The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Hofer Dodges Montgomery, Winter Classic in Utah, & More ft. Pete DeBoer & Greg Wyshynski

Episode Date: January 9, 2026

Today on The Sheet, Jeff Marek is joined by Greg Wyshynski for a packed episode. The show opens with a breakdown of the chaotic on-ice antics involving the St. Louis Blues goaltending tandem of Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer during last night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, sparking conversation around bench behavior, discipline, and game management. From there, Marek and Wyshynski react to the NHL officially announcing that Utah will host the Winter Classic next season, with the Utah Mammoth set to face the Colorado Avalanche, examining what the event means for the league’s newest market and outdoor game growth. The episode also takes time to honor the life and legacy of Hall of Fame goaltender Glenn Hall, reflecting on his impact on the position and NHL history. Later, Pete DeBoer joins the show to discuss his role with Team Canada, how preparations are already underway for 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, the Olympic roster selection process, how Hockey Canada evaluates NHL talent throughout the season, and what the future could hold in his NHL coaching career. It’s a wide-ranging, must-watch episode for fans tracking the NHL, international hockey, and the stories shaping the game right now.SHOUTOUT 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-faceoff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Okay, welcome to the program. Sorry, we're a couple of moments late. I'm not going to say we're going to blame. But his name rhymes or Greg. Well, it's opposite, it's alternate side of the street parking day day here in Brooklyn. For those who don't know, there's one day a week where you've got to move your car so the street sweeper can come by. And the timing of that and the timing of the show can sometimes butt up against each other. as I make sure that the Federales aren't coming by to ticket an empty car.

So that's what happened today. But the good news is that no ticket and the streets never looked better. You could. Awesome. You and the rats could eat right off the street right now. Perfect. That is great to know. Now, we're going to talk a lot about St. Louis goaltenders.

But before we do that, Greg, I wanted to make sure that we parked a couple of moments here to the beginning of the show to talk about another form. former St. Louis goaltender, who passed away at the age of 94, the great Glenn Hall. So one of the things that I love is how, and I get it, I understand why. Every article that we read about the passing of Mr. Hall is framed with, and he has an NHL record of 502 consecutive games, a record that will probably never be broken. I'm going to go way, way out on a limier. that record.

And it's actually 522 when you factor in playoffs as well. That is a record I am very safe to say. And take to the crematorium with me is never going to be broken, Greg. 502 games in a row. That's just not how the game is played anymore. I mean, we are in an era where we marvel at guys

that get to 70 in a season. Well, we, we, listen, we just marveled last week about Jack Reeves playing back to back. Here's Glenn Hawke. Gladda Hall played 5002 in a row. Called up for Terry Sa-Sachuk. It's safe to say it's an untouchable record. I mean, it's untouchable in the sense that the game has changed.

I think that there's two categories of untouchable record. It's the statistical achievement so great you wonder if anyone could break that record without a fundamental change the way the game is played. I used to kind of feel about that with the Gretzky record. And then lo and behold, Alex Ovechkin came along. But I don't think that there's going to be some freak of nature genetically created in a lab goaltender that's going to be able to play 82 for a stretch of what like five or six seasons to start like threatening this record. It ain't going to happen. Not not not going to happen.

Now, as I mentioned, 502, 552 when you factor in postseason games as well, ConSmyth trophy winner, call the trophy winner when he got called up to replace Terry Sautchuk for the Detroit Red Wings. three Veznas, two Stanley Cups, and the thing about it is, like when that record was finally broken, it was 1963, was a game against the Boston Bruins. And for those of you that care about things like this,

the goaltender who took his place because Glenn Hall was pulled out of that game against the Boston Booth. The goalie who took his place was a guy the name of Dennis DeGertie, okay, who, you know, had a very decent career in the NHL, thank you very much. And then, and by the way, I love that shot.

That's such a good. Richard. My buddy, Hang on. Lighting up in the locker room. My buddy, Richard Chung, sent me that this point.

Oh, you got to have this picture on. But the thing about Dennis DeJordy was, he went on to become one of the very first goaltending coaches that the NHL ever saw with Jim Rutherford, with the Detroit Red Wings in the 70s. Now, the thing about Glenn Hall as well, one of the legendary stories is before and occasionally during every game, he would throw up.

That became his thing. He would throw up before games. And I want to read a quote to you about Glenn Hall. And this really was, like it wasn't really the, Glenn was the first to actually say it or come out and talk about it. But goalies really did feel this way. Because let's not forget, there was only six of these jobs. It was very dangerous and there were no masks. And a lot of guys got hurt.

And a lot of guys turned to alcohol bluntly to numb all the pain. Here's what Glenn Hall said about hockey. I think you're really going to like this. I think hockey is a wonderful game to watch, but I hate every minute I play. I'm sick to my stomach before the game, between periods and from the start of the season to the end. There's no such thing as an easy night for a goalie,

not even if he never gets a shot to stop during the whole game. Glenn Hall, legend, One of the greatest goaltenders to ever do it saying like, look, this is a job. This is hard. And the other thing about it, too, we've heard a lot about, okay, so he's the creator of the butterfly style later to Tony Esposito

and then of course perfected by Patrick Waugh in the Allaire school. But he was doing that when pads weren't designed to go down. The thing that impresses me about the 502 is how many times he went down and sort of collapsed to his knees and the pain that he would have felt. yet for 502 regular season games in a row, it wasn't enough to pull him out of the lineup. To say this guy was a remarkable athlete

and had a pain threshold like nobody else is not an understatement at all. First of all, the pads that he was wearing in some of the photos we just ran here on the video feed, it looked like the couch in your doctor's office. It's so good. It's like this big leather slabs. The shoulder pads for the goal is it literally looks like

You know how like sometimes you have old paper towels you find in the bottom of a cabinet? They're like yellowed. It kind of looked like that, but just like a lot of them. And then again, any photo of anybody back in the old days, lighten up a sig in the locker room to just try to like maintain. Yeah. Would the Russians all smoke today if we let them? Like if there was smoke in the locker room, we just like,

you're looking live with the Florida Panthers and you just see Bobrovsky in the corner just like chain smoking before a playoff game. Look, the secret is just, the guys just go to the laundry room and blow the smoke in the dryer. Right? In Toronto, it was like the Danny Markov special

like Sergei Zubov for talking about doing this. Into the dryer. Like that was always one of the like, what moments when you're a kid, when you realize that like, what, Gila Fleur smokes two packs a day? What? Mariel Amu is working on heat.

What? What? Holy smoke. I'll say exactly what the what moment for me as a kid was. And it's related to this tribute we're doing, which is the what moment for me as a kid was, you tell me they didn't wear masks? Oh, yeah. It is still mind blowing to me that there was not just an era in hockey, but hockey's first, what, like 40 years, 50 years, Merrick. Oh, yeah. Was it time in which gold hunters didn't have their faces protected in any way?

It's still unfathomable to a modern day fan that that's how they used to play the game. Andy Brown was the last to go maskless in the NHL, both the NHL and the WHA and the WHA with the Indianapolis racers, Pittsburgh Penguins for Andy Brown in the NHL. But I always remind people too about that because you hear it and you think yourself like, wow, that is nuts. And it is nuts. And a lot of goaltenders, you ended up losing an eye and getting stitched up all over their face. But let's not forget, too. this was also an era of straight sticks and wrist shots, not big slap shots.

