Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 538: Featuring Taylor Hall and Cam Fowler

Summary

Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 538: Featuring Taylor Hall and Cam Fowler – Detailed Summary

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Introduction and Trip Highlights

Date: January 2, 2025
Guests: Taylor Hall, Cam Fowler
Hosts: Ryan Whitney, Paul Bissonnette, Mike Grinnelli

The episode kicks off with Ryan Whitney reminiscing about an exciting week in Chicago centered around the Outdoor Winter Classic, a marquee NHL event held at Wrigley Field. The hosts share anecdotes from their meet and greet at Sluggers, where Pink Whitney drinks were a major hit. Ryan proudly recounts handing out 500 Pink Whitney shots, emphasizing the crowd's enthusiasm despite the cold and rainy weather.

Ryan Whitney [00:23]: "People were asking me, did you bring the big bottles? Did you bring the 1.75s? I said, no, I have 500 shots to give away."

Meet and Greet at Sluggers

The atmosphere during the meet and greet was vibrant, with attendees showing high spirits and appreciation for the event. Ryan highlights the introduction of new traditions like Merle's "Thunderstruck" guitar riff, which energizes the group and adds to the event's lively vibe.

Ryan Whitney [01:31]: "Merle's of started this new thing... 'Thunderstruck' gives everyone a little pick-me-up."

Interactions with Alumni and Legends

A significant portion of the episode focuses on interactions with legendary NHL figures. Ryan shares heartfelt moments with Wayne Gretzky, who gifts him signed memorabilia, including a hockey stick and an aluminum Gretzky cup identical to one Ryan received as a child.

Ryan Whitney [06:48]: "They gave me this unbelievable bomber from Gretzky's basement... I'll have that one now."

The hosts also express gratitude towards other alumni like Chris Chelios, Jeremy Roenick, and Glenn Healey for their support and contributions to the alumni association. They discuss their efforts to raise funds for alumni health insurance, underscoring the camaraderie and brotherhood within the hockey community.

Paul Bissonnette [04:31]: "Tonight is the night... That's how you get roped into these three, four day benders."

Chicago Blackhawks Performance and Fan Sentiment

The discussion shifts to the Chicago Blackhawks' disappointing performance during the Winter Classic. Despite the team's struggles and a commanding lead, they were outplayed and faced criticism from both fans and media. The hosts analyze the factors contributing to the team's woes, including management decisions and player performances.

Ryan Whitney [20:39]: "Chicago is so bad. I mean, this team is legit. Horrible. They're getting blown out every game."

Wayne Gretzky's Support and Gifts

Ryan elaborates on the generosity of Wayne Gretzky, who not only attends events but also showered him with gifts, highlighting Gretzky's ongoing support for current and former players. Ryan expresses immense gratitude for these gestures, which strengthen the bond between past and present NHL generations.

Ryan Whitney [09:15]: "Wayne's so involved with the alumni because he wants to help out as well."

Michigan State and Mentorship

Taylor Hall joins the conversation, discussing his mentorship role with recent first overall draft pick Connor Bedard. They delve into the pressures Bedard faces as a young superstar and Taylor's efforts to guide him through the challenges of early stardom.

Taylor Hall [47:17]: "There's so much pressure on him. Everyone has a TV in their fricking pockets now..."

Taylor emphasizes the importance of balancing personal interests and mental health to help Bedard navigate the relentless spotlight of professional hockey.

Taylor Hall [49:43]: "There's so much information and I think it's important that these players not only develop their skills but also manage their mental well-being."

Trade to St. Louis Blues and New Beginnings

Cam Fowler discusses his recent trade to the St. Louis Blues, reflecting on the challenges and opportunities that come with transitioning to a new team mid-season. He highlights the support from the Blues organization and his excitement to contribute to the team's resurgence.

Cam Fowler [115:00]: "I'm really looking forward to it. It's a great opportunity and I'm happy it happened when it did."

Cam shares insights into his training regimen, injury prevention strategies, and the importance of maintaining skating speed and agility to stay competitive in the league.

Cam Fowler [123:18]: "I've been leaning more into injury prevention... just the way the game is being played these days."

St. Louis Blues’ Strategy and Future Outlook

The hosts analyze the Blues' strategic moves under new coaching, focusing on building a solid defensive core with players like Nick Hynes and Logan Thompson. They express optimism about the team's potential to become a dark horse contender in the upcoming playoffs, provided they maintain their health and cohesion.

Paul Bissonnette [101:08]: "If you do trade Miller, like, you thought the pressure was high before, dude. Now it's like putty."

The conversation highlights the importance of asset management, player development, and maintaining a balanced roster to achieve sustained success.

Detroit Red Wings’ Struggles and Management Decisions

A critical segment addresses the ongoing struggles of the Detroit Red Wings, attributing their poor performance to ineffective management and lack of superstar players. The hosts debate the potential consequences of continued underperformance, including the risk of being labeled a "fraud" if they fail to advance in the playoffs.

Paul Bissonnette [29:05]: "They're not going to beat the Oilers or they're not going to beat Vegas in the playoffs. So if you don't get out of the first round, you're a fraud."

The discussion underscores the necessity for strategic trades and acquisitions to inject fresh talent and competitiveness into the team.

DraftKings Promotion and Responsible Gaming Message

Midway through the episode, the hosts seamlessly transition into a promotional segment for DraftKings Sportsbook, offering a $150 bonus on a $5 bet with the code "Chiclets." They emphasize the importance of responsible gambling, providing helpline numbers and urging listeners to play responsibly.

DraftKings Promo [43:22]: "Call 1-800-Gambler in New York, call 877-8-Hopeny or text hopeny 467-369 in Connecticut."

World Juniors and International Play

The discussion shifts to the World Junior Championships, highlighting Team USA's performance and criticizing Canada's approach to the tournament. The hosts lament Canada's perceived lack of intensity and competitiveness, suggesting a decline in their traditional hockey prowess.

Paul Bissonnette [161:03]: "We have to continue the pussification of hockey in Canada..."

Taylor Hall and Paul Bissonnette stress the importance of combining skill with relentless determination to reclaim Canada's dominance in international hockey.

Taylor Hall [161:45]: "There's so much information and I think it's important that these players not only develop their skills but also manage their mental well-being."

Player Spotlights and Future Prospects

Cam Fowler praises young talents within the NHL, such as Leo Carlson and Aiden Hill, forecasting their bright futures and potential to lead teams to success. The hosts discuss the strategic importance of building teams from the defensive line outwards, emphasizing the critical role of defensemen in modern hockey.

Cam Fowler [148:44]: "Leo will be the guy. He's going to be the guy."

The episode concludes with reflections on the evolving landscape of the NHL, the importance of mentorship, and the continuous growth of hockey across different regions.

Ryan Whitney [179:58]: "Happy New Year... Love all you guys, and hell of a week at Chicago."

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Conclusion

Episode 538 of Spittin’ Chiclets offers an engaging and comprehensive discussion on various facets of the NHL, from major events like the Winter Classic and World Juniors to in-depth analyses of team performances and player dynamics. Featuring insightful conversations with Taylor Hall and Cam Fowler, the hosts provide listeners with a blend of humor, personal anecdotes, and expert commentary. The episode not only celebrates the rich history and camaraderie within the hockey community but also addresses current challenges and future prospects, making it a valuable listen for both avid fans and casual followers of the sport.

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Notable Quotes:

1. Ryan Whitney [00:23]: "People were asking me, did you bring the big bottles? Did you bring the 1.75s? I said, no, I have 500 shots to give away."
2. Taylor Hall [47:17]: "There's so much pressure on him. Everyone has a TV in their fricking pockets now."
3. Paul Bissonnette [29:05]: "They're not going to beat the Oilers or they're not going to beat Vegas in the playoffs. So if you don't get out of the first round, you're a fraud."
4. Cam Fowler [148:44]: "Leo will be the guy. He's going to be the guy."

These quotes encapsulate the episode's blend of personal stories, team analysis, and the underlying themes of mentorship and resilience in the world of professional hockey.

Transcript

[Ryan Whitney]

Hey, Spit and Chiclets listeners. You can find every episode on Apple podcasts, Spotify or YouTube Prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Me and Ryan have been officially welcomed to the jungle that is Barstool Sports. Our white whale, Sidney Crosby. Shave his head. Shave his head. Shave his head. Ryan Whitney.

[Paul Vincent]

Paul Vincent.

[Ryan Whitney]

R.A. mike Grinelli. Spittin Chickfila. What is up, folks? Welcome to episode 538 of the Spit and Chiclets podcast presented by Pink Whitney. What an amazing week we had in Chicago. Outdoor winter classic for the ages. And Pink Whitney was a big part of it. Boys. We had our meet and greet at Sluggers and the Pink Whitney was flowing. People were asking me, did you. Did you bring the big bottles? Did you bring the 1.75s? I said, no, I'm sorry, but I have 500 shots to give away. Y50 shots on a tray. I gave away 10 trays. That adds up to 500. And boys, were the people ready to drink it. They were loving it and they were saying the whole time, this is the perfect drink before the cold, nasty weather we're about to go outside and deal with. But give me that Pink Whitney. Oh, when it hits your lips. So shout out Pink Whitney. Shout out this podcast and shout out the boys for crushing another winter classic. What is going on? Holy.

[Paul Vincent]

Water read by you.

[Ryan Whitney]

Well, I must say that Merle's of started this new thing for the boys that I. I love. I'm obsessed with it. It's such a minor thing, but he just now sends the group chat when everyone needs a little pick me up. Thunderstruck. That's probably a tough guitar right there. But when we play it now, Mers just played it for him before we started. I'm flying around, I'm buzzing. What a song.

[Paul Vincent]

It's crazy because lately I've been bumping a lot of acdc. Hell's Bells in the car. Gets me going through the, like the, like the slow intro, but the thunderstruck, man. Like when you were a kid lacing them up like 13, 14. We'd be in the hallway, like with the well and tigers. We're white, we're black, we're dying. No. You guys ever do that?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. Your mom is part black and your dad's white, so that works perfectly for you. Murray, you said you played it with the bantams riding around the parking lot.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah, when I was coaching the Rochester, I'd put it on there and I'd be ripping around the parking lot and it's Covid. So the other teams are stuck sitting outside waiting to go in, and it was just intimidating them. And we have two big SUVs ripping around the lot. It was nuts. We go in and trash these teams.

[Paul Vincent]

I love it.

[Ryan Whitney]

I love it. Well, Biz, actually, Yans is here as well. Yans, what'd you think of coming on the trip and, and being a part of the squad now? And just what was your kind of thoughts on Chicago?

[Biz Nasty]

It was great. I feel like a bag of shit right now after hanging with Merls for three days, but I need thunderstruck every morning for the next couple days to get back to, back to even here soon. But, yeah, unreal trip. Obviously, you guys do it, right? First class, everything, you know, for. I want to thank.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, no, this is business.

[Cam Fowler]

No, no, no.

[Paul Vincent]

I want to hear the thank yous. I want to hear the thank yous.

[Biz Nasty]

Let's just get Julia from Pink, Whitney, Megan of Discovery. Uh, so I, I, I can't with the. The only reason I'm excited to be here with you guys is to hear how many thank yous you give out today. B.

[Ryan Whitney]

This is his number one episode for thank yous. Usually it's around 53 to 54. So, Biz, I don't know if you want to start it now or see.

[Paul Vincent]

Well, I would say we got to first start off by thanking the entire league and the people who work for the league for throwing on an incredible event. I love coming to these winter classics and the fact that I'd never been to Fenway and never been to Wrigley, and the first two things that brought me to both those iconic venues. Is hockey just remarkable. And I think we have to shut out the fans. Not the ideal weather to show up to one of these outdoor games, given how cold it was and it was raining. But these fans come out in droves and they are loud. They stayed majority of the game, although the Blackhawks stunk the joint out, got booed off their own ice. Regardless, the fans, the league, incredible job going back to Merls, making you feel like a bag of shit, though. Yans, him and the Powers guys, the guys who do. What's the name of their podcast? Empty Netters. Unreal guys. Absolute man missiles. They give out these business cards. And there's a saying that you guys have on the road. And what's the saying?

[Mike Grinelli]

Tonight is the night. Because one of the first trips where we'd run into these guys, I'm like, no, no, like, tonight we're not going out tonight. It's not the night. We Gotta pack it in, Gotta save.

[Paul Vincent]

It because we're older.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah, I'm really old. And we gotta record tomorrow. And somehow like the, the, the, the, the pink Whitney started flowing and we ended up out all night. And, and one of them said it like, I guess last night was the night.

[Keith Yandle]

Well, then you flip the back of the card over and it says, actually, tonight is the night.

[Mike Grinelli]

Just, it's a funny running joke. And last night was not the night, though. I took last night off.

[Paul Vincent]

So every time that one of the guys in the group is like, ah, let's take tonight off and save for tomorrow, they'll follow up with Na Na. Tonight's the night. And that's how you get roped into these three, four day benders. Yan. So welcome to the whack pack.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Biz Nasty]

And then I, I, I'm on the plane coming back and I'm like, oh, my God, I just can't wait to get to bed tonight. And then I'd look at my phone and in the calendar is New Year's Eve party, black tie event. I'm like, oh, my God. I had to get home and get ready and go to a black tie event.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, my God.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, that's nightmare fuel.

[Biz Nasty]

Right?

[Paul Vincent]

That's why you have sunglasses on and look like you're in the witness protection program.

[Biz Nasty]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ryan Whitney]

I got to just enjoy the US Kicking the shit out of Canada in Ottawa on New Year's Eve. Just a, just a gift to get to sit and watch that. What a pathetic, undisciplined performance by Canada. We can get into that later. The trip boys, huge success, had a blast. I love Chicago and, and every time I go there, the people say, hey, that clip you made, that clip you made like 10 years ago, I went on barstool Chicago, talked about the city, and sometimes it occasionally makes the rounds on like Instagram or Tik Tok of me. Just talking about it hasn't changed. I love the place. It's got everything you want. Great food, awesome. We had one day that was beautiful. The, the day before the Winter Classic was the perfect winter day. I wish the game had been on that day. But I think that our live show, we got to talk about that. Shout out all the people who came out and what a surprise they got because we do have some thank yous. We had Chelio show up. We had Ronick show up. We had Tim Stapleton show up talking about the Russian gas. We, we had Glenn Healey come. But 99, the man, the myth, the legend himself, he showed up and biz how about the crowd? Loud crowds at our live show, when.

[Paul Vincent]

He spoke and showed up, you could hear a pin drop, the respect they were showing for him. And it was funny seeing the fans in the front row's reactions to when he walked out. It's like they saw Jesus Christ. And it was great with Yan because he ended up showing maybe up a little bit earlier than expected. So we just brought Yan's out and Yan's like, I'm not sitting here talking with the great one waiting on deck. So Yan is like, bring out my buddy. And then he walked out and got the unreal pop. And what a treat for all those fans who showed up and going back to Glenn Healey. Like, he really helped solidify getting Chris Chelos and Jeremy Ronick to come over because we're trying to do more in collaboration with the alumni and bring more awareness to it. So I thought it was awesome just to get all those guys, especially in a city like Chicago where Chelios and Ronick made such an impact. And how about the gifts that I've been showered with by the Gretzky buddy? How about this bomber, which I never, I have never asked Wayne Gretzky for an autograph. And when I saw him at the House of Blues the next night when Chelios, Roenick and all those guys were throwing that charity event for the alumni, he ended up grabbing the Sharpie and just signing my jacket underneath the 99. So they gave me this unbelievable bomber from Gretzky's basement. All that merch stuff they do with Ty, Trevor and Tristan. So he signed it. I've never asked him for an autograph, but he did it willingly. And then he gifted me on stage a stick. So you were right when I asked him, I said, you used your in your last season playing with the Rangers, the ultralight two piece. But I guess because he'd bought in Hessler his last game in Canada, which was in Ottawa, he ended up using like eight or nine sticks, he said, throughout the course of the game and eight sticks. And he gave me the last stick he used in that game. I am going to hang it above where I record back home because I have that. I'll have that one now. I don't think I'm going to get that sign and leave it authentic. But I also now have the, the, the Gretzky aluminum, the exact same one that I got when I was a kid. So I'll put those pictures up and that'll be my backdrop from now on. So I can't thank wayno enough for not only showing up, but shower me with gifts from him and his family. Like, I love the Gretzky's. They've done so much for us. And it's. Yeah, I'm. I'm over the moon. So that's only one. One. Thank you. We still got a lot to get to By.

[Ryan Whitney]

By hang up, you mean sell it. Like, there's. That thing's gonna be on ebay. Unless at 30, 000. And then you're just gonna buy a couple new plants for your new backyard. When you sell the Brett.

[Paul Vincent]

I'm gonna have my own Gretzky's basement in my office with my backdrop with those two twigs. So.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, actually, Gretzky, Yeah, Gretzky's basement. First year it popped off was last year, Toronto All Star game. And it was awesome. Like, I didn't really know what to expect. It was perfect, though. You get to see all this old memorabilia, pictures. It's great. Like, we've described it before, but it wasn't like a crack house in Toronto. Like, the house. I was like, what the.

[Paul Vincent]

I kind of liked it. It made a little bit more.

[Ryan Whitney]

I know you did because you lived in one in Scottsdale for 10 years in the NHL. So I get that shout out to the pillar.

[Paul Vincent]

I used to go across the street to sushi brokers to grab, like, rolls of toilet. Toilet paper to bring back to that. My crackdown. When I would run out of toilet paper, I'd be tooping from the bathroom at sushi brokers across the street. But go back to the Gretzky's basement.

[Ryan Whitney]

Well, the house they have now. And I want to bring it up because you're listening to this on January 2nd, it's. It's still open for the third, fourth, and maybe even the fifth, because I think a bunch of Big Ten hockey teams, Notre Dame, Michigan State, a few others are coming to play at the arena at Wrigley or the arena at Wrigley. Wake up with the field, the ice at Wrigley. So if you're in Chicago, head on over. You could sign up online. You get to see so much. And the merch there. They've even upped the merch. I got a T shirt that's sick. Like a little kid with the 99. It's awesome. We got hats. We got. And you can't get the jacket. I believe they only made like, maybe 50 of those jackets. Biz. They're. They're selling big bucks. Those things are sick. So good for you getting one signed.

[Paul Vincent]

Well, I Actually find a way to.

[Ryan Whitney]

Spill food on it.

[Paul Vincent]

Today, when I put it on, I ended up snapping all those draws back on Bedard. So even just the aura of Wayne Gretzky's jacket and Gretzky's basement helped me overcome one of the greatest prodigies that hockey's ever seen. So thank you to the great one in the family for giving me that extra juice going biz versus Bedard.

[Ryan Whitney]

And before we get into biz versus Bedard, I do have to bring up, like, another experience with you at a restaurant. Biz. Unbelievable. Like, it's just wild to see.

[Paul Vincent]

What do you mean? I was good this trip.

[Ryan Whitney]

This. You. You were good. You were good. You just had your moments. It's like. It's like a player going through a slump, and you see him coming out of it. He's making some plays, and then, boom, Pizza up the middle. It's like this guy just can't figure it out for a full 60 minutes. So we get to. We get. We get to the restaurant, and biz is fuming. That, like, he threw out, like, pretending to joke. Hey, boys, like, family style. Share it all up. And we're just like, no. He's like, I was just kidding. He's like. Like, you knew he wasn't kidding. And so the. The waiter had come to us a few times. Ready to order, Ready to order. No, no. Give us a couple more minutes. Finally, he comes back, and everyone's ready order. He goes to biz first, and he says, hey, go ahead, sir. I haven't even looked. I haven't even looked. So Jeff's like, all right, go to Mikey Grinelli right to biz is right. And then swoop all the way around. And biz, you can go last. It gets all the way back around to biz. Everyone's got their orders. He goes like this. Oh, I haven't even looked. Because the minute the guy went to his right, he got back on his phone, and we went through the same thing again when it got back to him. And then when he finally looks at the menu in a panic, he goes, I wrote it down. Can I have the fattetti pasta? I wrote it down, and the whole table, I said, what the hell's for Teddy? Pasta. Gretzky told us to go to this restaurant. They must have this new pasta. And I'm looking at the menu, and I go, this one? He goes, yeah. I go, that says fettuccine, the fat teddy. I don't even know how you get. I wrote fah teddy to, like, try to remember how you pronounce fettuccine. So incredible. Incredible. Like, example, ordering and just not. And then.

[Biz Nasty]

And then he got two meals.

[Ryan Whitney]

He got two meals, and they were.

[Biz Nasty]

Like, two of the same things.

[Ryan Whitney]

Myself, Keith to my left, Merle's to his left. Timmy Stapleton.

[Paul Vincent]

This was chicken. This was bullshit. This was bullshit. There's five guys in a row that got the chicken parm train.

[Ryan Whitney]

You weren't listening. You were on your phone. You were on riot swiping. What a city. Rockets in Chicago.

[Paul Vincent]

That's one thing you need to add to that, that disclaimer about Chicago is the women here. I might have to move here to meet my future wife. This city.

[Mike Grinelli]

Get a place here.

[Paul Vincent]

Just. Just a little whack pad.

[Ryan Whitney]

I got to tell the story at Gibson.

[Paul Vincent]

Wait, okay, but listen, I. You should have nudged me and said, jump on the chicken parm train. That's a fucking bull. Why are you laughing, bro? That's a move, if you can admit.

[Ryan Whitney]

I can admit. Like, hey, all four of us got the parm done, and we got the vodka sauce on the pasta.

[Paul Vincent]

When you. When you see a teammate struggling like that, especially in the ordering department, you gotta. You gotta lift me up, bro. You gotta lift me up.

[Biz Nasty]

But when. When Wayne Gretzky tells you to go to a restaurant and it's the best Italian he's ever had, you better bet your ass you're getting a chicken parm as long as your arm, and the guy next to you is getting a chicken parm as long as your arm, and the guy next to him is getting it, too. Not the.

[Paul Vincent]

As long as my forzy.

[Ryan Whitney]

He went with, like, the veal bolognese on the fatetti. I was like, what is that order? And he's like, but watch this. And then another, like, short rib order came over. This is for the table to share as he inhaled the entire thing. We were at Gibson's the night before that. Great. Some great team dinners. Great team dinners.

[Paul Vincent]

And shout out to Vinnie Laverde. Crazy. Okay, so Dale end up inviting a few extra people. So the guy, my buddy Vinnie Laverde, the captain of our Calder cup team, couldn't even end up sitting down at the main table. He had to sit in the bar with another guy that Dale had invited. So he gets pigeon tossed after setting up the whole meal at Gibson's for us. So to my former captain and an absolute legend of the American Hockey League, Vinnie, I am sorry for the way that this played out. Go ahead, Whit.

