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- [00:01]
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- [00:31]
Don Hahn
This is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.
- [00:35]
Michael Rosenberg
That sounds like heaven to me.
- [00:36]
Don Hahn
Listen live weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.
- [00:44]
Alan Hahn
All right, into the 4:00 hour we go. Don Han, Rosenberg with Don Legreck. I'm Alan Hahn. Peter off today. Your calls at 800-919-3776. Still waiting for anything official on the Jalen Brunson front as far as injury report. The Knicks do play tonight against the Clippers. It is a 10:30 Eastern Time vehicle. I'm here in LA. I'm calling the game on MSG. I have not seen anything on the injury report just yet. The late games you do have a little more time before you have to submit. And the Knicks so far on the official report it says not yet submitted. So there's still nothing on the official front when it comes to it. So will certainly keep keep an eye on that. In the meantime, the NHL trade deadline that closed at 3, but as always, things trickle in after 3. Some things that are not entirely official, but we have heard some pretty, pretty big ones. A little later in the hour, Donnie Pucks, Don Lagreca himself is going to give us a breakdown of what the locals did and also, you know, some significant moves. So we got to keep an eye on things as they develop. So if anything's added to it, we will update you. But Don, there's a story that I feel like you and I got to get to right here because we saw it, it was a Spanish language media outlet, Abriendo Sports had an interview with Juan Soto. And so a lot of times when that happens it's done in Spanish obviously. So it takes a minute for things to get translated. And you see well, did he say anything? And he did. And so what I'm going to share with you is something that I think has been and I believe you and Michael and Peter when, when the Soto stuff went down did sort of suggest this and Soto seems to have confirmed it. So he, he said in this interview that five Teams made the final cut for him. The final teams were the Mets, the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Blue Jays and the Dodgers. Now, the five teams is not really a surprise. Those were the teams that looked like they were going to, going to be the most active, the most aggressive. But what Soto said in this interview was this. The Mets didn't offer the most money. He said some teams offered more. Now, the reporting as it goes, and I believe Cashman even confirmed it, the Yankees bowed out at one point and they bowed out before they could reach what the Mets were willing to do. So it could. The Yankees didn't offer more. So Andy Martino of SNY is reporting now, according to sources that it was clear multiple teams, including the Red Sox, had a willingness to exceed the high offer if they thought Soto would agree to it. So he got the 15 year, $765 million deal with the Mets. He got an offer from the Yankees that was a 16 year, $760 million that we knew about. The Dodgers final offer that the athletic reported was 600 million. So they weren't going that high.
- [03:56]
Michael Rosenberg
Right.
- [03:58]
Alan Hahn
Boston's final offer, according to several reports, was around 700 million. So that leaves the Blue Jays, but Sportsnet reported they offered under 700. So who was the team that was willing to go over if he was willing to accept it? That I don't think we know. But one thing that it's one, one thing that does sound like is that Soto, as he said, preferred the Mets and so took their offer. So was this not really just about the money or getting the most money, which is what was, you know, oh, he only was going to take the highest, whoever was going to be the high. Apparently not, because if somebody was willing to go over what the Mets offered and he. But they didn't offer it because the indication was he wouldn't have taken it then all along he wanted to be a met. Is that the conclusion? We come from this?
- [04:51]
Michael Rosenberg
Well, if you choose to believe it yet, what other conclusion can you have? I mean, this is coming from him. Now, Howie Rose off of the Andy Martino tweet, said, I'm not privy to specifics and I'm sure that you think I'm a shill for ownership or exaggerating the truth, but please trust me when I tell you that this is real. The emphasis of family engagement with the club is the strongest I've seen in all my years with the Mets. So it's a narrative building up here. And if you go back, apparently he felt like his family was disrespected by Yankee security. Right. That they weren't allowed in a certain area or they had to show a. Didn't have a credential or something. And Soto was turned off by that. And all I'm saying is, is that I never, ever, ever just take things at face value. I always try to say, all right, what's the end game of this story? And the end game of the story is going to be that it wasn't about the money he's going to spend the next 15 years with the Mets. Wouldn't the best narrative coming out of this is that I'm not just all about the money, that I wanted to be a Met. Doesn't that behoove the Soto camp to say, hey, I could have gone to Boston for more money, I could have gone to Toronto for more money? He wasn't specific with the teams, but there were four other teams in, and doesn't sound like the Yankees were willing to go that high. But if Boston was, isn't it a better story to say, I could have gone someplace else, but I liked it here. I love it here. So that. That's why I'm just a little dubious about it. Listen, I'm a Met fan. I'd love for the answer to be he chose us for reasons beyond the money. But when Scott Borris is your agent and the way that he kind of went down with the Yankees and how he really never built a relationship with those guys, it just kind of feels like this is kind of true. But let's really sell it so that I can let the Met fans know that I'm not just a greedy pig who came to your team because you offered the most money, because. But I really love it here, and I'm sure he does. Don't get me wrong. But doesn't this behoove the Soto camp?
