The Athletic Hockey Show - Pierre-Luc Dubois on fitting in with the Jets, Steve Mayer recaps Lake Tahoe & Claud Julien fired by the Habs

Episode Date: February 24, 2021

Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Winnipeg Jets joins Scott and Pierre on the latest Two Man Advantage edition of the Athletic Hockey Show. PLD talks about how much fun he is having with the Jets, how his dogs and he are settling into the community and his long term goals with the Jets.Steve Mayer, the Chief Content Officer of the NHL chats with Scott about the beautiful setting in Lake Tahoe this past weekend with Colorado and Vegas, and then Philadelphia and Boston battling it out in a picture perfect postcard by the lake.Finally, Scott and Pierre give their thoughts on the news of the day in the NHL with Claude Julien and Kirk Muller fired in Montreal, which elevates Dominique Ducharme as the interim head coach for the rest of the season.The guys also discuss the called back goal by Brendan Gallagher, and the latest on Jack Eichel and Artemi Panarin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey, everybody, Scott Burnside, back for another edition of the Athletic Hockey Show, two-man advantage, Pierre LeBron. What a show we have today. We're going to hear from Steve Mayer, the head of content for the NHL, the man just back from Lake Tahoe. We are going to hear, thanks to you and your hard work from Pierre Luc Dubois of the Winnipeg Jets. But the great thing about technology is, even though you and I started to tape this some time ago,

this is a day where we got overtaken by events and of course no bigger event in the city of Montreal today than the shocking news that Claude Julian head coach, Kirkmuller, assistant coach, have been relieved of their duties and the habs are on to a new regime. But it's a crazy morning.

Yes, we had to abandon that early taping as soon as that release came out from the Habs. And yeah, it's been a whirlwind day. And I'm glad you mentioned Mueller too because he gets lost in all this. And, you know, he's the guy that stepped in for Claudeau in the bubble when Claudeau had the cardiac event and have to go home and take care of that. And so it's not just some assistant. I mean, Kirk Muller is a senior guy on that bench. And so, but the power play has really struggle, and that was Kirk Muller's responsibility.

So it's tough because Kirk Muller is a heck of a hockey guy and he'll resurface, but he's part of this too today. And, but I will say, like a lot of people, not surprised that ultimately Clod Julianne was fired, but I thought that he had more leash than he ultimately got. I mean, I really think he would have got another week or two before any of this would even be a serious. conversation for me. But I think it speaks to the expectations that Mark Bergeron himself, as GM laid out there before the season, very publicly. Really the first time in his nine years at the helm of the abs that he talked openly about believing that he had the team and the depth to contend this year. And I think that creates its own standard that you need to live up to. and there's no question that I think he saw a team that was spiraling in the last couple weeks,

a team that I'm told he felt looked confused. And so he stepped him, I think, way before a lot of us thought he would, but he stepped in because he felt he needed to get this before it spiral too far. I mean, the whole thing is so fascinating. And we, of course, mentioned that Dominic Doucharm steps in now, is it right now, As you and I are chatting, he's named the interim head coach. Alex Burroughs will join that coaching staff, of course, longtime NHLer. And what's so interesting to me is that you and I, in our first incarnation, when we were trying to tape this this morning,

I had raised the issue with you just in general coaching around the NHL because there are some pressure points. and Vancouver is one of them, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, and of course we talked about the Habs. And specifically after they let a game get away from them against the Ottawa Senators, yet again, a disallowed goal that I think you and I both believe should have counted at the end of regulation that would have given the Habs a regulation win over Ottawa. Goal was disallowed. and the senators ended up getting the extra point in that game. And I'm with you, Pierre. I was a bit surprised that this happened as quickly as it did. But certainly there's no question that Dominic Doucharm is someone that was brought on by Claude Julian

and certainly has a ton of respect and I think a ton of a ton to bring to the table for the Montreal Canadians. Yeah, two-time World Jure coach for Canada. I was really worked his way to this moment, right? And you felt that when he got hired a couple of years ago and added to the bench, that there was an eye to the future with that hired, no question. He just didn't know when. We should mention, too, Luke Richardson was kept on, and he's in charge of the defense and really well respected, so he remains part of it, which is interesting, too,

because you do have to make that decision if you mark Berger. Sure. You know, so it's interesting. Now, he has the interim tag and we'll see where all that goes, but I do think they want to give him a chance to see if he can make this his permanent gig. But it comes at a time where the haves are, this is, they want to win now. And, you know, veteran corps, this isn't about five years from now. It's about trying to figure this out in the here and now.

And, you know, one of the reasons why I don't think we're going to get a lot of coaching changes this year is that, you know, especially with the U.S. teams whose schedules have been really changed around a million times because of the postponements. There is not a lot of practice time in this condensed season. And if you're bringing in a new coach, it's not like he gets to hold the mini training camp. Like, it's a game every second day, especially with the 24 U.S. team. a little different with Montreal because the North Division hasn't been impacted yet by the schedule changes. And it helps that, of course, Dusharham has been there the whole time. So, I mean, there's a familiar voice and he can tweak some systems that he already knows. And it's not the same overwhelming task in the sense that you don't have someone completely coming in from left field and wanting to redo everything from scratch.

So that'll help. because, again, there just isn't that much practice time right now the way the season is set up. So, I mean, you have a better understanding of this than many, many people. The dynamic in Montreal, when it comes to the Canadians as a whole, their place in that community within the fabric of the hockey world, is different in Quebec than any other franchise. And I would argue any other franchise in North America in any sport. But especially when it comes to coaching in Montreal, it's always a flashpoint, right?

There is nonstop debate about the coaching. And when things are going well, of course, the debate goes away. But when things go a little bit sideways, there is no shortage of people weighing in on how the coaching issues, personnel, deployment, all those kinds of things. And you touched on this, Pierre. This is a Montreal team that is no longer. publicly concerned about, oh, let's just make the playoffs and see what happens, right? I mean, the bar is set much higher. And I wonder how you feel that dynamic is going to go for Dusharme, a first time NHL head coach,

but not just a first time NHL head coach, but first time coach of the HABs. And I wonder how those dynamics are different than, say, if this happened in Buffalo or in any of the other hotspots around the NHL. Yeah, it can be interesting to see the tweaks that DeSherom wants to bring. Like is he more aggressive than Claude Julian was, you know, more modern thinking? I mean, the Claude Julian's defense, like he continually tried to update his tactics and try to stay with the times. And I think that reflected itself over time. Of course, winning the Cup with Boston in 2011, but not always, I mean, he's an old school coach,

but he's a guy that tried hard to stay with the times as well, I would argue. But nevertheless, you know, you've got a younger guy in Dominic D'Shaal. You know, how does he view the way the game, the modern game should be played? And so that'll be interesting to see how it manifests itself here over the coming weeks from Montreal, which, and again, I think part of Mark Berzeman acting so quickly now in retrospect, the haves are in a playoff spot. You know, this isn't like a giant hill to call. they're actually in a decent spot to start with for Ducharme.

