The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Live From Brantford ft. Spencer Hyman & Greg Wyshynski

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

Live from ice level at the TD Civic Centre in Brantford, Ontario, The Sheet brings you a special on-location episode as Jeff Marek is joined by Spencer Hyman, GM of the Brantford Bulldogs. From the energy surrounding the Bulldogs’ Hall of Fame Game to a preview of Friday night’s matchup, Marek and Hyman dive into how the season is unfolding, the identity of this year’s roster, the challenges of team building in the OHL, and what makes hockey in Brantford such a special experience. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at junior hockey operations, culture, and community — all from rinkside in Bulldogs territory. Then Greg Wyshynski joins the show to discuss the reaction to the Team USA players returning to their clubs, the reception Jack Hughes received in New Jersey, the trade deadline, and more. Don’t forget to subscribe and join the conversation below.#TheSheet #JeffMarek #BrantfordBulldogs #SpencerHyman #OHL #OntarioHockeyLeague #JuniorHockey #HockeyPodcast #Brantford #TDCCivicCentre #HockeyTalk #CHL #CanadianHockey #HallOfFameGame #BulldogsHockeyReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Flames_Nation🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Okay, and off the races we go, welcome to Bulldogs Country. Do we call it that? Hunter Hyman, the GM of the Brantford Bulldogs. The Mad House on Market Street, that's what you can turn me up in my ears so I get your spent with that would be great, Zach. Welcome to the sheet once again. We are in Brantford, Ontario, home of the Bulldogs, tomorrow Hall of Fame, the first ever Brentford Bulldogs Hall of Fame game and induction ceremony.

We'll talk about Michael Ann Lowry here coming up in a couple of seconds. Give you a hot five on your thoughts on Michael Andlauer. Of course, owner of the Ottawa Senators, former owner of the Bulldogs. Yeah, Michael's a winner. He won a Calder Cup with the Bulldogs and they're in Hamilton. Two OHA championships. You know, and I'm grateful for him for giving us to my family the opportunity to lead this unbelievable brand organization, you know, into the future. So we couldn't have thought of a better person to open up the inaugural Bulldogs Hall of Fame.

For sure. It was just over a year ago. Yeah. The Hyman family bought that. We'll get into that in a couple of seconds here. The Blueprints is powered by Fandu. Download the app today and play your game on Fandu. You've already heard from and seen the general manager,

the Benford Bulldogs of the OHL, Spencer Hyman. We'll talk to him about his team. Michael Ann Lauer, Hall of Fame game tomorrow against the Ashawad Generals, some of the key players on his team. And I'm going to ask you about Michael Misa as well. well. So stay tuned for that one. Hall of Fame game is tomorrow. Greg Wischinski will stop by the program here in about 10 or 15 minutes time as well. His normal Thursday stop. Trade boards,

both on daily face-off and at ESPN.com. We'll get into that. Some of the likelier names to be moved by next Friday, NHL trade deadline. And we'll talk about some of the returns that we saw yesterday in and around the NHL. In the meantime. All right. So Spencer, set the scene for us, set the stage. All right. We're here at the madhouse. Tomorrow's going to be mad. It's going to be a packed house. Probably going to be a lot of NHL personnel here as well. It's the Bulldogs facing

off against the Ashwa generals, one of the OHL's heritage franchises. But talk to us about the Hall of Fame and talk to us about Michael Ann Lauer, where this idea came from and why was Ann Lauer the first? Well, you know what? The Bulldogs are such an unbelievable

storied franchise really. Heading back to the American Hockey League days, where started with the Edmonton Oilers farm team and the Montreal Canadians and Michael had ties with Montreal. And then to the Ontario Hockey League. And with this type of brand and organization now being in Brantford, getting a new arena in Brantford, you know, we felt it was time to honor, you know, the people and, you know, that it built this organization up.

So, you know, with Michael being the first, obviously, probably the most prolific person as it relates to the bulldogs. We couldn't be happier to honor him and make sure that his legacy lives on forever here. I first met Michael at the Memorial Cup in vagina with the Bulldogs. We're there. Robert Thomas started that year.

Matthew Strom also on that squad as well. And this may sound awful, but I was shocked at A, how much he loved talking about hockey. I thought about an owner here, right? How much he loved to. talking about and how much he knew as well. And at every single level and the history of the game as well.

Do you remember your first meetings with Michael Engelow? Yeah, I do. You know, we met at a sunset grill near in Vaughn. Oh, yeah. And, you know, and the conversation, we didn't talk about, you know, really the team at all the first time we met. It was he wanted to get to know, me and my family and my father. And we wanted to get to know him. And it was, you know, a really honest conversation, just talking about life and

family and, you know, just I remember how, you know, gracious he was with his time and, and, you know, how much passion he has for hockey. So, just to really get a human being. Did you always get the sense that he wanted to own an NFL team? Well, when we, when he met with him the first time, he was already the owner of Ottawa. So I didn't, you know, know, know, know, you've seen what he's done in hockey and ownership, and it made, it made sense when you saw it from an outsider's view. So when we look at the Bulldogs lineup here, like I know you're smiling because you put it together. I love my players.

Well, look, man, like you put together a murderer's row of NHL prospects. A lot of first rounders here, whether it's Jetlucenko, Merrick Vannecker, Adam Uricheck, Ben Danford, Jake O'Brien. Tell me when you want me to stop because it just keeps on going. You know, I've sort of made this distinction this year. There's going all in. And then there's doing what the Bulldog. I don't even know how to describe it because we've seen teams go all in before. Yeah.

But this is like a different level. You know what? And it's not just me. I've got a great support system and staff with me. Unbelievable people that, you know, love this organization, love this team and put their life into it. So, you know, we came into the year with a really good base and a really good core. And I felt it was it was my responsibility to put players like Jake O'Brien, you know, our Seattle first rounder, Merrick Finacker, Chicago first round.

or Adam Eurecheck. I didn't even mention Caleb Malhotra. Yeah. Well, Caleb's going to be a high pick. And I remember I was on your show. I know. When Jake got drafts, I said, we're going to be here with Caleb.

But I felt it was my responsibility to put these kids in a good position to succeed and win. You know, when you're a first run NHL pick playing in the Ontario Hockey League, you've kind of accomplished everything you need to do from a personal standpoint. The next step is winning a championship,

learning how to win. And that's what, you know, the messaging with our group has been, when you're going to get to the NHL, these NHL teams want you to know how to win. And this is where you have to start. So it's really important for our club and our players to get that understanding of winning not just playoff series, but, you know, winning multiple rounds, winning a championship. You know, and hopefully, hopefully ending the season in Corona. Oh, HL trade deadline was interesting.

As always, a number of teams going for it. Obviously, you were one of the top teams. And you've been one of the top teams across the CHL pretty much all. I appreciate that. All season long. You know, the rankings come out and say, oh, yeah, bulldogs are one, maybe two, maybe three, but they're always in the top mix. So I heard a whisper about you around trade double.

