The Hockey PDOcast - Episode 375: Things We're Interested In

Episode Date: December 24, 2020

Chris Johnston joins the show to discuss the players, teams, and stories we're most interested in heading into the 2021 season. The topics include: Did Vegas get better after all of their moves? Colorado's new status as favourites Nathan MacKinnon's evolution in the bubble Connor McDavid with a chip on his shoulder The final chapters of Alex Ovechkin's story The unique nature of the Canadian Division Tampa Bay without Kucherov or cap crunch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices If you'd like to gain access to the two extra shows we're doing each week this season, you can subscribe to our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/thehockeypdocast/membership If you'd like to participate in the conversation and join the community we're building over on Discord, you can do so by signing up for the Hockey PDOcast's server here: https://discord.gg/a2QGRpJc84 The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

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The NFL Road Show, fun and kind of nerdy conversation about the NFL every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I've got some amazing guests that are joining me. the huddle with the top stories, previewing games. We'll get set for the weekend fantasy with our Fantasy Friday episodes. And we'll answer some of your questions as well. So subscribe to the NFL Road Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Before we get CJ on here and start the show properly, I want to make a couple quick notes or amendments that'll make a lot more sense when you actually listen to the show. But the first is that at the top, we say that we're going to save the pod until after Christmas.

but that turns out to be a lie because after we finished, I went back and listened to it, and I was really happy with how it turned out, and I just realized that I wanted to get out there as soon as possible rather than waiting. CJ's the best, and I think we got into some really fun stuff that you're going to enjoy. So I also know it's a unique year in which people presumably will have more free time than they usually do around this time. So we're just going to put it out there bright and early on Christmas Eve. And, you know, if you're busy with your family and all that stuff the next few days,

it should still be good to listen to after but for those of you that could use something to help fill the time right now hopefully you enjoy the show the other thing is that we had a section towards the end that we wound up cutting out that was um you know about the Tampa Bay Lightning and we teased it a couple of times throughout the show where we were saying that we wanted to talk about them because they are an interesting situation to watch but

we were worried that anything we said would be outdated and sure enough we recorded and then as soon as we stopped recording we got used in a Kita Kutjurav will be having hip surgery that keeps them out for the entirety of the regular season. So to say that there's big ramifications coming off of that news would be putting it lightly. So I'm going to get into a couple of the things there real quick since I think it's a big story. And then we're going to get into the show. The first is obviously those of you that are following cap-friendly, you probably saw us, but this allows them to bury his $9.5 million cap figure. And with some tinkering around with the taxi squad, it essentially a

boards them somewhere around 3.6 to 4.4 million in caps base to eventually sign Andrew Sirelli. According to Elliott, it sounds like a deal for Sirelli is imminent. And knowing the Tampa Bay Lightning, that'll probably be at a number that's surely lower than he's actually worth. So there's that. And so in a sense, the Lightning get their cake and they get to eat it too, just because this means that they'll have Nikita Kutrov hopefully back ready to go for the postseason, reminiscent into 2005 when Chicago put Patrick in on the LTIR and were able to add guys like Antoine Remet and Kimo Tivan into the deadline and then got him back for the playoff run. The other is that they get to retain all their key players after an offseason where it seemed

like that was a near impossibility. And I think the big one here is keeping Anthony Sorrelli and not losing him to an offer sheet or to another team as a cap expense because he's 23. He finished fourth in Selke voting last year. I actually had him as a finalist in my fake imaginary. ballot. He really does everything for the lightning. He eats up a ton of defensive minutes, both in terms of zone deployment and on the penalty kill, which frees up Braden Point to feast offensively. He had a two-month stretch last season when Tampa Bay with him on the ice

in 27 games and 353-5-15 minutes was up 22 to 3, and that was really the stretch in the season to turn things around for them after that early slumber and start to the year that you can probably remember. So yeah, if all goes well here for Tampa Bay, they should get a healthy and rest of Nikita Kuturov back for the postseason as they try to defend her title. And you'd figure there's certainly enough talent on this roster to help pick up some of the scoring slackie leaves behind. And they're ultimately in this week East Division this season that presumably they should be able to piece together enough wins in to make it without him. So you figure it's all smooth sailing for them. But I will say it's not necessarily all sunshine and

roses for them. Obviously, this is a temporary stopgap that just buys them some time until next season when they'll have to do this all over again and you figure with teams showing that they're not as eager to help them out as they may have been in the past, they'll eventually have to make some tough subtractions to arrange the roster on a more permanent basis. I also think, you know, I've seen people kind of crying about this online. This is some sort of Machiavellian caps are mentioned by the Lightning and this was planned all along and I just don't buy that at all. I mean, This isn't a 38-year-old developing a skin condition right when his salary dips to one million per season. This is Nikita Freaking Kuturov at the peak of his powers.

He has 313 points in 230 games over the past three years. Only Connberg, David, has more. He scored a preposterous 128 points two years ago. He's coming off this postseason where he completely and utterly dominated. I think it got lost a bit in the shuffle because his teammates, Braden Point, and Victor Hedman were so good. But I really think he should have gotten more conspite consideration than he did. He led all players in the postseason with 35 points. He had a ridiculous 200 shot attempts in those 25 games.

And with him on the ice at 5-on-5, Tampa Bay outscored teams 29 to 11, and high-danger chances were 100 to 56 in their favor. So he was just completely and utterly unstoppable all postseason. And, you know, even for a team as talented and deep as Tampa Bay is, you can't really replace a player like that. Just his presence on the ice opens up so much space for everyone around him. He's this player that you can throw the puck to, and really run an offense through like a quarterback.

I think they're especially going to miss his dual threat ability in the power play. You know, barring some sort of a remarkable return to peak for him for Stamcoast. I think they're going to struggle to replicate the success they've had there over the years, although we'll see how Braden Point does offensively without him, especially at 5-1-5 with opposing defenses being able to clamp down on him more. So there's a lot of moving parts there. And, you know, the last thing is, I will say, by all accounts, hip surgeries are nothing to mess with. and they can have really serious long-term effects.

So I find it hard to believe that the lightning would be going this route just to be kind of sneaky and ultimately preserve and keep some ultimately expendable assets when you're talking about a former MVP, their most dangerous player, and someone they've invested eight years and 76 million into it, and they're only on year or two of that deal. So this certainly isn't anything to mess around with.

And, you know, we all just assume that he'll be back at the start of the postseason good as new, but there's a lot of time between now and then, a lot can go wrong. And so I think it's hardly a given. So it's definitely a situational monitor. But anyways, I just wanted to get all that out there and kind of all the stuff to consider here and all the stuff I was thinking about when I heard this news. So it's obviously a very nuanced situation.

