The Athletic Hockey Show - Hurricanes-Devils locked in as first Stanley Cup Playoff matchup

Episode Date: April 10, 2025

Sean, Frank and Sean discuss the appeal of a Hurricanes-Devils first round playoff series, Matthew Knies next contract with the Maple Leafs, and the Montreal Canadiens preparing for the debut of Ivan Demidov. The guys talk about the return of Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek being just what the doctor ordered for the WIld, Jordan Binnington going after Corey Perry, and they lament a tough week for the NHL family, which lost Ray Shero, Greg Millen and Mark Laforest.Hosts: Sean Gentille and Sean McIndoeWith: Frankie CorradoExecutive Producer: Chris FlanneryProducer: Jeff Domet Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the athletic hockey show. What up, what up? It's the athletic hockey show. It's McIndoo. It's Corrado. It's Gentilly. Fellas, the three of us are A recording at the same time, which has been off over the last month or so. We're doing it on a Thursday.

This feels unnatural. And it's also later. Like, I'm so, I was so locked into 9.30 on Wednesday morning with you guys. And now, now we're doing this. I don't know if I like it. Anything I say that's wrong or that people disagree with, this is why. I'm just, I'm off my rhythm. I'm like a goalie.

You know, everything's got to be perfect. Everyone's got to tiptoe around me, walk on eggshells, do everything exactly the way I want it to be or else I get completely thrown off. So, yeah, it be warned. It almost feels like the very first time I did a that's hockey hit with Gino Redda at TSN, uh, Mark Rowe, who's a good buddy of mine, he goes to me, listen, buddy, have fun, But whatever you do, don't look Gino in the eyes. And he just walked away.

And I was like, what? What do you mean by that? He's like, no, no, no. Just you do the, do the hit, do everything. Just you don't look him in the eye. He doesn't like that. And obviously he was joking. Gino's like the friendliest guy ever.

But that's what it's like for DGB today. Just don't look him in the eyes. Just, you know, let him do his thing. That's a little known fact about, about Gino's that his vision is based on movement. He's like the T-Rex in Jurassic Park. Oh, man. All right, so we got a bunch of stuff planned for this show. We're going to talk a good bit about the Montreal Canadiens, about Martin San Luis, about the Demadov situation.

Got some stuff to unpack there, certainly. We're going to hit on Matthew Nye's big game, part of a big season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. But fellas, we should start with this. We're doing this out of obligation. I'm not particularly excited about this Stanley Cup playoff first round matchup. But one is locked in. We got Devils Cains. It was only a matter of time before that one got finalized.

And it is official. That is one of the eight series that we will be getting in the first round. That's certainly one thing to say about it. Of the first round series, that it's certainly one of them. It is a series. And here's my question to you guys. If you were the president of the TV networks and you were doing the draft to acquire the series that you're going to broadcast, is that last overall? Like does that get like where is that getting drafted?

I think it has to be. I think it has to be for a couple reasons. I don't know how competitive it is for one. That's always the overriding factor. And then if you really want to get a little bit more granular and all apologies to the fan base in Raleigh and the one in New Jersey. But I don't think that's doing great numbers either TV wise, regardless of how competitive is. Yeah. Is a St. Louis Winnipeg series? No.

In Canada, it's big. Canada, would be big. All right. From Minnesota, Vegas. To Saskatchewan to Western Ontario, that's doing huge numbers. Yikes. I'm trying to get excited for this one. It's been inevitable for a while, right?

Like, we knew that that was pretty much slotted in. It's, we're being unfair to the New Jersey Devils because whatever. Congratulations to them. They're going to be third place in the Metro Division. They've kept it going despite not having Jack Hughes, despite not having Tungy Hamilton. But man, not having those guys around is just, that's a fatal flaw for that series for me, I think. This is what I, like, with the, with the devils right now, I don't exactly know who's showing up every night for them.

Like, is it the team that gives up seven to the Bruins or is it the team that beats Minnesota in a low scoring game, right? And like, yeah, I know Minnesota has, has had their, their issue scoring at times. and, you know, I even even think for them, like they, they didn't have Caprizov in that game. But, I mean, New Jersey's just such a, they've been a, such a Jekyll and Hyde team, you know, even, even when they were healthy, even when Hughes was playing, even when Markstrom was, was at his best and he's still very good. But I guess that's the one intriguing factor for me is the Markstrom thing. Can he just go in there and steal a series against the team like Carolina? Yeah, which is what they went and got them for. You know, they got them for, well, I mean, they got them for two things.

One is to get them back in the playoffs and stabilize what had been the big weakness. So that's one checkmark. But this is a situation where it's interesting because usually you look at a series, it starts with the goaltending. And that's historically been where Carolina has had issues. And that's what New Jersey went out to get. And yet I don't know. I have a thing I like to do around this time of year when the matchups are getting set where I like to predict the predictions, right? Like to sit down and go, okay, when we all put our brackets out, what are they going to look like?