And that was that the bulldogs weren't done. And don't be surprised if he gets sent back from the world juniors. If Spencer Hyman makes a move from Michael Mesa, was that accurate? Well, I like to be aggressive. So I'll take that as a yes. I like good hockey players. I like players that play with skill. And, you know, I think he won the Red Tilsen last year for the most valuable player in the,

in the Ontario Hockey League. I had interest, you know, obviously, you know, Saginaw's got a great group. They won a Memorial Cup. You know, I think winning is in acquiring players that have won is critical to success of the hockey team. So I did have interest, of course, if he was going to come back, you know, in saying that, I don't know what Saginaw was going to do. They've got a great team, a great staff, great coach. You know, great organization, the leading goals score on the whole league right now,

Nikita Kupov. So there was no telling what they were going to do. But, you know, I'm in on everyone. I like to understand what other teams are thinking. And if a player like Michael Mesa was back and available, I would have definitely inquired. When, so that was showkey, so I got good whispers on that. You probably just assumed based on the history of what we've required. I mean, I think, I mean, like, you're a new general manager in the O HL.

So I think everybody's trying to get a feel for, okay, so how is Hyman going to do business? Yeah. Like, what kind of manager is he going to be like? How would you describe your style? Like, this is our first chance to watch you in action. Yeah, I appreciate. Appreciate that. You know, for me, it's a culture in an organization, which is you care about people first, right?

It's our players. It's our staff. We're all human beings. the word asset to me in junior hockey is is not something that I use. Our players are players, right? They're players and their kids. As a manager, I want to put my team in the best position to succeed every year. Understanding where you are in your cycle as an organization, understanding where you are as your team.

Is it a year to push? Is it a year to be younger? I guess the best word that I would use to describe myself as a manager is being responsibly aggressive. I will be regressive every single year. and pursue of being the best team we can possibly be. How, um, I know he's in the middle of his NHL season here and should have been at the Olympics. Yeah.

More on that in another conversation. But like how, how, um, how much does your brother, Zach? Yep. Um, have influence over, I don't know, probably not the day to day, but bigger, bigger decisions. Like how, how involved is Zach? He's my sounding board. Um, you know, him and my dad, uh, they see things differently in different perspectives. You know, sometimes when you're you're in it every single day, you see things, you know, a little bit too close.

I can go to Zach from a player perspective. Hey, what do you see in this situation? What do you think this guy's feeling? What do you see from an all nice perspective in terms of how we're playing? You know, anything along those lines. And, you know, for my dad, he's operated, you know, hockey clubs at the junior level his whole life and my whole life. So I feel like I've got a great balance of support, you know, with both my father and my brother. You know, it's really unique and special that I can go to both them for different purposes and reasons and get really incredible feedback that grounds me as well.

So, you know, Jay uses the frame. You don't get too high, too low. You know, my dad and brother ground me in that. It's me level headed right in the middle. You mentioned Jay and that's Jay McKee, the head coach of the Bulldogs. You know, we talk about, you know, players graduating to the next level. We shouldn't talk about Jay. Let's just like, just like, just keep it quiet.

Oh, he's never going to be an NHL coach. No, Jay loves the OHL. He loves being here, you know. I got news for you. He's going to coach the NHL. Yeah. Like he's 100%. You talk about the players that you have in elite,

like all the current first round picks in future first round picks. Like it's pretty impressive. Yeah. But like one day this guy's going to end up in the NHL. Yeah, it's deserving. I mean, something my dad always taught me and told me and Zach, the head coach, your team takes on

identity of your head coach coach panics team panics coaches calm team calm we had a game and this is junior hockey right like you know and i'm seeing it firsthand day-to-day basis where you get you know different periods different teams and whatnot um you know but we had a game last year we were i think up five or six one in in the third period was family day versus sue saint marie unbelievable team and organization there and uh i think we we ended up losing the game are in in in terms of it was six six by I think five minutes left in the third. Yeah. They tied it up.

And we, I look at our bench and I look at our team and I say, we're calm. Like I felt calm because I saw Jay and he was calm. And I saw our players and they were calm. We ended up winning the game, I think, 8, 6 in regulation. And that told me everything I need to know about Jay, which is our team's always going to have a level head. We're always going to be calm in the moment. He's stoic and he's a good human being. And at the end of the day, the whole point of,

this the whole point of hockey is to be surrounded by good people and have relationships, you know, that develop and grow beyond just being at the arena. And that's what Jay is a good, he's a good person, he's a good human being. He's a great hockey coach. You know, there are some people, and I can recall specifically when he signed with the St. Louis Blues. There's some people he just really happy when they finally get paid. Yeah. And being a shop locker is a tough way to make a living in the NHL. I mean, Jay was with the Buffalo Sabres. I mean, God, that guy ate pucks. And it's just like, Oh, off the toe. Oh, off the knee. Do you have a, I still remember the Jay McKee's staff infection shirt?

Oh, no way. Well, and then when he signed with St. Louis, like, there's guys in that era, Anton Volchenkov would have been another one with Ottawa at that point. I was just so happy to get paid. Yeah. You know, because it's such a tough way to make a living in. Generally, as you know, like those guys, just because they're a shot away from their season collapsing, those guys generally didn't make big bank.

Yeah. And that's why I was really happy to see Jay get back from St. this so many years ago. Yeah, 100%. Jay puts that message out to our team. Like, every single person's role is important. It doesn't matter who you are. And I know that's maybe a cliche to say, but it's reality.

You know, you need energy. And certain players can provide that. Walking a big shot on a penalty kill, whatever the situation is, that can spark a team, right? It waves of energy and there's different ways to get energy. And that's one of them. Okay, let me close with a couple of things here. And thanks for your time. it's a busy time for you. Thanks for being here. It's awesome.

This is a special weekend here. Junior hockey is my first love. So this is like Kid and a Candy's whole for me. All season long, whenever I call you, always turn the conversation to Caleb Mahhotra. I should say always. A lot of time. I love Kay. It's like, okay, Marika, remember I told you? Like he's going to climb up in the first round. He's not going to be a bottom first round. He's going to be up high. He's going to be top 10. He's going to be top five, top three. Like all from your point of view, describe what people are going to get.

Like whichever team ends up getting Caleb Mahhotra. Where do they get? Well, he's going to be an NHL captain. I say that very clearly. He's the type of human being that you want to marry your daughter. Like he's just an unbelievable person first. Always smiling. Always polite.

