The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Week of Returns in the NHL ft. Shayna Goldman

Episode Date: October 19, 2026

It's a massive week of reunions, revenge games, and major storylines across the NHL! Jeff Marek is joined by Shayna Goldman on today's episode of The Sheet to break down a wild weekend of hockey, including the Calgary Flames snapping the Carolina Hurricanes' seven-game winning streak, the Philadelphia Flyers finally earning their first win of the season against the Ottawa Senators, and the Toronto Maple Leafs dropping their third consecutive game. What's going wrong in Toronto? Jeff and Shayna examine Auston Matthews' comments about urgency, the Maple Leafs' defensive struggles, and whether Toronto has the assets to pull off a trade that could help strengthen its blue line and get the season back on track. Plus, it's a week of returns and revenge games across the NHL! Brady Tkachuk heads back to Ottawa to face the Senators for the first time since joining the Florida Panthers, while Quinn Hughes makes his highly anticipated return to Vancouver as a member of the Minnesota Wild. Meanwhile, Connor Hellebuyck's suspension is nearing its end, leaving major questions surrounding his future with the Winnipeg Jets, his contract demands, and the rapidly approaching Heritage Classic. Could Hellebuyck return to Winnipeg and get the deal he's looking for? Jeff Marek and Shayna Goldman discuss all that and more on today's episode of The Sheet!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.

I still, as we talked about with Dave Penoa on Friday, I still don't think we're getting the full snapshot and the full story on this Connor Hallibuck situation. As we'd like to say around here, around the sheet, folks, we're not getting enough water to the village on this story. Welcome once again to the sheet. Kick off the week here Monday, October 19th. Glad to have you aboard, whether you're watching, whether you are listening. We thank you for letting us your attention for a short while today. Thanks for being aboard. This is coming to you, as always,

from the Sports Interaction Studio and official sports betting partner of the NHL. Also, before we get to Shannon Goldman, who is waiting patiently, as she always does. 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 Nation Gear. year.ca. And as I mentioned, and Zach, let me know when Shane is standing by because we'll get her to weigh in on this one, more intelligently than I can. I still feel like there's a big piece missing here. There's a massive piece here that we're not getting on this Connor Hallibuck situation.

By the way, his suspension, as we found out through our friend, Elliot Friedman on Saturday, has been in effect and ends on October the 23rd. that is Friday and that would be a pressure point. But as we've been mentioning on this program for a while now, and we saw the comments from Adam Lowry. And we've seen and heard comments from Kyle Connor, not just teammate with the Winnipeg Jets, but teammate with Team USA as well. We've seen Scott Arneill have his say essentially saying,

I don't care. I'm focusing on the players that we have here. We've heard about the organization from ownership to management to coaches, to players. This ain't nothing of the fans as well. Nobody wants this. Nobody wants this situation to end with Connor Hellebuck going back to Winnipeg. So does it all end on the 23rd or by the 23rd?

Maybe. Heritage Classic on the horizon for Winnipeg too. I don't think they want that cloud over their heads. But I still get the feeling we are missing a big piece of the story here because you never hear players. talk about teammates the way that we've heard the Winnipeg Jets players talking about Connor Hellebuck. Can it only be about his end of the season presser last year where he mused about being able to win with this team?

Essentially, and I'll just paraphrase, I don't know if this team is any good. I don't know if we can win here. Considering what players have said about Hellebuck and how they've talked about him. and how their faces get a very serious stern look when the name comes up. I still feel we're missing a piece of the puzzle. Shana Goldman's going to tell us what it is from the athletic co-hosts of The Too Many Men podcast.

Here to tell us what we're all missing here. First of all, Shana, nice to see you. Sorry. Hey, Pickle, how's it going? It's going great. It's going great now. All right. All right.

This is the week, this is the week, by the way, the Americans return to Canada. And I want to focus on that, whether it's Quinn Hughes next Sunday in Vancouver, Brady Kachuk, Ottawa on Wednesday, Connor Hullabuck. We'll see when, if ever. Do you not get the feeling that there's a pretty big piece of the puzzle here or a pretty big piece of the story that we're not getting? Because we never hear players talk about other players the way we're hearing Lowry and Connor, to say nothing of Scott or Neal, talk about Connor Hallibuck. They may talk like this to each other privately on maybe group chats or face-to-face in the room or a team functions, but never publicly. Like when the name comes up, the spines stiffen and then it's just like just dogface. Why not?

Right away. So we're missing a piece here, right? We're missing something. Yes and no. Because, listen, we've been talking about this player empowerment era for a bit here. And it's really interesting because we're, we want. We want to see players have personalities. We want to see players speak up.

And it's like here, here is this moment finally unfolding. And we're hearing players speak up saying, I don't want to be a part of this team, but we don't hear about what happens behind the scenes. We don't hear about how everyone else feels in those situations. And this one's massive because Connor Hallibuck is the Jets best player. We all know this. This is their MVP, the season most years lives and dies by Connor Hallibuck.

So if you're a player in Winnipeg, I don't think it's necessarily being offended saying, oh, he doesn't think that he can win here with us. us, that feels like a comment fully suited for management and understandably so. But if you're a part of that team and you know he's your most important player, you should be frustrated, especially when we're seeing similar situations unfold and other guys are showing up. Dylan Larkin is playing. Yes, he has not handled the noise well.

Okay. Like, I completely agree. I understand why any fan would be frustrated with him. But he is there and he is playing. Connor Hallibuck isn't playing. That doesn't help the Jets from on the ice. It doesn't help him in trade situation. situations because the leverage is never going to be tilted Winnipeg's way and that's going to

slow down a move. And while players should have some frustrations towards their front office, it's easier to point it towards the player who's not showing up and doing his job and leaving the rest of his team in a really crappy situation that it's not just, oh, they're going to be worse with Adam. Oh, they're in limbo until this gets solved. So it's nice to hear players actually speak up and even if they're not saying much, having that tension in it, because there's a ripple effect. There's a human effect of it in the locker room and there's an effect on the ice in their futures. So it feels a little more refreshing than what we're accustomed to being like, he's a part of the team, it's all okay or like hockey speak it away. But we're so used to

hockey speak it away too. Boring. No, I listen and I get that and there is an air of, you know, this is refreshing hearing players actually speak as on, like they haven't gone past the line when talking about Conor Hallibuck? Like Adam Lowry's comments were fascinating. Conversations will be needed if Connor Hallibuck is coming back. Kyle O'Connor is saying, well, would he come back just to play or is he going to recommit to this team? This leads me to believe that there's more to the story

than we're just seeing with a trade request. It's almost as if something has happened to really poison the well. on this one between this player and the rest of that team. Now, we don't know what that is. All we can do is speculate. We know the players, like, you don't need 23 players all getting along to be successful, right? Like, you don't have, like, how many times you've ever heard in business? Do you have to like someone to do business with them?

No. That's the history of business. Just think about, like, anybody listening or watching me now. Think about your place of work. You like everybody? Does any like that? Do you get along with it? No.

