The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Could the Habs Land Kirill Marchenko? ft. Marco D'Amico & Cory Lavalette

Episode Date: July 28, 2026

The rumour mill is heating up in Montreal!On today's edition of The Sheet with Jeff Marek, Jeff is joined by Montreal Canadiens insider Marco D'Amico to break down the latest buzz surrounding the Canadiens and one of the hottest names on the trade market: Kirill Marchenko.With reports of Montreal's interest continuing to gain steam, the guys dive into what a potential deal could look like, what the Blue Jackets would be looking for in return, and whether Marchenko is the missing piece that could help push the Canadiens into the next stage of their rebuild. They also discuss what the move would mean for both organizations, the fit alongside Montreal's young core, and the latest rumours from around the NHL.Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more daily NHL news, rumours, and analysis from The Sheet with Jeff Marek.#TheSheet #NHL #NHLOffseason #NHLFreeAgency #Hockey #NHL #MontrealCanadiens #GoHabsGo #KirillMarchenko #ColumbusBlueJackets #JeffMarek #HockeyRumoursSHOUTOUT 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.

Okay, welcome to the sheet once again for this Tuesday, July 28th. We said we're keeping the feet hot. We're keeping the feet hot. Down to a couple of days a week, but nonetheless, we will still be here. And as big news happens, we may just jump on here and present another program. That's the kind of summer we're having right here, folks. Coming up on the program, in a couple of moments, Marco D'Amico, our good friend, we'll stop by. We'll talk about the Montreal.

Canadians, do they have something cooking with the Columbus Blue Jackets, whether it's Keryl Marchenko, whether it's Kent Johnson, we'll either glow those up or pound them down. The protruding nail could get hammered down in both of those rumors today. Also, Koi Lavalette will stop by our good friend who covers the Carolina Hurricanes. He is back from vacation and ready to talk about the defending Stanley Cup champions. In the V-time, how was your day yesterday? because my day yesterday was filled with, well, my afternoon anyhow, getting texts about something that I allegedly put out about Jim Rutherford and the Detroit Red Wings.

I don't want to bemoan this here too much. Nobody wants to hear about internet rumors that aren't true and get smacked down. I got to fly in the studio here. So here's what happened in my own words. So every week I do a hit on one of my favorite shows. It's always great when you get to be a weekly guest on one of your favorite properties. So every single week I go on the Secarison Price Show. And considering I'm talking to a Vancouver Canucks audience every time I go on,

I always try to keep myself, you know, sort of in the know or understand the audience that I'm talking to. So I'm talking to a Vancouver Canucks audience. And I think that somehow the conversation turned to the Detroit Red Wing search. for their new leader to replace Steve Iserman. And I said to myself, well, you know what? Would they consider interviewing or having a conversation with Jim Rutherford, considering he's a former Detroit Red Wing a couple of different times in his past? And the one thing that Detroit probably needs now more than anything else for a new manager to go in is to create some stability.

So I said, do you think that they could be talking to Jim Motherford? To me, this is Talk Radio 101. This is just comment, speculate, you know, informed conversation about the landscape, who could be talking to who. Now, I do think it would be in the Detroit Red Wing's best interest to talk to Jim Motherford and also in their best interest to talk to as many people as possible. even if you don't see yourself hiring them, at least to search out information, at least to try to get as many different opinions on your team, other teams, how to other

teams do things and suggestions for how to run the Red Wings. Like if I'm Chris Illich, that's what I'm doing. I kind of do what Nashville did in their general manager search, and that is cast the net wide. Now, Nashville did that for a couple of different reasons. The one main one is they have a relatively new owner in Bill Haslam. So part of this is not just looking for a GM, but also fact-finding and getting the new owner to understand the landscape and different perspectives on the NHL and the National Predators. How do different people around the league see their team and organization? That all made sense.

I would do that every time. I would do that, whether I was hiring a coach or whether I was hiring a gentleman, I would do that every single time unless you're under the gun and have to do something immediately. and you just kind of have to go on your relationships and your gut and make your decision based on that. Anyhow, so I just thought that I was starting a conversation on a Friday afternoon with my good buddies on Sakaris and Price. Do you think they could be talking to former general manager of the Vancouver Canucks to your motherford?

And then it got picked up and it turned into Merrick saying that Rutherford is a candidate. I'm even paraphrasing the rumor. But essentially that was the point. And thankfully, and I want to thank everybody who did this, thankfully, before I even got to the tweet and the rumor, people had already shot it down by saying that's not even close to what Merrick said. No, he actually didn't say that. He just wondered if the Red Wings would be talking to Jim Rutherford at all, considering he is an ex-wing and a veteran manager who's been around the NHL. going back to when he was a camp counselor at the Orwellton sports camp in the early 70s. So thanks to all those people who put that fire out.

But as you know, a lie runs around the block before the truth gets out the front door. So this thing took on a life of its own. And I kind of got, like after a while, it got pretty funny where I was getting a little peek into my life yesterday. I was getting texts from a lot of people that I know. around the NHL and various hockey teams, congratulating me on breaking the Rutherford Detroit Red Wing story. And every text I got yesterday was informed by, I know you're busy on the Rutherford file right now with the Detroit Red Wings,

but if you have a moment, can you give me a call? So it was a fun afternoon slash evening, and it's even sort of bled into this morning for your humble host here, though. but no, there will be no Jermutherford update here today because to my knowledge, there is nothing between the Detroit Red Wings and Jim Matherford not being offered the position

to my knowledge, not part of the process. I will say one thing about this process that the Red Wings are going through right now. It's pretty quiet. Like not a lot. I know they kind of got to the GM search process late. It probably would have been better. for the Detroit Red Wings to have had this decision handled and this situation cleared up back

in late April. But it is what it is, as they say. And so they're behind, right? Like, there are something like, I expect, let me put it this way, I expect there to be a lot of, of the usual candidates that are interviewed here. Like, I expect Scott White from Dallas to be interviewed. That just makes sense. But at this point, considering his career, I expect him to be interviewed by everybody.

