Spittin Chiclets - Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 485: Featuring Sam Reinhart

Episode Date: February 28, 2024

On Episode 485 of Spittin’ Chiclets, the guys are joined by Sam Reinhart (01:17:38) to talk about the rat pack down in Florida and his stellar start to the season that landed him in this years All-Star Game. But first, the guys discuss the amazing week of hockey we just had; Chris Chelios jersey retirement game, Matt Rempe taking New York by storm, Boston’s future goalie dilemma, and is Frank the Tank right about New Jersey? Later on, the boys get into some crazy hockey stories from the college and minor league levels. Lastly, with Gary Bettman visiting Winnipeg, is the Jets future in trouble?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. Well, she's your love. They say a drunken speech is just sober thoughts. 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 485 of Spittin' Chicklets Presented by Pink Whitney from our friends at New Amsterdam Vodka Here the Barstool Sports Podcast family

How goes it all? Another huge week in the week We had a big number retirement out in Chicago. All kinds of stuff going on in the playoff race. But as always, we check in with the boys first. Let's go to that guy in his bed right now. Paul, biz nasty, biz sad. Are you alone right now, Paul? Smartest working man in show business.

I am alone, and this is great. I love recording from the bed. I think I've earned this one. An incredible experience at the match last night. But before I even get into it, I think we should even push it to the back end. The hockey in the last week and what's going on in the NHL and with Chris Chelios' jersey retirement night, which I would probably put as one of the greatest days of hockey

that I can remember. It's been just an unbelievable season so far in the NHL, so I'm ready to hop right into it because the NHL is thriving. I think we can officially say, Whit, that the dog days of the NHL are over. Things are ramping up right now. The playoff race is intense, and I cannot wait to see who ends up cracking it as far as the playoff rosters and the playoff alignment. And the NHL is on an absolute fucking heater right now.

So I'll throw it back over to you, unless you guys want to hear about the match now, but I figured we could even push that to the back end. Yeah, whatever you want to do, buddy. It was a great experience. I'm basically in DJ Khalid's cult at this point. So like I said, we'll get into it later. Yeah, we'll get into that.

Another one. So he has another one. Bless up. Next up, the wit dog, Ryan Whitney. Looks like he's getting ready for some sort of game show behind you. What's going on, buddy? How's the trip going? Oh, it's phenomenal.

Out of here today, right after we record, back home, back to Massachusetts. But Ask Media, I believe Boynton Beach, Florida. Grinelli, great job, buddy. Just excellent producing. I had nowhere to record. The hotel, Opal Grand in Del Rey, though, one of the top hotels I've ever stayed at. Talk about an unreal

place. Two different pools. They got it all. One pool has an amazing bar, three TVs. That's where I watch Lightning Devils. That's where I watch Penguins Flyers. You know, one of those days, if you're sitting at a pool bar watching big time hockey, Sidney Crosby lighting up five points. Sidney Crosby

has made the city of Philadelphia his bitch for 20 years now. I asked him about it on the broadcast. Yeah, how did he make a city your bitch, Sid? But it's been a great trip, and I've pretty much mastered. So Ryder's six, his cousin Cooper's seven, and then Wyatt's three, and you always get the little guy chased around.

So those kids, I have mastered as a dad, and I learned from my dad, just creating competition within boys throughout the day at the beach and the pool. I'm talking about jumping the pool first to catch five footballs, a little soccer games, one-on-one just nonstop competition. How many times can you guys hit up a beach ball without it dropping and hitting the water? And we've killed hours and hours. I'm talking,

we did a six hour pool day. You know, I reapplied sunscreen to Ryder Whitten 10 times because I'm not letting him get a sunburn. No, Wyatt tans. Why? It's like my wife.

He's dark skin. He's hoody. Ryder's me. Pale and not gross, but pale. And so I'm out there playing games, and I just feel like I'm a top-notch dad after this trip. But I'm ready to go home. You know when you get vacationed out?

It's one of those things. It's like I don't want to leave, but I do want to leave. So in the end, I've got to watch great hockey the entire time and as i watch these games and these scores and biz brings up the dog days and oh my god is january 15th to february 15th the nhl is kind of like but all of a sudden february 15th comes and we've had this lead of league explode we got the biz with the idea of the century with the rempire state building shirts i don't know if those aren't sale yet. The Rampire strikes back.

Matthew Rempe might've brought the NHL season back to life. He, he took, he, he took the dog days and he bent them over just the way Crosby does to the Flyers. 100, 130 points for Sid, by the way, against the Philadelphia Flyers throughout his career. Uh, that is the most all time from any player, by the way, against the Philadelphia Flyers throughout his career. That is the most all-time from any player, by the way, Flyers fans. I don't know. I asked him, like I said, a TNT.

We had him right after the game. I said, Flyers fans were not so nice to you when you came to the league. What would they refer to him as? Cindy Crosby? Is that what they call them? Yeah. Oh, yeah. He's fucking pulling your hair from behind right now.

You're fucking Cindy. Cindy Crawford Crosby crushing the center ice shot in Chicago. And, Biz, you said it. We'll get into it. I'll just save it. Go to G. I'm sorry. G, what's going on, buddy?

How was North Dakota, bud? North Dakota was awesome. I mean, Grand Forks is a different place, but the Ralph is the holy grail of hockey. I mean, most people who know college hockey know that, but it was a really cool experience. I mean, just from the insane recovery room to seeing the

fans showing up at 8 a.m., zero degree weather, putting up tents outside the Ralph. It was so cool. I got in the mix with them. It was actually hilarious. So right when we showed up, I walked right into this tent. We had cameras going right away. And I'm like, let's go.

And they all just start chanting, fuck Pasha, fuck Pasha. And I'm like, we're in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Like, how did the how did a fuck Pasha chant just start in this tent right now? You know how it started? He's down as bad as any person in hockey right now. I feel bad for him. This guy and it's when he doesn't get to talk, he's down as bad as any person right now i feel bad for him this guy and it's a when he doesn't get to talk he's part suspension but this guy can't catch a wind to save his life but gee they ended up waxing duluth right oh yeah it was like five nothing awesome game insane environment in

there the floors can confirm same marble as the v. We talked about it last week. But it's pretty cool though. So the school is actually like one of the biggest aviation schools in the entire country. So we did a tour with Louis Jamernick V. Pretty sick. And he's a commercial aviation major. He wants to become a pilot. So we have some insane footage coming out

when this whole video comes out. But thanks to Coach Barry, the school, Louis. We did a collab with the Sioux Shop. It sold out in 10 minutes. So shout out to the Sioux Shop. Shout out North Dakota. And just an overall awesome trip. The video is going to be insane.

It reminds me of going to Yaroslav, Russia, where maybe the city is not the nicest, but the rink is just immaculate. You know what I compared it to? I compared it to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I feel like they are the alabama crimson tide of college hockey where like this little city that like it's kind of shitty just revolves around this hockey team and like it's unlike anything i've seen when they play on friday saturday it's like the whole city basically shuts down why why were they camping out at 8 a.m Are these students trying to get tickets that they can't have access to?

it's pretty cool. It's actually, so, so it's GA. They all student section is GA. So it's general admission. So everyone waits in line and it's a mad dash at right at six o'clock. They open the doors and everyone,

it's like when they open the doors at the Dallas Cowboys team and everyone sprints in, even though that's not GA. So it doesn't make much sense. It's GA, so they all sprint in, but they also can't, well, they can't sprint, so everyone has to speed walk race against each other.

Yeah, it's pretty wild. It's a wild experience. We captured the whole thing. Fish did an amazing job video and everything, but it's going to be an awesome video. I love it. I didn't know that about the aviation stuff out there, G, because there's like a lack of pilots these days because most pilots usually come from the military.

That's where they typically get trained, but they haven't been getting as many as they used to. Pilots, astronauts, everyone goes to North Dakota. Oh, there's a lot of astronauts coming from North Dakota? Oh, yeah. They got like an astronaut school there. It's fucking nuts. Fucking stupid. Astronauts were like geniuses

me too it's the closest thing to living on mars that's why they fucking that's why they're doing it there it's pink whitney time new amsterdam zone flavored vodka the number one flavored vodka in the united states of america the fact it has my name on it and i can say that sentence is mind-numbing to say the least but But that's how good this drink is. I'm down in Florida and I'm in that warm February weather and it's just been all over the place. I even saw some kid go into a liquor store and get caught trying to steal Pink Whitney. That's not classy. That's trashy.

I understand the passion and the love in this kid wanting to get these 10 nips to enjoy with his buddies and watch the Super Bowl. But pay for the Pink Whitney, for Christ's sake. These are small business owners. Don't steal the Pink Whitney. I know you want it. I know you love it, but pay for it. It's not too expensive. It's very affordable, and it's tasty as all hell. And I'm saying right now, you can go to the bar. You can get a shot. You can go to the liquor store, get the monster bottle. I went to a local liquor store in Pineapple Grove, an area of Delray, and I always go in and ask the people up front, how's the Pink Whitney sell?

The woman said, unbelievable. It's a little bit of the younger crowd, 21 to 25-year-olds. I said, that's fine by me. That's fine by me because I know these younger kids, all you guys like maybe a little bit of sugar, but if you like doing shots and that's how you catch your buzz and that's how you get your confidence to go talk to that lucky lady or lucky guy, why have a liquor with a horrible aftertaste? You get Pink Whitney, it goes down smooth,

it goes down easy, and New Amsterdam's the reason that it happened, along with myself and Paul Bissonnette and my wife. So shout out Pink Whitney, shout out New Amsterdam and shout out the big 1.75 bottle, because that's the one that'll last you a while and you can enjoy it all week long. Well, there ain't no geniuses here. We talked about Chellier, the intro. We're going to dive right into that. Congrats to Chris Chellier. He's number seven, was finally retired by Chicago Sunday night before the Blackhawks Red Wings game. Game that was unbelievable, by the way, Patrick Kane overtime. You couldn't have written a better storybook other than that.

But Chelios, man, ninth season in Chicago. I know the old man, Rocky Roberts, had promised them to retire his number someday. They finally did. The ninth Blackhawk to have his number retired. But the star power, Biz, I've never seen this many fucking stars at one number retirement. Dennis Rodman, Eddie Vedder, John McEnroe,

Jeremy Roenick, Gary Suda, Tony Amante, Brian Noonan, a bunch of other teammates, but the all-time guest was Cindy Crawford. What's up, Biz? You didn't say Gretzky. I got to Cindy Crawford first because I had to get to that shot, dude. We got to go hashtag Whit missed. That was an unbelievable

shot. She was in heels, nailed that thing from the gut. Are they like pals, Biz? Do you know they go like way back? Is she a Chicago gal? Do you know? Cindy Crawford? Well, so I think that he described it as the Malibu mob. So he started going out to California to train, and that's kind of where he started meeting all these celebrities. And correct me if I'm wrong. Is it Peter Berg, the movie director?

Yep. So that's who she's married to, right? No, she's married to Randy Gerber. Oh, Randy Gerber, the nightclub. Oh, Randy Gerber. Is he a producer? What does he do? He's like a nightclub owner.

He's been running clubs for like 30 years. Okay. And I think that he had his hand in the Casamigos as well, right? So he was one of the original guys. So it's just, like I said, they met all there when he trained out in Malibu and he's been hanging there. Actually, Chelly still has his place there. But like you said, R.A., just a star-studded event.

And it was really cool because he wanted all his former teammates, all the ones that were closest to him on the ice with him as he was doing the ceremony. And I just thought it was so fitting how he was able to kind of pay homage to the past and obviously the Blackhawks organization in which I wasn't really around during that time. I didn't realize when he went from Chicago to Detroit how ugly it had gotten.

I mean, this is a guy who's from there. He was getting booed in his own hometown to the point where he had to close down his bar. He went back as a Detroit Red Wing and he still had his bar in Chicago, and they were booing him and his old man walking by because he wanted to bring his new Detroit team there. So he ended up closing shop there.

So it ended ugly. So for him to come back and have that type of ceremony in Chicago, I'm sure it meant so much to him and his family. And right now, even his daughter is working for the team in media. All four kids were there and able to attend. But the way that he rolled out with his mom in that classic car, the speech. And I mean, like we keep talking and joking around about how the NHL scripted. I mean, the fact that Patty Kane was playing for the Red Wings and they ended up aligning

it to that game. And he got to also pay homage to, and we've been debating it on here. And I've made a few comments saying that Patrick Kane, probably as it stands, is the greatest American born player of all time. Well, Chelios kind of put his official stamp on that. So I guess it's really hard to argue it.

And then for the way that the game ended up playing out and for Patty Kane to get the OT winner and fucking yelling to the crowd, showtime, baby show time i would say easily goes down on one of the greatest nights in hockey and uh just uh an incredible jersey retirement for her guy who played 27 years pro guys most games combined playoffs and regular season as a defenseman or at least an American-born player. So it was fitting, and no one else is more deserving than him, and nobody else gets the boys together more than Chelios does.

And just an ultimate FOMO calling that from the desk and wanting to be in Chicago for the festivities. I can't imagine how drunk that weekend was. I mean, Chelios, this is is a guy he burns it at both ends better than anyone's burned it at both ends before the latest guy to stay out in the first guy at the rink i was reading a story that in 98 they had a day game with chicago hopped on a plane out to california watched the packers in the super bowl took the red eye back and went right to practice and they bag skated him and he crushed everyone in all the skates it didn't matter guys are passing California, watched the Packers in the Super Bowl, took the red eye back and went right to practice.

And they bag skated him and he crushed everyone in all the skates. It didn't matter. Guys are passing out in saunas. He's doing pushups and riding the exercise bike. He's an animal. I guess every day he goes, he goes Russian Banya. He rides the bike. He does 300 pushups, 500 squats, takes a cold tub and then goes to the bar.

Who the hell can do that? Imagine R.A. trying to do that. He'd be dead. So I don't know. I just look. I look at Chelios' career, and my group chat at home, somebody said, like, why is it just being retired? And I think it goes into what you said, Biz.

It was an ugly breakup. It was an ugly divorce, and that was in the days of the Red Wings-Blackhawks amazing, vicious rivalry that was years and years and years in the making. And then all of a sudden, when the Red Wings were able to move to the Eastern Conference, it kind of just ended it a little bit. And obviously, the team's lacking success in recent history. It's just there really isn't a rivalry anymore, which kind of sucks. But new ones are created, and new ones will end up being around for all those teams. But I mean, you look at Patrick Kane being a Detroit Red Wing and scoring a goal to beat the

Blackhawks and the ovation he got. I mean, I know it's recency bias, but I think with everything that happened that entire day, it was like the game of the year in the nhl and it was something that you like you couldn't script you you and talk about an ovation one of the coolest i've ever seen first in first time out in the first period first tv time out they gave patrick kane's video it was great it started off with like all these different fans with a sign thank you kane Kane, are kind of walking towards the camera and they cut it in awesome ways and all his highlights and quotes about him and Blackhawks legends talking about him.

And you see all these names and guys and they're all like greatest American of all time, one of the best Hawks of all time. Maybe, is he the best Hawk of all time? I mean, I'm sure Bobby Hall, there's an argument and all these, but three cups, all those points and to do it as the first overall pick. And then, of all things, he gets a breakaway in overtime,

slows it down, little stick handle, and shelf. And let me tell you right now, who got in his way? Wallman. Wallman made the right decision. I think he went to hug him. He's like, no, no, no, no, no. Give him his space. Get the fuck out of my way.

Showtime, baby. It was just amazing that it actually ended like that. And it was so sick. And by the way, Kane's got 28 points in 27 games. So for anyone out there questioning how that hip surgery went and how injured he actually was the past few years, this guy's back. Detroit's rolling.

What a game. What a day. And I just thought it was incredible. And what's cool is when Chelios was the one who said, and the greatest American player of all time, Patrick Kane, you see the first guy in the celebrity box to stand up was Gretzky. If Gretzky's leading the standing ovation, you know you've reached legendary status.

Yeah, yeah. So I'm sure it was super emotional for Kane, too, that little video tribute. He skated around once. He went tribute. He skated around once. He went back. He skated around again. And they were getting louder and louder. And I guess Duprinkit gave him another tap.

He goes, go for one more. You don't really see that. I mean, it was like three minutes, just him skating around. But if anyone in the NHL deserves it right now, it's him returning back to a place that he dominated and made his name and became a Hall of Fame legend. So an amazing day. And I think Chelios finally getting a number retired is the perfect kind of send-off for him

as he's now an ambassador with the Blackhawks. And it's like, especially as of late, it hasn't been the most pleasant of days in Chicago, not only just like the losing, but with all the other bullshit that had gone on. So for them to be able to kind of get the band back together, not just Patrick Kane, but Seabrook was there, Hosu was there, Duncan Keith, Sharp,

no Jonathan Taves, unfortunately. Did you guys see him? No, eh? No. He wasn't there. But to be able to kind of go through that group of guys and what they did for that little dynasty as well, to be there for Patrick Kane just as much as they were for Chelios, just a huge night for the Blackhawks organization.

I think that Big Cat actually brought his kid, and that was his first ever NHL game, was getting to experience that. So the expectations are high for Conor Bedard to keep performing if he wants to have exciting games at the United Center and speaking of Conor Bedard awesome seeing that hit he threw on Kane Kane had the hilarious quote after he said if he didn't have that bubble on I was going after him but he kind of rocked him a little bit right against the wall and then they asked Kane about Bedard and and kind of like coming into the league and I thought it was cool he said I just I'm very impressed by his game, his creativity, his shots, obviously out of this world.

