The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Marner Returns to Toronto ft. David Pagnotta

Episode Date: January 23, 2026

Today’s episode of The Sheet with Jeff Marek features David Pagnotta as the guys set the stage for one of the most anticipated nights in Toronto this season — Mitch Marner’s return game. They react to and unpack Elliotte Friedman’s recent article detailing Marner’s time in Toronto and how the departure ultimately unfolded, before shifting to the Vegas Golden Knights and Rasmus Andersson’s debut with the organization amid news of the team selling 10 percent of its ownership. The conversation then turns to the St. Louis Blues and what big-picture decisions may lie ahead involving Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, and Colton Parayko. To wrap things up, Marek and Pagnotta dig into the latest surrounding Shane Wright in Seattle — who he’s connected to and where things could be headed — plus how the New York Rangers may ultimately handle Artemi Panarin. Another loaded edition of The Sheet.#TheSheet #JeffMarek #DavidPagnotta #MitchMarner #MapleLeafs #GoldenKnights #RasmusAndersson #ShaneWright #SeattleKraken #ElliotteFriedman #NHL #Hockey #DailyFaceoffSHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼Uber Eats: https://www.ubereats.com/caReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@FNBarnBurner🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoffReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!#TheSheet #JeffMarek #DavidPagnotta #MitchMarner #MapleLeafs #GoldenKnights #Blues #Rangers #ShaneWright #ArtemiPanarin #NHL #Hockey #DailyFaceoff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well, Zach, this is clearly where I belong. In London, the Ivy School of Business, little liberal arts major here from the University of Guelph, finds himself in London. University of Western Ontario, Zach, where you went. About a million years ago. No, wait a minute, that was me right. Yes.

I am a, you've got an echo? Yeah, heads up. I'll work through that. You were in the building. where I am a stain on the underpants of the business school of the University of Western Ontario, because I was in the business management program. I was working my way through and I said, and around year three, this is not for me. I have an insane echo in my ear right now as we kick up the program today.

You might be playing on YouTube as well, Jeff. There's possible your YouTube stream as audio. I think we just figured out what the issue is. Is that much better now? Yes, it is. Oh, there you go, Zacharoo. Okay, glad we got that one. I was panicking.

The key was. Just turn off YouTube. Okay, well, listen, welcome to the program. As I mentioned, I'm at the Ivy School of Business in London, Ontario. For the Ivy School of Business Sports Leadership Conference, tonight I will be hosting a panel on the role of junior hockey in Canada's talent pipeline. And looking forward to this one, Brian Crawford. the Commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League will be aboard,

as well Mark Guy, former agent with Newport. That's where I first met Mark, even though he both played with the London Knights and played hockey at Western, one of the owners of the Sarniest thing of the OHL, and also Rob Simpson, the assistant general manager of the London Knights. So very much looking forward to that

coming up a little bit later on this afternoon. Coming up on the program today, let's get right to it, because we have a lot to get to and a lot of rumors and a big comeback today for Mitch Marner in Toronto, but that's not the only story in Toronto. Let's get to it right now. It is the blueprint. It is powered by Fandual. Download the app today and play your game on Fandual.

Dave Panyoda drops by every Friday. Today, no exception. We'll talk to the DFO Insider about amongst other things, the Mitch Marner return. We'll talk about franchise valuations and franchise sales. Vegas Golden Knights, I'm looking your direction. Something Dave talked about on Wednesday's Insiders program with Irfan is Shane Wright and his future. Is it with Seattle or will it be somewhere else? Also, the various names around the St. Louis Blues available for trade and a little bit more on the New York Rangers and Artemmy Panarin, as we're all wondering where his landing spot is going to be.

And with that, we'll bring aboard Dave Panyoda of the fourth period, DFO Rundown Insiders Edition, and making numerous appearances all across our network. Dave joins me now. Dave, how are you today? I'm good. I'm cold. I don't know if you've got the vortex in London as well. Yeah, I mean, it was a snowy drive.

I got up early to drive here to London. It's about two and a half hour drive. It took me a little bit longer than that. But it was it was blowy and snowy and windy. I'm inside the Ivy School of Business right now. So I'm warm and comfortable, not looking forward to the drive home later on. Is this going to be a day where you just stay inside and don't do anything other than watch hockey games and talk on your phone? I'll be doing all that, but I'm going to be at the Marner Mania tonight.

You're going, eh? I'll be there, yes. Probably going to skip Sunday's game. Leaves play Colorado in the afternoon, and we got like 30 centimeters of snow coming. But tonight, they'll be there for all the festivities and the highs, the lows, the booze. Raspis-Sanderson makes his Vegas debut. a lot of storylines tonight. Yeah, there's a few.

