The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Cup Final & NHL Rumors ft. Greg Wyshynski

Episode Date: June 9, 2025

On today’s episode of The Sheet, Jeff Marek is joined by ESPN's Greg Wyshynski live from Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, breaking down all the action from a wild Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final — including Brad Marchand’s double-overtime heroics. The guys dive into the latest on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who’s a game-time decision heading into a pivotal Game 3, and take a look at the shifting Conn Smythe Trophy race. They also tackle the latest offseason buzz surrounding Mitch Marner, what to expect from the upcoming NHL Draft, and key storylines from the NHL Combine.#NHL #StanleyCup #StanleyCupFinal #NHLPlayoffs #BradMarchand #DoubleOT #RyanNugentHopkins #MitchMarner #NHLRumors #NHLTradeRumors #ConnSmythe #NHLCombine #NHLDraft #HockeyTalk #TheSheet #JeffMarek #GregWyshynski #AmerantBankArena #NHL2025 #HockeyNewsShout out to our sponsors!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼Ninja Kitchen Canada: https://www.ninjakitchen.ca/products/ninja-crispi-4-in-1-portable-glass-air-fryer-cooking-system-zidFN101CGY?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=olv&utm_campaign=25Q2-Crispi&utm_content=en👍🏼Budweiser: https://www.budweiser.ca/ca_enReach 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.

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congratulations on the promotion Greg presentation all right Neri it tend to be seen anywhere Budweiser is encouraging buds to make time for playoffs not excuses every goal every check every win is better enjoyed with your buds phone a bud text a bud ping a bud and call out their excuses for bailing on the playoffs after all the playoffs are the most wonderful time of the year make them count when it's springtime it's go time i don't ask for much from our sponsors right i think that should get me at least the chance to ride a clidesdale and i don't mean behind a Clydesdale on the little cart. I mean on a Clydesdale, riding it clump, clump, clump, clump. That's my request to our friends at Budweiser. You may get a couple of tins on the way out.

I saw some. We're in a suite here, by the way. And as soon as we hit the air, the lights dim. All we're thinking is like, oh geez, here come the horns. Don't you ever feel like kind of amazed when you go to a sweet level at an arena? Like I'm still someone who buys tickets. I buy double tickets. Me and my kid go to games and stuff. And like whenever I go to the sweet level of arena, I'm just like, oh, this is how the other half lives.

Like there are people that will be here tonight that are having a completely different experience than all of us paying exorbitant amounts of money for a thing of fries, waiting in line for beer, waiting in line to piss. It is incredible to me every time I step into the sweet level that there is an entire different ... It almost makes it feel almost dystopian. I got to be honest with you. It feels almost dystopian that there's a class of people that have this experience while the rest of us are in the upper deck.

They're the ones that you walk past on the plane to get to our seats in the back with the livestock. I had a middle seat between Edmonton and Chicago, my connecting flight, I will tell you, it was a definite middle. There was a battle for the armrests, ladies and gentlemen, and I lost. Everybody loves hearing media travel stories, that's the one thing that I've learned. Oh, come on. This one's different just because of the distance and everything, but yeah, it's not what everybody likes to hear. 2015, before we get into today's show here, we got a lot to go over, and not just this game

and this series. 2015, it wasn't the first, but it was one of the first MVSW meetups we had here. Correct. Before the Connor McDavid draft. That's correct. Do you remember the place? No. What was the place? Do you remember it?

I called Paige today. Okay. Now Paige Dixon, then Paige Lewis and asked her, blondies. Blondies. Remember blondies? Great spot. I remember the meetups going like this. I would be in the front greeting people, being the ambassador for the podcast, thanking people for their patronage.

And then someone else would be in the back with his laptop open showing people fights from 1950. Well, you know, it's funny too, because there's a few things that I remember from a lot of those. And honestly, that was probably one of the best ones that we had here. The crowd was great, it was awesome. I was thinking a lot about the last, over this now three year run for the Florida Panthers,

over how different it was when the Violas Virtue Financial first bought this team up until now. There's been a lot of, this wasn't always smooth sailing. Yeah. Right. Like this was still roller skating down a gravel road in a lot of ways for the Florida Panthers until they got to this spot. And probably the biggest best maybe as we look back on this era most pivotal move was hiring Bill Zito. Yeah. Again, something I lobbied for not not not not an experienced general manager.

I every time there would be a GM opening. I was like, look, there's a guy in Columbus. He's he didn't follow the traditional path to where he is his assistant GM. He went from agent to the front office. And I said, this guy's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Hire this man. I don't know if it was like the interviewing process or whatever it was. But he'd go out for jobs and not get him. And then Florida took a chance on him and the rest is history. He's got a pretty smart collection of people around him in the front office too. But I mean it's one of the reasons why I'm kind of like it would be fine either way. Like if the Oilers win the Cup, Connor gets the Cup, it's

fantastic. We don't have to ever talk about him not being a cup champion again. But if Florida wins the cup, it doubles down on what I think is one of the most meticulous, smart, bold at times, construction of a championship team that we've seen. Like again, they were this good last year, and then they put Seth Jones on their second pairing and Brad Marchand on the third line Like how do they keep getting away with it folks? it's it's stunning to see but you know the viola things interesting because like Being down here. I'm reminded of those leaps and bounds for this franchise

And it's in its fan base And I think one of the things that we're seeing now is that practice rink. Oh, it's right down the street from my hotel It's gorgeous to beautiful great beautiful bunch of kids playing every day So you're gonna start you know There's gonna be the the Austin Matthews of Sunrise, Florida Few years where it's like I I came to hockey because I'm a Panthers fan But they also have something that I think it's a telltale sign of any franchise turning the corner They have their own team store and they have their own team store with a bunch of stuff that

Is very unique to you go inside it is Hawaiian shirts with with Panthers logos lawn signs with Panthers logo Did you were you were you tempted to buy the Sam Bennett team Canada shirt there? Oh, no I found that to be a fire hazard No, the one thing that I have they have there though as you've probably seen and people online probably seen is they have the ice cream truck shirts now Yep, the Panthers and the Dairy Queen and the whole thing. So yes, it is. It's wonderful when teams Figure out what their fan bases want and cater to it And if you walk in that team store in Florida, you're like they finally understand The culture of the people paying to watch this team. And now they're very excited to buy stuff.

It's a team one. And they have a team that's fun to watch. And they're fun. Yeah. They're a fun old school. They take an old school vibe with new school skill. Okay. We're going to hop into it here now.

So daily outline presented as always by our friends at FanDuel make every moment more with North America's number one sports book. True to form the intro is 17 minutes into the show. Fenual. Something's never changed. Eight minutes. Listen, I've been told plenty of times, bad host. Cats get even.

