just want enough money to have to save that much money on the taxes where you just the shows and I worry, well, what's that matter?

Yeah. All right. We got to get into some hockey. That was some fun banter, but some important things to discuss we do actually i just want to drop one quick note before we do paul i told you guys i had jerry duty the other days i was the other days i was on a case for a couple days and i was walking home by the garden they stopped in front of the garden to take a video to drop the new chicklets up and the guys hey you are yes yeah how you doing nice to meet you where you're from blah blah and he kind of waited he says hey do

you mind if i you know talk to you about something? It's a little personal. And he proceeded to tell me that when we talked about a player who had testicular cancer a couple years back. And I mentioned, you know, guys, when you're in the shower, you already touch yourself down there, give yourself a little check. And the dude did. And he felt something, you know, out of whack. He went to the doctor. He had stage one testicular cancer. Got it taken care of right out of the right nipped it right in the bud didn't didn't

become a huge situation because he heard it on the show so i just want to reiterate guys if you know whatever it might be prostate testicular whatever you don't have to be an old guy check yourself out uh because things could go wrong quick and and go get a doctor go get an mri do you got to do so this guy i had tears in my eyes. I gave him a big hug after. I was just walking home, not expecting to have a moment like that. But he was very open. He shared his story with me. And I just wanted to tell that story.

And again, reiterate the PSA to everybody. If you're feeling something, get it checked out because something like that might have saved the guy's life. So it was great to hear. That's amazing. Fucking right. I've always been. It's so weird touching your beanbag too it's like so delicate

and like it's just it's i gotta i gotta remember to do that all right i'm glad you said that but i'm always so nervous touching like i don't think we can just glance over i mean that was unreal all right thank you for sharing you glanced over jury duty how far can you dive into that oh i know we can dive i know it's typically a boring topic i'm one of the few people who actually likes going to jury duty i mean i did i did go to northeastern for criminal justice back in the day seven and a half months but i was like yeah i don't think i want to be a lawyer but i still have a kind of a like for all that stuff i went in i got picked to be on the jury i was like oh this is good because you know i like the whole procedure it's like a play and you got to decide which version you like better obviously with somebody's life at stake sometimes.

And then they had 14 jurors. And then right before you go to deliberate, they cut two of them and make them alternates. I was one of the alternates. So I got totally sunk. I couldn't do the deliberation. I couldn't vote not guilty because they got what the guy do room. He was accused of possession of a gun in possession of it with ammunition. He slow rolled the stop sign on undercover cop car, pulled him over. And during the course of the trial, there's nothing at one point where we could say, OK, this guy is enough to convict this guy. He was in his mother's car. She lets a lot of people use the car.

And then they had a witness on the stand, a fingerprint witness, and they found prints on the gun. They were partial prints. And they asked them, well, what's the final verdict? And they're inconclusive. So you got a witness says the fingerprint's inconclusive. The car's not his. There was just no way you could have possibly convicted the guy. Like, so we were waiting.

20 minutes later, they came out with a verdict because everybody realized. Now, it's not a question of you think he had it or was his. It's like what the state presents as evidence. And it was such a weak case. So we asked the judge, you know, basically, how did get this fired she said they and the grand jury indicted him so like you know that you got it's got to go up to the case the prosecutor could have said no so they it was just not enough evidence at all uh but the court officers you guys are lucky you weren't last week because if you get picked for a grand jury biz you have to go in three days a week every like every week for like six months and like i i heard you could be in there forever

good yeah you gotta go oh it's nightmare three days a week for three months and you go through all different cases and decide if this paulie shore style do they make you stay in a hotel and not communicate with your uh with your relatives and shit i believe so with the grand oh my god and wait and you're only going in three days of the week so the other four days you're just sitting in a hotel room well i, I think no phone, no TV. I think they let you go home the other days, but yeah,

you're locked up in a hotel. Oh, that would fucking suck. So when you're, when you're doing like a murder trial, that's probably the most extreme. So in, in those cases,

you're a hundred percent, you're, you're locked in a hotel room, not going to interact with anyone. And that could drag on for, for six, nine months in some cases a year yeah yeah and you know the the state's probably like you're you're trying to figure out if a guy committed a murder and the state's probably giving you an unincrustable and a dr pepper like once a day you're getting zero food probably it's

probably an absolute nightmare to be involved in one of those what happens at work though like if you're out nine months say like i know they have to pay your company to then fill that position or pay you no they you get paid it's it's like a government not a day off you're giving you service to the government i mean i was over there like nine what nine hours two days so it's like i mean if i was in an office job still at the state of it yeah day off going to jury duty which some of the jobs I had, I'd rather go to jury duty. He's like Dr. Pepper and Uncrustables. This is unbelievable. No, they had subs. I become a full-time juror.

They had Spockies though. The subs they had were pretty good. So pension must be amazing, but it was cool though, biz. It's like, you know, it's to have like 12 strangers who from all diverse backgrounds and, you know, men, women, black, white, whatever, all together and like decide the fate of a 13th stranger. It's kind of an amazing process when you take part in all of it. Like, you know, you're never going to see these people again. And we're responsible for this guy's future in a lot of ways. And you kind

of, you know, like it's a lot of things going on tough, tough in this country right now. It was just nice to sort of take part in that aspect of democracy and justice and the judges real happy with us so it was it was a cool experience i just wish i could have gone through with the whole thing but because yeah if i go on a murder case that's that's one of my cousins are bank robbers they're all guilty everyone's guilty come out on this one i would like make that up and get bounced because if you say shit like that they don't want nothing to do you they'll tell you to screw wouldn't be lying either uh today's episode we have the detroit red wings coach derrick lalon we're going to bring him on in a little bit my pal from north adams state college way back in the day great stuff new red wings fans are going to love it

by the way shout out to the lions fans who reached out to me over the weekend they were in town playing the patriots bunch of guys reached out off me tickets and tailgating and stuff but the back had me on the dl but just want to say thanks to all those fans also wait wait wait what a get by ra getting the head coach of the detroit red wings on here the wet wings uh he was he was hilarious like i'm telling everyone listening this guy was one of the best interviews we've done in a long time i just think the way he tells stories i'd never met him the fact ra and him go back to college that doesn't even exist anymore, right? That isn't a school now, R.A., correct? They've had enough after that last year.

Once you hear about R.A.'s apartment above the bar, it'll make sense that this isn't a school. Everybody dropped out. They renamed, rebranded, but the guys who went there when I did, we have no real emotional connection to it anymore because not only did they change the name, they acted like they were better than

the school used to be before. So people like that. And you guys don't remember it. So yeah, a little bit, a little bit. Merles, I know you're on your way over. I know you love the Pink Whitney. The NHL is here. So make sure everyone is stocked up on everyone's favorite five times distilled vodka infused with that fresh

pink lemonade flavor. Whether you're celebrating your team, whether you're celebrating them tanking for the dad, get some of that birdie juice on hand to go with your game. Merle, how many shots? What's the over and run shots for you this week, Merle? I usually do one for every time one of my team scores, but I got an amazing video.

I don't know if you guys saw this one on Instagram. This kid, Zach, sent it to me took one of the big deal brewing cans and then he had the pink whitney nip and he uh what do you call a shotgun and he shotgunned the can with the pink whitney nip so the pink whitney nips hanging there and then he chugged it all and sent me the video uh these people are nuts so i won't be doing any of those but i'll be doing a lot of of pink Whitney nips every time one of our team scores. And I can tell you now we're going to be on Pittsburgh a lot this week.

Last question, bubble hockey in attendance at the bar. Oh, I would love it. I would love it. I haven't got the place since I beat up on Frankie Borrelli. You haven't also got to play since that guy worked you over. Let's let's not. Whoa, whoa, whoa. whoa that was i was on rollerblades right after one of my rollerblade games and that was the first game of the weekend i finished off already was on everything but rollerblades that day

everything hey grinnell do we have a bubble hockey machine coming uh we will it will be at mcfadden's. Okay. All right. Come challenge them. We're going to have a skills competition too, outside of McFadden's where it's going to be like accuracy shooting and all that kind of stuff, all presented by body armor, of course. So Merle's let's get you in the mix there as well. Oh yeah. I love it. I love it. I want to, I would, I'm glad to, when, when you start playing, I want to be there. I'll take bets. I will,

I will be the book during that. So I'd love to be, I'm going to too, when you start playing. I want to be there. I'll take bets. I will be the book during that. So I'd love to be the book. I'm going to win some money. For amusement only. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, joking, joking. Barstool Sportsbook is going to have line on Merle's bubble hockey game soon. That's how much he's been costing them with all these winners he's been putting out.

Seriously, no shit. Well, Biz, like you said, hockey is here. Time to dive into it. We got 30 teams kicking off this week, but the NHL season officially kicked off at the O2 Arena in Prague over the weekend. Preds and Sharks played a pair of games. Preds beat them both times, but there's a lot of criticism about this. The league, A, starting while there's still preseason games going on,

and B, putting the first game of the year on NHL network on a friday afternoon that a lot of people didn't know i mean i think they're probably valid criticisms biz but doesn't this sort of feel like these games are from more europe to grow the game and these guys sort of having a homecoming what's your take on this yeah it's definitely to grow the game and and i think they do a great job of of putting the signature players that are from those home countries in those games. So it's more – I mean, I think we talked about it last year when – was it Hedman and Tampa Bay? They ended up going back to Sweden. It might have been two years ago, but it's just more about, like you said,

to grow the game and for those guys to get that special moment. I mean, Roman Yossi getting to go back home and ends up – well, that was in the preseason one that they played, correct? Well, even then, even in that situation for him to get to go home and play in front of his home crowd, that's, that's more about these players who are helping grow the game as well. So I have no problem with it. It's a fun little teaser to warm up the year and, and, and, Hey,

and for, for some of our gambling crew, a good opportunity to warm warm the bus up before we get going so i think that um i think moving forward it would be cool to see if they were able to do other things and implement europe in order to kind of grow the game in that way like we talk about the world cup of hockey coming back i know that they're probably going to put the first one on north american soil soil if they haven't already decided that but at at some point, it would be cool if they moved that World Cup of Hockey overseas somewhere, and that would be an even bigger opportunity in order to grow the game.

So, I mean, listen, we're splitting hairs here. I think the NHL is doing an incredible job in trying to do that and take everybody's opinion on it, and definitely room for growth in the same breath. And how about that salad bar on Yossi? Did you see his hair? I mean, he's always had nice hair, but that was like a skyscraper on his head in the couple pictures we saw.

Be careful. Be careful how you pump his tires, Ari. You don't want to get in trouble here. How about the guy dropping the pucks salad? Jarmer Jager made an appearance. Yeah, that was good shit. Also, Yossi donated 25 sets of equipment to some girls' programs in Bern, Switzerland, so good job there, Roman. Yossi, good sets of equipment to some girls programs in Bern, Switzerland. So good job there, Roman.

Yossi, good stuff. Moving right along here. The Dallas Stars do not have to worry about starting the season without their best player. As Jason Robertson agreed to a four-year, $31 million deal. Comes out to $7.75 million average annual value. He'll be a 27-year-old restricted restricted free agent 2026 with a 9.3 million dollar qualifying offer uh what you think pretty good deal for both sides puts him on a great track to cash in even again later down the line yeah the deal makes so much sense to me that what the

hell why was why couldn't this be signed before camp that's the first thing i saw when i it's like every single person said it'd probably end up being this yet somehow it took him to where i mean i'm sure he'll be completely fine the kid's probably gonna light it up again but to not be around for camp it is it is not exactly ideal right and i know that team nobody knows what's going on that we talked about it last week but it's it's just odd to me that it took that long for the deal to end up being exactly what everyone thought it would be. So good for him, gets a ton of money. He deserves it.

And he really could have easily been given a long-term deal, but with all the cap issues that team has, this is what it had to be. It was just surprising that it took so long to get done. Yeah, I agree with you in that sense, especially for a team that I think most of us have probably getting in a wild card position. I don't know if you guys have them maybe doing better than that, but you're going to need every point you can get at the beginning of the season. You're going to have to come out of the gates hot. And, you know, hopefully it, we talked about his commitment to the game and maybe how little that will eventually affect his performance early on. But you have to wonder though, you got to get your your reps in got to get your touches and comfortable back with your teammates um as far as the contract's concerned i looked like look at this kind of like similar to like a matthew style deal where man this guy's going to

be 27 years old when he's done this deal and he's going to be in the prime and at that point we've talked about where the cap's going to be if he continues what he's been doing and he continues to be that point of game player he is going to fucking ching ching because that first year that he would be on that new deal from my understanding it would be the last year of uh ben and seconds deals uh making what they're making so is great job ufa at the end biz uh you know one more year i think he'll be an rfa he'll be an rfa one you'd have one more year basically kind of be an RFA. He'll be an RFA. You'd have one more year. Basically kind of how the Barzell situation would have played out.

Yep. Yep. So aside from that, man, it's great that they got their guy. And what a great number for him. I don't know if we've mentioned this before, but Texas is a state that has no state tax. So I know that the eight and change looks really good for those other players that sign those eight times 8 looks really good for those other players that

sign those eight times 8.35 or eight times 8.25 but given the fact that there is of course no state tax very similar number guys i'm no mathematician but uh right around there congrats to robo man good deal good stuff can't wait to see him playing soon uh also the flames made that big trade look even better uh as they inked mckenzie we get to an eight year 50 million dollar extension comes out to six and a quarter a year uh merle's not too shabby for an undrafted guy who's playing on a third pair a couple years ago huh oh that's a amazing amazing deal 50 million you weren't drafted i whenever i see that kind of stuff i think back to when you're like 18 19 maybe you're thinking about quitting playing

what's gonna happen you stick with it all of a maybe you're thinking about quitting playing, what's going to happen? You stick with it. All of a sudden, you've got $50 million now. Unreal. Another defenseman who almost quit, Dan Girardi. He was playing in the coast. That's where he started his career and then fortunately got bumped up to the American League, became an all-star there. And I'm pretty sure he's got about 50 sheets in his jeans too.

But I tell you what, man, like you, everybody's, everybody's given the W right now to the Calgary Flames on what they've been able to do with that trade and then get these guys locked in. I think this is an excellent contract for the Calgary Flames. I think everybody with being so, so not short-sighted, but fresh in their minds that he had a difficult postseason, right? He made a few significant mistakes, but that was his really first test of playoff hockey with that much pressure, with that team winning the President's Trophy. So with Zito making the move that he did and getting rid of Huberto and Wieger, I think this guy is great at both ends of the ice, and I think he's poised to have an excellent finish

to his career in Calgary for this long period of time. And talk about, talk about a big piece for Calgary moving forward and really solidifying that top four D men. Like their top four are, are excellent. You basically look at them getting like Debranson ended up going to Columbus and making 4 million. I loved his season last year. I thought he was a beast, but this is, this is a fucking upgrade. And in a few years, when that cap goes up, this is going to seem like a, this is going to seem like a nothing burger, as far as money you're given to a very good two way defenseman. And in Florida, there was, I mean, except for the times he was injured, a lot of times tech blad running the power play tech blad collecting the

points and we are still lit it up. So I think thatad collecting the points. And Uyghur still lit it up. So I think it's a great deal. And I got the chance. I met him randomly out to dinner when we spent a couple weeks in Fort Lauderdale in February. Great guy. Super friendly. I'm sure it was surprising when it all went down. But to now get paid that much and to know that this is your home, right? There's so much to be said about being comfortable because you know, you're going to be there for a while and things change quickly in this league

and in all pro sports. But right now he's at a new spot. He knows they really want him. He's able to sign this life-changing deal and go into a season for a team that is really looking to make a long run because it's one thing to get traded from Florida and go to a, go to a good team. If you go to a bad team, that's just a kick in the dick. So he gets his deal and also the chance to compete for stanley cup it's a win-win and where i said top four i mean look at their five best defensemen you have shillington anderson tanev wieger and

hannifin and hannifin and then your your number six who i think is a perfect number six is zadorov just punching anything in the face just an absolute mute note there on the ice exactly how you'd want your your stones there too right you played with him yeah canon oh canon he's got the the hardest half clapper i've ever seen in my life just zipping by guys ears so uh great listen i what more could have uh tree living done. And then on top of that signs, another guy. Yep. Darryl. Darryl.

The extended coach, Darryl Sutto, two-year extension. That's going to keep him there till 2025. No real big shocker there. I don't know if this was the last year of his deal or yeah. Yeah. Cause this would have been three, four, five. So yeah, you don't want a guy like that going in with a lame dot contract. So he's well, well-established there. And we'll see if he gets ads, a cup deal.

Like you got the two in LA. So Eastern conference preview, boys. I know folks have been waiting for it. We're going to go with the Atlantic Division first, and I figured I'd put Biz's favorite team off the top, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last year, they finished with 115 points, but they lost in the first round four games to three to Tampa. They're 10-1 to win the cup this year.

Now, they had quite a bit of roster turnover. New faces in town include Matt Murray, Ilya Samsonov, Cal Yonkrok, and Jordy Ben. They said goodbye to goalie Jack Campbell, Ilya Mikheyev, Andre Kasha, Ilya Lubushkin, and Peter Morazic. But last year, Biz, once again, the first round bugaboo, got them once more time. A 3-2 lead.

They blew it, lost to Tampa. The fourth straight, one and done on Kyle Dub dubas is watching the sixth straight for the franchise uh as for the offense because we know what we're getting with the four guns up front matthews mona tavaris d lander but you know the back end you got riley muslin hall brody giordano and a combination of sandin and little you're in there and the goaltender of course matt murray a big question mark well what do you expect out of the leafs this year biz and how good they're going to do yeah i mean you said did you say quite a bit of turnover or or well yeah i did yeah i mean the last what one two three based on who they replaced the the skaters with i would say it's it's a it's a basically an even

trade um and then it's just going to come down to goaltending i mean it's dubas's hands are tied with what the cap situation is there one thing i will credit dubas for is he has signed some bad contracts but every gm signs bad contracts his ability to get rid of bad contracts is what makes him special i think he's an incredible gm i love the fact that he's going in this year um you know playing for his next contract essentially and if he believes in a guy that he's had success with and he believes in from his sous saint brie days i'm all for it and and am i going to make excuses for everything that's happened in the past no all you leafs haters can laugh at me you guys could say oh yeah this year's the year this year's the year i genuinely think at some point they are going to get over the hump. And why not this year?

Everybody's one more year more experienced. Mind you, one of the best players, well, the best one last year, the MVP of the league, Austin Matthews, is basically in a contract year because come July 1st or whatever the date's going to end up being for free agency, depending on when they have it, he's going to be up for a new deal. So he's going in there with, with a shit ton to prove. And I just think with that one more year experience under a belt and let's

not forget. Yeah. Did they lose to the defending Stanley cup champions last year, but they did show in professional fashion where they fucking laid their balls on the line. And I think everybody can agree. They should have won that last game. The only reason they lost game seven is because vasilevsky they outshot them they fucking peppered them in that third period so i think this is the year 100 mark it down clip it grinnell they are going past the first round laugh at me in the fucking mentions i don't give a fine fuck they're going past the

first round make a prop bet about it i'd be willing to put thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars on it. If you can do it. Woo. Quarter finals. Well, how much? Okay. How much do you want to bet me that they get past the first round? Whatever you want.

And what are the, I'll bet you a thousand dollars. How about that? Done. All right, let's go. And here's the thing. That's the biggest, that's the biggest bet of my life. That's the biggest bet of my life. That's the biggest bet of my life. Yeah, I know.

We've seen the tickets of your $83 parlay. I'm conservative, all right? I've been well in Ontario. My father had to work a whole day at the steel mill to make $83. So he could put graph skates on my feet. That bet is, like, it's probably way in odds of being in your favor. I would imagine if the Leafs have another season, like they probably will and should with this roster, they,

they'll probably be minus one 70. I'm guessing in the first round, the Easter conference is stacked. Maybe not that much, but they are going to be strong favorites to not only win their division, but get out of the first round. Like they, yes, it is a team that if they end up winning last year in either game six or game seven, they could have gone to the cup final. Like, they're that good. But fuck this, man.

They can't. They got the goaltending is an enormous question mark. You do not know what you're getting out of either one of those guys. And right now, why would you pick them to move on? Like, you could keep saying it's going to happen at some point. But what is so different about this team? What makes this team be like, oh, yeah, this is it, man. I just said it.

They're goaltender. I just said it. They're goaltender. Okay. All right. Yeah, I like the guy we got in Edmonton a little more than Matt Murray. Stanley Cups, great. Not the same player anymore.

And Biz. Oh, not to mention, you got such cap nick robertson just lit it up in camp he's not even on the team perfect yeah no it's not perfect well what do you mean you got a guy in the american hockey league who can go get his reps in the top six down there and if something goes wrong you can call him up you don't want to be wasting a guy's talent like that in the bottom six no he's got talent he's got talent he's he would be a hell of a bottom six a third line or second line player for the leafs yeah but he could start the year in the minor listen let's not start questioning dubious decisions he's one of the most respected gms in the league he's one of the most respected gms in league and if he got

fired by a leafs you don't think half the teams in league would be offering a job tomorrow and let me ask you a question Tavares to that deal. Can't question that. I'll actually ask this to R.A. I don't want to talk to you anymore. R.A., at a certain point, did you not think that the Boston Red Sox were not going to get over the hump? When they went down 3-0 to the New York Yankees the year they ended up

coming back in that series and then winning the World Series, did you not go into those last couple seasons before they won it saying, yo, this is the year. This is the year they get it done. At that point, man, we were still like shell-shocked. We had very little hope, especially after the way 2003 ended with Tim Wakefield coming in and getting fucking dinged. Yeah, it was like we ain't going to believe it until we see it.

