The Sheet with Jeff Marek - New Look On Long Island ft. Stefen Rosner

Episode Date: July 10, 2025

On this episode of The Sheet, host Jeff Marek is joined by Stefen Rosner, the Islanders beat reporter from NHL.com to discuss first overall pick Matthew Schaefer, a different feel of excitement around the team, and Lou Lamoriello's departure. They'll take a deeper look into what Mathieu Darche has brought to the team in his first few weeks, and if we'll FINALLY get to see some personality from the players.#TheSheet #JeffMarek #StefenRosner #NHL #Islanders #MatthewSchaefer #LouLamoriello #MathieuDarche #HockeyTalk #NHLNews #IslandersHockey #FirstOverallPick #TeamPersonality #HockeyAnalysisShout out to our sponsors! 👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/ Reach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us! If you liked this, check out: 🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow 🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401 🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom 🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army 🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Flames_Nation 🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting ____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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I'm going gonna start off by reading a text that I got this morning. A little text exchange that I was having with someone. And it relates to the NHL dress code, or more specifically, the lack of a dress code now and the reasons behind it. And yesterday when we went off the air, and by the way, thanks a lot for all the kind words about not just Anton Thun yesterday on the show.

You guys seemed to like hearing from him as he sort of broke down some of the things we know about the CBA, but also Mike McMahon on the Gavin McKenna situation and the future of the CHL slash NCAA, I don't know, Vic, what do we call it? Situation between the two. This is the first year where everything is magnified

and then blown up. Like everything is massive, because kids are jumping, and what is this gonna mean for the future? And sky is falling and CHL is gonna crumble, and everyone's just gonna go to Division One hockey, and what is that gonna mean for the USHL? Are they gonna get steamrolled through all of this?

And to everybody, I just keep saying the same thing. Let's all calm down. Let's all take a deep breath. Nothing is ending right now. Let's just chill out and see where this thing ends up. But Vic, one of the things that we talked about yesterday, and I wanna go through the daily outline here in a couple of seconds before we get to this text with a friend of mine, an attorney who has a lot of knowledge

about the NHL. One of the things we finished talking about, Anton about yesterday, former agent, M5 Sports and Cortex, was the idea that in the CBA, there's a lot of things that are disguised as player wins that are really NHL wins. Like the Olympics is the obvious one, right? Because I don't know if you can,

if you're old enough to remember this, 1998 when the NHLers first went to Nagano at the Olympics, this was the push from the NHL, this is great for the league, right? And everybody understood it. And everybody still understands it now. Owner to owner to owner. I know they get booboo faced

if one of the players gets injured. I know they get booboo faced because they got to shut down for a couple of weeks. I understand all that, but they know that the long-term play, putting their brand next to the Olympics can only benefit them. There's one other element here that, and even I bit, but it may end up being

more of an owner win than a player win if my friend this certain attorney that I'm going to read this text from is correct, but it does make sense once I share it with you. But first coming up on the program today Daily Outline powered by FanDuel make every moment more with North America's number one sports book, FanDuel. And coming up here on the program, you can read him. I mean, his Elm Oncher's newsletter is outstanding and if you're a New York Islanders fan

or you just have a curiosity about the Islanders you're gonna wanna tune into, you can read him in the hockey news as well. Steph Rosner is gonna stop by. We'll talk about dress codes. We'll talk plenty about the New York Islanders. I may try to get them in trouble by saying that Sorokin is going to get traded to the Edmonton Oilers. I don't know if you saw Dan Milstein's tweet about that today,

the agent. Shafedaddy. Oh, I like that, Vic. Yeah, Matthew Shaffer. Shafedaddy in Long Island, trying to make the team. I will mention Ilya Sorokin. Yes, I'm glad you threw that up there. And I think that Vic wants me to say a thing or two about Mackie Samuskiewicz. You signed a deal that we all kind of expected him to sign with the Florida Panthers. I mean, that's like a deal that he should sign, and the Florida Panthers need him to fit into that slot. I don't know that that's necessarily a big story other than I think that Mackie Zamaskiewicz is a really good player. He's going to be a really good player, but he's not going to be one of the marquee guys on the Florida Panthers.

It's the only news of the day, Jeff. It's the only news. We can manufacture. That's our job is to manufacture news and to manufacture controversy, as they call it across the pond. So with that, let me share something with you here. So a friend of mine, and I'm not gonna tell you what her name is, but she's an attorney in the States. And she was listening to the interview that we did yesterday with Anton Thun.

And she's very interested in all of this. And the team that is closest to her, she was always and has always been able to explain things from a legal point of view as to why things are happening. She's a just a wonderful person and we bonded when we first met over our mutual love and respect to the Quebec Nordiques. That's the only clue I'm going to give to who she is. She's an old Nordiques fan transplanted to the United States. So here's what she says. And this kind of makes sense that there's anybody else in the audience, anyone listening, anyone watching, who has a legal background, who can tell me whether this is true or not. Because

in my little brain, and again, this little brain went to school to study English and philosophy at the University of Guelph. I never went to Osgoode Hall to study law. But work with me on this one. OK, so she said text me this morning. It says the uniform stuff is also interesting. Coming off the interview yesterday with Anton, the issue of uniforms might seem innocuous, but it possibly can have impacts on employer obligations. This is definitely

an issue in the context of union negotiations with firefighters and police officers because the timing of when they wear their uniform can impact employer obligations in brackets, salary, workers' compensation, retirement calculations, free speech rights, immunity, etc. She also adds that varies state by state. So here's where I wonder about the NHL saying, ah, essentially as long as it sort of fits the tastes of the day, you can wear whatever you want.

And we're looking at this as if it is a win for the players. Oh, look, they get to wear, guys get to wear open collar shirts and they can wear outrageous fashions. And that's all cool. That's all, that's all, that's all wonderful. What a win for the players. But I always wonder if I always had lawyer friends always talked to me about the L word You know what the L word is Vic? I'm gonna guess lawsuits. That's my best liability Liability is they always they say everybody tries to protect

When you when you raise the L word liability. And I wonder if, I mean, there's some very creative attorneys out there and bless all of them. You make our lives so much better. Lawyers make the world great. If it can be shown that the NHL has a dress code, does that then mean that the lawyer is liable for everything you do on your way to the rank? If you are quote unquote,

wearing what I'm guessing you could make the argument is a uniform and uniform is not just your hockey pants or breezers for you people in Minnesota, uh, and sweaters and socks and helmets. But if part of the uniform is you have to wear a suit, does that mean legally that you're on the job? Once you put on your suit and make your way to the rink, therefore the teams are liable for whatever happens to you because technically it is happening while you are at work.