There's your headline leading to game three. It's now a best of five. More Mitch Marner rumors and we'll throw a couple logs on that fire today as well. Game three Stanley Cup final gets underway eight o'clock Eastern right behind us right now and the Sam Bennett effect everywhere and perhaps most seen at the combine. I was in Buffalo the last few days and I'll tell you there were a lot of,

well Brady Martin specifically who's gonna probably go really high. Yeah. You know, and you could tell like this kid's real smart. You know, when he was asked, you know, which type of player he compares himself to? Yeah. Sam Bennett and Tom Wilson.

Yeah. Like two of the most attractive commodities in the NHL right now. You left one out. He also said Matthew Nyes. And Matthew Nyes, yeah. Which made me want to- To scare Leafs fans.

Jump in the ocean and never return. That there are now kids gonna get drafted this year saying, I look up to Matthew Nyes. I remember growing up watching Matthew Nyes. Just surrenders all over. Now we're getting nostalgic about the early days of Matthew Nyes. I want to start with a tweet today and this comes to us an old MVSW fan. Joe at Pucks and Bucks. If Edmonton can't beat Florida this year, which will be the first Canadian city to build a climate-controlled beach dome where players can wear flip-flops all year and no media is allowed in?

Now, I take exception to that. There is media here. It wasn't like years and years ago, you know, there's Russo and then Richards and like there is media here in Florida. They just have the volume of media. It was like when Joe Thornton went to San Jose after his first practice he was asking well where's all the media and someone said he's over there. It's volume of media and again it's like the intensity of coverage and things like that. Now Joe to answer your question that will be very effective and I think could definitely benefit

Canadian teams. If you could convince your politicians to create a no income tax zone around the housing, around that dome, if you could do that, then you might have yourself something. You know what one of the big draws is to it now? Like, look, this is five years and the Stanley Cup is going through the state of Florida. I've had a couple of players point this out to me as well. Like the money thing is the money thing and that's an obvious one.

But he said the other one that you're all, everyone in the media is missing out on is you forget how much better your body feels here. Like you wake up in the morning, your body feels great, you get off the plane, you don't have to bundle up. You're not wearing big heavy warm boots and coats and shivering, your teeth aren't chattering together. To the point about the shorts and the flops, like yeah, because your body feels great.

So for recovery, for healing, just to have your body feel good through the grind of an 82 game season and then playoffs, it's much easier on your body, man. When I wake up here, my body does not feel great, but I think that's life choices. I was going to say that has nothing to do with anything other than- Talking about Cantina after the YOLO room kind of life choices. Decisions. But no, but again, let's just deal with this now. Brad Marsan said the other day, and we wrote about it on ESPN.com,

this idea of if he has two contracts in his hand, and it's the same amount of money, he's going to pick the one from the tax-free state because he'll get more money that way. But also he went into a thing that, look, I don't think the tax thing is the reason why Vegas and Tampa and Florida have all been where they are. You have to run a good team. You have to run a good team You have to want to play there. Yeah, you know who's is it annoying income tax Seattle Seattle No one wants to play for the cracker right now. I'm sorry. Like this is how it is. So it's success It's the quality of the organization

Marchand behind the scenes has praised the way he's been treated since he's been here and the facilities and the whole thing But he did say something that I think is true And I will score a point for our friends in Canada that bring up this issue as a point of disparity in the league Which is that when you are playing for these teams and they are successful retention of talent Acquisition of talent is much easier because you haven't had to pay your own guys acquisition of talent is much easier because you haven't had to pay your own guys exorbitant money like teams in Canada and like teams in California have to do to retain them and that's a very very fair point but ultimately here's

what here's what I've heard about Marshaan and free agency mm-hmm he's just gonna take the money the team he might not even matter he's gonna take the money one he kind of tipped his hand and said hey man, you know You never know who's getting in the playoffs or not getting in the playoffs You never know who's gonna rise at the big contender That's a man who's thinking about all options on the table, but he was underpaid in Boston He never took a huge contract in Boston He was a son of a tree spurs around in Boston

You take the money that that you think you deserve but nothing more than that for the betterment of the rest of the roster but now I think in the last kick of the can for this guy contractually he's gonna he's gonna strike it rich with he's gonna take the biggest offer he's given. I was wrong about something with him. What's that? I thought that the contract that he was on now is underpaid as it turned out to be because he was part of that group but when everybody signed their six million dollar contract yeah them again everybody signed their six million dollar deal and we all went what is going on here and then like within two years we're like everything's

a bargain yeah I thought that was gonna be his big payday and even hang on even this season now and he was injured I'm like oh this isn't gonna be good and then even for nations like you're ah. I don't know. Yeah. But these playoffs, like, not only is he gonna have another massive payday, at 37 he's getting a raise. Yeah, he is.

Who's getting a raise at 37 in the NHL? Someone who has 17 points in 19 playoff games or whatever it's been for him. That's it. It's insane. But then on top of that, I mean, he's got the, I mean, think about, remember how the contract Alex Kalorn got? Yeah. And what's that for? It's for two cups. Yes. I mean, that's, that's what that contract is now. Come here and teach our kids how to play. Yeah. Now, you know, teach, come here and teach our kids how to be a professional. Right. That's what it's for. So now imagine Marshaan gets another ring this season and that's two rings

That's what it's so now imagine Marshaan gets another ring this season and that's two rings Plus what he's done to the playoffs plus being the NHL's leading agitator Yeah, like that adds up to be a pretty hefty son now. I don't know who will sign him ultimately I know everybody believes that the Leafs just gonna throw a ton of money at him to try to get that shine That Marshaan shine for the roster But I do think in having covered him for two rounds and talked to him about the future and stuff, I get the sense it's just going to be highest bidder. I don't see anything wrong with that. No, it's not.

He's on his way out. Make your dough. Grab every coin. Yeah. Grab every coin on your way out the door if you're Brad Marsham because you're right. So many years he was underpaid with the Boston Bruins. And the Panthers have other priorities They're gonna sign Bennett. I

Think so. I think at the end of it. I think Sam Bennett is that guy Because the sender and Ferris is the agent for cortex. He has a history of Strongly believing and acting on the idea that you take your players to market. Yeah. To see where they're at. And I do also believe that the saying that if he does get to market, it's going to be a catalogtion and you're going to see a lot. To me, Sam Bennett has, I'm going to get there, I'm going to look around on July 1st and then on July 2nd, I'm resigning with the Florida Panthers. That's the way it feels to me. I think so too because I mean, listen, they're going to have some things to address.