Always, always just, I always say there's energy takers and there's energy givers. He might be one of the most energy giving people that you can be around. And that's unbelievably important. On the ice does everything. He can play any situation, any way. role. He can play up and down your lineup. Unbelievable power play guy. He's 17 years old playing out of our power play ahead of

some first round NHL picks. You know, and I know he's going to be one, but to do that at 17 years old on this hockey team, it's impressive. And he's just calm in the process. Humble as can be and we're really fortunate that he's a brand for Bulldog. Okay. T.S. up for tomorrow. Oscewa generals here, heritage franchise in the Ontario Hockey League,

Hall of Fame night, the inaugural Hall of Fame for the Brantford Bulldogs. Michael Ann Lauer goes in. T-up what this rink is going to be like tomorrow. Well, you know what? In Brantford, you know, we talked about it prior. The team came here. Michael brought the team from Hamilton and, you know, the expectation was the team was here on a temporary basis. We all thought it was going back.

It was going to go back to Hamilton. Now you got a new rink coming. Brantford would not let this team go. and when we were purchasing the club from Michael and Michael's one request to us at the end was I want the team to stay in Branchardt and ask you know okay why because they've embraced this club and gave us a home

when we never when we got kicked out and didn't have one it's loyalty like that that resonated with me with my family and it's something we're really special that's been really special so you'll see this place packed you'll see you know 3,207 fans cheering on their bulldogs because that's what this community is. It's not just the Bulldogs.

We're the Brandford Bulldogs. And this is Granford's team. They can come here, support their hockey team, their players, their community and be together to honor the man who brought the team here. And very fortunate to be able to do this for Michael.

He deserves it. And we're really excited and proud to be able to put this on for him. It's a great organization. Listen, you know, Reed Duffy is an elite. The best. Play-by-play caller.

Well, let's keep Reed. quiet too, you know. Any pro hockey teams out there. Have you seen Recover wrestling? Yes. Oh, that's amazing. Yeah, yeah, I know.

I know. There's so many great, and Peggy Chapman's like one of my favorite people in the entire world who I have a background and talk radio with going back a million years. So organization's built off good people. That's the point. It's all about the people. It really is. Oh, Gary Robert's strength and conditioning coach as well.

But Gary's also a senior advisor here. So Gary kind of touches every aspect of the organization. I pick Gary's reign all the time. not just on, you know, how we're getting our players prepared for games and practices, not just how we're going to get them back from injury, but roster construction management. What do you see here, Gary? What do you see on this? He's a 20-year NHO veteran that, you know, has touched the game in all areas.

And for me to have that resource and have Gary here and supporting me and being a part of this organization, I'm grateful and I'm lucky. Connor McDavid won't eat ketchup to this day. And I'm convinced it's because of Gary Roberts, true or false, there's no ketchup in the building. Other than for the fans. Yeah, that's probably true. You know, when Gary's not here, the lunch menu is a little different. Our assistant GM, Justin, puts it on.

But when he is here, it's pretty healthy. But, you know, but now, Gary's awesome. Love it. Thanks so much for hosting us. We're here for a couple of days doing interviews and talking to fans and taking in the game tomorrow. We're all looking forward to it. Thanks so much for hosting us. I appreciate it.

There is Spencer Hyman. Is the general manager of the Randford Bulldogs tomorrow, big game against the Osawa Generals. The inaugural Hall of Fame game and going into the Bulldogs Hall of Fame will be Michael Andlau, former owner of the Bulldogs and now, owner of course, of the Ottawa Senators who are in action tonight against the Tred Red Wings as the NHL is back and so was Greg Wynke. We've been waiting patiently and standing by. Oh, we're holding on. Zach's giving me the hold on because we're going to get Wishall fired up here in a couple of seconds.

As we reframe the shot. Thanks for being patient here with us. Greg Rischinsky from ESPN and ESPN.com's latest trade board is out. We have ours as well at DailyFaceoff.com. There is some overlapping, of course, between the two. And so we're going to run through some of the more popular names that we could see moved here by the time next Friday rolls around, whether it's your Blake Coleman and, of course, now Tyler Myers, who was held out yesterday by the Vancouver Canucks as they faced off against the Winnipeg Jets. his name is all over the place, all over the NHL.

We'll talk about all these players with Greg Wischinski, who joins us. Hello from Brantford, Greg Wachin. Yeah. How are you? How's Bradford treating you? Dude, it's a home away in Gretzky. They have a really beautiful, I think it's probably welded into the, or also I'd bring it over. It's welded into the floor.

Chair for Walter Gretzky. Oh, that's cool. As we call him Canada's hockey dad. You know, I remember in Brantford here. in some of the men's leagues, a lot of the guys will tell you the story. They'll play like a Tuesday, they would play a game at Tuesday night at like 10 o'clock.

And randomly, randomly, Walter Gretzky would show up. Like Walter stayed here and lived in Banford his entire life. And a buddy of mine was playing. And he said, it was like an 11 o'clock game. None of us were into it. We're losing like 5-0 at the end of the first period.

He said, Walter Gretzky walked onto our bench and said, you guys suck. You guys need a coach. And Walter coached him for the rest of the game. That's so cool. The stories of the Gretzky family here pretty wild. Can you imagine that?

You're just getting blown out and Walter Gretzky gets on the bench. Anyhow, how are you doing today, pal? I did hear part of your conversation with Spencer. And you believe that Zach Hyman should have been on Team Canada? I think that, well, just knowing how hockey Canada things. And they want, and listen, in a short tournament, like the Olympics or any other four nations, world championships, what you need to find is instant chemistry right away. Hence, you know, Taves and McCar, players that are familiar playing with one another, you know, so I had wondered if, I think we all did, you know, you can't spend too much time figuring out what's going to work. In other works or it doesn't, you make up your mind quickly. And that's how Tom Wilson found himself on the line with Brad Marche. and Sam Bennett. And it was my belief, based on how I've seen Hockey Canada behave before,

that they look for pairs. They look for pairs. So my thinking going into it was, Connor's obviously going, I'm going to guess he was going to be the Chris Coonitz to Connor McDavid, Sidney, Crosby. What do you think? Yeah, and then they could have gotten that stiff celebrini off of McDavid's line.

Because, you know, the real issue for McDavid certainly was his linemates. I don't know. Listen, kind of hockey that Hyman plays, they certainly could have used them to crash the net more.

I mean, that was really lacking in the gold medal game was their inability to really bump hellabuck or really kind of try to, you know, crash the net more. That was actually one of the things that I was curious about as far as like what went wrong for Canada.

I mean, Part of it's obviously the way the USA Defense Corps played. What went wrong for Canada? It was Connor Hallibuck and Jacob Slavin. What went wrong for Canada? They didn't get their Sam Bennett on enough in that game, in my opinion. Hey, we got breaking news, Merrick. We got.

Charlie McAvoy becomes what I believe, first Team USA player to actually apologize for how they reacted to. President Trump's joke about the women's hockey team. Like a full on, I'm sorry we reacted that way, according to Connor Ryan, who was one of the reporters that spoke with McAvoy in the locker room. Well, yesterday, yesterday after the Bruins skate, Jeremy Swayman said we should have reacted differently as well. Yeah.

