Spittin Chiclets - Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 545: Featuring Jeff Marek

Starting point is 00:00:00 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 basketball sports. Our white whale, Sidney Crosby! Shave his head! Shave his head! Shave his head! Ryan Whitney, Paul Bissonnette, R.A., Mike Grinelli, Spitton Chicklets. Oh my God. Oh my God.

Starting point is 00:00:39 Welcome to episode 545 of the Spitton Chicklets podcast. One of the craziest best weeks in hockey. Hockey delivers, hockey does this, and oh my God, do we have a show in store for you catching up on the Four Nations Tournament. This show is presented to you by Pink Whitney, and Pink Whitney will be in the mix Thursday, 530, the greatest bar, Friend Street, Boston,

Starting point is 00:01:04 right across from the Garden garden if you're in Boston American Canadian Swedish finish it doesn't matter come on down to the greatest bar party with us pink Whitney everywhere I'll be handing it out to the people inside. I'll be handing it out to the people outside We'll be having a time everyone will be there everyone will be ready to go. What a game we have in store pink Whitney Thank you so much for everything. Thank you so much for the life. You. Pink Whitney, thank you so much for everything. Thank you so much for the life you've given us. And thank you so much for these hockey games we've been witnessing. Biz, Keith, special guest Jeff Marrick. I'll start with you Biz. What are your thoughts right now buddy? How you feeling? Oh, man. I cannot wait at a shot at redemption at you. Fucks. You were gloating that whole

Starting point is 00:01:53 car ride home, white knuckling. How would you know you were asleep? I was not asleep for the whole nine hours, but I thank you for getting me home safe to get to my appearance. And then I had a shit sandwich flight to Baltimore, Maryland. And then the next morning flew to Atlanta to do TNT last night. So it's been quite the journey. But like I said, I cannot wait for a shot at redemption. You Americans have gotten so cocky.

Starting point is 00:02:18 You think hockey's your game now. We didn't even have Kale McCarr. But all of a sudden we're gonna hear all the excuses when we fucking pound the shit out of you come Thursday because a few of your guys got the sniffles. It ain't going to matter. We got McCarr, we got McKinnon, we got McDavid, and Crosby in the lineup,

Starting point is 00:02:36 and we are going to light you motherfuckers up. We're not the 51st state. Fuck your tariffs and stop complaining about the booze if you want to poke the bear. We're going to dump you, fucks! We were trying to help you out by making you the 51st state. Now, you know what?

Starting point is 00:02:52 Fuck you guys. We're going to make all your fucking states provinces by the time we're done dog walking you come Thursday. I think it's going to be a fucking blowout. Okay, and the Leafs are going to win the cup every single season. I'll tell you right now, I've caught heat from you and other Canadians. Oh my God, do you not remember 2010?

Starting point is 00:03:12 You won the first one. You didn't win the one that mattered. Yeah, I understand that. And there was a little, little part of me that said, I wouldn't even mind if we lose an OT Saturday night, because it is hard. It is difficult to beat a team two times in a row. A team as good as Canada, it's very difficult.

Starting point is 00:03:31 But the fact is that we went into Montreal, the greatest hockey city in the world. No one does big games better. We started the game off kicking the shit out of you guys. We bullied you around your country, around the arena. We went into the belly of the beast and smacked you in the face. And if you don't think after nine years, as Matthew Kachuck said, I've been waiting nine years for this, if you don't think after nine years, Americans are going to be cocky and just arrogant and just go fuck yourself Canada right in your house. We just smacked you. Then you're crazy. I understand Thursday's a different beast. You got arrogant and just go fuck yourself Canada right in your house we just

Starting point is 00:04:05 smacked you then you're crazy I understand Thursday's a different beast you got my car back but Jeff I'll go to you you had to understand Americans would be pretty goddamn proud of that win Saturday night took you long enough like it took you long enough to get here like I'm telling you like I don't know about you guys like at a time like this at a time like this I tend to go back and like watch old international hockey games and old Canada cup tournaments and old world cup tournaments and, you know, wax nostalgic about this 76 Canada cup, which was my first one. I was too young for the summit series. It's taken you guys, taken you Americans long enough to finally get here. Fair. Now, now I will say one thing. I will

Starting point is 00:04:43 say one thing. I did go back and watch Canada USA from the 76 Canada Cup. It was a lot closer than Canadians want to talk about. This was like Robbie Fittorek and Mike Mulberry and all the... it was a lot closer than Canadians want to remember. But the thing about all of this is, like I don't care about teams, I don't care about countries, I just care about capital H hockey. Once upon a time, we thought international hockey was two teams. It was Canada versus Russia. And that's because the Soviets beat Canada in game one of the summit series in Montreal, where we all just were on Saturday.

Starting point is 00:05:18 Now, Canadians like to think that game eight was the one that mattered. That's the one Henderson scores and Foster Hewitt has a horrible call. The one to pretend is good. It was terrible. The Bob Kohl call on radio was way better, but the real game was game one. The Soviets beating Canada, the Montreal forum, and they spanked them. That was the birth. That was the birth of true international hockey.

Starting point is 00:05:42 And now the future of international hockey is no longer Canada, Russia. It's Canada, USA, and it's at every single level. Here's the thing about Canadian. For decades upon decades, we stood gobsmacked that nobody else in the world loved hockey the way that we did, or embraced it, or loved it. And now the rest of the world is there, and specifically, America is there.

Starting point is 00:06:05 And what Canadians have always had a hard time with, yes they wanted Americans to love this sport. And they wanted them to play the sport more, but they wanted to just be a little bit better than them at every single tournament. And from a capital H hockey point of view, this is one of the best things for hockey. This is an intense passionate rivalry that has taken the hockey world by storm to the point where, listen, I don't even think we should like four nations. Fine. We all know the nature of this tournament, et cetera, replace the all star game, but guys, would you not just rather see a best of five

Starting point is 00:06:45 between these two teams? Jeff, how about this idea? At least the best of three. Do not just see that. At least the best of three. How about this idea? Actually, also, as you mentioned, like how it's changed, it's just like,

Starting point is 00:06:55 a time's they are a change. And the Bob Dylan movie just came out. And Jeff, actually, I'm gonna throw to you, Keith, after this, get your response to this. Murls and I were talking. I said, I go, all right, well we need Russia back in the mix, they're out of the Olympics, but then the NHL owns this event, Russia will be in,

Starting point is 00:07:13 but I almost just want three out of five U.S., Canada, and Murls adds, Murls adds, yup, and at the same time, you send Sweden, Finland over and Helsinki and Stockholm and they do a three out of five at the same time, you send Sweden, Finland over in Helsinki and Stockholm and they do a three out of five at the same time. That could be big. Keith, what do you think? I love that idea. It would have to depend on when it's going to be played because like we've seen in this gauntlet of a tournament that guys are going down like flies. So it's, you know, hopefully none of it is too serious, especially on the American side. But yeah, I think you'd have to plan this out where it's,

Starting point is 00:07:51 I know you talked about having it in the beginning of the season, but then it's like, then you're still having the all-star game, right? You're still having that weekend. I think this is a great way of kind of pushing the all-star game out. I think you got to shoot the all-star game to the fucking moon at this point. All-star game might be I think you got to shoot the All-Star game to the fucking moon.

Starting point is 00:08:05 The All-Star game might be dead. Yeah, bring it behind the shed. Right behind the shed. The NBA skills competition killed the NHL All-Star game. We're never going back after seeing that fucking debacle. Now, I'll also throw this to the, I don't want to discredit the value and what this game brought

Starting point is 00:08:22 because it's a four nations kind of pop-up tournament. This, like, from an American standpoint, you guys not agree, this might be the top five biggest, most hockey moments in American history. Like that victory with the fights off the hop and what it's done to ignite people and their interest in hockey in the United States, it's all anybody on Twitter was tweeting about.

Starting point is 00:08:45 You have to tip your cap to the players for buying into this tournament. You know, some people could look at it when it's done and over and done and be like, oh, it's just a made up tournament. These guys are responsible for putting on an absolute clinic, obviously the NHL and putting it on and setting everything up,

Starting point is 00:09:03 but the players have bought in, took absolute pride in every single ship that they played in, and these are the guys that we should be thanking for the No-Escrow because they are playing their absolute balls off. Good point. And they're putting on a clinic for the game of hockey, and I couldn't be more proud of these guys and what they have done, especially the United States of America. Would you put this as a bigger moment for USA hockey than I couldn't be more proud of these guys and what they have done, especially the United States of America.

Starting point is 00:09:25 Would you put this as a bigger moment for USA hockey than losing to Canada in the gold medal game in 2010? For the impact that it's made? Impact wise, yes, yes. And I think that Twitter was very, very early. It wasn't even 2010. It wasn't like everyone's checking Twitter. And it was huge. I remember my buddies, it was enormous.

Starting point is 00:09:47 Every bar was packed. It was a three o'clock start on the East Coast, noon in Vancouver, and it was wild. But with social media, this game did reach another level of eyeballs at least. Of people being like, there's no sports on, NBA All-Star game. What is this game? Oh my God, they're fighting. Wait, they're fighting again? Holy shit, there's a third one. And it's like, I think some people are like, wait, what is this? This is just like a mid-season tournament that really, really like doesn't mean anything. It is like an exhibition, but it's just national pride. And I think the fact that it had been so

Starting point is 00:10:22 long and McDavid hadn't been with Crosby and Crosby hadn't lost a game in 25 games in 15 years whatever it's been and all of these things kind of came together and it's just hate to say it it is this Canada US political beef right now that just had it completely pop off and all of a sudden the whole world is sitting around on a Saturday night talking about these guys trying to kill each other mid-season. It's like November and December 1 hits and then boom. That's what it was.

Starting point is 00:10:54 It was all this pent up emotion from not doing best on best with all these guys. And to go back to earlier in that day, there were rumblings that came out that the Kachuk said that they were gonna turn the bell center upside down. And then after the game, it was awesome how they self admittedly said, yeah,

Starting point is 00:11:11 we had a tech thread going on saying that the fucking Bash brothers plus JT Miller, they were planning on doing that. And then I don't know necessarily if Brady had it planned with Bennett, but after seeing his brother go at it with Hagel, and credit to Hagel too, man, like he had to step up a weight class there.

