The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Bedard signs his extension & Greaves arbitration filing ft. Greg Wyshynski & Jack Campbell

Episode Date: July 21, 2026

On today’s episode of The Sheet, Jeff Marek is joined by Greg Wyshynski of ESPN. The big news of the weekend, Connor Bedard signing a 5 year, $15M AAV extension with Chicago. Jeff and Greg discuss that deal, the intricacies hidden in it, and what it means for the Blackhawks 5 year outlook.They also dive into this morning's news of Jet Greaves arbitration filings. The young netminder and the Columbus Blue Jackets remain millions of dollars apart. Will they figure out a deal in the next 48 hours, or will an arbitrator have to decide whether Greaves is paid like a young backup goalie or a legit number one? Wysh also shares his thoughts on the NHL's evolving regional sports network saga and the league's broadcast bootcamp that took place recently.Finally, we welcome former Dallas Stars, LA Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Edmonton Oilers goaltender Jack Campbell to the show. Jack recently announced his retirement from hockey. He opens up about his mental health struggles, how he persevered through them, and what his post-playing career will look like.#TheSheet #NHL #NHLOffseason #NHLFreeAgency #Hockey #MapleLeafs #Oilers #Kings #Stars #ESPN #NHLBroadcast #Blackhawks #chicagoblackhawks #Bedard #BlueJackets #ColumbusBlueJackets #GreavesSHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!👍🏼 Canadian Blood Services: https://www.blood.ca/Reach 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.

Thanks for indulging me a week off. I am back like a vertebrae and the show continues all throughout the summer, albeit at a slightly reduced schedule. Tuesdays, Thursdays for sure. And then days here and there as needed. Big news happens. We should keep the feet hot and come on and talk about whatever happens around the NHL. Big news, small news.

We'll get it all right here on the sheet. So Tuesday, Thursdays for sure. And then for the rest of the week, we'll just see how it goes, folks. Anyhow, thanks for being aboard today. Whether you are listening on your favorite podcast platform or watching either live or an archive on our YouTube channel, we thank you, thank you, thank you. Big things on the horizon for this program

and for daily faceoff coming up. In the next few weeks, in the meantime, there's a smiling face of someone that looks very well refreshed after having his own vacation, not too long ago as well, the one and only Greg Wasinski from ESPN and ESPN.com. Are we doing this right? Is my microphone on? Is your microphone on? Are we getting this right after a week off? There we go. We're good to go.

How's going, buddy? So first of all, I didn't realize I was speaking to someone from Mobile, Alabama. What with that redneck you've got going on there, America? Dude, I'm a very nice, freaking, I look, you know what it look like? I look like a bowling pin. I'm like all white with like this like redneck. That's just so bad. I mean, listen, I, despite the last name, I am Irish and therefore do have some fair skin

working. So like, I'm not one to talk. My planning routine in the summer is usually become a cherry tomato red and then eventually it turns into a tan, which is probably not, you know, the best thing for like the skin can serve at all. But, you know, that's just the way the skin reacts to the sun. It's true. Like I exist in two states, red or white. I am like the flag of Japan or the flag of Poland. Like, that's it.

I am either like totally white or totally red. Because like you, my backgrounds are Northern Ireland as well. my family came to Canada in the 1860s and here I am. But yeah, I'm the exact same. I'm either totally white or totally red and welcome to totally red. That's about it. I got my Mac 30 to kind of even it out a little bit so I don't look too much like a tomato. Or in a hockey reference, Doug Favel's Flyers mask from 1971,

do your history and learn about that little high chance before the game. Yes, sir. Not your own Jerome McGilless Home jersey or anything in that. No, not Calgary Flames. No, Doug Faville, the legendary exploding pumpkin. Yes, sir. I have not had a vacation, as it were, yet this off season, mainly because the news keeps on to coming. And, you know, I was over.

I hope we talk about this later on. I was over at the NHL. Oh, yes, we will. ...broadcaster's boot camp last week. So, like, there's just been a ton of stuff, and it continues on this week. Obviously, Bidard signs, you know, the Jason Robertson saga is going to be hitting its apex at some point in the next few days. Oh, yeah.

You think? Yeah, yeah. Like, I refuse to be surprised by anything with the Jason Robertson situation. Like, I think the last time we spoke, like, aliens could be involved next and I would just shrug it off. Like, all of a sudden, like, he's fired his representation and brought in someone from Jupiter to handle negotiations. And I go like, yeah, sure, we all saw this one coming. I don't think we're surprised by it, are we, Greg? Like, nothing would surprise me.

But here's one thing that's... Would leap glor? need to be certified by the NHLPA in order to represent Jason Robertson at his arbitration hearing. Truth be told, I heard that the next to represent him is Angine de Poitrine. Wow.

That great band from Quebec. Yeah. And the conversation will be considering they don't speak, maybe we'll actually get somewhere in this situation if one side just remains mute. But shall see how it goes.

It's nice. to be back. Okay, a couple of things here out the top. And I do want to talk, that was a great piece, by the way. And man, did Sean Dersey

come out of your piece looking fine? Like, who, now, first of all, not to be that guy, but here I go, being that guy. Going back to junior hockey,

you could tell this guy was going to be special. Like, you could tell, like, this guy had the personality, like one day, Jersey, one day, or every night you're trying to wrap up his career,

but one day when he's decided to be done playing hockey, he is going to transition to media and take all of our jobs. So to everybody, you out there going to Broadcast College, take whatever job they offer you first and make the most money because Sean Dersie is coming for your job. Give me a nickel and dime tour about your time at the broadcast, the broadcast class. Yeah, this is a story I wanted to write for a couple of years now. This is I think the third year they've had this big formal. Yes. NHL broadcast boot camp at NHL headquarters. It used to be one day long. Now it's two. The first day being kind of a get to know you a seminar based thing. And then they actually put the tools to work on the second day to, get in front of the cameras and pretend to do interviews and call, call games and beyond intermission segments.

It's eight players, two technically active, Jersey and Ryan Reeves is an unrestricted free agent and a bunch of guys that retired back in 2025, like our friend Tyler Johnson, who was on the show recently and a few others. And what it is is basically like, you know, preparing the next wave of ex-jocs to come in and start working at ESPN or TNT or Sportsnet or wherever they're going to. to work local games assuming we still have local networks and uh and hl in the n hl network who's getting who nachel networks doing local games yeah and and go from there and it was it was fascinated to see you know guys like cam jansen trying to interview a fake rod brindamore and then fumbling

through his questions or you know see how how how how guys react when the red light comes on as they say in wrestling um you know when you've got guys that are just smooth talking hockey dudes that you can have a beer with and talk about hockey for 15 hours. And then as soon as the Red Lake comes on, it's how about, hama, hama, hama, hama, hama, what do I say? Jersey was awesome, though. Like, Jersey's the first guy that I've ever come across. He's a current player who seems to really not only understand how you need to work within the media. Like, he gave, I didn't write this in the piece because I didn't really know if it was like a thing that I should write about.

But I'll just say it here. he was doing a Carolina Hurricanes intermission show with Steve Levy and Jack Johnson who was there. And he throws out the idea that Shane Gosses Bear is a top three defenseman in the league running a power play. And this was like a practice hot take. I don't know if he means it. I don't know if it's for real. But he said it. It gets you leaning forward.