I want to get to a couple of things around both Vegas and the Toronto Maple Leafs as we approach trade deadline time. And we should probably talk about a story that you've been mentioning with Vegas and the 10% sale of the team by Tom Foley here coming up in a couple of seconds. But listen, this is one that as soon as the schedule came out,

a lot of people circled, whether you're a Maple Leafs fan or otherwise or just a fan of spectacle and just a fan of drama. Because even going back to, when he was drafted at the Connor McDavid Fort Lauderdale draft. It has been drama, drama

around Mitch Marner. I'm sure you've read Elliot's piece at sportsnet.ca about the sort of history. He has a really good piece, really well done, really well researched. I'm surprised Elliot did it on his own. When you look at the time, because I know Mitch Marner doesn't want to talk,

I don't want to talk about the past. And I can't help but thinking about the moving magnolia. you may be done with the past, but the past isn't done with you. I don't think the past is done with Mitch Marner yet. No, it's not. It's alive and well in Toronto. It wasn't so much like the fans went to Vegas last week

to be there for that game and throw some booze out. There were Marner fans and Leaf fans in Boston last night. Vegas Golden Knights played the Bruins. There were Leaf fans there with signs along the glass. for Mitch. You know, there are some people that really appreciated what he's done or what, excuse me, what he did for the franchise and he will go down as one of the greatest Leafs of all time.

And there's a lot that don't appreciate a lot of it. Now, you know, I'm a little torn on this on this one because, and we touched on this a little bit last week, like a good chunk of the fan base wanted him gone. So to boo a guy that you want it out anyway for leaving, a little contradictory for me, but look, it's going to be emotional, certainly for Mitch. There's no question. As much as he wants to focus on the future and the present and the future,

he's a big part of this organization, was a big part of this organization since he got drafted that year. So he's got to, I don't know he understands that. And again, it's going to be emotional. for him tonight. They're going to do a big tribute for him and a welcome back kind of situation a little bit longer than normal because he certainly deserves it.

I'm curious to see how the crowd is going to react at that moment and pre and post that moment. I'm sure he's going to be hearing it. And it's going to be an interesting one for how he, you know, is he going to just let it go? Obviously be emotional and then just kind of let it go, focus on his game, score a couple goals.

I'm not expecting him to flip off the crowd. but I'm sure this is going to be an interesting one to watch and to be glued in on. And yeah, you're right. Circle the calendar right away. I give him credit, though. There have been a lot of Toronto media that have followed him since last week, since his game against the Leafs on last Thursday. And again, again, this week and yesterday in Boston,

and now this morning he met the media. He's not shying away from at least being a very important. available, but he's also trying to just get the message across that he's focused on his Vegas Knights career now. Yeah. You know, I joke about my old podcast partner. And that, like, I've seen how much Elliott goes to puts into pieces like that before. And that one, it's probably the most thorough piece that we've seen about Mitch Marne.

Were there, were there any elements in that piece by Elliott that jumped out at you as far as like, well, that was, that's a new revelation. I mean, I think a lot of it was like when in his mind he wanted out. Yeah. But I know it sounds and reads harsh, but I think players do that all the time. You know, I think at certain points of their career, they check out of organizations and sometimes it comes back and they feel it again and other times like, you know what I mean? Like I just because someone feels like a couple of years ago they wanted out,

I think players go through things like that all the time, Dave. Always, always. You're going through an emotional roller coaster throughout the course of your career. The highs and lows of how a team performs impacts a lot of guys. Impacts a lot of guys differently, but it definitely impacts guys.

And for Mitch and for Elliot's piece, just kind of narrowing down the timeline. A couple of years ago, in the summer especially, when it was all the Vegas talk, and he mentioned Shea Theodore as a point of interest. I know William Carlson's name at that point came up as well. And Vegas pivoted and said, what about Petro?

What about Alex Petro Angelo? The least were hesitant there because of his health concerns, which, I mean, we see now. He probably never playing again. And that kind of fizzled. But then from that point on, really having an understanding that this is where his mind shifted to probably moving on, barring significant change, I think that was for me just having an understanding of exactly where that timeline is or was. That was one that I was going, okay, that makes a lot of sense,

given those discussions with Vegas at the time, some other teams in the mix. He mentioned Carolina with NACAS way before the whole ranting and stuff, but just defining that timeline was interesting. And also just having an understanding going back, you know, a number of years to those contract negotiations, even out of the ELC, the second deal, how tumultuous those talks were back and forth.

It's been a roller coaster ride for him to this point in his career and over what he had to deal with in Leafland. Like, you know, pinpointing or mentioning the fact that, you know, somebody posted his home address. Like, he's had issues with that in the past. And he didn't want to acknowledge it. He kept it quiet. I know there were similar instances years ago that also affected him and his family.

And then it was just, it was like, you know, this is enough. This is the straw that breaks the camels back because it's happened before. It wasn't just the one instance. in the playoffs and then adding everything on top of it, I certainly can appreciate and understand that he was just kind of fed up and had enough from that side of things and disappointment on his side and understanding a little bit more elaborately his disappointment in that piece. Again, guys get affected by certain things differently. And one of the other things that Elliot highlighted was when he's on a high, he's right up there.

Like he is give me everything, give me all the hockey. I can't wait. I love this game. I love being a part of this. And then when he's low, he's at the lowest. There's almost no medium, nothing in between. And that can really take a toll on a guy. And clearly for him it did.

See, the thing that I kept coming back to and still due to this day, you know, the old story, you know, the candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long. And I look at Mitch Marner and you talk about the highs and then the lows too. but he was really someone. We all talk about hockey careers being a roller coaster. And one of the things that I always admired about a player like Kerry Price. And this is the example that I always raised, Dave. You interviewed Kerry Price after a game. You could not tell if the Montreal Canadiens won the game or lost the game.

