Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 549: Featuring Gabriel Landeskog

Summary

Podcast Summary: Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 549: Featuring Gabriel Landeskog

Released on March 11, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 549 of Spittin’ Chiclets, hosted by Barstool Sports’ Ryan Whitney, Paul Bissonnette (Biz), Mike Grinelli, and featuring a special interview with Colorado Avalanche’s Gabriel Landeskog, the panel dives deep into the explosive events surrounding the NHL trade deadline. The episode not only dissects major trades but also delves into personal stories of resilience and comeback in the world of professional hockey.

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1. Trade Deadline Turmoil

The podcast kicks off with the hosts expressing their excitement and disbelief at the whirlwind of trades that unfolded leading up to and during the trade deadline at 3:00 PM Eastern.

• Paul Bissonnette remarks, “The league is on fire right now. The momentum of the NHL and all these crazy deals and guys switching teams, it's insane. It's exactly what we needed” (03:18).

• Ryan Whitney adds humorously about signing a bottle, linking it to the trade of Brad Marchand: “About two hours later, the Bruins traded Brad Marchand... Thank God we have Pink Whitney here to save us” (02:04).

The panel highlights the Brad Marchand trade as a pivotal moment, discussing its impact on both the Bruins and the traded team, emphasizing the unexpected nature and the aftermath seen in fan reactions.

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2. Analyzing Key Trades and Team Strategies

The discussion shifts to dissecting the Bruins' strategic moves, including the acquisition and trade of players like Carlo, Scott Lawton, and Brad Marshan.

• Biz provides insights into player value and contract negotiations: “I had no idea that they were even in the realm of getting him... so we don't need to hop in the Leafs quite yet” (07:12).

• Mike Grinelli commends the Bruins' decision-making: “They brought in a guy like Scott Lawton. Just an absolute workhorse every day, on and off the ice. He's going to be amazing for that locker room” (07:05).

The hosts discuss the broader implications of these trades on team dynamics, playoff prospects, and salary cap considerations, highlighting the delicate balance GM Elliot Friedman must maintain.

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3. Spotlight on Mitch Marner and Team Leadership

A significant portion of the episode explores the uncertainty surrounding Mitch Marner’s future with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

• Paul Bissonnette expresses his concerns: “I think it's a little bit unsettling. I think it completely waves out the possibility that Mitch Marner takes any form of a hometown discount” (10:34).

• Mike Grinelli emphasizes player autonomy: “Players now are sticking up for themselves, getting what they want” (13:07).

The conversation delves into how such situations can affect locker room chemistry and the performance of star players, questioning the long-term effects on team cohesion.

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4. Interview with Gabriel Landeskog: Overcoming Adversity

In a heartfelt segment, the podcast welcomes Gabriel Landeskog, captain of the Colorado Avalanche, who shares his journey through a significant knee injury and the making of his documentary.

• Gabe Landeskog discusses his injury and recovery: “It’s been such a crazy roller coaster... We're getting closer, we keep trending in the right direction, and I’m excited about where we're at” (60:04).

• Paul Bissonnette probes into the mental and physical challenges: “When you’re in such a rough spot, you sort of pool together with people that have the same support systems as you” (63:04).

Landeskog opens up about the importance of support systems, mental resilience, and the motivation behind documenting his rehab process to inspire others facing similar challenges.

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5. Evaluating Western Conference Moves and Playoff Predictions

The hosts shift focus to the Western Conference, assessing moves by teams like the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, and Vegas Golden Knights.

• Paul Bissonnette praises Dallas’ acquisition of players: “Ranto played like he was crushing Pink Whitney all day for the Hurricanes” (25:14).

• Ryan Whitney and Mike Grinelli discuss Colorado’s strategic trades, highlighting the benefits and potential pitfalls of their new lineup.

Predictions are made regarding playoff matchups, with discussions on the strengths of teams like the Stars and Avalanche, and how recent trades might influence their postseason success.

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6. League Dynamics and Player Impact

The conversation broadens to touch on league-wide trends, such as the increasing prominence of player autonomy in trades and contracts.

• Paul Bissonnette states, “Players have a lot more say in where they want to play now” (11:34).

• Mike Grinelli concurs, noting the evolution of management strategies: “You got to evolve as management, just like the league does” (14:22).

The panel debates how these changes are reshaping team compositions and the overall competitive landscape of the NHL.

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7. Final Thoughts and Upcoming Highlights

As the episode winds down, the hosts reflect on the intense nature of the trade deadline and tease upcoming segments.

• Mike Grinelli shares his thoughts on major trades, while Paul Bissonnette highlights standout players like Dylan Larkin and the implications of their performances.

The episode concludes with a mention of the sponsor messages and a reminder to tune in for upcoming matches and special segments like the Sandbagger rematch.

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Notable Quotes:

• Ryan Whitney [03:38]: “You just never want to practice, especially the dog days of the year. But now you're probably like, would do anything to be out there with the guys, right?”

• Paul Bissonnette [10:34]: “I think it's a little bit unsettling. I think it completely waves out the possibility that Mitch Marner takes any form of a hometown discount.”

• Gabriel Landeskog [60:04]: “I feel like we're getting closer. We keep trending in the right direction, and I'm excited about where we're at.”

• Mike Grinelli [14:22]: “You got to evolve as management, just like the league does.”

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Conclusion

Episode 549 of Spittin’ Chiclets offers a comprehensive and engaging analysis of the NHL trade deadline's chaos, strategic team maneuvers, and personal stories of determination. Featuring an inspiring interview with Gabriel Landeskog, the episode balances hard-hitting sports analysis with human interest, making it a must-listen for hockey enthusiasts eager to understand both the macro and micro elements shaping the league.

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For more episodes, visit barstool.link/schiclets. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or ad-free for Prime Members on Amazon Music.

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. With golf season quickly approaching, Chevy wants to help you make the most of every drive. The all electric Equinox EV has it all. A roomy interior, high tech screens and more Chevrolet together. Let's drive.

[Paul Bissonnette]

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[Mike Grinelli]

Me and Ryan have been officially welcomed to the jungle that is Barstool sports.

[Ryan Whitney]

Our white whale, Sidney Crosby. Shave his head.

[Keith Yandle]

Shave his head.

[Ryan Whitney]

Shave his head. Ryan Whitney. Paul Visonnet, R.A. mike Grinelli. Spittin Chicklets. What is up, folks? Oh, my God, we are back. And what a week. We just. The NHL trade deadline came and went with some absolute fireworks at 3:00 Eastern. Welcome to episode 549 of Spit and Chicklets presented to you by Pink Whitney. Look at that shirt, Keith. Look at that unreal hoodie. Look at that logo. Look at that pink on the black. I love it. Some. Somebody actually brought me over. They needed to get a bottle signed. It was one of those big daddies. Those big daddies are intimidating. You see one of those, you're like, oh my God, this thing's a wagon. And I signed it. I signed it gladly. It was for falls. I should have charged him, but I signed it. And then you know what happened? About two hours later, the Bruins traded Brad Marchand. And then people, the kid who. They were chugging it. People started chugging the big bottles. They were drinking nips. They were. It was. It was like, what are we going to do? Our captain's gone and thank God we have Pink Whitney here to save us. So thank you so much to Pink Whitney.

[Paul Bissonnette]

It helps soothe the pain, doesn't it?

[Ryan Whitney]

It does, it does. And it helps maybe build some even more excitement. Team did something that you were happy with. Biz and I saw you we'll get into you and your club in a little bit. We have a, a long show in store. Going over everything. You were happy, you were upset and you were sad and you were poopy pants and then all of a sudden you were happy. I think your grade went from a C to an A plus.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, no, no, no. It went from a B to an A. It went from a B to an A. I was hoping for Braden Shen. Love, Scott Lawton. He's a great guy. I didn't realize that they were getting 50% retained. And then last minute they get Carlo, which also 15% retained and he's got two more years left on his deal, so we don't need to hop in the Leafs quite yet. But boys, this league, hanging out with Elliot Friedman, I do not envy that guy for one second. The life that he must have to live and the stress that he is under during these crazy times and even the information that I'm getting last minute here before the podcast on how deals all went down. The league is on fire right now. The momentum of the NHL and all these crazy deals and guys switching teams, it's insane. It's exactly what we needed. The Caps going north and we're taking over, baby. Hey, next stop, Goodell. Keep your fucking head on a swivel, baby.

[Ryan Whitney]

Hey, keep your head on a swivel. Let's, let, let's go after the NBA first, okay? Let's settle down with the Sunday slate of NHL games. And, and, and, and, and actually that brings me to the point. Did you see LeBron? Did you see LeBron just fake getting elbowed in the head against the Celtics? He didn't get clipped at all. He didn't get clipped at all. He's just diving around and then, and then the NHL has blockbuster deals and all this action going. And then you see LeBron yelling at Stephen A. Smith because he was making fun of his son who shouldn't be in the NBA but was in the NBA. And it's like all of a sudden the NBA's got this just pathetic display of, of unsportsmanlike play by LeBron and diving and being a diva. And the NHL, we got trades, we got fights, we got GMS who despise each other, we got insiders. It's, it's non stop action. You're right.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Insider wars going on online. Oh, there's a hell of a deadline.

[Ryan Whitney]

Hey, the insider wars and then the.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Nuke Last minute past 3:00. Brad Marshaw going to the, the rat king going down to The Rats.

[Ryan Whitney]

I saw it. I, I think. I think people immediately had the, had the. What's the slap shot with the Hanson brothers, you know, and, and, and then could Chuck Bennett and Marshawn on the ice together. And, and it's so funny. The best part about it is Florida just bullied Toronto a couple years ago. They bullied the shit out of him, and now they're probably going to play again. I think they're a little above Tampa, who. We'll see who wins the division, but they're going to play and I'm going to get to watch them. Do it to your team again. But it kind of brings me to Keith. I should have brought you in sooner. You are now a Leafs fan, so it's like I got to battle both of you idiots.

[Mike Grinelli]

Well, first and foremost, I'm a Cats fan.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay.

[Mike Grinelli]

But my second team, just because I learned from the best, learned from biz. You can choose as many teams as you want. You can have seven in each division. You can have eight in one division, three in the other. So they. They're in my. They're in my. In my two hole, you know, really love what they did. Going out, trying to bolster their roster. Didn't need anything too special up front. Bring in a guy like Scotty Lawton. Just a absolute workhorse every day, on and off the ice. He's going to be amazing for that locker room. I saw some interviews that Austin Matthews already knew him and, you know, so they have a relationship.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Hey, kind of like a mini Matthews.

[Ryan Whitney]

He knows Matthews. So let's just. Let's get the route going right down downtown Toronto now. That's it. He knows Matthew Sick.

[Paul Bissonnette]

He looks like a miniature clone of.

[Mike Grinelli]

Him, but I, I think the biggest deal in, in biz, correct me if I'm wrong, you wanted Luke Shen the whole time, but I think Carlo a little bit younger, bigger body or longer body. I, I think he's going to be an absolute huge pickup for them come playoff time.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I had no idea that they were even in the, like, the realm of getting him. I didn't even know that he was available, really. I thought potentially that it was going to be a package deal with Risto. It just made sense since, like, Philly was going to send Lawton over. But very happy. I mean, a very serviceable defenseman on the right side for Boston for a long time, obviously has tons of playoff experience. I heard he's an incredible guy, very into his faith. So just a guy that you know exactly what he's going to bring to the rink day in, day out. I think that most Bruins fans, but along with the rest of the team, would say that he's probably underperformed a little bit this year. But hey, man, when you come over to a team like Toronto, they got a fucking hell of a lineup. Things are going to be a lot different and they address their needs. That's all I got to say. I was. I was hoping for maybe a Luke and Braden Chen coming over. A little brotherly love, but I thought that Braden would have provided a little bit more offense in that second hole and obviously more term on his contract to fit in just in case maybe JT doesn't come back. But ultimately a. A grade A for. For Brad Tree living in the Toronto Maple Leafs, for solidifying that playoff roster. But hey boys, the Atlantic wagon, the Central Wagon, all three of those teams, top three teams in those divisions, I think could win a Stanley Cup. Are we all in agreement of that?

[Ryan Whitney]

And two of the six will be gone after the first round. It might be the number one year for the people who don't like the current format biz. I wish thinking back to Thayer Academy sitting there, I wish you were my teacher because you chuck out A's like no, no other. You chuck out hall of Fame. You chuck out A pluses. It's like you grade on a scale nonstop. I love it. It's. It's true fandom of the team. I could see you got your hat on.

[Paul Bissonnette]

But you guys put Yan's in the hall of Fame. You'd go in as a combined player.

[Ryan Whitney]

Against hall of Fame for us. No doubt. But, but I mean you, you chuck.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Like Shane Doane hall of Fame.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's. That's another one that's like a good.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Borden hall of Fame.

[Ryan Whitney]

You'd be like Steven Dixon, Hockey hall of Fame. I think anyone who's ever passed you the puppy.

[Paul Bissonnette]

He gave me my nickname. He's in the Hall.

[Ryan Whitney]

Put him in the Hall. Put him in the Hall. But you say that Toronto maybe didn't. They bolstered their lineup and they didn't. They didn't go get big game hunting. But then Elliot, this, this guy, this non stop insider working his magic breaks the news Saturday that they had a deal in place that they were willing to trade for Rontanen and Marner would possibly be going the other way enough to where they go to Mitch Marner and they say, are you willing to get traded to Carolina? He said nope. What do you think this now does? And there's arguments to both sides. But I'm curious if you have an opinion on if that matters at all within the locker room or to Mitch Marner that holy. In the midst of my best season and us having the best team we've had since I came into the league, they're asking if I'll accept a trade.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think it's a little bit unsettling. I think it completely waves out the possibility that Mitch Marner takes any form of a hometown discount which I don't blame him now at this point for being asked from my understanding in the summertime about it and prior situations where he's been asked to be moved. I think that, I think that the way that he's performed so far this year under the gun of knowing that his contract's up and the potential of being asked to be moved or signing somewhere else has been remarkable. I think that everything is going to depend on him coming back with the Leafs on how he performs in playoffs. But with the recent news coming out that they were willing to try to move on from for rotten and ass and wave them no move, I, I, I, I probably lean 49 that he's staying 51 that he's gone that it could be way higher than that and maybe he's completely checked out. But the good news is boys is he has to perform if he wants.

[Ryan Whitney]

To get paid and no he, no he doesn't.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You don't think, you don't think he's gotta, you don't think he's got to perform in playoffs?

[Ryan Whitney]

I think in first round, in first round if they lost in four games and he had no points he'd sign an eight year deal with somebody for 13 to 14 million. I actually think whoever he ends up signing with on that deal, I, I'm, I'm interested to see if it's like a true contender and if it is what the number will be or if it's a team, I don't know that that really doesn't have expectations for a couple years where then it could be over 14. But he's paid no matter what he's, he's paid well.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I'll tell you this in Toronto there's no way that he's taken anything less than 14 million. I think at this point considering that rotten and was I believed over 13.5 by Toronto and Marner has performed in that market for as long as he has. So I, I think that now that's his baseline and that's what they've done to himself and I've actually caught wind that There was actually another package on the line to move to Carolina to get Ronan's assigned. So they would have kept Marner and they would have also brought Rotten and in and signed him for close to $14 million. But rotten and said, nope, don't want to go there. I want to go to Dallas. That is the, that is the rumblings out there and there's a little bit more information that I want to clear the air on with the Rotten and situation. Do you guys want to hop into that right away? Because I would say that's the biggest move at the deadline. He ends up going over to Dallas, gets a, I believe a great deal for the Dallas Stars at 8 times 12. State tax, state tax, state tax. We get it. But the deal is finally done and they get the. Probably the biggest, best power forward and a guy we know could perform in playoffs for a very, very good tag.