I think Ekblad's leaving But I think what they have up the gut right now with Barkov Bennett and in Lundell Like can't be repeated in the league like they're so good up the middle it's kind of the foundation for everything they do and and it's hard for me to believe that if they have the opportunity to And it's hard for me to believe that if they have the opportunity to retain Bennett. And unless he just gets unbelievably priced out of Florida, it's hard for me to imagine he wants to leave. It's a good place to live. It's a successful team. He's got Kachuk here. Like, I don't know. I feel like he stays the other two go is the way I see it playing out. Ekblad's a fascinating one. Like the minute they brought in Seth Jones, I think everybody said, oh, there's Echblad

insurance. Sure. Right? Just like when the St. Louis Brews brought in Justin Falk, we all went, oh, that's Alex Patrangelo insurance. Sure. And sure enough, Alex Patrangelo laughed. And listen, I don't think things are looking great right now for Alex Patrangelo's health

with the Vegas Golden Knights. And that could open up a lot of cap space either to just resign Nick Hague or Sign Nick Hague and maybe have a swing at the Mitch Marner pinata. You want to do that one? You want to do Marner? Okay, let's go. Let's let's do Marner I mean I everyone's everyone's written their think pieces everyone's had their podcast and they've talked about Where they think Marner is gonna end up I tend to sort of doam's Racer with these types of things and that's why I just keep saying Carolina. They have the space, they have the desire, everybody knows they tried to Carolina tried to get him for Miko Ratnan. To me it just makes

sense I think it's a fit stylistically as well. I think he plays the way Rod Brindamore likes his players to play. Vegas will take a swing. I think Chicago will take a swing as well. I think a lot of teams. LA. I think LA is another really good one. But where are you on the Marner phenomenon here? First of all, as you can hear, they're doing some pregame stuff behind us. Yeah, all the secrets of the game presentation.

I can report, McDavid appears to be in the lineup tonight for the Oilers. That's exciting news. I Mean, I think I think the family part of it is the determining factor I really do like where do they want to raise a kid where does his partner want to live? and and so then you come back to You come back to places like Vegas where they're gonna have ambassadors from Vegas to say, hey, this is an amazing place to raise a family. You're gonna have people from LA saying the same thing. Does he ultimately want to live in Raleigh for the next seven years of his life is the

question. And again, that's not me saying that no one wants to. Players resign there all the time. I've spent time there. I love it there. But that's a decision that Marner and his family are going to have to make, too. Do you have the chaos city for Mitch Marner? What would be the what would be well, yeah, the chaos situation for Marner

as he signs in Edmonton? No. Where where Ottawa? Is the chaos city for Mitch Marner and don't put, like I talked to someone a couple of weeks ago. It's like, don't put it like Michael and Laura, the owner there is intensely competitive and likes big stories like that. Yeah. I don't think that it happens. No.

But if you want to do the cheer for the chaos story, Ottawa is the chaos story. You say Carolina, what percentage would you put on Mitch playing in the West next year? Playing where? In the West. Ooh. I think it would depend on the team. Yeah. Travel's tougher.

I always look at players and say like, okay, yeah, on your first contract, the West is good, second contract, sure. But by the time you get to the third contract, you really start to think about things like travel. How you feel about Chicago? I feel like that would be a move that wouldn't pay off right away for the Chicago Blackhawks. I don't think the rest of the team is ready for it for a Mitch Marner yet. That's Panarin to the Rangers. That's like you don't believe Marner's gonna be there when you are ready to... Before they were good.

So you don't think Marner's gonna be there by the time you're ready to contend to get him now. That would be a thing. Did you know socks are one of the most requested clothing items by organizations addressing homelessness? Bombas also makes incredibly comfy underwear and t-shirts, which by no coincidence are also some of the most requested clothing items by homeless shelters. So far Bombas has donated over 150 million essential clothing items to people who need them. Bombas doesn't just do good, they feel good. Each sock and slipper is

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purchase that's bombas.ca slash the sheet and use the sheet at checkout. I've said it before on the show like I think that that Marner needs to go where there's already a veteran corps in place no one's going to look for him to be the. He can kind of just settle in, find his footing, play well in the playoffs, not feel the crush or pressure, and to me that's either LA or Vegas. LA and Vegas both have veteran cores, guys they're gonna be there for a while, the pressure will not be on him to be anything other than just be the Mitch Marner you've been in the regular season. When it comes to playoff time, you have players that can drive the bus and you don't have to get behind the wheel in the same

way he did in Toronto you know who's always looked for offense and has never been able to draft it trade for it sign it and free agency Minnesota Nashville huh yeah I mean sure I know they want it down the middle and they've had a hard time getting centers and that's been the story from pretty much day one with the Nashville Predators. Great place to live. Guys love it there. Now, where are you on Utah? I think Utah is going to be one of the most interesting teams, both on July 1st and at

the draft with that fourth overall choice. If they make it, there's a lot swirling around Brady Martin, which might be one of those, the first shock at the draft. If that happens, I think they could also flip picks with teams. And I do think that they're going big game hunting on July 1st. See, this is what's fun about Marner. We haven't had this in so long. Oh, I know. Like, Tavares was going to Toronto. Like, this is what's fun about Marder. We haven't had this in so long. Oh, I know.

Tavares was going to Toronto. Like, when was the last time we had this? Brad Richards? Brad Richards, everyone lining up at the after-sins. Everybody had big briefcases. Their briefcases, everybody made their DVDs. Newport Sports. To play for Brad Richards, to attract him to their team.

Like, it's been a while since we had this. Yeah, this is, actually, I talk about Sam Bennett, but this is the catalogtion. Oh yeah, easily. Marner's the catalogtion in this one. I saw Myrtle said, or somebody said on the athletic that it's like a 2% chance that Marner stays in Toronto. Would you give it more than 2%

or would you say it's like 2%? Geez, I don't know. I... than 2% or would you say it's like 2%? Geez I don't know I think it's done. Okay so the 0% chance. I think that if his heart was stay in there again this is the agent Darren Ferris too you know go to market see what's out there then make your decision. Yeah. It's kind of like anyone that tells me that you know Dallas is gonna go out and sign Gerard Galant as their next coach. It's like well if they wanted they could have done that by now. Right. That

quickly and if Marner wanted that much to stay in Toronto it would be done by now. It would be done by now. So I might actually give it less than two percent chance. A minus percent chance. I always gotta leave room for it in case it does happen. Exactly. But. Haley's Comet. I mean like, it could happen, right? Austin makes a tearful plea to him, holds the boombox outside of Mitch's house.

Stay! But you know what? Like once upon a time in the NHL, and maybe even in some scenarios, this does happen where the players will make that impassioned pitch. I think, don't you get a feeling that guys now are just like, nah man, that's your business, go do it. even in some scenarios, this does happen, where the players will make that impassioned pitch. I think, don't you get a feeling that guys now are just like, nah man, that's your business, go do it. Go get your bag.

Reinhardt, I think it was Reinhardt and Forsling were asked about that the other day in a press conference, what would be your pitches to Marchand for him to stay? And I'm just like, A, they don't care. It's totally the player's decision. And B, I don't know, Beach, Cup, like Zito, Maurice,

I mean, what pitches do they have to make to try to retain a player? Packo's, they love you here. Yeah, exactly. You're here with your family, the rats. The rats, the rat thing is so fun. I know. The rat thing is just flat out fun.

