The Sheet with Jeff Marek - On the Sheet: Josh Bogorad on the Dallas Stars Injuries, Wyatt Johnston’s Quiet 40 Goals & Wild Playoff Showdown

Starting point is 00:00:01 Shifting gears, changing our attention now to the Dallas Stars, one of our favorite teams to talk about, one of our favorite teams to cover, certainly, and a team that always has high expectations. Josh Bogorad is the play-by-play voice of the Dallas Stars. He joins us on the program now. Josh, first of all, thanks for stopping by today. Great to see you. And how healthy is this team right now? And how close is this team to being 100% health? Because like with Dallas, I just want like a really, really healthy Dallas stars for this first round, which is going to be insanity. Agreed. So how healthy are they? Well, first of all, it's great to be here and good to be with you guys. I promise you everyone in Dallas really wants a healthy team too because, yeah, it's going to be a heck of an opening round.

Starting point is 00:00:55 It sure looks like. I don't know how healthy anyone is this time of year. any year, but especially with the condensed schedule. So with that, I think that, yeah, the injury bug has bit Dallas pretty hard. And it's been a season-long thing. I mean, you go back to training camp and preseason when it started. And Jamie Ben, the captain, had a collapsed lung. And he missed the first 19 games of the season.

Starting point is 00:01:24 And in game three of the year, the home opener, Matt Dushane took that shot from Jake Middleton against Minnesota, coincidentally enough. And then he missed most of the first two months. And Tyler Sagan goes down and he's out for the year. And Miko Ranton and just working his way back, you're still without Radic Foxy, you're still without Ropee Hints. Thomas Harley missed some time. It's kind of this long list of injuries and it's been a season-long plague. And I think that if you watch this team on a daily basis, the way I have, the way people in Dallas have, it makes what they've done so much more impressive because they never really faltered out of contending status, even if they had a couple of dips here and there through all of that, through like half of their

Starting point is 00:02:12 top six out of the lineup, key guys that wear letters, big time players. You guys know not all injuries are created equally. But the million dollar question is the one that you asked, and that's as we sit here, what, about a week and a half away from game one of a playoff series against what's going to be another Stanley Cup contender in the opening round, you still are without a handful of pretty key individuals. Now, it sounds like there's good news on the horizon, but any time you're two weeks out, that's the question, because you obviously want to get those guys back as quickly as you can,

Starting point is 00:02:47 integrate them into the lineup, not have necessarily the first couple of games be playoff games. But I don't know what that's going to look like. it's going to be a storyline to monitor here over five games and 10 nights until we get that meeting that you're talking about in the first round. Well, let's talk about that meeting. What's your tail of the tape between Dallas and Minnesota? To me, the fatal flaw for the wild continues to be the middle of their lineup.

Starting point is 00:03:17 I just don't understand what Billy Garron's doing, building the team that he built. And the roster continues to end up being a donut to the point where he even traded one of his best centers away in the Quinn Hughes deal. Is that a distinct advantage for Dallas? How do you break down Dallas and Minnesota as a first round series? It's good that that's the question that was phrased at the end. Because if you ask at the beginning, what do you think of the matchup? We might have to go overtime in conversations about the playoff format because that's

Starting point is 00:03:44 definitely a hot topic conversation wish. I like it. I like it. I don't have a dog in the, listen, I don't have a dog in it. So I just want to see like to my earlier point, I let you finish. or Josh, I just want to see like really healthy teams face off against each other early because if it's like, you know, second round, third round, there's going to be built in excuses and dings and bruises and collapsed lungs and broken ribs, etc.

Starting point is 00:04:09 Anyway, continue. I like it. It's a fair point. Our last topic notwithstanding, if you have these two teams healthy, it's the marquee matchup of the opening round. It just so happens that it feels like the central division. has brought the marquee matchup of the opening round kind of seasonally. It's an annual tradition, it feels like.