Starting point is 00:11:29 Like Hagel's not a big guy. And you said they pumped him. I thought that that was a draw. And I also thought that the Bennett fight was a draw, and yeah, he got the tackle down at the end. Yance, why the fuck you shaking? Okay, can you at least agree that Pareko pumped JT Miller's eyes shut then?

Starting point is 00:11:46 Okay, I would say overall between the three fights, it's a draw. That's a draw. When I say pumping, it was like we were the aggressors. Like we were noticeably the aggressors in that. Like our guys called out every single fight. Even JT Miller went in like a lunatic, started cross-juggling.

Starting point is 00:12:04 Horrible call there, by the way. Horrible penalty Even JT Miller went in like a lunatic, started cross-juggling. Horrible call there, by the way. Horrible penalty on JT Miller. But it was more that we just were in your house, and we were starting everything. Which is why I can't wait for Thursday. We'll get into Thursday night. I think we'll go back quickly here. Jeff, I'll throw it to you,

Starting point is 00:12:20 because before we get to Saturday, we gotta start at the beginning. And that, the question kind of remained like, what will this be like? What is this tournament going to be like? Wednesday night, Canada starting against Sweden, great matchup. And all of a sudden it's like right off the hop, we got Mario Lemieux. Mario, Mario. And you could tell like something's different here. This tournament was so needed and what happens it goes McDavid to Crosby to McKinnon It was like the dream start for Canada and the tournament was off Like what did you take away from Wednesday night that they needed to play with more than one puck?

Starting point is 00:12:59 Yeah, they say could we throw a couple can we lob a couple more pucks on the ice here because one's not enough for all these guys? My tip, first of all, my, my, my thought on the tournament going in is kind of how it remains now. Like this is, this is a one and done. Michael Farber put it best. Michael Farber, legend, legendary hockey writer, Sports Illustrated. He said, this is a tournament with no history and no future. We all know this is a one and done. Like when they hand out that trophy, you know where it's going to go after that the next morning? It's going to go not to the Hockey Hall of Fame, but to the Hockey Hall of Fame Resource Center.

Starting point is 00:13:36 And it's going to sit there and it's going to collect dust. And 20 years from now, someone's going to find it in some corner, all wrapped up in newspaper and go, what was this? Does anyone remember what this is? But the one takeaway from the entire tournament, they're going to go like, oh yeah, that was that tournament where we saw three fights on a Saturday night in Montreal. That's what they're going to take away from, regardless of what happens on Thursday. I think that's going to be that, that is going to be the moment of this tournament.

Starting point is 00:14:02 So I looked at the tournament and said, I don't like the tournament, but I hope I like the games. And it's true. I don't like the tournament, but I like the games. If the states win it, they might make a movie about it in 25 years. I just wanted to throw that out there because it's the only thing that they're going to win moving forward. If they, if they possibly do just throwing that out there back to you. Can, can, can I, can I jump on that for once? Because listen, I know we sort of joke about it, like, okay, making more movies about 1980 And that's great. I still think that the United States should do should do more about 1960. And the original miracle on ice. But nonetheless, like there are these galvanizing moments like Canadian hockey is just consistent. Kids play hockey, like that's it as part of the culture. But what we've seen with the United States is like, there's these eruptions that happen where all of a sudden everyone pays attention to hockey and then everybody wants to play. So 1980 was the big one and then you got the era of Chelyosin Roenick and like this great

Starting point is 00:14:52 American hockey stars. 1996 probably deserves more attention as well. I will put that hockey against 1987, which we all think is the best hockey ever played any day of the week. The quality of that hockey was insanely good. But it seems as if the way that hockey sort of lurches forward in the United States is they need big events to capture attention.

Starting point is 00:15:15 And that's why I love Saturday. That's why I love Saturday, because it was a bunch of American players embracing the moment. Like everything happening geopolitically between, sociopolitically between Canada and the United States right now. Plus, sports schedule is pretty blank.

Starting point is 00:15:31 I know the NHL has been criticized and perhaps rightfully so. Like why are you taking away NHL hockey when football's over? The NFL is done, everyone is around looking for games and everyone's going like, NHL's gonna hand us a handful of games and that's it. But it was a bunch of American kids that embraced the moment and said, you know what? We need to do something. We're going to capture the attention.

Starting point is 00:15:48 As he mentioned, flip the tournament on his head and it was three fights and everybody is talking about it. But no matter what happens on Thursday, I think coming out of this. Made up tournament that has no future, no history, as Farber said, that's what we're gonna take out of it. And I do wonder how many people watched that and said, Pocky's really cool. Pocky is awesome. Look what these American kids are doing. But the thing is, that game itself,

Starting point is 00:16:16 the way that I've been looking at it is, I don't know if you guys are boxing fans, but it started off like Hagler-Herns, which is the greatest three rounds of boxing ever. But it finished up like Mayweather Pacquiao. Like when the game settled, it settled. And there were like no penalties in the second, no penalties in the third. It was a puck here, puck there.

Starting point is 00:16:35 The story was US defense. The story was the Slaver and Faber were fan. Plus, I still think the most underrated player in this entire tournament has been Dylan Larkin. Could we please have more attention been Dylan Larkin. And could we please have more attention on Dylan Larkin? He's been fantastic. But as far as this tournament goes, going into it, the long-winded way

Starting point is 00:16:51 to answer your question with, I didn't like the nature of what this tournament was. I just say to myself, I just hope the games are good and the games have been good. Don't like the tournament, but love the games. Wait, you know what this sounds like? What? Couple Canadians knowing that they're gonna lose on Thursday and just downplaying what the tournament actually is.

Starting point is 00:17:11 This doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter. It's best on best. We've been asking for best on best and the US has showed up. And our junior teams have been doing it for a couple years now and now it's the big boys turn. How have you showed up? You lost to the Swedes last night. It didn't matter.

Starting point is 00:17:28 And we didn't have any. We had seven forwards. We had 15 players. Nothing. Okay. Here come the excuses. Okay. Now injuries are somewhat of a storyline here now.

Starting point is 00:17:38 You mean that thing that's part of hockey and always has been? What? No, no doubt. And you missed Kale McCarr, an enormous loss. I won't bring up that we don't have Quinn Hughes. Like that doesn't matter. So I won't say anything about it. Um, cause he, you know, he's not in the tournament, but now it's like, all right.

Starting point is 00:17:54 USA, I'm not too worried about, um, Matthew or Brady Brady, uh, Matthew looked like he kind of maybe got his groin on like a kind of a funky turnaround in the third period against Canada. Brady, of course, driving the net on like a kind of a funky turnaround in the third period against Canada Brady of course driving the net like a madman against Sweden gets injured But I've been I've been reading and been told not worried about him Thursday Matthew's precautionary as well. He should be fine It's the McAvoy one. I'm worried about there was a report that he was admitted to Mass General Hospital some sort of upper body injury But after what he did, after what that guy did, B.U. Terrier,

Starting point is 00:18:27 he gets walked by McDavid. But as like people were chirping him, I'm sitting in this box, I'm like, there isn't a defenseman in the world that wouldn't get walked there. Like that, it was McDavid, full tilt, coming through the middle. But what does he do?

Starting point is 00:18:39 He responds by hammering him, not once, but twice. I don't know if I've ever seen McDavid get hit the way he hit him on the wall. I mean, he's parallel to the ice, in midair. And then McAvoy got him again, and then they go down and they score and tie it up on the genzel goal. So like McAvoy, if he's not able to go, I like Jake Sanderson,

Starting point is 00:18:58 but that is an enormous physical loss. And that's how USA beat him. They defensed the shit out of him and they were physical they're a bigger tougher team biz can you admit that? Absolutely absolutely I mean we knew they had a better back end coming into the tournament and I don't know if you guys saw Brady mic'd up and they played the clip afterward where that hit for McEvoy changed the momentum of the game. They ended up going up the ice and Ike took it unreal dish over to Gensel. That saucer pass, that isn't being talked about enough. Kind of a weak goal by Bennington, but as Brady said on the bench, that hit changed the entire momentum of the game. And I felt like USA really gained their

Starting point is 00:19:39 confidence and going back to your McEvoy comment, like to have like the mental toughness to get walked like that and then to respond and have the game that he did, not a lot of guys can do that. They would have been mental midgets the whole time. I know I would have been. I would have been thinking about getting posterized all over social media about getting walked by McJesus.

Starting point is 00:19:58 And to further your point as far as the defensive play, and Merrick, you're right to say that the game I wouldn't say got boring, but it got very defensive and USA locked it down The way that they were able to angle McDavid, McKinnon and the rest of the Canadian lineup the rest of the game to where they they couldn't establish a four check They couldn't even really gain the line and even to the point where they doubled it up and put McDavid and McKinnon on the same line where McDavid would wheel up couldn't get anything and he would drop it back to McKinnon and then he couldn't get anything so if I had a game plan for Canada going into the next one I would

Starting point is 00:20:37 say you need to establish a forecheck and to start the game you need to get the puck back you need to go low to back, you need to go low to high, and you need to get net front presence and get pucks there. Without Kale McCarr, they were getting everything fronted and blocked. They got nothing to the net, and they had no offensive game plan, and they got shut down. So that was, I think, and one more last point, as far as the non-4 check, the lack of Tom Wilson,

Starting point is 00:21:04 like I hate to bring Bonnie Boo back up, but I would eat her vagina to get Tom Wilson in the lineup on Thursday. I hate to do it, I hate to do it, but I would eat her bin to get Tom Wilson in the lineup. That's how. You don't hate to do it, you don't hate to do it. You'd love to do it.

