The Kevin Sheehan Show - No Pitts In DC

Episode Date: February 24, 2026

Kevin opened with the incredible US Mens Hockey team win over Canada before getting to the biggest game the DMV has seen in years, lol. Commanders' news today with Andrew Wylie re-signing and an assistant coach moving on. Also, Kyle Pitts got tagged in Atlanta so the tight-end market is reduced by one. Ben Raby/Sirrus-XM jumped on to talk about the significance of the US gold medal win over Canada and whether or not the 3-on-3 OT format made sense.   For all your football betting needs: DCRELOAD at MyBookie for a 50% Deposit Match Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Sheehan Show. Here's Kevin. Al Michaels, 46 years ago, yesterday, with one of the most famous calls in sports history calling the miracle on ice team's shocking upset of Russia in the semifinals.

They would go on to win gold two nights later. And until yesterday morning, That was the last U.S. Men's Olympic team to bring home the gold. What a great game yesterday in Milan. I watched it start to finish. It was intense. Didn't love the overtime format more than that coming up. But the emotional celebration and gold medal ceremony that followed, loved it all.

Ben Rabie from Sirius XM will jump on with me in the next segment. Ben used to host the Caps pregame and in-game shows on the Caps radio network. Ben Raby to talk about the U.S. gold medal win yesterday morning over Canada. This show, as always, brought to you by Window Nation, 86690 Nation, windownation.com if you need new windows. This from Marty, Marty writes, Michigan and Duke Kevin taught the DMV what college basketball is all about. Marty really wanted to get me going.

The game was great. It was a sold-out crowd of more than 20,000, and the intensity had to be the best this area has ever seen, maybe even counting the Wizards. Good riddance to your Terps. And the same goes for Hoyas fans. Go Blue. So Marty is a Michigan fan. Marty a bit chesty after maybe his first college basketball game in the DMV. By the way, also very chasty after Michigan lost the game. game to Duke. I watched the game on TV, really good game, very good defensive game, two very good teams, talked to a few people that were there. They said it felt very much like a regional final or a regional Sweet 16 game where the crowd is kind of split, although they said there were many more Michigan fans than Duke fans, maybe 60, 40, something like that. That, by the way, is because Michigan's got more alum in D.C. I actually have some numbers on that. I'll get to that in a moment.

But Marty, Marty, Marty. While it is true that the game was a very tough ticket and was a very good basketball game. The aftermarket, by the way, those tickets, like shortly before Tip, I saw on social media $600 just to get in. And for a good pair of lower levels, 6,000. $1,000. It was nuts. College game day was there all day. Pete Thammel, who I really love as a college football guy, he's excellent. He said something, and I'm paraphrasing here, but man, it kind of, it was the reason I went off on this game last week. He said, it's such a great basketball area, D.C. is, but they just don't have a lot to root for at the pro or college level. And this is what I was concerned about is the perception that this game might. create. It was, you know, a very much in-demand ticket. Part of it is because it was one versus three. And then again, the huge alum base that Michigan has in the DMV, Duke as well, I did find some data on alum base sizes in the DMV. It's a bit old, but I bet it's pretty close to

accurate now. It came from the Washington Business Journal in 2019. Maryland is. Maryland is. by far and away, the number one, you know, largest alum base in the DMV, or what the Business Journal referred to as the greater Washington, D.C. metro area. Maryland was number one, pretty much doubled up George Mason in terms of alums in the DMV. And then number three was GW. Georgetown was four, and AU was five. But listen to this. After that, the next big biggest alum base in the DMV is Michigan, followed by Penn State, Virginia Tech, and Indiana. I guess we learned from Indiana's football run that Indiana has the largest alum base basically in the world. Who knew? I didn't know that. But Michigan has the largest alum base in the DMV for any school outside of this market.