But I appreciate being that phenom and that first overall pick because I know how much work goes into it. And he actually, he goes into saying like, you know, a lot of people think it's God given, which there is for sure some amount of kind of God just tapping you on the shoulder, but it's so much work and drive and passion that I had that I know that he's had to get where he's at, that he even mentioned Sharpie used to chirp. I'm like, you're the silver spoon first overall. And Kane said to him, you should have worked harder when you were a kid. And so I think like, but Dard's very similar to Kane. They're obsessed with the game. We've talked about Crosby there there there's one focus in their lives and it's become evident that that bedard's going to be pretty special right but him throwing that hit and him getting involved actually a pretty funny clip i saw on the bench of bedard and felino and felino was kind of asking to maybe pull up and

as they entered the off the zone he's like you're you're too slow and and he meant like you were too slow in the play and then it goes over felino's like did you just say i was too slow he's like, you're too slow. And he meant like you were too slow in the play. And then it goes over and Foligno's like, did you just say I was too slow? He's like, no, no, I meant in the play. Foligno goes, you're annoying me right now. And they're laughing. So it's just, it was an awesome time. And I know it's been rough in Chicago, but that day, that building, I read something that said it was as loud as it was in the 90s and the early 2010s.

And those dynasties that the Hawks had with Kane and Keith and Hosa and Seabrook, I'm pretty sure they got three. Did they lose in the Western Conference Final to L.A. on the other two? L.A. won? Yeah, Game 7. Didn't it go Game 7? Yeah, they could have got five. I mean, they could have at least got four.

Say they win one of those. Hey, and don't forget the Coyotes knocking them out the one year. Oh, yeah, that's true. Yeah, legendary Coyotes roster. You talk about the tap that these legendary players get on the shoulder, maybe from God, the God-given talent, kind of the same thing that Cindy Crawford got with the looks and then the fact that she still has the looks.

And then she can go to center ice and nail that shot with high heels on in leather that cute little celebration she did after too like she is still got it can we talk about maybe the most shocking news of the day is bob buchner saying he didn't know who cindy crawford was yeah assistant coach of the red wings i think newsy lalonde's like what the fuck's wrong with you, buddy? Sidney Crawford. You know how many times I've cranked it off to her? I'm pretty sure that I remember seeing Sidney Crawford and something's tingling and I'm 10. I'm like, what is happening right now?

She's just a straight up rocket launcher. And I think her husband's pretty goddamn handsome himself. So, I mean, some people really do have it all, Biz. You know, you get to be in bed doing a podcast and Cindy Crawford's burying center-right shots in leather pants. Here we go. Bless up. Yeah, she still looks fantastic. Yeah, Newsy said, I noticed Cindy Crawford.

Bob Boog just said, who's that? She's really pretty. Newsy's like, oh, boy, you can really pick them out. He's like, yeah, I got a good eye. Who is that? I got a good eye. I mean, he's not that young. He's not a fucking millennial. He's still fucking millennial. By the way, this is something they used to do every game was pick rockets out of the crowd in Chicago until all of a sudden the era of you can't

even have ice girls anymore happened and then now they really don't pick any rockets. I think though with everything that's even happening in today's world and how everything's kind of shifting back the other way. I think they should not only get back to picking rockets to shoot at center ice, but Rempe has almost revived the heavyweight title belt back in the NHL.

It feels like this young jam and this kid coming in now is maybe even pissing off some of the other guys around the league saying, who the fuck is this young punk? But hey, were they scrapping like this before? Was there this much talk around fighting, what, two months ago? No, there wasn't. And for you fucking young kids coming up, all you vanilla lattes who want to play third, fourth line and think you can skill it up, take a fucking page out of Matt Rempe's book.

Because if this kid wants, he'll be making about a million bucks maybe 1.5 till he's blue in the face till maybe who knows maybe he starts developing his skills a little bit more and next thing you know he's gonna be making 3 million on the next contract because he fucking grabbed his fucking nutsack and he got to the league

and he doesn't care and he'll challenge anyone ready to fucking go that's what we need to see more of more of in the National Hockey League. So I think an aspect of this is that it's the Rangers, right? And it all began at the stadium series. Sorry, I just dropped my phone. Stay hot.

But the stadium series, and you know what? I messed up last week when we were talking about this and going over his special first game in his fight. I didn't give Martin credit. I didn't know that Martin went up to him and was like, hey, buddy, I'll give you one here. That's awesome. All the comments in our Instagram posts were like, even from Rangers fans,

Matt Martin, one of the classiest guys in the league. That's awesome. He knew the kid wanted one. He gave it to him in front of 75,000. As Biz said, what do you think happened? Deloria is like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. The Rangers are coming into town.

I want a piece of this. And you saw him standing over him at center ice and Rempe said, okay, buddy. And then they go to Columbus. And Olivier, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. And now they're going to Toronto. So as amazing as this is, I will say the kid's probably like, oh, fuck. Like, he loves it. You can obviously tell.

Open up a can of worms. Yeah. Oh, what has happened here? And I think part of it is being on the Rangers and how the first fight was such a big story. It's like it's a little different than if he was on the Blue Jackets, say. Right. It's like the Rangers come into town everywhere they go. And what a team right now.

Holy four abilities. And Shostakhin. Oh, my God. This guy, including his like bad game in the stadium series he's still in february like the best goal in the league by seven miles so but the rangers come to town and they bring fans to every building they're at and then these kids they just want a piece and i don't blame them but the fact that he's brought this back and now i'm just saying for the kid and and it you got to be a little careful. Against Olivier, who's a tough motherfucker,

I don't know if his defense is great, Biz, which respect. He's chucking bombs, but he's kind of like he might have to figure a little bit of the defense out if he's going to go every night. So from my understanding, Martin said that he had just as long a reach as Chara, and that's how hard it was to get through to him. So it felt like he maybe handled the distance and how he was able to hold Martin out maybe better than the next two.

But I respect the fact that he's willing to stand in there and exchange in order to try to get his shots in and willing to take a few of his own. That's kind of old school. And that's why I think that people reacted and have been reacting the way that they have been online. And also, I think if you're another guy coming up and maybe you're, you're kind of on the fence and whether you want to chuck them or not, look at the response this guy's gotten. He's a household name in New York city right now. And he's played five fucking games in the

national hockey league. Right. And maybe if he doesn't do that that he's back eating soggy subs on the bus in Hartford with the wolf pack so I just I think that more guys should take this type of approach and make a name for themselves especially if you're going to play limited minutes on the fourth line this is what teams want they want these young guys to come in and instill energy in their lineup they want to at least if you're just going to be dumping the puck in any way, you might as well be running guys through the glass and then chucking bombs and trying to intimidate the other team.

So I don't have a problem with the way that he exchanges. I mean, you obviously, like he did against Olivier, get caught. And if you're doing that every other game, if not once every three games, it can become a bit much on the noggin. It may not last is what I'm saying, right? Well, I was doing that type of stuff in the America. I was a little bit more technical about it

because I knew who I was going up against, all these heavyweights, and that if they did connect, it could do a lot of damage where you're going to spend a lot of time in a lineup with a cocky. I think that if they're wise, they maybe try to get some old school fighter in there to maybe help him out with his technique a little bit. That way that, I mean, it's an advantage, right?

He's got that reach. You might as well use it. So I don't know who they're going to be able to get in there where they can help him with the grappling aspect. Like I play with a guy, Dennis Bombi. You know, he wasn't the biggest guy, but what he was really, Matt,

I mean, do you ever see his hands though? He said, I mean, I don't think one of his fingers points the right way. He basically looks like Michael Jordan where the way you're looking at Michael Jordan's hand, where it's like pinkies heading sideways,

his fingers are going East and West rather than North and South. But it was from all that grappling. So, you know, if the guy ended up changing where he was going to come at him with a right punch, he was able to tie him up and then get open so he could end up throwing the other way. So that's kind of where a lot of those old school guys were good at that. somebody in there who can teach him the ways, then he can be an ultimate force and a complete wrecking ball in the NHL because there ain't too many guys that are six, seven who are willing to chuck them like he, like he is. So it's a testament to him. And like I said before, you start by the fighting and let's say in your first couple of years, you're doing it 20, 25 times a year. You can maybe come in like Tom Wilson. I would say the skill level

on Tom Wilson high level is better than what Rempe's is. But the more you do that, the more time and space you're going to get out there, because especially with these new guys in the league, they're not going to want to come near you, especially in the net front. So as you keep doing that, you're going to gain that respect. And as the skills come next thing, you know, you're getting 10 goals, 10 assists and 20 fights. Well, then you just bought yourself a few more years in the league. And next thing you know, maybe you're, you're, you're Tom Wilson where you're, you're, you're putting up 25 and 25, and then you're signing a deal because you're this, this power forward where they're far few between where you're getting a payday of 7 million bucks a year.

far few between where you're getting a payday of 7 million bucks a year. So the sky is the limit in, in, in, in my mind with the fact that he, he can, he's as mobile. He is for six, seven.

He's willing to fight and he's willing to get that time and space for himself moving forward. So it's great to see it's great for the league and he shouldn't be buying any beers for himself in the city of New York. So in that phenomenal rant and hell of a job is mentioned at one point, running guys through the black, the glass. So that'll bring us to his hit against Bastion in New Jersey. So devil's fans are all over me.

I retweeted the hit. I said, how do you get kicked out of the game for this? Now, a lot of people come back with the rule book and screenshots and hitting to the head. Okay. He's six, seven and bastions bent over with his head down for three seconds. I don't really understand what you're supposed to do. There was no elbow. His arm was tucked in. And I guess like the old, the saying now of avoidable hit, like tell me biz is avoidable hit. Like don't hit him. If it's an avoidable hit,

does that mean do not hit him? And, and I understand you, you can't get the head, but if a guy's bent over, I feel like that rule should change at least in that instance, not to mention that he's six, seven. So it's like, I'm paid to hit people. I'm paid to finish my check and run guys over. It was, I mean, it was a great hit. I mean, look at what happened to the guy, but I guess hitting him in the head, you get booted. I just, with the height of him and the other player being bent

over, I don't really understand. And the avoidable hit thing, it's not like he... That was something that was created online during that time. And even the people barking online, even on the people barking online on this one saying look how far he skated to get to him it's like the player is in play he's making a play up ice he has the puck on his stick and then rempe skates towards him and when

when bashan ends up turning around rempe stops moving his feet. He plants them into the ice. He doesn't jump. He doesn't leap. He's got his knees bent. He's got his elbow down. And yes, the first thing he makes contact with is his head. Where the fuck else do you think he's going to hit him? With the angle in which that Bastion's skating up ice and the way that you have to position

your knee flexion along with your torso flexion. Yes. Of course, your head is going to be the first thing that it ends up hitting. So I don't want to fucking hear this onus on the guy skating to a player in play to make a fucking hit. I'm I've had enough with it. It's,

it's all the online idiots who have never played, who are just going to keep barking and barking and barking every time they see a big hit. This one should have been on Bashan. Now, talking about cocktails and the fact that he shouldn't be paying for one, if you're a Devils fan, maybe buy him one too. He had a rough game. He takes that hit from Rempe,

and then Troubatrain comes in like no less than, what, 10 minutes in gameplay later, and then they have the shot of Bashan inside the penalty box. He's got the bloody nose. He's looking at the score clock being like, can we just fucking end the season already? This is brutal. There's also a picture of Trouba laughing after he runs him over.

He's like, oh my God, the Rangers are dummying the devils in every sense say the right. It's just, oh, my God, the Rangers are dummying the Devils in every sense of the word. But, yeah, I'm fine if you want to give them a boarding call. Okay, give them a boarding call. But to kick them out of the game, I just don't get it. And if the puck wasn't there, if it's one of those, all right, one 1,000, two 1,000, all right, yeah yeah we can talk about a five in a game

but having the puck bent over with your head down and getting truck stick by somebody who's six seven like there is no longer any people out there who say oh the head the guy probably should pick his head up the guy should probably know who's on the ice no they just go after the hitter when if you're if you're a guy in the league and you're of Rempe status where physical play is part of your bag, don't fucking listen to them. Don't have any second thoughts about what you're doing because if you go in there and you go for that poke check

and Bastion gives it that pretty little toe drag and goes back the other way in scoring, you know where you're at? You're back in Hartford eating the fucking soggy subs again. Put that guy through the fucking glass, and you know what? If you end up getting a game or two, who cares? You made the name for yourself. Drury knows what the fuck's going on along with the coaching staff

and everybody else. You'll be right back in the lineup, and Christ, I wouldn't even be surprised if Dolan pays the fine because New York hockey is back, baby. And I know I've been the biggest hater of them, but this is a fucking heater. And this is the spice they needed in the lineup. Look out, folks. Look out. And they had the chance to set a franchise record for, I believe, wins in a row in Columbus

and Columbus ended up getting them. But I do, um, I want to shout out Lafreniere because, uh, in an age when we've talked a million times about the expectations of first overall picks and you have to come in and dominate. But not everyone's McDavid. Not everyone's Bedard. Not everyone's Kane. And this kid just keeps getting better and better and better and better. And all of a sudden, like, you're noticing, wow, you know, he's still very young, 21 years old. He's getting his game. He's getting his game. He's finding

his game. He's, he's got some swagger to him and okay. It's just taking them a little bit longer and he's not a point per game this season, but I'm starting to see a version of a player who in another two to three years could be a legitimate 30 goal, 80 point guy. And that's kind of in the end, not what you're dreaming of with a first overall pick. But if they get to be that type of player, you're happy and you love it. Now, Kako, that's another story. He stinks. But Lafreniere, I love his game.

I love what he's done. And it's a fun team to watch. And if Shostakhin stays like this, there's no doubt in my mind that the Rangers could win the Stanley Cup. And what a story that would be. I think also, too, we talk about some of these guys, unsung heroes. Is it Lindgren? Is that how you pronounce his last name? Yeah, Ryan Lindgren.

Zidane O'Chara was asked who was one of his favorite players in the league to watch, and he said him. He just said his dedication to the game and everything that he brings night in and night out, his commitment to playing defense, blocking shots, and just like what he brings to the lineup. He mentioned his name and I've said it before in the past, like if you watch enough Rangers game, you can't have enough appreciation for this guy because he flies under the radar, but yet he does it all. And the amount of abuse he takes, I think he ended up taking like a puck or a stick off the face, put the full cage or bubble back on right back out there. He's a honey badger. He gets injured every game. Like warrior injuries, like blocking shots, pucks in the face. He's just always

in the mix. He's a mucker. Unbelievable story. Six round pick comes up for an injury. He's like a folk hero in New York now. Three fights his first five games. First NHL to record 27-plus penalty minutes and a game-winning goal within his first four career games. And Saturday night, Biz,

we might have a little heavyweight revival versus Toronto. We going to get Revo versus Rempe, you think? I would not be surprised because it's hard for Revo to find people who want to dance with him. And I think that's going to be a strong possibility. And with this young blood coming in, I think it's just completely revived the heavyweight title belt. Now, do the Rangers play Montreal at all to finish off the year? Because I think there's no doubt in my mind Wi-Fi is licking his chops at this right now

Wi-Fi loves the accolades of being that young up-and-comer guy but Rempe has kind of stolen the headlines now April 7th they play April 7th and not to say in a bad way but there's some ego involved here and it's it's a it's a good ego could be a good thing right it's it makes guys want to thrive to be the best i have to imagine that these guys end up going toe to toe and is it at the bell center or is it in new york msg oh my god well get your tickets now folks uh saturday night when they play holyfield and tyson the only the only way that he doesn't fight Reeves is if LaViolette says, don't fight Reeves. Right?

If he's like, hey. And then I will fight LaViolette to make up for the lack of fighting. If that happens. I will storm MSG if that happens. Yeah. No, actually, that Saturday night game. It's in Toronto. It's actually Rangers are at Toronto.

So it'll be. Okay. Let's go there. I'll go so it'll be okay okay let's go there i'll go to back to tl let's go there maya culpa yeah that's all right right now on the bad pasha side of the toronto maple leafs wow when you end up losing your top defenseman and the team's been in the skids and everything's looking gloomy and doomy and you're talking about possibly selling off parts and it's not the year and theomy and you're talking about possibly selling off parts and it's not the year and the team goes on to go on a heater like the Toronto Maple Leafs

right now sometimes you got to tip your cap and sometimes you got to tip your cap to your producer I mean your podcast partner and Paul Bissonnette I think Bertuzzi's I think he's finding his groove I think it's taken him a long time but to get that hat trick and for them to walk into Vegas and Colorado and win both those games, including a Bertuzzi hat trick. I mean, buddy, after the game before in which Domi had two goals. So they're all kind of fine in their groove. Austin Matthews is Austin Matthews. Marner, I believe he's seven straight games with two or more points. So as a guy who's been hard on him, he's on an amazing run right now.

The Leafs, the Leafs are buzzing. The Leafs, I put out a list, actually, of the 10 teams, I believe, who can win the Stanley Cup, and Toronto wasn't on there. And boy, did the Toronto Maple Leafs fans come at me. Now, granted, these are all the same people who two weeks prior were saying, trade everyone in this team sucks. But maybe the Leafs are for real maybe the Leafs go out and make that move maybe Tanev ends up there maybe they end up adding something to the deadline but when you're going like this and Bertuzzi gets going and Domi gets going and all of a sudden everything's firing

and Riley's back man they've shut a lot of people up. Oh, my God. To hear you say all that and for me not to have to come in and give them the major double wrister. For you not to have to come. I might go back and take a nap now right now in my fart sack here. I mean, you pretty much touched on all of it. When Riley got the five game, I was a little bit nervous, right? But I'm saying, you know what? I feel like adversity is something

that Toronto needs right now. It can galvanize the group. And William Nylander, I want to say even after that first game that they won that he was out of the lineup, saying that what he did after that empty netter goal and him going over and giving the cross check to the face, it galvanized the group.

