Spittin Chiclets - Spittin' Chiclets Episode 492: Featuring Frank Seravalli and David Carle

Episode Date: April 16, 2024

On Episode 492 of Spittin’ Chiclets, the guys are joined by Denver University Head Coach David Carle (00:21:02) to talk about their recent national championship, NIL deals and the transfer portal in NCAA hockey. But first, the boys recap their experience at the frozen four and Cutter Gauthier’s comments before the championship game. Later on, the guys preview the Colorado and Winnipeg first round playoff matchup. Coyotes aficionado, Frank Seravalli joined the show (01:36:57) to talk about the Coyotes moving to Utah, what led to the decision, and revealing how some of the players felt about finding out the news on Twitter. Which teams will match up in the first round? Could Philly somehow make it in? Find out in this weeks episode.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, here's your love. They say a drunken speech is just so good. I like to poke a bear like a stir-fry. But then you come on in and take it up a notch. But then you come on in and take it up a notch You hit me with a cheap shot, a's up, everyone? The end of the season is nigh. Playoffs are starting Saturday, and the boys had a ripper in mini-biz. We're going to go to you first. Looks like you had an awesome time at your first NCAA college experience. The Frozen Four, baby.

Hey, thank you to Fish and G for kind of getting the ball rolling on this. I guess I got to thank you too, Witty. You're a big BU guy. Murrows as well. Murrows and Army too. They went last year with Game Notes. The Game Notes boys kind of got the ball rolling on everything. So they went to Tampa, Minnesota.

Incredible host. The people are so fucking friendly there. And overall, one of the best hockey experiences front to back of my life as a fan. It was, I mean, we can just lob it up in the air now. I'll throw it over to you, Whit, right now. Like, you were only there for a couple days, but fuck, that blast of a final yeah it was an amazing experience um i had been to 1998 frozen four when michigan beat bc it was an incredible game then i think it was 98 um i never made it as a player we lost in the game um my freshman sophomore year to go to the frozen four against

maine and unh actually the stud unh goalie was my high school goalie when i was a freshman he's a claim my freshman, sophomore year to go to the Frozen Four against Maine and UNH. Actually, the stud UNH goalie, who was my high school goalie when I was a freshman, he was a senior, is now a current assistant coach on BC. That's Mike Ayers. I do want to say quickly, like, I've shit on BC, and I've made it clear that I can't stand BC, but the coaching staff are all great guys, and what an amazing team they had. We're lucky enough. We got David Carl joining us in about an hour. So we're going to be able to sit down and discuss his career, his amazing story on how he became a coach.

And then the team he had this year, his second national title, their 10th, the race to 10, the first to 10. But BC head coach, Greg Brown, assistant coach, Brendan Buckley, who biz, you know. I'm pretty sure you got to know him. Unreal guy. Is he the guy who gave you the advice to always laugh when you're in the bar? All the time. He just started dying laughing. I've told the story a million times. Like, what are you laughing at?

He's like, trust me, the girls like when you laugh. So, of course, girls want to hang out with guys having a good time. But Brendan Buckley, who's done an amazing job, and Mike Ayers. So, as much as I have hatred for BC and I was happy Denver won, I do want to shout them out for an incredible season. Oh, my God. One of the most amazing lines I've ever seen in college hockey. Cutter Gauthier, too. Cutter Gauthier was the villain.

Oh, we can talk about Cutter Gauthier later. Yeah, we're getting to him. Look how excited G is to talk about fucking BC right now. Oh, yeah. Did you turn code at the end? Wait until he sees the video. Wait till he sees the video. Wait till everyone sees the video. He started running the Denver halfway through the game.

I'm a fan of growing the game of college hockey. Yeah, you're a fan of duffel bags. James Haggins could be the number one pick in two years. He's a future superstar in the NHL. Going to BC next year. Grinnelli goes, where's he going to school? What a BC fan, Grinnelli. He's going to be an Eagle. That's how much

he dove into the BC fandom. I missed Thursday. I was too busy just running away with the Barstool mini-golf title. $22,000 coming to me. Thanks for coming. I got to watch the BU game. They were the first game. I don't know what it felt like in the building,

but it seemed like after BU scored that early goal, they could have made it 2-0, dude. I don't know. I think they maybe – I'm not going to say run away with it, with what Denver's goalie did and how he played the entire run. But it just seemed like Denver hung around. Against UMass, they hung around and kind of got dominated. They won. Against Cornell, they hung around and ended up

winning. Same with BU. I look at that game and the one thing I can take away from it, maybe, and I don't want to be hard on refs, maybe the worst officiated game I've ever seen in my life. For BU not to get a power play in that game,

I sound like I'm whining. I sound like I'm whining I sound like I'm complaining I am a little bit I'm upset my team lost and they they they ended up we didn't get to see the the BU BC matchup everyone dreamed of but you gotta shout out Denver man they had a veteran team they have a future superstar defenseman in the NHL oh Oh, my God, is he fucking fun to watch. This is Ziv Bouyem. Oh, yeah. And he's got the brother who I didn't know anything about the brother. I hockey DB'd him, second round pick to Detroit, probably has to work on the skating, but bigger and stronger than Ziv.

He's got a chance to play in the NHL. So they just had so much power and so much veteran leadership, along with I think any hockey fan who watched will say one of the hottest greatest runs by a goalie the game's ever seen oh yeah and and yes it's not series it's one game elimination that's what really gives you the chance to get goalied and he did it to everyone um with with maybe i said on on instagram the best save i've ever seen live against ryan leonard in the i was getting emotional during his speech after the game, after he got the MVP. What was the final quote?

First to 10, baby? Yeah. I mean, he was crying a little bit. The guy interviewing him mentioned his parents and stuff, so it was very emotional. But holy shit, that save that he had on Leonard. And that's the number one thing that stuck out for me, how talented some of these prospects coming in. So every guy that, obviously Cutter, Gauthier, he has every skill set. He's fast. He was physical. He has a great shot. He makes plays. Maybe not the best at pregame interviews. He's going to probably have to work on those. But I would say front to back in the

two games I saw, Leonard was the most dominant. Every time on the ice, he made a difference. Guys were trying to maybe take him off his game. He's like, oh, fuck you. I can play that game too, bitch. He's fucking, and he's got a little bit of pep in his step. Now I'm hearing that he's going back for one more year. Is that true?

I don't think it's been announced officially, but I'm hearing that all those freshmen are coming back, which is scary as a BU fan. I think it's been announced officially, but I'm hearing that all those freshmen are coming back, which is scary as a BU fan. I think it makes total sense. I think Perot right now on BC obviously could use a little bit of time. I think he's an NHL player, maybe not quite yet. Will Smith is so – Oh, God, is he nasty.

He is just like – His hands are filthy. He's so smooth in how he makes plays, and he's just very cerebral out there and he could go play in the nhl but if i'm mike greer and i'm him it's like it it's the old adage like it's a marathon not a sprint like why are you running to go play for san jose who's probably going to be pretty bad again and and and and forego that opportunity to come back and get the job done as BC. They had such a great team. Well, what's going to get guys to come back?

Oh, we lost. We can come back and do it. And then Ryan Leonard is the one that's most NHL ready for me. But it's the same thing. Why not just fine tune the few things that right now are not weaknesses, but are not true strengths in your game and over the training, and then more time in the weight room compared to playing pro next year, and boom, he's ready to come out. And Bouchigras made a great point to me.

I was on the same flight home with him. He said, you're not waiting a year. You're waiting seven months. They're in the NHL at the end of next season. Whether it's right now, as you'll see Lane Hudson and Carter Gauthier make their appearances this week, or if you don't go on a run to the Frozen Four, it's even two weeks prior to this. So I think that it's just there's no harm in going back for a year.

I'll say that about anyone. He's about to fire you. Even Celebrini, who went on to win the Hobie Baker, congratulations. Just an incredible run for the youngest player in college hockey. Dominates at both ends of the ice. I think if Chicago were to somehow get the first overall pick after winning the Hobie, it's kind of, all right, I'm going to play with Conor Bedard. But if it's not Chicago and some of these teams that aren't going to be good very quickly,

even though Chicago won't be Bedard's the X factor, I would love to see him go back. And he's so young. It's just about the X factor I would love to see him go back and he's so young it's just about the person are they ready to move on and the one argument for him is I have done everything I can do besides winning it all but personally like I already won the Hobie Baker so we'll see how that plays out. Paydolfo had a quote too this weekend

I don't know if you heard it but he basically said like this is if my advice to this kid he's too good to come back like he's ready for the NH's he's ready for the NH. Yeah, he's ready for the NH. He's going to get fired, too. He ain't going anywhere, I hope. But I think I think Will Smith's decision really like if I'm him, I'm going back to

100 percent, run it back with those three. But I think their decision, his decision really depends on what happens with San Jose. If San Jose gets the first overall pick and they do take Macklin Celebrini, which they likely will, he could go next year because if Celebrini goes, why wouldn't you send him with him? So they can go and play together and start learning and developing chemistry together.

I think if one guy leaves from BC, they're all gone. That's kind of what happens. The dominoes will fall. I think Perot would transfer. Who am I going to play with? I'm not going to say jealousy. That's kind of what happens. The dominoes will fall. I think Perot would transfer. Who am I going to play with? I'm not going to say jealousy. That's not the right word,

but it's like, oh, you just think about your line. And the fact is, now, as I say, Perot and those guys should go back. Say Leonard and Smith decide to go. Perot can also play in the AHL. Not that he wants to.

I'd probably rather play my sophomore year at BC than play in the AHL. But he wants to I'd probably rather play my sophomore year at BC than play in the AHL but for growth that might that might also help him I know we're talking about getting stronger in the weight room in college it's just hard when you see your friend in line made of two years leave and then you're kind of like I don't know but as I said Higgins is coming in one thing you guys are right about though this tournament probably had about 10 guys maybe even a few more that could go into the nhl and make impacts within a pretty quick amount of time um hudson was a defenseman for bu and then you just mentioned uh uh celebrini i felt like maybe they didn't look like they had the pep in their step that would i would have expected in the semi-final it is a long season

regardless if it is college um Celebrity got run over. He got popped. I think it was early in the second. And he didn't really look like himself much after that. So what do you think that this Hudson kid can end up like a Quinn Hughes? He's tiny. And he's also going to get his debut with Montreal, I think, in his first game against Detroit.

Tonight. Tonight. Tonight. Or last night for you guys listening on Tuesday morning. You think he has that motor? You think he has the motor where he could be a Quinn Hughes? I mean, he's tiny, dude. He's going to have to.

I'll answer that in one sec. I talked about it last week or two weeks ago, but for all you NHL fans that maybe aren't all into the college game yet, we're actually going to come back on tonight after the 7 o'clock games, which Washington's playing, Pittsburgh's playing, the Islanders are playing, and the Red Wings are playing. So we figured we're going to come back on and kind of re-go over that Eastern Conference second wildcard spot race and make it a little bit more fresh for you guys listening now instead of not having the results for Tuesday morning. So with Hudson, I said it. Yeah, you question he's tiny, but dude, his quickness and offensively, I think he can just light up the NHL.

I really do. The question will be in his own zone and come playoff time and when the games are a little bit more meaningful, a little more physical. But NHL regular seasons, as we've said for years now, dude, they're not run after guys and taking heads off. It's changed. And he is so good with the puck one-on-one that up top, like I mentioned before, guys are not going to be able to cover him. It's head fakes. It's little movement. I know this sounds crazy and I'm not comparing the

player, especially considering they play different positions, but one-on-one stick handling quickness, it's like Patrick Kane on defense. And Quinn Hughes is not a great kind of analogy or comparison because Quinn Hughes is so smooth. He is so fast without really looking that fast. He just floats around the ice. Lane Hudson's a little more choppy, but the quickness is there. Kind of like a Duncan Keith? Yes. That's kind of how he makes moves at the blue line,

and his feet look a little bit like that compared to just smoother and longer and more fluid. But I can't wait to see how it plays out, but I'm going to stand by the fact that he is a 50-point player in the NHL as a defenseman. I don't know if it's next year, but at some point, you're getting 50 points out of that guy as a defenseman. And don't know if it's next year, but at some point, you're getting 50 points out of that guy as a defenseman.

And then last guy from BU, is it Karan, the goalie? Karan? Yeah, true. He made two fucking saves sprawling out in that semifinal to even keep the minute and keep it tied.

So stick taps to him. He was super impressive. But going after... Go ahead. I was just going to say, we got to see another player that hopped right in, and that's Frank Nazar. I hope I'm saying, is it Nazar? Yeah.

Oh, boy, boy. When you talk about the pipeline in Chicago, this kid hops in, first shot, first goal in the NHL. He snipes one and gets Carolina. But that Final Four, you don't often get that lucky with, one, having these blue blood programs who've been amazing for so many years. But you had the top players in the NCAA that have been drafted-wise, too, or will be drafted in celebration. You just got to see everything, the fan bases, the players.

I wish I missed Thursday. I think Thursday's probably a better day. It's one ticket for two games. You saw some great action. I didn't see any of the BC-Michigan game, but they just waxed them. Oh, in the Michigan game? No, I ended up leaving halfway through because, yeah, it wasn't even close. I think it was 3-0 halfway through the game,

and it was getting late because the OT had been pushed back, but I'd seen everything I needed to see with BC, and I knew that they were going to advance. Whit, the OT goal that BU lost on, what did you make of that? Did he get screened a little bit or just misplayed a lot? Because he played such a great game. He got a little bit screened, and it was Cade Weber who Toronto traded for, and I mentioned Shanahan was like, I love this guy.

Six, seven blocks, million shots. He was kind of always in the way, and he went down. He just missed it, and Caron's stick wasn't in the middle. Five-hole, boom, game over. Celebratingian had a great chance earlier at the other end just a heartbreaking loss for BU though what a season they had and BC had their number all year besides that first Beanpot game and you just needed them to get that second goal against Denver same thing with the final game going in I said BC's offense if they get one it's going to be trouble and I don't think Denver's offense was that great I mean what was the most

goals they scored in a game two yeah so it was more like if they got that first one and then they could even have more of that lockdown style we could talk to David Carl about it that would be the difference in that game and they were able to get it in the second period and didn't look back all right cutter go chate time so i mean everybody knows a story about him not wanting to go to philadelphia that ended up trading him by the way congratulations to him he just signed with the ducks he will be burning a year off of his contract and going to get in his first nhl action um he gets pre-game interviewed let's send it off to the audio right now What do you anticipate this rematch On this championship stage To be like tonight?

It's going to be epic, there's going to be a lot of emotions And a lot of tears for that team over there So we're happy and we're excited to get after it Later on in the interview He did say that he was going to score a few goals as well So not only saying There's going to be tears on the other side That he's going to pot a few himself Obviously they go on to get shelved hey i'm in the media business boys

i fucking love this guy put a mic on him follow him around with amazon for his first nhl season he's a fucking quote machine but putting it on a tee for the opponent for the bulletin board material and all all-time hockey karma hockey gods gods coming at you. Whit, what do you make of this? Yeah, being in media, you're like, thank God that guy said that. We got something to talk about. I could tweet about this guy. What a moron. What is he thinking?

It's just, it is not that difficult to before the game, and they just had walked into the arena. You could tell because he's in his suit and tie still. So he probably just got off the bus. Boom, we got to do a little hit for the pregame show. It's going to be a great game. We are so excited to play. I can't wait to get out there.

That's it. The game hasn't started. You have not said anything that that team could find out about. And I would be shocked if somebody didn't see that and say, hey, boys over in the Denver room, you got to hear this one. And it's almost unfair to your team because everyone's just grinded all year.

It's one game elimination. It's hard to get to that game. And now before the game, you got this guy just blatantly calling out a win a mark messier style at least mess went and got a hat trick so yeah yeah i i just i just can't believe that you'd say something like that like you've done so much this year you could have you could have won the hobie baker no one would have said a word he's gonna be to be a 40-goal guy in the NHL. He flies, too. I didn't realize how good of a skater he was.

His shot's NHL elite level already, but you've got to get out of your own way with one game to go. You've got 60 minutes, dude. What is that quote going to do besides make you look cooler if you win? So what would make me nervous being an organization who has them? Is that where your head's at knowing that you're getting interviewed before the game? That you're going to just tee that up?

Why would your mind even go there? Exactly. Wouldn't you just focus on the task at hand? Are you trying to be like it's such a hero shot. And all it does the only thing it can do on the positive side is make you look cool at the end of the game. It's just a me first mentality before the national title game.

And yet, dude, the kid's 19 years old. He's going to be an NHL stud. But I'd be remiss to sit here and say that wasn't the dumbest fucking thing I've ever seen said before a national title game. Can we all agree, though, Cutter Gauthier was great for college hockey this season? I mean, more headlines from Gauthier alone this season than the past five years combined. One and done, baby. Let's go.

I mean, there's a fine line between confidence and cockiness, I would suppose. But he was right, Biz. There were tears on the other side. There just happened to be tears of joy, not tears of sadness, I guess. Not a boy, Rear. Not a boy. But, hey, I mean, Denver, to me, played the best game when it mattered most.

I mean, they suffocated that team. We weren't shut out once all season. They really couldn't get much going. So what do you think, boys? Should we send it over to Coach Kyle right about now and get his take on his first national championship or what? Sounds great. All right, boys. Let's do that.

Without further ado, enjoy David Kyle. What's up, guys? Whit here. Time to talk about Pink Whitney. An incredible weekend we just had in Minnesota. Pink Whitney was flowing at Smorgies. I met a bunch of the Gallo New Amsterdam distributors. Great people.

They just said that the people of Minnesota love it. They drink this stuff up. And we were passing out shots at the bar. Everyone was catching a nice little glow before the NCAA championship game. And I heard from so many different people, 22 years old to 72 years old, this is my drink, especially in the summer. As the weather turns, I put it on ice. I sit there on the lake, all the lakes, the land of 10,000 lakes in Minnesota.

