The Athletic Hockey Show - Doug WIlson on the SJ Sharks, Rangers fire David Quinn, Jack Eichel's future in Buffalo, Patrik Laine's nightmare season & coaching changes begin.

Episode Date: May 12, 2021

Scott and Pierre discuss the playoff matchups that are now set in the NHL, led by the battle of Florida, Toronto and Montreal, Caps and Bruins and the St. Louis Blues who right now, matchup with Alex Pietrangelo and the Vegas Golden Knights.Scott and Pierre also take a look at the coaching changes in the NHL, with the Rangers firing David Quinn today, and John Tortorella and Rick Tocchet leaving their posts in Columbus and Arizona. The guys also take a look at the future of Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart in Buffalo and Patrik Laine's nightmare season and if Seth Jones will remain in Columbus longterm.Doug Wilson, the General Manager of the San Jose Sharks joins the show, to discuss the re-work in San Jose, the future of Patrick Marleau with the team and who he think will come out of the Western division.Finally, Burnside and Lebrun take your questions in our ever popular Ask the Dorks segment with answers on Pekka Rinne's legacy, where Ryan Miller ranks all-time, why Rod Brind'Amour took below market money to stay in Carolina and who might coach the Columbus Blue Jackets next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey everybody, Scott Burnside back for another edition of Two Man Advantage, the Athletic Hockey Show, Pierre Lebrun. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, normally I sit down for these, but I'm sort of bouncing up and down here in my closet. Maybe it's because I've already done yoga today. I'm feeling very limber and Pierre, we have a ton of stuff going on. We've got a ton of headline stuff to get to lots of newsy things, coaches, all that kind of stuff. Of course, we're only a few days away from that. the first playoff games of the 2021 season. And we're going to be joined by Hall of Famer, Doug Wilson, GM of the San Jose

Sharks. I'm really looking forward to chatting with Doug about what's going on with the sharks and the West. And it's curious to see what he thinks about the whole playoff landscape. But how are you doing, my friend? I say, you know, are you feeling the playoff five? How are you feeling today? First of all, I should have brought this up earlier this season, but should we start a GoFundMe page for you so that you don't have to work out of your closet and we could actually build you in office?

Is that like, are you doing okay? It's got, this closet. No, no, this, I will tell you, I'm quite comfortable in this closet and maybe it's the, you know, this sort of a,

you know, there's a quiet, tiny little place. Like I think of, what's that, what's that horror movie? Is it a quiet place? Is that one where they can't speak and because, you know,

You know, I'm feeling, I feel quite secure in here. And I feel even closer to you because I'm not distracted by outside noises or anything. And plus, as Jeff will attest to, I think the acoustics are pretty damn good. But thank you for thinking of me. Okay. All right. I forgot what you asked me. So we're off the good start.

How are you feeling? How are things going? All good. Let's get the playoffs going. Saturday. Caps, Bruins. Let's go. All right.

Well, let's, you know what, we're going to just, we're going to go fluid. We're going to go on the fly here. Let's start with playoffs then. We'll take a break and come back and talk some. By the way, the Canucks and the Flames will still be playing by the end of the first round of that Caps Bruins series. I know. So let me, let's start with that. How do you feel about that?

Because as, and I, you, you tweeted just before we came on and you and I have talked about this and I have alluded to it in print. It looks like the North Division playoffs, which are now set, thanks to Winnipeg, finally, a game and beating Vancouver, securing third spot and setting up what we had anticipated would be an Edmonton, Winnipeg series, and of course setting up the first Montreal, Toronto series since 1979. Bring that on. Looks like Habs, Leafs next Wednesday, so a week from today on the 19th, correct? And then likely... Well, no, I mean, we'll see. So one of the two Canadian series will start, I think, next Wednesday. But then the other one will go the next day. So if I had to guess, I would think they would want Montreal Chuan on the Saturday

game two on the 22nd. So if I had the guess, and I don't know this for sure, I would think they would start with the old smite division rivalry, Oilers, Jets on the 19th, and then Leifs Habs on the 20th, although, you know, there's nothing stopping the league going from past precedent from having two days off. So I guess it could be Habs, Leaves on the last. 19th, but then they don't play again until Saturday. But I have to assume Hockney and Canada would want Havs Leifes for game two on the 22nd. Yeah, I'd heard actually the opposite, that the Leifes would start on Wednesday. Oilers start on Thursday.

I was talking to somebody in Edmonton about this the other day. But anyway, it doesn't matter. It could be. It's certainly it's one or the other and then the next series goes the next day. Yeah. I guess my point is, how do you feel about the fact that, you know, as you point out, Boston, Pittsburgh, and as we're chatting here, Boston, Pittsburgh, we know. for sure, start Saturday night.

We know that Vancouver and Calgary are still slogging through their final games into next week. And in fact, we'll play a matinee on the 19th. And a few hours later, the North Division playoffs, whichever series it is, is likely to start. Are you okay with all that? Like, and in between, like my sense is that Carolina, Nashville will start Monday in Carolina. it's sort of spread out. There's a certain elastic part to the start of this playoffs because of COVID and the way the schedule goes, right? West, you know, St. Louis plays there.

They play Thursday evening this week. So like it's still spread out. Are you okay with that or how do you feel about it? Well, I feel, you know, I really feel bad for the Canucks. I mean, you wish they could just say uncle and this. I mean, the schedule after their COVID trauma has just been brutal and now they're meaningless schemes, but it's about the mighty dollar. And the reality is that the, you know, their regional TV deal with Sportsnet and it's

about honoring the TV deal. And that's what it really comes down to, to be honest. And, you know, like, I think half the roster's injured and it's just, it's no good to any of it. Right. Hopefully they just get through it without any further injury. and without further incident, but you want to talk about meaningless. I mean, I guess if I was either organization, I'd really want to go as age, how like as you can,

in terms of getting look at kids. I mean, make use of it, right? Yeah, no, good point. And listen, this isn't a, to me, it's not a criticism. We had Bill Daly on. You're right. I mean, you can't just, I know a lot of people say, well, just don't play those games. Well, it's not that, you know, it's more complicated in that.

So you have to play, it is what it is. I got to tell you, I am so pumped for the playoffs. I think there are, I think there are so many compelling series. And I want to ask you. So let's, you know, we talk a lot about the North. Yes, Montreal, Toronto is going to be interesting. But listen, you know, Montreal and Winnipeg stink right now. They might be the two worst teams going into the playoffs.

Let's start with outside of the North Division. What's the series you are like? Oh, my, I bring that on. I want to watch every minute of that that I can. I think the Battle of Florida is going to be a ton of fun. First time that the Panthers and Lightning square off, defending champions trying to go for back-to-back, which is so rare. And they're not quite in sync, interestingly.

Whether that matters entering the playoffs or not, I think we've seen that work two different ways over the years, right? Sometimes the light just goes on. Sometimes it's a red flag. Yep. So that interests me. I mean, Florida absolutely smoked them the other night. So, I mean, but that's exciting.

I mean, you can talk all you want about the Battle of Florida. There's never really been a Battle of Florida because they've never played in the playoffs. Right. So I think this has a chance to be a real special series and that's exciting. I mean, obviously, you know, nothing is going to beat Habs Leif's in terms of historical importance. True. the first time since 1979. I think what probably people around the league are wondering is how much of a fight

are the Hobbs going to put up. And it's really intriguing. I mean, they won only, well, they played a last game tonight here on TSN, as we're taping this on Wednesday morning, but they've won only seven their last 20 games. So they're really limping into the playoffs. But some legitimate reasons, again, they also had a COVID schedule alteration that had them play four games a week for five weeks in a row, which is. particular. And we're missing a huge chunk of their lineup, you know, Weber, Price, Gallagher,

etc. But having said all that, they made a coaching change when the team was healthy and before the COVID scare. So things run all smooth for them this year. So which version of them shows up? And I think it's just so compelling because every single statistical indication will tell you the Leaf should romp. But isn't there just something interesting about Carrie Price showing up and saying, oh, it's me against Jack Campbell. I don't know. I'm just saying it's, it's, there's a chance for some X factors here is what I'm saying with Montreal.

