The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Ryan Leonard $84M Extension, Drake Batherson $86M Deal, and Shawn Horcoff Named DET Interim GM ft. Matt Keator, Tarik El-Bashir, and Marco D'Amico

Episode Date: September 15, 2026

The latest episode of The Sheet with Jeff Marek covers a massive day of NHL news, including Ryan Leonard signing an eight-year, $84 million extension with the Washington Capitals, Drake Batherson agreeing to an eight-year, $86 million deal with the Ottawa Senators, Connor Bedard being named captain of the Chicago Blackhawks and Shawn Horcoff taking over as interim GM of the Detroit Red Wings.Tarik El-Bashir joins Jeff to break down the Ryan Leonard extension, the Capitals' upcoming season and why NHL teams are getting more aggressive about locking up young RFAs early in the wake of major offer sheets around the league.NHL player agent Matt Keator joins Jeff to discuss Chris Kreider signing with the Montreal Canadiens, the Leo Carlsson offer sheet from earlier this summer and the growing era of NHL player empowerment. They discuss how players and agents are approaching the modern contract market and what the Carlsson situation could mean for future RFA negotiations.Marco D'Amico then joins Jeff to discuss all things Montreal Canadiens, including the Kreider signing, Zachary Bolduc's extension and Kent Hughes' ability to lock up young players to strong AAVs and term.Plus, Jeff breaks down Drake Batherson's massive extension, Connor Bedard's new captaincy in Chicago, Shawn Horcoff's promotion in Detroit and the latest NHL contract and player movement news.#NHL #Hockey #TheSheet #JeffMarek #RyanLeonard #DrakeBatherson #ConnorBedard #ShawnHorcoff #ChrisKreider #LeoCarlsson #MontrealCanadiens #WashingtonCapitals #OttawaSenators #ChicagoBlackhawks #DetroitRedWings #NHLNews #NHLContracts #NHLFreeAgency #NHLRFA #OfferSheetSHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS:Coca-Cola: https://www.coca-cola.com/ca/en/offerings/coca-cola/hockeyReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Flames_Nation🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our Nation Network Studios in downtown Toronto. If you're watching this live on our daily face off YouTube channel, thank you so much. Please subscribe if you can. If you're listening at your favorite podcast platform, thank you for your attention. And thank you for the time as well. And please as well consider subscribing. We have a lot to get to today because it's been a very busy Tuesday, September, the 15th. Actually, it's been a really busy summer.

It's been a really busy weekend. It's been a really busy week already. A lot of news breaking right now. Sean Horcough was just named the interim general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. Earlier today, Drake Batherson signed an eight-year contract with the Ottawa Senators. We're going to get to that. We're going to get to the Chris Kreider deal that most recently happened. We're going to spend a lot of time talking about a whopper of a deal today.

Ryan Leonard of the Washington Capitals signs an extension. Eight years, 10.5 is the AAV on this one. to which I just keep saying to myself, you have to be comfortable with the new numbers. And these are the new numbers. These are going to be the numbers that we all have to get used to. I think most of us who have been with the sport for a while now can remember that era when Nathan McKinnon signed for $6 million

and the late Johnny Goddrow signed for $6 million and Morgan Riley signed for $6 million. And we all said, wow, these days, numbers are incredible and within a couple of years we are talking about Nathan McKinnon being the on the most team friendly deal in the entire NHL. They may seem like Whoppers now and we're all getting sticker shock, you know, like that's the new reality of these numbers going back to the Leo Carlson offer sheet, which really amplified numbers everywhere. And now we'll see a further cascade in what Adam Fantilli ends up signing

for with the Columbus Blue Jacket. Still no news. from either his camp or from the Blue Jackets camp, but this is what we have to get used to. Marco D'Amico is going to be stopping by, coming up towards the bottom of the hour. We'll talk to him about the Chris Kreider deal. Tarek Al-Bashir will cover off the Washington Capital side of the Ryan Leonard deal and a preview of the Caps season.

We should also talk to Mark about expectations for the Montreal Canadians as they've been getting a lot of business done recently, and part of that is the Chris Kreider deal. And that was a deal that was put together by Matt Kier's. Peter, our guest who's had a heck of a summer and one signing, you know, one deal, the offer sheet with Philadelphia. Matt, thanks so much for stopping by today, which, you know, the cascade from which we're seeing each and every day, including the most recent deal for Ryan Leonard and the Washington

capitals. First of all, congratulations on a really successful summer. How do you feel about saying off the top, there's a bunch of new numbers that everybody just has to get comfortable with, right? whether it's the Kalma Kare number, the Leo Carlson number, now the Ryan. These are just the new numbers. How do you look at the summer, since you're right involved in it, how do you look at the summer that was in the NHL?

I mean, the way I look at it is this is just the new reality of the salary cap and the post-COVID era. And I think it's a direct reflection of the work that Ron Hainsey, a former client of mine actually and Marty Walsh have done with the NHLPA, and how they've been able to, you know, craft out the CBA with Bill and Gary that's fair for everybody. And the players are being rewarded and teams are being rewarded by long-term contracts for players so they can keep them under, you know, under their control. If you could walk us through, because you walk, you walk through the Leo Carlson situation with Elliott on 32. If you could walk us through this most recent, the Ryan Leonard deal,

because this one, listen, he's an excellent player. We all know that the numbers are, again, like these are the new numbers in the NHL. Was there a moment where in the negotiations maybe the numbers changed, the nature of the conversation changed? Like how does it work from your point of view putting together this Ryan Leonard deal, of course, in concert with Chris Patrick, GM of the Washington Capitals? I mean, I think it's the way this deal was able to get done was the capitals, I think, realized and accepted what the new marketplace is, what the new reality is. And I think that they adjusted to it accordingly.

I also think Ryan Leonard showed a lot of patience during this contract negotiation that we, you know, honestly led by my son Ryan Cater, who put together all the research and comps and everything else. You know, we were able to show Ryan and his family how things are changing and to be patient through a process. And I think they were well educated and I think we were patient. And I look at some of the deals that were signed this week or that were signed during the summer. And, you know, we're already fortunately able to go buy that because I think we're patient and able to read the marketplace correctly. But, you know, kudos to the Washington Capitals for stepping up and signing Ryan to what I guess could be called a fair market value deal these days. So it's worked out for both sides. You know, there was the, and even, you know, Chris Patrick in an interview at NHL.com the summer remarked on this.

And that was, you know, the Leo Carlson offer sheet, the Leo Carlson contract changed a lot for everybody. And teams didn't want to get caught. Everybody wanted to get out in front once upon a time, Matt, you know, this once upon time I was like, ah, you know what, he's under team control. He's a restricted free agent. We'll, well, we'll take our time with this, right? It's the old Lou Lamarillo saying, if you have time, take it. Whereas now the mantra seems to be, we know we have time, but we want to get our business done as quickly as possible. I look at this entire summer. Like this is going to be a, the Leo Carlson deal is going to be a landmark deal in the history of the sport. period, because it changed the philosophy of 32 teams.

We can't wait anymore. I mean, how much of a cascade from the Leo Carlson deal? Even do you see in something like the Ryan Leonard deal? Well, I think it just was able, Leo's contract was just able to access the new reality of post-COVID contracts. You know, post-you know, the cap not being. flat anymore and the cap rising in such a significant rate i think between 2024 and 2028 the cap is going to rise 40

that's a huge jump and it's going to continue to rise as revenues uh continue to pour in especially with a new tv deal coming in and a number of different factors uh expansion number of different factors that will lead HRR to keep growing. And I mean, that's the whole basis of this system is the owners get rewarded and the players get rewarded as they grow HRR together. And it's a 50-50 split. It's a fair system. And I think Leo's deal was kind of, you know, the new reality, I think. And again, another example of, I think what we try to do with our clients is be patient. And, he always patient through the process and we're able to get, you know, a good outcome, obviously. But I think it's just a function of the new reality.

