The Athletic Hockey Show - Panthers sweep Hurricanes to clinch Stanley Cup Final berth, Golden Knights poised to be next with Game 4 vs. Stars Thursday night

Episode Date: May 25, 2023

Ian has Sean look back on his audiobook-recording experience before discussing the Panthers' sweep of the Hurricanes and Matthew Tkachuk's clutch week, and Sergei Bobrovsky's dominating performance. Jesse Granger joins in for "Granger Things" to discuss Jamie Benn's poor excuse for his cross-check, and if the Stars have any life left for this Western Conference Final against the Golden Knights as Game 4 is set for Thursday Night. To wrap up, the latest on the Senators sale, a Gretzky jersey goes to auction, a dive into the mailbag and a look back with "This Week in Hockey History".Have a question for Ian and Sean? Email [e-mail] or leave a VM [phone]Subscribe to The Athletic Hockey Show on YouTube: http://youtube.com/@theathletichockeyshowGet a 1-year subscription to The Athletic for $2 a month when you visit http://theathletic.com/hockeyshowSign up for a Chime Checking Account today to link your paycheck. It only takes two minutes and doesn’t affect your credit score. Get started at http://chime.com/nhlshow.Download the Dave app from the App store right now or go to http://dave.com/nhlshow Sign up for an Extra Cash account and get up to 500 dollars instantly. For terms and conditions go to dave.com/legal. Instant transfer fees apply. Banking services provided by Evolve bank and trust. Member FDIC.Head to http://FACTORMEALS.com/nhlshow50 and use code nhlshow50 to get 50% off your first box.The right tone can move any project forward when you get it just right with Grammarly. Go to http://grammarly.com/tone to download and learn more about Grammarly Premium’s advanced tone suggestions.Check out all of the delicious options at http://nuts.com/hockey23. You’ll receive a free gift and free shipping when you spend $29 or more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the Athletic Hockey Show. I want to tell the listeners here to The Athletic Hockey Show a little bit about the New York Times audio app. New iOS app for the New York Times subscribers. It's got our show, this one, the Athletic Hockey Show, plus other great podcasts from The Athletic, exclusive shows, narrated articles, and more. New York Times Audio, download it now,

New York Times.com slash audio app. We welcome you to the Thursday. edition of the athletic hockey show, as always, on a Thursday, it's Ian Mettys Sean McIndoo with you. Before we tackle the Florida Panthers punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup, teeing up game four of Vegas and Dallas. Sean, on the Monday show with Julian, I read that same kind of intro,

the little promo here for the New York Times audio app. And I said, boy, it's interesting. They say, you can listen to narrated articles. And then Julian and I, we just had a real quick conversation about, boy, do you think they're going to ask us to read out our articles at some point? And I just thought of, can you very quickly share the experience you had of reading your own book that you wrote in an audio book format? Yeah, it was awful. It was, first of all, it was, it was a fun experience because they, they, you know, when you do a book,

you always want it to go out in as many formats as you can. So, when, they first called me up and said, like, hey, we want to do an audio book. I said, that's cool. Because of the first book I did didn't get the audio treatment. So I thought, you know, this is good. And then I foolishly said, like, what, you know, famous person or what like, you know, voice expert, are we hiring to do this? And they were like, oh, no, we're not hiring anybody. You need to do it.

So I got to have the experience of going to a recording studio and sitting in a booth. and reading my own writing for hours. I mean, it takes forever to do this stuff. And that is a, if you are a professional writer, or just an aspiring writer, any kind of writer, and you're wondering, like, what does writer hell look like? Having to read your own work in front of people, especially in that situation,

because what I didn't know and didn't realize is that they are super strict that you have to read it. It has to be every word has to be exactly right. You can't swap a word. You can't, you can't change anything. And I remember at one point getting frustrated because they, you know, they kept stopping me and they said, you know, you didn't get it quite right. And I was like, what does it have to be exactly right?

Like nobody's comparing the dude. Nobody's following along. Nobody's going to know. And they were like, well, it's a big thing in the, in the audiobook world that you have to be true to the author's vision. And I was like, I am the author. Like, I'm okay. I'm signing off on this. I am the author. Man, I kept finding things that like, like weird things that I can't say properly or that, you know, I would, first of all, I would. Was there like a name that, was there like a name that tripped you up? Anybody who knows me on podcast knows I, my success rate

for pronouncing names is 50% at best. That wasn't the issue because, My producer would like just every day I would come in and they'd be like, here's everything that we think you might not be able to pronounce. Smelled out. But you know what it was? I found out I could not say the Detroit Red Wings without tripping up. I couldn't do it in a natural way. You just did it. The Detroit Red Wings.

No, I just did. I just did like the slow version, like really thinking about it. Okay. So, but whenever I would be just casually blah, blah, blah, blah, the Detroit Red Wings, I would like hit that R and I would mess it up. And it was interesting because the producer was somebody who had actually done acting and, you know, all sorts of things. And she explained to me. And I couldn't tell you what the explanation was. But she sat down and she was like, yeah, you know, the combination of a D and and R with the TH and it makes your mouth do this. And here's why you can't do it. But the problem is, I wrote a book about the history of the NHL.

I don't know if you've heard of this original six thing, but it's a pretty big chunk of it. Yeah. There's a lot of stuff about the Detroit Red Wings in this book. And I'm just like, you know, I'm getting to the chapter on Gordy Howe and I'm like, oh, no. And the way that it worked is I would read, I would just be reading off the page, but I would do a sentence at a time. And, you know, they could edit it, but you had to get the sentence, right? So, you know, I would do a sentence. And if I tripped up anywhere, I would just hear the producer in my ear saying, do it again.

You know, let's try it again. And as long as I got the sentence, it was fine. But I would get there and I would like see, first of all, I would see some run on sentence. Like, could I get, please, an editor to trim down my sentences? Because good Lord, do I ever ramble on for a long time on some of these things? and I'm using semicolons and stuff like that. Get out of here with this. I tell you, if I ever write a book again,

it's going to be five-word sentences, the entire thing. Yeah. But I would see, like, you know, your brain kind of like reads ahead, and I would just see this paragraph of a sentence and at the very end, and then he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings. And I would just be like, oh, like, I'd be in my own head.

So I know what it's like to be Toronto Maple Leaf in the playoffs. I know the exact feeling, because it's the same feeling I get when I see like a, 200 word sentence laid out that ends with the Detroit Red Wings. And I was just like, by the end of it, I was cursing the author of the book. I'm like, can this guy get out of his own butt and just get to the point, please? And also, my next book is going to have no references to the Red Wings at all. Sorry, Detroit fans.

The names that always trip me up in TV, the two, one is former Washington defensemen, and I'm going to say this very carefully and slowly, Carl Alsner. Like, do you remember? Do you ever remember the, do you watch 30 Rock at all? No, I never did. Okay. Well, 30 Rock's got a great skit about a fake show called the Rural Jur. Where like, it's like, but it's so hard to say like the two words back to back, rural juror.

And that was me with Carl Olsner. I'm like, I just, for whatever reason, I have to really stop and think about it, Carl Olsner. I don't know. Maybe that's just me. And then the other one, I remember we were in Philadelphia. and we were doing rehearsed, like, just to peel back the curtain for people who may not realize this, when you watch the opening of a hockey broadcast, about 10 or 12 minutes before, we would do, you do a rundown, which is basically a rehearsal.

Like so you see the opening montage and, you know, hey, welcome inside the Wells Fargo Center. It's whatever it was, Senator's hockey, yada, yada, yada. And we would go through the script. And so you would see, you know, the dressing room shot. There is, you know, Claude Jureux tying up his laces. He's got eight points in his last five games, whatever, right? you know the spiel, you've watched games. And in the rehearsal, I could not nail James Van Rimsdike.