Starting point is 00:21:22 Anyway, I'm done. Go ahead, Merrick, sorry. Let me make, I don't know how I follow that up. Like, okay. So the who just left. Show's over. So, um, the thing about McDavid in that game was, was fascinating. And again, this is a, this is a tip of the hat to the U S defense, not just the blue line, but everybody. The one thing that I took away from Saturday with McDavid was Leon Dreisaitl

Starting point is 00:21:44 and Zach Hyman are incredible because they can get inside McDavid's head and they play playing with someone like McDavid, even for like elite guys, it's gotta be so hard. He's so fast. He's so creative. You got to expect the puck. I get at times we shouldn't have to expect the puck. And the fact that Leon can read them perfectly is fantastic.

Starting point is 00:22:04 The fact that Zach Hyman can read him perfectly is incredible. I don't know that I've seen McDavid have to skate so far or take more strides until an option appeared for him. Like, you know, Mcgaylee grabs the puck and he starts scanning, scanning, scanning. And every time he would do that. And of course he's moving his feet. There's nothing like he's got no options. And it's like, and of course he's moving his feet, there's nothing. Like he's got no options.

Starting point is 00:22:27 And it's like, okay, I'm moving, I'm moving, I'm moving, still no options, moving, moving, moving, still no option, moving, moving. Like to me, that was one of the great stories that we probably don't talk about coming off of Saturday. They took away everything from him and then McAvoy's hammering him. Like really, this was a Picasso

Starting point is 00:22:43 that they painted against McDavid. Sure, there was the one goal and okay, it happens like whatever. Um, but like the way that they completely shut down all of his, I've never seen. I don't think McDavid have to take more strides than he did to find options because he finds options fast. And all I can think about is like, man, Tresch Seidel is even better than I thought he was, man, Hyman titles even better than I thought he was man Hyman's even better than I thought he was how do you get inside the mind of Connor McDavid if you're if you're any of these

Starting point is 00:23:11 But now Braden points seem to have it but again the playing against Finland They're not playing against USA and also the fact that Hyman like when it is being closed off at the line if McDavid dumps it in he can hound it down like who's gonna go get your puck for you, right? He's gonna hound it out get it back Establish position and I also felt that they were forcing way too many plays through the middle Like USA wasn't having none of that fluff bullshit through the center of the ice good sticks and lanes Everything was getting picked off and turned the other way. So Lot a lot of good things from the Americans boys. Yeah, I'll say watching America,

Starting point is 00:23:47 got to see him in person, Canada and Sweden. And last night's game, it was, yeah, there wasn't much there. But Jacob Slavin, like, being on Carolina, they haven't got to a cup final, but you don't really realize until you watch. He is one of the fastest players on the ice. Like, and I'm not talking just forward skating defense, skating backwards. He might be the best skater in the league, including McCarr.

Starting point is 00:24:13 Like I couldn't believe the gaps he was able to have on guys that like, you got to back up, you got to give them the line. Some of these guys, he was still able, his stick, his feet favor. Oh my God. didn't know that much about him, watched him, realized how good he was. But those two together, that is a true shutdown pair. And it was incredible to see them match these McKinnon and McDavid speed with ease and they had great sticks. I felt like Saturday night, there was probably eight to 10 plays where, whether it's any of the Canadian forwards, McDavid, Point, they're throwing pucks through the crease

Starting point is 00:24:47 that a lot of times are like tap ins. No, USA's kind of picking them off. Great sticks all night. The other USA player, and I'm glad you brought up Larkin because he's been awesome, but Jack Eichel, guys. He is, he is, he's the guy. He is the guy. And we need Matthews to play a little bit better,

Starting point is 00:25:05 but Jack Eichel, oh my God, you watch the sauce to Gensel. You watch him carry the puck. Watching him skate in person is crazy, because it's like three strides. He is the longest, most powerful stride, then he's gliding around. He's great defensively. He's competing like a bastard.

Starting point is 00:25:20 He rung one off the post against Sweden on the power play. When he's on the ice, the game goes through him a true Superstar in the game and I think that he's kind of taken a step defensively where maybe it's Cassidy Maybe it's winning that cup where he's like I'll sacrifice being 110 point guy I'll be an 80 to 90 point guy and I'll dominate on the other side of the puck too. He's been incredible Well, even in last night's game Just going going to last night's game, the hit that he had on Leo Carlson coming back on the back check, he took away a goal.

Starting point is 00:25:49 I don't know who had the back door tap in, but he went all the way back down the ice and close the gap of, yeah, it was on Arvidsson. I think that he was basically a half a zone away and ended up closing in on them from center ice in. So, uh, like you said, which just controls the whole 200 feet of the ice. I think a lot of that was established by Bruce Cassidy when he went over to the Vegas Golden Knights,

Starting point is 00:26:11 but it takes the player to buy in, man, and make that personal sacrifice and turn into a championship player. I would probably say top four center on the planet. Like if you had to pick him in a playoff scenario, you're probably picking him ahead of Matthews. Who's ahead of him? You got Crosby, you got McDavid, and then McKinnon.

Starting point is 00:26:37 I compared him to Sasha Barkov. I think he's just as good defensively. You know what, let me follow that, because I threw out Eisenan there a second ago. That's exactly what Steve Iserman did. If you look at the history of Steve Iserman, okay, I'm going to put up 120 points, but we're golfing early. Oh, here comes 130 points. Yeah, but we're golfing early. And it wasn't until he made the full team defensive commitment, all of that,

Starting point is 00:27:00 that the Bravings start winning Stanley Cups. And the thing about Iserman too was, much Jack Eichel I mean you look for so many years he's buried behind some of the most elite centers that we've ever seen in hockey like Iserman's buried behind Gretzky and Lemieux and Stasny and Messier and Hauerchuck and like and and and and and and then you get to Steve Iserman in a lot of other eras. He's the top dog. Can I rewind really quickly? Oh, cause I'm really curious, um, Witton Yans, like your thoughts on one specific element of Jacob Slaven's game.

Starting point is 00:27:33 You guys can talk about this with certainly more authority than I can. One of my favorite things to do when I watch Carolina hurricanes games is watching players trying to put pucks underneath Slaven's stick. Can't do it. It's crazy. You can't like it's fun it's fun. I just like sit there and watch. I just giggle. I'm like okay I tried it again. Didn't work. Like and as far as like backwards skating goes, I've always felt that Jonas Brodin is the fastest backward skater in the NHL. Curious who you guys think is...

Starting point is 00:28:02 I think that if we go back to skills competition here, I think fastest backwards skater would be a fascinating going to watch like how many guys could actually skate faster backwards and making it forward I've always I did a bro. D bro Dean was the best one but just a thought on like There's a one specific skill from Slaven guys like getting trying to get pucks underneath his stick Like anyone that plays Carolina you play USA now like you just realize you can't do it. You can't get pucks under his stick. It's fascinating. Yeah, it's like that Lindstrom effect.

Starting point is 00:28:33 Like he's not overly physical. He's not gonna kill you every single shift, but his stick is just so good. And I think he does a really good job of baiting guys where he'll give you the triangle and then take it away or you know he'll keep his stick in tight. I think his vision when he's playing defense of knowing where the other guy is say it's a two-on-one or he's in the front of the net for a backdoor tap and I think his vision of seeing the other guy and where he

Starting point is 00:29:00 expects the puck to go is just as elite as elite can be. So that would be probably the biggest thing for him. You can't sauce it over him either because he's picking it off. And yeah, you're right, there's just no way to get it around him unless it's a POP type thing where that biz loves to call out. We've seen a few of them.

Starting point is 00:29:21 I know. That one last night was not a POP. What do you mean, the Wawrenski over to Kreider? No. What did it hit? Didn't hit his pad? I think Wawrenski was trying to score. I feel like a POP's a blatant, you're coming down,

Starting point is 00:29:34 it's a legit pass off the goalie's pad. He went under. Either way, it hit his pad and it stayed alive and it went to the guy driving the far side. I don't know what else to say. What a move by Wawrenski, too. He looked like a skilled top six forward going under the triangle.

Starting point is 00:29:47 He is, what a season he's had. He's been just so good in this tournament as well. I think at one point he was leading the tournament scoring. Grinelli chimed in on the chat here. I never saw this, G, I don't know where you saw this, but it says, Sidney Crosby said if he could add anyone from any team to team Canada for four nations, he'd pick Jack Eichel. So that is the highest compliment from the greatest.

Starting point is 00:30:13 What? That's a funny way to pronounce Hellebuck. Can you say that again? Okay, interesting you bring up Connor Hellebuck because that is my pick and I'd like to hear you guys and maybe you all agree going into Thursday night I think if there's one guy that has the most pressure on him it's Connor Hellebuck and it's not just because of the offense that Canada is going to bring and how good this team is and trying to win this championship it's his career in big games and last year in the playoffs,

Starting point is 00:30:46 it hasn't been the same dominant, best goalie in the world type stuff as the regular season. He had that game Saturday night, now he goes in Thursday. If he does it again, you can't tell me that that doesn't lead into something this spring for the Winnipeg Jets. So I don't know, Keith or Biz, do you want to say who you think has the most pressure on them in this game,

Starting point is 00:31:04 or do you agree with Hellebuck? Yeah, from the American side for sure. I would probably put Marner for Canada. I know he had a big goal in overtime the other night, but I thought when the going got tough against the States, I didn't notice him at all. Didn't necessarily notice him that much in the Finland game either. I just think from a big game perspective, he has to up especially knowing it's gonna be a physical playoff style game But yeah, I would say for Hellebuck in the last how the last two years have gone

Starting point is 00:31:31 I wouldn't necessarily put the the two playoff series that they've had against really tough teams on him But he did get lit up pretty bad And didn't really have an answer for that compared to his regular season numbers So to be the best probably the best goalie in the NHL over the last five years, that's what Henry Gunquist labeled him as. I would say that yeah, he's probably got to win at least one big one in order to gain confidence

Starting point is 00:31:56 for moving forward. And of course for next year for the Olympics, right? Because it's not like there isn't competition and net of guys trying to take his job. I mean, you got Otenger, you got Swainman, like there's probably like one or two other American goalies that are like top echelon goalies. So they're flourishing in that position.

