The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - We Were Very Wrong About The Avs And Canes | The Hockey Show

Episode Date: May 29, 2026

Roy, David, Ethan, and Rose are still trying to figure out what happened to the Colorado Avalanche after they got swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. The guys break down what led to this stunning result, one that Rose correctly predicted. Plus, Ethan was very wrong about the Montreal Canadiens and owes an apology to the Carolina Hurricanes. Plus, Roy honors the legacy of Claude Lemieux after the stunning news of his passing. Then, Sara Civian of Bleacher Report and the Too Many Men Podcast joins the show to discuss the moral conundrum that comes with the Vegas Golden Knights making the Stanley Cup Final, how right she was about the Carolina Hurricanes, as well as her thoughts on the passing of Claude Lemieux. Finally, it's time for Roy's favorite part of the show: reacting to episodes four and five of Off Campus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify. we're wrong about the avalanche. This is the hockey show. I'm the only one in the on-air studio right now. Dave is at home.

He has a special engagement that he has to be at. Ethan's in the shiver container. And Rose, I don't know what's going on with you. What's going on? Not much. That's what's going on. Not much. Not much.

Not much. Well, anyway, this is the hockey show. much to rosy chagrin, the Vegas Go-Den Nights are going to the Stanley Cup final, and a lot of people, including the people in this studio, actually the person in the studio, because I'm the only one here, didn't I think that it was going to be that way. We all thought that Colorado was going to end up winning the Western Conference,

but no. So the President's trophy winners are out in four. In four, they get swept by the Vegas Go-the-Nights. Who could have seen that coming? The last President's trophy winners, the winner Stanley Cup, in 2013. That was the Chicago Blackhawks. I was very happy that that happened.

We did not see the Vegas go to the Knights touched the Clarence Campbell Bowl. I believe they did during the first run versus the Capitals. I think they touched the trophy and that did not work out for them. So it is what it is. As far as Colorado is concerned,

they had to deal with injury. They had Kel McCarr being injured, missing the first two games. Nathan McKinnon got hurt during the series. It was not a good situation for Colorado. And Vegas, just stifling on defense. Do not know what John Tonorella did during his six games that he had during the regular season with the team.

But it is what it is. And Vegas is now going into the Stanley Cup final representing the West. Mitch Marner, definitely a cons my trophy winner right now in my eyes. So take that Toronto. Dave, what do you think happened during that Western Conference Final? Why are we here right now? It kind of reminded me of what happened to the Panthers when they won the President's trophy. They led the league in scoring that year.

They were a high-flying rush team. Colorado, very similar this year. A lot of their offense was generated out of their own zone through the neutral. Things had to change during the playoffs. Obviously, we saw that happen with the Panthers. That's why they changed their whole philosophy. Colorado seemed a bit deeper than that Panthers team a bit stronger on the top end. So I thought maybe that wouldn't be an issue.

as it hadn't been in the first two rounds, but boy, oh boy, did things change against Vegas? It turned into a true playoff series. You know, Colorado during the regular season a lot, they had McKinnon and Nietzsche's together. They had to get split up just because those rush chances weren't there as much, and they just didn't filter through the lineup as they thought it would, and as many of us thought it would. That combined with Carter Hart playing out of his mind really well in that series against Colorado. Just, yeah, shocked. Still, very from the results of that series.

Ethan, I think you agree with me. Vegas' defense really helped out Carter Hart in that situation. Unbelievable, Roy. I mean, we knew they were a good defensive team, but again, they only won 39 games this year. But let's be very clear. This is the Vegas team that we expected to see this year.

Stifling on defense, Mitch Marner, scoring at Will almost. He scored that unbelievable goal in the Anaheim series that's kind of been the marker of what he has been this postseason. He's an 100-point guy. He always was with the Leafs, and we just never saw it in the playoffs. And I don't

know what happened when he got to Vegas, but he is now a true playoff performer. He's had a fantastic, I mean, listen, he did have zero points. Hold on. Ignore that. Any, oh, I get the joke. Somebody made the joke that Mitch Marner had zero points from games five to seven because there were no games five and seven in this series. And I was, and I was anyway, yeah, I got thrown off. Okay. Damn new J. Fresh. Anyway, point being that Marner has been fantastic in these playoffs. And Jack Eichol, he kind of did this at the Olympics, too, where he kind of cemented himself as one of the best 200-foot players in the league. And he has been phenomenal in these playoffs. And yeah, Carter Hart, he's done a nice job and he's been really solid,

as much as I hate to say that. But they've done an amazing job in front of him. And they've made his job really easy. And if he sees the puck, he's going to save it. And right now, he's seen everything. You mentioned the Olympics for Nathan McKinnon. He's not, he didn't go home with the gold, and now he's not even going to the Stanley Cup final. Yeah, I mean, I felt bad for McKinnon because he wanted so clearly to give it a go in that game three, and he just couldn't. And you never know what happens if he's in there and he's healthy, if he can rescue them. But let's be very clear, they had a 3-0 lead and blew it before McKinnon went down after taking that shot block to the knee from Shea Theodore.

I think it was either 3-2 or 3-3 by the time that McKinnon went down. So that game was already blown by the avalanche. There were a lot more things that went into what happened than just Kail McCar missing games one and two and Nathan McKinnon being hobbled in game three. They got beat in every way. And it's the most shocking result we've seen in the NHL maybe ever, but at least since the Tampa Bay Lightning got swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019. I think going into the playoffs, we did not see anybody, including Edmonton from the Pacific Division. just being even close in the Western Conference final, and Colorado gets swept.

