The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - The Hockey Show: Talk Dirty To Me About John Tavares

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

David, Roy, and Ethan are back with a few special guests this week, including Jonathan Zaslow, who joins the gang in the studio. First up is Adnan Virk, who climbs aboard to discuss the vibe around the Maple Leafs in Toronto, the wild race for the Hart Trophy, and whether or not the Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets did enough at the trade deadline. Then, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joins the crew to discuss the rumblings that have come out of this past week's NHL GM Meetings, including changes to the All-Star Game and playoff formats, cut-resistant protective gear, and why power plays are down so much across the league this year. Finally, the boys wrap up a tough week for the Florida Panthers, and Zas has a hot take on the Aaron Ekblad suspension. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Cuervo. The tequila that invented tequila. Proximo, cuervo.com. Please drink responsibly. Cuervo. Welcome to the Hockey Show. My name is Roy Dalmy. David Dwork is to my left. He works

for the Hockey News. Ethan is in the chair over there in the shipping container. Joining us is John Nsaslow as a guest co-host of ESPN Radio and Zaslow Show 2.0. And also joining us, Antnan Virk from Prime Monday Night Hockey. He's going to join us here for the first segment. So Antnan, where were you last week and where you going this week? Roy, great to see you and friends. Dave's as Ethan. Good to be back here. My monthly appearance here on the hockey show was just back home in Toronto for the Leafs and the Flames. And I got to tell you guys, everyone's feeling a little tight up there in Toronto. Everyone's getting a little nervous. Hopefully one win the

last six games talking to Craig Berubia at morning skate. You know, just got to get the puck in Toronto, everyone's getting a little nervous, hopefully one win in the last six games, talking to Craig Berubia at morning skate, you know, just got to get the puck in there, get going a little bit, and they looked great. Austin Matthews, who said, a precipitous decline, as you guys know, from 69 goals this season to 24 entering Monday's play. I know he missed 15 games, but still, hasn't been the same guy. If you look back at Bossy, Gretzky, Lemieux, Stamkos, anybody who scores 60 plus, they don't have that kind of a drop. So it's been concerning.

What happens? Matthews scores two,'s scored three in the power play. I love Ryan Huska, along with Paul Maurice, one of my favorite coaches to talk to. But God, the Flames don't have much offensive talent. Love Nas as well, as we continue right now in Ramadan, one of my few Muslim brothers in the league. Nas, by the way, was great against the Rangers the next day, goal and assist, so good win for the Flames. But I don't, I just don't think the Flames have enough talent, honestly, offensively to compete. And Wolf, who's been such a great story, guys story guys as you know he's in the Calder mix Unfortunately got blitzed wasn't really his fault just the Leafs look really good what I want to throw to you guys though

Especially since you mentioned Dave's bona fides with the hockey news I got to interview Lanny McDonald and Darrell Sittler at the intermission now think about Sittler ten-point game And I said to him you know that when you think back at that moment that game what do you think about it? He was honestly I'm shocked no one's broken I said what you think someone's gonna have a ten-point game he's just at some point Gratzky Lemieux Ovechkin somebody would have done it so I want to throw out to you guys first off do you think anyone will ever break Sittler's ten point record let me get a hockey news thing for Dave in a second Sittler

first what do you got no ten points in a game no I hope not as a goalie I sure hope not by the way the closest to it, this is crazy. Yager had a seven point game. Sam Gagne had an eight point came back in 2012. Show that to his father, Dave Gagne. Loved him on the North Star. Great Panthers. Dave Gagne has a good years for the Panthers.

Dave, on the topic of the hockey news, I'm talking to Lanny McDonald. And of course, I'm just staring at the stash. And I said, Lanny, I got to tell you, I said, I read your book, by the way, back when I was like nine years old and 87, I'm just staring at the stash and I said, Lanny, I got to tell you, I said, I read your book, by the way, back when I was like nine years old and 87, I saw the cover Lanny and I said, that mustache, you got to tell me about the stash. And you know, what was the first time that

you grew it? And he goes, well, I don't know the first time, but I've had a lot of lucrative offers to shave it along the way. And I said, I remember I said, I have a hockey news like from years ago, it's literally just your face. And it's like, you know, how you have an outline of somebody you can tell who it is? It was just the mustache and like the bucket helmet. It's so amazing.

And he goes, it's my signature mark. I can never get rid of it. It makes me think about guys, Barry Melrose for years at ESPN, I told him, why don't you ever cut the mullet? And he goes, I tried to, and they told me I couldn't. I said, why? He goes, I was just going to go get a haircut. And I go, I'm tired.

It's been 20 years. Whatever. They go, no, no, that's pretty. Look, that's your signature. Give me a begg. And I go, I'm tired. It's been 20 years. Whatever. They go, no, no. That's pretty good. That's your signature. Give me a beggar's signature, the Lanny McDonald mustache. Yeah. I mean, I'm thinking like silhouettes, like Marc Messier comes to mind, like a recognizable.

Jonathan Zaslow in the backwards cap. Yeah. Well, I'm curious now, how much was he getting offered to shave that mustache? Because at what point do you really have to start considering these offers? Like five figures, six figures?, like what are we talking here? That's the follow up question that I have for Lanny McDonald.

Yeah, we have to find out because he, Thomas Hickey, of course, is part of our Amazon Midnight crew, grew up in Calgary. He still has vivid memories of listening to whatever Carkmores was GMC and the way it would end would be and tell him Lanny sent you. And I said to Lanny, I go, like, what would happen if I did that? Like I went to an auto dealership in that area and go, hey, Lenny sent me. Am I getting 10% off tires? Am I getting free of all changes or what? He didn't give me an answer. And then talking about Toronto, you know, Toronto and Florida are tied atop the Atlantic

division right now. And you mentioned the season that Austin Matthews is having, obviously not anywhere near the year that he had last year. What's like the tenor in Toronto surrounding Austin Matthews? And of course, you know, you remember this past, you know, when we're in the the four nations, you know, you can look at his performance there as well. Like, how do I feel about him right now? It's a great question, as he's one of those guys, he's kind of like the golden boy. Like he is above her approach, you know, having been born in Toronto and growing up in Ontario, a lot of those horrible 80s Leafs teams, no matter what,

they just adored Wendell Clark because he was the one guy that was tough, that would fight and could score and he was hurt a lot of times, had terrible back injury, but Wendell was that guy. So I thought with this Leafs team, they kicked the crap out of Mitch Marner. They'll beat up on him. They'll beat up on their goal ten, their defense, whatever it is, but generally they're always favorable towards Austin Matthews. So I haven't heard much criticism at all while I was there. The whole thought is he's much more hurt than you think. Like he's playing through injuries.