Like the puck didn't leave the ice with the authority and the occasion that it does now. So I know it sounds like, these guys are insane playing without a mask. It was a low game at that point. Everything was along the ice. Do you think Dry Settle would still try to score goals off the goalie's head? 100%.

Yes, 100%. I think everybody would. I think everybody would. Now, should that disqualify you from winning the lady Bing, though, was the question. Not a very gentlemanly thing to do. When they made him wear masks, maybe you know this, maybe you don't. When they made him wear masks, did they- That wasn't that long ago? Did they quetch about it?

Like when they made people wear advisors, where they were able to track the puck? Yeah. It was a whole thing. In Montreal, when Jacques Plont put on the mask, I mean, there was a big human craft from the organization that it's going to ruin his vision. And he can't wear this. This is ridiculous. You have to take this off. We're not going to let you do this.

Now, he wasn't the first to wear the mask. I know, yeah. Listen, you know hockey. But listen, it was only, honestly, I want to say like, it was only up until, I know we're getting on a history thing. I want to get on Bennington and Hofer here. One final point on this. It was only up to a few years ago that masks were mandatory.

Like you would look in the rule, I would look at the rule book every single year, and it wasn't mandatory that goaltenders had to wear masks. Yeah. It was just like, of course, no one's going to go maskless anymore. But as far as it being an official rule, an official piece of the equipment, it's not like they made that rule 50 years ago. Officially it was only made a few years ago. And every year, I'd look at the rule book up, nope, still haven't changed it.

Nope, still haven't changed it. Who's the goalie in the league that you think would go maskless if given the opportunity? None. I got two choices for you. No. I got two choices for you. None. No way.

Sturt Skinner. Why? First of all, because of the flow. Second of all, he strikes. me as the type that would be like, I want to feel more connected with what's happening around me.

And the mask impedes that. And the second is Hellebuck. What? I could see Hellebuck on with the mask. Yeah, I could. I couldn't see them. I could see some players wanting to go. I could see some players wanting to go helmetless.

But I don't know that I could say, and it's probably, we should probably do this on another show because of running late already. I could see players, some players in the NHL wanting to go helmetless. I can't see any goal. saying, yeah, I'll take off the mask. Not a chance.

Because they've all been hitting the head before. They've never given them the opportunity. We'll never find out. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Okay. Anyway, condolences to the family and the friends of the late great Glenn Hall, who holds a record that will never be broken. The blueprint is powered by Fanduel.

Download the app today and play your game at Fanduel. Coming up on the program today, very much looking forward to our special guest at the bottom of the hour. In the meantime, Greg Wyshinsky is, as you can just see in here, with us from ESPN and ESPN.com. We've spoken about Glenn Hall. We'll talk a little bit more about them, I would imagine, a little bit later on. Hide and seek, peek-a-boo, call it what you want.

Yesterday, what we saw with the St. Louis Blues net minders was weird. We'll talk about that coming up in a couple of seconds. Utah Winter Classic, we'll discuss. Yes, it's the mammoth and the avalanche. Peter DeBoar will stop by as well. Peter's is, if you go back to 1995 in junior hockey, every September that rolled around, going back to 1995, he was a head coach somewhere. And this is the first season that he found.

He was not a head coach anywhere as September rolled around. But he's part of the team Canada coaching staff as well. And I'm sure he will be soon to be behind an NHL bench once again. Okay. We got a lot to talk to you with Pete. It's going to be fascinating. It's a great get, by the way, Zach. I appreciate the chance to talk to Pete.

There's like a mountain of stuff I want to get into with him. 100%. And the one thing I like about Pete is too is he can go big picture pretty fast. Like I've always thought that there are some coaches. I know that Barry Trots is the obvious one right now with Nashville. There are some coaches that I've always felt could be general managers. Pete DeBore's on that list. Not to say that he should not be coaching anymore, but Pete DeBore is on that list of people.

It's a good question. About like, would he ever consider managing? He and the other coaches got a glimpse behind the curtain on the team. Team Canada selection process. So I wonder if that kind of piqued his interest or got the wheels turning us to maybe be going to the other, going one step up the food chain at some point. Okay. Jordan Bennington, Joel Hofer.

Now, Pia LeBrun, with Gino Reda on insider trading, just mentioned that the snafu was that Joel Hofer was in the dressing room. Now, at United Center, there's not room on the bench for the backup goaltender. so the back of the goaltenders either in the hallway or in some cases in the room. So there's Steve Ott and Jim Montgomery

trying to find Joel Hofer. And first of all, you know who the first star on this entire sequence is? Who? The camera operator who does the close-up.

The camera operator who gets that shot. It's like the camera operator who got the Patrick Waugh wink shot against the Los Angeles Kings. This is like the first star is the camera operator.

I don't know who here she is, but the one that gets the shot of Joel Hofer peeking out from behind the door there. Now, this is apparently while the play is still going on, so there wasn't time to get Hofer in the net. Now, curious your thoughts on this one, because I wonder about a couple of different things here too, and I wonder about communication from the bench to the trainer,

to the goaltender as well. But your thoughts on what is a pretty tough look for the St. Louis Blues in a pretty tough season, especially for goaltenders who have had it pretty tough this year. Just an all-time bit of physical comedy from Jim Montgomery as he waves over Bennington and as he learns that no one knows for his backup goal he is. And he just goes, what? I mean, it's a good microcosm for the season.

Listen, in my head canon, Joel Holfer was hiding. I know that there's a reasonable explanation as to why. I don't think he was hiding. It was all played out the way it did. But I mean, we know what the score was. We know how things are going for the blues that night. In my head, Canon, he is peeking around the corner being like, if I'm quiet enough, maybe no one will find me.

I don't think that's true for Hofer. Now, one of the things that's funny, I talked to one goalie coach this morning about it. I'm like, what gives here? And he said, like, look, he's probably in the room, maybe watching the television, right, chilling. and the communication would go to a trainer who's got to tell him like, hey, get ready, you need to go.

But this goalie coach also said, like, look, this is late in the game. The Blues are getting lit up. You better be ready to go. I've been curious to hear Hofer's side of all of this. Because considering Hofer's not having the best of all possible seasons, the St. Louis' season has been, by their standards and expectations, awful. And it's now led to an embarrassing moment for the entire organization. You better be ready to go. Like, it's not like it's the first couple of minutes of the game

where, you know, if you're a veteran guy, you can sit and chill in the room and just sort of wait, you're not going to be going in. But as the score gets rattled up here, as the Blackhawks are filling the net behind Jordan Bennington, you're Joel Hofer. You better be ready when that call. Now, was there a miscommunication between the bench and the trainer and Hofer? Still don't know. There's still more, you know, Zapruder work to be done on this video to what actually happened here

because we haven't heard the Hofer side of things. It always bugs me when the backup goalie has to, like, sit someplace else. I don't know why. Like, you know, they've got arenas where they're like they're in a folding chair near the Zambollah entrance or some nonsense. I don't know why it's always irked me. It's just like, design the thing for everybody involved. Don't make him feel any worse than he already feels,

not playing. I don't disagree with you. So the thing about a quick thought on the St. Louis Blues. I'm of the belief that, you know, outside of like prospects, like, you know, and some of the, you know, the Robert Thomas's of the world, I'm guessing the St. Louis Blues are either really close to or already there of just saying, all right, we are well open for business here on just about, on just about everybody. I don't know. Robbie Thomas hit the CJA trade board on the athletic today. I don't know if he saw that. He was like, I can't see it.