Well, did we not have the same conversation before the playing round between Montreal and Pittsburgh? And really, that was not, it was a series that the HABs early on, you know, exerted control and, and the Penguins chased that entire series. It was like,

that was so, and listen, this leaves teams better than that penguin's team. I think that's fair. But I'm with you all together. I want to backtrack for a second. Florida, Tampa could not agree more. So fascinated to see what happens with Nikita Kuturov and Steven Stamcoast,

both of whom, you know, the hope is that they will return to the lineup. You know, Kuturav has played a single game. Stamcoast has missed, you know, the last whatever it's been month or six weeks with a core body. Like how, you know, how does John Cooper use them? What are they, how do they step into that kind of hockey? But the question I want to leave you with on this series, if you're Joel Quenville, who's the starting goal? I know where you're going.

Who's the starting goalie for the Florida Panthers in game one? And as you mentioned, they finished up. And it's not insignificant because Panthers are so good at home. And by beating Tampa the final two games, our own home ice advantage in that series. Who's the number one, game one starting goalie for the Florida Panthers? So I would go Brovowski only because it becomes a bigger story otherwise. You know, like, listen, the guy you're paying $10 million, you start him, and then if he falls a short leash, you know, because I think if you go the other way,

you're inviting the kind of attention before the puck drops that maybe you don't want for a team that doesn't have that much playoff experience. You know? Yeah. Yeah, I have honestly, I have zero feel for it. And yes, that's the safe bet. Although I go back to what Washington did in 18, you know, when Gru Bauer and Grubauer had supplanted Brayden Holpe as the starter, had earned the start in the playoffs.

And I was with you. I felt they should have started Holpey, go back to Gruberauer. And of course, what do I know? They lose the first two games with Gruberraper. and Hope he runs the table. But I think my sense of Joel Quenville, listen, one of the greatest coaches of all time, going to the Hall of Fame, you know he doesn't care about Bob Brodowski's contract. My guess is Joel cares not a wit for what people say about his team outside the room. And Chris Treger coming off a shutout against Tampa has been the best goalie on that team.

And I will not be surprised. It could go either way. Christ, they could start Spencer Knight. Who knows? But my gap, and with all due respect to Sergei Bobroski, he might be the third best goalie on that team right now. But anyway, I know Spencer Knight's only played a handful of games, but great young kid. Chris Rieger's been the best goalie in that roster.

And I wonder if it just sends the message to that team, you know, we're playing our best players. And if you're not our best player, you don't get to play. And right now, Chris Reader is our guy. Anyway, I'm fascinated to see it because I'm with you. I think it has a chance to be an epic series, so I'm looking forward to it. Yeah. Okay, here's a team.

We don't, as you and I are chatting here, I believe it's the only positioning still not settled. And you go to the West Division and Colorado still nipping at the heels of Vegas for first place. They have still have a chance to win the president's trophy. But what happens, and actually Minnesota still has a chance to catch Colorado and earn home ice advantage in the first round. But to me, if you're Vegas and Colorado, do you want to play Minnesota in the first round? And I think the answer is no. And I wonder what you make of the wild because for me, there's the team that they've been so good. And are they the dark arts?

Are they of the team that could wreck havoc? in this playoff. Well, we know of those two cup contenders, which one really wants to avoid Minnesota. It has to be Vegas because the record against them this year. I don't think Colorado fears anyone. I think that. The abs remind me a bit of a, I don't want to say it because

it's too lofty comparison, but there's a certain cockiness that I love about the avalanche and the way they play and I think they feel this is their year. Now, you know, let's see if they're, you know, They get healthy enough too.

But, you know, let's not forget the blues and all this. You know, like the 2019 champs are just sitting there saying, all right, we got in. It was ugly, but we got in. Now what? So I don't know that, you know, I think we're going to get Colorado Vegas in the second round, but I don't know that you want to sit there and say, boy, St. Louis would be that much easier a first round matchup than Minnesota. I think it's flip a coin, quite frankly, just based on the blues know-how. you know, from the last couple of years.

Yeah, okay. So let me out. We're going to take a break here and we'll talk some headlines after this. But, and of course, we are going to have Doug Wilson join us. What kind of, like, it's been a weird, it's been a weird season for the blues. And yes, all kinds of, like, especially on the blue line, all banged up. You know, it took Torrey Krug a long time to, you know, he basically comes in to fill the whole creative with Alex Petrangelo going to Vegas. Took him a long time.

Then he got hurt. Whole blue line's been banged up. But listen, this is a team. that sleptwalk through the round robin and then really sort of sleptwalk through the series against Vancouver and were won and done. They have sleptwalked through an injury plagued shortened season. They have, at times, look quite disinterested and undisciplined. What kind of pressures on Craig Barubei to have this team? Like, I don't care whether, well, I don't have a dog in the fight, but to me, it's how this Blues team shows against either Vegas or Colorado.

But how important is it that this team puts up the kind of fight that they should? I'm with you. This is a team, you know, J. Boe Meester's gone, Krug's in, Petrangelo's out, but this is really the same team that won the Cup in 19 in Game 7 in Boston was a magical run. Like, they should be better than they are. And how delicious would that be, Alex Petrangelo and the Golden Knights if they play St. Louis as far as storylines go. Yeah, no, I mean, they're the blues I've been at completing enigma, really. But I just feel like you, always give the benefit it out to a team that's won at all. You know, not that long ago.

You know, I think they have that ability to take their pound of flesh. So I think both those series, no matter who ends up where, are going to be compelling. Yeah, I'm with you. All right. Listen, I can't wait until next week because we'll be in it and we'll start to see some of the playoff storylines really unfolding.

Can't wait for that. But you know what I love about the Buffalo Sabres, Pierre, is they're the team that continue. They keep on giving, right? They are, they're not very good on the ice. And they, you know, they, but it barely a week goes by that there is not some sort of headline breaking news, talking point from the Buffalo Sabres. And this week, no different at all. And of course, with discussion, Sam Reinhart, too. people, I think, sort of, it gets buried with the Jack Eichael stuff, but the comments from both Sam

Reinhardt and Jack Eichael in their exit media interviews really leaves, you know, the feeling that neither of them particularly see their future as being in Buffalo. And boy, talk about pressure on a rookie GM and Kevin Adams, who, you know, he's got to decide on his coach. Is it Don Granato or what, what does he do coaching-wise? But now he has to confront really a twin-headed beast. in what to do with arguably his two best players. Well, and before I get into that, can I say for the millionth time that if the Pagulas are listening, I'm sure they are.

They've got to be listening. Who wouldn't? If there's ever a time for the last time, it's a last time I mentioned it, to bring in a John Davidson or a Jim Rutherford or a race hero, a veteran executive as president of hockey operations to help shepherd a young Kevin Adams,

This, like, it's screaming that. It's screaming that right now. But in a way, we'll see if that falls on deaf ears. I'm with you, though. No, it's absolutely true. And just before you answer this, the question, is there a more critical time in this franchise's history, right? Like, you know. I know, there's been a few.

There's been a few. I know. But anyway, this is, this is pivotal. And, you know, it's unfortunate because as we tape this, Kevin, Adams hasn't spoken yet. So it'd be interesting to see how he responds to all this, right? I mean, he may come out and say, you know, we're keeping Jack Egel. I don't know.

So this might sound dated for a second week in a row. We finished taping last week and hour later, the Rangers fired everyone. But, you know, Iko. You know, Ikel's camp hasn't officially asked for a trade, I can tell you. But I don't know if they need to at this point. Like I think Ikel's comments were pretty transparent. And I get his frustration. I mean, stinks, you know, first of all, the whole situation with his neck injury and delayed surgery and seemingly not being on the same page as the Sabres.