- [06:57]
Alan Hahn
Of course it does. Having this out there, him saying it in a Spanish language interview rather than saying it when he was asked. I mean, you're gonna tell me that no one thought to ask him, hey, did anybody offer you more? You know, did you take the most money? Like, did no one ask him? In all the interviews he's done so far since the day he signed, no one in English has ever asked him this? Because it feels like a revelation. And it doesn't feel like they, they planted this. You wouldn't plant this, right? Not, not this way. You would have him have a sit down with, you know, with. With Gelbsy or whomever and point that out. Or if you Wanted to keep it away from the Mets met side of things, he would do it with, you know, buster or passing or, or someone on that level. Right.
- [07:44]
Michael Rosenberg
Yeah.
- [07:45]
Alan Hahn
Where you'd have it out there that, you know, the Mets didn't actually. Because we all knew the narrative the minute he signed was, see, he didn't really want to be a Yankee. He just wanted to get paid. He took the highest, he took the most money. Even though the Yankees, you know, it was a $5 million difference. The extra year took the annual down, but it was still right in line with the amount. If you're going with just cash amount, it's the Yankees offered literally around the same amount of money. So to me, while for the Mets, this looks great because the family friendly atmosphere they've created, giving him a suite for his family so there can be no issues. Don't worry about it. Your family gets a suite. They can walk in and walk out as they please. They'll have food, they'll have everything they want. They don't have to walk around the stadium and deal with security. This will be where they can go for the next 15 years. That's wonderful. You love it. But if you're the Yankees, this is also as good as this looks for the Mets. This is devastating.
- [08:39]
Michael Rosenberg
Oh, yeah.
- [08:40]
Alan Hahn
Imagine he didn't want to be a Yankee and it wasn't because you weren't willing to go up. It was because he didn't want to be a Yankee. Why? You need to ask yourself why? Is it because this is Judge's team? It'll never be my team. That's fair. Maybe he wanted his own team. Maybe he thought, well, the Mets will be my team. Maybe, maybe that's what it becomes. This is Judge's team. It'll never be mine. Perhaps that was in the equation. But if you're the Yankees, this is devastating news. This means a superstar didn't want to play for you.
- [09:11]
Michael Rosenberg
Well, yeah. Now, because if it becomes anything but the money, then how, how did he not choose the Yankees? See, that's why I'm just kind of wondering about this because let's be honest, right? I think the Mets do a great job of the families. And I think everything that Howie is saying is true. That under Cohen, I think all of that is true. And maybe it is true that of all the teams that were, that were going after him, the Mets maybe had the atmosphere that he wanted to play for. He wasn't giving him a discount for it though, right? I mean, he still went for 15 years, $765 million, which, according to all reports, the Mets were the highest bidder. Now we're hearing after the press conference, after the dog and pony show, after we've already been in spring training, after he's met with all the media, now we're hearing there were other teams that were willing to give him more, but he liked the Mets and he liked the family atmosphere. It just feels to me like it's a slight bit of an exaggeration to just make the Met fam feel better, that it wasn't just about the money, make him look better. And it does take it to the Yankees. I don't know why he'd want to do that, but, yeah, it makes the Yankees look bad because I think the Yankees are like, all right, listen, I don't have to. I'm not paying this much money. And I think most of the fan base understood that. What they're not going to understand is that the Mets were. The Mets had a better atmosphere. The Mets treated their families better. Like, that's the stuff that doesn't look great.
- [10:34]
Alan Hahn
Right?
- [10:35]
Michael Rosenberg
But I don't. Do you believe it? Again, I don't think a lie is being told here, but I. Because when. When Judge signed, it was known that San Francisco offered more. Wasn't some secret that was revealed months later. The reporters did their reporting, San Francisco said, and he gave them Yankees a bit of a discount. Wasn't some story. Later on, it was known.
- [10:55]
Alan Hahn
Why would it knock on the. It wasn't a knock on the Giants, though. It was. The Yankees were home to him, but the Yankees were nothing to Soto. They were a stop. And if you can convince me to stay, I'd love to stay. But apparently in one year, the Yankees did not do nearly enough. They had their best season in 15 years and yet didn't do enough to convince him that this is a place that you want to be. And that's why Judge. I told you, that's why Judge keeps those little. The little needles out there of guys who want to be here. Right. That's literally why I think we went from judging Soto to judge versus Soto. Over the next seven, eight years, we're going to have that.
- [11:40]
Michael Rosenberg
It's going to be.
- [11:40]
Alan Hahn
And they're both going to be judged by their success.
- [11:42]
Michael Rosenberg
This, this. This fuels the fire. There's no question about it, you know, but all year long, Peter would tell you, if you were here about the calls that we took, why he's going to stay a Yankee. Why would he want to play for anybody else? It's the New York Yankees, it's the greatest team in North America. We got the greatest fans. We've got the best chance to win. They treat their players amazingly. Why would he go anywhere else? But he decided to go somewhere. And if it's just about the money, well, then, all right, so what? You know what? The Mets overpaid. And if you take a look at the narrative throughout the spring, like, he misplayed a fly ball yesterday, I think in the game and all looking at Twitter is like, see, this is why we didn't pay for him. He's just a bad. He's a horrible defender. This is why the Yankees didn't pay. Because if it was just about the money, you can live with that. If you're the Yankees, all right, there's a. There's a price. They're willing to go, and they weren't willing to go there. But this narrative sends something different out. It does, but we're finding out about it now a month in the spring training, months after he already signed, when, contrary to all the reports that were out there of what other teams had offered. I'll take it. I'm a Met fan. All right? And now that little bit is out of there, a little bit of evidence now building that it wasn't just about the money. I don't. I don't buy it, man. I just don't. I'm happy to have them.