Am I stretching this too much? I don't think you are. And we had a brief convo before the show and I told you I used to work at a grocery store and I'd put my uniform on and hop on the bus and go to work. And if I happen to get into an altercation while on said bus, while wearing said uniform, I'd probably lose my job. But if I wasn't, then nobody knows. Private citizen. Whatever. Exactly. Doing victims on the bus again. Not that I'm a fighter or anything, but yeah, I mean, it makes a lot of sense. And the NHL has shown that they know how to play the legal game. Of course.

And if they can get themselves. Yeah. If they can get themselves out of any liability with regards to anything, any player does. I mean, it winks at the question of what point of the day are you an employee? I go what point are you doing your job? And if the idea of putting on a suit is seen as a uniform because there was a dress code Does that then mean the minute you put on that suit to go to work? You're essentially at work Yeah, the team's reliable. I mean is that what this is?

Do you think I don't know what do you think? What what are your what is your opinion on that Jeff? Do you is? Do you think? I don't know. What do you think? What are your, what is your opinion on that? Jeff, do you think that if I put my suit on, I am a, you don't know? You're, you're on offense on this one? I don't know. You know what? I, my, I'll tell you what, this, this is one of the things where it's like, your gut says one thing and your head says the other. And my head is like, okay, so if I can understand her from a legal point of view, that this would reveal that this person is at work because they're asked to wear the uniform and the league is insisting that they have this race and adhere to this very specific dress code.

Therefore, in the eyes of the law, they are at work. But then my gut says like, come on, you're on your way to work. And you just happen to be wearing your uniform to work. Now I know they don't dress up in their hockey pants and again, breezers for all you in Minnesota and sweaters and helmets and all that on their way to work like you're going to Timbitt's hockey

with mom and dad Saturday morning, 7 a.m. I know it's different, but from a legal point of view, it kind of makes sense. Is that what this could be? So now all of a sudden the NHL is not liable for whatever happens to you on your way to the rink because nothing is being mandated. So your job at that point hasn't started yet.

I don't know, maybe there's something really obvious here that I'm missing, but when she texted me that this morning after the conversation with Anton, I thought, you know what? I should probably throw that out here on the program. If for no other reason, then to see if there's anybody else, anybody else in the audience listening or watching who has an opinion on it

and can tell me whether that is the motivation for this one. Anyhow, let's get to our guest today. I'm very looking forward to having this conversation. Before we get there, this segment is brought to you by Simply Spiked. Summer is here hanging out in the great weather with great friends. You want that feeling to last forever,

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You must be legal drinking age. And as always, we remind you to celebrate responsibly, someone who celebrates responsibly on a consistent basis. And the team he covers right now has plenty to celebrate about. He is Steph Rossner of the Hockey News and the El Monsters Newsletter. And he joins me now. Have they been able to keep enough champagne in the local liquor shops around the UBS these days

after the Matthew Schaeffer acquisition going first overall? First of all, Steph, thanks so much for joining me today. How are you? I'm doing great. Thanks so much for having me. And yes, they're running out of liquor left and right. The buzz around this team has been higher than ever from the get-go, from darts taking over to the trades, the draft to what they did in the first round after

Schaeffer to the freedoms they signed, opening up practices and development camp to the scrimmage. Island of France are on cloud nine right now. And I'm sure plenty of people have said the same thing to you since the the CBA got announced. Lula Amarillo gets fired and the dress code in the NHL is gone. How many times have people said that to you, Steph? Not that many times, but you know, you put two and two together, right? I think for the Islanders, you know, you talk to some of the players about shaving, right? Now that was a huge thing for the Islanders. They had to shave blue. I ask a lot of these guys, I say, well, we just can't grow beards anyway. But then you look at guys like Cal Pomeri who

grew, grow a playoff beer overnight. So it's a different time on the island for sure right now. I'll tell you what, like it was, it was pretty jarring and I never got over it. You know, like when you have like a buddy who has like a big beard and then finally shaves and looks like a different person. Kids get that feeling, you know, when their fathers shave their beard that they've had for a long time. It's jarring. I never got used to seeing Kyle Palmieri without his beard. It always looked wrong. Like normally when you shave, it's like, OK, it takes a day to get used to it.

Never got used to it with Kyle Palmieri. Ever. You ever thought on that big issue? Yeah, it's a listen. Who knows? Maybe Palmieri scores 40 goals now that he's rocking a beard. We have no idea how this affects everybody. Get it back, get it back. It's like Samson with the hair. Okay a couple of things here. First of all, so Sorokin's going to the Oilers right? Right. No I knew you were gonna try to get me in trouble for this one. Listen. And I threw it out there just because Dan Milstein, who's the agent from Gold Star, put out a tweet today saying, essentially, and I'm paraphrasing, I don't have it in front of me, there's never been any discussion about Ilya Sorokin and trades. People should be reporting facts and I can't remember what else he added,

essentially shooting down that there's been any discussion about Ilya Sorokin. But I would have to figure that and Edmonton would be a, Edmonton would be an obvious one as they canvas the entire NHL. They'd probably have conversations, I'm not saying with the Islanders, but internally about Ilya Sorokin. Whether it extends outside of that office, I can't prove, but I think you have to do your diligence if you're a team like the Edmonds and Oilers, and say, I remember Kelly Rudy telling me

once he talked with GM Rogi Vashon, said something along the lines of, you know, how often do you talk about players on the team? And Rogui said, every day. And he said, well, how many times do you talk about me? He goes, I talk about you every day. Because everybody needs to know what's happening with everybody at all times. So managers have a good handle on what's going on. And I don't think that there's anything wrong with that, Steph. I'll turn the recreation over to you on Sirocco. Yeah, I completely agree. If people were calling about Matthew Barzala or Bo Horvath, of course they were calling

about Ilya Sorokin. We know the Oilers need a goalie. Utah, a team the Islander obviously trying to trade up with, they get James Higgins, could use another goalie. There are tons of teams that need an Ilya Sorokin. So of course, teams should be inquiring. Then it's up to Darce to say, absolutely not, we're not doing that, like he did with Barzala and Horvath.

