Spittin Chiclets - Spittin' Chiclets Episode 97: Featuring Chris Johnston + Frankie Borrelli

Episode Date: July 6, 2018

On this week's episode, the guys were joined by Chris Johnston of Sportsnet to break down the John Tavares signing in Toronto. The boys were also joined by Frankie Borrelli to hear how he is doing after his favorite player left him and the Islanders. The fellas also touch on some of the big name free agents who have switched teams this off season.You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/schiclets

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hello everybody welcome to episode conor mcdavittin' Chicklets, brought to you by Bastl Sports. Let's say hello to the fellas. Producer, Mikey Grinelli. What's up, boys? Paul Bissonette, wherever he may be this time of year. In Vancouver, British Columbia. Nice. Buddy Ryan Whitney, somewhere on the outskirts of Boston. How are you? How are we doing? Got a couple of guests, a lot of Tavares talk. That's going to be coming a little later.

We got the head Muppet of headquarters, Frankie Borelli, joining us. And we also have one of the premier hockey journalists up in Canada, Chris Johnston. He's going to come on and break down the Tavares signing, how it all happened, and give us his insight. He's a great reporter. You should already be following him. If you're not, we'll give him a shout-out here as well. But some other sign-ins, boys. Obviously, we talked about about culver chuck already um what do you got wits who's the big who's the biggest sign that you have right now that you know we haven't talked about yet

put me on the spot put me on the spot dude i don't do it i didn't even this if you blink you missed one joe thornton signed a year contract with san jose late last night i don't think he was going anywhere though i think he was kind of waiting to see if he was going to take a little less money if they can move over jt i've heard rumblings before that the owner has like told him or it's known joe you're getting a contract year and here every year until you don't want to play anymore which totally makes sense for what fair enough um very good care of himself he just wants him to score he just wants him to score four goals, that's all. I don't know if that was a chirp from a Bruins fan to a former Bruin,

but I respect it nonetheless. No, because he said if I scored four goals, I'd pull my dick out. I was in one game. I thought he meant on the season. Yeah, he wants to see his hurdle. There's the hose talk. He signed two. July 1st is pretty cool.

I mean, this year was obviously kind of overshadowed by the Tavares watch and what was happening there. But still, as the signings came in that day, I just noticed the real deal James Neal goes to Calgary, who we talked about the trade getting Hannafin. That's a pretty big move to get a score at not a crazy price i think he's it was five six five seven a year for five years so that's one that kind of caught my eye um it's just a cool time to see how many changes there are i mean even if it's not the

biggest name players you're still like oh my god like that guy's you know here's a good player here's another good player they're gonna make a difference. I think the first thing, guys, is when you look at a free agent signing is, is the term too long, and is he getting paid too much? And I think with the James Neal one, I think maybe some people were a little concerned about the term, but I think that's a fairly reasonable cap hit for a guy who you know can score goals. And, I mean, that's a that's

a pretty decently offensive team now they've done a good job of solidifying that top six so calgary uh you got to tip your cap to them they've made some very strong moves and i mean they got mike smith and net too and they got a decent back end i don't think they lose too much with losing dougie hamilton i thought last year was probably a career year for him as far as goals are concerned but that team's looking a little healthy moving forward. Yeah, snipers don't grow on trees. Grinnell, you've got the list there, the top 10 free agents that were on the board.

Who else is out there? All right, so let's roll through. I mean, you have James Van Reemstuyck, who signed a five-year, $35 million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. What do you guys think of that? I mean, he goes back to the Flyers. Claude Giroux sent out a tweet

welcoming his buddy back. That's a guy who had a hell of a year last year. Frankie, what was his term? Frankie. Don't cut that. He called you Frankie. That's great. Franelli Borelli.

Two Italian little fucks. We just talked to Frankie Borelli, my boy Grinelli. Sorry, what's the term on the goddamn deal? Beautiful. It's five years, $35 million. Okay, so $7 million a year for a guy who had a monster year last year in Toronto. You pretty much figured he was going to be gone. But Philly had a sick offense, and then they throw him in the mix this year.

So they've got to be really confident with their group up front. And Toronto's one of the only teams you'll ever see that lose a 40-goal score in Van Rievesdijk. And they're not even worried in the least bit with Tavares. But still, that's a huge help for Philly. And boys, I'm going to say this. I think they're in a very similar boat to LA. Maybe not as old, but they have a small window here. I think they have the next two, three years

where they need to do some damage with Cheru getting a little bit older, Voracek. And these guys are playing hard miles. A guy like Simmons, these guys are heavily relied upon during their seasons. I mean, we saw it this year with Philly. Their top six was a joke. They got most of the scoring done. So, you know, these guys are going to start to get older,

and those contracts are going to hurt later, I guess, in the term. So, I mean, moving forward, they've got to add, I'd probably say, one more D to the mix and get their goaltending situation figured out, and they could be dangerous moving forward. I'd be surprised if Wayne Simmons is still on the roster when the season starts. Basically, he was the subject of a lot of pre-draft trade chatter, and now that they signed JV out of that deal, they're probably going to maybe try to make a little more.

Yeah, but here's where I don't think it makes sense for them RA is they have him at such a good deal right now I think he's making four million bucks maybe four and a half he might even be making less than that he's such a valuable guy to have on that uh that smallest salary now I I believe he's got one or two years left on his deal unless someone someone's offering something crazy, I think you keep him and try to roll with him for the next couple years. Well, you're talking about the flies and making sense in the same sentence. Well, also, Simmons did have kind of an off year last year, so you see if he bounces back. But that's a guy who's played hard hockey for a pretty long time. So you wonder if he's going to end up slowing down or if last year was just kind of a fluke yeah i'd love to see him well now saying that we say he

had an off year based on what he's done before but if he's only making i mean his cap hit is just under four million if he's putting up you know around 20 goals and you know 30 assists that's very good value at four million yes has he produced what he has in the past absolutely not but uh all right i'm not i'm not dissing that uh that take either maybe he's very valuable to trade at making such little money for for a team that's maybe a little tied up in the cap situation and they're trying to make a run in playoffs for next year yeah and it was somebody valid, too. Like, this 9 million fucking room is like, well, Frankie said we get to him later,

but he mentioned, oh, this one said that one. You can find literally any opinion you want online. I think it might have been Frank Cervelli. I think he's TSN, right? It was someone whose reputation is not known as a roomist. That's why I brought it up because I usually don't bring roomists up. Well, he's on the last year of his contract so i'd imagine come uh trade deadline that that there is a possibility yeah all right for now what's up next who's done who's the next big name all right next up we have uh paul statsney who agreed to a three-year deal with the golden

that will pay him a reported 6.5 million dollars a year over how many years three years you got three um i love stassny paulie walnuts is a very good person i'm so happy he got paid he deserves it after that that season he had last year especially how clutch he was in playoffs uh as far as signing him for for that much, I know the value for centers is so high. That's the other one where I think that value at two years would have been perfect, but of course they've got to get that extra year to get him over there. Yeah, it's probably maybe a little bit more than I thought they would assign him for, but he definitely established himself prior to the playoffs,

and then in the playoffs playing for Winnipeg, he definitely brought his game to that next level. I mean, I know Winnipeg didn't win, but there's definitely a little bit of cachet, I think, when you sign a guy coming off a good run like that. His stock only went up, but hey, good for him, man. And the team he just knocked out, too, he's going to sign with them. I was actually surprised this deal got done because the World Cup's going on and that kid lives and dies. He's probably cranking into soccer games all day long. I thought he'd be like, I'll sign when the World Cup's over when I can concentrate. But love the player. Two-way centerman, great hands, great passer for Vegas to go out. And Vegas has some money to spend.

I mean, you saw him re-up Ryan Reeves. That was a big deal for them. They wanted to make sure they kept him. And Stastny's made, let's look at this. He had a five-year deal for 33 million. Then he signed a four-year deal for 28 million. If my math's correct, that's 61 million. And then he just signs another one. No, then he signed three years, 2.5. Oh, those were his, those were his,. Those were his entry-level deal. He'll probably make close to 90. Yep, yep. And then another 20. He's going to make about 85, 90 million.

Couldn't happen to a better guy. Perfect wits. Right about just under 85 million he's going to come off that career. Couldn't happen to a better guy. And because, I mean, he's a hell of a player and people love being his teammate you see how much of an impact he made when he went to winnipeg down the stretch run for them so i think vegas maybe people say it's a little bit of an overpayment but biz you're right you need centerman uh they're the highest they're the most valuable players i believe now besides the goalie what no i was going to jump in speaking of sentiment probably one name we haven't even

brought up yet huge trade um ryan o'reilly of sentiment, probably one name we haven't even brought up yet. Huge trade. Ryan O'Reilly getting traded to St. Louis. That happened since our last show, correct? They traded. Oh, I wish if you could pull it up. Let's see if I can pull it up real quick. Cage Thompson, Patrick Berglund, a first round pick. There's another forward in the mix, too.

