The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Shawn Horcoff Shuts Down Edvinsson Trade Talk ft. Michael Augello & Greg Wyshynski

Episode Date: October 15, 2026

On today’s episode of The Sheet with Jeff Marek and Greg Wyshynski, the guys break down Shawn Horcoff’s comments about having “no interest in trading Simon Edvinsson” and what they mean for the Detroit Red Wings’ future, including Dylan Larkin and Edvinsson. Plus, Rick Bowness calls out the Columbus Blue Jackets for their “embarrassing” performances, Juraj Slafkovsky takes a huge hit, and more of the latest headlines from around the NHL. Then, Michael Augello joins Jeff and Greg in studio to break down the Buffalo Sabres’ start to the season, whether the team has made meaningful improvements from last year, the development of Jack Quinn and Zach Benson, and what the Sabres need to do to take the next step. Plus, the guys preview tonight’s matchup between the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs.SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!! 👍🏼Coca Cola: https://www.coca-cola.com/ca/en/offerings/coca-cola/hockey 👍🏼Sports Interaction: https://www.sportsinteraction.com/thesheet 👍🏼Taco Time: https://tacotimecanada.com/ 👍🏼Movember: https://movember.com/ 👍🏼DoorDash: https://www.doordash.com/en-CA Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome once again to The Sheet for this Thursday, October the 15th, coming to you from the Sports Interaction Studio, an official sports betting partner of the NHL. Before we get to Greg and his tastefully decorated studio, want to let you know, new chapter, new gear. Daily Face Off team collection is officially live, featuring premium apparel built for the community you love and inspired by the voices you trust from varsity style pieces to everyday essentials. It's gear you can wear on game day around town or wherever. hockey fandom takes you shop the collection now at nationgear.com. Hello, Greg Wischinski. How are you? And you have,

you have a shelf. You have books, your own books. Is that Scott Stevens I see over your shoulder? We have a mug and there's something green. Look at that. You can see it in the wide shot. Yeah.

No, I've decided to completely lean into my devil's fandom after writing about how I'm vicariously living through Sunny Meda, their general manager in my column today. That was a good one. I got to talk about So here's a thing that happens Very more infrequently than you'd expect for me and you

Which is that Somebody remembers something that we said And has it in their back pocket Until they see you And that's I sat down with Sunny a few weeks ago For this this column And we sat down and he's like So do you still think I shouldn't be the general manager of this team?

I'm like, what are you talking about man? Because I don't remember saying that at all Receipts. And Sunny brings receipts. It turned not on this show and not on ESPN, but on a devil's podcast that I was a guest on. Yeah. I said, and I know I had said this on the show too with you is that I felt that Sunny was brilliant and could be a great general manager. But in the current predicament of the devils, they needed somebody like Brendan Shanahan as president of hockey ops.

Like that was something I think I've said on the show here. I said it on this podcast. he kept the damn receipt like he bought an ill-fitting light bulb from Home Depot and hit me with it at the beginning of our conversation. So I appreciate Sunny for that.

At least he didn't go all darnel nurse on Mark Specter with you where he just like totally dog-faced him and blanked him and just like wouldn't respond because the thing about Sonny is like he'll keep that in his back pocket but he'll do it with a smile. Like honestly sunny's one of the most interesting people,

not just managers, but one of the most interesting people in the NHL period. And like I look at Sunny when he talks about net minding and how he has three goaltenders. And you know what the first thing I think of is poker and his poker background. It was a poker proker pro pro pro pro pro pro pro yeah. Poker pro like this is to me it feels to me like the classic bluff.

Oh no, no no. Goaltending position is so volatile. I just happen to have these Stanley Cup rings because of one goal. but no, no, no, goalie position is volatile. We're going to go with three. And I kind of look at it and say like, this fits the background. Like this is, this is a classic, this is a classic bluff from Sunny Mehta. Like he, he has a number of different communication skills.

I think he's wildly smart to the point where, you know, you might not, put it this way, if Sunny Mehta calls about a player that you may have given up on in your organization, maybe you shouldn't give up on that player C. Lombardi, comma, Amadeus. Yeah. The real Joe Sackick, don't pick up the phone vibes. So the goal-tending thing is interesting, and I kind of agree with what you're getting at, but I don't think that you have to use a card-playing term the right read of the hand at this point.

So you have to remember that the reason that Sergey Bobrovsky was the goalie for the Florida Panthers is that they couldn't move him. They just couldn't get rid of it. And we all went like, oh boy, they're tropegatory on this contract. Yeah. So it turned out to be beneficial that he wound up being, in my opinion, at least, a really important reason why they won those back-to-back cups and went to three straight finals. But what Sonny is saying basically about his goal attending, and look, Jake Allen, Nico Dawes doesn't inspire much confidence about the devils being ultimately a Stanley Cup contender.

Right. But his take on it is very much within the poker mindset, which is that you are trying to play the hands that have the highest probability. of success, right? So his whole take on goaltending is that there's too much variability. There's too much, you know, you never know what you're going to get, you know, one season somebody's up, one season somebody's down, see also Jacob Markstrom. And so his whole thing is like, I would rather, I think what he said in my column was you can, you can, there's a much higher probability of Connor McDavid being one of the top five scores in this league than the best goaltender being the best goaltender in back-to-back seasons. And I completely agree with that, right? Like that is,

that makes a lot of sense to me. And I can see that. in the mindset of his approach was goal-tending. But I'm also with you, Eric, in the sense that I think at some point, if he is bluffing, someone's going to have to call him because they need another body back there at some point. Listen, I think that this guy is fascinating and comes from enough different walks of life

that he's kind of bringing a whole new life to that position where, like traditional hockey people come from very, one very narrow and rigid train track that they've been on their entire life. How they communicate, who they communicate with, how they make their decisions, what goes into it all. This guy brings a background of like poker and jazz and improvisation and hockey, too. Let's not forget about that.

That is all sort of into what goes into him making his decisions. That's why one of the most interesting things to do. Like for some managers, you can look at him and go, okay, I know what they're trying to do. with sunny, I'm just like waiting to be surprised at every single moment. And we felt this way about other managers. Tulis had this one. Tulski clearly does as well. Like I think it's an exciting time right now as we're starting to see a different sort of managerial shift in the NHL.

I think it's exciting. But you know what's funny? You know who else had it? Lou. And Lou is the most traditional hockey man of all time. But Lou Lamarillo every single season, you're like, what rabbit is this guy pulling out of us? hat. And then the man traded for Doug Gilmore at one point, right? Don't forget.

Don't forget. Like when he, and I'm old enough to remember reading about this in, in the hockey news, I remember getting the edition and reading about Lou Lamarillo from Providence College and how everybody around the NHL mocked the decision. Like, okay,

uh, varsity club doesn't work here in the NHL. This is the big boys and there's no room for college brains and blah, blah, like all of it. And he turned out to be like the model of like the conservative general manager. At the time when Lou was hired in the NFL, NHL wish, it was one of the most radical things anybody had seen. Because previous that was like, Ned Harkness came into Detroit and it didn't work.

And everyone said, okay, well, that's with the college people. And we're just sticking with our diet and the wall NHLers. Lou was a controversial hire. He really, really was. So the crux of the sunny thing for me, though, is like, like Tolski, along with being, you know, a biochemist, genius nanotech guy. Yeah. was also a guy that got into hockey commenting on Philadelphia Flyers blogs.