He told us, he told them immediately that he wasn't trading them and I would feel the same way with Sorokin entering year two of an eight year deal, full note trade. But yeah, if I'm the Edmonton Oilers, you have to make that phone call. Worst comes to worst, Darge says no. Yeah, what do you make of Matthew Darge so far? Like I know it's still the honeymoon phase

and he's hit a lot of the right notes. He kind of had Matthew Schaefer fall into his lap. That's not of his doing at all, but talk about good fortune, stepping into the right notes. He kind of had Matthew Schaefer fall into his lap. That's not of his doing at all. But talk about good fortune, stepping into the right situation. What are your initial thoughts on Matthew Darsh? Because he's kind of been a, you know, Steph, he's been a GM and waiting for a long time. There comes a point in everyone's career that's up for the general manager position. After a certain while, it's like you don't want your nickname to become runner up.

But it was almost like Darsh was in the running for all these positions. Like there was some of us that were like, he's in it on all of the, Montreal would have been, it was another obvious one. He's in it right to the end on so many of these. You know, you don't want to get to the point where it becomes a cliche.

It's like, oh yeah, Matthew Darsh is interviewing. He'll of course be the runner up. But he's been great so far. What do you think? Yeah, I think the biggest thing for him has been transparency. And I think for the Islanders under Lou, especially when they're going to the back to back

Eastern Conference finals, you could tolerate the rules and the secretness, all that kind of stuff, because there was success on the ice. But once that falter, you know, I think a lot of people got fed up with the secrets, you know, not knowing if Barzal was going to come back, not knowing if Arlamo was going to come back. These are things where paying customers want to know this information and not here saying

that every GM needs to just show their cards every round. But from the get go, Darce has a plan. Not only does he have a plan, he told us all the plan, whether it's talking to the media, talking to the fans at the draft party, you know, he told us all the plan, whether it's talking to the media, talking to the fans at the draft party. He's communicated with the fan base and has spread a message and he's been following through on that message. He said shorter term on players of frequency. He said he was going to help redevelop Bridgeport and he's done that.

So everything that Dark just said he wants to do, he's doing and the fans don't have to guess what's going to happen. They know, okay, maybe the Islanders aren't going to be a cup contender on the ice, but there's a plan in place to allow the depth and the, excuse me, the prospects to develop. That way the future is as bright as maybe even brighter than what's currently fielded as their NHL roster. Hang on. I think I just got a note here in the chat. Matt Dumba has been traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Very nice for them. That means they're going to move Carlson out because they got another old veteran. Well, I mean, that's that that that talks gonna continue. But that's look, that's just that that's Dallas freeing up cap space to make an to make another move here. And they want to shore up their blue line. I wonder if they're if they're looking at Anaheim. Anyhow, okay, so yeah, a number of people are saying, yeah, Matt Dunba, in his $3.5 million cap bid to the Pittsburgh Penguins freeing up cap space. Now, when it comes to the blue line for the New York Islanders, the big question is,

Matthew Schafer gonna make this team. Now, the one thing I always wanna remind people is that he played about a dozen games last year, guys. Like, let's, the kid's fantastic, but let's temper expectations, no? Yeah. I mean, you watch him during development camp and he's light years, you know, miles ahead of a lot of these prospects. He's skating, he skates better than we walk, right? And talking, all those things. But the question is, what does he look like against adults? We haven't seen that.

Obviously he played juniors, played worlds, gets hurt. The collarbone had the mana earlier in the year. So we don't know what he's going to look like against NHLers. So I think he's going to get the nine games. I don't know if he's going to go to the college route. I personally think the college route, if he's not making the NHL team is what's best to go play against 18 to 24 year olds rather than just cap it. But I mean,

they're going to give him every chance to make this team. Patrick Wa said that and I think he gets the nine games. And I, I do think he him every chance to make this team. Patrick Wa said that, and I think he gets the nine games. And I do think he finds a way to make this team. One, the Islanders have a bit of a hole there on the left side, and especially a hole in terms of the offensive kind of guy trading dops. And yes, they have DeAngelo back, but Schaeffer's is two-way phenom when he gets to that point.

So I don't think they're gonna rush him. If they think he's ready, he's gonna make the team. But yeah, I would temper our expectations because a week of development camp's one one thing and he was very exciting there Let's see where he looks against the NHLers and the physicality of all that Did you know socks are one of the most requested clothing items by organizations addressing homelessness Bombas also makes incredibly comfy underwear and t-shirts which by no coincidence are also some of the most requested clothing items by homeless shelters. So far Bombas has donated over 150 million essential clothing items to people who need them.

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grainy mustard potato salad isn't so famous without the grainy mustard. When the barbecue's lit but there's nothing to grill. When the in-laws decide that actually they will stay for dinner. Instacart has all your groceries covered this summer. So download the app and get delivery in as fast as 60 minutes. Plus enjoy zero dollar delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. See, here's the thing that I wonder about too. What's the expectation for the Islanders next season?

Like honestly, like this, like this, like this, the team, like honestly, what are the expectations for the squad? And if it's look, we're still shoveling out the barn before we show the horse. Do you really need to have Matthew Schaefer there for that? Right. And that's, that's the biggest question mark. Darch has told us the whole time that he believed the team last year can make the playoffs and you could argue if the power play was 10% better, penalty kill 10% better, Barzolet missed two thirds of the year. All these things, these what ifs, the Islanders are a playoff team. They weren't though.

And I think he's added and filled holes, especially getting Druin and Shabanov to hopefully help on the power play, getting more scoring up and down the forward group, showing up your defense, getting Boquist back, D'Angelo back, healthy Sorokin obviously had back surgery last year, getting rid of Ches and insurance policy for Varlamov. I think this team is going to be better. What's the, I think there's still a wild card team trying to break through to make the playoffs, but Darche has, Darche's eyes are set on making the playoffs.

