Spittin Chiclets - Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 484: Featuring Peter Mansbridge

Episode Date: February 20, 2024

On Episode 484 of Spittin’ Chiclets, the guys are joined by Peter Mansbridge (01:25:38) to talk about his legendary career as the voice of Canadian broadcasting as well as his love for the game of hockey. But first, the guys go over an incredible week of hockey with the Chiclets Altcast, Jaromir Jagr getting his jersey retired, and the awesome Stadium Series in New Jersey. Later on in the show, the guys talk about the firing of Jarmo Kekalainen and Auston Matthews stellar play. Lastly, the boys go over everything that’s going on around the league from Nashville not getting to go see U2, Phil Kessel in Vancouver, and much more. But most important, how many podcasts should Pasha be suspended for?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. I'm Peter Mansbridge in Toronto. This is a special edition of Spittin' Chicklets. You can get liquor cheap But how much is your love? They say a drunken speech Is just so good I like to poke the bear I like to stir the pot

But then you come on in and take it up a notch You hit me with a cheap shot, a cheap shot Hello everybody and welcome to episode 484 of Spittin' Chicklets Presented by Pink Whitney from our friends at New Amsterdam Vodka, here in the Barstool Sports Podcast family. What is up, gang? Another wild week for the Chicklets crew. We've been on the road, like, what, 10 nights already this fucking month? Stadium series, Chicklets cast, tore up Hoboken for a few nights, but we gotta say hi to the boys first. Let's go to the biz man, Paul Biznasty. On the road again. Got more

miles than the fucking space shuttle on him. What's up? On the road again. I don't know the words. I'm not really a word guy, but here's Witty. Witty's running to close the door. He's probably got the kids screaming. Wyatt just lit a fucking fire probably. I'll wait for him to sit back down.

We can't start without Witty. We need him. We good, Witty? There he is. What's up, Witty? We didn't want to start without you, buddy. I just wanted to talk about. I apologize. I'm actually recording from G's chair right now. I'm in Hoboken still. It's been a hell of a weekend in Hoboken.

Got here Thursday. I will say I would consider getting a place here. You say that every single place we go. But do I say that every single place we go. But it is... Do I say that about a lot of places? Yeah, we say, you're in Toronto, you're like,

buddy, buddy. Dude, that town is... I got a feeling we're moving back to Toronto, buddy. You know what it is? We're in Denver for the West Coast. Buddy, this place is sick. No, no, no, no, no. I said like a suburb, maybe. I wouldn't live downtown Denver. No, no, no no i said like a suburb maybe i wouldn't live downtown denver no no no but i like

still you like you get involved in every city we're in and then you kind of like you could picture yourself living there but then you think there is somebody who has a a place in 50 states you think there's somebody but i doubt it i going to be willing to say there's not one person that... I am going to buy a 500-square-foot condo in every single state. This is a challenge accepted. Just do a little YouTube series of me just with these little whack pads all across the country. But Hoboken, awesome spot.

Stabbing cabins. Couples. Exactly. But what an awesome spot. Stabbing cabins. Couples. Exactly. But what an awesome weekend. I mean, we're not going to dive into the hockey quite yet, but we got here Thursday. We had an event. It feels like a month ago is when we did the Chickles cast.

But all in all, a great weekend here. Before we get into the nitty-gritty of it, Whit, how have you been, buddy? You're down in Florida. You couldn't be here. We missed you, but we still had a heck of a fucking time i know and it looked awesome um i i when we get into those games we can go into it more in depth but the the setup at that stadium like i kind of i kind of was a little down on it when they announced it i'm like oh met life like first off i was like how

did that place get the world cup final that's in a few years. But still, I was like, I don't know. And then the way it looked, the crowds, the jerseys, the walk-in outfits besides Loser Lou and his no character to the Islanders. I fucking love it. Like, what a donkey. But it looked incredible, at least watching it on TV. And we always say those are kind of more for the fans in attendance. It looked really good.

And I don't know about you guys. You could tell me more. But was the ice ice were the players saying the ice was incredible maybe it was just those teams were all flying but that was those were fast-paced games oh and they were snapping passes where they were all on the tape and stuff i was very impressed with how clean the hockey was normally you shit show at those events they did delay the game yesterday afternoon about an hour. I heard that was because of sun. Now, there was also a million things flying around online. Is that to be true, G?

Was it sun related? Yeah, I was told it was sun related. Okay, so there you go. Maybe it was because of potential ruining the ice conditions with, but fucking unreal. Yeah, it looks sick. I was kind of rattled not to be there. But, yeah, it's school vacation week.

This starts. So we planned a while ago visiting my parents in Estero. I mentioned they actually live right above the Stahl brothers, their parents. So it's funny how that works out because my dad got to be friendly with his dad on the Penguins there. And then we're going Thursday to see my wife's parents on the East Coast. So we're doing about nine days down here, and it's beautiful. Obviously, the first day of vacation was yesterday. We flew in on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, first full day.

It must have rained two and a half inches here. It was unbelievable. So went to Topgolf, killed a couple hours with the kids, but now it's beautiful, and the next nine-day forecast just looks about 75 to 80 and sunny, so it's awesome. Oh, yeah, baby. Oh, yeah. Actually, I was talking to Trevor Daly. He lives down here.

Jonathan Bernier lives down here. I might bring Ryder over to skate. I guess Dales has two boys, an 08 and an 09, both real good players. He's like, yeah, we skate Tuesday and Wednesdays. You can bring them over if you want, so might do that just to kill a little time in the morning and uh it's nice to be down here though man you know you know biz i but i could get a place down here i could see myself

down here i i love split a condo wit when i come into town i could stay with you and the kids and the family yeah i'm sure i'm sure you guys with that we'd be we'd have like a uh we'd have to be like spraying down the whole apartment after you were here for a week alone i'll buy myself a plastic on the furniture down and on your heart foul yeah i love how the hockey quirk of like saying like the birthday nobody says the ages in the hockey's the only sport that does that like you just said it's hilarious I was saying that to somebody recently. I forget. I was like, is your son a 15 or a 16?

And it was like a buddy's wife. She's like, what? She's like, what do you mean? I'm like, oh, it's just like that's how hockey players do it. They just go by the birth years. It's very funny how that works out. Yeah. I think the only sport that does it.

G, Mike Grinelli, busy week for you. Great job last week. How are we doing, my friend? I'm doing great. Business is in my office right now, so I'm a little out of touch right now. But awesome. We can't thank everyone at TNT in the NHL enough

for allowing us to do that. Chicklets cast, the stadium's here. It's awesome having it here. And I don't want to call it my hometown, but my home field. And it's awesome. I'm actually going to North Dakota this week, too, for Chicklets U.

So very excited for that. We have a merchandise collab coming out with them i believe it's going to be available in their team store so super super excited to get to the ralph and uh it was awesome having you guys in town and being with you guys on the road for the past fucking month and a half so the the ralph is the taj mahal of of university barns right it's got like gold plated toilets and shit. You're actually not wrong at all. The floors from the Ralph are the, it's the same stone used as the floors of the Vatican.

So it's like they said. Is that legit? I heard you say that on game notes. Get the fuck out of my kitchen with that shit. That's what they told me. I got on a call with North Dakota and they're like, first things first, the floors, Vatican floors. Okay. This has Wikipedia written all over it.

I need Fish and Sean O behind the scenes here Googling that right now. And I'm going to wait for a little buzzer on my phone here as a text messages to confirm that. Fish was on the call. Fish heard him. Fish heard him say it. What's that movie that Nick Cage was in? The National Treasure? Yes.

I actually never saw that. I've always said that the Chicago Blackhawks red uniform is my favorite NHL jersey. I think before North Dakota went from... I think they're not the Fighting Sioux anymore, are they? No, they're the Fighting Eagles now. Oh, my God. Fighting Hawks, maybe? Those old Fighting Sioux jerseys. Incredible. anymore are they oh yeah no no they're fighting eagles now oh my god fighting hawks maybe those old those old fighting sioux jerseys incredible and i thought that it was always the rule that

when engelstadt gave all that money to the hockey program and built the arena i thought he put it in there that like they could never switch the name that was i guess at some point that the public pressure that they had to what do you mean what's the public pressure like the scrapping guy they didn't want it to be a public pressure is when the pressure publics you to maybe get rid of like what's considered an offense yeah so i i skipped a step there i meant like what was so offensive about it that there was a drunk guy scrapping no dude it was it was a sue it was native american indian oh yeah oh i thought that, I thought they used to have on their jersey kind of like the Fighting Irish where it was, oh, okay, so it was an Indian. No, I think you're thinking of Notre Dame. Biz thought the logo was like a logo for peer pressure of some kid holding a roach in front of another middle schooler.

He thought Roach was a derivative. No, no, no, no, no. No, I'm saying that because I used to go fuck you i used to go to notre dame fighting irish so did they have to change the fighting irish okay so i got a mix up the the irish people they they can just be sewer there can be drunk fighting irishmen everywhere but fighting sue i don't think at my high school anymore i think in my high school they got pressured to change it and then maybe that that's why. The fighting Irish? Yeah. They didn't want the association to a drunk Irish guy scrapping.

That's how sensitive I thought I got. We decide that as Irish people. Irish, Italians, and Polish. I agree. Somebody on Twitter, please draw me up a logo for the North Dakota public pressure. Keep in mind, I might have been smoking dope and completely imagined all of this. This could be one of those things where i never even have the sue logo in in the back of every seat i think he made sure that that would stay okay so they told me when we're doing the tour they're like the sue logo is still plastered

everywhere there's like there's no like that's that's kind of how the floor conversation got brought up because they're like yeah we can't change the floors like it's there's a big sue logo there like they're not changeable floors it can't change the floors. There's a big Sioux logo there. They're not changeable floors. It would cost too much. But there's actually a really good documentary on Amazon Prime about them changing the name from the Sioux to the Fighting Hawks.

They got a doc over. It's ridiculous. There's a doc about everything now. Yeah, remember with the title? Pretty much, yeah. I mean, they slap up on Netflix. They usually, like, produce by the person it's about,

so they keep all the dirty shit out of it half the time. But, Biz, remember, like, I don't know, maybe 30 years ago, they started, like, there was a drumbeat, no pun intended, to get rid of, like,

Native American names. You know, it was mostly, like, white liberals complaining, it seemed like, all the time. Because I was at North Adams, and we were the Mohawks. They started trying to change the name, and, like, I was the editor of the school paper, and that's when I realized how much fucking power you could have, like all the time. Because I was at North Adams and we were the Mohawks. They started trying to change the name. I was the editor of the school paper.

That's when I realized how much fucking power you could have with that. We just completely shut it down. Then 10 years later, they changed it to the fucking Trailblazers, some stupid name. Yeah. I don't think I'm qualified enough to talk about all this. But we got to go back to TNT, boys. It feels like i can't believe

that we we i thought that was a month ago like you said it was when i saw the outline we had to go over tnt what we haven't done a show since then oh my god well we got in there tuesday though busy i gotta shout you out before we shout out everyone at tnt and you know biz loves giving out the thank yous and they're well deserved on Biz, you kind of put this in their ear originally about possibly doing this, and I think the Manning cast was a big jump off for a different way to broadcast games. And the best thing that I saw was somebody mentioned on Twitter, like if you were a fully invested fan of either Pittsburgh or Florida, maybe you'd want to watch the game with the announcers.

But if you're just looking to watch a hockey game and just, you know, you just kind of have it on the outside and you're doing other things, I thought it was a great idea. Obviously, we're biased. We got to do it. But it ended up being way better than I even thought. And I think it really helped that the Penguins were one of the teams because we had a bunch of different stories of our days back in Pittsburgh.

Yeah, it was like paying homage to our roots. And especially as a podcast. Like, you know, now that Army and Merle's are on board, that's where we all met, right? So we share a lot of the same experiences and stories coming up through our careers. And, I mean, all four of us touched the American Hockey League where most of the nonsense takes place. And it was just a perfect broadcast to be able to start this out on and and uh at least have

something to fall back on from like a guest perspective and it just all worked out incredibly and uh i'm so grateful that we got that it got to happen now i don't even know if it was necessarily my idea i want to say craig berry at at tnt came to me with it where he called me in a couple months ago and he put it in my ear and I was like yeah I'm like we we used to do these more especially during the pandemic but we love hopping on the live streams or whatever what is it StreamYard or whatever app we're using that's updated at that time and you know having these special guests come on board so it was a perfect collaboration and as you guys know and you guys will be able to speak to it now. And you always joke about all the thank yous I snap around, but they make your life pretty easy. You go in there and a fuck, they're wiping your ass the entire time. There's 14 runners ready to get you a Morton steak. It'sos and RA, you were the star of the promos, buddy.

You fucking leaned right into it. Like you crawling with the rose in your mouth and really getting that, that Valentine's day spirit going. So you, I'll let, I'll hand it over to you guys. Like, what was your experience working there? And with all those professional and amazing people. It was just fun, man. I mean, I'm like you biz. I'm a ham and egg.

I love cameras. I love doing goofy shit like that. And just the idea that we were on fucking TV, on true TV and streaming on max, like watching a hockey game. It's kind of surreal to see even a week later. But I had a fucking ball, man. I thought it was outstanding.

I think, well, I'm sure it's probably not going to be the only time we do it. But one thing I did like when Hank come on, and obviously I'm probably not the best dressed guy on the show here. And they asked me about wardrobe. And and, and, you know, obviously I'm probably not the best dressed guy on the show here. And, uh, they asked him about what wardrobe,

but he's like, you know what? Ari owns it. Like when he wears it, what he wears, he owns it. I love it. Shit.

Hank, Hank got my back from my shitty wardrobe, but it was great. And just to go back to your point of how it originated, I think it was Bill Galvin actually, uh, because when I met him the first time, a couple of years ago,

he kind of hit that. I go, maybe we'll see what happens. Maybe we'll have you on one day. So what I kind of, I was like, Oh, I wonder what he meant by that. And then, you know, a couple of ago. He kind of hinted, like, oh, maybe we'll see what happens. Maybe we'll have you on one day. I was like, oh, I wonder what he meant by that. And then a couple years later, it came to fruition. So hats off to Bill, man. He's the man.

So Billy G and OC, these are two guys who helped produce the TNT broadcast. Yes, they probably went to Craig Berry, and there was probably a meeting at some point about them wanting to do this. And, like, G, you could speak more to it. Like Billy G was kind of the producer and quarterback of all of it. He helped set up the interviews, you know, when we would go to commercial breaks. So he did a tremendous job. And gee, you got to work in the producer chair and kind of see how they operated.

But we also throwed our own barstool slash spit and trickle twist where we had the chat going the whole time. Like we had the fun guests as we normally do. Like you were bringing up like some of the tweets from, from our whack pack outside of just saying, yeah, it was awesome, man. I thought it was, it was so cool. And the fact that they trusted us, like for, for someone who, I mean, I haven't sat in a control room in 10 years.

And the last time I was in a control room, I was scrolling the teleprompter at channel seven. So for me to be able to sit in a producer chair and for them to trust me when I say things like, hey, go to this now. And Bill's like, all right, we're going. Like they didn't even think twice about anything I said. So like when like right off the bat, we had the Singsy tweet and I'm like, we got to get the Singsy tweet up.

And they're like, who the fuck is Singsy? I'm like, I'm telling you, Singsy will play. Singsy will definitely play. They get it up and it played. So the trust that they put in us to do this, I thought was just unbelievable. And yeah, it was just an awesome time. And just to go to what you were saying quickly,

it's like bringing up SingZ just kind of makes us feel a little bit more comfortable because he's someone from our world, right? So we're trying to connect the two and TNT really allowed us to be our, our authentic selves, but also like, we're not like making helicopter cock jokes and stuff. Like we're fine. We're really fine in that line as tempted as I was to make a helicopter cock joke with like, but like we were able to be ourselves and, and, and tell all the stories we normally would on this podcast yeah and the nerves

weren't too bad i think because we were just sitting there talking like we do on this pod i wasn't really nervous beforehand granted like there's there's so many people that work at those big time studios probably a little bit like unnecessary i'll say at least it comes off that way because there's so many people everyone always obviously has a job to do but you're sitting there and you're looking we We probably had like 15 people just like looking at us on the broadcast, but it was great because we had this huge screen to watch the game, and then we interviewed

Kachuk beforehand, and you could talk about Matthews, Kucherov, Hellebuck, McDavid. Kachuk might be the best player in the league right now. He leads the league in scoring since January 1st, so all of a sudden, boom, he comes on. Obviously, he gets a few points. That's standard. We have his dad on.

We have Brady on. We had the whole Kachuk family join. Having Tauket at the end was great. My three favorite parts of the night. I don't know how to put these in order. I'll start with one. Biz was basically kind of hosting this. He's the TV guy.

He was used to it. Watching Biz try to get to commercial in time time it was an absolute disaster at some moments but hilarious because he's like people are talking finally i'm like how the fuck does liam mccue do this every time while he's got my babbling idiot breath in his face like oh my god like shut the hell up and you were like i was like tapping your leg basically like being like i gotta set this thing to break. Well, at one point, it went to commercial mid-interview between like Lundquist and Talk It. And I think like all of a sudden, like Lundquist is still asking a question.

There's like a Geico commercial on the huge screen. I'm like, I think we're off air right now, bud. And then that was obviously a battle for you. But you did a good job. You did a good job. My second favorite. My second favorite. Getting the makeup done so for the day before we did the little show in terms of um the pre-show right where aria's crawling around

we had the whole walk and they did an awesome job we came in we bodied jazzy jeff and then we kind of did our thing we put the tuxes on but we didn't have makeup i'm like ah this is kind of tough no makeup right but all of a sudden the next day we get the makeup on i'm getting the makeup on like this is nice this is really gonna help me you know what she said to me hey i got a little spray to cover up a couple of the bald spots i'm like yes she like sprayed something on my hair that was jamming color of my hair i was like this is unbelievable i look like i got a full head of hair right now thank you so much and then the third we finish up and everyone's flying high, right? It was a success.

Really good feedback. People seem to really enjoy it. We had fun doing it. And so we were going to meet like a bunch of people from TNT and just have a drink at this local pub right near our hotel. Me, Merle, and R.A. pull up to this pub. All of a sudden, R.A., oh, I love this place. I left my wallet here last time I was there. Holy shit. And I don't know what happened. Didn wallet here last time I was there. Holy shit.

And I don't know what happened. Didn't lose my room key, though. That is so good. I don't know how I get home some nights. Yeah, we know. Whit here, and I'm here. You know it to talk about Pink Whitney. As I mentioned, I'm down in Florida, and first thing I see when I went to a local establishment here was a couple of people ordering Pink Whitney shots.

It felt great. And did I mention that I was the inventor of the drink? No, no, no, no. I did not do that. I just let them enjoy their drink. I saw actually one guy took it and said, oh, I love this. I was so happy. I was so happy to see.

And I hope all of you out there are enjoying Pink Whitney, whether it's mixing it up with some soda water, doing it as a shot, or buying the big old monster bottle, 1.75. So as I'm in the warm weather, it's a little easier to imagine being out on a boat or being on the beach or being at the pool and enjoying your nice Pink Whitney chilled on the rocks

like I like it. But up north where it's still cold out, we're still dealing with winter, warm on up with a little Pink Whitney, New Amsterdam's own. Without New Amsterdam, we're nothing. That is who created this. And I cannot thank them enough. But we want to shout out New Amsterdam, the pink lemonade-flavored vodka

that's number one in your heart. And keep on buying it. And go to the local bar in your town and order up a shot for me. I appreciate it. And I love you all. Yeah, all in all, it was a huge, huge week. And once again, just thank you to everybody at TNT. I hope that we're able to do this again.

