The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Artemi Panarin Watch ft. Emily Kaplan & Greg Wyshynski

Episode Date: February 3, 2026

Today on The Sheet, Jeff Marek and Greg Wyshynski dive into the biggest story on the NHL calendar as the Artemi Panarin watch heats up ahead of tomorrow's 3 p.m. trade deadline. Could Panarin actually be moved, is an extension still in play, and which teams make the most sense as potential landing spots if things escalate? The guys then shift to New Jersey, where Jack Hughes is set to miss the Devils’ final game before the break, sparking debate over the impact on New Jersey Devils fans watching their star rest ahead of the Olympics with the season hanging in the balance. Later, Marek and Wyshynski are joined by Emily Kaplan to break down the trade freeze at 3ET, Olympic implications around the league, who could be buying or selling, and what to watch as the NHL calendar hits a critical turning point.#TheSheet #NHL #TradeDeadline #ArtemiPanarin #JackHughes #NewJerseyDevils #JeffMarek #GregWyshynski #EmilyKaplan #HockeyReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Flames_Nation🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sorelli is out Bennett who got injured is in for Team Canada that's the very latest Greg Woshensky as we kick off the sheet

for this Tuesday February the 3rd as he waits for music to come down a little bit Ah, there we go Zarelli's out that's a drag for him I actually think the show

would be better if we kept the music up the entire time If we were If most of the things we said were drowned out by the music Do you remember that

as a phenomenon and talk radio like however many years ago. This is a quick detail to start the show. Programmers or whomever thought it would, it's probably a board op, thought it would sound better if you played, and mainly talk radio stations around the AM band, if you played music underneath,

and then people realized quickly, A, it sucks because B, it just sounds like subway announcements. It was during the peak of sort of the, like, Opie and Anthony, Guy Talk phenomenon, where they would have the rock music playing underneath them as they chatted about what was in Maxim that week.

So listen, Sorrelli, yeah. Do you guys, is there still time to kick Hegel off the team for Bedard? Like isn't Hagle only there as a twofer? No, you know what, no. Well, yes. 100%. But I think this is in a lot of ways. Well, one, one of the consistencies that I think hockey Canada has gone with here is,

and I know you love the phrase rings in the room, but that's what they're looking for for these types of players. But two, I think that they're really sensitive about having guys that can kill penalties. I think they know if they're going to play the way that they want to play specifically against your country. They're going to have to kill some penalties.

So to me, there's, Hegel is a really important piece. But then again, so was Sorrelli for killing penalties. It was. Again, we joked about this a couple of shows ago. Again, much like the U.S. is building a team to beat Canada when they should be building a team to be Canada.

Canada is building a team to kill penalties that aren't going to happen in a gold medal game. It's just not going to call anything. Like if you guys meet us in the gold medal game, they're just not going to call any penalties. You're going to go to these PK guys, and they're having nothing to do. Let me ask you.

And I was waiting to do this until you came on the show this week. I was going to mention it. I said, like, no, no, no, this is a good wish topic. If Tom Wilson hits someone in this tournament, the way that he hits, hit Logan Stankhoven, where

in the NHL, no problem. Like, that's a really good hit. As a matter of fact, I was talking to T.J. Ocean, the podcast had to do with Budro. He had Ocean. He was talking about that hit, and he said, so many guys, like when they come around the net, the first thing to do is they whip their head around and then they get

smacked when really they should be using their shoulder to protect themselves just for such an occasion. I sound like Fog or Leghorn. Fortunately, I keep my feathers numb, but for just such an occasion. But like, instead of whipping his head around, it should really lead with his shoulder there and protect himself. But anyhow, if that hit is made in the Olympics by Tom Wilson, is it a penalty? It's not. So, first of all,

I found it to be extremely amusing when I explained my take on that hit and why I didn't think Tom Wilson deserved any supplemental discipline. By the way, I had a number of people reach out to me on the officiating side of things and say, you got it right. Um, I found it to be pretty hilarious that the outrage wasn't coming from Raleigh. It was coming from Pittsburgh. The people in Pittsburgh are a so Tom Wilson brained that any time this guy does something, they immediately have to jump in and start berating him and start saying put him on a prison island because of who Tom Wilson is.

But secondly, they are all comparing it to the Brian Rust. But they're all comparing it to the Brian Rusting, which is apples to oranges. It's David Apple. It's like apples to cattle. It's nothing to do with what Tom Wilson did on that play. First of all, apples and oranges are more similar than they're different. I always hated that analogy. I like what the Brits use and it's chalk and cheese.

They're both round. They're both juicy. They're both fruit. Chalk and cheese. Here's the thing about the Olympic issue, like you mentioned. The double IHF rules look like they're written by a toddler. The double IHF rule for illegal hits that to the head. And I should have probably had Zach go find this for you.

begins with the phrase like there any contact with the head is prohibited okay and then the next like 17 paragraphs all spell out explicitly all of the times there can be contact with the head and it's allowed so they come out strong it's like a political at it come out strong but then they explain afterwards all the things that ultimately probably would have led to this time wilson hit being legal in the olympics so in the primary you come out strong to feed the base and give the base what they want, but it comes time to the general election, there's a more moderate view that's taken. Is that what you're saying? The beginning of the double I-JF rule is like red meat for Alan Walsh, and then the rest of the

rule is very similar to what the NHL does for hits to the head. Okay. I got that one cleared up then. Okay. So, So Sorrelli is out and Sam Bennett is in. This is one of the things we'll be discussing here. On the program today, thank you for joining us. The blueprint is powered by Fanduel.

Download the app today and play your game. on Fandau. We've got double ESPN today. We got double play of ESPN. We've got Greg Wischinski, all right, from ESPN and ESPN.com. I don't know what's happened to the graphics here, but here they come now again.

Greg Wyshinsky from ESPN, Emily Kaplan from ESPN. We'll get on the, we'll see if we can get an invite to the Artemi Panarin party and see what's happening there. We'll talk about fallout from what happened in Nashville yesterday,

trade freeze on the horizon, all eyes on 3 ET tomorrow, and Jack Hughes. And will he, play before the Olympics for the new jersey devils. I used to work with Bill Waters, and that's how he would always refer to the New Jersey Devils. He said, that's what we called them when they came over from Colorado.

It wasn't the New Jersey Devils. It was the new Jersey Devils. That there was that pause between the two. Anya, I thought you'd know that. I don't know if you will. I'm a little surprised that they are letting it go this late with him, with the injury and with, and still with the hand.

But I imagine we've gone down this long with him. I said this to somebody the other day, and they disagreed with me because they said this is all part of the job. But I'll say it to you, Merrick, because you're a conspiratorial type. The general manager of Team USA is Bill Garron. Bill Garron recently made quite a trade, didn't he? He traded for a guy named Quinn Hughes. You may know him as Jack Hughes' brother.

Finkly familiar. Would it complicate things in Bill Garen't he? Garren's life to be the guy who says Jack Hughes, you cannot live out your Olympic dream with your brother because I don't trust the health of your body. Would that complicate things with Quinn Hughes and Bill Garan? If, I'm sorry, if Tom Fitzgerald, sorry, if Tom Fitzgerald did not allow Jack Hughes to go, sorry, I missed him. No, I'm saying, I'm saying if Billy makes the call that he doesn't trust Jack's health and leaves him home because it's going to be Billy's call. Does that complicate things with Quinn?

Well, how much did, hang on, how much did the, hang on, how much did the Vancouver Canucks last year with Quinn Hughes around the four nations complicate the relationship with the Vancouver Canucks and Quinn Hughes? I don't think it did. I mean, he's obviously still in Vancouver, proudly being their cap. wait, that's right. They had to trade him, didn't they? Right.

They, I'm just, listen, I don't, I don't know. I fully expect Jack's going to go. You know, I think all this rest up to the Olympics is so he can go. But if he didn't go and Billy made the call, I do wonder if that, you know, things are really good right now with Quinn in Minnesota. You know, the vibes are immaculate. He's playing out of his mind. The team is thriving.