[Ryan Whitney]

Great guy. So we're at Gibson's and as this all went down, like, we couldn't get a reservation till I think nine. And we ended up getting there at eight, like, thinking maybe we'd be able to sit down a little bit sooner. And B is hungry. And when this dude's hungry, the world stopped. Talk to him about anything. Don't bring up any subject. I need food.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

And so Biz, like, goes in and somehow gets them to give us a big, huge table in the bar. So then the waitress is like, hey, what do you guys want to drink? I'll bring over the men. He's like, no, well, we just want appies. We're sitting here, we're waiting until our table's ready. But I need food. I need food.

[Paul Vincent]

So I didn't say like that to her.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, no, no, to me, you did. But the waitress, you were very polite as always.

[Paul Vincent]

Thank you.

[Ryan Whitney]

And there was a very attractive woman, I'm going to guess 10 to 15 yards away the table. And I noticed, like, she's continually looking over at Biz, like, looking over, looking over, looking over. I'm like, Jesus Christ. And sure, Biz gets his happy, like, scarfs that down, then goes to the table. And as he's walking by. And now Biz, like, very. You know, women love you. Women love you. But I think the Irish travelers things, taking it to another level. And he's walking by, and I'm watching the whole.

[Paul Vincent]

It never happened.

[Ryan Whitney]

He hired these Irish travelers, and he's paying them with the Gretzky Hessler, my.

[Paul Vincent]

Riot profiles, their surveillance.

[Ryan Whitney]

So as we walk by, the girl. Boom. Grabs him as he's walking by. I was like, jesus, I'm watching the whole thing. He just kind of. You were a little surprised and shocked as well. And she rips you in. And then you're talking, you're talking, and I see. Just take down my number. I gotta go eat, baby. I gotta go eat, baby. I'm hungry. I'm hungry. He's even telling this new woman he's just meeting how hungry he is. And she turns around and to the table as Biz leaves. And I'm just looking at her, reading her lip. She goes, he's so hot. I'm like, what the. This guy everywhere. We got this guy. And not only does that happen, he goes, oh, boys, look at this. About 30 minutes later, and he gets a text because he'd given her his number. And it's like, it's so amazing to meet you, Paul. Let's just get out of here. Soon, Private. I don't need anyone to see us. I just need to spend time with you. I was like, what planet are we living on now? If you saw this guy running around Wheeling, West Virginia, not being able to make a tape to tape pass jump, squatting over cars, making people call him Biz Nasty, would you ever believe women be grabbing him at Gibson's, dragging them home. So good for you.

[Paul Vincent]

Very happy. She said, are you Dwayne the Rock Johnson? I says, you're goddamn right.

[Ryan Whitney]

You said C.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah, I mean, great trip. We didn't talk about it before that dinner. We were at the DraftKings sportsbook here.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah.

[Mike Grinelli]

Betting those games. And it was just an amazing time. Sitting up top there with those giant screens.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Mike Grinelli]

I've never been there. Go check that out. And then such a fun night.

[Paul Vincent]

Speaking of DraftKings, the busy bets hit the last one.

[Ryan Whitney]

I know.

[Paul Vincent]

How about that one? Thank God of that assist that Bedard got in the third period for not losing that one for us. But that place just to go sit down. Like if you got an afternoon with all these games on with like all the bowl games and stuff, like grabbing 12 buddies, going to get a table there. They got a million TVs. You can gamble. It's a fun environment. It's clean. So shout out to them for. For not only hosting us, but what a setup in Wrigleyville.

[Ryan Whitney]

So into the Winter Classic. The day before was really cool. The good weather day I mentioned we got to go over to the field and Biz giving you credit, you look pretty good on your wheels against Bedard. Like you weren't going to win. The skating, the kind of back and forth.

[Paul Vincent]

I think I would have if they wouldn't have like, I didn't think that was a false start on the first one. Nobody's going to see that footage. I thought I was high stepping right out of the gate, right on the toes. Just like my power skater Nancy Grill taught me back in. Well, in Ontario with the edge work. Why are you laughing, bro?

[Ryan Whitney]

I just, I, it.

[Paul Vincent]

I had people mix.

[Ryan Whitney]

I had January 1st.

[Paul Vincent]

I saw 100 tweets of people thinking it was Kale McCarr. They're like, what's he doing at the Winter Classic? I thought Colorado wasn't playing in that this year. I thought they were done after the Lake Tahoe experience.

[Ryan Whitney]

But you were snapping back the draws on him and, and I, I. You kind of got screwed. I think you won that. And then they ended up saying you false started a draw, too. But very impressed Biz. For a guy who hasn't skated. Your crossovers are horrible. It's, like, short, choppy, and your knees are straight. But everything else, like, you looked good, dude. You look very good.

[Paul Vincent]

I think that was the problem. As we've talked about before, as my career progressed, like, I wasn't doing a lot of mobility and flexibility, so my hips are so tight. So when it comes to the crossover stuff, it's just, like, I'm not really generating any power, but I kind of look like McDavid because they're fast. Like, they're. They're quick and fast. You know how he really turns them over. But I think he's probably doing, like, a different escape, sharpening than I am or something. That's probably why he gained so much speed.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, that's what it is.

[Mike Grinelli]

It's just the hollow, the profiling on the edge. I was just waiting for his ACL to blow out. Oh, take out Connor Bedard and ruin the Winter Classic.

[Paul Vincent]

They did, but I had the girl from Gibbit's Gibsons come over and rub it out.

[Ryan Whitney]

There was a girl working for the Blackhawks, I believe, watching the whole thing, and, like, she was in panic mode, dude. Her heart rate must have been 180. Watching this, because your skates are flying up near his, like, neck and stuff. I was like, oh, Jesus, man. Biz is gonna knock out the league face of the face of the franchise.

[Paul Vincent]

But the best part, I did catch a rut the one time, and my stick came up quick, and I must have missed him by about 3 inches. Could you imagine getting a call from Gary Bettman, like, being like, you've just taken out the. Our poster child for this whole Winter Classic with a flick of your wrist, you fucking dummy.

[Biz Nasty]

It would have made you even bigger star. How about Chicago's breakaways in the practice?

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, my God, you guys. So that. Yeah, that's the same day. Because there was another moment day before the game that I wanted to talk about. But so Chicago. Chicago is so bad. I mean, this team is legit.

[Paul Vincent]

Horrible.

[Ryan Whitney]

Horrible. They're getting blown out every game. So the end of practice, fun practice. You're outdoors. It's beautiful out. All right, we're going to line. Five pucks up on one blue line. Five pucks up on another blue line. They were split into white and red practice jerseys and reds at one end. You go down, you get the puck, you go on a breakaway. If you miss, you got to get the puck, you got to bring it back to the blue line. The game's not over. Until all five pucks are scored. Buddy, we were there 35 minutes. They've been one goal. They, they had nine pucks left. And guys are looking around like, this is not Every media of the NHL is like, Jesus Christ. Christ. Like, at one point you're like, morazic, let them score. Like, let these guys score. This is pathetic. This is crushing their confidence. I mean, I looked over at one point and the faces on these poor guys, they. That's when I said, merls, I'm betting everything I own on the Blues tomorrow. Everything I own. Pathetic. Pathetic. And I feel bad for Chicago. Maybe there's better days to come. Apparently, like, the GM went in after the game and was giving it to the team. It's like, I don't know, man.

[Paul Vincent]

So you kind of put this, you sent the text to the group chat. So you had heard that. Like, who? Like, I, I, I.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yes, I heard that. I heard that the GM wasn't thrilled with the effort in front of the.

[Biz Nasty]

Chicago game last night.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah. So I would imagine then he came in and then. That's probably why you saw the quotes that you saw. Not to say you wouldn't seen quotes similar, but it seems like when Halsey got interviewed, I think Felino got interviewed in Bedard, like, they were basically like, like, what was the term that Bedard used? He's like, we got dog walked. Is that what he said?

[Mike Grinelli]

We laid an egg or something?

[Paul Vincent]

We laid an egg. We got dog walked. Like, all the verbiage to basically say you got bent over and booed off the ice in your. Your quote unquote home barn. Like, come on, man. Especially after everything that's been happened leading up to this with, like, how brutal they've been. Like, you go back to maybe the Taylor hall healthy scratch and just all the, I guess, drama surrounding the team in the sense of there wasn't maybe as much buzz as I would have anticipated coming into this Winter Classic because people, from a hockey standpoint here might be a little bit checked out. Like, the games aren't even on television here right now.

[Ryan Whitney]

From my understanding, fans biz at the meet and greet at Sluggers, they were disgusted, disgusted with what's going on. Like, like, I. I asked all the Hawks fans, the diehards, like, what's your thoughts? What's your feelings? And just like, I swear to God, not one of them had anything good to say. They were like, this is just a nightmare. I can't believe, like, we thought there'd be a little bit of a step forward this year. So I Said, well, there's some very special prospects coming up this year. And this McKenna kid, holy for 2026. But, yeah, it's ugly. It's very ugly now. Probably coolest moment of the game. And I thought it was Felino asking Braden Shen, but it was the other way around. That's so much of an animal Shen is. Is those two guys squaring off. And then after Darren Pang was talking to Braden Shen about it, and he's like, you know, was that Felino who asked you teams down? He's like, no. I just kind of wanted a fight at Wrigley Field, center ice, something they'd never be able to take away from me. And Felino was furious. He's tough as too. He kind of gave him a little bit of a beating, but it ended up being like a great moment in an otherwise kind of brutal game. Like, you just see these two guys, two captains just toe to toe center ice. But Shen being the one that wants it when they're up five, one that shows he's definitely a Western League crazy boy.

[Paul Vincent]

Well, you know why he did it Partly, too, is, I guess the night before, Wayne was talking to him and said he picks the MVP for the game and that the MVP gets a car. So they, like, were joking out, joking around, and Shannon's like, well, I'm going to get in a scrap and, like, score a goal, and you're going to have to give it to me. So. And then after the second period, after he'd gotten into scrap, he texted Wayne going, do I get the car? And Wayne in the post game mentioned that he's like, he never even told him the truth. He completely bit for the gag.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, there was no car.

[Paul Vincent]

There was no car. It was just a Coco cup trophy, which Camp Fowler ended up winning, which I think, like, maybe aside from Braden Shen was probably maybe the top story. And the fact that this guy playing in his thousandth game after this world win of the last two weeks, I mean, I think he was like, what, seven or eight games away from it when he'd been traded. Plays, what, 992 or 993 with Anaheim Ducks, like, historic Duck, all the Ducks guys on the way to the game in that on the same night, like, there was a picture of Troy Terry. They were all celebrating his thousandth game as well, to pay homage to a guy who did so much for their organization. But the fact that he steps up and scores two big goals for them, like, what a moment for that guy and well deserved. And he's Actually going to be dropping on this pod. I'd never had the chance to talk to him, but just seems like the classiest, nicest, best teammate you could ask for. Did you guys know anything about him before we talked to him?

[Ryan Whitney]

Not really, no. I, I had. He played in the Fallon cup, which I talk about a lot. Wallacen's member guest with Kyle Palmer one year. But I had just said hello. Great guy. Keith said it best. Great laugh on him. Like he starts laughing, makes me laugh. And I think he was giving us some fake laughs, which is always nice if you want to be on the show. Fake laugh. I'll love you forever.

[Paul Vincent]

We interviewed Brian Noonan. He was pretty good at that too. He might go gave us a lot of fake laughs. He might go down as my favorite Chicklets guest of all time, Brian Noonan, who we got a chance to interview at Gretzky's basement. You guys chuckle. I honestly think this guy was with us the whole time. We got to go back to Cam Fowler. But just remember, folks, Brian Noonan. Who's coming? Greatest chicklets interview of all time.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah, Cam Fowler. That first goal, little bit later than Army's goal. So army is still the king of winter class. But my favorite part of the whole night was after the game. You see Fowler in the locker room, he's crushing a beer. Everybody's just celebrating. It's like just. I can imagine the difference of those two locker rooms. One is rock bottom and that other one is just laughing. Monty's in there giggling, laughing, getting all the boys going. And it's just great vibes for the Blues right now, boys.

[Paul Vincent]

Do you get the feeling that the Blues, if they sneak in with a wild card, they could be a dark horse team. I'm starting to, to, to get feelings. I got like the butterflies in my stomach for this team, like the fact that they make the, the Fowler move. I think that their back end has wiley veterans. Broberg's a young guy who adds that, you know, great two way puck moving defenseman Bennington. You know, when you're playing for keeps, the fucking snowman's going to show up. The guy's got ice in his veins. He's going to be going off to four nations. I think the, one of the issues has been goal scoring, but I think that they can find a way, especially later in the season where things get a little bit rougher and it's harder to score goals like that. Jake Neighbors has no problem going to the blue paint. He's a complete throwback. We talked about Shanner Kyro Thomas is healthy after getting injured at the start of the year. Who else are you impressed by? Buch Navich?

[Ryan Whitney]

Well, yeah, you left them out. You left out my guy. And it really hurts. It's. It's like a gut punch. But holloway, he's got 14 goals now.

[Paul Vincent]

Boys, he's a spark.

[Ryan Whitney]

He's got 14 goals. And everyone saw it in the playoffs for Edmonton and I understand Edmonton's looking great, but God, that offer sheet. Doug Armstrong knew what he was doing. I think he saw enough with his speed. Some of those skilled goals he had in the playoffs, like, this guy's on pace for 4:30 goals now and he's, he's not making anything. So it's like that's an addition that army like new I. This guy's, he's young, he could skate and he's looked awesome.

[Paul Vincent]

I asked Braden Shen, we got a chance to talk to him before the game. I said, I don't know what your guys expectations were in the locker room exactly coming in, but like how do you feel about this group? And he went, he alluded to the camp Fowler trade and then bringing those guys over where he's like, army's giving us a chance to win, man. Like we, we talk about, like for Chicago, for instance, it's a prime example why I think maybe more teams moving forward aren't going to strip it to the bottom and unload everything because you let a guy like Hagel go. Congratulations on getting two picks, but look at the way that he's turned out in Tampa. He was their best player when Chicago got rid of him. So you look at this retool element and the way they've been able to do it, like even going back to last year for St. Louis, like BU neck was on the table, but they never got an offer with. They didn't just accept like, oh, okay, this is a solid offer. Let's get rid of them. They realized they had a good piece and they kept them. And now because they kept them, they can continue to build off of that. So asset management and those offer sheets, I, I'm telling you, it. I think that that was a rookie rookie mistake by the Edmonton Oilers letting those two guys walk. I think that that's the reason they're going to get beat by the LA Kings in the first round this year. And by the way, they lost the other night in overtime to them. Keep the fucking change. And Merle has them labeled as frauds.

[Mike Grinelli]

They're not going to beat the Oilers or they're not going to beat Vegas in the playoffs. So if you don't get out of the first round, you're a fraud.

[Paul Vincent]

Mark my words. If LA Kings with a healthy Drew Doughty, they play Edmonton the first round, LA will beat them. I know I've said it four years.

[Ryan Whitney]

In a row, fourth year in a.

[Paul Vincent]

Row, but I know it's the fourth year in a row. It went from seven games to six games to five games, but this will go back the other way. It went to four. They beat him in four.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, he's saying that's what this year they're four.

[Biz Nasty]

LA is going to beat Edmonton in four.

[Ryan Whitney]

You, Keith, another thing, the day before the game, because Merle's brought up Monty G. And I was waiting for this. I knew this would happen. No, he saw him and I knew it. And right away he said, you.

[Paul Vincent]

No.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yup. Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

So we were standing there and I saw Merle's wit, Yan's talking to him. And I looked at memes. I'm like, no, do I say something? Do I walk over? He's like, you gotta. So I took one step towards them and he's like, you.

[Ryan Whitney]

That.

[Keith Yandle]

This is the guy that was calling for my job in Boston comes over, like, throws me in a headlock talk. He's like, you. You were calling for my job. And, boss, he's the best. And I'm like, I'm so sorry.

[Paul Vincent]

He.

[Keith Yandle]

He could tell. He put me on my toes. And I'm like, I'm so sorry. I. I didn't. I didn't mean to. And he's like, buddy, I don't give a. You got a job to do. I'm just with you. I don't care. And then he's walking away, too. And I'm like, coach, we. We miss you in Boston. And he's like, no, you don't. And I'm like, yeah, you're right.

[Paul Vincent]

He. I think I heard it from Merle, or maybe it was. Was. Yanzu told me he did mention something to you about, like, one element of the story you told was wrong, where it wasn't a rift between him and Sacco at all.

[Keith Yandle]

Well, no, that's not what I said. And I think that was kind of taken out of context. All I said was in the. In the summer, when they promoted him from assistant coach to associate head coach, that. That there was a conversation that was like, hey, Monty's contract might not get done. We're nowhere close with Monty. So if that contract does not get done, you'll be our next Guy. People took that as, oh, Monty's. Monty's the guy. He. Monty's on the hot seat. Sacco's the next guy.

[Paul Vincent]

That's not what I'm like. His guy's kind of like, mowing his grass essentially behind his back, knowing that he's going to take.

[Keith Yandle]

And he did say that. He's like, you kind of put Sacco in a tough spot there. And I'm like, well, not really, because I think that was a conversation that the Jacobs and Sacco had that was taken out of context, out of what I said. So all I was saying in the end was that Monty was nowhere close with his contract with the Bruins, which I proved to be right about once again.

[Mike Grinelli]

He wanted to make sure. He's like, Sacko was the most loyal guy. That's what he was saying. He's like, he's the most loyal guy. He wasn't trying to go.

[Ryan Whitney]

He really is.

[Keith Yandle]

He's awesome.

[Mike Grinelli]

And then that whole staff, at that same time, that whole blue staff was around Otter and all these guys, they.

[Ryan Whitney]

Got a. Oh, what?

[Paul Vincent]

What. Who. Who's Otter?

[Ryan Whitney]

Like, Otter shows up. He's got his beard. He's. What did you say to him, Keith? Like, he just. It was the. It was the brightest blue you could ever imagine. Just from his neck to his big toe, just blue. It was ridiculous. Coach and Monty, they looked like they.

[Biz Nasty]

Were like a extermination team going into, like, a. An office building to just, like, smoke out some turtles. Unbelievable.

[Ryan Whitney]

Monty looked like the girl who blows up as the blueberry and Willy Wonka in the chocolate factory. Like, but she doesn't listen to Willie. It was so good. It was so good.

[Paul Vincent]

I know we mentioned all the moves that Armstrong had made. I mean, that's kind of, in my opinion, the biggest one. Like, Monty is just such a motivator. And you've seen these clips of the way he addresses the team. And you. You saw it, too, in Boston, and the way he's able to have that quick impact. It seems like all the guys are bought in and they're drinking his tea right now.

[Mike Grinelli]

It starts right at the top. You already talked about with army, and then Alex Steen was down there with us. He's mucking around. And that's a guy that just has the ultimate respect of the whole hockey. Mr. Players, everybody, like, so it's just a great organization to see right now.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. St. Louis, three points out of the second wild card spot. Pretty cool to see. They're going, they're buzzing around. It's awesome. Last thing I kind of forgot to mention from the live show, I brought up Glenn Healey, who helps us get so many guests and such a great guy important to us. We were able to present him with a check for $25,000 that we've raised or donated to the alumni association, and hopefully that continues able to do that more than just one time. But I think he was appreciative and he talked a lot about what. What it means to be able to be an alumni and to look out for your fellow teammates and players that you went through the same. Same things with. And because of that was it. The next night, we went to the event at the House of Blues Biz. That was awesome that all of us knew Chelos was throwing on something and they came over to support us. So we went over to support them. It was great. We ended up on stage. I think There was about 50 players there. Got a picture in front of the cup. I touched the cup for the first time. Well, I touched it when I was like, 10 years old. That was a big mistake. But we were able to, like, get with all the guys. John Ham was up there.

[Paul Vincent]

He was laughing like a WWE heel. He had a couple cocktails in him and was, like, trolling all the Blackhawks fan. But I think it just goes back to. To getting Glenn Healey on and, you know, us as younger guys, becoming a little bit maybe more aware of what, like, former players are going through and what these guys actually do for the alumni. Like, right. Currently, right now, I'm wearing a Kelly Chase jersey as well. He's, you know, battling through cancer and, like, he's an absolute legend. And these guys do so much for their fellow brothers and. And. And the brotherhood of hockey. So we want to bring more awareness to the NHL alumni. And I think in just talking to heels and. And Chelos and Junior and. And Wayne especially, like, Wayne's so involved with the alumni because he wants to help out as well. I think the goal is just like, with where the state of the game is at right now and what these franchise values are at. And it goes back to the Glenn Healey interview. I think they're trying to basically create like, a fund or. Or get like, all these past players health insurance and just like a.

[Ryan Whitney]

A little bit of Merle.

[Mike Grinelli]

I cornered. I cornered Healy in the. In the basement of that theater when you guys were up there on stage trying to get the. All the alumni some health insurance and stapled and just thought it was hilarious. He's like, I hear Merle's talk about all the time in a pot. I didn't think he was serious.

[Paul Vincent]

I think there's con the work right now with like the NHLPA and the fact that there's, there's rumblings that they're going to settle and, and get a new CBA figured out because everything is just so healthy and actually ink it a little bit sooner than the, the time that it expires. So if like Gary Bettman and the owners and the PA were able to like set up some type of fund in order to help these past players who have paved the way for these new guys and new wave to make, you know, 14, 15, $18 million as these years are coming up, I think that that would really like, like solidify Gary Bettman's legacy as a commissioner to get the league to where it's at, but also then pay homage and, and give back. And like I said, Glenn Healey and all these former players have really led by example like Wayne and, and Shelley in order to, to set, set it up so those guys would be potentially possible to get that. So I hope it happens. Guys like the state of the league is amazing and I just wanted to shed some light on that and also shed some light to, to Kelly Chase, who's battling for his life right now and he's done so much for past players, so he deserves all the love and, and praise for that as well.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, no doubt. Well said by you. And I know things haven't gone great for the Hawks, but Taylor hall, longtime friend of my mind, and he was nice enough to come and sit down with us. So we got Taylor hall and Cam Fowler this episode. He came over to the barstool office, sat down with him, sat down with Pat Maroon, sat down with Cam Fowler. So I think right now it's time to throw it over to Halls before.

[Paul Vincent]

We send it over to him. Should we not talk about maybe where we the next Winter Classic should be like, I'm like just looking about what's happened with the state of the game and kind of like what the last conversation was about how the league is growing. Sidney Crosby and OV have have kind of taken the torch and ran with it the last 20 years. They've brought so many new fans and created so many great memories. Why not do a Winter Classic in Pittsburgh or Washington next year with those two guys headlining it where we the TNT broadcast have it. So Wayne's going to be there anyway. Get Mario Lemieux in the mix. OVI at that point would have probably already set the Goal record. Crosby, by the way, he just passed Mario Lemieux as the all time assist leader in Pittsburgh Penguins history. Guys. So the. The fact that these guys have carried the torch and lived up to every expectation, would that not be the ultimate Winter Classic for next year?