- [12:55]
Alan Hahn
No. You know, and I don't care.
- [12:56]
Michael Rosenberg
I don't give a re. I don't have to love it. Why I'm happy he's here, but I. I'm not completely buying this, man.
- [13:02]
Alan Hahn
I'm not here he go, Don, first and foremost, the other two choice, because the Dodgers clearly were not going to go big. Clearly. Yeah. Like, if they're. If that's. The report was a 600, then they were. They were clearly. And maybe if the Dodgers. See, that's what I want to do now. Take the Yankees out of the equation now and let's just do this. Could it have been the Dodgers who said we're at 6, and then as everything you know will come back to us at the end, they come back and they're like, all right, well, you know, The Yankees are at 6, 6 7, 6 7, 60. The Mets are at 765. What do you want to do? I will go higher if you'll come here. And so it was like, you got enough stars there, man. I'll get lost. I already did that in San Diego. Like, I don't know if I want to do that. Right. He could have like, you could reason that he thought, you've got Ohtani, you've got Mookie, you've got Freeman. Like, they got a million stars there. I won't shine on that team. I'll be just another guy. I don't know if I want that. And so you could make the argument, was it the Dodgers? You could. How about if it's the Red Sox? I don't really want to live in Boston. I don't really want to do that. I'm. That's not a really good park for me. Like, you could find reasons that he could come up with why Boston? They're not ready to win. You know, I don't think they are. Because before they did any of their moves, that would have been their big move. He could have seen that as. I don't know if that's what I want to be part of. And then. Is it the Blue Jays? If it was the Blue Jays, who were desperate and willing to do whatever it took, they would have given a billion dollars to come play for him. He also probably was like, you can make a million reasons why you don't want to go to Toronto and play for the Blue Jays if you're him. Right? So I love New York. It's a big stage. My family's here. The Mets. That's a perfect scenario for me. Let me go there. And then all the other reasons, you know, family friendly, all the things they're willing to give me. There's no other megastar on this team. Lindor is Lindor. But let's. I mean, Soto's a bigger star than Lindor. So that. Could we argue each one of these teams and why he would say no to them. It's easy.
- [15:08]
Michael Rosenberg
Yeah.
- [15:08]
Alan Hahn
It's easy to say why he settled on the Mets.
- [15:11]
Michael Rosenberg
And let's not forget too. The Yankees weren't willing to give him a sweet. And the Mets were. That's. Maybe the Yankees.
- [15:18]
Alan Hahn
Look at that.
- [15:18]
Michael Rosenberg
As good as.
- [15:19]
Alan Hahn
Can you imagine if that's like if that was one of the reasons. If even if that's one of five reasons, it's still unacceptable. Don. If you're the Yankees.
- [15:27]
Michael Rosenberg
Unacceptable. I guess they don't want to set a precedent because they didn't give it to Cole. They didn't judge. Judge. So why are we giving me a break? All right. But whatever that. But here we're getting into. It's still kind of about the money. Right? Like Soto. That's why I don't think this is an out lie. But it's definitely playing with the truth a bit. Where it's like, well, they gave me a sweet. They care about my family more. Where it's like, the Yankees, like, I care about his family, but I'm not giving him a sweet. I didn't give Judge a sweet. I didn't give Cole a sweet. I don't want to set a precedent. Now we're giving Sweets away. That's. That's money, you know, so it's still a. For the Yankees. There's a decision. Not. I don't believe your family deserves a suite. It's just, I don't think. That's not the way I do business, which I can understand if I'm the Yankees. Am I going to start to set precedent for Soto that I didn't give to Judge, that I didn't give to Cole, or don't plan to give to any other player in the future? Like, so, so is that, is that a shot at his family? Maybe it was a perceived shot by Soto, but does that fall. Let me ask you this. Does that fall into treating the family better or a financial decision? To me, that's a financial decision. That's like an. I don't think it's a decision.
- [16:36]
Alan Hahn
I don't. I'm with you. I don't think it's Hal Steinbrenner going, like, the hell with his family, make him pay like everybody else does. Or, or, you know, look, he gets passes like everybody. I don't think it's. I think you're right. I think he looked at it like, hang on a second. How much are these suites per year? What. What's our revenue off of an individual suite per year? The size that they need for their family. And then you look at it and go, wait, now, now project that over 15 years. Yeah. No, like, you know what I mean? Like that you do a study and understand this is the family business. I know you thought this was crazy when I said it. It's a real thing. The Yankees are a mom and pop.
- [17:11]
Michael Rosenberg
Right?
- [17:12]
Alan Hahn
They're a very, very wealthy mom and pop. Yeah, I, I, I, No, I said it. You thought I was nuts. I said that on, on Barton Hahn, and everybody killed me for it because they're like, no, I said it.
- [17:22]
Michael Rosenberg
I'm, I said it, too. So I don't know if somebody.
