Spittin Chiclets - Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 540: Featuring Mike Modano & Hockey Illuminati

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

On Episode 540 of Spittin’ Chiclets, the guys are joined by legend Mike Modano in an all-time Chiclets Interview to talk about Babcock scratching him, deciding to play juniors way up in Canada, and much much more. But first, We have two huge announcements in Chiclets Land that may very well re-shape the hockey landscape. The Bruins drama just gets juicier every week; could someone in the front office intentionally be sparking rumors about their best players? Later on, Hockey obsessed fan, and Leafs fanatic, better known as Hockey Illuminati, joins the show to help us understand the numerology and juju surrounding the leafs this year and boy does it go deep. This is an episode you won’t want to miss. 00:00:00 - START 00:00:25 - Surviving Barstool Updates 00:06:42 - Two Huge Announcements 00:24:59 - Problems in the Boston bruins LockerRoom? 00:48:31 - Around the League 01:14:17 - Mike Modano Interview 02:29:40 - Rumor Boys 02:39:44 - Quick Hits 03:11:07 - Hockey Illuminati Interview Support the Show: PINK WHITNEY: Take Your Shot with Pink Whitney GAMETIME: Download the Gametime app today and use code CHICLETS to easily score great deals with Gametime Picks! RHOBACK: Use code CHICLETS on https://rhoback.com for a generous 20% off your first purchase through the end of this week BETTERHELP: Spittin' Chiclets is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit https://BetterHelp.com/CHICLETS today to get 10% off your first month. BODYARMOR: Get your BODYARMOR Sports Drink today at Walmart or a local grocery store near you! https://www.walmart.com/brand/bodyarmor/shop-all-bodyarmor/10009869 DRAFTKINGS: Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use code CHICLETS. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, [phone] or visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Please Gamble Responsibly. 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), or visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD). 21+ and present in most states. (18+ DC/KY/NH/WY). Void in ONT/OR/NH. Eligibility restrictions apply. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & Resort (KS). 1 per new customer. Min. $5 deposit. Min. $5 bet. Max. $200 issued as non-withdrawable Bonus Bets that expire in 7 days (168 hours). Stake removed from payout. Terms: dkng.co/dk-offer-terms. Ends 2/9/25 at 11:59 PM ET. Sponsored by DK. Support the fire fighting efforts in LA: https://lafd.org/ + https://www.redcross.org/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. Me and Ryan have been officially welcomed to the jungle that is Boston Sports. Our white whale, Sidney Crosby! Shave his head! Shave his head! Shave his head! Ryan Whitney, Paul Missinet, R.A., Mike Grinelli, Spittin' Chicklets! What is up folks? How are we doing? Welcome to episode 540 of the Spit and Chicklets podcast presented to you by Pink Whitney.

If you're watching on YouTube business, holding up the birdie bucket, I'm holding up a three quarters drank bottle of Pink Whitney. Not a big deal, what a legend. I don't know why it says that on it, but shout out Pink Whitney. Shout out everyone out there drinking it and shout out the big old bottle.

I know I always talk about the big old bottle, but I got a couple messages of people for the, for the NFL playoffs. They were bringing over big old bottles to apartments and they had to finish it. So I said, good luck, good luck boys, good luck girls. But we appreciate you supporting us and we appreciate everyone out there. Well, the reason it's mostly fully drank is cause tomorrow's the, uh, the, or in a few days, excuse me, is the finale of surviving barstools.

So I'd imagine a few employees are a little bit nervous about the outcome and all the drama and everything that's surrounded it now that majority of the season has been released. What have you guys thought specifically you Keith, because you are a reality show junkie. Yeah. The show has been absolutely incredible. First, the pink Whitney yesterday went over to her friend's house, a big Buffalo Bills fan. So we had the nips going every time that the Bills scored. We, we did a nip kind of like a birdie, a birdie shot. Yeah.

Okay. Okay. I like it. So that was fun. Uh, but the reality, yeah, the surviving Barstool off the charts. Good. Jeff D Lowe, the whole crew, whoever was involved in that amazing, amazing, where it has me at the edge of my seat every week.

I hate talking about it because I don't want you guys to slip up and get some spoiler alert. So it's been amazing TV. The way that he's staged it out too, where you're looking for it, you want it, you want more and more every week and then boom, three episodes in a row.

Tough to see my boys go out. Didn't like Dan Katz's move there. Love Big Cat as a human, but didn't like him coming out my boys. But other than that, he played a good game. I thought everybody involved. Dave's Clinic at the Pink Wedding, speaking of Pink Whitney, was the biggest masterclass of getting in people's head spaces I have ever seen and applaud him for that. But yeah, I needed to get a brain transplant after that one because my brain was in a pretzel.

I was not playing the game, so to speak. Now for people listening, I got the air quotations going up. I was showing up. I was a good teammate. I wasn't talking behind anyone's back. I was showing up prepared for the competitions. We won six of the nine overall competitions, but yet even some of the members of our team, they were going off and they were plotting like little snakes and rats.

So not my game, but I made it pretty deep. I'm very happy with the way that I showed in my first ever reality show. And yeah, I left it all on the table, as they say. I suck at that game. Suck, suck, suck at that game. So I mean, I got really nothing to say. I walked in. Biz and I are in Chicago. Keith's in Florida. We're here for the finale.

And I walked into the office and this cameraman gets in my face. How does it feel to be back? It's like dude. I got like PTSD from that game being in this office. I want nothing to do with that game I told biz before and maybe this is to try to make myself feel a little better like We're team guys like we're vibe guys like that's a game for fucking sociopathic Psychotic scumbag lying deceitful dirtbag. That's not us, Biz. That's not us. I mean, you at the pink wedding, your face,

staring off into space, no clue what's going on, and then as people are running around like chickens with their head cut off, you're just standing on the turf, stretching, looking away. I'm independent. And going back to the way what Keith mentioned, like Dave Portnoy was just

Thriving in that moment. He was thriving Shooting the arrows over he wanted to try to work out a plea bargain with me try to put his hand over and shake it Nope, not cuz you got my boy witty boy. No, nope There was just no chance looking back that we had any chance of doing anything in that game No, now people have asked, will you play again? Will you play again? I don't know. Right now, it's like, no, I don't wanna play again. I only wanna play if Dave's in,

because I gotta get him out, but if I play again and he's in and I don't get him out, or he gets me out again, I said I have to leave the company. So I don't really understand or know what I'm gonna do if there is another season and we're invited back. But yeah, I was actually ended up kind of being happy looking at what was going on, what was happening that I got out when I did because that pink wedding turd vicious and I also remember sitting there and being like, oh my god I think this show is gonna be a hit. I think it's

gonna get hundreds of thousands of views and pink Whitney's everywhere. So shout out to Birdie Bucket. And I guess I win anyways. I win again. Yeah. Yeah. But it was a blast. And yeah, there's a few episodes left. So check that out if you haven't.

YouTube and Rumble. And then the live finale so nobody could fuck it up and spoil the surprise. So they planned. So we don't know who won. They planned accordingly. Everybody, like I'd meet people in the airport or whether I was out in public or at Houston's of course,

and they'd be like, hey, you know, love the pod, but this surviving Barstool has been unbelievable. Who won it? Who won it? Like, nope, my lips are sealed. And if you want to know the winner, you got to watch live on Barstool YouTube, baby. So any of you who are listening now, make sure you check it out.

It's going to be a great finale. I did write down on my phone. I meant to say it last week. I've gotten stopped and recognized more with Survivor than ever for Chicklets. It is crazy how many people are watching and everyone's like, you're horrible at that game. I'm like, I know dude, like thanks for the reminder. And then they're like big cats, a scumbag. I say, yeah, he's a piece of shit So it was amazing that how angry I was

Leaving that game and getting to the house like I was like 12 hours later. I was like I think I was a little ridiculous What did I say to all those cameras like I was like I fucking hate Dan Katz is a piece of shit fuck him But I ended up kind of getting over. It's just the game and living in this office, but yeah Appreciate everyone watching go check it out if you haven't. That kinda leads us, I think, into a couple big show announcements. Huge. I think it's time.

And one of them, a long time coming. Kind of in my mind from the very beginning of this show, and then as Biz joined the show of getting Keith involved, Keith was still playing Iron Man, living it up, you and I are out of the league, and boom, boom, boom, Keith's lighting it up, but how do we get him in, how do we get him in? And the time has finally come where we can announce,

with just pure joy and happiness, that Keith Yandle, the SONC man, Keith is a full-time member of this bitch. Oh, ladies and gentlemen, round of applause. I bet you there's a lot of people tooting their horns right now listening. Wendy from Winnipeg. Yeah. We got, Hey, Pete from Philly though. He ain't doing shit. He's like, I fucking hate you. That guy sucks. Ready from Fort Lauderdale. Yeah. yeah, how do you feel, Yads? How does it feel?

Yeah, it feels great. Obviously, I have been a fan of the show before. You were a true fan. He's a boostie. I signed your tit one time. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, so it's like a booster getting a job behind the bench for an NHL team. I feel honored, lucky, blessed, couldn't be more happy,

get to spend some more time with you knuckleheads and have some fun and spread our love of the game to these wonderful fans that you guys have accumulated over the last, whatever, what's it, 10 years? How long you guys been doing this? I think in this year's Super Bowl, is it nine or eight? I know, crazy.

10? Yeah. No. On my watch, you guys put 15. 15 what? You engraved the 2015, you put the date that Chicklet started. Oh, on the Rolex.

On the Rolex. That was a used Rolex, that was somebody else's. It's actually a full X, it's fully bought it, and then put a little! On the Rolex. That was a used Rolex. Show it up, Larry Plowley. It's actually a Follex. It's fully bought it and then put a little R over the F. Very easy to fix. And for everyone, it's so fun for us to get to have Keith on, having been such close friends for so long. And the fact that Yans, I don't know if you've noticed, has a lot more connections than Biz and I do. Just with how long you played, how many guys you played with so we have some more very special interviews that were lined

Up later this month. We're gonna be in Florida doing some things and it's all thanks to you. So we're very excited Keith Thank you so much for being a part of this and I'm still gonna fucking bend you over at the Chicklets Cup Like I know we're playing tummy sticks. I thought you were you were gonna say in contract negotiations. Well, that too. That too. That comes after Chicklet's Cup. Hey, the funny thing was, he came on his first Chicklet's trip with us to Chicago just back here for the winter class. He's like, Jesus Christ, these Chicklet's trips.

I'm like, yeah, buddy, it ain't no joke. You're running hard on these trips. You got to be rested, ready to go, because we get after it. Except for Biz. He's just the ultimate guy who just chills and works out. We pay you in merchandise, pink Whitney nips, and we give you Biz 20 promo codes to anything else you want. Nice.

Houston's. Yeah, it's pretty good, pretty good. I saw somebody said we might have to name the Boston Stranglers, rename them the Irish Travelers. I saw that floating around the internet. That would be just tie ball. They wouldn't show up just like their court dates. No, I bailed them out. They're on our team. I already paid their bail. They're fine. Oh, I bet you did. I bet you did. Well, speaking of teams,

we have another huge announcement. This might be in fact, the biggest one in Chicklets history. We've been talking all this time about getting involved in the ECHL. Well, it is finally happened. We are co-owners in an ECHL professional hockey team in Greensboro, North Carolina. Now, those of you wondering the name, it will be dropped tonight. Live press conference, 6.30 p.m. Eastern Time,

Greensboro will announce the name of the team. We can't spoil it here as we record on Monday from Chicago. But we can say that the logo and the name is phenomenal. It's unbelievable. It's actually phenomenal. I'm getting a tattoo. And are we saying this just because we're owners? I don't know, but I actually believe it, guys.

And when everyone sees it, I think you're gonna be just as excited as us. And don't think for a second that this being in North Carolina didn't affect my decision to become an owner, because there's some wonderful golf down in Greensboro, baby. There's golf courses galore in North Carolina I'm gonna see my role as kind of like a Jerry Jones slash Lou Lamarello

I'm gonna have my fucking hands on everything Man, I will be doing media hits if any of these media members question the moves I'm making they'll be fired on the spot I am gonna run the shit out of this team to multiple Championships and these guys aren't getting paid until they win. That's what I'm that's what I'm I just It's like KHL East Coast Combo, I'm gonna make the fucking KHL look like I want to get bonuses like win bonuses for guys I don't know if that's allowed with the CBA is now is there CBA in the coast? I don't know. We might recreate a new one I also have always dreamed of being an owner and just carving the refs in the media

I want to carve the refs after we get a tough night with your final be more than the deposit you put down for the team This is unreal we're gonna run a muck in the ECHL. There's no stopping us I think we could do big damage to turn with bringing in free agents, right? You got a huge offer from Scott and the KHL. Why you come on out of Greensboro and pay for our club? Yeah, well, we'll hook you up with bonuses. We'll hook you up with anything you need pink Whitney promo codes Some merch what else would you want? You got the best team in the league coming to play us at home.

I'm going to be starting rumors about his family just spreading lies like Brad Marshaw's buddy in Boston media. You think that's bad? Oh. Bizz turns into Manhattan Survivor. Oh, fuck. Oh yeah, I heard this leading scorer for the Redding Royals has the smallest cock in the league.

Oh, this two pump chump. I want to get our squad like the sickest sleeper bus known to man. Just like a Taj Mahal of sleeper buses. Just like gold toilets. Gold toilets. Yeah. Like maybe like, you know how like massage chairs, you know how for like a while there was like bars where you like in the, in the, in the hoser you'd have like Joe Biden's face like at the other teams like captain you're hosing on his face just it's switched over every game. Okay. Things like that things like that.

Anything else you want to do as an owner. Hey mind you G is also part owner so it's myself, Yans, Wit, G and then my buddy Jeff Jacobson is in the mix as well. What do you want to see done as an owner of the TMG? Oh my God, I mean, I love to see us sign Diamond Hands. Diamond Hands, Daniel Amesberry, that guy just brings the fucking noise every night. So I want to see like a Dan Barry Thrasher's type theme,

just knocking people out every night. I mean, and the ownership group though that we're with, we got to mention them, Andy Kaufman and Zoyer Sports. Unbelievable group to be a part of. They run a tight ship. They run a tight ship. They might not be out after this announcement. Too late. Already signed the papers. Our third line is going to be John Nasty Marasty. We got Jeremy Oblotsky. And who should be the third? Maybe we'll sign that Olivia.

You. You. You, you. You, you. No, let's get Bonvy to come back. Oh, let's get Dennis Bonvy out of retirement. Bonzy. We're gonna have to pay for surgery to straighten out all of his fingers from fighting all those years, but once that's done, he's gonna be the third guy

on that third line. Because in the ECHL, I'm pretty sure they only play with three lines and an extra. Maybe they bumped it up to two extra. If there's 10 forwards, I want three goons. Maybe we'll get Josh Gratton back in the mix. I didn't see him lose a fight. And then just get seven very, very highly skilled forwards

that should be playing whether AHL or NHL level, maybe like the in-betweener, and then just run a muck skill-wise. And then if anybody touches them, lays a finger on those skilled players, it's like sick em boys. One thing I would like to add that I think might be out of the norm is a band. I think we could do wonders with a band in the crowd.

You ever go to a college- As a college hockey guy, I couldn't agree more. It's amazing. Right? That would be electric. I know. And down south? North Carolina is considered down south, correct Biz?

Actually, Utah, Colorado is down south. Fuck off. You don't know shit. I'll put a band right in that arena with a tuba, maybe a saxophone, and just ripping it up. Another thing is like thinking of, what's the guy in Oakland with the horrible haircut? Mark Davis. Oh yeah. So he eats at P.F. Chang's, I think so we maybe we need a restaurant Obviously you have Houston's but we need a restaurant that we could start eating at like five times a week just to feel like A true owner a true owner

I mean I I am just so excited to go down to games and then just somebody say like hey Where's your ticket? No, I'm the owner get out of my way, please. Oh, sir. That's not you see I own the team Please move. I'm not wearing the mascot anymore as a costume. I'm sitting in the owner's box. Oh, sir. That's my wife. I own this, Rick. I own the team. Have you guys seen the Arena 2? First Horizon Coliseum. Incredible, Barn. Incredible. I want it to just be a party. Just an absolute banger every night. Yeah. We want, we want, when the band's not playing maybe it's just like house music

blaring. I think too like like the NHL in the AHL is getting so young nowadays like we get an NHL vet like a 32 year old guy played five, six hundred games. That's our youngest player, 32. That's the youngest. Come on down to Greensboro. We'll give you. Come on down to Greensboro. We'll give you a free membership at the local course. Play golf every day. Muck it up with the boys. Enjoy the band during the game

and win some games for the fellas. Let's go. I wanna have better food for the guys. No, no, no. Chipper, chipper. He's saying no, no. You want almost worse food, keep him hungry. Yeah.

I remember David Cosi wouldn't eat pregame meals. I'm like, what are you doing? He's like, gotta stay hungry. I'm like, oh shit, I guess that's a good way to look at it. All right, so we just give him just slosh, like Russian food. You want some more sloppy joes? I made them extra sloppy for ya. How can Houston's not sponsor Henry Freak?

They won't even give Biz a fucking free meal. I'm about ready to snap on Houston's on this pod. I swear to God. I give him till the end of March if there isn't a meal named after him and he doesn't have a free food for life card I'm going off on Houston's on this pod. They're like, oh you defended us? I'll become an Irish traveler. Oh you defended us? Okay you get to wash the dishes in the bath. You got the skin tone for it. on Houston's on this part. They're like, oh you defended us? I'll become an Irish traveler. Oh you defended us? Before I defend Houston.

Okay you get to wash your shit in the bath. You got the skin tone for it. Oh shit we have this finale I was like should I go get like a tan or something? Let's get a spray tan. I got a spray tan once and it's been a story on Chicklets for eight years now. It washed off my body and Ryan Getz left, laughed in my face like I traded a couple weeks later. Oh boys. Biz, how was the North Dakota Arizona State game? I saw pictures, atmosphere buzzing, how'd the game go? Ah, shout out to Coach Powers, he ended up getting us the passes to go over. I went with my trainer,

Taylor Piot and another friend of ours and just a great atmosphere. The one thing they were lacking at the game, the band wasn't there. I don't know if some games they do it. It's break. It's probably still, um, okay. Maybe that, maybe that's why, but, uh, great game. Uh, maybe the refs got a little bit too involved, way too many minor penalties called, but, uh, ultimately they were up three, two going late in the game. They gave one up to no Dak and no Dak ended up pulling it off and overtime. So they got three of the four points on the weekend, but it was not it was good man Like I I don't remember college hockey being that rough There were a lot of scrums after the whistles and I guess like for the second game of a back-to-back

It probably gets like that because you're so sick of seeing the same matchups and the same guys But was very impressed no Dak a lot bigger team I thought that ASU was a little bit more undersized But maybe a little bit more mobility. They had a couple water bugs out there Probably the more impressive most impressive player. I saw was that Cullen Potter on number 12 for ASU. He was their second line center. Is that is that who am I saying the name, right? Let me check here. I believe you are Biz. Yeah, yeah, he was buzzing around out there

and you know, great blades, great passer, very shifty. And I thought he did a good job of controlling the game. So overall, I loved going in my experience and I used to go back when it was at like Oceanside on the other side of town before they got the Mullet Arena, but just an incredible atmosphere. The people were loud and it was a great, great game. So shout out to Coach Powers and everything that they've built in that program from bringing it to club hockey to division one. And NoDAC, I think that they probably had, it was kind of like a coyotes

home game when we were playing against the Blackhawks back in the day, where it was probably 50-50. So you didn't know whether it was the home team or away team scoring. That's how much they were bringing the noise, but They've up. I think that the comments were is no Dak. Maybe we're a little bit rougher Back in the day when they had guys like Commodore and they had these big teams who would run a muck Maybe a Newton's on D. Matt green. Oh these big teams who would run amok. Maybe a... Mutants on D, Matt Green, big old bastards. That's another name that came out.

So maybe not quite like it used to be, but definitely a big team that has chances to go far in the tournament. Did you notice number nine on North Dakota? He was the Blackhawks first round pick this summer. Sasha... Oh, the D-man? No, he's a forward. Boushevé.

Sasha Boushevé. Is that how you say it? I think so, yeah. Boussave, I think that's from Quebec, right? Boussave, I... If you're correct, all props to you, fellow owner, but I need you to YouTube that right now. Boussave, I'd be surprised about, but apparently, like, very, very nice player.

Plays with an edge, first rounder. He's leading North Dakota in scoring number nine. I don't know if you noticed them there were a few bigger players that I did notice I think he was one of them and I was either number 25 or number 26 yet he had great boots on him he was making an impact out there 25 I was it was a 25 yeah Abram Weeby Vegas no he's a defenseman I think it was 26 actually who's the other guy? 26. Dylan James. I thought that was. Red Wings second round pick. Yeah that was the guy that I was noticing probably the most up front he seemed to have a pretty good

game and I want to say like at least ten players on NoDAC are drafted to the NHL. Yeah they're always a team with a bunch of draft picks. I saw a picture with you with Dave Hackstall. Were you talking to him at all? I went up to because Jordan Schmaltz was there him and his brother Nick played at Nodak So they were there, you know alumni and then Hackstall who I didn't realize he coached there, right? Yes, he got the Philly job out of there Okay so yeah

so he was there with a bunch of the alumni and they had a couple boxes booked off and So yeah, so he was there with a bunch of the alumni and they had a couple boxes booked off and got to say hello to him He always seemed like he when he was on air or being interviewed like a very serious guy It was good to see him a little bit more laid-back I've never seen his like facial expression not be like deadpan dead serious. I want to win a fucking hockey game So I would imagine it's not too long until he has another gig, whether it's college or or somewhere along the ranks. But a great experience. Maybe we hire him.

Oh shit. Well, we're going to have our hands all over that. I would probably put Mike Stothers name in the in the mix. What about if we go full circle and bring in Babs? Terian. Bring in Terian. We should interview all of them. Speaking of that, I. I live interviews. I mentioned to biz

We're going to Montreal for the four nations and we'll be in Boston as well Or I will be for sure. I don't know if the biz will definitely be in Montreal, but if you know Michelle Terrian We need to interview we need to sit down and interview. We need Murls on for that. We need Armie on for that. I think it would be unreal getting to sit down with him and go over everything. And every time a guy asks a question, he gets to take a drag of his cigarette and blow his cigarette smoke in our face before he answers our question. Because it was the reunion of his legendary press conference that he gave that I've told the story about. I think it was like the, I don't know. Ninete 19 year. And then I was reading something after where it was,

it might've been on Twitter where old penguins worker, Tom McMillan, remember Tom McMillan? He said that Terry and walk in and he goes, watch this. And like, just like he knew exactly what he was doing. And then like, as he got off, he's like, how was that? And like, the guys are just dying laughing. Meanwhile, I'm in my car driving, crying on the way to the airport, flying to Columbus,

where we then lost 7-1. Where you stepped on the lumber? We got scored on the first shift of the game. Hey, when a coach goes on a rant like that, too, when calling guys soft and me and you weren't the hardest players, you just think he's talking about you, right? You're like, oh my god, it's just me.

But he was, he was. No, I know he was, yeah. It was. Oh, I know. Every time a coach came in and ripped on the team, everything he said, I was like, that's everything he said to me before in one-on-one meetings. Yeah, I know what you're saying.

If you're a soft offensive defenseman and you're not producing a ton of points, and a coach comes in and yells at the team, he's yelling at you. I'm letting every younger soft offensive defense don't I don't know why go back quickly say the kids name again why there is no what you say I said booze of a call that close enough close enough booze of a you're not an owner any more smoking herb Brooks we should do a surviving Greensboro where we

invite in Kenan Tarianian, Babs, and they have to basically survive this coaching guillotine and then we hire the guy who ends up surviving it all. That would be a nice little spinoff. One of like, Herb Brooks's relatives? Yeah. Oh, I'm not going to live that one down. Herb Brooks was classic.