I can't see Robert Thomas. I can see. I can see Ryru. They try to move Tyroo a hundred times, but he's got trade protection. Justin Falk's name seems to be something that's entered the ether. He's got, I think, only two years left now on that deal. And it seems like now his name is in circulation. But you're right.

I mean, look, Doug's, Doug Armstrong has never had any compunction about, you know, breaking up the roster if things aren't working. correctly and things aren't working correctly. It is, I mean, I don't think they regret it, but I got to imagine they thought they were going to get better results with Jim Montgomery behind the bench in his tenure there, don't you? Yes. And listen, what were we saying towards the end of last year and into the playoffs?

Okay, Montgomery's got him playing the right way. This is the Jim Montgomery bump. Here we go. We're off to the races. And the St. Louis Blue is going to take the next step this year. and the complete opposite happened. Now, I don't want to, again, like the goalies are eating it and I get it and they haven't been good.

Yeah. They haven't. But you know who else hasn't been good? That blue line has been awful. Right. That blue line has been awful and have let down the St. Louis Blues consistently game in and game out. But it's like one of those things where the system's supposed to cover up all that. You know, especially the goaltending.

The idea that their goaltending can be this. dog shit on a on a on a jim montgomery team is unfathomable when you look back at the safe percentages of the goalie he's goalies he's worked with in dallas and in boston like it's unfathomable that these guys are this bad but it could be just like if the blue line is bad the goalies are going to be bad and then it doesn't matter what system you play because the the personnel is is not executing the system to to its greatest extent uh okay uh we've done a lot on st louis um peter dabor coming up at the bottom of the hour in the meantime i want to ask you about Maclean Celebrini.

And another command performance by Maclin Celebrini last night. God was he ever good. So we've had the Heart Trophy conversation about Macklin Celebrany. Here we are January 8th. And if I'm voting right now, Macklin Celebrini gets my vote. But what I wonder about is what happens to him on July 1st when the San Jose sharks can extend him.

he's already amongst the McDavid's and the McKinnons. What is that contract going to be looked like or look like? Or if you're Macklin-Colabini, do you just wait? You don't have to sign. But like, to me, this is an interesting situation for Mike Greer, who's got one of the best players in the NHL who's dragging his team into the playoffs. What's that extension look like if you're going to do it on July 1st? Why do you wait?

If you're Macklin Celebrini. Yeah. Because it's another, it's another season of adding up points and adding up trophies and adding up success. Again, like every, every contract negotiation is, you know, Yarmulikikilin always talks about. Like, it all comes down to who has the hammer. And Celebrini has the hammer. Technically no, because he's a restricted free agent. But the San Jose sharks know what they have on their hands here.

and that's their franchise player. This is their meal ticket. And this is someone that's, you know, entertaining fans in San Jose and all over the NHL. Like, it's getting to the point where he's becoming, and maybe he's already there, one of those players that you say, I would pay money just to watch number 71.

Easley. He's, I noticed this last night in watching that shift against the Kings and the goal that he just scored that we're showing here on the show. Like, he is now one of those players who you want an ISO cam on at all times. You just want to see what he's,

doing on every shift because undoubtedly it's going to be something remarkable that he ends up doing and it kind of felt like that way watching him last night so the interesting thing about the sharks like they're contending but i don't think anyone feels they're a contender there is a difference um normally in the maturation of a of a burgeoning contender your star your star young player is probably going to take a contract that one is isn't going to then force you to pay all of the other great young players in your roster, including someone like Will Smith, for example, salaries that are going to be magnetically drawn to the new ceiling that you've created

by signing your young star, right? The other thing, too, is that usually the young star is going to take a contract with the, with the idea of like what the cap situation of the team is. But the, you know, the sharks are basically a floor team at this point, right? So like, yeah, there's a lot of interesting. interesting economic questions to be answered surrounding what celebrini's ultimate contract might look like. But ultimately, it's just given what he wants. I mean, he's the franchise.

He's the meal ticket. He's the guy that's going to reopen the doors of that arena to fans that haven't been to the shark tank in upwards of five or six years. And you get him what it wants. And you hope that it's long term. Here's the thing. And maybe it's just like the hockey parent in me. But part of this is like kids will watch, you know, Nathan McKinnon highlights and kids will watch like Connor McDavid highlights. And that's awesome.

If you're a parent, if you're a coach, and this is probably a question, better answered by Peter DeBore than us. But here's someone who's not just like an offensively gifted player or an offensive dynamo. Like it's a coach that will always talk to you about like, oh yeah, but what you don't see is his play away from the puck that really separates. him from everybody else. It allows him to be like a 19-year-old going to play for Team Canada. And all expectations are, you know, wherever he starts at the tournament, he's going to end up on the first line somehow because that's just what Macklin Celebrini does.

And all the coaches will say, like, look what he does away from the puck. Look what he does in his own zone. All of that stuff. Like, he's the whole package. He's the whole package. Like, at 19. At 19 years old. It's just glorious.

to watch. And listen, he's, like, that's it. Like, he's the franchise guy. He's going to fill that building, and he's going to try to drag this team into the playoffs. Whether he gets there this year, we don't know. But eventually, this San Jose Sharks team is being a consistent playoff spot. But you still have to sign him with at least an eye, a side eye,

on what Smith will make and what Mesa will make and what Eklund will make and all those other guys, too. I say, here's a blank piece of paper. Just leave us some dignity. just leave us a little bit of dignity. You're a guy. Just leave us a smidget of dignity when you put down your number. We have a couple of bare bonds and Hassel Plotner's.

Yes, yes. Utah, Winter Classic, facing off against the Colorado Avalent. I think visually this thing is going to look stunning, but this is also on the same day where some unflattering numbers come out about this year's edition of the Winter Classic. under a million viewers. I've looked at the Winter Classic personally and said, this is no longer a TV event.

This is a live event that every fan should experience because whether you're going to go to all these things or as many as you can, it's still a cool thing to do as a fan and to be part of. Two things. Where are you at on the Utah Winter Classic and where are you at on the numbers that came out about the Rangers and the Cats?

Utah is going to be dope. I mean, everyone I've talked to, that has seen a football game at that stadium tells me that it's going to be in an amazing vista. I think Utah and Colorado was a great matchup because Utah is ascendant and Colorado I think is a draw. I've come to learn there's a lot of avalanche fans actually in Utah

that was kind of like their territory before the mammoth moved in. On this winter classic though in Miami, it's a couple of things. First of all, you got to remember that the game is on cable and that's a different audience than if the game was on broadcast television. I did see some correction.