- [17:24]
Alan Hahn
I got killed for it.
- [17:25]
Michael Rosenberg
I've always.
- [17:26]
Alan Hahn
So maybe somebody else killed me for it then.
- [17:27]
Michael Rosenberg
Yeah, I know. I've, I've always thought it was mom and pop because it's Steinbrenner's.
- [17:31]
Alan Hahn
Money.
- [17:31]
Michael Rosenberg
He's not sitting on billion dollars of hedge fund money.
- [17:37]
Alan Hahn
I tried to tell people this. You understand, right? Like the whole family business, they're selling grapefruit on the side. On the side of the road. It's just. It's just baseball and it's a lot more money. But it's literally that what we take home is how we pay each other. We pay ourselves. It's how we keep the place running. The lights are on. All based off of the success of the baseball team financially. So I do think that probably was a financial decision. And they said no, but it's still.
- [18:07]
Michael Rosenberg
Yeah, damn.
- [18:08]
Alan Hahn
But that's one of the reasons.
- [18:10]
Michael Rosenberg
But you could spin it if you're Soto side. So this is.
- [18:13]
Alan Hahn
Can you get a corporation to just donate? Like a corporation could say, tell you what, it put our name on the suite, right? The Don Han and Rosenberg suite. We pay for it. Soto gets his family get to be in it. All we ask from Soto is, you know, every now and then, can you just sign some things and. And we can, you know, auction it, whatever it is that we could just get out of it. But we now have a working relationship with the Soto film. You couldn't get star insurance. I know, to buy the suite. Like something. Somebody be creative, man.
- [18:45]
Michael Rosenberg
But. But you could sit there and spin to say, I joined the Mets because they really know how to take care of my family. Here's what they did. They threw in a suite so during the World Series where everybody else's family's freezing their. Freezing their, you know, what's off. My family's going to be sitting in the suite where the heat's going to be blasting. They're going to be eating shrimp the size of baby's feet watching me play baseball. That's how much they love my family. The Yankees, they're going to have them sitting in Section 109 chambers when it's 32 degrees outside and a light rain, you know, so. And yet I look at that as.
- [19:22]
Alan Hahn
That's.
- [19:22]
Michael Rosenberg
That's the business of the Yankees. And he might look at it. That's how much that the Cohens love my family. Alex Cohen loves my family so much, they gave me a suite for the next 15 years. And this ain't no sweet in Fenway. This is a suite at Citi Field.
- [19:36]
Alan Hahn
Yeah. Yeah. But still he said it. Juan Soto said it in an interview that the Mets did not offer the most. There was a team willing to go higher if he was willing to go there. And clearly he told that unnamed team, nope, I'm not interested. I'm going to the Mets and let me. And so it suggests he was not all. Well, no, it just suggests Don, I think we now can just put an end to the story of Soto was always going to take the most money no matter where it was. That is not accurate. If what he told that what he said in that Spanish language interview is accurate, which, why would he lie? Right Then that narrative is dead. He was not all about the money.
- [20:22]
Michael Rosenberg
And you wonder why it comes out in those times. It happens in hockey all the time too. Like the biggest stories come. Like a Russian player will have a interview with the Russian because you know why you dictate the interview. You're not going to get as much pushback. Like if you do the interview here, we might ask him like, well tell us, tell us why. Or this week, do you look at that as family or do you look at that as financial? Who are the team like there? And again, I don't know this for fact, but I'm start. I'm just a little suspicious that when, when you, when you're doing it back at your home country, you're doing it with a language you're comfortable with. You might not be getting that kind of pushback you'd get if you were doing an interview back here in New York or la, or even in the states of somebody that covers the game of baseball. That's really going to scrutinize you, not give you a soft landing, really push you give follow up questions where it's like, hey, this is the narrative. I want to get out there, let me do that. And they let him do it because he could have done it anywhere. Like you said, he could have had to sit down with Gelbs right after the press conference and said, I chose the Mets because I had other officers. I said, no, because. Right.
- [21:27]
Alan Hahn
I've been in these situations where before the interview begins, because you always have that little conversation, like, you know, just let's talk about this. I want to ask you about this, you know, just to like let them, you know, it's a courtesy. And every now and then either the player or one of the managers of the player will say, ask them about that. Like, they'll say ask him about this. And you'll be like, all right. And you know, okay, they, they want to definitely say something about it.
- [21:53]
Michael Rosenberg
And, and you know what?
- [21:54]
Alan Hahn
So you ask it. And then whatever they say, you have, you have carte blanche to then follow up because they don't sell. You don't follow up, they just say ask them about this. And when they say it, your very next thing is, well, which team was it? Right? So we do know that does happen. But in this case it didn't. But it did make for some very interesting conversation here.
- [22:13]
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- [23:53]
Michael Rosenberg
Youm don't wake up.
- [23:54]
Alan Hahn
Dreaming of McDonald's fries, you wake up dreaming of McDonald's hash browns.
- [24:01]
Michael Rosenberg
McDonald's breakfast comes first.