Oh, God. Classic stuff right there. Oh, my rest in peace. Classic stuff right there. Rest in peace, my apologies. Well, getting into the NHL, and getting into what's going on around this league, we have the new Vancouver Canucks, the Boston Bruins. According to this guy Rich Keefe,

who's a host of one of the daily shows on WEI in Boston, he came out and said Brad Marshon and David Poshanok can't stand each other and Poshanok went in and said he will not play on a line with them anymore and just this crazy report that after you've heard all the JT Miller, Elias Pettersson stuff that all of a sudden now it's in Boston. Now I guess the backstory is that this guy's gotten some correct things with the Boston Bruins like Swainman contract stuff, pasta contract stuff, some of the Monty stuff. So he does have a bit of a track record of actually getting things accurate. What I think we should do though is

roll the clip. I would imagine 90% of you listening right now are so dialed into the hockey world. You've probably heard not only this clip, which we're about to roll now. But Scoops Keef. Yes. With a tremendous, impeccable track record.

True. What are you hearing on the Bruins, Keef? Well, what I'm hearing is this. First of all, what we can all see is that they're a mess on the ice, right? They've lost six in a row, but what I'm hearing is they're also a mess off the ice. Apparently the locker room is a disaster and David Posternok is at the center of that. David Posternok has told the team he doesn't want to be on a line with Brad Marshan and it may stem from Brad Marshan calling out

Posternok for some of his play throughout the year. So, Postronok may be your best player, 60 goalscorer, all that stuff. Also, the main reason why it is a disaster inside the locker room. They won't play on the line together. Postronok does not want to play with Marchand. And they're not playing together. Oh, no. Well, are they getting any power play time together? I think they may have done that.

But this is what he is saying, and so I'm sure, you know, the coach doesn't have to do everything he says. They shuffle the lines, though. Postronok is no longer playing with Marshand. It's Marshand and Coyle and Lindholm. And so that, wow. He doesn't like that Marshand was a little mean to him.

That's on brand for this team. When has Marshand called out Pasta this year? No, I think that maybe sometimes on the bench, like, hey, you got to get that deep, or you got to make this team. When has Marshaan called out pasta this year? No, I think that maybe sometimes on the bench like, hey, you got to get that deep or you got to make this play. But let's remember here, I want to say in a game against Utah earlier in the year, it was Monty calling out Marchi for that turnover at the blue line, which resulted in a goal. So I don't think there's anything wrong with guys on the bench or guys in the locker room keeping each other accountable. I mean, you go back to last year's playoffs, you saw the Leafs go through it where they were arguing on the bench or guys in the locker room keeping each other accountable. I mean you go back to last year's playoffs you saw the Leafs go through it where they were arguing on the bench. Obviously that got amplified

and blown way out of proportion. So I don't know if there's a specific clip or or or a play in which this guy's talking about where he's extracting all this information from. Maybe he's getting it from a Bruins employee but when I heard this and it was sent to the group chat, I had a hard time believing that two guys who are documented as being very, very close. Would have an issue and a falling out after the start to this year, which has been a bit chaotic for the Boston Bruins. Not to mention they're the only two good forwards on the team right now. Like, what do you think possibly good forwards on the team right now.

Like, you think possible I'm not playing with them? I know for a fact that these two are very good buddies. And I'm not even saying that this guy is making this up, because obviously he's had a track record of knowing what's going on. I'm guessing that he has a source, and what looks like a pretty reliable source based on some other things that he's had correct, that is either making this up or completely incorrect, or purposely. This is where you get into the deep, deep dark, like, wow.

It's like, is somebody purposely getting that out there to try to create friction? I'm thinking- Oh, let's put the tin foil hats on! Yeah, I'm totally thinking, like, outside the box here trying to explain like what's going on here, but they're good friends. They like playing together. The season hasn't gone great for the entire team. What's odd to me though is that Marchand comes out and why don't we play this clip, which

was pretty hilarious the way he just... And by the time this gets to Marchy, I would have loved to have seen Marchy see the comments in that clip for the first time. I bet you there was fucking steam coming out of his ears. And by the time this gets to Marchie, I would have loved to have seen Marchie see the comments in that clip for the first time. I bet you there was fucking steam coming out of his ears. He is probably so fed up with all the headlines and all the bullshit, all the way from the Swainman stuff in the summertime, all the way till now.

The team, I believe before the game against Florida had lost six in a row. So this is before that game, Roll the clip of Marshawn. There was a radio report this morning, I know you're aware of that Costa doesn't want to play in a line with you and just trying to get your reaction. Well yeah, I have heard what was said in the media this morning. It's unfortunate. I know reporters have a job to do and You know that job is report on the team and and usually you try to be fact-based but when there's just blatant lies told in the media, that's where there's a problem and The fact that this guy has a platform and he's just making stuff up is embarrassing and

There's zero truth to anything that he said on the radio. This is how you lose a job very quickly. The fact that he's gonna have a job after this is insane. Because Paso and I are best friends. We've had an incredibly close relationship for a long time. The only reason we'll play together is so that we can spread depth through with the lineup. There's zero truth to him being a problem in the room.

He's one of the most loved guys in the room. There's zero issues in the room at all and the fact that he they say that he's in the center of anything is a completely fabricated lie. So this guy has zero merit to anything he's saying. It's very frustrating because this is what happens obviously we have not pulled our weight this year We have not had the season that we wanted to have but I'm not gonna let some random guy come in the media and just spit absolute nonsense and

So, I mean from this point forward this guy has zero credibility The fact that he's coming out with this is ridiculous it's embarrassing and you know it just anything that he puts forth in the future is is is now not going to be deemed as truth because he's completely just making all of this stuff. I thought Marchie did a great job of handling it just kind of you know putting it to bed I don't think anyone that knows and obviously I never played with both I played with Marchie and jr. But I never played with them both together

Outside looking in they look like the best of friends. They're you know at each other's weddings hanging out pictures on Instagram Like you know, like you played with a number of guys that you know, you're friendly with but you know You're not going to their wedding in the like, you know, like you played with a number of guys that, you know, you're friendly with, but you know, you're not going to their wedding in the summertime, you know, so I think their friendship is pretty locked and solid. Especially as the captain of that team, like you hear him saying, like, you can hear him getting frustrated about it. You can tell that he's passionate that, you know, it's all bullshit, right? And it kind of sounded like he wanted to say it was bullshit. Just hearing somebody that doesn't, that's not in the locker room with you every single day and going to battle with you. Like those guys have been together for the last probably what?

12, 13, 14 years. Like they've gone to battle together. They're battle tested together. Their friends are on the ice, off the ice. The fact that someone would say that I think is insane like you have to he had to have had a really good source that he trusted to say that and I Can't imagine anyone in that locker room is ever gonna like no player is ever gonna say that Your captain and your best player are not getting along especially when they are so

For me, it's tough to hear because you never want like as an ex player, you never want stuff from the media to kind of get in the way of your team and your friendships. And, you know, you see it a little bit happening in Vancouver, but I thought March, you did a great job of handling it and putting it to bed. And I would imagine that's the last we hear of it. And yeah, it's one of those things if he didn't hear that and just made that up, which is an insane thing to do, I think, you can't just go out on a limb and say something like that because they're not on the same line that one guy doesn't want to play with the other because he doesn't like them. I don't know. I'd like to hear from from from what was the name, Keith.

He doubled down today on the radio. He went back on and doubled down. And I just want you guys to think for a sec, like, where do we think? Where do we think Rich Keith is getting his information from? Because I have a confession. Everything. I have a confession. Everything has been from a transactional standpoint, whether it's a contract or a firing. These are the things he's reporting on. He was the one that reported when everyone was saying how far apart the Bruins and Swamen were and everyone was coming at Bruins management.

Rich Keith was the guy who reported Swamen wants 10 million. That did not make Jeremy Swamen look good. So what? So once again, he's got he has a source telling him something is something isn't making the Bruins players look good. I texted him pretending to be Cam Neely. Shit. We're trying to stay. We're owners now. I I try to stay out of it. But then I saw Marshawn's mom trolling me again on social media through the Bruins account. I just have enough. I've had enough from that family.

So I was trying to stir it back up. So my apologies to Marshawn, the rest of the Boston Bruins. I actually want these guys in playoffs to meet the Leafs in the first round so we can embarrass them for the first time in a long time. So that's all I got to say about that. I'll, I'll eat this one. I think that Marshawn's disgust also stems from, for how long have the Bruins just been lock solid as a team? It's been year after year, ever since Chara got there, maybe a year after, the first year he got there, did they miss the playoffs?

But I don't know, what's it been? 15 years of them basically being like a contender, right around then. Yep. And now all of a sudden, you're the captain and everything's just falling apart. And it's like, holy shit, not only are we losing games, but we got radio, which I believe that WEI

gets completely pounded in ratings. Like they were like the first and only sports radio station in Boston, and Boston's always been one of those cities like New York where sports radio was huge. This is before podcasts and everything years ago. But then the sports hub came along, that's 98.5, and basically since they're like, they're just looking for ratings and clicks. And this Keith guy came out today and he backed it up. He's like, I'm not standing down on this. I believe my source. He didn't say I believe my source.

So can I put my tinfoil hat back on here? Do you guys think that someone in Bruins management may be leaking that to try to stir it up so it becomes easier to maybe dismantle and start a rebuild sooner rather than later? Like, what is the goal here by leaking that type of information to this guy where if he's leaked stuff in the past and it's all been accurate, what's the goal here? To make it not look like it's Don Sweeney's fault.

Just like he did with the, that's what I was trying to say before. Just like he did with the Jeremy Swainman thing. When he reported that Jeremy Swainman wanted 10 million dollars, that was because everyone was ripping on Don Sweeney at the time because he couldn't get the Swainman deal done. So back it up there. So you're so I know that you were kind of mentioning that earlier. And we were kind of joking around about the fact that I was the one stirring it up.

You said that you're telling me that you think that somebody in Bruins management leaked this to this guy? That's who I would believe the source is coming from. Oh, my God. Think about think about where every time this guy has made a report and he's been right. He has been right. You got all transactional stuff. What do you think? I think I don't know.

Don't fucking departed right now. Yeah. I think I don't know. Don't fucking departed right now. Yeah I don't know Don Sweeney or Cam Neely, but they're both ex players and I think that doing something like that is pretty taboo as an ex player to kind of come in and mess with the Lockroom like that because at the end of the day, it's you know, it's their team as well, right? I don't think a GM or president would ever come out and say that they More have you know other things to say. Like, at the end of the day, those guys can just trade whoever they want.

Like they can, you can trade, you can buy guys. Oh, you can do whatever you want. I don't, I do not imagine that an ex player that's been a GM and a president that long would ever start. Yeah, I think that's fucking crazy talk. I think that's way more tinfoil. I don't necessarily think it was Don Sweeney And I'm not I'm saying someone in Sweeney's camp

There's probably lots of guys in Don Sweeney's camp who haven't played hockey before who haven't been a locker room guy who are like Hey, if Sweeney goes I go to fuck that I'm leaking this out. What do you think? What do you think wit? I? Just know they're good buddies. Yeah, exactly. So it's like somebody's, and I don't think the Keith guy is making it up based on his history. In fairness though, he said he was the first to know Monte would be fired and Sacco would get the job.

Was he before you, G? No, no. That's bullshit. Me and Mick had it. Me and Mick had it before. Yeah, I'm not your average Mick. This, I'm not your average Mick. This... Not your average Mick. So, there's something to be said that this guy does have a source. Like, G's whole, like, theory here, if you look into it, it kind of does make sense.

It sounds insane, because it would basically mean that the Bruins front office would be behind shriveling their captain and their highest paid player. Now, it's hard to believe, but I just go back to, I know they're good buddies. Like I know for a fact they're very close. Do you think Sweeney's jealous of their bromance and that's why this is happening?

Well, let's get into the fact that at the Oilers game, which let me tell you, as an Oilers fan seeing them coming to Boston and all these fans want to see McDavid and Dreisaitl in person, it was the varsity team playing the JV team. It wasn't even like they were in the same league, the two teams, and then the crowd, Byers, Sweeney. I'm like, what is happening right now with this team? It's been years and years of dominance and playoffs and cup and 11 and cup finals in 19 and 13

and what the hell is going on? And I just now it's like everything's just completely out of control. Like this game... It's pretty weird this report came out after the first time the guard enchanted Fire Sweeney. Then the WEI guy who always reports the Bruins' rumors on the Bruins' management side comes out this report. Wow! This is- Just a little weird.

It's a crazy story. And this guy just doubles down. Now the guy had to double down. He had to. What else is he gonna do? Come out and say like, oh yeah, I made it up? It's just being what he's told too. It's what he was told.

But his line doubling down, he's like, who's more likely to lie? Me or them? It's like, buddy, I mean, I'm probably putting it on you, considering you're on a radio station that's getting completely crushed by another sports radio station and nobody listens to your show. No offense, I don't know the guys in this show. I think we need Don Sweeney to do a lie detector. If we got Don Sweeney, let's do it in Greensboro

with a guillotine right there. And if you fail, the owners took out another. And then we'll hire him as our GM. So smart. So any thoughts on the crowd chanting fire Sweeney? I think, well you pulled out that article today where they haven't had a first and second round pick in the same draft in how many years, since 2017?

Seven years it's been since they had a first and second rounder in the same draft. And I think that that draft they actually did pretty good where they ended up getting. They had McAvoy, right? Yeah. Was that McEvoy? Lindgren.

Lindgren, and there was another. He was a second rounder. And there was another forward in there. I think they had two firsts that year. Well, their prospect pool is really bad, really bad. The team's not great right now. Now granted, like off year so far from Swamen McAvoy like started off poorly he's played better. But it's not

even about like... But it's their team. They just don't have a great team. Yeah like I watched that watch that game against the Florida Panthers like they don't they can't sustain any type of offensive zone pressure like you talk about game breakers like you know you got Marsha and pasta and really after that, it just dwindles out. Uh, um, I think G you mentioned it. McEvoy is getting asked to do way too much. So his game's even suffering as a result of that. Um, I've, I think we've all been hearing rumblings that they're very desperate to address that center ice position to the point where they're trying to get Elias

Pedersen or JT Miller. where they're trying to get Elias Pedersen or JT Miller. So they're willing to take in, take in anything from the west coast, from Vancouver at this point. I don't know what type of trade can get you JT Miller. I would imagine that they would probably be looking for a defenseman like Lowe Rye. Um, I would say that given the fact that Trent Frederick is, is a pending, is it UFA or is he restricted? He's UFA. He's going to be UFA.

So maybe a guy like that, if you can't work out a deal, maybe coil. You have to do coil to fill the center position for them. They're not just going to give away a center and not get a center in return. And you're going to have to do low ride. Coil and low ride I would do. I would do that. You think Vancouver would take coil and Lohri for Elias Pedersen or JT Miller? No, I think for JT Miller the money matches up perfectly too. But I mean, why wouldn't you? Maybe throw in Brandon Carlo in there too. Because you're getting smoked in that trade. I think if you can get Trent Frederick, I think if you get Lohri and then

you can get a first round pick, I would consider for the JT, depending on how bad that situation's gotten. Now that this has taken a lot of noise, maybe away from Vancouver and the overall media, maybe things have calmed down and now that you're past the halfway point of the season, they're gonna say, let's just ride it out till this year, to this off season and then maybe we could package something and get something better. But I don't imagine that Vancouver is going to hit the panic button and release one of those guys. And there's got to be other teams getting even more

desperate as the deadline approaches. So I don't know what you feel about everything, Yans and the state of the Boston Bruins, but I think that this team is going to be a lottery team for years to come in the next few. Yeah, I agree with that a hundred percent. I think they got to start kind of from the bottom up, you know, going forward. Obviously it's been well documented.

They haven't drafted great. They've made some bad contracts and stuff like that, but I could see them bringing in Sean Thornton to run the ship. He's been putting in his time down here in Florida, the revenue for the Panthers through the roof For what he's like what he's done in the business side. Obviously, he knows the the game side, right and I think what he could bring to them He's a guy when you think of Sean Thornton, he bleeds black and gold, right?

He would be a guy that people would love to see in there. Obviously, I don't know if 30 like a president Yeah, yeah kind of get it because I think they're gonna have to start from the beginning here to see in there. Obviously I don't know if 30, like a president. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of get it. Cause I think they're going to have to start from the beginning here. They're going to have to like the next five years, they're going to not be the Bruins that, you know, we've, you know, noticed the last 10, 15 years where they're making the playoffs every year. Like they got it. They got a draft. Well, they're going to have to, you know, there's going to get it to a point too, right? Like if next year, if they're 20 games out of the playoffs, you think they're gonna be selling out the Fleet Center

there or the Garden, whatever it is? Well, that's the only way that Jacobs will start doing anything is if all of a sudden their money starts just dwindling away a little bit. Because they're in it to make dough, and they've had very good teams and they've spent money ever since the Chara and Savard came, so Bruins fans, you can't complain too much about your owners.

They've done a lot in the past little while to make this team very good. They've also gotten very lucky that Bergeron took a lot less and Marchand took a lot less and they had guys buying into this system and had this amazing leadership and core, but at some point if that building stops being full, yes, you'll see changes.

I just don't know if Boston's a market for like a tear down rebuild. It's like. Well, fuck, it feels like every other original six teams doing it, no wonder Matthew's back sore and the Leafs, they've been carrying the original six all fucking season long here. It's crazy.

I think they're the only original six team in a playoff picture right now, are they? Detroit's won seven in a row. Well, congratulations, you're still on the outside looking in. I think Boston's sitting in that world. You want to talk to original six? You haven't done shit since 1967 for Christ's sake. But it's on time, baby! You're talking about 41 game sample size. Shut up! I got hockey Illuminati coming on later to shove it right up your fucking hoop. What's he gonna shove up my hoop? We've stunk for 55 years? All I know is that you gotta think long and hard,

like, what's the future with Brad Marchand? You gotta think he wants to stay, he's captain, he's been there his entire career, but do you look at like, all right, let's kind of start over, we trade him? It sounds crazy. I don't even know if they can. Can you look up his contract? But like- He's a UFA at the end of the year. I know crazy. I don't even know if they can can you look up his contract?

But like the ufa at the end of the year. I know but I don't know if he has a no trade He must look that up, which I'm guessing he does but crazy times in Boston I would love to know what the fans think maybe you can write in the YouTube Comments or something like what where do you go from here? If you know you have no good prospects, and you know the team right now isn't good but but you have a stud goalie sign long term you have a stud defenseman sign long term and you have posture sign long term is it like well what do we do we can't so they're right in the middle of it. They call them retools.

Don't you think yeah just like Washington did last year like everyone was talking about it's time for Washington to break it down all Washington have is Ovi It's gonna be a dark few years for the Capitals and they made a few good offseason signings They had one or two good drafts in a row and they're the best team in the NHL right now There's no reason the Bruins can't do that. Well the reason yeah, I mean The reason being is that they got Elias Lindholm making what, seven and a half for the next seven years? Yeah, seven, seven. I feel really bad watching him play.

And then they got Zdorov too, who's locked in long term. Zdorov and Lindholm, he can't move out there anymore. It's just you lose that, he was never a burner and then you kinda lose a little, little tiny bit of your speed, it's like, whoa. I mean, what is he, half a point per game pace right now? It's first year of that deal? Mar-Shawn has a modified no trade clause to it.

So we probably spent enough time on the Bs, but that was kind of a crazy story. Rich Keefe and WEEI, Mar-Shawn was furious though. You could just tell. If he would have said rumor Boys at the end of that, I think he would have got out unscathed. But now we got Marshawn asking for his job. And I'm gonna tread lightly on the Rumor Boys

stuff too now. I might actually disassociate myself with you guys. Well, you did text. You're independent. I'm independent now again. We kinda had on the outline here, it goes into a different conversation and the way the league's gotten younger and changed like the locker room aspect

of the NHL and I think you see a team like Florida and you see some teams that are very tight-knit and they're close and there's a great group of guys they all get along they'll go out to eat together and then there's teams that you see locker rooms that aren't that tight and there's guys that don't hang out and guys that don't go out to eat on the road and I wonder if it's changed a lot or is it just that bad teams and teams who've struggled have forever not been that close-knitted?

I mean it was probably because I was the loudest guy in the locker room but I felt like every locker room I went into we had a good time and never was it a situation where you could hear a pin drop where even if we'd lost three, four, five in a row, and maybe we weren't playing great, like as, as upset as you were after the game and, and you know, as you showed up to the rink the next day for practice with that, you know, lunch pail mentality where we got to work our way out of this. Yeah. It's, we always, we always had a good time. We were always laughing and chuckling and team camaraderie was never ever an

issue, regardless of where we were as far as the wins and the losses. And I just think it's definitely with, um, the lack of drinking and the lack of, uh, and people might say, oh, that's ridiculous, but I think it sounds ridiculous, but it's not, but it's not, because you get a little bit looser. You go learn a little bit more about your teammates and who you're fighting for. And I just felt like back then, there were so many more locker rooms that were close knit

and that spent time together and knew who they were going to war with, so to speak, night in and night out. So I don't know if you'd ever, in your NHL career, I know you were in Arizona quite a long time, but any times in New York or Philly or Florida did it ever feel like maybe some of the cases that we're hearing about in today's NHL where there's room divide? No, never heard of that. Never even thought it. Especially, I mean, even you think a donor, like donor didn't drink, he was the last guy at the bar every time we went out. like donor didn't drink he was the last guy

at the bar every time we went out obviously it wasn't he was never going out the night before games and you know I'd say 98 percent of the guys are never going out before games but the guy that was always showing up to hang out with his teammates like you said you get to know guys you get to know you know their habits where they came from how they kind of wired Um, so I never I never had that problem never even like Yeah, even like if they're you come to a team and guys are like, oh, yeah So and so doesn't like to go out to dinner. You just ask them once and they say yeah, sure And they come out like no one like there's no guys that are really ever Going to say no to going out having a grabbing a dinner with the guys because then it just looks bad on you, right?

But maybe the way the game is nowadays like guys are so I don't know. Maybe guys are Gonna say no to going out having a grabbing a dinner with the guys cuz then it just looks bad on you right but Maybe the way the game is nowadays like guys are so I don't know Maybe guys are in their rooms doing treatment on the road getting you know doing game film I'm not sure I just I find it hard to believe that Only a few years removed from the game that there that there is big issues in locker rooms I still think hockey players are still wired the same way that, you know, kind of we were just a little less of the tomfoolery off the ice, maybe.

But I just find it hard to believe that guys that, you know, have put their whole life into playing this game that, you know, we all love that whatever it be a bad teammate, it's just I feel like the NHL does such a good job of kind of weaning those guys out. Like you can't stick around very long if you're not a good teammate, a good player, and you know, a good family man.

I joined some horrible Oilers teams. It was the most fun rooms ever. Like it was a, I was like, ah, lost again, fuck. Let's go have a couple boys talk about it. Over the point. Yeah, it was just- Did you ever play in a locker room, ah, lost again. Fuck. Let's go have a couple boys talk about it. Over to the point. Yeah, it was just. Did you ever play in a locker room, guys, where two of the best players in the team

were having a little bit of a riff? And was it a case where you had such strong leadership or other guys in the room, or you never really allowed it to get that bad? I don't ever remember anything like that. I really don't. And I would say it. I know we're kind of going back to a situation

we've been talking about a lot of, but it just feels like how it's managed and how it gets this bad and how our locker room gets maybe that toxic or that unfun where we're fucking playing the game we love here. Oh, we're getting paid millions and millions of dollars to do it. I know this sounds like so boomer and biz.

You and I have been out of the game a long time now. When was the last time I was in the NHL? 12 years ago. It's like, I don't know anything anymore. But you can't tell me that social media and all this hasn't changed things. And searching your name and reading mentions and seeing times that you're brought up on Instagram

and Twitter, it's like, that probably leads to certain things that doesn't really go with a true team becoming one, right? Where a guy's where- So you're saying like one guy reading it, maybe even reading that other guys in the team are unhappy with them and then letting it affect him the way that he's bringing himself into that locker room maybe giving or thinking

some type of truth to it? Not maybe the way you say it more like you're reading about yourself so much more often like back in the day like when we played it was like there was articles in the newspaper and you know obviously there was the internet and shit we're not that old but there wasn wasn't the ability to search your name on Twitter, right? There wasn't the ability to see all these comments about you individually. And I remember, at the very end, there was, there was Twitter, the worst thing I ever did was make a Twitter account while I was still playing at Edmonton, I was like, oh my god, I gotta delete this.