I think the lightning are going to be fine. They're going to be very good again. They look poised to defender title if all goes well. But I think the takeaway here as a hockey fan is just that it sucks that we don't get to watch Nikita Kutrov play hockey until May. So anyways, on that's kind of somber note. We're going to get CJ on here. and we're going to start the show. Progressing to the mean since 2015, it's the Hockey Piedocast.

With your host, Dimitri Philipo. Welcome to the Hockey Pee-Ocast. My name is Demetri Philipovich. And joining me is my good buddy, Chris Johnson. Chris, what's going on, man? It's been a while. It has been a long time, but good to get one more chat with you, in with you, Dimitri, before we get to 2021.

There we go. We're recording this on Wednesday, December 23rd. The only reason I say that is because we're going to probably save this one until after Christmas. So, you know, some players have been signing over the past 24 hours or so, and I'm sure there's going to be some news that comes out between and now and then. So keep that in mind, but hopefully nothing too crazy happens in the meantime. So here's a plan for today's show. I thought it'd be fun to have you on. I feel like we're all so inundated right now with kind of like the logistics of the return to play and what it's going to look like and the schedule and all this

stuff. And it could be stressful. And instead, I think, thought we'd have fun by kind of putting a positive spin on it. And having a conversation about stuff we're excited for this season, either it's players or teams we're excited to watch, the most interesting kind of situations, maybe something changed and we kind of want to see what it's going to look like in the new season. I kind of opened up the floor to you. I gave you a bit of homework to think about that over the past couple days. And hopefully we're going to be able to have some differing opinions and have some different

stuff that we're looking forward to seeing. So we can kind of talk it out. So I'll let you start here. What's the number one thing that, number one player or team or what have you, that you're just excited to see how it turns out in 2021. Oh, I have to choose between two for my number one.

I think I'm going to go with Vegas, actually, for my number one. And I just feel like there was a fair bit of drama around this team. Maybe drama is overstating it, but there was a lot going on there with, with signing the major free agent and Alex Petrangelo, you know, trading away two sort of core pieces of their team and Nate Schmidt and Paul Stasney for very little return, just, you know, basically salary cap type of moves.

You know, having Max Patcheretti rumors be quite prominent during the offseason. Obviously, the way things ended with Mark Andre Fleury in the bubble and him losing his job to Robin Lennar and then Lennar subsequently being re-signed. And just the fact that, you know, this is one of the best teams in the league. They were a Western Conference finalists a year ago. You know, to me, I just think that there's the most kind of potential for intrigue around this group, how they emerge out of that time. You know, I'm not of the opinion personally that all the rumors and stuff is really going to hurt them.

You know, I know that that's kind of been floated out there, that they've maybe eroded some goodwill, so to speak, with their players. You know, I think that that's probably a little bit overstated. But, you know, that's just a team. I don't know how it's going to go. I think they're going to be good. but are they going to be Stanley Cup good? You know, they have a couple of the main teams that I see

is potentially getting in their way now in their realigned division. And so for me, I'm just excited to see that team. I'm excited to see Petrangelo on their blue line and just kind of curious about how they're going to emerge from a pretty tumultuous offseason. Yeah, it helps. They also have eight games against St. Louis on this game. That'll be fun.

Eight versus St. Louis and eight versus Colorado. Exactly. I think it's going to be, I think it's going to be pretty cool. I'm pumped for the realignment in general, and I think that this is one of the teams in that division that I look at and go, like that's three teams I could see potentially winning a Stanley Cup that all have to play each other that many times. It's pretty exciting for me.

Yeah, I had them on my list. I think I had them as like the third most interesting thing, I think. But like with the Patrangelo thing, I guess on first blush, you'd say, boy, it's a bit risky to be giving a seven. a year $61.6 million deal to a player who's going to be turning 31 in the first week of that contract. And, you know, I agree. Obviously, there's kind of an inherited risk when you do that at that age. But, you know, I think he'll age pretty gracefully with his skill set. And he was, you know, I thought spectacular both last season. He should have been a Norris finalist and also

the postseason before when St. Louis went all the way to the Stanley Cup final and won it. So I'm not necessarily as worried about what he's going to look like, although it obviously is a big change for him, considering he's never played anywhere else as a pro other than St. Louis. But I'm more so I think you kind of hit the nail on the head there, like what they had to accomplish to bring Patrangelo in, what they had to sacrifice trading away Nate Schmidt for essentially a future third, you know, giving away Paul Stasi in the final year of his deal in sacrificing some center depth to make the money work. And we'll still see if they're done. I think it would be a very bad idea to trade either Patriot or March or so because it's always impossible to envision them

coming away better for it, it feels like either trade would definitely decrease the likelihood of them winning the Stanley Cup this year. But with the Patrangelo move, the question I have about it is kind of, did they accomplish what they were striving to achieve? Like, did they actually get better this offseason with it? They certainly added a massive star and a big name, but it felt like if you sort of watch them in the postseason, and if you watch them all year, you know, throughout the regular season, they were a really good five-on-five team, the dominated possession, who was constantly, you know, near the top in terms of expected goals and every single underlying metric. But there's clearly something in the formula with the way they play or the

way they attack that leads to these kind of low shooting percentages where they're just not converting those chances at a high rate. And I'm not sure that swapping Schmidt essentially for Alex Petrangelo is going to necessarily accomplish that. There's still obviously a great team. they're going to be dominant again this season. But I just wonder what the sort of objective was behind that move and whether it ultimately accomplishes it. Yeah, and I think it's a fair one. You know, obviously they feel that Petrangelo can make an impact at both ends of the ice.

You know, what's interesting about the patch ready rumors is, you know, he's coming off a pretty good personal season. And if they were to trade him, I mean, to me, that's hurting their offense. I know that as part of that deal, they would like to bring back a player that could be part of their lineup. So, you know, it's a bit of an unknown about what that would look like if it were to happen. But, um, now I'm with you. I, I think that, that they might have carved out too much to, to have to accommodate Alex Petrangelo. And, you know, this is not a guarantee. And, you know, what's interesting is this is still such, obviously a new franchise, but, you know, these moves are all

being made with the Stanley Cup in mind, you know, now, you know, they're, they're sort of short-term I'm thinking, you know, obviously it's a long-term deal for Petrangelo, but by the end of that, I'm guessing Vegas probably won't be, you know, one of the top teams in the league. I think that this is clearly done to sort of pry their window more open right now. And, you know, I'm just curious to see how it goes. I do, I'm with you. I think I certainly believe that this will be a great team. I just don't know how great. And that's, you know, part of what makes them so exciting for me. Well, this is what it made me think of. I remember a couple of years ago, when Darrell Moray was still running the Rockets,

he was kind of trying to figure out how they could eventually get over the hump and beat the Golden State Warriors when they were a super team. And he had this quote that I thought was really telling about how he essentially felt like the team needed to increase their risk profile

where like they couldn't just keep going the way they were going. They felt like obviously they were inheriting some risk by making certain moves, but they felt like at least in the, like 100% scenario where it all comes together, their ceiling as a team would be higher. And I think it's fair to argue that Vegas is sealing if Patrangelo comes in and gels perfectly

and all of a sudden you have this ability to basically have either him or Shay Theater on the ice for nearly the entirety of the game come the playoff setting. Like that's clearly a very appealing option. And I think he's certainly a better player than HMitt. So I can see it from that perspective where you're right. Like the clear agenda here is we've been close now a couple times. We really want to eventually win the Stanley Cup. That's what our target is here.

