The Athletic Hockey Show - Alex Tuch is ready to take the Buffalo Sabres to the next level, Kirill Kaprizov is feeling Minnesota & Keith Yandle poised to break the NHL Ironman mark

Episode Date: January 25, 2022

Craig and Sean welcome star Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch to this week's podcast. Tuch, a native of Western New York talks about his love for the city of Buffalo, his dream come true playing for the team he rooted for when he was a kid, and shares stories of watching Sabres games when he was a kid, skating on the backyard rink, meeting Rick Jeanneret, what it was like to live next door to former Sabres Center Tim Connolly, and the brighter times ahead for the Buffalo Sabres.The guys look back on the player tiers revisited, focusing on the outstanding play of Kirill Kaprizov who tied Connor McDavid's 92 game mark to record his first 100 NHL points, and Cale Makar who is the NHL's most offensive defensemen who's stock rose and Mitch Marner and Dougie Hamilton who's rankings fell in the player tiers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic Hockey Show is presented by BedMGM, the exclusive betting partner of the athletic. Sign up at BedmGM.com using the promo code, The Athletic Pod. Okay. Hey, everybody, that's Sean Gentile. You're talking over my hard work in our exclusive betting partners. Make sure you do that, though, Sean. A lot to bet on this weekend. You got it, Craig.

This is the Americans edition. Your favorite edition of the athletic hockey show. And we have, I'm Craig Custin's, by the way. I'm Craig Custin's? We have a great show for you today. We have an incredible interview with Alex Tuck. And I don't say, we always pump it up. You know that about us.

We're not going to like run the guests down. But where would you say the slots in, like, in our scale of who's the top of our scale to, to say? I know who the bottom is. It's really good. Here's why we like to the, I don't want to speak for Sean. I would never presume to do so.

You've been doing that for 15 years now almost. Yeah. Go ahead. The genuine love he has for the city of Buffalo and the excitement he has about being potentially like the face of that team for a while or at least the person that gets trotted out for conversations, like the one he had to endure was Sean and I. he genuinely like he's into it he he was you know he was talking about the bills game like he's just

like i love that like you always hear oh so-and-so's going back to toronto or detroit or wherever never happens really except for the you know whatever to veras but i don't know it's just it's awesome it made me like like when that trade happened and i was like oh that calgary package looked way better which probably wasn't true it probably was not exactly what we thought it was no but now I'm like, hey, this would, you can't count on this for anything, but I like that Alex Tuck was a big part of that trade now. I was ready to drive two and a half hours of Buffalo and like celebrate the city. That was, that was not, that was an ad for the savers and it was an ad for Buffalo as well. I'm into cracking this and Jenny creams, baby, let's go. It was, he was awesome. He was

awesome. I felt it was one of those, uh, I don't know, this sounds corny and I think we have less of these because of the state of the world and the way things have gone the last two years. But it was, when you have really good talks like that with players, you know, you come away from and you're like, yeah, that was, that was great, right? And we have less of those now than we had in the past just because it's mainly Zoom and you can't talk to guys one-on-one and whatever. But I don't know, man. I felt, I felt good about that. I think Buffalo Corneas, it sounds as lucky to have Alex Tuck. Like, he's psyched to be there and he wants to be,

he wants to be part of, you know, whatever the solution might look like. And he's really good. That's the other thing. Oh, right. I think that's, I think that's something that maybe we didn't crack into quite enough with him. Yeah, let's talk a little bit about like,

you're pretty good at hockey? Not just, yeah. Not just a nice guy who cares. Like, he's a pretty good hockey player too. Chamber of Commerce. Yeah, he's the, sure, he's the Sabres mascot. Of course, of course he's going to run for mayor in, in 20 years. But he's also, he's also a good hockey player.

So yeah, that was a, that was a good talk and it's worth your time. All right. But first, last night in Minnesota's 8 to 2 trouncing of the Montreal Canadians, it was pretty clear that Carrillo Caprizov was feeling it a little bit. Like, I was alerted to what was happening when Twitter all of a sudden my feed was filled with, hey, why is, why is Caprizzav doing loops around everybody and just skating, like, literal, circles around people? Yeah, because he's a superstar playing against an HL team.

Essentially. And in the process, so he becomes the, not the fastest, but he tied Connor McDavid. McDavid. Let me do, can I get through this? I'm trying to read a graphic. I give up. What did he do last night, Sean? He tied Connor McDavid.

I think it's McDavid, but go ahead. He tried Cronor McDavis in the amount of games it took him to reach 100 points. Those guys threw their first, does know what it was? Yeah. In 92 games, he got 100 career points.

Same exact amount of games. He's just Connor McDavid. ...to make it to 100 points. That's... Which is... Which means the only conclusion is he's as good as Connor McDavid, which... Because of numbers.

I mean, depending on how these next couple games go, like what if he's at a faster pace after 102? You know what that means? He's better. At the top of that list, if you haven't seen it, Alex Ovechkin did it in 77 games. Alex Ovechkin's pretty good. Sidney Crosby did it in 80.

Gennie Malkin did it in 89, and then there's Caprizov and McDavid. God, Oveskin, not to get off, got to get off on a complete tangent, but that was pre-center ice and stuff. Like, I feel like it was less, it was more of a hassle and much more difficult to watch games outside your market. And I was living in Maryland at the time, because that was when I was in college. And I watched probably, you know, whatever, 90% of those games, just because that was the team that I watched. back then because they were the team that was on every night. And God Almighty, he was, I've still never seen anything like, never seen anything like that. Alex Ovesant him pretty good. I don't know if you guys are aware of this. And still like, it's, I mean,

it's fun that Alex and Sydney and, you know, at the top of that. But this is, this is pretty remarkable for a guy. Like, everybody else that's on this list was, you know, hockey blue blood and top pedigree, top of the draft, you know, and here's this guy that, that's come all and it's just a completely different player. And not only that, you know, skating circles, hitting this milestone, attempting goals between the legs, like just a blast. Like, fun to watch everything. And also just also he's the rising tide that lifts all boats on that line.

I mean, not to, Ryan Hartman is a good hockey player. I'm not trying to knock him at all. But they stuck him on that line and all of a sudden he's, you know, Brett Hall. something, right? Like, Caprizov is an underrated playmaker. He's a great passer. You know, the, yes, yes, those are, those are good players he's surrounded with. Like, my God, Matt Zuccarell has been great for a long, long time. And Ryan Hartman's a nice player. But they level up when they get put next to Caprizov. And I think that fact is what takes him from, you know, really, really nice player to like.

Like at this point, walked down franchise dude. Yeah. That was the discussion we had when we did the player tiers in the fall, right? It was me and Corey Pranman, the very mysterious Corey Pranman in Domest Hitchin. And we went over, you know, it took forever and we talked to a million people and we had a million phone calls. And it's a bear. God, Craig, you know it's better than anybody. That's a huge lift for a project.