And now if you're reading reading and searching things on that About you it it's not gonna like divide a team But it's gonna fuck you up mentally right and then all of a sudden you're like you're thinking about like what people are saying And maybe not bringing the best version of yourself not bringing the best version yourself and not bringing this like enthusiastic energy that's like easy to kind of hop onto and and and be a part of and it's just become more like individualistic, if that's even a word. Like it's more about yourself based on like all of this internet bullshit than it was way back in the day. And this is us like spitballing here and I'm sure that 90% of the NHL, the rooms are tight, and the rooms are close, but there are teams that are like, you're hearing things, and now the Bruins one, I believe, is false,

but the Canucks thing is not false. There's obviously proof to that, and everything else that goes into guys reading about themselves and just more into yourself opposed to being into the team. I think it's just so much easier. You know how everyone used to say, keep the noise out of the room,, keep the noise out of the room.

Like keep the noise out of the room. But that was in the room now. That was a beat writer and what maybe like the radio guy, like there was two guys per team, especially in Phoenix to write. The Coyotes, they were our buddies. We had like Nasher and Bob, he'd hosted there. You were rooming with Peter on the room. Yeah.

On the road. Greg Morgan, Walshy. Yeah, it was awesome. Yeah. So it's like, you don't let that affect the room, but I think you make a great point with where like guys, cause I saw it at the end of my career, guys are on their phone right after the game,

looking at, I remember guys showing me messages that like, they'd get DMs like, I bet on you to score tonight, you didn't score, I hope your family dies, like stuff like, I'm like, Jesus, why are you looking at that? Like don't ever read stuff like, like donor always used to say the ups and downs, the eb, I'm like, Jesus, why are you looking at that? Like, don't ever read stuff. Like, like Donor always used to say, the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows of the season, like you can't get too high, can't get too low, and that's, you know, if you read a good article.

Huh? If you're doing that, you're too high and you're too low. Yeah, you're done. You're done. You're done. That's a good thing I didn't play, I didn't have to read about any of it. Can you just write something bad about me?

I just want my name in the paper. That is. Porn star DM, little boys. All right, well, there's some teams that are buzzing right now. We got a little Viagra triangle update. Woo! One team's getting real high.

Boys, the Detroit Red Wings. Seven in a row? Holy shit, seven in a row. Todd McClellan, come on down. Capped off Sunday with a thrashing of the Seattle Kraken. The Seattle Kraken are trash. Stink, stink. It was four nothing, I think like eight minutes

into the game and Todd McClellan, what's cool about what Todd McClellan's done so far is he came in and we talked a bunch of episodes about play hockey, play loose, you guys need to get back to playing the game and loving the game and that's how you play, like you're out on the pond. It doesn't mean freewheeling and turnover pucks at the blue line, but play hockey.

Well now, like they've bought in at the beginning, all right, let's just start playing, he's gonna let us play, he's gonna let us run, let's just start feeling better about ourselves. What happens is you win seven in a row, now you're even more bought in. Now it's like he brings in other messages, you know, like, we're doing, I'll do this, it's working, we're winning. Their power play is, I think it's the second-ranked power play in the NHL right now. Yeah, since, I think, and on that seven game win streak, they've scored 31

goals, so they're averaging four and a half goals per game. And I want to say the Todd McCullin's first game, that was when he made those comments where he told them, he's like, just fucking go play hockey. They ended up losing to the Leafs, but they've rattled off seven since. But I don't know what it was like with LeLon, but sometimes maybe structure comes into too much

of a factor where it takes a lot of the, the, the creativity away and Yans, you were probably the most creative player out of the three of us. Like, did you find when it was overly structured, sometimes it took a lot of that away and almost you were, you were kind of like, you know, defeating yourself in a sense. I don't, I think with, with tip, you know, when, when tip came in after Wayne, like he was, he was very structure-oriented. He wanted guys in a certain position. And I think it helped me get to where I wanted.

Knowing where guys are, I think, really helped me. Just knowing that your winger is going to be there every time. You're not looking up and seeing guys' jersey numbers. So I think structure has a lot to do with it. And then your creativity takes over from there. But the biggest thing is when you have that structure is just that everybody has to obey by it and everyone has to be doing the right thing. Shift in, shift out, because you can't, you take a couple shifts off and doing that then your whole game is going to go go to the shitter. But I do think he's bringing that structure into their game and he's probably saying hey listen do

What I say five on five and then you know on the power play you skill guys go out there and sling it around Do whatever you want and you can tell their power plays been humming since he got there So I think it all like a good base for a team. It all starts with good structure You can't win in this league without having a good structured team. No team's going to just be free wheeling and win games anymore. You have to have everybody bought in to the right system. You look at even the Panthers, they've been to the finals, they won last year. They still, even game 37, they dump pucks in, they get in on the forecheck. They're not a team trying to make plays through the neutral zone. So the structure part in, you know. I feel like they also can do that though,

in a sense where they don't have to rely on just one thing where it's like, you know, they can four check. Like Florida is one of the best four checking teams in the league. So when you're constantly dumping in on them, I feel like defensemen are naturally retreating and they're almost cheating to go back where that'll open it up. Then they could start making plays in neutral zone because like that three, four feet and

not having that stick in the lane is pretty much everything at the national league level. So not being, I guess, so one dimensional and you're saying for Detroit, kind of having your baseline as to what the structure is. But then when you do maybe get below the dots or below the tops of the circles in the offensive zone, then you're allowed to go flourish and be creative offensively. Like that type of shit? Yeah, 100%. The easiest thing in the game to do is to dump the puck in. Some guys don't want to do it, some guys are good at it. It is, you know, it sounds crazy to say, but it is a skill having, you know, to put the puck in the right

position, to set up your guy on the four check to be the first guy on the park. You know, there's a lot that goes into it. And, you know, I think doing this, the little things, right. That, and that's what brings your game to the next level to take over the skill, cause they have a ton of skill, you know, you got Larkin Kane, cider, uh, you know, Raymond's like Raymond, like pretty nasty to bring it like you, you got some Raymond's like Raymond like pretty nasty to brink it.

Like you got some horses up front and even on the back end too, that can make plays. It's just getting to that right spot of the arena. Like you said, below the hash marks and then letting your skill take over there, but you have to get there in the first place to, you know, let that take over for your game. We did put it in the outline and I believe it was Elliott Freeman who reported. Now, you can tell there's a little bit of pressure. You saw Stevie Wise press conference a few weeks back when they hired McClellan talking about, obviously, that we want this to have been sped up and maybe a little bit

more playoff hockey going on here in Motown, that they might be looking at Dylan Cousins and trying to get him over and making an aggressive move in order to try to get him. Now, I would imagine Sider is untouchable, Lucas Raymond is untouchable, Dylan Larkin is untouchable. Now, some of you listening and Red Wings fans might say that, Edveson, he would maybe be a piece that would be considered.

Fuck man, if I'm Steve Iserman and I got those two big ass defensemen who can skate, they're both untouchable. They're both untouchable. So you consider him untouchable because if you're gonna go out and get them. 21 years old buddy. I agree with you Ed. And then you have that Sandin Pelica,

who's a defenseman for Team Sweden who will be coming up in the next few years. So you do have another guy in the pipeline outside of Edmonton, so what do you think could attract in order to get Dylan Cousins over? You're gonna have to give up something. The first round in 2023, ninth overall, Nate Danielson, he's from Edmonton, he's playing in Grand Rapids.

You'd have to think that he would be a part of that deal. That's one where you're like, if Wings fans are like, no, no, no, it's like, well, every fan wants to make these deals, it's like, you gotta give something up. Like, it's never gonna be like, like G wants to trade, who do you wanna trade? Lohri and Coyle for Elias Pettersson. And JT Miller.

And JT Miller, get both of them. I don't know a ton about the Red Wings prospects. I just know if you're looking at a top 10 pick from two years ago, that's probably a guy that Buffalo's looking at. Buffalo, the whole Cousins thing is that's just setting up for a guy to leave and just light it up like the rest of the guys that have left Buffalo

and started lighting it up. Buffalo sits dead last in the Eastern Conference right now. They're only eight points out of the playoffs, they're in dead last. You can't hop over seven other teams to get into the playoffs. They're done, they're done. So what do they do?

They had Seattle up two nothing the other day and they're through that one. I had a text telling me, I had somebody telling me that they think Kevin Adams could be let go soon. I have no clue. Oh, rumor boys. Who told you that, Keith?

Totally rumor boys. That's someone, I said, really? They said that, no, it's Biz. He texted me, actually. So I don't know what's going to happen in Buffalo. The guy also mentioned he thinks they'll be up for sale soon. So this is like wild rumor boys out of Buffalo. Just something somebody told me.

Have no clue. I heard once the football season's over that they're putting Allen at a third line center. out of Buffalo, just something somebody told me. Have no clue. Have no clue. I heard once the football season's over that they're putting Allen at a third line center. Josh is gonna do both? Yeah, just to ease him in. He'd be a horse out there. Oh, absolutely, absolutely.

Maybe we could pull a G-Trade and trade our stock in the East Coast League team and get the Sabres. Hey, Mr. Pagula, there's a team in Greensboro we own.8% of. You wanna trade? We'll take Buff. I also saw a clip of Buffalo Bills fans like going nuts when they drafted Josh Allen,

like, no! Just pretty classic, I didn't know that. I didn't know that he wasn't a popular pick. They were hating on it. But hey, a couple clicks for the Detroit Red Wings.'re they're at the top. Yes of the Viagra Triangle now I think Detroit I think Detroit and Stevie why I think after tonight's game They got a little bit of a gauntlet come and they got Florida Tampa Dallas I think you're gonna see who they really are after tonight's game, Tuesday night. They got San Jose, so they should be able to make this eight in a row.

We just immediately bet San Jose now that you heard this. But Keith, I got a question for you. Biz and I had lunch. So I believe right now that the six teams, the top three in the Atlantic and the top three in the Metro are set. I think you're going to see the season finish that way. I'm not sure about standings, but I think in the Atlantic, Toronto, Florida. Well, Boston's right now there.

Yeah, they're in there. So I take that back. I think the Atlantic is going to be Toronto, Florida, Tampa. And I think the Metro is going to be Washington, New Jersey, Carolina. OK, so I think you got two wild card spots up for grab. Of Boston, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Columbus, Montreal, Detroit, Philly, Rangers. I think Islanders and Sabres are dead. Who do you want as the two wild card teams?

Keep in mind to correct you. You said Boston's in that wild card spot. They're not in the top three. You must have hit the points thing by accident. But right now Boston has that first wild card spot. They're not the top three. You must have hit the points thing by accident. But right now Boston has that first wild card spot with 47 points. The second wild card is now Columbus with 46 points. But keep in mind Columbus, Ottawa, and Detroit all have at least two if not three games in hand. Okay, so I had the six correct. I'm sorry. Yeah, Toronto, Florida, Tampa, in as the top three in the Atlantic. Washington, Jersey, Carolina in as the top three in the Atlantic. Washington, Jersey, Carolina, in as the top three in Metro.

I think that's done. So the two wild card teams, Keith, who would you like to see? Because Biz and I were saying, do you wanna see like Boston and Pitt, Pitt get one more run, do you want new blood? Like what two teams do you wanna see in as the wild card? I personally would rather see Boston and Pittsburgh,

old blood, if it's both of them. If it's not, I want two new teams, new blood. And we were kind of, if Boston did get the eighth seed, it'd be fun to see Florida get the one seed and see the- I don't want to watch the Bruins. They're like watching the Islanders to me. Like they're, they, they, dude, it is like, they're all, you know, they're on, I'm putting on Ness and I'm like, this is not, they're on, I'm putting on Nesson,

I'm like, this is not fun to watch this team play. They just can't create any offense. So I'll ask you again, what two teams do you want as the two wild cards, as a fan of the game? That I want, or that I think will get it. That you want. That I want. I'll go Pittsburgh, I think Sid deserves it. Love to see them, and him in playoffs as much must watch TV.

And then I'd like to see the Rangers as well. Wow. I think we said that would be a dangerous team if they snuck in as an eight, especially with Shuster can. Yeah. Um, Witt made this point too to see Ottawa Toronto go at it in the first round. Ottawa is a fun team to watch. And, or if Florida ends up getting that one seed and Ottawa sneaks in as the eighth to see the Kachuk goes at it in the first round, that would be fun. That would probably be the most dialed in item to a series. But if it is two teams with new blood, it's hard to leave out Motown,

but it would really be cool to see Columbus back. I feel that And base would would they deserve it and especially everything that's happened It would be such an incredible story, and they play their fucking dicks off dude this is the story of the season right now I know this unimaginable tragedy and Everyone's picking them to finish Lottery and they're just kicking along Dean Evison comes in and you know he's a good coach, based on what Garron went through to fire him

and how emotional it was and how difficult that was for Billy G, this guy comes in, and all of a sudden this crowd, dude, they've made the playoffs six times in their existence as a team. They've won one round, and their fans are fucking crazy. It's just such an awesome thing to see this team that nobody believed in, that nobody thought could do a thing this year sitting right now as a wildcard team.

That's one of my picks. And then it's tough for me. If, if, if they do get a wildcard spot and make playoffs and where Renske leads their team in scoring right now, he's on pace for over 20 goals. If that happens, he has to be in consideration for the MVP. Like if Halsey wins it with sneaking in New Jersey when he did it, a defenseman leading his team in scoring with 20 plus goals over a point per game,

he has to be in the top three of the league. Yeah, yeah, I can't argue that. I agree. When's the last time that a defenseman's won the heart? Was it Bobby Orr? Chris Pronger won the heart ball. No, fuck. Puffy retired in like 74.

Okay, outside of him, when was the last defenseman to win? Honestly, I wonder if it was Orr. It might have been. Gee, get on that right now. I bet you outside of Chris Prongo wanted an idol. Don't hurt yourself. Actually, you might be right there. Oh yeah?

It wasn't even someone before Bobby Orr. Lidsom should have got it one of those fucking years. I gotta go hoes quick. You guys can keep thinking about that. Keith, I want go host quick you guys can keep thinking about that Keith I Want my other choice? God that leaves out Ottawa cuz I want all I know auto with Detroit would be fun. I Feel bad saying it. I don't I I would love to see Crosby and Pittsburgh again But it's not like I don't think they could do any damage not that I think like most of these teams were talking about could

Ever win the cup so Pittsburgh they get in I I'll always love the Penguins always love Sid I'm sitting here because of the guy but fuck man Montreal in the Bell Center that place is so sick in the playoffs I know we just talked to Eric angles about it I think I think I'm going to Detroit though and I love auto it's tough but Columbus is for sure one of them no hey so Chris Pronger won it last and then after before that it was Bobby Orr in 1971 72 and 69 and then before that was Tommy Anderson in 1941 Tommy and let's tell biz that Bobby or never even want it. He won't back. Oh

No way, oh Could have sworn I read that somewhere though. Gretz told me a story one night Did I tell you I own part of an East Coast hockey team He's gonna try to sign my travel schedule, dude Man, I want to play it every other day What's up, bro? Or never even won MVP. Wow, who wasn't?

Before Pronger. Just kidding. He won three in a row. Bobby Orr won three in a row, and Pronger was the next D-Man and the last D-Man to do it. How many D-Man have done it over the course of it? Before that, Tommy Anderson in 1940.

Holy shit. What team did Tommy Anderson play for? Leafs? We have no idea. It's got a big, it's one of six. The now defunct Brooklyn Americans. They were a wagon. I just guessed the Leafs.

You had a one in six chance of getting it right. Quickly, I actually believe that as of right now, Monday, January 13th at 6, 11 Eastern time, PM, the eight teams that are sitting in the Western Conference are the eight playoff teams. That would be Vegas, Edmonton, LA, that would be Winnipeg, Minnesota, Dallas, and that would be Colorado and Vancouver.

So, Biz thinks that St. Louis could hop up and take over Vancouver's spot as the last wild card team. I think Calgary at some point might drop off. Very impressive season by them as well. This Wolf Kid, nasty. Normally at this point, like Rutherford, he's big on the mid-season trades. It's coming.

Something's gotta be coming. I think they gotta shake things up in order to kinda take that next step, but Vancouver's scaring me a little bit right now, especially with all that locker room drama, a lot of tough games in the West. There's a few teams nipping at their heels. I think Utah is pretty impressive. They started out hot out of the gate, then they stumbled a little bit, but they've gotten their game back, more goal scoring. So I do like St. Louis.

I like what they have cooking. If they can get that whole back end healthy with Bennington and they sneak in where each D men's playing that 18 to 20 minutes you're not really relying on too many too much like one guy a little more maybe go 22 20 okay maybe him a little bit more but you look down the lineup I mean is there is there is there a possibility that Tory Krug is coming back? Oh, he's out for the year. He's out for this year? Yeah.

Oh, fuck. Unfortunately, yeah. I think you're going to see, I think a lot of teams have had their mid-season meetings this week, and this week coming up, and last week. And I think you're going to see a lot of stuff, trades and stuff like that happening either right before the Four Nations or right after.

It's gonna be a gauntlet of, you know, trades getting made because I think teams are kind of figuring out where they are right now and, you know, like Whit said, a lot of the teams are set, locked in, ready to go and other teams gotta look in the mirror and say, what are we, right? Are we gonna be making trades? Are we gonna be bringing guys in

or are we gonna be getting rid of guys? So I think the next couple weeks is going to be fun. And the sooner, I've always respected how Rutherford's done that because it's just, it's more games with the guy, right? You're getting more time for him to be accustomed with the team. And another team that is right now sitting in a great spot, the Dallas Stars, they've been on a wild run lately, really coming into form, figuring things out, they've played phenomenal, and we were lucky enough to sit down with a true legend, the biggest legend in the history of the Dallas Stars organization,

a man with I think the coolest statue of any statue out there for any pro athlete, the American legend himself, a beautiful, beautiful human being. Inside and out. Glass banger? He's still in prison. Mike Madano, everyone. He's banging bars. Mike Madano. Guys, before we continue, I wanna talk about DraftKings

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additional terms and responsible gaming resources see dkng.co.au slash audio. This is an all-timer, folks, one we've been waiting for, one we've been wishing for, and it's finally come. This guy, Hockey Hall of Fame, Stanley Cup champion, IIHF Hall of Fame, you name it, he's done it. One of the greatest American hockey players to ever live. Mike Madonna. Thanks for joining. Thanks to the intro with thank you.

I appreciate it. I appreciate this. It's been a while. I've been hoping to get the call for this, uh, the nod to come on here. What do you mean? I put you in a headlock at the Ice Den parking lot to do this. I'm like, okay, I'm coming. I'll just call me. Text me anytime. Biz stalked his ass in Arizona. I'm going to find him. I'm going to get him. He told me years ago about his plan. But my first question to you, actually, you got a statue this year and thank God this statue came out the way it did. We saw, what was it? Dwayne Wade's one of the worst

statues of all time, but yours came out. It's, I think it's the coolest one I've ever seen. Like how excited were you when that came out? Did you see it beforehand? I'm guessing no. Like take us through that. Well, it was a long process. I think the, this thing was in the works for about six or seven years prior.

And then obviously COVID kind of postponed things for two or three years. And, and so it's kind of been under wraps. We weren't really able to say anything up until probably a year before we knew that we're going to unveil it in March. But yeah, there was a lot of going back and forth. I think Dan Stuckel and Brad Albers from the Stars, we all kind of collaborated on some photos and we kind of sifted through all the

Getty images and everything that we could find on Safari. It's funny that the three of us almost had this image as part as our final three. So it was kind of that iconic, just kind of that crossover look and the head up and kind of everything kind of moving across ice. But yeah, we came up with that. And then like, yeah, we've we took a couple trips to Chicago to see the the sculptor and just trying to fine tune and everything. But I mean, yeah, you don't know until that that cape comes off and the drape drops. And I'm like, oh, you just crossing your fingers like everything's

kind of eyes aren't crossed and the things aren't looking. So we were pretty we were pretty taken away. It just was spot on the colors. You know, the way they flew the green and the green black in there. I mean, it was it turned out fabulous. And I don't know if you saw the bottom, the old tax skates they had on this thing and I used to not. I mean, the whole thing was was pretty cool. That was another question I had that the skates are back.

And so recently a guy from CCM, I was talking on Twitter about how cool they are and the new version even. So they brought me over a pair and I said, like, what happened here? He's like, Austin Matthews actually came to us. It said like the Madonna skates. I can you make those again? They made them and they just popped off like people saw them right away. So for you, that's I think a lot of people think of you.

It's Jersey flapping in the wind and the old tax. I know I have one pair left. I begged Mark Barabu, who is my equipment guy with the North stars. He went on to work for Easton for so many years and now he's the Midwest rep for CCM lives in the twin cities here. And so I begged them my last year, my five year deal I did in Dallas, my last contract. I'm like, I begged them cause they were kind of transferring into these new skates that you see today. I'm like, listen, I can't get into these things. They just don't fit, you know, you're just, I was stuck on these skates. I'm like, just make me five pair.

I only wear one a year. After five years, I'm done. I'll be retiring. And then, uh, you know, of course the wings call. So I had to get them the last pair stitched up and kind of replaced and everything else. But he gave me five pairs and that was it. So, but yeah, he showed me Eric's neck has a pair of those skates that came out a couple of months ago. And I'm like, they turned out cool. The whole Jersey flap thing's amazing.

But in watching the ceremony and I don't believe your kids were alive when you played, right? No, no, none of them. Nope. And you just saw it in your voice and you know, as soon as you mentioned your kids, you got a little emotional and your teammates as well, but just to have that statue there and your kids will be able to see that for the rest of their lives and everyone in your family, just an amazing honor. And the Jersey flap for me was the biggest thing there in that, that they

absolutely knocked out of the park. So congratulations on that. Thanks. Thanks. They always ask, how does that happen? I'm like, you know, I had a maybe it was a 56, 57 size Jersey. So it was a little oversized. I had, I liked it loose in the sleeves. And so it kind of a little more a bellowy look on the waist. But yeah, the kids never got a chance to see me play. And it's funny, some guys able to have their kids around

in the locker room, I always thought that was so cool. But, you know, mine got this, couple of my twins were just born a few months old when we got to the hall of fame in Toronto, and then saw the jersey retirement, the all hat thing, and then the statue thing. So yeah, my kids are, they're trying to grasp on the magnitude of all this thing.

And then, you know, people coming up to me in Dallas and then we're in the Twin Cities. And so it's a lot that happens in Minnesota, especially at the games. And so it was funny, one of our first trips here, we just had moved. So we come to the home opener for the wild. And of course we're walking through the concourse

and people are like, Oh, just got you back in town. You know, it's good to see a pitchers shaking hands and this and that. And my, and my kids are just kind of looking, you know, how do you call these guys? They're like, who are you? Dad, I'm like, I don't know. You have a lot of friends. I didn't know I had so many friends.

And so my, finally, my eight year old put it really a perspective. They're like, yeah, I know why they all know you. It's because of the mighty ducks, isn't it? I'm like. Yeah. Yeah. Wait, yeah. There you go.

Keep you grounded. That's it. Just need a small role in a movie. That's all. Five words is my claim to fame. Daniel Day-Lewis over here. I was shocked to hear you only used one pair of skates a year. I know.

Like, you liked them fitting like Ugg boots then. Yeah, they were just those old leather, just they never broke down. They were just, I don't know, they just kind of kept their stiffness throughout the season. I'd have an extra pair that I just would eventually start wearing in practice after the new year and just kind of get them ready for camp the next year and and maybe as a standby pair but I just couldn't get into these multiple pairs of skates throughout a year and these guys just now they just pull them out of the box and put them on and go. It's crazy. You know the gloves I had leather gloves these old Easton leather I'm like I couldn't do anything with the cloth

and I needed the tight leather cuff and so I was begging Warrior and Easton to keep making these gloves and those things weigh like five pounds. I'm like, I'm like, I, you know, the gear that we wore back then was, it had to been 22 to 25 pounds of gear. I'm like, I, I, I touched this stuff now. It's like, you know, no wonder they're moving like, uh, yeah, out there. I was going to say, imagine how fast you would have been that now it's crazy. That it does, you don't feel it. Less beer out of it. 10 times the lesbians would have been just humming

through that neutral zone. I still have these old Easton skates, and the kids on my son's team are like, what are those things? I'm like, yeah, buddy, this is what I was rocking them, using two hands to pick them up. But you talked about Mighty Ducks. Biz and I did a Pink Whitney commercial once,

and I swear to God, I didn't realize, I must have done 1,000 takes. Like, I couldn't get it. Were you sitting there all day? Oh, he was losing his mind. He wanted to go golf. I was losing, I didn't realize I must have done a thousand takes. Like I couldn't get it. Were you sitting there all day? He was losing his mind. He wanted to go golf. I was losing, I didn't know. I'm like, you just say it and it's over.