So it's the two, the two. Because what we've seen from a lot of other players is the, No, we hang out with them, we skate with them, we love them, cheer them on, went to all the games without actually addressing the issue. Austin Matthews as well addressed it. But slowly but surely here there are guys that are saying like, yeah, my bad, our bad. I'll give you the full quote from Connor Ryan. Certainly sorry for how we responded to it in that moment.

Things just happened really quick. It's certainly not reflective of how we feel and look at them and their accomplishments. the couple of things that have been sort of like standardized in the response of the team of the men's team to the blonde Trump had about the women's team one we really like them they're our friends two we went to their games

the Brady Kachucks today three we we have went with them at cafe at 3 a.m. after we won't gold how could we possibly be in the wrong if we did that I do Zach I don't know if you could play it Do you have the ability to play Hillary Knight's line from her press conference yesterday about all of this? I don't have it right now. I'll try to find it.

Let me, let me, I'll just, I'll just, I'll just, I'll just, I'll just, I'll just, I'll just, I'll just, I'll just, I'll just, uh, I'll just repeat what I remember. It was kind of this feeling by night and it really kind of brought home to me how horrible this whole situation is for them about like, it shouldn't be her place to have to explain what other people meant. or what other people said and that overall it overshadows the success that the women have had. She'd much rather talk about that and not have to once again defend the valor of women's sports.

And this is the greatest women's hockey player in the history of the United States having to be put in this position because of what the president said and how the men's players reacted. By the way, I don't know if you know this, Merrick, but Brady Kachuk basically had to address 17. It was his own state of the union today.

They had to address 17 different things at Ottawa's practice. And one of them was the women's team. The other one was the AI video that the White House released in which Brady Kachuk is doctored to have called Canadians a bunch of maple syrup eating Fs. Well, you've called Canadian. In his defense, you've called Canadians that too, Greg. Let's not claim more high ground here. I like the Brady could chuck out. I have never even thought of saying something like that.

He had to say that he disliked the White House releasing an AI video in which he calls Canadians maple syrup eating Fs. I can't believe this is actually a thing that we had to do today. And then he also, he also, Merrick, had to address the accusations online that he was the one who shouted close the northern border during Trump's call. in the American locker room, to which he said it doesn't even sound like my voice. And I have certainly never thought of that in my mind. Okay, we're having an issue with Greg's connection. That plays in Ottawa's capital had to come back, but there it was. Very tough.

Okay, we kind of dropped you for a couple of seconds there, I wish. You know, we do want to reconnect with Greg Zad? We're going to reconnect with Greg here. Brady Kachuk is interesting because of all the returns, the one that I think many of us are curious about to see how the fans react specifically is Ottawa tonight. There is a segment of that fan base. I don't want to say this is like the overwhelming majority of Ottawa Senator fans. Because A, I don't really know.

And B, I don't think that it's true that really have significant misgivings about the behavior of Brady Kachuk. We'll see tonight. The Ottawa Senators face off against the Detroit Red Wings as the NHL returned last night. first game in Ottawa, Nations Capitol tonight, and of course, the player wearing the sea is Brady Kachuk. I don't know what is going to happen. I have wondered about

anthem booing and whether we're going to go through another round of that, what the fans will do with Brady Kachuk. I don't know, but it is maybe the most intriguing event. It's not about the game. Most intriguing events on the

NHL calendar tonight. We got you back, Greg. Sorry, you're kind of cut off there a little bit if you want to finish you. Yeah, I don't know. There's something wonky going on with the video and the audio today, but if I drop off, I'll just, I'll just jump back in again. Yeah, there was the whole close the northern border thing. He denied saying it.

He said it's not my voice. He didn't really touch on the White House visit other than to say that it's an honor to be in the Oval Office. I mean, he had to talk a lot today. A lot, also about like you were just talking about being the captain of the team in Canada's capital and then having defeated Canada for team USA. He did get kind of a test run of this in four nations where, as Brady said, like, you know, you go from having people that have your back all year and all season

to for three weeks, them like hating you. So I think he's kind of used to this by now. But it's, it's been fascinating to see how all these guys get back to their respective teams and deal with the fallout of all of this. And, you know, again, like you've got people like Jake Sanderson saying it's, I don't know nothing about politics. I live under Iraq. Like, don't these guys know that things are weird right now? Like, like they're coming back to their teams.

They're getting questions that don't have to do with. But childhood games and what you used to imagine when you play in your driveway. Like, it's all different than what it should be doing right now. And I don't know if these guys appreciate it. Do you think it's because, like, the way that I've looked at it is going to the White House after a win has, and we've seen players not do it, you know, Tim Thomas famously with the Boston Bruins and others. But it's sort of just like it just become a tradition now. It just becomes sort of ceremonial. This is what happens when you win a championship in the NBA, in the NHL, in the NFL.

It's like that it's, it becomes part of the process of celebrating your victory. but the state of the union is separate from that. That is a hot politically charged environment. But the thing is, but would the reaction have been the same, do you think, with like a million questions for Brady-Cuch? If he didn't go to the state of the union, like, was it that they went to the state of the union because it was like so hot, so aggressive,

they were, like, look, you go to a situation like that. You become a prop. You become a prop. Well, first off, Matthews didn't go. And I don't think that he's necessarily getting the same. kind of questions that like Gensel had to get. They're not home. They're not a home yet. Okay. Right. Wait, wait till the leaves go back to Toronto.

I truly don't, I truly don't believe that these guys understand the nuance. And I don't think anybody that's handling their travel understand, like, like even cared to understand the nuance or, or, or, you know, wanted to parse out what one men or the other. And, you know, the thing, like, here's, I love Jack Hughes. I'm so happy for him. We'll talk to about about him in a second and what he said in Jersey last night. but like when you're wearing a USA hat that's got 45 and 47 on the side and and when change Thompson standing two feet away from you wearing a Make American Great Again hat. Yeah, you put on the merch.

I mean, when does it become political? Like for any of these people. Like you can only do the I'm a big dumb hockey player thing for so long before it becomes political. Like we all know the state of the union is political. Even if you want to play the card that I'm a big dumb hockey player and I don't know about politics. I don't know the difference between, you know, standing in the Rose Garden and being a prop at the State of the Union address. Like, at some point when you put the MAGA hat on, it's political. Is it not? Like, for God's, for God's sakes, you're wearing the merch. Yeah. Let me, well, let me ask, let me go back. Let me go back to Brady on this one. What do you think happens tonight? Like, I, two things. One, I don't like anthony. Well, first of all, three things, actually. One, I don't like anthems before games. I really don't. One of the things that I really loved about the. Olympics was they went out there, they stretched, they warmed up, and then they dropped the puck

and they started playing. Oh, oh, oh, oh, heaven. It was beautiful. There was anthems at the end. I get all that. But, like, it was really nice. I get it. I'm in a minority on this one because I know a lot of people like anthems. You all, I mean, we try to put the verses in VSW as much as we can, but this is a topic that you and I over the years. No, I know. I know. I don't have time for it. There's, there's a history to it. If you want to look up why they play the anthem of games, there's a specific history to it. Guess what? It's not because.