It's crazy. That's just amazing to me, Dave. They were stubborn. They were really stubborn in that series. Vegas did such a good job denying their zone entries game after game, and Colorado just refused to dump the puck in. It was almost like it wasn't something that they were comfortable doing. I was very surprised that they didn't make any adjustments,

and look what happened. The Pacific now, Roy, has been in the Stanley Cup final every year since 2022 when the Aves last won. And it's now been the Golden Knights, the Oilers for two years, and then the Golden Knights again. And we're staring down the barrel of the last four champions coming between two teams, the Panthers and the Golden Knights. And Vegas isn't going anywhere. And the Panthers aren't going anywhere next year. So we could very well have a situation next year where the Panthers and the Golden Knights are going at it to see who,

who is the dynasty of the 2020s in the National Hockey League if Vegas is able to pull it off against either Carolina or Montreal, but likely Carolina. Meanwhile on the east, on Wednesday, Carolina put up three on the Canadians in the first period, and it looked done. Basically, the season is over for Montreal from what we are seeing. Tonight, you can watch with us on our watch-along, the hockey show watch along as we every week check out a game during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

and it looks like this season is going to end in rally for the Montreal Canadians who have played 18 games so far, and both series that they've had, the first two series, have gone seven, and they've had seven overtime games to play. That is a lot of hockey to be, I mean, to play in the playoffs. I mean, if you look at the history of this franchise, you've seen the 1993 team as many times if they've gone to the playoffs. That's crazy.

this style of hockey right now and this era is just like you can't do that that's just too many games and Colorado is they look Carolina. I'm sorry.

Montreal looks. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, Montreal looks absolutely dead tired. And I just don't think that they're going to then they'll they got the underdogs obviously they're not going to

they're not going to lose by one. It's going to be a, it seems like it's going to be a blowout in that game. Dave? I mean, as you're going to see in Puckluck a little later today, I very much believe in the Carolina Hurricanes ending the series tonight. So maybe that's the only saving grace for Montreal is that I'm so heavy on Carolina tonight. But the way that series has progressed,

it has gotten worse and worse for Montreal. You can see how frustrated they're getting. They just can't generate any offense. Even when they do get in the zone, they can't get anything toward the net. Carolina's, we talked about, or we heard, excuse me, John Tortorella talking about how Vegas checked their asses off against Colorado and that was such a big reason why they won. Carolina is doing a very similar job to Montreal. They have no room to do anything on the ice.

And if not for Dobish in Net, this series, it may have been over in three games just because of how Dominant had been. The game won, notwithstanding. But man, yeah, I'm not, I'd be shocked if Montreal comes back. I hope they do because that would make it a fun series. but the way that the last three games have gone, it's just been like a snowball. Well, you've played as much hockey as the Canadians

have played in these playoffs. A matchup against Carolina has to be your worst nightmare, Ethan. Yeah, I want to take a second here. I'll look right at the camera and let everybody know. I was wrong about the Carolina Hurricanes. They're a phenomenal team. I never doubted that they were a really good team.

I just kind of doubted that this style would hold up in the playoffs. Listen, we can talk about the path they've taken to get here, but Montreal is a really good team. I thought they were going to be competitive in this series. I was wrong. Whether that's because they've played too much hockey, whether it's just Carolina is that much better. I'm not really sure. But I was completely wrong about Montreal being competitive in this series. They have not been competitive in any way.

I think the biggest problem has been, Roy, it feels like at times they're just feeding the Carolina machine, and they're playing right into their hands. hands with what they want to do. They're taking the puck back behind the net to kind of like ease the pressure off a little bit. But all that does is allow Carolina to go forward and just set up their defense deeper into the zone. And they're not even able to get the puck out from behind their own net at times. And they're being hemmed in the zone. When they've had success in this series, the small burst they've had, like in game one, they played great, obviously. And then the little burst they've had in some of the games since, it's been when they're skating up the ice, and they're finding gaps by moving the puck up the ice.

They were showing on TNT the other night. They have chances to skate the puck out of the zone, and they're just not doing it. They're just flipping it out. Carolina is knocking it right back in and just keeping the machine going. So, look, I was wrong about Carolina. I think they're going to roll them tonight.

This is going to be kind of like a party in Raleigh, a coronation type thing, where they finally got over this Eastern Conference Finals hump. They did it without the Panthers there. That doesn't matter, though, to the fans in Carolina. They're only going to care that they're going to the Stanley Cup final and they have a chance to finally hoist the cup. They mentioned that Montreal's not getting no chances off,

and that's been a playoff long thing. You see in all these games, you see the shots on goal total. They won a game seven with nine shots, Roy. And it doesn't make a lot of sense to me because Montreal has the firepower. They have the big guns. They have a guy like Lane Hudson, who is a great puck mover. They have Nick Suzuki and Cole. Caulfield and Urizovkovsky and Yvon Demandov.

They have great players that can get the puck up the ice and they're just playing right into Carolina's hands with this style that they've been playing throughout the playoffs. I wonder if Buffalo or Tampa would have been a better matchup for Carolina. I still think, look, at the end of the day, those teams lost to Montreal so it doesn't matter. So you can't really say they would be a better matchup because the Canadians beat them in seven games, both. Credit to Carolina, they've been fantastic in this series.

And what they do is working right now. Their whole thing is working. They're an elevated form of the team that we've seen for a lot of years, and it finally all came together, and they're going to go to the Stanley Cup final. Ooh, if you think about Buffalo and the Eastern Conference Final versus Carolina. It would be a fun series. Transition offense versus Ford checking offense. Oh, boy, that's like boxing versus roller, man.

It would have been definitely, you know, styles make fights, right, Roy? and that would have been a styles-making fights kind of series because that would have been two teams that are completely different going at each other. But at the end of the day, if Buffalo wanted a shot at Carolina, they should have beaten Montreal on home ice in game seven. I want to point something out here.

This is coming from the Canadian Hockey League during the round-robin portion of the Memorial Cup. The Shukutimi Shag Nian, who won the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League title. It was taking on the Kitchen of Rangers, who won the O HL, the Ontario Hockey League, Jordan Turinney, stomped on Christian Humphrey's foot. Not once, not twice, three times. Humphrey somehow made it to the bench.

