The Athletic Hockey Show - NHL Playoff Picture taking shape, Auston Matthews scores 60 goals and Montreal Canadiens pay tribute to Guy Lafleur

Episode Date: April 27, 2022

With the NHL playoff picture becoming clearer, Rob, Sara and Jesse take a look at some of the more enticing matchups, what series they are looking forward to the most and what they would do to improve the playoff format. The roundtable discusses career seasons from Connor McDavid, Johnny Gaudreau, Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, Steven Stamkos and Roman Josi, injuries to Juuse Sarros, Alexander Ovechkin and Robin Lehner and we finish on a laugh with Tampa's trip to the White House to meet President Joe Biden. Julian McKenzie joins from Montreal to share his experiences being in the building on Sunday when the team paid tribute to franchise icon Guy Lafleur, and Jesse tells us why he is most excited to watch the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Going on, guys, welcome back to another Wednesday roundtable edition of the Athletic Hockey Show. I am Rob Beasel from C-Bos and sports joined as always by Jesse Granger in Vegas. How are you, Jesse? I'm doing well. How are you, Rob? I'm doing great. And Sarah Sivian in Carolina. How's it going?

Metro champs. I've got it on here. Don't forget to mention Metro champs because Sarah will text you saying, how do you not mention it? Because, yeah, guys, it's, we're right there. is actually the last show we're going to do during the regular season. By the time we talk next week, playoffs will be in full swing. And last night was just a crazy kind of night as far as scenarios go. There are still some question marks and some things to figure out over the next couple days. We're going to talk about that. We'll talk about possible series that we want to see. We'll talk about

playoff formats, what you like and what you don't like about the format. This crazy year of career highs, There's a lot of players who have set career highs this year. We'll break that down. And of course, a little later on we'll have a guest in Julian McKenzie from The Athletic. And I'm really looking forward to talking to him. I know he's right in Montreal. And it was a sad week for the hockey world with Gila Fleur passing away. And I'll say it again later on in the show.

No franchise, I believe not just in hockey in sports does a tribute like the Montreal Canadians. But let's start with last night, guys. 15 of 16 playoff spots now locked up. If you look at the East, it's crazy. History made. First time ever, eight teams in one conference have 100 points. As Sarah so politely mentioned, the Hurricanes clinched the Metro, set team records and wins and points.

The Preds and Kings, they punched their tickets to the dance. The Canucks made a good effort there at the end, officially eliminated. The Golden Knights got their point to stay. they mathematically alive, but it's going to be an uphill battle over the next two games because they need wins and help. And the leaves and oilers locked up their home ice for the first round. Guys, what really jumped out to you from last night or maybe, you know, now that the picture is becoming a lot more clear, what are you most looking forward to? Jesse, we'll start with you. Well, from last night, obviously I was tuned into the Golden Knights, just failures down the

stretch here. I mean, it's, I think like what sticks out to me is just this team's just not good right now. They, there was promise that this team could maybe put it all together and get healthy and gel right away and be a legit contender, but that just never happened. And they don't, they're, they're probably not going to make the playoffs. They don't deserve to be in the playoffs. In terms of looking forward, there are some really exciting matchups in this first round. Thanks to this weird format. We're going to get to that. But, uh, uh, I'm personally looking forward to Tampa, Toronto, hoping we get that one because of, and Rob smiles, because we know what that means for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And again, this format screws them. But that to me is the most exciting first round matchup. Sarah, what are you looking forward to? Yeah, that is going to be so much fun. And I am looking forward to kind of a goalie controversy with the Canes a little bit because this new kid here, he can barely speak English, but he can make a save. So last night I was just watching him kind of keeps to getting more and more confident as the time goes on. He's won every game he started with the Canes.

That's only three and he's only played three NHL games. But the Canes are seriously considering riding him. So I would love to see how that plays out. I just think it's one of those, it could be a Cam Ward round two situation. So I may or may not be talking to Cam Ward himself about that. So stay tuned for that. I'm also excited for a potential Kane's Bruins round. up because next week is my brother's wedding in Boston.

So that would work out nicely for me. First off, what Jesse said, he said I'm laughing and it was true because I grew up just outside of Toronto. I would say 99% of my friends are blue and white, die hard leave fans. And I'm not. I never was. So watching them get tortured year in and year out in the first round, I don't know why it's sick, but I just love watching it.

I love seeing my friends wonder why. And I ask them time and time again how they could constantly support this team. But yeah, facing the two-time defending champs and the best goalie, in my opinion in the world right now is going to be fun. For me, and this is at one of the two lockdown series just yet, after what we saw with Calgary, Nashville yesterday, I mean, that series would be awesome. Because look, a lot of series, you can have all this skill in the world. And I think Toronto, I think Toronto on Tampa. would be one of those series. Right.

Just thinking, wow, firepower. But that game last night had everything. It had the drama, you know, 0.1 seconds left to send it to overtime. It has so many skilled players on both sides. But man, that game, that game got nasty. And Milan Luchich said it's one of the five funest games he's ever played in his career. And he's played over a thousand games. And that was just very Milan Luchich, that game.

I think that series, seven of those, I'll take it. I know he's kind of a lightning rod, but I think McAchuk is one of the most fun, kind of underrated to watch players in the league for sure. So, like, I love that you brought the Luchich quote up because, like, I think fun means different things for different players. If a game is fun for Milan Luchich, it's fun for all of us. I think there are some players where they could like come out of a game and say like, that game was fun.

It's like, no, it wasn't. You just have bad taste for what's fun. Milan Luchich likes what we all. like to watch in a playoff series. Like it's, Dushane and Kachuk absolutely cannot stand each other. And to have like, it's not two fourth liners that don't like each other. It's like two of the top guys on those teams. I was actually hoping to bring that up. Like when I saw on the list, what matchups are you looking forward to? I looked at the West and I'm like, man, the West is, I mean, St. Louis and Minnesota should be a close series. But then you have some not as exciting ones, at least in

comparison to the east in my opinion. But I do think this Nashville, Calgary series, as long as UC Soros is okay. If UC Soros is hurt and David Ridage has to go in, I think Nashville's in trouble and I think it might be over quick. But if you, as long as UC Saros is healthy enough to play, I think that series is going to be awesome. If they get it. I mean, it's still what? Like 50, let's see, 58% chance according to Dom this morning that that that, that's, uh, Calgary's most likely opponent is Nashville. So hopefully we get that. It's also very Western themed. We got Cowboys everywhere.