[Ryan Whitney]

I agree, but apparently through the rumor mill, I'm hearing it's Florida, it's going to be in Florida. So I biz, I'm with you, buddy. There needs to be one more. I mean, who knows how long this is going to go. And I think it would be in D.C. because I feel like Pittsburgh's had had a bunch of them. But I biz I am 100% on board with that. But everything I'm hearing is Florida, Boston. So I don't know what that.

[Keith Yandle]

Would that be stadium series, Wick? Cause I was here in Florida. Would be stadium series in Miami?

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, maybe. Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

The retractable roof.

[Mike Grinelli]

There was a lot of rumors going around. I heard Tampa, I heard Fort Lauderdale, I heard Orlando. I heard all sorts of rumors this week.

[Ryan Whitney]

Biz, I'm with you though. And speaking of Crosby passing, Lemieux is the all time assist leader for the Pittsburgh Penguins. If Sid continues to go on and on and do what he's doing, which is just not slowing down, he will end up holding the record of the most assists for one franchise. Do you know who currently holds that record?

[Paul Vincent]

Probably still. Wayne with Edmonton?

[Ryan Whitney]

Nope.

[Mike Grinelli]

Steve?

[Paul Vincent]

Nope.

[Ryan Whitney]

Wow.

[Biz Nasty]

Eastern Conference or Western?

[Ryan Whitney]

Eastern.

[Biz Nasty]

Raymond James Bork.

[Ryan Whitney]

Raymond James Bork for the Boston Bruins. So I think Sid at one point will end up breaking that record. And just what he's done and the fact that when he came into the league, Mario said, I remember he said, he's gonna break all my records. And everyone's like, well, no, he's not. You're just being a really nice guy that owns and still plays for the team. And he's also living with you. And he's actually doing it like it seemed like a throwaway comment just to really pump up this prodigy that's coming into the system. No, he's actually gone on to straight up do what Mario said he would do. So just incredible to see that. And the Pens are humming along. The Pens are humming on. Biz, what do you got?

[Paul Vincent]

Before Halsey, did you see Sid's dad getting emotional in the crowd?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, that was awesome.

[Paul Vincent]

You don't really see him get interviewed or talk much. He kind of hangs out behind the scenes. You know, he's not this crazy hockey dad. He's just a hockey dad who loves his son and supports him through and through. And I just thought it was a very special moment and you could just tell how much, how happy he is that his son has been able to live out his dream the way that he's done it and just supported his kid the way that you should. So I just wanted to shed light on Sidney Crosby and everything he's done for our game because he's an absolute fucking G. Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

And I think probably his dad, like three Cups, Olympics, everything that we've talked about. But you realize at some point, like it's, it's, it's coming to an end and, and you're watching this, this kid, you've watched it, he was 4 years old. Dominate every single time he's on the ice. And then these records come and these championships come. But there's definitely moments of reflection. I think for players it's when you retire. But for parents, near the end of a players and their son's career, it definitely probably hits them in, in different ways. Right. And so to see like, Troy was always around, he was always at practice, so friendly, nice guy. And just to see what his son has done, like he's lived up to everything and there's definitely got to be moments for him like, holy. Like what's actually happened is beyond my wildest imagination. So amazing for Crosby, amazing for the Pens.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah. And, and one other thing too. We didn't mention the TNT broadcast. We got to get Bill Murray on. I don't know if you guys ended up seeing.

[Ryan Whitney]

I, I didn't see it. I was flying. What was he like?

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, buddy. It was like Robin Williams. Like, like the jokes were coming and like it was. Would take like 10 minutes to land in my brain. Like him and him, Wayne and Shelly were just snapping it around. So it was just surreal. And then the next segment, John Ham's on there. So just a star studded hour preview show to the Winter Classic. And I, I had a blast. And just a surreal moment for me getting to meet Bill Murray because I mean, you got, you got. I mean, Caddyshack's probably one of the best sports movies of all time. What. What's the other one? What About Bob? Was that.

[Ryan Whitney]

What About Bob is awesome.

[Paul Vincent]

That's, that's one of the most undercover films of all time too. So that was, that was pretty sick.

[Ryan Whitney]

So Biz dominated Bedard in a matchup. And that's a former first overall pick just a couple years ago. And we had another one on Taylor hall who went into what's going on this year in Chicago and how he's talked to Bedard about dealing with being first overall. So I think it's a good time to throw over to him now. Guys, time to talk about DraftKings. Before we go any further, I want to talk to you about it being the most wonderful time of the year for getting in on all the hoops, the football and the hockey action at DraftKings Sportsbook. In the season of giving, we're being gifted. College football and basketball, pro football and basketball, and pro hockey too. Almost 24 7. There's so many games every day and there's so many opportunities to place your first bet. Try betting on something simple like picking a team to win. Go to DraftKingsportsbook app and place your bet. And here is an amazing gift for all new customers. Bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets. If your bet wins, just a simple little five dollar wager. Hit the win. Boom. $150 in bonus bets and all of a sudden you're ripping and rolling, building that account up. So download the DraftKings sportsbook app and use code Chiclets. That's code Chiclet. C H I C L E T S for new customers to get 150 in bonus bets. If your bet wins. When you bet just $5. Happy holidays from DraftKings. The crown is yours. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler in New York, call 877-8-Hopeny or text hopeny 467-369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas. 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void. In Ontario, bet must win to receive reward. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance.

[Mike Grinelli]

For additional terms and responsible gaming resources.

[Ryan Whitney]

See DKNG co Ice. It's an absolute pleasure to be joined by a good friend of mine. Right now we're in Chicago. Winter Classic coming up. My old roommate, Taylor Hall. What's going on, Halsey?

[Taylor Hall]

What's up, boys? Thanks for having me.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, thanks for swinging.

[Paul Vincent]

When was the last time we had Halsey on?

[Ryan Whitney]

This is probably his third or fourth time. I'd say, gee, you'd know better. But I'm gonna say it's been a while. You were on the Bruins when you're on last.

[Paul Vincent]

Okay, so he'd already won his MVP.

[Ryan Whitney]

He'd already won the MVP. MVP award. 867 games, buddy. 2018. So it's been just. He hasn't been on since 2018. Holy shit. We're coming up on seven years, Halsey. We just said 867 games. You're now older than I was when we met, and I was old. Balls to you when we met. So. Do you realize now how quickly this has gone?

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, but, you know, I think you probably felt that you didn't feel that old at the time.

[Ryan Whitney]

Like, now I do.

[Taylor Hall]

I don't feel that old until, like, we come back from a road trip, like, last night, and I have to put on the shinnies and play. Like, I felt pretty old this morning. But, no, like, talking to the guys and being around the team, I don't feel old at all. But looking back at, you know, how old you were and just being around all you guys now, I'm older than. Than. Than you guys were. It's different, but I'm still having a blast.

[Ryan Whitney]

What's. What's hard is. Or not hard, but you. You probably could tell guys, like, hey, enjoy it. It goes by so quick. Like, it's been this long for me, and. And if I'd said that to you, you'd be like, all right, buddy, whatever, and it. But you just want to be able to tell kids, like, just enjoy every day. But it's so hard to listen when you're that young. For some of the young guys on the Hawks with you, it is.

[Taylor Hall]

It's different. Like, I remember all you guys saying this. It's gonna go quickly, you know, and then it's like, bam. I can't believe, like, five years or seven years since I've been on this podcast.

[Ryan Whitney]

I know. That's crazy.

[Taylor Hall]

Just nuts. It really does fly. And I'm at the point now where I'm, like, pretty grateful. And I. You know, I look back on a lot of really good times, and I'm just enjoying my last few years here and trying to make. Make the best of it, have as much fun as I can, and, you know, hopefully my son can see me play and understand what's going on. It's. There's a lot more to it, and, you know, I have a lot more gratitude and perspective, and maybe it's because you guys were always saying that to me back. Back in the day.

[R.A.]

Yeah, it's got to be special, too. Like, when you were a young kid, first overall coming into the league, and then now, like you just said, you have a son. I'm sure he's coming to the rinks, seeing the guys, like, just. I couldn't imagine that. You know, I had daughters, so they weren't really interested. But it just must be amazing to coming to the rink and how the guys treat your kid and stuff. Must be fun to see.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, it's. It's awesome. It's one big family, right? And that's the. That's the thing that's special when you. When you can play and have your family experience it. You know, the Winter Classic coming up, My. My wife's family, my mom's coming in, all that stuff. It's like, yeah, we want to win the game, we want to play well, but there's a lot more that comes with it, and just trying to enjoy that as much as I can.

[Ryan Whitney]

Is this your first one?

[Taylor Hall]

No, I played that one at Fenway in. Yeah. So Fenway and Wrigley is two pretty awesome Winter Classics.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. Pasha was in the middle of the outfield, legit snuck onto the outfield. He was, like, over on the Green Monster, like, right in New Jersey Devils in the back of the wall, like. And all of a sudden we got.

[Taylor Hall]

Oh, he's a big Devil fan, right?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, he's insane.

[Paul Vincent]

Biggest jock sniffer in the world, dude.

[Taylor Hall]

I remember he was pumping the Devil's tires a couple of years ago, and. And you're just like, no, I don't want to hear about it.

[Ryan Whitney]

We still are doing that. And they're like, unbelievable. I don't want to hear it. You've ruined the Devils for me.

[Paul Vincent]

I feel like you guys had a pretty, like. Like a veteran group in Boston. Like, how has it been for you, like, coming over and maybe having to take on more of, like, a. Like a mentor role. I would imagine that one of the reasons they got you, you were first overall Bedard and kind of just helping mold him into a. To an NHL player.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

You know, there's. There's not many people that have been through, you know, what he's been, what he's going through, and I'm one of them, honestly. And I played in Edmonton, which was a different market than Chicago, but it's a, you know, hockey craze, and there's a spotlight on you, So I know a little bit what he's going through, and we. We chat about it, and we. We talk about everything. He loves football. He loves sports. He's a sports nut. And, you know, he loves hockey and he loves working out and all that stuff. So there's just different things that, you know, we talk about, and I try and mentor him and to go back to your point about the Bruins, like, those guys were such good leaders, and they did it in a way that I hadn't really experienced before. Like, it wasn't like Hardo, like, yelling at you that it was like, be yourself. Be, like, the best version of yourself. And. And we're gonna support you in. In doing that. And. And everyone does that. We're gonna be the best team possible. So that's kind of my philosophy. And. And I learned a lot from those guys. It was amazing to. To play with them and not just play with them, but also, like, have beers with them and see them away from the ring, see them with their families. It was. It was really cool.

[Ryan Whitney]

I remember right when I met you, like, you could tell how passionate you were about the game and. And that age you were. You'd take things home, and, like, after a bad game, you'd be so down on yourself, and you probably realize now that it's, like, wasted energy. But when you see Bedard, I'm sure this. He's similar. It seems like he's so intense that. Have you. Have you been able to tell him a little bit, like, dude, it's. It's so hard. It's easier said than done, but just try to, like, forget the bad games and. And move on to the next one.

[Paul Vincent]

Marathon aspect.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, like, the. Yeah, it's so long.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, we've had little conversations about that, and I also just try and, like, if I have a bad game, like, there is that tendency for me to want to go back to that and. And really be pissed off.

[Ryan Whitney]

You would get so mad, dude.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

So, yeah, I still have that part in me, so I can't be like that around these guys.

[Paul Vincent]

Right.

[Taylor Hall]

Like, you got to just be a pro, and you got to come back the next day and do your. I think that's the biggest thing. But, yeah, it's hard because there's. You got to understand, like, where he's coming from and the shoes that he's in. There's so much pressure on him. Everyone has a TV in their fricking pockets now, and they can see what. What he's doing every night. So there is that. Like, you have to understand, like, it's. He wants to be the best, but I think he'll learn as. As he goes on, developing other interests. Just getting away from hockey when he's away from the rink is huge.

[R.A.]

You think it's harder for a kid nowadays, like, because when you came up, you had all that hype about you.

[Paul Vincent]

But there was no, social media.

[R.A.]

Yeah, the social media isn't what it is now. You think it's harder for those kids because I would imagine it's hard for them to not see it.

[Biz Nasty]

Right?

[R.A.]

Like, yeah, like I. I was lucky. I didn't look at anything but I. As my career went on, it seemed more and more that the kids were looking at everything.

[Taylor Hall]

So yeah, I mean, when I played in the ohl, you could barely see highlights of your own game. And now like you can watch your kids games on live barn and like every replays on YouTube right away. Like he watches his Regina Pats buddies like every, every night like, and he knows how they're playing. Like. So it's just there's so much information and I think it's important that these. Not only that, but I'd like to hear you guys thoughts. But with the Instagram reels and tick tock, it's like you got to be motivated. You got to be disciplined. This diet, I feel this way when I have this diet. Like we have this one guy on our team and we all love him, but he's 21 and he wears a.

[Ryan Whitney]

Whoop like Jesus Christ.

[Paul Vincent]

I slept 89% last night. Got to get that extra 11 this afternoon.

[Ryan Whitney]

They were an old sponsor. Are they still a sponsor? Okay, I'll say this about the whoops. I wore one because they were the sponsor for a while and I'd wake up and I'd feel horrible and it'd say I slept perfect and then I'd feel great and it said I slept awful. I'm like, I can't be doing this anymore. It's making me feel worse than I do because I'm seeing the number.

[Taylor Hall]

I know. And just save that till you're like 32. And you really need to like get an edge.

[Paul Vincent]

Like you think, you think the over information is fucking with the younger generation a little bit.

[Taylor Hall]

I just think that it's okay to like make mistakes and have fun and like play around with stuff and like get away from it, get away from the game. Like, I'm saying this now because I've had experience and I know what it. I've been in those shoes. But yeah, there's just so much available to them now. It's, it's kind of, it's. It's a lot.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's. It's also turned into where you're talking about the Instagram reels with like the skill stuff. And we talk a lot on the show about, I don't know if you've noticed, like hockey iq. It's like, it's just like dipping a little bit where the skill's going up and like sometimes you're like, oh my God, that kid can do everything with the puck. But then like to make a decision at a, at a high pace is like not as easy. And I think Instagram and all that stuff does have a lot to do it personal skill coaches, like, did you have one of those growing up? No, it's just you were around on the ice, the candle and trying things.

[Paul Vincent]

I know.

[Taylor Hall]

And then you see all this stuff and you're like, I got to be doing that. Like if they're doing that well, I'm, I'm sitting at home, you know, I'm being lazy. So. Yeah, I never had skills coaches until till now. Yeah, I just think like, I don't know if it's tick tock hockey out there, but I see the leading scores of the league every year now and it's like the same guys every. No one really like gets up. It's like the, it's cooch, It's Nate, it's Leon, it's Connor. It's like, you know, you got Jack Hughes up there and he's a great player, but it's like the same guys every year. And I, I thought the league would get younger and younger and younger, but it seems like it's kind of getting older a bit right now.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's a good point. It's been for, for four or five years now. The same five to six guys.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

And at some point when that switches, it will be weird like who the next generation is. I mean, I, I guess like with you in Chicago, like it's, it's been a struggle to start the year for the team. So is it, is it on you and on the older guys to stay positive every day? That's what you're talking about? Not bringing it into the room? When you say you have a bad game.

[Paul Vincent]

I thought you even like the, the comments after you got health bombed, like you were pretty. Like, like I want to say laissez faire, but you were like, yeah, it's definitely a low point for me.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, that sucked.

[Ryan Whitney]

The health bomb thing is the worst feeling in the world.

[R.A.]

Is that your first 60 in a row?

[Taylor Hall]

First, yeah. And I, I didn't agree with it. And there was just no communication.

[Ryan Whitney]

They didn't even tell you right.

[Taylor Hall]

Well, there was just like, hey, you know we're expecting more from you. Like nothing. It was just like, hey, you're not playing. I was like, okay. And Anyways, we. But maybe that's the kick in the butt I needed. Listen, I had a whole year off last year and like, sometimes you come into the year and you're fully healthy, but like you're, you're still not battle tested. Feel like I am now and feel like I've been playing, you know, really well since the. Our new coach came in and all that. So I'm happy with where I'm at. To go to your point, like, as veteran guys, it's important for us to be positive, but at the same time, like games like last night in Buffalo, we're down 4 nothing to start the. Start the game.

[Paul Vincent]

And they did have the goat head jerseys.

[Taylor Hall]

What did you do?

[Ryan Whitney]

Tweeted the Blackhawks just played the worst period of hockey in the NHL I've ever seen. And I played on the 2010 Edmonton Oilers, which I think you were on as well.

[R.A.]

But you also flew in day of the game.

[Taylor Hall]

It was just really bad. It was.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's a game where you're saying, hey, if we play hard and we lose 4 to 2 with an empty netter, it's like we're, we're. We're.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

We didn't even fucking. We didn't give ourselves a chance. Right. So that's, that's the standard. Right. We're not. I don't know if we're like a playoff team, you know, with, with the, with our roster, but we got to be a team that competes and plays hard and at times we have. And when we do, like we go into Minnesota, we lose four, three, they score an empty net goal. We. We played hard. Yeah, that's going to happen. They're. They're looking to win, you know, their division, all that stuff. So that's where we're looking to go. And I think that's. That's really imperative at the start of a rebuild like this is to kind of instill that in your guys and your younger guys the ethic and just a little bit of a standard. So that's, that's where I see my role in this. And I, I'm having a lot of fun being that mentor guy and in this stage. Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

What's the new coach like? I mean, obviously, like, there's big different messages coming, but was he like, offensively, we can try more things like that or did he have any sort of exact game plan?

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, so I. He's got an interesting career path. Like he started out as a, like a skills coach, development, and then he worked with Rockford as their development Coach. Then got an assistant coach in Rockford job under Derek King, who's our assistant. So now he's the head and Kinger's the assistant. So he's. And he coached in Sweden. He coached Pasta Nylander.

[Ryan Whitney]

Just skill coach. Right.

[Taylor Hall]

I don't know if he was skill or if he coached them actually at, like, a team.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay.

[Taylor Hall]

But. So he's kind of seen, like. And, And I think that it's important for coaches nowadays to kind of, like, coach kids to understand that generation a bit.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

How to communicate to them.

[Taylor Hall]

If you're, like, a really old. And there's nothing wrong with the older generation, but you need to connect with them. You kind of need to understand these kids because they're much different than, Than even we were, you know.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

So you, so you notice it in the locker room where, like, even the way that, like, the things that they joke about, like, from when you came in the league. And just the way that they carry themselves, like, I don't want to use the word nerdier, but just, like, so much more reserved, I guess. They're.

[Taylor Hall]

In some ways, they're smarter. Like, they're so quick, like, and they have slang for, you know, everything. And, And I think. I don't think they're nerdier. And they're. There's definitely, like, a difference in, like, like, going out and approach to the game, drinking. Like, it's not like a drinking generation, like, but they like to have fun and they like to joke. Like, it's just. I, I. It's probably the same thing that older guys said about us when we were younger. Like, I guarantee they're like, these guys, they're so dumb. Like, blah, blah, blah. And look at you guys now. Like, we're doing all dumb.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

Still dumb, but we're still doing okay. I don't know.

[Ryan Whitney]

I do think, though, yeah, we thought we were, like, ripping it up. And, like, the older John LeClaire Mark records are like, these pussies. They don't even. You should have seen us in the 80s.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, no doubt.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's just different now.

[R.A.]

Who's your. Because I remember going to dinner with you and Whit and Ebbs and Edmonton. You guys had a great crew.

[Biz Nasty]

But who's.

[R.A.]

Who's your crew here in Chicago? Going out on the road.

[Taylor Hall]

We. I usually go with Jonesy Fliggy. Patty's been to a couple. Jason Dickinson. We've had a crazy road schedule to start the year, so there's been. There's been a lot of dinners. We had rookie. We had our rookie dinner in New York a couple weeks ago, which was great.

[Ryan Whitney]

It was a Tuesday joke.

[Taylor Hall]

They. So Fliggy makes them go on like this huge, like scavenger scavenger hunt. And they had to do it around Times Square. So there. And they had to take videos of everything. Nothing bad, but just like.

[Paul Vincent]

Is it like a team building thing?

[Taylor Hall]

Just the rookies had to go do it for.

[R.A.]

Oh, take a picture with Spider man or something.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, they had to like challenge someone to a sprint in Times Square.

[Ryan Whitney]

Like a. In the middle of Times Square.

[Taylor Hall]

I don't know about that, but yeah, that's fun.

[Ryan Whitney]

I. I think that the team though it. There is going to be a bright future because I see the Nazar kid, Frank Nazar. I think that defenseman Kinski, I think he's. Is he in the minors right now?

[Taylor Hall]

No, he's up.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, he's super skilled, so there's definitely prospects there. Like, at some point this team will. Will figure it out. It's just about getting on the right path.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, I think we actually have. Which is really good there. We have a lot of Demon. We have Lev Shun off in the AHL right now.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

Pardon?

[Ryan Whitney]

Has he been called up yet or anything?

[Taylor Hall]

No, I think they're just letting him season and he just got drafted and he played one year at college.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

And Nolan Allen's a young kid who's like a beast defensively. Vlasik, that kid's good. He's really good, man. Trust me. And like he. They signed him to a nice ticket. Like, he's.

[Paul Vincent]

Bedard was raving about him.

[Ryan Whitney]

So I saw a tweet that said they. They played him. Like they signed him to a deal for like a number four demon. And since he signed, he's been playing 25 minutes a night.

[Taylor Hall]

Dude, he's really good. Like, he's huge. When this team becomes the team, it's going to be. He's going to be a huge, huge part of it because he can do everything. So they're. That's what I'm saying. Like, they're building it from the back out and I think that's a really good way to do it.

[Ryan Whitney]

He played at bu, I think.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, bu.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, yeah.

[R.A.]

That's what they did when they went on. They had Seabrook, Keith, John Wilson, Bufflin. Oh, do you know Johnny Oduya? Like, they built from the back end and then you had a couple home runs with Kane Taves.

[Taylor Hall]

And I think that's where teams go wrong is in the rebuilds they, you know, have all these forwards, but these guys, you need to build from the back out.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think who, who's a team that you've played against this year? You're like, fuck. Like, this team, this team brings it. Like, that was a hard night. Besides Buffalo, the day after Christmas, Sabres.

[Taylor Hall]

Are a buzz saw.

[Ryan Whitney]

I don't know if you've noticed one team that you're like, oh, dude, that team's going to be right there.

[Taylor Hall]

It's funny, we played Florida at home and they beat us three. No, I think we won.

[Ryan Whitney]

You beat them too. I remember that game.

[Taylor Hall]

But they play such a playoff style. Like, they don't, they don't waver at all throughout the regular season. I was so impressed with them. Like, you'd think that they're coming into us, we've been struggling and they would, you know, try and make plays all night. They just like dumped it in. They forechecked. They played so gritty and hard and that's why they're going to, they don't have to change their game when they get to the playoffs.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. We were chatting last night. Would love your opinion. Because we don't. We have no idea that scoring's down this year. Like, and enough where, like when we're, when we're betting on games, like the over under is always six and a half. Last year now all the games are five and a half. Do you think, can you think of anything in particular?