And so over the next two or three years or what I have. you, we feel like Petrangelo gives us a better chance to accomplish that. And I think there's certainly merit to that argument. There absolutely is. And, you know, it's so hard to get over the top, I think. You know, like, their season last year was great. And it was almost comical in the playoffs. And I was in the Edmonton bubble. But seeing the end of the series was Vancouver, you know, what they ran up to against Dallas. I mean, they were dominating huge parts of those games and just not being able to score very much. And, you know, some of that's hot goaltending. I'm with you. I wonder what they've found under the hood, so to speak, in terms of maybe how they're deploying their players or asking them to play if there's something systematically or structurally that's, you know, having them have 50 shot efforts and score one time. Or maybe if it's just, you know, lack of pure scores. I mean, it's, these are questions that are going to follow them. I think what is compelling for them, if they are able to clear more cap space, either before the season starts or early in the season, is there a team that is exempt from the expansion draft, you know, that there's a, you know, that there's, you know,

they're not getting any money from the expansion fee from Seattle and they're not going to lose a player. And I do think that they could be part of some compelling trades if they're a place that can take a player that someone's worried about losing for free to Seattle. But right now with their cap situation, they can't really get involved in those type of moves. But I could see them also being one of the very active teams this year if they're able to create that cap room and making deals because they don't have to worry about Seattle come next July. Well, the other thing with them is they're all of a sudden very reliant on Cody Glass down the middle. It feels like they're kind of banking on him reaching his potential and being that second center behind William Carlson. And it's obviously risky considering he's played 140 NHL games up until this point. But I do think he's in a position to succeed because he's obviously got the right wingers to support him.

I mean, if you can flank him with Patrick Reddy and Mark Stone, I think those guys will make pretty much anyone look good. But also during this offseason, Jack Hahn wrote a really interesting piece about sort of Vegas's system and how it makes life easier on centers because it essentially like narrows down their their sort of responsibilities. They basically just need to be on like two or three places on the ice at all times to receive the puck from defensemen or from their wingers. And if you can do that, you know, you're going to thrive. And so that's why we've seen all these players just randomly come like a Chandler-Stevenson just come into Vegas and all of a sudden perform much better than they had in previous stops because they kind of put them in that position to succeed. And so it's, it's risky,

especially I thought it was a bit of a sort of under-told story. It came right at the start, or I guess right before Free Agency, when they sent Paul Stasney back to Winnipeg because he kind of provided a bit of that installation for them there. Now all of a sudden, they're a bit exposed. If Cody Glass is another injury-plagued season or doesn't live up to that potential, that could be a sore spot for them. But, yeah, I think there's so many questions.

I think kind of highlighting Vegas as an interesting storyline was a really good call on your part because there's so many moves. open parts. All right. Who do you got first? All right. Well, actually, before we move out Vegas, I have one more question for you about them. And you kind of touched on it a little bit, but they're developing this rep around the league

now of kind of ruthlessly in a way. The second they feel like they can upgrade on you, they will not hesitate in moving you. And is their right to do so. I think, you know, this league sometimes is a bit too friendly. And it's okay. like you're always, you should be trying to always improve your team. So I'm perfectly fine with that. But I do think like if you're a player moving forward, there's obviously a lot of appeal there from the, from the tax reasons to just living and playing in Vegas for players to sign there. So I don't think

that's necessarily going to hurt their ability to attract free agents moving forward. But I do wonder if if you're a player and you're weighing some options, you might be pushing harder for that full no trade clause just to ensure that they won't wind up moving you down the road. For sure. And look, some of this is just narrative, right? I mean, because they were such a feel-good story the first season, you know, going all the way to the Stanley Cup final. It was kind of warm and cozy and the, you know, the golden misfits, you know, that kind of idea.

And so the fact that they would have players that helped them to that kind of season and then, you know, some of them have had to leave and not been happy about it. You know, I get, I just think a lot of it is, it becomes just the story that's being told about the team versus, you know, is that really all that different that's been what happens elsewhere? I mean, I think players are unceremoniously dumped on pretty much 31 teams and soon to be 32. If, you know, that organization feels if it's getting an upgrade on you or it's getting someone maybe makes a little bit less that can do more or is younger, I mean, pro sports by its nature is a ruthless business. When you put in a hard salary cap, you force a lot of hard decisions on teams. I mean, you know, we might end up seeing that in Chicago here in the next couple of years with some of their foundational pieces, you know, in terms of what they do there as part of a rebuild.

You know, I just think it happens sort of everywhere. And so Vegas, to me, I think it's a little bit of a force narrative. I'm with you. I think if you asked any player over a beer, you know, to list the top five places he'd rather play. I think Vegas would appear on like 99% of those lists. You know, just from, you know, the tax standpoint to where the players live in Summerlin is a great spot. About 20 minutes from the strip, they've got a great owner, they've got a great practice rank. they've had a competitive team.

