The Athletic Hockey Show - Craig Conroy named Flames GM, Kyle Dubas makes first statement since Maple Leafs firing, a Senators ownership update, whose reputation has improved the most during the playoffs?, and more

Episode Date: May 23, 2023

The Monday crew is here on a Tuesday as Ian and Julian defend Victoria Day following vicious attacks from the Tuesday Boyz and discuss Paul Maurice’s optimistic outlook on Sasha Barkov’s injury status, a resurfaced, strange audio clip of new Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy during the 2004 playoffs, if Alex Tanguay could be the next Flames head coach, Kyle Dubas’ first statement since his firing as Toronto Maple Leafs GM, what the holdup in the Ottawa Senators ownership process might mean, how Buffalo Sabres fans will feel about Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart both potentially playing for the Stanley Cup, and the guys wrap things up with a round of Multiple Choice Madness and by handing out this week’s Conn Smythe Winner of the Week award.Subscribe to The Athletic Hockey Show on YouTube: http://youtube.com/@theathletichockeyshowGet a 1-year subscription to The Athletic for $2 a month when you visit http://theathletic.com/hockeyshowSign up for a Chime Checking Account today to link your paycheck. It only takes two minutes and doesn’t affect your credit score. Get started at http://chime.com/nhlshow. That’s http://chime.com/nhlshow.Download the Dave app from the App store right now or go to http://dave.com/nhlshow Sign up for an Extra Cash account and get up to 500 dollars instantly. For terms and conditions go to dave dot com slash legal. Instant transfer fees apply. Banking services provided by Evolve bank and trust. Member FDIC.Head to http://FACTORMEALS.com/nhlshow50 and use code nhlshow50 to get 50% off your first box. That’s code nhlshow50 at http://FACTORMEALS.com/nhlshow50 to get 50% off your first box.The right tone can move any project forward when you get it just right with Grammarly. Go to http://grammarly.com/tone to download and learn more about Grammarly Premium’s advanced tone suggestions. That’s http://grammarly.com/tone.Check out all of the delicious options at http://nuts.com/hockey23. You’ll receive a free gift and free shipping when you spend $29 or more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the athletic hockey show. Welcome back. It is Checks Notes, Tuesday edition of the Athletic Hockey Show. That's right. Ian Med is Julian McKenzie with you for the next hour or so on a Tuesday. Because the Tuesday boys took the Monday show, Julia. And now we're on a Tuesday. So nice of the Tuesday boys to hold it down for us on holiday Monday.

Thank you, America. That's the best thing you've done. I'll tell you, though, listen, before we get into that, before we jump into this, I just want to tell our listeners about the New York Times audio app, a new iOS app for

New York Times subscribers. It's got this show, other great podcasts from the athletic, exclusive shows, narrated articles, and more. New York Times audio, download it now at New YorkTimes.com slash audio app. By the way,

It says you've got narrated articles on this New York Times audio app. Julian? Yes. Are we going to get to a point where at some point we actually read out the articles we wrote and then they're like available in a podcast form? You know what I mean? Like I'm thinking of later today you're going to have a column and it's and you're going to have to read it out and it's going to say, Craig Conroy took 30 seconds to ponder the question.

You know, dramatic pause. Like, whatever your lead is. And, you know, that's, yo, I don't, I don't think that's a bad idea. I don't think that's a bad idea. I don't think that's a bad idea at all. Because there are people who, like, think about it, their audio books exist. Why not the same thing for articles? And, and I mean, I can't speak for every single person who writes on the NHL vertical here,

but I know in our particular cases, as people with broadcasting backgrounds, people tend to like our voices. I don't think people would necessarily mind if we're. we read out our articles. What about the quotes, though? How would you do the quotes for people? Like, would you read them out, like, just read them straight? Would you try to put a little, like, do you do an impression of the guy? Do you just find the audio, drop that in of the quote?

Like, man, I don't know. I don't know if people would want this. I think, like, if you could, if you have the time to drop in the audio, it would be pretty sick. And it would save people from doing terrible impersonation. of players, especially like if they have, you know, if they come from different countries that you're trying to do like a Russian accent or something, that's probably going to be, it might come across,

it might come across insensitive in certain places. You can't be, exactly. You can't be doing this. You got to just read it straight as if you're reading an article straight. But anyway, so there you go. I don't think it's a bad idea. And if our bosses hear this and they decide to do this, I hope we just get some kind of bump up and pay or,

credit or something. That would be nice. Whatever bump and pay we get will be negated by the anger from all the other writers come to us and like, the hell are you doing brainstorming things on a podcast? Why are you giving us more work? You've added more work. Do you think

Katie Strang has time to do this? No. No. No. Anyway, we've caught off the rules already. I apologize. So look. Like you said, thanks to the Monday guy. By the way, I listened to the Monday pod at the gym this morning. Went to the gym, rode the bike, did some other stuff.

Said, let me listen to the Monday podcast. And first of all, Julian, they took a ton of credit. First of all, Custin's called themselves the best teammates anyone could ask for. Yeah, I heard that. I was like, mm. Okay. Then they proceeded to mock Victoria Day, which is the holiday in Canada,

the third Monday, very similar to what you have in the United States for Memorial Day. It's kind of like the unofficial kickoff to summer. These two guys were like, what do you do on Victoria Day?

Do you barbecue? What do you do? Like, and then they were mocking us and they're like, oh, it's, it's, they're celebrating the Queen's birthday and the colonies.

Like, come on, guys. Look, I mean, when you, when you're, when you're, when you're the Tuesday boys, and you have to wait until, okay, congratulations. You have Memorial Day.

Good day for you guys. But, you know, July 4th, typical day where you're seeing everyone wearing the USA tank tops and doing things like sticking their heads and in barbecue pits and almost burning their eyes out. Like, I get it. You think you're on this like superiority high ground. You laugh at other countries. But the only thing is, we've been laughing at you this whole time. I get it.

I understand where they're coming from. When you have that complex of thinking you're better than everybody else, you tend to do stuff like that. So that didn't bother me when I heard them say that. Nope. It's whatever. Did they have a British accent at one point, Sean Jintili was trying to just kind of British accent? Like, that was kind of.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, they were doing weird, man. They were like celebrating the king's birthday. Stick to writing, man. That's not your gig. Stick to writing. Yeah. Or possibly reading out the articles that you wrote.