So tons of Michigan fans on Saturday night. I was actually in Bethesda Saturday afternoon for lunch, and I saw so many Michigan people with their Michigan garb on, even some Duke fans walking around downtown Bethesda. So lots of Michigan fans. I've seen the Michigan fans in attendance in College Park for some of the Maryland-Michigan games since Maryland moved into the Big Ten, and they are always the number one percentage

of Big Ten fans that find their way into Xfinity Center for a game against Maryland. But Marty, for you, just as an FYI, you clearly have not been to Xfinity Center in College Park for an important Maryland home game. Because if you had been, you would have never said what you said. You know, first of all, I can't speak to how many times Georgetown has sold out Capitol 1. I know they've done it, you know, a few times. I think they did it this year or last year against Yukon. But I know that they've done it. I mean, the JT3 era, I'm sure had plenty of sold out crowds at Capital 1 Arena, their home arena. But Maryland's Xfinity Center, which holds, you know, roughly 18,000. I looked this up. Since it opened in the fall of 2002, they've sold out that

arena 18,000 plus 143 times. They've consistently since joining the Big Ten have finished in the top three in average attendance. Last year, they finished second in the Big Ten in average attendance to Indiana. They had a very good team last year. Of course, this year will probably be a step back. Maybe they'll fall outside the top five. Part of it is that Maryland's got one of the bigger arenas in the Big Ten.

but for what you said about the game you went to on Saturday night between Michigan and Duke and I this is not a hot take this is not a Maryland take okay you could multiply that by 10 atmospherically if that game had been a renewal of Duke in Maryland you know in terms of intense atmospheres even Georgetown fans will tell you they dream about having the big game crowd that Maryland gets for their big games. Now, it's got to be a big game. I understand that. The Maryland fan base has become bandwagony, just like every other fan base.

It isn't, you know, football team related. But, you know, last year, the Michigan State ticket was impossible to get late in the season. And the crowd was insane. For you people that have never been to a big Maryland game, and there won't be one this year because they stink. But if you've never been, and you're a DMVer, and you've never been to a big, big game, an important game at Xfinity, try it out and tell me that you think anything's better, including a regional kind of crowd atmosphere on Saturday night. Marty, you're just wrong about that. We are a basketball town, and we have had many big college basketball games in this area. one of the biggest in the history of the sport was number one versus number two,

Ralph Sampson against Patrick Ewing at the Capitol Center in 1982. I think it was 82. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed what you went to. I am, but it's not the best the DMV has ever seen. Not even close. Now, with that said, I'll say what I said last week again. and then put this to bed. I will.

First and foremost, I got no place right now to bark too loudly. My team stinks this year. Georgetown stinks this year. And I will also say that I had no issue at all with monumental. Ted, whomever put this together, the people that benefited by having Duke in Michigan play a neutral court game in mid-February.

You know, that's good for the sport. That game was good for the sport Saturday night. No doubt about it. And those that benefited from it, I have no problem with that at all. No issue with those responsible for putting that game on. For Duke, by the way, it's probably their first of two trips to Capital One because the East Regional is a Capital One this year. But for Maryland and Georgetown in particular, this was not a good look. It just wasn't because it created the perception, not reality, but the perception that some,

Somehow the DMV is starved for big-time college basketball. I mean, Pete Thammel said as much on game day. It couldn't have helped local recruiting. Not that recruiting is the end-all be-all anymore with the portal, but it just felt to me last week, and that's why I shared how I felt. It felt very minimizing of college hoops in the area, and that's not just my Maryland inferiority complex. It might be some of it.

I know that neither school was thrilled about it. I do know that. Think about it from Georgetown's perspective. That was their home floor. The perception is they basically had to play a road game at Seton Hall at the same time on Saturday night to accommodate a much more important game in their arena. So look, Marty, in the moment, because the Terps and Hoyas are both irrelevant right now, that was a big game and probably the biggest game the DMV will see this year, no doubt.

But let's not forget, Maryland was ranked in the top 10 last year, just 11 months ago. Finish tied for second in the Big 10 behind Michigan State, tied with Michigan, but Marilyn had the two seed because they beat Michigan in the regular season in Ann Arbor, by the way. They did lose to them in the Big Ten tournament semifinals. But, you know, Maryland was a sweet 16 team last year, and they were ranked in the top 10 for a portion of the season. They weren't ranked number one like Michigan was on Saturday night. So anyway, good for you.

I just would like in the future, if there's going to be a big non-conference game played in our area, at Comcast, I'm sorry, at Capital One or at Xfinity, hopefully the next time Maryland and or Georgetown are hosting it. That's all. I'm done with this subject. We'll get to Ben Rayby coming up. Actually, before Ben, I'm going to talk about some news that just broke related to our football team. We'll get to that in the next segment and then finish up with Ben at the end.

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That's best for us. Also, following the show, and that's easy to do, just hit the plus button or the follow button. That helps us out a lot as well. So this is Indy Combine Week. For me, I've got to be honest with you. I think it's the most overrated fan week of the NFL season. I certainly get the draft, and I get excited about the draft, too.

