The Sheet with Jeff Marek - The Carlsson Effect, Oilers’ Cup Pressure & More ft. Jonny Lazarus, Tyler Yaremchuk, & Jay Rosehill

Episode Date: September 23, 2026

On today’s episode of The Sheet, hosted by Jeff Marek, Jeff is joined by Jonny Lazarus, Tyler Yaremchuk and Jay Rosehill for a wide-ranging discussion around the biggest storylines shaping the NHL. The panel dives into Rod Brind’Amour’s comments about the Carolina Hurricanes potentially not playing any preseason games, and what that could mean for preparation ahead of the regular season. They also examine the Columbus Blue Jackets and how the ongoing negotiations with Adam Fantilli could impact Zach Werenski and the team’s future salary structure. Plus, the panel debates whether Leo Carlsson’s massive contract could be one of the most consequential deals in NHL history, finishes the sentence “If the Edmonton Oilers don’t win the Stanley Cup this year…,” reveals the one rule or CBA change they would make to the NHL, and names a player who could enter an awards race despite never previously being considered a serious contender. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Right, we've already started the show off the air. We'll just continue it now. Welcome once again to The Sheet in our brand new Nation Network studio, which is officially launching right now today. Glad to have you aboard Jeff Merrick along with you here hosting once again for this Tuesday, September the 22nd. Although today's show is going to be Roundtable, we'll call it Merrick and the Daily Face Off All-Stars. Johnny Lazarus, Talley Remchuk, Jay Rose Hill, all yesterday, part of an event

that I think we kind of have to cave a little bit, but we're on the ice and Mississa Saga. And I thought everybody did really well. I thought everybody was great. Pavel Barber was part of it as well. He may have come out to star. David Ayers was in net as well. All of this will be revealed in the coming weeks here at Daily Faceoff.

But Johnny, we'll start with you and go down the line. How did you guys enjoy shooting on David Ayers? The only ebug to win a game in the NHL. I loved it. Honestly, we stayed on the ice for like an extra hour after we got none. Me and Pavel Barber were doing like drills with him. By the way, watch. My hockey part was warmed watching you and Pavel Barber yesterday,

just like practicing empty-night goals and then shooting on him and shooting on David Ayers. I was just like, how cool is this for both these guys? Just because Barbara is such a legend. Well, we actually did say as if it's a Monday and this is like our job, you know? It was really cool to be out there. But Rosie, I feel like you'd appreciate this. We ended up playing rebound, just me and Pav versus David Ayers. And like rebound with two guys is like unheard of,

but it was a lot of fun. Well, I'll be honest, I don't love getting out on the ice all that much anymore. Going on to a pond is fun with the kids and maybe an ODR and just kind of get the juices going a little bit once in a while. But that was like the first time and a long time I've been on the ice and just genuinely having fun, like you said, we hung out after the fact and we're just saucing it around and having fun with it. It was a lot of fun. And I think we got some good content and we'll roll that thing out over the coming weeks and months. And I'm kind of looking forward to it. But again, like you said, good people.

a good bunch of laughs and we had a blast so I think it'll turn out pretty good and like I said first time in a long time I had a blast it on the ice for some reason so maybe I'll get back into it let's go come back I'm just so the game's getting tougher Jay game's getting tougher he had his own whistle out there yeah yeah he was running it I'm happy I didn't embarrass myself that was my number one priority it's like oh and former NHL or college player papal barber million and a half Instagram followers I was like there's a chance I look terrible in this video I so I could tell right away because we got to the rink yesterday really cook we're going to get to a lot of things here

roundtable big topics around the n hl but let me end on on this point from yesterday uh i knew that you were not nervous but you wanted to do well because we got there early and you were already on the ice i was on the ice at like 730 in the morning is that tie like we're not shooting until 11 and he's already on the ice carving it up and if you're not going to be the best you got to work the hardest you know that's what i i understand that all right so we'll jump in with a couple of sort of big topics of the day and drill down to a couple of more. We're going to talk about, you know, the Leo Carlson contract. And one of the things that's been said about this is, is this the most consequential

contract in the history of the NHL? We're going to get there, but first. Rod Brindamore's comments. We've all had a thought or two on the short and preseason extra game or two games, rather now it's 84 games in the NHL moving forward. Rod Brindamore. And if anyone is going to say this, it's going to be wrought, although DeBore's. sort of echoed it today.

Here's what Rod Brindamore had to say about preseason. I say go to 86 games and zero preseason games. Why waste games on the fans that don't count? Let's play the ones for real. Rosie will start with you, the person on the panel who actually played in the NHL. Is that music to your ears? I mean, I'm surprised that a guy like him is saying that.

We say that sometimes. We got to cover these split squad games and people are analyzing what everyone looks like. And it's like, who cares? This is a throwaway stuff. This is get the boys' legs going and rest the vets or who needs some reps. And it's not really that big of a deal to us, but to see him where he can get some reps in and get some line combos

and just have a throwaway night where you can, I've always wanted to try this guy with this guy, but it's never really worked and just mess around with it to get your feet going. I'm surprised that he doesn't like that. Because I get why we don't. It's boring to watch nothing hockey. But I'm surprised that.

coach in the NHL at that level and of what he just accomplished to be like, I wonder if he really feels that way, because it would kind of be insane to go from summer hockey to whatever they call camp nowadays and then just going with real bullets, because that would be such a turnaround. I don't care what people say, you can skate with whoever you want in the summertime. You can't, you just can't replicate those real reps in the National Hockey League and just the speed and the transition and the intensity. You can't replicate that. And it's already thrown into the fire pretty quickly from the second you leave.

where you're skating this summer to do camp and then get thrown into it, to not even have a preseason in camp is whatever it is right now. I think it would be insane to do that. Those boys would be thrown in the fire really fast. Would it make opening day feel like more special? Be a scramble. But like if you hadn't watched it would be sloppy. Like the first week of hockey is like regardless of Drake,

it's always, it's always sloppy. Like it's just baked into the pie. It is like it's unrealistic to think we would ever get rid of them. But there's a part of me that likes the idea of like, you know, maybe for this is where a coach like Rod's even coming from is like Carolina is so well prepared all the time. They're so well coached. With no preseason, you really put the on like coaching staff to prepare their team. Okay, you got us to a really good point there. And that is, it's Carolina. Like Carolina did nothing. The roster is set. So if there's one team that's

going to say, let's just play, it's a Carolina hurricane. It's the team that played three months ago. But I do think there's something to be said also about Jackson Blake having a great preseason a few years ago to make that team at a camp, right? Like there are guys like, you know, I think Derek Step-on when I'm. I was younger with the Rangers. He has a great training camp. He has a great preseason. He doesn't play a single game in the NHL.

There are certain guys who do have those, you know, what used to be four games of six to stand out and get a roster spot. Now you got like realistically two games to play out of four. You know what I think it's a reflection of, honestly? I think right now more so than ever. You know who sets your roster or you know what sets your roster? The CBA. The CBA sets your roster.