He somehow skated off the ice and made it to the bench. Turinney was handed a match penalty for the attempt to injure and got a game of conduct. He has since been suspended for the rest of the Memorial Cup. Kitchener 1-3-2, they are. remained undefeated. They are in the Memorial Cup final. They are waiting for their opponent. Chikotimi

will play the Everett's silver tips in the Memorial Cup semifinal. Coming up, I believe, either today or to... Yeah, today. David, I specifically pointed this out to... It's rage-bait. I just wanted to get you to rant about this. Go ahead

and be angry about this. Go ahead. What do you got to say? I feel like this isn't something that just I would be angry about. Like, this is like a hockey thing. Like hockey universally, players, as much animosity and physicality is involved in this game, the players take care of each other.

Like, nobody's out there trying to hurt each other. There is a vast, vast majority of hockey players. I would wager to bet almost every single hockey player that's a professional right now is going to say they would never try to intentionally hurt somebody that something like that is insane. And that's why, like, this is at the junior level. You got to nip it at the bud right now

because that is just so blatant. Like, I get it. you're in the motions of the game. It's the Memorial Cup. This is like the biggest games of your life. But still, buddy, like you cannot be out there doing something that's not a hockey play,

that you're not going to do anything. Like, we're lucky that the player on Kitchener didn't get hurt worse. Lucky that he was able to skate to the bench, that no tendons got cut or nothing like that. These are sharp skate blades. I remember a few years ago, somebody accidentally got Jonathan Hubertoe

in the back of his skate and, like, cut as a killer. Maybe it was Nick Buechstead. It was several years ago. They were playing at West Point. And one of the players, their Achilly got messed up because a skate hit the back.

to their heel. Like, this is, the more I think about it and the more I think about the replay, I hate that. I hate that so much. And I just hope that this is just one of those isolated things that you only see come up every few years, because it's just gross. And yeah, I hate it. Is, are the last thing just a coincidence or is this kid related to Andre Treeney? I don't know. The Utah Mammoth. I do not know. That is something that I should probably have looked up on hockey reference. No, it's okay. Nasty play. That's a, it's probably like Jones in Quebec, that kind of name, you know? Yeah, I'm sure, Smith.

I mean, it reminds me of Chris Simon. He did the same thing. I think it was with the Capitals at the time. Or maybe even the Islanders. He did the same thing. He stumped on some, it was the back of somebody's skate that he did that too. It was just a dirty, dirty play. Like, oh, boy.

And he was suspended for a long time doing that too. So obviously that guy got the gate. And obviously, he will not be playing in the Memorial Cup anytime soon. Soon. It is time for puck luck. It's sponsored by Draft Kings. Draft Kings, the crown is yours. David, go ahead. All right. I was just looking up the Torini family tree here, but I'll get back to that in a second because it's time for puck luck. He is not related. He is not related. All right, there you go. He has not related. He has an older brother that plays pro hockey, but he's not related to Mammoth head coach Andre Torney. Now, I did some research this week. I did a lot of research this week, actually. Last night I put in a bit more effort than I usually do because I really want to.

hit this one. So first we're going to take Carolina. I told you, I feel like Carolina has just been dominant this series. So give me Carolina on the money line, pretty simple. Give me Jacob Dovish over 29 and a half saves. Carolina is averaging almost 35 shots per game in this series, 34.2 on 84.2 attempts. That includes 41.5 shots and 95, 93.5 attempts over the last two games. So they have been ripping a lot of puck the hurricanes have. Also on the other side, give me Anderson under 18 and a half saves. Montreal is averaging only 16. point two shots per game in this series, and that drops the 14.3 if you take out their massive 22 shot effort in game one. You remember how I said that Carolina's averaging 93 shot attempts

over the past two games? Montreal doesn't even have that many attempts combined over the past two games, only 91. And for those wondering, they're only averaging 43 attempts in the series. So yeah, give me Anderson undersaves. And finally, give me Jackson Blake on Carolina over one and a half shots. He's had 11 shots on 26 attempts during the series, and that's include that includes a game two where he only had one attempt on no shots. So in the three games where he's been really lively, 11 shots and 25 attempts, he's also gone over this number at eight of his last 11. Parley odds on this are plus 500.

Let's make a little money before we go to the Stanley Cup final. All right, it's time for wins and fails of the week. Dave, what is your win? Dude, give me a minute to catch my breath. Holy cow. All right, let's go back to the Memorial Cup. We were just there talking about the Tarigni family tree and all that good stuff. But this, we're going to go back to the round robin part a few days ago

when those Kitchener Rangers were battling the Everett Silver Tips. Midway through the game, Kitchner's Andrew McNeil and Everett's Jackson Vaughn. Drop the gloves, you're seeing it now. A great old-fashioned haymaker-type tilt. They just kept throwing them and throwing them and throwing them and throwing them. I love this fight so much. I can't believe these were just junior players. Does this look like a heavyweight tilt in the NHL?

Roy, I know you love this as well. Just an awesome win of the week. It's something nice to pull from the Memorial Cup. One thing that you're never going to see is the cameraman on the ice doing that. That was a great, that is such a great touch, dude. How does that happen? Yeah. That is such a great touch.

Like, did the cameraman just skate out from the bench or something? Like, oh. Yeah, they're definitely in position because they're on the ice as well, filming the players doing the, you know, the fist bump line going across the bench. So, yeah, I mean, that's one thing. I don't think I've seen that in any. outside of the All-Star game. Great touch. It's a great touch.

It's nice. There is a such thing as couple goals. I'm not talking about a couple of goals. I'm talking about a relationship between two partners. And a prime example of that is the linking up of Asia Wilson of the Las Vegas

Aces and Bam Out of Bio of the Miami Heat. And the two took in game three between the Golden Knights and the Avalanche. And this is what it looked like. Come on, come on, come on, get in your back. Oh, if I was a goal, I'll just lay in front of the goal. It'll go like, Florida.

