The Athletic Hockey Show - Rod Brind'amour demeaning display costs him $25,000, Jeff Gorton's Montreal Canadiens search for a GM begins and Jake Debrusk's trade request.

Episode Date: December 1, 2021

Rob, Sara and Jesse discuss the controversial fine levied by the NHL on Carolina Hurricanes Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour for his demeaning display behind the bench in Dallas on Tuesday night.The roundtable also discusses Artemi Panarin's fine for throwing his glove at Brad Marchand, and the inappropriate chirp that Marchand directed towards him. We also discuss biting people. Brendan Lemieux gets five games for chomping down on Brady Tkachuk's hand and Mario Lemieux cashed in big time with the Penguins sale to Fenway Sports Group. Plus, Julian McKenzie from the Chris Johnston Show podcast joins the roundtable to offer his two cents on the changes Geoff Molson made in Montreal this week with Jeff Gorton in, and Marc Bergevin out, and the Habs looking for a francophone General Manager and perhaps another rebuild on the horizon.In our Twitter sets the segment segment, the round table discusses Evander Kane and Matt Murray's exile to the American Hockey League, where Jake Debrusk might end up after he requests a trade out of Boston and Jack Hughes huge payday in New Jersey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's going on, everybody? Welcome to another Wednesday roundtable edition of the Athletic Hockey Show. I am Rob Pizzle from Ciney Sports. Joined, as always, by Sarah Sivian and Jesse Granger. What's going on, guys? Nothing in Keynes world. Nothing's happened at all. What about you, Jesse?

The Golden Knights haven't traded for any superstars this week, so it's been pretty quiet in Vegas. You guys both at home and not on the road. It's nice to see you a little more comfortable. a little more like, all right, let's do this. Although I should mention of people that we're getting Jesse up right and early. Like we're taping this like 730 your time. Are you, how many cups of coffee in? How many have you had?

Almost done with my second cup. So yeah. Trying to work my way through this. So that's, that second cup should kick in right about the time we get Julian McKenzie on in the second segment of the show and suddenly you're going to ask them about 15 questions in a row. But yeah, we got a lot of stuff to talk about. The Habs, obviously, cleaning houses.

This was one of the big stories of the week. We're also going to talk about trash talking. Is there aligned and did somebody by the name of Brad Marchand Cross it? We'll talk about Evander Kane. We'll talk about Mary Lemieux being a financial genius. But Sarah kind of alluded to the fact that there's nothing going on in Kane's world, except your coach getting fined $25,000. Rod Brindamore getting fined for what the league is calling inappropriate conduct.

And Sarah, I know you took a deep dive into this in your piece, and I'll say this right off the top. I really enjoyed it. And I'm going to kind of leave this to you to maybe bring us up to speed because anytime we hear about coaches, general managers, anyone getting fined for being critical, especially of officials, it's usually pretty clear. The refs suck tonight.

Okay, well, you can't do that. You're fine 25 grand. This one's about as clear as mud. And you kind of dove in there to find out what was going on. So maybe bring us up to speed as to where we're at right now. Yeah. Well, there's a lot of things going through your mind when you read that fine. First of all, is it a repeat offense because he has been fined before for crapping on the refs?

And that was more explicit. He was swearing and he was talking about the refs. And the post game a few days ago, he was not. He said the refs called the penalty correctly in the post game. He had cooled down. It was a heat of the moment thing. So you kind of rule that out. But then you're like, okay, what did he say to them?

like to warrant this, did he say something really awful? I know Rod. I don't think he'd say something awful, but I kind of tried to ask around for any of the refs that were on the ice. And I asked people that they know. And I asked the league. And the league said they didn't even file a complaint. Like that has been confirmed to me.

So then I'm like, okay, who filed a complaint? And I guess it was Colin Campbell. Like it was him watching the game on TV. And he saw this one part. of the game where Rod is kind of yelling. It's the third period. And they, the first penalty on Seth Jarvis was definitely a penalty. And the second penalty on Ajo was two.

But they had been kind of letting the guys play all game. And then it's like a five on three. And of course, the cap score. So I get why a coach would be mad. But that's not worthy of a fine. I didn't think until the league told me that there was a memo released on October 18th that said they're really watching on the bench. Let's pull up the phone.

Here, here, I've got it here. I've got it here. Let me just read the part that's really, you know, apropos of what we're talking about here. Quote, all general managers and coaches are hereby put on notice that effective immediately, all such public comments and demeaning displays that are critical of officiating video replay and supplemental discipline specifically and more generally to the league and the game will result in an automatic fine of not less

than $25,000. And in my notes here, I highlighted the two words, demeaning display. Because to me, at least that's at the heart of this whole thing, because I was with you, Sarah. I saw the clip that got him the fine. I said, okay, well, I've watched a million hockey games in my life. And I've seen that more than a million times. So he clearly, I thought, what did he say? He said something really, really bad to the officials.

And he didn't. So, Jesse, let me get you involved here because I don't. we're talking with is like, isn't demeaning display such a subjective thing? Aren't we opening up a huge can of worms here by saying, hey, you looked really angry, 25K. Right. Yeah. I think these things are so much easier when you're talking about stuff said in the post-game

press conference. Like, that's usually what gets them find. And that's what we have. We've got every word on record. It's very easy to point to this is the sentence that cost him 25,000. And like, I agree with you. On the bench, it's going to be really. really, really hard too, because we're not going to have the audio.

We're not going to know what they said. And like, for us to even argue this is almost impossible without knowing what Rod Brindamor said. We assume it wasn't over the line. Campbell didn't even know. He was watching it on TV. And then I was like, did you see La Vialette? Because I saw him do the same thing a few times in the game that wasn't on TV.

And they were like, we were watching the game. Yeah, I completely agree. And that brings up with something else, too. Like, are we literally talking about who gets caught on TV doing things? If the camera just happened to be showing Aho in the penalty box at that point, is Rod Brindamor not getting fine. I mean, this seems like we have so, I feel like the NHL has got so many levels of things that could be interpreted so many different ways. I mean, we've been complaining about goalie interference for years now, but I feel like this is the new goalie interference. What, yeah, if I'm watching a game now, are you watching a coach get angry?

And every time going, is he going to get fine, 25? I just don't get it. And Sarah, and maybe when you were doing your research and you're diving into this, you found. out like, why was this memo? It seems weird that December 1st we're finding out about this memo. Yeah, I mean, it was just sent to GMs and I feel like it was kind of like a write-off, maybe like, okay, like, you know, one of those memos where it's just like, all right, I guess I'll take that into consideration. But you wonder what prompted that, right? Like, who did what on October 17th or October 16th to maybe make that a thing? But maybe they should have got fined. I don't know.