Because we all know people don't make predictions based on who they think is going to win. It's who you think is going to win plus a modifier for how much credit you're going to get and if you pick the upset and all of this other stuff. I feel like this is going to be the series where 90% of us are picking Carolina. Like it just feels like this is a rubber stamp. And maybe that's good news for Devils fans, because when we all agree on something in the hockey world, that's when we get, that's when we get side swiped.

But I just don't feel like there's any energy out there, outside of New Jersey, around the Devils and their chances against a Carolina team that has not exactly been world beaters consistently throughout the season. I mean, they're not going to have their best forward or their best offense. There's a reason. There's a reason for this.

And again, dude, you said it. Like, Devil's fans, they got, they can throw the card down. Every single team in sports at all times is always trying to prove that the world's against them and that nobody believes that. Sean, you and I talked about this all the time. It's rarely true. I think in New Jersey's case it actually is. So maybe that's the interesting part of this, right?

Is that actually nobody believes in them, and that's reason enough to pay attention. And if New Jersey were to pull it off, what does that say about Sheldon Keefe, who had the reputation in Toronto, you win one playoff series there. You have such a hard time getting out of the first round. And then if he were to lead this New Jersey team past Carolina,

who seems like it's always like a formality, they're getting through round one, it matters what they do from round two onward. If he can get them past Carolina without Hughes, without Hamilton, you know, no one believing in that team, I think that's going to say a lot about, you know, the preparation that he would have had his team go through and what that would say about him as a coach

and would answer a lot of questions, you know, as far as, you know, what had gone wrong during his time in Toronto to do it, you know, undermanned. I got to say, the criticism of him in Toronto, Toronto in the playoffs, it's pretty justified. Like I know sometimes we run that we get into these narratives and we just like to say that, okay, Bruce Brudrow is a good coach, but he can't win in a game seven. For some reason, he forgets how to coach that one particular game.

You know, we get tripped up on it. But how many times did we see the Leafs in a crucial game in a series just come out totally flat, no answers, no adjustments, all of this stuff. So I think what it'll tell, what the lesson that will be taken from it, if the devil can pull this off will be Sheldon Keith was always a great coach in Toronto ran him out of town for no reason. I think what the real lesson will be is that younger coaches and adjust and they can learn from mistakes and failure and they can improve. And if he can get this devil's team to show up on time seven times in a series, that'll be that'll be signed to me that he's made some adjustments

and he's learned from what happened in Toronto. I got to say one thing on the Bruce thing because one time we were at TSN and we're hanging out and you know Bruce always had the reputation like yeah the team's just not so much systems oriented maybe you know lack a little bit defensively and he had a laugh with that one time and I just pulled up his wins record Bruce Brudrow 617 wins and he goes yeah something like you know top 20 and wins all time but I couldn't coach defensively that's what they always say about me. right yeah one thing i want to say about the hurricanes and then we'll then we'll move off this i caught him last week um jackson blake he's playing on a line with ahho and jarvis he's fun i i i i keep he pops a little bit he's got 15 goals this season he is he's he's lit it up on that top line since they moved him there right after the trade deadline they've been really really good together and he's got some Jews. He's Jason Blake's son, by the way, which I, like, I'm not surprising, honestly.

Thanks, man. I was not feeling super old for a few seconds. Isn't that horrendous? I realized that in the press box in Raleigh last week, it ruined my night. He's like, he's got some juice and he's also like the most hurricanes player of all time. Like he like he fits so well with those guys. So, you know, that's what we have to look for.

I guess. Yeah. The Montreal Canadians have something much more interesting to look forward to. We got Ivan Demadov on the way. He's going to, I don't know if his, his immigration papers could be sorted out as we speak. At some point, he's going to be in North America, right? Frank, you've been around that team a lot. We've, we've heard a lot about Demadov over the last few days, supremely talented.

He's just a beast with a puck on his stick. You know, he was a star of the draft on his. in Vegas, like where he was going to land was a big narrative going into that. So he's, he's been top of mind, I think, for a little bit. But,

man, what does that team as the playoffs come closer and closer for them? They're not quite clinch yet, but it's a formality. It's a formality. They're going to be there. The Demitov thing is so significant in the long run for the organization. And I think it has the potential to help them in the short run.

And I know, Like, you know, young player coming over from the KHL, you know, it's a different culture over here, different game on the ice. Like, there's going to be a little bit of an adjustment period. But like that second line has had vacancies throughout the year. And it still does. Like they have they have a kid named Oliver Kappan who played the whole year in the SHL.

He's playing on the second line right now. So, you know, you're telling me Demidov can't come over and do, you know, what that kid is doing. And then some, like way more. this is the best prospect not in the NHL right now. And I think if you look at his under 20 season this year in the KHL, it is the best for a teenager of all time in that league. It passed Caprisoff, who is a star. It passed Michkoff, who's well on his way to being a star,

and he passed Kuznetsov, who is, you know, who was a star for a significant period of time. So I think there's Like there's there's there's very justified optimism and buzz around this guy And like the team has turned the corner Like they're going to make the playoffs And now they're adding the guy who's probably going to be the most skilled of the bunch So I think that's that's what really gets people excited about this group It's the fact that everything's happening at the right time

And now the big guy is actually getting here There can't be a fan base in the league. that is having more fun right now than the Montreal. No one. It's probably not even close, right? Because everybody else is either you're missing the playoffs and you're miserable or you're getting ready for the playoffs and you're miserable because you're sitting there going on, oh, what's going to happen? What's going to go wrong? Montreal Canadians are already we're going to go into the playoffs playing with house money.

