The Hockey PDOcast - Summer Series 2.0 Part 1 with Todd Diamond

Episode Date: August 25, 2026

Dimitri Filipovic is joined by Todd Diamond to kick off this year's edition of the Summer Series. We discuss the ways in which the market changed this offseason and how young players benefitted from it on the second contracts they signed, Konsta Helenius' opportunity in Buffalo, the William Eklund and Val Nichushkin trades, and a bunch of other topics. To gain immediate access to ad-free version of all of the shows we're doing this season make sure you've subscribed to the PDOcast's Patreon. The plan is to ramp up the content for our subscribers even further heading into next season, so if you haven't joined us yet now is a good time to do so at the current rate we've got listed before the subscription fee increases in September to account for all of the additional perks coming your way. We've finally got some merch available for our listeners! If you'd like to get your hands on a PDOcast shirt or hat to rep the show, you can do so here. We'll be posting more video this season if you'd like to watch the shows we're doing. You can find those on the PDOcast's Youtube channel. If you'd like to join the community we're building over on Discord, you can sign up for the Hockey PDOcast's server here. It's the best spot for you to submit any mailbag questions you may have for future shows, and it's also a great place to be part of the immediate conversation whenever there's a big trade or signing this offseason. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Progressing to the mean since 2015, it's the Hockey P.D.O.cast with your host, Dmitri Philipovich. Welcome to the Hockey PEOCast. My name is Dmitri Filippovich. And joining me is my good buddy, Todd, Diamond. Todd, what's going on, man? Not too much, Dimitri. How are you? I'm excited to have you on. This marks the first episode of our summer series, the second year in a row. We're doing this back by popular demand after how much fun we had last summer. And similar to last summer, I believe we kicked it off with you. And we're going to have another conversation, wide-ranging array of topics throughout this week.

Really next couple weeks, we're going to have yourself as an agent. We're going to have GMs, coaches, players on. So it's going to be a really fun collection of people in the game. But I really wanted to kick this conversation off with you here because of everything that went down around the league this summer. Right now, you yourself, I think, had a less eventful summer or offseason maybe than last. year when you had a bunch of big contracts to sort out for a variety of your clients, but just obviously keeping tabs around the league and sort of seeing where things are going, right, with the cap continuing to go up, some of the contracts we've seen with both the,

you know, actual salaries themselves inflating, but also the term, I think, changing a little bit in terms of the approach various players are taking. I'm kind of curious for your take on it. We can take it in any number of directions, but kind of just like reading the tea leaves and sort of your thoughts on everything that's transpired. far the summer of the NHL. Sure. Well, first I say, you know, thanks for having me.

And the most important thing in a good team is to have a great leadoff hitter. So I appreciate that. With respect, you know, like you said, the market, depending on the player and length of service, you know, has gone in so many different directions. You know, a lot of organizations were kind of able to maintain kind of their cap structure and others had to try. change it due to being forced to or having to have to follow what's been done. You know, so I see guys like, you know, Montreal, Carolina going forward, they're going to have

a ton of flexibility. I think, you know, most players tend to follow success. They want to go where teams have been successful. So I think that flexibility is going to come in very handy for Montreal and Carolina going forward. You know, for example, you know, Florida and Tampa, you know, have a lot of their key guys on the contract for a while, so they may be able to add pieces. I mean, it's going to get really interesting. In addition, you know, we saw maybe some teams, you know, with all the injuries, Florida had some teams in the east, you know, maybe were playoff teams that, you know, maybe won't be.

and with teams really trying to tie up their key assets earlier and earlier, which as we've seen is the wise way to do business this summer, you know, where do you find talent? You know, that's going to be, you know, the draft is going to be becoming more and more important, identifying talent, being able to bring players in and having them be in a place where they can succeed. I think a lot of times teams,

you know, bringing players based on their stats and maybe don't pay enough attention to how does that player really fit into our lineup. So, I mean, it's the Wild West has started and I think it's only going to get crazier as we move forward. How much do your clients and yourself put into that, especially when you're evaluating, let's say a player is going to be becoming available hitting the open market or is in a spot where, you know, their current status is uncertain, they're figuring out what their immediate future is going to look like. in terms of like identifying spots,

not only the winning, of course, because as you said, every player wants to do that. And that's a big piece of the puzzle here, but in particular, like what teams have going on in terms of, whether it's the lineup fit, the playing style they're currently using

under their current coach, the personnel they have in terms of who they play with, just being put in a position to succeed. Like, how do you sort of identify that and weigh that in some of these conversations you have with your various clients? Obviously it depends on the, you know,

on the player. You know, some guys can, you know, obviously pick and choose if they want to get to that point in their career or use that as leverage to get a bigger contract where they are. A lot of times you don't have that option. For example, you know, I remember, you know, arriving into Buffalo for the combine and getting a call from William Eklund that he was traded, even though, you know, my career had told me several weeks, you know, prior that, that, you know, that probably wasn't going to happen. I'm sorry, I mean, coming in for the draft, he was telling me that. At the combine, Mike told me that he didn't really see that happening, you know, unless there was something special out there. You know, so, you know, William was committed to the sharks.