We see it all the time. It's so different, though, because in hockey, it's like players will fight on the ice at practice, and that's a great thing. That's team building. So it makes it even more ironic. It's like it's going through the media and we're speaking about it. Therefore, it's, you know, there must be B versus two guys are punching each other in the face on the ice. That's a good thing. So it's like that it just, it adds a little bit more to it.

But no, there should be more here because he did not come into his job. What happened? What happened? It could be a simple as him not showing up, though. all the players. I don't know about that. Like, again,

like I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm just basing this on how I'm hearing players talk about Hellebuck. And the most obvious comparison right now is, you know, hearing players talk about Dylan Larkin. And there's still the accent on understanding and positivity.

We're all grownups here. We all, you know, we all understand the score. There's not that here. Like, You can really tell. If you just read a generic quote about a player who's requested a trade,

you can tell whether that quote is coming from a Detroit Red Wings player or a Winnipeg Jets player. Right. Even without knowing who it is. I mean, it could be as simple as understanding the two different positions of the teams, right? If you're in Detroit and you're a player that wants out, especially with how everything went down with Eisenman, it was pretty public, how icy their relationship became, but also like the team didn't have the results. They didn't do anything to make the playoffs. They didn't do anything around Larkin for all this time that there could be more of an

understanding of that situation versus the Jets who have been a part of the playoff picture, who, you know, are one of the best teams in the Central for a couple of years there. It's not like they have this lengthy playoff drought and it's not like Helibuck has had public tensions with, you know, this front office. Like he recently signed this extension. It's a little bit different here. So that might be, you know, what sets these two things off. different foundations. Maybe there's more, you know, willingness to understand Larkin because of that.

Also because he showed up and is there to talk to his team and say, look, this is what's going on. And maybe the conversations didn't happen with Hallibuck. Maybe everyone was caught off guard by what he said last spring and then how everything's evolved to this point. And that would also be understandable. Because again, what he does affects everyone. And all of these players are signing these contracts together and have this vision together and then you're breaking it. So I don't, I don't know what's going on. I don't want to speculate and act like I could, but that would just be like my general gist of what's going on here. If I'm a Detroit Red Wings player and I see this team floundering forever and the front office not doing anything and public frustrations brewing between

Arzeman and Larkin, I would understand him wanting out quicker than I'd understand everything going on with Hallibuck just based on what's gone on in recent years. And I get it's different too when we hear about everything with the team USA of it all and all. of that, but that's just like my early take on it. And hopefully we hear more because we're seeing players speak up. Maybe when the dust settles, if it ever settles, who's to say when, what's going to happen here? We'll actually hear something.

Does it not, again, maybe I'm just putting too much into one specific event and not wanting it clouded if you're the Winnipeg Jets. Heritage Classic, I don't know, complicates might be a tricky word to use here, but I'll use it for lack of a better one. The Heritage Classic complicates things here because I don't think the Winnipeg Jets want what should be a really special day for that organization to be clouded with, okay, so the suspension ended Friday and we're still talking about Connor Hallibuck when really we should be talking about this wonderful event that the Winnipeg Jets in Montreal, Canadian is going

to be part of in Manitoba on Sunday. So does it not feel like, okay, this is a new pressure point. Kevin Sheffledaoff has known it's coming. It's 23rd. It's Friday. That's when he can go back. Now, I know there's the idea that they could send him home. I think that that's chumming the waters for a grievance from the players association.

If you do that. And then you're just complicating this thing even further. Does it not at least feel to you that this thing needs to end this week? For the organization's sake, for the players' sake, for Sunday's sake, like, or is this thing just going to keep dragging? Are we just going to keep playing the, okay, back to Manitoba for a couple weeks conditioning stint and then back up to, you know, wear a suit for the games and watch Stu Skinner?

I mean, this should have ended for where the season started. They should have been handled. This should have been done. Can I jump in on that? Yeah. Considering how important, because you're right, like right off the top, you mentioned, like, he's the R MVP. He's the most of the play.

like they cannot afford to miss on this trade. And I think that's why this thing hasn't gotten done yet. The way that I've framed it is they can't have, they can't make a B plus trade. They have to make an A plus trade. You're not making an A plus trade when you're losing the best player. You're not going to be the A plus side of it. I get that. I get that.

But that's another complicating factor in all of this, the fact that gold tenders don't get you the return. And the fact that this is a distressed commodity right now, which is not getting you a return that you're going to need for the health of this organization. I always feel, Kevin Shevold-Da-off doesn't need anyone to feel sorry for them. But of all the general managers that I look at in the NHL, considering with no trade clauses and retention issues, et cetera, and the Winnipeg Jets always having to sell one of their main attributes,

which is loyalty, right? We are loyal to players. You want to play here. We will be, and part of it is out of necessity, because you need high-end players that want to go, and will stay, I understand all that. There's an image issue there. But Shevoldeuf has one of maybe the most difficult general manager jobs in the NHL.

This isn't making it any easier for him. I don't think he's made it easier on himself. Like, okay. There's like five things here. For Shevledaaf, let's start there. Okay. He had a playoff team. If you build it, they will come.

He did not build it. He did not do a good enough job when this team was a playoff. team. There were so many holes and I feel like he has been passive year after year after year. And yes, you do have to navigate no trade. Recruiting's tough. Recruiting for Winnipeg is like again, like I know I'm defending Caval Shevled out here. And in a sense I am. But like recruiting is a major issue for Winnipeg. Yes. But that's why you have like the Nyes trade for Columbus, right? Like it's targeting players. And we're seeing players get moved this summer that didn't all have trade clauses and these younger players. you have to find players with enough term and then sell them on on the team and and build around

them if you're competitive enough and you are trying constantly to contend and you have a good foundation and it's Kyle Connor Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuck like there should have been more done over the years I think just just having success just finding ways to build on that success and it feels like it's missed opportunity after missed opportunity even with all the challenges they've had but with Hellebuck specifically and the return on this trade goalie trades are hard to pull off on a good day. Golly trades are harder to pull off in season than they are in the off season. True.

And I think looking for the A plus trade, yes, you're going to look for a great return. I feel like they're setting the bar unrealistically high. And I'm not saying sell low, but I don't think this carrying out into the season is going to help anyone because I'm watching, we're watching, you know, years past. We look at Jeremy Swayman, right? And he misses training camp because of his contract situation. He never, the ball was rolling and he was chasing it down and he never found it until the next. next year. Now, Hallibuck is, he has more experience and it's a different situation. This is Jeremy Swimming going into it as like his first year as a true starter. It's completely different,

right? But He'll be able to be. He's coming off a bad season that was dragged down by injury. We don't know fully, we can guess. We can estimate that his season was bad because the team around him was bad. The injury held him back. But also goalies and how they age, it's a lot more volatile. So him being on the ice and showing I've still got it is the best case. scenario for him and for the jets. So the longer this drags out, I think the worst it's going to get for Winnipeg, but you also don't want to put a timeline on it saying they have to get it done in this week because they already don't have leverage.

