The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Quinn Hughes Problem, Outdoor Rinks, and More ft. Shayna Goldman & Jeff Paterson

Episode Date: December 8, 2025

The Quinn Hughes temperature is officially boiling. On today’s edition of The Sheet, Jeff Marek breaks down how a single casual “Fitzy” reference ignited the biggest league-wide conversation of the week, and why the New Jersey–Vancouver axis suddenly feels less like speculation and more like strategic inevitability. Shana Goldman joins to explain the true market cost of moving an MVP-caliber defenseman, how right-shot depth in New Jersey complicates any negotiation, and why Vancouver must get this decision absolutely perfect if they ever expect to stabilize their franchise identity. From the death of the classic “200-foot” label to the looming 197-foot Olympic rink wrinkle, Milan’s ice drama becomes a real roster-building variable, not just a headline. Jeff Patterson checks in live from Vancouver to outline front-office tension, fan appetite for a full teardown, and why this moment feels like the clearest organizational fork in the road they’ve had in a decade. Smart, blunt, detailed, and loaded with context — this episode gets past rumor noise and into what actually matters.SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼Bauer: https://www.bauer.com/👍🏼Uber Eats: https://www.ubereats.com/caReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@FNBarnBurner🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I swear sometimes I just do things here on the show just to see Zach's reaction. This is one of those times. Welcome to the program, by the way. The sheet for this Monday, December the 8th. If you're joining us live just shortly after 1 o'clock Eastern.

It's Monday. A little bit late. for the Zoom call today, folks. Thanks a lot for joining us. Lots coming up on the program today. But Zach, who was on death's door this weekend, as I understand it as well. Just like, as I understand it, you had, how shall we best phrase this? One foot in the coffin and one foot on the banana peel.

Is that how it felt to you? Zach, you were that close into having that final dirt nap. Is that true? That sounds somehow better than how I felt this weekend. Oh, gotcha. When I woke up yesterday to a text from you that said it was at 845 and I woke up at 1.30 and I was like, oh, shit. You didn't get my text to 1.30?

I was like, oh, man. That was by the time I woke up, yes, because I finally slept for the first time in like three days. And I was like, I just need to sleep. So it was a tough weekend. That's how people don't care about my complaining. But yeah, it was a battle this weekend. Well, I'm glad that you're on the right side of the lawn today. And we assume for the entire week as well.

So congratulations on beating whatever it was that you had. I'm glad you're much better today. Whatever it was, it was bad. I hope nobody else deals with that. Let's just say that. I'm ready to work. Okay. How much weight did you lose, by the way?

It was bouncing between like eight to ten pounds. It was a tough one this weekend. All right. Well, you'll fit into that spring dress nightly now. So don't worry. He'll look wonderful. Okay, so here's what I'll kick off the show with today. You know what's great about the rink in Italy not being 200 feet?

What's that? We will not have to hear any coaches refer to players as 200-foot players anymore. This guy's a good 197-foot player. What do you like Bustamote's game? Oh, he plays the full 197. You know, that's what we're looking for in this team. We don't need the 200-foot guys. We need like a good...

We need someone that can play 197 feet. I remember being there for what I think was the debut of the term 200-foot player. It was at Team Canada Orientation Camp. It would have been August 2009 in Calgary. I was working at CBC and they sent me there to cover to cover camp. And it was after one of the, no, it was before one of the skates. And we were scrumming Mike Babcock. and one of the

someone I can't remember who it was some media member asked them like what type of player they're looking for this is in advance of cuts obviously and he said blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah and we really need a good we need good 200 foot players here

and the way that the media reacted was like light ball was Bing Bing Bing Bing Bing Bing Bing New term new term Bing Bing Bing Bing Bing Bing Bing Bing New term we can overuse Bing Bing Bing Bing Bing Bing Bing just went off and everyone like right away like put their heads down

to write it down in case they forgot the term 200 foot player. So I think the origin story of 200 foot player was from Team Canada orientation camp 2009. That's what I believe. But anyhow, the good thing about having the rank shorter is, we're looking for, I just want one. I just want John Cooper. Like, I don't want much in this world. I don't ask for a lot of things. I don't ask for presents or Christmas.

I don't come on here and ask anyone to do anything for me. I just ask for one thing this year. I just want John Cooper or Mike Sullivan at some point this year leading up to the Olympics to say, you know, we have a lot of really good 197 foot players here and that's what we're looking for. That's what we're looking for out of our team. We need someone that'll play the full 197. I think if there's anybody savvy enough, Cooper could do it.

If anyone hip enough to say we want a good 197 foot player, it would be John Cooper. Let's get to us coming. By the way, there was a radio report today about an outdoor rink in Milan and a Quebec-based company being approached by it. Oh, yeah. Here's your radio hook of the day. That story is still to come. But first, but first on the show today, it was an interesting sort of interesting morning for your boy. But coming up now, let's let you know what's going on in the program.

Today, the blueprint, as always, is powered by our friends at Fanduel. Download the app today and play your game at Fanduel. She is standing by. She will be with us in a matter of moments. No stranger to anyone here, anyone who reads the athletic or watches or listens to various properties across North America. She is, of course, Shannon Goldman from The Athletic and the Too Many Men podcast, she will stop by. We'll talk about, amongst other things, but not exclusive to, the Jacob Truba hit on Ryan Leonard. We'll talk about the Foster Hewitt Award and how all of a sudden the doors have been opened for the Barry Melroses and the Dave Hodges, etc.

of the world. Some of you oldsters might say, why are you going to mention something about Ward Cornell? Yeah, Ward Cornell, we'll throw him in as well. Seena writer for Canucks Army and a mainstay on the Secarison Price Show. Jeff Patterson will stop by. Why? Because we're going to talk about Quinn Hughes.

And Elliot's report on Saturday about there being a conversation between Vancouver and New Jersey about Quinn Hughes. Not that anything is imminent. this all does feel like the slowest moving trade we've seen in a while. Every now and then we're going to get another breadcrumb and this weekend was another one of it. And by the way, it was kind of funny to watch everybody go banana sandwich when Quinn Hughes was asked about it. And he referred to Tom Fitzgerald as Fitsy. That will come up a little bit later on.

In the meantime, I'm a pleasure to welcome back to the program. Someone who loves all things, Dill Pickle, probably as much, if not more than I do. She's the great Shannon Goldman, and she joins me on the broadcast now. Hello, Shana. How are you? I'm good. I have an update for you speaking of Dill Picles. I don't think we talked about this yet.

I did try the Dill Picle Salt Fries. I sent you from McDonald's. I did try him. Hold on. Great activation. I love how they're not called. it's not dill pickle salt it's called grinch salt did i get that right yeah okay so how was the dill pickle slash grinch salt which is a great idea by the way marvelous um it was good it comes in a packet

so you can mix it yourself uh i only used half the packet it's a little bit much i'll be honest what i yeah okay so it's very salty i think you could have had a little more of like this sweet dill flavor in there to counterbalance it but then again it's grinch salt yeah grinch salt it works But I did like it. I did like it. I would get it again. Had to bring that one up. I got it last week.

Excellent. Yeah, you did send me the text about the Grinch Salt. Made my day. I remember just watching hockey games sitting there in my office. And all of a sudden the text pops up with a picture of Dill Picklesalt from my friend, Shana. It's like, yeah, that's the relationship we have. We just send each other Dill Pickleshys. And off the races, we go.

By the way, I don't know if you heard off the top of the program, lobbying for at least one of the coaches of the Olympics to refer to their players as 197 foot players. Can we please have, if any of the coaches are going to say it, it's going to be Cooper, right? Like, you know what? We don't need someone, we don't need a good 200 foot player.