But coming out of it, no joke. our biggest question was like, did we like kind of underrate Caprizov? Because we had him at 3A, right? Which is like... Yeah, so what are the tiers? Yeah, so it's... The next tier below franchise player. Yeah, okay.

Like, Tier 1 is your McDavid's and Euras and Matthews and McKinnon and now Kail McCarr and whatever. Tier 2 is like a little bit of a larger group. And tier 3 is, you know, technically not a franchise player. We're like, they're stars, they're elite, but are they guys you can, you know, are they the best the best? Are they the guys that you can, you know, plan your next 10 years around? And we hesitated on Caprizov

just because the sample size was small. And we're like, hey, it was 23. You only played, you know, X amount of games, like need to see a little bit more. Well, we're seeing it. And that is why, he is why we wanted to, one of the main reasons, at least, that we wanted to do kind of a refresh of those tiers.

at mid-season because he he single-handedly you were like we had him too low we got to go back at I'm not he was the first name that came up yeah like when we when we cracked that open and started doing the process we're like all right well we got to move caprizov off cut caprisov up and that was you know everything else kind of came after that he's he's remarkable um I want to like one of the coolest things right now I don't know if I appreciated it in the moment but a few years ago um before Caprizov came over, I watched him play in the world championships on a line with Pavel Datsuk, and the two of them together, I wrote something that was just for Minnesota fan, essentially just said, you know, you should be really excited. And they already were. Like,

that was at the moment where they were like any story about him sneezing was a big deal. And like it was, you know, they knew what they were getting. But I like watching those two, because you talked about the playmaking ability and, and just seeing them feed off of each other was incredible. And now, like, it's, it's even cooler in retrospect because I'm like, wow, this guy is like a legit NHL star franchise player. And, you know, to see him at that point in time was amazing. And, you know, it's fun that he drove that conversation for you guys in the tears.

And a couple of the other things that stood out to me, because you moved people off the list completely. And there was one subtle, other subtle move was Cal McCar again, same idea. Like, didn't jump a bunch of tears. it went from All-Star or whatever that was to, hey, this guy's a franchise player. Yeah, he's in a group with McKinnon and Matthews and McDavid. Yeah. Like, that's the leap that he's made.

Those are the things that we wanted to focus on there. And also to kind of make it clear that, you know, not all tiers are created equal, right? Like Mitch Marner is another guy who he had, he was going the other direction. He's the other guy who he had a lot of conversations about, he's a lot of conversations about, guy who me and Dom specifically were like he's a tier he's 2B like the production

is just undeniable you can say what you will about the playoffs but like this guy is top 10 and points per game over the last three years like that counts sorry and he's really good defensively like you can everybody waits stuff differently but I'm just not willing

to throw out that kind of production and that kind of skill set based on five crappy games in the posties Well, when you're Mitch Marner and you've had a pretty slow start to the regular season, yes, he's playing better now. But if that's your body of work, if that's why you're on the list is like, look how good this guy is in the regular season, then you better produce during the regular season. And he hasn't at a level, you know, commensurate with a franchise player. So he drops down. You know, and I know it's like we're picking nits and probably talking more about this than it merits. But going from two B to three. is a big deal. And that, that is the jump that Caprizov made. And that's the kind of drop that, that, that, that, that's not the same as us being like, you know, oh, do we move Jake Gensel up from 4A to 3 to 3B? Like that about, like, that's all, that's all well and good. But when

you're talking about moving guys in and out of like the rarefied era, being a true franchise player, I think that's, I think that's much more interesting. And Caprizo is one side of the coin and Marner is the other. I will say because Dom and I did the initial one and it always ends up turning into a Dougie Hamilton conversation. I did just run right to the Hamilton section because it's not, hey, the other side seems to be pulled like, it's like a horse race. It's like, oh, here come the hockey traditionalist down the stretch.

The Dougie Wars. The Dougie Wars. The Dougie Wars of 2022 continue. I'll say this for in Dom, not in Don's defense, but to his credit. I mean, he was, he was like, all right, we got to, we got to drop, we got to drop, we got to drop, we got to drop. Like, that was, that was, that was, that was driven by him. I'm so sad. Which is, I don't think you, I don't think you should be that sad. He didn't. He didn't. He's not. He's not, he's, like, it was, like, it was, like, this is what it's, this is what it says. Like, I'm, he was such a fun debate and he was always so adamant, which is fine. But, like, I will give, you know, Dom is, like, Dom is, like, Dom is, this is what it says, like, I'm, he's, He's like a detached observer sometimes. And he's just like, I'm going to argue this. I think that's wrong.

I think that's part of the way it goes whenever you bang the table for guys. Like you got to just be willing to admit, you know, when you're wrong. Even if it's only in the moment, even if Dougie comes back at the start of next year and, you know, answers all these questions that we had about him, which is whether he can drive his own pair because, you know, he was really good with Jacob Slavin? And like, was he the guy that drove the bus and blah, blah, blah. Like, there's fair questions. I'm on, I'm, at the start of the season, I was on Dom side. Yeah, it was me and him basically against Corey on, on, on, on that one.

And both of us were just like, yep, this is an L. This is an L that we have to, they have to take for the time being. Yeah. Like, yes, we were wrong about Drew Dowdy, right? Like, we thought he was kaput. We thought he was, you know, the worst contracts in the league and blah, blah. And here he is coming, going from off the list to on it, it midseason. I'm like, you can't have, there's no shame in being wrong.

It's, it's a, and it's a lot. easier to admit you're wrong when you're right most of the other times too i'll i'll say that oh you're saying that in dom's case yeah no dom tends to time i'm wrong i'm wrong all the time the dom the the proof is in the pudding with that dude in a lot of different ways but also like judaoudy wasn't good like dom wasn't wrong about judaute outy dude like you have engaged judowdy playing in a team that seems to be interesting versus judaouty waiting for the rebuild completely but i i think I think that's an important thing to internalize when you're someone who has opinions about players and someone whose job is to have opinions about players.

And that is Dom's job and my job and whoever else is. You've got to be willing to take the L and admit when you're wrong and just ignore or acknowledge that a player's performance has changed from the last time you kind of evaluated them. Right. Right. Like it's not that we were wrong. about Drew Doughty, but I think there's another class of person in another personality type that would say like, you know, this is my opinion about Drew Doughty. It crystallized last year.

Yeah. He is who he is forever. Yeah. He's on a shitty, he's on a shitty contract and he's not playing hard and this and that. He's on the downside. And that's just not, that's not the case. And so, yeah, of course, we're both more than willing to be like, this is, you know, we're seeing that. Like, this is, this is not hockey talk, but I'm seeing it with Matt Stafford because, you know, we're on Matt Stafford. house here in Detroit. We have been for years. My kids have the, like, love them. And, like, and now our Rams fans. And we're always just like, it's always the line. The only reason he's not great is because of the Lions. It's why he doesn't win playoff games. Now he's on a good team.