Now they're going to crush it even more. And by saying, it's okay, we're in no rush. We actually have leverage. It just doesn't feel that way. So I just feel like this entire situation is so much messier than it needed to be. And they should have been more aggressive looking for a trade over the summer. And it just feels like a missed opportunity. but it falls on everybody here, right?

Because at the end of the day, like Hellebuck did sign this contract knowing the front office he was agreeing to. So it's really just, it's tough for everyone. You know, one of the things, it's funny, so I spoke with someone from one team who just asked bluntly out

because we're trying to figure out like, who are the teams that could be legit here and all of it. And he just stopped the conversation midway through and he said this. If Nathan McKinnon scores on an empty net are we even having this conversation? Because of the Olympics? No, in the sense that, in the sense that that was his crowning glory last year,

and how much is he surfing on that one game? To your point, you know, you looked two years ago in that series against the St. Louis Blues where Conor Helibuck looked like locked in his skates and St. Louis was just like slot line, slot line, slot line, slot line, slot line. And then next thing you know, Helibuck is retreating and locked and they're scoring, they're firing balloons from the point, right? And then to your point as well, the soft season that he had last year, except for the gold medal game. Thanks.

The one game where he really showed up last season was the one. Essentially, his point was, is Conrad Hallibuck as good as we're all making them out to be? And would we make him out to be this good if Nathan McKinnon scored that goal? I don't know. I honestly don't know the answer because every year I feel like we're all trying to figure it out. And listen, goaltending is eight pain in the other. has to assess on a good day. And then we have playoff goaltending and a million other factors to deal with, right? Like, I'm not going to pretend I'm some goaltending expert. But every year, Hella Buck

specifically in the playoffs is something I'm so curious about. And I've always wondered how much it has to do with the workload that he faces because, you know, maybe he shouldn't be playing as much in the regular season. Maybe he's not fresh by the playoffs, especially because he's not always on like the most elite team. And there were some forwards who weren't, you know, showing up enough in the postseason either. It was too many playoff demons on one team, right? And it just was creating these like bad situations, but you look at that series against the blues. He's terrible. He goes into the next series against the Jets against the stars and he was better.

But our focus on that series was that no one wanted to score goals. Like the star's offense dried up the next series. So was he just good or where the star is not generating enough chances? And he didn't have goal support on the other side of it. I literally don't know what he's going to look like in the playoffs on a different team. He's an incredible regular season goalie. But there is a reason why we do our player tiers project every year. And we talk about goalies the last couple of seasons.

and he is someone that comes up of, this is an entire, this is a player's, you know, entire resume, not just the regular season. And it's why we don't have tier one goalies, even when he wins the MVP, because we don't know

what he's going to look like in the playoffs because it's such a wild card every year. So it's definitely tough to figure that out. And any team contemplating him is not, you know, committing to one or two years, it might be their entire playoff window. You're committing to the rest of his contract.

So it makes it even more difficult. I don't know. if he's a good playoff goalie. I don't know if he'll ever be. I think some of the playoff demons are potentially have settled a little more. Maybe that team USA game helped because at the end of the day, even if they lost and they lose by a goal, I think we could still say he was better. He was better of Four Nations. He was better for this. But is that real hockey either? It's not the Stanley Cup playoffs. It's a massive pressure situation, but it's not the Stanley Cup playoffs either. So it's even more difficult. Like he doesn't have that behind him. So yes, the one game definitely

definitely does help him. It absolutely does. He has a gold medal. That matters. But I still think we're talking about two different scenarios here. And I would wonder how much another team could come in and try to figure out what's held him back and how much it was his workload. Justin on Twitter X says, Shana is spitting facts here. Let me try to spit one fact out. Okay. I wonder. Well, it's not a, it's more of a question, more of it, more of an I wonder. I really One of my pet theories about Winnipeg is they never recovered from Dustin Bufflin

piecing out on all of it. I really wish Dustin Bufflin were still on the Winnipeg Jets for this. Because if you want to talk about someone, someone who would tell you what's going on and be able to because what we're seeing is some crafty stick handling from Lowry

and from Kyle Connor. we understand it. Like, they're still saying a lot, but more than we're used to, but not, we're not, if Dustin Bufflin were there right now, in the year that has been chaotic in hockey,

that would add a whole other level to it. Anything more on Hallibuck for you? Because I want to move on to a couple of other returns here. This is return week. It's return week in the NHL. Anything more on Connor Hallibuck here as we look forward to? His reinstatement on Friday. No, because the situation I don't think gets settled this week, so we're going to talk about this 10 more times.

You don't, eh? Oh, man. Listen, I hope you're right. I really do. Like, as someone who cheers for, just cheers for stories and shows. I think Winnipeg wants to be done with it because now, listen, Friday. We also should be done with it. Move on.

And then we can talk about 20 different things of what are the Jets going to do now because it was different when they were, like, winning games. And we could talk about Stu Skinner and all of that. But also, like, let's talk about Hellebuck being somewhere else and try to figure it out. And just the unfinished, lingering, uncertainty. I don't think it's good for anyone. All right. Let's then talk about Brady Kachuk. Speaking of returns, we circled this one pretty much, you know, when everything became apparent.

So Wednesday, Brady Kachukh makes his return to Ottawa. I want to get to Quinn Hughes in a second here on Sunday in Vancouver, which I think will be different in some ways and similar in some ways too. But thoughts on Brady Kachuk going back to Ottawa. First of all, my guess is the answer. to this question is yes of course dummy is Paul marie's put him in the starting lineup yeah yeah absolutely I feel like doesn't just does he just try to slip him in mid shift no no no throw them on I feel like the panthers love to play villain let him go out there let the booze rain and just get the game off with a bang I feel like the one thing I holds this game back actually let me

backtrack here's the one good thing we can actually watch this game because it's on a night with two games in between, what is it, 11 and 12 game slate. So great job, NHL. You scheduled one right. Congrats. I am so salty over this schedule. I know you are. I let this one go until like November.

We are three weeks into the season, four weeks into the season. I don't even know. I don't care. And I am furious at this slate. Everything about it. You're always salty about the sked. You're always salty about start times and staggering time. I know.

