The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Crosby Out Four Weeks and NHL Resumes ft. Brian Burke & Jay Rosehill

Episode Date: February 25, 2026

Jeff Marek is joined by Brian Burke for a wide-ranging breakdown of the conclusion of both the men’s and women’s Olympic hockey tournaments, what the results mean for the global game, and how the fallout carries into the NHL stretch run. They dive into the news that Sidney Crosby is out four weeks and what that means for the Pittsburgh Penguins, plus analyze the Brett Kulak for Samuel Girard deal between the Penguins and the Colorado Avalanche and how it reshapes both blue lines. With the NHL returning to action tonight, Burke offers his trademark perspective on contenders, pretenders, and trade deadline pressure. Later, Jay Rosehill from TheLeafsNation joins to assess Auston Matthews at the Olympics, the Toronto Maple Leafs dilemma ahead of the deadline, their matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and how Toronto fans should celebrate Matthews Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators.#TheSheet #JeffMarek #BrianBurke #JayRosehill #NHL #Olympics #NHLTradeDeadline #SidneyCrosby #AustonMatthews #MapleLeafs #LeafsForever #Penguins #GoAvsGo #BrettKulak #SamuelGirard #TampaBayLightning #OttawaSenators #HockeyTalk #DailyFaceoffLeave a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/TheSheetEmail us: [e-mail] TO OUR SPONSORS!!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼Uber Eats: https://www.ubereats.com/caReach 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/@FNBarnBurner🚨 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-faceoffReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Okay, welcome to the program. Sad start to the program today, and thanks for joining me here on this Wednesday, February 25th. I want to offer condolences to the family and the friends of Jim Boomer Gordon. Many of you listen to Boomer. Some of you may have had a chance to meet him, talk to him. First of all, a delightful guy, and just an excellent host on NHL Network Radio on Sirius XM. Boomer was must listen to. there are there are we all love hockey right like we all love hockey we all love talking about hockey every

single day i know i always have and always will as well um but for for boomer it always felt like whenever i talked to him on the air off the air it was like every day was a great day to talk about hockey and he had like this genuine curiosity about how it all worked and how it all came together and all the dynamics of it like he loved the history of the game he loved the future of the game. He was always interested in prospects and the next kid's coming and how everything all worked together. And every single time that I listened to Boomer, and I think we all have the same feeling, there's one, an adoration of the sport and two, a genuine love of it. And three, a genuine curiosity about how the whole thing works. Boomer had battle cancer

for the last four years and fought it valiantly. We had our final correspondence on Saturday. Saturday, we said our goodbyes to each other. I told them how much he meant to me and he wished me luck and told me to be well. That was Boomer. He was always looking out for other people as well. He knew it was the end and was starting to say goodbye to people. A real kind person, a real nice person, a really thoughtful person and someone that's going to be greatly missed. Like look at the outpouring. Just type in his name on social media or go to go to the tweet. Sirius XM NHL put out. And look at all the things that people are saying about him. People in the industry, fans that listen to his show, listen to how and read how much this guy impacted everyone. Just like a giant of a man, a giant behind the microphone, and someone that is going to be deeply, deeply missed by all of us,

The hockey broadcasting industry is poorer today for not having Jim Boomer Gordon in it. And for that, it is a great loss for the game of hockey and the broadcast industry, certainly, and condolences to both his family and also his family at NHL Network Radio. I know they're doing a tribute right now to Jim. A great man, gone way too soon, a nice man and a supreme professional. And someone who I think, you listen to him once, you're like, A, I like that guy. And B, I learned something from that guy. Boomer, thanks, man.

You're the best. Coming up on the program today, someone who knew Boomer and was on his show a number of times here. The Blueprint is powered by Fandual. Download the app today and play your game. And that person is Brian Burke, who will kick off the program here in a couple of moments. We'll get a couple of thoughts. because I know that Berkey used to listen to Boomer as well. And I know that I talked to Boomer plenty of times about Berkey.

And he was a huge fan of Brian. So we'll get a couple of thoughts from Brian on both Jim Boomer Gordon and also the Olympics, both on the men's side and the women's side and the big piece of news coming out of today, which goes back to Radco Gudis, is Cindy Crosby out minimum of four weeks. That was announced today. The NHL resumes with eight games on the go-around the league this evening.

Jay Rose Hill will stop by to talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs what's happening with Austin Matthews and what the Toronto Maple Leafs deadline may just end up looking like. In the meantime, here for comments on a number of things. A Wednesday staple. We love him around these parts. He's the great Brian Burke and he joins me on the sheet. Berkey, a sad day, as I mentioned off the top.

And I knew that you listened to Boomer on NHL Radio whenever we would talk and your name would come up. There'd be a big smile and he'd always have a kind word. You were like one of his kinds of guys. Do you have a thought on the life and the career of Jim Boomer Gordon? Well, I agree with everything you said, Jeff. I'd add one thing. Boomer was knowledgeable about every sport.

Like I know a lot about hockey, a little bit about football. After that, I'm guessing. Boomer knew something about every sport. You talk knowledgeably about every sport. Good guy. I texted with him off and spoke to him. Really love the guy. He'll be missed.

He will. A nice man and a giant in hockey broadcasting. The news of the day is Sidney Crosby, and I want to get there. But this is an injury suffered at the Milan Games with Radku-Gutus and then the Natchez Goudis sandwich. But double gold is one of the headline stories, both on the men's and the women's side. The women have done their part in the last few years, you know, picking up gold medals here and there. The men finally win

one. We have to go all the way back to 1980 and before that 1960 to find U.S. gold. I know that there's a lot of sidebar issues to all of it. I really don't, I'll be honest with you, Brian, I really don't know where I want to jump in here with you. So I'm just going to surrender the floor. Double gold,

men, women, where do you want to begin? What's most important to you here? Well, first off, congratulations to both teams. They both played extremely well. The women had it. More, in my mind, more of a chance of winning and were more entitled to it. And I think that it was the right result. The U.S. men's was wide open who was going to win. I think without Cidav made it 50-50.