They were fired up in that locker room. And yes, are they a little bit thin on the back end, but I think to a man, every guy back there stepped up. And Lilgrin was the one guy that I thought really elevated his game in that five-game segment, right? They ended up moving on from Sandin, and you're wondering, okay, is that the little skilled defenseman they should have moved on from or should it have been Lilgrin? And I will say in the second half, he's been tremendous. So for him to step it up with Morgan Riley being out of the lineup. Now, I don't know if you have the stat, R.A., but it's kind of a crazy number of their wins and losses when Morgan Riley's not in the lineup. So all of a sudden, everybody's trying to make a big deal about saying that they should keep him out even past the suspension.

I want to say without him in the lineup, since he's been at Toronto Maple Leaf, they're 18-2-3 or something. Something crazy. You might not have the number, but even that core group of guys, Johnny T was struggling earlier in the season. He's fucking stepped up his game.

Austin Matthews, I don't think enough can be said about him. You might be a leafs hater and not had him in the mvp race but he continues to put the puck in the back of the net now the fastest american-born player to reach 50 goals it took of what 52 games or 53 games to 54th his 54 games excuse me to reach in arizona by the way. That was the biggest lock of all time, his hometown. And then he added another one, too. I mean, where was I on that bet? That was probably as easy as a cash-in as Vegas Golden Knights winning it

in game five at home when they won fucking 10-cob or whatever the hell it was when they scored eight or nine goals. But William Nylander continues to be excellent. You mentioned Marnerarner he's been a dish and magician them all of a sudden getting contributions from a guy mcmahon where i don't even think anybody in toronto at the beginning of the year to even know who the fuck that was and matthews it's mcmatthews mcmatthews excuse me um you said max told me as well he is playing that snarky mean fucking game that he needs to be he needs to be playing

and it that's another guy where he's been bumped up to the top lines when some guys haven't been going and he's been contributing offensively and like i said as well bringing that physical element to his game so if they can keep all this going with getting morgan riley after getting a little bit of rest playing at the top of his game as well as finally Tyler Perduezy bringing some type of offensive element I seriously think this is a nightmare first round matchup I am praying praying that they end up playing the Boston Bruins in the first round because guys I think that they can take them down down I think they can exercise those demons of the past of blowing that 3-1 series lead just like when the Boston Red Sox finally beat the Yankees to go on to finally remove the curse of the the World Series I I feel something brewing in Leafs land all right I got a question for you buddy I can yeah

by the way told me um in terms of the Bruins' first-round matchup, there is, in quotes, no fear of the Rangers or Toronto. Do you maybe want to address that? Actually, I believe I was asked if I was afraid. It was a one-word answer. I said no. Yeah, I didn't say no fear at all. No, I mean.

Oh, okay. All right. No, it's the same thing. I said no. I don't feel the Red Wings right now. I think, I mean, Alex Lyon, I mean, we've got to talk about him. He's basically the second year in a row, he's basically kept the franchise afloat with his play.

He's been unbelievable for the Red Wings. Well, let's stick on the goaltender topic. But, Whit, you ended up sending a tweet out, and I think you agree with me. It's time that they try to move on from one goaltender, either Allmark or Swayman, to try to get a big asset back in return that could probably play on a top-line

role for the Boston Bruins. Do you think that it's time? I do. R.A., I'd like to get your opinion, but quickly, it's like it is an amazing luxury, right? The Bruins have two awesome goals. They got two number ones, but you have very, very few prospects available and to make a splash and to make a deal.

And with the age of the Bruins and what they have going in last year's disaster, like you're in it, you're in it to win it. And it doesn't make sense to have two awesome goals. Yes, it's great. But look at last year, they had two awesome goals and they still fucked it up by not playing the right guys and switching up as they did throughout the regular season. It seems a little bit like Swayman's almost taken over the role right now. And he's kind of the guy who's playing a little bit more as opposed to just them going back and forth every game. And now it's like, all right, we need help up front. They need to do something. I don't know what the Lindholm injury is. I don't know if there's been a prognosis.

G, do you have any idea? No, I'm not too sure. Okay, so nobody knows there. So they could need D help too, but you have nothing to give to get what you need to add to this team to give your chance to win the Stanley Cup besides one of these goalies. Swayman's younger,

and you can get a ton in return for Linus Allmark. So I just look at it like we can't go into the playoffs again with what we had last year, minus Bergeron and Crecci and Hall and Bertuzzi and think that we're going to be able to compete for the Stanley cup. We got to try to add something up front. And the only way they're going to do it is Allmark. They also have a really good goaltending prospect in Providence.

I don't even remember his name. Brandon Bussey, Brandon Bussey so it's like i i and biz you said this long before and i didn't agree with you but now it's like i don't know there's something with the bruins right now they give up the lead in the last minute of every game and then lose an overtime it's insane it's i i never seen anything like it they can't finish out a game and so it's like all right well you got these goalies but you you need help scoring and you might need help on d if lindholm's out so you got to make a move yeah it's dangerous and all of a sudden yeah swayman is truly the guy but you got to believe in them at this point at least i do watching all these bruins games and the reason going back to last year i said that I thought that they were going to do it last year,

but they ended up being able to add all those guys like Bertuzzi came in, Orlov came in. Did they pick anybody else of significance up last year? But they didn't have to move on from that tandem. Who are they, sorry? I got it, Hathaway. Hathaway. The other

two guys, in my opinion, are significant ads. Like you're getting a top four defenseman and also a top six winger where that's kind of what they needed to do in order to compete in the East. And I thought that that was a Stanley Cup lineup they had last year. With losing those two centermen and last year not having to move on from the goaltenders, I just think that you look really stupid this year if you go into the first round and you end up losing, say, in six or seven games, and maybe you lacked

a little bit of offense, and meanwhile you have Swayman playing a net and then Allmark's on the bench. You get to put one guy in net, and you have such a valuable asset who's got, in Allmark, who's got one year left on his deal next year. He's making $4 million, so he's an extremely cap-friendly goalie next year he's making four million bucks so he's an extremely cap friendly goalie that he's making five million bucks okay sorry I signed a four year deal times five million but nonetheless for a guy who won a Vezina last year and a guy who's

still playing at the top of his game although he's not the starter in net that is such a small cap hit that it was extremely appealing to a few teams that are ready to head into playoffs who don't really have a number one guy that they can trust. Even a few other teams, like I would say that Cam Talbot's probably going to be a starter, but you're telling me that LA is not going to need to go out and get some goalie help or somebody to be a good backup. And I bet you the list goes on to three, four more teams who are probably still trying to address that situation. And I bet you the list goes on to three, four more teams who are probably still trying to address that situation. So for me, we both know that the center position is something that they need to add to. I don't know who they can go out and even get, but Allmark is such a big piece that if you're left keeping him on the bench and you lose in the first round, and you talked about it, the age of this team, I just think that if you're a Bruins fan, you're saying, motherfucker, what are we waiting for here?

We're being too conservative. Well, especially because you have to pay Swain in this offseason. I mean, he's an RFA at the end of the season, so you have to pay him so you can't head into next season. He's going to command at least six million. So you can't head into next season with what? Eleven million paying your goalies. That just doesn't make sense. That's my thing.

All Mark's getting built this summer. So deal him before the deadline, right? Like, there's no chance he's going to be on the team starting next year unless they somehow traded Swayman. So, like, do it now. And, yeah, it sucks because it's amazing knowing you got two guys and if one guy's struggling, you got all markers. But in the end, like like you need help in other positions and you need to try to go for it this

year because there's probably some dark days heading towards the Boston Bruins, whether it's in three years or five years, at some point, this like 20 year run of being like competitive and having a chance to win is going to end. And why not try to get more out of what you have now sacrificing an asset while you still have a great goalie once you move on from Omar. So we'll see how that goes. And, you know, obviously they're going to want a big return, but the Bruins are just, there's something about the Bruins that they're just missing.

Yeah. I mean, you would probably compare it to almost like the the playoff and run that the the the red wings were on maybe not like every year but just the the sustained dominance for 20 years of you know being able to make playoffs most year always being at the top of the division and look at what happened to detroit after it was all said and done they had five six years of hell to where now they're finally starting to turn the corner. So you got to push the chips in.

Quickly. Yeah. After Wednesday night of this week where you got to be a part of the broadcast, I mean, can you imagine an Oilers-Bruins Cup Final, by the way? Oh, my God. I mean, we thought that Philly-Pittsburgh 7-6 Sunday was fun. I'm sure there weren't a ton of East Coasters

besides Bruins fans awake with that 10-15 start out in Edmonton. One of the games of the year. The Bruins go up 4-1. The Oilers come storming back. Poshinok takes the lead. Hyman ties it up. And McAvoy with maybe the best OT winner of the season.

I mean, McAvoy is just, he's one of the top dogs, man. You're talking about starting your team. If you could have a choice of any defenseman, he's in that top three, top four. What a player. And to have the skill to make that move and just an overall amazing game with two teams that have so much firepower up front,

and then they put it all on show, on TNT, for the U.S. viewers to be able to see that, that was an awesome matchup. Yeah, especially as a D-man, like last guy back. I know Kane slid, but that toe drag move and then the patience to go over to the backhand. We actually, in that broadcast, we broke down a demo in the first game because I think it was Drysdale

who ended up sliding on a two-on-one. And then it got slid over and then that puck ended up in the back of the net um or no sorry it was actually uh it was it was a a Blackwell who ended up like basically toe dragging around up scored a beautiful goal when you were playing DeWitt were your coaches or even coaches anti-slide? So I had some coaches that were and some coaches that weren't. So I know we have many listeners who know a ton about hockey and have played hockey, but if you're somebody who isn't necessarily aware of how you're supposed to play a two-on-one, the basis of it is this.

Two forwards are coming down and you're a defenseman. Your number one job is to not let the puck get through you. So you're almost at a way of saying this is taking away the pass, right? You give the goalie the shooter and you make sure that there's not going to be a pass through your feet, through your triangle, because the goalie has no chance, right? When it goes side to side, you're donezo. So a lot of defensemen are kind of taught, all right, we'll kind of lean over towards that player without the puck, maybe give a little stick checks and just try to make sure that that puck doesn't come through. So there's coaches who say, listen, you got to lay down, you got to slide, take away that option completely because there's players out there, there's Crosby's, there's

McKinnon's, there's Marner's who no matter what you do, if you're on your feet, they're finding a hole and they're getting it to that backdoor guy and the goalie's dead. But what happens is there's the side of coaches that say, do not leave your feet because those same players I mentioned, those same elite playmakers, once you leave your feet, they're hitting the brakes, they're throwing the beautiful toe drag on you and they're sliding it over. They're scoring themselves. I never liked going down, but I wasn't great at it over. They're scoring themselves. I never liked going down, but I wasn't great at it. My timing wasn't good. There's defensemen who were so good at

timing it, right? It's all about when to slide. It's all about where your stick is as you slide, because you guys slide and all of a sudden the player still gets it through that hole between your glove and the stick and right that little spot. It's the size of a puck and these guys still can find it. I think it's better off staying on your feet because worst case, right, when you're down and out and the goalie does somehow make a miraculous save, you're not there to clear the rebound. You're in the fucking corner. You're in the corner, and you're looking over as the two on O's

in front of the net with no back checker, and you're catching that minus. So at least stay in on your feet. If they get it through you or the guy takes the shot, you're there with a stick to whack away the rebound. You're there to take away a man and not give him a chance to score. So if I was coaching, I'd say learn to stand on your feet. The problem is with the level of talent in the NHL, stand on your feet. There's some guys, no matter what, they're finding it. They're finding that hole. So it's all about playing it positionally perfect. And that's really really difficult so i'd be interested to talk to different coaches who think stay on your feet and then once you say get down and slide and take it away but it's tough because they can make you look foolish

either way i hate uh i don't like when guys slide face first because in that situation you don't really have the ability to stop at all whereas if you go feet first sometimes you can quickly use your upper body to pop up and hit on the brakes so you don't end up sliding all the way into the corner and you talked about how some guys are good when they slide with their stick I thought Drysdale in that first game and the reason I brought up is because Evander Kane ended up coming sliding through and that's why McAvoy ended up making him look silly but Drysdale slid feet first and then he came around the stick but Blackwell the way that when he toe dragged he

actually ended up like he ended up like sticking his ass out and led with his skates so his skates ended up blocking the stick from from hitting it off his stick when he was toe dragging it and I just thought it was a beautiful beautifully executed play by the forward so I guess it's just like even when you're sliding perfectly sometimes the skill on these forwards man they can find ways to put it in the put the puck in the net as you said so definitely a debate amongst coaches I I heard coaches going at it when I was playing whether they liked it or not so I guess it's all preference but uh I don't know what the quote-unquote analytics would tell you. Well, Biz, I'll tell you this.

If you slide and it works, good job. And if you slide and it doesn't work, what the fuck do you do? Slide. Have a seat here, buddy. That's pretty much how it works out. Right between the D and the forwards there. Grab a seat. Hey, you want to try toe-dragging someone at the blue line?

If it works, awesome play. If it doesn't, sit down on the bench and shut your mouth. Yeah. All right. Before we go any further, here's a word from our good friends over at Bartyama. Spitting Chicklets is brought to you by Bartyama Zero Sugar. Bartyama Zero Sugar is a new zero sugar sports drink from our friends at

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and get yours today. Enjoy some Body Armor Zero Sugar like myself. Grab some fruit punch. Well, Wednesday wasn't the only night we had superstars on TNT Sunday, man. We got to give Kucherov some love. Unbelievable game he had versus New Jersey. He had a 4-1 win for Tampa. Solidified their playoff chances a bunch.

He factored in all their goals. A goal and three assists. The first play to hit 100 points this season. He did it in 59 games. His previous best was 62 games. Now it's 102 points in 59 games. Right now, Kucherov and McDavid are the only two players over the last 25 years to hit 100 points in fewer than 60 games. Now it's 102 points in 59 games. Right now, Kucherov and McDavid are the only two players over the last 25 years to hit 100

points in fewer than 60 games. Tampa Bay, they've been on, not really a run lately, but they've been kind of staying solid where they are in the playoff spot. 69.60 games currently in the wildcard, number two wildcard spot, rather. But how about Frank the Tank? We're going to talk about Frank the Tank getting tossed out of that fucking Jersey game.

If you're not familiar with Frank the Tank, he's a co-worker at basketball. He gets a little bit passionate, but I think he was politely asked to leave the game with. Did you check out that clip at all? I saw the clip. So I'd like to say that me and Frank are friends. I love the guy. Every time we used to do the streams in the gambling cave, he always would come join us, which I liked. And, you know, he's got all these different factoids about all these different sports.

He's a fun guy to hang out with. Having said all that, I've long made it public. He's the worst fan in the world. Worst. The worst. But I love it because I'm not a Devils fan. Or a Mets fan. I love the toxic behavior.

So like I enjoy seeing him go nuts about the Mets and the Devils. But if I was a Mets or a Devils fans, I would hate his guts, right? Because it's all doom and gloom and it's all negativity until they finally win. And then he's like, told you so. So it's kind of one of those things where I think Devils fans are kind of sick and tired. And the one thing I'll say is if you have season tickets and you're sitting around Frank, I mean, you should, you should invest in earplugs and hope to God that you have a multiple lifetime supply of them and because you got to deal with this guy screaming now what he's screaming about has a

valid point the expectations of the devils and yes they've battled injuries probably worse than any other team this year but nobody saw this coming this has been a disaster of epic proportions they suck and he's all over lindy Ruff as many other Devils fans are. But I think when you're screaming fire Lindy over and over and over, finally, some other Devils fan says, please shut up. And then the tank explodes. And when the tank explodes, there's no putting the oil back in the tank. It's leaking everywhere. And I believe he was asked to leave. I think there was a video of a security guard and then you know tank immediately starts biting on his chew toy and boom the tankers

exploded so it's one thing to kind of enjoy it as as we get to see it online but to sit next to it game after game it probably can be a little bit exhausting um well i was just gonna say go go into the devils like the goaltending has just been ruining them. I mean, I don't know if you caught that game and some of the goals that went in. The one where he ended up over sliding. The one-handed goal by Hagel. I mean, come on. That puts the game out of reach.

It ends up 3-1 at that point. But overall, do you guys think a coaching change needs to happen this year like i think that that might if they're not going to get a goalie i think their only hope in hell is maybe a coaching change it's nothing against lindy ruff i really think that they're missing andrew brunette i've said that a couple times like with all the success he had in in florida as an assistant and then having to take over after Quinville left. I thought he was incredible the rest of the regular season. People might put that playoff performance when they ended up getting bounced first round on him,

but I don't think so. And now he's obviously going on to have success with the Nashville Predators. I just think losing him as basically Lindy having a head coach there to lean on is just something that is being overlooked a lot. And you mentioned that without mentioning their power play makes the Penguins' power play look like the 1989 Oilers.

They're two for their last 42. Dude, you have Hughes, you have Heashier, you have Bratt, you have Mercer, you have Toff foley how is your power play two for 42 and i'm sure andrew burnett had a lot to do with the power play yeah um so since january 1st i believe the worst power play in the league it's clicking at about nine percent right now with all those guys that you just mentioned so uh given the given the lack of goaltending right now, the offense drying up from a power plays perspective, and even if you're watching their games,

I said this on the broadcast, they were a team that dominated off the rush last year. Whether it was just gaining easy zone access because their speed coming through was pushing defensemen off the line and they were being able to get these extended offensive zone shifts and or legitimately scoring off the rush. One of the best teams in the league, if not the best team last year at putting the puck

in the net off of these rushes. You're not seeing that anymore. So not only the power play not working, one of your biggest offensive weapons from last year not clicking, you're just, they don't have a pot to piss in right now and it's looking like they're going to miss playoffs um we kind of glanced over cooch and what he's doing uh i know we talked we talked about the four points and the fact that he's the first guy to reach 100 points um still once again looked effortless doing it i would probably put put him and McKinnon right now neck and neck for the heart.