Damn it. Either way, we'll think it. We'll get to it. Ryan O'Reilly. Sabotka. Vladimir Sabotka. Vladimir Sabotka. So you see Buffalo get a huge return.

Ryan O'Reilly was actually owed about $7 million just the other day. How's that for a day? Wake up, get your check for $7 million. Have a day for yourself. So they wanted to make sure that trade happened before that. I think it did. I'm pretty sure it did. St. Louis is going to end up paying that. have a day for yourself so they wanted to make sure that trade happened for before that i think it did i'm pretty sure it did st louis and it's gonna end up paying that and then they also add in tyler bozak so that's all of a sudden a team that adds two centermen um to go you know they

have a they have a good group up front now they're even deeper and that gives st louis a chance to really kind of take that next step with those two players. So guys, quick question. You're saying that St. Louis is going to be on the hook for that signing bonus for O'Reilly? I'm pretty sure that... And they sent over all that stuff? Yes. They sent a lot. Tage Thompson, Vladimir Sabotka,

Patrick Berglund, a 2019 first rounder, a 2021 second rounder, and yes, Paul, because they got him before the end of the day on Sunday, St. Louis was on the hook for his bonus as well. So that's a pretty expensive haul for one guy, no matter

how good he is. And for St. Louis' GM Doug Armstrong, I think that this is a move where he's like, listen, our core group is getting a little older now too. We have a very good back end another team that probably has to figure out their goalie situation but their window is closing they got uh they got a few older guys there i mean taras tanko's still still in good

shape i mean steiner's getting a little bit older but uh still still a group that could potentially make a run so them solidifying the middle of the ice obviously with picking up o'reilly and then getting bozak who i think is going to be a very reliable third line center um you know that they're going to be uh the west is going to be tough holy shit st louis has a squad all right boys next up we have uh michael grabner joining uh biz's arizona coyotes for uh three years for reported uh 3.35 million uh average annual value what do you think boys i'll chime in here i thought the coyotes have made some very good moves uh chica continues to to to do a good job there obviously solidifying their number one defenseman oliver Oliver Ekman Larson and at a cap it of

8.25 which I think is a very good deal for uh for a top defenseman uh you know that's uh that that's huge for the Coyotes I think that the Grabner deal is just one where hey you know if if he if he even if he just plays okay you didn't really give him a shit ton of money it's for three years i mean he's he's been reliable for for a while now he's got great speed i'd imagine that he's going to adapt uh coyotes are going to have like a a decent up front where they have a very good back end and some very solid goaltending so uh we didn't really stretch out too much as far as the money's concerned but great job by chica and coyotes cup cup favorites at least in the west grabner uh i mean he's had a couple 30 goal years he's fast he can pk get to if he could score on breakaways he'd get 50 a year because he gets

so many of them uh big time shirt shirt off picture guy on instagram i've noticed uh body's pretty legit gotta give him credit on that but a lot of lot of shirtless guy on instagram i've noticed uh body's pretty legit gotta give him credit on that but a lot of lot of shirtless pics on instagram so scottsdale will be perfect for him but he's got like prison tattoos and shit oh yeah i think he's all all tatted up yeah bugsy malone style um but yeah i mean that coyotes have done they've made some noise biz. I mean, you saw them with the finish they had to last year, and now they're doing this. Galchenyuk, I mean, it's going to be a pretty exciting start of the year for you and your radio and TV crew to be watching this club

and see how they can be. Well, and, R.A., to chime in, I want to get your thoughts. They got Jarmelson locked up for another two years. I think he's got one year left on his deal, and then they got him two more years at $5 million. A lot of money, but, man, he is a very underrated defenseman, a good shutdown DRA. How do you feel about that?

It's funny, man. He must be a mind reader. I was literally just going to bring his name up. Dude, that's an unbelievable price, I think, that Arizona got him for. I mean, two years, $10 million, $5 million a year. I think other teams might have given him six and a half, maybe closer to seven. He was probably very underappreciated, maybe not by Blackhawks fans, but playing in Chicago underneath Duncan Keith and I know his name.

Seabrook. Seabrook, right. Playing under those two guys, I think he probably got overshadowed a bit. Like you said, Paul, it's good for Arizona. This is a guy who's voluntarily staying there, too. I think that's good for the franchise. You know, segueing into our next player, I don't know if he was next on the list, Grinelli, but, you know, Chalmerson's getting five million a year.

Now, Drew Doughty signed eight years, 11 mil. He's going to be making two times as much as him. Like, I mean, is he two times the player? Well, R.A., you touched on whether he'd get six and a half, seven. No, he doesn't put enough offense up to get that. What happened was Arizona gave him two times five because they didn't want to give him term, which I think is a smart move because then he's got this year left and then two more on top of that.

He's getting a little older. He's got a lot of miles on his tires too. He played all those Stanley Cup playoff series. I would assume he's got over 100 playoff games. So I think it's a smart move on a guy who's had a few injuries the last couple years. So that's why he probably got overpaid a little bit on money wise. And to go back to Doughty quickly, yes, he is two times as good as him. I would say that. I think that Drew Doughty is yes he is two times as good as him I would I would say that I

think that Drew Doughty is the best defenseman in the NHL um you know he could have got more money so he is giving as crazy as it sounds 11 years 88 million uh is that what it was no sorry eight years 88 million I'm sorry about that so he could have on the open market gotten 13 so um I think he's that good I think he's worth that money and it's a no brainer for LA to lock him up. Wow. You think he really would have got 13 on the open market, huh? Somebody would have paid him. Probably. Yeah. I would, I would be willing to bet that he probably would have gotten that much. I mean, what Tavares turned down, I heard 13, 13 and a half. I think if you could take one or the other, who would you take?

Doughty or Carlson? Doughty all day. I love Carlson, just different players. What about you, Biz? It depends on what value. If you're going to put them both at $11 million, True, that's a good point. It's a little difficult because I think that Carlson brings a little bit more

offensively and maybe carries the play even more. But Doughty, he's's eaten 20 30 minutes a clock every night uh he's he's better defensively than carlson is i mean carlson carries the play a lot but but nonetheless you look at he battles in front of the net he throws hits he's engaged every night oh i was such a smart player that's such a fucking bargain for $11 million. And I feel like L.A. would be lost without him on the back end in regards to he just kind of carries the flow. Oh, he carries the entire back end there.

He has. He'll continue to. He plays every single game like it's a playoff game. And it's so fun to watch him. He mixes it up after whistles. He's in scrums. His hair's flying. No teeth. He mixes it up after whistles he's in scrums his hair's flying no teeth he's screaming at guys he's intense he's he's the ultimate defenseman that i i i think

someone would have given him 13 million bucks a year i do he's a natural just as far as the way he plays and and i mean it's probably a uh it's probably a blessing in disguise that he's so carefree off the ice because he's always engaged. If he wasn't able to turn it off after games, he would be fucking toast. One other sign, and I think we'd be remiss if we didn't mention it, Chris Kunitz is going to haunt Whitney for another season. He re-upped – not re-upped, I'm sorry.

He signed a one-year deal with Chicago, one year, one million dollars. I don't know if you got to worry about him going, getting another covering this year, Wits, but he is going to be around to haunt you for another year on Twitter memes and all that shit. Well, I do believe that our buddy Barstool Chief, Chicago Blackhawks blogger and fan, he's upset right now with what's going on in Chicago. Many Blackhawks fans are saying, even Firestand Bowman. What are these moves? Who are these people? Why are we signing Brandon Manning?

What is going on here? All you have to know is that you have Chris Kunitz now and I'm me and he's him. So you'll be in the conference finals this year minimum. If not the cup finals, don't worry. Don't worry. You'll be third round, second round, second round. Maybe, maybe is the minimum. but third round of cup finals. And I watch it and I eat it and I drink more wine while I do it.

And speaking of Chris's wits, we're about to bring in Chris Johnston, one of, I think, Canada's preeminent hockey journalist. It was a pleasure. He breaks down the Tavares sign in the Islanders. So now we're going to cut it to him. This interview was brought to you by SeatGeek. Buying tickets can be complicated and confusing, but there's a simpler way to do it with SeatGeek. SeatGeek is the smartest, easiest way to get tickets for every type of live event,

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That's promo code Hockey for $10 off your first SeatGeek purchase. SeatGeek. Right seat, right now, right from your phone. We now bring in my buddy, CJ Chris Johnston. He is the senior hockey writer for Sportsnet up in Canada. He's an insider to NHL Network, where I work, not a big deal. And writer for Sportsnet up in Canada. He's an insider to NHL Network, where I work, not a big deal. And he does headlines of hockey in Canada, an upcoming insider. I would say the newest insider to the game of hockey. Thanks for joining us.