Here's the problem. The problem is this a great rivalry, but it's not exacerbated by the activities on the U.S. side. So people are, our sovereignty has been questioned, different economic issues. So it's been way more at stake for Canadians in this game. And that's what I feel. I feel a lot of resentment that triggered by this

win by the U.S. men. The most intense that I think hockey ever was was the World Championships in 1969. And there's been some, well, actually there's a great book right behind me, freedom to win. That's all about it.

It's one of my favorite hockey books. And it's about Czechoslovakia versus the Soviet Union in 1969, the games were played in Stockholm. And this is after the Soviet tanks rolled through Czechoslovakia, rolled through the cobblestone streets of Prague. And all of those players, and Bobby Holik's dad was one of them. The feeling was very much, we would rather die than lose these games. What we're going through right now between Canada and the United States is not that. But you're right.

Like the tension is more than just sports tension. It's deeper. It's way deeper. And I don't know how we pull out of this as a sport. I don't know how we pull out of this as citizens on both sides of the border. But nonetheless, there is something palpable here. And here's my question to you as a manager. If you're the manager of the Ottawa senators,

where there is a pocket of people that really aren't feeling it with Brady Kach right, now. Or back to like you're managing the Maple Leafs again. And there's Austin Matthews. And I will say the similar thing about Brady, about Austin Matthews that I said about Brady Kachuk. How do you handle these two players coming back? Like Ottawa takes on Detroit on Thursday in Ottawa. Maple Leafs are on the road. They got Tampa and then they got Florida. How do you, do you say anything to these players? Like, what do you do in this situation as a manager, Berkey? You have to believe this is going to pass. This is a very temporary situation. These are two of the

best allies in the history of the world. The longest I'm defended border in the history of the world this will pass. We have to get past this. Have to just be patient. What do you think it'll be like for Brady Kachuk back in Ottawa? What do you think it'll be like for Austin Matthews back in Toronto?

I think people first and foremost are hockey fans. I think they'll appreciate what Brady Kachuk brought to his team. Our country has always put down their skates, gone away the Olympics and played. No one's ever blamed anyone. No one's ever said, how dare you. And they shouldn't hear it. There shouldn't be no, there should be no feedback against Brady Kachuk or any U.S. skater. And they're just doing

their job representing their countries. The backdrop has got nothing to do with hockey players. And it will pass. We will get back to normal at some point. Fingers crossed, that that is sooner than later. Listen, this is a real bright, spot for USA hockey. I mean, this is what USA hockey has dreamed about for decades and it's finally arrived here. Can you describe from a USA hockey point of view because you've been part of it, what these games have meant to USA hockey and do you feel more specifically on the men's side because the women have been back and forth USA and Canada, do you feel that on the men's side, this is a passing of a torch, or this is still just another chapter in this rivalry?

It could be both, but for now, I'd say it's just another great day in the rivalry. Keep in mind, Canada played well enough to win that game twice. I mean, if they played twice, they could have won it both times. Canada, I'll play the U.S. in that game. Now, both teams trust the goaltender. You can't say it deserve better. But the fact of the matter is, it's just another hockey game. Let's move on. Let's accept that we're going to get back to the relationship we once had, even two years ago, which was excellent.

No boycotts, no people not crossing the border. Let's get back to what we had. And no booing anthems as well. Like, let's hope that that doesn't reenter the NHL here as the league gets back going tonight. Real quick, last thing on the Milan games, were there any players, I mean, outside of like, look, Connor McDavid was fantastic, Jack Hughes is a star for the United States, as is Connor Hallibuck. Were there any other players that really caught your eye?

Because let's face it, like the Olympics can do this, where players can go and shine and can, you know, really give their careers a lift. Was there anyone that popped for you? you can't talk about these Olympics without talking about Connor Alibati. He single-handedly exercised all of his demons in my mind. He was a great performer and a badly outplayed team. He was the difference in that game.

And he's getting a lot of praise and he deserves it all. Okay. The NHL returns tonight with eight games on the schedule. I know, right? Here we go again. Finally, we can do it. You know, I'll tell you what, like, What did you, by the way, just one final thing on the Olympics.

It was fun watching games in the afternoon. It was fun watching games in the morning. It was great. I found that I watched a lot of documentaries in the evening. I caught up on watching some movies, some long, you know, drama serials, etc. What did you do with your evenings in the last few weeks, Perky? Netflix, Paramount, Hulu, a lot of catching up. There's too many sports that I don't follow.

interested in and way too many events. I remember watching the biathlon one day, the 20 kilometer biathlon, they launched 70 biathletes, 30 seconds apart, 70. Are there 70 biathletes in the world to win a medal? No, why do we have 70 there? Do you have a second favorite sport, by the way, at the winter games? No. All right, then, we'll move along. The Sydney Crosby injury, minimum four weeks, and look like Crosby today, of course, gracious. You've talked about Crosby plenty of times. So like, look, the Goudis playing the puck hard. Guddis plays the game hard.

Like, that's Radco Goudis. Your thoughts on the Pittsburgh Penguins now is Sydney Crosby on the shelf for four weeks? Well, they've played without Sydney a bunch of times. Number one thing is, Evgeny Malkin is usually stepped up and Sid goes down. And I don't think it was a cheap shot at one bit. I don't think Sid was just being gracious. I don't think it was a cheap shot by Radko Gutus. I don't like what Radko Gutus said more than I don't like the head.