I kept saying James Van Rheemesdyke or whatever. I was messing it up. And I was so afraid when it finally came, I was just like, and there's JVR ready to go. I was like, thank God this guy has a monogram, you know, whatever, like the initials. I'm thinking of the monogram sweater, but like the initials of JVR because I just, I was like James Vams. I was like, what is happening?

You get in your own head on things. Yeah, 100%. For years, Jonathan Huberdo would get, because I would always like, I would start saying it and I'd be like, okay, it's a little bit weird.

And then like I would just freelance it. And I'd be like, Jonathan Herbertire and like, people are like, that's not even close, man. You're not even in the ballpark on it. But yeah, it can be,

if you listen carefully to me on podcasts, you can hear moments where I'm starting to talk about one guy and then I realize I don't know how to pronounce the name. So I'll like shift or I'll just like make a reference. I'll be like, hey man, goaltending. Am I right? And it's like, yeah, he didn't say the name of the goaltender. That's interesting. But you know what the other thing that I still remember about that that experience was going into this recording studio, which obviously was a new experience for me. And I remember after a few days, and this was just like some out of the way place in Ottawa. I wasn't a big, you know, big thing. It was like on some side street. They're like, you know who once recorded here? I was like, who? Who came to Otto? Where I, where I did my hockey book and they go, Snoop Dog. And I was like, wow, what a neat link between Snoop Dog and the NHL that will probably never be talked. I'm sure he'll, uh, you know, this will be the last we'll ever hear of Snoop Dog in an NHL context. But yeah, me and, me and Snoop Dog have shared a booth. Oh my God. I can say that with honesty. Okay. Well, you know, and I wouldn't mind hitting on some senators stuff in a bit,

the ownership stuff, but I do think that people do want to talk about the game about last, what happened on Wednesday night. Fascinating. But actually, here's the perfect segue. In fact, I'm going to get, maybe I'll get our producer, Danielle, to drop it in it. I think the all-time worst pronunciation ever is of Kachuk. And do you remember this? A couple of years ago, the late Gilbert Godfried, did one of those, what is it, cameo? where you hire a celebrity. Oh, yes. And I'm going to, I'm going to, I just sent it to Danielle.

I'm going to ask Danielle, our producer, to drop in a little bit. This is Gilbert Godfrey saying the name Kachuk. And it's hilarious. He's like, Taka Chuck. Like he doesn't, you know, he's a cat, he's just reading a cameo. And this is right after Brady Kachuk went off on Brendan Lemieux. Do you remember this? He calls him a brickhead, calls him whatever.

So just listen to this. here it is Gilbert Godfried with Kachuk. Tuck Chuck was furious. This is the one time I'm going to answer this, said Tukchuk. Anyway, see, I didn't know if we would be able to get weird pronunciations to a Kachuk segue, but here we are. So Wednesday night, Matthew Kachuk. Boy, five seconds off. Let me ask you this.

As a player, Sean, would you rather score kind of a game? series clinching goal with like five seconds left in regulation to win it? Or do you want that bad boy in overtime? Do you want the absolute walk-up? Yeah, I think so, right? It's got to be overtime. And by the way, kudos to Matthew Kuchuk for having the presence of mind with five seconds left to not do the walk-off celebration.

Couldn't you imagine that? Panthers are gone and like, you know, just line it up at the opening face off. And the hurricanes just knocked the puck in. No, I want the overtime, man. That's, you got to go, you got to go sudden death. I'm sure he's not kicking himself or getting it five seconds early, but, no, I mean, I don't think I'd want the quadruple overtime that he got in game one. That feels like it would be a rough next couple of days.

But doing it a couple of minutes in, like in game two, I think that's, that's the best of both worlds. So is this the, like, help me out here. Like, you know, I think you and I are pretty well versed in hockey history, recent hockey history, playoff history. Matthew Kuchuk, and let's just stick to skaters here, because I think if you go to goalies, obviously there's been, you know, great example, Bob Roshky himself, a great example of goalies who just get stupid hot for a week and you're like, wow, that guy, you're not getting

past that guy. In the span of a week, Matthew Kuchuk has that quadruple overtime winner, then the game two overtime winner, then the game four series clincher with five seconds left, essentially three walk-off goals to give his team a win. Has there ever been a skater? the first guy that comes in mind for me is John Leclair, when Leclair went back to back in the cup final against L.A. Has anybody had a more clutch week as a skater than Matthew could chuck?

I'm not sure. Like, as a week, that's, and we've seen guys be insanely productive in a week. Leondresidal, you know, a couple weeks ago being an example of that. But as far as the clutchiness of it, I'm not sure anyone, if you're, especially if you're saying in a week, because the name that comes to mind for me when I'm seeing this is Martangela, remember back in 2004, where he kept scoring series winners in overtime most of them. I mean, he was that, that was his thing. But that was over, you know, the course of, you know, he was the closer who would come in and end a series, but it wasn't over the course of a week, obviously. So, yeah, no, I, I'm not sure anyone. tops this. And you know what I'm fascinated by? You've got all of this, Matthew Kachukuk, talk, you've got all of this, I mean, man, what, this guy is a warrior.

This guy is Mr. Playoffs, Mr. Clutch, Mr. Postseason. Man, if you could pick one guy to go into a seven-game series, this is your guy. This is the guy you're going to follow into battle. Look at everything he's doing. And meanwhile, if I'm a Calgary Flames fan, I'm sitting there going, forget about him forcing his way out of town. 27 playoff games, Matthew Cachuk played for the Calgary Flames. He had 15 points in 27 games, basically a half a point of game. All right, I'm a Leafs fan. Austin Matthews, Mitch Marter both play 50 playoff games.

They both have like, I think Matthews has got 44 points, Marner's got 47, almost a point in game, but not quite. And these guys get roasted. Unproductive, don't come up big in the play. Their game drops off. Matthew Kachuk was scoring at half that rate for the Calgary Flames. I mean, it was like four years, I think, of playoff runs. Obviously, some of those were running. It was a young player.

But this was a guy, he was a dud in the playoffs. And then he comes to Florida. And suddenly he's gourdly how. He's unstoppable. And it just makes you wonder, like, all right, there's that part of you that goes, I wonder what happened. I wonder what flipped the switch for this guy. Was it coaching?

Was it something? Paul Maurice? Was it the environment? Was it being out of the pressure? Was it being the guy knowing that you had the big contract? What was it that transformed this guy from a guy who couldn't do it in the playoffs to a guy who can't be stopped in the playoffs? And then there's a other voice in your head going, maybe there is no such thing as clutch.

And we're just watching a guy get hot at the right time. And we're filling in the storylines around it. man, Calgary fans never saw this. They wish they had. Cichuk, and then go back too. Remember, he had maybe his most clutch goal is the one in game five against the Bruins in overtime, right? Like that, their season was hanging by a thread

and he gets it there. So he's got four game-winning goals in the playoffs. So I look this up. Do you know who holds the record for the most game-winning goals in a single Stanley Cup playoffs? Okay, so there's two guys that have done it, you know, above the rest. One is Joe Newendike, who had six game winning goals for Dallas when they won in 99.