It's so subjective. That's my problem with it. And it's very, like communist. I don't know. Like, you cannot speak ill about anybody. Like, I think you should be able, I feel like it's one thing if the refs file a complaint. But then I was talking to a former NHL ref too. And he told me that they all like Brindamore. Brindamore respects the refs. I think there's, I mean, not to be like conspiracy theory, but Brindamore talks a lot about what he would do if he was managing the league. And he says he wants to have like one ref in the penalty box, one ref up here. And he always says that. And he's like, we're not going to do that for 20. years. So I think things like that that he said, it's more critical of the league than it is the

officials. And the league might be getting annoyed with that. The one thing, the memo stood out to me when I was reading the story. And it kind of to like bring it back to what I've seen this season, it, I immediately almost felt like, oh, like this makes sense. Because so Pete DeBore is very critical of officials, not just in the game. I've seen him thrown out of two different games at T-Mobile. That was when he was coaching the sharks. But also in the postgame press conference, like if Pete DeBoer thinks it was a bad call, he's going to tell you. And this season, I didn't like put these pieces together until I read your memo.

But there was one point where we asked Pete about a call. It was like earlier in the season. And he goes, yeah, so I just had this conversation with the ref. And then he ended it with like, and I said that as respectful as I possibly could and just like smiled at us. And then we laughed. And then last game. So the Golden Knights have drawn the fewest penalties in the NHL, and it's not even close. Like, no one has drawn anywhere close to as few as they have.

And we asked Pete about it, and he blamed his players. He was like, we aren't attacking holes in the offensive zone. We have too much possession to not be drawing these penalties. It's on us. We have to force the other teams to hook us and trip us. We need to drive to the net, blah, blah, blah. And like, everyone in the room kind of looked around like, whoa, like, I don't know if I've ever seen a coach, not blame the official at all and just put it all on his team. So after reading that memo that you had in that story, I was like, oh, so this does make sense.

So maybe maybe that memo was distributed to the GMs and the GMs went to their coaches and made a point of stop criticizing the officials. Okay, but you got to be, you got to be more clear on what demeaning display is. I agree. I'm sorry. That doesn't, like I said, what is it? One is in a matter of just who gets caught on TV, which I guess who, believe it or not, like a TV director is now in charge of who's going to get fine because he just happens to. Because look, let's be honest, I'm in the TV business. when you see a coach losing his mind,

the director literally says, camera two, take camera two, because you want to see that. Two, what does that encompass? I mean, is resting bitch face?

Yeah. Is that now? Is it just Rod being jacked and scary? Like, but we don't even know, like, okay, look,

Rod Brindmore, it's clear who he's angry at in that clip. But I've seen coaches stomping around and throwing things because they're mad at their players, because they're mad at the situation.

They're mad at anything. So now we're going to determine who they're mad at by what we see on TV. It also reminds me of a game a few games ago, maybe a few months ago, where Rod was screaming and the reps were like, whoa, whoa, whoa. And he's like, I'm not fucking screaming at you. I'm screaming at them and pointed to his players. I'm like, okay, well, that happens. As funny as it is, that's a legit concern.

I mean, this is, and look, right now it's a fine. But if the lead keeps going escalates to a suspension or something, I don't. know. And like you said in your piece, Sarah, like there really isn't a definition the way there is with players for a repeat offender. So if he does that in the Kane's next game, what then? Is it just keep going up and a double, I believe, what the memo said. But yeah, this one really kind of got to me because I was watching it going, yeah, that happens each and every game. And now we're finding people for getting angry. I've never known at every level of hockey I've played or watched. I've never known a happy coach.

They're always... A good happy coach, right? They're always angry at something. So it looks like a lot of coaches will be lighter in the wallet. I can tell you one breaking news. They're going to appeal it. So maybe this won't set a precedent, but we will see. And it's just...

One closing thing, it's just a shame. Rod Brindemore, in a few years, I've known him. I've really loved and appreciated the way that he talks with us and he gives his honest opinion. And he was really sad in the post game. He said, I used to love talking to you guys about things like this. And now I feel like I can't. So thanks, NHL.

We're stifling people. That's the whole, you know, and I can wrap my head around. Guys, let's be honest. We know what running a business is like. You can't have a coach every day going to the microphone saying, our refs suck tonight. You just can't do it. It's just bad for business.

But I think we're getting to a point, I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it communism, as Sarah just said. Yeah, a little dramatic. A little dramatic. But yeah, but we're getting to a point where like, come on, we need personalities. Our next topic kind of also deals with talking. The clip that went crazy on the internet are Temi Panarin throwing a glove at Brad Marchand. At first, to me, at least, I laughed, especially because anytime something happens to

Marchand, I think a lot of people laugh and a lot of people go, well, you know, karma's a bitch. But everyone wanted to know what was said. And right after the game, nobody was talking. and then it came out. I'm going to read Marcian's quote right now. Quote, I said that no one in Russia likes him. So if that is now what's setting guys over the edge, this is the softest league in the world, end quote.

I want to remind everybody that Artemian Panarin had to take a leave of absence from the team because he was fearful of his family getting, family being in danger, we'll say, in Russia because he was backing a political figure that was going against Vladimir Putin. So my question. is this guys, and I'll start with you, Jesse.

Is there a line in trash talking and did Marchand cross it? I mean, yeah, there has to be a line. Like, there are certain things you can't say. If Brad Marchand said what exactly what he told us, I don't think he crossed it. I can see the connection you're making. And if he made it more specific, mentioned his family, did something like that, then I could see, okay, yeah, you're crossing a line. You're getting into a side of things that we probably shouldn't be.

talking about on the hockey rink. If all he said was nobody in Russia likes you, that can't be crossing the line. I've heard a million worst chirps in every beer league game I've ever played. These guys aren't even good at chirps. So it's like, like, I feel like if, but the chances Brad Marchand is telling us exactly word for word what he said, probably not great. I think even if he said that, it's crossing the line because Panarin had to literally like go into hiding. I, because of this, I feel like that is a sensitive subject and I don't like the way. I know Marchand, like, not very well, but I covered the Bruins for a while. And I think he's a way better person than people give him credit for. I've seen him around the rink just doing these

charity things constantly behind the scenes and he doesn't really talk about it. And then I know he kind of yelled at some guy on Twitter for using the F slur and I appreciated that. And I, I, I don't like what he said here. I feel like there's so. many more creative chirps you can do than this to begin with. And you're just going for the low blow. And I feel like you don't mess with, I thought it was so brave of Panarin to speak out against Putin. And I think it's just not that it's insensitive. I hated his response to where he said, it's a soft league now. Like just show some awareness for what you said and the implications of it, you know? He doubled down. Yeah. That's what's interesting is. And you, you imagine.