And you kind of said it like Hank coming on. He kind of got jammed up. I would have liked to had more Hank. And that was so cool that he had your back. Maybe you and him kind of start like a fashion line already. Maybe he starts dressing like you. He just switches it up completely. Goes to all the baggy suits, baggy clothes.

And maybe the Blackhawks changed their nickname to public pressure. To a fighting Irish guy on the front of the jersey. But he's Italian. All right, we got to talk about the basketball shot. I thought that was, we talked about TNT putting trust in us. I remember in the production meeting when we said, we got to let R.A. shoot hoops at one point. They're like, what?

And I'm like, every time there's a video of R.A. shooting hoops, it goes viral. And this time, you nail it in a Kevin McHale jersey. Dude, that felt so fucking great, because we were inside the NBA studios. They did it over for us. And Charles Barkley said when we interviewed him, the toughest competitor he played against was Kevin McHale. Obviously, I'm a Boston guy, so I brought my old school Mitchell and Ness jersey, put it on. I know I airballed the first couple.

I think it was the fifth shot, though, right when I let it go in. I said, it's on. And I hit that. I was like, thank God. I'm a national TV man. I fucking didn't go't go over 10 so that was pretty fucking sweet i ain't gonna lie g and you beat you beat the penguins power play which has been fucking dog shit they're still losing they're not gonna make playoffs not only lost them that game i mean well it didn't lose them that game but it was a big part of it. And then Jager night, they gave up a shorty to lose the game.

That's fucking pathetic. I mean, some amazing moments from that game, though. I mean, the whole week, Crosby going on during warm-ups with the mullet. Would you have ever thought in a million years? That was so sick. I mean, everyone wearing it and him getting to practice before. Do we want to talk about that right now, maybe? Yeah.

We're already into it. Yeah. So we mentioned last episode or maybe two episodes ago that they were doing it. It was Sunday night and it was going to be a big deal. And I kind of talked about that Rob Rossi article in which there were old memories of Jagr as a penguin. And then to see him go back and like see the love for him. And obviously there's been a ton of jersey retirements and cool ceremonies and all these different types of things for these legendary players on all these different teams.

But I don't know, man. The practice the day before, doing warm-ups, everything that went involved to it. It's Breer. The guy Breer is retired by the Penguins. He passed away. And then Lemieux and Jager. And so it's like it's so memorable and meaningful for that organization. They don't have a lot of numbers up there. Like the Celtics, I think the Boston Celtics have 25 numbers retired. And you understand it in certain teams and the success they have. But Pittsburgh's had this legendary run since 1990. And it's like he's the second guy, like the second superstar,

to go up there along with Mario. And I think that all the fans getting to see him and go back. And he just, after we interviewed him, I didn't know a ton about him. He seems like such a great guy. We got to experience him quick. Granted, it was over Zoom, but I don't know, like even him up in the booth, he was doing some color with Phil Bork and it was just a great night. I mean, unfortunately they couldn't get the win for him, but that was so, that had been coming for so long to finally see it go down the way it did and have that weekend be such a success, it was just awesome. Penguins fans were fired up.

They were lined out the door for it. Just such a legendary player. I think I sent you guys the tweet I saw from 93 to 2001. Or 92 to 2000. He was Connor McDavid. Same numbers. You kind of forget, I guess. He was Connor McDavid. Same numbers. You kind of forget, I guess. He's 51 years old.

You forget that was the most dominant force, maybe one of the most dominant forces the league's ever seen. Oh, absolutely, dude. I mean, do you have some of those numbers already? Can you read them off? Yeah, I got them right here. It's pretty insane. You're not exaggerating either.

Now, while you look that up, did you see the speech part when he says, my girlfriend's probably too young to remember, and it pans over. She's probably like 23 years old, just an absolute missile. The fact that he like called himself out. Can we roll the clip? I want to say thanks to Dominica, my girlfriend. She's too young to remember. I played in Pittsburgh.

But I told her all the stories, so don't worry about it. Like, come on, man. That's fucking top tier. And at the end, but don't worry about it like come on man that's fucking top tier and at the end oh my god like unbelievable i mean i hate to like i don't i don't know if it's appropriate to bring it up wasn't it a couple years ago there was a video that went viral where a young girl was like i'm gonna post that we slept together and he's like i don't give a shit yeah yeah go ahead like go ahead make it your profile picture i don't give a shit yeah he was in bed asleep there i'll get you an uber but that's the only money you're getting and he dropped the uh an f-bomb too with Did you catch that? When he was on TV, he let a fucking F-bomb slip.

I don't know if you thought that as well. Here's a signed puck in one of my NFTs. Actually, I got a stamp out too here. It's a collect. Beat it. They got to get that guy in the Hall of Fame. He's not in the Hall of Fame. History of the league, man.

No, because he still plays professional hockey, and you got to be away from pro hockey for three years. He's still playing technically pro hockey over at Gladstone. So he's kind of the European Howe, and he's also, he's like, it's like Gino to Sid, to Mario, right? He was the right-hand guy. It would be like if Dreisaitl and McDavid go on.

Why did it take so long for Pittsburgh to do it? I don't know, man. People were kind of talking about that and wondering. I don't want to say there was bad blood. I think he necessarily didn't want it. It seemed like he was distancing himself a little bit. And I said last week how he kind of

made it sound like he thought people didn't like him there. And he always got booed. he made it sound like he thought people didn't like him there. And he always got booed. I mean, it wasn't because they didn't like him. It was just because he was so good. He was dominating them. I mean, I remember coming into the league when he was on the Rangers. Oh, my God.

I think the one year he had 120 points. It might have been my rookie season. You couldn't get the puck from him. 6-3, about 230, 240. Sick hands. use his ass to protect the puck it was just so dominating and I think that there was like a lot of time where he was just kind of

he was turned off by Pittsburgh maybe personally and in the end time heals all wounds and finally he kind of came to the realization like people love me there I gotta be up in the rafters I love it I don't know if it was bad blood but there was maybe some animosity there the way he left.

He wanted to stay. And he went to leave for Washington first and put the money there. Then he was in Philly. Oh, he got the bag and washed, didn't he? Yeah. Wasn't he making like $10 million a year back then? Maybe more? He was definitely.

I think he was the highest paid player for a couple of seasons there. But it's good they patched things up because life's too too short to not have fucking Jeremy Yag's number retired. It took way too long. Dude, I read a tweet when he was 41 or 42. He finished 7th place in MVP voting when he was on the Panthers. This guy was just insane. He did it for so long. And right now he's playing to keep that team alive.

Like he told us, like Kladno was in financial disarray. And now he's playing to keep that team alive like he told us like cladno was in you know financial disarray and so he's playing to help the organization it's just like get him in the hall of fame because his hall of fame speech isn't is going to be amazing and even he's got he's got four rockets in front row but he was with the bruins that year with what 2013 i mean he was still pretty fucking productive player i don't think he got a goal, but he was, I mean. He got one. It went off his ass, I remember. Shocker, right?

I got those numbers right here. Jagger from 93 to 2001. McDavid from 16 to 24. Each had five scoring titles. MVP finalist five times. In 570 games, Jagger had 346 goals, 859 points. McDavid had 308 goals, 873 points. Wow.

Basically, a three-point difference on an 82-game pace. And I guess if you adjusted them for the era, 607 games. Basically, 952 points for Yaga, 941 for McDavid. It is. It's stunning how close those numbers are. McDavid, Yaga might not be the first thing you think of, I guess, when you're comparing players from different generations, but fucking...

No, just to show how dominant he was. And the amount of punishment he would take. Buddy, he was playing in that day, man. You could hook and hold and slash. Oh, my God. Yeah, slash, go around a defenseman. Here comes the tomahawk from Darian Hatcher. Oh, that didn't do enough.

Here comes a jaw right into the end wall. Yeah. Or an elbow to the jaw. Excuse me. How about I saw a picture of Lemieux, Jager, Crosby, and Malkin and 15 scoring titles between them. So it's just pretty sick to think of the Penguins having four of the greatest players we've ever seen.

Like the two of them were together for different amazing runs. So it's just been a great story, and it was kind of the perfect cap to his career as a Penguin. And I think Jager's the one who said, when you think of me, when people think of me, they think of the Penguins, right? Yeah, absolutely. I'm glad we kind of got sidetracked there

because we skipped over the whole weekend part, but you mentioned some of his best years. Did he win the MVP when he had that monster year with the rangers was he like the heart winner and all that i believe so i believe he did let me check and then uh adjusted for inflation i wonder what those guys were making like at the at the like in the late 90s some guys making 10 10 and a half million what would that be considered to today's day like if it's late 90s, it's like those guys are making way more than they are now. Yeah, I'd say probably 20 million if you were to adjust for an inflation ball. That's what I'd guess.

Wow, Thornton got MVP that season. Yager had 54 goals, 123 points in 05-06, and Thornton got MVP. That was the year he was traded. He won the heart in 99 is the year Yager won it. So I guess we can start with our Hoboken, New York trip. And I mean, we got in on Thursday. The coolest thing, one of the coolest things of the weekend that was non-hockey related,

at least to the MetLife experience, was R.A.'s movie. I went to the movie screening for the late game. What a time that was. So Jeff Zucker, the guy who we originally got partnered with, with the Colorado Springs ECHL team, he did a side project, and it was this movie that he did with a bunch of his buddies, R.A., right? Yeah. They all got together, wrote a script very creatively.

I don't know. What, did they go somewhere and take mushrooms and write it? Was that what happened originally? I didn't hear that version of the story, but it certainly wouldn't shock me if that's how it came out. But yeah, since they were little kids, him and his buddy Jeff, they basically talked about this for years.

And Zucker self-financed that there were only like two, quote unquote, professional actors in the movie. He got a bunch of his friends who played Bay League games, and you could kind of get that essence from it because i've talked about it enough what did you think about the movie and what was that your whole your whole overall sense of everything well i was i thought it was cool that he did it with all his buddies they did it 15 day span where they were going long hours already so this was like a mom and pop project that got executed perfectly um i thought, the message was awesome and it was about originally the, the main actor at the start of the movie, you could tell he's going through a breakup.

They go over that pretty vaguely and quick where he bumps into an old buddy that they played, uh, um, men's league one night together. And, you know, you could tell the guy's in a bit of a rut because of the breakup and the guy kind of entices them, Hey, come out to men's league tonight. So, you know, after giving it thought thought and the guy's kind of very persistent about it he ends up coming out to the men's league game and it's just a very fun dynamic about how the other team where there were a bunch of heroes where they had all the good players where they had the guy who took it way too seriously uh you know uh zach bell was in it as that team sniper who was just like filthy with the hands but was kind of like giving it back to the guy who was taking it too seriously.

And then all of RA's team, or sorry, all of Jeff Zucker's team, they were just a bunch of plugs who were doing it for fun and the stories. They had a couple potheads on the team and it just did a good job of describing the whole full dynamic of men's league and what it's about and how it kind of got this guy out of this rut in his life. And R.A. was the, he was like the grumpy Zamboni driver. And he did a tremendous job. R.A., I thought you crushed it. I thought in terms of acting, you had far more lines than I expected. You were definitely much more of a main character than I expected. But your acting, your acting was incredible. I was so happy for you. So, bravo character than I expected, but your acting was incredible.

I was so happy for you. So, bravo, R.A. I thought it was tremendous. Boys, honestly, I mean, I know we had a busy schedule, a lot going on. It meant the world to me that you guys, Merle's and Meme's came to it because I know we had a lot going on and people are tired and hungover, so I want to thank you guys for coming. It did mean a ton and

the fact you guys enjoyed it and had nice things to say made it even better, so thank you guys. It really did mean a lot to me fact he's enjoyed it and had nice things to say made it even better so thank you guys it really did mean a lot to me buddy we we always want to support a teammate we love the arts too so so doing stuff like that you branching out is huge buddy i hope you keep doing it i mean it's like this shorezy you know you're just going to get keep offering or getting offered excuse me more roles um and i thought it was smart that they did they obviously did this because of the met life experience, knowing that people would be in town. So they rented a local theater for a showing on, on, uh, it was Friday at three 30 and

nine 30 was a showings on Saturday as well. I know, but they did went in between three 30 and nine 30 for a bunch of NHL guys in the NHL office. They came over to want to see it as well. So yeah, it's, it's definitely going to be a word of mouth thing. I don't know what most likely going to hit amazon by the end of the month i think they just still uh crossing t's and dot nines but it should be available for rent by the end of the month and yeah i hope everybody gives it a whirl it's a fun little movie there's never been a

beer league movie before and you know you can fucking see me be fucking angry and pissed off like real method acting i had going there i love it it was a it was a good kickoff to the weekend and then later that night we we had the Pink Whitney appearance. That was awesome. And that was at what? Texas, Arizona? Yeah, Texas, Arizona, right in downtown Hoboken, right by the path. Awesome, awesome spot.

How about Pasha on the mic? Yeah, that was classless. What the hell are you doing, Pasha? He's getting real comfortable. I think at this point boys it's time for a sussy i don't know if he's on right now but i think a four pod sussy sounds about appropriate the way he's been handling himself lately especially with the fact that on hockey night in canada after hours with scott oak they brought up a clip of of pasha

and or excuse me it was a of Brock Besser defending, having defend his fucking teammate on the podcast about being a power play merchant. Why don't we roll it? Your teammates are often asked, what's JT Miller really like? And the answer seems to be consistently that, look, he's a good teammate and all he wants to do is win. So Brock Besser was on a recent episode of Spit and Chicklets and he was, as per usual, asked about you. I think the question came from Pasha and a comment, he's a part of the

Spitting Chicklets crew, the comment that he made was that you had succeeded because you were a power play merchant. This was Brock Besser's response. Yeah, I wouldn't say that's true. I think the reason I score 5 on five is because of Millsy. I personally think Millsy is one of the best guys down low with the puck. Hard to get from him. He's so good, yeah. So, did Brock Besser nail it?

Oh, he killed it. Perfect. Looked like I'm paying him to say that. Brock and I are really good buddies. I think our relationship has come so far since our first year here. Like I said, other guy that I feel like we can talk about anything together. Played a lot of hockey games as line mates. We're still pushing each other. I think we're getting to that point where we're really hungry

and trying to feed off each other and stuff like that. So I don't know what you think. You know how disgusted he must have been? He must want to murder Pasha. And I really hope he does. And obviously, JT Miller has just proven Pasha wrong time and time again. He's got two goals today, by the way. He's got two goals today.

They're winning five. Oh, sorry. He just got the hat trick. No. Come on. You're starting a jam. No way that just fucking happened. You're fucking with us. He's got a hat trick. He just got a hat trick. They're starting a jam. No way that just fucking happened. You're fucking with us.

He's got a hat trick. He just got a hat trick. They're up five to two right now. Pasha is such a loser. But I mean, but you know what I'm saying? Like Miller's like on after hours is big deal.

And he's like, I'm answering questions about this motherfucker Pasha. Like get, oh my God. You idiot has got a hat trick today. This is turning out to be the worst take of all time.

Oh no. Pasha, say your piece because it's going to be a four pod sussy. We won't even, anytime we say your name, it's going to get bleeped off the pod. Nobody will know you exist other than the sandbagger we have coming out. What do you have to say to yourself? Listen, I have a message to the city of Vancouver and the fans of the Canucks. I know I made some controversial takes earlier this year,

and after lots of reflection and watching the level that JT Miller has been performing at all year, you know, I really feel like this needs to be said to the city of Vancouver. You are welcome. You are welcome. If it wasn't for me lighting a fire under his ass with those comments, he would still be the

mediocre 5-on-5, bad defensively, powerfully emergent bum that he's been for years. So just like Biz galvanized the Rangers with his chirps, I lit a fire under Miller's ass, and you're welcome, City of Anchor, you're welcome. And I would even go so far as to say, if the Canucks go on a run and win a cup,

I think I deserve a ring. We need a mute button, Biz. We need a goddamn mute button. Did you take acid with your fucking weed this morning? I will say that is something that I would say. I feel like I've been hanging out with him too much and it is rubbing off on him. I will take partial responsibility for this.

But as of right now, I have the gavel in my hands. Four pods, Susty. Posh, Ashki, you're gone. That's it. Four pods. we will not say his name other than i guess if we're going to talk about the sandbagger we have a special one coming out soon sean avery and we're going to be talking about the devil so oh my god now sean avery's name's coming up him and kevin connelly put on an absolute show we end up going into should we say don't say anything.

Okay, bleep it out, bleep it out. We have an awesome sandbagger coming up soon. And also, let's talk about the vlog right now before we get into the MetLife experience. We have an amazing, amazing vlog hitting the YouTube channel on Wednesday of the entire All-Star experience. This is the most star-studded vlog I've ever seen. Shout out to Seanuna puso pasha

there there's no no i'll bleep it bleep it and elliot fish who did all the editing i believe incredible job incredible vlog we got wayne gretzky in it uh sam reinhardt sebastian asha aho uh will arnett uh memesy who's now the fucking star of the show. Do you have any other names you want to throw in there, R.A.? I think without a doubt, the funniest part of this vlog is Terry Ryan Sr. showing up out of nowhere. No one knew this guy was coming. He just arrives in the green room after the show. But there's actually a lot of cool elements to this vlog

where we're showing behind the scenes of the live show and leading up all day to the show and us thinking of the ideas of this show. And it's, it's probably our best episode of chicklets TV yet. And it's coming out 6. P.M. Wednesday.

And you can find that on all video platforms. Oh yeah. Your boy buoy was in it quite a bit too busy. Actually. We're not done sewer and Pasha. So when Connor, but that broke his job, me and me and Pasha have a steak dinner wager on how many goals

Bedard's going to have. 31 and a half. So when he broke his jaw in January, he sent me a fucking text with his Venmo. He's like, in case you want to tidy up your bookkeeping early, in January for a guy with a broken jaw, I was like, are you fucking stoned? He's got fucking, what do you got? 16 goals. He's got 27 games

left to fucking score 16 more to hit this thing. But like, who tries to cash out a fucking season long bet in January? I think we got to go six fucking episodes on now. Wow. All right. You don't normally come over the top on guys. He's usually getting sussied. Six,

six episodes. I mean, come on, fucking if you want to tidy up, come on, that's fucking chintzy as hell. Like the fucking kid might still fucking hit the 32 goals, plus it's only January. But anyways, enough of the posh shit.

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and expires 168 hours after issuance. See dkng.com slash promos for deposit, wagering, and eligibility restrictions, terms, and responsible gaming resources. Stadium series, Biz. Great time. I think everybody who won had a blast. I know people will complain about the outdoor games for whatever reason. And like you said, it's for the people there. But I think everyone really enjoyed it. I mean, Bettman was on Good Morning America today for five, ten minutes with Strahan talking about it. It seemed like the NHL

really actually owned the weekend quite a bit for once. So hopefully they can make this an annual tradition like Johnny Lazarus, right? Gee, he said make it like a beatbox. This sparked a whole debate online, right? I think Johnny Lazarus was the first one to kind of tweet this out saying, should this be an

every year thing? From experiencing it myself, i think that hockey needs more festival type days especially on the weekends like it's basically a full day you bring your kids early you get to get go through all these different experiences maybe in different lots like some lots are more for like partying and drinking and tailgating others like i went and did something for discover where you got to take photos with fans they have the big air hockey table out. They have a,

a shooting thing. This was incredible. They even did a Jonas brothers concert two hours before the show, a full concert, not just a few songs, full concert. Awesome. Hey,

I'm, I don't typically crank the Jonas brothers, but I thought every tune, like I was like, Oh, I know this song. I know the song. They rocked the place.