Curious what Ryan Leonard said to you when this was all said and done, and I'll frame it this way. When I used to work with Doug McLean, we would talk a lot about Rick Nash in Columbus. And I think he might have been the one of the, he was one of the first to really ring the bell coming off their entry-level deal. And he said they're on the plane back with and Mr. McConnell's plane. and Rick Nash turned to Doug and said, Doug, thank you very much. That's a lot of money. What did Ryan say when this was all said and done? And how much of a process was it for him?

I mean, it was quite a process for him just because he had never been through this before. You know, we had done the entry level contracts a lot easier than this one. And this one, it was changing in real time week to week. you know, it just seemed that, you know, things were changing as we go. You know, I think Ryan and his family, I think they trusted myself and Ryan Cater, my partner, and, you know, they were able to process this, you know, as it went. And frankly, it was just very patient with it. But I think Ryan Leonard was very relieved, you know, to have it done.

They wanted it done before camp, and we were able to do that. And also, we got the deal done before the new CBA kicks in tonight when the rules start to change. And that was a factor that kind of drove this deal, I think, even more as we go here, was the timing in terms of the new CBA and everything else. And Ryan Leonard was greeted today with dollar signs on his helmet, And they made him wear green when he got on the ice. And the kid has an amazing, he's a really funny kid, a sense of humor. And they had a lot of fun with him.

And, you know, I think in this current day NHL, I think everyone's happy for guys when they do well. Like Leo, like Ryan Leonard did well. And Leo Carlson, his Ducks teammates, were very supportive of them for, you know, for getting what they got. So you mentioned the new CBA on the horizon. Like this is the last day, get him in under the. the wire. There are some players that really thrive with comfort, you know, the ones that really want like a long-term, you know, a long-term deal. Like, that's where they're most comfortable. Some other players are happy to go on, you know, three-year deals or five-year deals,

etc. How important was it to Ryan Leonard that the term was eight? The number is the number, but I understand like the bonus structure is a massive one too. Like everything sort of lined up here, but as far as term goes, like, did he really want that comfort of knowing I'm here for eight years? Well, from our perspective, Ryan Cater and myself's perspective, we wanted five years or four years, you know, because the market's going up so much. Right. That, you know, we prefer shorter term deal.

But I think Ryan Leonard felt if they could get to a certain level that eight years was great for him because I think he just wants to focus on playing and he plays a very hard style so you never know with injuries or whatever else knock on wood but I think for him he just wants to play hockey and not have to worry about this going forward and you know I think if the team was comfortable with it and he was comfortable with it then it matched up on eight years I think everyone's different every player's different I think you know I think for Leo Carlson I think he felt enough security with where the dollars were to do five years. And he was happy with that. Other guys have, don't worry about the risk and they want three years. Other guys want security.

It's really individually based on the player. And our job is just to inform them, walk them through the process and make sure that they're, everyone, they're making a good decision. Because in the end, the player's in charge of this process. We're just helping them along. Was this quick? I mentioned like Chris Patrick earlier this summer saying like, you know, this needs to like, we need to get out in front of these things here. This take a while or was this hurry up offense last two weeks, let's get it done? I think it took all summer.

You know, I mean, I think they talked, we talked probably in May or June that after July 1st, Chris said we want to talk to you about Ryan that, you know, he's a big priority for us and what we're doing here. So, and then obviously the Leo deal hit. And I, that, honestly,

that made me want to even wait even longer. Like, what's, what, let's just be patient here. Let's see how it evolves. You know, we have until,

uh, we have until, um, uh, September 15th when this, until this ends, you know, the eight year thing.

We just wanted to be patient and very measured about it. And, And as the summer advanced and deals started coming through, you could see the cascading effect, I think, from Leo's contract going forward that has kind of reshaped things and allowed us to have more information in order to put them in a good spot. I think some of the guys that may have signed earlier this summer might not have been, you know, they're a little bit, they're being out distance now. It's just a function of when you sign the contract and when the player's comfortable and the team's

comfortable. So we just felt like we read the marketplace at the right time and got this done at the right time. I want to ask you about Chris Kreider and his deal with the Montreal Canadians, but quickly just I'm curious about Leo Carlson, the person with this contract. Like I'm sure when, you know, the, and I believe there were four offer sheets came in initially for Leo Carlson, and he realized like how significant a contract this was going to be. Like Matt, I don't need to tell you or Ryan. Like, you. how massive a deal this is in the history of the game, right? We look at pivot points in hockey.

That's a massive one. How does he carry that, knowing that whatever happens, like that part of hockey, he is married to that forever. He has become that integral, a player in hockey because of what this deal has meant to the game. How does he carry that? So the way we looked at it, And again, there was some concern on our end, and we did a lot of talking with Leo and his, he has two great agents over there. We have a win hockey over in Sweden, led by Radicammer and Marcus Isaacson.

They were very involved in it. They do a great job in Sweden. And we all talked to Leo. We talked about it. And it was kind of like Leo looked at us and basically said, hey, I'm not feeling pressure from this contract because I feel like my, I feel, secure in my future. If anything, it's taken the pressure off me. And, you know, it's funny, I talked to Ryan Leonard about the same thing, and he said the same thing. Like, pressure's off. Now, let's just go win games. And, you know, there's another, I used another example in hockey

history where an offer sheet was used with Joe Sackick years ago. Because that was back, I might have been scouting with St. Louis back then in the 90s when that went. And Joe Sackick signed a that time seven million dollar contract which was a huge deal and uh you know Colorado matched and and you know what Joe didn't feel any any pressure he went they went and won a cup there and that's what we hope happens in Anaheim you know we hope that you know Pat Verbeek and the ducks matched and right now we're all moving forward Pat Verbeek's been great I actually had to deal with him on the on the Kreider situation also which we'll get to but but you know I think they want to go and win a cup

and they've got a lot of assets to do that in Anaheim and that's so we're kind of thinking we're hoping it's going to be like Sackett that way so how did the Crichter let's get there because we've I want to spend the rest of our time here talking about Chris Cryder how did that come about what were the nature of the conversations with with you and Pat for beak and I'll be honest with you I was part of the chorus everyone's saying okay he's going to Boston He's going to Boston.

Taking the bank, long-term deposit, result guaranteed. He's going to Boston. We'll get to Montreal in a second. But how do those conversations as awkward as they might have been with Pat Furbico? So I prepared Chris Kreider and Alex Killorn before Leo sign that, hey, if Leo signs and Cutter signs for X amount of dollars, either Killoran or Crider might have to be moved out. And they were great. They accepted it. hey, it's just part of the business.

We want Leo to do as well as he can. So Leo's deal came out, and we knew that, you know, one of those two could potentially move, and Chris accepted it again as part of the business. You know, I think Pat spent a few months figuring out exactly what he wanted to do. He came to us with a game plan probably two or three weeks ago. he was extremely communicative about it,

was very much looking out for Chris and where he might want to go and what he might want to do. A trade didn't really materialize. It made sense for Chris or for the ducks. So we basically told him, please put him on waivers. We'll terminate the contract. And that way, Chris, at age 35,

you know, I think he's earned the right to be a free agent, earn the right to pick where he plays. and earn the right to come back east and be near his family. And with the exception of one Western team, you know, once he cleared waivers, we focused on the east, and there was significant interest from all the usual suspects. Even people you don't think they have cap space made a pitch, you know. Shout out to a guy down south, you know.

