The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - The Hockey Show: Were The Maple Leafs And Marner Better With Each Other?

Episode Date: April 3, 2026

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights both made major shakeups this past week, and the gang breaks down what each move says about where each franchise stands. Was the breakup between the Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner a mistake? Will Auston Matthews leave in free agency at the end of his contract? Plus, Rose is mad that the Panthers are turning it on late in the year. Then, Allyson Lukan of the Too Many Men Podcast and Kraken Hockey Network joins the show to discuss Seattle's playoff chances, the pillow fight in the Pacific Division, and the first year of the PWHL's Seattle Torrent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are ending them regular season with a bang. We've got some front office shakeups. And we got Allison Lucan to talk about the Seattle Crackens Playoff hopes. This is the hockey show. There's a lot to continue. David Dralk in the Hockey News, we have Rose and Ethan. My name is Roy Bellamy. This is the hockey show.

Let's start off with the Toronto Maple Leafs. A couple of teams actually in this league as well as Vegas have had some front office shakeups. We're starting with the Maple Leafs here as they fired their general. manager Brad Tree Living, only three years on the job in Toronto. Not a lot of time. And the Leafs are going to miss the playoffs. They've looked bad this season. And the future of head coach Craig Barubi is up in the air.

It's going to be decided by the new general manager. I just don't see Barubi staying with the team to you. No, probably not. You would imagine a new regimes that I want to pick their guys. And it's been a big shit show in Toronto. Even going back to when they hired Tree Living out of Calgary, what was that? Matthew Cichuk trade for Jonathan Huberto,

which didn't really sit very well right off the bat. So it was questionable off the start, and now you just have to look at Keith Pelly, who's in charge of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment up in Toronto and say, what are you doing? The decisions made have just been not good. That franchise has put itself backwards, and now, like, you know,

you got media asking William Neelander, do you want to stick around for another rebuild? It's just a really bad situation for a team. That up until this year, I think it made the playoffs nine straight seasons. Yeah, I think that we've shown this year, this year has shown, if anything, that Mitch Marner and Toronto were better off with each other. And we'll talk about the other team on the other side of this deal who finds themselves in a precarious situation here, Vegas in a minute. But it's pretty clear, especially in Toronto, that they were better off with Mitch Marner, whether they thought they had enough to get over the hump or not.

I think the problem was clearly not Mitch Marner. It was probably some of their depth that has shown that it's not good enough to win a Stanley Cup. and they tried to kind of replace him in the aggregate like they do in Moneyball, and it failed miserably because Micelli's been a flop, and some of these other signings have not worked out very well at all. So Toronto, a big mess right there. And yeah, they Mitch Mish Marner on a hundred point player a lot. Is Austin Matthew Stain?

God, that's a great question. I think it's really going to depend how the next year and a half play out in Toronto. Like, what exactly are they going to do? it seems like that's a city that chases away their stars, especially lately. You know, credit to John Tavares, he went there from the island and he's done a really good job of just being their guy and really stepping up this season. He's up an amazing year. But, yeah, I don't know, man. If I'm Austin Matthews, like, do I want to subject myself to another seven, eight years potentially of that?

That's a tough question. I doubt he does. I don't think he does. I think he's going to want to get out and try and go win a Stanley Cup and be successful elsewhere. All he's ever known is success, really, in terms of. making the playoffs. So it'll be really interesting to see what happens with him and what happens with William Neelander as well, because I think both of those guys will be saying, well, we got this close here in Toronto, now we're this far away. So where can I go to be this close again to try and win that elusive Stanley Cup?

I think both of them very possibly could be, although Neelander just signed a big extension a few years ago, I think Matthews, you know, he's on that McDavid timeline as well where I think he's got another two years. looks precarious, especially with all the Olympics stuff. It seems like they were really mad at him after the Olympics. He wins a gold medal as the captain for Team USA. That's ugly, man. That kind of goes further into it, though. I mean, it seems like such a silly thing to be upset with him about.

Like, you know, if anybody understands, like, how big and how important international hockey can be, I would imagine it would be the Canadian community. But that's just another thing that's like, this is your captain. This is one of the best goals scores the league has seen in a long time. And you're just pushing him away. They went all in on the big four. It just seems to me like this is going to end up being a full rebuild over in Toronto. And that is not the city in this league to be doing a full rebuild.

No. I mean, they'll probably be okay just because that franchise is such a cash cow regardless. But you've got to have some very upset fans that are already pretty upset. And, oh, God, I just, I mean, I'm curious to see how it plays out from a fan standpoint, from an entertainment standpoint. But it's just not great, man. That core four just, it wasn't it. All right, let's go on in the Vegas. I want to say it's a surprising move considering the team,

but firing your head coach with eight games ago and you being in the divisional playoff spot at this point in the Pacific, a very soft Pacific division. Yeah. Firing your coach this late in the season is pretty surprising, even if it is Vegas. Yeah, and not just any coach. This is Bruce Cassidy, who won them the Stanley Cup,

who's been really good for them the last few years. But Vegas, they've been a team that has not been afraid of making, you know, relatively questionable moves or something that, you know, other teams might pause. You remember when they traded Mark Andre Fleury? They're, oh, man, this is great. And for torts, like, of all the coaches to bring in, Pete DeBore is still out there somewhere. You're going to bring in, like, the most fiery coach that you can think over the last several generations

and John Cotorell to go over there and fix things in Vegas. Can he play goal? Yeah. That's my question. Well, Ethan has had a big problem with this. It seems like a, it seems like you're going after the same coach in this situation, right, Ethan? Yeah, I think that was the interesting thing, Roy, is that, okay, like I saw Elliot Freeman reported something along the lines of the, you know, he was rubbing the players. Or, whoa, almost said something.