He's winning playoff games. And all the, you're seeing the Matt Stafford hater saying, no, no, no, now, you know, it's just the team around. And it's like, now his team is just, just admit, you were wrong. It's okay to change your mind. We have new evidence here. He's on a good team. He looks great. Like, that's, it's okay. But anyways, nobody wants, man. It's just, it's just sports, man. It's just sports. And also it's like it's there's nothing wrong with with with growing a little bit and in learning new things and incorporating you know new information and into your process. I do want to acknowledge before we get to Alex Tuck. Keith Yandel is going to become NHL's Ironman when he passes Doug Jarvis. So we're not jinxing him in any way here.

Breaking breaking news. Keith Yenel has shut his hand in a car door. He will not be playing tonight. This is your fault. Oh, man. So, American Keith Yandel, I don't know if I mentioned that. I mean, this is, like, this doesn't get, like, we're not doing the Cal Ripkin banners, the number banner down in Camden here. I don't know why. Hockey. Why is it the Iron man in hockey a big deal? They should, he should do the, the Cal Ripkin lap. Like, this is, I don't know what doesn't seem to have the romance some of these other Iron Man streaks are, but come on. Hockey's ridiculous. Like, how he's done this is, is remarkable.

And I think we should at least take a moment to appreciate Keith Yandel. His what? Why are you laughing? This is the timing for Keith Yandel. If this, I wish this would happen after, after one of the work stoppages, right? Like, that's, that's where the Cal Rifkin things. Oh, right. We need something to celebrate.

Cal Rifkin, he healed, healed baseball and healed America. Thanks, Cal. Remember when he healed America? Mm-hmm. My son named, his name, his name's name Cal after him for healing. America. Now we're doing great. Thanks, Cal Ripkin. Everything's perfect. That's so good. Because of what you did in 1995. Actually, the true healing will come when Phil Kessel passes Keith Biel, which is going to happen.

That's the beauty of, like, that's my favorite part of all of this is that Phil Kessel is, talk about the horse race. Here comes Phil. Down the stretch. Those two guys, too, those two personality types. Like, duking it out for, for, For the tough man. For the tough man thing. And like these are the guys that have been criticized in the past. You know, Yandel had there was that weird stretch at the start of last season where Joel Quenville did like the like he's, this is a guy who's beloved by his teammates.

And it's just this weird thing. Same with Phil. It's it is. It's like here people that haven't always been universally celebrated. Even like for toughness or playing hard or whatever you want to say. And here they are going to break the Iron Man streak. And maybe the tough. Tough as sport to stay healthy.

Keith Yandel's streak was in danger because he's too cool. Was that the knock on him? He's too funny. We might have to bench him. Oh, my gosh. So we are raising a glass to Keith Yandel, who we would love to get on here, and we hope to do so. He is a fun talker. I, like, if you remember, you remember when he was like the catch of the trade deadline

when the coyotes traded him to the. to the Rangers and that was, you know, and I just remember him being such a pro through all that. And like, just likable guy, amazing moment. And then we look forward to having Phil Kessel on as well when Phil passes.

I'm sure he'll talk a lot. Phil. Phil's lock it in. He's coming on. Friend of the show. Phil Kessel. Best friend of show. If we say it,

does it make it true? Like even if he doesn't believe it or want to be on the show. So, all right, coming up next, great conversation with Alex Tuck. Legit, great conversation. I'm excited for it. I'm excited for you to listen to it. We'll be right back. We are now thrilled to be joined by Buffalo Sabres for it Alex Tuck.

We were just talking about Jesse Granger, who a good, he's a, what day is his show? Wednesdays? Jesse does a great job on Wednesdays. It doesn't matter. Kills it. covering the covering the covering Vegas and um Alex was kind enough to ask about him. Alex, thanks for doing this. How are you? Yeah. Good. Good. Thanks for having me, yes. Um, yeah, it's, it's our pleasure. Well, first of all, like, things are like, like, you, things are going well for you.

It seems like you just hit the ground running. Um, just let's start right there in the moment, like in terms of production and, and fit and comfort. Like, can you just fill us in how it's been going right away recently? Yeah. I mean, the trade happened. and obviously I had my shoulder surgery last summer and so I wasn't playing. So there wasn't an immediate rush to try to get me into Buffalo and into the lineup right away. I was still doing my rehab during that time.

But I decided to hop on a plane about I think like the day after the trade was announced. So on Friday morning I jumped on a plane and came in and watched the game and I was able to sit down with a lot of the guys coaching staff talked with

had a really good conversation with Kevin Adams and just kind of get a good feel of the guys and the organization in general and they welcomed me

in with open arms right away and it was a great feeling and a lot of people were, I felt the excitement of having me in I guess kind of a hometown

former and current now Savers fan in the organization and it meant a lot for me and it meant a lot for my family and I made the transition just that much easier. Yeah. I mean, that's, that's been the fun thing to track and all of this. Just like the, the pure, genuine excitement you seem to have about going, going to Buffalo. And is it true, like the first thing you did was ask Kevin about, you know, meeting the front office and getting

to know those folks right off the hop and going around and getting to know, like, I love that. Is that, what was that kind of the motivation behind that? So, I mean, I took a lot of. I took a lot of. away from Vegas and how they honestly started with the ownership and Bill Foley and he was an unbelievable owner. He treated us so well. And I saw it right from the first day I was in Vegas and I thought saw that as a huge culture thing. And that was one of the things that I wanted to make apparent is that coming in and they want me as a big piece in the future. And I knew that if I was going to be here for a long time, I want to get to know everybody.

not only my teammates and not only the coaching staff, management, but everyone in the front office. And the people that work behind the scenes to make it happen because, I mean, we are an organization. It's not just the players on the ice. It's not just the coach. It's not just the ownership or anything like that. I want to get to know everybody. And you know what? I mean, I learned from guys like Mark Andre Fleurie.

And he was a guy that I got to look up to. watch and see how he carried himself and see how he interacted with people and how much he cared. And it really went a long way with not only our teammates, but with the organization. And he is probably the most, still the most loved player to ever play for the Golden Knights. And it's just an unbelievable thing to watch and be a part of there. So just learning little things from him. And I had good relationships with the people in the front office in Vegas. And I wanted to continue that and create good relationships with the people in the front office

in Buffalo. And I know with COVID, it's tough and that and some people working from home. So I still needed to meet a few important people. I think everyone's important in that front office. So that's just something that I took the heart right away. And that's the type of person I am a lot going. I like meeting new people. And I think that that was, I guess it was a big thing. And Kevin really liked it. I wasn't going into trying to impress the GM. I was going in genuinely to just meet people and understand how this organization works and find it ins and outs because you never know like who will change your life and who will help you one day down the road and stuff so I just think it was a good introduction yeah you mentioned i mean you mentioned

mark andre flurry i'm a i'm a i'm a Pittsburgh guy um i watched you know whatever watching for 15 years here or whatever it was the connection that he had with his fan base and with this city. I've still, I've never, I've never seen anything like it. That guy's got away about him. And you mentioned learning stuff from him. Is there anything specific that you took from that kind of lesson? Because again, he's a model, I think, for how to connect with fans and how to connect with the city. And that's an important thing everywhere. And in Buffalo specifically. Everything. I try to take everything that guy did was perfect, honestly. He was the ultimate teammate. He was the ultimate fan favorite. He was a leader. Even as a goalie, he probably

honestly, he could have had to see on his chest and it would have been, and guys wouldn't have even blinked or even thought differently of it because, I mean, he meant that much to not only the teammates, but the organization in general. And right from the start, walking out of that stage, you knew that he was going to do something special on the ice and off the ice, when he got his name called during the expansion draft. So, um, and, I mean, he tries to make a difference in everyone's life and in a positive way that is. And he's done it without fault. And it's something that I've really aspired to in my time in the NHL.