No idea. He would not wear it. Everything about Carrie Price was exactly the same, which was the perfect temperament to be Montreal Canadian. Marner went on the roller coaster. Martin went on the roller coaster, the highs are so high. And that's the thing about Toronto. And I think this is what scares.

I mean, Brian Burke always talks about this. This is one of the things that I think scares people away from playing in a city like Toronto. Even though, you know, when the highs are the highest, like, you're going to the Hall of Fame. You have like anything above a mediocre career, you're going to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Case and point, go look at that 1967 team and all the players on that team who, if they had similar career, is elsewhere, probably not going to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. You do well in Toronto and you're going to Young in front. But Toronto is a really difficult town because that roller coaster can really chew you up

and spit you out, even a story that should have been a great one. You know, the local kid who had the potential to be the best local kid ever for the Toronto Maple Leafs. You know what I'm saying, Dave? Look, I've talked to over the years, going back to when they went through that rebuild when he just started and Austin got drafted and Willie was part of that at a young age.

You know, I talked to star level NHL like future Hall of Famer type guys and All Stars and everything that were not from Toronto and guys that are from the Greater Toronto area. And would you want to be part of this group in the lows going through that retool, that rebuild? I've mentioned this a few times when asked about it. And everyone's reaction was, no, absolutely not.

Get over that hurdle. Be part of the solution after the fact. Yes. Would love to because you win a Stanley Cup here, you're set. You've got statues. Everything is covered. Like you are the gods that these guys sometimes are portrayed as, as Mitch has mentioned once,

which was taken in a totally different context. But like again, all-star caliber, future Hall of Fame caliber guys that when this team is at its lowest, these guys don't want to be a part of that. Because of all the extra that comes with it, it's not the media pressure and all that stuff. It's everything else. When you get over that hump and you're part of a solution, that's when guys gravitate to this market in particular. Guys want to win regardless, no matter the city. If you're in the dumps, you know, no. everyone was talking about all these tax benefits with Florida and Tampa and no state tax and whatnot.

Nobody wanted to be there 15, 20 years ago when they were junk. They want to be there now because, yeah, you've got a little financial benefit, but you've got a chance to win almost every year. It's similar in Toronto in that sense. Okay, a couple of more things. Let me pivot this somehow to Shane Wright, another Toronto area kid whose name is very much out in the headline. You broke this one on Wednesday's DFO Insider Edition podcast with Irfan.

What is happening with Shane Wright and the Seattle Crack? And now I want to bracket this in a very specific way. I don't know, like San Paulik would always talk about never giving up on a player until you're 100% right. I don't know that I'd want to make my mind up about Shane Wright, considering this young player who in the first year of his career, we all know about the fall start, stops and starts, stops, and starts junior, world juniors, American Hockey League, no fixed address.

The guys had three coaches in three years. I always say to myself, we don't really know, do we? But what's the latest on Shane Wright? Yeah, and this is not a scenario where Seattle is giving up on him and just saying, this isn't going to work. See you later. This is Seattle wanting, going back to the draft in June of last year, wanting to add star power to the lineup,

proven star power to the lineup. They still view the potential in Shane Wright very highly. But they were talking about Jordan Cairo in June at the draft. Obviously, weren't able to make that happen. But that's the kind of player, mid-20s, controllable star talent that they're looking for. And they're dangling Shane Wright as that carrot to try to package up to get that piece. be at a Cairo Thomas level or something, you know, along those lines elsewhere. But that's what they're looking for.

And there is a lot of interest in this player. But there are teams like Winnipeg, for example. There's interest from the Winnipeg Jets and Shane Wright. They're trying to solidify their second line. They've got another player in a similar type of boat in Cole Perfetti, who hasn't taken those next steps yet, but they're still, like, they believe in him as well. But they want to add to their group. I don't know if that's the type of deal that we're going to end up seeing if this does get to the finish line.

I think it's more a scenario where Seattle, again, wanting that star power and willing to dangle a significant young asset, perhaps package him up, likely package him up, in order to get that piece. And this has been, I first caught wind of this one about eight days, eight, nine days ago, something like that. And then started digging with other teams. And they go, yeah, his name's out there. but this is kind of the parameters around the asterix around his availability. So if Seattle can add that, don't be surprised if Shane Wright's included in that type of deal. Should that be the type of player?

My answer to this is no, but I'll ask you this one. There's one very specific reason why I would say no. Is this the type of player that the Toronto Maple Leafs should be after? And the reason that I say no is if you have someone who's had three, young players had three coaches in three years and maybe a confidence issue. I don't know that a young player going home to Toronto struggling is going to help his confidence. But nonetheless, I've already biased the jury. Your thoughts on this one.

I'll agree with you, but I'll also add that any team in that in that environment where the Leafs are at right now, any teams in that similar boat, I don't see that either. I don't see that either being a fit. you're probably looking at like a St. Louis type of team that has a young core that's willing to give everybody like the snuggaroos and the neighbors and the holloways, etc. Dwarski. Like that, like insulate him, add him into that mix and grow together. Like what the Anaheim Ducks did with all of their young guys and let's grow together. The Canadians to an extent as well. I think that's the type of environment that might make sense.