But they need to stop the bleeding here and get back to their winning ways. So it'll be fascinating for sure from that perspective to see how he can impact, you know, the team on and off the ice in such a short time frame. That's what I'm interested about. But, you know, this team that was so impressive in the first couple weeks, they had completely lost, I mean, the body language, the last two weeks at it all. their lack of confidence. As soon as something negative happened,

you saw it in the two Ottawa games this past week, the shoulder slumping. It was pretty remarkable. And I just kept thinking that if they could win a game here, things would change that dynamic. But, you know, Shia Weber, the captain himself talked a couple of days ago about the negative energy around the team.

It was kind of interesting to hear a captain talk that way openly. So obviously, Mark Berger, Brisbane felt that too and felt that this team needed a major joke. So we'll see where this goes. But you mentioned the disallowed goal, which now the NHL must be thrilled because now that goes to the back pages. But that was a ridiculous, ridiculous decision to overturn that goal. I mean, the HABs don't necessarily deserve to win the game anyway because they were sloppy defensively and it was really a toss-up of a game with Ottawa. But that should have been a goal.

And I'm less concerned about the HABs. angle and all this and more concerned about the NHL at large angle, which is do we know now what goal interference is upon review when it comes to how this game seven of the Stanley Cup final, you're not concerned that we're going to have one of these?

Are we? I'm sure that we've had this conversation dating back to what 2010, 11, I don't know, do we know what goaltender interferes? Well, that Stanley Cup final, 2014, Rangers Kings, but... Like Matt Murray had time to reset. I mean, come on. Like that is,

I don't think that if that goal stands and they win in regulation with four seconds left, that I'm not convinced that that saves Clue Gillian's job anyway. I think that obviously this was more than a day into the making clear. I thought one of the interesting things you and I talked about when we were first talking about the Habs this morning before the news broke or as the news was breaking that Claude Julian had in fact been relieved of his duties. is that this Montreal team, it's interesting, and your point is an excellent one. They're still in fourth place as we speak today. They've got a three-point bulge over fifth place Calgary and a game in hand. I'm all for the standing staying the way they are because that would mean Montreal, Toronto in the first round, right?

Like that who doesn't want to see that? But I thought your point was an interesting one this morning that this is a team that isn't necessarily built for the regular season, which is even in the divisional play, which is what we're seeing this year, it's a little bit more free-flowing. And this HAB team is a team that you can imagine really rising to the moment in the playoffs, which is often closer, closer checking, all those kinds of things. And as one of their special teams woes, to me, this is a team that does on paper loom as a very difficult out come playoff time if they can stay in the top floor.

Yeah, and if Kerry Price finds his A game and there were moments in the Ottawa game there where he made some spectacular saves, but then he led in a couple of weak ones too. But if Kerry Price is on his game, which I suspect that he will find his game, they are built to grind you down. They have terrific depth. They're a physical team. But they kind of stick out in this North Division this year with the 80s hockey breaking out and all the offense that we're seeing from spectacular players in Toronto and

Edmonton. And we know Vancouver has that town when they're on. But the Jets are absolute firewagon hockey with the Winnipeg Jets. The Habs kind of stick out because the Habs are very much a team that wants to grind you down with their forecheck, create turnovers, and sort of beat you with some of their parts, which, as you said, it translates better to play out hockey than it does to this kind of hockey right now. They got to get there, though. But, you know, they're the second most penalized team in the league. Like, the thing about playoff hockey, usually the officiating standard tightens up a bit.

Sorry, the opposite. There are fewer penalties called. Right. And so all those things help Montreal the way they're built. Like, the halves are constantly in the penalty box right now, and it's killing them. They're not very good on the PK. And, you know, the game keeps changing on them these days because of the amount of penalties. are taking. Again, the way they're built, if it's a five-on-five game with fewer penalties

called, they can be a dangerous team. But there's no guarantee they'll make the playoffs. So they've got to get through this. I did love that immediately after the news broke, I wish I have to go back and look at the timestamps just to see how long it took for Patrick Ruas' name to come out. Guy Boucher's name has come out as potential, you know, as people who could at some point assume the head coaching job in Montreal, depending on what happens. So it's a, it's a story that will have many legs for many, many weeks, my friend. So I'm sure this won't be the last time we talk about it. But it is, and you allude to this too, but there certainly is, there are a few people in the game that have the kind of respect that Claude Julian does, right? I mean,

it treats people so well. He's a gentleman. He's a winner. You know, to me, it'd be interesting to see, because this sometimes happens, right, in the NHL, and I'll pose it as a question as opposed to a monologue. But sometimes when things like this happen, it does create a kind of domino effect. And you allude to the fact that, you know, the economics and the lack of practice time really conspire against a lot of coaching changes. But do you think is this a kind of thing that maybe changes that a little bit? Or do you think that the circumstances here, we're not going to see many coaching changes because of what we're dealing with this with this season. I bet you we see at most two more, at most.

So I still think you might see one or two more. I just think most of it will wait till the off season. Again, you got owners not making money. When you fire a coach, you hire a coach, you're paying two coaches. You're paying the guy you sent home and the guy you hired now. Unless like Montreal just did, there's an in-house replacement, which is cost efficient. For example, I'm not saying this is going to happen, but, you know, John Tortorella's contract is up at the end of the year. It's been an up and down year for the Blue Jackets, lots of drama, right?

I mean, they may very well sign them to an extension, but I'm just saying in the event that the, that for whatever reason, the season goes off the rails and they decide to make a change. They got Bradshaw right there on the bench. Right, yeah. So I could see something like that in general. Again, I'm not saying I'm seeing that for Columbus. I'm using that as an example. Let me be clear. Yeah, of course.

But I don't know how many teams have the stomach right now to fire a coach and then hire a coach at a couple million dollars a year in the middle of this pandemic season. I feel like those types of decisions are, for the most part, going to wait in the out season. Yeah, I'm just tweeting, I just want to be sure to get this right when I tweet it. LeBrun says Torch should be fired. Just, we're good? I'm just sending that out now. So anyway, I'm just kidding.