Excuse me? And Steve Levy is like, that's great. That's awesome. Steve Levy from ESPN is like, that's what you need to do. give me the headline, give me the takeaway, give me the thing you're going to say that's going to get people talking, and that's going to become the social media clip after the show is done. And so he passed that test with flying colors,

obviously an extremely hot take right there. But he's also the first guy that understood what everybody's role was, you know, that there is going to be that Kenny Smith-Anson-Carter type to be sort of the straight man almost to the Charles Barkley or Paul Bisonette, you know, the Messia to the Sue ban and on and on and on. Like, he really got it all and understood it all and could like ask questions about it all. And I was, I was blown away by how fully formed of a media nerd this guy was.

You know, one of the things that a lot of guys when they retire and we've seen plenty of them pop up on television. And, you know, when I was at Sportsnet, we would run through every year, like a number of different people and try them on regionals and try them on Hockey Central. And the one thing that we keep coming back to is I didn't know how hard you had to prepare. like the prep work and you can only surf so long on i played and hear here are my experiences and here are my stories after a while yeah you want to bring your own perspective to all of it because that's why people are watching give me your perspective as someone who played but give me your perspective as someone who played based on what we are seeing now because they can spot trends and they can spot like they can do the a to b to

see a lot quicker and a lot smarter than people that didn't play can do it so you use your experience to tell me what's happening right now. That's always a challenge. Guys generally think, I'm just going to tell some stories. Here's what happened when I was with the Anaheim Duck's in 2004. That only goes so far. But that's, you know, it's interesting you should say that because, like, that's one of the things that these guys have had to learn in this boot camp is their advantage over the guys that they're going to be replacing. Like I was, I was joking with Brian Boucher from TNT about the idea that, like, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's,

Tommy Lee Jones and Men in Black just training his replacement. There is that element too, yeah. There is that element. But all these guys that come in now have the ability to, you know, I think, I think Dersie was doing like a Nick Eeler's goal. He was breaking down a Nick Yler's goal on the Telestrator. Yeah. And Eddie Olcheck's just like, talk about how you played against this guy.

Like you've played against him for years. You know, you bring that expertise in a way that I can't give because I retired in 2000. And so there is a little bit of getting over the hump of being like, like not only do I understand hockey A through Z and I can tell you what this play is and what this set piece is and all this other stuff, but I've got to be able to tell you the nuance of why it's hard to defend a Nick Eilers on a two-on-one, for example. And that's one thing that they all were sort of learning. Fascinating story to write.

I'm happy that it got well read when it came out this week. Really well read. It's great piece. But just like really cool, just a really, really cool thing to cover and get a sense of how. the next Eric Johnson to use an example is going to be made. Before you go on, you made your point before about like journalists and media and who's coming from where and stuff.

And the big change in the way that X players are being used is in that Eric Johnson mold, wherein like now you have guys that are doing intermission shows that are doing in-game analysis, but now like Eric Johnson will always, also do the Emily Kaplan role and like talk to the coach between between uh timeouts and and he'll also do the the the Jeremy Schap role and sit down with Nathan McKinnon and be the guy that gets McKinnon to talk about giving the death stare to the stuffed animal after he gets the silver

metal like great like these guys are now doing so much more than simply just getting on a panel and given their two cents like it's it's pretty remark not great for guys like me but pretty remarkable to see overall the one thing they'll never be able to do though because it takes a very specific skill set that players will never have so they should never try to do it is host a podcast. That's the one thing that players should never even think about doing. They can do all the other roles, but it takes a real nuanced, subtle brilliance to be able to create the frame around the painting that is a podcast. That's exactly right. I will go and I will tell, hey, listen.

Tell the ball. Ryan Whitney. Tell the ball. Get out of here. All you guys are never going to be able to hold a candle to the Jeff Merrick's of the world. Long walk on a short pier. Move it along here, nothing to see. That piece.

That's a good point though, Merrick, because so thank you for that. There was a room where they talked about like podcasting and social media and stuff. And I thought, wouldn't it be really funny to just have these guys do an ad read transition to a dick pill? Like, just see how good they really are at podcast. Station, boner pills. That's right. Oh, a big power play in that game. Everything really changed in the third period.

But first, let me tell you about gas station boner pills. Yeah, speaking of going to the crease hard, Blue Chew. That's what we need to see from these guys. Let's see if you have those chops there, Sean Dersy. If you've got those chops. All right, Sean Dersy. Let's see if you are. Listen, it's a great piece.

Cameron Gantz, who's now with TSN, we've known forever. His dad runs a minor hockey association here in my neighborhood, Markham Waxers, actually, a legendary one. He went through that. raved about it too. And now that's helped him transition to media in Canada as well. And the Johnson story is like he's like the star that's come out of all of it. It's like he's the valedictorian of the program. Yeah. Remarkable. He's taking that like a fish to water. Okay. A couple of things and I do want to get into this NHL broadcasting issue with as of right now four teams and perhaps more

to be added later. But to news about players and news about teams. Interesting situation right now of the Columbus Blue Jackets. And I want to get there in a second, but I want to use Connor Bedard as a jumping off point here. So, Bardard signs a five-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, $75 million extension. It is a whopper.

It is $15 million. We all wondered about what the Leo Carlson offer sheet was going to do to Connor Bedard. And much like when he was with the Regina Pats, he just kind of said, I'm loyal, I'm staying. This is enough.

I don't want to go anywhere else. Chicago is the only place I want to play. Now, this is the show me year for the Chicago Blackhawks, despite people getting extensions, you know, whether it's the players, whether it's people behind the bench, whether it's exactly, people are getting extensions to the Chicago. But this is like their, this is the year for Chicago, which was the year last year for Anaheim, where, okay, we've had enough time of the rebuild here, then that's all cute and wonderful. Now we need to see a return on investment. I want to dovetail this into Columbus, but initially your thoughts on the baddard. deal. I liked your framing of it of, because he said this, right?

So we have to take it at his word, which is that Chicago is the only place that I want to be. And then the parenthetical, I guess, is for at least four of the next five years. Because like, if things don't work out in Chicago, in four of the next five years. I don't think. He's not that guy. No, I know. what you're saying, but trust me. I don't want to

make everything about how he behaved in junior hockey. But the thing about Bardard is like he is like the fiercely loyal St. Jude, patron saint of lost causes. I don't care what's happening here. I'm staying until the ship goes down. He's that guy. He really is. He's that. You know who they used to say that about? Zach

Werenski. Look, at some point you want to play in the playoffs. At some point, you want to contend for a championship. And if the Chicago Blackhawks I mean, listen, I think things are trending slowly in the right direction. But if something happens and it doesn't come to fruition, like, it is a five-year contract. And we've seen guys in year four of a five-year contract inform their team ahead of the U.S.

Unrestricted Free Agency. I'm not going to resign. So let's deal with this accordingly. So for the four of the next five years, he is extremely happy to be a Chicago Blackhawk. And then we'll kind of go from there. And then you're going to say he's going to turn into Deliote. Larkin is what you're saying. No, no, no, no, no.

