The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - The Hockey Show: Roy Campaigns for Sidney Crosby (feat. Arda Öcal)

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

Roy, David, and Ethan kick off this week's show by discussing the controversy swirling around the New York Islanders after Patrick Roy's harsh comments directed at Anthony Duclair. Then, they dive into their wins and fails of the week, including the St. Louis Blues' use of Jobu as a good-luck charm, Penn State hockey advancing to the Final Four, and the Pittsburgh Penguins' plan for covering Alexander Ovechkin on his hunt for 895. Then, Arda Öcal of ESPN joins the show and gets Roy to campaign for Sidney Crosby as the greatest player in NHL history. Also, he discusses the wild finish to the Wild Card races in each conference and Jalen Chatfield's nasty takedown of Connor McMichael. Finally, the boys recap a tough week for the Florida Panthers and analyze how Brad Marchand has fit in in his first few games as a Cat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by FX's Dying for Sex on Disney+. Based on the podcast of the same name, Dying for Sex tells the story of Molly, who is diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Determined to feel everything she can before she can't feel anything, she decides to leave her unhappy marriage to explore her sexuality, with some encouragement from her best friend Nicky. FX's Dying for Sex, now streaming only on Disney Plus. Sign up now at DisneyPlus.com.

Now's a good time to remember where Tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented Tequila. Cuervo. What are you doing here? Cuervo. Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up. Well, I do know that to be true, but even during ad reads like... Cuervo. I think he could lay out, especially for one of our great partners.

Sweet, delicious Cuervo. Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion. Cuervo. So, enjoy the tequila that started it all. Cuervo. Cuervo. The tequila that invented tequila.

Proximo. Cuervo.com. Please drink responsibly. Quervo. Welcome to the hockey show. My name is Roy Bellamy. David Drogue from the Hockey News is right there. Ethan Badowski is in the shipping container and uh, Rosie is still out doing March Madness stuff. Ethan's over there doing the Gator chomp with a Penn State. Big day boys. Big weekend. Big weekend. I doing the Gator Chomp with the Penn State. So big day boys.

Big weekend. Big weekend. I'll get to it. I'll explain it all. Yeah, you don't have to. We don't talk about that here. This is the hockey show. We talk hockey.

We got Otto O'Kell from ESPN on later. If you are watching on DraftKings network, you can watch that on YouTube by going to the Leviton YouTube page. That's Leviton and friends. Search out the playlist and we are in the Hikishow folder. So you can watch it there or you can listen on the podcast.

So. It's an excellent explanation. Yeah, thank you. I appreciate you. I appreciate you. All right, so let's start off with the New York Islanders so I can continue. Your favorite topic.

Yeah, I need to continue to streak a bashing them for signing racist. All right, so the New York Islanders have lost to the loss of the lightning and effectively uh... was knocked out of playoff contention basically uh... on wednesday and during the postgame scrum patrick ralph had some uh... ire towards anthony duclair his sound

duclair played only uh... a little over twelve hours he was god awful he had a bad game. That's why I didn't play him a lot. And he's lucky to be in the lineup. Sorry if I lose it on them right now, but that's how I feel. Just what are you seeing that he's not doing?

He's not skating, he's not competing, he's not moving his feet. He's not playing up to what we expect from him. Do you feel like that's an effort thing? I think it's an effort thing. Okay. Credit to the journalist there for the quick follow-ups. That's not easy in the moment.

The PR staff for the Islanders actually cut the video portion of that short because that didn't sound too good. So yeah, I gotta say Patrick Ra is probably right about Duclair. Seven goals and four assists for 11 points for four games. That's not going to get it done, but he did get injured early in the season with a groin injury. Yes, and for a guy whose game is predicated on speed, as we know Anthony Duclair, he's a fast guy, he flies up the wing. That's like what his bread and butter is. To basically cut one of his legs

out from under him with a groin injury, like even when he came back, willing to bet that he wasn't at 100% just because you know how groin injuries are they can take a long time for you to heal. Yeah. Now you can play through it but when your game is based on being able to move your legs at a hundred percent speed speed speed like that would really cut into his ability to perform at the best of his abilities so it's not terribly surprising. What is surprising is for the coach to call him out so publicly like that.

Yeah, and that's the physical side of it by the way. The emotional side is even before the season started, Lulamarello, who's the GM of the Outlanders, is still going by this archaic rule of keeping your hair short and having facial hair. There's a lot more to the rules on this team that's just ridiculous. The Yankees aren't even using those rules anymore. I was just gonna say, who does Lou Amorello think he is? The Yankees dropped their beards rule this off season. Well that's where he got the idea. He got the idea from Steinbrenner.

I think they were friends or something back in the day, and that's where he got the idea. It makes sense, but it's just like, the Yankees dropped that rule. And I know that it was later than the season started, whatever, but if the Yankees can drop that rule, who are you, the New York Islanders? Like seriously, seriously. Lou had that since he was the GM of the Devils. He took that with him to all the other stops

that he made. So this has been going on for a good 30 years now, this stupid ass rule. You know what? It's 2025, Roy. And I know you're not defending it there. Obviously you're not defending it there. It's ridiculous at this point. If the Yankees can drop it, so can the New York Islanders. It's ridiculous and it just never felt like a fit for Duclair. I mean they made him cut his hair right away and he looked so happy in Florida. He looked so happy in Tampa. You know, there's, I saw a picture of him on Twitter the other day where he's just like celebrating. He's got this big smile and now he's got 11 points in 44 games. Like, it's a bummer.

He's such a nice guy. Like he's a nice, good man. Like he deserves to be happy. Like all my experiences with him when he was here in Florida, since he's left Florida, cause he's come back here a lot. He calls South Florida his, you know, home away from home when he's not playing hockey.

He's growing the game down here. Yeah, he built that outdoor rink of North down here. He's got roots down here. To see that outdoor rink up north down here. He's got roots down here. To see that, I remember when we were talking about this before the season when he posted that picture on social media after he had to cut his dreadlocks off. And it was like, what the bleep. It was the saddest thing. Yeah.