And I'm trying to make my footprint not only in the NHL, but now in Buffalo. And I tried to do it in Vegas. And I started my own foundation when I was out in Vegas. And it was based in Vegas in Syracuse. Now it's even easier having an LLC in New York to be based in Buffalo to try to start really rolling that out and growing it and really trying to make an impact in the community in every way possible. Have you felt any returns on the efforts you've made there? Do you feel that kind of building connection with the fan base and with the community? I know you've only been there for a few weeks, but you put a lot of time and you care a lot about it.

So what kind of bond do you feel already if there is one? I do. And I think people really, I think at first people, I didn't really believe I was a true Sabres fan. And so when I went in the first interview and I try to rattle off as many guys that could think of off the top of my head for that Eastern Conference run back in the day, mentioning I was neighbors with Tim Connolly growing up and just little things. And people have already shown excitement.

I'm on Twitter and I see people tweet at me all the time. I'm about how excited they are to have me. And that really truly means a lot to me. And I don't take that for granted. And I really want to make each and every one of those fans proud. And there's also some people that obviously, I think myself and my teammates want to prove wrong out there. And also people we want back on our side because it's been a couple of rough years here in Buffalo. And I think we are heading the right direction and talking to Kevin Adams and Don Granato and guys that really do truly care.

not only about their jobs, but about Buffalo and about the Sabres organization and about trying to turn this thing around because, I mean, I think we have a great group of guys in the locker room and I think we have a lot of talent. And I've heard that from previous players and coaches that I've been with that we've played just this year or even before I was in the lineup and stuff. And they're like, wow, like, you guys should have a hell of a team going forward. And obviously, it's not 100%. And there right now, we're not playoff contenders and Stanley Cup contenders right now. I think for the future, that's going to be real significant. And it gives us a lot of confidence going forward as a team.

I'm going to talk about some of those players in a second. But like, Buffalo is one of those places, man. It's a great, it's a, it's a, it's a great city. I've never had a, never, never, never had a bad moment or a negative thing to say about their about about about about about about about about about about up there. But it seems like fans there want to know that it matters. You know what I mean? Like they, they, they, they need to feel something, something extra.

And part of that, I think, is, is because of the, of the problems that they've had over the last, over the last few years. So, like, I don't, I mean, I don't even know if that's a question so much. But that, but it's just, it's, it's, it's cool to see a connection with you and that fan base already because that does, that seems like they need a little bit more there than I think, and than I think in other places. Yeah. No, I mean, I, the best example is bills. Honestly, through and through. It was a little bit, I mean, they always. had their fans. And they were wavering and stuff and struggling for some years. And I've really, I've always been a Bill's fan and I've really watched Josh Allen the last few years. And I see not only what he's done on the field, but off the field and his connection with the fans. And I see Josh Allen Town Pizza and I see them how he embraces them. They embrace him. And that's

what I want for the favors. And I don't even want that personally. I just want that for the Wholesaver's organization and my team and my teammates. Because I think that that's what we can do in the city because of how good the fans. I've seen how good the fans can be in the past. And I've seen how much they care day in a day out. And they might not all be in the stands right now. And I know we're with the border and stuff like that.

We are missing some fans from St. Catharines. And, you know, but I really do think we have a good strong fan base. And I just think they're waiting for us to capitalize on it. because they do have it in their hearts to really support us. And I think they still do, but I think they need a little bit of a boost to even up their support. And I think that that's what I want to come in and show how much I care. And I think that I already saw it from day one,

seeing all these young guys and talking to the guys, they love it here. And that hasn't always been the case with players in the past that have really bought in to being a Buffalo Sabre. And I think that that's something that a lot of guys have really shown not only to the fans, but to me. And it's been really good to see that. And to be in that system and in an organization that cares that much and with teammates that care that much.

So I think we are going to turn it around. It's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be, you know what? There's going to be a lot of ups and downs, but it is going to be a lot of fun. And it's going to get to the point where. they're going to be like, oh yeah, remember those down years? Well, not anymore. And that's kind of what it is with the bills right now.

Remember those down years of the bills? Who cares about those? It's here and it's right here and right now. And it's a lot of fun. Did Kevin and Don know you cared this much? Yeah, I wonder if the school. Seriously, how much, how much was that a factor in bringing you in? So I think being from around the Syracuse area and always having that connection with the

Sabres. I, I, there was some rumors, inklings and stuff like that during my drafts that they tried to trade for a pick mid first round to maybe pick me. Um, and stuff that was, um, that might be a little bit of a leaked rumor truth there, but, uh, it was that's, do you believe it to be true? Is it true? You would know at this point. Okay. Um, no, it was something that, but like, I always wanted to be a Buffalo savior. I've always wanted to put on that jersey. I, I grew up next to one. I, I, I saw, like how they embrace the city embraced him and I I was always a Sabres fan growing up and you see the pictures of me as a lookhead, skating in my backyard with the Sabres jersey on and to be able to do it in real life and playing the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres. It really truly means a lot to me.

And I don't know. I don't think maybe that Don't Kevin really truly knew how I felt and stuff, but I hope that for my years in Vegas and my years, I mean, I was at the year, US program and Don, just in general how much I care about my team and my teammates and the team that I play for. And I hope that has gone and I've kind of got a reputation about myself, not only in Buffalo, but just in the league in general of really caring and truly being and buying into the system. So I hope that was one of the reasons for the trade. I can't speak on anyone else's behalf, but I hope it wasn't just my hockey abilities, but also what I do away from the rank. What Sabers jerseys were you wearing when you were skating around in the backyard?