That's why my ass ain't no goal. Come on, yeah. Oh, yeah. I like that. And a good time was had by all except Florida Panthers. The Florida Panthers social media team was not happy. They felt some kind of way after seeing that clip. And they went to X.

They went to their ex account and they posted, Bam, W-Y-D, what you doing? And they had a drooping rose emoji following that. Of course, the question was prompted by a quick answer, a quick response from Bam Auto Bio. This is what he had to say. So we just went to a nice game. I just want everybody to know.

It's still, I just couldn't wear it in there because I was with somebody. But y'all know what it is. Bam out of bio. You're in the background? I'm really curious about what, first of all, in the wraith is so fire. But I'm really curious about what he, like, why does he have this bag seemingly like zip sealed? Like, as if he's like going on a plane and he like, you know those bags where you suck all the air out? You know what I mean?

Vacuum seals. Yeah. What is he doing with the jersey in there? I think it's pretty clear what he was doing. He knew he was going to a hockey game, so he brought his hockey jersey to wear to the game. And then Vegas was like, oh, here, we made you a custom jersey. We're giving you seats on the glass. Here, wear our jersey.

And that's the bag that he got from the team. At least it was not a jersey swap. That would have been embarrassing. That would have been ugly. I have two questions for Asia. First of all, I want to know what was happening on the ice when she was yelling. Don't play with your food. Don't play with your food.

Don't play with your food. What exactly hockey-wise was happening that comes. posture to have that reaction. And then also, when Bam was giving his video apology, when he started, which I didn't hear until just now, I've seen it a few times. You hear Asia in the background, oh, man, as if she was pissed off that he had to apologize. But because he's an allegiance to the Panthers. Who cares about the Golden Knights? Like, that's his girls team. Like, he was there supporting them. That's what you do. My girl's a Yankee fan. I'll support the Yankees. But if they're playing the Marlins, uh-uh. Uh-uh. Ethan, what you win? My win, guys, is this shirt.

I got a Puck of Everybody's shirt. This was one of the shirts they gave out at the Wells Fargo Center a little late to the party. Obviously, oh, Xfinity Mobile Center.

Excuse me. In Philadelphia. Isn't it this Sontra Mobile Infinity Center? Anyway, this was given out in one of the early rounds of the playoffs at a Flyers game

and a fan of what chaos is also a fan of our show. Salute to Young Gritty. Sent it to me. I asked him for it, and he came through and delivered, as he always does. So shout out to Young Gritty, free Young Gritty. And I hope to see you back on the social sometime soon, bud. We miss you.

What's your fail, David? My fail is the Montreal Canadiens. They're having such a hard time against Carolina in the series. We talked about it earlier. There's shots this series 22, 12, 13, and 18. So to say that the incredibly loud, local, dedicated fans at the best, Bell Center were upset during Wednesday's 4-0-0-0-0-0

would be an understatement because at one point they started a chant that I used to hear when going to Panthers games in the early 2000s if we have the audio we do. We do. We do that. Yep. And Dono's got it. Cycles of our operators

are behind the net. We'll take it. Fans try to pick up their team. Yeah. Shoot the puck. You're in the conference finals and your shot totals are in the teens. But when the Montreal fans turned against the team in the conference final, to me, that was kind of eye-opening. That was a little jarring.

Yeah, that was bad. They have been tentative, for sure. Yeah. In game two of the Eastern Conference Finals, we saw the Eastern Conference Final. There's no S, by the way. The Eastern Conference Final saw a bad call on the ice by the ruffs. This was a net front battle between Alexander Texier and Kianre Miller. When out of nowhere, Texier speared.

That's a bad point. Miller. That's up. No, no, no, no. Speared him right in the groin. You know what he did, Roy? What? In the words of Chris Windingham. What did he do, right? Oh, no, Ryan the penis. He hit him in the penis. Yes, Ryan of the penis. And of course, Miller went down in a heap. The referees gathered together and decided to call a major for spearing before they could review the call.

That's a protocol that they had to do. And somehow, the result of that was a slashing minor. Not a spearing major. Not a game that's gone because of the spear and major. a slashing minor. That was mercy for Montreal being shown there. I guess that was earlier in the series, but that's what it feels like. That's karma. That's my fail. That's my film. That's karma.

That's why they've been shit the rest of the series, right? Maybe don't jab a guy in his nuts when you're trying to play hockey. Maybe stick to hockey plays. I don't know. Ethan, what you fail? My fail the week is me, Roy. I was really wrong about the way. Why is everything got to be about you?

About the Montreal Canadians. I was so wrong about them. I was so wrong about the Carolina Hurricanes. We posted that video last week of Jork and I talking about game one and how it was more than just rust. No, it was just rust. We were wrong. We were incredibly wrong. And we deserve to be ridiculed in the comments for it.

So, yes, we were wrong. I admit it, as I've done twice now. Drag me into your failed, dude. What the hell? This is your fail. Dave, you were in the video too. You said it. You said it.

You talked about the cane struggles in the Eastern Conference Final, as we all did. Catching fail of the wheat strays over here. It was bad. It was ugly. So that's that. Man. All right. Claude Lemieux, he's,

this was a, this was tough news yesterday as he took his own life at the age of 60. We lost basically a Titan in this sport, four-time champion. He won the Conn Smyth in 1995 for the New Jersey doubles. He, on Monday, took the torch out during the moment. Montreal, Canadians. What was it? Monday, game three. It was game three versus

the hurricanes. He walked out with a torch. He won in 1986 with the Canadians, the Stanley Cup. And to hear this news that he took

his own life was just jarring. So shocking, right? It is like, because we all grew up watching him. Like, obviously, my first memory was

when he was with New Jersey. They won the cup against the Detroit Red Wings. And then the very next year won the Cup with the Colorado Avalanche. Obviously, bad memories here as a Panthers fan. I mean, he's a champion. He's the type of guy that you hated playing against. But if he was on your team, he was absolutely loved. And obviously with that rivalry with Detroit and Colorado, a lot of bad blood there.