I'm saying he's going to turn into Quinn Hughes. Dylan Larkin's a different situation. Dylan Larkin committed himself to a long-term contract and then tried to pull the shoot because the GM made him boo-boo-bo-faced. Now the GM ain't there anymore, and you wonder how that's going to affect things with Dylan Larkin. But no, this is a, this is a Quinn Hughes situation. You know, this is a, I'm headed to UFA status situation

and the team's not going to be going anywhere on my watch. So as much as I love it here, perhaps we can all think of a different situation for me to be in. Okay, so here's how I want to dovetail this into Columbus. So interesting scenario with the Columbus Blue Jackets, arbitration on the horizon for Jet Greaves and Cole Cillinger. Okay, so Greaves's arbitration is Thursday, Cylinger is Monday. Now, Elliot put out the, let me grab this here, because this really is a pretty

a gap. It's quite a gap between the two. and as much as I like baseball-style arbitration where the arbitrator picks one, therefore no one comes in trying to hit the home run. This one is kind of spectacular here. So arbitration filings are in for Columbus and Jetgreaves. The team goes with $2.8 million, which is the Artur Shilov's, comparable. The Jet Grieves camp, that's CAA, comes in at 7.5, which is the Dustin Wolf.

number 7.5. Somewhere in there is the number. Aaron Portsline, our friend, not too long ago when we were talking about Jack Greaves in arbitration, I said, ah, his arm's number is probably five. And I kind of got the flat tire from Portsline. It kind of said it's arbitration number is six. I don't know where you're getting five from. Now, let's just say, let's just say for a second here. Let's just pretend that both Jetgreaves and Coal Cillinger both get 5 million. Okay? One might get a little bit more.

One might get a little bit less. But let's just say they both get five. Right now there's $23 million of cap space for the Columbus Blue Jackets. If these two are appearing, if it gets to arbitration, I'm still not convinced that they're going to get in the room. These things happen in the lobby. Contracts appear sometimes in the lobby. Where these cover? Oh, look what thought he has in his bag.

Oh, I thought I had this. I'm not sure. I thought I lost it, but here it is. Things happen before the arbitration. Let's just say they both get five. They both get $5 million. It takes their salary cap to $13 million left

for Adam Fantilli. Is that the bat signal? Jason Botterall. For offer sheets. Based on Bedard's 15, Leo Carlson's 18. Because then you have a team that's right up against it. Yeah.

It is, but it isn't because I think that they can probably find a way to clear out the necessary salary to match any offer sheet coming in for Fantillion unless it's something crazy like Carlson. And I don't think it will be because I don't think Fantili is as good as Carlson at this point in his career. So I don't, I know what you're saying. I don't think. Pause for one. Pause for one side. I don't know that he needs to be Leo Carlson. but do you see Adam Fantilli as a number one center?

And that's why I kind of do the tongue in cheek. At this point? At this point? In the not too distant future, like how he's trying to do. In a vacuum, he's not. He's got the potential to be. But on a team like Seattle, he is. There we go.

All politics are local, as they say. So there we go. I mean, listen, I think it'd be worth taking a. run at them, but I do think ultimately that if they have to give each guys, each of these guys five, and they're left with 13, they're going to find a way to open up the necessary space

to match the offer sheet. Now, I don't think they're getting down to five on Greaves. I just don't. Like, I think if the, the Dustin Wolf contract is a reasonable comp, and you mentioned that being 7.5. He signs that in the September after

his spectacular rookie season, a rookie season that I think is comparable to Jack Greaves did for the blue jackets, even if he wasn't lauded in the same way that Wolf was. Canadian team. More pub. Yeah. But, you know, AFP analytics on a four-year term has Greaves getting 6.05. So I think it's coming north of five no matter what.

It may not get all the way up to Wolf money, but it's certainly not going to be five for Grieves. I'd be really surprised if it was five for Grieves. So then if it's six for Greaves. And it's five for Cillinger. He's even less money for Donne Redell. And you see what I'm getting at here? All of this lines up for what every team is looking for right now. And this is why the Dallas Stars had to get rid of Maverick Bork

because he was giving me an offer sheet target. They hadn't done the Robertson situation. They're going to have to do something there. And they ended up trading him to the Nashville Predators, who by the way, have had a really nice offseason. For those of you that haven't been paying attention. But if you're watching or listening to a show like this, you probably already knew that, so I'll stop talking about them.

all this is lining up for just like more pain for Columbus and for Don Waddell forcing yourself into situations where you might totally lose control of your salary structure if all of a sudden you might just pick a name out of the hat a water roll to submit an offer sheet for Adam Fentilly now he doesn't have to sign it right like four were submitted for uh to Leo Carlson right and he chose to Philadelphia Flyers one to sign you know

Columbus once upon a time I submitted an offer sheet to Mitch Barner and he liked the number he just didn't want to sign because what if the Leafs don't match and it's like well yeah it's kind of an offer sheet is

that's again but you get your but you get your number like that that to me seems like the type of move that's something that someone like Seattle needs to make struck out on Robertson struck out of Hart and Artemie Panarin

struck out on Robert Thomas. This one just seems to be the natural if it gets there. That's why these two arbitration hearings, and again, I don't think they both get to ARB. I don't think either of them get to ARB. I think maybe the only person that gets to ARB is Jason Robertson.

But nonetheless, it just lines up more pain for Columbus here. And it's, he was not even in the playoffs. You said something interesting there, though, which is that it's a move they need to make. Seattle, yes. Not a move they should. should make, have to make, but a move they need to make. And that is a huge difference.

I agree with you. I think it's a move they need to make in the sense that they've taken so many swings and have yet to connect once on any of those swings. And this is a targeted swing that they could make and try to snag a 21-year-old center with number one center potential from a team like Columbus if they're in a cap pinch. Now, granted, there might be other teams that are circling like sharks around us, too. We'll have to see. but is it a move they should make?

Look, again, I am a Leo Carlson fanboy. I think Leo Carlson is Malkin with speed. I think he as a number one center will prove that to be true. I think he's going to be worth the risk that the flyers took and will be worth the investment that the ducks have made. I am less of a believer in Adam Fantilli on that kind of his maturation into that kind of player. And so the question then becomes Merrick is that a move that seems. Seattle should make, I mean, they need to make, absolutely, because they need to kind of energize

that fan base and bottle is going to need to show people that there is some direction for this directionless team. Is it a move they should make, giving up the draft picks they'll need to give up to acquire Adam Fantilli? And that's a different question for me. And I don't know if the answer is yes. Remind me, where did Adam Fantilli go to college? Michigan.

Remind me, where did Maddie B'Annie B'Annie? near Scota College. Also Michigan. That Samitzkevich guy they brought in. Also, Michigan, I believe. And where did the general manager go? Where did the general manager? They're all Michigan guys.

So you're saying the Red Wing should run a Fantilli to bring them to the actual state. The actual state of Michigan. But hang on a second. That is another one. That is another team that you look at. and say like if you're going to swing like whoever comes in to take over like we should probably mention iserman here um and that situation because we haven't been on i guess it was six days ago that happened um whomever comes in next i know this isn't iserman's style but did they not sort

of have an obligation to at least have the conversation about doing this if they're just right right Everybody around them is getting better. And everyone around them is getting better. They're closer than Seattle. Like, they're closer than Seattle. Yes. Oh, okay. That means we're standing by for Greg Wischinsky to reconnect to the program here.

A couple of things as well. And we're going to try to squeeze all this in. And also, I should have mentioned out the top, we just got rolling. Jack Campbell is going to stop by here in about three or four minutes. Jack Campbell, former NHL goaltender, announced on Sunday evening. on Instagram that he is retiring, walking away from the game, announcing that his second act and his professional life will be to work as a identity and performance coach. And we'll get into it more when he joins us towards the bottom of the hour.