It's the war. Yeah, it's the war. Exactly. There's a very specific reason why we play the anthem. And now we do it because it's a very handy way to hype up the crowd. And to this day, it still makes me very angry, Merrick, when people, you know, get, you start policing others in their behavior during the anthem. Because I always say the same thing, which is that you do realize there's someone taking

a shit right now. There is somebody in the concourse, in the bathroom. Yes. And they are taking a shit right now. and that is happening during the song. And until you rush in there and yell at them, don't yell at the guy with the hat. But I think the problem, I mean, I don't know what happens.

Like I think that today was Brady trying to do his best to diffuse the situation, but the situation remains extremely. You know who I feel bad for this week, dude? I feel bad for every single team's social media people. because they're trying to do the thing where it's like, you know, pre-game fit-chat. And then all the comments

under pre-game fit check are, you're supporting a fascist. It's like there's no getting around what has been happening with these players since they got back from Milan and now since they got back from the White House. And I really, you know, it'll die down,

but it's certainly not going to die down tonight in Ottawa, I don't think. You know who's liking this? Who? Teams that want Brady Kachuk. Oh, yeah, that's the other really funny thing that's been happening today is like, you know, when I put up a quote from Brady Kachuk about the close the northern border clarification, most of the comments are like, you know, I think Ottawa should really examine his status on

that team and trade him to Boston. You know, a lot of that stuff is happening with Brady. But what's interesting that was like, What's interesting, though, is like, Brady has always been in that position, even more so than Austin Matthews, even more so than any other American playing in Canada. It's always been this sort of craven Brady belongs to us. Don't you hate playing in Canada situation for him? And he's had to answer those questions throughout his life, whether it's because the Rangers are soft tampering or because there's a manifest destiny of the Kachucks being united somewhere. I don't know

what it is, but like it seems like Brady more than any other player has had to answer more questions about his status as an American playing in Canada. More so than Matthews, hands down, more so than Quinn Hughes ever did. I wondered about that, too. Like, what would Vancouver do with this if Quinn Hughes was still the captain of the Vancouver Canucks? Yeah. Oh, God. And the proximity between him and Trump and all those photos?

And it's a lot to deal with. Of course, at this point, if you're Vancouver and Quinn Hughes is still there, you're probably giving him a standing ovation for defeating Canada because you're doing everything you can to make him not be. Yeah, that's right. They're handing out MAGA hats. It's Queen Hughes Maga Hat night in Vancouver. We don't like this, but we're trying to get Quinn to resign.

Just put on the hat, dummy. Yeah, the other thing, I don't want to belabor this, like the after effect of all this Olympic stuff, but it's kind of unavoidable. But, yeah, we've got other stuff to do. But I do want to mention Jack Hughes last night in Jersey, which was a roller coaster of emotion. You know, first of all, he gets asked. Why couldn't you have given that puck away? like that on Sunday. Oh, Jesus.

To, Tage, that. Yeah. Why couldn't you just given that to like McClain? I'm trying to talk about, Connor. I'm trying to talk about Jack Hughes here. I don't want to talk about the devils who are. Oh, okay. All right.

Just the Hindenburg crashed in New Jersey, but that is the second worst disaster that's ever hit New Jersey after this devil's offense. Oh, geez. Two goals a game since the Queen Hughes trade, by the way. So listen, Jack did the usual. thing that you knew he was going to do. He gets asked some pretty tough questions about the media on hand in New

Jersey about the White House, about some other stuff, and he plays the I'm just a hockey player playing hockey card. It's whatever. Like I don't know if Jack is more than that. He's a young kid. He's also like the right age bracket and demographics

to be someone who probably likes Trump a lot. Like that's just be honest about that. But the other part of last night was the full-throated open heart embrace of New Jersey by Jack Hughes in ways that we have not heard for a long time. Jack Hughes talking about loving coming to the rink and seeing people in his jersey and rolling down the window and giving him attaboys and, you know, loving being here and being drafted

first overall and putting roots down. And it was like, I was touched as a devil's fan. I was touched that he was saying. all the. Do you think that's the after effects of like the euphoria of winning a gold medal and cementing? I think like you do something like that. Everything else in your life, at least for a short time, everything is better. The beer is colder.

The food is more delicious. Like all of it. Everything in your life. When you go through something like that. Your jersey stinks less. That was Greg Wischinsky. That was Greg. I'm allowed to say it.

I'm Jersey. I'm allowed to say it. Listen, that might be it. The euphoria, the coming home and seeing all your friends and all the people that support you, you know, year in and year out. Like you want to make them feel good because it does take a village, as they say, for this thing to happen. Well, but again, like I mentioned it before, this devil's season is defined by the Quinn Hughes trade and the failure to acquire him. And you can go back and see how this team has played since that moment.

It broke the team. This is the first time we've heard Jack really put over Jersey as every devil's fan is firing up Puckpedia and seeing that he's a UFA in 2030. And so that was a really interesting moment last night. Yeah, some of it's just like he's probably had two hours asleep and he's not a narcotic high for winning a gold medal. But it is also like the first time that he's really kind of mentioned how important the market is and how important the city is and how important the whole Jersey thing is to him since they didn't trade for his brother. Why do you think he did that? I think it got a the game began

like before the game he got on the ice with a mic he called Tateh Thompson over which was a nice a nice moment that was really nice touch but like he's he's in an arena

he's in the only NHL arena he's known in front of the only fans he's known a place that honestly through thick and thin up until recently has supported this guy

through everything injuries playoff does that everything like they love him and so I think he probably got caught up in that moment

of being like, I'm home and here are all the people that support and love me. And it's gotten kind of weird the last 48 hours where I'm on Good Morning America, having to at at tone for the sins of my friends on Team USA laughing at a joke the president made. Like, he's probably in his element again and feeling pretty good about life. So Neil Smith always tells me the story about when he's in New York City, fans still, like to this day, we'll come up to him and say, thank you. for for winning the Stanley Cup, the New York Rangers, 1994,

the drought, no more 1940 chance, et cetera, et cetera. See, you always say that people to this day will come up and say, thank you for doing that. Do you think the same thing will happen with Jack Hughes? I mean, you're American, you're there. You tell me, I'm just some dumb Canadian

barking out hockey scores. Does Jack get the same thing? like for the rest of his life, he's going to have random people coming up to him, maybe like Paul Henderson from 72 here in Canada, coming up to him and saying, thank you. Yeah. I mean, is there a reason Mike Arruzioni still gets booked at country clubs to play forsooms? I mean, that goal is going to be that important to Americans. I think the two guys that are going to never have to buy a beer in this country again

are Jack Hughes and Connor Hellibuck. Yeah. And that's a fact. I mean, like, Connor for what he did in goal and receiving the U.S. Medal of Freedom. Muhammad Ali. What a hell of him. And then Jack for scoring the goal. Absolutely.