And Sonny famously is an old school devil fan to the point where he's wearing starter jackets and the stands in the Meadowlands cheering on Pat Verbeek to score 46 goals in the 87-88 season. Chances of us being at some of these games together pretty high, by the way. But the thing that fascinated me, though, is like we've had fans become GMs, but we've never had a fan become a GM. of the team he was a fan of in the way that Sonny has. Like, no, no NHL experience.

There's no, you know, elite prospects random junior team he played for. Like, he was a devil's fan who, through a very securited his route, got into hockey front offices, AGM with the Florida Panthers, all that. He's got the chops. Yeah. But he's also a fan now running his favorite team, which again, as some, listen, we've all gone to the HF boards and proposed trades for our teams that we think could work. Now he's doing this for real.

And on top of that. real, yeah. He's going out and meeting with guys that he used to cheer for. Like, there's an entire section of the column about him, you know, talking to Pat Verbeek about being in the stands and cheering for him to get to 50 goals. And Pat Verbeek, this guy who's going to be, you know, negotiating with Sonny in perpetuity on players and trades and everything is like, ah, if I only could have effing stayed healthy at the end of this season, I want to hit 50.

Like, it's crazy to me that he's on this route. And I think a lot of us, you know, whether you're a Devils fan or not, can appreciate the the opportunity in front of them. Think about, like, how much you love your team. And if you had a chance to run it, and not only that, but a chance to, like, bring a cup back to that community for the first time in over 20 years. Yeah. Like, that is something.

You know, the, um, the fan thing is, is interesting with, within the NHL. And the last time I heard it spoken about was recently. And you know what it was around? A lot. Because some teams, some teams had this issue. Some just sort of shrugged it off. Um, but it was around the e-book. Oh, yeah.

And here's why. There are some teams that looked at the ebug position and said, like, look, essentially what you're going to get is like a decent beer league goaltender who's a fan of hockey and a fan of the team that's, you know, in his market. And there are some teams that internally said, you know, we don't want a fan boy here. We don't want it because the eBow is going to be around the team. We don't want an eBug that grew up a fan of the New York Rangers or the Florida Panthers or the lot of. Angeles Kings or whatever. We don't want that around and deliberately went out to try to find ebugs outside the market. Other teams are just like whatever a local guy handy can play net, we're not going to worry

about him asking for autographs or fanboying any of it. But there are some teams that actually had that conversation. We don't want the local fan boy. Yeah. I mean, I guess that makes sense. You want him to be one of the boys. You want to carry himself. I mean, the e-bug rules kind of made it even harder to not find a fanboy, it seems like,

because there are such restrictions on the professional history of these guys. But yeah, man, it's always fun. As I mentioned in the piece, I have never hidden the fact that I'm a doubles fan. I think that we all have to be honest about why we got into this sport. You know, some of us by playing, some of us by, you know, crying when their team loses in the playoffs, see me in 1994. But, you know, I think it's important for journalists and media members to kind of just be like, hey, this is why I'm into it, you know, and acknowledge it and not try to hide it, not try

to run away from it. Maybe you've soured on the experience because you've become jaded in all of your working in this profession, but I don't think there's anything wrong with acknowledging why you love it. And the idea that like one or two of us can actually get into a front office and start playing with the toys and just as I said to Sunny, like the simple. fact that he could walk into any room in that arena and just get a devil shirt. Like, I got to spend 30 bucks on a devil shirt if I want to buy a devil shirt. So I can just feel like, hey, give me a devil shirt.

I'm the guy now. It's my job. Merrick, you can admit your Leafs fan now. Like, it's, Greg's telling you, it's your time. You can say, you're allowed to say. I grew up watching, I grew up watching two teams in southwestern Ontario. I've told the story many times Greg's going to be like, oh, God, he's going to glaze over on this one. Or eyeballs rolling back.

But I grew up watching the Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. And the voice of Ted Darling is still the one in my head. And that is. And somewhere along the way, I just stopped cheering for teams. I kind of look at hockey is one long game that never ends. There's just sort of pauses and then the game picks up, whatever it is. You could replace all the sweaters with just like orange and green. And I wouldn't care as long as I'm watching a good hockey game.

And that's why even internationally as well, I don't care. I just want to see a good hockey game. I know, trust me, it's a privilege position because I don't get the heartbreaks. Internationally, you care a little bit.

Come on, you care a little bit. No, I don't. Honestly, actually, actually, that's not true.

I take it back. I take it back because one of the planks in your platform is because you are filled with Canadian superiority and have seen your team win so many times. You're like a Vegas gold Knights fan. You're apathetic because of success.

Yeah. You wanted to, you have been on the right. record is wanting to spread the wealth of success throughout the entire world so everybody else loves hockey as much as Canadians do. My thing about my thing about it too because I grew up, you know, listen, and the lore of 1972 and Canadian hockey supremacy and all that. The thing that I've always sort of looked at and snickered in my country is how, you know, growing up, you know, 70s, 80s, 90s, every hockey fan here in Canada has always sort of, you know, like, couldn't

figure out why this game wasn't more popular around the world, specifically in the United States. Like, oh, everyone's so stupid. This is the best game. So the world finally pays attention, right? It's like the feeling of tapping the world on its shoulder and it turns around and it finally has something to say. Well, the rest of the hockey world is turned around. And here's what they have to say, we're going to get as good as you. But Canadians want everybody to be interested in hockey, love hockey, play hockey, grow hockey, but just be a little bit worse. Right. Right. Of course. Yeah. But. The inevitability is what we're seeing now, and that is the rise of USA hockey.

We want you to appreciate the throne, but just don't knock us off the throne. Just leave us with the crown. Absolutely. One thing I do want to mention here, coming up at the bottom of the hour, guess who's coming in? My drug dealer. My drug dealer. Mike is yellow.

I have an addiction to World War I books. And whenever I see Mike, you always gives me one. I've wanted to read the sleepwalkers for a long time. And so my drug dealer has come through Yeah With some that makes sense That makes sense That I've read referenced all over the place

And heard on various podcasts But I've never read it So Mike is jello Speaking of Buffalo in Toronto See that make I was wondering where you were going with that But then I realized You can't grow your own World War I book

So I make sense That you're talking about something different No No So Mike's going to say Last thing I want to ask you though Like to wrap up this fan conversation Has there ever been a time in your life

when you lived and died with a team, like your soul would be crushed if they lose. Kind of like when when Zach's watching Gavin McKenna on the power play, like, is there ever been a time when you felt that your emotion of well-being was tied to a team? 1987 Canada Cup was the most ever been emotionally invested in hockey. Now, 87, I don't know I get like on the shrinks couch here, but like 87 was a particularly tough one for your boy because my mom had just passed away the year before and I kind of quit on everything. And then 87 came along and provided the best year in hockey's history, whether it was the Canada Cup 87, whether it was the Oilers and the Philadelphia Flyers in an incredible Stanley

Cup final. There was so many, the Easter epic was 87 as well. There were so many great international tournaments. There was the two games. game series between the Soviets and the NHL stars, which is one of those mini tournaments that's been lost to history, which was great. That was 1987 as well. So that was like a really emotional one for your guy here. And I always wonder how much of that I carried into Canada Cup 87. But for me, the hockey was incredible.

And that was the most dramatic and invested I ever was in hockey in a hockey team winning. That was it. Yeah. That's your, that's your sports as emotional release valve story. That's what it was. Like, that's what it should be. When Lemieux scored. In many different ways.