I don't know that I saw someone who was more instantly likable than Jack Campbell, to like everybody you talk to. But we'll get into Jack with that coming up here at the bottom of the hour in a couple of moments. We lost you there for a couple of seconds. You're going to make a profound point about the Detroit Red Wings. Yeah, I just said they're closer than Seattle. They've got more pieces in placed. They're probably at an F them picks level of, of the build. And they should be, right? And Fantilli, I mean, if you, if, if, if, if, if, if Iseman was the problem and Larkin can find his smile again, and you go one, two up the gut Lark and Fantilly, like, you got, you got a little

something there. You got a little something there ahead of, of, of what's a pretty good blue line. and a whole bunch of other pieces that may or may not fit. The other bit of news here is you try to cram in as much as we can before Jack Campbell joins us. Utah Mammoth and John Marino getting together. 29-year-old signing a eight-year deal, $54 million, A.A.V. 6.75. This commences after next season. Marino coming off a 36-point season, one year left on his previous deal. That paid him 4.4.

Right shot 2A.D. breaks out the puck well. That costs money, in this case, 6.75. times eight years. Two ADs that can break the puck out well that shoot right even though the 29 years old aren't cheap Greg Wosinski

and the cap's going up so you look at this one you say second pairing right shot D they like them he likes it there commitment to the team this one makes a lot of sense I'm fine with it what about you? I don't love term but what are you going to do

Utah had money to spend and I think that he was really good for them last year 36 points so no issues there No, but could break in the pocket. We forgot to mention something with regards to Bedard. And that is shoulder injury. I heard himself in Vancouver in a few weeks.

No, he is now at the forefront of the Patrick Kane recruitment. Saw that. Campaign. Yeah. Yes. Basically says, I want to see Patrick Kane in Chicago. I think it's time for him to come back. I want to play with him.

It would be all kinds of reports about his word was. Kane being somewhere. Yeah, it would be incredible. Yeah, it would be incredible if he came back. So chimming the water for a return. Who was it? Somebody said that he, that Chris Cellio said he talked to Kane and Kane was between Chicago and Buffalo maybe for next season.

Yeah. That was a hard push from Bedard, man. And again, I think that's a really interesting, it's, I mean, it's an interesting time. Like, I talked to Kane after, after his year with the Rangers. And there was absolutely no way that he was going back to Chicago ever. Like it just wasn't going to happen. Like I think that that chapter of his life was closed when you talked to him back then. Then he spends a few years in Detroit.

And now the Blackhawks, although again, not not anywhere near as close as the sharks in Anaheim, for example, are to real contention. But, you know, maybe inching up and having a decent offseason and locking in Bedard. Like maybe it's time. Maybe it's time for him to come back. and watch the sunset in Chicago. Again, I'll go back to the same question that we just talked about. Who's closer? Chicago or Buffalo?

Buffalo. Of course. That's not even close. Yeah, of course. So if this is going to be, and again, maybe I shouldn't assume this, but if this is going to be Pat Kane's last year in the NHL, do you want the bookend? Chicago to Chicago or do you want

going to the hometown and take a swing for the Stanley Cup here? Like what's the deal? The deal is going to be like a one year deal three million dollars, right? Because he's like with one goal with probably with some incentives too. Might change that. But that's what it feels like. To me,

no? I mean, it depends on what he wants to do. I mean, if he wants that level of love and adulation from the fans that have loved and adjeweled him all his career that makes a lot of sense to go back there. I mean, if he's playing on the right side, you got Tage, Done, and Quinn,

according to the depth chart that I'm looking at here. So, I mean, Tage can play the middle. I don't know. I think, I think, if you're right, I mean, like, Buffalo is much closer to contention than Chicago is, but there's just, there's something beautiful and nostalgic about the bookends of going back to Chicago at a time in which, you know,

you could have the two franchises, players, the one franchise player who passed the torch to the next franchise player who never had a chance to play with Kane getting a chance to play with him. Let me pick up this conversation after we talk to Jack Campbell because there's more food on this vine. In the meantime, pleasure to welcome to the program, someone that we enjoyed watching and talking to, just like, and we mentioned this before he comes on, like one of the people that universally, Jack, everyone that we all talk to always about you, first thing out

of their mouth always is best guy you'll ever meet. Like I'll give you an example. I'm going to give you an example right off the hop here. So put out the promo. And Jack, how are you? Thanks so much for stopping by here. Really appreciate it. Let's see if we can make you blush right off the start of the –

So I get a DM yesterday after we put the announcement of you coming on the program. I get a DM from someone who I met yesterday. Let me get this. There he goes. Barrett Dernbach, who is a multi-time world champion Highland dancer. I met her in Washington this year. She's a massive hockey fan. I didn't expect to get this.

She said, one of my saddest hockey moments was missing seeing Jack not once or twice, but three times during the 23, 24 season with a couple of Condor's games in San Diego, getting rescheduled because of an arena flood and never got to share this sign. She made a good soup sign for you. Rinkside, I'm imagining. He is so loved in this household. First, hard-hitting question of the day. Why are you so loved?

Oh, man. Turn your mic on. Is that better? Faintly. We'll get Jacob, our producer here to line you up with some better audio. And I'll come up with some better questions. And so we'll Greg. And everything will be great.

And we'll get you out in time for your appointment on the top of the hour. So Jack is going to stop by here. My questions are awesome. I didn't even ask a question yet. No, it was good. My questions. No, no, no. We just want you to be a prop for this.

So we just need you to be a mannequin and bring your good looks. I'll ask the questions here. And you just like look stately behind me, Greg, as I ask all the questions. Campbell, we should talk about this for a second while he's getting sped up to Mike's feet here, which is that Campbell is, you, being soupy is unavoidable. If you're last. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Brian Campbell, Cassie Campbell, I know, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, unavoidable, which is a shame because, you know, you know. Brian Campbell, to me, was soupy. That's my, that's my soupy. My soupy is Brian Campbell. Really? Because my soupy was always Cassie. It's because I've known this is so long. Well, we went to university together.

We went to university to golf together in the early 90s. So she was always, she was always soupy to me. So she was my first for soupy. So Campbell announces his retirement. And one of the things, I think we tend to forget, like going into his draft year at 2010, that guy, even though I blanked. I blanked. I can't remember what happened at the world juniors that year, not cold and goal game. Like, he was on top of the goalie world.

Yeah. Like, at the program, like going in the new U-20s as a 17-year-old, stealing jobs everywhere. Like, Campbell was phenomenal. And he went 11th to Dallas. Tim Bernhardt was the head scout who loved him. It was between Jack Campbell and Cam Fowler, where the two at that point. And it was Tim Bernhardt. a goaltender himself, who said, like, no, we got to get Campbell in here in Dallas.

We got to get Campbell in here. We tend to forget how great this guy was and how heralded he was as a goaltender. Traded by the Dallas Stars, the L.A. Kings for Nick Ebert, American. The defenseman, Winston Spitfires. What's your favorite Nick Ebert story? I think, Craig, correct me if I'm wrong. I think he was a Mr. Irrelevant. Wasn't he a last overall pick in the draft one year?

Who, Nick Ebert? Yeah. 211. 211. Was he not? 211? Let's see here. Was he?

You are. It's incredible. Yes. 11. He was taken. All right. I still got my chops. Jack,

we were just talking about how you were traded, you were traded for a Mr. irrelevant once, Nick Ebert. But he was in green. Yeah. Yeah, we played together in Windsor.

So it's funny. We used to joke about getting traded. And yeah, he was actually really good player. just didn't quite make it. But yeah, a really good guy. He was a jersey boy.

I remember like, let's go. Not to get too down a rabbit hole on this one too, but I remember like there were times even before his draft year. They were talking about him being a first round draft pick. Nick Eber was like really well thought of like growing all the way. We were just gushing gushing about your early career before you got to the NHL.