So rather than why is this guy, relatively speaking, stinking up the joint, it's what a tough guy. Clearly he's not 100% he's still playing. By the way, they always beat up on Marner. He's on pace for 101 points, which would be a career high. And we all know the rumors, the fact they probably went to him and allegedly trying to trade him for Rantanen. Jason DeBurrs, my podcast co-host,

and I tell him in scripted, said if he was Marner, he would not return to Toronto. Neal Anderson is still having another wonderful season, but no, specifically to Matthews, they love AM 34. And then I want to ask you, right now, the Caps just became the first team to clinch a playoff spot last night. They're on 100 points.

The Jets are also on 100 points. This is going to be an epic battle down the stretch to see who wins the President's Trophy, but neither of these teams really did a whole lot at the deadline. And I know sometimes we kind of get caught up in who made the splashy acquisitions at the deadline and whatnot. Do you think they did enough? Do you think too many teams around them got so much better that they might not be serious candidates to go deep in the playoffs anymore? So Ethan, I always worry about it. I look at the Carolina Hurricanes

specifically and I say, you know, they're one of those teams that are always B plus A minus, candidates to go deep in the playoffs anymore? So Ethan, I always worry about it. I look at the Carolina Hurricanes specifically, and I say, you know, they're one of those teams that are always B plus A minus, but come playoff time, they can't elevate, they can't get to the next level. And that's why I did love the rants and the move. I said, no, he's a superstar that can transcend. Of course, they could have done their due diligence

and made sure he actually wanted to sign a long-term deal, but regardless, you pivot, you do what you gotta do. To your point, with Winnipeg, and by the way, I'm gonna be making my fourth trip to Winnipeg coming up here. Oh, no. Yeah, I know, Roy. Thankfully, home game this Monday, by the way. We got Canucks Devils.

We built it as the Hughes Bowl. And then Jack Hughes got a Herp. At least we get to see Quintin Hughes. So I'll just be driving to the METAL LANs here at 35 minutes in Newark. But the week after that, Denver. Can't wait to see the Avalanche. But Kenan McCarb, close and personal.

Then we've got Winnipeg, then Edmonton to close the Amazon schedule. King's Oilers as you got to the final game. But Ethan, to your point, Jets, I'm gonna watch them again April 7th and everything I keep saying about them is Halibook's about to win his third Vezna. They've got three great lines, solid defense. I love Morris, I think he's a top 10 defenseman. Shifely Connor obviously lead the attack. Powerplay's been a little quiet recently and you wonder how important that is come playoff time because you know you have to score goals

at 5-0-5. You can't just rely on penalties less penalties are called to the playoffs but I think it's a fair point I was talking to Mark Parrish yesterday and then it shall network I'm with Kevin Weeks today another former Panthers yeah exactly like we love the part exactly good call Dave if I said you know who's who's coming out the central no one's saying the Jets like I mean Perry boasted the Stars Demers in weeks he said the Avalanche like no one's gonna get out when it pegs a tee. No one's going to get out. Winnipeg's a team to beat. They're going to win the division.

And everyone's going, eh, I want to see what Halibut does in the playoffs. Like he has to prove that to me. And it makes them a digger. Are they like the Toronto of the Western Conference? They can be as good as hell in the regular season, but nobody thinks they're going to do it in the playoffs? Are they actually the best team in the West?

Well, as far as points are concerned. As far as points are concerned, but look how good Colorado looks right now. To me, they're terrifying. McKinnon, McCarr, the way Natures has been playing since he's gone over there, they've gotten better since they traded Ranen, which is an insane thing to say.

And their lines after the trade deadline, you look at them and they're as deep as anybody in the league right now. And the single best reason to watch the NHL playoffs is gonna be that series. Dallas, Colorado. Like it's maddening to me because either of those teams could be co-favorites when this Daily Cup and one of those two teams is going to be out after the first round. Amazing. All right, let's get to the video portion of this segment. We have a

video of two fans at a Capitals game from 20 years ago and most recently. So these fans were kids when they showed up to this Capitals game from 20 years ago and most recently. So these fans were kids when they showed up to this Capitals game in 2005 with foam eights on their head. And 20 years later, as grown as men, they showed up to the Capitals game. Now those foam eights have autographs on them and they are celebrating Alexander Oveskin. Now Alexander Oveskin scored last night.

He now has 888 goals in his career. That's seven away from breaking the record. 888 goals for the great eight. Is he gonna hit a thousand? No. I think that's a goal. He can still play for a few more years if he wants to. Do we know yet when Gretzky is gonna start following the Capitals? I think he started. I think it was five goals to go.

I think he's starting. I think it was five goals to go. I think he's starting. Yeah. I think five goals to go. I guess as soon as you're in the realm of he could do it this game, which five goals in a game isn't that crazy for a guy like Ovechkin. So yeah, that would make sense. All right, hopefully, I mean, it gets it done in a timely

fashion. I don't know, Gretzky wants to be spending two, three weeks on the road with the Capitals. Imagine if he drags it out. All right, he's got his own private jet. In Utah, apparently, Mikhail Sergeyev has a chicken farm, and he's given eggs to his teammates. In a tweet from Bill Frazier, who's in the locker room,

I just have a lot of eggs. Once we hit like 24, 30 eggs, I start giving them away to my teammates. Obviously, I feed them well. I take care of them. Now there's a shortage of eggs, so guys, appreciate it more. Now, eggs are expensive.