He's one of those people that you insert into every general manager search, not unlike. What's a good example? Matthew Darsh with the New York Islanders. When he was with Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant general manager, every time a general manager position became available, we all said the same thing. Oh, Matthew Darsh should and probably will get interviewed as part of the general manager. part of this team's process. And eventually, he was going to become a general manager. And we all looked at that and said, yeah, that, that makes a lot of sense. It's going to happen. And it finally got there. Send a quick one here. I kind of look at the same way, same way about Scott White with the Dallas

stars. That for him, it's only a matter of time. Now, interesting in this situation, Chris Illich has said that essentially looking for someone with an analytics slant. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Everybody's looking for that these days and everybody already plays in that sandbox, but nonetheless. And, you know, it's not as if there are 30 of those to choose from right now that have, you know, the qualifications and the history to be able to run an NHL team. I would think someone like Tyler Deli. at Carolina would be one of them, Stanley Cup champion. I would think that Tim Barnes at the Washington Capitals, who's an assistant general manager who very much has that background. I would imagine that he would be someone as an assistant general manager right now to Chris Patrick,

the GM at the Capps. He would be someone that would be a person of interest for the Detroit Red Wings. Again, let me remind you what I'm doing here. I am just proposing names based on the criteria that Chris Illich has laid before us as far as who they could slash are interested in. All right. Delo makes a lot of sense. Barnes makes a lot of sense. And it is probably further to the Delo piece. And we've seen this with the Florida Panthers.

And we'll probably continue to see this with the Florida Panthers. there is going to come a time where that organization gets plucked. You know, Sunny Meadows, is the big one, of course, with the Florida Panthers who went to the New Jersey Devils. When you're successful, people say, let's get someone from there. So it's probably only a matter of time for Delo. And I would imagine only a matter of time for Barnes in Washington. Nonetheless, that's what I want to say about the Rutherford thing.

Yesterday, I did at the end of it all, have a good laugh. about it. And generally, social media has been very kind to me during my entire career. And thanks to all those people who shot down that rumor even before I had a chance to see it. And am I laughing about it? Yes. Did I laugh about it yesterday afternoon? Yes, because I know it was ridiculous. But nonetheless, not true. I know it's never a good idea if you go and chase rumors and knock them down because he can do that all day long. But I looked at this and I said, I'll be honest with you guys. I looked at this one and said, I don't need the aggravation of having this one attached

to me. I'm shooting this one down. Let's get to Marco, D'Amico, who joins this program on a regular basis, covering the Montreal, Canadians are doing a great job of it. Sorry, it took me a little bit to get there, but I had a, I had a Rutherford thing yesterday where I had my name attached to a very, very specific rumor, which was a, but it kind of, like, I'm not going to, like, continue to look into my own navel here while I have you here, but like it lived for about an hour.

And the one thing that I will say, like, we tend to get really negative about people on hockey, Twitter, for example. I've had a lot of the opposite experience. And I just wanted to publicly thank all those people that shot it down right away. But you know the feeling where you see yourself quote tweeted and you say to yourself, I didn't write that. I didn't say that. Like I'm talking to an audience here and you, Marco, that knows that all too well. Yep, yeah, happened to me this week, directly pertaining to the topic that we're going to be talking about. Yeah, let's get into it.

So what, if anything, is cooking between the Montreal Canadiens and the Columbus Blue Jackets? Well, again, you know, Aaron Porcelain kind of calmed things down a little bit. There was a report that came out from Daria Tiboldseva stating that a source believe the deal was close between the Columbus Blue Jackets and one of two teams. Aaron has come in and said there hasn't been any discussion, you know, dating back to the beginning of the month. It's something that I heard. It's something that's been echoed by a bunch of other folks in the know.

The only thing I can confirm is if the Columbus Blue Jackets do get to a point where they do decide to move Carrillo-Marchenko, the Montreal Canadiens will be all over it. Well, does that mean that they necessarily have the pieces that Don Waddell wants? That remains to be seen because I think the situation is, a little different now than it was at the beginning of July when we didn't have the situation we have with RFAs right now. And I'm, you know, the part of me is thinking Adam Fantilli, I don't think Don Waddell in the month of June was thinking Adam Fantilli was going to cost him north of 13 million,

but that's the reality now. Carlson changed everything. That offer sheet changed, changed, changed a lot of things here for Don Waddell. So here's the other thing. Like, I look at, I look at both sides of everything. And if I'm the Montreal, okay, is I want Krell-Marchenko, yeah. But then I say that about most teams. Like, who's going to, I know that the contract will be expiring here soon, but, like, who wouldn't want that player with that skill sets at that number?

Everybody would. But at the same time, I say to myself, there's only so many times Columbus can false start this fan base and get to a certain point and then take a couple of steps back. Like, how many times have we seen this happen? There was that one year where they really went for it and ended up letting Artemi Panarin leave and letting Broboski leave and Deshain. It happened. But they had to go for it that specific moment because so many different times they had taken a couple of steps behind. And that's kind of how I look at this one and say to myself, if, if, capital I, if Columbus wants to or is in a situation where they have to make a deal for Krell Marchenko, they have to get players back.

Like they're past the point of picks and prospects and look who's in Cleveland and look how many firsts pop up in the next couple of years. They don't need that. They can't sell that to their fans anymore. They need to sell wins. Yet I look at Montreal and I say to myself, I don't know that Montreal wants to trade any players. Is that? I don't think any core players and then define what a core player is. But I think when you also look at it from Columbus's point of view, first of all, we just talked about it.