And the other is Brad Richards, who had seven for Tampa Bay when they won in, in 2004. That's interesting because I, you know, I was looking back at, I've got a piece going out tomorrow where I'm looking at Sergey Bavrovsky. And I'm trying to figure out, has any old goalie just gone on out of nowhere? heater like this before. And one of the guys that comes up is Nikolai Habiboulin in 2004 was fantastic. Stowed on his head. And Tampa wins the cup. And I was looking at it going, wait a second. Why did this guy not win the Kant Smite? He was that phenomenal as a goaltender. But it's a similar situation of what we're seeing in Florida where you had the veteran goal. He gets super hot. But you also had the star forward get, you know, not just putting up great numbers. But yeah, seven game winning goals. Wow, that's really something. So good news if you're a Florida fan

because that formula worked for Tampa in 2004. Yeah, it's crazy what he's been able to do. And just a preview, for that piece you're dropping tomorrow. I assume Duane Rollis-in is like guy number one. He's right up there. I think he's one of the very first guys that comes to mind. I think the other guy that's probably, it comes to mind just because of the team is John Van Biesbrook.

And then there's a few other guys that you can mix in there. There may be an Arter's Urbe appearance. 0-02 Urbe or 94 Urbe? No, see, that's the thing because he had, he was good in 94 and then he was just phenomenal in 2002. So it's sort of a weird one. And it's, you know, not to give away the ending, but I'm not sure there's anyone who compares exactly to what we're seeing with. with Sergey Bavrovsky right now. We're a guy, you know, there's a lot of guys where you might say, you know, wow, I didn't think, you know, I didn't think Ron Tugnut was that great.

I didn't think Ken Regget was that great. But then you look at it and you go, yeah, but they were coming off career years or they were close to, you know, at their peak when they had these great runs. I don't think we've ever seen anyone be great, which Sergey Borovsky was for a lot of his early career. And then just fall off a cliff and, you know, including this year, this guy wasn't great. You know, again, it's funny. Like the two stories in Florida, other than Matthew Kuchuk, Sergey Bobrovsky being amazing and Paul Maurice is redeemed. Paul Maurice is a genius now.

We all thought this was a terrible move. They downgraded their coach. Paul Maurice is absolutely the greatest coach in the league. When the Florida Panthers were going down the stretch with their playoff lives on the line, playoff coaching genius Paul Maurice did not have Sergeant Bobrovsky in goal they had their third string

and they were riding him and he started in the playoffs again you just look at this and you're like there's that part of you that's like what a fascinating story and the way the things and you know where and then there's also that part of you going man it does any of this even make sense is this just is this league just completely random and you know what maybe it's that but if you're Panthers fan, who cares, enjoy the ride.

This has been something else. Well, I thought the NHL stats department put this one out yesterday. This one, you want to talk about a stat that really kind of paints the picture for how random this is. The Panthers were in a playoff spot during the regular season for only 28% of the time, meaning of the 190 days that we had in the regular season from October to April, 190 days. the Panthers occupied a playoff spot in exactly 54 of those days. So 28% of the time.

They are the only team in the expansion era of the NHL. So we're talking roughly, you know, 50-ish years here, 50-plus years, to reach the Stanley Cup final after spending less than 30% of the season in a playoff spot. Crazy. That's remarkable. Yeah. That's something else. I mean, and again, I mean, many people have brought this up, just the razor-thin margins here between this being, you know, a franchise altering story.

And they almost missed the playoffs, which would have been a disaster. We would have all been talking, you know, Paul Maurice was the worst coaching change in history. And, you know, Sergey Bobrovsky has the worst contract in the league and, you know, maybe making that big Matthew Kuchak, broke up some sort of chemistry or dressing room or whatever it is. You know, I know a lot of people have pointed to that game, the game where Pittsburgh loses to Chicago. And they've said that's the game that changes everything because that, you know, Chicago, by winning that, they end up in the Conner-Badard spot and Pittsburgh blows up

and Florida makes the playoffs. I just go back even, you know, we talked about the Kachuk winner in game five against Boston. Remember Brad Marchand, the breakaway? Breakaway. Seconds left in regulation. You're watching him come in going, this is it. This is how the Bruins punch their ticket right here. And instead, he gets stopped by Sergey Bobrovsky.

And you go, okay, well, we'll get some overtime for it. And I mean, at that, I mean, imagine Brad Marchand's on a clear breakaway. He hits the blue line. You hit pause. And you go, what are my odds right now could I get Florida Panthers to win the Stanley? I mean, they'd be a million to one at that point. There's just, but that's the, you know, I mean, Geez, Brad Marchand must be waking up every day going,

I could have altered the history of hockey by just putting that puck in. And it didn't happen. Razor thin, razor thin margins we're dealing with here. And again, that's either something that kind of makes you bang your head against a wall or it's something that you say, this is what I love about the NHL. It just, that's what it can come down to. One play, one inch, one moment, whole seasons, whole legacies on the line because of it. And you never know what's going to happen.

And you know what, for a lot of people, that's what makes this the best time of year. Well, it's remarkable what Matthew Kachuk has been able to do year one in Florida. Where does this rank in the kind of the list of guys that in year one after being traded? Okay. So this isn't like Sidney Crosby as a rookie or McDavid as a rookie or somebody who signed as a free agent. Like in year one after a trade, I think me personally, I think of Gretzky in L.A. I think of Doug Gilmore in Toronto.

I think of Patrick Waugh in Colorado. I think you came there and you fundamentally changed the DNA of the team, the direction, all of it, right? I think Matthew Kachuk belongs on that. I think Gretsky is obviously a cut above for a myriad of reasons. But I think if we move into that Waugh-Gilmore kind of, I think, think there's a case to be made that Matthew Kachuk is there in year one with the Panthers, right? In terms of a trade. Yeah, as far as a trade.

I mean, Joe Thornton would be another guy that would come to mind, midseason trade. The only guy to win an MVP in a season in which he was traded during the year, Matthew Kichuk is a finalist this year. He's not going to win. Connor Medeavid is going to win the Hart Trophy. But, you know, even to be a finalist, yeah, I mean, he typically, a lot of times when we look at stuff like this, it's guys that are, you know, maybe they're veteran guys and you say, well, he came in and he changed the culture. And you know, maybe the numbers

weren't great. You know, in this case, it's, you know, the numbers were phenomenal. And again, like all season long, we're saying, well, Matthew Kuchuk's playing great, but it's not going to be enough for these, these Panthers because nothing else is clicking for them. I'm really not sure. You're right. Gretzky is a different category. You got to put, put that aside. I'm not sure. Even, even in the era where big blockbuster grades were pretty common, far more common than they are now. I'm not sure that we've seen too many where you can just, you know, immediately spotlight and say this guy coming in changed everything for that team.

All right. Time for a little Granger things with Jesse Granger brought you by BetMGM, exclusive betting partner. With the athletic, he did the Wednesday athletic hockey show from his hotel in Dallas. He's doing the Thursday. addition to the athletic hockey show from the same location, right? Same spot. Jesse Granger. What do you say?

Same exact spot. Sitting at my desk in my hotel room a couple blocks away from American Airlines Arena. Have you bothered to pre-book anything for a game six or do we not need to bother with that? I have not. At this point, I'm not sure we'll get a game five. Move over Mark Messier. we just got, how's that for a guarantee? Guarantee.

Like, like, yeah, it, look, I really thought game three was going to be Dallas's game. You know, Ottinger, we were waiting for him to come out. Anyway, the reason, I think the thing I want to kick this off with with you guys is, when you guys did the pot on Wednesday, at that point, you, Russo and Rob Piso, Jamie Betton hadn't spoken, right? He kind of left the arena after game three, didn't speak, got suspended. but he did speak to the media after he kind of cooled off on Wednesday. The comment that he made that garnered a ton of attention, I want to ask you guys,

look, he says, you know, I wish I didn't fall on Mark Stone and use my stick as a landing point. It is one of the all-time, you know what it reminds me of? And Sean will really remember this. When we talk about all-time excuses for things that happen in the NHL, and I'm sure maybe, Jesse, you remember this, by Sean is such a, you know, kind of history buff and nerdy remembers these things. Remember Andrew Ferrence giving the finger to the crowd of the Bell Center? And they asked him about it.