Very little hope. Well, I'm going to believe it before I see it. Yeah, that's why it's a mute argument. They have a great team because you're going to gonna continue and next year if they lose in the first round you'll just say it again so here is the thing there i was open about they shouldn't have changed a thing sheldon keith no way dubious no way after last season how good they played losing to tampa i understood if they lose in the first round this year, there has to be major changes or as a fan base, the Maple Leafs are pathetic.

If the fans don't literally force them to change some major issues there, if they don't get out of the first round next year, it's a bigger joke of a fan base than I thought. Merle's. Absolute wagon. They're back on board. They got the the goal they got two options now for goalie so one of them's got to play well but the main reason is ever since this blue jays debacle these memes have been hilarious on twitter the one where they remind us scooby-doo the guy picks

up the mask and who's really there it's the leafs but the best one uh the best one was they had austin matthews throwing out the first pitch and it said throwing away the first round curse he threw it on the jays so the leafs curse is gone they're going to the conference finals at least this year that was a coaching issue though that wasn't a personnel issue that was coaching. They were up 8-1, and the guy had one out to make. I think it was in the fifth inning. And the teams –

Hey, fuck analytics. That's all I got to say. They got a great team, Biz. We're not arguing that. They got a great team. All right. 99%. And it's just another – it's another 82 games of nonstop Leaf talk

while nothing meaning jack shit until that first round. All right. What were you saying? 99%? 99% win probability in the fifth inning. And then it was like 98.5 a couple of innings later. I mean, the Leafs, the poor Leafs, they're just catching ricochet shots. The season hasn't even started yet and they're getting bombarded

because of Toronto. And then just the way it happened, that little bloop single, two guys hit each other like the bad news bears, ball rolls out, two guys get hurt. It was just like, ah, this is God, man, this is God. We already went through that moment, and it was against Montreal. That's behind us. Big things ahead, Leafs fan.

Ignore the haters. To go back to the goalies for a sec, I wrote the outline. I think pretty lot pretty much everyone in hockey is pulling for Matt Murray just on a personal level and you know he lost his dad a couple years ago and his game went sideways and you can't help but think they're probably connected in some way and I think everyone's rooting for him but you know should he he falter a bit this Samsonov sign I mean I think this could be one of the sneaky better signs of the offseason I mean I know Washington wasn't great last year but he's shown a lot of flash

in the games he's played I think there's something there wouldn't surprise me if he's the number one you know come november on that team wouldn't surprise me at all uh we also want to say congrats to joe bowen on 40 years as the least play-by-play guy so congrats to joe on that we gotta get him on the pod he must have stories for days that would be a three-parter that would be that would be a star wars trilogy all right you know him at all i well just because when i was doing working with the coyotes we would bump into them when they would be on the road or when we would be there but oh awesome guy awesome guy because i was at that game seven two when the socks come back to beat the yanks in oh four get get the fuck out of here where were you wit do you remember where you were i was with merles

and um the norfolk norfolk came out came off the ice and jimmy remember jimmy was like You wit. Do you remember where you were? I was with Merles in Norfolk. Norfolk came out, came off the ice. And Jimmy, remember, Jimmy was like, the Red Sox are a four nothing. I was like, what? We went to bar Norfolk. That was a wild, wild one. I don't even remember getting back to Manhattan after that game. Shocker.

All right. Next up, the Boston Bruins. They had 107 points last year. They lost in the first round to Carolina, four games to three, 25-1 to win the Stanley Cup this year. Some new faces in town. Head coach Jim Montgomery, a new old face, David Krejci, returns after a year over in the Czech Republic. They also brought in Pavel Zaka.

They said bye to Eric Holler, Curtis Lazar, and Anton Bleed. The Krejci's huge here, man. Bleed. The Crecce is huge here. They bring him back to the team so much better. No disrespect to Eric Holler, but you go from him to a guy like Crecce, it just ripples out with the team, makes him way better. Obviously, his combination with Pasta, they've been unreal. A lot of people wait for Zaka to join that line, have a little check action. But, Whit, I feel this is sort of like a last kick of the can type thing.

You're bringing in Bergeron and create your one year deals. Who knows how much they're going to have left there. Does that have that same vibe to you? Yeah. And I even heard, I think Cam Neely and Don Sweeney, I think they had a big like management press conference today leading up to the season beginning. And he even nearly mentioned the same thing. Like it, it, it, it does come off as you don't really know what, what's going to happen after this year.

So it's like one of those things you got Bergeron to come back here. You're able to get crazy to come over again. But the main thing for me is just surviving till these guys come back from injuries. And I think we've said on this podcast a couple of times, the standings around American Thanksgiving end up being pretty accurate for who's in the playoffs. And that's when McAvoy is going to be back. That's when Grizzlies is going to be back. And most importantly, that's when Marshawn is going to be back. And maybe

it's a little quicker. It always seems to be a little sooner than they say at the beginning, but you have to be able to find some offense and on the back end, be able to shut guys down with how good McAvoy is for a long stretch of games. And I think that you're going to really see that's how valuable Patrice Bergeron is because I'm sure he'll be able to at least lead this team through a respectable record until you're getting some weapons back. But it's going to be a tough beginning. The one good thing is Swayman looks awesome.

I think you have a big-time future number, not even future number one. He's a number one now, but a future stud in net for a long time. And you're able to see the improvement he made last year from the year prior when R.A. was calling for him to start even two years ago, I think. Right. Wasn't that R.A.? That was you saying that. Yep. Put him in against the Islanders. So they have a goaltender. It's just all about surviving injuries, which a lot of teams are actually fighting against. It's guys starting the year injured. So I think that looking at this team,

they're going to be right there come the end of the year. They're going to be in the playoffs, and then they're going to have a legit chance, depending on luck of the draw and who they face and what round and their matchups. They have a chance to go to the conference finals or the Stanley Cup. I know a lot of people don't see that as a probability, but when everyone's back and healthy with the way Montgomery coaches, because guys love playing for them, and the new vibe in that room of Cassidy ran a little stale and guys are fired up and Krejci's back,

it all depends on what happens the first few months of the year for me. Yeah. I mean, credit to me for saying never move Swayman. I don't care what happened with Duke or ask him, but what were you trying to trade him for? I was, what are you talking about? Credit to me for saying,

keep the goalie of the future. And I think that he's going to have to slap lipstick on a pig to start the year. They are so thin on the back end, especially without McAvoy and Grizz, like they're two best defensemen. One component that Neely said that he really likes about what Montgomery's introduced is way more movement at the offensive zone blue line and incorporating the D.

Last year, if you go back, they scored 31 goals as defensemen for the Boston Brewers. I think that's 24th in the league. If they're going to survive in the early parts of the season, they're going to have to try to get contributions offensively from the back end. They're going to have to all punch above their weight class as far as what they're bringing to the table. And as I mentioned, get that all-star style goaltending from Swayman. As far as everything up front, even though they're missing a few guys,

I like how they're built. And ultimately, a team like that with the type of culture they have, they can always rely on structure. It's going to be straight survival mode to get those guys back and healthy, and then everybody keeps resorting back to the Bulls documentary, the last dance. We had a conversation on TNT about the window for Pittsburgh, Washington, and Boston specifically about just how old they're getting

and how those three teams have been as relevant as they have for the last 10 years, the way they drafted those core group of guys. So this is the team that has to get it done the soonest. You would imagine that Bergeron, he might maybe have one more year after this year, but once you lose one of the most dynamic, if not the most dynamic two-way centers in the league, one of the best face-off circles and one of the best leaders, it's going to be tough sledding to be able to hoist a second cup for that core group of guys. So I definitely have these guys making playoffs,

and I believe in that group to get it done and keep them afloat up until the guys are back and healthy. I have been hard on sweeney before but you do have to give him credit for making the move for uh hampus lindholm because without him jesus christ i don't know what they'd be doing at the start of this year i might be getting the call for the back end at least at least they have a guy who could play 26 minutes solid both ends of the ice because if he wasn't around they'd be in some real shit to start this season yeah yeah like i've been saying tread water till november and hopefully they'll hang in there

but the young guys should be a lot looser i would think with the new coach a new system they were all squeezing their sticks the last couple years under butch but i think monty should have a little looser all right you gotta you gotta be thrilled was it you or whit who mentioned uh sweeney i i just i just brought him up. Sometimes it's a trade that you don't make. It sounded like the brusque was on the way out last year, and finally they lock him in. I think he had his best year offensively as far as goals are concerned.

He had 29. If he can also get back to that same level where he was last year, I think that that's going to be a big component in them getting through this difficult period of the injuries. they've they've done a tremendous job and uh i'm looking forward to seeing what they deliver yeah and mark mclaughlin local kid he had a great camp but he was sent down to providence just a numbers thing i think wit because he's not subject to waivers and you don't want to just lose a guy this early but i'm sure we'll see see him soon enough because hell of a player and eventually someone's going to get dinged up uh as for the goalies i i love them swayman and all mark but they got to be a little bit better

in the playoffs this year if they get back they they weren't they weren't a playoff caliber this year but obviously i'll see what goes on with the bees did you see that clip of the guy at the fin uh at the game roll rolling one up everyone was sending it to me that was the bees game it was at the bees game but i'm pretty sure it was tobacco i think it was just regular tobacco not not actual cannabis. But I got that video sent to me about 600 times. Your dad, Ari. He's like, no, he's on the Oedipal.

No, that's me. All right. Next up, another team that made a lot of news this summer, the Ottawa Senators. 73 points last year, 13th in the conference. They're 47 to 1 to win the Stanley Cup. But a lot of new faces. Alex DeBrinckit, Claude Giroux, Cam Talbot,

Tyler Mott they said bye to Matt Murray, Connor Brown, Philippe Gustafson and Chris Taney the Sens man they might have the most buzz of any team right now of course Talbot is going to miss the start of the season tweak something but this kid Anton Forsberg no slouch he was real good for the team last year let's go to you girls quick on one. Who's going to have more points to share the brink at or drew for this team. I got to go with the brink. It for sure. I mean,

drew has been an amazing player, but his playoffs is in this time, really in Florida. I wasn't too impressed with them. So I love to bring it young guy, hungry, no pressure of the family and stuff like Drew has playing back home. So I like Ottawa,

tough sled in there with the goaltending injury right off the hop. But I don't know if I got him going in the playoffs, but we'll find out later. I think it's too early for playoffs. I love some of the moves. I think to bring cat, I don't know what bar still has his over under for points. I think he lights it up. I think Dabrinket, I don't know what Barstool has his over-under for points. I think he lights it up.

I think he leads that team in scoring. A special player. He's 24 years old. Batherson, Kachuk, Norris all under 24 years old. Chabot on the back end. The issue being there's not much else there on defense. It makes sense. Chabot's going to play about on defense. It makes sense. Chabot's going to play about 30 minutes.

They're weak there. I think they're going to be much improved, but not only are they dealing with a tough division, but there's not much depth on their third and fourth line. So you see all the best teams in the East, they have these bottom two lines that can not only play fast at pace and energy, they score and they create offense. And I don't know about the bottom two lines that can not only play fast at pace and energy, they score and they create offense. And,

and I don't know about, about the bottom two in Ottawa. I love their top six, but it's still early on. I think they've gotten past that first stage of being horrific, but I don't see him as a playoff team yet. No. And I should mention Jake Sanderson,

the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft. I think that the sky's the limit for him, the way he skates. Unfortunately, people say he sometimes looks like me. He's got some ears that stick out and touch a little bit, but that's okay. That's okay. He's a hell of a player.

Ten times the player I ever was. I think you're going to see him grow and get a bunch of minutes this year and show that maybe we're looking at a rookie of the year candidate if he really plays as well as people think he can. So should have given him a little credit when I dogged on the D.'d have to agree with you guys and we go back to being thin on the back end and you think that talbot might have helped that situation out but the fact that he's going in the season injured it's going to be a tough for them to get a good start but but ultimately if you're the fan base you got to be excited based on what you've seen in the past uh five years five what how long they've been brutal?

At least five years. They were in the Eastern Conference Final in 17, and they haven't been to the playoffs since. Oh, that's right. But definitely things to be excited about, and hopefully this spark and excitement for the team ends up leading to them getting a rink downtown. So things are looking ahead, but we're going to probably touch on a few teams that are looking better and have these young studs in the lineup but just quite aren't just aren't

quite there yet uh well digging up some details for this preview because i found the crazy old story like obviously a lot of talk about tanking for badad this year well back in 93 when the senate is i should say their front office tank not the players uh for alexander digg after the game they clinched the playoff spot. I'm sorry, the number one spot. They lost to the Bruins. The owner, Bruce Firestone at the time, he cryptically mentioned per SI to a reporter

that some secret squirrel shit was in play to make sure the Sens got the top pick. So a couple of weeks later, the reporters are talking to the owner in a bar. He says, hey, what did you mean by that and uh he said basically that if they needed to in that last game versus the Bruins they were prepared to pull the goalie in the game so like that they would end up losing the game and like word got out the guy wrote a column about it and stuff and he was talking about the restraints it's tough to keep the restraints on bonus during the season it's like yeah the guy's

a coach he's not going to coach to lose. He's got to coach to win. So none of the other reporters there disputed. It became a big deal up there. And all of a sudden, it kicked in an investigation in. The league looked into it. He ends up selling the team like two days before the season's over. They incorporate the lottery system after this. And, of course, they drafted Dagg.

He ends up on this career projection that goes all over the place takes him to will parry scranton with with our boy i'm dog and check the game notes come so it's all this whole history thing like if he doesn't end up in auto and with dag none of this i would i'm stronger than none of the none of the check the game note shit happened because he told that story again a couple months back that is legit such a fucking hilarious story the way he tells and i guess you could say karma if you're willing to try to you know fuck the league around in order to solidify the first overall pick you might end up getting a bust and giving them the biggest signing bonus in nhl history uh insane what's even funnier when they know it's just going to be between san jose and ottawa ottawa reached out to san jose and said like on it was like a side bet they're like uh

let's see who gets more points from here on in and that team will get the first pick they were gonna make a deal like that like which is fucking crazy like off the record yeah but I was okay so I don't know if I mentioned it last year two years ago when we're having the podcast where you should get extra bonus points or bonus balls in order to get a better pick if at a certain point you start winning more. So you should get rewarded based on how your shit team finishes the season. Should they not implement something like that in order to prevent against the tanking situation? I think that's what Otto was trying to do.

Like, hey, let's make it competitive here because it's only between us. You know what I mean? Right. I mean, yeah, but they did it at a bar, just like when you told them that they were going to pull the fucking goalie. I'm talking about Gary Bettman actually implementing this rule. It's funny, too. The owner's like, oh, I had like eight or nine beers.

I don't know what I said. Like, that was his excuse to the media, like blaming eight or nine beers. They're like, what do you mean? I got the deal in a napkin. That's our pitch. It's signed. It's legal legal do you have a copy of the napkin yeah oh shit it's stuck together because i blew my nose out oh man but yeah i thought it was pretty funny what's up i'm an expert on tanking i was going to save this story for the live show in pittsburgh but i was part of the tanking for ovechkin i don't know if i've told this on here we we tanked for Ovechkin. I don't know if I've told this on here. We, we tanked for Ovechkin

ended up losing the lottery, got Malkin, but they use those same standings the next year. And they got Crosby and the way we did it, they didn't come out and tell us to lose, but we were getting money to go out to a team dinner the night before games. We were sending guys to the minors and then calling up the healthy scratches from the minors to play on the NHL team. So you weren't generation X. Nobody said it was obvious. So it goes on,

it happens. And people in Pittsburgh, uh, wit was a big part for the trade, but I was a big part. Cause I was brutal. And we have a big park. Cause they but i was a big part because i was brutal and we got most of the big part because they had him on the first line and by the way like where to go merles this is going

to be happening this year with bedard and what he's like projecting as we're gonna see some interesting races coming down the end yeah yeah coy are going to have people from open skate out there playing. Yeah. More pizzas than Italy. Actually, okay. So, Whit, should we mention this group chat that we had going today in which Kevin Hayes said I'm the dumbest person in the world? Oh, my God. The National Make Me Happy Hockey League.

You got to read some of these texts. I'll go through this quickly. Okay. Let me try to read this real quickly. And this all goes back to the fact that I said, if they're going to throw e-bugs during the regular season, why not have a couple beer leaguers for each team on deck, you know, waiting to play if somebody goes down in preseason rather than throwing in an

unwarmed, you know, guy that, you know, has an opportunity to maybe make the team. Like it's already a shit show. You're halfway through the game. Put some beer leaguers in there for our entertainment so the the chat is me biz hazy and keith and hazy writes biz the fact that you think a beer leaguer should play be able to play in a preseason is so ridiculous it actually may be one of the most insane things you've said since the pod started i I said, I said even worse than my PK thing. PK for Hall of Fame.

He says PK for Hall of Fame isn't crazy. He said, but imagine a kid who has a chance to make the team gets less ice time for a beer leaguer because biz wants to be entertained. Hey, this is the NHL, but we allow beer leaguers to play on national television. Biz says, this says that they do it in the regular season with a picture of David Ayers. He goes, how is this not crazy? He says,

that's a goalie and that's all predetermined. A player can't go in net, but players could double shift. You can't just be like, okay, biz, you've only played 38 seconds tonight. You strap on the pads.

So all of a sudden Yandel comes, comes in. Imagine some dirt ball from Quincy get to play for the bruins and they are playing the leafs and whoever he hates he goes out and smashes a stick over austin matthews head but at least biz got to watch it though there is a couple other ones too i think yeah yeah gans goes yeah you got too many men on the ice the coach has to go to this horn out like if you don't make it past the ladies to you in golf just so biz can be entertained oh that was funny well i mean you got if you listen to the podcast you know i got some dumb fucking takes i don't give a shit.

I can't even speak English half the time. You're an absolute take quick. It's great, though. Yeah. I mean, we're having fun here. But, hey, I would like to get a poll going, Grinnell. How many people would like to see the beer leaguers out there rather than seeing them play short or throwing a guy who's like an AHL or out there for a period and a half. Who's not even warm.

I'll post it now. I'll post it now. And I'll give you the results at the end of the pod. The argument that a beer leaguer could try to injure somebody on the other team is actually pretty valid. When, when, yeah,

when I saw that come through, I was like, ah, I never considered that. I never, I never, I never considered that. Speaking of non pros mixing with the pros,

how about that clip from the weekend? That idiot ran on the field with the red flare and Bobby Wagner and the Rams absolutely fucking trucked him. Did you see it, Biz? I sent the link. Oh, yeah. I mean, what an idiot. And then the fan, he filed the police report.

Oh, I saw that. I didn't know if it was the same story. He's like suing them, isn't he? Yeah, he's trying. It's like, dude, you trespassed with a fucking dangerous dangerous situation these guys don't know what you're fucking out there for and he truck stick them knock them down and now this guy's gonna try to try to presume you're gonna try to sue i hope they fucking chuck that right out to him who cares the nfl's got billions and billions give them a couple hundred grand for our entertainment yeah fuck them put them in an

nhl preseason game yeah that that would actually be good. Then put a couple NFL guys on the other team, too. I had no idea. Randomly, by the way, we were chatting yesterday watching the NFL. I didn't know it's profit sharing throughout that league. So apparently the league makes around like $15 billion profit a season, and each team's taken around $370 million from that. I had no idea it was completely even profit sharing in the nfl that's nuts those owners might be the true illuminati yeah i do this they're fucking so loaded and they keep

hiring all their shithead nephews the coke brothers right so many teams suck who are the coke brothers they're very very very very wealthy family i think there's a i think there's a couple other big names that I'm forgetting. The Rothschilds, they got more money than God. Getting into Deadwood territory. I think that they were some of the original people to set up the Federal Reserve. Now, I could be completely making this up. If this is so off, I'm going to...

It's like... He's not wrong. Biz is not wrong here. Google it, because I could have read it on Twitter, right? It's just like, come on here. That's like my encyclopedia is Twitter. The guy who says you're not wrong doesn't have a copy of his contract. So let's just find out from Google what the actual story is.

I'm probably getting hammered on our Reddit page right now. I feel like you're right on that, because you seem so sure of yourself. No, I just made it up. All right, before we move along, here's a word from our friends at GameTime. The NHL is back, and if you want to see any games this season, you need GameTime. GameTime is the ticketing app that makes it easier than ever to score the best deals on tickets to sports, concerts, and shows,

and they guarantee the lowest price. If you haven't given GameTime a shot yet, don't know what you're waiting for. You guys are going to love this app. We've had tons of Barstool fans using it, hitting us up on social media about the great deals they've been getting all over the place, and we've been using it as well. Me and Grinelli hit up a bunch of playoff games, a few concerts over the summer, all because of the great deals on Game Time.

So download the Game Time app, go to the account tab to create a login and redeem code CHICKLETS for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, download GameTime. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Next up, the Florida Panthers. They won the President's Trophy last year with 122 points,

but they lost in the second round to Tampa, four games to none. A couple odds of 13 to one this year, and a big new face is coming in. Head coach Paul Maurice after leaving Winnipeg. Matthew Kachuk, Colin White, Mark Stahl, Chris Taney are there. They said bye to Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Wieger, Claude Giroux, Mason Marchment, Noah Chari, and Ben Chirot. This is going to be interesting.