We need like a good 197. We need a 197 foot player. Is that too much to ask? No, it's not. And from Cooper especially, I think he's so careful with his words. I mean, you can tell he was a lawyer based on the way he speaks all the time.

He's very deliberate, and I think he's very good at cutting with his words without you know he yells and goes off all the time but i think he's very good when he wants to keep it even keel and i think that's just a way to throw shade at the organizers for this i mean colossal fuck up there's not i get it it's it's it's four feet but it's come on you had four fucking gears for this and you can't get the ring size right well you know what's as i said off the top of the show i was going to mention it later on but but here we go i might as well get into it now So this morning on a show called

Le Club de Matins talking about how a group and I do know one of the members from this group used to be a goaltender with the Quebec ramparts of the QMJHL about a million years ago had a minor league hockey career

the name is Patrick Couture who works for this group. Anyhow what they were reporting on the show this morning is that this group who makes rinks are called Cinderglass Canada. They most recently just constructed a rink in Tuas Revere, an outdoor rink.

They were reporting that this group was approached by people at the Olympics about building an outdoor rink in Cortina, Milan, with a caveat, of course, that the IOC would have to approve and the NHL and the Players Association would, have to approve. And I did some snooping and everybody around it got really, really guarded and nobody wanted to say anything in the sort of spirit of we don't want, if this is going to happen, we don't want to mess it up. They do business in Europe as well. And there are a couple of people that just like flat out blanks me, which is fine. It happens. And I'm not like the be all end ball. You got to get back to me. But I just found it really interesting that that was one of the reports that came out. this morning. Is there something to it that is as yet to be determined? But considering one of the issues around all of this is that there's not a plan B, well, maybe this is the plan B. I mean, we've seen outdoor ranks go up pretty quick. At this point, I say to myself, why not? I guess so,

put it over there. We've heard so many different things and so many different things have gone wrong. So many things have been driven into the ditch here. That wouldn't surprise me at all. What do you make of that? And again, it is a, it is a, a French Canadian radio show who went into a little, little bit of the tail on the whole thing. I don't think they just made this thing up. But you never thought on that as the potential contingency plan, Shana. Take it outside. Hockey boy. I mean, nothing would surprise me at this point, considering how poorly everything has been done. far is it good to have a contingency plan sure but I I have many questions like when was the decision made to make this outdoor ring right like was it after the planning of the original

ring did you make sure to get the dimensions right on one and not the other I'm not saying that this is like I am not reporting that this is the plan B I'm just saying there was a French Canadian radio show this morning that went into some detail about this idea and this then the group that they named Cinderglass, this is what they do for living, and this is their business, and they do business, not just in North America,

but also in Europe as well. That's all, just one report. But that's where we're at. Like right now, we're at the sort of stage where it's like, throw it out there, I suppose. I mean, throw anything out there

and see what sticks. It would be interesting if anyone would bite on this just as, it seems like they don't want any more sites to the Olympics because it's already kind of broken up and there's going to be a lot of travel.

That's why the idea of like a backup in Switzerland has kind of been frowned upon. But then this one, if this one was considered, okay, it's just all odd. Everything about it is very odd. I think backup plans are good. So extra rinks being constructed, never a bad thing. Hopefully everyone had the correct blueprints, executed them accordingly. But no, I, nothing surprises me at this point. Because if you can't get the basics of basic rank dimensions.

Yeah. Why not? Just make 10 rinks. Just say, fuck it. Just make a bunch of rinks. And then have a taste. I'd like a little tester of which one is the least bad. The least bad.

Okay, so bracket that for a couple of seconds. Actually, no. Let me get one more thing on that. Given the reality of if they get this thing off the ground, okay, if they actually get this plane in the air, given the fact that the rink dimensions will not be actual NHL dimensions, are we making too much? too little or is this porridge just right for how we're having the discussion about how this affects selection i think this is something we could see get overthought for sure i mean like listen if there is we get a crumb we all go wild with that that's just what we do it's our jobs right like we're paid to talk about this and the players too they're going to be asked about this and

it's going to be made into a massive thing but i also understand why it's going to gain a lot of traction right like the nchlers have not been back to the olympics since what 2010 now right 16 was it sochi oh okay wait wasn't that 14 world cup of hockey was 16 that was 14 uh was 14 hang on my brain is broken 2014 yeah 2014 okay so you haven't been back to the olympics since 2014 so like rightfully so the n hl should have a ton of reservations and i wonder if the next time around that they do this there's going to be more ironclad language protecting everything and more. But I just look at it and go, it should be a conversation point because it is different, right? Like this is not the standard. And I think for some players,

it might not be as noticeable maybe, especially for players we've played on different size rings before, right? Like if you're already used to adjusting because say when you played in Europe, you're used to, you know, the larger rink and now you've already had to adjust for like maybe more players are going to be adaptable. Maybe some have only played on one size before. So this could be, you know, a wrench for them. But it will be interesting to see how much this is or isn't going to affect roster building. Because as is, we're having conversations about how much the Olympic roster needs to reflect that of four nations because of the physicality of it and the fighting, even though the rules are going to be different. Yeah.

Four nations was NHL rules. This is IHF. This is totally different. So does that mean Tom Wilson and Sam Bennett are going to be locks when they weren't before? Like maybe they already were. I don't know. But I think there's a good conversation to have about. What kind of hard skill would help you when there's less room out there?

Like, I don't know. I would want Brandon Hegel out there if I'm Team Canada. I think he could be the perfect bottom six player then to have if you need someone who can just create space for themselves and be a pest versus maybe a Bennett who might be more prone to taking penalties in that kind of situation. So Hegel's an interesting name. Are they going to allow hand passes? If they are, does that mean that hey, sorry. You know I couldn't. And Brad Marchand, too.

Are we allowing hand? I didn't see the double I. I haven't read the AAF handbook recently. Are we, where are we at on hand passes now? Is it very much a thing? I'm retired from this discourse. I'm not even like dipping my tongue in this discourse.

It's too much. I get it. But it's the video, anything video review, like I know once playoff time comes, like I'm going to be ready to complain about everything. I'm going to have all my coaches, challenged out at the ready,

I'll help everyone else sharpen their pitchforks, but right now it is early December in the regular season. I could not give two shifts about this because my answer is going to be the same as it's going to be in June and it's get some consistency, you know, make the rules a little bit more black and white. I am so tired of like hour long explanations on things that happen in like 0.4 seconds of real time. But here's the thing about it though. Like you're never going to get consistency because nobody has the same set of eyeballs. Nobody interprets every. The only thing that you can look at and say is going to be black and white

is puck over glass and in some instances most of them actually almost all of them pretty much all of them all of them outside that's it other than that like I'm always a little bit amazed at how people are still

not really grasping that penalties are an interpretation of the rule book in a lot of ways because what's a hook to you is not a hook to me and what's a slash to me is maybe not a slash to you and what a Gloved passes to me is not a glove pass to you. It's still going to be an interp goalie interference can be that as well.

But the thing is about at least goalie interference, like I tend to think that goalie interference is the most consistently correctly called foul that's out there. Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. If you want to take, yes, 100%. 100%. Absolutely it is.

The thing about it is, it's just high profile. But take another call. take a call like slashing, okay, go watch hockey tonight. Watch how many slashes aren't called. Do we lose our minds over it? No, we just figure, okay, you're not going to call all of them. Or trips or, oh, here's another one, interference. Go watch how many times a defender interferes with F1 when their partner is going to make a retrieval.