- [24:07]
Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
- [24:10]
Michael Rosenberg
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
- [24:12]
Don Hahn
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
- [24:19]
Alan Hahn
All right, Don, let's get into it, shall we? Yes, as we have calls to get to, but we also have an NHL trade deadline that just closed at 3:00 and last night before we get into all the things. So the Rangers did make one last move here right today. Obey Kubel from Buffalo, right?
- [24:37]
Michael Rosenberg
Yes, just That I would just think that's, you know, some spare parts for. Yeah, for the future. You know, as far as like roster things, then I don't think that's any kind of an impactful move by any stretch.
- [24:49]
Alan Hahn
It is not a significant. But just. Okay, so. So he's just a piece. So it's not like anything else that they're doing. But, but they have been. Chris Drewy was very active for the last couple of months remaking this team. Lou lamarillo last night had a deal that, you know, like the criticism of, hey Lou, wake up, there's a trade deadline. And then, and then he just literally does a trade and everybody's like, yep, still got something on the fastball. Isn't it amazing that that stuff can happen? But it was for, for him a significant move. They move on from a player that is. Was a longtime islander in Brock Nelson. You knew he was going to be moved and out of it. Not only they get a first round pick, they get a highly touted prospect from Colorado who's a center, essentially replacing Nelson. But it's also interesting that before trading him, Nelson, who's going to become a free agent, they tried to negotiate an extension.
- [25:47]
Michael Rosenberg
Yeah.
- [25:48]
Alan Hahn
And Nelson wanted to test free agency and instead decided to do that. So that's why they traded him. So I don't know if the offer was a low ball, like, hey, you want to stay here so bad, take this offer and we will move you. And they probably figured, no, he'll get more on the open market. So they ended up trading him. But it still ends up being a pretty good move, all things considered.
- [26:06]
Michael Rosenberg
Well, we were speculating, what do you get, like a third round pick because again, he's a rental. I thought maybe Toronto would be interested, but Colorado, you know, they get, they get a really good player in return for them after they had dealt. Rant in a lot of playoff conversation for another day, but a ton of playoff experience and they tried to get something done, didn't Cal Ritchie is a really good prospect to get a first round pick either next year or the year after. Also a conditional third round pick. Oliver Shillington is a defenseman that I've always liked. I liked him back in his Calgary days. So you were able to flip a guy that you couldn't resign into some really nice pieces. So I thought Lou had a hell of a night last night being able to do that. And apparently they can still get something done with Kyle Palmeri. They didn't trade him away, so maybe they'll be able to get an extension with him so he'll stick around. So that was nice, you know. Now listen, he still could maybe not get an extension and leave in free agency, but your two pieces that you could have moved, one of them you got a nice return and the other may actually still stay and get an extension. So not nobody walking out the door, it doesn't look like. And getting nothing in return. Palmieri very well may stay. And you got something for Nelson on.
- [27:14]
Alan Hahn
The other side of it. The Rangers starting in December, early December, when the team was so playing so poorly, lifeless at times and it just was screaming things need to change. It started with the Truba deal to Anaheim to get Vacantinen and then from there it was little by little, a little later that month they move on from him. The high draft pick, the 2 2nd overall pick who never really panned out, sent him to seattle for Borgen. J.T. miller then is acquired at the end of January. That's really I guess the signature move, right? Because he was a player that is under contract that you feel like can change the culture a little bit and still a high level player. That was not a dump, that was more of an acquire for. For the future. And then after that moving on from another heart and soul player in. In Ryan Lindgren and moving on from him. And you know Riley Smith, who you knew was going to get moved. So since December 4th, you know Chris Drewy has been very busy in moving pieces off this team and reworking like what'd you call it, a reimagining this team. What do you assess from all the moves now? Now the Traders passed and where the Rangers are right now now I did shows with E.J.
- [28:23]
Michael Rosenberg
Raddick. You know, E.J. used to work for ESPN the magazine, was a scout for the Dallas Stars, now working at the NHL Network. And he always would tell me you build up the middle centers, defense, goal. And they had questions going into the season at center, is Zibanajad a true number one center? Can Philip Heidel stay healthy? Is Vincent Trocheck really a number two center? These are all the things that you kind of questioned about this team we thought was close to a championship. Well, you bring in Parson in who's 24 years old that everybody says with the right tutelage can become at least a number two center. All right, you go on and get J.T. miller, who I think is clearly a number one center. I think he is. And you see when he played with Cooley and how. And Zabanejad moving to Wink, how Productive that line has been. So now two of your four have changed. Sam Carrick's a perfect center for your fourth line, and Trocheck plays well with. With Lafreniere and Panarin. So now. Now you've. You fix that as far as I'm concerned, and we'll see what happens with Parson and whether it works or not on the blue line. Forget about Ruidle, all right? He's not really a part of the future. We'll see what Tsuchi does. And Dahan clearly is leaving at the end of the year. That means that the defensemen that they have here are all under 30. They're all under 30. They're all big. They're all. They all have some scoring ability. They go out and trade Coco for Borgin. Oh, Borgin's just a rental. They're going to flip him. Allen at the deadline to get a pick. No, they extend him. He's blocking shots, he's scoring goals. Shorthanded Vakanen, a really good third defensive pairing guy. What did they do? They got him in return for Truba. They extended him like. So you're bringing in younger, faster, better defensemen. You've reworked your defense and you're setting goal because you gave Igor the contract. And don't be shocked if maybe Quick comes back for a third year with the Ranger. So they are set up the middle. You'll find wingers here and there, you know, so maybe Kreider stays, maybe goes during the offseason, I don't know. But it's a reimagining in the best possible places, center and defense, and we'll see how it all works out. And he did it without blowing it up because I still think this team is still very competitive. Boston blew it up, right? Detroit can't get out of their way right now. Columbus had an awful loss last night. We'll see if Montreal is for real. Islanders just sold off pieces. They're probably done. So I still think the Rangers can make the playoffs and we'll see what they do. You know how hard it is to be able to do that and yet still stay competitive. So I know Ranger fans, it's not cup right now, but you see what Drury's trying to do, and he's put himself in a pretty good position to still reimagine this roster going forward after the summer to see what all these guys do in these final 20 games and whatever they do, if they're able to make the playoffs. I thought the Rangers had a really good couple of Weeks here.