Right. Yeah, I didn't even think about it. But I think you hit the nail in the head there, Jesse, when you said they don't like each other. And I know you were talking about two specific players, but that's the juice that gets me through a playoff series. I want to see great goals. I want to see great saves. I want to see great hockey. But I want to see two teams that genuinely hate each other.

Like it just, it brings it to another level. and last night that's what I saw with those two teams. And you're right, the Milan Lucci jangle. For him, fun is just, yeah, let's go out there and get ugly, get dirty, put the puck in the net. And I think that would be just one of the great series there. We know that that's not locked up. Edmonton, L.A. is locked up. Minnesota, St. Louis, we knew was locked up.

But next couple days is really going to paint the picture. But, yeah, Toronto, Tampa Bay on a collision course. Caroline, I mean, as someone who covers the team, Sarah, Carolina, Boston. What kind of matchup is that for the hurricanes? Finally, they outscored the Bruins, what was it, like 16 to 3 this season? It's like kind of their whale, their white whale, whatever it's called, to catch the Bruins. So I think they got to do it now. The Bruins are getting older in a worse way, where the canes are getting older in a good way.

So I think now is the time. And you've got to get through every team to win the cup, obviously. so you might as well start off with the vibes of conquering a team you have not yet been able to beat in the playoffs. And I can go to my brother's wedding. All that being said, I always find in the first round, because it's just so much awesome hockey action being, you know, thrown at you. When it's done, there's always one series where I'm like, oh, man, I maybe watched a total of like 15 minutes of that series. There's always one. Is there a series as it stands right now that you're like, I could see myself not watching a lot of that series?

I would say Bruins Cains if I wasn't covering it, just because it's like the Bruins are such sorry, but an uninteresting team this season. I feel like it was so anticlimatic with Tuka. I'm sad that Tuka's not in it. It seems like not the juggernaut they once were, but maybe that makes it a team to watch. I don't know, Desi. What do you think? I'm sitting here trying to find one, and I honestly can't. Maybe I'm just too easy to please. I just like, like if I'm forcing myself to pick one, Maybe Washington versus the Rangers, but I love goalies. Come on.

Come on. I. Shisterkin's going to stand on his head back there and try to carry this team that has no business being on a deep playoff run on one. So I'm all for that. Maybe Colorado Dallas, just because I think Colorado is going to mop the ice with them. But Dallas did knock Colorado out in the bubble. So like there is some history there and like the abs are going to want to put it on them. Maybe if that one gets out of hand, Colorado Dallas would be the worst series.

I don't know. What do you think, Rob? The funny thing is I brought that up because I could usually look at the opening round matchups and I'll point out right there. That's probably the one I'm going to watch the least. I'm with you on this. This is a tough year. Every single series has at least one or two storylines that really intrigue me or teams that I'm really looking forward to see what's going to happen in the playoffs. Each ever went, I mean, maybe, maybe Minnesota, St. Louis, if I had to choose one, but I still want to see a lot of that series too.

A lot of series we can see after two or three games, hey, this isn't exactly what I thought it was going to be. I do want to see if Florida's explosive offense translates to the playoffs. I mean, we see this all the time. That is one of the most, yeah. That's one of the most enticing things there. Yeah. I mean, we saw it a few years ago with Tampa Bay. I mean, they stomped all over the league.

You know, they were scoring at will. Everyone's like, there's no way this team isn't just going to win every game by scoring at least six goals. and they didn't gone in the first round. Are we going to see that with Florida? I guess we're going to have to wait and see. As of right now, if the playoffs started today, it would be Washington.

What do you think is the toughest series to predict? Ooh. Because when you said Minnesota, St. Louis is like the one you wouldn't watch. To me, that's the most 50-50 series on the board right now. Like, that's the hardest series to call.

Maybe Toronto Tampa, but I really like Tampa. I'm one of the people that, like I don't care what seed Tampa is. Tampa's the favorite. So I would pick them, but I can't. Like, what series do you think is the hardest to pick a winner in? Sarah, you go first.

I'm still trying to figure it out. I'm looking at all eight and I'm going, I mean, maybe Calgary Nashville. It might just be Calgary. I could see that series going seven with five overtimes. You know, it really could go either way. And again, it depends if Soros is in. And as long as Markstrom stays healthy, that might be one of the best goal-tended series in the first round of the playoffs as well.

I mean, yeah, I think I'd have to go Calgary Nashville. It would be a tough one to pick. I feel like the West is historically unpredictable. I don't know. Like, that's just what it seems like to me, especially with the Canadian teams. So I'm going to say that too. L.A. Edmonton. L.A. Edmonton.

Yeah. And that's the same vibe. Exactly. Edmonton. Okay. That's mine. That's a lot. That's a tough one to pick too.

I don't know who's good. And I watch these teams all like obviously cover in the Pacific Division and just being out here on the West Coast. I watch Edmonton in L.A. a lot. I have no idea who's going to win that series. Like, Edmonton should clearly be the better team, but we've watched them the last couple playoffs get swept by Winnipeg, which wasn't a very good team. And they swept them. And the year before that, in the bubble, they lost in the qualification round to the Blackhawks. I still say that's the worst team to ever make the playoffs in any sport in the history of sports. That Blackhawks team was awful. And they beat Edmonton. So like their, their history of not showing up in the first round,

I have no idea who wins that series. forget the playoffs. Think of the two different Edmonton teams we've seen this year. Let's go back to one of our podcasts from like five weeks ago and we're talking about how horrible that team is and what a slide they're on and everything's going horrible and this team's not going to make the playoffs. And now who's one of the hottest teams going into the playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers? And everything seems to be working. And Mike Smith's in one of those things where he's playing pretty well. It really just depends on what Emmington team decides to show up for the postseason. But first time those two teams are facing each other,

the last time they did, Gretzky was on the king. So it's been a while for those two teams. But, you know, we're talking about the matchups. Let's talk about the playoff format. And Jesse alluded to this earlier. The Leafs are kind of getting screwed with,

you know, finishing second and still taking on, oh, I don't know, the two-time defending champs. Are you guys a fan of divisional playoffs? We've seen it for a while now. Are you in favor or would you tinker? Sarah, we'll start with you on this one. I tinker. I think people, I saw Greg Wysinski argue that there should be more teams in the playoffs. And I don't think that's accurate. I think they should change the formats and make it.