You can stick to that. Sean Jantilly. I tell you what, Sean Jantilly, man. I, would you like listening to an article that he voiced? I mean, I don't know. Maybe. Does he have time for this? Yeah, he's got time for this.

He's got nothing but time. He has nothing but time. He would do it. Gentilly. You're right. Like, it, yeah. Anyway, so I listened to the pod. We thank them for flipping with us.

And I do want to point something out though that's really interesting. So next, this coming Monday, which is, I think the 29th of May, is Memorial Day in the United States. And I thought, well, you and I, it's not a holiday in Canada, we'll be back on the Monday pod and away we go. Guess what? It turns out we don't have to do a podcast on Memorial Day. Yeah. So we're doing another Tuesday show?

Like, what is that what we're going to do? No, we have Monday off. The Tuesday boys will be back recovering after they, you know, have their, what do they do in the United States? Beer and Brats. Yeah, what do they do in the United States for Memorial Day? Like, what do you do for that? Barbecue. Is that it?

Yeah. I'm an American. That's that it? You just say you're an American the whole day? I don't know. What do you do? That's what you do. So they're going to be back.

We get Monday off. So we do have to actually thank our American colleagues for that. Okay. Thank you, America. We might be into the Stanley Cup final by that, man. Like, Julian, this is getting interesting. The Panthers pull off the sweep or on the sorry, on the verge of pulling off the sweep, they win 1-0 Monday night.

Vegas can take a 3-0-0-stranglehold as well. I was wondering about this earlier. I was like, man, like, if both these series end by Thursday, when should the Stanley Cup final start? Because I kind of feel like maybe Monday is a legitimate day. Now, maybe they want to look at, has the NBA finals Sked kind of roughly been mapped out? Or they still have to wait, right? Denver's in, but Miami's on the verge of getting in.

Is that right? I feel like I saw a few days. Yeah, I feel as, so, okay, so it was revealed, I think, a couple of days ago, the NBA final schedule. So no matter what happens, Thursday, June 1st is going to be the first day of the series. Game one is on Thursday, June 1st, no matter what happens. So even, no matter what, so even if the Celtics lose, like, because it's 3-0, right, Miami?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Miami's up to Rio and the Celtics. And Denver. So. And Denver's through. Game one. So we know this.

They're going to alternate. They will never go head to head with the NBA. Never. Never, ever. No. But if the Stanley Cup final, or sorry, the semifinals end on Thursday, let's say Vegas pulls off a sweep,

Florida pulls off the sweep. And now Thursday night, they can't wait. until the following Saturday. Like, if I'm the NHL, wouldn't you start your Stanley? Is that when it starts? I'm going to think, you know what I predict? I predict they will start on Wednesday, May 31st, game one.

Yeah. And then Saturday, game two. Well, you should get the Saturday. And I know you're not going to have a Canadian team because I know people can play about that earlier in the year, but you get the Saturday and you make it a big deal there. No, I think in any situation where you're the NHL, you cannot compete with the,

NBA on this just even if it was going to be an LA Boston I mean if it was going to be that like holy crap that definitely would not have a situation for them to compete with but even if it's likely going to be a Nuckets Miami series I don't think you compete with that situation. That being said shout out South

Florida the fact that they are on the verge of having both the Miami Heat and the Florida Panthers in the respective championship finals like if I'm a fan of both teams I definitely don't want them on at the same time like I would love the idea of them alternating day one day on, one day off and all that. Like, I would love that possibility.

And the cool thing is they don't even play in the same venue, right? But it's not that it would matter anyway. Not like they would potentially be like, oh, no, like there's a building availability conflict. Once you get to the final of the Stanley Cup and then the NBA finals, they alternate the dates. But yeah, what

a time to be a fan down there because it's it's just been a terrific magic carpet ride really for the Panthers. So they pull off the win, but Sasha Barkoff gets banged up in that game. Now, I thought this was interesting. Here on Tuesday morning, Julian,

Paul Maurice gave a little bit of an update to the Panthers flagship radio station in Florida saying, I think basically, here's the quote from Maurice, we're hopeful this one is not going to be long term. We don't think it's anything too sinister. Should I be doing a Paul Maurice impression with this?

Can you do one? work on. No, no, I can you do one? No. No, I don't think I can. Only if you could. But, but he did say, look, we're, we'll have a better idea after we see today where he's at. I would say I'm more on the optimistic side right now. So that's great. I mean, Barcov, that between the legs fake out nonsense thing he did the other day was like insanity. My mind was blown. It's like, I never even thought about a guy doing that until he did that. But it was a sick news. This, This seems like good news that Barkov, according to Maurice, might be available at some point here. I don't think you play.

You wouldn't play him in game four, would you? I don't think you have to. I think the fact that you have that 30 series lead, you have the benefit of letting him rest as long as you need. And if you finish the job in four, then that's even more time. You're not going to find yourself in a situation where the series keeps going on. You're like, oh, God, are we going to have to think about putting him in game six or game seven, whatever, whatever situation. comes to that. If the Florida Panthers get it done in four, you give your team a couple of days to rest, get your practices in here and there. And if you're Alexander Barkov, you just take that

time to heal up. I was more surprised that you didn't read what Paul Maurice said to the media moments after the game ended where he tried to. Bar Mitzvah. Yeah, he was at a bar mitzvah. His neighbor had it. He's like, yeah, that's what we'll go with a bar mitzvah. I saw that quote. And I people were laughing about it and not to bring up the beat that I cover, but I have to bring it up. Which, which, which explanation for an absence is more funny or weird? Paul Marie saying that Alexander Barkov had to go to a bar mitzv or Daryl Sutter saying Jonathan Huberto had to go take a shit. Oh, Huberto for sure.

Because, yeah, because that's the first thing I thought of. 100%. because at least with the Maurice one, you're like, ah, that guy's joking. Like, that's a joke. Darryl Sutter, you're like, what the hell? Like, he did not have to go take a shit, people. He didn't have to go take a shit. But, but, but you were wondering if that was like, what a ridiculous quote, man.

Anyway, anyway, well, well, speaking of Sutter in the flame, so you've got what, a noon mountain time press conference to get to here. So is, is that what the time is? Yes, let me tell you that the Calgary Flames have scheduled the 12 noon mountain time press conference. I believe that's what I just saw. Okay, all right. If you want to give me an update on the senators, that'd be cool, but that's your update

on the Flames. That's great. Yeah, because today we were expecting the news that Craig Conroy would be unveiled as, as general manager of the team. And just a matter of figured out that time, I was scrambling just to get my self ready for this podcast. And I did not see that the press conference would be at noon. So I appreciate you.