Oh, whoa, hey, hey, he was, you know, like too hard on the players. That's not better. Yeah. Anyway, okay. Basically, Bruce Cassidy was not a fit for that locker room, right? And he was not your typical players coach, as we'll call it. So they hired John Tortorella, of all people. I understand that Torrance is a guy that usually brings a spark. And look, they had a great win in Calgary last night. Mitch Marner has a hat trick in a five-point game, probably his best performance in a Vegas uniform so far, at least from a production standpoint. But, man, I mean, it's a really interesting move, especially with eight games left in the regular season to just kind of say, all right, like, this is basically for the playoffs. Torch's take a run at it. And I mentioned last week that this is the first time in franchise history that they will finish with more losses than wins.

This is a team that knows nothing but winning and, you know, they've won a Stanley Cup already. They've been the two Stanley Cup finals. And they're only around since, what, 2017-18 season, right, guys? So, I mean, this is a very, very aggressive move for a franchise that's known to make aggressive moves, but this has to be the craziest one. And you're right, Dave, Torx isn't going to play goal. Like Carter Hart has been a disaster of a signing for multiple reasons.

Aden Hill has not been good enough. They traded Logan Thompson, who's a Vezna finalist this year, probably, might win the Vesna this year. Like, they have made some bad decisions in goaltending. And it just kind of feels like this is a last-ditch effort to resurrect or get the last bit out of this era of Golden Knights hockey that they can. I mean, they have Eichol and Marner locked up for a while. but their roster is aging a little bit, and it feels like towards his last grasp at trying to win one more Stanley Cup. It seems like the goaltending decisions panic moves.

Well, you think back, you know, what do they bring in, Robin Lennar at one point years ago? Mark Andre Fleury was probably the best goaltending move that they've ever had, and then they traded him. And it kind of makes me think about all the other. Like, you talk about the coaching decisions. Gerard Galant, successful to coach there, fired him. Peter DeBore, successful coach there. They fired him just because they couldn't get over the hump and get to that last moment.

Jonathan Marshall, so, Kahn Smythmanor, didn't have no problems getting rid of him. So this is a team that they have no problem ripping off the Band-Aid, going against conventional wisdom. Is it going to work out this time? I'm very, very curious to find out. Well, Team Captain Mark Stone said that the locker room was getting stale. Is that on the coach, though? Isn't that on the players?

That's always the excuse when you get rid of a coach if it's not performance. The locker room is going to stay on, and they lost the locker room. and is John Totorella as David shrinks his chair just goes down I don't know what you're doing but John Totorel was he the best coach available? I hope that's what they the decision that they came to I mean this late in

the season you've got to you would think that they brought him in thinking not just for the next month right like that's going to be their coach next season and you know who knows how much longer after that but I still Peter DeBore he's succeeded everywhere he's gone except Florida because that's

was his first job, but everywhere he's on, he's found success. He took the devils to the final when they weren't very good. Well, when they weren't, you know, what they are now? He took, what, Vegas to the final, right? No, that was Galan. He took, yeah, Galan took him to the final. DeBoer took them to the, they took Dallas to the conference final, what, back-to-back years.

So I would think that unless he's just branded as the guy that can't get over the hump, but he, yeah, I don't know, man. Yeah, but DeBore is also branded as the guy that fights with goalies. and in a team with a fragile goaltending situation already, is DeBoer the guy you want to bring in? He basically just got ran out of town because he went after Ottinger in game six or whatever it was against, or game five against Edmonton last year in the Western Conference final.

I don't know that DeBoer is the right fit, especially because they already had him out in Vegas and they didn't get over the hump there. So, yeah, I understand what you're saying, Dave. DeBore's had success everywhere, but he also hasn't quite gotten over the hump, and Vegas needs that guy. They're a Stanley Cup or bus team every single year.

All right. So here's a little list, quickly curated of NHL head coaches that are available. You guys tell me who do you want. Gerard Galant, he's been there already, so probably not. Todd McClellan, very familiar with the Pacific Division. Dean Evanson, Jay Woodcroft, Bruce Brudrow. Get him back in the NHL. I mean, Dave Haskell, Seattle's first coach.

So there's guys out there. Torts, certainly in a category all of his own. Yeah, there's options. All right, let's talk about the Panthers who are going to run out the string here. But they are running out the string but wins. They're going to keep their coach. Yes, no problem on that one. On Tuesday in Ottawa, they got out to a very, very quick start.

When I say quick, I mean eight seconds. Fastest goal in franchise history, I believe? Yes, fastest goal in franchise history, fastest opening goal in franchise history. Fastest opening two goals in franchise history as well. Got out to a 5-0 lead going into the first period. That's the second time that's happened in franchise history. history. It's so funny. Just when everybody seems to be getting comfortable with the idea of

embracing the quote-unquote tank and, you know, okay, we're going to go after this top 10 lottery protected pick and nope, we're going to sweep a homestand against two teams fighting for their playoffs. I mean, awesome that the Panthers have this culture, that no matter who's in the lineup if it's half an HL roster, they all have

that work ethic. But man, it's just kind of funny. And I think you even said didn't you get a shrug from somebody in the front office? Yeah, I got a shrug got the last night's game against boss, but I mean, they beat Ottawa 62, but lost Aaron Ekblad and Dmitry Kulikov.

Aaron Kulakblet may have broken his finger on a black shot, and Dmitri Kulikov may have broken his nose. In the face! I saw Dmitri Kulikov's face. It's a balloon night. Apparently, he wanted to play last night. He's trying to get in the lineup this weekend in Pittsburgh.

That's a, I mean, granted, he's played, like, what, 10 games all year after missing so much with the shoulder, but, I mean, that's a warrior. Good for good on, What did you see in the Ottawa game, Ethan? Yeah, I was there, guys, and that was actually, like, one of the most exciting games of the year for the Panthers. I thought it was great performance.