[Paul Vincent]

Another thing that was weird too is goalie's save percentage was down too.

[Taylor Hall]

There's not as much shots.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. So is it just teams kind of like playing better defensive hockey and, and.

[Paul Vincent]

Like we always say it's a copycat league. So do you think that people saw the success that Florida maybe had and how they shut things down and play more physical and limit shots? Like, do you think that maybe everybody tries to mimic that or like, what do you think the reason is for it?

[Taylor Hall]

There's been a few changes in how teams are playing their D zone now. Like a lot of box plus one. So like teams always have their demon in. Like a demon in front.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

And a lot of teams have gone to a man on man, but there's like handoffs that can happen in certain areas.

[Paul Vincent]

Like a hybrid almost.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah. It's like, it's not straight man on man where like a Ford will be following a guy around all over the ice. It'll be like handoffs. So Boston had a pretty unique D zone system where their center would have to go like board to board and they would always have a D man in front. So I think teams are kind of copying that. And shots are down, but like you said, save percentages is. Is down too. So I don't know. And PKs, penalty kills.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, they're getting ripped apart. I think that right now, like, if you look back at the history of the NHL, if it stands, there's three of the worst penalty kills of all time right now.

[Ryan Whitney]

Really?

[Paul Vincent]

Detroit, right now, the Islanders. And then there's one other team that are in the 60%. And I mean, we're talking about close to 40 games into the season here.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

Like, you think that the Islanders and like the way that they play and how, you know, defensive minded, quote unquote. Maybe not the way things that were supposed to go for them, but. Yeah, I was just going to transfer it over to maybe like more happier times. Obviously this is a rebuild. You're not winning as much, but we haven't had you on since your time in Boston and I think you went all the way to the Stanley cup finals, Game seven.

[Biz Nasty]

Or.

[Paul Vincent]

No, you were not on that team. Okay, that was in the notes. Sorry. Against Florida. Sorry. That. Yeah, just your time with Boston and how much you enjoy that Halsey.

[R.A.]

How was Ray Bork?

[Ryan Whitney]

How many sick passes did animals give you? You were there, right?

[Paul Vincent]

Were you there with Camilly? Blew out his knees. It's just fun.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, he was on the greatest team.

[Taylor Hall]

Laughing about, oh, yeah, that's right.

[Paul Vincent]

That's what happened.

[Ryan Whitney]

The one thing I remember about that series, and I'll never forget is MARSHAWN BREAKAWAY Game 5 to end the series. It was like.

[Paul Vincent]

And.

[Ryan Whitney]

And everyone thinks he's gonna bury that goal. Oh, God.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, that was. That was tough, man. I really think that we win a Stanley cup if we get through Florida there. And I don't know, it just the way things. That's hockey sometimes. And we. We played really well in game five. We. I think we outshot them 40 to 20 or something like that and. And they sneak out a win in overtime. Our goalie, Olmark, who's a really good puck handler.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

You know, kind of muffs it and just the way it goes sometimes. And then it's just like when Connor said last year, like, we'll we drag him back to Edmonton. Like, we got to go all the way to Florida. We got to play there. Like, it's actually a pretty good playoff atmosphere down there now, like when you go play the Panthers.

[Ryan Whitney]

So six was crazy too, wasn't it?

[Taylor Hall]

It was like seven. Six or six. Five or something like, you know, and, and then game seven is, is anything. It's. That was really hard. And I think as, as I get older, that'll be harder and harder because we have, we won 65 games.

[Ryan Whitney]

We had that regular season must have been so fun.

[Taylor Hall]

It was insane.

[Ryan Whitney]

It was nuts. Like, everyone, I was like, at some point they're going to slow down. You never did. And the craziest thing about that year was that every back to back, you guys won, you win the back end of the back to back. I'm like, how is this team doing this?

[Taylor Hall]

We had so much depth and like, we didn't have a ton of injuries. Like, I got injured a bit, but. Because no one had to play a lot of minutes. Yeah, no one. And we were up in games all the time. We weren't like grinding out these games on the road in like Columbus or something. Like everything was pretty easy. So that's why it would have been nice to get through that first round and play Toronto. That would have been so fun to stud goalies too.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, I was just going to. Is that the first time in your career where you maybe feel like you didn't have to be the guy?

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

You know, you were in New Jersey obviously carrying a big load where it felt like you went there, you signed a, a pretty team friendly deal based on what you accomplished. I know there was a bunch of rumors that you turned down some massive contract. I think we were the ones spreading that in New Jersey. But you go there, you signed a nice team friendly deal and like all of a sudden you have all these different guys to snap around with.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, that was, that was really fun. And I just felt like I was at a stage in my career where I should prioritize winning. And I also wanted to go be around a culture like that. And I think that that was going to serve me well throughout the rest of my career. But just, you know, in general, I wanted to go somewhere where I could just be one of the guys and kind of learn and have that, that winning experience that I wish I had earlier in my career. So I'm very thankful for, for everything the Bruins did for me. I love playing there and I love that city. Like, there's something about you Boston guys and just the culture and like your sense of humor, everything, it's. It's a great sports town.

[Ryan Whitney]

So we're watching the World Juniors now. It's around Christmas time and you were on. That was it this Saskatoon game that. It was unreal Team Unreal Gold medal game. That Carlson scored.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Who from that team besides, like, you and Ebbs? Who else was on that team that's playing Cadre?

[Taylor Hall]

I think Jake Allen was our goalie. Petra. Angelo.

[Ryan Whitney]

You lit it up that tournament, too. Was that before or after you got drafted?

[Taylor Hall]

It was my draft here. Yeah. I had a good tournament. That was fun playing in Canada. World Juniors. That's. That's the best. I can't believe they lost yesterday.

[Paul Vincent]

Everybody's going crazy online.

[Ryan Whitney]

We're done.

[Paul Vincent]

Jesus. Everyone's like, the 51st state lost.

[Ryan Whitney]

Armstrong was given a State of the Union on Hockey Canada earlier today.

[Taylor Hall]

Oh, my God. Well, if. If Gretzky's prime minister, he'll turn that around.

[Paul Vincent]

That one's been floating around.

[R.A.]

Team will be buzzing.

[Paul Vincent]

Trump. No, not the smoke.

[Ryan Whitney]

I wanted. He asked him before he tweeted that. I'm like, trump didn't ask him.

[Taylor Hall]

There's no way.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, yeah. Bergeron. You got to see his last game. Obviously not the way, like, what was it just, like, playing with him and hanging out and, like, just like, the ultimate team guy. Unreal player.

[Taylor Hall]

He's. He's, like, perfect. Yeah. He's always dressed well. He's got his hair done, like. And he never, like, messes up anything. He says everything. He's. He's so nice to everyone, but also, like, you know, firm when he has to be as a leader in the room. That's what I'm saying. Like, being around him. Marshy Cratch, you know, even McAvoy, younger guy. Carlos Pasta. Like, so much fun that, you know, that we had away from the rink, but also when it was time to get serious and, you know, there were no better pros than them, so. But, yeah, Bergie. I'm sure Bergie will be a GM or something.

[Paul Vincent]

No, he's in the content game now. Woody was working with.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. He does a show. I think they're doing four or five in this year with him.

[Taylor Hall]

Chuka Raskin, where they're watching the games.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yes.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, I saw him doing that. I was kind of surprised.

[Ryan Whitney]

He was great.

[Taylor Hall]

No, I know. He'd be so. He's good at whatever he wants to do. I just. I didn't think that that was the way he was going to go initially.

[Ryan Whitney]

I know. Neither did I. But I think he's probably just figuring it out. Right?

[Taylor Hall]

I guarantee he's going to be in management here. Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

I would guess. Yeah.

[R.A.]

Did you guys know it was his last season, like, going into that even playoff series? Is it? Spoken about it all, like, hey, let's do this for Birgi. Or is it just kind of.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, I. I never heard anyone say. But I think we all knew that Cratch was done after the year. Crutch always say, I'm done after this year.

[Ryan Whitney]

Really? Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

It's one of those guys, like, after a tough game, man, I'm done after this year.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

But I think. I think we all knew then. That's what. That's why it's so hard, you know, to look back and. And know that we didn't get the job done.

[Ryan Whitney]

How fun was it to go out and have some beers with Pasta, though? We've done a golf match with him. Dude, that guy, like, Julia never had a bad day, buddy.

[Taylor Hall]

Golfing with it.

[Paul Vincent]

Well, we golf with them, all right. We golf with him. The day of the skills comp in Florida, he was gooned up. I don't think he knew it was the day of the skills comp. I think he thought it was the next day.

[Ryan Whitney]

Really.

[Paul Vincent]

Him and. Him and Fiala.

[Taylor Hall]

So the morning. And then he had to go to the skills.

[Ryan Whitney]

And one of them. I think you're right. One of them's like, I can't believe we have skills competition tomorrow. And like, the guy. The other Fiala is like, it's tonight. We have to go to the ring.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

Before they went over, we had 10.

[Ryan Whitney]

Shots of pink Whitney on the front nine.

[Taylor Hall]

Dude, pasta's the most fun to have beers with him and Jack Eichel. I. Jack's also my favorite to go have beers with. But pasta. Yeah. Never a bad day. Makes you feel like, you know, you're the man when you talk to him. It's just one of those guys that, you know, he's a special individual. And. And you know, me, Smitty and Fliggy, we played with them there. And we. We talk about pasta all the time. Just. Just a legendary guy. And he's such a sick player, too. Like, he doesn't even. Like, he doesn't even have to try. It's so effortless. Like, what he can do and how he can shoot the puck. Like, he takes like 10 one timers a year in practice. And then in the game, he just like, rockets rock.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. I feel like it's so natural to him because he definitely works hard, but it's just like this skill level he has. It's so easy.

[Taylor Hall]

So talented.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. So when you look back at our time in Edmonton, like, you holy. Remember some of the guys remember. Remember Horizhuck?

[Taylor Hall]

He was my. One of my Roommates.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Remember he tried to, like, sell us things and, like, he was always selling.

[Taylor Hall]

So he's a. What are they called in. In Thunderbird there. He's a Thunderbird.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He does a lot of those down there. I think he owns like, 15 condos where he just, like, fix them up himself.

[Taylor Hall]

He was trying to sell me a PJ last time. Shock.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, I'm all. I'm all good. He's like, I got a car too, if you want to drive. This thing's got 10,000 miles on. It's brand new.

[Taylor Hall]

You just rolled back the odometers.

[Ryan Whitney]

Remember how mad Steve McIntyre was at me?

[Taylor Hall]

What did you.

[Ryan Whitney]

When I was.

[Paul Vincent]

He wanted you dead. You.

[Ryan Whitney]

I was like, yelling at him to stop singing. Remember he was singing at. Where'd we get the burgers after.

[Taylor Hall]

Oh, deluxe burger.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, Deluxe burger. And we had the party there and he was singing. I'm like, shut up, Mac. And then he lost his mind on me. Then I went down to the Miners. He was trying to murder me. I was changing. He'd get on the ice and I'd sprint to the bench. I was like, I thought we were joking around, buddy. That guy hated my gut guy.

[Taylor Hall]

He. He had a. He had a mean streak.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

Remember him fighting Derek Boogard three times at Madison Square Garden?

[Ryan Whitney]

It was crazy. I was like, remember he knocked out Ivan is.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah. My first game.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yes.

[Taylor Hall]

My first NHL game. You could hear it like the.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, that was. That was that.

[R.A.]

I was a scary dude.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, like the pop. Like when you handshake somebody.

[Ryan Whitney]

I still think Eberly's goal is the best first goal in maybe NHL history.

[Taylor Hall]

It was sick, man.

[Ryan Whitney]

That was so nasty. We won that night. I was like, we're gonna make the playoffs.

[Taylor Hall]

We won four nothing. They were a playoff team that year.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, they were. Yeah, they were. That was a fun time in Edmonton. Even though we were horrible, man, I.

[Taylor Hall]

Look back and I had a lot of fun, like, being around you guys hemmerwise.

[Paul Vincent]

Did you. Did you guys make playoffs one year when you guys were together there?

[Ryan Whitney]

God, no. You did.

[Taylor Hall]

Not even close.

[Paul Vincent]

Not even. Okay, so you guys.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, I'm talking Christmas.

[R.A.]

Didn't you guys hang out at the mall and, like, you used to go.

[Ryan Whitney]

To the shoot guns at the mall? There's a gun range at the mall, remember?

[Taylor Hall]

Remember we had our year end party? We rented out the water park at West Evanston Mall. How fun was that? And we just. We just had races down the slides for like six hours.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, we'd go like, get an AK47 and you'd be in the mall. Give me the pistol. Awesome. Go to the water park now.

[R.A.]

Let's go to el.

[Paul Vincent]

You guys were single? That would hang out just.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. No.

[Paul Vincent]

Why didn't you get a. A truck with your name embroidered in the headrest?

[Ryan Whitney]

Because I was a pigeon. But I'll never forget Everly and Halsey get back. They got trucks with number 14 and four in the headrest. Oilers logos, colors. Rice guys. Oilers colors.

[Taylor Hall]

Dude, we.

[Paul Vincent]

They.

[Taylor Hall]

They had us sign like, the glove box and they, like, auctioned those cars off.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, they did? Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

That was the whole point. So it's not like we trash in there. It's not like we asked for that, dude.

[R.A.]

It was for Hoarder Chuck.

[Paul Vincent]

Trying to make a. Make a buck.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Hordie bought it and then resold it. Yeah. So what's up in the summer now? Like, where are you? Where's your home base? Have you built a house or.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, I bought a place up in Muskoka, so I.

[Cam Fowler]

That's great.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

On the lake from Ontario.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah. Yeah, there's. There's quite a few of us up there. We can actually have a skate now. Yeah, that's what I got in Bracebridge, and they built a new rink there, so it's actually sick. I put a gym in and so I have a sport court and all the.

[Paul Vincent]

So you just train on your own when you got your. Your program?

[Taylor Hall]

I train on my own. I have my own program that someone gives me. Andy O'Brien, Nate and Sid's guy. And then, yeah, a couple times I actually sea dude over to Bo Horvat's place. And then he lives five minutes from the rink, so I just go with him. So it's. It's kind of fun.

[Paul Vincent]

Imagine Marner's there. Is JT there?

[Taylor Hall]

JT's there. Marner's up a little bit, but he didn't skate with us much. Matthews came and skated with us a couple times. Henry come on tour. Kevin Ball, the McLeod kid from Buffalo. It's a good skate.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

It's more than enough. But Muskoka is great, man. It's.

[Ryan Whitney]

We went in the winter, we. We did a pond hockey tour. Evenhurst, Gravenhurst. Is that.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, I'm 20 minutes from Gravenhurst.

[Ryan Whitney]

And it was sick. And then all the people up there that were hanging, like, you gotta come in the summer, like it's. It. But even in the winter, it was awesome. We had the Boston Pizza on the.

[Cam Fowler]

On the.

[Paul Vincent]

On The.

[Taylor Hall]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Remember that?

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah. What do you, like. What do you do there? Other. Just hang out on the lake. Like, do you go. There's like, one Akita Bala or something. What's the name of the bar there?

[Taylor Hall]

It's like a concert venue more than a bar.

[Paul Vincent]

Okay.

[Taylor Hall]

So you go watch shows there, and then Port Carling's like, the kind of the town in the middle of Muskoka, and they have some bars and restaurants and. But you don't. Like. You go to lunch here and there, but mostly you just hang out at your place, and that's where you're at now. There's enough to do.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah. Just chill and have the family up.

[Ryan Whitney]

So Stetson Halls, 15 months. Like, what is. Are we. Are we gonna start trying again here soon? Like, do you know how many kids you want to have?

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, I don't know. Like, two or three.

[Ryan Whitney]

Or three.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah. Yeah. We're gonna be trying here soon, and. Yeah, man, I. I don't want to be, like, 45, still having, like, a kid, you know?

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah. I haven't even started.

[Ryan Whitney]

My wife's like, let's have some more. I'm like, I'm turning 42 in a month. I'm gonna be. Literally. People are gonna think I'm the grandma. Grandfather at high school graduation. Yeah. Oh, that's nice, you to see your grandson graduate. That's my son.

[R.A.]

Oh, man.

[Taylor Hall]

You got three now, and you want to have more?

[Ryan Whitney]

I'm done.

[Taylor Hall]

You're done?

[Ryan Whitney]

I'm done. I'm just gonna do a secret, get snipped.

[Taylor Hall]

That's what I. Yeah, that's the play.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

She's like, what's happening here? Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

I think we'd love to have three and hopefully a girl at some point and kind of have both and try and play as long as I can.

[Ryan Whitney]

Play as long as you can.

[Paul Vincent]

Right?

[Ryan Whitney]

So you'll be a guy that they got to just. You just got to get no contract, like Pat.

[Paul Vincent]

Like, Patty just. I don't think I'm gonna run out there. No.

[Taylor Hall]

Patty can move pretty good.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, right. Your nose gonna be as big as mine, you keep lying like that.

[Ryan Whitney]

Once he gets going, he's moving those first few steps.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, yeah. Before the game last night, he's like, I'm hoping to get over 22 miles an hour tonight, boys.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah. Yeah. I don't track all that.

[Ryan Whitney]

I don't know.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, they track everything now. It's. It's not even. It's not fair.

[R.A.]

I used to take that little chip out of My jersey.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's in the jersey?

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

It's in the jersey, yeah. Who was telling me that? They. They just mess her. I think it's. Caprisoff would go put his in like someone else's on his team.

[Paul Vincent]

Like somebody who can move to make him look good.

[Taylor Hall]

Just to make him look.

[Paul Vincent]

That's unreal.

[Ryan Whitney]

Not to put you on the spot here, but who's a guy in the league right now, not. Not a superstar that we're talking about that you're like, this guy's nasty. Like, maybe a name that, like, some people wouldn't know that you've played against, but, like, Jesus, guy's got game.

[Taylor Hall]

Come back to that. Okay, think about it.

[Ryan Whitney]

Because we always used to talk. You loved watching hockey. You'd watch so much. You still watch games on the nights off.

[Taylor Hall]

I. I've kind of stopped watching as much. Just there's so much, like, going on and, like, I think I overdid it back in the day. Like, watch too much hockey and. And took it home with me too much. So I just, like, I'll watch a period. If I see on my phone that a good game, you know, a good game's maybe going into overtime or something like that, I'll turn it on. We're at the rink all the time and like, NHL networks on the TVs all day long. Like, just to think about a player that nake. Nate Chest looks unbelievable down in Carolina. We haven't played him this year, but.

[Ryan Whitney]

We interviewed him a couple weeks ago. Good guy, too. Yeah, he's. He's big, too. Big kid, too. He was telling us he grew. Remember he said he grew like 7 or 8 inches, like, in one summer or something. Really? Yeah. And kind of just took off. Yeah, the game's in a great spot. Like, I love watching the game. I know what you're saying, though. When you're playing, dude, it's like, oh, my God. Like, I gotta shut my brain off right now.

[Taylor Hall]

You know, we played Calgary the other day, and that Connor Zeri, he had the puck, like, the whole game. I don't know if you've ever watched.

[Ryan Whitney]

Is that the kid who lit up the AHL the past couple years?

[Paul Vincent]

No, that's their goalie who won. Like, I think he was AHL player of the year, but he's been up. I think he was up majority of last year. He's taken on a set. I think when he first broke in, he was on the wing, but he's been playing center and getting used to that position. Probably nice that they Got Kadri there, too, but he's. Yeah, he's really developing. And he's a. He's a gamer. Too shy, away from the physical play.

[Taylor Hall]

He was good player.

[Paul Vincent]

Very shifty.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

Very shifty. Yeah.

[Taylor Hall]

That's. That's one guy. And that caprice off, man, Paul, he's.

[Ryan Whitney]

He's insane, dude.

[Taylor Hall]

So not, like, he's obviously amazing, but his details, like, of his game, like, if you watch him, like, he's boxing, like, he's getting. He's getting skin for his demon when they're going back for pucks. Like, he's doing all this stuff that like. Like, he's.

[Paul Vincent]

You're saying, like, a little bit of an interference, Give his demon.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, like, split second. Yeah, he's doing every, like, everything perfect on the ice. Like, literally. I didn't see him mess up a play.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, he's. He is so fun to watch, too.

[Taylor Hall]

He's unbelievable.

[Ryan Whitney]

So you're 30. You just turned 33.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

And hopefully you play four or five more years. Like, have you thought after. Like, would you ever want to coach? You probably made too much money to do that. Gm, like, you ever thought about it or something where it's like, I'm playing right now, I'm not even considering anything.

[Taylor Hall]

I don't know what I want to do. And people are like, well, you should, like, really think about it. I'm like, no, I'm.

[Ryan Whitney]

Those people are full of.

[Taylor Hall]

I'm like, well, that's the whole point. Like, I don't know. Like, I'm not just gonna say I'm gonna do something because I. Like, there's a lot of time and, like, my kid gets older and he gets into hockey, and maybe I just want to be a hockey dad or.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yep.

[Taylor Hall]

You know, like, you guys have dream jobs. It seems like I don't know if I want to work in hockey or not. Like, yeah, I don't know.

[Ryan Whitney]

I know.

[Taylor Hall]

I just really want to take it year by year and see how I'm feeling and see how I'm doing. And maybe I just want to be, like, a hockey dad that plays a ton of golf and sounds really nice, enjoys life.

[R.A.]

I don't know, even, like, coaching your kids and like, that. Like, giving back to the game. Like, you're one of those guys that, you know, the hockey needs you. Like, you're a type of, like, even coaching your kids, how much that will mean to them and the other kids on the team. Yeah, it'll be. I think that could be even a thing where you could Fall in love with that and just loving it. But the game needs you in some sort. Just helping out at some point.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. And I don't think you need to like, go right into hockey after you play. Like, if you're a good hockey guy and you've made friends in the game and you're smart, like, you can take three, four or five years away from hockey.

[Ryan Whitney]

And I think you're crazy if you retire and don't take a year to do nothing.

[Taylor Hall]

I think you should. That's my. You know, I think it's great. Like, you've been doing this for so long. Why not just go like travel, Travel.

[Ryan Whitney]

Golf, like, and gain a bunch of weight. Yeah, yeah, I know. Just eat, watch football. Yeah. Like, this is nice, man. Yeah, I'm a normal human now.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, I kind of had that last year, actually.

[Ryan Whitney]

I had to read what happened last year.

[Taylor Hall]

I did my acl.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, yeah?

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah. So I had to rehab, but I got like a year off hockey. So mentally that was kind of nice.

[Paul Vincent]

And hopefully like reset for you.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah, hopefully reset for the last part of my career here, so.

[Ryan Whitney]

Well, you look great, buddy. I appreciate you coming by. It's, it's. I'm very thankful we get to know each other and play together. I had a great time. Yeah. Congrats on all your success, man. It's really cool to see. So we appreciate it.

[Taylor Hall]

Thanks, boys.