You got to get into the arena at six o'clock. They did that all the way up to game time at eight o'clock. Holy fuck, the amount of Devils fans that were there. And from the fandom experience, both games looked basically sold out. It was awesome. The energy was incredible. Rangers and Devils fans took over though. It was kind of expected for, because Philly was out of territory,

disappointed at the amount of Isles fans, but the games, the show they put on and everything leading up was fucking 10 out of 10. I think that this should be an every year thing. And G, you brought up a good point where we were talking earlier this afternoon. You seem to think that there should be an outdoor experience

for the NHL All-Star Game even? I think move the All-Star Game outdoors. I think, you know, it's all about the fans, right? We talk about all the time about how these outdoor events, the All-Star Game, all these NHL marquee events, it's about the fans in person. So why not put it outdoors? I even said go to Quebec City, bring it up to Quebec City. That would be an awesome awesome time have a winter festival out there and just do make it this big

party i think you could be awesome but it turns into the numbers game where the owners want the gate that's like why they want those all-star games is because they get all the money from it yeah but but you get a bigger gate at an outdoor stadium more people how that would work that's a cool idea i i in terms of like every year doing it, I mean, you could do like those four teams you just did. And then another year you could do Boston, Montreal, Toronto, and like say Buffalo. Another year you could do Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary. Another year you could do Dallas, Minnie, like Nashville, Colorado.

Like you could kind of do like four division rivals. Obviously I mentioned teams in different divisions there, but it would be pretty sick idea to every year, maybe switch it to like four teams. And then every four or five years they play. And it's like one of those things. Cause that, that weekend was awesome. And, and in terms of the actual games, that's what I liked. They were at, even though it was six three the first night it was closer game than that it felt like yeah yeah i know it was good good action for sure now uh it made sense though because of the amount of population that you could sell out of building that big back-to-back games um i i would definitely like to see them like you said come back every three four years now you say for the like a four team meetup would you do it in like calgary and then have the battle

of alberta and like what other two teams would you have come meet it well it could be like van and winnipeg like in terms of western canada you know what i mean and like actually quickly about this week they they obviously announced like 150 000 for both games was it sold out was it just one of those announced sellouts or was it completely packed? I don't know. Saturday looked fucking Sunday was Sunday was 100% sold out. I'd say on Saturday, they did this thing behind the net where they had pyrotex. It was like a full section of just like fire just coming out. I don't think I don't think they'd waste a full section. I don't know if they sold all the tickets there, but Sunday completely sold out.

Nice. Yeah. They didn't have that backstop where the Jonas Brothers were on Sunday? No. No, the viral text weren't there. Oh, shit. I didn't even... Oh, jeez.

I didn't even notice that. A bunch of sections were blocked off, and they sort of put the top on over it. But, yeah, 70,328 the first game, 79,690 the second game. So like you said, with over 150,000 hockey fans. So great weekend. Go ahead, Biz. I don't know what the viewership was,

but doing these types of things after football's done, I know this might sound contradictory to my start doing all games on Sundays and go head-to-head. Much like or unlike Pasha, I might be willing to take the L on this one. But doing it after that and as far as winter classics and scrims, like could you bump that back even a little bit farther?

Maybe do more that are done after. I think that's all about New Year's Day, right? I mean, I don't know. Okay. Wait, do you think college football is like stagnant popularity wise or a dip in or going up? Because I mean, I don't know. It feels like there's just too many games now. I feel like college football is stagnant popularity-wise or a dip in or going up? I feel like college football is going up, but then all I do is read people bitching about the transfer portal. I think there's a lot of aspects of college football that piss people off.

I don't know. The entertainment factor might be better for college football than the NFL. It just seems like so many NFL games end up being kind of shitty where college football, obviously there's the ball, it's where the top dogs play the little guys. But I don't know. That's a great question. I do love the fact, though.

I love that next year we'll be going to Columbus for Detroit and Columbus at Ohio State Stadium. What's that place called? I think it's Ohio Stadium. Yeah, the horseshoe,? The Horseshoe? Ohio Stadium. Yeah, the Horseshoe, though. Everyone knows it is the Horseshoe. That will be unreal. That's the perfect area.

You know, the rivalry of Michigan and Ohio, that's going to be great. That was an awesome announcement to see. So I love it. You know, like, people kind of bitch about the outdoor games. You said it already, but I don't know, man. It's 82 games. It's a little different. Something else to watch. Looks a little different on TV. Great for the outdoor games. You said it already, but I don't know, man. It's just 82 games. It's a little different. Something else to

watch. Looks a little different on TV. Great for the fans there. I don't see what the complaints are about it. Okay, so you're watching Devil's Flyers at the Flyers Arena or Devil's Arena instead. Why wouldn't you want to watch it the way we did? It's an event, and if you're there, it's fucking awesome.

And speaking of the Devils, boys, idiot boy Pasha told me that over the All-Star break, I guess Lindy Ruff, he changed their defensive structure a little bit, like try to help out the goaltending and try to figure out a way to get this team somehow in the playoff race. Well, they're in the race,

but back on track in terms of last year, the way they played. Buddy, they look pretty good. They're giving up less chances and giving up way less goals too. I know Dawes is playing awesome. They kind of obviously found him and he's going right now, but

all these Devils fans who hate Lindy Ruff, it seems like he did a legit thing, a nice little move changing the structure and getting them to be better defensively because they look like a different team. We got to talk about the fucking Sopranos uniforms. I know it's the off-ice. They definitely won the game and they won the off-ice. They look so

they did look like a bunch of dudes from the North End with them. We got to come over the bridge and jack me up for not paying my tab or something. They look unbelievable with those get-ups on. Yeah, and Bastion, he like he hasn't scored much and he still had the, I think he said after, I already prepared if I scored the

is it Tommy DeVito? Yeah. That was perfect. And he kind of skated by a teammate who went to hug him. But that's a good reason to do that. You know, you get the hand out of the glove, the old Italian. I don't even know what that, what does that mean? Like, I just like that.

Forget about it. Italians talk about the hands. Like, kid, what are you fucking? Public pressure. Crazy kid. Kid, I skeeved that. Yeah, right now, devil's five points back. They should get these on the shoulder patches. The fighting Italian, they get the on the shoulder patches.

Plus, they fucking did jerseys. I think they were the best of the four all weekend. Oh, yeah, the Devils jerseys were fucking 10 out of 10. Sweet. Five points back on the wild card right now. They do have two games in hand. Flyers third in the Metro at 65 points. Flyers also named Sean Couturier the 20th captain in team history.

But wait, I want to go back to you. Jack Hughes, the quote was going around about goalies. Gee, why don't you run that for us? I don't know. I mean, Dawsey played really well. So when you get the saves, much easier to win. So great game out of him. Was he getting too much heat for this?

Was he really chirping his goalies or just answering a question? Okay, so the way you guys told me this at dinner on Wednesday night before the Chicklets cast or whatever it was, Tuesday night, and it was worded different to me because right away, I was like,

what? He said that? And then once I watched the clip, it was definitely different than how it was described to me. Still, there is some sort of sense of like,

yeah, like, you know, when we get saves, we can win. It's a very obvious fact, and I'm sure there's been a ton of frustration within the Devils this year. Like, it does like, you know, when we get saves, we can win. It's a very obvious fact. And I'm sure there's been a ton of frustration within the Devils this year. Like it does suck, man, when you're playing what you think is pretty decent hockey. And then it seems like every time you

need a save, you can't get one. It's been their whole season. I think it's been openly publicly discussed that the Devils have zero goaltending and it switched a little bit with Dawes lately. But I said right away, like, I just don't think you'd ever hear like Crosby or Taves when he was playing and McKinnon, like kind of throwing a goalie under the bus that way. I don't think he did. Once you heard it, it was a lot more innocent than whoever told me made it sound. But it definitely was a little noticeable. Now, here's the thing. It's the truth.

He said a flat-out fact. Like, yeah, when we get saves, we're going to win some games. So I kind of overreacted at dinner because what I was told sounded way different than how it actually sounded. And then after – that was right on the ice. And then after the game, I think he went into it even more in-depth and made it sound a lot more normal. Like, yeah, you know what I mean? Like, we need everyone to step it up. The goalie's got to play well.

We all got to do our job. But in terms of, like, calling out your goaltender publicly, I don't really, I can't think of an example of anyone ever doing that, Biz. I'm not saying he did, but do you know what I mean? No, yeah. Like, when we read out the quote that was just on the internet, it didn't sound great. But once we kind of realized the whole context of it it wasn't that bad and it

also might have been a little bit more amplified because uh i don't know if it was the same game where he or maybe the next one where he was barking at the guy in the box basically people it was arvidson yeah yeah people pay to watch me play where it's like well no lies detected crossbeats don't say that either yeah Yeah. They weren't coming to watch me. I know that, you know, knuckle dragging around and give the fucking linesman water bottles during the timeouts and then clean up the snow between where the, where the door is. No,

but, uh, buddy, like he's balancing it fine. Like it's, it's been a frustrating season for them. And like really as a group, they're real big first bout of adversity with

expectations being where they're at and we're going back to what you're saying like the defensive zone structure and the fact that there might be help on the way the thing that needs to happen is if this group once they get healthy and they have all their guys going if they can look down the room and look at a guy like markstrom in their net and the amount of respect that they would have for Mark. He's not just a goalie. He's a leader in the locker room. He's a man of presence where when you look at him, like he commands respect. That's what I think they need. I don't know if they're going to end up getting them, but if they get that and they can package it with Tanev, once they kind of get their mojo back and everybody healthy, that like the, we, kind of get their mojo back and everybody healthy that like the wheat the east is not that strong that to me would be a very scary matchup they they to me with with that if they make up that

marksman trade outside of florida they're my second team is that i would love the most what no wow buddy what do you mean i'm i'm proud i'm proud. No, but I'm saying from a realistic perspective with all of the pieces, with all of the pieces. I think that what the Leafs are doing right now is incredible without Morgan Rielly. I fucking love the way they're playing. Are they relying heavily on their stars? Are they getting a little – that McMahon kid, that's fun to watch.

Let's not hop into them quite yet. I was just trying to give praise to the Devils and what they can kind of pull out of their ass, given the fact up until right now, this year's been hell. Yeah, and I wonder what actually broke down that Markstrom deal. Apparently it was that close, and then at the end, boom, talks are off. So you wonder, like, was it retention money? Like, who knows, a prospector?

That's when you just love to be inside, be a fly on the wall and hear, like, oh, my God, if they were that close, like, what changed it? But what really sucks is since then, the flames are shit. And we've always talked. Markstrom, like, hates hearing this stuff. He doesn't want to hear any of it. And they went to him, and he agreed that he would go to Jersey. And boom, it falls apart. And now the team's struggled.

And Marky, who's had a great year, he struggled a little bit. So it's, it kind of was a kick in the dick for both teams. Right. But yeah, if, if the devils could get a legit stud goalie and little help on D the other thing is if they get in the playoffs, all of a sudden you got Hamilton back. So I don't know. I don't, I agree. It's like, you don't want to play them in the first round, but if they get in and then they're the eighth seed and then it looks like... I think Florida's going to end up getting the number one seed. Obviously, the Rangers are above them right now,

but Florida is a different animal. They are just bullies with skill and goaltending, and they got great D. It's an incredible team, so I don't know if anyone's going to be able to get by them, let alone the entire Eastern Conference, but the first round might be real tough, whoever gets them. But I would like to see Jersey in, personally. I think they're an exciting team.

I love watching Hughes play. He sure showed up big time in that game. Man, that guy was flying around. He's the leader of the team. That's what Pasha said when we were talking about the Hughes thing. He's like, oh, well, first off, Pasha thought that he called out the goalies publicly because he'd already gone to Fitzgerald and complained about the goal team,

and he was trying to put more public pressure on the GM. I said, Pasha, you're fucking insane. And he's sticking to his gun standard to how Pasha does things. But it is a fun team to watch. It is very fun to watch. All those things you just heard out of Witt's mouth are factors in the decision to suspend him for the pod, by the way.

All of that stuff behind the scenes, if you're wondering. One other thing that was pretty cool. Jake Clements, he played the national anthem on a saxophone. His dad was the big man, Bruce Briggs in the E Street Band, Clarence Clements. The big black guy who played the saxophone passed away a few years ago. That was his son who came out and played the sax. You know, the national anthem. That was awesome stuff. Incredible.

It was an incredible anthem. 10 out of 10. Yeah, it was good shit. Also, we bumped into Jonesy, Ruppert, and Kenny Danico, too, before we headed into that first game. Nice to catch up with those guys. Dude, Jonesy's fucking hilarious. He just comes home.

He's like, what's up, Larry? What's going on? It's almost like not a joke to him, but he's just like fucking got a smile on his face. This shitty grin that he's the president. He just like shrugs. No, Ari? What's going on? He's just like, it's almost like not a joke to him, but he's just like fucking got a smile on his face, this shitty grin that he's the president. He just like shrugs. No bad days for Jonesy, man. He's always happy.

He's always got a smile on his face. Great, great, couple of great guys to bump into. But the most favorite part of my weekend is after Lou tried to suck the fun out of it, they go up three fucking goals and they blow it again. Before we get into that game, one of the most enjoyable games this year, I guess because of the setting, but then just how it all went down.

But let's talk about Matthew Rempe, guys. What a first NHL game. First off, he gets to do the rookie lap in front of 75,000. His first game, that's incredible, right? You're skating around, nobody's behind you, and you're just looking around. I can't imagine how he was feeling. And then his first game, first shift, he gets in a tilt. One second played, and he already had a fight in the NHL.

Matt Martin, he's a monster. Just a big guy came up. And what was really cool, Ari, you told me that it was six days, six years to the day of his father passing away. So, like, I don't know. Maybe, like, right now I'm visiting my parents. It's like the kid was 15 years old and lost his dad. And he gets out there.

He gets the hat for player of the game after, gave an awesome little speech in the locker room. You know, I can't imagine how tough it was for him losing his dad at such a young age. And then he's out there in the NHL at MetLife Stadium. He's getting in a fight. That was such a cool story. Like that's what hockey's all about, right?

You bring back memories of this kid skating outside as a youngster. That's his first game. And then getting the player of the game after, I think Kreider gave it to him because he had a hat trick the game before. And you could tell the team was so fired up. It was just an awesome story to see that kid. And what a monster. And then they had the other wing on that fourth line, 6'7".

Who's the other kid? I don't know his name. He what a monster. And then they had the other wing on that fourth line, 6'7". Who's the other kid? I don't know his name. He's another monster. Two 6'7 guys on the Rangers. Hey, we got to give a shout out to Matt Martin, too, because... Adam Estro. Adam Estro, I believe is his name. Yeah, Rempe said that, you know,

at the lineup for the faceoff, Martin said, hey, you know, you want to go? Like, gave him the opportunity to sort of make his bones there, and he really respected that. Just, you know, the lineup for the faceoff, Martin said, hey, you know, you want to go? Like, gave him the opportunity to sort of make his bones there, and he really respected that. Just, you know, because that's obviously something you used to, you know, be your forte, that type of stuff. But just the fact that Matt Martin is 35 years old. To be given that opportunity from a guy like Matt Martin,

who's that respected, and that's like a cool thing to be able to tell your kids someday. That was my first NHL fight off a draw, right? Hadn't even barely played a second i ended up running into his mother and two sisters who were up there and like the mother was just over the moon electric and she's like i'm like oh my god you must be so nervous like the rookie lap and then the fight she goes i normally don't drink this is my third and and so they were just having a ball up there. Me too.

It's Adam Edstrom. Edstrom. Sorry. Yeah. So just an awesome experience. And for them to come and storm back in that game, oh, what an incredible experience. And like I said, man, the amount of Rangers fans and how that building would erupt.

And they're ruthless. They were interviewing, was it Pal Mary on the Jumbotron? Gee. And then they just kept booing. You couldn't even hear what he was saying. You couldn't hear a single thing. It was insane. I'm like, okay, that's like some real fucking hate.

So that was my first ever real experience between the Rangers and Islanders rivalry. And it's pretty gruesome. So, hey, and I made it out of alive and I didn't get shanked so I was very proud of myself how about the fact that they hadn't played since 2022 those two teams that really yeah because they played their four games before January 1st of the 22-23 season okay and then this year's season they didn't play till they didn't play until the calendar changed again. So it had been like 480 days

or whatever since the Isles and Rangers played. And they gave us one of the best games of the season. I mean, the Islanders, man, their penalty kill is a disaster. The same way the power play for the Penguins might keep them out of the playoffs, the Islanders, they can't kill a penalty. So you look to what's

going to cost them. I saw a tweet. I think they've blown like 12 or 13 third-period leads this season. It just seems like they can't close the door. I don't know what you guys thought about that hooking call that gave them their first power play. It was at the end of the third. Was that on Barzal? Yeah, Barzal.

Barzal on Keandre Mill. Because I was like, I tweeted out, yikes, and everyone was like, oh, you don't know nothing about hockey. That's a penalty all day. I was like, what are you talking about? That was chintzy as fuck, dude. Everyone on Twitter was like, oh, that was a penalty. I was like, fucking soft ass little pussies.

No, it wasn't. Oh, yeah, Ray. You know what I took away from the third period? At one point, I looked up. I think shots were 40 to 19 Islanders. And Biz, you said a couple episodes ago, since WOS come in there, the Islanders are getting 35, 40 shots a game. It's a different team.

So they're dominating that game. They got two three-goal leads, whatever it was. But the third period with the Rangers on the power play, I think they had like 10 or 11 shots on the power play. But just a reminder, as a defenseman, a guy who leaned a little offense on the defenseman side, Adam Fox is a joy to watch play hockey. Oh, yeah.

He's nasty. I mean, the assist on the tying goal, like he just has – I've never seen a guy just like fake people out with just little shoulder and head fakes the way he does. He's never moving that fast. It's like a little sleight of hand, little head look. One way, drops a shoulder, and guys go like flying by him. It's crazy.

He always knows what he's going to do with it before he gets it. I love watching him play. He's like the funnest guy to watch have the puck, and just the fact that he's like slow. I'll say he's kind of slow, but it doesn't affect him at all because his angles defensively are awesome, and then with the puck, there is zero panic. Like the guy never, it seems like he has no pulse with it. And then he makes dishes all the time that are sick. Gross.

Wait, it's so funny you brought that up. First period, we were sitting like right in the corner. And he got a puck dumped in his corner. And he had a guy on his ass. And he dodged him. But then he was going up the wall side. And there was a guy coming down the wall. And I'm like, ah, he's probably just going to try to punt this. And there's no way that he can squeeze through

the, like get to the middle. And he just brought it right to the middle and he dodged both guys. And I'm like, that was like, what the fuck was that? He's so slippery. He's so good on his edges and he kind of has this little hop about him, but he's not the, it's like, I don't know, man, he's just kind of cracked the code on the back end for not being a guy who's that electrically fast and i don't think that what he does is that teachable do you know what i mean it's super just like like you're not going to be able to like show kids clips of him and be like yeah do this because it's just so natural the way he does things i guess at harvard uh talking to different scouts he was the same thing probably even more dominant in college but a lot of scouts were like, I don't know, man,

he's not that fast. And like, yeah, this is college. And he's doing the exact same thing in the NHL. It's like the foot speed thing doesn't really matter when you have that ability to just make these fakes all the time. And it's just, I don't know, maybe I just appreciate it more being a defenseman and realizing how hard it is to always get shots through and just always dodge that one check. But that guy is so nasty with the puck. It's Sergey Zubov. He's Sergey Zubov.