Starting point is 00:32:15 So, but he's been solid so far and it's not a flashy, he doesn't play flashy. He's just big, he's always in position, lets the puck hit him. Kind of reminds me a little bit like Carey Price. Like I didn't feel like Carey Price really relied too much on athleticism. He was just very good positionally. He actually, um, Henrik Lundqvist described it as him playing a little bit deeper. So he's just, which, which means that you're

Starting point is 00:32:40 a more confident goal. You get that extra split second to rely on your reactions and yeah he plays a little bit closer to his goal line so just a hell of a run he's been on right now. I think he's first in basically every statistical category as far as goalies are concerned come regular season so let's see if he can get it done. If I'm Canada like I said a lot of pressure, a lot of bodies to the blue paint and now that we got my car who's able to walk the line like Shakira Shakira Shakira and find those lanes to the net you guys are fucked that's it you guys are fucked a question about hella buck to you guys you guys are fucked you guys are fucked um Brady Matthew, the most marketable players

Starting point is 00:33:25 in the NHL right now, like with the Mighty Ducks and the Bash brothers being brought up and like this is, the father at some point is gonna be a Hall of Famer. That's undeniable. He scored 500 goals. The fact that he gave birth to those two kids to put him in the Hall of Fame,

Starting point is 00:33:40 I saw a tweet, I think that, I don't know if it was Pete Blackburn, like they should put his fucking sperm in the Hall of Fame. I saw a tweet, I think that, I don't know if it was Pete Blackburn, like they should put his fucking sperm in the Hall of Fame for fuck's sakes. Right? How about his quote? How about his quote? He just says, I don't know what to tell you. They're lunatics. Like it was, and then meeting each other in the box, like you got the miked up moment. You're like, I didn't even think anything could live up to what you imagined they said to each other. And it was better. He comes in and Brady's like, I got him,

Starting point is 00:34:06 I got him good there, I got him good there. And then Matthew's like, how was mine? Like legit nine year olds, how was my fight? He's like, unbelievable, it was just legit. And then Matthew's banging on the glass, they're high five and I'm like, you're right, Biff. They might have made millions of dollars with those two fights in the rest of their life.

Starting point is 00:34:22 I was at my appearance at the thing in Boston, and who's across the way at the cat thing, like the industrial equipment? Walt. Walt was doing an appearance, because the Bash Brothers got it going. And you know what advertiser they got on their helmet for this tournament?

Starting point is 00:34:38 Cat! So they're all bought in right now. He's gonna be doing, they're gonna be doing Dunkin' Donuts ads with Matt Damon and who's the other one? Ben Affleck pretty soon for fuck sakes. This is crazy. It's so good for hockey and hockey needs personality in the States in order to sell it.

Starting point is 00:34:55 And these two guys are the footprint. Cosign all of that. Can I nitpick one thing about the fights? Can I? I don't know. This might be a small thing. Don't be a Debbie Down thing, but I'm curious about your thoughts on this one. We all loved it. I loved it.

Starting point is 00:35:10 It was great. It drove attention. Everyone tuning into this game. We're talking to how much about the players, um, taking charge of this tournament, they're all in a hundred percent. If you were going to choose opponents to demonstrate like these guys don't care about tomorrow, these guys right this moment, they don't care about the NHL. They don't care about Stanley Cup.

Starting point is 00:35:33 They care about this game USA versus Canada. And that's it. If you could choose the fight, would you not have rather seen Sam Bennett and Matthew Kachuk? Yeah. Panther v Panther. But I get it, Jeff. I think 100%, but they played it politically perfect.

Starting point is 00:35:54 Also if one of them knocks the other out, it's like, holy shit. We're trying to repeat here, try to go to three straight cups. I completely agree. But that's my point. What I loved about it was, but here's the thing. Like we talked about at the beginning of the pod about embracing the moment. Like when you're watching that game, like one of the great things about all sports and one of the great things about a flow game like hockey is when you're playing,

Starting point is 00:36:18 you're not thinking about anything else other than that shift. And you're like, you're not thinking about Stanley cop. You're not thinking about who we get in a deadline, you're not thinking about any of that stuff. All you're thinking about is I'm wearing red, I'm wearing blue, I need to get through you to get to what I want. I disagree with you.

Starting point is 00:36:37 In that spirit, do you not think, you want to talk about sending a message to guys from the same NHL team? You know what I think would have been better? Matthew Kachruch and Drew Doughty. They've had a history the minute that he entered the league. And Biz, you brought it up to Doughty yesterday. Yeah, good for you. Buddy, this has been documented since Matthew was playing early days in Calgary.

Starting point is 00:36:59 Him and Drew Doughty hated each other. Like, Drew Doughty's made like comments in the media about how much he thinks he's a bum and blah, blah, blah, and there was real hatred there. And going back to teammates fighting, I think it would've basically said that they didn't care about their alliance and they care about their country more, but I actually thought it was perfect at the fact

Starting point is 00:37:20 that his teammate ended up fighting his brother right after. So, to kind of, the fact that that was what followed up, it kind of like, I guess, kind of go back to your point where I would rather him not have fought his teammate and that ended up the way that it was, but the reason I asked Drew Doughty that is because I think that there's a possibility that we see fireworks next game again, and it even brought up the point

Starting point is 00:37:44 on the ride home where I think that we were talking about the again. And it even brought out the point on the ride homeward, I think that we were talking about the three minutes that I was awake for that drive, is I don't think the NHL needs the Olympics in order to sell best on best anymore. And in fact, I believe that if you fight in the Olympics, you get kicked out of the game. Now, I love the fact that it was organic.

Starting point is 00:38:03 Do I think that it necessarily has to happen in the finals in order to make it exciting? No, but moving forward here, why not play by the rules that the NHL establishes considering they're using the NHL's resources in order to draw a lot of attention to the Olympics? What's the best Winter Olympics sport? Like hockey.

Starting point is 00:38:23 Hockey going away. Besides bobsledding. That sledding. Hockey going away. Well besides Bob sledding. That downhill skiing when they're going 100 is pretty electric. OK. But it's not hockey. It's definitely hockey. I think figure skating probably gets the biggest ratings.

Starting point is 00:38:36 Sure. But it's kind of like the dream team scenario with the summer Olympics where it's like the NBA players going over. And now with what just happened at this tournament, I would imagine there's a lot of eyes on hockey at the Olympics. If I'm the NHL, I'm asking them to say, give them a one fight rule, one fight in a game without getting kicked out, double IHF style.

Starting point is 00:38:57 That's what, if I'm the NHL, I'm asking them in order to get that implemented for next year's tournament in Italy. I think this is why the NHL needs and wants and is finally, even though we've talked about this going back to the 0-4-0-5 lockout, is going to put together now finally and consistently a World Cup schedule, a World Cup hockey schedule. Because like honestly, like you talk about,

Starting point is 00:39:24 who's gonna benefit from the players going to the Olympics. You can make the argument that the NHL will because it's marketing your biggest stars on the biggest stage with, you know, the biggest sporting event in the world. But if you talk about like, okay, so where's the money going? Like if you can establish a consistent schedule for the World Cup, and we understand that this is played with NHL rules and things that you will not be able to see. Like what we saw on Saturday, like again, I'll go back to it. You're not going to see that in the Olympics, folks.

Starting point is 00:39:54 Enjoy it. Enjoy it, but don't pretend that you're going to see it in the Olympics because you're not. And you're going to get the World Cup where you are going to be able to see that. And you are going to be able to see NHL style hockey is like we saw in the world cup of hockey in 96 amazing hockey, not only the cup 87 and 76 amazing hockey. Not only will we not see the fights, but in the Olympics, you're looking at that monster legendary hit Brady Kachuk threw on Doughty and McAvoy through on McDavid is probably being called penalties No shit

Starting point is 00:40:29 Yeah, so right away cuz now key and it is you hit too hard and yeah, and you're sitting down 100% agree biz brought this up. Do you think I'm kind of going back and forth? Do you think Thursday night we see more tilts? Yeah, I think it'll have to happen. I don't think it'll happen like it did last game where it's kind of set up. I think if we do see it'll be more organically like, you know, a hit or, you know, a scrum in front of the net, but where it's set up like that, I don't think so. I think these guys want to win that game. But obviously, if something happens during the game, guys are willing and able to fight. But I think just talking about the

Starting point is 00:41:09 fighting too, the, you know, what was the team a couple of years ago that USA put together to try to bully the Canadians? Remember they had like Bacchus and Ryan Kessler. Was it 14? And David Bacchus was fighting every Canadian. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Before. Like grabbing Rick Nash and grabbing John the Daves. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Every day. I think that was before 2010, right?

Starting point is 00:41:32 Or no, yeah, that was 14. But whatever it was. So USA tried to build- Yeah, they tried to beat up every Canadian before the Olympics. Yeah, USA tried to build a team to bully the Canadians and beat them up, but the thing that I like about this year is it's the superstars. It's Matthew Kachuk, it's Brady Kachuk, JT Miller, and obviously the Canadian guys as well.

Starting point is 00:41:52 It's not guys that are just out there to fight. These are the guys who are impactful players during the tournament and during every game. So I think that's been a great part of the game is just the, how much they want to play for their country and, whether it's fighting and scoring, they're willing to do it. Can I jump in on that? I think this is a really important point that we need to pause on. Because what Jans is talking about here is what hockey used to be. And if you look historically at hockey, like the enforcer role,

Starting point is 00:42:23 the fighter role, like the designated slugger really didn't come into hockey until, you know, John Ferguson in the, in the mid sixties with the Montreal Canadian, like the, the dedicated policemen, if you talk to any of the historians, you talk to any of the old timers, they will tell you that for the majority of the history of hockey, the best players were also the toughest. Gordie Howe. Gordie Howe. It was Rocket Richard. It was Ted Lindsay.