As much as coaches will always talk about, oh, all the spots are open, earn it you have a great camp we'll find out make our decisions hard we'll wave guys we'll trade guys that's not true none of that is true the cba sets your roster it's not the 12 million dollar guys that are that are like wondering if i'm going to make the team it's those bottom tier guys you know it's that seventh defenseman uh you know but that's what i'm talking about though like those guys it's all like who needs waivers and if this guy needs waivers like you look at like washington's got a big decision with moroshenko like he needs waivers is he going to clear probably not, but how does you find a spot on that lineup?

And sometimes the decision's made for you based on your contract and whether your waiver exempt and all that stuff, sure. But there are examples in certain teams that aren't as cut and dry where these two guys are battling for a spot and they both are at whatever, a million bucks or you know what I mean? And it's not the sexiest story in the world, but if you were to go to what Brindamore is saying, you wouldn't have that he made it out of a training camp story anymore. Like you're, what do you pick your team on, you know, July 5th?

after you make a couple things and it's like done deal like no one can play their way on but don't you know like pretty much by the time even before the first puck drops who's going to be on the team like maybe there's one maybe there's maybe there's two but like me like i made the team out of training camp in in toronto and i had got traded there and played on the marlies a bit and then brian burke's running the things and i knew he was looking for truculence pugnacity and all his famous one-riner's right so i'm thinking this is what this market wants. This is what this franchise is looking for. I'm kind of an unknown person to come in here. I was far from a headliner and I said, I'm just going to give them what they fucking want. And I just, I think I played like six exhibition games in like eight nights or something and fought in every one of them and it was just running everyone through the wall and I just forced myself on onto the roster. And if it was what Brindamore is saying, I don't know if I would have got that chance. I don't even think my name wouldn't be on the end of anyone's time. I mean, the rule now, if you've played over 100 games, the most,

most you can play in the preseason is two. Good luck to all the PTOs. Seriously. Good luck to all the PTO players. Well, where it also is now, I feel like, at least from what I've seen so far, the rosters that are being built for the road games are all the prospects and the home team is playing their NHL guys to get them ready. So you're seeing all these mismatches across the league where fans are paying money to come see their team in a preseason game. You want to give them the NHL guys. But the road team is going to play all guys who probably aren't going to make the team. So it's like an imbalance of games, which is maybe where Rob is coming from too. That gets us, you're good at transitions.

That gets us to Pete DeBoer. I mean, you're a veteran. So this is Pete DeBoer, okay, Allender's head coach. That's what he had to say. This is Steph Rossner's tweet. Alender's head coach, Pete DeBore said he and New York Rangers head coach, Mike Sullivan, connected before the preseason about using NHL heavy lineups against each other. Here's the quote.

I don't think that, especially with only four games, prospect heavy games are great for preparation. I think that winks at your point, Johnny. Well, they're not. I mean, I watched the Rangers play last night, and I don't think they had a single guy who was probably going to make the night out of, you know, or make the roster out of opening night. It was great to see a guy like Liam Green Tree play in a game. Sure. Because he came over for the Panarin trade. But, you know, that's just me personally. I haven't seen Liam Green Tree play. I don't watch, you know, CHL from a night to night basis during the season. So getting to see him in a Ranger uniform, going to see what he looks like was cool. But again, he's playing alongside AHL guys against pretty much an entire NHL Devils roster. What is he going to be able to do in a game like that? What are you going to learn about the player? And again, I love that they cut it down to four because at least now there's one or two games that feel pointless. And a couple of them at the Boer's point, like actually feel like preparation for the season. And it's a necessary, not a necessary evil, but you do need them.

To Johnny's point, like, you want to see, you're not going to learn that much about a guy in a scrimmage against his own teammates. The other point of the Brindamore quote, and we'll move on after this, where he says, let's play 86 games. Isn't the real issue not regular season games, but more playoff games? Like, if you want to give fans what they want, I know Betman has always pushed back and no, no, no, we'll never do this. But I don't know what a couple of, you know, two more empty calorie potato chip regular season games are going to mean as opposed to a play in round. And what the play in round does, as much as like if you made me cast a vote on it, I probably vote. No, what it does, like last year, you know, Ottawa finished four points clear of Washington and L.A. finished four points clear as St. Louis. If you opened up two more spots, not only

are you giving two more teams playoff games, but how many more teams are you giving good hockey down the stretch to? How many more fan bases are in it till the end? How many more buildings are full 100% capacity down to the end? Because if you expanded, let's look at the West from last year, two more spots, San Jose, Nashville, St. Louis, they would have been tied on the last day of the season. Wild, right? That would have been awesome. That would have given us

some really, really good moments where you're scoreboard watching and you're doing all this stuff. Like, that's fun for fans. So as much as I hate the idea of like watering down the playoff product, the idea of,

and we had this, was it two years ago in the Eastern Conference where it was like January 2nd. And it was like, well, the eighth place team is 14 points ahead of nine. Plan for position. It's over.

For position, that's it makes that, it does add some more juice to the end of the regular season. And it sets the table for storylines that you just wouldn't get otherwise. Like some team that's had injury problems all the way through Christmas and then you're trying to hit your stride and all of a sudden they just start to build momentum and we're like, just get us into that playoff round. Just get us into that playing around. And then they have this

run to the final or something and you're like, it's like these storylines that you can't get otherwise. It's like, ah, too little too late, dollar short. Ah, you lost too many man games to injury this year and that was the end of your story and you pack your shit where this could give opportunity for different markets to be like, we have hope. We have hope. And then the buildup to those two teams and storylines where they're trying to play in to play for the Stanley Cup. I think it'd be pretty cool, to be honest. And it also would add an element of you don't want to be in the playing either. So a team last year like Montreal who was like, you know, they knew for the last 25 games.

They were a playoff team. Okay, but it's not enough to just be a playoff team. I don't want to go to a play in. You got to be in the top three in your division. You avoid it. It adds that layer to the race as well. At what point is it too much hockey, though. Oh, don't even get me started.

It's a lot. I stayed on the ice for 40 minutes yesterday. No, but I get to go on the ice once a week. are doing it every day. Like, it's a lot of hockey. There's a, there's a specific reason for it. And that is, I don't think the NHL, certainly stateside, and you would know better than I would living there. They don't want to compete against football. They don't want to compete against baseball. They don't want, yeah, but that's later. But they don't, like, in September, October, which is why there's a heavy up of Canadian teams early in the schedule and light with the American teams. Towards the end of the schedule, you get a heavier up with American teams because they want to stay away from football.

They want to stay away for Major League Baseball playoffs. But I've always said, if I could change, again, we're going to do like changing the NHL a little bit on today's program. But one of my sidebars, all of it is. If I could advise the commissioner on one thing, I always say the same thing. Get your game out of June. Oh, yeah. No matter what you do, because it frees up and you have the draft at a different time. You could have everybody there.