It's fun. No, I think Marsha and Mararner both leave. I think Bennett stays It's gonna be a really fun free agency because the caps gone up. We know where it's going a couple years from now There's gonna be a lot of retention of players, but I think it's gonna be a lot of movement, too But look at the look like I mean like they're used in a time when like ufas were you know? voodoo, but now I think you can see the path to where populating your team smartly with UFAs can lead you to a cup.

Given that the cap is going up starting this summer and then taking another massive jump, like all of a sudden there's gonna be plenty of space here, do you think then that this might be, at least in the short term? The last shot we have at offer sheets for a while. Oh Jesus. What are you right for the athletic? I'm serious No offer sheets again. I'm I'm serious. Well, listen, we can we kept saying oh no after they'd ever happen and then you know St. Louis what we need in Broberg

Yeah what we need to do is find a general manager that hates Stan Bowman like Doug Armstrong does and wants to like make you know get rid of two of his players in the team. I never believe the offer sheet thing. It takes two to tango. Hockey players by their very nature are ones that don't want to rock the boat with an offer sheet like it's done sometimes because they're convinced that They can the offers aren't gonna come like that's why I was signed with with Montreal like they was a tactical thing to get The money he was looking for but I mean how many of those situations are we getting I mean like nice Like are we gonna see someone like him sign an offer sheet don't scare me

No Yes, I haven't heard a damn thing from producer Zach the entire show and then just sort of know with my ears. Yeah. Like one of the nines in an offer shoot. If you want to tear a scab off right now with Maple Leafs fans, just start talking about nines and getting fit for a Penguin's jersey or something like that. Yeah. Just to have them go snake. What about Marner the Penguin? We need to talk about that one. Marner of the Penguins. Why? Because this is the rebuild now. Okay. This is officially now the rebuild with this coach and getting you know exiting out Malkin, exiting out Lutang, exiting out Crosby eventually here.

You know like you may have talked about. There's a reason that Kyle Duboscati's seven-year contract, not a four, not a five. Because anyone who took this job, Eric Tosky was up for this job. A lot of people were up for this job. The deal was not that you have to spin your wheels, but you're not going to be able to do what you want because Fenway wants these guys to retire as penguins. You're not going to be able to do what you want for four years. You cannot expect the general manager to sign a five year deal and then have ownership say it's a five year deal and you can't do anything for four. So here's the question I have about Pittsburgh.

Do they fix the lottery for them next year to get McKenna or do they have to wait a couple more years for the next generational talent? Right. Because I feel like there's expediency to fixing it for them next year because then maybe he gets one year with Sid. Doesn't happen. It doesn't happen. It doesn't happen. Pittsburgh's going to be interesting to draft to. Yeah. Because it sounds like Pittsburgh is one of those teams that wants to move up. Like we

always talk about, oh, this year's going to be crazy at the draft and all these trades. And then everybody goes and makes their picks. Have you talked about your time at the combine yet? I was doing the show live from the combine. Let me talk about some of these kids that I met today. OK, Schaefer. Oh, skates like Jay Bollmeister.

Like, honestly, Greg, when you see him, a lot of people, like right away, just because the Otters jersey looked at him, he's a magnificent skater. They go like, oh, yeah, Greg, when you see him, a lot of people like right away, just because of the Otters jersey, looked at it and he's a magnificent skater. They go like, oh yeah, it looks like Jamie Drysdale. No, you're saying that because they both played for the Otters. But like put him in a medicine hat tiger's jersey. He's J. Bommiester.

He skates like that. It's phenomenal, Greg. Like his, honestly, to me head and shoulders, and I think for a lot of skaters, head and shoulders above everybody. He's never gonna be like this again, I don't think. I think probably Patrick Wall will scare the crap out of him and he'll clam up.

But when that kid talks, it's incredible. I've never seen a prospect who A, knows himself like Schaefer, B, spins the tales he spins about the hardships in his life like losing his mother. And his billet mom too. Same year. But then also has like- And then his owner with the Iriata, Mr. Waters was like the nicest man in the world. I met him when we were both in radio, him at an obviously different level than mine. But then he- But like, Schaeffer's had to grow up really fast. And there's a maturity to him hundred percent But he's also like really funny like he told the story today about when he met Connor McDavid when McDavid had his year

He honors. Yeah, yeah retired with the eerie otters. He said he said he meets McDavid and says hey good job What a story He was a delight and then we talked to Hagens for a while story. He was a delight and then we talked to Hagens for a while. Yep. Who by the way is starting to see the bumper stickers around Long Island saying that the Islanders should draft Hagens. They'd have to trade down. I get the story. I know it. You think they should trade down? No, I don't. I think you should take Matthew Schaefer. They have to take Schaefer. Take Matthew Schaefer and just like don't walk up to the stage like run to the microphone. Yeah.

Right? Matthew Darsh, here's your chance. Like this is your first big moment here. Run, run to the microphone. Yeah. And say, and say Matthew Schaefer for the Eerie Otters. I was talking to Hagenstey and two things really stood out for me. The first is that I was delighted to hear that he's a child of the Coliseum. Oh yeah. He's not a child of Barclays. He's not a child of UBS. He's a child of the Coliseum. Oh, yeah. He's not a child of Barclays

He's not a child of UBS. He's a child of the Coliseum. That's coming. His formative Yeah years as an Islanders fan We're going to the Coliseum and experience like he said his first playoff series was against Pittsburgh, which probably dates it to the Tristan Jarre meltdown series against the Islanders, right? Okay. Yeah. Yeah The other thing is the other thing was is great someone asked him with with the acknowledgement that he could still go to the islanders but maybe you're not so what is it going to be like the first time you play the islanders and he's just like you know he's kind of like dancing around how weird it's going to be and just kind of talking about like all

my loyalties will be the team I play with and that makes sense because the team that pays you but then someone said I never thought about this for all of the kids growing up and Being passionate about the teams that they followed and then not Getting drafted by those teams and then playing them like the kid who grew up a Habs fan You know, what's it like the first time you play the hat? I'm not sure I made that mistake by taking Louis LeBlanc. Remember Louis LeBlanc? I do. Yes, first round. Okay, so... And they were applauded. They were loved by Habs fans.

That's never... that's not the question we should be asking. The question we should be asking is, hey, James Hagens, what's it going to be like the first time you play the Rangers? That's the fascinating question. Like we know it's gonna be awkward as an Islander fan to play the Islanders, but you've grown up your entire life loathing the New York Rangers. It is part of your personality

that you hate the New York Rangers. What is that gonna be like? I'm always interested in the kid. I'm glad you'd mention this. I'm always interested in the kid that grew up a fan of, I don't know, pick a team like the Montreal Canadians and gets drafted by the Boston Brewers. Yeah right yeah that's the one

I'm always always fascinating. I love it. I like the Hagens kid theory, he's good. Honestly again I always come shy of agreeing with everybody when they say oh it's a bad draft oh it's a bad draft. There's 17. Yeah like we don't know like there's like there's like, there's the drafting piece and then there's developing piece and I wanna get to that when we talk about Dallas here in a second. But there were, so you talked to Higgins,

you talked to Schaeffer. Yeah, Misa. You talked to him, like what did you think of Misa? I didn't get a chance to talk to him. Okay, I like him. But he was there. I like him a lot. Yeah.