Matthew Kichchuk has been an absolute menace the last few games, just all over the ice doing everything. Mackie Samiskevich has kind of found his shooting touch. He's got two goals in his last two games at a beautiful snipe last night. Like, I just love this team, man. I love this franchise. The way they are, the way they just don't go down without a fight and, you know, decide that basically we're just going to play spoiler when we can.

And look, they don't have. have enough to play themselves out of the lottery. Like, I think the Panthers are going to be fine. They're going to keep that top 10 pick because look at the lineup, man. I mean, last night it was basically Gustav Forsling and Seth Jones were your only two regular defensemen, like from the start of the season. And then I don't even know who's playing up front anymore, to be honest with you. Like, I know it's Kachuk and Bennett and Verhege.

I don't know the rest of the lines. Mike Benning. Samiskevich is there, Greer, Bochwis. But it's like, it's such a. podge of players right now because they've got 11 or 12 guys out, it seems like, every night. So they simply don't have enough to win a bunch of games at the end here and play themselves out of the draft position that they need to be in. But it's fun to play spoiler every once in a while.

It's fun to beat Boston. The Panthers swept the Boston Bruins this year, which I think is really funny. Yeah, first time in like 12 years or something. The Ottawa situation is ugly as well, guys. I don't know if we want to touch on that, but, I mean, they looked really bad that night and got their asses beat. Yeah, that was very surprised. As you said with Mackie Samiskevich,

three consecutive games with a goal. So that is, I mean, I've been waiting for that all season. He hasn't been able to finish. Now he's finishing late here in the season. And also the play of Sergey Bob that's last night was vintage Bob. He was a wall last night.

I was thinking to myself, hey, what was that all season? That would have been nice. Well, I always say with Bob this year, Like we've seen him get better in his panthers tenure as the team in front of him got better and better and better. That's not a coincidence. So to see the team as a whole take a big step back this year and particularly with the defensemen that they've been at, the defensive forwards that they've been out. So it doesn't surprise me that we can see these glimpses of greatness from Bob because we know he has it in him.

But I think once the team gets their shit together and they look like the Panthers that we've gotten accustomed to under Paul Maurice, that Bob's going to get back to that. Even at the advanced age of 38 years old that he'll be next opening night. Bob is just amazing because, like, yeah, he's really turned it up the last few games. Like, since the Olympic break, he's been fantastic. And his perspective is always amazing. There's this quote from last night's game where he just says, I'm living the dream. I play in the NHL.

I'm the starting goalie for the Florida Panthers, two-time Stanley Cup champions. Very inspirational. I enjoy every moment, each and every moment. He is just, his perspective is amazing. And look, I think there's no chance he goes anywhere next year. They kept him around for a reason. It clearly, like, brought a bit of a spark. to the team when he remained after the trade deadline.

It's brought a spark to his play as well. Bob will be here next year. I think he'll probably hoist another Stanley Cup over his head before he retires. And his perspective is just always inspiring. And I think we'll see a refreshed and refocused Bob next season behind a healthy team. And that would be dangerous if I'm a team that doesn't like the Florida Panthers. And not only will Sergey Barboski be here next season, he's probably going to sign to one of those infamous team-friendly deals that builds you know, tends to sign these guys.

No, infamous. I think they're great. Bill's, I mean, the way that he's been able to not manipulate contracts, the way he's just been able to orchestrate contracts and put them together, like up until the recent changes with the cap, like he would sign guys to where their deals were almost all signing bonuses. So that way they would collect all their money for the season on July 1 instead of getting it incrementally throughout the year, just these little things that he does that does right

by his guys. You know, we always talk about it. But that's why, you know, Florida's become a destination. You get all these great little things. You got the no tax. You got the winning. You got the great culture. It's just a great time to be in and around the Florida Panthers.

All right. It is time for puck luck. It's brought to you by Draft Kings. Draft Kings, the crown is yours. David, let's make some money. We got two games tonight, but I'm pretty excited. All right, so I know that we, I've gotten a little crazy with puck luck lately. I reeled it in a little bit, more reasonable three-leg parlay tonight.

But we're going to start with Philly on the island. Flyers Rookie Porter Martone, two games, and he has been electric. Ripping the puck. He had five shots and nine shots in his first two NHL games on 20 attempts. So we're going to take him over his two and a half shot total. And it was still in plus money last I saw, so we're off to a good start there. Then we're going to go to the second game today. St. Louis is in Anaheim. First, we're going to take Dylan Holloway over two and a half shots on goal. He's hit that number in seven of his past eight and four of his past five on the road.

But we're also going to take the Ducks Money Line. The ducks have lost three straight Roy, including blowing a late lead the other night to San Jose that we were watching and texting about. What was it, two goals in the last 90 seconds, and they didn't even get a point in regulation. They're back home tonight, hungry for a win against the Blues. They're now tied with the Oilers atop the Pacific Division. So that's our parley. Porter Martone, Dylan Holloway, Anaheim Money Line, Odds 442. A nice little chunk of change to start our weekend.

All right, it is time for the hockey stat of the week. Hockey. Hi, guys. I'm back here now. Yes, you are. I've got two hockey stats of the week this week. You guys excited about this? Yes, really quick.

The first one, Cole Calfield is going to score 50 goals this year. Mr. Saturday night, he has had an unbelievable year. He's got 49 right now, so his next one will obviously be his 50th. He has not scored an empty net goal this season. 49 goals all past a goalie. That is the first one. The second one. Anti-Pavelle-Burray.

The second one comes from a guy that we just spoke about. His name, you guys might know him. His name is Sergei Bobrovsky. You ever heard about him? I think I talked about a couple of seconds. Since the Olympic break, Sergei Barbrowski has more games four with a 960 save percentage or better than a 900 save percentage or worse.