Remember, he boarded Chris Draper in the 96th Western Conference final and that didn't go over well in the city of detroit in the very next year hijinks just absolute shenanigans happened when they met in march before this is before they met in the western conference final again that year but uh yeah claude lemieux and uh jeremy mccarty ended up getting together and mccarty sucker punched him as a means of revenge and uh clott Lemieux total. So those two buried the hatchet. And E-60 ended up having a bit of a documentary about that rivalry.

And Darren McCarty went to X and posted this. This is extremely sad no matter what feelings from past or present you hold. My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends and people who got to see the person off the ice wasn't the person on. as I've said and we'll always call it as I see it. If you're on the ice with Claude Lemieux and you turn your back, you are an idiot. But off the ice, I'll turn mine. And please, if you're struggling at all, please reach out and talk to someone. Godspeed, my friend.

And that's the situation where absolutely if you are going through something, don't do it alone. You have to reach out to somebody. You have to talk. You have to get therapy. But don't do it alone. And seeing Claude Lemieux pass away that early in life is just devastating. And the image of him looking so triumphant, just the other night, looking so happy. Literally the other night!

You have no idea what he's going through, and it's haunting to think about. But if that's, in a way, it's beautiful that that's the last time we saw Claude Lemieux is looking happy and looking triumphant and being adored by his home crowd in Montreal. Yeah. And it is, I mean, if it's, it's really. really just unbelievable to, it's hard to fathom the change from one day to the next seemingly. If you are watching on Draft King's Network, you can go to our YouTube page at the Hockey Show DLS, and you can check out Sarasivian of The Civ Report and too many men. We are going to talk about the Vegas going to the Knights, going to the Stanley Cup final,

and should we be happy about that? That's coming up next. This is my favorite week of the summer sports calendar, the tournament, is down to its final matches. Baseball is on every night. The left turns are turning, and every group chat starts with the same question. What are we watching? This is the time of year

where my TV barely gets a break, and I find myself reaching for that beautiful white can of ice cold, Miller Light. And I'm going to invite the boys over, no doubt. And everybody knows about the Miller Time MVP. Every group has one. The person that gets there early saves a table, that's an MVP.

The person who brings a cooler, extra ice, Miller Light for everybody MVP. The person who makes sure nobody watches the biggest match of the summer alone, that's a Miller Time MVP. Holy cow, folks, just realized this. I'm a Miller Time MVP.

Legendary moments start with a Miller Light, and they're made even better by a Miller Time MVP, such as Moire. We all have that one friend who makes every game better. Now it's time to give them their moment. Head over to any of Miller Light's social media pages to learn more about being a

Miller Time MVP. You can pick up Miller light 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. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. We've gotten a lot better at talking about our mental health than we used to, right? People are more open about it, conversations are happening, and that's a really good thing. But asking for help, that still seems to be the hard part. Better Helps 2026 State of Stigma report surveyed 2,000 Americans, and if it revealed that 85% of Americans believe getting support is wise, yet 74% say society discourages people from doing so.

Think about it. Most of us believe it's the right thing to do, but we still worry about what other people might think. Maybe the best way to change that is to make those conversations a little bit more normal. Better Help supports fully licensed therapists in the U.S. and they handle the matching process for you. You fill out a short questionnaire and if it's not the right fit, you can switch at any time. Don't let stigma stand in the way of support. Start therapy with BetterHelp. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash dLB. That's betterhelp.com slash dLB. And sports fans cheer for and sports media have to cover teams that build rosters with individuals who we do not know personally. I mean, who knows what these individuals happen to do in their private lives, you know, off the court, off the field, and off the ice.

And sometimes the wrong people get second, third, fourth, even fifth chances. And that's why when they go in a nice sign caught a heart in what probably could, be considered a desperation move in that because of their injury situation. We were all questioning why. If you remember, Carter Hart was one of the five members of the of Hockey Canada's 2018 World Junior team who were accused and acquitted of sexual assault. And by the way, his current biggest teammate, Brett Haldon, was not involved in the, was not involved in the accusation, but he was in the room.

so you have to testify about it in court. So how do we feel having to separate our morality with the teams that we have to cheer for? Sarah Sivian wrote about that in her substact called The SIP report. She joins us now. Sarah, can you answer that question? Yeah, I think when we're dealing with this situation, the thing that I tried to kind of write about here wasn't the, act itself, but more like, I think a lot of people, the troubling thing about this is that

there's not enough saves he can make or goals he can allow that make this more or less true what he did, you know, and he was acquitted, right, but there are evidence in texts that have been thrown out that they could not use in court. So that's, I don't know, that's what I, everybody's entitled to their own opinion about how guilty he is, right? But I think we get into this tricky trap sometimes with this situation and others where you're kind of either rooting for or against him to fail because it would vindicate or not vindicate him. And that's just not the morality play we should be using.

We've seen this before with men in this league getting multiple chances. We've seen it this year with Joel Quimville. getting hired to Coast of the Anaheim Ducks. We've seen Stan Bowman getting hired to be the general manager in Edmonton. Could it be desperation? Could it be the league being allergic to change? What is this pattern here in the league? I mean, it's all boys club.

It's classic that they, the way that this happens where it's not just about the individual or the situation, it's the people, like you said, Brett Houdin, getting on the trial and defending and testifying. And they all kind of testify figuratively and literally for each other and have each other's backs because maybe they've done something similar in the past or maybe, oh, he's a really good guy to me. And, oh, he's done the work, but we never really know what work they've all done, do we, do we? And we ask. And it's kind of underwraps there. So it is kind of an old boys club where people who are in that club get to decide who is forgiven and who is.

isn't and then it's kind of a trickle down where people can't say anything because he's a good coach or because he's being a good goalie, you know what I mean? Sarah, I want to keep it with Vegas talking about the old boys club. I feel like Vegas might be putting a wrench into that with their actions regarding their former coach, Bruce Cassidy, who they fired with like, what was it, like eight games left in the season or whatever it was. Now he's out trying to get another job and it's become very. public how Vegas is denying him the opportunity to work anywhere else.