Right? You can make the argument, oh, they missed it, oh, they missed it, oh, they missed it, oh, they missed it, oh, they missed it. The thing about goalie interference is, it's just. just high profile and that's why it seems like it's the one oh no i i understand it and and it's it involves a goal and that's why but it is high high profile but all i'm saying is when you look at the nature of infractions in the nchel i think that is the one that is most consistently called correctly based on the simple formula of if you're in the blue that's on you your liability is sky high are they going to get it 100% no not even close not even not i don't know

That I disagree with. No, you're wrong. You're wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm mansplaining goal interference to you. Let me mansplain and goal interference to you, Shana. I do feel it is more consistently called than other infractions, though. I really do. I, okay, I have a tough time with this one in that I think that there's room to get rid of some of the gray area in the rulebook that would allow less interpretation.

Like, still accounting for human element. Everybody wants that. That's fine, right? but i think that there can still be a little bit of clarity it's really tough because in years past we've looked at playoff numbers too and be like wow it's so much worse in the postseason and this was something like i was really focused on last year because there were some really odd choices for challenges and sometimes it felt like coaches throwing the kitchen sink in it and i think that skews the numbers a bit in the playoffs versus the regular season right because

it's a more desperate situation you're going to try and whatever sticks but i do think there's room for improvement on all officiating and it's easy for me to say from the cheap seats i understand that but i think with a lot of things there's too much gray and then the n hl says well human element but it's like no matter what like you said everyone has different eyes and they're going to call things differently so limit how much there is to have that consistency if we want efficiency right and we are watching tape to break down on ipads a quarter of a millimeter like come on oh dude let's let's get it across the board that one that one that one that one drives me Because in that case, I go back to the origins of the offside and the spirit of the

offside, which was, close enough is good enough. Close enough to keep you honest is good enough. We're not living and dying on, no one's going to watch zone entries, right? I know there's a lot of people that do a lot of their work around zone entries, and I don't want to offend them, but we're not going to watch zone entries here. Close enough is good enough. But then Matt DeShane had to go horribly offside, and we all decided we had to, corrected and now here we are going pixel by pixel through this entire thing.

How did we get on this topic when I wanted to nail you down on Quinn Hughes? How do we start talking about? How do we get from where we wanted to go to Matthew Shane and the game where he went horribly off the, okay, I'm going to talk to Jeff Patterson about this more at the bottom of the hour. And a lot of it's going to be like cutesy stuff, like how you refer to Tom Fitzgerald as Fitsy. But, you know, the report from Elliot on hockey night on Saturday that there has been a conversation between Vancouver and New Jersey over what the situation is and where both sides are at. I don't think any of it should come to us as a surprise, but to me the feeling is this is like,

I'm trying to figure the best way to couch this or frame this. Hansel and Gretel. This is just like breadcrumbs. Like that's where this is leading. It's going to be like a tiny little morsel and then it's going to get gobbled up and then it's going to go away for a while. And something else is going to happen. Someone else is going to say something.

And then that little breadcrumb is going to get eaten up. And then it's, it's just like the slowest moving march to an inevitability that we all see coming that we haven't seen in quite some time. How do you feel about, because it's not just about what Elliott reported on Saturday. It's the whole dynamic. It's the whole story going back to when Jim Brother. Ferd first blurted out about him wanting to play with his brothers. And it hasn't gone away since. Shana, the floor is yours.

Okay. First of all, that comment, the original one, got blown out of proportion because I'm sure a ton of players would want to play with their siblings. Could not imagine that, but sure, yes, okay, especially if two of them are playing together already. Why wouldn't you want to join the fun? Be a trifective huses. It's something we don't see often.

How interesting. But right now, the entire situation is fascinating for a couple of reasons. First of all, players of Quinn Hughes' caliber do not grow on trees, right? No matter what return you're going to get for Quinn Hughes, I literally don't care what it is unless it's kale McCarr or like, you're not getting anybody near that caliber. You are getting most likely going to get pieces that you are going to hope one day turns into a player of Quinn Hughes's caliber. And that's really hard to do.

We have him as an MVP caliber player in player tears. He is one of 10 players in player tiers to get those honors. He is the second best defenseman from under Cal McCar, and the gap between Hughes and the next player behind him is smaller than the gap between Quinn Hughes and Cal McCar. Like, that's how good he is. And I went through our tiers because I was curious, how did teams get their best players?

MVP tier, all 10 of those players, drafted. In tier two, you only have two players acquired via trade. So it just shows you how hard it is to get those players, right? It's Matthew Cacheck and Adam Fox. So now the Canucks are in a bad situation no matter what. Pay that with the fact that free agency has pretty much already dried up. And I feel like player movement's going to be suppressed with some of the changes to the cap rules this year and how you can retain salary. It just is this perfect storm for all of us to be as dialed in as possible because there's not as much going on.

Now it and in the fact that it's Vancouver Canucks who have a tendency to screw up these situations and have a very loud fan base. and it is 10,000 times more interesting. I love every element of this. So you don't want to see. There's a lot of people are just like, I just want this to end. Like just do the deal. Like Nemitz and Brat call it.

Like that's it. Move on. We all know where this thing is going. No, you love every single element about this. I want it to draw it. I want it to keep going because when say the Canucks get a home run and they're not going to it. It very rarely happens, right? it's going to be even more interesting to break down.

But I just think it's been a boring season. I need something to fuel me a little bit more. And I also think, too, there needs to be, this is for all the insiders. Okay, okay, this is for you, Jeff. This is for Betsy Elliott. This is for everybody. There are tiers of interest I'd like to see talked about a little bit more. When a player of Quinn Hughes's caliber comes on the market, I want every single organization

to be kicking the tires on him. And that's going to be a lot different than saying they've had discussions. We need to talk about tiers of interest and tears of pursuing a little bit more to give us more than just this little crumb. Give us like a little pile of crumbs to be like, you know, there's actual conversations versus like, yeah, they're making calls. Everybody should make calls. But here's the thing, though. I can't speak for anybody else other than myself. I assume that everybody is talking to everybody else all the time because they are, right?

It's not as if, like, you know, Steve Steeos just woke up this morning and said, what? There's something happening with Quinn Hughes in Vancouver? Like, I remember Kelly Rudy when we worked together. This is back in the CBC days. I used to do a show called Hockey Night and Canada radio on Sirius. And Kelly would come on twice a week. And I asked Kelly something along the lines. when did it sort of dawn on you that managers are talking about you?

He goes, it wasn't until I got to Los Angeles. And I was having a conversation with my goal, with my, with my goaltender. He was a goaltender with my general manager, Rogi Vashon. And he said, I said, Rogi, like, how often do you like talk about players? Like, how often do you talk about me? And he said, um, every day. He said, what? And he goes, yeah, I talk about everybody on my roster every day to other managers.

because I want to know what's out there. I want to know how the marketplace sees all of my players. It's my job to do that. So I can't speak for anybody else, but for me, I sort of proceed with the understanding that we all understand on every side of this puzzle where we all hold one piece, that we assume and know that managers are talking to managers all the time.

They have to be. They have to be. That's their job. There are just some things that just make more sense than others. Like, because you outline those different tiers and how superstar players are acquired, that's where I look at the Detroit Red Wings, who right now seem stalled. They seem like right now they are spinning their wheels. Like this, the Eiser plan here is like right now stalled.

Considering there's no one that's coming on free agent day. you mentioned like all the all the impact players are gone is it not incumbent on them to turn some of these green bananas into actual players because they have a lot of prospects and your only way of getting someone that's going to move the needle is to say pick some prospects we need to turn them into players at this point that's why and considering the fact that you know

it's a you know the huge household in michigan as well um that is a trade that would make a whole ton of sense if you're Steve Iserman. Yeah, totally. And I think it's incumbent on them to do something doesn't even like, it wasn't incumbent on them to do something two years ago. I feel like we have been waiting for the next step of this process for so long that now it's like that pressure point is peaking to me because I think two years ago, you could say,

well, cider and Raymond aren't even at their peak values and like you have a little bit more patience. But I look at it now and I'm going, you're getting into this window. now for Raymond, cider, and Larkin, and it's not a short window, right? It's not like these are, it's not like cider and Raymond are 30 years old. And it's like, okay, you got a couple minutes. Let's go, right? But you want them to have the best possible chance of winning.