Starting point is 00:42:50 It was like, these were the guys. Like, yeah, they're like one, two, three in scoring and nobody wanted to go near them because they were also the toughest. Like I look at the Kachucks and I say like, they have new school skill and they have an old school mentality. Where once upon a a time was like, no, I'm here to score a hundred points. I'm not going to these gloves stay on. Thank you very much.

Starting point is 00:43:11 Like this is old school guy. Like this is no, this isn't old. This is from, this isn't old school. This is from the school. They burned down to build the old school. That's the throwback that the Kachaks are. Right? Like that is it. That is like rocket Richard is going to be the first school. That's the throwback that the Kachaks are. Right? Like that is it.

Starting point is 00:43:26 That is like, rocket Richard is going to be the first to 50 and he's going to lead the league in penalty minutes and nobody wants to go near them. Like that's what the Kachaks are. Like what we're seeing is a complete throwback. And I'm with you, Whit. I'm with you, Biz. I'm with you yet. Embrace these guys.

Starting point is 00:43:44 Market these guys. Market these guys and don't be shy about every now and then, these guys are going to fight. And it's okay to lean into that a little more than the NHL does. If I had kids and they were playing hockey, I would teach them from an early age, handle your own business.

Starting point is 00:44:00 I'd have them taking boxing classes in the summer. Fuck that, man. A guy wants to slash you, try to take advantage of you. You fucking handle your own business and cave his face in. So I just love, like I'm envious of that. That's something that right now I don't think that Team Canada has on their team. That's why to me, Tom Wilson was such a massive,

Starting point is 00:44:21 massive miss. And another thing too is you talk about handling your business like offensively too. I think Tom Wilson has more a massive, massive miss. And another thing too is, you talk about handling your business offensively too, I think Tom Wilson has more goals than half of the Canadian forward roster. I think he's got more goals than McDavid right now. I'd look at him as a penalty killer, not just there for physicality, but also to kill penalty.

Starting point is 00:44:38 And he can skate. Kill penalties and intimidation, man. Intimidation is a fucking thing. Look at what Florida's done the last two years. They've intimidated, and they've done so as a group. So more of that, Candler, please. Like, Army's been fucking that from the mount, what's that? Him on the forecheck, it just, you know,

Starting point is 00:44:56 it tightens up your arsehole a little bit. Like, if you're a slave and going back and big Tom Wilson, like, I'd much rather have McDavid forechecking me than Tom Wilson, you know what I mean? It's, when you have a bunch of skilled guys, you can kind of go back and you know, you're not going to get hit every single time. Obviously with Bennett and there,

Starting point is 00:45:12 there are guys who are going to finish the check, but a lot of times when you're a defenseman and you're playing against first lines, it's easier to break the puck out. Cause you're not getting worried to get hit from behind or whatever. We talked about this during the game, like after McAvoy rocked McDavid a few times, McAvoy was in the middle of the ice and he delivered a

Starting point is 00:45:31 pass, he was admiring it for a split second and McDavid had the opportunity to put him on his ass and, and you could see that he thought about it and then bailed out of the hit. What'd you think about that? I was a little surprised, um. More than anything, because I figured McDavid would be so pissed off after getting hit like that. And that was after the second hit. That you'd think, all right, I'm just gonna run him

Starting point is 00:45:54 no matter what. And then it turns out that you're kinda coming across the ice at him as he's looking down a little bit before he passed it. I think he fumbled it a tiny bit. And he gave it the flyby. Now, who knows? Like maybe he's sore, maybe something's hurting, but like, yeah, it's more my thought of like,

Starting point is 00:46:10 I thought he'd be so furious that he got not once, but twice hit by a McAvoy that he would have at least put the shoulder into him. And that was kind of like, wow, that was a good sign for USA that they are physically dominating. The only reason I asked Keith about fireworks Thursday night is because of what I brought up before. The US, yeah, and Biz, you're right, they were great fights, awesome fights. Hagel, I had no idea how tough he was, but with the US being the aggressors,

Starting point is 00:46:37 it's like I'm wondering if Canada's like, no, we're gonna start some shit, and that's why we might see some, like they started everything, fuck that, but Biz, you mentioned, if they don't have that roster build up, right, it would have to be it would have to be a guy that you did not see it coming. Like maybe maybe Sorelli would do some. But none of these guys are like fighters the way the Kachaks are. JT Miller's willing to.

Starting point is 00:46:58 But I am wondering if Canada cares or even thinks about the fact that like it was US being the big bad bullies and we want to shut that narrative narrative up or is it completely like we're just going to win this game fuck them. I don't think they have the toughness to combat it. I do think that connect me being in the lineup as opposed to I think that Jarvis has been solid but it seems like that's the odd guy out of connect me goes in. Maybe I'm mistaken

Starting point is 00:47:26 Yeah, I think that that would probably be the swap out Um, I know we've been kind of long-winded about Canada us and that's all anybody wants to talk about Did you guys want to maybe touch on on Sweden and Finland a little bit or is there a few more points you guys? go ahead Guys it's with here and I want to talk to you about DraftKings. The NHL season and Four Nations is going right now. We're in the middle of the year.

Starting point is 00:47:51 The season's been nuts. This tournament's been crazy and no one knows what's gonna happen next. But that just means there's time for your favorite team or favorite country to figure things out. And games left for you to get in the action at DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NHL.

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Starting point is 00:49:25 If they're gonna do these type tournaments, like Jeff, you said this might be a one and done. Yeah. Remember back in the day they used to do North America versus the world. Yeah. But the thing is, you guys need some help in the goaltending and on the back end. It didn't make anything though. Like that's why I think it didn't really, there wasn't like what we're seeing now.

Starting point is 00:49:45 Um, can I make one point about toughness? Cause I, I say, I sometimes think that we get horse blinders on when we, when we talk about toughness, like when it comes to hockey to me, there's, there's two types of toughness. There's like physically imposing your will on someone. I am going to dominate you and you know, you're the protruding nail and you are going to get hammered down. And that's one type of toughness.

Starting point is 00:50:07 And generally when we say toughness, that's what we think about. There's also another kind of toughness and that is, this is maybe, you know, winking at, you know, McDavid and McAvoy. There's another kind of toughness here. And the toughness is to go out there and get pounded and not change your game. Like the toughness to not get intimidated out there. Like I look like I grew up a huge Boreas Salming fan and saw like the Philadelphia Flyers, like attack and mug and assault and half the team

Starting point is 00:50:36 should have been incarcerated. Like just do like horrible things. Like even, even more recently, like you look at the Sedenes, okay. Look at the Sedenes, look at how much they got punched and kicked and slashed and cross-checked and butt-ended. Did you ever see them change their game? No. Never. They never changed.

Starting point is 00:50:52 They never changed. They crossed me thinking that too with him. To me, and maybe it's just a matter of age, I'm getting old, I don't know, but to me I look at that and I say, to be able to endure that and not change how you play. I don't know, man. I think there's a lot to be said for that. I really like, there's that kind of toughness. Like guys, like how many times did like you guys get like mauled in the corner?

Starting point is 00:51:14 And you're like, ah, you know what? Can't let this change my game. Can't wilt, can't wilt, can't wilt. And it's your brain and your body and your brain saying bail and your body saying no way, or maybe it's the, maybe it's the opposite the opposite. But like, there's two kinds of toughness here. Like, it's a very Canadian spirit to just endure something as opposed to impose something. So maybe this is like a true American-Canadian dynamic

Starting point is 00:51:37 where the American dynamic has always been conquer and the Canadian dynamic has been endure. And maybe that's why this version of the Canadian U S matchup is really resonating with people. Well, that's why they weren't effective in game one, Jeff is they didn't really take punishment below the goal line and getting to the blue paint. They were just getting worked. They were getting boxed out.

Starting point is 00:51:59 So taking those cross checks to the spleen and pissing blood the next morning is something they're going to have to do in order to get to Hellebuck. No, they were trying to cross-ice the seam plays and it wasn't working. The low to high, greasy hockey is what's gonna work. And then when that starts working, then other things are gonna start opening up because they're all of a sudden gonna get sold.

Starting point is 00:52:20 I'd like to just touch on Sweden. I thought that they had a solid tournament. They brought both Canada, US, or they beat US, brought Canada to overtime. I thought Eric Carlson was awesome. I thought that he was jumping up and the play looked way more like himself. I think his play with the Pittsburgh Penguins

Starting point is 00:52:38 has definitely gotten a lot better as the season progressed. I was pretty hard on him earlier in the year. Then heard Rumblings, he was playing through maybe a partially herniated disc, so it was nice to see him look like himself again. Some other bright spots, Eric Sinek, he's unreal. He's fuckin', that one hand play he made in front of the net when he was battling, I don't think it was in the game

Starting point is 00:53:01 against the States, I think it was actually against the Finns, wasn't it? Where he made that play and just all over the ice, great screens, playing physical. He's definitely a guy who probably doesn't get enough credit because he's kind of hit away in Minnesota behind Kapri Sof and Brock Faber, who's obviously had an unreal tournament as well.

Starting point is 00:53:22 But I thought Sweden looked solid. The only downside is probably Elias Pettersson who's probably still feeling the whole situation from Vancouver. Played under 10 minutes in that last game. No points. Just not good. Not good boys. Looked invisible. That's going to be the takeaway from Sweden. I'm glad you brought up Erikssonek because I thought he had a fantastic tournament. I thought, listen, Sammy Ersen, good on him.

Starting point is 00:53:52 It's been a tough season for Ersen, but man, did he show up yesterday. Ersen was fantastic. Glad you mentioned that. But when it comes to Sweden, all anyone's gonna talk about is like, look, Elise Pedersen didn't piss a drop. They had a really, really tough tournament and everybody noticed like

Starting point is 00:54:09 wherever he goes because of everything that's happened. And I still do wonder whether, you know, the injury and the lack of off season training because of it is still, is still dogging them. But at the, at the end of the day, the story coming out of Sweden is, I don't know if anyone thought that magically he was going to turn into a different player in this tournament, but whatever dogged him before is still dogging him now. I was telling Biz, uh, I watched like so many Leafs games. They're, they're just a fun team to watch.