You know, he gets traded and obviously, as you get away from the emotion and look at the opportunity, it could turn out to be, you know, a much better fit for him going forward. That remains to be seen. But I think if players, you know, I always. tell our clients you have to live in a situation not me you know so if you're happy there if you have a good life if you feel comfortable it doesn't matter what city you're in you know there's no need to see if the grass is green or on the other side if the team wants you when you're happy where you are um so uh you know it's really an individual choice uh you know everyone has different

motivations in life and it's no different uh in sport biggest change in the market this summer, in my opinion, and probably the most meaningful one moving forward, I'm sure one that you were certainly taking stock of with some of the clients you have, maybe coming up for extensions over the next couple of years, is young players sort of seizing control of leverage, and I think doing so sooner that it did previously, right? We've all become a condition to seeing RFA's kind of take what the team gives them in some capacity. Obviously, there's been higher-end ones who have been able to call their shot sooner, but for the most part, the team has control for a number of years beyond their ELC.

And so they leverage that into fitting in the number of the contract of their whims under their current situation. And in this summer, we really saw some of the higher end players, whether it was obviously Leo Carlson's a bit of an aberration because of the offer sheet. But Celebrini, Bidar, even some of the young defensemen kind of get paid up front here on their second deals without necessarily having to give up any concessions in terms of maybe giving future UFA years. so they kind of get their cake and eat it to in a way where they get the contract night here, but also if the cap keeps going up, they're going to maintain that flexibility down the road in four or five years to either get paid again or figure out their situation based on what's happening at that point. And so I think that's a fascinating dynamic here. I think fans have certainly been a bit slower to adjust because you see that sticker shock

when a number comes out for a player that's maybe less proven. I think teams are certainly trying to kind of wrap their head around it or reconcile it because we've been operating for so long in this one particular way, but I imagine that's not only music to your years, but also like something that will continue based on the trend we saw this summer. Yeah, I think a big picture. I think the NHL is now going to start to follow the NBA and the NFL. And being that as the overall numbers get larger and larger and the high-end players are going to gobble up the biggest chunk of that, you'll see a lot more players getting comfortable

with shorter-term deals. you know so when we go back to the extension of the CBA and the players gave up you know eight years to seven I didn't really see that as a issue as because we already knew the cap was going to start to see substantial increases and you know with the next US TV deal it probably will get even larger so I think players are going to get comfortable with shorter term deals you'll see the medium sized deal I think come to the forefront you know and and, you know, trying coming out of the entry-level system, you know, to try and, you know, maybe return to that contract we saw earlier on where a player will give that one year

either before or after a free agency before UFA status as the, you know, the line in the sand of where they're going to be willing to negotiate. But, you know, you see NFL NBA, you see, you know, two and three-year deals at big numbers. So I think we're going to start to see that creep in to the NHL. You know, the Celebrini contract, Breddard contract are no doubt about were affected by the Carlson offer sheet, directly linked to it, in my opinion. You know, if that contract wasn't done, you know, who knows where those contracts would have been done at. You know, Anaheim, when they extended Jackson-Lacombe, you know, they should have followed it up right away. with an extension for Leo Carlson.

You know, from the team, my perspective, on the team point of view, you really have to get to know your players and really understand the value that they bring to the lineup, not only in terms of production, but in terms of can we win with this player? Is this player committed to winning?

Because NHL rosters are a total sum of the parts. You can't just say we have the best combination in league. Maybe it gets you to a cup two years in a row, but it doesn't get you the cup sometimes. You know, so, you know, you really need to be deep. And, you know, if you're giving, you know, from the team perspective, too much money to two few players, you know, you're going to tie your hands. So, again, you need to find the players, you know, that really want to win, you know, having worked with both, you know, both cases. Players remember winners in the sport.

You know, the Stanley Cup has a lot of meaning, I think, for players as well. left still playing and for their post careers. Everybody remembers a winner and a lot of people want to be associated with a winner, whether the player decides to go into management or whatever they do post career. I think winning has a lot of value. I'm glad you brought up the different leagues and us kind of trending in that territory, right? I was joking and I think even I had Army Joel friend Steve Wari on when we broke down the Leo Carlson offer sheet and I kind of had a note in there about how I'm almost viewing the NHL as becoming the NFL in a way with their quarterback contracts, right, where it's like the highest paid guy is probably going to be the one who signs most recently.