And the Red Wings, their best possible chances hinge on these three players. So why not do whatever you can to build a stronger contender around them? So their team that feels like they're poised for just a giant swing. And it's felt like that for a while or multiple big swings, right? Like De Brinkette was one swing. Okay, now keep going. Keep amping it up even higher. So, yeah, their name makes a lot of sense.

A lot of teams in that position make sense to me. That, like, they're turning the corner. They need that next push because not every team is in the perfect position. Because, and also with Quinn Hughes, you have the extension to consider, right? Like, if you're a rebuilding team, he might not have the interest of signing long term there. So you need it that you're in a better position than the Canucks are. Right. Makes sense.

next time we gather, let's talk about more at Cider, speaking about the Detroit Red Wings as well. Let's have that conversation. Okay, dismissed. You've done enough to smarten up the program. Our brains have expanded. We're a lot smarter and a lot kinder because of you. Thank you, Shana.

Thanks for having me. There she is, the great Shannon Goldman from the Athletic and the Too Many Men podcast, joining us here on a semi-regular basis on the sheet. More on Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks stand by. But first, This segment is a presentation of Bauer and the Bauer Pulse. The first Bauer stick to feature their latest kickpoint innovation.

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quinn hughes jeff how are you today i wish i had a good logical debate for you there i'm all right I just want you to know, I'm here at Rogers Arena, Canucks on the Ice, Morning Skate. You're talking about the Red Wings. They're in town tonight. And Jeff, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30 is the number of the day here in Vancouver. It is Thacher Demko's 30th birthday. Oh. It is the 30th game of the season for the Vancouver Canucks.

And should they win, they might just climb into 30th place in the National Hockey League standards. Putting a bright spin on all of it here. So 30 is the call of the day. But, I mean, you know, one of the things that were, wondering about here is not a number but a name and a nickname and the nickname Fitsy. Now, when I saw Quinn Hughes use the term Fitsy as opposed to Tom Fitzgerald, my first thought was he hangs out with his brothers, he lives with his brothers, they're employed by the New Jersey Devils. Whenever they have conversations about their manager, Jack and Luke both say Fitsy. So that's the environment

that Quinn Hughes is around. Now, knowing that around this story, there are no small pieces of it. Every piece of this story is a large piece. I had a sense that this was going to get ahead of everybody and quickly and sky is falling and chicken little and oh my God, he's gone and all of that

and everyone took the ball and ran with it. What did you make of Quinn Hughes referencing Tom Fitzgerald as Fitsy over the weekend. I kind of laughed and shrugged it off, but I don't think I was in the majority. Yeah, I think I'm like most. I mean, it kind of caught me in my tracks.

You don't generally hear players talking about general managers by nicknames, but we live in a hockey world and the brothers, the three of them, obviously have been raised in a hockey world. If I'm not mistaken, there's a relationship between Jim Euse, the dad, and Todd Fitzgerald, that goes way back to the college playing day.

So Tom Fitzgerald has been in the Hughes realm and in the Hughes blood for decades, literally. So I'm inclined to give Quinn a pass here, but it's impossible not to take note of just how casual. He made it sound as he slipped that in there. And dead, I'm not on this phone call, and he wasn't. And he was presented with this news right after the game the other night. I do think probably caught off guard a little bit

so Quinn's a pretty calculated guy again a captain in a Canadian market I think he understands that everything that comes out of his mouth is going to be dissected a billion different ways and it's such a hot button issue that he has to know that this was going to raise the temperature

just a bit so I was surprised I was surprised but at the end of the day they are hockey guys and everybody in the grand scheme is a FITC on some level isn't he like I mean that's just the world That's just the world they live in. I honestly, I didn't really think anything of it other than just to giggle when I heard it. And just figuring like that's how Tom Fitzgerald, you know, it's funny.

I was doing the podcast with Bruce Boudreau today. He's like, everybody calls me Gabby. Even people that don't know me call me Gabby. It doesn't matter if I'm with the capitals or the ducks or the Wild or Vancouver Connect. People just call me Gabby, even if they don't know me or not. That's just the name that I'm known by, much like Tom Fitzgerald is just known. as Fitsy, does this feel like, and I would imagine that most transactions are like this, they're just not public, but this is like, if it does go the way that many of us are anticipating,

it does feel like the world's slowest moving trade. Does it feel that way to you, J-Path? Well, to a degree, but Jeff, the conducts get one crack at this and they have to get it right, right? Like, this is the best player that they have on their roster currently and is on a very short list of the best players they have ever had wear their uniform. And so given where they are, and I made light of it off the top there, but they are, they're 31st in the NHL standings with Quinn Hughes playing 30 minutes a night,

and they're still where they are in the standings. And so, and it's nothing that Quinn Hughes has failed to do for the organization, the organization has failed to build a winner around one of the best defensemen and one of the top players in the National Hockey League. And they have had ample time to do it. And I think a lot of the fear out here is that, and maybe Quinn has this fear as well, that if he commits long term to the Vancouver Canucks, that it's just going to be more of the same.

Like he hasn't, aside from the 23, 24 season, where everything came together. And they had almost perfect health. And so many guys had career seasons that just aren't repeatable. And then we know the drama that worked its way into the locker room. So if they are going to go down this road, you know, they can't just sell to the first bidder. They have to create a market. And there should be a massive market out there.

And I'm in this camp of, again, nothing's gone right for this organization. This fan base out here is now rabid for a full on rebuild. So, you know, do your due diligence, create a market, get the best deal you can, But in saying that, if I'm an acquiring team, boy, I would want Quinn Hughes, the assurance that you're going to get Quinn Hughes for two playoff runs at the bare minimum, right? So that would mean trading them before this trade deadline. I just think on some level, ripping the Band-Aid, but you know, you can't just do it haphazardly. I mean, they've got to get this thing absolutely right because, and it's near impossible.

I'm not going to say it's impossible, but it's tough in history. shows you. It's difficult to win these kinds of trades when you are dealing away a star level player. And so, you know, we'll see where it goes. So yes, I mean, it's been talked about and it's going to continue to be front burner material out here on the West Coast and really around the National Hockey League. But at some point, it just kind of feels inevitable now. So I did something a couple of weeks ago. I was talking to a manager of a team in the metropolitan division. And I said, like, I'm trying to figure out at my brain. you know what a Quinn Hughes deal to New Jersey would look like and I said my mind is that

I'm just like am I off base or on base here and I was throwing out like Simon Nemich and Dawson Mercer first round pick and he said if that's the deal I'll be livid as well everybody else in the metropolitan division they have to pay more it starts with Jesper brats and then you start adding on like I think a lot there's a lot of people in the metropolitan division that are saying to themselves man if if Quinn Hughes is coming

to the metropolitan New Jersey better pay it just can't it just can't be a couple of prospects and a couple of picks like future future they have to give up something significant like that that's the like that's the like is everyone feeling this place like oh yeah

if he's coming here New Jersey better give something up do you feel the same way? Like they need to give up like significant roster players to the Vancouver Canucks here. And I hear you loud and clear and yet if you're the New Jersey Devils, you're making this deal to try to win the Stanley Cup.