A contract extension could be in the wings for this kid, this kid in Minnesota. You wouldn't want to rock the boat in. any way, would you? And leaving Jack back home probably wouldn't be something you necessarily want to do is all I'm saying. And again, maybe I'm just devil-pilled in the sense of all of the decisions they make are through the filter of Jack Hughes vis-a-vis never scratching his brother. But I was just thinking about this regarding the injury. If it's true, then shame on Quinn. Because these are all, at the end of it, we treat them like they're all one sort of being,

like there's three bodies and one head, and they all have to be all on the same page and it's all team Hughes. We never consider for one second, Quinn may be saying, my name is Paul and that's between y'all, as they said in Pulp Fiction Once Upon a Time. You know, like this is not, you know, this idea, we see this so often in life.

Here's a life. Beware of people that do this. Your problem is your problem. But my problem is our problem. Beware of those people that act like that. Okay. Your problem is your problem, but my problem is our problem. Why do we just assume that, but why do we just assume that anything that happens to one is egregious to all when it comes to the Hughes family?

Do you feel the same way about the chucks? Enough about politics in the U.S. The other Olympic thing I wanted to mention. Yes. The other Olympic thing I wanted to mention. So right before we hopped on, we were talking about Sorrelli for Bennett. By the way, didn't Bennett leave the game last night? Yes.

We've taken an injured player. That was kind of weird, right? I thought maybe he goes in another direction. I guess he's okay. I guess he's fine. I guess he'll be okay. Or maybe Bill Zito lied. And he's just like, yeah, take this broken man on your roster.

So Canada could be one down. Paul Bissanette, our good friend, Paul Bissanette, from TNT and Spentincklets tweeted out something and I wanted to mention it. He said, making these guys play 82 games in an Olympic year is a effing joke. Guys are getting hurt every game.

76 games should be the number. Four games with everyone in your conference and one game with teams and the other conference go back to one to eight seating in those years because it's the way it should be anyway, yada, yada, yada. Listen, the playoff idea is great, by the way. We'll get to that later. But I think the, I don't

disagree that maybe we should shorten seasons when we have these massive tournaments breaking up the season and compacting the schedule. I don't think that's a terrible idea from biz, but it has to come, especially when we talk about the Olympics, it has to come with some level of financial compensation for shortening the season. And if you're talking about taking games off the schedule and i.e. taking home dates away from teams, that financial compensation is probably coming out of the players' pockets because they're the ones fighting to be in the Olympics, true or false? They're the ones fighting to be the Olympics, although I do think that secretly that was a

strategic, I think the way the NHL positioned all of this was freaking brilliant. Because they, first of all, it is to the advantage of the NHL, and I've always believed this, to have their players, i.e., their brand on the biggest stage, even if it means shutting down their league. Just say, you know what? This is part of the marketing, the marketing budget. This is part of the marketing program here. Like, why would you not?

Why would you not want to have your players on the biggest stage where everybody around the world are watching your players? But part of the brilliance, I think, of the NHL, is they were the first ones to take the, well, we don't want them to go. Posture. As opposed to the players saying, no, we just want the Stanley Cup. Like if it were reversed,

if it were the players that took the initial posture of, we don't want to go. It's not worth it. We want to stay and compete for the Stanley Cup. That's what we're all here for. That's what we dreamed about. Yet the owners were afforded the opportunity to have their athletes

on the biggest stage in the world. How different would things be? I've thought about this. No, I've thought about this a lot because I think that the NHL understands the value of it. I know that sometimes the NHL owners can be pennywise, pound, foolish. But I think for this one, it's such a no-brainer. But part of the brilliance of what the NHL has done here is they've positioned themselves as a contrarian ones. And it's almost like

the players association has begged and begged and begged up a fuss and kicked up the storm. But we have to go. We have to go. And then the NHL can play the, all right, fine, we'll relent. What's the cook? We're getting back. I think that for CBA posturing, and all that stuff. It's a good side benefit. Everything is a negotiation. Everything is a negotiation for the NHL. It is.

But I don't think it's posturing for Gary. I don't. Like I think there are definitely a lot of owners, ones I've spoken to, that don't think that we get enough out of the Olympics. There's no tangible money in my pocket benefit for sending my assets to someone else's business so they can profit from it.

And the international part of it's really interesting, Merrick, because obviously the NHL is going to be ratcheting up that part of their business. Like, we now have an office in like Switzerland, right? Yeah. As far as like the NHL planning its flag out there and, you know, we're going to have an outdoor game in Europe, probably within two years. Like we're going to start seeing more of that stuff. So I do think the Olympics now become a little bit more important as an international marketing tool

than they've ever been before. But as far as the tangible benefits from it, they get nothing. That's why the biz thing, you know, not only would it be money out of the players' pockets, but the IOC and the double IHF would have to pony up to also make up some of the financial loss for these teams if they were going to shorten the season. The idea of shorting the season ever.

And like, look, we're adding two more games next year. Like, NHL's going the other way. Going the opposite way. But the idea of shortening the season, and I'm with you, I think the season should be shortened. I think 82 games is too much. I'm not sure what the sweet. spot is, I do like business idea of 76. That one does sort of hit the sweet spot of the bat for me.

But that idea died when the NHL Players Association signed off on salary linkage. Because now their salaries are tied to league revenues. Essentially, if you're saying shrink the schedule, what you're saying is shrink the paychecks. Because they are linked to hockey related revenue. And I should say that part of the plank of my platform is not simply just like short in the season. It's also what's expand the playoffs. That's the other part of them for me is like I, people don't care about the regular

season. They care about the playoffs. So make more of those games is how I feel about it. But this is right about the one through eight. You know, again, I, to get off the Olympic thing for a second. Okay. I can't believe we are we're heading towards a moment in this league where the second and third best teams in the national hockey league are going to play in the first round of the playoffs.

Their entire season will be spent rocketing towards a series in which one of them will go home. That's nuts to me. That's nuts to me. I'm of a couple of minds on this one. Oh, Rick Nash has got bumped up to director of player personnel in development for the Columbus Blue Jackets. And Chris Clark gets an assistant Clark. That's good.

Okay. Forward capital's captain. Some change there. What was I saying? Okay. So one, the guy in me that just wants to see a great hockey game and I don't care when I see it, loves it.

Because I want to see the best teams before they get all mashed up. I want to see them when they're at the height of their powers. And that ain't happening in the third round. I want to see him in the first round. So that person in me loves that. But I do get the idea of building towards the final boss. I do understand the idea of getting there. So by the end, then you have the quote unquote one and two facing off against each other in the conference final.

So I keep going, honestly, Greg, I keep going back and forth on it because one of my favorite things about hockey, isn't the Stanley Cup final. It's the first round. The first round of the playoffs is always amazing. And then the hockey deteriorates from then. And by the time the cup final rolls around, everyone's banged up, but everyone's going off fumes.

Now, if we had a conference soldiers going home at sunset. If we had a conference format, like Biz one of the one through eight, Colorado, Minnesota, Dallas, who are currently the top three teams in the league, none of them would play each other. Okay. A one through eight format, though,

would present an interesting path for the Edmonton Oilers, wherein there would be a chance they'd have to play all of them on their way to the cup final. They might have to go play Dallas first, then Minnesota, and then go. Oh, gauntlet. That would be quite the gauntlet. They'd earn it.

They'd earn it. Thanks for the money. Thanks for the money, Connor. As we found out in the Players Tribune today, Merrick. Yes. Connor McDavid, he's ready to win again. He wants to win again. I don't know if you read that essay.