And we're already seeing that where Caprizov was set to be the highest paid player in the league. And before he could even play a game on that deal, you get the Leo Carlson extension. Then you get the Celebrini one the same summer. Hughes and McCar are going to come up after. Like, I think it's going to keep going in that direction. So I think that's a good point. And I'm not sure it's a bad thing. Like I'm sure if you talk to various GMs around the league,

they might be aggrieved in terms of where things are headed because all of a sudden life maybe became a bit more difficult for them in some of the conversations they're going to have with their own owners. But just the idea that players are getting paid sooner for, you know, everything we know is these are their most productive seasons for the most part, right? Kind of this like mid-20s range. And previously these contracts were reserved for players who had accrued enough service time to be UFAs.

And that typically comes with being in your late 20s, early 30s. And at that point, it gets a bit sketchier in terms of production. And so, yeah, you're paying more up front, but you're also being able to point to as an ascending asset that's probably going to have a better shot of actually paying that off for you. So if we get to that place and it actually becomes sort of the status quo for the league in terms of the way they operate, I think I kind of view that as a good thing. I mean, I do too. But again, I think it depends on the motivation and what organizations are, you know, looking at it as being successful. you know, when you have a player like Leo Carlson and you want to sign them to kind of a long-term extension, you want to build around him.

And now Anaheim has had to kind of deconstruct around him, you know, and having to, you know, move some players and having to sign Karagotier. And if they're going to get that done, they may have to make some other hard decisions, losing good players, good veterans, very difficult to replace. So again, it comes back, you know, to motivation of things. You know, the game, you know, it's in transition, you know, it's much faster and more skilled than it used to be. It's the physicality, you know, kind of shows up at certain points in the season depending on the rivalry and then depending on the playoffs. So, you know, what does that mean?

Going also to the 84 game schedule, you know, the players are different body types now than they war in the past. What does that mean to longevity? I don't know, but obviously it's a good thing for players to be able to get that huge jump in salary much earlier in their career. No question about that. This might be a difficult question to answer because I'm sure you're going to say it's on a case-by-case basis. And as you said, you know, you're ultimately what the client wants, they're going to get, right? And it's your job to do everything in your power to make that happen. But I do wonder, you know, we saw what, a couple offer sheets this summer, neither of them were successful. Leo Carlson's got matched by Anaheim.

The Barrett Hayden one got matched by Utah as well. Do you feel like, I mean, specifically with the Carlson won in terms of getting everything he wanted, right? It gets the term where he's going to be a UFA again when he's 26. He gets a significant portion of it not only up front in the first two years but paid out in signing bonuses. It's really such, as everyone's talked about, such a massive win for the player in his agency. he still winds up staying in Anaheim, it leaves him in a spot now where maybe that proximity to winning becomes a bit more difficult. As a result of it, what kind of impact or trickle down do you see around the league

moving forward in terms of, I guess the willingness not only for teams to send out these types of offers, but then for the players themselves to actually engage in a match, because it does take two parties to ultimately get one of these across the finish line. Sure. I thought the offer sheet was not only in terms of money, but was just totally pro player, the Carlson offer sheet. Because my point of, if you're going to do these things, you need to have a really good sense of certainty

that you can get the asset. But you're making an offer sheet against the wealthiest owner in the league. Maybe he chooses to run his operation pretty tightly and not have a lot of excess and just kind of give the players what they want. and you know in terms of comforts and nothing more but if you're going to challenge him financially you know when the guy makes 120 million a year just in dividends on you know on his holdings of the company he sold you really think you're going to intimidate him with with money and signing bonus have you ever been around the billioners i have um you know if you if you challenge him

financially you're going to lose um and that's why i was always under the impression that the Anaheim was going to sign. Obviously, it's a, it's a tough thing to swallow because, again, it kind of hurts the roster construction and maybe where the team is headed. That remains to be seen, you know, how some of the younger players will step up. But I think if you're going to do these offer sheets, you want to, you know, be smart about it like Doug Armstrong was with Holloway and Broberg. That was, you know, smart business, you know. But I thought the Carlson North Ashit, you know, going to the richest owner in the league, I just thought it was, you know, a fool's errand.

Yeah, that's fair. I certainly thought the financial concern of it was overblown. I did think, and, you know, it took them some time. I always expected them to match it, but I did think in some of the complications that would arise, maybe they either, you know, go back to the drawing board and take a closer look or at the very at least kind of revisit why they got into that position where they kind of made themselves vulnerable to it and remains to be seen what the fallout is there. Here's another question for you related to this somewhat in terms of maybe the changing term

and structure of these deals. And obviously this is a player who you don't actually represent. So I'm not sure how much you can speak on the matter, but just in terms of the concept itself, what we saw with Jason Roberts in this summer, right? It was a bit of a unique situation because the stars were really tight up against the cap. for this one summer while they're waiting for Tyler's Day Against Money to come off the books. He himself clearly wants to stay in Dallas. He just wanted to be paid to a certain amount.