When Lemieux scored after the Dale Howard Chuck hook. So it should never have been an odd man rush in the first place. I'm not sure what nationality the official was who just happened to be staring at that play and did not put his arm up. So there was an odd man rush. But nonetheless, Canada won in your play, Jeffie was very happy. But yeah, that was the most I've ever been emotionally invested. 1987 for Jeff Merrick. You were basically living a Gord Downey song, it sounds like.

tragedy and hockey and I really really was this the part yeah part of that is like from the shrinks couch afterwards um okay a couple of things here uh Sean Horcoff yeah in term general manager this is at a press conference where he's wanted to be talking about the celebration of the Alex the Brinket extension um that part of the press conference lasted a cozy couple of minutes and then it was questions all about the obvious elephants in the room saying he has zero interest in trading Simon Edvinson, to which Greg Wischinski says what? Or is this just Sean Horkov saying what a general manager in his position should say, whether he has any intention to or not? No, I think he doesn't have intention to do so.

Like, I think he's doing the right thing. Look, this is an audition, right? I mean, he obviously didn't get the job, so he's going to have to convince the illiches to give him the job. I think an important part of the resume now is I managed to get Alex to Brinkett to sign on the dotted line on a max term contract at a time when everyone assumed that he was going to be on everybody's trade board come February. So that's one win. And now you're trying to wait out and grind down a foundational piece on your blue line within context. And so I don't think it's simply just trying to stand on ceremony to look like the tough guy and try to make sure that the, you know, the rest of the rats don't escape the sinking ship or anything like that.

I do think that he believes, one, and the player, based on what Sean's previous position in the organization was. And then, two, you know, I think he believes that this is the kind of guy that you need to stick around. You know, if you're, you know, trying to build something in Detroit rather than flipping them for, you know, what probably would amount to futures and then you just hit the reset button again. So then here becomes the question that many people have asked, which is, okay, if there's 13 times seven years, for Alex De Brinket, then where's the seven times 10 for Edvenson? Why should this one be such an issue here if he is indeed that important?

That's the one thing that I wrestle with here, other than maybe Edvinson just flat out doesn't want to be in Detroit anymore. No, that could easily be it. But I mean, okay. Let's talk about contract value for it. a second because the question of contract value is what is earned and and and what do you value right and where do those two things meet like is he a 10 million dollar a year player in the league right

now based on the current economics yes you think so because eve boeum is nine so based on the current economics yes the minute boeum signed that deal the minute boeum signed that deal edvenson went to 10 See, that's an interesting point of comparison because in both of these cases, you can argue that the team is going to have to overcompensate in order to retain the player. I think Z. Bouillon is making Vancouver Canucks. We got you in the Queen Hughes trade. And we're just going to pay you whatever you need, baby, because we don't need any more fallout from that ugly situation. Tough start to the season, too. You can tell that contract is that is win.

on him. He's weighed down a little bit by it. But no, I mean, listen, I think what I'm saying is that I don't know if necessarily the accomplishment adds up to $10 million a season for him based on what he's done in the National Hockey League. The potential certainly does. But where you get into the interesting math is exactly in the Zee William situation, which is that if you want to keep your young player happy and you believe that he's part of what you're building and you want to end this this contract drama before it goes. into November, then you probably do have to compensate

the aesthetic. The other part of it with Edvenson is it's not just an investment in Edvenson on your blue line. It's also an investment in Morritz cider. Like we saw the best of Moritz cider, where people are talking about him for the Norris trophy playing with Edvinson. Yeah. It's not just about this player. It's what he means to your franchise defenseman, the one you're building all

of this thing around. And probably your next captain. Yeah, that makes sense. He wouldn't be the first defenseman to get his partner paid, right? Like to keep him happy if they work well together. You know, I look at his numbers. Yeah, I mean, a bit of a dip last year. 31 and 78 for a player like him, I think is pretty good.

Do you think we'd be having this conversation if he was 6'1? Oh, the 6'4.6 is part of it. Yeah, but that's just because his frame of influence is just so much wider than other. defenders because you could knock on like oh although you know zeeve bollum is in exactly six foot six but you can look at it and say like yeah you know what there are more defensemen that are six foot one than there are six foot six right so that could be a factor here i don't know i just look with the performance and and what he's meant to to cider as well and say like look this guy can be an anchor on your second pair or he can be up on your first pair and you have one of the top

one of the best young pairs in the NHL. And again, much like Detroit needed a good news story with the Brinket, don't they kind of need a good news story again here? No, all he needed was the Brinket. The vibes are immaculate right now. Oh, one thing. Dylan Larkin will want to stay. It'll be a whole thing.

By the way, do you see the report that he wasn't part of their leadership meetings earlier this season, that it was like he wasn't invited to the player leadership meeting? That's not great. No, I'm not surprised. You can't. You can't. Yeah, I know. No one who asked for a trade can be a part of the leadership meetings.

Like, that would have been a bigger story for me. A guy asked for a leadership meetings. You know, figuring out who pays for the steak dinner on the road. Like, that's what I figured the leadership meetings are. You can't be part of that. He's got the most money. He does too. He does too.

One thing that's popped up. Elliot mentioned this on his, on the, latest 32 about Scott Cleminson. Have you seen this story about Scott Clemenson? Yeah, he's with the New York Rangers, works in the goalie department, obviously. And he was at the Buffalo Montreal game. We assume having a look at Ukapakalukinen. Again, this is all under the umbrella of Shastrickens out for the season. They're going with Dylan Garand. So what it sounds like is I don't think this is just existing in a vacuum and they're just scouting. But I think that Clemson, is probably making a list for jury right now.

Who are the options? Who should we be looking at? I'm going to go ahead and throw a dart and probably say that considering the contract and the term, that Jordan Vinington is probably number one on that list for the New York Rangers. I would imagine since he has a background in New Jersey with Mackenzie Blackwood,

he would be on that list as well, as would the aforementioned Ukepeka Lukanin. I don't get a sense that anything is imminent from the New York Rangers. I think that they're happy to run with Garand here, who looks good. I was surprised he didn't get claimed. Other people were surprised he didn't get claimed, but that's a blessing.

And they're just going to run with them as far as they can go. But for the Cleminson issue, I think he's going to show up at St. Louis games. I just think he's just putting together a research list here more than anything else, his thoughts, feelings, and scouting reports on some of the goaltenders it could be available. Yeah, you've got, you've got, for the one year guys, one and done,

because obviously Igor is coming back next season. Yeah. You've got Bennington, you've got Gibson, you got, which is crazy to think that contract's finally. I think you got Matambo in Montreal, who obviously is persona non grata. The, Oka, Pecalo-Pekalucan thing. So, I mean, I don't know, I don't quite understand why they would acquire a goalie with term, but when the term carries a,

475 cap hit, which is what UPL has, that kind of makes sense. Like, that's still a lot of money to be spending on your goaltending. And also your starter next season does log around like 60 games, you know, or upwards in that neighborhood. So I kind of get it from a cost of acquisition standpoint. The interesting thing about the Rangers, though, is that, like, at one point, do you feel obligated to go and get yourself a cut above a stop gap because you believe that your top six and your top two are that good that you're going to be able to actually make a push in

the division what do you think they've looked pretty good so far i like i like their off like their bottom six is terrible but their top six is quite good and we've seen teams do this and they defend better like thursday and peters yeah those those are great acquisitions yeah their their d is is is pretty good i might have underrated it before the season and their top six is really solid, the emergence of Gabe Perra being a big part of that. And so, you know, I do think their start and the fact how they've responded since Igor went down is indicative of maybe there being, I don't know, maybe more of a push to get somebody of a better cut than simply a stopgap. And I actually talked to Dylan Grand yesterday for a story I'm working on and

very focused, I guess would be the word that I would use. his favorite pastime other than hanging out with his girlfriend and kudos to him for mentioning that to a reporter is he likes to watch golf videos on YouTube where guys play an entire round and just have fun with it.