Now you've got to put the pieces together and see, you know, what type of action. could work. That would make sense for Seattle to go that direction. But I think it's more that, at least from my perspective, this is just my opinion, that I think it would be more beneficial for this player to grow with that type of core versus being thrown into an environment like at Toronto. Forget about just hometown or nearby. The team that's got question marks, that's hovering, that should be in a better position, but they're battling right now. Now, injury is playing a factor. I don't know if that's the best scenario for him in terms of his development or next

stages in his development. Look, this is technically his fourth year in the league, but he's in year two of his ELC. He played eight games in the first two. There's still a lot of runway with him. But a lot of teams view that as a positive with a heck of a lot of potential. Just got to find that right type of deal. So interesting you mentioned the St. Louis, too, because I look at St. Louis, Dave, And I say, so a couple of the first decisions they need to make here are what are we doing with Brayden Shan?

Yep. How quickly can Dallabor Dvorsky find himself in a situation where he's playing center on either the second or third lines, probably not this year, maybe next year, but that'll influence, I think, any decisions that they make, they have a lot of wingers. Like saying they were able to get rid of Zach Boldock because they have so many. wingers. The goaltenders have been hard to hit. We know that. It's been a story well told and the blue line has, the blue line has been a tough look for the St. Louis Blues. But you mentioned Jordan Cairo. And if he's going anywhere and I'm with you a million percent on this one, I wonder about Washington. And the reason that I wonder about Washington is they were in on Nick Eilers. This is a team that doesn't have the most foot speed. This is why Ethan Frank stands out with the

Capitals because he's just so fast and it really pops with the caps. Caroline ended up getting Eelers they offered the extra year. Okay. I don't think that that stops Washington from looking to make their team faster. And that's why I think there could be a fit there between the Capitals and Jordan Cairoo. But nonetheless, your thoughts on the blues, the decisions they face and how Jordan Cairo fits into all of it.

Yeah, well, look, I think I agree. I think that's a great fit. And that's the type of play. I know some people are saying, well, Panarin because of Obetchkin and add that to the mix. I think it's more long-term thinking, guys with term, guys that can not just benefit now. I mean, if it falls into their lap, obviously you're going to take advantage of it in terms of Panarin or somebody on an expiring deal. But if you're looking at somebody with term who can continue to help this team now next year, the season after, and so on, I think that's kind of Patrick and McClellan's preference in terms of adding to this group.

I'm glad you mentioned St. Louis's blue line. And I'll throw Justin Falk in there to the same extent as Braden Schen. Both guys are on, you know, excuse me, one more year on their deals. They both have 15-nobrades. There's a lot of interest in both. I could see both of these scenarios playing out before the trade deadline, maybe not Olympic deadline, but trade deadline. but the blue line is definitely an area that they want to improve upon.

There are a lot of teams that do. San Jose is another one in terms of long term. But if they do move out a guy like Cairo, I'm curious about the centerpiece coming back being a defenseman, a young defenseman. And it looks like St. Louis is looking at guys 25 and younger that are NHL caliber already or just on the cusp of being everyday guys. The other guy that I think might attract that piece, you mentioned Carolina before,

Robert Thomas is a player that they've told teams, or at least the notion is, we'll listen, but you've got to blow us out of the water. You've got to knock our socks off on a deal. I've heard that Carolina is willing to move Nikitian if they're bringing that caliber player back. And I wonder if there's a fit there. I wonder if there's a fit there. I wonder if there's fit. This is similar scenario. And Hurricane fans are going to go nuts about this. They're not just trying to get rid of them. This is not that scenario at all. This is similar to St. Louis's mindset with Thomas.

You've got to knock our socks off. It's the same with Carolina. We'll listen and we might be able to have this discussion, but we need that caliber player. I wonder if there's a fit there. I think there can be because it sounds like that's the type of piece each club is looking for in order to move either Thomas or consider moving Nikitian out of Carolina. I think there's something that could work,

but they may, like Armstrong and Tulski may look at this and go, he doesn't know what he's talking about, forget it. But I think just on paper for what these guys are looking for, that kind of makes sense. And from Kaira's side of things as well, I think, again, if you can bring a centerpiece

young defenseman back, top tier, I think that would make this a lot more palatable for St. Louis to seriously consider. Carolina is a really interesting one. That's an interesting name. And the more you think about it with Robert Thomas, first of all, one of the most creative playmakers in the game,

one of the best thinkers in the game, really good skater, strong skater. Carolina looking for someone to play behind Sebastian Aho. And the thing about Carolina, too, it's a very specific type of player that can succeed there. You have to be a good athlete. I mean, playing man to man in the defensive zone, push, push, push, push, push is hard. It's not for everybody.

It's tough. You know, you think of blue liners. Like, if you can skate, there's room for you there. If you're just someone who, you know, makes, applies his trade by cross-checking forwards to hell. Like, well, there's probably not a spot for you on the Carolina hurricanes. But, you know, when I was doing this off the top of my head, like, as I think about the player that Robert Thomas is, Carolina works. It really, really does, Dave. So that one makes sense.

I just wonder about like if you're taking someone like Robert Thomas to market, I don't know that you do it at deadline where your field is narrow as opposed to the draft when your field is open. You know what I mean? Yeah. And that's what I was going to mention. Both Thomas and Cairo, there are no trade protection is there. So you don't necessarily, A, they've got to be comfortable with where they're going to potentially go. And I heard earlier that Cairo would consider options.