[Mike Grinelli]

Just I wanted to touch on Marner a little bit too. This is why you have a no trade clause or no move clause for reasons like this. And I love the fact that he stuck up for himself and said, nope, I don't want to go there. I want to stay here, try to finish something that, you know, I was drafted by this team. I'm going to try to win a cup with them. Whatever happens in the summertime will happen then. But the, the ran in, the ran in situation just keeps giving and given and it's amazing. And I absolutely love the fact that players now are sticking up for themselves, getting what they want, you know, not putting themselves in situations that they do not want to be in. Because for a long time it was like that guys got traded there and you know, that was just kind of the end of the day. You had to, you had to finish out your term there. But nowadays these big boys, if they don't want to be somewhere, they're not going to sign there. And Ranton was a great example of that. And do you think it'll, you know, deter teams from making trades before the deadline where, you know, they find out that if a guy doesn't like it.

[Ryan Whitney]

Or not, I think that you're starting to see trade. The trade deadline is more about actually trading for guys with term. It. It used to always be, hey, like, look at every Ufa coming up this summer and take 80% of them and they're on the, they're on the, the block or, you know, their, their possibility of being traded is definitely higher than for a guy who was signed to term. And now like biz, you talk about like Lawton's got a year left. Carlos got two years, two years left. The Oilers got Wallman. He's got, he's got time left on his deal. It's like all these different deals. You see more term the Ronton one. To me it was, it was at one point like, what, what does he want? Because he all of a sudden all these deals were coming up and he was, it sounded like he was turning them all down or Carolina was turn turning them down. We end up finding out that Edmonton's involved with Ronton. Edmonton's. Edmonton's got a deal locked up in place with him at around 14 million per year, I've heard. And then they didn't have the assets that Carolina wanted. Carolina, what a crazy deadline for them. Probably one of the most wacky like month for a contending team I've ever seen. They get ranted and they have no, no word and no clue that he's willing to resign there. I think many Hurricanes fans who you went to war with biz, I saw you replying.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I was off four hour flight last night battling with Caniacs online. Like I was going at all of the fucking the.

[Ryan Whitney]

They were lied to. They're like, we were lied to. It's like, no you weren't.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, you weren't. Want me. I'll start with the Rotten and stuff. This summer they started talking with Colorado, okay. They got a shit sandwich offer. They got offered lower than what David Posternak's making. So obviously they were not going to accept. So there was a little bit of back and forth but ultimately Colorado was staying at their number. Okay. There was never. I, I also heard that Rotten and did speak with McFarland and the Colorado Avalanche. He wanted to stay in Colorado and was willing to take a hometown discount and he was blindsided by the trade. They were then asked, they were then asked by Carolina, can we start negotiating? And their camp said no. So there was never a situation where Rantnen and his camp said, okay, we know this is happening and yes, we're willing to open up negotiations with Carolina. That's misinformation that's out there. So Carolina ended up making that move knowing that he, he didn't want to negotiate with them. That's why I thought this was crazy before I even knew this information. I thought it was crazy that they made that deal without putting pen to paper. I would not have done that deal. So fast forward 43 days before the deadline, he is blindsided by that trade. I sincerely believe that if they would have offered him 8 times 12 and said take this or we're going to move you to Carolina Rotten and would have signed that deal. Never once did Colorado make Rotten and feel like he was part of the big three. Honestly, I was shocked, shocked to fucking hear that this going going back to the end of last season. How did fucking Edmonton make Leon Draisaitl feel? How do they make cleverness?

[Ryan Whitney]

I think they're different players. I think. I think you're saying that is a sign almost that maybe without McKinnon he's not like the same. Do you understand what I'm saying? Like Colorado.

[Paul Bissonnette]

But. But we're talking about Leon Draisaitl taking a dis hometown discount at 14 when Ratnan would have did so at 12 and Colorado was not interested in doing that. And then they blindside him and move him without ever throwing that 8 times 12 number. They stood at what, $100,000 more than what Panarin's making. I think that that's crazy given with when Panarin signed and where we are today. Knowing where the cap's going and not wanted to keep running. I think that that's crazy. Do I think that they got a great bargain return and getting Nages and has that worked out and are they looking like geniuses by doing so? Getting him for six and a half or this year and this year and next year based on what he's being paid? Absolutely. I stick to my word though on the fact that I think that Tulski was out of his mind for making that move with Rantnen knowing that he didn't want to negotiate going there, but yet still doing it and expecting Rotten and when he got there to finally sign. Let's completely different styles of play, right?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Colorado top three in like zone entries and puck play and keeping and playing with the thing. Carolina's top three worst. They're a dump and chase team. That's not how Rotten and wants to play. So regardless of what you want to play him, do you think he wants to spend the next eight years there playing a completely different style than what he's been accustomed to in the NHL? That was my gripe with making the move. Now we can go off of what the return, what they got. I think that Stank Hoven is a perfect fit for Carolina. You got him not only this year but next year on his entry level contract. He's a puck hound. He's the type of guy that can forecheck and a type of guy who's going to want to be there Right. Like he fits in perfectly with that system. Do I think that looking back, I would have traded Naches and Drury for Stank Hoven and too late first, I would not have done that deal. That is to me, that's an L. You're talking about a guy who in his NHL career, stankhoven has less points than what Natius is probably going to finish with the rest of this season. So I just don't see where that adds up. And Carolina Hurricanes fans not only being misinformed that Rotten was going to negotiate in good faith before they made the trade and not true and then they think he comes over and is poopy pants and shit the bed. As far as his production, they play a completely different style. Rotten and doesn't want to dump and chase. He wants to play with the puck. He's been doing that with the best player in the world his whole fucking career. So I believe it was a botched move and a, and a learning lesson for Tulski. And that's all I've said from the beginning. I think he did a solid job in getting a guy that probably wants to be there and is going to fit their system for the rest of this year. But the rest of the Carolina Hurricanes fans telling me like, oh well, we're not even necessarily in win mode now. It's like, what? Yes you are. What do you mean you're not in win mode now? Why would you trade for Rotten if you're not in win now mode?

[Mike Grinelli]

Good point.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Hey, what do you mean they're all contradicting each other?

[Ryan Whitney]

Tulsi's the only guy who Prof. Professor Bissonnette gave a B to. Everyone else got A's. That's when you know things are bad. I, I, I agree with everything biz.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Are you, are you shocked that Colorado traded Rotten and blindsided him without at least listen, I can understand being stubborn in negotiations, but the, the, the, the reason I brought up Leon Draisaitl is from the minute that Stan Bowman got there with is he said, my first order of business because Leon's deal is going to be the first one up is to get him locked in instant comfort. And you know what? That probably made Leon feel like. You know what? Not only do I want to be here, I'm going to take a hometown discount. 14 million for Leon Dry Seidle is a hometown discount, yes or no? Looking at where the cap's going, absolutely. Why was Miko Ron in Colorado not not treated like that? I think that that's crazy and that's where I'm off base and in fact where I thought that why wouldn't Rotten and his agent just have asked for a meeting with McFarlane and Colorado? They did. So if you're a Colorado fan and you think that Miko Ronan was getting greedy about what he's asking for. I'm sorry, Mo Ratten. And is worth 8 times 12 all day long and you could have actually got him at a hometown discount. If they think and they're looking at their projected numbers and their charts and they think that there's going to be a significant dip or maybe they won't have enough money to lock in a generational defenseman and Cale Makar. Sure. But if you're a Colorado Avalanche fan, know that that one of the best players your organization's ever seen, one of your best playoff performers and a guy that helped solidify a Stanley cup and probably could have helped you bring at least one more in his tenure there was not even given the opportunity to take a hometown discount at 8 times 12. That is crazy. And then it was lied about that, that, that he was willing to negotiate in good faith with Carolina before he even got there. That is not true. Not true.

[Ryan Whitney]

What a rant. Whenever you have a little white stuff get on your lip while ranting, I know you're feeling it and you're feeling it right now. You are bringing all this info. I wasn't aware of some of those things.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I feel like I'm gonna get. I don't like having this much information. I get anxiety when I, when I have this much. That, that's why I do not envy Elliot Friedman. I don't want to know this. I, I, I'm more, I'm more fearful of like a, like an NHL CIA agent than I am the Irish travelers at this point. Knowing all this stuff that I know.

[Ryan Whitney]

Right now, Louis Mangioni's cousin who played hockey is just like waiting outside your door. I, I think as much as, as much as that was maybe kind of like dissing or, or, or saying that Chris McFarlane in, in Colorado didn't do a job that maybe some ABS fans would have hoped after that this guy. I never seen a team be rebuilt on the fly like this. And we'll get, we'll get into Colorado because he made some incredible moves. But that is an interesting discussion.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Just go another say that he does.

[Ryan Whitney]

Another 200 grand for Rontin. Like 200 grand a year. Come on. What are we doing here?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Their, their original offer was 8 times 11.2.

[Ryan Whitney]

So underneath Panarin underneath, highest paid winger in the game. But Dallas goes out and they make the move. And I saw that. I said, jesus Christ. And then I watched, I said, this team is a complete wagon. So then all of a sudden like, oh, they're playing Edmonton Saturday. This is a huge game. Edmonton. They're starting to figure it out a little bit. But here comes Dallas with Ronton in the lineup. It looked like he'd been playing after crushing Pink Whitney all day for the Hurricanes. Compared to how he looked with Dallas. Talk about a natural fit. He was snapping it around. They looked awesome. Oilers got out to a huge lead, ended up being a great game. 5, 4 Oilers get the win. But I was like, oh, this guy fits in perfect there. And I think Dallas, I would say they're top nine forwards. Would you argue, is there anyone, is there any team with a better top.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Nine when they're healthy in seconds back? And the fact that they picked up Grandman, it sucks to lose Stankhoven, but man, oh man, that top nine is absolutely lethal. Lethal.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's incredible. And like can also play like two way hockey. It's not like there's a line that's just run and gun every player on that, on that forward group. They play on both sides of the puck. But Dallas wasn't done. It actually had to. Wyatt Johnson had to sign an extension before this all went down. And talk about a bargain. I mean this guy, I think in the last like 10 games, ish. He's been on fire and they signed him. What is it, eight and a half biz or G?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Look that up. Five years. About eight and a half million dollars. Which I texted the group, said I thought. Group chat. I said I thought maybe it came in a little high. But with obviously with where the cap's going just because it was five years. Right. It's kind of. You see that new type of bridge deal where guys knowing that the cap's going to keep accelerating at these ridiculous amounts, that that seems to be where the number is at, man. And, and then even looking at his stats like this is a guy who's played 82 games, I believe his first two years of his entry level and then this year is on pace to do the same. So just a lethal forward and a potential future captain of the Dallas Stars. So good for them, man. It's solidifying two, two unbelievable forwards for moving forward here.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah, I'd like to just with their young guys, like, obviously, you know, Jamie, Ben and Sagan are on the back nine. Still have a lot of Game left. But you got those young guys and Rantman for the next eight years. You know, they're going to be solid going forward and unbelievable. Obviously we had Jim Nil on and, and we all loved him, but unbelievable set of kahunas on him going out there and making this all happen. Obviously you gotta, you gotta give up a piece to get a good piece. And you know, he did that without I think hurting their team. And I, I thought it was a master class by him. But going back to Tulski with, with Carla Carolina, do you think they were like, okay, if we get him down here, he's gonna love it and sign here or is it just like, hey, we might only have them for this year. But then you look at what natures is doing. It's like they, I don't know if the owner has too much say going on there, which, you know, you hear.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Rumblings about going on thing that Carolina fans are saying is like, oh well, like he's made it vocal that he doesn't want to be here and he was going to move on anywhere. It's like, well, I think that part of the reason that he wasn't happy there was he feels like he wasn't getting the reps to even prove himself right. And you talk about the way that they play where he's probably like I want to possess the puck, man. I got all this speed and skill, like I want to play with this thing, not chase it. So obviously he takes that bridge deal in order to prove himself where regardless if he quote unquote doesn't want to be there or is eventually going to move on as a player, he still has to perform in order to get the money that he's going to want. So he's such a valuable piece. So that's where I just didn't see it making sense to move on unless you had pen to paper for rotten. And, and I think that the thought was, is regardless of them, his camp saying we don't want to negotiate before getting there. They thought once he did there, got there and, and, and fell in love with it and loved the community would eventually turn around and say, well I'm getting offered eight years times 13 and a half. That's as probably much as I'm going to get in the open market. Yeah, let's do it. But not only was he wrong, but the, the comments that came after they, they weren't, they ran out of time in order to turn those two late first round picks in order to maybe address other needs if we're going to talk about Carolina right now. I think that they're going to head to the Eastern Conference finals like I think you guys you got. I think that they're the Winnipeg jets of the East. I really think that the only in the first round. No I think that they have a great roster and the only thing they're truly missing is a second line center. I don't necessarily trust in Cockney Emmy but the rest of that lineup is very strong. Like if you look at Stankhoven he was playing first line right side. I thought he fit in great with Ajo and then Svetchnikov that second line, I think it's solid. Once again the trust in the second line center. Much like going over to Winnipeg they got the Mestikov don't think people have maybe necessarily the most trust in him to get the job done especially in the division that they're in. But one of the best third lines in the league with Jordan Stahl. You could say the same thing about Winnipeg and a great overall bottom six. Really like their back end with Brent Burns Orlov. Maybe the only other thing they have the edge in is goaltending. Right. But once again Hellebuck. Helle Buck hasn't proved himself in playoffs either so you could throw that out the window until that happens. But the biggest thing for Carolina being they're going to wax New Jersey in the first round if they play they might not.

[Ryan Whitney]

They might end. They probably hoping somehow to get Jersey instead of Columbus.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Who's buzzing still think that they win that first round series and I trust Carolina right now over playing Washington and I know that Washington might even win the President's trophy and is in first in the east right now. Who you take in both healthy lineups if you're going Carolina against Washington.

[Mike Grinelli]

I think with less power plays in. In playoffs. I, I think you're right. I think I'd go Carolina so they.

[Ryan Whitney]

Have an easy coin flip. For me that's a coin flip.

[Paul Bissonnette]

But I wouldn't put it past them to get to the Eastern Conference finals. So as much as Kane's fans think I've been about the move and everything like that. The, the. The one element to this is. Is not having the, the. The. The blessing of Rotten's camp to negotiate a contract. You should have been prepared to not only move him but what you were going to do with those two late first round picks. But they're once again the Kacs are like oh we're not in win now mode. Like well those we're going to turn those into unreal prospects. It's like, what the. Does that matter, man? You got rotten in for stankhoven, a middle six guy. We're talking about one of the best right wingers in the league right now. Like, what are we doing here in.

[Mike Grinelli]

A 30th overall pick?

[Ryan Whitney]

I also had some. I shouldn't say some. I had one message from a, from a KAC biz. It was a friendly one, though. He was talking about basically the fact Brindamore plays this style where you're just chipping it in, you're going and getting it. He kind of asked what would. Why wouldn't he make an exception for like a ho? And then maybe Ronton and I said, when one guy's doing it and the rest of the team isn't, it doesn't work. I think sometimes people might wonder like, well, these guys could play this way. And these guys, it's like that's not how. How most really good teams go. They have a system. They want to control the puck, they want to have. They want to have zone entries where they have control and then they start the cycle and then there's complete systems of go get the thing. So it's hard just answering that guy. It's hard to mix and match that. I think obviously you got a guy like McDavid that's a little different, right? Ajo is not, not McDavid. You can't, you cannot slow down somebody like McDavid McKinnon. But for a guy like Ajo in that team, they have to play a certain way to be good. And they are good. They've had great runs.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And as good as I feel that Ajo is, I feel like he's an incredible 200 foot center. I also feel that Rupe Hints is a guy who's going to take the puck and get it in the middle of the ice at his own end and he's going to bring it all the way to the offensive zone. He has that exact same speed that Nathan McKinnon has. So he's playing with a way similar center iceman as opposed to going with Sebastian Ajo. So the, the fin, the finish, friendship, throw that out the door. This had everything to do with style of play. That's it. So I know Carolina fans want to feel slighted. I don't hate your team. I don't hate your gm. My simple comments were, I think that if he could do it all over again, he would want a redo on that move. That's it. That's all. What Other things do we need to talk about as far as the deadline here?