I do not. All right. I want to shift gears here before we get to our guests as we were talking about. I'm curious about the teams in New York State. The New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, both have had a ton of drama, lots going on around those teams. And of course, this week, with the Rangers, Artemmy Panarin taking a leave from the team after reports came out of Russia. sourced by Andrei Nazarov, a former NHLer and a coach, former coach in the KHL who coached Panarin, unsourced. And as it turns out, as more digging goes into it, looks to be unsubstantiated story about Artemi Panarin,

allegedly being in a physical altercation with a young girl when Panarin was playing in the KHL in 2011. And I find this very troubling, and I know you do as well, the way this is unfolded, and certainly feel for Artami Panarin. And you have to feel for the New York Rangers, too, who I think have been outstanding. And they're coming to the defense of Panarin and supporting him immediately and giving him the time that he needs to sort through all this. But it's an ugly situation. And it should be troubling for a lot of people. in the league and the PA, both of whom I know are taking a look at this as well. I mean, if this is, in fact, baseless, it's just as vile a thing that I can think of.

Like, it's such, not only is it crosses every line you can think of in terms of doing that to Panarin, but you think of the actual real-life victims, women across the world who were victims of assault, and whose stories have to be taken seriously. And when you do this, it's just like, I'm struggling right now to not say something. It's just so repungent to me. It's unbelievable if it is indeed baseless. And again, from the, from Panarin's point of view, you know, it's concerning. concerning for his safety, his family safety, you know, for having had the courage to speak out like he did.

And the consequences potentially of that, it really, it's incredibly concerning. Right. And of course, what we're talking about is that Pinaran has been outspoken about Vladimir Putin and how he rules Russia. And I think, Ian, again, you and I talked about this at our first go through on this. But to me, it will raise some interesting issues about what might happen as we move forward toward the Beijing Olympics in 2022. And we know that Putin is a powerful influence within the sport community and specifically within the hockey community in Russia. I'm wondering just what the potential will be for lines to be drawn.

A, I'll pretend as my idea, but you mentioned it first time we were going through. What if Panarin is not named to the squad of Russian athletes who will participate in Beijing? Or what if Panarin decides that he doesn't want to be part of it because the organization may be connected very closely to Putin himself? I think it raises a lot of issues. To me, it's going to be fascinating to see how this unfolds as we get closer and closer to the Beijing Olympics. Right. And naively, you hope that you think, well, you know, that everyone on that Russian roster could just come together and play for what they really care about, which is to, you know, to win that gold medal. And, you know, with all due respect to what happened in 2018, South Korea Olympics, where there were no NHL players.

Russia did win gold finally in Menzaki, but, you know, there's an asterisk on there. Sure. That's be for real. because the best players in the world weren't there. Alex Wovechkin has talked about it so often how much it would mean for him to get that done. And so naively, I think, well, they can put aside everyone's political views and differences and play for each other and play for that gold medal. But I don't know. I mean, it's a good question.

And to take it one step further, nothing ever seems simple sometimes when you have stories coming out of Russia. Like, let's say Panarin isn't on the roster, but now you're getting different versions of it. Well, we got the impression he didn't want to play. And then he says, no, that's not true. And then you got to get through the smoke screen of it all. Like, who knows how many ways things can get spun if he isn't put on there. But let's hope he is. And then let's hope it is his decision as opposed to anyone else's.

Yeah, true that. All right. We're going to take a break in a short while and bring in our first. first guest, Steve Mayer of the NHL. But I want to, anything else, what else is, what else is on your mind today? I mentioned the Buffalo Sabres, a critical week for them as Jeff Skinner remains a healthy scratch for the Sabres. They did come up with a huge win over the New Jersey Devils. But what else? What else is, what else is, are you thinking about today? Because I, you know, I like to give you the last word before we go to the break. Yeah. Well, I apologize. I'm going to have to

skip out on the interview with Steve. I have a conflict. as you know. Yes. But given my best, I know you won't. You know, sabres are top of mind for sure. I mean, when you're scratching a $9 million player two games in a row like Ralph Kruger has with Jeff Skinner, you believe in yourself as a coach. And as you know, I got a ton of time for Ralph Kruger.

And, you know, he's come under fire. You know, our colleagues who cover the sabers, you know, talked about that. Kruger has another year in his deal after this year, by the way. So that's definitely interesting. At some point, you've got to get Jeff Skinner back in the lineup if for no other reason than for his marketability. I mean, you got to, this guy has to produce again so that you can even pretend to have a team wanting to talk to you about him at some point. They're one of those teams that, you just sort of keep waiting for something to happen. And here, before we close out this segment, to me, one of the interesting things was, yes, Jeff Skinner, of course,

How do you, what happens? What do you do with a player who's making $9 million and can't make his way into your roster? And when he does, he's often on the fourth line, all those kinds of issues. But, you know, maybe the bigger issue is what about Jack Eichael? And what is his future in Buffalo? We know from this past off season that there were discussions and not to overstate them, but there were discussions about does he want to be there long term? And if not, how would that look?

How would moving on, if you're Jack Eichael, how would that kind of look? And it's interesting with the New York Rangers who are not deep down the middle. Is there a possible marriage there? But these are the kinds of issues when you have a team that perpetually under a cheese. And I think that's fair of the Sabres for most of the last decade. You know, where does that leave Jack Eichol if the Sabres are? as they appear now, to be once again on the outside looking income playoff time. Well, only he can answer that.

And I suspect what will happen is that everyone involves going to want to chat after the season about where they are. And listen, there's still a lot of hockey to be played there. And that was a big win the other night in New Jersey by the Sabres. But, you know, if Jack Eichael isn't happy being in Buffalo, which he has not come out and said, but if that is the case at the end of the season, then that's, everyone involved going to have to figure this out. It was my interpretation of events from last offseason that, you know, they had a chat that I think Ikel and his camp had questions about where the franchise was headed. I think some teams phone Buffalo about Ikel.

Didn't get that far, is my understanding. And the sense was, all right, let's play again this year and let's reconvene a year from now, essentially. and over simplifying things. But I think the sense was that, you know, let's give this a shot here and let's see if we can turn this thing around. So, yeah, well, that could be a big story of this offseason or may not. You know, maybe he sees enough progress by the end of this year to, you know, to want to stick around.

Yeah, good point. All right. As promised, Steve Mayer, chief content officer of the NHLHGEL joining us today. And Steve, you and I were just chatting and you'll notice that Pierre Lebrun no longer part of this conversation as he follows up on the pretty dramatic news coming out of Montreal with the coaching change there. So you are stuck with me, Steve. And let's be honest, this is probably going to go better than if Pierre was here. I can say that. Yeah. I mean, I don't believe that Montreal did it purposely to get rid of Pierre. But, you know, we're

We're going to be fine. We're going to be fine. I'm just waiting to see if there's an actual rating spike for this part of the conversation and then if it drops off when Pierre comes back on later on. I don't think there's any question there will be. All right. And the first question I had for you, I want to make sure that you are not still in Tahoe raking the sand trap as part of your tear down after the NHL's weekend there.