But right now, the schedule has this race in draft in June. because of the Stanley Cup final and the draft and free agency and it's rush rush rush rush rush it's a sprint to get through and it is so packed if you get your game out of June it solves everything and you don't compete against patios how do you play 82 or 86 and not play into June like I hear what you're saying started earlier but they don't want they can't but they can they just don't I guess that's my point about not competing against baseball and not wanting to compete against the NFL well it's a nine-month season it's gonna compete with it's gonna be cross-speed i know there's no perfect way yeah but i mean they do i mean my kids hockey started on

august 23rd this year they just keep making it earlier earlier i guess how long was training camp how many preseason games seriously i do split squads and they're like you're supposed to be running conditioning camp i'm like no you didn't sign up for this august shit we get eight weeks of summer all season but um okay jay you mentioned hope a couple of seconds ago and if there's one team that's hoping for something different this season, although right now it does not look great, considering the situation with Adam Fantilli, are the Columbus Blue Jackets. I think it was always assumed that the Fantilli contract was going to be done off whatever Leo Carlson signed for and what Connor Bedard signed for.

But nobody, and we'll get to the contract specifically in a second, nobody anticipated that offer sheet to Leo Carlson, which changed everything and made a lot of people smile. Now, I'm pretty sure that Don Waddell, GM of the Columbus Blue Jackets, is looking at the Cutter Goce deal and saying, let's negotiate off that. But I'm pretty sure that CAA and Pat Breson are saying, let's negotiate off the Carlson deal here. I don't know how this one ends,

but one of the things that I can't help thinking about is how much does this affect what Zach Werenck Werenck ends up doing? I don't think it's quite that linear. Columbus needs to be competitive to keep Worensky happy. It's not just like keep Fantilli to keep. You keep Fantility because he makes your team better, and you need a good team. Otherwise, Zach Werenski maybe goes,

eh, I'm out. And it's that cat and mouse game. Like, how far apart are they right now? Only they really know. And who's bluffing and who's biding their time and whose number is really, like, how close are their numbers? And can you get there? And the numbers are insanity.

I mean, that offer shape changed everything. Yep. And you're seeing these guys with like 60 games in the league sign these things that you didn't even think were fathomable. Only four or five months ago. It's kind of insane how much the landscape has changed. So there's where different sides of the table dig their heels in a little bit. But you know Don Waddell is going, this is a salary cap era long term.

You know, you got Werensky back there. We need to get this guy at a manageable figure. And of course, his comparable is Gochi instead of, you know, Carlson. But at the end of the day, who's going to dig their heels in further? And I mean, could he not be on the Columbus Blue Jackets at some point? And then what do you got, your other stars, are they happy? Or are they going to start thinking about packing their stuff too? To answer your question,

Karel Marchenko is not happy. Oh, don't worry. We're getting there. We're getting there 100%. But it's an investment now. Like you're going to pay Fantilia to invest in the long term, right? Like that's what Anaheim's,

all these contracts are based on investment, not based on what this guy has earned to this point. It's betting on the future. I mean, Jack Hughes did it years ago, right? Jack Hughes got his 8 by 8. Everyone was like, oh my God, he's barely even played. And now it's like a steal.

Does anybody remember when we said, it's outrageous that Nathan McKinnon just signed a deal for $6 million a year? And then how quickly was that like, oh, man, that's the best value contract in the NHL? People in Edmonton threw a fit when they gave dry saddle eight and a half off that one playoff run. It's like, what is Shirelli thinking? And then it was like six months later. I was like, well, might be the best contract in the NHL.

But the thing complicating it for Columbus is like, I'm sure Don Weddell would love to have him for seven years now. But you have their puckpedia open right now, Johnny. They're in a bit of a same spot as Anaheim with Gochier where they only have 11.6 million right now. And if Merzlickens is on LTIR, maybe that helps. them for a bit, but like they can't afford to do whatever Fantilli would want at seven years. Like they're almost forced to bridge him. And if you're bridging them and if you're Fantilli, you'd be sitting here going, well, we're doing a bridge.

It's going to be a real short bridge here because I'm off-sheet eligible. That's why I look at this when I say this one, like any negotiation, really, is all about pressure points. And where's the pressure point here? Like if you're CAA, the agency that represents in Pat Brisson, specifically Adam Fantilli, where is your next pressure point? is it when the season begins, and where's your pressure point for Don Waddell here?

Because if things don't go right this year for the Columbus Blue Jackets, there's going to be a lot of wars internally. I think that's the issue too. They need him in their lineup at opening night. That's the pressure. There's another pressure point for Adam. You can't have him sitting down.

That's a pressure point for Brisson. We know how important this is to you. You've already got a fire here with Marchenko. You've already got a fan base that's been false started for how. Can you think of a fan base that's been false started more time? in their entire existence in Columbus, like these poor fans. Didn't Bill Simmons call them like the most irrelevant franchise in all four sports? And then Leon Dreisle, not Leon Dreisle, Patrick Linae said that, oh, everyone's too comfortable

losing there. Like just getting battered at every, and then they find, and then like I feel just awful, obviously, first of all, for the family, but then as well for the organization, they get Johnny Goodro. And it's the massive shot in the arm for the organization. And then tragedy. I don't know what's going to end up happening here or what the number is finally going to be

for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but in a metropolitan division where we're already handing Carolina and Washington spots one and two, it's really in some ways only one spot that all these teams are gunning for. What is the shame, though, and I don't know if Canadians truly understand Columbus, like the city of Columbus and how incredible it actually is.

I've never actually been to a Blue Jackets game there, but I've been to Ohio State played there. Ohio State and all that stuff. It is an incredible sports sound. It's very underrated. And you've heard guys like Brandon Rubinski is a guy that I've talked to a bunch who now lives in Columbus. He played there. You know, guys settled down there.

But again, when you're not winning, you don't hear those good stories. You only hear the negative. And it just piles on and piles on and piles on. But once Columbus, they are able to figure out at some point, everyone's like, oh, my God, the city of Columbus is incredible. Where did it come from? But all you need to do is start winning and then you hear those stories. It's a sick place.

I mean, there's lots of guys that have been around. that area and they set up shop there. They marry a girl from there and they live there forever. I don't think that's rare. You've got the golf courses. It's clean. It's like when you go out for dinner, you're like, Jesus, this place is nice.

It's just the organization and the success or lack thereof has been kind of sad. So they have this caveat on them all the time that they're not this destination. But make no mistake, you get these guys locked down and start to put something together where you're actually getting some traction. All of a sudden, their stock's going to rise on people's radar and you're going to see people wanting to go there if they're competitive. It's just that last missing piece they've never been able to get

their hands on it. So we've sort of danced around it and I want to frame it in one very specific way that has a historical look here. And that's a Leo Carlson contract. I think that everybody in the NHL Players Association should have Daniel Breyer, general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers on their Christmas card list, at least for doing what he did with the Leo Carlson offer sheet because there was a chill all summer around 31 other general managers who all said, I don't want to be Pat Bluntly. I don't want to be Pat for Beak. I don't want to have to go to my owner

with this one. And then the Minchikov deal. I don't want to be this one that's got to have to shell out 18 million on an AAV for five years for Leo Carlson right now. But if you look at... I forgot about Minchikov.