I mean, that's going to piss off a lot of players. But obviously compounded with what he's lived in Buffalo with the losing. Now, you know, he owns some of that losing. He's the best player in the team. So has he done enough since he's been there to help shepherd this team along? But I think he gets stealth and because his no move kicks in in a year, I think if you're the savers, you've got to do it this offseason. I don't think you can wait because you don't want him to have the hammer.

You can trade him anywhere you want now, which is the kind of flexibility you're going to need, given that he's got $50 million left on his contract, 10 million a year, and a flat cap environment. And as good a player as he is, that that's still a reality that some teams just literally can't afford him. So, yeah, I think it happens this offseason. Yeah. Like, I was going to ask you, like, can you get over this, right? Like, can you, you know, can you, you know, as, as, you know, the words have been spoken and we know, as you, you know, as you alluded to before the start of this season, there were discussions about Jack Eichol's future in Buffalo and all those kinds of things.

So maybe that ship has sailed. But is it also not fair that, you know, whatever Kevin Adams does, there's no trade that brings back a Jack Eichael. You don't fill that void, right? He's already established NHL player. I know he's just 24. And so basically what you are is you're trying to collect, you know, assets and pieces that someday become something that helps form a contending team. in Buffalo, but it's not something, you know, it's not an elite player out and an elite player in probably, right? I mean, it's just hard to imagine those are the kinds of deals that would be up there.

Depends how you go after it. Look, I think if you, for example, you know, I think the LA Kings are going to investigate this. I think that's more prospects oriented, yes. Right. But if the Minnesota while investigate this, as our own Michael Russo wrote about and I talked about an insider training yesterday, I think you can get more NHL, you know, NHL players in that deal. you know like for example if you're minnesota would you do fiala dumba and a first for ickel and if you're buffalo would you even look at that no that's a good point but that's an example of a deal that that that you know that uh that would help the savers more now although if if you go down the road with l.a might actually be the better deal but that requires more patience yeah so yeah so that's that's the real interesting thing for sure yeah yeah

All right. Who has the greater challenge ahead of them? Kevin Adams or Yarmalkekelein, who, as you and I know, was a guest not too long ago on Two Manage Vantage. You know, just so much respect for Yarmou. He's just such an honest guy. And we know now since you and I taped last that John Tortorella and the Columbus Blue Jackets have agreed to part ways. Right. Which we felt that's where that was really, too. Yeah, exactly. It was kind of obvious, I think. Yeah. But like this summer is, it's, it's, there's, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, he now has to find someone to come in and, and replace John Totorella.

And so lots of nuance there, because what do you want in terms of a personality and experience, all those kinds of things? You've got Patrick Line, an RFA, who, I think I saw somewhere he's not, he's sick of hockey, he's not going to the worlds. And even though he did say, I thought his positive. comments about being in Columbus were, must have been encouraging to fans there, but still have to bring him under contract.

And then, as you have alluded to and written about and spoken about, um, so eloquently, the two, the towers on the back end, Seth Jones entering a contract year, a year from now, he would be a UFA or potentially UFA and Zach Werenski,

who is also on an expiring contract and a year for now would be a restricted free agent so critical for this team. I think for both them, but certainly for Seth Jones to lock them up long term. And if not, what then? I'm not sure it's overstating to say this might be the most important summer in Columbus Blue Jackets history. Yep, I agree with that. And with all due respect to Rorinsky, all due respect to Patrick Liny, with all due respect to whoever is the next coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets,

nothing, nothing compares to the importance of what happens with Seth Jones. That stands on its own. Okay? Yeah. I cannot put enough importance on what's going to happen here. And, you know, I think we have to be careful to read too much into Seth Stone's comments this week. I mean, I think people raised, and I know I got text from a couple of other teams when he said, well, I got another year of my deal. We'll see after that.

Let's be careful. You know, I think he probably didn't know how to answer his questions about his future because he doesn't know yet what he's going to do. But he may very well sign a long-term extension, right? Let's not close any doors yet. I know that his agent Pat Broussaint, who has a ton of experience. And of course, Columbus fans probably don't want to hear his name because he's Pierre Lugd who was agent. But Paprissan is scheduled to catch up with Seth Jones by the end of this week here and start to game plan.

But it's very simple. The jackets obviously can't have Seth Jones showing up the training camp, not having signed an extension. You're not starting the year with him on an expiring deal. playing the Artimi Panarin game all over again. Yeah. So he either signs an extension this offseason, and I think Yarmu Piccolon is going to be incredibly aggressive. In fact, I'm told that he's already reached out recently to Pat Bresson and say, let me know when you can talk.

So I think the, you know, the jackets are going to make this priority number one. So either he signs an extension or after conferring with Pat Bresson and doing a lot of thinking over the next few weeks, weeks, maybe that Seth Jones decides he's not going to, and we know what that means. So it's either an extension or a trade between now and training camp for Seth Jones. And with all due respect to Dougie Hamilton, who would be the number one defenseman on the open market as a UFA if he doesn't resign Carolina, frankly, with all due respect to Jack Eichel up front, if Seth Jones is on the trade market, there is no more significant player in my mind in terms of the impact he can bring to your team. team in Seth Jones in the offseason.

Yeah. No, I, you're absolutely right. And, you know, I'm fortunate over the years of that's been a fair amount of time with Seth Jones. I was at his house in his rookie year in Nashville at Christmas time doing some pre-Olympic stuff and spent some time with him at his place in Columbus. And he and I spent some time together at the All-Star Game in St. Louis a year ago. And he's, you know, such an impressive young man.

And I, you know, I don't know what happens. with Nick Felino in the offseason, maybe he circles back and returns to Columbus. But listen, if Seth Jones is back in Columbus, if he signs the extension, I would be absolutely shocked if he's not wearing the seat. And whether he does or not, he is, he is captain material and he is such an important part of that team. And to me, vital for that team moving forward. And I am fascinating to see how it works. because he's, man, he's the kind of guy you want to build your team around. I'm sure you are, Mockekeleine and feels that way.

But, yeah, critical bumps coming up. Yeah, yeah. No, that's the one right there. That's the player. That's the moment. That's everything, really. And frankly, every team in the league is keeping an eye on it. All right.

Before we take a break and chat with Doug Wilson, GM of the San Jose Sharks, and Hall of Famer, he hasn't had a minute. He needs to get into the hall. I was going to say Hall of Fame. What do they call him before they go in? Inductee? Inductee? Yeah.

Yeah, a member of the class. But yeah, I don't know what the term. But technically it doesn't get enshrine until he physically shows up for his induction, right? Right. Yeah. Hopefully, if Canada can get its act together, we'll be in November. Yeah, good luck with that. Now now.

Okay, before we break. I know where you were born, buddy. I know. All right. Before we take this break, though, there are a couple other. What else? You and I, I think, were also, you know, it's not speculating, but believed that all in a similar fashion to what happened in Columbus with Rick Tocket and the Arizona Coyotes agreeing to part company there. I don't think there's a huge surprise to that part of it.

But, you know, now interesting to see what the coyotes do. This will be Bill Armstrong's first NHL coaching hire as GM in Arizona. And I'm curious to see what happens with Rick Topper because to me, such a, you know, to me, he's a guy that can, you know, maybe he coaches in Columbus. Maybe he, you know, whatever happens in New York with the Rangers or whatever. But I got to tell you, you know, Rick Tocket can coach my team any day. Yeah, he'll have options. He's really well regarded.

And, you know, and this was the right decision by both guys here. I think Bill Armstrong knows what he has to do with this roster. They got to get younger. They don't have a whole lot coming in the pipeline. They don't have a lot of draft picks. So there's some tough times ahead, but it's the necessary work that's going to have to get done. And, you know, I think Rick Tocket, you know, wants to coach a competitive team. And so, and Bill Armstrong should have his own coach.