And so you don't want to slash this roster that you've built. And so again, this is all part of negotiation. Yeah, I mean, would the Canucks like to get at least one ready made player that they could stick into this lineup to then start to rebuild without a doubt but I just don't get the sense that if the devils are going all in here

they want to add Quinn Hughes to an already impressive roster and hope that that can put them over the top it would be the most Canuck thing ever Jeff though if Simone Nemich was the centerpiece of the return because and I've been out this job 25 years and in those 25 years

the Canucks have struggled so mightily to construct a competitive right side of their defense and now we're living in a world where they've got Phil Horonick who kind of quietly may be their best player this season

even with Quinn Hughes on the roster Quinn hasn't been in his best and I do wonder if he's distracted by all this but kind of quietly Phil Horonick on a night the Red Wings are in he's had a really nice run and Tom Lander who they drafted a couple years ago

as a right shot defenseman like there are signs that the right side of their defense is competent capable and now you're telling me that the centerpiece of a coin use deal parting with this left shot all star and now you're adding another right side guy. So just factor that in or keep that in mind at the very least. But it just timing's everything in the world and it just, I kind of have to laugh at that that.

We're at a point in time where, yeah, maybe they'd be looking to, you know, add another right side guy after all these years. So we'll see how it goes. The interesting thing is you look for an organization and where they're the strongest and go look as far as depth go with the New Jersey Devils. Listen, as you well know, right shot defenseman, always in demand. What's the old cliche?

Oh, he got a defender. Is your right shot, left shot? He's a right shot. Oh, good. Add 10% to the contract. Like, New Jersey's got a lot of right shot defensemen. Like, if you look at like one of the most valuable commodities around the NHL, the New Jersey Devils have a bunch of them.

Now, the Hughes story dominated headlines. Unfortunately, was on a night where the Vancouver Canucks minus Elias Pederson, beat one of the top teams in the NHL of the Minnesota Wild. But that story got sort of, you know, on the back pages, you know, with the obituaries and the, and the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the way to lose that Vancouver Canucks. I know they are where they are, but that's a big win by Vancouver.

You know, it's funny, they had played well, and actually outplayed Utah here on Friday night, but in a very Canuck way, uh, found a way to lose that hockey game. They were in it. into the third period and then they lose four to one and then it's back to back, quick turnaround. Minnesota had lost in Calgary and you figured oh, wow, he's going to come in here and take its frustrations out on the Canucks and they had the

wall of St. Paul in goal. And yeah, and then Alias Patterson starts the warm up and leaves and you're thinking, come on. Like with every other injury that the Canucks team has endured this season, now you're taking EP40 out of the lineup and I don't think anybody gave them a chance and that's why we

love sports and you never know and it's why they play the games. And sure enough, Minnesota opened the scoring early and then the conducts thought they had tied it and had a goal disallowed and again you're thinking everything's conspiring against this game it's just not going to happen and then they punched a wall or a hole in the wall in St. Paul and

found an opportunity to get back in the hockey game. So you know credit to the young guys that stepped up and performed like Atatur Atchu had three points first time in his career Tom Lander scored his first NHL goal the one Elias or Leas Patterson they did have in the lineup he scored as well

you know all three of those guys 23 and under. And I think that's the kind of win that fans here can get behind with a vision to, hey, all three of those guys could be here as pieces, you know, if Quinn is out the door and they do start to rebuild this thing. So it was against all odds. It doesn't look like Elias Patterson, the forward is going to play. He's not on the ice here at the morning skate. So we'll get an update from Adam Foote afterwards, and we'll see if he's out any length of time. But yeah, look, it's just, it's been a disaster season on so many levels the Vancouver Canucks. Wins have been hard to come by. They had one in the eight

game prior to Minnesota the other night. So one win doesn't change the trajectory of this hockey club, but for a night, at least I think it allowed fans to discuss some different storylines, but it's never a bad thing when the same storylines over and over. But, you know, just back to Quinn for a quick second, after Detroit, the Canucks have Buffalo in here midweek, and then they head out on a five-game road trip that's going to take them into the Christmas break. Where does it start? New Jersey on Sunday. So if you think the Hughes news is front page this week or this weekend, just give it a couple of days as the Canucks roll in to Newark. Does he get cheered in New Jersey? Yeah. Every time he touches the puck. Is there a standing ovation for Quinn Hughes?

Make the trade chant. Yeah. Who knows? Oh, boy, that'll be a must watch game. Well, let me close on this one. You mentioned that, you know, Canucks fans now more so than ever are committed that this team needs to rebuild. We know that the owner is reluctant to do that. I always wonder about, you know, the effects of the pandemic and empty buildings and lost revenue and trying to make it up. But I don't know that, you know, here we are, you know, almost in 2026, if that's much of a factor anymore. Why the reluctance? Why the reluctance? I understand that we all watch,

like it's been painful watching Chicago go through what they went through. I get it. And this was like, listen, the last couple of games, too, haven't exactly been pretty for the Black Hawks. There's still a lot of work to be done. And ditto for the San Jose sharks and Montreal, Canadians, and Anaheim ducks, et cetera. But why the reluctance?

Like the very strong reluctance here. Yeah, I mean, I think there's a couple things. One is we never hear from the owner anymore. doesn't speak publicly, so it's impossible to know what's going on in his mind, but I just have to imagine, especially as the Board of Governors are meeting, to walk into a room like that as the 31st or 32nd place team. Like, these guys all have big egos, and that can't be easy for ownership. And so, look, it's been a dark decade plus out here, right? Everybody knows that. Connects went to the playoffs in 2015, in the bubble, and then in 2024. That's not a lot of

playoff success. So this idea that the market couldn't handle a tough go for a while, that's all that this market has had for the better part of 12 years now. And quite frankly, the future doesn't look terribly bright. Even with Quinn Hughes in the lineup, there's still so many concerns about Elias Pedersen and where he is and not just short term today because he's not in the lineup. But, you know, in terms of the superstar player that once was that hasn't returned, you know, is he a guy that you keep and build around? Or if you're clearing Quinn out to you, really just tear it down and start to move out all big pieces here and try it again. So, you know, I think if you look at who's calling the shots, Jim Rutherford, he's not going

to be at this forever, and he was brought in to build a championship team. It's the four-year anniversary, essentially, of his arrival here in Vancouver, and it kind of feels like back to square one with the one good season in there. So, you know, I think that's part of it, too. the gym he wants to win now he doesn't want to be building this thing up for five or six years but ultimately it comes back and the owner calls the shots here and it's you know playoff revenue in and of itself just doesn't seem like enough of a reason to be so reluctant when like really chasing two home games possibly each spring like how you know where the revenue comes

when you get on one of those runs and you host 12 playoff games uh like they did back in 2011, but 2011 just feels like a lifetime ago now. You know, it's not going to be that. This is the crazy part. Like, we're getting to a point here. There are going to be guys drafted in the national hockey league here soon who weren't alive when the Canucks got to game seven in the Stanley Cup final in 2011. That's how time marches on, but we're not that far away from that point in time.

Thanks for making me feel old, J. You know what, one thing interestingly enough, like we can all remember, I'll close on this, we can all remember, when Jim Rutherford was first hired and that first press conference and some of the first interviews that he did, it seemed as if because you heard him talking about,

we need flexibility, we're capped out, we're clogged up, I need room to maneuver. It felt like, you know, and J.T. Miller was going to the penguins for, was it,

was it Pedersen and Cappan was part of a deal. Like there was all kinds of stuff that were hearing out of Vancouver. And it really did feel like, okay, they've picked a time, line. The timeline is Pedersen Hughes, and that's a timeline that they're going to compliment.