So anyway, it was a great process for Chris. He'd never been a free agent before. And, you know, he ends up back in Montreal with Marty St. Louis and Jeff Gordon and guys that he really knows well. Was there, I mean, everybody was surprised. I think Habs fans. I mean, the one thing about being a Montreal, Canadians fans, is history is always front and center. And we know how hard Chris Kreider plays. And there was the incident with Kerry Price and Price has gone on record and said, like, look, it's hockey.

It happens. Like, there's, there's nothing there. But did Chris have any misgivings at all? Like, how am I going to be received in Montreal? Not at all. Not at all. In fact, it didn't come up at all. I think that was a long time ago.

I think people that, you know, understand. It's just part of the game. Like, Jeff Gordon made a good point. You know, when you're going 30 miles an hour, it's hard to make a decision, you know, that quickly. Just like when I had Zadano Char with, Max Pat Perciretti situation. Z and I, we talked about that. You know, I mean, things happen quickly on the ice,

and I think the players understand that it happens. And Chris loves, I actually just talked to him about 15 minutes ago, he loves the passion of the fan base. And every time you're in the Montreal at the Bell Center, the electricity in the crowd, and it just gets you going. And he couldn't be more excited about it. It looks like a great fit. Quickly, before I let you go, you mentioned Zadino Charab.

Bluntly, like, I'll admit my bias, one of my favorite players ever. And I just loved, again, like the visual of him leaving the skates at Center Ice. Family has a Greco-Roman wrestling background. We all understand that that's what tradition in wrestling and weightlifting as well. Did he talk to you? Did you know that he was going to do that? Because that photograph of the skates at Center Ice is going to be. We're talking about like enduring images.

That's going to be one. I was on the ice because he let me sit on the Bruins bench. So I'm considering myself 1 in 0 right now as an NHL coach. My buddies, especially my buddy Rich Regerio, will not, does not allow me that. But, you know, I was actually on the ice and he started taking his skates off. And I was standing about 10 feet away. And I was, what is he doing? You know, I had no idea that he was going to do that.

He starts taking his skates off. And I almost went over and been like, hey, you okay? I'm glad I stayed back. I have a great video of it. And yeah, he did that. And then I understood it when Ben and Zach came over, his kids, and they put the sticks up. I thought it was just a great way to finish the weekend. The weekend was awesome.

It was a lot of fun, a lot of energy from all the Bruins guys surrounding Zee and what he meant to them. A lot of energy from the world players, Yarmri Yager. Marion Hosa. Cudos to Ray Bork, who was out there, age 65. And, you know, it was just a great weekend celebrating Z and what he's meant to Slovak hockey, Bruins hockey, and really, you know, the NHL as a whole. It's really, I couldn't be more proud of him. I've worked with him pretty much his whole career. And just the way he's evolved, I really use him as an example of how to maximize your career because that's really what he did. And I watch guys like Chris Kreider or Leo or Ryan Leonard

or Ryan Shea or Michael Kesslerang, these guys who signed this summer. Like I'm proud of them because they've all grew up watching Zee and a lot of them follow his habits. And those habits can take you a long away on and off the ice. So that's what I take away from Z and him, you know, that weekend. Matt, remember getting a phone call from Stan Butler, who was coaching at Prince George at that time, saying, you got to see this defenseman we just got here. I don't know what he's going to turn into. I don't know what he's going to turn into. But you got to get a look at this, at this chara kid.

Congratulations on the Ryan Lender deal. Congratulations on a very successful summer for all your clients. Thank you so much for spending time with you, Matt. Really appreciate it. Yeah. Thanks for having me. Thanks for coming out. Thanks.

There he is. Matt Keeter is the, agent from Winsna, win hockey, and just signing made official today. Eight-year contract, 10.5 is the AAV for Ryan Leonard of the Washington Capitals. And just a couple of notes, just a couple of notes quickly on this one. I'm pretty sure it's the highest contract ever signed for any player under 100 games. And for further context, if you look at total dollars for this contract, it's 11, more, 11 million more than Demadoff, 13.2 million more than Hudson, 26.8 more than Dylan

Gunther, and $35 million more than Matt Boldy. The times they are a change in in the NHL. This fan moment, a presentation of Coca-Cola being a hockey fan as a commitment, the superstitions, the chance, the pacing, the standing through overtime because sitting somehow feels wrong whether you're making the climb to the nosebleeds, rallying your section to start the wave or keeping one eye on your game and the other on the out of town scores, true fandom puts in the work.

And every shift deserves an ice cold Coca-Cola, fan work is thirsty work. And with that, we'll bring aboard Terrick Al-Bashir, who covers the Washington Capitals for Monumental Sports on the day where, I guess a lot of the guys were, as Matt Keeter, his agent was just mentioning, kind of poking some fun at the new rich kid in town in Washington. What do you make of the Ryan Leonard deal, Tarek?

So, Jeff, I was actually at the Naval Academy watching the rookies. They were having rookie camp about 40 miles away from D.C. So I was watching the videos, but man, he was getting chirped by his teammates. He was the only player on the ice wearing a green jersey, obviously, for money. And they looked like they had written dollar signs in like Sharpie all over his helmet. Correct. You know, I'm glad to see that his teammates had a good sense of humor about it. A lot of sticktaps, too.

I know guys are often, you know, very happy for their teammates when they sign those life-changing, you know, generational wealth-type contracts. And, look, Ryan Linder is a very popular player in this room. And I think everyone knows that, you know, his success is going to be very closely tied with the capital success for a long time. So, you know, good at him for, you know, good at him for, for getting that done. And, you know, I think a lot like the Alex Ovechkin 13-year,

$124 million deal that was signed in 2008, and a lot like the Tom Wilson deal where a lot of people around the league were like, that much money for a good? You know what? This deal, I think, is going to age very well. Because a lot like Tom Wilson, you know, there's a lot more there with Ryan Litterd,

and we're just scratching the surface right now. You know, it's interesting. talking, I've been making this point the last couple of weeks, had lunch with a manager a couple of weeks ago. And he said, like, look, internally, we believe that in five years, the cap could be $150 million. Like, I'm curious, talking, like, in the Washington room, because you're there after practices, after games,

like, you know, you know the guys. You know, once upon a time, a contract like this for a player who's still only played less than 100 games would upset the apple cart, right? especially with a lot of the veterans, it'd be like, oh, this guy's been in the NHL for five minutes, he's already drawn nine sheets or 10 sheets in this case. Like this is, like once upon a time,

a contract like this would really do something profound negatively to the room. But I feel like there's a transition happening in the NHL. I think a lot of it hastened by the Leo Carlson, an $18 million contract subsequent McElabrini deal, where everybody, whether you're a veteran player, whether you're a player coming off of his ELC or a rookie still looking for his first contract, there does seem to be a sort of greater business understanding

and less of a, how do we put it, pecking order? You know, like from the schoolyard to the barnyard, there's that pecking order that everyone's got to slot into. I think a lot of that is vanishing by way of salary and players are just like, you got that decimal point, good for you. My on-base or off-base in the caps room? I think you're right. I think that, like media, like everyone who follows the NHL players are now getting over the

sticker shock. You know, ever since the Leo Carlson deal, I think, and the subsequent deals have, you know, come after it. I think everyone has just kind of realized, well, you know what, it's about timing. You know, maybe I was born a few years too early to, you know, have benefited from, from that, you know, this rapid acceleration of the salary cap ceiling. But I think also players recognize, especially guys who are still young and have another contract in them or maybe even another couple contracts, realize they're eventually going to benefit from this as well.