That was... Like that is how crazy to suffer is that I completely forgot about Minchikov. Remember how Minchikov? Because there was another threat. But again, that's the threat of an offer sheet. We've always heard threat of an offer sheet. and we've kind of just sort of outside of Edmonton

shrugged it off like oh that won't happen oh that's not going to happen oh it's the boogeyman the offer sheet you know the ghost that never appears and then a significant one did and then the threat again produced the Mitchikov deal and probably the threat produced that Baderd number beginning of the year we were saying is Bredard gonna make 10 million

and like that was a real conversation and he breezed by that stop signed fast as soon as the Carlson deal was signed but if you look historically Bobby Oar was the first NHLer to make a million dollars Bobby Hall? No, he was the second. Bobby Orr was the first to sign a million-dollar contract.

That was with the Boston Bruins. Alan Eagleston negotiated that deal. Hall signed the first million-dollar deal in the WHA, which was the rival. That was the one that legitimized and threatened the NHL, even though Chicago offered to match. And Hall said, I've given my word. The Colvichuk contract that was rejected was interesting

because then all of a sudden we started talking about the spirit of the deal. Alex Ovechkin was the first to make $100 million. That was a 13-year deal. That was the one recommended by Dick Patrick, $124 million. 13 years? Yeah, it was a 13-year deal. Well, they were talking about like a couple of year deals, and then Dick Patrick, the veteran, going back to 82 with the organization,

said, why don't we just give them like 13 years? DPA got, what, 15 years, I think? Yeah, 15 years? Yeah, that was that. Colchuk got 10. But I don't know that I've ever seen an effect cascade like the Leo Carlson deal. It frightened every single general manager. And Chris Patrick, the GM of the Caps, talked about this on NHL.com.

And he said, like, I won it. And he did with SIRIF and he did with Rhineland. We need to get our guys locked up early. Like, that's just the nature of it. That contract completely changed the NHL and how they award contracts right now and how they award players that haven't served as long as other veteran guys, certainly.

But at the same time, it's a prospector's league now. Not what you've done, but what you're going to do. And you mentioned a start. Like when everyone talks about this contract, they're talking about the contract, but it really was the offer sheet from Danny B that did this. And, you know, he's kind of like the guy in the background who like made all this happen by taking this monster swing. Like you say, everyone says, ooh, the offer shoot, it never really happens. No one really thinks it will.

He stepped up and took a huge swing. And whether he got him or not, he was going to ruffle feathers and make a lot of noise. And that's what this league is now. It's bending on your future. Like, he gets, this is where the cap is going. This is what you're going to pay players. Let's get ahead of it and get one of these guys. no one else has wrapped their mind around these types of numbers that are thrown around now.

And that just was like the catalyst for everything that's happened. Back in the day, like a Jeremy Roneck, like you don't get paid until you put rubber on the pavement, right? You have been established. You have paid your dues. Now it's like you got 60 games in the show. Here's seven years at what? And you're just going, please turn into what we think. And that used to be like the high draft pick.

You would kind of roll the dice and maybe take a fly. or hope a guy develops the way he's supposed to. Now you're taking a flyer on a monster, tens upon tens of millions of dollars of contracts, hoping this guy turns into what you think he might be as opposed to the way it was back in the day. Well, and it's all sunshine and rainbows when the deal gets signed right now because it's like, yeah, well, he's going to get better and the cap's going to keep going up. But teams are going to be wrong. And like a guy's rookie season, like, yeah, we can look at Fraser Minton and go, well, he had a great first full season.

Oh, yeah, and he'll go from being a 50-point guy to be in a 70. Oh, he's easily going to be worth that. And, you know, I went and looked like, I mean, we're in Toronto right now. Michael Bunting had, what, 60 points in his rookie season? And five years later, he's sitting on his couch without a job. Imagine if it wasn't a flat cap and they decided we're going to pay Michael Bunting and give him a $8 million extension off his rookie season. Like teams as much as fan bases don't want to believe in and maybe Bruins fans will be mad.

I brought up Minton or Caps fans will be mad that I'm throwing sort of into this. Like, teams are going to be wrong at some point. They're not all going to hit. Also, I think we're entering a phase of the NHL now where it's going to be impossible to change your team through free agency. No one's getting there. No one's making it to the market. You know, Alex Tuck was the biggest. The craziest thing, we talked about it last week.

I'm going to go about hockey. Like, Alex Tuck and Ryan Leder are getting the same contract this year when Alex Tuck was like the biggest name in UFA. Like that's pretty wild. Same exact contract in Leonard's played one full year. But I think Ryan Leonard's worth that. I think that contract's going to look great someday. But there's a lot of contracts there. There's guys that are going to be on contracts for a long time that are ugly.

Like you look at Huberto and Calgary and it's just kind of like this ugly thing where the fans have just kind of like stopped even like mentioning. And they're just like we get it. He's on this thing. And that doesn't look as bad now. But like 10 million bucks a couple of years ago was a big deal. And there's going to be more and more of that. And you can't move it. You can't trade it.

No one's going to want it. There's going to be some misses in this new idea of locking guys down early. And it's going to be ugly and it's going to be. long term and that guy's going to have to slog his way through the city for a year after year, just never turning into the guy he was supposed to. Cockneyemi was bad. That one aged poorly. Cockney Emmy, absolutely.

That was not a similar thing, right? Everyone was like, oh, well, you know, he'll be your third line center and the cap will go up. So then, like, it's not that bad. And granted, they won the Stanley Cup with him in the press box, so maybe it didn't hurt them.

Four and a half or something. And again, but that was the fight between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Montreal Canadiens. I thought, off a few, what Joe Sackick said, though, about Kale was great. Like,

it's better to pay those guys and build around them than have to go find them. Like with Pat for B. I got no problem with that. I still think that's a value for Colorado. A thousand percent. But like Leo Carlson, would you rather pay him maybe more than he's earned right now or have to go find another guy like him again?

Those guys don't just grow off trees. You're just wasting time. Like you found a guy that's considered worth it. To walk away, it's just so disappointing. It's like, well, now what do we do? Oh,

now we're going to like shit the bed for a couple of years and maybe draft a kid just like him then go through the exact same thing in five years. Like, roll the dice a little bit. I mean, the McCar thing, he's the best in the world at his craft. 20 some million bucks. Like, I guess time will tell if you have X percentage of your cap wrapped up in two guys. If you can do that.

I mean, we know it's not basketball. You need the, we've seen it with the oilers, not being able to get over the hump, riding two horses as hard as they can, right, Ty? But it's just interesting. Everything's changed so fast and you look at it in that life. You know where it's probably heading? Because, like, look, salaries are linked to revenues, right? There's no, like, outside money here.