I think that could change it the way that people think adding more teams does. But for the love of God, please don't add more teams. What do we think, Jesse? You were very clear. You were very clear on that last week when we brought it up. I think you used for the love of God last week, too. Sarah really does not. I'm not as against more playoff teams, as long as those games don't count as the playoffs. Like,

I'm okay if you have like a little, if you have a little like four team play in to get into the last spots, add some revenue. Like I'm okay with that. Those games and those stats cannot count for the playoffs. I'm sick of like the bubble year. There were players that like broke records.

Like what are you talking about? They had like a whole extra series. But I'm not, I don't feel strongly one way or another in terms of adding it. But I would say I don't like the divisional. thing. Like, I understand where the NHL was going with it. They were thinking, all right, if we force these teams to play within their division, they'll play each other every year. And then the rivalries that get built up. The NHL knows. The rivalries is our bread and butter.

Like rivalries in the NHL playoffs, that's what, that's the best hockey gets. So they were trying to create that by making them play each other every year. I think it's just not, it hasn't had that effect. And it's also screwing teams like Toronto. I, I personally like the one versus eight. I mean, if, if you want to, tinker. If I was going to tinker with it, it would be one versus eight and it's a draft. The one seed gets to pick who they're playing first. The second seed gets to pick who they're playing second. I know that'll never happen. But if it was up to me, if I was Gary Bettman, that's what I would do. Co-sign. I'm with you. That's how you make a rivalry for real. Right. That's it. Could you

and not even, I would even go a step further. I'd do one 16. Like, as far as like, you have 16 teams in the playoffs, the first overall pick gets to choose who they want. Think of the rivalry you would choose if all of a sudden, you know, you've got a team who finishes first overall in the league and they pick a team that finished 10th in the league because they just happen to go four and oh against them. Like what kind of, you know, drama that would create. I hate the divisional playoffs. I don't like it at all.

I'd rather do some sort of conference or if, like I said, I'm with Jesse. Let's do, let's create something here. Let's create a little drama. Let's create some hatred because I know I understand the reason they did the divisional playoffs. Like you said, Jesse is all about rivalries. But I think meeting in the playoffs over and over again is only one way to create rivalries.

Let's face it. Some of the best rivalries ever weren't because they faced each other a million times in the playoffs. There's some sort of incident. You know what I mean? I grew up as a kid, a Detroit Red Wings fan. I hated anything that had to do with the Colorado Avalanche because of one. I've spent. Because of the red wings.

Wow. What, how are we hosting a podcast together, Jesse? My God. Yeah, like one, actually, our producer, Jeff might remember this when we used to work together at Hockey Night in Canada. He gives me a lineup of who our show was that day. And Claude Lemieux was on the show.

And I found myself as a grown man, physically, I don't want to talk to him. No. I don't want to talk to Clude Lemieux. You saw what he did to Draper and Jeff does look like, Rob, grow up. That was a long time ago. But that's, that's the rivalry to me. You can face a team 15 times in row in the playoffs and just have it be boring. I don't think it necessarily automatically creates some sort of rivalry.

Also, if you had the teams pick it, it like gives you another event. Like we always like, at least here in the U.S., we always say how like how great the NFL is at like owning the moment. And like there's never a dead spot. the NFL calendar. They're the post-popular league all year long, and there's just something. Like, the draft is happening here in Vegas this week. I've been seeing, like, the show that they're going to put on. It's going to be insane.

If you had these teams draft who they were going to play in the playoffs, like, that's the most highly rated show of the entire year. That's probably the highest rated thing the NHL will have all year long is that reveal show where the GM has to walk up to the stage and say, we're playing Calgary. And then when you lose to Calgary, it's like, I don't know, I feel like there's just so much more drama and so much more, like there's, there's, there are better ways for the NHL to, to take over the calendar. Yeah, and they tried doing the bracket thing. I think they really wanted that to be, have the same kind of allure of March Madness. Like everybody fills in a bracket.

It just didn't. I just find that a lot of the series aren't what the ones we want to see in the first round. So I think we're all on the same page there. Before we go to break, let's quickly talk about two words that I've heard a lot this year, career highs. I'm just going to list a few and I'm sure I've missed them. Some guy named Connor McDavid, career high in goals, assists, and points this year. Stephen Stamco's, in his 14th season in the NHL, 100 points for the first time. Matthews, 60 goals last night.

Obviously, that's a career high. He's also got a career high in points. Johnny Guadro, career high in his eighth NHL season. Leon Drysiddle's got a career high in goals. in his eighth NHL season. We've seen six different players hit 100 points for the first time in their careers this season. What the hell's going on?

I mean, why is this season just suddenly? And like I said, this isn't career highs where guys usually get career highs when they start to hit their peak around seasons, you know, four or five. Like Stephen Stamcoast with 100 points and for the first time ever in his 14th season, that's mind-boggling.

we've talked about this in terms of like the overall league scoring a few times and it's I don't know what it is like it and again it doesn't this isn't a guy who like never was a scorer and got his role elevated and he scored a bunch more goals like these are guys who have been on the first line their whole lives like they nothing changed in terms of the ice time and the usage they were all getting power play minutes and and top line minutes and then suddenly they're all scoring significantly more than they ever did it's very strange Here's a line from Michael Rousseau just wrote a really, really good story about this. And it says, you combine the skill level and speed with the talented and brash modern-day player. And the fact that the rules have changed dramatically since the 2005 lockout. The league has successfully eradicated the hard-to-watch clutching and grabbing of the mid-to-late 90s and early 2000s and largely eliminated those frightening neutral zone and offensive blue-line elbows and shoulders to the head. And the NHL has turned into one entertaining, entertaining, skilled, fast, high-scoring league. So a lot of that makes sense.