I think it's a fair game to assume that once they do get him signed, Adam Fantilli's coming in at north of 13 million. If we're an agreement on that, on the high end, they would have $1.5 million in cap space left after that signing. Carrillo makes $3.8.5 million. So even if you trade Marchenko, it's not like you can get back a, you know, a high. high-sarried player because already your cap situation doesn't work. So that would incite another trade. Which is why you have to make another move. Like one of the things, I'll tell you, I'm not sure if you heard it last week.

One manager told me, this isn't, sorry, one ex-manager told me, and I wish this person was back in the NHL, but then the last. Ex-manager said, if this were them, they would say, they would call Don Waddell and they would say, there's a $17 million offer sheet coming for Adam Fantilli, unless you trade me Dimitri Voronkov. Well, I mean, that would be a little excessive for Dimitri Varankov, but I think for Marchenko, that would make a ton of sense. For Varankov, I think he would be the sacrificial lamb in this case. No, no, no, no. What I'm saying is like, we're either going to offer sheet fantilli if you don't give us Varancoff deeply discounted.

Yeah, okay, that's it. Is essentially the threat that this ex-manager said, well, if I was running a team again, here. there's what I would do. Yeah, well, I mean, that would be an aggressive, an aggressive play. Threatening an offer sheet to get another deal is something we've seen in the past. And obviously, you know, Don Waddell, just like Pat Verbeak right now, not in a very pleasant situation from a cap space perspective. And unfortunately, you know, this was the risk that Don took when he started handing out

some of these contracts, especially the $6 million times six to Charlie Coil, you know, and now they're stuck. And that's why even if they sign. Adam Fantili, Columbus is going to have to make a move somewhere because they can't go into the season with 900,000 or a million on the dot of cap space. This is a team that's going to want to improve if they retain their entire team together. Just as an aside here, I want to pick up more. This is Montreal-Col battery and then a couple of them, Montreal things that I want to ask you about, including Garber Jack-Eye, but pause that for a second. Does it feel like right now there is more animosity amongst man.

than we've seen in a long time. In that, once upon a time, let me frame it this way, Brian Burke would always tell me, and still does, that when he started as a manager, you've probably heard this before, when he started as a manager, the way you judge trades is if the guy you made the trade with got fired because of that trade, it was a good trade. Like, these guys were all pirates.

They were all pirates trying to get each other fired. Like, that's the way it was. no friends, I don't care. Cliff's trying to get that guy fired. Slats is trying to get that guy fired. Like, that's just the way that it was. Like, that's the way that it was in the NHL. And then it turned into, well, no, it's more like, hey, what do you need?

How can I help you? How can you help me? And much more amicable amongst managers. Does it feel like we're kind of getting off that again? And not that we're going back to the pirate days, but do you think we're, does it feel like we're getting back to some idea of maybe not animosity, but an idea that managers don't care how the other side feels anymore.

I think you need to be aggressive to win. I agree. I don't think the Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions right now if they didn't threaten an offer sheet to the New York Rangers last summer for Keandre Miller. Like, you have to use the tools that are available to you to improve your hockey team, that it's a direct use of that tool or if it's, you know, a means to, you know, starting a conversation, you have to. So aggressive is the way I'd like to put it at Pirates is is fantastic. But I think the way that you saw Danny Breyer get aggressive when it came to

Cutter Goetiae. Even, even Sunny Meta to a degree, like the, it was a smart offer sheet. I get why Utah matched it, but it was a smart offer sheet nonetheless. That's more aggressiveness than we've seen in an offer sheet department than in a while outside of what St. Louis did to Edmonton. So I like what we're seeing, but also, and I think more relevant to the topic as well, as we're seeing general managers in the absence of free agency be a little bit more aggressive on the pending RFAs with very little time left as an RFA and arbitration rights. For example, like Marchenko, who especially with the fact that we're nearing the change in the CBA on September 16th where the maximum of contracts go to eight to seven years, there's a little bit of, there's a little bit of

push to try and get things dealt before them. I think this speaks to a couple of things. The power of the player and the power of the agent. That's the one part that we haven't talked to about at all. We talked about player empowerment, player empowerment, general managers are not. The role of the agent here, I don't think can be disqualified. I do think that, listen, you know how aggressive it is between agents, you know, knock each other's grandmother's down an icy road for a nickel.

Like there's no honor amongst managers, once upon a time, agents didn't take other people's clients. That's gone. That's gone. Like now it is, you know, fighting for every dime for your clients and fighting for clients as well. And I think that's a big part of it here. Let me ask you a couple what you and Sean were talking about Kent Johnson the other day on your on your program. I thought it was a fascinating conversation too. We know the two C hole is something that, and it's not exclusive to Montreal, but it is, it has become like, it's like two C and for some teams have become more important than a 1C in some situation because it's so hard to find. Is there anything there?

Is there anything there? Should there be anything there? I find it ironic that we talk about two Cs across the league. Montreal, for a generation, was finding the 1C. And I feel like you have certain teams across the league like Philly that very much are having the conversation about who's going to be the 1C down the line. But with the Canadians, I mean, well, with the Canadians, I think you have stopgap material that has worked in the past,

they have a belief that Michael Hage will end up being that 2C down the line. But again, are you comfortable going into this season with Oliver Capanen or Alex Newark is your number two center? I mean, ideally no, but to the point of having to go and look at other players

that are in the same hole, like that's kind of my, that was kind of the debate I had with Sean is that I like the skill set. from Kent Johnson. But you look at the way that the Montreal Canadians played in the playoffs and you look at Kent Johnson's skill set,

even when he was on his game, when he had that 57 point season, is that the kind of player that top nine needs when... Not Montreal. Not Montreal, no. And so I didn't think the fit made sense. And if a player was going to get sacrificed from Columbus,

it wouldn't be the top nine, arguably top six player, making $1.8 million next year. it would probably be the perceived top six player that was in Rick Bonas's doghouse playing on the fourth line making 4.175 in the form of Dimitri Voronkov. Right. You know who else would be if he ever got to market. And I know that when Waddell was in Carolina, he was trying to get him, and that's Matthew Olivier. If that guy ever got to, and that ain't going to happen.