Oh, we, we sat there. I think we're just in the middle of our first strike as players. We struck just before we went on strike for something in 91, 90, 91 for, um, salary disclosure, so no one knew what anybody made. So this was the big fight about players going into negotiate because we never knew what anybody else made. So a guy scored 40, scored 30 and someone scored 40 is making, you know, three, 400 grand less than that guy.

So no one knew and no one would tell anybody what they made to kind of keep it hush hush. So it was a real kind of a secret thing thing back then but now that was a big thing We struck to have salary disclosure. So we're you know going through this process But in the meantime, they asked Basil McCracken. I had to come over to the Met and shoot this Cameo for this movie. We're like, oh Disney's doing this movie with Emilio Estevez. We're like, okay we'll come over and so we we're kind of going through our lines of the Emilio and the crew and the whole staff and, and I was butchering this thing and I was supposed to be Basil's

line. And I'm like, I am fumble effing this thing to death for a good 20 minutes. They're like, finally they're like timeout. Let's just take a break. They come back. They're like, okay, you're going to be North Star number two. Basil's North Star number one. So we flipped up, we flip flopped lines. And so I had the, I wish you were a farmer, which I'll know to the day I die. So I must add up. So Baz had more of the lead on that. I'm like, Oh God, thank God. So he handled that. So, you know, three or four hours later, we finally got out of there.

Before we get to more of your career, I was going to ask you, you've been playing those Lake Tahoe tournaments, right? With like TJ Oshie and stuff. That must be a blast. And I know when every time they're on wit would, I mean, you always talk, Oh, I love to play. I'm like writing letters, Mo. I'm like, get me in this thing.

Cause I watch it on TV and like you and Pavs, there's always like, you guys are always in the mix and Rolo and Curry. It just looks like a blast out there. It is. It's such a fun deal. I mean, they put on a great show all week long American century and those guys and it's, it's such a blast. And, um, yeah, I mean, it's, it's nerve wracking as heck. You find out how much trust you have in your game real fast when you got people lined up down the fairway and you got to take, pull out driver and hit something.

And, uh, um, you know, so it's fun. But yeah, it's nerve wracking, but it's, it's, it kind of gives your juices flow and it gives us something a little bit of purpose to kind of, you know, work on your craft a little bit through the summer and get out there. But you know, the, the location is beautiful. The weather, just everything about it. It's, it's an amazing time. Is that one of the things you miss is getting the juices flowing? I mean, fuck you played well, 14, I was going to say 1500 games, but Babs didn't really want that to happen.

But just getting the juices flowing. And also was there anybody that you'd met at that tournament where you were like, oh, this is awesome. I can exceeded expectations based on how you felt about them going in. Yeah, I think they're all great guys. I mean, I was a big, uh, you know, Joe Thiesman's there. I mean, I was just more with the current guys. I met Brian Erlacher out there maybe nine, 10 years ago.

Just a great guy. So much fun. We kind of keep in touch. Brian Balden, our Brian Bob Gardner from the office was a great friend. He's so much fun, but just being around Charles Barkley and, uh, Ray Allen was another big, I was a big fan of Ray Allen and, you know, but it's,

I don't know, it's more nerve wracking playing or watching these guys gamble. I'm like, Oh, I'm like, Oh, Charles goes to town about 50 a hand and it's always a maniac. I'm like, you got 300 K swings. I'm like, Oh, that wow. I was like, You got 300 K swings. I'm like, oh, wow. I was like, good TNT deal. Yance said beforehand, he's like, yeah, I saw Mo in WWF for one time. I'm like, what? I never heard that.

Yeah. With Mr. Perfect. We did, oh, we did the Mr. Perfect skit a long time ago at the Met Center, but then we went out to reunion with Hulley, myself and Lang and Bruner, Grant Marshall. And we were out there doing, watching WWE at the reunion, WWF and The Rock was doing a match. So he was doing The Rock and doing the whole shine up the Stanley Cup and you

know, this whole thing. He did his whole skit. So, and then someone came out and so we all jumped in the ring at the same time. I can't, I've yet to find that thing on YouTube, but they got the The Rock skit on there. But yeah, the Mr. Perfect thing was, I think I was 18, I've yet to find that thing on YouTube, but they got the rocks skid on there. But yeah, the Mr. Perfect thing was, I think I was 18, 19, we did a deal and it was tragic TV.

Going back to the gambling, I'm sure when you first started in Minnesota, you guys were flying, you guys weren't flying private. No. Were there ever any big card games going on the plane with you guys in Dallas? Dallas, not so much. I mean, we play a little bit of Euker. I played a ton of Euker with Lange and Bruner and Verbeek and Neuendijk and,

you know, we'd play a ton of Euker and stuff like that. But yeah, nothing, uh, you know, the post game and all this stuff, high, low kind of thing. And then, you know, get on the bus and, you know, that sort of thing, but nothing, nothing too crazy. Not like, uh, you know, the level it's at today. We got to go back to kind of your youth and your beginning of the game. Now, my first question is going to be your, I think you're 53 now. You look like you're 35 in amazing shape, but somebody on hockey DB has done you so dirty where you can click through pictures.

When the fuck did you look like that? Mo when were you a lesbian? That was GC, that was JCPenney catalog. Look at that. How many were you just hammering donuts as a little kid? I look at those cheeks. I think it was my first training camp in Kalamazoo for the North Star. You have a North, you have a North stars like logo on like a turtle neck. I think I was just right out of the draft and you know, just turn 18 got my braces off Just had prom and then they shoot that photo. Oh man, this things you can't you can't

Can't shake. Oh god still had the hairspray in your hair from prom No, but as a young kid like I was reading online I don't know how accurate it always is but apparently your dad got you into the game when you were like six, seven, I don't know, right around then. And even started skating at the age of three, right? I did a little bit of skating, but I never got into organized hockey. My dad didn't really know what to do. He was a big Boston guy. He's from Boston and big Bruins fan.

He moved, he was off to California, stopped in Detroit, ended up meeting my mom, stayed in Detroit, got into construction business, started building some homes around Detroit. And then I got into, you know, I think kindergarten, first grade, really got into a lot of trouble. Just, you know, just pent up energy, just had no nowhere to release it. You know, so I got a lot of trouble kicked out and there's three brothers that worked with my dad in the summer and one played semi propro in Fort Wayne for the comments back in the day. They're all brothers, Jack, Mike, and Bobby Rankin. Mike was playing at State, Michigan, and Bobby was at St. Lawrence.

So these guys would come out in the summer, makeshift, make some money with my dad. I'd come on property, help him out on the weekends and mess around with these guys. But the oldest one, Jack's like, I was like, Oh, why don't you go get Mike signed up, see if he gets in a league and play some structured hockey. And that was it. I went one time and that was it. Went skating at Lakeland Ice Arena where Lafontaine was skating at the time and I was there and then that was it.

The light bulb went off. I was like, wow, this, I love this thing. So we lived on a lake, shoveled off the lake, fell in a few times, obviously. So then my mom's like, I'm making you a lake. I'm making you a rink. No more skating on the pond and the lake. So that was it. I just went, I took it to water, man.

I was just, I loved it. And I couldn't get enough of it from then on. Were you working with a skating coach or something? Cause I think the skating is what stood out the most. Like you were just buzzing around. Like you were kind of like the McDavid of your time. You know, there was a time when I had a real wide stride when I was like maybe Bannum's midgets.

So I saw this, went to this power skater. She's the first one that told me, start bringing your legs closer to get more ice on the, skate on the ice and steel push. And that's really kind of what changed my whole thing. And then I went to Prince Albert Rick Wilson's Wife Carol was a figure skater. She helped me out a lot in Prince Albert And then you know from that on I was kind of tinkering with my skates and blades and I went to

the Canada Cup in Pittsburgh and Stevie Wayne was our strength Quick manager a guy with the penguins and he hollow on the skates? He goes, yeah, try it out. So I'm like, I go, okay, I'll put it on there. So I'm skating around the igloo. I'm like, I'm just like, like Bambi had no edge skating. I'm like, they felt like they came out of the box. And then that's when the radius thing and the hollow and all that thing changed.

And then that would just click too. And then it was just kind of, you just felt like you're just kind of floating and then it just kind of went down. And then it just went down. And then it just went down. And then it just went down. And then it just went down. And then it just went down. And then it just went down. And then it just went down. And then that's when the radius thing and the hollow and all that thing changed. And then that would just click too. And then it was just kind of, you just felt like you're just kind of floating and hovering over chopped up ice. And that's really kind of changes. So I'm

like, now I can see there, you know, I'm looking at coffee going end to end. I'm like, it just looked like he's just kind of floating out there. It just moved and everything. It was really kind of a game changer where you're like, you didn't have to exert a lot of energy to get somewhere that you did with a half inch hollow on your skate. So just for those people watching on YouTube it just means it like kind of like that was a normal one it was a little bit straighter right? A little flatter so you just had a little touch on the edges here but boy it felt like it was right out of the box. I mean you couldn't grab barely grab any nail on the edge so but that changed the whole complexion of the skating for me. And then, you know, then a little bit of training, a little bit of technique.

And then, um, but yeah, just, you know, trying to get through that clutch and then grabbing in the late eighties, nineties, I was like, man, this is. This is a lot more work than it needs to be. How do you get used to that feeling of not feeling like you're slipping? Like does your muscle memory just pick it up? Yeah, I think it was just over time. You just get on the ice and just feel like, you know, you start, it just kind of gets used to it.

I think about three or four practices with it on, and then it was like just, it was normal. So it was just a little bit of a experimental thing, and then that was it. So I was like, we had to carry our own little wheel on the skate sharpener. And so, you know, you know, I tried it too, but after about, I tried it too, but after a week of practicing with a chair tip was like enough, you're never going to get this. Fuck off. Get back to milk crate. He's just pushing it around. Mo, uh, I feel like it wasn't as common. Maybe I'm

wrong, but like American kid, you went, you went major junior then and you didn't just go there. You went Prince Albert, which is way the fuck up there, I believe. Or is that Prince George? But how did that come about? Like they draft you and how did you decide, I don't want to play college hockey. I just got done with my last, my first year of midget with Little Caesars in Detroit. And then I guess as an underage, you have to have a verbal agreement with Ontario

Hockey League or Quebec. So I was really had a verbal with Hull. Gretzky owned the Hull Olympics at the time, Pat Burns was coach, Charlie Henry who was a little bit of a liaison with Gretz at the time was involved at the Hull Olympics, Luke Robitaille had just I think just got drafted or just was playing his last year up there. So I was like, Oh yeah, I'll commit the whole. So what happened was Ontario and Quebec league drafts were on the same day. I was still three years too young to get drafted or recruited for college per se. So I was like, I don't want to stick in Detroit and play three more years of midget with Caesars.

And so I'm like, you know, let's, let's try the whole Lafontaine just got back and just was like, Oh, it's so offensive. You'll love it. It's up and down. It's tons of scoring. Uh, Jimmy Carson just got back from Verdun. He said the same things. And so I'm like, okay, I'll just go, let's go to the hole. And, uh, the night before about three in the morning, we get a call. We're supposed to get on a plane, like a 10. They changed their minds. They went with someone else last minute draft. So at that time, I'm like, I'm too late to commit to Ontario cause they have all their verbals. And so I was out.

So I'm kind of sitting there in no man's land for about two, three weeks. I get a call from Rick Wilson from Prince Albert saying, Hey, we got you on our 50 player protective list. Would you come like to just come see Prince Albert for a weekend and see what it's like and if you like it, you can stay. If not, we'll get you taken, go back to Detroit. So I'm like, no, I'm packing my stuff. I'm coming. I don't care where PA is.

I'm taking everything I have and went to Prince Albert and like, I loved it. I had the best time. My two, two and a half, three years there. It was just phenomenal. It's out in the middle of nowhere. It's 23,000 people cold is, you you know, God, it's brutal cold. But you know, the hockey was tough and brutal. Those bus trips and, you know, some of the guys.

But we had a fairly tough team. I mean, Baumgartner was just there, Manson, Darren Kimball, Reid Larson, you know, but you had to go down and play Saskatoon who had the Kosher brothers, Tony Twist, Kelly Chase, Kevin Kaminsky. So it was a gong show to say the least when we played each other. And so, I mean, it was tough, but then you had Sackett, Flurry, you had Trevor Job, the Hawgood, Reckey out West and all those guys. So it was a little bit of skill, but just some overall toughness in that league. I'm like, I never seen anything like it, but you know, it got to the point where eventually we had separate warmups. You had the home team goes out first.

We talked about that. The visiting team goes out second because you know, everybody was like down there taking three quarters of the ice and they had their little, you know, from the hash marks in to do their warmups. So, um, but yeah, it was, it was a great experience. Rick, Rick was, you know, a lot of them big fans, just a good buddy for, for years, but, you know, it was a great experience. And then, you know, I think it, it was, it was a great experience.

Rick, Rick was, you know, a lot of them big fans as a good buddy for, for years. But, uh, I was, I was lucky. It turned out well. We just don't have the, we, back then you didn't have the national development in Ann Arbor. You didn't have the USHL. You just didn't have the opportunity. So it was either.

US or Canada. And, you know, once you go to Canada, you lose your eligibility back in the States to go to NCAA. So, but I was like, I just got to go. I got to, I got to try this out and see where I'm at. Were you already being talked about as being a high pick and you know, a future NHL star? Was it kind of, that's when it came to you when you were playing up there in the dub?

It was, it was just kind of, it was very, very talked about. I didn't really know really what was the impact of what was happening until I came back from the world juniors in Moscow. And that 87, 88 year I got back about a week later they came out with the central scouting list of players. I'm like, I'm looking at it. I'm like, I go me and Lyndon were like,

Trevor Lyndon was like the decision, you know, Daniel Dorey, you know, all these, I'm like me and Lyndon were like one, two. I was like, I'm like, wow, this, I didn't expect any of that to happen. So there was, Trevor was in medicine had at the time, uh, had just won a Memorial cup and they won again that year. Obviously, uh, they just had a stack team. Um, but yeah, that was kind of the first inkling of what was going to happen come June after the World

Juniors in January. And then it was just talked about the rest of the way. But, you know, all back then, all you read was the Prince Albert Harold. You know, the paper was about five pages thick and, you know, I had a little excerpt of what was going on with the Raiders and around the league, but, uh, it wasn't the hype obviously today, but, uh, leading up to it was either Minnesota or Vancouver and, you know, Lou Nanny was picking and he didn't tell either one of us who was going where.

So, uh, he left it up. That would be a surprise, which was great. Uh, you know, added that much more to the nervousness of that day at the forum. So when, when you made your decision, cause I did the same thing going to major junior and my parents were like, well, if, if you don't make it, what are you going to do? And I was like, I'll just go to the military, whatever. Did you have a backup plan or it was just, you knew it was you were going to the military.

I was going to go to Canadian college because you can go play there. I'm like, I'll just go universe, just Saskatchewan and go play there for a couple of years and kind of see what happens. And then, you know, maybe go back and, you know, build some homes with my dad in Detroit and I'm like, oh, I just, you know, who knows? But I'm like, I just, you know, I didn't think that way. I was just like, Oh, I'll just go out there and try it. But my parents were like, go do what you want to do, trace it and go see how it works out. And yeah, I mean, you never in your mind think, okay, 10 years down the road from now, if

you don't, it doesn't pan out, what are you going to be doing? I was like, Oh, yeah, it's you wouldn't block. You wouldn't block a slap shot. You were going to enter the army. No, I was going to go to the Marines, but yeah. I just, I just wanted to quickly ask about like the Western league. You talked about how tough it was, and then you ended up making the transition your first year where you ended up having 29 goals, have a great rookie year. Like how much did the toughness of the Western league

prepare you for the NHL? Because back then it was also like, the NHL was a gong show too. So was it more of a gong show in the Western league or did it just help with the transition? I think the NHL was more of a gong show than at the late 80s, early 90s. I went into Minnesota, my left-winger is Basil McCrae, my right wingers, chain churla.

So I'm just scooping gloves all night, scooping, throwing in there, you know, penalty box all night. Oh man, it was just, you know, and that central league was brutal in Chicago, Toronto, St. Louis. I mean, it was just, uh, some tough, tough hockey. So, um, I think I like to say the Western league got me ready for a little bit, but boy, those guys were just, they're just dirty and nasty. And that, that, that Norris division was just, just tough. So lucky I had some, I've been lucky. I had Darren Kimball and Reed Simpson as wingers and then Chirley and McCray. So I was like, pretty well had some- Oh, fuck. That's huge.

pretty well had some- Oh, fuck, that's huge. I got bodyguards here. It's nuts looking at your draft. Like first off with Topps, there's 21 teams. So just to see how the league's grown, but some crazy names, like in the first round, Tmoo, Bryndamore, Ronick, and then Rob Blake was later, Mark Reckey. Like did you play World Juniors with Ronick? Had you known him a little bit leading into when you guys started in the NHL?

I had heard about JR just through the rumor mill in Detroit and I think likewise with him out East. And then we got together. He wasn't in Moscow. He was in Alaska with us and with Billy Garrett and Johnny LaClair and all these casts of characters. So we got the Anchorage with those guys. So that was my first hands-on experience with JR and Anchorage.

So that was one of many. And that point on he, you know, he went to, you know, he experience with JR and Anchorage. So that was one of many. And that point on he you know he went to you know he was with Chicago and myself so there's always this business just internal rivalry between the two of us and I knew he was just headhunting me every game. So I knew playing him I had to be ready and you know keep my head up and I think in a way that he made me probably better a player ready and you know keep my head up and I think in a way that he made me probably better a player because he you know I was on red you know high alert when I was having to play the Hawks or Philly or whoever, he was Phoenix after a while he goes to Phoenix now he's in our

division when we're in Dallas. I'm like I couldn't shake the guy. I was gonna ask you I mean you talked about the power skating coaches like did you have a particular mentor that you were grateful for to that point that helped you get to first overall and then obviously transitioning into the career you had? There must've been some pivotal years where you leaned on someone. I think it goes back even to like my Pee-wee Bannum years.

I was with, oh God, Chris Corey, Little Caesars, Bob Brinkworth was with Little Caesars, my Pee-wee Bannum, and then Chris Corey was my final year in junior with the Little Caesars Midget. So those two guys were big pivotal guys who just kind of little skills up that stuff. They were working on hand stuff, face-off. It was just kind of really infant stuff.

And then the Turcot School, Riel came out with the Stick-Hailing School. So I got into that in the summer. So that was really kind of really infant stuff. And then the Turcot school, Real came out with the stick handling school. So I got into that in the summer. So that was really kind of, you know, now you're making moves and going around people and trying to make some craft that way. But I think Rick was a big part of it and PA Wilson and, and, uh, and Prince Albert, but you know, it's funny, you, you know, you work on your craft and

your skill, you get the day on it. Shell, they almost coach the skill audio. Now you gotta be better defensively. I'd be better draws in the lane, be better positional, you know, save your energy for when you get the puck. And so it was a big transition in that sense. Cause I had Bob Gatie, Doug Jarvis, Rick Wilson. I played with a lot of, had a lot of defensive minded coaches at the time.

So I was still trying to be a little offensive. It didn't, you weren't able to do the things in the NHL that you could in junior. So that was a big learning curve. He got frustrated. You know, you were expected to be this turning point thing for the North stars and put up all these numbers, but things didn't happen at the start. So fans got frustrated. I got frustrated. So, uh, you know, you had to learn a whole different game as you got older and You know his cock got involved so that transitioned into a whole nother level of hockey and playing so you always I felt like

Though throughout my whole career I'm kind of learning and adding things to your game as you move on and just try to better yourself and do things that you know The team's expected of you. Similar to the guys on Coyotes last year, who are now in Utah, like you're a part of a team where all of a sudden like we're moving, like we're going to Dallas, like is hockey even popular there? And seeing now the wild and the fan base, it must have been crushing to so many fans there.

I don't even really know the whole story. And when did you guys find out it was official? What were your thoughts on it? Like take us through that part of your life. Well, the, the, the writing kind of was on the wall. Our last year in Minnesota, they changed the logo to this just strictly stars, they got rid of the end, rid of the green, they got rid of the seat. Seats.

They all went red. They got rid of the black, white and green seats at the Met. We got this, you know, stars across. So that was kind of the writing on the wall. That was kind of a generic name. You could go anywhere with just the stars, the end, you can't go, you know, too many places with a big N on your Jersey. So we knew that was kind of a, maybe, uh, you know, uh, a throw out there that something's in the works and springtime came,

I think three or four days, maybe before the end of the game, it was announced that we're leaving. And so we all thought maybe something's gonna happen the 11th hour, we're gonna go down to the target center. The Timberwolves just came into town, great building. They can do ice at the target, or they do a major renovation to the Met, which was very outdated.

It was built in 67. This thing just, you know, it's ready to crumble. So, you know, Norm had this vision of connecting the Mall of America to the Met Center, this people mover kind of a train thing, which would have been great, but ultimately you needed a bigger stadium. You need suites, you need, you know,

this corporate levels income revenue generating that the Met didn't have. So I think Norm was just forced to kind of shop it around. levels income revenue generating that the meth didn't have. So, um, I think, uh, norm was just forced to kind of shop it around. It was Anaheim at the start. We thought Anaheim, but then, because of the mighty ducks, the NHL got involved and Heisinga was given the mighty ducks, uh, you know, franchise, uh, San Jose was the other thought, but our original owners, the gun brothers had just moved to San Jose.

So they were given the franchise and San Jose for the other thought, but our original owners, the gun brothers had just moved to San Jose. So they were given the franchise in San Jose for the sharks. And then Hamilton was kind of thrown out there to go to cops. Uh, but then he had that robbery with Toronto that, uh, you know, wouldn't work. But then Dallas was kind of the last minute thing. They just threw it out there and a couple of trips down there. And then that was it. We got a letter in the mail in June, be at training camp in September and Irving, Texas.

So that was, uh, it was kind of, uh, it was crazy, but I think in the Brett, the broad scheme of things, I don't think none of us imagine how hockey would have turned out in Dallas, Texas, the way it has, I mean, it's just, it's one of those places that, you know, free agents, maybe circle as a team to go to. I mean, it's just turned out great. The new arena, the whole thing, the fans, it's just a loyal fan base now. And it's just, it was, it was an amazing, amazing time there in Dallas. So much fun.

We had some great years, great teams, great players. Yeah. It's just, and people here are still heartbroken. I see game people at games and they're like still bitter 30 something years later that this North stars lead left Sorry, cuz I kind of hopped over one thing I wrote down before the move 9091 you guys make it to the cup finals I guess the maybe one of the most memorable goals in cup final history Mario the Mew against you guys

But was that a surprise run for that group that you had? And what do you remember about your first, first trip to the cup final? Well, one thing there's, there's, there was ties back then, no overtime. So I think we got in with 67 points. I think we're the 16th team out of 16 to make it, you know, you had the eight in the East, eight in the West, I think we're the 16th team in the league. I think we had to win one or two games to kind of sneak in. And we had the win in Quebec, I think at some points we won one of those two games in Quebec

to get in there. And then you got to play Chicago, who's the president's trophy winner. So we got them off in six and then St. Louis with Hulley and everybody. And so they were second overall I think we did them in six as well. And then Edmonton he had mess And holy shit cough. They just won the cup the year before 1990 with with no Wayne So they were we did that in five And then ran into Mario. I think he had back problems. He didn't play in a few games.

So we're up two games to one. We're thinking, Oh, we're two wins away. And then Mario came back his backspats somehow, some way relieved themselves. So he went on a tear the last three games. And, and like you said, that pivotal goal split in Chambers and Wilkinson and then John Casey. But, uh, yeah, we had never lost a game at home until the finals against Pittsburgh. Really? And I think to this day, we still hold the record

for most power play goals in the playoff run, 36 or 37. Holy shit. Is that the most dominant you've ever seen a hockey player when Mario came back on the ice? It's men with boys. I mean, just size, speed. And I was on the ice at the blue line and he picked that puck up and I was like,

I've never saw, moved so fast. And the reach, the whole thing, and it was unbelievable. One of my favorites. Nice you're not in the highlights too. One of my favorites. He slowed up a little bit to avoid the can. He's like, ooh. Jump into the bench.