This team went from, I would say, the least experienced coach in the world, in the league, rather, to the most experienced coach in the NHL, Paul Maurice. What kind of a difference is that going from a rookie to a guy who's been around 30 years and himself can't get over the hump for a championship, Maurice? I mean, yeah. I mean, experience is huge. I guess my biggest thing last year when it came playoff time, and maybe the lack of adjustments from Brunette

and even when dealing with in the postgame media scrums, I just wasn't hearing anything that showed any types of signs as if he kind of was like he had things under control. It seems like the whole team was in quicksand and they couldn't figure things out in the moment. And I guess from an overall perspective is it's amazing how much things can change the course of an organization, even with like 10, a 10 day period. Even if they end up going the distance to seven games against Tampa Bay and they put up a decent fight, I don't think there's any way they end up trading Uyghur and Huberto. don't think there's any way they they end up trading Uyghur and Huberto like like think about that think about the the amount of that 10-day span and what it did to alter the the course of

history for this organization so I I like the aspect of the fact that they brought in a guy with experience Paul Maurice won a cup with the Carolina Hurricanes uh he had a fairly similar style group I guess in Winnipeg, where they're very front-loaded with great players on forward. They had a very thin back end. And I would consider Bobrovsky to be an elite goaltender. I thought he had a decent season last year. And even if you maybe don't consider him, I think as a tandem, they have great goaltending. I think they can always end up relying on Spencer Knight. And if things don't work out with Bobbo, they have great goaltending. I think they can always end up relying on Spencer Knight. And if things don't work out with Bobbo, they'll just lean on Spencer. So I don't think that they're going to win the president's trophy.

I still think that they are a playoff team. But as I mentioned, like Bill Zito, in my opinion, hit the panic button a little bit. I can understand why you would want to make changes. But then I go back and look at a team like Tampa Tampa when they had their issues, they stuck with that group. And, and, you know, we've talked to Coop about it. You're going to hear it from the lawn, but you know, they, they took accountability in the coach's room. They spent more time that summer making adjustments and try to extract what they thought they could have out of that same group. So

different approach here. Uh, i personally think the team got overall worse i still think matthew kachuk is a hell of a player and he's going to have a big year down there but overall the division's very strong and they're going to have their work cut out for them so definitely less pressure in my opinion that they're going to have than last year but so they got some some good young guys in the pipeline that they can rely on. That Lundell had a breakout year last year. There's a couple other four. Verhage, who, in my opinion, was their best player in playoffs and the main reason why they ended up even getting by Washington.

So they still got some guys up front that they can rely on, and they have a very competent team. Just really, really interested to see how this back end is going to play out because with trading Uyghur, they left them a little bit thin and Ekblot on a bit of an island. Yeah, I think they could be like bubble playoff team. I think that they could be fighting the whole year to stay around the wild card race.

I don't know. I don't love their team. It's like the Kachuk is so good, like you mentioned, and he's going to get his points and he's going to do his thing. And that's why this is a good team. They got Barkov. They got Verhage. Reinhardt was great with Barkov. They got great players.

But overall, I don't know. I don't see them near the level they were last year. And when the trade went down, if it was Huberto for Kachuk knowing they both had those deals in place I guess Huberto's took a little while why'd you throw in Wieger what the fuck I don't know what it's like you lost one of your best defensemen in in the group isn't that great overall to begin with so I think I think if they're in the playoffs I'm not going to be surprised at all. But if come the final three weeks of the season, they're fighting for one of those wildcard spots,

I won't be shocked at all. It's a worse team in my mind. And last year was so good. So even if you're a little worse, is it crazy to think that they might not get in the playoffs? Maybe. But I'm thinking crazy today, Biz. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah. And I mean, we sound like a bit of a yak back. So I guess if every team's playing with a thin back end, because half the teams we've mentioned are thin on the back end, I guess they're all playing from an even playing field. So I really enjoy their top nine. I think they're going to continue to pump the goals in. But, you know, ultimately come playoff time,

you can't play that same rope-a-dope style hockey and even though going back to last season set a an nhl record for most comebacks in an nhl season they're gonna be they're gonna be hard pressed to to do that again so and listen they lost they lost you claire okay that's 31 goals well he, he's injured, correct? He tore his Achilles. And where did he go? I mean, he signed a three-year extension there. Yeah, but he's not playing, right? Right, because isn't he injured?

He tears Achilles? Is that what happens? I don't know what the injury is, but he's not starting the season. Yeah, okay. Okay. He's not there. So maybe he'll be back right at the middle. But you don't know when.

Nice deadline acquisition in-house. Okay. Marshment was amazing for them last season. He was close to a point per game. And then the other guy, Vetrano, was really good at the time he was there. Right. He wasn't there the whole year. But then Owen Tippett was a great young looking player. Dude, they trade him for Giroux. Giroux's gone. So it's just been a lot of movement there to where now I just don't think they're as good as they were set up to be maybe two years ago. Biz, you were correct. Anthony Duclair tore his Achilles and had surgery in June. That's probably that's probably maybe January's back six months, maybe less, actually.

Very similar to, I believe, Pacioretty also tore his Achilles this offseason. So, yeah, that's going to hurt the offense for the time being. But with opportunity comes – what's the saying? With injury comes opportunity. Philosopher. I thought we were getting a business in there. No, no. It was actually an off-the-glass and out comment. Merle, I mean, what do you think?

We pretty much covered it all. R.A., chime in. Yep, you stole my line there's there's too many changes i got a weird vibe about florida i think they have a drop-off season and i think there's going to be some lasting effects from that dummy in tampa put on him last playoffs it was just it was a weird way to lose it just i feel like that carries over and they're they're going to be on the bubble to get in. As far as me with, I don't know. I mean, Paul Maurice, obviously his coaching record sticks for stands for itself.

I would imagine these guys are going to want to play for him. He's got a tremendous reputation. I don't know if he's a hot ass. I don't know if he's more of a player's coach after all these years, but I wouldn't count them out, man. I don't think they're going to struggle as much as people are saying. I know basically you're trading, say Huberto for Kachuk. So they lose a Uyghur. I think they did that because they said they weren't going to be able to sign both of them so

they figured if we're going to have hubado kachuk we'd rather have kachuk and we weren't going to sign weger anyways that's some i'm assuming what that the mentality was but either way man i think they're going to be pretty competitive you still got bach off there they still got some good offense i don't think they're going to struggle to get in the playoffs going back to your original question though i think that the coaching is going to help for sure. You know, they lost a very experienced guy in Quinville. And, you know, when Burnett took over, the team continued to have that type of success.

But as I mentioned, the lack of adjustments in just the post-game press conferences raised level for concern for me to the point of where when we were watching them and seeing them when we were doing the playoff bubble there with TNT in Atlanta, I was like, oh man, I don't know, like this might end up

costing him a job for next year. And sure as shit, it did. Yep, sure it did. Although he is on another bench. We're going to get to that in a little bit. For us though, Merles, we have your team. The Buffalo Sabres 75 points last year, finished 11th in the conference. They're 100 to 1 to win the cup.

They brought in Ilya Labushkin, Eric Comrie, and Riley Sheehan. They said bye to Colin Miller, Cody Eakin, and Will Butcher. As expected, the team named Kylo Oposo, the 20th captain in team history, and Rasmus Dahlin and Zemgis Gergensens. We're going to wear the gays there. Looks like we're going to get a good look at Owen Powell to start the year. I suppose he's going to have a full camp and practice under his belt, so he can hopefully jump right out there. With Bernardo and Adams, this is probably the most stability the team's had in ages, Merle.

But it's going to be tough to get in that playoff spot. What are you thinking this year? How much of an improvement are we looking at? Yeah, I love this team. I love the young talent they have. They're going to be good for a long time. I just don't understand why they didn't go out and get a goalie. I mean, I played against Craig Anderson.

I used to score goals on him when he was down in Norfolk. And I just, I mean, yeah, he did okay, but they're a young team. Where's the young goalie to go with them? Or, I mean, at least a guy in his 30s, not in his 40s. I agree. And I actually am super excited to watch them this year. And Biz, we were all on it when the trade went down it was such a big moment for that organization to just have the whole drama

end and ike will be gone and then the moment of of and obviously i think them it was such a tough season that their most memorable moment was probably when um is it generat excuse me rick rick how much how do i say his name, Murr? Rick Generette. Rick Generette, right? He had the moment on the ice. It was this incredible moment. The craziest night besides that was when they beat Eichel

and they beat Vegas at home. And you saw this fan base and how much passion there is. And you saw Tuck became that player that everyone hoped that you could have somebody proud to be a Sabre. And then with all this talent, Owen Power comes at the end of the year. He looked fantastic for just hopping right into the NHL. We've talked Jack Quinn.

Nobody even brings him up, lit up the AHL last year. He was the eighth pick in 2020 for the Sabres. He slated on the second line as the season begins. There is just so much young talent there. It's just goaltending. And I don't know if they're going to be able to get some saves they need to try to compete for the playoffs but they're certainly not going to be the pushover that they've been in the past few years if no if you're a sabers fan you got to be ecstatic about the goaltending situation anderson's been good to that team you you want to be given in

six seven goals a night as long as your offense is clicking you want to get a high draft pick your the the rebuild is not close to finish but they're heading in a perfect direction they have those young studs up front they got a couple on the back end that one two punch between uh uh help me out here owen power and rasmus dalin dalinene. I always forget their last name is Darlene. But it all goes back to the coach. And when we had a post on, he talked about how he, he trusts the players and he allows them to make plays at the line. And if they do fuck up, you're not going to come back to the bench and get bitched at.

He wants you instilling that confidence in yourself, because at the end of the day, if you are going to be a successful team, you have to be making those types of plays. so he's going to give them those long leash if you see those players continue to develop and take that next jump and they're pumping in the goals and they're having a good time and they're creating exciting hockey in Buffalo for the first time since we saw really you know last year as you mentioned that turning point when the Ico game went down this is this is exactly where you want to be as an organization if you're the Buffalo Sabres. You don't want to slap lipstick on a pig with good goaltending at this point

because you don't have a team that's ready to compete for a Stanley Cup. You don't want to rush the rebuild. But you want to win games and you want to get guys comfortable with winning and you can't let losing after the way you're finished what biz it's the same thing you could say the same thing about detroit like yeah you want to you know you want to get a first say in this interview what was one of his comments i don't know i had a lot of them it's not about the wins and losses it's about the process it's about the process i know but you're saying giving up six or seven a night that ain't a good process bro ask any buffalo sabers fan and say if you if your offense is kicking in an average

of four and a half goals a game and everybody's clicking and you only end up with 25 wins and you're getting a top three pick i bet you they would fucking kiss you they'd fucking let you plow their old lady they'd be so happy ah that's an interesting – yeah, the way you word that. Merle, what do you think? I feel like they want a winner there. They've had a lot of top picks. There's no way they're getting into playoffs in that division and in that conference.

I don't think they're getting in either, but I – So then why do you want to draft – the worst thing you could do as a franchise is draft 10th, 11th, 12th overall year after year after year. If you look at the types of players that end up making generational impacts in lineups, it's first and second overall picks. Maybe sometimes you get lucky in the third, fourth overall range where, I mean, Kale McCarr went fourth overall. But who did they get on defense? Darlene, power. Both guys, first overall.

If they finish – Yeah, let's hope Darlene looks a little better then. Yeah, I think he did a lot better. Because sometimes they don't always hit. He looked a lot better in the second half of the season. There's no doubt in the first half of that season he looked like he was a frustrated player. But you heard Aposo's comments and how much he works and how much he

cares this kid's gonna find his game and he's gonna get and bring it to that level i think they are in a perfect situation and there's actually a reason why they brought anderson back he's well liked in the locker room he's a great guy in the community he's got an incredible story he brings that veteran presence and if he allows fucking beach balls in every night hey man thanks for doing your job pat on the back take your 750 and ride into the sunset baby is i could not agree more about the rasmus doll and stuff nice little player prop on the barstool sports book his over under for points is 55 and a half points i'm smashing the i'm smashing the over on that i'm smashing it how many d had 56 points last year right he's gonna have a load

taken off of him because owen powers there like biz said i think this team's starting to move they're gonna put up goals this season 55 and a half points smash the over but go back to if you can research it while we keep talking here while we throw it over to ra and murrells how many d put up that many points it's a great great question it's not easy i'm fine i've been saying for years they should move him to forward dalene he'd be a great forward all the skill he has the gonchar the reverse gonchar yeah but you know know who likes this talk ra of this breakdown our. Ice, because he only bets overs, and this Buffalo team sounds

like an overs batter's paradise. So, we'll keep an eye on him for the Buffalo overs. Out of the gate. It's going to be all over it, unless this Ukko Pekka, Luke Hohn, and Luke unless he gets a little bounce in the step, he could steal that number one job.

All right, gee. So, 11 guys, 11 defensemen had 56 or more points. Darlene had 53. So it's a great prop, but it's – I love it. What's the odds on that? Minus 112. Oh, man. G might have just given out a winner, guys.

Okay, okay, G. I love it, boys. He needs three more points. He played an 80 of 82, so you got to stay healthy but wow all right going back to that goaltender how much action did he get last season and what were his numbers how did he perform yeah he had nine games last year 274 ga 917 uh save percentage which is pretty good on a buffalo team last like that type of team last year he had four prior games before that. So he's got 13 games of experience with the big club.

He's getting his season down in Rochester, but he's 23. So, you know, sometimes these guys jump in and they're ready to go. I know. I got them. I got them top seven in Vesna voting. Fuck it. Let's go. I love the top seven shit.

Yeah. Buffalo is trying to avoid the 12th straight year without playoff games, which would set an NHL record. So see what happens there in the crease. But yeah, we'll definitely be betting a shitload of all this. That's an NHL record? Yeah. Right now, they're tied 11 straight years without making it.

12 years without the playoffs would set the record. Holy shit. Don't remind their fan base online. I'm sorry. I know. Sorry. The fan base isn't going to pay attention to them until late February when the bills after the bills mafia burned the city down for the

Superbowl. All right. Next up, the Montreal Canadians. They had 55 points last year. It was 32 out of 32 teams. They're 150 to one to win the Stanley cup. Not sure I've ever seen them that high.

They brought in Kirby doc, Evgeny Dadunov, Mike Matheson, and Sean Monahan. They said bye to Alexander Romanoff and Jeff Petrie. This team definitely got energized last year when Marty San Luis took over, but they still finished in the basement. You look at the roster right now.

It doesn't exactly scream playoffs, but you got these guys in charge, Jeff Gordon, Kent Hughes. They seem like they know it's going to take a few years to get their plan in place. They took this number one pick. Was it Uri Slavkovsky? But it doesn't look like he's going to stick with the big club out of camp. People are already bellyaching about him, which is kind of stupid because they just drafted him. Have you heard of this guy, Biz Arbor?

Jacki, his name is. This kid played juniors, never drafted. He was working at Costco a couple of years ago. He went to development camp. This guy, Biz Arbor, Jack Eye, his name is. This kid played juniors, never drafted. He was working at Costco a couple years ago. He went to development camp, ended up getting signed out of development camp. And the Canadians just sent them down to their minor league the other day. But this guy was wreaking havoc all preseason,

just bundle and save his, I'm sorry, send his left and right, becoming a bit of a folk hero. So I don't know, see what happens. They might bring him up. Just, you know, you got all that young talent you want to protect. I wouldn't be surprised if he's up soon. Well, I mean, we went through the argument, whether it was last part or the one before,

about, you know, these guys in preseason running around. And, hey, in some cases, some guys make a name for themselves and earn themselves a contract. So happy for the guy, a great story, the fact that he was, you know, going from working at Costco to playing professional hockey. And, you know, he'll be in Laval honing his skills and given that the team they have i think there's no doubt on the team right no no they just sent him down they just sent him down yeah yeah damn it yeah for those wondering where the fuck wit was when ra said that he had his earphone out he was just i was listening to the pronunciation of the kid's name. I heard already saying, I was like that. I didn't know it was Jack.

I yeah. Yeah. Fun name. That's amazing. Yeah. He's going to be a fan favorite. No time, but you know, another team that, I mean, you talk about the coaching and how much impact that can have. And you saw what, what Martin St. Louis was able to do in a short amount of time there, especially for a guy like Cole Caulfield. So I'm really interested to see how he can work with these young players and, and mold them into, to, you know, long-term successful NHLers. And, you know,

they got, they got their captain and Suzuki, some great leadership from another great young player. And, you know, it's, it's not going to be a fun year for Montreal, but as long as you're seeing the growth from those guys and the connection between St. Louis and them and figuring things out for moving forward, I think with, with management and the way that they did things in the off season and the game plan that they seem to have,

I don't think it's too far down the road that they're relevant again, but it's just, it's going to be too hard to compete for the guys they have. And I was happy. They brought in another guy. Like you, we saw when they brought in Josh Anderson from Columbus, like a big body down the wing. Well,

now they get another guy in Kirby doc who I think that wrist injury really, really set him back. Right. He was having so much success early on in his career and it just really sucked to see that. But for them to, to, to give the confidence to him and sign them to that deal and say, Hey, you got some years here to figure out and hone your skills. I think moving forward, they're going to be all right. No playoffs, though.

Come on, give me a break. And no carry price. So, you know, if you don't got the goaltending, you can't win. Yeah, I would say that it's going to be tough sledding. I think they're looking at being in that race for Bedard, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you're right. I think just having St. Louis and what Caulfield and Suzuki looked like when he came over and like basically the ability to get Slavikovsky

this summer, right? And he makes the team. So you're going to see what he's made of. And they're not really in the need to rush guys, right? If he's not playing well it's not like oh my god this guy's got to play every single game because i don't necessarily know if that guy's ready yet their plan there is set in stone where they know there's not a huge rush here and it's such a known thing i mean maybe not with their fans it's such a ridiculous

kind of group of fans that respect expect so much but everyone knows there's the results aren't probably going to be there this year but if you can see young players get better and better and then hopefully get a top three pick i mean i think at this point if you ask a montreal canadians fan i'm i'm different in fact sabers fans are looking to be better and compete i think canadians fans want to get the top pick going into this season i I think it's a different view on their team as opposed to looking at the Sabres, who maybe people think will be the exact same type of shit team, but I don't.

Damn, I must have had somebody else's ears on there. I thought you said the fan base was disappointed already. They were disappointed they sent down Jacki? No, no, no. I said they sent down Jacki. Then I said it didn't sound like Slavkovski is going to stick because there's been a lot of criticism of his play. I didn't mean to imply he sent down.

He's still with the club. Okay. It just seemed to be a little bit of negativity about his play. Yeah, but some people were very surprised that he made the team, that he's going to stay up there. Okay. My apologies. Yeah.

Actually, I think the last cut. I'm going to do a lap here. I'm going to do a lap. Down and back. Down and back. A couple down and backs here. You guys continue going to do a lap here. I'm going to go down and back, down and back, a couple of down and backs here. You guys continue down and back. Oh,

yeah. Well, I want, I need, I have a very, very interesting nugget, but I need biz to hear it. So it's,

yeah, it's a, it's a, is this like, is this gambling related? No, not gambling related, but it's,

um, it's TV related. So that's why biz definitely has to hear it. And I know he loves these little nuggets of information. Here he is. Here he is. Coming back from his loser lap. He's going down and back.

He's doing another one. Doing another one. He's climbing over the chair. He might throw out his L5 S1. But yeah, Marty St. Louis, unreal guy. I used to train with him. I don't know if I ever talked about that. I've trained with him. He was doing more of the squats.

I was doing more of the coffee and soda and getting over the hangovers, but the biz, I had to wait for you here. I have a very interesting nugget on the Montreal Canadians. They're the only team with zero U.S. national TV games. Makes sense. They stink. Zero.

They didn't get one game. The Jets have one. Ottawa has one. The Coyotes have four. Vancouver has two. That's actually nuts for that franchise to not have a game on TV.

I thought that was really weird. And you had the number one pick supposedly coming to not going to lie. I was expecting a better nugget. Damn it. We waited all that time for you to come back to, so you could hear it. A full double. I think he just wants to try to get somebody else to have to do a lap.

He's going to be calling out all of us the rest of the show. All right, boys going to move it right along here down to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They had 110 points last year. And of course, they lost the Stanley Cup to the Colorado Avalanche

four games to two after going back to back on the previous two Stanley Cups. They're 11 to one to win it this year. And they got some new faces in town. Vladislav Nemestnikov, shout out Biz,

Hayden Flurry, Phil Myers. And they've said bye to Andre Palat, Ryan McDonough, and Jan Ruta. This team is definitely going to be a notch below this year, just losing McDonough alone. He's such a key part of not only that defense, but the locker room. Huge leadership capabilities. I know the whole team is going to miss him.