There you go. For that. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, we're talking about funny and weird clips and quotes there from, from Paul Maurice,

Darrell Sutter. Can we just play? Can we get our producer, Chris Finley here to just drop this in? This is from back in the day. Okay? This is one of the weirdest. And this is Craig Conroy.

And just to give the listeners a little bit of context. So 2004, that was the Flames's wonderful run to the Stanley Cup final. in the first round of that year's playoffs, they played Vancouver. And in game seven, the Canucks tied it late in the game. I think it was Matt Cook who tied it in the final few seconds. And then it went to overtime where Marty Jeline has scored to eliminate Vancouver. The flames go on to win.

And Craig Conroy has asked about kind of what he was feeling after Cook tied the game. And I want our listeners to hear this quote and this soundbite. only because Julian, I think this is like one of the most unhinged. That's probably not the right word, but like energetic, discombobulated postgame pieces of audio I've ever heard from an athlete in my life. Have a listen to this from 2004. Craig Conroy speaking to the media. You know what?

I kind of hesitate on coming back. I should have just taken off. I'm like, why didn't I just go get Nazline? I could have. If I took off right away, you know, I'm like, well, I'll let Leo play him. And I'll try to pick up a late guy. and then I'm like, he's around, then it's too late. Then I'm trying to get in, then the rebound.

I mean, you question so many things when you sit in this locker room, and you know, you feel so low. I mean, you feel like, you know, we just let everybody down in this room, and we got to do something to change it. You know, I think Darrell was the most calm person in the whole thing. I mean, Iggy was trying to calm me down. He's like, relax, we're going to get this thing back. It's just going to take longer than we thought.

And then, you know, because you just take things so hard, and you feel like, oh, what did we do? And, you know, Calgary, I can only imagine. Imagine what they were doing at home in the bars and the restaurant. Wherever they were watching the game, they must have just been in shock because I was in shock. And then to be able to pull it out there and see Jelly score, and I were talking before the game. And he said, I said, have you ever had any overtime goals?

And he goes, actually, when I was in Carolina, I got the winner against Toronto to end Toronto. And I was like, really? And he goes, yeah, and I think I had one in Vancouver. And I had one in Edmonton. I'm like, well, you have them everywhere but Calgary. So maybe tonight. He's like, let's not good overtime. But when we did, he came through huge.

What was that? Julian. What was, what, what did we just listen? Like, what was that? I felt like as almost as exciting as that game itself. It just felt like it was going such a wide variety of emotions. Plus, like, you know, how long that clip was too. Like, like, whoever was doing that interview, it could have been you.

It was at sports at the time. You were there. Like, just like, I was not. I was at sports. You know what? You were. That was either. That was, my bet.

is that was either a young Dan Murphy, Cub reporter Dan Murphy. Yes. Or potentially we were in there, you know, Craig McEwen was there in Vancouver. We also had Scott Rintool in Vancouver. So it was one of those guys that was in there.

But also, just to say, like it was very much just a wide, like a winding road of emotions and then you get to the end where Craig Carter was like, yeah, at least we got that play.

Like, that was kind of funny. And I'll say this about Craig. I don't necessarily think he's like that now, but in the few times I've gotten to deal with him, I have remarked how personable he is, just as a, as a, as a, just as a person, it seems like, again, in my limited goings on with it because I have not been there a year yet in Calgary.

But I think just to kind of take it to the GM conversation with him, he was the pick. He was the guy, he was the guy that, I think the flames had to make here as their GM. I think just in terms of the institutional knowledge that he has and the way he's risen up the ranks, I think. The fact that they said they wanted someone progressive and someone on the cost of their chance, he seemed to fit that description pretty closely. I'm very curious about who they'll officially announce as who's going to be running with him in terms of AGMs and senior management.

It seems like names like Dave Nones have flown around. People are worried if Jerome McGill is going to join the organization, I still think it would only really work right now in a advisor capacity. But I think the flames, at least initially, on the surface, I think they made the right move in terms of hiring Craig. I don't know if he's going to give interviews like the press, like the clip we just heard there. But I think at least on the surface, at least to start, they made the right choice considering the pool of candidates that they've assembled. If you had the guess right now, and again, Conroy is in as general manager. And like you said, it looks like knownish might be in there,

maybe a little bit of Jerome McGinlaw. What's your best guess? Who are some of the names you're hearing about a coach? Because the one name that I heard that I'm like, wow, that would be super interesting, is Alex Tangay. And that, you know, Alex Tangay is a real, you know, back in the day,

it was a great offensive mind. And I still think he has some of that, that ability as a coach that we've seen behind the bench. Is there any way that Alex Tangay could be the guy? You know, I thought about it. I was talking about it with our Detroit writer, Max Boltman, and he was talking about how in Detroit he's in charge of the power play. And even if the power play was a little bit slightly better than what the Calgary Flames had,

I think for the Calgary Flames, they would need to get someone who is capable of kind of unlocking whatever talent is there on the offense. Because I think the Flames had no problem doing their thing defensively. It's just goaltending just didn't help them at crucial times. but one thing I thought was going to happen with the insertion of Jonathan Huberto and the offense and some of the players that they had assembled, I thought there'd be a little bit more. I thought the offense would be, you know, a thing. I understand they would have to fight for more goals, the fact that they don't have Matthew Chuck and Johnny Goddrae anymore. But I didn't expect it to get to a point where the offense was just kind of lifeless. They struggled to get into the offensive zone at times.

The power play was bad. And they need somebody who can take the roster assemble to them. and find a strategy that can unlock some offense. So getting a guy like Alex Tongue makes sense. But I wonder if Ryan Huska, who is currently actually funny enough the defense coach, but he's also a really good communicator, really smart guy, has pushed his way up from being a junior coach to the HL coach to an HL assistant to now. I wonder if he gets that attention.

Mitch Love, obviously, is getting a lot of love. He's the Calgary Rangler's HAL head coach. He's the reigning coach of the year. one question I have is how many other teams are interested in Mitch Love? And if it gets to a point where a team or two gets really serious about having them on their team, does that force the issue for Craig Conroy and the Flames to put it in a spot for him as a head coach of the Flames? I still think regardless of what happens, I think Mitch Love has done enough to be promoted to either to like an assistant role with the Calgary Flames. and he'd follow a trajectory that Ryan Husk has done

and Kail McLean has done before him. But I wonder if other teams catch on to Mitch, who he's a good motivator, I've been to some of his practices at the HL and you're seeing guys showing emotion and they're all happy and all that. And I get maybe it's just something you do at the HL level, but it's a good environment.