And as a Canadian, I've blanked out what happened in 2010 of the World Juniors in Saskatoon. So we'll just ignore you coming in when it was 3-0. Canada and then some Carlson guy finished it in overtime and Martin Jones was never the same afterwards. But nonetheless, so before we get to the NHL career and what you're doing now, you have a thought of like a young Jack Campbell because dude, we kept hearing about you for years and years and years and years even before the 2010 draft and before the world junior heroics as well. Like was it, were you always like on top of the goalie world at like every

single level or was there a year where you just popped? I appreciate that. Honestly, when I was really young, I want to say nine, nine years old, everybody started talking about him. His name was Andy Isles. And he was my goalie partner. The U.S. program went on to play at Cornell and have an amazing career there. Actually, we talked for the first time since, like, I don't even know how long ago it was yesterday. So that was really cool. And yeah, he was like a prodigy. So, yeah, he was like a prodigy. So, yeah, fun. to look back at those days. I was going to ask you, see, your first full season was 1819. By the time you said you say farewell to the NHL, how has being a goalie in the league changed during your time in this game? Like, I feel like the goalie position has really changed, like, in the last several seasons.

How did you see it? Great question. Man, I mean, everybody can move and, you know, they're big guys. Some guys are small now, which I feel like when I came in being smaller like Andy, you didn't see that too, too much in that era. But the game changed so much, East West, the speed, the scoring, more goals, which is never fun in our position. But, yeah, you know, it was fun to be a part of it.

of kind of that transitional period, getting a chance to make it and then see where the game went. A couple of things here. So yesterday, after we booked you to come on the program, so right away, I got like, okay, I need Jack Campbell stories.

So whether it was scouts, players, like ex-teamates of yours, and again, like everybody comes back with the same, like, oh, Supi's awesome, soupy's awesome. So something, one guy of, one of your ex-teammates sent me two points about you, said, easily one of the three best goalies in practice I've ever played with.

I've played and shot on a ton of really good goalies, but Supi was never outworked, one, way more games of rebound than any goalie I've been around, and two, had an insatiable work ethic to get better. One year, he made it a mission, this probably tells you who this player is, to get better at push-ups, and I believe at one point he could do 90 to 100 in a row. You always that obsessive guy And were you always game seven guy in practice? Because according to one of your ex-teammates, you were.

That must have been the Dallas, Texas days. That was. Right. Yeah, okay. I used to be, you know, we, we always have a little something going on as goalies. But back then I was kind of like Rick D.P.H. He was like my idol at the time and loved to work out.

So the push-ups kind of gave that one away. But, yeah, I don't know. I think that was kind of part of my identity was, I guess, where I felt the most comfortable and had the most fun was practice, working hard. Kind of the camaraderie I built was kind of through that, and that was the foundation. And looking back, you know, a lot of good times in practice and getting to know the guys. Could you really do a hockey? Hang on. Could you really do 100 push-ups in a row? I don't know. There's no evidence. to support that, but I appreciate him saying that.

I'm so, I'm so happy about the D.P.HRA thing. I always think about, like, most, most, most, like, goalies that you see in the locker room, they look like kids that could have been on your, like, high school soccer team, like, Ryan Miller. T.P.H. is the only guy that I ever covered as a goalie that looked like massive. It's just a fucking brick house. Like, that guy was ripped.

I was incredible. Like, D.P.H. was unbelievable. He was a specimen that guy. One guy you played with, though, I was curious about was Jonathan Quick. You both retire in the same year, which is kind of an interesting twist.

What did you learn from Quick when you play with him? And what was your relationship like with him? Yeah, I mean, where do I start? I think it's pretty obvious that my career took off when I played with him. And he had so much to do with that, whether that be the on the ice tips and just watching one of the best ever to do it every day in practice and games.

But more importantly, for me, it was always between the ears and getting out of my own way in order to perform. And, man, he helped me so much. We had so much fun at the rink, away from the rink, and treated me like, man, I was like his brother. So always so grateful for Quicky and his whole family. You know, one of the things that you talked about in that video you put out on social media on Sunday, and I'll read from it, you've bemoan the fact that you didn't have, quote, someone to hold me accountable for having a well-balanced life while you played. And it was funny, too, because like not too long ago, I went back, I was reading a book on, it was Damien Cox's book on hockey during COVID times in the NHL.

And I went back and I watched your postgame interview after Game 7. It's one of the hardest things to watch. It's one of the hardest things, like, as a hockey fan to watch, like whether you're a Jack Campbell or Maple Leafs fan, it doesn't matter. Like, just from a human point of view, that was a really, really tough one to watch. And you took all of it. Like, you took the whole series.

And people forget, like, you were good in that series. I think you ended up with like a 935 Fabers. Like, they didn't lose because of you, but you took. took the whole thing. Did you find that you didn't have someone around you to say like, you can't bear all of this. You can't carry all of this through your whole career. Like you need to be more like the guy who was at the other end.

Like Kerry Price were in his post games. You didn't know whether he won the game or lost the game because he was just like even keel the whole time. Like did it feel like you were carrying everything all the time for every team that you were on? Yeah, great question. for me, I can't speak for everybody, but I just feel when I say holding you accountable, you know, as athletes, hockey players, we typically work really hard naturally. We're raised by, you know, whether it be a parent or you got a sibling to show you kind of what that looks like.

And then we truly enjoy working hard at our craft. But that's kind of the easy part for me. When I think of accountability, it's what you just talked about. beating myself up so bad that by beating myself up and going to train even harder than maybe I'm not able to get the full amount of sleep I need to recover or, you know, mentally I'm not sharp for the next start. And maybe I'm not present with my girlfriend at the time or my wife now. You know, we're trying to be the best we can be, but having a coach to show you that you're capable is so much more and there is a way to get there. That's why what I'm transitioning into just has

so much meaning behind it. Who were you most concerned with when it came to that accountability? Like, was it your teammates? Was it the fans? Was it not being not being criticized by people like me in the media? Who were you most concerned with when it came to like the pressure to be the best you could be? Oh man, nobody just up here. Somebody asked me that. I don't, It was recent. I don't do a whole lot of hockey talk anymore. But somebody asked me a really great question. And they were like, how hard was it to play in Toronto? And I was like how hard it was to play in Toronto.

It was the greatest days of my life. And, you know, the hockey's obvious. The fan base is electric. The teammates that I had there and was fortunate enough to not only play with, but build relationships with that hopefully will last forever. I met my wife there. It's hard to even talk about because the way I was treated was so great. And the obvious for the outside is like, man, it must be hard.

You know, people call you an awful goalie or you have a bad night and you're in the media. But nothing, a fan or the media or anything like that would say would ever be as bad as the self-talk that I was doing to myself. So that question was so easy. It was like, man, I played a journal my whole life. It's not about playing there or in Florida. It wouldn't matter if I don't work on what's going on up in my own head. Okay, all that being said, how hard was it to play in Edmonton? That one, I made it even part of it.

It's really not a great answer for that one. Sorry, guys. But you know what, though? That is a great line. I've played in Toronto my whole life. But here's the thing, too. Someone brought this to my attention this morning. Call me up and said, hey, I see her having Jack Campbell on.

And he said, like, look, like, we know what Jack is doing now. And I want you to explain it in your own words here in a second. And this person said to me, like, look, he's, even without realizing it, he's kind of have been doing this his whole career. And I said, what do you mean? I said, well, there have been so many different times that I've just sat and talked with him. And he's helped me more than I've helped him, even though the intent of the conversation was for me to help Jack. Like, is there a part of you that thinks like that this transition in career, this second act now, is kind of natural because you've been doing it for other people for a long time. Yeah. And what I'm about to say, I don't want

to offend anybody. It's just the truth. And I was so fortunate to play hockey and was fortunate to make it to the highest level and all those things. I'm so grateful for what it's given me and my family. But I do feel like my whole life, it was like a job and it didn't, you know, you see like Seth Jarvis like sprinting in from the ice after warmups and guys are giggling. And, you know, They can't sleep because they're excited to play. For me, like that passion, like I had the passion to try to be as good as I could be and to be as good at teammate and to work as hard. But something just wasn't fun.