[Ryan Whitney]

There was a monster deal in the other conference in the east and nobody saw it coming until kind of maybe a day or two before the deadline. I, I had seen when Marshawn be traded at the deadline. It had been out there and everyone was just so confident. Grinelli, why don't you come on here Is that he'll resign, they'll work it out. And all of a sudden what time did that happen at? Because I'm watching. I was on with game notes and computer. I had your sportsnet thing on biz and all of a sudden Elliott drops the bomb. Brad Marchand moving on. Talk about getting different reports and insiders battling. This one's been madness since the minute it happened. But the Bruins trade their captain and they didn't just trade them, they trade them to the team that owns them. The way Bruins own Toronto and the way they own business soul. Florida is the exact opposite and has pretty much crushed the entire organization from the record breaking season and losing in the first round to then winning the cup the next year and then getting your captain for a second round or the following year. Gee, you're down and you're down bad. And I witnessed Bruins are dead. The Bruins are dead.

[Greg Wyshynski]

I would say this trade has ruined me. It has ruined me as a human. My apartment is a disaster. I haven't done the dishes in weeks. I'm only eating fast food right now on Friday. I know, but dishes are the worst. Brad Martian gave, you know, short nosed, big short, big nosed guys from Boston a shot at hope. And I'm just, I'm very disappointed in Don Sweeney. And, and here's the thing, like I was okay with the moves up until that point. Like I like, I like the coil move like Zellers helps build the prospect pool. Like I, I, I didn't like dealing Carlo to the Leafs. I, I never want to help the Toronto Maple Leafs. But it's a good deal. Fraser Mittens like the perfect B. You get a first round draft pick in what's supposedly going to be a loaded draft. 26, that's the Gavin McKenna draft. But I just hate, I hate this Brad Martian deal. And like let's think about teams who have broken it down in the past. Let's look at the Chicago Blackhawks. What was the first thing that they did? They overpaid veterans who wanted it, they wanted to come in and help build the culture. Nick Foligno, Pat Maroon. Guys like that find me a better person than Brad Marchand to overpay and come in and help build the future.

[Ryan Whitney]

You can't.

[Greg Wyshynski]

He's the perfect guy to come in and help build this future. And they did it for a conditional second round pick. That's the worst part about it. And then Butcher Grass comes out and says the offer was 3.2 million. A.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, I. I want to make some things clear on that.

[Keith Yandle]

No.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No. So it was. Offer was offers. Exactly what he's making now for three years.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, I heard six. Six, Three times three.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Exactly what he's making now in Marshawn's camp. Wanted seven and a half. And Marshaw had a meeting with Don Sweeney, and he went in and he said, I love it here. I've been a Bruin my entire career. I'm willing to meet you guys in the middle. And they would not come up on their offer. I thought that that was insane. You wouldn't. You wouldn't give Brad Marchand the same amount that you paid Lynn home. That's crazy to me.

[Greg Wyshynski]

It's crazy, insane. And then, I mean, Sweeney talks about how it's a retool. It's not a rebuild, it's a retool. This draft pick, it's a 2028 conditional. 2028, potential first round draft pick, best case scenario. So you draft a kid in 2028 at the end of the first round. That's three years away. You're not seeing a return on this investment. Five, six years. That's crazy. Why not sign the guy? I would have paid him 8,9 mil. I don't care. It helps build the future.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think Marshawn had every right to be just disgusted. That's why I kind of like, once I heard like, rumblings of what happened. I'm like, oh, I'm seeing people right out there. Maybe he'll sign back in July. No, no, no, no, no. Brad Marchand is no longer a member of the Bruins. But to all Bruins fans, it ended. It's over. Looking back, man, they signed Chara and Mark Savard. What was it, 0607. And they've had 18 years of being a contender. Like, this was an incredible run. They had one cup. They went to three finals. They had no, no chance in 13 against Chicago, especially with the injuries. But they had that 19 cup, right. St. Louis grabbed that from them in Boston. They had the amazing comeback against Vancouver, down 2 0. It was amazing for 18 years. And everything comes to an end. It's. It's similar to the Patriots on a way lesser scale. One title verse Six. Seeing the. The leader of the team be, you know, basically insulted by ownership in the GM and leave to Florida to be possibly going on to win another Stanley cup right in your face. So to see it end like this sucks. But it was a pretty special run here in Boston. The crazy thing is, though, now you have no prospects. Don Sweeney decides that he's not willing to move up, I don't know what, couple hundred grand for Marshawn. A million bucks. And he wanted to basically say, like, we're. We're. We're xing out. We're. We're done with this part of the Bruins past now. I could see that, and I think Patriots fans would say, like, well, it worked. It worked for the Patriots forever. I mean, like, Belichick could be like, see you later to just key players when they. When it was time for them to get paid. Nope, we're done. You're.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You're.

[Ryan Whitney]

You're a declining asset for us. But this just felt different because they're not a contender anymore, and he's the captain, and he wanted to be there.

[Paul Bissonnette]

He would.

[Greg Wyshynski]

The Patriots won. That's. That's the difference in the argument there is like, the Patriots would win.

[Ryan Whitney]

They kept winning.

[Greg Wyshynski]

Yeah. So. So you're like, okay, this works. This. This formula works here in football, and Belichick's doing it, but with legacy players like Tom Brady. No one from Boston like that. And one thing about Brad Martian, and I think a lot of Bruins fans feel. Feel the same way.

[Ryan Whitney]

He.

[Greg Wyshynski]

He joined the Bruins. Like, he became a prominent member on the team when I was a junior in high school. I'm 32 years old now. Like, all of my adult life, all I've known is Brad Marchand. So for me, it feels like almost like a piece of my childhood. Like, I. I look at this Bruins team now, and it's you. I just don't have the same feeling when Brad Marchand was on the team, because a piece of my childhood is now gone. And it kind of sounds lame to say that, but I know a lot of Bruins fans feel the same way, because 16 years, that's a long time. That's. That's a lifetime.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And it's amazing how quickly it can unravel, too. You broke it down from. From Marshawn's breakaway in game five against Bobrovsky to. To now, and the fact that it's just been all.

[Ryan Whitney]

All under two years. That all happened. There's.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, there's.

[Ryan Whitney]

What. What is there four guys. Five guys on the team that. That broke the record in two years ago. Now, I, I think Marshawn, like, he had such a legacy with the Bruins because of how he came in as this fourth, third liner and, and, and he was just a rat. And then, and it was like, oh, the Bruins fans love this guy. Then the skill takes over. Like, I still remember game seven in 2011. Watching like, like I was like, I didn't know he was this good. That whole playoff run, I should say I was like this guy. Then I started skate with him, like, oh my God, he's like a first line stud in the NHL. And it all kind of just built up to that. And then he takes the C over. He changes a player completely because the, the licking, the madness, the suspensions, the fines, it, it pretty much all stopped. He changed a little bit. Not a little bit. He changed a lot. And Don Sweeney, it's like, you got no prospects now and you think all the fans want him running the draft that's coming up with all their picks that they got. I, I, not to mention the final thing, I'll say, Keith, I'll throw it to you. Or Biz, when, when G talks about like growing up and watching him and seeing how good these teams were year in and year out, you can also go to Chicago and say when they got rid of Kane and they decided totally, like, we're done with this part of our franchise. Keith was gone, Seabrook was gone, Taves was gone. They still have pasta. McAvoy and Swayman recently signed to eight year deals. Like it was just, why not just give seven million, seven and a half million for him for the next three years? What are you doing?

[Mike Grinelli]

That's the thing, it's three years. If he was asking for an eight year deal at 36 years old, I'd be like, okay, Marchie, you're acting a little crazy. The three year deal, he should have gotten whatever he wanted because you need a guy like that around the locker room. You need a guy to help, you know, get the next guys ready to play. He's been around leaders like Chara and Bergeron. He knows what it takes, especially in that city. I mean, you see what happened. He gets traded, how beloved he was within the fans and stuff like that. So I think you need a guy like that around. And like I said, three years is not a long time. It's, it's three years of helping your young guys. But the only thing I'll say that I, I like that Sweeney did was put him in a good situation. They put him in a position where he can go and win. He's gonna, he's gonna love. He's gonna love being here and he's gonna love it so much I think he's gonna resign here. But yeah, you. I was, I was at the doctor's office today, the Panthers doctor, just chatting with him. He's like. He's like you. You think Marshawn, like everyone hated him. Everyone. Now they're buying his jerseys. Every person's gonna love this guy. He's gonna come down there, drive a golf cart to practice, wear sandals every day, go to. This dude is going to revive his career. He's going to play another six years down here instead of the three you would have got him at the Fleet Center.

[Greg Wyshynski]

G. There's a trickle down effect here I think that not a lot of people are talking about as well. Like Don Sweeney, I don't think is the most liked guy in the Bruins locker room. Like now this is like three or four guys now that he's. He's battled with through negotiations.

[Ryan Whitney]

The Bruins have forever though, like going back to the 70s. They've to get a contract out of them is a grind.

[Mike Grinelli]

But you got to evolve. You got to evolve as management, just like the league does, right? Like the. It's a different league now. You saw it with Ranton.

[Ryan Whitney]

What do you say to. There are a faction of Bruins Fans saying 6 and a.6.3 times 3 or 6 and a half times 3 is fair? Like they gave him a fair offer or do you think, no, you got to go up to what he.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think if you're putting in sweat equity the way that he has and you see a guy and this is no knock on Lindholm, but if you're asking for the same tag for half the term, a little less than half the term, I think. And also walking in and handling your own business and talking to the GM and willing to come down off of what your number is. And what I was going to say there was. I think it's a little shortsighted in the fact that this guy had three surgeries in the off season. Like if we think that Brad Marshaw's games declined a little bit. Well, yeah, he's fucking coming in trying to get his feet stable underneath him after getting those surgeries and you know, being a little bit off now he's getting some time off in Florida. He gets to heal up and doesn't need to be the guy there. He just needs to fit in on that insane line. By the way, with Bennett and Matthew Kachak which, I mean we talk about skill players not having enough pucks on the ice. These guys aren't going to have enough fucking heads to cave in out there. But I just think it's shortsighted because I think there's. He's going to have a little bit of pep in his step to try to prove everybody wrong about the fact that his game isn't on the decline. In fact, he's got a lot more to show. So he'll be soaking up that vitamin D and he'll be back buzzing come playoff time and he might be back.

[Mike Grinelli]

Next game with all this vitamin D.

[Greg Wyshynski]

And what's stopping David Posternak from walking into Don Sweeney's office this summer and asking for a trade? He's 28 years old. He's playing the best hockey of his life right now. He pro. He doesn't want to be in for.

[Ryan Whitney]

A rebuild right now and his contract's incredible.

[Greg Wyshynski]

There are teams that would give an arm and a leg for him. So the trickle down effect where Boston's always been a desirable destination, is it so much anymore? When you see how they treat their captain and you see how they treat players that have been so good to them and played on discounts for years and years and years. I mean I wouldn't want to sign in Boston right now with Don.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think that when people say that it's more about like original six, beautiful city, like culture, I feel like desirable place to play. I, I know you're right. It does does have to do with the front office and, and the team and everything. But I always kind of think of the city and the franchise. But you're right, that's a good point.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Boys. I, yeah, I, I'm, I'm very excited to see him in a Florida Panthers jersey whenever he's back in the lineup. But do you want to shift the focus back out West? Because I was very critical and maybe the way they handled the rotten and situation. But you alluded to it before the marshaw talk. McFarlane deserves hardware for that overhaul. From the beginning of the year they had goaltending issues. They get two new goalies, they lock in their goalie of the future for a great deal in Blackwood. They go out and get Lindgren and Vessi or vc, excuse me. Then they end up snagging nature and Drury who I think is going to be a great fourth liner and then they not only go out and get Brock Nelson probably the most or one of the most sought after second liners where they had to address that need because Middlestad just wasn't the guy. And then on top of that they go out and get Charlie Coyle who is a perfect third line center for a cup run. This is one of the greatest in season overhauls I've ever seen. And some people saying oh that's a lot of turnover in one year. But the fact that it happened with these little trickle effects where it wasn't all at once, I think it is the perfect spice for that team. And watching that game against the Leafs the other night, I thought I was watching it and fast forward at the pace it was at. That was nutch. Hey, and the fact too that they got Natushkin back, that's like a fucking deadline deal in itself. If he's able to go to the boza and stay out of the fucking state of whatever he's got him locked himself in come playoff time this is going to be a force to be reckoned with. And as good as the Dallas Stars look boys. I think in a seven game series with both teams healthy, I think I'm picking Colorado. I think. I think I'm picking Colorado. And it looks like that's going to be the first round matchup. And not only that storyline but Ratnan playing against his old team like how, how big of a treat is that? This is crazy. This is crazy.

[Ryan Whitney]

Did you see McFarlane's memo that he sent out too? Like he made a press release. Did you see that today?

[Paul Bissonnette]

No.

[Ryan Whitney]

He's giving permission to every Colorado Avalanche fan to tackle. They can form tackle Nichin if they see him out and about in the city. I did see it. It's. It's in the Colorado. I would try.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Did you see how he walked into the game the other night all black? I would go near that guy and.

[Mike Grinelli]

Then he almost got four goals. Him and him and natures look like McDavid and Draisaitl the other night. They like they're the size and speed on those two. Like the. If that's your, your 34 coming at you, that is insane to me. Like what d in the world are gonna want to play against those guys and like you said if he get him in the boss and now because.

[Ryan Whitney]

They need him, he looks, he looks phenomenal. I yeah. I don't ever remember a contending team completely flipping their team this much over the course of a season. Actually Mike Keenan was the coach in New York in 94 they had what I think they traded a bunch of guys at the end. Huge dealing when they traded Amonte and Like Mike, Mike Gartner was on that team maybe and they brought in all those guys. So who knows if it works for Colorado, them playing Dallas will just be the ultimate like offense, first defense, like low scoring games. Dallas is winning the series, high scoring, Colorado is moving on. I, I think that that would be incredible. Now not only did they get Nelson though, they, that, that, that meant Winnipeg didn't get him. And Winnipeg fans, I think they were kind of, I don't think they were you know, overwhelmed with the deadline. It seems like this is a real chance this year. And Brandon Tanv, who was there before, that's like the perfect playoff style player. But when you're looking at what Dallas and Colorado did, the teams in your division, you're like, thank God we're in first place right now. We're only gonna have to play one of them. They gotta hold on to that now. But Nelson, for as much as we've chirped Lou the legend, Lou Lamarello, he decides to move him. This Cal Richie is, is nasty. Like that was, that was, I'm like, oh, like they got him. I don't know how that they ended up getting him and I think to bring him in it's like Islanders fans got to feel way better. You now have like a true number one center prospect and that's exciting considering Nelson was a ufa and maybe he would have resigned there but it was time to get a little younger. But I think now with him as the second line center in Colorado and like you said Biz, the last time Coyle was a third line center, the Bruins had that team that, that could have won it all. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. It's, it's, it's wild to see what the Central did. And, and as, as, as I watched Edmonton and we'll get into them in a little bit and LA didn't do anything and Vegas sent out the eye emoji at like 250. We're like, no, no, no, they didn't really do much. At least it was the Central doing all this. As an Oilers fan, like, yeah, we're gonna have to play one of those teams in the conference final. But that was crazy to witness.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Not to be too critical of la. I mean they did that Kuzmenko, who, who can, you know, he can provide that offense. They've had a hard time scoring. I think they got one of the worst power plays in the league or let's say middle of the pack at best. I just don't. Yeah, I thought LA was going to do a little bit more. But they're right up against the cap. So understand that for, for Vegas though, I mean I think that their deadline deals are just coming back from injury. I mean once Theodore's back in the lineup, once William Carlson's back, I mean you got Eichel Hurdle, who's been lighting the lamp lately, hat trick the other night. And then William Carlson is your third line center with. Listen, Brandon Sod, he's. He's a gamer. I think that, you know, he's used to those big moments. Who else did they get? Riley Smith, the guy who's comfortable there. He's been brutal and he. I don't think he was happy being in Pittsburgh and, or New York. I think that, that going back to Vegas is the perfect fit and he's a sneaky playoff player as well. So I think between the, the goaltending and Aiden Hill with that back end and how strong they are up the middle with some, some very clutch wingers, I don't think that Vegas needed to do much. I don't know why they were trolling online the way that they were. I thought that eye emoji meant they were getting Brad Marshaw, but I just think that was trying to fuck with everybody's minds. Who else? Whit go over to you. Were you happy with what Edmonton did?