I mean, the weather, I just don't see any downsides there. And so, you know, I think that this is a little bit of a media-created story. And, you know, I don't suspect you're going to see some, you know, all of a sudden this rash of players who don't want to play in Vegas because you're worried that golden nights aren't going to treat them properly. Yeah. No, I completely agree. I just want to bring it up because I know the fans sometimes tend to take like the team side

when a player wields their leverage or, you know, whether it's from a contract standpoint or what have you. And so just remember that. Like everyone's always looking out of it. their best interests. I'll never I'll never begrudge a player for also like either you know holding out for more money or hold or you know if they have a no trade clause not wanting to waive it because they like where they're playing like so it's a it's just something to consider um number two number two so I guess first on my list and people who follow me on Twitter will not be surprised by this it's the Colorado

avalanche um so last year the aves were this really fun young team that everyone just enjoyed watching regardless of your rooting interests. They were offensively, this very high-octane team that was just playing kind of track meet style. This year, it's changed a little bit in the sense that they've gone from kind of that fun story where everything they do from this point on is kind of gravy because the future is so bright for them

to all of a sudden now they're being positioned as the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Nathan McKinnon had a great quote recently where he was asked about it. He's like, yeah, I think we're the favorites or whatever. And it was kind of a very Nathan McKinnan. Kenan-style answer, but it's easy to see why people love them, right? Obviously, they almost made the West Final last year and were really banged up by the time they reached the end of that Star Series

and still nearly won that game seven. Then this offseason, they thought, really shrewdly attacked their needs where they flip Nikita Zedora from a position of strength on the blue line. To add, Brendan Sade gives them another great sort of middle six option, very versatile, can play up or down the lineup depending on where, how do they want to use them. They essentially steal Devontees from the aisles because they couldn't afford to retain them. They kept all of their RFAs. They brought back Brokowski, Nachushkin, Graves. So they're really positioned well here.

My question about them is just sort of whether they're ready to kind of take that next step, what that's going to look like. Obviously, there's much more pressure now. I'm just really fascinated to watch them. Obviously, Nathan McKinnon as well. And we can talk more about him here in a second. but just as a team as a whole and sort of that story about them sort of trying to progressively climb over the past couple years up the hierarchy of the NHL

and now hopefully getting there finally in the 2021 season I think that's a really interesting story sure and luck the futures now right I mean it's it's not you're right and I do think sometimes psychologically that can be difficult you know this team might have had that that cup run last year if not for all the injuries they sustained in the bubble you know it was ridiculous what they had to weather, you know, and ultimately losing to Dallas in the playoff series. And, you know, I think they should be favored. You know, the only question, I suppose, is on their goaltending is how Grubauer and friend Soes, pardon me, I know I'm pronounced that wrong somehow, but, you know, how those guys can handle it. But this has to be,

to me, the most complete team in a league on paper. That doesn't always, you know, obviously translate directly to the kind of success we're expected. but, you know, it's hard to poke really any holes in the roster. I'm with you. I like their off-season. They got taves on a good number, too. I mean, they're set up to have a run here, but, you know, Landis Cogs is an unrestricted for age.

I mean, the problem in the NHL is you get this window that opens, but it always comes with complications, you know, especially with the cap. And so, you know, I think they're set up to be a team that doesn't just have one crack at it, obviously with the, you know, the age of their core. group. But, you know, this is a huge year for them and no one will be taking them lightly. No one will be surprised by their success. And they'll almost be measured by cup or bust, you know, whether that's fair or not. Yeah, I think the window tends to come more quickly in the NHL to win than people might

think you always kind of have this long-term view. And you're like, oh, all these players are in their early to mid-20s. We're going to have a 10-year run at this. But because of the contract situation and the cab situation, it doesn't always work out that way. And so after this season, you know, McCar comes off his ELC, what's he going to be making like nearly 10 times what he is right now. Landiscaug needs a new deal. And McKinnon, a couple years down the line, is going to get a pay raise as well. And so I think they've had that eye on the future. They've been managing their contractual situation moving forward very delicately with an eye

on that. I think it was really telling that they weren't super in on Taylor Hall this off season. Like they gave an offer, but from what I can gather, it was kind of like a half-hearted doing their due diligence as opposed to aggressively targeting them and trying to win the cup this season. And I think they're trying to sort of balance being the favorite this year while also keeping their options open for the next two, three, four, five years down the road. How do you feel about that sort of decision to kind of view it that way and not go as aggressively again for a guy like Hall as they maybe could have and maybe other organizations would have?

Well, I like it. You know, I think that they recognize that they probably have the talent again already in house to win i mean you're trying obviously to to upgrade that wherever you can i think the brandon's odd deal you know as a way of doing it and it's you know his contract is cheaper than you know by three million dollars than what it would have you know cost to get taylor hall at least if he had been signing at the buffalo number i think you know from what i'd heard colorado was somewhere in the five million dollar range on a one-year deal for hall so they were you know the only way he was coming there is if he was taking some kind of uh you know some kind of a pay cut or or less than the market was going to bear in order to have a chance to join a team this good.

And I'm sure that that held some appeal. But you also got to think of the bottom line, too, careers are short. So, you know, I think that they're smart to take a longer view. You know, it's crazy to think, but Nathan McKinnon's only 25. Right. You know, they've got lots of great players. I mean, McCart, you know, might end up being the best player on this team at some point. But as long as you feel that McKinnon is in the top two or three players in the entire league and can remain there,

I mean, I don't think it's crazy to think he's got five more years or four more years at like really high-end performance. You know, let's hope that injuries or anything don't come as a factor into his career. But, you know, I do think you have to be careful not to view it as a one-off because you can build the best team and still lose in any given season. I think Tampa's kind of showed that before winning that, you know, that they've been all around it. And I think it won the most cumulative games, scored the most goals in like the last six seasons combined. but it took some time for things to go their way. And so, you know, I don't see any reason to go all in almost when you have a 25-year-old McKinnon, 24-year-old Grant. And, you know, you've still got McCar on as ELC.

I think that you have to look at kind of a period of time and maybe show a little bit more restraint than you want to, because obviously the impulse, I'm sure, would be there to try to use the cab space. They had this off-season to, you know, to get some high-end difference makers. Well, I think with McKinnon, he could have been his own sort of storyline here because it feels like, you know, based on his bubble performance, there's a groundswell of kind of anointing him as the new best player on earth. And whether it's him or McDavid or like, you know, you can have that conversation an entire time. And we're going to talk more about McDavid later. But I just think, you know, what he displayed in the bubble in terms of what I think is an unrivaled combo of speed and power because he actually kind of translates that speed and power while he has the puck with like just the. stick handling he does and the shot he displays and and it felt like he kind of developed this new mean streak as well where he was just started bullying people and when he felt he needed to when he felt like they were kind of taking liberties with him and and so it's really the complete package as a star player and i'm not necessarily even sure that he can elevate his game to an even further level

because he's already playing at a at a supremely high standard but uh just kind of getting to watch that hopefully translate to a full season now and then heading into another playoffs like that's something I'm really excited about because he's must watch television. Like he, every single time he steps on the ice, something ridiculous is probably going to happen. And for people like myself who are in the business of creating content and talking about hockey,

it's great. So I love Nathan McKinnon. I love watching him play. And I'm really excited to see what he's going to look like heading into this season. Yeah. And what I find interesting about McKinnon is he's been pretty open about the fact that a couple years ago he was doubting himself and that some of almost his mental work