There's no way. Like Wadd knows exactly. He's the toughest dog in the NHL for crying out loud to say nothing of. He kills penalties and starts games and like he is one of the best kept secrets around the National Hockey League. It might be early to ask this, but here I go. It's July 28th and I'm talking to my buddy. Is this make or break year already for David Reinbacher? Because it feels like it.

Like, does it not feel like it? I know there's been injury issues. issues along the way, but like it feels like, okay, what are we doing here with this player? And I always catch myself and I say like, still young, still young. Think about what Sam Pollock said and don't make your mind up about a young player until you're 100% sure. If you're 99% sure, don't do it. So I don't know. What do you think?

I think San Pollock was a genius of a manager. But I also think that the league is about an average of six years younger now than it was back then. And so you have to have. a little bit more clarity a little bit sooner you can't wait three years for gila flora to become a hundred point player you have to kind of know now we're in we're in year we're about to start year four here uh three years after this his draft year i think yeah absolutely it's a make or break year but the player knows it it's not lost on them that they got two you know he got two games at the end of last season to see what he can do he look good i would say against the new york islanders

against the philadelphia flyers i think everybody kind of was just waiting for the season to end season to end. Correct. But I think there's a very real possibility that the door is open for him to seal a spot, even though the Canadians have seven defensemen on one-way contracts right now. And I think his skill set is what they lack. Being able to take up that much ice, the way that guys like Jacob Slavin did for the Carolina Hurricanes in the playoffs, like Keon-Drey Miller did in the playoffs, doesn't necessarily need to be the offensive machine that Dobson or Hudson are. But a guy that could help just kill plays, get the puck out is something that they lack so severely. And the fact that he's a right shot adds the premium to that position.

So if he can maintain health and get reps, I think he will have success. But that's a big if considering what we've seen over the last couple of seasons. What I've been told is he's been having a very fruitful summer in terms of training. It's the first summer where he's been able to train unhampered by any injury. and I think he'll be in Montreal probably in the next couple of days, be training here for the next month. He'll be ready come training cap. And, you know, again, it's a big, it's just about staying healthy, in my opinion.

But if he could stay healthy, he has the physical attributes and the IQ to at least be able to hold down a bottom pair role in the NHL, in my opinion, at this stage. At this stage. That makes sense. Let me ask you about another defenseman here. What's the future in Montreal for Arbor Jackie? Yeah, that's a dynamite question just because you're bouncing that grenade and hoping it doesn't land. I know, just like, pull the pin and roll.

That's it. And I mean, look, does Arbor want to stay in Montreal? Absolutely. But I think the elephant in the room is, and I don't blame him at all or his camp or anybody for having this perception. But he, you know, at some point, it's how much does this player mean to you as a management team? How much as he means to you as a coach? staff and how much does he mean to the market? And I think you have to weigh all of those things when you're having that conversation.

I think the Montreal Canadians don't want to trade Arbor Jackaray right now. Ideally, he brings an element that not many, if at all, in the organizational depth chart, bring. And I think what hurts Jackies, unfortunately, the Canadians have a ridiculous amount of depth in terms of left shot defensemen. And eventually they're going to have to make a choice because they have guys pushing We just talked about Ryan Backer. There's Adam Engstrom as well from Montreal

that will be pushing and we know that they have other guys coming up in the future like Bryce Pickford and so on and so forth. So you're going to have to make decisions on some of these guys. And I think Arbor's decision is coming quite soon. That it be now or that it be next summer, but he cannot be an extra defenseman with his skill set.

This is a guy that should be playing in the lineup on a regular basis. And if it's not Montreal, eventually, you know, I could foresee an ask where he would like to go to a team that will guarantee him or at least offer him the opportunity to be a consistent top six defenseman. It's been out there for a while that Philadelphia could be that landing spot. My thought on a player like Arbor Jackie, though, is you send him to the other conference. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I could, first of all, Philly and what Arbor does would be fantastic, but Philly also has an abundance of left shot defensemen. So as much as they like him, it would be the same

problem. It's, you know, what it's like if I can cut you? Yeah, it's kind of like, who can afford this luxury item? Because given his skill set, you can look at him. Like, even like, we just mentioned Matthew Olivier a couple of seconds ago. I look at Olivier, like a luxury item for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Yeah. One of like the ultimate luxury items that any team has given that role because he does

bring you other things. But I look at Jack Eye too and I say, that's a luxury. item. And it's got to be so tough to walk away from a luxury item. Do you need it? Do you want it? Absolutely. I think the Canadians do need, like, you see it in the playoffs as well.

Like you look at a team, for example, I go back to Carolina a lot for this, but like the way that Sean Walker has been able to kind of mold his game to what Rob Rindamor wants versus what he used to do. Great example. Right? I feel like that's the same thing with Arbor. As long as the defensive side and the discipline is there, this is a player that should be in your lineup day in, day out.

And I think in Montreal, you're going to, it's management absolutely wants to keep this kind of player. And clearly they've drafted both the brothers. But at the same time, when push comes to shove it, you know, Martin Saint-Louis doesn't necessarily utilize him to the maximum of his capabilities. and he gets five minutes or seven minutes in the playoffs. Like that's where the frustration comes in. Whereas if the consistency was there, because there were moments last season where he was an unmistakable cog in the machine

that was the Canadian's defensive brigade, it's just that consistency there and being able to play that consistency. The Canadians have been playing hopscotch with Arbor Jackie and Jaden Struble for basically the last two years. I think everybody that watches this team wants to see them make a call.

all. Yeah. And I think there would be pandemonium if the call wasn't keeping our project. Remind me again, who's the coach in Philadelphia? I'm new to hockey. And is he like violence? Is he a tough player when he played 22 or in the orange jersey there? Anyhow, I digress.