I don't know where Thomas is at just yet. But because of that and because of their age and control ability, they don't have to pull this off now and they could widen the scope around draft in June to see if there may be other alternative options. But again, they're willing to listen, but you've got to really give them one hell of an argument for them to not hang up on you, basically. Vegas and Tom Foley and a 10% stake in the Vegas Golden Knights. I believe you were first of the trough on this one too.

You know, one of the things where teams have really seen, have really seen profits rise is private equity, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds. Do we know, like, what type of shopping Tom Foley is doing here for his 10%. Well, he's handling a good chunk of this one himself. And I think they've kept this relatively internal in terms of where they're at. I believe there's a party that's well along the process of making this happen in terms of the interest levels. I think they're still listening on others, but it sounds like they're at least taking some next steps with a particular group or individual. I don't know specifically who that is.

But the $10, $200 million price tag is still a line from what I've been told after putting this out on Wednesday with Earth. And there are other teams that are kind of in that similar boat. Like you mentioned, like teams are looking at this going, this might be an opportunity to, just from a business perspective, it makes sense to sell off and recoup some of that money and whatnot. Vegas isn't exclusive in this. They're just a little further along in the process.

We saw Tampa go through this, and then things are shifting with them overall. This isn't the scenario in Vegas. It's still Bill Foley's group. This is still his team. He's not giving this up. But from a business perspective, it makes sense to recoup a little bit of this. What was it?

$500 million price tag? He's getting 10% for just under half of it. Oh, yeah. I know. It's a good bit of business. And this is the opportunity to pounce now. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. And there are other teams that are fishing in this similar pond to see what options may be

available to them. This goes back a little while. I know Calgary at some point explored it. Dallas explored it. Detroit explored it. There are others. it just seems like Vegas is well on their way to making this happen. Okay, off the business page, back to the sports page.

Artemi Panarin and the New York Rangers, as everybody tries to marry Panerran to various themes, what are the Rangers thinking here? Yeah, well, first of all, I think some of these teams want the Rangers to retain. I think there's a willingness from the Rangers to retain. It's only the rest of this season. on his deal. How much?

I'm not exactly sure. I believe there are teams that will perhaps insist on making it 50%. They'll have to cough up a little bit extra to make that happen. But I think there's a willingness from the New York Rangers

to go in that direction. And there are teams, you're right. Like everyone's trying to pinpoint. We talked about Washington and people have mentioned Florida, although I'm not sure if that makes sense. Overall, you know, Carolina,

as we mentioned before, not afraid to take swings. Dallas. Let's see, who else can we throw in that mix? Detroit, L.A. And I think some teams are not only curious about just how much though the Rangers will retain now. I think some teams want to know, can we at least have a conversation on what an extension would look like? Would you consider signing, can we get this out of the way now, take another fish out of the free agent pond, and solidify this now?

And I think there are some teams that, like I think Carolina, I think L.A., I think Detroit. would kind of fit that mold. And perhaps Washington, as we talked about wanting longevity on something, not just purely rental, unless the price is just, you know, super low. But I think it's a three-prong ask as well. I think it's a first round pick, a top prospect, and an additional asset or some variation of that. Does significant retention modify that?

It likely does, to what extent? I think we're still a little bit early in that sense. But it sounds like things are starting to progress a little bit more here. And again, with a full no movement clause, he and his agent Paul Theophanos have a lot of say in this. Yeah, the compensation is an interesting one. You look at, you look what Brock Nelson fetched. It's, you know, Cal Richie first round pick plus. So like that seems pretty consistent for someone.

I know teams may look at that and say, wow, that's a lot. It's like, well, that's been the price at deadline here. You've been all over the Alex tuck. A couple of moments left for you with you. You've been all over the Alex tuck story. One thing that I wonder about here, and my gut instinct is no, but I had someone text me about this and wonder if this would be true. So Josh Done resigns with the Buffalo Sabres.

It's a really nice deal for a really nice player seven times seven. Does that mean anything to Alex Tuck? Does that mean that it's the end of Alex Tuck with the Buffalo Sabres? No, I don't think we're there yet. But the Shane Don't deal had no bearing on what's happening with Alex Tuck. and his camp and the Buffalo Sabres. That's just a bit of business that Buffalo wanted to handle. They got their housekeeping done.

Good move, I think, overall. And I still really like that trade for the Sabres. Kevin Adams gave him a parting gift in that one with Donne and Kessel. I agree. Moving put down. Yeah, great deal. They're going back and like, I don't know about back and forth. I don't know if that's the right way to put it.

But nobody's closed the door or hung up the phone. Like the lines of communication are open, but they're just not close. I don't get the sense that anything is imminent right now unless they're talking as we speak. It doesn't sound like anything is imminent on that front. But they've spoken this month. That was the plan to have back and forth conversations. And I believe that's occurred. But just still to this point, nothing imminent right now.