And I think Pink Whitney might have made an appearance at 9,999 of them. That's how much the beautiful, nice people of Minnesota enjoy Pink Whitney. So if you haven't checked it out yet, go down to your local bar, grab a drink on the rocks, put a little soda water in there, put an energy drink in there, go down to your local liquor store, buy a sleeve of the nips. You get 12 nips, boom, bing, bing, bing. Oh, I just bogeyed the first hole. Let's do a nip. Oh, I just birdied the first hole. Let's do a nip. It doesn't really matter what you make on each hole when you're playing golf. Pink Whitney's there and the weather's getting nice. It's time for some outdoor drinking. Pink Whitney's

the perfect drink to enjoy on a 70 degree sunny day as winter has finally gone away for good. So everyone who's already involved in drinking Pick Whitney, I can't thank you enough. If you haven't tried it yet, please go give it a try. And you could even buy the enormous new 1.75 ml bottle that'll last you a long time so i love you all thank you for drinking pink whitney and thank you to new amsterdam all right it's great to welcome our next guest at just 34 years old he's already won his second national championship as a head coach as well as the 10th title in denver university history thank you so much for joining us on the spit and chickens podcast Chicklets podcast. David Kahl.

Coach, congratulations on a hell of a victory. Unreal game the other night. Thank you. It was. Really happy for our guys and thanks for having me on the show. Pleasure's all ours. So you dive right back to next season or are you taking a little time for yourself to enjoy the victory here? We enjoyed it a little bit for sure, but the way

the world works, things move quickly. So it's already met with some guys today and we'll meet with more tomorrow and try and shape up next year's roster. So it moves quickly for sure. Does that mean exit meetings or does that mean trying to recruit? More exit meetings. We'll do our year-end meetings with everyone next year, but like the guys who are potentially you know, potentially looking to sign or have those options in front of them. A lot of times just your drafted juniors, um,

you're having those meetings and just seeing where things are going to, where the chips are going to fall, you know? So right before we started this, we kind of went, went, went over the frozen four and the championship game. And,

and, and Matt Davis was the overall, you know, biggest story I'd say. I, I, I think that that was one of the greatest four-span goaltending runs, at least in college hockey history.

And I don't know if you saw something change with him. I read a stat where it started in March, where he just dialed it in. But did you notice something that changed and just took over where he was able to play that high-level hockey? Yeah, it was unbelievable, and I agree with you. It's got to be one of the top all-time.

I mean, he let in three goals, and we played a whole extra game of overtime periods as well. So he played five games and only let in three goals. We got outshot in all four games. Lowest goal total to win a championship at eight offensively for our team. And so, no doubt, I mean, we couldn't have done it without him. We certainly got better as a team in front of him defensively with the youth that we had starting the year.

But, I mean, he was sensational. He's out of this world, you know, in that third period there. And what a save, obviously, makes on Leonard, you know, in that third period there. And what a save, obviously, he makes on Leonard, you know, on the kill for us. Wick kind of put me on to this Ziv Bouillon kid. You talked about your guy's defensive game. Like, I think we had a guy, Mike Fuda, join us on the trip. He said if he's a right-handed shot, he's probably going first overall.

That's how special this guy is. The way that he's able to close on guys, gap up, make plays with the puck. He's a horse. No, he is. And he didn't to close on guys gap up make plays with the puck he's a he's a horse no he is and uh he ain't get scored on once in the tournament um and he he played he played 27 28 minutes every night the overtime game simon barron's got up to you know close to 40 so um i mean i see him every day i'm obviously little biased, but I think he's as impactful as any other player in the draft, and he's a no-brainer top five, but really I think he has an argument at one, two, or three.

Now, when you recruited his brother and he came in, who I mentioned was the second rounder by Detroit, I didn't know anything about him. I mean, he's a big old horse as well, plays strong and tough. Did you already know about Ziv? I'm guessing you did. He's just two years younger. Was it almost one of those things, if we can get the older brother,

we'll get the younger guy? Or did you like his game on his own? Even if he didn't have a younger brother, there was a stud. Yeah. They actually did their, Shai did his visit with Ziv on the trail. There you go. Packaged deal. Did they have to share a hotel room?

Yeah. They might have been an unofficial. I don't know what the rules were back then. They changed so much all the time. I know we couldn't offer Zeev at the time. I know that rule was in place, but we offered Shy. And Zeev was all of probably, what, 14 or 15 years old and loved the whole trip. Both boys just smiling ear to ear. all of probably what 14 or 15 years old and love the whole trip. Uh,

both boys just smiling ear to ear. And we offered shy and, and shy is like, shy is a little more methodical. You know, I need to take a couple of days, talk to my parents and Z's kind of looking at them. Like, what are you doing,

man? Like you're coming here. Like Z wanted to jump up and shake our hand, um, when we offered shy. So it was really cool. You know, when we were able to finally offer Ziv with the rules and how they are and having two brothers who played the game, just so jealous of the two of them.

Like how many times they've been able to link up. They've played on the same power play unit all year. That would lead to them playing some five on five together. But how many times they linked up scoring goals this year and um just so jealous so they got to have that experience they're great kids and um had an unbelievable year together yeah so we'll be at the draft and hopefully we can we we can sit down with zeve um but in terms of his story like the parents moved over from israel and they moved to la i believe or and i'm and they were driving a long way. Have you, have you even talked to him about how he got into the game? Was his dad just like, Hey, try this sport. I don't know if you've chatted with him about that. Yeah. I think a lot of their, was their

older brother and then family members got them into the game. And, but the very athletic family, I mean, the mom was on the Israeli women's national basketball team. She's just, she's world-class, great person, great athlete. You know, so it's a family of three boys, Shadi's the middle, Zeev's the younger, and they just fell in love with the game. And, you know, like many of us have parents who were willing to make that sacrifice and take the time to let their kids chase their dreams. And both ended up at shattuck uh ziv ended up at the national program uh but both found their way to denver as true

freshmen and uh couldn't be proud of them which doesn't happen at all anymore i was i was talking recently about i mean it seems like unless you're a stud you got to go play at least one if not two years a junior so even though you guys are a top program and can grab these number one recruits, have you had to kind of fall in line with how every other school has just gotten that much older and waiting and making kids take a couple of years before they come? Yeah, a little bit. I mean, our model's slightly different than, like I would say, the other blue bloods, if that's what people call them

like we we have i think five first round picks in the history of our school um you know we won with i think 12 to 13 picks in 22 um in 2017 i think we only had seven or eight this year might have been 10 to 12 um but no i mean z will be a pick, but, you know, no first round picks in 22. None of these teams that have had, you know, BU tried to do it with Eichel. Obviously, Michigan's had it. BC just had it. It's really hard for whatever reason to win building that way. And we found a way to still have really good players.

But maybe we get them as a 19-year-old freshman. You know, second through seventh round picks generally stay for three years and so you get them for their junior year where the first rounders a lot of times are one or two years so you have more roster turnover and um so i think that's how i wouldn't say it's like a model that we've created it was going on you know i would say george bosdecki and steve miller really started it and that we've created. It was going on, you know, I would say George Bosdecki and Steve Miller really started it and we've just tried to, you know, continue and keep it going under Monty and myself. So I think that's been one of the real keys to our success is trying to keep players, you know, have the opportunity to coach players through their

junior year a lot of times. And it's not like we're old. We're the second youngest team in the country. Chose to have 11 freshmen this year. Didn't bring any transfers in. You know, and really proud of the guys for all the growth that they made and strides they made throughout the year to win our last game. Coach, I know you mentioned earlier about being with drafted juniors. I want to talk about an undrafted junior, your goalie, Matt Davis.

Do you expect him to be back next year? Yeah, we do. He's an unbelievable story. Great kid, great family. I don't know if you saw the article after, but he said he was crying because his mom was alive, and she got to see him do that. She had a cancer battle and was successful with that and just an amazing, amazing family. And, you know, Matt played two years under Magnus Krona,

his first two years. So played sparingly, was hurt, you know, played the first five games this year, was hurt all the way until the start of our second half of the season. And I think you saw, you know, when you asked like, when did he find his groove? He didn't play a lot of hockey for two and a half years with the injury and playing behind Corona. And, you know, he was an everyday guy in Green Bay for two years, was a full-time starter in Spruce Grove in the AJ. And so that's, that's hard for a goalie to like get back into that rhythm. And, you know, I think that's

what really peaked for him is the last six to eight weeks. He finally really got into his groove. Ryan Massar, goalie coach does great work with him. Um, but I would expect him, um, to, to attend some, a development camp or two. Um, certainly he's, he's raised his hand to NHL teams. And our hope would be that we have an excellent season again next year, and he does have an opportunity at the end of his senior year to sign a pro contract. You guys were pretty high-ranked coming in, but did you realize it was a very special group early on? Were you aware of that right away,

just on how maybe they all gelled in training camp and when they came in yeah i think like i mean we lost obviously we won in 22 and then we lose in the first round against cornell um the following year and now you're looking at only eight players off the 22 team and you're only you're only 24 months removed from i mean it like it goes quick i saw cupac only has five players off their off off their 23 championship team. So like the turnover, it happens quickly everywhere. And, um, I think the, the guys who were part of the loss against Cornell, it was a good wake up call for our group, like to not take things for granted. And, um, you know, not that we did all year. I mean, I thought they were pretty into it

the whole season during the 23 year. But losing always, I think, sharpens you. And bringing in the 11 freshmen, not dissimilar to what we did after our 21 season. We had a big freshman class. It just adds a new level of excitement and life and new blood and energy that they all saw us win in 17 and 22, and they want to come in and try and leave their mark on the program. And, and then you've got the returners who were like last year sucked. Let's get it back to what it was. So I just think it was a really motivated group. Um, McCade Webster did like an amazing job, uh, bringing everyone together, the closeness of the team. Um, he, He has an ability, a unique ability to reach social circumstances,

really make everyone feel a part of it. And he's not the guy that everyone talks about. Everyone's talking about Zeev and Rizzo and Divine and different guys on our team. But you don't win without great leadership at this level. And McCade was that all year long for us is that is it hard to keep these guys under wraps with like caught in the college situation these guys are young wanting to have a good time like is that part is that part of the

the dilemma being a coach for a college team uh right now or in general well in general i mean like your your experience so far i mean you seem to be way beyond your years as far as maturity is concerned, but I mean, I know what I was like when I was 20 and if I would have went to college, like, Oh, I don't know exactly where all my focuses would have been. Yeah. I mean, we get, we get kids, um, they really care about hockey, but they, a lot of times they come from families who, um, the academics may not be the highest priority for the kids like today, but they come from families that are, they're really, um, interested in, um, you know, we have a great business school. It's a private institution. It's only, you know, people think that Denver is, some people think this Denver's

this big state school in a city, 20,000 people, um, like it's a 7,000 undergrad. It's not a real big school. And so the education for the families usually matters a lot. And then we do certainly sell the social experience of being in an NHL market in a big city. Um, we're tucked away south of downtown guys don't need cars. I mean, our guys, everything they need is walking distance they never get in a car to go have fun or to do anything they can walk everywhere to a house party

a frat party um a sorority um the college uh bar that that is right on campus they it's a safe environment you know to have that whole college experience and um you know a lot of what we talk about is just take care of one another. College is about learning, finding your boundaries, and all those types of things. And our guys, they work hard, and they get rewarded for it. They get to have a good time as well. And they get to learn and experience where those boundaries are at. And I think that's a big part of being a young person today.

We want to crucify kids for making any little error. And I don't think that's our role in society. Like you said, we were all there at one time, and it's to try and educate them and bring them along. And the growth you see from freshman to junior, freshman to senior, that's the coolest part of the whole thing. you see from freshman to junior, freshman to senior, that's the coolest part of the whole thing. You've been open

and talking about kind of changing the whole regional setup and giving the number one team maybe the ability to host it and just create that crazy campus vibe throughout both games, not just the home teams games. And then this year, you guys are number one seed. You get sent out east

where you got to play UMass and Cornell and teams that have fan bases that can drive. So do you think there's ever a chance that that happens? And even in this season's example, did you have to talk to your team like, all right, boys, number one seed, but we're kind of, we're sent out there.

Like, let's almost prove them wrong. Yeah, I think our team had a good vibe to it where, you know, we didn't really care. I mean, we have to travel a lot you know i looked at uh we looked at like bubc schedules i think they this was maybe their second or third flight of the year um coming out to the frozen fort it was our 11th flight of the year like we started the year in fairbanks alaska we went right to boston after so we're not afraid to go on the road and play anyone

and do that sort of thing. So I do think that they took it that way. Regarding, yeah, making our tournament better, I mean, I'd love to talk more about it for sure if you guys want to, but I'm a firm believer that you earn your home ice and the top eight should host the bottom eight. I'm not in favor of, like, I don't think we should have hosted UMass Cornell in Maine in Denver.

I think that that would have been awful for the other matchup, you know, and arguably it would be worse than what we currently do. So I think it should turn into a three-week tournament, top eight host bottom eight um the remaining top four hosts remaining bottom four single game weekends and then and then go to the frozen four it's a great event um you know i don't everyone earns their home ice you create drama you know in the in the the four spot like trying to win that race you create drama in the home ice spot of trying to get to the eight hole.

Right now, the drama is great. Everybody loves watching the tournament bubble, but you'd have way more drama around the rest of the seating. So there's a lot of reasons, and we can get into those if you want to. But I'm certainly a proponent of it. Not really for Denver. And I say this the best way I can. We've won with this model, so I don't really care about us. We've done it more than anybody, and it's about what's best for college hockey. I think we've been passed by some sports. You just have to look at the new ESPN deal, who's a partner of

the NHL, and there's a card vote for six or seven sports to get ABC time during their national tournament. You know, we, we spent our whole tournament on ESPN too. And I'm not saying we should bump the masters, but maybe we shouldn't be on the master's weekend, but we need to, we need to think logically about how do we, how do we get this thing going? Why is hockey not carded out for ABC time on our frozen for floor? It doesn't make sense to me. And so I think the best thing we can do right now is have open conversation about how do we make it better for the student athletes and for the fans and grow the game because I think we'd all love to have 10 more teams

for 10 more staffs and 180 more scholarships. We're kicking the CHL's ass right now. I'd love the opportunity to keep our foot on the gas in college hockey. I know. I liked you having a strong opinion about it. It's awesome. But going back, you ended up mentioning something that they might change where if you do play junior hockey, you can end up going off to college,

where right now if you play junior hockey, you can't, right. It eliminates your, your ability to go do that. Do you think for the growth of the game as well, they should stop doing that rule as well? Yeah. I'm be honest because I'm a little more, I was probably against that early. Um, I've more open-minded to it now. And, um, what changed? I think based on what is just said, I mean, um, I think, I think there's merits to both sides of it.

I think we're doing a great job against the CHL right now, getting the top-end players. But if you're talking about trying to add 10 more programs, certainly having a bigger player pool would be advantageous to that. I think there's a lot of things that need to be ironed out, Would be advantageous to that. I think there's a lot of things that need to be ironed out. And I think we need to move slower than quicker on the CHL question and seek advice from lawyers, agents, the NHL. There's a lot in those things, just as some of the topics. But generally speaking, I mean, I'm open to hearing about it. It might be decided for us. I've chosen to share my thoughts more on the NCAA tournament because I feel like that is more known. I've put more thought into that. I think there's more of a need for it at this time,

and there's a window for that change with two years remaining on our current model and then bidding out only a two-year cycle, not a four-year cycle, on the next round of things. So I'm not against it. I don't know if I'm for it yet, but I've certainly come more to the middle on it. Coach, regarding maybe going to that regional thing we're talking about, do you get the sense a lot of your peers are on the same page? They'd like to see that change as well? I think it's growing. Certainly out West, it's been talked about a lot. I think the turnover of

coaches around the country, I think there's more talk of it out east regarding it, but I think we need open and honest conversation about what we're doing, what's best for the game. Is it a majority? I don't know that, but it's been talked about a bit in Florida and I think it needs to be

front and center for us to discuss as a body. Two other things we've heard about a lot recently, name, image, likeness, and the transfer portal. How have they affected how you do your job the last couple of years? Again, on its whole, we're for player rights and their ability to have more autonomy and control in situations. And so I think on the whole, it's a general positive. Does it create chaos? Yes, it does. But it's not changing.

We're not putting the cat back in the bag. So it's like you have to find a way regardless of what the rules are. And I'd go back to the same thing with the CHL question. If that's what the rules are, then we'll play by them. That's our job to adapt and figure things out. And I think every year is a little bit different. Two years ago, we, um, you know, we added Cam Wright as, as our only transfer before the 21-22 season. Uh, we added, uh, Dornbach and, uh, Ambrose the, the following summer. Last year, we chose not to add anybody. Um, this year, I don't know if

legally I'm allowed to, by rule, allowed to talk about it, but we've added two already for next year's team. So it's just year to year on where you're kind of at in your cycle and where you're at with your recruits and those types of things. So it certainly made it more complex with roster management and those types of things. But on the whole, players should have more autonomy, and that's what this gives them. In regards to NIL, you're seeing it a lot in other sports. I think it's getting bigger in college hockey. I don't know if it's the end-all, be-all today, but I think in the next year to three years,

it's going to play a bigger and bigger role, and you're going to see it out there a lot more. I said a few weeks back, I totally agree with being able to transfer because it's like you're a junior. You kind of see, all right, I don't know how much I'm going to play the next two years. I'd love to get a chance to go somewhere where I'm going to play. But I'm under the opinion that maybe one transfer rule i don't know where you stand on that because it just gets a little ridiculous to me if you can go to four schools in four years it just seems like well yeah i mean there's still um there's

still progress toward degree requirements the kids have to hit and i i don't disagree with you with like yeah one maybe is the makes sense but now you're at your second school and i mean that'd be a team whore what i know but what if it's awful what if what if you have a bad experience what if the coach leaves what if i mean you just you don't know i mean it's hard to in the instant of ways not losing or not winning that court battle they're just they're not going to um when you talk about student-athlete rights and um so i think at the end of the day it's it's trying to it gets back to trying to get the right people in your program try to treat them right develop them and and that's not to say i mean we we won in 22 we had two kids in our office uh 24 hours later

saying they wanted to to go somewhere else and get more opportunity. And that may happen this year as well. I don't know. But we're happy for those kids if they choose to do that. Because if they don't have it here, what they're looking for, then they should have the opportunity to go find that. And we stay in touch with those kids. And we had a kid who could have done a fifth year last year, Brett Edwards, who went to Northeastern.