If you take in, you fudge the numbers and say that it was over a million. I think sports media watch maybe had that. But again, I think the general consensus is that numbers weren't blown away by it. But the thing is, it all comes back to venue. And you can gussy up a baseball state even Florida all you want. it's not going to really hit you in the same way that Fenway does, you know, or that the stadium in Utah might,

you know, as far as it's feeling like a winter classic. And the other thing, too, and I'm fascinated is, I know why they did it, but I do wonder what the impact would be is, if they had done the Battle of Florida outdoors, would more people have watched than to watch,

you know, as I, you know, a mid-rangers team against, against the Panthers without Kachuk. I would love to have seen that, but as I mentioned the other day, network time is expensive.

TV time is expensive, and that game would have taken about six hours, given the animosity between the two. Let's get to Peter DeBoer. He's our guest today here on the sheet, three-time Stanley Cup finalist and on the bench for Team Canada at the Olympics. Peter DeBore joins us now.

Peter, first of all, thanks so much for doing this. Before you came on, we were just sort of gushing about Macklin's Celebrini and I was about this closest saying, and he invented oxygen. But I look at, like, I look at the way that he plays and I'm like, kids will love him because of the highlights and coaches and parents will say, yeah, and look at his play away from the puck. Look at all the other things that he does. And you're going to get a chance to be part of a staff that drives this Ferrari.

When you see Macklin Celebrini, let's start there. What do you see? Yeah. Wow. one just really excited i mean this is a kid you know i've had the opportunity to watch them really closely because uh our evaluation for the olympic team involved you know us uh watching as many of of the guys uh the up and coming guys as possible to make sure we got a good read on them are they ready you know because the natural inclination is uh that this is a men's tournament and

that young players really have to be exceptional to contribute. And I remember talking to Joe Thornton early in the season. I was about a month into the season. And just saying, Joe, am I seeing what I think I'm seeing? Is this guy that good? And Jumbo said, not only he's that good, he goes so far this year he's been the best player in the league. That's what he told me.

and you know what i i i i trust uh jumbo's opinion on on anything hockey uh and i would take that to my grave and that was his initial reaction a month of the season about how well uh macklin had started the season and uh you know from there i think he's only uh built on that now is he the best player in the league i i'm not sure you can say that but the fact that a hall of fame player is giving out those kind of accolades to you at that age is really exceptional. Well, first off, Pete, it's good to see you. It's weird talking to you and it's not the conference final. I feel like that's like the most times. I spoke to you in like the last few years.

That's probably why you're talking to me because it's always, it's always kind of ended in the conference final lately. Unfortunately. You being an assistant on Team Canada, I heard you mentioned the other day that you got a peek behind the curtain as far as the selection process goes and Doug invited the coaches

to kind of be a part of that process. And I was wondering, did anything about that process surprise you? What were sort of your insights into how a team like this is put together? I'll tell you what surprised me. And it shouldn't have, but until you actually see it in action is how hard that management group worked watching games. I mean, you know, the end, we would get together for a meeting, and at the end of the meeting, they would put their schedules together for who was going to see what players between the end of that meeting and the next meeting we were having a month later.

And these guys were at games every single night watching players live. And the commitment by that management group, you know, both Doug Armstrong, Jim Nill, Kyle Dubus, Julian Breesbois, Ryan Getslav, Don Sweeney, was just unbelievable. So as tough as those decisions are and were, I think, you know, they were done with full homework being done on everybody. Nobody got cheated on being seen and different set of eyes on guys every night. It was just the work ethic that went into that selection process from those guys was unbelievable for me. You know, the exciting part for me was just watching hockey from a different perspective. I mean, I've been coaching in the NHL for 17 straight years, and you're watching systems, you're watching style of play.

And I got a chance to watch like a Macklin Celebrini to dial in on an evaluation more of a player as opposed to systems. And that was really refreshing for me to get a different perspective and a different look at things that way. You know, when it comes to the construction specifically of Team Canada, I had, I was speaking to Brian Burke here on the program of like an hour after the Hockey Canada Press Conference. And I said, Berkey, it kind of feels like Canada has constructed a roster to beat the United States. And I said, Doug Armstrong says that that's not true, but what do you think? And he said, this was interesting.

He said, I think that Canada built a roster to beat the United States. And that means they've built a roster to beat every. everybody at the tournament. Do you agree with that? Yeah. I can tell you that Doug Armstrong on numerous occasions reinforced

to everybody involved in the process. We weren't just picking a roster to beat the United States. And so, you know, I don't agree that that was part of the process. I think everybody in that

room and the World Junior just showed it. there's at least five teams that can win that tournament. I mean, that World Junior Tournament, the difference between Canada, the U.S., the Czechs, the fins, the sweets, was razor thin. And the same is going to be at the Olympics. So, you know, I think Doug was very clear that we would be making a mistake trying to build a team just to beat one team

like you would potentially in a playoff series or something like that. because, you know, there's at least five other teams there that are going to put fantastic teams on the ice that are all built differently. So I believe we took a view of building this team to try and beat everybody. And that's what we're going to have to do. You've been over there, I think, to check out the facilities, as it were. I'm sure they're a bit more constructed than when you got a chance to see them. But has it been weird at all preparing for a tournament where it seems like once again, like we have every Olympics constructions coming down to the wire a few weeks before this thing is ready to go?

You know what? I think there was some genuine concern in October. We went over in early October. And when we left there, I think there was genuine concern from everybody. We weren't the only country there. I believe every country had sent some delegates. And I think everyone walked out of there with some genuine concern. But I think over the last two, three months, I think, you know, that's dissipated.

I think everybody's comfortable that this is going to get done. I know Scott Salmon with Hockey Canada went right from the World Junior tournament in Minnesota to Milan. He's in Milan right now. They're supposed to be having an actual tournament in the tournament. venue this weekend, a test tournament. So I think everything's tracking that this is going to be a non-issue. Fingers crossed. By the way, I don't know who's going to say it.

I'm hoping that it's someone on the Canadian staff, but can someone on the coaching staff please say, we're looking for the best 197 foot players we can find. So we can finally be done with, we're looking for two, well, you're not playing 200 feet. We're looking for a guy. We want a 197 foot. There was one guy.

He was a 200-foot player, but we're not looking for that. We're looking for the best 190. Can you please do that for hockey, Pete? Can someone on the staff say that? That would be great. I'll try and plant that seed with Coop. Okay. And I can see the little Cheshire grin when he says it.

I want to ask you a couple of Paul Wilson, by the way. That's the answer to Eric. Tom Wilson is 197. I want to ask you a couple of big, big picture things because whenever I've seen you interviewed or talked to you, like you're a great big picture kind of guy. When you were on Morning Cup of hockey last week or maybe the week before, Colby Cohen was asking about, you know, stacking neutral zone, you know,

one, one, and then three along the blue line. And we're thinking to ourselves, you're like, Pete took the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup final doing that like a million, a million years ago. Like you've always sort of had your sort of finger on the pulse of what's coming next in hockey. And as this thing continues to evolve and look at hockey five years ago, it's profoundly different. Where's hockey going?