And trying to put on a smile and I'm sure that he wanted to be a good team player and everything. But I just feel for the guy. Just let the guy play hockey. Is that such a bad thing? Just let him go do what he's been born to do. Let him go play hockey. Yeah. And back to the whole coaching situation. Like that was, that was not good. Like now we're throwing, we're throwing players under the bus now. Like this is what Sheldon Keefe did last week. And this is not good. This is not how you get your players to respond. Well, definitely not.

But coaching, coaching criticisms are nothing new, right. We've seen coaches throw players under the bus. We've seen them criticize people for years. And if DeClair is not playing up to a standard that the islanders expect from him, you know, that's something in itself. I understand he's been hurt this year, but, you know, we pointed out, look, it's been a tough year for DeClair and sometimes guys need wake up calls. This obviously wasn't probably the right way to go around it, and now he's taking a leave of absence and I wouldn't be surprised if he's played his last game for the New York

Highlanders. You do that shit in private. You don't go out into the media and just embarrass a player like this. And this is not 100% on Duclair at all because this is a mediocre team, this New York Highlanders club. Yeah. Like the goaltending is in the middle of the league. They have the worst power play in the league.

Yes. Great penalty kill. Penalty kill is terrible too. No, they have good penalty kill. Oh, they did on PK? Yeah, they're good on PK. I thought they were terrible on both special teams. Maybe I'm thinking of somebody else.

Yeah, and the defense is bad. The defense is bad at even strength. But they're disciplined. They don't take too many penalties. That's why the penalty killings. That's because of the lack of facial hair. They're able to stay out of the box. Yeah, and that's the referees are looking at that. And yeah, clean players mean, you know, obviously, apparently. But I really do hate when coaches do that to players because it's just,

it's not a good look. No. And when does it work? Does that work anymore these days? And then when the player goes, if the player does the same thing to the coach, ice time gets reduced. Like straight up. Like it's a one way street on that one. I don't like that. And now DeClair has requested time off.

Like yeah, he's done for the season. It's not a good situation. And moving forward, because it was all great for Duke in the off season. I remember like we were kind of surprised when Nyall Andertz, they signed him to the four year deal, three and a half million AAV. So he's still got what? 10.5 million on the books for the next three years. Is that something that a team is going to be willing to take on for a guy who we know what he's capable of, but he's been hurt all year, so he's had a down year.

Is anybody going to be willing to take that on in a trade potentially? Is he going to come back next year and play for Patrick Wa again, assuming Wa comes back, which I guess some are expecting him to for the Islanders after this season season I don't know. Seven points out of a playoff spot. I don't know if him or Lou. Dude, Clare's only 29. That's crazy to me. It feels like he's been in the league for a long long time. But he's been hampered by injuries and that's pretty much reduced his playing career. No, we know what he's capable of when he's healthy. We've seen it. It's the lower body injuries that hurt,

whether it's been an ankle, whether it's been the groin right now, it's tough. That's what I was gonna say, is he has value. You ask what a team trade for him, any team would want his speed, his playing style, and when he can put the puck in the net. I mean, he played for two Stanley Cup contenders the last two years before going to the Islanders.

He's a valuable player that people would want you know that the Lightning gave up stuff for him at the deadline last year like he is a valuable player and I'm sure there would be a market for him if the Islanders put him out there. No he automatically changes your transition offense when he's on your club when he's fully healthy and that he's just gonna have to heal and that's what we're looking at in on the, and just ridiculous. Makes me think of Vincent Trocheck back when he finished his time with the Panthers, he went out to Carolina

and then the Rangers. His last year or so with the Panthers, he had suffered two different ankle injuries. Speed was such a big part of his game that it took him a while to get back to where he's, but now, Vincent Trocheck is the great two-way center that we always knew he would be. It just, guys have to heal.

When their game is based on lower body strength, they gotta go through it. You know, Vincent Trocheck is the great two-way center that we always knew he would be. It just, guys have to heal. When their game is based on lower body strength, they got to go through it. I remember the last day I saw Vincent Trocheck in a Panthers uniform. We were in the locker room and I saw him and he was about as depressed as I've ever seen an actual athlete live. It looked like he was told that he was being traded. And that's eventually what happened. He was traded Yeah, yeah, so yeah, that's one of those situations where you gotta go like man. I'm sorry, dude

So I'm doing okay now. I think he's pretty happy The Rangers are not having a great year, but I think his career wise I think he's doing okay. Oh, absolutely Let's get into our wins and fails presented by Jager Meister. Serve it cold or don't serve it at all. Jägermeister, damn, that's cold. For more, visit jägermeister.com. Drink responsibly. David, your win of the week. My win of the week, it's in St. Louis, the middle of the country. One of the best teams in the NHL lately. What have they won, 11 straight games now? It all drives back to something I know we love. Ethan, I think you love it, you're a baseball guy, it's Jobu. Jobu.

I'm looking at him and he has a blank face, a blank face. I mean I know, I don't think I've ever seen, I saw the movie when I was a kid. I haven't seen the movie in a long time. Now you have some homework. Yeah you're going to have to watch. Watch Major League, don't watch Major League 2, don't watch Major League back in the minors. no Just watch major league major league to is great No, it wasn't in terms of the same got one liners some great one liners some great comedy story wise It's very whatever. It's a sports movie, but no major league to is worth a watch

But anyway back to my window the week I disagree this is what we next time adnan's all we need to get him talking about Okay, yeah Anyway, back to my win of the week. I disagree. This is what we, next time Adnan's on, we need to get him talking about it. Oh, okay, yeah. That'll probably be two weeks from now. After Four Nations, the Blues were out of the playoffs. They were 25, 26, and five. Eight points out of a wild card spot at Four Nations. Eight points back.