This, it rubs me the wrong way as I'm sure it rubs a lot of people the wrong way. But the broader question for you is Vegas the most hated team and why don't they care? They don't care because the results show. And it's not because they do morally questionable things, but it's because they do like everything. You know what I mean? They kind of stick everything at a wall and see, what sticks. And the fact is that the amount of times, I mean, they've left coaches on the

tarmac after firing them and they brought in. And the revolving door of coaches is kind of crazy. But it's still one of the number one destinations for coaches to be because you can't really argue with the results that they've had when it comes to the trade market, when it comes to staying relevant at all costs. They've put together these good win now teams in the decade that they've been a franchise in and they've been relevant almost everything. They've gone. on to the cup final three times more than they've not made the playoffs. So it's just they can get away with this because it works for them. And some of the disruptive stuff I think is really good.

I think more teams should utilize the trade market more, but maybe a little less value in winning later because there's less of a probability that you're going to win later when you have these like Jack Eichols, Mitch Marners, Mark Stones in their prime and you trade for them. I mean, I think that's genius. but then I think, obviously, I'm morally objected to some of this stuff. And the Bruce Cassidy thing, I mean, it's funny that Edmonton leaked it. And I understand not wanting to give Bruce Cassidy to a team in the West.

But when it starts being, he's not allowed to talk to anyone until XYZ, listen, I think he's going to be fine. I think he's going to get a job. I think it's kind of funny because I don't know. Like, it's so petty. It's so beyond petty. but I would be like, it's just ridiculous, but I don't know, it's kind of how they operate, I guess. So help him find a job.

Yeah, exactly. I think in a roundabout way, which doesn't mean it's a good thing or not petty, but I mean, it's interesting. So Vegas is now in the Stanley Cup final, and I have to say that Rosie was right in her pick because if I don't, she will kill me. Anyway, the Western Conference final,

what wrong with the Colorado Aval? say that what went wrong with the Colorado Avalanche or what would write what the Vegas going to nights because I don't know what John Tonorella did that changed the whole philosophy but they became world beaters over here

on defense. What say you? He's really good at that. Remember that Blue Jackets situation in the bubble, I believe, I might not have been in the bubble that they hired towards, yeah. And they beat the lightning in 2019, right? Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, he's really

good with kind of a veteran group. He knows exactly what he's good at where his limitations are. And that's where I hand it to the Golden Knights for seeing that exact type of coach is something that they needed, that Cassidy had maybe lost the locker room and they acted accordingly.

And I think it's a combination of being aggressive and making these moves. Mark Stone coming back, of course. And then you have the problems with the avalanche where it's like, as great as this team is, there's, if you have McKinnon and you have McCar, this hurt that they can't play, and then they come back and it's clear they're hurt and everybody knows it.

That's just the two worst things that could happen to this team. And then you look at the Panthers and the Bruins back when the Bruins had this wonderful goaltending tandem that collapsed when they got to the playoffs. It's just kind of, if your success relies on, I think, like two amazing goalies, even one with Connor Hellebuck. I think it's kind of the regular season shot selection shots that get taken are so different than the playoffs and these good goalie teams keep getting exposed. If you have two goalies, Roy.

You have none. I knew you were going to say it. I knew it was coming from Ethan. All right. Yeah, of course it's coming from Ethan. It's your time. I know you've been waiting to do this. Tell us how wrong we were about the Carolina Hurricanes.

Everybody was extremely wrong. about the Carolina hurricanes because they got, and I just love that I have evidence of myself dunking up, but it's like eight years of myself dunking and ended up being wrong. So now the rules are finally reversed and I'm having the payoff. But I think when you look at this roster,

there was such a problem with everybody after they lost one game in the ECF and going, like it's a logical fallacy to think because they went one in 17 in the ECF, that they do it in this situation. It's a completely different situation. This team was the only team in the NHL with 720 goals scores this season. They finally had the depth they've been trying to build this team around. They finally got it.

Finally, the Panthers aren't there to terrorize them. And part of this 117 record, it's like 2009. So I don't like, this isn't really fair. I think then there's been the Panthers. Now you just look at this objectively. It's a different team. And they have kind of kept optimizing this version of. of the team to get to like the final boss of the Carolina Hurricanes.

And that's what they are now. They aren't unconfident after they lose one game. And mind you, they went eight out. They like were breaking records in the playoffs. And suddenly they lose one game and everyone's dunking. Not so fast. I hate how right. Sarah.

Finally. I have nothing to say. I have no comebacks. Wow. I'm shocked about that. That is surprising. And I hate it and it drives me insane. Ethan was too stunned to speak.

It's shocking. It's rare. David? We got to soak in the moment. I did want to ask you, Sarah, about the Kahn-Smith race, just because I feel like right now it's Mitch Marner's race to lose. I know if Carolina makes it, like I think maybe like a Logan Stain-Colvin or even a Freddie Anderson could get there.

But as much as I feel like particularly one region of the hockey world is going to hate it, the way it's trending right now, it feels like it's Marners to lose, no? Yes, and that's the tragedy of this Carter-Heart situation is that we're not talking enough about how amazing and sick Mitch Martner has been. He's not only improving their offense, but their defense. He's just been involved in every play, every transition, and it's just, it's a masterpiece that he's

putting on a clinic, if you will. And it has been, the Vegas Golden Knights have been far from perfect in these playoffs. And Marner has been able to conceal a lot of these mistakes, and it's been awesome to watch. The last thing I want to do. wanted to ask you about, obviously it's very sad yesterday when we heard about what happened with Claude Lemieux and how crazy it was.

We're talking about it earlier, how just two days prior, like this guy, he's got the torch in Montreal. But kind of my take, as I've let it process, is how oftentimes when something like this happens, everybody's very quick to say, you never know what somebody's going through, always check in. And I feel like this puts a huge spotlight on that specific element of it, because seemed like he was great. It seemed like life was awesome.