And it really caused me like so much anxiety and stress. And so when I started getting into this new line of work and before I knew I was going to be a coach, but I was getting coached. I was like, man, sharing what I was. I'm learning and paying for for free with like my friends when I'm coaching them and just having a conversation like that is that is like my fun that's my arena that I want to play in. Okay so once again technology Greg not our friends. Apologies for the snafu there with the audio slash video.

The system just crashed. Just texting with Jack. He's happy to come back anytime and he was he was going deep so we'd love to have them back. He was cooking. He was cooking. He was great. And I've got still a whole list of questions that range from the serious to the frivolous. Do you want to hear like the one frivolous question? I guess you'll probably get a guy that I wanted to ask. Why number 36? Hmm. Why number 36? Because here's why. And of course, you know, Gibson wears 36. We all know the other goaltenders have won 36 before though. But I always thought 36 was neat because I do have a number 36 story. and you'll love it. This used to be the NHL folks in the early 80s.

So Bobby Clark, the legendary Hall of Famer, Philadelphia Flyers always wore number 16. That was synonymous with Bobby Clark, as we all know. But for two games, he wore the number 36. And I've always equated the number 36 to this story. This was the old NHL folks. Bobby Clark had his jersey stolen. Okay. This is in the era where you'd only travel with one set of jerseys.

Philadelphia Flyers were in Winnipeg to play the Winnipeg Jets and then the next night, the Minnesota North Stars. And when they're in Winnipeg, before the Jets game, he had his jersey stolen. So he couldn't wear number 16. They had an extra set with 36 on it. So for two games, Bobby Clark wore the number 36. Yes, jerseys got stolen in the 80s in the NHL. Anyway, that was my frivolous question. There was a bunch of other stuff for him.

But I want to thank Jack for stopping by the program. Before anything to wrap up here with Jack, he'll come on another time to finish up here too. And we wish him all the best in his second career here. Anything more you want to add with Jack Hamill is a couple more things I want to go over here to wrap up. I mean, I don't know if we'll ever circle back to this because we were sort of in the flow of conversation. But, you know, he mentioned his inability to find to make the job fun. And I think we've all struggled with that here and there. I think you and I have been blessed for the most part with doing something that we love

and we don't mind it being all consuming from a career standpoint. But I wonder if he cast a jealous eye at a Seth Jarvis scurrying off the ice or a teammate who clearly had the passion of hockey burning in them in a way that it didn't for Jack Campbell. And conversely, I do wonder whether what percentage he'd put on a test. typical NHL dressing room on how many guys are the live it, eat it, breathe it, Seth Jarvis types, and how many guys are there because it's a steady paycheck and a talent that's inherent in them, but not necessarily finding the same burning passion that other players have. I wonder how alone he was in that.

This is one of the percentage of the dressing room that is. This is one of my favorite conversations. It's not just about hockey, but about sports in general. because we grew up with the assumption that everybody is having fun when they do this. And you talk to many players and at a certain point it does feel like a job. Now, this is part of like my theory on why a lot of NHLers go back and like buy junior teams. Like go back and buy the junior team that they played for is because that was the era when they were just having fun and they were with their buddies. and they're having like that represented hockey that wasn't a job and then you join the NHL and all of a sudden it's the stresses of a normal it's the stresses of like a normal job and i've always wondered the same thing too like we think of all of our hockey heroes and assume that they're having fun not thinking for one second that when a hockey player tells you for the first time it's just a job and it feels like a job it's kind of jarring like what do you mean it's a job we have this assumption that it's fun and everyone's it's like you're with

the boys and this is great and you're having a great time. You know, I always wonder about, because for me, this is still fun. But at a certain point, it might just start feeling like a job, right? And that'll be jarring to me because I don't know what it feels like to treat this like a job. And I think about that line, you know, inspiration. What's the line? Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us go to work.

Like at a certain point, you don't have. to like your job to do the job, you know? And how many people have, how many people have had like the ultimate enjoyment of winning the Stanley Cup and they're just like, it's my job. This is just what I do. There's always going to be an aspect of everything that you, even if you love to do what you do, that it's a job. I mean, you're still putting the hours. You know, being compensated. You make sacrifices for it, but no one wants.

No one cares. No one wants for me, though, like to the reason I know I've never reached that moment of it feeling more like a job than a passion for me is because. As much as I have going on in my life at any point, and especially now with two young kids, it's a lot going on at any point. You know, outside of like spending time with Ruby, my wife, the happiest I am is when I put my fingers on a keyboard. Then it's, it becomes the thing that I love, the thing that I know how to do, the thing that I enjoy. And they're stressed to that. Like, let's use the NHL broadcast cam for an example. That took a really long time to write because I had all of this recording of the sessions.

I had these interviews that I did with Cam Jansen and Sean Dersie and others. And so there's a whole lot that goes into that. And then there's a whole lot in going and trying to piece this behemoth together, a two-day seminar to make sure that it's cogent and makes sense and entertaining and conveys what I want to convey. And then on top of that, and maybe this is the job part, Mary, I was kind of serving at the pleasure of the NHL on this one. You know, they are having me come to this event to cover it and to write about it and to tell a good story. And in fact, I was the only reporter there doing that. There was sort of a level of exclusivity to it that it was also kind of a stress about it.

So the minute my fingers hit the keyboard to write the story, it made me very happy because there's nothing I find happier as a professional than fitting the puzzle pieces together on a good story that I know I'm going to write. but at the same time you're also trying to like make sure that you don't screw up and that you spell all the names correctly and that you capture the spirit of the thing because the NHL is the one putting it on. Speaking of the NHL and by the way, as I mentioned, Jack will be back on the program. We text me right always and so like, look, look, anytime you guys want, happy to happy to come back. So we look forward to having Jack Campbell back on the program to finish what was really turning into like a really supremely thoughtful interview. Speaking of the NHL, centralized broadcast production. for Carolina, Minnesota, Columbus, St. Louis for the upcoming season.

The league will handle and feature pregame intermission and postgame coverage, game production, and operational infrastructure. Also, the league may also handle more than the four teams that were announced today. I thought the point that you brought up, and I think it was in the Sports Business Journal piece, let me just grab this. No, I got the quote right here. I think we're talking about the same thing. So Steve Mayer, who's the,

the head of all the content for the NHL and the guy who's credited with making the outdoor games fun. He had a line in the Sports Business Journal article about this localized, centralized coverage by the NHL and producing these games for these teams. And mayor sees this as an opportunity to incorporate more league-wide coverage rather than maintaining a strictly local focus. quote, we want to make sure that the Minnesota Wild are talking about the NHL, the stars of the league. Many times we find that these broadcasts are local in nature. We're going to try to nationalize them a bit. How do you feel about that, Merrick? I have two minds.

I never want to tell a fan what he or she should be interested in. And if they want to go deep on their team and only focus on their team for their regional games, then that's fine. And that's what they're, I don't like spoon feeding things to people. From the NHL's point of view, I do understand the idea of going wide as opposed to going deep.