That's that, I think that's a great point. And because we usually don't have a mix of the young players with their ability with the veterans. It's usually kind of one or the other with a team, right? Especially going in, you hear, oh, this is a young team or this is a team with a lot of experience. The players are getting opportunities as we've seen just contract wise, much earlier in their careers. And you're mixing those guys with the veterans. And it's just working. I just, I, I, it, I, it, You know, when you see Stephen Stamco's who, you know, there were points where Stephen Stamco's was, well, still is, a super elite hockey player in this league, a 60 goal man. And this is when he first gets his hundred points. It's just, you know, and you look at this run he's on. He's had five straight games with three or more points, which is one behind the record that is held by Wayne Gretzky, Bobior, and Yari Curry. Again, his 14th NHL season.

And then you got Connor McDavid. I quickly want to ask you guys about this too because career high in goals, career high and assists, career high in points, as I mentioned. Oiler said coach Jay Woodcroft had a quote last night that intrigued me. He said he's kind of not getting appreciated this year because we're at a point now, even though he's only 25 and it's going to be his fourth scoring title, where people just kind of go, well, that's McDavid being McDavid. If I told you before the season, Connor McDavid would set career highs in every stat,

every offensive stat, but he'd probably be the runner up for the heart trophy. Would you say I'm nuts? Sarah? Well, it's that with McDavid and the fact that he's been not great in the playoffs. Like we just need a long run from the Oilers to kind of start talking about him again. But I do think it's like the Sidney Crosby effect too, where when you're consistently amazing,

it's kind of you're comparing him to himself, not because he's so above everybody else in the league that it's like you're just you're not really comparing him to the other players I think I don't know yeah I totally agree it's same as like lebron in the NBA like he like he can't win the MVP every year just because people are like I'm sick of voting for this guy but like he clearly deserves it like that's McDavid um but but but you know what I agree I totally agree with Sarah's point that I think the lack of playoff performance is adding to that. I think if I think it's there is kind of a a like feeling amongst everyone in the NHL where it's like oh, Carter McDavid scored four goals last night. It's like, okay, but like let's

let's see what happens when the playoffs get here. Like this dude's been doing this for a long time, just slaughtering the regular season. I do think that there is some like people are getting tired of watching him just rack up all these points and they want to see something happen when the games matter. And not that that's on McDavid. I don't think that's on McDavid. I don't think that's on McDavid at all. I think it's on the team that they've built around him. But I think that he's being his his reputation maybe isn't as he's not getting as much credit as he deserves because of that. I absolutely think that. I think it really is you can only watch somebody walk on water so many times before you go, yeah, I've seen this game before. And that's kind of unfortunately for him

what's going to happen. And like you said, Sarah, until he necessarily takes this team on a deep run and shows that he can carry a team through the playoffs. But he's got 122 points. That's a lot. But at a certain point, like, it doesn't, it's still like, okay, let's see what you can do in the playoffs just because he's done that 100 point thing so many times it feels now. So it's just like, let's see what else you can do when it matters. I don't know, not to be tough on him.

I have McDavid fatigue, but it's like, come on. Breaking news, Sarah Sivian says Connor McDavid's not doing well enough. Been there, done that. We'll see if Julian. I can score 100 points. We'll see if Julian McKenzie has the same opinion. He's going to join us after the break. Don't go anywhere.

All right. Very pleased to be joined by your friend and mine, Julian McKenzie, the associate NHL editor and co-host of the Chris Johnson Show podcast. How are you, buddy? Good. I should mention, though, not to pat myself on the back here, but I've since been promoted from associate editor to staff. So that's,

that's a change that has to be made. So, you know, I'm pretty happy about that. So congrats, Julian. Scribling this year, staff editor.

All right. Hey, no, that's, you get promoted. You deserve all the accolades you get, buddy. I got to introduce you properly.

Hey, look, man, look, I'm happy to be on the team. I'm happy to have that promotion. So I just, just something just for you to do for future references.

You know what I'm saying? Dot, dot dot dot and just good all around guy we'll put that in there just because i i mislabeled you right if that's not rob rob you flattered you flattered thank you sir um i don't i hate starting on montreal topics because you are in montreal but the gila flur uh tribute in montreal sad you know sad week for the hockey world gila flur passing away um i've said this before i'll say it again is there a team in sports that does, whether it's good news or bad news, whether it's a, you know, a ceremony to a tribute to someone or a celebration? Is there a team in sports that does it better than the Montreal Canadians?

I don't think so. Like the Canadians are the team to do it. I got to be in the building for that tribute. And it was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen just in person. just when you're there in the arena, like well before the game even starts, they're flashing photos of Ghee's moments of his life onto the rink. They've taken off all the advertisements off the boards. And yes, there were still some on the ice,

but you're seeing Gila Fleur, the years he was alive, all that all along the boards. Just the actual tribute video, which is just a montage of his life set to Frank. Sinatra's my way. The fans who were yelling, gee, gee, gee, the whole night and were applauding for 10 minutes.

The PA and the PA and I was to Michelle La Croix on like two or three different occasions was trying to get everyone to, you know, settle down a bit, but the fans just kept going. And Michelle didn't mind that it was all going on, but

it was a tribute fitting for someone who has been embedded in the fabric of Quebec Hua culture ever since he became a star for the Montreal Canadiens. And hearing people tell stories about him, other tributes from across the league as well, if you're like me and your only point of reference for Gila Fleur is through YouTube or hearing other people talk about him, you got a very good sense, an amazing sense of what Gila, I feel a lot more knowledgeable about Gila Flour now than I ever was.

about him. That being said, people who are diehard fans of the Canadians, even at my age, they've done the research, they've done the work to know about how special of a person Gila Fleur was on the ice and off the ice, which that I think, so that I think impresses me more than anything else, just in an era now where we know athletes generally are not nearly as accessible as they might have been in decades past. But like there are people who have stories of Gila Fleur running into him out in public, hearing him give autographs, and take the time to be around people generally, like he really was a one-of-one,

and he understood what it meant to be a celebrity and an influence in Montreal and in Quebec. So he will sorely be missed by everyone in the hockey world, but especially in Quebec, especially over these last few days with the way people have remembered him. It's been really interesting and fascinating to hear all these stories and tributes and stuff. It's been really interesting.