They engaged in a couple of potential trades that were reported. He ultimately winds up, you know, playing out on a one-year deal here this season. It's going to take him to UFA. And we'll see ultimately if there's an extension that comes January 1st on. But it's something that we've really seen reserved to the NBA for the most part, right? like we have not seen these types of deals for prime age players in the NHL where you're taking on some of that added risk maybe of injury or decline in performance that cuts your earning power in the future. But if you're going to do it being a prime age player like Robertson is coming off a 40 plus goal season is probably the right time to do so if you're going to maximize your earning power long term. What were your kind of thoughts on that or just that philosophy in general and whether we might see a bit more of that in terms of players being willing to take on some of that added risk for the reward potentially.

down the road. Yeah. In his case, you know, he's made some, you know, money already, so he's not, you know, kind of hurting. Also, just look, you know, recently historically, you don't really see, you know, thankfully, players having really serious injuries that are going to make them lose their career with having anything on the ice. So I think maybe, you know, risk is maybe a word that's maybe used a little bit too much. But, you know, you know, you know, you know, You know, the guy's going to score goals. He's in a good lineup. You know, it's just a, you know, you have to sit back and just kind of wait for the cap to expand a little bit.

And, you know, I think come January, he's probably going to be in even better position than he was this summer. Because, you know, that guy's a goal score. He can get it done and, you know, from a lot of different places on the ice. So I don't really see too much, you know, risking it. You know, if you have the right player and he's confident and feels good about it, and he would like to try and stay where he is. Again, like you mentioned, we have the, you know, kind of the early starting point of January to try and get something done for our clients.

So I don't really see, you know, too much risk in the situation. Fair. The cap going up, so it goes 88 to 95.5 to 104 this season, 113.5 next year is expected. And then beyond that, we'll see about. I think everyone assumes it's going to start going into a 120s and 1 30s in the years to come. And there's no reason at the time being to suspect otherwise. I'm curious for your take, some of the conversations are canvassing you maybe had around the league.

Some pushback I've gotten is that the cap's going to keep going up. And there's going to be certain organizations that are going to engage that and be like, you know what, we're going to spend to our full capability and it's not going to be an issue. And so we're going to keep seeing these contracts balloon the way they have this summer. And then I know that there's some other ones, particularly in smaller markets or kind of more precarious financial situations that are viewing that as a bit of an issue in terms of their willingness to actually spend accordingly, right? And they're not going to necessarily treat the cap as 125 or whatever it is in a couple

of years. They're going to have more of a internal budget that they operate on. Do you think there's any truth to that or do you think that's overblown? And ultimately, it's a bunch of rich owners. Money's going to keep coming in and they're going to do so just to feel the competitive lineup. And especially if they're, teams good are making the playoffs, they're going to be incentivized to do so. Yeah, I think it's going to depend on ownership, you know, where you have, you know, strong, you know, deeper pockets that, you know, kind of understand that, you know, this asset is going to continue to appreciate. You know, maybe, you know, I have a loss on the books, you know,

every so often. But the understanding of the big picture that eventually I'm going to sell this asset or you know, or even a player, you know, to reduce costs. I, you know, again, I think the NHL right now is in really good shape with ownership groups. You know, there may be one or two, you know, where, you know, could use a refresh. But generally, I think, you know, the league is in pretty good health with respect to the economics of the game and the ownership franchises and looking what's going to happen in Texas with the next ownership group there.

Again, very, very solid people financially and, you know, with some understanding of the sporting industry. So that also looks like a pretty positive outcome for the league and for the players. So, you know, again, if a team is going to have internal budgets, we know it has to be in a certain parameter of the floor and the cap. So it's going to be a bigger number anyway. At the same time, you can't just pay any players, you know, large salaries, need guys who are going to be productive for you.

So I just think the numbers are going to, you know, going to be high in any case because there's just going to be such a demand for talent, you know, and talent is always going to get paid. Last one on the CBA and then we'll get into some more specific. specific conversations about a variety of your clients. I believe last summer when I had you on, it was still pretty fresh. Obviously, some of the new items or action points in the CBA were starting to immediately take hold.