Yeah. I don't like what he said, which I think he should get disciplined for. But he's a competitor. It was a clean hit, I thought, not dirty anyway. But without Sid, other people have to step up. I like the trade Pittsburgh, right? It's a real nice bit of business, too. And in the process, like the, and of course,

We're talking about the Kulaq deal with Samuel Gerard going the other way and a second round pick. So now the penguins have a second round two second rounders this year, two second rounders next year. And in 2028, they have three second round picks. They did Colorado a solid in all of this too. And I'm guessing that's where the second rounder came from because of freed up cap space for Colorado. And I think everybody's looking at Calgary with Nazim Khadry. I think Dallas is interested. I'm pretty sure Dallas is interested.

Colorado could make some sense here as well. They haven't won a series since he left. Do you have a thought on both teams here in that trade that we saw yesterday? Pittsburgh and Colorado. I'm a big player, a big fan of the player that they got back. I like him a lot. But Chulac played for me in Calgary. He's big.

He can skate. He moves the puck well. He's physical. He can play anywhere from three to six on your depth chart. and kill penalties. I think it's a good solid pickup, plus the second round pick, good piece of business.

Yeah, it is nice. How frisky do you think things get here? Trade deadlines on the horizon next Friday. Managers would have been speaking while the Olympics were on. There may have been a trade freeze, but not a conversation freeze. Maybe do we wait for the next few days to see which teams drop out of it?

I think we wonder about, you know, Columbus. They've got a tough couple of games here. coming up between the Bruins and the New York Islanders, but they were on a seven-game heater before the break. How frisky do you think managers will get now that they're allowed to trade again? I think they'll be friscy because you've got to keep in mind, Jeff. There are three categories of trades. One is the guy that's trying to win it.

We'll blow his brains out and be stupid, and the road is littered with those people. But there's other people just trying to get in the playoffs or win around. They will make deals that would cost less, don't have the same. impact but are useful anyway. So I think you're going to see lots of activity, as you always do, and I'll say it right now. Be prepared for a lot of stupidity. You've always maintained trade, was it, trade deadline and July 1st is where managers lose their minds, correct? The math doesn't work. I'm, I check with the league again. They're only awarding one Stanley Cup. I check. They're only going to award one. So only one team can win, but 16 or 18 teams will make deals.

Now, some are in the categories that I talked about, just trying to get better. But some are hoping to win it. They will overpay and they will crash and burn, and you'll watch the records from far away and say, what were they thinking? Yeah. You know, one of the things, and I'll always think, and I always use the example, Burkey, of your 2007 Anaheim Ducks, where you got to, like, Joe DePenta and Kent Huskins and Rick Jackman

pretty fast, if you think you're going to win the cup, you're going to need blue liners. Once again, I would expect, and listen, Colorado picked up Kulak yesterday. I would expect that there'll be a lot of teams looking to add a lot of depth D. Like nobody loves depth defensemen in the NHL right now, maybe more than Jim Nill. He'll take 20 number six and seven defensemen, if he could, at trade deadline. This is, again, it might not be the sexiest of trades, but chum the waters for us here. Again, depth defensemen very much in demand.

Yeah, especially right shot at the defense. People are looking for them. They're valuable. We went through 10 defensemen from the trade deadline until we won the Stanley Cup. 10, not eight, not nine, 10. Jodipenta, you mentioned Rick Jackman. Ken Huskins. Ken Huskis. All guys that played important roles for us, you need depth. It's a war of attrition. And people who have people getting banged up, you need debt. Especially on the deed. Depenta was a fascinating guy too Because I think the family made This great spaghetti sauce As well Like the family like had this incredible spaghetti sauce

And was the story you told me About pulling him out of the poker game Was that Joe DePenta? Yeah I yanked him out of the card game Because he was a rookie He was making league minimum I walked through the I used to go back on every flight

And check see what guys were doing Yeah And so they came back I see Joe DePenta, I said, Joe, I'm yanking out of the card game. The stakes are way too high. I forgot I'm making what you made. He said, Berkey, I'm making more money in the card game. I am playing hockey. Please don't take me out.

I love him, I let him stay in. So he made more money than you were paying him? Yeah, he claims. I believe him. Joe DePenter played at BU, really good, solid defenseman. He was? He was? Yeah.

Great kid. Listen, I loved all your depty. I love those three guys. and how crucial. I know that like Pronger and Niedermeyer and Bochman are going to get all the headlines, but I loved your depth guys in that 2007 run. Okay, we've got a couple of questions. Don't forget Sean O'Donnell.

No one ever mentioned Sean. Oh. And Husky. Husky was the most underrated fighter I've ever had. He could really fight. More underrated than Bochema? Because I always thought that you thought that Bochema was like the most underrated guy. Like that fight with a gillah was legendary.

Bosch was underrated until he started fighting in the NHL. and people figured out right away as a lefty he was good at. He didn't mind it. Husky was a quiet guy, quiet player, quiet teammate, but he could go to. He was great. We've got a couple of voicemail questions here for you, queued up.

And to get in, to get your voicemails heard, speakpipe.com slash the sheet. It's the sheet line. Speakpipe.com slash the sheet. Zach, what do you got queued up for us first here for Berkey? This one is from Ryan. Hey guys, this is Ryan in Victoria, and I have a question for Brian Burke. Burkey, cheated rivalry is a sensation.

And while I'm not personally a fan of romance shows, I'm a big fan of queering this great game of hockey. Burkey, there have been thousands of NHL players over the years. The odds of them all being 100% straight seem infinitesimally small. So my question is this, what will it take for a current or former NHL player to come out of the closet? And do you think it'll happen anytime soon? I'll hang up and listen.

Love the show, thanks. Well, we've got a current guy right now. Luke Procop has come out. He's playing in the American League. Great kid, great young man. Has not cracked the NHL yet, but I thought he would be our first out NHL player.