I know. Listen, I have, listen, I have all of my. little hills too. I have my things that bother me. This is a giant hill and it's getting worse. It's getting worse. But we get to see it, Shana. We get to see it. We get to see it. We all get to watch it. So it better be a good game. But it's, it's different because it's not like, here's Brady Kachuk and then here's whoever they traded for him. Like, there were different moving parts to this one. Yep. And Eklin, obviously being out now changes things. It's not like this is a, he's not the Panther that went back. But it

would have been fun to see Ackland didn't, especially because it felt like he was right before he got hurt. He was like hitting his stride and you're like, okay, look, here's this player that they acquired. He's very good. So hopefully it's like a Stutzla versus Kachuk because I feel like that's the one thing that has changed for Ottawa is Tim Stutzla has been the guy. He's been fantastic. I know he's had high scoring seasons before, but I feel like this is his best start yet. I feel like he's all around game I'm more impressed with because every year I feel like I'm nitpicking elements of it. So if that's what we're going to see, I think that would be really fun.

here. It could be a circus, like, who knows. But it's an important game for both teams because the Panthers have a ton of injuries. The Senators have a ton of injuries. The Atlantic Division we know is going to be extremely competitive. And it does feel like some of the teams were like, whoa, are these new juggernauts? And you're like, maybe not. Maybe not. It's not perfectly working out. Everyone has their own stumbles right now. But like, I still think it'll be a good game. I think it's good to get it out of the way early. And I think it hopefully gives the senator some sort of closure because like that era is over and they have this new one to be excited about. You know, one of the things that I like about what Ottawa has done post Brady is they haven't

tried to, because the Maple Leafs made this mistake, try to out panther the Panthers. Oh, we just lost Brady Kachuk. And so now how we have to somehow replace that style of player as opposed to just leaning into we're a skill team. We're a skill team led by Tim Stutzla and when he's healthy, Sanderson and Shabbat. And like that is the, that is the team that we are. Like I always find that's when you're going to. to find your most success.

When you try to be Tampa Light when they were winning cups, you fail. When you try to be Florida Light when they're winning cups, you fail. Like you just can't. Like you need to, it's the old saying, cows don't make ham. Be who you are. Be who you are? That's why, what are you looking at me like that for? You never heard that before?

I'm sorry. I've never heard that saying. Cows don't make ham. Be who you are. Bad, bad, bad, bad. Be who you are. Don't try to be something that you're not. And so Ottawa is leaning into that.

That's why. The deal that they made with some of those picks was, we're going to get Eklund from San Jose. We're not going to go to try to find someone, truculent, testosterone, and all those types of things either. We're going to lean into what we are, and that is we're going to be a skilled team. Good on them.

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Because also, it's not like they were incredible with Brady Kachuk as their number one, number two guy. They weren't. Every year we're looking at going, this team has all these chances and they can't finish. And oh, look, who's at the top of the charts?

It's Brady Kachuk, because he doesn't have the hands always to finish. he's getting the chances because he's in the right spot. That system didn't work for them. So it's good that they pivoted and went, what actually will complement our team better? And I feel like Eklunds skill set, the age, everything about it, obviously the injury changes things.

But the long run, you still see the vision there. Because like you said, you can't try to be Florida light or Tampa Light. And that's, I feel like where teams always get so lost in all of this, because you can't mimic a team. You can't copy them. Your team is fundamentally built different. Every single player is unique. You can have similar traits.

You can have similar styles. At the end of the day, that combination of skaters, coaches, developmental pets, everything that you have together, your team is coming out with a different result, even if your ingredients seem extremely similar. You have to find elements of past success and emulate them and apply them to your team in a way that fits you. And teams lose the plot all the time. I think a lot about like the devils. It felt like they were trying to be Florida light when that wasn't their style. Like, yes, you had the similarities of the Panthers before they became.

the Stanley Cup champs that they were were the best rush-based team in the league, and then they diversified, and that's what worked for them. Well, the devils went so far from that and forgot what made them special in the first place that it felt like they had this identity crisis, and now all of a sudden we see them, it's like,

oh, yeah, that works again. Now we're seeing it kind of click into place again. So I think that's a really important point here. Like, the senators could not afford to do that. No team should do that. They need to figure out what works for them. That's a smart way of saying cows don't make ham. I just, you know, it caught me off guard

because I've never heard, like phrases, idioms, things like that are not a strong suit for me on a good day. But then I heard that one and I'm like, okay. What the hell you're talking about, Merrick? Quinn Hughes returning to Vancouver on Sunday. That's good. I'm really curious to see what the crowd does with this. I really am because I think about Mitch Marner returning to Toronto.

And there were the booze. But then when the tribute video came around, it was polite applause. and then it was right back to Boone on Mitch Marner. Do you have a sense of, because I know there's going to be a lot of Vancouver Canucks fans are going to be sour about this, obviously. Do you have any idea how it's going to go next Sunday?

Here we are talking about a game six days from now, but nonetheless, it's a pretty big one. Do you have any idea how this one feels? I mean, we know what the Brady Kachuk Day is going to be like. Do we know what Quinn Hughes is going to be like in Vancouver? No, not at all. I mean, I'm going to assume he gets booed. I understand it. He left that team. Again, the situation they were in, I can't really blame them, the direction. And it does feel like things are finally turning around for Vancouver, like a different front office, a different coaching staff. This is what this rebuilding team actually needed. But at the end of the day, like, he didn't want to be there. He left and fans are going to be salty about it. And they should be. I don't want to tell fans how to feel. If they want to boom, boom. If that makes you feel good, go off. I'm sure the fact that he is not signed and there's just nonstop.

Will he go join his brothers in New Jersey? You know, Canucks fans can point and laugh and be like, see, he told you. Because nothing settled there. But it's just two teams in very different places. So if the Canucks can play Disruptor and, you know, shake things up like they did for teams like the Oilers, you know, to open the season in those first two games, I think that's something good for them. But if not, and they just get closer to top pick, that's also good for them. Like it doesn't, it doesn't have that same, that same bite to it. And maybe it's because so much time it has passed and because the teams are in just totally different positions versus like the Panthers and senators who both want to be playoff teams.

But yeah, they'll probably boom. They probably should. Whatever. So I got a text. I know it's a boring answer. No, listen, listen, you don't have to like spice everything up. Like not every topic needs hot sauce. It's fine.

Like some things are just what they are. And we'll see what happens on Sunday. Quinn Hughes returns. I'm not sure if you watch the Bruins Kings game on Saturday. It's a 4-1 final for the Boston Bruins. The Los Angeles Kings have still not won a game in regulation. There's a big cheerio beside their name on the NHL standings. I got a text late, late Saturday night,

which bled into Sunday, which leads me to believe the person that I was texting with after I went to bed, was overserved. But here's what the text was. Holland Watch, question mark. The defense that has been put together there is, to be kind, troubling. And I don't know how this thing gets any better in Los Angeles. Maybe one of the saving graces is their environment and the teams that they're around.

But this is shaping up to be a disastrous season for the Los Angeles Kings. Do you see anything there that either reinforces my point or? Or it leads you to believe that things could turn around in Los Angeles. Because right now, it looks awful. It's a tough watch. I'm low on the Kings. I was low on the Kings coming into this year. I was law on the Kings coming until last year.

I thought they were one of the most disappointing teams coming into the season coming into the season for last season. And they lucked out with loser points and a really crappy division, to be honest. And now you look at it and it's, oh, look, it's the consequences of my actions. And it just feels like Ken Holland is very set in his ways. And you can tell, by the way, he built this blue line, there's not enough to mention outside of Brand Clark. You know, to have Joel Edmondson, to have Cody CZ,

it is so much of the same. Yep. And that's not how you win the games. And, you know, I understand the king saying, well, the oiliest beat us so many times in the playoffs. Let's bring in someone who helped build that team. It's just asinine to me because all he has done is made the team, older and slower, which is exactly what cost them every single year in the playoffs to the Oilers.