This is nobody thought they were going to be here. nobody. They've got a matchup against quite possibly the president's trophy winning Washington Capitals. And yet, they're going to have a puncher's chance in that series. This is not one, this is not a coronation. This is not just show up and get smoke. And now they've got this kid showing up. And I got to say, I read CJ's explanation, but I love the consmite bonus for this kid. The half a million dollar, they threw, like, and I get it.

I get why C.J. wrote that. It's like, that's an important thing to point out. If you haven't read C.J.'s article explaining it, I don't say this often. Don't read it. No.

You'll be happier not knowing the reasonable, logical reason why that's in there. And just think that this kid was like, I'm not coming over unless I got a bonus for that consmise. I'm about to win. Dude, let me ask you this real quick. Let me ask you this real quick. What is,

what was a more attainment? bonus. The Demedov-Kahn-Smith one or mine back in 2011 for playing 82 games in the first year of my entry-level contract and that bonus was $10,000. What do you think was more attainable? It's got to be the cons-smite. It has to be. Yeah. I mean, just like there's a, there's a mathematical chance of that one at least. 82 for rookie Frankie was just, you're like, okay, whatever. I remember reading that and having a laugh with like my dad and my age. and I'm like, I think I said to my age, I go, do they expect me to get to get?

I don't think. I don't think they expect you to get 82 in year one. Yeah, you know what, though? It's wild. And being in that building, there's such a buzz right now. There's such a buzz in the city. And like, don't discount this. Like, these two teams play tomorrow. And if Montreal wins that game,

all of a sudden, they're one point back of the Sends with three games to go. Like that it's it's not just penciled in that they're going to play Washington at this point. Like they're pushing, man. They've won six in a row. We could get Toronto, Montreal. Boy, you talk about that TV draft. There's going to be this is this is what I'm concerned about if I'm Ottawa in that game is playing around all the Rogers executives who are going to be running on the ice, trying to block shots and everything to try to get Montreal to win that game and get us that rematch.

Yeah, something tells me too. I'm going to lose out on that series for, we'll say Pierre LeBron's maybe going to big foot me on that one. You'll think maybe. Something tells me, if that's the way it goes down, I'm not going to end up being the building. Stand your ground, buddy. Caps Canadians, I have a chance. The other ones, I don't think it's quite in the cards. You got to throw your body around at the front of the net the way Matthew Nyes does.

Love it. That's what you got to do. Look at this transition. My God. I'd miss this. You had one earlier. You had one earlier. I tiptoed into this one.

And now you got to be Matthew Nye's net front presence on the Toronto Maple Leafs power play. I got one like proclamation. Is it a proclamation? I have a statement. I have a statement to make. I prefer proclamation. Let's go with that. That sounds more grand.

I don't know if I use the right word. Anyways, Matthew Nyes saved the Toronto Maple Leafs power play. Agree or disagree? He saved their power. power play this year. May have. I like it. And I like this new segment.

Frankie's proclamation. The franklamation. The franklamation. Okay. And now I'm going to look into my crystal ball. And I'm going to say this. It is a lock that Matthew Nyes will be on Team USA at the Olympics next year. Oh, I love it.

I love it. I'm looking at locked in. We will be talking next February about Matthew Nyes playing for Team USA at the Olympics. playing on a line with Austin Matthews, if Matthews makes it. If Matt, yeah, Matthews is going to have to make it.

Wow. What do you think? Unless he gets, unless he gets, so there's two kinds of leaf players. Oh, nobody's ever properly rated. Everyone's either overrated by a little bit or,

or dumped on unfairly. Nyes might be, he might be too good. He might be, he might be good to the point where people start trying to, trying to pick nits on him. I think it's possible, especially after last night. Here's the fun thing for him, especially as he's really hitting his stride right now.

He needs a contract this summer. And I don't know if you guys have been following the Toronto Maple Leafs history of signing young guys to reasonable contracts. It hasn't gone great in the past. So I'm almost like, there's a part of me that's like the Leaf Band, you know, I'm just putting the Leaf Band hat on that there's the devil and the angel on the shoulders. because one of them is going, I love this kid. This guy is the, you know what? Go do whatever you need to go do. Mitchie, we already got the winger that's going to take your spot.

This guy's fantastic. And then there's the other part of me that's like, oh, my, how much are they going to pay this kid? Maybe we, maybe we ease it up a little bit. Maybe we do need to nitpick and, you know, find a few lazy back checks or something. Because this guy is about to be able to name his price if he keeps it up. I mean, imagine how much money he's going to make after he leads the United States to gold medal at the next Olympics, you know? Like, that's it. I'd sign a one-year deal if I'm

him because that's... If I'm nice, if I'm nice, I'll take a bridge. No problem. Hand me a bridge. I'll have a couple monster seasons playing with Matthews and especially if you're going to bring back Marner. Like if Marner's back, that only helps Matthew Nise.