Listen, Marco, always a pleasure. Thanks. Listen, you're keeping yours hot too, man. It's great to see and great to hear and great to watch and great to listen to as well, continued success. And we will check back to, oh, can I get one in quick under the wire? What happens with Sam Montambeau? I have a soft spot for Montembo, just FYI.

I really want him to do well. I don't think there's a trade Montembo at all cost scenario. Like Jacob Fowler is still waiver exempt, so he could always go back to LaValle. I don't think it's problematic. Do I think that eventually the Canadians would like to find him a landing spot so he could push to earn himself another contract after this season, his contract year?

Yes, but it's not a trade-em-at-all-cost situation right now. Gotcha. All right, great stuff. Great stuff, as always. We'll talk soon. Thanks, one of me. Always a pleasure. Have a great one.

There he is. Marco D'Amico, who is one-a-half of Star and D'Amico, which is an excellent property. You should be watching slash listening to get your updates on the Montreal Canadiens. He mentioned Sean Walker there a couple of seconds ago. He, of course, Stanley Cup champion with the Carolina Hurricanes. And when we talk about the Carolina Hurricanes, I go to my main source. And that is Corey Lavalette, who is back from vacation. and ready to rock and roll.

Yes. By the way, and I did want to get a chance before, and then everything blew up. If you have a copy of it, I think you do a copy of Perfect Storm behind you. Can you hold it up here? There we go. Okay, before we get into all of this,

I know how hard you worked on it, and this was sort of running beside all of your daily duties covering this team, so good for you. Take us through Perfect Storm. Yeah, I mean, it's really just a nice little commemorative thing to remember the season. I think that that kind of stuff is great for fans. You know, you want to be able to look back at those moments. And that's kind of what this captures, right?

It goes through the whole postseason, all the, you know, there's something on every game in there. The photography's great. The layout's great. That's a credit to triumph books, not me. And, you know, then stuff from throughout the year, kind of how did we get here, right? How did we go from can the hurricanes do it to the hurricanes did it? So that's kind of the overriding theme, I would say. But it was a lot of fun.

It was definitely a bit of a crunch there. And, you know, covering a Stanley Cup final is different than just covering the regular playoffs. You learn that real quick, especially when you're traveling to West Coast all of a sudden. So it was interesting. I got to, you know, I'm a little. a big guy. You can probably tell. I had one flight to Vegas where I was next to a guy who looked like he played for the All Blacks and he was in the middle. He was probably six, six, 350 pounds. I was worried the plane was going to like tilt with the two of us on one side of the

plane. Oh, geez. So the travel and stuff gets you and then add another thing on top. But it was a lot of fun and the feedback's been awesome. I got an event coming up in Raleigh. next month at Quail Ridge Books, which is kind of the go-to local bookstore here in Raleigh. So I'm excited about that and get to talk to people and stuff. But it's been nice to unwind a little bit too. Of course, yeah. And listen, I just mentioned you back from vacation.

I was really happy when you texted me and you say, like, you're off and you're shutting down. Like, if anyone deserves it, Corey, you certainly do. And you mentioned it went from can they do it to they did it. and then the next stop is can they do it again? Health being the ultimate wild card. Freddie Anderson is no longer with the team. But essentially, again, as of right now, and I don't think it would surprise anybody

if Eric Tulski at the last moment as maybe the last option for the Winnipeg Jets slide here, slides in and gets a very discounted price on someone like Connor Hallibuck. But is this basically, to your understanding this, like they're quote unquote running this thing back as it, as it is. It looks like it. You know, the big thing that has been hanging out there is the Alexander Nikitian situation.

And what I tell people, especially with these RFAs that don't have any Arbrites, everything you hear from front offices when it's those kind of players is there's really no rush. Like we don't need to have this player signed in July. Like there's, you know, there's other business to take care of in July. We all know the draft goes on the end of June. The, you know, free agency opens up. So, you know, they've got to figure that out and get Nikitian signed. It kind of reminds me a lot of the Martin Natchez's situation where there was so much smoke all the time at the draft, after the draft. And I kind of feel like maybe we end up with the same conclusion, which is a bridge deal that is reasonable for both sides.

and, you know, in a couple years, Niketian's going to get a chance to cash in, whether that's, you know, here in Raleigh or somewhere else. I think they're going to play it like that. To me, I mean, I thought he was good in the playoffs. To me, he's the one guy on the roster who didn't have like a moment in the playoffs. I think that was the most important thing for the hurricanes to me was, if you go up and down that lineup, you can find a moment for every single guy,

with the exception of Niketian. Again, that's not a knock on him. And I thought he played fine and he was good. But, you know, you go on all the fourth liners and the defense, you know, Sean Walker, I heard you just mention him or Mark mentioned him. You know, you talk about these guys that maybe have been overlooked so much outside of this market. And everybody had, you know, Mark Jankowski going bar down during that comeback. And, you know, just so to me, I think the Nekishian thing, I think they're smart and not

trying to die. You know, this team takes a lot of risks with long-term deals. You know, everybody knocks them for the Kokanyemi deal. And I know the front office's mindset is, hey, if we take five swings and three of them work, we're ahead. You know, if we have two that don't, but three that do, you know, and I mean, that's, that's the Blake deal and the Stankhoven deal and, you know, all those kind of things. I'm glad you couched it that way.

I really am because this is one of the things that I've been trying to, to, to, to, to, to, pound home. No manager bats a thousand. No manager, no manager bats a thousand. And to your point about whether it's the, God, the Blake deal looks good. The Stankhoven deal looks great. Like some of these deals just look tremendous, but they're not all going to hit. Right. And so I will, if I'm a manager, I will put up with, or if I'm an owner, I'll put up with the Kukki Nemi deal if it means I can also have the Stankhoven deal, the Blake deal, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, all the way down the line. It's like I used to say about Eric Carlson and everyone would focus on, now they say about Evan Bouchard. You focus on the turnovers.