Starting point is 00:54:36 Like you can't, the storylines, the high paid players. It's awesome. And every single time I watch him, like I kind of fall more in love with Nylander's awesome. And every single time I watch him, I kind of fall more in love with Nylander's game. Oh, yeah. Like, this guy, the creativity, the skating, the silkiest hands you could see, like, he was just as good in this tournament

Starting point is 00:54:55 as he's been all regular season. And if he could have got Pedersen going or somehow he was going or so Ben and Jab was going, it's like Sweden had a great chance, right? They should have beat Finland. They had a one- one goal lead. They kind of let that piss away. All of a sudden, last night's USA-Sweden game means so much more with all the things that could've happened. So yeah, Biz, it's funny. They didn't move on to the championship, but they played some good hockey without getting any contributions from guys they really needed to show up.

Starting point is 00:55:24 And I also take away from Sweden, and I know he didn't play against the US, but ever since Ekholm came over to Edmonton, you're like, Jesus Christ, this guy's good. Kind of like, kind of like Slaven actually. Like, you watch Slaven and like, you know, Ekholm will end up 35 to 42 points, but it's the defense. And I think a little more physical than Slaveness, but same type thing where great stick, you don't see him get beat one on one.

Starting point is 00:55:50 And then it was just awesome watching him play. It was Carlson's the guy where it's like, man, it's just, it's gone so bad in Pittsburgh, right? He wasn't the guy they needed. It was kind of a forced trade. All of a sudden he's there, they have the Tang, but God, if you could somehow move on from him and he can go to a good team,

Starting point is 00:56:08 like he might, he could go to a team, and I have no clue if this would ever happen, but he could go to a good team and dominate the playoffs. Like he still looks like his skill in skating. Like if you can just hide him defensively a little bit on a better, deeper decor, Carlson is still that good of a skater and a passer that he's got game left.

Starting point is 00:56:27 It's just right now in Pittsburgh, there's nothing there. And it brings me to another point that I'm wondering, and this is kind of what everyone was discussing in Montreal, is do these games and that intensity and this rivalry with the US and how much these things matter, does this at all change Crosby's mind about finishing out in Pittsburgh? That's kind of what we're wondering.

Starting point is 00:56:47 And I know we brought it up all the time, but maybe going to these games, he's like, holy shit, like, I kind of forgot what it's like. This is cup final type atmosphere. Like, I don't know if I could finish it out in Pittsburgh. Finish it in last place. Biz thinks it's happening. It's happening.

Starting point is 00:57:04 I'm so, I will beat that drum till I'm fucking blue in the face. in last place, Biz thinks it's happening. It's happening. I will beat that drum till I'm fucking blue in the face. Till I'm Bonnie blue in the face. Yeah. Guys, before we go any further, I need to talk to you about Body Armor, the amazing sponsor, the best sponsor in the league, the best water in the world, and now, the Flash IV. This episode is brought to you by the Body Armor Flash IV. Body Armor Flash IV is packed with electrolytes and provides faster

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Starting point is 00:58:25 So I'm a strawberry kiwi guy. And yeah, for people who don't know, I guess Grinnelli, like, I don't know, is nine years old and didn't know you get dehydrated when you fly. So if you want to have some drinks on a flight, if you have one beer, it's kind of like having two if you're up in the air. So make sure you have your body armor Flash IV, mix that in during the flight. You'll feel way better when you land and when you wake up the next morning in the new city. So trust me on that. And if you want to get your Body Armor Flash IV, get it at your local 7-Eleven or on Amazon today.

Starting point is 00:58:53 Easy to order, easy to get into your house, and then makes your body feel great. Body Armor Flash IV. I'm a strawberry kiwi guy. I love it. G loves it. Biz loves it. We're so thankful to Body Armor. Everyone, right now, go to a 7-Eleven or order on Amazon today. As far as Finland's concerned, oh, what a pickup for Dallas, boys. Grandin looked good. Grandin looked good. Only making four million on the books, too. What do you think of Rantan and Biz?

Starting point is 00:59:22 I thought he was very, very strong in the game against Sweden. Like, powerful, like, you know, fighting guys off, good cutbacks, good in the Ozone. In the last game, I thought he was okay. I don't know how much health was affecting him coming into the tournament. He did miss, what, the last two games of regular season before or maybe it was just one game, but Guys, I just think it's a little bit of a different beast when you're playing with a guy like McKinnon I think that overall his numbers will drop You've seen the success that nature's has had I think that Rotten was probably still a little bit rattled before this tournament started

Starting point is 01:00:01 Maybe this erased his memory of being shook of how he thought he was gonna be able to work something out in Colorado. Him and his agent were caught off guard by the trade. So I still think he's a hell of a player. Wouldn't say that he looked like top tier rotten in the tournament though. I think that the one game he did look more like himself.

Starting point is 01:00:24 But yeah, I thought that the one game he did look more like himself, but yeah, I thought Barkov was solid. I thought that Laine had his moments, but I just think that Laine gets exposed five on five. I don't... Man, Montreal fans were chirping him in the night during those games. He's fallen out. Fans are like, scale, move your feet, line A. And apparently, apparently there's been reports that his numbers have really tanked since the new Call of Duty came out. That is what I'm being told by Pasha. Who knows if it's bullshit.

Starting point is 01:00:57 It's true, it's true. Ever since the new, he doesn't have one point in the NHL since the new Call of Duty came out. I think he played five games since it dropped. No goals, no assists. I don't know how many he got. Didn't he tell us he played 16 hours straight of Call of Duty?

Starting point is 01:01:11 You think he didn't? Yes, yes. Oh my God. But when he was in Winnipeg, you know the story about him on the road in Winnipeg, right? It was debunked. We had him on the pod. It was false.

Starting point is 01:01:23 He said it. He debunked it. He said that, because people in the Jets organization told me that. I think he said he bought a TV on the road one time. Yeah. Because they were somewhere for a long time. I forget exactly how we told him the pod, but we brought up the story that you tweeted out and he debunked it.

Starting point is 01:01:41 Now maybe we got to hook him up to the lie detector because he's that much of a COD addict, but I just think that, like you saw on that goal the other day, he was guessing a little bit against Canada where he tried to guess towards the wall and next thing you know, it's up the middle of the ice and he just doesn't have the foot speed to get back in time anymore.

Starting point is 01:02:01 And outside of power play, I just don't think the juice is worth the squeeze, especially with the money that he's making. I do wonder when it comes to Finland, listen, Quinn Hughes is a terrible loss for USA, obviously. I just wonder how much different it would have been with Miro Heiskinnen. Oh, it's like Canna LaMissa-McCarr.

Starting point is 01:02:22 Yeah. Like that's how, again, he's like, I look at, I look at, I, I, in some ways I feel really bad for Hayskinn. It's kind of like, this is something for your older listeners, like how you felt about Brad Park, who just happened to play behind guys like Bobby Orr and Larry Robinson and Dennis Potfan. Meanwhile, he's one of the best defensemen in the world at his time. Like here's Hayskinn playing behind McCarr and Fox and, uh, Quinn Hughes

Starting point is 01:02:46 and all of these guys, like any other era, like Haskinen is racking up Nordis trophies here, right? And that's why I just, I look at Finn and I go like, man, that's a, of all the injuries that a team can't overcome. I'd put Haskinen, you know, probably above Quinn Hughes for USA. USA is still fine without Quinn Hughes. Finland's not okay without, without Mary. They have other guys who could step up.

Starting point is 01:03:08 And when talking about injuries, we, we, we really haven't brought up just a kick in the dick for not only team Canada, but Vegas, and that is the Shay Theodore. I believe it's a broken wrist or something like that. Uh, just braces himself for a hit and nothing at all. And that just sucks. I saw him, he had a brace on his wrist at the garden yesterday walking around, but it's like, man, you got Petro bowing out before the tournament. And then you got McCarr missing that game against the U S and then you got

Starting point is 01:03:36 Shay Theodore out. So you got to understand like for American fans saying we're missing Quinn Hughes, like they're missing a bunch for Canada and Shay Theodore. The only thing I'll look at is that maybe Vegas ends up doing it again and they stick them on LTI-R and they grab somebody else and it somehow works out in their favor. But a bummer for him to be playing a big role for team Canada in the first game of the tour and he going out.

Starting point is 01:03:59 They might get Sid. Sid said he wants to play with Eichel. Busy, busy, busy. How mad do you think Nathan McKinnon would be if he went to the Vegas Gold Knights? I bet he wouldn't talk to him and train with him this summer. He'll move over from,

Starting point is 01:04:14 he'll move to from Cole Harbor or wherever. Yeah. Flip, flip. I will say if Canada ends up winning on Thursday, I think Kale McCarr is the best player in the world. Cause them missing him and what he looked, I know yesterday was not against the US, but with him on the ice, they are 10 times better than, it's just a different dynamic, right?

Starting point is 01:04:39 Biz, like obviously you have the offensive talent to, they have guys that can do whatever they want on the ice at any time. But when you have him offensive talent to, you know, they have guys that can do whatever they want on the ice at any time. But when you have him in that offensive zone, wheeling around and De'Von Taves just kind of knowing where to go with him and moving him along, it is special to see. And if they somehow figure this out

Starting point is 01:04:59 and win that game on Thursday, even if, you know, USA isn't healthy, I'm marking him as the best player in the league. Yeah, that was, to me, one of the biggest differences in that game against the US is when they did go low to high, there was no threat from the blue line. Like, a lot of the shots were fronted and blocked, and it was maybe because of hesitation,

Starting point is 01:05:17 and guys not shuring. I mean, a guy like Morrissey, like, I know he's got a good shot, but I feel like there's a little bit of delegation involved when you're on the ice with McDavid, McKinnon. Like you're like, oh, I want to shoot this, but I'd probably just rather give it to these guys, where McCarr has that confidence where he's like,

Starting point is 01:05:33 I'm in control of this puck right now. I'm going to go Shakira hips across the blue line, find my own lane, and maybe even zip it through with a quick wrister. Like his, like he doesn't have that, I thought that they were missing the Shay Weber, the Chris Pronger bomb, but with him, he doesn't necessarily need the big clapper.