But if I'm Toronto, I want to get this kid locked up. Like I want him for eight years and I want them at a reasonable head. Of course, you're going to pay a little bit more to kind of get that get that cost certainty and that security. But as long as the cap is going up, like they say it is, and this kid is playing with those players, and he's playing on the power play,

like I have a feeling that would age fairly well. I just don't want him getting a bridge, and then all of a sudden the guy's going to make three more million than he was supposed to make on the eight-year deal. And boy, the one piece of bad news from him, especially after that game last night, makes it much less likely that Toronto and Tampa are going to cross paths in the playoffs, at least in the first round.

Boy, can you imagine seven games against the Tampa Bay Lightning for that kid the way he owns that team? I mean, you're looking at what, seven to ten goals probably? Yeah, for a baseline expectation. Yeah, right. Just write that one in Penn. Yeah. And let's just say the bar is set pretty low in Toronto for what we would consider a breakthrough playoff performance.

So it wouldn't take a lot for this guy to be anointed the new playoff king. With that being said, though, I think Florida does not fear Toronto at all. I would even say Ottawa doesn't really fear Toronto. Like Ottawa swept the season series. I really don't think that. If it were to be Toronto, Montreal, I think we would all agree. Toronto would be the favorite. But I think Montreal, like you talked about, playing with house money,

like they don't need to fear anyone because of the situation. that they're in. But I think Tampa would have a little bit of doubt, even though they're a great team, and Vasilevsky's been all world this year, like Tampa would have a little bit of doubt about playing the Leafs. The Leafs have played them really well. The Leafs are 8 and 3

against the Lightning over their last 11 games, and Vasilevsky's numbers have been pedestrian by his standards against Toronto. There's something about that matchup where, like, Toronto's big boys have been getting the better of Tampa's big boys for a little while now. It's not just a short stretch. So I think that's the team that looks at Toronto and says, it's interesting.

I don't really, they don't, they probably don't want to see the leaps. We always talk about it the other way. Who do the Leaps not want to see? I think Tampa might not want to see the Leifes. That's it. Frankie Corrado says it. Give us the Tampa Bay Lightning. He's there. Everybody's called about that's crazy. Write a one down. I remember. Guys, we're going to do something fun here. I don't know. I'm not sure how long we've been reading these promos since I've been out, basically. But We have a new addition for the playoffs.

It's the athletic hockey show playoff crisis line. We're asking fans to leave short voicemails for us, talking about whatever, you know, why their teams in trouble, what they're seeing, what they're thinking. The number is 321-22-7-9-72. 3-1-2-2-2-7-9-72. And we have an example. We have an example of a call from a Leafs fan.

that producer Jeff's going to queue up for us right now. I'm in a total panic because in every Leaf game I watch, it feels like they give up over 30 shot from goal. So I'm panicking because I'm wondering if they're just being saved by great goaltending or if they're just giving up low danger shocks. What do we think of that? You guys watch this team more than more than me. Is it about, I got to say first of all,

like, you know, in training camp, people talk about being in regular season shape and all that. That's not playoff shape for Leafs panic. We got to amp it up a little bit. That is, that's mild. I know some other fan bases, that would be, you know, but I mean, that that is the calmest leaf fan I've ever heard. Very reasonable.

That's not the Leaf fans that live near me. That's a very reasonable person. The least fans that live in your phone and that you talk to every day, I'm sure. Yeah. So, I mean, the Leaps do give up a lot of shots. Like shot attempts, they're 28th in the NHL. shots on net, they're 27th in the NHL. But I would say optimistically, when it comes to like, you know, slot shots and

inner slot shots, they're not bad. They're so. Frankie's got that sport logic window cute up. I got a little logic window open. So, so I think, you know, if you look at it, you would say Toronto defends quality chances better than quantity of chances. And so with the goaltending, like the goaltending has been great, especially Stolar's. but I think they're giving the goalies a chance to make the saves by kind of, you know,

defending the slot area better than the outside of the ice. I don't know. DGB, would you concur with that? Yeah, I mean, I think that passes the eye test in the Craig Barubei era a little bit more. But the caller is, I mean, you don't want to be on the wrong end of shots. And it's not like it's happening because they're up for nothing in every game. and the score effects are kicking in and all of that. There is a little bit of,

there's a little bit of the goaltending bailout going here. And the goalies are part of the team and, you know, and all of that. But I think it's a fair concern. I just want to hear, I want to hear more wailing and gnashing of teeth from, from leave fans if they're going to, if they're going to call the hotline on it. We need more abnormal people calling in late. Yeah. Yeah.