Pete DeBore. Well, great question. You know what? And you're right. You know, it really is cyclical. Hockey, I mean, we did run the 113. We stacked it up in New Jersey. That was probably, you know, 14, 15 years ago.

what year was that 2013 I'm losing track now but you know and then Florida's won the last two cups with a one-one-three

everyone kind of went away from it for a little while and it's come back again so there's certain trends that disappear and come back the long story short is I believe a lot of the new trends in hockey started in Europe

and I think there's a reason for that I think the culture in North America is, and it's, I'm not saying it's not important to win in Europe, but I think there's more experimentation in Europe. There's more of a leash to experiment in Europe. Where over here, you know, experimentation, unless you win and it results in immediate winning, you know, get snubbed out. There's a lot more importance placed on, well, let's do what the successful teams are doing, the copycat, as opposed to trying to find a new way. And I think our culture breeds that because winning is so important and coaches' jobs are on the line, you know, directly related to that. So I think a lot of those trends come from Europe.

I'm really excited about this Olympics because I think we're going to see some different things. things from some of the different countries. Is the Swedish torpedo coming back, Pete? Do we know whether the Swedish torpedo returns? Yeah, but that's a great example, Jeff. Exactly what I'm talking about, though. You know, like no one had seen that, but somebody over there had the balls to try that and believe it and put it in.

And, you know, it's the same with the one-three-one power play. You know, nobody played a one-three-one power play over here. until people started seeing it from Europe. Same with the drop, you know, that everyone uses now on powerplay entries, you know, where someone skates it and drops the length of the rink back to Nate McKinnon's coming 100 miles an hour on entries. You know, you never saw that in North America. That started over in Europe.

So, you know, I don't know what the next trend will be. I can tell you the game feels as exciting and as offensive. as at any point in my coaching career, you know, when I was playing in the 80s, that's probably the last time it kind of felt like this. There's no lead that feels safe. You know, you see games every night. You never would have seen a 9-0 game like Jersey the other night, you know, 10 years ago, ever. So, you know, it's exciting.

the thing you can guarantee is coaches are going to find a way to coach that excitement out of it as quickly as we can because, you know, that's what we get paid to do. So that'll be the interesting trend to see what's next. Speaking of coaches and their jobs, one of the most fascinating stories I thought this season was this story about how you called Craig Barubei when all these rumors were. flying around about him being in trouble and you may be going to Toronto and you call him up and you kind of say, hey, nothing to it and then kind of give him a pep talk, it sounds like, is the way the conversation went. And beside that, I don't want to ask about that. What I want to ask about is, I was curious, how commonplace is that within the coaching fraternity for you guys to kind of talk to each other when one he is maybe in trouble or if one of your names is in circulation

for somebody else's job? Like, is what you did rare or is what you did kind of what coaches do behind the scenes um you know what we we have a great coaching fraternity and and uh um you know we compete like hell against each other but there's there's a great support system there and you know when you get let go from a job that's that's usually when you see it you know everyone reaches out um and and and that's an important part uh you know it's it's nice to hear from your colleagues you know at your lowest time like that and and you know you in this business there's so many I said this before there's so many sleepless nights without um just on our on our own the pressure we put on ourselves on a daily basis trying to get our team moving in the right direction that you know

when you feel like there's uh something being said or done that that either has no substance or is unjust. I think, you know, it's important to try and make sure that that coach understands, you know, that there's, that that's not real and, and that's nothing that they should add to their already sleepless nights that they're going through. And so, you know, does it happen all the time? I don't know. I, you know, I honestly don't even know how it got out. So it, it probably, probably, I would hope it happens a lot more than it does and you guys just never hear about it. You know, I don't feel, I don't feel great that it got, it got out. I don't know how it did, but it did. And, you know, I'm hopeful that, you know, that it happens a lot more because it's a tough enough job without, you know, without the other stuff that goes along with it.

Let me ask another sort of biographical question here. I was mentioning off the top of the show that, you know, going back to, geez, you can correct me on this. I think it's 1995 that every September you were a head coach somewhere. It's like you mentioned the 17 years in the NHL, go back to junior hockey as well. Like that's an unprecedented run. Like coaches don't have that kind of run in them going back like to 95 to 2025 to 2025. It really is remarkable. I guess what was it like is the obvious question,

but is there anything that you learn differently because you didn't have August and September and October this year the way you normally do, does it lead to some different type of sort of greater perspective, different vision, things you learn? Like, is there anything that you sort of gleaned from that? Because, man, you were in the trolley tracks going back to 1995. every single September, you were head coach somewhere. It's a lot of training camps.

That's a lot of training camp planning. And what people, you know, what you have to realize is, you know, training camp starts in early September, but the coaches start planning in August. I mean, you really, you don't have, you've got maybe a week in August, the first week of August where you're still, you're still on vacation. But then you're basically on because, you know, you're starting to think about. of camp, you're planning for camp, you're talking hockey on a daily basis. So, you know, it was the first fall that I, that I've spent.

And I got to tell you, I didn't miss training camp, not one bit this year. Not one minute of it. Once, what I did miss, what I did miss was when the puck dropped on the season. And the juices of the regular season started that, that, that, competition and that and that climb of the mountain that you start to make towards the end of the season and the playoffs that you go through with your group that that's that's when it really kind of hit me and um so uh you know i i i've watched a lot of hockey this this olympic thing is has been a lifesaver because it's kept me engaged and uh and and and in hockey and a part of

something and really is is a is is something that uh i can't overstate the importance of it to uh to be able to represent your country on that level uh i remember telling my mother about it she's uh she's from northern manitoba ukrainian farmer uh from a family up in swan river ontario and you know i'm a second generation canadian um you know the fact that you're going to the olympics representing canada to to your you know immigrant parents is is uh is really uh a moving thing um and uh you know it's the gravity of it's not lost on me that's awesome Cheers from a fellow Yuki, by the way. Wyshinsky.

There you go. It's great. A lot of people get confused on that. What's the most important thing for you in your next NHL stop? I mean, are like, are there franchises that you're like, I've always wanted to be behind the bench for this team? Are there, you know, executives that you've always wanted to work with? You pretty much have your pick of the litter based on your resume and your success. Are there different priorities?

maybe this time round than in the past for you as far as looking for your next stop. Yeah. You know what? Listen, there's only 32 of these jobs and we're so fortunate to have any of them. So, you know, the opportunity to work for any NHL team in any situation is a great privilege. You know, obviously at this point in my career, I won an opportunity to win. but when I say that I think a lot of people would say

well that's two or three teams I think that's a lot deeper than two or three teams I took a six seed and a seven seed to the Stanley Cup finals in New Jersey and San Jose so I think that grouping of teams that has an opportunity to win is a lot deeper than three or four and you know I'm a big believer because I've

seen it firsthand that if you can get one of those 16 playoff spots, you legitimately have a chance to win a Stanley Cup. You got to stay healthy. You got to get goaltening. You got to get some overtime puck luck and things like that. But, you know, so I think there's a lot of situations out there that are really intriguing. You know, there is that wildguard teams, Pete's taking your calls. put it out there.

There is a story you told me, God, I want to say it's 2006 or 2007 that I've used so many different times. And I'm curious whether you think this is that sort of intangible the teams continue to look for in a player. So you're coaching the Kitchen Arrangers and you guys make a move for Steve Downey from the Peterborough Peets. And Steve Downey is a skilled player.