If there was anywhere this was gonna happen though, Utah. Yeah. Communal, kind people, from what I've been told. I haven't been there, but seems like a happy place, right? I don't know. Correct me if I'm wrong, fellas fellas but it seems like this is like Winnipeg maybe? Oh Canada. Calgary? Edmonton? I don't know. Adnan would know Canadian Jog Free better than we would. Well I'll tell you this right now we're here in New

Jersey I can tell we have an egg shortage this is unbelievable I mean we don't even get political in the whole terrace right now but guys we can't even get enough eggs here in New Jersey forget about back home in Canada and I will tell you speaking back home to Canadians. There's there's people I have my best friends will not buy strawberries. That's what he mean. He gives my local grocery store It's only from America. I said that's going too far a man needs his strawberries I know is another tweet from that professor Nick Buck said apparently had a comment that another Huge stats expected by chickens like that. Yeah, Brooke said said to him

About his circus has chickens potentially having bird flu. You should check that His like I said, it's insane chickens. He disrespected my chickens like that I still gave him eggs because he said his wife went to the store and there were no eggs. That is disrespectful to claim that his birds have bird flu. Right? Yeah. That's bad. He's doing a service to everybody.

Yeah, that's a knock on wood joke. You don't do that right now. Yeah, not right now. And I'm going to extend my Allender's shit talk streak on this show, even though- I was wondering if you were going to get to that. Yeah, I got no choice. I choice I got a good no matter what happened with the Panthers this week but here's a video and there's sound on this by the way here's a video of an islanders fan chirping at John Tavares who made his

return on the island A liar, a snake, a fake! You should have told us! We would have got picked for you, you phony fake! You suck, you always suck, you're there! You'll always be a loser, always! Always, and you know what I'm saying, you should have told us! You snake, phony, fake! I used to love you! Oh man. I used to love... loser mentality!

The lady in the background is the guy going off, you can hear her, she's like, I love you. Oh man. I used to love, loser mentality. The lady in the background is the guy's going off. You can hear her, she's like, I love you. That was like, hands off for a long time. I used to love you, I think what she's saying. No, no, she was saying that to the guy who was screaming it to the fan. Oh my God. She was saying it to the guy.

He's like ripping Tavares a new one. Thank you for speaking for us. That guy is getting laid, or he got laid that night, for sure. I love you. Loser, allenders, loser. Talk dirty to me in bed about John Tavares. Loser fan, loser team, loser fan base, Allenders this season.

You gotta make some more acquisitions. Yeah, as soon as that one acquisition, well as soon as that one release I should say happens, I will be on that ass. You guys saw him, he got scratched recently or was held out of practice? And he deserves it. Freaking, he had two assists last game by the way so yeah there's that too so but I guess he's well does Tavara still scar you guys from 2016 no I mean Trawcheck was tripped everybody knows that everybody knows that everybody knows that except for the referee everybody knows that it's okay now stand up all right Wednesday the week David my win of the week goes to a young man in the OHL by the name of Jake Carabella. This young

man had something happen to him the other night in a game against the Flint Firebirds. He lost his cup. And there it is, if you're watching on YouTube. The cup's just kind of hanging out in the ice. And the first guy they show is a guy named Wang, which is hilarious. Anyway. So the ref goes and grabs the cup, picks it up, takes it over to the bench, gives it to Carabella, and you know what he does? He says thank you and he shoves it right back in his pants. Is that one of the most hockey things I've seen all week? Yeah, he used a towel.

He used a towel to give it back to him. Well, yeah, he's clearly not wearing it properly, that it's falling out like that. Like, I used to do that when I was 10 years old, and we wanted to be super lazy in Little League where you wouldn't wear the entire jock strap and you just wear the cup. You stick the cup in your underwear.

It's like, it's very dangerous. No, I was a catcher, so I had to make sure that was maintained properly. Tin cup over here. They'd be like, Roy, let me hear it. You start banging on your cup. I'll always can't give you that mitt. Yep.

Yeah, just like that. My winner of the week earlier this week, the Seattle Kraken held what they called an oops, all goalies game. And their goaltender, Jory Drakord, dropped the ceremonial first puck. It's really a real sight to behold to see dozens of fully padded goaltenders out there playing

like their position players. It was a, it's a beauty, man. If I got to do that, I would just hit guys. You want to check? Yeah. What else am I going to do? I'm not going to try to score on like 25 other goalies. I just want to go out there and bang around.

It doesn't look terribly organized. No, it's not. Everyone loves a good goalie fight. You're going to drop the gloves and just start fighting every goalie you could. That'd be awesome. Throw a heavy hit. I don't want to fight.

I just want to be a troll. I just want to go out there and hit people. That's hilarious Ethan Adnan mentioned Connor hell buck earlier. This guy's pretty amazing one of the week from the Jets Canucks game Last week we went with a goalie. We're going back to the goalie Well here again watch this save that Connor hell buck makes comes out of his net Dives all the way back with his stick out. This guy's unbelievable. Look at how close that puck is to going in right now. Unbelievable.

Adnan, could this guy legitimately win the Heart Trophy this year, not just the Vezina? I looked at the odds, Ethan, yesterday, and Dry Settle's the favorite. Hellebuck is second right now, which I was amazed. I actually thought McKinnon, if you just said to me, I thought, my God, McKinnon for the Heart. No, right now it's Dry Settle, Hellebuck, then McKinnon and Hellebuck, I think it's going to get nominated.

Could he win? Absolutely. I mean, if the Jets end up winning the president's trophy and he's the biggest reason why and he's going to win his third vest. And we've seen it before. Josie Theodore, Kerry Price, Dominic Hellebuck. An incredible story. I mean, he's a triple crown categories, wins, goals against shutouts. I mean, regardless of if the Jets win the president's trophy,

the way the all the the all is played this season, I mean, the way the All-Lits played this season. I mean, they're pretty low in the standings right now. I mean, really, it should be hell of a bunch of trophies. If any skater should win it, it should be McKinnon. He's gonna lead the league in points again for the second straight year. He's been the best player in the league this year. His team is gonna be one of the main contenders

to win the Stanley Cup, way more than Edmonton is this year. And we all know that as great as Dry Settle is, he's not the best player on his team. So it's like, can you be the MVP? He is this season, no. Fails of the week, Dave. Dry Settle is, by the case you're dressed up,

49 goals, 11 more than any other skater. So, you know. Insane. Yeah, his goal scoring numbers this year are insane. Fails of the week, Dave. My fail of the week is us, as a collective hockey community. Oh, what'd I do? For our collective lack of an understanding

of the man that is Matt Rempey. What are we doing with this guy? Is he a lug on the ice that just like runs into guys and gets called for penalties at this point? That's not interference. He's got speed, he's got hands, we just can never see them because he's out there like a freaking Frankenstein on the ice.