[Ryan Whitney]

I actually was. It's been a weird feeling lately because they've struggled. I think they've won three or four now, but it's been since Four Nations. They just looked off. McDavid looked tired the other night. He was ridiculous. Did you see, you see his goal against Dallas? I was like this poor bastard like. And imagine. Keith, did you ever have a one on one against him? Can you think of that or were you not on the ice against him?

[Paul Bissonnette]

He was skating forwards.

[Mike Grinelli]

I usually tried to change when he. When I saw old 97 coming over the bench. But yeah, I do not, I don't know, I don't remember like a straight up one on one. But to beat a defenseman one on one in any level, no matter who you are, is so hard. But yeah, no, I, I do remember him coming down on like two on twos and you just try to hope he takes it wide and shoots it into the goalies glove.

[Ryan Whitney]

I just can't the panic because I, I mean I had it against Crosby in practice. Like no, no, no, no, no, no. And, but in a live game to see that coming. Labushkid's not, he's the not most fleet of footman in the in the NHL he's just like ah. But his assist Hyman ended up banging in. It might have gone in anyways was probably even better. He's just, he's turned it on. So they needed help on D and they needed, they needed a depth guy. Right. Well then you find out that they're in on Rontin and it was like holy shit. Like I didn't know that before he was traded, but to hear after it's like wow, that that makes me a little less thrilled with the deadline considering there was a chance that they could have gotten him. But Walman solid actually. Shout out Mike Greer who traded Walman, traded for Walman and got a second rounder just because Detroit wanted to get off his contract. So he took him for free and then got a second round pick and then dealt him for a first round pick. That's kind of masterful. GM work by Greersy. Yeah, but he's solid. I mean first game he crushes Ronton and center ice, enormous hit. He's got a lot of points this year. I said on game notes the points aren't really going to be there because there'll be no power play time for them.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You know what the biggest thing though Whit is when they're in the offensive zone. What I noticed with San Jose is when the puck goes to the blue line, he's able to walk the blue.

[Ryan Whitney]

Line and he can make a play.

[Paul Bissonnette]

He can make a play. It's not going there to die and just go right fire back down the wall and all of a sudden it's a 50, 50 puck battle. Like I really respect those D who are able to just, you know, find a way to get that lane and, and throw a sifter through through and and get it on net through the mixer. So Frederick obviously, you know, he's a great middle six guy who's going to provide energy and that's something they've really needed since they lost Holloway. So yeah, I, I think that they're solid. And another good thing is kind of like a situation like Carolina where obviously my feelings have changed a little bit since LA didn't really address a lot of their needs. And Edmonton did probably the easiest of first round matchups for Edmonton now looking at the way that that division shaken out. No, no more important positions though right now than first in the Atlantic and first in the Central. That is just. That is. That is automatic.

[Mike Grinelli]

Wait, have you heard what Edmonton would have had to give up for. For Renan or was it just a draft picks is. I Don't know if that would have changed your mind on whether.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, that's what I originally. I originally was like, what would. My first thought was, like, what would they. What would they even have that Carolina wants that they trade? And then you think like, oh, Carolina, maybe they're asking for Bouchard. But even if they were like, you can't trade him, right?

[Mike Grinelli]

No.

[Ryan Whitney]

Off this team. Yeah, that's why I was like, I just don't. I don't get. So I know. I actually have no idea. But, I mean, the package they got, you know, two first rounders. Two what? Second rounders and stank oven. I mean, they weren't going to match that. They didn't. They didn't have the ability to do that. It is crazy being an Oilers fan. And I need to see the last 18 games, whatever it is, like, if they get in a rhythm where they were in for two months, then it's like, all right, going in, you got some magic. You get some and you have la who you should be able to take care of. But it is. It is hard. Last year they like, they were better, and now you see Broberg and hallway, it's like, oh, my God, they had both of those guys who. Who played their best hockey of the year in the playoffs. Granted, Broberg wasn't even playing throughout the season. So I'm still. I'm still excited. Yeah, I. I've been very confident of them over la. Now they didn't do anything in goaltending, which Bowman kept coming out and saying, like, we're not trading for a goalie. He was pretty clear on that. So we'll see. Skinner. Skinner's better than I think a lot of people give him credit for. But how. How much can the big dogs carry you? Last year they did two years in a row. Doing that might be hard. Still. Oilers, Oilers draftkings bet him right now to win the cup with that. Boys, there's more to catch up on, but we had the chance to sit down and we talked about Colorado and their Stanley cup and screwing over Ronton. Well, one of the biggest parts of that team was Gabriel Landiscog, and there's an incredible documentary following him throughout his journey with this. I don't know how to describe crazy knee surgery he had to get. And we had the chance to sit down with him, talk about the decision he made to have camera crews fall him around and in. In his kind of battle and journey to get back playing. And we're going to throw it over to him right now. The legend himself, cup champ, captain of the Avalanche, Landiscog. Guys, it's Whit and I want to talk about sport clips. Sport clips isn't just where you get your haircut. It's your playbook for looking fresh, feeling good, being confident, all because of sport clips. Walk in, catch the game. It's nice. You know, you can. You can have your favorite team play while having your hair shampooed and cut to perfection at sport clubs. I mean, that's a win, win, win, win. Unless your team loses and you can just sit back, you get your. You get everything handled. They take care of everything. No stress. Relaxing and being able to walk in and do that is perfect. And when you're done, you walk out feeling like you're ready to take on anything. There's no hassles, no surprises, just a solid cut every time. It's simple, it's easy, and it's made for guys who want to feel like they've got the home field advantage. And if you want to track your real time wait times, download the app and check in online. Sport clips, the haircut experience dialed in for Guys, it's a game changer. Guys, we need to talk about DraftKings. DraftKings. The NHL season is nuts. It's been crazy, and it just got a whole lot crazier after the trade deadline. And now is where you can get involved with DraftKings. Nobody knows where this season's headed, but that just means that there's plenty of time for your favorite team to figure things out and games left for you to get in the action at DraftKings. Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NHL we mentioned on the show. Zach Warrenski, 75 to 1 to win the MVP. LeAndre Settle, -150. If you've never made a bet, that could be your first bet. Right now, the NHL is the fastest game on ice. And you can make fast live bets during any game on the DraftKings sportsbook. It's super easy for first timers to get started. Try betting on anything as simple as just a team to win. You want to start there, you want to start with props, or you want to start with a live bet after your favorite team goes down.

[Paul Bissonnette]

1.

[Ryan Whitney]

Nothing. It's up to you. It's on the DraftKings sportsbook app. And if you're new to DraftKings, listen up. New customers bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets instantly. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app now and use code Chiclets that's code Chiclets for new customers to get $150 in bonus bets instantly. When you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings, the crown is yours.

[Greg Wyshynski]

Gambling problem.

[Ryan Whitney]

Call 1-800- gambler in New York. Call 877-8-HOPE NY or text hopeny 467-369 In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-78-9777 or 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, bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG Co Audio. It's an honor to now be joined by the captain of the Colorado Avalanche, Stanley cup champ, rookie of the year almost 14 years ago, Gabe Landiscog. What's going on, buddy?

[Keith Yandle]

What's going on? Thanks for having me, guys.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, it's our pleasure.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Hairline. Hey, with. I know it's crazy. What a hairline.

[Ryan Whitney]

And then we're watching. We're watching the first episode of. Of the documentary. Documentary. We're going to talk about my wife's like. And he has no accent. He's from Sweden. Like, settle down. So that I couldn't even tell you that we're in. Tell her we're interviewing you. But dude, I watched the first episode. Incredible. I can't wait to get into it. How are you feeling right now though, most importantly?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, you know what? I feel good. It's been such a crazy roller coaster and just when you think you. I'm kind of careful on saying what I, you know, speaking on and really how I feel because it just changes day to day and week to week so much. But I'm feeling good. We're skating. Skating right now and, and progressing that part of it. Obviously kind of the activities of daily living and being a kind of getting back to the baseline of things happened fairly early on in the rehab. But I think I said it in, in episode one where it's like the gap between a being a healthy human and a. And just a regular person that wants to exercise and walk around with his kids that and NHL players pretty big. So. But we're getting there.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Gabe. It's, it's. It's when we talk to you on tnt, like just the way that you're talking, it's been a grind just like mentally and, and physically and. And this is something the documentary is going to show. When did you decide to document the whole thing? Like what? Like when did that kind of click in your mind to. To show the world what's going on right now?

[Keith Yandle]

I think it was pretty, pretty quickly after surgery. I realized, like, Jesus, this isn't going to be easy, and this is going to be a long. A long ride. So why not just kind of start documenting some of this. Some of it I'm probably not going to remember in six months. So I wanted to kind of see what that was going to feel like and see if it was going to be worth doing. And. And we just kind of started on a whim and, and started getting AJ and the camera around and. And then we kept it going. Didn't really know where it was going to go. But I think the idea behind starting it was just, you know, the first, first part of rehab is just kind of. It's such a grind and you're in a lot of pain, and all you guys know that's had surgeries. It's not fun. And. But knowing that it was 18 months plus of it, I knew it was going to be a heck of a ride and wanted to try to capture as much as possible and just to kind of be an inspiration to other people, I guess, to be to somebody else. What Andy Murray's documentary resurfacing was to me, you know, got me through a, you know, pretty tough time there for, for a handful of months. And I just felt like, man, I can relate to him. I can relate to everything he's saying. I can relate to what he's going through, the decision he's got in front of him. And I don't know if you guys have seen it, but it's. It's a good show and, and I wanted to just document it, see where, where it takes us. I never thought we'd. We'd be here two and a half years later and, you know, and have. Have this coming out, but here we are.

[Mike Grinelli]

You talk about the Andy Murray. Is there anyone else that you've leaned on that kind of has. I mean, obviously it's a freak injury that probably not a lot of people have gone through, but have you, you know, leaned on anybody else to, you know, help you get through these tough times?

[Keith Yandle]

Well, I. I don't. I don't know. I don't think it's a secret anymore. Lonzo Ball went through very similar surgery by the same surgeon. He had, you know, a little bit different. He had some. Some other stuff going on, and I had a couple other things, but essentially the same. You're getting a plug in, in the cartilage in your knee from a cadaver. So it's a pretty invasive surgery. So Lonzo and I, he helped me kind of make my decision. To be honest, he was about a month or six weeks before me. So we've. We've touched base throughout the process, but. And in terms of athletes that have gone through it, you know, you talk to. For me, just mostly kind of my support system, the people around me and teammates and close family and friends and, you know, my treatment people and trainers, you know, those guys have been great. I was doing a lot of rehab. And in Philadelphia, Bill Knowles, if you guys are familiar, he's, you know, he's done a lot of NFL guys and, and athletes all around the world. And funny enough, you know, anybody that walks into that gym, they're. They're broken and they're not in a good spot if you're walking into there. So got to know a handful of guys to Australian rugby players, Premier League soccer players. You know, you don't know them from before, and they live in different parts of the world, but on a kind of basic athlete level, that's in a bad spot. You can relate to them in a lot of ways. So it was, you know, gotten a little. Gotten to know some cool people and, And. But most. Most importantly, my family and, you know, the close circle around me has been. Been huge.

[Ryan Whitney]

I sense watching and you bring up your family like how difficult that must have been. You're FaceTiming the kids and, And. And you're. You're grinding through this while not being able to be at home for. For a decent amount of time. So I think watching also that and kind of how you've approached it all with remaining positive and the journaling you laugh at while you're right. While you're reading your journal, like, that had to help. I mean, people have often said writing down things make you feel better. Has that been a big part of it, too, actually writing everything down? Forget the cameras being around.

[Keith Yandle]

Oh, yeah. And I mean, to be honest, like, the camera, I mean, it's been, what, coming up on two years here in May since surgery. So the camera's been around. You know, he's been around for kind of key moments. And, and, you know, sometimes you want to make sure you. You cover this aspect of it or something that. That you do a lot. You want to cover it, I guess. But there's. It's still. Only. Even those five episodes is 25 minutes. It's still just such a small sample size of it. Journaling, for me, started Right after we won the cup, essentially, like September 2022, I'm like. I looked myself in the mirror, was like, the fuck is going on? Like, I really need to take this thing seriously now and figure out what is happening. You know, before the cup run, I had had a small scope, and we cleaned it out and kind of. We didn't rush the rehab, but we had six weeks, so we did what we could in that time. And then, you know, playoff starts, and bang, you go like, kind of that fall of 2022, I was. I didn't really know what was up, what was down, where to go, where to turn. I really didn't want to do this surgery. I was not ready to just coming off, hoisting it, and then, you know, be on the shelf for a year, year and a half, and nobody had done it. So it just felt like, man, I was just right up here, and now we're going way down at the bottom. And it was, you know, I talk about it and, you know, the identity piece and. And all of a sudden you're outside of the team and you're. You're by yourself, and then you're doing rehab, and the rehab's not doing anything, and you're just like, well, yeah, I can go along and pretend as much as I want, but, like, when things quiet down and I'm by myself at home and I'm, like, thinking about really what the future looks like, it was kind of scary. But journaling was huge for me and started doing that. Just kind of word vomit, honestly. Just write it all out there. Create some. You know, kind of create a little bit of distance from yourself and your thoughts. And talking to people have helped. Not many people can really relate to what you're going through, I guess. And I think that's why I. I really benefited from having, you know, going to Bill Knowles, seeing him talking to some of the other guys there and. And relating on that. That level. So, yeah, I mean, support. I can't speak highly enough of it, like, when I just get wrapped up in my own head. I'm sure you guys know what it's like when you just like, I don't need help. I'm just going to handle it myself. That's the way you've always done it. But for me, it just kept getting worse that way. So I started trusting the people around me and talking to them, and I'm like, man, I'm having it. I'd come home to my wife and just be like, I'm having a shitty day today. Like, just kind of give me a second, and I'm trying to figure out what's next, and. And just stuff like that would really help us in our relationship, in our marriage, and trying to raise two little rugrats and. And, you know, that's. Yeah. So that's been a big part of it.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Gabe, I was just gonna go back to the original injury for people who haven't, like, really heard the story. Like, I remember when I heard you were out with a knee. Like, I. You always assume it's like an ACL or whatever. You just read knee. Right. But from watching the trailer, it was a cut that you sustained. And I want to say maybe it was in the bubble, and then something that was obviously stitched up. You think it's a quad cut. You stitch it up. You play through it, as we all do. And then it was something that kind of kept bothering you and lingering on, and it kept getting worse and worse and worse. So take us kind of through the timeline how the original injury happened and. And kind of like what you had to do afterward.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, I mean, freak. Freak accident in the bubble where, you know, game six against Dallas for Kale kind of gets pushed from behind, and he falls down. And as he's falling down, I think he's turning around and escape. Just kind of comes up and. And cuts me right on the quad. We were worried about the quad tendon being ruptured at first, but that turned out to not be the case. And it turned out to be just kind of a laceration across. You know, we thought it was just originally skin, I guess, because the. The quad tendon was intact. But it turned out that the vascus lateralis, which is the muscle that runs along the side of your quad, had been nicked. And so we did some PRP on that to help heal that. So three rounds of that finally helped. And. And then I was back for training camp that next Covid shortened season. And I keep in mind I'd never had knee issues before the bubble. And then it started kind of during that Covid shortened season, 2021. It started bugging me a little bit, but not that bad, and you just kind of manage it. And then it was the following fall, kind of the fall of 2021, where it started bugging me and then grinded through the first half of that season before we did the first scope to clean it out. And then, yeah, then 20 games of playoff hockey will do some damage.