It was all the kinds, all the logos. I mean, I remember the butter knife ones, the red butter knife ones. I also. Dude, I saw, okay, hold on a second. I saw, I saw a picture of you that ran right after the trade and you were wearing, you were wearing the butter knife jerseys. Yes. Yes. I was, that was up. That was probably, I was one of, I mean, it's a two and a half hour drive. My dad wasn't a season take a hold or anything like that. So I might have went to like one, one Sabers game. a year but I mean that meant a lot to me to go to a Sabres game and I think that was probably my second or third game NHL game let alone Savers game ever so you see the big smile and I remember driving back after the game and I was young so I was sleeping in the back of the car and they put the seats down for us and stuff a couple buddies of mine so I remember like little things about it

and just the atmosphere and how much fun it was and it was uh it was something that I I would never, I'll never forget. And I hope that kids today really enjoy coming to the games and seeing players that are like, I don't know, Dylan Cousins. And you had Jack Quinn and Thompson and Dahlene and stuff coming to watch those players and really enjoying to watch guys like that in the lineup. And I mean, that's what I did growing up. I mean, when I was a Sabres fan, we weren't always the best team either.

I know we made that cup run or that run in 06, but I mean, it wasn't always good times. And I was always loyal and faithful savers fan watching the games with my dad at night. And I had listened to Rick Generate. That was one of the first guys I got to meet coming on one of the games. They were like, oh, yeah, Rick Generates. I'm like, can I meet him? I want to meet Rick Generette. And I heard it.

You're like, yeah, we could probably make that happen. Yeah, I think we could introduce you to him. Well, I talked to him. I was like, hey, Rick, I'm a huge fan. And he's like, oh, cut the crap out. It's like, come on. I was like, no, Rick, like, my dad's going to be so jealous on meeting you. Like, we loved listening to you growing up.

Like, like, it was like none other. It was an unbelievable experience just there. I mean, that was my first week in town watching the games and got to meet Rick Jenna Rat. And it was awesome. This is a podcast, by the way, you can say shit if you want to. I swear. Was any good Tim Connolly as a neighbor stories? Is he?

Oh, yeah, yeah. Like, did he ever hop over and play a little street hockey with you? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, that picture, there's a picture of us standing by a street hockey net. And there's like six or seven of us young kids. And he's standing there behind us all and took a picture. And he'd come and play street hockey. And I had a backyard ice rink growing up.

So he'd come on a couple times. He moved away when I was pretty young. So he wasn't like your best friends. And we had a big age gap and stuff like that. But he would still sign anything I needed and stuff like that. That was really nice. He was a class act in that way. And I knew the people of Buffalo and talking of guys that worked with him

and the equipment managers and training staff and stuff, they all love Tim. And they call him T.C. And they love, so they love T.C. Did you call him T.C. or Mr. Connolly? He was your neighbor. I think what I was really on. I called him Mr. Connolly or his dad was Mr. Connolly.

Our parents still live next door, John. Oh, wow. That's amazing. 25 years later, so. That's amazing. I did want to ask you about, I mean, you skated a lot. You got to know, imagine Casey Middlestat in the fall or, you know, spending some time with him as you're kind of recovering. What did you learn about him or like having that opportunity to see such a talented kid who's, you know, making his way?

What was that? What were your impressions there? So much skill. There's stuff. Just in practice that I'm like. I can't do that. I can't do that. I was very impressed.

And he's, yeah, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he works really hard

and he cares a lot. And to see, to talk to him, because I've had some injuries in my career. And I hope that I helped him out with being able to give him some experience with my rehab seats,

my rehab sessions over the years and saying, and talking to him, and him, and being able to come to me and ask me questions about my experience and how I got through it and how I try to prevent it going forward from that from happening. And I haven't had the best amount of luck with that, but I've really learned over the years but to just see how much he cares and how hard he works day in and day out.

And the little things he does too just on the side of it's not like he's coming in and he's waiting for someone to tell him what to do, waiting for someone to tell him what to do. He's really trying to do the actual without anyone telling asking you to. That's really good to see out of a young kid. And I think he's going to have a hell of a career ahead of him. And he's got a ton of talent and a ton of skill. And I can't wait for him to show the world what he's got. What's been like working with Don so far?

I mean, he's, he was, he was one of our first guess. He's, his energy is unbelievable. It's wild. It's unmatched. It's unmatched. He's a deep thinker. I've really been very impressed by his ability to dissect the situation, not only like in-game, but like in video and stuff and really get guys to like listen to him and really buy in. But at the same time, like, he's analyzing and vocalizing all the same time.

And it's really interesting to see because he's not that typical old school coach that I've had in the past. I mean, I've had a couple different coaches with Coulin and DeBore. But he's got a different style about him. I think the guys really like him. I really like him. The guys really like him. I think it really, you can see it when he was out with COVID and stuff like that. We felt like a little bit different team.

Nothing against Matt. I thought he did a great job behind the bench. But the energy and the buy-in that Don brings every single day, I think is unmatched. And he really cares about each individual player. And he's really looking to develop each individual player. Like he said, his energy is unmatched and his focus, determination and just his care in general has been unbelievable to see and be a part of. And we've had, we have a little bit of history in the past. with the 17 U-18, both juniors and U.S. programs and stuff like that.

So we already had a sense of familiarity with each other. And I think we kind of took it in stride and just let it happen. So I think our chemistry is good so far. And he knows my name. And I think that's really helped. Mike Russo claims that you found out about your trade to Vegas via one of his tweets. I don't know if that's true or not. But how did you find out, is it 100% true?

I'm in the gym. I'm in the gym and we're working out. It's early in the summer. And my buddy Luke Kerwin, who was one of my workout buddies, came in and he's like, hey, Alex, I think you're getting traded. I go, ah, that's funny. No, no, he says, I think Vegas is drafted me. I'm like, no, that's not possible.

They can't draft me like, I'm an integral contract. They can't draft them to all contract guys. And he's like, no, like, I think they're trading for you in the draft. So I read this article and it was like, yep, I talked likely to go to the base. And I was like, holy crap. And then I'm like, I called my parents. My mom's like, yeah, I'm watching the instigator show with Andrew Peters because my little brother lived with Andrew Peters when he played for Buffalo the year prior.

So my mom's trying to call Andrew Peters while he's on air on TV. Like, where did you hear this from? Like, what is going on? You see him like, look down at his pocket and silence his phone? Yeah, that's your mom calling him. Oh, Sharon. End it. But no, it was like, so, yeah, so I, that was the first inkling that I heard it from because they're not, they weren't actually, for trades, you weren't able to know until like 11 a.m.