He can't like, look at this, look at this, look how quickly he gets up the ice. Like there is skill with this guy and we can't really see it because he's been branded and partially rightly so, but I just feel like there's more to the man than what we see. And now he's like the referees every time he sneezes or he looks at a guy, he's getting called for a penalty. I don't know. Yeah, he's getting penalties called on him that are not actually penalties because he is who he is. So I just think there's more to Matt Rempey that meets the eye and I think maybe we're starting to really push him into a corner and maybe unfairly so, I don't know.

My fellow of the week comes from my avalanche Maple Leafs referee Kelly Sutherland. Oh no. Wrong place, wrong time. He fell. He fell forward and the puck stopped. Oh no. He fell forward fast. And that's not the worst case because-

Former Panther. Stephen Lawrence came in and And that's not the worst case because- Former Panther. Stephen Lawrence came in and scored. Former Panther show. On Mackenzie Blackwood. Guys, the athletes are fighting with the Stars for second place at Central. Imagine if they fall by two points. The Stars get home ice because of Kelly Sutherland's boo boo.

What a disaster. This was a huge game for the Panthers. This tied the division. This tied the Atlantic division because the Leafs won this game. Well, I mean, the Panthers. This tied the division. This tied the Atlantic division because the Leafs won this game. Well, I mean, the Panthers won after the Maple Leafs won. So technically, it's a semantics. Nah, but still, you'd like to be ahead by two.

Yes, absolutely. But of course, this road trip did not help the Panthers. Not once. You got one more. You got one more tomorrow. Yeah, I got one more tomorrow. You feel good about the road trip. You win at Washington. You'll feel good about it.

Back to back, too, away and home. That's ridiculous. What are we doing? Well, they got, what win at Washington, you'll feel good about it. Back to back, too, away and home, that's ridiculous. What are we doing? Well, they got, what, three back to backs in the next two weeks? Because I think they got a road trip coming up where it's a back to back, two days off, and then another back to back.

Very strange what the schedule makers have done to the Panthers. It's just stupid. Ethan. Guys, the Buffalo Sabres are really bad. And any time you lose to the Buffalo Sabres, it's really bad. But this is one of the worst ways

you can lose to the Buffalo Sabres here. Tomas Hurtle has a breakaway with an empty net, tries to dump it back to Jack Eichel for some reason, not really sure why, puck goes the other way. Sabres score to tie the game with like less than a minute left. We go to a shootout, no goals in overtime, here comes Alex Tuck, I think this is,

beats him for the winner, Sabres win. They had an empty net goal to put it away My fellow week goes to the Vegas Golden Knights and just to tell you how bad the Sabres season has been There was an own goal on a delayed penalty when the Sabres played the Utah Hockey Club And it didn't even go to the goalie like if you score on yourself the other goalie should get credit No, it was a bad pass that went across The length of the ice. I think that's how the Utah Hockey Club scored their first

ever goal in the preseason this year. It was a goal that was a bad pass into an empty net on a delayed penalty in the preseason. It's very appropriate for the former Coyotes. That's ridiculous. By the way, a good reminder for all the sports media out there, like Ethan pointed out, Bruce Cassie-Affords was asked by a reporter who simply said empty netter a couple guys nice there didn't score the

goal and Bruce paused and goes is there a question in there? Always ask a question especially to a pissed-off coach minutes after they should have buried an empty netter. Not great not great at all. And thank you for joining us. Prime Monday night hockey at Ant-Man Burke. Thank you so much fellas appreciate it. I'll see you guys again soon. I can't wait for the playoffs. Be well, brother. Let's talk about something that makes watching college hoops even better.

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EvanWilliams.com to find a bottle near you. Evan Williams Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. Bartstown, Kentucky, 43 to 45% alcohol by volume. Enjoy responsibly. 21 and older. David Pignola joins us from the fourth period and the GM meetings has wrapped up this week. And they were talking about league business and whatnot and maybe some road changes. not who knows but um yeah the general managers gathered together in Florida to talk about what's going on in the league but there was a major issue that came from the Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald his son Casey was cut under the chin by skates yeah another former Tom Fitzgerald. Huge goal, game 796.

Gigantic goal. But his son was slit by a skate in a freak accident. He luckily made it to a medical facility and got stitched up. He is okay. Also what happened with the Canadians and the senators, Josh Anderson was wearing cut proof skate socks and The back of his leg got slit luckily the socks saved them Shane Pinto as you can see in this video right there Oh that could have been career ending that was right Didn't happen a few years ago. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah in a preseason game. Yeah that that was that that could have been few years ago? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. In a preseason game. Yeah. that that was that that could have been yeah. What is Achilles or something crazy? Oh god. So, Tomford has made a

impassioned plea to institute cut resistant protective gear for the players. You know, kind of grandfather them in kind of like the visors and whatnot. So, what are we hearing from the GMs? Is there any traction on this happening, David? Things like there is, you know, they want to be obviously cognizant of how to protect these guys on a regular basis and you know athletes, they're creatures of habit. So any type of adjustment or change and they're going to go, whoa, I don't like this, hold on. Sometimes got to force the issue and you know, even when you show them these types of videos and you show them what happened to other guys Some guys are stubborn. So