We have an NHL quality player who's out who's playing. And you're right. The question was, we have had thousands of players. Experts will tell you anywhere from 7 to 10% of players in the NHL are gay. So we've had hundreds, if not thousands, of gay players. And no one yet has come out.

It's been comfortable coming out. So we wait for that day. He arrived where he's helping in that regard. I'm not a fan of all of it. I watched episode 6. When his parents acknowledged as a kid, I was really impressed with the way they treated a very difficult topic. And I did it with Grace and Charm.

like I did when my son came out. Did you ever have a player that came to you with that question? That, you know, I don't feel comfortable coming out yet. Should I? Can I? Where's my support? All of that. Did any of that ever happen under your watch with any of your teams, Berkey? No, I wish it had.

I wish I would have been able to help a player get through that. When I said this a long time ago, I wish the first player that came out in the NHL was one of my players. That's not going to happen now, obviously, but I wish it had. So I wish I had been that guy that called the player and said, hey, you can me hand with this? Or I said, yeah, let's get ready together. That's excellent. Okay, Zach, we got one more for Brian.

What do we got? Yep, this one comes in from Jeffrey. Hey, Jeff and Zach. Jeffrey Morone here. With the NHL ramping back up tomorrow night and the trade freeze. being lifted. Do you think there's going to be a flurry of trades by the weekend leading to a fairly boring and non-eventful trade deadline? Or do you think it will wind about being pretty much business as usual and everybody holding out for the last minute deal to get the best offer? Thanks.

You know, it's interesting too. It's the last few years and last year kind of screwed it up a little bit with the Brad Marchand and Miko Ranton deals. But trade deadline for a while there, Burkey, until last year was kind of like just tweak deadline. You know, I remember two years. years ago sitting on the set at Sportsnet, and our big chase was, is Logan Stanley going to go to the Washington Capitals? Which was the big rumor that day. But then nothing else really happened. How do you see it playing out this year? I think it's going to be busy, but I think the big names, a lot of them have already gone. Some of them have already moved. A bunch of little quickly. And Q-Lak falls into the big trade category for me. But big trades will all be done in advance,

like they usually are maybe one like Seth Jones that was late last year. In general, I think it'll be busy but not big names. No, none of the stop the press to stuff. No one where people that sports that and TSNF say, hey, hang on,

we got breaking news. Breaking news. We're talking yesterday, Zach and I, about Bob McKenzie making a rare appearance on the desk and, you know, drops the big bomb with Tomash Hurdle, which nobody saw coming from San Jose to the, to the, to the,

biggest goal of the Knights. You know, whether it was the one a few years ago that no, I am, Anthony Mantha for Jacob Verana. That was the one like right under the wire that no one saw coming. It's like, wow, it's like 259. Boom. The caps and the red wings get together to do a deal. I always do wonder about that too.

And when you're a manager, Berkey, you can talk to us about this on deadline. When you're a manager, do you have an idea of what everybody else is? is doing? Like, obviously, you know what your team is doing and trying to do in the teams you're dealing with. But, like, you're managing, let's say, you're managing the Pittsburgh Penguins. Do you know what Anaheim is doing? Do you know what St. Louis is doing? Do you know what Winnipeg is doing? Do you know what L.A. is doing? You have five or six guys, GMs that you're very close with. You know what they're doing. You're guessing on all the rest. But like, if I were still a GM, guys that I was tight with, say, Ron

Hextel was still around. I trust Ron Hex. so Paul Homer, I trusted Paul and say, look, you and I have nothing going. What do you have going? Let me know. I would find out what other teams we're doing, but you're still guessing on a bunch of teams. Interesting. Is there a team as we sort of, you know,

get the league ramped up back up here? I mentioned Columbus earlier, and their charge still continues under Rick Bonas, and they got a tough weekend ahead here, but they had won seven games in a row. The Buffalo Sabres still hanging on and still one of the top stories in the league. I think we wonder about Alex Tuck

and maybe the Buffalo Sabres just quote unquote use them as their own rental if they can't get a deal done here. It sounds like he wants the Adrian Kempe contract. We'll see what Yarmu does there. Is there a team or a couple of teams, Brian? We'll end with this. A couple of teams or a team

that you're most curious about leading up to the deadline. I think Buffalo and Toronto. I think Toronto. I think Trias decide what to do in Toronto. I think the first two games may dictate that. I think Buffalo is the other one I'm fascinated by. Because Kevin Adams put all those players together, even out there.

Coach is doing a great job. It's fun to watch. I hope they get in. You know what's interesting? I'm glad you mentioned Kevin Adams, because look, the National Predators are looking for a new general manager. And I can't help but thinking.

You know, they couldn't get Kevin Adams out of town quick enough, but with all due respect to Yarmes, he'll kick elan it. This is Kevin Adams' team. Like, his resume is in Buffalo, and it's one of the best stories in the NHL, where once upon a time people thought Kevin Adams might have a tough time

getting a second job. You look at the Buffalo Sabres. I don't think that anymore, Berkey. What do you think? Well, plus, he's a really good guy, and he's really smart. Like, all these acquisitions, he didn't manage to do it all together,

but they're all quality players they acquired. Big pieces, not to still, like number three defensemen, number one and number two defensemen. So I think he did a great job. I'm not surprised his name's been mentioned for a GM job. It should be again. It's a good guy and smart. Good college hockey player.

Good background as a player. Good guy. All right. On that, we'll wrap. Again, boy, it was a big games for USA hockey. Congratulations, both of the women and the men. on double gold. That looks fantastic on the program.

Brian, thanks as always for stopping by. I really appreciate the insight. Thanks, Jeff. There he is. The great Brian Burke, who stops by every Wednesday here on the program. We thank him for his contributions

as he does each and every week. Anything stand out there before we get to Jay Rose Hill in a couple seconds? Let me know when Rosie's standing by, by the way. Yeah, I'll let you know. Yeah, I mean, the thing that is interesting again, you guys talked about it at the end is the Kevin Adams construction and how overnight the narrative changed.