And again, the dome signing doesn't really affect tuck situation. but we're getting closer here. And if there's and look, the sabres have done great and it would quite frankly really suck if from their perspective, if they have to move this guy or lose them. But if they don't have an indication and maybe they're going to escalate things

over the course of the Olympic break, like some teams are trying to get housekeeping done, a lot of teams are going to be talking to some of their pending UFAs during that period to see what the future potentially looks like. I think Tuck and Brian Bartlett, his agent, and Yarmal Kekkline and the Sabres have a decent understanding of where things are at. It's just a bit of a negotiation. But if the Sabres come to a realization that we might not be able to get there and we don't want to risk passing the trade deadline and risk him going to July 1 and losing him for nothing, then I think they seriously explore the trade market. But I also preface it, I don't think we're there yet.

this might be something that happens once, you know, February 5th rolls around Olympic freeze lifts. We're 12 days away from the trade deadline and that picks up. But the update as of now, nothing imminent. But we're inching, we're starting to inch close to where a deadline has to be kicked in here. The thing that I wonder about, because I don't disagree with any of that, the only thing that I wonder about here, which may be the wild card and all of it, if trade deadline approaches, it doesn't look like there's going. to be a deal between tuck and the buffalo sabers does the number 14 come into play i.e. Terry Pagula wants to stop talking about 14 years but no playoffs and at the same time like there's there's two things working here. One there's the asset management of all of it and two

there's the you know Yarmal Kekhielan wants to build something that's long term for right now the the Buffalo Sabres, led by their owner, Terrapagula, want to get rid of the number 14. Like, do you think we might see a clash here? Like, you know what? We just need to get to the playoffs here. And if it cost us Alex Tuck, so be it. It's a big price. Like, with the way this, with the way the sabers are trending, finally, that's, that's a hell of a price. Like, I would be, personally, just me, I would be reluctant to move forward without an extension in place beyond the deadline, regardless of where this team is at. I know they're right there.

And I understand, like you, I think there's an opportunity from Buffalo, of Buffalo's perspective, especially now hosting the draft, that they can market this and put a spin on this in the right way for the first time in forever, in 14 years, where we're ready to take those next steps. We're finally here. Now, I hear what you're saying. Maybe it's twofold. Maybe it's, we're going to move them out, but we're going to bring in another piece that's going to help us along the way who's signed for,

yeah, like something along those lines wouldn't surprise me if it's a buy and sell scenario because you're almost forced to sell. Like to lose an asset like an Alex Tuck and get nothing, I don't even know, like I don't think Yarmow. would want to have that taste in his mouth. Just you're getting the fan base back. They're excited about the Buffalo Sabres again. They're buying tickets.

They're at the key bank. And then deadline comes and you start talking big picture again. And I understand your idea about bringing in someone that replaces Alex Tuck right away. And you're not just dealing with picks and prospects. I get all that. I just the one thing that could complicate all of this, weirdly enough are the fans.

And I don't think that Terry Pagula takes that lightly. Yeah, and he shouldn't. I mean, it's a very intelligent and overly frustrated fan base. But because of that, like, again, where they're at, I think there's, you can spin it in the right direction.

Now, if you move Alex Tuck and you get nothing immediate back and it's future play, then if I'm a fan, I'm going, again, like we're just writing off, really, guys? Like I don't think it's get to that point, but I could, I could see, I could see a scenario where it's, we're moving up for this because we have to and spin it that way. And, but we've brought in this piece and he's going to help us move forward. Okay. Last one for you. And it's, it's kind of a, listen, that all makes sense.

To me, the Buffalo situation with Tucker is one of the most interesting ones in the NHL. And as much as Yarmu talks about, sometimes you have the hammer. Sometimes the player has the hammer. The player has the hammer in this one. And Buffalo's winning. and everyone's feeling good again, and that only plays well for Tuck. This is a great,

like if the Buffalo Sabres were like out of the playoffs already and Bottle, I'd be like, okay, Jesus, this is going to be a tough one, but Buffalo's going great. And if you're Tuck and Tuck's camp, you're just like, touching, this is awesome.

Okay, last one for you. So the trade of the week, Rasmus Anderson goes to the Vegas Golden Knights. What's the, as far as conversations around the league that you've been part of, you've heard, what's a cascading effect

from Rasmusman Anderson going to Vegas? You know, other teams scrambling. I wonder about Dallas to Plan B, for example. Has there been an obvious cascade that's happened through the league? Well, this goes back to St. Louis. This goes back to Justin Falk, you know, for me, I think. And that extra year on the contract, I think factors in, certainly. But in looking at prime candidates, I think he's right there.

Yeah, you've got Dougie Hamilton to an extent in New Jersey, and I don't think the Luke Hughes injury affects much of that. It might loosen the air. urgency to try to make something happen. And maybe they wait until July, pay out the bonus and then see you later at that point. I think he would like some finality now. But I think it's more focused in on, you know, somebody like a Justin Falk, who is readily available, has some no trade protection as we discussed.

I think teams are pivoting in that direction. From Calgary side of things, I think other teams are now curious because I know a few teams that reached out on Sunday after this trade happened and said, well, what's your plan with Zach Whiteclough? two years left on his deal. Great cap hit. Different type of player, but what direction are you going in here?

So I think there are some teams that are looking at and trying to figure out what their additional options are. Lesser extent, Luke Shen, lesser extent, maybe greater than Luke is Logan Stanley, both in Winnipeg. I think teams are zeroing in on certain guys. And I think at least the teams that I've talked to that are fishing for that type of player,

a la Anderson, have pivoted at least internally to a mindset of Justin Fulke. Perfect. Brace yourself. There's a storm outside and there will be a storm inside where you're going tonight. Oh, yeah.