Having said that, they still have Vasilevsky, Stamkos, Hedman, Kucherov, and Point. So they're not going anywhere anytime soon. But after going to three straight cups, they're going to be still a little tuck it out. Are they going to be still feeling that even though, you know, they had the summer off, they still got to have that much hockey under their belt? Yeah, definitely. And I think it's just such a big difference at the beginning of the season. It might be a little tough for them. Palat was such an enormous part of this team for so long,

even before the Stanley cups of just being a guy that's always in the room. And everyone knows that for each season that happens, you know, faces that you've become accustomed to seeing are gone, but with a team that won the way they did and made that final run, the third straight year to not have McDonough, to not have Palat, just to be missing some people that made such big impacts, it's going to be a little different. Now, luckily, like, right, if you look up front,

Nick Paul and Hagel made such huge, they were such huge additions, especially Nick Paul against Toronto. Oh, my God. Guy was one of the best players on the ice in game six and seven. So they have the ability to kind of step up, but basically in losing what they had, they're just not, they're not that top echelon team right they're still they're still one of the better

teams in the league and they're in the playoffs in my mind and they have a chance to compete for the stanley cup but unless surga chef really steps it up which i mean he played great last year but i'm talking now it's like he's filling a role that McDonough carried on every night, and that's not just offensively. It's like being responsible and being a warrior defensively and on the PK and things like that. So Cal Foote stepping in, he's going to have a much bigger

role. It's going to come down to guys being able to step up. I think Colton will play a bigger role. It's like guys are just going up a little bit with what they lost, and they still have Kucherov, they still have Point, and they still have Stamkos. It's like they're not going up a little bit with what they lost and they still have kucherov they still have point and they still have stamkos it's like they're not going anywhere in my mind i still look at like them as so much better than the panthers right i mean they dusted in the second round and then all these changes happen to both teams give me tampa again and mainly vasilevsky right so when you have this goalie you have a chance to win the stanley cup

as long as he's probably playing on this team well and Chernak too I think that they've really trusted him to jump in that role and help carry the weight of what they're going to miss with McDonough between him and Sergeyev but I mean ditto and reiterate everything you said Whit and when you ever have a goal like Vasilevsky you're always going to have a chance to win I think that the parity in the league is so good right now. I have about 10 teams I could see winning the cup. There's an echelon of the top, you know, four to five teams who are definitely above everybody else. But hey, man, with an injury here, an injury here, an injury here, injury there, I think that there's a pretty big window and they're still in it.

Full agree. We talked about a lot of teams being thin on the back end. You have Victor Hedman out there 30, 35 minutes a night. Nothing bad happens when he's on the ice. I've been saying it for years. He's my favorite player. They're going to be right there again. And you know, wit will probably take him to win the cup again for the fourth straight year. No, I do love the fact too, that when we mentioned third and fourth lines, that fourth line is so set in stone with Maroon, Perry, and Belmar, and they just know it matters when you're that comfortable with each other.

Talk to R.A. about the Merlot line in 11. It's like having a fourth line that gels and knows exactly what each other are going to do on the ice makes such a difference. So I think the fact that there are going to be different guys playing in different roles, to have the stability of having a fourth line, they could play 10 minutes. And Perry also gets the in front of the net time in the power play. They're still they are still competing for the Stanley Cup. They're just not as powerful as they were the past few years.

And in Breezeball and staff, one of the best teams at replenishing, drafting and developing and bringing guys up. You saw Ross Colton and what he brought to their lineup last year playoffs time come to so no i think i think as an organization they still have a decent window here and i think for sure that they're a playoff team there's no way they miss playoffs with vasilevsky in that no absolutely not okay has the last team in the division the detroit red wings like i said we have their coach, Derek Alon, coming on shortly. The Red Wings had 74 points last year, finished 12th in the conference, 55-1 to win the Stanley Cup. Like I said, new coach, Derek Alon to the team. Also brought in David Perron, Andrew Kopp, Billy Husso, Dominic Kubelik,

Ben Sherratt, and Oli Mata. They said bye to Sam Gagne, Mark Stahl, and Thomas Grice. The eyes are planned in full effect at a boatload of guys. It looks like they're trying to take gagne mark stall and thomas grice uh the eyes are planned in full effect at a boatload of guys that look like they're trying to take the next step here but how about this monster elma soda bloom 6-8 with those hands did you see that clip i included in the freaking outline unreal dude crazy stuff we're not going to go too much into them right now because we do have their coach coming on but uh quickly biz what do you what's your early take on the detroit red i mean we have lalonde on and he is being very modest about the expectations for this season but adding some crafty forwards like cop and perron with some of the young studs they have in the

lineup and now you have a bona fide number one goalie with after what we saw from huso last year in st louis i could see them competing for a wild card spot. I love the modest approach, but you know what, that winning pedigree that Lalonde's bringing over and the fact that he is a player's coach, you know, he can't be playing tummy sticks like he was as an assistant coach, but you know, he's, and there will be a little bit of tough love, but I'm, I'm really interested to see what he can do with this group of guys. And, you know, you, you mentioned the Iser plan. They got plenty of guys in the pipeline that are going to be bonafide NHL superstars pretty soon. So I don't think the expectations are there,

but look for the, the goon squad to at least compete night in and night out. And, uh, you know, Larkin will have the boys going that psychopath. He's going to have to have the Hannibal Lecter mask on the way that they're amped up for this season. So I would say even maybe more so than buffalo this fan base is amped up for a winning season and you so hey we we talk about the interview he had he was responsible for the best turnaround season in echl history maybe he could do the best turnaround season in Detroit Red Wings history. Who knows? And I think the Perron addition is so big.

He won a cup. Everywhere he goes, he produces offensively. It's like pencil him in for 28 goals, pencil him in for getting under people's skin, and pencil him in for more than anything, teaching Larkin and teaching all these other younger players what it takes to win games. So I think that that's an awesome signing. You saw how good Kopp was with the Rangers after the trade deadline. Could play anywhere in the lineup, could play power play, could play PK. The team's well improved.

The division is so tough. And then the conference is so tough that it's going to make it hard for them to get into the playoffs. But I think you're going to see a huge step up. And in talking to Newsy, which we never got into that, why it's going to make it hard for them to get into the playoffs. But I think you're going to see a huge step up. And in talking to Newsy, which we never got into that, why it's his nickname. I looked into it like nobody even really knows. There's a former player, I think, with the same last name,

who they called Newsy. It was an old Montreal Canadiens coach, Newsy Lalonde. I think he was a player and a coach. Yeah, like way back in like the 20s or 30s. It's a great nickname. Terrific nickname, yeah. But, you know, he talks also about Sherrod and we'll, we'll get to him in a minute here, but it's,

it's an exciting time to be a wings fan because mainly when I went back there, it was every wings fan dream come true. He made Tampa so good. Let's, let's bring them back home and he can win the cup here as a GM. And, and he's so driven and so kind of obsessed with this team and getting this team to the next level that I'm going to see. I think you're going to see some big-time improvements this year. And at least come the end of the season, they're fighting. That's the thing about this division now and even the Metro. The teams that the big guys walked all over last year,

you're not walking all over them again now. There's no easy two points like there was last year and detroit's an example of that that's what you call parody wit parody i didn't even mention zadina they got bertuzzi they got some fucking guys in that lineup that can play i wonder if that zadina kid could take the next next step though when he was drafted i know he was gonna be like the next sniper they got a 30 40 goal guy well let's fucking see it baby and you gave up you gave up manta for him right or no no he was who did that was verana that was verana so so i i always mistake those two yeah um so dina was the detroit pick verana he's got to have a big one too because that's a big deal they made

moving out though he had a shit sandwich in preseason last year where he separated his shoulder so last day of camp wasn't it yeah yeah i think yeah so basically that last season was a wash so i'm telling you man don't sleep on the goon squad guys i've been screaming about the red wings since my eight hour delay on my way to chicklets cup and i got my red wings t-shirt this they made the best moves they got a new coach they got a new goalie that you guys didn't even mention kubelik or charotte yep 84 and a half points over under on the barstool sportsbook hammer this over and i mean how fun of a bet is this going to be all year every game just hoping they get those one or two points 84 and a half they are going to crush that number go wings i hope sodderblom makes the team

the guy guy's a weapon on the half wall on the power play and his puck protection i watched him in sweden the last couple years and uh i'm really excited for this team this year all right boys i think we should probably send it over to derek right now but before we bring on derek lond we want to let you know his interview was brought to you by Verizon Wireless. So, the new Google Pixel 7 Pro is super. It's the most advanced Pixel to date, super power to launch faster, load quicker, and run smoother. Totally supercharged. And when it's on Verizon, you get the network America relies on, along with a super deal. Because now when you switch to Verizon, you get a free Google Pixel 7 Pro

with select tradings and select 5G unlimited plans. I know what you're thinking. Super. There's never been a better time to switch to Verizon. $899.99 device payment purchased with new smartphone line on select 5G unlimited plans required. $200 Verizon e-gift card with Porden, less $700 trade and promo credit applied over 36 months.

0% APR, trading conditions and additional terms apply. And now, enjoy Derek Lalonde. Well, it's an absolute pleasure to welcome this old pal of mine to the show. I met him about 20, 70 years ago at his first ever coaching job as a graduate assistant at Division III North Adams State College. From there, he worked his way up to Division I before landing his first head coach gig at the USHL. It wasn't long before he jumped up to the coast, then the AHL, before coming in assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he won two Stanley Cups. And this summer, he was named the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. Thanks so much for joining us on the Spit and Chicklets podcast.

Derek Lalonde, congratulations, my friend. Thanks, boys. Awesome, R.A. What a full circle. It's amazing. I have to tell you guys, this is when I know I've made it in life. I have a text exchange with a bunch of my old college teammates and win a Stanley cup. I get like a thumbs up emoji,

original six head coach. You get the knuckles emojis, this spin checklist is this will be, it'll be blow up life. A couple of zucchinis in an eggplant. I was telling these guys, I mean, 27 years ago, you were kind of quiet graduate assistant. I was doing work study with the hockey team. And I don't think either one of us thought we'd get to this path. So I want to ask, did you have any designs on to get to the NHL back then?

Or were you just taking your first graduate job and see where it went to? No, not at all. I don't even know if coaching was my path. Went to Cortland State, got an undergrad in physical education and science. And then North Adams State called it the old days. They would send a letter. My coach received a letter from Dave Gruden. Yeah, Dave Gruden. Yeah. Dave Gruden sent a letter looking for a graduate assistant. Dave Gruden sent a letter looking for a graduate assistant. My old hockey coach in Cortland, Al McCormick,

thought I'd be a really good coach. And he's like, would you be interested in this? And I'm like, yeah, pays for my master's. Got a master's in education administration. Just had a vision of going down that teaching, coach high school hockey, maybe be an administrator in time. But you just kind of fall in love with the coaching, the team aspect of it. And then the phone just kept ringing, ringing, ringing. And never in my mind would I think of coaching the National Hockey League

or win Stanley Cups and be a head coach in the National Hockey League. So it's been quite a ride. I remember when R.A. first told me about you and seven years ago, where were you at the time? I don't remember. I was like, RA is making this up. This guy doesn't exist. So I didn't know much about you. And then this rapid rise, it's been just such a cool story because the entire time, RA has kind of reminded me of where you began.

So when you mentioned you didn't have any idea of, or a dream of even coaching in the NHL mentioned you didn't have any idea of or dream of even coaching in the nhl you basically just were taking it one day at a time like there was no like set goal in the future it's like let's just see where it takes me yeah i would just i did the division three assistant coaching thing uh i did the mass college that was more about the education fell in love with the coaching aspect my college hockey coach al mccormick took over lebanon valley college they played in hershey um begged me to come coach with them they started the program from scratch did that and then i was like i gotta get on with life

you know get to that teaching i had a path and then And then Phil Grady, Hamilton College, part of the NESCAC mafia, called me and he had moved some assistants on to Division One. So I wouldn't say last crack, but I did that. And then probably the phone call that changed my life was Bob Daniels at Fair State recruiting. I knew the Ottawa, basically where I grew up. I knew the Ottawa recruiting. I knew basically where I grew up. I knew the Ottawa area. I knew Toronto area. I did a lot of recruiting, even Hamilton there. Ferris State, very small budget.

They'd lean on me. I was kind of their eyes and ears through that area. And ironically, Jeff Blaschel moved on from Ferris State to Miami, Ohio. Bob called me. And that was the first time, you know, you get in the division one, the CCHA, you kind of, you know, I was going to do this for a living and then just kind of took off and then went to Denver, obviously the success at Denver, the kind of program they had,

you go from Ferris State where you're kind of that little brother chip on the shoulder, you know, you, you want to beat Michigan and Michigan state every year. You go from Ferris State where you're kind of that little brother chip on the shoulder. You know, you want to beat Michigan and Michigan State every year. And then you go to Denver and you're expected to win. So it's a little different. Then the next step was to become a head coach. Did that Green Bay and USHL, ran into a couple really loaded teams, won a championship. And I just really thought I'd go down the college path is kind of all I knew

and if in that time when I was at Green Bay if there was a division one head coaching job I'd probably been in the mix or heard from the AD I wouldn't say it was just a matter of time before I was going to get my own program but I was heading down that path and then out of nowhere Ryan Martin, the assistant general manager, Detroit Red Wings, who's now the assistant general manager of the New York Rangers calls me. He's like, would you consider Toledo in the ECHL? He's like this day and area day and age of the cap era.

We want to be better there. You're going to have five, six contracts. We develop guys. would you be interested i knew nothing about them um so i was intrigued a little bit they were dead last place uh i would watch a game i paid 5.99 to watch an internet game on a sunday night they were 55 points i have a playoff spot there's like 7 000 people at the game yeah and no way that's a good market crazy it's crazy it's crazy and and it's all i was intrigued easier to go i was intrigued by it and they sold me hey open door policy to mike babcock um that's just part of the development and i went interviewed I had some managerial background the USHL your general manager and I thought I could build a team there because just what

this season it's unbelievable fan base I could get players there I knew the pool from that college even the younger players I kept one player from the previous year took um the five six redwin contracts and just pumped college kid captain from this team captain from that team and we went character character and we improved 59 points from the previous year and and just exploded and then it kind of the rest kind of took care of itself 50 win season but you said biggest turnaround in franchise history correct well i got some people say and i don't know if it's true but people say maybe well they said it was right now in professional hockey i've been told it was the biggest turnaround one you had to get team so low but it was they said it was the biggest

i think it was 58 or 59 points gee you might have to get the uh analytics team on this one the stats on this one well they said it was the biggest turnaround and um and bang it was unbelievable and that talked about that city like that was like i couldn't go like you couldn't go to grocery stores such a weird just within that city they love their toledo wall. Like it's a fishbowl, like Tampa Bay, like Stephen Stamkos can get away with within reason of walking around Tampa and not being hounded. Obviously he's recognized the success stuff in, in Toledo. I couldn't go to a grocery store. It's an unbelievable fan base.

You got to see it to believe it. I read something too, though, at a certain point point you mentioned a few guys like saving graces getting phone calls and advancing when you're coaching division three that you're probably not getting paid as much and it's a bit of a grind and you maybe at one point i don't know if it was considered quitting and your your mother talked you into keep going because you were so passionate about it absolutely biz uh thanks for asking that because that because obviously my mom just passed away, so I appreciate that a ton. But it's not even so much to give up on it.

I was like, I had this background. I had a resume. My education was there. I was literally prep school, Shenandoah High School, knew the AD, begging me to be a physical education science teacher, run the hockey program. It just, I had that chance to go down the path of what I wanted to do when I was 19, 20.

And, you know, coach, teach. And so it was just sitting there. But I loved the team aspect. I loved coaching. I loved everything about it. But you don't make anything into Division III. And my mom's like, if you you love it just keep following it and so it's uh it's kind of went full circle there so great question like that um i'm curious first

one ever for me on the pod can we celebrate we got you got a drink over there derek 58 point turnaround the biggest in coast history that's that's what uh that's what i saw but i i want to ask when did you first meet coop where Coop kind of come into all this? Wow. So when I was at Ferris State, Coop started, he was doing his AAA team, then Honey Bait. So we would recruit kids off his team. He was involved in the U.S. hockey festivals.

He's turned his back on us pretty quick on that, by the way. And then he would, then he started coaching the North American hockey league teams. And I loved who there was probably some personalities. We kind of just seemed like within those festivals or recruiting weekend, we always found each other in the bar. And by two o'clock, we were the last two people. So there was a connection there. And man, he was like, but when I was at Ferris, when I was at Denver, he just players on a platter. So I got to know him really well and would lean on him throughout my career.

I remember my second year in green Bay. We, we we put the previous year we won the whole thing we came out we started like one seven and two and it was uncomfortable and i called coop basically it's like just have a bench clearing brawl was by the end of the and we did and we literally won like 23 of our next 25 so someone i've always leaned on and it's just the irony of him calling um and we'll jump around these stories but coop call so they lost in 2018 tampa in the eastern conference finals um to washington washington went on to win the stanley cup that year coop called me like nine in the morning and it it was not uncommon for Coop to call me, but at nine in the morning after losing in the Eastern Conference Finals, in which you're up 3-2. And basically, he's like, I'm going to make some changes within my staff.

Would you have any interest? And I said, give me a couple of days. I loved Iowa. I loved Chuck Fletcher. He was the general manager. Bruce Boudreau was the head coach. I had Chuck Fletcher. He was the general manager. Bruce Boudreau was the head coach. I had a say in that. I loved everything about it. And they just re-upped me. And I said, you know, give me two days on it. And I called him back and I said, I know,

I have no interest. And he was really disappointed. And, but he understood, I just thought value and growing as a head coach in the american hockey you know we've been there two years still learning pro hockey and it's different it's completely different world pro hockey than the college gig even the echl and then two weeks later chuck got fired and then paul fenton came on board and paul was awesome and paul did everything he could to keep me on board he was awesome in the process but two weeks later Coop's like what about now so I went down and looked at it

sat down with him sat down with Steve and two days later I was on the way to Tampa yeah Gulf of Mexico Iowa Gulf of Mexico Iowa what you mentioned like how much different it was, what, what were the major differences as far as being a head coach at the pro level and the AHL, as opposed to college, like what were the hardest adjustments and why you wanted to stick at it? Great question. And that, and I really think it's made me successful in pro hockey, college hockey, so relationship based and you're literally,

you're recruiting these kids at 15 years old're literally recruiting these kids at 15 years old. You're recruiting a kid at 20 years old. You're sitting in a living room telling parents you're going to take care of this kid. There's such a bond there. And you're with them 24-7. And it's just different. It's special. It's so relationship-based.

You go to pro hockey, it's just different. It's guys. I wouldn't say they're out for their own. Unbelievable guys. But it's a different it's it's guys i wouldn't say that they're out for their own unbelievable guys but it's a business and it's a true business and it's a partnership like there's a reality of it like you know in tampa we're not winning our stanley cups without the guys they're not winning without us you know that that hard, in charge. Like everywhere else, they need you. Like in college, they need the coach. And even in the East Coast a little bit.

Now he's starting in the American Hockey League. Like Alex Tuck needed me for one year, but he was going to be on his way to the National Hockey League. Stephen Stamkos and Andre Vasileski and Victor Heimer were going to be in Tampa a hell of a lot longer than Newsy Derek Lalone. It's just different. It's just it's a partnership. And you learn that. And the other thing I didn't play in the National Hockey League and you guys that play in the National Hockey League. It's just different. It's a real thing. It's it's a one percenter league.

When you play in the league, it's just it's still your league it's just different i you you you respect that you understand that it just it takes time learning what pro hockey the national hockey league is all about well don't sell yourself short you you're a goalie in college were you not you weren't helping vassie out during those runs i was not helping vassie out in those runs yeah you gotta try got to try this, Vassie. I did this back in the day. I had 38 saves one night. Our A was at the bar at 2.30 in the morning. He said, hey, lift your glove a little bit higher.

And sure enough, he went on to be a ball hockey legend at the Chicklets Cup. I sold. Yes, I was a goaltender at Cortland State. And so we went our first Stanley Cup. And now Cortland wants me. They remember me as an alum. Now, of course, they're full credit for me donation to donate. That's coming. I didn't even know.

He needs a new hot tub. The president has been calling me. I didn't even know they had a president. I thought one of the sororities ran Cortland. I find out an actual president. Now he's really wants to talk to me. I wonder what that's going to be about. When you were in Toledo, you didn't hear from him. They do have a president. Now he really wants to talk to me. I wonder what that's going to be about. Yeah, when you were in Toledo, you didn't hear from him. So anyhow, we win.

Now I got the whole Cortland State article, and the guy sends it back to me, and it was awesome. It was just the path, you know, and I love my Cortland experience. My college teammates are still my best friends to this day. And whatever, I don't care if you're Division I, Division III, whatever your experience is. I didn't play at all as a freshman, a little bit as a sophomore. Half the games, a junior, all as a senior.

So you still earned it. I had a great experience. But I'd get the article, and they'd have my stats at the end of it. And, you know, it's the SUNYAC. It's a different era. It's an offensive 90s, but they're awful. Whatever, it's a 3-6, whatever, and it's an 88 save percentage. So the guy's like, what do you think? Oh, I like it all, but, you know, do we need the stats?