Three. Wow. It has been fantastic since the Olympic break. And just showing that Bob's not going anywhere, he's still got it. All righty Rosie, I hope you're ready because it's time for Rosa In a minute

Oh let's go Okay, let's hit this And actually I didn't have a team So I choose the Panthers Because I have a lot of to complain about the Panthers Let's go So this is a minute Hello, this is a minute I'm like with Rosie

We're going to Florida Where the Panthers Decided around a bit A bit later. First, as always DeRot 3-1 Contrangers, goal in a lot of Tachok

But then, now See, Victoria 6-3, Ottawa with goal in 8, second, Victoria, the Chuck, as MVP. And when they don't need, they want to win. Victory 2-1,

against Boston, and Bobroski, were in the Mooders, and then say, and then, I never heard that. So, so,

when it's important, nothing, when you know it, it's all, perfect, what timing. But Florida

now plays as a champion, just when needed to to lose. This was a hockey with Rose,

through a week, a week, a minute, ROSon, and a moment, thank you

very much for that one, Rosie. Okay. It's time for Rose in a minute. Go ahead. Okay, kids, there's one minute of hockey with Rose, and we are heading to Florida, where the fans that decide to play well a little too late. First, as always, 3-1 lost to the Rangers at the Chuck goal overturn.

But then, now they show up a 6-3 win over Ottawa with a goal in 8 seconds, yes, 8, history, and Chuck in MVP mode. And when it's no longer helps when you actually need is to lose, is when they show up. A 2-1 win over Boston, with Roboski running into a brick wall, And the Panthers saying tanking, never heard of it. So recap, when it matter, nothing. When it doesn't matter, everything.

Perfect. What a timing. Because Florida is now playing like champions right when they need to lose. This one might not out of hockey with Rose. Your weekly recap of Buck, passion, a little bit of chaos. Wow. Very good. Rose does not sound happy at all.

Rose does her finger on the pulse of the Panthers. You've come a long way. Bro, it's just you're giving us to us very late. I like it. Legit pissed off. I like it. Yeah. Thorny Rose today.

I don't think that the Panthers would end up winning the lottery, but I mean, jeez. That would be bonkers. Could you imagine how mad the rest of the NHL would be in all their fans and how much, how many rigging accusations ever be if the Panthers end up with McKenna? No, clearly the Rangers are going to end up with McKinna or the Maple Leafs. That's what's going on. I think Vancouver is a perfectly fine landing spot in the NHL for Gavin McKenna. The sentence of Vancouver?

No. No. No. And it's not about the Kinnock. It's like just such a shit show behind the scenes. Like, no. No, the little corner on the envelope is folded. No, no. Is either the Rangers or it's going to be the Maple Leafs, that's just the way it's going to be. It's just it. I mean, they're already there for Chicago. Now they're going to do it for the Rangers or they're going to do it for the Maple. It's got a major market. Yeah. All right. Wins and Fells of the Week coming up right now. Let's start with you, David. All right. My win of the week. We got another goalie fight. Golly fight. Yes. three in one season. That's what I'm talking about. This time it was Rangers

Devils too. Shisterkin and Markstrom and Markstrom came all the way down the ice and Schisthirken was just like yeah, why not? Sure. And laughing about it afterwards, stick him down a little. I mean, it's great. I'm a little hesitant just because I don't want this to become so common that it loses like how awesome it is. Three goalie fights in one season after not seeing one in like a decade or more. But I don't know, man. It just gets me excited. That was a good one too. All right. My winner of the week comes from Matthew Kuchuk. Put his name in a hat for goal of the year. This one happened over the weekend on the island. A between the legs shot that went past Ilya Sorokin. Very little space, probably just about five feet in front of the crease, able to lift the puck past Sorokan for one of his two goals in that game.

It was the only goal to Panthers scored in a five-two long. against the Islanders. That was when they were taken. Did you hear his dad ripping him for that goal? I mean, I mean. Keith Kucke's going and obviously rip him over something. He said he was like cheating on the play. That's why he got the breakaways.

That's a little too much razzle-dazzle for me. He's like, yeah, he's not wrong. What else is he going to do? He's slow. My one cherry pick. Anyway, let's go on to Ethan. Yeah, guys, my win in the week. AJ Greer, one of the few Panthers that started the season finished

last season that's actually still playing. He arrived the other night on Autism Awareness Night for the Panthers in a suit designed by Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Patients. So it was a white suit, basically a blank canvas that he just had the kids draw all over and he took a picture. And you can see them actually in this graphic here that the Panthers put out designing the suit with him. And I just think Greer has done some amazing community work.

If he followed the team at all, he's at like every community event, it seems like. And he's just been an awesome addition to the Florida Panthers and to the community. And hopefully he sticks around for a while. And Roy, you got something from the game the other night. This was the towel that the Panthers gave away from Autism Acceptance Night last night during the win versus Boston. This is very nice. This is a very nice towel. Yes, and I like how they got the Panthers colors in there too. Yeah, it's very nice.

Rosie, do you have a win? Please say yes. Yes, I got to give it to this man because without him, I wouldn't be here. So sorry for all the ones that you're not going to like, but I have to go with this man. Is that Holy Week? Henry Cavizal? No. That is Jesus. I believe that is a person playing Jesus Christ.

Today is Good Friday. And for all who celebrate, for all who are Christians, today is Good Friday. It's Holy Week. So there you go. That is Rose's win. She watches out for us. Yeah. She won't, yeah.

Well, there you go. Let's go to the fails of the week. week. David. Yes. A series of events occurred the other night between the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders that just pissed me off. We've talked about this before. It started when Anders Lee hit Josh Norris into the curved part of the boards next to the bench. It didn't look like there was any ill intent on the hit. It's just in a really bad spot and any hockey player knows that. However, being hockey what it is these days, if there's a big hit, legal, not dirty, not whatever. We've got to respond, right? Because that's what we do. Sam Carrick felt the need to defend his

teammate and went to fight Lee. And what happened? Karik got a couple early shots and then started getting run around and then the next thing you know, he suffers an injury in a fight that probably never should have happened. Like, what are we doing, man? Anders Lee is a big man and Sam Karek's not.