Starting point is 01:05:53 Like his snapshot slash wrister from the point, it fucking zips. Same thing as Quinn Hughes. They find it, they find the angle, and they get it right through, and if they got a proper screen, like a guy like Mark Stone in front Of the net that things that things light in the lamp

Starting point is 01:06:08 So I don't really have much else boys like I I said that I really hope that Marner is A difference maker in that that final game on Thursday I think that the other big dogs carry the weight against Finland in order to get them to the final I I thought he had a solid first game. Obviously that three on three moment very big, but this is gonna be a playoff game. There's gonna be a lot of physicality. There's not gonna be a lot of ice out there.

Starting point is 01:06:34 I'd like to see him go get his own pucks. I don't want him necessarily just kind of hiding over there on the weeds, letting all the other guys do everything. I want to see him getting involved physically too. Fucking right, Smarter. Come on, Smarter magic time. Squanko spirit. As an American, it's the same thing with Austin Matthews, right? I think that he's showing up a little bit more in the playoffs than Mitch Smarter has, but he's going to have

Starting point is 01:06:57 to have a monster game, right? I really expect Eiko will be there and perform at the highest level. I expect that Matthews is going to, or I think Matthews is going to have to be at the top of his game for the U.S. to get this thing done. When you look at the greatest American players, Matthews, boom, he pops into your mind. Can you show up the way I believe McDavid and McKinnon will? If you do, then the U.S. has a great chance. My last thing is, what's a little scary as an American is Jordan Bennington's won a pretty big game in this building before.

Starting point is 01:07:30 And you know, as a goalie, that's something that's on your mind. I believe like I've done it in this building and I could do it again. Can I, okay. I'm glad you got there before I wrapped up and whether it is. Asselin Dell, whether it's Jake Gensel, whether it's Adrian Kempe, every game in this tournament, there's been one bad one. One bad one. Five-one-two.

Starting point is 01:07:57 And in a game like this, you guys know, you guys all play, I don't need to tell you this, in a game like this, one bad one could be the difference. Well, then you need two. Then you need two at least. So it's like, that's a good point. Can he reel in and if he gives up a goal or two, they gotta be great shots or a hell of a tip or something. Yeah, when you let in a bleeder in a game like this,

Starting point is 01:08:19 it just changes the whole complexion of everything. On the bench, it's like, fuck, we needed a save there. Also, I've been reading a little bit of negativity online, basically claiming nepotism on the Tampa Bay, some of the Tampa Bay guys on the roster. I've heard Sorelli's name a couple times, Hagel's name a couple times. They've been the most consistent line for Canada

Starting point is 01:08:40 since the tournament started. Like, even against the Americans. What are people saying? Fucking morons online basically saying how Hagel and or Cirelli shouldn't be on the roster. And they're only there cause of Coop. Cause of Coop. Anybody who has a fucking brain and a hockey mind

Starting point is 01:08:58 and who's watched the games would know that that line's been just fine. They've four checked well. They were their best overall line against the Americans five on five. So I don't wanna hear none of that fucking nonsense. Watch the games, those guys have been great. And point A, they could be the difference maker too.

Starting point is 01:09:16 They could be the difference maker. Point is an animal. He is a puck hound, man. He is the energizer bunny, never stops moving his feet. So look for them to be a threat as well. I don't, I've seen the same things that you have, Biz. About like, oh, look at all these bulls players. Oh, Cooper just bringing all of his guys.

Starting point is 01:09:34 First of all, John Cooper knows these players better than anybody else. Second of all, there's no way any of them are standing out negatively at all. These are all elite level players. And again, I'll go back to the original point. John Cooper knows and trusts these players in every single situation against any form of competition.

Starting point is 01:09:52 And as far as Braden Point goes, who's looked better with Conor McDavid this tournament than Braden Point? He's looked phenomenal. He's looked, he can, he can like skate with Conor McDavid. He can, like I was talking earlier in the program about like being able to think like Conor McDavid, Point's the guy. Point's the guy, Point's the guy that can do it.

Starting point is 01:10:11 I'm sorry, he is. Braden, Braden Point, when, you know, this is a couple of years ago when I was in Florida, we played them in the, in the playoffs. We focused more on Point than we did Kucherov or Stamkos or Hedman. He was the guy that you had to worry about where he was gonna be, power play,

Starting point is 01:10:28 because he could just do whatever he wanted, right? And like you said, Biz, too, he's also hounding you on the four check. And he's a pain in the butt to play against and just a hell of a player. I don't know anyone who would ever think that he shouldn't be on this team. Morons, online morons.

Starting point is 01:10:43 What has Hagel done? How about go watch the second goal that McKinnon got last night. He was first on the four check, then he gets back. He's on the defensive side of the puck along the wall, wins his wall battle, starts the whole playoff, goes to Reinhardt, he chips it by him. McKinnon's off and running. Boom, low blocker, keep the change, 2-0 Canada, the Polish prince is back, baby.

Starting point is 01:11:04 He's back! running, boom, low blocker, keep the change, two nothing Canada, the Polish prince is back, baby. He's back. Yeah, we got some quick hits coming to you right now, but the quick hits are presented by Dove Men's Plus Care. Finally, a scrub designed for men's needs. Add the new Dove Men's Plus Care Body and Face Scrubs to your shower routines. Use in the shower, bath, or at your sink,

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Starting point is 01:11:45 But I go to people's houses. First thing I do when I go to people's house, I say, oh, I got to use the bathroom. I go in to check if they use Dove soap. You're staying. They're A-OK in my book. They are A-OK. I showered in your guest bathroom and there was a bunch of Dove. If not, you take a dump in their toilet in the top part. Anybody who's anybody uses dub soap. You give them a leaner.

Starting point is 01:12:08 Upper decky. Oh my God. NHL teams and players not part of the four nations return back on Tuesday, which is today, I believe. And I don't know if you guys remember, but man, those first few skates after the Olympic breaks were battles. Holy shit. You've been, you've been living it up on a beach, playing golf, having drinks for a couple of days. You get the little sunburn going,

Starting point is 01:12:29 the gear hurts and you get back and that first skates always a bag or two. It's like, welcome back boys again, again, her brook style. So we'll see how, uh, how guys respond. Remember when I came back after, I think it might've been Olympic break. I went to combo. I was doing a Mexican ecstasy and Coke sold by a guy with a parrot on his shoulder on the beach and I was supposed to come back. I think it was like a Thursday. I didn't get back till Saturday. I had to stay there like an extra day and a half. I was like exorcism puking all over my hotel room. Thankfully I had family friends down there

Starting point is 01:13:05 who owned a place and were able to nurse me back to health somewhat. That first skate back was hell. And as bad of shape as I was in, we had a two o'clock practice and Mike Ribeiro was late for it. He like came on the ice after we've been on the ice for like 10 minutes. We were all calling him his phone was off like how the fuck are you

Starting point is 01:13:31 late for a two o'clock practice so those were the days man. The worst skate. Oh I'll never forget that trip to Mexico. All I did ask Halsey all as I did was play the song trophies. Ask Halsey, all I did was play the song Trophies. Da da da da da da. Do you remember that one? Da da da da da da. Halsey wanted no part of me that trip. No part of me.

Starting point is 01:13:54 He put me on the no fly list. Hence why he's still playing and you're doing this. Yeah, well I'm playing Chicklet's Cubs. Another thing we gotta catch up on, and Chicklets fans, you guys are the best, but there's another great fan base of people that we gotta kinda be introduced to and learn a little bit about,

Starting point is 01:14:14 and that is the Bob Does Sports clan. And our sandbagger dropped. Actually, excuse me, this was not a sandbagger. That's coming up. Our video with Bob Does Sports, Jeff, I don't know if you caught this these guys. Oh my god It's unreal so get him out of here Bob does sports fat Perez who is just a big chunky guy who's named himself after Pat Perez and

Starting point is 01:14:35 Joey cold cuts these guys they're YouTube golfers Awesome dudes and we decided to play them in a three on three scramble and their video dropped on their channel I believe it dropped on Wednesday or Tuesday last week or Thursday whatever But it's taken off and it was this incredible match between us three and them three and we actually have great news for anyone Who doesn't know we played them at the same course the next day And it was a rematch and that'll be dropping as a sandbagger. The only difference will be, and I don't think this has given anything away, is we were in carts with somebody from the other team with Bob Doz. I was with Fat Perez, Keith was with Bob Doz, Bobby

Starting point is 01:15:16 Burger, and Biz was with Joey Coldcuts, a Vancouver boy. Well, in the sandbagger, the rematch, we're in one cart together. Me, Keith, and Yanz are a cart, and their team's in another cart, and it's, sorry, me, Keith and Yanz, me, Biz, and Keith. Keith! So I can't wait till everyone, I think it's first week of March, we're thinking, but the comments and the kind of the discussion after, people loved it, and we loved doing it with those guys,

Starting point is 01:15:40 so I hope everyone's ready for the rematch. They have 3,000 comments on their YouTube video. Almost at a million views. More than Max Homa, more than Bryson DeChambeau, people are saying the best collab that Bob does has ever done. It did get a little bit like, it got a little heated. It got very competitive and it gets even more competitive

Starting point is 01:16:01 in the Sandbagger that's coming out. So we're hoping to get a lot of their fans coming over, and I know that sometimes our listeners, they like the hockey guys, but these guys are good dudes, and it's an incredible match with guys who do this for a living. Like they are golf content kings. Well, maybe not so much anymore,

Starting point is 01:16:20 considering we've beat them, and then now you can watch the rubber match to see who are the true kings of YouTube golf. So very very special a couple days in Orlando with those boys. So guys, Game Notes, they'll be coming to you live Thursday at noon I believe. Yep, championship pregame show. So you got Murls and Armie getting you all fired up for the game. 530, the greatest bar right across the street from the garden. I think it has the chance to be one of the most electric pink Whitney parties