I mean, all this is sort of organic. This was a really, I think, believable parting of the ways with both guys shaking hands and having tons of respect for each other, right? But it makes sense. I mean, you know, I think. think you'll see Bill Armstrong look at a lot of up-and-coming coaches, you know, whether that's a, you know, Rocky Thompson or Nate Lehman, you know, all those guys, Elaine Lambert, keep waiting for him to get a shot, right, Barry Trost's longtime assistant. I think all those guys will be in the mix. You know, I wonder if Todd Nelson will get a shot at some point.

you know, Pascal Vaisan in the Jets organization, you wonder when he's going to get his look. He's done a lot of good work there. So there are guys, I think, and I have this weird feeling that over the next couple of years, while obviously, you know, the star established coaches like Tockeet, like Galant, you know, are obviously going to find their next gig. But I also think you're going to see a bit of a trend of all those names I mentioned that teams wanting to take a chance on the next guy, right? I think you're going to see a bit of that as well. Yeah.

Well, and I mean, there's always the Evan Flo, but, you know, like, you know, Jared Bedner had to wait a long time to get his opportunity. But, you know, I think has very quickly established himself as one of the top coaches in the NHL in Colorado. And so you're right. I think, you know, there is always a pendulum sort of element to these things. Right. Sometimes it's, we want the guy with with a name and an NHL resume and then it's, okay, wait a minute. We want a young, you know, we want somebody, you know, who's charting his own course and has, you know, isn't known. So yeah, no, I'm with you. I think it'll be interesting to see. And I mean, let's be honest. I mean, Arizona doesn't spend a lot of money. So maybe they're trending towards something that is, you know, a coach who can grow with this team, you know, sort of, you know, sort of grows up with that young core of of players. Jacob Chitrin and Kristen Dvorak and all the rest there. Makes sense. Yeah.

All right, my friend. Now, before we get to our promised guest, Doug Wilson, waiting in the wings. We referred to this before, but second week in a row, New York Rangers making news, at least this week, they made it in the middle of our taping segment. And so we will, in fact, circle back to some breaking news again out of the New York Ranger camp where the Rangers announced that David Quinn head coach will no longer be coaching that team that Chris Drury will be looking for a new head coach. And I'm not sure it's a huge surprise. But for me, Pierre, this just tells you that Chris Drury is not dipping his toe into his. new dual role as president and GM that he has come in, he's got a plan, and it is underway. And I wonder if you are surprised or a level of surprise that this is the decision that Chris Jury's

made within the first week of taking over. I got a funny text from a team executive from another team who said three weeks ago he would have said to me, that Rangers team is on its way. Great rebuild, great foundation, what's not to like. And since then they fired the president, the GM, and the head coach. So there is a, you know, who knows, James Dohn. But, you know, Christry obviously wants his own coach. It'd be interesting now to see who goes in there. You know, I wonder if our old, our old pal that we've been on the podcast, where Alam gets a call. I think the Rangers are going to talk to a number of guys in my understanding, but I wouldn't be shocked if Galan is one of the

that we hear linked to the Rangers, among others. But I think you'll start to hear Galant's name a bit more as he gets ready to go coach Canada, the World Championships in Latvia. But, you know, a lot of people obviously mentioning John Torrella, Ray Tocket now as a free agent. So, I mean, I think all those guys would be possibilities for the Rangers. What about a guy I know pretty well? And you do too as well.

crossing paths in Quebec. What about Bob Hartley coming off a championship in the KHL with Avengarde Olmsk championship for Bob Hartley there, Stanley Cup winning coach, but also a guy who would know Chris Drury quite well from their shared history. I think you're right. I think my guess is that Chris Drury will cast a pretty wide debt, but it will be interesting to see, you know, as time moves forward, the kinds of the kinds of coaches and the names that we hear, but also the kinds of coaches that Chris Drury is going to be looking at. And you have to imagine, you know, David Quinn came up out of the college ranks and I think did a nice job in the

initial stages of that Ranger repo. But do you feel that this is now a job that will go to someone with an NHL pedigree because this is a team looking to take not just another step? But I think a rather significant step back into playoff contention and being a Stanley Cup contender. Yeah, I don't think, I will predict without knowing for sure that I don't think this job goes to a first time in a national coach. It'll be someone with experience, yeah, because I think the timing is right for that. But I tell you, there's a lot going on in the coaching world. Now we have five coaching openings, right?

Buffalo, Arizona, Columbus, Seattle, of course, never hired a coach yet. and we've got a lot of names out there. You know, we mentioned Galant, Bruce Boudreau, Tortoella, Tocat. It's an interesting time, you know, when you look at everything that's out there. And then you get the next wave of guys that, like, I think Arizona is going to go younger and, in fact, go to a first timer. So a lot going on on the coaching front. It'll be fascinating to follow.

Absolutely, my friend. And I'm assuming that when you and I chat next week, the range of the range. will do something else right in the middle of our taping as well. So I'm looking forward to that part of it, actually, two weeks in a row. But good job by you. As promised, we are now joined by San Jose Sharks, GM, and Hall of Famer, Doug Wilson. Doug, how are you doing today? You and I talked, actually, after you became a Hall of Famer, even though it's not been official.

Is it still resonate for you when someone says, oh, Hall of Famer, Doug Wilson, does it still sound interesting in your ears? It catches me off guard because I'm not sure it's still sunk in. I mean, it's been such a unique year with so many different things that, you know, I remember like it was yesterday when getting a call from Lanny and with my family and my wife being on the call and all that. but it's with all the other things that have been going on in all our lives and this year, it's kind of been pushed to the background a little bit. But hearing you say it, it's my heart jumps a little bit. My heart beat is spikes a touch. Right.

And I guess if my country here can get its act together, Doug, we'll actually open up again at some point. And we will have the induction ceremony in November, hopefully, if all goes well. Have you, has the Hocke-H-H-Han same touch with everyone from that class, just to let you guys know what's going on? Yeah, I think they keep us updated, but again, you know, we all talk about trying to get back to normalcy, whatever that may be. And I think that we all can't wait when that happens. And yeah, I mean, the Hall of Fame thing would take place at that point and hopefully how they've done it in the past. But as I say, just right now living and revisiting back to, last 12 of 14 months, it's still, it's still hard to believe what everybody's had to go through an

experience. Well, Douggy, and it's a good segue because, you know, what you have gone through, particularly with the sharks, is really unusual for you. I was looking back at it today. It's really outstanding. And I'm not sure people really understand the whole breadth of what has been accomplished in San Jose. You took over the job as GM in May of 2003.

if my information is correct. And since that time, sharks have missed the playoffs three times. It's unbelievable when you think of it. But of course, two of those have been in back-to-back seasons last year and now this season. And I wonder what it's been like for you after, you know, so long where you have been a perennial playoff team to sort of,

whether you've had to pivot how you view, you know, the offseason and your team and how you assess things. I wonder what that's been like for you because it's it's really uncharted territories for you as a GM and for the franchise as a whole. Well, it is. And then you throw into really what this last 12 months has been for everybody. And we made a clear decision with all the things that we were going to have to deal with, you know, the pandemic. The, you know, our guys basically have a nine to 10 months off, no exhibition games, new coaching staff that we would use this time to reset and replenish. And I've got to tell you that when I look back, what an amazing job of our coaches

and trainers, in particular in players, getting through this whole journey of this year, I'm really proud of what they've done because I don't think anybody's truly equipped to deal with a pandemic. And it impacts different people in different ways. But for us, we made a commitment to what we were going to do this year. We stayed committed to it with allowing many of our veterans who hadn't played in 10, 10 and a half months to re-establish their game, to reset our culture. Big thing was to replenish our system, where we've added a lot of picks and both on the last draft and this upcoming draft, and we have cap space and things like that. But the other big part of it was to really integrate younger players. And our players have really embraced

creating the environment for younger players to come in and play. So we had to make that decision, which we did. We committed to it, stayed with it. And now the work we do between now and next September and October is crucial, but just keeping our guys healthy, not just physically, but mentally through this year has been a challenge as it has been for everybody and their families and things like that. So it's a time hopefully that none of us ever have to experience again. Yeah, no kidding, Doug. And I was going to ask you about that, that, you know, for fans that are a lot of fans from other markets listening to our podcast that may have forgotten, but, you know, what was that like? I mean, if you would go back to camp in the start of the year,

you guys are the only NHL team that doesn't get to be home and the impact that that had on players and staff from a mental health standpoint. I mean, that had to be really difficult. And I think it really speaks to,