From a GM's perspective, they want to make sure their guys are safe And some guys have been wearing neck protectors and I want to take hope but to her in LA has been a big Proponent that he wants these he's been wearing it even a preseason games and it wants that to be a regular thing for the rest of his guys I think the more we see this the more this is going to come into play whether they make it mandatory or they grandfather it in like you said for the younger guys coming into the league well we'll obviously have to wait and see. But yeah, Tommy made a nice plea, a good argument, an emotional argument to have this instituted

across the league. We'll see exactly where that goes. Everything is optional right now, including the protective Kevlar protective socks and things like that, which obviously helped Josh Anderson. Even at the end of that video, he's kind of looking out, just going, wow, I got lucky. And he did. And it's, again, just a reminder for him, his teammates, and even people, other people around the league, you got to protect yourselves because it's a fast, high impact sport and

anything could happen. Let me ask you, as somebody who has never played hockey before, what's the issue here? Like why do these, why are these guys so resistant? Is it a tough guy thing or is it a comfort thing? Like what's the, this seems so obvious to me to wear everything possible that would be cut resistant. It's more of a comfort thing, honestly. Like these guys, again, creatures of habit, they've, they've, they've been doing this since they were,

you know, four years old, five years old, and they haven't had to wear it. And they feel like it's going to be restrictive in some fashion, which, you know, when you're on the outside looking in, you're going, that doesn't make any sense, that's silly. But when you're playing it, you know, and you have to put something else on that you're not accustomed to or used to, it's in the back of your mind. Eventually, I think it will get pushed in fully across the board. But until then, you're going to see a little bit of resistance from the players and them wanting it to be their choice, which I get to a certain extent.

But I think eventually this is going to be a mainstream thing in the national hockey league. Yeah, Ethan, just kinda thinking about like, like Marten Brodor wore the same chest protector for like 30 years, like look at Matthew Kachuck, he wears the same ratty piece of whatever shirt, like these guys wear the same gear for 20, 30 years, so it doesn't surprise me that there'd be pushback

and starting it from a lower level would make sense. But Dave, I wanted to talk to you about something else that kinda came out of the GM meeting, something that I've been clamoring about for a while and it sounds like it's not gonna happen is an extension of the three on three overtime from five minutes to 10 minutes, just because I think it would cut out like 95% of shootouts,

which I think we'd all be in favor of. So it doesn't sound like that's happening. It also doesn't sound like there's gonna be any rule changes in the immediate future. And it sounds like the playoff format is going to stay the same because Gary Berman said he loves it the way it is. Why are they just adverse to change?

Are they just really happy despite what the, I guess what guys like us are saying? It seems like Gary's just very happy with the status quo. Yeah, there haven't been any big need, Dave, for like, you know, big rule changes. They reviewed goaltender interference. They reviewed some of the other different plays off sides, just making sure that everything's kind of aligned

there. With respect to the to the playoff format, they really, their argument, and it's worked. And it's it's I understand it, I don't agree with it, I think it should change too. But I get why they're so strong on this one. To have the rivalries kick in right out of the gate has meant a lot for the league in terms of its ratings and everything that's tied to that. So for the potential to see Colorado Dallas in the first round, even though that's like a conference final, Stanley Cup final type of matchup in terms of the caliber of these two teams, it's going to draw a lot of attention right out of the gate when the playoffs

begin. And that just means more eyes. That means more potential revenue, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So from a league perspective, they feel that that argument is valid and that's why they don't want to change it. And again, I get it, but my preference would be, I'd rather see that as a conference final, for example, but the potential to have Tampa, Florida in the first round, Toronto, Ottawa, first round, Colorado, Dallas, first round, Edmonton, LA, first round,

there's so many different storylines tied to it. It just boosts ratings significantly. And again, good for sponsorship. And then you hope that the viewership continues round after round after round with all the hype that's built up in round one. That's that's the league's argument. Where are we on the all-star format? It's going to change. I don't know if we'll have an all-star game per se next season. There will be an

all-star weekend to what extent that's what they're trying to figure out over these next few weeks here. There's gonna be, I think the skills competition's gonna stay, they'll tweak a few things there. But because everyone is gonna be in New York and they're all gonna fly to Milan for the Winter Olympics, I think there's gonna be some type of international flair to it.

Obviously piggybacking off Four Nations, leading into Olympics, it makes sense to do something in that type of international flair to it. Obviously piggybacking off four nations, leading into Olympics. It makes sense to do something in that type of form. But to what extent? I don't know yet because they don't even know. But there will be an All-Star weekend. I don't think the game itself will happen. I think there will be other activities around it. A skills competition maybe expanded. I'm sure they're going to bring three on three in some capacity back as well in some type of competitive format.

Frank Cera Valley has written a article on power plays being at as low as level since the 1963-64 season. Like penalties are just not being called. There have been 747 fewer power plays this year than last year. That's a 12% drop. I shouldn't say penalties aren't being called. There's probably more of the, you know, the four-on-four type situations where the matching penalties and scrums and stuff like that. And the GMs don't know why. What are you hearing out of the GM meetings about the power plays being lowered know why. What are you hearing out of the GM meetings

about the power plays being lowered? Yeah, there's a little bit of confusion with regard to that. Publicly, the league and its entities, including the GMs, they don't like to criticize the refs publicly. So we'll see what they're saying behind the scenes. Eventually that will probably come out. But there's some head scratchers and a lot of people, you know, they wonder why certain calls aren't being called, certain penalties aren't being called, why they're just letting everything go. In Toronto, I sit in the press box and Toronto's management staff is right above me. And you get to hear a few comments being made as to why that wasn't called, that wasn't called,

and how was that called, but the last four weren't. I mean, I've even sat there, I'm sure you guys have too. You sit there and you start, well, that should have been one. Well, that's a hooking call, that's interference. That's this, that's that. And they kind of let it go. If it's consistent across the board,

and then I don't think people have much of a problem with it overall. But if it varies game by game, then that's where the concern really starts to factor in. So even if they're calling less, if they're letting things go, as long as it's the same in October as it is in June, teams really don't have much of an argument and they're comfortable with that at the end of the day. They'll be heated in the moment, but at least they'll go well, at least they didn't call that crap in November and December.