So I think he leads the league. And, oh, I think they got him. Oh, how the fuck did he slip out of that one? Like every fucking time. So, yeah, he's a treat to watch. That's a great point. Yeah, it was also the highest scoring outdoor game ever with the 11 goals. Also,

what just, you just mentioned they hadn't played in that long a time. It was the first fight in a regular season ranges Island. This game since November of 2021. That's kind of pathetic. When you think about it that long without a fight between those two fucking hated rivals. I mean,

obviously it's indicative of the way the league is now, but that kind of surprised me a wee bit. No, I mean, obviously, he's indicative of the way the league is now, but that kind of surprised me a wee bit, no? I mean, fucking two and a half years without a scrap. Also, too, we want to send our best wishes along to Blake Will.

The reason Rempe was called up is Blake Will. I don't know if you saw the clip. It was tough to watch. You know, hurt his lower leg. He's going to be out for the rest of the season. You know, he's obviously

on the back nine of his career, so hopefully he can get back out there and not end his career like that. I'm sure being a hockey player, that's not how he's going to go out. So hopefully he can get back out there and not end his career like that. I'm sure being a hockey player, that's not how he's going to go out. So I just want to pass our best wishes along to him. And also the Rangers, you know, they come out with the FDNY, NYPD guys.

And I think the Isles, they are getting shit for coming with the suits, but it should be noted. They also came in with a bunch of cops and firemen as well. They came in on the truck. So I think a lot of people might have, weren't aware of that or whatever,

because they were getting shit on because of the suits. They were with the cops and the jakes too. I just want to make sure people are aware of that. We were just being a little silly. I think he probably did that not to overshadow the men and women of service.

Lou being classy. Maybe we should back off him a little bit. Especially after that tough third-year loss again. Saquon Barkley, the Giants running back, he was at the game. Hockey games are really lit. It's nice to see people getting into the game as well. We mentioned Johnny Laz, but also you just mentioned the outdoor game next year in Columbus.

Also, Islanders are going to host the 2026 All-Star Game at UBS Arena. The Devils and Sabres. I was pissed at first, but then I was talking to my buddy Jeff, Also, Ireland is going to host the 2026 All-Star Game at UBS Arena. The devil's in the savers. I was pissed at first, but then I was talking to my buddy Jeff, and he goes, they might have done that just to keep it logistically easy because they're going to be going to the Olympics right after that. So to agree for them to come to go from New York to fly to, it's in Italy, right, 2026? So I don't know, I thought that was smart,

but a lot of people online and they're right. Detroit deserves an all star game because they often reward them to new buildings of the new buildings built. Little Caesars Arena is easily the nicest. That brick wall and the character and how nice all the seats are, the the vibe in that arena. I think they deserve, after UBS, they deserve the next All-Star game.

Unless it's outdoors like Grinnelli suggested. Also, this is not new news, but the Devils and Sabres, they got to kick off next season in Prague. I don't know if Merle's at Pastra going to go there. They're saying they're going to. Then in November, the Stars and Panthers, they're going to play in, is it Tampere, Finland?

Is that how you pronounce it? I have no idea. I've never been. But how about, Grinelli sends me a video. So, Merle's has been stateside for what, like 28 days? Too long. His wife's an absolute saint. He's got two little kids at home.

So, he's leaving today. He has a flight at 5 o'clock. And it's like, I think it's like 16 hours of travel. When he lands in Stockholm, it's like 16 hours of travel when he lands in stockholm it's like a four-hour train up north in sweden so he always talks about last night he has to take it easy because the travel day you got it you can't be hung over going to the travel day grinelli sends me a video at like eight o'clock of a bartender pouring these monster vodka drinks and then he just pans over to Merle's and he's like,

tonight's the night. I'm like, oh my God. Every night this trip, Merle's would just say, tonight's the night, boys. Tonight's the night. So I texted him. I said, oh my God, Merle's, you must be hurting. And he responded about five hours later.

He goes, I'll never learn. How about last night i had a date and i brought a grinnell i brought a memesy and i brought merles so we did these three guys to a date what a guy my god what was the date paul date we went to this unbelievable italian restaurant that grandvin great spot and and and that's where i think merles went off the deep end he started to get into the red wine and he gets a certain vibe when he's having his red wine all the respect in the world to this young lady who put up with us for for the whole meal but memes he was firing out the story she even today she was like, those guys were fucking characters. She loved it. Did you guys see Memes' Instagram story at like 1 a.m. last night?

Of him just pissing off. Oh, delete it now? It was just him pissing off the end of the pier in Hoboken on the Chicklets memes account. Come on. Come on, Memes. Clean it up. He's like, oh, this water's cold. Come on.

Clean it up. Shit. Well, I did just mention that Tampere, Finland, one of their native sons, probably the biggest story of the week. Yamo Kikulainen was fired from Columbus. He was there for 11 years, the first European-born GM in the NHL. President of Hockey Ops, John Davidson, he's going to assume the GM role on an interim basis.

He's going to oversee the transition when they hire the next GM. Biz, were you surprised that Yamo was the only guy who could fight considering what went down earlier this season? Just it's been kind of a clusterfuck of a year for them. Because I don't know how much the beginning of the year played a factor into it. I would imagine it's, you know, what do you mean? You think they just wanted to let it breathe? But I also don't think it's 100% reason why.

I mean, look at how long i think when you've had a gm who's kind of they've struggled for quite a while that's what i'm saying then you hire a coach and then the guy doesn't coach one game like yes i'm saying but okay so do you think that that plays 25 to 35 percent of a factor as to why he's not the gm if this team was having more success and maybe in a playoff hunt we wouldn't be having this conversation but how long was he a 10-year GM I would say close to 10 years 11 years he was there 11 years how many times did they go to playoffs like where are they at from an organizational organizational perspective and and also maybe the the the lack of

production over the last couple of years, given the high draft picks, they're not seeing results. But what percentage do you think it has to do with what happened at the beginning of the year in hiring Babcock? 50% of it? I don't know. That's hard. Maybe half, maybe a little less.

Obviously, it comes down to the success of the team. So R.A. said five playoff appearances in 11 years and one time they got past the first round. Right, R.A.? Yeah, they won the... They beat Tampa that year. Then they did win that qualifying round during the bubble. That doesn't count. That doesn't count.

So, it's just... First off, I couldn't believe it was 11 years he'd been there, right? That was a long time. But, you know what? In the end, they haven't had success they've had some they've had just some like maybe some weird signings and like i don't know but all in all man if you're if you want to be a gm like that's it that's a pretty nice spot to be able to interview for and possibly get like with fantilli and and juracek and like some other young guys.

They got all these Russians that are good. They got China Cobb, all these different dudes that are pretty nice young players. I think a decent amount of them have to be signed after this year or next year. But man, I do think the future is bright in Columbus. I know this year's been a disaster and it started off on the wrong foot completely. But I think in the end, in a couple of years, you're going to be able to see a really good team. Now, obviously, they need a little bit more of a good draw who's played way better lately as opposed to the beginning of the season,

but in the end, Biz, I think that that was kind of the nail in the coffin, man. If you're going to go out on the limb and make this huge hire and the guy doesn't get to one game, that's going to end up being the end of it. But at the same time, already, why does Davidson still have a job yeah that's how long is how long has he been there he's probably been there forever no he was there he went to new york yeah he left he went to

the ranges and then they brought him back and that's what it is it seems like oh owners fall in love with like certain owners fall in love with certain executives because you know he came back he's been there i think the last three or four years but i mean gamo did make that hiring decision in a vacuum he didn't do that by himself you know what i mean like so i don't i don't know if the owners just love davidson i mean that that doesn't i would say have a dynamite track record as far as getting victories there and i think some of that probably does fall on him well i think that he's also partly there to consult on who he believes should be the next GM. Now, I don't know how, how much his hands in the cookie jar,

as far as personnel decisions, I would assume that he had a lot of influence, influence on the Babcock one. And that's where maybe you're surprised as to why he still has the job. I don't know. I think, like I said, I don't want to put too much stake onto the Babcock thing.

I think like bringing in Patrick line, a hasn't necessarily worked out, but I also understand the pressures and being a GM there and trying to bring in big names. It's a challenge, but I also think that you have to GM based on where you are. And I feel like you're, you're kind of like a Seattle. You have to build out this roster of just worker bees. You're not going to have the luxury of bringing in these big name free agents because you're in Columbus. And like, I'm not shitting on Columbus. I would love to live there.

The players who play there, love it there. You live like a God. I mean, there's a reason that Johnny Goudreau went there. It's like, you know, maybe when things aren't going so well, you don't have that external pressure where when you're bumping to people at the grocery store, they're saying, Hey, how you doing? Maybe they don't even ask you for a photo, but they ain't fucking telling you, hey, what's up with the fucking power play, Johnny? Come on, man.

Got to start hitting line A back door, buddy. I think that those fans deserve more, though. That is an unreal fan base. They've been packing that building for years, dude. And here's the other thing like it hasn't just been babcock this season was a disaster in a lot of different aspects right so we've had mers lincoln saying i'm done i want to trade we've had juracek saying i like i shouldn't be in the minors what the fuck's going on the coaches bench and goudreau like it's been like

a bunch of different things that have kind of added up to just you know a full-blown disaster of a season now the good thing is they of added up to just a full-blown disaster of a season. Now, the good thing is they probably end up with another high draft pick. Hopefully, they make the right decision and they get another guy. But, Biz, you're right. First off, the whole league, to have a successful team, you've got to build through the draft. But there especially, you don't see a ton of guys signing there. I know Goudreau did recently.

But you've got to have good drafts. You've got to build from within. So that's what they're going to have to do. But in terms of the future, the fan base is great. The arena is awesome. It's a good city. Grinnelli says top three in the world, I think he said. Paris, Milan, Columbus.

It is. That's why they drafted all those Russians. It's like Moscow. It's like the same thing, right? That's the draw in there. And I'll say this. I think the number one component to it all is fantilli and the fact that they have buy-in from him in that market right now so davidson you got about you know two three years before certain guys will get fed up with okay i'm

not going to be in a big market we can't turn things around i fucking put my heart and soul into this like how long did it take for them to try to get it together for Rick Nash? I mean, 20, 23 seasons. Oh, sorry. Did they ever,

did they ever really get it together for Rick Nash? How many times did he make playoffs one time? Like he's a generational talent that went to waste. And yeah, I don't know. That's it's, it's well, after this year, it'll be 23 seasons,

one playoff victory over Tampa Cup. That's just pathetic. You do feel bad for the fans. And going back to Davidson, I thought if I was the owner, I would have done a full house cleaning. Look, we got to get the steak out of here. Just fucking, not fight everybody,

but bring in a whole new management team and just start fresh. I think that's what they probably should have done. I think that Davidson's been around enough to where you probably want to give him an opportunity to consult on who you got to bring in. That's just – I think he's the type of guy who's been around enough who needs a seat. You need him with a seat at the table to say,

these are the candidates I believe could potentially get it. Who else are you going to turn? He did with Babcock. He was all about getting Babcock and that fell on its face. I think that he felt they needed another torts and that's how that was going to happen. He

ain't exactly torts. He has different ways of doing it and they made a wrong decision. I don't disagree with you, R.A. What do they say? Throw the something away with the bathwater? Don't I don't disagree with you, R.A., that if you're saying throw the – what do they say? Throw the something away with the bathwater? Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Oh, but in this case, they should have.

Hey, not to change the subject, but as I was giving it to Pasha that Miller had a hat trick and that Vancouver was up 5-2, they were also up 4-1. The Wild just scored five goals in the first five minutes of the third period, including three goals in a minute, and they're up eight to five.

The Wild are buzzing. Six goals in a row, too. Wait, but since then, Pasha has come on the show and said that the city of Vancouver should thank him. So in retrospect, Pasha jinxed the Canucks today.

Oh, no. Oh, no. Good point. Yeah, because before you move along, one last one on Columbus side, Johnny Gaudrex, the Canucks today. Oh, no. Oh, no. Good point. Yeah, because before we move along, one last one on Columbus. Johnny Goudreau, he did a pretty good thing. He took over Patrick Lanny's pledge of $1,000 per point while Lane steps away from the game to take care of his mental health. Pretty nice gesture, man. You know what I mean?

The guys do that for their charity. So I thought it was pretty cool that Johnny took over from Patrick for that. So good job, Johnny. Boys, maybe it was, I don't know, it was me in the locker room that rubbed off on Austin Matthews, but two hats in a row. He's been on it. Here we go.

Here we go. You and Pasha now. Second straight way, two hat tricks in a row. Sixth of the season, a new Maple Leafs record. He's got 49 goals. He had one today on Monday. 73rd multi-goal game, a team record. Got 13 career haddies tied with Sid and Gino

for third among active players. Ovi's got 30. Pasta's got 16. Of course, Wayne, the all-time leader with 50. 10 is the most in one season. Waino did that twice. Got a good chance to catch him. Getting the MVP chance.

You must be fucking creaming your jeans over there, eh? Bud, I don't care who you are. I don't care if you hate or despise the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has to be a consideration for top three in MVPs right now. I think you're out of your fucking mind if you don't think so. We're witnessing the greatest goal score ever since Wayne Gretzky. Right? Like, at the rate...

It's tracking that way. I don't think it's fair to say with Ovi, but it's tracking that way i don't think it's fair to say with ovi but but it's tracking that way biz and and when you said the greatest leaf of all time the gloat like a couple years ago i was laughing it's it's pretty much over now like bro by the end of next season he will be the all-time leafs leading goal scorer at like 27 years old. It's fucking insane. He's already the gloat. The fact that he's got six hatties this year, if you score 70 goals in today's NHL with where defenses are at,

with the way that goaltending is at, and the fact that you're not getting these fucking easy goals coming over the blue line, sliding at five hole, it's remarkable what he's doing. He is a scoring machine. And people will say, oh, that's offensive too, because Ovechkin scored as many as he has.

But Matthew, since he's been in the league, is doing it at a better rate. He's the best modern-day goal scorer. It's like non-negotiable here. Any analytic will tell you that. So to not consider him top three in mvp voting right now is insane if it's not for him i don't think the toronto maple east are inside of a playoff spot but wit they just won again today i think he had a goal which what's he at now 49 goals and 49 goals insanity I said that they were going to win four games of the five

that Morgan Riley was suspended. So now he's won four. We made a bet, did we not? Is that three or four? That's four. That's four now. Oh, so they already did it. So I owe you some money, buddy.

That was a great call by you. That was a great call by you. And on, like, the way he gets his shot off, like, first off, it definitely helps him. And it goes without saying, he's enormous, right? His reach is so big that he's able to just, you think you got to stick on him. He just pushes that extra two inches. And then his shot, he just picks corners.

And it doesn't matter, too. You see how many times the puck's rolling and he still just rips it, which probably helps. Ligoli has no idea where it's going. But, yeah, I wonder if you talk to Bucci, who originally, like 12 years ago, said Ovi could break Gretzky's record. I wonder what he's saying now because, Matt, yeah, you said it. He's on a better pace than Ovi was. He never seems to slow down.

And as crazy as this Kucherov season is and what an MVP race it's going to be, these final 30 games, but if he gets 70, which I don't think the league's had, what, 30 years, 31 years? Yeah, give him the MVP, no doubt. Because it's just unreal. Like, you know, he goes about his business, and he's better defensive than people give him credit for. And if the puck's on his stick, it doesn't really matter where he is in the offensive zone.

He's a chance to score. I remember this year in Buffalo, he scored from the goal line against the boards. He's just such a good shooter. Doesn't even really need to be looking at the net. And boom, it's in the back of the net. Red light's on. It's crazy. He knows where it is.

And even around the net, if it's around the blue blue paint he doesn't need to have a big wind up he's able to just find a way to get a stick on it and it just pops off his stick and goes in the net he's just he's a fucking specimen and he's cracked the code and he's the best modern day goal scorer and right now he looks like he's going to win the mvp and he's going to get he might get 75 fucking goals this year and and by the way, so 29 games left, whatever he has, he's getting another hat trick at least. Once he gets two, it's just a matter of time. Wasn't the most in one season?

Wayne Gretzky had 10 hat tricks in one season? Yeah, he did it twice. Oh, my God. Then I seen it twice. Okay, well, there we go. And you know what? You got to shout out McMahon, too. I think they're calling him McMatthews. He's lighting it twice. Oh, my God. He did it twice. Okay. Well, there we go. And you know what? You got to shout out McMahon, too. I think they're calling him McMatthews.

He's lighting it up. He had a hat trick in between one of Matthews or two of his, and then he got another one today as well. So that's a guy stepping it up. That's a diamond in the rough, just what the Leafs needed at this time, a diamond in the rough. Well, speaking of Canadian legends, we have one right now for you, Peter Mansbridge. For our American listeners, you're probably not familiar with him.

He's basically the Walter Cronkite of Canada, one of the most respected and well-liked media guys up in Canada. He's been retired for a few years now. A very interesting conversation. This guy's traveled the world, covered some of the biggest stories ever. So hopefully you enjoy it. We certainly enjoyed interviewing him. So enjoy Peter Mansbridge. All right, Before we go

any further, here's a few words from our friends at Game Time. Bruins Monday afternoon versus Dallas. Jumped on the old Game Time app. Took care of my boys. Unbelievable dynamite app to use. You get last minute tickets. There's flash deals, zone deals. It's so easy to find and buy

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Well, it's an absolute pleasure to welcome Canadian royalty to the show. This newsman has been the face of Canadian media for decades and has covered some of the biggest stories in the last 50 plus years. And though he retired a few years ago, you can still check him out on his podcast, The Bridge. Thank you so much for joining us on the Spit and Chicklets podcast. Peter Mansbridge. It's an honor to have you here, Peter.

Hey, it's an honor for me to be here. You guys are, well, you're quite something. I don't know what quite it is. I was our national news broadcaster forever. I've learned a whole new vocabulary listening to you guys. What's your favorite? Let's go through the list here. Pink Whitney.

Yeah, that's my favorite. There you go. Pink Whitney. Oh, gee, that's awesome. Well, Peter, like learning about your early career, it's crazy. Like you said, you were a high school dropout. You joined the Navy, and you were working at a small airline in Churchill, Alberta, was it? Churchill, Manitoba.

I'm sorry. And someone overheard you doing a flight announcement and heard your voice and come over and offered you a job in the radio. That's great. Yeah, can you believe that? No, it's unbelievable. I tried to explain that to young journalism students and they look at me like I'm from another planet.

But that is what happened. I mean, it was a different era. It was the 60s and people weren't rushing into journalism or broadcasting at that point and I had this opportunity and it was one of those classics being in the right spot at the right time but somebody heard me announcing you know a flight Transair flight 106 to Thompson the Paw in Winnipeg now ready for boarding yeah and this guy this guy comes running over to the microphone he says you got a

great voice he says i'm the manager of the station i can't find anybody to do the late night shift would you be interested i mean this is churchill you know population a thousand um and that's how it started and uh then you know one thing led to another there was a bit of hard work involved as well oh yeah nevertheless that's how how it got started. So what, oh, go ahead. No, I was just at the beginning. So you get there, you don't know what's going on, right? You've never done anything like this. It's like, I'm imagining the first few shows were a little rough, right?

When you're kind of learning it. Yeah, they were. But in Churchill, you could get away with a little rough, you know? But, you know, you pick up a few tricks. I was terrible at music and that's what he'd hired me at. But I was always fascinated with news, what's going on pick up a few tricks. I was terrible at music and that's what he'd hired me at, but I was always fascinated with news, what's going on around you and asking questions. And so I,

I started a newscast. I didn't have one there. And, uh, that's how I started making a name for myself first in Churchill for a couple of years, then Winnipeg, Regina,

Ottawa, Toronto, overseas. So did quite a bit of running around for 20 years as a reporter and correspondent and then started anchoring. From the time he like offered you the job, like how much time did it take you to think

about it in order to take it? Was it on the spot? I was making $200 a month at Transair, at the airline I was working for. So it didn't take me too long to think about it. Um, and so I worked days at the airline for the first year and nights at the, at the radio station.