Look, man, if this guy costs you five opportunities but produces 15 or 20, with margins like that, you win cups. Right. You just do. So I'm glad you framed it that way because I think that's a, I think that's a perspective. Corey that I think is lost on people. They just focus on, oh, look at this terrible deal for cooking yemi. Yeah, you're not going to bat a thousand.

Have a look at the wider picture here in Carolina. And by the way, they just won the cup. And I mean, the thing they do that's smart is they make these bets early. So it's not like you're making a bet in free agency when you're going to throw a guy, you know, I don't think anybody saw the Nikolai Eelers deal as anything other than a good deal right from the start, you know, unless injuries were to happen or something. But, you know, there's guys who, you know, get these monster deals in their first year of free agency.

And those are big risk because you're, you're betting huge, huge dollars. When you take a bet on a 22-year-old, a 23-year-old, and it doesn't work out, usually you're not giving them $10 million to do it. You know, the thing I've said all along is, yeah, the Kokea-Manyi deal's not great

because you're paying somebody $4.82 million to watch hockey games right now. However, I think there's enough value there that Eric Tolski's just sitting there saying people need centers and this guy can play it's not that he can't play in the nchel he's an n hl player it's just that jordan stall lives on this team and you know there's not really a place for you know another center when mark jankowski was such a great fit and maybe it's just not a great fit here but he's a guy who can play in the league so you need to have the mentality of well four million dollars is probably under market now for a third line center if somebody believes that's what he is and we're not going to be too far away

from a fourth line center making $4 million, I bet. I had Eric Tolski on a couple of days after they won the cup and he mentioned something along the lines. If he thinks that he's turned over 12 players and he's 12 for 12 so far, doesn't expect to continue to hit like that, but he's run into a hot streak here. I do wonder about the goaltending. Now, I know that the hospital bracelet, the hospital gown, make a lot of, all the jokes you want about Freddie Anderson.

I feel bad for guys when they get injured. But that was always his main nemesis, was the hospital bracelet. Now, it's Brandon Bussie, who became one of the great stories. Last season with the Carolina Hurricanes, really happy for him. And Peter Kachetkoff,

who's one of my favorite fiery goaltenders in the NHL. Is that an area of concern for the Carolina? I mean, it's something that you have to keep an eye on, I mean, you wondered how Brandon Bussie would react to not playing for, you know, basically three months. And then he came in in the Stanley Cup final. And you were just like this, this was everything that he was when he showed up. Can he continue that? Paul Schoenfelders done a great job, their goalie coach, with those guys.

Kachekhov, you know, you mentioned the, you know, kind of the med tent for Freddie. I mean, Kachov has had his injury problems too. And, you know, the surgery, the hip surgery he had, I think, you know, he came back and was healthy at the end there and obviously was backing up in the cup final after Freddie hurt his knee. He'll be an interesting one. He's in the last year of his deal. You know, what's amazing here is that, you know, they've got two guys locked up for almost nothing. There's not many teams in the league that have that cheap of a goaltending situation with one of their goalies. Forget about both.

Yeah. So the Kachekhov situation will be interesting because he walks right into free agency with his deal. So we'll see where he goes. I know they think upside-wise. He might be the best guy out of all three. I know you love him. I know you're waiting on the on the, the Bennington-Kachkoff matchup. Actually, another fun side note for those three goalies is they all got married this summer or they're all getting married this summer. already got married Bussie already got married. I'm not sure if Kachekhov's had his wedding yet, but all three guys got, we're getting married this summer.

But we'll see. I mean, the Brandon Bussie thing, you just don't know. Goalies are, I mean, goalies are voodoo, which is why having very little invested them is pretty smart at this point. You know, there's, there's, what, maybe five guys that any GM would take and say, yes, I would pay $10 million for this guy to be my goal. for the for the year you know and expect them to be good you know you got your chesterkins and your syroquins and you know i know ottinger didn't have a great year but he probably falls into there

and hellabuck and you know a couple others um but beyond that like can we count on logan thompson being great again i don't i mean i i don't know i mean that's not i'm not saying i don't think he will be good but you know it was two years you know i heard you mentioned sam montimbo two years ago he was the savior. Now he's the number three goalie in Montreal. I thought he was, you know, I thought he was going to,

at the end of it, I thought he was going to, again, like a year before the Olympics, I thought by the end of it is going to be, Biddington was going to start the tournament and Montemboe was going to finish it. If you asked me a year before the Olympics. Yeah.

Yeah. And I mean, look at Aden Hill. I mean, he was a star for Vegas. That a great one. And he couldn't, he couldn't even get a chance.

You know, in the Stanley Cup five. when Logan Thompson was given up four goals a game. I mean, not Logan Thompson when Carter Hart was given up four goals a game. So, you know, yeah, I mean, you have to worry about it. But at the same time, you look at Carolina, their cap situation, everything. The assets they have, they have the ability to go do something if they feel they need to. I know they liked Brandon Bussie for a long time.

They had the chance to get him. I know it wasn't a plan to get him and then make him the star of him. the last, you know, four games of the Stanley Cup final, but it worked out pretty well for him. And you got a Chipotle deal out of it. Yeah, right, right. You got his payback. Yeah. You know, it's funny, too.

I was telling the story a while ago here. I'm not going to say who the player is, but there was one player. You know the move when a veteran player comes in and they have the same number as a young kid, so the kid's supposed to give up the number and the veteran buys them a watch. Usually that's the way it goes. here's your Rolex thanks for the number. There was one player who I was told, like, I don't want to Rolex. Like, I don't need a watch.

Can I just get like a few thousand dollars worth of Chipotle gift certificates? Because that's great. Like, I can use that. I can't use. I can't eat a Rolex. I'll take the Chipotle gift certificate. Thank you very much. Sounds like something Seth Jarvis would do.