And it helped that they were winning a lot of games, but it seemed like a very good environment that Mitch was able to put together in the A. And I wonder if an NHL team or two, if they put the pressure on the flames in terms of trying to get him as their coach, I wonder if that forces the issue with Craig Conroy in terms of what he might do with the head coaching position.

So obviously, interesting day ahead for you with the flames. And look, a lot of moving parts, right? Like around the league right now, the Pittsburgh situation is obviously interesting with the general manager. And then here on Tuesday morning, a little bit of an update from Kyle Dubas. Now, obviously, that Brendan Shanahan availability created some waves.

and we thought, wow, like that's one side of the story. Can't wait to hear Kyle Dubas is now that they've parted ways. I'm just going to read the statement that Dubas put out. I will not read it in a Kyle Dubus impression voice. I would just read this straight. But Kyle Dubas put out a statement on social media on Tuesday. You know, understanding. And, you know, it was interesting is that it was one of those, you know, quotes

where it was, you know, a picture of a long quote from his. And the only word that he wrote on Twitter was onward. So here's the statement from Kyle Dubus that just says, while I understand there is interest surrounding the circumstances of my departure, I will not get into the specifics of what I consider to be reasonable and consistent, but private discussions. In the days that I felt I needed to assess and evaluate my own view to the future, both with respect to the necessary direction of the club

and ensuring that I had the full support of my family for what I knew would be required in the off-season and years to follow. The organization, as is their right to do, decided to go in a different direction. In the nine seasons since being afforded the opportunity to work in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs, we have had the chance to learn a lot

and have grown significantly through the ups and downs. We have watched our family double in size while developing meaningful relationships, which will last a lifetime. It was an honor to be able to work in such an inspiring place with dedicated, loyal people and an extremely passionate fan base. The impact of that and the relationships with all of the people at MLSC from the board of the directors through the ushers at Scotia Bank Arena will forever hold a dear place in our hearts.

To the players, coaches, and staff at the facility each day, past and present, thank you for your passion and commitment at every step of the journey together. it was a tremendous pleasure to work alongside you each day, we will roll from here. Kyle Dubus, and he says we, a number of times insinuating Julian that this is him and his family. In fact,

it was signed off the Dubas family. What's your takeaway? This was his chance. His chance to respond, clap back to Shanahan. What do you think? He took the high road. I think with the way Brandon Shanahan handled that press conference,

conference a couple of days ago, some people were a little bit confused. Some people were a little bit bewildered at how these details were kind of just put out there for everybody. And that statement, I saw a lot of people say it was a classy statement. And I think in this particular situation with how Leif's fans seemed to be enamored with Kyle Dupus, the way that he conducted himself, the fact that he was a young GM who I think was supposed to kind of represent the wave of younger, savvy, analytically focused people in charge. I think that's why a lot of, it seems like a lot of fans, at least online, liked him. And I think they would take his side in a situation like this, especially since he was so

candid with his emotions during his press conference, where he explained that there's a possibility he might not come back and he acknowledged the toll on his family. And I think this is just a continuation of Kyle just being him and trying to just take the high road in this situation. What I'm curious to know now is, is if that statement, I'm trying to look through in between the lines and see if that statement says anything about him, or at least alludes to him wanting to take a break. Because he didn't, you know, he didn't, he doesn't say that. Because, you know, remember that press conference he had where he said he was either going to be the least GM or he was going to take a break. And obviously that was before Brennan Shanahan took things one step further and said,

you know what, thanks, but no thanks over whatever negotiation took place between those two. And now we're seeing reports that, you know, Pittsburgh has asked to talk to him. I wonder now if Kyle Dubus is going to follow through on whatever interest is out there on him. And, hey, maybe this time next week, we're talking about Kyle Dubus, Pittsburgh Penguins General Manager. Well, start off as whispers has turned into a real, a real possibility. And I couldn't like, I was, I have to admit, the idea of Kyle in Pittsburgh, when I first saw that, I was like, oh man, there's no way that's going to happen. Tuesday, May 23rd, I think there's a legit chance that could happen.

He could prove, he could just say, you know what, thanks, but no thanks. I'm going to actually take time of my family. But the biggest takeaway for me is him taking the high road. and I don't think it's a guarantee that Kyle Dubus just takes this opportunity to take a break. I think he looks out and sees what's out there. He talks about it with his family. If it's something that they're interested in doing, he goes through with it. I think there's a, I think that opens the door for that.

If you're Dubas and you do look at Pittsburgh and look, Rob Rossi has written about this, Pierre LeBron has written about it. A lot of people have, like you said, connected the dots. Caldubis in Pittsburgh. But look at where the penguins are in their competitive cycle. Like, would you want to get in to Pittsburgh while these guys are, you know, at that stage of their career, like, Sid's about to be 36, Gino is 36, LaTang is there, like, man. And the only reason why I bring this up is I know that there's been some chatter,

and I'll add a little bit more smoke to it, I guess, is that I do think that there would potentially be an opportunity for Dubus in Ottawa at some point. Now, that could be in a president of hockey operations role. That could be in some other role. Like, I don't want people to read this of me saying, wow, like, Pierre Dorian's out. I don't know that. I don't, I can't sit here and tell you that. All I can tell you is I think that Caldubus,

would be super intrigued by Ottawa. And I say that Julian as somebody who knows that like this, and I don't put that much stock into it, but this was his favorite team as a kid. And I think that that might pull at your heartstrings a little bit. And if you're weighing things, let's be honest here. And this is why I'll come back to the circle back to Pittsburgh. If we're being honest here,

like which situation if you could parachute yourself into, would you rather have as a general manager, the Pittsburgh Penguins who might be running on fumes of that terrific dynasty or an upstart Ottawa team that has a good chunk of their core locked in that feels like they're on the way up. Like, it's like, it's like you're, you know,

you've been in a mall and one person's going up the escalator and the other person is going down the escalator. It feels like the penguins are going down the escalator and Ottawa's going up. Also not to mention the, also not to mention, impending new ownership in Ottawa as well.