I wasn't on the ice for that one. Yeah, I don't want the kids seeing that tape. Um, I was just going to say like, as an American, you go to the state of hockey and you have the start to your NHL career being the first overall pick. So you're bringing fans their joy. And then how proud are you at the fact that you got to go grow hockey in the United States and in a place like Dallas? Cause like, I look at, um, what Wayne did and when he went down to LA and how much that was big for hockey in the United States.

You're gonna go down as one of the greatest American born players, but you got a chance to do what you did in Dallas in the state. I think that was one, I think I mentioned at the statue night was more meaningful the way that we were able to grow hockey in the state of Dallas and be kind of the forefront to kind of get the popularity, kids playing, the growth of

the game. I think that was more meaningful than anything probably that we might have accomplished. We got a cup and a lot of accolades and personal stuff. But seeing where the game is now in Dallas and what it was in 93 when we got there, it's just mind blowing. So to be a part of that and to see it grow and to put a lot of, we put a lot of work into trying to market it and get the kids involved and things like that. We only had a couple of rinks in the Metroplex and now there's maybe 20 plus rinks around the city in Fort Worth and Dallas. So I think that was more meaningful than anything seeing that impact that it had. And lots of, I think that was more, more meaningful than anything, seeing, seeing that impact that it had in lots of, you know, I think Wayne had a global, a U S broad, uh, impact on the game.

Cause I don't think we'd be in Dallas or other teams in California, Florida, uh, Nashville, Phoenix, without, uh, Wayne's, uh, involvement in the popularity of the game in LA at the time. When you got to Dallas, was it one of those things where like, a lot of people don't know much about hockey, like where fans are probably, you know, I've seen like stories where they're like announcing why the whistle blew, things like that, where it's just so different than Minnesota, where they just love it. We had a couple of years there where the announcements were made off sides,

icing on the, on the loudspeaker. So it was, it was a lot of one a lot of 101 learning kind of knowing it. But we always thought, you know, hockey at that point, you know, TV was tough because your your technology back then was terrible. So really tracking stuff on TV was hard. But we always thought hockey at that point in time was such a spectator sport. So we figured if we could market people to come to the game, see it live, see it in person, they would be, they would be hooked.

I feel like gala, I think hockey still to this day is one of those great spectator sports, you know, football I think better is better on the couch, hockey's better at the rink. And, and so I think that's kind of how we built this momentum with, you know, luring fans to reunion and that that it took off from there. I was just going to say, well, you guys, cause nowadays guys, you just go to the, go to practice, go back home and take a nap. Like, will you guys out kind of recruiting fans and telling people where you guys

like boots on the ground for, for the players trying to help out. He was actually a cheerleader. He was wearing one of the cheerleader outfits like they got now. That's how it all began. Ice girl. Pushing snow back in the day with outfits like they got now. That's how it all began. Ice girl. Pushing snow back in the day with some tights on. The McDonald's scent in the hallway there. That's what we're smelling.

I don't think anybody would have came then. But we're marketing our butts off. We're all over the place. We're all malls, ranks outside. We're just kind of pushing it hard, man. We're just boots on the ground, just trying to, trying to create a, some excitement and some momentum.

But, you know, ultimately it was the product and the ice that ultimately did it. From 96 to, you know, 07, 08, you know, that was kind of our heyday years and we had some good runs and then that was kind of spoke for ourselves. So those people, those fans got tasted, those playoff runs and they were just, they were

hooked. They couldn't wait till April, May. And then it was, we're off to the races at that point. So we'll probably end up digging deep into these Dallas teams and the characters, just for like a Minnesota fan perspective, like what outside of that run, what was the most like the most memorable parts of your time there and what can you remember of those days there? You know, obviously that was that was just a Cinderella run at 91 people still talk about it to this day But I think just the you know, the the connection you have with fans

I mean the knowledge of fans here is just you know, like you almost like playing in Canada They know what's going on. They know everybody in the lineup They know the integral parts of you know know, forecheck, neutral zone, back check, everything about it. So there's, it takes a lot of them a lot to get them out of their seats and get them excited because you know, they're just very smart. They know what's going on. So, but my time off the ice, I had a great time in Minneapolis, you know, had a lot of great friends, you know,

spend a lot of time on the lakes, water skiing, fishing up North, going up to Brainer and, uh, and everything up North. But, uh, you know, the summertime, great golf courses, great fishing, you know, great, uh, water skiing, just a lot of fun, just, uh, being, uh, you know, being 18, 19, 20, 21,

you know, 22 is, uh, you know, you're, you're introduced to a lot of things that, uh, you know, uh, you have to, uh, be smart about a little bit at times. Oh yeah. I bet. I bet. When you're in Dallas, Bob Ganey is your coach and then, and then hitch comes in and we actually just interviewed, uh, Kevin Shatton Kirk, who played from in St. Louis and Biz and I got to experience a little during training camp once with them, but it must have been crazy for you because I think there were stories too where he's like, hey, Madonna, you're going to have to play a different way to win a Stanley Cup.

Like, is that all true? How was your relationship? It was, uh, I think it was good from the start. I think obviously we had some history from Kamloops and Prince Albert. So we were kind of familiar with each other. He was in Kalamazoo at the time. Even when we're in with the North Stars, he got the gig out of Kamloops to coach our farm team in Kalamazoo. So I saw him at training camp and, you know, so we were kind of familiar with one another. But I think his first, you know, our first meetings as soon as he got the job was to like, hey, Mike,

you know, we're going to ask a lot of you, you know, we're going to probably try having you a penalty kill. So now I'm like, what? I was like, now I got to get in the way of shots. I'm like, okay, I'm going to get in the way of the, of the pass before the shooter gets it. So I don't have to get in the way of the shot. And so, uh, that was a whole learning thing too. So he's like, you know, you're going to play against Sackett, you're going to play against Fedorov.

You're going to play against Wardsberg, you know, all these guys. And I was like, I'm like, that's, that's, that seems like a lot of work. I just want to get it. Put me out against the third, fourth line guys. We can have some fun, you know, put these guys. And I was like, I'm like, that's, that's, that seems like a lot of work. I just want to get it. Put me out against the third, fourth line guys. We can have some fun, you know, put up some numbers. He goes, well, not going to win like that. So you have to realize if that's how you want to play, you're probably not going to play much, you know, and Bob Gaty was his backer. So Bob, you know, had some skin on the walls too. So, you know,

he can't argue with Gaty as well too. So I was two against one on me there, but then we had some defensive guys. Craig Ludwig was there at the time. He came from that Montreal background. We got Mike Keene, Montreal guy, you know. So Joe Newendike came from Calgary, a very defensive, offensive type team. But, you know, hits would get on me.

He'd call me at home. He'd text in, you know, he's like, hey, I need you to be this type of player tomorrow. You know, he, he started planting the seeds before these games and really started thinking about it. And I think in, in some sense, it was kind of pretty smart cause it got me thinking about, you know, what am I going to do against Sackick out there? How am I going to play? Where do I need to be on the ice to make maybe neutralize him or even be a factor

in the other end of the ice. So it was a new, exciting time. I had a great right winger, Uri Lehtinen. I mean, phenomenally one of the best two way players ever. So I had a nice security blanket over there so he could, you know, pick up my messes and clean up everything that I missed or wasn't there for. So he was great to have, but yeah, it was just, but, but Hitch pushed the buttons. I mean, he had the hammer down every day and you, you know, you look back on the bench, like, man, just take it off the gas for a minute. Let me like take a breath. And, um, but we had a lot of veteran guys there at the same time that

would keep Hitch on their wraps a little bit and kind of keep them cool and kind of settle them down. Carbo, Lutz, Mike, you know, Mike Keene, Brian Scrooge, and we had a lot of veterans, Verbeek, that could tone Hitch down at the right times. But we'd have a lot of fun with Hitch and play some games with him. But when it was game time, man, he was, we were probably the most prepared team I think I've ever played on when he was a coach for sure. You mentioned a comment earlier about like knowing when to conserve energy and like learning parts of the game like that. Was that,

was that something that he taught you? Yeah, it was a lot, you know, cause you always want to cheat the system. I'd be wheeling out of our own zone. I'm like, he'd be like, where are you, you know, where are you going? We got to put a GPS out for you. You know, you're you're blowing the zone and we haven't even exited our own zone. No one's got the pocket. You know, I'm looking you, you're blowing the zone and we haven't even exited our own zone. No one's got the puck and I'm looking like, give me a 50 footer so I can get a breakaway somehow, some way. So I was like, you have to learn to stop, face the puck. You can't score in your own zone. It was like,

so it took about a two, three year process before this all started clicking in. You didn't have to think about where you were on the ice, where to stand and this and that. So yeah, I mean, I wanted to blow the zone. I wanted to get gone, but you know, you found that hard way that you would never get the puck that way, you know? What was the most heated you ever got with him? Like, did you ever have a couple of fuck you matches with him in the office or was it always cordial?

Had to be. There was some good ones on the bench. I think he would, you know, he'd come off and just get me and then, but you had those vets that say, hey, Hitch, back off, you know? Okay. You know, tone it down, you know, get off him. Who is the Steve Ott of your time where like he owned Hitch?

Like he would just bury him with one liners. Mike Keene. Mike Keene. Pound for pound, the funniest guy I think I've ever played with. Played Moose Jaw, played against him on the W. I'm like, this guy's whack job too. So, um, but he was a gamer boy. He would just, he had some of the best playoff games for us.

Two game sevens against Colorado. I think he scored a goal or two in those games, but, uh, this guy was a character. He just had so much, so much fun, practical joker, but most of the un-expensive hitch, he would just give it to him. So before, you know, you guys got over the hump and won that Stanley Cup, like 1996, the world cup and for an American kid, I know Keith remembers, I was with his dad and his brother for this game, the final series, but that was a true change in USA hockey and like yourself, Kachuk, Garin, like these legends. I actually

watched a YouTube movie the other day, Orchestrating an Upset. It's all about that World Cup, but maybe the nastiest, dirtiest hockey you ever took a part in. It was crazy. Yeah. I just did a podcast here and the guy had all this penalty minutes for, for those games for Kachuk, Garen, uh, Lindros, Cellios. I mean, it's all upper teens, like 17, 18, 19 minutes of penalties. And it's just, it was, uh, it was just prison rules. I mean, there was nothing out there. It was just, you know, every man for themselves out there and it was just

brutal and it was just, uh, and you can see the buildup, you know, as a pre, you know, pre camp tournament. So all summer long, it's talked about Canada's in Toronto, Montreal, getting ready. We were, we were actually in Providence, I think for a week. Um, you know, so getting, and, uh, you know, so we're always, uh, so Ron Wilson, you know, home, grand Paul, you know, these guys are just pushing these guys buttons, just getting them ready, getting Kachuk, Garen, Chelly, getting all these guys just cranked up to the point

where they get on the ice. They just can't think straight. Their minds really rise across the wires across. They're just going, going after these guys that I'm playing with. I'm playing with Garen and Kachuk, you know, so here here I am again sweeping the gloves to the belly box, picking them up. These guys were just let out the cage. They just were going crazy. And they had some Lemieux and Lindros and those guys Claude over there. Just some guys. I mean, their lineup alone in Canada was just insane. So we

thought we were in trouble losing OTA over time in Philly, and then we had to win two in the forum in Montreal. I was just, you know, again, some of the just, just bedlam trying to win two in them forum and suitor just laid out Wayne, I think from behind and the place went crazy. So Gary wanted man. So, you know, the shift and Richter was just unbelievable. Those last two games, uh, Hatcher probably had the best three games, you know, his life in those games. Uh, uh, Holly, Tony Montay, just timeless, timeless goals. I just at important times and, uh, yeah, it was, it was, it was most fun.

Uh, you know, we, we probably had as a group because, you know, we, we just, we got along really well off the ice as much as on the ice. We had some characters in Holly, Shelley, Wader, Kachuk, Aaron, and those guys. We just had so much fun and we played hard and had fun off the ice. But yeah, it was exciting. For USA hockey, it was probably something for us. It felt like 80 because those were our fans. Those were our idols. We were able to play with some of those guys with with Bratz and Neil and those guys. But yeah, it was it was some great hockey. Yeah, I was wondering because now, I mean, you got guys not making the team like it was never the case for USA hockey, which how strong it's become.

And I think 96 had a lot to do with it. But did you guys realize what you had and how special it was? Because leading into that, the US never did anything. Like world championships, they'd get drummed. Canada Cups, they'd get drummed. But your group with all these guys around the same year, you must have realized that we can play with them. And that was probably Ron Wilson's main message. Yeah, yeah.

I think that the timing was perfect. I mean, it was, you know, we're, you know, me, Keith, Billy, Waiter, Hatch, all those guys, we're all 26, you know, Shelley, and those guys were 30, 31, 32, Leach, Richter, you know, those guys, you know, Housley. So we all felt, you know, the timing is, you know, perfect for this kind of up-swell of a team that we had. So we had everybody kind of catching up to these guys. They're all coming off great years. Everybody was having a good season the year before.

So there were a lot of confidence going into the camp, but yeah, we never knew the impact that was going to make until, you know, we ended up winning and, you know, still talked about to this day. And, but you said nowadays, I mean, there's so much talent, so many, uh, areas of the country that kids are growing up playing that, you know, you're pulling kids from all over the place. And, you know, and now you feel like you almost, you know, you feel like you're on level ground as far as talent and production of talent, uh,

compared to Canada and Russia. Looking back, I mean, the roster now it's a, you know, a ton of hall of famers with all you guys, but you said the coaches were getting on you guys to go out there. Was it to play hard? Did they think that you guys had a lesser team that you had to go out there and be the aggressor and be the bullier and, you know, get those guys going that way? Yeah.

I think there was just, uh, I think Ron and Paul's is like, go out there and initiate it and get in their face first, go after them first, see how they react. Don't let them be, you know, the intimidator. It's Canada, you know, screw them. Let's go get them. It's Montreal. Let's just, you know, we have an opportunity to just kind of stick it to these guys too straight in the Montreal forum.

You know, let's just get one and see where game three goes, but let's just tie it up and see where it is. But, you know, he was all about, you know, kicking them first, you know, being, you know, uh, putting them in the corner, see how they respond. You know, they've never, they've always been the bully on the block, you know, being, you know, you know, put your foot on your neck there kind of thing. Let's be that guy. Let's go out there and get them and see how they respond to be, you know, maybe, uh, you know, the intimidator and see how they react to it. So it was a lot of that leading up to this. So, um, in retrospect, it was, it was pretty smart, uh, delivery from those guys.

I thought at the time before you won the cup, Holly comes to Dallas that summer and you'd known him world cup, obviously, like how excited were you as a center? And like, I got this guy now, this goal score. And do you even remember like, did he sign there? Was it like, how did it, and him and him and hitch. So I've heard some classic ones. He was so fun. I wish I had about eight or nine years with Holly cause I just, I would laugh every day and he was such a, such a fun dude and great teammate.

And, uh, he just put things in perspective that I've like never heard before just about the game and the description of the game and how I should be played. And, you know, being, you know, having fun and going out there and just, you know, whatever happens happens. I was like, man, I've been wound up like a top for years and here he is coming in here. He's scoring 92 goals a game and he's very, you know,

lackadaisical and loose and having a good time about it. So he was, he was a fun to be around. And I think, oh God, was it 97 that we went shopping for him? I think after St. Louis and St. Louis, and I think, you know, Carbo gave the big sales pitch to him and Bob Ganey. And, and I think he felt at the time that we had a, a really good opportunity to win in Dallas. You know, we just, we just made a monumental trade for Kevin Hatcher for Zuboff, which goes

down to the best fuel of the century for us. And, um, cause Mario was tired of Zubi. I like, well, we'll take them. So well, that was a. What do you mean by that? He, I think Zubi lift off Mario too much. I thought you were going to say the cigarettes. He was stealing the cigarettes. That's why.

You could go through those like candy too, but don't look off Mario. I said, no, no. We had Hitch Hatcher for him and then we just, you know, we got in Skrull and Keen and everybody else and Carbo and you know, so we had these pieces. Ed Belfort just kind of came in the loop. And, and so we, uh, you know, so I think. Holly thought that maybe this was the time that better than any of that to win. So he got, he came here and he started playing with, uh, Yuri Lenton and myself.

So he was a lot of fun. And, and, uh, you know, hitch would ride him cause he needed, you know, Brett to be a little more responsible in his own zone. At least stay on your point. If anything else, just stay on your point and, uh, don't go too low and everything else. But, uh, he was, he was a treat, but man, he, he made the game look easy. I was like, some of these goals go in, but I pulled up some of his videos back in the, you know, those eighties when he's scoring 80, 90 goals, I'm like, the goal tiny was just absolute horrendous.

Even Wayne's 92. I mean, some of those goals, I mean, most of them were on the ice. I was like, not one went up high, you know, everybody was down. You had small goalies back then, no pads. So I always give Holly, you know, grief. I don't think you would have got, you know, 80 something in today's game. But, uh, yeah, I, you know, he goes, but he he would always say if guys are on my back, I'm always open My hands are free. My hands are open Okay. Oh, so he just toss them in there He just get it off and some of these goals going in I'm like man

I would have loved to been Adam Oates for about seven eight years with him. Oh, he's um, he's like highly intelligent I heard he does the the crossword the hardest ones in like two minutes. Yeah, he sits there stretching out on the locker room floor. Yeah, he does the splits. New York Times. And he knocks it off before practice. I was like, I can't even get one. I can't get one line in the New York Times. And he knocks it off before practice. So he was very smart in that sense. So he, like you said, he thought the game differently. He'd always come from behind and you just get lost out there. He never wanted to be the first or second option in a power play.

He wanted to be the fourth or fifth because he wanted to get lost and get a couple of shots before he, you know, before he comes arriving into the traffic. And so he, uh, he was pretty smart. So he was, uh, he was fun. And, you know, I gave him grief too. I was like this close from scoring that goal. He turned into me when that puck was coming through his legs. I was like, Holly, he was fun. And, you know, I gave him griff too. I was like this close from scoring that goal. He turned into me when that puck was coming through his legs. I was like,

Holly, that was coming out to me. I was ready to drag it around and put it in. And you know, this big ass turn and knock my sticker away, kicks it up to his foot. And I go there and there it goes. There's my, uh, there's my moment. Were you, were you the one on the, maybe you told me on a golf trip or somebody else told us that did you get kicked out of practice and then just went right to the golf course

with Hitch at one point? That was because of Brett too. We were doing a drill and we were trying to get, I think we're just kind of going through a little bit of a, you know, dry spell. And so Hitch was really kind of getting on. Hulley to just get the pump deep, get it deep, get it deep. You know, it was very territorial back then.

There was none of this, take it back, regroup and come back with some speed. You know, there was no time in the neutral zone. It's either get it out and get it in. And so Hulley was just, you know, he's like, and Hitch made the comment to Hulley that goals don't matter. And I thought Hulley was going to have a hard tack. He's like, and hitch made the comment to Hulley that goals don't matter and I thought Hulley was gonna have a hard attack He's like goals don't matter and so that just stuck in Hall's crow And so we did this drill it was like three on one and he started cross corner dumping it, you know His blow the whistle go do it again cross owner round the rim soft chip is the three on one

Just make you know, couple pass to get a shot Get off the ice. So we get off and so poor URIs out there, he's stuck, you know, barely speaks English, he's the poor guy. He's like, well, you know, so he goes into the jump, Jim, he's doing plyometrics, clean snatches, the whole thing. And he's like, let's go play some golf. You know, so we go out to the golf and Mike Keane calls us later and

say, Hey, you guys doing okay? We didn't see you guys already. And press Al we're, we're, we're on the eighth hole. We're fine. Oh man. He just, he just had a way of turning us into a very fast and you know, bus rides, plane rides. I mean, he just, he was, he was that's huge.

That's huge, man. Especially for you, if you're a little bit wound up, right? I'm sure you had that mounted pressure of you trying to get the job done. Now, I was gonna ask you, like, aside from Holland Zubal, like, what do you think were the missing pieces that got you guys over the edge, or were those the two guys? There was certainly that it,

and then Balfour came into the picture. I mean, Eddie was intense. This guy was on a whole nother level of intense and just stay out of his way on game day, and this guy was a gamer. He was intense and he's got some, I had some great stories about him too, but probably one of the key component for sure.

He could have easily won the cons might there in 99 cause you know, you gotta go against, you know, Curtis Joseph, Patrick Wa, Brodur, Hachik Brodur, you know, he just was, you know, head to head, Pat, you know, the whole thing. So he, he was just so into those series and he was, he was a big factor, but it was more of the, you know, the, just the, the Griny type guys. We, Benoit Hogue was there, Derek Plan. We picked up Pat Verbeek, just roll guys and, and, you know, but Keane, Skrullin, just heavy, Carbo guys were just heavy.

Uh, but they chipped in offensively, but they shut things down. No one scored on them. Our penalty kill was off the charts and, and, uh, we had Sador. We picked up Sador, I think from, uh, LA for Doug Jmolik. So that was a big trade for us. And then, uh, you know, we had Sean Chambers, of course, um, Hatcher, Maffechuck. Um, you know, so we had a, a new Indyke, we traded new Indyke for a Gindla, which was a big trade at the time. Oh wow. Yeah. We, we,

we did a handful of big deals in about a three or four period year period at, uh, pretty much cemented that deal. So we went to Vale for training camp that year and we thought, you know, four period, year period at, uh, pretty much cemented that deal. So we went to Vail for training camp that year and we thought, you know, this is, this is Stanley copper boss for us this year. Before must've loved having a guy like Ludwig out there. He was shim pads were like, oh, to hear. You had him heated up so he could bend them and flatten them out. I mean, he just, but he would go down.

I mean, he had welts on him and you know, it's one thing that block it far out from the net. He was maybe five feet from Belfort dropping down and these slappers and what man, he just, you know, just the one knee turned to the side and he had barely any pads. His shoulder pads were like the old Ron Duguay one, just a cap here, cap here. This thing was hanging, no elbow pads barely. Pants were like a, maybe a, uh, a little shell on the thigh,

you know, the old football pants, but didn't have anything on him, but just took some arms off his, off his body. Belfort had to be somebody if you shot it high in practice, it was like possible stick off your neck. He just seemed like a lunatic. He seems like a crazy person. And Holley would do it all day long. He's just this one right near his ears and Eddie'd have a heart, you know, he'd

be coming after Holley and, oh, Holley didn't care. He just snapped him so hard, just right by his ears. And Eddie would be just skate right off the ice. Oh, I'm done. You know, he, oh, he'd just leave. Yeah. We'd have to have Darrell Ray ice. Oh, I'm done. You know? Oh, he'd just leave. Yeah. We'd have to have Darrell Ray come be the goalie for practice.

He'd come out of the play by buddy booth to be our third goalie, because Eddie would leave after a few minutes. So we needed another goalie at the other end. So Ray's right your head, all his gear ready to go every day. So stay at a belt for his way in a game day. Like if you mess with his pad or try to joke around him,

he'll suck you between the ears. Yeah don't touch his thing just stay clear he does his own skates does all his equipment the threading the kneeling the leather the whole thing he does skate sharpen he had a weird thing where he had his skates like this something so he could push more off his toe slide off his heel it was he his mind worked in some different uh, different ways too, but, uh, yeah, he just stay clear of him game day and, you know, you knew what you were going to get, but he, uh, he was fun off game day. So he was a lot of fun to be around.

And, uh, but, uh, you know, I think he was, he was a big, big key guy there at that time. That couple run was just legendary. I feel like new and I just like, he, he, he just been so dominant and then having all like the other players that you guys had, it was just legendary. I feel like new and I just like he, he, he just been so dominant and then having all like the other players that you guys had, it was just so many different guys that could score like even now you see the Stanley Cup without depth, you're just done. And I guess that's what they did there is just focus all on that, but he had to be

one of the biggest pieces and just taking over in games. Yeah. I mean, he just came off that run with, uh, you know, he won in Calgary, had some great years there, out of a great team there. But yeah, that was a big move by us to give up, you know, our first rounder, Jerome, you know, I think he was 10th or 11th, uh, that year he's drafted. So, you know, you're giving up a lot of, uh, obviously hall of famer, uh, for, uh, a second wing center for us to fill out some depth. So, but, uh, him and Langenbrenner just jelled so well together that playoffs.