I think, how Bob Boogner and his staff, you know, got the players through that in terms of the team staying competitive through all that. But what was that like for you to, you know,

to have the organization start in Arizona that way for, you know, really the first couple months almost, right? Well, it was difficult. You go back, you look at the seven teams that didn't get to restart last season, and it's not really by coincidence. None of them made the playoffs this year. Because it's not only not playing for 10-a-half months,

not having a training camp, but in our case, we had to leave our market, had to leave home and then start the first 14 of the 16 games on the road and then not be with their families. And on top of that, our HL team had to do the same thing. They couldn't be here. So we couldn't really interact between both teams. So I was really concerned about our team at the end of those 14, 15 games because there was a lot going on as everybody's families were dealing with things. And as I say, in all of our community and society.

And it was a challenge. And I think it ended up draining our tanks a little bit. The guys really battled hard. I think we got to around April 9th or 10th. We're still in a playoff race. But I think the guys just hit a wall. And that's just a reality. and I look at our players and we had one to be on the road, one to be gone.

We had very strict protocols in our county, which I understand. But what we're trying to do is use this time now, hopefully get back to the cycle of having a normal summer training, have a normal training camp, have a normal schedule next year and be back right where we want to be come next September and October. One of the players that certainly has had a tumultuous season is, And I would read with interest his conversation with our Ryan Clark earlier this week. I thought a very candid conversation with Evander talking about some of the now well publicized financial issues that he has been going through and what lies ahead for him.

And I was just curious what, you know, as an organization, as a GM of a team, what's your role like with Evander with something like that? And listen, he had this 49 points in 55 games. He was a plus player. I just wonder what that relationship is like and how you help a player like that through something that is, you know, is obviously very difficult on top of the other societal difficulties that we've had with the pandemic. We have to be there for every player and understand the unique things that they're dealing with. You know, we had other players who were dealing with some family issues and health issues and all that. And you just want to let them know that the rink is the sanctuary. You know, you come here, you love the game, you put the work in.

You know, Evander, you know, dealing with some of things he was dealing with while in the middle of a pandemic. And I thought that article was really well written and for Evander to be as open and honest about all the things he was dealing with and how he dealt with him. And I keep the relationships I have with each player in complete confidence. and we try to guide them and help them and counsel them to the best of our ability. But as I say, this year just magnified whatever was going on on people's lives. And for Evander to stay as focus as he did and as disciplined on the ice, I think he really did a great job of playing hockey whistle to whistle and had a really good year. You know, when we talked about guys reestablishing their games,

I mean, we had players that literally hadn't played in 10 and a half months. Some were coming back from injuries. Some had to deal with, as they say, in a family situation with COVID and other things. And, you know, whether you're 35 or 21, I mean, everybody had to deal with things that is just new and unique to everybody. And I'm proud of Avander for his focus and what he did. I'm proud of the young guys in particular that came in, you know, that the Ferraros, the knee shafts, and the list goes on, that they came in and they just focused in on what they could manage. There's so many things we couldn't control in life and getting through this

and how our group got through it and how they took care of each other and really took the culture level back up to the level that we're expected here. I'm proud of them, coaches and players. Doug, go back to the reset of the organization. I think it's interesting what you guys are doing. I think other teams look at it in the same way too

that the traditional full-blown rebuild where you go scorched earth and go all youth and have a long, painful rebuild, which, you know, in many ways what Detroit is doing right now after 25 straight years in the playoffs. But other teams have kind of gone the reset route that you guys are going. You know, Boston's done it really well. You know, Montreal has done the reset where they've got a lot of younger players in their line up now, but obviously, you know, Price and Weber, et cetera. You know, it's an interesting way to go about it.

essentially, correctly if I'm wrong, but you're wanting to get younger and younger while trying to be competitive with, you know, some of your veteran guys like Burns and Carlson and Logan Couture, et cetera. Yeah, and I think you look at you want to have a blend. I mean, I think right now we're probably about the fifth youngest team in the league, but you also have quality veterans. And, you know, you want to compete. Every team in this league has to deal with the flat cap.

You know, the things that we talked about and the reset and replenish have to be connected. needed to replenish our young players. We needed to replenish our draft picks. We utilized our cap space this year. I think it surprised a lot of people that we had 12 and a half million in cap space at the trade deadline and we're able to utilize that. So we think we've, you know, transitioning our team to be able to be right back at it in September with a lot of our core guys being at key points in their career. Logan Kuture, you know, is 32. Eric Carlson is 30. I mean, Caner is 29.

I mean, people forget, Tim O'Meyer is only 24. Tom Me, Hurdle. You go all the way through the lineup. We have a team that's really transitioned, I think, from being the 23rd youngest team in the league to the fifth youngest team, and that will help going forward. But to compete in this league, you also, as I say, have to have, I hate using the term assets,

but you have to have things to be able to explore the opportunities that are coming. We know that we've got to address a couple areas in our team, but we think we're positioned well with the draft picks now that we've acquired. We had nine last draft. We'll probably have nine or ten as upcoming draft. We've added some young players. We've got cap space. So we have the ability to get to the poker table and explore all the opportunities to add to our team. We feel that it's never acceptable to not compete to make the playoffs.

And while this was a reset and replenish this year, we still wanted our guys to compete. And they did, and I'm proud of them. What we do between now and next September is really important. I've got to add some things to this team. We have the ability to do that. The players need to get back on top of their cycle of training and be ready to go. And the young players have really done a great job of growing. I mean, we've had, I think we've used 41, 42 players this year.

And the experience that they've had is really going to help us. Because it's not just where they're at today. It's where they're going to be come September and October. And we've got a lot of them going to the World Championships. I think we had 27 players invited to the World Championships. Some aren't going because of family reason and what we've gone through, but the majority of the young guys are. So our work is just starting, and we're looking forward to the opportunities ahead of us

between now and now and October. It strikes me, Doug, that, you know, one of the, if there's a silver lining to it, and you mentioned the number of players that suited up for you this year, is that, A, they get the opportunity to, you know, maybe a role that they wouldn't have otherwise have had a chance, to try on. And it also gives you and the coaching staff a chance to assess maybe ahead of a training camp, you know, where these young players might be. And I wonder how you imagine the competition

will be at training camp. And maybe are there, you know, a couple of young players that you have seen in the last month or two months where you're like, geez, I wonder what that will look like come training camp in September. And I wonder what kind of challenge there will be for roster spots, you know, given their, given what they've shown. Well, there is a lot of competition, and the job Roy Sommer has done historically over years with the, our farm team has been tremendous. He's put about 150, 155 players in the NHL.

And you've got to remember that, you know, the HL only played 35 games this year. And some of the younger players, you know, get stuck on taxi squads and things like that. We wanted to make sure these guys were ready when their opportunity came. We've got two young goalies that we really like. We've got some young defense, but not just the Ferraros and Nishas,

but we've got about four or five more of those guys coming. Some guys that we've actually just signed in the last day or two also. We've got a bunch of forwards. You know, the Lennards and the Gregors, the Shumaleskies, the Blitzfields, the VLs, the True, the Chekhoviches. I mean, the list goes on. But we also added some players. You know, Rudy Balcers, we brought him back. Alex Barabanov has come and done a great job.