[Paul Vincent]

Thanks, Halsey.

[R.A.]

You're the best.

[Ryan Whitney]

Guys, before we go any further, I need to talk to you about Sport Clips and how to look good and how to get a haircut that you're proud of and you're happy to show off and all of a sudden compliments are coming left and right from men and women. How does your hair look so good? Oh, I went to Sport Clips and if you're tired of playing the waiting game when you want to get your hair cut. I feel you. I feel you. It's tough. You don't know where to go, you don't know who to see. But guess what? Sport Clips has a game changing feature on their app called the Haircut Tracker. No more awkwardly sitting in the waiting area like a bench player biz while you watch other people get their hair cut. The Haircut Tracker lets you cut to the chase, track real time wait times and swoop in right on time for that fresh cut. It's like having a personal assistant for your hair right in your pocket. So grab your phone, download the app, and always know where you stand. Sport Clips, it's a game changer. Thank you so much to Taylor Hall. Awesome guy. Crazy how he talked about how quick it's gone for him. Right. And seeing and appreciating things now that he didn't earlier on. So hopefully the Hawks could turn it around. I don't know what's going to go on there, but another Hawk made the news a little bit randomly. I kind of saw it on Twitter, maybe on December 30, the day before. And in that Jonathan Toews is not kind of dismissing the idea of somehow, some way making a comeback, maybe way. Yeah. And I saw this quote, and we didn't even know if it was, like, real or not, but I figured it was because I saw Christopher Stieg had reposted it on Instagram, and it was just a. A message from Taves. Like, I. I don't know what's gonna happen, but I'm not.

[Keith Yandle]

Wait, I have the quote right here.

[Ryan Whitney]

Actually.

[Keith Yandle]

It was from an interview with gq. It was. There's a part of me that doesn't really feel like my career is over yet. And who knows what this next part of the journey will look like as far as getting back on the ice and trying to make a return to the NHL. There's never any guarantees in life, but I'm going to give it my best shot. And he said that in an interview with gq.

[Paul Vincent]

I'm going to text him as soon as we're done recording. Imagine getting to document his comeback.

[Ryan Whitney]

Like I thought you were going to say, I'll train you because. Did you see me with Bedard?

[Biz Nasty]

That's what he's saying. Did you see me on the ice with Bedsy? I'm still pretty good.

[Paul Vincent]

Dude biz.

[Ryan Whitney]

I remember mentioning to you, because I knew you. You knew Taves a little bit. And I said, what are the chances, like, he could come on Chicago? You're like, I've talked to him. He's not, not, not ready yet. Not.

[Paul Vincent]

I think he's not ready because he's like, he just said his story's not finished. I think he's not done his hockey career. Imagine a. Imagine he comes back and resurrects the Chicago Blackhawks.

[Ryan Whitney]

I. Oh, no. It wouldn't be there. It wouldn't be there. It wouldn't be there.

[Paul Vincent]

No, you wouldn't.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He's got to move on. He's got to get on the ice, which I assume he's probably going to start doing. And his post last year, when I think he. Or last month, he went to India and let everyone know, like, what he's doing for his body and his mind and all the health issues he's had. And hopefully he's feeling better. I believe he wrote he is. And he's just on the path to becoming healthier and happier. And now maybe get on the ice, start skating over the summer. You're on the ice. And it would maybe be something where he gets a PTO somewhere. A PTO to a contender. Merles. Is that what you're kind of saying?

[Mike Grinelli]

You know where he goes and just makes everybody so upset because they add him at the very end. Oh, money. Vegas, baby. Vegas.

[Ryan Whitney]

This year he ends up.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah, why not throw him on there? They always. They always add everybody at the end.

[Taylor Hall]

Wow.

[Ryan Whitney]

If he went to Vegas, dude, I was more thinking going to Edmonton next year, playing with McDavid in Leon. That's just where my mind wanders.

[Keith Yandle]

I think Utah would be the perfect place for him.

[Paul Vincent]

Utah?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

What the g. Why Utah?

[Keith Yandle]

Because I don't think there's a lot of distractions in Utah. It's a nice, peaceful.

[Paul Vincent]

What do you mean? Have you not seen the Housewives of Salt Lake City? What do you mean? You watch.

[Biz Nasty]

That show's incredible, dude. The.

[Paul Vincent]

That they do.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's.

[Biz Nasty]

It's insane.

[Paul Vincent]

Okay, so I'm hearing that it's the craziest housewives. What makes it the craziest housewives?

[Biz Nasty]

Because, like, obviously they're supposed to be Mormon, right? You think? I know nothing about the Mormon religion, but, like, you'd think it's a proper. Like, they are getting after. They don't, like, drink or anything. Their big thing is, like, drinking soda. They get, like, drunk off of, like, drinking soda and. But then they just, like, sleep with everyone. Well, it's insane.

[Paul Vincent]

Yes. I'm moving to Utah.

[Mike Grinelli]

Get a place in Utah.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Basically buy a place, little compound. I've actually seen, like, start a cult. So biz, you kind of first introduced me to soaking and. Because I think you wanted to name Utah the soakers. Or maybe that was Merle's an army.

[Mike Grinelli]

It was the game notes. Chat.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, Game, no, chat. Well, now, I didn't know about shakers that go with the soakers.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

So apparently, apparently your horn goes in and then you can't move around. But then they get people to come shake the bed really hard. So that is like the movement or somewhat replacement for penetration.

[Paul Vincent]

So, like, I believe they call them loopholes. They're. They're. They're sexual loopholes, Joffrey. They're sexual Joffrey loopholes, where, like, technically it's just sitting there soaking where the other people are creating the motion. So technically you're not the one having sex. This is how, like, that's kind of like mentally fucked up, isn't it? Like, just pound.

[Ryan Whitney]

You think?

[Paul Vincent]

Just pound. I don't know.

[Ryan Whitney]

I don't know if this is the spot for Jonathan.

[Paul Vincent]

That's how we got there. Oh, fuck. I would like to see him with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, no way. No way.

[Mike Grinelli]

We almost made it the whole podcast without the Toronto Maple Leafs.

[Paul Vincent]

Where. Where would you. Okay, you said Vegas. Where would you want to see him? Yance?

[Biz Nasty]

I. I think. I think Vegas would probably be the. The thing that I could see most likely happening. I'd like to see him probably.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah.

[Biz Nasty]

Toronto. Let's go.

[Paul Vincent]

Toronto. Right, you guys take a hike, boys.

[Ryan Whitney]

Take an absolute hike. Well, another original six team because Taves with the Hawks. Bedard is the Detroit Red Wings, guys. And poor Memesy, his squad, the Wings, things have not improved. They've actually gotten worse. And last year we saw this incredible run. Those games against Montreal, one point they missed the playoffs by. And you're thinking, all right, next year they're coming. It's the Atlantic Division. Viagra, Triangle, Buffalo Auto, Detroit. Somebody's doing something. Maybe two of them are doing something. And the Wings have gotten off to a disastrous start. And because of that, Derek Lalonde is fired in Detroit News. He's gone. Feel bad for him. One of those kind of. I don't know, it seemed like the energy and then the excitement and the team, it was just flat, like, similar to how the Rangers look, where it's just like, oh, we're getting nothing here. And my thing about Detroit, and you can biz, you can go into this in a sec, but I love Raymond. I think you can win a Stanley cup with Raymond. I love Larkin. I think you can get a cup with him. I love cider and Edmondson. I think in the next few years, you're going to see true studs. This Axel Sandin Pelica is going to probably be the guy who's running the power play in Detroit when they become good again. So that, right, there's three really solid D. It's two great forwards. They don't have a superstar yet. They don't have. They have. Raymond and Larkin are right here. But there's a level of player in this league up here. And because of that, because of them not having that, that is what's really holding them back. And. And I Was arguing with a Wings fan at sluggers, actually, who was just randomly living in Chicago and going to the game. He's like, I don't know, man. No, I said, buddy, show me all these cup champs. Show me Tampa with Kucherov and Point and Stammer. Show me Edmonton getting to the finals. Leon and McDavid. Show me Vegas with Eichel.

[Paul Vincent]

Like, what was the last Stanley cup team to win a Cup that didn't have a true superstar?

[Keith Yandle]

St. Louis, 2019.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, I mean, I would. I would call, but I would call Petrol. Like, the way that he played.

[Keith Yandle]

O'Reilly played like a superstar, that run. But I. I would say they didn't have, like, a legit guy.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay. Fairness. But they had. They had. They had like, seven. Raymond and Lark.

[Paul Vincent]

Yes. Yes.

[Ryan Whitney]

Right. Like, okay, so if you have. If you have a bunch of those guys that are, like, top. Just. Just beneath the top tier of the NHL, but Detroit just. It's not the depth and, and it's going to take. It's going to take a long time. And I think Eiserman, the entire time, has realized and understood it's going to take a long time. And biz, he didn't really want to do the Strip it down, tear it down, be truly horrible. But now it's like the Wings fans are like, oh, I don't know about the eyes.

[Paul Vincent]

I don't feel like he got snippy during that press conference. He was more like. Like, hey, man, if you got a better idea, we'll add you to the round table and you can have an opinion kind of thing. Because he doesn't want to rush things. I would commend on the fact that, like, they don't have any bad contracts. He's not rushing the situation. Like, like, you know, to me, that's the biggest thing, right? Like, he. Like, you have those. Those four or five guys. By the time two, three years rolls around, if he's able to get this to somewhat of a contender, you have the highest guy being paid, what, Slarkin making nine. Maybe a little bit below nine.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think nine, two, five.

[Paul Vincent]

That's gonna feel like. Like, like six million. The way that the cap's gonna be jumping up. So I can understand the frustration on Detroit's fan side, but the way that he hasn't rushed this thing, I would say give them two more years, and if they haven't made playoffs, then maybe consider calling it a hot seat. But for now, it's just, you know, you gotta wait to get a few drafts in and See if some of these prospects end up turning into players. And it seems like going back to like even like 15 years ago, the way that the Detroit Red Wings handled things, they like to send guys and season them in the minors. Like, they want these guys to learn the pro game. All we've been hearing about recently is how rushed these guys are coming in. And yeah, they have some good skill set, but by the time game 30 rolls around and that maybe speed that they came into training camp with has dropped off a little bit, all of a sudden, the lack of hockey sense is really being kind of. How do I say it? Like, being exposed.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

And.

[Mike Grinelli]

And when you say two or three years, that'd be perfect because we've talked about cosa or casa, the young goalie, big goalie. But their other one is Trey Augustine, who's the U.S. goalie at World Juniors. He wins everything. He's at Michigan State now. They're the number one team in the country. So that absolute stud is. Is coming in the. Down the pipeline, too.

[Paul Vincent]

Love that. Yeah, love that.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, Detroit, it'll be nine years without the playoffs this year. They're not making it this year. I mean, what. So Buffalo's what it's going to be 14 years. That's not that far off from, from one of the worst droughts in pro sports. So I get the Red Wings fans frustration, and I actually remember last year as they turned it on me saying, like, the league's better when the Wings are good. And that's all I knew growing up. That's all any of us knew, is the Wings being right in the mix every single year. I, I want them back in. The fans want them back in the league wants them back in for revenue. And it's kind of coming to the point where, God, yeah, next year it would be 10 years man, without the Detroit Red Wings playing for a Stanley Cup. Shocking to see, but we'll see what happens. I feel bad for Newsy. Great guy. When he came on the show, he was very complimentary after, I think most coaches are, but he was talking a lot about, about their young guns and what he sees in the future. What do you got?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Biz Nasty]

Do you think he's one of those guys? And I think this all the time in, in the, in the NFL when, like these defensive coordinators or offensive coordinators, when they get a head coaching job, they're not. Not to say they're not as good, but they're. They just don't have the. They don't have the. What's that you don't, they don't have.

[Ryan Whitney]

The head, the head coach vibe. Keith.

[Biz Nasty]

Yeah, like, he, like. And I heard he's. And I heard he was an amazing head coach too, but I heard as an assistant he was unbelievable. Like really dialed in like good with the. You think some guys are just fit and no one's ever going to say no to a head coaching job. Right. If you're offered it. But do you think he's a guy that's almost fit, better to be an assistant? You guys know more than I do.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah.

[Mike Grinelli]

Like a specialist. Like he, he. When he can just focus on the D and the penalty killing or something instead of having to worry about managing all the coaches. I mean, you saw with that St. Louis, there was nine guys out there for the coaches pitcher.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah. The only, the only like thing I saw online was when I'm drawing a blank on the new coach, McClellan. McClellan, like he had his first practice and it was over an hour and it was the longest practice they'd had all season. Now mind you, normally over the course of the 82 game season, like a lot of teams are only skating for like 40, 45 minutes. Keep it high tempo and off the ice. But when you have like a younger team who hasn't made playoffs, like I feel like you should be having a couple hour, 15 minute practices where you're digging in your battle, drilling like the whole rest in. The rest is a weapon. I get it. But I mean the Calder cup championship team I was on, like we were fucking working our dicks off every fucking practice. And like, I mean even when you were in Pittsburgh, wit like Crosby and Malkin and those guys, like they were pushing the pace. Yeah. You had your flow practices in your 40, 45 minutes and get off, but you also had ones where you were. Everything was below the dots and it was like battle your dicks off. Like the way it's actually going to be in a hockey game. Yeah. And you can speak to it too.

[Biz Nasty]

Yeah, it is. I think it's changed so much now. Like you'd be shocked that like if a practice goes over 30 minutes nowadays, it's really a rarity. Yeah, it's, it's calmed down way, way less than when we were playing. Yeah, I think for sure that you need, you need some. I mean rest is a weapon, but what are they resting for?

[Paul Vincent]

Like, that's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. You're not even a. It's going to be 82 and then you're Done. You might as well teach these guys summer. What's that?

[Biz Nasty]

Rest for the summer?

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah. Like when you're good, that's when you get the 20 minute practice.

[Ryan Whitney]

Correct.

[Mike Grinelli]

Colorado, you get 20 minute practice.

[Paul Vincent]

So. And that's not the chirp chirp Newsy. I don't know what the philosophy was if it was like the rest of the weapon mentality, but I'll tell you this, if I was in that coaching seat, I'd be having battle drills every day like this is.

[Ryan Whitney]

And it's almost getting guys so pissed off that they're just like, I can't wait to play this like these practices. But it's like.

[Paul Vincent]

And I won't even change something. I'm not trying to be a Sutter and be like, like a hardcore dick about it. To like almost turn the guys against you to galvanize. If they had a problem with them, they can come in the coach's room and say like, hey man, like we're, you know, we're practicing a little bit too hard. I'd say shut the upper. I say win some hockey games and we'll have some 20, 30 minute practices.

[Biz Nasty]

And then. And then he can say, which he got his 600th win last night. He can say, hey, listen, you want to win 600 games, we're gonna practice hard. So congrats to him on that too.

[Paul Vincent]

Nice.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. Todd McClellan, actually, when I was on Pittsburgh and we lost the cup final, so I believe 08, he was the assistant for Babs and that was the point in his career where it was like, this is the next guy.

[Paul Vincent]

Right?

[Ryan Whitney]

This is the next guy. And it was San Jose, I believe, went from there, had a lot of really good teams there. He was in Edmonton, got the playoffs. So Todd McClellan's a guy who's been around a long time and I think LA like it. It was more the complaint of the system they were playing. Probably him realizing to have any success with that roster, they had to play so defensive. But that's a guy that Eiserman's known from his other time in Detroit. And it all comes full circle. And now he's head coach of the Wings.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, I think that there was like a, a tweet or something about the, the playoff droughts that McClellan has ended for their organizations when he stepped in as head coach and, and I mean, it was only a couple years ago, I think it was you talking about how he was the front runner for the Jack Adams and then they ended up losing like 10 in a row with The Kings. And then he was the first guy fired. Like, he went from being the front runner for Jack Adams to not having a job.

[Ryan Whitney]

He got Merles. He got Merles.

[Mike Grinelli]

I didn't bet it. I didn't bet that one. But I talked about it enough.

[Ryan Whitney]

On the opposite spectrum of the NHL right now, there's some teams lighting it up. Marley's squad is unreal. The Vegas Golden Knights are doing something right now that, that they're making look easy, but is very difficult. And that is just running over teams and coming in depth. And they look exactly like the Vegas team who won the cup two years ago. And they're firing on all cylinders. Merles, what have you seen biggest, biggest factor in, in this dominance? And maybe one thing that you could be worried about when you're looking at one of the best teams, if not the best team in the league right now.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah.

[Mike Grinelli]

So I got him at 181 to win the Cup. And right now, right now on DraftKings, they're down to 12 to 1. So I'm happy. They just look bigger, stronger than all these other teams. When I'm watching, they're healthy. I was in an argument with somebody at Sluggers last night about it. They're like, yeah, but they lost in the first round at Dallas. I'm like, yeah, but they were all injured. They were all out of shape because they all went on that ltir for the last month of the season. Hurdle couldn't even get around the ice. Cause he was so tired by the end of that series. So if they can stay healthy and in shape like they are now, they're going Eichel, Hurdle, Carlson. And then when Roy or Kolasar on those fourth line centers, there's nobody I, I, I want more. I, I love.

[Paul Vincent]

I would imagine probably one more like, like a, like a top six winger. That's probably what they're looking for at the deadline. I feel like they've solidified their back end. Like I, I, I like. You feel like they trust their goaltending. I know Aiden Hill's like, been there, done that and won it. Do you think that they need a little bit of help in the goaltending front? Maybe like a third valve like when they had quickie.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah. Sometimes when the Hill, like, he, he gets me nervous. He, he looks like he's on rollerblade. Sometimes in the games he gets out of the net, he's sliding around. But like you said, he's already won it. But he just has to make the easy saves because that Theodore Petro Hannifin. Hey, like these guys are just, they don't give up anything. It's easy to watch them, it's easy to bet on them because they play such a solid game. It's, it's. I love them. I love that.

[Paul Vincent]

You would have to imagine they're eyeing one more winger for that, for that Stanley Cup.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, tapes.

[Paul Vincent]

I mean we talked about that. Is there any other names that come to mind of guys coming up on deals where you think that they could add in order to put themselves over?

[Ryan Whitney]

You know who's, you know who's gonna get, you know who's gonna get a hall is, is Grandland and San Jose if they don't resign them. And, and they did work with San Jose last year getting hurdle. Maybe that's a guy that they're looking at. I don't know though, because what I see though is Merles was morals. You were ranting and raving to me the other night when we were talking Edmonton in Vegas and that, that what will be that second round matchup. I believe Eichel's at a different level. Eichel is, is. He had a, he had a year in Buffalo with 82 points to get another 78 point year. He's had so many injuries. I think now it's like, oh my God, he's got his cup, he's healthy, he's happy in Vegas and you're seeing dominance. I mean he's gonna smash, knock on wood, stays healthy, smash his all time career points high. He's leading that team. Merles, you said every. Because you don't miss a Golden Knights game. You said every shift he's creating scoring chance.

[Mike Grinelli]

There's a chance every time. And then this like stone, he doesn't look like he's good, but he might be one of the best players. Like he's always where he needs to be. He's unreal. He finishes everything. He's got that big giant stick pick. Those guys are buzzing. Yeah, Eichel's just flying. He's faster than everybody right now. And, and if you remember back when he was what number two pick to McDavid, there was talks of like, of, of one and two. Like these guys are pretty similar. And now he's finally looking like that level.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, he's in the flow state right now.

[Ryan Whitney]

He's just feeling, it's just crazy to live somewhere where you're that happy and then have the cup. So that takes off like all this different pressure and, and it's like we talk the off ice happiness truly matters. And he's just finally, like, not finally because he's been dominant before, but this year, it's. It's something else. It's something different that we've seen from him, maybe in the run to the cup, in the final that you saw this, but now it's like, holy. Like every. Every shift he's dominating. And then what we talked about Detroit's goal and. And Edmondson and Cider and. And Papelica, the Swedish kid, if he comes over and turns into the player. We think they have three dominant defenses. Like, you got Hannifan, you got Petro, and you got Theodore. And it's wild. And we. We talked to Camp Fowler. That'll come up in a couple minutes. And he even mentions, like, Theodore. Like, they knew he was good, but they didn't know he was this good. And he's grown into just a dominant force on another ridiculous contract for that team. So Vegas right now, they are set to do work again. And it does suck that them and the Oilers are going to have to play in the second round. That's a kick in the dick. That should be the conference final. So going to the other thing, the other side of the league, back to the Stinkers, back to the Bums, back to the disappointments. We're back to New York City and the goddamn Rangers. Guys, I. I think it's.

[Paul Vincent]

I think last in the metro right now.

[Ryan Whitney]

They might be a lottery team. By the by, by this all being said and done, Shusterkin's now on the ir. The only thing they had, Shusturkin. Kreider's getting scratched. It's like, holy. Guys, have you. Pasha and I were saying, have you ever seen a team pretty close to the Stanley cup fall off like this?

[Paul Vincent]

I didn't like my prediction from last year. At the start of the year, with them missing playoffs and Shusturkin getting fed up with what was in front of them, we should have just played that clip for this year. I would have been bang on. This has been. They've fallen off a cliff. They went from fucking winning the regular season to the fact that you said they're probably going to be a lottery team. They got no mojo going right now. At this point. You got to think that the relationship with Kreider's fractured and he's going to be out of town. They're going to maybe move off of him and then a few other pieces. This might look like a completely different roster from the team that won the President's Trophy two years removed by the start of next year. This is fucking nuts.

[Ryan Whitney]

Has Mika been scratched yet?

[Mike Grinelli]

He got moved off the power play, that's all. He was a good head.

[Biz Nasty]

That's worse than getting scratched. If you're Shusterkin and you know, you know they trade Truba, they. And what if they trade Kreider? If you're moving on from these guys and then you just sign a, a huge deal on a team that is looking different than when, you know, you came into the season. Are you pissed off or.

[Ryan Whitney]

So I, I think yes. And, and there's probably like, oh, my God, like, what are we going to do? Grinelli giving him credit? You made the point to me, like, you could turn it around pretty quick there. I think if you make some of the right moves, because guys would love to sign there. They would. It's the New York Rangers. Like, you're getting free agents now. I don't think you could build now. You don't really want to build through just free agency. But if Drury makes some correct moves and really they can get this thing turned around because of Shusturkin, I think now it's all about who are we trading?

[Biz Nasty]

Who do we. Who do we.

[Ryan Whitney]

Who have we decided is a part of this? Is it only Shusturkin? Is every other player, like, open and available? I mean, Lafrenier has just been signed. Probably not him. He's young, you've seen the skill. But he's been brutal since his contract extension. Trocheck's a, a, a beast. He's like a guy you can win with. Maybe you want to keep him. Teams are going to be calling for him after that. I don't know. Do you ever look to deal Fox? He's actually been pretty solid, like, lately, especially even as the team sucked. I don't know. Now you see what will happen. But if the correct moves are made, I, I don't think that this could be like, holy, like the next five years, the Rangers are going to be trash.