You know, it's funny if I could tell you my own personal Gila Fleur, sorry. Yes, please. My late father always used to say when he came over here from Italy, you know, he was a soccer player. He loved Formula One, but he'd never even seen a hockey game in his life. His first few years in Canada, his friends would all watch hockey, and he couldn't really get into it at first. He said he'd fall asleep. And he said, and then I saw Gila Fleur. And he said he had never seen a human fly before.

before that day. And he said, I watched this guy and I thought, oh, my God, he's, he's absolutely flying. And all he wanted to do was watch Gila Fleur. And after that day, he was a rabid hockey fan until the day he died. So he, Gila Fleur was so dynamic. He took this guy who'd never seen hockey before, who was bored of it, and just wrestled him into a hockey fan because of his excitement. And, and I think Gila Fleur, and I'm not saying a lot of players, I think we're seeing it a lot

more now. What I think his best attribute was, because a lot of people, you don't get an opportunity to meet Gilaflur, was that he understood so much that people pay money to come see you entertain. And he was hands down one of the most exciting and entertaining players. You talk about YouTube. Go on YouTube with Ted Gila Fleur. You're there for three hours. It's incredible. But the cool thing, too, is that, you know, just the way he looked and how people described him as this cool guy. He did play in an era where you didn't necessarily have to play with a helmet. And he might have benefited from that the most because when you see him glide and skate on the ice, you're seeing that blonde hair of his just like flowing. And no wonder people were so

enamored with his face and just him because it was so much easier back then when you were watching a game to look at a guy like Gila Fleur and be enamored with all of him. And he's not hiding behind all this other equipment or visors or anything like that. When we look at Alexander O'Matchezkid, for example, we might look at the visor. We look at the skates. And then all the other stuff that he does on the ice. The Gila Fleur, I mean,

the demon blonde. The nickname comes from the hair, like, from him. Like, what you see of his face, his head. Like, that can't be discounted from that. And that's a huge, huge, huge attribute to Ghee. And Rob, that's a great story. I'm sure there are a whole bunch of other people who have similar stories. I know a friend of mine who was explaining a story of his dad coming from India

and didn't really know anything about hockey, but got into it largely because of Gilaflur. And meeting him was like a big thrill in his life. And he got to, he got like an autograph photo of him. And for a while, actually, that family, they were trying to find it. And I think they had lost it in a bunch of things. And unfortunately, my friend's father had passed away a couple years ago. And they still hadn't found that photo. And my friend eventually just one day was just looking through his parents' basement and he found one other piece of memorabilia.

And then he realized the photo was behind it. My friend let out like a scream of like joy and just of relief because he knew that that photo, an autographed photo from Gila Flur had met so much to his father and meant so much to his family. Again, a man coming from India who didn't really know that much about Opie until he came to Canada. And Gilafore was a big entry point. There are many stories of love people like that who got into this sport, whether they were from Quebec or whether they were not from them. And Gila Flores being at the family. It was such a good ceremony. And it was great to see the players at the end of the ceremony kind of tap their sticks.

And there was just so much respect throughout the arena. It was incredible to watch. I don't know if people noticed on TV I mean obviously being in the in the rink you can't I can't I mean you could see some of the TV footage or whatever one of the coolest things was seeing not just the stick taps but at the end of the game the Canadian players on the bench

normally you're thinking all right they'll just go to the locker room the game's over whatever you're seeing some of them just kind of like hang around and you're seeing guys like Brennan Gallagher trying to make sure everyone stays on the ice and they all skate towards where the La Fluff banner is in the arena and they all lift their sticks and salute it.

And I think for a good chunk of that night, they had a spotlight on that banner. Like, that was just a sign. I mean, of course you play for the Canadians. You're going to have to do stuff like that. This is a franchise that has had the greats that they've had, but they've also done a great job of commemorating the greats that they've had, like Maurice Hichard and Jean Belvoir a couple of years ago as well. But hearing some guys after the game, in particular Nick Suzuki, speak about Guy LaFleur,

even though they never watched him in his heyday, but they obviously took notice of some of the impact that he had on the city that they play in and the way that he was with with fans, like hearing them talk about it, I think for fans of the Canadians who look at this team and are into this team, but also remember the days of Gilafort.

They have to feel good about the fact that guys on the team now, they get it. I think Dave Poulin of TSN was asking Marta S-S-Lu before the game if he was wondering if guys of this current generation would get it with regards to the Gila Flur, and Martin St. Louis was saying like, hey, I hope after tonight they get it. I think after that ceremony, for whatever reason, if you didn't understand the impact that he had on Quebec hockey fans, that night really personified it.

What about Shea Weber? That's a really interesting question, a very hard transition. But, like, yeah, I don't know what the deal is, which, I don't know if he was there. I don't think he was there. Yeah, I honestly don't know. And I don't know if that's a way to transition over to how the end of the season is going to go for the Canadians and locker cleanout day and all the questions that are out there.

I know there are some media members who were asking if Jay Weber would be available once it gets time to that point for locker cleanout day. But look, I don't know. I honestly don't know what's going to be the deal with Shay Weber. I know Kent Hughes has said that he had. looked into options with moving that contract ahead of the trade deadline. I know a lot of fans, I know definitely a lot of knee members want to hear from Shea Weber, just with regards to the injury and all that.

But yeah, it's a big question mark. But, I mean, Kerry Price seems to be the biggest question marks with the franchise right now. As I understand, he's supposed to be in New York talking to that doctor who operated on his knee. there's a lot of questions that are coming to that organization for this off season. And, well, Shea Weber, I think it's a little bit more clear. With Kerry Price, that's the ultimate big question mark in the roof. I'm assuming, though, Jesse, you were alluding to why wasn't Shea Weber at the tribute? That's what he meant.