That was what, a month ago? Since they've played, what, 21 games, and they have points in 19 of them, 17, two, and two. 11 games in a row. It's all Jobu. Nobody is drinking Jobu's rum, which I think is the key. It'll be very bad if you drink Jobu's rum.

But man, how cool is this? He travels with the team, he gets his own locker. Like guys have said, they'll get the crappier locker because Jobu gets veteran presence in the locker room or something. He's apparently, he's made speeches in the locker room. A couple of players have said that Jobu gets veteran presence in the locker room or something. He's apparently, he's made speeches in the locker room. A couple of players have said that Jobu has made intermission speeches that they won't reveal what he says.

And Jordan Bittington says he does talk, you have to speak his language. And also, Jordan Bittington, Ethan, we talked about him at Four Nations. Has anybody carried their Four Nations weight? Are they just gonna do the same thing that they did in 2019? They've won 11 in a row now.

They are red, smoking hot. Maybe. And they have moved into the first wild card spot in the west, they're 91 points. Minnesota's on 89 and then the rest of the pack is behind them, it's starting at 84 with Calgary. They are on fire. Nice job, Jim Montgomery.

All right, Maya, I can't believe you just said that. I can't believe I just said that, but maybe all he had to do was get out of the stink of Boston and then you know he became a good coach again all of a sudden. He did okay in Boston too. Yeah. Oh we will talk about the Bruins later. The the Wild went to, this is my win of the week, the Wild went to Madison Square Garden to play the Rangers on Wednesday and during pre-game skate Matt Zucamrello, who was a Ranger, wore a nice little jersey that had the number 40 and the last name of Rosen on the back. And that was a nod to Sam Rosen,

the Rangers played by play analysts for MSG, who is retiring at the end of the season. Matt Zuccarello, as I said, was a former Ranger. So that is a nice gesture for Sam Rosen, who is going to, if he's not already, I'm sure he's probably gonna end up being in the Pro Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Such a legend.

I met him when I first started covering the Panthers. I met him during a Ranger game in the press spots. I wanted to take a bit, I was so starstruck. Like you're used to seeing those amazing broadcasters up there, but something about Sam Rosen. I mean, he's just like, it's a power play goal like yeah You know yeah, I keep overman always makes fun of him for some reason, but he's a brain just fan himself So yeah, I guess that's all and fun Ethan my one of the week goes to the Penn State Nittany Lions

They are headed to their first frozen for in school history They took down Yukon in a classic game, and it was an amazing call on ESPN on the game winner and I wanna play it for you guys. Oh, Russ Serato moves in, swung it back to Marci. Go fires, scores! It's over! Penn State to the frozen four for the first time ever! Oh my goodness! Chelsea daggers oh is this in Chicago no that's not

Chicago that's one minor league as Goulhorn by the way it is the classic it is the Penn State 59ers Allentown Regional Fire okay so that's Penn State for the frozen 4. My word! Here in the Keystone State, their whole state, they get it done. It's the first time in their program's history. And it looks as though Cinderella's Clasps slipper is gonna fit their paw.

Oh, there's a paw! There's a pa my cousin went to Penn State. So I love my Penn State Nittany line and that call was incredible I'm really excited for the frozen for coming up next week. And Obviously, I've got my squad and the Gators are in the Final Four as well So it's a good time to be a badowski Hi fails of the week David from the same game Actually, my fail of the week is from when Penn State defenseman Nick Faja lit up UConn forward Tristan Frazier. He tried pulling the Michigan in overtime, here it is right here, and boom!

Leveled him! Oh, what a beautiful, beautiful hit. You guys switch flipped. The Michigan has been going on for like 30 years. Can we get like a new Michigan? Because I feel like that's like the move that everybody celebrates, but it's been like three decades. It's being defended by by goal like the goalie was ready he was there wasn't going any even if he didn't get leveled but man

Trevor Zegras flip of the net yes yes the Zegras flip make that the new Michigan that'd be cool my one-on-a-week we go back to Tuesday for capitals and Bruins this is for Alexander Overskin's 890th goal of his career. And I can tell you, this is not how you defend anybody. Not a rookie forward, not Alexander Oveshkin and nobody in the middle. He was left wide open with nobody around him, five feet away from the net. I mean, if you look at the still image, which is going to come up soon, there was zero reason, zero reason why Alexander Ovechkin should have been that wide open next to your net. Look at this. Look at that. That's a high percentage look. What's the, what's the XG on this voice?

0.98, 0.99. Nah man. Yeah, that's a 99. That's a 1.0 right there. Ethan, your fail. All right. My fail of the week comes from the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild Game that Roy talked about earlier. Alexis Lafreniere, former number one pick, signed a extension in the offseason worth $7.45 million. He's only got like 45 points this year, and this is not a great look. Gabe Perot, their new signing from Boston College just came in. Lafue clearly didn't watch a lot of Boston College hockey this

year because he was not expecting that beautiful pass Oh, no, Perot has had a great year. That pass was deflected. He also fell on his ass like an idiot So not the greatest not the greatest moment for your seven point four or five million dollar player who only has like 45 points So we got order Oh Cal from ESPN to come on to talk about what's happened this week Yes, you are watching on DKN. You can watch that on YouTube and you canPN to come on to talk about what's happened this week. If you are watching on DKN, you can watch that on YouTube and you can listen to it on the podcast. That is coming up next. The Dan LeBattard Show with Stu Gotz is sponsored by BetterHelp. Folks, life gets busy and your mind carries it all. But just like your body needs care, so does your mental health. Therapy is

an investment in clarity, in peace, in you. Let's talk numbers. Traditional in-person therapy can cost anywhere from 100 to $250 per session, which adds up fast. With BetterHelp online therapy, you can save an average of up to 50% per session. With BetterHelp, you pay for a flat fee for weekly sessions, saving you big on cost and time. Therapy should feel accessible, not like a luxury. With online therapy, you get quality care

at a price that makes sense and can help you with anything from anxiety to everyday stress. Your mental health is worth it, and now it's within reach. With over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over five million people globally. It's convenient, too. You can join a session with the click of a button,

helping you fit therapy into your busy life, plus switch therapists at any time Your well-being is worth it. Visit better help comm slash DLB today to get 10% off your first month. That's better help help.com slash DLB Joins us from ESPN and I just gotta tell you if you've to me, if you watched me for the past 19 years, you've known my dislike for Sidney Crosby. All right. It's a great place to start.