I mentioned beer leagues, Jesse, because I play in beer leagues too. And, and yeah, sometimes even in a beer league, I'm an old man who's going nowhere in hockey. And I say things. And in the dressing room after, I'm like, oh, why get like, you know, what are you doing here? Like, this is beer league. But that's kind of my point. Yeah. But that's the whole thing is if Marchion had said, I said it.

And I probably shouldn't have. I think I would say I'd give him a little more the benefit of the doubt. He's doubling down. I was just a soft league. I hate when people say that. I agree with you. But I also like I totally see what you guys are saying. Like I'm not like saying that this is like perfectly fine.

But I'm just saying there are much worse things said on on a hockey rink. Oh yeah. You mentioned like it's a low blow. Like yeah, it absolutely is. But so is every chirp said on the ice. Like this like that's the whole point of it. Like they're trying to get under each other's skin. That's it.

And I think that's the point is the best pests in the world will get under your skin and affect your game. I remember reading Theo Fleury's book and, you know, There were times where he got chirped for his alcoholism, you know, when he was coming back after. And to me, like, it completely ruined him for that game. And obviously, that's over the line. But I understand that winning, like, this isn't winning beer league games again, going back to that. This is winning NHL games. And if you're getting their best player off the game, I'm not saying it's right.

I'm just saying, I understand that it happens. I'm a guy who loves chirps. I love going on YouTube seeing the chirp compilations and the creative ones. And I love when it's about them as a hockey player. Like I love hearing how the hell are you in this league. I love here. Drew Dowdy, all he said once was, you're so bad at hockey.

And I laughed for half an hour because that's hilarious. But yeah, look, I'm not saying that Brad Marchand should face anything for this. I think I'm in between. Like, I just, it stinks to me. That one stung a little bit. Yeah, it's tough. Sean Avery is my favorite player of all time. So I feel like I'm being hypocritier.

Oh, stop. Really? Stop it. One of them, because I love the chirps, but I don't know. Sloppy seconds? Do you love a sloppy seconds? Pan Amaran getting fine for throwing the glove is equally ridiculous. Like, that's insane.

Like, come on. Just like I'm saying, come on, like let this guy chirp. Also, let this guy throw the glove in his face. Like, he deserved that glove throwing his face for that. And I think it's hockey. They're playing a violent sport. You know what's not hockey? Biting people.

Speaking of Brad Marsh's name. Yeah, Brendan Lemieux bites Brady Kachuk and Brady Kachuk right away. The best part, though, was Brady Kachuk right away. If you see it, he's holding up his hand. He bit me, he bit me. I'm terrible at reading lips, but that one was easy. And then he's in the penalty box. And the ref comes over, and he lifts up his wrong hand.

I don't know if you guys noticed that heel. He's like, look, he bit. Oh, sorry, it was on this hand. He bit me, he bit me, right? Clearly, even though it wasn't right. It wasn't, he didn't draw blood or anything. but he got a five-game suspension. What do you guys think?

Right, not enough, right on the money, or should have been more? Sarah? You're biting somebody during a pandemic. I think it should have been more. I feel like it's so... I don't even think of the pandemic angle. It's gross. It's disgusting.

It's unsanitary. It's not even part of the game. It has no place. And Lemieux is a repeat offender, right? Or is he not? If he's not, then maybe I see... what they're doing here. You want to go back to his dad and everything?

Yeah, maybe. He was born into a repeat offender. Literally. That's the one right there, Jesse. Live of the pod. Born a repeat offender. Yeah. I love what Brady Kachuk said, though.

What do you think, Jesse? Yeah, I think five games is about right. I think if, like, these biting situations, like, you have to be able to prove that he bid him. Like, I remember in Vegas a couple years ago, P.K. Suban accused Pierre-E. Edward Belmar of biting his finger. And Belmar said, oh, he, he, like, stuck his whole glove in my mouth in the scrum and, like, pulled up on it. And that's what he felt. My teeth. Blah, blah, blah, and, like, everyone, a fan in Vegas bought a billboard actually here in Vegas and put P.K. Subban up on it

and said, he bit my finger and it hurt. But anyways, I, I totally agree with Sarah that if he, like, if you have video evidence or if he admitted it or whatever, like, if you have proof, that the guy bit someone, five games absolutely like minimum because you can't be biting people in hockey or anywhere. It's not a hockey play. It's not a hockey play. I mean, it's not even in the same stratosphere as a hockey play. Like a hit from behind where you can almost argue, you know, hey, he did this.

And that's the other thing. I saw, you know, everybody tweeting that Brennan Liu is going to have an in-person hearing. And I remember thinking, what is said in an in-person hearing in which it's a biting incident? Like, what's, did you bite him? Like, that's, that's it. meeting over. Yes, meeting over. Like that's it. It's not as if all the other, you know, suspensions, you hear, you could just hear their explanation. Well, I was going in. It was too fast. He turned at the last minute. That's why I got him in the, you know, there's a million ways you can try to spin this. Did you bite him? Yes. See you later. Zoom call over. Anyways, five games. For me personally, I'm happy with five games. If it was any more, I would have been fine with it too. Yeah. I would have had no problem if you said seven, eight, nine games because as you guys have said, over. and over again. Biting. All right, one more thing before we go. This story's been out for a bit. The Fenway Sports Group was looking to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins. They did just that.

It became official. And we've kind of analyzed this thing to death. So I do want to bring up one angle that involves Mary-Lumew. And I'm going to go through the 10 steps that Mary O'Mew went through just basically to become super, super-rich. 1998, the Penguins, they file for bankruptcy. Everyone's saying they're done, they're going to be moving. And Merrill Lemieux still owed $32.5 million by the penguins. And if you're filed for bankruptcy, you don't have $32.5 million. So he said, give me $20 million of that in team equity. Then he went out, tried to find some investors to buy the team.