Hell, I want to thank him the next time I see him. I might do that. It might turn off the recorder and just like, thanks for, thanks for scoring that goal, buddy. Thanks. Thanks for doing that. I do the show with this guy, American Canada, and he's just insufferable because of the Olympics and the history and blah, blah, blah. And by the way, it would be completely within my rights, Jack. It would be completely within my rights to say that because, as you know, impartiality ends in the Olympic press box.

There is no, there's no, call both sides. No, we're just, we're all Canadians, we're all Americans, we're all rooting for our guys. It's just how it's going to be. Did I ever tell you my Olympic story? Please. So I had been doing, this is CBC, Beijing, 2008. It was the first time I was embarrassed to be a human being. So I can't remember what sport I was doing.

I was contracted to like 12 of them. I might have been doing rowing. I might have been doing table tennis. I might have been doing archery. I can't, I can't remember. So I go in and I file at the International Broadcast Center and I'm going to watch Phelps swim. I'm like, oh, this is awesome. I'm going to watch Phelps.

Huge fan. This is going to be awesome. I can't wait. And so I got my little CBC shirt, my little CBC knapsack. And I'm walking out of the IBC and I'm going to the Cube and here we're we go and then this like shadow comes beside me and there's this very tall gentleman who's not walking but like I don't know if you've ever seen someone I've just described it as like walking perfectly and almost like floating where every tiny little muscle in this person's body is in

concert with every other muscle and every stride it's like a horse prancing and I'm like who is it is Usain Bolt oh wow And I remember, honestly, Greg, I stopped in my tracks because I was embarrassed to walk beside him because I'm like clop, clop, clop. Just like so. And here's this like gazelle. Just like, and I, it was the first time I was like, I'm embarrassed in how I walk. I'm embarrassed to be a human being beside Usain Bolt. But Usain Bolt just walk right.

And he's got his beats on. He's in the zone. He's probably going on the nest to warm up or whatever. And I was like, that was the moment. 2008 in Beijing. I was embarrassed to be a human being for how. how I won't because this guy was so perfect. Anyway, that's my, that's my Olympic. But I'm glad you bought that up because I've, I've done a lot of media recently on like normie

shows that aren't just like hockey shows. Yeah. And they're all asking me the same thing, which is like, how does the NHL capitalize on this moment? And I also, I say first of all, I don't know because this is the first time we've ever seen the Americans win gold in the NHL Olympic era. So while there's not been a bump ratings-wise or attendance-wise before, I can't tell you there's not going to be one. By the way, sidebar on that. Sidebar on that.

The New Jersey Devils send me an email every single day about buying tickets. I feel bad for the guy that has to do it because I never respond. Today was the first day that I received an email from the Devils where the subject line was watch Jack Hughes from a luxury suite. they have pivoted from the season because it's done to now being like buy tickets

watch the man who scored the golden goal which first of all flattered they think I have the money for a suite but also pretty interesting that they've pivoted to the Jack Hughes thing so I don't know what the ultimate effect on the NHL is going to be because of the US win but I do know that

we know two things we know one individual players get the bump Ryan Miller won the Vezna TJO she has a TV career and Jack Hughes and Connor Hellbuck are going to be mega stars for USA sports forever. The second thing we know, Eric,

is that the NHL has embraced international hockey in a way they never have before. We're going to have a World Cup in two years. We imagine there's going to be some sort of USA, Canada rivalry thing happening in either next year or the year after before the next Olympics 2030. So that's really the biggest impact.

But your Olympic, you say, story reminded me of how the NHL has tried to talk about the idea that the World Cup, but it could eventually become more prestigious than the Olympics. I always think about Usain Bolt. I think about

the figure skaters, the skiers. I think about all of the people that these Olympians get to meet in the village and all of the experiences they get to have in the village. And I think to myself, that is something that the World Cup, even if it is a better best on best tournament, can never replicate. They can never

replicate the Olympic experience. You know what I'm a sucker for? I'm a sucker for a few. I'm a sucker for a few things. And we just saw it in the Netflix miracle documentary. I'm a sucker for watching old players watch themselves when they were young in historical. Oh, yeah. I love that.

But for the purposes of this conversation and what the effect is going to be here, the other thing I'm a sucker for is, we call it minor hockey up here, youth hockey in the States, youth hockey games that got stopped. to announce that the United States had won gold. And watching kids celebrate. Like out of face off and the announcement comes in, Jackie who's the score, US wins, gold. And the kids go berserk.

Greg, I will watch any video of that. I know it happened in Slovakia as well and with a group that Marion Gabrick, I think, was coaching a number of years ago. But watching American kids go crazy on the ice when the announcement,

because they're like, they're playing while the game is on. Like, no, this is all. ice time for the for the weekend. It's Sunday morning and this is this is our ice time and watching them go nuts when they make the announcement. Like just there was one great one where they're about to take a face off in the corner and the announcement comes over and all the kids just lose their mind and start and start skating around and celebrating. So you want to talk about the effect? The effect's already started happening at local rings. That's where the effect is. So that is going to show up in 20 years. Right. It's not going to show there is going to be. something that shows up now, but the effect of 1980, we saw with Jeremy Roanick and Mike Madano and Kevin Stevens and like that group. So it's going to take a while, but the effect of Jack Hughes is going to be felt in the profound way in the NHL. It's just not going to be right away.

And yeah, I'm a sucker for that, dude. I will watch those videos all day long, all day long. I just love it. I wanted it. I was looking for the, I saw a, Okay, I wanted to ask you about viewership. The final number was at its peak when Jack Hughes scored 8.7 million viewers in Canada were watching the game. Now, you've worked in television for a long time. We have 40 million in this country, sir, or 45. Well, I know that, but like I've seen people kind of, well, I know, but I've seen people, people characterize that number as being, like, low or, like, seriously low. Is that kind of your read on it at all or no?

No. The Maple Leafs, like, let's not forget to. It's a, it's a, was it, eight o'clock, eight a, eight a.m. start. So at West, it's, it's a real challenge three hours back. That's a really good number. Like, the Maple Leafs will do a million. And then on, you know, playoffs, it'll bump. Hockening in Canada. It'll bump. But generally like, a midweek game is going to be a million. The Blue Jays, which is another comparable here, they'll do, like when they're hot, the Blue Jays will do a million. our country. That's that's the sort of standard. Eight, like, again, like, we don't have a country with 350 million people. We have a country of 45. Is it 45? Zuck, can you do a quick little look? I think it's 45. Forty five, 45 million. So that's a really healthy number for this country. I think, I think, anyway. Like, you see that, you see eight million for hockey? Yeah, like, yeah, that's good. 39 million. I want to, 49. 39. That's one of the number I have right now. People start humping.