Welcome to the show. I hate Sidney Crosby. I hate Sidney Crosby. I don't like the penguins and I don't like Sidney Crosby. And people look at me like I'm a fool because't like Sidney Crosby. And people look at me like I'm a fool because it's Sidney Crosby. He's quote unquote quote unquote finger guns or finger waving over here. One of the greatest players of all time. Generation 10.

That's my ass. How about that? All right. So there have been entirely too much celebration for obscure, meaningless, pointless career stats all season for this guy. And I'm just gonna, I'm stuttering here. I'm just gonna give you examples of what happened here. Thank you, Ethan, for these. Sidney Crosby's assist last night, this was last night's game, extended his points streak to 11 games, marking the longest points streak by a player age 37 or older since Nicholas Lindstrom in Detroit in 2010, 2011.

What are we doing now? What's the point of that stat? On March 18th, Sidney Crosby surpassed Wayne Greske for the fourth most points for a single franchise in NHL history for 1670. That was back on March 18th. Fourth most we're celebrating. Yeah, fourth most.

On March 11th, Sidney Crosby registered his 105th multi-goal game, which is ranked second among active players behind Alexander Obrezhkin. Auda, what the f*** are we doing? What you're doing is making the case for Sidney Crosby to be the greatest player of all time. You're just reading off amazing stats about Sidney Crosby You have quote unquote one of the great players of all time. He's top five in everything. The fourth most points for a single franchise in NHL history. What are we doing?

There are 32 teams in this league. What are we doing here? Why? To be fair though, to be fair throughout the great chase, there's also been the super obscure Alex Ovechkin like, Hey, did you know that Alex Ovechkin has scored on the most goaltenders in NHL history? I like that stat. That is a good stat. That is a good stat. You like that stat because it's about Ovechkin. If Crosby had scored on 182 goalies, he'd be like,

Oh, this sucks. I hate that stat. I would hate that stat if it was Sidney Crosby. Sidney Crosby has won a face-off against 757 different NHL players. Compiler. Compiler. All right. He's Omar Vizcal.

He hasn't committed a single error in 15 years. This is Sidney Crosby. I'm like, I'm tired of it. All right, we're wasting artist's time. Can I ask you some real questions? Yes, we are. I'm loving that we're just pulling out stats out of everywhere and trying to diminish

Sidney Crosby's impact on hockey. It's my job. Where do you put, Sid, the top what? 100, 200, 500? You're not about yeah yeah yes I mean come on we got Gordie how obscurity juck Paul the Brock it Rashad Gretzky like what are we doing here man Gretzky Wayne Gretzke's brother. E2 Lusterinen. Jogger and everybody. Yeah, everybody excelled. Yeah, all right, let's move on.

All right, I've got a non-Krosby question for you, Arda. Thank God. It's not necessarily a positive one though, because it's about the Boston Bruins. They've lost what, 10 in a row right now? Yeah, the loss to the Canadians did that one. Yeah, 10 in a row. This is gonna be the first year that they finished last

in the division since like the 90s. What, we're like two years away from this being like the best regular season team of all time? Like, is this something that like we kind of saw coming, Arda, or is this Boston thing like, where did it come from? I'm kind of shocked because we've gotten so used to Boston being so good for so long. Yeah, they've been competitive for well over a decade. But I think the signs were there just

because of the veteran players and the end of an era feeling obviously with Bergeron retiring. You know, you still have David Pasternak, but Brad Marsh and being traded. Like you just, you're, you're seeing, uh, the changing of the guard one by one. It felt like it was an eventual, uh, kind of situation to where we are right now. I don't know if it's going to last as long as people might think. Like, I don't know if they're going to be bottom dwellers for seven or eight years. I think the turnaround can be pretty quick. I don't think Jeremy Swainman had his best year. That happens sometimes with athletes when they sign a big deal.

You know, the first year of that contract maybe sometimes isn't as great as the contract year. But I don't think the Bruins are full despondence and despair for a long time. Maybe they benefit from this tank and get a very high top five pick in the draft and that pans out for them. And a couple of moves later, they're competitive again. So I'm, I'm bullish on them not having a long term era of futility. Ethan, you know, I'm going to say here,

I know exactly what you're going to say here. Right? The Panthers murdered them. The Panthers ended that error. They, they retired Patrice Bergeron. They killed them last year. They basically got their coach fired this year. And then they traded for Brad Marsh and it, which really put them in the shit. Oh my goodness. Can we confirm? The moment was when Marshann started picking up rats from the ice after that overtime winner that he set up Sam Bennett. That was just the cosmic, like the body was put into the coffin in that moment, right there, exactly. That was the, that is the last page of the chapter right there. Yeah, that's when the casket went down and they started putting dirt in the grave.

That was game over for the Bruins in this era. So let's play the video of the fight between Conor McMichael and Jalen Chatfield. This is an MMA move, basically. This looked like something out of WWE, actually, because look at this. He's going to spin him around and he looked like he ended up rock bottom, giving him a rock bottom on that one. What got McMichael's face after is he was as surprised as the rest of us, I think. Yeah. I mean, we've seen plenty of takedowns in these fights but we haven't seen a takedown like that and that would look pretty dangerous that's the type of takedown that you end up hitting your

head on the ice but he's not going to gain supplemental discipline. Did he deserve any type of fine or suspension for that move? I believe he didn't receive supplemental discipline because there was no injury on the play. Yeah okay. The deliberate foot leg sweep that you saw there. And yes, you see it in the UFC all the time. Uh, that kind of leg sweep, it's like a judo throw really is what it is. That has no place in hockey. I think everyone can agree with that.