That's a nice introduction, Wade. Thanks for having me, man. I can do introductions. I'll tell you that right now. So I also want to say that the main reason we're having this guy on, besides that he's a beauty going to get crushed at his lake, he is also the man that broke the article after Tavares signed of how it all went down. It's on Sportsnet. I would check it out if I were you. So, I mean, you were around all of it. You saw it go down. Were you surprised to see him end up in Toronto? If somebody told you a year ago he'd be there, would you have said no at the time, you think?

I probably would have a year ago, for sure. I mean, as it got closer to when John had to make a decision, I think certainly once he got into that period where he was talking to teams, I think all bets kind of go off then because, you know, emotions come into play. You don't know what he's hearing behind the scenes. Clearly, if you get that close to July 1st, you are thinking about leaving.

I don't think any of us really thought this was the sort of guy that would leave Long Island, you know, just given how he is. So, you know, I was surprised, or I am surprised, you know, looking back that far to where it is. But, you know, I hope more guys do this over time. I know there's some risks for a player to go to free agency. It's easier to lock up for the big money like we've seen Drew Dowdy do and

Oliver Ekman-Larsen, a bunch of those guys. I think it's interesting when guys go to free agency and look out for themselves a little bit and do what's right for them. Chris, it seems like a lot of not from Canada, but basically Islanders fans are really ripping into Tavares.

Should they be maybe looking at their organization a little more? It seems like the Islanders are catching unscathed out of this because, you know, it seems to me they should have maybe read the tea leaves better that this guy's going to have no more opportunities like this in his career. And he's probably going to want to go to a team, you know, better equipped to win right now. And should they have traded them or is that something that, you know,

they shouldn't get any criticism for? No, I think the Islanders deserve some criticism here. Not for how they've done things the last six, seven weeks after Lula Amarillo got hired. But, you know, going back to nine seasons, they've had John Tavares on their team. I mean, this guy had a contract. He was making five and a half million bucks. He was a way better player than that for the last six seasons where he played on that deal. And, you know, they didn't do enough to build a team around him that had a chance to win.

And I think, first of all, had they done that, the chances of keeping him would have been way higher. But he's played 24 playoff games in his whole career. And, you know, careers are short, unfortunately, for guys in our sport. And, you know, to me, it's hard to blame him to take this kind of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where everything's lined up. The Leafs are actually getting good again. You know, have good young players.

Tavares can come to Toronto. Doesn't have to be the star. Doesn't have to do everything. You know what I mean? It's not all on his shoulders. You know, make a big contract and potentially win a Stanley Cup. So, you know, I don't think the Islanders of the last nine seasons did enough for him.

And, you know, even this last year, I mean, we talked about last summer, you know, they knew he was going into his final year. I mean, I just didn't see, you know, they knew he was going into his final year. I mean, I just didn't see enough urgency in the way that they were trying to do things to make them happy. And, and I think ultimately that's, that's what cost them is that, you know, they could have had him extended a year ago had they been, you know, a little bit bolder with, with their approach. And, and I know in the past, ownership's been an issue, but you know, these new owners seem, you know,

like they have some money that they want to spend, and I imagine they'll still do that without John. I'm not going to tell a fan how to think. You love a player, you invest in him, you're buying his jersey. I can understand if there's hurt to see him go away. Back in the days when I was a fan, it would have been the same thing, but I do think the Islanders, if we're looking at it a little bit neutrally you know deserve most of the heat here for for letting it get to this point and chris like uh i mean as far as a john to their standpoint i haven't been following up on on much

of this stuff because we don't really talk about hockey much on this podcast but that's why i love it yeah how much of it was him realizing that tor Toronto's window for probably the next four or five years, they're probably going to be one of the front runners to compete for the Stanley Cup. I know they probably need to add one more piece on the back end. But man, their top nine are pretty ridiculous. Yeah, I think that was a huge part of it. And certainly, Biz, when they went down to L.A. and had that meeting with them, a big part of what they were laying out during that meeting was showing them,

okay, this is what the team looks like with you next season, but also how they see things evolving over the coming years. And they were trying to really hammer home, you sign a seven-year deal with us, you're going to have a chance to win every one of those years. This isn't a one-year deal with us, you're going to have a chance to win every one of those years. This isn't a one-shot thing. And, you know, I think that's important because, you know, man, our sport is unpredictable. Weird shit happens. I mean, I didn't have Washington and Vegas playing for the Cup this year at the start

of the playoffs, but I could have made some money if I hadn't known that. But, you know, I do think that they've given them a lot of, you know, chances at the lottery here. And, you know, that was part of what sold him. The Leafs really focused just on the hockey side of things, trumped up the fact that he's going to play with Mitch Marner, which I think has some appeal, a rising player in this league, probably a more dynamic winger than Tavares has really ever spent time with in the NHL,

and sold him on the idea that no other team is going to be built that forward the way the Leafs can be. I feel like it might be a little bit of a blessing in disguise. Maybe they didn't land Stamkos and waited another year and got Tavares. Another question I had is the reason these meetings are so long is so Toronto

could dress up all the endorsement deals on the back end so Tavares could take a little bit of a pay cut and only take $11 million? I'm sure his agents are doing that if the leaf's worth themselves. And it's funny, Biz, I think they learned a bit from the Stamkos experience because when they had him come in, they had the CEO of Canadian Tire,

which is a big company up here in Canada, in there, the mayor of Toronto, and they were trying to sell a lot of that off-ice stuff to him. And I think it turned him off, frankly, with what was happening. And look, why would he have left PAP anyway? When we look at it from a little bit of distance, that's a great team. It was a great team then. It's a great place to live.

He's got a lot there. It would have taken a lot for him to leave well i mean i was partly joking but but i mean the the i wouldn't say the rumors but the story was that they had a a shit ton of endorsement deals lined up for stamkos on top of him getting his his salary because obviously that you know it's not as lucrative um you know when when you have to worry about like the the what do you call it, the tax break, right? Because you're losing 13% in Canada based on Tampa Bay. So they have to overcompensate for that.

And then apparently all these advertising deals were in place on the back end. Yeah, well, I think Tavares will be able to do as many of those as he wants. And I'm not sure, you know, how how he's wired if that's something he's going to pursue but you know I even look at it I was just down in Vegas at the award show and and bumped into Darcy Tucker down there you know he had a few good seasons in Toronto certainly never won a cup or anything like that and he's still making a pretty good living you know being Darcy Tucker and then you know working with clients of the Leafs or you know he told me he goes by suites during games and and then you and mixes with the people and all that.

I mean, John Tavares, if he wants, now that he's chosen to come home, if this team has success with him here, I mean, he's set. I mean, he's already set. He just signed $77 million. I'm sure that'll be enough to feed his kids and his kids' kids. But he can make a ton of money the rest of his life just just by doing this and and you know choosing to come up here in a city that you know frankly there probably should be another team there's there's so much interest in in hockey here yeah and and the the

cool thing uh Tavares did I thought was you know he he let out um a tweet about you know thanking the Islanders and their fans and their management for what they did for him. And then he said, but he's so excited to become a Maple Leaf and live out a dream. And then he sent that picture out and he's sleeping. He looks like he's probably eight years old. He's got all the Maple Leafs betting and stuff. It's a pretty cool picture to see. So my question is, it's a dream come true.

That's amazing. But how quickly, if he actually didn't perform and what will the expectations be if it's not 100 points, does all of a sudden the crowd get on him? And I don't think it'll be the first year, but could you ever see a time when it does turn on him a little bit? Or am I more thinking the Montreal Canadiens style of fandom? Well, it could happen.

It's going to take the team sucking, though. I think as long as the team is having some success, even if he's not producing up to his contract, I think he'll largely go by without too much criticism. But if they get a season, say, a couple years down the road where Matthews gets a big injury and Tavares isn't doing enough to carry them and they're maybe going to miss the playoffs, something along those kind of lines, I mean, no one's immune from it.

That's part of being in a place where the sport, where people those kind of lines. I mean, no one's immune from it. That's part of being in a place where, you know, the sport, where people love it that much. And, you know, I think there's tons of other cities around the league where that would happen too. But, you know, he's got a bliss period for sure. Even if he's 10 games out of the gate next year, he's got one goal and three assists, or he's not lighting the world on fire, I still think he'll have the support of people just because things like that tweet.

I mean, John's been in the league nine years, and I've been covering the league that entire time. I never saw that kind of emotion out of him or sentimentality or whatever you want to call it. I mean, he's opening up to people, and I think that's going to play well for Torontonians who for a lot of years saw the best players. Wayne Gretzky was the least fan as a kid. He never came to Toronto. Eric Lindros only got to Toronto at the end of his career, but he was a big Leafs fan as a kid.