That's his pastime. He'll settle into bed and he'll watch someone play in 18 holes on YouTube. I'm not too familiar with the videos he's speaking of but that's what the goal he wants to do. My kids watch a lot of stuff like that with golf. Yeah.

A lot of guys goofing around on the course. Goofing on the course. So he's, I like to talk to him. I think he's pretty good. I think he's got a nice perspective on things. He kind of dodged the question that I think we're all asking, which is that when Jonas Carpissalo is less than a month away from coming back from injury,

and Jonathan Quick is on Christyrie's speed dial. What does that mean for Dylan Grand? But I don't expect, I didn't expect to get an answer. to that question, but he seems like a pretty well-like guy. Matt Renpe was telling me a little bit about like their time in Hartford together. So they, like you've mentioned before on the show, like it could be that they just have a diamond in the rough and a league in which. I think they do.

Brandon Bussie just won a Stanley Cup. Yes. I was shocked that he went on waivers, but then again, I was shocked when they picked up Corpus Hollow to begin with because I thought that they were going to ride Scherkerkin and Garand and that was going to be the battery next year or this year. Yeah. When they picked up Corpusalo, but nonetheless, really quickly before we get to Mike. I want to get your thoughts on Rick Bonus going to the well again.

We saw this at the, oh, you got the video? Okay, let's roll the video here quick on bonus for those that may have missed it. Yeah, well, it's something that we'll just keep addressing, playing so well, doing so many things, and then it's self-inflicted. It's a terrible turnover. I will see on the goal, and then it's, you know, ridiculous. So that's self-inflicted. We beat ourselves in St. Louis. We beat ourselves tonight. So you have to hope. You got to believe that that performance tonight will embarrass them enough to stop this, right?

Because if they're not embarrassed by that, we don't want them on the team. It's as simple as that. And you did a lot of those self-inflicted things. We can fix them. We can. I know it looks bad. I know it looks bad, but I also believe, I believe in what we're doing. And I believe in them. And I believe we can fix the problems. That all being said, if that doesn't get their attention, then they're on the wrong team. It's as simple as that. Okay, so playing the heavy at the end of the year, and then a couple of guys were too fat at training camp,

and now there's five games in. I want to get to the psychological aspect of this from the coaching perspective. But can we just talk about? the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets threatening his players by saying if you don't ship up, or you don't shape up, we're going to ship you out. Like, 75% of that roster is like, please. Like, send me someplace else. I don't want to be here.

We suck. Like, I don't understand how that's a threat. How is that a threat? Like, if Paul Maurice says it, that's a threat. You don't want to leave a potential Stanley Cup winner and your house by the beach. Rod Brindamore. But if you're the club of Columbus Blue Jackets, you're going to miss the playoffs.

The team's been more abundant for several seasons. Is that a threat that you're not going to be here? Zach Werensky, if you don't ship up, we're going to move you to a place you really want to play. Okay. I guess so. I was one word away from being in Dallas, coach. Calm down.

But I think that's part of it too. The pressure is just like an armist right now in Columbus, one, because of the wins and need to get there. But two, it's the audition for Zach Werensky. after all of this and then having to call Jim Nilback I do agree with what you're saying

which is that as a head coach like Rick Bonas can only go to this well so many times right like players start to roll the eyeballs they start to roll the eyeballs and yeah I mean it's not as if Rick Bonas has lasted seven seasons in one spot right like there's a reason why he's a well-traveled guy

and one of the reasons why is that the shick, the schick only works for a certain amount of time. Now, when it works, it really works. Like we saw during that stretch last season of Columbus, where they were one week away from making the playoffs. But then eventually it stops working. And then you get to these situations where, what, like six, seven games into the season, you're like, if they don't get the message,

we're starting to trade people, you know. Okay, let's get Mike in here. But first, Movember is changing the face of men's health, from mental health and suicide prevention to prostate and testicular cancer. answer. Movember is tackling the biggest issues facing men today. Since 2003, we've sparked millions of conversations, raised more than $1.8 billion Canadian, and funded over 1,300 projects. Make a grow-mitment. Challenge a friend, grow together, change men's health. A grow commitment is your commitment to take on Move Movember together. Grow a Moe, move 60K, host something,

or do it your own way. To learn more, please visit MoveMovember.com. And first of all, Michael Gisela from the hockey news and the hockey hots, though. Thank you so much for the, for a book that goes back to 2012, which I've read about and heard about and listened about and now finally get to start reading the sleepwalkers. So very much appreciative of you indulging in my addiction to World War I literature and history.

So thank you for that. And welcome aboard. Buffalo Sabres in town tonight to face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs. What do you make about all the UPL rumors and Scott Cleminson's there? scouting the goaltender. To me, it's like if you're making a UPL move, that means you're bringing in Hellebuck, basically.

I would make the same, you know, connection, but I'm still not sure that the Sabres want Hellebuck, or at least they don't want to pay the price that would take to get Hellebuck. Well, they've already said no to the price once, and that was in the draft. Right. And now since Lugan has the five-team no trade, and obviously Winnipeg would be on that list, at least that's what's been reported.

you had to have to find a home for him separate from a deal to Winnipeg. And I just don't know whether they're willing to pay, say, Jack Quinn or Noah Osland. Ossland would be somebody that would be very attractive because he's not signed for eight years. And he doesn't have no trade protection. But I just don't know whether they're willing to pay that price. I mean, obviously, Hellebuck would be an upgrade. Definitely an upgrade. But, you know, and Luchanan has been inconsistent in his entire career and has had injury problems his entire career.

So, but we've discussed it before. Colt Nellis is a goaltender they believe in, at least, you know, Kevin Adams before Yarmal Kekleinen and then Yarmel was on board. And then Lindy Ruff pulled him after two goals against Florida. So I don't know if Lindy's on board with that. Let me follow up with one thing. I'll turn this back over to Greg. And we have a horrible echo in here, too, if you want to work on that, Zach. I don't know if it's bleeding through, but man, it's echoing here.

Really quickly, if there wasn't a trade request from Connor Hellebuck, would we be as micro-focused on UPL start as we are now, i.e. there's a shark in the water out there who is, well, right now in Michigan, but still property of the Winnipeg Jets. If it wasn't for that trade request, would we be looking at Lukan in the same way? Or we would just be saying start of the season? No, we wouldn't. I mean, they went through the entire season last year with three goaltenders. it fit perfectly.

I mean, Yarmu said in his season-ending availability, you know, when Lion was hurt, Luchinen was there. When Luginen was hurt, Lion was there. And then Ellis was there for the other time. So it worked. And he seemed to buy into that three-goley system. I don't know. I mean, when you have three goaltenders,

you don't have a goaltender. It's like you just keep going back and forth. There is no consistency there. I mean, there's a reason why two goaltenders. I mean, you want to be. a third goaltender in case somebody gets hurt, but I just don't think it's a situation that can really work, but it worked last year for Buffalo.