But also if you're Pittsburgh, you can be like, hey, Fenway Sports Group, we're relatively new. We have money we're willing to spend. And there are other teams that have, you know, aging superstars at the top and you want to go, man, you got to max it out. Sidney Crosby, who's about to be 36, still playing at a very high level. Evgeny Malkins still playing at a relatively high level, too. Chris LaTang, who, you know, I don't know how he's still laid

to play through all the health issues that he's been able to go through, but they still have something. Honestly, if you really look at the team over the last few years, like, goaltending has been the biggest thing that's held them back. They're an upgrade at goaltending away from, at least challenging for a playoff spot. That being said, that being said, while I think there are some arguments you can make for Pittsburgh, yes, you're right. The answer is Ottawa in this situation. You take the senator's job, you build around the pieces you have in place already that are locked in and you usher in that era of the

senators being a playoff team and hopefully more. Because I know I said they were going to make the playoffs this year. They fell short of that. I still don't think they're that far off with the players that they've assembled. And if they're going to have new ownership, whether it's Nico Sparks's group, if it's Michael and Lauer's group, whether, whoever it is,

it's going to be a new era. There's going to be more money to play with potentially. Like, this is a good opportunity. And the fact that he was a fan as a said, like I don't know. Like there's, it's like a storybook type of situation for,

for Kyle Dubus, if that's what he wants. Yeah, it's going to be, it's going to be really interesting where the penguins go. Like, I don't want to be the guy.

Like you said, like you don't want to be the guy that goes into Pittsburgh. And oh, by the way, uh, your job is to get rid of 87 and 71 and, and,

and kind of true. Yeah, that'd be a, I don't, I don't know that I want to do that. Quick update on the Ottawa situation, too, since you brought it up that, you know, we don't know what's happening with ownership. We're sitting here.

We're recording this podcast around noon on Tuesday, whatever, Tuesday afternoon. I really would have thought, and I texted you guys last week, you and our producer, Chris Flannery, I said, boy, like, I think Tuesday is going to be a real busy day for me because I think this is the day it's going to come down. As we're having this conversation right now, and I know that I want to preface this by saying by the time this podcast is published, all of everything I'm about to say, might be completely rendered useless. So take this with a massive grain of salt.

But I don't think we're going to get a definitive resolution today. And it's surprising me. And it's making me wonder what on earth is happening behind the scenes. Because I'll tell you, I don't know if you saw this. So on Friday, Julian, and for our American listeners who may not know this name, Donovan Bailey was a gold medal winning sprinter for Canada in the 90s. When the gold medal for Canada, 100 meter dash in Atlanta. 96. Donovan Bailey announces on Instagram, I think it was on Instagram, I am joining the

Nico Sparks bid for the Ottawa owner's ownership. We're like, what the heck? What? We're like, what? Then on Saturday, comedian Russell Peters announces on Instagram, I am joining the Nico Sparks bit. And now everyone's like, what? Then on Monday, and you know this, and this, again, for the benefit of our American listeners, Monday in Canada was a holiday, just like your Memorial Day is. Okay. So Victoria Day is not the type of day where you see news purposely injected into the

ecosphere. Like companies and businesses very rarely would issue a press release. on a holiday Monday at 5.45 p.m. But that's what happened on Monday, Julian. They put out a press release that said that the cast of Dragonsden, which is the show in Canada, which I guess, would that be like Shark Tank? Is that the best way to describe that?

It's literally it. Dragons Den was before Shark Tank. Like even Kevin, Kevin O'Leary was on Dragonsden before Shark Tank, if I have that right. But Dragon's Dan was before Shark Tank. But basically, for the people who don't know, it's a show where a handful of investors sit on leather chairs and people roll up and they're like,

I want to build this business. And then they discuss it and they get it or they don't get it. Well, the crew in Canada, Dragon's Den, have all signed on to be partners in the Nico Sparks Group. So I don't know what to tell you because on one level, this is very, it's odd that this information is coming out in this manner. Like, usually this stuff is wrapped in a cone of silence. The fact that this is coming out and done so via press release was really interesting.

But it also makes me think, okay, well, if they were out of the running right now, Julie, if they were really out of it, the NHL would make sure that they let people know that I think they're out, guys. Like, they're doing this for publicity. But up until now, I haven't received that word. Nobody else has reported that they're out. So this is utterly fascinating to me. I have all, I've got into this really thinking that Michael and Lauer would end up being the owner of this team.

And that Jeff Kimmel and his brother Mike Kimmel would be right there, right down the wire. In fact that I'd heard that maybe there was talk of trying to merge those two. But this is, this is odd for me. I don't know, I don't feel comfortable reporting anything right now. And I don't know what to tell our listeners other than this has been a very unique journey for me in the last 48 hours. I've heard a lot of things that, again, I don't feel comfortable like putting things out until I can get some secondary, tertiary, whatever confirmation. But I just want to tell people there's a lot of things flying around behind the scenes. And I try really hard not to just jump into that type of conjecture because I feel like people are telling me things.

for a reason right now, that they want things out in the public. And I've tried to make it clear to people. I don't want to be your mouthpiece. I don't want to just be, you're giving me stuff and I'll put it out there. I don't think that's helpful to the process. But there's a lot of things happening right now

and I don't know what to make of it. So I have two thoughts on this. And please tell me if I'm off base and give me your thoughts and just explain it away if you have to. But there are two things that come to mind with me with this Ottawa Center's thing. Let me get to the first thing.

Seeing Donovan Bailey, Russell Peters, the cast of Dragons Den, all be announced to this ownership team in a matter of days. I don't know if that means that that group is out and they're trying to do some kind of full court press,

but I definitely think it seems like it's a situation where they're definitely trying to sway where the potential final, they're trying to sway something here. Isn't that what that looks like? Like you're getting all these cool people around. But like, that's how I see it as an outsider who wouldn't know, it doesn't know all the intricate stuff of that process. That's what that looks like to me. It's like, okay, you see that like, okay,

people are saying Michael and Lauer's favored for this thing. And it's like, nah, we're just going to get all these cool famous people in so we can show that we're serious. That's what that looks like to me. Yeah, but here's the thing. Like, um, okay, maybe you're trying to sway public opinion, right? or try to inject some degree of credibility. But that has nothing to do. The process itself, I can't stress this enough, is very much locked down and they're not paying attention to the outside noise.