I know Islander fans are tired of just make the playoffs and see what happens, but I think Darche has that. And I think it's important to you. I mean, you want to make the playoffs, but like you said, is it worth it if Darge truly doesn't believe this team is going to be a contender? Intends to have Schaeffer develop at the NHL level against a team that's going to be probably average throughout the year or let him go play juniors or college. And then when he's ready to spend in the summer next year, maybe some more prospects come and they're ready to try to win. Then you have Schaeffer be

a full time guy. That's the biggest question mark. So here's my, here's, here's, here's my thought on, on the idea of, because I don't think that the Islanders are not in tanking mode, like this isn't the San Jose sharks, it's not the Chicago Blackhawks, which man, as we've seen, like I can only imagine like how frustrated Connor Bedard is right now. And maybe Macklin Celebrini may be at this time next season, man, rebuilds take a long time. And when you release, bring it right down. And I always go out of my way to remind people,

the best thing for prospects is to know what a full season really feels like. Like Macklin Celebrini doesn't know what a full season feels like. Connor Bedard doesn't know what a full season feels like. They've played a full season, but the team's out of it by Christmas. And in the games, the team's out of it

by the end of the second period. So you don't know what a full game is like every single night, and you don't know what a full season is like yet. And that's why I'm much warmer to the idea of, and I know people can say like, well, you're not making a decision, you're sort of, you're pulling and pushing

at the exact same time But there's value in that you still have the Barzels and the Horvats and the Sirocans and these types of players around That are gonna help keep you competitive through a season because it's good for the development of your younger players agree disagree No, I completely agree and and you talk about the rebuilds, the islanders can't I mean, unless they're trading Sirocan and Horvind and Barzal, too many guys locked up long term where they can't rebuild right now unless they traded those guys

way. But like I said to you know, Schaeffer is too young for Bridgeport. Schaeffer is too young to play in that league and Rocky Thompson, I know you had him on your show and shout out to Bridgeport, by the way, they just unveiled their they're doing for their 20th anniversary, 25th anniversary, Bridgeport sound Tigers Saturdays where they're where the old logo Oh, no way Yeah, so really cool for the for the fans of the Bridgeport sound Tigers, but yeah, like darts is all about development So he wants to be competitive now, which is why he's not moving bars on Horvat

But he also wants to make sure he sets the table and has the opportunity for guys like Schaeffer. Whether if he's not ready this year, next year, he's stepping into a winning environment in the entire organization, not just at the NHL level. Isiah George is on this team this year. Yes or no. I think it depends if Schaeffer is on this team, to be honest. I don't think they're exactly fighting for same spot given the styles, but I think if Schaeffer is going back to juniors George will be fighting for that third pairing left side defenseman spot. However, if Schaeffer makes it, then I don't think it makes sense for George to be a seventh defenseman, go play in Bridgeport under Rocky Thompson, develop even more and then you're the first call up. But yeah, I

think if Schaeffer doesn't make the team, George does. But if Schaeffer does make the team, I think George is kind of the odd man out because Waa loves Adam Boquist and Mayfield's a right side guy and those guys are both left side defensemen and they just locked up Romanov for eight years and you have Pellick who's on a 16 team, no trade. And I don't think he's going anywhere because he's skating with Schaefer this summer and helping develop him. Right. Let me, let me, let me park a little bit of time here, Steph, and talk about Lou Lamarello. And the one thing about Lewis, as much as he became,

like he became the embodiment of the conservative general manager in the NHL. And there were times, I can still recall, like when he was with the New Jersey Devils at the metal lands, like in the office, all calls in the office went to his secretary and she would write on separate pieces of paper who called and who it was for.

And Lou would come out of his office, I don't know, every hour, and go through all the notes and say, okay, this person can call him back, can't call this person back, they can call this person. Like that is the level of control that Lou had over the entire organization. Like we all know the stories of Lamarello. But when he was hired, like Steph,

I'm old enough to remember, even though I was young then, I'm old enough to remember when Lou was hired. And reading in the Hockey News magazine, where you work, like the old hockey, I was my first subscription. And like every Thursday I got my copy of the hockey news and man, it was just like I read it over and over and over again.

And when they hired Lou out of Providence, it was seen as one of the most radical things in the NHL. You did not hire people out of college. Look at what happened with Ned Harkness and the Detroit Red Wings. I know I'm going even way back here, Steph, but it's true. Like college people did not go to the NHL.

It was seen as the most radical move an organization could make. Now, that guy became the embodiment of everything conservative in the NHL. When you look back at the Lou Lamarrillo years with the Islanders, I know the salary cap became a Gordian knot for Lou. I don't ever think that Lou really had the strongest handle on the cap going back to 2005.

But still, how do you look at the Lamarrillo years with the Islanders? I think they don't get to where they are now without him. He brought structure to a team that was looked at like a Mickey Mouse organization structure. I mean, bringing in Barry Trotz was equally as important as Lou being hired. You know, that's obviously the biggest thing he did. And they, they brought a winning mindset and winning culture back to the organization, made them relevant again, to the point where, you know, yes, John Taveras ends up leaving. They tried to keep him. It didn't work, but other guys got to blossom because of Tavares leaving, like the Brock Nilsons and things like that.

And you just saw the team become a respectful team and they learned, you know, everything that they do now under darts, the players that are here, they all loved playing for Lou and the values and life lessons they learned from Lou. I mean, they're gonna carry that. And that's gonna be part of what they say to the next wave of Islanders.

Maybe Lou's not in charge, but everything they learned about being a team and all that stuff, you know, Anders Lee is going to pass that to Schaeffer. Palmieri is going to pass it to Ismael. Lou plays an important part in this team's future, whether he's here or not. You've heard all the stories about like every two weeks players having to go to go to Lou's office to get the check from Lou as he reminded them like, I am giving you this buddy. Like the stories of Lou, like I was saying the, the other day, like it's not using this analogy. It's not like he was from the old school. He was from the school.

They burned down to build the old school. Like that's where Lula and I'll, and I'll be honest with you as much as it was awkward at times and out of sync with the times, I'm kind of going to miss like having one team run by like a really old school guy. Right? Like I, and I, I know it's like, it's for the best. It's for the best for the, for the business. It's about, for the best for the Allenders right now, um, for the best, for the marketing department, marketing and sales departments, like, like all of it. But part of like the history of hockey

is no longer in the game right now. Like I always thought that like, it would be just, just be nice to have like a place for Lou somewhere in hockey. I don't know where that is, but somewhere in hockey. Yeah, I looked at Buffalo, you know, I talked about structure and getting a group that maybe didn't have an identity and finding that.

Like for me, Buffalo with all the young players they have, they just, I feel like, need structure. They need someone that comes in and says, here's the line, this is how we're going to act, this is how we're going to do things, we're going to be respected. I thought Buffalo was going to be a great spot for me. I know there was all the rumors of him going up to Buffalo where he just took a picture of him in the airport, someone took a picture of him. I could see him. I thought Buffalo would have been a great spot for just setting

up structure for a team that needed it and also working for the league. But yeah, no, the league is going to miss him. Like I said, whether he's here or not, everything that he taught some of these, some of the young players when he first came to Long Island that are now vets now, they're going to preach that and share those, those ideas and beliefs with the new wave of Islanders. So I don't think Lou's mentality is completely gone, even if he's not working there anymore. What's life without Dobson going to be like for this team? Well I think it depends on how good D'Angelo is. If D'Angelo could fill the hole at a lot cheaper cap hit then the Islanders are in a much better spot especially with Schaeffer developing. Like listen I think Dobson got a bad

rap. I think his defense wasn't as bad as fans made it out to be just in big moments it seemed like that's always when the slip- were. And when the offense isn't going well, everyone's going to look at your defense. So I think Dobson is a talented defenseman. I think he's going to be great in Montreal as long as he's not being relied on as, you know, to be that defensive defenseman. I think a lot of things got in Dobson's way on Long Island. First off, drafting Ramona, trading for Ramona and trying to make those guys a pairing. It just never really worked. And with all the injuries, Dobson was playing with different pairings, different line-mates, being put in positions.