So there will be a boatload of competition. The players can count. They look at it. They also know that we've got young guys coming, whether it be the Bordaloos of the world and the wisebloods and Robin. So competition is healthy. They know what we're expecting. And the way they prepare, it was really difficult because, you know, some of the, some of them didn't get to play games. They didn't get exhibition games at all. We had a new coaching staff that was put together that had to start 14 of the first 16 games on the road without having the last change while integrating a situation.

system. So every corner we went around, there was a challenge. And I'm really proud of, you know, the veteran guys for making sure the younger guys were welcomed and up to speed when they came in. And that's always been a big part of our game as the veterans taking care of the younger guys. And our guys really did a good job in that area. And Doug, you mentioned the cap space that you guys have, which can be used in a lot of different ways. And I can't recall in all the years that we've had a cap system since 2005, that cap space has been as valuable as it is today in large part, I think, because of the pandemic and the flat cap and the cap staying at 815 for a while now. We're around that neighborhood anyway. And, you know, you use that to your advantage of the

deadline, getting those two draftics as you became that third team in a couple of deals. Detroit has a similar thing. But, you know, a lot of people criticize Washington, for the price they paid and the deal that they made with Detroit. But I think it's, to be honest, I think it's a reflection of the marketplace and how hard it is to move money. And that's the price that Washington had to pay. I actually think the caps did a smart thing in that deal. But I'm curious when you look at your cap space,

and I know you can't give us all your plays here because you have a playbook that you keep yourself. But there's two ways, right? The cap space can either be used, you know, to take it, of teams that need help that way that have to make moves, but also clearly to address holes in your roster. So how do you think you'll balance those two different facets of having cap space? It started at the beginning of this season, last season, that we knew that we wanted to, one, we weren't going to move draft picks or any younger players for short-term help.

We stated that that was part of our plan. So I wasn't going to move our first round pick or any top young players to add anything to our team at the trade deadline. So what we were doing is trying to build as much cap space as we could to be able to utilize that at the trade deadline. We did. We added some picks. We added a player of Alexander Barabanov and the same type of concept. But we also know that it was an expansion year.

So playing a lot of young players also allowed us to be very well positioned for the expansion draft where we don't have to, you don't have to protect those young players. So the things that we accomplished were replenishing, giving us the position to utilize our cap space, but also now we're positioned to add a couple of the key things that we do have to add to our team. I've got to address our goaltending area and probably the 3C spot. We think there'll be quite a few players available in those roles. We think we have the ingredients, as I say, cap space picks young players to be able to address those things. and we took that in a consideration that this is probably a good year to go through what we went through.

If ever there's a time, I guess, in hindsight to say, you know, if you're going to deal with a pandemic, I'm going to do a reset, I guess bundle it all together. Every team has to go through pain at some point. So we've tried to use these challenges as opportunities, and we think we're set now to explore the opportunities this offseason to add to our team. Grow our young players, allow our veterans to get back into that cycle and be ready to go come September, October. But cap space is important. We're able to utilize it at this past trade deadline. We think we have the space and things to be able to add the things we need to add to our group this offseason. Doug, we're going to let you go in a moment.

But I want you to put on, you can put on your fan hat or your scouting hat. But I'm curious, as you step back as we prepare for the playoffs. And of course, you have seen a lot of those West Division teams. What are you looking forward to with the West Division playoffs? Is there a handicapping you can give us or something you're particularly looking forward to seeing as those four teams move forward? A lot of narratives, lots of drama, lots of interesting stories there, and you've seen it up close this year. What do you make of the West Division playoffs? Well, there's some really talented teams.

I mean, you look at Colorado, you look at Vegas, you look at St. Louis, Minnesota. I think because of the uniqueness of this year, you want teams to be healthy. You know, you worry about the way the schedule has been. And while teams didn't have to deal with some things we dealt with, they had to deal with, you know, their own circumstances. And, you know, what you want to see is the teams playing their game with the health of all their players. And you hope just the wear and tear and the baggage of dealing with this pandemic.

I mean, you look at teams last year in the playoffs. There were some upsets. There are some things where, you know, some teams handled it better than others. And it's just such a unique, challenging year. Look at the divisions. You know, they were different. A lot of things returned back to what they could be. You just want to see good hockey.

You want to see teams that have put the work in, have all their players available to them. And you want to see the game played well because it's, you know, the fans want to see that. And we look at, and we play against. We had two games against Colorado the other day, and I think they're one of the most talented teams in the league, and we played really well against them.

But you sit back and you take a look at the pain they had to go through, you know, to be able to get the McKinnons and the Landisogs and the Rancers and the Macarys and all that, and then you see them, you know, come to their fruition as having a heck of a team. So it's, I think it's exciting to see the playoffs. You know, we don't accept easily not being in the playoffs, but it's something that we haven't been accustomed to and we don't want to get accustomed to,

but we'll be watching. Well, before we let you go here, Doug, as a person who's covered a lot of playoff games in your barn over the years, there's an old gray beard about, about to be ready to play some playoff games with the Toronto Maple Leafs that I know you'll be keeping an eye on. And I wondered if I get your thoughts on Joe Thornton,

you have a special relationship with him, and, you know, I'm sure you'll be curious to see how things work out for him here, the least having had an excellent year, and they play the haves in the first round, which I don't have to tell you, it's been a long time since 1979 that we've been waiting for that series to happen again. Well, Joe Thornton is a special, not only hockey player, he's a special human being. He and I text each other quite a bit, and we were sharing some stories the last couple of days, and I'll be cheering for him. I mean, he is, he epitomizes what this game of hockey is all about.

He loves the game. He never changed since I first met him in 1997 at the World Juniors. He cares. He's just, he's everything that's right about this game. So you're right. I'll be cheering for him. And what he's meant to this organization, not only as a player, as a person, what he's meant as a friend and a person that I have tremendous respect for.

I hope fans can get back. because I know his mom and dad and wife and kids to not be able to be at games and things like that. And for all of us in this game, I can't wait until we get back some level of normalcy and get to have fans in the building because it just changed the whole dynamic of our sport. So, yeah, you see Jumbo give me a huge hug for me because he's a special, special guy. He might break me. You might break me if I try to hug him. He might lose you in the beard somewhere.

Well, it's funny, you know, the other guy, too, the Patty Marlow, it was such a privilege to be able to celebrate his incredible accomplishment. And I was talking to him this morning about it. And I said, I still don't think you understand the enormity of what you've done. Like, I played the 70s, 80s, and 90s. I played against Gordy Howe. And I said, Patrick, it is absolutely incredible what you've accomplished. And just beating Gordy Howe's record is one thing. But look at all the numbers and points and how he's represented this organization.

And we're proud to be able to treat an iconic player like that with the respect that he certainly deserved. Well, I'm frankly jealous of Patrick Marl and I'll tell you why, Doug. And I sent him a text yesterday because as White Christina put out a tweet of the gigantic, it must be a 5,000-millimeter ball of silver rope that the L.A. King's Luke Robatai and Robb Lake sent Patrick Marlowe for breaking the record. And all I can think of is that is a mighty big bottle of silver rope. And I said to Patrick, you're going to have to share that the whole team. You can't open that just in your house right now. I mean, come on.

But we can't wait to the day that we can all get together and celebrate that properly. I was with the kids in Vegas. And I got to get Vegas credit. They really did a great job. And our fans here coming back and our trainers and our staff in honoring Patrick. But we can't wait until we can do it to the next level. Because anytime you break any record that a guy by the name of Gordiala has, it's pretty special.

Well, Doug, we had Patrick on the podcast with Pierre and I and just before that weekend in Vegas. And, you know, he's a guy who still, you know, he can still bring it. Any, have you had conversations about next season? Anything you want to share with us about that part of the Sharks roster as it relates to Patrick Marlow or is that still TBD at this stage? We haven't even finished our exit interviews yet.