So many great hockey players grew up around the Toronto area, and so few of them have played for the Leafs. John Tavares is kind of everyone's dream that's been a Leafs fan all rolled into one, and I think people are going to go out of their way to give him the benefit of the doubt no matter what's going on. He's obviously a greats fan all rolled into one. And I think people are going to go out of their way to give him the benefit of the doubt, no matter what's going on. He's obviously a great player, no duh. But, you know, at the same time, he's just one guy. You know, the Toronto team, you know, they had a nice run last year,

but they're still obviously a pretty flawed team. I think that D-Need work, Frederick Anderson. Best forwards in the league. No doubt. Well, you know, you throw maybe Florida in there too. But anyways, you know, the goaltender, Freddie Anderson, he had a nice regular season, but he was probably not as good as I would think the front office wanted him to be in the playoffs.

Do you see them making any change there, or are they going to give him another try this year and hope he can kind of recapture what he was doing in Anaheim? He's definitely going to get another crack at it. And I think, you know know he's in a tough spot because of that d you mentioned i mean the leafs give up a ton of shots and a ton of chances and so you know he's become one of those goalies that they can win 5-4 with and it doesn't mean he played poorly uh it's just because they they really did trade chances a lot last season

that's fun hockey to watch actually you know not enough of it in the league at times. But, you know, I don't see any scenario where he's not their number one. But, you know, they do have a couple guys, including Garrett Sparks, who won the AHL Bowl Tender of the Year, and then that team won the Calder Cup with the Toronto Marlies. You know, I think he'll probably be the backup next season. And they might, you know, give Freddie Anderson a lighter lighter workload which is something we've seen other teams do so so maybe you see a little bit more of splitting of the crease and you know once you get into that territory if if freddie really struggles and

garrett's playing well you might almost have a grubauer holpe situation where you can see down the road he's not starting some big games uh but you know he's still got a pretty firm grasp on that job. And, you know, the things the Leafs are trying to do for sure, they recognize they've got to make some moves on the blue line over time. I think they're trying to be careful not to make the wrong one. They don't want to make a version of a Taylor Hall for Adam Larson kind of trade and, you know, regret it for the next 10 years and, you know, watch one of,

you know, if it's William Nylander or Mitch Marner, if they were to trade one of their, you know, watch one of, you know, if it's William Nylander or Mitch Marner, if they were to trade one of their, you know, their good young forwards and see him go and win an MVP somewhere else or, you know, have a big career. So, you know, I think that they're not as good at dress goaltending, but they're still on the lookout on the blue line. And speaking of the Leafs, it's funny. It seemed like just yesterday we were talking about his four goal debut,

and now we're talking about his contract here, Austin Matthews. Does another team come along and offer sheet this guy? And if not, why not? How would you not offer sheet Austin Matthews if you could? Well, the good news for the Leafs, they still have a year before someone can offer sheet him, and I would be surprised if they don't extend him well before that. And, you know, for him, I mean, look, at least they're going to have some salary cap issues.

Every good team does. I mean, that's the problem. You assemble all this good talent, and then you've got to pay them, and it's hard to fit everybody in. But I think with him, I don't see it being that hard of a negotiation. I think they're more or less going to give him what he wants. I don't think they're going to fight him. I think they're going to get him on an eight-year deal.

It's a little more interesting how they handle Mitch Marner and William Nylander. Nylander, now he needs his contract right now, which is the difference between him and Marner. And someone could theoretically offer sheet William Nylander. We just don't see it in the league. I think that the trouble is you got to give up the draft picks if you end up getting the guy. And you usually have to overpay even even for good players because you have to give the team that has them a reason not to match and so you know I think most teams sort of start doing the math on that and they don't like the way it looks you know I wonder about Ottawa this year if someone maybe goes after Mark Stone uh just given all the chaos and

with you know around the Senators and how good a player Stone is and the fact that he can be out there right now. But I don't think the Leafs will expose themselves to Matthews. As soon as they get through this free agent window, I'm sure priority one is getting him signed to an extension and having it not even be in the air that he might leave in the next, whatever, eight, ten years. Well, Chris, since Toronto loves the drama and all these Leafs fans are probably drooling

over the fact we've been talking about them, if I told you right now you could only keep Marner or Nylander, who would you keep? Whoa. I know, I know. And people are going to be ripping on you online, and I can't wait. Because there's no right answer.

You're fucked. There isn't. You are fucked. I mean, seriously. I would probably keep Marner. When you're fucked there is and you are fucked i mean seriously i i would probably keep marner when you're younger i think he has a little bit more offensive upside but by any stretch am i not down on william d lander i mean he struggled to win the playoffs we saw that from matthews too but i i've just watched him enough during his time in the nhl to know that you know he's going to

another level still and he's been a 60 point. I could see him being sort of 75, 80, which is pretty good in, you know, the game nowadays and really good. And, you know, the fact that you can hopefully have them all together if you're Toronto is that's how you're going to win. I mean, you might have some weaknesses on your blue line, but you can roll out a group of forwards now, including John Tavares, and no one else can remotely match or very few teams can, that's how you do it.

But, man, I wouldn't want to have to choose between them at this stage. I don't think – Well, Chris, Toronto can't enjoy anything. They just got the biggest free agent signing of probably the last, what, century for them? I guess probably in their existence. And then now all of a sudden the conversation moves to, you know, who we keep in Marner or Nylander.

Well, let's face it. Some of my colleagues do. Like on July 1st I was working the show, and then a few of us went out for a beer afterwards. And the talk at the table of all these guys is like, wow, there's no way Matthews and Tavares are going to coexist together in ice time. And I'm like,

I'm like, we're three hours. Did they at least just sign this guy? Like, what the fuck? I almost think Matthews is probably ecstatic. Cause now he gets the easier line matchups. He's he's,

I would assume that he's going to drop the second line center and he's going to be fucking roasting a lot of these guys. Exactly. And he'll probably play power play with John, and they usually play different spots, so I think there's a fit there. I mean, to me, it's a home run, and I don't see any – I mean, look, you want to win a Stanley Cup if you're in the NHL. Auston Matthews had a better chance today than he did last week

with having Tavares as a teammate. There's lots of money to go around. They're all going to get rich and just rip the league apart. I mean, but anyway, it's a mindset that you hit on, Biz. Like, some fans go there because they see it on Twitter. And, you know, some of my fellow reporters, they just can't let things be nice for even one day on, you know, we're still two months from a game,

and they're already debating how this is going to blow up and go wrong. And I just think that's crazy. Yeah, it's insane and I think the the cool thing was that I think both Matthews and Tavares look at it like oh I don't have to carry the team so the same way you're saying for Matthews he's relieved but Tavares also says all right I got another stud I think maybe Matthews doesn't even realize how good he is. Now we have this top-two center combo that's as good as any in the league, I would say. But if I were to ask you, what is it, 2018? And we're big into predictions on this show because we're right so often.

If you've ever heard my predictions, I've been on fire. So I'm going to make you tell me, come 2025, what do you think John Tavares' legacy is with the Maple Leafs? I think his legacy will be that he's the guy that came home and helped them win a Stanley Cup for the first time in 50-something years. You know, I think that he's going to be seen as the one player that chose to do it, you know, in a league where we don't see the stars move around so much, at least not the guys that have a choice over it.

And, you know, I think he's going to be remembered forever for that. And you're right. I think it's great he doesn't have to be the only guy. That's probably why some of the other names I mentioned didn't come. I mean, it's like being Connor McDavid Edmonton right now. Like, he just had a great season and the Oilers still finished where they did. I mean, there's just not enough around the guy. You know, in addition to being the best player in the league, it's almost like he has to be a superhero to lift an entire team. And I think that's hard to do in hockey. So, you know, I think that this is a great move for Tavares

with the way the Leafs are set up. I know it's, man, it's got to be tough. I've seen a lot of shit online, people burning jerseys. I mean, it's hard to put yourself in that position. Those people are peasants. Oh, they are peasants. Pigeons. Pigeons. Pheasants. All of they are peasants. Pigeons. Pigeons.

Pheasants. All of the above. That's doggy stuff. Chris, before we went live. I'm sorry. Go ahead, Chris. They're looking for attention, too. That's what I hate.

It's like, fair enough, you're upset, but fuck off. Looking for the retweets. It's all about that action on Twitter. CJ, you know that. Oh, God. I'm on Twitter. It's Hockey Writer Christmas right now. I'm driving to a cottage.

No Twitter, no nothing, no work. That's actually, you beat me to the punch. You mentioned before we went live that you're on your way to the cottage. I'm obsessed with hearing about Canadian cottages. Now, obviously, we have lakes and ponds in the wing that we go to, but there's some about a Canadian cottage, there's some alert to it. If you were to say, what and ponds in the wing that we go to, but there's some about Canadian cottages, some alerts. If you were to say, what three things make up the essence of the Canadian cottage life?