I did. I did. But he said, I'm going to get real for a moment. I really want to win again. And again, like that touches me. For all the people out there who thought Connor McDavid didn't want to win again, jokes on you, buddy. He got real with us in that Players Tribune essay,

and he does, in fact, want to win again. The guy who was openly weeping in the locker room after losing in the Stanley Cup final final does in fact want to win again. And I'm glad that we had an essay to explain that to us. He said cynically. But it's, it's Connor McGave it in his own words. Oh, did I say my theory on that, by the way? What I'd say my theory on that?

Go. Everyone knows that the Players Tribune stuff is ghost written. I hope people understand that. Everybody. But it's like as told to, here's what I want in the piece. you flowered up. I will give three to one odds that the ghost writer for McDavid's piece was Zach Hyman. Noted children's author.

No, children's author, Zach Hyman? He could do his own. A good friend on the road. Can't you see McDavid walking around the hotel room kind of like or rating all of this and Hyman scribbling down and being like, no, no, no, no. But here you should say, I'm going to be real for a moment. That would really impact this statement you're about to make. here's me take the sharp turn and then leave them and that'll be the next paragraph.

That's right. That's right. I think what that sort of underscores too is, Connor McDavid, even growing up, I was making this point on DFO Live this afternoon, hasn't done a whole lot of team winning. He's always been the best player on his team. He's always been the best player in his league, best player in his age group like in the world going back to York Simco Express

to the Toronto Marley's and the GTHL. he's always been the best, the best player. But his O HL Cup year, U-16, and I was at the game. Like, it was against Robbie Fabry's Mississauga Rebels. And McDavid's, Marley's lost two to one. This massive game. Robbie Fabry was fantastic.

He never won in junior hockey. He never won with the Erie Otters, same as, you know, Connor Bedard. Never won. And, you know, and sure, there was, you know, world junior success. But as far as, like, big stage, big stage stuff, big stage stuff.

Like, Four Nations was it. And we all remember him after the first failed shot at the Stanley Cup. Last year, again. I think it just underscores that you get to McDavid's age, and he's looking around the room. And what's a common denominator? Like, he'll look around the team Canada room. And like, look how many guys that won Stanley Cups?

and look at the guy that went second after he was drafted, who's already got a Stanley Cup ring. Tom Wilson has a ring. Tom Wilson has, keep going. Go all the way around the room, man. Like, it's incredible how many, you love it, rings in the room. Macklin-Colabrini turns to McDavid.

He's like, can you believe how many guys want in this room? Can you believe that you and I both don't have rings? Thanks, kid. So no Stanley Cups, obviously no Olympic gold yet. But a gold in the U-A-teens, a gold in World Junior, a gold that the four nations face off, and then a gold in 2016 worlds. So that's the team success for Cona McDavid, you were mentioning.

Yeah. But what are the two biggies? Stanley Cup and gold medal, Olympics. Yep. And all these other guys. Like honestly, you're Cona McDavid here. I think you get to a certain point and you start to think about your legacy

as everyone keeps telling you, you're the best in the world, the best in the world. You don't want to be the guy that goes to the Hall of Fame and they can't see anything about the Stanley Cup and they can't see anything about the Olympic gold medal. And I think that bugs them. I should say bugs them. I think it drives them.

It does drive him. I mean, if he's being real with you, he's ready to win again. He's ready to win again. I mean, he's going to end up being the greatest version of Marcel Dion at the end of the day if he doesn't win something. Joe Barre Perrae, you want to throw him in, Jerome McGinla.

Joe Thornton, keep going, keep going, keep going. Okay, a couple of other things here that I wanted to get to with you. And listen, I know it's a couple of days out, but the cascade has still left and hasn't come back. Before we get to Emily here in about six minutes, that was a really good outdoor game on Sunday. It was like, I'm like, holy smokes, I'm for the first time in, I don't know how long,

I'm watching television and I'm enjoying a stadium series game. Now, I did enjoy Rangers Islanders, but a lot of that is just because it's Rangers Islanders. But, like, as far as, like, the game goes and all of it and the drama, even without, you know, the, the Michelin Men fighting is still, like, a really, really good game. What was it like to be there? It was a, it was a minute, I mean, it's been a minuscule number of games that have been one goal games in the stadium series. Like, it's very small. And so to get a game like that was exciting. So, as I often said, I mean, there's a lot of people that feel like the blooms off the rose when it comes to outdoor games.

I get it. You watch it on television. It doesn't have the same impact as when we used to. You know, there was novelty for it being new. And also when we went to venues that were exciting and more exciting than Raymond James Stadium. That being said, like when you're on site, it is the gathering of the tribes. It is the moment for you, especially as an American fan, look around and say to yourself, there are 65,000 of me here. and what a great moment it is for a community to rally together

and everybody to come out and have a big party and celebrate the thing you love the most. And for a brief moment as an American, you feel like you might have the agency to go to your local sports bar and say, hey, turn off that NBA game, the NHL is on. And someone in the bar might appreciate it. That's an amazing feeling as an American fan. The game itself was incredible.

And so the secret sauce, obviously, if you like Rangers Islanders, The secret sauce, obviously, for these games are historic comebacks. And in the case of Tampa and Boston, all you have to do is give one team that's trailing half a period of five-on-three hockey. And then when you do that, and that team also has Nikita Kutcherov, chances are you're going to probably close the gap a little bit. I thought the situation in overtime was insane. I know John Cooper said that he heard the whistle like four times, but when the goalie

standing next to the official who called the penalty is racing off the ice because he doesn't hear the whistle, that tells you that something went awry there. And the goalie fight was fun for one specific reason, Merrick, which is that Jeremy Swaman didn't realize that Vosseleski was a lefty. And that is the funniest thing. Like, imagine getting into a fight. You've been angling for a goalie fight for if you're Jeremy Sweman for seasons and seasons and seasons. And you get out there, you're like, I'm going to take this big guy down. And then all of a sudden you're like, oh my God, he punches with the other. It's just like, oh my God.

What have I got myself into? But nobody has a book on like other goalies, right? We talked about this last week with the other goalie fight. We're just watching this if you're watching us on. Those watching the video right now on YouTube, look at this moment here where Swamen has to remind Vasilesky to take his mask off. Yeah, like, there it is. Here.

Like, I'm taking mine off. We're throwing. He told me after the game, like, did you do that? he's like, yeah, I'm not looking to punch his mask a bunch of times. It's smart. Here's, again, like the idea, the idea of this happened in an outdoor game. Look at the bench going crazy. It was awesome.

And honestly, you know, I know people get mad at us when we talk about the functionality of fighting and the momentum swings that can come from it and all that stuff that, you know, with fighting having fallen out of, out of, out of, uh, out of, uh, out of, uh, good regard in the in the in the in hl and in hockey we're not supposed to know it's back no it's back it's back it's back no when you walk around the light and room and all of them to a manner like that that that gave us a gave us a lift you know that that juice the juice the building my god it was five to one at one point the second period i'm like how many of these people freezing their keysters off are going to be looking for their car keys by the time we get to the beginning of the third period

by the by the way i got some people i had some people ask me um why why why don't goldies get kicked out for fighting because one usually is crossing the center ice. The rule on crossing center ice is you just can't play the puck. You can't cross center ice. You can't play the puck. But the reason the goalies aren't getting chucked out is because generally in goalies fight, it's either the first fight of a brawl or the only fight. If Swayman Vasselowski would have been the second fight, then they would have been kicked

out. Just so we have, I want to make sure I mention that on the show today. That's why goalies ain't getting kicked out. If it's a second time, Tampa's probably, Tampa's really happy they didn't get kicked out. First of all, because Vasleski was really good in the shootout. And second of all, because Swimming then took a delay game penalty that helped foster one of those five-on-threes they had in the second period.