And then he's like, it was a glove malfunction. Yeah. And it was like, this is out of the glove malfunction, right? Like, Jesse, when you, I don't know if you were in that scrum, but when you first got wind of this is Jamie Ben's reaction, like what was going through your mind? Laughter. Yeah, I mean, it was, it was hilarious.

I guess I don't blame him for trying to come up with something, but it obviously wasn't the case. I mean, like, I think I saw Frank Saravali tweet out a great line about it that said, I wish this fork would stop making me fat. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he clearly cross-checked Mark Stone in the face neck area. I don't know what he was doing. It was, I can't think of a more shocking play.

I've seen in hockey this year than that play because of who it's involved. It's the two captains. And the fact that the first two games were not chippy at all. I remember saying after game two, like, wow, what happened? The Winnipeg series for Vegas was very chippy. The Edmonton series was incredibly chippy. Obviously, it got all the way to where Petrangelo got suspended for Slash and Drysidal. and Devander Cain was throwing all kinds of late cross-checks. The first two games of the Dallas-Vegas series had none of that. Basically nothing after the whistle. There were no big hits.

It was very clean hockey. And the fact that Dallas had so much to play for, I mean, yes, they're down to nothing. But those first two games were one shot goes another way. Dallas is up to nothing. They lose both those games in overtime. And like you said, I expected Dallas to push hard in that game. I thought it was Dallas's game.

I thought they feel they're right in this series. And seven minutes in, it was over. And Jamie Ben's night was done. And Jake Ottinger's night was done. I just, I know Mark Stone. And yeah, he'll chirp occasionally like any hockey player will. But he is not an overly trash-talking player. I was shocked to see Jamie Ben go after him.

I don't know why he was so upset with him that early in a game where there's been no prior stuff in the other games. So it was shocking to see him do it. And his excuse was hilarious. Yeah, Jamie Ben, not talking to the media after the game, made some news, especially since he's the captain and you're down 3-0, you think that would be your time to kind of rally the troops and everything. I think we tend to make too big a deal of guys not talking.

They're supposed to. It's their job. They shouldn't just, you know, they should talk. but sometimes I look at it and I go, you know, if somebody's just really ticked off and they know they're just going to say something, get themselves in trouble, I don't, you know, I don't hate the idea of not doing it. But when I heard that the next day, like I was sitting there going, you had 12 hours to workshop this and come up with something. And this is the best you could do. I really wanted to hear what he would have said in the immediate aftermath. Like I want to hear what the first draft of this was that, you know, was it like, you know, I guys, I'm doing okay after Mark Stone viciously attacked my stick with his spine. I'm all right. I just want to assure. And they were like, you know what? Maybe we'll go in a different direction. Did you get any sense talking to Dallas players? Like, what's the mood there? Because obviously, I mean, you're down 3-0. That's the big story. It's disaster. But it did kind of feel like

an unraveling in game three. Does it feel like a team that's done? Does it feel like a team that's now like us against the world? I don't know. Like what how how do they even come back from this? So the players, um, I didn't talk like one on one with any of them yesterday, but I did see them out on the ice and, and saw them kind of as they were walking out to the ice and as they were walking back from the ice. And they seemed loose, looser than I would have expected. Um, so I, I would guess that's probably a good sign for them. Um, in terms of Pete DeBoer, who we've spoken to the last couple days since the loss, he, I don't want to say like resigned but man, he's so disappointed in the way that game went for them.

And like he mentioned yesterday, someone asked him about coming back from the 3-0 deficit, and he was like, well, we're going to try to win this game because we don't want to get swept. And I was like, well, that doesn't sound like a coach that thinks this team's coming back with four straight wins here. You add in the fact that they're going to be without Ben for two games, Evgeny Dadov is hurt. I just saw the email they pulled a couple forwards up. I don't know if he called Adonov doubtful yesterday. I probably don't expect Adonoff to play tonight.

And that kills their depth, which is one of the best attributes about this team. And basically, their only shot to come back in this series is Jake Ottinger's got to turn it on. He's got to become the Ottinger we saw early in these playoffs last year against Calgary. He's got to be spectacular. And he hasn't done a whole lot recently to give you a lot of confidence that that's going to happen. Yeah, it almost feels like if you're, if you're Dallas, obviously you want to come out tonight and play a great game. Dominate the game, you know, have a fantastic game. But it almost feels like the worst case scenario for Vegas would be for that not to happen, for Vegas to come out and play great, get 40 shots and Jake Ottinger stands on his head because that's the moment where you kind of go, uh-oh.

He could see this guy. Is this guy suddenly heating up? We've seen in the east what happens when a goalie gets hot. Oh, are we, do we have anything to work? worry about here. But where's knowing the Vegas team as well as you do, where do you think their heads are ready? Is this a team that can be shaken by a loss or maybe even two or is this, you know, or is it a steady hand at the wheel, so to speak? I don't know how they would handle it if they were to lose two in a row. And this all of a sudden, this is a series. But what I can say is

talking to Jonathan Marshall, so and Mark Stone the last couple days and even Bruce Cassidy a little bit mentioned it. Marcia So brought up something great the other day where he said, I think at times in some of our past deep runs, we looked ahead. And if you look at those runs, they always slayed the dragon. Like they would beat the big team. Colorado is the great example. They beat Colorado. And then suddenly you're looking the semifinals against Montreal, who frankly were not very good that year. And the final, the potential final was against Tampa Bay. and then so you beat Colorado, you're looking at Tampa Bay, you lose to Montreal. Even the year before that, they lost to Dallas, which was arguably a less talented team than they were before getting to Tampa Bay in the final.

And Marcia So admitted that he thinks that they subconsciously looked forward a little bit in those years. And he said that this year, he feels like they've done a much better job of staying in the moment, looking at one game at a time. And we asked Bruce Cassidy about it because he's the new coach. You figured maybe he's got a big reason why. And Cassidy pointed all the credit towards Mark Stone. He said after every game, Mark Stone kind of stands up in front of the room and he lays out what this next game means and how important it is. And then we talked to Mark Stone about it and he's like, look, this team's down three nothing. We have to expect the best Dallas stars we'll ever see.

I think the Golden Knights are better prepared for this situation and to get full. through to the finals now than they were in their, I mean, this is their fourth conference finals appearance in the last six years. I think they've learned a lot from the failures of the past two, failing to get back to the finals like they did that first year. So I don't know how they'll handle it if they lose a couple, but I do think that this team is full of guys who have won Stanley Cups, Alex Petrangelo, Alec Martinez, Chandler Stevenson, Ivan Barbashev. They've got great leadership in Mark Stone, Bruce Cassidy has coached this team really well. So I don't sense any bit of panic.

If they were to lose tonight, I think they're going to be ready. And they got an ex-Coyote's goalie at Aden Hill. That helped the afts, right? With Darcy Kemper, so maybe that's, maybe we just need to be looking at the coyotes goalie pipeline here to find our next Stanley Cup winner. Hey, before we let you go, one conversation we did want to have is the Kantsmite's trophy. And again, we're not saying that Vegas is absolutely through. But it does feel like we're headed to a Vegas Florida final.