And no, like, you know, that was also a reasonable team. Yes, much too reasoned. I need somebody who's like judging with the body language of the fifth defenseman on the bench and like deciding that that's why this team can't win. Yeah, yeah, we need someone with the passion. But I would also say like the Leafs for how many years have gone into the playoffs where all their fancy stats look so good. Top five in everything like analytical darling. But they were rolling the dice with, you know, Samsonoff or Campbell or a, you know, a ding. up Freddie Anderson. So at least this year, like, okay, they may not look as great under the hood

as they have in years past, but it doesn't feel like they're rolling the dice. It feels like they're going in with a, you know, like a pretty solid duo where I think if Stolar starts and, you know, you lose one, you want to go to Joseph Wall, I think you're not taking a huge step down. Like, you still have a goalie who can win games for you. Still time for both those guys that get hurt. Plenty, plenty of games left. Plenty, plenty of practice. Matt Murray time, baby. That's going to cause a stir. 321-22-7-9-72.

It's 3-21-22-7-9-72. Call us, do your worst. Don't say anything too disgusting or profane. We'll play this stuff on the show. That's the way it's going to work. All right, time for us to take a break. When we come back, we got a Western Conference team that's getting a big shot in the arm.

And we have Jordan Bennington hitting postseason form. Let's call it. Guys, we had a pretty big night in Minnesota last night. First off, it's Mark Andre Fleury's last home start. They left them in there for all of it and allows seven goals to San Jose, which is up optimal. But I think the bigger story coming out of that, Joel Erickson, Carol Caprizov are back in the lineup. That's, I mean, we talked about the devils. Now it's tough to take them seriously as, like,

an actual relevant playoff team without used Hamilton in the lineup. I think you could have said the same thing about Minnesota. If there was some outstanding situation here where Capriza, or Eric and Akron can be around, they're back, giving them a shot in the arm. We see them do their thing last night. It seems like a big deal and a well-time deal. Did Eric Sinek do anything in the game? I hadn't noticed.

I didn't know. Four goals coming back into action. And you know what's crazy about that? Like, especially with the time that he's missed, like this point in the season. His last game was February 22nd. It comes back April 9th. Like that point is when everything is just, and I know he's playing against San Jose. So, you know, you can't really like take this as gospel.

But like everyone just gets a little more entrenched in everything they're doing. Everything gets a little sharper. Like the league moves on without you. And then you jump back in and like even though it's San Jose, you're like they've got some skilled players. They've got some some speedy players. And you jump back in, you score four goals. Like that is, that's not an easy thing to do.

Like if you scored one or two, you'd be happy. You'd be like, that's as perfect as it can be for me, you know, coming back into the lineup. And then he tucks four. That is like,

that's something. Any five on five production for that team is worth noting. They're at one point four goals for 60 at five on five since the four nation. That's last in the league. Like, they needed this. They needed this in a very, very real way. And they'd been bad for slagging on the devils. Guess what?

They beat the wild twice. And then in the last couple weeks, they looked like the wheels were, if not all the way off, certainly starting to wobble. I think, I think this came at the right time for them. Yeah. And the classic team that we sort of had pre-written off heading into the playoffs, I think. And remember, this was, especially with Prezzov, like when he, He originally got hurt.

There was some talk of like, okay, do the wild bank him until the playoffs? Or, you know, does this, does he LTIR? And now you've got tap space. And it was, you know, they can't do that because they're not guaranteed to make the playoffs. Nope. Without him. And we, in hindsight, they probably would have been okay because it didn't end up being the race that we thought. But this is why you don't do that because it does turn you into a different team at the end of the year.

and it gives them a chance to get going and shake the rest off. It didn't look like there's a lot of rust last night. No. And, you know, like Minnesota, they've had their, you know, base of being a good defensive team all season long, right? And scoring was always the issue for them. But I think if you looked at their like their goal differential throughout the year, like if you go back to January 1st, they're a plus 9.

If you go back to December 1st, they are plus 19. and then if you fast forward to today, they are a minus 11. Like, they didn't just forget how to defend. They could score because they just, they didn't have the guns to do it. And now you get Eric Sinek, you get Caprice off back.

Like that completely changes the matchup against the wild now. It changes the complexion of the series, you know, depending on who they're going to play, whether it's going to be Vegas or Winnipeg. You know, that's as big of a shot in the arm as you can get for a team. Another interesting Western conference game last night. It's blues oilers. Interesting for a bunch of reasons.

But let's start with Jordan Bennington. Gets kicked a little bit by Corey Perry, shoves them, does the Delo Brown frog splash off the turn block on top of them afterwards. It's a little bit. Define kicked a little bit in hockey with skate. Corey Perry, it was only a little kick. Little, little kick. Little, little kick.

Yeah. I mean, that's like, there's, there is so much stuff that Blues fans should be psyched about, right? Like, the way they've played is legitimately incredible. They, they look fantastic. Robert Thomas driving the bus. Like, my God, what's not to love about St. Louis right now? I wonder what Blues fans think when they see that. Is it, is it positive?