Real fun game, though. I loved it. I thought the event was really well done. I thought the aesthetics were great. All the pirate stuff worked for me. It was a lot of fun. And again, like, listen, man, I've been in a deep freeze, much like everybody watched this show probably in Canada has been in a deep freeze

for the last two and a half weeks. I can't even see my car right now. There's piles of snow around in New York. Same. My body was ready to go to Tampa and feel like I was in a sauna for a couple of days. Okay. And they get down there and it's colder than it is in New York. It's, well, and that, but the thing is, like, as you, as you mentioned that here in February,

one of the things that I always mentioned about, I got on my way to mention about, you know, I get that, I get that there's a state tax. issue and players want to keep as much money in their genes as possible. The other part of it is like when you're like, again, 82 games is a long time. And when you play in a cold climate, your body doesn't always feel good. But when you're playing with their sun, vitamin D, like your body feels better. You wake up in the morning, your body feels good. You touch grass.

You get the sun like all of it. Your body just feels so much easier to recuperate. And to heal when you're in that environment. Sorry, it's just true. That's an advantage. It wasn't like that at all. No, it was not like that. One thing I'll say about outdoor games,

and the stadium series remains my favorite because it really is where the NHL lets their freak flag fly with the jerseys and a lot of the dude ads they do around it. Like the Winter Classic is much more, you know, stodgy and old school. And let's wear our jerseys from 1920. I will say this. I have a venue in mind for the stadium series,

and I'm not quite sure why we haven't done it yet. As you know, the stadium series was created partly because it's in the name, stadium. NFL stadiums aren't always going to be available on New Year's Day or New Year's Eve. And so this has allowed us to go to a lot of football stadiums like Raymond James and the one in Tennessee and what have you. How can we haven't gone to Lambo yet with a stadium series game?

Like, why haven't we gone to Lambo? I know it's not an NHL state, but it is Blackhawks territory. You could easily throw Minnesota or Detroit in that game and you know they're going to travel to it. Like, Lambo is that venue where people are you tuned in to watch the game. I think they'll turn into watch the game, but will people go for the live event? How many will go for the live event? Is it like a field of dreams build it and they will come? I do.

I do. Oh, yeah. I think so. And I also think there's a ton of Black Hawk fans in Wisconsin, too. So let's ask Emily Kaplan who joins us now. She's the voice of reason and sanity here. She'll know if they'll travel to Lambeauville. Emily, so will they travel?

Will fans travel to Lambeau Field if they have an NHPA? Oh, absolutely. You think so? It's a destination at Lambeau. People haven't gone. I live in Chicago. So it's not a very far drive. I think a lot of people could just fly into Chicago and do that drive.

I would be careful because there's a lot of state troopers on that drive. and not that I would be speaking from experience, but it's a great place to get a speeding ticket. But no, Lambo is an absolute destination. I think America's Railroad Museum is in Green Bay. I think it would just be really special. And I've always just thought it was like a huge miss that the NHL has no presence in Wisconsin.

It's such a great hockey state. So yes, they would travel. Are you a heavy foot driver? Like, if you were driving in Dealey Plaza, the president would still be alive, is that what you're telling us? Like about your driving here, Emily? Are you that driver?

I'm a female from New Jersey. That's all all said. I'm a female from New Jersey. Jersey. Yeah. I mean, that goes part and parcel. The train museum is very interesting because now I'm thinking about like one of these teams is going to dress like conductors or something as they go into the stadium series game. What's the situation with Penn State? Obviously they had their big outdoor game the same weekend as the stadium series. It was a huge success. It looked great. You are an alum. Where are we with like putting an outdoor game in Penn State?

I am a proud of Penn State alum and I love that we are a hockey school now. Look, I know that the NHL has always looked at Beaver Stadium as a venue they'd love to go to. And I think they've kind of moved the targets a bit. At first, it was, okay, there's not enough luxury hotels. And now the talk is, well, it's undergoing renovations. We have to wait for those renovations to be complete. Penn State put on this outdoor game because they have Gavin McKenna. And they're like, holy cow, this can be a cash graph. Why don't we seize the moment? And it was. It was incredible. You have that moment. There he scores. It's an epic game. But it reminded me a lot of our stadium series and just how iconic it was. I think the NHL has definitely been.

in contact with them. I think they're a little peeved maybe like, oh, why did Penn State go and do this without us? Like, we've been talking to them. We want to be the first ones to go there. I would look at them in 20-28. I also know that 20-28 is the 20-year anniversary of the winter classic. Remember, Buffalo was in that first winter classic. So maybe Terry Pugula, you know, the connections with Penn State buying the program there, do the Sabres play there as a node to it? Or do we go to the new Buffalo Stadium for the Winter Classic? Could 28 be Beaver Stadium? But I think all of those are in the mix right now. That's awesome. And obviously, Buffalo will be two years removed from their cup win in 2028.

Exactly. They'll be the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. Yeah, the new Panthers. So the new Panthers by it. They may never lose. Let me, I want to get to Panarin with you, but let me just park a little sidebar on the, on Terry Pagula's hockey team here.

They may never lose another game again. I stopped thinking this was cute because we've seen 10 game winning streaks before from the Buffalo Sabres. I was like, okay, yeah, we've been false started before with the swords. I was saying it Greg, like last week, like my tongue is not used to saying these words together. The buffalo sabers are good. See, there's still a part of my tongue that is sore

because I've never said that. Or I haven't said that in like 14 years. You said it in like a 10-game winning streak in November. What's that? You said it in like a 10-game winning streak in November. They always have one of those. But now they're like, I have to, like, they are. Now the Benson injury, we'll see what happens there with the shoulder.

But like in that line with Thompson and Tucker, has been fantastic. But like Buffalo Sabres are, I don't think of the great team, but like, this is a good team, right? Like I'm not missing something here. There's a good team, Emily. You're not missing anything. You know, I almost feel guilty. We had their first game back.

It was an ESPN game right when they fired Kevin Adams. And I'm on intermissions. We've got John Tortorella on intermissions. And I'm going through, like, which candidates we're going to replace Lindy Rough with. John Tortorella, you know, we're kind of egging him on. It was super silly. looking back, like, that is a take that did not age well as all. And all I was hearing at the time was, okay, there's going to be more changes that they don't

write the ship, but I've never seen a team write the ship this quickly. And I want to give credit to Kevin Adams. I know everybody's doing it, but like he built this roster, I just see no floss. And I see a guy in Alex Lyon who has gotten teams into the playoffs before. He can be that guy. He did it for the Florida Panthers a couple years ago. You know, we'll see what's going on with this UPL injury. But the forwards are playing with confidence.

The defense, I think, can stack up with any defense in the last. league when they're all healthy. And it just feels like a lot of the burdens that they've had to deal with and, you know, some of this drama, it's off their backs. And they're just playing free, good hockey. And they absolutely look like a playoff team that cannot be stopped. But do we think though? You hit on the glorious conundrum, though, for Sabres fans, which is that whatever happened to

start this streak, the roster was built by Kevin Adams. Like, this is Kevin Adams' team. And it worked. I mean, maybe it took Alex Lyons fourth in the league since December 1st and goals saved above expected. So maybe it just took some good goaltending. But like, this is a Kevin Adams roster. It's good for his resume as he vies for that tennis, that Nashville job, probably. Completely.

And I just think the thing about teams, though, is just like, I love that you just think these things. And this is why I miss podcasting with you, Greg. And I'm so dumb. You guys get a reunite one day. Yes, Pian and I's for you. Obviously the OG pair. It just, I feel like with hockey, it's all about time. I mean, it's all about peaking at the right time.

And the Sabres felt like they had it all to begin the season. And they just, like, had all of these crazy fluke things happen to them. Like, for example, Zach Benson getting hit with a puck two days before the opener having to spend a night in the hospital. Like, things like that. Like, everything just didn't line up their way. And now it feels like since they made this GM change, everything's just lining up their way. And I hate to blame it on the hockey gods or credit them. But it kind of feels like that's what it is.