And it took for him leaving for it to get there. You know what I think it was? Have I ever shared my theory on that with you, by the way? My theory on that one is with Yarmou there, everybody in the organization. And certainly it goes filters right down to the players thought, okay, eventually this guy is going to be our manager and he's going to make the decisions on us. Let's just get there. Let's just get there.

So you think everyone was just kind of like. I think everyone was in a holding pattern until they got there. And the players were just like, technically Kevin's our manager. That's what it says on the business card and outside of his door. But we all know that this thing is getting handed over to Yarmo. And then when it happened, it's almost as if like cloud lifted. Like, okay, now fine. Like now this is the team.

We are the Buffalo Sabres and they've gone on this run. Okay, to one of the most interesting teams in the NHL. No, not the Edmonton Oilers. We dealt with him a little bit yesterday, although some interesting comments from Leon Dreisdell doubling down on what he said before the break. Here's Jay Rose Hill to talk to us about the Toronto Maple Leafs and their returning captain, Rosie. Oh, by the way, I thought a lot about you during the Olympics because of one tweet. You know what that was?

What was my tweets during the Olympics? No, let me know. I was throwing a bunch of stuff out. Nathan, you're Nathan McKinnon theory. I'm like, ooh, you know what? Because there was, you know, the talk and the rumors of not being great and not skating. And then you're missing an open net and your Nathan McKinning crying out loud. That one really, that one stopped me in the tracks.

Like, you know, you scroll, you're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, got, got. Whoa. And it's like, okay, I'm going to put this down and think about this now. There's a speed-down tweet. I was laying in bed in the dark and thinking about the whole deal, as people tend to do. And I was just like, dude, that's not, that's not him. He's not indecisive. He doesn't, you know, panic.

He doesn't double clutch. He doesn't overthink. He's one of the greatest in the world. And I've always said he's one of the top guys out there that I would salivate to build a franchise. around. He's got all the stuff. And I mean, that backdoor play was so uncharacteristic of him. You've seen him score right from there with absolute ease, with a lot less to shoot at with a bunch less time and space. And then in overtime there, the puck was coming right to him. I was like, oh, good, he's got it. And then he went, oh, oh, and then he kind of back. And he totally hesitated and

second guessed himself. The opponent gets it, throws it, and it's over. And it's not Nathan McKinnon. And you go back and think about the times he got bonged and the times he, and I'm like, I just feel like he was concussed. It's not hard, contrary to popular belief, to have your bell wrong and not tell anyone about it and not get pulled out of a game and not get the spotters, Yankew. It made complete sense to me. Okay, let me pause on that.

So a good friend of mine, her name is Dr. Ali Rendellie, and she's worked with Dr. Charles Tater before. And actually, Dr. Tater let her cut skulls open for, for concussion research. So I remember she called me when she's like, Dr. Tater, let me cut a skull for the first time. That was so cool. But Allie's awesome.

And she always reminds me. She says, you hockey guys are really dumb. And I said, what do you mean? She goes, you think you get concussions just by getting hit in the head. She said, I deal with people because she, this is, you know, part of what she does. She also runs a COVID, a long-term COVID rehabilitation center. She said, I deal with more people who get concussions from getting. hitting hit in the stomach than I do from getting hit in the head. She said, your problem isn't

hits in the head. Your problem is hockey. Your problem is contact to begin with, like getting pushed from the back, getting punched in the stomach. She said, all that has to happen is your skull just your brain just needs to hit your skull. You think it only happens when your head gets hit. It can happen all the time. So when you mention like getting bounced around and getting hit all the time, It might not be obvious where it happens, but just contact itself can bring that on. So I'm glad you bring that up, Jay. Yeah, I look back to Sidney Crosby and all the time that he'd missed in his career, kind of in the midpoint of his career, it was dire for him.

It was looking scary like his career could be in jeopardy. And luckily, it looks like he's overcome that. But there was some times where he went out for considerable amounts of time where his head wasn't touched at all. but you're rattle around and, you know, everything is connected in the body as we know. But unfortunately, what we don't know is the problem. You don't have, it's not like you can go get an MRI and you can see that you have a concussion. It's not like there's an x-ray. It's like, oh, there's your concussion rate there.

It's not that simple. And it's unfortunate that as much as we do know and as as great as modern science and medicine is, we don't know much about the brain. We just don't. And why can an MMA guy get knocked out cold on his side? feet, fall back completely limp, smash his head off the mat, and then get two hammer fists right in the head again as he's unconscious.

And that's been going on for years and years and years and years. And there's not like this obvious, like I'm sure that's an issue in their sport. But it's not like, well, that guy did that. And therefore here's his injury. And then there's guys that, like you say, I know guys that I've played with where it's like you didn't even get your head hit and you can't sit in a lit room. You can't look at your phone. You can't watch a screen.

it's the biggest problem with this concussion business is it's so hard to identify and so hard to prevent. You know, and I do wonder, like this is going to happen. Like this is future, future generations. You know, you and me are just going to be a memory if we're lucky by the time that this really rolls around. I wonder if one day generations from now, people look back at this era and look at, you mentioned MMA, that's one of them. They look at boxing. They look at football. And they look at hockey and say, what would be you?

you people doing? What were you thinking? Well, it's like watching a hockey game right now and it's full contact. They're swinging their sticks around. They're shooting pucks. They're on ice. There's boards and everyone's got chin pads on and elbow pads. But just don't bother with the helmet. Even the goalies are getting clappers and you look at Johnny Bauer back in the day and eating them off his head. Like, did no one think maybe we should throw some piece of equipment on our head? So it's just the evolution of that. And I mean, you'll, look back at, you know, I think I was in, I don't know, 30, 30 to 35 fights in one season. Those are bare knuckle fights. And it looks like my kids hear that and they're like, that's insane.