Are they like, all right, we are for sure in playoff mode now because Binnington's freaking out in and starting and starting physical stuff with and starting brawls with the with opposing teams that that's a good sign for them right right it is it is and you know what you know what the fans are doing they're they're they're playing gloria that's what they're doing they're like this is this has got shades of 2019 let's go like we are we are back and like it's such a Corey Perry esk play and it's been a quiet. Don't you guys think it's been a quiet year by Corey Perry standards? I think certainly relative to last year. Yes. It's been it's been a less eventful season for him. It's Cory Perry is the one who's getting into playoff for kicking goalies.

Yeah. But I don't know if that's like a Bennington thing per se or if he's just like got his wires crossed, which he has done so many times. And he's like, I don't know. I'm just going to drive my foot into this goalie, regardless of whoever it is. But it happened to be Binnington, and then we get to see Binner snap and lose it. And I love it. I love that Binner does that. I love that he doesn't back down. Corey Perry, whoever, the blues are one of the hottest teams in the NHL. I think teams, you know, going into the playoffs should be worried about what they can do. And Bittington's a reason why. He lives for these types of things. And I'm just going to say right now, Sean, you apologize to national hero Jordan Bennington for any implication that he was in the wrong.

This guy is he's Jordan Bennington is innocent. He always has been do not go back and look up any clips I've ever had talking about him from before February of this year. Google Sean McIndo, Jordan Bennington. Do not look up anything I've written. I was hacked. Jordan Bennington is a great guy. He definitely does not act like a fake tough guy or pretend that he wants to fight or anything like that. And I think the fact that he kept his water bottle on the back of the net, didn't whip it at anybody's head.

I think that just shows how much he's matured and how ready he is to focus and stay in that championship mode that he's been in since February. They call him a gamer. That's the definition of a gamer right there. And he didn't initiate it. That was, Corey Perry went into his space, bowl in a China shop. How do we feel about Calvin Picard not,

not even, I didn't see him even leave the crease. Like there wasn't even a pretend, I'm going to go to center ice sort of deal. So we still have not had the Jordan Bittington fight. Like, he does not have a fighting major. We haven't had a goalie fight in a while.

And there was one earlier that there. Swamen almost got it. That's right. The officials. Unforgivably jumped in the middle of it. I think the last one is still Mike Smith Camp Talbot in the Battle of Alberta. And that was a long time ago. So there's players, like I wouldn't want to fight Mike Smith.

No way. He always seemed scary. And he's huge. And he's like six, nine. Yeah. Did you ever, did you ever play with any goalies who started? shit. I think like I played with like Markstrom was always vocal and he would like he would lay the lumber a little bit. Freddie Anderson was not like that. Rimer Bernier were really not like that. I played with Gibson in junior.

He he would, you know, he was feisty for sure. And Gibby's a big guy. Like he used to carry more weight back then. Like he's he's really trimmed down. But yeah, he's one of those guys that would fall into the category of I probably probably wouldn't want to mess with. But I played with Binner and minor hockey, but he wasn't like that yet. He didn't have his alter ego yet. He was still just Jordan. Now he's got like a whole other persona, which I think is awesome. We should point out.

You mentioned Jonathan Bernier. He did have the goalie fight with Ryan Miller in exhibition. That was the Phil Kessel, John Scott. Oh, that's right. You remember that where, you know, and the David Clarkson thing, the 10-game suspension that Clarkson got. Kessel hacked him. And then that was so funny because literally the line brawl is taking place and

Phil Kessel's in it and Clarkson's off the bench and it's crazy. And then everything is calmed down. And then you just see this like, if you're watching the broadcast, you just see this like goalie's kind of zoom by in the lower corner and you're like, what is that all about? And then suddenly Bernier is like fighting Ryan Miller at the other end of the ice. I played with Miller too. I played with Ryan Miller. Yeah, he's got a little bit of a, he's got an edge.

He's got a little bit of an edge to him in general. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I enjoyed my tie. I sat next him on the plane. I enjoyed our conversations together. Very interesting person.

Bernier was just playing old time hockey, like one of his favorite NHL legends, Nelson Mandela. There it is. I knew it. I can't believe he did that. I can't believe he did that. I got it. I got him. You know how many times people have asked me like, did anyone ever, did anyone ever bring

that up in the room and the answer is no like obviously not that was a no fly zone that's that's that's pretty good because i tell you right now if if gentilly made that sort of mistake publicly i would he would not be able to send me one single text without me texting back like is mandela there like just it it wouldn't it wouldn't i would beat that into the ground and beyond here we are man it's 2025 and that's jonathan brunier long career really, really good goal for your. Like I like a good dude. I got to give some clicks for Bernie.

He is such a good guy. And as far as that fight goes, I'm sure that's him just being like, the boys would love this. So let me fire this up. That's exactly what he would have been thinking. Like, let me just fire this up for the boys.

When I said the goal, like he was the goalie zipping down. And like Ryan Miller was just like, what are you doing here? Why are we doing this? And, uh, oh, it didn't matter.