has helped elevate him. Obviously, he's got great physical attributes. He's always been a fast skater. I know he's worked on a shot and made that NHL level over the years. But, you know, I agree with you that I think he got to a point where he just realized that there's no one better than him anywhere. And, you know, I think he's got that mindset. And from what I heard, you know, I know he spent a lot of his offseason since the bubble

in Toronto. And people here are literally raving about the work he does. Obviously, all these guys are elite athletes. They all, you know, attack the office. season in various ways, but, you know, it sounds like he was like a no days off kind of just monster, even by NHL standards. And so, you know, you combine those things. I just don't see any reason to think that he's going to have any kind of fall off this year. I think he's pretty hungry. You know, now he's on a team that can win. And I'm sure there was a bitter taste with the way that that series

kind of got away from them and their season ended in the bubble. And so, you know, I think that this is going to be one of those teams, maybe the way Tampa was last year. you know, after kind of, you know, having that 60-odd-win season and then getting swept in the playoffs that they're almost kind of on a mission. I think, I think Nathan McKinnon's going to be on a mission. And so all those sort of debates about, you know, who's better between him and McDavid are probably going to be renewed because I wouldn't surprise me at all if this guy leads a league in scoring or, you know, just has a real tear through the 56 games the Avalanche are about to play. Yeah. Well, think about the position he's in with the new

new look division, the Avalancheer and some of the teams he's going to be playing. against on a regular basis, like with the California teams and whatnot. So, yeah, he's going to be in a good scoring environment. I'm very curious to see what his final output is for the year after the 56 games are done. All right, CJ, what's next on your list now that we've done the Golden Knights and the abs? This one might be a little out of left field, but for me, it's Alex Ovechkin. And, you know, I think he's at an interesting spot in his career. And it's kind of gone a little under the radar, but, I mean, he's entering the last year of his contract.

And I'm very curious to see how he handles that. You know, he's going to be negotiating on his own. And more just, you know, how long of a deal does he want to commit to Washington at this stage? You know, he still scored 48 goals last year. I mean, he's just been robbed of another 50-goal season, you know, by COVID. I mean, there's no doubt he would have, you know, crested that mark again last year. And I do think this Gretzky goal record is on his mind in terms of how long he stays in the NHL,

whether he thinks he's got a chance for it, you know, might determine, you know, know how much longer we see him here in North America. And so, you know, I feel like he's like this fine wine that we should continue to appreciate because it's scarce. I mean, the number of games that Ovechkin's going to play in an NHL sweater is getting small, I think. And, you know, the amount of time that he can be dominant. I mean, there's nothing to suggest that, you know, that a falloff is there because, obviously, his production has been so high into ages that we haven't seen before really too often.

And so, you know, I'm not predicting a falloff here, but I just don't know how much of them we have left. I don't know how that contract situation is going to play out. And, you know, he enters this season, I think, about 190 goals behind Wayne Gretzky's record. And so, you know, unfortunately, he's been robbed of more games here, too, to get towards that. But if he has another big year, I think, and he gets, you know, sizably closer to that record. We might see him sign a longer deal with Washington and stick around a little longer. But, you know, I just think that there's a little bit of intrigue here.

I don't know how it's all going to play out. you know, obviously he's not someone I don't think anyone is too much insight into. You know, it's not as though he has a whisper here in North America, a journalist or what have you, that that seems to know what he's thinking. And so, you know, I just think that this could be an interesting season for him. What happens if he doesn't sign in training camp, what happens if he's playing out the final year of his deal, I think that there might be a little more focus on him than maybe, you know, their husband just because we've taken for granted his greatness here the last number of years.

Yeah, certainly the consistency, I think, you know, Baxter, signed what a five-year deal that he starts this year at like 9.2 or something per so he's obviously a couple years younger but maybe uh those timelines will will kind of sync up i mean you know what's what's blown me away was during all this time off without live hockey to watch i've been kind of just going uh into the kind of youtube rabbit holes and just watching some some old games and and what putting together some highlight reels and stuff and for ovechkin like i kind of almost forgot in a way what he looked like, what he just came into the league in terms of just the sort of force he was, like how he was attacking off the rush, because, and this is a testament to him, not a knock,

like he has transformed his game here into his early and mid-30s where he's more of like a spot-up shooter now. He certainly has moments where he displays that vintage speed down the left wing, but for the most part, he's found a way to remain the league's top goal scorer by standing at that left circle and waiting for passes to come and just wiring it like no one else can. And it's amazing that he's had like two entirely different shelf lives as the best goal score in the league in wildly different ways. And I think that's something to consider when we're having this conversation, whether or not he catches Grevsky. Like, I think the debate for best goal score of all time has already been decided just because like how many people can really say that they accomplished

what he did in the ways that he did. Right. And look, like, I don't know the number, but he's lost a number of games in his career to things that certainly aren't his fault, whether it was what would have been his first season in 0405, that was canceled entirely, you know, lockouts and what have you. You know, I think that that's going to hurt him in terms of the total number he can get, obviously,

but I'm with you. I think, you know, he already owns the sort of unofficial title of greatest goal score ever, but I don't know how great it's going to be. And, you know, I'm certainly not predicting this as his last NHL season. I do think that, you know, he still wants to stay here. But he's kind of indicated in the few times he's commented on this, that it's really tied to how long he feels like he's a top player. And so if for some reason this season doesn't go his way and he doesn't have a contract,

I just think it becomes kind of an interesting conversation. You know, I still think the fact that the capitals are a good team, you know, will keep him wanting to be here and be part of that because I really don't think this is a player that we're going to see play for any other NHL team almost under any circumstances. I may be wrong on that. But I just think that he's going to, we're going to be talking about him in a different way than we have in the past.

And I do think it's kind of flown below the radar because everything is so strange right now. But I'm just curious, you know, what version of him what we get when the season starts is he still the dominant score and how that kind of affects, you know, his view on how much longer he wants to play in Washington. Yeah, I mean, it's almost impossible to envision him ever looking like this. But I hope I hope we never see him look like, you know, the last couple of years. years of Jerome Gingla where he was really struggling to get around on the ice. And he could still shoot and score the puck, but it was just a wildly different experience than sort of the physical greatness he was at during his prime years. And I think, you know, it's almost impossible

to compare out of echkint to anyone, right? Like he's been one of a kind in terms of both the playing style, but also the durability. Like, as you mentioned, he's been stripped of the opportunity to pat his goal totals because of stuff like lockouts and a pandemic. He, like, random suspensions here or there are like missing one game because he missed the practice but he like hasn't missed games because of injury his body has held up remarkably well and you know maybe at some point especially as he gets here into his mid till 8 30s like one injury here or there all of a sudden that can kind of uh you know build up and all of a sudden he can look different physically but at to this point he has looked uh so good in terms of just staying on the ice and being able to

withstand that that grind of the NHL season. And so I think there's a lot of sort of optimism and confidence on my part that we don't have to worry about any of those kind of latter stages for him yet. But yeah, with this Capitals team, like if you think about it, it's kind of flown under the radar a little bit because there's been so many other things going on. It feels like it's been a while now. But it's going to be a pretty new look team with a lot of questions. They've got a new coach.