Like nobody in that at that table, whether it's the NHL, the Melnick Estate or GSP, which is the firm that's handling the sale, like none of them are looking on Twitter and saying, like, gee, I wonder what they're saying today. Or I wonder what Ian wrote today. Or I wonder what Bruce Garriock wrote today. or I wonder what Elliot Friedman's reporting today.

Like, they're not, AJ Perez has been another guy, front office sports, been terrific with this. Sportico has been great with this. There's been a lot of really good reporting around this. I don't think any of it matters. I don't think anybody is looking at what's being tweeted or said and say, like, oh, wow, look at this momentum.

I don't think it matters. Right? So, okay. If that's the case, then I don't, I don't know if there's another avenue that explains why they would get all these people to sign up. But I guess that kind of leads it to my next thing here. And again, you could tell me if I'm off base or not, just from an outsider's perspective. Yeah.

I just think it would be so cool if the Niko Sparks Group won this bid. If Ryan Reynolds was still involved in this process, I would understand that too. Just for the star power attached to that ownership group. And I get that, you know, Snoop Dogg was saying, hey, you know what, man? I want to, you know, make sure I grow the game and, and make sure that people who look like me or know that they can get in this game too. Like, I like hearing stuff like that. And maybe that's, I hope that's not lip service. I hope he's being genuine about that.

I even saw a random, like, TikTok the other day with Snoop Dog, where he's looking at this random video. And if you, like, someone took a map. This is a bit of a weird side tangent here. But I just want to explain that that Snoop Dog is definitely, at least seeming like he's taking this seriously. It's like this random TikTok where someone. took a mashup of, you know, the movie The Jungle Book, Bear Necessities. Someone did a mashup where they took that song and they took gin and juice and they fuse it together. It's a weird sounding song and you see Snoop Dog watching it. And if you look

closely at the shirt that he's wearing, he's wearing an Ottawa senator's jersey. So at least visibly, Snoop Dog looks like he's taking this seriously. And I think in a league, which is desperate for retention among the mainstream media masses, having someone like Snoop Dog, in ownership of a team makes a ton of sense. I do not like the fact that people are looking at the situation and are thinking, oh, does Snoop Dogg know what Ottawa is? Like, oh, this is this rapper guy all of a sudden interested in this team. This is a golden opportunity for, and I get, he's one face.

And I get you're adding all these other names, but like Snoop Dogg is obviously the biggest face attached to that group. I think it would be such a cool opportunity for that to happen. And if it goes to a guy like Michael Landlauer, I'm like, all right, cool, you got the bid. But like, I feel as if the NH would miss out on an, on an exposure opportunity here, but that's just how I see it. Again, you can tell me if I'm wrong.

No, no, you're not. And I mean, they already let the ship sail on Ryan Reynolds, which was, again, another good exposure opportunity. The only the concern, but again, I see people saying, I don't know about this Sparks group, that there's too many cooks in the kitchen, there's too many investors. Like, the smell test that they have to pass

isn't from people like you and me, isn't from the average fan. It's the NHL and his board of governors and the Melnikis. Exactly. Like they are, they're the ones who are privy to exactly what they're kind of cap table,

which is a list of your investors, like what that looks like. All of us, and I really want to make this point clear, all of us are guessing right now. And we're trying to make educated guesses, but you're guessing. There is nobody out, My true belief is there's nobody outside of that table that includes Gary Betman and Bill Daley,

the Melnik family, the two daughters and the people looking after the estate and the firm GSP. Nobody outside of that tight-knit circle I think really knows who's the favorite, who's in the lead chair, whatever. It's a bunch of guesswork. And I'm real hesitant to sit here and make any bold proclamations about who's in the lead. lead when I don't have access to the information. I don't. I simply don't. And so when I see people saying, oh, the Sparks Group, there's too many investors. Like, have you seen the sheet? Because if you've seen the sheet, then I'd love to talk to you because I'm trying to get the sheet. I'm trying to see exactly who's part of this bid. But other than that you're just guessing. With the way that you're

saying this, the biggest takeaway I'm taking for this is that people who are going out there saying, okay, like the favorite should be Michael Anlauer, is that really based in anything then? Because that's what I'm taking from the way that you're saying. You know what? The reason why,

and I have always felt like Anne Lauer and Kimmel were the favorites in the sense of they have institutional knowledge of the NHL and vice versa. The NHL knows them. Jeff and Mike Kimmel partially owned the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Michael Anlauer partially owns the Montreal Canadiens. There is a built-in familiarity. And if we've learned anything about the NHL and the way that it's run, its prior relationships matter. I wish it wasn't the case, but it is the case. Okay. So I have always felt like those two might have a little bit of a leg up.

But if another group, and it might be Steve Apostolopoulos, who's another businessman who I believe is in the running here, if somebody came in and offered the Ottawa Senators and the Melnick family $1.1 billion or whatever it is and said here, and the other groups are at 900 million. You'd have to take a good hard look at the $1.1.1, wouldn't you? Even if it... Yeah?

But the question is, how is it structured? So, this is going to be interesting. I just don't know that we're going to get an answer between now and midnight on Tuesday. But I want to caution that everything I just said might be completely rendered pointless or moot by the time this podcast airs because things could change. But it's a weird one. All I'm going to say is something is going on that I can't quite get my, I can't get a pulse on it. But somebody else killed.

Maybe somebody else killed or would. Yeah. Yeah. It's been a journey. I just feel for Ottawa fans because I put this tweet out yesterday because I think people could relate. And I said, this is like when you're in elementary school and you order this scholastic book or books. Or maybe you get the poster, right? Let's be honest.

Some people are just ordering posters. And you're like, you put your order in with scholastic books. And then you wait for like a couple of weeks and then a couple more weeks go by. And you're like, when is that order coming in? And then all of a sudden, right, you come back from recess and like the boxes on the teacher's desk. You're like, this is it. This is the day. But then you keep your eye on the clock and you're like, damn, it's like $2.45.

You know, that bell's going to ring at three. Open the damn box. That's how I feel with the process right now. Just open the box. Damn it. You know what's funny? I know you put out that tweet. And I saw that and it made me think,

okay, what have I ordered from Scholastic in the past? But what's funny is, is that, like, I know if I go back, I'd find, like, different Calvin and Hobbs books I'd probably ordered or whatever.

But I, the most vivid memory I have, or the thing I know for sure I got from those things, was a computer game, a roller coaster tycoon. And you just going back and reliving...