That shit. You know what? I was, I think we're all sort of thrilled for him. I think we're thrilled for a lot of different people in this organization. Jordan Stahl comes to mind. Rod Bindamor, certainly, where they're one or two, not necessarily just players, but people as well that you were really, really happy for with the hurricanes. It's a standard question. Like, who are you happiest for the most here? Sound like a cup celebration is always a beautiful thing. Who are you happiest the most for? Yeah, I mean, seeing Frederick Anderson on the ice afterward, even though he was unable to play. I got to congratulate him and talk to him for a minute.

Super happy for him. Jordan Martinuk has just bled this thing since he got here. And he's a heart and soul guy, and you're so happy to see him. I mean, I remember sitting after they were swept by Florida in the Eastern Conference finals a few years back. him you know jacobs slavin had gotten concussed in the fourth game by sam bennett uh the locker room was just dead and he he couldn't believe it he was you know and that was the famous you know rod brindamore we didn't get swept uh comment that everybody kind of latched on and made fun of but the you know you could feel that from jordan martin up that man we were right there and

somehow we lost four straight games. Like how does that happen? And you could see him, you know, the pain that he had, you know, Jacob Slavin talks a lot about how hockey is important to him, but it's not the most important thing in his life. Obviously, his faith, his family, all of that. You know, you can see him being disappointed, but Jordan Martinuk wears it.

So to see him afterward, to see him at the parade, live in his best life, I was really happy for him. Taylor Hall is a great guy. I was happy to see him, a guy who's had one of the more interesting career arcs, I think, of any player in the league, kind of became a villain this postseason, which was kind of funny. Because he's one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet. I mean, obviously, he plays hard on the ice, but he made villains in pretty much every stop in the, in the postseason. So, I mean, he has, he, I was going to say, he has one of the most incredible

I don't even what you would call it stats or facts or trivia lines attached to them. The first player in the history of the NHL to go first overall, win the Hart Trophy, and win the Stanley Cup all with three different teams. Yeah, crazy. And is part of the greatest tweet in hockey history, right? The trade is one for one, Bob McKenzie. I mean, he's got it. He's got it all, right?

If there was a Twitter, I've always wanted to do like a hockey Twitter Hall of Fame. and just like have it up behind me like that one is is one of the Cadillacs of all yeah for sure the trade is one for one uh what a fun what a fun career i mean just look at the stops he made you know going to buffalo and yeah being on that boston team that was unstoppable and loses in the first round and then being the the cap casualty that goes to chicago and uh by all accounts is just miserable there because, you know, here's a guy who was, he knows he's on the back half, you know. And then to get to get reborn in Carolina and to re-sign there. And the vision to put those three together.

And I don't even know that it was putting Stankov and Blake and Hall together as much as it was being willing to put Nick Eilers with Jordan Stahl and Jordan Martinook. But that led to what became the best line in the playoffs. I mean, bar none. And those guys all come back next year. And I can't wait to see what they do a year together, you know? Yeah. We'll see.

We'll see how the fire burns after accomplishing what you aim to accomplish. But you don't get the feeling those two young guys are ready to hang them up yet and coast into the... I'm telling. I'll say, you know, again, in the back, in the back of all of their minds, maybe to all of their minds, but in some of those. players minds. And you already mentioned a couple of seconds ago with Sam Bennett, how much in the back of some of these guys' minds is, we want to do it again, but we want to go through Florida. You know, when the Washington capitals were on there saying like that they had to go through Pittsburgh. Like that was the dragon along the way. Is the dragon along the way next year for

the Florida, for the Carolina hurricanes of Florida Panthers? Feels like that. I mean, you add in the spice of adding Brady Kachuk who in a way triggered this run by telling Jordan Stahl he wanted to drop the gloves in game one, you know? And for Jordan Stahl wins that fight. I mean, it's not a, you know, knockdown, dragout brawl, but that's a guy who doesn't, you know, he fought earlier this year. And when I talked to him about, I had been like a decade since he fought. And I mean, that's a guy I always joke about like if there's one guy who if he gets mad that could

just pop your head off like a daisy. I mean, he's a monstrous man. And you always wish like, man, if he could play angry all the time, what would he, what would he be? And I don't even know that he was angry in that moment, but the fact that he stood up and did it and then pretty much won the scrap on home ice and kind of triggered this whole thing. And then the cup final that he had and everything. Another guy you're happy for. Obviously, he's won before. But, you know, the thing that struck me about Jordan when he came was, you know, they were in a bad, they were in a bad spot, you know, after the, you know, after the cup win and not going to the playoffs. And Eric Stahl sitting there after every loss with the same look on his face, this

thousand-yard stare. And then Jordan came and there was this optimism and it never worked out. And then Eric gets traded away and now it's Jordan sitting there every night with a thousand yard stare and it you know you could tell it was eating eating away at him for sure and the partnership between him and rod brendamore the the respect those two have for each other um pretty similar player you know rod was obviously more of an offensive player jorda's a much bigger man than rod as far as sheer size though i i don't know that i'd want to have a bench pressing contest with rod anytime soon um but the way those two work together and I'm sure your next question is going to be,

or your question at some point is going to be, how long does Rod Brindamore want to do this for and everyone ties it? I have two questions. Yeah. Is this it going to be last for Jordan Stahl and what's up with Brindamore? Let me close on those two. Yeah. So, I mean, that was the thing I asked Jordan when he came in after the parade,

when we had a chance to talk to him, is did little scrum and there were a million people there who I've never seen before covering the event. And so you just try to get those little moments where you can get off to the side and just talk to a guy. and I just grabbed him and I just said, hey, any, you know, any thoughts about going on a high note because he hadn't said anything about it yet.