But the CBA specifically is going to kick in on September 16th. I'm curious now that we've had about a year to sort of mull this over and see already some of this inaction, what you from an agent's perspective kind of view as some of the bigger, I guess, wins or losses, if you want to frame it that way, from a player and agent perspective in terms of the changes in legislation, of course, and some of the things that are kicking in in September. Yeah, I would say, you know, probably the biggest giveaway the players had would be, you know, look at, you know, the Carlson contract. He has the 90% signing bonus going from 90 to 60. I think that would be the biggest giveaway, but, you know, it is what it is and we just

have to deal with it. You know, everyone's going to address. You know, like I said, I don't really view going from seven maximum, from eight maximum years to seven as a really, I don't see it as a big deal because the numbers are getting bigger. So, you know, I think it's been, you know, and also, you know, the players got rid of a lot of expenses that we had out of the player's share. So that was also a big, you know, a big victory for them. And also, you know, not having a labor dispute, you know, both sides getting along and I'm trying to grow the game. outside of the, you know, current 32 franchise cities, I think is very important going even past this extension. So, you know, obviously the players are probably going to have

lower dry cleaning bills because I'm not wearing suits anymore. But, you know, I think time will show that, you know, it kind of worked for both sides. Franchises are appreciating, salaries are going up. The game has never been more popular. The economics have never been greater. So if, you know, looking down the middle, it looks like, you know, pretty much a win-win. All right, let's get into the real reason why I want to have you on today.

A couple of players that I specifically want to talk about. And I got to start with Consta Heleneuse. What player that I've been fascinated by, obviously, we saw the nine regular season games from, comes in and gets thrown. into a pretty tough situation, I thought, you know, jumping into the second round of the playoffs and thriving in that spot in the four games he plays, scores a couple of goals, had a bunch of scoring chances, really fit in and I think generated a lot of excitement in terms of what's to come

this coming season. Obviously, there's an interesting opportunity in Buffalo with an ascending team, right, that finally got back into their playoffs was one goal really away from making it to the Eastern Conference final. Alex Tuck leaves this summer, creates an opening in the forward group as well. I think some uncertainty down the middle particularly in terms of how they're going to use Tays Thompson moving forward, Josh Norris's health. Like it's a pretty good spot for him. He's also in a fascinating spot because, you know, I think previously teams were very precious about maintaining that control with the ELC and not burning the first year. If they had to, something I've been speaking about is I think teams are going to become much more comfortable fast tracking these contracts so they can

get back to a negotiating table as soon as they can, particularly if you give these young players extra years to not only develop and improve, but put up stats in the NHL, they obviously are going to be able to war into maybe a higher price tag. And so it benefits teams to do so. And they ultimately wind up burning through that first year with those four playoff games. And I think it was a smart move on all accounts by them. But it all of a sudden makes an extension eligible next summer. And I think that's a fascinating position for a player who's still clearly unproven in the NHL, but is going to have a chance to really, I think, put a jetpack on and ascend as soon as this season. For sure.

I mean, you know, Consta showed not only this past season, but being the youngest player in the HL the previous season, if you look at his game from October through the end and to the playoffs, the growth was exceptional. you know, doing, you know, hard things, you know, winning key faceoffs for Rochester and getting a flavor of the playoffs down there, I think really paid dividends coming in to a sophomore season. You know, a lot of players in their sophomore season can kind of hit the wall, but I think Konsta continue to show the growth month over month. one of the big things that really helped consta and helped us was when before yarmor was named GM and he was consulting for the organization he spent a lot of time watching rochester so i think he

really really got a understanding of what the elements of consta's game that can make the buffalo savers a better team so that was really important and when those guys went on the run the style they were playing. I think he saw a perfect fit for Consta come in. And the kids just scratching the surface. There was just a ton of ability there. You know, he can really do a bit of everything, really doing a good job playing a 200-foot game,

playing in the world championships in the line with two of my other clients, Alexander Barcliffe and Mikhail Granland, I think was huge for him, seeing how those guys are constantly. professional. You cannot, you can be better by osmosis being around those two guys. So I expect him to do the same. I think he's hungry for it this year.

You know, he wants to show that he's a full-time initial player. You know, he had so many good experiences the past two seasons. So, you know, expecting big things, but never take anything for granted. He's worked hard this summer. He's going to come in and earn it. And, you know, it's going to be really fun to watch. I mean, last year was an unabashed success for the Sabres, right? The winning, getting back into playoffs, the run they had.