Do you build tycoons? Did you build roller coasters in that game? So you can build roller coasters and you can take control of parks and you're assigned all these different objectives where you're supposed to have like a certain amount of people in your park by the end of this year or a park rating of this much or a company value of this much or you're supposed to pay off a loan of how much by the end of this year. Like I've loved that game and I know for sure I got that game from Scholastic. But all that to say, like, I have been that kid sitting, just like you, Ian, I have been that kid sitting in elementary school class, just looking at that damn box, that brown scholastic box sitting on the teacher's desk, whether it was Madame Jose or Miss Donna or Miss Patricia, any of my elementary school teachers, I was looking at that box. I'm looking at the clock and I'm like, when can I get my damn game or whatever thing I ordered, man? So thank you for bringing back all of those really old elementary school memories. I really appreciate it. I tell you, I would love to do a deep dive.

If I didn't it wasn't a sports writer, I'd love to do a deep dive or I'd love to read a deep dive on how did like scholastic books and Jostens? How did they get a monopoly on schools? Like, where do they just get in and be like, we're going to do all the schools, all of the rings, all of the books, all the yearbooks. All the class photos. All these thoughts. Justin's, damn it. Like, that's it.

How were they able to go out this law? How were you able? Like, they were going off. Well, they had it for a minute, man. Because if you're able to remember those days and I remember,

I'm able to remember those days like, they were running stuff for a minute. They, they did they think. Yes. Man. But they're still doing it. Like,

I think, like, Josh, man. And Scott, like, somebody's got to go in and just challenge them. You know,

somebody's, what if like, someone from either of those companies. listens to the athletic hockey show. If you listen to the athletic hockey show and you work for either Scholastic or Jostens, please send us an email to our mailbox. What's the email we said people to?

The Athletic Hockey Show at gmail.com. Please send us correspondence, man. We'd love to hear from you. Listen, we did a little time travel there going back to our elementary school days, thinking of Jostens and Scholastic. I want to do a little time travel exercise with you here. just based on the Stanley Cup final that we might see.

So I want you and I, we're going to jump into DeLorean, we're going to go 88 miles an hour, we're going to go back to like 2016, okay? And we're going to Buffalo. And we're going to tell a bunch of Sabres fans, hey, we're from the future. And in 2023, Jack Eichael and Sam Reinhart are going to be in the Stanley Cup final.

But we got to go. We'll see you later. We get in, we get back in the, and we take off. What year is this? What year do we do this? I'm saying we go back to like 2016 when Reinhardt and I told we're like the backbone of the Sabres, right?

And we thought these two are going to help lead this franchise. I tell you of all the franchises and the fan bases that I feel the most for in hockey, there's none that I feel more sympathetic for than the Buffalo Sabres. And I can't imagine like I wonder. Like, what would go through, or what will go through their mind if next week at this time, Julian, we're getting prepared for a Jack Eichael v. Sam Reinhardt Stanley Cup final. Like, that's going to be a tough one to swallow, right? Sabres fans, man.

This is a team that is on a rebuild of another rebuild. Like, and they did all right in that Jack Eichael trade, right? They got some pieces out of that trade that they're excited about. And that's a team that could, you know, make the playoffs and be perennial playoff team. Not too far away from that, I think. But I think there are some fans who are going to feel some hurt because there are people who are so mad at Jack, at Jack Eichol. And remember when he said those comments about Buffalo fans being loud? Do you remember that?

Like, there's definitely no love lost with Sabres fans and Jack Eichel and Sam Reiner. And those two are boys. I don't know. There's like a random video that just popped into my head where like those two were riding around like a scooter before like Sabers training camp. I think it was those two players, Jack, Jack. guy called Sam Brinehart. I think it was those two guys. That's actually going to be a pretty cool story

if those two guys that end up play against each other in the cup final. But if you're a Buffalo Sabres fan, there just might be hate in your heart that week. I think there might be hate in your heart that week, man. And if we're going to go back in time in 2016, if you're going to go back in time in 2016, be like, hey, man, this is happening.

We got to go. Do you dare poke the bear and say like something about the bills to you on your way out? Say like, I don't know. say like, hey, Rex Ryan won't be your head coach forever. That's what we're saying on our way out. That's the last, by the way, yeah. It's better than saying like, hey, Bill's suck,

unless you want to get trampled by Bill's fans. I just feel for them and I wonder, we'd love to hear from Sabers fans. Like, how are you feeling right now on the doorstep about Eichael, Reinhardt, Stanley Cup? Like, I'm having a hard time thinking about any other team or fan base that's had to watch two kind of prominent players go head to head in a cup, right?

especially with the backdrop of Buffalo's in a 12-year drought of the playoffs. It's not like this. And I feel like they're turned the corner that they're on the upswing. But it's not like the Sabres just made the playoffs that got knocked out. Like it's, it's just tough, right? When guys that were part of your program that just didn't fit or you didn't think it could work or whatever happened. You know, and I to see what Eichl is doing here, it's remarkable. Like we talk about Kahn Smyth trophy candidates.

and obviously Bobrovsky's near the top here, but boy, Jack Eichael's having himself, he's having himself a week or a month, right? I mean, Jack Eichael, and it's a shame that it was not promoted this way because we all know Connor McDavid's the better player. Jack Eichael got the better of Connor McDavid in a playoff series. Jack Eichael could say,

I may have been number two behind Connor McDavid, but I was number one in that series. I got the better of him in that series. and if it ends in a Stanley Cup, like, I don't know, like, if you're Jack Guck, you can't tell him anything. Like, all right, fine.

I might not be the best player in the world, but I got a cup out of it. Like, but you'd still, okay. Got it before Connor. Okay, if this season ended and Vegas wins the cup, and I asked you,

up to this point, whose career would you rather have Connor McDavid or Jack Eichols? What would your answer be? Connor McDavid. Yeah, I think so, right? Like, yeah. I think so.

But, you know, Ikel's redemption story is really remarkable. This guy left, when he left Buffalo, that was one of the most tumultuous, acrimonious departures we've ever seen from a team and a star player, right? Like just based on the medical battle and the, you know, you know, there was a lot of stuff said both ways. Like you said, Ikele with the, well, I couldn't hear the crowd, all that stuff. This is one of the most interesting story. In fact, that brings us perfectly here. I'm going to ask you this question to wrap up the pod here.