And if I'm looking at this year, and all apologies to Rupé hints, because he's been just terrific. And I think if Dallas advanced, he would be the guy that would garner a lot of attention. But if we were just looking at the Panthers and the Golden Knights, it seems like, you know, there's Bobrovsky, obviously, and Kachat from Florida. I think Eichol from Vegas. Stone's been really good, too. Where do you guys sit right now?

If they told you, guys, you have to submit your consmite ballot right now. Who gets your vote? I have a feeling I know who Jesse's going to go with, but let's hear it. Yeah, I mean, Sergey Bobrovsky, come on. The guy's been spectacular. He hasn't just been the best goalie in the playoffs. He's been better than every other goalie in the playoffs combined. I mean, statistically, his goals saved above expected, I think.

I'd have to check it after last night, but I think he still got more goals saved above expected than the second, third, and fourth combined. He has been unreal for this team. But I will say, I with about five seconds left in the game last night, I was 100 percent, Sergey Bobrovsky, he's the vote. Matthew Kachuk is making a hell of an argument. I mean, the guy, like, you, you, we always talk about, like, the narrative when it comes to Kahn Smyth, because it's a bunch of writers voting it. And, like, we love stories. And stories often impact the, the, the voting for the cons smithe. And man, does he have the moments, right? Like when you, like, Bobrovsky to me has been the best player on the Panthers and like they couldn't be here without

him. But at the same time, when you think about this run, the Panthers have been on, all you're thinking about are Matthew Kachuk's overtime winners, that winner with four seconds left last night. It is insane how this guy continually comes up with the big goal in the big moment. He's making it a lot tougher to, to, to give it to Sergei Babrovsky. I'll say that. Yeah, and especially, like, you look at Kachuk's numbers and they're very, very good, but they're not stunningly good, but it's the moments. And it really is like, do you want that full body of work or do you want those signature moments? Because the highlight reel, the sizzle reel for Matthew Kachuk is unbeatable right now. Although, you know, we were talking about earlier, like, do you want a Sergei Bavrovsky highlight, that save on Brad Marchand at the end of game five?

He doesn't make that save season over. There is no Matthew Kuchuk moment where you say if that doesn't happen, it's done. So I'm with you. I'm, I'm Sergey Bobrovsky right now because I think we're seeing like something historically good. But it wouldn't shock me if the storyline was too, too hard to resist for the writers. Ian, are we three for three or are you? Yeah, no, I mean, how do you know, this guy is put in, you know, like Jesse lays out there. Like, I mean, this guy is having one of the most unbelievable runs we've ever seen from a goalie, right?

And as hot, but Kachuk would be close for me. Eichl would be close for me. Unless Bobrovsky just has like kind of an average, like, here's what I think. Bob Browski would have to have like a subpar final. And then Kachuk would need like two to three more game winners for them on that side. Or, and then the flip side being, if Eichl just continues to Eichol, then, you know, it's. Yeah. Yeah.

I don't think Kachuk needs two or three game winners. I think if he scores the cup clinching goal, he wins the Kahn Smythe. He's already got the big moments. And we know that like when you're voting on the Kahn Smyth, you can put like the conditional in there because a lot of times you have to submit it with like 10 minutes left and what could be the last game. But you can put in like Bobrowski unless Matt the Kachuk gets a winner. And you know, you're right. We are getting a little bit ahead of ourselves.

And because as I was telling Ian, I've. I've done this piece where I've tried to find comparable goalie runs to what Bobrovsky has done in this playoffs. A lot of them do run out of steam. You know, there's a lot of guys who have had two great rounds, three great rounds. Four, there's some, but there's some guys who have kind of run into that wall. And, you know, that would, if, if the Panthers win, I mean, I think if, obviously if Vegas wins, Jack Eichael is going to, to be the guy unless, you know, it, or,

or at least would be the guy right now. If it's Florida, I guess we see. Do you guys, is there any scenario where Vegas wins a tight, low-scoring series? And Bob is. And Sergey Bobovsky gets the, because, you know, we know it's very rare for a consmite winner from a losing team, but when it happens, it's almost always a goalie. Is that in play at all? Maybe.

I mean, you mentioned goalies running out of steam after three great rounds. And like to me, what immediately comes to, to my mind is John Sebastian Jaguer because I thought that's what happened with him. He wasn't all that good in that final the year he won the Khan Smite. He was just insanely good in the first three rounds. So like it is possible for like that's probably the most recent like example that I think of. I could see it in terms of the odds, Bobrovsky's plus 200 right now. He's the he's the favorite. Jack Eichel plus 375 second favorite.

Matthew Kachuk plus 450, Mark Stone plus 550. And here's where it gets interesting for me, because I think if you're looking for a long shot to bet, Aden Hill at plus 1,600, this guy, he hasn't been Bobrovsky. He hasn't been the guy stealing games for the Golden Knights. He's done his job back there. But he's six and one in the playoffs with a 940 save percentage. if he doesn't lose another game, I feel like he's going to win the Con Smyth. I mean, it also would depend on what Jack Eichael does.

Like, if Eichael has a big final, he would win it. But if the Golden Knights can close the stars out and Aden Hill can continue this level of play, I mean, the 940 safe percentage, this guy came out of nowhere. I think if you're looking at long shots to bet, and at this point in the season with two and a half teams left in it, it's going to be hard to find a long shot. I think Aiden Hill at plus 1,600 is about as good as you can get. That's a spicy one.

Yeah. Because, you know, goalies typically don't win the consmite all that often. Right. It feels like, you know, the people who are voting on it kind of have to get themselves into a certain mindset. And maybe Sergey Barowski's kind of opened that goalie door. If Aidan Hill comes in and outplays them by any kind of significant margin, in a final, maybe he's the one who slips through that door. That's 16 to 1.

I don't know. That's, that's, that's, that's, uh, that's intriguing, let's say. This Vegas defense has allowed goalies to outplay goalies. They shouldn't outplay all playoffs long. Like, Lorenzwe was better than Connor Hellebuck in the first round somehow. And now in this series, Aiden Hill has outplayed Jake Ottinger. Like, would it be that surprising if Hill outplays Bobrovsky? Right now it sounds insane, but it keeps happening.

Yeah, it's wild. It's truly remarkable. But look, I think next week when we do the show, very likely we're either recapping game one in the selling cup final, teeing up game one of the selling cup final between Vegas and Florida. At least it feels that way. So listen, best of luck covering the rest of the stars series against Vegas,

and we look forward to all your coverage, and we'll hit you up again next week. Should be fun. Thanks for having me, guys. Thanks, man. All right, so there you go. a little Granger things and we do

do feel like we're getting that Vegas Florida series in the Stanley Cup final so that'll be that'll be a lot of fun you know oddly I've seen people complain about this Sean that a Vegas Florida series

from an aesthetic standpoint like those two jerseys clash like that it would be does that cross your mind at all anyone who's seen my fashion sense knows that has not crossed my mind at all No, I don't

I don't say color schemes. So that's Yeah, that's a weird one to get mad about But I don't know, man, we're We're one game away from getting to see a night Fight a Panther. That's in a pregame.

That'll be cool. That'll be a fun one. Yeah. Okay, a couple of, I just want to hit on a couple of things before we open up the mailbag here and get some listener questions. First of all, did you see this, that Wayne Gradsky's last jersey

that he ever wore in an NHL game with the Rangers in April of 1999 is going up for auction. I guess it's up for auction for the next couple of weeks. It's autographed by him. I'm going to ask you right now if you had to guess. Maybe you've looked at the story. Maybe I don't know. But right now, what do you think the auction prices, like the bidding is up to a certain number?