And I think Free Agency is also very exciting. but the Indy Combine, to me, has always been a bit of a snoozer. I know some of you who are so into the draft think so much happens during the Indy Combine that allows you to kind of figure out the players you like. But I promise you that a lot of the on-field work is nowhere near as important as what will happen tomorrow and on Wednesday, and that is the interview process. There is more gathered from the interview process about these prospects than there is with a lot of their on-the-field work.

Now, some of the on-field work, of course, is important. Measurements and some, you know, timed events. But for the most part, it's the due diligence process that begins face-to-face with some of the prospects they're interested in in the sit-down short interviews. And that's the stuff that we just never hear about. We don't know how those things go and how it influences and impacts the decisions these teams will make at the end of April. But there is news today related to our team. The first bit of news is, and I believe that we're going to get more of this over the next few weeks before the league calendar begins and free agency begins on March 11th. But Washington re-signed Andrew Wiley to a contract.

Andrew Wiley agreed to a two-year extension. Ben Standing writes per sources, it's worth up to $7.5 million. Right now with an upside to $10.5 million. Wiley was heading into unrestricted free agency. He's now going to be sticking around for another season. And look, his versatility, being able to play almost any position on that offensive line is a big deal. You know, this is going to be his ninth NFL season, the last three here in D.C. And he's played both tackle and guards.

So the kind of versatility that they want, it's also insurance if they don't get a deal done with Chris Paul. And they don't feel great about Brandon Coleman stepping in at least. left guard, but yeah, that kind of signing is not a shocker by any stretch of the imagination. And I would also say that I think it's probably an indication of something that's going to happen with Nick Allegretti that I would have guessed anyway. Nick Allegretti is a several million dollar cap savings if he gets released. And I think that would be an indication that Allegheny, along with Marshawn Lattimore, those seem like the two obvious releases that will generate some cap savings. So that was the first piece of news.

So now it's Tressway and Andrew Wiley among the players that played for them last year. Of course, they've got another, you know, 20. At this point, they've got another 27 unrestricted free agents and still three restricted free agents. They're going to sign a bulk of those unrestricted free agents. restricted free agents as of March 11th. They're not unrestricted now, which is why you can sign your own to an extension. But once they get to March 11th,

if you haven't tagged them or you haven't signed them, they become at 4 p.m. on March 11th, unrestricted free agents, and they can talk with and sign with anybody they choose. But Andrew Wiley back, and I think we're going to see more of these coming up. Now, the other news is that Brian Johnson, the past game coordinator, who was the offensive coordinator in Philadelphia when Washington brought him here after he was fired as the O.C. in Philadelphia, and he's worked for Dan Quinn and Cliff Kingsbury the last two years. He's heading to Los Angeles to be a senior offensive assistant for Sean McVeigh and the Rams.

Now, we knew this was a possibility because he's been interviewing with other teams over the last few weeks for open offensive coordinator positions. He didn't get any of those, but he is going to be an offensive assistant in L.A. with the Rams. And that's the same place that Cliff Kingsbury landed. Cliff Kingsbury finally got his title today, and his title is assistant head coach. Org chart-wise, he's essentially second behind Sean McVeigh. ahead of the two coordinators. That was put out by the Rams earlier today. So both Kingsbury and Brian Johnson end up in L.A.

with the Rams. By the way, if you're curious, it was Rams pass game coordinator Nate Shieldhoss that got the OC job promoted from within to replace Mike Lafleur, who left to become the head coach in Arizona. So two of the Kingsbury staffed coaches, including Kingsbury, going to work for Sean McVay. Maybe it's because they want to see an under-center coach.

They want to see a play action pass-attempt coach up close and personal because both Brian Johnson and Cliff Kingsbury had similar schemes, Johnson in Philadelphia when he was calling plays for Nick Siriani. So that leaves maybe a void offensively, you know, for Washington because they knew this was coming. Anthony Lynn is still on the staff, but they're, you know, with Tevita Pritchard gone, Kingsbury gone, Brian Johnson gone. They've hired obviously DJ Williams to be the quarterback coach replacing Pritchard.

Blow is the offensive coordinator, but, you know, I guess Anthony Lynn would be kind of next in line. Maybe they're going to still bring in one more coach. We'll see. They kind of announced the whole coaching thing, but that Brian Johnson thing was kind of hanging out there, and he's now sort of finalized. The other big NFL news today related to personnel is that Kyle Pitts got the franchise tag from Atlanta.