You have departed from Tahoe after a really, just a really fascinating, weekend on a whole number of levels. But I just want to make sure that you don't have any other chores yet to do in Tahoe in terms of tearing down and returning the golf course there to its natural luster. I am now back in New Jersey. There are, though, a few that still remain. They're, you know, whenever we do one of these events, you know, it's kind of amazing. It takes over two weeks to put the village together, and it takes, you know, three or four days to tear it apart. And, you know, there are a couple of people that still stay back and they do all the heavy lifting, and they are incredible at what they do. But I am now back on the East Coast.

Well, let me, that weekend, I mean, there was so much that went into it. And, of course, the lengthy delay between periods for the Colorado Vegas game and then the Sunday night game with Philly and Boston and all the, I still can't, I'm still loving David Pasternak's, the pink glasses. And I love, I think it was Patrice Bergeron who went with the, you know, with the musical theme and the, and the, and the. the attire that the Bruins wore in for the game. And I saw a shot of you in Sunday nights game, Steve. And I wonder what was going through your mind at the end of the weekend because there were some ups and downs to it. And as you and I have talked about, when you do outdoor games, part of the rules are you don't get to control everything because you are outdoors. And I wonder what you know, what you were taking away from that weekend in Tahoe because certainly visually stunning.

But it wasn't how you planned it. No. And I don't think there's very many events that we've ever put on. They go 100% according to plan. And that's what we do as event producers is, you know, is we're prepared for everything. And you just need to be. And you know, you also need to go with a little bit of risk into every single event. You know, we decided that we needed to do a signature event this year.

You know, we lost the Winter Classic. We lost the stadium series. We lost the All-Star game. And here we have a season which is unique in its own, how we set up the divisions, how we're playing, you know, our season. in traveling teams within their divisions. But, you know, we really felt like what was that event that would catch people's attention, not only hockey fans, but fans of all sports?

What can we do in this pandemic that actually would take advantage of the fact that there aren't any fans? And man, do we miss them? I mean, there's nothing like, as you know, Scott, walking into a stadium of $90,000, people to watch a hockey game. I mean, that's crazy. But in this year, you know, what would be that substitute? And, you know, we wanted to do a game in the middle of the wilderness where exactly what

you saw this past weekend, you know, surrounded by mountains and the lake and trees and, you know, I have a setting that was unique, special, and like none other that we've ever had in the NHL. But we knew it would come with risks, as we've known for 30 other games that we've done. You know, the sun comes out and, you know, unfortunately, it does play a factor. Just like the rain played a factor at the Daytona 500. And the wind played a factor in the golf event this week in California, where they had a delay for four hours. These things happen.

It's an outdoor sporting event. but we felt the reward was way greater than the risk. And in the end of the day, we completed, in my mind, a weekend where we did something that was unique. We took a chance. We did something that people were talking about. I mean, the social media numbers, Scott, are crazy. I mean, beyond anything we've ever done at the league before.

I'm not kidding you. I mean, these numbers that I got today are spectacular. And those are the kind of things where whether, you know, there's good, there's bad with every single event. And everybody's got an opinion. But people are talking about the NHL. People were talking about hockey. And in the end of the day, the majority of the conversation was really positive. I mean, we had an event that, you know, our players engaged with the pictures were just,

beyond spectacular. You mentioned the personality of the players. Man, they use these games as a way to show something that they don't normally show off. And, you know, I deem the weekend as a success. But with every event, you know, you've got to be prepared for every scenario. I mean, we didn't just magically have lights there. We knew we could move to the night. And we had to be perfect.

prepared for that. Those are the kind of things that we we look at on every one of our events, not just this one. And, you know, and this one, yeah, we had to make some decisions along the way. But in the end of the day, we completed two games in an incredible environment. And we, we left very happy. I'm curious, what was it like for you, you know, that process? Because there is, what was it, eight hours or whatever the number was between, you know, when you decide that the sun is too much and that you are going to have to wait. And when you finally see the players skate out and they complete the game on Saturday night, what's that feeling like and what's that process like?

Because it must be nervous, but there must be a sense of satisfaction at the end of day to say, you know what, people will remember this, certainly the players who took part in it. This will be something they'll be telling their grandkids about. Yeah, there's no question. And, you know, over time, people will remember the pictures, the moments from both games. I mean, you know, the McKinnon goal at night on Saturday is one of the great outdoor game goals ever. You know, the pictures that we had on Sunday, I know we moved the game, but, you know, the shots from, you know, the sunsetsetting and, you know, the shots from, you know, the suns setting. and how majestic that was, you know, I'll remember it.

I mean, I've got photos that I never could have imagined. You know, when you think about it, we created an environment that when we started, all right, we'll start with the rank, but we had to also put an infrastructure together that was capable of producing an NHL game, you know, video replay, real-time statistics, television, you know, and had to build this out. And so, you know, one of the nice comments we got were how it all sort of fit and

looked very natural. And one of the things we tried to do was respect where we were and not overdo it and use the environment, the trees, the mountains, the lake as the backdrop. You know, and again, these events, there's not one of them. And I've been now with the league for five years. And I could safely tell you that I would, over half of the games, we've sat in rooms and talked about contingency plans over and over and over. In Philadelphia, it was rain and snow. In St. Louis, it was rain and fog.

It was sun in Winnipeg. I mean, every one of these have their moments. And I'll be honest, many times. we've just gotten so lucky to be able to have completed 30 games without a postponement. You know, this one, yeah, there was a delay, but we got both games in. Both games were successful. You know, we just found out, and yeah, we had to move from NBC to NBC Sports Network. But the most watched game in the history of NBC Sports Network, the rating for the first hour,

and I know it was the first hour, was really true. tremendous on NBC. People were watching. People were engaged. That's what this is all about. My effort is to try to help grow the game. Our team that we put together to build out this event is the best, best, best, best in the business. And it was a memorable weekend. So I'm curious, when you step back and, you know, listen, no one knows what's going to happen next week, let alone in six or seven months. But, you know, it signs. point to, you know, a return to normalcy. I use my air quotes here, but a return to normalcy next year in 21, 22 and moving forward.

Are there things that you learned from an event like the Tahoe event? And I'm with you. Listen, you know, you can pick things apart. Now, you know, visually, I thought both when it was daylight and in the evening, you know, those were, those were images that were completely different from any other hockey game I've ever watched. So that part of it was cool. But are there things that you can imagine, okay, let's, what if we did something, you know, like this or went somewhere else that was like this? Could you incorporate some fans or I guess what I'm asking is what kind of lessons do you think you learned from a weekend like this one in Tahoe where you couldn't have fans because of the pandemic? But in a time when we're back to normal, are there things that maybe we'll see that you learn from in Tahoe that can be either replicated or you can grow.

upon for some other signature event in the future. Yeah. No question. By the way, when you say step back, I broke my leg this weekend. Oh, my God. On site? Like what happened? Yeah, on site.