Like I don't have anything to relate that to. That just doesn't happen anymore. And, and that's because of what you just said, the progression. But inevitably, if you want to talk about those things, whenever someone's against fighting, I'm like, well, if you really want to prevent these things, you have to take body contact out of the sport. You have to make it non-contact. And that would alleviate a lot of concussions. And obviously, everyone has a different opinion on whether that is something to even talk about or whether they want that or whether it's up to the players. But yeah, like you say, when we're long gone in the dust, in our bones, it's very likely

people look back at our era and say, you guys were seriously like signing up to box and do MMA and play hockey and play football. And yeah, that's fine. It's, again, maybe that's just a product of not knowing a whole lot. about our brains, to be honest. There's a big, I have a pet theory about the presence of the boards and reality versus non-reality that you see in hockey that you don't see in other sports because there is no out of bounds.

And out of bounds is kind of a release valve and you see it in baseball and you see it in baseball and you see it in contact sports like football. There's an out of bounds and the action happens seven seconds at a time. There's no continuous flow. And that leads into emotions getting raised and there's no release valves during the play. in the presence of boards into you, as you mentioned, velocity by way of skating and weaponization with sticks, et cetera, et cetera,

you can make the point that there's an inevitability that this can lead up to. But we'll save that for another conversation because I want to talk to you about Austin Matthews. Mapley's facing off against Tampa Lighting and then the Florida Panthers. Right now in Ottawa, there is a segment of Ottawa Senators fans that really aren't feeling it with Brady.

Kachuk. And you know, the reception from them is going to be frosty when Ottawa is at home tomorrow against the Detroit Red Wings. What do you think Austin Matthews is in for? I would hope. I mean, we talked about this on Leavesmore and Take this morning, you know, about the, I mean, where do you want to go with it? About the reception to him. There's, there's a few things. There's, A, he is American and he's coming back to the biggest Canadian market in hockey. And he's got the gold medal. So there's kind of like a boo aspect to that. It's still fresh in people's minds. Most of Leif's fans are probably hockey Canada fans and we're not happy to see them lose the gold medal. And then there's this new added level of him going to the White House and that being

so bad. And literally the insane people online saying he's not my captain anymore, trade him immediately. And that's social media for you. But I would hope that if you're really a Leif's fan and you're not a lunatic, you would say, hey, it stings that Canada lost, but my captain, who has a history of coming up, you could say short in the big games, his playoff performance is not like his regular season performance. The laundry list of playoff heartbreaks for the Maple Leafs during his tenure is very long. And hey, at least on the positive side of things, our captain just got a taste of getting the job done, of winning the big one, of being victorious and being a champion.

And hopefully that translates to his play with the Toronto Maple Leafs. And if they do a little video tribute, I hope people, even if they're Canadian hockey fans, clap and say, all right, Ozzie. Hopefully that got you some confidence and some experience and some knowledge around leadership and winning. So here's the thing about Matthews that I, that I'm kind of surprised about and has nothing to do with him.

but you have the son of a Mexican immigrant captaining the USA hockey team to gold. That should be a massive story. That should be an incredibly massive story. Just his bio that, you know, Mama's Mexican immigrated to the United States and her son, captain the U.S. team to hockey gold.

I'll tell you, man, when you were a kid, when I was a kid, if I would have told you that that was going to be the reality one day, I would have said not a chance. There's no way this is going to happen. But here it is. And Jay, it's not a story for some reason. I'm honestly, I'm stunned. I'm stunned.

And that's fantastic. And that's... I think it is great. But there's not... Should this... Am I missing something? this should be a massive story. I like that it's not a story.

He's an American. His parents came over legally, and everyone you go down the line has come from immigration in this country. 100%. I'm saying it's a great story. I'm saying, like, this is a feel good, awesome, like, from an unexpected,

listen, if, I'm sorry, Winnipeg Jets, but like, if the Jets don't go to Arizona, Austin Matthews ain't a hockey player. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, you know, I played with guys that are from California. And they were of the age where it went hand in hand with Gretzky getting traded to L.A. and the Mighty Duck series becoming popular. And it's the only reason they're playing hockey and they're NHL players. And it's fantastic. And the fact that the caveat on Austin Matthews background, having immigrated from Mexico and then picking up the game of hockey in the desert. and becoming as good as he is. Yeah.

I think that's fantastic. And yeah, maybe it would be more of a story. I just think that the political climate right now regarding immigration, Trump, the White House, America, and everything that's going on the last couple of days, I just, it drives me nuts because I just wish it was about the hockey. I wish that people weren't so divided and polarized and they didn't have completely differing opinions. And in my mind, it's all because of your algorithm.

It's all because of your algorithm. people on both sides of the spectrum politically. They only see, they just get inundated with these stories and these ideas that are completely one-sided. And they literally don't even see the other side. And these people are like they're living on different planets because they only see one thing 24-7. And it creates this division that everybody has to the point where the guy goes and shakes

the president's hand after winning a gold medal. That's what athletes have done for a long time. it's you go to the White House where whoever the president is, you shake their hand, and it's an incredible experience that you only get to do if you do something and accomplish something for your country that's fantastic. And I just wish that that was just the story. Like it wouldn't matter if it was Kamala or Biden or Obama or Bush or Clinton. You go there because you won a gold medal and you shake the hand. And that's all that matters to me. And I mean, I just like it when the political stories are kind of left out of sports. That's

where people go to get reprieve from all that stuff, which is so hard to escape these days. But back to your point, yeah, it could have been a better story saying, hey, look where this guy came from. Look at his background. It's not a traditional story. And it's totally unique and it's impressive.