The guys that feel, I don't say you don't feel bad for guys who are signing these multi-million dollar deals, but maybe guys who would sign just before this massive explosion in contracts. You know, I think about like a Jacob Chikrin, right? Like, you know, he signed last year, you look at the guys who've signed after that. wow, I mean, there's a massive gap between what he signed for and what guys are getting now. But, you know, at the end of the day, you're only dealing with the information that's available to at that moment. And you make the best decision for yourself and for your family. And I don't sense that there's going to be a lot of jealousy.

I think players these days, and, you know, like yourself, you've covered this league for a long time, I feel like guys were a lot more financially literate and more worldly and kind of understand how things fit together. And there's not going to be guys going, ah, how's this guy who's not even played 100 games. Now, next year he's being top of the, top of the salary scale with Alex Tuck, who's done all of this. There's not going to be a lot of that. I mean, maybe there's a little bit of grumbling, you know, privately. But I think for the most part, guys understand that this is the new reality. Get over the sticker shock.

That's the cost of doing business. now. And, you know, instead of getting grumpy now, think about how you're going to continue to grow your game so you can get in on some of that money, as you said, when that salary cap big five years now is $150 million. So, so let's talk about the plate of then. So where does Ryan Lennar? Because we saw Chris Patrick go out there and there was, you know, the trade for Jordan Cairo. There was the signing of Alex Tuck and the signing of Boonejner and Vincent de Haarnay comes in to say nothing of Alexander Revechkin coming back, to say nothing of, you know, the further development of Leoprotis, throw him into the mix as well on the further development and establishing of Justin's sort of here.

Like where does Ryan Leonard the player fit in here? Where does he go? You know, I would say, you know, based on Chris Patrick's statement and just, you know, what I've observed over the last year with Ryan and just also what I've observed over 20 years with the capitals, they don't like to rush guys into bigger roles. before they're ready for it. You know, I think about guys who spend, you know, toiled for a year or two in Hershey before getting their opportunity in Washington.

The capitals are very much a team that wants guys, when they get to those big minute moments or get to the NHL, that they're ready for it. The word I hear all the time is they prefer their young players to be overcooked rather than undercooked. And I guess that's a long-winded way of saying, Jeff, that I think that, you know, I want to say Leonard average around 14 and a half minutes last year. And with all these other big-name guys coming in this off-season, I think that regardless of what his salary is going to be a year from now, they're not going, oh, he's going to make

$10.5 million a year from now. He's got to be in the top six right away. You know, I could see him being a third-liner for a little bit. I mean, I think eventually he's going to grow into a bigger role. You know, he scored 20 goals as a rookie. I think the next logical step for him, and, you know, based on what I saw last year, he's going to be a 30-goal score many times in this league. I don't feel like because of this massive contract he signed today, they feel like they've got to force him into an 18, 19, 20 minute, a night roll. I mean, if he earns it, he earns it. I mean, if he outplays the guys around him, then he absolutely earns it.

But if not, I think I could see him this year being a third-line guy who then has to continue to grow his game and get better and work his way into that top six, which is stacked, by the way. It really is. Like it's the one guy, and I already mentioned his name, and that's Ilya Pradesh. Like, to me, he's a fascinating guy. Like, I saw him dominate junior hockey, like, head and shoulders above everybody when he played in the OHL with Windsor.

And then, like, Terek, you're there. Like, you saw him figure out the American League pretty quickly, too. And then in, you know, the brief, you know, a few games that he played with the capitals at the end of last season, correct me if I'm wrong. he had a point in every single game where he ended up appointing game player in like the four or five games that he played. Figuring out the NHL is not like figuring out the Ontario League or the American League, sir, and I understand that.

But what's the expectation here? Like at the beginning of every year, it's like, okay, who do the thing is going to win the Calder? He's figured things out fast at every level, man. He has. And he's got a lot of help from his brother Alexei, who also kind of had a meteoric rise. in the pro ranks as well. I mean, it took them a little bit of time that first year,

but then once it clicked with Alexei, it clicked, right? And he jumped massively. And I think you're going to see the same thing with Ilya. I talked to Ilya yesterday out in Annapolis. And, you know, he's excited. He acknowledged being a little bit nervous because he knows. You know, he reads the clippings. He knows that he's been penciled in.

He's been pencil in already as the third line center on this team, even though he only has four games on. his NHL resume. But I think, you know, a lot like his brother, he's got so many of the similar traits. You know, he's got the work ethic. He's got the brains. He's got the toughness. I could see really, really big things for I, you know, when I compare the two players, you know, at Alexei and I think, and I think Alexei will tell you this. And this is not just an older brother who's proud of his younger brother, I think he would say Ilya's much further along at his age than he was. Yes.

I think I think I think I'llia has a little bit more polished to his skating stride at this stage. You know, Alexei worked really hard on it. But I also see with Ilya, his hands are really soft. He sees, plays opening up. You can see that anticipation at a pretty high level for a young player who's got a full season in the age. and just a handful of games in the NHL. I think getting back to the point I made about Ryan Linder,

they're going to be very careful with them. They don't want to push guys too far out of their comfort zone, particularly with the way the roster is structured this year. You don't have to ask Ilya to step into a top six role. I think he's going to start the season as a third line

center. They've also got Boone Jenner. So if maybe he's not adapting quite as quickly as they think, or there's just a tough night where he's getting eaten up by Connor McDavid, you know, then you could make a change. You could put Boone at third-line center and move Ilya down a little bit and kind of give him some breathing room and some opportunity to learn from his mistakes. You know, within a season, within a game, I think they like that flexibility.

But I know this organization has incredibly high hopes for what Ilya can be. And like his brother, I don't think it's, and like his previous stops, I don't think it's going to take him too long. He looked great. And that line with him and his brother and Tom Wilson, good Lord. By the way. By the way, this team is gigantic. You know, I was there last

week and I walked into MedStar and I was like, holy smokes. Like, I'm just like counting farm animals in Capp's practice jerseys. This is, this is like, this is the biggest Caps team that you've covered, right? Like physically, the biggest team going away. Without a doubt. So, but that's

been this team's this organization's MO for a long time. They've always wanted to be the biggest team, you know, the philosophy was let's be bigger, let's be heavier, let's push other, the opponent out of the game with our size. But by my count, Jeff, I've got 10 players that are likely to make this opening night roster who are going to be 6, 4 or taller. How many? I mean, 10. I mean, I can, you know, there are a couple guys that I'm not sure if they're going to be, tweeters are going to start the year in Hershey. Sure. But, I mean, it just, and you know Chris Patrick, what's he 6-6?

Yeah, he's massive too. And yeah, Brian McClellan. How tall is he 6-5? I mean, you know, people build teams and, you know, surround themselves with people are kind of, you know, of their own image, right? How tall is Brett Leinhart? Like, I saw him last week while I was there, too. He's another giant.

Six-seven. I mean, this team is so big. You know, I mean, you. guys like, you know, Cole Hudson and Ryan Leonard, they're going to look like little guys out there. I mean, this team is so big. And look, like I said, this team has been drafting big players since the George Vick Fierra. You know, they've always kind of liked big players. But the difference is Sasha Pocluck, Joe Finley, you know, the list goes on and on. And but they, the thing that separates this team from the teams from, you know, 10, 15 years ago is this team also,

fleet of foot as well. Like, these guys can move. I didn't know a ton about Vinnie Darnay until I watched some of these informal practices. For a six-foot-seven dude, he gets around the ring pretty good. So quickly on Vinnie Dayhound. You know what his nickname was in Edmonton and Bakersfield?

No. Seweed Man. You know why? So Jay Woodcroft gave him this nickname, Seweed Man, because playing against him was like, swimming in seaweed. That's how he was all over you. I can see that.