So that takes, for some of you anyway, one of the tight ends in free agency off the list. Of course, they'll try to create a long-term deal. But Pitts gets the tag instead of making it to free agency. And the tag for tight ends is somewhere around $16 million for one year, somewhere in that neighborhood. So Washington will now turn to, you know, other tight ends. You know, Isaiah likely. I like Chig O'Conquo, the former Terp, who's been in 10.

Tennessee, but without a quarterback. That's a player, by the way, when Logan Paulson was on with me on Friday, he likes Oconquo, too. I think he would be a really good possibility. Kate Otton is out there if Washington goes tight end route in free agency. I think they need one. We'll see what happens. But Kyle Pitts now off the board unless they decided to pull the tag at some point or trade him as a tag player with a team willing to, you know, kick in a guaranteed longer-term deal as part of the overall deal. So that was, you know, kind of the news today as it relates to personnel. The other NFL news from the last 24 hours or so, and it was a surprise to me to read this,

is that the NFL apparently is not going to have on the agenda. for the Competition Committee in this offseason, the tush push. The NFL Competition Committee co-chair, Rich McKay said yesterday, he's not anticipating an attempt to ban the tush push this year. You know, that comes after last offseason where it missed passing the banning of the tush push by two votes. McKay said there's no team proposal that I've seen. I wouldn't envision it, but you never know.

Wow, did that change from week two when Philly and Kansas City played in a Super Bowl rematch anticipated game, and the game was, you know, kind of marked by the tush push and some of the penalties that weren't called and some of the success that Philadelphia had in that game, they ended up winning that game at Arrowhead. you know, I had kind of a sense that as the season went along, it became less of an issue. And my belief was that teams weren't doing it as much or that teams were stopping it more often. I was hoping that this wouldn't lead to, you know, tabling it for the upcoming offseason. I want to see the Tush Push banned.

The data is out there from last year. The play largely utilized by two teams more than any other, the Eagles and the Bills. There were more Tush-push plays in 2025 than in 2024. There were 112 in 2025, 101 in 2024. The Eagles and the Bills far and away led the league in Tush-push attempts. However, the success rate on the Tush-push was successful. slightly down. The average success rate from 2022 through 2024 was 82%. This year it was 76.8%. So down about 5.2% roughly. Yeah, not roughly, exactly. I'm surprised. I thought it got so close last year,

and I thought that in week two after that Kansas City, Philadelphia game, if they could have taken that vote again, it would have passed. I don't love the play. I think it slows down the game, not literally, but from, you know, from a viewing standpoint to see sometimes multiple tush push plays in a row. They haven't refereed that play well. We see the, you know, off sides, both ways, encroachment, false starts. It just doesn't get legislated very well. I hate it. I think it feels like a rugby play. I wish they would ban it. But it looks like we're going to get it. again next year. All right, let's finish up with Olympic Hockey Talk with Ben Rabi.

We'll talk some caps as well. We'll get to him after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey, guys, I introduced you recently to Thrive Market. I told you it's a product that I use that I think you should use too. Now I want to tell you why membership makes a lot of sense. Thrive Market's a membership-based grocery service where you can shop from wherever you are. you simply just hop on their app. The membership breaks down to just $5 a month,

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Three on three in overtime. A strange way for it to be decided. I thought we'll see what our next guest, Ben Reby thought, in just a moment. This segment of the show brought to you by Window Nation. Window Nation is giving you a chance between now and the end of this month. That's five days to get four free windows with every four purchased and not have to pay anything for two full years. No down payment, no monthly payments, and no interest charge for two full years. They're going to throw in because Valentine's Day is during the month of February, another 10% off.

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Joining me right now is Ben Raby. Ben Forever was a part of the Caps broadcast on the Caps Broadcast Network. He is now a sports anchor at Sirius XM. Ben is a Canadian. He is a hockey guy. He's also, oddly, a college basketball fan. And I shouldn't say oddly. But the odd part is, is Ben, in Canada, in Montreal, grew up rooting for Maryland and watching a lot of ACC basketball.

And Ben and I have talked about that in the past. But today we will keep it to Olympic hockey. And I want to start with this. And that is, you know me, I don't really know hockey. I enjoy playoff hockey. I enjoy these events like yesterday's Olympic final. And I know I say this a lot when I watch hockey in these important games, and that is that the results can be very random.