We still have to play with it. So this season is not over yet. But all I can say is, you know, Patty Marlowe, what he's accomplished in this game. And I mean this. It was a privilege to be able to witness that. And he has a special place in this franchise's history. He really does. Between him and Jumbo, we've been blessed to have those type of people.

Good stuff. All right. Doug Wilson, thank you for hanging out with us. What a great chance to catch up as it always is and appreciate your time and hope your offseason goes well and stay safe and healthy. And I'm sure we'll chat again soon. But thanks for coming to hang out with us. Thank you. I can't wait until we can do this in person.

Yes. That's true. That is a good thought. Thanks a lot, Doug. Appreciate it. Thanks, guys. Bye-bye. Always good to catch up with Doug Wilson.

And it is strange, though, right? I mean, two playoff misses in a row, which is so, I mean, it's just counterintuitive to what we've come to expect from. that franchise. And as you pointed out, you've been there over the years so many times. Are they close, do you think? I mean, you go back to normal. Well, it's not, I mean, normal's relative thing, but you go back to a Pacific division that will now include Seattle. Are the sharks one of those teams that could jump back into the hunt for a playoff spot? Do you think they've got some road to travel, but there are a bunch of teams in the Pacific that are in the same boat? Yeah. And, you know, I mean, listen, like the LA Kings have done a more

traditional rebuild. So they obviously have some high-end prospects coming in the pipeline. The sharks are very young as well, but haven't been able to draft as high, right? So it's a different type of transition. And, you know, Doug mentioned it himself. Like he's got to go out now and use that cap space to add a few things. I thought I was interesting that he, you know, he talked about the fact that the goaltending position is one of them, that he's going to go out and look at that.

And, you know, despite having a couple of young promising goalies, including Melanchuk, I think that the sharks are going to be a player and try and go look at a free agent or maybe through the trade route and so on. So I think that, and he's never been, as we know, he's made some of the biggest trades in this league over the past 20 years. So I think the sharks will be busy and try to add some pieces. But, you know, it was the right time for them, the last two years, I think, to take a step back and get younger. And, you know, it's painful because they're not used to it, right? They're just, it's one of those things that you're so used to that they would be in the playoffs every year forever. But I think it was the right time to do this.

But we'll see it. It is difficult what they're doing. You know, like I said, Montreal's done it. You know, the ads have been competitive, but they haven't gone to, you know, where they want to do the playoffs during this reset, right? So it's hard to, when you marry your older guys to your young guys, a lot has to go right. But, you know, I think the sharks are going at the right. way. Yeah, good stuff. All right, my friend, we're just about at the end here. Good work by you so far, but

don't, like, I don't want you to, I don't want you to, I don't want you to talk about me. Don't patronize me. I'm not patronizing. You know, you've been very good today. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, got some great questions on the ask the dork section here today. Here's one that, this is from Justin Dawson, uh, JD 8-8-237. I hope that's not his pin. for his bank machine. But anyway, his question, Justin's question, if Peca Rene retires, what will his legacy be?

And like, was there anything better than Peca pitching the shutout against Carolina in his final, well, in the final regular season game, but maybe his final game as a natural predator, right? Because it's UC Saros, he's a machine and he's going to be the guy in the playoffs, assuming good health. Wouldn't you think of Peca Rene? What do you think of? I got to tell you what I think of. And Peca Renee, if he was listening to this, would laugh his head off. I was interviewing Peca a couple of years ago while driving the TSN.

I had my tape recorder on my dash and my phone on speaker, obviously on Bluetooth, but my tape recorder on the dashboard so that I could record our interview. And in the middle of an interview with Peca Renee, I got stopped by a cop on the Don Valley Parkway. driving the TSN and Reney is listening to the police officer telling me why he stopped me because of course the police officer thought I was holding my phone which is texting and driving. Right. And I said it's not a phone. It's a tape recorder.

Anyway, I subsequently chatted with Peca René. I had to stop the interview obviously. About a year later I bumped into Peca Renee and he laughed so hard at that. Oh, my God. Here he is listening to me. conversation after being pulled over. So that's what I think about on a very personal love. I think of that I've got back already.

But what a career. And I have no intel on whether this is it or not for him. So let's be careful not to go over there. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. But just such a beloved legacy player in Predators history. You know, what he's meant to Saros too, right? I mean, it's funny.

Often organizations have this plan, well, this guy's going to a plant, you know, our number one goal over time and they'll pass the baton and be smooth and so often it just doesn't work that way, right? Whether it's, you know, the older guy not being ready to relinquish or competitive juices, who knows, but this actually worked out. You know, this actually happened. This was Becker-Rene passing the baton and doing all he could to help Saros. It's a wonderful story. Yeah, no. And having spent a fair amount of time around that team, you just couldn't ask for, a better human being and he's so beloved in that community and he's done such great work

and he and shei Weber for years and years really carrying the torch in the community and you know at a time when through a period of time when it looked like the team could move and you know Jim Balsilli was you know hovering around wanting to move them to Hamilton and and peccorine is uh and I'm not this I'm not down playing shea Weber but I think peccorine may be the single most important player in pred's franchise history I just I think he's He has that presence there. Yeah, like I might argue maybe Shea Weber was the best player in franchise history, but let's just call for what it is.

When you do an offer sheet, it's going to change your legacy with the franchise, no question. Truth out. All right, this one from Carson Wolock at Carson Wolock. How do you think the 8 to 10 game regular season matchups will affect the first two rounds of the playoffs? He raised a good point and never thought it'd be possible with the same two teams to play like 17 games in a single year

I mean and I think of Nashville and Carolina who played two games to finish out the regular season and now could possibly play nine straight games against each other and we saw this earlier in the season actually when Doug Armstrong was on

the show at Louisiana played a playoff series in the middle of the season do you think it so do you think it impacts the level of play, the animosity. I mean, we've seen some, we already saw a lot of chippy action between Florida and Tampa. We saw some chippy action with Carolina, Nashville.

What do you think that the impact will be, especially at the start of the playoff series in the next few days? Well, I'll tell you one thing, it makes a pre-scout pretty easy for the coaching staff. You know, because it's funny over the years when teams have crossed over outside of their division, which is often the case because of the conference setup. But, you know, when the wild card changes divisions, I mean. But, you know, the pre-scout is extremely important, especially sometimes you'll have two teams play in the first, you know, in the first round. If it's a wild car going over the other division, I haven't played since November, right? And so you have sort of this sort of intrigue about where each team is and so on.

There's none of that in these playoffs. I mean, everyone's, everyone playing each other in the first round has had the fill of each other. And I think one, it really brings up the animosity and the tension in the series right off the bat. But B, it also, there's nothing that the opposing coaching staff doesn't know about the other team. I mean, there's just going to be no surprises at all that I can think of unless a coaching staff has been holding something back all this time for the playoffs, you know, in terms of deployment and matchups and ozone starts and these old starts and all that stuff. I don't think that's the case. I think you're trying to win game so much during the regular season that everyone has seen everyone's end.

So I just think it's really about the animosity. I think all these series are going to be, you know, I think there's going to be some nastiness, no question. All right. Matthew Jex at M.Jex 19. Where does Ryan Miller rank among the greatest American-born goaltenders? And gives us a chance, once again, to tip the cap to one of the final. minus goalies of his generation and a guy who gave me one of the greatest professional thrills

in my life, my friend. And you were sitting right next to me during that Olympic tournament in Vancouver in 2010. And what a performance by Ryan Miller. But where does he stack up, do you think? What do you think of the greatest American-born goalies? Yeah. He's such a classy guy, Ryan Miller. I think he did this for you as well.

But after the Vancouver Olympics, I received a signed puck. from Ryan Miller in the mail from his agent. He did the same, yes. Yeah, which was, I still had it somewhere. And very nice of Ryan just, we came with a letter saying thanks for the great coverage at the Olympics. Just that's how Ryan Miller is. He's a very thoughtful guy.