- [31:12]
Alan Hahn
So you mentioned again reimagining the roster, building it up the middle. Lots of stuff. But I'm curious, if not X's and O's wise, but maybe attitude wise, is there an adjustment to this team? Did you add a little more grit? Was it something that was missing early in the season that is not just hockey related but more again how they approach the game related? You mentioned Borg and blocking shots and playing tough. They got bigger on the blue line. Was that also something that was done here with the Rangers?
- [31:38]
Michael Rosenberg
Oh, without question. And Dave Maloney mentioned it when they got jt. JT was traded from the Rangers because it seemed like for a young kid he's a little chatty in the room. A little bit of an issue with some of the veteran players. Obviously he went to Vancouver, didn't get along with Pedersen. They had to make a deal and looking where the stats go, was it 14 points in 12 games for Miller? Pedersen hasn't done anything in Vancouver. They probably traded the wrong guy. And I remember Dave saying for all the reasons he was traded those two times is exactly what the Rangers need now. They need a guy to come in with a chip on his shoulder, a guy that's going to demand more from his teammates and also supply it. And he plays center and he wins face offs and he scores big goals. And Dave also said I got to give credit to him too. They will turn the corner when this becomes J.T. miller's team. And I think you're starting to see that right now. He's their best player right now. He, Cooley and Zabanajad are their best line and that's that. And, and he's got a ton of years left on his contract too, Alan. So it wasn't any kind of rental. It wasn't for some kind of fugazi run. Now let's keep it alive. Let's try to pump some breath into the lungs of last year's run. It's really making changes but still being able to stay competitive in the now. So I can't speak for Ranger fans, but from, from what I know, from what they need and what I know from some of these players that came over, I think they, I think they did exceptional. Whether it's a home run or not, we'll see. But right now I think you gotta like what they did.
- [33:09]
Alan Hahn
Now where are they in the. When it comes to the playoffs? I mean they're. They're right there now, obviously, right? How many games are left? Where are we at with games? Games remaining?
- [33:17]
Michael Rosenberg
They've got 20 games remaining. Two huge games. I'll be on the call for both. I'm leaving for Ottawa tonight. Play the Senators tomorrow afternoon home against Columbus Sunday night. Columbus is the first wild card with 68 points. They've lost two in a row. Ottawa's got 67 points. They won four of their last 10. And the Rangers, who are 6 3, 1 in their last 10, have 67 points. But they played one more game than the Senators. But they've got the tiebreaker on Columbus. They got the tiebreaker on Ottawa. Detroit's dropped four in a row. They got the tiebreaker on them. You know, Montreal's been really good, but I don't think they're good enough and didn't make any moves here down the stretch to prove me otherwise. I think they're in great position to make the playoffs. If they can take care of business this weekend, they'll be in the playoffs with a bullet. And they're right there now. And now they've got some tough games. They still have a west coast trip to go on. They've got games in Winnipeg and Minnesota next week. So it's going to be tough. And you're playing with that Adam Fox and we'll see if he even does come back. Looking at some of the moves they made for a defenseman makes me err on the side of. I'm not sure we're going to see him back in the regular season. He's got an upper body injury already on il and they go out and get suchi and, and you just. And, and you wonder Dahan came back in that deal that they made with Colorado. I wonder if they these spare pieces are to fill in expecting Fox not to come back. But I think they're making the playoffs and I think they could be a handful for whoever they play in the first round with the moves that they've.
- [34:44]
Alan Hahn
Made around the league. Now just, you know, quickly here with the deadline pass is was there one team and we just saw the Brad Marchand move where the Panthers add him and that's just oh my God. But a couple other moves that are made. Is there one or two teams? You're like this team just took themselves from, you know, one of the contenders to one of the top contenders with a move.