So when you say step back, I like a shiver goes down my, my leg. I fell not on our ice, but I fell on ice after a snowstorm on Friday. By the way, speaking of like our lock, Friday, cloudy snow. knowing like the perfect day ever to do the game Saturday sun. And going back on, you know, we, we make decisions based on Saturday on a forecast or weather forecast from some, you know, of the best meteorologists in the world telling us that we were going to have cloud cover for most of the day. So you go with that advice. And that's the thing to answer your question. You bring in always the best of the best, you know, whether it's the folks that build the structures, the TV folks.

But you still are always going to, you know, have an issue here, an issue there, and something that you can grow from. Like there is not one event that we do that we don't learn from. And, you know, some maybe more than others. I have an expression with my team when we get done with the event. I just get everybody together and say, okay, time to make the next one bigger and better than the last one. You know, and that's how we do it. I mean, that's how we roll. And, you know, in many times, you know, we do.

do leave very happy with an event, but at the same time, there's, you know, there are things that you might see Scott that you think we should approve on. And there's many times things that you would never notice, but bother the heck out of us. You know, like we live this. We're, we're perfectionists. We want to be bigger and better every single time. And so an event like this one, because it was so unique, because we were doing it in a pandemic, a lot of what we had to do was kind of figure this one out as we went along. I mean, we never had done this before. And so I think because of that, there probably is a greater takeaway than in an outdoor game in a stadium. You know, there are things that we didn't know how it would work. And until,

you know, you turn the light on, you don't realize, well, it would have been better if the light was over there than over there. I mean, and I love this, the way we created this environment, the way it looked. I do think, and it's my view, it's Steve Mayer's view. And I think we all sort of maybe leaned a little more towards my view, but it's not there yet. that we could do a game like this as a regular game once we come back to normal. You know, there are some amazing landmarks in this world that, you know, put a rink by them and, wow, how cool would that be? And I'm starting to hear the chatter, and I think that's one of the things that this started was a lot of chatter about, you know, what could be next. Listen, our goal, a billion percent is that we return as soon as we can to how we've always done it in stadiums with huge crowds.

There's something also to be said about the way we activate a city in an outdoor game for the entire week with events and fan activations and fan festivals. And, you know, that was missing. It was really missing. But I do think there could be room for a lot as we kind of move forward. You know, it's all about continually growing and doing new things and taking risks and trying some things. We're not afraid to do it at the NHL. I know people, you know, always are telling us, do more, do more. And then when we do more, they go, oh, I can't believe there was a delay.

And just like, you know, get, get, you know, get serious everybody. Like, like, what do you want? And in my opinion, what everybody wants is us to do some different things, to try some things out. Not everything's going to work perfectly. But in the end of the day, it just shows that we're progressive and aggressive and willing. And that's what this is all about. And we're going to continue to kind of have that mindset as we move forward, especially in the new world when we come back.

Because I do think there's great opportunity. And I do think you're going to, our fans are going to want more and more. All right. I'm going to let you go, Steve. But I have to tell you now that your performance in Tahoe is, is it not Bobby Bond like broken leg? And yet you were there. I'm, I got to tell you, I think there are some parallels there. Maybe it's a stretch, but I don't think it's much of a stretch.

It is a absolute 1 billion percent stretch. I was not on the ice. You know, listen, I have a job to do and, you know, what's a little pain, all good. And, you know, I now have a souvenir from Tahoe for probably the next six to eight weeks. Oh, my God. So it's all good. You know, it's actually funny, Scott. When I called our HR department, they said,

usually we're going to have to talk to you about how we set you up to work from home. Yes, we don't have to do that. You know, it's all good. And I'll heal and we'll kind of, you know, get ready for the playoffs because this year it'll be really exciting. and hopefully as you're seeing more and more fans are coming back online, little by little. And, you know, I hope by the time the Stanley Cup final rolls around, you know, we could get something that feels pretty normal to everyone. And we're looking forward to it. That's next on the event docket for the league.

Yeah. Well, I hope you're right. And I hope you heal quickly and safely. And it's always great, Steve, to have you join us. and I hope, as you hope, that we get back to normal sooner and later. But thanks for spending some time and sharing your insight. It's always great to catch up. So thank you very much.

And thank you, Scott, for getting rid of Pierre for this. Yes, good point. Oh, yeah. No, good. Please tell my, please tell my say hello. I will. Thanks for having me. Yeah.

Thanks for having me. Thanks very much. All right. As promised, Pierre Lebrun, back from wherever at us, was that he went during the middle of the podcast. And as promised, joining us Winnipeg Jets Center, Pierre Luke Dubois. Pierre Luke, thank you for joining us. And Pierre, he's helped me out here.

I'm not going to forget the full Pierre Luke part and get lazy and call you just Pierre. But thanks for coming to hang out with us for a while today. And how are things in Winnipeg? How are things in the heart of Manitoba today? They're good. I'm good. I mean, so good practice today. You know, I'm feeling good.

Back from my injury also. So, you know, the body's feeling good right now. But it's just just good times right now. Yeah, look, merci de us have joined on the podcast. I got to go back to English now because Scott won't know what we're going. Keep going. I'm with you now. Yeah, yeah.

But you mentioned you're just back from the injury. I mean, I have assumed that that was really because you were off the ice for two weeks with the 14-day quarantine, but I just want to make sure that you clarify. Is that part of it? I mean, you get traded and then you almost shut down because of the quarantine, right? Yeah, I mean, it's, I guess we'll never know for sure because there's no like, I guess the science behind it. But, I mean, I've never been injured in my life. You know, going back to juniors, I've never missed games. midget nervous games.

NHL, nothing, played a hundred games a season or so with the, you know, the exhibition games and the season of playoffs and the world championships. And then it's just, I mean, I've been heard at times where, you know, you keep playing. And then this one was just something that it was weird, too. It wasn't something that was very common, especially for hockey players to have. It was just something that I couldn't play with, you know, especially you don't want to just play one game or play one one period and then you're out even longer so uh is is it because the quarantine i'm sure it didn't help but um but i mean you know there's a factor in things maybe that

that went in it also right and just like what's it like when you're in quarantine like because i honestly i'm not 100% sure myself like what i mean you're in the hotel room or wherever you live and then do you have act like can you skate on your own or is it yeah i mean you're I mean, it was, so I have two dogs. So the team was great. They got me a house with the backyard. I think if out of a hotel room, I would have, I don't know who had lost it first me of the dogs, but it was great.

So I had the house. And then, you know, I could only leave in the morning to go test at the rink. And then I usually take the long way back home just so I could stay out of the house a bit more. You know, we were joking around because I couldn't skate. You know, the team was nice. They brought like a bike. and weights and stuff like that so I can work out in my living room.