And at times, loose cannon, violent, dangerous, all of it. I remember having a conversation with you about and I said like, it's kind of a risky move or each-all trade deadline. You go for Downey. I understand the skill and all that and toughness and all that. But penalties, suspensions, all those types of things. And you said something to me, it's always stuck with me. You said, Jeff, that's something along the lines up.

First of all, Jeff, you're not a coach. Second of all. And this is the part that I always stuck. We said, listen, as a coach, I would rather have to tame a time. tiger than paint stripes on a kitty cat. I can't paint stripes on a kitty cat, but I can always tame a tiger. Earlier in the conversation you talked about sort of things going back with the 113 and stacking in the neutral zone, these types of things.

Do you find that hockey's going back to teams want tigers they can tame now more so than ever before? I think that's always been the case. And you know what, now looking back, I'm not sure. I tamed Steve Downing. I don't think I was successful at that. Although he was great for us, but yeah, I tried, I tried to tame him, but I'm not sure I did a good job, but he was a great player for us, and I really enjoyed coaching him.

He was a really unique guy with an unbelievable background and really added a lot, and I'm glad I got a chance to work with him. But you know what? The Stanley Cup playoffs show you every year that you need a certain amount of that grit, that competitiveness, that nastiness that you just talked about. Or you can't win. You know, you need that. How much of that, that's always the fine line and the mixture.

And, you know, I do believe that the teams. that win, their best players have some of that. Yep. You know, when I look at the last two Stanley Cup champion, like the Florida Panthers, Kachuk's got some of that. Barkoff's got some of that in a different way, but he's got some of that. So, you know, I think that's a big part of it, that your best players, you know, have to have some of that.

I think back to the two teams I lost in the finals with New Jersey, we had Zach Parise, was our captain. He had some of that. In San Jose, it was Pavelski and Thornton. They had some of that. So, you know, I think it's always, it always has been an important part, and I think

I don't think that's ever going to change. Last one for me, Pete, thank you so much for your time. It's been a fascinating conversation. I wanted to touch on you leaving Dallas and the Jake Gott in your situation. Don't want to relitigate it. Everyone's already had their say about it. in multitudes of places.

But I was curious if you took anything away from that experience, it was a story that kind of took on a life of its own with fans and with his own teammates. And I wonder if you've reflected on that at all. Yeah. Yeah, sure. I mean, you know what? Listen, not your proudest moment as a coach whenever you lose it on the bench. And we all have.

And you see it all, you know, not on a nightly basis in the NHL, but a lot. at times you'll see a coach call the time out and snap on his team and that and that was the case that night you know I was I was we were facing elimination game we had lost to that team six of the last seven times at the same point in the playoffs and you know what gets lost on it was that wasn't just on Jake Ottinger that became the story it was it was on our entire group You know, I was, I was frustrated and angry with our entire group, including myself and our coaching staff, the players, you know, everybody for being in that spot and the way we were responding at that point. I think we were down two nothing, you know, five minutes in. So, you know, not your finest moment. Hindsight's always 20-20.

You'd love to go back, but we don't get that opportunity as coaches. And I think you have to coach with your gut and you have to coach with your instincts. And they're not always right. You know, I can tell you, I've done similar things over the years and it's worked and we've come back and won that game. And, you know, you take the pats on the back. And when you do it and it doesn't work, you've got to take the medicine that comes with that. And so, you know, obviously, I really enjoyed that group. I love that group of guys, including Jake Hodger, tremendous amount of respect for them,

and I really enjoyed coaching them. But when you go to three conference finals in a row and lose at the same point, three years in a row, there's a lot of frustration there for everybody. I think had our path in Dallas been lost in the first. round, lost in the second round, lost in the conference final, you know, I think everyone would have been happy. But, you know, you don't get to pick those paths. And, you know, all three of those conference finals, we went to, I wouldn't have, I wouldn't have traded that journey or, you know, wish we would have been beaten earlier because, you know, that goes against every

instinct you have. Right. Okay. Last one here. One more story that will lead to a question. David Clarkson. This is another one of my favorite stories. So David Clarkson was playing for the Belleville Bulls before he went to your kitchen arrangers. And he's 16 years old. He's not playing a lot. And he's home for Christmas. And you probably know the story, Pete.

He says to his dad and mom over Christmas says, I'm not playing a lot. I'm kind of losing my love for all of this. I think I'm, I think I'm going to quit. And, you know, forget the OHL dream and NHL and NHL and all that stuff. I'm just going to go play hockey with my buddies. And his dad says to him, that's fine. You can do that. we only have, we'll only ask you one thing.

And David said, yeah, what is that? He said, you call your grandfather now and tell him that you want to quit. And then you can quit the OHL. And he says, I can't call grandpa and tell him I want to quit. He fought in the war. I can't call someone who fought in the war and say, I want to quit. And his dad said, oh, I guess you're going back to Velvill then. He ended up with your kitchen arrangers.

And it was a great success story leading into the NHL. Pete, I'm sure you've had plenty of players along the way junior NHV. wherever. What do you do with a player that's thinking about quitting? How do you handle that as a coach? Yeah, well, that's a great question. And you know what? And the mental aspect of the game and mental health is more prevalent now than it's ever been,

especially on youth players and junior players and on pros too. But I think it's everywhere. The pressure, I don't think, is ever. ever been higher on kids to perform in any sport, any elite, if you're trying to play it at an elite level. And it's really hard. And I think, you know, having coached in the NHL for 17 years and another, you know, 14, 15 and junior hockey before that, I think you hope you develop a compassion for what, you know, what, guys are going through mentally.

You do have guilt as a head coach because as much as you'd like to have that awareness and relationship with every single player in your team, it's not practical from a time point of view. You know, you're running your team. You're trying to get it on track. You're dealing with 25 guys. There's just not enough of you to go around to have your finger on that pulse all the time.

and I'm sure a lot of things get lost along the way. And that's why, you know, it's really important for players to communicate that, you know, to get over the old fear of knocking on the coach's door and saying, hey, I'm vulnerable here. I'm having a hard time. I think as coaches, we need that. You know, you shouldn't be afraid. I don't believe there's a coach out there that wouldn't welcome that

as opposed to waiting for the coach to recognize that. Why isn't he seeing that I'm struggling here? Well, you know, when you're in that coach's room, you know, sometimes, sometimes unfortunately, that gets lost. So, you know, my advice to any player out there, and I would take this to the bank is there's not a coach out there that wouldn't welcome you making him aware that you're having a hard time. That's incredible advice.

Wow. That certainly is. Pete, listen, thanks so much for your time. I see the Holy Cross hat. Best to Matt. How's he doing? Real quick. How's Matt doing?

Yeah, they're ranked in the top 25 for a small school in the NCAA. So they're fighting it out. It's a senior year. And I've actually got a chance to see them play live for the first time. That's been one of the benefits of being out of work. That's awesome. That is a huge bonus. absolutely. Pete, thanks so much for taking time.