What are those three things? No cell phone service because most of them are in a remote enough place that you can't even get a signal if you want it. Lots of beer and great tunes, man. And we set up nets we could

shoot on because we're all working on our game always if you're Canadian. Well, this is a bunch of hockey writers. We do it every single year. Pierre Lebrun, if any of you know him, works at TSN up here. He always hosts us and throws out the stakes and get into the red wine and tell lies

and talk about hockey. It's fun. Big question is, do you get the invite to Uncle Bob's, or is his cottage too far, or what? I've never been there. It's funny. Uncle Bob's son, Sean, works with me at Sportsnet. We're good buddies. But I don't know if maybe the TSN-Sportsnet rivalry has kept my invite in the mail,

but I haven't got one yet. Is Uncle Bob kind of like where someday you hope to be, where he can actually sit at the cottage and just people will call him and give him news? He doesn't have to do shit besides sit there, have a couple drinks, and wait for the news to come to him? Oh, man. The Bob father.

I don't hide from this. That's like my ultimate goal in life is to get there. And I don't know if it's possible, but that guy is the king of the business I'm in, largely focusing on news around the league and stuff like that. He's done a great job of it for a long time and made a lot of money relative to what we can make on our side of the equation, and he's just a great guy. So, yeah, that's the dream, and he's retiring in a couple years. So we'll see if I can stick at it and keep employed.

Chris, I mean, to go back to the hockey talk, years so we'll see if I can stick at it and keep employed Chris and Chris oh sorry go ahead Biz Chris um I mean to go back to the hockey talk now is it safe to say that maybe the Leafs will have no captain for another season because it would maybe be a little uncomfortable Tavares comes right in gets a C I know they went went a year without giving it to Matthews now I can't imagine Matthews will be pissed not getting it but but would it be a little sensitive dropping it right on Johnny T right away? Yeah, I think it would. I mean, to me, if they were going to do it, they probably would have made a bang and did it right at his first press

conference there. And, you know, obviously that didn't happen, you know, and talked a little bit to the agents for John. Like, it wasn't brought up at all in in that period where they were interviewing and they had that meeting and all that so you know i don't i don't think the leafs think it's that important to have a captain uh or at least not important enough that they want to force it and you know i still believe probably it's austin matthews uh you know not right now but you, we'll see how this year plays out. Wow, you think you get that before Johnny T?

I do. But, I mean, it's a tough read. You know, I'm not in the room, so I don't really know. But I get the sense that Austin really has been the alpha dog, even as young as he is in his first two years in the league. I mean, he scored four goals on an opening night. He wasn't dipping his toe in the water. So, you know, it'll be curious.

Look, that stuff with him and Babcock having at least not seen eye to eye, you know, that wasn't made up. There's something going on there. So, you know, that probably figures into the decision here. And, you know, I'm with you, Biz. I think that they're probably not going to do it right away. Maybe another year from now once they see how the dynamic works with everybody. But I wouldn't be surprised if Austin gets it.

Well, Chris, I actually – you talked about the controversy or the Matthews and Babcock not seeing eye to eye. I actually spoke with another Leaf who just signed with another team who kind of confirmed what common was. I'm not going to say any names. I'm not going to throw anyone under the bus. But there seems to be, I don't want to say a lot of hatred for Babcock,

but like, is he just a fucking asshole to some of his players? Like, I can't imagine a, I've never been with a coach who's been that big of an asshole to his players. And like, I mean,

you hear these stories and stuff. I'm good buddies with Babcock, so I could never see him like that. But what's the consensus? Well, I just think he wants the absolute best out of people, or he wants to get the most out of them. And maybe he pushes buttons or goes to a level that other coaches don't to try to do it.

I mean, it's no secret that when he left Detroit that, you know, the main guys on that team had had enough. And, you know, he'd been there a long time. And, you know, I think he has been tough on the guys in Toronto. But, you know, my sense of Mike is he doesn't make any apologies for that. He wants to win. He wants to make sure Austin Matthews isn't just good. He wants to help him be great.

And, you know, I don't really know what the exact issues were with those two. But, you know, clearly they had to clear the air. I mean, I don't remember a coach flying exact issues were with those two, but clearly they had to clear the air. I don't remember a coach flying across the country three days after the season to talk to a star player. That's unusual. To me, it suggests they had some issues that they had to air out there. Well, Chris, there's obviously a lot of coaches that want the best out of their players and constantly ask for it.

I've coached for guys like that too. And, you know, they've snapped on the guys, but there's a way they handle it where they're not rubbing guys the wrong way to the point where they have to fly across the country. So clearly there's been a large list of star players that aren't happy with Babcock. He must not be the best people person. Is he not communicating properly? Like I said like you know you know it's so hard

for me because he's good he's actually good with the media people like he i i can't ask much more from in my dealings but you know what you're talking about is real like players you know they even say it to me they got a bit frustrated with the guy and uh you know i don't know you guys have been the dressing rooms i feel like you're almost better equipped to to lay it out for us like are you pushing them well i'll say this if you lose your best players you're fucked and and you know i i don't know what happened to detroit but you know rumblings had it that the the high-end guys were just they just had enough of them and i i feel like if he's already kind of doing that in Toronto a little bit, it's like, how long is this guy's shelf life if they don't win the next couple years?

Like, there's no more excuses moving forward now. I would say he's got a two-year window to do something significant with that team, or there's going to be some pressure on Mike Babcock. For sure. I mean, mean yeah you're right we can't just be like oh it's a learning lesson if they lose in the first round again right because they've used that significantly and they've had the right to because they are young but now it's like okay well let's fucking get out of the first round now and if not if i mean with that team right now i think it's kind of at least Stanley Cup finals or bust at this point for next season. Yeah, you know, I wonder if Mike has to change.

It seems to me that a lot of the coaches we see coming into the league now and the guys that are heavily recruited, you know, are known for being good communicators and known for building relationships with their players and maybe not being quite as old school, my way or the highway type of thing. And, you know, I do sort of wonder if Mike has to get at least a little bit more in that direction to keep these guys engaged. Because let's face it, it's not Mike Babcock's team anymore. I mean, to me, the players, the young guys on this team aren't so young. And we know that they're about to all get paid big money. And what happens with the Leafs or not is going to rest on their shoulders,

whether this promising group ever does get to a Stanley Cup and win it, or if they fall short and are one of those teams that had a great team but just couldn't get over the hump. I mean, it's on these guys' shoulders, and I think that the coach has to maybe recognize some of that changing dynamic. And I think that the coach has to maybe recognize some of that changing dynamic. Yeah. And for a coach who is paid and considered the best coach in the NHL, he's he's won more games than I than I dressed in the NHL. So who am I to say? But Detroit was a wagon, an absolute unit when he got there.

I mean, they could have won with anyone. And, you know, and he's won these gold these gold medals and with canada well those teams are a complete joke too you could have fucking coach those teams you take canada's jv team they'll probably win the tournament so that's also great players so now i mean it's kind of on him that he has great players again so maybe they just win cups and he continues to look like a genius but sometimes i just wonder how good of a coach is he when he has these teams of guys who R.A. could coach him, for fuck's sake. Thanks, guy. Come on. That's a little harsh. I mean, I know Tommy is not a fan here,

but there's enough track record for me that he has made teams better. But look, it's been a long time since he's been out of the first round as a coach, and some of that is that the Red Wings got worse over his last number of years there. But there's definitely heat on him. I mean, he's got a new boss that didn't hire him, and Kyle Dubas. I know Kyle was around when he was hired. But the Leafs are the one team that would pay him all that money not to work

if they ever felt they had a reason. Now, I don't think it's near that point now, but if they have a couple more seasons where things don't go well and if we hear more about friction with some of these star players, I mean, it's not a guarantee he gets to the end of his eight-year deal. He's only three years in. We heard it here first, guys. As we're speaking here.

Chris Johnson, Babcock's getting canned. Let's fucking send out the tweet right now just to get the fucking data. You guys are going to radio me, aren't you? You're going to fucking take one little quote and take it out of context. Isn't that what the journalists do now? They just fucking make the worst headline possible so they get the clicks? Well, my own place that I work at does it to me, so I wouldn't expect any more.

Didn't that happen to you in Stammer? Didn't they take you out of context there? Oh, fuck. Now, yeah, I almost got the unfollow on social media it's it's tough man once the ball gets rolling then everyone starts tweeting it out and saying shit and then the it almost creates a story by all by itself right you called him a mental midget or something like that yeah i think the coast deep down hates him and he's just trying to just – Actually, no, because he was here a couple weekends ago. They were at a golf tournament, and we had dinner together. There was no animosity, boys.

There we go. I was actually tampering a little bit trying to get him over to Arizona. That's why we're trying to get Austin Matthews on the pod. Oh, you should. When's your golf trip, Witt? We're going to offer Sheetum with a $5 million deal and he gets the room with me. I leave on Saturday night, dude. I'm beyond fired up. I'm actually hoping

Carlson gets dealed while we're over there. I'll just get in his face with my cell phone and bottle of whiskey, get his real thoughts on whatever happened. That would be legendary. You have to do that. If that happens, you have to do that. Even if he hates me forever, like if he gets traded, when we're in the middle of a round at Turnberry,

I'm going to him and I'm saying, dude, tell me what you think, take a swig, and then tell me what you think again. Thompson's the kind of guy that would actually do that too. I know. He doesn't give a fuck. He does not give a shit. All right, CJ. You're the man, dude, for coming on.