He's in the locker room with our guys when we're out to play Providence and BC's in the locker room with our guys in St. Paul. You know, so it's, it's, it's very complex, but you, you try and get the right people and you don't always make the perfect decisions and neither do kids pick in the right school and those types of things. So I don't think the autonomy is bad. Are there bad things that happen?

For sure. But I think the overall majority of it is a good thing for the kids. And we still have the fifth years, which will be done after this year. So you'll see the volume lower next year with the portal because because the the fifth year covid guys this is the last um year that they can do it so i think you'll see the number drop the ncaa they give us the numbers down in florida and they talk very uh matter-of-factly and they're like they think we don't have hardly any transfers because they look at football they look at basketball yeah and so they're like you guys yeah we think you guys are in great shape and everyone's like

you know shocked by it and there's 200 people on the list it's like yeah but that's nothing compared to these other sports and that's how the ncaa sees the totality of it we get stuck in the weeds of our sport but i'm telling you it's it near what it is in other arenas. I feel like college coaching jobs can provide maybe a little bit more security than NHL positions. Do you have aspirations to move on to the NHL? It's a great question. I would tell you right now I don't.

It doesn't mean I wouldn't talk to teams to go through that experience and process. I love it here. I think when you look at the data of NHL coaches compared to other sports leagues, I mean, the guys are fired at a much higher rate. I got a young family. We got a three-year-old and a six-month-old. I get treated very well here. Am I saying no to it?

No, but it would have to be a really special opportunity. It would have to be a lot of money. And, you know, I don't know if anyone's willing to pay that for a 34 first-year head coach in the NHL. So it's not – it's on my radar, but it's, but it's not, if that makes sense. I'm in, I don't have that itch, um, you know, to, to go at the first opportunity or to be, um, knocking doors down to tell people, this is what I want to do. So, um, love it here. We got a great program and we're set up to win year in and year out. That's what's fun is seeing these kids have those experiences to win their last game of the year.

There's nothing better than that. I think there's probably a lot of non-college hockey fans or non-USA World Junior Team fans who don't really know your story. Your amazing coaching career so far comes from a from from some heartbreak and and that is being being um given your your heart condition when you went to the draft i think combine and i had the chance of playing with your older brother matt incredible player skated like the wind i read that you skated pretty much the exact same and we're looking at being you know a second round pick so can you take us through just having to deal with that heartbreak and and making the most out of it like you have yeah it was i went to shattuck st mary's

um great hockey school um really fortunate to have the opportunity to go there um the my senior year was invited to the to the combine and at that time they did ekgs on everybody um went through all the testing, all the interviews. There's a 48 hour rule that you probably remember, uh, where everything had to just be really crammed in. And so you're in and out. Um, and about a week after I got back from the combine, got a call from the NHL doctor saying, Hey, we think, you know, your red flag on HL doctor saying, hey, we think, you know, your red flag on EKG tests, you need to go get more testing done. So I saw some doctors in Alaska where we're from and he goes, I have two patients with this in the whole state. I'm not, I don't have the knowledge or the expertise to tell you

you can't play hockey. So ended up going down to the Mayo Clinic, did a week you know, as a real favor and, and unbelievable gesture that I probably appreciate more and more, um, because we have seventh rounders on our team who are really good players and have a chance to play in the NHL. I'm like, you wasted that on me, but, um, really thankful for that. And, and George was Deke and his staff had me here, um, honored the scholarship. And that's how I got into coaching, um, at the age of 18. And each year, my role kind of grew and expanded and, um, did more work with the guys, did more video, did more meetings with the coaches. And, um, Derek Lalonde hired me in green Bay as my first full-time job as an assistant coach, um, in the USHL. And, uh, then Monty hired me in Green Bay as my first full-time job as an assistant coach in the USHL.

And then Monty hired me back here a year and a half into being in Green Bay. And then he left and I was fortunate enough to get the job. So everything's kind of happened way faster than I thought it would. Like getting back to Denver and assistant, that was always like the dream and the goal. And that happened really quickly with, with Steve Miller leaving, um, to go to the USHL.

And then, you know, to be the head coach at 28 was just, um, probably didn't know what I was getting into fully. It was a little nervous for it, but, it's,

it's been a great ride so far and really blessed with fortune. Do you think it aided in, in your development of the fact that there wasn't maybe much of an age gap when you started? And the fact that maybe the players could relate to you a little bit more? I mean, nowadays, I think that you have to treat the players a lot different than maybe when I was playing, right? It has to be a lot of dialogue and conversation. And it seems like you've, like you said, accelerated and got that position 28 years old where yeah all of a sudden the gap ain't that big well i think starting at 18 um certainly helped with that like the the two guys that worked with the most like on individual skills and stuff was drew

and nick shore um very very high maintenance love to talk and so like i think i learned a lot from from drew and nick to be honest and you're like i don't know if i want to coach fuck this shit yeah um so i don't know me i yeah early on i i think so and just but having the opera i think where where i got the most fortune was like george bosdecki is i mean he's a he's a hall of fame coach at the college ranks unbelievable person new derrick lelan coaches in detroit now um jim montgomery obviously everyone knows his story and in boston now so to like get those three mentors from the age of 18 to 28 um you know you couldn't ask for a better situation. And so, um, you know, and they were, they're much older than I am, but they connect really well with people.

So I don't, I never really like get onto the age thing. Um, I just think people who can communicate, um, you know, honestly and concisely and deliver a message, but, but build buy-in with an individual and a team. Um, that's what I learned from those guys. And I think that's what has allowed, you know allowed us to continue to have success here at Denver. And I've got two former head coaches on my staff in Tavis McMillan and Dallas Ferguson. And they've helped me a ton too. One of the things that's helped us be successful is that our staff has stayed the same since 2018. We haven't had a ton of staff turnover. So I think that helps the players know what environment

they're coming into every day. And they feel comfortable in that. It allows them to perform at their best and all those things. So I'd be a little bit into it. In this week of celebration, and it's your second one, I hate to go back to that tough news you got. But at the beginning, was it, I mean, you had to deal with some depression.

Like, was it almost hard to be around the game and the players that you were there to play with and all the freshmen that you were there that you were living with? Was there a moment when you really couldn't be around the rink or couldn't be around the players, or was it almost easier that they gave you the coaching assistant role?

Yeah, for me, it was more therapeutic to be around it and everyone's going to be different in that. Right. Because I mean, you, we all see and know people that, um, you know, they'll play a really long pro career and then they retire and they really struggle with their identity and what they're going to do next and all those things. We all know people that have gone through that. And I talked to some people through that, that they just went through all their stuff in the dumpster and couldn't go into a hockey rink ever again. And I don't think anything's right or wrong. It's just how different people cope with stuff.

For me, it was therapeutic to be at the rink. It was good for me to be around um the team and be on the ice and it helped me i think you know move on from it and and try and carve out a different path with it and i think so much of it too was i felt so grateful that the university honored my scholarship that um and i still feel that debt of gratitude today uh because I don't know where I'd be without that. You know, I wouldn't have gone to college. I was the first person in my family male to get a degree. And so I probably wouldn't have gone to school.

I'd be back home living in Alaska, living a good life. But I wouldn't be doing this. And so for that, I'm all, I'm very thankful. I got one more and that's about the heart condition. Now, is that something where, you know, you can't even go out running? Like what about the activity of hockey? Like could you not do?

Is it just, you can't get your heart rate too high? So yeah, odds are that, I'll say first, it's the, it's a little bit on the, it's hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It's HCM for short. It's a little bit on the it's hypertrophic cardiomyopathy it's hcm for short it's a leading killer amongst young athletes in america um everybody you know when they say all this 21 year old had a heart attack um or this 16 year old had a heart it's not what it is it's sudden cardiac arrest it's uh it is um it's a it's your heart muscle tissue um many times it

gets thick the tissue doesn't Many times it gets thick. The tissue doesn't grow properly. It gets disarrayed is what they say. And then the electrical signals get mixed up in it. It leads to fatal arrhythmias. And so what can contribute to that is think about hockey. You go out, you go max heart rate. Then you go rest, you go max. And so that's when you're most at risk is when you're going from rest to max and then down.

And so when you have it, when you're diagnosed with it, they say that if you have it, your life expectancy is that of a normal person. You just have to be able to manage it. So do I run? No, but I always hated running. So I work out. It's just very calm. I'm not trying to impress anybody. It's just to get it moving, and you bring the heart rate up slow,

and you bring it down slow. And it's probably what most normal people do when they do any sort of physical activity anyway. So the odds are that nothing would have happened throughout my time and my career if I had continued to play. But the risk at the time, the science showed, wasn't worth it. Mickey Renaud had passed away in February of 2008. Of it, he was the captain of the Windsor Spitfires. I think he was drafted by Calgary.

And then Cherupanov, who was a first round of the Rangers, died, I think that fall of something very similar. And so those three things all happened within a seven-month period, and I was the one who was alive. And so that really helped me feel grateful to even be above the ground. And the NHL has, since they do echocardiograms now because of that year, they do more heart screening, they do more testing, um, which I think is great because a lot of the heart tests aren't done at pediatric appointments

are not done at physicals. And so it's, it's, it's great that there's more screening happening, and hopefully nobody gets caught or diagnosed. I cross my fingers every combine that it doesn't happen to someone else. But I think it's much better than fatalities happening and these horrible accidents. Prior to your EKG coach, was there any hint that something was amiss at any point, or it was just kind of a big, little up-and-over? No, so they say oftentimes your first symptom's the last one um many people are asymptomatic

um don't present anything and um you know and to this day I really I'm not symptomatic with anything um so it like that's probably the hardest part is like feel normal, you feel fine, and you're being told that you can't play. That's the hard thing to wrap your mind around. We're talking about hothead, and you broke this guy's hot Saturday. Our producer, Mikey Grinnelly, I know he wanted to jump on and ask you a question here. Gee, what do you have for Coach? He's a lifelong BC fan.

I used to live with one of your former players who was on the 2017 national title team. Oh, God. Rudy. Rude boy. Rude boy. Absolutely. I love it. And he told me to ask if you've learned how to spell the word process and kind of the whole story behind that. So I've not learned how to spell it.

Yeah, so it started actually at the Xcel Energy Center. It was 2016. We were playing BU in the first round. Funny story, a side note, we were recruiting Nicky Borgstrom at the time. It was us and BU. We were the two finalists and Monty and I, we were up on the concourse and we saw Borgstrom's agent. And, uh, it's a great Monty story. He said, he looks at Borgstrom's agent. He says, Hey, whoever wins the game gets Borgstrom. And, uh, he kind of looks at him like, are you serious? And he goes dead serious. And so I knew then that we were in a really good place to win. Monty felt that good about it. We were. We were in a good spot. And so anyways, we go downstairs, we do our meetings, and on the board, the guys would write the process, which is a set of objectives that we try to accomplish every game.

And I just finished my PK meeting, and I erased the whole board. And the guys, they go out to do their warm-up, and I'm like, I got to write it back up there. I'm an awful speller. And so I wrote it, but I wrote it. I didn't know if it was a C or an S. I'm still not sure. We're both in there.

And the guys come back and it was, we won the game. I think 7-2. Went on to the Frozen Four. Won it the next year and it kind of became a bit of a moniker, Will Butcher. uh, one at the next year. And it kind of became a bit of a moniker. We'll butcher, um,

we'll butcher wanted to keep it because we never, I don't think we ever went seven for seven in the process. So he's like, it's imperfect. Let's keep it misspelled. And now it's everywhere. It's on our Jersey. It's on our wall,

all lit up. And, um, it's kind of become a thing. And we obviously got bored from, so he chose the right school with, and, we wanted all 2017

coach i feel like we've sort of buried the lead a little bit here the the cut of goatee clip that a lot of people didn't see till after the game did the locker room catch wind of that before the game and if so take us through that yeah they we didn't we had no idea what that he said that no didn't see it um wow at least i didn't i don't think the players did. I know Webster was asked in the postgame about it, and it wasn't a thing for our guys, and that's something we would use, but we didn't see it. What do you make of it now? It's fine.

I mean, I coach Cutter. He's a great kid. I actually thought he got dragged through the mud after the whole Philly thing. I got a lot of respect for how he handled himself through all that. Players don't have many rights in this game. For an opportunity to use a little bit of leverage that you have, I got no problem with that. Regarding the quote, I think Cutter's a real confident kid.

He said similar things like that over in Sweden and I was good with it then. And, um, you know, it's, he's going to have a great career. He's a, he's a great kid. And, um, I don't have much else to say on it. I love it. We loved it. There's no hard feelings.

And listen, and like, I hear uh friedman say all the time like people jump on these kids when they say something authentic but then we all say we want them to be more authentic so it's correct yeah you can't have it both ways i think it's great we're talking about it everybody saw it's good eyeballs for the sport we talk about trying to grow the game and we need a little bit of personality so i got no issue with it um texted him after he signed and you know he's gonna have a bright future there with uh with troy terry and they got a great young core and he's gonna be a big part of it yeah you guys i mean absolutely suffocated bc hell of a game plan did you have to kind of dig deep into the speech pilot or is it sort of routine obviously you know national

championship trip game is huge but yeah i'm not like i'm not the big guy you probably asked former players um so it's just kind of business as usual and um you know we showed obviously a lot of video of bc and and but nothing abnormal to our regular prep work i think it helped that we had played them earlier in the year um you know and and we had been preparing think, the right way defensively for the last two months. And although they were certainly the most formidable opponent and had the most weapons, the guys were ready for it because of that. So it was a clinic for two periods. And they get two power plays in the third, and they have a big push.

I thought them putting you know cutter and and letty together really gave us problems um in their five on five game they're able to get pucks behind us a bit more and possess some stuff and get it through the neutral zone but matt davis had had the period of uh you know of his life and and probably the NCAA tournament it was it was unbelievable what he did yeah third period was basically a goaltender clinic. Yeah, it was. So not only do you win the national title, but you coach the USA World Junior Team, you go into

Sweden, play Sweden in the gold medal game and get that job done there. So, I don't know, do you think coaching in that tournament maybe made you even a better coach in that big of a game in Sweden playing against them, kind of help coaching in the NCAA tournament? Do you kind of put the two together at all I mean I I think it helped probably coaching again or coaching against now some of the players that we had um in Sweden

knowing them a little bit but they also knew like all of our systems so um that's a two-way street i think anytime you get exposed to high level hockey players and high level events it it helps and but all to say like i mean i was still really nervous for the umass game like you still get the same butterflies and not nervous but like the just the heightened awareness and the anxiousness. It's weird. You feel calm and comfortable for Cornell and BU, but then you're taking on BC and it's just the stakes. You're coaching big games.

It doesn't matter. That's what makes the sport so great. It gets your adrenaline going. There's a winner and a loser, that's that's athletics and um it's either pure joy or pure heartbreak and that's the that's what we all sign up for so did it help yes but uh i think you still get those moments and it's the emotions take over i bless you i i can't thank you enough congratulations great story yeah it was Congratulations. Great story. Yeah, it was an amazing, amazing team. A hell of a run. And you personally have an incredible story.

So congrats on all your success, man, and keep it up. Well, thanks, guys. I appreciate it. Thanks for what you do for hockey. You guys are making it bigger. It's awesome. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Have a great summer. Thanks, guys. All right, before we go any further, here's a few words from our friends at Game Time. Hey, gang, did you know you can get tickets to a Red Sox game for under $20 right now on Game Time? Insanity. Look at that, under $20 for a Major League Baseball game. That's right, because thanks to Game Time, the official ticketed part of Boston Sports,

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It's an unreal deal right there. And of course, Game Time is the best place for last minute seats with up to 60% off your favorite events. Again, Major League Baseball, under double sawbuck, you cannot beat that. So what are you waiting for? I'm going to grab these Sox Guardian tickets right now, might see you at Fenway because it's a deal you cannot beat. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and

use the code CHICKLETS for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply. $20 off your first purchase. Boom. Almost like a free ticket. Download the GameTime app today. Last minute tickets. Lowest price. Guaranteed. Big thanks to David Carll a huge championship second now for for as young as he is very impressive and uh i guess up to wrap up that whole trip boys we

gotta thank schmorgies where we had the pink whitney event uh the people were so nice and kind it was rammed in there right before the game uh top 10 liquors where we had the Pink Whitney bottle signing. And Mike Futa, my old assistant general manager of the LA Kings, general manager of the Owen Sound Attack. I've won a Calder Cup with him. He joined us on the trip, so it was a blast hanging out with him. And I think that pretty much wraps it up. Oh, no, Billy Sushi. Oh, that place.