No, you know what I think it is? Trust me, I've thought a lot about this one. Because Yarmou Kek-Kelan, it's not as if he just suddenly appeared at that press conference. after Kevin Adams got dusted. Like Yarmouquet Kalanin has been around this organization for months and quietly taking stock of everything, the American Hockey League team, the NHLs, like all of it, okay? I think that there was this idea that we all know this is,

and this goes like right to the players. Like, Emily, you know, you can't lie to players. They know. Like, they see it, they feel it. They feel the tension between Kevin Adams and Yarmokkekeleinen. And then finally Adams, even though I think they'd won three games in a row when he got when he got dusted. It was the idea of like,

okay, finally, that has happened and now we can move on. That this is no longer this sort of weird dynamic in the organization where it's like,

okay, what time is it? Who's our general manager? They dealt with the Kevin Adams situation and then Yarmal came in and there was this sort of soap and warm water feeling that all the players had

like, okay, that we knew this was coming and now it's happened, now we go play. And now he's our boss. That's an excellent theory because I really do feel like there was some kind of burden.

There was just something that was weighing this team down. And I don't want to say Kevin Adams was a burden, but it was just maybe the inevitability that there would be a change. Here's the change. Let's go play hockey. Let's be the team we know we can be. We know there's going to be a breakup. Let's just get it over with. Right? Let's just rip the band-aid off here.

We know where this relationship is going. Anyway, go ahead, Wish. Yeah, I believe that's what Bill Haslam said at the press conference for Barry Trots yesterday. So the Panarin sweepstakes, Our good friend Vince McCogliano of the athletic kind of put out his tears, if you will. It's very athletic to put out some tears for who he thinks the... Shout out Chris Brough. Old ESPN line.

Chris Brough, the king of the tears. He was a former boss at ESPN. One of those guys, one of those great vision guys. I miss Chris Brow. He's a good dude. Huge idea guy. So he has it as like Panarin wants to go to Florida. And could that work out, who knows he seems to believe there might be some smoke on the Tampa side.

things. L.A. obviously has been hot for him and that seems to be a destination that Panarin might like. San Jose's thrown their hat in the ring, said, well, we'd love to have them. Washington's been in the mixed. I've been on the Carolina thing for a while, but that might not necessarily be an extension place for him. How do you see Panarin shaking out and will it shake out before the Olympic deadline? Because my God, how much longer can you keep this guy out of the lineup before Marty Walsheps in and says, guys? That's going to be an interesting situation if it does drag on past the Olympic roster freeze. Here's my read of the situation.

Artemi Panarin has all the leverage, right? He is the no movement clause. He can decide where he wants to go and what he wants, and obviously he wants a contract extension. The Rangers really didn't have leverage here because as fabulous as a player that Artembe Panarin is, like last year's Brock Nelson was a need to have for the Colorado Avalanche. You need to have a Brock Nelson in order to go for a run. Obviously it didn't work, but it worked out with the player.

Artemmy Panarin for a lot of these teams is a nice to have. And therefore, like, I don't think the market was quite there. So when they sat him out, they're trying to create some leverage here and some kind of pressure point, like deadline spur action. So they've been having all these conversations behind the scenes and Artemmy and his agent have been having conversations, where does he fit in? What do you see your future? I want to see an extension. The teams that were offering him extensions from my understanding, I don't know if he's necessarily like, yeah, that's exactly what I want. I think now what's going on behind the scenes, is there weighing? Is there a possibility that one of my preferred destinations, whether it is the Florida Panthers, which I do believe is where he would like to go,

maybe the Tampa Bay Lightning, maybe the Dallas stars, could I go there as a rental? What creative solutions could they find for me? And so I do think that we are getting to this pressure point was tomorrow's 3 p.m. deadline that something should happen because there is now enough momentum, but we're sitting here today and I have heard nothing concrete, a lot of conflicting information, I cannot guarantee you that it will happen. You know, it's fascinating because he's not getting paid or not getting played, but he's still getting paid. Like he's figured out a way to make free agency.

Like right now, essentially, he is a free agent because he's not playing at all and he's dictating where he goes. And he's just offers are coming in and he's going to decide. Like here we are February 3rd and our Temi Panarin must feel right now like he's a free agent. Florida is interesting, like the whole state, both the Panthers and in the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas as well. Is this sort of headed in the obvious direction?

I want to go where there's sun and I don't want to pay state tax. Like, is it that simple? Because that won't be L.A. That won't be Sano. That won't be L.A. No, that will not be L.A. Like, is that essentially what we're – Occam's razor, right?

Is that what we're looking at here, Emily? Because that's kind of the way it feels. And if I'm – listen, if I'm our Timmy Pinaranran, I'm probably doing the same thing. I heard you before we got on. I am so in your boat, Jeff. I've been saying this to anyone who wants to hear for years. Like, I'm in the woo-woo, warm weather for the joints, extends your career, you're happier, you feel better. Like, that's as much of a thing as the tax situation is a thing.

Like, I don't think enough people talk about that. I do think that there's a reason that people want to go to these teams. And yes, it is the weather. Yes, it is the taxes, but it's also the winning culture. And this is a guy that would love to win a Stanley Cup. And none of the teams that we're mentioning in the mix for our Temi Panarin are not contenders, right? Like I think, you know, we talk about him as the flash and how fabulous the end of a player he is, but he's also a competitor and he wants to win.

I think the reason that we're mentioning those teams, though, is if he wants this sum of money and he wants this extension, and he firmly believes that he can play till 40 or beyond, well, not many teams can fit that or want to fit that into their cap right now. There's a lot of other things they want to do, and your money just extends a lot farther. The same salary in L.A. as Hart Levine of Puckpedia tells us all the time is a lot different than your salary if you're in one of these no tax states. And I think that's probably part of this equation as well. Yeah. So he's going to probably end. I think there's going to be some team that hits the number for him financially and then the deal gets structured in some crazy-ass-ass-ass-ass-ass-ass-ass-ass-ass-its-old-old-per-marshan way.

Like, you know, I feel like there's a money number he wants. And then, you know, it's on the team to kind of figure out how to massage that under the current cap is probably the issue. Totally. And we see these teams are so creative, right? Like they find ways to make it work. I think whatever the deal is for a Temi Panarin is going to be something that none of us expected. One thing I do find interesting, though, is like I remember when Claude Drew, right, he kind of forced his hand to go to Florida. And there was no leverage on the Philadelphia Flyers part.

And honestly, the return that Florida gave was quite kind, given that they didn't really have to give that type of leverage. I do know, though, like, GMs are friends. And Bill Zito and Chris Dure are both on that Team USA management staff. Like, I don't think he can get completely fleeced here. Like it has to be something that makes sense for the Rangers because Christurie is reporting up to his boss, James Dolan, saying, if I don't want to pay her Tommy Panarin, it's because I can get the right assets for him. Well, you got to go bring in those assets. You know, one of the things that I always wonder about. And mainly, Emily, it's because we see these types of deals in junior hockey in Canada all the time.

And it's essentially the two-part deal where the compensation may be underwhelming to get Artemie Panera. but then in the off season, there's an equally underwhelming deal that gets made where that's your payoff. That's where you're like, I'm still surprised that we don't see more of those types of deals.

Like, I'm going to help you with your run this year and then you're going to help me in the summer because I'm essentially going to send you, I don't know, like a third round pick for Anton Lundell or something like that. You know what I mean? Like I'm just shocked that we don't see more of those. Like that future considerations are never actually future

consideration. Yeah, exactly. Precisely forgotten. The NHL as a wild place it is, maybe just isn't as lawless as junior hockey is my take there. No, it's not underhanded. It's just a team. Listen, Emily, I mean, Brian Burke would always tell me when he started in the industry, the way that managers judge trades was if the person you did the trade with got fired because

of it, it was a good deal. Like there were pirates. There were pirates that ran NHL teams. Now it's just, oh, what do you need? How can I help you? And that's all that this is. Just two teams helping each other. Just two tiered trades.