I know I've been beating the McKinnon drum, beating the McKinnon drum, but with no Kucherov and now no Sergeyev in their lineup, there's no way that they're in a playoff position. So I know McKinnon has been the guy I've been leaning on, but I would say that right now they have to be neck and neck. And as a Maple Leaf ball bag licker, I obviously would like to put Matthews as number one, but Ace brought up a good point on the panel as well. For probably the first 20 to 25 games, most people would have

probably had William Nylander as the Toronto Maple Leafs MVP, maybe even the first 40 games. So to me, it would be unfair to not put those two guys neck and neck and I almost think that the Vegas odds has them tied right now going into this final stretch of the season who do you got who do you guys have I have Kucherov but I think and I think there's no way that if if it stays this even that uh he gets the votes over McKinnon and I think it's a Russian thing and I think the all- McKinnon. And I think it's a Russian thing. And I think the all-star game in that performance will affect it. I know that.

I don't agree with it. But I'm telling you, if the season ends and Kucherov and McKinnon continue to play this well the entire way, I think Kucherov deserves it. But I think Canadian bias will affect the voting. I really do. And also, quickly about Kucherov, he's got 102 points in 59 games.

So as a fan, you're like, oh man, there's got to be an 80-point guy on the team. No, there's got to be a guy with 70 points. No, there's a guy with 62 points. He's got 40 goddamn points more than the next guy on his team. And I don't think non-hockey players or fans understand how ridiculous

that is. Like, in these years of McDavid lighting it up, like, there's Dreisaitl lighting it up, right? In the years of Crosby lighting it up, there's Malkin lighting it up. In the years of McKinnon, we got Rontanen. This guy is doing it by himself. And in that game against

jersey i i swear to god i watched the whole game sitting at the pool bar it was a beautiful day of rum runners with floaters it was just thankful for being alive i think he could have had 10 points he was every single shift he was making something He could have had 10 on that ball shift where ball looked like you in Edmonton. I tweeted the group. I go, get ball off the ice. It looks like me in Edmonton. He was falling down. Kucherov's laughing going by him.

But, man, with all the skill in the world and all the vision and the creativity and his shot, nobody talks about how good his shot is. He competes like a dog. And that's the difference between the truly great ones and the 80-point guys. He is furious out there if you take the puck from him. He'll do anything to win. I know people may hate this.

He's one of the dirtier players in the league. But what does that do for him? It probably creates even more space. So I right now think Kucherov is the MVP of the league, but I think you'll see some Canadian bias and some North American bias. And I think if McKinnon continues on this pace, he gets it. And my other thing about Matthews, unless Matthews gets 70, which we've talked about, when will we see a 70 goal score? If he gets 70, I'm cool with giving it to him. The argument would be he doesn't even lead his own team in scoring it's kind of like saravelli said there's never been a heart winner that finished second

on their team in scoring very interesting fact i know but we haven't had a 70 goal score in like what 40 years so it's kind of it that'll be interesting to see that play out but kucherov deserves it but i'm telling you right now if you don't think him being russian and his performance at the all-star game will affect some of these voters, you're crazy. If he finishes 20 points ahead of McKinnon, you still think. And he doesn't get it. That, I think, is enough to get it.

But if he's like eight points in front of him, I think McKinnon gets it. I agree with you. And I think it would also, I would say from my voting perspective and maybe my bias and no disrespect to Kucherov and when I say it looks effortless it doesn't mean he's not putting an effort he's just cracked the code where he just has figured it out so it looks easy when he's doing it I think the fact that McKinnon could have and should have probably won it the year that Halsey won it plays a factor in that he doesn't have one,

and it would be criminal if McKinnon has a career that he has and never wins a heart. And they do some of that. They do some of that. It's his time. That's how I'm voting in my head if the points are close enough. Because if you also watch – And Kucherov has one.

Yeah, and Kucherov has one. And if you also watch, yeah, Kucherov has one. And if you also watch the games, I mean, to watch McKinnon play is, is also a treat because like maybe in some cases where you say Kucherov, oh, it looks easy. And it's like, he's not working hard McKinnon. It just looks like he's fucking running a truck out there and he's blown by guys and he's galloping. And it even more probably like looks a little bit more fun to enjoy. So that's my bias.

I would probably lean to McKinnon if it was that close. So I think everything you said is bang on with, though, as far as the bias is concerned. Quickly, it wasn't on the outline for the show, but I just wanted to go into, because we also brought up Brunette, the canceling of the U2 show at the Sphere. All that team's done since is win five in a row. So you got to, at some point, give a coach and a GM a little bit of credit for taking away a cookie because it worked. And I know players may say, it doesn't fucking work.

We just started playing better. But you can't dog what they did if they end up going on this little run they have gone on since that little cancellation. So shout out to the Preds, and I guess shout out to Trotz and Brunette for making a tough decision. So that was a side note that deserved to be mentioned.

And that's why I shouldn't be a coach, because I'm a pushover bitch. My players would run my show. I was hoping they squeezed it in on that Friday night, but apparently they did, because you two, I think there's only like two more shows left. But just to jump back on Cooch, I was talking to Cooch back in December and he even said he's the best player in the planet

right now. And I don't remember an MVP race this close with this many guys. I mean, a decent amount of time. I mean, these guys can leapfrog each other. There's still tons of time left. And to go back to Jersey, the coaching change, I think it's way too late for that. If they were going to make that move,

they should have done it a month and a half ago. I think they're a little bit too far out right now. Jersey, what are they, 62 points, seven behind the wild card, five behind Philly. They got a game in hand, but I don't know. I think it's too late to make that move. I don't disagree with you either. And going into that game against Tampa, New Jersey was five points behind.

And that effort to know that essentially, I thought that that was the season on the line right there. The fact that they lost that game, it's over. I don't see them making playoffs unless they do something drastic that brings them back. So now seven points back after that dumpster fire in which was a pathetic performance performance but here's the thing that devils fans and that idiot pasha is kind of holding on hope is that they're not really chasing the two

wild card spots they're chasing the flyers and so if the flyers end up selling off like they they got walker they got sealer now drysdale's injured it looked pretty bad too yeah same shoulders last year that yeah i felt really bad and he's it's hanging as he's running down the tunnel but if they end up like deciding to move on from guys and almost sticking to the longer term plan as opposed to wow we've had success this year let's try to maybe add and and make the playoffs but if they do sell off then the devils they just got to catch theers. I don't know if they play again or how many times they play again this year, but it's almost the third in the Metro they're chasing as opposed to the two wild cards. Because I think it's pretty clear that the Atlantic Division is going to be the two wild cards.

Right. I think it might be Detroit and Tampa Bay. Yeah, those two are pretty firmly ensconced in there right now. But again, keep with the theme of stars on TNT, your boy Sid Crosby went, what a fucking, I mean, this guy's with 36. He looks like he's 26 out there. Four points, like you said earlier, Biz, he's got

129 points, the most points any opponent's had against the Flyers since they entered the league back in 1967, and this is a team that looked dead a week and a half ago with the Flyers, the Penguins, and fucking, they're right back on the race. Do you think they get in? They got games in hand,

which is helping them already. And he actually won up cooch. He had five points on Sunday and that puts them at 130 points. The most ever by a Pittsburgh or any player, excuse me, against the Philadelphia flyers. So wait, you think Pittsburgh's going to make playoffs?

No, I it's, it's going to make playoffs? No. It's all Crosby. And if there's one human being that could do it, it's him. But, I don't know, Malkin is, like, non-existent, man. I watch these games. And what a career and what a run. But it's just kind of, of like laissez-faire and and then there's Crosby just dragging his team along making defensive plays scoring big goals

blocking shots like I I actually I actually think that the league and fans of the league don't even understand how lucky they are to have this guy represent this sport the last 20 years and not to mention what he does on the ice and what he does in the community and how many lives he's changed in the city of pittsburgh and that's not an exaggeration younger kids getting into the game charities all these things that he's done to create not only a winning culture off the ice but uh a very strong, supportive community in Pittsburgh around the Penguins and Sidney Crosby and his legacy there. But then he goes after the game and he's doing the interview with you guys and Tony Granato coached him and he's going through the battle

of his life. And Sid says these super kind words about what he means to him. It's just like, it's one of those people touched by God raised the right way. He has respect for everyone. He doesn't act bigger than the game. He doesn't act bigger than a fourth liner on the team. He's just like one of those guys you dream to have represent your team in your city. And, and if anyone can do it, it can be him, but where are the rest of the penguins? And they have to trade Gensel. I think I was actually completely against that, but then there was the TNT chicklets alt cast where I said all right enough's enough the Panthers made him look like fools and there's been a little bit of a bounce back but when we talk about chasing down that third spot

in the metro buddy like it's one thing that right now they're five points behind sorry seven points behind the Flyers and yes they have four games in hand on them. But it's not just that. They've got to leapfrog the Islanders, the Devils, and the Capitals. So you can't look at the points and the games in hand. You've got to look at the teams that you actually have to get over. Because those teams are going to be winning and competing as well. So I don't think the Penguins get in, man. And it's shocking.

And it's all the power play. I don't know if they had a score change in that business. Because the Boxer had a goal and three assists. I think they credited him with an assist during the game, but I think they might have changed it. Oh, I thought, yeah. Well, he had four going in, and then I thought that the last goal,

he ended up getting a point on. So, my apologies. No, that's all right. Yeah, I mean, he's been unreal. 60 points in 55 games this year. Like I said, he looks a decade younger than he's been playing, but no support so far. Biz, what was up with you and Jazz?

A little WWF action? Yeah, we were just fucking around. Well, he's a big Flyers fan. He's from Philadelphia. And he gave me a nugget beforehand. He said the Penguins have not scored more than two power play goals in any game this season. And I think maybe I did say the stat wrong,

or he thought I said the stat wrong, so I just had enough, so I went back there and fucking dummied him. But like in flyer fashion, when I had my back turned, he jumped on me and strangled me. He's a dirty boy, that Jazz. You dummied him.

No shock there, but great week on TNT anyways, unreal games. Oh, so many good games. And in that vein, actually we haven't even mentioned it, I guess you on TNT anyways, business. Unreal games. Oh, so many good games. And in that vein, before we actually haven't even mentioned it, I guess you had Sam Ryan out. We talked to him about Toronto a couple weeks ago. We're going to bring him on very shortly.

But I know I beat this drum and I haven't for a while, but the whole blackout in NHL Network stuff, Colorado, Toronto, a marquee game Saturday night. I'm sure it was Hockey Night in Canada up there. The only people who could watch it in America was NHL Network, which, by the way, once again, they do not even have a fucking streaming outlet. The NHL, you can't watch this game streaming. You can only watch it on the NHL Network.

Certain smart TVs, like if you have a Samsung smart TV, you can't download certain apps to log into certain cable things. So I just don't know why they're forcing these games. And even Sunday, the Chelly Ceremony, the Detroit-Chicago game, that was only on the NHL Network. The people, it's every week, man, every night, people getting blacked out. It's a joke. The NHL has to fix this because you're preventing people from watching your product.

It's fucking 2024. These whole zones with blackout regions, just do away with them. Young kids aren't watching fucking TV anyway. So they need to fix it, man, because they really cost themselves. So end of rant right there, boys. I think we should send it over to Sam Reinhart right about now uh before we go to reinhardt yeah uh florida panthers might be the best team in the nhl um they were on an incredible road winning streak and the only way it was stopped was by carolina who's also carolina and dallas are the

exact same teams to me where they're like very, very good. And nobody talks under the radar. They're under the radar. Awesome. And I don't think they mind it one bit. And Carolina beat the Panthers one, nothing to stop that road winning streak. And it was only because the Panthers had a goal called back on the worst rule in the league,

the offside review. Let's hope they figure that goddamn rule out, but shout out to the Panthers. This team has all the makings of a cup contender and a cup champ. So Reinhardt sat down with us and this kid, very similar to Besser, just a cool cat. And I guess probably it's because he knows he's going to sign for about 80 million in the next few months, but thank you for sitting down with us. And I hope everyone enjoys. All right, before we go any further, here's a few

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One no-sweat bet per new customer. Issued as one bonus bet equal to amount of initial losing bet and expires 168 hours after issuance. See dkng.com slash promos for deposit, wagering, and eligibility restrictions, terms, and responsible gaming resources. Well, it's great to welcome our next guest. This 28-year-old forward from British Columbia was taken second overall by Buffalo at the 2014 NHL Draft.

After seven seasons as a Sabre, he was traded to Florida, where he has since averaged just over a point per game, and he's here in Toronto for his his first nhl all-star game appearance we're very happy to welcome to the spit and chickens podcast sam reinhardt congrats on the all-star game in the hell of a season so far brother good job thank you appreciate you guys having what a heater this guy's been on holy fuck sammy reinhardt putting the strap on on the free agency pay me contract here pay me and and probably the main reason we have you on this podcast is because you're good buddies with pasha eschke now pasha eschke is a villain in the spit

and chicklets world i don't know if you know this because he's been well aware well vancouver jt miller and he's been double wristing his new jersey devils non-stop with ridiculous takes you know what i did i did see that clip that take he had on jt and thoughts that's not the right thing what that is not all right he won't walk it back the guy's gonna win like a playoff mvp and possibly i don't know man i will like which is bad i will say i gave the devils no chance against the rangers in my pick before that me. Me too. That was a hell of a series, but back and forth.

But that was the worst take I've seen all year. Hey, don't feel bad. I had the Panthers missing playoffs last year. So did we all, I guess. Yeah, yeah. But especially at this time. I had the Bruins missing playoffs last year. I think we were 20 points out at this time last year. You guys have had quite the run.

I mean, just talk about your streak so far this year. From what I'm hearing is you had a big off season. The training-wise, you took a deep dive. You fucking got in the best shape of your life, and you came in ready to go. Well, he got married. None of that matters. He got married.

Oh, okay. So there's less nights with the boys then. No, honestly, it's kind of taken out of context. It's the less I've done over my eight years. Really? In an off season. It's just I've had so many long summers. I've done a tremendous amount each summer and put in the work.

And I think it allowed me to do less, just stay healthy, be ready for this year. Yeah, I was able to tweak a little thing with tweak a little things with my team back home and and and do less and more more feel good and i think it was that kind of base over a bunch of years that and less time on the ice i did so much off ice and it was it was allowed me to stay off the ice less because it took no time getting back on to that's what i was gonna ask we we interviewed We interviewed Gary Roberts yesterday, and he talked about he's really trying to get guys to not skate as much. So many guys just love skating now all summer.

So for you, was it like, all right, let's just, I don't need to be on the ice every day in July and August. Absolutely. It's a fine line that I've always kind of battled. Yeah, you could skate every day. Your hands would feel phenomenal. You would have a better touch coming back um but god damn your hips yeah everything going throughout the season it's i've been very fortunate knock on wood been very healthy and i think that's probably a little bit

of why staying off the ice but doing a lot off i started staying yeah doing a lot less on ice so i think it all kind of contributes to it. I remember I texted you at some point this year. Merle's asked me to ask you if you're playing with a longer stick now, and you actually said it's shorter now than it used to be? Shorter. It kind of took me five years to feel out. I actually used a straight stick, more of a straighter curve in junior.

Didn't last very long with that in the NHL, but it took me five or six years to kind of finalize what it was, and I actually shrunk my stick a little bit. Someone was asking me about Barkov's stick the other day, just how long it was. I don't understand how, like, you move it around your body, how your hands are it so tight yeah like having in tight some of these guys like ekblad i brought him up in an interview

he's so he's such a long stick i mean obviously he's a defenseman but just i don't understand how you have such a long stick and you're able to i would get jammed up on the wall all the time i think short long stick regardless you're getting jammed up on the wall. Okay. I love this. I wish 40 young guys would come on and fucking turn me like this. Okay, game on, you motherfucker. Exactly, yeah. He could have no stick. He's getting jammed up.

Yeah, yeah. But going back to the straighter curve, though, I felt like a straighter curve helped along the walls as well, where if you're a winger, I I don't have it, a banana hook on it sometimes can get a little tricky, no? Maybe I got it wrong. Sometimes it's almost easier. So it's, it's straight for about three quarters

of it. And then the toes got a pretty good hook on it. Like my cock? Like my cock? I knew you were thinking. No, Sammy was thinking what he was saying. The posture originally started that one. So it almost makes the backhand a little easier

because it's still relatively flat. I mean, look at Kucherov. He's got a hook too, does he not? Yeah. If he can do it with a hook, you should be able to practice it a little bit and get a feel for it. But I don't think it, it almost keeps it on your toe with a hook you know you should be able to practice it a little bit but um and get a feel for it but

i don't think it i it almost keeps it on your toe and makes it a little bit easier for me shot everything that helps made better for me see i mentioned that in the intro you've been averaging over a point per game of florida did you do anything different down there did anything change it was just the whole circumstances the new team new lineup new code all that stuff i mean well we'll get to actually play with Barky after this, but my first year we scored 10 goals a game. I mean, everyone had career years, adjusted our style, obviously with a new coach.