[Ryan Whitney]

Incredibly, you had 22 points. Like, you were over a point per game. You're playing injured. And in the first episode, you talk how it finally got feeling real good. And I don't know, you know, that was after the scope, I'm assuming, right before playoffs. And I think you said you stepped on the ice for like one of the first games and you're like, oh, my God. Like, you had to play that whole playoff in brutal pain, and then it's almost like you're able to just push it aside. You played unreal. You win it and then not only is it the come down from, you know, winning it all, but it's like, now I gotta start doing this. That was probably the most difficult thing.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And what was the pain like? What was the feeling like?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, it's sharp. It's sharp. I mean, it's like. I keep saying it's like somebody's putting a knife like in behind your kneecap. It just, it's, it's. And you can't. Well, you can't do. You can. If you're standing straight, you're good, and if you're on two legs, you're good. But to bend your. My right leg in this case, and to get any sort of flexion on one leg, there's no chance. I couldn't do it. I. If I was kind of on both. Both legs, I could do it. And it was. It obviously is painful, but I'm not going to sit here and pretend like I'm the only one that plays through pain in the playoffs. Like, you guys know what it's like. And it's so everybody goes through it. And I didn't think during the playoff run I was going to sit here two and a half years later. I really didn't. I knew it was going to put some damage on it, but I'm like, I'll deal with it later. It's like, just, let's get through this. We knew what, what a heck of a team we had and we knew what an opportunity we had and didn't want to miss that opportunity. And I didn't want to have any regrets. And, you know, I used to. I just really had to figure it out afterwards. And kind of after that partying start stops after, you know, a few weeks and I get back in the gym thinking, okay, I just need to, you know, add some strength. I just need to get the inflammation down and I just need this, that. But it took a long time and. And then come to realize we really need that big surgery.

[Mike Grinelli]

After all, being an athlete and hockey player especially guys are always like, I'll like, you like you said, I'll figure this out down the road. What was the conversation when you had to have with your trainers to kind of go back and revisit it and look at and get it scoped? Was that kind of something that you had to bring to them, or was it. You guys were on the same page the whole time?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. Like, how many opinions did you end up getting right?

[Paul Bissonnette]

A lot.

[Keith Yandle]

A lot. But in. In the fall of 2022, and then this is, like, how my mind's working. It's like my whole injury history now is, like, just there are these, like, key dates. Right. So excuse me if I keep repeating, repeating the. The dates, but in the fall of 2022, I think it was the start of September. I go to Chicago, and I go to Minnesota to get two different opinions. And in Chicago was Dr. Brian Cole, who's ultimately ended up doing my. My cartilage transplant. And he flat out told me, and I was going in there ready to. For him to say, like, oh, we can clean this up. Like, we can give you a better shot at this. The skate pain free. But I remember him looking at me and just being like, man, there's obviously, there's a lot of damage in there. And now you have two options. Number option number one is you do a scope, try to clean it up. You do rehab, you take your time with it, you add the strength you need. You do this, you do that, and then if it's an acceptable kind of level, you can play an acceptable level to you and to your team. And you can kind of almost in a way, like, if you can just suck up a play, do it. But if you can't, he's like your only other option, your only other hope is doing osteochondralograft with a tibial tubercle osteotomy. And the tibial tubercle osteotomy is when they cut your shin bone, like the top of your tibia, which is that little bump that you have under your knee. And mine's even bigger now because they, like, pulled it forward to create more room inside the joint. And I'm sitting there September, I'm like, I'm not ready.

[Ryan Whitney]

What?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, I'm not ready to write off the next year and a half. I didn't feel like I'd given the first rehab, like, that much of a chance, given that we jumped into the playoffs playing every other day. And granted, I didn't practice in the playoffs. I just kind of waited for the games. But nonetheless, it's like a Lot of hockey, and it's a lot of crashing and banging, obviously, but so we ended up getting. Doing the other route. We went to Minnesota, did another scope, and I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna take however many months it takes to, like, get my rehab right this time. And then we get into, like, month two, and I'm like, there's no relief. Like, not at all. Like, that was normally, like, month two. You're supposed to be able to kind of get on the ice after a scope like that. There was no shot. And that's really when. When I started struggling, when I didn't see much hope. And. And here we are, like, December of 2022, and, you know, you're still. Cause you're still. I was still around the team, and you don't want to be that guy to drag everybody down into your thing. But same time, guys are wondering how you're doing, they're worried about you and whatnot. But. So I ended up going back to. Going back to Toronto for a bit and then went to Philadelphia, started rehabbing there. Saw a little bit of improvement with Bill's training, but at the same time, it's like Bill always said, with a cartilage injury and the lesion that you have behind your kneecap, he's like, the. The pothole's already there. Like, there's not much you can.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You.

[Keith Yandle]

You can do with that. So, yeah, then I skated a bit. Kind of started that New Year's 2023 there. February or something. Then come right around as the guys were heading into the playoffs. We were facing Seattle that year, first round. I was right. As I was traveling with Seattle to the team I was having, like, that's when I really started doing a lot of research into the surgery and talking to people and. And I would talk to, quote, unquote, like, normal people that have had it and ask them about their. Their journey and whatnot. So, yeah, ended up settling on that.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And.

[Keith Yandle]

And actually, at that point, I was kind of getting excited. I'm like, sweet. There's some hope. There's some. There's. There might be a solution to this, you know, and. But you don't realize, like, how long the road actually is and how many ups and downs there are.

[Ryan Whitney]

I actually, like, I know it sounds crazy, but I. I know how you feel. I had an osteotomum on my foot and how crazy it is where you're actually cutting, like, a piece of the bone out. And so I know when you talk about that feeling of just, like, oh, it's not. It's not getting better. Like, it's just. It's devastating. And then what you say, too, is so true, like, of having some hope. Like, all right, I'm into this surgery, and. And now it's like, all right, after this, I'm gonna feel better. So since all the rehab, since the. The big surgery that you had, like, what. What has been, like, your.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Your.

[Ryan Whitney]

Your best moment, right? Like, what is. Because you need wins along the way. Like, if you had moments you look back on, you're like, all right, yes. Like, I'm feeling something. I'm feeling alive again, per se, when it comes to my career and what I love to do.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah. I mean, I've had some really good skates. Like, I had. I've had some really good skates where I'm like, okay, just get me out there. Just put me out there right now. Get me in the lineup. I'm ready. And then it's such a delicate thing where it's like, there's so many components, and then, you know, it goes to. At one point, it wasn't even about the knee. It was about the quad. And, like, kind of my neurological damage that was done after that cut. And then you play on it. So your.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Your. Your.

[Keith Yandle]

Your muscles in your body, the way it moves, kind of. It compensates, right? And getting rid of old compensation patterns, and there's so many delicate things, but there's definitely been skates where I'm like, okay, I'm. I'm ready. I can. If it stays like this, I'm good. But you got to keep training, and you kind of. You can't go from here to. To playing. You got to kind of earn. Earn every step. And. And that's what we're trying to do. And. And I think we're getting closer. We keep trending in the right direction, and obviously, there's. There's a lot of work to do still, but I'm excited about where we're at and. Yeah.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Did you. Did you. So you had 22 points in playoffs when you weren't practicing.

[Keith Yandle]

I mean, it's what Joe Sacag always says. He's like, breath really is the weapon. And I don't know, it's just like, it's. I don't know. There's the playoffs. You're running on. Running on adrenaline. And for me, it just, like, the extra practice was not worth it for me when I wasn't feeling good. And. And obviously, in games, you know, you get that adrenaline pumping completely different than you are going up and down the ice doing, doing drills. So just kind of do what it takes. And, and I think that I'm no different than, than a lot of other guys that way.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What were you taking? Advil? A little deep cold on the rub there?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, a little.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Maybe a Bud Kilmer special before the.

[Keith Yandle]

Game, Little ice pack before to freeze it up.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You'd shut your mouth if you knew it was good for you.

[Mike Grinelli]

It's so like when you're playing, you just never want to practice, especially the dog days of the year. But now you're probably like, would do anything to be out there with the guys, right?

[Keith Yandle]

And you know what, that's 100% true. But also there's so many things like that. Not just the practicing, but it just like pre game meals on the road that you eat 41 times and eventually they get, you eat the same thing. But like I would die to go in there and see that spread right now or just to get like the dinners on the road and just, I don't know, the shitty practice drinks you go to on the road sometimes. Like all that stuff that you really don't, all the stuff that you just, you just naturally take for granted because you do it so much. But man, I miss it. I miss the guys, the camaraderie. Obviously I'm around a lot, but you know, you're not in the heat of the battle. You know, the moments in locker room, the travel, all the good stuff, but also like just, I don't know, just to compete. Just being in there and competing and actually, you know, sitting across the room from somebody and you, you know, you're, you're trying to accomplish the same thing as he is and, and you're, you might be doing it differently, but you're all pulling on the rope in the same way. And I think that, compete with that, that team aspect, I mean, as you guys would know, there's, there's not much out there that, that does the same thing as that does for you.

[Ryan Whitney]

Are you, so you mentioned you're still around, but like are you at you at every game? Are you at practices? Like are you still around that much?

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, I'm around, but I, I wouldn't say I go to every game, try to go as much as I can and when kind of the schedule allows it. But a lot of the time I'm at the rink early the next day you go to the game, you're, you're not in bed until 11, 11:30. So it's just a little bit counterproductive. That way at times, but I try to kind of line my schedule so I'm at the rink with the guys, but. But at the same time, it's kind of overlap a little bit, and maybe I'm just finishing when those guys are getting in, or maybe I'm starting right as they're getting out. You know, at times when it hasn't. When I haven't been feeling good, you know, physically and mentally, for that matter. Like, I don't. I don't necessarily always want to be there when the guys are there, because.

[Ryan Whitney]

You then, yeah, it hurts more.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah, it hurts more. You realize where you're missing. You're out on kind of the inside talk, the inside jokes. You're out on all that. You haven't been there. And it's just. Same reason I don't always watch the games is because when I wasn't doing well, I'm like. I can't relate to, like, I. I'm so far from that right now. But then when you're doing better and you're like, man, you. You kind of get that itch again, and you start paying attention more closely and seeing what's going on and. But I remember the first. That first ball in that 22:23 snow and the 23:24 season started after my surgery. I was trying to, like, actually sit down games. Like, I was trying to take notes who's playing well, who's not, what are the lines? Trying to stay, like, mentally fresh. But I'm like, man, this is not enjoying this. I'm like. I'm sitting here, like, immobilized, trying to. Trying to just gain some. Some strength in my quad and monitor swelling, things like that. It's just like, I'm like. It's a different life right now, and one day I'll be able to do that, but it wasn't at that point. Now I'm. I'm excited about where we're at as a team. I go to the games as much as I can, and, yeah, I'm excited about what's next, excited about where. Where I can take this thing.

[Paul Bissonnette]

How much are you talking to Nate? And I was going to ask. I think most. It's pretty well documented that, you know, when he's in his intense moods, that you're the calming effect or were. When you were in the locker room. How much do you miss that and how proud are you to see what he's been able to accomplish the last couple years? Because he's elevated his game to where I think that A lot of people could argue he's the best player in the world. I mean, he's going to probably win another mvp. Did last year. Like, it's remarkable what he's been able to accomplish.

[Keith Yandle]

He got rid of the dead weight on his left side. He just flourished. Brandon Both, Both him.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And he's on the right hand.

[Keith Yandle]

That first year after both him and Miko are having career years, I started getting low.

[Ryan Whitney]

You're like, hey, guys, you're setting emoji.

[Keith Yandle]

But, yeah, I mean, it's crazy. I mean, I get a front row seat to what Nate's doing, and I'm. I can't say I'm surprised. I see. I see how much he puts into it. It's a pretty clear reflection of what he gets out of it and, and how. How dedicated. Obviously, that's not a secret, but just his will that continues to get better and, you know, whatever. He had 140 points and he's still tweaking his stick pattern. He's still getting new gloves, trying it all out. He's just like, he's always looking to get better. He does. There's not a stone that he's not going to turn. And, and for me, getting to watch the guys and it hasn't been easy at times. It's been a bumpy road, you know, with a lot of turnover since. Since I last played. I think there was eight or there's maybe eight guys left, nine guys left, but I wish I could be in there. And it's like one thing to talk leadership and whatnot, and maybe what I bring, but I. It might sound selfish to say this, but I'm like, I'm so balls deep into kind of saving my career and trying to get back as a hockey player that, like, being a leader to the guys hasn't been kind of an option for me for a long time. You know, it wasn't. And at the same time, I mean, what am I going to say? I haven't played in three years. Am I going to walk in there and do a rah rah and say, guys, now change this. F1 needs to do that? Like, I don't know. I don't think there's a whole lot of weight to that necessarily. Obviously I'm around and I'm talking to guys and, and checking in on everybody, but I think it's allowed guys like Nate and Kale and, and. And taser and. And a lot of these guys around the. The room to kind of get out of their comfort zone a little bit. I think that's what happens. It's never a one man show. It's, it's always by committee. I think guys can contribute with a lot of different, in a lot of different ways, but it's allowed everybody to take a step, you know, kind of out of their comfort zone a bit.

[Mike Grinelli]

I'm sure you're sick of talking about all this stuff and that's why you're doing the documentary. But before we move on, like, I know you have a young family. Is this, is it important for them to see you go through this grind and you know, get back to where you were and you know, just them seeing the hard work you put in?

[Keith Yandle]

Well, like, I think to me it's important to show it to them. But at the same time, I remind myself all the time, I'm like, they're five and four now. They were a year and a bit and two and a half when we won. When I last played. I don't think a 4 and a 5 year old are walking around thinking, oh, how hard is daddy working today? Or like, is he striving towards his goals or is he getting closer? Like, is he facing adversity? Like, they're obviously not, but I think at the, I'm not doing it for Gabe today or for my kids today. I'm like, it's down the road, right? When like they might realize the lesson maybe or. And myself, like, I'm like, fuck, I started it. You know, I'm gonna keep going. And I, you know, I mentioned this the other day to somebody. I used to always think that like success and winning and, and, and getting past this part of this injury and like getting through, I guess on the other side is, has always just been one scenario and like, it's just, yeah, if you can come back and play and finish your contract. That's what it looks like. But I think I realized during this journey, it's like, I don't know, I'm still going at it. Like it's been two and a half years. Like I'm in my book, I'm already kind of winning. Like I think a lot of people would have called it by now and, and I've had it. You know, I made enough money to, to call it and whatnot and be happy and I've got a great family and, and whatnot. It just, but to me, that bird, that fire just kind of inside is still there. And I started it. I want to keep going and you know, I've committed to it. So obviously the kids, I, I want to be able to, to see them on the glass of a warmup again. And I, I'll continue working and, and we'll see where it takes me.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Do you bring your mind to the future at all? As if, like, and not to be negative, like, if it were not to work out, you weren't be able to play, you say, like right now, you, you really missed that compete. Right. Like, would you ever maybe want to get into being a GM or a coach to, to kind of get back in that environment that you miss so much. Much. And I don't mean to, like, yeah, I hope you're able to accomplish your goal of coming back. It's just like, I, I don't know if you've thought about, if it's not a possibility.