And he's like, well, we'll admit them. And then the pitcher comes out, and I've got like a kick save when I played, and I'm literally taking up like this much net. I was embarrassed and shocked. My career ended at 21 years old out of Cortland State. But yes, I was a college goaltender back in the day. What was your style? Were you stand up butterfly? It's funny. It was kind of like it was mid 90s. So I was in between that the butterfly that paddle down thing

just was coming in i was straight stand up kick save angles poke check so you did teach ra like yes what are what i saw out of ra and that ball hockey thing you did like that's what i looked like college is just survival and that whatever body part you can get in front of it you go with since we're back there now like do you have any great ra stories of when he was in college because i could only imagine this guy was a fucking character so when you talk so first of all a weakness of mine is i'm attracted to characters and i mean if you chaos, I want to hang out with you and you should see my group of friends. Like I've grown up to this day. I think it's been a quality of mine, but some people would call it a weakness and are a, he, he gave, he didn't give two shits at all in college

and put your surprise face on that. But he the renaissance man of north adams and i mean it like it was unbelievable i would go to the brick in which he lived on the top of in a two-hour bar sitting for me he would be my buddy patron having a beer with me 30 minutes later he's the bartender 30 minutes after that he's the bartender. 30 minutes after that, he's the bar back. And then before, and then be nothing for him to disappear to ours, then come back before bed in his bathrobe and have another beer with me. And then I'm like, this guy was an absolute, again, my weakness. I'm like, I love this guy. He's an absolute disaster. It doesn't give two shits about anything. And then the next morning he would write an article in the school newspaper and it was unbelievable. He definitely had the old school, uh,

thesaurus going, the book thesaurus. Oh yeah. No way the guy I hung out with last night knows words like this. So it was, uh, he was awesome. And he, he was, it was, he was the man back in the day. right what about stories about uh derrick here he was quiet man because you know he was graduate assistant was his first job and yeah i think he probably didn't want to screw it up f it up plus all the players hung on to the boss so you didn't really want to like commiserate with the players too much but now do you still talk to jimmy duran he's the ball of time head coach yeah yeah right phenomenal his kids actually a bruins draft pick playing at uh providence Now, do you still talk to Jimmy Duran? He's the head coach. Yeah, he's still moving high here, right?

Phenomenal. His kid's actually a Bruins draft pick playing at Providence. So he actually married the women's soccer coach there, Lori, if you remember. Yes, yes, that's right, yeah. And good friends with both of them. I still talk to him all the time. Man, we have laughs and just unbelievable experience there.

I get no dirt on him. Sorry, go ahead. Oh, I didn't expect it to. I know we got to get to Detroit because Detroit fans are probably wondering when the fuck are you going to start asking about Marique Sider and some of these young prospects, but we obviously have to spend a big chunk in Tampa.

You turned down the coaching job. That was the year they ended up losing in the first round and getting upset by Columbus. No, yes, I was there. Oh, you were there that year. I literally turned it down for two weeks. And then Paul Fenn got fired all within two weeks. Coop calls, no, excuse me, Chuck Fletcher got fired.

And then within two weeks, Coop called me back. They did the full court press and I was there with him. Okay, so you went through that. No, no, I lived that nightmare. I was a top center on that. My understanding was when you came in the year after and you were the x factor which they needed to bring in and fix things up so i like i guess i guess we'll start there you have that such successful season it's your first year and then all of a sudden you guys are out in the first round like what's going through your head well first off in 10 years from now, I'm going to tell it like that when no one can do math and forget it.

I wouldn't say panic, but it was just so unique because we had the 62 win season. We literally had an NHL tied record with the Detroit Red Wings, the most wins in the history of the national hockey league. But within that season i wouldn't say we were lying to ourselves but we had some risking our game and you know i didn't expect us to get smoked in the first round like we did but you know we sat back it wouldn't say we were lying to ourselves but you know coop talks about all the time and I've brought it here process over outcome.

And in that type of situation, our outcome was remarked. Our process was just okay. We knew it. We knew, you know, we were winning six, five games. We were cheating a little bit. Our puck play was not good. And to Columbus's credit. I mean, that's if you remember, like you look back in that team now, that team could have won the Stanley cup Columbus. They were waiting. They did those moves at the deadline. Bob and – I mean, look at that lineup.

If you go through that lineup today, I mean, Panarin, Duchesne, I mean, they had depth in the 2D. I think Jones and Marinsky in the back end were playing – I mean, that was a loaded team, so there's no shame in beating them, but they absolutely smoked us. And to Julian's credit, to Coop coop's credit they didn't shake it up and because there was we were getting to that window can this team win and we worked our asses off that off season we took ownership over it uh we did some things within our neutral zone we did

some things within our breakout did some things without our decent what we did is we took risk out of our game and we we held the guys accountable the following year uh the buy-in was unbelievable and we we did transform that team on the fly because it's basically the exact same team julian unbelievable at the deadline goudreau coleman but i give coop credit uh and i give julian credit we stuck to our guns. We've doubled down, but it was, it was on us as a staff. We, we did transform that team. And, you know, two Stanley cups letter later, three cup finals. It's, it was, it's a remarkable story. Did that sort of need to happen for you guys to learn how to win?

We talk about that all the time. So learn, you know, you lose to learn to win. So did that almost have to happen for you guys to realize what you needed to do to win 100 100 and it was just even our superstars you know stanco's co-coach was mvp of the league at 120 points like he was in a mockery of the league but you guys know in the playoffs it's different there's risk in their game we have to play a little bit different it's just a reality we became harder we became uh less risk we came more response we just we valued different things and we didn't we didn't give an inch on it uh and it it paid off and it was a huge learning lesson for me uh going forward and it's just an unbelievable again

i'm probably sitting here as the red Wings head coach because of the Stanley Cups, the win, but it's, it's, it's the process of winning that always turns people into who they are. And that was an unbelievable process. I love watching Kucherov. And like you said, that MVP season and those runs, just one of the best players in the world when he's on top of his game. And you mentioned the buy-in was so good.

Was there ever moments with him? Because there's always the risk in his game. It makes him so special. But with how much he snaps sometimes, was there ever an issue with just getting him going? All the time. And I give him credit. There was a point where, I didn't I didn't know if we could win with coach if you're but then in reality he was why we won you know people don't

that first Stanley Cup he was hurt the entire playoffs he was an absolute warrior he fought through things there's games like he's not playing tonight and not only play, he just, he just battled. So, I mean, I talked about Coop being able to manage. We were going through a time with Coots where he just, he had too much risk in his game. Like he turned pucks over. He just, he wasn't completely bought into our system. He wasn't completely dialed into everything we were trying to accomplish. And he's that kind of guy. You give him a little rope because he's so special. And he said his hockey sense is just, he knows when he's leaning and poaching, but he's just, it just,

he's one of those guys. It's just, it's unbelievable to watch. It was a treat absolutely coaching him. But we had i remember had there was a meeting and jeff halpern i wanted blood we had like 50 clips of cooch turnovers bad body language and we're like and halpern's like and we weren't like coop you're having the meeting this is how it's going to go this is you're showing him every clip and and to coop's credit he's just he's brilliant he just he has feel on things so he's like okay so they go in the door and helps and i are like like glass on the door like we want to hear

yelling we want to hear screaming get them and we want like we're writing like i can't wait to tell the agent we'll trade them like whatever so they come out and then cooch comes by us he's like hey guys hey hey newsy hey hops how you doing nicest guy and i'm like and then coop comes out he's like well that didn't go like you guys had wanted and we're like what the hell it's not what we talked about and basically he's just let's start working together on your body language let's just you do that for me i'll give you more minutes this and that and then it just he took off and that's coop you know we talk about managing and having feel for things he absolutely nailed it and that guy that kid never turned look back you know i have your moments with your skill. You always have to reel in your skill to be successful.

But man, coach, those, he is a playoff guy. It was, it's amazing how he elevates when the game was online, especially these last three years. Speaking of video, you know, oftentimes it's the head coach who leads video, but then, you know, the assistants take over special teams. And we heard a story from a couple of guys that when you would end up doing video you would sit down but you would always be wearing a different like argyle style sweater vest now was this something that you just have in your fashion repertoire or something that you kind of wanted

to do just to kind of stir things up in the locker room because most guys were trying to keep a straight face but every time you would walk up and sit down to do video they'd all be fucking chuckling underneath their jerseys a little bit of both and probably the national hockey league probably exposed my lack of depth in the wardrobe department so but i i got sweater on now we have a game we're playing toronto in three hours like it's a comfort thing and there probably was some some growth in my style throughout my career but i loved it i had different ones and i had the argyle ones and i had all different looks it's it's yeah so it's kind of my thing and what's hilarious the euros loved it i would come in my guy andre palat right before i sat down he would look at me he'd give me the

loving it so now it's like so now it is kind of a thing and the argyle so i would have different ones and i literally i don't know why i won't my like my wife she tries to get rid of these things i'm like don't touch the sweaters because you like you move and i've got i've got an r guy that's already got a cut off like it's a warm thing i'm bald head you lose you lose all this air like all this heat out your head but yes i have some wild sweaters that that's real maybe it got to a point where we had some fun with it but yeah that's that's a fact that's the college rubbing off it's all the college coaches college for you know who's another sweater vest guy gretzky gretzky loves that we actually inducted it into the tnt hall of fame in the rafters i love it he can pull it off yeah yeah he can wear anything he wants yes he can speaking of clothes i'll lack thereof derek i

understand you kind of a diverse way of uh delivering the lineup on occasion or something you want to elaborate on no absolutely not in the vault allegedly allegedly allegedly uh throughout um so what happens throughout my career within the college ranks or even my hometown there were there would be guys they would um, they would always dub me the guy. I don't know why I always got accused of it, but in college, we'd have a party, and then someone would run through the party with just a box in their head. It was usually a 12-pack, and you'd have the eyes,

and they would do the Latin. For whatever reason, i'd always get accused of it and absolutely never did it but it was the funny joke that you pull it off and it was newsy and i may have talked people into that to get us going at times throughout but it was never me i'm an absolute professional there was some, there were some losing streaks. I would have to talk maybe a second equipment guy or third equipment guy in to lighten things up. Like I need you tonight. And like, well, what do you need? I need the lineup.

And then we kind of walk through exactly what I needed out of him and we would pull it off. So that, that stunt never performed ever by me but that stunts won a lot of hockey games in my career you were the lubed up oil guy from family guy hey another one too i heard was uh a player who was called up uh i don't know how much time you end up spending with the team he actually went as you uh for halloween and then and you know you got a nose like us we're a we're there's we got a podcast full of nose here grinnelly's probably got the worst one but and he ends up he ends up putting a huge nose on his face and then the next day he got sat sent down sent right you see what happened so and it was a great guy great guy though and but

anyhow i get in the next day and the boys are chuckling they like the breakfast and um they're chuckling like newsy and i guess this guy he just pulled it off i guess he went half um track suit and i say in practice i'm always like i don't use the whistle as much i'm always yep yep right here let's go yep yep yep i'm a yup guy so i guess he was yapping the entire party then he transformed into the sweater newsy look later in the day and we come in and and the boys are just hooting having an absolute blast and i had a good laugh at it too and then just ironically with the roster you get sent down the next day. And I was like, like I had the meeting, like, like, like anyone else have any newsy jokes? Well, you'll be right down in the jungle as quick as possible.

That's why Pilat was pumping your tires. Newsy, I got your back. All the heroes. Newsy, I got you. I got you. Oh my God. I thought he would have maybe dressed up as uncle Fester. Uncle Fester. You named it uncle fester um grew isn't it grew i get nailed to the one i got called ryan rizmerski i think i think he's a scout in the national hockey league he was with the ntdp program and i've heard them all they're funny you just roll with it. I mean, there's reality in how you look. A story I went, my wife, now we're coaching in Hamilton. I went as uncle Fester to Halloween and we were just out and I had the whole light bulb, the whole thing.

I showed up in a bar in Utica, New York, and the contest was already half over and they go through the whole contest and they gave me the w from the audience i wasn't even on stage and it was like a hundred dollar gift card they gave me the hundred bucks from some dive bar in utica new york and i wasn't in one of the three finals whatever but anyhow i get all of them and ryan rasmerski we were whatever he was scouting the ncdp program back then i was at denver and we were busting chops and he said hey powder take it easy right when i thought i had heard everything oh my god i'm like it's the only time that was the mr clean chance walking around the i mean i've literally heard it the only time that was the one Mr. Clean chance walking around. I mean, I've literally heard it all, but the powder was the first time.

First one ever. The gift card was karma for all those division three paychecks. 100%. I was going to say, we went to, I think 15, 17 years ago, I'd seen each other and we both lost our hair in the interim, but you make do with it. I want to ask you, Derek, like your first practice with Detroit, did any butterflies, any nervousness,

did it feel like almost an out-of-body experience, anything like that? Yeah, no. You know what's funny? I asked that. It's funny. I was asked that by the media in the very first practice, and it was just interesting. It was via Zoom. And I would do the media for Coop a lot.

Basically, if Coop didn't want to do it or didn't want like news you'll do it because i was i was the the professional cliche guy like i could get through an interview not say anything in tampa in three minutes news you'll do it so i did a lot of media there you go in tampa there's like three people and one works for the team my first meeting there's like 35 people on the zoom like you know we're not in tampa anymore but they asked the same question and no and i mean it in that we work so hard on the process and getting that first day we must went over that first day bob bugner was ready to put a pen in his eye we went over that first day so many times uh so it's just i was in the moment of just trying to

make it go smoothly so no it may be a first win or maybe down the road, especially the fact that Red Wings is such a historic organization. But no, I did not have that day. You and Coop are division rivals now. Are you going to be able to lean on him as much? Obviously not when you're playing each other, but you guys have a similar relationship. How's that going to play out?

That's a great question. Our friendship was long before we won together in Tampa. You guys have a similar relationship. How's that going to play out? That's a great question. Our friendship was long before we won together in Tampa. It would be long before. It would move on long from here. So, yeah, there are probably some moments. Obviously, it's my first time as a head coach. We talked two weeks ago. It might be a little different.

But, of course course he's, he's a friend and a mentor. So I, I certainly hope that relationship stays like that for sure. In being an assistant and a head coach at all these different spots, is there anything as a head coach you can't do that you really enjoy it as part of being an assistant? Like, I know it's so much different, but do you still want to try to remain friendly with guys, even though that is more of an assistant's role?

You know what I mean by that? I'd probably say streaking being one of them. That was another guy. The lineup card naked. That's the one way to do your first regular season game. Do you think there'll be some buy-in there? Anything's on the table right now. we have some work to do here this isn't this isn't vassie making 41 saves shit kicked and still winning 3-2 we have some work to do here i i don't know anything's on the table i'll bring that up with the boys but

um with unbelievable question you've been in these rooms. That's real. And there's some truth to that. I got advice long ago, coach to who you are, coach your personality. And I'm a friendly guy. I love the locker room. I love being in the locker room in Tampa. I would, I would do laps around the rooms. I just love seeing the guys and I love spending time completely 100% different. And then as an an assistant it's a strength

of mine the guys lean on me a lot if you know if I had a nickel for every time I met player a for a coffee because he's going through something or that's just it was natural for me it's easy I loved it and it worked Coop and I had a lot of good cop bad cop we used to joke Coop would give the fu meeting in the morning, and then he'd be like, he'd be done. He's like, Newsy, you pick him up tonight. And I would. It'll be a positive.

It's how we're going to look tonight. It's going to be on top. It's just I was that guy there. So I still want relationships. They're important for me. It's reality. But, no, the buck stops with me. It's just different being the head coach. I've already had some moments with the boys that

were hard, uncomfortable. It's just the reality of it. Yes, there will be some relationships there. I do still want to be that person, approachable, but 100% as the head coach, it's just a different role. Speaking of the boys, we had one of them on a few months ago before he got named head coach, Moritz Seider. I know you played against him a little bit or coached against him. Has he impressed the hell out of you so far in camp?

Is he even better than you expected? Absolutely better than expected. That's the exact way to put it. You get an appreciation for a player playing against him. He was awesome whenever we played him. appreciation for a player playing against them. And he was awesome whenever we played him. But then when you get here, you know,

probably a little more athletic than I even thought, a little more skill than I'd probably give him credit for, but passion, man. He wants to be a player. And it's like, we lost the other day, it's an exhibition game and we played extremely well. Pittsburgh had pretty much their full lineup. And, you know, we talked about the process or outcome. We played great. We should have probably won the game. Pittsburgh doesn't need much offense for skill. They'd be as three, two. And it stung because we played the right way and didn't get rewarded for it.

And more, he was absolutely dejected in the room. And it just goes to show him that like, he just, he wants it. He wants to be great. He wants to win. He just has drive. Again, just getting to know him, but he feels like an absolute treat star in the making. He's still young. There's still growth. Like the same game. star in the making. He's still young. There's still growth.

The same game, I think he pinched. Sherratt was gapping up inside the offense blue line. Then all of a sudden, Mo comes right up his back. So before you know it, we have 2D gapping, pinching on the same set. Before you know it, someone's on a 2-on-0 at our net.

And Mo, we've got to reel him in you know we're going to take some risks you're still going to go and play on your toes but this this isn't riverboat gambling we're still so there's going to be some growth within his game but man he he feels very very special with what little i've seen so far um there were eight head coaching vacancies in the off season like and then you guys got beat out and from what i understand it was a few days after you guys were lost in the stanley cup finals in which you got the phone call from stevie why were you planning on interviewing for the other jobs

did you have any clue that you'd be getting a call from him i mean obviously there's a connection there with coop and like you can't really tamper though i'm sure there's some stuff you can't say but how surprised were you getting the call a few days after knowing that you were going to get a head coaching job? No, I wouldn't say surprised. And actually I can take you through the whole things. I don't, I don't mind it because you know, it was up, up and it was very professional by Steve. And there was a relationship there,

but obviously all the success we'd had the last couple of years, you, and you, you know, you, my name starts getting to swirled around. It just makes sense. It's like any other organization, a team that has success, you, you, you look to the assistants. And I assumed I was going to start getting these phone calls. The one thing is when, you know, it's kind of taboo to not talk during the playoffs. And most GMs will say no anyway. So in this situation we had, after our Florida series,

we ended up beating them in four. We literally had like 10 days before we were going to play the Eastern Conference Finals. And Steve had asked Julian for permission to talk to me. So we actually talked a couple times at that time. And it went extremely well. And and again it's at the same you can see why you don't talk like like i'm i should have been crushed like my head should have been on panarin and their power play and i'm preparing to talk with steve right wrong or different it's a reality to it so and steve was awesome he's like we talked

a couple times i won't bother you at all during the series. So we did have a couple of conversations beforehand. And then we were able to talk once again through the right permission between the Eastern Conference Finals and the finals. But I assumed I would have been in the mix on a few of these jobs, but it's just they started dropping. And again, I wouldn't say panic. I could have been every job I've ever taken my entire career. I literally took it to be their 10 years. I have no problem staying in Tampa, being good at my job

there, groaning about if the head coach job comes great, if it doesn't just be great at the job I'm at. But there is that reality, like basically Steve's sitting on me. He's probably interviewed 20 other people. I mean, what a nice spot to be in as a manager. You don't really know what's going on, but we did get knocked down that Sunday. Steve called the next day, flew out on that Wednesday, I believe. And I sat down with him and Sean Horkoff and I knew it went well. In fact, we basically flew in to Detroit and Steve's a very private,

which I love about him. He's very private. It's important to be private. Nothing comes out of our room. It's the same way we were in Tampa. I absolutely love it. I'll be the same way in any room. I remember in a part of us, a coach. So it's very private. We go into Detroit and we just have a meeting at the airport there. And it felt like 90 minutes. And I'd look at my clock when we said goodbyes and Steve got hounded by about 50 autograph seekers and Horikos like, let's keep going.

This happens all the time here. You can feel just how important he is around here, but we would, there's six-hour interview and it felt like 90 minutes and that's where it went well and steve called again the next day we talked over some things and we had it done by the following morning that's quite the burn session that is quite the burn session jumping i figured stevie why i was probably like hey julian i i pretty much put this thing on a t for you like i'm'm going to tamper a little bit here, man. That's what's going to happen. All right.

No tampering too professional, professional. So that was the process, which is. Were you a little, was it intimidating being around Stevie? Why a little bit? Like, I mean, you said you had butterflies coming on this maybe beforehand. What about that interview? That's seems different. Well, we had one year together in Tampa. So he was, he actually hired me me but there's no doubt in my I was Coop's hire I think Steve I think was very hands-on with Coop's

previous assistant hires but I think Coop got to such a point in his career Steve's like you know you've earned it do what you want and insert Jeff Halperin and myself that's probably his guy so I felt I was John Cooper's hire, but I did spend some time with Stevens to Steve's credit. He kind of was in the background that year. I think he did it for Julian. So I got to know him a little bit, but Steve he's, he is intimidating. One, he just doesn't say much. Two, he's, he's really has a presence about him. Three, he's really smart. It's like the, it's like the kiss of death of dealing with someone. Cause you know, he's, he's really has a presence about him. Three, he's really smart. It's like the,

it's like the kiss of death of dealing with someone because you know, he's just judging you and you know, and he's smart. So he knows what's going on. And I'm like, God, I don't like that. So it's a little bit, but he's, he's phenomenal. Like I can't wait to work for him. He's patient general manager. He's smart. I had, I i felt the same same way with julian these guys are just managers where they're gonna figure it out in time they're gonna figure it out and they're patient and it's not easy and it's really exciting as a coach these guys they're they're just they're smart they're just good at what they do and you know he'll do i'm confident he'll get us in a

position to be successful in time do you know how how often you'll be talking to eiserman about the team like this after games is this daily like i always wondered a relationship with the gm when you realize how it's gonna be yeah we're still getting through that right now he's awesome that we're in um i mean we're right in the middle of camp right now. We, we have some tough decisions coming up here in the next couple of days. So we've talked throughout, um, he's been great. Um, Steve is, uh, managers, managed coaches, coach players play. And to me, there's no other way to do it if you're going to be successful so I love that part he does not want to hear from me on players a ton which I don't blame him and he doesn't get in our way with the

coaching a lot too so we'll talk through players we'll talk through things but we'll get a feel for that and obviously I think that relates you to see what Coop and Julian were together and why it was so special. And those two kind of work off each other. You kind of see how success looks. And, you know, we'll still figure that out with Steve and I, but I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, he definitely has an R about him.