I just, again, big hits are part of hockey. If we're going to start acting like that's not a normal part of the game, then we're just saying, I feel like I'm going to be, I'm very, this just bothers me, dude. There is a reason why this glass is curved now. because it used to be a angle. Sanayo Chara's hit, if you remember that hit.

You remember, like, guys coming down the boards at full speed, hitting that corner and just stopping on a dime. Like, that was dangerous. We're lucky that nobody got seriously hurt before they made that change. Yeah, it only took, like, what, 80, 90 years for the league. Remember when it came out, it was like, wow, that was a really good idea. Curving the glass. Herving the glass.

My fellow, we goes to the Utterka, Chuck, brother. This is from the Senator's Lightning Game. Yanni Gord had a shot on Linus Omerg that was stopped after the puck was frozen. Brady Kachuk decided to mess with Gord a little bit, and all of a sudden, Gord, open-handed, glove slap to the face of Brady Kachuk, not once, but two swipes to Kach's face. Look at it. Just missing baby powder. Unbooling.

It would have been funny if he had his glove off and ended up doing like the old glove slap like a duel. Yeah. Like, you can't, you can't, if you're Brady Kachuk, who is 6'4, who's that big, you can't allow another man to slap you in the face like that. Brady's having a rough week. And he just did a fine for his bench slash the other day. He also got his ass whooped last night in a fight as well. That too.

Against Logan Stanley, I think. Yeah, it was Logan Stanley. Logan Stanley is much bigger than Brady Kachuk, by the way, who is 6'4. He got little brothered. It was a big. He looked pretty bad in that fight. He's probably bad. He's got a win. They lost three in a row before getting that win over Buffalo.

Yeah, it's been rough for him. Ethan. Hey, guys, my fail of the week comes from San Jose, where they somehow did not score on this goal last night. Let's watch this here. And Puck's going to come in, and I don't not know how they score off the post. They're wide open net.

Somebody dives for it. I love it. This is like one of those goals on FIFA, where you have a wide open net, and you somehow don't put the puck. the puck in. Let's watch it one more time here. This is a crazy miss. I mean, that's just, Stolar's just

completely out of position. Great play by the defender. Is that Benoit? I don't know if that's Liligran or Benoit or who that is. It's number two. Yeah, that's a great play to keep that puck out. I love that. How do you not score there? No, man, that's great defensive effort. I love that. That's awesome. Rosie, do you have a fail?

Toronto, great defensive effort? What? I didn't, but now I do because you guys' reaction to my win? Epic fail. Okay. What was your reaction? I was a little disrespectful. I'm not a bit religious. I apologize. I don't want to offend you. No, no, no. For those who are like...

I'm sorry, Jesus. Amen. That's how I was on. Okay. Forgive me. Okay. Well, you're Catholic. I'm Christian. And Ethan and David are Jewish. Who, by the way, celebrated Passover. Yes. Happy Pesach to all my fellow Jews. Yes. I do. I do. I agree with you.

Well, I'm a progressive Christian. But yes, I agree with you. Yes. Christians and Catholics should be celebrating today. Well, have a blessing, good Friday. Yes. Blessing and Good Friday. Great Friday. Traffic was so chill today. So, yes, what a great Friday it was. Oh, that's why the kids are here.

It's good Friday. Yes. Oh, I thought it was spring break. No, no, spring break was last week. Can we show the kids? Yeah, go ahead. Yeah. Tyler and Claire, say hi. There they are. No, no, let's not do that. Just say hi. Just wave.

You don't have to turn your microphone on. Just say hi. You guys are so cute. Yes. Well, Claire's here because it's good Friday. She has no school. Tyler's got his Bob shirt on. Tyler has a Bob. Tyler's favorite player's Bob, right?

Just in FYI, by the way, before we go off. I'm not going to be in studio next week because I'm going to be a Disney World with Tyler. Me neither because I'm going to be one of my ass surprise. What part are you going to, Dave? That's great news. We're going to do Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, and Epcot. I'm drinking around the world next month. I'm very excited about that, man.

I'm sure you are. I'm not doing that before. I'm glad I'm dry right now. For those of you are watching on Draft Kings Network, check our YouTube channel because we have Allison Lucan from the Cracken Hockey Network to talk about Seattle's playoff hopes and what's going on around the league. That's Allison Lucan.

She's coming up next. Chime is changing the way people bank. And it matters because a lot of people are still dealing with fees that do not need to be there. You know, overdraft fees, monthly fees. Chime is fee-free banking built for everyday people, not the old system. But Chime, you are upgrading to a smarter way to manage your money. With direct deposit, you unlock access to up to $11.50 and annual awards.

And they are rated five stars by USA Today for customer service with real people available 24-7. The benefits stack up. You can get up to $500 of your paycheck when you need it with my pay. SpotMe lets you overdraft of the $200,000. fee-free. You can earn 5% cash back on your Chime card and savings grow with 3.75% APY. Someone I know could benefit from this.

Chime is not just smart banking. It's the most rewarding way to bank. Turn the millions who are already banking fee-free today. Head tochime.com slash Dan. That's chime.com slash d'A-N. It only takes a few minutes to sign up. Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services for My Pay and Chime card provided by Chim's bank partners.

Optional products and services may have fees or charges. Stateed annual percentage yield and cashback for Chime Prime only. No minimum balance required. Checking account ranking based on a JD Power Survey published October 20, 2025. For more information on APY rates, my pay, spot me, and travel perks. Go to chime.com slash disclosures. Hey, it's Mike Ryan. And I want to talk to you about the random midweek hang that you have with your friends.