And all of a sudden they're calling it now or vice versa. The league just wants the players just want consistency. If the penalties are lower and they're letting guys get away with more stuff, so be it as long as it's the same from game one and as it is to the last game of the Cup final. Dave, it is March 21st. We are less than a month away from the Stanley Cup playoffs beginning. And as I looked at the standings this morning, I noticed something very interesting. I noticed that all seven Canadian teams are either in a playoff spot or within two points

of a playoff spot. So we've got a legitimate chance of having all seven Canadian teams in the playoffs, which would give your nation Basically a 50% chance of winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in I don't like 50 years How long has it been? What's the excitement level up in your neck of the woods are they like getting jacked up generally I know that it's very compartmentalized with who roots for who But it seems like this should be like the time

for Canadian hockey fans. Yeah, well, I'm in Toronto. So it's a little, the vibe's a little different here. It's a combination of hell with everyone else, we just want the Leafs to win. And this team's not even good enough because they lost a couple nights ago and blow this team up, even though they're they lost a couple nights ago and blow this

team up even though they're tied with the Panthers in points. I think in the other markets, like Ottawa is hyped. Montreal ridiculously hyped right now with what they could potentially do. There's a lot of pessimism in Toronto, a lot of pessimism in Vancouver too. They're very similar in that respect. Edmonton's hoping that McDavid and Dry-Seidel are healthy as they're getting looked at, I think, today as well. So they're hyped.

They want a chance at the Stanley Cup again, but they want to make sure their guys are good. And Winnipeg is just, I mean, they're rolling and they're waiting for game 83 because that's what, they're so focused on postseason play that they just want that that to that to get going. I think more Ottawa, Calgary, Montreal those are the markets where everyone's really hyped up about the potential of making the playoffs because the Habs weren't

expected to Calgary wasn't really expected to this season and Ottawa was hopeful but there needed to be a lot of things to go right for the Sens and they have this season with Travis Green behind the bench. So I think there's more, it's more of a selective market wide type of excitement and exuberance for the potential of making the playoffs in those three markets versus pessimism in Vancouver and Toronto and expectations in Winnipeg and Edmonton at usually a pretty consistent high. Which Canadian teams would the Toronto Maple Leaf fan root for to bring the Cup back to Canada? Ooh. That's a great question.

That's a really good one. I would imagine definitely not Montreal. Right. Probably not Ottawa. Like what was it like in the Stanley Cup final last year? I think they were kind of like, all right, cool, we'll watch and the Blue Jays suck, so they couldn't deal with that in the summer. I think half of them were cheering for Edmonton

and the other half were like, whatever, we just like hockey, go Florida. How mad were people though when the Cup went in the Atlantic Ocean? of them were cheering for Edmonton and the other half were like, whatever, we just like hockey go Florida. How mad were people though, when the cup went in the Atlantic Ocean? Like was Canada, was there a day of mourning in Canada when that happened? There was like a collective sigh, like a hand on the chest, Matt, what are you doing? And then they're like, okay, it's safe, it's good. We're okay. I think that was the cupkeeper's reactions too, when that happened outside elbow room. But it was like, there's a crazy, obviously

there's a crazy passion for the sport and for everything tied to it, but it's also like market driven. In Toronto, I'm sure there were more fans cheering for Edmonton than there weren't. I would imagine Calgary would be the same Edmonton than there were. I would imagine Calgary would be the same Vancouver. I don't know if Toronto would be all on board with that and definitely Winnipeg, I don't think they would care. But definitely they don't want Montreal and definitely not Ottawa getting anywhere near a Stanley Cup. The Cup run that the Habs were on in 2021 when they lost to Tampa and beat Toronto in the first round. That was all hands on deck. Just anything against the Habs works well for Toronto fans.

All right. A couple of questions before we get out of here. Did the league talk about Donald Trump's idea of having a NHL, KHL All-Star game and where are we on the CBA? I mean, there's an influx of money coming in for the league so is there a league piece right now? The NHL, KHL stuff, that's never gonna happen anytime soon. There you go. Thank you. So that's really the end of that. With respect to the CBA, I've never seen the NHL and NHLPA still harmonious before. Going back to like the 2003-04 lockout or 4-5, whatever it was, and the previous one, and I've never seen it. Even in the last regime, the tensions were always high.

You could hear that at the Walk on eggshells talking about it. I've talked to Gary Bettman and the Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley and the executive director of the NHL, P.A. Marty Walsh and his number two and Ron Hainsey, former NHL. Or everyone's reaction has been, we're good. Well, we'll figure it out. We're not too concerned about it. I've never seen that before. And

keep in mind, they had to agree on everything tied to four nations because it was a joint venture between the NHL and NHL PA. They had to agree on bringing the World Cup back because again, joint venture, and they did that relatively seamlessly. They had to agree on the on the cap numbers for the next three seasons and the projections that are moving forward. And they did with relative ease. The negotiations, as Betman said this week, are going to start in April. But they've had discussions across the board for the last little while, for the last several weeks.

So I don't think they're at a point where these talks, these negotiations are going to have to fine tune anything, because there will be some sticking points. I know the players are going to want to have a chat about expansion and where those revenues go. Because right now that is strictly shared by the owners and the team and the leagues, excuse me, the league and the teams argue that while we're giving you new jobs. So that's where your influx of revenue kicks in. But that's going to be a talking point, along with a few other things, but there's

nothing pressing that is going to risk any pause in in labor piece. The goal is to get something done this summer. Maybe I mean, the very aggressive goal is to get something done by the Stanley Cup final. Again, aggressive, we'll see, but I would be shocked based on everything that's happening right now. I'd be shocked if by next season at the latest, we don't hear that the league and the NHLPA have extended their CBA several years. Well, sounds like good news coming out of Florida with the GM meeting. So David Pignola, thank you for joining us. Thank you, David.

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For more, visit jägermeister.com. Drink responsibly. On Saturday, the Panthers played at Montreal and that was terrible. Terrible, I tell you, it was bad. They looked uninterested in this game, but the Canadians, they really put their best effort into that one. And the Panthers deserved this loss. Probably not as much as the Canadians deserved that win according to Paul Maurice Phyllis. I mean it was it was not a good game. No, the Panthers did not look like their usual selves. They weren't physical.

They weren't really playing up on their balls of their feet. Montreal took it for a good two and a half periods and by the time for to woke up It was definitely too little too late. Yeah, it was a horrendous first period and and you know, maybe if after that first period they're only down one nothing they're on to nothing and You know you're in the game, but then you get to a place in that third period You can't give up the next goal they do they lose 3-1 Yeah Yeah as one of those situations where you go down early you go down by two goals and then you spend the rest of the game trying to catch up and they did I mean they

put shots on net and they put attempts at least on they tried but nothing doing. No Sam Montalbo did look good in goal for Montreal another former panther goodness gracious. I mean it was bad so that was Montreal and on Sunday again the back toto-back and this is this is a running theme for the Panthers for the rest of the season they played the Allenders now this this loss they lost 42 was probably the most angry I've been at this team in a very long time and I'm talking about we went to Edmonton twice and they lost we flew 10,000 I don't want to hear you complain. I'm going to complain about this. God damn it. 15,000 miles, 10 cities to Edmonton and back.