And yeah, you're right. It could be a bit better story. But I've always liked that it's just like, it's, you don't blend the two, especially now. And you can see why over the last couple of days. I just think it's a victory lap for NHL Southern expansion. And for that. for that for that southern plan and a lot of it of course

kicked off by the by the the grescue trade to los angeles which you know begat you know uh whether it was you know florida and anaheim coming at the same time tampa Dallas coming moving and then minnesota moving to dallas like all of it and how it all all came together i just think that it's a it's an incredible success story and you know maybe another reason why for those that poo poo hockey in the desert hockey in arizona you know the nchl is committed to going back Matthew Nyes is another example. Not just Austin Matthews, but other players come.

And I remember Louis DeBrusk when he was playing that, like Jake played, Jake played on a line with Austin Matthews and Clod Lemieux's kid. Now, the team had no depth, but like that line, like Louis de Brusque, Claude Lemieux, and Austin, Clod Lemieux kid and Austin Matthews was like the top line. for this one team out of Arizona. But, okay, nonetheless, what do you expect Toronto to do here? Not necessarily on the ice, but off it. Because I think that's where a lot of the questions are. You know, you're true living here and you're thinking, I don't know, do you leave it for a couple of days here before you make up your mind?

What happens against the bolts? What happens against the cats? Then we'll have a better idea of our team here in advance of next Friday. Or if you're bad for living, you already know what this team is. You've had to look under the hood now for the majority of the season. you know what you have, right? Yeah, it's a really interesting time. Six games left till the deadline.

I mean, it's weird because I feel like this year more than ever because of what's happened this season, there's this split between, A, there's a split between sell and buy or make a run or something and how the next two or three games is going to change that big decision, blows my mind. But there's also this other caveat where is MLSC on board with what's best for the Leafs long term?

Or are they, like I know that the higher you go up in MLSC, the more the dollars and cents are raised supreme. You got this massive, you got this massive TV deal. And what that organization generates with even one playoff round is massive. And for it to be the best thing. for the team long term to get some assets back because they are so depleted in that sense and you have opportunity to do that, whether it's Bobby McMahon or whoever, to not do it because they showed some flashes in the last three games after the Olympic break is insane to me.

And what I hope they do is get as many assets as they can at the deadline and still try to sneak into the playoffs. I mean, it's going to take Matthews or Neelander or Nize and Tavares and you're going to have to have somebody go insane and you're going to have to have insane goal tending in order to sneak in and to do the numbers that you're going to need to get into the playoffs. If you lose Bobby McMahon and get a first rounder or if it's OEL and you get this load back, still you still try to make the playoffs. It's going to be hard regardless. But I can't believe like it's sell or buy and forge forward and don't worry about down the road

because I'm quite worried about down the road. I am not loving where the team is at and where their assets and their draft picks and their prospects are at. It's really concerning. For that reason, I'm, I just,

I'm totally, totally waiting with anticipation on what's actually going to happen. And MLSC, you know that Tree Living's an employee of them. How, how handcuffed is he going to be? Is he going to do what he wants to do? Is he going to do what the fans want to do?

Or is it going to be MLSC calling the shots? It makes me think, of, it's a really good point, Jay, because it makes me think of when the Ontario teacher's pension on the Toronto Maple Leafs and John Ferguson Jr., who was a pinata for Toronto media, because every year he would go for it, even though it's probably the same thing

would be for Toronto at that point to rebuild. Like they had gotten all they were going to get out of that team. But the story there was, At the end of every year, Ferguson was told to submit two budgets, one that accounted for playoff revenue and one that reflected what a rebuild would look like. Both were submitted. And of course, the Ontario Teachers pension was going to favor the one that had like a 5 to 7% return on investment, which also gave the team president the cover to say, John Ferguson submitted this budget and we approved it. The problem was there were actually two budgets that were submitted. And the preferred one from Ferguson was rebuild.

But the one that got approved was get to the playoffs. And I think that's the dynamic you're nailing right there. There's the win on the ice, which is the Stanley Cup. The higher up you go, the win is what's our return on investment? That's their Stanley Cup. And it's just unfortunate because a team that's as successful financially as the Toronto Maple Leafs and all they're looking for, all they're missing, like they sell out all the time, the jerseys are through the roof, you're out in the west and there's stickers and windows and

license plates and jerseys and hats galore. That's just not the case for anyone else. They're worth billions and billions of dollars. So, you know, from like a kid's point of mind, you'd be like, well, they, The money's covered. They got lots of money. Now they just got to win. And if they do win, it would just be loads of money and loads more fans and loads more merchandise and loads more everything. But they can't because it's big business and because like you say, the percentages, regardless of how many billion you're talking about, it's all about those percentages. I'm worried they're not even willing to give up anything.

They're not willing to give up a year or to sacrifice for the greater. good in order to win. And that's all the fans care about. They don't give a rip about how much stock or money or valuation or any of that or the budgets. They just want to win. And they have so much money yet it still revolves around money. And at this point in time, especially with the season they've had and the start of the season they've had, to not do what needs to be done right now to fill your cupboards a little bit and to try to rectify the wrongs that have made by going for it all the time. It's scary because you can only do that so long before you're left looking in the darkness and in the cold going, wow, are we ever in a dire place right now? And then you're going to

seriously lose some money. So I hope they're thinking long term. I hope they're thinking, you know, this can be done both ways. We have to protect the organization and the future and next year and all the rest of it. I just hope they're not so short-sighted to say, well, they just won two in a row. Let's fucking go for it. I'm terrified of that. No, I know like this is. And again, I agree with you, you know, the entering the new TV contract, I'm pretty sure considering the billions,

that's a B folks that was paid for this. They don't want to spend the first three years of it rebuilding. And nobody expected this, nobody expected this season to happen, man. And it bothers me that everyone thinks that Marner, not everyone, but the Marner sympathizers are like, see?