Uh, but I, I, something about me had always been fascinated by broadcasting. So I wanted to, I wanted to give it a try. I never thought it would lead to where it led, uh, which was basically the top job in news in the country. And which is. It's crazy.

Exactly. You laugh and go like, how'd that happen? Because you started where they send people to, like you were already there. Isn't it now like people get jobs and are like, hey, good job. You graduated from what's a school here. What's the, where everyone goes to.

I forget. They're like, you got a job. You got to go to, you know, York. Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, in those days it was a, you know, it was a fluke to get in. But at the same time, there weren't, as I said earlier, there wasn't a lineup of

people in there, but it was a great community to, to, to get a start in. There were lots of stories, you know, polar bears and all the different issues. There's a harbor there, a port, and ships coming in. There was great hockey. Jordan Tutu's father played there. And he was a great player.

And people used to say. Barney, right? Barney. Barney. Was he a machine? Was he killing people too like Jordan did? Oh, he was tough. He was a tough guy, but a great skater, great goal scorer, had a terrific stick.

And he, you know, people used to say, if anybody ever came up from the NHL and saw him, they'd get him in. Now, I don't know whether that's true, but because not that far south and around that time, you know, Bobby Clark and Reggie Leach were playing for the Flint Clown Bombers. So they were able to make a name for themselves. Barney just stayed in Churchill, but then,

then Jordan came along. So you said you had a fascination with news. Was there any point within the beginning of your career where you maybe hoped it would turn into like covering hockey or were you all set on being news? You know what I mean? Or were you not even interested?

He was too biased. He was ripping on the Leafs all the time. I was. The Jets, Josh Snipper. Who's your team? The Jets. Although there was a time in Manitoba, the early Jets, the first version of the Jets with Bobby Hull there.

And I was worried by that first year. I was at the corner of Portage and Main the day that they unveiled Bobby with the million-dollar check and everything. Can you imagine? It was a million dollars, I think, for three years. Which is a billion back then, right? Exactly. You look at it now, you go, really was a million dollars, I think, for three years. Which is a billion back then, right? Exactly. You know, you look at it now, you go, really?

He left for that? That's what Biz made. Big deal. But I, that first year, the WHA and the, what was it called? The AFCO or the ATCO. AFCO Cup, yeah. Yeah.

And I followed him in the playoffs. They played Houston and then New England in the old Boston Garden. And I was doing like a mini documentary on his first year in the WHA. And you know, you guys know Bobby, or knew Bobby, and he was a bit of a character. He would have fitted in real well on this,

on spit and jerklets. But anyway, you know, we got to know each other during that time. And I sort of stayed in touch over the years. I saw him just a couple of years ago, not long before he passed away. And he still had that handshake that could crush your. Oh, yeah. It was amazing. Quite the guy.

He's got that picture, right? The picture of Bobby Hallull when he's just shredded in the summer, like bailing hay. Bailing hay in Belleville. Before people worked out. That's what this guy walked like. That was, that's where he was. That was in Belleville, Ontario.

Belleville, that's where they grew up, the Hulls. That's how they used to train back then. Oh, him and, uh, and Dennis, who still does the circuit, right? Oh yeah. I see him at a few events. He's hilarious. Same jokes every time, but they are hilarious.

The way he delivers. Now we went right to when you got your, off of your career at the airport. Did you play growing up? Were you a big hockey player? Well, you know, I came over from England. We were immigrants. We'd lived in England and Malaya.

I came over in the mid fifties. And the first time I went into a hockey arena, I think I was carrying a, you know, a cutoff cricket bat, you know, like I really didn't know what was going on, but I eventually got into hockey. I loved it. I wasn't very good, but you know, I used to

hang out at sort of center ice waiting, you know, like Colby did, you know, waiting for the puck to come out and then I'd have a breakaway. It was great. Oh, you're like, we couldn't skate either? But anyway, I was never able to take it, you know, any further than that. But it was, you know, it's always been, it's always been fun. It's been a passion to watch.

And growing up in Ottawa, which is where I grew up, there was no, there was no team at that point. It was, the old Sens were long gone. The new Sens hadn't arrived. And I, um, yeah, you had to choose between basically you had to choose between red and blue. You were either a Habs fan or you were a Leafs fan.

All of my family were Habs fans. I picked the Leafs. Now I picked a good decade. I picked a good decade. You poor bastard. Yeah. Yeah. I picked a good decade. You know, we haven't seen one since. Those were the days. It was quite like those. Those were the days.

Cup every year and, you know, the Maveliches and Dickie Duff and the whole gang. It was fun, but it's been a long time. So, I was glad to hear biz the other day, predicting a Vancouver Toronto. That was final. I think that was, that was on today's podcast that just dropped. Right. And I just think that all of a sudden they're

going to ride Samson off, but I am a delusional Leafs fan, just like the rest of the Leafs. Totally. Yeah. No, we're, we're, we're definitely delusional, but I'll tell you the one thing you got right about that, the numbers, if it was Toronto, Vancouver, and the final. Do you think it would do 20 million?

Oh, yeah. I think it is. How many people are in Canada, you said? 40 million. I think you're over 20, man. The whole country would be watching. Oh, yeah. Oh, no, it would be something else,

and it would probably go six or seven games. The place would be electric. And Rogers would give everyone raises and pay bumps, right? Yeah. They'd just gobble up the other one. You can dream along in that. They might actually lower your guy's cell phone bills by 50 cents instead of bending you over with the strap on.

Yeah, every 100th call for you. So since we're on the hockey topic right well we read that you did over 15 000 interviews during your career is that about right or is that an exact 20 20 000 interviews well if you include everything back to the churchill days and and all of that and you know being around the world i don't know how many times on different big stories and so a, a lot of interviews. Who would you say was the, probably the most, uh, the biggest.

Out of the 20,000. No, of the hockey guys, like following certain stories. What was the most, most memorable? Well, you know, Wayne was always, I, you know, I talked to Wayne a number of times, so it's great being in this, in this building that you're using for these shows this week. Um, and he was always, there was, you'd always

get something new out of Wayne, always. Um, Jerome McGinley, what was the year they were in? Uh, oh, four. Oh, four. Oh, four. Yeah. Yeah.

Tampa there. Yeah. Tampa. That's right. Cause I interviewed him in Tampa. I flew down there and interviewed him for one of the games. And, you know, it was like a half-hour interview. He was great.

So, I mean, lots of great either players or coaches, Scotty Bowman. You know, and so I, you know, I never got, never got Colby, but. That was difficult. He charges too much. Trying to break through his, his staff. Yeah, exactly. That was hard. Well, what's, what's maybe in, when you're

starting out, no experience besides making calls at the airport. Right. And then getting in there and then do you remember like your first interview or do you remember maybe early, like a super bad one? And you're like, what am I doing? I'm just an egg chocker at the airport.

My first one was bad. I made the classic mistake. I was so nervous about doing it. And this was in Churchill that I thought, okay, I needed, they needed a feature interview for something. And I said, okay, I'll interview a friend. That way it'll be okay. Easy. Big mistake. Because we basically went over the interview and friend that way it'll be okay. That'd be easy. Big mistake.

Because we basically went over the interview and I still have it on tape, you know? So I got it out of the CBC archives. I wanted to make sure nobody ever heard it. But it sounds like we're reading, you know? Yeah, yeah. What did you do? It was bad.

But, you know, I got past that because listen, the news business, it's not that complicated really. And in a way it's kind of like sports in the sense that you, um, you ask what you think people are wondering about what's on their mind. You don't have to, you know, some interviews will try to make it sound like they think

they're smarter than the person they're interviewing. Yeah. Right? When you're just asking the basic questions, right? And, you know, I grew up in a family that was always talking about current events around

the dinner table at night. And so I, to me, journalism is all about being fascinated by what goes on around you, willing to ask questions about what's going on around you, and then sharing those answers with people who are, you know, equally interested. And, uh, that's what's about it. And that's what you guys do in your own

particular style when you're, you're into your riff about different things that are happening in the, in the hockey world. After you became so well-established and became such like a figurehead in Canada, was there anyone that, that still made you nervous even 20, 30 years into it? Somebody you got, you're like, oh my, I got

to be on my game for right now. Yeah. Not, uh, not any of the political figures. Um, not any of the entertainment figures, but usually sports figures. Really? Yeah. I mean, as a, as a kid growing up in Ottawa,

my hero was, uh, the quarterback initially for the Ottawa Rough Riders. Then he went to Regina, Ronnie Lancaster. And I had to interview him somewhere in the, I guess it was the early 80s or, yeah, when he retired. And I was in Regina and I was so scared. Panicked. Panicked. I went to his house and I was sitting in a kind of set up like this.

You know, he was in a chair and I was on the couch and I was just shaken. I was so nervous. on the couch and I was just shaken. I was so nervous. And, you know, it surprised me because I, by then I'd already interviewed prime ministers and this and that, and hadn't got overly uptight about it. I was in the White House interviewing Obama

right after he became president about a month into his, his term. And I thought, well, you're going to be nervous about this, but. You were fine. I was fine. He was thought, well, you're going to be nervous about this, but. You were fine. I was fine. He was nervous, of course. How'd the interview go with the CFL quarterback?

With Ronnie? Lancaster? Lancaster, yeah. It was, you know, it was fine. He ended up as a great broadcaster for the CBC doing football. He's passed away now too. And it's difficult when you start talking about these people that you've interviewed. He's passed away now too. And it's difficult when you start talking

about these people that you've interviewed and they've passed away. Yeah. And you're going, uh-oh, this is not a good sign. So as, as hockey players, we typically have routines before we go, you know, go to the rink, whatever, you know, belly button soup, talk about your morning, morning nap or

afternoon nap. What, did you have a regular schedule that you would always follow? It sounds like to me, your job is pretty hectic have you seen the show the newsroom oh yeah i bet you did yeah no they're that close they sent me the no not really well which newsroom are we talking about the jeff daniels one daniels oh the jeff daniels one that's good because like shit's happening you're doing something you're yeah. You're pushing your kids on a swing. Pager goes off. Yeah.

Yeah. No. And that's what happens. You know, like I, on 9-11, that morning I was in my doctor's office. It was my annual physical. And I was just getting around to the part that you'd read as an annual physical, and my pager went off. Those were the days of a pager.

And I called in. I said, you got to get here. It was a plane just went into one of the towers, and there were all kinds of rumors around. We don't know what's happening. And so I said, see you later to the doctor, and went straight in. And I was on the air for 44 hours. No way.

But that's just like, that's what it's like when you're doing that kind of a job at the top level. You got to have a certain sense of a little bit of knowledge about a lot of things. So you can carry a program. So you're constantly interviewing new people. you can carry a program. So you're constantly interviewing new people. They're scrambling, trying to find people for you to interview either remotely or on the set about what's happening, what could be

happening. So that's what, you know, those days like that are, you know, are amazing because the team is so incredible that you, that you have working with you. And people are looking at you and they, they just want to, they want to trust you. They want that you have working with you. Um, and people are looking at you and they, they just want to, they want to trust you. They want to believe what you're saying. And that's one of the big problems right now in journalism is trust as it is with a lot of

different institutions and hockey's not, you know, it's not ignored on that concern either, as we've, we've witnessed a number of times in the in the last little while um but nevertheless it uh you know when you when you're into it when a big story like that or the small story um they can be just as exciting and invigorating did you ever get anything majorly wrong because you talk about always well no i've never. No. Cause you talk about the way that news is now and I feel like it's very click baity and that's just kind of how it's all gone. Like you never really got wrapped up into

that. Was that something that you, you know, when social media started and it became extremely popular, there's no doubt that different news organizations, um, started to mimic social media, TV news that sometimes became Twitter different news organizations, started to mimic social media. TV news that sometimes became Twitter and clickbaity for one. And we've all been guilty of that somewhat.

But, you know, being led down a path and leading your viewers down a path where things are wrong, that can be a problem. I remember the first thing I ever got wrong. It was when I was still in Winnipeg. I was doing a live show from the Winnipeg airport. A big deal in Canada when royalty comes to the country, right? It was an even much bigger deal then, especially the queen or something.

But her sister, Prince Margaret, Princess Margaret came to Winnipeg in about 72 or 73 to officially open the Winnipeg art gallery. Um, and so at that time, that was still a big deal, have Margaret come. So we did a live show of her arrival at the airport because it, it, it happened right in the middle of the supper hour show, news show.

And so the anchor throws to me, Peter Ransford's live coverage from the Winnipeg International Airport. Well, I come on. I say, yeah, it's a very exciting moment. Princess Margaret about to kind of step off the plane. And there she is, Princess Margaret, waving to the crowd. Well, no, she's not waving. That's odd. They usually wave and she's not wearing one of those special royal hats.

And what are those wings on the lapel of her? It was the flight attendant. It was, it was the flight attendant. And, uh, so that when I got back to the newsroom that night, cause I was, you know, I was kind of fresh out of Churchill. Um, and there were two pictures on my desk, one of Princess Margaret and one of a Air Canada stewardess, as we called them then, and was asked to do a piece for the late news on the difference between these two women.

To make light of it a little bit. Good thing there wasn't Twitter back then. Oh, God, yeah. Well, I heard Peter Mansbridge started the Otani rumors to Toronto. Oh, did you? Yeah. Did you, yeah?

It hasn't come out yet, but he was tracking the flights. About the sushi reservation that they made. Yeah, yeah. He was so trusted, you know, everyone believed. I will tell you that I was sitting on my, the edge of my seat all that day. You know, I sort of bought into it all,

just like we did with the Kauai thing. Yeah. When he was flying back. Remember, everybody thought, oh, that means he's going to sign for Toronto. And all he did was come back to say he wasn't going to sign for Toronto. But those were two bad moments. But we have Austin Matthews. You do.

That's right. And nobody else has him. Unfortunately, you don't have any defensemen or a goalie. Well, that's why the pressure is always on us. You've got to score lots of goals. What about, I always wonder, because that many interviews, 20,000, like any moments of people being standoffish or where you end up running into somebody who's grumpy

and you end up having like kind of awkwardness to it? Oh, yeah, you definitely have. You guys are old enough to remember the Beach Boys? Yeah. I interviewed Brian Wilson once, who was really the genius, Oh, yeah. You definitely have. You guys are old enough to remember the Beach Boys? Yeah. Yeah. I interviewed Brian Wilson once, who was really the genius behind the Beach Boys, but he was a little odd, right? A little prickly? Well, I wasn't prickly as much as he was odd.

Okay. He kind of lived on another planet. Yeah. But we'd arranged to do this interview. He was coming here to do a concert at Massey Hole in Toronto. And I'd always been a big fan of the Beach Boys and the Beatles. Did the same with Ringo Starr. But with Brian Wilson, we sit down for a half-hour interview, right?

He starts giving one-word answers. Oh, no. Right away. You're like, buddy, I got five minutes if you're doing this. That's kind of what he did. And so that took a lot because, you know, you're prepped for these things, but you're not expecting that the guy's going to say yes, no, maybe. Yeah. Come on.

Why'd you agree to do this? Give me more. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's kind of the way we turned it. That's very good yeah you pretty a promo or anything here buddy like you don't have a special show to sell tickets it ended up with him uh agreeing to or not agreeing but offering me to come in and sing

good vibrations with him that night at the concert he'd obviously never heard me sing he never would have asked that um but it turned out to be actually a great interview and it's a great interview to watch because you can see what goes through an interviewer's mind when they're challenged that way and they know they've got to fill the time it's a panic like for me at least when we you know you get the occasional guy that's not maybe not dying to do it or and you're just you start as the interviewer you're like i i can't do this anymore like i'm panicking right now i got no questions but fiddling with the paper it's funny there are always questions and you know and yeah and there are especially always questions if you listen the biggest challenge on most interviews big interviews um i know you guys were up all

night thinking about all what i I haven't slept a wink. I've been reading your Wikipedia since two days ago. Well, that's full of lies. In fact, the Wikipedia has me married to someone I've never heard of. That's why I always say verify. We can't trust Wikipedia unless you get the actual source. But anyway, the point I was going to make is you got to listen in an interview. And you can tell when you're watching somebody

do an interview, a big, possibly they're nervous or whatever, they're not listening. And lots of stuff goes by and all they're doing is looking down at their paper. Their next question. The next question I was going to ask. The flip side of Brian Wilson was Ringo Starr. You know, another era that I grew up in.

So getting a chance to interview Ringo, I can't remember, was it five or 10 years ago in Los Angeles, was fantastic. Now, you can imagine how many interviews he's probably, right? With probably most of the same questions all the time. Yeah.

But he made it feel like it was the first time he'd ever been interviewed. And the first time he'd ever been asked these questions. He was funny. He was insightful. He was everything. He was, it was great.

It was a great time on, you know, on Worstly trip down there to talk to him. Did you get up and sing Good Vibrations with him? With Ringo? Yeah. No, with Brian Wilson. With Brian?

No, there was no way I would have put him through that. You wouldn't need a bottle of this stuff. Yeah. Oh, you got that right. I got to ask, being since your life story, right? And I've been bouncing around Toronto a little bit and worked with a lot of people from out west come out here. Obviously you have to come out here to work

and big networks are all out here in Toronto. Right. Do you think your upbringing and moving and growing up in a small town and yeah, you ended up in Ottawa and then of course big city living, but do you think like that sense of upbringing naturally just made you good with people or like a natural charm of like your ease about you.

Cause I think you have like, you have an ease. Calmness. Calmness when you talk to somebody like just very natural. That relaxes them. Yeah. It's very therapeutic. I think the small town experience would have made that.

Yeah. And I'm sure, you know, you guys and your playing careers, you played a lot of small towns, different kind of atmosphere to that. Um, but I, you know, the, the opportunity when I, when young journalism hopefuls come and ask

me for advice and stuff, I always tell them, get out of Toronto. You know, you gotta start small. Think big. You want to think big. That, you got to start small. Think big. You want to think big. That's good. But start small. You know, I like it.

You know, we live in Stratford, Ontario now. We come into Toronto a lot. That's where Biebs is from, I think, right? That's where Biebs is from. You and Joe Thornton and Biebs. Well, Joe Thornton's St. Thomas. Oh, is that just what? Yeah.

15, 20 minutes away? Well, it's an hour. Good call, Bess. All right. But there's a lot of guys pass through Stratford. Played at the old Almond Arena, built in 1924. Wayne got his first goal ever in organized hockey in the Almond Arena. There's a picture of him there.

I was surprised. I didn't see it downstairs here. I talked to Wayne. It's funny because he's not wearing a helmet. I don't think the goalie's wearing a mask. That's crazy. But I talked to him about it and he, you know, he remembered it and I talked to Walter about

it and he, he, he remembered it as well. But all these guys who came to, you know, Chris Pronger, Eddie Olchek, they all paid, went through Stratford. Like they played for the Stratford junior B team. Oh. And Tim Taylor, there's a bunch of them. Craig Hartsburg, they all went through there.

But, you know, we go through the NHL teams, you're going to see that in most squads, right? Yeah. Guys who played in small towns and the impact of small towns had on them. In many cases, that's where they met their wives and their wives are from places like that. And so your point is a good one because it's a

whole different upbringing coming through a small town than it is in a big city. Yeah. So I tell kids, get out of Toronto, go to a small place. I said, you couldn't start a smaller night at Churchill, Manitoba. You know, you couldn't hear the radio station

a block out of town. In fact, you couldn't get out of town because there was no road. You had to go on a train to get out or fly. Is Glenn Gullitson from there? Is he from up around there? Who? Glenn Gullitson, he's assistant coach.