And I thought watching the game yesterday, it was another one of those examples, Ben, where one team dominated, tilted the ice, as you guys like to say, and that team was Canada, and yet the U.S. had a goalie stand on his head in Connor Hellebuck and essentially almost win the game by himself. True or not? Yeah, particularly as the game went along, Kevin. And this was Big Boy Hockey, terrific game for several reasons. But to your point, I thought it started out fairly even, and the U.S. jumping out to the 1-0-0 lead, thought the American showed themselves well

in the first period in particular. But in the second, that is when, as you mentioned, Canada started to help the ice in their favor. They had the five-on-three power play opportunity. They didn't score on the five-on-three, but it seemed from that point on, there was momentum on their side.

They did eventually tie it late in the second period. They kept the momentum on their side for much of the third. And yes, if not for Connor Hellebuck, who was outstanding, there's a good chance the game doesn't even go to overtime. So, yeah, the Canadians showed themselves very well for large stretches of the game, particularly the deeper it went I felt. And once it went to overtime, I wouldn't necessarily have predicted a U.S. win,

but you certainly felt three-on-three overtime. With all the skill and talent on both sides, it's a flip of a coin at that point, not unlike a shootout. It's very much a flip of a coin, three-on-three hockey. and that proved to be the case. Despite Canada's momentum in the second and third period, ultimately the U.S. able to get the winner in L.C. So let's talk about the overtime because I'll just tell you,

I thought it was kind of gimmicky. I didn't follow the whole tournament, Ben, so I didn't realize that overtime was three-on-three. It wasn't something that resembled the first two hours and 20 minutes, which was incredibly compelling. start to end of regulation? I didn't like it. What did you think?

Yeah, I've certainly heard that argument. My counter argument, there is one to be made. I remember Olympics past. I remember 1994 in Lila Hammer. The Olympic gold medal game was decided in a shootout. I mean, we've had shootouts to decide Olympic games, thinking of T.J. O'Shea in 2014, granted, it was a preliminary round game. But, you know, the idea of the three-on-three is to eliminate

the need for a shootout and to decide a winner without having to go to a breakaway competition. I understand, you know, if it's between a shootout and three on three... Why does it have to be between a shootout and three on three? Why can't they just play five on five

playoff style, NHL playoff style, until we have a winner? Maybe for the gold medal game, is that what you're asking for? Yeah, certainly for the metal round. Yes, of course. Well, well, be careful. They're metal round.

That's what I'm getting at. In the quarterfinals, three of the four quarterfinal games were decided in three-on-three over time. Like, you can't start going, you know, 20 minutes, five-on-five, and all of these, you know, quarter-finals, semi-finals. I understand if you want to make the case for the gold medal game, certainly. I would have liked to have seen at least four-on-four if we could compromise on that. I agree. It is, you know, if you want to use the word gimmicky, it is to that extent.

with three on three, can you do maybe 10 minutes of four on four? And then if there's still not a winner decided, can you go to three on three? There's lots of options. You certainly do not have to go three on three right out of the gate to begin study over time. No, I understand what you're saying. And I understand the risk of offering that up tournament-wide. And to your point, maybe it's only for the championship game.

And maybe it's five-on-five for 20 minutes. and then, you know, if it's not decided and we're still tied up, then we go three on three. But that game was so good, and then it got decided in a way that didn't resemble the game that I had just watched for two hours and 20 minutes. Yeah, and look, you could even, I reference there was a shootout that decided the 94 games in Lillehammer. There was also 2010 in Vancouver, Crosby's Golden Goal. That was not three on three.

So they've certainly done, you know, be it four on four at the four nations last year or five on five in overtime passing gold medal game. What was the deal in 2010 when Crosby won it? I want to say that was five on five. Okay. And was it five on five until the game was just 20 minutes at a time until the game was decided? I'm not certain Kevin potentially to shoot out a waiting. I don't think I would have just kept going, you know, double over.

I don't think that was in the plan in 2010. But it was not three on three. So I've read a lot of quotes from, you know, American not only hockey pundits, but also former players like Mike Madano, American-born players, that have said that this was essentially the most significant win and will change the way people view U.S. hockey. So I was, surprised at that. I thought it was a little bit hyperbolic. It's not like the U.S. doesn't play

hockey. I understand what happened 46 years ago. I'm old enough to remember exactly where I was when I heard about the miracle on ice, which was a semi-final game over the Russians in 1980. But tell me the significance to U.S. hockey this win yesterday. Yeah, I felt something to that extent as well. I am hardly going to suggest that Canada won't win the World Cup in 2028 or the next time they go to the Olympics in 2030. Canada is still, you know, at the top of international hockey. But I will say, Kevin, I think now if you look ahead, big picture. The next 40 years, the next 60 years.