[Paul Vincent]

I heard that Drury would do bad things to get J.T. miller. I keep hearing that. Rangers J.T. miller connection. I think it sucks that after last pod, when we recorded, which was about nine or 10 days ago, that the J.T. miller press conference the day after the game that Pasta said he wouldn't answer questions. He basically came out and said that I could ask Petey to come out here right now and we'd finish the interview together. So it seems like they've squashed that from a, like a, like a surface level for like the media perspective. I don't know how fractured it still is inside the locker room, but it seems like they're going to be professionals about it. But I. What do you guys think about that whole thing?

[Biz Nasty]

I think. I mean, I think Millsy, being a North American kid, like, he's answering more of the questions with that whole thing. And, you know, a guy that. He's a great teammate. I played with Mills. He's not. He's never going to say anything to the media and kind of throw his teammate under the bus. But whether there is something going on, who knows? I mean, there's always something going on with a team. There's 25 different type of, you know, personalities in the locker room. Not everybody's gonna.

[Paul Vincent]

Have you ever been on a team where it was that inflammatory? And do you think it's just that inflammatory because it's Vancouver? Like, have you ever been on a squad, Yans, where like, that. Like, that's happening?

[Biz Nasty]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. The guys don't get along. Yeah, definitely.

[Paul Vincent]

Publicly, where it's being talked about in the media, like, no, no, not public. Not even remotely close.

[Biz Nasty]

Like, something like, where people are talking about it. Like, they're not talking about it. You know what I mean? It's like the media, like, Mily, I think, said it. He's like, you guys are the ones talking about it. It's not us. So I think it could be one of those things where it could be nothing and they're fine, like he said.

[Ryan Whitney]

And just. Just quickly, I think it's, like, gone past the point of it being nothing and. And biz, I'm with you. Like, this being Vancouver, definitely, like, if this is another team, maybe any team in Canada, but another market, like, you're not hearing all the things we're hearing. But I think the point now is, like, all right, whether it's this year or in the summer, one of them is getting traded. Miller or Patterson. Pedersen's younger, right? So you think, oh, it'd be Miller. But then to see Alvine's quotes about Pederson, it's kind of crazy. He did a. A question and answer or sit down and. And he said, PD has shown up to this point that he is an extremely talented, quality player that could and should be a number one center. I believe in him. I believe that he's capable, but he needs to mature and understand that there are certain expectations and it does not get easier. And you need to face the music when things don't go well. Is a trade possible? I guess I would say anything's possible, dude.

[Paul Vincent]

I think that's well said. I think that's well said.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's wild to hear. That's wild to hear.

[Paul Vincent]

I think that's a public message to a player that you handed that contract over to saying, listen, everything to this point, fine. But if you want to be a leader and you want to get paid like that, and if you are going to be a number one center in the NHL that has any aspirations of listing a Stanley, lifting a Stanley cup, you have to have that kind of dog mentality and understand how to manage these types of situations. He has not shown that. That's why I was shocked that, that he got the number that he got. Because when you get a number like that, you're paying that. Being paid that high guy. You gotta be like a Crosby type or, or a guy who's like leading the charge in practice every day. You're the one eating all the bullets in the media. Like you need to be that type of guy. And he has not shown that he can be that player. So now at the fact that he said this, hopefully Petey doesn't read that and get poopy pants, where he goes the opposite way, where all of a sudden he's the first guy showing up every day to the rink, he's the first guy in line in the drills, he's battling his dick off in practice, and then that's going to transfer over to games. But if you're just going to think that you can just be a piece and then get paid that much and everything's just going to be smooth sailing, and that you're not going to be potentially up for trade, that ain't going to fucking work. And that's why the horse, that got.

[Ryan Whitney]

To be the horse.

[Paul Vincent]

And that's why I would assume if you talk to a lot of hockey people, they would say maybe, yeah, maybe Mills, he's a little bit too high, too low sometimes, and there's a bit of a wave to be. To be rode. But if you're thinking of winning a Stanley cup, you're taking J.T. miller over Elias Pedersen. Right now, I don't care how high end you think his skill level is, you're taking J.T. miller cause he's a fucking dog. Am I crazy?

[Ryan Whitney]

No, you're not.

[Paul Vincent]

Any hockey guy saying, see what you can get for Pederson. And, and let's. Let's build around JT Even though he's only got, what, three or four years left on that contract?

[Biz Nasty]

That's what that quote to me Sounded like they were be more willing to trade him than correct.

[Ryan Whitney]

And. And my thing is like, okay, if. If you do trade Miller, like, you thought the pressure was high before, dude. Now it's like putty. The guy that. That was stopping you from playing so well is gone. So let's see what you do now. And if you don't do it now, what. What's. What's the reasoning?

[Paul Vincent]

What.

[Ryan Whitney]

What now is incorrect? What now is happening behind the scenes that. That doesn't allow you to perform at the highest level. That is like, you want to see pressure, dude, get rid of Miller.

[Paul Vincent]

And people think like, we're, in some cases we might be looking too much into this. I feel like part of the issue stemmed where the relationship between JT and Pederson had been restored a little bit. I think there was a little bit of resentment of how Pederson was approaching kind of since that contract he got last year, especially going into playoffs, given the fact that they brought Edmonton to Game 7. If Pederson's playing at the top of his game and not like. I mean, you saw the. The video of him on the scooter in Vancouver, like, buzzing around and just kind of like he's off into space like a lost little puppy. Like, why, what are you laughing? If I'm J.T. miller and this is your opportunity to go for a cup and you've won the Pacific Division, I'd be pissed off, too. And tell him in the locker room, let's go. You. You got your money. We're trying to win here. No, you don't think that added scooters? What's that?

[Biz Nasty]

No scooters trying to win.

[Paul Vincent]

Do you think with JT, JT's mentality that that built up resentment towards Pederson, that whole situation come playoff time last year? He was invisible in playoffs last year.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, he was. And they were up three to two in that series. Crazy, crazy stuff.

[Paul Vincent]

He looked like Bambi out there. He'd get knocked off the puck like that. If you blew on him, he'd get knocked off the puck.

[Ryan Whitney]

And. And Vancouver right now, it's even scarier. Quinn Hughes is week to week. Oh, the most dominant. One of the most dominant players this season in the NHL is week to week and a team.

[Paul Vincent]

Team.

[Ryan Whitney]

A team in Vancouver who needs help on defense. And I think they were probably in the mix for our next guest. And instead of Vancouver grabbing another puck, moving defenseman to help, St. Louis went out and grabbed him. His thousandth game was the Winter Classic. He had two goals. Hell, of a guy. So right now I think it's time to go to Cam Fowler. The leading all time point score in goals, assists, points and game winning goals for the Anaheim ducks. Now a St. Louis Blue camp Fowler.

[Paul Vincent]

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[Ryan Whitney]

It's an absolute pleasure to be in Wayne Gretzky's basement right outside Wrigley Field getting ready for the Winter Classic. Interviewing brand new St. Louis Blues defenseman Cam Fowler. Thanks so much for joining the show, bud.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, absolutely. Happy to be here.

[Ryan Whitney]

We appreciate it and it's. We were just chatting beforehand, but a crazy thing for you, I mean, spent your whole career in anaheim. Drafted in 2010, I believe. Is that what it was?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Leading all time goal score, assists, points, game winning goals for defense with the Anaheim Ducks, but traded to St. Louis. How's it going? Was it hard for you to kind of hear that news and. Or was it more excitement to get. To get somewhere else?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I think it was a little bit of both. I mean, 14 years in one place, obviously I was really comfortable there, started my family, kind of grew up in Anaheim. So leaving that was. Was really hard. But at the same time, I think it was just time for a fresh start for me. I think just in my career and where I was at professionally, I think it was just time to turn the page and, and jump in with a new team, a new organization. So it was a little bit of both. I was really excited and then, you know, obviously sad and nervous because I had, you know, Created so many great memories there in Anaheim.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think for a while, your name had been out there, right, Like. Like a good. Really good puck moving defenseman, great contract. Was it hard for you the past couple years when your name was in the mix? Like, when is this gonna happen? Is it gonna happen? And you know what I mean, like, playing, it's. It's difficult to hear your name as in the rumor mill a lot.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I think, luckily, I. I got to a point where I could kind of tell what was real and. And what was fake. So even when your name's kind of being tossed out there, I. I think I had a pretty good idea of. Of where I was at still. So I don't think it really turned into something that became real until kind of this season. Honestly, like, there was a little bit of chatter, but I don't think anything really came up that was significant until this season. And then this season. I'd say it was a little challenging just because I knew there was a chance that something was going to happen, but I didn't know the timeline of it, so. So that part was. Was difficult, but I. You know, as pros, you just kind of have to block it out and. And try and do the best you can.

[Paul Vincent]

So this season was the first time you started hearing that noise a little bit more?

[Cam Fowler]

I'd say it was. Yeah. It was something that became very real. Where. To the point where, in my own brain, I was thinking, okay, you know, there'd be nights where I was thinking about walking into a new locker room and. And, like, how that would work out. So that was the first time in my career where it really became something that was okay, you know, there's a possibility that this could really happen. And now I have to start kind of wrapping my head around everything.

[Paul Vincent]

Did you. I was gonna ask if. Did you surf at all when you were playing in Anaheim? Like, did you get involved in any of that, like, this program?

[Cam Fowler]

No, I actually. I'm pretty afraid of the ocean, so I never really got into that too much. I tried a couple times, but I. I'd say it wasn't really, for me.

[Paul Vincent]

Just like, shark attacks and stuff.

[Ryan Whitney]

Stuff.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. You know, I just. You're not really sure what's down there.

[Ryan Whitney]

Like, the currents, and it's.

[Cam Fowler]

I actually. I got kind of knocked around pretty good when I was young, like, by a wave, and I think it just.

[Ryan Whitney]

Ptsd.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. It kind of screwed me up for the rest of my life.

[R.A.]

That's why you got to get credit to a landlocked.

[Biz Nasty]

State. I want to be near an ocean.

[Cam Fowler]

That's right. That's right.

[Paul Vincent]

14 years.

[Taylor Hall]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

The request was in. Couldn't get out of it. That's crazy. You mentioned family. How many kids you got?

[Cam Fowler]

Just one. I have a two and a half year old, Charlie, and then my wife's expecting our second one, so she's due in March.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, wow. So that's another aspect of the, of the trade. It's like, oh, my God, I gotta get out. I gotta get us a house. I gotta figure out she's gotta pack everything up.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, yeah, that's, you know, all that stuff, like what people deal with behind the scenes when they get traded. I think it's. It doesn't really get talked about that often, but there's so much that you have to sort out, you know, as a player trying to get your family sorted and then obviously, you know, seven months pregnant. There's a lot going on with her.

[Ryan Whitney]

So.

[Cam Fowler]

So there's, There's a lot to balance, but honestly, I can't say enough about, like, the Blues organization making me feel comfortable and everyone just trying to do the best they can to make sure that we're transitioning smoothly.

[Ryan Whitney]

And you said that St. Louis didn't have anyone that you knew that well. I remember when I was traded to Anaheim, same thing. I didn't. And it's a little tougher. Like, if you had one buddy that you'd played with in Anaheim for a while. So even though you've played so long and you've been a veteran, it's still like you're like a rookie going into the room.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, it really is. And yeah, like you said, I knew Tori Krug and Justin Falk a little bit. Played against Kruger growing up and then Justin Falk. We've done some USA hockey stuff, but nothing. Not like a true relationship. So, yeah, I really. It was a brand new experience for me. And yeah, I mean, you kind of. You. You don't want to step on any toes and stuff walking in. So, you know, I was, yeah, I guess, relatively quiet guy in general, but I'm just trying to feel it out. I didn't make a big, big, you know, splash or anything when I, I just. I wanted to get the lay of the. The land and, and get to know the guys. But honestly, when I got traded too, it was. We played five games in seven nights and the first two were back to back. We were in Dallas and then home Sunday. So I feel like I kind of just got thrown right into it. That was maybe the best. Best thing for me and. And rookie party too.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, there we go.

[Cam Fowler]

No way out of those fucking.

[Paul Vincent]

What? How did they squeeze that in the first seven days with five games? That's crazy.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, it was. The schedule was in like I hadn't seen a schedule like that honestly in my career. And that's the point that I was traded at to them. So we played a lot of hockey and then we were in Florida. We played Tampa on Thursday, Florida Friday, and then we didn't play Detroit until Monday.

[Taylor Hall]

So.

[Paul Vincent]

So 11 on Saturday. So which club did you guys. You guys go to 11?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, that's right.

[Paul Vincent]

That was a pretty good guess.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, you nailed it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

You mentioned playing with. What was it, Falk? With the US Program?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

So I understand you're a trader. You were born in Canada and then all of a sudden you're playing for the Team usa. What happened there? Born in Windsor, Ontario. You ended up playing junior there. But how did you end up like an American citizen?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, so I was born in Windsor, but I only stayed there for a year. My dad got transferred to Michigan after that. That and then he's Canadian. He grew up in Newfoundland. My mom is American, so I have the dual citizenship, but pretty much grew up in Michigan. So that's, you know, that's really all I picked.

[Paul Vincent]

Your alliance.

[Ryan Whitney]

Were you a Little Caesar's guy?

[Cam Fowler]

Honey baked.

[Ryan Whitney]

Honey baked. The. The awesome rivalry. I love that.

[Paul Vincent]

Used to call them the cake eaters and then all the matching gear.

[Ryan Whitney]

Who was. They were cake eaters?

[Paul Vincent]

Well, they just had all the fancy gear. I think like a couple of the kids had the brand new Federoff Nike skates when I was playing. Spanked a 7:1 they had. Henik and Skiba were the two studs and they ended up being pretty good pro players. Hen Henik had a pretty good. Ended up having a pretty good career. Oh yeah, Maybe more so in the American League, but. But still highly skilled. So. So. So your, your father's from Newfoundland, so you must be a good drinker. You must be able to slam your pops back. Any relation to Terry Ryan or Terry Ryan Senior?

[Cam Fowler]

No, no, I, you know, I'd love to get back. Actually. He. He hasn't taken me to Newfoundland. I'd love to see it one day, but.

[Paul Vincent]

Beautiful.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure it is, but I'd like to have a few every once in a while. I wouldn't say I'm a. A crazy drinker or anything, but, you.

[Paul Vincent]

Know, hold my eyes a thousand games well, not yet. It's coming up at the Winter Classic, which is probably the first time that's ever happened.

[Ryan Whitney]

Incredible.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. Thank you. It's crazy just how everything works out and then the trade and everything, and being traded that day and playing in Dallas that night, you know, kind of set everything up to be able to make this happen. So. Just funny how things work, but, yeah, it's pretty amazing. I'm really looking forward to it.

[Paul Vincent]

What do you. What do you credit your longevity? Staying healthy and. And just like, you be big in the off season with the training or.

[Biz Nasty]

Weird.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I think there's a lot that goes into it. I think as. As my career's gone on, I've kind of leaned more into, like, injury prevention. So I think when you're younger, you're. You're lifting a lot of weights, you know, you're doing the back squats, the, you know, the cleans and everything. And I've gone away from that as I've gotten older, just because I realized that, you know, I wanted to stay as healthy as I could, and. And that's what was gonna help me in my career. So. So. And then I think just my skating, I think just the way that the. The game is being played these days, I think as long as you can skate, like, you're always going to have a place in the league. And that's something that's been a strength of mine since I was younger, so I've just been leaning into that, too, as much as I can.

[Paul Vincent]

Through what, like working with someone individually or. You just were just naturally always a good skater?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, you know, I. Honestly, I. It's naturally kind of always been there. Since I was young, I've done some. Some power skating stuff, but it's more just kind of agility and. And like, quick change of direction, like, fast twitch stuff. I've done a lot of that off the ice the last few years, and I feel like it's. It's kind of worked its way onto the icing transition to that.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

Especially older in your career, it's hard. I mean, I lost a lot of that. And, like, your hips get tighter and you talked about more how people have segued away from. From, like, the hardcore cleans and all the back squatting. I think that kind of put a. A damper on my career a little bit. I know, for wit, that was it. Yeah, partly.

[Ryan Whitney]

And your hands, those two.

[Biz Nasty]

Hockey.

[Paul Vincent]

I couldn't breathe because my nose was closed shut because I kept getting my face caved in anyway, but I mean, you.

[Ryan Whitney]

You mentioned, like, even as a young kid, skating was a strength. So as you're coming up and then you. You kind of realize, all right, I got a chance to be on the national program, and growing up in Michigan, it must have been nice that it was in. Was it in Ann Arbor still with you?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Cam Fowler]

So, like, only 45 minutes away from where I grew up.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, that's great. So you didn't even have. You didn't even live with Billets, right?

[Cam Fowler]

I did, though.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, really?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I just. We had all these guys coming in from Alaska and Texas, and I just felt like if I stayed at home, I would have missed out on. Yeah, that's a lot. So. Yeah, so I. I lived with Jerry D'Amigo and with the Billet family out there.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay. And then. So when you were 14 or 15, was. Was that your goal, like the national program? You start. Start thinking about it then. Right. In two years now, like, I want to be there.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, for sure. I think. Yeah. Kind of playing minor hockey to have the chance to play at the national team was always the goal and such a. Like a great honor for. For us playing in Michigan. So that was always the plan was to try and. And go there and develop and. And train, and it's just kind of like a hockey. Hockey factory there at that program. And then the goal was to always get a D1 scholarship and play. And then as things went on, you know, draft stuff and where you were slotted, it could change for me, but the program was always at the top of my list as the number one goal.

[Ryan Whitney]

So you. Yeah, you were a guy like, I remember hearing about, you could have picked where you wanted to go on a full ride, but you go to Windsor.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

It was kind of crazy at the time. I mean, it's obviously happened before.

[Paul Vincent]

Well, there was confusion with where. Like something with the school. Right.

[Ryan Whitney]

Notre Dame. Right.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. So I. Yeah, I was committed to Notre Dame. Yeah. And then I was. It was towards the end of my senior year, and I still had another year to play because I was getting drafted with the 92s.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, you're after September.

[Cam Fowler]

Late birth year.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay.

[Cam Fowler]

And so I was trying to figure out what my best option was. I. I didn't know if I wanted to go to school, if I wanted to just go all in with hockey and go to the ohl. So I was kind of on the fence. And then. So Kitchener had my rights, and they put me back in the OHL draft because I. They weren't sure what I was going to do yet. And then Windsor ended up taking me in the first round, I guess, of the draft after that. So there was a little bit of confusion on, like, if I was trying to go to Windsor, like if it was set up to go to Windsor. Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Kids do say, like, I'm, I'm not, I'm only going if it's this team.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

And a Louis Vuitton duffel with some money in it.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Cam Fowler]

There was none of that, honestly, like, Kitchener was an awesome place to go too. It's just the way that it ended up working out. And then obviously Windsor was, was loaded. So, like, I can see how the optics might look bad, but it was never anything like that. I just, just ended up deciding a little bit later that I wanted to go the junior route and Windsor took a flyer on me and it ended up.

[Paul Vincent]

And they had a pretty, like, sick roster as it stood. Right.

[Cam Fowler]

They were unbelievable. And they, they won the Memorial cup the year before and then we won it the year that I went there too. So they went back to back.

[Paul Vincent]

Did you going to Windsor have anything to do the fact that you were born there? Like, was that just random?

[Cam Fowler]

It was pretty random, honestly. Yeah. I, it was more about trying to play in like an NHL type schedule and get, get used to that because they, you know, if you play college, you might only get 30 games or so. And. And I was, I was trying to prepare myself as best I could for the NHL. And so I think we played with the world juniors that year. I ended up playing over a hundred games, but just random the way that it worked out. You know, they had a great team, new building, but, but it didn't really have a whole lot to do with me being born there.

[Biz Nasty]

Who helped you make that decision? Because 18, 17, 18 years old, that's a life altering.

[Ryan Whitney]

You don't know what to do.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, yeah.

[Biz Nasty]

Asking your parents, agent, friends, like, yeah.

[Cam Fowler]

I was, I was leaning on basically everybody in my life to try to help me out with that decision. At the end of the day, my parents said that, like, this is your life, this is your decision, then we're gonna let you handle it. And I'd say up to this point still, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done because, you know, like you said, I'm 17, 18, I have a full scholarship to an amazing school where if hockey doesn't work out, I have something to lean back on. You know, I have everything with that. And then so to put kind of all my faith and all my eggs in that basket and. And hope that the NHL worked out. Was really hard for me, but thankful and grateful that everything ended up working out.

[Paul Vincent]

Yan's has a decommitment story that he shared on the podcast. What was it like for. What was it like? Oh, you heard it. Okay. What was it like for you? Did you get yelled at on the phone or was it more cordial?

[Cam Fowler]

It was. It was cordial, but I'd say there was very. There was a lot of disappointment on. On the other side. Like, it was.

[Ryan Whitney]

Was.

[Cam Fowler]

It was kind of like when your dad, you know, says that, you know, he's not mad, he's disappointed. Like, I felt. I felt a lot of that. Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

Okay. That's got to be hard, man, as a young kid getting that call.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. I remember I was in my billet house in. In Ann Arbor and I was pacing the room because I just didn't want to make that.

[Ryan Whitney]

Jeff Jackson, right? Intimidating, Intimidating guy.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. I was already, like, pretty scared of him. Not scared, but like, yeah, he's an intimidating guy. So I. I was. Was so nervous to make that phone call, and I. It took hours before I mustered up the courage to dial the number.

[Paul Vincent]

Did you ever consider maybe having one of your teammates do it?

[Cam Fowler]

No.

[Paul Vincent]

No. You're gonna man up and do it yourself?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I guess I. I never. I never thought about putting it on somebody else. Yeah, I guess I could have.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah. So one of the guys played rock, paper, scissor, right? The brothers?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, the brothers did. The brothers there for two.

[Paul Vincent]

Had to.

[Ryan Whitney]

The Devons.

[Paul Vincent]

The. When you got to Anaheim, though, like, unreal leadership in that locker room. You had Getsy there was. Peirs was still there, so it must have been fun going into a locker room with all those unreal leaders.

[Cam Fowler]

Oh, it was. It was unbelievable. Like, GSY is still one of my best friends today. And then we had pairs. We had Saku Timu, like, unbelievable guys and obviously unbelievable players. So just the way that they welcomed me in at such a young age, I. I feel like it really helped me kind of get to where I am today.

[Biz Nasty]

And.

[Cam Fowler]

And also Scotty Nedermeyer and his family. They. They had me live with them my first year. Yeah. So. And he had retired. He was retired. Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

That year, right?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So they brought me in and he. He has four boys, too, so I. I would. I was a fifth boy. Like, the. The house was insane.

[Paul Vincent]

Game week, eh?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, yeah, that's right. But I think they knew kind of the adjustment that it was going to be to play at at 18 and if I could have meals and stuff, like, I didn't have to worry about that. It made such a big difference back.