That's what Canadians do. They ask about guys. No, it's like, hey, you're from Canada. I know John from Canada. Well, you got to know where all these guys are from. That's right. It's kind of true. canadians do where they ask about guys no it's like hey you're from canada i know john you gotta know where all these guys are that's right it's kind of true i think you do that i think your advice is similar in a sense to hockey or any sport where all right you gotta dominate a level that until to move up to the next level you can't you can't get to the top right away so if you dominate a small town you go to a little bigger town you really prove yourself there and then that's how you get up to TO or I guess Vancouver.

But each level is a challenge too, right? Yeah. Oh yeah. You're a big fish in a small pond. Yep. You want to start over again as a little fish in the big pond. And so each level, you're challenged yourself personally and your family's challenged about, do I want to move on? The saying we used to have in Churchill was if you stayed more than three years, you'd

probably never leave because you come so attached to it. Yeah. And you have your friends there, you like it, you've set up a new lifestyle. I left right at the three year mark. One more week and I would, they're gone. But, uh, anyway.

That was, my, my ask was going to be like, what was your big break? Was it, did you just have a big year? Was there a particular interview? Like how did you end up making that next step? The big break was the airline announcement, really. Okay.

That's what started it. And then it was, you know, learning the skill, the trade. Being ambitious by the sounds of it too. Being ambitious. You know, once I'd been in there for six trade, putting together the skills. Being ambitious by the sounds of it too. Being ambitious. Once I'd been in there for six months, I said to myself, okay, I love this. And at that point in my life, I was just turned

20, I hadn't loved any of the jobs in particular that I was doing. I didn't see myself being in them for a long time. They were more in it to keep the money going and to have fun. But when I realized this was something I loved, I put together a plan for myself about where I wanted to be within two years, five years, 10 years. And the end goal was where I ended up as the chief correspondent of the CBC.

Now, I never would have told anybody that at the time. Yeah, they'd laugh at you then. Absolutely. They're like, this loser rookie's doing vision board. Yeah, that's right. Before they were even in the NBA, they did vision board. The fuck is a vision board? Get them out of here.

Let's get the coop. I tell people, I tell kids, I said, you're not going to make every one of your markers, but keep it in your mind. Some you'll get there before you thought you would. Others, it's going to take you longer. But you'll still get there as long as you believe in yourself and you keep working at it. You mentioned leaving Toronto, but is it true you almost left Canada

for the United States? Is that true? I was going to ask if that ever came about. Well, like a lot of Canadian journalists. I mean, we train and create the best journalists and, you know, some of the best journalists in the world. Um, you know, I was lucky it was around 87, 88. Um, I'd had a number of offers from NBC and CBS

for correspondence jobs, uh, overseas, Johannesburg, Paris, London. Um, but I always said no no because the CBC kept, you know, for a guy that they hired out of nowhere, they kept making things interesting for me. And then in 87, CBS offered me their morning show.

Oh. As host. That had to be tough to turn down. That was tough. At that point, I was the weekend anchor here. And so i took it i accepted it but the cbc immediately came back with nolton nash who was the anchor at that time of the national said we don't want you to go he says i'm i was planning on retiring in the next

year or so anyway why don't i retire now you You can have the job. And I thought, you know what? I, you know, I've worked towards this all my life. These guys took a chance on me and they really took a chance on me. So I, so I did it and people said, are you out of your mind? Yeah. Well, you're a good, loyal guy.

Yeah. They trained you, you got your reps, you came all the way up. They. Did they match the pay? Did they match the pay? Did you take a hometown discount loyal guy. Yeah, loyalty. They trained you. You got your reps. You came all the way up. Did they match the pay? Did you take a hometown discount like Matthews and D-Lander? I took a hometown discount. It makes theirs look like peanuts. No, it was about, I don't know.

CBC gave me about 20% of what the Americans had offered. Holy shit. What an old guy. It was the Americans had offered. Holy shit. Oh. What a little guy. And that's a great money too. It was the best job in Canada. Yeah. And you know what it is? The CBS morning thing, they've been through a

dozen hosts since then. You were the one that got away? Nothing's ever worked. Cronkite was the host of the morning show and it was a disaster. Yeah. And then it eventually ended up doing the, you know, the evening.

Well, thankfully you did it. Was it because they reciprocated your energy and gave you carte blanche, where if you wanted to go tackle a story, did you have to go through anyone, or they just gave you the green light on everything? CBC? Yeah, at that time.

Is that one of the reasons? No, but I had a lot of influence. Yeah. You know, too much. He's like Gretzky. When Gretzky walks into places, when Mansbridge walks in everyone's like oh shit there he is there get the report out get the report out pitch it to him pitch it to

him like you you had to cover a bunch of wars like some some did you ever maybe bite off a little bit more than you can chew where you were like uh maybe i shouldn't have traveled there to cover it maybe i should have just stayed stayed local I always wanted to know what it was like, especially wars. And so I, you know, I did Afghanistan, I was in Iraq, I did, uh, you know, lots of Middle East stuff. Um, but nothing like what the correspondents do.

The ones that are in the midst of it. I mean, I'd go in and out for a week, right? They're there for, you know, six weeks to six months. And, uh, and they're constantly in danger zones. Uh, you know, I was in a few, but nothing. How do they get you in and out of there to doing that in conflict areas? Like what's that like for you when you're doing

that? It's a lot like the way they, they, you know, get you to games. They show you around and it way they, you know, get you to games. They show you around and it's all, you know, business class. Five-star hotels. Limousines. Oh, yeah. All that.

Breakfast buffet. All of it. First-class flights to Afghanistan. It's just the same. High massage. I heard about that. I strongly recommend. Now, you go in like everybody else goes in,

but you know, it's changed a lot over my time when I initially started doing that stuff. It was just you and the crew. Now it's you and the crew and security. I mean, there's some, you know, some pretty rough places. Any close calls? Any like high, high danger?

The closest call I had was during one of the intifadas and it was, it was near Bethlehem of all places. We were in a hospital that was run by the Palestinians and it was surrounded by Israeli troops and we were inside the hospital and I was with our correspondent at that time, Neil McDonald, and we're trying to interview one of the

doctors about the difficulties they were having. And he said, and there were no lights on in the place because the Israelis had cut off the electricity and they asked, okay, you gotta, we gotta get some light. So we got near a window and we're doing this interview. Suddenly Neil grabs me by the shoulder, he pulls me out of the way, says for Christ's to we got to get some light so we got near a window and we're doing this interview suddenly

neil grabs me by the shoulder he pulls me out of the races for christ's sake that's bullets that's shooting they're shooting at you as you're by the window bouncing off the side of the the wall next to the window i never heard it they said they didn't like your beach boys interview that's how into the interview he was he's got bullets in his mind he's like he's like i'm listening get the next question i gotta listen to this guy i don't need these papers i'll tell you i'll tell you speaking arabic for flying it we're in that are we okay on time oh buddy you're taking a whole three hours right oh you keep going buddy this is a two-parter no the um the, um, I was in Afghanistan and we were

flying from Kabul to Kandahar, which is a flight of about an hour and a half. Um, and you're on a military plane, a C-130, a Hercules, Canadian forces plane. Um, so we get out, we all, we'd flown in a commercial into, uh, Kabul and they, they put us on the us on this Hercules and they said, okay, we've got a problem. The plane can't get high enough.

You got to be above 20,000 feet or whatever the figure was to avoid ground fire at the plane. So we can't, there's pressurization problems, so we can't do that. So we've got to fly low level. And I thought, that doesn't sound right. It sounds like we're going to be closer. Yeah.

No, we get really low. So they don't have time to see us. Suddenly we're above them and flying by them. I said, oh, okay. So how low will that be? He says, oh, about a hundred feet. Oh my God. I said, a hundred feet. You how low will that be? He says, oh, about a hundred feet. Oh my God. I said, a hundred feet.

You're buzzing the tower. In a huge military plane. I think it's a monster. A huge military plane. So my cameraman and I are, we were up front in the cockpit. And if you've been in a Hercules, cockpit's big, you know, there's a lot of room.

You can walk around, you can move around, which the cameraman needed. So we take off from, uh, from, uh, Kabul, which is surrounded by mountains. So we had to from, uh, from, uh, Kabul, which is surrounded by mountains. So we had to go up over the mountains and then down. And then the whole flight is through, you know, some mountainous regions, a lot of hilly regions.

So you're constantly, you know, going like this to, you know, to miss going into a hillside. And I'd never seen it operate before and I'd taken flying training and I'd been in the military, but the way it works on a flight like that, the pilot's flying, but the navigator is calling the shots and he's standing beside the pilot with his hand on his shoulder

saying, okay, right 10 degrees, left 10 degrees, drop your speed to what, this, that, the other. And that was constant for 90 minutes. Jesus. And I don't know whether they did it to us because I never saw anything, but they had to take evasive action.

At one point they said that they were being fired at. I never saw any evidence of that. They might've done that just for a show for us. Oh yeah. The whole thing was a show for you. But it worked. It scared the hell out of that. They might've done that just for a show for us. Oh yeah. The whole thing was a show for you. But it worked.

It worked. It scared the hell out of me. But it was an experience that I'll certainly never forget. You're a big memento guy. You, uh, Great Wall of China, you have a little piece of the wall. Not sure if that's legal.

Uh, the beaches at Normandy. It's a big wall. It is? Okay. Enough bricks to go around. They wouldn't notice. What would you say is your most unique that you've got along the travels?

Well, I have a piece of the Great Wall of China. I've got a piece of the Berlin Wall. It was there the weekend it came down or started to come down. I've got soil from Vimy Ridge. I've got stones from Juno Beach D-Day. And that's probably, you know, I've got them all involved somehow in our stone fireplace.

So they're in there. Wow. But there's probably the Juno Beach stuff that has the most impact for me having done that, you know, reunions and various anniversaries of D-Day for so many times. And I walked that beach, it took me, you know, I walked that beach with my son. You realize these guys, and we lost like 350 Canadians that day, just in that one day, uh, landing at the beach. But these guys, they were from all over the country, you know, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick,

Quebec, Ontario. They were, they were from most of the provinces. 18 years old, tell them. 18, 19, 20 years old. Guys who'd known each other all their lives. You know, they'd grown up together. Some of them, they'd, up together, some of them. They'd enlisted together, they'd trained together

and suddenly they're there and they're being told no matter what happens. Keep going. No matter, keep going. Incredible. People are going to get shot. Guy beside you could get shot. You got to keep going. It's the only way we're going to take this beach.

And so whenever I've walked on that beach, I've walked on it quite a few times, I think of that and what that must mean like, you know, you're with your buddy and your buddy gets shot and he's lying there bleeding and dying and you got to keep going. Yeah. Those guys, and as you say, they're ages.

You go to any of those military cemeteries, you know, anywhere in Europe or anywhere else in Asia as well, Canadians in Hong Kong. And you look at the ages and you go, my God, you know, the things they never got to do. Yeah. Yeah. They all saved the world though, you know. Yeah. My father-in-law went to Normandy and he's just said, it's, I would

love to go over there and see that. He just said, it's so like, like you, like you said, it's solemn and you're just like taking it all in and appreciating it. So it's amazing what you've been able to do when, when the Berlin wall came down and you were there was, was that more like celebration? Was that, was it with those people? It was a mix of both things. I mean, it, it those people? It was a mix. Okay. Of both things. I mean, it, it, it, it had happened suddenly.

Yeah. And the world changed. It literally changed that weekend. You know, I, we didn't know to what extent it would change, but the very fact the wall was coming down, East and West Berlin were going to be reunited. East and West Germany were going to be reunited.

Other countries were going to abandon communism. So did they fly you over just quick? Like you're here and all of a sudden this is happening. You're on a plane. I was, I was at a constitutional conference in Ottawa.

Oh, that sounds exciting. And I kept saying, look at this, look at what's happening. We've got to get over there. So they finally said, yeah, okay, go. So, and that's what you do. You just fly all night and you get there and you do it and fortunately nbc was there uh you know 24 hours before i got there

and a match to and he was able to set up a whole system that we were able to piggyback on so and so within an hour of being there i was was broadcasting. So it all worked quite well. But it was this mixture of celebration and stuff. And there were people coming through, families reunited, hadn't seen each other in 30 years. Holy shit. It was all quite something to see. Were you in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics? That must have been an amazing celebration, right?

And you're kind of spearheading all the coverage. Well, unfortunately, the CBC didn't have the rights to the Vancouver Olympics. Oh, really? CTV had. Wow. But I was there for the whole two weeks because, you know, you were concerned that something might happen and you need to get on the air to, to deal with it,

something other than sports. But, but it, you know, all, all went well, but it's still, the city was alive and. Yeah. You know, and, and it had a great end result in, in, in hockey terms. There's my question. You got one for us?

When the draft happens. Yeah. Who would you pick first? If you were the captain of the team that gets to pick first of all those players for the all-star game for the all-star game who are the captains are mcdavid mckinnon matthews and another hughes brothers hughes brothers hughes brothers so i'm on i'm on the mckinnon train right now well he's already a captain though though. He's a captain. Oh, okay. So like Sid? I'm probably grabbing, yeah, Sid maybe just because he's such a legend or Pettersson.

Pettersson, if he's, right? He grabbed that. Like I said on Monday night when I was working Rogers because I left Sid off because I don't want to be biased because, you know, I love Sid. Barzal. Yeah. I think with the format and the way he skates, the way he controls a puck, love watching him play.

Do you agree, since you're Mr. Canada too, about what Biz says that USA is coming for all our hockey stuff now? They're going to take us over. They're taking over hockey, the USA hockey kids. Well, look at the pattern they're on. I know, but like, you have any pushback on that as a Canadian?

Or are you just going to give in? Go back to Churchill and start a new program. Are we going to strap on the skates for that? No, we don't know. They've got a huge pool of potential. And you just have to look at what's happened in the last few years in terms of some of the players coming along.

There'll still always be that Canadian thing about hockey that will have an influence on players. Do you think we're losing that? But coming after us and beating us are two different things. Yeah. I don't think there's any doubt they're coming after us on all levels, whether it's men,

women. I mean, the women contest. Oh yeah, that's good. It seems it's something else. You didn't tell me though, who would you pick? I would probably pick Nylander because, you know, the rich get richer and I think that he's probably going to end up winning.

Is the number one overall all-star game? No matter which team you're captain on? This is how big of a Leafs job Stephanie is. Matthews is a captain, correct? I know, but there are four captains. Yes. I don't know who's getting the first overall pick. So I think that if I'm Matthews, I'm picking Nylander.

You want your teammate and the camaraderie and just somebody that you're comfortable with, three on three. And as far as R.A.? I got Kucherov. Like everyone, we all forget him. Yeah, yeah, he's been playing his ass off all year. I do what Colby's done.

Not because I'm a pal of Sid's, but because he's Sid. I mean, he's out of hell for years. No, he's nominated. And he's Sid. I mean, I think it would be a real, whoever's makes that first pick, maybe it is Matthews, I don't know, but they should, they should

pick Sid. Um, we glanced over it. All right. So you were enlisted in the Navy, Canadian Navy. Yeah. What, like, what was that experience like? Like what life, like a life lesson?

I was in pilot training. Okay. I was a fly boy. I was, we had a, believe it or not, Canada had an aircraft carrier then. The Bonaventure was stationed off the East Coast out of Halifax and they flew trackers, uh, which was a, a two engine plane.

Uh, the wings folded up that were, uh, flew off the Bonnie. And I had this dream of wanting to do that. Like Top Gun kind of like the, pretty much that kind of. Well, it was a prop plane. It was. Okay.

I could see you playing volleyball on the beach with no shirt on. That's right. You've got. But anyway. You already got the wings. I trained for that. I got through primary flying school, which was

in, near Barrie, flying a little plane called Chipmunk, single engine. Then I went to Portage to Prairie and flew twin engine planes, expediters. Didn't make it through that. Have you seen that Masters of the Air show from HBO yet? I started watching it.

I started last night. It's pretty good. Yeah. The, the images are fantastic. Those guys were legends. Holy shit. Like we were talking about. That's when my dad, who was not in the

American Air Force, he was in the British Air Force, in the RAF. And he flew Lancasters, which was the British equivalent of what. Really? These guys are flying in that series. And, uh, he did 52 missions. um, which is a lot of missions. So when you consider that in the first five, the odds were one in three that you

were going to get killed on your first five missions. He did 52. He did 52. What made your dad move to Canada? Or your family? We moved from England after the war to Malaya and ended up in another war. And my parents, there were two of us as young kids, my sister and I. And my mom and dad decided we got to give them a chance.

You know, we can't continually live in a state of war. So we moved to Canada where he took an extremely low-level job in the public service in Ottawa and kind of worked his way up. And, um, and so obviously for my sister and I, it was, uh, you know, it was the best thing that could happen. How old were you then, sorry? Six when we got here. With my cricket bat. But like you would have been around all that. Your dad was involved in that, The history, it triggered your brain.

Yeah. And that's why you're just like this been, I mean, humbly speaking for you, of course, this legendary Canadian broadcaster of Canada. I look at YouTube clips. I remember watching you when we won the Memorial Cup, guys. We got a message from Peter Mansbridge. That was like a huge deal, right? That made me like, wow, we won the Memorial mansbridge that was like a huge deal right that was like that made

me like wow we won the memorial cup yeah that was like the moment because he was like yeah we heard you all the way out here in toronto at the national like his voice yeah like the way he does it we had a video and a little clip from you how you gave us a little shout out from your from your news desk and i was just like holy shit but we made all the difference in their win yeah yeah exactly what was your first reaction when you saw peter man's biz y'all so we were doing a mcdonald's ad and i had to be a news anchor and i'm like fucking i'm going all in like for the legend i was trying to pay homage but i don't know how it was going to be received right like i don't know if it's going to be a type response or or i was honored just like i was in uh won an academy award an oscar for zootopia yes the mouse i'm in there for 12 seconds my voice oh my god i've watched that with

the kid yeah that's you peter moosebridge yeah yeah they call me holy shit so that was a that was a highlight of my career not man's best waiting for the award yeah you get a free happy meal that's about it for the mcdonald's ad we did you said malay is that like what was malaysia back then it's uh malaysia now now right yeah i flipped that around. And that was one of the reasons he went there was to help them establish basically independence. Okay.

And we lived there for three years. And it's, you know, it's right on the equator. So, you know, it was a pretty nice place to live. We were treated well until the shooting started. It was a bit of a mess. I was going to say, you've given so much to Canada. Was there anything when you retired that you

wanted to accomplish for yourself or for your family? Did you go on like a, like a big world tour? Like, is there still something that you feel that you need to accomplish in your life? That's a, it's a major thing. Probably not. You know, I mean, I, I've, uh, yeah, I was

extremely lucky in all the time I worked, uh, at the CBC. I'm still working. I do a daily podcast, um, which is deals in, you know, politics and current events. I, uh, give the odd lecture at the University of Toronto. I have a media consulting business.

Um, you know, I, I, I, I I do, you know, a number of things. I write books. I've got a current, I've written four books since I retired and that was only seven years ago. So I'm still, you know, enjoying the work side of life, but I'm also enjoying the not having to work, you know, every day, like at your own pace, at my own pace.

And that's the trick. We, we wanted to, my wife's an actor, so she's fairly well known in the country and it would, it's hard for us to go anywhere without people recognizing us, you know? And so we, we're traveling, we did a lot of traveling in different parts of the world. We decided we were traveling. We did a lot of traveling in different parts of the world. We decided we loved Scotland.