I think it's a matter of time before USA becomes the number one international nation at hockey. And I don't think that's recently biased here because of yesterday. I think this has been brewing for some time. It's no longer, as we know, it's no longer just players coming from Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Michigan. There are many more resources in the country. Like this is a big, big talking point, a big talk, you know, a big conversation piece. but the game is growing in this country. The resources are there.

And many of these players in the Olympics yesterday, and on the Four Nations team last year, they've come up together through what's called the United States National Development Team Program. This program did not exist, say, 30, 40 years ago. It's a relatively recent development that the program exists, and they're building them for international success. and they've been knocking on the door for some time. And now they've, you know, not only have they knocked the door open, but it wouldn't surprise me, Kevin, if this is the start of prolonged success.

This is hardly a one-hit wonder. I think when you look now, again, decades from now, this could be the start of extended, you know, winning on the international. But would you have felt this way had they not won yesterday? had it gone a different way? Yeah, again, this is still building. So even if Canada wins yesterday, and then if you're Canada, you say we've won

the last three best-on-best competitions at the NHL, you know, 2010, 2014, and now 2026, you have the four nations win last year if you're Canada. But what I'm suggesting is that, not that they're hanging on, but that the gap is, is narrowing. And I don't even know if there is a gap anymore. They're on par.

And I think in the next 30, 40, 50 years, it will be Canada trying to chase the United States. In other words, I think we're now closer to that. I really believe that, Kevin. All right. I really believe that. And listen, I say that, I say that as a proud Canadian. And I am not buried the Canadian hockey program by any means.

Canada will continue to compete for top finishes, for gold medals, for international dominance. But boy, little brother, you know, little brother has said, you know, if you've got big brother and little brother and there's a size, you know, discrepancy, you know, little brother has grown up now. Okay, there's no longer a size discrepancy. Maybe there's an age discrepancy, but you follow what I'm saying? The gap is closed. Yeah. There is no gap. Yeah, I guess it's interesting for me because it's not my sport.

It's not what I have followed very closely over the years. And while I knew Canada was the obvious, you know, number one hockey nation on earth, I didn't realize that the U.S., that it was little brother and there was a major, major disparity. And so that leads me to, let me just say this. Hockey's never going to become, in my life, lifetime anyway. It's never going to become America's sport. Maybe it doesn't stay regional.

Maybe it doesn't stay niche. Maybe to your point, not all the players are coming out of Minnesota and Massachusetts, etc. In Wisconsin anymore and more and more young people are playing it. But it'll never in my lifetime be what football

is, what basketball is, what even baseball is. But it is, number one and has always been number one north of the border in your homeland. And I guess I'd love to know what the reaction is there. Was as much as it was uplifting for American hockey, what did it do to Canadian hockey yesterday? Well, I just want to say something real quick. I don't want to suggest that hockey will be number one in America, but I am suggesting America could be number one.

Yes. No, no, no, got it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Totally understood. Yes. Yeah. And the reaction in Canada, I don't think it's a guy is falling. We need a national summit. There's an acknowledgement that, hey, it was three on three overtime where it was ultimately lost. And that much of the same team will be back in 2028 when there's the World Cup, which will basically be what we saw last year, the four nations. but with eight teams and maybe a little bit more of a deeper competition pool. I don't think there's panic there, anything like that. And I do think there is a respect factor for what's been brewing with Team USA.

I think there was a respect factor. There was animosity, but there was a respect factor for what Team USA showed at the Four Nations last year. I think if you look at the way Team Canada even built their team this year with a little bit more, if you want to call it truculent, with the addition of a Tom Wilson, and still the presence of guys like Sam Bennett and Brad

Marshawn to deal with the likes of the Kichuk brothers, et cetera. I think there's a respect for Team USA, and I don't think there's a fear or a worry that bad things are coming as far as the international scene. They'll be back

in 2028, and these should be the two favorites again when they get together the next time on this stage. If Russia had participated in these Olympics, where would they have finished? Yeah, it's a good question because it feels like such a while ago, so we last saw Russia at the international level in a best-on-best competition. To me, still put them behind U.S. and Canada. U.S. Canada were the favorites going into the tournament. They ultimately played out that they're the top two seats, and they meet in the gold medal

game. To me, Russia would have been if they were in there, and it feels like a while ago that we've seen Russia and best on best international competition with the NHL is a part of it. To me, they're still behind. You give them the edge in goaltending, and maybe that would have aided them on a potential

deep run. We see the value of a Connor Hellebeck in a tournament like this. Russia has the star goaltenders. They have the goaltending depth. It's their big strength right now. The difference, though, and maybe a shortcoming for Russia, as talented as they are, And this is just the makeup of North American hockey versus hockey in Russia.