I think playing a fun brand of hockey that was very easy to get excited about. And then finally giving a very passionate fan base, something I actually cheer for. You kind of saw that all come together. I'm curious for your take and maybe some conversations you had because I think some rhetoric coming out of it was the perception of Buffalo as a landing spot for players, right, in that market. And previously, over the past decade or so, obviously it had been. featured pretty frequently on no trade lists in terms of the reluctance to go there, being stuck in a losing situation, all the stuff that comes with it. We just spoke about the importance, I think, of winning for players and kind of seeing

proof of concept of that. I guess the only one real example we have so far that's been reported on is it seems like Connor Hallibuck in the trade talks they were engaged with around the draft, was willing to go there, which I would view as a win for them in terms of that being the case. I'm curious for your take on kind of like how that stuff comes together, because obviously trade lists are filed or rearranged on an annual basis. It's going to maybe take more than one year after whatever 15 or so years of the situation they were in to undo all of that.

But I think it's obviously a step in the positive direction. Kind of what your take is on how that comes together and obviously changing. I think that image and perception league-wide where all of a sudden it becomes a destination players actually want to go to because they can win and be successful, but also I think have fun and put up offensive stats that there are forward specifically. I think the key thing for the guys from watching it from afar and a little bit closely that they really enjoyed winning. The camaraderie was real. The group was you could tell they were really tight.

And at the end of the day, winning is the only thing that matters when you're dealing with high-level athletes. There has to be that commitment to winning. And most importantly, I think you have to enjoy it. I can point to a couple of teams maybe around the league where they're successful, but it's too medicinal. It's not maybe a natural winning. They're winning costs to have a lot of good players.

But there's maybe too much pressure on them, and it's not as much fun. And like for the Florida Panthers, I've been telling them at the very beginning before they turn things around, that winning is the only thing that matters. you know, you can get second and third tier free agents and maybe you'll make a marginal improvement. But, you know, to really be great, you have to draw players from all over the league. And that's what winning does.

You know, you can be happy. A hockey player, I believe, will be happy anywhere if they're enjoying the environment. And, you know, I just think, you know, winning together with those 20 guys, guys and then you are altogether on that Stanley Cup, you know, forever is, you know, really hard to, you know, to understand, you know, it's the thing that separates our sport. You know, you're immortalized on the trophy.

It doesn't happen anywhere else. So, you know, I just think, you know, winning and enjoying it are, you know, the most important things for a franchise. Do you think we'll see an increase or decrease moving forward in the prevalence of, of trade protection and deals, right? Because I think for a time there, it was wielded by teams as an asset or a perk to keep the money down during the flat cap environment so that they could retain all their players. And I think it clearly got maybe a bit out of hand in terms of them being handed out like candy

to players that they wound up regretting doing so. And we've seen the result of that for a couple organizations here recently. Do you feel like some of that is going to result in maybe being a big, more judicious in the handout of them? Do you feel like now that the cat's out of the bag in a way, like everyone is going to want one? How do you sort of see that playing out now that theoretically at least there's more money available and so you can offer it without necessarily having to give that up as part of the deal? I think no movement and no trades, modified no trades have become like oxygen in the business. Everyone's expecting it. So, you know, again, I think, you know,

the elite players will be able to, you know, kind of dictate, you know, the next tier will get some sort of protection. And, you know, I just think every player with some degree of leverage will get some, you know, whether it's seven teams or 10 teams, you know, why not? You know, again, you know, rosters change, winning changes. if you have a group that you're trying to get the most out of them for the rest of their careers you know look at a team like Los Angeles a pretty old roster you know so a lot of those guys kind of want to be there so you know I just think everyone's expecting a no trade or no move you just need to figure out you know to what extent and how much you want to go with it.

I want to talk William Mecklin a little bit. Now, last time I had you on last year, I think we spent a lot of the show talking about and you had some fascinating anecdotes in terms of how that three-year extension he signed with San Jose at the time came together, why he sort of preferred that, how that all sort of coalesced. He gets traded to Ottawa this summer, as you spoke about previously with the senators, you know, pivoting pretty quickly in the aftermath of the. Brady-Kichick-Chuck trade, I believe, less than 48 hours passed between those two deals, and there was very minimal reporting on it publicly. It kind of just came together out of nowhere

on that one day when all hell broke loose and there were four or five trades in the same afternoon. How did that come together from your perspective, I guess, because, you know, Eklund, by nature of being an RFA when he signed in being in his RFA years, did not wield any trade protection. So I imagine it was easier to maneuver. But just sort of how that happened, then obviously you know, I think the adjustment it takes from being in a spot a team that drafted you to all a sudden now taking a bit of a step back and then realizing that, all right, it's a change for me, but it's in a pretty good spot where it might be playing on the left wing with Tim Stutzla and playing on a similarly fond young ascending team and being in a pretty good spot despite the

trade. Yeah, like I said before, you know, it was unexpected. But, you know, the market was so crazy around the draft time. and leading into July 1. You know, Mike Greer told me he wasn't looking to move him, but then, you know, I think when Bowen Byron became available and teams were at the point where they needed to make their best offers to Buffalo, you know, he tried to do something to make that happen.