Just take a guess. Stupid hide. Is it $100,000? Okay. So right now. as of yesterday. I haven't refreshed it today, but as of yesterday, it's up to $189,000. Man, okay? This is for the last game he ever wore a jersey, April 18th, 1999. Bidding goes on for another couple of weeks. People believe, experts believe the price will only go up. This one is a

shocker to me. Last year, a Wayne Gretzky jersey, the last one he ever wore. with the Oilers, the night that they clinched the cup in 88 against Boston. Mm-hmm. That one sold for $1.4 million. Oh, wow. I had no clue. Did you? Yeah, I don't remember hearing anything about that.

I mean, that's, I'm not like a huge collectible guy. And obviously, this is a stratosphere that would way above just about everyone. But, I mean, that makes sense to an extent. Like, it's older. it's the night of a championship, you know, what have you, but not to that extent. How much time's left in the bit?

Like, is this, how does this even work? June 11th is the last day to put a bit in. So this is going to be like eBay, right? Where you know, you got like, you bid $8 on the old Nintendo cartridge and you're winning right up until there's two seconds left

and then somebody comes in and snipes you. It's going to be exactly like that. Exactly like me bidding on old video games. Yeah. On eBay. Geez, I wonder what else he's going to. going to put up for sale. I got a certain Wayne Gretzky stick. I wouldn't mind get my hands on. Like, well, okay. Run a little DNA analysis and see if, uh, see if we can prove anything.

Doug Gilmore is, if, okay, just play this scenario out for me. Okay. Let's say you do come in possession of the infamous Wayne Gretzky stick that clip Doug Gilmore in game six of the 93 playoffs that, you know, clearly had an impact on that series. And in, to some extent, your life. Yeah. Let's say you get possession of that stick. What are you doing with it? Would you destroy it?

Would that be cathartic for you? Would you put it on display as kind of like a weird, morbid curiosity? Like, what would you do? If I've got you, the Gretzky stick. The first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to invite Kerry Fraser over so he can see it for the first time. I think that would be very exciting for him. I don't know. Man, I don't know.

I mean, my first thought, and this is my, you know, twisted leaf fan mind, is to frame it and, you know, put it up and build a room around it. But, yeah, I mean, there have been examples, haven't there? Didn't it? Was it the Cubs or the Red Sox or somebody? They, like, got some old ball or something. Yeah, the Buckner ball. And there was like an exorcism. The Buckner ball.

They did that for, uh, the Red Sox did that? Was Charlie Sheen involved in that? Did like Charlie Sheen buy that ball at one point? You know what? I have no idea, but that absolutely sounds. That sounds right. That feels like something that the Charlie Sheen era could absolutely happen. I mean, yeah, that's like, you know, you just burn it, destroy it, blow it up, something like that.

Strap it in a rocket and shoot it to the moon. I don't know. Maybe there would be something like that. But I don't know. I think every hockey fan or every sports fan probably has one piece of memorabilia that they'd like to have and they're like and destroy. Right? Like for you,

maybe it is that Gradsky stick. You know, I'd love to destroy. I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan. That ball that slipped through Tony Romo's fingers in Seattle. Oh, I know there's a bunch of things I could pick from as a Dallas fan. Yeah, you're good.

We've both got some furt over. Like, I feel like every fan, you would take one thing that you could like just take it and incinerate it, blow it up, right? I think we all would. I think we all have. Yep. I feel like that's, we got to get some emails from the listeners on that. Yeah. Like what are you going to destroy?

And bonus points if you've got a creative way to destroy it that, that fits somehow because, yeah, that's, that's going to be. Yeah. The Athletic Hockey Show at gmail.com. We're talking about the auction and the bidding process on a Gretzky jersey. Very quickly, let me give our listeners an update on another auction bidding process. The sale of the Ottawa senators. Here we are on Thursday, the 25th of May. Yeah, speaking of sniping in at the last minute.

What is happening here? It's been a lot of last minutes. And this is going to be one of the most fascinating. If I can get to the bottom of this or there might be a race to this at some point. something very interesting, intriguing, whatever you want to say, is happening behind closed doors. And the NHL's done a really good job

of keeping that out of the public. I think if you've noticed, there hasn't been a lot of rumors, information floating out. There's been a lot of conjecture, a lot of speculation, but there hasn't really been anything concrete, right? You've seen people say, like,

boy, I think this bid's going to win or that. Nobody knows. And I feel like I'm really well connected or fairly well connected to this process. And we're sitting here closing in on 12 noon on the 25th of May. And if you told me, Ian, you got to pick one bidder that's going to win right now. Who's it going to be? I don't think I could tell you that with any degree of certainty. And I think that's really remarkable.

Like, I want people to understand that there is something crazy going on, I think, behind the scenes and that that Nico sparks bit is the real it's the one that I think is thrown a wrench into this like I'm I'm taking an educated guess here because everything else leads me to believe that like they should be out of this right like should that like based on everything you're seeing and hearing don't you kind of feel like they should be out of this but why aren't they yep and I don't understand yep that's the thing and and they've been I I wouldn't say they've been very public on things, but it feels like if they were out,

we would know. And it had been told they were out that we'd know about it. And even if they were told they were out and they were lying to, you know, media or other people that, no, no, no, we're in it. Other people would know and be like, trust me, if they're out, there's going to be a lot of people with that information.

That's going to get out. And as we're sitting here, they're alive. And I don't know what to make of that. Like, look, I've seen people suggest that they don't have the financing in place, that it's a house of car. I get it. And I don't understand why they're alive, but they're alive. And people get angry at me for, I've noticed. And this is a really weird phenomenon for me.

And people are saying like, oh, man, Mendez just wants the sparks bid. That's your shilling for the sparks bid. Like, first of all, show me the receipts. Like, show me. the column that I wrote that said at any point that I was pushing for this group, endorsing this group, if anything, I think you could probably in hindsight make an argument, go back and look at my coverage around Reynolds. Look at it, like I flew to freaking Rexum and did a story about what this guy could do. I, back in November, I think I even wrote the words, the NHL

would be really short-sighted to pass up an opportunity to work with Ryan Reynolds. I'd never said that about any other group. And yet, somehow, there's this weird thing. And I saw a Reddit thread the other day. People are like, is it kind of, anyone else kind of find it weird the way Ian Mendez is handling the Spark situation? I'm like, weird. Like, folks, I have worked in this market for 20 years. If you know anything about my coverage, it's very careful, it's very balanced, it's very nuanced, and it's like, it's measured. Like, I'm not hot take guy. I'm not the, like, so if I, if I, I report on a Tuesday that I believe, like I did, I wrote on Tuesday, I believe the Sparks group is still in it. I believe they're in it. That's not me endorsing them. That's like if other

media outlets or other people don't want to acknowledge that, that's not, I don't know what to say. I'm just trying to tell people what I think is going on behind the scenes. And I think the Spark's group has given the NHL and the Melnikis State somebody to think about. Now, I don't know what else to tell you? Like, I don't have, like, and all these people are saying, like, how come you're not criticizing them for their house of card structure? I haven't seen the structure. I don't know.

Like, I don't know. All I'm saying is this. Whoever ends up as the owner here in Ottawa, whether it's Sparks, Apostolopoulos, Kimmel, Ann Lowry, some combination of them. Like, we're done with clown rodeos. owners here. Like, like,

I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I,

I, I, that, that I'm going to be, uh, you know, finally like, just like laying back

and like letting some sort of house of cards, ownership come in here and I'm not going to question them. No, no, no. I'm going to be real, uh, critical and balanced and whatever on this new ownership group. We can't have this again.