And I don't know when it did, but man, did it change fast? Man did it change quickly. And it can in the NHL, and we've seen this before, but I go back to coming out of the bubble, right? They pushed Vegas to game seven in the bubble, and that was the first taste of playoff hockey, even in that unique circumstance, but first taste of playoff hockey for Hughes, for Pedersen, for Brock Bessor. And they all passed the test. Bo Horvatt was terrific. in the bubble. They came out of the bubble as one of the sexy young teams in the National Hockey League. And then with COVID, they turned the financial taps off here, that fateful day when Tanev and Markstrom and Stetcher and to fully all walked and to fully sign the contract that he did in Montreal, that really to me, was a turning point for sort of

the path that they were on. They had a really good roster full of terrific young players. And then came the Oliver Ekman-Larsen trade and Jim Benning sort of in job survival mode. And we know how that worked out. And then he comes to your brotherford. And so the wheels have been spinning here for far too long, that 2024 playoff push, I won't even call it a run. It was two rounds. They got Edmonton to a seventh game.

But it was fun. And it kind of showed this market that, oh, yeah, playoff hockey is fun. We need more of it out here. And yet here we are. I was looking the other day because on Thursday night, when Calgary and Nashville won, the Canucks sunk to 32nd in the overall standings.

22 months earlier, they were the top team in the National Hockey League at the All-Star break of that in the spring of 24, and here we are as 2026 approaches, and they are languishing right there at the bottom of the standings, and as I said, the one win over many the other night doesn't change the trajectory

that this team is on this season. So change has to come, and it's just a question of how quickly and how deep are the decisions. Never a dull moment. Jay Pat, thanks as always for stopping by. Man, you went deep with me today. Really appreciate it. And everyone watching the listing, I'm sure did as well.

Thanks, pal. Enjoy the game tonight. And then we will all be watching sooner than later as the Vancouver Canucks face off against the New Jersey Devils at the... It's an early start, by the way. I don't know if it's to avoid football on Sunday. It's one of those 1230 local

in Jersey. So Sunday, early afternoon for you, but yeah, morning hockey for us out here. Hughes, at least a couple of the Hughes brothers going head to head. Oh, honestly. Yes. Okay, great stuff.

As always, thanks so much. Thanks for having me. You'd be good. Jeff Patterson, man, man, is he ever good? And going deep and very thorough with his answers and his perspective as well on the Vancouver Canucks.

Again, the Fitsy thing is a, it's a quick, easy headline. It kind of sounded weird for a lot of people. Did people overreact to it? Yeah, probably. They did. I know it sounded awkward for a lot of people, but then you do have to consider that this is a dyed in the wool

and a generation's deep hockey family who have had, you know, dealing in acquaintances, certainly with Tom Fitzgerald. Or as Quinn Hughes's two brothers would refer to him as Fitsy. so here I am talking about how we shouldn't make a big deal about it but for some reason I can't stop talking about it but there it is next Sunday is going to be interesting

Zach Quinn Hughes at the Prudential Center I'm with you they cheer him I think they cheer him there's going to be enough of a push here there's going to you know what else there's going to be there's going to be there should be if devil's fans are

who was it that what Jets fans that we were talking about the smart cheers and everything they got to come up with some good chance i want to see people with number 43 hugh's jerseys i want to see you know it'll happen you know it'll happen the traveling joggers right they have like every version of yager's jersey the 43 43 jerseys right along the glass for yeah you know you're going to get you know you're going to get that and i want to see like a group of three friends with all three of the jerseys that stand there together at the glass it's going to happen all of it's going to happen the closest thing i can remember to that was when the tampa bay lightning were going to trade vincent la cavalier to the montreal canadians and it was a whopper of a prospect

package brian lawton explained it to me it was a combination of like carry price Ryan McDonough and or P.K. Suban, like, it was a big deal. It was a really big deal. And none of these players had started to become anywhere close to the greatness that they were going to achieve. It was still very much a bunch of really high-end prospects for Vincent La Cavillier. And it all got scuttled because Len Berry, who was one of the owners of Tampa Bay Lightning,

brought in a number of, had courted some investors for the Tampa Bay Lightning and they were all Quebec-based and they wanted Vincent La Cavalier in the lineup and that scuttled that trade before his no trade was scheduled to kick in on July 1st. But the All-Star game was in Montreal

and Vincent La Cavalier getting off the plane in Montreal at the airport was just like swarmed with Montreal Canadiens fans and he had this look of dismay bordering on horror

of all the fans that had showed up to watch Vincent La Cavillier of the Tampa Bay Lightning Yeah Hoping to leap into the arms, fans it anyway of the adoring thousands in Montreal

there was this like oh man is this what it's going to be like if I get traded here and it almost happened. He almost got traded, by the way, the Toronto Maple Leaf says I'm sure you heard because they wanted a second line center behind Sundeen.

You've told me that. That doesn't make me feel better. That doesn't make me feel very good. You know, this is a different situation, but it just reminded me of this. I don't think we've ever said this on the show. But the Brad Richards sweepstakes, I remember, I believe I'm 99% sure it was Brad Richards.

And there was the lineup outside of, like new port options in missusaga yeah yeah every time i hear about like people waiting that's what i think about and like that is the most insane thing of all time we've never talked about a year on the show i don't think but yeah you bringing that up maybe think about that uh everybody waiting outside the new port office and everybody had their presentations ready to go um yeah there was like you know like the uh various cities like board of trade had videos that were made about you know like it was in tourism like everyone had like these these these these high-end videos made for brad richards but that's the thing too and shana was was mentioning this a couple

of seconds ago too like players like that don't hit the market in hot yeah they don't look what we just went through oh man next year's going to be crazy mac david and ickel and camping color connor this is going to be crazy man nature's like no now or it's it's it's Alex Tuckmania. Where's he going to go? Is he going to go to Vancouver? Is he going to go to Edmonton? Yeah.

And with all due respect to Alex Tuck, I don't think that, like, if the Leafs sit down with him, that they've got the Canadian Tire board members in the office. Like, I just don't think that's... Oh, and where did that happen, Zach? I'm just saying. Steering Stamco's, what? Yeah. Oh, man.

That's funny. I can't, I think about these free agent things. They make sense, like, in a vacuum, they make sense in the grand scheme of things. It's insane to think about, like, the courting that goes on and treating people like that. Yeah, it's funny. But why not? I love it. Right?

Like, when you consider how hard it is to get these kinds of players. Yeah. Man, can you imagine if hockey was like basketball? Could you, or hockey was like baseball? How awesome would that? be like Alex is on the plane Alex tuck is on the plane

he's on the plane he's on the private who's who's the um I'm trying to think about like who would have him on a private jet that we could be tracking like whose private jet would be we be following

next July no Jeff Follett did that with Mike Babcock remember when Jeff Follett tracked the plane that's right Because he was interviewed in Buffalo and then Toronto. Oh, yeah, Jeff Ballette, bless him, man. It was awesome. You remember that?

You remember that. I remember that. I remember that. I'm going to make my Twitter account like an MLSE plane tracker. Where's it going? Who could this be? All right, what did we talk about today? Anything really pressing for you?

By the way, I don't know if there's anything there. I have my own sort of theory about it, but the Seattle Cracken who are in a bad way and are still a team that's looking for an identity had a good start to the season but like they've discovered that you have to score goals to win the NHL.

They lose to Detroit Saturday, 4 to 3. Shane Wright, did you see the minutes he played? No, you're out of it. You were a zombie on the weekend. 1124. Just over 11 minutes for Shane Wright. I don't know what's going on there.

Other than maybe I was mentioning this with Gregor on Rundown. maybe this is just them trying to get him or remind him like if you're not shooting you're not playing like the guy need like you need to shoot more I go back to the healthy scratch last year and it was all about getting him to shoot more and you look at his like five on five shots per 60 we're cracking forwards it's like 10th 11th something like that this maybe it's just they're just trying to get him to shoot more I don't know I don't know that anyone was asked for a trade or trying to move them I I don't know, but something weird is going on with Shane Wright in Seattle.