It was just not a style that was relatively prone to being successful in the playoffs. It was run and gun it was running gun running gun but no we were playing we were winning i actually had a slow start that year too almost every year but um yeah i think it was november and then started playing with hubie a little bit um got on the board and then our third line got going so it was good because everyone was scoring our power play was good it was just your your win is that the year you had 32 comebacks or something yeah yeah these crazy games exactly yeah six five for sure it was third periods it was just sometimes you're in that mode

and it almost feels a little too easy you know and then you're not ready but like with barco it took a while it was the same thing with ike's like we didn't have chemistry right away um almost a lot of discussion between you guys at the beginning trying to figure it out yeah so we we played about 15 games at the start of last year we our coach brought it up to us this year our numbers our stats were off the charts we just couldn't score we were just puck wasn't going in and then um went back this year at the start and everything just kind of started clicking and then you start feeling it i don't know the the power play is amazing like i think you have more power play goals than six teams in the league and for

for any offensive player like the power plays where you just get that confidence you're getting points you're getting the touches like so for you to to light it up this much it must be not a relief but you're like all right this is perfect because now i know exactly where i am on the ice and barky knows exactly where i'm going to be the power play can take off a lot of pressure it can put a hell of a lot more pressure on um we kind of actually struggled at the start of the year and uh but barky and i were actually producing five on five still so it was take some pressure off but the power plays helped just the whole team truck and i were just laughing at this on break just kind of thinking about the success we've had using the middle of the ice and it's just

every other power or a lot of power plays it's a black hole right everyone hates to be there even when paul came and he said obviously we have truckie i'm not going to be goal line anymore he's so he said i think we're going to put you in the middle i know it sounds terrible but we'll work it out and it actually took until playoffs to start kind of seeing the success with it last year take some time to get a feel for it but you got to distribute the puck there you can't you have to you even during this pressure it's all about the guys around it timing it right and and and finding you in there so i've been a factor of that but but you've had to kind of learn how to find in that how to find that empty area i did the same thing when i went to buffalo uh and then we drafted ike's it's like well shit i'm not going to be on the half wall you got to figure out how to be out there and then kind of developed how to be a goal line

guy and then, uh, figure that out. And then, uh, obviously take some, take some time in the middle, but it's all about putting the puck there and all these teams do diamonds now it's, it's a vulnerable spot. Did you see the Daryl Belfry breakdown I ended up redoing on TNT where he explained how you expose the the the opposite side

of the ice so I guess you're you're a righty right yeah when you're on the left side and you're usually around the goal line area how you're always able to find those scene passes where it's either Barkov or one of the other guys popping out like is that something that you've always been good at or all of a sudden you've added that to your bag like he had he must have had 50 examples of you just working right around that goal line area on that side of the ice. Yeah.

Are you, are you saying like back, like where a truckie spot is now? No, this is just even more five on five and how you guys are able to generate. Like he was just, he just did a breakdown of like how good you've been at it. So I was just curious to ask you and if you'd seen it, cause I thought it was such a good

breakdown and it was like, holy fuck fuck like 15 times already in the season this guy's like like the same play he's showing made an escape along the goal line then you're finding barkoff who's popping out at the perfect time so it just seems like you guys are just in unison even five yeah you know what honestly i i saw i don't know if this is kind of the same skill you're talking about but i saw a clip of bedard in preseason and he was coming through the neutral zone and he just like i i assume he's got a toe curve if he did it but he kind of put it towards his feet and then just flew by the guy and like the guy had no chance to get his stick to where the puck was yeah he's like protecting it in a

different way but it's like it was just such a weird play. Is that kind of what you're talking about? Yeah, well, like, it just seems like you're doing a good job down low of like getting separation and kind of just like finding those pucks in those areas in order to make those plays. For sure, yeah. I think maybe feeling a little bit quicker, a little bit stronger, you get maybe a couple more inches, and that's going to make my life easier. Yeah.

And I've always been able to read the play and find it, so I'm feeling a little bit quicker now. So it just gives me that much more time to see it and make the play. Back to the beginning when you're younger, Pasha told me youngest of three. So just getting pounded on, always chasing your older brothers. I know Griff was a real hot pick, right? So for you, was it just always kind of chasing after them,

and that's what made you good? Absolutely. It was everything I kind of went through growing up. I just saw how they were able to handle it, both positively and negatively. You live and you learn. But I saw them go through it. Yeah.

Made everything easy for me. Yeah. And your father played what? Over 1,000 NHL games or close? No, he retired at 29 okay so he played 18 to 29 and he had some injuries and then dominant though when he played yeah very solid good to see you've done your homework now remember the first night you met him I met him I had no idea he played in the NHL I think I think he felt that I pigeon-tossed him

it was the premiere of biz does BC because he was the star of the show you're like you're like hey buddy buddy i'll talk to you later no i didn't introduce him to biz was i there for the premiere i don't know if you were there i was like oh so did you play and he's like uh yeah you know how much better i was than you yeah basically basically that's the look he gave me without having to say it rus But yeah, no, we always talk about this culture you guys have created in Florida. And like, you guys are like a rat pack, a bunch of hyenas. That's going to be an unreal close-knit locker room. For sure. I think it starts, I mean, you go on the road, you throw in the team chat, dinner,

reso tonight for eight. And then all of a sudden someone's calling make it for 14 like and it's a different 14 every time and it just it's just so close and it's I mean you see it on the ice and guys feed off of each other. Oh my god. Great personality. That's so shit. Well it's like every game it's like alright

if we're down we'll just cause a ruckus and like there's like you're either scoring or fighting it's just it's a team that's fun to watch though too which I think everyone probably or fighting. It's just, it's a team that's fun to watch though too, which I think everyone probably appreciates. It's great to be a part of. I mean, you see some of the personalities come out and it's unbelievable. It's fun room to be in.

How much of this recent team success and this culture you just talked about can be credited to your new mascot, Kodak Black? Is he around the team? Did you get to meet him after that whole ordeal? No, actually it was after game... It was one of the games we won against, I think it was Washington at home.

And I think he was on the glass. Dookie had scored and went up to the glass and then someone had recognized him. So I think it was Billy, our GM, brought him up to the suite and that was the thing. He was there next to Lou and all our GMs. Right next to the GM box.

He thought it was like a shaded glass or whatever. Ticked his ass off. He could only see out. Came down to the room after taking photos. Unbelievable. I'm in the shower with, I forget, one other guy. And it's like quiet in there. And he just comes walking in and looks in.

He's like, this isn't where I was supposed to be. He's bird watching. He's unbelievable. But Kodak blocks a bird watcher. I was supposed to be. He's birdwatching. It's unbelievable. Kodak blocks a birdwatcher. I think so, yeah. I mean, he definitely saw my back. That could end bad for you. He's got probably people,

who's this missing that motherfucker calling me a birdwatcher? Yeah, back in the clink he goes. Didn't you say he tried to bring his gun into the locker room or something like that? I don't think so. I didn't mean that at all, yeah. But yeah, there's a good amount of security there around him with them. And our team was handling it well.

But I don't think we've seen him since. I haven't seen him. I think after the humping incident, he might have been banned. He might have been banned. He got tossed all in each of our games. I don't think I'd seen him after. Yeah, I think there was another angle of that, too. It wasn't a first thought that happened.

I mean, I could see why they did it. They wouldn't get a lady bent over the box like that. But anyways, moving right along. Last year in the playoffs, it was a bit of, I think, a coming out party for Matthew Kachuk, certainly around the league. Were you even impressed or a little bit surprised at the caliber of player in lead he was last year? He seemed like he dragged you guys into the fight quite a bit

down the stretch and in the playoffs. Some guys just have it some guys just just uh know how to produce know how to get the puck in the net um i don't think there's a guy that's better at a pull up coming into the zone um oh then finding the trailer finding the trailer just making five guys over back check is It's unbelievable. So you just got to knack for it. And I mean, timing, you guys saw it. It's just late in games, getting the puck and hope for the best. When the finals came, dude, and he had like broken sternum,

I mean, just seeing him kind of go and try to give it, you were probably so impressed. Like he was in a lot of pain. You could see it. I mean, he couldn't tie see it i mean you couldn't tie up his skates couldn't get a jersey on it's just you know at that point in the series you're you're looking for a spark and the the the guy you're you've been leaning on all all playoffs it's it's a tough feeling it's it's uh tough to bounce back from it's unfortunate we weren't able

to but god damn you learn from it and we were talking on the pod um maurice is just like what a great quote i'm sure like guys love playing for him but as kachuk was slow offensive he he said like in an interview he's gonna pop off soon and sure shit like since that day i think he's got 30 points in 12 games but so even for you seeing him play it's like dude this guy's getting so much chances this isn't oh yeah it was it wasn't an issue at all um was he getting frustrated i mean i'm sure he he wanted to but he wouldn't show it he wouldn't uh he wasn't he wasn't cheating he wasn't going out of his way i think that kind of speaks to to to paul and the culture we have there that if if a guy like

that that can put up 130 any given year and he's and he's having a slow start that he's not cheating the game he's not starting to do anything different and that's just kind of the way we play and and what we preach and if if we're all doing that more guys have more success what a guy paul maurice is eh it's not like i've never i've never uh seen a guy have a feel of of the room um what to say um you know at any given moment and the the style he preaches the guys are fully bought in and and and we love playing it what's your memory of of the time out he took in toronto when he like one of these he's out of shows i think on that same trip walt had gone on a canadian station and basically ripped your guy it was it was right before i think i think uh chucky said walt was taking credit for the run because as the timing

um so i think they're fighting over who was taking credit um but yeah it was it was it was almost on the bench and it was it was non like he's i think we got a pretty good understanding he's not he doesn't dislike us it's not personal it's i remember being on the bench and i was like this is perfect timing this is really yeah and and we were obviously in a tough spot at that moment and and we're able to battle out of it um he did the same thing in Minnesota. We had a terrible first. They were coming off a back-to-back, you know,

a couple of when we hadn't won three in a row. He actually, a game or two later, he was on the Jumbotron getting, I think, second all-time. Coach's game played in the league and guys were kind of pumping him up on the Jumbotron. I look back, I'm like, I think if this was played in the Minnesota and guys were kind of pumping them up on the Jumotron. I look back, I'm like, I think if this was played in the Minnesota game,

some guys would change their opinions of you, but they just put it off the big screen immediately. Yeah. But even then just absolutely ripped us apart the first period and then end up losing the game. And, uh, and the next day,

you know, you kind of go into the rink and you're thinking. A little scared. Yeah, it's a shitty feeling. I don't want to go through this meeting. And then it was so positive. It just kind of brought us back in. And then we went on a kind of mini run. Where some coaches would have clamped down again.

Exactly, exactly. So it's just got a good feel of kind of keeping you honest and then kind of reeling you in at the same time. And it's been fun to be a part of. I know Biz made a joke of him, the jump. And he would talk to the press yesterday saying,

you're finally waiting for the contract, but it's sometimes tough to like, sort of not look ahead. Don't want that painting's coming. What do you mean? We're talking about the number. What are you asking for? Um,

what would you take? Double digits. I haven't asked for anything. I like eight times nine. You know, we'll see. I like a lot of things, but, eight times nine you know we'll see i like a lot of things but um we'll we'll see like i've i've got no no issue with it being ongoing with it being slow they don't matter but i okay final offer is there an end gate i talked to zita this

morning he told me to approach it this way yeah you're on the spot on behalf of the no but he told you to start at eight and you said no i'll start at nine if to approach it this way. Yeah, exactly. I'll get you on the spot on behalf of the fan base. No, but he told you to start at eight. And you're just like, no, I'll start at nine. If you approach it this quick, it might be done by now. But no, I think if I was struggling, the team was struggling, it would be more of an issue. But they know I want to be there. I know they want me there.

So it obviously doesn't always happen, but it's, it's not, it's not an issue in any of our minds. So it's, it's, it's not like we need something before the deadline here. And we were, we're all in for this year and we want to be there long-term. That's going to be hard though, to try to not

think about it and block that out. Like, is it something that sometimes creeps in and you're like, bud, fuck off. Don't worry't worry about it that's a i'd be a mental midget i've i've never had a long-term deal i think this three my buffalo was the longest i've ever had that's the longest money that's i've ever had and and i've uh it was the longest i've ever offered i was ever offered so um tough to get a longer one there's no option when there's no option so um i was laughing about it with uh with jumbo joe thornton when when he was in florida because i think he was probably offered a little longer at some point in his career but i don't think he

was ever longer than a two two three year deal his whole career um obviously a little bit different circumstances but um so it's nothing new. Obviously when you have a start like this, it's just out of my mind now. It's irrelevant. I would imagine like you're in Buffalo. You're going through a lot there. So it's more that it's easier not to think about it because you're so happy and you've seen where it was kind of dark days.

Team wasn't on a good team. Now you're in Florida, love the guys. So it's easier not to think about it. It's easier to think of you appreciate where you're at winning a hockey game and and trying to win the cup that's kind of yeah that's our goal right so it kind of takes everything out of the equation mentally but i think i think if if i was having a tough start or or tough first half it would it would probably keep you up at night a little bit more. Um, but I'm comfortable with, with where we're at, obviously. Um, like the Buffalo situation without being

offered anything long-term, was that something that maybe aggravated you a little bit or you, you know, just understood that that's kind of where the market was based on how much they were willing to pay? Like, how would you feel about that? Um, well, we had a lot of new people coming in so it's they were changing my underwear you know and yeah so it wasn't at the time yeah maybe you'd want it i think uh i think maybe now

you you would look a little bit how many long terms that they they have and and maybe you would think a little bit more why it was never offered. But I actually said this in the media the other day because a Buffalo reporter was asking. Kevin was phenomenal in making the deal to get me to a place where I wanted to be and where I was going to have success.

So I got nothing but positive things to say about him, Donnie, and everything. Yeah, we got to spend an hour with him in Buffalo talking to him. He was just such a nice guy. Was that Kevin or Oki? Kevin. Kevin Adams. Kevin, yeah.

R.A. was there, but really wasn't. His body was there. Yeah. He was on a boat. He got Cadillac Margarita to death that day. Shout out to my girl off at Get Our Day in the Park. Where did you guys go? I don't remember who. Where are you guys? Where do you guys go? I don't remember who.

Where do you guys go in Buffalo? We went to that spot. The little speakeasy. Yeah. The speakeasy. Oh, right beside the rink, right? Yeah. Right beside the rink.

Yeah. Been there a few times. Awesome spot. Awesome. Well, I mean, the fandom in Buffalo was so hardcore. I want to ask you because, you know, I'm sure they were wondering why it kind of fizzled out or didn't work there, but your time in Buffalo, I'm sure you loved it and loved the support of the community because

that's probably one of the craziest fan bases going. It was great. I mean, seven, seven, eight, we're almost eight years together, I guess, or almost seven, whatever it was, but yeah, you're, I mean, you're, you're coming in at 18, 19. Like it's, it's. All you know.

Oh, it's all, it's all, you know, it was, it was great. They were phenomenal. The people were all phenomenal. I got no bad feelings about my time there. Other than obviously wish we had more success, but that ultimately falls on us and you move on. Yeah.

So the all-star game, right? It's probably pretty cool for you getting to be here and being in Toronto, being in a market like this. Like were you thinking about that at all? Or when you found out it's just more excitement? Yeah, I think like I've never been here, so I've never experienced it. But I think, yeah, having the first one be in Toronto is pretty cool.

I mean, hockey, how about the world? So is it? Will you ever marry him or is it i i do say it's like the hockey mecca but i hate the leafs yeah they're fans but i can admit like there's a different vibe in this city for sure yeah exactly the enthusiasm and everything so um but crazy to see all the jerseys guys people flying in it's it's been pretty nuts. It's been a whirlwind, but I think for the first one. Who was your guy growing up? Like, who was your favorite player?

Probably a Ginla. Really? I was a Calgary fan, actually. My dad played for them mostly. So, I was mostly a Calgary fan, even though I grew up in Vancouver. Like Vancouver as well, obviously. But probably followed a Ginler the most. And then, obviously, Crosby.

Yeah. Once he came in, how did he not? Yeah, I talked to your brother, Max, and he told me that I have to bring up your putting game lately. He said you've been really struggling on the greens. My putting game's been dialed lately. What? I used to have the yips. Okay.

It's been good lately. But there was a couple years there. I couldn't, everything else was down. I can get to the green, no problem. Four and three footers, like missing them.

Everything, like. Some of my strokes would be, especially the long ones. I get it every now and then on the long ones, but sometimes it's like, it'll go out like this.

It was terrible but no i i hate practicing golf i just want to go play but putting uh a couple years back when i was still living out my parents in the summer they got a putting green and i was able to dial it in a little bit and practice and then uh but it's it's it's been better but there was a couple shady years there sketch sketchy years there. They're going to ask for reimbursement on that putting green when this deal gets signed. So you feel confident going into a sandbagger with us now? I would feel confident.

Who's your partner? Did it crush you to see Ikes play already and you didn't get the partner up with him? Would that have been one of your first choices? Absolutely. He would always be up high on the list. I'm trying to think. Maybe Zan or Kerfoot on your squad biz.

Coyotes? Coyotes. Members at the same club. Really? Or Morgan. He's a Vancouver guy. I didn't know he played on the Coyotes. Kerfoot? Yeah, I didn't know that. Jesus. He's good. He's a Vancouver guy. I didn't know he played in the Coyotes. Kerfoot?

Yeah, I didn't know that. Jesus. He's good. He's really good. You're talking about Kerfoot who played in Toronto? Yes. Oh, okay. I knew that.

Yeah. I knew he was there. Sounds like you didn't. You said his name's Zanner, though? I call him Zanner. Yeah. Oh, that's why. I was like, who the fuck is Zanner?

I grew up with him. I've always called him Zanner. Why is his name Zanner? Well, it's why. I was like, who the fuck is Xander? I grew up with him. I've always called him Xander. Why is his name Xander? Well, it's Alexander. Oh. That's kind of like when I asked Elliot. He's sober right now, too. He wasn't drinking.

I was going to ask Elliot Freeman, oh, so why do you guys call it 31 thoughts? And he's like, there's 31 teams. Is it 32 now? Yeah, they moved it to 32. They moved it up? Yeah, they moved it up. He asked when there was 31.