A little multiple choice madness on a Tuesday. In the stand, so since the Stanley Cup started, Julian, playoffs started, whatever, five, five weeks ago, six weeks ago. Whose reputation has changed the most over the course of the playoffs? I'm going to give you four names. You tell me, wow, man, my opinion of that guy has really changed the most. A. Sergei Bumper. Brodke, B. Jack Eichael, C. Kyle Dubus with D. Paul Maurice. Who is like at the, you know what,

I can take you back six weeks ago and say your reputation of this guy will change significantly. Who's it for you? All of these people, I'm going to exclude Kyle Dubas from this. But all three of those people you could make legit arguments for. What thing I don't know, I don't know if you touched on this or not, but like, we've mentioned the fact that he, that Jack Igo left Buffalo and he goes to Vegas, he's number two pick and all that. Remember, remember the neck surgery thing? Remember the fact that he was fighting with Sabres management? Yeah. That's what I'm saying. Like that, like that, like that, like, I still can't believe, like, he were, I know, like, he recovered from that and he's still playing a high level. Like, that is awesome for

him. That being said, um, I think it's really between Sergei Mabrofsky and Paul Maurice here. And I will just spend a moment on Paul Maurice here because I think, I think, of a guy who was in Winnipeg for all those years had that really interesting core and they did not get that much out of it. They underwhelmed at different points. And he left and said, you know what, man, I'm just going to go fishing. And how long that fishing trip last? All of a sudden he ends up in Florida and this, he takes this president's trophy winning team. And all of a sudden, we're thinking, okay, like, what's he going to do with this team?

They're clinging for their lives to make the playoffs. I've said people saying, this team was so much faster last. year, they're very different now. And the fact that all of a sudden in the postseason, Paul Maurice has turned them into a team that's within one win of a Stanley a final. And on top of that, I don't know how much this was noticed before this year,

the press conferences, the quips with media. This dude's turned himself into a funny man. Like, I don't know where this all, I didn't know Paul Maurice to be this funny. I don't people like him. You know what?

You know what? He was always this funny. Yeah, but I think it's on more of a mainstream level. like people would point at so many other coaches and say, oh, this guy gives good quips. I don't think they did it on the level that they're doing now with Paul Maurice. So I think that Paul Maurice deserved a lot of consideration for that choice.

But the answer, Sergey Popovsky. I mean, I get that he had the two Vesidents. And he's now part of two of the biggest upsets in recent memory, the Stanley Cup playoffs. But this is a guy who people considered washed for years. He's making all this money. And the contracts. The contract is the problem, but his stats were also the problem too.

You could point to games, you could point to moments where you're looking at Sergey Bavrovsky play and you could say this dude is fighting it and he's allowing bad goals. There are people who are going back on their mentions right now and they're like, man, like I roasted this dude. I know I can go back and I've seen games where Sir Gribovsky was in it and he did not look good. And Sir Gubovovovsky now is at a point where he is the, I think he's the front runner for the Con Spive trophy. and if he wins that and a Stanley Cup,

you have to have the discussion about him being a potential Hall of Famer. How many goaltenders have won two Veznas? Wow. And a cons my trophy. That's crazy. That changes his perspective. My God. And it's just the job.

That changes his perception immediately. I don't disagree with you. Look, I don't disagree with you. You win multiple Veznas and then you backstop a team to a cup with a cons mic. That is absolutely into the discussion. And you're right. Like, this is a guy who. you know, not six, seven weeks ago,

we were like, that's the most, that might be the worst contract in the league in terms of an anchor. That might be the biggest, you know, obstacle on any team's payroll. And now, you're right, in the span of six weeks, were you not shocked yesterday? Like, I didn't realize this until the final buzzer

and Chris Cuthbert as the puck kind of, you know, Florida cleared it down the ice. And he says, Sergey Barbrowski has his first career Stanley Cup playoff shutout. I was like, what? What do you mean? He didn't have a shutout in that Tampa series in 2019 or anything. I was really surprised by that,

that he got his first shutout on Monday. But I'm with you. Look, we don't even have to have the Kansmite trophy winner of the week debate. It's him. Because this guy stopped 132 of 135 shots. Forget it. It's over. Babrovsky is the winner of the week.

And I tend to agree with you. I think my reputation on Bobrovsky has completely, like most fans, done a 180, but now it's interesting, right? Like, what happens in the office? Like, if they win the cup with Bobrovsky, I mean, now you don't even think about trading him, right? Like, now he's your guy

for the last couple years of that contract, right? Is that fair to say? I guess so. I guess you kind of have to I guess. But even that, like, even if you wanted to move on from that, like, you know, congrats, you want to, I mean, I don't want to say, he hasn't even got to that point yet.

But like, how many teams could reasonably afford that contract. Nobody. Even if you wanted to move on from that, when he's at his highest, like, how many teams want to take a chance on that? Julian's going to start the Marner for Bobrovsky rumor.

Oh, no, don't do that. Don't do that. I'm not doing that. Don't put that on me. If CJ says it, maybe, but don't put that on me. I don't want that, I don't want that. I don't want that.

If CJ says it, or if Josh Kloke says it, or if Murdoch comes up and says, all right, I got this news. Maybe. Don't put that on me because I do not want angry people in my mentions. Love it. Don't do that.

Love it. Listen, we got to cut you loose here. You got to get yourself down to the Saddle Dome for that press conference. So noon mountain time. I got to start working some phone. In fact, during this podcast, I can tell you this, I got about five now looking at it. Yeah, five text messages from different people read the senator. So I got to hop on this.

Something might be cooking here. So we'll leave it there. And thank everybody for listening to Tuesday. That's right. Thanks again to Custin's Gentile for sitting in on Monday. We return the favor by doing it for them here today. And Julian, I'm just going to read the script here as it's written in the rundown. I got to say, and I say this from the heart, Julian, I did miss the past two episodes.

I was away in Europe doing some work-related stuff. It is just fantastic to be back co-hosting with you, but maybe even more important. it was really special for me to be back with Chris Flannery. He just makes me feel at home. Thank you, Chris. But we've got to say that Flannery and you and I are not going to be doing a show together for a while. He's taking some much-deserved time off this summer. Family-related stuff, which is great.

This is it. The chemistry amongst the three of us. We're going to have to pick it up again in September. Yeah, man. I can't wait until the triangle comes back together in September, man. There we go. And we want to remind our listeners to get a subscription to the Athletic for $2 a month. When you visit theathletic.com slash hockey show.

Of course, you see.