Obviously, it didn't work out. But, you know, William, he's going to a place. He has a really good buddy there, Fabian Zetterland, so that makes it, you know, a little bit easier. And then, you know, once the emotion wears off and you take a look at the rosters and the people in that organization, I think it's a very, you know, player-friendly organization. Steve Stios, you know, played a long time. I'm speaking with him, I think he really understands the modern day player. You know, I think Travis Green is a very, you know, down the middle, very fair coach. You give it to me, I'll give it to you.

You know, give me everything you have and you'll have the ice time. So I think it's going to work out for all parties. You know, Ottawa, obviously they made the playoffs last year and hopefully they'll do it again this year. And in a lot of ways, you know, it's a more complete lineup than San Jose is. There was a lot more, he can spread the depth of scoring a lot more there and, you know, young and some pretty good defensemen there. So I think it's going to work out for everybody.

Yeah, I'm curious your take on because another trade One of your clients this summer was the Bell and the Truchin trade to Columbus and that one was maybe less surprising just kind of looking at the reality of Colorado situation with needing to clear some money out to restructure their blue line and make all the pieces fit. Now he did have some sort of trade protection, right? I think it was a 12 team list. It seems like Columbus wasn't on it, kind of how that comes together. than obviously not having necessarily maneuver about it, but at least sort of the checks and balances, I guess, of the process of like checking the list, seeing how it goes on, and then sort of

that sell going from a spot that he was clearly very successful in and winning the cup and earning that contract in 2022 to now go to a place in Columbus where it's an ascending organization. There's a lot of fun players, but also I think some uncertainty with everything that's happened this summer was Zach Werenski and kind of how that all sort of shakes out for the future for him. Yeah, like I said, you know, you have 12 teams. You can only pick 12 teams. But, you know, Columbus is, you know, an interesting team, a lot of good young talent. You know, I think they're right there, you know, to be in the playoffs.

Hopefully, you know, the young goalie there, Jack Reeves continues, you know, to play the way he played last year. And, you know, they'll get some good games out of Merzleekins as well. But, you know, it's going to be interesting. It's 84 games. It's a lot of hockey. If the roster can stay healthy, there's no reason why it can't be a playoff team. Again, it's a team that, you know, is going to have to need to get comfortable with some crooked numbers that I think that maybe they don't have in the past. They haven't had that comfort if they want to keep the core together.

So I think for them winning is very important. to try and convince guys to stay there, you know, to show the commitment. You know, rumor is that they got their own team playing for, you know, this upcoming year in the future. So, you know, that may be helpful for some guys or in the past that, you know, they had a lot of, you know, issues traveling. So, you know, you never know what, you know, like I said, if the team can get into the playoffs and, you know, show itself well, that may change, you know, players' minds and how

they view it as a long-term fit. You know, a good coach, you know, a guy who seems to get, who obviously has been around a long time and, you know, seems to get the most out of his lineups. So I think it's interesting to watch. But again, going to have to get comfortable with bigger numbers. Otherwise, you know, the player is going to dictate how it's, how things are going to happen.

Undoubtedly. The final player that I wanted to talk about with you is Daniel Bout, who comes over North America last year, the coyotes take him 12 overall in 2023. He spends his D plus one and D plus two seasons. Playing in the KHL, he winds up being a point per game or roughly that round there in the AHL

in his first year here. Gets the 29 games in the NHL under his belt as well. I think I'm incredibly excited to see more of him. I'm curious for your take, I guess, on the opportunity to sort of stick with the mammoth as an everyday player this season, right? because they got their first taste of playoff action last year. It's a team that was very active this summer,

not only acquiring Andrews Lee and Vincent Trocheck, retaining Barrett Hayden on that offer sheet attempt, have made a bunch of high picks on forwards the past couple of years as well. So there's undoubtedly a log jam there, but at the same time, a very intriguing player in a pretty good spot if he can make the team this year and kind of what that sort of looks like where he similarly, depending on how this year it goes, becomes extension eligible again next summer.

that's a recurring theme here where that's something I think anyone paying attention to the league is monitoring very closely with everything we've seen with offer sheets and teams trying to kind of get ahead of this and be maybe more proactive with these extensions than they were previously. Yeah, I mean, same like a Constantalanius, you know, Daniel Bood, you know, don't focus on the contract, you know, focus on bringing it every day, whether it be in practice or during the game and executing what the coach is looking from you. You know, Daniel, you know, for him, you know, obviously it was a huge change in culture and hockey last year.