I mean, with the wingspan, again, I've only watched him for a handful of, you know, informal player run practices, but I have watched him kind of get low in front of the net. And the way he uses his stick to sweep and to, you know, essentially when he gets down and he starts to sweep, that lets that forward,

he's carrying a puck in. No, he's got to stop. He's got to give himself three extra feet there. He's going to get that puck knocked off his stick. Or he's got to curl or he's got to move it faster than he wants to move it. So I can certainly see why he was called seaweed. Seaweed man.

I'll have to bring that up next time I see him. Yeah. It's back to the Bakersfield and Edmonton Oilers days. Listen, Tarek, thanks so much for stopping by. I know it's a busy day. It's a whopper of a contract. It's headline, because it's been headline after headline with the caps all summer. But add this log to the fire to.

Thanks so much for stopping by and making time for. me today. Really appreciate it. No problem, Jack. There he is the great Tariq Al-Bashir covering the Washington Capitals for monumental sports. Now, speaking with Matt a couple of seconds ago about, you know, Ryan Leonard, you know, the other big deal this week for his agency, Chris Crider, to the Montreal Canadians, to the surprise, I would imagine, of some, but not to Chris Crider and not to Matt Keeter as well. I wonder if it was a surprise to our next guest, Marco D'Amico. He's the co-host

of Star and Demico. And no stranger to this program. Did the Kreider signing shock you, Marco? Did it surprise you whatsoever? Or when he wiggled free from Anaheim, placed on waivers, contract terminated, did you say, that guy's got a spot

in Montreal? I definitely thought that it was a possibility with Montreal. I knew that there was a link there. Now, whether or not Montreal would win that derby was a completely different story because you talk contract structure fit. I think I heard Matt at the beginning of the show saying there was a GM down south with no cap space that was interested. I never count him out ever. I'm guessing that was a GM whose last name may have ended with a vowel and there might be a Zed involved too.

Yeah, yeah. You know, those Italians and GM spots, they tend to do well. I'm just saying, you know, you never count some of these guys out. but once I started doing a little bit of digging in terms of the relationship that he had with Martin Saint-Louis, with Jeff Gorton, a lot of the training staff that's come over from the New York Rangers,

the fit started making a lot more sense. And then came the 35-plus contract set up in terms of how the Canadians would be able to make that work fit in terms of performance bonuses and getting him the money that he would want. And I think it started to make sense and then we saw the announcement that came on Sunday

or sorry Saturday, And I think everybody was very, very excited to see it. But not without a little bit of resistance from Canadians faithful. Okay, let me just get the pushback out of the way here. Teams play hard against each other, right? And I understand like hockey is a really tough physical game. And sometimes you're going to get into situations like we saw with Chris Kreider and Kerry Price. And I can remember watching that and just saying like, oh, this is disaster.

This is disaster for Montreal. but at no point did I ever say Chris Kreider can never play for the Montreal Canadiens. You know, at no point, as crazy as things may sound, like at no point have I said that about any player going into any market. This is a tough game played by tough men at the NHL. And sometimes they hurt each other, but none of it's disqualifying. None of it's disqualifying. You know, like Brad May went and played for the Colorado Avalanche.

Things happen. Yep. Things happen. Things do happen. And I would go one step further. I think if the members involved in that crash are over it, I think that, you know, we owe it to the player at least to, you know, see what he can do and become a fan favorite himself, you know?

Yeah. What's it going to take like, what's it going to take for Crider to win those fans over. Consistency. I think it's going. Montreal is one of those markets where they'll cheer you on for the instant successes, the goals,

the pretty plays, but you win them over consistently by going out there and giving 100% every night. And there are some players, like for example Josh Anderson doesn't exactly light up the goal column as much as he used to in the past, but he is universally loved.

because of the way he plays and because he gives it every single shift. Fighting Tom Wilson in the player's bench helps. At that moment, I went, hab for life. That's it. All about talking about, oh, he's headed for a buyout. No, hab for life. You fought a guy in the bench, Tom Wilson.

Yeah, I mean, hopefully, if you asked Josh Anderson yesterday, he'd love to be a hab for life, he'd love to extend, and that'll be a conversation between him, the Canadians, and his agent Darren Farris. but definitely a guy who was given the A yesterday and was very happy to have it.

So I agree, but that's exactly the type of player that the Canadians are looking more for. You have your Islif Kossi that's a big boy. You have Josh Anderson, and now you're adding Chris Kreider, who's not necessarily a bruiser, but this is a guy who goes to the net and lives in the high danger area,

and that's what they were missing the most. He's strong on his skates going to the net. Like he can go to the net and not get knocked off his line. Like that's what we've seen from me. He just, his lower body is so strong. That's what we've seen consistently out of Chris Crider. So here it becomes a question because this is one of the things that I've wondered about. As we've all marveled at the salary structure of the Montreal Canadians and how well they're set up for the future.

I mean, it has been a Kent Hughes master class here. We've talked about it all summer long. You have as well. My question was always, can they sign the free agent? Is Chris Crider big enough to answer that question? Yes, look, they're able to sign a free agent, a piece of the puzzle. Is that a big enough name to say, you know what? Montreal is a destination for UFAs.

I don't think that they'd necessarily be that aggressive to go for like the top top fish. That's a UFA either. It's not there. It hasn't been their style per se. And generally the top top fish have a nice little markup of payment compared to what their usual market price would be just because. how rare is it for those big fish to make it to free agency. What I would say, though, that's more of their style,

is targeting those guys that are due raises in the form of, you know, arbitration-eligible RFAs that are a year or two removed from full free agency, being able to sign them long term, like we saw with Noah Dobson, I think that's more their play. And being able to sink your teeth into the secondary market of free agents, that's what I think Chris Kreider shows they're able to do. and it's not simply just going to be because of the relationship that a certain player may have with Martin-S-Louis

or Jeff Gorton or a trainer. I think it's also going to be just the overall build in that room and how easy it is to integrate a player from the outside in and they find success with that team. Because that's what it is with major teams, Jeff. If you can use that team to leapfrog your career, it's a win-win on both sides, and that's where Montreal is going to start being attractive.

Let me ask you about Marty St. Louis. So he extends as well. what's been the key to success for him? You know, the interesting thing is what Kreider said, the moment that St. Louis was acquired by New York from Tampa Bay all those years ago, is that he felt that when Marty came in, he was already a player coach.

And it was just, it was kind of hilarious how he was walking us through, you know, how much he was learning right off the bat from Martin Saint-Louis while they were still playing together on the same team. And he wasn't yet, you know, in coaching at all. And he said, you know, to us specifically,

He's like, I always knew he'd have a career in coaching because the way he's able to break down complicated systems or philosophies so that you can really incorporate that quickly, he makes you not only want to understand, but makes you want to buy in very quickly. And I think that respect and the teacher aspect that he has from the players, everyone buys it, everyone's willing to go through a wall for him. You know, one of my favorite while he was playing,

I mean, the player is the player. just incredible to watch, phenomenal. But one of my favorite Marty St. Louis moments actually happened in a scrum. It was a Tampa, I think it was an Ottawa series. And Marty was doing his scrum after the game. And he had been cut cross-checked in the face. I think it might have been Andy Sutton, who ended up catching him. And so I know big of all the guys that get caught with a cross-check in the face.

And he's leaking a little bit. And one of the reporters asks, you know, hey, can you tell us about that hit? Did you think it was a dirty hit, deserving supplement? And Marty just like, shut it down. He's like, look, look, I play hard and this is a really, really tough game. I'm not, he hit me. Yeah, I'm smaller. Okay, it happens.

But I'm not going to sit here and lobby for a suspension or a penalty. Like things happen. We're both playing hard. And I just was like, how many other guys would have just like started to moan and, oh, you should be suspended and get him out of the series and a dirty hit and blah, blah. And right away, like Marty was having. none of it. Is he that way with his players now too?