And he's like, no, I want another one. And, you know, I think he can, he'll definitely be fine next year. I don't, he's not a guy whose game is predicated on speed. If he wants to keep playing, I think he can keep playing. I mean, I think he can play two, three more years easily if that's what he wants. And there's still another step for him. him to take. You know, he could go down and be a fourth line center, kind of do that Dave anderchuk thing where maybe you're not at the peak of your powers anymore. What a great example.

Yeah, but you're still, you know, a contributor at what you do. Like Dave Anderchuk was still in front of the net winning battles on the power play right to the end. And Jordan Stahl is still going to be in his very last NHL game, you know, winning faceoffs and checking top players and things like that. So, yeah, so, I mean, it starts with him, I think. As for Rod, you know, you mentioned is the thing for the hurricanes they need to get through Florida. And all I can think about with Rod is there have been enough people who have said 2006 was a fluke. You know, you're coming out of the lockout, that nothing expected of that team. The penalties are through the roof.

Everybody's, you know, get called for everything. Power, play, power, play, power. And their power play. I wasn't even that good that year, to be honest with you, but they got so many because they adapted how to play. I wonder if it burns in him to be like, we need to show people that were not a one-hit wonder. Because even after this one, you know, people said, oh, they didn't have to go through anyone. And to me, all that's silly. You know, the way they did it, you know, losing only three times is just banana pants, right?

It was like, yeah, you don't win, you don't win eight games in a row in the, in the regular season too often and to do it in the playoffs against good teams. And then, you know, do what they did against Montreal, which I know you just, you know, we're talking Montreal, but pretty good measuring stick for the Canadians about where they need to get, where they need to get to, um, based on what happened in that series. Because it was a, it was a blood bath. Really. I mean, absolutely. Montreal. Yeah, Montreal. I mean, they had moments where you thought maybe if they get a goal here, but they couldn't do anything.

No, no, it was one of the more impressive performances that we've seen. And one of the game three was one of the best playoff games, any of us, whether you're a new fan, whether you're an old fan. That's just one of the flat out best playoff games, Stanley Cup final games, anybody has ever seen. Welcome back, bud. And we'll abuse the fact that you are back on the beat because you're the best added. You have a good rest of your day, Corey, and we'll talk soon, pal. Perfect storm. Go ahead and get your copy, everybody.

Thanks, Corey. Thanks, Jeff. Appreciate it, man. There is, Corey Lavalette. One thing that I should mention you, I don't know why I'm so fascinated with this little thing, but I bring it up all the time. Does Jordan Stahl win the 2006 draft? And by win, I mean, will he be the last man standing from that draft?

And here's the field. Jordan Stahl, Clojuru, Nick Falino, and I guess we'll see Simeon Varlamov as well. Is Jordan Stahl

the last player remaining from the 2006 draft, i.e., is he the last one in the NHL? There's a couple of other things like that that we're following to, or I'm following too, because I'm fascinated with winning a draft year. The 2003 draft is down to two players, technically three, because Ryan Souter hasn't officially announced as retirement.

Corey Perry and Brent Burns. The 2004 draft is interesting because it's picks number one and two. Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Malkin. The 2005 draft has three active, now that Kopitz are. and Quick have called it a career. And it's Crosby, LaTang, and anyone in the back, Aaron Bordado? Ryan Reeves. So we shall see.

I don't know why I am so fascinated with this thing, but for some reason, I am. Okay, one thing that I do want to mention here to you, before I let you get back to your busy day and thanks for indulging us on a longer edition of the show today. Welcome to the Nation Network's first limited edition collection, a new era of nation gear. Now, we've partnered with level wear to elevate the apparel you know and love, bringing you premium quality pieces, new styles,

and versatile collections designed for life beyond game base. This is some really good stuff. Introducing the off-season social club, a collection built for the sports fan between sports from polos and premium teas to hoodies and hats. to hoodies and hats elevated everyday essentials. Every piece is designed with the quality, comfort, and performance to take you from the golf course to the patio, weekend trips, and everywhere in between.

Because being a sports fan isn't just a season, it is a lifestyle. Visit nationgear.ca, follow Nationgear on social, and subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to shop, the new collections, exclusive drops, and everything's still to come. new era of nation gear. Okay, I don't think we left anything on the table here for today. Thanks to Marco, Demi, for stopping by the program.

Thanks to Corey Lavalette, you just heard from. No, Jim Motherford update here. Not being hired by the Detroit Rudwings as general manager. Sorry, I'll let the bit drop. But you have to understand, I had a very interesting 18 hours or so of my life because of a comment your brother for unsecarous. and price show. Quick programming note, too.

Generally, the show is going to be Tuesdays and Thursdays, but for this week, it's Tuesday and Friday. So unless something massive happens, your mother for he gets hired by the Detroit Riteway. Okay, I'll stop. Cutter Goce gets traded and or signed to a whopper of a deal at the Anaheim Ducks, in which case, we're getting hot and we're doing a show. Adam Fantilli gets offer sheeted by, oh, I don't know, I'll pick a team. Seattle. We're doing a show.

But barring anything major, we are back here on the air Friday, 1 o'clock Eastern for the sheet. Hope you can join us. Thanks to Aaron Bordado, who is ushered into duty today. Thank you, Aaron. Great job. And we'll talk to you again right here on the sheet Friday, 1 o'clock Eastern. Have a great. middle part of your week. We'll talk to you soon.

Jeff Merrick along with you. I hope you enjoyed the program today. If you did, or maybe even if you didn't, they can't all be gems, folks. Please hit the subscribe button. Also a reminder every morning, 9 a.m. Eastern, Johnny Lazarus, Colby Cohen, I call them the Impact Players. You might know them as a tandem that makes up the morning cup of hockey. Also, DFO Live at noon Eastern. This year, your host, Heather U.M.chuk, alongside Carter Hutton.

Full days worth of program. right here on Daily Face Off, your favorite YouTube hockey channel. And as a reminder as well, Zach Phillips, our producer here for the sheet, said if you subscribe, he'll buy you a puppy. It's true.