And if you're footing the bill, your agenda is make sure that there are, and for this case, we'll just use the Minnesota Wild as an example. You want to make sure that Minnesota Wild fans still have something to be interested in or have some type of knowledge about the rest of the league when their team is eliminated from the playoffs.

So you just don't drop out as a hockey fan. Like I understand the NHL's agenda on this one completely. You want to make sure that when your home team is out of the playoffs, it doesn't make the playoffs, you don't turn it off and check out of hockey altogether. You want to make sure that there are reasons why those people stick with it. Yet at the same time, like I mentioned off the top, I understand fans that want to go deep as opposed to wide because this is what they're passion is about.

What about you? I thought about your point a lot because I think that's been a constant problem for this league over my entire life, which is the idea that once your team is out of the running, you don't care. Now you're thinking about the beach in June. You know, you're not thinking about the playoffs anymore. That's why you should get your game out of June, by the way. I compete with patios.

I just don't. I think that's underselling how cognizant hockey fans are about. what is happening around the league. I think fans, they know who Connor McDavid is, and they know that he's trying to win a Stanley Cup, and they know who the Buffalo Sabres are, and they understand that they broke a major playoff drought. And I don't think you need a nationalized NHL broadcast for a local team

to convey that to them. And frankly, if the hope is that they're going to care about hockey beyond the fate of their team, I think that's misplaced, because I don't think there's any changing that behavior. If we've been trying to change it for 40 years and it hasn't changed. But that being said, as much as you might want it to be hyperlocal, if you're a wild fan or a Hurricanes fan, I think your most important point there, Merrick,

was that they're no longer, it's no longer their broadcast. It's the NHL's broadcast. They are footing the bill for all the talent and the cameras and the NHL edge technology that will tell you how fast Seth Jarvis is skating off the ice after warmups. It's the lowest player in the NHL. Do we know what that is? They never tell us.

So from that aspect, I completely sympathize with the league's perspective that if we're footing the bill, that we're definitely going to a Trojan horse this with our own news and information. And by the way, let's not forget what this ultimately probably means, which is, hey, ladies and gentlemen, have you heard about the stadium series? Well, the stadium series this year is in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It's going to be a lot of that, I think, more than anything else. Things that can generate revenue for the league, things that can generate interest to big events for the league. It is Steve Mayer saying this.

I don't think he necessarily cares of a fan tunes in to watch a National Predators game if they're in a playoff spot. I think he does care of a fan tunes in to watch the Winter Classic or the stadium series. It's, I mean, it comes down with a conversation that we've had a lot about hockey since we've been together doing shows like this. And that is, like, what are you? are you a fan of a team or are you a fan of hockey? Like whenever I keep you know, we got to grow the game, got to grow hockey,

grow hockey. I always say to myself, well, you can get new fans or you can make those same fans love something else about hockey or show them a way that they can love something else. So if you're a Carolina Hurricanes fan or Minnesota Wild fan or blues fan or whatever

and your team is out, you're still watching because you are a fan of hockey. We always assume that grow the game, means bring new people in. And it does, but it also means take the people that you do have already

that are fans of these teams and help them find other areas of hockey that they can love at the same time. That itself too is growing the game. It's not just more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more people. And now Houston,

all these people from Houston are going to love the game in Atlanta. I'm a flames, Thrasher's fans, come on back to underneath the tent here, it's you have this cluster of people that love it, but they love it regionally. You can say, we have this. How do we get those same?

Because I understand the NHL's point of view. How do we get these people to also love what's happening in Philadelphia or Los Angeles or Utah or wherever? Or watch the All-Star game. Or watch the All-Star Games. Yeah. I would say, here's my bare minimum.

I think we're getting there based on the numbers that we've seen, which is that if you're a hockey fan and you're very sad, your team didn't make the playoffs. So if you're a hockey fan and you're sad, your team was eliminated from the playoffs, we will accept a grieving period. Please send flowers. Please send donations to the local fan base.

But come back and watch the Cup final. And I do think the numbers for the Cup final bear out that there is a certain prestige to it being the last series of the year I think there's a certain amount of last days of the semester that fans feel as they're watching the cup final. I do think that the cup finals numbers bear out that there are fans that circle back and watch the playoffs, even if their team is no longer in it. And that would be the place I love it to be. I can play as a Devils fan, I can give a shit about watching the conference final with Devils went out in the semis. Like, I don't care.

But get me to watch the cup final. get me to watch the cup final. Have the cup final be as important as the Champions League final or any final in sports. The World Series, what have you. Like have it be the thing that if you're a hockey fan, you feel a certain obligation to watch, even if your team's not at it. We're not going to feel obligated to watch the entirety of the playoffs, even if it is the best postseason tournament in the world, in my opinion. But I think we should feel as hockey fans a certain obligation to watch the cup because that's why we, you know, It's doing the entire cannonball run, Merrick,

and then not being at the finish line for the big champagne finale. That's kind of how it feels for me if you don't watch the cup final. Do you think one of the ways you can do that, I'm just spitball in this year, do you think one of the ways you can do that, and not even know how you would go about putting this together or getting the players to get on board with this. But I've always felt that.

Like we see in games, like in every single sport they do it, the celebrity cutaways. Look who's interested in our game. Look who's interested in a game. And I've always thought to myself, how interesting would it be to say, and we'll take Carolina, for example, the Carolina Hurricanes go out in the playoffs. How interesting to a Carolina Hurricanes fan is seeing the Carolina Hurricanes players watching the Stanley Cup final. And where I get that from is like everything else, pro wrestling, where for major, major matches, they always bring everybody out. from out back to stand on stage to watch that match to put more heat on it.

Could you do something like that with hockey, whether it's like a live event you do with players from your team that have now been eliminated from the, I don't know. Again, spitball. It's just the immediate reaction from a conversation with my buddy Greg here. Could there be something in that? Could there be something there? I think you make a good point, which is that it's not, it's, it's, it's, it's, You know, they always show the number one contender in the back watching the match on television.

Yes. Like raw. And you're like, okay. If it's important to this person, it's important to me. It's important to me. That's a really good point because I do kind of feel like there's a trickle down. Like, what is the thing that we wait for when teams are eliminated? Breakdown day.

Locker room clean out day. And why do they call it that? Because we never see these guys again until September. Yeah. And if those guys don't give a shit about the Stanley Cup fine. Why should we care about the Stanley Cup final if we're fans of that team. I guess I don't know how you fix that, but I don't know how you do it. There's a trickle down from the players being like, I'm out.

See you guys next September. I'm going to the cottage or the boat in Greece. And then and then we're expected. The plebeians are expected to be glued to our televisions. The people that have the nerve to buy tickets, people that have the nerve to open their wallets here. You and I have both been to the player media tour before the season in September And how many times have you asked the guy about like hey, what did you think about you know Carolina winning the cup and they're just like I don't watch that shit Like if they couldn't be bothered to yeah

And maybe obviously there's a certain psychological aspect where if you're a limited if you're a member of the Montreal canadians like you don't give a shit about watching carolina in the final like after those guys But there is a certain amount of they don't care we don't care to it that's true but there are some guys that do but then again this goes back to the conversation we just have had about like a job and does it feel like a job when when when you're done at the end of the day but there are like there are some players like and you know who they are like and mark shifley is probably on top of that mountain who doesn't matter what's happening with winnipeg Jets he is still watching and paying attention to everything right problem is do you have a league full of Mark Shafleys that are watching this nonstop, that are watching right to the bitter end,

that are watching until game 45, six, seven to see what happened to the Stanley Cup final. Nope. You don't. But you do have SIDS and you do have McDavid's, you know, who I'm sure can't help but see, then watch the final and see what he could do better or have Mike Babcock tell him how to do things better. Like you do have a certain amount of guys. And maybe that's all it takes. one or two of the big boys,

you know, give them a luxury box in the arena, you know, pay for their full ride to the game. Or have them be involved. Like, there's a certain amount of, all of the other 30 teams

are a wreck of bodies on the side of the road that the final two teams have traveled past. And we never see them again. We never see Sid. We never see any of these guys in the ultimate part of the season.

because it's assumed that once you're done, you're done. And to your point, maybe if a few of those guys showed up and were part of a broadcast or part of a game presentation, then maybe we feel that we should watch too. Because if it's important to them, it should be important to us. It's a fair point, Merrick. Yeah. If it's important to them, it's important to us.