Not only is he that way with his players, I fear that he's going to increase that level of accountability to himself and onto the players that he used to have when he was a player. I think you have absolutely no choice under Marte-San-Luida give 110%. It starts in the defensive zone, but it's also a mindset. You're not going to find an excuse. you're not going to lean on a crutch somewhere and easy out, you're going to take it.

And as a player, you're going to improve from it. And that's what we've seen with this core, this young core ever so often. Urii Slavkovsky was also talking about it yesterday, how, you know, this is not a coach that's going to come in and bully you into submission. This is a coach that's going to teach you into blind faith practically and going with the flow and learning from it. Yeah, he's, he has that effect. Okay, so Bulldoch locked up as well, so you know where I'm going now.

Uh-oh. Arbor Jack-eye. I'm going to duck for cover. What happens here? What happens with Arbor Jack-Eye? I would be surprised if we're not talking about an Arbor Jack-Eye extension in the next 24 hours. I would be surprised. Just from hearing from both ends of the conversation,

like Jeff Gorton yesterday mentioned that, you know, he expects that a deal will be done by the time the Canadians take the ice tomorrow. And on the other end, on the players end, I've been given no reason to doubt that information, and they're both working to getting a deal done anytime between now and tomorrow to get him on the ice and with his teammates. Because as much as this is an ongoing thing, there is one undeniable piece with Arbor Jackai,

he absolutely loves this team and he wants to go to war with this team doesn't want to miss a beat so we're here you know that hard deadline is coming but his passion for this team is probably what's going to make this thing move none of that is like you cannot deny any of that and you cannot deny how much

Montreal Canadians fans adore our Arbor jack eye the question I have is and we just talked about Marty St. Louis if you're Marty St. Louis how do you use him Well, I think right now with the, you know, depending on who you talk to, whatever is the injury situation with Caden Gully, I think opens the door for Arbor Jack Eye to display that he could take on further defensive responsibilities and is not simply just the sheriff. And I think if he can prove that to the coaching staff on a regular basis, they'll play him.

And, you know, to his credit, I think he's shown that he can do that. I think in the games that he played in the playoffs, I thought in the minutes give him. He was, he did exactly what he need to do. He was physical. He pushed the puck out of the zone. Guys had very little room around him and he punished. And I think if he can continue to do that while adding a little bit of, a little bit more layers in terms of his gap control, stick positioning, rush defense.

If he can improve on those aspects and show that he put in a good summer's work of training, I think he has a legitimate shot at a regular role, at least until we get clarity on Kate and Gully's situation. Okay. I always feel weird asking this question about a 12th. 21-year-old, but here I go. Are we close to, like, decision time on David Reinbacher?

Decision time. I think that's another one that's got a wide open door to fight for a spot here. And I think if you're the Montreal Canadians, you're kind of hoping he forces the subject. Yeah. Because, you know, he's been in Montreal for the last five or six weeks now. It's been skating very often next to Lane Hudson,

Ivan Demadov. This is a guy that put in the work. It's the first summer where, he didn't have anything impeding him from being active in the training room. They put him on a really strong program. So I think he's got the momentum going into camp. And the fact that he wasn't at Canadians' rookie camp as a 21-year-old when there were older players there, like Luke Middlestadt.

It's telling that the Canadians want him to focus on winning a roster spot. So is it decision time? No, because there is a numbers game, a significant numbers game in front of him. There's also Adam Engstrom that's part of that equation. But I think it's showtime in the sense that he needs to display that outside of a contract situation and the fact that he would be the seventh or eighth defenseman and that's maybe not the best for his career. I think he needs to show that there is legitimate NHL are ready to go right now. And it's simply just a matter of time before room is made for him to jump in.

Because remember, Alex Carrier's contract comes to an end at the end of this season as well. For sure. Okay, let me close by asking about Montreal Canadiens fans and expectation. Bluntly, last year was so much fun. Last year was fantastic and you don't have to be a Montreal Canadiens fan to appreciate how great that was. And just having that back in the playoffs and how much that meant to the NHL, casual fan or otherwise.

What's the expectation now? Like we always talk about development is not a straight line. It's a bunny hop. And we've seen it before. What's expectation this year for the haves? You know, I'll just preface. I spoke to John Cooper about this because Tampa is a really good, you know, really good blueprint as to what's going on here.

And in 2015, they went to the Stanley Cup final and then they didn't make it back until 2020. And there were a lot of ups and downs in that process. There was an injury riddled season, yes, and that. And the one thing he told me was, improvement isn't linear, but at the end, when you get to the end of your goal, you're able to pinpoint it. And I think last year, they pinpointed very well where they were, what they needed to do, what they needed to improve on. Management did not want to set goals. Ownership did not want to set goals.

And then Nick Suzuki came out and talked about home ice advantage. Uriis Lipkovsky mentioning that he'd like to be one of the last two teams in the playoffs and wanted to play 28 games, which I hope he never has to in the playoffs. 28 games would require four game sevens. That would be dead. That would be awesome. You can clearly see it. And I think the cherry on the Sunday was Chris Kreider himself,

who had to tell us that he had to explain to his friends that playing in Montreal, hockey is not a sport, it is a religion. Well, I think everybody wants Sunday Mass every second day in Montreal for as long as possible in the spring, and the players feel the same way. I heard that we, listen, Everybody had a chance to get their thoughts out on Montreal last season and what it means to be a Montreal Canadian playing Montreal, all of it.

And the best line that I heard is Montreal is special because Montreal, unlike any other hockey city in the NHL, they live and they play as if beauty matters. And you see that. And maybe, like, maybe Marco, you take it for granted being there, but I can tell you as someone from Ontario, when I go there, when I go to Montreal, I feel that and other people feel it. Does that resonate with Montrealers, that they live their lives and they watch their hockey and the hockey team plays and is presented as if beauty matters? I didn't quite grasp that until I started covering the Canadians on the road. I think that's where when you start seeing how other fan bases interact with their team,

what that relationship is like. You know, I think that really kind of opens up your eyes. And then when you come back to it, I think that's where it really starts to make sense. You know, it's almost theater. And I think that's the best way to explain it. It's almost theater to walk into the Bell Center. It's even Madison Square Garden, I think Chris Crowder did a really good comparison between the two.

But it's cultural. It's not just a sport. it becomes something lived. And in Montreal, and again, like, I know that those that haven't been to the Bell Center probably will say, like, what is this hack talking about? But in Montreal, when you walk into the bell center, you can cut the air with a knife in the playoffs.

Oh, yeah. And it's surreal. And even if, even as a reporter, you are excited to witness what you're about to write about. And I think that's rare. That's very rare in whatever sport you can play, spoken to other reporters in other fields. They've told me the same thing about, you know, covering

Rail Madrid or, you know, a Yankee series. Yeah. You know, it's, it becomes tangible. And for the game of hockey, I think there was no greater evidence of that than the World Cup of hockey that we had in 2025. I think that was really the eye-opener.

The resurgence of that culture in Montreal, if you have a winning team like the Canadians now, I think it's going to go one level above. It's nothing better. Like, Montreal and spring when the haves are hot. Like, that's it. It's the best.

It's the coolest feeling. Marco, as always, thank you, sir. Much appreciated. We'll see what happens with Arbor Jack Eye and when camps get going here. And we'll keep our eyes on David Ron, Ryan Vacher, knocking that door open. Thanks, as always, Marco. Really appreciate it, pal. Always a pleasure.