They added a bunch of different players. They've had a couple players injured now here. and there aren't going to be available for them. And they have a lot of lingering questions as well in terms of what the hell happened during that bubble because clearly it was a very unprecedented environment and you don't want to put too much stock into it. But their performance against Islanders was mystifying to say the least. Right.

And look, there was direct whispers that they didn't take it seriously. I don't know if that's the case. I don't have any extra insight to provide there. But that conversation is certainly out there in NHL. circles. And so, yeah, look, they don't have, I don't see them as having too many more cracks at this. I mean, that they're at the sort of other end of the scale than where Colorado is, obviously, but, you know, they have won their cup. And I'm just curious to see what, what we get out of them. And I really wanted to highlight Ovechkin mostly because, look, we have tons of reasons to be

excited about the young players in this league, but, you know, this, we don't know how much longer we have with this guy. And, you know, I think that people should kind of have that at top of mind. And I'm sure once we get into training camps here, I think there's going to be. be more talked about his contract because I know the capitals intend to try to extend them as soon as they can. And, you know, and this is one of those weird situations like with Baxter, where they're negotiating right with the player himself and not an agent. So it's a little bit of an unpredictable situation from the outside. Yep, I completely agree. 2020 has really forced all of us to reshape the way we work. Businesses across the globe are challenged more than ever before to be as efficient

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He took a lot of lumps the last time we saw him on the ice. The Oilers losing to that Chicago team in the manner that they did was, I thought, kind of embarrassing. And he certainly wasn't without blame. I think the growing questions about his defensive results and how, you know, bizarre they are for a player of his stature keep growing and will continue to do so until that part of his game changes. I think, you know, the reality for him is that the standards are, for Cardin McDavid, are just different for everyone else. I mean, in those four games, he had five goals and nine points. And for anyone else in the world, you'd be like, that was an amazing stretch.

Like, this guy deserves better. But for him, I mean, he's what? He's got a couple scoring titles, and Ted Lindsay's already to his resume by the age 23. He's kind of been considered the de facto best player in the world for years now. And so people are kind of going to look to nitpick. And especially now that you've got a viable contender to that status in Nathan McKinnon emerging, I think it's good for the league to have that debate and have those back and forth. What I'm curious with McDavid is, you know, we know that players, especially younger players,

are paying attention to social media, what's being said about them. I think we've gone on months now of kind of this Nathan McKinnon love fest. There's been a lot of disrespect for Connor McDavid. I'm very curious to see not necessarily that it's going to change it anyway because, you know, he's clearly a very motivated player anyways and always is striving to be the best. I don't think it's going to all of a sudden make him try harder. But I do think there's going to be a bit of a chip on his shoulder. I mean to be kind of, you know, just a talking head guy like, oh, this is going to be, you know,

he's extra motivated now. He's going to be an entirely different player. There is a human element to it. And I do think that, you know, if he has been paying attention at all, it hasn't been good coverage. So I'm very curious to see whether he's going to start off the season kind of out of a rampage and trying to take back that title as the best player in the world. So you're calling this like his last dance season. Well, that's what I'm thinking. You know what I mean?

I like where your mind's at on this one. Because look at it, he's going to play all his game against Canadian team. So like the microscope is already on him a lot. but every single game is basically going to be on national TV in Canada. Like he's never going to get more attention from people who aren't Oilers fans. I shouldn't say never, but this is a very specific unique season too. And this is a,

I mean, I don't, he doesn't have to do anything. Let's face it, this guy's already a hall of favor. His career ends tomorrow. You know, and I'm certainly not challenging him either,

but I just think that there's a really cool opportunity here for him to, to maybe change the conversation pretty quickly. Well, yeah. I think the last dance thing is that's probably kind of in the back of my mind. I do think there's a couple times last year that I can think very vividly of. I remember there was a game when before the season stopped where the avalanche came to town and everyone was talking about McKinnon for MVP and McDavid just kind of laid the smackdown and I think had like a hat trick and six points within like the first half of the game. And then more recently there was that game two against Chicago where after game one everyone was like oh my God like can you win with Carter McDavid? What a bad. effort that was. And then he just came out and just, like, score two insane highlight real goals within a matter of minutes and just like destroyed Olimata and put him on a poster. And I was like,

okay, well, you know, Connor McDavid is very good. And you can't tell me that there wasn't a bit, a little bit of extra, uh, you know, motivation there where he kind of dialed it up. And whether that's sustainable over a full season or not is, is debatable. And also the conversation about his defense, I think is so much more nuanced than, than people are willing to, uh, to have on Twitter because I don't, I don't believe that there's any reason why he can't be a good defensive player. He's very high IQ, obviously has all the physical tools. I think it's a matter of the Oilers have been a very shallow team to basically

relies on two players to do all of the heavy lifting on offense for them. And they are telling them to play a ton of minutes and also try to get out on the fast break on a two on one whenever they can. And sometimes that leads to bad defensive results. And I think that's a much more reasonable explanation than saying he's this kind of flawed player that can play defense. And so now that they have added some depth, you know, they brought in Kyle Taurus, they brought in Jesse Puli, they brought in Dominic Cahoon, they signed Tyson Barry. Like, they have more pieces around them now, not necessarily that any of those guys are going to

make a difference on their own, but there's many, much fewer sort of dead spots or weak links on this lineup and his depth chart. And so if they're able to kind of more carefully manage his and dry sidles minutes and get away with it, I feel like they could get better results just because in the long haul, it's kind of a better way to treat those players. Right, and it's funny, it's not as good a headline, but I wonder if we should be, you know, the headline should be, can they win games with Mike Smith and Miko Koskinan as their goaltending duo? Well, yeah. You know, so much of this gets placed in the wrong corners, in my opinion, you know, this kind of analysis. I mean, it's much sexier to say, can you win with Connor or David?