At the time, there was 31 so i guess i didn't explain that joker either um what else should we talk about you're a big soccer fan sam have you had a chance to go down and see messy play no you know messy's uh messy's a tough guy to uh get a hold of um cena did you see the clip of um someone saw him in traffic the other day yeah and just yeah and they chucked the head of jersey they him in traffic the other day? Yeah. And they chucked the head of Jersey. They put his window down. They chucked it in.

He signed it, chucked it back. The guys were going nuts. Would love to get out to practice. I've seen a couple of his games. Sergio Busquets was at. I heard. Our game met him. I don't know who that is. Oh, dude.

Is that the guy who we got busted? Yeah. I think he was like. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I missed what he said. What'd you say? He said he's on the Coyotes. Fuck you. Biz played with him in Ontario.

Yeah. You were on the rain with me. Yeah. Oh, yeah, that guy. So, yeah, the soccer's blowing up now. Blowing up. Yeah, yeah. So it's been pretty cool as a soccer fan being around it for sure.

Did they get the... Is the new practice facility done in Lauderdale? Yeah, so I hear now we're officially in it, morning skate, everything. I heard it's unbelievable. It's unbelievable. Five minutes from everyone. Taking golf carts over there. These guys are taking golf carts. Oh.

Yeah, you save about an hour and a half, two hours in the car on game day. It's going to be a game changer. Yeah, for sure. Pretty good squad you're going to be playing on Saturday. yeah you save about an hour and a half two hours in the car on game day it's it's gonna it's gonna be a game changer yeah for sure uh pretty good squad you're gonna be playing on saturday uh conor mcdavid leon dot pasta knock an old team of yours uh dalene we'll be looking forward to playing with anyone in particular just gonna go and have some fun fuck around a little bit i think you guys got who will arnett then will arnett that's awesome big fan big fan of the live show oh did you guys he come by last night. It was unbelievable. And we got to do dinner with him.

So he's a riot. He's a massive fan of him. I don't know, this McDavid guy is pretty good. Yeah. Played with him under 18s. I think he was like 12 years old. I remember it was my third under 18s. And it was my third one. and they called me right before it was after

my team got knocked out of the playoffs and they're like i'd never played wing at the time i'd only played center they called me and said oh i think we're gonna uh move you to wing we got this like kid who's coming up wants to play center i'm like all right all right i don't like okay whatever you think and then first practice i'm like holy fuck and he I don't, I like, okay, whatever you think. And then first practice, I'm like, holy fuck. And he's, what, he's 15? He was probably, well, it was under 18. So I think he was 14 or 15, whatever. I think probably just, I don't even know if he was in the OHL.

Damn, so he was what, three years younger than you? He broke Crosby's record or something, I don't know, 18s. It was unbelievable. Right away, but you could tell could tell like what the hell is this it was absurd yeah it was absurd i think from a speed perspective he was what three years younger than you yeah and and he was equivalent speed if not more than guys three years older than him i mean it's not saying much that he was more speedy than me but but uh yeah he was blowing by guys it was it was incredible like i i the strength i don't know how you how you get that strong to fly around like that on the ice some guys just have i don't know

do you got a shitload of family and friends yeah to watch on zoom yeah everyone the whole family came from uh from uh vancouver and then uh my wife's from around here. So we've got a lot of people in and it's been fun. Who's the clown on, uh, on the Panthers, like in the room, like fuck, they got 12 of them.

Lomberg. Is he a goon in the Lombergini? He's, he's a character. Um, it's, it's a lot. It's,

it's, it's a long list. Um, cuz he, your guys' favorite. He's, he's, I don a long list. Um, cuzzy, your guys' favorite. He's, he's, I don't think he's too happy with me right now.

I wouldn't imagine so, but unbelievable in the room. Um, the best as even after your comments, I'm sure you would probably assume that. I, I said on the podcast, I go,

I want them every day of the week, twice on Sundays. I don't know if you heard that part of the clip. Let's clip it now, yeah. I think right now he reigns as the biggest piece of shit in the league, and that is a compliment. Absolutely. I mean, only one guy can get that title.

Absolutely, you want that guy. And you would pick him as the biggest piece of shit? Oh, yeah. I mean, he stirs the pot. I mean, we got a fair share of that on our team. You know, Benny plays as hard of a game as anybody. He's unbelievable. He's kind of scary. He's one of those guys that's just like one of those scary guys

where he lurks around the ice where if he catches you to head down, he'll snatch your soul. What did he murder in the playoff, Sasha? Was it Slavin? Slavin. Slavin. Oh, my God. Yeah, I was I was

he had just come on the ice I was like just about to turn I think it was to like go back to the bench and like I'd kind of like seen in the corner and kind of like turn back I'm like did I just witness that right a murder exactly but yeah he's done it he's done it a lot of times have you seen Chucky have a

reverse hit holy oh yeah he's don't want's done it a lot of times have you seen chucky have a reverse hit holy oh yeah he's don't want to be on the end of that anymore i'm doubt he caught one of those years ago they still hate each other they go over it was that hit on slavin during that quadruple overtime game no that was at home that was uh i think in the third period game four i think that was what was they ended up the quadruple overtime was that anything like you've ever experienced it was it was crazy it went what's what's the most you guys have played i did uh the end up? The quadruple overtime. Was that anything like you've ever experienced? It was crazy. What's the most you guys have played? I did the end of double overtime.

End of double overtime. And that felt like four games. I usually just untie my skates in the third, so I don't really know exactly. I kind of checked out mentally, but I don't think I've been a part of any crazy, crazy ones where I've been actually dressed in the lineup yeah you know what it it went by so fast because like over time there's one tv or time out yeah like shovel um i think the intermissions are

way shorter right i don't know i believe or at least a few i think it's i think it's like a couple less minutes they get so you're up there? Intermission at one point? They did, but you're not even like thinking. It's so hard to eat. You're trying to drink, but it's just like, it went by so goddamn fast. We were one second. Did everybody share that opinion with you that it went by fast?

Most, at least in our locker room, I think most guys did. And then, like, Chucky scored like 20 seconds left. We were going into a fifth, and I was just, what the fuck is going on? And then I remember getting back, kind of feeling fine. And I, like, blocked a shot earlier, so I was getting some treatment on my foot, trying to flush it out around my ankle or whatever.

And I ended up getting a full leg cramp on both sides, and I was, like, shaking, just so dehydrated. And, like, you know, on playoffs, you bring, like shaking just so dehydrated and like you know you're on playoffs you bring like 10 extra doctors in there just like all like sprinting water over just trying to hydrate and then i don't know i i couldn't imagine having that at home like for them having to be at home on their coach the next day would have been terrible like we're all in the hotel we get up we end up going to nc state had a facility the football team we end up going to the rink and walking over we got us out like we got meals put it like if i was alone on my coach that next day it would be how the hell do

i do play a game the next day so i think that was that was a bonus for us for sure so is that safe to say that's the most relieved you've ever felt for a goal in your career um yeah yeah that was that was game one yeah absolutely that was the series out there yeah i mean it was i was doing the panel with winnie gretzky and even he was like this is fucking absurd get me the fuck out of here you guys don't pay me enough for this shit to beat carolina you have to you have to play like them. That was a style you're trying to play. You're just trying.

Whoever's got the better finish in a game, you're so tired. I remember there's a number of chances both ways. You're so gassed. Raise the puck. You can't even do anything. I remember the first I worked at TSN while I was still playing.

You know how the guys would go for the playoffs for the broadcast? Yeah, I did it too. And it was Vancouver-Dallas. And it was 3-2. I forget who was up. And I was like, they might tie it up. And Bob McKenzie's like, shut your mouth. And I was like, what are you?

Like, you know, these guys are doing it. And all of a sudden they got tied up. He's like, fuck. Yeah, you don't say that You know, these guys are doing. And all of a sudden they got tied up. He's like, fuck. Yeah. You don't, you don't say that. And it went to triple OT. Sadeen scored in triple OT, but he was like, you motherfucker. It was like on the broadcast team.

We don't want any overtimes. No. Get us out of here. You don't say the word overtime. It's getting tight in TV, especially for the crew too. Cause they got to stick around. They don't give a shit. They just want to punch the clock.

What time are you getting over there out after uh after double header uh usually around like 130 you know 140 maybe 140 145 the latest but uh it's just it's just a little bit hard sometimes because like some of these regular season games they don't play it the way the florida panthers do i've been talking about this probably the last month i watch you guys constantly now because of the way you guys play when nothing when any of the play goes quote-unquote boring you guys are trying to start a fist fight or you're sucker punching guys in the face or slashing them on the way to the bench where i genuinely think that in regular season hockey it needs i don't know i'm quite doing i'm part of it yeah well you also

have more fucking power play goals in the pittsburgh penguins so you're doing your part suck on that pens fans but no i just feel like you guys are just so much more entertaining and the league needs more of that i think if it heads in that direction some of these boring teams it wouldn't make these late games feel so boring all the time yeah Yeah, I think so. I mean, I'm glad you guys like the style we're playing. I mean, there's some games where we just know it's going to be boring as hell going in. You know, Carolina being one of them, I mean, that's what you got to do to beat a team like that.

It's part of the reason we have more success against the better teams. Simplify it. The style is just simplify. It's, it's just easy mentally. It's, it's, it's, you know, Paul always preaches it's not an easy game to play. Um, but if everyone's doing it consistently, you just ride that wave and it's, it's, it feels easy when you're in the, when you're in the zone.

What's your, uh, favorite arena to play in? Favorite city? Like one, maybe you had more success in or one's your favorite arena to play in, favorite city? Like one maybe you had more success in or one you just love getting to that, like away rink? We say the Rangers is always fun. MSG is always MSG. Easy barn to play in. That's up there.

It kind of changes every now and then. that's, that's up there. It kind of changes every now and then. Uh, it's always fun going home to, to, to Vancouver, but,

um, not a fan of the ice there. Really? Um, MSG, MSG, the ice is great. Um,

Boston's always fun going into. Yeah. That, um, we've always got good games against them. So, um, and it just gets more and more fun as you

create rivalries and you go through the playoffs. It makes it more fun the next year. I, um, and it just gets more and more fun as you create rivalries and you go through the playoffs. It makes it more fun the next year. I, you know, wish I tried it earlier a little bit more, but won't do that whole playoff thing. But I mean,

since you just mentioned Boston too, like that series, that was kind of like the whole turning point. Like, Oh, like what was the feeling in the room after you guys are down three,

one, I know like the famous speech from Chucky said, we're fucking coming back in this one and rah rah rah what was it just like in that that first round absolutely it was you know you you uh we won the second game you feel it then you go home lose two um but i mean fuck we felt it the year before so much pressure when you have that season like you do you're going back onto home ice. Well, Sean had that breakaway too to end game five.

We won the drawback, and it was just like control or die just watching him go back, just like waiting. And then you got Pabrasi back in net. I mean, a system can help a goalie so much, but you got someone as flexible and acrobat as that guy, and then you put him in our system, and it's just unbelievable what he does back there. But yeah, you just kind of, once we won that game, and then you're going back home,

they got to go back to the double tree by their rink. That's a shit story. Honestly, that's what we're saying. Make him go back to the double tree and um don't that was your team model for playoffs go make him get the free cookies yeah um and then uh yeah but like that game six at home was absurd yeah i think there was what four or five lead changes in the third period. Yeah, yeah. I mean, a tremendous amount of luck to go through it too. I mean, we were down with a minute left in game seven,

and I remember being on the ice. You're probably playing three of the last four minutes just absolutely exhausted, just like you're thinking as you're on the ice, like this probably isn't going to happen for us. And then Monty somehow squeaks one in, and it's just riding that wave. It's unbelievable. It's playoffs, right?

You mentioned Bobrovsky. What do you think happened? Because obviously he kind of struggled a little bit and Lyon saved you guys really to get into the playoffs. Just all of a sudden something clicked with him? Did you ever chat with him about that? Well, he was playing extremely well. I think it was right around that Toronto time where Paul was yelling i i think it was right around that toronto time

where paul was yelling i think it was right before he got hurt or he got sick or something oh that was the beginning of line went on a run and then but but bob i've never seen someone so dedicated and dialed and uh sam mabrovsky yeah sam bobrovsky the legend hey some legend if i was david i wouldn't know anybody exactly it's just my ring finger bitch i didn't fucking memorize the names um but yeah so you got all the confidence in someone that that that does that but i think i'm in a goalie in in in an unstructured team you You can only do that. Yeah. How about his watch collection?

Isn't it like out of this world? Bobrovsky's? Bobby's? Yeah. It's probably dial. I've never seen someone live so good, like such a good life. Like, you know, just like his style.

I love it. It's like Russian like style, like carting into dinner. Abercrombie. Abercrombie tracksuit but it's just he gets like we'll go to like a restaurant he'll get like the finest

things on menu he'll get like four entrees he'll like eat like a king I absolutely love it you know what I mean I respect that it's unbelievable absolutely you spend it and then he'll go be at the rink work as hard as it's unbelievable love you make it 10 absolutely you spend it well there's there and then he'll go be at the rink to if you work as hard as it's unbelievable it's love to see it i know yeah

you had the dad strip a couple weeks back was big wall driving the pace guy for everybody else that week or what he was i i think he had said my my dad told me he had said the the second morning i i think i went a bit too hard i think i tipped the scales a little bit too much. But we got a good group of dads that can certainly send it on our team. Oh, by the way, shout out to Lauren and Buffalo. That was the bad ones. Yeah, everyone was waiting for that. All right, well, is there anything you want to ask us?

Not necessarily. How do you not know who Kerfoot is? Yeah, exactly. Xander? I'm going to start calling him Xander. not not necessarily how do you not know who kerfoot is yeah exactly zander unbelievable zander before we let you go sammy we have a little segment here called rumor boys relate to do what are the chances we see you uh in red and black next year in jersey you're sick pasha the fuck is wrong with you pasha you're so i was dumber than anything i said this podcast and i said a lot of dumb shit. You're a deranged human, Bob. All right, here's my final offer. I'm going to say something and get booed next time I go into Jersey.

Yeah, yeah. Then I'll go to MSG and get cheered. Well, what an insane season you're having, man. I'm really happy for you, and congratulations. Thanks for coming on. Awesome. Appreciate it. Thanks, buddy.

Have a great time, and keep brushing up. All right. Before we go any further, here's a few words from our friends over at Game Time. You shouldn't have to worry when you're buying tickets to your next big event. Game Time is the fast and easy way to buy tickets for all the sports, music, comedy,

and theater events near you. Listen, I've had some frustrated buying experiences. I went to U2 100 years ago, you know, bought it off a guy out front and got zapped the ticket had already been scanned I got screwed you know why because I didn't use game time oh I was so sick with myself right now I'm taking a look at it the Bruins man obviously I'm a big Bruins fan they got eight more games left Vegas Edmonton Toronto Rangers Pittsburgh St. Louis Philly Ottawa listen I going to be going to probably six or seven of these games. Game time.

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It'll be all over game time for that as well this summer. And game time is the only ticket in an app that gives you complete peace of mind with your area. I can't wait. Pearl Jam's coming back. It'll be all over Game Time for that as well this summer. And Game Time is the only ticket and app that gives you complete peace of mind with your purchase. See the view from your seat before you buy so you know exactly what to expect when you arrive. And all-in prices show you a total upfront so you know you're getting a great deal without hidden fees. Buy tickets in seconds with two taps.

Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code CHICKLETS for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code CHICKLETS for $20 off. Download GameTime today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Big thanks to Sam Reinha for jumping on with us up and throwing. What a nice kid, man. Just a polite kid. Well, well-mannered kid. He's like, yeah, why is he friends with Pasha?

I was just going to say that. Probably not anymore. Probably blocked his number. We mentioned, you know, the sort of revival of the heavyweights. Well, it might be a little bit of a ripple effect seeing what we saw in college over the weekend. Fights in college hockey, they like seeing goalie goals in the NHL, but fucking doozy.

Friday night, Arizona State was up in Alaska Fairbanks, as far north as you can go to find an NCAA team, and you can't get more opposite nicknames than the Sun Devils and the Nukes. But what was wild, there was a skirmish going on in the corner. The whistle had been blown. These two guys, Dawson Bruneski and Tucker Nest, they left all their gear in the penalty box, just went center ice. Wait, have you ever seen two dudes do that in a college game before?

No. I never have. No, I've seen fights in NCAA games, but they're totally off a scrum, and they start with the helmets off, and maybe one guy guy gets his helmet off and one guy has one glove on. I've never seen, and I'm sure it's happened, but I've never seen a square off, no helmets on out of the box,

leave my stuff in the box. Cause I know I'm going back in there. Actually, no, they'd be going to lock them is get kicked out in college. That was amazing. And I don't know what happened between those two prior, but obviously they decided when they were in the penalty box,

we're doing this. The view from the penalty box with the guy in Arizona State, there's somebody recording it behind, and he's looking over at the guy, you ready, ready? And they go out. It was straight out of the East Coast League. I actually thought it was a club hockey game because I couldn't really tell by the unis.

I was like, what league is this? And Merle's like, that's the NCAA. It's D1. So talk about a barn burner. I mean, that was, they're probably going to, I think you get kicked out of that game and the next game. The NCAA. Both players suspended for the season though. Both powers, the coach, both coaches suspended

both players for the season. Oh, what? What? Oh, God. I would have sorority sisters lining up to suck my player's cock if he fucking did that. That's nails. That was one of the – I'd honestly never seen that before where players left their gear in the box and didn't –

have you seen that? No. Have any of you ever seen that? Never. Definitely not. I thought that was the most nails thing I'd ever seen, the fact that it was happening in college. Oh, my God.