Have a great day. There he is, Marco D'Amico from the Star and D'Amico podcast. One that I encourage all of you to check out on a daily basis. Okay, Zach, we got a few things here that I do want to get to before I wrap up because it has been a really newsy day. And the one thing that I just wanted to get out, you saw the story about Sean Horcoff, named the interim general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. This has been an awkward summer for the Detroit Red Wings. I think one of the analogies that I've used before in various situations,

and I'll use it again here. This has been akin to roller skating down a gravel road. That's what it's felt like with Retreat Red Wings. Here we are on the 15th of September, and they've just now settled on an interim general manager, the internal Sean Horcough. Do we have the Pierre McGuire clip? Yes.

Okay, so this is Pierre and Jimmy from their podcast last week, and Pierre says something, fascinating. And it's the first time that this is graduated from, we call it the barking chain or the whispering class and leaped out into someone putting this out there publicly. Here's Pierre McGuire on the Detroit GM situation. Have a listen. I know I said it to you. And I'm not trying to be rude to anybody. And if you think I'm being rude, I'll show you what rude is. I'm not being rude. No, I can vouch for you.

I'm just, I just don't get it. And I really believe the fact that this has taken so long, I honestly truly believe somebody internally is making it very hard for them to hire somebody because they don't want to get stripped of their power. That is a bomb. That someone internally would be throwing sand in the gears of this search in order to protect their position

with Retreat Red Wings previously with Steve Eiserman as their boss. The way that it, again, this is the way that just that it feels to me because here we are and all we have is an interim general manager. Here's Sean Horkoff, go get him until we settle this. So we've heard a number of names, Jeff Kilty and Scott White specifically. interview, Assistant General Manager of their team, San Jose and Dallas. I think that with the Dallas situation, Jim Nell, out of respect to the Illich family, let this go on long, okay?

Let this go on like into September. Normally, if you want to talk to someone from a organization, okay, that's fine, but there comes a certain point where we need that person back. and I think that what's happened with White internally is perhaps now more so than ever, knowing how much he's desired or other teams are interested in him, whether it's Nashville, whether it's Toronto, whether it's Detroit. I think that there is more of an appreciation, and they always did appreciate it, but now more so than ever about keeping him and putting together some type of plan for his future

in a post Jim Nill as general manager world. I believe that that is true. The other thing, this is what this feels like to me. Because after all of this, there's still no definite, here's our general manager. It feels like the search firm and ownership had a plan. that plan didn't come to fruition and they didn't have a plan B

and they didn't have something to fall back on. It very much feels like and all the eggs in one basket that basket didn't go the way that we thought it was going to and now we're scrambling. Now we don't know what to do. That's the only way I can explain this. I think we're all sort of reaching for what happened here.

How did we get to this place where on September 15th, as players are coming back, as NHL players are coming back to their teams, the best that they're able to cobble together is an interim general manager position with Sean Horcoff. Take nothing away from Sean Horcoff. To me, it very much feels like we had a plan, we had a preferred candidate, that preferred candidate didn't work out,

and we put all of our eggs in that basket and now we don't know what to do. That's how it feels to me. Yeah, I'm with you on that as well. I mean, this morning on off the roster, Dan Riccio and I were trying to determine how we got to this point because, quite frankly, it's in a way, it's kind of,

and again, as you just said, no disrespect to Sean Horkoff because it's not about him, it's more just about the position that the red wings are in. In a way, it's kind of pathetic that you're sitting here with a lot looming, right? You have the Larkin situation that needs to be handled here before the season starts. You have Simon Edvinson who doesn't even know who didn't know who to negotiate with. Now, okay, great, you have an interim GM, but what's the future look like?

Who's the next guy? What's his plan for the team? How does this all unfold? The Brinket's sitting there trying to figure out how he's going to go forward with his career. Like, this is in a lot of ways unacceptable. Well, you've had a summer of nothing because of this. Because of this, you've had a summer of nothing. Yeah, and it's unacceptable.

For a team that was supposed to be taking steps forward and just continually tripped over themselves when it came time to close out a regular season and get into the playoffs spot, whether that was because the players weren't good enough on the ace or because Steve Eisenman didn't get them enough help, free to debate however you see fit there. But at the end of the day, they didn't do enough.

And now all of a sudden you got to a point where in the summer, it went above them and they haven't done enough. A quick thought on Drake Batherson here with the Ottawa Senators. But first, one thing I want to mention to you, before we close out on today's program, and again, some thoughts on the Ottawa situation with Batherson in a couple of seconds. We've got one last off-season move for you.

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a weekend away, or anywhere you feel like being comfortable and looking good. The offseason is almost over. Grab yours while you can, 15% off the entire offseason social club collection for limited time at nationgear.ca. I didn't think for one second that Ottawa wasn't going to get this Drake Batherson deal done. No.

The only question was going to be term and decimal point. it always felt like this was going to be the combination of Adrian Kempe, Alex Tuck contract, and that's where it ended up. A couple of reasons here. One, next year's price would have been at least $1 million, maybe a million and a half dollars more. So what was 10 and a half would probably have been an 11.5, maybe 12 next year when the salary cap goes up again. So, and the other thing is considering, not that everything has to do with Brady Kachach. with so much in the first season post, Brady is going to be about Brady. And I don't think the Ottawa Senators had any desire to lose another roster player,

high impact goal scorer who wants to be there and wants to play in Ottawa and wants to compete with this team and stay relevant and stay in the playoffs and perhaps one day compete for a Stanley Cup. It may have been tricky getting there. maybe the price point was higher for Steve Steos, general manager of the Ottawa senators than it was at the beginning of the offseason. We all know the reasons why. But this one always felt like it was going to end up in Alex Tuck Adrian Kempe

territory, and that's where it got. This is going to sound snobby coming from a very obvious Toronto fan. Someone from Toronto. But Jeff, the reality is the Ottawa senators currently, they're in a position where when you have guys who want to be there, you need to keep them there. You need to find ways to keep them there. I think this is a very fair deal on both sides. Good deal. I think that if you told me this in June, July, that this is what he would probably be at. I probably would have said, wow, okay. Like that's a lot. But as the summer's planned, it panned out here, it makes sense. It makes a boatload

of sense that that's the case. Get them locked up long term. I think it was a very good deal. But for both sides and a very important one for Ottawa here as was the slogan, the hill we choose. This is the hill Drake Batherson chooses, Jeff. Listen, it's a good deal. He's a really good player. He wants to be there again. I don't think that that's exclusive to just the Ottawa senators. I think it's incumbent on teams.

Like somebody wants to be there and he's productive and he loves it and he's a contributing member not just to the team but to the community, you try to find a way to keep all of those guys. And good on Drake Batherson. And he got his number and the Ottawa Senators got their player. The other contract, and I think we'll do more on the Buffalo Sabres, maybe as early as tomorrow. We're back on tomorrow, by the way, this week and next week, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then we're back to full time. The other player that I wanted to mention here, because he's kind of become a favorite on this,

show. And that's Noah Osland, who signed a really nice contract. 6.6 is the AAV on that one. I know that there are, like, look, he hasn't played 100 games. I know that. It's a big contract. Again, these are the new numbers. This is the new reality. I got to get used to it. You got to get used to it. Everybody's just got to get used to it. The knock on him around Buffalo, for whatever it's worth, is Is he strong enough physically to play at a high end, you know, 84 times a year? But the flip side of that is, I can tell you with like full authority, those players in Buffalo love playing with Noah Osland. One of the best compliments I think you can pay a player is that guy makes it easy to play

hockey. That guy makes it easy to play the game, right? I think the ultimate best compliment you can pay a player is you could play in any era. To me, that's like, wow, the ultimate compliment. But you make the game easy for everyone around you to play. That's a massive compliment. And you ask Buffalo Sabres players. Like, I'm sure plenty of them have gone into Delany Rough's office and say, can I play with him? Can you get him on my line? Can I play with Noah Osslin? Like, that's just the kind of player that he is. Just want to make. sure that I got that out about Noah Osland and the Buffalo Sabres.