Oh, right. That's right. Because they didn't want everything to be leaked, which I think was a little bit different with Seattle. They already used. That is not the way it worked out to second time. We do the roster. Yeah. So I was, I thought Vegas did it really well.

they kept everything hush-hush and I was a little bit different draft in Seattle's but it was a lot of fun to because I didn't tell anybody so I just kind of except for my immediate family and a couple of close friends and stuff so I my dad was out of town and so my mom and I think my brother and sister we all watched the draft and we kind of made a night of it kind of thing so as soon as as Minnesota while came up we knew I was going to be traded and then my phone started blowing up so I was excited. It was a really, it was weird because at first I was like, wow, like a team traded me. Like they didn't want me anymore. So that was really sad. And then you thought, Vegas, baby, like that's awesome. That's awesome. That's always a way it goes with trades too. Like

maybe one team, one team maybe didn't want you or wanted you less, but yeah, but one team really Vegas, Vegas went out and got you. Yeah. That meant a lot. And I wouldn't, and I, I'm very grateful to everything that Vegas gave me. I'll never forget those four years, four and a half years. And it was a lot of fun. And I wouldn't be where I am the day without probably getting traded. I don't know where I would be. I probably wouldn't be in Buffalo. I don't even know if I'd be in Minnesota or anything like that. But I think it was a really, it was really good for me. And it was for my for my hockey career. And I'm very grateful to be to have played in Vegas and to be part of the organization.

And, uh, but now it's, it was on to another chapter and it was kind of the same feeling with man, like I really established myself in Vegas. I felt like I really connected with a fan base. I made a life for myself. I bought a house and I was kind of putting in roots and stuff. And then next thing, you know, I'm getting traded to Buffalo. So at first I was like, wow, like, so I don't want me anymore. But then five minutes later, I'm like, I'm finally going to become a Buffalo Saber.

And I'm talking to Kevin at his excitement about the trade. I was like, wow, wow, like I'm going to be a big part of the Buffalo Savers and that. That really resonated a lot, like, resonated with me. So it was, it was a very, a lot of ups and downs. But I was just so excited about the opportunity. So excited to come back home to Buffalo and to be only two, two and a half hours away from my family. And it was, I mean, it hasn't all been 100% smooth because I was in the middle of my rehab process and stuff like that. Yeah.

Like I said, they've welcomed me with open arms, and they've made me feel right at home. Did you at least get, did Kelly at least break this one too? You weren't learning it from like a Jesse Granger tweet or something. No, I got a text and Kelly asking me to call him. I think of nine, some, nine o'clock a night or something like that. So, yeah, I had a long conversation with Kelly. And obviously, I thanked him for everything that he's done because he's been a big part of me getting to Vegas and being in Vegas. and my tenure there.

So there was obviously I know it's a business. And I know how the business works. So it wasn't the first time I got traded. So I understood how it worked. And I found out that my current teammate Payton Craves was coming with me. So I decided to let Kelly and them break the news. And he was actually supposed to play the next day. So I think he was already asleep because they're on the East Coast.

But so I hope he woke up and was able to talk to the talk to management before he saw that out in Twitter. I know you guys lost last night, but first goal in Buffalo, right? You scored. First one that counts. You scored. It's true, baby. Yeah.

Well, I mean, was that was that, I know you've had these moments, right? It seems like throughout the process where you're like, holy shit, I'm a Buffalo Sabre, but that was another one last night. You scored in front, you scored in front of the home fans, right? That felt great. It really did. That was, and that was a put us up, I think, four to three. So that was, that was a really good feeling.

And I mean, there's been some tough weather. So, I mean, we've had a little bit lighter crowds and stuff, but you can feel the energy. And we have our goals. We have a goal song, which I think is really cool. So I hear my goal song come on. I thought that was really cool. And what did you, I didn't even hear. What did you?

That's one of my favorite thing that the Sabres do, too. Which one? What did you think? Warriors by Imagine Dragons. All right. Yeah. Yeah. I was a bigger man, drag.

and they're actually, they're Vegas. Yeah, they're Vegas. Yeah, they're Vegas, too. Yeah. I got the medium, actually. They're really, really good guys and stuff, but someone had set a different

Imagine Dragon song and I said, hang on a second. I think I might know. And then I put on Warriors and like, this is, yeah, I think this is the one. So it was really cool. That was a really fun experience. Well, Alex, this is awesome, man.

And we know you got to run. So we really appreciate it. It's like you can feel, I don't know, you can feel something. is turning in Buffalo. Like, just, just, you know, with Donnie's doing, the young talent, adding you that the genuine care that the young group has that's coming through. Like that, the corner will be turned.

Like, I believe that. And it's awesome to hear you articulate it. So thanks for doing this. And best of luck, man. Thank you. Thanks for having me. That was a great conversation with Alex. We did ask for his bill's prediction.

And we won't include that here. I was telling producer Jeff this, on before you hopped on because you were a little late this morning, that I was literally rooting for the bills for Alex Tuck because I wanted him to be right in his prediction. Like literally, like I was thinking about the interview while watching the greatest football game of all time. Alex Tuck, my buddy Greg, two proud Western New Yorkers. Yeah, it's, God, that was a treat.

Also, Alex said the Bills would win by 13. We can spoil that here. He was incorrect about that But he's I believe he's going to be correct About leading the Sabres back to glory It's one day One day soon

You've said that multiple times by the way About multiple people already So we'll see Everybody that appears on this show Will one day lead their team to glory No you know who's going to lead the Sabres back to glory David Quinn Me and you

Whenever we buy them now What do you mean David Quinn We were talking about him Win in the Gold last week So I thought that's what you were referencing That would mean Dotty Meatballs doesn't have a job anymore

Of course, we are Donnie What's wrong with you? No, we're going to lead the Sabres Back to Glory whenever we buy them That's right, we are buying the Sabres With our Bitcoin money Or NFTs How's that going?

Everyone loves it. Everyone loves NFTs Not great They're not No problems with them at all I'm actually I'm buying the What's worse than the dip

I'm buying the candy and buy the dip. Yeah, that's definitely what we, what we need to incorporate in the show is just idiot, subreddit, stock advice. Coming up next, following our financial segment here with John and Craig, the best segment of the week,

the greatest segment in the history of everything. That will be the only, that'll be the only good segment on the show is Crypto, with Sean and Ted. One of us loves it. One of us hates it. Who could it be? We'll be right back.

Welcome back. It's the only good segment on the show. Craig, you get that name wrong every single week. The only good segment on the show. Who's to say what's right and wrong? It's not the best. It's not the best segment on the show. It's the only good one.

See, I would never say that. I thought Alex Tuck was great today. And I would say that segment was good as well. So I would, I don't know. I don't know about your naming conventions. Anyways. The interview segment is called the Quinn Hughes Memorial Player interview. Because you killed him with boredom.

It's my own fault. Just to be clear, here, everybody. I was in Toronto. We had a million things going on. John didn't show up for it. This is anytime we reference that, just to be clear, if you're listening to this and you're a Quinn Hughes fan, which we are,

it was like, oh, I got to do this. It was just being ill-prepared. Quinn knew it two seconds in. Prepared. May or may not have been on over. Let's, let's be. There was a lot of things going. I was in a hotel, scrambled.

I was like cold sweats. It was a mess. And like three questions I asked Quinn weren't even like the basis wasn't even accurate. Like I was looking presumptions and I was like, well, you know, you did this deal because of that. And he's like, no, that's not true. Actually, no. All right. Well, I'm going to go jump.