Yes, yeah. And yeah, he's one of the all-time greats for sure. I'm trying to think here, I'm looking at the all-time win leaders. Yeah, Mike Richter's probably. Tom Barrasso, right? Yeah, yeah. And that's pretty heady company. You know, Mike Richter and the other thing, too, when I think of Mike Richter.

And I think of, you know, his turn in the World Cup of hockey, which would the Americans, of course, beat the Canadian seminal moment for them in Mike Richter. John Leesbrook? Yep, exactly. Yeah, no, I think Ryan Miller is right up there. And, you know, for me, Mike Richter, of course, you know, won a Stanley Cup with the Rangers. So that was something that never happened for Ryan Miller. but no, definitely, definitely a, you know, such an impressive career.

And I'm with you. He's just always a treat to deal with. And who knows, right? No one has called to ask me what I think. But would you not be on the phone right now to Ryan Miller if your ESPN or Turner Sports? Because my gosh, what kind of, you know, insight could he be bringing to your, to new broadcast for American hockey fans? That's my take on it. But I think Ryan Miller and him and I have talked about this, you know, months ago when he was deciding whether or not he was going to come back for another season.

But he, I think he, what's in the back of his mind is his management, NHL management. And I think, I mean, I think he'd be so good at that, you know, whether it's player development or just a real modern approach to running a hockey team. I think Ryan Miller is a lot to offer there, you know, when he feels ready to make that jump. Yeah, good point. All right, here's one more from another one from Melanbee's Dead Rat, a regular questioner for us at Dale J.H. 66. Asking about Rob Brindamore, I know there's been lots of discussion, and I know you've been all over this, what's happening with Carolina owner Tom Dundden and the Rob Brindamore's future there, his contract coming to an end at the end of this season.

And the question is, would he have more leverage if he waited until the end of the season and basically becomes a UFA as coaches. And we know now Rick Talkett out there. We know John Totorella, Bruce Boudreau, but we also know lots of teams that have some coaching holes to fill, Columbus, of course, Arizona. We know Seattle still waiting to name there first. What do you make of the coaching marketplace as it relates to Rod Rindamore,

who's done such a great job? And I think, as you pointed out, maybe the frontrunner to win the Jack Adams as coach of the year this season. Well, I mean, that's not my opinion. as it was the, I pulled the GMs around the National Hockey League and they gave Brindamore the number one spot in their vote just ahead of Joe Quinville and Dean Evans and all three would be excellent choices. Mike Sullivan too got a lot of votes and I think his work in Pittsburgh. It's tremendous. So it's interesting on Robbrennimore. I know last weekend there was sort of some premature reporting

about Rob Brindamore that his deal might be done. It's not done. And what's interesting about it is that I think individually, he's probably gone far enough as to what he thinks his own deal might look like as far as an extension. But the reason nothing's done is that Rob Rindamore is trying to get, you know, some raises for his staff, for the assistance. And who I think are some of the lowest paid coaches in the league. So, you know, until that situation is resolved, I don't think you see a Rob Rindamore extension is what I'm saying. So that's a really interesting situation. And listen, I don't think he's going anywhere. And to answer the question in terms of his leverage, it's never been about leverage.

I mean, Robbrennmore knows, I think, that he would make way more money on the open market than he will by staying in Carolina. But he loves Carolina. It's where his family lives. It's where he wants to be. So that part of that, I don't think, has ever really entered his mind. You know, that's just the reality is that it's a different number to stay in Carolina than it would be to go to the open market. I will also say that I have a feeling, while I don't know this, that regardless of whatever

salary you see attached to Rob Brindonmore, if and when he does get all this done between him and his assistance with the hurricanes, that I think that, you know, I believe he had some bonuses in his expiring deal attached to attendance with the hurricanes. Right. And I'd be surprised if that didn't continue in his new deal. In other words, let's say it ends up being around $2 million a year for Brindamore. I mean, that's a salary, but I think he'll have a chance to make other money elsewhere in his deal as well, depending on attendance, etc. That's just my feel.

I haven't confirmed that part. So just be careful when you judge, you know, oh, he's only making $2 million. He should be making $3 million. I think it's a little more complicated than that. Right. Well, and we know this of Tom Dunden, the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, is that he has a very particular way about how he feels the hockey business should be run. And, you know, listen, people are critical of Tom Dunden. And I will always say this.

There's a guy who has never shortchanged the on-ice product. He just never has. And having been to the new practice facility in Carolina, and I can tell you what the canes were practicing in for years before was a. disgrace. It was not a good place for an NHL team. It wasn't a good place for a youth hockey team to be practicing, let alone an NHL team. So Tom Dunden has, you know, he's put money into those kinds of facilities. He matched the Ajo offer sheet right away. He's, he, but he, there are parts of the hockey operation where he does not feel that spending money is a good return for him. And it, to me, it just tells you so much about Rod Brindamore

that it's this line in the sand if that's, you know, I think if we can characterize it like that, isn't about his own compensation but about how his staff is treated. Right. Completely not surprised and it does tell you exactly

everything you need to know about Rod Brindamore and to your point, like if you ever hit the open market and you know, that's not what he aspires to, I don't think, but if he did, teams would line up to get him in their organization because that's the kind of human being is. So there you go.

Well put, my friend. All right, one more. One more question. And I'm going to ask, this is from Danny Max Sports at Danny Macsport One? A question about the shake-up with the New York Rangers, which of course broke two seconds after you and I taped last week. He asked about Adam Graves. Just, you know, is it possible Adam Graves could slide into Chris Jury's old spot?

Of course, Chris Rory was the assistant GM and the GM of the Hartford Wolfpack. What about his relationship with Danny Breyer, who I talked to last week after Chris was promoted to president and GM? Danny looks after an ECHL team in Portland, Maine, which is a, it's connected to the Rangers, but owned by the Flyers, basically. It's a really weird situation. But the two of them obviously have a long history. Could he, you know, maybe he becomes a heart for GM. This is a question from Danny Mack. So I'm just curious.

There's lots of moving parts of that Ranger Reorg, I guess, is what the reality is. No, those are all the great questions. I don't really have any insight on that. At this point, I think obviously Chris Drury wants to get more help in front office around him. Not much is clear. Danny Breyer would be fun. I mean, that would be so good to get those two guys reunited. And, you know, you and I both talk to Danny over the years since his.

retirement. I mean, he's like Chris Schurie, I think Danny Breyer really has a mind for this and a passion for it and super smart guy. And, you know, that would be a great move. You know, it's fascinating is that, and I didn't realize this because, of course, the Portland team didn't play this year because of COVID. So when I talked to Danny, he was describing how he'd spend a lot more time around the flyers, because he works for Comcast Spectacore, which owns a flyer. So, but he spent a lot of more time around the big club and my sense is that he and chuck flutcher spent a lot of time together and the flyers think very highly of them of course so it would be fascinating given you know flyers rangers

no love loss there and uh but it would be interesting because of course drury and brier are um our our friends and and colleagues in the business so yeah no i think it'd be fascinating and before i let that go you know it was you know mark messier's name has come up since the change there. I know he thought the team should be tougher, but also sort of made it known that he would be interested. I think there is some, it's going to be interesting to see how Chris Jury sort navigates, you know, sort of filling in some of the gaps with his new role there. All right, my friend, good work by you. And you should also be listening as Ian Mendez, Sean McIndo, of course, every Thursday, the athletic hockey show, give that a listen. And one of the great characters

of the game, Eddie Lack, joins Craig Custin's on the first. full 60 on Thursday at the athletic. You should check out our comment section for each podcast episode at the athletic app and rate and subscribe to the athletic hockey show on Apple. If you aren't already a subscriber, go to theathletic.com slash hockey show and receive a subscription for just $3.99 per month. Buddy, next week, playoffs underway. Can't wait.

Good work by you. Right on, right on. Oh.