Something like that. I don't know. I don't know how you do it. But the thing is, it's got to look and feel authentic. It can't feel just like forced. Like here's celebrity from the NHL who were paid to be there for two periods and then they're gone. And yeah. I don't know how to do it.

Yeah. Well, I think I think part. Like that's over to Steve Mayer. Like Steve Mayer knows how to like, guys smart. Like, you know. Look, if it's if it's the Panthers and Golden Knights in the final, you got a, you got a puncher's chance of getting some of those guys to those games. Carolina Edmonton. Punch, punchers chance.

If it's Carolina Edmondson, you might, you might not necessarily be able to convince Sidney Crosby. Hey, buddy, come to Raleigh for a few days. Again, it's the players that have to save all of it. It's the players that have to save all of it. All right. Any final thought before we punt? And then you are finally going on vacation, I understand. Yeah, I think I take a little bit of a break for, yeah.

Listen, it's been, I was just, I was talking to some of the people at the NHL headquarters. about this. It is such an incredible thing that it is July 21st. 21st. And we still have major news that's going to come in the next week. And we are inching forever closer as are all sports to the NFL model of we are a 12 month a year venture for you, ladies and gentlemen. There is not.

We have now shrunk the time in which players in. and front office guys and media and fans disengage from this sport to about three weeks in August. That's about it now. It used to be from July 2nd. Oh yeah. To the middle of September. I know because I've been doing this job for a very long time. But now we're about three weeks in August where you're going to see maybe a story. And that is that is certainly going to continue to shrink, man. Like it is it is it is shrinking and shrinking and shrinking more. and more and more every year. Because again, we are a few days away from the Jason Robertson saga being, you know,

either put on pause or concluded. And then maybe there's a break after that. But then again, there's still more hearings next week for arbitration. So who knows? Again, you can't do this because players need to know where, you know, their kids are going to go to school. I'm sensitive to that as a parent myself. But man, the momentum through July, if somehow you could catch.

that as a lead-in for the next season because you're right like there's going to come a time where everything just stops and that momentum just halts what a great lead into the season if this could be like from August 15th to September 15th that's just been it's been an amazing off-season it's been a exhausting off-season but an amazing off-season where just the the moment you think things quiet down Danny Breyer read reaches out to Leo Carlson's agent. And now you've got a neutron bomb going off that affects like eight different teams. Jason Bottow calls Papri song.

Well, there you go. We'll see what happens there. But yeah, no, I, you know, I got a lot of books I want to read before the beginning of next season. So I'm hoping that there is a little bit of a break. In fact, one of them that just came in the mail today, I bought Tim Curry's autobiography. I'm very looking forward to reading that. from Rocky Horror Picture Show and from Clu one of my favorite actors of all time

and I'm really looking forward to reading that and I got a few more to read too. Oh, and then on top of that, Merrick, you had all of this NHL news happening at the same time one of the single greatest sporting events in North American history was going on. The World Cup was incredible. And so there was a certain amount of like,

you know, you're watching that as a fan, but you want to kind of catch everything that you can when it came to the World Cup and that was happening too. And that almost felt like, you know, like not a job, But, you know, you wanted to take in as much as you could from that tournament as it was going on. And I'm glad that I did.

It was exhilarating to watch that tournament. Just me and I don't think I'm the first to make this point. And I'm a very, very casual soccer fan. Every four years, I will glance. Argentina. Like, that's the Florida Panthers, right? Like, that's, like, work with your buddy here. Like, when people, it's funny to, and this has happened to me in my entire life, when people will try to explain.

something to me, those sort of couch in hockey terms. Part of it's insulting, but part of it's pretty funny. Like, okay, the ceiling language is dummy understands. Argentina, like, that's the Florida Panthers of soccer, right? I'm not off on this one. Like, they are. I don't mind, but like, man, I'm like, every time I watch Argentina, I'm like, ooh, that's Panthers. Imagine an entire team that gets the same conspiracy theories about Gregory Campbell

thrown at them. That's what I kept hearing. England's got to play against Argentina and the officials. I'm like, can this be more Florida Panthers or what? And then the craziest thing about that game, too, like the lasting memory of Messi in the

World Cup, besides the image of him looking out at the crowd as he takes second place in the World Cup was him trying to snitch on a guy talking through his hand, which would have resulted in a right card. The lasting memory of one of the greatest athletes in the history of mankind is being on

narque trying to snitch on someone to be able to get an advantage in the game, which was hilarious. But, no, I, again, that's, I think that's part of the whole feeling of, of, of, of just like, the off season, not really being the office season, is that just this, you know, this cadence of NHL news. And then this event going on that as a sports fan, you're just like, you know, committing incredible amounts of time. By the way, winning a lot of money on, too, if I'm being serious here, Eric, I want to, there was, hit a couple parlays on the old World Cup of Roo that did your boy pretty well. There were, by the way, there were two other countries, by the way, that hosted games, too. So a little acknowledgement there would be nice along the way. Well, listen, Canada, I can't speak to because, like, I know games are there and they're fun and everything. But, like, the single greatest moment of the World Cup was England, Mexico at Stadeo, at Stecca.

Like, that, it was wild. That was one of the most riveting sporting events I've seen in maybe the last 10 years. That was incredible drama. Yep. that game. So that was. Um, okay.

That's where the final should have been instead of the, the, the, uh, personality, less slab of concrete that the New York Jets call home. Uh, I felt so bad. It felt disgusting having that at Met Lake Stadium. That is the most nondescript bullshit stadium. You could possibly hold an event this important in. I felt, I felt embarrassed as a New Yorker. Wow.

That the World Cup final was in that lifeless, hunk of concrete and metal in the middle of a swamp. Did it need to be somewhere special and emotional? Like, honestly, or did the event itself, like, did the game itself not just take care of all of it? Because I'm always, I understand the idea of like the environment helps, you know, create the emotion the same time. But then like, if the game is good enough, who cares?

I tend to agree. I tend to agree. I do think that there are probably parts of North America where that game could have been a little bit more electrified. like Mexico, maybe Miami would be one. Oh, yeah, it would be good. You know, and listen, if we're going to have the World Cup final in the United States, how about Lambo Field, Green Bay, let's go, baby.

It's a legendary sporting venue. No? You don't think Salome and Tom Cruise are heading to Green Bay for the World Cup final if we hold it at Lambo? I'm not so sure about that one, Craig. I mean, I'm not a, I don't speak Portuguese like you, I don't know all the sports as well as I know hockey, but I'm going to guess no. I'm going to get snow on that. All right.

All right. You enjoy your time away. And this program returns on Thursday, by the way. Thanks for hanging in here with the audio apologies for the video issues. We will get them solved ASAP and be back on the air here on Thursday, 1 o'clock Eastern. Thanks for watching. Thanks for listening. We're back in a couple days.