I'm going to jump out a window. It was. the most anyways this segment is when we go into the app we tap seven different buttons go into the comment page

on our episodes and talk to you guys because you're sick little freaks who go and actually leave comments on this and we love it we really we really appreciate this is a way nobody did I would be panicked

we'd be like shows over folks make sure you review us on Apple Pots the Rangers Are they good? Let's talk about it. Now, we love it. We love the comments. We love you guys actually taking time to do this

because we know it's not an easy ask, honestly. So here we are. Craig. We'll see, writes, still the best show on the athletic lineup and dare we say the world. See, that's what I'm saying. When I talk about the best segment in the world. Well, you dare.

Dare you. It is. It is the world's best podcast. Sean, really neat idea with flower going to Washington, it makes a lot of sense for a win now team, but cap-friendly shows they have zero dollars left in

cap space. Sean didn't check out any of the numbers when you started spitballing ideas. It's not my job. What do I look like here? No, I mean, I don't know. I think that's a situation where Blackhawks, even though they've been playing a bit better

and whatever else, maybe they're less apt to dump him. They could still be holding on to that delusion a little bit longer, eat some of the cap, right? Dev, what do they need for? Key 50% get a better package in return from Washington, and then stuff gets a lot easier from there.

If you can take Flurry from seven to three and a half or whatever, it would be, it gets a whole lot easier. And I stand, now more than ever, go get this dude. If you're Washington or Pittsburgh, for that matter, I know that's probably not going to happen. Pittsburgh badly needs a backup goal tender, badly. Casey DeSmith is not the answer. He's been, and they're going to need to rest Tristan Jari at some point.

They're doing that thing, Craig, with a backup goalie where, you know, they'll try to start DeSmith and then he'll tank after one period and he'll have to bring Anjari on his off day just because he's the only guy that gives him a chance to win. Washington's in an even tougher boat because they don't have one, right? Those guys are, those guys are not good. Go get a goalie. you have Alex Ovechkin

you have Sidney Crosby you have Evgani whatever What team has all those guys That's a good question I don't know All you got to do I try to think of a joke

Answer there You send Flurry to Arizona Well you keep half the salary Then you launder him through Arizona Then you ship him over to Detroit Launder him some more By the time he gets to Washington He's playing on the veteran minimum

Guess what By the time he gets to watching, they're paying the caps. You're getting $7 million to roll Mark Andre Flurry out there. There's creative ways, Will. I love seeing teams go for it at the right moment. And even not, like, I feel, I've said this about the Predators in the Power Rangers. So the Predators are the Predators going to win the Stanley Cup?

Like, no, probably not. But they're being rewarded right now for David Boyle, just saying, screw it. Like, I'm keeping all of these guys. We need more teams like that. We need more teams going for it in sports, not just the NHL. This applies to baseball or else. NFL. Hey, hey, Rob Manfred.

I got some. I got a bone to pick with you. Oh, my gosh. No, go for it, man. Will actually had a question. You went on your diatribe before even getting to Will's question. Shut up. I might even save it for next week.

Shut up. I'm saving. Will, we're going to save that just in case. No, no, no, no. Would you either be the GM of the, Golden Knights and you've got to do some cap tap dancing around Ikel or the GM of the caps where you clearly have to bring in a goalie to make some space. Generally, based on the degree of difficulty but also the potential payoff, who would you rather be?

Kelly McCriman or Brian McClellan? The payoff is the variable here because I think I would rather, Kelly McCriman is going to have to send out a good player or two. to make room for Jack Eichael, whether it's Riley Smith, whether it's Chandler Stevenson, whatever ends up happening there. That is too much money to add mid-season without, unless someone gets hurt.

Those are the options. Is either you're going to lose a good player for the duration of the regular season, you know, whatever. Max Petruetti, I don't want to put it. I actually don't want to wish anything specifically bad on him. But like somebody would have to get out.

Do you have to see that? No, I was. going to say like, well, say like, whatever, if, if such and such player breaks his ankle next week. I don't, I don't want to do that. But it's either going to be that or you're going to have to trade Riley Smith or whoever. I'm like, yeah, I don't, I don't want that. I'd much rather try to convince, you know, the Blackhawks to eat cap and try to launder flurry and dump and find some way to dump three and a half million dollars in bad players.

than send out good ones. That being said, it's not a bad problem to have, adding Jack Eichel to a pretty good team midseason. Yeah, you do that and figure it out later. And I think that makes, and I think that that is a huge, huge variable, even more so than the Caps potentially adding flurry because the West sucks.

West isn't he good? There's two and a half good teams there. So it's more relevant. I think the East is just a war zone this year. So I think adding Jack Eichol gets, that gets Vegas a lot closer to being the favorites in that conference than adding, say, Mark Andre Florey Wood for the cap. So that's a good question.

I think the, I would rather, like I said, I would rather, I would rather find a way to dump bad players than send out good ones. But I also think Vegas is closer to a cup right now than Washington is. Michael Kay writes, thanks for having David Quinn on the show. Love the Olympic content. David Quinn was great. That was last episode. If you haven't seen it, I would encourage you to go see it.

or at least watch the clip on Twitter, the video clip of David Quinn and where I look like I just came in from shoveling snow, which I think I probably did. Any chance to get some players on? I would love Sanderson, Brissan, Maddie Bernier,

to talk about their excitement and get more American fans jacked up about our team. Let's go. Completely aside, I'm right in the middle of listening to the rewatchables talking about Miracle, which we brought up.

And it's gotten excited again about the Olympics. Sean. The fourth best, the fourth best occupants they're convincing me it's, I'm gonna give it a rewatch.

Sean, you're still fun to listen to even next to your Sparty co-host, bring back Balmann on the show. What, like this really took a turn. I was like, hey, love the show, guys. I'm gonna,

I'm gonna answer, I'm gonna return that, uh, that last comment there, bring back Bolman. No, never. Never.

He knows what he did. Hmm. I don't think we can get any players right now. Like those guys are, those guys are about to understandably go into media blackout mode. Right? Yeah, but there's got to be a point where we could get them in the middle of all this.

I know, I know, here's what I'll say. I know the women's team is there. They're done. Yeah. So, and next week will be February.

So I don't know if that's in the cards. Those guys, and that's fine. Those guys need to be focused, conserving their energy. both mental and physical to begin their march to gold in Beijing.

I'll let you, Caleb B, scattershot at some questions here. I love it. Caleb clearly was listening and leaving comments live live. Live.

Oh, he was live commenting the podcast. More people should do that. I just want your strain of thoughts as you're listening. That's great. I'm fine with that. Caleb says,

one of them is that I love that you called your shots with the U.S. winning gold, Craig, I'll take the field and give you odds, say, plus 120. 50 bucks. Would you take the year? I'd need better odds. Like, I'm giving him every other team. That's not fair.

But Caleb, I'm, like, I'm in. Let's, let's hash this out in the, in the comment section. I will make a way. I will put some money where my mouth is with the U.S. winning gold. But I can't give you the field and only get that payoff of plus 120. Plus, plus two. What's reasonable? I'll say.