I am, I, I enjoy fights. I think they're highly entertaining. They have their place. Anyone that says that the three fights in nine seconds, Canada, USA, four nations didn't turbo boost hockey interest in that moment is lying to themselves. With that said, there are considerations that should be made by willing participants in a fight where you try to protect your opponent's head as you are going down to the ice. Either you have the seatbelt method where you're holding them tight and

making sure that both of you are able to land on the ice safely. You do not, in my opinion, that what we saw there should never ever ever happen in a hockey fight, let alone in hockey period, especially when someone doesn't have a helmet on their head because that's just absolutely dangerous. And so I feel like maybe we should have a rule change. There should be some sort of deliberate and black and white. If you do this in a fight, you're getting suspended. There's going to be discipline.

Now this was a tough look for the NHL because I think it was either the same day or the day after Nico Michola got fined $5,000 for doing a slap shot down the ice at the end of the Montreal Canadiens game and then nothing happens to Chatfield here. Now, I remember last postseason when Truba threw that hit, I can't remember who it was on in the Carolina series.

There was a lot of talk about intent, right? Well, you left his feet on that one. He flew. He left his feet like. Shouldn't there be, yeah, I think it was Marty Nacius, maybe, shouldn't there be a stipulation where it looks like there's intent to injure? Because even though he doesn't get injured here

and he escaped without being kinked cost, or, you know, God forbid, something worse, shouldn't there be some kind of discipline where it says if there seems to be deliberate intent, like that's not in the rule book? Isn't there something there for that? Absolutely, I agree 100%. Obviously, if you look back at suspensions

and fines that have been issued in the past, many, most all have some sort of weight attached to them based on the injured opponent, right? And how injured the opponent is. Attempted is often, not like, I don't wanna say dismissed, but like if, for example, if I'm skating towards a player and I have my elbow out and I miss the player, that's not gonna get a suspension,

right? Unless contact is made. But if I had the intent, it's clearly established that I'm skating like this towards a player and I'm head hunting, but I miss the head, you know, like very unless, unless, unless, unless contact is made and unless there's an end further to that if there's an injury on the play that's when we typically hear of suspensions fines etc being levied so in that chat field example it's very clear that that could have gone south a lot worse than what happened you know Connor McMichael got right back up luckily his head didn't smack on the ice. So, but like in that specific case though, that's not a hockey play whatsoever. Not saying an elbow is, I'm saying in that moment, that particular leg sweep, unnecessary, not needed, should be an automatic, should be an automatic suspension of some kind.

You got to hold him accountable so it doesn't happen again. The director of the Department of Player Safety is noted pugilist George Perros. So how much of this is on him? Because it seems like a lot of these suspensions and fines are substantially subjective. Yeah, they have checks and balances in place. We get a presentation from the Department of Player Safety every year, and they are available for conversation. We receive emails on like explanations, et cetera. So I'm not necessarily saying that I think overall they do a good job. I think it's difficult.

I think everything is case by case. I think that they have a very, very important task to accomplish. I do think that in certain insta like this is a different case because we don't often see leg sweeps in fights, right? Like, this is really the first time that this has come across to this spotlight to this degree. So is it as simple as the Department of Player safety looks at it in the off season and says, all right, we're just going to eliminate this completely and this is going to be the fine or the suspension if it's ever seen again, uh, that could be the case. But yeah, to your point, like there are certainly a lot of plays that people are going to compare, especially when it's their team and this happened, that happened and

what factors went into it, et cetera. Every single play has different factors went into it etc. Every single play has different factors going into it so. Arto we're about two weeks away from the playoffs and I've been following I guess we all have been following the playoff chases the standings very closely. My question for you there's a team that's been pretty hot in the Eastern wild card race for a while now and that's the Ottawa Senators they've you know leveled out a little bit but their team that's been playing very well. Then you've got the blues out west that have just on fire right now And I think back to a couple years ago when the panthers as a wildcard two team beat that boston brookens team went all the way

To the final is there a wildcard team that you're more afraid to play I I would think the blues right now because of how good they are, but I wasn't playing well The montreal canadians have won three in a row wildcard teams are very fluky when it comes to this time of year So are there any that you're really looking at as like a playoff team that could make some damage? The Blues have won 11 in a row. The last time they won 11 in a row was 2018-2019. That turned out pretty well for them. Well, they played Gloria.

So yeah, they played Gloria. They were raising Stanley Cups. Joe Boo apparently is doing very well for them at the moment. But I, yeah, the the Senators are are in firm position. It's good to see the Kachuk brothers in the postseason. It'll be fun to watch Brady and his progress. That team looks good. The Canadians are, the thing I like about the Canadians, first of all, I do want to say the Canadians have the easiest schedule for the rest of the season.

Like their remaining games are the easiest as compared to every team that is chasing them in the Eastern Conference wild card. So they have that benefit going for them. They're a minus 22 and they're in wild card too. Like that's very rare that we would see that. A team that has been scored on a lot more than they have scored in a playoff position. But didn't Washington get in like that?

Sorry to cut you off. Washington get in with the same thing last year. Yes, absolutely. And now they're a plus 67. Like what a difference a year makes, right? Like, isn't that ridiculous? It's absolutely wild. But my point with the Canadians is they, I almost compare this. It's a full 180, the Canadians and the Rangers. The Canadians look like they're fighting hard and they're battling to the bitter end in every single game. It's like that Martin Saint Louis mentality of gritty and passionate hockey. Whereas there's been some games, more than not, lately as well, where the Rangers have just looked listless in the third period,

where they're down a goal and they need to push and the net is empty and they're just not getting any opportunities. Whether it's not clicking, whether it's an effort thing, it just looks so different when you watch the Habs in that situation and the Rangers in that situation, which is surprising because the Rangers are still fighting for that spot. So I would say the Habs are a team to watch the Blues if they continue the hot streak. We know this boys. It's about getting hot at the right time.