So, like, it's 50%. Like, that's it. So for every 18 million AAB for Leo Carlson, that's less for someone else. Salary caps, we all know this going back to 2005. Salary caps pit player versus player. They just do. Like, it puts player versus player. For every extra dollar one guy gets, it's a less for,

so what you're probably going to see as this continues, if this is the continuing trend of wrap guys up early and give them big dollars, the complete elimination of the middle class, right, in the NHL, like those middle class guys, and this is what analytics people have been talking about for a long time too.

If you have like a bottom six guy who excels, don't pay that guy, go find another like him. Yeah. Like, are we seeing the beginning of the end of the middle class in the NHL? Is that either going to be super rich

or barely above league? What do you consider middle class, though? Is that like a 20 goal score? That's like, no, I'm talking about like, as far as like financially compensated. If everyone's, if the, If everyone's making like $10 million coming off their entry level deal, like what happens to like the four millions, the six millions, these guys in the league.

Like we're seeing the shrinking of the middle class because there's only so much money to go around. But I guess that's what I'm asking. Like what do you consider? Like if you had to put a stat to a middle class guy, like what would that stat look like? Four to six million dollars. No, no. I'm saying like literal like goals. Oh.

Like who is that guy? Like a middle six guy or middle six? A guy who gets a 20 goals. A blind guy at $4.5 million who scores 20? 15 goals, 40 points. 15 goals, 40 points. Like, yeah. It's not going to be paid those guys.

It's find another guy like that. And the good organizations, now that this trend is started where, like, you said something a few minutes ago of like free agency is not going to be, like guys aren't going to make it to free agency. So then the result of that is teams will be petrified that if we don't lock up this guy, we won't be able to replace them in free agency. So we better pay them. And you kind of start to go through that whole. exercise and the smart organizations will be the ones who make the tough decisions. And I love that

you always bring up Carolina and what they've done with their blue line. They looked at Brady Shay and they weren't like, oh my God, if we lose them and don't pay them, how are we going to? They went, we'll find the next one. We'll find another one. We'll find the next one. We'll find the next one. And they did. They got Gostas Baron, go down the list of the other demon they got, but they totally re-mail. Yeah. But the results will speak for themselves against a copycat league. If someone goes up there and they have 40% of their cap tied up in two guys and they can't win. And there's a reason why they don't have any depth that forward. They don't have a goaltender and you can't go out and replace that guy. And it's just like, we're just handcuffed. We're just going to try it again

next year. Other teams will see that and they'll be like, you know what, maybe I'm going to spread the money out a little bit. Maybe I'm going to try to like follow the idea that this is a team first mentality and you got to be deep and you got to spread the wealth around and you can't pour $22 million into one guy and 18 million into another. It doesn't work. And it's all going to be based on results and who can get it done based on the setup that they have. with their contract. So we were talking about salary bans, right?

B-A-N-D-S, salary bans last week on the show. And forwards are getting paid. Defensemen are getting paid. This has to come at the expense of some other position. Are the goalies going to be the ones here that get phased out of getting paid? And here's what I wonder about. There is never, the threat of the offer sheet is always the big one now.

Yesper Walshap is a restricted free agent next July with arbitration rights. A goalie has never been offer sheeted before The history of the NHL That is the domain of the forwards and the defensemen Do we see goalies Being the ones shut out of this financial windfall That year Z. Williams, Ryan Leonard's, Leo Carlson's Are all enjoying

Did you happen to see the quote from Sunny Meadow the other day? Yes, I did, how volatile position? Yeah, NHL.com asked him what will determine whether your goaltending plan is successful. And he basically, to paraphrase it for a minute, basically said, you've got to pick your money in some spot. And he said, because there is randomness at the position, I'm reluctant to invest significant assets there instead of in areas where the results may be more predictable. Yep. Fascinating way.

Because it's the most important position. Talk to Edmonton. If you don't got it, you don't got it. And you're not going all that far, right? but the idea that one of the new bright up-and-coming minds in the sport is putting his hand up and saying like, it's just luck. Who did Carolina win with? But then you turn around and say, oh, yeah, who did Florida win with?

The $10 million man. So I don't think there's one size fits all for all that. Who, two years before he became the legendary playoff performing Bobrovsky, was the worst contract in the sport that they wouldn't have enough first round picks to attach to him to move. Oh, and two years later, he's a bona fide Hall of Famer, and that's the greatest piece of GM workout. whatever or whatever.

Again, that Bovrovsky actually makes Sunny Mehta's point of its random. Two years before the Panthers won the cup, nobody was looking at Surrogate Mavrovsky going, that's the guy we want to pay big bucks. Who would you say as the best goaltending situation right now in the league, though? Minnie, just because they got two of them. You think Minnesota?

Like maybe that's where it's headed where you're paying two guys, six and six or like, you know what I mean, eight and five. There's splitting workload now. Nobody's playing six. Nobody's playing 60 anymore. So maybe that's how the money spent. Those guys are going to make less, but they're also playing less. But like he says it's a volatile position.

It is like, look at when you got the guy with all the trophies and the hearts and the Veznas and whatnot and he just can't get you done in the playoffs. And it's like, well, that was all for nothing. You know, with Hella buck. He didn't do shit in the playoffs and he's the best goalie in the world. You just can't rely on it. And you get these random guys like the Bittingtons come out of the woodworks. And, you know, the examples you use, it's not always predictable.

And I think that's why they've been hesitant to give these guys the bag and that will probably continue. And even Minnesota, again, to the randomness of the position, they got lucky because they got Philip Gustafson. They gave them that four point whatever million dollar deal. And then after the first year, there were reports that they were calling every team in the league going, will you take this guy off our hands? Because we just drafted Walshed and all that. You know who's got a sneaky good goalie set up right now that does not get any conversation whatsoever?

And it's a team that's, you know, in the position to draft high all the time. Calgary. Dustin Wolfe. Justin Wolf and Devin Cooley. Oh, Devin Cooley. That is an outstanding combination really quietly that gets no love. Because Calgary's not a great team. But their problem is not their goaltending.

Like on a really good team, Dustin Wolf, Devon Cooley is like, whoa, man, look what Calgary's got in net too. And if they, you know, they're trying to hit their stride when they get into that new building, which is coming sooner than later. And whether that happens or not is yet to be seen. But Wolfie's fun to watch, man. So many of these goalies are just these monster big blocking goalies, like the J.S. Jaguerre style of like just be in the way type of thing. And then you got Wolfie and his like heads under the crossbar. And he's like acrobatically throwing himself around like it's the old school.

It's a lot of fun to watch. And I wonder if that's sustainable. Like can you remain that athletic? And can you, can you force your body to play that way where those, I mean, goleys get hurt so easily these days. And it's, I don't think Wolf's got an injury history. too much. Those big blocking goalies, like a stole have trouble staying healthy too.