They, they, they scored some big goals and he just got in the right spots at the right time. He got in the groove, but he's, he's a great guy, a solid dude and just a big time gamer. He scored some big overtime goals for us, um, against Edmonton St. Louis. Uh, but, uh, yeah,, it felt like for four years in a row we had to play the Oil, so it was just brutal hockey too against those guys right out of the

gate, first round. We're like, we always told ourselves we're only making one trip to Edmonton, so we're either sweeping them or it's five. So let's just get this thing over with because, you know, we're going to come out of here with, you know, cuts and bruises and, you know, beat the death in seven games if we have to go that way. But we'd want to get it over early. So we get a nice break and get healed up for the second round. So, but, uh, the Edmonton series is work, work, um, you know, kind of just a big time series and then the two game sevens against Colorado.

I think I don't think I played in better hockey and you know, the matchups with those guys against, uh, the avalanche in 99, 2000 top to bottom. I like those some amazing players, amazing players. What was, what was that cup party like in, in, in Dallas? Is it, is it like it is nowadays you guys have the parade going and, you know, up and down the streets and obviously the parties were amazing. I would kid them. Yeah.

So where these, and you know, I think the problem is we had some, you know, some professional partiers on our team too, that could, you know, go at it hard and played as hard too. They did both very well. And I don't know how they did that, because sometimes I'm like, I don't, I couldn't. Who? Oh, who was the, who was the ringleader? Oh, probably Ludd's, Carbo, Hatch. Uh, they, but they knew that we're going to be the ones bailing them out all time. You know, lats, myself, lags, you know, newie, you know, these guys could, you

know, you know, burn the candle a little harder, you know, knowing that, Oh, you know, those guys, they'll have it for us. They'll score tomorrow. They'll score for us. We're fine. Uh, but we got through that final game in Buffalo. We got home, you know, maybe five or six in the morning there. But what was weird about it, that cup was in town for about, I think, two

weeks after that final, which is not usually the norm, you know, it comes back with you, you have like a little, maybe a team get together, your parade, and then it's gone and then you're, you're filing, you're filling out your schedule for when you want to get it this summer. But it must've been in Dallas for about two, you know, 10 to 14 days. And so I think Tom Hicks, who was the owner at the time, had a handful of functions he wanted to take it to, but they were all day functions. So we'd get it at the night.

So we had this thing for two weeks straight every night in Dallas. And I was like, I don't want to, I can't do this anymore. I don't want to, summer, I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to, it's going to fall off somewhere. I don't want to see it anymore. I'm like, I am gun tapped out. And I think the finale was our party at Pantera's house, Vinnie Paul's house the night before, of course, the parade that was there. So that was an all niger.

So we're late to the parade. We're all getting, trying to get the Arlington to downtown Dallas, you know, from, you know, at seven 30, this thing started at nine with filing out of Vinny's at eight a.m. We got to get downtown nine on the floats, get ready to go. So it was, but, uh, you know, finally the parade comes and we're like, get this cup out of here. We'll back to Toronto with it. We're, we're, we're checked out, but

you take your name off the sheet for the summer, the summer it. We're checked out, but. You take your name off the sheet for the summer, the summer thing. You're like, I'm good. I never want to see you again. I'm good. I'm good. So the banner raise in next fall.

So, but the problem is we had a bunch of old guys on the team who few of them had won it before. They knew they were never going to win it again, or they probably thought they weren't going to ever play again much longer. So this was like their swan song. This was like their going out summer. So they didn't, they didn't kind of, uh, they took us all down hard. Fuck. I'd want another one after that. You got three total. Yeah. Yeah.

That guy's a machine. We're to go back to New Jersey, but do you want to answer the Bab stuff? Or is it like, was it overblown? Like what happened? Did he just fucking hose you? Yeah, it was a bit of a hose. Bit of a hose. Yeah.

I had cut my wrist a couple days before Thanksgiving. Got tied up with a hamburger. So I was in a major rehab all winter long in Detroit. First I went back to Detroit. Could've came to Minnesota. Opted for Detroit. Kenny Holland gave me the pitch. I'm like, First I went back to Detroit. Could have came to Minnesota, opted for Detroit. Kenny Holland gave me the pitch. I'm like, I gotta go back to the wings, play one time for Detroit.

And so I'm like, okay, I'll do that. So I got hurt, cut some tendons. I was in a rehab thing. So I come back talking to the doctors and okay, when are we gonna time this return and stuff? I'm like, wow, this is, I'm looking at like mid, you know, maybe first week of March. So I'm like, okay, so March 8th. So now I'm penciling. Now I'm looking at my games played to, to the end of the year. So I'm like, oh,

so I'm adding the numbers. I'm like, Hey, if I get now till then, I hit 15 on the nut. I'm like, that would be a good little, you know, consolation, consolation for the year. So we get, we're whittling down. We got three left. So I play around 1498, Minnesota at home, healthy scratch. Then he plays me in Chicago for the season ender to get 1499.

What did you, like, did you have a couple pizzas or something? Like, did you play bad? Like, what the fuck? I don't know. I don't know. I wasn't playing much. He would say, I was playing bad. I didn't play much that year to say,

God, I can't play them. So, but he's like, Mike, we didn't bring you here to win a cup. Get 1500 games we brought you here to win a cup. I'm like, I just, yeah, totally. But I'm like, I'm missing a, Did the guys go in the coaches room and say, yeah, totally. But I'm like, missing the book. Did the guys go in the, in the coaches room and say, Hey, Dick,

they were Jesus. They didn't know. Cleary told me Danny clears. Like we didn't even really do the math and like understand really like how it went down. You do the numbers and I think Kenny knew Holland, but he was too late to the game to say anything, which he says. So, but, uh, yeah, Babs called, made the call, called me that afternoon at home. Didn't even, I didn't even get to the ring to say, I didn't say, Hey, Mike. So you said, Mike, like if I, if I miss a game, I won't hit 1500.

And that was his response. Yeah. Did you, was that your first healthy scratch ever? I had a healthy scratch in Buffalo in 1990. I miss curfew in Toronto and Bob gave me sat me on the bench dressed. He could have gave you one shift. One shift would have gotten me 1500. Holy shit.

When he, when Babs said you, you're playing against Chicago, you must've been like, I, I, I don't even want to like, that's crazy. Yeah. Two lockouts, you know, a season and a half, and then sitting on the bench in Buffalo, some bellhop rat, ratted us out in Toronto to Bob Ganey. He probably paid him. He didn't say anything until I was on the bench, dress-rated for the year. I'm like, I'm on the bench, ready to go.

And he's like, you know, I'm on the bench ready to go. And he's like, you know, just slide down there, slide down there. I was like, Oh, you didn't even know prior. No shit. No, no shit. Dressed all ready to go pumped up at the old odd. And I'm like, and he's like, no, sit down. And then he, and then after the game, were you still like, what the fuck, or did he come up and say?

And he said, press asshole, what happened? What's the deal? Oh, team rules, you missed curfew. It's like shit. So going back to the Babs thing, like all the other stuff that you kind of heard over the years, are you kind of just like, man, what a fucking asshole.

Why would you do that to me? I know, I know. One thing, I just like, man, what a fucking asshole. Like, why would you do that to me? I know, I know. I have one thing I was like, man, I just would have made, you know, that experience in Detroit a little bit worth it, you know, you know, a bit of a consolation. It was a tough winter. I felt like finally I got my legs under me in November because these guys fly. I'm like, I never seen a team work harder in practice than the wings at that time. I'm like, these guys are humming.

I was like, I felt out of shape. I went to Scotland with golf and with St. Louis, Lacavier, like 12 of us went there just after Kenny called me about coming to Detroit. So I come back, I'm trying to get in shape, come to camp in Traverse City. I'm like, I'm just dogging. It took me a month and a half just to get up to speed. So finally it felt like I was, you know, getting moving and then the injury and then I'm playing catch up all winter. But I was like, man, this is just something that could have been, oh, just would have been just, you know, easier to deal with that, uh, calling it quits after that. But man,

Cleary said to me, he'd say, uh, Babs would say to you like, stop in the D zone. I don't need to see the Jersey flap in the wind. Cleary's like, I like seeing it. Oh man. But then, you know, all this stuff that's come out. I was like, Oh man, this guy just can't. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe it was a little bit pre premeditated and thought out. We got Grinnell on the chat here who was producer. He wants to ask about playing with that too. Can Zetterberg. I mean, that's who must've been like, that must've been fucked.

He must. He was by far the hardest working guy I think I've ever seen in practice. He would go out there early, late, I mean he just was a craft at what he did. So we always had this little thing at the end of the practice, he'd play keep away with me, ablocator, helm, and who else would get thrown in there? There's usually four of us going in the corner with dad suit.

So he'd stay in there the whole time and we have to come out to get a breather because we couldn't get it off him. And he's just going through one of us at a time. Me, Abby, Helm, we come out there dead. He's just still holding onto it. You know, he just, he just had some weight, the way he could protect the pocket. We just come out there breathing like dogs, but, and he has a stick on him like that.

It's just a log. This thing was the heaviest thing I've ever felt. And this was the age of, you know, sticks are starting to get light. Warrior, the Easton's all one piece, really feather, but he had a paddle, just log, you know, and I think dry saddle is a big fan of that suit.

His paddles are identical. He has the same curve, same stick, but you know, he could just get in there and just like against Sue, just carve it up, snap it on a heartbeat. So you, but he, you know, they, Holly called them, uh, of Hollywood college, Holly was playing with him in 2000. He called him, oh, the guy from Reservoir Dogs, Kaiser Soze, cause he had the bad limp. And I think Pavel's feet were two or three inches

shorter than one. So he had to, he'd walk like this, but then he'd get on the ice. It'd be like Kaiser, walking away at the end of the movie. He's limping, but then he just kind of, you know, Oh, how he calls them Kaiser. So they saw it. I love that. That's an honor. Yeah. And he had like the round back. He was like the guy from the Lord of the Rings, but he gets to chop suey on the ice.

He came off the ice. You're like, what in the deal? Then it skates come out and he was like, this dude. Unbelievable. My first game was in Detroit. Remember where you warmed up, like the players would walk by you at the old Joe. So I was out there. We were playing like soccer or whatever and he comes walking by it. I thought he was like an usher and someone's like, that's Paul Bell.

That's who you're like, and I didn't really know too much about him. Cause I hadn't met in the league yet. And after the game, I'm like, that's gotta be the best player in the league and he looks like an usher after the game. It was impressive. He picked your pocket. Just make you look like a fool. Helps you to your seats and fucking does that.

Oh my God, this guy does it all. Move over, Harry Knuckles. Yeah. Zetterberg, he was just too smart. Wasn't the fastest guy over there out there on the ice, but he was just always in the right position, just in the way all the time. Just, you know, very, very smart, intellect kid on the ice, just knew where to be. And, you know, he was, uh, those two guys, uh, Babs called them the chiefs.

There's only two chiefs as Dadsook and Zetterberg. Rest of you are, you know, the tribes. I'm like, I go, you got a lit got, Lystrom just got eight norruses. He's not a chief. Wow. Holy shit. He might be the chief. Red Savarro, the rest of us of the tribe,

I think Lystrom's the chief. Oh, that is too good. Zetterberg kind of looks like the Dos Equis guy, his kid, love child. Hey, he's always got that perfectly manicured beer. The most interesting hockey player in the world. Hank looks like that too. Yeah. Well, we can't thank you enough for your time.

Well, we'll do the next one for the last 14 years. Okay. Perfect. We'll get through your rookie year at some point. Before we go any further, guys, Witt here, and I want to talk about BetterHelp. Spit and Chicklets is proud to be sponsored by BetterHelp, and every January brings you 365 blank pages waiting to be filled. In 2025, maybe you're ready for a plot twist, or maybe there's a part of your story that you've been wanting to revise.

Life is not about resolutions that fade by February. It's about picking up the pen and becoming the author of your own life. Think of therapy as your editorial partner, helping you write new chapters and create the meaningful story you deserve to live. Therapy can help in so many ways. Sometimes it's getting amazing advice, sometimes it's just getting things off your chest, and most of the time it's about using help to figure out a way that you can live a better life and be you, feel like you, and get back to the person that you want to be.

It's helped me, it's helped Biz, it's helped so many other people, and BetterHelp is the best way to go about it. BetterHelp is a fully online, making therapy affordable and convenient, serving over 5 million people worldwide. Access a diverse network of more than 30,000 credentialed therapists with a wide range of specialties. Write your story with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash Chicklets today to get 10% off your first month.

That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash Chicklets, and you will be able to feel like yourself, feel better, and be on a path that you want to be on moving forward. BetterHelp.com slash Chicklets. Thank you so much to Mike Madonnell. What a guy. Very nice to sit down with us for a long interview. We appreciate it so much. A legendary career, true hall of famer. Rumor Boy segment. The Vancouver Canucks denied the New York Rangers trade proposal of Mika Zabenejad in exchange for JT Miller earlier this season. The Athletics Josh is it Yo? Yes Josh Yo. Josh Yo reported that. So apparently Mika also turned down

going to Vancouver himself. I mean, did anyone ever think that the Canucks would accept that? Like, I was kind of attacked online a little bit. I said, yeah, no shit. I think I said that the Avalanche denied a request, Brett Kulak for Kale McCarr. But they did? I don't even consider JT Miller and Mika Zbentajad in the same

Like stratosphere as a player like maybe a couple years ago. I would have said maybe Zbentajad and and Kyandre Miller Maybe I know Kyandre Miller hasn't been playing like himself this year But at least some upside and the fact that Vancouver does need a defenseman outside of our own ik and and Quinn Hughes so apparently I was told because I said one of my responses was like Vancouver does need a defenseman outside of Aaronic and Quinn Hughes. So apparently I was told, because I said, one of my responses was like, well, one player skates fast and the other doesn't. Right. Well then all of a sudden the stat guys, they went after me.

Oh, speed burst? The speed now. Now you see how fast everyone's going and their top speed burst. I think this season Zbbenajad has skated faster than JT Miller. Like his top end speed he hit one time. I'm talking about, and I did say skating, one skates fast, one doesn't,

so I totally didn't word it the way I wanted to. I'm talking how you play. JT Miller plays fast. Fast twitch, fast twitch. Mika Zbenajad does not. No, more of a flow guy. Now yeah, if you get the puck and you're flying through the neutral zone, for surebentajad does not. No, more of a flow guy. Now, yeah, if you get the puck and you're flying through the neutral zone,

for sure, Zbentajad can skate. I'm talking about how he moves the puck, how he's in on the forecheck. Playing a quick game, playing the way that you need to play now to be aggressive on the forecheck, to be coming back hard defensively. There's different types of players. JT Miller plays with pace, and Mika a better job does not that's my opinion on it

Yeah And like I go back to the fast twitch like if something has a guy has to stop and go back in the other direction I don't exactly think that Mika's a better jazz the first guy you're picking Going back to the intensity of his game like if you watch Sean Avery's clips online like Mika with the dry hair Like it would drive me fucking bananas at the fact that by the time the game ends this guy still has a beautiful dry coif on his head where like there's not maybe enough digging in especially at the moment and the place that the Rangers are in right now given everything that's happened you think

you'd maybe like dig in a little bit more but I just don't think he is he has that that's not who he is as a player he's more of a free bit more but I just don't think he is he has that that's not who he is as a player he's more of a free-flowing guy I also agree with what Brooks he said whether they're almost asking him to do too much I don't people would like he's a powerplay specialist like eight million dollars I guess where the caps going sure but I just don't view him as like a piece that gets it done I view, I view Mika Zabenejad as like a, and no disrespect to Phil Kessel, but he was a great piece to add.

He didn't have to be one of those guys. He just fit- Like the third or fourth piece. Up front. Yes, yes. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, where he's probably the third or fourth in points where there's other guys taking the focus

and then setting him up for those opportunities where Phil was great off of the wing where he was getting the puck distributed to him. I don't think he's exactly the guy who's getting in there on the forecheck breaking things up so I view them as totally different players and both of them have their impact and their own right but as a one-for-one absolutely not that's not going to get it done and and as we were texting in that Chicklets group chat I definitely think that if Zbentajad was going to Vancouver if there was a possibility and he didn't wave whatever he has to wave it would have to be coming with at least a big defender whether it's Schneider

whether it's a Keandre Miller or or or something else but I said it a few pods ago I think that Drury is in desperation mode and he would do nasty, nasty things in order to acquire JT Miller. But we've talked about it with a lot of the other trades. You have to give something up. So what do you think it is, Jens? Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head.

It's definitely not a one for one. You cannot do that. Vancouver obviously would never do that. You can't have a guy like JT Miller who had a hundred and some points last year and then trade him, you know, for a guy who's not having his best year. I guess both of them aren't having their best years, but I think when you look at a playoff type player, JT Miller fits that to a T I think Mika is an awesome player.

He's really good in the power of play. Um, you know, when, when he's playing at his best, I think he's really good on the power play. You know, when he's playing at his best, I think he's really good too. But I think when Mills is at his best, he's head and shoulders above Mika. I think if they did want to get that deal done, they would definitely have to add, you know, something more. Do you want to give up your second best offender in, in Keandre Miller as, as a Rangers fan? No, you probably don't want to do that. Uh, do they have anything in the pipeline? As you would say, I don't know if Vancouver would want to, you know,

have a, get a project player where you have to, you know, groom a guy for a little bit. So, and I don't think the Rangers want to trade Schneider. And he's, he's been vocal too about not playing, right? No, that was Zach Jones. Oh, that was Zach Jones. That was Zach Jones, yeah. Who I don't think is enough with Mika.

Now, given the Rangers a little bit of props, they beat the Blackhawks on January 5th. They then lost to the Stars in OT in a game which they were up 3-0. That's a tough loss. But then they came back and beat Pasha's Devils. And then they beat the Golden Knights on Saturday night. 2-1. Did you see Troach's goal? Yeah. He got hit in the nuts and then just like banged home the rebound and immediately skated down the tunnel.

It was like, oh fuck, that one must have hurt. A lot easier when you get a goal right after getting hit. Hitting the, uh, in the peanuts. But they got the Avs coming up, then they got Utah, then they got Columbus. We'll see if the Rangers get anything going here, but I was not surprised at all to hear that Vancouver said no to that.

Another one- If you're saying no, don't you think like, if you really want to get that done, like you can't, like that's almost, you think Vancouver's gonna, you know, counter you with that, or is that kind of like, you offer that and it's done? I don't think it's necessarily done. If what Biz is saying and Drury wants them this bad, I don't think it'll be done.

They'll just continue to talk. I understand starting off with a little low ball offer that you probably know no chance. It's like trying to buy a house. You're going as low as your real estate agent says you could without really slapping him in the face. They're gonna come back with Mika and the regular season champs banner for JT Miller.

Final offer. Final offer. I don't think even Vancouver, when they won the President's Trophy, would hang up a regular season champions banner. They might have a President's trophy banner, just the way it was worded. That's when we knew things were going back down for the Rangers this year.

Yeah, it's all expected. Exactly. All downhill. The Minnesota Wild are among the teams interested in New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson reports Frank Ceravelli, who runs daily face-off. They do a great job. Not surprised at all. He's on Team USA for Four Nations. Billy Garron's picking that team. A versatile forward. The last three years, over 30 goals all three years. I don't think he's going to hit it this year. He only has 12 right now. But I think there's going to be a ton of teams looking at Brock Nelson. He can skate, he can kill penalties, he can play in the power play, he can play up and down the lineup. I just said that, but I totally get

the wild being interested. Garron put him on a team when a lot of people didn't see that coming, but I just think a lot of teams are gonna be calling Lou Lamarello. Because I thought it was pretty much a shoe-in for him to go to Minnesota based on what I was hearing or reading, and I talked to another guy who's a member of another organization,

and he said, ah he said ah not so fast and they're trying to also get him but there's so many teams out there looking to add at that center ice position so he becomes such a valuable piece and as we get near the deadline I think you're gonna see a little bit of overpayment which is obviously not a bad thing for the New York Islanders but but a guy who's a I mean how many years has he had 30 goals? The last three years he's had 30. Yeah, he's automatic. It's a little slower, but yeah, three years ago,

he had 37, two years ago, 36, last year, 34. Yeah, he's automatic. This guy. A great second line center. And he's from Minnesota too. With Stanley Cup aspirations. Yeah, I could see that happening. I could you know, I would imagine he's got some sort of no trade, actually maybe not with the Islanders.

Well here's the thing too, is I think that his contracts up at the end of this year, is it not? And if it is, they got 14 million coming off the books with those two buyouts. So if there was a team that could afford to not only make that move, but then extend him, that would, that would definitely lure him in a little bit more. Cause I think it comes down to him as well, making the decision. So a lot of good things though, going on in mini right now, they got, they are looking good. They're a well oiled machine. They got, they got plenty of money to play with next year. And, uh, I think they're going to end up locking in Kapri soft who's gonna get probably oh yeah G just wrote in the in the chat here he's a ufa and he's only making six

million dollars what a cap hit for the young man oh 33 years old former North Dakota member of North okay I think then they were still the Fighting Sue. Maybe not, maybe not, I'm not exactly sure. Did that have to change because of political reasons? Yeah, I think they ended up. Yeah, he was definitely there when they were the Fighting Sue, right? I mean, he was there in 2010.

What a fucking uniform that team had. Unreal. Oh my God. Oh my God. Did you guys see how the wild and the penguins ended up at the same hotel for a little bit in town to play the hurricanes and flurry went to work? He went to work on Sid. No, I think it was the other way around. Wasn't it?

Did Sid start it? No, I think it was the other way around. Okay. Let's. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think that as as the wild were off to practice and flower had left his room, Sidney Crosby was asked if he, if Genny Malkin and LeTang had any plans to try to get Flurry one last time and Sid said, no I don't think so I'd be afraid of the retaliation. Well Biz you're right he lied to the press just like Marshawn does he fucking hates David

Poshnox lying to the reporters Flurry lied and he went on down. He went, he got one of his room keys and they rearranged the furniture in Flurry's room. Apparently, Malkin, LaTang and Brian Rust were potential suspects along with Flurry. They rearranged the furniture in Flurry's room to have him find it and in retaliation, Flurry located Crosby's equipment bag at the rink, rubbed Vaseline on his visor, laced his skates backwards and put beef sticks in his jock strap. I mean, what's a beef stick? I believe it's the things that you just grab downstairs and ate up here and now the whole

room stinks like them. Oh yeah, those things. Dude, he grabbed them. A busy breath man. And he put them in his pocket. I'm like, no, no, no, he's going to eat him in the pod room And he's just a biz breath mint so the slim Jim I would never fuck with flurry ever ever this guy put fucking Duhames car he took the tires off his car. Do you remember that last year?

Amazing poor prick had to get an uber ride home I believe. And I think we asked, who did we ask? Was it Maroon we asked? Somebody's like, yeah, he's fucking crazy. Duhaime got him first. And like people are like, what are you doing, bro? Wrong guy, wrong door. He wanted his name in the media so teams would know who he was. Check the game notes, buddy.

Check the game notes. But I think the coolest thing of the week involving Mark Andre Fleury was the video tribute he got in Vegas. You saw all the fans outside looking for autographs and he got emotional. You could tell he's fighting back the tears. That beefsteak smells so fucking bad. Oh my God. But Fleury saw the video and just remembering, I'm sure for him like thinking back in time like the penguins and winning the cup and then

being the backup for the other two and then You got it. You're putting the expansion draft like what just happened And then I'm going to Vegas and everyone says we're gonna stink Ryan Whitney says we're gonna be the doormat of the entire league and we go to the cup finals and flurry's there and just backstopping them to this legendary, incredible, memorable season. And then like. To get pigeon tossed. To then get pigeon tossed and have your agents

put a sword through your back on Twitter. Alan Walsh. What a run. Alan Walsh, what a ride. But Flurry went to Vegas probably wondering like what is going on, what's happening, how am I on an expansion team right now? To go into the cup final,

and the video they played was awesome, and he's sitting on the bench. He had played the night before in San Jose where they won, and Minnesota's banged up right now. They got a ton of injuries. They got a win in San Jose where apparently Flurry said after there was a fan that kept yelling at him, you're too old, retire, you suck.