And, I mean, Hullabuck, you know, he's won Hart, he was in Vesnas. I mean, obviously he'd be an upgrade, and Lukinen has been inconsistent in his career. But, right, you know, he was unbelievable against Montreal, I made 35 saves. Now he'd give up six tonight against Toronto, against Toronto, and then, you know, there you go. As a Canadian, things we're leaving out the gold medal as well.

I go over to you. Hey, I love that moment. It was his best game last season in a season that wasn't very good. True. Yeah, the Osslyn thing gives me pause, too, if that's ultimately where they want to go. And everything we've heard at a Winnipeg is that they're looking to get a center out of this deal. Right. Because he is your Josh Norris insurance, right?

Like, that is the issue right now with this team is that you can't afford, I think, to get that. Like, what's the sense of bringing in Hellebuck of all of a sudden your lineups at donut? if it's Tage and nobody else behind them by the time you get to the playoffs, if there's an injury. Well, Lindy has said in availability earlier in the season, he's got a lot of flexibility because he's got nine guys who can play center. I mean, McLeod can play center. Norris can play center. No, Osland, Kulich, Hellenius.

I mean, all these guys can play center. So it gives Yarmu some flexibility to trade a center if he thinks he can improve in other area. So I mean, I think that's what they're looking at, but I think they wouldn't have committed to Osslin and they got him on a very good number and he's played really well since they signed them. So I don't think they're really anxious to move them. Well, unless they have met a good number because then, you know, in turn, because then he can't escape Winnipeg, which is really the issue with anybody they're trading. But you brought up Yarmone. I'm glad you did because my main point here was if there's one thing that we know about this man besides the.

fact that he is finish. It is that he takes big swings. I mean, that was his MO in Columbus. You know, they get to a certain point and then he gets up there and he takes his hack. And he hasn't taken his hack yet in Buffalo, obviously because he's only been the general manager for, you know, a short amount of time, you know, within context. So, I mean, I tend to believe that they're going to figure out a way to get Hellie. Like I do.

I mean, I before the season thought maybe Utah was going to be the end. and result for that, but they seem to kind of like what they have there right now. I think the level up for the Sabres would be in goal if he's available and they've got the pieces and it seems like they do that just makes sense for Kekalina to make that as big swing. Well, I mean, the thing that's been concerning, and I've been saying this since the off-season, is they traded Byram. He had, I think, 11 goals last year. They traded Tuck.

Between the two of them, they had 44 goals. Jason Zucker is out right now. They're minus 70 goals from last year. And they didn't replace it. Now, all that focus, all that weight in terms of the offense is on these young kids. They're expecting Benson to step up. They're expecting Josh Stone to step up. They're expecting those three young kids to step up.

If they don't do it, they're screwed. They're not making the playoffs. So, I mean, I think Helibuck can, you know, never. narrow the gap where you don't have to score as many, but he's not going to stop 70 more goal. You know what I'm saying? It's like it's really, it's really. But aren't they screwed anyway? Like, if those kids don't step up, like they're screwed anyway because that's the, the backbone of the team going forward is the, you know, five or six young guys in the lineup now that, that are being tasked with replacing guys like talk. Yeah, that's, that's the calculation that Yarmo made.

The calculation was, I think these kids can make up the difference. I can let Tuck go. I'm not going to spend Adrian Kempay money on Alex Tuck. I understood the calculation, but there were options out there in free agency. There's still option. You could sign Vladimir Tarosenko. He could score 20 goals, you know, but he's out there. They could have signed Michael Bunting. He can score 15 goals.

They didn't sign anybody. They didn't bring anyone in except Connor Sherry, and he's going to score 15 goals in Rochester, but he's not going to score him in the NHL. So it's a, so, yeah. No, go ahead. Please. No, no. I just, I didn't like the approach of Yarmah.

when it came to, you know, addressing the offensive gap because everything went right last year. Everything. After December the 9th, it was perfect. You know, you got ridiculous offense out of Mattias Samuelson, we're crying out loud. You know, you've got Josh North stayed healthy. There's a miracle. I mean, all these things happen. And they got, they won a round in the playoffs, and they got to game seven against Montreal.

You're not going to have everything go that way again. you needed to improve and I think they sort of just sat back on their hands. I thought Samuelson was their MVP last season. Let me ask you, and I want to get to Maple Leafs here in a couple of seconds, but about the Buffalo Sabres, I had said this about the Montreal Canadiens at the end of last year, and that is the next test for this team as this team is now, okay, a couple years in a row in the playoffs,

younger players are improving, new stars are emerging, and then the next test is going to be, can you attract players to your team? Chris Kreider ended up signing with the Montreal Canadians. Not that that's a massive, massive free agent signing, but Kreider's like, I'm going. I'm going to Montreal. Is that not the next big test for the Buffalo Sabres?

Can they get a significant free agent to go? Because we all loved the Buffalo Sabres story last year into the playoffs, who know how it ended, but still, is that not the next test for them? Can you attract a free agent? I did see Yarmo out there planting palm trees. It's funny in the chat, where was it? I think we've lost it.

There's someone put in. Tell the players there are palm trees in Winnipeg. I mean, you're right. And, you know, Reinhart, O'Reilly, you know, Ristoline. And it's been one-way street out the door. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, and that was the thing about Hallibuck that, okay, he wants to come to Buffalo. He sees that Buffalo is an opportunity.

But Hallibuck, it's widely known. His list is not two or three teams. It's probably 10, 12 teams. I mean, he just wants out of Winnipeg. So, you know, so him including Buffalo is good and it's positive. But, I mean, yeah, if you see a big unrestricted free agent signing in Buffalo, that will be, you know, something that, fans will beat their chest about, but that also factors in that the ownership wants to spend that money. And we don't, you know, he spent the money on Rasmus Dahlene. He spent the money on Tage Thompson

a few years ago, meaning Terry Pagula. He hasn't tapped another oil well. So, I mean, that's a very hip reference, by the way, to the first press conference. That is a very hipster Buffalo Sabres reference. Good for you. But all the, but all the other contracts that they've signed, the extensions have been very team friendly. I mean, Owen Powers on a very team friendly deal. I mean, if you look at the cap going up, Dahlene at $11 million is an absolute steal. So, you know, they've locked, they're benefiting for, and also Done and Benson were locked up on really economical deals. And Osland is around 6.5, I think that is. So, you know, all these are very team friendly, and they have to do that because I don't think they're going to be able to attract free agents unless they're willing to overpay like other teams do.

and I don't know whether that that is there in terms of the strength of the organization. First of all, I love Merrick being like Montreal attracted Chris Crider went to Montreal because Jeff Gorton's the team president. Like he's got his guy up there. Sure, but that's fine. That's fine. It's not like Dylan Larkin waving his trade protection to go play for the Habs. I'm not saying that they got an A-list free agent.

I'm saying they got someone. They got a name. They got someone who wiggled free from a tough situation. Anaheim and said, I'm going to Montreal. Boston didn't want. The Rangers weren't going to take back, so he went to a safe harbor because his former boss is up there. The second thing is, I'm pretty sure there are other teams of bad power plays that were looking at Chris Kreider.