It's the ice for the Vegas golden nights facing off against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dave, full value as always. Thanks so much for doing this, pal. You got it, man. Take care. There is the great tape of Hanyoto. You can listen to him and watch him. as part of the DFO rundown Insiders edition,

Wednesdays 3 o'clock Eastern, and also listen after the show goes off the air, wherever you get your pod casts. Anything jump out at that, you, Zach, from that conversation. I'm guessing maybe Shane Wright or Mitch Marner. No, Niketian. That was the one that I paused on when he said that.

Yes. It makes sense, though. like he Eric Tolski is a very very willing GM to take risks and make moves to improve his team. You've said it a million times. I think we talked about it yesterday

when it came to the Vegas Golden Knights. If there is a move in the salary cap era where you can improve your team, you do it. And if you're sitting there as Eric Tolski or somebody in that Carolina room and you're like, we've been looking for that forward.

to put us over the top and this is the move that does it like it's a scary one if you're a Keynes fan I guess because you watch what he did last night I'm watching the Chicago game leveling guys just

I'm blanking on his name who it was that he fought I apologize but just like beats the wheels off of him all for more thank you beats the wheels off him it's like three punches no doubt about it he's like the scariest man alive and really good at playing defense.

He's twice more size. Like, good on more for standing. I'm not talking about, like, the fight itself. Okay. But him just standing there looking like a, like Russian machine. That's what he looks like when he goes and makes steps up and makes the hit on Lardis. And then he's like, all right, okay, yeah, you want to fight? We got a fight.

Let's do the fight. And then three punches. All right, down we go. But I mean, Tulski, it just makes sense. And anytime you hear like, okay, yeah, there's a big player out there. Yeah, why wouldn't Carolina be involved? Pulski's ready to make those moves, take those risks. Yep.

What did you make of Oliver Moore last night, by the way? And you consider that of Gordy Howe-Hattrick, the fight, the assist, and the shootout game winner? So maybe this is because I get annoyed when I'm trying to bet on stuff. Maybe this is part of it. I want the shootout winner, the goal that counts as the winner, to count as a goal. Because technically it's like a tie if you look at the goal scores in the game. So if you score the first one and then the other team goes 0 for three, I think yours should count is the winner.

So I think it should count, but I don't know. I think you can at least chalk it up, even if it doesn't go in in the record books as like it's a goal under his name. It's a Gordy Howe Hattrick. It's a Gordy Howe Hattrick. Good on him. I don't disagree. On his birthday, too.

On his birthday, I know. He caught a couple of punches in the face. Who hasn't made bad decisions on the birthday before? All right, let's get to it. Hungry for Hockey History, 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 to 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 fan's hockey experience all season long, Zach. Yeah, we've talked a lot about the Buffalo Sabres. and close with the Buffalo Sabres there. So we're going to keep it on the theme of the Buffalo Sabres. And we're going back to 1983-84, Jeff, where the Buffalo Sabers had the longest win streak on the road, that is,

in NHL history. The Buffalo Sabres made league history by becoming the first team ever to win 10 straight road games. A milestone came with a 5-3 victory over the Boston Bruins, capping a road run that began. December of that year. So, um,

Dominic Haschuk, I believe was the greatest cold tether of all time. That was a great year for Dominic Haschick with the Buffalo Sabres in, uh, in an era and in a, look at these old shots of the Buffalo Sabres. Hey, Dave Andrew Chuck. Uh,

hey Tom Barrasso. Um, Hey, Phil Housley. This is, um, that team had Dale Howardichick on it, Alex McGilney,

Pat Laugh Fontaine. But, So much of that squad was about Dominic Hachick. And in that playoff year for the Buffalo Sabres, we saw one of the great goaltending duels of all time. Haschick made 70 saves. 70. In a game against the New Jersey Devils,

Marty Breder versus Dominic Hachick. If you're into these types of things, I know people like offense more, but to me, Dominic Hachshk, and this is why I still maintain, like nobody did for their team, what Dominic Cashick did for the Buffalo Saves. With all due respect, Buffalo, that was a very average Buffalo Sabres team that Dominic

took to heights that they never should have seen and wouldn't have seen otherwise. To me, that season was all about Dominic Cashick and Dale Howard Chuck. He was soft spot. One of the best ever. Pretty cool pictures there as well. Also, just on the saves. The swords I like. Yeah.

In terms of the saves, I like the, I like those games. or the goaltender puts up a ridiculous amount. If the game is 19 shots on goal to 21 shots on goal and it's like 1-0, I'm still going to enjoy that, but I get why the casual fan isn't. But if a goaltender puts up 70 saves, how can you not, like, respect that? It's great, but, like, Dominic Hashek, as far as, like, stylistically was one of the most exciting goaltenders we ever saw. like just complete reckless abandon fully committed on every single shot it didn't look like he had

much of any sort of traditional style and that's what made you know that goaltending juxtaposition like you look at that era and there were everyone says three but really there were four because i'll throw ed belfort into that mix too but like hasha complete stood out from patrickwa marty bauder ed belfort uh he was the one that you looked at and make no mistake about you knew you're watching dominic Every hockey fans in 98 at the Olympics, Canadian hockey fans do really know what that's all about. But Kelly Rudy would always talk about this on hockey nights.