And they have a fair point of saying, see you got rid of Marner and you went down the shitter. I don't subscribe to that. I think that the beginning of the season, Matthews, the goaltending, the injuries, the guys they brought in, the depth. It's like, oh my goodness, it was just a calamity of errors.

And I don't know if you were to start next season with the same team. I think that you could do better. I mean, we're a point behind the Oilers with a game in hand, and everyone talks every single day about the Oilers being Stanley Cup, you know, contenders. and they play in a division with Vancouver and Calgary and Anaheim and Seattle and L.A. It's like, geez, it's hilarious, but it is what it is. I just, as much as ever, and it's weird considering the season they've had,

I am very intrigued by this year's deadline. You and me both, brother, you and me both. And Lightning, as always, Jay, thanks as always for stopping by, pal. You be good, enjoy the rest of your day. You, Jeffrey, same to you, man. There he is the great Jay Rosehill from Leif's Morning Take, former NHeller, and a tough one at that. Always appreciate Jay stopping by the program. So watch this.

So, Zach, yes. Did they miss it? Did they miss it? Yeah. Did they miss their window? Miss. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

The window is not closed, closed because you still have Austin Matthews and William Nealander on your team. You're still getting a little breeze. You still get a gentle breeze. Does someone leave a window open? Does someone leave a window at that? That's where you are right now? Yeah, it's like when you're like five days away from real like spring and warm weather and everything. But you get a little over-excited about the fact that it's here.

So the windows open about this much because you're like, I would turn the AC up. We'll turn it all off. Get the breeze in here. Get some fresh air. That's kind of how it's still open because they are here. Right. If they make 100% correct decisions over the next year, two years, they could smash the window back open,

but I think it's more likely that it just closes shut than it does open back up. But, I mean, I can't say it's closed completely because you still have awesome Matthews and William Elander on your team. And if they're on your team, it's not done forever. But it's much closer to being closed than I anticipated going into the season. Spotlight Zach. The sheet is powered by Fanduel. Play your game with Fanduel.

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What do you got today, Zach? NHL is back. My life is easy-ish again. I don't know if it's easy because I got to do these and sometimes it really exercises my brain. But it makes it easier because there's NHL players to pick from me. So I don't know how many people know this, Jeff. You know this. We've talked about it.

But this will be my last show from this apartment. You will not see me here in this apartment anymore. I move out this weekend. But you and I are hitting the road for the next couple of days. So I won't be doing the show here. And then I'll be back in my parents' house. And I was talking to my mom the other day because we're getting prepared to move. And my parents have a dog.

And I was all excited to see my dog. but she was telling me they've been having a problem with the dog taking her out for walks because they like to go through the woods in the forest Jeff. Oh yeah, that's nice thing. You know, when I come back, it's just a reminder for me if I want to keep our pet well kemped, I've got to keep them away from the burrs because those things hurt. Sean Burry's back. JJ Petterga, Adrian Kempe, Jordan Eberley.

Thomas Hurdle. I like how you're highlighting them, too. That's a really nice touch. I really try to make the pet pop. You might want to change the color then to make it to make it pop. Listen, you're the artist here. You're the artist here. All right.

To score tonight, J.J. Petrka, Adrian, Campi, Jordan, Eberley, and Tomash Hurtle. Five bucks. A big one. Takes your home $500 and 61 cents to leave a tip. Look at you. Yeah. To keep your pet, well, can't keep them away from burrs.

Those things hurt. All right, not bad, but. Yeah, we're on the road, Zacharoo. We are going to Brantford to do a couple of things to do like to do a spotlight on the Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL, which is essentially, and I know Spencer Hyman, who's a manager and one of the owners of the team hates me saying this, kind of like a traveling all-star team. Like established NHLers, first round picks, first round picks coming up in this year's draft as well. like this is one of the elite teams in the CHL. So Thursday and Friday, we will be in Brantford to cover that team. And there'll be a couple of things you're used to seeing on the program and a couple of things that you're not.

Spencer Hyman will stop by the program tomorrow, who's the general manager of the team. And then I don't know what else we have lined up for guests. I know I'm doing a bunch of interviews with the kids for the feature we're putting together. But what else do we have? Do you know, have you booked anything? Do we know what we're doing for the rest of the week? Yeah, so we're going to do sit down and stuff as you mentioned. But stuff that's going to come out on the channel,

we're going to do things around the arena, game day experience for the Bulldogs. I don't know how much that's we. No, I meant on the show. Like the next couple of games. That's a couple of days. Yeah, so I think we're just going to try to get some stuff with people in Brantford, from the team and all that kind of stuff.

So I think that's going to be the goal, doing some sit downs in person with coaches and potentially past players of the Bulldogs that will be coming on. Players, alumni, coaches, management, whatever it may be coming through. So that is the goal for the next couple of days. Looking forward to it. I'm getting in very, very late tonight. I will see you in the morning at breakfast or I'll see you in the morning. or I'll see you in the morning at the gym. You take your pick.

All right, Zacharup, great stuff. Oh, one more thing, too. It is the most exciting day on the hockey calendar, one of them. Teams setting up the rosters for the playoff push, freeing up cap space, adding future assets. Join the DFO crew on Friday, March 6th, 11 a.m. Eastern for the daily faceoff trade deadline special. Our right here on our DFO YouTube channel, right here, it is our daily faceoff trade deadline Friday. March the 6th starting at 11 a.m. Got it?

Thanks to Brian Burke, as always, for stopping by. Thanks to Jay Rosehill from Leaves Morning Take for stopping by as well. Thanks to you for stopping by, whether interacting in the chat or just watching or just listening as well. We appreciate the attention. As always, if you have subscribed to the channel, we thank you. If you haven't, please consider doing so. Talk to tomorrow, 1 o'clock Eastern from Brantford, home with the bull. Dombs tomorrow.