But it's just, it's interesting and it's fun to watch. And like you say, that's a problem that they don't have on their list as they try to like. Jet Greaves is similar. Jet Greaves is a similar goaltender, like not 6'4, not just out there blocking shots. Like the argument always for big goalies was, and you know this from playing. Like sometimes big goalies just give you an accidental save. And you need an accidental save every now and small goalies will never give you an accidental save. We did get a comment in the chat.

I want to find who said it. Jambi Potts said, guys, it's Colorado. Colorado's a goaltending situation. I mean, they had... Did they love McKinsey Blackwood? But they had an interesting one last year. What's I was going to say? Because they paid Blackwood, but ended up playing Wedgwood.

Wedgwood plays the majority of the playoffs. So like there's your... That's why I'm talking... You invest the money and then it doesn't work out, but you still have a good situation, like, technically a good situation. How often do you get like a guy come out of the woodworks, though, when it's like, oh, he did phenomenal. Like, whether it's in Vegas or, like, Bennington and these guys are last year with...

Like a bussy. Carolina. Yeah. Bussy signed for 1.8 like in, I think February. Like guys kind of, I don't know like what it is. Like you just with a goalie, it's such a weird mental thing that sometimes you throw them in there and they just do this phenomenal thing. And it's like, I blocked out what happened.

You just need that to happen during a run. You know what? For me, I mean, I think we all have different numbers for different positions. Yeah. But for me, I don't make my mind up about my mind up about a goalie until I see 100 games because I want all the shooters to have a look, write the book. Yeah. And then change how you.

you're going to, how you're going to shoot and how you're going to play against them? And then how does that goaltender adapt? David Ayers was actually talking about this yesterday. What do you say? He was just talking about Bussy and how like he knew at some point Bussy was the workload was going to become too much. But then, you know, when he's sitting out for however many weeks in a row and gets put in, he's fresh. Yeah, like it takes him maybe a second to adjust. But when you have that much rest, you're able to do it. But he was talking about how Bussy got off to such a hot start and then had a little bit of a downfall. I mean, like he wasn't bad, but he wasn't as good as he was when he first came in and how like just for goalies,

the workload is just too much if you're not seeing that consistently. All right, guys, have a pause, have a sip. This fan moment is a presentation of Coca-Cola. Being a hockey fan is a commitment, the superstitions, the chance, the pacing, the standing through overtime because sitting somehow feels wrong. We all know that feeling. Whether you're making the climb to the nosebleeds, rallying your section to start the wave or keeping one eye on your game

and another 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. Broadcaster work is thirsty work. And predictions and outrageous predictions are thirsty work. I'll start one off. We were talking about this beforehand.

So one wild prediction from the season. And for, okay, let me do this. Let me do a straight to camera if I can get a one shot. I got to do. For all you aggregators out there, please, this used to be referred to as radioing someone. Please don't do this. This is a segment that is wild prediction.

So to every aggregator, nothing is being reported. This is all a conversation on a Tuesday afternoon, wondering if some things could happen. That is my lobby to all the aggregators out there. Please be kind and honest. Okay, one wild prediction. I'll kick it off. If things don't work out with Nikita Kuturoff and the Tampa Bay Lightning, he's one year away from free agency, the accolades are many, and we don't need to repeat them.

I could see a world. Could you guys see a world where next July 1st, Nikita Kutjurov becomes a member of the Montreal Canadians? How much space do they have? 29 million next year. Enough. Don't forget, what have we been talking about? Look at the deal.

They got on Demadoff. Look at the deal. They got on Hudson. Look at the deal. Look at their only paying next Suzuki. And everybody is locked up. And they have the superstar spot. Every team has that moment where it's like, all right, are we ready for the big trade?

Where are we on our winning cycle? And are we ready for the big deal? We all know, you know, whether it's Demodoff, like Dan Milstein, the agent, has great relationship with the Montreal, Canadians, Ken Hughes, Jeff Corton, etc. Like, it does hit on a lot of different speculative to all you aggregators. All the aggregators are going to kill you for this one. It makes sense, though. Could we see a world where Nicarant? Nikita Kuturoff plays for Montreal next year.

If it does, again, if Tampa can't get them under contract. And if they wants 20, Montreal's got 20. I have a hard time thinking he ever leaves Tampa. No, I think I could see it. Really? It seems like they shouldn't have room for the guy, but they do. Like, talk about with these RFAs and everything and what happens and you're speculating on the future with these monster contracts, like to do a rebuild at the time that Montreal

did where, you know, inevitably if it goes well, you got these RFAs coming up and you got to pay them all. And sometimes you can't keep the group. group together that you drafted to rebuild with because of the cap. But they have managed to slide and rate before all this stuff went insane and get these guys on these insane contracts that are every single year. These contracts are going to look better and better and better. And they have room.

Like they're one of the better teams in the East and they have room to slide it in Nikita Kutrov on their roster with all that money. It doesn't seem like how did they do it. Timing was absolutely huge for them. Yeah. What do you think, Ty? I just, I'm surprised you think there's a chance he leaves. I just look at a guy like that.

And granted, it's the organization who didn't bring back Stephen Stamco. So, I mean, I don't think that's quite an apples to apples comparison because Goudroft's coming off an MVP. I just has the rings there. Vashelowski's still there. They're tight. They'll have the money to give him whereon's tax-free state. No one likes moving their shit.

I love that line. Nobody likes to move. Did you like moving when you played? You hated it. So no one wants to move their shit. I look at it and I go, they have $29.8 million available to them next summer. He's going to get 20 of it and they'll be fine.

I just have such a hard time ever picturing him in another jersey. Look at winning cycles. Is Tampa on the way up or on the way down? They're down. Where's Montreal? Up, all the way up. Does Montreal have the room to give him $20 million? Yeah.

But he's already won like, what's his motivation level? What's pushing this guy? Is he one of those guys that's just so hungry to win? And that's all he cares about. excuse me sounds like he wants to play with smart players well hang on

hang on a second I was gonna get to that too because you're right transition I know I agree with you 100% and don't forget like there are more Russian players on the horizon that are coming

to the Montreal Canaan's and say nothing about playing mentor for Demadoff the more that I think about it maybe I'm just talking myself into it to make a point on the podcast but the more that I

think about this again if Tampa can and maybe Julian Breisbach can turn around to more on science him and this conversation goes nowhere. But if there's a team that you're looking at for Kuturov, if he doesn't, if he gets there and doesn't sign with Tampa, I think, A, he wants to play with smart players,

B, I think he wants to win, too. I don't think he's a guy that we just want to, like, you know, lick the envelope and mail it in the last few years. I do think it makes a lot of sense. Like, I genuinely agree. It makes a lot of sense. I can't imagine Kuturov on a different team just because, again, like, we did see with Stamco.

and I also think Tampa is just this interesting, weird bunch right now. Because also it's what four years in a row, five years in a row they've lost in the first round. First round. You know, and Kutrov has not had success there himself. I think he has two goals in like his last 26 playoff games. Like maybe he's frustrated. Maybe he's grown frustrated and wants a change of scenery. He talked glowingly about Montreal last year in the spring.