And obviously, you know, things could be happening. But I just kind of wanted to get your take on it because obviously it's horrible. I just my brain goes to try to finding some kind of a positive to take from everything. And that's where I went. Yeah, 100%. It can be, I mean, I'm still kind of in shock about it. I mean, I knew him somewhat. He was an agent to many players that absolutely spoke the world of him.

And you could see why when you were interested. interacted with him. I was scared to interact with him because he's such a legend and he's kind of like, he's a scary guy on the ice, right? But he couldn't have been nicer or more passionate when it comes to getting his players what they deserve and kind of like setting the record straight. So I just really appreciated interactions that I did have with him. He was Freddie Anderson's agent and a few others that came through the canes. And yeah, it's just exactly. I think I am really happy that he could see one last time how respected and loved he is in the hockey world. I think that's where that comes in when he was carrying the torch and looking around.

Yeah, you never, never know what mental health looks like for somebody, no matter how they're presenting on the outside. And it should be a lesson not to just talk about it like this, like we always do, but just to check in, I guess, with your friends in real time and not that, but also. Sometimes someone's battling a mental health demon that's so strong that even that, like, don't feel guilty if your friend is dealing with something that's bigger than you. It can be a chemical imbalance, right? That can be, I think it shows how much of a chemical imbalance and how important it is to kind of stay on top of your own mental health because everybody's journey is completely different. And the maintenance of mental health is something we don't talk about enough to, like, if you're somebody that's,

struggles. Even when you are doing well, I think it's important to stand on top of it. You can read her substack, the SIV report. You can listen to her with Allison Lucan and Sheena Goldman on Too Many Men, a fabulous, fantastic podcast. You can find anywhere you find podcasts. That's Sarah Sivian. Thank you for joining us, Sarah. Thanks so much for having you guys. You can always tell when a new business trend shows up because suddenly everyone starts talking like they invented it. Right now it's AI. Every company says they have an AI strategy, every consultant says they have an answer. Meanwhile, most businesses are still out here

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first time ever, you can try NetSuite Next for free. If your revenues are at least seven figures, go to netsuite.aI slash DLB, built for every industry, ready for every boardroom. NetSuite.AI slash DLB Right, before we get out of here We have to talk about off-campus Before my life comes to a very valid end From the chaotic Rosario area So, Rosie, take it away

Well, I'm not taking it away because Yeah, take it away, please, take it away, take it away from me Yeah, yeah, I'll take it away But you were saying that you did not remember what happened So I'm going to remind you what happens Oh, for God's sake What were they four and five? Is that what we just watched this week?

Yeah, four and five. Okay. So if you remember, you ended up with, hey, can you give you an orgasm? So we got into the scene of the orgasm, which I couldn't watch entirely because I had to skip a lot. But I was like, I just hope they don't talk because if not, I'm going to miss a lot of dialogue. But apparently David says no. Wasn't a lot of talking. No.

And to be fair, that whole sequence, like, I don't know how this is going to make me look, but I feel like it was very realistic because it took like 12 seconds for both of them to finish. And I'm like, that's reality. Thank you. So like, you know, that was kind of like a nice little touch. Well, there you go. At least something positive. So you didn't miss much, Rose. When he starts dancing and he's like, oh, I feel the groove.

I was like, oh my God, this man is so sexy. No, that man was so horny. He was about to get some and he wanted to get to business. So sad. No. he was setting the mood because they didn't remember the... Potato, Potato, Rose.

I didn't remember the conversation he had with Dean and he was like, how can I make a girl for comfortable? Oh my God. Real guys in the world, they don't ask that. You guys, when you talk to each other, it is so not like that. That is men written by girls. Like...

That's a great point. That's a good point. It is, bro. I have conversations like that. I don't know. If I have something I want to talk about with a guy friend, I'm gonna ask like am I crazy?

You just said oh it took 12 minutes to finish no I'm saying seconds seconds not 12 minutes if it was 12 minutes more powers to that guy listen yes we put it to him for you bro yeah nice job so I thought that scene was actually like besides the obvious like sexual tension and kind of like one of the hot more hot and bothered scenes in the show like it was actually like really a romantic and you kind of see them starting to like make that connection with each other that's just deeper than just like the friend level because like to be able to do that with somebody and do that for somebody and the way he was kind of helping and especially after what she opens up to him about in the previous episode.

Yeah. Yeah. It is pretty amazing to like to see that kind of relationship and those kinds of relationships aren't often portrayed in these romance and television shows where it's like people who started. Yeah. People who started. Yeah, yeah, yeah. People who's paying attention.

There you go. people who start as friends and then kind of build this friendship and this relationship and then they become involved sexually and romantically like you don't see those relationships portrayed that way and i think that kind of relationship can be very beautiful and and they do a great job of portraying i'm sorry but you lost me at the man feet in that situation i mean yeah fair enough yeah you didn't like they had to portray the they had to figure out how to show us that they were orgasming without actually you know like nobody's cleaning up afterwards it's not realistic at all. They just finish and they're flopping on the bed next to each other like it's all good. I don't like how unrealistic those elements are, but that's just me. I don't know, but like the conversation he has with Dean and they're in college. Like, mind you, they're in college. So they're not very mature. And that conversation is so mature.

No, no, no, no, no. That conversation is exactly how it would go down where you don't really know how to tell your buddy what you need to do. And you don't know how to tell your buddy that you don't know how to do that. to a girl, that is definitely a conversation that would go down between guys. Like, that's exactly how it would go down. But no, the answer would be very, like, with the guys that I have known, it would be very different. Like, I think it's very mature the way that they answer for college kids. It sounds like you have immature friends, Rose.

Uh, maybe, but most of the immature people that I have met is in the United States. So that's also probably very, very accurate. Yeah. So it's like, I was very surprised. I'm like, the thing is, you're left with an emptiness because you know those type of guys, very mature, intelligent, emotional intelligent, and handsome, and quadritos, they do not exist.