Like you want goals, like he's going to San's. Yeah, he's going to say San Jose It's not gonna be this year and it's not gonna be next year I want one of these years San Jose is gonna be a lot of fun. Yeah, Santa's gonna be flat They're already fun. Jacob. They're fun bad there. No, you know, it's good You know, I liked about San Jose Well, we'll see cuz we've had the same feeling about Chicago two years ago and then this year was like they were a tough watch Yeah, I just wonder if San Jose is like one year behind Floridian flute fruit fly loving you buddy

Man my reaction time is all slow now the hands go first the hand, you know all the pros are right Oh 30 year old Jeff Merrick would have snagged a thing of chopsticks like Mr. Miyagi. It was back in 2015 and we were blondies We got that flute fly, no problem. Um, no, the, um, the, the, uh, what was I talking about? We were talking about Misa. Oh, the Sharks. The Sharks. Yeah. I wonder if they're just one year behind Chicago.

Because I loved watching them this year because there were moments in every San Jose, we talked about this, in every game we were like, okay, that's what it's going to be like. But you just don't see three periods of it. I wonder if next year is gonna be the grind year where it's like, oh man San Jose is a tough watch. Oh man what happened to all that fun that we did had last year with Celebrini and Will Smith and all this is is good and Shakira Mukhmadullan and he's good and he's big. You go from young and dumb to being like okay I'm ready to be in the playoffs now and

we can't get there kind of feeling. yeah that's a good point that's that's what I wonder about let me let me ask you about Dallas so the Texas Stars were eliminated in the American Hockey League semifinal last night by Abbotsford man okay tough tough hang for the for the organization falling short of expectations on all levels cheese that's not so there's a really i'm going i'm going to go to say here is not informed by any conversations with anyone in the organization

that this is just spitball okay just look at the situation and is saying okay i think just saying, okay, I think this is going to happen, or I think that is going to happen. You haven't received the text that says, don't go there. Watch this. Pay attention to this guy. Okay, thanks.

So all the assistants have been retained in Dallas. Even Steve Spott. Which is a surprise. Which is a surprise. Yes. Even Steve Spott. Which is a surprise. Which is a surprise. Right. And I don't know if it's if he's really gonna stay because him and Pete DeBoer have always been boys chocolate and peanut butter like there this is like Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly. They're together. There's a reason all the assistants are there. Right? Elaine Nezredine, Misha Donskoff. Like there's a reason all the assistants are there, right? Elaine Nasruddin, Misha Donskoff.

Like there's a reason there are veteran, veteran people on that bench still. I don't know if he gets the big chair, but I'm getting warmer to the idea that Neil Graham, who's a Texas Stars coach, even as a rookie gets this one based on the feeling. I've had people in Dallas talk to me about how good Neil Graham and how well-fledged. He's been in the organization for like 15 years. VCHL, AHL. I'm warmer and warmer to the idea that he gets the big chair.

And I'll go you one step further. They know, because I think teams have called to ask him to if they can talk to Graham about being on the bench as an assistant coach to run the power play for example. I think that there are people there who look at Neil Graham and say, we don't wanna give up on someone who could turn out to be John Cooper 2.0 or Jared Bednar 2.0. Just because of the AHL success? No, here's the other part of it. Do you think, and this is no disrespect,

Joe McDonnell who heads up the amateur scouting for the Dallas Stars, do you think that they're all just geniuses and they all just picked the perfect players? Or do you think development had a major hand in it? Do you think Stankoven and Wyatt Johnson are like the products of... Not Wyatt Johnson because he went right to the NHL. Right, but like Stankoven... I'm not saying products of.

Harley... There's the identifying and then there's the development. We always ignore the development. We just say, oh, the scouts missed on that guy. Scouts missed on this guy. Scouts missed on this. But one of the biggest pieces here is the development and we always ignore the development and we just say, Oh, the scouts missed on that guy, scouts missed on this guy, scouts missed on this. But one of the biggest pieces here is the development. And again, no offense to everyone that selected these players, but you just think that they always just made the perfect choice or is there's something

else at play here and is that thing that's at play how good of a coach Neil Graham is? Let's talk about the pickle the stars are in. Okay. They've made a coaching change at a point in which all of the people have been hired, okay? And the coaching pool that's left is your Jay Woodcroft, it's your Peter Lavillette, your Jurgorar Galant, I mean these were retreads that don't really get you all that excited, although the idea that you have one year to win

and you bring in Peter Lavillette, I've heard worse ideas. But to your point, the thing that they had to weigh as a counterbalance towards firing Pete DeBoer was, do we really want to risk the regular season success and playoff revenue that we have been generating with this franchise as Pete DeBoris' coach? And they made the decision that yes,

we probably will risk it because he just shanked our goalie in a post-season press conference. I think there's more to it than just that, but that didn't help. But that didn't help. So, oh, no, no, no, no, no. It was also all of the exit interviews saying, we've got problems with this guy

and it's systemic and we need to make a change. But to your point, if your concern is maintaining the levels of success that you've, you've had, then you want a succession plan rather than going outside the organization and getting somebody. And so is it Neil Graham? Is it Don Scoff getting the job after having served on Team Canada? They could have done that. If that's what they wanted, they could have already done that. Well, I think they're probably weighing their options. It doesn't mean they have to pull the trigger on something immediately.

But I kind of agree with you that they'll end up staying within the organization. But I'll throw one more name at you. And I don't know if he'd leave, because I know he's very tight with the best player in the world, and that is Glenn Gullitzen. Familiarity with the organization, he has paid his dues as an assistant. Clearly one of these guys that would be better in his next gig than he was in the previous gig.

And if they win, hey, guess what? You got a guy that cracked the code. He's got a ring. He'll know how to lead you to the promised land through the conference finals. Okay, so here's the other thing I was thinking of. And I'll get back to Gollitzing, because I'll ask you a question that is going to be informed

by this point that I'm trying to make. Please. I like when Merrick previews his points. It's like seeing a movie trailer before getting an opinion. Back to my radio days, always always be hooking just coming up next What's the audience? I'll tell you why Glenn Gollison blah blah blah blah blah After the break, that's right

So you look at the kid I look at Dallas and it's been like incredible pendulum swings in style, right Remarkable. So let's go back to Lindy Ruff. Yeah. Lindy Ruff had six to five games. Those games were six to five. Yeah. Pendulum swing, Ken Hitchcock.