And all these guys that hang out at All Star Weekends, like, you know, not to make it about, I'm just saying this as an example, him and Shostark and our good buddies, too. Like all these guys, I'm sure they talk to each other. There's videos of everybody skating in Russia together and stuff.

Like, I don't know. Like, I could definitely see him leaving Tampa though. Like, I don't think he's a lightning forever. Tampa could look a lot different and a few years, like you say,

are they on their way up or down? And like, Chuck Cooper was talked about as being fired in the same sentence as winning to Jack Adams. Like another couple of those first round exits or you miss it one year, all of a sudden that thing could be on its ear.

What do you think? The Dallas stars into the mix? Of course you can. $40 million dollars, who really knows how things play out with Jason Robertson. They have $40 million next summer. That would be a team that is, you know,

consider them on the up when you look at the age of most of their core. Another, again, we'll throw the tax-free state into the mix as well. Dallas is probably in that conversation if Kutrave were to get there. And then the domino effect of... Does you want to go to the, again, like, and I'll defer to Jay on this one. As an older player, how much does travel weigh into it? Dallas doesn't have the best travel set up. I think there's so many priorities that are,

on a guy's mind before, oh, well, they're on the airplane a little bit too much. Like, if, I mean, if you're really cutting between two teams and the one has got considerably better travel, maybe, but, and I mean, I wasn't playing in that league deep into my late 30s, but I just, I, I, I've always thought the media has put too much on travel. I get the back-to-back stats or this or that. We're just trying to be nice to you players. I know, but I mean, the travel is like, fuck, let's get, like traveling like me and you nowadays, it's a pain in the ass.

traveling like those guys and do in that league. You literally walk into a lazy boy and they're literally almost feeding you. Like everything's like your drink of choice and your favorite whatever it is is sitting there waiting for you. You get a little blankie and you go you go night night and then you go to the Ritz Carlton or you go to the Umstead in Carolina and you hit the fucking spa. Like I'm sorry. These guys aren't like slogging it.

Like the hour and a half commute that some guys do going into downtown around here is is harder than what those guys do. I get the time change is drastic, but other than that, it's a pretty pampered life. I don't think it beats the hell out of you. Just traveling a few extra games more. Does changing conferences late in your career affect the decision? He's played in the Eastern Conference this whole career.

Does that weigh in at all? I'm dying at the travel thing, though, quickly. The travel thing is awesome. Well, I'm sitting in C-14B on American Airlines. There's no screen in front of me, my headphones are dead, so I'm just screwed. And poor Coutreuts. I don't have time to finish my lobster. this is an outrage.

I think it would invigorate a guy switching conferences. Like it's just kind of, you know, like changing schools or changing jobs, a new set of scenery, some new different teams. That's how I would see it. It would just reinvigorate you a little bit of some new things because things become old hat when you're in the league for 15 years, playing the same team, same division, same, everything. I see it as that.

But I mean, there is a different travel system in the West compared to the East. And I guess that would weigh it, but I just don't see it being that high on the priority list of most of these guys. but does he want to move? No. Moving sucks. Moving sucks. No one likes move.

20 million. When you have 20 million reasons help you? But I mean it's not. I don't think that he's putting pianos on his back to Jay's point. Like I don't think that he's putting like couches on his back and going up and down the stairs. I'm pretty sure that that gets. That's fair. I remember Eagle Larianoff when he got traded from Detroit to Florida.

One of the contingencies was that someone moved his entire wine cellar to floor. He only played like 20 games, but he had his wine cellar there. Like, guys, what a life. It is a pair. Anyone have anything wild? I don't know if you want to go like the Kutraoff level, but as anyone I have like a wild prediction from this season. We got to start wrapping up here soon.

I'll take a victory lap, by the way. Came on your show last year. You asked me for one. I said capitals missed the playoffs. You were bang on, right. Roasted by you in the YouTube. I'll throw mine out there. Glenn Gulletson will have a lot of time with his family around Christmas

because he'll be fired by then. I was surprised that at the DeBoar comment, were you? Like we need more DeBore? in here? Yeah. I just look and I go, this part's speculation, but he's in the second year.

I can't imagine they gave him a super long-term deal. They're in a wildly competitive division where if you were to hypothetically fall behind the eight ball early, pressure cranked up. So maybe he's in the last year or two. He's probably not all that

high paid compared to his peers. Might be easier for ownership to go, sure, you can do it and fire him. and if they fall behind early in that division there'll be pressure on them to make a big change quick and you're not going to trade someone. Mine is about a specific player.

Okay. I think Chris Lephyder wins the rocket Richard. What? Yeah. If he's playing, if he's playing with Suzuki and Caulfield, he's playing on that power play. He's playing on that power play in the net front. At 36, is that a whole deal?

He can put the puck in the back of the net, just around the blue paint. He's like a Joe Pavelsky, I think. He doesn't get the credit, Povowski does. Tyra's looking up his stats right now. This guy scores, he scores like, he could to get the odds. He had 22 last year, I think.

The YARM check odds coming up. He had like 30, 40, a couple years ago. I know he had a down year at the Rangers when he was hurt. I love it. That's a bold one. It's a bold. You said, these are like, these are bold. I think Chris Kreider is a goal scorer.

I think he's going to be, he knows exactly what his role is on that team. He's going to be parked at the front of the net. He's playing with great players. Like, he's at least scoring 35. We got, we got Chris Kreider. We're in the Rock of Richard and Nikita Kutrov joining the Montreal. Oh, yeah. Everything's coming.

Maybe that's where my brain went, honestly. That's probably why. On the panel. You got one, Jay? Oilers miss the playoffs. I don't know. In that division? I think they win the division.

Even the Palo Fight division. I think that's pretty bold. But as far as being like contenders, I don't see them being any better than they were. I think the frustration has set in already in that little thump and piece in of their hearts is going, we missed our window. And I think that Babcock is only going to bring that more and more to the forefront, all that frustration. I see it going south, but it's going to be interesting nonetheless, sorry, Ty.

Again, these are like, they're the irresponsible prediction, right? They're not like, hang on, hang on, hang on. We got to be good broadcasters here. Silence. And we all just look at Ty. They play in a pillow fight division. That somehow got softer this off season. Like, I think that division is worse.

I agree. I think they win the division. Yeah, I think they'll be fine. But we don't know. It's a pressure cooker year for them too. They're probably going to be, not to be Mr. Homer, but they're probably the most interesting storyline in the league heading into the year. I think they're the most fascinating team.

Really quick before I wrap up, one thing to change in the NHL. For me, it's no more neutral zone faceoffs. I've been barking about this for a long time. Drop your pucks around the net where you can do something and increase offense. No more dropping pucks than neutral zone where it means nothing whatsoever. but a harder time to get to the net. You go outside, guess what?