That's great work you did in getting everyone the news about how all this went down with Tavares and T.O. So I hope you have a great time with all your writers and you guys exactly tell lies. You put salt and pepper on your steak and your stories. Perfect. And I'm going to make a few birdies tomorrow on the course and take some money from them, too. Oh, there we go. That's another headliner. All right, buddy.

Thank you so much. Chris, thanks for coming on. Keep killing it up there, man. I love your stuff. Thanks again to Chris Johnson. Did a great job kind of telling us how it all went down. And right now, you know, we have our second guest of the day, the Muppet, the Pigeon, the man that was crying, Frankie Borelli, diehard Islanders fan, now no longer with John Tavares.

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family-owned Borelli's restaurant. Check it out in Long Island. You may know him as the man who cried in the dark when John Tavares left his team. I've just messaged you. How you doing, buddy? How you doing? I think I'm as good as I could be. It's been bad.

It's been bad. It's been bad. There's no sugarcoating what's been going on in my life for the past couple days. Wow. Are you like despondent? Listen, I haven't left my room. I haven't seen the sun except for I had to go to the office yesterday to record the golf podcast. But aside from that, I have not seen the sun.

I heard it's been a couple of beautiful days on the island. Swear to God, are you making this up? Swear to God. Does my skin look like have not seen the sun. I heard it's been a couple of beautiful days on the island. Swear to God, are you making this up? Swear to God. Does my skin look like it's seen the sun? I'm as white as a ghost, which I usually am, but, I mean, there's no excuse. It's been bad, man. I mean, I was on record saying there's no chance this guy leaves my team. I said that I would go down with the burning ship.

I said there's no chance, and he spit my eyeball. You put your life on the line. I did put my life on the line. He spit my eyeball and he left. It was bad. Does he follow you on social media? Was he aware that how devastated, how much, I guess, social impact you have on people's opinion of him? No, he doesn't.

I think John Tavares has always been this, like, he's been a weird superstar his whole career. He doesn't really mix it up. Oh, calling him weird now that he's out a weird superstar his whole career. He hasn't really mixed it up with people. Oh, calling him weird now that he's out of town. Oh, yeah, weird that you're calling him weird now. Well, listen, he's always been that type of guy where he, like, doesn't interact with guys on social media. Like, his Twitter's very just, like, it's only a couple sponsored tweets here and there. So, I knew that he wasn't going to get the message. I mean, the only interactions I really have with him is when I've been sneaking into the locker room and staring at him from the sides of the walls

and shit. Did he try his shoes on or something? Sorry, Biss. Didn't he try his shoes on? Yeah, so I would always get invited to the Coliseum when they were on the road trips because I know a bunch of the skills coaches and a bunch of the AHL coaches and stuff.

They invite me to come over and check out the facilities and this one time I like just walked by the locker room and went in and just like saw his locker just tried on all his shit and I'm like oh I wonder if he's the same size shoe as me the shoes didn't have the size on him so I put him on and the guy walks in he goes what the fuck are you doing like don't worry about it I felt like I was getting caught jerking off or something I'm like I look over my shoulder like oh shit no you jerked off to this later of you trying to shoot something. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, so, like, taking a step back, dude, like, do you not – two-part question. Do you not see, like, how much sense this makes and how much – what is the word? No sense, unsense, de-sense It made for him to be with the Islanders? You understand now. Alright. I sent you that text message that you blew me up

on social media. You blew me up on Barstool Radio first. Saying what though? You were reading our private conversation. No, no. I said that you said that I was a fan. I wanted to show people you're a human being because you're a fucking monster on social media.

But, listen, what it came down to was if he went to anywhere other than Toronto, I would have thought it was a coward move to go try and just win immediately. When I sent you that text, I thought he was going to San Jose. I'm like, there's no chance this guy's going to go to a team. I think he has a better chance of winning immediately in Toronto than he does in San Jose. I mean, there's a lot of defensive questions in Toronto, and everyone says, like, what are they going to win games, like 6-5? I feel like, especially playing in the East, it's a little bit harder also.

If you went out to San Jose, I just feel like you just go into that offense and with Brent Burns and all these guys that are making a shit ton of money out there, I just thought it was going to be a weird move. Toronto obviously makes sense. It's his hometown thought it was going to be a weird i thought it was gonna be a weird move toronto obviously makes sense it's his hometown he's gonna be a god there and i guess in some at some point i'll be able to i'll be able to you know live with it it's a place that he wanted to go forever the thing i can't live with right now is that he promised the islanders that he wanted to stay for how fucking long like three or four years of us talking about this impending free agency that was going to come up he said it up until the last day he was pacing around his fucking pool saying

he didn't know what to do but then he follows that up by saying i've been sleeping in toronto maple leaf's uh betting and i've wanted to be a toronto maple leaf my entire life well then why didn't you say that four months ago when we could have traded you and we could have gotten first round picks we could have traded you to the sharks or the dallas stars or anyone that would have taken you at the deadline. And then we would have housed them if you weren't going to stay with us. That leads me into the second part of the question, and that is I don't think you're one of these people. But these people who hate the virus and are burning his jersey and can't look at their own organization in the face and say, this is on you.

Yeah, he probably thought, I want to stay here. I love it here. Don't trade me. We can figure something out. This is on you. Yeah, he probably thought, I want to stay here. I love it here. Don't trade me. We can figure something out. But then, I mean, he starts thinking they haven't done anything for 10 years. But, yeah, you say that way, and everyone says that. The Islanders have not been that incompetent over his past, like, five years as an Islander.

In the lockout year, they made the playoffs. They played against the Penguins. The next year, they put up a dud. I understand everyone. Like, they had a 77-point season. Then they went on to go 101 points, 100 points points they made the playoffs two years in a row they won a playoff series for the first time in my goddamn lifetime then they followed that season up by missing the playoffs by one point and then this year you know johnny boy chuck misses 30 games uh a defensive forward and nicole coolman misses the entire season

oh frankie came prepared calHaan misses 50 games. You know, the defense put up a fucking egg, and that's what's going to happen. Like, you had Matt Barzell win the Rookie of the Year. Eberle had 60 points. Anders Lee had 40 goals. Why is he leaving this team when, now, everything I just said, add in Barry Trotz, add in Lula Amorello, add in an entire new coaching system, a whole new way of coming about this team, a new stadium coming, they're coming back to the Coliseum.

Like, what the fuck is he doing leaving now? Three years. Three years. He's got games in two different buildings. Yeah, but a whole bunch of – Three years. The ice is – I mean, you guys play in the NHL. I mean, does it really make that big of a difference?

It's 200 feet. I mean, you guys play in the NHL. I mean, does it really make that big of a difference? It's 200 feet. I will say that environment probably had a very small part, maybe like, I don't know, 15% of his decision at max. They had like the best home record in the league when they went for 100 points. Here's where I'm going to agree with you.

I'll agree with you on the side of it would have been nice for him to say, hey, listen, I'm probably not going to resign here. And if I do, you can always come back. Send me to a playoff contender. He could have went and got that playoff experience and proven himself in playoffs and went and had a nice little run with a team. Islanders could have cashed in a little bit. Maybe they get a first round out of it for that small loan.

And then, as we said, July 1st hit, he could have just came right back. Now he has put them in kind of a bind. But on Witt's standpoint, I mean, he's done a lot for that organization. And, I mean, fuck, I thought it was a little bit more of a clusterfuck until you kind of chimed in with all these positive stats. Fuck, man, you kind of swayed my opinion where I'm 50-50 on the fence, but ultimately you've got to do as an athlete what makes you happy because the minute you're not good to any of these teams,

they're going to say, see you fucking later. It's all about the player. You can't take anybody else's opinion into it. It's all about you. I agree on that point, else's opinion into it. It's all about you. I agree on that point, too. I mean, I rattled off all those stats. They have been contending. They've been competing.

But, I mean, there's no reason why we couldn't have put a premier talent around him. I mean, the fact that Anders Lee is scoring 40 goals and, you know, Josh Bailey is putting up 80 points and being an all-star, what would he have done if he had a guy like, I don't know, like Logan Couture or like a guy, like an actual all-star that, you know, can prove himself and actually make moves and actually do things on the ice as opposed to be, you know, John Tavares made Matt Molson an all-star hockey player, and now he's not even in the league anymore. So, I mean, he's kind of like a puppet master in that point.