Yeah. My Twitter. Because a lot of people just look at it. The captain of the Montreal Canadiens is not at a tribute for Gila Fleur. I don't know. And it's not as if he wasn't at any other tributer. earlier this year. He was at a tribute, I think, for Pecoranay. Pecoranne, yeah. Piccarina, yeah. Honestly, I don't know. I don't want to speculate something. I don't want to

make too much comment and be like, oh, you know, you should have been. Yes, you probably should have been there. But before I jump on that and say something, I would at least like to know whether the Canadians tell us or Shane Weber, if he does talk to the media this weekend, or whatever Locker Cleanout Day is, or Sotch Post-Votermot Day. I think it's worth at least giving in that option, that opportunity. Yeah. That's how I'm going to. Totally.

Totally. You never know what people are going through. You never know what someone's going through. Absolutely. Sarah has it ran. Talked a lot about playoffs in our opening segment yesterday. Things are getting a little bit clearer. I almost feel like, you know, when you go to the movies and they do those

trivias and it just gets clearer, clear, clearer. And you see the answer is. I feel we're like one or two clicks away from everything being clearer because we're about one or two clicks away from the season being done. What did you take away from? from last night, is there a series that if it happened right now, you'd be pretty happy to see? Minnesota, St. Louis. I've been saying, I've been being that drum for about a couple of weeks now. I want to watch Minnesota, San Luis. I understand that being of the East Coast in Canada,

and for some of the people I'm affiliated with, there are a lot of people who are going to be into Toronto and Tampa Bay. And I understand. Look, there's a lot running on the line for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I understand. I'm telling you all, though, I am willing to stay up a little longer and cut through my debt time to watch Minnesota and St. Louis, whether it's ESPN or TNT who have that series. I'm just going to pull out my phone, have it on the small screen or on the big screen, what doesn't matter, and I'm going to try to watch games in that series. I find of all the playoff series that are locked in at this point, Minnesota and St. Louis are the two most even teams of all the other matchups. I think they both have good cult ending, and I

may yeah, find Minnesota has two goalies, maybe one. for St. Louis, but Jordan Bennington, he's done it in the playoffs before. You can't totally discount him. I just like the way these teams look. I like how they've gone at each other throughout this year and how the rivalry has, you know, extended even just beyond

players, fans, media. Like, this is something where, and again, maybe it's not the two most sexy markets, but I think there's some genuine animosity between those two teams, and I think it could result in a really fun series. So that's like the one playoffs.

period I'm generally looking forward to and I have nothing to do with either of those markets. It's interesting that you say it too because Jesse was talking about how how evenly matched that series. I totally agree. You go out in there and say that. But we were talking a lot about Calgary, Nashville. That thing happens. Oh, that could get that could get fun, nasty, entertaining.

That could be one of those series for the ages too. But do we know? What about USC Soros though? We got hurt yesterday. Yeah. I mean, left the game did not return. could very well have been some sort of, you know, a little bit of a precaution. Who knows?

We're going to have to wait and see because obviously that's a huge, huge factor. But we just know that it's two teams that don't like each other very much. That is true. And look, I mean, Nashville's overachieved all year. And UC Soros is a genuine Vesda candidate. So, like, if he's healthy enough to play that series, like, I think Calgary still wins. But Nashville could at least give them a run for their money, make it at least a sixth game series. That's fair.

That's a series you probably shouldn't sleep on. I guess we should also plug in Sean Jen Dillies article about how he ranked all these series of most exciting to least exciting from like one to eight, I guess. So I'll just do that for it. It feels like a lot of key goalies are out or undecided at least heading into this. Do we think that's because they backloaded so many games this season, or is it just a coincidence? I don't know.

I think it's coincidence more than anything. I mean, like you've, Sivie, you've seen it in Carolina. I mean, Freddie Anderson's had a great year, but they also have anti-Ranta just in case. And I still think that team in front of them, if they have to be in a situation where they have to rely on anti-Ranta. I think they're relying on the guy from the HL now. Like, he's going on a run, and they're just letting him have it.

So it's very interesting. Here's what I'll say. Here's what I'll say. Carolina knows damn well about how this works. You need a goalie to get you through the playoffs. you do not necessarily need it to be the goalie that you have. Carolina in 2006, I remember when I was a very young Canadians fan, I was fed up with how the Carolina Hurricanes get beating up on the Canadians all year

because Martin Gerber was in net. And after like game two or whatever, when Martin Gerber got hurt, I was like, okay, look, the Canadians have a league. Gerper's not even healthy. The Canadians might actually get to win this playoff series and beat up on the hurricanes who have been giving them fits all year. Then some dude named Campbell Ward emerged and led them to a Stanley Cup final that year. You do not need the goalie to get deliver you there.

You need a goalie to catch fire. St. Louis, we're bringing them up. Jordan Bennington caught fire at the right time and had made it work for the St. Louis Blues. A team that was a good team, they were like last place partway through the year. And they found a way to get the Stanley Cup final. You don't necessarily need the goalie to get you there. You just need a goalie to get you there. So if it happens to be a guy who's in the H.L.

For Carolina, and they have a really good team in front of them. It could happen. I mean, it helps when it's the goalie. There's a reason the goalie gets paid a heck a lot more than a goalie. That's true. But maybe the key with Freddie Anderson all along was to have him sit out the first round and many can come in the second round. Maybe that is the key.

But I've looked into this. Like, it does help to have the goalie. And last year, we saw, like, I think it's a pretty rare occurrence where, like, two of the two best goalies got to go against each other in the Stanley Cup final. But, like, look through from, like, the salary cap beginnings to now. And you'll see, like, a lot of random goalies getting into the fine. Remember, in 06? I mean, Dwayne Rollisand gets hurt.

They had to rely on, like, a combination of Ty Conklin and, like, UC marketing. And it went to seven games. Matt Murray, anyone turned himself into the start that he was. and I know he's fallen on tougher times in Ottawa, but he essentially, you know, he got up. He did the damn thing and helped Pittsburgh get there. Remember, Kari Lettinent?