And this summer, they leaned further into that by going after these aging forwards. And I think the only forward that made some sense for them was someone like Zuccarello, because you're like, that's playmaking they could use. If you could have Fiala Panarin and Zuccarello across three different lines, that's some really strong playmaking. But everything else they did, everyone else is getting speedier and younger and more uptempo. And they're not. And then to do this while having Peter Lavillette as the coach makes even less sense because, yes, he does lean on veteran players.

But his system is so taxing on players. And I'm using my bias here as someone who watched him a ton in New York, obviously. I think about how players like Ryan Lindgren played under his system and how instead of his primary job being protecting the middle of the ice, which is what should have been his job. He's a stay-at-home defenseman. It should have been gap control. It should have been getting to the middle. It should have been that extra support in front of their great goaltenders. He was playing in ways he shouldn't have and stepping up in plays that he shouldn't have

because he didn't have the foot speed to get back. And it felt like they were so stringent in this is the system. This is the way you have to play, even though this is not your skill set. There was no adaptability from the coaching. And the roster was not cut out for his system. And that's why it didn't work out. Here, it feels like the same situation there. So I don't know how you sit back and watch and hire this coach and not tweak the roster

to fit his style a little bit more and think this is the coach to run this blue line with this little speed and this little, like, mobility, it makes absolutely no sense to me. So I'm not surprised they're doing poorly. It's a mess because the offense is lacking. The goaltending is lacking.

They don't have enough finish. So, yeah, they're limiting some scoring chances for now, but they're doing nothing else. The other thing to this, too, is we knew that to take a step back without Kopitar. Like you don't remove someone from that line up and then take a couple of steps forward. I know that Holland didn't exactly help them in the offseason. That's pretty obvious here.

But I just do wonder how much of that is a sort of excuse. Hey, you lose Kopitar, like you buy yourself like at least one, maybe two years until you're a group from losing a player like that. Like he's one of the best at the position in the last 20 years. years. You know, you don't just, I mean, mind, you can look at the Bruins and you can say like, well, you know, Bruins still hanging in there. They kind of lost, like, whether it's Charo, whether it's Berger. Like, keep going, Dave Kreachie, like, and they're still, you know, hanging, hanging in there. But does that buy them any grace? No, no. It doesn't because,

it's funny, like, when they treated De No. And I know he was playing poorly there. I was like, I would want to keep him around. Like, you know Kopitar doesn't have much time left. And at the very least, he can just take on tough minutes. If he's just your shutdown center on the third line and you expect nothing from him offensively, but he's going to study the ship. That's who you should want. And it felt like it just didn't make sense then. And it was like, where is the forward thinking? Because you know what's happening.

Even if it's, you know, if they didn't know in the moment that was going to be his final. I honestly don't remember. But I feel like that was such a step down. And then you should have been focusing on the development of Quentin Byfield to be the guy. And I know like there's been some ups and downs there. But it feels like they were just ill prepared for this moment. and then they somehow dug themselves a deeper hole thinking like, sure, sign Eric Calla.

That'll help. That'll stabilize things. And it just, it makes no sense to me. So generally speaking, would I expect a transition year? Yes. And give the team that kind of grace. Here I don't. Okay, one more thing.

And then I want to get to a fun thing to do with you here. But the Philadelphia Flyers losing streak is over. It's done. They beat the, well, the senators who were just talking about a couple of seconds ago in glowing terms. They beat the Ottawa Senators three to one fueled by. checks notes, kids. Ferdemarton, goal and an assist. Matt Fehmichikov, goal and an assist.

The Philadelphia Flyers snap their losing streak. You know, there was a reason that Danny Breyer signed that offer sheet with Leo Carlson and tried to get the first line center away from the Anaheim Ducks because the Philadelphia Flyers don't have a first line center. And I do like Travis Sandheim. I just don't know that Travis Sandheim is a number one D in the, NHL. Have a look here at the score sheet from Saturday. There's a lot of Martone. There's a lot of Michkoff. And a good performance by Dan Vladar. Now, you can make the argument that last year they

were propped up too much by great goaltending from Dan Vladar. They got them not just in the playoffs, but they won around as well. Is this who just the flyers have always been? And it's still, and then in some ways making it to the playoffs and beating the Keystone State rival Penguins might have done more harm because it raised expectations. realistically for this Philadelphia Flyers team? I normally would say, yes, it does more harm for front office. Like, I think about the Blackhawks the year they made the playoffs. The playoffs get expanded.

It gave them false hope of where they were. And it felt like they kind of like went off the rails on what the plan should have been. I think the Flyers have done a better job each year that they've exceeded expectations. And they were exceeding expectations. Like you think of those early Tortorelli years. Like they were a much better five-on-five team than we thought. They were in the playoff picture when they had no. business being there. Obviously, they don't make it in the end, but they're right there on the

fringes of it. And I feel like they've been steadfast and this is the vision, this is our track, and we're not, we're not straying from it just because we had a good season. But outside of the front office, I think the bar is higher because they had this dramatic turnaround. We were all watching it. It couldn't look away, right? Because they were playing well on both ends of the ice. They were getting good goaltending. These star players are emerging. You see Martone join the team and hit the ground running. For all of the reasons, the bar, got higher, even if the team's meter didn't change, and that makes life a little bit more difficult because that's what you're battling against now when you maybe shouldn't be. But even if the bar

jumped a little bit too much higher, what they've done so far this season doesn't come close to what their path should have been, even if you remove the playoffs, right? Like, take that out of the equation and pretend they didn't go there. How they've stumbled on both ends of the ice, I think it's just unacceptable so far. So it's tough. because I do think the front office you're seeing it. The Leo Carlson offer sheet is proof of concept that this team knew where they were flawed and tried to dramatically change it.

It didn't work out. And you can pet them on the back for that and go at least the vision's there, even though it doesn't work. But obviously they still need some work in the middle of the ice. It's super glaring. But it does feel like there's enough two-way strengths

on paper up and down this lineup around the center position that they should be having a better season than they have been so far. And you should be seeing better steps from their young players. So I think the fact that, you know, it's Martone, it's Mitrochop, making a mark in this last game is huge for them. But, you know, the roster's always going to be full up because you can look at this team and go,

Travis Anheim's not a number one defenseman. Ideally, he's a two or three. Travis Kineckney, that's been the conversation his entire career. You need someone to jump over him on the depth chart. And then you're gonna love them. You're gonna let him cook as a number three, right? It hasn't happened here.

But that's why the growth of these young players is so important. And I do think a little bit more ice time for them might go a long way because other players aren't getting it done. It's still not in the upper teens for both of them. We're still at like 14 and 13, but still you saw some nice production. 16, 17 would be nice. I'm not asking for 20. How about like 1830?