Two to one games. By the way, only 73 in case you Dallas fans are interested in that, revisiting that coaching regime again. And then, they're looking for something a little bit in between thought They had it with Jim Montgomery and then the Jim Montgomery situation happened. They went to brick bonus and It was back to two to one games, right and then it was Well, they wanted to get Cassidy, but he chose Vegas right and went to Peter DeBoer Yeah, the ball and it's back to six to five games. Yeah

so to me, if you're looking to see who the next Dallas Stars coach is, because this is what they've been looking for, but instead they've had these wild pendulum swings, give me the coach that can coach somewhere in between a six to five game. Oh man. And a two to one game.

See, I really thought you were going someplace. Who's that guy who can coach in between a two to one and a six to five game? Do you have a name in mind? No I don't. Because I thought you were gonna go they're gonna swing back to defense. I was gonna say Bruce Cassidy but he's he's Vegas. If they're gonna swing back to defense you're the only one to answer. I'm telling you Bruxy I'm going to Dallas. I don't know that that organization will do that right now. Honestly, the more that the time goes on here, we'll see, like Neil Graham, like his name just got eliminated yesterday.

The more that I think about it, honestly, just knowing how well he's thought of in there, and then if they don't make a move with him now someone else will yeah See you know Graham's going somewhere. You follow the breadcrumbs. They retain the entire assistant coaching staff Yeah, they want to maintain and again like the thing that The gym nil said wasn't we've got to reinvent the wheel here. It's we've got to find a different voice Well, if you like the way things are going and you want to maintain the success within the organization and you've kept the support structure in place with your assistant coaches, then obviously what you just need is a head coach with a different voice and that could easily be Neil Graham.

Okay, so we solved that. All right, great. All right then. Jim Mill, finders fee. We're going to split the finders fee for telling you to hire a coach you already have on the payroll. I already have a payroll. Remember, there's no I in team, but there's two I's in invoice. That's right. Dallas, you'll be getting one from us here.

I never really heard that before. Yeah, it's good. It's good. It's good to hear something new from you. I get very excited. There's no I in team, but two I's in invoice. I don't think I've used that one before. Oh, one thing that I wanted to make sort of cheeky well going back to the draft

talk yes please from Buffalo just having a conversation first of all Brady Martin has become like the belle of the ball Brady Martin you know farm kid from Elmira he's not going to the draft he won't be there he'll be on the farm because he's working that day oh my god what is he an honorary Sutter he's amazing that that's right it's not Viking now. It's all my yeah The big farm is in Elmira It's not Viking Albert anymore. But so he plays the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds now So you think to yourself? Okay, that's the guy that Dubas is gonna try to get right because all things all things

You sort of gravitate towards things go to Vegas the grayhounds go to aha Pittsburgh, but as as someone reminded me, Porter Martone of the Brampton Steelheads, his father is from Sault Ste. Marie, and who did Kyle Dubas put on the World Championship team for Team Canada this year? Porter Martone. Now, Pittsburgh's drafting 11th. They're not gonna get Brady Martin. They're not gonna get part of Marton. Does that put Kyle Dubas in that position where, as many of us believe, Pittsburgh's gonna try to trade up? You know that's a very interesting question and I have to... It's just a Sousa Marie question. I'll answer it by saying this. The Stanley Cup final is not done yet,

which means that I have not yet become a fake draft expert. Is this like during lockouts when we all become actuaries and we know everything about pensions somehow? It is my favorite thing about the draft, where as soon as the cup final is over, I go from knowing the first four guys to knowing the entire first round, I put out a mock draft

I'm like, they're clearly taking Latvian replacement player at 14. Do you know how much? Managers just love it when people just sort of drop in two weeks before the draft Oh my god, and then and then I think you have to draft like come on It's fantastic. It's my favorite thing. It's good, let's get to tonight's game. The Sheets, ladies and gentlemen, as you well know, is powered by FanDuel, home of the same game Parlay.

Make every moment more on FanDuel. FanDuel, proud to connect fans to the major sports moments that matter to them. When you hear- Should I put out my hot pick for our friends at FanDuel? What do you got? My hot take? Reinhardt over two and a half shots? Look it. I'm telling you man. He's a leader in per game shot attempts at home on the Panthers

He went from being a broken down shell of a man in the Carolina series to having I think six shots last game In Edmonton one of them them, obviously, would have had- And the day when he did that juggling routine in front of Stewart Skinner. Would have had seven if it weren't for a little whoopsie-doo on the breakaway and overtime. But yeah, like Reinhardt tonight. I'm very interested to see how Paul Maurice,

almost got real Brooklyn on you, Paul Maurice- Paul Maurice. Utilizes the Barkhoff line. Does he try to get them an advantageous start against the fourth line at Edmonton or is it just strictly gonna be line matching the McDavid line tonight because Barkov's no points minus four so far so here's the other one then Sam Bennett no goals tonight oh I like that you know why why because they're playing at home yeah and he doesn't squirt

Sam is the freak he just scores on the road. Which, when you think about it from a strategic free agent point of view. Yeah. It's kinda hard to get a handle on what the Panthers are offensively at home. Because on the road they've been a steamroller, and then at home you look at their numbers

and like Verhage's got four points in seven games. They all seem to have like four points in seven games, basically all these guys on the Panthers. So who knows? But do you, so let me get philosophical here for a second. So do you think inherently that the Oilers needed to be up two oh in the series to win the series? No, I don't.

Okay. No, I do. Do you? Not completely, but I do think that, I do think that this game tonight... You know they were down 2-0 after the first two games last year. Yes, I understand. 3-0 after the first three. This is a better Panthers team than the one they played last year.

And I understand people will say, oh look at the first round too, again that's the LA Kings. They look across, they see the Crest and they're just like, we've got this. I feel like tonight is essential though for the Oilers because I don't necessarily think that you want to be in a position where your backs against the wall in a game four and I know you're gonna say well they rallied last year sure whatever I think I think I think they win tonight they're in good shape I think they lose tonight they're in a lot of trouble that's I I hate I mean it's a game three right of seven but that's

kind of how I'm feeling about him right now I look at this team at this oilers team and I don't see any panic anywhere Okay When have you seen the oilers panic this year at all like even during those stretches where they were let's be blunt about like There were times this year if Evan told us were awful Never a panic from anywhere right like anywhere in the organization on the ice behind the bench in the front office I can know where I like, this is fine. Yeah. Everything's gonna be fine.

The only panic, I think, is if this is like the night that Skinner gives up sex. That would be a problem. That, then maybe, then maybe. But like, I don't think it's gonna happen. They've been through all of this. Yeah. And they've lost. Yeah, and they've lost Yeah, the in game seven. This is exactly

Exactly why I said that the Panthers are the perfect Oilers countermeasure because everyone else that they played starts Flailing when the Oilers get it cranked up Vegas wasn't even in the series Dallas knew they won game one on a fluke The Kings the minute Jim Hiller lost the series for them then then they lost their minds. The Panthers you know ever gonna be intimidated by McDavid or Dreissel or anything the Edmonton Oilers do and that's what makes them the perfect opponent for this team. Is there, this is really interesting, is there, maybe the answer is Florida. Is there a team that's better at taking punches than the Florida Panthers? No.