[Ryan Whitney]

To the draft because, yeah, you, you never played an AHL game, but like, you were picked, was it 12 overall? So, like, did you. Did you think you were going to go a little bit higher? Was that like you slipping in your mind and you never could have imagined 40 points that next year in the NHL like you came in. It was so easy.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, it. I appreciate it. It wasn't easy at all. But I think the whole draft experience was difficult too, because you have a lot of people telling you kind of where they expect you to go. So you build. Build all that up in your head and then anything can happen on draft day. So I think, you know, technically I was slotted in top three, top five. And then, yeah, I remember that every pick kind of after five, like, it just felt like an eternity.

[Paul Vincent]

And then Aaron Rogers style, shaking your head.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, well, and then the. So then it kind of became a story. And then the cameras like, focusing. Focusing in on you. So I don't want to make it out to be this, this huge thing because 12th overall is still awesome. But when the, when the media kind of shifts it into, okay, this guy's slipping, you know, as an 18 year old kid, it can be hard. So. So that was difficult. But then obviously that all goes away. Anaheim picked me. And.

[Paul Vincent]

And also how you're kind of not in this media circus too. You end up going to somewhere where it's probably a lot more chill and you can just kind of of get lost and worry about the things that matter.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, no, that's a great point. I think, I think being out there and it's a great hockey market, great fans, but you don't have the same sort of spotlight as you would, you know, original six team or Canada or whatever it may be. So I think that helped out a lot too with me kind of making like that transition into the NHL was pretty crazy biz.

[Ryan Whitney]

Looking at this.

[Paul Vincent]

Sorry.

[Ryan Whitney]

Like.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, no problem.

[Ryan Whitney]

I remember. Yeah, top three, top five. And they messed up. Those teams messed up.

[Paul Vincent]

Now a lot of nobodies.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Like you. You should have gone third.

[Cam Fowler]

I.

[Ryan Whitney]

Sorry to interrupt you. No, no, yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

Was living with Neyer, was there an option there? It was kind of just like, you're. You're doing that.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I'd say it was. It was highly recommended.

[Paul Vincent]

Okay.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. But I, I never considered anything else. Like, Scotty Needmyer opens his home to you, you're gonna. No you're gonna go, yeah.

[Biz Nasty]

Was he talking H. Was he kind of just so quiet?

[Paul Vincent]

Puzzles.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, he was. He was such a quiet guy. Like, I would. I would talk to him, I'd ask him things, but he would never kind of push anything on me. Like, if I had any questions either, like life or hockey, he was always there to answer them. But you know, you know him, he's like, he's just a quiet guy. Yeah, Norm. Yeah, he's Norm.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. Everyone called him Norm.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, because he looks like a Norm.

[Ryan Whitney]

I don't know. I actually don't know why. All I know is that he' play 30 minutes and literally have a little.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, he wouldn't.

[Ryan Whitney]

Quarter size, like, sweat stain on his shirt. On his shirt. It was insane.

[Cam Fowler]

It's related to, like a TV show or something.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, Cheers. From Cheers.

[Cam Fowler]

Is it from Cheers?

[Ryan Whitney]

That's Norm from Cheers. Maybe that was it.

[Mike Grinelli]

I don't know.

[Cam Fowler]

There's a story behind it, but I don't know exactly. What?

[Paul Vincent]

You're not allowed to tell it?

[Cam Fowler]

No, I don't know. I don't even know. Yeah, I. I was too scared to call him Norm, so I. I never did.

[Ryan Whitney]

Mr. Ne.

[Cam Fowler]

Mr. Neer.

[Ryan Whitney]

Scotty, what do you remember about TEU? Like, because when I got traded there, I was like, this guy's the biggest legend. Like, his smile at the rink and.

[Cam Fowler]

Nothing rattles him, man, he's like the all time guy. Yeah, he. He was. And just honestly, the person he is, like, for how good he is, his career that he had, like, he's such a down to earth person. And I was nobody in the league, and he always took such great care of me, made sure that, you know, everything was good. Like, like he'd asked me about my family, and he's just an unbelievable guy. And, you know, he was always tan. Like, his hair was always. He's an unreal golfer. Like, you talk about a guy that has it all. It's. It's him.

[Ryan Whitney]

Was gy just. Was he was still dominant when you got there or was dominant then? Like, I just love playing with him and being an offensive defenseman coming down the wing. No, look, all of a sudden, it's on your stick.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Those 40 points brought a lot to do with him that year.

[Cam Fowler]

Oh, a ton. Yeah, he, he. He was such an amazing player. And, and to be that big and, and have that vision, I feel like is so, so rare. And in. In his prime, like with Randy, you know, the playoff friends that we had, he was. He was playing like 24, 25 minutes a night. He was just a horse and he was physical. He would fight like he was the. The whole package.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, I think it was. You guys had that. Was it a second round series against Edmonton when Kessler was on the team still, too?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, that was the. The second round when we had the. The comeback in game five.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, yeah.

[Cam Fowler]

We were down three, nothing with like three minutes left. Tied it up and then won in overtime.

[Paul Vincent]

So that was probably the farthest you'd ever been with the team. Right?

[Cam Fowler]

We. We made it to two conference finals when. When I was there, we lost to Chicago in seven, and we lost to Nashville in seven.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, those were in seven, both those years.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Was that the Chicago series when Andrew Shaw head butted the puck in? Yeah, yeah, I remember that. I remember that.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Called it back.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, so you guys were right there, man.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. Like, those are some good teams. Looking back on it, you know, you. You always think, okay, the team's gonna be good. We'll be back again. And it's. It's so crazy. You know, I only had the. The two conference finals and both in game seven. It was just. It's unbelievable how that stuff works out. But we. We always felt like we were. We were right there. You just. You need everything to. To go right, you know, in order to win. And we were just. We were so close, but didn't get it done.

[Paul Vincent]

What was your relationship like with Carlisle? He's an interesting kid.

[Ryan Whitney]

How many Norris has you got? That's what he used to say.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. Yeah, he was. Yeah, he was. I. I think he was really hard on. On the younger guys, but also it helped me kind of develop a thick skin kind of. I wasn't. I wasn't used to being coach that hard, so at times it was tough. But, you know, he. He played. He was obviously a really good defenseman, so he understood the game, but. But I think he enjoyed to kind of lean on the younger guys a little bit, so.

[Paul Vincent]

Too much.

[Ryan Whitney]

Who was your idol growing up?

[Cam Fowler]

Nick Lidstrom.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I guess being. Yeah, Michigan guy.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Playing against him was. That was mine. I talked about it on a recent episode and Warm ups. First time just staring at him.

[Cam Fowler]

Oh, yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Like that as well.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. Because my first NHL game was in Detroit at Joe Lewis too, and I just. I was so starstruck just looking at. At him over there, like, playing. I was so nervous, but growing up in Michigan, like, any chance I had to watch him play, it was just. It was such a treat to watch him, like, similar To Scotty, it seemed like he never broke a sweat, was just always in the right spot. Unbelievable guy. Like, I got to meet him too, so he was always somebody I really looked up to.

[Biz Nasty]

First game in your hometown, how many people do you have? You must have been playing for free that night.

[Cam Fowler]

I think I was. I, I, it was probably close to maybe 30 or so. Yeah. Actually could have been a lot worse.

[Ryan Whitney]

You guys win, so.

[Cam Fowler]

No, we got spanked. Yeah. Four. Nothing. Yeah. Yeah. For nothing.

[Paul Vincent]

When we were looking at some of the hockey db, I was confused as to like, why Anaheim moved off of so many other good deed that they had in their system at one point. Like, they had Montour, they had Manson. Yeah, Manson. The list goes on.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. Theodore.

[Paul Vincent]

Like what, like, were you, like, what the are we doing here? When.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I mean, looking back on it, it is crazy. The talent that they had, and I think it always kind of ended up where those guys were either on expiring deals or, you know, the team wasn't where we were supposed to be. So they, they had the highest value at that time. So I think it's a little combination of that. But, but if we were able to somehow keep all those guys together, it would have been unbelievable. But I think just the way that everything shook out and then we lost Theo, I think, to expansion, I'm pretty sure.

[Ryan Whitney]

So did you know he was this good?

[Cam Fowler]

No.

[Ryan Whitney]

No.

[Cam Fowler]

Well, he was so raw. Like, when he was in Anaheim, you, you could see, okay, he has the natural ability, the natural talent. You don't always know how it's gonna.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yep.

[Cam Fowler]

Kind of unfold, but man, oh, man.

[Ryan Whitney]

He'S like, he got his minutes in Vegas that he hadn't got in Anaheim.

[Cam Fowler]

It's like, oh, yeah, he gets his opportunity and sometimes that's all it takes and he just takes off. So, yeah, he's, he's turned into a hell of a player.

[Ryan Whitney]

It must have been hard, though, because you mentioned the conference finals trips, and then now you're coming into the peak of your career, and all of a sudden that's when like, the team goes down a little bit. So you got that taste of like chasing a cup. And then there was a bunch of years where, where that's probably the, the party where it's like, I, I am ready to move on maybe because, like, we're not where I was when I came into the league.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I, I think I was, I was spoiled because I was able to make a team at a young age, but I was also going into a great situation where the team was really good, so we, we had a lot of success. I think we had five Pacific Division championships, like, in a row, and we always had this taste of the playoffs, and, and you get used to that kind of as a player, and then when it's taken away from you and then you have one hard year and it stacks up into three and then five, you know, it just, it can take a toll on you kind of as a player. And obviously, the team was, was rebuilding and building for the future, and they have some unbelievable players there now, and I think the next five years will be awesome for them. But, but just where I was at in my, my career, I just felt, okay, you know, you have Jackson, lacombe, Zellweger, Menchikov, all on the left side. Yeah, you know, it's maybe time to give those guys their opportunity and, and I can find a situation where, you know, just in my career, it works best for me. So that's kind of what it came down to.

[Ryan Whitney]

I guess. It's hard now because you're playing, you're on a new team, you're, you're, you're in it. But at some point, I, I would think you'd look back and be like, I lead that team in every major category. Like, it's really like to be drafted that high and then do it for that long. Like, it's, it's an incredible thing for you to look back on and like a legend in that organization.

[Paul Vincent]

Better than being a boss, then.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. No, Well, I, I appreciate that. I, I, I don't really know when all that will, will kind of set in with me. I think I really enjoyed my time in Anaheim. I, I have amazing memories there, and I, I think it did get to a point where I, I said, okay, I feel like I've given this organization everything I have, and as scary as it might be, it's just maybe time for, for a change and to, to turn the page. But I'm very thankful for the years that I had there, and I'll always, I'll always remember it fondly.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, it was actually, you brought this up before, but before we saw you when you were younger and you, you grew up in the US but you did have dual citizenship. Was there any discussion at like, 15 of 6, 16 of being Canadian for the hockey part? You know what I mean? Like, yeah, and they, at that point, they're already seeing kids as good as you that age, like future world Junior guys.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I, I think it was tossed around. Like, I did have the, the choice or the decision. But I never. It was never a true decision for me. I. I just felt like I was American. So I. I do think. Because I. I think it's 14 or so, like, once you make it, or 16, once you make the decision one.

[Ryan Whitney]

Time you wear the jersey.

[Cam Fowler]

That's. That's it. Yeah. Okay. So there was some tournament in that time frame where I made the decision, but it was never. I never considered doing anything else. I just. In my mind, I was American.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

I've gotten to work with Kevin bxa. I knew him actually, even before that. Like, what a great guy. Great leader. It must have been a blast playing with him. He's a funny in the lock.

[Cam Fowler]

He is. Yeah. He's quite the character. And he. He was always great to have around and was really great with me. And I think he was kind of in a position, too, where I feel like I'm at now. You know, he was. He had so many great years in Vancouver like, he was. And then he can't. He comes to Anaheim and he's trying to figure out kind of where he fits in with that leadership group and. And his voice and everything. And looking back on it now, I can kind of see that that was something that was new for him and he was trying to get used to, but he was an unbelievable guy. Tough as nails, too.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Were you there for the jump punch against Superman?

[Paul Vincent]

Punch?

[Cam Fowler]

I don't think. Was he? Yeah. Was he playing for Anaheim?

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, yeah, I think he was.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, yeah.

[Cam Fowler]

Okay.

[Paul Vincent]

He did it twice when he was with Anaheim.

[Cam Fowler]

I don't. Maybe I wasn't playing that game then, but. Yeah. No. And. And now Goody was there in Anaheim, too. Captain there. Like, he talked about that, too. Like, he just didn't see it coming, obviously. But Juice is. He's the real deal, man. That guy is. That guy is tough.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, yeah. Locker room, too?

[Cam Fowler]

Oh, yeah. Never a dull moment. Always keeping guys on their toes. Like, you know, he could just come at you at any second. You got to be ready for it, you know?

[Ryan Whitney]

So you were there long enough where you've probably seen. Because around the rinks, in the practice facilities like the Junior Ducks, Junior Kings and all the youth. And how many kids come from California now that are so good? Like, were you witnessing that a little bit in terms of how much hockey was growing there?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Even. Even later on as you played. Forget like when Gretzky came over to California.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, for sure. I. I think kind of towards the early part of my career there. I think that's when it was really starting to kind of take off. And I know that the Ducks and the, the Kings really leaned into that in their junior programs and building new rinks and, and all of that.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's awesome.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. Because honestly, for a while they're like, just to get ice, you know, for kids, you know, they might have to drive an hour and a half, two hours to get to the, the nearest rink there. There just wasn't much in that area. And I know the, both organizations have put a lot of money and effort into growing the game for the younger kids. So I got to see a lot of that. And the Junior Ducks and Kings now I think are both like, yeah, they're top teams, super competitive. So it's awesome to see that kind of spread around or spread around the country now where it used to be be, you know, the Michigan or Minnesota, like Boston, but now you got teams from all over and, but those, those teams, the Kings and Ducks did a great job of building that.

[Paul Vincent]

We'll ask a few more St. Louis questions because we feel bad because you're with the Blues and all we've talked.

[Ryan Whitney]

About is, well, all the Blues are like, we gotta buy him a thousand game gift now. We're going for a week.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh yeah. Shannon's got to go to the team. Fine.

[Ryan Whitney]

Fun. Could have been one more game.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

You mentioned all that, like high end young talent in Anaheim. Who are you most impressed with, with your time there at the end there? Like Carlson, obviously.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. I think, I think people will be blown away with, with how good Leo will be. Yeah. Like, I think he's just scratching the surface of, of, you know, what he can be as a player. Obviously he's so young, but to, to have that size and that speed and the combination of his, his hands too, like how he can stick, handle in tight. I think he's going to be, he's going to be the real deal.

[Paul Vincent]

Seems like he has a great head on his shoulders too. He seemed like the best kid.

[Cam Fowler]

Unbelievable kid. Yeah, unbelievable kid. Which, you know, it's, it's hard. Obviously he's from Sweden. Like he's coming into the NHL. That can be a lot for somebody to process. But he's got a great head on his shoulders and they have a lot of young talent there. But Leo, I think he's, he's going to be.

[Ryan Whitney]

He's the guy.

[Cam Fowler]

He's going to be the guy. Yeah. Hey, barstool listeners, did you know Discover.

[Paul Vincent]

Is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide? That's right, 99%.

[Ryan Whitney]

And every time you make a purchase.

[Paul Vincent]

With your card, you'll automatically earn cash back.

[Ryan Whitney]

That could mean earning rewards when you.

[Paul Vincent]

Buy those last minute tickets, those overpriced concessions and that takeout you ate at home after you bailed on meeting your.

[Ryan Whitney]

Buddies at the bar.

[Paul Vincent]

Well, wherever you spend game day, remember, it pays to Discover. Based on February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com Credit Card Monty players coach. What's your first impressions of him? Seems like he just commands the room and I love watching the videos when he walks in and he just, he takes over.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, he, he's been unbelievable to me so far. Everybody has. But, but making this decision, I really good friends with Troy Terry who played with or played for Monty at Denver. So he knew a lot about him and he said he didn't. He had nothing but nice things to say about Monty and that's kind of lived up to everything he said so far. Just the way he commands the room. I feel like he understands what it means to be a player. He gets it with our time management and, and meetings and there's so much that goes into coaching, but I, I think he's, he's got it all. So I've been super impressed with him and I feel super comfortable playing for him too.

[Paul Vincent]

I've, I've heard a lot of players say that. Do you mean like not having crazy long meetings and keeping them like eight to 10 minutes and that's it. ADHD, we're out of there, don't have to pay attention too long.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I, I just think over the course of, of a season, you know, if you have half hour, me or whatever, like they all stack up and, and you might lose a little bit of interest. Like as you just. 82 Games is a lot and it's sometimes it can be a lot of information to process. So he's just seven, eight clips, like things that really matter to him and he rifles through them and then he just, everything feels efficient in, in the way that he does things.

[Biz Nasty]

No wasted time.

[Cam Fowler]

No wasted time.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's what, when, when you met with him, what did he tell you? Like, what do I expect out of you? This is what I need from you. Is there some sort of meeting for that, like your role?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. So he, he called me actually. I was on my way to the airport in Columbus to meet the team in Dallas and he just kind of just said, you know, we're excited to have you. I know things have been crazy today. We'll talk when when you get in. And. And then I met the guys and everything. I had a meeting with the. The D coach about kind of systems and. And all that stuff. And then Monty just grabbed me super quick because I think he understood kind of what my brain is going through. Like, yeah, it's going a million miles an hour. And he just grabbed me quickly and said, hey, listen, you know, I know there's a lot going on, but you're here for a reason. Just trust the player that you are. Like, we believe in who you are as a player, so just go out and have fun and trust yourself. Like, that was his only message to me.

[Ryan Whitney]

Me and you have, I think, five points in eight games. It's. No, it started off well, though. Playing a lot.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, it's been. It's been good. You know, I. I get to play with Pareco, who I think is super underrated.

[Paul Vincent]

Great year.

[Cam Fowler]

He's. Yeah. And like, that combination of size and still to be able to move the puck and contribute offensively like he does, like, is so rare. I. I could not believe how big he was when I first saw, though. Yeah. Like, I just met him in the locker room and I. I was staring up at him.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

I sat on the glass when the Blues played the Bruins.

[Biz Nasty]

They.

[Ryan Whitney]

They center, scored an O.T. and I was. I. Same thing. Like, I'd watched him, never played against him. I was like, holy, he's like six, seven, isn't he?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, he's huge. Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

I think there was a bit of an adjustment for him when he had to go from like, being maybe the second guy when. When Petro. Petro was there to. To all of a sudden he was the main guy having to get those line matchups. There was a bit of an adjustment period, but I've really found over the last, like, maybe 18 months that he's. He's really coming to his own. Like, it's crazy how fast he can move out there. He's like a gazelle.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I. I've been super impressed with him, and it. You know, there's a lot of chemistry that goes in with your D partner, too. So luckily we've been able to kind of get that going the last. I think we've played the last five or six games together, but yeah, just back to your point, like, his size. And there were a few times last night the puck was dumped into his corner and he just grabbed it and took it out of the zone himself.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, that's.

[Cam Fowler]

Which. To be able to do at that size is just like, he's the. The whole package. So, yeah, it's been a good start for me. It's been a good opportunity. Minutes have been good. You know, I'm getting the opportunity on special teams too, so. So I'm grateful. And yeah, it's a great group of guys. So we're looking forward to trying to get on a little roll here and make a playoff push.

[Biz Nasty]

Must be nice to get traded before the deadline too, because you're getting to know your group a little bit more. Because I got traded at the deadline and, you know, there's 20 games left or whatever, and it's just like a sprint to the playoffs. And I feel like you're.

[Ryan Whitney]

You.

[Biz Nasty]

You got the rookie party with the guys, so you get to know them a little bit more. Must be nice.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, yeah, it is, I think. And who knows how things would have worked out too, if, you know, the longer the season went on, I obviously knew that something was going to happen, so, like how that would have maybe wouldn't affected my play or something too. So I think to. To kind of jump into it when we did was. Was a good. A good time. And the last few weeks have been crazy with all of that and the rookie party. Then back to California for the holidays, back to St. Louis. It's just been a whirlwind. But. But the hockey part and all of that has been awesome for me and it's just been a. A really good experience and I. I'm. I'm happy that it happened when it did and I got the chance to meet everybody and just jump right into it.

[Ryan Whitney]

Will you sell the place to California? Could that be a place you live someday when you, like, would you retire or is it just.

[Biz Nasty]

It hates the oceans?

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah. You know what it was. It was an awesome, awesome place to live. I think we are gonna sell it.

[Ryan Whitney]

And gonna make some money on that one, I bet.

[Cam Fowler]

I hope so. Yeah. Yeah, it should. We've been lucky with real estate out there. I think just Orange county in general is just booming, but it's crazy out there.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, it's an unreal. Like, Newport's probably top five places to live in the States.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, I think the living, like everything about the setup there was unbelievable. And I think. I think teams might not get to see Newport when they come to Anaheim. But if you ever have the chance to go out there, like, Newport is next level. The. The food clean, the people are nice clean. The weather, it's. It's an. So we might end up back there, I'm not sure. But we are Gonna, I think, sell that. That place. And then I just think it might be too expensive to. To live there long term. Like retire there. But we'll see.

[Paul Vincent]

Who. Who were the MVPs at rookie party?

[Ryan Whitney]

Neighbors. Neighbors for sure.

[Paul Vincent]

Really? Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, he's neighbors.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, he's. He's got a lot of old school in him.

[Paul Vincent]

Jake.

[Cam Fowler]

He does.

[Ryan Whitney]

Well, I saw a clip where he's. I think he was doing sign language for, like, a way for the NHL to show, like, how to watch the Winter Classic if you're deaf or something. I texted him. I'm like, jakey, this is an interesting look. He's like, that was right after rookie party. I couldn't even see.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah, no, it was a good time. Jakey was up there. Yeah. Tyler Tucker, he was another one. Yeah, we had a good time.

[Paul Vincent]

Okay.

[Cam Fowler]

We had a good time.

[Ryan Whitney]

Well, buddy, it's been an unreal run for you. It's continued. It keeps going on. And first out, first Winter Classic, first outdoor game. What did you play in that?

[Cam Fowler]

I played a stadium series at Dodger Stadium in 2014, which was awesome, but obviously a little different here, like with the weather and everything. So it's going to be incredible.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. Well, congrats on everything and thanks for stopping by, man.

[Cam Fowler]

Thanks, guys. Thanks for having me.

[Ryan Whitney]

Thank you so much. To camp. Follow. Congrats once again. What a way to get your thousandth game in the league. And it was pretty cool, too. I saw the Anaheim Ducks last night against the Devils. They wore in Cam Follower thousandth game T shirts, so they showed some respect to their former teammate, obviously. Obviously those were made before. Before the trade. And then I think way to catch.

[Paul Vincent]

That was.

[Ryan Whitney]

Wait, what do you mean?

[Paul Vincent]

I mentioned that earlier, and if I did that, you'd be jumping down my throat.