Not only to buy the team, he had to find investors who were willing to keep the team in Pittsburgh. Ron Burkle put in $20 million. They buy the team. For $107 million. And I should mention the year before it was evaluated, $100,000. $132 million. So they got a deal. Over the years, Mario's stake goes from 25% to 40%. By 2005, they are completely debt free and they didn't make any deals with that debt. They paid every

dollar back that they owed. Fenway Sports Group comes out, buys the team for approximately $900 million. And Mario Lemieux turns $20 million into $360 million. So he's one of the all-time greatest hockey players and financial analysts I've ever seen. But just, just crazy that he turned a $20 million. And let's face it, huge risk. He took 20 minutes. He bought a ticket to the Titanic and ended up cashing out huge. What did you guys think of this? Yeah, incredible. I, so like, I don't know if he does like, okay, so Pittsburgh is obviously a fantastic hockey market. Like when I, I'm always looking at these emails with the TV ratings and kind of one of the ways I judge hockey markets is how do they watch other games that aren't there? So like when the Stanley Cup

finals on and their team isn't in it and like Pittsburgh and Buffalo are far and away the two best in the U.S. Obviously nothing compared to the major cities in Canada, but Pittsburgh and Buffalo are always the two best. Vegas has actually been up there and that's kind of why I've been paying attention to it. But Pittsburgh's a phenomenal hockey market. I don't know if he deserves credit for seeing that, like having the foresight to know that like this hockey market is going to be great. We just have to do it Right. Or if it was just, I played for the penguins, I want to be part. Like, no what I mean? Like, maybe it was just a coincidence. But incredible job by him to realize that there was, there is a lot of money to be made in Pittsburgh on hockey, even though it didn't seem like it at the time. Yeah, good for him. Agree with you. Don't really have many takes on this, to be honest.

Pittsburgh, it's a great, it's a great hockey market. I remember once I was covering the draft in Pittsburgh and I was in the hockey law. I was in the hotel lobby, excuse me. And I got a phone call from our station. They said, oh, we want you to do a hit, but we want to call on a landline. So give us the hotel number. And I remember going to the receptionist. I said, oh, what's your number here? And she did the area code. And they went, blah, blah, bah, 66. And I went, really? And she's like, oh, yeah, 60. Like, they just love it so, so much. Now, does this all happen if they don't draft some guy who wears number 87 and Malkin and Flurry and win those Stanley Cups? Are they somewhere else right now? Who the hell? knows, but a $20 million investment into a team that's bankrupt, I think it's awesome that he

ended up cashing out. And I think it's awesome that he's still part of this group, too. I think a Pittsburgh penguin with a Pittsburgh penguin's franchise without Mario Lemieux just isn't a Pittsburgh Penguins franchise. But he has saved this franchise twice. He saved it. They were there on the verge of bankruptcy when he was drafted. They were on the verge of bankruptcy afterwards. And here he is cashing in. Okay, after the break, we'll talk about the big news from the week, Montreal Canadians, not surprising news, I should mention. Cleaning House, Julian McKenzie, is going to be joining us, NHL editor at the athletic co-host of the Chris Johnson Show, and they talked a lot about this on their pod.

So we'll break it down from every angle right after the break. Big news this week, the Montreal Canadians who were off to their worst start in franchise history and guys breaking news, the Montreal Canadians have been around for a really, really long time. cleaning house. We kind of expected some moves could possibly happen, and it all came down. And Julian McKenzie, NHL editor at The Athletic and Co-H-H-H-H-H-O-Sethnic and Co-So the Chris Johnson Show, joining us now to talk about it. How are you, Julian?

Doing all right. I think if you calculate all of our respective ages, we might be a little bit younger than the Canadian's existence. I'm willing to bet that. Yeah, I mean, they've basically been around since the day before forever. So when you start hearing things, anytime it's especially it's like an original 16, even in history. You're like, oh, I mean, you know, the, the NHL sends that email every morning all these

crazy stats. And sometimes you'll see it and they're like, since 2015. I'm like, I don't care about stats like that. Like, but Habs history is huge. And unless you're living under a rock, you know it. GM Mark Bergevin fired. Assistant GM Trevor Simmons fired. Something I've never really seen before.

Paul Wilson, who is the vice president of affairs and communications. That's usually not thrown onto that, that press release, but fired. We knew Scott Mellon B was gone because you resigned the day before, and Jeff Gorton is now the executive vice president of hockey operations. We'll dive into this, Julian, but what was your initial reaction when you saw the news? So first over the weekend, when reports were flying that Jeff Gorton was going to be part of the Canadian's organization, I'm not going to lie to you. I was trying to watch the Canadian's Penguins game, obviously just watching Canadian's games just for my job.

and it was very hard for me to focus and watch the game, it's kind of at that point, like whatever was going on in the regular season to that point, we know the Canadians have been as bad as they've been. Like, none of that really mattered anymore. You know, like, this is a team that, everyone said it before, this is a team that was in the Stanley Cup final,

how many months ago. Let's think about this, right? This is all in the same calendar year. Like in January and 2021, like they were just coming off an off season where they signed all these different free agents and their forward depth looked as deep as it was. Mark Bergevin, I still believe this.

He probably realized the urgency that was there to build a team that could somehow compete, and it worked. They got to the Stanley Cup final. And then all the way towards the near end of November, it ends in him with a team off to its worst start in franchise history, his contract situation not being resolved, and then now he's out of a job. So it was just kind of like, wow, okay, this new era thing is actually going to happen. He's out of a job now. I mean, I'm sure he'll find himself a new position. Trevor Timmons being let go of his position. I mean, that also isn't a shock to me. I mean, this is a guy who, yes, he has made quite a few great draft picks throughout his tenure. A lot of people like to go to the 2007 draft draft. But the Canaan's track record overall when it comes to draft picks, not that sterling. And unfortunately for Trevor Timmons, his, the lasting image will be of him being asked by Mark Antoine Godin about why the team selected Logan,

you and like what, 30 something seconds of silence on that answer? I think there are a lot of people who will always point to that video and be like, well, what were you thinking? Paul Wilson, I will say, the communications guy, I was very surprised about the fact that one, that was happening, two, that that was mentioned. And I'm still trying to scratch my head as to why that was the case. That being said, in terms of just talking to other reporters about it, they seem to think that it's a situation where because of how Paul Wilson handled stuff like the Logan-Myew affair, for example. I don't know if you guys realize this, but when Jeff Moulson spoke out about it after the fact the team owner, the media members on the call were pretty much handpicked by Jeff Moulson.

And one guy who probably has a say in whether or not the media should be handpicked, probably Paul Wilson, or probably a communications guy. The athletic was in the call, but there were so many other local outlets in Montreal who were not represented, who were not able to ask him a question. in the fallout of the Logan Mayu ordeal. So I think it's a question of just kind of cleaning slate of that old era of Mark Bergevin. I know Scott Mellonby resigned as well.

It looked as if he was recommended by Bergen-Ven to be the GM candidate next, but it looked as if Jeff Moulson was just like, you know what, let's just start fresh. Let's just get some other new blood in here. It remains to be seen what that new blood is going to look like. There's no shortage of candidates who could be in there. But I think this was just a situation where the team said, you know what?

Enough is enough. We've run its due course with the guys who are there. let's move on to someone else who can do the job. Habs fans love to react. You're right in the heart of it there. What's the feeling like right now? What do the covers of the newspaper look like? Well, actually, one newspaper in Montreal, the Journal de Marielle, actually, they made a kind of, I don't know if it's like a snide comment, maybe a snide comment.