That's all. That's why Vegas is what they are. I think Kelly McCriman bought the junior hockey mentality of management. Pandit weakens. That's a great point. Seriously. Like the way that they are so cutthroat and do their business out there to always struck me as like he thinks he's still managing a junior hockey team. But like for the betterment, you know, you need that kind of a vibe.

We've had you on now for a while. and neither of us have asked you about the Olympics, which is probably like chief on your mind, considering you're going to be heading out there in short order. Here's where I am with Team USA, okay? I would be shocked if Canada doesn't play for gold at this point, unless they're goaltending completely malfunctions. I think they are the best team in the tournament,

and it would shock me if they didn't play for gold. I'm not trying to jinx them. This is how I feel. I'm getting a little bit more concerned as we get closer to the tournament that there's going to be a game in which the U.S. is trailing to one in the third period. Maybe it's Slovakia.

Not in pool play. Not in pool play. No way. No, no, no. No way. In tournament play. In tournament play. And there's going to be that stress of not only we're trying to win the first gold for

the U.S. since the miracle. But then on top of that stress, like a parfei, is the stress of we can't embarrass ourselves in front of Canada. We've got to play them again. And I'm worried that there's going to be a game in which they blow it because they're just going to grab their sticks that tightly in the third period. Where are you right now as an American hockey fan on this team? Where I am is that I leave tomorrow and I haven't packed a single thing,

sent the boyfriend out to the dry cleaner today to put in my first load of laundry. So if anyone knows me, that's where I'm at. Look, I think when they built this roster, Bill Garry knows exactly what he's doing. He loved the vibes of Four Nations. He thought it was such a good team. and he didn't want to mess up that chemistry and he felt like this is the identity where we can win. I think the biggest issue, it's not looking ahead to Canada,

it's that this is a team with versatility, with a bunch of grinders, they want to play a physical game. We obviously see them prioritizing size with a lot of the players that didn't make the roster. They're smaller players. Hint, hint, wink, wink, this is the style we want to play. But when they needed a big goal at Four Nations, it was hard to find and they didn't have that guy.

And I think that's the one thing as an observer of the game that I wonder about because you've got guys can be that clutch, right? Cole Cawfield always comes in the clutch. Jason Robertson scores a lot of goals. Patrick Kane even, like, that could have been an option of, like, he's showtime for a reason.

Like, this guy just shows up and has that aura around him. Do they have that guy that's going to step up? And I think a lot of their offense is going to have to come from the defense. It's from the Quinn Hughes of the world, and that's going to be the biggest difference they got from Four Nations. They had the player there. Like, they're one shot away, but the problem is Kyle Connor was wearing a suit. And Matthew Kuchuk could make it, couldn't make it.

it through the game because you had to have Matthew Kachuk in the game because of the Bell Center on a Saturday night and all the TV appearances afterwards and everything about that. But like, I'll see what gives me, honestly, Merrick, I'm glad you said that because like what gives me a little bit of hope as an American is the fact that they play that gold medal game with 10 minutes of Kachuk, with Kreider broken and without Quinn Hughes. So we've not actually seen. And with a great opportunity by Austin Matthews where he could have sent it home.

Yeah. Yeah. So we've, we've, we've not seen the. the fully armed and operational battle station that is Team USA quite yet against Canada. And I'll say this, Austin can be that guy. He's always been that guy, right? Like, he always is propped up to be that guy. He's America's next great goal score.

He's the one that possibly could have traced down Gretsky and Ovechka now. I know he's been injured. It hasn't been the greatest start. But he's starting to come to form right now. And he's going to be the captain. And this is a huge, huge tournament for Austin Matthews. If USA wins gold, I can't wait. to see the reaction at Scotia Bank Arena for the underperforming Toronto Maple Leafs

when Austin Matthews, their Olympic gold medalist captain, hits the ice and they do the congratulations video. And I hope it is a warm reaction, Toronto. By the way, the reaction to Toronto, they'll be too busy blaming Marner for tanking team Canada to consider how good Matthews was for the Americans. Yeah, you just know that he's going to like, you know, turn style Mitch Marner on route to scoring the gold medal winning goal. Emily, I know, right? Like, listen, man, write the script. Before I let you go, I do want to ask about Barry Trots and the National Proditors.

This one's got that weird sort of like something happened that no one's talking about here. New owner Bill Haslam wants to have at least one hand on the wheel. I understand it. You know, it's the old, as I like to say, the real, you know, the real golden rule is he who has the gold makes the rules. and it seems like this kind of has that vibe about it. How did you see the Barry Trott situation yesterday? No, I think it was something that was inevitable. I think just how poorly last season went

with how many big moves that he made. It was clear that he probably wasn't going to be the guy that was leading this team long term that said he is an icon in the game. He has done so much for the game. And there's a level of respect that you have to give to someone like that. And he honestly earned the right to walk away on his own term. So I think the way they did it was a way

with a lot of dignity that was proper for Barry Trots. I love the reception that he received yesterday from the fans. I'm really curious here, though, because I don't know if enough is being amade about the fact that, and I heard this actually weeks ago, that they were going to hire CAA as this consultancy group to bring in. And I came from the NFL. Things are done very differently there. I covered the NFL.

I'm a little aware of how things work in the NBA. Agents maneuver these kind of deals all of the time. And they're very much placing people. And whereas in the NHL, it's always been a hire. friend and there's all of these rules about conflict of interest. And so I'm curious, like, CAA is a global firm here. How differently are they going to think? How much can they get in the owner's ear about voices that we haven't heard before, what they think is the right direction? And so I think this hire might be one of the most interesting GM hires that we've seen in the league in some

time, or we see someone that we completely expect. And so we shall see how this all unfolds. I think it's a little bit too early, but I love the way that they did treat Barry Trots in the end. Love it. I think here's the boyfriend with a dry cleaner. Thank God. Thank goodness. That's what that's me too. The CAA stuff to me is like fascinating because there are consultants and you and I both

know them that help out these teams with their searches. And the NHL has also been very active in some cases to help out owners trying to pick new GMs and new guys to do their hockey operations. But getting CAA involved and having them be like in the press releases is a pretty unprecedented thing for an NHL team. And it does make me. wonder, well, first of all, it's obvious they're going outside the organization to probably find somebody if you're hiring CAA to do it. But like one guy that got mentioned in me by a couple

people yesterday is Ryan Getslath, who's part of the team Canada Brain Trust. He lives in Nashville. Like, he's an interesting guy for that gig. But I do wonder ultimately if it's the NHL having more influence in the search than CAA, then maybe Getslath gets higher on that list than he would with CAA because the NHL would be the one pushing them. I don't know. It'd be, it's interesting to see. Yeah, no, I honestly, I have no way to handicap it right now. I'm not behind the scenes, but I just think whoever they pick will be really telling. And we know it's a copycat leak, right?

If they come and they bring in an agency and they identify someone that's successful, other teams are surely going to follow. Your dry cleaning has arrived. So I know you have packing to do. I know. Take that. Don't have to sweat that one, Emily. Listen, thanks so much.

Don't worry. I just saved it all for like the one 36-hour stretch. where all the NHL trades are going to go down, so it's going to be a really fun day in our households. Did ESPN give you a new jacket for the Olympics? We did get some nice little fleece zip-ups. Brilliant. That's all I care about.

They gave me a jacket for the Beijing thing that didn't happen, and I still use it because it's real good. But I look, I got a jacket out of the deal. I didn't get to go to Beijing, but I did get a good jacket out of the deal. And you know what? Sometimes that's okay. Emily, enjoy everything that Italy has to offer, including some great hockey.

We'll check back soon. Thank you, you guys. You're the best. I appreciate you both. There she is. The great Emily Kaplan from ESPN on her way to Italy for the games. By the way, the other one, too, is George Peros lives in Nashville as well. And as we've seen with the Department of Playa Safety that is usually a sort of launching pad for future managers.