We good with that number for a couple of. Get them to 17. Get them to 16. Baby steps here. Like I'm not even saying give them top line minutes off the bat because sometimes. Not every player responds well to that, but like, ease into it a little bit. What else are you working with? All right.

This is going to be fun with you because you sort of uncover gems all the time. So in that spirit, who's delivering? Oh, you're going to be good on this one. Who's delivering is the presentation of DoorDash. Hockey Night is one of those rituals that brings everyone together. 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 who is the player for Shannon Goldman? And by the way, my takeout order is always Thai food. Who is the player or team that is delivering right now for Shannon Goldman? Okay. I was a little torn on this when Zach mentioned it to me. Like three names came off the top of my head.

But let's go. Let's keep it simple. It's like an obvious pick. Like, I don't know. should I try to be more like Kip? No. No, I was going to say Kareil Kaprisoff and I'm like, because he's scoring some of the goals and that's point. Let's go different.

Let's go different. On the heels of the Flyers conversation. And on the heels of young players developing under Rick Tocket, let's go Pod Colson. Let's go off there as a let's go Pod Colson, who yes is benefiting from playing with some of the best players in the world. He is. He has McDavid Dry Soutle-Bouchard. They're cooking at Coleman looks great too. But I think when you go through and really watch what he's done over the last couple of seasons and how well he's cooked with dry

And even on the plays with McDavid and Drysettle, the way he for checks and battles and hounds for pucks and is doing all the little things right, that leads to something. Is his finishing perfect? No, it looks a lot better this year. I think that's always been kind of the gripe with him. He's like he doesn't finish his chances enough and all of a sudden he is. But to me, like, in the right situation, you can see how he can be such a good support player because he works his ass off on every shift. And I think he's been fantastic so far. He has been exceptional.

You're right about playing with the Crem de la Cram of the Edmonton Oilers, but the point is, like, it's not always easy to play with those guys. Like, I look at Pod Colson and, first of all, loved by his teammates. He's not shy. He's physical. He bumps. He takes bruises, takes hits, gives hits, fights all of it. He does all these things.

And I know that the Oilers haven't exactly had, you know, the best track record when it comes to trades. they got him for a fourth round pick. Like on this team, you go up and down the lineup. And you're like, okay, so how did this guy get acquired? How did they get this guy? This guy was drafted. This guy was waivers. This guy was a trader.

That name I always look at and go like, that's a heist. They got for Silly Podkoulson for a fourth round pick. And they didn't send him to a ridiculous contract. Like Trent Frederick, like amazing work. Under three. He had a beauty fight, by the way. That one, against Jack McBain. just as an aside.

Like that one was a early candidate for FOTY. But Pod Colson's like what? He's at under three, isn't he? Isn't he like 2-5 or 2-7, 2-6? Like, Pod Colson's on an incredibly reasonable deal. I love him. And I know that team does and he's one of my, and his spark plug player, like all of it.

I'm glad you didn't go with the obvious caprice up, although that was a gorgeous goal last night. Holy smokes. Talk about putting your eyes in the puck and seeing what the puck sees. That's what Caprizoff did last night. Or Connor McDavid, who's on pace for 242 points. And he's going to get it.

Boring. Right, Shana? He's going to get 242 points this year because that's the pace that he's on seemingly here. I'm glad you went with Pod Colson. That's a good one. I know you're looking forward to the week. Have we hit all the things that are jumping out at you?

Is there anything that we're missing here inside the brain of Shannon Goldman? I don't know. Listen, the beginning season, chaos. Nobody wants to see what the inside of my brain looks like I don't even want to see it. We did an entire long segment with you and didn't mention, well, I mean, we kind of mentioned Larkin and passing, but didn't mention Detroit drama once. We'll have to rectify that on tomorrow's broadcast. We've talked about it so much.

I know, but it endures. It's so much. It endures. Like, it's not done yet. It's a gift that keeps on giving here. And the longer it goes, the wilder the rumors out there continue to evolve. Anyway, have a great rest of your day, Pickle. We'll catch up soon, okay?

Thanks for having me. There she is. She's outstanding from the Too Many Men podcast and the Athletic as well. Vasily Pod Colson, Zach. So, Shana goes off the board with the Who's Delivering for our friends at DoorDash and goes with Vasili Pod Colson. Well, I was just sitting here, like, waiting, too, because I knew who the players were, and I didn't know who she was going to pick.

So even I was sitting going, who was it going to be? Who's it going to be? So was it going to be other McDavid-Caprizov or Pod Colson? No, I'll blow up Shane's spot here and tell you who it was going to be. It was going to be Sebastian Ojo, Carrel Caprizo, or Vasili Pod Colson. So those are the three I was sitting on waiting to press the button and bring up on screen. And she went with Podgolson. Good pick.

Well, I do want to ask you about the Toronto Maple Leaf. and that situation and perhaps what's next. That's okay. I don't know if we need to do that. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, there's fruit on the vine. This fan moment is a presentation of Coca-Cola. Being a hockey fan as a commitment, the superstitions, the chance, the pacing, the standing through overtime because sitting somehow feels wrong.

Whether you're making the climb to the nosebleeds, rallying your section to start the wave or keep 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. Remember last week when I said are the Maple Leafs any good? I'm going to start this week. I'm asking the same question. By the way, we already got players taking breaks.

Load management here in Toronto. With the goal that is the late Cliffletcher would say. Deep breath, Zach. let it all answer this question. I feel like we have to, this is like, we're going to have to do like, maybe not daily, because that's probably too much and and I may have to send you an invoice,

but therapy sessions with you as you go through another season. By the way, after dark, really hitting, really hitting a stride early. So I love it. Like if you're listening or watching and you want Leafs talk, you go to After Dark.

Asap, AP after every game. Thank you. you. I appreciate that. I'll just say as well as like a self-plug. It's been, it's been fun this year. I think we hit a rhythm where I'll give like 10, 15 minutes of my own thoughts off the top. We get a guest on for probably about 20 to 30. I've had on Rosie, Hutton, Alberga, Dan Riccio, Mike and Buffalo joined me on Saturday night. Yeah. So we've been rotating through people and then we open it up and just basically hear from Leavespence. Like you want to call in and lose your mind. call in and lose your mind.

You're happy about stuff, calling and be happy about stuff. So it's been fun. But as for this team, the determination I came to on Saturday night is they are not a good team. And they are an entertaining team, but they are not a good team.

And the thing that can change this and the reason that they are just flat out, not a good team is because if you are missing Chris Tenev, you are not a good team. And if it requires you to have, have Chris Tanev in your lineup to be make or break a good team or not, then you're just not a good team. You know, you can't be hoping that an aging, wounded defenseman who, you know, unfortunately, he deals with injuries. It's hard to say even dealt because he's actively

dealing with one. And he will never, nor should he change the way he plays. Like, that's Chris Tanef. No, because that's what makes him Chris Tanef. Yeah. But if he's playing, playing, and I know that sounds very fickle of me to say, but if he's playing, the team looks a hell of a lot different. We saw it when he didn't play all last season, but they're much better defensively. They're much more calm down in their own zone, even going up the ice in transition. They're much more confident and comfortable because it's like, hey, we got a rock back there. Him being out of the lineup, they look lost. You know, Mike Kelly put out a graphic the other day, rush goals four at five on five.