What are we doing? What's going on here? Start humping. That number might have gone up if Canada had won. Colin sick tomorrow, Canada. Come on. Let's get those numbers up here. You know the old joke about how you can both watch the game?

Yeah, exactly. Canadian style, yeah. I also want to mention Zach Werenski. This is also breaking courtesy of Aaron Portsline of the Athletic. he apologized for the way it looks. It was a celebration in that call. It was kind of a whirlwind. You know, Brady-Kichuky used the same word.

But they're incredible, and we have nothing but the utmost respect to them and the support. That's Zach Worensky on the women's team. Curious the two players in different cities, both use the term whirlwind? But anyway, he apologized. Two is a coincidence. Two is a coincidence. Three is a conspiracy. So Werenzki,

you need one more. McAvoy, Swayman on the side of on the side of apologizing for someone, for their reaction to someone else's comment in the locker room.

Do you think there will be a cascade for the women's game here too? Oh, undoubtedly. I just saw that the I think the Boston PWHL team sold out their Olympic celebration

that they're going to be having in a few weeks, which is awesome. Great. You know, the greatest thing about, one of the greatest things about Team USA winning is like, how many college players that were on the team and just the next wave of, yeah, remind me.

Yeah, thank you know. And listen, it takes unique talent, I think, to spur interest in emerging leagues. And like, how good is Carolyn Harvey? Like, have we ever seen that before? Like, we ever seen someone where you're watching her and you're like, this is Kail McCar? No, at least on the American team, I can't. I love Renata Fast.

Like, she's an incredible skater. Carolyn Harvey's the best skater in tournament. Yeah, easily. She's still a kid. She's still a kid. Yeah, she's a kid. So there's a next wave of talent that's going to populate the PWHL. And, you know, I was reading John Waro from the AP who covers the women's game quite thoroughly.

And he was talking about, you know, and you probably. know this too because you covered as well like the the amount of potential expansion that could be happening for that league and the 12 I think they want to they want to get to 12 yeah is it so someone too soon we'll see someone corrected me because we were talking about the women's leagues the other day and I was mentioning about like how the PWHL is the first you know financially solid soluble profitable league and someone pointed out that the the the pHF was also yeah the pre-hockey Federation was also financially successful before it was it was bought out and and taken over. I mean, I don't think it was successful to this degree, if I'm being on a C.

But that's a fair. That's a fair comment. The PHF was obviously more successful than the WAHL was. You know who would be a really interesting interview on that topic is Tyler Tominia, who was the former commissioner of that league. Yeah. her husband is a manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. And she met her dad, who passed away a couple of years ago,

was a long time Chicago White Sox Scout. And Tyler owned, I'm not sure if she still does. But I know at one point, owned a number of minor league baseball operations. Yeah. Before taking the PHF job. One of the most interesting people I've ever met in hockey was Tyler. I used to bump into Danny Riland a lot.

At the Sos Square Garden. She became a scout, I think, for the Islanders, I want to say. That sounds right. I would see her a bunch. And she was the commissioner and the person who ran the National Women's Hockey League, the one that first paid its players. And I just remember having long conversations with her about the birth of the league and trying to make it work and how difficult it was and the headwinds that she was fighting against. I mean, there's a lot of people that worked really hard to get women's hockey in the right place. It wasn't always correct.

It wasn't always good for the game. There was a lot of people that laid the groundwork for what came later. The NHL is a very, very polished and professional and corporate league. They do things right. It always wasn't that way. the whole league was started, as you all know, on a double cross. Yes. They did not like the Toronto owner.

So essentially, everybody left the league, which was the NHA, the National Hockey Association, and started the NHL. The league itself started on a double cross. And for the longest time, the saying always was, the NHL is the only professional sports league where the owners go to prison more than the players. that was true for the longest time in the NHL. So whenever I hear about, like, yeah, things were interesting on the women's side. Like, if you know your history about hockey. I know that we're up against it. He gained squeaky clean.

I know we're up against it. I want to give you three names for the trade deadline. Yeah, I want to get to this too. Yeah. Tell me if you think I'm right. So Trocheck goes, right? Like Trochecks can get traded. He was in the Minnesota pictures, I understand.

Yeah. Yeah. Here's the Minnesota picture. That's right. What about Justin Falk? Because I think Falk could be the guy who ends up in Detroit. He could end up in Dallas. He can end up in Boston. Nothing would surprise me. Outside of like trading some of the young guys, like the Dallabor, Divorskies and the Jake neighbors, nothing would surprise me from St. Louis. I think almost everything is on the table for Doug Armstrong. Everything. I think Robert Thomas in the season would surprise me. Yes, because if you're going to move someone like Robert Thomas, unless someone just knocks Armstrong socks off, you want to open the field. You want to open the field. I'm with you on that one. And I kind of feel that way about goaltenders with term, unlike Sergey Bobrovsky, who doesn't have term. And I have wondered about San Jose. Yes.

But San Jose makes some sense there. They have the cap space and they have a young Russian goaltender who are looking for a mentor, perhaps. Well, the whole point with Bob is, like, I could see him staying on a short-term deal just to try to, like, win with this veteran group again next year. Because I think they could be at the point of writing a season off if Barcroft doesn't come back, like, lickety split. Like, what do you do if you're the panthers goaltending-wise? You just hand it to the kid. You just hand it to- No, he's expiring too. Teresoff's on expiring contract as well.

Like, you have to get, like, for example, if you're doing it with San Jose, like, you have to get an adult back and then you have to go goalie shopping in the off season. Oh yeah. Like there's no. There's no. There's no. There's no. So there's one name out there.

There's a name out there that whenever I bring it up, people go like, oh, yeah, I forgot about him. And he hasn't had the best of all possible seasons, although the last two or three weeks in the American League, he's been exceptional. Kevin Levi. Oh, yeah. Right? Former Panther.

Former Panther, absolutely. He was part of the, a key piece of the Reinhardt deal. I mean, we don't, we don't know what the Florida Department of Goaltending Excellence feels about Levi, but that's an interesting option, I guess.

Last name I wanted to mention is Dougie Hamilton. I mean, listen, the devil season is in the trash can at this point. Yeah. They tried to trade Dougie. I mean, they've been trying to trade Dougie.

Then they couldn't trade Dougie because Luke Hughes got hurt. Now Luke Hughes is coming back to Saturday, most likely. Do you think Dougie gets moved before next Friday? Uh, jeez. I, I would think that Tom Fitzgerald will certainly try. Do they actually get it over the finish line?