And here's it. Here's another name. I just think that's left. Yeah. A couple more really quickly here. Someone that I was thinking about, too, is Ray Whitney. I think many consider a sort of general manager on the horizon. And two more, I'll throw your way to the idea that new owner, Bill Haslam, not a bad idea to take the advice of the NHL or hire people that have been around the NHL.

offices for a long time. What about his president and general manager, Brendan Chanahan and Rob Blake? Blake's an interesting one because Blake's on that list of guys that have been GMs before that could be in line for this gig. I think Mike Gillis might be a name to think about. I think Mark Bergervan obviously is a name to think about for any opening considering he's been looking for a bit. I do wonder if CAA identifies some AGMs. I think Sean Horcoff of Detroit is one that I would watch Ryan Martin of the Rangers has been He's been up for a lot of games

On a lot of lists He's going to get one eventually He's going to get one eventually With the way things are going with the Rangers right now I don't I don't Hey listen Drury was in the same spot Like Drury had his chances to go

Interview for other gigs He stayed in that job with the Rangers And he eventually got to be the GM And I think Ryan Martin is very You know understands that's the way it can work sometimes Yeah all the names you just mentioned That have NHL ties I think are interesting Getslaff was the one that stood out to me

because he now has the team management experience of working with Doug Armstrong and working with all the guys of Team Canada like that's a pretty important bit of osmosis going on for him at this point in his career but we'll see where it goes

the Trots thing I'm happy they had that press conference because I do think that the more you hear from him the more you get the sense that like the family thing was the driving force I texted with a couple of players on the predators yesterday And they told me, like, they literally had no idea that this was coming down the pipe. But they had no idea about the December conversation between Trots and Haslam about his future.

Like, they were really caught off guard by all this happening. But the most outside of the CAA thing, Merrick, the other fascinating part of yesterday was allowing a lame duck GM to run your trade deadline. Like, I understand timeline-wise, they're not going to find the guy that they want. they can cast a wider net if they allow it to go to like June the end of June. But there's some really big decisions to be made for this team with the trade deadline. And you're putting it in the hands of a guy that, well, won't be your GM anymore after the summer. I think that Barry Trots has over the years earned the grace and understanding that he's not going to sabotage this Oregon. that he's not going to say. I understand what you're saying. I'm not saying,

I'm not, that's not what, but that's not what I'm saying, I'm not saying sabotage. I'm saying, look, for all of the stuff that we heard from Barry yesterday about family, the bottom line is that, as Emily mentioned, we all kind of thought there'd be a change. The team is not a Stanley Cup contender. The team is barely a playoff contender. If they get in, it's just to get their teeth kicked in by either Minnesota or Colorado. Yeah. So they don't have confidence in him as an executive. I think it's pretty clear. But now he's going to run their trade deadline at a time where they might have to make a decision on Ryan O'Reilly or make a decision on a Stephen Stampcoff. And those are the kinds of deals, a guy that won't be with the organization, well, I'm sorry, he will be the organization,

won't be running your player personnel is going to be making, you know, at the trade deadline. That's, that's a very odd situation to have a lame duck doing that, a publicly stated lame duck doing that. Right. But do you not think, though, that Barry Trots all season long has had those conversations and understands the value of all these players in the marketplace right now. Like, I don't think Barry Trots is waking up February 3rd. Okay, so I've announced it. I'm stepping down. Now it's time to get to work on this Ryan O'Reilly file.

Like, he would understand the worth of all these players better than any new manager who's going to come in one month before a trade deadline because he will have already had those conversations. What I'm trying to say. Yes. And I'm trying to say it delicately. but I'll just now just say it. You just think he's going to get fleeced in a deal?

You think he's going to get fleece than deals? I'm saying he was a really good coach who wound up being a terrible general manager. I'll just say it. The team he built is contending. I'm happy for that. They're on fire. Maybe terrible is too strong a word to use for his time there.

But like they're moving off him. They're finding someone else. They hired a firm to go find someone else. He clearly didn't do a good enough job to, you know, extend his time there. And yeah, he's being proactive and saying, it's his decision. But ultimately, does anyone really believe

that he would have gotten another contract to be the GM? No. And so it's a little weird to publicly state that a guy's not going to be the GM next season and then have him run the trade deadline. That's all I'm saying. What happens if they get like Buffalo Sabre hot right now?

Just go on like this incredible run. Listen, I don't know what the points percentage is since December 1st, but they've been one of the best teams in the league. They've been winning. They've resurrected their season. What happens that? And I mean, it's a great question. Like, what if they beat Colorado?

What do they beat Colorado? I know, dude, I know. Trust me. I've thought about this, right? This is all under the sort of, like, there are a lot of people that wonder like, because you know how owners are. Like, oh, look, Buffalo Sabre shuffled out their general manager

and they went on this epic run, the best run the organization has ever seen. Maybe if we do that. But again, like, I cheer for chaos. As you know, you probably the same way. I want to see Nashville rip off 10 in a row now. Don't you? Oh, I want maximum chaos.

That's why I'm really hoping that, you know, in my heart of hearts that Emily's right and the Panthers can figure out a way to get. But don't forget, like, the Panthers were kind of Panthers wanted to go before he signed with the Rangers. Like, there was all of this talk about him in Babropski being a package deal to Florida. Yeah. Yeah. And so, like, him going to the- agent change. Imagine if we come back from the Olympic break

and Pernarin is on the Panthers and Barkhoff's back and Kachuk's healthy. Like that's maximum chaos is if the defending champs who currently have a lesser percentage of playoff probability than the flyers can put their pedal down and rally to get back in the dance. Like that's the maximum chaos that I'm looking for is the Panthers making their big move.

Would be fun. Okay, we got a hustle. That was fun with Emily today. I'm glad you had a good time at the stadium series, right? I didn't even ask you. Did you have fun? It was a ton of fun. Yeah, it had a ton of fun.

I should say, by the way, Emily is carrying the torch for ESPN hockey in the Olympics in Italy. Arda and I are doing post game for all the Team USA stuff so you can find us in the usual places. And it will be a ton of fun to see this whole thing play out over the next few weeks. Stadium series was a lot of fun. It was one of the best ones that they've put together. And again, like, I don't think we'll ever have another second period like that of just like the parade of penalties for the Bruins and a goalie fight. But it really turned the game on its head. Oh, we didn't even talk about John Cooper winning the Jack Adams by virtue of dressing like Tony Montana.

That was fantastic. And in fact, where he won the Jack Adams for me was the fact that they were getting their teeth kicked in. in the first period, and he decided to come back out in the outfit. If I was him and my team got embarrassed after taking that one-nothing lead as badly as the lightning were embarrassed, I would have just been like, I'm done with this clown show and come out out like a windbreaker. But he came back out in the costume. And I think that's, there's some real virtue there.

And he said, say hello to my little friend and sent Nikita Kutcher off just over the board. Over the boards. Over the boards. That's what happened. That's exactly what happened. That's really awesome. It was a lot of fun. It was so cool to watch.

Again, I can't remember the last time. Maybe it was the first one. Maybe it was a snow globe game, the Buffalo Pittsburgh one. But holy geez, that was a, I can't remember the last time I had that much fun. Oh, by the way, I found something out. I saw something that made me think of you as we bid you good afternoon.

Clay Stevenson getting it done right now for the Washington Capitals, who has a really good nickname. What is it? What is it? What is it? Mud. Like, I got to drop that one I wish. That's really good.

All right. I was thinking maybe like pigeon, like clay pigeon, but. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, Mud is so good. See, that's so good. Yeah, it's awesome. All right. What's up, mud.

All right. See you guys. We'll talk to you. There is. Love you all. A couple of days. Greg Wasinskii returns from ESPN. You like that nickname, Zach?

for Clay Stevenson, mud. Yeah, that's a really good one. I thought you were going to go, like, statue or something. Oh, I didn't give it to. Like, that's his nickname. Like, legit. Like, that is... No, I know.