He's one of those guys when you see in the press box, you kind of stop and like, holy shit, that's Stevie Y. You don't do that with everybody. He definitely has that. I want to ask Derek, did you have any pre-existing relationships with any guys on the team? Or did you have to meet most of them for the first time? Yeah, no, met most of the guys for the first time. Like, guys know each other.

It's like, we have a ton of Czech guys here. And I had, unbelievable, Jan Ruda and Andrei Polat. They would always hang out in the trainer's room with eric chernak so you had two checks and a slovak i love those guys so i was i'd always go shoot the shit with them and that was kind of our routine and they made me an honorary check guy nice because like because i could hang out and whatever and the fact i think platt and rooted it just because Chernak couldn't get in. So it was more of a dig on the Slovak that he couldn't get in. But so that just small relationships like that, they help when you're talking with guys throughout.

So no, it's just, I kind of met everyone. It was, I wanted to talk to everyone in that first 24 hours. I got the job. It's important to talk to everyone three, four times, you know, establish that relationships. And there's just reality. i think the perception of me guys are going to ask guys in the tamp room and everyone's going to be like newsy was awesome i love newsy because i was that personality in the room but this is going to be different there's going to be a time i'm going

to be holding these guys accountable down the road it's just going to be different so it was very important to try to establish those relationships, but didn't know a single person before I walked into this room. Yeah. I got to be a little bit more of a bad cop than you probably used to. Yes. Yes, I am. Business.

It's about T and something up. I understand you have some difficulty with figuring out your golf ball on the course every once in a while. Any truth. That's wit as a golfer. That is false. And I'm like, this is my chance to clear the air. There was a discrepancy at a golf.

First off, I am a disaster. I'm a nightmare to play against because I'm an 18 handicapped. I don't care. I golf once a week. You're drunk. And I always, and i hit pars i crush people i just played bob bugner he's a 12 i had him i had him done by seven holes left and he's like you're an f and 18 i'm like yes i am oh you're a sandbagger and you're proud of it

when i retire and pass my kids and I shot my handicap that day, I just happened to have five or six bars. That's the way life goes. Then just thanks for the 20 bucks. We'll move on. Life's great. Whatever. But no, this is, this is a BS. I don't know if Blash or Coop told you that. So we had a golf out with this fair state. This is unbelievable golf outing. We have a 10 man mono e mono match. They call it golferama.

You do the mono e mono match in the morning. Then you do best ball partners in the afternoon. I'm playing. I can't believe I can finally clear the air with facts on this story. It's like, and drapes brought this up to me the other day. It's following me around. So I love the fact. So I'm playing, I think, Bill Saul.

He's the Northern Michigan basketball coach of all people. And Coop and Blash are playing the other foursome in there. And we're like tied on the 14th hole. And it's a good match. And it's a blind shot. I'm right in the middle of the fairway, but it's a blind shot i'm right in the middle of fairway but it's a blind shot to the green and whatever it's like 180 so it's like it's a pitching wedge for you with but that's like a five iron for me i i gotta grind it to get there and i smoke the thing and

i'm like this thing's like this is gonna be two feet from the hole like i'm like i'm gonna win this darn match so i go up there and it's there's a um bunker to the left and out ob in the back so i smoked it there's no way it's in the bunker i didn't go into the bunker i think it's another hole i get there i can't find my effing ball so i'm like you gotta kid me so i'm like this is ob so in my mind i'm taking the the penalty when we play the rules there it's not it's a white or whatever everything's red you're saying everything's red so you could drop everything i'm gonna drop past the hole but i take this i take the penalty so i'm And I'm just, these guys are balls are lost wherever they're punching everything around. Like I'm the one playing real golf here. I'm already up here ready to play.

Well, you're sort of playing real golf. If it was out of bounds, you technically have to go back. You want to say real golf? We play for pace of play. Rules are, you can imagine these hacks. We'd be out there for, we'd be out there for days as we were playing. So I'm sitting there, according to golf-a-rama rules. I can get those for you, too. We have an actual bylaw.

And so Blask is looking for a ball. He goes, hey, whose ball is this? He thinks it's his. And cool guy, I just had a tailor-made rep send me a bunch of Newsy balls, like the stamped Newsy balls. So he's like, it's Newsy. And the whole time I'm waiting on my ball, the old practice chip swing. So I'm like, oh, great. So I go down out of the sand in par and I walked right to the next hole. I'm like, like, there you go, boys. Like, this is it like that. Don't really think a whole lot of it.

Cause I had it in my, my head. I did it correctly. So now we're in between the matches. We go to different golf course. We have lunch and John Cooper, the lawyer, he has X exhibit. A he's got the ball in a sandwich bag and he tells the whole story. And this crew was like, boo, boo. They took it from me. So that's exactly what happened. Never cheated. I parted that hole. I won that match. I don't care what anyone ever tells. What ball was he holding?

What ball is who holding? One of the sandwich bag what would that he must have stolen my bag there's some shit some shit oh so they didn't they were just like what is going on here you were up there with a ball now your ball's here so i see so i'm like par they're like well what do you mean that you were gonna play that ball so they're like so so for whatever reason i'm the worst cheater in the history of golf now when when you're a golf guy did i not the rep you want but oh you took your ball once they found anything wrong there uh no no i think i think the only thing you could technically be called on is once you've dropped the ball and play you you i don't know

this for sure but it could be like you've now dropped this ball like the fact that they found your first one that you never found you probably might not be able to play it but but if if it's golf with your buddies as opposed to like tournament rules every set of friends i know if one of the guys found your ball you couldn't find they'd be like yeah go ahead play that would be prison rules if that was a rule and then and then or a provisional wouldn't it be considered a provisional yeah this is the problem with golf rules is the worst part of the sport that it's just impossible to know the right answer unless you're a complete squid who's memorized the rule book which maybe we can call coop out for maybe he's a rule book uh lawyer guy yeah so basically all i heard english all i heard in the last two minutes what you guys were saying two

golf guys is i'm cleared of all wrongdoing and probably a formal apology from john cooper is uh i would accept it i would i would i wouldn't be i'd probably accept it um i was gonna ask i was gonna switch back to hockey i'm glad you got to clear the air on here and so draper i don't know if he listens to the podcast he'll know now stop hounding you who are the guys in camp so far that have surprised you the most i know we we talked about marit cider you guys have another young prospect and lucas raymond who are some of the names in which you're like, Oh, wow. I really didn't expect this guy to be this good too. Raymond for sure. Um, we have these two young, uh, Soderblom Elmer Soderblom just came over. I think it was a later pick. Um, Simon Edmondson. I don't know if they'll start with us on day one, but you can see the package and those guys.

Benny Sherratt has, you know, I knew it'd be hard, but he's probably got his feet are way better than I thought. And he's got a little more skill. Joe Valino has some upside. I understand the excitement here. They've done a good job with their scouting. And that's Steve. Steve, of everything he's great at as a manager, he's an evaluator,

and he drafts very well. It's heading in the right direction. So on a whole, I've been very happy with what I've seen. I purposely came into this with, I didn't want to, I watched a lot of video of them simply because of us, simply because I'm a coach, but I wanted a fresh start from everyone. And I see the excitement from the typical Detroit fan and where this is going to. We're still, we want to be realistic.

We're still, I mean, 100 points, got the playoffs last year. We're at 74. I mean, teams don't jump 26 points. I don't care what you do. Well, they do in Toledo. They do in Toledo. They do in Toledo. Good point, Biz.

Biz might be my life coach going forward now. He's cleared me of my golf. That is not something you want to say before you start your rookie year. I got some good strains, too. I can really benefit the organization. I'm telling you. Hey, another guy who's involved too and i mean it doesn't help or it doesn't hurt that he's got these awesome guys

working around he's got horkov as one you mentioned and also they brought on uh lidstrom lidstrom's around cronwell's around like come on chris draper's been around um dane cleary's been around is around um the old man around it's just these guys are money one they the winning like they they they scoff at my two cups like they like clearly doesn't go a day without getting his balls busted for only winning one around here but it's just it's it's winning but those guys there's a swagger about them. They've won. They've done it. And they've won a lot here.

I think it's just great to be around and good for our guys to see. I love having those guys around. Steve, when you come in, did you already have a system in mind to put in place, or did you kind of have to see what kind of talent you had before you kind of put a system in place? No, I'm comfortable with some things I want to do. I had a plan coming in, you know, introduce that to Steve in the, in the process. And I'm comfortable with what we're going to try to do here. It's just, it's interesting.

I think the transformation we had to do in Tampa to go from good to Stanley cup. Great. I don't think this is much different. Completely different in that we're obviously different teams, different windows. But some of the things we had defined within our game, the less risk in our game, some more being on top type play, being a little more predictable throughout your system, simplifying it. I think the experience of going through that in Tampa

made me very comfortable of what I want to do here and what we want to do as a staff going forward. So, yeah, there will be some nuances to everything. And this day, and you guys watch, you're hockey guys, this day's NH nhl there's not a whole lot of difference between any of the 32 teams but um it will be a completely new system on what i want to do and the one thing with this guy this team i do think we can skate so there's some things that i'm comfortable with um talk to me in two months we'll see how comfortable i am

with it but yeah this there'll be a new just a system revamped on where i want it i know we talked about the clothes uh do you have a lucky uh montreal expo shirt and what's the backstory behind that so two i grew up basically uh the american side of cornwall ontario. So I'm an upstate New York guy. Basically we're Ontario, New York, and Quebec all meet. I grew up on the American side of that. And the two teams I'm absolute passion for where I grew up were the Montreal Expos.

We'd go up there all the time. You'd pay five bucks, you'd be in the stadium. You'd probably been there. And they had a rolling when I was in that kid that late 70s early 80s they were bigger in life and my first few years of my uh as a kid we didn't have cable so we'd get uh expo games and the cfl that's a tough upbringing and the score jesus right there so just love the expos and the other team was the Buffalo bills. So those are the two passion teams.

So the biggest Expos fan growing up and I had this Jersey. I still have, when I was like 20 years old, it's my party shirt now. And I bring it, I have it everywhere and I love the thing that we were in the bubble. Whenever we'd win a series in the bubble mr vinik would throw a party for us because it's just us anyways so we would you know have the open bar whatever we have days before and i would have the expo jersey on and any stanley cups any cup party like i like that thing is i get it all you can't wash it too many more times because it doesn't

have much life left in it but that thing is if it if it's stanley cup party if it's something very important the expos t-shirt slash jerseys going on so yes that's the story behind the expos you had it on at our four green fields tonight we we had it on. After a long time. My guy, R.A. The one thing about the bubble, not the bubble, the actual pandemic, the first year we won it, like anyone else, it was a dream of mine to bring the cup home. And we got that taken away. But what we didn't realize is the cup would stay in tampa for three months so we had like

16 parties and like it'd be nothing to go out that night ask where the cup is and bring it to the bar or usually alex calorn would have it i remember texting calorn one night but he's in town where's the cup and he sent me a picture of him and gronk basically like it's being occupied right now so as much as disappointing but with RA, RA threw a text out and a tweet I think I'm not a huge social media guy but I saw it was the Columbia restaurant like RA what are you where are you he's like I'm in town I'm like well my buddy our video coach Brian Garlock has a cup party Monday night for Greenfields where you're in and of course RA's never been invited to a cup party he's like absolutely so anyhow but I just so you gotta understand with Coop Coop is he he just has this aura about him he's just he's a celebrity

like this is Coop to a tee a T. I remember going to LA. We were all in LA from somewhere the day before. We'd travel. We'd get there at like 3 in the afternoon. So we'd go do our work. We'd sit down for a couple hours, and we'd do our work. And then as we're done, someone would be like, hey, I've got a couple buddies here.

You guys want to meet up? Anyone's welcome to have a couple beers when i do that it's like the third line left wing from courtland who's a gym teacher now like or a correctional officer so coop is like hey we're having beers at eight o'clock whatever like you want to come down yet and you go down there and it's charles barkley yeah and then it's like the espn guys when they. And then it's like the ESPN guys, when they finished their show, it's like it's coop. And then he's a, a coops, a member of Palmasia in Tampa. And he brings us golfing a lot and it's usually the coaches, but if someone can't go tax exchange at night, it'll be like, Hey, bring a buddy and we'll,

we'll equipment guys or buddies from the bar like anyone like that and then also on coop text i got a guy and then you show up it's like tito martinez from the yankees like he's just that guy so i finally had a guy i'm like i got a guy i'm bringing ra to the cup party and remember we talked about and i talk about love and chaos so this is middle of the pandemic if you remember yeah and so now ra rolls in and he's got and our and our people are like absolute panic like ra's coming like social media so ra walks in the door and he gets like from everywhere like he's just getting drummed by people like you're not gonna just do this you're not gonna do that you're not gonna do that uh so i was just so happy one to have a guy my celebrity two to create chaos and then even the cup guy remember the cup guy he doesn't it wasn't howie it wasn't pritchard for someone else but

he went straight from like he was scolding all right and two seconds later he went straight fan on him yeah favorite show ever and then he had him cornered in the bar for like two hours i hey i think coop's trying to steal no because every time i'm with ra coop's facetiming them now so you don't have your guy anymore he's been stolen coop loves all right coop ra is part of the circuit we call it the circuit whenever we roll into boston we'd always like like ra let's go get dinner and everything like that coop loves them and ra tries to give us the experience like we want to be like in Cooper loves them. And RA tries to give us the experience. Like we want to be like in a movie, like going down this, like, like give us to a bar where it's like literally a movie scene.

All right. He's like, he, he, he's our tour guide. So he's a big stop. And I hope RA you'll still be a stop on the Red Wing tour. When we roll into Boston. He's absolutely buddy. I'm hopeful. I don't got to meet up with the staff.

I don't know how many more you got, but listen, Newsy, you've been so generous with your time, and I know you've got a big game today against the Leafs, my squad. But Witt, it was his internet that was messing up, so he apologizes for that. But, R.A., I'll throw it over to you if you want to end things off with a few more. No, I'm done with questions.

I just want to tell you, D, how proud I am of you and how happy I am for you, man. Like I said, 27 years ago, I don't think either one of us thought, you know, we'd kind of get to these levels and be media in the game.

So I just want to tell you the wish you the best of luck and say, again, how happy and proud I am by your palette. I'll be pulling fight even, even though it's not the Bruins. So good luck this year, my friend. This was awesome.

I love your guys show. I tell RA all the Merle's who's that awesome. I love your guys' show. I tell R.A. all the Merles. Who's that guy? Is it Elio? Yeah. Oh, my God. What a character. I don't gamble, but I follow him just because of his act.

He picked Texas A&M two years ago. He's dropping back, and he's throwing footballs in his backyard. He rips his shirt. I love everything you guys do, and it's an honor to be on this show. So it's been a blast. Hey, buddy. Hey, I'll just reiterate what R.A. said. Congrats on everything, man.

We appreciate your time, and best of luck in Detroit. And hopefully we can get down there and watch a game live and interact with the fans. You're welcome anytime, boys. Thanks again. Huge thanks to my buddy New, for jumping on with us. So happy to have him on. So happy where he is.

Long time ago, we were at North Adams. So good stuff. Once again, we want to let you know his interview was brought to you by our friends at Verizon Wireless. So the new Google Pixel 7 Pro is super. It's the most advanced Pixel to date, super powered to launch faster, load quicker, and run smoother. Totally supercharged. And when it's on Verizon, you get the network America relies on, along with the super deal. Because now, when you switch to Verizon, you get a free Google Pixel 7 Pro with select trade-ins and select 5G unlimited plans. I know what you're thinking, super. There's never been a better time to switch to Verizon. $899.99 device payment purchase with new smartphone line on select 5G unlimited plans required. $200 Verizon e-gift card with port in. Less $700 trade-in promo credit applied over 36 months. 0% APR, trading conditions, and additional terms apply.

0% APR, trading conditions, and additional terms apply. Get that new Verizon Wireless. All right, we're going to jump back into the Canadians' clusterfuck right here as far as the roster deals. Buddy Eric Engels, he had tweeted a couple hours ago that Goulet, Harris, Slavkovsky, and Jack Guy were all called into a meeting and told together that they made the Canadians. They were also told there are many good players who could make staying hard and that things could shift quickly. What I read just to clarify,

Jack is technically in the Laval right now. So technically he's down with Laval, but he's going to get called back up. It's one of these paper transaction movement, things that are very boring and they put you to sleep trying to explain them. So it sounds like he's going to be back up. So it's going to start all these young kids, see what they got. So speaking of this type of stuff, the simplest thing happened in Carolina with, with Jordan Martin.

He was placed on waivers the other day and everyone was like kind of in shock because he's been there for so long, but it turns out it's just a paper move. They have to save as much money as they can with the cap stuff. And again, it's really convoluted and boring to explain it in detail, but anyways, we'll dive into the capitals. I'm sorry. The hurricanes, while we're here, they finished up 116 points last year, won the Metro. But then they lost in the second round to the Rangers, four games to three.

They're 11-1 to win the Cup this year. Now, some big new faces they brought in. Brent Burns on D. Max Pacioretty, who is going to be starting the year on injured reserve. Paul Stastny, huge veteran pickup. Andre Kasha. They said bye to Vinnie trochek tony d'angelo nino niederreiter and max domi um let's see i'm going back to martin people are surprised

but he will be back and this is another year because the canes loading up for beer they're looking for their first cup since 2006 i mean strap it on get back at it again and see what happens right with this team oh man people in carolina are excited i think they did a good job of maybe addressing some issues uh that they lacked in playoffs last year i thought in that second round they kind of fizzled out um they lost d'angelo who had a great year but they go out and get burns a guy with veteran leadership a guy who can also put up the points on the back end and another type of insurance policy in which they didn't need to even go out and give anything to get him was Pacioretty. We mentioned earlier, unfortunately, he injured himself training this offseason, tore his Achilles.

But it seems as if though Witt seems to harp on him at the fact that they don't have a superstar. That is argued about Sebastian Ajo, Shvetchnikov. I would tend to agree with wit they haven't had a guy in in a needed clutch situation really elevate his game and bring them to that next level but it seems as if though they're going to continue with the path moving forward of getting it done by committee love this group love the culture i mentioned the fan base is fucking gung-ho and ready to go i think typically um when they do the stadium series games they leave 20 000 tickets on reservation for the home side from my understanding in this year's they're leaving 30 000 aside and they're already hot off the shelves for carolina hurricanes fans so they

are amped up coming into this season um i think that they're going to continue the success that they have had in regular season but it's very very similar, just like the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can they get it done in the postseason? And time will tell. There's no doubt in my mind that this is a playoff team. They have excellent defenders. Jacob Slavin, one of the best shutdown D-men in the league. And you look at their forward group, a bunch of lunch pail type players who are going to get the job done. And all-star goaltender Freddie Anderson from last year, another goalie that the Leafs let go that's having success elsewhere. This team is so good. And the fact that they're really going to play out the year and right around February, right before the deadline, add Max Pacioretty just shows that I

think I've been the one like Biz said, they don't have a superstar. This is the best team I've seen them have in quite a while. And Pacioretty over the past 10 years has been one of the best goal scorers in the league. He's a point per game player. At least he has been. Brent Burns is pretty much exactly what Tony D'Angelo is, maybe even a little bit better. And I think both of those guys have their own issues in the D zone. But, oh, my God, hopping into the rush, the way Burns moves the puck, I know that it's a little bit of a tough year, but looking back at how bad San Jose is,

everyone understands that he's just going to be so driven and being on a contender again, being able to hop into a winning team. Freddie staying healthy is huge, and being on a contender again, being able to hop into a winning team. Freddie's staying healthy is huge. And Ranta and him are back. And like, Freddie looked like he could have won the Vesna halfway through the year. Right. It was so unfortunate. He gets injured because he probably plays a little bit too much.

You got to be safe with his games. And luckily, you have Ranta where you could pretty much maybe keep it pretty even in starts. There's no worry at all about them getting to the playoffs. I have them winning this division again. And I think that basically, if you look at right now that they're, they're the class of the East and, and I know it sounds a little crazy with Tampa and stuff,

but I think that this team is set to really go on a run this year. And they can also do a little bit more adding but Jarvis in his second year how good was he last season neckish half the time looks amazing maybe a little more consistency out of him Ajo's gonna get his 85 90-ish points um it's probably arguably a top three overall defense group in the league Pesci doesn't get talked about nearly enough they just have no true weaknesses and and and with brindamore behind the bench it is a big time season upcoming for the for the canes i look back to that playoff series too though against the rangers and fuck could they

not only could they not get it done on the road but they just oh they ran out of steam for some reason so you and they ran into and they ran into shisterkin but i i know i know i didn't even feel like they were peppering them enough i wasn't seeing enough chances generated especially on the road and and they laid an egg in game seven that laid an absolute egg so i i think part of that problem is they play with such intensity in the regular season that's why they're so successful that's why they'll win the division again. Rod the Bod's a great coach. They go playoff intensity every game. And then by the time they get to playoffs,

they can't raise it that level. Or like you said, they're dying out. Yeah, they're all fucked out. Exactly. That's one way to say it. But that's what I think what happens with them. But they are a wagon again this year. I love business.