If you're feeling it and if you're hot going into the postseason, you're gonna be unbeatable. Just ask the Panthers like you mentioned a couple years ago and obviously last year, but also teams like the LA Kings in 2012, right? where they limped into the playoffs and then they went up 3-0 in every single series. Finally two teams as you said have not been hot at the right time that's the Devils and the Islanders especially the Islanders because whatever so Sheldon Keefe and Patrick Raw have both thrown their players under the bus and this latest instance Patrick Raw

Ended up doing that to Anthony Duclair and Anthony Duclair is now done for the season as he takes some time off to reflect So what is your opinion on coaches nowadays throwing their players under the bus and embarrassing them in the media? I like when coaches speak on their players. I like the passion. In Sheldon Keefe's case, I think he mentioned that he just saw like one particular play of Kovacevich that was not good. I think it was in the second period. He just saw that clip. It was fresh in his head.

He went to the podium. He got asked about him. And then, you know, that that passion and that opinion just came out. They had a conversation afterwards, apparently very similar to Patrick Waugh and Anthony Duclair. And then whatever the fallout is in Duclair's case, like you said, taking time away from the team. I like the passion.

If nothing else, it gives us media types something to talk about as a talking point. But also, I'm under the paradigm that I want this from players and I want this from coaches. I want real comments and thoughts and opinions. I don't subscribe to the, you know, scrubbed answers of the 200 foot game and pucks and deep and blah, blah, blah. Like I like this.

So when it happens, I want to honor it and obviously discuss it. But I want to, I want all the players and the coaches to feel encouraged to have this level of honesty because it's to me, it's better for the game. And you know, a lot of people will disagree. I think that they're going to say, no, this should happen behind closed doors and they shouldn't have these conversations in public and don't air your dirty laundry, et cetera. It's sports. Multi-million dollars are on the line. You know, this is of great public interest. So of course I'm going to be on the side of,

I want to hear this more and I want to hear this passion. So it feels like we're always asking for more personality from NHL coaches and players. And then when they give them more personality, we're like, not like that. Yeah. Yeah. Like we got to stop that. You're right. You're absolutely right. We got to stop that. Like, like either, either, either support it or completely ignore it. Yeah. But is this actually going to help the player in this situation? Because if the player did the same thing and said this stuff about the coach, then the ice time would get reduced or the try to railroad them out of town.

Or if, if, if the relationship is beyond repair, like we don't know, right? Like we're not in the locker room every single day. If the relationship is bad and this needed to happen for a separation to occur or to jumpstart, you know, looking for a new home or whatever, or maybe they just needed to have this conversation and maybe what will happen is DuClaire takes time off

and comes back to the team and has a new lease on life and is refreshed and has a career resurgence under Patrick Waal. Multiple outcomes can happen. But if the outcome is, Duclair and the Islanders was not a good fit and they need to look at where else Duclair can be in the offseason and this was the moment that needed to happen in order for that to get into the minds of L you know, Lou Lamorello and the Islanders, et cetera, then either way, it's a net positive because then the team and the player are better off if the relationship is toxic or it's not working out.

Man, they made that man cut his hair early in the season, then they signed Tony DeAngelo. I'm sorry, they're in the shithouse right now, the Islanders. So that's just me. That's my humble, very, very much humble opinion. Otto Cow from ESPN. Where can we find you? We've got podcasts over here with Greg Wazinski and we got The Point and everything.

So where can we find you? Where can we watch and listen to you? Just find me on social media, NHL and ESPN broadcasts. Roy, actually, I'm gonna take this time to announce that I'm starting a new podcast called the Sydney Crosby's The Great greatest NHL player of all time pod. Wow. That's a long title.

First subscriber right here. Yeah. I was talking with Dan. It's going to launch with Metal Lark. It's going to start next week. Oh, a rival podcast? Roy, you're going to be the first guest. You're going to be the first guest, Roy.

Oh, wow. I love it. Oh, Jesus Christ. Crosby Jersey's in the mail, buddy. Crosby Jersey's coming. I'm washing my hands of this interview. I am done. Bye, Auda.

Thanks so much. Oh, Jesus Christ. All right. Crosby Jersey's in the mail, buddy. Crosby Jersey's coming. I'm washing my hands of this interview. I am done. Bye, Arda. Thanks so much, Arda. See you guys. Arda, that was awesome. Thank you so much. Hey, everybody.

It's Mike. 50 incredible years of Miller Lite. That is right. It is Miller Lite's 50th anniversary. And I know, speaking personally, Miller Lite has been by my side through weddings, birthdays, even a couple of sports championships that I'm really lucky to have enjoyed. Miller Lite is a great place to be. Miller Lite is a great place to be.

Miller Lite is a great place to be. Miller Lite is a great place to be. Miller Lite is a great place to be. Miller Lite is a great place to be. Miller Lite is a great place to be. Miller Lite is a great place to be. Miller Lite is a great place to be. Miller Lite is a great place to be, Miller Lite has been by my side through weddings, birthdays, even a couple of sports championships that I'm really lucky to have enjoyed. Miller Lite has made all those perfect moments even more perfect. So cheers to you, I know I'm speaking to a fellow fan of Miller Lite, and cheers to Miller Lite for providing great

memories and a beer with a taste you know you can depend on. A great beer trusted by beer lovers for 50 magical years. Miller Lite is brewed for taste. Simply put, it just hits different. And at just 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces, Miller Time is always a good time. The original light beer since 1975 and still iconic 50 years later. Miller Lite, great taste, 96 calories. Go to MillerLite.com slash Dan to find delivery options near you, or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time! Celebrate responsibly, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Hey friends, it's JarroBear here, and I'm here to tell you all about Boost Mobile,

which is now a legit nationwide 5G network. So I must take a break from the jokes here for a second and put on my serious voice. Because I would never ever joke about a 5G network that has invested billions building 5G towers across the country. Not even once. Not even if Mr. Boost Mobile himself asked me to. There is nothing funny about it. Boost Mobile is now a legit nationwide 5G network and also provides coverage across

99% of America. Seriously. Visit BoostMobile.com or your nearest Boost Mobile store location to learn more. The Boost Mobile network, together with our roaming partners, covers 99% of the US population. 5G speeds not available in all areas. Alright, unfortunately we have to recap what happened to the Panthers this week and I really don't feel like doing it, but I got to because Brad Marshawn made his debut on Friday when Utah came to town and yeah, this has not been good.