But they alluded to the fact that Jeff Gordon, the new vice president of hockey operations, the executive vice president of hockey operations. Yes, in the moment right now he is effectively assuming GM duties until they find a new GM. But there seems to be this thinking that considering his experience, considering his track record, and considering the position that he's in, he's essentially going to be the de facto GM of this team. And I think for so many other markets, that's not something you really think about that much. But in a market like Montreal, where there is this emphasis on having a bilingual GM, a lot of people who may be sticklers for that may see. see the Jeff Gordon hiring as essentially a way to bypass all of that.

And also the GM candidate who they bring in is very likely they're not going to bring in somebody who's used to having total control or someone who has a wealth of experience and might not necessarily want to be ruled over by an executive vice president. But that's also why you're hearing names like Daniel Breyer being mentioned, who is running an ECHL team and would probably welcome the idea of being promoted to an HL team as their first at a job like the Montreal Canadians is their first NHL job, that would be amazing. And they don't have to worry too

much about, you know, seeming too inexperienced because they could always lean on a Jeff Gordon. There's also guys like Mattiard Darch, who are working at the Tampa Bay Lightning. If you can't get Julian Breezeball, you might as well get the guy next to him, right? As the director of player personnel, funny enough, Mark

Bergervan was also Director of Player Personnel before he became AGM and before he joined the Montreal Canadiens. That's another name that's been thrown out there for this GM job. But also, again, a guy not with too much GM, not with any GM experience. So I think a lot of fans right now, just to kind of put a bow on this, not surprised at the fact that all these firings happen the way that they did. A lot of people are seeing Jeff Gordon probably as the de facto GM, even if they do hire a new guy. But a lot of people are speculating on who it could be.

And I've seen Patrick Waugh's name come up quite a bit. And I'm not taking that seriously. I'm sorry, I'm not. I don't know if you guys saw this, but yesterday he spoke to the media in Quebec City and said, well, hey, Why can't the Canadians take a chance on me to do this? He doesn't think the challenge of rebuilding the Canadians is that big of an ordeal. Like, this is a guy, not to make this about Patrick Gua, but this is a guy who, it seemed as if the talk around him is that,

if he's the guy running things, he's going to be the guy running things completely. He did that with the Quebec Rompare and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. I mean, that's the team he's with right now. And we don't know how he would play well with a Jeff Gordon, even though he did say he met him once and he seemed to like him. So I don't know. She's a shoe in. Yeah, absolutely.

So, yeah, a lot of people at Montreal right now are just trying to figure out who the next guy or woman is going to be because it is like one wildcard that should be mentioned in all this is Emily Castangay. There seems to be some chatter about her potentially being interviewed for this job or even just being in consideration. For those who don't know, she is the agent for Alexi Lafranier, who went number one overall during the 2020 NHL draft. and the Canadians did mention Jeff Moulson did mention in the press conference on earlier this week that they were looking to add more diversity and opinions and thinking in their

front office, what better way to do that than to hire the first female NHLGM in league history, right? So I think someone like Emily Castanay will definitely get some consideration or at least a lot of talk will start to come around her.

But her, Daniel Breyer, Matzier, March, Martin Jr. and Anaheim, those are some of the names you're probably going to hear a lot for this job. She deserves to be in the conversation 100%. Yeah, I agree. Absolutely. Julian, I'd like to ask you, do you think the Habs and Moulson deserve credit for, because I think on the surface, you look at this and you're like,

it's easy to say, they just went to the Stanley Cup final and you're going to fire the GM. Are you kidding me? But like, hockey's a weird sport and weird things happen and weird results happen that maybe aren't totally indicative of like how good the teams are. And if you just take out that playoff run, if like, if you just, cut that out and it doesn't exist. And you look at last regular season, which was not all that good, they barely got into the playoffs. And then the start this season, I think, do they deserve credit for overlooking that run that appears to be a fluke now?

Do you think they deserve credit for looking at the big picture and making this move? Well, here's the thing. If the Canadians went off to a better start this year, they probably keep Mark Bergevet. And they don't think about the fact that, yeah, it was a bit of a fluke the way they ran through that run. They deserve to make it to the Stanley and final ad bat. but a lot of circumstances worked out for them to get to that point. I'll even go one step further and be like, one, I'm sure none of us would love to live in a pandemic world right now. You know what I'm saying?

Two, if it weren't for the pandemic, the Montreal Canadiens don't go to the playoff bubble or whatever that is. And they are probably in the draft lottery for a player like Alexei Lough for a year. Or hey, maybe they end up with a more sight or who knows. If it weren't for the pandemic, we look at the Montreal Canadiens in a completely different light, as a team that, one, had two eight-game winless streaks in the same season before the pandemic even was a thing. And two, just a team that hasn't been able to make the playoffs. This management staff that was let go over the weekend, they might have been let go a lot sooner than that. And even at that, if they had lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs this past postseason,

Jeff Wilson definitely probably, well, not definitely, but it seemed as if he would have likely made a change around that. I don't know about giving them credit for being able to overlook all that because I think the fact that it took the team to go off to their worst start in franchise history for them to realize, hey, you know what? We really need to clean slate here because if this team, they don't even necessarily need to be in a playoff spot. If this team was in the middle of the pack, I still think Mark Bershby still has his job today. Julian, I'm going to ask you a really weird question. I'm all for weird questions. If science allowed us to do this, take the 10 greatest hockey minds, the 10, the 10th, 10 greatest GMs in NHL history mix up their DNA and create a super agent, the greatest hockey

mind that ever existed. But they just didn't have enough room in there to make him be able to speak French. And he applied for this job. Does he even get in the door? That's a really interesting question. And I guess this kind of goes into a discussion about why it's such a big deal to have someone be bilingual. And not to interrupt you, but I think. think a lot of people outside of Quebec and outside of Canada and outside of America,

they just, they don't get it. And maybe because you're in there, you can kind of fill us in here because to other people, they look at it as a GM's main job is to win hockey games, not necessarily communicate with the public. And they're at a loss when they hear Jeff Moulson say, yes,

they need to be French speaking or bilingual or Francophone or whatever you want to use. but maybe give us a reasoning behind this that people are missing. Well, the GM job in Montreal for the Montreal Canaanians is a front-facing job. And while the GM won't necessarily have to speak at every waking moment, a GM for the Montreal Canaanians is going to have to speak. And in Quebec, the population is mainly French speaking. There are Anglophones, but especially in Montreal, there are also a lot of aliphones as well, who don't speak French or English, but the majority population is French.