And Marty Samuel was his former teammates, so he knew that as well. Still, okay, but that's fine. It's just connected dots. Okay, I don't put that. I'm not Charlie Day with the pictures and the strings behind me. It's pretty easy to figure out why he went to Montreal. Put that same management staff and coaching staff in Columbus. And is Chris Kreider going there?

for a year when he has other options? No, you know the answer. No. Listen, it's the Paris of North America. Now listen, I agree with you about the UFA thing and the free agent thing. I just don't think it's going to happen

because honestly, to your point, even if they go and overspend on a guy, guess who else can overspend? Everybody else. Because the cap is going up so much. So like these smaller market teams that used to have an advantage of just throwing tons of money

at guys to convince them to maybe go there instead. I don't think they're going to have the same advantage just because of the cap going up. What they probably need to do, just to circle back to the hell of a conversation, is pick and choose which young players you're going to keep and which ones are going to trade. They're all on good contracts. And then that's how you upgrade your talent. Like that is the only way to do it. We saw the Los Angeles Kings do it during their Stanley Cup runs, building with Wayne Simmons

and Braden Shenn and those guys all leaving to bring in your might. Richard's and your Jeff Carter's. Like this is what teams do. And the Sabres are, I think, at that inflection point right now where they have got a collection of great, great young players, right? And now you're going to have to figure out which ones are going to pop, which ones are going to be average, and which ones you're just going to have to sacrifice because they're good to get the guys that you really need on the roster. And the coffers are empty in terms of forwards with the Buffalo organization right now. Everybody who's young and talented is up on the NHL roster. Merka, who they drafted,

overall a couple years ago. He's in Rochester, Daxon, Rudolph is in Denver. But in terms of forwards, all of them are on the NHL roster. The Rochester Amherks are essentially a collection of AHL veterans except for one young guy, Jake Richard, and the rest of them are on the Sabres roster. So if they're trading a forward to make an acquisition of like Hellebuck, it's going to come from the NHL roster. Let me ask you a couple of moments left with you here. I'll ask you the same question that I asked Zach the other day. Are the Toronto Maple Leafs a good team? They're an incomplete team. They're a good offensive club. They have, you know, top two lines, I think that a lot of teams would, are the envy of a lot of other teams, but defensively,

the horrific. And I think to make the playoffs, they're going to have to overplay Sergei Barbarowski because Anthony Stolars, by the way, if the Rangers want a goaltender, I can offer you a slightly used Anthony Stolars. But, I mean, I think they're going to have to manage Brofsky, but I think he's going to have to play 55 games and play at the level that he played against Vegas and Colorado for them to make the playoffs. Because I don't think you can depend on Stolar. Stolars will probably get hurt like he normally does and they'll have to call up Arta Aktyamov. But Chica is going to have to find a way to address the blue line, at least add one or two blue liners.

Easier said than done because the only assets that he has are Ben Danford, who I think they would like to insert into the life. He took a huge step in the Marley's last year, massive when he went from Bulldogs. Right, but he's only played 19 AHL games. So you can't throw a 20-year-old to the wolves. No. And the Colorado first round pick, which they have, which will be at the end of the first round. So they could trade that at the deadline for maybe a rental.

But right now, like they really have, they need like Morgan Riley to play better. They need Chris Tannib to come back. Their defense is not good. And I don't see many ways of improving. proving it. Chris Han of week to week. Wish, last word to you. By the way,

William Eklund's out 12 weeks. I know, man, it sucks. As the senators turn, like the vibes were immaculate, and then they get destroyed by the blues. They lose Eklund. They're getting Sanderson back,

but then they have to watch Brady score a natural hat trip with Matthew getting an assist on every goal. I don't know. How quickly things turn. I wanted to ask just what has, what's caught your attention, like, league-wide early in the season.

I mean, there's some things that are pretty obvious. it's like the Flyers inability to win a game. But is there anything in particular in the conference or in the league that's kind of caught your attention early on? I mean, the soap opera in Detroit just as, you know, it's like eating popcorn. I mean, the funny thing is that the stuff that Sean Horikoff said about Edmondson, I think he looked back at the comments that Kyle Dubus said during the William Nealender

situation in 2018, where he was saying, I'm not going to trade him, I'm not going to trade, we want to sign them. And we know behind the scenes, you know, they were talking to St. Louis about trading Nealander for Alex Petrangelo. And didn't happen. And then, you know, Lee fans, I'm sure, would have liked that deal because I think Petra Angelou would have really improved their blue line. But in the end, they signed, signed him on December 1st, I think an hour before the deadline.

And Neelander got everything he wanted. So if you're going to sign him and wait, you may as well sign him and give him what he wants. I mean, I don't know if it's ill. I'll tell you. Can I just jump in on that? When I hear any manager during a negotiation say, we've offered them a number of different deals, short-term deals, bridge deals, max deals. What I hear is the guy doesn't want to be there.

Yep. And the team's giving themselves some cover. We've done all these things. We've offered all that that's the team's way of saying, this guy doesn't want to be here. And we know if he's allowed to try. trade him? Like, I know that they've talked about him having some level of autonomy, but I think there's a difference between signing guys and trading one of the top three assets that they have

on the roster. I assume he does. I assume he has that autonomy, but I don't, do we, I don't know if we know for sure. Well, I mean, one of you compared it to the Bouillon contract. I looked it up. William had 78 games of NHL experience before he got the eight-year extension at nine something. Yep. Edmondson's has two seasons on the top pairing with Mort Cider. If you don't pay him at least $1 more, and obviously this would be a seven-year deal in Booiam, it was an eight. So you're talking about $10 million plus, then trade him.

I mean, if you're not willing to pay him that, then you might as well trade him. All right, then we got that salt. What are you looking forward to tonight, Buffalo Sabres, the QEW rivalry. I've seen it a million times, as you have you. Swords and Leafs tonight, what do you expect? Well, I expect the Sabres to basically, you know, they always step it up against Toronto.

They always do. Historically. I remember the Don Edwards-Bob Sovey era, too, just sticking it to the Maple Leafs. It doesn't matter if it's that era or if they're one of the worst teams in the league. Whenever Toronto comes to Buffalo, they step it up. And they do a pretty good job in Toronto as well. But Rasmus Dahlina out of the lineup tonight, it's an upper body. He took a shot against Florida and maybe his back or his shoulder.

I don't know what that was. That looked weird. It was right around the net. He's done that move a million times. I'll tell you what it was. It's the 2026-27 season. Like I cannot. You can build an all-star team with the amount of people that are out of the lineup right now.

Is it? It's incredible. I always catch myself because every year I always resist the temptation to say, oh, goal scoring is back. It's 86 all over again. And again, like early on this season, whether it's Edmonton and Vancouver, Hoover or other games like we see like Bafo scores and I just say to myself and now I think at the end of this week we're starting to come out of it. It's going to calm down and get used to

three and three to two and two to one type NHL hockey. But are we saying the same thing about injuries? Like do we get this mini at the beginning of every season? It feels like no, but I know that when I say that someone's going to send me the well actually tweet. Well I mean shorter training camp, veterans only can play two preseason games. It has to have had it. They half asked it anyway. The vets do. Like, come on. Yeah. I mean, you know, I heard some talk out there that they would like a longer train. I don't know one NHL veteran wants a longer training camp. I don't know one HL fan that wants a longer training. I don't know anyone in the league that was a longer training game. So to put numbers on it, Merrick, through 105 games,

the NHL average 3.1 goals per game. That's, uh, the teams, the teams rather average that. That is, there's a league, and a league-wide save percentage of 891. The 891 would be the lowest league-wide save percentage since the 192-93 season, if that holds. That's courtesy of our friends at hockey reference. And that's the year of Alexander McGilney and Timo Solani scoring 76.