Like they're that fighter that can be on the ropes and just get pounded. Like Foreman pounded Ali on the ropes over and over and over again only to see Ali come back and win. And then when they get their moment, they capitalize on it. The last five wins they've had in the playoffs, they've had a moment in which they scored two goals in four minutes. Let me ask you about that double overtime winner we saw on Friday. Uh huh. That's Skinner, right? I kind of lost the puck a little bit.

Yeah. I He kind of lost the puck a little bit But when you're when you're going to play the shot like like like I mean when you're going to play the shot And then he loses the puck a little bit. I Don't know I guess so I guess you could say it's good. Yes. I'll say this. It's certainly not bouchard I was talking to somebody on the radio this morning. Yeah, that was trying to put it on bouchard on the back check I'm like first of all are we still doing the the Eric Carlson shame gifts for Eric for for Evan Bouchard like we did last year? Because I think he's gotten a lot better defensively. And two, it's double overtime.

The fact that he even drew even with Marchand on the breakaway was a testament to how hard he was playing, because it's everybody's gas at that point. People forget before the match, there was a moment in double overtime before the Marchion goal where I'm like, oh my God, we're gonna be here until next week. The way that they were like playing ping pong with a puck. So you can put it on skin for sure, that's fine.

That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine.

That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. Are you part of the camp that says this is Conor Mcdavid's legacy on the line here? No. Because I don't think this is going to be the last time he plays for the Cup. Do you? I don't know. I don't.

It's really hard to get back here. The thing about legacy... It's really, honestly, It's really hard to get back here. The thing about legacy... It's really, honestly, it's so hard to get back here. The thing about legacy is that, like, it's not gonna be his fault if they lose. Oh, I know. Listen, I get that. He's a team sport. Like, it wasn't, like, Joe Thornton's fault that the San Jose Sharks never won, or Marcel Dian's fault that the Kings never won. But it's more their fault. Like, here's the thing.

Like, when Ovechkin won, it was important because rightly or wrongly, he received a lion's share of the blame for the Capitals not advancing past the second round. When the Leafs don't succeed, it's kind of turned a little bit for Matthews, where now he's getting the criticism for them not succeeding.

The unique thing about Connor is that I don't think it's ever his fault, nor will it ever be his fault. And so I've thought about this a lot. I want him to win a cup just so we don't have to have the conversation, but I think when we have the conversation, if he doesn't win, if he retires and he's in the same sentence as Gretzky as far as most dominant offensive players in the history of hockey like ultimately where will fall on this is Well, it's kind of like the teams he played for his fault. It's not Connor's fault Connor did everything he could He won an MVP and a losing effort for God's sakes

Like I kind of feel like he might he might get a pass in a way that other legendary players who didn't win Have not gotten passes does that make sense it does and let me let me throw it to the other side then if Florida doesn't win the cup here I know they've been to the final here three years in a row yeah did it just become a team that just won one cup they've become Boston right they become the Bergeron March andand, Char of Boston's. That's what they become. And that's fine because Boston's considered to be one of the most successful teams of the last 15 years. But here's the thing that they're not. Here's why I think this is so important for Florida. And again, this is just an in-state thing, like an in-province thing. Oh, shoot. The half cup, the 48 game cup.

Son of a bitch. I come on your show and make time on my busy day to come sit in a suite and talk to you. You're going to break up 95. Look, I think it's actually really important that they win for the very thing that we talked about off the top of the show, which is the momentum in the market. If they don't win though, like, they weren't going to win the first year. Kachuk was hurt. He was out of the series. He was the reason that they were there and he was out of the series. So you can't fault him for the Vegas series. You could definitely fault them if they lose here because I think that they are better than they were last year and have every opportunity to win this series. But I mean, like, ultimately, the fate of this team is K'Chuck breaks his sternum one year, and then Connor and Leon

are healthy and only had to play five games in the previous round. And then they beat you. Like, what ultimately is the legacy of the Panthers? You had bad luck in the first year and you got beat by the two best players in the world in the third year You can't get too bad at a shape about that. I always wonder how much look let's say that this is this This is it and like this is the last Stanley Cup for the Florida Panthers, and then they just go on to be a good team for a while I always wonder like how how far that wave casts how long do the fumes? Last for like the fans in the home market. Yeah How long do the fumes last? For like the fans in the home market?

Yeah. Do you think that the Tampa fans are still on a contact tie? Yes. Okay, so now we know it's at least, what, like four years? Yeah, but that's the thing, I was talking to my Uber driver on the way to the rink today, and we were having this conversation, and he's not the biggest hockey fan,

but it's like, yeah, I'm starting to get into hockey in the last few years, and I'm like, yeah, I'm starting to get into hockey in the last few years. I'm like, yeah. What happened the last few years? Like hockey. Driving by the practice facility, I'm like, this thing's gorgeous. We were talking earlier and he's talking about going to games and people love it. And it's so much fun.

I was like, what happens if they don't get to the Stanley Cup final every year? Like, oh, I'm just kidding. It's different for every market, but like, how long does it last? How long does this shine? But again, you've established this market though. I guess what I keep saying about everyone

and the friends in the States who complain about the TV ratings, I get it. Hockey's not a national sport yet in the United States But look what it's done for this market. Yeah, like you have this team has made new hockey fans You know, we knew hockey fans the Edmonton Olders run has made zero This is all this expansion argument, right? Yeah, zero hockey fans. Yeah, not a slight against them. They're well Canadian hockey fans. Not a slight against them. They're all Canadian hockey fans. But the Florida Panthers have made new hockey fans. Here's the interesting thing about this

series in the States. And I don't know, it's hard for me to have this conversation as a rights holder because like we're part of that conversation. But shouldn't the pitch have been, this is the the bad boy Pistons against the Jordan Bulls. Like isn't that the pitch is that is that the casual fan of Just like the the one team the punch you in the mouth and the views you team win by any means necessary Rodman John Sally that let bill Lambeer like isn't that what it is basically is the Irresistible force versus the immovable object like the the antidote to the best player in the world is this bunch of thugs from Florida like that

That's a me is like the selling point of the series and I don't know if it's necessarily been but if you're to the casual fan But here's the but here's the problem that works if Edmonton's the defending Stanley Cup champion, right? And it's the bad boy Panthers that knock down like the slick Leon Dreisaitl economy take it shit. Yeah, then you get Boston Vancouver. You get the blue collar Punch you in the face seven times guys against Vancouver, which by the way had those guys too But they were mostly the city and his team at that point, by the way that Luongo tweet on Friday It's amazing. I've always told you boys wanted to do the hockey Twitter Hall of Fame. Yeah go tweet on Friday. It's amazing. I've always told you boys wanted to do the hockey Twitter Hall of Fame. Yeah. That goes in. It's in there. That goes in.