Still, to this day, Kelly still says, and I agree with him 100%. Dominic Ashik was the greatest goaltender, whoever lived full stop, last call, period. He was. 94 is great for him. 93 and 4 was awesome. And I can't, I cannot dispute it.

As we wrap up here. because I got to get to a big presentation here. I'm very much looking forward to this. And yes, I do feel out of place at a business school. Liberal arts chefee. The sheet is powered by Fanduel.

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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 to speak to an advisor, Zach, free of charge. What do you got today? All right. Do you watch those behind-the-scenes videos and stuff that teams put out on their YouTube channels a lot of times? Yes.

The NH24-7 stuff? Yes. too but i i was watching some stuff to do with the devils and you know jack hughes and working on his stick and everything and um you know a lot of guys like to go in behind this like and go and cut all their sticks down and clean everything up exactly the way they like them and i couldn't help but think given jack hues's history the devils should do everything they can to keep jack away from the cutter room because you don't want him to get hurdle again. That is pretty creative.

Well done. Jack Hughes, Cutter Goce, Anaheim, Ducks, and Tomash Hurtle of your Vegas Golden Knights. He's having a really nice season as well. Five bucks wins you 9769. Jack Hughes, Cutter Gocee, Tomash Hurtle. Is that a Zach Phillips original? Yes, that's an original.

That is an original. How long do you take it to come up with that one, Zach? How long it take you to come up with that one, Zach? Like 10 minutes, I think. Usually I go through, try to find some guys I like and then figure out how I can piece this together. All right. You're a big Leaves fan.

Your post-game show Leaves After Dark tonight is going to be spectacular no matter what happens. I'm sure you're ready for it. I mean, I don't know other than the obvious. Like, what are you expecting to happen tonight? What are you expecting to happen when Marner hits the ice? I mean, in Vegas, he was. boot every time we touch the puck. It'll probably be worse in Toronto.

What do you expect during the video presentation? Oh, that's a weird one. Dan Ritcho joined us on Leaves Morning Take this morning. He said he thinks there's going to be cheers. I know that that was the case in Calgary when Matthew Kachuk came back, right? They cheered him in the video tribute. I think there will be cheers, but I think it's going to be awkward. I don't know how much he's going to, you know, revel in the moment. I guess. is the best way to put it and be like yeah hey i'm back whatever uh i think there's going to be people who are going to be happy to see him and i think there are people who who hate his guts so much for

the way things went down uh at the end of his time here that i think it's going to be a really awkward muddy noise when they show them when they show them when they show the video tribute like i i think it's going to be a little a little weird because i don't think you're going to get the stereotype or the traditional like one way or the other i think it's going to be a myth i think it's going to be a Normally these are done at TV timeouts. I don't know if you're the broadcaster that you're cutting away to go to a stop set on this one. No. It's a major, major part of the game.

Yeah, I don't think it's going to be one of those, hey, while we were away or at the break, this happened. Check out what happened. I think you stay on it live. It's a big part of the game. It's a big part of the game. Yep, agreed. Agreed. Also, let me just say quickly here, boo, you should boo.

It's sports. You've said it so many times, Jeff. It's sports. This is your one way as a fan to show your emotion. Do not throw things. Do not do that kind of stuff. That's ridiculous. It's ridiculous.

It's aggressive. It's over the top. Doesn't need to happen. Boo until you have no voice left. Boo his ass until the game is over. That's what you should do. You are fans of the team. You pay to be there.

You've cheered for the team your whole life. You're allowed to be emotional, upset, annoyed, disappointed, mad, whatever. Boo, who cares? It's sports, man. The Islanders had every right to boo John Tavares. Leif's fans who disagreed with that, I think, are out to lunch. They're on a different planet than where we are, they're eating space cake, a word, a phrase you've not said in a long time.

The Islanders should boo. They should have booed. They should still boo. The Leafs fans tonight should boo. That's, they should. PSA from Zach Phillips. Listen, I want to thank Natalia Birkich here from the Ivy School of Business in London at the University of Western Ontario for all the hospitality here and organizing everything,

including coffee and cliff bars and extension cords and everything to make this happen. Today, later on, is the Ivy Sports Leadership Conference. I'll be hosting a panel with Brian Crawford, the commissioner of the OHL, Mark Guy, one of the owners of the Sarniest thing. You may remember him as an agent with Newport's and Rob Simpson, the assistant general manager of the London Knights. Thanks to Dave Paniota for stopping by. What do you? Oh, you got your card.

Look at you. Look at you, purple. Oh, Philly. Look at the feathers and clean shaven too. Oh, wow. Look at you. Boy, were you ever a catch back then? Yeah.

You know, they used to call you back then. That was Zach Phillips. Ah, you know what? He's like six pack and a light switch. Good. Thanks to Dave Panyoda for stopping by DFO Insiders Edition. DFO Rundown Insiders Edition goes Wednesday, 3 o'clock Eastern on our daily face off YouTube channel.

Thanks so much for watching. Thanks so much for listening. We're back Monday, 1 o'clock Eastern for The Sheet. Signing off from London.