This has been a decades-long conversation. You look at the Kachuk brothers. You look at the physicality that a Canada could play with. That's the Achilles heel if your team rush a very reliant on skill, and there is plenty of high-end skill. Skill and goal-tending, would it have been enough to make a deep run and get to a gold medal game in the Olympics? We haven't seen it in Best on Best NHL Competition over the years.

I'm not sure that this year would have been that year. To me, it still would have been U.S. Canada. Russia may be in the next tier of teams. Maybe a chance to medal, but still in that next tier behind North Americans. I'll tell you one thing about the sport you love. The international competitions, I think, are better than they are in any other sport, any other major sport that we have here. Why do you think that is?

And I love the four nations last year, which is Iran. because we'll call it for what it is, Kevin. That was a made-up tournament. Yeah. It was so good. It was so good. And I really look forward to the World Cup in two years, which again will be like maybe a mini- Olympics, eight teams instead of 12.

So, you know, not as many of the lighter weights and maybe some more competitive games in the World Cup in two years as well. I think there's a combination of reasons. First of all, I think when you look at the top nation, you know, the Scandinavian nation, Sweden, Finland, you know, when Russia is eligible to play, and you take the North American teams, Slovak, I mean, first of all, there's depth when you talk about the top teams. It's not just two or three countries that are really good at the sport. You know, it goes a little bit deeper than that.

There's really seven, eight that you could say are very, very competitive. And stylistically, they each sort of have what makes them, what separates them from each other, what makes them unique, what makes them difficult to play against. They have identities, the passionate fan bases. And in the case, you know, it's interesting. You said it's not the number one sport in the United States, of course. But it is a high sport and popularity for many of these countries. You know, it's obviously soccer is dominant worldwide. You look at Sweden, you look at Finland, you look at Slovakia.

You know, I talk is very, very popular among many of these countries, often the number one sport. And, you know, there's a lot of pride when these guys get together. All right. Since I have you here, the NHL season will resume here this week. And as we speak with 23 games left for the Caps, they sit on the outside looking in. I mean, it's all bunched up. The standings are in the East and in the Metropolitan after Carolina's recent surge. But do the Caps end up making the playoffs? Yes, no, why, why not? it'll be very difficult for them so i guess that would be suggesting no it would be very difficult for them they've played more games than anybody else the teams are chasing have games in hand i will say this working in the capitol's advantage perhaps is that they will come out of this olympic break arguably as healthy as they have been since early october uh they have some reinforcements right

before the break pier luke dupois their number two centermen he would sorely missed since he left the team in late October with an injury. He is back. They have the team again, as healthy as they've been at any point. Alex Ovechkin historically has done well after lengthy breaks. You know, maybe give himself a breather over these past couple of weeks. He's come back from that and passed, whether All-Star breaks, international breaks, et cetera, often rejuvenated.

I would imagine he shows himself well down the stretch. So a few things working in their advantage, maybe. At the same time, it's an uphill climb. 23 games to go. They are quote-unquote only four points back, but there's a lot of teams that they're competing with a lot of other teams with games in hands. So we'll learn

a lot, I think, within the next week, Kevin. They're not being eased back into things. Three games and four nights. Yeah. On Wednesday. Out of the break. Maybe we'll learn a little something. Will the defending champs make it to the postseason?

Florida sits in last place in the Atlantic Division currently. Yeah. That I do not think so. And I like the Florida Panthers a lot. I like what they've built there. I like their identity. I do not think they will make the playoffs.

Too many injuries on that team. Yeah, it's literally to the cap. It's been all about injuries, right, for Florida from the beginning of the year. Yeah, yeah. No, it has. Thanks, Ben. Appreciate it as always. Thank you, Kevin.

Ben Rabie, everybody. All right, that's it for the day back tomorrow with Tommy.