Who would win in a fight in their prime? Hextall or Ray Emery? Emory. I don't think anyone's beaten Ray Emery. And Ron, I mean, remember Ron Hextel lost to Felix Poffin. Don't think I'm not going to figure out a way

to turn this back into talking about On. In the great, in I would say probably the greatest upset in goalie fight history because I remember, I was in, I was in college and we were in the computer lab and this was in the early days of the internet.

So like somebody had figured out how to look up. Green text on a black screen. A hundred percent. Somebody had figured out how to look up the box scores. There was no highlight. There was no YouTube or video or anything like that. But somebody had figured out how to look up the box scores. And they're looking at like, oh, yeah, the Leafs beat the Flyers tonight.

Okay. And then back then second question, any fights? Oh, yeah, it looks like Wendell got into it. And then there's the kind of guy went quiet. And he just went, it says here that Felix Poff and fought Ron Hextel. And we just all went quiet and bowed our heads because we're like, well, that's it for Felix Pock. All right.

There's no. I mean, Ron Hextel, like that's, and Felix Poppin, the quiet, like, you know, a guy never said three words. And when we finally saw the highlights, I mean, it was that, that was the highlight of the absolute season. I will tell you, by the three things I love best about that fight, other than the fight itself, is, uh, Tideomi, like almost running back onto the ice just to trash talk, uh, Hextel, and point at the cut on the way by.

Doug Gilmore sitting on the end of the bench, there are, sitting like on the on the boards the edge of the boards just trash talking and then there had been a little line brawl they got the players off the ice and then just as like they were leaving it looked like it was all going to start up again it looked and and you know at this point game's over things can get really out of control and if you go and watch the clip the last thing you see is players are coming back out of the dressing room to like maybe get back into it and you just see wendell clark come out and he's got no no jersey on he's just got the blue undershirt i swear he's got like toothpick or something and he just shows up like an old dad and he's like no that's it boys we're

done here and everybody just scatters like okay yes sir mr wendell sir we don't uh we won't cause any more trouble guys on both teams we're like we're out of here but it's just the classic dad energy of that's enough boys don't don't make me come back out here and do what i might need to do mackandu's got the passion i'm so fired up now the passion this was a passionate episode just need to golly fights i know people at the beginning of this episode were like, there's no way they're going to be able to bring this back to a 1996 Toronto. And yet. And yet.

Here we are. Frankie, what's your work schedule like for the next for the next little bit? Big one tonight. Doing the, uh, the intermissions for Jets stars. And then tomorrow, I'm actually taking a drive out to Georgetown. I'm doing color for bar down versus an under 14 hockey team. So I'll chirp those guys a bunch. Wow.

Yeah. The bar down guys are playing? Like the bar down guys are playing an under 14 hockey team tomorrow. And I'm doing color. And I'm going to destroy that Jesse Pollock on the air. Let's go. Gurp his life. And he knows that.

But that's okay. It's part of the territory, man. She's on the other foot. Yeah. Enjoy that, brother. We'll talk you next week. All right. See you guys.

All right. There goes Frank. We're back. McIndoo and I. Sean, today, I guess it's more yesterday. What have we learned, Sean? Yesterday, I learned that Gabriel Landisg is capable of skating in a professional hockey game. I wasn't sure that was something I was aware of.

He's starting a conditioning stint with the Avalanche's HL team hasn't played in 15 years or however long it's been at this point. It's been three years. And I've kind of thrown this question out in a few spots. Has this ever happened before? Forget hockey. In sports, can you ever remember somebody being injured missing three years and coming back without a retirement or like walking away in the middle of it? Because we've certainly seen guys get hurt, missed time, and then, hey, I'm going to do a comeback. Mary Lemieux being a famous example of that.

But a guy who's just been on the injured list for years and keeps chivalry. shipping away at it. And I mean, I'm kind of like you. Until, you know, he would show up in practice and he would skate with the team and that sort of thing. And you thought, this is great. This is, this is great for him. It's great for the guys. But none of this feels real because it had just been so long. But now, if he's playing in professional games, it feels like this is actually happening. The closest comparison I can think of is Lonzo Ball in the NBA. Okay.

He, that's just because it's top of mind. And also because it's been covered extensively because it's so it's such a crazy story. He heard his knee in January of 2022. He, he, that was the line of demarcation for him. And then he played in October of 2024. So he went two full seasons and really two and a half NBA seasons, um, without playing. And it's kind of a similar situation. I don't, I'm not going to, I don't know just how close they are, but it is.

It's a knee issue where there was a cartilage transplant that was involved for ball. I mean, it's serious. You know, the through line is that it's heavy duty knee problems. Um, that started out as something relatively small and then just kind of devolved. So there's like, it's kind of ironic that there is like a recent analog here, but that's also kind of it. Like, like that's beyond, beyond that, I can't, I can't think of any. And yeah, man, it seems like it seems like it's going to happen, which is wild. And I don't know how to price that into what I think of the avalanche heading into the playoffs,

heading into presumably that series against, against Dallas. I mean, obviously, Gabriel Landis Scog at his best was, you know, like a 30 goal, 80 point guy. You're not expecting that guy. I don't know, you can expect much of anything, but just just his return. This guy's still the captain of the team. feels like it's going to be a big deal. I mean, even if you can just put him on a fourth line

and play him for nine minutes a night, you see the guy like, their fourth line right now, it's Jack Drury between Parker Kelly and Chris Wagner. Like no disrespect to those guys on the wing there, but if you can swap out one of them for limited minutes, Gabriel Landisg doing some fourth line work, I'll take it.