I think it became clear that he's not a number one power play quarterback. It just didn't work. But the honors didn't have another option. So he kept throwing them out there and it kept not working. And I think it impacted his mental side of the game with his defense and overthinking and second-guessing. And then with Patrick Wilde, like we talked about, he wants to play a physical in your face Brenna hockey and that's not Dobson's game. And I think that ultimately played a part in why Dobson is on the move. But yeah, I don't think the honors are

going to miss him as much as they think because they have D'Angelo. And again, Schaeffer, I mean, Schaeffer is Dobson's replacement on the power play being that mobile transitioning defenseman. So if Schaeffer could be that guy, they'll have no issues with Dobson not being here. Walk us through how the Dominoes fall after the Islanders sign Jonathan Druan. Yeah, it seemed to come out of nowhere. No one really saw that coming, but it made a lot of sense. I mean, the Islanders needed power play help. They brought over Bennett, the Colorado Avalanche's power play coach, for a long time. So that played a huge part in bringing Geran over. And then you thought, okay, who's he going to play with?

And they come out and say that he's going to play with Borja Horvat. So how does the domino fall there? Well, if he's playing with Horvat, you got to think, okay, they didn't say he was playing with Horvat and Barzal. And then you later find out that Barzal is going back to center. So okay, now you know your one, two punches, Horvat, Barzal down the middle. What does that mean now? Where does Cal Ricci fit in?

How does the dominoes fall on that? I know you spoke on the El Monte, playing with Rocky Thompson. So the domino from that impact is probably, Ricci doesn't start in the NHL roster because you have too many centers and they're not moving Pajero or Tzatziki or at least not yet. Well, then they still have some cap space. They need winger help. Well, they win the Shabanov sweepstakes.

So now, okay, where does Perangbal play? Because he seems to be the odd man out. And it all trickled down. They bring D'Angelo and Bocas back and we didn't think there was going to be much change there back. And, but yeah, I think Drewan playing with the speeding skill and the power play, his ability on the power plane is playmaking ability kind of altered how the honors are going to run their offense. You know, you didn't have to separate Barzol and Horvat and you could have kept them together. But if you're trying to set up exactly what Horvat's, you know, best kind of linemate is, it's a playmaker who's good at give and goes.

That's not really Barzol's game. He's a carry the puck kind of guy. So now you say, okay, who could play with Barzol? So I think quickly after the Druin signing, we got to talk with Darge and Wah. You're kind of seeing how they want to build this lineup. And I think it's going to be a much deeper offensive team. Like I said before, like they, they have a deep team in the past,

but the problem is, is and it's no offense to these kinds of guys. But their bottom six is more of just the physical maybe a couple of goals here and there like, no up and down their lineup. Now they have guys that can put the puck in the net. And that's for our owners team. They've been missing that for a very long time. Stuff a couple more things for you mentioned Cal Richie, I still think the same thing is given 30 games in the American

League. Let him marinate then and when he's ready to come up, then you pull the trigger on, on Jean Gabriel Bajau, uh, and, and you make that move. Um, let me ask you about Shabanov. So there was a number of other teams that were interested, the Philadelphia Flyers. I believe the Rangers were in on him. Was it Utah? I was told, uh, was a, another team. How did the Islanders land Shabanov?

Same way the Islanders landed Sipnikov opportunity and a Russian base. You have Varlamov, Romanov, Sorokin. You have guys who that understand what it's like to come over and get acclimated. And I think opportunity being the biggest thing is Shabanov has a chance to be a top six forward here. Does he start there? No, probably not. But I think, you know, Patrick Watt talked about, yes, he's small, but he hasn't played to his size. But the other thing Watt said, which you don't see on the highlight reels is, he said that Shabanov's really good defensively.

He knows where to be in the D zone. Now, if you could earn the trust from Patrick Watt out of the gate, it's huge. But I think the islanders just find ways to do this because it's Russian players. Russians know they can come here and it's a safe place for them. They have help and all that kind of stuff. Also though, I believe I was doing this research the other

day. Chernick, his agent, his son was drafted by the Islanders in the early 2000s. And I'm not sure if that plays a huge part in anything, but there is a familiarity with the organization. Jim Pellea Fito, who Lou brought over from Toronto is a man man when it comes to European scouting and obviously- Yes, specifically Russia. Right. Yes. So I think that plays a huge part in this as well.

That's excellent. Um, so two things, one, will we now finally see the personality of Matthew Barzal unleashed on the NHL? To me, he's like the great hidden personality that nobody knows about. Yeah. I think you're going to see it with all these guys in the personalities come back. Under Lou, you couldn't be on podcast. I mean, you saw Shafie the other day on a pot on spinning chiclets. You couldn't. No way. With Lou, not a chance. No way. Right. And then you I think, you know, Barzal had a commercial like handful of years ago with Paul

Bousinet that didn't get airtime. Probably Lou played a part in that. So I think, yeah, you have to market these guys' personality because you know, I'm not saying they'll play better, but I think that, you know, Barzal is someone you can market. All these guys, you can, Matt Martin, all the charity stuff that he does and Anders Lee and all those things that, you know, Luke didn't believe in if you're going to, he wasn't going to promote every single charity because he felt like he did one, he has to do everybody, but that wasn't pushed. Now the organization is going to push that and you're going to see what these guys are doing in the community, and obviously come and I think that you want to see these guys behind their helmets behind the mask. That was one of the biggest reasons I started the Elm hunters is like to just get to know these guys a little more. And hopefully for me and just

everyone on the media side, we get more access to letting the fans because we see these guys every day we know what they're like, we get to hang around and joke with them. The fans don't. And I think this is really cool under darts that they now have the ability to do this. Okay, so outside of bars all then let me let me close on this one stuff. Who have we missed out on? Because that player wasn't able to step out and stick his head up above the crowd of New York Islanders jerseys. Yeah, I think you saw a little bit with Romano. They've been doing a lot