But, you know, we're joking around that maybe I should have built like an ice rink in my backyard so I could skate. But it was, I mean, it was, it was fine. It was, you know, we did with the best we could to stay in shape. And for me to mentally be, be ready when I got back. Wow. So Pierre Lucke, do you have two dogs? What kind?

What are their names? And how did you get them from, I assume they were in Columbus with you. How did you get them to Winnipeg? Yeah, so I got a French bulldog who's two and an English bulldog who's 10 months. So they came with me on the plane. You know, I got traded at 10 and then I left at 7 from Columbus. They came with me on the plane with all my bags and everything, but they're up and not with my bags.

Yeah, they, I mean, they've never seen snow before pretty much. So it was a fun little few. a couple days, first days for them. But like I said, I thank God I have the backyard because I think they probably would have lost it before me. Yeah, well, I'm glad you had your dogs. That's a couple of weeks on your own.

It's a dog's best friend. And what's it like now? Finally, you're back. You're part of the team. A big night the other night. You know, playing on the big line too, which, you know, I don't think is a long-term play because you're a centerman, not a winger.

But what was that like, though? nevertheless as a way to get you back in Illinois. It was great. I mean, it felt so good to be back. Like we said, because of the injury, I played two, and then I'm out for another week. And it just feels like a six weeks of waiting to get back. And I said this before. My first game, you know, the game against Calgary, I haven't played in a while. After two weeks of just sitting at home, to me, it was kind of a wash game where you just throw it out.

And it was just kind of trying to get your legs back and everything. and then the next game I felt better, but then you're out. So, you know, to play against Vancouver, to play the Shrevely and Wheeler, you know, two amazing players that helped me a lot throughout the game, it just felt so good to be back. I had never been more ready to play a hockey game in my life. And, you know, to get that win, too, it felt even better. Well, not only a win, but you score the overtime winner.

You have three points. I'm wondering if there's been a moment since you, you know, since you've got into the routine with your teammates or the coaches, has there been a moment where you're like, okay, this is, I do feel like I'm in, in the right place or I'm in the right rhythm. Has there been, you know, one of those or some moments where you're like, yeah, this is, this is going to be okay. Yeah, I think, well, from the moment I got here talking to the staff,

talking to the players, doing video, you know, one thing that they've said or everybody he said is that, you know, we have a good team and I fit in perfectly here. You know, we're a heavy team. We're fast. We're skilled. You know, we can protect the puck well. And after every practice, pretty much, you got a couple guys that go down one end. They grab rims from the, you know, the cultural rim of puck down. They'll get a puck protection, turn, pass it to the guy in the slot, shoot, and then so on and so forth. And, you know, when every morning, it's like, you know, guys like Blake Wheeler and Shifley and even Connor, who's a smaller, like smaller compared to those two guys,

they're so good on public protection. And to see them work on the same things every day, I mean, they're experts at it, and they want to be even better. You know, when I see that, you think, how can I now become a better player here? How can, you know, it's, it's an environment where you just, you can only become better as a player.

And, Pia, look, you're going to see plenty of Montreal Canadiens over the next little while, including on Thursday night. and, you know, it's not a secret. Let's be honest, the HAVs we know were one of the teams that right up to the 11th hour were trying to get in on trying to trade for you. And I'm wondering what that was like,

especially on that Friday night as I was chasing the story. You know, you got Montreal, Anaheim was in there, Calgary. But it always felt like Winnipeg was in the lead in large part because, of course, they probably had something that none of the other teams could trade in terms of lining going the other way. What was it like to follow that for you? I know your agent, Pat Broussaint is well plugged in,

but how nerve-wracking is it to follow it sort of play-by-play as it's happening in real time? Yeah, it was kind of like a movie. It was a little bit unfolding. And I mean, you hear, like you said, you hear all these teams and then you're okay, this team's in the league, then the lead. And then, you know, 20 minutes later you get a call,

okay, no, it's going to be this team. And then, you know, the day before, the day before you hear, okay, I think these five teams are, or ahead. And then the next day, there's only one of those teams that's still in. And then it's four different new teams. So it was kind of like just all over the place. It was, you know, it was like a movie. But, you know, when I heard it kind of at the end, whereas it's kind of down to the three or four same teams, then you're looking at them, you know, every organization is great. Every team is good. But, you know, when I heard Winnipeg, my dad's been here for the past

five years with the Moose, the HL team here, said nothing but good things about this organization as a whole. He's assistant coach in the H.L. And he says that they treat him extremely well respectfully and, you know, that he gets treated like gold. So he's like, I can imagine how, you know, the rest of the organization is treated. So, you know, when I heard the news, I was Winnipeg. I was really excited. I was really excited to me, the staff, the players. And, you know, it's one of the teams I hated to play against. So it's good that you get to get on the other side of that and play with them instead. But I bet you, I bet you had some buddies back in the Belpravainz who weren't as happy, though. Yeah, I mean, yeah, my, like my grandparents are huge Canadians fans. And when I was a kid, they, you know, they try to get me in the pajamas and try to get me in Canadian sheets and, and, you know, jackets and stuff like that.

But I think, you know, my friends were just excited to see where it was going to go. And, you know, I know because of COVID, they can't really come here this year. But I'm trying to get them to come for a trip next year if it's possible to come to Winnipeg and, you know, see maybe the light out in the playoffs or something like that. Yeah, that sounds. Yeah, I'm curious, Pierre-Lou, what the whole process has been like for you? I mean, you're 22 years old and to have all that is transatlantic. inspired during the strangest of seasons with the COVID and all that's happened. And I wonder if it's been difficult for you or how you've been able to, you know,

sort of keep your focus and keep your balance because there have been a lot of ups and downs to what has been a fairly short period of time that's led you to your spot in Winnipeg now. Yeah. Like you said, there's a lot of ups and downs and there's, there's great moments and there's moments that were a little bit tougher. And, you know, I think that I think the people you surround yourself with, you know, your friends and your family are very important. They've been huge for me throughout this process. My agent Pat has been, has been great also for me. And I mean, it's been how I see it is, you know, everything that happens and you can learn from it. And it only makes

you stronger for later in life. And, you know, who knows, maybe in 10 years, there's another 22-year-old that's going to go through what I've been through. And I'm the only one that will be able to help them or something like that, I think that you can learn from every situation. And, you know, even the toughest ones, you know, you can only become stronger from that. And since I've gotten here, the staff and the players have been amazing, you know, trying to make me feel as comfortable as possible, trying to make me feel as part of, you know, a part of this team, you know, even when I was in quarantine. And then from, you know, for the first practice meeting everybody, they've just been great.