[Keith Yandle]

Well, I've thought about it. I've had plenty of time to think about it. But it's, I think I, I, I don't know. I used to push those thoughts aside and I'm sure you guys will hear more about this when you, when you watch this thing. But it's like I used to push them aside and just ignore them and I'm like, no, I'm not, not ready for that. But that's so much time I've started. You, obviously, I've entertained it.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

There's a bunch of things even outside of hockey that interests me, and I don't know exactly what that is, but I have at least allowed myself to, to explore it in my mind and we'll see. We'll see. But obviously hockey is like, you know, it's what I've done since I was five years old. Right. Like, that's kind of all, you know. And yeah, you pay attention in school, but that's always been secondary. And like hockey, you just, you just think. And obviously, as I mentioned before, like, you take it for granted. It's there, it's. You work through it, you get through injuries and you just assume there's always like, the other side. And I, I know I'm fortunate and I also know there's a lot of, like, not many guys get to go out the way they want to. Like, I'm very aware of that. And I think that's, that's a reality that I, you know, that you see firsthand all the time. And it just, But I think we always tell ourselves, no, it's going to go this way. You're going to finish your contract, you're going to do this, you're going to do that, and then you're going to just sit There and you're going to say no, that's it. But, you know, I, I don't think just because you're entertaining other things means you're, you're checked out by any means. I'm still very committed to what I'm doing, but I've been in the gym just about six days a week for almost three years. It's like, I can't always be thinking about my knee. And I think I, I, I was at the start, and it just made me exhausted. And I feel like I felt like I was missing out on life for a while. And just like, I was. Social life went to. And my wife was like, are we ever gonna see other people, or are we just gonna hang out here and watch you do your modalities all night? Like, it just became, it just became so strict that I had to, like, I had to let go a little bit. I had to kind of loosen the straps a bit of just like, I can't keep, I can't just keep living and breathing this because it gets exhausting, and I'm gonna burn the candle on both ends. So I had to loosen up, and I think that helped from a mindset a bit.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's great to hear that the, the mindset's changed. Yeah, it can just weigh you down. But you're also thinking, like, I need to be like this if I'm gonna go back. But it leads. Here we get the last question. Gabe. Presented by Roback. Use the code chiclets on roback.com for a generous 20% off your first purchase through the end of this week. That's C H I C L E T S on R H O b a c k dot com. 20% off all hoodies, joggers, and more with code Chiclets. EJ he's back. We were talking about it before, before the interview. It was hilarious how Nate's like, yeah, I don't know how much he's going to play, but it's awesome having him back. But I mean, how cool is that for you? I mean, a good body. You want a cup with him? Were you excited and have you chatted with him since he got traded back there from Philly?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, yeah.

[Keith Yandle]

He was bugging me for, you know, right away, making sure that, that I was aware of what we had just done and, and obviously very exciting. And he's, you know, throughout the last couple of years, he's always checked in and he's, he's always paid attention to how our team's doing, how we're doing how his friends are doing, but it's kind of crazy. Like, I walked into the gym the other day and he's sitting on. Sitting on a bike. I'm like, what the fuck? How did you get back here? And how. I. I wanted the equipment staff just to fuck with him, but give him a shitty training camp number, like, I don't know, 50, give him something in the 50s. But they would have been amazing. They. It's good to have him back. He's loved by the AS faithful and, and I think he brings a lot to our team. I think, you know, that his personality and, and, and it's never a bad day type of thing. I think it'll be good for us. And, and yeah, we'll see. He's. I think he still got some left in the tank too.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Gabe, thank you so much for like, coming on and talking about this and like, you know, sharing your, you know, your journey and what you've been able to experience throughout the process. If I were to ask one more, how much of an appreciation do you have for, like, the physio people and the surgeons and all the people you've been able to work with at a professional level? Like, it's crazy where it's the science and everything's gotten. And they really care.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah. Biz, it's such a thank you for bringing that up because it's like, I don't realize how much goes into it. And a lot of these people that, you know, I guess so many people to. They've been in my corner and helped me from, from kind of day one, but it's a lot, It's a lot that goes into it. And, and, you know, obviously my schedule is, is somewhat irregular at times and, and that means their schedule is irregular at times and, and they put in the extra work and, and, you know, it. It really is a team effort and from going from being strictly a guy that's in the room and you got your 23 teammates in the circle and now you go to. You almost have to pivot like, okay, this is my team now, and it's my wife and it's my dad and it's my trainer and, and treatment and, and a coach. Right? So that becomes your team. And those are the people that you almost talk more. You talk to them more than you talk to your teammates, and you just have to lean on them. So that's been. And I got so many people to thank and it's been, you know, they, they know who they are. And, and it's Been. It's been a treat and it's been a long journey, but we still got work to do.

[Mike Grinelli]

You being a beloved guy around the league, and I know everybody's, you know, wishing. Wishing you back as. As quick as possible, and you know you're missed out there on the ice for sure. But what'd you. What'd you think of the ranting deal? That's what Biz wanted me to ask you.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I wrote in the chat. Cause I said I got my last question and I'm like, please ask about Ran. You know who the real winner in all this is? Ross.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You got a Rolex and his number.

[Keith Yandle]

That is nice. I don't know. I gotta square it up on Saturday. The stars come into town on Sunday, so we're going to take Nico. We're going to air it all out. But I love Miko. Miko's a like a finished little brother to me. And it just. I obviously wish we still had him, but I understand there's a business and I understand he, you know, it was a great chance for him to get paid. I get it. But, you know, he's got a lot of dough. He's got a lot of dough. Can't argue that.

[Ryan Whitney]

He better be paying for dinner.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Who's picking up the top? McFarland and Sakic or Ratnan?

[Keith Yandle]

Miko will be paying for it.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah, Biz, not Biz. Notice how he said his Finnish little brother?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Well, buddy, you're a legend. Best of luck in your journey continuing, and we hope to see you back on the ice.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, I think that. I know you said what, are you going to go in there and give a rah rah speech without, you know, playing and being in the battle every night? Dude, I'm not on that team, but if you came in and talked to that group, I can't imagine how fired up they'd be.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, my God.

[Ryan Whitney]

It would be. It would be.

[Mike Grinelli]

I was ready to run through the wall listening to what he's dealt with.

[Keith Yandle]

I appreciate it, guys. Thank you for having me on.

[Ryan Whitney]

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[Greg Wyshynski]

Through about three of these packs of this. The sticks, the six packs of sticks. The lemon lime is incredible. And then favorite flavor, the cucumber lime. This is my new favorite. I mean, I was a big fruit punch guy before, but I am just crushing these flash IVs after the. After just Brad, Martian and the Bruins ripped my heart out.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, I've never seen it proved medically that, that, that that heartache from losing your favorite player and your captain can be fixed through body armor, Flash IV or any iv. But I think you're proof because you don't look that bad for the heartbreak you've taken.

[Greg Wyshynski]

I feel great.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay. That's because of body armor Flash iv. It's packed with electrolytes, provides faster and stronger lasting Hydration, no artificial flavors, sweeteners or dyes, none of that crap. All good things and great tasting flavor. Strawberry and Kiwi Tropical punch Body Armor Flash IV gives your body the rehydration it needs to recover. Get yours at a local 711 or on Amazon today. Thank you so much to the Gabriel Landiscog. Hopefully he's able to make it back. What a story that will be. I watched the first episode. It's great. Everyone check that out when, when you're able to. We should stay in Colorado quickly because Eric Johnson traded back. Pretty cool story and he won the Stanley cup there. He spent so many years as a member of the avs and he was so thrilled. I mean, I think biz. What did you say?

[Paul Bissonnette]

He said, oh, he goes, whatever they need from me at my age, If I, it's 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes. If they need to shovel the ice between, between TV timeouts, I'll do it. So that's the type of attitude from a Wiley veteran who's comfortable in that locker room and, and a guy who, you know, if he gets thrown in as that five, six, you know, at any point, I think he could really calm things down and, and adds a great sense of humor as well. So very happy for him. And he had some great comments to say about Jonesy Briere and everybody in Philadelphia and not only how he was treated, but his time there. So just a classy guy and a guy that you want, you know, kind of like a Luke Shen, right? Like a salt of the earth character guy you're going to need in a long playoff run in case he needs to get thrown a the mix. So as you said, very, very happy for him and, and a great, great move for them because you, you know.

[Mike Grinelli]

And you know, in playoffs, like there's going to be some injuries to your back end. Guys are getting hit every shift. You bring him in as a 7 guy, he can play like he said, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. It's like what they did, they did it with Jack Johnson. Bringing in a veteran guy, I, I, I love that deal. And everything I've heard about Big Horn, as they call him, is, is, is great stuff and bringing him into a group that he's familiar with, especially with a guy like Nate who's wound tight and you know, always in that, in that, you know, let's go get it mode. He can probably take a little bit off of him, especially in the locker room, obviously not on the ice. But yeah, I, I think it's a great deal And. And. And I think. I think he's going to help them out.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I actually got a text from the other night. They. They went out and. And celebrated. Not hard, but celebrated McKinnon's hundredth point of the season. He had three against the Leafs and.

[Ryan Whitney]

And.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And hit that mark. So, yeah, definitely gonna add that character in the locker room and. And unwind Nate to the perfect tone.

[Mike Grinelli]

And they're celebrating the hundred points.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think that it was. It's. It was his 999th career point, too. So he's one more to a thousand. And do you see his quotes? I think he was asked about Eric Johnson. He's like, yeah, I don't know how much he's gonna play, but it's just so nice having him back. Just straight to the fact. Yeah, my water bottle. Ej he'll still text me sometimes. Are you wearing a thong? I still he with me the whole Olympics. He's like 14 years younger than me, just torturing me. Something about a thong. I still don't get the joke. I'm gonna call the PA for bullying like him and Patrick Kane. You wearing a thong with something? I'm like, I. I still don't know the joke. Boy. I think we talked about it with him, but I don't remember. Shout out my brain. Guys, let's go back to the East. Brady could Chuck. Oh, my, what a weekend. He had some heartbreak. One of his best friends, one of his closest, you know, people in his life. Josh Norris gets traded over to Buffalo for Dylan Cousins. Not super surprising deal with Cousins moving, but Norris, it was kind of out of nowhere. I mean, I think people on the inside knew. I heard after, like, his name had been out there. But you could tell the emotion for him just based on the interview he did where he's fighting back tears, like, that's how much this guy meant to him. And you wonder what. What will happen moving forward, but didn't slow him down in the games this weekend. Biz.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, I thought. I actually really like the move for Ottawa. And, you know, Dylan Cousins came over and he said, he goes, I think, you know, towards the end of my. My time in Buffalo, he lost a little bit of his bite to his game. And you saw in the past where he's stuck it up for teammates. And I think Ray Ferraro was pretty hard on the other night. I think it was maybe Darlene who got ran and maybe a lack of response. But I think that, you know, Buff playing in Buffalo can. Can take the spirits out of anybody's game and I really think that his, his, his love and passion and, and bite will be re. Rejuvenated in that second line center role come Ottawa and also like they have a, an obviously a better culture. They obviously have other guys there that can take the focus off of him. So I like the upside actually better for Ottawa in this trade and also the fact and, and no disrespect to Norris but he's had three shoulder surgeries right. So he has had a little bit of the injury bug. So you're getting maybe a guy with a better, healthier track record than Norris and, and a guy who's already locked in for I think another what four or five years at a pretty good number. So an incredible game by Brady to follow up that, that emotional press conference though. He scores the first goal of the game for them to cut the lead to 2:1 and then you know, all of a sudden it's 3:1. They mount the comeback goes to overtime and Stutzel slides it over Brady Tachuk with an unreal celly. And then more post game comments on the mic in front of the crowd. They're chanting his name. Brady. Brady. He's like you, you guys, you guys got me going, going. And ah, they're just all jerking their off, loving their captain. So they better. They gotta get in playoffs because if I'm them and their fan base I get nervous as hell at the fact that if they don't and then next year doesn't start out the right way, it can't end up like Matthew. You can't, you can't lose on a.

[Ryan Whitney]

Day, on a day of salvation. You're throwing out it, you're throwing it out.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You can't you join me Biz.

[Ryan Whitney]

Join me.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, no, I'm not. Listen, I, I think that, that the culture has been established. I think Travis Green has done an exceptional job. I think this team's headed in the right direction. Yance, you said they're not going to make playoffs. Bullshit. I think they're going to make playoffs.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think they're a lock to make playoffs. I know Centers fans don't want to hear that. I think they're a lock to get in.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think they're going to make playoffs and this is going to be the turn of things to come and, and I think they're going to be in good shape. So that's good news for Sens Nation and they got to be very, very optimistic despite I would say probably what. Right before Four nations things were getting off the rails. A little bit again. And who knows, they were in limbo there, but their captain's happy. He's playing at the top of his game, 26 goals and wait, I think you touched on it a few pods ago. Like, there was a period of time where I don't think he had a goal for like 10, 15 games, but it didn't matter. He was still bringing energy, he was still contributing in other areas, but now he's back to scoring and they're looking great and poised for. For playoffs. So good, good news, sensation.

[Mike Grinelli]

I just think of that, that press conference that Brady had, you know, showing his emotion, and it really just proves to me how. And we all know this because we know who he is, but it just proves how good of a leader he is, how good of a, you know, teammate, a friend. He is. Like, that's the worst part about the game is the trades. You losing your friends, especially your close friends like that, it's brutal. But what a gamer. Just showing up and doing what he's supposed to do, like he does every single night, puts the team on his back, gets him a huge win. I said they weren't going to make the players. I want them to. I want them to. I really want Brady in the playoffs. The league needs him in the playoffs. We saw what he brought during Four Nations. You've been seeing him in the media now. You know, he's a household name. So I think the league needs him in the playoffs. Hopefully they can get it done. It's just. It's one of those things where it needs to. It needs to get done. Because if they don't, then they could be saying, sayonora Brady.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Don't say it.

[Ryan Whitney]

If we get. You just said it first. If we get Dallas, Colorado, and somehow Florida, Ottawa in the first round, I'm gonna say, listen, Bri, you're gonna see me on that couch from 7pm to 1am and then you're not gonna see me until 7pm the next night, and I'm gonna just. And they. They can't have them play on the same night. Although I guess it'd be east West.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah, the KACHUK stock right now, it's like Nvidia stock during fucking. The shutdown, during the lockdowns. This is the. What. What these guys and their old man are doing for the league and the attention that they're drawing to it along with not only on Ice Play, but these press conferences and media scrums, it's remarkable. Like, these guys are. These guys have helped the league out so Much, man. It's, it's, it's. I don't know how they do it, but WWE Rock Stars.

[Ryan Whitney]

I remember when in Long Island Armies talked about it when he got traded for Hosa. Him, Eric Christensen and I think it was prospect first rounder huge deal for Hosa and Pascal Dupuis. That was my first time thinking like, oh, like a good buddy. He's gone. Sure as the next year was me. But that, that first time that a close friend and I don't, I don't think it's the first time won a Brady's close buddies has been traded. Maybe I'm wrong, but it is jarring. And then like he's the captain. He's up there talking to the media. He has to answer the hard questions. Like, no wonder he got emotional. But Biz, you're kind of right, Cousins, you think he would just be like, oh, I'm gonna play. Like leaving Buffalo to go to a contender or even a. A team just trying to get in the playoffs. It's, it's gotta be like a 7 year old showing up to Disney World and having Mickey just immediately walk up to you and put the ears on your head. It's, it's, it's this.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Why a free fast pass?

[Ryan Whitney]

It's a free fast pass. Free VIP pass even.

[Mike Grinelli]

And he gets to stay at the Brook Street.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, Conrad. Where he'll be at the, the Brook Street Hotel in Ottawa. Oh, remember that hotel?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah, oh yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

You just sit there. Back to the Brook Street. We did a playoff series two years in a row there. And step foot outside great hotel. It was just in the middle of nowhere. Just the feeling of being in contention. Oh my God. It was crazy though, to see like Darlene getting bullied and Ray Ferrar was like, ah, remember Cousins, though? Remember he fought Hathaway? Hathaway kind of gave it to him good. That might have been. You know one thing where it's like, dude, we're in last place. Like, I just got my head punched in. I don't know if I'm willing to still do this, boys.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I hate to, I hate to do this to Sabres fans right now. And keep in mind, I don't, I don't dig for this information. Like it's given to me by the people who really, really matter and who moved the needle as far as the insiders. But apparently Darlene met with Kevin Adams and he said that if this doesn't turn around fast, I'm gonzos.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh God, they didn't need this. Thank God. Josh Allen resigned today. Or we could see. Yeah, that's real problems on street.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I, I think that Darlene is a world class defenseman that's just fed up with the, maybe some of the negligence that's been going on on in Buffalo for far too long since he stepped in that organization. So could you imagine losing Eichel, losing all these other guy, Ryan O'Reilly, the list goes on and on and on of guys got rid of Reinhardt 50 goal guy and you could potentially be losing your all star defenseman in Darlene who is not happy with the way things have gone. So if they don't get him help and get it to him quick. Nah, nah, nah, nah. Hey, hey, goodbye.