But we all know, anyone with the brain knows the answer. Of course you can. It's about what's around them. And I think you've raised a good point here, Dimitri. I mean, this is a team that's letting up three or four goals a lot of nights. And so there's a lot of pressure on Drysidal McKinnon to produce offensively. And so maybe that has come at the expense of some of their defensive numbers, you know, which obviously don't compare to some of the other players, at least, you know,

the ones that we have available to us that are top players in the league. I think it's why Panarin got MVP votes last year over Drysiddle, even though Drysiddle, you know, won the whole trophy itself. And so, you know, context is really important. And, you know, part of the, I guess, the context around the Oilers is I know there's been public discussion from Ken Holland and even Connor McDavid himself about improving that defensive play

and so maybe we'll see him put his energies into that in a little different way and the Oilers will probably try to be a team that buttons it down more but I don't think from a defensive personnel slash goaltending standpoint that they're going to win a lot of two one games I think they're still going to need

to be a high octane team and obviously a lot of that's going to run through number 97 yeah and as you mentioned it's a tremendous scoring environment for him this season. I mean, not that he needs any extra help considering how he's produced the past couple years, but if you just look at it, like, in those 56 regular season games, there are going to be so many games there against Ottawa, against Toronto, against Vancouver, especially those last two are good teams and they're going to be high scoring games, but there are teams that have defensive

deficiencies that have been known to give up a lot of goals. And even, I'd say, Winnipeg and in Montreal and Calgary, like they have good goalies, but they're teams that aren't necessarily these lockdown teams that I'm very worried about playing against and how how are you going to generate offense. I think that Canadian division is going to have or I should say the north is going to have a lot of really fun, high scoring back and forth track meet style games

and for a guy like McDavid, his eyes just must be like, oh my God, I can't wait to get out there and just light these guys up. And what suffers most when you don't have proper preparation? You know, I think it's defensive play and structured play. And you're right. These teams aren't particularly

adept at it anyway. And then we're having this strange beginning where, okay, yeah, it's technically a 10-day training camp, but there's one scheduled day off as per the CPA rules, and it's 10 days from when it opens to when the first game is. I mean, some of these teams might practice like six, seven days, and then go right into a season. You know, I think that this is going to be wide open around the league in January, especially, but even probably in February. And then you compound that division, I'm with you.

And then all the sort of critics, you know, Connor did watch the last dance. So, you know, I heard him talk about that on another podcast. So I'm with you. He's always going to be a compelling story as long as in the league. But I think the circumstances around this year are kind of unique for him. And, you know, I was just picking McKinnon to win the scoring title. But maybe I should rethink my thoughts here. One topic later.

All right. Give me one more, one more interesting storyline. And I'll give you, I have one more as well. And then we'll get out of here. Oh, I got a bunch on my list here. I mean, I was going to say Tapa, but everyone, has been over that. I mean, obviously they've got a cap situation that maybe will be settled by the time

this goes out. So I'm going to go with Vancouver. You know, you live there, so maybe it's different for you, but I'm fascinated endlessly by Canucks Twitter. I mean, from afar, it's a very interesting place. And

I just think this team, it feels like the expectations for them, maybe don't meet what they should be. You know, I think they got worse over the offseason. I think that they they obviously have some cap issues. This is the last year where they get to enjoy

Pedersen and Hughes on below market contracts on their entry level deals. And I don't even know if they're going to start at home. Honestly, I have, you know, real doubts that they're going to be allowed to play games in Vancouver, at least to start the season. And so I just think that the combination of their off-season, their cap issues, the fact they have these two

just supremely talented young players, but that are going to, you know, soon be, be making a lot more money and then the fact they might be kind of, you know, this littlest hobo team having to start somewhere else for a little while in a Canadian division. I think there's going to be a lot of spotlight on them and, you know, I kind of think that that combination of factors points to them probably disappointing, especially after they were, you know, the best Canadian team in the bubble last year had the most success, at least in that environment. I think it's going to be a difficult year for the Canucks and I don't know how that's

all going to play out online because I would imagine there's going to be a lot of, there's going to be a lot of fires in the online space that we all inhabit. Yeah, you could argue that the performance they had in the bubble could be like of the long-term worst thing that happened for it because it raises expectations to a very unattainable level where there's certainly people that believe that, oh, like they did that last year. Now one year later with Hughes and Petterson even stronger and better and having this experience under their belt, they're going to take another step. And I don't really see that in their future. I think they're one of the trendiest, regression candidates this season. I do have a bit of pause about going all in on that angle just

because with this Canadian division beyond the Leafs at the top, I would say that the battle for who the second best team had division is very open and up in the air. And I think there's probably everyone other than Ottawa, I would say, is kind of jumbled in there and it's just going to be a matter of sort of injuries and health and luck and some of things coming together. The kind of X-factor or a caveat there is that they do have two superstar building blocks who are young and who have a chance to grow, not necessarily. Like, their impact already for Hughes and Pedersen was so high last season that I don't think that they can sort of dominate the game much more necessarily or as much as people believe

based on their age. But I do think that the way they were used in terms of kind of being sheltered and, you know, Travis Green carefully managing their minutes and not necessarily playing Pedersen or Hughes a ton when he could, when he could. and sort of giving them just offensively slanted usage, all of a sudden, if he really kind of freeze those guys up to just play the full slate of minutes, kind of like what Sheldon Keeve did when he took over the Leafs,

and he was just like, all right, Matthews is just going to play all of the minutes now, and we're going to be better because he's going to be on the ice more, and we're going to use them in all situations. I think that could be kind of an X factor, where if all of a sudden we see that usage wildly changed for those guys and they can handle it, the ceiling for this team increases, but you're right like they you know they were in over their heads last year it was a great story but i don't think anyone that watched that series against Vegas believes that they were in the same class

as that team and they lost a lot of pieces this summer without really addressing them and part of that was because their hands were kind of tied they didn't because of past mistakes and past contracts they didn't have the ability to retain a tyler to foley and i think they're going to feel that uh feel that loss because they're a very shallow team so yeah there's a lot of questions with them but with those two guys like you're going to be watching those games and especially against a lot of these other Canadian teams, like it's a prime environment for them to thrive offensively. So I think in those types of games where it's going to be a five, four, six, five type game,

they're going to have a chance just because they do have the horses to keep up offensively. Right. I mean, I guess what I'm pointing to with citing them as a great storyline that has me intrigued is there's just tension there. You know, there's some uncertainty, I think, about their year. And, you know, everyone assumes, of course, that when they have these two young foundational pieces and they go on a little bit of a playoff run, the assumption is, okay, well, those players are going to get better,

we're going to get better. And I just don't know if they've been surrounded properly. Then, you know, on top of things, you have Travis Green, at least as we're taping this, hasn't, you know, signed a contract extension. So he's entering the final year of his deal. I think he's an excellent coach. You know, I think that, you know, the teams rise the last couple seasons, you know, it's attributable, obviously, to the talent on the ice.