I don't know how many people from Minnesota have been to Billy Sushi in downtown Minneapolis, but this guy who owns the place is an absolute character. He's an animal. And we had been there when the Blues and the Wild played at the Outdoor Classic when it was minus 30, I think 2021, January 1st, 2021. So we got a chance to go with Keith Ballard, and he's kind of like, yeah, this is where all the wild guy goes. I think do their end of the year party there we saw his back room originally when we went where he had an american flag like art exhibit on his wall that he had a

secret button that he pressed and he opened up there was like an ak-47 in there and then he ends up having an upstairs office with i i think he said, one of the largest collections of Japanese whiskey in North America. And I believe this guy. This guy was a machine. And then he's like, you got to see Billy's After Dark, too. So then we go down all the way to the basement. And he had a little speakeasy set up that was a completely different restaurant. I don't know if it was the same menu with the tombs pumping,

a nice little hangout. And so we just got stuffed with sushi. It was incredible. The food's phenomenal. We want to thank him for hooking it up. Yeah, and it was great seeing Feuts, hearing all his old stories. He's so dialed in, getting to shoot the shit with him at that last dinner we went to.

So it was a great weekend. Unfortunately, I wasn't there the whole time, but I had a blast the two nights I was present. And then two more thank yous quick. Jordan from the NCAA dialed us in all weekend. It's awesome how much the NCAA is willing to work with us and help us and get us into

these events. So that was so awesome and encouraging. And then Connor Mahoney, absolute legend, dialed us in for the box on Thursday, dialed the boys in on Saturday. So shout out to him. Oh, yeah, we got to watch the game in the comfort of a private box. We actually saw Billy Guerin was a few box over. He was rooting for BC, kind of giving it to wit about BU.

So it was good chumming it up. And once again, to Minnesota, you guys were an incredible host, and they don't fuck around. They stay in Minnesota nice, Harre. No, not at all. I was a little jelly I couldn't get out there, but I don't want to sound like Gurgis for two episodes in a row. Hello, everybody.

Welcome to the audience. But no, plus it would have been four weekends in a row, Trow and did want to do that because, boys, we are on the road once again this weekend back on Long Island. FDNY NYPD 50th annual game. Cannot wait. We're all going to be in the microphones there. Biz in the booth, Whit in the bar, between the benches.

Saturday, 4 p.m., barstool.tv. G, any other details of the folks you know? Well, yeah, R.A., just to correct you, I mean, it's a tough sledding here. So originally they had April 22nd, Monday, April 22nd, as the NHL playoff starting date. And a few months months based on the fact that they wanted to capitalize on the starting on a Saturday, April 20th,

they moved the playoffs up. And in the last day of the regular season, on the Thursday, there's six teams who are in playoffs in the West playing. So it seems as if though they're going to start a few teams in the East on the exact same day at the exact same time as we were supposed to do this NYPD FDNY broadcast. Obviously I can't be in two places at once. And this is a major, major dilemma.

And you know, after consulting with, with Dave and, and wit and our side and them being as, as gracious and nice as they are, they've kind of basically given me permission to, to miss it for the opening of Stanley Cup playoffs. And I'm gutted. It's been affecting me for a few weeks on having to eventually decide to be in the seat with TNT for the start of Stanley Cup playoffs. And it sucks.

I don't know what else to say other than I won't be at FDNY NYPD, a place where I had such a fucking blast last year for the 49th annual and getting to, uh, getting introduced to what the game means and, and, you know, the celebration of, of all the, the brave people and all the sacrifices they make in order to protect us. And, um, and now this is the 50th anniversary and I'm going to miss it. So I want to apologize to everybody. And it's going to suck. But I know that the guys who are going to be there are going to represent us well. And it's going to be a hell of a hockey game, much like it was last year.

And you guys are going to bring it home. And I hope that everybody... Well, you'll still be a part of the broadcast as well. You're not going to be completely barred from it. We're going to Skype you in, essentially, from Atlanta. We have some pregame interviews planned. Your face will be all over that broadcast. Chiklitz fans don't need to worry about that. You just won't physically be with us on Long Island.

Appreciate that. Yeah, I appreciate you making that clear. And TNT is going to make it easy to integrate that. I'll be doing it from TNT Studios in order to kick off the opening of the show. And I believe that starts at 345 Eastern time on barstool.com or wherever the links will be posted, whether it's on 15, four 15,

15, excuse me, a 45 minute pregame. So, um, I, yeah, so we'll figure out a way to,

to make it as good as possible. But once again, all those who are hoping to tune in, uh, I won't be there, but, we love you guys and appreciate you. Nonetheless.

Well said biz. Well said. I know there's some people may dispute regular seasons one better than the there, but we love you guys and appreciate you nonetheless. Well said, Biz. Well said. I know, Biz, some people may dispute regular seasons one better than the other, but I think we can all agree this is the best wildcard race ever. That's why we're going to come on later tonight, like we already mentioned. A lot of high drama going on, but we've got to talk about your boy, Austin Matthews. He hit the magic number, well, before number 70.

He's got two more cracks. He's given us the first 70-goal season in 31 years, back when Alexander Mogilny and Timou Solani each had 76. Regardless of how it goes out, right now there are only eight guys in the history of the NHL have scored more in a season than Auston Matthews, Gretzky, Brett Hull, Lemieux, Mogilny, Esposito, Solani, Curry, Nichols. So however it turns out, this is just one of the most epic seasons

ever for a goal scorer, Biz, in the last 20, 50 years. Fuck, man. Ten in his last eight games, and he just keeps... I thought it looked like it was over. That's what I'm saying, man. It looked like it was untouchable, and then he just goes on this late-season rip. I mean, that's why, man.

I'm so confused as to who the MVP is. I still think I have McKinnon out front, but any time the next game shows up, the next guy's doing something even more magical. So it's a good problem to have for us. But what Austin Matthews has done five on five and even strength as far as goal scoring, yet not sacrificing any part of his defensive game and what he does there. And the numbers back that up as well.

A marvelous performance. And forever and grave, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Toronto Maple Leafs of all time based on this performance. Guys, the greatest goal scorer who have ever lived by the time it's said and done, Ovi, he's never gotten 70 before. Austin Matthews is going to fucking do it this year, and he's going to do it tonight against the Florida Panthers. I know we're recording this Monday, but he's going to fucking do it

if Sheldon Keefe puts him out there enough on the ice. Because right now he said that it's a fucking distraction. He surely did the other day. Well, let's go into something different that pertains to the chase for 70. And yes, it has been. The craziest thing to me is he can score in so many different ways. Now he's got this one-timer off the faceoff kind of near the blue line. He's ripping that thing home. You've seen a couple goals from the corner where he slides it on the

ice. You know he can go near side or five-hole. He'll bank it in off a defenseman or the goalie. He's patented in the middle quick snapshot. It's just he's the greatest goal scorer that the league has right now, and he is on pace to somehow beat the Gretzky record, which will be the Ovi record. So you can't say enough amazing things about him. I can't wait to see him playing a Team USA jersey next year at the Four Nations. The issue at hand for Leafs fans is Sheldon Keefe. He's coming out. He's saying this is a distraction.

He's talking about this being a distraction biz what the hell is going on in leaf land he's flying around i think he wants a redo on that one i think he might want to think well hey you got to remember though he's probably being asked about it 10 times a day for the last 75 days no every day in your face in your face, in your face, it's like, I just don't want to talk about one individual on this team. I want to talk about the game at hand. I want to talk about what we're looking forward to, and I want to worry

about the Stanley Cup playoffs, in which we really know, if they don't get out of the first round, nobody's going to be talking about 70 goals. They're going to be talking about which superstar they should be shipping out of town in order to finally figure out the fucking answer on who's been overpaid and how the hell do we keep going in order to lift Lord Stanley? Because they haven't done it since fucking 67. So I understand what you're saying.

When I saw the clip, I'm like, oh no. Like we're at like 68, 69 here. And you're saying that like it's about to happen like why would you why would those words come out of your mouth but it's probably just this built up frustration of getting it asked over and over and over and over again but i'm not going to sit here and excuse the fact that he needs a redo on that answer once he breaks it in Florida on game 81. That's it. That's all I got.

I got nothing to defend with. Okay. Okay. What more do you want me to say? You're not trying to defend it. I thought you'd come out with some wild and hot take that it was a good thing that they're going to rally around the coach. So I got nothing now. It was just a major malfunction on Sheldon Keefe's part because if it's a guy

taking bad penalties, yeah if it's a guy taking bad penalties yeah that's a distraction we gotta end this but the guy is scoring goal after goal lifting your franchise to new heights in the regular season which they're amazing at doing on their own and all of a sudden we need this to end i need him to stop scoring i don't want to talk about it anymore he's taking a page out of my book and farming for engagement. He was probably just waiting for the comments to pop off. He's like, put this on your fucking... Put this

on your Instagram and Twitter feeds you bums. Will do. Will do, Commander-in-Chief. Look at the numbers for this segment. I mean, Phyllis obviously played here 100 years ago. First played a crack 70. He had four 60-plus goal seasons in a five-season span back in the 70s.

He led the NHL in goal scoring every year from 1970 through 1975. Six years in a row he led the league in scoring. One of the most explosive scores of his decade. I think the only other guy from the 70s who appears in the top 100 goals in a season is Mike Bossy. So, Phil, I just want to give a little shout-out to Phyllis Posito. The fact that Matthews

is more than likely going to finish third in MVP voting after getting 70 goals just tells you where the state of the National Hockey League is. And one of them is going to have 100 points or 100 assists, excuse me, and a guy with 100 points is going to be left off the ballot. And which guy is that, Witty? Your boy in Edmonton. Crazy.

We've entered the Galaxy Zone. You think McDavid won't be on the final three ballot? I know. Not if Matthews hits 70. Not a chance. Not after a slow start. Listen, buddy, none of those other guys had a slow start. And McDavid did.

It's Connor McDavid. It's the biggest face of the NHL, and I do not think he won't be on that ballot. People are going to think now we're farming for engagement. I think that 75% of hockey fans would have the ballot as Matthews, Kucherov, and McKinnon. Those three guys right there. Because you can't really make a case to keep either of those guys off.

Because you can't really make a case to keep either of those guys off. The Kucherov getting 100 assists is what would keep McDavid off. And I do feel bad that I didn't mention, when I went on that rant about what 100 assists means to me, I didn't mention Kucherov. How many assists did he have in a three game? He was at like 91 and all of a sudden, boom, he's at 98. So I apologize to Tampa Bay fans. I don't think it takes anything away.

I think it's still just so incredible that it happened with two guys in one year. But for him to do it as well with that many more points than McDavid, I guess that is what would leave him off because of the Matthews 70. Dive into it a little bit more. We bring Frank Severo. Yeah, it's never a valuealiant in a few minutes. But, boys, there's only four days left in the season, right? We're still waiting on seven series, three divisions,

two playoff spots, and a President's Trophy. Going down to the wire here, but we do have one series. We know that's going to go down, so might as well do the preview right now. Colorado versus Winnipeg, the only official playoff matchup as of today. The Jets swept the season series 3-0, outscored the Avs 17-4. I think it's obvious the Jets have a pretty big advantage in the pipes. Connor Hellebuck probably going to win the Vezda. The back out, Laurent Bressois, he had an unbelievable year.

Gorgiev's been tough lately. Colorado's been struggling a bit. I think they've got up 24 goals in their last four losses it's been. But if you remember, Biz, they similarly limped into the 22 playoffs. They went 1-5-1 in their last seven games. How'd that turn out? They ended up going 16-4, winning the Stanley Cup. I don't know, but the Jets, they've won six straight. Hellebuck, again, going to win the Vezda.

Biz, who do you have in the series and how many games? If you're an Avs fan, you better hope to God that history repeats itself in the backing into the playoffs and then having that success because I'm a little nervous for the Avalanche. Not only based on the way that they're playing, but also the way that Winnipeg's picked it up. After they went on that bit of a losing skit,

I think a lot of people were starting to write them off by not even considering them a contender. But now they've rattled off, what, six in a row? They look incredible. All lines are firing. And the one guy they got between the pipes, and that's the one goalie in this series that you can trust and a guy who is used to the type of workload that he has received by the time

the season's over he would have played 60 games I think that wit you can agree that's kind of like if you go back in time to when Patrick Waugh and Brodeur were playing 70 that's kind of like the new standard if you're going to be that number one goalie between 60 and 65 games but the one difference in goriev having the exact same amount of games played save percentage and goals against and right now hellebuck's got a 940 save percentage and a 2.3 goals 2.38 goals against average and he's used to doing it and from the games i've saw as of late goriev ends up getting pulled against them when he gets shelled and then they throw him back in against vegas everything was looking good and i like the move and trying to instill that confidence in goriev

after having that tough shelling and that tough outing well in that third period it seems like he imploded a little bit and wit i don't know if you fucking have seen his body language. That's the most concerning part. And what can happen is if you're a goalie and you're not used to playing that amount of games, it might not even be the physical element. It's the mental element. And every goal that he let in, he fucking had the, you know, shrugging the shoulders, rolling his eyes.

And I don't know if you watched that game against the Golden Knights that was on TNT, but I think the second one he should have, and that's when he kind of fucking really showed his true colors as far as the body. It looked like, here we go again. That was like the vibe he was giving off. So that's the concerning element. And going back to the last run, I feel like they scored their way out of trouble where they had that secondary scoring, and they had that second line with Kadri.

And if you want to talk goalies what's their next biggest issue listen middle stad's been solid since he's been here but he ain't that the answer for caudry even so much so where now they've bumped down and separated the two-headed monster with him and ratten they moved him down to the second line that tells me everything i need to know and maybe the lack of trust in that secondary scoring. So when going up against Winnipeg right now, man, what happens if they put that third line of Lowry on the top line of

Avalanche? Remember here, R.A., they got shelled in that game. They were playing for home ice. Fucking now they got to travel to Winnipeg, one of the toughest barns to play in with the white out. And if that third line from Winnipeg, in which they've been doing it all year,

they've been shutting down teams like crazy, if they end up sicking that line on that top line of McKinnon and whoever at this point, I would imagine if they want to get the max out of the offense, they've got to put Rantanen back up there. But if they go neutral and sustain that offense, buddy, look out. Because those other two lines that Winnipeg got, the one and two lines,

they could dummy guys. Well, Biz, that was impressive. And you left out even a couple things in that 3-0 this year, Winnipeg is against Colorado, outscoring them 17-4 in those three games. They dusted them 7-0, 6-2, 4-2 early in the year. Here's the thing. Colorado off the rush is out of control. They are a team that scores off the rush.

They create momentum off the rush. They have Makar. They have Taves. They have McKinnon. They have Rontanen. If they're able to get going off the rush, they're going to win this series. But if somehow it turns into a cycle game and it turns into a defensive battle I would not be surprised at all if Winnipeg won I think it's going seven games no matter what

I think Winnipeg having that home ice advantage is huge because that crowd is going to be electric we got the whiteout we got the crazy Canadian fans who their fandom has been called out this year people have been saying where are the jets fans well you'll see them now you'll see them next week or even this week maybe later this week and they have the ability with that third line okay so right now nita writer's been hurt but he should be ready to go so it's nita writer lowry and then appleton and buddy if they shut you down that gives those top two lines. Velarde's been incredible, all right? So Velarde, Kyle Conner, and Shifley,

that's a true number one line. Toffoli's made a huge impact. Monaghan's made a huge impact. That deadline that they had, even though Monaghan was a little bit before, those were the things they needed to address. Monaghan's made that power play much better. The power play still and the special teams, that's a big time win for Colorado. I think Colorado's 6PP and maybe 12PK. Winnipeg's

in the 20s in both. So a special teams game, that really is going to help out the Avalanche. My reason for picking Colorado is because of the star power. And I don't see the season that McKinnon's had, him bowing out in the first round, especially with what happened last year. They lose game seven on home ice to Seattle. And then he comes back with this effort this regular season, along with McCarr.

That's two players that Winnipeg cannot match up with, no matter what happens, the only chance they have is if Hellebuck plays the way he has been, then I won't be surprised. So me saying they have no chance, it's crazy considering I'm picking Game 7, which would be in Winnipeg, but maybe that'll help Colorado not being at home. Because Game 7 last year at home, it didn't go well. This is a different team. But that second-line center role you're talking about,

the crazy thing and the best thing about Kaju is how fucking nuts he is. That's playoff. That's toughness. That's being a prick. That's how you win in the playoffs. I think Middlestead has amazing skill. We haven't seen if he has any idea what's going on in the playoffs. And he could prove us all – He could make us all look stupid

considering we're doubting him as a playoff type player when he hasn't even had the chance to ever play in it. But we knew Kaji would be sticking guys behind the play. He'd be elbowing guys after the whistle. He'd be causing a ruckus, which is what you need to do in the playoffs. And Colorado really hasn't found it since. I think it's going to be a great series. Defensive side of the game, Colorado has a major advantage, I'd say, there. Up and down the lineup. Gerrard should be back. He's been out. But you got Manson.

You got Gerrard. Like I said, Taves and McCarr. Sean Walker can skate. He can move the puck. So the top six in Colorado are a lot better than the top six in Winnipeg. But I think 1-12 on the forward side, I think Winnipeg's got better forwards. I got Winnipeg up front. They don't have the superstars.

You banged it with the superstardom, but front to back, man, I trust the bottom six in Winnipeg way more. And Perfetti's been a healthy scratch. And to the point where, like I said, at home, if they're able to match up that third line against the top line and neutralize it, that, to me, might be the difference in the series. Like, let's go back to the regular series here. Look at the home record for the Colorado Avalanche.

39 and 1. So impressive. On the road, 19, 16, and 6. These guys haven't been that great on the road. And I think that the performance from McKinnon and everybody talking about the point streak at home has really taken a lot of focus off of how they played on the road. And I think that the performance from McKinnon and everybody talking about the point streak at home has really taken a lot of focus off of how they played on the road. But that's got to be a major

concern. And the goaltending position is so valuable come playoff time, Witt. I got Winnipeg winning this series in seven games and ruining an MVP season for Nathan McKinnon. Wow. What do you got, Witt? I got Colorado in seven because of McCarr and McKinnon. Wow. What do you got, Whit? I got Colorado in seven because of McCarr and McKinnon.