This has not been a good week for the Panthers, but Brad Marshawn looked great. He looked fast. He made a big impact very quickly. He looked fresh and he got the game winning assist on Sam Bennett's overtime winner. He did. He just looks good in a Panther uniform. Like everybody was talking about how weird it looked. And sure, maybe it looked weird, but it was exciting to see him out there with

the boys, you got him, you know, he's fitting right in really. It's been amazing how quickly he's fit right into this team. And if he performed, if he starts performing well, especially come playoff time, would you guys be surprised at all if the Panthers decide this is a guy we want to keep around going forward? Well, that's a decision up to, that's up to Mo'Shawn, right? I'm fairly confident that's gonna happen.

Unless some kind of disastrous thing happens between now and whenever Florida season ends, I have good reason to believe that when he was traded here, there was an idea of him staying. He forced his way here for a reason. This is where he wanted to be. This is the club that he thought he would be best with. And I mean, look at him and Barkie chumming it up right here. This was a great quote from Barkie, by the way, where he said that he heard something that he was so used to being on the other side of. Like there was some

chirp that Marshand threw out there at a Utah player and Barkey laughed because he's like, I've heard that one before and now it's just nice to have him on our side. So he's fitting right in with the guys. And it seems like it's been a perfect marriage so far, to be honest. It just little better results, you know, one point in four games.

But you know, this point was an important one. I mean, they needed this win against Utah as they need every win down the stretch here. And you know, he gets an assist on the overtime winner from Sam Bennett. Yeah, Sam Bennett had sponsored two pets for adoption. He had two goals and those pets get adopted through Benny's buddies and the Humane Society of Broward.

Good job by Benny as a career high on points now. Career high on points, career high on assists. I think he's three off a career high on goals. And Career high on points, career high on assists. I think he's three off of career high on goals and that was while missing time this year with that giant chunk where he didn't score earlier in the season. So setting himself up for what should be a pretty nice pay day for him. Hopefully one that he is able to stay in Florida because we know how important of a player he is to the Panthers lineup but he's gonna get paid this summer. Yeah and the Panthers were dominant in that game. Don't let the score fool you. Don't let the fact that they went in the overtime fool you.

The Panthers have been dominant recently. Yeah dominant. Kind of the opposite of what's happened over the past week right? It's been interesting because you said don't let the score fool you in that Utah game. Don't let the score fool you in the Montreal game, in the Toronto game because the Panthers have been really good in these games. They just haven't been getting the results. It's been really weird, especially Montreal. You're up with nine seconds left. And when do the Panthers ever blow that situation? They had the puck pinned up against the boards at one point. Montreal fished it out of there. And Lane Hudson, what a player this Lane Hudson is.

I mean, he makes a great play at the end of the game There where he is aware. We thought that was the second game I forgot that there it came back to me that there was a back-to-back home and home with Montreal Montreal has the Panthers number This year clearly they beat him four times like you got people are worried about facing Toronto or Tampa in the first round I'd be worried about facing Montreal later in the playoffs, considering they beat them four out of four. Let's see Montreal get later in the playoffs. Of course, of course, but I'm just saying, you know. Very different games, each one, too.

It's been a weird series against Montreal. The weirdest one was this one where the Panthers, you know, they have the lead with nine seconds left. And like I said, Hudson makes a great play, just kind of throwing it towards the net, takes a weird bounce through Reinhardt, who, you know, he struggled at the end of the game. I don't understand the play that he made in that situation. You got nobody around you and

Reinhardt ended up trying to block the shot. Now keep in mind that was a good play by Seth Jones at the blue line Great play. Great play. He almost got it out of there, but Hudson keeps it in and you know, Rhino, okay He's trying to block the shot. He's just trying to keep it in front of him and he almost does it Just kind of takes a weird hop through him and finds its way to Suzuki. But then Rhino gets beat for the OT winner and that was a tough game for him. As a goalie, I will say like a lot of guys were getting on Reinhardt, like just get out of the way, let the goalie have the shot. Like no, I get where he's coming from.

Like guys are blocking shots and look at what has happened to the Panthers in the three games this week. They've had a shit ton of shots blocked against them. So like blocking shots is fine. Rhino wants to get that out of the goalie. There's nobody around them. The flukiness of the way it just happened to hit him in the perfect spot so it bounced directly to the guy on the other side of the crease when everybody else was moving the

other way, it was a perfect comedy of errors that just, you know, crapped in the Panthers. Yeah, not good. The Panthers are now 0-3-1 against the Canadians as they get the point on Tuesday. So we move on to Toronto. That one was the biggest game of the season up until the next biggest game of the season when they play them again. That was not good. Now they have five players out, Kachak, Kulikov, and Ekblad obviously. Alexander Barkov got hurt in the Montreal game with a lower body injury. He came back in that game but they, you know, back to back.