Maybe it's an NBA game. You get a text, hey, come over. You want to watch the game. And maybe you're like, I don't know. I kind of just wanted to stay home. And then you think about it. After your buddy hits you up and you know just the thing that'll make that regular hang, that regular midweek hang around the basketball game into a special time, into a Miller time.

That's right, this happened to me just last week. I grabbed a six-pack of Miller Light, said I was on my way, and next thing you know, we're arguing about rotations like we're on the coaching staff, yelling about a miss call, and the game's coming down on the final possession. It was one of those nights that you look around, you take a sip, and you think, yeah, this was the right call. And my friendship's stronger for it. Cheers to legendary moments with Miller Light. Great taste, 96 calories.

go to millerlight.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, Roy, buddy. You know that energy shift when the game gets good and everybody altogether in unison knows to stand up on their feet? Oh, absolutely, Mike. Yeah, you've been at many big time sporting events. You know that moment quite.

Well, that's what it's like when you take your first sip of Cuervo. Oh, delicious. It's the signal that says, we're not checking the time anymore, pal. It's when small talk turns into stories. Quervo, man, it's at high five, a random stranger effect. That's right. The game is popping. You're hugging people you never met before.

That's the kind of energy that Cuervo brings. It's so smooth, so delicious. That's the Cuervo effect. Keep it, Cuervo. Allison Lucan directs traffic on a very excellent podcast called Too Many Men with Shana Goldman and Sir Sivian. She is also on the Cracken Hockey Network. She happens to cover the Seattle Cracken and the Seattle Turrent of the Professional Women's Hockey League. The Cracken are currently fighting for that last wild-caught spot in the West, and things are a bit daunting.

Seattle right now are at five-on-five offensively. way below average in the league right now. Your major sack categories, I mean, they're not even getting shots. Not even shot attempts. I'm not talking to shot on goals. It's pretty difficult for them to get shots right now. In fact, the scoring has gone down since last year at 5-on-5.

But they're still in this. So is the defense and goaltending keeping them in? Well, thanks for having me, guys. Yeah, I mean, this is, Lane Lambert comes in as a new head coach this year. And if you look back at what he does with teams, this is it, right? It's solid goaltending, which the Krakken have had a lot of. And then strong defensive performance in your own end. And then you have to quick change and get that puck moving north and try and get offensive chances.

It's you're not wrong, Roy. It's a weird stat team, right? And again, it begs the question of all that we can't measure with what we see publicly because they've been outshot all year. Like, that's just their calling card. But what they have done is kept more of those dangerous shots against out of the equation, right? So they kind of protect those dangerous areas of the ice. But what you said is exactly it is that they don't shoot a lot.

They don't get goals a lot. The power play was performing a lot better before the Olympic break. And we all know what a difference maker that can be for this team. And this is a team that has to work really hard. And everyone has to be pulling on the same rope to get wins. that's just who they are right now. And they're pretty honest about that. So when pieces don't all click or if a part of the game is slumping

or if there's a big mistake that allows for a chance against, it's going to be hard for them. And I think it's hard for this fan base because going into this season, ownership, leadership was very clear that the goal was just to make the playoffs. That's where this group is right now. And I think if you had said to a lot of fans going into this season, hey, there's going to be meaningful hockey

in late March and April, they would have been thrilled based on what's happened the previous two years. But then you get a taste, right? And so you're so close. At one point, you were first in the division. The division is a pillow fight, as we're all calling it now. So you're so close. And so now it's maybe more of a missed opportunity, even though realistically, I think this team has done a lot better than what was expected going into the year. So Seattle's got just one win in their last eight.

And going back to the beginning of that run, they held a wildcard spot before going on this little downward stretch. Kind of a two-part question because I've been really surprised, pleasantly surprised, that Philip Rubauer is having a much better season than I would have thought with his 9-11 safe percentage and 2.58 goals against, which is pretty decent, I think. But what is it going to take? Is it a goaltending thing? Like, like Roy said, is it a scoring thing? Like, what is it going to take for them to kind of get out of this little funk and get back into the playoff race before it's too late?

Yeah. And, you know, definitely, you know, stick taps to Grubauer. been excellent in a year where across the league we're experiencing an all-time low average save percentage across all goaltenders and particularly after last year where this is a guy who gets sent

down to the HL over the four nations break, doesn't even get to take a vacation and just bucks up and puts in the work. He's been playing more regularly and I think there's some tactical changes to his game. He won't share those, but he's been

excellent and I think he deserves more accolades than he's getting. Some nights he's been the better goaltender than Joey Decord has been, and that's with all due respect to Joey Decord as well. But to the none of the thing, right, is how do they get back? It's interesting. And you guys have seen championship teams, right? And you have seen how things amp up and things change this time of year

when the hockey gets more meaningful. And it's interesting. A guy you all know well, Brandon Montor, you can see him like gearing up. You know, the team was just down there in Florida. and they have a comeback almost when they get a point against the Florida Panthers. They're able to beat Tampa Bay. And it was in games like that that I saw players like Montour say, we know what time it is and we know what we have to do, right?

Chandler-Stevenson, another guy who has multiple cups does the same thing. Philip Grubauer, another guy. Even young Maddie Baneers is a player who I see really challenging himself to meet the moment. And I say this not to diss the team totally. Like they're not a weak group by any means, but they're struggling with meeting the moment. And this slide now, like last night, they play the Utah mammoths. That's a game that I would not have guaranteed for the Cracken.