[Mike Grinelli]

Do you, do you blame him? Biz?

[Paul Bissonnette]

No. Fuck no. The fact that he's still there, I'm shocked. More positive news though, sticking in the East. Olivier, Matthew Olivier, an absolute nail gun leading the league in majors. Gets an unbelievable contract. I can't remember the last time a fighter got a deal that was this healthy, but my God, well deserved. Six years, $3 million a year, 18 sheets for what I would say is the heavyweight champ right now. That gadget fight after he signed that deal that other night in Florida just. It solidifies the fact that he is the top dog. He's the hungriest fighter in the league and he's willing to go anyone and their mother right now. Anybody, Anybody.

[Ryan Whitney]

Then he scored against the Rangers too. I think it's his 13th. He like what, dude? Sometimes it's actually a lot of the time, timing's everything and I'm saying the word time a lot right now. But this guy, to be a UFA this season and have this year with the year Columbus had. So it's not just him lighting up, it's like, and we're winning and everyone feels safe. When I'm on the, when I'm on the ice, like, you can't tell me having a guy like that doesn't open up skill players games. Fantilly gets the hat trick. His second of the year in Madison Square Garden this weekend. Everything is going the right way in Columbus. Did you see Warrensky's assist over to Danforth Biz? I don't see it.

[Paul Bissonnette]

MVP conversation, dude. Yeah, conversation.

[Ryan Whitney]

He toe drag some poor bastard and then just slides it over. Then he had another nice assist later in the game. That team is awesome to watch. I feel bad because it's really hard with Detroit and I've been pumping up the Rangers tires, but I want Ottawa and I want Columbus as My two wild cards. I've switched again this week might be different next week, but right now, and Columbus will not, will not be a team that I don't want to see get in. I just think the term they gave him is kind of crazy. Like, I wonder how they look at that. Give him the, give him the big payday and we'll, and we'll add on the year. So the, you know, the hit isn't bad at three, but the way he plays, if he makes it six more years playing like that, that'd be hall of Fame worthy in itself.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And also even since the Four Nations, a resurgence in fighting like every. I feel like there's way more dust ups recently. Every time I'm looking, turn on the tv, there's a scrum here, scrum there. Guys are chucking bombs. You got Tom Wilson versus Brady Kachuk. You got the heavyweights a little bit more involved now. So with the relevancy of that and a guy that you could trust, where I'm looking at the, like the other night against The Rangers, Olivier, 17 minutes of ice time. Like that's not a fourth, that's not just a fourth liner. That's a guy who could fucking play, man.

[Ryan Whitney]

I didn't know he was playing that much.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I mean, that's not what he's getting every night. But in the last five games he's gotten over 17 minutes twice and he's usually around that 12 minute mark. So he's an effective player who can run guys through the wall and one of the more intimidating guys to play against in the league. And I gotta go to check out Warrensky's numbers, but I think he hit the 20 goal mark the other night, didn't he?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, and he's dominating. G actually just sent to the chat here, he's 75 to 1 to win the heart trophy. I mean if, if you want some odds like DraftKings sportsbook app. But it also is the bet. It's like they're just gonna give it to McKinnon or Leon. Like I, I feel like they, it's, it's now just like leading score. They're both at this ridiculous pace. You get one guy is gonna win the rock of her shard, the other guy's probably gonna win MVP. And it's hard. Oh, Leon's actually minus 150. That makes sense to me. What a season he's had.

[Keith Yandle]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Columbus was kind of quiet on the trade. On the trade front. What else stood out to you? Biz in any wild card races as A team you're like, interested.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I like the fact that Detroit went and got out Marasic. I like him. I think he's an incredible goaltender. I thought he looked great in Chicago. It is sometimes easier when you're getting peppered every night to get your numbers up there. The only issue with Detroit right now, though, boys, is they have the most difficult strength of schedule in the league right now going into this final stretch and they got all these other teams nipping at that wild card, including the Rangers. So I don't. I, I'm not as confident in Detroit getting in the playoffs right now as maybe I was a month ago. So Detroit fans might not be happy to hear that, but they didn't really do much at the deadline other than Mirazak to, to move the needle. So the time isn't now. The time is moving forward for Detroit. But at this rate, though, still an incredible season. You just hate to see them miss by like a couple points like they did last year when they got fucked by, by Washington. So I don't really have much to talk about as far as Detroit's concerned or more of the Eastern wild card, but there is a lot of noise going on out west in that wild card as well.

[Ryan Whitney]

Before we go to the Western wild card race, we should bring up we're Was Yanni Gore traded? Had we covered that last show or was that this week as well?

[Paul Bissonnette]

We haven't talked about Tampa. Couple undercover moves getting Bjork Strand and, and Yanni Gord, who Lalonde, who was on the panel at sportsnet, had some great comments about how he's a, a very confident guy, very similar to like a Stankhoven where he's a puck hound. Right? Maybe not a hockey sense that's going to blow you away, but a type of guy where you want from an energy standpoint on a third line to help change momentum in a game and, and in some cases can maybe hop up on the second line if they need be. So like those sneaky moves thought maybe a little bit of an overpayment. But Breeze Bois, he said, I'm giving this team every opportunity to win now. And I thought that the moves were, were, were solid in order to, to try to make a playoff push. I think it's going to be Toronto, Tampa and looking at the way that both teams are playing right now, I would say that that's a coin flip. So Coop's going to have the boys ready to go. And a great move by Breezeball getting those two guys.

[Ryan Whitney]

Keith, I got to ask Your opinion on something? Because Breezeball had a quote that it's interesting and I like it, but he said, I'd rather have a lineup full of good players than a bank. Than bank a ton of draft picks. Because I think ultimately what we're trying to do is win hockey games. We want to win a lot of hockey games this season, next season, every season. We're chasing a championship now, this season, but we're going to be chasing a championship next season and for the foreseeable future. As a fan, you got to love this because the, the, the dark days, the days that the Bruins are headed toward, the days that the Penguins are in, those are coming. So just go until. What is it? Rider? Until she bucks you biz? Is that the saying you live on?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Ride it till the wheels fall off.

[Ryan Whitney]

So, Keith, what do you think? Like, how sick is that? Being on Tampa, knowing, yeah, all right. Every year we're gonna do what we can to give it a go.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah, I think, I think if you're a player, that's what you want your gm, you know, thinking and doing. And anytime you got Vasilevsky, Kuchero Point, you gotta be all in to win. What, what, what good is a, you know, 30th overall pick or, you know, the second round pick, like when you can trade away those picks and get guys that are gonna come in and help your team win. And Breeze was. He. He's proven it. He's hitting home runs on these deals that he's made. So I think there's zero questioning his, his logic to that. And you look, you look at the teams that are, you know, the top of the echelon. Vegas, when I think of them, I think Vegas, Florida, Tampa, throw Edmonton, Colorado in there too. In those are the teams that are trading away all their draft picks, getting players, getting guys in who can help them win now because at the end of the day, the shelf life for a gm, I mean, I know Breezeball's been there for a while, but it's not very long, so you have to win. You can't just be like, hey, we got, you know, five, six years to figure this thing out. It's. I think every team is or should be in the win now mode. And in those, those GMs that are doing it between Florida, Vegas, Tampa, Colorado, they're proving what they're doing is helping them win. And, you know, at the end of the day, the fans want to see Stanley Cups, the players want to see. See Stanley Cups.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's. That's what. And it's so hard to win, but the biggest thing is you're getting gassed when that begins anyways. Like, you won't, you won't be there dealing with it. So I, it makes total sense. But you see people, like, they got no draft picks. Like, who cares, dude? They have a chance to win the cup. But it is nuts how hard it is to win and how much luck that goes into it. Make all these deals, boom, somebody gets injured.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Boys, if I'm Toronto, though, seeing Vasilevsky get hot the way he's getting hot over the last 18 games. Oh, my God.

[Ryan Whitney]

And you know Cooch, like, nobody's talking about Cooch this year. He's just having a sick season once again. And it's it. He never has that discussion. I voted for him for mvp. We're now getting to the quick hits presented by Dove Men's plus Care. Finally, a scrub designed for men's needs. I have needs, guys. I know you two do as well. And Dove Men's plus Care gives me that. It has what I need. And I added the new Dove Men plus Care body and face scrubs to my shower routines. You should do as well. I, I think you guys could tell my skin looks pretty nice, right?

[Mike Grinelli]

I was great.

[Ryan Whitney]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate that. That's all because of Dove. You use it in the shower bath or at your sink, apply to wet skin, rinse, clean, and follow with your favorite Dove Men plus Care body wash or cleansing bar. I like the bar. I think bars last longer almost. And then you don't have to deal with the bottle that stays in the shower for like two weeks because I never throw it out. So I'm a bar guy. The scrub transforms how you and your skin feel. It's made for your face, body, scalp, etc. You want to try Dove Men plus Care? Find it at Walmart today. So on to the Quickets. First, a little off hockey news. The Bob does sandbagger is coming out Thursday, noon eastern. I can't wait. I, I, I got a little, what do they call it when you get to see it first, little VIP showing you sneak peek. It's very funny, Keith.

[Mike Grinelli]

I'm so excited because I don't remember.

[Ryan Whitney]

Those two in, in this match, we get to the eighth or ninth hole and you're like, like, oh, this is where I just don't remember anything yesterday. So, so the amount, the amount, I.

[Mike Grinelli]

Don'T even know if we won or not. I can't wait for Thursday.

[Ryan Whitney]

Thursday, you're gonna love it.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And if you have your antics on the course are like, you were the perfect third to add.

[Ryan Whitney]

Wait until you see this one.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And, boys, I am very proud of the way I played. You know, sometimes I don't necessarily bring it on the golf course, but this might have been the round of my life.

[Mike Grinelli]

I think our next match, you got to throw out your L5s. One again.

[Ryan Whitney]

I know.

[Mike Grinelli]

You were an absolute. I honestly don't. Just crank the first one. You were amazing.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah. Or just crank four muscle relaxers. And he also.

[Ryan Whitney]

The first one. The first one. On the drive there, I said, biz, you gotta just save your back. Just if Keith and I hit a bad one, you'll hit. But if you don't need to, you're not gonna hit. We gotta save your back. And he gets up on the first hole and goes first and stripes one down the middle. I'm like, okay, I think we got something to work with here. You were an animal. Thursday at noon. Please check out our first match with them on the Bob does sports YouTube page. And then this is the rematch.

[Paul Bissonnette]

So where do you find that with.

[Ryan Whitney]

Our YouTube channel, Biz?

[Mike Grinelli]

Good question.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, no. Yeah, YouTube. You got to subscribe to it. Currently, we have 388, 000 followers. Not a big deal. You can also watch our podcast on there. You can watch Chicklets, you university that Grinnellian fish do sometimes. We do the road warriors, which we did recently with Scott Gomez and Mike motto, who I thought was a Ford but was actually a D in the NHL. And plenty of other amazing videos to watch. Once again, on the four nations. Oh, the vlog.

[Mike Grinelli]

Amazing.

[Keith Yandle]

I wasn't there.

[Mike Grinelli]

That was amazing to watch. Great job, G. And I don't want to say the other guy's name.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Why Fishy? What do you got against fishy?

[Mike Grinelli]

No, I love fish.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, you just don't like posh and do shit. He was.

[Ryan Whitney]

He was crying as Jack Hughes was injured and his team continues to stink. Oh, yeah. And next week, Thursday at noon will be the chicklet you from Minnesota. So that's three weeks in a row with three bangers at noon on a Thursday, everyone. Thank you. OVI scored again. It was another empty netter.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Eight empty netters.

[Ryan Whitney]

This guy, if you pull the goalie OV scoring. It almost looked. Keith and I, before you got on biz were saying he was almost. I think, like, oh, this is getting out of hand. Like, I think I have to stop scoring empty netters.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Eight on the season. I believe 65 now in his career, which is the NHL record for empty net goals. I think that we still continue to say I hope he doesn't break the record on an empty netter, but I think at this point it would just be fitting if he solidified a hat trick in that game with an empty netter to just be like, all right, this is a joke. At this point I still believe that he's going to play next year and maybe even another year after that. The way he's going, if he's still scoring 40 goals a year and he will probably surpass Gretzky's record even if you take away the empty netters, I still truly believe that the rate that he's scoring at that that's a possibility. So if you took away his, his, all of his empty netters that he could beat what Wayne Gretzky's goal record was.

[Ryan Whitney]

So I, that you just, I've never heard anyone mention he wouldn't play next year.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, I, and I said the, the year beyond that next year is the last year of his deal. So if you, if, if, if you, if he did play last year, let's say he broke it towards the end of this year, he would have to score another, whatever his empty net goal total would be. So 65. Well, he ain't doing that in one year unless he's on, unless he's on a lot of the Russian gas. But I would imagine that would have to take him two seasons to do. And at that point they're probably going to be wheeling around a chair out there based on how slow he would be.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's a one timer chair. Like your knees down in the chair. You're just like your arms in this like stable up here.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Well man, if he's playing with Dylan Strom, he might do it next year for cryo. That guy can dish, find him anywhere.

[Mike Grinelli]

My only argument with the, with the empty netters is this year they're probably going to win the President's trophy. So they're, they're trying to win games. It's not like they're last in the league and they're pulling the goalie, putting them out there as a charity case. They're trying to win games to win the President's trophy and to solidify their spot in the playoffs and to keep going. And he's out there icing games like it's not like he's out there to get his goal. He's out there and he's the best.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think he's out there for the. I, I think you think without the goal record he'd be out there.

[Mike Grinelli]

I mean, maybe, maybe not.

[Paul Bissonnette]

He's doing it. There's Buddy. Watch. Go watch that goal that he scored the other night on the empty net of the backhand against. Against Seattle. There is nobody better at finding a way to get the empty net goal.

[Mike Grinelli]

It is.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Just has a knack for it.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay, I want to hear from Capitals fans, like, has he in his career prior or like, has he always been, like, up a goal with a minute left, always on the ice? I don't know.

[Mike Grinelli]

I'm just seeing playoffs. We'll see in playoffs.

[Ryan Whitney]

We'll see in playoffs.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I mean, he's averaging five empty net goals a year. I mean, who's done that?

[Ryan Whitney]

I'm still so bitter that when. When we played or when I played that you were not allowed, like, you could never shoot at the empty. That if you ice the puck.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, I wasn't gonna be out there.

[Ryan Whitney]

The whole team will stink eye. The coach will look at you and just you up and down like you never ice the puck. And now you're just allowed to just. I would have had a couple of. Actually, I was never really out there up a goal. So I don't know where I'm going with this. Sometimes I got stuck out there and I was afraid to try to go for it. Now it's free reign.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think this is a great segue considering we're talking about ov, as we normally do. We always talk about Sid. They end up playing the Minnesota Wild the other night. It's probably Flurry's last game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. And both Crosby and Malkin end up scoring on him. And some of the. The comments and the posts and the. And the chirping going on on Instagram, Gino said, my favorite frog with a picture with him. Like, just. I wish. I wish that the band was still together. I wish they were all still playing together. But just a great moment. And speaking of ovi's record, Sid, if he goes at a point per game clip, which he's probably going to do this year, he would be. It would be the 20th season in a row that he's done it. And he would surpass Wayne Gretzky, who has 19. 19 seasons of a point per game. And that is just remarkable. So once again, these two guys carrying the league as such and in a great moment with their former teammate, and there was no pranks. Sid got to the hotel in Minnesota. He was a little nervous going to his room, but there was no pranks. It was all love.