[Biz Nasty]

I was waiting. I thought he was with us.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, we got whiz over here things up again.

[Ryan Whitney]

You know what, boys? I gotta own that one. I love when you do that. So I can be so mean to you. So you could say something even meaner.

[Biz Nasty]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

You want to say something?

[Paul Vincent]

I did an ad read before the pod and I actually read it pretty good. And I'm like, it's because Whit wasn't sitting next to me, breathing down my neck, waiting for me to up so he could chirp me in. The whole room will laugh at me. Like at the live show when you were making fun of me and everybody was in tears. You're a bully. You're a bully, Whit. You're a bulldog.

[Ryan Whitney]

I should have added. I Should have added some of that bulliness when I played hockey out there. Scared as flamingoing everywhere. Getting sent to the scooter pigeon fifth overall pick joke.

[Paul Vincent]

All right, well, riding your scooter, like a little.

[Ryan Whitney]

So before we get to world juniors, did you guys know can't follow the Ducks actually wore a Thousand Cave T shirt. Just said that.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, I know.

[Ryan Whitney]

Sick boys. Thanks for. Thanks for pumping me up. World Juniors, guys. Team USA looking beauty. Won their. Won their pool. They're on. I think they play Switzerland in the quarterfinals. But Canada. Oh, my God, Biz, you lost to Latvia. You lost to Latvia. It was in Canada. What the going on? Army had a little state of the union of Canadian hockey. I have something to say about it, but Biz, that's disgusting. It's Latin. Yeah, Yeah.

[Paul Vincent]

I think Army's basic point was like the pussification of hockey and where Canada's kind of lost its identity. Like, buddy, when I remember when I like when I was playing like Jordan Tutu was a guy that Canada had in the roster where I bet you the Americans were pooping in the.

[Ryan Whitney]

I was on that team.

[Paul Vincent]

You were probably.

[Ryan Whitney]

I was on.

[Paul Vincent]

Were you your pants before the game started being like, this guy's gonna run me through the end walk.

[Biz Nasty]

I was going back for a punch.

[Ryan Whitney]

I was on my scooter with Pedersen and I was going back for the puck. And it was in Halifax. The whole crowd, it was just like getting ready, ready, ready. And I bailed out and tried to do like the one handed. Get it over to your partner. And he hit me through the arm. I'm surprised my elbow didn't snap in half. And the whole place is like. And then he went over and crushed my partner, too. I don't see this from Canada now. That's what Army's saying.

[Paul Vincent]

I was definitely a little bit more proud in their response in the game against the U.S. i mean, maybe some undisciplined penalties, but definitely, definitely brought a lot more fire and a lot more intensity. I think they'd probably been called out up that horrific loss to Latvia on home soil. But, like, ultimately, I think if there's a lot of these younger Canadian kids who are going to listen to this, skills are very important, but bringing intensity and that fire in your belly to the rink, especially when you're putting on that Team Canada jersey, is the most important thing moving forward. Board. And if you continue the pussification of hockey in Canada, you're going to get continued to be overpassed by other nations, even ones with Far fewer resources than what we have up north of the border. So, I mean, I would love an opportunity to coach Team Canada next year. Maybe like an Herb Brooks type situation.

[Ryan Whitney]

Herb, Herb, Herb.

[Paul Vincent]

Is it Herb Brooks? Herb, Herb, Herb. I thought it was Herb. Look at Yance's face.

[Biz Nasty]

I'm. I'm not.

[Paul Vincent]

Forget about the name.

[Biz Nasty]

He thinks he's gonna coach the world junior team.

[Paul Vincent]

I got a Wayne Gretzky blazer on, right?

[Biz Nasty]

Oh, that's actually true.

[Paul Vincent]

What the are you talking about, bro? I could step behind that bench and fire those guys up. I'll just do the lineup reads like I do at all the junior games, like the Oil Kings. I did one lineup read for the Oil Kings, and they won a championship. You're telling me I can't coach junior hockey, or do you mind? I'll just go in there and scream.

[Ryan Whitney]

In their faces, that's the day.

[Paul Vincent]

Get it done.

[Ryan Whitney]

That. That's when you were with Ain Gretzky, right?

[Paul Vincent]

Correct.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. Ain and Herb, two legends of the game biz. One thing I noticed, well, two things, until the end of the game, like, they granted there's a lot of penalty problems, like get Gavin McKenna on the ice. This kid is insane.

[Paul Vincent]

That's why I should be coaching.

[Ryan Whitney]

He wasn't even, like, out there that much, and they had a lot of penalty. But then the other thing I looked at is. And I know there's a lot of, like, depth, and they have so many good players, and you could play two years after you're drafted. But I look at last year's draft, 20, 24. It goes celebrating. He ain't playing. He's in the NHL. Beckett Senake, not on the team. Third overall.

[Paul Vincent]

He didn't get invited to the. Even the camp.

[Ryan Whitney]

Kaden Lindstrom, lighting up the whl, fourth overall, isn't on the team. T. Again, he's not on the team. Carter Yakimchuk. Yakim Chuck. He's lighting up Calgary Hitman in whl. He's not on the team.

[Paul Vincent]

I know what you're saying.

[Ryan Whitney]

I've never seen. I. I don't ever remember seeing guys picked in the top five, top 10, not making their worst.

[Paul Vincent]

I know what you're getting to. This is.

[Ryan Whitney]

What am I getting to?

[Paul Vincent]

This is an inside job. I think that President Trump has already made in the 51st state, and he kept these guys off the team. This is a fucking inside job. If he wants.

[Biz Nasty]

If he wanted an inside job, he'd let you coach them. But honestly, I feel like Canada, the way Canada is now, is the way us was 10, you know, 12 years ago where they're trying to pick players. Like, remember the Olympic year? It was like a role player, Ryan Kessler, like the. Like a team full of guys like that. And like, you're not gonna win like that. Now USA just takes the best players, players. And Canada's trying to like, pick a team that can beat U. S. But it ain't there, boys. And no, it ain't there. Absolutely rolling. And hopefully it rolls over to the four nations.

[Paul Vincent]

So you're. You're contradicting the point of where they needed to bring more. More skill guys and skill it up against the Americans.

[Biz Nasty]

I just feel like US Canada back in the day would just bring their best players and then, you know, maybe one or two guys like a Jordan tutu and then, you know, just figure it out. And those guys, they took such pride. They were like, you know what? I'm a third overall guy, but I'll play on the fourth line this tournament. I don't care. Like, I'll go out there and. And, you know, like Mike Richards playing on their fourth line, like, just figuring out ways to win. So I don't know. I just feel like they're just not. I think they're picking teams like the USA Used to do, and that didn't do anything for us.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah, they left off Michael Misa who's leading the entire Central or Canada Hockey league in points, just like they left us. Used to leave me off when I was leading the college. Diligent points.

[Ryan Whitney]

But it's very similar.

[Mike Grinelli]

Senake is number three pick. And I don't know if it was in your Verbeek interview or just around the draft, but that was his thing. He was like a. He's skilled, but he was sandpaper. Like he. He's like a. He's the full player you need. So to leave him off is just ridiculous.

[Paul Vincent]

It's an inside job. This is a inside job. I'm gonna look into this. I'm gonna put my PI Hat on and get my buddy Shea Stevens on it.

[Biz Nasty]

You think there was ever a chance that they. That Bedard was gonna be going. He could have played this year, right? Or not.

[Paul Vincent]

I think. I think he could have been eligible to play. I think they could.

[Ryan Whitney]

They could have. Fan Tilly, I think Bedard and celebrity. So you do want to mention, like, who is missing, right? If it was like, you add everyone that's in the NHL, it's a different ball game. But you. You, hey, you dance with who you brought, right? You dance with who brought you.

[Mike Grinelli]

What's happened other years? There's other years where all the 18 year olds were in the NHL and Canada still whooped everybody so.

[Ryan Whitney]

And a man I watched up close and personal in the same world Junior that Jordan Tutu was running around the like a straight up caged animal was Alexander Ovechkin. And that's when I first got to witness him. He had a hat trick against Team USA as a 16 year old or whatever he was. And now he's back, boys. And he's back with a vengeance. He has two goals in his first two games back. I think they've only played two, but he hasn't slowed down. First off, he's back way before anyone thought he would be back. And Washington continues to play phenomenal hockey and OVI is back on that Chase Bin is. It's still imagine it's still possible he does it this year.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, he's a freak for coming back that early. I would imagine a little bit of the gas helped him get back back on time. What is he, 25 goals away now? Another empty netter in his first game back. This is crazy, boys. I think, I think he's actually going to do it. Game 82 against Crosby, I think it's going to go down like that. And that's why I said do the Winter Classic next year because you'll still get a little bit of the buildup up but it'll still be relevant at that time in order to really, really celebrate the most ridiculous achievement that I think that nobody in the hockey world ever expected at the fact that Wayne Gretzky would be passed for the all time goal scoring lead.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's wild and, and you know I, we talked a lot about this summer, how much that team switched and changed and what they like did to kind of bring in or have a new beginning. Even though they made the playoffs, they got Dubois over there. He's played solid, right? How about I cannot believe believe right now, chicken. He's got 11 goals biz.

[Paul Vincent]

He's always had a ridiculous shot like in the when he was with the Coyotes he was the bumper on the power play. So he was acting as a forward. And I'm not talking even just a slap shot like he, when he gets it, when he can release it with a snapper that it's. It was, it was faster than my slap shot. Definitely faster than Yan. I don't even think I ever saw you take a slap shot. So it's impressive the way that he could shoot the pillow and he's very versatile. Was surprised when he came in and started playing with Carlson given the fact that they both have that kind of offensive aspect to their game. But he's fit in like a glove there. I think you just got to attribute Carberry and how comfortable he's made these new guys feel. And they got the mojo right now. I thought maybe there'd be a little bit of like regression after that hot start, especially after losing ovi. But they've done a great job in sustaining it and they just have a well oiled machine that's coached very well. And right now I believe they're at the top of the division. Correct. Right ahead of Carolina jersey.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think they have a lot more games played. But biggest thing in Washington, even though they've split the goaltending duties completely with Lingon and Thompson. Logan Thompson's 15, 2 and 2 with a 2.3 goals against in a.918 save percentage. We were in Florida for the All Star Game few years back. We actually did an interview with him. Didn't even release him. It probably wasn't in the right head space at the time. So I'm so happy for him to see what he's done. He's been able to get like a fresh start. Things didn't go in Vegas like he saw and all of a sudden like you're seeing why. There was so much talk about him and discussion about him as he came into the NHL because he's. He's been so good. They also have Lingren, but it's amazing to see what that team's done. And Matt, Matt, Is it Roy or Wa. How do you pronounce Roy?

[Paul Vincent]

Roy Tech. I think he's a Michigan Tech kid.

[Ryan Whitney]

Nice defensive defenseman. Just Washington is. It's awesome to see. It's great to see what they've done. And they're buzzing around another story about a superstar in the NHL. As we discussed, Ovechkin, there is the Nate dog chucking Knucks dude. I guess Barrett Hayton kind of bumped into him in the corner and all of a sudden, dude, they're squaring off and the dog's throwing hammers. Biz, you gotta love that. You gotta love seeing that right there.

[Paul Vincent]

The dog is barking, boys. The dog is barking. You don't think he wants another cup? You think Sid seeing that saying, I don't want to go over to Colorado. Come on, man, it's time for another run.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's the breakdown, folks of the dog. They're sitting third in the Central right now. Just four points behind the Wild. I think that the, the ABS reshaping and bringing in new goalies throughout the course of this season was incredible. And then they went one step further. They signed Mackenzie Blackwood to a five year contract extension. 5.25 AAV. So that's nice. He's in the final year of a two year deal where he's only making 2.35. But they're looking good. That's Merle's other team.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're nine and two the last 11 and I think eight of the wins are by the puck line. They're just destroying everybody they got. When that Nick came back it really, really solidified that team. They're, they're awesome to watch too.

[Ryan Whitney]

I'm looking right now at the stats. I just want to quickly see what Nichin has done already. 21 games, 17 points, 11 goals. So Lekinen came back, he was injured. He's just under a point per game. Middle stats had a quiet, quiet league, very good year. And then the big three, it's all about the big three. The Ronson contract's going to become an enormous storyline. I would assume they're trying to sign him right now before he goes ufa. If he gets to the market you'd think he'd be leaving because why not sign before then?

[Paul Vincent]

Unless I, I think he's automatic 13 and a half at this point.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think he's going to want. What, what did Leon, what was his hit?

[Paul Vincent]

14 1. I don't think he deserves what Leon got.

[Ryan Whitney]

How? He's a horse buddy. I disagree. Biz. I disagree. Dude, I disagree. I mean just ron and last three years, four years, including this year, 36 goals, 92 points, 55 goals, 105 points, 42 goals, 104 points. Right now he's got 21 goals and 54 points in 38 games.

[Paul Vincent]

Yeah, I mean, okay, so now read Leon stats.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay, I, okay, okay, hold on.

[Paul Vincent]

I mean he's in the 120, 130 point range. So I mean if you're saying that they're.

[Ryan Whitney]

He's had 1281 points the year that, yeah, he had 128 points two years ago. Last year at 106. I think the goals are dead even over the last three years. Yes, I, I, okay, I see, I, I see what I'm saying that a little less but, but Leon signed with the hometown team. If he goes to UFA and then everyone's bidding, he's getting 14, no doubt.

[Paul Vincent]

No doubt. I meant, I meant with Colorado. I. I would say that. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So.

[Ryan Whitney]

I don't know. Wait, Pierre Le.

[Keith Yandle]

Pierre lebrun reported that on insider trading too, that if he hits Ufa, he wants 14.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay. So maybe it's. Maybe right now Colorado's offering 13 a year. Eight years. And he's like, I'm missing eight. I'm missing 8 million bucks right there, boys.

[Paul Vincent]

I know a team who would give it to him. The New York Rangers.

[Ryan Whitney]

Whoa. Panarin only has another year too.

[Paul Vincent]

Wow. And they would front load that with bonuses out the yin yang.

[Ryan Whitney]

In fairness to what you're saying, that he's not Leon Biz, even though I argued against you, I do feel like, like Leon has McDavid and Ronton has McKinnon. I would rather Leon without McDavid than Ronan without.

[Paul Vincent]

That's kind of what I'm saying. And he plays center.

[Cam Fowler]

Yeah.

[Mike Grinelli]

So I can't picture Rat and like on his own with that New York team doing the same stuff. No way.

[Ryan Whitney]

Interesting story, though, to see how. How that ends up playing out. And if they get him signed before July 1, onto college hockey News. A shocker to the college hockey world that ACHA club team UNLV beat the national champs. Denver in Denver. What a wild thing to see. And I imagine David Carl, who's on his way to another world junior gold after last year here, he's looking at this. What the is going on while I'm not gone. And they're missing. They're missing Z Boyam as well. But I ran into a former Denver player and, and it was kind of like I. I mentioned, you know, you don't got your head coach. You don't got one of the best players in college hockey. And he's like, who fucking cares? It's a club team. And at one point, UNLV was winning 5 to 1 in that game, right?

[Keith Yandle]

Yes.

[Ryan Whitney]

Holy. Now, I love this story story because this is something where if you're the UNLV athletic director, you're like, oh my God, like we got something Bruin here. I believe they get three to four thousand a game. G. Are they building arena too?

[Keith Yandle]

Oh, they have. They have a sick arena. They have a smoke machine. They have their own locker room. And Greg Power, actually, who helped Arizona State, he's the Arizona State head coach. He was the one that kind of pushed them from club hockey to. To Division 1. He actually sent me a text and was like, this win is the most monumental win win in college hockey in the past 20 years. Because that's the win that the administration is going to say, we can't deny this anymore. We have to give you a Division 1 program.

[Paul Vincent]

That's fucking awesome. That is unbelievable.

[Mike Grinelli]

That would be huge. And Vegas is just growing with the hockey. You got the AHL team there, too. That would be sick if they went.

[Ryan Whitney]

Up now that you could play major junior and then go to college. I'm hoping in the next 15 years there's 10 new D1 programs, and I think that's a lot. Lot, right? That's a lot to consider that quick. But this could be something that UNLV is like, all right, we're all in it. We're all in Arizona. Skate can do it. We can do it. And then we get the SEC teams, and then we're laughing. And then there's some more Scholarships at D1 hockey level for American kids who are now going to get hosed by all these Canadians coming after they play major junior. Well, if you. If you're into college hockey, or even if you're not, G has brought Chiclets you to. To our world, our lives. And just last week, his one at Michigan State, dropped with star goalie for the U.S. world Junior Team, Trey Augustine. Go check that out whenever you can, Fishy.

[Paul Vincent]

Man, this series has been on fire.

[Keith Yandle]

Fish crushes it.

[Paul Vincent]

Fishy does so much behind the scenes for us guys. We have such an awesome team. I love our squad.

[Mike Grinelli]

Got his Michigan State hoodie on right now.

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, look at that.

[Ryan Whitney]

Spartans. The Sparty number one team. Number one team.

[Biz Nasty]

That was my favorite part of the trip, is getting to know Fish a little bit more. He's a beauty.

[Paul Vincent]

He's a wild card.

[Mike Grinelli]

You love the whack pack.

[Cam Fowler]

Oh, yeah.

[Biz Nasty]

It's insane.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, I love memes. Just wearing a wife beater. No matter where we go, no matter. Sun, rain, snow, wind. He's got a wife beater on.

[Mike Grinelli]

Classic he wears.

[Ryan Whitney]

The other day.

[Biz Nasty]

I'm like, imagine, like, he's telling me he's talking to Wayne Gretzky, and I'm like, thinking. I'm like, maybe he wasn't dressed like this, but, yeah, he was.

[Ryan Whitney]

What about the waitress from Edmonton who came over and he talked. Keith, weren't you over there when, like, a waitress is like, what? Where are you from?

[Biz Nasty]

That. He was like, where are you from? He's like, canada. And then she was like, yeah, me too.

[Ryan Whitney]

But I didn't like that last thing here. Patrick wa. He took the mic and apologized to Islanders fans at an open practice on Friday. He said, we're not happy with the way we've been playing in front of you guys. No.

[Mike Grinelli]

Do you see what he did the other G the other night, right?

[Ryan Whitney]

No.

[Mike Grinelli]

They were shorthanded. Defensive zone draw. And he pulled the goalie against the Leafs. It took the Leafs like, 8 seconds to score and end the game 3 1.

[Biz Nasty]

How happy are those guys on the Leafs, dude?

[Paul Vincent]

Oh, God.

[Mike Grinelli]

They all, like, pass it around to each other. Made sure everybody got their.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, like, you get a point, you get. Instead of doing a face off play, it's like you get the second assist, you get the first, and I'll get the goal. Thank you. See you later, Islanders. Islanders. Scary, scary. Time to be an Islanders fan. Last thing I had here. Biz. You really cracked me up. I wanted to get this on record. So we were discussing the fact that Biz drives a shitbox. I mean, I'm talking like, you get in the car and you're like, oh, a homeless person was given a car and they live in this car. It's pretty cool. And you brought up, yeah, I know, I'm gonna get a truck. And then you mentioned, I gotta talk to grandma, though, before I get the truck. And we were like, what? Yeah, well, I gotta get the code from grandpa because my grandpa worked. Worked at Ford for 45 years. So I get a biz promo code now to. So what is going on with the truck situation?

[Paul Vincent]

Well, I'm gonna get a King Ranch F.F250 or F350 Diesel. King Ranch. That's the. That's my dream car. And I got the lot up in Jackson, Wyoming, so it'll be a fun truck to bring up there. And when you get the diesel engines, I think these things can run for like 3, 400, 000 miles. And I think that I've earned the right to get myself a new truck. And I've had two F150s before. Like, you know how you see sometimes those stickers of, like, the little kid pissing on, like, a Chevy logo or a Ford logo? The fact that one pissing on a Ford logo exists is an absolute debacle because Ford trucks are the best trucks in the world. I think, Yance, you have an F152. Like, there is no better reliable car or vehicle made. Excuse me. So considering my grandpa worked for Ford for so long. Wrong. You just are automatically in the system for, like, a friends and family discount where you provide this code. You, like, call in, you tell them who worked for them, and they give you a code and then you Supply it at the dealership, and then you get a certain price knocked off the vehicle. So, like, it's not a biz promo code. It's just, like, for anybody who works for Ford.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay.

[Cam Fowler]

Okay.

[Biz Nasty]

How much is. How much is the discount?

[Paul Vincent]

I don't. I. I.

[Ryan Whitney]

Floor mats. Give your floor mat.

[Biz Nasty]

If it's like a hundred bucks off and you're wasting your grandma mother's time, like, just. Just go buy the.

[Paul Vincent]

You get. You get free oil changes and, like, upgraded floor mats. That's kind of. That's what the. No, but I think it's a decent amount. But I remember the last time I bought one, I think, like, with, like, the full package I ended up getting, it was, like, a 46 or $48,000 truck. So I don't know. I might have saved, like, seven, eight grand. Where. I don't know what it is now, but why not you. It.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay, very true.

[Paul Vincent]

If. If you had that option, would you. You call it in, Merl.

[Mike Grinelli]

You know I am Merl.

[Ryan Whitney]

Do that for us. My dad worked at Jimmy John's for 43 years. Yeah. Okay. Here are your Doritos for free, sir.

[Mike Grinelli]

Then I can take that money off my gambling debt. You know, just justify it that way.

[Paul Vincent]

I'd suck a dick for an F150 at this point. That's how reliable those cars are.

[Biz Nasty]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

And with that, folks, Happy New Year. Honestly, everyone out there listening, Whether you had a great 2024 or a tough 2024, it's on to a new year, new beginnings. I hope everyone had an amazing holiday. As always, none of this happens without you guys listening. The best fan base. We are the luckiest people in the world to have the best job ever, and we cannot thank you enough. And I hope all you guys have an amazing year. Started off right with family and friends and a lot of. A lot of fun times over New Year's. And then just rip it up, keep crushing it. And thank you so much for listening. So happy New Year to you guys. Love all you guys, and hell of a week at Chicago.

[Paul Vincent]

Yance has one last thing.

[Biz Nasty]

I just. No, I know. Obviously we're biased with hockey guys, but did you guys see that Anaheim wore the T shirts for Cam Fowler? That was pretty.

[Paul Vincent]

Suck on that whip. Hey, where.

[Ryan Whitney]

Guys, I'm driving up the Sunday river. Now leave me alone. Love you. Bye.

[Mike Grinelli]

Hey, this is Fran from Chicks in the Office.

[Paul Vincent]

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[Mike Grinelli]

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[Ryan Whitney]

YPB's newest fabric, Studio Flex is buttery.

[Mike Grinelli]

Soft and perfect for your studio girl lifestyle. It comes in leggings, tops, these amazing skort dresses. I'll be wearing YPB Studio Flex to my next yoga class. I'm not someone who sets resolutions, so I love that. YPB by Abercrombie is made to bring your personal best all year long. Add YPB to your routine. Shop online or in store.