more interviews with him. He is so funny him and Sirocco and shout out podcast, but it should be in English. Because the two are so the two guys, they're always on the boat together. We see on Instagram, they're playing child, the NHL video game together, but those two together are a stoic. And I think Romanov, whether he's being, you know, it's a serious woman or not, he always has something really cool or insightful or funny to say. And they're always cracking up. So I think I like for him on of giving him the mic to do like player intros or going around the room and asking teammates questions. I think the fans already love him, but he's amazing. Okay. So I'm going to be old guy for you now, Steph. You're too young to

remember this young man, but next time you round the rink for any of the older guys, ask them if they ever saw another great Islanders feature. Well, there weren't podcasts back then. They just did it as a feature on television. But now that I think about it, you mentioned, you know, Semyon Varlamov and Romanov doing a podcast. I think these two could have done this act as a podcast. There was a feature called Heels and Flats that used to appear on Islanders broadcasts.

It was Pat Flatley and Glenn Healy. Next time you're around any of the olds in the Islanders broadcasts, it was Pat Flatley and Glenn Healy. Next time you're around any of the olds in the Islanders organization, ask them about heels and flats. And how, it's funny too, because like, I look at it, now that you mention this stuff, like I look at it now, I'm like, that could have been the beginning of

what we now know as a podcast. Same idea, and it was two players that were doing like, dude, this is the 80s that they're doing this. Glenn Healy and Pat Flalley. Anyhow, I go down that road with you. Steph, listen, continued success, man. You're killing it on the Allenders beat, man. It's an exciting team. There's a lot of great energy around the squad. It's great to have you on one of the most entertaining beats in the game. You keep up the great work and we'll talk soon, pal. Thanks Jeff.

Appreciate it. Have a great one. There he is, Steph Rosner from the Hockey News and the L Monsters, the podcast and the newsletter covering the New York Islanders. Do I miss any more trades, Vic? No, I think just the one. Just the one. Jim, any thoughts on it? Well, I mean, listen, it didn't work out. Nill threw a dart and tried to, you know, hope for the

best with Matt Dumba. Going to be interesting to see now what Nill does with a little bit more cap space with the Dallas stars. I think that the next order of business is trying to figure out is Jason Robertson's number, um, something that the Dallas stars can work with or do they need to now that they've probably had a pretty good go around the market, look at moving Jason Robertson to just to be blunt. The one area they do want to shore up is the back end. I think we can all be sort of blunt

about that. And that's why I'd be looking at Anaheim if I were the Dallas Stars. Yeah, you like Jackson Lacomalade. Who doesn't? Fantastic, man. Like seriously, out of all of them. And I love like Olin Zellweger is fantastic. Pavel Minchukov is real good. But like Jackson LeCombe is, he's the best of the bunch, best of the bunch going away. Yep. Um, I did want to get back to something that Stephen said. Great.

He's awesome. He's everywhere. He's everywhere. And he's like hungry and he's on a really cool beat. That guy, that guy's going to be like a star in the media hockey media one day. He's already well on his way to getting there. He has something I wish I had to. He looks younger than he actually is. Well, yeah, that, I mean, yeah,

he looks younger than he actually is. So, yeah. By the way, can I ask you something? Yes. Like, I don't know how I say this politely, so I'm just going to, I'm just going to I'm just going to blurt it out. I'm surprised that they let you do podcasts in prison. Yeah, my background. Yes. The thing is, it's so funny to me because it's funny because it's like the hour free that you get. I know I'm not going to have lunch. You got to do a podcast. I did least morning take in. Paniota had the same thing as me.

I wanted to chirp him for it, but this is literally the wall right here. So I can't put anything behind me. I can't, I sit, there's no room to put anything. It's gonna be sticking out and hit me in the back of the head. So I love it. All right, so what did you want to get back to? Got a couple minutes left here. He mentioned Lou Lambrillo bringing respect back to the New York Islanders.

And as you very well know, I'm a Toronto Maple Leaf fan. And I felt exactly the same way when he was talking about Lou bringing respect back to the Islanders as I did about Lou bringing respect back to the Toronto Maple Leafs. So I feel like if your organization is in this tailspin downward spiral, he might be able to bring some respect in and some leadership in, but he does have a shelf life. I do think he has a shelf life. I always had a hard time with the cap. I'm just trying to give him a soft landing here. He always had a hard time.

And this goes back to New Jersey coming out of the, coming out of the lockout. And this is like the Malikoff contract and the McGill and the deal, like all of it. He never, even though he was like, the irony of it is like, he's one of the architects of it. And then I guess Brandon Pridham, who before he worked for the main,

worked for the NHL, right? He's one of the geniuses behind the salary cap. Brandon Pridham's gonna be a GM in the NHL one day, and the path that he's taking to get there is cap management, because you want the architects of it. And so I would imagine they can, some of those early, I can remember specifically, in the early days, there were a lot of GMs that had,

I don't wanna isolate Lou on this one because back in 2005, there were a lot of managers that really didn't understand the intricacies of the salary cap because they've, they never had to. And this just got dropped in their laps. And if you'll recall, do you remember what the range was for a for for upper limit and lower limit. I Do it's going to 39. I believe close original. It was 39 was the max. Yeah that I know The lower

21 Oh 21. I thought it was 30 32. Okay, so The reason why I know it was 39 is because it destroyed the best Toronto Maple Leafs team of all time. They lost new and Ike, they lost Gary Roberts and, uh, Brian Leach had one year left and that went with the lockout. So I never got to watch my team with their best shot at winning a cup. Broke my heart. Yeah.

And then when Dubas signed all those contracts that were supposed to all look good because the cap was going up, then all of a sudden the pandemic hit. And so it was either the salary cap or a pandemic that's scotched your team. Yeah. Hey, I'm always, always next year, Jeff. Always, always next year. No, I know the, uh, The walking ATMs going into the ring. Okay, a couple of things.

So Matt Dunn is now a member of the Pittsburgh panelists. There's that. One of the things that for Osner for stopping by to talk about the Islanders. The Holt Run-Through Beauty Refresh offer is on now. Enjoy up to 20% off select beauty and grooming so that you can shop brands you love and ones you've always wanted to try. July 10 to 13 in store and online. Terms and conditions apply.