Yeah. And it looks like he's not going to play this weekend either. Pierre Lebrun reported that he's probably out for this back to back in Ottawa and Detroit Saturday and Sunday. No point in forcing him back. Like right now, like they haven't clinched it, but you know the Panthers are going to be in the playoffs. You know that the goal is another playoff run. So they're not so worried about right now. Like get everybody healthy. Make sure that you're as good as you possibly can be when the playoffs. So you already have question marks between Ekman and Kachuk. Ningo Sturm also was there. So that happened. So five players out you got the you got to call up some

players obviously but the third period did not go well for the Panthers at all. For whatever reason they have been giving them stretch passes leading the breakaways for the past month and a half. Well this was a this one in particular was just a bad play by Nate Schmidt. He steps up to try and cut the pass. I think it was Knize who got in behind and the pass goes right through him and now it's Knize ahead of Mikola. Like I don't understand why Schmidt isn't it was a sick pass by Marner. Marner had a great game you know he gets the go-ahead goal to make it to one and then he makes a sick pass to make it 3-1 But Schmidt there he just needs he doesn't need to step up into that lane to try and cut the pass

He just needs to stay behind nice make sure nice stays behind him Schmitz. You know he's out of his steps right now He's playing on the second line, and he's a third line guy. Let's be honest right You know they're missing two of their top four so obviously obviously when those guys are back in, you would expect that Schmit's not going to be in the top four, you know, but it's not going to be until the third game of the playoffs that these guys are going to be back. So he's going to have to stay afloat right now. And the Panthers are having a tough time staying afloat because, you know, they get back into that game. Rhino has a six shot to make it three, two, you know, with under a minute left, but still too many defensive leaks guys, like you know,

Marner's wide open, that's not what you expect from the Panthers on the second one. The stretch pass in behind, they're giving up too many of these rush chances and that's not the Panthers game. Yeah, Nate Smith is definitely a third-pair defenseman and yeah, I mean the defensemen have not had good position in the neutral zone for these things to be happening so they're not good. Now they move on to Saturday by the way the Maple Leafs clinched on that game they are officially going to the playoffs. The Panthers have a chance to clinch by themselves for win in Ottawa on Saturday and it's the first half of a back to back.

I'm tired of this, man. This is the second back to back left, the two back to backs left in the season. So gotta get through it. So they, did they beat Tampa? They beat Tampa, right? They beat Tampa. Yeah, they beat Tampa.

Yeah, they beat Tampa in their last meeting. Yeah, it was that game where there was that crazy finish at the end. Yeah, so there's that. They got a good amount lead for the first raw card spot, so I don't think they have to worry about losing that one. Two and one against Tampa so far. Yeah, and now the series is split against Florida for the season. The Senators won 3-1 in October, and the Panthers won 5-1 in February.

That would have been a fun playoff series. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it may still happen. Look, it can still happen. Like, there's seven games left. The Panthers are four points down. All it takes is the Leafs dropping two,

and the Panthers winning two, and you're tied on points. So this can absolutely happen. This same exact thing happened where the Panthers were kind of limping. They were resting some guys because they remembered what happened to them the year before. Look, it's not the team right now. They're missing Barkov, their best player.

They're missing Kachuk, their second best player. They're missing two of their top four defensemen. And they're missing their fourth line center. It's just they're having to stay afloat. The injury bug has bitten them in a bad way at the end of the year. And then Sunday they go to Detroit, who is still in a race. They're still in a race for the second wild card so they got something to play for. They'll be coming off their game versus Carolina. They played tonight and the Red Rings won 5-2

against Florida back in January. That was their only beating so they got a couple games left against Florida. The Red Rings have gone four five and one since losing six in a row, so there's that's I Want to say a bit of a bounce back. I mean they lost six in a row so again for four wins out at last ten You know that's not how you make the playoffs. That's not you make the playoffs So that's what the Panthers are looking at this upcoming weekend

Not a good week for them. Hoping to bounce back before they head home after Sunday. So for David Dwork, for Ethan Podalski, for Jason, and whoever it is back there as well. Arda. Don't forget Arda. Oh yeah, for Arda O'Kow, for Gino, and I don't know who that was.

I think that was Dane GQ. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. We'll see you next week. Bye. Hey audience, you know it's that time of year where everyone is debating who the number one pick is going to be. Well, let me tell you something that is undebatable. Who the world's number one vodka is. That is Smirnoff. And as fun as it is to debate whether or not the team with the number one pick goes pass

rush or wide receiver quarterback. One thing that we all know is we're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff.

We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff. We're going with Smirnoff and as fun as it is to debate whether or not the team with the number one pick goes pass rusher Wide receiver quarterback one thing that we all know is we're going with Smirnoff as our number one vodka pick isn't that right Dan-o Smirnoff rules So while you're over there hosting your draft parties, you know one thing in particular unique

Well, there's two things that you absolutely need the draft on TV., that's a must. But number two, what is it, Dano? Smirnoff! Do you like Dano? Support the people who support us. Smirnoff supports us. I like Smirnoff. I don't like Dano. And thanks to Smirnoff, God Bless Football is doing their first ever watch-along live stream in front of a live audience in Nashville, Tennessee. Join God Bless Football during round one of the draft on the Levitar Show YouTube channel on April 24th. More details to come. Please drink responsibly. Smirnoff, number 21 vodka, distilled from grain,

40% alcohol by volume, The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age. Woohoo! Hey everybody, it's Mike. 50 incredible years of Miller Lite. That is right, it is Miller Lite's 50th anniversary and I know, speaking personally, Miller Lite has been by my side through weddings,

birthdays, even a couple of sports championships that I'm really lucky to have enjoyed. Miller Lite has made all those perfect moments even more perfect. So cheers to you, I know I'm speaking to a fellow fan of Miller Lite, and cheers to Miller Lite for providing great memories and a beer with a taste you know you can depend on. A great beer trusted by beer lovers for 50 magical years. Miller Lite is brewed for taste. Simply put, it just hits different. And at just 96

calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces, Miller Time is always a good time. The original light beer since 1975 and still iconic 50 years later. Miller Light, great taste, 96 calories. Go to MillerLight.com slash Dan to find delivery options near you where you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller Time. Celebrate responsibly Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.