Yeah, go ahead, Greg. You're the best, man. And again, good luck in the Olympics as an American. Not too much luck, but luck. Thanks, guys. Happy New Year. Thanks. Happy New Year, Pete. Pete DeBoer, one of the coaches with Team Canada. And in the back of, I know you're trying to say, like, you know, good luck beating Jake Odger. I know that in the back of your mind, you're saying, like, I know you want Team Canada to beat Jake O'Der.

The Jake's, the Jakes. Again, I'm not looking to relitigated. There's actually a really good piece that Emily Kaplan, my colleague, did with Otter and Matt Dumbah, you know, who called what Pete did a huge disservice to the team. Like, you can find that video, I think, on the NHL and ESPN YouTube page. But, like, I thought that was a pretty good reflective answer from Pete on that one, to be honest with you. I think maybe he recognized that some of the things that he did in that moment

contributed to it taking a life of its own. And it really did. I mean, like, people were literally saying the odd-insure thing is the reason he got fired in Dallas, which, I mean, only Jim Nill knows, but Tom Gallardi knows. But, like, that was a really interesting answer for him. He's a thoughtful guy. And that's why we didn't get a chance to get into it. I think that, and again, this guy is going, like you mentioned in the interview, like, what are you considering now with your next stop? What's important to you now?

You still got a lot of years coaching. But he's one of those guys that I've always looked at and said, if I look at it, if I look at it, around the coaching fraternity, who do I think could be a manager? Pete DeBore. Pete DeBore going on. He mentioned somebody within the Team Canada Brain Trust that I hadn't thought about, and that's Ryan Getslap. And I wonder, you know, him now having been part of this process and, you know, maybe he picks up a gold medal, you know, at the Olympics or whatever. And then, you know, it's probably time to get your first big job in the NHL.

Like, I wonder where that'll end up being for Getslap, because he clearly is on the path to become GM somewhere, right? He's working in the NHL Department of Player Safety. Like this is like part of the path that you go through. I always think that it's a smart move for people to work. If you're an ex-player and want to take that next step into the NHL in management, probably a good idea to work in a department like the NHL Department of Player Safety because as any team will tell you,

it's always a good idea to have someone who's worked in the NHL before on your team to have that experience and know those people. I think that gets like, listen, he's a favorite of hockey Canada. He's someone that works in the NHL. He's gathering all this experience. I think that somewhere, someday, somewhere down the road, he'll be a manager someday in the, in the NHL. Does he become our scariest?

Does he become our scariest, GM, gets off? That was. Pretty physically insinidating guy. That was George McPhee. who pound for pound was the toughest general manager the NHL has ever had apologies, Paul Holmgren. George McPhee was pound for pound, the toughest GM the NHL has ever seen. But Getslap walks in there, right?

I've always wanted to do that. Why don't we do this? Hang on, why don't we do this in one of these shows? Who's got the toughest front office? Like pound for pound? Pound for pound toughest front office. We're not going to do it off the top of it. heads right now.

But that could be... It would have to require a little research, but I like that a lot. Yeah. Why don't we do that for Tuesday? Why don't we do it for Tuesday? We'll do it sometime. Sure, because we're getting heavy on time here. Town for town for the office front office in the NHL.

Yeah. Look, man, Vegas. I like, Kelly McCrammer and George McPhee, he's like, might be the clubhouse leader right now. George was in, oh, God, was he ever tough? Oh, yeah. We got a couple of things here. And one that I want you to hang around for it,

because I think you'll be entertained and amused. Please do. All right? All right. we go. Hungry for Hockey History is a presentation of Uber Eats. Uber Eats is enabling fans to maximize their fandom all season long with exclusive game day deals on the app from game day eats to paper plates and napkins if you're hosting

to all the ingredients you need to make your favorite game day dip. Before, during, and after the game, Uber Eats is assisting every fans hockey experience all season long. What we got, Zach? January 8th, 1994 Dino's sister. Sorrelli joins the 500 goal club. Red Wings 4, Dino Cicerelli, scored his 500th NHL goal in a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. He then became the 19th member of the exclusive milestone club.

Okay, I'm going to make this all about me. And my favorite topic, me. You already think about whenever I hear the name Dino Cicorelli? There's a few things I can think of, but go ahead, Merrick. you thinking of? I think of this edition of the hockey news. Look at that. Okay.

Christian Rootoo on the cover, the IHL with some things happening at their games. The IHL and then bikini models. Yeah, I think that was Milwaukee, I think that was Milwaukee, I believe. But anyway, so this is a hockey news edition from February the 5th, 1988, where I did my, I didn't. do it like I wasn't a published writer this is the first thing media that ever happened to me

what you see that down there in the corner hang on let's get it we have a shot of that what are you showing me Bobby Mac right there is that your name

is that a letter a letter of the fan forum letter published about the Dino Cicerelli Luke Richardson Stick Swing incident. Bob McKenzie. One of one of Bob's kids.

He was the editor-in-chief of the hockey news at that point. And this was the first thing that was- Where did you fall in that controversy, Merrick? I did not approve of Dino Cicorelli. Vicious stick-swing attack on Luke Richardson. A young Jeff Merrick was outraged, I tell you. And I was like, when it happened, I'm like, I'm going to write a letter to the hockey news.

I don't know why. Wow. Like, wow. I'm thinking of this. He's getting thrown into the fireplace. and then like subscribe forever. And the next one shows up and sure enough, I can get to it, like page six or seven. And I'm like, oh my God.

I just remember the feeling of seeing myself published in the hockey news, you know, at that time, you know, the Bible of hockey they used to call it. That was like the biggest thing in the world for me. So anyway, we turned that one into a little naval gazing session. The biggest thing in the world for me when I was a kid was I always wanted to win a contest on WFAN, A, in New York, the big sports talk radio station. Yeah. And in particular, I was always like, could I win a contest on one of their very few hockey shows? So I called in once to the New York Rangers pregame show.

And I ended up being the whatever number caller. And they told me that I won the prize, which I believe at that point was a Rangers yearbook. But the big thing was, you would get your name announced on the airwaves as having won the contest. and who else was doing the pregame show at that point. But my colleague, Steve Levy, one of the radio guys to Rangers at that point. So I'm listening to it. Young Greg Wischinski is listening to it.

I'm very excited and very excited. We're getting to the end of the show. We're hitting the credits. We're about to send it to the next Rangers game. And right at the end, I hear Steve Levy go. And finally, congratulations to Craig from Manhattan for winning a Rangers yearbook. I am Greg

And I love the Maddawan Yep But I did win the Rangers Your book Congratulations He didn't want to try on Wosinski They didn't want to take a stab They don't take a stab though

It's saying Craig Wosinski Have you ever told him that story? I don't know I've never told them that story I feel like we had a We had a Scotch once in Tampa And I told him that story

Because I don't think I've ever told Bobby Bobby Mac About him publishing me back in 1980 whatever that was because he was the editor of chief. Well, because you were afraid that he'd be to blame for all of this. For opening the door to all of this. Again, okay, so here's the thing. If you're not a fan of me and there are plenty who are not a fan of me, blame Bob McKenzie.

That's impossible. Blame Bob, no, blame Bob McKenzie. Don't blame me. I'm just as God made me. Blame Bob McKenzie. He chose this. He got this started. He got the ball rolling.

in an edition of the hockey news from 1988, February 5th with Christian Routou and bikini models on the cover of the IHL bikini models. Yes, correct. You want to hang around for Zach here? Sure. Let's do the whole thing.