Yeah. That's true. You're on your way, Paul Cotter. The new Chris Conto. Listen, enjoy the game tonight. Thanks so much for stopping by. Thanks for the book, too. My pleasure.

You're the best. Mike Ogello from the Hockey News, and also we should point out, too, as we've both been on at a hockey hot stove. Greg, I've got something for you here, so hang on, because you're going to be, we're going to put you to this one to find the hotness here, okay?

What's for hockey is a presentation of DoorDash. Hockey Night is one of those rituals that brings everyone together, as we all know. DoorDash is. an official partner of the NHL, making it easier to get your game night favorites delivered so you can stay focused on the action and not miss a moment. Whether it's wings, pizza, burgers, or your own go-to order, DoorDash makes it easier to bring the whole game net experience together at home, good food, good company, and hockey.

So, 11 games on the board tonight around the NHL. Who is the player or what is the storyline you believe will be. be the hottest topic by the end of the night. So the Philadelphia Flyers are playing. Yes. 05 and 3. Typically portends something during the season so far, which is a lack of success. But they're in Detroit.

Oh, boy. Troy has its own issues. So listen, it's got to happen at some point. Oh boy. Are you going to go for it? I think the Flyers break out and win a game tonight. And I think it will be the topic of conversation. You will go on social media and everyone will be buzzing about the streak being over.

People will be printing T-shirts about I was there for the Flyers' first victory. I think, again, not to pile on the Red Wings, right? I mean, you just had Mike on to talk about how he's enjoying the Schadenfreude of the Red Wings' misery right now. But, you know, listen, the law of that way we just tell you they're going to win a game at some point. At some point. And if you're a flyer and you suck. And you're playing a team that you believe you could probably win against, maybe there's a little pep in your step tonight is all I'm saying.

All right. So we'll stay tuned to see what happens Sunday between the Red Wings and the Philadelphia Flyers. And once again, welcome aboard DoorDash to the program. Yeah, by the way, I am a DoorDash user. I'm not going to be a little endorsement here, but it does remind me that I need to order some Thai food for tonight. I was going to say, you know, as I was reading the script, too, I'm like, yeah, tie's my go-to too. That's the one for me And it's the easiest way to get Thai

It's the best We go curry puffs They give us three big curry puffs So my wife and I get one and a half And then I'm usually a pad CU Guy or a Kimao guy I will occasionally get myself

A little red curry action But I try to eat with chopsticks And I got to be honest with I'm pretty good with noodles Rice is a little bit more inconsistent So I tend to go with with the noodles so I don't spill it all over the floor. Are you only right hand or can you do left as well?

Oh God, no, I'm just right handed. You can do, are you like an end of dexterous chopsticks guy? No, no, no. I always feel bad. Like your left hand just sort of sits there and watches your right hand like do everything. Like, okay, a fork, a spoon, a knife, chopsticks. Like, if you could interview a limb or if you could interview your hand, like the lonely story of your left or just watching with my right hand, like all of it, throwing a baseball, like all of it.

if only if only when I uh oh hang on Zachson when I put lacrosse lacrosse you play uh both hands right like this one of the things you're supposed to do and you learn in Canada so I tried this is so dumb I tried to start teaching myself how to better my left hand by using my left hand for my utensils so yeah good luck fork now the because of that I've just permanently messed myself up like when I cut food and stuff so it's just a

disaster and I never noticed it until my my girlfriend one time just pointed out we're out for dinner and she goes what do you always eat like that and I was like oh yeah the the only thing I do is every now and then when I'm aware of it is I'll try to brush my teeth with my left and hold a toothbrush in my left I want to shout out the chat I know you guys are probably saying thinking the same thing I was when Zach's like I decided to use my left hand more Like it owes some money, Greg Like it owes a money Mike was Mike brought it up here

I'm not gonna lie I tried The only ambidextrous thing I tried Was I played baseball growing up And I tried to I tried to make myself Into a switch hitter Mainly because my favorite hitters were left-handed

Like Lenny Dykstra Girl Strawberry I try I'm right-handed But I tried to hit lefty And yeah It was weird Like as a right-handed hitter

I definitely Was better with contact but there was like a hitch in my swing as a lefty where I could definitely get a little bit more lift on the ball. You know what? Speaking of ambidextrous, we think of when it comes to hockey, Gordy Howe was probably the most famous.

Chris Chalios, I believe. He actually flipped it over and scored from the point once. But I'm still kind of amazed that we haven't had more ambidextrous players in the NHL. Like as far as like this person, because we've seen pictures that can throw with both hands before. I'm still surprised we haven't seen more hockey players who can shoot both left and right. Is it coached out of them? But if so, is that changing?

And would you not recognize that as a skill set that you want specifically on a power play and specifically in the bumper position where you have to have like A, your smartest player and B, your most versatile guy? If you have someone that can distribute both with a left hand shot and a right hand shot, Now, curve is a whole issue that you have to navigate too. So maybe be looking at the straighter stick like Crosby. And that's maybe one of the brilliances of Crosby's essentially plays with a Dave Keon stick. Wouldn't you want someone who could do both? On top of that, do you know how much money you'd make as a winger if you were ambidextrous?

And like, you know. You could protect the puck on the boards and you could also have your stick in the middle to shoot. Yeah. Or you just come out for each shift with a different stick. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Or just how you'd fit in the lineup. I mean, my God. Like, that, that versatility probably makes somebody money. There's got to be... Some Judd Moldaver out there that is going to be looking for an ambidextrous kid to get a big money NHL contract at some point. If anyone's going to do it, it's going to be Juddy, too. Okay, great stuff.

Enjoy your evening watching as many as 11 games tonight. What? There's one in particular. It might have my eye. Well, there is kind of that Rangers Devils game that for someone like you. The Devils this season. The thing I love most about Devils Rangers these days, by the way, besides the obvious animosity

and being a doubles fan in Brooklyn and all that jive is the, it's not K-Fabe. Like, Jack Hughes hates the Rangers. Like, he hates the Rangers. And it's weird because he's a Yankee fan, but he hates the Rangers, I think, because of the whole fan invasion into New Jersey and playing in the shadow of the original 6th team.

And that's real. And everyone feels that the Rangers get asked about it before games just about like how well he plays against them. So that's been an interesting dynamic into this rivalry is how much the devil star player wants to score like a hundred goals against the Rangers in a way that he does in other teams. What's a better rivalry? Like what's a better atmosphere when the Rangers are playing the devils or when they're playing the Islanders?

For you. I mean, for you, I guess it would be devils because of the, no, I think there's some legendary stories of like the invasions. Yeah, no, I think there's always going to be. be a lot of inherent history there between the Rangers and the Islanders, but I think it's, the rivalries changed a little bit because the Islanders haven't necessarily been great. I mean, they've been competitive, but they've not been great. I think, I think the Devils Rangers rivalry has changed in one specific way in the fandom,

which is that you have a lot more kids from Jersey that live in New York now, they have money, and they go to MSG. And the amount of Devils fan, there's always been more Rangers fans in New Jersey. Jersey than Devils fans at these games. A real pain of the ass from me growing up, which is how it is. But when you go to MSG now, the number of Devils fans at those games and how many, like they're starting Igor, mocking Igor chance during games when he was playing. It's like crazy.