I'd have that guy get NIT deals out the yin-yang along with the sorority sisters lining up. The kid, Brunski, he's a fifth year. Probably, I think he had, like, Alaska has a few games left in the season. So you got to imagine, he's played four years at Maine, went and played one year at Alaska. He's thinking, let me just end my hockey career with a bang here

and go out with one of the only... What a way to go. Yeah, what a way to go, right? Round of applause for this guy. Good job, buddy. And by the way... All you spitting chicklets in the show, show this guy some love. All for a great viral video on the way out. Five years, he put his time in.

I hope he at least gets his degree. The NHL linesmen and referees are like trained and taught how to separate fights the linesmen were in the corner in that one and then the main refs like trying to break it up they end up eating him and then just going back toe to toe it was a legit fight they both were animals they both were willing to go i can't believe that they the coaches i i't believe that they, the coaches, I, I actually thought that they somehow the coaches like were fine with it. Like I,

I knew that Greg, Greg Powers quote was, there's no place in college hockey for, for moves like that. Why? Apparently there is. Oh, I still love the guy, but I guess I disagree with him.

The number one video on a college hockey this year. There's no place in that. I mean, take the suspension the league gives them or the NCAA and then just be like, all right, buddy, don't do it again. Yeah, like watching a fight like that where each punch, these guys are trying to hurt each other. It reminded me of there was one recently, Turbo, Tanev, and Garland. Did you see the right shots?

I know. He was going ham. Actually, Janmark and Coleman had a great tilt in the Battle of Alberta this past week. I was like, holy shit. They were chucking them. And I think Kane might have gone with Kadri, and then there was another one too.

So Battle of Alberta never disappoints besides the fact that Calgary ended up on top of that one. Yeah. Make, make hockey violent again. And those refs should have got battle paid. Did he look like members on Jeff Van Gundy? When he was holding on to Alonzo morning's leg,

and he was just like getting whipped around like a little dog. That's, that's what the referee looked during that fight. The game had four game misconducts, six disqualifications. Two guys got to game misconducts, six disqualifications. Two guys got two disqualifications each. I never saw that before. 247 combined penalty minutes.

190 of them were doled out with 11.1 seconds left in the game. That's what the officials just called it, given Alaska Fairbanks the 3-1 win. Arizona State beat them the next night 4-3 in OT with just 43 penalty minutes in that game. I'm sure the refs gave him a talking to. But just like I said, almost unprecedented for college to see that fight. If I would have been the kid fighting for ASU,

who like now he's done and known that you would have been done, I would have went full slap shot after that fight. I would have geared down right to my jaw. I might even whip the 4-th out for the fans in Alaska. People start puking everywhere. It's like, oh, man, Jesus Christ. Salmon season. The band strike up the strip.

That's the only difference between violence and hockey, man. Buddy Jeff Marica reported the OHL is investigating the Sudbury Wolves. Shout out Sudbury. Sure is he? About accusations that a bounty was placed on a man's head. Oh, my God. Blackshot obligatory. You can't put a bounty on a man's head.

During the Sudbury-Barry game on January 18th, Colts defenseman Kashawn Aitchison delivered a hard legal hit to Wolves forward Nathan Villeneuve. No penalty on the play. Then Aitchison fought one of his teammates, Nolan Collins. The same two teams played three days later. Barry didn't address Aitchison. According to sources via Merrick, word reached the Colts about the possibility of a bounty being placed on Aitchison,

so the organization made the decision not to play him. When asked about the alleged bounty, the OHL said it was an investigated incident. Wouldn't comment further. Biz, have you ever heard of a bounty? No money on the board is one thing, but an actual bounty? Have you ever seen or heard of that? Well, I want to say Sean Payton in the NFL ended up getting suspended a couple games

because word got out that this was going on. At the junior level, considering how savage it used to be, I would imagine this is something that happened in the past going back maybe 20, 30 years ago. The fact that it was written on the board, pretty fucking stupid, but holy ago, the fact that it was written on the board, pretty fucking stupid, but holy shit, man. I mean, we talk about the violence coming back in the game, like in junior now, bounties

getting put on guys' heads. Like I personally think it's awesome. If I had a kid who was playing hockey and that was my kid, I would tell him, Hey, that's kind of like a badge of honor. If an injury ended up resulting in it it obviously my attitude would completely change off it you're going to prison other than if it was like a challenge fight if the guys were just like running at him to try to injure him yeah that's when my wires would cross but holy shit man i don't know what the fuck is in the water up there in sudbury is has there been any there's been no

discipline so far it's there's an investigation going on? Yeah, OHL's still looking to it at last report. Was it a dirty hit? Have we heard what he did? It said Aitchison, according to the article, a hard but legal hit that was delivered. I guess, I don't know if the other team

did like it. I don't know if there's a history there, but speaking of questionable decisions that people could see things, we got to go to Arizona. They terminated the contract to forward Adam Ruzicka. He posted an Instagram story. Looked like he was doing a late night table skiing. Apparently, I mean, I guess he was maybe seven. He ain't no Kuznetsov, I'll tell you that.

You got to be the dumbest motherfucker of all time. Okay, there's one thing you're so stupid to video yourself lining up below but then to turn the camera around and put your face in it like he might have been able to say like oh my instagram got hacked but to then literally put yourself in the video what is he thinking what is this guy doing from my understanding he said oh it wasn't me from that night it was a different he had the same outfit on as when they were at the gala so that's that's that's tough sledding and guys like from a serious side of it like obviously like blow is not a good drug speaking from her first-hand experience i'm gonna say i hope he's

all right i hope he doesn't have like an issue Like it seemed like he was just having a fun night out. But if you're oh nine and one in the last 10, you can't be flexing the vials on Instagram. You just can't be doing it. I don't care how good the Colombian Coke is. You just can't be posted it in your story. And from, from a,

a guy who's had a buddy who was really banged up one night and thought he was sending a video with like a like a like he was he was having fun with a girl and they were videoing it and he was trying to send it to her and accidentally posted it to his story on instagram to wake up like four or five hours later or later where it was on instagram i think that maybe there was a possibility he was just so banged up and thought he was texting it to his buddy or, or you would hope so. But what are you looking to accomplish other than having your contract terminated, flexing a vial of blow on Instagram with the Amex turned around?

I don't know. That's why I said this guy might be the dumbest person i've ever seen and and we we make jokes and r.a.s r.a. but if you're doing cocaine in this day of age with fentanyl i think you're the most ridiculous insane human being like i'm telling you you're playing russian roulette so a little message to everyone listening younger kids you're fucking nuts right now if you're doing cocaine this isn't 1990 you have no idea what's in it you have no idea where it came from and fair warning don't do it like i'm just being honest like you're it's russian roulette do not even do it you're crazy and then if you're gonna do it don't post it to your instagram story

that's that's why i said off the hop on a serious note and from firsthand experience, fentanyl ruined the Rob Brindamore interview, and it can ruin a lot more than that. So don't be fucking around with the dummy dust. Yeah, the Yotes had no additional comment. The NHLPA has 60 days to file a grievance on his behalf. Biz, do you think the union will grieve it? Just, you know, that's what they do typically to protect the player.

Even the union might be like, buddy,'s what they do typically to protect the player. Even the union might be like, buddy, we ain't helping you on this one. No, I think that everybody deserves help. That's why I said, first off, you just hope that it's not like an addiction. But going back to what you said with the fentanyl, don't even do it anymore. Don't. It's all junk. You never know where you're getting it from.

It's fucking bullshit stop doing it when i hear like kids still are like going out like and getting like cocaine from random people i'm like buddy you're like legit one little poke away from being dead it's it's crazy to me that people still do it maybe i sound like an old boomer, but stop. Yeah, that fucking fentanyl shit's a motherfucker. It's got so much damage, ruined so many lives in this country worldwide. Yeah, it's brutal shit. Well, we got a little more positivity we could talk about here. The Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, they won 19 straight games.

They did lose on Sunday, but a nice little story in here. Cody Hodgson, what his first goal in eight years Thursday, he had previously retired. It was diagnosed with a malignant hypothermia. It Hodgson with his first goal in eight years Thursday. He had previously retired. It was diagnosed with a malignant hypothermia. It was away from the game for a while. Made a comeback. So that was a nice little story there. During the winning streak, they had two shootout wins, seven shoutouts.

But this was pretty crazy. They lost on Sunday to the Grand Rapids Griffins. They beat them 4-2. That was the Grand Rapids Griffins' 15th straight game with at least a point. It was the first time in AHL history that two teams faced each other while on point streaks of 14 games or more. Pretty wild stuff. And of course, the 2011-2012 Norfolk Admirals

have the AHL record. 28 straight wins. I'm your boy, Coop. Coop. That's impressive as hell. Two incredible AHL organizations. Now, Witt, did you not lose to the Milwaukeewaukee admirals in the final of the calder cup yeah i left uh right after my junior at bu left went to wilkes-barre and uh we went on an awesome run and we beat bridgeport then we beat uh who beat second round don't

remember beat uh hartford in the third round and then got into Milwaukee. At this point, I was like, holy shit, we could win the Calder Cup. We got swept. And playing in that barn, it was fun. They had a great veteran team. But they're good every year, it seems like. Yeah, same with Grand Rapids. And they've done a great job with bringing guys up to Nashville through that system, right?

They do an awesome job of preparing these guys to be ready to play in the NHL. And you know what? In very similar fashion to the Bruins, I know it's a little different because Saros has been the guy, but this Askarov, Yaroslav Askarov, 11th overall in 2020, he's ready. And Nashville's got to consider a time where all right like this is our guy this is our future and we we we had a very high pick 21 years old they've done

a great job not rushing him but I think the days of uh Saros being the star netminder in Nashville are going to be coming to a coming to a close because this kid it's one of those players that um has no business in the AHL anymore. And it was Vinny Trocek when I played in San Antonio together with him. And it's Stan Colvin right now who scored his first goal for Dallas who's lighting up the minors. Some guys are just ready, and there's nothing more that they can accomplish. And that's this goalie right now.

So watch out for him when he gets into the NHL. He's a monster. And as far as Cody Hodgson, that is such a great story to come back from that. Those can be some dark days, guys, especially with all the aspirations he had coming into the league. He came in guns a blazing, and that's a lot of time away to have to kind of deal with what he did. So for him to kind of get back into the game he loves, I would love to get him on to talk about his story because I would imagine there's probably a lot of kids out there who have been through similar experiences where their careers were ended short and maybe they never even found the resolution as to what was wrong.

So good for him for clawing his way back into pro hockey. And I think it would be an amazing story if he could find his way back to the NHL. Before we go any further, here's a few words from our good friends at Labatt Blue. Whether you're at beer league or just watching some hockey with the boys or gals, you cannot find a better beer

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to the power of weed. I can't stop thinking back to September. Chicklets Cup. Oh man, we were gassing the Labatt Blue Lights all weekend. I'm sure Sabres Mafia has consumed their fair share of Blue Lights as well. Imagine how many we drank on this playoff run coming up. It's going to be endless.

Can't wait for the playoffs. Duck down some Labatt Blue Lights. And remember, take a page out of the Labatt Blue Light book and enjoy your beers together so you can live life to the power of weed. Find Labatt Blue Light at labattusa.com slash finder. Here's your boy, Gary Bettman. He does visit every city during the season. I'm not sure if fans know that.

He's going to be in Winnipeg this week, but it's a little more significant than typically carries. There's a lot of concerns about the team's financial situation right now. In short, they're on the NHL's radar due to the money situation. Season ticket holders, there's been a 27% decline in three years. They went from 13,000 to under 9 500 uh and chairman mark chip and he was personally calling season ticket holders to ask them why they bailed uh and fans were pissed they couldn't buy like partial plans i guess the team would if you wanted to transfer your tickets they were charging people

to do that which is absolutely fucking outrageous to charge people to fucking text tickets to someone or a friend or whatever uh it's the nhL's smallest permanent arena with 15,225 fans for hockey. They're drawn at about an 87.4% clip right now. The third lowest mark in the league. Average attendance, 13,306. Lowest of any NHL team other than Arizona. And they only get 15% of their tickets sold to businesses. That's another issue there, Biz, you had mentioned before.

They just don't get the corporate sponsorship. You know, Winnipeg is a small town by NHL standards. I would say the situation is far from dire, but there's clearly a concern here, Biz. Have you heard any kind of scuttlebutt about, you know, the NHL's overly concerned or is just sort of keeping on top of things here? Well, even at the beginning of the year when they signed those two guys, I thought they would have a little bit more fan support at the start of the year.

A lot of people were barking back about ticket prices. I didn't think that they were that unreasonable, but it comes down to the economy and how bad it is there. And I guess the shitty thing is we're having this conversation in the year where they're at the top of the league. That's the biggest worry about this. That's the biggest concern. I remember originally tweeting stuff when they were getting the team back. that's the biggest worry about this that's the biggest concern and you know i i remember

originally tweeting stuff when you know they were getting the team back i was happy they were getting the team back but people were from there were saying we should have never lost it where i was speaking to players who were on the team when it happened and they just weren't getting the fan support and of course there's just not a lot of corporate sponsorships given the fact that they are in winnipeg so it's sad because i love to see canadian markets thrive and have teams but from a business standpoint i mean guys if we're talking about a team who's at the top of the league and they're having issues staying afloat from a financial standpoint what's going to happen in in five years if they're they're in the bottom 10 of the league.

So I don't know, man. The reason why the NHL is trying to thrive in other markets, especially American markets, is places where the economy never really gets affected by anything. So it's brutal. I could see if this continues that they end up losing their team again. I could easily see in five years if they don't want to move it out of there.

And we're talking about a town of Winnipeg. I want to say it's about 900,000 surrounding areas. So there are enough people to get people in the seats, but as far as the corporate dollars in which that it takes to kind of operate and run these teams now, I don't think that that's ever going to change. So I don't know how many meetings you can have about it. Good thing is, though, the owner is extremely loyal.

I think he's a local guy, and he's also a billy goat. So maybe he's okay leaking a little bit of oil until they try to resolve the issue. But once again, this might be an issue that they can't resolve. I think this is something where, and as good as Kyle Connor and Shifley and hellebuck are like they could probably well any team could probably but they could really use like a iconic franchise player right like if you have a mcdavid or a badard or one of these guys that just attracts people no matter what, like they just want to go see him, that might change things.

But if you're talking about the economy and the corporate money not being there, that's a scary proposition because, as you said, Biz, if this were happening and they were a bottom five team in the league, okay. To have the success in this happening, that's the panic. And when you say it's not a dire situation, R.A., I think it could be pretty quickly. And you don't want to see that because it's canada too that's the other thing this is canada this is hockey this is what people live for up there and they got a team competing and having a chance to win although i did say um i should say i had a player in the nhl

on a team currently sitting in a playoff spot tell Tell me that the Winnipeg Jets are the biggest frauds in the league and that they'll lose in the first round. Wow. I know. They're not nearly as good as anyone. It was a player on their own team. Huh? Wow.

Really fraud. I know. I was, I was, I was like, wow. I said, pretty good.

Could that player on that playoff team end up meeting the winnipeg jets in the first round oh my god if wow if they end up meeting will you say that they've met obviously we will not say who the player is but will you say that they're playing in the first round? No. You pussy. Can you ask your friend who said that? I'll never be a source to you guys. Can you ask your friend who said that if he would be okay with you saying that they had met and obviously not disclosing who it is? Can you ask him?

Because that would be so much good drama going in. I don't know. Let's see how this plays out. But I was like, holy shit. That's a ballsy quote, man. That's karma. Yeah. I just fired them up.

Well, the playoffs are going to be here soon. And are we going to get some more LTI shenanigans or what? Oh, my God. Mark Stone is on the injured reserve due to a lacerated spleen. He's listed as week to week. Vegas also put Jack Eichel on LTI back on February 29th. But right now they have $15 million on LTI just between Eichel and Laina. So they can go over the cap, but they have those exceptions.

Now to be placed on LTI, long-term injured reserve, a player must miss 10 games and 24 days. While on LTI, our team can't exceed the salary cap by the amount of salary on that person's contract. IR, just injured reserve, requires not playing for seven calendar days. Players can retroactively be assigned to IR. Players on IR do count against the cap. We saw it a couple years ago. Kucherov missed the entire 2021 season.

Dropped in for the playoffs. Let it in points. Won another cup. Stone for Vegas last year. He was on IA February 20th. He was activated April 18th, just in time for game one of the playoffs. Team ends up winning the cup. Again, the salary cap does not apply in the playoffs.

That's the way it's been designed. You know, I always say this, too, though. Players are sacrificing, too, especially, you know, superstars. That's another season or half season they can't put stats up. Affects their resume, their potential Hall of Fame voting. But if you're hurt, I don't know. You might as well take the time out. Wait, can teams go talk to their players?