No, definitely not in this studio, I'll tell you that. But anyway, episode of yourself, dude, I'm speaking for you too. Anyway, episode five, episode five, they ended up, Hannah realized that, you know what, this other guy I'm not really into him, I'm going to stick with the, yeah. That's one thing I like about the show is that they were just like, screw the love triangle. Like this love triangle doesn't add anything.

At this point, it's kind of just a hindrance to like the main relationship that the show should be about. Like I like how they just kind of dump the love triangle and we're like, screw it. This thing's over. The show and the story are really about Garrett and Hannah and the relationship that they build. And I do think, like I said, like it's a very beautiful relationship in a way because it's very unconventional from the ones that you see. on yeah and it's beautiful how in like episode five it like it takes another turn and it goes deeper and like you see their problems and everything and like when you see the scene of him and and having the turkey with the dad that scene is so well done this is the thanksgiving episode

right this yeah episode five yeah so the thanksgiving episode rose is like it's like all of their traumas, right? Like every, every, it's her, it's Garrett, it's all of the people from home, you learn about the Logan siblings and, you know, their problems with their mother at home. And it's just like, shows don't explore that always. And I thought they did a great job of exploring it. And also, like, that scene at Thanksgiving where he recognizes, you know, what's happening to his, his, dad's new wife and then the scene in the car

the fiancee yeah the scene where he's crying to her in the car like I cried like that was an incredibly emotional scene and that was for me without a doubt the most emotional scene in the entire show. All right the hockey aspect Dave you had any problems there was no hockey aspect

there was there was hockey aspect in this yeah all right so here yes I do now that you remind me thank you hockey players don't practice by themselves. And in this show, everybody's on the ice by themselves. Like, where are they getting all this time? Where are they getting the ice time?

Like, hockey players practice so much when they're part of a team. They're not out there just fucking around on the ice. Like, willy-nilly. And then, oh, the arena's wide open, by the way. So she can just waltz in while he's having this private workout that I ask. She works in the arena. She works in the arena. Oh, okay.

Well, true. She's got access to the arena. So, okay. Maybe that's the way I can... So she waltzes in, and she starts playing a random piano. I guess that's... Because this junior arena has its own... What was it? What are they called, Roy? The arena...

I thought she plays a song on the August board, doesn't she? No, what? Yeah, whatever they're called. The arena... Oregon. That I can't think of the name. Keyboard. Keyboard.

The organ, thank you. But, like, what are we doing? Well, that's the way I'm gonna... Uh, Kunkister. Parkie. I'm gonna go and he's gonna be playing a little. And then there was, what, the one game that he played with her in the stands as his girlfriend where he like smiled at her and she gets all giggly about it.

Like if anybody on the ice saw him do that, if anybody on the other team saw him smiling at a girl in the stands, even his teammates, that's it like you're, you got a job to do. And this guy's an NHL prospect. So that, yeah. All right, folks. Just wait till you see, Dave. Just wait till you see in the later episode about the hockey, about where the hockey goes in terms of his draft prospects. you're going to get really mad in the next couple of years really really quick

rose because I got into shit because I got yeah I'm tired of thing and what I think it's a win for off campus um not quick a lot of people hey a lot of people try to that grab their niche and they try to do both guys and girls you just have to be get get the girls happy and that's it and with this shows we we're so like oh it's a rom-com and you have handsome guys and everything. So when the girl is happy, you're going to have a lot of views. Like 36 million views. Oh, wait, wait.

One last thing that I have to throw in there that we haven't mentioned. Real quick, real quick. Go. Like, her hot best friend suddenly, like, going for the slut on the team, the guy she, the guy that being the orgasm advice. Just you wait. Oh, by the way. We already saw her in her underwear in his room and he's supposed to be like visiting his family.

So, like, clearly there's some drama coming and they keep setting up. By the other best son who's falling for Welsey. By the way, that's season two subject right there. Can we show with the spoilers? I'm amazed that we got this far without just to be. They announced it. They announced it. It's been announced on it.

It's good. Next episode rocks. All right, can I end the show now? Thank you. Please. All right, here we go, folks. Game five, we got ourselves. Watch along.

Easton Conference final between the Canadians and the Hurricanes. That series is over. But you can watch us in that series tonight as the hockey show has. They'll watch along. By the way, we thank you for watching the Western Conference Final last week for us. Next week, we are going to actually watch

the Stanley Cup final, hopefully on Thursday. That'll either be game one or game two. So stay tuned for that. Remember to subscribe to the Hockey Show on our YouTube page, which is where you can find the watchalong as well as the Lovetard show page. You can find us at the Hockey Show DLS on TikTok, The Hockey Show 7, on X, Instagram, and threads at the Hockey Show DLS for Gino, for Jason, for Rosie, for Ethan, and for David.

My name is Roy. We will see you tonight for the watch-along. Going for two when you're up by five. Switching the zone when man isn't working. Oh, and building your new stadium in the state your team actually plays in. In sports, some things just make sense. You know what else makes sense? Drinking Yeagermeister shots.

Ice cold. Drinking it any other way would be like, punting on first down, or letting your worst hitter bat first, or like going for two when you're down three with a second to go. It wouldn't make any sense. So don't let the team down. When it comes to Yeagermeister, drink it cold,

or don't drink it at all! Yeagermeister, damn that's cold. Drink responsibly. Yeagermeister lique. 5% alcohol by volume, imported by Master Yeagermeister, U.S., White Plains, New York. Tony, you know that moment at a party or a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks. I know it well. It's usually when I show up. Everybody goes crazy. Yeah, you usually take all the credit for it, but it's because Tony usually walks in with Quervo.

I'm walking like this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Quervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night. It has that effect on people. It does. You usually take the credit for it. But again, it's the Quervo effect. It's like that moment in a big game where everyone in the crowd just starts standing up, hooting and hollering. Keep it quervo. Keep it quervo, baby.