I'll set it. Plus 250. I mean, I'm sure this number exists somewhere, right? BetMGM, partner of the podcast. Are we going to look it up right now? No. No, we're not. Let's hash this out, Caleb.

Plus 250. Okay. Says SG Sportsbook. The Big Lobowski, says Caleb, top five movie of all time. Is that true? I don't know. It's certainly top three coens for me.

I watched it last week after our discussion, too. Did you really? That's a, oh, absolutely. that's a comfort movie it's on um it's on um it's on um i'm d it's on imdb whatever the the free i mdb app that comes on that i have on my tv yeah you got you got to watch commercials with it so it's kind of weird but i watched every second of that on friday it's so good i love watching i love watching stupid movies um well maybe not stupid but just like chill out movies on friday at like five or six o'clock. I always try to find something, something, uh, enjoyable. And it's funny because,

and last, last week was Lowski. I'm at the point where I'll use phrases from it, but not even think I'm quoting anything where someone will say something. I'll just like, you know, that's just like your opinion, man. And like, I'm not saying it because I think I'm being, you know, I'm quoting the movie. I just, the thing incorporated it into. This aggression will not stand. Get away from me, mister. That's the funny that's the funniest scene in the movie when he when he beats the shit out of out of the big Lebowski I want to just get to Caleb in his which I love that he just live he live commented the podcast and it's worth a read probably better than the actual podcast he concludes with I've listened to a few different hosts of

this podcast while each has their merits you two are the cream well done keep up the good work you too Caleb you I would read I would read Caleb live streaming like live thought blogging podcasts. You should do that. I'm in. Let's do it. Chris Jay, bet if the Spengler Cup doesn't get canceled.

Bobby Ryan is probably on the U.S. team. Amen. I think that's true. I think he certainly would have had a better chance to make it. If his team would have gone on a little bit of a run at the Spengler, that was clearly a concern of David's. As he said in the interview was that, like basically look,

these guys, the guys who haven't skated and haven't played or haven't played competitively, you know, for however long they were at a disadvantage. You think we, uh, you get, you think we threw David Quinn for a loop with our Bobby Ryan love clearly like, why did you do this to Bobby Ryan? He was like, oh, well, um, what was funny about that question is that it like kind of incorporated the bit that we do about just Bobby Ryan being our best friend and he and we love everything he does. And you should be the co-host of this podcast. And you were like, now, now, David, as you know. Yeah, as David Quinn, as a listener of the show, David. As a loyal listener of the show, you know that we gasped Bobby up at any given turn. So why, what the hell happened there, man? Come on. And he didn't even like, he wasn't like, I don't know what you're talking.

He was like, yes, I know I'm prepared to defend our decision here as, as. Yeah, he was ready for it. And then I was like, so how about bringing that whiteboard out in the lobby at the, on the plane, huh? Good clip. Don't be mad at us. Adam W. Well, hold on. Christiane had a question, an actual hockey question.

Okay, I missed it. The last line there. Who medals at the Olympics? Who medals? I want to answer this question. Do we have to lock it in right now? We will talk about this in a little bit more depth next week, but, and I'm not just saying this as a, I'm not just saying this for the bit.

Okay. I really like the U.S.'s roster. relative to say, oh, I don't know. Canada's. Feels good to hear that. It'll be Russia. Go find some way to do it again. I'm already on record saying gold USA and let me do some research and we'll go,

we'll make our picks. I'm not ready to, but USA wins gold. We will. Probably, probably easily. I think USA wins gold, silver, and bronze, if you ask me. Triple, triple, the very rare triple medal at the Olympics. And then we'll close up The only good segment on the show

Adam W Since we both wanted a real hockey question Which you know I think we might have been a joke but whatever Using only skaters Using only skaters So no goalie who's on the Mount Rushmore Of the NHL

We did defenseman Mount Rushmore on our bonus segment which posted Which is on the athletic podcast feed It posted right after our last episode Yeah Um, I, the, the Mount Rushmore thing, it's, it's frustrating because it's like everyone just goes or Gretzky, Lemieux and then, you know, I think it's Gordy how. Not just because there's pictures hanging behind me, but I think it's Gordy how.

That's, that's, that's, that's, um, I feel like a weatherman come. How do you, that's Cameron. That's, that's Gordy right there. And we got some storms coming in from the west. I think, I mean, Gordy to me is the fourth and that, and I, and I agree that the other three of the other three. That's actually easy. No, unless you disagree with Gordy How is your fourth. Oh, I know your fourth. I know your fourth.

I'll let you answer, but I do know it. Bobby Ryan. Nope. What is it? Like Green. That was some disingenuous, like, uh, conflict baiting by you. I just said that Mike Green had a, had a really fun, really great. season. Best defenseman of all time. Those are great. Again, if you want to ask a question, go to the

athletic app, go to podcasts, scroll to ours, find the day of the week. That's Sean and I, in the best way is probably to look for our guest, so you can look for our guest, Alex Tuck, in the title, find that particular episode. Click on that one, so it loads up into the app so you're able to listen. Then click on, there's a tiny blue link that says details, click on the details link, and then at that point, if you have the right kind of phone, you can leave a comment. Red, idiot. No, it's not.

Is it? The links, the, I just thought all links are blue. Click on the red details button. And then if you have a iPhone with an updated iOS, you can then leave a comment, possibly. Is that true? I don't know. Lying to the people again.

Invedereate liar, Craig Custin. I wouldn't. I don't. Thanks for listening. to the Athletic Hockey Show, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. And don't forget to leave a rating and review. And we also have said,

we will answer any questions that you leave in the ratings and reviews. Because Sean is reading them constantly, as we all know. Subscribe to Athletic Audio Plus on Apple Podcasts to get all the bonus content, like our defense in Mount Rushmore. We just referenced where Sean made his case from Mike Green. I think I sang on that, didn't I?

I did. You did sing. And then you got mad at me because I didn't pick up the next verse. I'm not singing on a podcast. You were like, thanks for leaving me hanging. Let's go. Yeah, well, it's not my fault. You've been bad, a terrible voice.

People don't know that about it. It's terrible. And I, there are, like, I, yeah, it's not good. Like, I can't carry a tune. This week, the Wednesday crew provides the bonus content. I'm sure it's going to be great because it's not the Monday crew. Start with a 30-day free trial, then just 99 cents a month after that. And right now, you.

the listener, dear listener, can get an annual subscription to the athletic for just $3.99 a month when you visit theathletic.com slash hockey show. That's it. Is that it? Yeah. Do you have anything to add? Wow. No, you've cut.

That's fine. Whatever. See you later. Are you talking to me or the listener? I'm talking to you, boy. Okay. I'll see. Hey, listener.

Thanks for listening. I'll see you later. I'll see you later. Never at the post office. I'll see you at the movies.