The media members, when I sit in the press conference room or I'm in scrums with people, the majority of the people I am around speak in French. They're French speakers. They know how to speak English and they know how to ask questions in English to certain players and other people who don't speak the language of French. But for the most part, we are in a French province. I understand that a lot of people see it and they think it's just like a weird thing that's like, well, why is there this like care? Why do we have to care so much about a bilingual candidate? it. But I think, one, I think it should really just be an asset and it shouldn't necessarily be a requirement. But I also kind of understand that because of what the Montreal Canadiens mean to the province of Quebec, what they're place in Quebec culture and how the majority of fans, again, are fans, media, all that. They're French speaking. It would be cool. It's kind of beneficial for them to have someone in the front facing position of GM be able to communicate in French.

And again, to bring it back to Jeff Gordon, that's why some people, like, you're told him to Maria Allen and other people around the city, probably see Jeff Gordon in the experience that he asked. And they think, oh, well, that's just a very convenient way to kind of get around it. And then you hire some lesser inexperienced person in the GM position. Fine, they can handle most of the press availabilities. But we all know who the real GM is here. So, I mean, Jeff Bolson, I think that's a way for him to kind of get around that. But I think when it comes to language with regards to Quebec, like a lot of the times,

time. It's not as if like when Mark Bergerman was speaking, the NHL network was blasting that 12 North America. There's a good chance that when he was speaking, it's really going out to most of Quebec. And for a lot of Quebec, there's a lot of French speakers here. So I think it's just to kind of be accommodating to that. One other thing I'll just add here too, I think it'd be really cool. If any other prospect of Canada, you mentioned, you mentioned this off the top, Rob, just this amazing hockey mind. If they were able to be this amazing hockey mind and they were able to be so smart. I don't see any reason why they can't download Duolingo and learn some French, right? Didn't Randy Conyworth try to do that? Well, I mean, that didn't really work out that well.

But also, he was in a really unique position where he was just brought in the, brought in the intern and they just couldn't find anyone else. I think it would be cool if people who were generally interested in the Montreal Canadian job, they tried their hand at learning French. How come people don't bring that up whenever a vacancy is brought up for the Montreal Canaanians? It's always, oh, well, they have to just find a French person. If the Montreal-Aange job is as hollowed and as amazing as it is, it's seen as the most storied franchise in the National Hockey League, and you could say, hey, you want to work for this job, what's wrong with just saying, hey, you know what?

Let me brush up on my French and be in a position where, hey, maybe I might not need to lean on an AGM to, like, handle all these press stuff. Not that they'd ever do that. They'd want someone in the GM role to do it. But, like, I think it'd be pretty cool to learn the language. We see it in soccer all the time. A guy like Pep Cardiola going from Spain to work at Manchester City. I don't know how much English he knew before he joined Manchester City, but he knows English.

And I understand English is what it is. But you have to learn a language. Why can't other people do that? I think that's another part of the argument we need to discuss. If I know anything about that duo. Sorry. No, I was just going to say, you didn't answer my question. Does the guy, the genius, the greatest hockey mind ever, does he get that interview?

I think he's got it. I think he's got it. I think he... Do it. Say it, Julian. Say it. I don't know if he does. If he doesn't know French or he doesn't have a willingness to know French, I don't

know if he gets that job, which I understand a lot of people might just see it's like, well, that's not the point. But also, like, if it's a really good mind, it really shouldn't... Again, to my ultimate point, it should be an asset, not a requirement here. But I also think it would be cool if that guy realized, hey, the Montreal Canadians mean as much as they do to the population there. Why not try to learn the language there? And you don't even necessarily have to be like perfect in the way that you speak French.

Just be able to communicate a guy like Paul Byron who was like a like an Ontario native. He speaks French and his French is not perfect. But he tried him. People liked him for it. So I don't see any problem with that. Okay, Sarah. Now you can ask your question. It's like a joke that's now expired.

I said if I know anything about the duolingo owl, you're going to learn some French. Am I right? Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, I don't need to because I know how to speak French, but I'm German and I tried German on Duolingo. It's actually pretty cool. I think Max Patchretti tried to learn French when he was up there. And they love him in Montreal, right? They love Max Patchretti.

That's nice. Max Patcheretti, if you listen to TSN 690 right now, I was telling this to Jesse, if you listen to TSN 690, the local sports radio station there, you can still hear an ad for, I think, a housing development company where you hear Max Patscheretti. come in at the end? Like that, yeah, someone in Montreal still very much loves Max Petcheride enough

to have his ad being blasted throughout the city. No one in Montreal will live there. Yeah, no. That's an interesting point though, Julie, because I was under the impression that learning French is not what they're looking for.

It's not a matter of the community. And correct me if I'm wrong. So if someone came in there for this job and couldn't speak a word of French. but tried and tried and tried. You're saying they would be, that would be an acceptable compromise, let's call it? I'm not saying that, well, I mean, I think the team and Jeff Bolson probably want like a perfectly bilingual candidate.

I'm just saying that if people realize that's what the can, that's what the qualifications are. If I was in a position where I didn't know a lot of French, but I really wanted this job, I would, I think it would be cool to see someone try the effort, be like, hey, you know what? Like, I know how to do this job and I realize the population that's here, the people that you're going to be speaking to are in French, it'd be cool for me to realize, hey, maybe I should learn the language as well. My ultimate point is that. Like, we make such a big deal about the fact that, oh, well, the Montreal Canadians have the job that they have and they wouldn't hire the best talking mind. But also people need to consider the market and people need to consider the people who are there as well and realize, hey, there's a complete, there's a different understanding.

not different understanding, but like there's a reason why there's an emphasis on the bilingual nature of this job. But again, it really should be seen more as a asset and not as a ultimate requirement that needs to be this point of contention. If you just discuss language period in Quebec, it turns into an entire contentious nature debate. Like, Rob, you might know what I'm talking about because you're Canadian, but like you've definitely seen like news pieces go around about how Quebec dealing with language, the

Balsu high thing. Like language in Quebec is just such a, it's a hot button issue. So anytime that gets brought up, it becomes a wildfire. And that's why I brought it up because I have a lot of friends like Jesse and Sarah in the United States that. You have friends? Oh, wow. Can we mute her mic there, Jeff?

Thank you very much. Who don't get it and they text me and they say, I don't get it. And that's why I wanted to kind of bring that up. And Sarah's now left the podcast. Thank you very much, Sarah for never being on the podcast. again. One more thing before we go and we'll get everybody's opinion on this, guys. It's usually not this long

before we say the word COVID, but the outbreaks continue. The cases keep rising. Bruce Cassidy now on COVID protocol. We've seen the Islanders have games postponed. We've seen the Sends have games postponed. The NHL sent out a memo to all 32 teams effectively

saying no holiday parties, no public engagements, no events whatsoever. Can we expect more of this guys? And I'll ask the same question. I feel like I've asked three podcasts in a row. If you were gambling people, would you say NHLers are or are not heading to Beijing? Let's go around the horn.