They have two rush goals for through nine games. They have nine goals against. Like these guys, they can't defend through the neutral zone to save their lives. They can't protect their own blue line. And then when they do get back in through their own zone, it's a mess. That's a lot to say the defensive side of things is not great. You have a goaltender and Bob right now who's being fine at best. You know, he had two really good games against Vegas.

And I don't even know if I could say really good against Colorado. He had a good game against Colorado. He's just not giving you the save that you need. If you're expecting that playoff, if you're expecting that playoff Bob from the Florida Panthers that we saw in the playoffs, two, well,

three seasons in a row, you're not getting that in the regular season. I don't even know if you're getting out of the playoffs anymore. Again, like, I think I've been consistent on this one. At the end of it, you can tell me how much he works hard

and how he, he hits the gym like he's 25 years old and take that. That's all fine. And then you signed the oldest goalie. in the league. What's undefeated, Zach? Time. Father time.

Undefeated still. And to be honest, I don't have a problem with Bob. It's just the expectation that I think a lot of people had when you sign a guy at that age to that deal is okay, he's still going to be elite.

He's not elite. He's not. He's good. That's at best what he is. He's good. And that's okay. if your defense in front of him is going to be really good. And they are far from it, Jeff.

They are far from really good. I don't even know if either one of those words qualifies to describe what the Maple Leaf's defense looks like right now, unless you're saying really bad because that's what they've looked like at times this year. And the thing that scares me is panic. Yes, continue. I'm going to follow up on.

on that was something here, but yes, continue. Well, everybody wants to call into the postgame show and say, we need to get better on defense. Yes, we do. And how do you accomplish that? The first step would just be play better, which I think they can do, but that is about a marginal improvement

of what they could even do internally. And I'm not talking about bringing anybody up. That's scary. Like if you're looking to sort of improve and again, go to the outside, The one thing you have to consider, if you're talking about Toronto and to your point, they need to improve the blue line and they need to go out and do it. Ask yourself, which premium assets are the Maple Leafs prepared to move? That's the scary thing if you're the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Because, like, Morgan Riley, you can move for, we'll see, if they end up moving Morgan Riley to the three or four teams that he's agreed so far to go to. But I don't think that that would be the premium asset. And I don't think that they're going to trade any of the big player. Like, Neelander ain't going. Matthews, like, that's not, like, it's not a conversation. So after that, what are your premium assets? Yeah, you're looking at a tier list that goes, Easton Cowan, Ben Danford.

Stop. And he's further down than Easton Cowan. You know, like he's an asset. If that's someone you're going to use to bring in an old, player, a defenseman to help stabilize the back end. What would the reaction be? Because you're closer to least fans than I am.

You know, you got your thumb on the pulse. You talk to them all the time. What would the reaction be? I guess I might defend it. Depend on the defenseman you bring it. No, I know. Torches. I get it.

Like, I know. Send out the king. I know. I get it. Like that's what it would be, right? No, I'm serious. Like, if you're trading Easton Cowan and like

who I don't even know Drew Dowdy you know like you know what I mean that's a high purely exact that's an exaggeration but you understand where I'm going I don't you mean

that's what you're bringing in these fans are going to lose their fucking minds myself included I'm going to lose my minds there has to be some consideration for the future if you're trading East and Cowan

and you're bringing in a 26 a 27 year old defenseman who you can sign or has signed and has our contract for another four, five, six years. Different story. I'll look at it differently.

We can talk through this and maybe I won't be as frustrated with it. And I'm not trying to be, you know, the least fan who falls in love with your assets and looks at Easton Cowan and is like, this guy's untouchable. Yeah, yeah, I get. But he's amazing in terms of what he's bringing, the dynamic that he can bring to the lineup. And oh, guess what, Jeff? He's young. He's young.

They don't have much of that. You know, Austin Matthews, touching 30 years old, William Elander, 30 years old, Darren, go down the list of guys they have here. How many of them are below the age of 27? Like, that's not even old, but like, how many of them are below the age of 27? You know, you're really looking at two guys in this lineup right now who fit the bill of that for this lineup. So it's like three guys, I guess, because I think Kuro Marchenko qualifies in that.

in that range as well. But, like, it's just, what are you going to do? You're going to move a guy out here to get it done this year with Austin Matthews? Newsflash, you are, you are so fucking far away from that. Like, playoffs, playoffs are a stretch. Playoffs are a stretch. Playoffs are fight for your lives to get in there. Talking about trying to win a Stanley Cup, are you out of your minds?

Like are you losing it? Are you delusional in terms of thinking you can win a Stanley Cup? You're not a piece away. You're a piece away from being five pieces away. You're not close. That would just make me my brain explode if a deal like that came through. I'm convinced you're a Maple East fan just to see how high you can get your blood pressure. That's what I really think.

We should get like a, can we get a blood pressure monitor on, Zach, every time I bring up the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not a bad idea. My girlfriend has just really gotten into hockey over the last bit because of me. Like, she was not a hockey fan before. Oh, yeah? And so the first year that we were dating. Why would you bring her into this? Why would you bring her into this nonsense?

The first year we were dating, I think, where we just started dating was the year they lost to Boston in seven. The year before they went on to face the Florida Panthers in round two. and so she was through that and then it was like oh well like you know this next year like it's okay I'm like you don't understand

and then now we're watching these games and then after Saturday's game it was like eight minutes left in the third period and she goes she says to me she's like I can't watch this shit turn it off oh geez oh that was what we've done okay so now she's come over to the dark side

with you, Zach. Now just like bitter, frustrated, cranky, angry, Maple Leafs fan. Okay, well, cheer up. It's a new week. And some goalies are up from the Marley's. Okay, let's see if we can get up for a smile on your face here. This segment is brought to you by Sports Interaction, Sports Book 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. What are you thinking tonight, bud? Okay, so let's try to win some money because nothing else is going my way right now

when it comes to hockey. So maybe betting is your team is playing against the San Jose. I got two bets in that one here. So let's just let's just jump right into it. If you're watching us on YouTube, by the way, nice madano jersey. Look at the, oh, oh, look at that beautiful logo.

Oh, look at that. That's gorgeous. Oh, Jesus. I don't think Medano needed it, but. No, I don't think. Listen, the year that they drafted them, they drafted Link Gates in the second round, too, is like, Lou Nanny knew, like, okay,

we got high-skilled guy, let's go and get some guy that fires coconuts off the side of the wall, and that was Link Gates. Well, what was the link as they called? I'll get to the bet in a second, but what was the quote from Lewis? The quote was, we drafted Mike Madano on the first round, Link Gates in the second round. The third round, my mistake was not drafting a lawyer for Link Gates.