No, was it Carri Lennon? Not Carri Lennon. Not Carri Lennon. Oh, my God. I'm completely blanking on the Dallas Starz goalie's name, who was killing it. And it was like put on waivers this year. Oh, Kudobin.

Yeah, Anton Kuduio. Not Kari Lenton, excuse me. Antonuibon was like the guy for Dallas and took over at the right possible time. You know, guess that out. Yeah, you don't need the goalie. You need a goalie to get you there.

There's a reason why teams have the goalies that they have for a postseason run. You know, like, I still think for Carolina, I know they're getting, I know some people look at the goalies like, man, they don't have a goalie. Like, I still don't discount the fact that maybe there's someone there who could help them out. And I still don't think, and I mean, they're not bad in the team. It's not as if like the Canadians last year where it's like, man, after Carrie Price, good luck trying to get some wins out of that team. The Carolina Hurricanes are a very good team.

They're really well coached and they should not be slept on in any playoff series. They won a series with Curtis McElagney, so I don't know what to tell you. Come on. I don't sleep on the Carolina Hurricanes. That's what I'm saying. To bring it back to that Nashville Calgary series, if UC Soros can't go, it's going to be David Ridditch. Which would be very interesting considering he wants played. He knows a few shots on that other side.

Yeah, like he may have a few tendencies that he's picked up over the years. I mean, he knows every guy on that team. He's practiced against him. So, like, if there's a goalie out, like, if you're looking for who's going to be the Anton Kudobin of this season, like David Ridditch, like, I could see him putting together a couple games. And like, if the momentum gets going for him against his former teammates, like, is he as good as UC Soros?

Absolutely not. UC Soros is unbelievable. But, like, there's a storyline there for it. Absolutely. Also, Kari Letting, not to disrespect Kari Lettman. I didn't mean to bring his name up. That's a name I've not thought about in a really long time. But he just popped up in my head. Sorry.

Jeez. Also, small big. Calgary, like, the fact that they have a, like, a, they're about to have, like, a line of, like, 40 goal scores is insane to me. And they can, and if Andre Montreipani scores before the end of the year, they could have four 40 goals scores. I just wanted that out there. That, that just close my mind. They're the best Canadian team in the playoffs, correct? Easily.

I don't think it's debatable. I mean, they've not only got top two lines that can score. They've got depth. They've got the best goalie among the Canadian teams. I mean, I know our friends on the other side of the Zoom call there, Julian, or don't necessarily hear this in every playoffs. But all Canadians hear about is 1993. The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup.

Who's going to be the first team since 1993? Well, if I had to put my money on anybody, it's Calgary this year. Oh, yeah. Like, I was on another podcast and I was asked for, like, my top five teams most likely to win the Stanley Cup. Calgary is the only Canadian. team I have in there. I don't think Toronto's going to get out of that first round against Tampa Bay. I know Mike Smith

is doing really well in Edmonton, like really well as of late. I don't have Edmonton as like a serious top five team for me on my list. I'm not willing to discount them completely. Maybe they could win the playoff series against the LA Kings, but

I don't have them as a team that's going to not, they're not the same level as category. If we got another battle, a battle of Alberta, I think Calgary's win that series. And I've said that all year. Sign me up for that, though. Oh, yeah. Everybody.

Oh, that is going to be fun. Seeing both of those teams beat the crap out of each other, that's going to be very fun. And we'll get goals scoring out of it, too. That's going to be fun. All right, Julian, you're the new commissioner of the NHL. What's your new playoff format for next season? Oh, boy. I'll tell you this, if I'm the commissioner of the NHL, the playoff format

would be high up on my list, but not the first thing. I would fix. But that's for a whole other conversation. We're bringing back the 1 through 8 people. We don't need to make this hard. We can keep the divisions if we want, but I want my 1 through 8 back. And maybe, maybe I think about a 1 through 16 deal where you just have the 16 best teams and you rank it and you kind of have everyone organized that way. But maybe that's a little bit wild for now. In the meantime, I'm cool with 1 through 8. I don't know what the problem was with it. I don't know why people wanted it out in the first place. Maybe it's just because I'm just used to that format. But like I think the idea that like, oh, well, having it with the divisions and set as it is now,

we're going to have more of those divisional rivalries, I don't worry about that too much. I don't care about that all that much. Like, give me one through eight. We'll find, the playoffs find really interesting ways to create rivalries out of two teams that may not have necessary. had that. That being said, we got Canadian-Torna out of it last year. So I guess that he did give us something. But like, I'm cool with watching a playoff series with two teams who we would have never thought would have been rivals of each other. And then they end up hating each other. They remember that for a really, really long time. So, yeah, I'd rather a one through eight. I get,

I get why people might like the other format, but one through eight is one. The players totally agree with you, by the way. Like, we, like, I don't know if Sarah did, but we, you know, We've been asking players all year, like, do you want to go back to the one through eight? And pretty much unanimously, every player I ask about, would you like to go back to one through eight? It's like a no-brain. Like, they immediately, it's like, yes, go back to that. I would have one tweak. I would have one tweak on the one through eight, though.

I was never a fan of division winners getting the one, two, three. Because I hated seeing a team win a weak division with 98 points. and then the fourth and fifth place team have over 100 points. I think it's one through eight. I would say if you win your division, you're guaranteed at least a playoff spot, but I'm not giving away a top three seed. At least a playoff spot,

there's going to be seven teams better than them in the other division. No, you never know. Look at this year at the east, like I said, like it's such a weird dynamic. It's not really going to happen. Or it's a really good team. Like, I mean,

I guess if you're a really good team in that division and everyone else is just bad, I guess the seating just kind of works itself out that way. like I guess there should be something for winning the division, I guess. Because if it's at that point where it's like, you're just going to slop them anywhere, then what's the point of having division in the first place? Yeah. Yeah.

I'd be okay with one and two being the division winners. One and two. Like, like, yeah. And then the rest is just the other, the other six are in order of standings. Yeah. Look at us. Just fixing the NHL. Oh, and we find a way.