That's a game that you maybe if you get one point, you're good with it. The problem is this lack of being able to meet the moment and maybe win some more of the games that you should win hasn't happened. And that's been part of this skid. As you said, they come out of the break in a wild card. They play two games against Nashville in quick succession, a team that's behind them in the standing. and can't get a single point. So they give them basically two, four-point swing games, right? So they've given up games that should have maintained that position

to allow for maybe some of the tougher matchups. And now they're in a really tough stretch schedule-wise. So it's about bucking up. You know, I do not go downstairs after games, just given my role, but I'm hearing there was a player's only meeting after the game. And this is gut check time. These guys have to find a way to meet the moment, be it because they haven't been in this moment before,

or maybe there are some young players who are learning what these moments are all about. I don't think it's for a lack of want or care, but more guys need to step up, maintain confidence, step up their game, pull everyone into the fight and give that 10% more than it takes

if you really want to be a team that makes it out of the regular season. Well, you mentioned the schedule. It seems like this week is make a break. This one might actually decide the season. If you can get past Chicago coming home, you have the Jets, which is the team directly

in front of you right now. And then you have the wild and the goal tonight. So let's talk about how important this next week up is coming up for keeping pace and potentially overtaking some teams. Yeah. Totally agree, Roy. I think it's spot on. I mean, that is that is what this schedule does, right? Is it puts you in a position? I have said this coming out of the break. This group is going to get what they deserve. So if they can meet elevate, meet the moment, and get one, two points from at least two of those big matchup games. And honestly, I think they can, right? Like the wild are not going gangbusters right now.

Vegas, to me, they're in a playoff spot, obviously, but they don't look like the world beaters. They've looked like a lot of years, right? And their goaltending is suspect at best. So there is opportunity. These are games where points can be taken, but it's up to the crack in to say, we're going to do everything we have to do

and everything we can do to try and get those points. And that hasn't happened every single night. So one thing I want to ask you about Seattle, kind of as a whole. It's year five in Seattle. We've seen them kind of around a playoff. We've seen them in the playoffs once. But I feel like this is a team

that's never made a big splash, not yet. And that's no disrespect to Brandon Montor, who we love down here, or Chandler Stevenson, or Capococo, or all of your George Strand, who's been great in Seattle. But they haven't made that big deal yet. And you can argue they might be like

that one big star away from really getting over the hump. Do you foresee that coming this summer, Allison? Yeah, I think this is a team that wants to be in those kind of conversations, right? I mean, there's a new general manager, Ron Francis, elevates to president of hockey operations over the summer. Jason Botrell is now the leader. And this sense of urgency, you can feel it in the front office from the hockey side and that there's constant. I'm not in the discussions, obviously, but you can feel the drive to be better and to improve the team.

And, you know, there were reports. Again, I cannot confirm them personally, but there were reports from trusted resources that the Cracken were trying to be in the conversation for Artemie Panarin. do I think that that was necessarily going to happen? No, but I like the signaling of it, right? I like the organization stepping up and saying, hey, we want it to be known that for great players, we'll pay you top dollar. And particularly with the UFA class looking like it is right now

and with the cap going up, if you're a team that has money to spend, which the crack can do, and Washington is a no-tax state, is there an opportunity for them to attract a bigger name to come in and to your point, be part of the difference making. Because we all know this, and you guys have seen it in Florida, right? The way you win championships is you have at least a number one defender, a number one forward,

and a number one goaltender. And there's still pieces away from that. They've got some great pieces, but they're still a way away from that. But I think they do absolutely want to be in those conversations, and they're not afraid to go into them as well. Let's talk about the pillow fight that is the Pacific Division. I love that. It's insane.

It's the weakest by far. of the four divisions in the league. I mean, it's obviously the weekends in Seattle is 14-7-1 against the division. Now, it's been saving grace so far this season, right? Yep, yep. It's crazy, right? And I think that's, again, part of the emotional reaction to what's happening with the Cracken. Because, again, if you look at what was expected and what this team is doing even right now,

there's so much to be impressed by based on what expectations were. but this year in particular with the division being what it is, this was such a great opportunity, right, to continue to hold on to a playoff spot and continue to thrive of your divisional opponents. Like it's been crazy to watch, you know, one day San Jose's in. Then everyone's like, oh, there's no way they're going to be back in. Now they're in again.

Anaheim, honestly, never would have expected them to be first in the division. And good for them, I guess. I don't know what they'll do in the postseason. but the opportunity lost if the cracking can't find a way back into a playoff spot, I think is what's going to be the most frustrating part because no team, even including Vegas, until recently maybe Edmonton, even seems to have that killer instinct, right? There's no like, oh, no, we're going in against those guys. It's going to be awful because no one's really stepping up in that kind of way in the division this year.

The PWHL, and you cover the expansion Seattle Torrent, it's been a tough first year for them. And they are at the bottom of the league as they finish up the regular season here. Talk about how the season is gone for the Torrent. And not just what wrong. Is there any silver lining to what's happened so far this season going into the next season? Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, first of all, I mean, it's awesome to have hockey coming to the West Coast on the women's side. It's been here on the men's side. So this is great. If you start with the positives, right now, I think this is. is going to be broken this weekend at Madison Square Garden, and that's amazing. But right now, Seattle has set the U.S. attendance record for a women's hockey game twice in this season, 17,000 plus in a building. And I think just seeing the reception for this team and this game is huge. And I think that's incredible. If you look at why this team isn't performing where maybe

people thought, and you know, you can lump Vancouver into this booth too, because there were people who looked at the rosters these two expansion teams got and said, oh, man, they're going to be, you know, world beaters. They're going to be at the top of everything. It's been a lot both on and off the ice. And I've learned a lot more than I thought I knew about the demands of an Olympic iteration, right? Because you have all of these players who are not sure if they're going to make the team. Are they going to make the team on the women's side? We have the rivalry series. So there are long breaks where these national team candidates are stepping away from their P-dub team and going to play for their country, U.S. and Canada, to kind of warm up for the Olympics. So there's disruption

to the schedule. There's mental work going on of will, I won't I, and then the reaction if you do or you don't. And then there's these huge breaks, not just because of the Olympics, the rivalry series, but also travel. This is the first time this league has had West Coast travel. I think they're learning a lot about that. And then most significantly, you look at their roster and two, two of their top players, Hillary Knight, Captain America, and Hannah Bilka, who also was on Team USA, both suffer long-term injuries that keep them out for. Hannah's out for the season, and Hillary just came back for her first game since the Olympics. So that's been a struggle.