Starting point is 00:04:34 But look, the format is what it is, and it's going to be fantastic hockey. I do think, you know, the cliches are true. It's a shame that one of those teams is not going to get out of the first round because it's going to cast a pretty large shadow on what was an otherwise outstanding year for both of them. But as for the matchup that you're asking, I think it's going to be a terrific matchup. And I think it's ripe with storylines. It kind of feels like Jason Robertson and Carrille Caprisov have always been mentioned together because of when they entered

Starting point is 00:05:06 and going one, two, in the calendar race, and each having seasons that has surpassed what the other one is done, and they're going to meet his 40 goal scores. And then you're going to have two of the few teams that have 40 goal teammates because you add Boldie and you add Wyatt Johnston into the mix. Miko Ranton is always going to be a story because of who he is and what he did last year. But then he goes up in this playoff series against another Central Division opponent after what he did last year against Colorado in that opening round and then Winnipeg in the second round.

Starting point is 00:05:42 Jake Otter is from Minnesota and has kind of tormented them in his career and been a thorn in their side. I don't think it's lost on anyone the fact that Bill Guerrin, who, is the architect of Team USA's gold medal winning roster, and it's worth pointing out that they won gold. And a huge congratulations because as a U.S. hockey fan and with a guy two smaller kids that got to watch that, and that got to be their moment, that was a huge moment for USA hockey.

Starting point is 00:06:15 But now Jason Robertson's going to go against his team in the first round of the playoffs with probably a decent-sized chip on his. shoulder and that's going to be a storyline to watch what the future you guys were talking about quinn hues earlier what is his future look like and does this postseason and a long run or a lack of one play a role in it and so not only are you taking two of legitimately without hyperbole the best teams in the national hockey league and facing them against one another but you're adding these storylines too oh by the way Dallas and minnesota they kind of have an intertwined

Starting point is 00:06:53 history between the two of themselves. And the fans of Minnesota, I have no doubt that within 20 minutes of that first game, we're going to hear Norm Green's name coming from the crowd at the building in St. Paul. It's, I mean, if you are a hockey fan, and I know everybody tuning in is, present company included, yeah, it's, it's fantastic. It's fantastic hockey. It's fantastic drama. it's fantastic storylines. And however this thing goes, it's going to be worth watching from game one through however long it finishes

Starting point is 00:07:29 because this is, I mean, this is a matchup that for so many reasons is fascinating. The Norm Green Cup, right? Like, that's, that's, I'm glad you mentioned Norm Green. Like my hockey history,

Starting point is 00:07:42 hard is like, oh, Josh. Oh, yes, I just love it. So here's another one. I'm here for you, man. No, listen, listen, I'm at the point where it's like,

Starting point is 00:07:49 hey, it's a norm green, cup and like if you want to like really add more spice to the chili here uh only one team is allowed to wear green after this series do you want to put green on the line either Minnesota or Dallas keeps it for the norm green on a pole match green look at you it's like there there wasn't enough already there you want to add you want to add the cherry on top to this make one sideways team is wearing these two teams one team is wearing purple next year josh Will it be Dallas?

Starting point is 00:08:21 Will it be? No, but you know, like, and here's another thing for, like, one of my favorite players in league is Wyatt Johnson. I'm glad you, I'm glad you mentioned it.

Starting point is 00:08:26 Is this the quietest 41 goals in the NHL this season? We always talk about like, who's got like the quietest stats? This one's got to be right up there. I mean, in the market, sure. But outside,

Starting point is 00:08:37 barely a whisper about how good a season he's having. I think, I think it might be, honestly, it's so unassuming. 25 of them have come on the power play. He's, he's inching into pretty like,

Starting point is 00:08:50 rarefied territory when you look at that. And I think a lot of people forget he's 22 years old because he's been in the league for four years and he hasn't missed the game since he came in. I think he's kind of just been this name that if it's not necessarily one of the marquee names from a national standpoint in both countries, then it certainly is right on the outside of it. But he's 22. How many guys haven't even started their career at the NHL level by the.