So I just, I don't know, but do you not find it odd that they're alive? if this is what's going on? Like what am I missing here? Yes. Like maybe somebody like you who's out of this can help me. How are they still alive?

Because I believe that they're still alive. No, I mean, I don't know because I don't know as much about this process as you do. Because the number of people, period, who know as much about this process as you do is a very small number. And most of those people are directly involved. So they're not saying anything. You know, I would point out that, you know, you said these guys, aren't just going to be out there lying to people about being in, you wouldn't think so. This could be a group.

If it doesn't happen for them in Ottawa, they could be in on other teams in the future. They have no direct ties to this market. So maybe if an Arizona or somebody, so they're not going to burn all those bridges. And I just, I don't know, I think you're being, if anything, you're being kind on some of the feedback. You and I have talked offline. I have never seen just the hockey world, period. Just whether it's Twitter, whether it's comment sections, Reddit, everything. All the discourse is so dumb and angry and just, and I don't know what it is.

But good Lord, it's almost impossible to wade through these days. And, you know, I'm saying this is someone like, you know, I don't even have to deal with half the nonsense that a lot of people do in these four. but it's just like, you know, this is going to sound crazy, but you used to be able to just disagree with somebody. You used to be able to say, I think Mendez is wrong, or you used to even be able to say, I think Mendez is dumb. I think Mendez is, he's being sold a bill of goods,

but now everything has to be some secret conspiracy, and everyone's got to be in someone's pocket, oh, how much are you getting for this, and how much of that, what's your secret agenda? good Lord, it's, you know, it's, it's the most ridiculous. I've, I've been hearing it from lots of leaf fans, you know, but I don't think it's anything specific to any fan base. It's just, everybody has just dropped any pretense of being even vaguely reasonable when

it comes to this stuff. And it's just who can have the loudest tantrum and it stinks. And, you know, it's, it's, it's, you're, you're, you're, you're, I. admire and applaud your patience because I don't think I would have it. Yeah, it's, it's been, you know, it's been an exhausting week trying to get to the bottom of this. And again, try to work on behalf of Ottawa fans and tell them this is what I think is going on. And if you don't like what's going on, that's not, I didn't, I don't make stuff like of all

the things that you could accuse me of. You can't accuse me ever of making stuff up. Like, that's just not me, right? Like, nobody has ever gone back back. Yeah, Mendez is the guy. You just rumor monger. Why on earth would I start now? Like, why would I all of a sudden be like, you know, ah, cracks knuckles, I sure wish I could work for an NHL team.

What's the fastest route for me to do it? I know, I'll be a shill. And I will, like, I will just pump up a group. And then when they get the team, I'll be like, look what I did for you. You got to give me a job. And then I'll be the VP of marketing. Like, come on, folks. Like, what do you, like, what do you think?

I think I've been doing for 20 years. I've been working on your behalf. And I'm going to continue to work on your behalf to get to the bottom of this. And when the new ownership comes in, whether it's any of these four parties, I'm going to hold them to the same degree of accountability that I did with all the other ones. Like, it's as simple as that. And, and, and, and I, I, I don't understand where this stuff is coming from. I, I really don't. Like, like, the Reddit thread the other day of, boy, just so disappointing that Mendez isn't calling out the Sparks bid for what it is. calling it out for what it is. It's in the mix.

Like, what do you want me to do? Do you want me? I'm reporting on it. I'm telling you that they're in the mix. What do we? It's like, if they get the bid, don't yell at me. Yell at the NHL and GSP if you got a problem with it. Like,

everybody, like honestly, sometimes, I hate to break it to you, but sometimes things just happen in the world that aren't what you want. And you don't just get to slam your hands over your ears and say, well, no, it's not real. It's not, you know, this isn't, this isn't it. Oh, Ian's making it up because some ownership, first of all, why do you even have a favorite ownership group right now if you're a fan? Just whoever's going to be the most standard is going to win.

More importantly, you should be asking, like, why do, why are, why are some reporters and journalists pushing for sure? Like I said, go back and look, I've never pushed or endorsed anybody. But, like, why are there some people that seem to be pulling or writing and favorable things? Like, anybody who knows me knows, the one thing I will never do is I will not get into a, let's trade scoops for favorable coverage arrangement. You and I went to journalism school together. We know how this works. You don't do that.

I would never do that. Like, literally the only, yeah, some people do. And that's, you put your head on your own pillow, you sleep at night. That's not me. But when I look at the sparks bid, what I think is hilarious. is over the course of six months, I've been able to draw out two things. One, back in January,

I heard that there was this group of visible minorities that was interested in buying a hockey team and maybe they were going to put a run in on Ottawa. So I dug and I dug and I got it. And yes, it turned out they were valid. So I think that that was a fair story to report because I do think it was newsworthy. Hey, here's a group.

About three months later after me, four months later, and I've been chisling at this group because they did. One thing people close to them told me was, we have our own celebrity. Like, who the hell is this guy? So I'm chisling, I get nothing. I'm chisling. I get nothing.

Finally, four and a half months later, I'm able to glean and confirm it's Snoop Dogg. Again, I think that's a pretty significant piece of the puzzle, a piece of news. That is it. I didn't, did you see me breaking the Donovan Bailey? is joining the group. Did you see me

breaking the, you know, Sportsnet had the fact that the Sparks group was aligning with First Nations community and all. I didn't have that. Like, I don't understand. Like, where are people?

Anyway, you know what? I've said too much. No, stop being stupid. Yeah, is what I'm saying. I'm saying this is an outsider. You guys are being, you guys are being very dumb about this. Like, like, For the love of God, you think if Nico Sparks buys this team and gets the team, I'm going to go easy on him?

The hell. Like, come on. You know, people who know me, know me. And I could afford. None of us are rooting for one group over another. And I say this as the guy who shared a booth with Snoop Dog. Hey, we both have our own Snoop Dog stories now. Like, that's crazy.

There it is. Do you think we're the only people like in their mid-40s in Ottawa? with like personal snooped. No, I guess not. You know, he ran a, or he owned a share of a cannabis company out here like a couple years ago.

So I think, you're kidding. What a shocker. Yeah. I'm just, all I'm saying is, man, people, every now and then people bug me like,

when are you and Blogey Salming going to get back together and, uh, and bring back some of the, hey, you wait, man, you want to hear the guest track that's dropping on our next project. It's just,

let's just say it's going to be a good one. But only, only if they win the bid, which is why I'm secretly Venmoing Mendez constantly to make it happen. Let's open up the mailbag here. Anyway, that's the end of my rant. And again, I'm just trying to respond to what feels like a wave of criticism that's come up my doorstep, which I don't think is warranted,

but that's my explanation of it. And you can, listeners, you can buy it, you can not buy it, whatever. Like I said, I put my hat on my pillow and I sleep at night. Although, wait, that just sounds like I just did an ad read for my. pillow and I don't want to make that clear. That's not what I just did. Okay. Anyway. Well. Interesting. Oh, well, well, this guy is.

Yeah. Just drop that at the end. Okay. You can email us at the athletic hockey show at gmail.g.com. A voicemail. 845445, 8459. Let's read a couple here. This one's from Sean. It says a philosophical question for you on the Florida Panthers. Are they legitimately a Cinderella team? A number eight seed making this sound like. a final.

Yeah, maybe they do fit the bowl. The 96 Panthers, the 98, uh, wait, he's got 98 hurricanes. That's not right. I don't know. Anyway, O3 Mighty Ducks, Habs in 21. Historically, though, those teams,

yeah, he must be no two hurricanes. Whatever, anyway, he's saying, but you know what? I don't think we should be lumping in the Panthers with those old school Cinderella teams. Um, they won the president's trophy with 120 points 12 months earlier. Um, they just happened to be a great team with a lousy. regular season and found their game just in time.