If Winnipeg wins this series, we're going to continue to be talking about Hellebuck. It'll be like, wow, everything he did in the regular season led right into playoffs and they got goalied. NCAA hockey is so different. It's one game, but you see what a hot goalie can do. And Hellebuck is the guy in the entire league right now that can carry a team to win a few rounds. And with the depth up front and the way they've turned it on late, Winnipeg is going to make this a hell of a series.

I can't wait to watch this series, but I just think the star power and what happened last year puts Colorado over the top. What was the other thing I had to mention about this? Well, I was going to say, David Carr already mentioned earlier in this podcast, sometimes losing can help you learn. And going back to last year and how Bonus had those comments for their team after the playoffs,

saying how they laid over and died, I could tell you one thing. If they don't win the series, it's going to be a way fucking better effort because they got bounced in five and they fucking rolled over and died and you won't see that this year from this group so it's going to be a fucking great series a great matchup a little disappointing how we talk about the two and three matchup and how it's going to take one good team out of it this is going to be the case and i got winnipeg in seven and and and on winnipeg in seventh. And on Winnipeg's defensive side,

I know I kind of dogged their D a little bit, but that bottom pairing of Logan Stanley and Dylan Sandberg, they're enormous. They're monsters. So granted, they don't have the best feet, but dude, if that's what I'm saying, if this is a rush series and Colorado is scoring off the rush, they're going to win.

If this turns into grind them out and cycle hockey, yeah, if Winnipeg wins, I wouldn't be surprised. And the Vegas line being Colorado's minus 130, that shows you, like, they know. Vegas knows. This is going to be, I think, a seven-game series with what I hope to be a classic game seven in Winnipeg. But I got Colorado.

I got Colorado. Yeah, I think it's going to be way closer than the season series. The Jets, they got 12 forwards and double-digit goal scorers. One defenseman in Morrissey. Obviously, Colorado got the explosives. That's what McKinnon ran in. But going to what you said, Biz, the goaltender,

man. Hellebuck's just been lights out all season. Probably going to win the Vesna. And what we've seen out of Georgia lately just hasn't been that impressive. I got Winnipeg in six myself. Wow. I wouldn't be surprised. On the road in Colorado. Yeah. I just think after what you mentioned after what happened last year,

people thought this team was dead in the water. Then they re-signed those two guys. Bonus got everybody re-fired up. They changed the captaincy, did all that stuff. I feel like they're a completely different team. And yeah, I think Winnipeg is going to advance. And it's funny. Go back to that 2018 team

that went to the Western Conference Finals. There's only six guys remaining from that team. That was only six years ago. So, yeah. That's a long time in the NHL. It is. But, you know, it's indicative that, you know, I mean, those guys are still there. They had that taste, I guess, a few years ago.

But, gee, what do you have in this series, buddy? I got abs in six. I hate going last because, you guys, I'm so easily convinced. Oh, you're telling me. I'm listening to Biz. I'm like, I'm going to go Winnipeg. I'm listening to Witt. I'm like, oh, I'm going last because, you guys, I'm so easily convinced. Oh, you're telling me. I'm listening to Biz. I'm like, I'm going to go Winnipeg. I'm listening to Witt. I'm like, oh, I'm going to go Colorado.

But originally, I had abs in six. I think McKinnon's playing the best hockey of his career. He's a man on the mission. Winnipeg's got the better goalie, but I think Colorado's top six in defensemen are just over mass anything else Winnipeg has. So I got abs in six on home ice. All right, before we go any further, here's a few words from our friends over at Labatt. Whether you're at beer league or just watching some hockey

with the squad, you cannot find a better beer than a fresh Labatt Blue Light. Lots of things go better together, of course. Hockey, food with friends, golf, lots of stuff. But if you really want to take things to the next level, drink some Labatt Blue Lights with your friends and live life to the power of we. I can't stop thinking back to September. Me and Grinnelli up there, Buffalo, the Chicklets Cup, endless Labatts all weekend, whether they were Blue Lights, regular Labatts. Everybody was slurping them down. Great stuff.

And I'm sure Sabres Mafia's got a few of them tucked away. Tough season this year, which means you don't want some of those Blue Lights tucked away. But with the way things have gone for them, I'm sure they'll have a few this offseason as well. Hopefully things turn better for the good folks at Buffalo. But in the meantime, remember, take a page out of the Labatt Blue Light book and enjoy your biz together.

You can live life to the power of we. Find Labatt Blue Light at labattusa.com slash finder. Alright, I don't know if this is a chicklets bump, but did you see they're going to do a staggered schedule for playoff starts biz this year? I think everybody under the sun has been asking for staggered starts.

And we got it. Sure, we did it. Are they just doing like 7, 720, 740? Is it just 20 minutes, 15 minutes, or even more? It was like one game was not 7, then one at 730. In other words, they're not starting, at least in the first round, games were at the same time, which is all we asked for. We don't want all games going to the break at the same time.

That doesn't help anybody. Forget if they both go into overtime at the same time. I just love it. Intermission, throwing on the other one. It's more about not having to take a break. Sorry, Biz. I know you're the intermission report guy, but you're just flipping around game to game.

You don't have to have that 15, 17-minute wait. I would be changing the channel if I was on television, too. I'd be changing the channel if I was on television, too. Also, we're going to have a new playoff schedule. Gee, why don't you let the folks know what our playoff schedule is going forward here, buddy? Yeah, awesome. Awesome playoff schedule idea this year. We'll have new shows on Monday, Wednesday,

and then Game Notes will be on Friday. Here's the kicker. Wednesday will be recorded live at noon. So it's going to be a live show just like the unnamed show, just like Game Notes is where there will be a chat. We'll be interactive. And it's something we haven't done before, but we think it'll be a nice touch.

And Monday, Wednesday, Friday, for the first couple rounds of the playoffs, what's better than that? We'll also mix in some live streams like we've done in the past where we're all remote. We're bringing in celebrities and guests and all that. We're excited for the playoffs. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, mixing some streams.

You got biz on TNT every night. You can't beat it. And for everyone who could be just panicking for a minute, that Wednesday live show will be up as a podcast pretty quick so immediately sunday sunday night we're going to be recording late um we'll have that ready for you monday morning wednesday noon eastern 10 o'clock um in edmonton nine o'clock out in la and then you can if you can't watch live boom pod's going to be up right away so you just won't

have it wednesday morning but i think us being live will be pretty cool and then friday game notes so good so. So the viewing experience on the Wednesday on the YouTube, can they get in the chat much like Game Notes? Is that going to be a thing as well? So that's not really something we've given enough access to from our

fan base perspective. Sometimes we do them during the live streams, but this will be a new type of engagement. So if you are around and you can experience the live viewing, you can get involved. Yeah, Singzy's going to be leading the charge there. Singzy leans the game notes chat. He's going to be leading the Chicklets chat.

So Chicklets live every Wednesday at noon. I think it's going to be an awesome touch. We'll have some surprise guests. We'll have some actual guests. It's going to be fun, and we want to hear from you guys. I think it's good to get the people in the chat, good ideas, good topics, picks, everything. Absolutely, man.

I can't wait. Boys, obviously, there's other huge news this week. Your Coyotes business is going 660 miles north to Utah. We brought on the great journalist Frank Cervalli to dig into this. So, boys, should we send it over to Frankie right about now? Yeah. Before we do, I'll just say we do talk about it in the midst of the interview. I'm just thinking of all the amazing people that I got to work with,

not only on the hockey side, but then transitioning into media. I was blessed to play and work with the Arizona Coyotes organization. And it's a shame with, you know, some people are going to end up losing their job. And, you know, it's a special place in my heart. I'm thinking of all of you right now, and not only just the people and potentially losing their jobs, like the communities that they've built and all the grassroots programs as well. And, I mean, you could talk to Austin Matthews and Matthew Nyes,

like, you know, are these guys even in the NHL if the hockey hadn't been to the desert? And as far as Matthews is concerned, he's one of the best players on the planet, right? So hockey belongs in the desert. They haven't been able to figure it out yet, but I know that it's going to be back with great ownership at some point, and I look forward to that day, and I look forward to seeing all the amazing fans

that supported this team through some of the most tumultuous times, and regardless of whether where we were at, they kept showing up to games and supporting us um you guys will deserve to get your hockey team back with solid ownership and and a winning team so i love you guys thinking about you and uh thank you for everything that you guys ever provided to my life i'm not where i am if it's not for the the phoenix and arizona coyotes so i love you guys well. And now we're going to send a little bit of Frank.

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Connecticut and New York. For up-to-date list of states, visit dkng.co slash pick 6 states. Void where prohibited. See terms at pick6.draftkings.com slash promos. Well, it's great to welcome back this intrepid reporter who stays on top of everything in the NHL

over at DailyFaceoff.com. And he's going to help us wade through this crazy Coyotes to Utah story that's left head spinning all over the league. Thanks a bunch for joining us on the Spittin' Chicklets podcast. Frank, Sarah Valli, what's up, pal? How you been? Good to be back with you guys. What's going on? Always a pleasure. Oh, you know,

Coyotes are leaving. Oh oh you know coyotes are you know biz's team just falling apart at the seams yeah he's living in a non-nhl market yeah yeah the only team that would have gave my ass a chance and i love him to death for it uh they're leaving town buddy so we need the the whole story you've been you've been following this right from the beginning and you've been very open and honest about it and, quite frankly, called out maybe some of the lies and bullshit that's been spewed from, I don't point to and say the NHL has been steadfast in its belief and value of importance that it's placed on having a team in Arizona. So a lot of people go back to the bankruptcy court, all that stuff that happened 15 years ago.

People still had PTSD from that. And so people were saying, wake me up when something actually happens. And for the last six to eight weeks, I've sort of been saying as loud as I can, hey, something's happening here. You should pay attention. And I got smashed by Coyotes fans, and that's okay. I understand the spot that they're in. They don't want to lose their team. I feel bad for them. I mean, you consider the spot that that fan base has been in, multiple owners, not a lot to root for in terms of success on the ice, and no permanent arena. This has been dangling over that fan base for a long time. I hate to be the bearer of bad news. It's just things are happening behind the

scenes. I was under the impression when they lost the original bid, Tempe, correct? That was when, to me, it was like, oh, I think this is dead. But through their ways of kind of getting their messages out, the way they did it, which I think a lot of people felt kind of unprofessional, it seemed like it was completely alive again. Was that all smoke and mirrors? Or did they actually believe, you think, deep down that it was going to work out just at the next land auction they were heading to? No, I think they believed it was going to work out.

And I think more than that, they were ready to do it. Here's the thing. They still actually, and when I say they, I mean Alex Maruello, he believes that he can get this done, which is why he's going to continue to try, logo, all that stuff so that if he can get an arena built, which some would still be betting against him doing, and I think is a lot more difficult to do without an ironclad franchise agreement, he still believes that that's the case. So, I mean, you've seen the statements, you've seen the videos, you've seen the tweets. They've been all over this saying Arizona forever. I know that's music to business ears, but I'm a personal believer in the market. I know hockey can work there. for two decades now. And when that happens, when you're in the wrong arena in Glendale,

when you are, how you have the wrong owner signing his name to checks, um, that becomes really difficult. When you say that, are you basing on the fact that it's going to be maybe hard for these guys to get it done based on the relationships that they've established or lack thereof since they've been in Arizona?

Like you just made a comment, like if they're signing the checks them specifically, is that what you meant? Yeah. I think more so just in terms of put yourself, you guys with all your different ventures, you guys are businessmen. You understand this when I say it, it's really hard to dig in your pocket and spend more than a billion dollars, which is what it's going to cost to develop that land, build the entertainment district, do all of that with a guarantee that some would say, depending on the legal language that comes out of this week, could be flimsy. Would you spend a billion dollars if you had a 75% chance of getting an NHL team, or would you want it to be 100%?

So the NHL is going to put in terms and conditions here and thresholds that Alex Maruello is going to have to hit over the next five years. You've got to build the arena. This, this, and this need to be in place. You've got to play nice, all those things. That all needs to line up perfectly for him to get a team back in Arizona. And if not, I don't have any doubt that at one point in the near future, there will be an NHL franchise in Arizona. It's a question of when, and it's a question of who's going to own it.

Frank, is there a part of the league that's trying to run out the clock? Maybe like they got to give them the five years, but maybe secretly the hope, and it just doesn't pan out and somebody else pops up to maybe be a new owner there. I think that's a fair question because a lot of people have been asking including coyotes fans who have you know they're pulling their hair out with these last couple

weeks and how it's unfolded they feel like they've had the wool pulled over their eyes the question has been if the nhl has worked so hard to get out from under this guy, why would they then, in a five-year period of time, jump back in bed with him? I don't know the answer. My guess would be that this was a machination in order to make this happen, that they had to, without a firm, concrete date, that that new arena would be open. They had to make some difficult choices and decisions. And they probably had to pay Alex Mara Wello a billion dollars, which is more than they probably wanted to in order to make this happen. So what happens from here, there's going

to be a ton of negative press. There's going to be a ton of negative energy that exists in that market with anything that Alex Maruello is connected to. That's just my guess and opinion based on how things have unfolded to this point. And then we'll see, can he make it happen in a five-year period of time? And what happens if the clock runs out? So we had Craig Morgan on from GoPHNX, and it seemed to be that he was almost kind of a mouthpiece, and I hate to kind of say that, but he had come on our show and said all these things, and about 24 hours later, they were all proved to be kind of not true. And I know that your daily face-off and you and Gregor's show has become very, very well-respected

because you guys are opinionated and you deal with kind of the blowback. The whole time you were reporting out there, that was one of the outlets that was kind of coming at you. So you're sitting there saying, listen, I'm getting info I trust. I'm sorry to tell you, but it goes completely against what you're hearing. Pretty much.

I mean, that's the basis of their... Look, I would never disparage Craig or P phnx i think those guys have invested a ton uh craig is a great guy that obviously works hard in what he does and and has become a trusted voice for coyotes fans for the you know the last while that he's uh been on the beat and so you know we just sometimes you get different information than someone else and people kind of present it on social media as almost like, hey, this guy's going at this guy. And it's not really the case at all. It's just he's getting his information from one side. I'm getting it from another. You try and take those two things and smash it together so that you have the most

complete picture of information. But this has been a really difficult story because at the same exact time, the NHL is trying to keep this quiet. They're trying to keep the information in-house because their biggest thing is getting this over the finish line. And at times, Alex Maruello has been combative. When Gary Bettman first went to him six weeks ago and presented this conversation, I believe, and sources indicated, he was told no, that he's not going to sell the franchise. He's not going to give in. And I think it took another separate visit by the commissioner and Bill Daley to, you know, step up and say, really what, like,

what's it going to take for us to make something happen? We need to have this franchise moving in the right direction. And, you know, it's, it's been a challenge language wise, legally, financially,

there's been a lot of different facets and layers to this. That's made it a complicated story. He woke up with a coyote's head in his bed, Biz. Howler. Or Howler. Katoom. Howlers, yeah. So obviously they had been working behind the scenes, and I felt like they were at least going to get to June.

So things were kind of speeding up. Does it have a lot to do with maybe the the players and the agents calling saying like what the fuck is going on here and like this is just not realistic long term like is that what finally sped it up or was it more from a financial perspective from the league like obviously money talks i don't even know if it was necessarily financial i think the biggest thing was a concrete, firm answer of when can you guarantee me that we will have shovels and steel in the ground on a new arena? I mean, it's one thing to win the June 27th land auction, which they still may do, but there's infrastructure issues. There are potential legal roadblocks. What if the Scottsdale

mayor, for instance, who came out barking against this last week, what happens if he wants to sue the Coyotes or sue the Arizona State Land Trust? What happens if some public interest group comes out of the woodwork against this? It all slows it down. And so the Coyotes and the NHL needed a firm answer. Hey, we are building on X date. And there was, even if everything went perfectly, there were no hiccups, no issues. The funding is all there. The land auction is one.

We're looking at an October 2027 puck drop in a new arena. That's a long way off and a bunch more years to add into Mullet Arena, which is a great atmosphere if you're there, but from a league revenue generation standpoint, it's not working. One of the things, though, I will say, you mentioned the players

that I found really interesting in some of the reporting, and perhaps maybe, again, we're just talking to different people, but I've seen various reports that say that Coyotes players are disappointed to be leaving Arizona. I think maybe the sun and what a beautiful place to live, maybe that's part of it. But I can just tell you, I talked to one player over the weekend who pushed back against that notion specifically and said, who in their right mind is sad to leave?

specifically and said who in their right mind is is sad to leave we've got the worst plane we've got the worst hotels the worst food our staff has the worst budget we can't get anything done that we want to we feel like we're playing in a league other than the NHL how do we find a way to you know just have different vibes different energy different everything and I think Ryan Smith in Salt Lake City is going to answer all those questions. Yeah. So I've heard Ryan Smith's already reached out and like taking care of people, like just first class.

Um, that's the other side. And you know, I've never, I've never had any personal issues myself. And I said this on the last podcast with the Morelos, like they've always been kind to me, but I've also always been able to provide them something. So I can't speak to some other people. They better be keeping you happy.