We'll start with you, Jesse. Every day, it seems less and less likely, right? I would say at this point, I would probably guess no. I was just talking to Mark Stone about this. He's a guy who is almost guaranteed to be on Team Canada if they go. And he just came back from an injury. And I don't know if this is just Mark Stone trying to be the captain or if this is, how he actually feels, but he basically said, my focus is on the NHL right now and trying to help the

golden nights. And I don't know if that's a, he's hearing, it's less likely they're going. And he's just trying to like, prepare, like mentally prepare himself for, hey, this is good. It helps me win this Stanley Cup. That's my ultimate goal. Because I think no one would argue like if, if the Olympics get canceled, it helps the players help their teams here. Right. Like there's less likely chance they're going to get hurt. They're going to get worn out. The, the, the, the flying halfway across, COVID, having to fly halfway across the world in the middle of of the season. I think there are a lot of things that it can be a detriment to your goal to win a Stanley Cup. And Mark Stone basically said that much, like saying it's an honor to play for Team Canada.

I've done it at the under 20, the under 18 world junior level. I've done it at in world championships, but the Olympics are the ultimate stage. And I would love to represent my country. But at the same time, right now, I'm focused on trying to help the Golden Knights win a Stanley Cup. So to me, the vibe in the room was it seems like the tide is turning on this. What do you guys think? I guess we'll, I guess we'll let Sarah talk. I think I'm unmuted. I, yeah, I feel like it's something everybody's kind of been reluctantly like, okay, it'll happen, it'll happen.

But, I mean, of course, we have been very pessimistic on this podcast saying it won't happen. And now there's serious COVID issues all around the league and it seems to be getting worse. And it's like, I don't see how this will just magically get better. And there's so many things that need to be set up weeks in advance. And then there's so many things that need to happen at the Olympics. It seems like it's going to be really hard to make this happen. Is it worth it?

I hate to say that because it's worth it to a guy wanting to represent Canada or USA or Finland or whatever it might be. Of course, it's worth it to them no matter what. But when you think about the league, the safety and the off chance, you do all this work to make something happen and then it doesn't happen, I don't know. Like, if I was a player and I had the opportunity to play in Beijing and I saw all the different rules that were put in place while I'm there, right? I don't know if you guys saw that like New York Times story from like a couple months ago where they were trying to describe what the situation would be like where you're having players doing media availability behind like plastic sheets. Like, and if you get COVID there, like, what's going to happen? If you test positive for COVID out at the Olympics, like, what is going to happen to you and what's going to happen to your season? Like, there's too many questions about this.

And I realize, like, for, like, I was probably on the side that thought, okay, we're probably going to have the Olympic Games, considering where COVID is at. But that was like a couple months ago. And COVID was in a completely different place. We didn't know about all these different variants. We didn't know about the Omicron or Omnichron variant that's kind of. Omicron, whatever it's called. Yeah. I'm not really sure.

but like it's a variant that is out there now. And yeah, I have much and I have way more doubt about the Olympics being a thing for NHL players more than I've ever had at any point this year. And that's really just because I started thinking more about if I was a player, what would I would, what would I do in that situation? I think at this point, just stay home, focus on your NHL team, focus on getting through that and, you know, just see about that. The only thing I just feel bad for is just that if we don't get NHL players at the

Olympics. Yeah, and it's a small minor thing here, but guys like Stephen Stamco's probably won't get that kick at the can at the Olympics. We miss out on another opportunity to see Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid play together. But at the end of the day, like, for a matter of health and safety, probably going to the Olympics isn't the great, going to Olympics isn't the smartest idea to do right now. It's a risk reward thing. And I think it's really different when you're dealing with a bunch of people who have an income of millions of dollars and a job back here. that kind of risk reward. I understood, like even with the Tokyo summer games, wondering if they were going to move forward because of COVID, you kind of felt for the people who have trained their whole lives for this moment and they don't necessarily have, you know, a $100 million contract waiting for them at home, you know, if you're a high jumper, if you're whatever. And I feel the same way here as far as if the games go ahead or not.

But I could just see, I mean, the NHLs never said flat out, we don't want to go. but if you watched any press conference of Gary Bettman talking about the Olympics, you know, you can kind of see who's on the side of saying we'd rather stay home. Julian, fun as always. Merci beaucoup. Hey, merci. It's an absolute pleasure to be on the podcast. Really appreciate the time to be with you.

There you go, the new general manager of the Montreal Canadian. Thanks, Julian. Peace. After the break, your Twitter questions, and I know a lot of them have to deal with you. some of the stuff that we've already talked about, but we'll dive in. You keep sending them. We'll keep reading them. All right, we're at that fun time where we get to read some of your Twitter questions. There's a lot of times that we either talked about or we didn't get to.

So a lot of people wanted to know about Rod Brindamor. I think we all gave our opinions on that. Sarah especially given her opinion on that one. So let's get to some of the other ones. At Sharks, 1979 wants to know what's next with Evander Kane. If you don't know, he was put on waivers after his 21 gave suspension was over. He cleared waivers. And he's now been sent to the San Jose Baracuda of the AHL.

I think we touched on this when the suspension happened, guys. And we said, will we ever see him in a shark's uniform again? We're going to see him in a shark's uniform, just not a San Jose shark's uniform. But do we see a move in the future? Do we eventually see a time where he's back in San Jose, Jesse? Yeah, I feel like to me, this kind of comes down to, in my opinion, the view of Evander Cain within the San Jose Sharks locker room. Because we heard rumblings of players not wanting to play with him and guys not caring if he's dealt.

And I think as we've seen in Carolina and Sarah can touch on this, like Tony DiAngelo, like if time heals all wounds and if a player's good enough and things have settled down, a team will take a chance on him. So, like, I think if this, it's been enough time and if Van der Kaine plays well and is a superstar down in the H.L. Like, he should, a player of his caliber, I do see a way that he can, the sharks would welcome him back. But it's got to be good in the locker room. Like, it can't be against the wishes of the players in the locker room. And if those guys don't want him in there, then I don't see a chance.

And I don't know the answer to that. So to me, it comes down to how is he viewed by the coaching staff and by the players in that locker room. This is far too much for me. I feel like it's the point of no return. He broke the law. And he, it's not just something that was about him.