So we have a place in Scotland, way up north in the Highlands, right on the North Sea. That homage to the former queen? That's where she spent her summers. You're right. She used to drop over for a cup of tea. Wasn't a stewardess. Is it also the lushness of of like scotland i

basically everywhere in britain that's what doesn't promote that whole country yeah it's green i went and played in cardiff during the lockout and you know we would drive to to brayhead and you know go play in those teams and you're just on the bus through these rolling hills and everything's so lush and beautiful. And it's just, we're right by a Royal Dornick, which is one of the greatest courses in the world. I got to play it once. Oh, you play it? Oh yeah.

No, it's a fantastic course. Um, so we're, we're close there. So it's a lot of golf. I'm a terrible golfer, but my son is, is developing into a really good golfer. Um, so, uh, we,. So we love it over there. We've got some friends who know nothing, wouldn't know anything about what I used to do.

But I said, I built a, we got a couple of old barns, attached them together, renovated it, and I built a little studio in there. So I still do my podcast every day. With Scotland or here or Stratford. Awesome. Would you go to Scotch if you drink? I love the odd Scotch, especially on the course.

Oh yeah. Have a flask. Oh yeah. And you need it there. It'll warm you up. Something's different over there. I'm not a big whiskey drinker, but over there it just tastes a little better yeah cold windy day you get the flask on the course exactly i got i got a question um because you mentioned

in terms that we're not political people or a political podcast but you mentioned how the news has changed and the trust issues and in a sense like you almost got a little lucky when you retired like 16 trumpet comes into office and everything's just gone completely haywire like you got to almost be like i'm kind of glad i'm completely out i'm just out of like you have your podcast but i'm not in the midst of where people just hate reporters and hate correspondents and and the thing for me is it is it odd to you to see how every station has like a political leaning? And was it always like that?

Or has it just gone so crazy? No, it was crazy. Newspapers always had. Yes, yes. You know, an opinion section and an editorial team that would make a decision about how they wanted to. They'd lean one way or the other. Exactly. But the reporters.

The news never did. Were just reporters. You know, sometimes their headlines would be twisted by the, the editorial page people. Um, but there's, there seems to have been a change in the way that's moved. And also on television, there's a lot more opinion in television pieces than there used

to be, which is, I have a problem with. Yeah, it's just the news, right? And in terms of the specialty networks, I mean, you see what's happened in the States. You've got Fox doing its right-wing thing. And then you've got MSNBC that has basically decided our path is going to be the opposite to Fox and all their commentators at

night, um, uh, take a more left-wing approach. Their journalists are still all pretty good, including some of the ones at Fox. Uh, some are, uh, friends of mine in all three networks, but, uh, but the pushing of opinion has really colored things a lot. And that has, um,

that has cost media generally on the, on the trust. It's a little poisonous now where it's like, you just, just tell us the damn news. We don't need really your opinion on it or you're arguing on it or you're inflating of things. Cause you have to say something crazy.

Yeah. It's so you're right. So you don't do that at all. If you, if you decide to say something crazy. Yeah. So you're right. So you don't do that at all if you decide to talk politics on your podcast? Like, you know, you've been around a while. You've seen things change. Like, do you ever give your opinion on one, what you think might need to change? Or are you happy with the state of where, like maybe capitalism? I try to keep my opinion out of it in terms of issues that directly impact us, our country.

of it in terms of issues that directly impact us, our country. Mm-hmm. But I have not been hesitant in saying what I think of Trump and some of, some of his actions. Let's put it that way. And I think, you know, it's going to be a really interesting year as a result of that because there's going to be an impact in terms of what

happens with him of what happens with him for what happens here as well. So I think, uh, you know, the luxury of the podcast, I mean, I own it, I do it, I can do whatever I want on it. Right. I'm not the CBC voice anymore. You're not answering to anyone.

No. Um, so I, you know, I make a decision about, you know, the things I want to say, but on, in terms of directly covering the Canadian news, I try to stay in a, in as much of a center lane as I can. Yeah. But to mention that, like a lot of disdain, like the last, you know, six, eight years, you think that's because there's so much like intentional misinformation and like straight up propaganda available now. Like, you know, there's channels on cable in the States. They're not just blatant propaganda. We didn't have that eight, ten years ago. That's really messing with the waters like we just said.

Yeah. It's a result of social media. It's a result of the expanded universe of news channels. And needing ratings too, right? Needing ratings. I mean, listen, Fox is a hell of a business. And needing ratings too, right? Needing ratings. I mean, listen, Fox is a hell of a business. They make a ton of money. Mind you, they've had to give some of it back

because of the fact they've been lying. But I mean, the two things to keep in mind are there's a difference between disinformation and misinformation misinformation is simply you're wrong you know you got it wrong it was a mistake legitimate mistake your research was bad that this that it wasn't deliberate disinformation that's deliberate and when they do it they're doing it for a reason. Trying to influence whether you, how you vote, what you buy, where you go, all of that stuff. Um, and people need to call that out.

Misinformation happens. People make mistakes. And a, a good news organization will concede that and say, we were wrong about this. And we want to correct the record. You won't hear them say that about disinformation because they're doing it for a reason. Yeah.

We just do a hashtag rumor boy. We don't apologize. We make up anything. We don't apologize. I noticed. Yeah. I got a headline for you. This might be misinformation.

Peter Mansbridge, known hoarder, collects rocks from all over the world, hoards them in his house. Is that miss or dis? Is that miss or dis? Wanted by the Chinese government. For stealing the world. Breaking news. That's right.

That's right. I'm going to break it as Peter Mansbridge. You're a, you're a truth teller colby nothing inaccurate about what you said nothing thank you i i my last one for you is um the clip that comes to my mind is is that lunatic bill o'reilly screaming fuck it we'll do it live like did you ever have like maybe a little meltdown on a producer or you felt bad like no never no you're always no you did you did oh listen i would get i i would get upset too but i the one thing that you guys don't have to worry about it is i always was very careful about where my microphone was and whether it was on hot mic hot mic that. Hot mic. That'll take anyone down.

I always wore a headpiece and I always made sure before I put it on that it was, um, that if, if I was talking, I would hear it whether I was on air or off air. Oh, okay. And you know, you can tell the difference and you know, you hear your voice differently when you can actually hear it through a microphone. The other thing I did was I, I never went, you

know, I never went into the studio until the very last moment. Yeah. I don't want to be there early either. Not that many. I'm not like you. For two reasons. I don't want to sit there with all the lights

on and everything ready. Everybody talking about getting up and being ready for it. I also don't want to be there because I got a microphone on. So, um, so I would always come in and it would drive the floor director and the camera operators crazy. I would come in a minute, 30 seconds before the opening theme.

I'd just come in, put the stuff on, and bingo, we were there. And to me, that was the safest and also the best for me because, you know, I, I would get nervous. You asked about nerves. I would get nervous for every show I ever did. Same. Oh yeah.

I know. I'm sure it's before the puck drill. Your live TV, heavy topics, like know your shit, like you got to be like. Yeah, all of that. And understanding that, you you know in my case what you do is important to people they wouldn't be watching so you know i was always a little bit nervous but once you're through that first 10 seconds bingo you're in game on hockey game it's

like taking your first hit takes out getting hit early in the game your first shift the only problem i was playing the hl that would take about three quarters of a period so fuck i sit there with nerves the whole time by the time I got out there. So you get the luxury to just snap around after 10 seconds. Yeah, yeah. He's Wayne Gretzky. That's a nice.

So you would, was it like a fight or flight thing before every single thing that you did, whether it was an interview, whether it was a live? Yeah, I mean, there was a level of, yeah, you're nervous. So, you know, it wasn't like I was falling over. I remember the first, uh, the first show I ever did, uh, of a live, uh, special

nature, um, big one, a big political one was the 72 election in Manitoba. And I was sitting there with the main anchor guy named by the name of Bill Guest. And we'd done a few rehearsals. I was kind of the color guy talking about what the political impact of certain decisions the public might make was.

So we go on, it was like eight o'clock. We sign on, or no, so it's like a minute before sign on, everybody's tense. And I look over at Bill, who is a fantastic broadcaster and a veteran. I look at him and underneath the desk, his hand is, it's like this. And I'm looking at him going, this is my

first show and he's cheating. And I said, Bill, you're nervous? And he just looked at me and he said, listen, kid, the day you're not nervous is the day you shouldn't be doing it anymore there you go you got to realize the stakes and drives the energy and it does yeah there's been a few times where i haven't been and like you said you're just like oh fuck something's off like i'm not i don't have juice when you're done like an evening news report or something like even when you're doing say, say your 9-11 broadcast where you're on for 40 hours straight

or whatever it was, like, was it even hard to sleep after that? Because I get home after hockey games at night. I'd, you know, work a double header. It's like one o'clock in the morning. Vancouver just spanked someone and I get home, but I'm like on live TV, just did the postgame show and you're like, you're still buzzing.

You're processing everything still. Yeah. And you're like, what did I say? Did I say something dumb? Big shows. Big shows for sure. 9-11, you're still buzzing. You're processing everything still. Yeah. And you're like, what did I say to say something dumb? Big shows, big shows for sure. 9-11, a big election night, anything where you were on for any length of time, you couldn't sort of leave and go home and go to bed.

Um, it, it would take a lot of kind of winding down. Um, I was trying to think of one after the Quebec referendum in 1995, which if you remember, it was very close. I was trying to think of one. After the Quebec referendum in 1995, which if you remember, it was very close. I remember. Right? When they tried. Was it 51%?

Yeah, it was basically about. 51-49 was the vote or something, right? It was that close? Yeah. It was like 50 and a half to 40 and a half. Okay. Very close. So it was a hell of a night.

But when it was over and we finally signed off, couldn't go to sleep for sure. So a couple of us went for a walk around downtown Montreal, which is, as you guys know, is always alive in some fashion. And I'm thinking, okay, here's a night where this place has just had the biggest question ever put before it and the closest result. In other places that I've been to in the world

on nights that even remotely resembled that, there'd be like fires in the street. Yeah. You know, fighting, there'd be all kinds of stuff going on. And here we are in Canada and people are sitting in bars, people who were on both sides of these issues, that issue.

Um, one side was disappointed. The other side was not happy. They were like exhausted in relief. But I was thinking that's such a Canadian. Canadian. Yeah. We're very fortunate. Yeah. Hey, good's such a Canadian. Canadian. Yeah, we're very fortunate. Yeah.

Hey, good election there, bud. Yeah. That was one of the final questions I was going to ask you, just like how grateful, like how grateful are you that you were raised in Canada? Like it's such an amazing country. It is, you know, and it's not like we don't have issues.

We have issues and they need to be addressed. And we've all kind of been slow to realizing that on some of the big social issues that we face. But we're still this amazing country. It's big, it's diverse in every fashion, geographically, resource, culture, everything. culture, everything. Um, and all you have to do as some of you have done, and I've certainly done is travel the world and see how other places live. So it's not ignoring the issues we've still

got to address, but it's a pretty good place. Yeah. To live in and people would trade anything to be there. When they hear you're from canada oh man they're jealous you know i i got one last one uh what are your thoughts on immigration so much oh it's amazing yeah this has been oh i want to know great who you're unbiased peter mansbridge um the national 50 years unbiased pick for the stanley cup and i know you're a leaf blower and is it coming back to canada i think we're um ask me that in two weeks okay we'll get you back on

because a little closer to the deadline we'll get a reporter yeah. A little closer to the deadline. We'll get a reporter. Yeah, but once again, I agree with Biz here that I think Samsonov has turned a corner. Let's go. If it's real. And three games is just three games, but he was incredible in those days. You're talking for Stanley Cup. I'm saying I'd like to, I can see that, I can

see that Vancouver, Toronto thing. I would like to think that in my lifetime. You get to see it. I get to see something like that, but that I get to see a Leaf victory, uh, or at least after 21 years, a Canadian victory in the Stanley Cup. And I think, I think this is going to be the year where that's going to happen.

There's just too many good hockey teams. Unless they start the crater after the all-star break, you know, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton can't win forever. Want to bet? But Shane Doan, I play with him, a guy I respect. He's like a mentor to me. He compared the Samsonoff thing to, is it

Trey Turner who played for the Phillies? I think he completely folded in the playoffs. No, opposite. So he had a really, really rough regular season. Oh, okay. And he was really struggling. And I think he went like, you know, 0 for 3, 0 for 4. Went on like a 12-15 game, like awful drought.

But the Philly fans were still giving him standing O's and cheering for him. Where I feel like Samsonov, he got sent to the minors, cleared waivers, everything. But yet Leafs fans have still embraced him and really gave him that standing O. That two on none. Right.

That kind of turns turn a corner. But even before that, I feel like they were being supportive or sometime in this market. If you're not playing well, they're going to give you the blue birds where I feel like that support, even before he had that two on O and that big one, nothing win against Winnipeg. I feel like they,

the fan base elevated them and he's, he's reciprocating that energy that they provide him, and that's why I believe. And then Trey Turner, of course, finally turned the corner, and he went on this crazy run. They made playoffs, and I mean, what, did they get beaten? The semis? Yes.

But maybe it's a different- But they need more than Sammy. I know, I understand. These are the big questions. Don't kill my dreams. Domi and Bertuzzi have got to, they've got to turn a corner. Big time.

Big time. Who would you want to get? Okay. Stanley Cup. You still, I'll ask you in two weeks. That's fair. Who would you get as a trade deadline and portraits coming up here?

That's a big topics. What teams are looking for? What they need? What do you need with the Leafs? D. Anyone in particular? It takes a real genius to figure out they need some D.

Chikorin would be great, but how are they going to make that happen? The big guy is Tanev. Yeah. That's what everyone says. I'm not there on Tanev. I was there on Zdorov. Oh, same here.

That's what Viz was. Viz was bummed they didn't get him. We needed that. Big ogre. But there must be others out there because they need help on D. Do you pick up the phone and call Shani? Are you that big?

Not Shani, but. His boss. Tree. Oh, even. I see Tree's dad. Tree's dad. Tree's dad stays at the same. Jim?

Jim stays at the same. You back channeled a Jim to Tree. Yeah. Sick move. I remember telling Jim on the day one of the season, I said, they win tonight, Tree's going to be a hurdle. We're going to do a special. It's the beginning of the year. A special dragon's day.

One game. Everyone goes to the pitch and sees what the team needs, and whoever wins, they get it picked. And what about Keefe? What about Keefe? I like Keefe. I don't think you have any reason to get rid of Sheldon Keefe right now. I think you give it until the end of the season.

And if you don't like what you've seen throughout the rest of the season and playoffs, I mean, they're in a wild card right now, so they might not even make it, but I think after that you make a decision. I think it would be too hostile if you try to change that. I think you got, you know, he's not the one who signed some of these people.

Right? He's the coach. He's got to deal with what they gave him. And he's got, percentage wise, probably the best record any Toronto coach has ever had. Right. He's, I think, four or five in wins

overall in the history of the Leafs. And so, I think that would be the wrong place to start. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I told you that

Samsonoff was a low-key great sign a couple years ago, didn't he, Biz? Yeah, it just took a while to come through. Now, two weeks ago, I would have, you said,

get him out of here. Get him out of here. I can't even take my goddamn garbage can to the curb. We got guys like Peter Mansbridge yelling at me, what's going on? Send him off to Buckley to growl at us. All right, before we go any further, here's a few words from our friends at ZipRecruiter. Our friends at ZipRecruiter conducted a recent survey and found that the top hiring challenge employers face for 2024 is a lack of qualified candidates. But if you're an employer in need

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to try ZipRecruiter for free. ZipRecruiter.com slash SC. Again, that's ZipRecruiter.com slash SC. ZipRecruiter, the smartest way to hire. Huge thanks to Peter for jumping on his biz. This guy is like just, you know, absolute legend up there, hey? I wanted to pay homage to him when we did this silly YouTube video, me and Pasha chopped up, and then that's ended up being the bet as well when we went to the Western Conference Finals. So that's how it all sparked.

Then I went on his podcast at some point. And then of course we wanted to return the favor and get that legend on ours and some great stories, you know, an incredible run in TV and just a machine. So thank you to him for coming on. And it was a good time. Yeah.

Good stuff. Oh guys. I, so you guys were just, before we just went to break, you guys were talking about Austin Matthews potentially breaking

Gretzky's goal record. You said, I wonder what John Bucciagross thinks of this. So I texted Bucci and I said, the boys are on the pod right now and they were wondering

if you think Austin Matthews can break Gretzky's goal record just like he predicted Ovechkin's. And he said, you mean Ovechkin? And then he went on to say, I don't think he'll break it.

He has a history of injury. Ovechkin never. And he said, you mean Ovechkin? And then he went on to say, I don't think he'll break it. He has a history of injury. Ovechkin never did. Poppy will need 900. I don't know. Interesting. Very interesting. Ovi slowed down quite a bit. We'll keep tabs on it as always. So one of the discussions we had about

amount of punishment you take as a center Iceman and how much more skating, but then to the contrary, like look at how hard that Ovi was playing, even as a winger, like the amount of damage he probably even inflicted to himself from running around the way he did for so many years. So I just think with the way that they're training now and the way that they got their diets dialed in, that they actually, if you're really taking care of yourself and you're as dedicated as matthews is your your longevity will be greater that's my that's my prediction obviously tough to argue

with what olvie's done for from his longevity perspective but i don't know i don't know uh it'll come down to the wire this next one biz uh very unique story so the national predators they had asked permission to uh go to vegas early they wanted to go see you too at the sphere you know the sphere we're always talking about it i mean i think it's sort of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you two may never go back there it's a unique setting but anyways they played like shit uh nine to two lost all of a sudden the trip got canceled they were supposed to take all the staff the players would like treating a whole bunch of people to this thing. And I thought originally it was Andrew Brunette,

but it seems like Barry Trotz, he was pissed off about it. He says, we don't have bad culture. Our standards had slipped below expectations. When you have young players, you have to send them a message that you can't be rewarded if your standards and your preparation slips below your principles. So they're basically punished because they had a bad couple games and they can't see you two at the sphere.

I know it's only a fucking concept, but is this something that could, like, I don't know, backfire in some way or guys just say, fuck it, it's a bump in the road, move along. Wait, you want this one first? No, I feel like you got an opinion on this, so go right ahead. I'm a little bit softer and I would have thought that, you know what, we just got pumped. We're not playing great.

You need a little outing to put a little bit of fun back in your life, right? Nobody wants to get pumped. I feel like, yes, doing what he did might have guys react the other way. But then people also might say that my opinion's soft on that. That's something that like back in the day when I was playing junior, I don't know if Dave Tippett would have exactly done, did something like that. But yeah, I wouldn't have done it.

If I was a coach, I probably would have used the bullet. Yeah, they were looking to cancel it, but I said, no, we need a team outing. So let's go have some fun, but bring your fucking effort back next practice and next game and let's fucking get going here. Yeah, it's a tough one. Man, they were at home and they got completely embarrassed. So looking at the old school way, like as a coach, you're like, well, they don't deserve to go do this. What sucks is that they were bringing the training staff and the equipment managers. So it's a real kick in the dick for everyone but for me it's like yeah dude if

you're gonna be on home ice and get completely waxed like that with that effort by the way the coolest part of that night was the fact duchesne scored two goals and then was lead singing playing guitar at tootsies like that might be one of the most legendary nhl nights i've ever heard of shout out dallas too maybe the least discussed best team we've ever had like it like that yeah i know it's almost good. Like nobody talks about it. But I get random texts from people like, hey, you like a sleepy future on a couple? And I'm like, just bet Dallas.