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No, we do have some. Do we have something? We got some for them? Yeah know we do have something. We got some form. Okay, as always, it's time of the show. We'd like to remind you that the sheet is powered by FanDuel. Home of the same game Parlay, make every moment more on FanDuel. FanDuel, proud to connect fans to the major sports moments that matter to them. And on this Thursday, July the 10th, this is interesting. This is interesting to me.

Even though we're so far out of the discussion. And maybe maybe maybe the answer is going to be Craig Berube to put a smile on your face. Or so what? What? Well, I like I think I think he's an excellent coach. What are we looking at here? Vick, what are we looking at? All right. We're looking at the Jack Adams Award favorites on FanDuel. You're going to have to give me the last name again. Turny. Andre Turny. Andre Turny. Yeah, he's a great coach. He's always a great junior hockey coach. Turny is one of the great... one of the people that's really able to get through to young players,

which is why he's so great for the Utah Mammoth. Yeah, André Tourny. Yep. And he's the favorite at plus 750 on FanDuel, Joel Cuenville, Marten Saint Louis, Dean Evison, Mike Sullivan round out the top five. I want to know number one, where were you leaning? And then I have a follow-up for you afterwards. Okay. So the Jack Adams is, has always been interesting to me because it always seems to go the way of a coach that takes a team that has low expectations.

And achieves something unexpected. Okay. Spencer Carberry was excellent this year. He wins at Jack Adams. I got zero problem with that. I got generally zero problem with any coaches that do that, but that's generally the way this thing is voted on. You know what I think is really hard to do, Vic? Keep a team on top. There's getting a team there and there's keeping a team there. John Cooper is one of the best coaches of this generation. He's won exactly zero Jack Adams trophies. This is spectacular. That guy's going to go to the hockey hall of fame as One of the best coaches in the NHL and international hockey zero Jack Adams trophies That is a disgrace

And that brings me to where I wanted to go with it Paul Maurice. I there's another one. How many does he have? Who? Who? Okay. And in your opinion, I mean, you don't have to go in order, but top three coaches in the NHL right now, those two I'd put right up there. They're right up there. Joel Quinnville is an excellent coach. But then again, like I tend to have the belief that there's like, you know, six or seven excellent coaches in each season. And then there's just kind of everybody else. And at times coaches, for whatever reason, it just clicks and things work. Generally speaking, if you're going to win the Jack Adams, you have to have good goaltending.

It's old saying, show me a good goalie, I'll show you a good coach. If you have a look at the Jack Adams trophy and the history of it, go look at your winners and then go look at the safe percentage of the goaltenders. Goalies have gotten more coaches fired in the NHL than any other position. Um, but for, for me, like, I'm still of the mind that keeping a team good is just as, or maybe even more difficult than taking an average team and making them good for a season. Now, having said that, I got a lot of time for Marty St. Louis and what he did last year. And if Marty can do that again with the Montreal Canadiens, I wouldn't be surprised if Marty St. Louis gets it. But guys,

that's it. But guys, you know what? I think Samuel Mont, I'll say this right now. Samuel Montembeau is the most underrated gold tender in the NHL period. Period. Yeah. Cause we think of all the great goalies and it's always about the Russians and their post play and how fast they skate. And I always say dumb things like, I don't think they have hips because of how they play around the posts. It's so unique. It's so radical and it's so cool to watch, but that's all the, like watch Russian goaltenders around the posts and tell me they have hip bones because they don't, um, but look at Samuel Montembo and look at the underlying numbers for

Montembo outstanding every season and very quietly. He's turning in great performance after great performance. I think that he is one of, he's one of the great, and again, like next year at the Olympics, Jordan Bennington's going to get the net. Yep. But I wonder if it's a short leash. I wonder if this is going to be like Salt Lake and Cujo has the bad game. I guess.

And then he released my Toronto Maple Leaf. And then it changes. Yeah. is going to be like Salt Lake and Cujo has the bad game against Sweden. And then he leaves my Toronto Maple Leaf. And then it changes. Yeah. And then they had the rift and Cujo had the rift with Pat Quinn. Never got that swing over. It cost your Toronto Maple Leafs again. Yeah, he was fine.

Yeah. And I wouldn't be surprised if Samuel Montembeau ends up grabbing it. Ends up grabbing it for Team Canada next year. Yeah. Okay. That's how strongly I feel about Montembeau. And now I have one more for you because it just came to me. You said something similar about Mackenzie Blackwood last year.

Really good. And there's another one. Do you feel like he could make a run for that Canadian position? 100%. And do you still think he's underrated? Well, no one really talks about him. No. Right? No one really talks about them. No. Right?

No one really talks about them. But then again, expectation is high. Johnny Colby gave me shit because I said I didn't like that deal. Five years, five mil when he signed it. I didn't like it. I know, but I didn't like it. And they told me, you're out of your mind, Vic. You're out of your mind.

You're out of your mind. And I said, why now? It's the thing. And our good friend, Kyle Dubas, he always said, if you got time, use it. Why didn't they wait to see how he did in the postseason? You know where he got that line from? Where? Lou. You? No, Lou. Lou. Not you, Lou. Oh, look at that. That's Lou Full circle. Lose. If you have time, use it. Take your time. Take your time. But having said that, Mackenzie Blackwood was on the expiring contract.

I don't know if there was a deadline that the agent put forward as in like, listen, if we don't get a deal done by the state, my guy is going to go to free agency. We're going to test. I don't know. Or did the Avalanche just look at it and say, this is the hardest thing to find at the NHL. Yeah, we got our guy. We got our guy. We think we got our guy. $5 million is not going to kill us. The cap is going up. Let's lock him up. I thought it was a really good deal. I still think it's

a really good deal. I didn't and now I do. I don't think that Mackenzie Blackwood was like the reason the Avalanche didn't win another Stanley Cup. Like again, like are we looking at just as a sidebar, are we looking at the Avalanche now and saying, yeah, this was like the 2007 Ducks? Yeah. One and done. Feels that way. There are a lot of one and done. There are a lot of one and done Feels that way there were a lot of one and done. There are a lot of one and done like that Carolina Hurricanes team that one

Yeah, but you know what the thing about that was everyone's gonna everyone hates when I mention this but I'll stand by it Weird things happened that year yeah, NHL because that was the year right out of the lockout and everybody had to relearn the game and Everyone let off you flyers I'm looking your direction, who thought that the standard of officiating was going to be lax. They were wrong and the standards stayed high. It became all about speed and power place and the Carolina hurricanes were the first ones.

Like you remember who won the rocket Richard that year? Ooh, out of the lockout I do. You want to talk about one and done. I don't. Jonathan Cheechoo. Jonathan Cheechoo. Okay when he said one and done. Jonathan Cheechoo like weird just weird things happened that year.