That's a good one. That's a good one. All right. Let's get to the bets here. I'll go through them quickly for people. So we got three on the board tonight. I'm going to go with the Avalanche minus one and a half plus 100 against the flyers. I'm sorry, Philly.

I know that you picked up your first win and snapped that losing streak, but I don't think you get. get away with it against Colorado and I think Colorado takes it to them. We're going to go with Stenberg anytime goal here tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's one versus two. It's first overall versus second overall. What do you do? Jeff,

it's the layup of all layup. It's the layup of all layups. He said, I believe, two days ago on Saturday, an article came out that he didn't have good meetings with the Toronto Maple Leafs, to which you know that that's, you know, that won't get anything. brought up here in this market. Nobody will talk about that. No, he definitely won't score tonight.

And then the other thing I'm going to go with is the Maple Leafs and the San Jose Sharks total in that game, excuse me, over six and a half minus 133 for tonight. This is more so a statement on the Maple Leaf's inability to keep to puck out of their net than San Jose. But I kind of feel like a couple things, you know, to be honest, I was just justifying this. the Leafs offensively stunk the other night against the Islanders. That's been one thing, the one piece of their game they've been decent at this season so far. Austin Matthews calls them out says they need more urgency. So I feel like we see them kick it up a notch here tonight,

but they can't keep anything out of their net. So why should I expect that tonight they win 3-1 or 3-0 or anything like that? 5-4 shoot-out type of game. I don't know who wins or even care at this. point he wins, but I think there's a lot of goals scored. And Stenberg gets one. So cynical. Such as a lot of players on that, on that San Jose team.

Some obvious and some undercover have, you know, Ontario routes, Toronto roots, going back to where they were born, where they played minor hockey slash youth hockey. Like a Mesa. Led Stretch this morning. Oh, did he? Yeah. That's a Darnell nurse. I always think of him when it's, you know, the Domel's Flyers, Sam Dickinson as well.

like there's there's a number of players Mason Marchman who schooled you at Beer League once I believe you've told that story a couple different times yes yes that is correct but yeah there's plenty of this and Berkeley Goodrow who I believe

just actually Goodro just lives around the corner from me here not too far so there's a lot of Ontario guys so they that's the thing about being a Maple Leaf is the teams that come in since there are so many hockey players in this area first of all, all the guys play for free.

Like they're not making any money off this game because they have to buy so many tickets and scramble to grab tickets wherever they can so they can get friends and family in the building. This is referred to as playing free hockey. And two, they get up for it, man. They're all at home. Like a lot of these guys are all at home

and want to put on a show. So we shall see what happens tonight between the San Jose Sharks and the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of a few on the board tonight. Every game is your game. When you bet with sports interaction from puck drop to overtime, and bet with live odds on every play with easy deposits and payouts,

go to sports interaction.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. This is the beginning of what's going to be a pretty interesting week, and it might be just a crazy week depending on what happens with Connor Hallibuck and then maybe low key here. Something happens with it at Red Wings and either the defenseman or the center. Quinn Hughes goes back to Vancouver on Sunday.

Brady Kachukh goes to Ottawa on Wednesday. And Halebuck, jump ball. But I'll finish the conversation, the way that I started. Your thoughts on this one, I still feel we're missing a piece of the explanation here of what exactly happened between Hullabuck, the players, the organization. That's how I feel. If you start doing, you know, some deductive reasoning on some things. We all talked about, well, if it's his family and Tim that's, you know, taking threats and stuff, you understand. You know, who else would understand?

The organization, the players in the room, his teammates, his friends, they don't get it. If it was just an American thing and he came back from that experience at the gold medal and, you know, it was a tough ride. Remember the ovations and like the congratulation? This is what I'm getting at, Jeff. Oh, okay. All right. You know, like if these are the things you're looking for. then it's like, okay, you can, you can understand.

And I'm just, if his teammates are pissed off about the return, Arneal's pissed off about the return. The fans are obviously justifiably pissed, but whatever. But it's like, if all these things, fellow Americans who were on the gold medal team, i.e. Kyle Connor, they're pissed off about the return. It's like, well, okay, maybe those things played a factor. Maybe those things were part of this, but it just keeps leading to like, really? Really?

Like, I don't know. Maybe it's as simple as they're pissed off that he said the team wasn't good enough and they take that personally. But there's some serious animosity. Here's my point with that one. Isn't signing an offer sheet kind of the same thing? It's you trying to leave. That's what I keep coming. Like, there's a distinct, like, put it this way.

The Leo Carlson offer sheet, I would put in a separate category because no one's turning down that contract. Nobody is turning down. Like, that's what the Ducks players can be like, we understand. But there have been situations where, you know, players have signed offer sheets. And really, when you sign an offer sheet, well, it means, but when Shea Weber, when Shay Weber signed his offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers, his agent followed it up with, this is where the player wants to play. We really hope the organization.

and supports his wishes and doesn't match. But then they matched and he went back like that. That's why like isn't that kind of the same thing. And that's where I keep going back to the same missing something here. Missing something here. That's what I think it feels like to a lot of people. If it's true and we're missing something here, do we ever find out? Who knows?

We shall see. But should be another wild week around Winnipeg. You're on the NHL. Get ready for us. The Larkin comment. I may never be ready to speak on it. Oh, gosh. You know what?

You're so close to getting something. That's one of the smartest things that Dillon Larkin did. He didn't say why he wants out. And the other smart thing that he did is he went to camp. Is he went to camp. And he played and he's playing hard and he's got a few points and everybody still knows the score. but he it's not a great situation

but as far as like mitigating damage he's done it yeah he's done it if he if he missed out and that's like hella buck yeah that's different story that's good advice that's good advice by by the agent there too that's really good advice okay so on that chewy note

hockey hockey hockey here we go another week of it both on ice and off the ice here to document it on the sheet each and every day. Thanks to the great Shannon Goldman for stopping by. Hey, look at that gear. Oh, nice. That's sharp, man.

What else you got? We're doing show and tell here today. Dude, I got none of this. Daily face off gear. Check your mailbox. I think I think you probably should have. I don't think so. I got two thirds of the square with Sweet FAA.

Yeah, yeah. Fell off the truck. Look at Al Berga, man. He's got everything. Nick, it all my gear. Thanks to Shannon for stopping by. Again, after tonight, if you're watching the Toronto Maple Leafs in the San Jose Sharks, join Zach for After Dark.

If you want Leafs Talk, that's the place to be. And thanks to you for stopping by. Thanks to you for listening on your favorite podcast platform. If you're watching us here on our DFO, YouTube, thank you very much. You're in the chat. Bless you. Love you. Keep doing it. We appreciate it.

If you haven't subscribed, please consider doing so. It's free. Leave a like, leave a comment, all of it, leave a criticism, leave a joke. Zach likes jokes. Whatever you feel like leaving in the comments, we appreciate it. Enjoy your night. Enjoy the games. We'll talk to you tomorrow.

Greg Wischinsky's back from ESPN and ESPN.com. Tomorrow, 1 o'clock Eastern on Le Sheet.