And we find a way to make winning the press. The President's trophy means something. That's all that last week. I said that last to happen. It means nothing right now. It shouldn't mean nothing. It should mean something. Whether it means you get a buy to the second round of the playoffs,

whether it means you get a big cash like allotment sent to your players or something like that. Winning the President's trophy should actually mean something to a team. Not more than the Stanley Cup, but like if you win, If you win the best record in the regular season, you know, you should at least be able to say, hey, we have that and it actually means something. But that's me. Five home games in every series. President's Trophy gets five home games in every series.

I'm not against it. We got to run. See you, Julian. Thanks for doing this, buddy. Thanks for having me. After the break, rapid fire time. Don't go anywhere. All right, guys, rapid fire time.

Things we didn't have time to really get to in the first. segment, I want your quick opinions. Austin Matthews, 60 goals. Did that 60th goal lock up your heart trophy vote for Austin Matthews? I mean, I haven't decided, but yeah, pretty, I mean, pretty close. To me, I've said it before, goals are more important than points. I place an emphasis on goals over assist, maybe more than most, I think. Huge, huge season.

I mean, he's unbelievable. Sarah? Yeah, I feel like, and I rag on Toronto and them over talking about things a ton, But I feel like we're not even talking about this enough. This is an incredible feat. Like, this is the first time since when that somebody's had a 60 goal season. It's very, it's incredible. And he is great.

So I'll tip my cap to that. In a shortened season because of suspensions and injuries and everything else. Like, it's pretty incredible what we've seen him do. Speaking of the last guy to do it, Alexander Ovechkin had a 65 goal season. Alexander Ovechkin's hurt. That just never happens. He's like the most durable hockey player. ever. How worried are you right now if you're Washington Capitals fan? Sarah?

As worried as can be. I mean, he's he's not single-handedly dragging them along, but it is like the allure of him breaking all these records has helped trudge this team along for sure. And he's been a huge boost for morale, I feel. And Alex Dam Ovechkin, he needs to be there for them to win the playoffs. I feel like I almost like don't believe that he's hurt. like Russian machine never breaks. I like, I almost like you, you said how worried are you? And in my head I said not really that worried because in my head like he's going to play because this guy doesn't get hurt.

Like yeah, he got hurt. But he just went to the back and they like fixed that like, they just like put that part off the machine and like put another one on. I don't believe he's hurt until he's not on the ice for the playoffs. Like he's playing. He's Drago. He's Drago. It's been pretty much your whole week, Jesse. In 20 seconds or less.

explain Robin Leonard and everything that happened. And then for people who want more, they can go to the athletic and reach your place. Yeah. Yeah, it's been my whole week. He has been playing through very serious shoulder and leg injuries for over a month. And after some really poor performances where his coach blamed him and said he was healthy, he eventually decided I want to get surgery. There was a salary cap issue where the Golden Knights could not call up another goalie.

if Robin Leonard were to have sat out Sunday's game, so he needed to sit on the bench just so that they could get through that game. And now he has elected to have surgery, and the team announced it. It was a mess from a timing perspective. It was a mess from the way the team handled it. But in the end, Leonard gets his surgery. It was crazy week.

What a plot twist when you think about Jack Eichael coming here, and then that happens. Yeah. Dun, dun, dun, down. The Tampa Bay Lightning went to the White House, two-time defending champions and the president of Joe Biden. First, he makes a crack of Stamco's age, which I think is pretty funny. And then he referred to the commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Batman.

Favorite moment from a president when a hockey team visits. For me, it still has to be George Bush looking at Mary Olimu and saying, and you are? That one really stuck out. I mean, these guys have intelligence that can tell them when someone's in the bathroom on the other side of the planet, you can't, you know, prep your, your president to say, this is Mario Levy, one of the greatest hockey players of all time. Maybe sometime in the next two decades, they'll go to the prime minister and they'll be able

to know about hockey. I love that sick. Rob tossed it up as your favorite White House moment, and Sarah's like, this is a perfect chance to get shot at Canada. I had to. That's why these presidents don't really know much about how. Just just look in to mute Sarah's mic again. We've had to do this a couple times this year.

Do you guys have a favorite presidential moment? I can't think of, I mean, I'll just go with the other day. I mean, Stamcoast laughing in the background, like the perfect camera angle of Biden saying Batman, and it just being on his face and being able to see his reaction like in live, like live, it was great. And he tried on Edmund's hat, right? It's kind of cute. You've got to love all that. Another show on the books, guys.

What do you got working on this week? Jesse, we'll start with you. Well, I, the Golden Knights are on the brink of elimination. I am already prepping a story for when this season ends, whether it's in these next two games or if they can somehow sneak into the playoffs. I am working on a big post-mortem story of the Vegas Golden Knights, something I have not done in four years this early in April. So interesting times ahead in Vegas.

Sarah. Yeah, I've got a few things in the works right now. Just recently gave an update on Anderson's status and going to be talking about the new guy and also the fact that the canes broke their 2005-2006 record. So that's all coming up in a surprise Q&A with one of the canes. So be there or be square. Be there or be square. Thanks, guys. Next time we talk, we'll be talking about actual playoff series next week. But before we go, I do want to let you know about some other great coverage on the athletic hockey show. Troy Terry of the Anaheim Ducks is Craig Custins and Sean Gentile's guest on the Athletic Hockey Show USA. You've got the Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson, is Mark and Scott's guest on Lazan Powers.

And you've got former NHL or Scott Mellonby who joined Mike Russo on straight from the source. Guys, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Don't forget, leave us a rating and a review. You can subscribe to the Athletic Audio Plus on Apple Podcast to get all the bonus content from the entire network, Ian Mendez and Down Goes Brown, provide the bonus content this week. You start with a 30-day free trial, and it's just 99 cents a month after that. Right now, you get an annual subscription to the Athletic for just a dollar a month for six months when you visit the athletic.com slash hockey show. The Athletic Hockey Show returns Thursday with Ian Mendez

and Down Goes Brown for Sarah and Jesse. I'm Rob. Playoffs next week, baby.