Well, but in the same breath, I hear stories like hotel bills aren't being paid. Like people are being asked to have their salaries cut by a certain portion, but meanwhile, they're getting a check stroke to them for what, five, $600 million profit. So how much do you believe in all these stories that you've heard behind the scenes has to do with that they probably won't be able

to get something done based on these relationships that i mentioned earlier like a lot of people don't have positive experiences with them what are some stories that you've heard like the hotel thing is that true like did you hear about that? I believe it to be true. Yes. Multiple sources indicated that at some point this season, the Coyotes had not paid hotel bills from their stays on the road. And look, I always say the NHL is the world's smallest $6 billion industry. Everyone knows everyone. And that includes, there's only a certain number of hotels that teams stay in around the league. They all talk to each other. And when you don't pay your bills, my understanding is what they ended up doing is banding together and saying, Hey, if you want to stay with us in the future, fine, no issues, but you're going to have to

present a check on, on check-in basically to pay your bill in full before you even get access to the rooms because we're not going to chase you for the money after the fact, whether it takes six months, a year, whatever kind of discount the Coyotes wanted to self-apply to some of their bills, which Katie Strang from The Athletic had reported earlier. You get a bill in the mail and all of a sudden they cross out the number and and pay you 20 less i mean getting 80 of what the cost of something was like that's not an appropriate way to do business and i i'm told that the league had stepped in regarding this hotel issue um at some point this season and said hey nip this in the bud get you know make sure you you pay all

your bills well there you go and there was a lot of people that were having to constantly like put these fires out who have worked for the team and like people that I love and trust slowly they're, they're leaving. And then the ones that are even still there maybe aren't being taken care of the way that they should be. And it's like, from an emotional aspect, it's like, what the fuck is going on here? And the more you dig into it, like you've been saying, it's like, it seems to be the case where a lot of places around town are experiencing exactly what those hotels were it just wasn't what just wasn't what the hotels so this reputation is ultimately going to lead to this not getting done by this ownership group in town because who the fuck would trust

them if all these things that are being said to you to me to other people like people like you said that we're they're talking so how to mention not to mention biz and frank like every single step along the way they just like fell over their own feet it's like look at the twitter account it's it's just so unprofessional on so many different levels where you can't just look at one thing that was a minor screw-up. It's like every asset and every facet of the entire team, you're like, what are you doing? So at some point, I totally see what a player told you. Like, I just don't feel like I'm in the NHL.

I've worked my whole life. I'm here. It doesn't feel like what everyone around the league is telling me that they experience. one around the league's telling me that they experience and it's it's unbelievable at times to even watch some of the things happen that happened just something as simple as the statement that they sent out over the weekend in all caps that suddenly became a meme going around the nhl they left the cursor up on the statement on the screenshot. Like people, I saw one, you know, someone had, you know, crossed all that stuff out and wrote a hilarious, you know, parody of the statement.

And I sent it to some people just, you know, for fun around the league. And they replied back. They probably didn't even think it was a joke. No, but they replied back, dude, you're missing the cursor. So, I mean, just something as simple as sending out a statement. and i think maybe the most

disappointing you know some of the stories i bet are tall tales at times and i bet some of it is bullshit but when you have enough things pile up and i think maybe the most disappointing thing is that as this is going on and you know i'm out here breaking the news that this is happening and players on the team are calling me last week, they're all sitting around watching Twitter and they want to know what's happening. Step up and be honest. Be a steward for these players, for this team, and just have an honest conversation. I'm not going to give them props, but Bill Armstrong flying from Arizona to Edmonton to address the team, fine.

But guess what? This isn't Bill Armstrong's mess. Yeah, exactly. He's done as good as he could do, I think. He's being kept in the dark, I believe, as much as anyone else throughout this process. He doesn't have any inside info, but guess what? His players are twisting in the wind. His coach is out here trying to defend them. They go out last week and have two massive wins against playoff bound teams

in Western Canada. And meanwhile, everyone else is like, hey, what's happening here? And this guy's about to pocket a couple hundred million bucks off of just absolute incompetent ownership. And that's a great way to put it. And I just feel so bad for the fans. And Benz has mentioned that because the fan base gets shit on a little bit, but there are diehard hockey fans out there who've been with the team a long time. And the hardest thing is they're looking as good in the future as they ever have right now. So it's like, oh, my God, we're finally kind that's what it's going to end up being. Do you think he kind of switched his opinion on it when he looked into the, to the actual hockey side and, and kind of who was coming up within this organization? I can't begin to know

what his thinking is. My guess is that based on his statement and how he stated, you know, back in February or January that he was ready for an NHL team now that look, if someone's giving you a seat at the table, you take it no matter what, however it's offered to you. And so that's probably a big part of it, but I couldn't agree with you more. I think this team it's way better to get the coyotes with way, the way they've built then to get an expansion team and have to start from scratch because all of the things that Arizona's already assembled, Cooley, Gunther, the picks, the, the prospects that are playing in Tucson, like all of that stuff, you know, transferring over is, is such a leg up.

Plus, you have the same benefit of being an expansion team and having all of the cap flexibility that you could possibly want. I think it's a grand slam upper deck home run to get the Coyotes as opposed to going out and trying to start over. The other thing is they're going to do it the right way. You're going to rebrand. You're going to have a new image way. You're going to rebrand. You're going to have a new image, new logo, new team name. And I think all that's important, not just

because that identity stays in the desert, but there's been such a toxic link. That team has been kicked time after time. And that's gone. You can sort of wipe the slate and start clean now. It's not going to be the Utah Coyotes. It's going to be Utah whatever, and I think that's important too. The Soakers. The Salt Lake City Soakers? I think the Army's on that one.

I love that. I think he wants a little percentage of jersey sales too. We could get a little, we could get a Pink Whitney. Yeah. I don't even know if they'll be drinking pink Whitney out there. Oh, yeah. We're going to have to make it malt.

Yeah. Non-alcoholic pink Whitney. Frank, where's the NHLPA on this? I don't know if they've made a statement. What's your take on where they stand on it? Obviously, they're limiting what they can do, but they can't be too happy. I heard they were being ignored at a certain point, weren't they? They were just trying to get answers.

Been completely blocked out of the process. I don't think the Coyotes were too happy with Marty Walsh and what he said at the all-star break. And frankly, going back to that all-star break, if everyone wants to try and unravel this thread of how we got to this point, that to me is the answer because Gary Bettman, as many press conferences as I've seen, as many conversations as I've had with him, I've never seen him stumble

and I've never seen him pause when asked about the health of a franchise like he did at that press conference. He was not definitive. He didn't seem to express much faith in Arizona's ownership. And it was at that exact moment in time that I thought to myself, this team's in big trouble in the desert because the second that happens publicly, you know that things are being said behind the scenes that are way worse than that. And I think that trust had eroded to the point where they felt like they had to step up and do something fuck that's got to be a hard job eh that gary having to fucking deal with all that shit behind the scenes and then like deliver it on air like

that when getting grilled by all the interviews that's a tough gig i'll tell you what though this is a i truly believe this a win win win oh sure. It's a win for the league to get a franchise in the hands of Ryan Smith. It's a win for the league to get into a new market that, of the 413 metropolitan areas in the U.S., Salt Lake City is the fourth fastest growing. It's a win for Alex Morello because we just talked about the money that he's getting. I believe he bought the team for 300 million bucks and to fall into, yeah, there's cash calls.

He's been writing big checks. There's been a debt service. There's been a lot of things that he's carried, but he's definitely walking away with cash after this is all said and done in five years of ownership. And I also believe that this is a win for Coyotes fans. I know that's going to sound batshit crazy when I say it, but my guarantee is that when the NHL comes back, which you know it will, that franchise is going to be playing in a gleaming palace and they're going to have proper ownership one way or the other. And when that happens, you're going to watch that team take off like a rocket ship. And I'm from the outside, but I just I cannot see that happening with Morello.

I can't. I just how is how is somebody going to change that much within a five year span in terms of like, you're all right, let's go. We're coming on back and we got the same guy running the show. So I hope it happens. And I hope it's somebody else there to really kind of bring that franchise forward. Because that would make more sense to me. I feel like I have a better chance getting down to my high school weight in five years than that.

But we'll see. A little off topic. Unless, Biz, you had something else. No. When I said tough gig for Gary, I wasn't like chirping. I thought he did an excellent job of presenting them an offer where they could basically get them out of the fucking way. I don't think it ever comes to evolution with the Morellos.

And then once that five years up, they'll find a proper owner that's going to be like a Ryan Smith or the way that some of these other teams are ran where it's first class. It's about the people. It's about the fucking people and all the people that were there who like even during tumultuous times were still fucking grinding it out and doing an unbelievable job for all that period of time and then for it to end like this when they probably thought this was maybe at the beginning their best opportunity of actually at working it comes to

this that's who i feel terrible for i've been texting with tyson nash and all the other members of the team like and when during the whole process like i wasn't really digging because i didn't want to be the guy to keep asking them all this information i was just hoping it worked out and since reaching out it's just very disappointing to hear that the way that it that everybody was being treated and the way that it was going about it's it's gross it sucks and it's people that i love and care about because i'm forever grateful at the fact that i even got to play in the league like i i you know the league owes me nothing like the fact that i got to play five and

a half years i'm so blessed and to get to experience there with all those amazing people like to see them being treated like this it doesn't sit well with me but thank you for like you've came on and hit it out of the park with all the stuff that like you, you, you've been covering this since the beginning and you've nailed it. Yeah. And look, I I'm not, there's no credit. Um, I, I honestly, there are times when you have a story like this, there's no part of you that feels good about reporting what you're doing, but I think people at the same time also deserve to know what's happening behind the scenes. And so much as I can get my hands on it and get the truth, that's what I'm going to do. And by the way, just one little quick side note, you mentioned someone else like Ryan

Smith at some point. Again, I don't know how this is all going to play out. I don't have a crystal ball, but keep an eye on Phoenix Suns owner Matt Ishbia. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kind of opportunity at some point with the Suns owner Matt Ishbia I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kind of opportunity at some point with the Suns eventually needing a new arena that there's some kind of joint venture that happens in the future wow the last the last thing I'll say on it is at the beginning of players first finding out they were traded on Twitter players were like what the fuck and it's moved on to where you you understand that's just how you're going to find out but i don't think anyone ever pictured finding out a team was going to be

moving on twitter right like that's one thing you'd be like oh we might be told that prior so it just seems the technology and and the change and how how often things get out has changed that much but in changing subjects for you about 10 games into the season i said this 30 games into the season 50 into this season the flyers are finally into the season, I said this 30 games into the season, 50 into this season, the flyers are finally going to fall apart. I said, this is going to end.

And I was wrong for so long. Do you think it ended up falling apart because of the roster? Or do you think when torts scratched Couturier and kind of the rest of the noise that was around off the ice, do you think that led more to the collapse at the end here? I think it was a bunch of those things at once. I think they had a depleted blue line with injuries that then traded Sean Walker. And I do think the success and run that they had been on Carter Hart gone. Sam Erson was asked to carry the ball for a long time. That was a heavy load for him. That hurt.

And then I'll be honest. I thought that in talking to players on that team, that they were really frustrated with what happened to Sean Couturier related to John Tortorella and the healthy scratch. It's more than coincidence to me that this team that always found big ways to bounce back all year, never had an extended downturn like that until something like that happened. And look, the coach is well within his right to do that. Um, and he, Sean Couturier probably would be the first to tell you that he needed to play better, but at the same time, with all those

other things that happened with Couturier missing, you know, a long time, almost two calendar years, all that added up. And I just felt like watching that team closely, could Sean Couturier have played better? The answer is yes. Could John Tortorella have picked another player on that roster that he had to pull out of the lineup the answer is also yes so he didn't he decided to make the big statement and it wasn't so much just that but how about a game against the honors a couple weeks ago where they score with nine seconds left or whatever and after the game he calls his team soft like they didn't quit the entire game and he says they're soft. I just think it's one thing after the other after the other that just absolutely grinds you down.

Was Torts part of the crew who named him captain, or would that just have been Breer and Jonesy? Well, he's kind of part of the management group. That's what I'm wondering. I'd say on the short list of coaches that have like serious power and control in the nhl it is rod brindamore mike sullivan john tortorella coop maybe coop but i don't know julian brisebois doesn't strike me as he strikes me as pretty headstrong he seems pretty cutthroat i think that's it's a real he seems like an assassin

to be honest like when i see him i go i shake his hand i'm like oh my god i feel like this guy could kill me yeah i've got scary motherfucker so i would say john tortorella is in that group and i was told at the time that it was actually his idea he was the one who came to them and said you know what i think it's time. Maybe that's true. Maybe it's not. That's what I was told. Scratch him a month later.

34 days. Yeah, I felt like at the end he kind of got in his own way and rode the horses a little too hard where it was like, he was like, wouldn't answer who the, what did you say? He wouldn't answer who the goalie was. And then all of a sudden he was like apologizing to the media the next day. It felt like every day there was a torts clip coming out that's why i said this has been the most entertaining regular season like this guy's been a fucking stand-up comedian the entire time that's not why well that's part i'm

saying that's a little sprinkle on top yeah that's fair and look he is tremendously entertaining and you do get a ton of insightful answers but i agree with you and i think your assessment is bang on that he is his own worst enemy who's your mvp that's been the probably the biggest topic going right now man you're not going to like this answer based on your tweets i i think right now i'm leaning towards nikita kucherov okay oh okay yeah the gap between kucherov and the rest of his teammates is so significant. Every time Nathan McKinnon has done something ridiculous, Kucherov answers with a three or four point game.

Well, wait a minute. McKinnon's on the West Coast, so McKinnon's the one answering. I'm out here. Maybe not. I mean, you do realize that they don't always play the same day. I know. I'm just talking with you. What's next?

Are you going to tell me that the earth is flat? No. I'm going to ask you what pastrami is. What's pastrami? Oh, shit. So, like, what other factors do you have other than that gap, right? So, I think the gap was used kind of the year that Halsey won it, when he was with New Jersey, right?

Like, what other factors do you feel like way into? Like some people would say a bit of a power play merchant, although we had a pretty – we had one of his teammates reach out to Witt. Oh, he can say. Stammer don't care. Stammer wrote me a message. He goes, fucking show biz this. I think they have 30 more power plays with the Avalanche

than they have for Tampa Bay. So he's saying they're getting more power play. So he's getting more opportunities where Cooch is coming more in the clutch on the power play. Some people would use empty net points against them. Yep. He's actually set a record, I believe, in the salary cap era for empty net points. There's a million ways you could pick this apart. One of the big things that I've been leaning on is point

production against the best teams in the league. So against the top 10 teams in the league, Kucherov is averaging over two points a game. Wow. The numbers for McKinnon and obviously Panarin and McDavid and these other guys, they're all healthy, but some more of their point production meaning averaging more than two points a game is coming against teams 24 to 32 in the bottom feeder merchants we're gonna call them i guess i mean you're calling the cannon a bottom feed a merchant that's not what i'm saying what i'm saying is quote it hold on what i'm saying is that it's you can make up whatever you want to support or diss someone's case. And it's going to come down to each individual voter to find and place the importance where they want. I will say one thing about McKinnon is fascinating.

Myself included, I'm so drawn to the way that he plays oh yeah the style of just basically bullying everyone in the league over but i feel like because he does that and kucherov does it in an obviously way different way that people want to just anoint mckinnon because of that do he gets extra style well i mean he is he is like three points behind russian and m McKinnon because of that. He gets extra style points. He is like three points behind him. Him being Russian and McKinnon being Canadian matters too. 100% it matters. And there's some, I think, bullshit narrative that existed even before the season started.

And I hate that any media member even says it like, oh, it's just Nate's turn. That's not how it works. That's kind of how the Oscars work. To be fair, that's just Nate's turn. That's not how it works. That's kind of how it works. To be fair, that's why I declined the vote. You asked me if I wanted to vote. I said, no. I said, I don't trust myself.

I do it too much based on emotion. I just thought you said no because you were minus 10 and the no ball's open. No, he doesn't want to get the hate from the other fan bases. He can't stand the heat, the other fan bases he can't stand the heat dude listen hey I don't take myself that seriously I think

Witt's more the high intellect of the podcast so he can do all the voting oh yeah I'm a real Rhodes Scholar well you went to university I went to fucking Davenport I was doing it in a fucking portable we both have the same degree which isn't one we all know it's RA that's the Mensa member here oh yeah

Frank I do want to go back to the coyotes for a second but I just want to quickly go I agree, which isn't one. We all know it's R.A. that's the Mensa member here. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Frank, I do want to go back to the Coyotes for a second. But I just want to quickly go, can I hop in? All right. But also, you have to factor in McKinnon plays center, so there's more responsibility defensively. So there's other factors than just the eye test, the me saying, oh, it's just his turn.

Obviously, him playing physical where he actually throws the body, I like my hockey in that regard where I view that and that intimidation as a valuable asset. So I factor all those things as intangibles. Right? Am I crazy here? No, but feel free to shit on me. Do you agree with my premise that he receives extra style points

from people specifically on social media when he scores a certain way? Yes. Yeah. I like, I like watching him play a little bit more, but that's also based on those intangibles that I think weigh into the voting process, like playing physical, bullying them. It's like, well, he's getting in on the forecheck. Like he's being his own puck hound in a certain sense. And, you know, where maybe I'm not saying Kucherov doesn't do that.

There's other things that he provides that are more valuable than what McKinnon does, but based on the entire scale and also watching and the eye test and the fact he's only three points off of him and you're saying, how many empty net points does Kucherov have? He had 14 last time I checked. So if you take the empty net points away from both guys and McKinnon's also leading in scoring and also playing in a conference that I,

I view to be more difficult. Like I think we could have picked what six Stanley cup winners out of the West. Maybe people don't take Vancouver as seriously now with Demko's health and jeopardy. If you put Winnipeg back in the mix, there's five cup contenders that they're playing more games against. So that's kind of just the whole realm of how I was,

I was viewing it. And so how do you then reason with exactly what i was saying about kucherov being north of two points per game against the top 10 teams well that well but but that's also when you said that i'm like okay like that's that's why on the broadcast i had mckinnon ahead by a lot maybe a couple weeks ago where all these other things are being thrown at me where i'm like fuck man with matth with Matthew scoring 50 even-strength goals, I'm like, to me, it's a three-way tie. You fucking guys figure it out. Like, it's just remarkable what each individual is doing.

Scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in the NHL. And doing it five-on-five in today's era is extremely difficult. He did it 50 fucking times. And he's more above the next guy in goals. Um, there's more like of a distance. It hasn't happened that long in like 24 years. So we're talking decades worth of records being broken. I think the last time someone scored 50 even strength goals, it was team Mussolini in 92. So much like this hundred assisting that Kucherov and McDavid are going to do, other people are doing things in other areas as to why I'm like well that deserves the MVP

and I also think that I don't know if I think that there could be a chance if Matthews isn't in the lineup for the Leafs that they maybe don't make playoffs like I think that that's a strong possibility just like I think Kuch whereas I mean what about Panarin we could check Leafs off check Check the Leafs box. I'll tell you, the problem this year is not only are a couple guys getting fucked when they announce the winner, there's guys getting hosed when they announce the finalists. So it's like it's been a season unlike any other I can remember for MVP.

And we didn't even mention Sid. And we haven't even mentioned Sid. And we haven't mentioned Sid. Wait a sec. Guys, could you imagine getting Biz a ballot, though? And he just writes, like, ah, it's a tie and then sends, like, shrug emoji. That's it. That's what I would have done.

Sends it into the old NHL. I saved you the money in postage. There you go. I wonder sometimes, and this is not a shot at any fan out there who loves the NHL and loves hockey, but if you didn't play hockey, watching McKinnon, it's out of your seat. It's end-to-end rushes.

It's being a bull, as you mentioned, Frank. Kucherov more, he does these little things. It's little ways he accept passes, little ways he gets it off the wall that maybe to the naked eye who didn't play the game, they don't necessarily see as much as the McKinnon masterpiece of just end-to-end rushes. So that could be one thing when you talk about the online love for McKinnon opposed to Kucherov, just kind of thinking out loud. He does these little magnificent plays that you don't even see

until the replay sometimes. McKinnon, you see, boom, you just see a horse flying down the ice. It's going to be interesting though. McKinnon is an absolute force of nature. I would describe Kucherov as being sublime. I like that. I like that. Frank, one more

for you before we let you go. You got to be jumping at the pit to reveal the expansion. Coyotes are listed a couple more years, right? I mean, look, here, here's my suggestion to the NHL and it's,

it's free 99. Okay. Free advice. If you want to not have information leak, don't make your team submitted 24 24 hours in advance just to come out do it live do it live and i doesn't uh then it's like oh well how do we fly guys there to find out who cares nobody knows nobody cares yeah that you're that you're gonna ask them for like softball questions on stage like no one and it's awkward and no one really wants oh my god yeah

you know that's a bingo bingo bingo bingo. Fuck it, we'll do it live. Free advice. Don't just do it in 24 hours. For anyone who's unaware. Who's going to throw the fish? Who's going to throw and catch the fish in the fucking, what do you call that area? All right, you did it.

Pike's Market. I'll go for it. I'll go two for two. Check out Frank, dailyfaceoff.com. DFO rundown, I believe Keep doing your thing, dude Great insider, knowledgeable at all things in the game

So we appreciate it Thanks, guys Thank you, buddy Before we go any farther It's Witt and I need to talk to you about Verizon and its playoff season The playoffs have finally arrived

This is what we've been waiting for for a month. I cannot wait for the Edmonton Oilers to be playing playoff hockey again. It looks like we might have the Los Angeles Kings. We've had an amazing run against them the last two years, but to see the city of Edmonton alive, and I love watching games in LA, great vibe in that arena, but that's one series that I'm obviously keeping a close eye on, but there's seven other ones. It's going to be fantastic hockey. It's going to be an amazing time. And with Verizon's fast, reliable network, you can stream all the games on the go or at home and keep up with all the action. So Verizon has you covered during it all. Plus when you bundle your mobile and home internet plans with them, you can save a lot of money. Visit verizon.com slash barstool to learn more.

That's verizon.com slash barstool to learn more and stream all the NHL playoff action. Big thanks to Frank Saravalli for jumping on us. That guy's widened like anybody. Love having him on. Good scoop all the time. But, boys, we're just jumping on. What time is it?

1030 Monday night. What an incredible drive we just got out of, Biz. Two overtimes at once. Two pulled goalies. Detroit, the Cardiac kids. I talked to the coach the other day, Derek. He said he's been so impressed with their battle. I think we saw why tonight.

They were losing 4-1. Ended up 5-4 in overtime. The only conclusion we have with three more days in the season, the Islanders wrapped up that third spot in the Metro. We still don't know the second wildcard team. Biz, I want to go you first for your reaction. Me first? I'm not really the Detroit guy.

Lucas Raymond Witt. Lucas Raymond. This is the coming out party of Lucas Raymond, the second half of the NHL season. I was fucking half asleep, man. This guy brought me up with a shot of fucking Red Bull right in the yap, buddy. This is crazy.

Motown, I'll tell you, the first half of the game, they kept getting every fucking shot blocked. Well, yeah, and they couldn't really get a save either. And they've had some great goaltending that have really kind of kept them alive. But, I mean, I looked. There's 12 shots, four goals from Montreal. Shout out Lane Hudson, BU. What an effort.

I think he was second in ice time for the canadians kids buzzing around i'm just giving him his flowers before we get into the real heroes of the night the detroit red wings the cardiac kids they won't die in toronto they won't die at home little caesar's arena it looked like rexall place back in the day the northlands coliseum as the oilers were running them running to the cup finals and those crazy ass crowds so lucas raymond the former i believe fourth overall pick you're seeing the come the coming of age of a future stud if not already gets his 30th goal on a beauty patient play right around the crease to tie it up after being down three goals and then

ends it out racing laneacing Lane Hudson down the ice after he hopped in to try to get the OT winner. He got a great shot on net. Did Larkin dish that over to him? Oh, you think he did it, D-Boss? And Larkin had a chance, and he had another chance in overtime. It was an amazing third period. One of the most entertaining periods of the season

with what was at stake, with what was on the line, the arena, the madness going on in there. P. Kane was dancing. I texted the group, if Kane wins this fucking thing in OT, I'm gonna lose. I'm gonna lose it. And he had a great chance. He gave that sick no-look dish to the brink hat, who rung it off the

crossbar. Then Gaustus Bear rings one off the crossbar, and shout out Gaustus Bear. Oh, yeah. Oh, my God. White man can't jump. the crossbar then goss despair rings went off the crossbar and shout out goss despair oh yeah that keeps oh my god white man can't jump dude he looked like vince carter back in the day on that dunk competition i guess i'm aging myself i thought that thing was four feet over his head going in the empty net he gets up brings it down likeitt rebound in an eighth grade, and then drops it on the ice and dishes it over to Perron, down to Raymond. Just, whew.

The wings, man. It looked like he climbed the ladder. No offense, Capitals fans, because I've talked about the run you've had for all these years. Do you know how much better the playoffs will be with the Red Wings in over the freaking Capitals? And we're going to get to the Capitals. Awesome home win.

Awesome home win against the Boston Bruins. But a snooze fest. The worst plus minus in maybe 15, 20 years to get in the playoffs if they get in. But I don't mean to dog the Caps. They had a good win. I'm just excited for my wings. I think you're just speaking for everybody and what they're thinking. I would much rather see the Detroit Red Wings in playoffs.

I think that the Washington Capitals would get drummed. But bravo for fucking beating Boston 2-0. Now, the Bruins kind of looked like shit, almost wondering if they'd rather play the Leafs than the Lightning already. Do you think that that was thrown on purpose? No. It looked like they had fucking 18 Bissonnette skaters out there tonight. Must run up 15 fucking shots

against the Capitals. Yeah, definitely a sleepwalking effort. Like I always say to you guys, you guys are programmed not to throw games. That's what the suits in front of offices are. They're the ones who throw games. You guys are going to play for jobs. You're going to play to win because you're hockey players. I think I mentioned on the text, they went one game in five days at this point in the season

because would that not throw a team's rhythm off for certain guys? Just kind of like, you know, I think that's pretty big lull in the schedule at this point in the year, would that not throw a team's rhythm off or certain guys just kind of like, you know, I think that's pretty big lull in the schedule at this point in the year, no? I don't know. I kind of like the practice time sometimes to sharpen the tools a little bit. Well, that's because you get some ice time.

I mean, I don't know, R.A., maybe not enough to have a performance like that. I'm asking what you think. I know you had the wings on mostly, but with the Bruins not playing that long, you think it affects them? I don't think it mattered that much. I think Monty might have been a little tired from celebrating the Denver championship.

I know you guys talked to Coach earlier. So another Denver coach. He was too focused on that game he wasn't ready to go tonight but we're not worried about them when they get to the playoffs just like we saw Denver they know how to win in the playoffs so Monty will get it done this year and boy shout out to Charlie Lindgren like that guy's been on a he's gonna make one one next year that's got to be the biggest bar goon and net going and He's been kicking all year in a game that they must need. It must need win.

He ends up pulling off one against the Boston Bruins. I know not tons of work, but still man, 15 fucking shots and a big shutout for him. You know who looked good for the Capitals? Is that McMichael? Is it Connor McMichael? Is he the kid up from

Hershey, right? He spent, I think, most of the time in Hershey. He was buzzing around. I think he's a first-round pick. I guess I should know all this, but I haven't seen him that often in the mix this season. Watch him have like 40 points. This is like when I thought... 25th overall in 2019 when he was a first-round pick in 2019.

What are his numbers this year? His numbers this season, he's got... In 78 games played, he's got in 78 games played, he's got 18 goals and 15 assists. That's probably their second leading goal scorer. 18 goals? That's how boring the Washington Capitals are. Wait, you know where I know him from?

That Teddy Bear toss game, I think, last year. I think that's how I must have thought he was in Hershey. Because he was their leading scorer down there, and then he didn't show up that night so yeah he's been up all year this year i was wrong on that the other game i was locked into i i focused a lot on the end of the detroit game but that pittsburgh penguins team man they came out buzzing after that jimerson national anthem they were high stepping out of the gate two disallowed goals now the second one first one, all right, fine. The second one was just complete bullshit. They should have been up 3-0.

Obviously, they ended up fucking pulling the win off, but still, that could have been a controversial fucking call. That was bullshit. Big time. And I asked you guys, is it the two refs or Toronto making that decision? Did we find out? Toronto, on a review, I'm 99% sure it's Toronto that does it. 99.9%.

When it's 99% on this pod, it might as well be five. So I'd love to know if we can get the real answer. Yeah, that's the fucking control room. That's where they get the fucking final call from. So the refs aren't making a final call. Okay, okay. If you're sure about it, then I trust you. What is the explanation on that, that he's in the crease?

Imagine that being an overtime winner in the playoffs, and then it's a home game and the fan base is going bananas, walking out of the arena, and then that's the no goal. I don't see how you can tell me that the goalie didn't make the save because of the player in the crease. He didn't do anything to him. Probably the most inconsistent call in the NHL. Would you agree with, like, just how it could go either way all the time?

It seems like the goal is in the rear and stuff. Yeah, I guess people would maybe argue length of suspensions, but for goals, yeah, no doubt. I mean, the good thing about, as much as I hate the reviews of offsides, you know right away, 99.9% of the time with offsides, there's a couple here and there that are very, very close. But usually, that's why their percentage ranking, their percentage is is so their percentage

is so high of getting it the in the crease go tender interference calls i i never know i on that one biz text the group there's no way that's coming back bink therefore it all came back yeah no uh but hey how about sid though after they get the bunting one called back, what, 20 seconds later, he fucking pots? He's one and one in the first period to get that team going, man. I know he ain't sniffing the top three in MVP, but the season he's had at his age, man, and to fucking still have them in the fight, remarkable stuff. And Carlson had a big game, too, with that big bomb. So it keeps them alive, man.

As you said, every team holds serve. Which game were you dialed into the most, Murr? I had Detroit on and then I had Pitt on. I had to listen to Armdog, you know, our game notes guy. But to go back to that game in the interference call, did you guys talk at all yet about that off sides we witnessed over the weekend where the guy was pushed off sides? No, we didn't get into that.

And how that was kind of the first time we seen that so there's the same type of thing if something like that happens in the playoffs it's going to be brutal because it's either off sides or it's interference if you push the guy off well you can explain the one he's talking about so more we were watching um islanders at rangers on saturday afternoon and mer had bet the islanders they got out to a lead it was on an islanders goal right yeah yeah so the islanders scored they get out to a lead. It was on an Islanders goal, right? Yeah. Yeah, so the Islanders scored a goal.

I don't remember who got it. But when they went back and reviewed the offsides call, it was a Rangers player who pushed the Islanders guy over offside. And I just figured it would kind of be like when a defender pushes a guy into his own goalie, the goal will end up standing because they'll say, oh, no, well, your own teammate pushed you into the goalie and that's why he couldn't make the save. This one, you'd think, all right, well, he pushed him offside, so it's going to stay a good goal. And now it's another one. As I just say, offside is easy to tell. That one had a scratch in our

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Flyers, 87 points. Tonight, Tuesday, Washington and Philly are playing the biggest game of the season, obviously. Detroit is at Montreal. Pittsburgh is at the Islanders. So, Mia Witt, we're looking at the tiebreakers before we jump on here. I think we were at the fourth or fifth tiebreaker if Philly were to beat Washington in regulation, correct? And Detroit loses.

And Detroit loses, yeah. I mean, the scenario is just absolutely banana lands right now, again, this late in the season. But, boys, any more playoff thoughts before we send it over to the... So, if Philly beats Washington in regulation and everybody else loses, Philly gets in? We're not sure. sure so this is what happens biz because so if philly beats washington and this is if detroit and pittsburgh lose i think

pittsburgh can just lose detroit i would have to lose in regulation i think but it would go down to detroit i mean sorry philly and wash. They would be tied in regulation wins. They would be tied in regulation or overtime wins. They would be tied in overall number of wins, the first column. And then it goes to head to head where they're one and one against each other. So what do they do? They go coin flip like fucking Friday Night Lights. It ends up being like gold differential or something like sixth down the list.

Oh, I don't like Washington's chances. Do you guys think that tonight it's a max bet play Detroit money line puck line in Montreal? Well, no. Well, it wouldn't be because Philadelphia would be two and one against them if they do win tomorrow. Oh, that's right. They're one and one now. so they'll be 2-1. So then Philly would get in. I guess that would be the last one.

All right, did we figure that out? Murr, that's why we brought you on. There was some reason for me to put this Red Wings shirt on and get on here. But if Detroit just gets a point and Philly wins, it doesn't matter. Detroit's in. Correct? Or would then Pittsburgh catch them if they win? Then they're both at 90. I think we should probably just shut the fuck up and wait till game

82. Ask me, Matt. Hey, who would you start net? We're trying to set people up. They're like... Reimer or Lion? Who would you start net? Yeah, I don't know. Reimer just had his 500th game, didn't he? Yeah, he did. Congrats to him, man. That's a lot of games for a friggin' goalie, man. I mean, it wasn't know. Reimer just had his 500th game, didn't he? Yeah, he did. Congrats to him, man.

That's a lot of games for a frigging goalie, man. I mean, it wasn't a third option for me. You got Reimer, eh? He's got the experience, man. You know, I mean, I'd throw it to him. I know Lion had a pretty tough game to start today. I know he bounced back. They finished strong, but I don't know.

I'd have no problem throwing Reimer out there for a game of this magnitude. You know, he's been there 36 years old. He's bounced around a bit. But we'll see what happens there. Another guy who had a milestone game last week, Eric Carlson, played his 1,000th game. You guys probably saw the clip. All the teammates came out with 65 jerseys on. Also, we've got to talk about Sid.

1,000th assist. 14th player to do it. The 7th fastest. He also cracked the top 10 of all time. He bumped out Phyllis Bezito. That's the first time a player has entered the top 10 since Jaromir Jaeger back in 08. 108 players have scored a goal assisted by Sidney Crosby, number 13 on the list. Colby Armstrong with 18 of those and number 15 on the list.

Our own Whitdog with 16 of those. So congratulations to that, boys. And eight more goals to go. He'll have 600 goals and 1,000 assists. Be the ninth guy to do that overall. Just solid his uh concrete hall of fame case already biz so uh uh buchigras sent out a tweet if he plays if crosby plays until he's 42 right now all he would have to do is average 68 points a year well it says 67.5 and he would be the second player all time to reach 2,000 points. I mean, he's probably – So he's turning 37 this summer.

Five more years. When Brady – when people said like, oh, five more years, Brady will be 43 or whatever, it seemed crazy. And then it didn't look that crazy by the end. So maybe this guy is that much of an alien um i do want to bring up quickly you guys because we kind of glanced over them shout out patrick waugh and shout out that islanders team for ending up like it didn't look good for a while there he came in it looked a little better then they went on another losing

streak so they figured it out now the question is can they give the Canes any sort of competition come playoff time? Last year was just, it was an all-time beatdown. I know they got one game from them, but it was men versus boys. I don't know if this season it'll be any different. The Islanders have the worst penalty kill in the league. It seems as though the Canes with Gensel are kind of firing it around on the power play. But no matter what happens, the Islanders ended up digging down deep. Paul Mary got his 29th goal.

I mean, that's pretty impressive for that old bastard I can call him now. So Islanders fans, very happy for you And very happy that Patrick Watt came in And got the job done See the move they made, they went to Valama off a ton Remember I made that a couple weeks ago They said that they should be going with him way more And they did and obviously they're heading to the playoffs We are on 100 point watch for McDavid

They're playing right now but we also want to mention 100 assist watch I was wrapped up because I was staring at my body armor here Because he signed body armor, the NHL signed body armor We're all in the same family once again So I want to give a little shout out to body armor Whether you'reL signed my body armor. We're all in the same family once again. So I want to give a little shout out to body armor, whether you're drinking the sports drink, the sugar-free stuff, the water,

which is what I like. Welcome to the fam, NHL. Best bottle in the league with the wide mouth. No doubt about that, man. What's that? It's so important, the wide mouth. It's the greatest thing. The skinny mouth, especially if you're a little hung from the Pink Whitneyney you just it doesn't work you need the thick bottle get the hydration after your

after your weekend in minnesota you were hitting the throttle non-stop hey you know back in college you know it's just like animal house so it's a standard merles roadie i missed you i ended up with a denver sweatshirt on i end up at the denver after party. You know, I had to be all in. I had to go for it. Oh, absolutely. I want to talk about Wayne Simmons as well. Obviously, he stopped playing a couple years ago, but the Flyers signed him to one of those one-day contracts. They honored him before the game.