I already feel like I've been here for three years with these guys. or do you feel like I know all the guys on the team? And, you know, we really have a great group of guys in this dressing room. And I think one of the underappreciated aspects that you bring to the Jets, Piaz, look, is that you've played some pretty big playoff games here over the last couple of years. You know, I mean, the upset of the 62 win lightning a couple of years ago, a real physical series of Boston that I felt was really close.

It could have gone either way. And, of course, under a lot of eyeballs, the win over the Leafs in the play in the series last year in which you became a monster and ran over the Leafs at times. What are those experiences like important in terms of your toolbox? Because the Jets obviously hope to make the playoffs and beyond that get on a run here. They've got a pretty good team. Yeah.

I think that as hockey players and the NHL, everybody can beat anybody. anybody. I think we see that every night. And, you know, a win, I think the intensity goes up as the season goes on, but a win in October is just as important, I mean, in a normal season in October, but the win in October game, you know, game four is just as important as game 80 because, you know, it could be every year the teams that miss on the playoffs, there's always a team that's one point out or two points out. And, you know, it's that win early on the season. So I think that as the season goes on, intensity goes up, but it's not a switch that you turn on from season to playoffs. It's not okay, we're changing our style of play. We're going to change, you know, our systems. It's just a

continuation of it. So I think that, you know, the playoffs, we all want to win the Stanley Cup, but it starts, you know, it starts earlier than the playoffs, and it's a mindset of, you know, we've been doing this the whole season. All we have to do is keep doing it even better. And, you know, that's that, I think it's, to me, it's that simple. It's not changing, the way you play, it's not working harder. It's just working just as hard. It's just as physical. You know, it's the same, to me, it's the same game. It's just, I guess it's just playoff hockey. That's the difference. Beer Luke, I remember spending some time with both Seth Jones and Ryan Johansson after they were

traded for each other. And I think they ran into each other at an airport. And then I think Seth Jones ended up living in Ryan Johansson's place in Columbus and it was kind of weird, you know, like you sort of cross paths. I don't know if you have a relationship with Patrick Linae, if you know him at all, if you've shared, if you had communication since you got traded with each other, I don't know if any of that stuff has come to pass between the two of you. Yeah, well, when he, when I learned that he was in Columbus because he, I think he had to get his visa or his work visa or something before. I texted him. I had a place there, so I said if I want to rent it out, wished him good luck. But the funny thing is I saw Jack Roscovich probably four days, five days before the trade

happened at a restaurant in Columbus. Oh, cool. And I knew him a bit from skating with him in the summers in Columbus and all that. So, you know, we talked and he was like, you know, do you think there's a possibility that, you know, I come here and you go to the jets? And I was like, I don't know. I've heard so many things. and then boom, five, four, three or five days later, it's happened.

So that's pretty crazy how that worked out. And Pierre-Luc, I would not be a journalist if I didn't ask you the question that everyone's asking and you can decide how you want to answer it. But you have been, you kept it kept it pretty private as to why you wanted to get dealt from Columbus. And is that one of those things where you feel that eventually we'll be comfortable talking about that? or I mean, how would you want to address that? I'll be the millionth journalist to ask you. No, it's fine.

I understand that people, you know, people want to know, and I get that. And I think, like you said, I think maybe one day I'll be more comfortable talking about it. But I think that for, you know, for the time being and given the situation, and everything that happened and, you know, during and after and all that, I think that, you know, I told the players on our team, you know, I let the staff know, I let, you know, Yarmu. I mean, it's not like I, you know, I hid my cards from, from the people that needed to know. You know, I just feel like sometimes the, sometimes, you know, saying less is, to a certain extent, is better and more respectful in some areas. And, you know, I enjoy my time

in Columbus. I learned a lot from the guys. from the staff there. But, you know, I just felt that there's, there's some things that, that, you know, if you're going to sign for a team, you don't just want to sign because you get money or because, you know, because you're forced, you want to, you want to, you know, be in there and believe in everything and be on the same page.

And I just felt that, you know, for that to happen, I needed that change of scenery. Yeah. Pierre Lucke, it's been such a short time, But I'm sure people in Winnipeg are already, you know, hoping that that you will make Winnipeg your home beyond your current contract. Maybe who knows forever. But it's that. Let's get all the hard questions over with.

No, I think it's. And because, you know, Pierre and I both covered the playoff series a couple years ago. Well, Pierre was there a long time, but I covered the Nashville Winnipeg series. One of my favorite postseason experiences. It's such a, it's a unique. place and it's probably too early, but will there be a time when you get to a point where you think, okay, this is, honestly, this is where I want to set down my hockey routes and this is the place that I kind of, that I will want to be where I can imagine myself long term. Do you think that

will happen or are you really very much in a one day at a time kind of thing at this state? I think that, I think I'm a one day at a time, but at the same time you see, I mean, it doesn't take it didn't take long to realize, you know, that you have a special group and here and everything that they've said for the past couple years. And then, you know, like I said, my dad's worked for this organization for a while, so it wasn't, you know, brand new, everything brand new to me. I kind of, he kind of planted a seed of, you know, what the organization's like. And then you look at guys like Kyle Conner, who signs a long-term contract, Wheeler, Shifley, Eilers, Morrissey. I mean, the list goes on.

on of Hellebuck. I mean, there's a reason these guys, you know, stay here and they sign those deals. And I mean, I've only been here for not too long, but I'm already starting to see, you know, why guys are signing these deals. And I mean, it already feels driving through the streets, you know, show my mom or my parents showing me the neighborhoods, the guys, you know, telling me about places they live and, you know, restaurants when COVID's over and all that. you know, it already feels like, like, yeah, I definitely could. I mean, I think as a hockey player, the most important thing is, is feeling comfortable and, you know, winning hockey games and being an environment

where you can believe in that and thrive in that. And from my short time here, I can say that I definitely, I love the group. I think we're a great team. I think it's a great staff here, you know, from the coaches to the trainers, to the equipment guys. So I can't speak for the future, but for now, that's how I feel about my whole situation here. Yeah, lots of question here, Pierrotel, but your head coach here in Winnipeg, Paul Maurice, for my money, and I think Scotty agrees is, first of all, the best interview in the NHL for the media.

He is such a thoughtful interview, very detailed in his answers. And I know from talking to players over the years that he communicates that way with players, too, that you may not always like what he has to say, but you know where you stand and I wonder what it's been like so far hearing from him. Yeah, it's been great. It's, you know, from his video meetings with, you know, with everybody, you know, it's clear. It's, you know, after the video session, you know what, you know, what we talked about. You know, if it was good, if it was bad or, you know, the one thing you wanted to get better at.