Starting point is 01:16:54 we've ever had based on what's going to happen a couple hours later. Also Biz, I wanted to mention and I have it right here ready to read. Oftentimes since this show began, we've had fans reach out at different times and it kind of makes you appreciate what we're able to do so much based on the reaction we get from certain people that listen to the show. And it's so gratifying and so cool for us to help out people in a way that we're just kind of having fun talking hockey, like good friends catching up every week and to have it affect people in a way that we're just kind of having fun talking hockey, like good friends catching up every week and to have it affect people in positive ways is the best feeling

Starting point is 01:17:30 we can have. So Biz was sitting in the Delta Lounge, I believe at the airport and a guy came over and dropped off this letter. I'm going to read it to you quick because Biz sent it over to the guys. He said, I listened to you guys when my life was falling apart. Just having the pod on in the background made me feel like I was back in the room. At some times I was as bad as it gets with mental health, family, booze, etc. Since then, I've quit drinking, two plus years now, and me and my family, wife and two little

Starting point is 01:17:58 girls have made it out the other side and we're doing great. You guys will never know how much comfort and support I got from just having the pod on and bringing me back to a good spot. You and Whit and all the boys saved my life. Sorry to bother you on your day off. Thank you, Nick." And Biz made it clear to us, reading something like that, man. He's got it right there. Sorry, I should have let you read it, but we would have been here for three weeks. You don't know how grateful I am. I'm more grateful that you read that than driving me home in a snow blizzard for nine hours.

Starting point is 01:18:30 Okay. But yeah, he came up and you know, he started talking to me and keep in mind, like I had every flight canceled or bumped back all week this last week. And he came up in the Delta lounge and I was leaving and then he handed me the note he said just make sure you read this and when I finally boarded my plane and read it I was like God man I texted the boys I said this is why we do it this is why we do it we're so grateful to to get our buddies together and talk hockey and the fact that it has this impact on people you know we just you know we're grateful we're grateful that you guys listen and

Starting point is 01:19:04 we're grateful that we can also make an impact on your lives, how little or how big. And Nick, we love you just like the rest of you and I'm glad to hear that you got things turned around and I'm sure your family is definitely grateful as well. So thank you to all our listeners. We love you guys and for you American listeners, it's gonna be a tough Friday morning

Starting point is 01:19:25 when I'm gloatin' in your face. Actually, I will say this too. I don't think it'll happen, but I hope it does. When Thursday night goes down and that Canadian national anthem begins, I think it would be unreal if the place went bonkers for it. I really do.

Starting point is 01:19:43 Like Chicago? I think we would look like the better people. We would look like the true adults. We're not gonna boo your anthem. This is about hockey. This is about two great nations facing off against each other. And I think that the Americans in that arena

Starting point is 01:19:58 should be pumping up the Canadian anthem and remind those Canadians who booed our anthem, this is not what we do. That would be an ideal situation for me and then get a little louder anthem and remind those Canadians who booed our anthem, this is not what we do. That would be an ideal situation for me and then get a little louder for the national anthem for America. I agree. And I would never boo the American anthem, guys, based on what your country has provided

Starting point is 01:20:15 me, the people that have sacrificed in order to provide the freedoms that I've had in the country, the United States. Just on the Canadian side of it, Jeff, you could probably have my back on this. I think that French Canadians are maybe a little bit more sensitive, especially to when Americans and your president joking about making Canada a 51st state. I think we take that to heart.

Starting point is 01:20:38 I think that given we've been such friends for such a long time and all of a sudden, the idea of imposing these tariffs and the amount of financial pain it would cause Canada, I think it just created a lot of hostility when I didn't think that there needed to be any. And that was probably the reason for the booze. Jeff, you can hop in here. That yeah.

Starting point is 01:20:59 So that was first of all, I think that would have, would have happened in any province or territory, just the nature of, the nature of, um, this administration, um, talking about essentially annexation of Canada on the tariff issue as well. Here's the one thing that, and again, like I, I would, as a, as a Canadian myself, if I were there, I would not have booed. That's my choice.

Starting point is 01:21:23 I would not have, I, I, but then I'm the guy that doesn't like anthems before games anyhow. But the one thing that you hate it. I hate it. You know, Olympics is fine. World championships, whatever, but like. Sporting of like just random sporting events on a Tuesday night. Like, no, we don't need it.

Starting point is 01:21:39 But here's the one thing that I've been, I've been trying to. To bark about since this all got caught up into hockey. Canadians don't hate Americans. Like I really hope that Americans, like our friends speaking as a Canadian here, don't think that this is Canada venting at America. All of a sudden we hate Americans. We don't hate Americans.

Starting point is 01:22:03 We've been named for decades. You don't hate anyone. Well, I mean, listen, we hate Americans. We don't hate Americans. We've been named you don't hate anyone for decades Well, I mean listen we we we we hate ourselves a lot more than we hate anybody else And you guys you guys know Canadians like don't miss can like to our To everyone, you know every American watching or listening this like Canadians do not hate Americans. That is a that that moment that you saw on Saturday as not hate Americans. That is a, that, that moment that you saw on Saturday, as distasteful as it may have been to any American watching that, please don't think that Canadians hate Americans. We don't. And I can safely say, I can speak on behalf of the majority of Canadians

Starting point is 01:22:40 and say, we don't hate America. That is vented at one very specific person and one very specific issue. Right? Like we're neighbors, we're friends, we've helped each other. We've played with each other and against each other. We fought with one another in international conflict after international conflict, we've always been two countries and two peoples that have always had each other's backs and have always supported one another. I don't think that Canadians, A, like the issue that they're booing about.

Starting point is 01:23:14 But I don't think that this is a situation where all of a sudden Canadians have decided, now we hate Americans. We don't. We don't hate Americans. We just want respect. We want respect. And I think again, like Biz, like, I think that that is just Canadians venting at one very specific person over one very specific issue. And it just happens to be the person that holds the highest office in the United States.

Starting point is 01:23:38 We're also a little bit more sensitive. And the 51st state comment, I just think it was unnecessary. Am I going to fucking boo an anthem because of it? Absolutely not. I actually think that it provided a little bit more spice to the game. I hope now that things are moving forward, I hope that there are no tariffs and I hope that there's no more conflict. I hope we could just move on from this and have treated it what it was.

Starting point is 01:24:02 What I got a kick out of, what did make me laugh is I kind of saw a senator's Twitter being like, all right, we cannot boo the anthem because Brady Kuchuk is obviously a very proud American. This could drive him out of town. I saw different sends Twitter being like, OK, boys, we cannot do this anymore in Ottawa. So what a special night we have in store, guys.

Starting point is 01:24:27 This is why we do it, to get to witness best on best, Canada, United States, in Boston, probably the best city in America to do this game. I can't wait, I know you guys are all so excited. I can't wait to see you guys and watch this game. And Jeff, as always, we appreciate you coming on. What do you got? Can I get, really quickly, as you sign off,

Starting point is 01:24:45 one thing that I wanted to make sure that I mentioned, the first time that I heard about this podcast, or that this podcast was going to be a thing was during the World Cup in 2016. When I was working with Ryan Whitney, we got to know each other, and Whit, first of all, couldn't believe that, you have tattoos, you smoke weed, holy shit,

Starting point is 01:25:02 like what the hell, I never thought, but we started talking about, cause I was doing the pod with Freach and you were asking about podcasts. You're like, yeah, I'm thinking about doing it. You remember that way? Like there's some of these conversations, walking back to the hotel from then Eric Canada center and to look at what it's done now and to hear you read that letter from a couple of seconds ago.

Starting point is 01:25:20 Like honestly guys, like the hardest thing to do in media is to build a community. People have tried, many people have failed. What you guys have done and like that letter proves it, like how much of an effect you have on people's lives. I don't think you go into any show thinking that you're going to have that effect, but just the idea of finding the others, the power of recognizing people that feel that they, they, much as they love this sport, they don't really have a place in it. You've built a community where all these people now all of a sudden feel like they are a significant part of it.

Starting point is 01:25:52 Don't ever undervalue that. That is the hardest thing to do in media. Make a vibe, make a community. And you guys have done it. And so that, the letter is you are reading it with, like I am not surprised at that whatsoever. I'm glad that that person has come out the other end, but I can guarantee you there are thousands of others that are just like that

Starting point is 01:26:12 because this community that you guys have built here is Bravo. Take a bow. Thank you so much, Jeff. And now we have the chance to also become the kings of YouTube golf. So very special things for Chivlix right now. And final, Game Notes, Thursday, noon, get fired up at the office, getting ready for the game with Murls and Armie, Pascha and Gee, and then Friday to recap the madness or what hopefully is a United States win on American soil. We'll be back to you. I hope it's up by 11 a.m., maybe noon, same exact thing as today.

Starting point is 01:26:42 I love all you guys and I love all of the United States hockey program players Coaches refs. I don't care. Let's get Thursday shove biz in a lot of where can I clear up one little thing before I have French Canadians tweeting at me? I am French Canadian and also my mother was born in Chicago. So I do have a little bit of a man Oh, he's trying to say he can win no matter what This conflict that's going on. I want peace. This is Switzerland.

Starting point is 01:27:11 He's got 19 favorite teams. Half my family's in Livonia, Michigan. Can I get part of this win if USA wins? I'm not asking for part of the win, I'm Canadian. I'm saying, stop saying it's the 51st state. Or actually when we win on actually, when we win Thursday, we're gonna change all your states to profits. You say, you say, you say.

Starting point is 01:27:31 Oh Canada. Love you guys. Bye, bye, end it, end it. Come home and native Barney blue. Oh, that's a loss for you guys. Nice, end it. That's a loss. No, it's not.

Starting point is 01:27:41 No, it's not. It's really so hard to wait I don't know any other way Even if I could go away I don't know any other way It's really so hard to wait I'll get you some love

Spittin Chiclets - Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 545: Featuring Jeff Marek

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