I'm like, all right, I'm going to get my surgery here. So you can basically map it out so it plays out like this? Is that something that a player would have a say in? Yes, they could. But I don't think people that get upset at this, one, people are so mad at Tampa, and now they're furious with Vegas. And if somehow Stone comes back for game one of the playoffs, upset at this one like people are so mad at tampa and now they're furious with vegas and if if somehow stone comes back for game one of the playoffs i understand it don't be mad at the

teams be mad at the league these teams are doing what they're allowed to do it's it makes no sense to be fuming and furious at these organizations when it's the league who's created this entire system so the thing is people i think actually believe like, all right, here, we're putting you on LTIR and then you're going to be ready to go. It's like, do you understand how impossible it would be just to plan it and do it? They have to see like multiple doctors. The league is out there checking to make sure these injuries are legit. So it's not like you're all of a sudden like, all right, bud, time for you to go on LTIR. And as you mentioned, players aren't going to be like oh okay now kucherov that one is different because

he misses so much at the beginning of the year that that they're like all right just wait an extra month but to leave that's also legitimate though yeah no and that's the other thing all these injuries are legitimate that's what i'm getting to these injuries are legitimate last year stone's injury it's a legit injury now question being, as they come back rip-rare and ready to go for game one, there's obviously some shenanigans going on, but why wouldn't you take advantage of a rule or a lack thereof to be able to get more money on your roster? All the league has to do is make it so that your roster game one or every game of the playoffs is cap compliant i don't really understand when this all went down like how they they figured

all right playoffs it doesn't matter like i guess we'd have to talk to an asian or someone within the pa to realize that or or understand that they didn't see this coming yeah but but then it would be like what if a guy they're not sure and it's like okay it looks like he's going to be out for the full year even playoffs and then maybe you know halfway through the second round the guy can play that's probably why they didn't do the cap compliant through all playoffs no but this i'm saying you can bring you as the playoff starts you can be way over the cap but correct any players in the game have to be under the cap. Oh,

you're saying that. Okay. Okay. So you, you would say that even if they did pick up a guy to make up for that salary, who was a, a,

a player of like a high skill level, if you're 7 million over because of his salary, you would just have to sit him out as a, basically a healthy scratch for that game to be cap compliant wow okay i okay now i understand what you're saying now it can help you in the regular season and you can use it but then once the playoffs start like you can have as many guys on the roster you can have 100 million on your cap on the roster but the guys in the game have to be at the cap. Damn. Okay. Yeah.

But then, but then you're like, you give up all this stuff to get that guy. Yeah. This is a very confusing conversation. Yeah. But I just don't want fans out there thinking like, oh, stone's not hurt. You can't do that. Like, no, what I, what I know in a, it was a spleen that ruptured this time. So we're not joking around about the cap circumcision.

He's actually injured right now. Same going along for Jack Eichel. Now, what I think that some teams do have the luxury of doing is, like you said, dragging it out where maybe this guy in a situation where they actually needed him to make a playoff spot and they were fighting for their lives would rush back a little bit sooner. So maybe he would be playing at about 95%, 90% where some of these teams, because they're so ahead in a playoff spot and they're stacked, they have the luxury to say,

hey, listen, we know you're a little banged up. We're going to sit you out an extra half a month, I don't know, three weeks here. You're going to be 110% raring to go come playoff time. And we're going to add this on another unreal player. And by the time playoffs hits, we're going to hit the ground running with a hundred million dollars in cap and just locked and loaded with four fucking lines.

So I get what you're saying. I think that maybe in the next CBA, much like we talk about how they need to figure out the the income tax situation to make it a more level playing field because some teams who haven't had the luxury of exercising this thing like a team like edmonton has edmonton done this at all no and they they're they have like 21 guys on on the roster. They don't even have as many guys as you can have, and they have just no money. So if you're a team like Edmonton, you haven't won a cup since Christ was a cowboy, and you're looking revved up for a playoff run, what if they end up drawing Vegas first-round playoffs,

all of a sudden Eichel's back, all of a sudden Stone's back, and because they have that cap space, they're able to go maybe even add gensel maybe even smith to the lineup as well so you're saying that yeah it's kind of a bullshit thing but i guess it comes down to kind of like luck of the draw on the timing of these injuries yes yeah i want to say landis kog did the same thing in colorado didn't they do that uh no no they haven't dropped them in no no no but when what the year they won it was he not injured uh going into playoffs too i want to say the last five cup champs it's been done by at least three of the teams where they had a guy come back first first game of playoffs yeah i just don't i don't

get the anger towards the teams it's like the teams are doing what they're allowed to do like if your team did it, you'd love it. Yeah. The league can't tell you when to get surgery. Only the Buffalo Sabres can do that. Before we go any farther, I need to talk to you about rocket money. Do you find any subscriptions you forget about or any you paid for twice and didn't realize it? I did.

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Moving right along here, everybody's favorite play-by-play guy. He's healthy, Jack Edwards. He spoke to Chad Finn of the Boston Globe about the speech issues people have been talking about the last couple of seasons. Per Jack, he got multiple tests at MGH. Doctors couldn't pinpoint anything. He had been given no specific diagnosis, no medical term for the change. He said, I did not have some kind of accident. I do not have cancer.

I don't have dementia. I haven't had a stroke. All of that's been confirmed by MGH. It doesn't fit any slot. There have been some guesses, but he's just been doing speech therapy to try to fix whatever the issue is, but they haven't given him a definitive thing. But I'm just glad to hear he's okay. I mean, he's still healthy.

He's been tested well and all the other stuff. And I know he's not everybody's favorite, but he's kind of beloved in here in New England. But, Jack, I don't know if you're listening or not. We're just glad you're healthy and keep plugging away with your therapy and hopefully fucking things pan out for you, pal. mentions in the article like that people were coming up to him like thinking he was sick and it's almost like no i'm not sick which almost makes it like i didn't say a word about his broadcasting because there there was the thought that he was going through something it's you feel really bad for a guy right who's done it for a long time. And I'm not a huge fan of his calls.

But, I mean, for somebody to just kind of lose their livelihood and lose the ability to do things the way he always did it, I feel so bad for him. But at some point, I think the Bruins are going to have to take a look. And the whole thing is it's just really behind the play. So if you watch the game, it's just – and he mentions Andy Brickley has been such a great partner for him and helped him out, but you know, he's just kind of really lagging behind the play and you're watching the game, like, Holy shit. So I'm, I'm rooting for the guy,

right? I, I, I don't love the way he calls a game, but you never want to see somebody, you know, lose the ability to do what they love and not be able to get an answer. That's the hardest part is that he doesn't know what's going on. So hoping, hoping, hoping for the best for him. Yeah. Frustrating as hell. So get well,

Jack. We want to extend our sympathies to the family and friends of Paul D'Amato who died last week at 76. D'Amato was a Massachusetts native who had a small, but a very memorable and influential role as Tim, Dr. Hook McCracken and Slapshot. Just a small role in a classic movie,

but it's just an epic fucking role he was actually the way his sideburns were he was actually the Bigs Babes he influenced the Wolverine character when they reinvigorated the Wolverine character back in like the 70s in the comic book Tim McCracken was the actual inspiration with the big fucking pork chops like that pretty wild

little story he was also yeah pretty cool story. Yeah, his nephew, Thomas, actually reached out to me to say thanks. You know, with Chicklets, we gave him a nice little tweet on the Instagram, too, just to send our condolences there. He was also in the movie The Deer Hunter as well, if you never saw that. He had a small, very memorable role in that as well. I also want to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Kenneth Mitchell.

He played Ralph Cox in Miracle. He passed away at just 49 years old from ALS, five and a half years after his diagnosis. So a couple of sad stories in the hockey world, the hockey film world, but just want to pass along our sympathies, condolences, and hopefully everybody's doing okay. But we've got to get to your Sunday afternoon. I'm sorry, Monday afternoon, the match. You and DJ Khaled, you've got to give us the lowdown on this. What went down?

What an interesting character, man. I was with him for four hours. I don't think he asked me one question about myself. Oh, that's the worst, dude. Dude, I'll tell you right now, if you hang out with somebody and they talk about themselves the entire time, it wasn't even him talking about himself. It was him organizing

this team of 10 people he had around him who were just capturing videos of everything. He was doing it. They were editing it on like in the spot. Like it was just a wild, wild scene. I'd never experienced anything like that, but he is, uh, he is certainly a ball of energy. Now he was supposed to play a one holehole match against Charles Barkley for fun,

and he lost the first hole. So he basically forced Charles to play him a best of three. So he ended up winning the second and third hole, and he didn't stop talking about it the rest of the day. That's all he would talk about. So I kind of just joined as a member of his cult, and that's all I really talked about the rest of the day either, considering I was hanging out with him and I got sucked into his, uh, his, we the best vortex. But, um, as far as the, the, the match is concerned, buddy, I got to meet Rory McIlroy, hang out with Max Homa, uh, Rose Zang, who is a phenom on the LPGA, as well as, uh, Lexi Thompson, who played in a PGA who played in a LPGA qualifier at the age of 12 years old. I don't know much about golf,

but I was doing some research with the cheat sheets they gave us. I think she joined as a member of the LPGA, Lexi Thompson, when she was 15 years old. She has two brothers who have played on tour as well. Did you know anything about this Rose Ang? I just remember hearing about her at Stanford, and it was like a bedard coming up onto the scene. A bedard.

And then I think she won a tournament immediately too. She's a true phenom. And she gave you a tip, dude. I saw you stripe one. And then the guy who tweeted the video tweeted, yeah, he shanked the next one oh yeah i uh the the one after the lesson i stripe but rosang she was at stanford and actually broke um tiger's record there she won 12 tournaments and even at one in one uh

situation with intense start she'd won eight of them yeah so that's just an absolute heater i believe the only um only uh ncaa golfer to win back-to-back titles ncaa titles has anybody ever done that no right i don't know it was just lpga but and as you just touched on in her lGA, uh, debut, she won and she was the first LPGA member to win her debut since 1952. So she has just, um, you know, exceeded every expectation she had coming in. And she was a delight to be around and where you talk about this Roy McIlroy. So the way that he was described to me, uh, you know, Immelman who wonman who won who won the green jacket yep he he was with us and i got to pick his brain he's a great guy he does the cbs broadcast as the lead anchor and he described mcelroy as basically this sydney crosby whereas like tiger woods would be the wayne

gretzky and just the way that he's conducted himself the entire time so getting to hang out with him and just see the the class that he oozes the way that he's conducted himself the entire time. So getting to hang out with him and just see the class that he oozes, the way that he's able to pipe the golf ball. Did you not say that? Bud, it is fucking insane the way that he coils and generates power and pipes a golf ball. And he's tiny. Yeah, he's a bit of a unit now.

He was skinny when he came in, but he's jacked. Yeah, he's not a very big guy. Would you not say probably the smoothest swing on tour? I think that there's a lot of golf fans and analysts who would say he's the best driver of the golf ball maybe ever, or top three. His swing is just so perfect, and every single time, it's amazing to watch.

I didn't watch the match, but I saw a highlight. He hits a driver. It lands like three feet from the hole on a par four. He's hitting the ball 330 yards. He's like 5'7". So, I mean, another prodigy. I think he was like five years old on TV in Ireland. They're just these guys that are just born to do

something. And, and the thing about McElroy is he's, he hasn't won a major in so long. He had four so quick and he just needs the masters for the, for the career grand slam. And it just seems like it's, it's almost in his head a little bit. Maybe this year it can change, but he he's kind of drawn some criticism this year because, and I think it's probably valid because he was all over the live guys. And then he kind of flipped his tune pretty quick and was like, all right, we're being too hard on him. I was too hard on him. So all the live lovers like hate him and some of the tour guys are mad at him. But in the end, he's had to have his hand in like so many different aspects of pro golf when he really wouldn't have to, right?

I don't think Tiger would have ever done that in his prime. He just said, give me my clubs and don't talk to me. So he's been like an ambassador to the game and you got to give him respect for that. All class. And going back to his beginning, his father worked at a golf club. He was a bartender, I think in the, in the clubhouse. And so he would just hit up the range every day, right? You just go there and just have access to it.

So you talked about the expectation of him being a phenom and coming in and just lighten the world on fire, but it's more about also the way that he conducts himself. You said about him being on fire for some of the live stuff. Immelman seems to think that he was probably at some point going to be offered about 700 million to join the live tour. That is probably pretty that's pretty fucked up to turn down 700 million dollars um when rory and i don't know the exact age i think it was

12 years old but don't quote me but it was right around like say 12 to 14 his dad made a bet that he'd win the british open by like year. By the time he was like 21 or something. He put a future on his kid? Yes, and he did it. How much did he win? I don't know. I can Google it. It's incredible.

That's how good he was. The dad got a future on him. His dad won six figures, it says. Oh, my God. Good for him. But just like getting to hang out with them and hear them j Josh back and forth on the course and see the production that, uh, the match puts up.

It's all brought to you by, I think it was a capital one. And, uh, it was, it was unreal, man. I,

I, I don't know. I didn't really belong. I don't really know why I got the nod, but to everybody behind the scenes who set up that whole production, it was an incredible experience at a place called the park. And it was much, it was in West Palm, much like where we went in Boston, where it's a public golf course and, you know, people can bring their kids there and they got like,

like tenor tennis courts. They got an unbelievable area where you can sit out and eat and enjoy the sun too. And it's just kind of a bit of a free for all and makes golf a really fun atmosphere there. So thank you to everybody who had everybody who made it a pleasant experience. And I'll never forget the day where I got to hang out with DJ Khaled. So he was 15, and he made the bet that his son would win the Open Championship by the time he turned 26.

He got a 500-to-1 odds, and he won it when he was 25. Wow. Which is remarkable. What do you think it might have been higher, the odds, Whit? I mean, just because he was so young. I think he was that good. I think at 15 he was that good. I remember playing Royal Port Rush,

and he grew up at the club next door in Northern Ireland, and we were playing the course. It was really hard. I was with Mike Commodore, Henrik Zetterberg, and Jacob Markstrom. And everyone was struggling. You know, you miss the fairway. It's a lost ball. We're like, holy shit. And the guy's like, you want to hear something that'll make you puke?

I'm like, yeah. He goes, Royal McElroy shot 60 here from the back tees when he was 13. 13 years old? Yeah. He was a legit prodigy like a a a it was there was never a doubt on on what he'd do so it's pretty cool well he won all the skins yesterday little little fake news too how a little no no laying up they they mistakenly reported or they reported well i don't know because then biz said fake news with DJ Khaled, and the guy from No Laying Up wrote me. He said, your boy better tell the sources.

Yeah, I would say that after some serious thought, I think that maybe Khaled was lying to me. So to the No Laying Up podcast, my apologies for reporting fake news on my fake news. They were pretty pissed, eh, when I sent that video out. They were like, well well our sources are saying i bet you he did think he was playing and that's probably why he roped charles into doing an extra two holes and then when i saw your video i saw your video like addressing fake news and you're

just like that's fake news right he's like yeah i'm better than charles barker i'm like i don't think he really addressed the fake news there but as you said i mean this is a guy who has people carry him around places. So his Michael Jordan shoes don't get dirty. So in the end, we're not really going to expect some reality coming out of DJ Khaled. I think he lives in a little bit of a, he lives in his own bubble.

Yeah. Jesus. But I'm now living in, I got a correction from last week. I, Jake Clemens as the nephew of Clarence Clemens, not a son. I fucked that up.

So I want to give a correction there. Also remind Chicklets TV Toronto trip dropped last week. We finally saw the epic Pasha, Pasha, that fucking fight video. It was as good as you described it with absolutely fucking hilarious. A lot of people were very disappointed, though, that memes assisted didn't make an appearance. Danica Morningstar, a lot of people are frothing at the bit to see her biz, but a lot of comments that Danica

wasn't there. A lot of disappointment. Yeah. Sorry that we couldn't add Danica to your spank bank, you creeps. We're not putting memes of sister online. Actually, when we said her name, she's private on Instagram. She had 600 requests, all from dudes. So you

fucking El Creepos following the Spit and Chickles podcast, go easy on memes. His sister, maybe we'll do it. Maybe we'll do a dating show with memes, his sister, and he could be the host.

We'll run that live on our spit and chickles. Please don't bend my sister over. Hey man, I don't care. She's older than keep it classy. He's like, I don't care. She's my older sister. So if not my younger,

if he was my younger one, I might care, but maybe I'll marry her. Speaking of vlogs, guys, we do have another vlog coming out. Another episode of Chicklets TV coming out this week on Thursday. It is behind the scenes of the stadium series and the TNT alt cast.

It's a lot of cool stuff of how we made that intro, how everything was filmed, and then we head over to the stadium series in Hoboken. We cast so it's a lot of cool stuff of how we made that intro how the how everything was filmed and then we head over to the stadium series in hoboken we go to ra's movie premiere there's a ton of good stuff in this episode of chicklets tv it comes out thursday i'm glad you brought that up oh i was just saying i'm glad you brought up the opener and what you're referring to is we did this little uh like bit to open up that alt cast and i forgot to mention tyler lassiter's name he's the guy who does all those like road to pine and all the silly videos along with all the other

members of the team behind the scenes like alex bent is another guy so they they help out a ton behind the scenes and they made that video which we got to watch beforehand which i thought gave us some confidence going in because we knew we were going to get some laughs and we've kind of hooked them in. So shout out to the team over at TNT for getting that done as well. I'm getting a lot of requests and asks about when the Sean Avery, Kevin Conley, Sandbagger will come out. Do we have any answers on that yet? Yes.

So it's coming out the second week in March. Holy fuck. We're waiting that long to put it out. We're really blue balling our fans. That's two weeks though, Biz. Yeah. We're waiting that long to put it out, eh? We're really blue-balling our fans. That's two weeks, though, Biz. Yeah, yeah. We're only two weeks away from that DJ Khalid land. But, yeah, you're going to love that.

Second week of March. Solid episode here, boys. I'm heading to the airport. I can't wait to get home. Can't wait to see you guys again. And hockey's buzzing, baby. We're on the road to the playoffs. And I think these last five weeks will be just a complete sprint to the finish. Can't wait.

Chicklet, you coming again. G was at NODAC. Keep an eye on Game Notes coming out Friday. And follow us on all our socials. Everybody, have a fantastic week. We'll catch you later. Peace. Can you lick a cheek, but how much is your love? They say a drunken speech is 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 When I know she felt it

So I said she could have a free one on the chain She went below the bell, yeah She had me with a cheap shot, a cheap shot She had me with a cheap shot, a cheap shot I think we need a deep talk Even so, I'm dying Outro Music