And as an individual just talking to me, you know, he's been great. He's, you know, he's told me to just go out there and play hockey and feel comfortable. you know, we'll coach you throughout the mistakes you make, but, you know, you have to, you go out there and you make plays, you have fun. I mean, nobody plays hockey well unless they're having fun and they're feeling comfortable out there and, you know, to have them to have them say that to me, but also, you know, just every day just saying hi and having that little conversation and how you felt the last practice and stuff like that, you know, it's been great to work with him and the entire staff

too. I mean, I do video with the assistant coaches and, you know, ask them questions and all that, but like I said, nobody plays hockey well unless you're having fun. And I think that's the message that the whole stuff has had with me here, but especially Paul. Good stuff. All right, Pierre Luke, as Pierre promised, we will let you get on with your day. But it's been a real treat to have you come and hang out with us and wish you all the continued success in Winnipeg. Hope those dogs don't get frostbite.

But, you know, thank you so much for. coming and spending some time with us today. It's been great. Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. Nassi, Pia Lik. I see. That was outstanding. I've never spoken to Pierre Luke before and a very thoughtful young man and, man, he's had a lot go on in the last few months. But I think the fans in Winnipeg and his teammates are going to be pretty darn happy. He and his dogs made the trip north.

Yeah, that was, I think my favorite part of the interview is running in the Jack Ross about three days before the trade and the two of them kind of putting the pieces together at that point that it was possible. But yeah, I tell you, I'm a huge fan of this player. I think Kevin shoveled a off, given the hand that he had, the hand that he was dealt. And by the way, I feel the same way for Yarmoukaikl ended. They each had marquee players who wanted out. And I think they made pretty, pretty outstanding trades given the situation they were in.

because I think that otherwise you're making a futures deal or a deal for quantity instead of quality. It's so hard to replace these types of players. And I think both GMs are a good job. But I think the best is yet to come with Piawigsboa. I mean, I think this guy is just scratching. He's 22 years old, scratching the surface. I think the Jets fans are going to love this guy. Couldn't agree more.

All right, my friend, we're just about at the end of this edition of two-man advantage. I've got a couple of questions here, though, and from our loyal listeners. How about from Michael Palmer? This is an interesting question. How do you think the pandemic salary cap situation will affect the Seattle expansion draft? Will teams pay Seattle, whether it's in draft picks or assets of some form, to give them some cap relief? And I think you and I have talked to a lot about, you know, how we didn't feel that GMs would be in the same position. they were in with the Vegas expansion draft and making crazy deals to protect the single player.

But maybe the cap space will force GMs into making deals they don't really want to make. Yeah, actually I wrote a piece about that really off the top of my head. But because I agree with this question, I wrote it back in like, I don't know, October or November, while return to play was still being figured out, that the frozen sour caps, suddenly gave Seattle some leverage it didn't have. Because there's no question that all the front office types that you and I had talked through the last couple of years and if there was a common theme is we're not going to be,

we're not going to overthink it this time around like we did with Vegas. And so it felt like Seattle was harder up against it. But then the finances and the cap really has shifted things a bit back, at least to some degree, where I think Seattle will have an edge on some teams. I mean, let's look at an example like, Tampa, again, is going to have to find Kaku next year because, you know, Kutrov's coming back for the playoffs and starting next year, he'll be on the regular season roster. You know, how does all the money work?

So they'll need relief again. There's no question, I think Tampa hopes that Seattle will be interested in Tyler Johnson, obviously from the state of Washington. But Ron Francis wasn't born yesterday. He probably knows that. So, you know, you may be, if you're drilling reasonable, you're working overthinking and overthinking and want to pay a price for that, but you may have to do that. Who knows? That's an example.

Agreed. And how about this? This is from D.C. At Crockett, D.C. Panthers, legit or not? That's a good question. I've been asking myself that lately. Oh, it's a tough.

I think, you know, I think at times. they feasted on the softer part of their schedule. But tell you what, showed up big against Tampa. Agreed. No series of games. And crazy thing is, it's not Popovsky and Net for most of it. It's Chris Treger. And, you know, they're playing for each other.

I mean, I'm huge and forget the numbers for a second and look at the body language. I mean, they're having fun and playing for each other. So there's something real there, but I do think there'll be some regression. But they've got a shot to make the playoffs. Oh, my. Yeah, I would be shocked if they don't settle in somewhere in that top three. And I'm with you. I think Bill Zito has done an unbelievable job.

You look at the performance of Carter Verhegey coming out of Tampa and the opportunities he's had and what he's done given those opportunities. And the guy I'm really, I'm fascinated by Patrick Hornquist, because I thought a lot of miles on that body, played a lot of hard hockey, great hockey in Pittsburgh, of course, helping them win those back-to-back cups. But he seems to have found a new gear

with the Panthers. And I think he's the kind of guy that come playoff time. Maybe we'll see our first ever battle of Florida in the playoffs. Bullets, Panthers, I'm up for that. Oh my goodness. That would be good. All right. One final one.

Agent Granada. Does Jonathan Quick finish this season with the Kings or is he traded elsewhere? And Listen, John, what if the Kings make the playoffs? It may not even, it may, kings may end up in that fourth spot in the West. But Jonathan Quick has been very good of late, and the Kings have made a real surge. Well, as I like to say, someone has to finish fourth in that division.

That's the most top heavy division we've got with, you got a Stanley Cup contender in Vegas, Stanley Cup contender in St. Louis and the Stanley Cup contender in Colorado. And then, to be fair, the rest of the jury. but LA's been a great story. They've surprised and for the right reasons. You know, I don't think Jonathan Quick gets dealt, because, hey, now they may have a shot of making it, but mostly because I think teams aren't interested in his contract,

which has two more years at a cap it at 5-8. But actually in real money, goes down the $3 million next year and $2.5 the year after that. So there is that to consider. But I don't think he moves this year. or at least not before April 12. We'll see what happens in the off season. But you know what?

Right now it's him and Cal Peterson and Nett and they've got something going. I would only say this, there may be some teams who are looking for some goaltending help and buttress the goal-attending situation. Carolina, to me, Carolina is built to go deep into the playoffs, but, you know, Peter Marzic's been out a long time. James Reimer has been terrific, but I don't know. I wouldn't be at all surprising.

And the thing with Jonathan Quick, he has no trade protection in the sense that he does not own any protection so that Rob Blake can move him if he finds the right deal. He doesn't have to okay a deal. All right, my friend, that was great. Other podcast news you should be aware of. How about this? Ian Mendez, Haley Salvean, and Keith Kichuk come to the athletic hockey show Monday at the athletic. Oh my God, Keith Kuchuk is, he's the best. So you should listen to that.

And you should check out our comments section for each podcast episode at the athletic app. And rate and subscribe to The Athletic Hockey Show on Apple. If you aren't a subscriber already, and I can't believe there are any who aren't, but anyway, go to theathletic.com slash hockey show and receive a subscription for just $3.99 per month. My friend, an interesting day, outstanding job by you. good work. All right on.