The puck comes back into your zone, the faceoff's beside, your goalie. That's your punishment from going offside. No more neutral zone face-offs. Let's go to Jay. Mine is these, the player in me is screaming back at me, but when you look at these no-trade clauses and how they're being utilized by these guys,

I think the spirit of a no-trade clause is, I want to sign here, I want my kids to go to school here, I want to buy a house here, I want to put roots down here. I don't want to have to worry at, trade deadline and free agency. I want to be here and I want to not think about that ever again. And instead, it's become now I'm going to commit to the team. They're going to build around me,

be part of like we're talking about all these puzzle pieces and drafting and how you put together and the rebuilds and all these things that got to happen. And you give a guy at X amount of your contract and no trade clause and then he flips it on you and says, now I want to go here or here. and the leverage is gone from the team, you completely shoot them in the foot. And it just seems wrong to me. And we're seeing it here with Larkin and with Hellebock. It just,

maybe they're unique situations, but I just don't feel like that's in the spirit of what a no trade is to turn around on a team that's committed to you, those things that are supposed to make you happy and completely bend them over a barrel. The team makes a commitment to the player too. So should a team then not be allowed

to ask a player to waive a no trade? They hardly ever do. They hardly ever do. Darnalner's got moved. Morgan Riley. I guess didn't get moved, but they were asking them. But it's in their contract. It's something they negotiated.

They have the protection if they want it. That's the whole point of it. So, like, the whole point of having the no trade is because if a GM does that, I get the frustration. You have the choice. Like,

I'm with Rosie on this. I actually love for you to talk to Colby about it because I'm the same team as you. Yeah. And he's a tough guy to argue with, so I'd love to have you. And I get it. Like, it goes both ways,

but it's just like, and I get you can, like, a player can underperform and you can ask them to wave and, And business is business. You're saying you can ask out. Like, just don't tell me where to put you. That's kind of the thing.

You can ask out, but I think there needs to be, I guess, a caveat on these no trades. Like, barring, you know, it opens up. Maybe there's a two-tiered system. It's like if you want out, then it's these teams. If you, you know what I mean? Like something that, well, it just doesn't feel like in the spirit of a contract and agreement, the teams that are trying to build. And then you just completely unravel all their plans.

It's just, it's like ruining to the organization. So what if there's a no moment? move clause, and I'm just thinking about this right now in this moment, where there's like the player has no move clause, but the team gets a, you can't go here. Like eight teams where you can't get traded to. A reverse. A reverse. A reverse clause for the team. I've never thought about that. You can have your no trade clause, but you cannot go to Florida, Tampa, like these eight teams where you can't go. But then you know what? You just introduce a third team into the deal and you go to the team that you're allowed to go to and then that team trades you to that. There's ways to get.

Loopholes. There's a way to get around. The other thing about it is, If we're going to go down that road of limiting no trades, no moves, all that, what are you offering the Players Association to get rid of them? Because that's a CBA negotiation. That'll be a fight. It won't happen. That ties into one of mine. It's a CBA thing.

I would love for the NHL to do similar to what the NFL does and introduce a way to restructure contracts. And I'm sure there is going to be an agent listening to this show who calls me an idiot. But I think the way you negotiated with the PA is you can restructure a contract as long as it puts more net dollars in the player's pocket at the end of the contract. So for the two examples I had, Chris Kreider's not great because he wanted to go home. But let's say the ducks go to Kreider and say you have one year left at six. Okay, what if it was three years left at three and a half? So now you're going from making six mill to, again, you've got to play a few more years

and all that, but you're going to make 10 and a half. What if the oilers went to darn El Nurse at 31 years old? Instead of four at nine, what if we up this and we made it seven by seven? no way you're making seven at the end of your current deal, but we need the cap space now. Let's restructure this bad boy. As long, I think that there would be,

like from the NHL's point of view, I think they would at least listen to it. I don't know that it goes anywhere, but the main thing for the NHL in all these contracts, and we saw this during the lockout too, the NHL owners are insistent, no new money in the system. That's all.

And the sanctity of those contracts, which the NHL, unlike the NFL does guarantee. Like, you sign the, that contract, you're getting it. Yep. You're getting it. I think mine would be make the regular season count for more. Like give the division winners maybe, you know, for the plan, back to the plan.

So I don't know why I'm like, we're talking about the plan. But I think there's no incentive on like winning the regular season or winning the division besides like, yeah, you get the wild card matchup, but we've seen wild card teams beat top teams in the division all the time. It happens. And the NFL. So you're saying get rid of the playoffs. You finish first overall?

you win the Stanley? Well, no, no, no, I think everyone compares hockey to football, right? How physical and how tough and how much the grind it is. Football players, when they win the division, they get a first week by or a first round buy. Like, I don't know if you get a first round by necessarily, but there should be some reward for winning your division. Is that a reward to the owners losing that revenue from no, no salary that you're paying

out and you're just making hand over fist dollars? They'd never give that. And a rest over rust debate. How often do you go 10 days with that playing? Well, look at Carolina and how much it works for them this year. It's like. It's always the debate, whether. It's good or bad.

Listen, I didn't say mine was the smartest. When you think about it, and again, we can blame the Patrick family for this to go historical in the old Pacific Coast Hockey League. They were the first ones that come up with this idea of a second season called the playoffs. Up until then, you finished first in your league. You won the championship. That does make sense. The Patrick family, Lester and Frank, said, hold on a second here.

We can squeeze more money out of our fans if we have something, which is a second season, based on the regular season called the playoffs, and that's where the championship has decided. Because really when you think about it philosophically, if you're the best team at the end of the regular season, you should win the championship, right? It was the Patrick family said, eh, let's make a few more bucks here.

And have two seasons. They do. Like, imagine, it's totally off the wall for a different conversation for a different day, but the fact you're not paying your players anything. Their salaries are paid. Paychecks stop coming, and they go to the ring. for two more months and go to war and play seriously hurt every single year.

There's a story about some guy playing with a take your pick on the injury. No one really realizes that. Like the average fan, you're not getting a paycheck anymore. You're making the same as the guy in Bora Bora. He's done. I thought we weren't supposed to feel bad for players a second ago, Jay. Hey, there's all kinds of sides to this, Jeffrey. I love it.

All right, boys. We're heavy on time. Thank you so much for stopping by. roundtable is something I wanted to do for a long time. Glad we could do it on the opening, the official opening of our new studio here at the Nation Network. Thanks so much for joining us on the program today. On behalf of the entire crew here, the programming day continues right throughout the rest of the day and into the evening. Thanks for joining us.

Carter Meyer, by the way. We'll be stopping by the Quebec ramparts. You know Carter Meyer. Carter Meyer is going to be stopping by the program tomorrow. Look forward to talking to him from the ramparts. In the meantime, have a great rest of your day. We'll talk to you tomorrow on the sheet. I went to the doctor