That's what it feels like today. Also, what you would have seen if you weren't so sickly over the weekend. Your mother and I are very concerned about you, by the way. A nice goalie battle yesterday. My mom's at an all-inclusive somewhere right now. Oh, is she? He's not worried, yeah. Okay, so she's not worried, but I'm very, unvering.

Yeah, she does not care. Figure it out, guy. Figure it out, guy. Boy for a second. You think we should call Zach? Put the phone down, honey. Look at this sunset. Sorry, what did I miss?

Maybe not then. Jack Reeves and Logan Thompson yesterday. I don't know if you caught any of the Washington Columbus game in your sickly haze over the weekend. But I don't want goalie battles every night. but every couple of weeks I want a really good goalie battle and for my money that was the best goalie battle

we've seen this season Logan Thompson with 38 saves no 39 saves 39 saves his 100th win picks up the shutout I don't know man like if you're I know there's a lot of

well you got to give Jordan Bennington a place on Team Canada because the four nations ignoring the fact that outside of the last game there was always one goal that Canada wanted to have back. Now, he was great in the last game.

Make no mistake about it. He was outstanding. And he got really hot when the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup. But you've seen the body of work that Logan Thompson is placed in front of you. And then you watch Logan Thompson last night. There was a moment.

So Hendrik Slapier caught Cameron Gantz with a high stick. It was pretty funny. Gantz goes down and then he gets up and he picks his tooth up off the ice. carries it off. the ice down the hallway

to the dressing I always like you and pee when players pick up their teeth off the ice I like those and you see them looking down

being like uh oh there it is by the way as an aside that used to happen in the NHL with a lot more

regularity anyway I'll get to that a second but I want one more point but Logan Thompson watching

the Hendricks lapier goes off for four minutes double minor for that one okay and Logan Thompson like put on a clinic of like throwing himself in front of puck's even if you're the biggest

Jordan Bennington fan in the world you got to look at Logan Thompson and look at that game yesterday and go like okay Logan Thompson's the guy yeah Logan Thompson's guy should be in that so I think you would just have to bring Bennington Bennington excuse me um no matter what but yeah I'm with you that Logan Thompson right now is the guy he's the one who deserves the net of the two but i just don't see why you wouldn't or how you don't bring uh bennington just given i can't even say the body work because you're entirely right like the what is the body of work the body of work is effectively like a great playoff run and then playing unbelievable in the final game and he was good in the other games but he had those moments

like you said but i think that final game earns him the spot and coop seemed to believe in him which is also a pretty important factor here. But I'm with you. Logan Thompson's my number one. Brock Badger, Canadian University hockey as well, which is a pretty cool progression from Canadian University to be now potential for Olympic, Canadian Olympic goalie number one. It's pretty awesome.

How quickly can you turn a picture around on the show using Google Images? What do I need to do? I can try my best here. Because picking up teeth is one thing, but there was something else that happens not regularly, but every now and then that used to happen in the NHL, and it always makes for a funny picture. Type in hockey players look for contact lenses. Because there's a great picture of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks from about a billion years ago of someone losing a contact lens and the game stops and everybody gets down to try to find. Okay, let's see how fast I can get this thing in here. Find the contact lens.

Did you find the picture? Yeah, I think so. How quick can you turn something like that around to people that are watching here? Let me get this. There's another one. Oh, here's another great picture, 1980 at the arena, the Blues and the Nordiques. Looking for a contact lens on the ice. Look at that.

Zach. I hope you're watching us on YouTube. If you're listening to the podcast, go to the YouTube feed and have a look at the Chicago. Oh, look, there's Bobby Bond. There's Chicago Blackhawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs

to say nothing. Look, there's that one fan on the top left who's pointing like he's seen it from the stands. I'll tell you, man. Fuck. I'll tell you what.

You know what I would love to live? I would love to live a life that where I am as confident as the guy in the fifth deck at the baseball stadium who's calling balls and strikes i want to live with that kind of confidence and i want to live with the kind of confidence that that guy has in that picture behind the glass pointing out where he thinks the lost contact lenses i want to live with that confidence i want to live with that confidence every single day if that look i see it

and strikes and that guy who found the contact length three rows back what do you mean you don't see it it's right there it's right there dubby it's right there i like how everybody's looking in a different spot too like this could be we've got refs all the way into the dot uh man you've got guys like pressed up against the boards here oh yeah oh yeah man that's a good visual contact I love it. That's awesome. I thought about that last night watching Brendan Gons pick up his teeth. Anyway.

I was watching a clip. I think it was on the Missing Curfew podcast the other day. Duncan Keith was on. And they asked him the first thing he did. And he said that he went and had to get all of his teeth fixed. So he spent all the time in the chair. That's what I was thinking about you. And I was thinking about Robert Thomas because we were talking about

him getting the veneers and we're like how do you know you're tired your teeth done oh rob's got his teeth done he's still playing still playing this won't look good man just want to have a good smile robert thomas that's the best smile in the n hl hands down not even close yep got the good for beers he really does um in who uh what were we talking about oh yeah Logan Thompson yeah he's good Let's finish up the show. What else didn't we talk about? Did we talk about the Jacob Truba hit?

No, he didn't. Okay, my pet theory is, if it wasn't an Olympic year and Tom Wilson wasn't in the discussion to play for Team Canada, he just goes right at Jacob Truba and there's no like, because afterwards he said, I asked him the fight and he said no, and we'll leave it at that. I wonder if it wasn't an Olympic year if he just would have gone and just like just grabbed Trub like, there's no asking.

even though it was technically this is a clean hit you know what hit this is this is Don Cherry Rockham's Sockham get off the trolley tracks It oh there is a Buengo Yeah that's what that's

This is a Don Cherry is a Bawango No you know who hit like that Like you know who's hit that is That's Colby Armstrong He's it Players Colby was the master of the guys

coming around the net He would drop down from his winged position and Saku Kovu and just roast a guy. Rafi Torres on, was it Jason Williams? Rafi Torres was another guy who made that hit famous. Coming around the net, surprise. That's what that hit was. But anyway, I wonder if it wasn't.

You know who else made that hit famous? Who that? Steve Downey, but not in the same way. Oh, yeah. That one I think about all the time when I think about coming around the behind. Coming around behind the net with your head up, I think about Steve Downey coming in 10 billion miles an hour. That one is top of mind when I talk about keeping your head up.

You know why I like Victor Hedman a lot? Why is that? There was a game in his rookie season. It was Tampa versus Ottawa. And he's coming around the net and he's got the puck. And Chris Neal. I think it was Chris Neal. Pretty sure it was Chris Neal.

Just roast them, just like that. or Downey or Armstrong or Torres hits him with that hit and he's asked about it afterwards and the nature of the conversation is oh do you consider that a dirty hit is that my other one that I always love was it a predatory hit

it's hockey and guys are trying to hit each other okay was it a predatory hit and Hedman shuts them right down he's like I got to pay more attention out there I got to know what's going on I got to know who's on the ice. I got to know where,

and I'm just like, I love this kid. One, he's an outstanding defenseman. And two, there's no like, wean, wah,

he shouldn't have hit me boohoo. No. It's like, no, I got to be more aware. It was like at that moment where I'm like, well,

Jeffrey's got a new favorite hockey player as Victor Hedman. And noticing a trend here, it's the Swedes. Well, no, because Marty San Luis, again,

maybe it's just Tampa. Marty St. Louis, there's a playoff series against Ottawa. he got he got stuck in the face a cross check no windshield and um afterwards he's got the cut on the nose and the whole deal and he's been he's asked about it afterwards by the reporters and he shuts it all down he's like guys guys guys guys stop stop this is hockey we're all playing

hard this is hockey that that's okay like i'm not the biggest guy out there this is going to happen that's okay like i don't want to hear anything i'm like hallelujah yeah Hallelujah. There's no like, well, what do we have a department of player safety for anyway? Like, none of this. Right away, Marty was like, guys, stop. Stop with this. It's hockey. It's tough game. Things are going to happen. Players are going to get hurt. I'm going to get hurts. I'm with you, by the way, on the, uh, Tom Wilson.