Not that I sort of write it all off but like there are bizarre things that happened that year. But again you know what it you know it really got me to thinking about? And this is a great sort of summer topic. And here we are. Do you think that having different teams win the Stanley Cup every single season that it devalues the Stanley Cup? Like when you look at the eighties,

Islanders, oilers, like powerhouse teams, and you go in you and you go to the hall of fame and you look at the Stanley Cup and you read the names. You're like, wow, that's amazing. And then you get into the salary cap era and every year it's a different team and you go like, meh. I don't, I don't think it devalues it because I think the value, I don't think so because when you look at winning the Stanley Cup and how hard it is, it's going to be hard no matter who it is.

So it's the hardest one. It's hard for the Islanders. They won four in a row, Vic. Yeah, I know. But was it easier back then for them? Does it it is it more valuable now? Is it harder now? Is it easier now? I mean that's how I look at value is how hard it is to do and I think it'll always be hard to do. It's the hardest one to win. You know when I was the easiest? When? Ever? Late 60s early 70s. This is my argument against Bobby Lowe in the best defenseman of all time. Because in 1967 the league doubled and then Vancouver Buffalo came in in 70 and then another expansion in 72 and 74 and then the WHA, which is a whole separate league, came in and stole

players away from the NHL. That was when the NHL was at its weakest point. Now that's what you see like Esposito and 76 goals and Bobby Orr and all the records. Not that you want to disqualify them but I kind of look at that era as fun as it might have been and it was real fun. There were a lot of players in the NHL who didn't belong in the NHL. You know those on coach's corner, grapes would show videos of Bobby Orr skating around pylons in Minnesota North Star's jerseys. Those guys.

Like, wow, look at Bobby. It's like, no, no, no, look at those guys. They're really bad. So now is it harder now? They have 32 teams going up to 34 teams. Is that going to water it down? Is it getting harder? It is. Yeah, it is. It is. And that's why then these teams match up against the... Again, I'm like old guy, shakes fist at cloud, yells and screams. I'm that guy. But yeah, it is. Those teams are not as great as those

powerhouse teams. It's too hard. And the cap makes it too hard. And you saw this with Chicago. Every year they'd win the Stanley Cup, they have to get rid of half their team. That's just the reality. That's just the reality. Except if you're Florida. Well, we'll see what happens with it. Eventually it's going to, it's going to, this can't keep, this can't continue. They make it to the Stanley Cup final again, like four Stanley Cup appearances. Is that enough to say dynasty? Is it enough to say dynasty now?

See, I think you need three. Did I ever, did I mention to you, are we listening to the show a couple of weeks ago and I referenced something that Sean McIndoo said on the athletic podcast, which I absolutely love. No, what did he say? Biggest baller move of all time. One of the reasons why everybody hates the Florida Panthers is because that is cocky hockey.

That is cocky hockey, baby. And you saw like, they're still partying, like still put on like pots of coffee for them. They got to sober up eventually. Training camp's gonna eventually be around the corner here. But they are a cocky, confident bunch of hockey players. And McIndoo's point on the pod was that they should be chasing not three, but

chasing four, right? The Islanders four, the Oilers four and five years, but chase four cups to the point where if they win the Stanley Cup next year Vic And Gary Bettman calls Alexander Barkov over to present the cup Don't touch it Not here for We're here for four. That's cocky right there. That's cocky. That's cocky.

Cockiest move you'll ever hear. That's cocky. That's what I want. That's what I want. No, Gary, we're not here for the third. We're here for four. We're here for four. Come back in a year and then I'll take you.

I don't want the third. Buddy. I love it. I love it. That's good times. I got one more bone to pick with. I love it. I love it. That's good times. I got one more bone to pick with you before you wrap. I'm sorry. Okay, go for it. You did not tell me it was your birthday yesterday. So I'm very upset with you.

That's not cool. Listen, you get to my age. Who cares? doesn't matter like if it's my birthday or not I share birthdays by the way with OJ Simpson Courtney love and Tom Hanks. Oh, I got one more for you because I looked it up as well Oh, yeah, what else I got up. I looked up top 50 most famous Birthdays July 9th. You didn't make the cut What? birthdays, July 9th. You didn't make the cut. Um, what?

Big, uh, big daddy, cool diesel. Kevin Nash. Is Kevin Nash a July 9th? I saw Kevin Nash. I was like, wow, that's cool. Jeff like that. So yeah, Kevin Nash, July 9th. I like that. Great power bomb. Kevin Nash. Yeah. Great. Great power bomb. I always like great, great charisma, great personality, great boot, great power bomb. You think Philly ever saw Kevin Nash wrestle? What's that? You think Zach Phillips ever saw Kevin Nash wrestle?

Probably not. That was the attitude era that was well before him. That was Curtain Call era with him and Diesel. Oh, look at that. My friend of mine, my lawyer friend, has just sent a belated happy birthday. Thank you. There you go. Thank you. Now you're gonna get bombarded. It was yesterday, yeah, thanks Vic.

Yeah, it was yesterday. Happy birthday Jeff. And I'm one year older. Just continue to watch hockey games. Talk about hockey every day until the crematorium. And then I can finally stop talking about hockey games. You know what, Vic? I don't know what I would do. I don't know what I would do either. Seriously. There's that great, you ever see, have you seen the movie Spinal Tap?

I have not. God man, I'm old and you're not. You gotta see Spinal Tap. But there's a great segment at the end of the movie where Rob Reiner is like interviewing all the band and he's saying, you know, if you didn't have rock and roll, what would you do? And the drummer who he's interviewing in the bathtub comes up with the greatest line of all time and says well as long as there's sex and drugs I can really do without the rock and roll. That's a great line I can't use it. That's a great line. So on that happy note thanks to

Steph Rosner for stopping by. Thanks to Vic for producing the program today. Thanks to you for sharing your time with me. Back on the air tomorrow, I believe, and then Monday, Tuesday, and then I'm off to Baltimore for a few days for a kids baseball tournament. But until then, Matt Dumb is now at Pittsburgh Penguin. That's the very latest news. And always remember on this program, when

news breaks, we fix it. There's a new title. There's a new header for us. When news breaks, we fix it. The sheet on the Nation Network. Dr. No. Every day this week, every day this month I can't get out my head Lost all ambitions day to day Guess I can call it a ride I went to the dark man He tried to give me a little medicine I'm like, nah man, that's fine

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