I just thought that was what it was going to be said. Nah. Mud, that's good. Nah. Anything you jump out of you before we get to your showpiece showcase? Well, I mean, yes. Well, I've been saying, you know, the whole time, Brad Trulving, he's built a juggernaut here in Toronto.

all that's left is he needs to be fired and the Leafs are going to go undefeated the rest of the way. But it's either here nor there. The one thing that sticks out is the idea of Tampa, which has become a hotter landing spot over the last couple of days for Temi Panarin. I think it was Laz said it on DFO Live, so credit to him like a week ago. And I kind of feel like at that point, he was just throwing it out there. And when I heard it, I was like, I don't want to hear that. And now it's becoming more and more of a thought. And ever since last night, I spent a lot of time thinking about it.

And I could just see that being a perfect fit And Tampa picks up off of where they're like the season they put together here. Sorelli gets some time to heal up. Everybody comes back. You hit the ground running. And I'm like, this is a Tampa team that's just going to find a way, aren't they? Panarin and Kutraoff on the same power play. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. It's a scary thought. It's a scary thought for everybody. else in the Eastern Conference. Okay, the sheet is powered by Fanduel. Play your game with Fanduel. It's the NHL season

and Fandul is your home for all the action on the ice. From Blue Line to Betslip, we've got you covered all season with unique promos, live offerings, and more features to let you play your game. Miss Puck drop, no sweat with the live same game parlay, you can build your bets up until the final buzzer. Download Fandual

Sportsbook today and play your game. Please play responsibly, 19 plus, and physically located in Ontario. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1-866-531-2,600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. Zach, you're happy to Leafs won last night, by the way, they beat the Calgary Flames. Where all the talk is about game management for Zane Perak. Yeah, no kidding.

I saw him after the game, and he was like, it's amazing what, you know, confidence can do. It's the best I felt in a while. I'm like, oh, my God. Am I happy? That's an interesting question. I tried to talk about it on the after dark. I'm like, as a fan of the Maple Leafs, I never want to cheer for them to lose or root for them to lose.

As somebody who thinks it's in the best interest of the team to lose, no, I'm not really happy because that was a bad hockey game by both teams that just had one team have two players outperform the rest of the other team of the other team. That was a William Nealander and the Joseph Wall game. And if that doesn't happen, the least probably really, really good. And if they don't have those games, it's probably like, who wants to lose this more off? That's what I was watching between Calgary and Toronto. And Flames wanted to lose more.

And part of that was because of Neelander and Walt. but I did not enjoy watching that game at all. The best example of that, I'm not sure how many times, I just saw how to go back and look at the schedule, but in the Mario Lemieux draft year, New Jersey and Pittsburgh played against each other. I remember a lot down the stretch

and maybe even the last game of the season to see who picked first and who picked second. Back then, it was whoever has the worst record picks first. And it was everyone who Marylemae was going first overall, and then Kirk Muller was the second pick. no disrespect to Kirk Muller. Nate, Mary O'A. And the penguin is just like, nobody.

Like, I get what the devils are doing, but man, you've really got to try to lose that one. Anyhow, what do you got for today? Well, I just kind of wanted to give a PSA to people here today. Oh, that's a service announcement. Oh, okay. Yeah, they keep things in order in their kitchens because it's always told to me that if you struggle opening things,

you can run hot water on it to get the lids off. And that's the easiest way to do it. But I just want to remind people, you need to be careful using water to open your jars because they can rust if you let them dry. Seth Dervis, Brian Rust, on dry siddle. A little PSA, too. The minute of you said, Rust, he kind of gave it away.

Dry is nice. Yeah. With Leon for the Edminton Oilers. Oilers face off against the maple leaves. That should be an interesting one. Seth Jarvis, Brian Rust, and Leon Dreisdahl. $5 wins you $86 if these three gentlemen find the back of the net. That was a cute one.

I like that one. Thank you. What you've done is you've found the frame around your painting here. And, you know, all artists will tell you what you need to know is to frame, where the art stops and life begins. And I think you're starting to find that now. So you're becoming an artist here with this segment. I'm very happy for you. Thank you.

I'm trying. That one took a little bit longer. And it actually took some extra research because I had to check and make sure how the function of rusting happens. And I was like trying to make sure, is it drying out? Is that what it does?

Because I wanted to make sure I got it right when I put it in here. Just eliminate, you know, the parlay itself is so idiotic. I just wanted to eliminate the need for people to, like, tweet at me or comment after and be like, look at this more. And he doesn't understand how rust works. So we at least bypass that. That's funny. That's a good one.

Great job. Now, the other thing we should mention, want to remind you every single day. New York Hockey Night, presented by Parasso. This is so good. Thursday, February 19th, joined daily faceoff alongside special hockey guests at the Atrium Inside Ideal Glass Studios in New York City. for a night of live podcast, activations, and giveaways. In partnership with Parasso, Morning Cup of Hockey and Tri-State Hockey Pod, will be on location for a night of candid conversations, big laughs,

an unapologetic hockey talk. I better not hear any apologies, according to this script. Door is open at 6.30, and Tri-State Hockey Pod gets going with a live show at 7.30. Thursday, February 19th, at the atrium inside Ideal Glass Studios, 21 and over. Secure Your Spot, RSVP Nation. year. Not CA.

There will be no apologies because I'm told this will be an unapologetic night. So don't expect Johnny Lazarus to apologize for anything.

He ain't. No, let's hope not. And I don't think any of the guys involved in that one will be the type to apologize.

If there was anybody, it would be Las. But we're going to have to put the foot down and tell him not happening on this one. Have we made

any progress in getting ourselves there? Just selfishly. It's not like there's anything do there other than just be there and hang out but have we made progress yeah uh we haven't but i'm talking to amma later on this afternoon maybe as soon as we get off the air here today so i will i'll

try to what what was that line by homer simpson weaseling is the only uh weasling is what separates us from the animals well except for the weasel of course i'm going to do my best weaseling to try to get us to new york city i will continue that that question be nice if like you know like las helped us out here a little bit here like you lubricated the boss for us no kidding like hey we really like to have to have those like the guys from the sheet down like that would be really cool I don't have to do anything just kind of hang around to be guys I can hang around and be yeah or like Vic could throw in there something like oh maybe Zach could help like produce and like put stuff together oh yeah almost oh yeah that's a good idea I can lift a mic out and put it out like past that 1098

this thing on yeah we're good I can do that kind of stuff that's that's easy oh you want a little more water in your bottle. Can I get your coffee less? Anything. That's fine. I just want to be there. But as hard as we're trying to get there, that's how hard the viewers should be trying to get there because that's how great this event is going to be.

It seems like the only people that don't want us there are like morning cup. Not a word from them, not a peep. Hey guys, let me give a check my text like, nope, that thing incoming or outgoing from Johnny Lazarus here today. Yeah. All right. Oh, busy. Sorry.

New phone, who this? All right. I want to thank Greg I want to thank our ESPN friends today. Greg Wyshinsky and the great Emily Kaplan who's on our way to Italy to cover the games. We'll be all over that here, of course, on all of our podcasts and all of our social media stops

and also on our website, DailyFaSaf.com. So check that out. In the meantime, thanks so much for stopping by today. Rate, review, do all those lovely things. wherever you're listening to this pod or your favorite podcast platform. Leave a like if you can.

Leave a comment if you can as well. It's always appreciated if you're watching this sucker on YouTube. We are back tomorrow. Is it civilian Wednesday tomorrow, Zach? Yes, it is. Okay, Burkey's back. Berkey back tomorrow and then another guest after him as to be announced. In the meantime, enjoy your afternoon.

Hope you enjoyed the conversations today, more of them tomorrow, right here on the sheet, 1 o'clock Eastern, daily face off YouTube channel and wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for joining for joining me today.