I like the theory you have about Tom Wilson and him not, why he didn't jump true. But I, I hadn't thought about that, but you bringing it up makes a lot of sense. The only thing I'll say was his comments. after when he was like it's a guy who's not paying attention like paraphrasing but he effectively said it's a guy who's not paying attention I'm like

kettle petal pot pot kettle I know you know but don't you always feel that way when a team complains about a hit because there's only a matter of time before the roles are completely reversed like I

know I know it's only the most part the old saying is it's only a problem when your bull gets scored, right? Whenever I hear teams complain about it, I always say, like, be careful. Be careful what you say here. Because there's a lot of games in the season, and odds are your guy will do something similar,

if not identical. And then what? Yeah, fair. Yeah. That's why I'm always like, and again, like, I'm saying, like, Tom, I get it. And I think that Tom Wilson now is a player who has figured out exactly where the line is and does a better job than probably anybody at skating on that line and not going over.

That's one of the hardest things to do in the NHL. I just think that that was a situation where Truba gets hurt and Wilson doesn't just go over and fill them in. because in the back of his mind he's saying you know what if i do that then essentially i'm just getting a blender out and making a protein shake for everyone who says i can't be controlled and i'm too reckless that is a protein shake for everyone who says you shouldn't put him on because he could do this this might happen like if you would have grabbed trouba what would the story have been today on today's show how will this affect tom wilson's chances of

Taking Team Canada. What if he does this against Chequio? What if someone catches one of Canada's players and Tom Wilson happens to be on the ice? That would be today's show. And he didn't. That's fair. That's fair. Yeah.

It's kind of hilarious to be thinking. He's like, and I got two, I got like, don't do it. Don't do it, man. Two more months ago, don't do it, don't do it. When's Anaheim coming to Capital One? running towards Anaheim coming back Please be after February After we made the announcement

Of who's on the team Is it after that? Yeah, that's true They can't take me off if I'm already on it Can't take me off Yeah Ducks are coming to Capital One right? Okay, good

All right We'll wrap up the program with this The sheet is powered by Fanduel Play your game with Fanduel It's the NHL season Fan Duel is your home For all the action on the ice From Blue Line to Bet Slip, we've got you covered all season with unique promos, live offerings, and more features to let you play your game.

Missed puck drop, no sweat. With a live, same game parlay, you can build up your bets until the final buzzer. Download FanDual Sportsbook today and play your game. Please play responsibly, 19 plus, and physically located in Ontario. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1-866-531-2,600. to speak to an advisor free of charge. Now, were you too dozy on the weekend to come up with the nifty little theme for today, Zacharoo?

What do you got? No, no. And I did check in on the loss that we had on Saturday. So that was unfortunate. But we'll try to get it back today. And this one I'm calling low-hanging fruits because it's still nutritious. That's right.

What do they say? What is death taxes and Josh Anderson scoring against the Leafs. The same goes for Nick Paul as the Lightning faced the Toronto Maple Leafs here tonight. But that has also started to change where the Maple Leafs finally have a guy who's able to score against another team

on a consistent basis. Now it'll be Matthew Nyes. So I'm putting both of them in to score here tonight. And then no disrespect to Jonas Johansson, but there's no easy way to say this one. I'm expecting some goals here tonight. You are. Look at you.

Lightning. I'm not very good defensively. I'm expecting goals, and I'm betting on two guys to score, so I'm going to over six and a half in this one as well. That one is plus $12.45 pays $62 tonight for Nick Paul, Matthew Nyes, and over six and a half goals total.

Exactly seven days ago when Pierre McGuire was here, you could tell very much that he was not a big fan of how the organization he was, was working for let nick paul go i don't blame him um pierre took the high road on the program and didn't roast anybody although as we say on this program rising to new depths and sinking to new heights just go for it i've never heard anybody on the show say that before Oh, no. Did I just freestyle that one? Okay. Rising to new depths and sinking to new heights.

Welcome to the sheet. I'm Jeff Merrick alongside Zach Phillips. Coming up on the program today, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. All right. Let's wrap her up there. Anything you wanted to mention from your cough medicine-induced haze of the weekend, your VIX veil that you wore all weekend long? I don't know what you do to get yourself healthy. What do you do? You have like a homespun remedy?

Homespine recipes, anything? I'm a big tea guy. Anytime anything starts going sideways, I'm crushing teas, peppermint. Like this was a stomach issue that I was dealing with this. So ginger? Transparently. Ginger tea?

Lots of ginger. Peppermine teas, a lot of it. Yeah. So cranking that. And then ginger pills like vitamin C, anything you could get. I was, yeah, yeah. I was going all in broth, the most water. ever yeah it was fluids and ginger all weekend so yeah i i told you honestly to tell the chat i

did not watch much hockey this weekend it was like what's happening on twitter and just following that because i was basically laying down and in bed for all time like not looking at anything but we made it i did a show saturday night as well so pushed through that one and uh i feel better this week so back at it fresh that's impressive You know, I was reading something on the weekend about employers who have, it was interesting. It was about employers who, when they make decisions on who they should hire. And this was an experiment that was run with a bunch of construction workers and half of them were hungover and half of them were sober. And the employers were more impressed with the ones that were hung over than the sober ones.

because they're not just playing guilty but they realize that no matter how they were feeling they had a job to do when they could push through that anybody can do it when you're feeling great now mind you it's a self-inflicted wound but still there is something to say for someone who's not feeling their best and still plowing through not that what we do necessarily is hard work yeah not that we I said no heavy lifting involved here. We watch a hockey game and then we talk about it. Oh, yeah. Wow, I did a lot of work today. Oh, boy, I said a lot of words. I need to lie down. But good for you.

Good job. Good job. Thank you. You passed the audition, son. All right, well, rough things up. I will say that. I was a little testy. It was a tough.

It was a tough. It was a tough one for you. And it's the HABs. I get it. I understand. I thought John Tavares was going to get that puck up higher on the backhand too in the shootout

but hey what are you going to do what are you going to do Texier what a goal by Texier though we've seen that move before Texier does have like the super super silky hands I'll tell you what I loved about that game

what do you think I loved more than anything else in that game what did you love in that game Scott Lotton hash marks all the slap shot yeah oh Brian Rolston's Dano Chara

Marian Hosa Like oh yeah Give me the guy that just comes in and just waste one As a few people pointed out to me on Twitter as well Robert Reichel Although that was against Roman Chechmak And he just threw it right in the pillows

So we'll just forget about that one But yeah give me the guy that just comes in And just blast it Yeah that was hash marks That was fantastic That was really good Okay Enjoy the rest of your afternoon

The rest of your evening, rest of your morning, whenever you are listening or watching this program. We thank you for your attention. We are back tomorrow at 1 o'clock Eastern Greg Wischinsky for MVSW Tuesdays right here on the sheet. Talk in 23 hours. I said 16 hours last night every day this week, every day this month. I can't get out my head. day to day because you can call it all right

I went to the dark man and tried to give me a little medicine I'm like now and that's fine I'm not against those men that's but new it's me and myself and how this is going to be fixed in my mind I'm too on a back

and I turned on the media I didn't want to back I'm doing on the music It's to know They're about And you sometimes losing

Have been on the days that we're wrong