What say you? That's from Sean. Yes or no? It's a tough one, right? Like, uh, uh, and part of it maybe, you know, it's, it's going to be wait and see. They've got a bit of that vibe where, yeah, you do feel like, hey, this team, yeah, you look at the record, not great, but you look at in this case, the history last year, they were, uh, you know, they were president's trophy.

And I wrote that in a piece that, uh, that I had that came out yesterday. where I was like, look, of all the lessons you can learn about these teams, don't just pull the lesson from Florida that says, oh, all you got to do is make it in. Anything can happen. Because, you know, if your GM tries to sell you, anything can happen. Ask that GM, when was the last 122 point season that this team had? And, you know, the teams that come to mind a little bit maybe with the Panthers is the LA Kings, 2012, which was an eighth seed and yet a team that a lot of people looked at and said, this team's better than the record. says. The other team that you used to hear mentioned as a Cinderella team, and then it kind of stopped, was the Predators in 2017. When they went to the final first year with P.K. Subin, they go to the final, I think also as an eighth seed. Everyone's like, wow, what a great, what a great story. What a great Cinderella. They lose in the final. But then the next year, they win the president's trophy. So it's flipped in the order. But a lot of people look at that. okay, that was a team that was right on the cusp of being a really dominant regular season team as well.

So, you know, we don't really view them the same way. You don't hear them thrown around in the same breath as some of these other teams. So I don't, at the end of the day, it's going to be whatever works best for the story that we like to tell ourselves. So they may still end up being considered one of those Cinderella's. But no, I don't think that they're up. They're as big a shock in hindsight, knowing what they've done recently as some of these other teams. Elise in Philadelphia has written in.

A Lee says, a friend and I were chatting about a new fun rule that could be added to the playoffs. Imagine this. If you win in the first and the second round, winning teams were allowed to take one player from the team they defeated with them into round three. For example, maybe Vegas could be going into the Western Conference final with Connor Hellebuck from round one,

Connor McDavid from round two. Just suspend some disbelief here for a second, pretend that they mesh into the lineup right away. So what two players should the four remaining teams have taken with them into the conference finals this year? That's from Ely's in Philadelphia.

And we love silly suggestions like this one. Yep. And you hear some version of this every down and then, and I think, yeah, I think we got it right here for Vegas. I think it probably is Connor Hellebuk. which in hindsight would have taken away that beautiful Aden Hill story but that's probably who they go with

and I think you have to go McDavid although you'd at least think about Leondresightle the way that he was he was just playing I think if you're Carolina gets interesting because again do you take the goalie you know in round two given their injuries and everything

I think it's Jack Hughes pretty easy in that you're going to take from from Jersey. I don't think you're bringing Dougie Hamilton back or anything like that. Do you take Sorokin in round one? On the one hand, they didn't really need gold. Goaltending wasn't the issue in Carolina, but on the other hand, I mean, who else would you even take from that Islander's team?

Like Horvatt and Barzell and they were ice cold in that series, so I don't think you're grabbing them. Dallas is, Dallas is interesting. Dallas has got the toughest one. out of this, right? Because they're left with Minnesota. It's probably an ice cold, Coral Caprizov. And then who do you even take from Seattle? I guess maybe Jared McCann, like, you know, Seattle, classically, the team that didn't have a superstar, but just had like 20 good players. So I don't know who you take there. And then Florida, geez, who do you take from

Boston? Who do you take from the Mapleys? I mean, you would consider Marshawn, wouldn't you as the guy? Like, just Bergeron was kind of banged up, right? The other guy I'm thinking of is Charlie McAvoy, right? I mean, that's, uh, yeah, uh, and, Lindholm, Macavoy, yeah. If, if, if we're, if we're putting ourselves in that moment, you just won game seven, um, back then, if you're Florida, you're going, are you not going, maybe we take Linus Almor. Guys going to win the Vesina. We don't have solid goaltending. Our goaltending is a big question mark.

And then, you know, of course, we know, that's not how it turned out. They probably get saved by the fact that Allmark was banged up and didn't play the game seven. I would go McAvoy. And then I guess you go Austin Matthews from the Leafs and you just hope that he can get clicking. But yeah, it would be something. It would be a lot of fun. And now if you're, you know, if you're the Panthers, you get, who are you even taken from Carolina at this point? One more.

I'll read one more email. This one from Megan. Megan writes in to the athletic hockey show, just watching a baseball. game. On my couch when I heard a name called for a defensive replacement for the Dodgers, outfielder James Outman. I immediately thought the two of you could be a very good sports name if he's entering the game as a plus defender. Could be a pretty bad name though if he's bad at the plate. Either way, it's a 10 out of 10, no notes type of sports name. James Outman. Love the quirky stuff you guys bring to hockey commentary. That's from Megan. Love it. You got to you. You got to, you

going to be a good player to make the major leagues when your name is outman. You, you had to, uh, you had to overcome some stuff. That's, that's a good one. I like that. You know, I thought of one the other day, a good, uh, underrated goalie name from back in the day, uh, Steve Shields. Right? I kind of like, Steve Shields, good, good name for a goalie. That's pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, we love those, uh, those ironic. And of course, you know,

if, just if we're going on pronunciation, Joseph Wall had it going a little bit. Yes. Joseph Wall was, leaves in the play. That, you know, down the line in the future. That could, you know, maybe we can do something with that. Okay. Let's wrap it up with this week in hockey history. In fact, you made a little, what do we call it? Like a little teaser.

A little teaser. That's exactly what I was looking for. You hinted at this little foreshadowing. It was this week in 1994 that Mark Messier guaranteed that his New York Rangers would beat the New Jersey Devils. In game six, Devils were up three-two. winner would go on to the Stanley Cup final and I want to read you a quote from Messier

right after the game. Messia, of course, famously scores a third period hat trick to seal the win. Rangers would go on to win game seven on that Mottoe goal and win the Stanley Cup. Messier says after the game, quote, I felt that guaranteeing a win would be a great way to let my players know that I believe we could go in there and win game six.

Now, here's my question for you. And the reason why I read that quote is, could a captain in the year 20, 23, so 30 years later, Sean, get away with saying it would be a great way to let my players know. Right? Like, I feel like we would be all, we'd be like, what do you mean my players? Shouldn't it be our players? Yeah. Like, it's funny though, right? Yeah.

Yeah, that's good. But I mean, that's the way that's, you know, Mark Messier could get away with it. He was already at the time, like this great mythical leader, although it went to a new level after he became the only player in hockey history to ever guarantee anything, as long as you don't count all of the other guys who did it. It didn't work. Yeah. So, yep, the, the immortal guarantee that we've heard so much about over the years since, it worked. He had the hatrick game six. one of them was into an empty net.

But still, you know, he had the big game. It's a great call. Gary Thorne back in the day was ESP. He had a, Gary Thorne had a great call of the, of the Messier. What was the call on the hat-trick call? Right? It was like, it's something like he's, well, let me get Daniel to just drop it in here. Bernie Nichols looks behind him.

Messier won the draw. Litz declared it around. John McLean set him for the empty net. Mark Messier. Do you believe it? He said we will win game six. He has just picked up the hat trick. There we go.

That does it for a Thursday edition of the Athletic Hockey Show. This one flew by. As always, email us any of your questions, The Athletic Hockey Show at gmail.com. You can leave us a voicemail as well. At 845445-85-884-59. Right now, a one-year subscription to the Athletic is available for $2 a month for 12 months

when you visit the athletic.com slash hockey show.