The other thing, I'll just be blunt. Does anybody really expect Connor Hallibuck at camp? No. No. Like this is going nowhere good right now. Yeah.

I don't see it. I don't see him getting there. I don't see him being there. I saw, I have seen discourse on Twitter between people saying, well, why wouldn't he go? Wouldn't you want to show another team that you should be,

that you're ready to go and you're going to jump into their camp and be ready to go if they want to trade for you? I'm like, the last thing I would want to be doing, if I'm Connor Hellebuck, is going to camp. Being out there, taking shots, going through drills, risking anything at all. I think Kevin Shovel Deoff even probably, if he's working the phones as vigorously as we assume he is,

That's probably also one of the last things he wants right now, too, Jeff. So I don't see him being there. I don't think any of us do. It'll be curious here. We just mentioned Buffalo still very much. I still do think Carolina very much in this mix as well. I would have to call them exhibit A and B. But then Utah as well, makes a ton of sense for them.

And then there's always, you know, mystery team X that we didn't see coming. in situations like this. And then he ends up going there. We go like, oh yeah, that does make sense after all. But yeah, I don't think that anybody expects

Connor Hallibuck to go to camp. And then that becomes another page in the book of drama that has been this off season and hasn't it been glorious? It's been fantastic. I feel like we've been active all summer. I mean, obviously the podcast has.

We've been two days a week the whole summer. But I just mean even on the days that we're not doing shows, there is always something going on to be ready for for the next day or for after the weekend or whatever. There's constantly been news coming through. And as a hockey fan,

it's been kind of awesome because it scratched enough of an itch all summer that it wasn't overdoing it where it was just every single day boatloads of information and news came out where today I sit here, Jeff, dying for NHL hockey to still come back to my screen. Like it was just there to tease me enough

all summer. And we still don't have a fantilly contract. Do we? I should probably check. I've been checking. Have you checked in the last five minutes? Do we have a fantilly deal? None.

That's going to come in between 13 and 15, right? Right? Yeah, I think so. I think so. The latest report, I believe, was from Pier LeBron this morning and he said that they were not close. So one says 13, one says 15? That's, it could be.

That's another situation. Like right now, if a guy wants to be there, get it done. Yes. Okay. Thanks for joining us today. I got one thing. One more thing to promote. Sorry, this came in under the wire.

We would have had this on the sheet, but just came in from our boss, Omal Delitz. He asked me to pump the tires of this one. Of course, it's going to be a Nick Alberga thing here as well. Oh, geez. I'm sorry, but Nick did a one-on-one sit down with Matthew Nyes today. The interview is up right now on the daily faceoff. Toronto page. And I'll throw to the clip here now to give people a teaser if everyone wants to jump on over

to the Daily Face Off Toronto page after this to give this a watch. But Al Berger sat down with Matthew Nized and asked him about the trade rumors from this summer. What trade rumors? What's thoughts on the trade talks and staying in Toronto. Let's shift our focus to obviously another big story from the summer. Your name continued to come up in trade rumors. What was it like for you? knowing there was a lot of speculation about your future in Toronto out there.

Yeah, I mean, I try not to like look into it too much. You know, obviously I'm not blind to it. You know, I see it every now and then with, you know, my buddy's sending it to me and stuff. But yeah, I guess all that stuff, you know, it's cliche to say, but it's really out of my control. You know, I didn't have any say as to what was it going on. So I'm fortunate that I'm still here and that I'm a part of this group. I love these guys.

So I'm just happy that, you know, I'm still wearing the blue and white and get a chance to, you know, play for the Leafs here in the next season. Did you ever get to a point where you thought maybe I'm actually not going to be a Maple Leaf or did you let your head not wander there? Yeah, I mean, you know, with all that went on in the summer,

you know, it's obviously in the back of your head that it's a possibility and, you know, I don't really have any security. So, you know, I was just trying to, again, focus on my summer training and get me. my knee fixed and little things like that. And again, I'm pretty fortunate that I'm still here and that, you know, they were just rumors and speculations.

It's one of those things. And by the way, man, is he big? Huge. His neck and his head are massive. It's a buffet table back that he has. Good Lord. He's available for weddings, parties, bar mitzvahs, just rent out his back. It's one of those things that I could.

never figure out. Other than I looked at Matthew Nyes and said, he's the one guy on the Maple Leafs roster that John Shaked could get a team to overpay for. That was it. Other than that, why would you move a guy like that? He's big,

he's strong, he goes to the net, he's a modern day power forward. He has a potential to score 35 to 40. Why would you let that go? Yeah. Unless you have someone willing to overpay. and he was the one guy on the Maple Leafs roster

that Trilliving before him and John Chacon now could probably get a team to overpay. That's the only thing I could think of. That's the same way that I see it. I know Renaud LeVois had put out the other day as well, that, you know, Nise's name hadn't necessarily died down completely or completely gone away. That's the way I see it, right?

If somebody calls you and says, we're going to give you the world for Matthew Nise, and you are on that phone call and say, wow, that's the return, then okay. Yeah, first thing I'm saying is, A, open a vein, B, we'll start with your first child. Right. Like, it's going to cost.

Right. This is going to be expensive. And to be honest, the other part of it that scares the living hell out of me is this is the kind of guy that the Leafs have been dying for for a long time. Every team. Well, yeah, every team. Every team. Yes.

But I specifically look at it like in the Nazim-Cadri situation and think about that. hole. He's not Nazim Kudry. There are different players, but more so the hole that Nazim Kodry left behind when he departed from Toronto. Since that day, they have spent every day trying to fill that hole. Yeah. He does that in a lot of ways.

You want a big strong power forward under contract, a really team friendly deal who could score you 30 goals, maybe 35, maybe even 40. If things break properly. Right. You can play on your first line. You want that? Nah. Pass here.

Keep him. Yeah. Go check out the rest of the interview, Matthew Nyes, and Nicolberg. Where can we find that, Zach? That will be on Daily Faceoff Toronto. The link is pinned in the chat there right now so people can jump on over there after the sheet here today. All right. We had a lot in there today.

What are we going to do tomorrow? There'll be more. He'll be more. They'll be more. There'll be more tomorrow. There's going to be somebody gets traded, somebody signs, somebody stripped of a letter. It's the last day for the soon-to-be old CBA. Yeah.

Right? So load up your bonuses. Go look at the bonus structure that Matt put together for Ryan Leonard. Yeah, I'm going to take a peek into that. I got to dig deeper. Hart's got that up at Puckpedia now. He's got all the Pacifics, as we say, in the Atlantic on the Ryan Leonard deal. It's a beauty.

Oh, yeah. No, it's a, it's a Picasso. Okay, listen, thanks to Matt Keeter for stopping by. Thanks to Tariq Al-Bashir. Thanks to Marco D'Amico for stopping by as well. Thanks to you for watching. Please subscribe. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you. If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, please do the same. Always appreciate that. Thank you for your attention. And listen, like we're back tomorrow and then Thursday. Same schedule next week. Wyshinsky is aboard this week on Thursday. Next week, I believe, Tuesday and Thursday.

And then we'll begin our regular schedule as we start to get into another hockey season. And this offseason has been fun. and it's not over yet. Still some big decisions on the horizon. So we'll be here to document all of it. Follow us all on the socials. And in the meantime, tip your Zamboni driver on the way out. That's it for the sheet today. We'll join you again tomorrow, 1 o'clock Eastern, right here on our daily faceoff YouTube channel or wherever you get your podcasts. We'll talk to you tomorrow.