Just, I mean, you wouldn't expect a team like Colorado, with a recent cup is going to need a bunch of motivation. But in those tough moments that sometimes come in the playoffs, you look across the room and there's a guy who's been fighting for three years to get this. You're going to go hard for him. I learned far more important story that apparently Alexander Ovechkin's not getting his Rolls-Royce

that Wayne Gretzky suggested he should get because the CBA does not. allow teams to purchase gifts for their players, which does make sense to an extent. I mean, you can, we don't want the Leafs to sit down with Mitch Martyr and be like, yeah, we can only give you a little $11 million a year, but this private plane and this, you know, whole gated neighborhood that will set up for you. But apparently Gary Bedman thought that maybe there might be some wiggle room on this that they can, they can figure something out. but yeah if if you don't see

Ted Leoneses driving the Rolls Royce out to center ice for for Ovechkin this this might be why because it's the CBA man now we we wanted to know what the next lockout was going to be about now we know I wonder what Ovechkin is driving these days because he is a little bit of a car guy

I remember back in the back in the day when I was in college in the DC area he had like a two-door Mercedes that looked like a jet and he and he treated it as such like that dude like to go fast. So I don't know if maybe he's mellowed in his old age or what he would do if he were gifted of free rolls or he's from the league. But I'm interested in potentially finding out and I'm disappointed that we're not going to get the opportunity. That's got to be pressure to buy a gift for, I mean, you talk about the guy who has everything. How do you buy a car for the guy who's got a whole whole, whole. fleet of these things.

It was bad enough when Gretzky would win the All-Star Game MVP and they drive out like a little Honda sedan to give them and so yeah, thanks. That was always that was like the funny thing. You remember that the fantasy draft with Ovechkin and Phil and the whole gimmick there, the bit that Oveskin was doing was that he wanted to get he wanted to be the last pick. So he couldn't get like a CRV or whatever or whatever it was.

He still needs it. Didn't get it then, isn't getting it now. We're going to close today on a note about Ray Shiro. He's a longtime NHL exec who has died in the last couple of days. The NHL announced it on Wednesday. Shiro, of course, best known for his time with the Penguins, was the GM and the architect of that first run of great teams in the Crosby era. Also had a ton to do with the 2016 and 2017 teams.

He drafted Jake Genssel. He drafted Connor Shiri. He made sure that Brian Dumlin wasn't. included in the trade of Jordan Stahl to Carolina. So his fingerprints are all over the penguins of the last 20 years, really. And he's, we, we lost him. And then in the last couple days to a short illness. It's sad, it's sad news.

He's far too young, 62 years old. We've, man, there are some great race hero stories. I think that's one of my takeaways from the last 24 or 48 hours. Some of them have been shared. we got yoie and rossi and rousseau have all to varying degrees uh written their ratio stories and they're just to the letter worth worth your time because the dude was a hockey lifer and he was he was he was a good guy and he and he cared about people it was also just like a just a character you know he's he's really really really funny and i think those stories come through um

and a lot of the writing that we've seen from from the people who work with them most closely so I've read all of those and I would strongly encourage anybody listen to this to do the same. Yeah, it's just a lot of, it's, it's weird to say a lot of fun to read them. Obviously, it's not fun circumstances, but it's, you know, when it's somebody that you've never dealt with, in my case, you really get a sense of the personality and a tough, tough week, tough couple of weeks because we also lost Greg Millen. and there's been, you know, we've, there's, there's been a lot written about that. And, and also found out that we lost Mark LaForest relatively recently, you know, who was for me, you know, a journeyman goalie in the 80s. One of my first favorite players played a year with the Leafs.

That's great. Fought Sean Burke during a bench clearing brawl, you know, bring it back to the goalie fights. And that was, that was a case of finding out that, oh, hold on, this guy knows how to fight. Sean Burke turned out, but Mark LaForest gave us all. a fun memory that night for a team that wasn't a lot of fun most nights. So just condolences and thoughts out to everybody. And, you know, the hockey world is close. And it's been a tough couple weeks.

But a lot of good stories to go around at least. Yep. And they're all on the site. So if you guys want to, like I said, we're not going to get into telling them because I'm not going to sit here and read Rossi's story and Rousseau story. and Russo's story and whoever else is like word for word. And I'm not going to ruin them either. Just go and go and check them out because a lot of fun and a tribute to a life well-lived.

That's where we're going to leave it. Sean, thank you. Frankie. Thank you, wherever you may be. We're back next Wednesday. It's going to be the three of us. So we're going to be on the appropriate day. So we'll see you then and enjoy the rest of your week.