Like, just thought we wouldn't notice the comparison to the Leafs. Like, the fucking Hurricanes. They won the Cup a few years ago. They went to the conference finals a few years ago. They go to the second rally. Shut the, what the fuck? They won the Cup with fucking Paul Maurice, man. Come on.

That was when Ray Whitney was still playing hockey. That was, what, 15 years ago did they win? Yeah, and you know what? That was still after the last time the Leafs have gotten over for crying out loud. All right. You know what? I'll admit it. Bad comparison.

I got to do another double dickie? No, no, no, no. Okay, yeah. Yeah, that outdoor game February 18th at carter finley stadium where nc state plays and this is like i think it's the only like regular league that does tailgate now that the island is moved right are there any other any other place that do this well hey and i think that we are going to show face there uh during that stadium series game on behalf of pink whitney so we will be in attendance of some sorts. I hope that they,

we do it. Like we can't wait for that. Remember the stadium series game we did with, between Pittsburgh and Philly when they had the new Amsterdam showed up with pink Whitney and they had the sushi bar. They had the thing. You pour alcohol down the luge ice luge. Yeah.

Ice luge. Yeah. It was great. It fun interacting with fans in the parking lot. Everyone getting blitzed before the game. So I would imagine that's the setup we have there. And Grinnelli's hopping in. That means I'm somewhat right.

All I was going to say, Biz, is I'll make sure we have a nice, big deal brewing and Pink Whitney ice luge for you. Okay. Can't wait to get a fucking cold sore. All right, we're going to move it along to Witt's favorite team here, the Philadelphia Flyers. They finished with 61 points last year 15 in the conference they 80 to 1 the one the stanley cup this year the big new face this year behind the bench john tortorella uh they also have tony

d'angelo nick delarie justin brown braun they said goodbye to oscar lynn blum martin jones and our pal keith yendel last year was just the latest low point for a once proud franchise, a once proud family-owned franchise that's now corporate-owned. But Torts, new sheriff in town, that's obviously the big story. The other day he was doing an interview. He said today's players have the memory of an amoeba. I've never heard before. But how ugly could it get for Philly this year?

Or will Torts have some improvement here? What's it going to do? That's a loaded question because... I see the gears going inside that brain of yours, man. What is coming out of your mouth? I think they're horrible, and they're going to be horrible, but they're going to be absolute motherfuckers to play against. And it just goes on the track record that he won't,

he literally will not stand for lack of effort and laziness and sloppiness. And if they lose games, it'll probably be because they're out skilled and there's more depth on the other teams and there's better goaltending depending on Carter Hart. But you know, for a fact that they're going to compete, it's just a key will not stand for anything else. So because of that, maybe they could finish the season with more points.

Great news is that Couturier doesn't need surgery on his back. So I think he's week to week as opposed to like, you're looking at six months. That's enormous for them. But, you know, not many additions. D'Angelo helps out on point, and it just sucks that they haven't got Ellis in at all. The injury there is just such a killer.

But they have some good players up front. It's just more about looking at the rest of the division. It's just a murderer's row there, and this team is not bringing much back to begin with, and they're coming off a season where I think they were 31st and goals for uh they were right around 30th and goals against it's just been uh a really tough go there and i don't see a quick turnaround happening i i just don't see the roster to make that happen i love the move by him going into the media and trying to stir things up i think that he gets himself a 500 team based on the comments he made

and the tone that he set going into training camp. Now, we know what type of training camps Torts is running. It's basically like you're going to the KHL. So I actually expect a pretty good start for this team out of the gate. The one X factor and the one guy I'm looking to is in net. Can Carter Hart finally deliver what his expectations were when he was drafted there? Boys, is it fair to say that we expected the next carry price

based on what we were hearing? I was calling him that, I think. I think we all were. And I think that with a level head and with a team that's playing more structured hockey, which Torrance brings, we saw what he was able to do when he went into Columbus. We see the shitstorm that he was able to able to create and that mental manipulation to get guys to buy in for crying out loud. He told Nick Foligno, he didn't think he was a good captain.

So towards has this effect where like, he almost like tells you your shit. And instead of going the other way and being like, ah, fuck towards, you almost want to prove them wrong. So I've been seeing the clips coming out of Philadelphia Flyers land and his motivation speeches, talking to the guys and saying, we're not the bottom feeders. We're going to come in here and we're going to fucking make it a very, very difficult environment to come plan. And we're not going to be the laughingstock of the league. I don't give a shit what people think what we look like on paper.

We're going to make every team earn every fucking inch. And we've talked about it. I think that you're going to have to claw and fight your way out of two points to play them every single night. And I think that we see somewhat of a turnaround season, not necessarily a good thing because I don't want to contradict myself. I don't think this is a playoff team. So this is a panic move by the ownership in order to get some relevancy and get that Philadelphia Flyers brand of hockey back and get the fan base buzzing. And I think they did a good job by doing that. But I think it's actually going to hurt them in the long run.

But I don't give a shit because if they win games and they go surpass expectations, Torts is going to be put on a pedestal and the fan base is going to be slobbing his knob and if he doesn't get your fucking popcorn ready because the post game press conference is going to be lit they're going to be lit boy what do you got merles yeah well said by both uh i i was hoping they were going to be on the tanking too they need a superstar they haven't had one in a long time come in like a first second pick but like you said torts is going to win them too many games on his own and um i don't have much interest in watching this team besides i'll probably be betting on the unders a lot great

goaltending torts makes everybody block shots doesn't matter who you are so i'll be looking for unders there that's about it all right moving right along what do you got all right anything or do we touch on pretty much everything yeah no i was going to give my playoff take when we do the playoffs at the end but yeah okay yeah i like this that's what i asked i think they're gonna get a bump man i think they're actually gonna have more points than last year just well i fucking hope so then how many points did they have last year? 61. Oh, Christ.

I don't think they won a game. They didn't win a game. Didn't they go on one of the biggest losing streaks in NHL history last year? Yeah, I think they had two losing streaks to like 10 games or more or something pathetic. So get that smile off your face, Whit. Those Philly fans are going to come at you. Do you think they're going to keep the Dart League going behind the scenes?

They might be retired with the ants. But I don't think you can shut down a passion like that right away. They're probably still going. I will remember you. Columbus Blue Jackets. Last year, 81 points. Tenth in the conference. Cup odds, 55-1.

New faces in town, Johnny Hammond Cheese, Erica Branson. They said bye to Oliver Bjorkstrand and Alex Texier. If nothing else, this team last year was pretty entertaining to watch. Talk about betting over his murals. But they'll need to clean it up defensively to give either Elvis or Jonas Corposalo a fighting chance. But did you see this little beef

with Johnny Hockey? What's his name? Michael Bublé, the singer. He was at a concert in Calgary. He started talking shit about Johnny Goudreau. He's like, oh, I don't want to play there. It's too tough. Blah, blah, blah. It's like, dude, you're a fucking... Is he from Calgary? No, he's from Vancouver. Nice from Vancouver.

He's a Canucks fan. And it's like, bro, they're your rivalry, too. You're chirping fucking Johnny Hockey in Calgary and you're a Canucks fan. It was like so out of whack. That's just an artist who's just looking for some cheers from the crowd, right? I'll shit on whoever Pittsburgh people hate just to get a couple cheers at our live show. Yeah. And Johnny's like, who? Michael Bublé.

He had no idea who he was. He was just laughing at it taking it in stride well then he's never heard one of his christmas albums probably not but we've seen i mean we see it all the time every time biz would make singers come to town like we saw post malone he was in vancouver with the vancouver strip but did you see the dixie he took a few weeks ago in st louis post malone he had his blue shirt on because he was there and he felt like right like he was on that side stage right in the pit and it fucking hurt you could tell you like it's like falling off a three foot thing he got up and finished the show but I think he might I think he might have had a finish

finish early on another show but yeah that's part of the thing that's what they do they panda um Merles what do you think of Columbus this year they're kind of in that no man's land they were you know contending a couple years they lost a lot of guys but how good are they yeah they're exactly they're they're not ready to go anywhere i'm really excited about uh lana and johnny goudreau hooking up i think lana can uh lana for the rock go for the rocket richard lani lani what do you call her she's great she's great love l Lonnie. Larry. I think he can win a rocket Richard at 40 to one odds on a barstool sports book. And that'll be that him and our boys, Zach Wierenski are about the only reason I'll tune in to watch the Columbus

blue jackets this season. They don't get my blood going. Love the fan base. Got to shut out that fan base. An amazing experience going to a game there. And there were a lot of lean years where maybe the place was empty, but for a long time now, they've really produced some exciting environments to play in.

It's just, it's tough sledding there right now. I mean, it's a huge deal for them to get to good row, but I don't see them getting in the playoffs right around 500. I would guess not the easiest team to go in and grab two points against. Similar to the Atlantic, a team that is much improved in the Metro. Maybe not much improved, but they're improved. Jersey's improved. So a lot of these games are going to be a lot tougher for these high-end Metro teams to get their two points.

But there is not much there to get me that excited. That's just the God's honest truth. I mean, I don't know. You guys are being a little harsh here. I want to see, I want to hear the cannon fucking buzzing all season long. They got, oh yeah. What's going to make it go off besides Goudreau and fucking line a or Lonnie and I, because Voracek had a good year.

Yeah. They got Voracek there. I mean, Cole Sillinger is a hell of a fucking player. Ken Johnson. I think Ken Johnson can be a stud. He's the hero for team canada so they got some young guys in the pipeline i i mean i i don't know why you guys are just all of a sudden taking a big stock big hot steam and dump on their chest why don't we give them a chance out of the game maybe brad larson has some a few tricks up his sleeves they're bringing in one of the best playmakers in the national hockey league

and the expectations aren't very high so i actually like this team they got a decent tandem in net they got him in playoffs i don't got him in playoffs but i think they're going to play some exciting hockey come on yeah so that's a bad thing it is a bad thing but your guys are just ripping on them like they're going to be drafting my lottery pick so i i could see them ah no i don't think they're bought and we gotta be we gotta be excited for our boy kekka line and man he did some fucking great things for that organization to bring in you mentioned a potential 40 goal score again in patrick lonnie and i will say johnny hamachese i will say i wasn't that the gabransit signing was a little peculiar,

right? He cares. They got to get to the floor. Who gives a shit? 4 million a year. Okay. Well, which one is it?

They're a fucking team looking to get to the floor or they're an exciting bunch of guys who are going to scrap out a bunch of wins. No, as in like get to the, to the, to the financial floor. I know. So teams doing that are like the Yotes.

They suck. I like when good guys get paid though. Good Branson had a great season in Calgary. Absolute man rocket. Put him on the list. Be careful, though. Don't want to get in trouble. But listen, I hope they have a great year.

I think the fans there deserve it. And hey, it's also a state that carries big deal brewing. So I'll be rooting for you guys all season long. Unlike these dickheads. Hey, I didn't i didn't talk smack oh okay what do you got on them all right um i i like columbus i like pulling them on you'll get to my playoff picture we gotta finish these other teams you don't give any comments on any teams you haven't been studying any guy or like you know what what do you think

you think their power play is going to be better because they got fucking uh johnny johnny ham and cheese working guys triangles what do you think i think they're going to be better because they got fucking Johnny, Johnny ham and cheese, working guys, triangles. What do you think? I think they're going to be dynamic. I mentioned Kent Johnson a few weeks back when we had Johnny hockey on. Yeah. I think they're going to be better than last year. Playoff team.

You know what? Possibly, but you'll get my answer when we do them all. We're going to. So, so Kent Johnson's going to make the team at a camp. I don't know if he's, is he in the lineup? I feel like he's going back. It was going back to college. Let me double check. No lineup right now. I feel like he was going back to college at one point. Let me double check.

He's not going back to college. You can't go to camp if you've... College is not like junior where you can't go to camp and then go back to junior. If you're in college and you go to camp, you can go to rookie camp. I thought you could pay your own way. I thought they just made you pay your own way

with your big fat fucking signing bonus. No, I don't think that's way. I thought they just made you pay your own way with your big, fat fucking signing bonus. No, no, I don't think that's correct. I don't think any guys are going to NHL. I guess that was dumb because I guess if you sign, you can't go back to college. So that was stupid. Another fucking loser lap for biz. We can move on. Kent Johnson, per cap friendly, currently on the roster right now.

Just FYI. Okay. Okay. You suspected. Okay. Okay. Okay. All right. Before I go any further, here's some words from our friends at sport clips, sport clips.

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oh wow 110 points last year they lost in the conference finals four games to two to tampa bay they're 20 to one to win the stanley cup this year they're saying hello to vinnie trocek yaroslav halak and old friend jimmy veezy who signed a one-year deal off a pto the other day congrats to our pal jimmy uh they said goodbye to Andrew Kopp, Ryan Strom, Frank Vetrano, and Alexander Georgiev. They went back-to-back game sevens in the first two rounds last year. They had a 2-0 East Conference Finals lead

and a 2-0 lead halfway through the game, and then it quickly slipped away. And, like, this is one of those things, guys, we talk about all the time. Teams have to lose. They have to have its thing a little to learn how to win, and this feels exactly what this is uh but they lost a couple of contributors up front but the d is unreal the goaltending is unreal there's no reason the

rangers shouldn't be back right in the mix this year right merles uh i love the rangers i jumped on the bandwagon last year i love them again igor he's he's on he's just unbeatable some of these nights. I don't think what they lost is too much because they got Kopp at the deadline. They got Vetrano late, so they didn't really lose too much. Trochek's a great pickup like you talked about. But I'm still on the – they're going to get Patrick Kane at the deadline to play with Panarin again, and that's going to make them make the push. Wow, what a prediction.

That's it. That happens. That will be one of the bigger moments in trade history of the NHL. That would be one of the all-time biggest moves for Patrick Kane. I mean, is that similar to Messier going to the Rangers? I would say. It's like it's – I don't even want to get ahead of myself, because even I, as a Rangers hater, that would be a cool story.

This team, though, I could see a little step back. I could. And they rely so heavily on Shosturkin, who is, if not the best, right there. I know Vasilevsky's my guy, but I can openly admit Shostakhin's top three in the league, no doubt. But they rely on him a lot. And I actually love this team. And the best thing about

this club for me is their D is so young. Their oldest defenseman is Jacob Trubo. He's 28 years old. Nice. Filthy. They are fucking loaded on the back end. Guys, I mean, how good is Keiondre Miller? The steps he continues to make. Fox is a Norris Trophy winner.

He doesn't even get talked about enough. They got the Zach Jones kid from UMass. I believe he's on the roster to start the year. Grinnell, you maybe check that one for me. I might be off there. But Trou was so physical. You saw how he plays. Up front, Trochek has a big job, right?

You saw how he plays up front. Trochek has a big job, right? Trochek to replace the way Strom was able to play with their top line players, right? And the main issue for me in thinking there could be a step back is Chris Kreider never had 30 goals in his career, and he got 50. It's just natural that he'll probably drop back, right? If you lose 16, 17 goals from him. Sorry, G, go ahead. You're correct.

Zach Jones is on the opening night roster. Yeah, another UMass defenseman. But I think with the division getting stronger from top to bottom, I think New York is easily a playoff team, and they could make a run, no doubt, with that goalie. But I don't know if they'll get 110 points again, or whatever they finished with, because it's just going to be a lot tougher and there's a lot of changes there now here's the thing that could make me look like a complete fool is if Kako finally jumps off the way that

idiot Avery's told me for three years now he's going to and if Lafreniere can really take a major step because when you have a first overall pick you the first two years yeah nice nice we're seeing a player let's see 70 points let's see that that ceiling that everyone thought that you had and could see as your draft came that maybe all of a sudden in your third year in the league you're approaching so a million question marks for me with the team but no doubt they're elite if that makes any sense no i i agree completely and I can't even hate on them. I love their back end. You just touched on it. Their goal pending is incredible, and I like their guys up front.

A big question mark is going to be how that third line, the kid line, is going to elevate their play. I don't even necessarily see them reaching the same amount of points as they had in last year's regular season, but I don't think it matters. It is going to matter, though, what they do in order to get help at the deadline you saw how much cop helped uh get them past pittsburgh and what he brought to their lineup there's some significant losses there with strome uh vitrano and and cop the trocek move i love him he's a great swiss army knife he's a hell of a competitor a type of guy who plays physical and can play playoff style hockey. So a great fill in what are they going to be able to do at the deadline in order to bolster their team to put them in that top tier of teams.

So, like I said, I normally shit on these guys. I think that one of their main concerns, though, is can they tighten things up a little bit defensively? They are riverboat gamblers yes they get exposed in high danger scoring chances way more so at the beginning of the year last year they did button it up a little bit but we all know they should have lost the pittsburgh they got lucky to get by uh um who they beat carolina in the second round and then they got worked by Tampa. I know it went to seven. I know it went to seven.

Once fucking Tampa made a few adjustments, it was over. It was game over. What did they win? The last four games straight? Is that how it went? Last two. Rangers were up three games to two. Tampa won the last two games.

Okay. My apologies. See, I'm trying to shit on them even more. It's just my natural tendency to take a hot steaming dump on one of the most scumbag fan bases in all of sports. And you're all why are they one of the dumbest? Go back to the guy in the subway knocking out a fan because, you know, the other team won a game. Go back to the cowboy lady who bought tickets in Carolina and was ringing the fucking cowbell.

And people say to Avery ended up getting....ended up getting tossed from the building and then assaulted a police officer. So I know I had to just sprinkle in a little bit of scumbag fan-based banter on the end of this one, but a very good hockey team, a guaranteed playoff spot, but I see them fizzling out in the first round like the scumbags they are. All right, we're going to cross the Hudson River over to New Jersey. The Devils, 63 points last year, finished 14th in the conference.

They're 40-1 to win the Stanley Cup this year. They brought in Andre Palat, Vitek Vanacek, John Marino, Eric Hall, and Brendan Smith. They said bye to Pavel Zaka and Ty Smith. Pasha's pet project, the Devils. They're like that Dr. Dre detox album everyone's waiting for. That's what Pasha sounds like. He's like, oh, this is the head of Devils. That's a good analogy, R.A. R.A.'s back. But you know what, this team, I think, has a little bit of a Major League vibe to it,

like the baseball movie. It's just kind of a mishmash of guys, like all the guys that maybe teams don't want, younger guys. Obviously, they're very talented, Jack Hughes. But this team wouldn't surprise me either way. I think they might surprise a few people out there. But what do you think their realistic expectations are? Listen, I know I've been critical. I, the future's bright. The future's bright.

I believe in this team and I want to believe in this team for two reasons because I don't want to hear Frank, the tank bitching all season long. And I'm going to be living with Pasha part-time, and I don't want to see him having a nervous breakdown in my living room here as their goaltending is letting him down or whatever fucking excuse he wants to pull out of his ass. I've been hearing about this team the last six seasons. I keep hearing about how Nico Heischer is one of the best two-way centers in the league, how Jack Hughes is going to hit a 100-point mark.

Let's see it, baby. I'm going to be ISO camming this team harder than any team at the start of the year. I want to see them come high flying, high stepping out of the gate. You have a new supporter in Paul Bissonnette, Devils fans. I am on board. I'll even go watch a game with Frank the Tank live in action at probably, I would say, one of the most boring arenas in the NHL. If not the,

the sleepiest building in the NHL. Can we all agree on that place? Thanks. Have you guys seen Frank, the tanks predictions for the devils this season? No, I'd love to hear about them. I'd love to.

He's 72. You know, he's a pro scout for the team, right? He said devil's prediction, 58 points. Jack Hughes, Mrs.

50 games. Blackwood has worse GAAindy ruff gets a contract well that's just frank he's just a negative man all the time that's too much and i love the guy but what a miserable fan frank i i i think this team is going to be better solely because i don't think it's physically possible to have worse goaltending than last year it was a disgrace they couldn't they literally couldn't buy a save so you gotta think that that's gonna change a little bit right um but for me this team is such in the mold of like hopefully they get a lottery pick i i uh was reading these team previews

they got four forwards hughesashier, Palat and I think I don't know the last one maybe Mercer who signed after this season they don't even have like they have there's so much change going on so even if they take a step forward you're just you don't know what the future there holds so I think that if they could really be bad and get a top pick it could actually really help them in the long run and it makes total it that makes total sense that that would kind of be not a goal but they're not going to do anything in this division like does pasha think that this team's like might be in the playoffs is that what he's saying i don't know i just keep hearing the future's bright i don't know what that means. Future's bright, man. Future's bright, man. Okay.

The future is bright for me as the fucking on the Penguins for a minute too, bro. Tell me you at least believe that Toronto has a better chance of winning a playoff series than the New Jersey Devils have been even sniffing a wildcard spot. Please. A hundred percent. Thank you. Thank you. A hundred positivity, least least fans there you have

it so devils and their fans like i don't know if you guys have hypnotized the team because it's so boring in that building i don't know what has happened but i hope that this year is different than seasons past because i'll be at bed at fucking what 8 p.m arizona time every night after watching that snooze fest if we keep seeing it i got them above the you know montreal and philly's but i got them below the ottawa and buffalo i know the reason you like them because they are a big deal brewing state um jack hughes has looked good i've watched a couple of pre-season games he looks exciting so do you guys have a bet on that you and pasha on the points? Is that this season?

The New Jersey Nightquills. I actually – That's going to be their jersey sponsor. They put you to sleep. And the barn's always, like, half empty, and it's just like the music's bad. It's depressing. The only time that place is bumping is when they play the frigging Rangers, and it's half Rangers fans, and I hate them.