- [35:04]
Michael Rosenberg
Well, back on January 24, Carolina traded for Ranton and Ranton couldn't get a deal done in Colorado. God knows why gets traded to Carolina and they went out and got hall as well. He wasn't playing well. They couldn't come to an Extension. I don't know why Carolina does this stuff. They're cheap. They did this with Genzel last year. Couldn't get anything done. Now they do a rant and they can't get anything done. But they did spend him for a nice package to send him to Dallas. Dallas has got Haskin in on IR because of his injury. He'll come back in the playoffs. They have room for him under the gap. They give him a monster 8 year deal. Do not be shocked if he just catches fire with a Dallas team that is stacked. I think Dallas and Florida, the two teams I look at and go, dear God, how are you going to stop these teams? Like, ranting goes off, man, watch it. Winnipeg's been the best team in the NHL, especially in the Western Conference conference. Watch out. You know, Colorado, they, they, they, they got better. But Dallas to me is a scary good team. And Florida was scary good to begin with. They're going to get Kachuk back for the playoffs. They add Brad Marchand, who's a, who's a money player, he's got a ton of postseason experience and he is an SOB to play against. You get into a best of seven series with them, he's going to be licking guys, driving yourself crazy like he is just a pain in your ass that you need in the playoffs. For a team that's stacked for Hagee Barkoff, they went and got Seth Jones. They already got Matthew Tkachuk. They are just Renberg. And they've been to the Stanley cup final back to back years and won it last year. Right now, if you had to prognosticate, as much as I love Winnipeg, it's hard. Dallas and Florida might not be that sexy, but those are two teams on a collision course. Man, I thought those are the two teams that I walked away from and said, wow, the rich got richer.
- [36:55]
Alan Hahn
Dallas, Florida, Stanley Cup Final, if you're a media member, is gold.
- [37:00]
Michael Rosenberg
Oh, that's gorgeous.
- [37:01]
Alan Hahn
Going to go. I mean, think about that. Just, just being in Florida, being in Dallas in June, covering hockey. Nothing better. But this is nothing better.
- [37:10]
Michael Rosenberg
And you know, Colorado got better. I still think Winnipeg is an outstanding team. I think Washington didn't have Tampa got better. Still think they're good. Tampa's danger, this stupid format. I wish the NHL would change. You've got, you know, second and third teams playing each other. So you've got Florida Maple Leafs and the Lightning. Three teams who can legitimately win the Cup. One of those teams is out in the first round because whoever doesn't win that division Right now Toronto's gonna have to play Tampa in the first round. Good luck to both of those teams. Florida right now has only got a two point lead on Toronto. If they were to. Can you imagine Florida having to play Tampa in the first round or one of those teams having to go out. Same thing in the Central. Allen, you've got, you've got Dallas, but.
- [37:53]
Alan Hahn
There are no cupcake teams anymore. That's the other thing. That there's no one versus eight. That you're like, oh, the eighth seed sucks. You just don't get that anymore. Right. Like everybody's relatively good.
- [38:03]
Michael Rosenberg
No, Dallas has, they're in second place. But you, you look at you. I don't know if I'm Colorado, I might not want to move up to third and have to play Dallas in the first round. Leave me as the first wild card. I'll. No, seriously, I'll take my chances with Vegas and we forget about Vegas. Vegas didn't do anything. They were, their social media was sending out like they, they, they tweeted out like hi, as if something big was coming. Nothing came. They didn't really have to do anything.
- [38:29]
Alan Hahn
They're.
- [38:30]
Michael Rosenberg
They're a stack team. There are legitimately. Winnipeg, Dallas, Vegas, Colorado, Washington, Florida, Tampa. At least if you don't want to say Toronto because they never win. That's eight that I think can legitimately win the Stanley Cup.
- [38:50]
Alan Hahn
Damn.
- [38:51]
Michael Rosenberg
And I'm not even including Toronto. I'm not including Carol. I don't think Carolina is going to win Edmonton. I'm not even including Edmonton because I.
- [38:58]
Alan Hahn
Just hate this year.
- [38:59]
Michael Rosenberg
Yeah, but let's include Toronto and Edmonton. I mean, you said Edmonton was there last year. And Toronto's loaded. They just never win in the playoffs. But someday they might. That's 10 teams. Sixteen teams go to the playoffs. Allen and I got 10 that might win the Cup.
- [39:15]
Alan Hahn
And 10 and 10 can win the Cup. That's what it's about. The Rangers might be one of those playoff teams, but this is a year. I don't know if you put them in that category. But still, at least the reset going on, going on there. So that's the breakdown they see. Again, you can get more of this on Game Misconduct. It's a podcast that Don does. Is it weekly now? Right? Every week. And get it wherever you get your podcast. Because if you want some hockey, that's exactly. A little flavor, a little taste of what you get. I'm still waiting for my invite. I'd never get invited, but one of these days I might break through there's.
- [39:43]
Michael Rosenberg
A reason for that. And, and we'll get into that at some point. It has nothing to do with you. It has a lot to do with like technology and the move, timing. But no, no time. No, we won't always make the timing work for you.
- [39:56]
Alan Hahn
People are flooding the playoffs beginning when the playoffs begin, man, like we should. That's what I'm saying. Like we could have some fun, do this. We always like, this is what I love.
- [40:05]
Michael Rosenberg
But I will say this. We're talking hockey on this show more than we talk more than any other show is talking hockey in the tri state area.
- [40:12]
Alan Hahn
So even with the show that has a guy who played in the NHL.
- [40:15]
Michael Rosenberg
There you go. Well, listen, I think our station does a great job up and down the boards. I heard Michael talking about the Nelson deal before we came on.