All right, the sheet is powered by Fanduel. Play your game with Fanduel. It's the NHL season, and Fandul is your home for all the action on the ice. From Blue Line to Bet Slip, we've got you covered all season long with unique promos, live offerings, and more features to let you play your game.

Missed puck drop, no sweat with the live same game parlay. You can build your bets up until the final buzzer. Download fan dual sports book today and play your game. Please play responsibly 19 plus and physically located in Ontario. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1-866-531-2,600. Do speak to an advisor free of charge, Zach. Lots of pasta leads to tucks.

I don't know if people are familiar, but my pregame meal, I think I might have said this on the show before. It used to be pasta before every game. And I think hockey players growing up all the way through, that was the fuel that got them. Carb loading. Carb loading. Carb loading. Get a load up on the pasta. Come on, kid, carb loading.

The more pasta you have, the more likely you are to tuck. Slash to score a goal, maybe more betterly known as. So Scott Lawton, David Pasternak, and Alex. Tuck. I'll score tonight is $5.5 turns to 331 for tonight's. Lots of pasta leads to Tux. Greg? Wow.

I got to be honest with you. I need to refresh myself on the hockey glossary because I didn't get Tux for us. I thought Tux was some Canadian version of Tums. And you were saying that lots of pasta would lead to you having an upset tummy. And then you got to take something for that tummy. No, Tucks. Now I know. Now it all makes sense.

Tux used to be the name of the blades, but also Alex Tuck, and Tux is slang for a goal. Yeah. Okay. And undoubtedly, you guys are unfamiliar with that. Or Tacks, rather. Not going to tell you with Tux. No, Tax. Tachabaries.

CCM TakaBaries. But Tux is the colloquialism for goals. That's great. You got to remember I grew up the devil's fans. The idea I would, I would. I would know about colloquialisms for scoring is pretty outlandish. Do we have one for blue line holds? Do we have a colloquialism for blue line holds?

In which case, Greg Wischinski's all over this one. Jack, next time do a funny pun about obstruction. I'll get that one. Okay. Do it funny about a neutral Zed trap for your next parlay. N-Z-T. Greg will be over it, although he'd call it Z, not Z. That'll make sense to me then.

Okay, listen, you have a great rest of your day. I don't know if we left anything. Is there anything else you wanted to get into today before we beat it for the afternoon? We did the Bennington and HOFER. Only because you mentioned Celebrini for Hart before. We ran the new awards watch this week where we polled the actual professional operators association voters. McKinnon still has the lead.

But there is certainly a lot of people that are like, if the sharks pull this off. Celebrating. Like, I don't know how I don't vote for Celebrity. I don't know how you can't give it to Celebrany. Honestly, I don't. The gap between him and the next highest score on the sharks is like the Grand Canyon. It's insane how many more points he has than I think Will Smith at last Chuck. It is.

And he's dragging this team into the postseason. And if he does it, with all due respect, Colorado fans and Edmonton fans, et cetera, my definition of the trophy. Oh, he's an easy call for MVP. Do you, do you, this will be a conversation for next time, I'm sure, but like, like, are you, is he the next Crosby? Like, is he, is he the next Crosby? Is he the next, he's not the next Crosby, but I think he's like at that, they're different players, but like at that level. But like, why couldn't he be the next Crosby?

He is better defensively than Cid was at that age? He is better defensively than Cid was at that age. He is like a more offensively. gifted Jonathan Taves. That's who he is. Right? Part of, part of Crosby's thing was first line skill, fourth line work ethic. Right.

They're just, and they are just profoundly different players. You look at them, nobody plays on their backhand more than Sidney Crosby does. That's not Macklin Celebrany's bag. So right away, that's one of the things you notice between the two. But as far as like hitting that level. of being a superstar. Yeah. So all the Black Hawk stands will go,

if Jonathan Taves wanted to, he could have been Macklin Celebrity, but he chose to focus on the defensive side of things. He let Patrick Cain get all the points. And that was all about every single year. Why is Taves topping off at 70 points? Well, because he wants to.

He decided not to score. Yeah. Is the reason. Just stop. Yeah, but Celebrini is awesome. And I know that there are some people that knew he could be this coming out of school. Oh, yeah. I knew he'd be good, but I didn't think he'd be this good, this early.

That's for damn sure. I knew. I thought he'd be this good. But not in a second season. That's the thing that's just like spectacular. Not even a full second season. Season and a half. We're having a, in inside of two seasons, you've asked me if he's the next Sydney Crosby.

Think about that for a second. How good do you have to be even to have someone ask you that question or entertain that conversation? Or say, like, yeah, this guy's going to beat McKinney. I wanted to ask Pete about the sharks. I didn't get a chance to ask Pete about the sharks. The revitalization of that franchise is going to be one of my favorite things that happens in the next couple of years with Mac there and with Smith and all them. Because that's a really fun place when they're good. Like not like the fan base is fun.

The arena gets rock. It's a cool place to hang out, you know, when there's good hockey happening. Like, that's a, that's a market that I was sad to see atrophy, especially when I was living out there during it. And, you know, San Jose being on the rebound is only good for the sport. Making everybody in the East unhealthy and wrecking all of our sleep patterns. Exactly. How many years is a good San Jose Sharks team going to take off all of our lives?

because there's no way we're going to miss these games. And we're going to pay for it the next morning. It felt nostalgic to have a Sharks King's game. Be like, I got to make time for that. I know what I mean. Yeah. It's true. All right.

You have a great afternoon. We'll talk at you Tuesday. There is Greg Wushanski from ESPN and ESPN.com. We got to hustle because I got to get on Tyler and Liam show here in a couple of moments. So I want to thank Peter DeBoer for stopping by the program today. Pete was awesome. Such a thoughtful guy. and he'll be back in the NHL as soon as he wants to.

I mean, he's the top of every list whenever there's a coach that's maybe teams are thinking about letting go of the first name that's out there. And for good reason is Peter DeBoer, so he will be back. Is it this year? Is it the off season? We shall see. But thanks to Peter DeBoer for stopping by and wish him all the best with Team Canada at the upcoming Olympics. Thanks to Greg Wischinsky. Thanks to Zach Phillips, we probably don't thank enough here for.

for putting all of this together so I can just sort of breeze in here like I'm one of the Gallagher brothers and put my feet up and just start making hockey sound. So thank you, Zach. Thanks to everybody in the chat. Thanks to everybody who downloaded this program

and is listening. Thanks to everybody who's watching this thing on YouTube. Thanks to everybody who subscribes to our daily face off YouTube channel and even those of you who haven't. I guess we have to work harder to get you to click that button. Enjoy the rest of your day.

The sheet returns tomorrow. Dave Pan Yoda, DFO Insider. We'll stop by. By the way, DFONs, with Irfang Gaffar and Dave, really good interview with Matthew Darsh on yesterday's program, the general manager of the New York Islanders,

so check that thing out. It's really good, as is the whole program. And with that, we'll bid you good day, and we'll talk to you tomorrow. Last night, every day, I went to the die.