You know, being the point of the game in the HL, I think is, you know, tremendous for him. And getting those 29 games is just going to benefit him more. He understands what it's about now. He had the opportunity to watch, you know, and be around great players and see what it takes. and also to learn the tricks of playing on a smaller ice surface, where there's less room to hide

and how you have to use your body and position yourself in front of the net being, you know, 6-6 and then whatever, 200, 20, 230 pounds. So it was a lot to digest. You know, he's also a really hard worker, really committed to getting better, really focused. So, again, it's going to be really interesting, you know, to watch him this season. and Consta and, you know, also guys, you know, like Tom Hollander, really interested also to see, you know, what he's going to do in Vancouver. And then how guys do in the second year, you know,

it's really defining a point of the career. So, you know, can't wait for the season to start. It's going to be an exciting one. I'm very excited to have Alexander Barkov back in our lives on a day-to-day basis, obviously coming off of an upsetting year last year for me personally and not getting to watch and play on a nightly basis, but based on what we saw in the World Championships, I think, going to come back in full force.

I don't know, do you have any notes on that in terms of just last year in general for the Panthers and kind of looking ahead this year? Because I think they've been positioned as the Stanley Cup favorite. Yet again, I think understandably so with the amount of talent they have on their team, the fact that we haven't seen anyone beat them at full health in a couple years.

Yet at the same time, everyone's sort of treating it as a one-off, I think, where it was a gap year for them everyone got hurt and barcoff's injury was on the on the flukier side in terms of when it happened and how it happened there's some other ones maybe where you know there's some attrition for players getting up there in age so it's not something i want to necessarily take for granted either but it's going to be a fascinating spot in terms of them trying to sort of prove the last year was a one-off and kind of reclaiming their crown this season yeah certainly i mean when people talk to me a little bit about you know the east and teams and what they're going to do this year and a lot of times my answer to

them is NBY. It was a non-Barkov year. You know, so it's going to be different to this year. And obviously, we hope he's going to be able to play 84 games and four rounds in the playoffs. I think the most dangerous thing is that is one motivated group. You know, I think they, you know, can accomplish, you know, more than ever. The forward group is deep.

You know, Bill Zito and his staff. done another tremendous job of putting together that fourth line. And even guys past number 12 forward. You know, they're really deep up front. You know, he's done a good job in, you know, getting Radcoe Gutus back here. Also, you know, having to fill Bob's shoes and, you know, the emotional loss of him. You know, I think those goalies will do well here. You know, they do really good to work with the goaltending.

expect a lot of Markstrom and also Schmidt. But I think the scariest thing is how motivated that group is going to be because we all know what they've done in the past and how motivated they would have been to try and win three cups in a row and not having that opportunity. I think it's the biggest motivating factor. Well, it should be an incredible season, and I'm looking forward to the potential of a rematch of Hurricanes Panthers.

in a prospective Eastern Conference final and that's a good segue here. We didn't really get to talk about Svechnakov much, but you were telling me before we went on the air that you are, after we finish a recording this tomorrow, you're heading over for his day with the cup to celebrate his own individual and the team accomplishment next year. And sources are saying these are the two most exciting days

of your offseason, Todd, being on the PDO cast and then go on and celebrating the cup two equally important accomplishments. So a big couple days ahead for you. Yes, I'll have a big smile on my face. going until the weekend. All right, buddy. Well, this was awesome. Thank you so much for coming on,

making the time for us catching up. This has to become an annual tradition for us. So I look forward to having you on again next summer. Thank you very much, Dimitri. All the best. All right. There you have it. Part one of this year's summer series is in the books.

Thank you to Todd Diamond for helping us kick off this year's edition for the second straight year. We'll have at least a couple more really fun interviews coming for you over the next couple weeks. We've got Dan Mews. We've got Brennan Dillon, Scott Wedgwood, joining us as well. After that, I'll certainly get some GMs on for their perspective as well. We're still working on the details for those and sorting that out. So it's TBD for the time being,

but at least a couple more really fun interviews coming. The summer series also marks the return of this feed. Apologies for the hiatus on here since early July. We had to wait for the show's partnership with Sportsnet to expire before we could resume posting shows on here. So that's why we went away for a bit. Now that we're live again. I'll be rolling. all of these interviews out for you to listen here. And this coming season will have at least one new episode of the PDOCAST each week available on this feed for free. If you're a sicko though and you just want more of the show every week, you'll need to subscribe to the PDOCs Patreon page. We've been posting episodes all summer on there for our subscribers. So you'll have already have a lot to catch up on in the archives. If you've missed those shows, that includes all

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plenty more coming and don't worry the extended cuts of the player mixtapes that the channel has become known for will still be a regular feature on there as well all right that's all for today um it's good to be back on here we'll see you soon with more summer series interviews shortly thank you for subscribing and for listening to the hockey pdo cast