- [40:22]
Alan Hahn
There you go.
- [40:23]
Michael Rosenberg
But they ain't touching us. And you know what? They don't want to because I think they're perfectly happy doing what they're doing. But we're getting flooded on social media. Where's enn? Where's enn? Oh, ENN is going to be where it always should have been at 6:00 today.
- [40:37]
Alan Hahn
Hot six on the platter. That's, that's how we like it. And it's because you know what, it's a Friday and we figure what's better than right at 6 on Friday? There's nothing better than that. So that's when you'll find it.
- [40:49]
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- [41:04]
Alan Hahn
Will that be cash or credit?
- [41:06]
Michael Rosenberg
Credit.
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- [41:50]
Alan Hahn
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- [42:21]
Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.
- [42:24]
Michael Rosenberg
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
- [42:26]
Don Hahn
Catch this show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
- [42:33]
Alan Hahn
All right, so the Road to the Big Game now open through March 30th at the Paley Museum in Midtown Manhattan. You can come see the Vince Lombardi Trophy from the New York Giants, all 58 championship rings, Super bowl three tickets signed by Joe Namath, artifacts from Eli Manning, Phil Sims and Tom Brady, unforgettable commercials, photo opportunities and a celebration of the black heroes of football's biggest game. Find the contest tile on ESPN New York app for your chance to win tickets. Fans of all ages are welcome and free for Paley members and kids under 12. Visit paleymuseum.org for tickets and information. The latest on the Knicks Jalen Brunson's injury, his status for tonight, and more. All that coming up in the 5 o'clock hour. Let's grab a few calls in the meantime. Felicia in Mississippi. Hi, Felicia.
- [43:21]
Michael Rosenberg
Hey, Felicia.
- [43:24]
Felicia
Thanks for taking my call. Real quick before I get into my hockey point, Don, I was listening to McKay and he was talking about your. Your favorite cereal.
- [43:33]
Michael Rosenberg
Yes.
- [43:33]
Felicia
Raisin Bran. And it's funny because my husband, supposedly it has been his favorite cereal since he was like 3 years old. So it's funny that it's that it's your favorite. I've never heard of regular other than my husband.
- [43:46]
Michael Rosenberg
I'm a different cat, man. That's that I'm built a little bit differently. I know it's odd. Everybody loves Fruit Loops and Captain Crunch. I love, I love Raisin Bran.
- [43:58]
Felicia
But yeah, I just thought that was funny. But just real quick on the trade deadline. So I'm really happy with the trade. I think. I don't think we really could have done much better trading Brock, especially since he is likely going to be a rental for the team that got him. I think it's cool because Cal is. He's really big. He has 67 points right now just in 41 games. And he's played. And he did play a few games this year with Colorado. And it's funny because the one against the Islanders.
- [44:26]
Alan Hahn
Yeah, right. Exactly.
- [44:29]
Felicia
But I the only thing that concerned me and Alan, you kind of Stole my thunder a little bit. What I was going to bring up was I, I heard about the, you know, the potential to give him an offer as well. So it's like I wonder if this was just a last ditch effort just because he wouldn't take the offer. Because if he had taken the offer, it just would been the same old, same old Islanders just running everything back. So that concerned me a little bit. But I'm glad we ended up getting the deal done. And who knows, maybe he'll end up free signing with the Islanders as a free agent.
- [44:58]
Alan Hahn
Never know. I mean, you see how that works out. I don't know how they have the money to do it though, to be honest with you. I, I like that they get younger, they get a center, but they also get a first round pick out of this. So that's just the transition, right, for this group, it's long overdue from that team that got to a back to back final Fours. You could just feel it over the last couple of years, something they just lost. Whatever that grit edge, whatever it was, they needed an infusion. Now Oliver Wahlstrom didn't bring it. You thought, okay, here's a young guy with a ton of talent. It just didn't. Right. It didn't happen. And it was another guy that sort of played hard when he wanted to, but not all the time, didn't understand that part of it. I just feel like when you see a guy like, you know, Matt Martin, Cal Clutterbuck, when they leave the room and they leave a regular shift on a team like that, you have to replace it with those types of character personalities. Guys that play that hard and they didn't. And I think that's something that they've got to remake. It's the same as the Rangers, Felicia. They have to realize that that group took them as far as they could and it was a glorious couple of years there. That was a lot of fun. But it's over. And they've got to now remake the team. And you cannot overlook while everybody's dying to get skill, it's all about skill, Don. Gotta have skill. Those the Cal Clutterbucks of the world and the Matt Martins of the world. I'm sorry, they are worth their weight in gold because you can't win without them. Why did Florida do what they did to get Marcia? You want guys like that on your team? That's how you win.
- [46:29]
Michael Rosenberg
You know, listen, you got to play defense and Florida does, you know, Florida clamps it down. You saw how hard it was for Edmonton to just get a shot once. The Panthers had the one goal lead in Game seven. But you know what? They're still loaded with guys that could score.
- [46:44]
Don Hahn
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
- [46:48]
Alan Hahn
I don't want to know how the sausage is made, but I just want to know it's good.
- [46:50]
Don Hahn
Hear more of Don Allen and Peter Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.
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