His whole Twitter is probably in there. First ballot. Yes. Yeah. All right. We're released and we made it without too many distractions. The show's over? God. It's always amazing to be out. One hour. Just breezes by when I talk to you. We have things to do like drink coffee and talk about rumors I'm on tv tonight. I'm on sports center tonight Is that why you've done your tie-up so nicely and if karen douglas is watching the thing before we went on Greg said something along the lines of I hope karen douglas is watching today So she know the the grape is going to be I only have a black jacket because most of my stuff is is

I dress like i'm a pallbearer half the time I go to these games, but like I think this tie is of a high quality if I'm if no one has asked It's a nice time. No, and then I gotta go. I have to do I'm on the International pregame show for ESPN for our friends. No, no with Arda actually. Oh with Arda nice So the people in Australia will know what's going on with the cup final That's a fun one to do I'm all I tell my Batman story yet. No, it's your bet. Do we have time? It's the internet. Okay, so I'm getting ready to do the hit on the international show. Yeah

The other day and I'm standing in right outside the gates of Rogers place. Yep. Where all the fans are. I'm standing there with my little mic flag. I'm here I am Johnny, Johnny journalists getting ready to go on the air. And all of a sudden I feel this bear hug behind me. Yeah. And I hear, are we on the air?

It was Betman. Betman gave me a bear hug from behind. No way. Are we on the air? And I said, no, unfortunately we're not on the air yet. And he goes, that's too bad. And he just keeps walking. I'm like, I'm so confused. I thought you hated me.

I think he's a stinker. Like that's the thing about Betman that people who haven't talked to him and interact with him know. He's a bit of a stinker like that's the thing about Batman that people who haven't talked to him But look at interact with him know he's a bit of a stinker like you could see it in the press Conferences when he gets a little bit of the glean gleam in his eye and tries to he likes to have one over on the media He likes this. He likes this. He likes this, but you know what though? He's a stinker! but at the same time like Honestly think about

Gary Batman right now. He's about to do the cleanest CBA that he's done since he took over in 1993 from Gil Stein. No acrimony. He's outside of the rink in Edmonton. The biggest star in the game is about to play and the place is packed packed and the city's turning itself upside down so he's high on his own supply and they pop the Florida market too yeah at the same time and they're talking about two billion for expansion money yeah like this is like I always looked at this era for the Commissioner as you know this is where this is like I always looked at this era for the Commissioner as you know

This is where this is where Gary Batman needs to take like the last however many years of the career and He's gonna. This is gonna be like I'm writing my legacy here. Yeah, and the other thing and you and I talked about this the other day He's really setting up Bill Daley for some easy early wins really setting up Bill Daley for some easy early wins. Yeah. Like honestly right now and listen I still I still think the NHL and rightfully so is still buzzing off Four Nations. Sure. Do you remember like how much of a home run winter classic was? Yeah. There are a lot of nice hairs. Things are good. And I was one of those like eh, Four Nations isn't going to be that good.

Stadium series. Like, and... Killed it. Did you have any idea though, and listen, a lot of it was because of Montreal in the opening shift that Saturday night, but still, like, that was a tape measure home run. Did you get some of that vibe from first period of game two? Yes. Like, there's a little Four Nations glow up for that game and I'm like,

I don't know man, I'm happy that he's happy. I'm happy that he feels like he can goof around with somebody who may or may not have run some Photoshop contests where people put his face on like Marilyn Monroe's body. That's good, we're in a good place. We're in a better place being Gary these days. I like it. That's good. We're in a good place. We're in a better place being Gary these days. I like it. It's good. Yeah On that we'll wrap it up Thanks to all of our guests nobody

You just listen to be in Greg shoot the shit for an hour. That's right Yeah, we did and get ready for three more. Yeah, we're just in some of it this way more days Folks because MVSW week continues here in in sunrise enjoy the game tonight we are back tomorrow 3 o'clock Eastern more NBSW here on the daily faceoff YouTube channel hit the like hit the subscribe look at that it's just like that picture that we use for our firm look we're young again I had a cigar in my bag the last week I just smoked it at the track yesterday so look at cigars a I too yesterday it's not good

you spoke to cigars how do you smoke two cigars and not get a headache very slowly seriously dude I had one in the afternoon because I went to Gulfstream to watch the ponies run and did okay there and then I and then I'm staying at a hotel here that's near a cigar bar that I rather fancy so I had another one during the NBA game last night I'm not gonna make a regular thing out of it and Kids don't know what don't smoke the cigars. So there's gonna be after tonight's done Yeah, we got a little bit of a break here until Thursday. Yeah, what are you filling your time with? Well writing that's why I'm paid to be here television. That's why I'm paid to be here and

writing that's why I paid to be here television that's why I'm paid to be here and probably a pilgrimage to find some beer tacos that I really enjoy here and and then probably I mean probably more cigars I'm not gonna lie to you it's probably gonna happen again once or twice we'll have to get together one of these nights and I'll see you tonight up in popcorn absolutely there is Greg Wyshinski folks America on behalf of all of us here. Patrick, thank you so much for setting all this up. Patrick Puff who did Yeoman's work. Daily Face Off Live and then setting all this up. I know it was kind of chaotic a little bit putting it all together. So first star, La Première Etoile.

Come on Dion Francais. Patrick Puff. Yeah. Thanks you for watching. Thanks you for listening and being in the chat as well. We're back tomorrow at 3 o'clock Eastern for this little pro. Look at the towel. It's so good with the Easter eggs. You want to point out the Easter eggs? Yeah, sorry. We got, we got the Carolina logo here. Yeah.

Then we got the lightning bolt on the butt of the rat. And then right there. And then that's for Zach on the helmet is, or yeah right on your helmet over here you got the ear for the maple leaf oh the the lightning bolts on the knee oh the lightning bolts on the knee knee of the rat beside the bolts here this also looks like lightning bolt lightning bolt on the knee and then and then the maple leaf is in the ear right here is where it is so kudos to the panthers for really uh finding ways

to make something that will be a dust rack. Does this mean the Leafs made it to this Cup final? Does this mean I get to say that? Yes, Zach says this means the Leafs made it to the Cup final, in fact they did. Yes, congratulations. And there, go Team Go. All right, that's it for our little act.

We're back tomorrow. Bye. Alright, that's it for our little act. We're back tomorrow. Bye I went to the dark man He tried to give me a little medicine I'm like, nah man, that's fine I'm not against those methods, but I knew It's me, myself and how this gon' be fixin' my mind I do wanna break it I turn on the music I threw on the record I turned on the music But you send out that battle that you sometimes lose Helping on the days that went wrong