They've been looking for depth to step up, and that has been a struggle for them. They're finding their way. But the other good silver lining is what, and one of the things I love about the P-dub is that once you are eliminated, you go into what's called the gold plan. So once you're eliminated, as many points as you earn improves your draft status. So you still have reason to win. You still have reason to compete for points. And the P-dub has a 3-1 point system.

So a regulation win is three points. Overtime a shootout win two. Overtime shootout loss is one. And then regulation loss is zero. So you can make big jumps with just one win. For the torrent on the playoff side, that's going to be hard. But if they can get it together, if they don't make it, it into the playoff consideration, the gold plan really sets them up for what is some incredible

talent. And for people who watch the Olympics, you saw KK Harvey, Lela Edwards, players who can be difference makers and help this group have hopefully a better second year. The gold plan sounds like a credit. Yeah, no, that's exactly where I was going next. Just looking at the talent coming out this year and knowing that even if the gold plan doesn't work out perfectly for Seattle and they don't end up with the topic, they're still going to end up with a really, really good woman on their roster next year. So you have to think that silver lining wise, between the influx of talent that's probably going to be coming, a more regulated schedule next year without the Olympic disruptions and everything, that there's got to be some excitement. And then when

you add to that, the fact that they've had ridiculous attendance numbers and that the fan base has embraced this team so much, I imagine the excitement level is pretty high, considering the kind of season they've had. Yeah, I mean, Seattle's been amazing about women's sports. You know, we have basketball, obviously, with the WMBA, we have professional women's soccer, we have professional women's hockey. And everyone's just so happy they're here. And I think, obviously, with everything that went on at the Olympics, this is a part of the country that really wants to rally around women and say, we see you, we support you, we celebrate you. I thought that particularly Hillary being the leader of that team on the ice and then just the incredible employees and leadership

she has shown since everything went down has just further galvan. this fan base and they love coming out. And I think they saw the Olympics. Maybe more people watch the Olympics, right? Because now they have a P-dub team in their town as well. And so they can see that talent coming up. So there's excitement for that. And with the NBA potentially coming back to Seattle, that city right now is rocking. Yeah. So it's a great time in Seattle. Allison, you can find her on Too Many Men and you can find on the Cracken Hockey Network. Thank you for joining us, Allison. I appreciate you guys so much for having me. Have a great day. we go, I want to mention that ESPN

is doing something cool for the broadcast for Capitals at Rangers on Sunday night. That's at 7 o'clock ESPN, Disney, Pixar, and the National Hockey League are teaming up to bring fans the Inside Out classic. It's a real-time animated NHL

telecast using Sony's Beyond Sports Technology. Dave, you have two sons. I have my daughter, Claire, who's eight years old. They both love the inside out movies. This should be a fun watch. Yeah, I'm excited. I think it's pretty impressive that they're going to be doing it in real time.

Like, I don't know how that's going to work, but I'm excited. Ty and Claire, they're back there. Are you guys excited to watch Inside Out hockey this weekend? Yeah, you see, look, they're pumped. Yeah, they looked very, very excited right now. Yeah, I know. I want to see anger in the penalty box. You know, I want to see if Joy can have some cool celebration after scoring your goal.

And obviously, the Rangers and the Capitals got involved with some of the promotional stuff and some of the things we're going to see in the games. I'm, I don't know, I'm pumped. I like it when we can get the kids involved. Inside Out is a hockey movie. Inside Out, too, definitely is a hockey movie. Well, this whole Inside Out classic takes place on hockey island in Riley's head. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

So, you know, it's pretty cool. Those movies are so good. Like, the first one is significantly better than the second one, but the second one is also great. I cried at both of them. Anxiety really stressed me out. Yeah, oh, anxiety got to be good. That hit hard. You cried.

I may have shed a couple tears at the end. It's an emotional movie. What's wrong with that? Literally an emotional movie. I watched Inside Out for the first time. Let's be very clear. I watched Inside Out for the first time during the pandemic. Okay.

That movie hit hard during the pandemic. That just was like a boom, punch in the face during the pandemic. So, yeah, I shed some tears. It was great. It's a great movie. Two great movies. I saw the animated character that they gave Kevin Weeks. That is not fair.

Kevin is more in shape than what they gave him. They made him a tear drop. Yeah, I don't know. He's a goalie. You know, Kevin's, you know, he's a big guy. So, you know, that's okay. I mean, he's not going to have like a ripped emotion up there. You know, they're chiseled.

Right. So that's the Inside Out classic. That's on Sunday nights for Capitals at Rangers. That's at 7 o'clock. Remember to check us out on YouTube at the Hockey Show DLS on TikTok at the Hockey Show 7 and on X Instagram. Threads at Hockey Show DLS. That's David Dwork for Ethan and Rosie. and Jason in the back.

And for Claire and Tyler, my name is Roy Balmy. We will see you next week. Hey, it's Mike Ryan. And I want to talk to you about the random midweek hang that you have with your friends. Maybe it's an NBA game.

You get a text, hey, come over. You want to watch the game and maybe you're like, I don't know. I kind of just wanted to stay home. And then you think about it. After your buddy hits you up

and you know just the thing that'll make that regular hang, that regular midweek hang around the basketball game into a special time, into a Miller time. That's right, this happened to me just last week. I grabbed a six-pack of Miller Light, said I was on my way, and the next thing you know, we're arguing about rotations like we're on the coaching staff,

yelling about a miss call, and the game's coming down to the final possession. It was one of those nights that you look around, you take a sip, and you think, yeah, this was the right call. And my friendship's stronger for it. Cheers to legendary moments with Miller Light. Great taste, 96 calories. Go to Millerlight.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.