So, yeah, things got to change in Jersey. I have a bet with Pasha he's got three years oh he used to get 100 points it's not a great bet unfortunately for me the only unfortunately for him the only chance I have of winning I'm guessing is if he gets injured I haven't shaken his hand yet but I wanted to make a bet also I would say that if the New Jersey Devils don't make playoffs the next two seasons, that he has to get a belly button ring and or maybe a nipple ring. It'd be funny if he could get a nose ring too because he's got a bad snout like us.

I don't think there's a chance in the next two years. But I was also going to counter it by saying if they were able to reach the conference finals in the next two years, then I would get a tattoo of their mascot on my ass i haven't shaken hands yet on it we'll see how they didn't they wouldn't just have to make the playoffs they have to go to the finals conference finals if they can get there in the next two seasons i'd get a tattoo of the mascot on my ass that's putting myself on the line there yeah but that would be that would be a major major lopsided bet for you.

You think so? Yeah, because think about it. If the future is so bright, you're telling me they have two years to make the playoffs, just make the playoffs, that they can't do that? That doesn't win anything for him. They got to go to the conference finals for him to win the bet. Yeah, but I mean, it was going to be an off. I had to put something on the line if he's so confident.

I mean, maybe it does swing in his direction or my direction, excuse me. But I figured since his confidence was so high about this future being so bright, he would willing to put his belly button or his navel on the line. But he's a pussy. Have you ever had a PS nipple biz? No. You mean a girl with one? No, no, no.

I know. I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that. Let me count the times. No, it seems like something you would have done back in the day. It would be something I would consider doing on a future bet. Maybe finally make use of that little pink Whitney ring that we made for Witt's left ear. I still got it.

Oh, shit. All right. Moving right along here. The Washington capitals, they had a hundred points last year. They lost in the first round, four games to two to Florida. Cup odds this year, 3701. Uh, they brought in Dossie Kemper, Dylan Strom, Connor Brown. Uh, they said adios to Ilya Samsonov, Vitek Vanacek, and Justin Schultz. I'd say the clock is ticking on this crew here. They won the cup, I think, what, four years ago.

It just seems like each year they're kind of dropping a little bit more. I wanted to ask, I'll go to you, Whit. If the Caps were to shit the bed early this year, not make the playoffs and things start to look bad down the line, do you think Ovi would end up getting traded? No. Or is he going to spend his entire career there? Nope. I think Ovechkin never even sniffs

playing for another team because I think he's going to break the record as a Washington Capitol. And at this point, it's all about that. And it's funny. Caps fans get on me

for never talking about them. They say, we don't talk about them enough. Well, fucking, I don't know, do something to make us talk about you. They are in such a doldrum. They're

kind of like the Flyers were for all those years when you knew they'd get in the playoffs, but they did not do anything. Do you know what I mean by that? Do you see what I'm saying? The Capitals are just they'll probably get in again this year, I think. It's just I don't think they're a threat at all to win the Cup.

Now, they did bring in the Stanley Cup champion goaltender. I think that's a major upgrade for them, and that'll help a ton. But they're a threat at all to win the cup now they did bring in the stanley cup champion goaltender i think that's a major upgrade for them and that'll help a ton but they got a lot of guys they got a i think three guys injured to start the year yeah they got a couple massive injuries they got tom wilson out yeah who's coming off acl and guys yeah nicky backstrom he had the same hip surgery as ryan kessler and edvanovsky. And it's a pretty graphic one. I don't know how many of you ended up seeing the picture online that Ryan Kessler ended up posting of how gruesome it looks. It's just like basically a metal ball in where the hip socket goes. And he did try to come back from it.

And Jovanovsky, when he got it, he came back for 37 games and ended up retiring. You guys saw how Kessler's career ended up. I pray to God that Backstrom ends up being able to come back and finish his career. He did sign that four-year extension. And if he doesn't well deserve, they should have fucking put it on a T for him anyway, based on what he's done for the organization. I would have, the question you asked to it about Ovi, I would have said it would have been more likely that he would have been moved if he asked to it about Ovi, I would have said it would have been more likely

that he would have been moved if he wouldn't have won a cup there. Because then, you know, it's kind of like a Joe Thornton type situation. You hope that a guy like that, who's done so much for the game, ends up going to finally win a Stanley Cup. But now that he's won one,

I don't think there's a chicken dicks chance that he's moving on. I'm interested to see though, if he is without Backstrom, if he in fact can catch that record. He's going to have to maintain a pretty good pace. I know, he's got Kuznetsov still.

Correct, but it ain't Nicky Backstrom. And that's a huge loss as far as weapons on the power play and what he can do for Ovi tickling the twine. So I was probably a little bit more down on this team probably a couple weeks ago, but I think that they did address the goaltending issue,

which could hopefully keep them afloat based on those injuries. I would actually have, I would probably have them finishing the regular season with more points than the Boston Bruins. I would have said the opposite a few weeks ago. I'm teeter-tottering on those teams. I mentioned the three teams, Pittsburgh, Washington, and Boston. This is the team second most likely, I think, who could take another run at a cup.

And that's only if they get back from back healthy. And of course, Tom Wilson, who is an absolute wrecking ball out there and worth every goddamn penny, reminding those who said this was a bad contract when he signed it. So just they got a good winning culture there. You know they're going to make playoffs. It's just whether they can get those guys back healthy. I do think that Ovi needs to score at least 35 goals this year

in order to beat the record. I think he's – I think Howell's up next, right? He's like 20 away or 20-ish away from Gordie Howell. How do you see – Ovi's going to get 40. Ovi will get 40 this year. He's going to stand there on the peeper. He's going to wire home one-timers. I can tell you how i i i

think of this team it was my eighth grade formal dance feature song boys the men end of the road i'm the worst singer but this is the end of the road they are not making the playoffs without backstrom the only reason you have them out i was thinking of having them out too dude try that one more time can you sing that one more time and put i love that till the end of the road no he's really missing the beat i can't let go oh my god i hold on to you. Making love to you. I don't know. I was hoping you were going to sing Motown Philly for us, Merle.

Back again. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. Before we continue on, here's a word from our friends at Skip the Dishes. Who wants to cook on game night? Not me. Drop the oven mitts and give your taste buds something to cheer about. Score some sushi, sauce your friends some spaghetti,

or go top shelf with a gourmet burger, wings, pizza, or nachos. When it's time for a celly, Skip delivers desserts like cheesecake or ice cream, even a bag of ice if you're running low. Whatever you're in the mood for, it's always a win for the home team with Skip. Bring all the excitement of the game home with Skip. Download the app and order something delicious for puck drop. Somebody say Skip. Next up, the New York Islanders.

84 points last year, ninth in the conference. 35-1 to win the Stanley Cup this year. Not a bad little number. They have a new head coach in lane Lambert. They brought an Alexander Romanoff from Montreal. They said, by the Zidane O'Chara and Andy green. And as expected,

Matthew Bozal got extended eight years, 73.2 million comes out to over a little bit more than 9 million a year. And he's got a modified no trade clause for the last seven years. The team is coming back largely intact and i think they're kind of treating last last year as a mulligan almost like an aberration given what happened with the covid this crazy schedule at the beginning they could just never get in front of the eight ball uh and they're going from barry trotz to like i said lane lambert the last time he was a head coach was back in milwaukee of the ahl back in 2011

i think i asked you earlier biz which have you ever gone from a veteran coach to a rookie coach? Yeah, like I did in the AHL. We went from having Todd Richards to Dan Bilesma, didn't we? Yeah, because he was a rookie head coach. Yeah, I think you're right.

I never went through that. I never went through that, though. All the coaches because Terrian had been in Montreal prior, and Tom Rennie had been coaching prior, and the Rangers. Oh, well, I went – Ralph Kruger was a rookie coach. That's right. But he'd been coaching a long time. Yeah, a rookie head coach in the NHL.

Yeah, I mean, it's a little different. I think for the Islanders, I think this is a good thing. I think over time – and granted, Barry Trotz, he won the Stanley Cup, and then he went to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals. So it's like this guy obviously knows how to produce winning teams, and he knows how to play a style of hockey that's very difficult to play against. But at the same time, it was really probably stifling the offense a little bit. You think of Barzell right away.

And now this team has Lane Lambert, who's going to be so open with playing more offensive, being more creative and maybe trying things occasionally at the offensive blue line that trots is so much against, but all these guys, they know how to play D because of these years with trots and they know how responsible you have to be in your own end. I'm bullish on this team because I, to me, I just look at last

year like such a write-off and the more i read and listen i'm really in the minority because all people are talking about is that they did nothing in the offseason and to me it's like the team was they were one goal from winning the stanley cup they were in the fucking cup final against tampa remember shit montreal they played against. That was the, there are one goal from winning the Stanley cup basically. And then last year comes with 13 games on the road to start the season followed by COVID. If you remember the league would not delay and,

and put teams games on the, on the shelf until after it happened to the Islanders. And I think they lost a bunch of games with half their roster. They lost like nine guys to COVID, and they still had to roll their guys out there and play. And so you have this team where Barzell's now signed. What is signing for that team? What an exciting move.

It is questionable that Parisi's on the top line, right? He's 38 years old. It's like, is he really the first line center? But Anders Lee was sick last year. And you go, there's depth. I love Pajot's game. Olivier can fly. Josh Bailey's still a really good player.

And with the Pelican-Pulak D tandem, that's one of the best tandems in the overall league. And frigging Sorokin. Sorokin is a legitimate, he could win the Vesna. And I'm telling you, it will be no surprise to anyone that knows what they're talking about with hockey. I think he was fifth in the Vesna last year. He had a winning record on this team last year. They have a true star goalie and they have a team that's finally coming back

from a hell year. And I think that they're getting into the playoffs and I think they're way better than people are giving them credit for. Lou Lamarillo is the Warren buffett of the national hockey league he's playing the long game and he did it he he saw all that frustration last year and he didn't panic he went overseas to the south of france during free agency we mentioned that he was in his mankini sipping his bellinis and he didn't give a fiddler's fuck because he knew and as i said on the podcast i don't know if you want to roll the clip cornell you you can or you don't have to it doesn't

fucking matter but i predicted it they were going to land barzell right before the season they're going to sign him to a team-friendly deal and some people online saying like that's not a team-friendly deal he's way overpaid based on getting 60 points it was an off year for the whole fucking team with a head coach who we know likes to suffocate the offense. No offense to Trotch. That's how he wins. I think that the leash is going to get a little bit longer. There's going to be no pressure on Barzell to perform in a contract year, and I think he's going to run wild. Some people criticize his game where he's always the first pass option. He probably is self-aware of that. He's probably going to score more goals than he ever has in an NHL season this year.

Book it. There you go. A little Barstool Sportsbook action for you. Free money. Is the over-under set at 23 and a half? Do you like it? Oh, my God. He's going to get fucking 28 easy.

He's probably going to get 70 apples. And you people thinking it's a bad fucking contract. They had to get that done to solidify this whole group and i'm telling you what i see at least the bare minimum eastern conference finals do i like to say it no no you guys know about the rift between me and lou how about this one you think i want cal clutterbuck that fucking turncoat he what i well he says he's from well and he's more from fond hill cake eater he won't come into studio and watch a game with us or come do an interview but he's going to do a scramble with the foreplay guys so oh it's not a not working with barstool thing it's not working

with chicklets thing exactly fuck them i mean i changed my mind on the playoffs fucking losers hey i know they that's what we'd like to happen, but we know it's not. We never get our wish with the Islanders. Last year was just a, uh, it was, it was a,

it's dust in the wind. It didn't even, it didn't even matter. And we know that Warren Buffett's playing the long game and this Islander team that he kept intact and didn't hit the panic button like Zito did is going to have success. So you pretty much touched on all the personnel. They have tons of unbelievable crafty forwards. like Zito did is going to have success. So you pretty much touched on all the personnel.

They have tons of unbelievable crafty forwards. They have an awesome backend who I think every guy's underpaid, unbelievable goaltending. And you talk about a fourth line being on the same page. Those three guys are basically sharing a brain as little as it may be clutter buck, more like cluster. Fuck. Wait till I see you in in fawn hill you cake

eater i'm gonna have a few words for you and don't try to text me i already blocked your number you buffoon fucking foreplay and not spitting chiclets no wonder because we'll bend you over we got four in a row we got your old teammate a post so he probably told you to avoid us like the plague we bent him over maybe hey maybe who knows maybe they were getting their warm-up with the four play guys wit fair enough i don't think they could i don't think they could play in our league in the golf course well they could they could stick to hockey fucking clusterfuck oof turn your back on me after everything i've done for you hey wit i'll let you know because i already put it in. Sorokin to win the Vezna 11-1.

Dude, this guy is guilty. Love it. Stop saying you're from Welland, clusterfuck. He's as good as Shusterkin. Nobody knows about him. Yep. They will now. Yep.

All right, boys, we got one more team to go. And where are we heading this week? Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Penguins. All you guys are alumni for them. They had 103 points last year. They lost in the first round four games to three to the Rangers after blowing a 3-1 series lead.

They're 21 to win the Cup. 21 to 1 to win the Cup this year. They brought in Jeff Petrie, Ty Smith, and Jan Ruta. They said bye to John Marino, Mike Matheson, and Evan Rodriguez. Hey, the band's back together for another whack. And we know you never count out count out said Gino Letang. If the pens have healthy goaltender, man, they should be in the run this year.

And biz, I think you just want them to win just so they get that cup. Just so Gino's kids birthday cake. Well, it all comes back to the birthday cake. I mean, that's the, the, the, the most, the craziest prediction. Pre pre playoffs or preseason, excuse me, that I've ever seen. As far as them solidifying that core group this offseason, credit to management for bringing them all back together and making it work. You mentioned the healthy goaltending.

Jari, all-star last year. He was excellent. The culture is a winning culture in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, since they won that last Stanley Cup, they have not been out of the first round. They've dealt with some bad bounces, some bad luck, some lackluster performances, but they have retooled and they're ready and poised to make another run. Now, I mentioned Eastern Conference Finals for the Islanders.

I think that's what's going to happen. I'm trying to give you the old reverse jinx. I think we're going to see the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. That's what I want to see happen in the old reverse jinx. I think that we're going to see the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. That's what I want to see happen in the Eastern conference finals. I think it's, I think it's Stanley cup or bust for this Pittsburgh team because as they continue to get older,

it's not going to get easier. They're primed and ready with the Gino birthday cake. It's going to be a fucking hell of a year for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And I'm excited to see it and kick things off in Pittsburgh. I think Petrie is going to be a fucking hell of a year for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And I'm excited to see it and kick things off in Pittsburgh. I think Petrie is going to be a monster this year. People were all over him for his play on Montreal last year. Who played good on that team, at least at the beginning. You know, there's nothing there.

I think that's a great move to bring him over. Ty Smith, the defensive from the Devils. I think he could make a big impact. It's weird, Biz. I think no problem they're in the playoffs and they can compete. It's just really going to come down to goaltending for me. And they had that frigging first series. They didn't deal with the injury against the Rangers.

And it's like they could win the Stanley Cup. I truly believe they're contenders. They might have to do something at the deadline, but when Jeff Carter's on that third line, yeah, Jeff Carter's older, but I like that team. I think a lot of it has to do with how good Crosby still

is, and he doesn't even really get talked about anymore. It's like it's been so long that people don't even mention how good he is. He's a true superstar still, yet you don't even hear about his name is. He's a true superstar still, yet you don't even hear about his name when you're talking about all the best players around the league because people have become so accustomed to it. And Malkin has his deal.

Let's see what he has. Is there one more monster Malkin season? I think 100%. Right? Is there one more 42-goal, 67-ass assist monster season. And I could see it happening. Let's see how the training went this off season. I cannot wait to see this team play in person.

It'll be my first time in the, in the beautiful Pittsburgh paints arena. I believe it's called PPG. Am I making up that it's Pittsburgh? Okay. Well still this team is built to go on a run. And thanks to Crosby, Letang, and Malkin, who have played more games together than anyone else in the history of the league, they have a chance once again to make a run at the Stanley Cup.

I just got a text. Someone said BDBs are in Massachusetts. I haven't seen them yet, but Jakey Tebow just texted me. I texted him back. Where are they? I haven't seen any yet. I think we talked about it at the beginning of the pod, didn't we? We did, yes. You can find them at Cappy, Shaw's, tons of liquor stores and beer stores across Massachusetts.

Holy fuck. Hey, double dicky. Holy fuck, alright. Hey, the back's a long way from the heart. Crawl it out. I just hadn't seen any of my local stores yet. Sorry. Sorry for that. Dash one, dash one.

All right, now we got to do our playoff. One? Yeah, I tell you. Two or three. That was generous. What do you think Zucker does playing with Malkin and Rust, by the way? Well, they got Raquel. Raquel, Gensel, and Crosby.

Dude, they're nasty. So this is my thing. Chicklets Bump has always been there. We're going opening weekend. We're going to see him in the Winter Classic. Let's see him in the conference finals, too. We'll have Crosby thinking we're stalking him. We're going to see them so much this year.

Oh, he's going to change the number again. Crosby, 50-1, MVP of the league, 50-1. Throw a little sprinkle on that. A little dabble. Yep. We need to play off teams. The Atlantic three in the Atlantic, three in the Metro, and two wildcards. Let me see where I have them right here. In the Atlantic,

Toronto, Tampa, Florida. In the Metro, Carolina, Rangers, Pittsburgh. Wildcard, Islanders, and the Detroit Red Wings. Wow. Wings, baby. Let's go Wings.

Wait, so who don't you have in? They have the biz. They already got the big deal brewing on the tap in the arena. You don't want them to get in the playoffs? No, I do want them to get in the playoffs. The Goon Squad? I love the Goon Squad. Goon Squad, baby.

Grinnelli, what do you got? In the Atlantic, I have Tampa, Toronto, Boston. Then I have Carolina, the Rangers, Pittsburgh. Then I have the Islanders for the wild card and the Ottawa Senators, baby. I don't have the President trophy champs in there. No Florida

Panthers. Witt talked me out of it. I had him at the beginning of the show and I took him out because of how he talked me out of it. Whit, what do you got for us? The Atlantic. I got Toronto winning the division. I got Tampa getting second. And I'm going to go Boston third. I'm going to go Boston third.

I think Boston, Florida, Ottawa, too, are kind of all fighting there for that third spot. In the Metro, I got Carolina winning that division. I got Pittsburgh finishing second, and I have the Rangers finishing third. My wildcard teams, in no particular order, really. I got the Islanders, and I got Washington. Paul, biznasty, biznet, what do you got for us? I got Washington. Paul, BizNasty, BizNet, what do you got for us?

Guys, our hometown pod people are going to be killing me here. I got Toronto winning the Atlantic. I got Tampa Bay in playoffs coming in second in that division, and then I have the Panthers in third, and I have no other teams in that division making playoffs. No Boston Bruins this year. I just – when i'm looking at this full list of teams i just i think that the lack of of uh of star players to start the season for a lot we're talking about a lengthy lengthy time off here for for four fucking big names and then in the other division i'm'm going to pick Carolina winning that division.

I got, of course, Pittsburgh making playoffs. I got the Islanders in. I got the Rangers in. And I just, I can't, I can't leave the Capitals out. So I got five teams from that Metropolitan division making playoffs. And all you Bees fans, I want to see one last kick at the can. I just, looking at these teams i just i can't based on personnel and i hope i'm wrong i hope i'm wrong i hope the rangers miss playoffs

i hope the islanders miss playoffs but we know what ain't gonna happen all right i have uh in the metro i have carolina one in the division uh then the ranges and the islanders uh the atlantic i got toronto one in the division followed by tampa then boston and for the Atlantic. I got Toronto winning the division, followed by Tampa, then Boston. And for the wild cards, I got Florida and Pittsburgh. So those are my eight. We'll see what happens there. But any final playoff notes or any other things you want to say? We had some extracurriculars, but this pod went so long.

We got to bump them back to next time, guys. Okay. All right. pod went so long we got it we got to pump them bump them back to next time guys okay all right so we're gonna let me give you a quick quick nugget on the opening night win streaks though oh five straight opening night wins the capitals in our toronto maple leafs biz three straight opening night wins the canes the knights and the bruins but the bruins are playing the cap so one of those is going to end. All right. Use that what you want.

I like riding Toronto to maybe start the year off when Matthews probably gets two. That's not – I like that. I have that in the notes already. And it's amazing. It's amazing, folks. All of a sudden, as you're listening to this tonight, we got games. We have Tampa and I think the Rangers, right?

Is Tampa playing the Rangers tonight as you're listening and then we got vegas uh la in the late game yep frig hockey is back holy shit long pod i'm fired up we'll see some of you people in colorado to kick off the season with boston washington and then we got the game of the tee, Colorado, Chicago. Thank you all for listening to our preseason predictions. We know that mine probably won't end up being very accurate, but at the end of the day, we're done. All right. See you in Pittsburgh. Peace. as always we like to thank our terrific sponsors here on spit and chiclet so huge thanks to our

friends over at pink whitney and new amsterdam vodka big thank you to our new friends at verizon wireless check them out for your wireless needs big thanks to our friends over at Verizon Wireless. Check them out for your wireless needs. Big thanks to our friends over at Game Time for all your ticket needs. Huge thanks to our friends over at Sport Clips, taking care of the men's haircuts. And a big thanks to our new friends at Skip the Dishes. Have a great week, everybody.