Don't know. Don't know. If you're looking for, if you're looking for like a strong shooting option from the point, because he's, he still has those sweet, sweet one-timers from the point. Then Dougie Hamilton with retention, Greg? Oh, come on. It's like, that's, that's guaranteed. There's going to be retention.

With retention? It's guaranteed. there's going to be retention. That's what's interesting about Calgary, by the way. Like, they've got two guys that everybody wants, like Blake Coleman and Nazam Khadry. They only got one retention slot left. And I don't think they want to chew it.

I don't think they want to eat that. Yeah, so that's going to be an interesting thing if they move either of those guys. I think, I think it's like 50-50. They trade Dougie. And I wonder, what about Carolina? What about a reunion in Carolina for Dougie? Ah.

It's not bad, right? It's not bad. You know how that organization feels and the types of defensemen that they acquire. You have to be a good skater or there's no, like if you're a defender that just applies his trade by, you know, cross checks to hell. There's no room for you with the Carolina hurricanes. But if you can skate and you can move the puck, there is room for you with the Carolina Hurricanes. And if you can think the game well. You got, like, if you're, if you, if you play on the Carolina Hurricanes, you have to be able to think and think fast.

Yeah. And it's a challenging way to play. Dougie's, Dougie's a thinker. He goes to museums. You know, man, it sounds like the, whenever there's a conversation about whether you're watching a show, listening to a podcast, whenever the topic of Dougie Hamilton comes up, someone always has to mention he goes to museums. I, I remember the devils gave me Dougie for like. 20 minutes one-on-one when he got when he signed there. And I talked to him about the museum stuff.

I want a museum? He told me he also likes to go out with the boys too. He didn't just like to go to the museums. But he was just like, he's the sweetest guy. And he just got, it's one of the most hilarious. Imagine having a sport where the ultimate insult for one of your teammates is he's a learned man who likes to see. The history of mankind at museums.

And that's an insult. Hey, just as an aside, not hockey related, but Ferris Bueller related. When you're in high school and you skip the day, ball game? Sure. Maybe, you know, take your buddy's dad's car for a spin. Sure. I remember doing that with my buddy Bob's dad at a Camaro and we took it out for a spin. museum?

Didn't you always kind of find that a little bit bizarre in that movie? Like, I'm not sure how many high school students like, yeah, I'm blowing off the day to go look at some mayonnaise. So I have a theory on that. You like that one, Zach? Weird. What are the, hold on, what are the three things they do basically on that, on their day, on his day off? They take the car, right? But they also go to the French restaurant.

They go to the ball game. Abe Froman, sausage king of, Chicago. Of Chicago. And then they go to the museum. So I always felt it was. They're playing growing up. Cameron's picking one of them.

Ferris is picking one of them. And then Sloan was picking the other one. Yeah. That's how I thought it played out. By the way, it will come as a surprise that when Gregi used to cut school, he would go to 7-11. You went to the track. You went to the track.

Cigars would be pre-drilled hole in the back and went to Mont of Park Race track to play a pole. You had a pack of Colts and you went to the racetrack. I know you, Greg, with Schitts. It's exactly. Because I was a 65-year-old senior in high school who used to cut school to smoke cigars and go to their horse track. It's like the great line from Krusty the Clown. And obviously MoMA.

MoMA. Yes. And then the horse track. Modern art. Yes. It's like the great line from Krusty the clown. Do you miss your dad? Oh, I think about them all the time.

Except when I'm at the track, then it's all business. That's you, by the way. That's you. Any concluding thoughts here before we default to Zach? Zach, is your mic hot? Can you do your segment? Okay, all right. Any concluding thoughts on today?

And any idea? When the Olympic conversation will finally cascade back into the ocean? I think once everybody has played at least one home, game since they got back. Oh, one concluding thought. I, I, the goal that Panarin, Copatar, and Kempe combined. Oh, that was delicious. Oh, that was lovely.

Oh, my God. I just had heart eyes watching it. Oh, my God. What a goal that was. I'm like Ken Holland's kicking his feet up on the desk being like, my work here is done. That was a gorgeous goal last night. I wish that team had anything else going on for it. But those three guys together might be worth the price of watching that team if Jim Hiller lets them, let's their freak flag fly.

Let the boys play. All right. Listen, enjoy the rest of your afternoon. And we will talk to you back here on the program Tuesday. My five Tuesday. Thanks, bud. Greg Wischinsky from ESPN and ESPN.com. We do have to hustle here.

That some interviews with Bulldogs players. Oh, look at that. Now my ears are hot too. Zach's mic is going to be popped. Oh, this is good. Now we're getting serious. The sheet is powered by Fandul. Play your game with Fanduel.

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Feels good to be able to put together some good parlays where I've got plenty of options. You said I got confined, so I had the tighter canvas. And then I think that that refined my brain and gave me some better options going forward. So tell me what you think about today. The frame lets you know where art stops and life begins. Yes. A marching man needs baths a plenty. So Brad Marchand?

No. Oh, Mason Marchman. Oh, very good. Mason March. Anthony Mantha and Drake Batherson in this tonight. $5 will win you $197.13. What do you think, not on the ice, but sort of in the stands?

What do you think happens in Ottawa tonight with the sends and the red wings? So our guys that come in hot, they put out the quotes from Brady Kachuk. And he had to address among the more ridiculous things, the AI video and had to adamantly say, it's not me, which is, like, I can't believe. The question is not is that you, it's clearly not him. Yeah. I can't believe that this is what we have to do in 2026. Yeah.

But I think that one is going to be a little bit more uncomfortable in Ottawa. I, I do. Because we talked about the Matthews one. I think that if you compare the two and the two captains, the Brady Kachuk one is going to be a little bit more uncomfortable. The emotion that I've seen being shown by Sends fans, a lot of it understandably so, but by them from the comments or the pictures or whatever,

it seems like there's been a lot more frustration expressed by them, and I could see that coming through. One of the games we'll be paying attention to tonight. Great stuff. As always, we're back tomorrow here in Brantford. tomorrow was a Hall of Fame night. Michael And Lauer, the inaugural entrant into the Brandford Bulldogs Hall of Fame here tomorrow as the Bulldogs face off against the Oshawa generals.

Thank you to Spencer Hyman, the general manager and co-owner of the Bulldogs for stopping by today. And thanks for the hospitality. Thanks for the buns in the use of the hall, Spencer. Thanks to Greg Wischinsky, as always as well from ESPN and ESPN.com. Program goes off the air now, but we'll remind you, we're right back here tomorrow at 1 o'clock Eastern for the sheet. Live from The Madhouse. So they call it, right?

It's pretty cool. It's going to be a sea of black and yellow tomorrow. Looking forward to the game tomorrow night. We're back tomorrow, 1 o'clock here with the sheet. Thanks for joining us. Last night, every day this week, every day this month. I can't get out my head. I'm like, nomin.