Starting point is 00:09:20 the time, they're 22, and what he's doing. And he just keeps ascending, you know, as a 19 year old, he looked apart. As a 20 year old, he looked apart. It's three straight 30 goal seasons and now 40. And you don't really know where the ceiling is. The thing is he kills penalties. He plays on the power play, obviously, with 25 league leading power play goals. He can play in the middle of the ice. He can play on the wing. You know, I was talking to him about his power play run this year. And he said that in his entire career, and he was obviously a standout all the way up through the amateur ranks and was part of that weird COVID missing OHL season when he was with Windsor. But in all of his time at whatever level it was, whether it was international or whether

Starting point is 00:10:07 it was juniors or whether it was the NHL prior to this year, he had never been the net front guy on a power play. This was the first time. And he's been historically good, literally. historically good, setting the franchise record and who knows where is it going to stop. And I think that's a testament to how intelligent he is. And we always talk about these intangibles and what can't you teach and what can you teach. And I think he is such a smart player. He is so impressive in how he plays the game, how he thinks the game. His skill set speaks for itself.

Starting point is 00:10:47 but the fact that you can move him around at a young age and put him in different spots and just have him not only look like he belongs but excel, maybe to a tune that nobody else in the league is doing. Yeah, I think that it's impossible to shower enough praise based on what he's done at this point in his career. And I, without a doubt, would say it's one of the more quiet superstar seasons in the league. Everybody was disappointed last year when the team went out. Like all the players, everybody,

Starting point is 00:11:31 coaches management. It seems as if Wyatt Johnston almost like really took it personally. Like what I kept hearing was the question he kept asking is like, what am I doing wrong? Like what do I need to do? How do I need to play in the playoffs? Which is why for me in this opening round, he's the most interesting player because he's the one that's like completely self-aware.

Starting point is 00:11:54 he knows what happened last year in the playoffs, and he has gone sort of out of his way to understand and to try to change how he plays so he can have more success. You know, some guys be like, oh, well, I ran up against a tough team anyway, summer golf time. But he, like, almost like took it personally. Like, that was the sense that I got. Did you get that from Wyatt Johnston, too?

Starting point is 00:12:17 That was a sense that I took away from all of it. Yeah, I think he's always looking to improve. And I think that he knows even at this early stage of his career that he is a go-to player on a Stanley Cup contending team. So, you know, it's great for us to talk about his age and showcase that. But he doesn't really care. He knows where he is. But I also think it's worth going back a couple of years ago because in his three seasons, he's gone on three runs to the conference final. So he's no stranger to postseason history.

Starting point is 00:12:51 Last year was a rough playoffs. no way about it. And he wasn't the only one. But it's not like he hasn't proven that he can play in the moment. Because if you flash back two years ago, when the route really wasn't any easier, you know, we're talking about the central division bracket, they had to go up against the defending cup champions in Vegas. And they had to go up against the prior defending cup champions in the Colorado Avalanche before they met the Oilers for the first time. And, Wyatt led him in goal scoring. And he had a double-digit goal scoring campaign.

Starting point is 00:13:28 So he has big-time playoff performances on his resume. And what he's done, everyone talks about Miko Ranton and for good reason last year. I mean, the seven-game series against Colorado was, you could make a movie out of it and feel like there's no way it was real. But it was Wyatt who scored the tie-breaking series winning goal. It was the goal that made it three-two before Miko finished the hat trick for the. the empty netter. The year before that, when it was game seven against Vegas, two-one stars win, Wyatt was the guy who opened the scoring and made it 1-0-0 Dallas. You go back a couple of years even before that, and when they played Seattle in game seven, it was Wyatt who scored a huge

Starting point is 00:14:14 goal in the third period, almost individually coming off the corner and giving the stars a breathing room, that wound up being the series winning goals. So last year was rough and there's no excusing that. But I also think when he's looking at it, he's not thinking, man, I have to break through in the playoffs. He's thinking, I've got to do more of what I've done prior to last year. But just like everyone else, it's not going to come easy because like we're talking about, you're going to have a pretty hungry and pretty good team standing on the other side of the As we like to see around here, we'll hand it over to Greg on this one. The other team's allowed to try to.