And they lost. And I wasn't as angry as I was when they lost to the y'all on Sunday. And come on, man. They blew a two goal lead just like they did in Boston. And of course, period lead, their period. Common theme here, defense. Well, no, I mean, what's going on recently on defense? Got hurt. He left the game. They were down. Well, obviously, Kulikov, big loss. But what's going on? I can't quite. Oh, that Echblad guy.

Yes, he's he matters. He matters for all those people that like to shit on Ekblad a little bit, give him some flack for how he plays. This guy is super important because, I mean, look at the way- He has to spend it. We don't know what he took. Right, that's the other thing. It's like, we don't really know how much of an impact

this actually had on his play this year. He's been a great player for them for a long time. No, absolutely. Clearly, he's really important because not only do they miss him, but we saw what Seth Jones was as a number one defenseman in Chicago, right? That was the whole thing when he came here was we thought him moving down the lineup in Florida would make him a more effective player. And he's been awesome since coming over. Don't get me wrong. But now he's had to

shoulder that load as the number one defenseman. And you got a two goal lead blown in in Boston, a lackadaisical effort in Montreal and then another two goal lead blown in the third period against the lowly islanders who I hate it. They're right. They're right now. But I mean, it's it was ugly. And you see some of the things, you know, even in that Toronto game, which was a great win for them of the things, you know, even in that Toronto game, which was a great win for them, you saw, you know, a pass go through a wide open lane that you don't usually see where, you know, the defense is usually a lot sharper than that. So I think they really miss Aaron Ekblad and hopefully he comes back right, ready

to play because he's going to be coming back for game three, the first round of the playoffs. If they're in a one-one series or even God forbid they're down to nothing to Tampa, Toronto, Ottawa, like that's a big hole to dig out of and they're going to need him to come back firing right away. I think it's going to be a blessing actually him missing all this time. Rest. Yeah, he's going to come back a month off. Yeah. And, and we know what he's looked like, especially after they lost in the Stanley Cup finals. He he was super banged up and now you're talking about another run into mid-june And then you want to play again the entire season

I mean if this could happen if this could happen to one guy who needs a little bit of rest here I think it's gonna wind up being a blessing in disguise and this team and the other guy who's out to Chucky like I think Chucky is another guy who with the physical way that he plays in the playoffs, obviously he's coming off an injury. So it's different, but getting him some time off to kind of get right back, get back to a hundred percent is going to be huge for him in the playoffs. And I think he's going to have no problem coming back firing on all cylinders. As far as Kulikov is concerned,

Palmaris says that he expects Kulikov to return before the end of the regular season, which is, I hate that statement. I hate that statement because there's a month left in the regular season. Well, and they don't have to be forthcoming in that league. No, absolutely. It's a lower body, it's an upper body injury actually.

Yeah, it's one armor. That's the weird thing, right? Is an arm upper, like it's dangling my arms are dangling It's my lower body connects to the upper body. They don't have to say anything Yeah, we think we'll be back before the end of the year if this was the NFL and Palmeries did that he would get fined Like there's different rules. There's different rules operating within the rules that are made. It's like with Matthew Kachuck and LTI are they're not making the rules Don't hate the player hate the game. Yeah hate the play

It's just the fact that I don't know when he's going to return and I hate that because now we gotta rely on Whoever the Panthers are gonna send up from from Charlotte Oh, who could that be Tobias Bjorn fought Bigfoot? I think is the nickname nickname I've heard once or twice, which is a pretty cool nickname. He was fine last night. Yeah. No, they liked him. Yeah. They're going to shelter him.

They're going to shelter him. Yeah, he needs more seasoning. He needs a little more seasoning, but good that he's getting a... He's a former first round pick. Yeah, you're just saying. Last night, in Columbus, that one, I don't want to say by the skin of the teeth I'm here's a goal tenors do but uh that was as exciting as zero zero game you're gonna get yeah that was a great game how long has it been since the Panthers have gone

to overtime without it was at Columbus five years five or six years five years ago see I think Goldie said it was the same goalies too. The same goalies? There's Mercedez and Bob. It would have been Bob for the Panthers five years ago. Elvis has been in Columbus for a while. Yeah, maybe, maybe. Yeah, that was a great game. Normally, you know, sometimes you get the zero, zero games. Like, eh, this is kind of a shitty game.

There were a ton of chances, ton of posts, especially Columbus. Yeah. The goaltending for Columbus was fantastic. I mean, Bobroczki had to make some saves too, but yeah, the goal disallowed, easy call, puck was clearly kicked in. You're a little bit nervous though,

because you get the goal during the third period, it's like wow, this is the way we're gonna lose it. But Barkov in overtime, which felt like really his only good chance of the game. Yeah, two shots on goal. Is Barkov getting a little bit more aggressive lately? Does it feel like? Shoot the puck! Well, it feels like he's getting a little bit more aggressive lately? Does it feel like that? Shoot the puck!

Well, it feels like he's shooting a little bit more over the last week or so. Even that overtime shot. There was that Tampa game a few weeks ago. This was a six shot. And I'm screaming out here as he's loading up here. Jones back to him. I'm screaming, shoot, shoot, shoot.

And he shoots it, ping, right in. Manna is in the shooting lane as well. Yeah. Yeah, the four on three in overtime, you got it. It's too easy, yeah it's too easy. But he had that game a couple weeks ago against Tampa where he scored twice, two snipes right past Vasileski and it felt like since then he's been a little more aggressive. He had a game earlier this year, I think it was back in like December against the Blues where he kind of decided in overtime it was the same

thing. I don't think it was a power play, but he made that sick play, or he did, he drew a penalty, and then it was a four on three, and he made that sick play to draw the penalty, and then he just decided this game's over, and fired it right past the keeper. Same thing here. I love when he shoots the puck, guys.