But I think, you know, the way that that organization has approached things in the coaching office and everything, you know, has played a role in that. And so, you know, I'm not saying for sure that they're going to bomb out, but I do think there's a possibility that there's a step back here. And, you know, everything will be on fire if that happens. And, you know, you have to wonder about the goaltending, too, obviously. I mean, Markstrom had a huge hand in their success. And, you know, I think there's lots of reasons like Thatcher Demko, you know, Praden Hopi's performance has really taken a step back the last couple seasons. I just, I think that, you know, I think that there's the

we're always looking for the next fire in journalism. I think there could be a fire in Vancouver around this team if a couple of things don't go their way. Yeah, they're certainly divisive. Let's say are polarizing. But you could say that for pretty much every team in that division, right? I guess like the senators, everyone just, you know, they're going to be bad and everyone knows it's kind of another year of that for them.

But for the other teams, like I feel like there's a lot of tension there very see varying degrees in different angles, but you could say like with a team like the Leafs for example like don't you feel like it's i mean every year is a huge year for them but uh it feels like just based on the way they approach this off season and the kind of the types of moves they made and sort of the general vibe and and of the comments and the kind of the tenor of them that i've gathered it feels like they kind of are aware of the fact that they can't really afford another year without results like it feels like if after this season they still haven't won a playoff series uh they're good

it would be some serious widespread change. So I don't know, like it, you could make an argument that for all these teams, like it's in these markets, it's a pressure-filled and tension-filled situation. Yeah, Calgary and Winnipeg, too, in particular. You know, I think that they fall in the same situation as the Leafs. And, you know, what's crazy, especially if you're trying to look at this without emotion, is that 56 games already adds a variable of, you know, chaos. And so many games against the same teams.

The possibility that some teams are going to deal with COVID and lose, you know, like, obviously injuries factor into the results of every season, but I think this season has the possibility of some things that are almost beyond a certain degree of control or, or I just think chaos could reign in general in this sort of environment with 56 games in 116 days. I mean, it's basically every other day. And you're right, Toronto is definitely a situation where there can't be excuses. I mean, those things that I just mentioned would count. as viable excuses in my mind depending on how things play out,

but I don't think anyone will be listening to them around the leaves. I think the flames are kind of at the end with Goodrow and Monaghan. I think in a different year, one or more, one or both of those players might have been traded after their performance in the bubble, but it just wasn't really a trade market where that made sense for them right now. And so they're kind of on an interesting ground. You know, you're right. This division will be highly volatile,

most of which will be fueled by the fact that all these teams have tremendous followings and, you know, there's a lot of interest in what they do. And I think that they'll be under even a different level of scrutiny just because all the games are, you know, going to come against each other. And so you're right. Maybe I'm wrong to point out just Vancouver because there's definitely tension elsewhere. But the fact all that tension is colliding, honestly, like I'm pumped. Like I'm a journalist, but I've got my pom-poms on for this division. I don't even care on it like what happens who wins. I just think it's going to be,

I think it's going to be great for, for, you know, Canadian hockey fans. And, you know, let's try to be civil with each other in 2021 on hockey Twitter. Well, and the idea that, you know, oh, this is unfair. What an advantage that one of these teams gets into the semifinal because they represent this division. It's clearly, I guess, on paper, the weakest one. What I'd say is there's certainly a lot of competition in it,

especially in that middle. It's kind of very muddled together. but also like why are we pretending like the playoffs are ever really about determining the best team it's it's it's mostly for creating entertainment and uh and there's no argument that this canadian division is going to be wildly entertaining and i can't wait to see how it plays out and the games themselves like we've talked about here are going to be i think very high scoring and must watch tv and so from the league's perspective beyond the fact that it's a necessity um as as kind of this one year aberration. Like I think the storylines are endless. And from the entertainment perspective,

it's a no-brainer. Exactly. And I'm going to have my popcorn ready. We've kind of hit all of mine. I like Tampa here as well, but you sort of scared me off with that one because I don't know if, well, first off, something with them could change between the time we finished recording this and the time people listen. So it might make it outdated, but also we don't really have anything new to say. It's like they're clearly at an impasse here. there's still a reason to believe that they're going to be very, very good heading into next season because we'll see what else they lose. But beyond Shattonkirk, they're kind of bringing back the same group that was wildly dominant last year.

So I think there's a lot of reason for optimism above them repeating. Right. And they still have that banner forever. So even when you have to go through this and things happen, I feel like the blow is softened when you can have that win that they manage. I mean, you look at a team like San Jose, you know, one of the really difficult parts of their 15-year run where they were one of the better teams in the league is that they never quite got the job done. And so it feels extra disappointing, whereas I think in Tampa, this is a tough period for the front office,

but ultimately they can hang their hat on the fact that they actually won with that group. All right. Well, I think that's going to be it. I think we hit them all. I had the Arizona coyotes here for a very, for poor reasons. But, you know, I think the vibe of this podcast has been wildly positive and optimistic. and we've talked about great things. So I think we'll leave it there.

CJ, what are you up to these days? Let people know where they can check you out and sort of what the plan is moving forward. Hopefully we'll be seeing much more of you on TV over the next couple weeks and months. Yeah, I've been living the quiet lockdown life here in Toronto the last couple months. I always joke when people ask us

on the lamest guy in Toronto these days following the rules pretty closely. But, you know, I'm pumped that we're going to have a season. You know, when and if that happens, I doubt that I'll be traveling at least to begin. I think that the travel restrictions probably will prevent that from happening, but you'll see me back on headlines on Hockey Night in Canada. And I've got a new podcast coming out. It won't rival yours, Dimitri, but that's launching in the new year.

I can't say too much about it just yet, but keep your eyes peeled for that. I love it. The more CJ, the better in my life, so I'm looking forward to that, man. Happy holidays to you and yours. Thanks for taking a time to chat, and we will definitely be talking to you sometime down the road. Right on. bro. And that's going to be it for today's episode of the Hockey PEO guest. Thanks for listening, as always. If you're in the giving spirit for the holidays and you want to help us out,

please consider taking a minute to leave a review and rating for the show. It helps us out a lot. It's really easy to you. You can just leave the five stars. You can also leave a little note there that either says what you enjoy about the show or why you'd recommend people listen. And yeah, it's really appreciated and it goes a long way towards helping us out. The plan is to come back next week with another new episode to help wrap 2020 up. And yeah, so we'll be back then. Until then, everyone please stay safe. Have a happy holidays.

Enjoy the world juniors. And we'll chat soon. Beocast with Dim Filipovich. Follow on Twitter at Dim Philipovich and on SoundCloud at soundcloud. At soundcloud.com slash hockey PDOCast.