Just bet Dallas. They're going to be in it. They'll be in the Western Conference final. But I see where Burnett's coming from. It would have sucked to be on that team or a part of the staff of that team. But man, you got completely trucked in your own building. And in his mind, he's like, all right, well, they're probably already thinking about going to Vegas. And I was nice enough to say, yeah, we can go early. You can

do this. It's definitely a tough decision. Probably now in the NHL, you don't see this as often. But I mean, I guess I look back to when I played, although we always tell the story that Edzo said, if we won a game, we could have two days off. And then we lost 6-1. And he goes, I take the two days off. So there's a different mentality to different coaches. But that's just him saying, this is embarrassing. Like, you can't play like that and expect to be rewarded

after you guys asked me we could go out there early. A hard decision to make for a coach, though. I'm sure he kind of thought about it. And then in the end, he was that mad and pissed off You guys asked me we could go out there early. A hard decision to make for a coach, though. I'm sure he kind of thought about it, and then in the end, he was that mad and pissed off and just said, nope, no fun for you guys in Vegas. You got under 30 games left in your season. You're two points outside of a playoff spot.

I just think it's time to remind them, hey, we didn't need to fucking do this. This is not how you treat your fans at home, i still go so that's how i feel about her ra and the argument is would be sternness if you're gonna let them do it after that trouncing like you know that in vegas they're gonna have a big effort right you or maybe as a coach you'd think all right these guys are going to be going balls to the wall after i give them this party after that beat down but trots talked about it right like you got to set the tone, and that's not at all what he wants to see a team play like at home. And so they made the decision.

I wonder if Trotz was involved. Oh, yeah. No, he was. I think he was the architect of the whole thing. I mean, obviously, Burnett answers to him. And he said it was about the predators and the fans, not about the players on the team. You know, they're going through somewhat of a rebuild on the fly. And he says, you know, we will not tolerate those efforts in front of our fans

paying money to see us play. I don't know. I'm obviously old school in a lot of ways, but it's fucking you two at the sphere, man. Come on. Like, they might never go back there. It's not like they'll play in a football stadium or an arena, man. I mean, it's like, fuck, man. I would be pissed off if I was a fan.

They're not getting paid to go. They're not getting paid to go to the U2 at the Sphere they're getting paid to win hockey games right but they don't have a game that night they're going on a

fucking off night man I mean they still socialize they still go to dinner and fuck around and do all the other shit I mean I don't know I'd be fucking pissed

I'm with you I would have gave them each a little packet of shrooms we would have been having a ball laughing our balls off and then the next day

steam room right off to practice. Let's fucking go, boys. Battle drills. Was that announced before they went and beat the Blues? They beat the Blues 5-2. And now, did you see Bennington butt an Evangelista in the face? Did you see that, Biz? Yeah, he's in full Bennington mode right now.

And that's why St. Louis scares me. If they sneak in. They kind of got their swagger back and so does Bennington, the snowman. I know a guy who got a 100-1 ticket on them. Would believe it or not. The Blues? Fuck, man.

They like it on everyone. I do got about eight or nine. Bessie just scored. So what's it? Eight, seven now? What a fucking shootout that is. But yeah, anyways, man, I felt bad for the boys. They didn't get to see you too.

So you know who we might see soon? Bill Kessel. He's doing a conditioning stint up in Abbotsford, British Columbia, hoping to sign with the Canucks. We did talk to Rick Tarkin on the Chicklets cast the other night. Want to throw a clip of that on, G, please? We've messaged a little bit, but I think it's more for him to see where he's at. We got the

skills coaches that work with him. He's been off for 10 months, but the thing with Phil, he's a freak, right? He can do a lot of things. He's a sports freak, right? So I don't know where he's in shape. I know the one thing, he can pass the puck,

and we'll see where it goes. The first phase here is the next four or five days he leaves out physically before we even entertain anything from there. I mean, Biz, what would you put the odds at that he's a Canuck in, say, two, three weeks? 70%, 80% is conditioning, I guess, a little bit off, but you think he's almost a definite Canuck or what? Yeah, I think watching him skate,

I think they had like a double practice or whatever in the AHL and he looked like he was struggling a little bit. It's not easy getting back up to pace, but it's more for that guy just in the locker room. He just adds that levity, especially for a team with a core who doesn't have that much playoff experience i think the only year they they made a run was when they went to the second round

right is that is that a when they went i think they played against st louis and the bubble was the farthest that they've been with this core group so aside from that man i just think that it's important to have a guy around who can take take the edge off and he's an important piece that's been around who can do that and if you throw him in the mix he's a guy who might pull two goals out of his ass who knows but last year he proved that he could be that guy who's in the locker room who's not contributing as much yet adding a lot as you saw in our interview with Marcheseau like he said that him and Marcheseau were going back and forth and the whole locker room was loving it. It,

it almost, it almost took your focus away from how big the challenge was to win the Stanley cup. And I think that that's drastically important. What, what do you, what do you feel about it? I just think it's no risk,

right? It's just like, all right, yeah, bring them in. If it works out great, if it doesn't, you already had a team that's played so good all year.

And, and I think there was no chance he was going anywhere without a prior history. So him with talk and, I mean, before game seven, he's calling him out for like a pull-up competition. Like it's obviously a guy who's been in all the big moments. His career has been awesome. So bring him in. And if it works out awesome and if it doesn't, no worries.

So it makes sense to me. I figured he would he would be somewhere at one point i mean i know he wasn't a part of the a big part of the playoffs for vegas but he wasn't bad in the regular season what do you have 15 goals last year so if he can get into shape and i think it'll all come down to like how he looks down in abbotsford when he's skating if they can get i mean all the clips were funny it was like this guy's dying right now no shit he probably he hasn't been in a legit pro practice in eight, nine months, whatever it's been. So he's going to be dying a little bit and winded.

But if he figures it out and goes up to Van and is comfortable there and gets put in the lineup and signs with that team, I love the move. Because there's zero risk to it whatsoever. Just get a cup champion in a locker room for a team that's trying to go on a run. Yeah, he hasn't played since April 23rd of last year, so I hope he gets back in the league. I hope more than anything else when he's done playing, he comes on this fucking show because I feel like he'd be one of the fucking funniest

guys we'd ever have on the show. Either way, we're rooting for Kess to get back in the NHL. A few milestones this week as well. Congrats to my neighbor, Brad Marchand. He played his 1,000th NHL game versus Tampa last week. He's in his 15th season already. Holy shit, 912 points in

1,002 games. And also Vegas D-man Alex Petrangelo also played his 1,000th game versus LA. But did you see what they did? Something a little different. Instead of the silver stick, they gave him a golden stick, and they actually presented it to him before he actually played in the 1,000th game. That was a little something different. Instead of the silver stick, they gave him a golden stick and they actually presented it to him before he actually played in the 1000th game. That was a little something different.

What do you mean? When did they give it to him? Before he played in the 1000th game. Yeah, normally they wait to the next game before the next game to do or a few games in some cases to your back home. So they presented it to him on 999 before. But I mean, fuck

man, like if you get through warm-up, like, you're there. Oh, yeah, no. You're there. I'm not bitching about it. It's just interesting. He didn't go with the silver stick. They gave him the gold stick because, obviously, Vegas Golden Knights.

I thought that was an interesting little touch, something a little bit different. I bet you he gets the silver, too, but they just wanted to give him the gold one. So he's going to get two sticks. I can't believe St. Louis didn't re-sign him. Yeah, that was a fun one. Like, the fact that he's gonna get two sticks i can't believe saint louis didn't resign him that that was a fun like the fact that he's you know he's gone on to win another stanley cup as as one of the few true number one defensemen in the league like that guy can do it all incredible career hall of famer for sure and and no doubt like him and marshawn like the way they've done

it for this long and they keep producing so pet Petro isn't slowing down either, man. That guy, I remember in camp with him, Biz, I didn't know how good he was. And then you just see him, he's another human breakout, like Adam Fox, right? He gets it. He's either moving his feet and making it on his own skating or he's snapping it up tape to tape.

Just been an incredible player, like drafted high. Everyone knew what he could do and he's lived up to everything. I skated with him when they were in St. Kitts when he was playing for the Niagara Ice Dogs. And when he was like 16, 17 years old. Could already tell. Oh, yeah. He was like big, could skate well.

The one thing at St. Louis camp that got even better, though, was like the way he defends and how well of a skater he is. You never had any time with the puck. He would have been closed in on you stick on puck and then body like shortly thereafter where we were doing those one-on-one drills down the ice as a four i'd basically just fucking throw it in the bench like fucking next next you know you said when you would look down the line it was crosby and you would you know oh okay well oh my skate lace yes oh shit or go ahead. Oh, yeah.

But, yeah, same thing. He's a freak and still doing it. Both guys, Hall of Famers. You still better not pay for a parking ticket for Brad Marchand under R.A.'s watch, though. Yeah. Dude, it's funny. I saw his vehicle out there a couple months back,

and there was a ticket on it. I was going to take a picture of it, but I don't want to put his fucking vehicle out there. He must have a guy who he just hands these tickets to and takes care of them. He's one of those guys that puts the old one on just to maybe think the guy's

not going to give him a new one. Do that when I owned a vehicle. Guys, did you see Brant Clark's first NHL goal Saturday? Unbelievable, dude. comes out of the penalty box ot breakaway boom i know it was against my bruins but it was an unbelievable goal one of them and they've been a ton of first goals we've seen this year but that's one of the best i've ever seen with coming out yeah he's coming up at the perfect time too they needed

something kind of like they're getting mcmahon in toronto he's that guy for for la right now he's he's silky smooth, man. For that to be your first goal, that's one of the best ones I've seen. Yeah, it's crazy. And also, you kind of forget, Brock Faber was an L.A. pick, man. And then they dealt him in that. I think it was the Fiala deal. Fiala.

So they're kind of going to need Clark to pop off because you look at Faber right now. He's like McAvoy. Dude, Faber, rookie of the year. Give it to him. So it's just they're going to need this young defenseman to come in. And I think he's at the point, like similar to Juracek and Columbus, like the AHL, like, buddy, like you can't do anymore. Right.

Like you have to get him up. You got to get him ice time. So LA seems to be turning a corner, man. They had the win against the Bruins in overtime. Then they get those Kempe goals to beat Pittsburgh on Yager night. And something's going there now. Also, that kid for the Bruins, Justin, how do you say, Brezeau? They just signed him a couple of days ago.

His first game with the Bruins today. He's got a goal in his very first game. I saw Elliot tweet about him. I guess he had 61 goals one year in the O, was never drafted or anything. So, I mean, I know you've seen a lot of guys, maybe they're overagers or whatever, but light up like the major junior rank and have these huge seasons, like one of their last few in junior. But, I mean, you had 61 goals.

Dude, you know what you're doing around the net. And it was a great pass he buried, but still, nice little signing. And what a cool story to just battle all the way and never be drafted and light up junior and get your first NHL goal first game. That's awesome. Yeah, good shit. Connor McDavid, we haven't mentioned him for a while, had a career-high six assists versus Detroit last week.

His second career six-point game. He's the fifth oiler to have at least two six-point games. Obviously, Wayne leads the pack with 22. Yari Curry had four. Coffey and Anderson each had a pair. His third assist that night was the 600th of his career in his 616th game. The fourth fastest ever. Wayne did it in 416 games.

Mario 514. And Bob Ewing 608. So, again, it seems like every other, Mario 514, uh, and Bobby or at 608. So again, it seems like every other week we're talking about what him or Nate dog was just getting mentioned with these legends. They just keep climbing these fucking, these success now leading the league and assist too. So we talk about the three guys who are probably up for the MVP right now. Like can't count this guy out. I know it's crazy to think that I have him outside the top three and some people disagree with me, but by the

end of the season, he's probably going to be in the top three. Fuck, he might even still win the thing. He is catching massive fire right now. My thing with the Oilers is they bring in Perry. He's playing on the first line now. I think he's got two goals now and then Bouchard. I know I've talked about him a lot.

This guy keeps getting better and better, and they have a true power play quarterback with one of the hardest shots in the league. He had two goals against Dallas, including the OT winner, and he's just an awesome player. So Edmonton, everything continues to go well. They had a couple little hiccups here, but man, they're in Arizona right now.

It was 2-1 last time I checked, but I don't know. Beating Dallas in Dallas, I would love to know the last 15 years. Granted, the Oilers went bad for a lot of those years, but Dallas is a house of whores for them. So to get that win, that was huge. And, yeah, they're going, man. They're probably going to trade their first-round pick. Maybe they throw in Broberg and get an enormous return. I don't know, but you know this is a gopher year,

and Ken Holland's moving that first-round pick, no doubt. House of Horrors. I like that. The Nate dog. Nate, he had a goal and an assist on Sunday to extend his season-opening home point streak to 26 games. He passed Bob Ewer for the second-longest ever after, guess who? Wayne Gretzky. He had 40 with the 89 Kings.

And at 26 home games, Nate's got 22 goals, 33 assists, 55 points. In the season, 56 games, he's got 91 points. The fastest avalanche or Nordique to hit 90 points since Peter Stastny way back in 1988. He also did it in 56 games. So these guys are just unreal, man. I like to give them props when they're doing shit like this. I want to shout out my buddy, Chris Wagner. He's been a really good

NHL player for a long time. This year, he signed a two-way with Colorado. Seven minutes later, he tore his Achilles. It was just such a kick in the dick for him. He was able to battle back. No golf all summer. That absolutely blows. The guy's a golf junkie.

But he got healthy. He's been playing in the minors, got called up, played his first game when they beat Arizona yesterday, I believe, Sunday. So I'm really happy for him. Who knows? He gets up there. I saw he had three hits and played, I don't know, seven, eight minutes. And all of a sudden, maybe he can kind of get a role there on the line and and figure out a way to be a part of that lineup moving forward so i know nachuskins out um they might have a couple other injuries but i was happy for him did you talk to him at all about like the the process

and like maybe where the pain's at now he feel he feels great now he feels awesome he said it was a struggle man that rehab's hard and it's long, and it's just tedious, but he feels really good. It's just good to hear because that injury, man, it's a rough one. Yeah, hopefully Wags gets back out there, man. He's a great guy, great kid. We want to send

our best wishes to Landy McDonald. It's great to hear he's doing well. He suffered a cardiac event in Calgary's airport returning from an all-star weekend in Toronto. Actually, he had to spend two weeks in the hospital, but two nurses happened to be in the airport. They went over, just dropped everything, sprang into action. He said, I owe them my life.

Like, just the randomness of two strangers, you know, saving his life. And he said he has, quote, new and improved pipes, some fancy hardware, and a figuratively full heart. He took a picture in front of the hospital with a stuffed animal heart or whatever. So, Lanny McDonald, I know you guys a little younger than me, but an absolute legend of the game. I love watching him win that cup at 89. So, Lanny, glad to see you doing well, pal.

And get well soon. Go, boys. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Real quick. Real quick, guys. A very, very, very special happy birthday to our guy, Ryan Whitney. Thank you, boys. No shit.

Thank you very much. How old? 41 today. Fucking A. Round of applause for Ryan Whitney. You enjoy the day, Wade. You deserve it. You snapped so many passes tape to tape.

Today's your day, buddy. That a boy, Wade. Wade, actually, I got one question for you before you go since it's your birthday and i know you'll love this one so they did the draft kings challenge with the 41 free throws with dave big cat the whole whack pack at the chicago office now there's rumblings that we'll be doing a hockey related draft kings type a crazy thing to accomplish what is it that people are talking about that we should do related to hockey where

it's an insane thing that would be very difficult to accomplish I don't know we talked about either like hitting posts in a row but I think it would be better if we get a shooter tutor and everyone if you don't know shooter tutor you put it on the net and you can score top left top right bottom right bottom left five hole and something where we have to hit like 30

in a row and like ra and big cat and portno i have to hit it like because here's the thing about these streams is is you don't want to be able to do it quick now if we're an hour 40 and we're ready to kill each other, I could really regret that. But it's almost like if you could guarantee you could get something in the 15 to 20 hour range. And I know this sounds crazy. And Merle's on game notes. He's saying, I'm going to quit. Take a hike, Merle. I ain't quitting. I'll be a vibes guy. People thought Minahan would be miserable. He was the ultimate vibe guy during the free throw competition. He was the guy pumping everyone up.

That'll be me. So I don't know. I think it's a shooter-tooter where like I don't – so apparently they have numbers guys to like run through and figure out like the odds in doing it. I guess it was 100,000 to one that those guys would hit 41 straight free throws. But then they ended up bringing in ringers and former college basketball players to kind of get it done. But cat had to hit 39 40 importantly had to hit the 40 first so

it would it would end up being something where we'd have to hit a certain amount on a shooter tutor in a row so and the reason you say the shooter tutor is because you want it done at the chicago office because all the cameras are set up. Yeah. I thought it would be a good idea as if maybe like Chicago's out of town for a couple of days, we could use the United center and go back. I think they got stuff going on there like every night. Well, what if we start there and then the bulls have a game and like,

then we have to go live in one of the boxes and wait for them to take out all the boards and just have the ice again to where maybe we go back to that half ice shot or the far blue line where how many guys in a row have to make it in the small little hole when they put the shooter-tooter on. Dude, that would be, in a row, man, I think that would actually be impossible.

There's, oh, 10G, we would legit be there the rest of our lives because if we had the big cat to do i think to do like four in a row of from center ice getting the puck in that little hole in the middle would maybe take years no way you already went back to back dude that that was so unlikely though exactly and then to get another one and then another and then another one hashtag And then another one. Hashtag Whit missed.

That's probably the most impressive thing I've done on this show is fucking hitting that shot at the center race. But I think that, I think if you could do it at the office

and you get pucks and you get the shooter tutor and then like, it would be a rule where if you've played hockey, you can't score lower left or lower right. Like,

like me, you and G would have to be scored. Now we're getting into the weeds. Okay. Let's have people who are listening to the end of the show here throw in what you think maybe we should do from a hockey-related challenge perspective.

And it's got to be difficult, but yet something that has to eventually happen. Like 10 in a row, making it in that little hole. That's it. That is impossible. Correct. I agree with you. I think 50 posts.

Any post. Crossbar. In a row? In a row. I think that would be possible too, dude. No, it isn't. We can do it. We can do it.

How far are you talking here? From the hash marks. Front hash marks. Right in the slot. Okay. We're talking 41 free throws in a row. Took them 18 hours. And you're saying 50 posts in a row.

Are you? No, I agree with no question. What are you talking about? I think no question. We could do it. I think it would be easy. I think it would be easier than you guys think. It is what I mean.

Yeah. We'll make you one of the shooters and you're the one at 49. I was going to fuck it all up, Mr. Easy. I'll do 49. I'm going to run away. If we're including RA and Big Cat and Dave. Correct. Like.

What are you talking about? Exactly. Yeah, I guess. I guess if you're including RA, Big Cat and Dave, I wasn't really thinking of that. But. Well, who else would it be? I was thinking. So Merle's and Army need to be involved in this.

Merle and Army need to be in this. 100%. They're hockey guys. I mean, yeah, let us know what you think. So here's, as I mentioned, it can't be easy. It's got to be really hard. But the aspect of impossible can't be part of it either. Biz has to complete a tape-to-tape pass.

I have to throw a body check. I'll strap the pads back on. Okay. One last time. All right. That's what you wait for. All right, gang. Great show.

Great interview. Hopefully you all enjoyed it. That wraps up this week, and we'll see you next week. Chicklets TV. New episode of Chicklets TV Wednesday 6pm Game Notes

and G's on the way to North Dakota for another Chicklets U have a good one all you can't get liquor cheap but how much is your love they say you're drunk in speech it's just so good

I like to poke a bear, I like to stir the pot But then you come on in and take it up a notch You hit me with a cheap shot A cheap shot She hit me with a cheap shot A cheap shot I bet she needs a detox To cleanse her mind

Another week rolls in We're on the road again Thought I was safe and sound in my minivan But I said something that crossed the line And I know she felt it So I said she could have a free one on the chin She went below the bell Outro Music