And not to knock on Long Island and where the rink's going, because I know it doesn't have the most pulse, and, you know, I don't think a lot of young guys want to live on Long Island and where the rink's going, because I know it doesn't have the most pulse, and I don't think a lot of young guys want to live on Long Island, no offense. But do you think that part of his decision had in fact to do with, man, we're not going to lure in any fucking free agents here? Like, I want to go to Toronto, because I know with the team that we're going to have now, we're going to have a stud defenseman somewhere who's going to say, fuck it, I'm going to go there.

Maybe not take a pay cut, but at least I'll go to Toronto now. Yeah, I do agree with that. But I also think he could look at it in a way that, all right, if I stay on the island, I am the one that is the drawing card as opposed to Long Island. And I think guys would want to play with John Tavares. You don't think so? Yeah, but then you have to live on Long Island. I mean, you know, listen. And you can't even get free chicken parm from Borelli's.

I got people writing reviews on Borelli's, Yelp, and the whole fucking thing. The chicken parms. I just made a mistake with the chicken parms. I'll admit that. My dad's the first one to ride it up my ass being like, you don't think we wanted good press like like borelli's for 91 we would have been all over the fucking news i'm like i understand that i just hate i just hate the gimmicks i hate that we have this guy on the news making orange and blue bagels and that's the thing that's going

viral we should be going viral for being a contending team like i just said we haven't been that incompetent but we have all these fans listen i love the island of fans i always have but you know sometimes we just get into this we get into this like mold where we're like the same as the met fans and we do it we've been losing for so long that we just like we do loser stuff and bagels to me was a loser thing to do and obviously it didn't work i mean if he honestly said i'm gonna stay because the fucking bagels i wouldn't want him on the team anyway frank all those stats frank i didn't work. I mean, if he honestly said, I'm going to stay because of the fucking bagels, I wouldn't want him on the team anyway. Frank, all those stats, Frank, I didn't hear too many goalie stats.

You were crowing them all. But anyways, listen, Dave Portnoy, as everybody knows, he's in there talking. This is Tommy. Would you rather he's actually in work this week so you can keep your mind occupied and be doing stuff, or are you pissed that he's actually on vacation because now you have to dwell on it even more, hold up in your little room there? I mean, listen, I do feel at home here.

I'm sitting in my Coliseum. These are my Coliseum seats. These are my seats that I sat in the Coliseum. They're going to have to take them and put them back in for this season. They are going to have to. I've had these forever. I've had these since the 2015 season, but fuck, man.

I mean, like you said, Rirad, the goalies have been a shit show, and we've had a goalie GM for fucking 10 years, and you'd think he'd know better than to actually put someone in the ice, put someone in between the pipes as opposed to just a fucking Swiss cheese. But, my God, it's Dave leaving and me being in the room. I was in a dark place. I had Kevin Connolly. I had Eve from Entourage messaging me saying,

are you still alive? I had people checking on me to see if I was still breathing. I mean, that was... Dave was the most famous Islanders fan. But that's what I was going to say. That's why I did text you. I respect the hell. You are as true of a fan as I've ever seen.

It's impressive as hell and now saying that you got to be worried like what happens now we lost johnny t like is barzell gonna want to leave in a couple years like is it's kind of worrisome though yeah the moves that lou's been making the past couple days are scaring the shit out of me we're making these like one year yeah like these one-year deals. Komarov was signed for, I think, four years. What the fuck was that? For a decent amount of money, too. What did he get, like $3 million?

Yeah. Holy shit. He'll be hurt by the third year. That guy had 19 points last year. And that was embarrassing. Jonathan Bears was all over social media with his goddamn picture in his bed and shit and it made me want to throw up.

And then the Islanders threw up an Instagram of Leo Komarov and they put his goddamn stats up on the Instagram. 79 games, three goals, 16 assists, 19 points. Welcome to long Island. Like,

are you fucking kidding me? Is this what we're like right now? Yeah. Maybe like skip the stats. Just maybe, maybe throw a big hit, do a video of a big hit. Like the stats ain't doing it stats

who gives a shit um looking for distract these motherfuckers what do you think barzy thinks right now that's my that's my fear well i texted him i texted him last night and i and i said hey let's get you on the pod and he's like yeah about that uh not only do we have lou lamorello cock blocking us to the rookie of the year right they lost johnny t so you know their pr is probably like hey avoid any type of fucking media including spitting chiclets because we're the probably the most controversial we have them talk about cocks instead of actually trades and shit like that and ruin the fucking – ruin Lou Amorello's fucking health. We get Johnny – we could get Tavares on. We just, like, ask him a dick question.

He just hangs up. We're like, oh, fuck, it finally backfired against us. I mean, Johnny T, I'm going to miss the fucking guy, man. It's going to hurt to hate him. I really hope that – Will you hate him? I wanted to ask that. You hate him?

Yeah, I hate him for all the reasons I pointed out today. I hate him for knowing that we actually could have done something with this team. I know people don't agree with it, but I truly think this four or five year window... That's an unbiased opinion coming from you.

It is, but we got Kiefer Bellows and we had a great draft. We have good fucking guys coming up we have this russian goalie that we can never get over here that those usually go well those russian you go is usually go over i don't even know what's going on with that shit how come we can't get that guy over here it's crazy they sign deals sometimes for like three four years and then they have to the team has to sometimes get things back it's it's wild trying to get russians over to the nhl i

have a question uh and we haven't really incorporated ra much and and where i don't know were you a bruins fan growing up i'd assume i was but not not the i was like an eiserman fan i i didn't i didn't i loved i liked the bruins but i was not that i was more an nhl fan well i guess my question is when's the last time, R.A., the Bruins lost a big-named free agency like that? Like, I couldn't even think of it. I know, of course, Joe Thornton got traded, which is one of the worst trades ever. Yeah, Bruins usually trade guys.

Yeah. I'm trying to think. Second got dealt. I mean, this is going way back, and I'm sure there's something more recent. But, like, I think Jason Allison, I think they didn't want to pay him. They traded him. And well, again,

they traded him. Yeah. I'm trying to think of like a guy. They just say, we don't want to, well, it's a big market. This is pretty devastating.

Some people might say, oh, Frankie's over exaggerating, but fuck me to get a franchise player like that. And then him walk away. Yeah. It probably rips the fucking heart right out of you. And I don't need,

that would never happen to organization like Arizonarizona or or or like boston but be mad at the owner frank you know mad at the fucking fact you're basically like the mets didn't the owner tell snow not to not to trade him like snow couldn't trade him right isn't that wasn't that the word yeah that's i mean there's a lot of shit coming out there's a lot of shit coming out from like people that like the snow people are trying to paint snow in a picture of being like a victim which is fucking nuts like all i've seen on like islander fanatic websites and shit is that like snow tried everything he did and the new owners said we can't do this with ticket sales coming up and the new coliseum and shit i don't believe believe that for a second. I truly think JT said, I want to try and figure this out.

He's been quoted as saying that. When did you know? Guys, I think it's a no-brainer as a GM. You have to be a little ruthless in the situations because you have to worry about your team moving forward. Belichick style. Yeah, exactly. And he's a fucking asshole.

I mean, so I hear anyway. If you're Snow, you essentially got to say, Johnny, if you don't re-sign now during the season and we'll give you a very fucking healthy salary for the next eight years, we're going to have to move you because we have to do what's best for the team. I'm going to collect the first rounder

if you can't guarantee me you're coming back. And it's such a touchy situation with fans because you don't want to lose your fan base if you think you've dealt the guy and he might have had the consideration of coming back. But people eventually get over it if you're making the right moves and your team's winning in the future.

Frankie, I want to know, that night where you released the video, when did you know, though? Did you know the day before when I tweeted you I was hearing things? Or did you actually hold out hope until the minute you saw 1201 hit? It was a rollercoaster of emotions. It was the day before you tweeted that, I was like, all right, I put it at a 75% chance he stayed.

I was feeling good. There was a lot of talks about it was either Toronto or the Islanders. Like San Jose wasn't even in the talks. And then that day came around and, like, all of social media There was a lot of talks about it was either Toronto or the Islanders. Like San Jose wasn't even in the talks. And then that day came around and like all of social media just totally sided over to this guy's leaving. Like every single insider was hinting at it. Every single fan was hinting at it. I knew. You knew how early.

I talked to a guy for the Leafs and he goes, I think we're getting Tavares with a very strong – how do I phrase this? Inkling. Chance. Yeah. So as you see those, then you're – it's panic mode starting. You start shitting your pants. You start watching highlight reels of JT. I started looking at all the pictures of me sitting in his locker.