I think that's really added a little bit of spice to the rivalry as the amount of like invading Devils fans there are in MSG because the Rangers fans have always invaded the Devils arenas. Tonight at the Prudential Center. Enjoy that one. Thanks, pal. Take care. There is, Greg Wosinski. And his, his, his, his,

place is getting, like, tastefully decorated now, Zach, too. Like, you'll notice, like, very subtly or maybe not too subtly. He put, like, two of his books right behind them. Not so, yeah, well, that, that was, okay, yeah, sure. These are two books I wrote. Yeah. Oh, here's books on my shelf. Oh, whoa, did I write those?

Wait a minute. Didn't even notice. But for the low, low, low price of, um, anything you want to add here before we get to, making yourself some money? No, I mean, the only thing is if I'm the agent of Simon Edvenson and I'm hearing, we have no interest in trading him, I'm sitting in my supervillain chair and doing the Dr. Evil $1 billion kind of, you know, finger to the mouth because I'm saying, okay, you want to keep them? Let's keep upping the offer.

To your point, I very much agree with you. I think if you're saying, hey, we've offered him all of this. And he's saying, no, no, no, maybe it's not the contract. Maybe it's where the contract is that he doesn't want. And that's kind of where I tend to lean towards in this debate. When I saw, I think it was earlier this week, mentioned we presented a number of different options. My first thought goes to, doesn't want to be there. Yeah.

That's it. Yeah. I think that's as simple as it is, honestly. Unfortunately, for the Red Wings and the fans and Sean Horkoff, who's, trying to hit one out of the park here and, you know, go back to back home runs on the brinket and then follow up with Edvinson. And then it's like, whoa, look at us. Happy positive thoughts are happening here in Detroit. So here's the thing.

If you trade Edvinson and as part of the package, you get back at least one top six center, does that change what you ask for for Dylan Larkin? Because we're all thinking Larkin's got to bring a center back. But if you can get that center with Edvin's. How much does that change what you asked for if you're if you're Harkoff for Dilln Larkin? Yeah, I think it helps considerably. It's just interesting because you you do end up in a different position for who would be interested in Simon Edvinson and the teams available than what you're looking at in the Dillan Larkin trade, right? Right?

Because one of the biggest issues you're looking at in a Dillan Larkin trade is as you've said numerous times, most of the teams that are interested in trading for him and or the teams that he's interested in going to, they're looking at him as a second line center. Yep. Which means that they're probably not giving up a top six center in the first place that they're looking at and saying, oh, no, we've got them. We don't need this. So you're probably struggling to get that back anyways.

So yeah, I do think that it could ease the, like ease contract or trading. negotiations from the Detroit side of things or it's like, okay, our ask is no longer a top six center. We don't need to refill that hole. So yeah, I think that's a good point by you to say, hey, if you can get that back, then it's just, it's tough when you're Sean Horkoff and you're trying to piece together these trades. The only thing would be, is there any way, this is, I'm saying this from the perspective of, I think it's a tiny, tiny percent chance. Is there any way what you get back for Simon Edvinson appeases Dylan Larkham. No.

There's nothing. There's no trade out there that that could be. 97 or 29 coming in from Edmondson. Okay. So, no, zero percent. And I'm just curious. I know that you assigned to brinket. You look at more each side.

I look at it and think, hey, there's good pieces there. Raymond, you know, just to name with you. I know he's had a tough start, but in general, big picture, I think you're like, okay, there's positive pieces here. If you brought something else back, that's helpful because you're saying, hey, this guy doesn't want to be here, he's got to go. That probably bothers Larkin as well. But if you bring something back, but okay, I will concede.

It was just a thought that I had or it was like, could that happen? I will accept your shutdown of my idea. Yeah, I don't think Jack Eichol is coming back. That's fair. What of the team USA roster is available? Just pick anyone, any combination of players off the Jack Hughes. Don't think it's going to happen. All right.

This segment brought you by Sports Interaction, Sportsbook, and Casino. Every game is your game when you bet with sports interaction. Bet the action on every period, every shift, every shot with Canada's homegrown sports book, sports interaction. Ontario or Alberta only must be 19 plus in Ontario, 18 plus in Alberta. Please play responsibly 11 to choose from Zach. Yeah, I got three bets tonight. And one of them, I'm glad that Wish teed up for it. Philly?

Well, actually, two then, I guess he teed up for it because what I'm looking at, first and foremost, is in the Maple Leafs game, shocker. But I kind of feel like this game tonight leads towards this player having a good night. And that would be our friend Easton Cowen. I think Easton Cowen... He's been good all year, man. But I feel like this kind of game, the rivalry game, Sabers, he seems like the type of guy who gets up for this stuff. So in Easton,

anytime goal. And by the way, there were, there wasn't too much insight into what was going to happen in terms of lines for tonight. But a Cowan McKenna Sisson's line was spotted at some point during morning skate today. So I don't know. Out in the wild? Yeah, out in the wild. You let that line out in the wild? So I don't know if maybe that opens Cowan up for some opportunities to capitalize on some of those mechanic passes. So Cowan Anytime Goal. The other one that Wish did allude to was Jack Hughes is very, very good in games against the New York Rangers.

So I'm just going to take the layup there. Hughes Anytime goal tonight plus 145 against the Rangers. And finally, I have a regulation draw in Philly, Detroit. Oh, geez. Both teams probably look at the other one and say, tonight, tonight we've got a win on the schedule. What is it? Bagel, bagel going into O.T.

0-0-1-1, maybe something hit somebody's ass on either side and they end up up. But through 60, I think that they tie. So that's at plus 300 for tonight. All right. Every game is your game when you bet with Sports Interaction. From puck drop to overtime, bet with live odds on every play with easy deposits and payouts. Go to sportsinteraction.com slash the sheet to open an account. Again, Ontario or Alberta only must be 19 plus in Ontario, 18 plus in Alberta.

Please play responsibly. Anything is we wrap. up here, Zach. You've been waiting patiently all show long while Mike sucked up all the oxygen in here. Yeah. No, I'm just, I'm looking forward to a 7 p.m. game for the Maple Leaf selfishly. I love you in the post games. Yeah, yeah, yeah. When the show starts at 1 a.m. like it did on last Thursday against Vegas or midnight. Oh, I got to talk about the Maple Leaf so late. Yes, I know, I know. Oh, no, I have such a hard job. I've said before I am very aware of how luck you're in. You're calloused hands.

Show us so hard you work. I get it. I get it. But a 7 p.m. game back at home playing the sabers. I'm excited. You know what else people like to hear about? Media complaining about air travel. Come on.

People love hearing us people in media complain about air travel. I get it. I get it. I know. Little cute. We'll get a warm, so sweet. All right. All right.

Thanks to Mike Ogello for stopping by. And as always, Greg Wischinski, here on the program. Back on the air tomorrow. Brian Burke will be aboard for civilian Fridays. And is Dave popping on again too? All right, Dave Panyoda. Back with us here tomorrow on the sheet. Thanks for watching.

Thanks for listening. Thanks for being part of the chat. As always, we're back tomorrow. Tip your Zamboni driver on the way out. Thanks for the buns, the use of the hall. We're back tomorrow, one Eastern on the sheet. Guess I can call her right I went to the