And he played great in that game, and so he didn't play the next night in Vegas where Vegas won four to one, but the sendoff, I think, totally exactly what I expected and what he deserves. Oh, no doubt, I was getting chills watching it too, man. I was like, that crowd there is incredible. And they respect the guys,

especially the original of Misfits who kind of established a culture there. So, uh, very cool to see well-deserved and just the way that he treats people and always had, he's, he's a legend of the game. He'll go down as one of the greatest goaltenders of all time. And I'll tell you with the, with, with him in your locker room, there's never any, uh, you know, this guy doesn't like that guy. Like he's a locker room guy and you don't see it from goalies too often, right?

Where they're the guy in the locker room, keeping everybody together. Every everything I've ever heard about the guy and, you know, having met him a few times, just a first-class individual, amazing goaltender. I hope he, I hope he keeps playing it because, you know, he can clearly still do it. He's playing well. Um, you know, a guy that deserves everything that he's worked for. And yeah, that said what I saw that they were calling them the golden flower in, in Vegas. Is that what they used to call them?

Oh, the golden shower. Yeah. I scored on flower one time in a real game in practice. No real game. Top prospects game from the point. Yep. I was, I in a real game in practice. No real game top prospects game Yeah, I was a CNI wrister Yeah, there must have been like 20 guys in front and you couldn't see shit So you fought for enough and had a goal on flurry. Yep. This is all that same game same game And I'm Wow He's got MVP of the take not to take all the flowers away from from our boy here

You got MVP in that game. You think I didn't? So you got, so a goal and a fight without that game, I don't know if you get drafted, where you got drafted. Top prospects game. It was at the top prospects game. That means I was a top prospect. He was a top prospect.

To get there. Yeah, but you were just so suspect off the ice. And then when they put all the best players on the ice together at that top prospect gate. Who won MVP? I won the MVP for team, I think I was on team Orr. Team Bobby Orr. Who was the other team's MVP?

I don't know if they had one. And if they did, who gives a shit? Well, we could sign him to Greensboro. That's true. Through that, through that. Biz, you know how many guys from your draft year are still playing? What a great question. Heard it on 32 Thoughts.

Ryan Souter. Yep. Marc Andre. What a question. Well, obviously Marc Andre, we were drafted the same team, Pittsburgh Penguins. He was the first overall. I was in the fourth round the next day. Oh, wow.

I totally forgot about this guy and I can't believe it. There's so many in that first round. I mean, Jeff Carter just retired. Buddy, you got to get this one. But without looking at this, I don't know if I do. Which is pathetic. Give me a little hint. Don't tell me the team, though. Rat.

Brad Marshaw wasn't on here. No, no. Spear in the eyeball if he had to. Oh, Corey Perry. Corey Perry. Yeah, that's it? No, there's one more. There's four, I think.

That's three. You know it right now? You know it off the top of your dome? I don't. Oh, yeah, Brent Burns. Yeah, Burnsy. Yeah, the short sleeve dress shirt. I'm like, who the fuck is this guy?

I didn't know I had a barber. Boys, Brent Burns has 1,459 games played. Oh, yeah, he's a machine. So one of the reasons that he went so high was I think because he was playing D at the time, or forward, and then they switched him to the other position. I think he was a D, they switched him to forward,

and then he had a great second half of that season, but also when he was invited to the combine, his VO2 and all of his fitness was like, world ahead of anybody else, and they're like, we have to, like this guy has a man's body and he's an absolute machine. So if he fills in even like a little bit of skill, he'll be like at worst, he'd be like a second

to third line player. And then obviously the rest is history. Now, when he was in, he was drafted by Minnesota. Then he went off to San Jose. Had he went back to play D when he was in Minnesota ever? No, he played forward. He played D and forward there. He would switch.

Because I know in San Jose, he was back and forth, back and forth, to one point where he was all of a sudden playing with Joe Thornton on a line. So just a remarkable specimen. I used to hate when he was playing forward, dude. He'd get in on that forecheck. He'd be screaming at you, yelling. He'd be eating beef sticks, like, in your face your face him and buff when him and buff would all forward

I despised it hey in 0102 Brent Burns played in the OPJHL for the couch yeah the coach each in came out of no terriers he had 11 points in 46 games the next year he played for the Brampton Battalion he had 40 points in 46 games. The next year he played for the Brampton Battalion. He had 40 points in 68 games, drafted 20th overall that summer, and the next year was in the NHL. It was insane. That's why when he got drafted,

the internet wasn't like it is today, right? So I don't even remember playing against him. You didn't know who he was. But when they called his name on my, I was MVP of the top process. And then he takes his jacket off and he's got a short sleeve dress shirt on. I'm like, this has to be like some form of joke here or something.

And then he goes on to have the career that he did. Holy shit. Whoever drafted that guy, what a play by you. What a pick, what a pick. So he spent, yeah, spent, he played one game in the AHL that first year, and then 36 in Minnesota, and then the next year was the lockout, he played the whole season in Houston, and that was it.

I mean, so, so like 1459, then he had 74 AHL games, he's over, he's over 1500 pro games, he's got 120 playoff. He hasn't missed many games either. Has Suter already played his 1,500? Because I think he's set to hit his 1,500 as well. Suter is at 1,488. Okay, so what is Corey Perry at? Corey Perry's at 1,352.

Wow. More injuries. Corey Perry, dude, has been awesome this year for Edmonton. He's been scrapping a lot. Awesome. I'd be curious to know the amount, how many other drafts have had at least three or four players play 1,300 games in the NHL, regular season?

Yeah. Because even for Flower, for a goaltender, how many has Flower played in? Or how about how many drafts have four guys still playing 22 years later? Yeah, that's insane. 22 fucking years, dude? played him. Or how about how many drafts have four guys still playing 22 years later? Yeah, that's insane. Let's look at it that way.

22 fucking years, dude? I think it's the best draft of all time. I'm a little bit biased, but. And you know what, for us? Well, the first round is. The first round is. Dude, the second round had Weber and Bergeron. Bergeron, Weber.

Patrick O'Sullivan second round. BJ Crombean that second round was a nice player. Louis Erickson was that second round. Court Crawford, the goaltender, was like a sixth rounder. Backus. I think Pavelski was a sixth rounder that year. So I would say Jessamyn. Hey, so, guys, according to Chachi BT, the 2003 NHL draft is the only NHL draft to have four or more players

over 1400 regular season games. Woo! Really? Wee! Nice busy. Dude, dude, dude. And they're all like stud, stud players too. It's not like- The first round,

I bet you 20 of them, no. I bet you legit 10 of them could be, is Jeff Carter a Hall of Famer? All right, let's go through this. Pretty close. Well, it actually leads us into our next little spot here in the pod, which is the second overall pick that year. Keith, you know who that was?

Flower was first. Yep. Just had his jersey retired. Eric Stall. Eric Stall. Eric Stall. Beauty. What a retirement Jersey Knight in Carolina.

And dude, I kind of forgot how dominant he was. Because he played so long, and obviously at the end, he's playing like get positions. He's in Florida, he's in Minnesota. Holy shit. Commodore on Instagram put up a video that I believe the Hurricanes put up. And Commie wrote, turned out to be a pretty decent pick.

And Jim Rutherford's up there, and they selected Stahl second overall. Eric Stahl, first off, his draft year in the OHL, he had 98 points, 39 goals, 59 assists, and 66 games. Like, your draft year, that's no joke, right? I mean, a lot of these guys. That's really good. That's insane.

He goes right into Carolina. He has 31 points, 11 goals in 81 games, right? Never played an AHL game till the next year. The only reason he was in the AHL was the lockout. 77 games, 77 points in LOL, and then boom. He goes back to the NHL the next season, has 100 fucking points, 45 goals, and they win the Stanley Cup.

Not only do they win the Stanley Cup, but 25 games played, he had 28 points on that run, and he was what, 20? Like this is a guy who came onto the scene, and Biz, I'm sure you remember him from Peterborough, like was he the guy growing up? Oh yeah, I mean he was just so big. He was, it was, yeah, it was like seeing a man

play against kids. I mean, I hated being stuck out on the ice against him, that's for sure. Just very highly skilled, very slippery at that time, and you always knew that he was gonna go on and make an impact in NHL. There was never a doubt of that. I even think at a certain point,

there was conversations of him going first overall. But I don't know Pittsburgh ended up going with the goaltender but just a remarkable pedigree and family and he was the one to get it all kicked off. Between him and Cam Ward having those like such quick growths and such like big impacts, the rest of their roster felt like it was all like Wiley veterans, right? When they ended up winning it in Carolina. Yeah, they had like Glenn Wesley. Brett Hedekin, Ray Whitney, Doug Waite, Mark Reckey, Mac Cullen. Stillman, Corey Stillman.

Stillman. So it was all kind of these veterans mixed in with a little bit of that youth. Well, Justin Williams was young. Doug Waite. Justin Williams was young. Doug Waite was on that team, right? Yeah. Yep. The fact is that I just threw in his final few stops as depth player.

I said Minnesota. He had 42 goals one year in Minnesota. So it was more what I was thinking was Buffalo and Montreal. But what's so cool for him, and looking back on his career, he played in Montreal 2021. Then, 21-22, he wasn't even playing, he played four games for the Iowa Wild. That season he just kind of came back and I guess he wasn't

done yet and his mind in Florida signs him and 2022-23 had 14 goals, 30 points in 72 games. Like dude that guy pretty much didn't play hockey as what what would he have been then like 36? 37 and then comes back in makes Florida. I don't know Keith did he go on a PTO that year? Yeah, I did because I remember I golf with them because I played with him in New York And I remember he came in we traded for him at the deadline and I really had a tough goal of it kind of But I remember him coming in and you know when you trade for a guy like tough goal of it kind of, but I remember him coming in and, you know, when you trade for a guy like that of his stature of who he, I mean, the guy that got his Jersey retired, he's a super superstar.

I remember him coming in. He's like, I'll play fourth line. I'll play third line. I'll play D whatever you need me to do. Like just like a pure good teammate, like just a good guy. Didn't care where he played. Didn't need the accolades, just, he just wanted to win.

And playing with his brother, that was fun to see, just like two completely different guys, but both amazing teammates. He's definitely a lot quieter and more reserved, like he's not the one joking around in the locker room. He's just a quiet guy, but you know, Commodore sent the message out and as many, as other guys you've talked to around the league, just a great teammate,

great guy, and couldn't be happier for him. What a family, man. We gotta get a few more loads from the old man. Holy shit. Yeah, Saul was so dominant, you're right, he was enormous. And like, I think- He was mean too.

Yeah, he was, he was a prick out there, he played angry. But he went out, that year, I guess like, it was probably, it was probably was a prick out there. He played angry, but he went out that year I guess like it was probably it's probably hard for him right he'd been in Carolina for What was it 12 years they win the cup and then he gets traded midseason like that's something that just maybe it's like Oh, dude, but like not to say his heart wasn't in it But you're just so emotional like I'm not in Carolina anymore and and that year It was kind of a struggle. He had 33 points in 63 games with Carolina, gets traded.

20 games with you guys had six points. Three goals, three assists. No points in five playoff games. But then goes to Minnesota that next year has 28 goals, 65 points. So like, you know that summer he's probably like, fuck this, like dude I'm still an elite player in this league.

And nice that he gets to go celebrate it where Jordan's playing now too I know I'm sure Mark headed down there for as well family affair but great to see and because of all those the latter part of his career maybe a guy that was forgotten about a little bit but nice to see that he'd get in the jersey retired. 1365 games, 1,063 points. 104 playoff games, 64 points. Hall of Fame, probably not. I know you have over 1,000 points,

you should be in the Hall of Fame, but obviously. I say the same thing about Ray Whitney. Got the Stanley Cup. Yeah, but he has like 1,300 points, doesn't he? I think he's, yeah, I think he's at least 1100, but. Maybe I'm thinking games. Oh, Ray Whitney actually has, does him install this, he has 1064 points in 1330 games.

You're over 1000. He has one more point than Eric Stahl. Wow. In one more game. Wow, that's cool. Holy shit. That's wild. Yeah, Eric Stahl, congratulations. Also, gee, look up quick. Jordan Stahl had a hat trick last week.

Who? I think he had a hat trick like, what is it, 18 years before? Maybe there's one other player to have a hat trick. The longest gap of hat trick? I think it was one other player to have a hat trick at 18 and then 36 or whatever he is. Was it Gordie Howe? I would say Patrick Marlowe maybe. I think it was Gordie Howe.

I think it was Gordie Howe. I think it was Gordie Howe. I think it was Gordie Howe. I think it was Gordie Howe. I think it was Gordie Howe. I think it was Gordie Howe. I think it was Gordie Howe. I think it was Gordie Howe. I think it was Gordie Howe. I think it was Gordie Howe. I think it was Gord of hat trick? I think it was one other player to have a hat trick at 18 and then 36 or whatever he is.

Was it Gordie Howe? I would say Patrick Marlowe maybe? Gee, check that. It was in the news this past week. Good job writing it down. Marlowe's a good. Good job writing it down, wait, you fucking muppet. Patrick Marlowe would be my guess for longest.

Do you ever have a hat trick in the NHL, Whit? No, two goals a couple times. No, I didn't. Had one in college. The one in college. You and Schafer. Yeah, me and Kevin Schafer. Two D men with hat tricks in the same game. Look up the interview. Look up the interview and look who's interviewing them. Yeah, there's an interview of YouTube on it. It's actually pathetic. The only cool thing about it was my hairline then. Can we watch this thing? Can we pull it up? Dude, no, I like have to leave the room when you hear like my like I know, when you're younger, it's the worst.

I'm like such a hard old loser and like You were OHL guy like me. But what Keith brings up is the person interviewing us was Jack Hughes' mom. No shit. Yeah, she was doing work at the time for like, I don't know what channel we were on in New England. New England's maybe Ness, maybe Nesson? Nesson probably. I don't know, but yeah.

You were on WEI. Eric Stahl wasn't the only player to have his jersey retired last week. Connor McDavid's grown up too fast, man. We gotta slow this down. And the crazy thing is he's only 28 today. Happy birthday, McJesus. Happy birthday.

How about him? Him saying, it's been 10 years since I've been, I was like, oh my God. That's crazy. I know. Flown by. I know. And he went back to where he played junior

with the Erie Otters where they retired his jersey, obviously, for the damage that he did. You wanna hear about, look at this, 63 games. He was a double underager, 63 games. Okay, what's double underager? Double underager means your exceptional status. Yeah, exceptional status. You're playing against, you're 15 years old

playing against like 18, 19, 20 year olds and he was over a point per game. He had 66 points in 63 games by his last year in the OHL in which he was injured because remember he got in that fist fight? He got in the fight on the ice. Broke his wrist or hand or something. Yeah he broke his hand because he threw a punch and then he hit the glass because the guy ducked. No way. And there was a

big thing about how. I remember breaking his hand I know that was how it happened. Yeah he punched the glass because the guy ducked when he ended up trying to pop him. He played 47 games that year he had 44 goals 76 assists 120 points in 47 fucking games so there was no wonder. And guess how many he had in those playoffs. All right, give me the games played. 20. 45.

49, 21 goals. Oh my. 20 fucking playoff games. Hockey is so fun, like, just thinking back to like, when I played and like, how much I loved hockey, can you imagine how fucking fun it is being that they can imagine like when you're that much better It's probably like this is so easy like this is just I don't ever want to get off the ice like how are these guys? So bad, this is so easy

How can I not do this? It's gotta be frustrated But business he wouldn't be years Did he win that game that he did the lineup read when they retired his jersey? Oh, I don't know. I didn't check if they ended up winning it. Because I'll tell you who didn't win when he read the lineup was Terry Ryan of the big deal. Shitbum Selects goes in, does the lineup, and they get absolutely trounced. I just told the... I said to the chat they lost. I don't know if they lost.

They definitely lost. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, look it up. We got stranglers talk behind the scenes. Hey, don't you fucking worry. I think we're gonna get Terry Ryan on next podcast. You could say it to his face, you little punk bitch. Keith just retired from the show after one full time episode.

Going back to Connor McDavid, ever since 15 entering the OHL, he's never been below a point per game. So you talk about hockey being fun, it's fucking nuts. Neither is Sid. Speaking of just quickly, I saw an Instagram thing. You remember Mickey Dupont, we talked about his son. Incredible defenseman, he was an offensive defenseman. More of an HLD man, I mean, what'd he play?

Probably like 250 to 300 NHL games, but his kid was exempt as well. Buddy, not only was he exempt, so Mickey Dupont, he only played 23 NHL games. Oh, I thought he played like 200, 300. He played three years in the DEL in Germany, two championships, a lot of points. Then he played seven years in Switzerland,

ton of points there, then he went back to the DEL. GreatEL. He was one of those guys who was too good for the A but couldn't quite crack the NHL. He was one of those in-betweeners but what's this kid doing in the Western League? Buddy, his kid Landon is 15 years old. He turned 16 at the end of May. He's got 43 points in 37 games in Everett as a defenseman as a 15 year old. So you're looking at a true game breaker that's coming up that wouldn't be draft eligible 2027?

Yeah, you got two more full years in the Western League to go. So keep your eyes out on Landon DuPont and if you live in the Everett area, go check out the Silver Tips and watch possibly a true future superstar playing as a 15 year old against men. What were we getting? We're just pumping the jersey retirements. Well we could stay in the OHL a little bit because CHCH News has learned the current owner of the Brantford Bulldogs

of the Ontario Hockey League, Michael Andlour, who owns the Ottawa Senators now, has sold the team to Zach Hyman and his family. Insider trading. His brother Spencer likely to be named president of the Brantford Bulldogs. And as we all know, the only reason Zach Hyman is in the NHL is because he's rich. Did you know that, Keith? Yeah.

There was this guy, who is tweeting out this fucking ridiculous reporter basically saying that nepotism is what got him and kept him in the NHL. Yeah, because he really plays like a rich kid too. He's in the fucking mixer as Murls like to call it, all game,

every game. I would have thought that kid came from the slums, the way he plays. I know. He's a slumdog millionaire, he's playing with a broken snout with breath strips on now. Dude, his nose. He's got a nose like me now.

Gene Principe the other night, playing Chicago, great comeback win for the Oilers in Chicago, he said that he still has the bubble on. I guess he was told four to six weeks of wearing it, it's been like four and a half weeks. The nose, he said, wasn't broken, it was like shattered completely. That's what happened to mine.

And when they went in, No way. When they went in, they re-broke it to reset it during surgery. My surgery was 45 minutes longer because when they cracked it, it just all the bones shattered and they had to like pick out shards of bone.

When will you, do you think you get that that surgery at some point? So I did when I was playing in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre like after the season one year I got it and then obviously next season probably broke it three more times as well as three more times the rest of every year the rest of my career. You have 21 breaks since you got it fixed. Probably Jared Bull broke it once or twice playing in the NHL. He had that long reach, but I think I need to get it done because I snore when I sleep and I can't even breathe. Look at... And then this one. So you don't smell the beef strip. I don't smell any of that beef strip. I had two of those things while you were talking, while you were going off

game stats. Where else do we got on the outline here? We gotta bring in our boy Hockey Illuminati soon to give a double risk. Hockey Illuminati. Speaking of noses. Mike Sigumanus, Hockey Illuminati. Speaking of Edmonton though,

Biz, you will be at my favorite place in the world. There's only one place you can go down water slides, shoot guns, go to Aldo, get an Auntie Annie's pretzel, and then skate around an arena. And that's the West Edmonton Mall. And Biz, you're going to be there this week, 12 to 2. Yeah. Aldo is out. I don't care how many shops they got in there. Skechers is in. I'm doing a Skechers appearance. Two hours, I'm going to be doing hot laps around the mall, we're doing a speed walking competition. Are you actually doing?

Yeah, me and Sketchers, me and, it was at Joe Montana too, who's with us? Tony Romo. Tony Romo. Matt Fitzpatrick in the PGA tour wears Sketchers, I think he wears the slide on too. There's a new Pete Carroll's, you know how New Balance, they had those big-ass white ones

Yeah, can we can we say how much money they're giving you for two hours? No better be a shit load Yeah, they're giving me stock and sketches. No, you're giving them some of the Greensboro team every Every player are the big deal selects will be paid in those the moonwalkers Green the world is gonna be wearing sketchers skates the moonwalkers. Greenboro's gonna be wearing Skechers skates. It's the S. Hey, you know who you should sponsor is Frank Frank walks. Frank the Tank walks. Great idea, great idea. Greenboro Skechers. Quick other news before we get to Hockey Illuminati Zigumanus. The Florida Panthers will host the New York Rangers for the Winter Classic on January 2nd, 2026, and the Tampa Bay Lightning will face the Boston Bruins as part of the stadium series on February 1st, 2026.

Keith, right now, what is the temperature in Lauderdale? Today was really nice, it was probably like 75, but last week it was like 60s. Okay, so if it's a 78 degree day, which I know is rare for January 1st down there, like what do they do? Are they finding it or what? It has a roof. Oh, it does there?

Yeah, I don't know. Fact check me there, but I'm 90% sure it has a roof. It does. It has a retractable roof. Yeah, it has a roof, so I think you can close it if you need to. I bet they do it at nighttime. And it'll be closed the entire time that they're putting the ice up, right? And then game time, if it's chilly at night, they open up the roof and it'll be,

I bet it will be unbelievable. Yeah, oh, it's gonna be sick. Florida's gonna just show up for that. That'll be great. But I've been in Tampa, I used to play in an amazing golf tournament, the Gasparilla in Tampa in February. There were some very warm days, and that is not with a roof.

That's Raymond James Stadium, I believe, where the Bucks play. So, interesting to see how it goes down, but I love the fact it's going to Florida. LA had their stadium series a few years back, so it's a cool thing to get down there and we'll see how it plays out. I think it's good to get new blood in there too. Like I feel like every year it's Chicago, New York, St. Louis Boston, I mean all these teams are still playing in it But it's nice to get some new blood with the the warm weather teams down here and they've earned it too, right? Like Tampa's been a not the last ten years

Ward is gonna be taking over that for the next 10 years So it's I think it's a good thing that the league's doing Thomas Galvin the newly elected chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Is set to form a committee of influential figures aka biz hopefully in an attempt to bring the NHL back to Arizona Galvin noted he has connected with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman as they seek the optimal location for a new arena. So those clowns that were owning the team before are out. We got a possible new group coming in. I know Biz has mentioned JJ Watt kind of wants to maybe be a part of it.

Hopefully you are. We'll see where that goes. Nothing really more to say is I guess to keep your eyes open there for Arizona getting hockey and the NHL again. No, I'm going gonna own two teams. Yeah, we get our beak wet in Greensboro and then we open up the Skechers Arena in Wrighton-Scotsdale. It'll be beautiful. And speaking of arena, on the heels of a 400 plus million dollar renovation to the Wells Fargo Center

just completed last summer. The Philadelphia Flyers have announced plans for a totally new arena in South Philadelphia in joint partnership with the 76ers. That's wild to me. That was crazy. Just light it on fire, why don't you? Dude, I saw that they were doing that big upgrade

to Wells Fargo, I was like, oh, because I like that spot where the Phillies play and where the Eagles play, it's awesome. Unless you need a car out of there after. Oh, buddy, that's a disaster. But, and I was like, oh they're there for good and now all of a sudden they're out. Kind of a crazy story.

Keith, you played there, what do you think? Yeah, I agree with you. I love how that city has all the arenas there with football, basketball, hockey, baseball, all within a pitch and wedge of each other. I thought that was really cool. It's to downtown I don't I don't understand it maybe they sold the land I really don't understand it or where it's even gonna be I heard the Sixers were moving like to Camden maybe is does it say anything about

Camden it just says South Philadelphia born and raised on the playground is where I spent most of my days chilling Chillin out, Max. Chillin out, Max. All cool and I was shootin some b-ball outside of school and a couple of guys, they were up to no good. Started making trouble in the neighborhood. I got one little fight, my mom got scared and said, you're moving with your auntie and uncle Abel here. I whistle for a cab and when it came near the license plate said it does. I fuck, I fuck it up. Good rhyme. Pretty good, pretty good. Nothing beats the clean rap.