Now I'm starting to like – the tears are starting to flow a little bit. But then Saturday night comes around and you're like, all right, this guy hasn't made a decision yet. And the longer it went, the more you think, well, every insider and every single person in the world said that this decision was going to be made Saturday morning. And maybe he's like really deciding right now, like, do I want to fuck over this franchise for the next five years? He's not thinking about his future. He's thinking about the Islanders future. Right. Or do I want to he's not thinking about his future he's thinking about the islanders future right or do i want to like go live my own life and like and everyone was saying like you know the longer it goes the better it is for the island so i started to get that hope arthur staple our fucking island is inside it was like was like don't give up yet like at eight

o'clock at night on that one that was that was clickbait he was just making that up. Question. Does he – two-parter, like Whit likes to do. Does he get a video when he goes back? What do you call those? Like a memorial video? Dude, he better. They give those things to like fourth-line plugs now. Well, right. And then two, does he get booed when that's playing?

Oh, man. I mean, a lot of time is going to come between today and that day. I mean, I think it's in February is the first time we play him at the Barclays. And then he comes to the Coliseum on April 1st, which is going to be fucking nuts. I may burn the house down that day if this team doesn't contend him by then. They won't. Oh, they'll be way out of it before then. Yeah.

Fuck, man. I think they put something on the board for sure um the reaction i think i think most people will boo him i really do i think people are pretty fucking upset i think wow i think the fan base is pretty hurt at um the way he handled it i know people are saying that like he made the decision friday night and saturday was spent all day um just negotiating contract but to us and to the fans and to like you know the diehards it looked as though he went to like the very last minute and just let like the deadline just he just ghosted an entire franchise which is nuts to me there was no ghosted a franchise there was just

there was no message he said i gave you he goes i you 10 years, a lot of it my prime. You can thank me if you're a real fan. And Frankie, let me ask you a quick hypothetical. Some amazing kid grows up on Long Island, amazing hockey player, eats at Borelli's for high school pregame meals. All of a sudden he's a top pick in the NHL draft, and he's picked by the Detroit Red Wings, who in the late 90s and early 2000s were this amazing team but now

it's 2020 and he goes there and for 10 years they're bad and he's an amazing player. He gets no help. They don't get him a goalie and then you know what he does when his free agency hits? He goes back to Long Island to the team where he grew up rooting for. And he signs his deal

at Borelli's with the fucking chicken parlor. And he signs his deal at Borelli's with the fucking chicken parlor. And he signs his deal at Borelli's, and you don't then tell me, wow, I really understand this. I totally get this. Listen, I'm not saying I don't get it. I mean, you basically just said if Charlie McAvoy was to come to the Islanders because the guy's from Long Beach and shit, he's not on that level, but, you know... No, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, basically. If in eight years he was like, you know what, I just want to go play on Long Island. Right. And then his nose would grow. I never said I don't fucking agree with what he did. I understand it. I said Toronto's the only place I would get it,

and somewhere deep in my heart I understand. But to say that it was an easy, I just don't think it was an easy decision for him i truly think that he was leaving something behind that that he could have done something special with a team that you know when you spend 10 years with a team i think it's it falls on you also to to actually i think he waited i think he waited so long because he had to try to pretend so he didn't get more backlash than he got anyways oh yeah and then you heard his conference call he was was, like, fake crying to Stan Fishler and shit. What?

That stuff made me want to puke. He's like, you know. I love him even more. I buried Stan Fishler on Twitter. You did? Yeah. I mean, dude. Who the fuck's Stan Fishler?

Stan Fishler's, like, a week from being dead. Why the fuck did you do that? Oh, Frankie, on that note. I didn't bury him that bad. No, no, no. Why? What did you do with this guy? He's a Hall of Fame writer.

He's an older fella. He's been around for a long time, and he's at the point now where he's very chummy with players. There's no real line between. The guy's been writing hockey since he was writing for hockey in the 1940s. Never mind. Time out. I know who you're talking about because apparently he laid into an intern one time when the Coyotes were playing the Islanders. And like one of the Coyotes people had to go over to him and be like, dude, what's your problem?

Like, what are you doing? Oh, bud. Are you talking about the guy who's been covering the Islanders for a while? Rangers and Islanders. All of New York. He's covering all three of the New York area teams over the years. Oh, are you thinking of Larry Brooks, Fizz? Are you thinking of Larry Brooks?

I am not. No, this is the guy. Oh, Stan getting dummied. No, listen. I don't know anything about him. But I know that when – because he retired recently, didn't he? Yes. Yeah.

Yeah. Apparently, he fucking absolutely belittled an intern one time. And somebody had to step in and someone snapped on him. It might have even been Nick Boynton. I don't know who it was with the Coyotes. They were like, are you fucking kidding

me? That fucking person's an intern. They fucking messed up. Big fucking deal. I'll get the story. It's not a Coyotes game. Who cares? Hey, what's your fucking mouth like? Listen, I did throw him a cheap shot, a ricochet shot there. But I got to stand up for my guy, Stan Fischler. He's always been in the mix.

You talk about how bad it is to play for the Islanders. Imagine fucking covering that team your whole life. Oh, so now you're bashing them? No, I'm just saying. It's been – No wonder Tavares left. It's been a tough – I've been in LA for 25 years. It's been – I mean, my – No wonder Tavares left. It's been a tough – you know, I've been in LA for 25 years. It's been tough, man.

I'm happy when we make the goddamn playoffs and we lose a playoff series to the Panthers. I'm like – I'm throwing parties. I'm spraying champagne. So, I mean – All right. Well, I hope you enjoy your July 4th, Frankie. Tomorrow, like, just go out and try to forget it. You're a Yankees fan. They look good.

Real quick question. Yeah, that's another thing. That's also why everyone's saying you can't have it both ways. Everyone leaves their team to go to the Yankees and shit. But you're a bigger Islanders fan than the Yankees. Oh, for sure. Yeah, 100%. What do you guys think, real quick, the possibility of the Islanders getting Eric Carlson in this whole

zero? He doesn't want to play on Long Island either. What do you guys think, real quick, possibility of the Islanders getting Eric Carlson in this whole, you know, zero. He doesn't want to play on Long Island either. This isn't a 3%. It's a zero. Zero percent chance that this guy. Hey, Grinelli, get this on video. Zero. What if we get this guy?

What if they give them Wallstrom, Bellows, Dobson, a first-round pick? He will not resign there. The teams are going to talk to him. In order to make the trade, there's going to have to be an agreement that he's going to resign. And I would say they would have to offer him at least $13 million to have him consider. But I don't think he wants to hang out in Long Island when he can pick any fucking team he wants. Frank, I'm sorry. Let this be a message. I'm going to hang out in Long Island. When he can pick any fucking team he wants. Frank, I'm sorry. Let this be a message.

I'm going to do this the right way. Eric Carlson, you have free chicken parms for the rest of your fucking life. Whoa! He did it! John Tavares who? We don't need John Tavares. We don't need John Tavares. We need defense.

We need some defense. Matt Barzell will take us to the goddamn moon. Eric Carlson, you come on my team. You can eat chicken parms. You can eat spaghetti. You can eat fucking raviolis. You can have a tonic. Never mind Stan Fishler.

Frankie just buried his old man with that fucking call. It's funny because it's kind of like Tavares getting all those deals in Toronto. And they compensate him in the back end with that kind of stuff. So Carlson might take like $10 million a year in Long Island as long as he's getting free chicken parm. We'll change the goddamn name to Carlson's if we have to. All right? I mean, I'll do anything. You're going to put a bottle on that.

I need someone to watch with Farsi. He's getting equity in fucking your chicken parm spot? We'll give him the back room. He can have his own spot. We'll bring the bosses back there. We'll have him kiss the ring. That's breaking news offer from Carlson that he won't need from Borelli, but it's a true fan nonetheless.

Thank you for coming on, bud. All right. Thanks, guys. Thank you very much to Frankie. Poor guy. I do feel kind of bad for him. That sucks to lose your favorite player and your team all in one day. But that pretty much brings us to the end of this episode it's fucking a sweat box in boston right now it's about 100 degrees humidity of 102 so i'm actually off to scotland soon we talk to

cj about it i won't be here next week boys i'll miss you oh just me and ra holding down the fort we'll uh we'll get some good interviews for you, Whit. You guys will probably just kind of rip on me while I'm gone, no? Hopefully you'll line up some major interviews with Carlson. You've got to sign him to a deal while you're there. Ideally, if Carlson actually finds out he's traded. If that can actually happen, that would be enormous for us. Who else?

Maybe Zetterberg. Maybe I can get him to give me some juicy stuff. He won't give me anything on camera, though. He'll just tell me everything he tells me I can't repeat. So that's unfortunate. Maybe someday I'll just say it anyways. Yeah. No, we'll make do it.

Actually, well, I'm not going to waste time now. Now that the playoffs are over, we can catch up on my Netflix, my Amazon, all the shows. So me and Biz can have a nice discussion about that next week. Yeah, you can tell him what Netflix is and stuff. Yeah, exactly. So, all right,. So me and Biz can have a nice discussion about that next week. Yeah, you can tell him what Netflix is and stuff. Yeah, exactly. So, alright boys, great episode. Everybody have a good weekend. Happy 4th of July and whenever this episode

drops. Enjoy. Thank you.