I love when the captain just decides this game is over, and we're gonna shoot the puck, and it's gonna go in, and we're gonna win this game. And the Panthers looked desperate at times last night. There was some desperate, that penalty kill at the end of the game was desperate penalty killing, but Columbus is desperate as well. They've scored one goal in their last four games. They're kind of fading from the playoff race a little bit. Montreal is hot. All of a sudden the Islanders are hot. The Rangers

are hanging around. So it looked, they were, those were two teams that really needed to win last night, especially Tampa won, Toronto won as around. So it looked, those were two teams that really needed a win last night, especially Tampa won, Toronto won as well. So the Panthers had to keep pace with these teams. That was a massive win for the Panthers last night. Alexander Barkov is who he is because he's a playmaker. He's great defensively. I mean, he's bound to get another Selke trophy

and has an excellent shot, which he does not use often enough, especially his backhand. And it's very, very good to see him get pucks on net. Tomorrow's huge because you win tomorrow, you're talking, and not only is it a win against the Capitals, but it's back to back wins. You come home and the schedule softens up significantly at the end of this month. Like you're talking at home against Pittsburgh, Utah, Montreal.

You could hit a little run here if you win tomorrow. Well the good news is that Alexander Ovechkin will not break the all time goals. Probably not. Yeah, unless of course he scores seven, which I doubt. Because if he does break that record tomorrow, what would that be Zez? How many goals in the game?

I was trying to set you up for a bad news for the Panthers. I mean you have to score seven goals, I imagine it'd be bad news for the Panthers. Cats are your boys, Zaz? Cats are your boys? The cats or the cats? The cats are obviously my boys. I mean come on now. I want to ask you guys about... Let's dive further into this matchup between the Capitals. Because I mean, you on now. I want to ask you guys about... Well, hold on. Let's dive further into this matchup between the Capitals, because, I mean, you look at

that team, Tom Wilson is having a career year. 30 goals? 30 goals. I mean, it's a career high. He is a one away from a career high in assists, and he has a career high in 57 points this season. And of course, the Capitals are tied for the President's Trophy right now with 100 points.

They got a game in hand so they're at the top of the table and they have one more regulation win so they got the tiebreaker there. This is a good team and as much as it's been a surprise for the Capitals this season, they are a really good team, especially Golden. Fun, exciting, yeah. I mean Logan Thompson has been amazing. You remember when he got traded during the draft and people were like, what's going on with Washington?

But yeah, he's been spectacular. Jacob Chickren, another amazing addition for them in the offseason, he's been great. But just a fun team to watch. I wonder, guys, how good are they going to be when the playoffs get here? Because I remember a Panthers team a few years ago, really fun, really exciting, a lot of end-to-end, a lot of high-scoring games. They didn't really fare, lot of end to end, lot of high scoring games. They didn't really fare that well once playoff hockey went around.

Oh, we did not play well that series against Washington. So, and they won that series, and then they got swept by Tampa. So I'm wondering, is this Capitals team a playoff for real team, or are they a regular season for real team? David, I've gotta take. Oh no, it's the sports whisperer.

Ethan. I've gotta take. Making me uncomfortable talking about that. I don't think they're making it past the second round what yeah Really? Jaeger meister Jaeger bomb okay? Well, okay? Ethan bomb. I'll tell you why I just don't I just think the teams around them got Better and they kind of held steady And I understand not wanting to mess up the chemistry that you have on the team right now because things are rolling I mean they made Pierre-luc Dubois into a good player and he's been rejected everywhere he's gone.

And all of a sudden he's been awesome for them this year. I just think the teams around them got a little better. They're probably going to get a pretty favorable matchup in the first round. Montreal in the first round, Carolina in the second round maybe. Yeah. You know, if they get Carolina, I mean, I'm not a big believer in Carolina at all. So, but in New Jersey, they're not going to have Jack Hughes. So, I mean, they've got the favorable side of the bracket, but I just think this is one of those typical president's trophy seasons where a team has an amazing regular season.

They ride the coattails of this awesome chase that they've been on with Ovechkin. And then they just kind of fizzle out a little bit. Again, I think the teams around them just got got better and and they just kind of held steady They didn't really make any improvements at the devil I'll tell you it's a weird thing to me where let's say Oh Vechkin comes One or two goals short at the end of the season of Gretzky's record And then we're watching the Capitals in the first round and like he scores a goal to go I'm supposed to pretend that he doesn't have more goals now

And like he scores a goal to go I'm supposed to pretend that he doesn't have more goals now Like it's weird you could add all of his previous playoff goals, and he's past reds You already obviously you could say the same thing oh well Gretzky's But still like if we're doing this whole chase for Gretzky, and he's one short And then I watch him score two more goals like I'm I do days it happen Pretending they doesn't have more goals now the division of regular season stats It's weird for what it's worth. Brain severance, regular season and playoffs, right? A quick Google will tell you, Gretzky

has 66 more total goals than Ovechkin. He's got 16.95 and Ovechkin has 16.29. So he would have to score 66 goals this season. Edmonton went on a lot of deep playoff runs. Yeah, I was going to say they won four cups, five cups, whatever. It's weird though, like in the National Football League, they count Belichick's career playoff wins to catch Shula. Like, why don't we do that with this? Yeah, it doesn't make any sense. Back to back, by the way, between Saturday at Washington and Sunday at home when they finally return against the Pittsburgh Penguins. I have nothing to say about them. Well, we'll be scowling from the press box. Yes. Yes. Yes, we will. The guy they got to get going is is the guy I always love to talk about is Reinhardt. He's been really quiet since the four nations and even a little bit

before that. I think the absence of Kachuk is a big reason why. He's had to be more of a distributor, especially on the power play, but they really need to get him going down the stretch here. And this is going to be tight. It's going to be tight down the stretch. John and Zazzle, thank you. Yeah. Thanks for having me guys. I like being able to talk some hockey, you know, rather than just by myself. I got other guys to talk about it with. Yeah, that's great. And Ann Burke and David Pignano was on the show. You can watch that on YouTube for those who are watching on DKN. Okay. Goodbye.