That affects everybody around him and it's pretty serious. And then you got tons of other messy situations revolving around him, like multiple. And I just think, yeah, we love a redemption story. But I don't know if at this point, like he deserves one. And he hasn't even been playing that. well, right? So we'll see, I guess, what he does in the AHL, but I don't, I don't think it's worth it for a team to take a chance on him when there are so many other talented players in the league. I know the sharks would, what was it, they're going to eat half his contract or whatever, or maybe I don't know how much

salary they're going to retain, but it's not good enough for me. I don't know. Why is he playing in the HL then? That's the question I have. To me, the reason I say there's a chance he plays in a Sharks uniform is because he's playing in the HL. Why on earth is he down there playing if he's, if they're done with him? Like, why not just unconditionally wave him and be done with it? Trade.

He could be traded. He could be traded. And I guess that's, that's the only reason you could foresee. But it's, he just comes with so much baggage like Sarah said. Like it's, it's,

do you really want to have that press conference saying we've just acquired you Vander Kaine and, and we'll open it up to questions. And come on. Like, it's just, it's right now it's way too much baggage. There's speculation that the hurricanes were interested, whatever that means when national reporters say that, like maybe they answered the phone about him.

But I asked the hurricanes and they said, we're all set with forwards right now. So I don't think, I think that's the message. They didn't want to comment on a specific player for obvious reasons in this situation. But they said they're all set. So I guess if they're not going to take a chance on him, I don't know if anybody else will. Our good buddy, Def Joe Matt writes in and says, what do you think of the Jake DeBrusk trade? demand. He was a healthy scratch over the weekend. I've seen reports of upwards of 12 teams. You kick in the tires on Jake Debrusk. Interesting thing that we're guys, the Bruins kind of need them

right now with Marchant suspended. And apparently there's a COVID outbreak in their HL team as well. And they've had some injury issues. What do you think of Jake DeBrusk? It's how are you, Sarah? Well, here's the thing. Bruce Cassidy is a great coach, but I feel like he has his guys. And when you stop being his guy, your Chris Wagner sent to the H.L. Or your healthy scratch, you're kind of put in these situations where you can't really succeed. And that's what happens when you're kind of a dynasty. I don't know if the

Bruins are a dynasty, but they have had Bergeron, Posternak, Marchand, etc. But I think he does it. He is such a he puts so much effort into his game and he can score in the right situation. I think losing Kredgey probably hurt him. But if he has a good center, the sky's the limit for him. He'll try so hard. He's heavy on a sport check and he's just a great kid and it seems like there's been a divide between

him and the coaching staff at this point and a fresh start would do him good i feel like if you can buy low on him right now do it and i asked the hurricanes about him and apparently there's in on him but they told me probably not going to happen but i think it should i i think he'd be great with rod brindamore what about you just i thought they were good at forward um yeah i was about to see i think we're not just break that they're good at one no they said that to me so they said that to me So I'm like, it's not going to happen. And then you see national reporters saying there's interest in Jake DeBrasse from the Canes. I'm like, seriously, guys, can you tell me what you mean?

They're good at forward when the target is Evander Kane. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I completely agree with you that I think DeBrusk is a good player that's in a situation that is kind of like a, like there's no way he's going to win there. And I think when they signed Taylor, when they traded for Taylor Hall and they signed him to that long-term deal, it kind of signaled what they thought of him. He's not going to be that top line guy. and I think I completely agree with the by-low situation. Like I think Jake DeBrusk, if he goes to the right situation, it's going to be an absolute steal for whoever trades for him.

And I think this might be a case of like the Bruins probably aren't looking for futures. They're trying to win now. So maybe there's like maybe there's a win-win here. Maybe there's a player on another team that is in a bad, like in a similar situation that maybe just doesn't mesh with the coach or is not around the type of players that he needs to be to succeed. And maybe they can like swap and, both players can be put in a better situation.

You got time for one more. Devs Fan 22. Thoughts on the Jack Hughes contract extension. Hughes signing that eight-year deal worth $64 million. It's kind of the new NHL, isn't it, guys? I mean, it used to be. You got to wait until you're about 28 to get paid. That's not the case anymore.

Yeah, I think teams are willing to take the risk. Like, this is a risk from the devils. you, this could be a horrible contract if he doesn't, like he hasn't scored that many goals in the NHL, like he hasn't proven that he is a like franchise level player. I think there's still plenty of reason to believe he can become that. And if he does, then it's a phenomenal risk by the Bruins because you've got, or by the devils, because you've got this guy signed for way less than he should be. So it's a, it's a gamble and we'll see how it turns out. It's a gamble. I feel like they all are these days. You're buying young and you're spending a lot of money on these young players. And I feel like

there's a lot more skill maybe than there used to be. And I understand. Maybe that's anecdotal. But I do think it's good for the players. It's good for the league. And I like Jack Hughes and I like his personality. I know he tweeted before the contract. I feel like playing hockey tonight.

Dot, dot, dot. So wonder why. Big thanks to all the people who wrote in the Twitter questions. Like I said, you keep sending them. We will keep. And it doesn't need to be the day of, guys. If you want to send them all week, send them to us. And we'll keep it for the show.

And that wraps up another show. before we go, guys, as always, what are you working on this week? Jesse? There's a lot of stuff going on with the Golden Knights. Jack Eichael coming in, obviously still working on some stuff with him, trying to get him connected with the fans out here. I'll just tease that. And then also I'm working on a big story on Robin Lennar and some of the off-ice stuff that he does. We all know that he is a big-time influencer off the ice.

So I'm working on something with that. How about you, Sarah? I'm looking forward to reading that. I was going to get back to actual analysis of the Carolina Hurricanes yesterday, but then something happened. So I was working on that. Style rankings just dropped. I talked to Desmond Garrett, who is the six-year-old guy that, like, wears suits every day, and he's adorable. And that was just a great little interview. I've got to plan the rest of my week, to be honest with you, after this is fine, so we'll see. You never know who's watching. Just a great, great line from the kids. I guess Rod Brindamor should have heard him out.

You never know who's watching. So we'll be sure to look out for all that stuff, guys. And you said you've got to plan your week. Well, if you're planning a week of podcast listening, be sure to listen to Tom Fitzgerald, the general manager of the New Jersey Devils. He's my Grussel's guest this week on straight from the source at The Athletic. Big thanks to listening to this show. And please follow us on your favorite podcast platform.

Don't forget, leave a rating and a review. And you can subscribe to the Athletic Audio Plus on Apple Podcasts to get all the bonus content from our entire network. This week, Custinson Gentilly, talk about Jeff Gorton being hired by the HABS as we alluded to earlier, maybe, GM number two. You start with a 30-day free trial, that it's 99 cents a month after that. And right now, you get an annual subscription to The Athletic for just $3.99 a month when you visit theathletic.com slash hockey show. The Athletic Hockey Show continues Thursday with Ian Mendez and Down Goes Brown. I am Pizzo for Jesse, for Sarah. We'll see you next week.