Just a great little ceremony. He spent, obviously, the bulk of his career there, 19 Messier winner, 1,037 games. You guys played against him. What was the best part of his game? I mean, he was built like a string bean, but he was frigging tough as nails out there simmons he was a nail gun and he played so pissed off like some guys are out there and they're playing the role a little bit like no

dude this guy was hitting you he's grunting trying to put you through the glass and then if you even attempted or a cross check in front of that, he'd turn around and fucking pissed off. You're like, holy shit, the Wayne train. So kind of built to be a Philadelphia Flyer. We've probably said this when we described his game back when he was playing. We've always brought up that definitely took the suck a little bit with timing-wise, never signing a monster deal, because you could have watched him play

and not been too in-depth with contracts or what's going on. You could have been like, oh, that guy probably signed a deal for $45 million, $50 million at one point. He never did. Timing's everything in life, especially with the contracts ending.

But I couldn't believe the first time I saw him off the ice. He mentioned the string being. He made my calves and quads look like Crosby's. This guy, it was this light post I have in my room. And somehow his balance was still that good. And in fights, you never saw him get knocked off his feet either. I think you chucked him with him once, Biz, right?

No, I never chucked him with him, thank God. You knew better. Just the ultimate competitor. He didn't cheat the game one bit exceeded his contracts every single year uh he could score he could hit he could fight play it any way you wanted to and like you said with the the ultimate flyer right just brought his fucking lunch pail to work every day and the ultimate teammate as well never heard a bad thing said about him by a guy. Just the ultimate fucking teammate. So congrats to him on a great career and getting to go out in style

the way that he deserves. So shout out to the fucking Wayne train. What a career. Well said, boys. Sandbagger buddy, Noah Hennepin, signed a nice little extension with Vegas. Eight-year, $58.8 million. Comes out to 7.35-year. Got a no-trade clause for the first six, a modified no-trade clause for the last two.

It's exactly $29.4 million in base and $29.4 million of bonuses. I don't think there's any significance behind that. He'll be 35 when the deal ends in 32. Currently the longest signed player for Vegas. Merle, just a bargain for Vegas to write about what you expected, what you take on this deal, buddy. My biggest thing when we first heard it was I just think it means that Marcia's show is probably gone now because I just don't see

how they're going to have any room to keep him. When you brought Hurdle in already with the long contract, now all of a sudden Hannafin, you got Petro on the long one, Stone, you got Eichel. I just don't see how there's any room left to take care of him so i was kind of a little disappointed in that because i really like marchi in vegas and i just feel like he's one of those original misfits and it looks like they're going to get rid of another one i think we were talking about it at dinner the other night with it's a little bit bizarre

timing because of the reason you just mentioned tumor like maybe it sends a little bit of a shockwave through the locker room. For Martinez too. Yeah, if you're Martinez as a defenseman looking to get a new deal, you basically know the writing's on the wall there. And then you said Marchesau. The guy just set the franchise record for goals in a regular season by a golden height, and you're going to give him the gate?

Listen, I don't want to say that it's been a cutthroat organization, but they look towards the future in every decision they make. You don't want to say that they're cutthroat? They're as cutthroat as Bill Belichick in his A-Day. Cut and fucking lawyer Malloy. All right, I'll say it. They're cutthroat. And who else did he cut, R.A., that was the big, oh, whatever.

Who didn't he cut, it feels like at this point. Richard Seymour. Richard Seymour. Richard Seymour was the one I was thinking of. Okay. Here's the thing, and I said this at dinner. I don't know if you were talking to Murr, but the time he announced it, yeah, it's just Marcio and Martinez are like, I guess I'm gone. I can't believe it's being announced now.

Now, I'm kind of speaking for them. I haven't talked to them. I don't believe it's being announced now. Now, I'm kind of speaking for them. I haven't talked to them. I don't know them. But Hannafin has to sign the deal as soon as he can, right? Yes. Who knows if you get hurt. Or have a bad playoff. Or have a horrible playoff.

Your value goes down. And once he signs the deal, dude, you don't think Elliot or Frank are sniffing that one out 15 minutes later. So it kind of wasn't even in the Golden Knights' hands with the announcement and having it be right before playoffs, reminding these guys that they're gone. If there was one GM that could get away with signing a guy and it not getting announced, who do you think it would be? Iserman. Yeah, same.

Him or Lou? Lou. Him or Lou, but no, I think Iserman could Yeah, same. Him or Lou? Lou. Yeah. Him or Lou, but no, I think Iserman could somehow get away with it. I think we've got to maybe throw Philly on that list after the Gautier thing, how they were able to keep that in-house for so long and where it didn't get out. Maybe Philly might get on that list. That was actually kind of every team because they'd put it out there,

and I think they were really open with other teams like, you're completely fucking us here, which would make me think some teams would be like oh I'm gonna fuck away on you buddy I'm putting you on the work branch I'm gonna announce this but bad business karma ends up biting you in the ass but yeah that stayed real quiet and and the Flyers still like probably didn't get the return that that they they could have if they had chosen to trade him for no reason and teams weren't aware that the kids like I ain't coming. I mean, either way, boys, fuck, we're going to game 82. Would we have had it any other way in this regular season?

No, not at all, man. It's been a thrill. One more notebook before we do get to wrap up here, because Anaheim forward Jacob Silverberg, he played his last home game, he's going to call it a career at the end of the season. 12 total NHL seasons, 11 with Anaheim, 819 games what i'm guessing you probably know a little bit no nope never played i don't know just competition wise merles you did yeah i played against him before he went over to the nhl and breen us and the rumor is that he's going to go back and play

with them they're currently in i think they're in the finals of the second league if they can win they'll go back up to the SHL. So I'm pretty sure he'll go back and play for that team, either if they win or if they don't. But they should win and move up, and he'll be back in the SHL. That's what's sick for Euros. If they want to, they can go back, play for their hometown team. And it's still high-level, awesome hockey.

Yeah, you get your young kids back there with the grandparents and everything. So, yeah, it's a really nice setup for them. I did see the whole announcement of his retirement. I had to check. I was like, does this guy have like 800 points in 1,200 games played? I was like, this is a big deal right now for this announcement. I mean, congratulations. Amazing career.

Over 800 games. He's a hell of a two-way player. I don't know if I'm being kind of a scrooge right now, but I was like, holy shit, this is kind of a... They're making a big deal out of this. I think you're just jealous because he got a nicer ping pong table than he was a gift. Fuck that, dude.

How the hell did they get that back to Sweden? I want to know. My machine, like, ruined me in one-on-one matches. I'm amazing. I'm like a range golfer now that's just good on the range. You get me in one-on-one matches. I'm amazing. I'm like a range golfer now that's just good on the range. You get me in one-on-one competition, and I'm waiting for the machine red light to beep and the ball to come over with my patented spin

that I put on it with the app. So I've kind of fucked myself in ping pong. I feel like he's one of these players, he's probably unheralded to maybe the average fan. Playing in Anaheim doesn't help, but in his hometown, absolutely beloved. I mean, he was a four-time 20-goal scorer, just like a fan favorite. But again, playing in Anaheim doesn't help, but in his hometown, absolutely beloved. I mean, he was a four-time 20-goal scorer, just like a fan favorite.

But, you know, again, playing in Anaheim maybe dimmed his style a little bit around the confidence. No doubt. I actually played against him when I was playing in Arizona with a few games that I did. And like you said, just extremely effective, always consistent year over year. One of those hidden gems.

I thought he made a decent amount of dough, but when I saw that he was retiring, I was shocked just at the age. But as you said, Murr, these guys get to transition a little bit sooner than maybe some of these other guys do based on the setup they have over season. It's a lot lighter load on them physically. Like the 82 NHL season grind, fuck that. And with the money that he's made, I don't know what the big contract he signed was

but it was pretty pretty good like i would say he was probably making at least over four million a year wasn't he yeah he's making close to five and a half in his life in his last yeah so good for him for cashing in and man i don't blame guys and as you guys know league's getting younger man it's harder to keep up with the skating going on now like 32 is kind of that age i was gone at 32 wit you were done at 32 murrow when did you retire from the nhl or just no just for hockey in general i was 38 or 39 holy shit murr but but like to your point where when i left the nhl and i left the ahl the 82 games it was a lot easier on my body and that's why i did leave i thought i was done but i got over there i had a couple 30 game seasons 40 game seasons no big goons running around hitting me bigger ice so you can play a lot longer and you could probably do so with a little bit of

extra weight on you with all those pops well didn't have to work out as much either i forgot to mention this mike kelly's Kelly tweet when we were talking about the Penguins. So with all like the shit their power play got and their kind of offense besides Crosby for most of the season got, in the last three weeks, three and a half weeks, the Penguins are first in the league in

screen goals, first in the league in rebound goals, and third in the league in deflection goals. And that wasn't including tonight where they scored on a rebound and a screenshot and had two goaltender interference goals called back raise the banner kind of makes sense oh you don't think that's a legit point i'm saying raise the banner because right now washington's in control their own destiny and big fucking penguins had no chance and they're going into game 82 with a shot congratulations Scrooge

holy fuck biz go to bed fucking grump they're playing hard nose hockey in front of the net they're finally making some shit happen with traffic you were bitching about it all season and now they got a chance to get in the playoffs yeah how many Hall of Famers does it take to figure out a power play

oh fuck if you went by uh still second worst in the league. Yeah, how many Hall of Famers does it take to figure out a power play? Oh, fuck. If you went by... Still second worst in the league. What was... Todd Reardon's board. Todd Reardon's board. This podcast would be like this for three hours. Thought he was looking at a pair of titties

or something. I'm getting a little slap happy here, boys. It's getting late into the night, but what a day. We covered a lot. Fucking college hockey, the crazy MVP race, the crazy wild card race.

What else? What else is going on? Ovechkin, we got to congratulate him. Russian sniper now has 18 seasons with at least 30 goals. The NHL record, he was tied with Mike Gatton for a while. Absolutely ridiculous. You guys had a sandbag of scramble last week versus, I'm sorry, not versus Taylor, you guys were versus each other for a change check that out on our youtube if you have

not yet uh fdny versus nypd this saturday the 50th anniversary game 4 p.m saturday on barstool.tv check that out all right before i go any further here's a few words from our good friends over at body armor spitting chicklets is brought to you by Body Armor. It's real hydration, real ingredients, packed with electrolytes, vitamins, and nothing artificial. Great taste and flavors like strawberry banana. Man, I can slurp down about five of these a day, especially after a weekend.

Blue raspberry's another popular one. And not only do we hydrate with Body Armor, not only does Conor McDavid hydrate with Body Armor, but now the NHL will too. Congrats to our friends at Body Armor on the new partnership with the NHL just in time for the playoffs. Nothing better than pairing up with the NHL and Conor McDavid for an awesome sports drink right here.

Go get your Body Armor today at Walmart or a local grocery store near you. Can't beat this stuff? Give me about six more of these, I'll be good to go. Body Armor. Go get some. Anything else, boys, you want to add to the mix here or what? Oh, wait. The bastards.

Scheffler. Robot. Oh, my God. This guy's a machine. I said it before that if he putts, he, I said to, I said to you, I said on this show already, he's like Tiger now and you, you had this crazy reaction. You threw your head back you're trying to draw a penalty his stats his stats hitting the ball ball striking are are are

like tiger's heyday and and tiger back then he was like two to one if not worse odds to win tournaments and and scheffler at four and a half to one, people were like, holy fuck, it's too low. He ends up winning by four. He had the second lowest round of the day on Sunday, and he had a shot lead going in. So we're looking at, and I know he's only got two majors now, they're both masters. But in the next 10 years, he's only 27. He looks 50. He's aging like me. But in the next 10 years, he's got 40 majors. If he's able to stay healthy, knock on wood. I do not think it's crazy to think that he could just pick off six or seven of the next 40. And then all of a sudden, he's at eight or nine, and we're talking about an all-time top 10 golfer in the history of the game. So like anything in life and in sports, usually your on-field, on-ice, on-course, in-the-office performance relates directly to your life outside of the arena that you professionally live in.

And he is dialed in. He's a very religious guy. He relies on his faith. He got emotional in the Tuesday press conference talking about his faith the coolest thing about him and I know I've said he's a bore on here before which he kind of can be a little bit of a bore but I think as he gets better and better and keeps dominating I'm respecting him more and more because he does a great job of talking about how like growing up his parents always reminded him.

Even to this day, he reminds himself, golf is your job, but it doesn't define him. It doesn't mean he's anything special. He seems to be super empathetic and humble and genuine. And he goes about it. He's having his first kid. He seems him and his wife are happily married. And he just practices golf and dominates tournaments. So when you see true domination and greatness, especially me loving golf,

at some point you gotta just tip your cap. But he doesn't make mistakes. And like in classic Tiger at the height of his powers, everyone seems to fall back. Everyone's kind of chasing him and having to play perfect to even tie him up or take the lead from him. And then they end up fumble fucking. Ludwig, my guy, he's winning majors, though. Don't worry about him.

He put one in the water on 11. Homa went long on 12. He kind of got screwed. Usually you go long over the 12th green. It'll roll back down. He got stuck in the bush. And then Morikawa made a couple doubles. He kind of fucked up.

So Scotty Scheffler just plots his way around fairways, greens, makes the occasional 15, 20-footer. If he doesn't, he two-putts it. And when he misses the green, he's statistically the best chipper in the world. When you add all that up, you have domination. And what really bummed me out was just not really much drama coming down. You love Ali coming down 18, tied up, fucking every shot. That tournament is built.

It's built for the final five holes to have two, three guys in the mix. Because 13, 15, 12, 13, 15, even 11, like so much shit can go down. 15, 12, 13, 15, even 11. Like so much shit can go down. Why? Just because of the water and how it plays out? Yeah. Isn't that where Greg Norman fucked it all up?

Oh, yeah. He blew, I think, a six or seven shot lead. And the funny thing about the year he blew that, and it was talked about on the No Laying Up up podcast i heard they did like a deep dive into into different major championships so he was going into the final round that year and he had he had like lit it up round one got a little worse round two a little worse round three and a cbs broadcaster went on tv and said his grips like getting different each round. And I think that the next round, if he doesn't get this figured out, he could be screwed.

And he said it Saturday night on the telecast, just setting up the next day, the final round. And Greg Norman, you're trying to win a major. He called his buddy from CBS that was running the show, bitching and moaning, all pissed off that this guy's talking about him possibly blowing it on Sunday. And the guy was telling the story who was giving the analysis of his grip and his swings. Yeah, if he's worried about that, I'm pretty sure he's got way bigger problems. He's done.

Scottie Sheffo ain't giving a fuck what some announcer says Saturday night. That'd be like Cutter Gauthier worrying about the tears in the other team's eyes pre-game right kind of came full circle this this whole teaching lesson here i couldn't believe that denver didn't murr we interviewed david carl they didn't know about that comment before the game oh or he claims it i i don't think he'd be able to lie about that because one of the players would end up spilling the beans. Sucks for Max Homa. I was hoping that he was going to come through.

Some pretty cool stuff. Some cool quotes coming at him saying he knows he has that dog in him and he's obviously worked with a mental coach to get his game up to the level that it has been now because he struggled for a little bit. He kind of went through what Nathan McKinnon did early on in his PGA career didn't he and now he's way worse like McKinnon never almost lost a job he lost his card twice oh god and then one year he he birdied the final four holes of of like a tournament to not have to go to Q school and get corn fairy

starts the next year so So golf's nuts, right? There's just so many guys going for so few spots. He, he went through the ringer. He lost his swing. He couldn't keep the ball on the planet. And,

and even though he, he didn't end up getting the job done, you got to kind of, it's like the cup. You got to win. You got to lose a little before you win. And he'd never even been in the mix in a major. So finishing third place, like that's like something to build on for him, I would think.

And a great guy. So shout out to Max Holma. Boys, great breakdown of the Masters. Witt Scheffler, he's a legend. Witt. And Ludwig. Ludwig Murr, your sweet buddy. That guy's coming.

Morgoy's on a bit of a heater too, eh, boys? Five and a half million. Yeah, he really needs it. He was the's on a bit of a heater too. Boy, it's $5.5 million. He really needs it. He was the third highest paid guy this weekend at the Masters. I saw that. He made more than third place there. He's won $4.5 million in the last week. UConn was a week ago yesterday.

What was that? 2.7 and then this was 1.5? And he had Michigan for the football. He's still down 20 million. He's still down 20 million, I think. And that could be conservative. But congratulations to him. What a heater to go on.

Well, boys, what a show, what a season. We still got a few more days left. And again, we'll see you Saturday, NYPD, FDNY, and we'll be talking playoffs next week. So everybody have a fantastic week. We'll catch you all then. Peace. You can get liquor cheap, but how much is your love?

They say you're drunk in speech, it's just so good that I like to poke a bear, 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 She hit me with a cheap shot, a cheap shot She hit me with a cheap shot, a cheap shot

I think she needs a detox to cleanse her mind Another week rolls in, we're on the road again Thought I was safe and sound in my minivan But I said something that crossed the line And I know she felt it Someone said she could have a free one on the chin She went below the bell She had it with a cheap shot Outro Music