Nothing beats the clean rap by Will Smith on Family Guy. I know I've brought that up before, but god damn it is that funny. Take off your shoes before you come in the house somebody, just clean that rug. Woohoo! With that... This guy's memory is insane. Yeah, but I can't remember like, all right. It's time to go to a man who I originally heard of and was told you need to get on the podcast by my dad, Big Dan Whitney.

He said, I follow this hockey Illuminati guy on Instagram. He's hilarious. He loves the Leafs. You got to get him on the show. I was like, who is it? Who is it? You know, we just get busy and Biz texted me last week and said hey, we should get this hockey Illuminati guy. I guess dude

My dad will be fired up without further ado Hockey, hockey Illuminati Guys before we go any further I want to talk about Game Time It's hockey season and we cannot wait to get out to some more games with the help of Game Time, the official ticketing partner of Barstool Sports. There's no feeling like seeing a breakaway goal in person and Game Time can help.

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Right now, there are tickets for under $150. Game Time picks deals makes it easy. There's great seats. Like I said under 150 bucks pull up your chosen event and turn on the GT picks setting at the top of the screen or browse the best local Game Time pick deals near you on your Game Time app home page. What are you waiting for? I'm gonna buy those four nation tickets right now with Game Time picks. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account,

and use code CHICKLITS for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code CHICKLITS for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. What time is it? Game Time! It is now time, long overdue I've been told, to bring on Leafs diehard jock sniffer makes Biz look like an Ottawa Senators fan for Christ's sake. Hockey Illuminati. Frankie, what's going on buddy?

The heartbeat of the Toronto Maple Leafs right there? Frankie? How the hell you doing buddy? My long-lost son? That's right. And for anyone who's watched this for the first time might be a little bit confused I'm not biz's baby bastard child. Okay, what about take I was not, you know a long-lost son I like to maybe think of myself as maybe like a team who version of biz Costco brand version of biz This is usually what I get a little bit and I tell you it I tell you, it's, it's a pleasure to get a little playing time with you guys here, uh, this evening. The Leafs recently called up Stephen Lawrence to be on the top line with Matthews and Marler, right?

And I kind of feel like that's me right now, you know, and I'll do whatever you guys need me to do. I'll get in the corner. I'll retrieve Pucks, be bit of a puck count. Just go to the net and, uh, let's see if we can put a few in. Well, Stephen Lawrence is a cup champion. You're nowhere near that. Cause you're a Leafs fan.

And they stink. But things will change. And you're on here today to tell us why it's all going to change. Why it's the Leafs year. You know, you look at the state of Leaf Nation right now and people would say, uh, Leaf fans, they're insufferable they're lovable some think we're lovable. Oh your mom? My mom yeah and a couple other people in the city. And Whitney. Yeah Whit we are delusional okay but we are hopeful this year that this could

be the year we are die-hard Leaf fans okay and you know what we born into a Leaf Nation and we will fucking die on this blue and white cross. I just want one before we die. That's all we need, okay? We love the Leafs from the depths of our heart. We also equally hate the Maple Leafs with every fiber in our body. It's a perfect polarity that only Leaf Nation can really understand. But I do think something's in the air this year, boys. I really do.

Is this the first time you've ever said that? Or is this, are you saying this every year? I would say normally you're, you're, you're pretty critical and you're very on point with your takes about the Toronto Maple Leafs, but something about, uh, the resignation, if you want to call it, uh, of Trudeau, you think that maybe a little sprinkle of that has started the positive momentum as to why the Toronto Maple Leafs will in fact capture Lord Stanley, maybe in correlation with that?

So when I look at this, there's the logical side to why it could be the Leafs here, okay, which we'll get into. And then there's also the metaphysical spiritual side as to why it could be the Leafs here. I want that side first. I want that side first. I want that side first. Okay. We'll give you that side first. If you listen closely, the universe drops little omens, little hints along the way.

Okay boys. First of all, I'd like to remind everybody that everything comes to an end. Change is inevitable. The only constant thing in life is impermanence. And this curse, this drought is going to end for Toronto at some point. Now why could it be this year? There's little hints here and there.

Whit, are you with me still? Yeah, my son's a Maple Leafs fan for Christ's sake. Squat though. Okay, okay, good. So, you know, I'm in numerology, I'm looking at signs and I see certain things. So first of all, okay, my attention was caught when the first goal of this year's Maple Leaf season was scored by a player wearing number 67. That'll be Max Patchouli. Okay. First time in Leaf history that's happened.

You got me. Okay. Business hard as a rock. I'm fucking hard as a rock, baby. Let's go. Keep going. I've been hard for the last four and a half months here. I'm pulsating blue and white. I'm coming blue and white over here. Okay. So patches. Okay. That gets my attention.

And then we look around a little bit and we say, huh, we have, uh, we have a coach behind the bench in Craig Berube, Scooby Dooby, Craig Berube, who ended the blues 52 year cup trout, right? What's Beray's nickname? Chief. The Chief. What was the last time the Leafs had a player in their organization whose nickname was the Chief?

Don't tell me it was 67. Don't tell me it was 67. Well everyone's name back then was like Red and Chief and you know, no one had a real name back then. Shut up, Gantz. Shut the fuck up, Gantz. I think they just, hey Chief, what's up Chief real name back then. So you had to have- Shut up, Dan. Shut the fuck up, Dan. Hey Chief, what's up Chief? Hey, let him cook. Let him cook.

Listen to me, listen to me very carefully. Some people listening right now are screaming, 1967, George Armstrong, Captain of the Maple Leafs, that's the Chief. That was the Chief. Keep going. Last time the Leafs had- That's two things I like.

Someone in the organization who was thinking it was the chief was Armstrong. So we're two for two. Okay. All right. This is like Jersey Jerry the signs. Oh yeah. But better.

Yes. Okay. But better because it means the Leafs are going to win. Exactly. Okay. Anthony Stollers. Let's talk about Stollers. When he got hurt, okay, at the time he was hurt, he was first in the league

in save percentage. While the Leafs 1B goalie, 1B Woll, was fifth in the league in save percentage. Okay. When was the last time the Leafs had their 1A goaltender leading the league in save percentage and their 1B goaltender fifth in the league in save percentage? Don't tell me it was 67. I'm fucking telling you it was 67. No!

This is unbelievable! Didn't even have two goalies back then. Shut up! Yes they did. Yes they did. Yeah, his name was Chief. No, it was Bauer and it was Sawchuck. Go look it up.

67. I've heard of them. I've heard of them. Okay. Okay. Okay. All right. That's the first little that as an oilers Lover Leafs hater. I'm like, ah I'm on board, but I'm seeing a little bit of reach there. But go ahead. Go ahead. Well, of course We've been reaching for 57 years. Certainly. Of course. That's all we know how to do brother. Go on now

Okay, look my body pulling my back and not morning, getting out of bed every morning, reaching. Okay. Hey, keep, keep dropping these. All right. All right. All right. But now these are glorious. Oh, we buddy. I can go, I can go out there. We can do a three hour pod just with these. Let's do it.

Okay. So we're going to bump Mike Madonna. By the way, he was one of my favorite players growing up. Uh, and the fact that I'm sharing, uh, the airwaves with him and you guys is a little, is a little emotional on us. Go, and the fact that I'm sharing, uh, the airwaves with him and you guys as a little, as a little, Hey, don't get emotional on us. Go back to the nuggets. Okay. Go back to why we're winning the car back to why. Okay. Lest we forget that Tom Brady in the off season commented on Max Domi's Instagram posts. And by the way, Domi's been incredibly underwhelming

this year, but I do have faith in him. It'll turn his game around in the playoffs. Okay. But the goat, the goat of goats, Tom Brady commented, let's fucking go Stanley cup next. Okay. Now when the goat speaks, you listen and anything that Tom Brady puts out into the ether puts out into the universe, it usually spikes. So the fact that he even spoke those words from his mouth, it means something. And as a guy from Boston, that has to mean something to you too, wit. Um, yes, it's Tom Brady. It's the gospel. Um, I think he's a little deranged on this one, but I respect that Tom Brady

said Stanley cup is next. I do. Right. I mean, I'm not going to hate right now. And speaking of football leaf fans, we want to be rooting for Detroit or Buffalo to win the Superbowl this year. Two other teams wearing blue and white that have incredible droughts that are geographically close. I think if one of those two teams win the Superbowl, it will help open the portal for the Leafs. Okay.

The portal, the transfer portal. Yes. Let's go. Let's go. I like that little one too. All right. Now here, the transfer portal. Yes. Let's go. I like that little one too. All right. Now here's my favorite one. My favorite one. I jumped for joy last week when I put this one together because I do think

this one is very meaningful. Okay. So Pierre Elliott Trudeau took over as Canadian prime minister in 1968. Okay. That was year one of the Leafs cup drought. That's when it began, 68. Now here we are, we fast forward down the timeline. We have Trudeau's son stepping down as Canadian prime minister. Okay. I think this signifies- That's the most legit one. Right. Talk about a portal. Plan the parade. I think, I think this signifies completion of the curse loop for Canada's team. And I know the Hobbs fans are going

to get all up in arms and throw their history books at you when I say this. And the Oilers fans will say, hold on, I'll forget about our glory years, but Toronto is Canada's team, period. Just by the sheer number of fans that are in Canada. I agree with that. I agree with that. And just recently, the Leafs were on the road, scored a goal. My wife was just in the room and she's like, what the hell? I was like, yeah, the Leafs, they are the number one away fan base. Montreal was crazy in Edmonton, but Toronto, when they scored, it was wild. I think of all Canadian teams, I'll give Toronto that, that they travel the best. No doubt.

Well, there's a reason we travel the best because we get price gouged here in Toronto and we got to get on the road. And that's where a lot of the real fans go to get on the road. Cause oftentimes it's cheaper to pick up and go somewhere than to watch the Leafs in your own backyard. That coupled with the fact that yes, we are all over Canada and we do travel very well. It's really horny to see Leaf fans fill out an opposing team's barn. I don't know how many more gems you have, but being the Leafs jock sniffer you are,

what have you thought of Nye's progression as a player from the start of this year to now? I really feel like he's coming into his own and we have ourselves a power forward, a guy who I don't think we've had a player like him go to the blue paint like Hyman since Hyman left. I think he is him and he is such a huge addition to that forward group. MKUltra is a difference maker for this Leafs squad. He is a big time X factor. He's made a fucking titanium alloy. Now I'll give you one more curse buster associated with Maddie Nyes. This one better be good. This one better be good. Maddie Nyes worked number 23. Shut the fuck up, Yads. When was the last time the Leafs had a winger, a left winger, wearing number 23, making a

significant difference on the team? 67. Yeah, and who was it? Do you know who it might be? No. No clear. Clear the fucking track. Here comes Eddie Shaq.

He fits fucking... Oh, wow. He wore 23, eh? Yes. We had him on our podcast too. Boom, we're back together. Illuminati! Dude, I had him on our podcast to boom. We're back together Illuminati dude, I had him on mine as well. How much stuff did you have to cut out? So, okay. Let me tell you something funny about Eddie shock Okay

So I actually interviewed him before he went on your guys pod before he wrote his book What I I started my content creation just strictly making podcasts and it was just audio out of a studio. And Eddie Shaq, I had a connection to him through a family friend and I brought him in and it was the very first interview that he had ever done. So he came in with his handler and I interviewed him and it went really well. And it was, I mean, the interview was all over the place. And a couple of days later, his handler spoke with me

and he's like, Eddie really had a good time. And the questions you asked him helped to jog his memory and what brought up all these great feelings. And he's thinking about writing a book now. And then he went on to write that book and he did this tour and he appeared on your guys show and everyone else's, but a little fun known fact is that I was the first person to interview him and that kind of spurred on what he did. And what's even wilder is I never edited that interview and put it out. You never did?

You never put it out. And that's why the Leafs won't ever win. Don't say that, no. Buddy, I think you have to now. I'm putting it out, I'm gonna put it out right in April, just right before, I'm trying to contribute to the curse busting here. Okay. Well, let's do it a hell of a job.

Let's bring this back to reality a little bit. Um, what are your worries? What right now we need to add. We hear about a center Iceman. We hear about maybe some help on D. I've actually heard rumblings through Maple Leaf's Twitter and the main fan base of not loving Morgan Rielly this year. Like, are there anything, is there anything right away in your mind you're like, fuck,

this, this could really cost us from breaking this course. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Toronto might be the only sports city in the whole world where we're first in the division in the middle of January, and we lose two games and the sky starts falling like it did, you know? And by the way, it is falling. I got to go help the fire department when we're done here, lift the backup because it is, but everything's going to be okay. The Leafs, you know, they've played a lot of back to backs this year. I think in the last couple of weeks, they've looked very tired.

Piss poor excuse for professional athletes, but nonetheless, they've had a lot of injuries and you know, it's been really chaotic last little bit here in Leaf Nation. But let's not forget that the Leafs, a lot of this season, they've looked like a good to great team for most of the season. Okay. As of recording this right now, they're five points out of first overall in the league. They've had some incredible wins this year. Boston twice they beat Winnipeg, Edmonton, Washington, Tampa. Okay. Like they've

played some really good hockey this year, but they're still, Borube is still trying to massage out the leafiness or I should maybe say the keefiness a little bit associated with this team. Okay. And when I look at the lineup, you know, what do they have to do? I mean, they do need some upgrades. They do have some landmines in their lineup, which have to be diffused. Okay. We're talking a lot about a third line centerman here in Toronto. I don't know how realistic it is to get a Difference Maker at center because the We're talking a lot about a third line centerman here in Toronto. I don't know how realistic it is to get a Difference Maker at center because the Leafs don't have many assets to play with right now.

Thanks to Kyle Dubas having to make trades, like giving up a first rounder to get Peter Morazek off of our hands. There's been some talk about Brock Nelson. I don't think the Leafs will be able to afford him. He's going to be a very coveted piece of the deadline. Scott Lawton, everyone loves him. I don't see Philly parting ways with him until next year. He's got another year left on his deal.

Yanny Gord's an interesting addition. Um, I think his, his offense is a little capped in terms of what he can bring. Um, but great two way guy, obviously the championship pedigree. I think someone like Buxted could be a realistic fit for the Leafs. Wow. Yeah. I mean, yeah, I think what Edmonton went and picked him up a few years ago right it was two years ago with the Deadliner I don't think it was last year. G just sent in the

chat here um I know Ryan O'Reilly I don't think he was thrilled about just how chaotic the media was there and his quick experience and and felt that it maybe filtered into the locker room with how tight it made everybody. But could you see him possibly maybe coming back? Do you think that would be a good fit? Cause I think right now what the Leafs truly need if they had to address one position, it would be the second line center position. And if they could really bolster that and then you bump JT down to that third line center position, I think you're so strong up the middle. I have been, I've been over the mood

with Taveras' playoffs performance. Yeah. I just don't like what he's making. Yeah. You know, Ryan O'Reilly, don't forget, the Leafs offered him more money to be in Toronto. He said no. There was a lot of reasons he didn't like to be here.

There were some interesting rumors that came out. Dressing room was a little clicky, uh, which I could see, uh, and the way that the Leafs run things operationally, he wasn't a fan of, again, rumor mill, no beers on the plane, that type of stuff, he said, I'm out of here. Okay. Um, he would be a wet dream. And I think it's possible because when he signed his, uh, his ticket in Nashville, his agent forgot to ask for a no trade clause.

So if they can figure it out, they can make it happen. And reuniting him with Berube really could be something. I'd be more interested in a piece like Luke Shen coming from Nashville, if I'm being honest. When I look at the Leafs forward group, offensively, they have so many great pieces. The core four, Nice, a guy like Robertson, well Robertson as well, but McMahon, some secondary scoring. You have Patshredi, you can put the puck in the back of the net. If they can't score with that group, then I don't know if O'Reilly is going to make a difference, but the D is what really needs to be addressed. Going back to what you said earlier, Witt, about Morgan Reilly.

Is that off base by me? No, I've just been like seeing that. No, he, you know, we love Mo and Leaf Nation. He's an OG Leaf. Okay. He's been with the boys forever, but he looks more lost in his own zone than he's ever been, and he's not the same guy that he used to be. It's, it's been tough to watch him at times this year.

And the problem is he's playing top line minutes, uh, as a defenseman. And when, when he gets four checked really hard, he gets exposed a little bit. And the Leafs needs, you know, they still lack a real bonafide number one B man. It's not Riley. That's for sure. I mean, Tanev is in the conversation. He's a number one shut down guy. I think if they maybe make one move, they can get it done by committee.

I think it's a, we've used this term a lot lately. I think there's probably a little bit being too much asked of Morgan Riley. I think if his minutes come down and I think if they're able to divvy them up between six guys, I think that it won't be as big of a problem, especially with the offense that you talked about Do you think that Robertson is on this team past the deadline? Like you think this is a guy who can help them win come playoff time He looked unbelievable in training camp took him a little bit to get his feet underneath him He's looked better than he did at the start of the season, but you think that's a guy that's around

I hope not because my hope is that he is one of the assets packaged for something more meaningful. Robertson, there are some nights he looks really good, but more often than not, he's been invincible and whenever he's on the ice, there's a trend of the Leafs getting him in their own zone when he's out there. Defensively is a bit of a liability. Sure. You can under the hood.

Under the hood. Yeah. Yeah. Do you have anything? And if not, I was gonna go back to Hockey Illuminati with any more of these crazy nuggets. Were you saving like a big one to drop on us last? Like the really, the Peter North nut? Like give me the Peter North nut nugget.

That's what I was gonna ask. If there is a fan out there that's, you know, been through 57 years of misery, you know, just kinda in right now, kinda out, doesn't really care that's, you know, been through 57 years of misery, you know, just kind of in right now, kind of, oh, doesn't really care that much. How are you bringing that, that group of people in to be all in for your, your beloved Leafs this year? It's a great question. And when you close your eyes for a second and envision what it would be like, Biz, close your eyes.

I am. Whit, do it. Let's all close our eyes. Everyone listening, everyone listening, just close your eyes for a second. If you're driving, keep one eye open. Yeah. Let the Illuminati take you on a magic carpet ride here. Okay. If and when the Leafs win the Stanley Cup,

it will be a celebration like the hockey world has never seen. Period. That's it? That's a hell of a nugget. I'm all in. That's a hell of a nugget. I'm all in. That's a hell of a nugget. Because all I saw was McDavid fucking flying through the neutral zone against the Leafs

in the Cup final, lighting up that D, and then Edmonton celebrating once again. I don't know if Edmonton's ever getting that close ever again. Oh, Edmonton will be there this year, buddy. Here's my nugget. It's the year of the Squanto. That's the one thing. Marner is gonna figure it out and he's gonna lead them come playoff time and he's gonna earn that 14 million dollars a year that he's gonna get so hockey Illuminati we cannot thank you enough for bringing Leafs fans and Leafs culture the juju it's our year and we're gonna

get you back on after they hoist Lord Stanley My after you release that Eddie Shaq interview and get canceled Shut up. Shout out to the biz biz 20 promo code. He used for having the same nose as you to Our last question here with hockey Illuminati we're going to biz I think he's got more curse buster talk But this last question is presented by Roweback. So use the code CHICKLITS on Roweback.com for a generous 20% off your first purchase through the end of this week.

That's C-H-I-C-L-E-T-S on Roweback.com, R-H-O-B-A-C-K.com, and that's 20% off all hoodies joggers and mode and more with code checklets but I kind of leave you with one more curse buster here to yes yes last one in Chinese astrology it is the year of the snake 2025 is the year of the snake the snake resembles renewal and good luck 1917 was also the year of the snake 1917 you know what that was busy boy that was also the year of the snake. 1917. You know what that was? Busy boy. That was year the Leafs were found in 1917. They also won the cup in 1917. 13 cups. Today's the 13th. We're recording. Sunning was my favorite player. We're number 13. It's a full Wolf Moon right now happening as we record this. The first full moon in January. Shit is aligning. The portal is opening.

And I will see you guys and the rest of leaf nation. What a performance at the fucking cup performance. And thanks for fucking having me on hockey Illuminati will not be your last time. My friend go to performance. That was great, dude. So good. So silly. So silly. So silly. Oh, I love it. Thank you, dude. Outstanding. That was so good. So silly, so silly, so silly. Yeah. I love it. Thank you, buddy.

Appreciate it. That was great. Before we go any further, guys, I need to talk to you about Body Armor. Oh my God, this show is brought to you by the Body Armor Sports Drink. Right here, I'm holding the strawberry banana. This is my favorite flavor. There's orange mango, there's fruit punch, there's the regular water, and my favorite part

about coming to the Barstool Sports Headquarters in Chicago is there are thousands, and I'm not joking, maybe hundreds of thousands of bottles of Body Armor in this office. Whether you want the fruit drink, the fruit punch, the orange mango, or the witty special, the strawberry banana, it's real hydration, real ingredients, packed with electrolytes, vitamins, and nothing artificial. That's the best part about it. Body Armor Sports Drink has great tasting flavors. It's so

easy to drink. The wide-mouth bottle on the big old normal waters. Oh my god, Body Armor. If you need electrolytes and you need a good tasting drink, Body Armor's where it's at. Every time I get a delivery of Body Armor to my house, my wife and I, we hug, we do a big hug. Yes, more Body Armor! You think I'm kidding, I'm not kidding. Get yours today at Walmart or a local grocery store

near you and get hydrated with great taste, great flavors, and no artificial flavoring. That's Body Armor, where it's at. Walmart or your local grocery store right now. Thank you so much to Hockey Illuminati. He's a real sicko. Some of those, some of those myth busters, curse busters lead us into a portal.

I don't know where to go from here, but I did say to him at the end, it was 86 years that the Red Sox waited. 86 years. So it's gonna end at some point, but God knows when. And I hope, I hope I'm never around to see it. I hope I don't see them win shit. Wyatt can take a hike. He can cry in his cinnamon toast crunch is all he wants because I never want to see the Leafs win. But. That's Squat those spirits all throughout your household. But it would be.

Wait, wait, wait. If they get to the conference finals, you know you're going to have to start rooting for them, right? Not if the Oilers are still in it. What if his Oilers are still in it? I would pay so much money to see a Leafs oiler I can't even the podcast would end

Last hey could squanto live with me for the finals. Oh, yeah, that'd be good It's the first four-year-old in the world to have only fans To finish it off. Thank you. Thank you again, too. I'm sorry Brie Tough way to end it, but we just want to shout out and give our thoughts and prayers to everyone in the L.A. area. Oh, man, this is brutal. These wildfires, just one of the scariest, most horrible things we've ever seen. Still going, these fires right now. The winds up to 100 miles an hour.

fires right now. The winds up to 100 miles an hour. I believe right now I saw today like 24 people dead and thousands and thousands of homes gone. It's just heartbreaking to see and to witness like how it's all happened and how scary it must be. We have to shout out these firefighters. It's been incredible seeing the clips of these helicopters and planes and how they're scooping up the water and then putting out some of these fires and doing their best in just horrible circumstances. It's just heartbreaking to see. And we wanted to shout out support lafd.org, support Los Angeles Fire Department dot org and redcross dot org. Those are the two organizations the LA Kings have been directing people to.

We want to do the same. Just thinking of everyone affected. It's just horrible. Horrible. There's no other way to put it. It's some of the scariest images you could ever imagine. Just fires just ripping through the hills. So heartbreaking stuff. Thinking of California and all the people that have lost family and homes. It's just, what else can you say besides thank God for those firefighters and what they've done and once again, support lafd.org and redcross.org. Incredibly well said, Wim.

So horrible out there and we're praying for everyone and all you guys listening, thank you so much. Thanks to Mike Modano, thanks to Hockey Illuminati. Yans, such a pleasure. Dream come true, you coming on this show. I think Yans just quit after that whole lease segment. He's got a jersey, he whipped up a jersey. So have a great week everyone, we'll be back to you next week.

And go Greensboro, check it out tonight, 6.30 Eastern. Check out the team name and the logo that's dropping and we love you all. Love your support and have a great week. I don't know any other way This feeling is so hard to wear I don't know any other way This feeling is so hard to break I'll get you someday