Starting point is 00:14:53 The other teams allowed to try. I've heard that. Other teams allowed that. Yeah, I've heard that once or twice. All right. Well, last one for me, like I wanted to, you mentioned the three trips to the conference finals and there was a guy that took part in all three of those trips, name of Pete DeBoer, who is now the head coach of the New York Islanders.

Starting point is 00:15:12 I wanted to get your reaction to Pete taking over a team with four games left. in their season. And also, like, a dude that was going to have his pick at the litter. You know, he was standing in front of the NHL coaching buffet, chooses the Islanders. What did you think of that? Yeah, I was, candidly, I was surprised and not surprised that he got a job and not surprised that he got a job this season. I kind of thought it would happen at some point.

Starting point is 00:15:39 I definitely thought it would be earlier than April. It's kind of crazy that there have been these two coaching changes at the time. and playoff spots. I know the Islanders, you know, just fell on the outside, but there's still four games left. When Pete's tenure in Dallas ended, I think everybody realized you look at his resume and he was going to land somewhere, and to your point, he was going to be able to call his own shot. I didn't necessarily see this coming, whether it was the timing of it or whether, you know, it was the location. But, you know, I think it's a crazy commentary on the league and the profession.

Starting point is 00:16:19 I know that when Pete was in Dallas, every time there would be a coaching change and then he would get asked about it at the time as the head coach of the stars, he would sometimes go on a pretty entertaining soliloquy about what it's like to be a coach because it's crazy.

Starting point is 00:16:37 And I find some sense of irony that his now arrival on Long Island is, I find myself amused at what his reaction would have been if it was him being asked about it on the outside and someone else went in because that's about as crazy and surreal a situation as it gets. But he's got a lot of good pieces over there. I know it's kind of falling off the tracks a little bit at the end.

Starting point is 00:17:05 I think that if you're a coach and you're looking and you get to build around Schaefer and what he's done and some other guys, it's going to be nice looking down at your bench and having that name to call as long as you can. I think he's going to do good things over there because I think he's a good coach. I don't know what four games looks like. I know the new coach bump. I don't know if it applies to April and I don't know if it applies to a playoff chase like this because we've never seen it before.

Starting point is 00:17:36 But regardless of how this year ends, once he has a chance to kind of dig his claws into the season and start with them, I expect he'll have success there because he's definitely been a successful coach wherever he's gone. Schaefer, Sorokan, Barzal, Horvat. You got your blue line, you got your goalie, you got your centers. That's a really, really good start for Pete DeBore. Josh, this has been a lot of fun. Let's do it all again.

Starting point is 00:18:10 When the Dallas Stars beat the Minnesota Wilde and get to keep the green. All right. It sounds like a plan. Just in case the guys aren't tuning in, I'll make sure I tell them that you've added to what's on the line. Stipulation. Yes, green. It's like it's your version of money on the board. Yes, exactly. We'll make sure they all know about it. Listen, I insist on having a green background.

Starting point is 00:18:36 I love the color green. It relaxes your eyes. Other sports have it. I think it's brilliant. I think there needs to be more green in the NHL. But here I am taking one team away from one of my favorite colors. But nonetheless, Josh, thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your expertise. We really appreciate it, pal. Thanks, man. Yeah, it was a pleasure. Thanks, guys. Have a good one.

The Sheet with Jeff Marek - On the Sheet: Josh Bogorad on the Dallas Stars Injuries, Wyatt Johnston’s Quiet 40 Goals & Wild Playoff Showdown

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.