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah. Because Flurry didn't Want to go to the St. Paul Hotel and risk his life.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's like walking into, like a time machine in the lobby of that place. Gosh. Like Boardwalk Empire.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I guess it's haunted. Somebody said, yeah, exactly.

[Ryan Whitney]

There would be Vancouver Canucks fans, I think, without ever winning a Stanley cup. And what's happened this season that say that they're haunted Biz and this deadline was kind of shocking. The whole season's been shocking. Canucks fans are not happy. Patrick Alvine, Jim Rutherford, nothing really went on and they decided to keep Brock Besser. Now, I need. I don't know who wants to take it from here, but what's your opinion on Patrick Alvine's quotes where he said, you'd be disgusted, basically, and shocked at the offers I received for Brock Besser? Basically saying, I got nothing offered for him. I was like, geez. Oh.

[Mike Grinelli]

I took it the other way.

[Ryan Whitney]

I took it the other way. He was saying he got nothing.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And I'm like, no. They wanted a first rounder and if they didn't get that, they weren't going to move on from them because they're obviously, they're still in a chase here, right, boys? Like, they're. They're what, one or two points outside of that wild card spot. I would say that Besser loves playing there, right? He. He loves being there. I just think that maybe he probably. How do I word this? I think he wants more money than what he's worth based on how he drives a line. Like, he's. He's a. He's a. He's a clutch goal scorer. He needs to play with guys who get him the puck in the right areas. I view him as kind of like a Tyler to Foley. So I don't know what exactly he wants in order to resign in Vancouver, but I think that he's the type of guy who's a perfect piece to like, add kind of. Oh, God, I'm butchering this.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, you're not. You're not, you're not.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I actually. Critical.

[Ryan Whitney]

I hate as like the fifth best forward on the team. You're a cup contender. Fourth best.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Now, Biz, was it true that he would. Was that rumblings or was it, like, known that they offered him five times eight. Do you remember that in the news, Pasha? Was that legit?

[Paul Bissonnette]

I don't think that he's going to make 8 million. Yes.

[Ryan Whitney]

Pasha's saying yes. And I was shocked that that.

[Paul Bissonnette]

10 years times 5 million.

[Ryan Whitney]

No. 5 years times 8 million.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Wow. I mean, if I offer him that and he turned it down. I think that's fucking banana land.

[Ryan Whitney]

Me too. I was like, whoa, I thought that's.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I don't get off.

[Ryan Whitney]

Pasha's saying here in the chat that the Canes allegedly offered one of The Ronton and first rounders from Dallas for Besser with 30 minutes left before the deadline. That guy might have read that on the Dark Web. Like who knows if that's legit. That's Pasha talking. But I just didn't like the comments.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Like, I don't, I, I would assume that he doesn't resign there based on those comments. I don't know if they're, those were necessary. Maybe that was a tactic by Vancouver to, to like get in him and his agent's head, basically saying if you think you're going to go to the market and get more than what we're offering or what you think you're worth. And that's not the case if nobody's willing to even give up a first rounder for you. But now I'm hearing that like you, that it kind of like contradicts what's out there because they said they didn't get off for a first rounder for him. So whatever Posh is reading, he's on some.

[Ryan Whitney]

He just said it's from Frank Saravelli reported that the Canucks have offered Besser a five year contract with. Oh, that was about the contract. That's Posh's scoop about offering with 30 minutes left.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I don't trust the word he's saying. Sorry, he's in my kitchen right now. Oh, I had to take out his shoelaces after what happened with the New Jersey Devils in the last two weeks. But yeah, I wasn't crazy about the comments. I don't think those need to go public.

[Mike Grinelli]

I agree though, if that, if he, if he meant that by we didn't get offered to him and that's his tactic to try to sign him lower. I don't agree with that at all. Especially a guy that's been there and, and put in the sweat equity, as you like to call it biz for that, for that organization. Not a big fan of those comments.

[Paul Bissonnette]

If that's, yeah, he's a 40 goal guy. He, he's clutch, put in the right situation. Like, I'm not knocking his game. I just don't think that he's a line driver and I, I think that $8 million is, is a, is a lot of money. I, I, I, I don't know, I don't know if he's gonna get that in the open market. And if he does March, if March.

[Mike Grinelli]

Can'T get 4 million from Boston, he ain't getting 8 from Vancouver.

[Ryan Whitney]

Boys, I think that about that, about. If you're somebody who's saying we didn't cover every single trade, I apologize for nothing. We went over the big dogs. I know there's a million little deals out there. Actually, I guess the volume wasn't as nuts this season. Sandbagger Thursday. Oh, actually Pasha did wrap this. Do you want me to read this guy's going after Aquilini now. Biz. Should I even read this message from.

[Paul Bissonnette]

The sure, why not?

[Ryan Whitney]

Warning. The following statements are about to be made by a deranged Devils fan. The views expressed are his and his only. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt because remember, he is a deranged Devils fan. He says they didn't trade Besser for a first rounder because they're covering Aquilini. Short sighted ass who doesn't want to miss out on two playoff home games every year by making the team worse. So that's Pasha's take right there. We should probably play the disclaimer before that, but yeah, surprised that Best are still on the team and not signed. We'll see what happens this summer.

[Paul Bissonnette]

The only other guy I was going to mention in the league was Wolf. Dustin Wolf, Calgary Flames. This guy's playing out of his mind. Undersized goaltender who has just, I think he, you know, he's going to be top three for rookie of the year and has really helped Calgary stay inside that second wild card. And you know, Minnesota, man, they're struggling to score five on five. They desperately need Capri, Sav, Ericsson, Ek and Brodyn back. And if they don't get them back, holy. The way that they're leaking oil, they'll be lucky to just get in the playoffs at this point. So not. Not great times in Minnesota until they get healthy.

[Ryan Whitney]

So many storylines coming down the stretch. So many. It's. It's so sick to see where this league's at. And, and Keith, you texted the group the other day. I cannot wait for playoffs. It's.

[Mike Grinelli]

Oh my God.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's gonna be these first round matchups we're gonna end up seeing. I think and Hope are going to be outstanding. Thank you very much to Gabriel Landiscog. Go check that out on tnt. Incredible first episode. And watch our sandbagger Thursday at noon and final. Shout out Keith. Brian Yandel. And coming up, possibly Colin Yandel. Shout out your team, Keith. Shout out your team. Cushing Academy wins it all, Biz.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, congrats, boys. That's awesome.

[Mike Grinelli]

Thank you. First one since 1998.

[Ryan Whitney]

I couldn't believe Cushion.

[Mike Grinelli]

Cushion Academy probably put more guys division one, more guys professional. We just could never get the job done. When I was there, we had wagons of a team. When my brother was there, wagons of a team. Just could never win the big one. And this year, they. They brought in Ryan Bork, Ray Bourque's son, Chris Bork's brother. They brought. They brought Ricky in to. To man the helm, and he got it done in his first year. And the best part about it just. Just with more drama in the hockey world is there. They beat Dexter. Is it Dexter Academy?

[Ryan Whitney]

Dexterity Dexter?

[Paul Bissonnette]

I don't know. It doesn't matter. They can't be beat. Little Caesars, I'll tell you that.

[Mike Grinelli]

Couldn't be more proud of that group. My nephew, Little B, and the whole squad up there in Ashburnham, Mass. Bringing home. Bringing home the hardware. Absolutely love it. Proud of you guys. And love, love the Penguins nation.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Next time we record, I'm gonna be 40.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, my God.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Dude. Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

What do you. What do you think as you turn 40? Like what? But what are your goals Next here, biz. 40 is a big birthday.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Probably just get in better shape, maybe work a little bit less. Why are you rolling your eyes?

[Ryan Whitney]

I can't believe you work out twice a day, bro. What kind of shit biz? I'm not even joking. What?

[Mike Grinelli]

Dad, Bods are in.

[Ryan Whitney]

What? Yeah. What? What? How much better shape can you get in?

[Paul Bissonnette]

I mean, there's. You can never get too good, right? I mean, if you play something.

[Mike Grinelli]

I don't even play nothing dog.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Like a sport, you mean?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. No, it's just like. Who is that? Theo Van.

[Mike Grinelli]

Theo Vaughn.

[Ryan Whitney]

Theo Vaughn. He's getting. He's. He's got a trainer just all over him. Biz. He's dying. He's like. I don't even. I don't even play nothing dog.

[Paul Bissonnette]

But legend.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. Basically, I'm like, for. For what you do, like your life. You're. You're. You're pretty fantastic.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah. Just. I mean, health is wealth, right? As you get older, that's the key, right? Maybe better diet, you know, just all of it. Just.

[Ryan Whitney]

What about.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What about maybe. Maybe living more in the present? That would be a goal of mine. My mind kind of races. Whether it's looking forward too much or looking in the past too much thing, more present would probably be number one on my list.

[Mike Grinelli]

I feel like You're a present guy.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No.

[Mike Grinelli]

Unless it's. Unless there's trade rumors going around. You're on your phone at dinner.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I didn't even eat with you guys the last meal we're at. But yeah, no, I'm excited.

[Ryan Whitney]

Your ability to be present, it's kind of like you're bipolar. Because when you're present, gee, I think you could agree with me here. You're involved. Conversations incredible. It's. It's awesome.

[Greg Wyshynski]

It's eye contact. He's looking you right through the eyes.

[Ryan Whitney]

Then when he's not present, it's like he's literally not in the room. So it's, it's, it's, it's. It's. There's big peaks and valleys in your. In your. How present you are. But when you're present, buddy. God, do we have some good combos.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Okay.

[Ryan Whitney]

I hope you have. I hope you have an amazing birthday week.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Thank you.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think it's going to be unreal for you just to take a little time off, appreciate what you've accomplished. Biz. You're now kind of an insider too. You. You haven't even asked this. You're like the Dark knight.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Shout out to Elliot Freeman. Hell of a deadline. What a legend that guy is. And I don't know how the he does it on the lack of sleep and. And everything that's coming at him. And all this, all this chaos that the NHL has to offer these days. Just an incredible league. It's thriving and that was a great pod, boys. I love you guys. Thank you very much and love, love your guys. Friendship. Thank you.

[Ryan Whitney]

Love you.

[Paul Bissonnette]

We love you.

[Mike Grinelli]

Too busy, Keith.

[Ryan Whitney]

I will see you soon. Thursday noon. Sandbagger rematch. Popular sports. Love you guys.

[Keith Yandle]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Greg Wyshynski]

Guys, guys, guys. Before we wrap here, we have a little breaking news. Not the greatest news, though, for Cats fans. Aaron Ekblad has been suspended 20 games without pay for violating the terms of the NHL's Performance Enhancing Substance program.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Okay, so. So Whit hopped off here. He had to go bring Ryder to hockey. Yans, that's a. Oh, my God.

[Keith Yandle]

God.

[Paul Bissonnette]

All right, here. Okay, 20 game.

[Greg Wyshynski]

Guys, we actually have a statement from Ekblad himself here if you guys want me to read that as well. So he says, as the NHL announced, I've been suspended for violating the NHL and NHLPA performance enhancing substances program. The news that I had failed a random drug test was a shock. Ultimately, I made a mistake by taking something to help me recover from recent injuries without first checking with proper medical and team personnel. I let my teammates, the Panthers organization and our great fans down. For that, I am truly sorry. I've accepted responsibility for my mistake and will be fully prepared to return to my team when my, my suspension is over. I've learned a hard lesson and cannot wait to be back with my teammates.

[Paul Bissonnette]

So he's taken responsibility. Damn. Like, did you. What was his injury?

[Mike Grinelli]

He's had a bunch and like recently a knee. Something with his knee. And I, I think the last year, last couple years, just playing so much hockey, I think he's just been bumped and bruised. Oh, man, that's. I mean, I've known Aaron for a long time now and I can with definitely say like he wasn't out there doing steroids to like get better. He said. I mean, I was kind of blacked out a little bit when you were talking, just trying to take this information in. But you said it was trying to, you know, recover.

[Paul Bissonnette]

So you think it was Jack 3D?

[Mike Grinelli]

Yeah. Like you back in the day? No. Oh, I don't know. Maybe it was like, I don't know, like a recovery, you know, those lotions and stuff and you know, you just don't read the fine print.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Gummies.

[Mike Grinelli]

Oh, man.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Hey, do you think there's a possibility that they were aware of this before they made the Seth Joan trade? Oh, do you think Toronto Maple Leaf should launch an investigation on this?

[Mike Grinelli]

If they knew, I'm sure it's because they were allowed to know and, and you know, they just went out and made a good deal to bolster their back end cheaters. I don't. Yeah, I don't know. That's a good question. Biz.

[Keith Yandle]

I don't know.

[Mike Grinelli]

I obviously I don't know how long the team's known. I would imagine. I don't think it probably came down the pipe today, but you know, going out and getting another all star defenseman doesn't hurt.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, so you don't think that's cheating?

[Mike Grinelli]

No, I don't think so.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, okay. Yan.

[Mike Grinelli]

See you.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Rg what do you think?

[Greg Wyshynski]

I would say it's cheating. I think investigation. I think you send Marshan back to the Bruins and we, we just kind of do this whole thing.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah. We call it even. We call it even.

[Keith Yandle]

Okay.

[Paul Bissonnette]

So actually before we end here, I know we already talked about this too. The, the Carolina hurricane situation with Rotten. And so since we were on, the story broke that when Rotten and got there when he showed up, as in rotten and this is coming From Rod Brindamore's mouth, he said, there's four teams I'll go play for and you're not one of them. So this has gone viral on Carolina Hurricane's Twitter. They're going nuts and like basically prima donna this, prima donna that. I had a couple people actually sending me tweets being like this completely nicks what PK Suban said in sense of like the fact that like hockey players aren't like, like drama queens and like no matter what the, what the situation, they play their hardest. As if though this guy wasn't trying to play hard, playing under this new system and with a new team, like, ridiculous, okay, Carolina Hurricanes fans, ridiculous right now. And it kind of goes back to what I was talking about. This is a top line right winger in the league, okay? We're talking about a top five right winger. If you're telling me as a free agent he doesn't have the right to say I want to play here or I don't want to play here, you're out of your mind. And on top of that, as I mentioned, never once was he like, yes, I want to go to Carolina. They asked him if he was willing to start negotiating and he was like, no. And now there is a little bit more information that trickled out that his, his. I think maybe his agent said like, okay, maybe we would be open to it. But never out of Rantman's mouth did he say, I want to go to Carolina and finish off the next eight years of my career. And that is a big decision you have to make as a player. And Yance, I was never, ever in a situation where I was able to say that as a player, like, let's, let's make sure we separate the two. But when you've accomplished what Miko Rodman has accomplished in the NHL, you've won a Stanley cup and you're on this team for the minute, you've stepped in the league and you play a certain way to ask a player to go to a different situation where they play a completely different system and instead of possessing the puck, you're going to dump it in and chase it. I don't think that that's that ridiculous. And even as a player, why would you want the organization to go through that if you're genuinely not happy and that's not how you want to play hockey, you're not going to be playing the, the that, that hockey in the best kind of system because that's just not how you play. So he's essentially doing you A favor not only by telling you before he went there, I don't want to be here, but also when you offer him 13 and a half. No, I still don't want to be here. So Carolina Hurricanes fans and the organization could be as mad as they want, but this could have all been dealt with when Tulski was told, no, he doesn't want to be there, but he still tried to trade for him and convince him otherwise. Now he's on a team just like Colorado, where he's going to play with a center who flies through the neutral zone and distributes the puck and a top three to five line rush team and possession team in the league exactly like where he was. So I don't think this is that crazy, but Kaynacs have at it just the way you've had at it the entire time. And by the way, if you go back to all the podcasts, everything I said about this, I was bang on. I was bang on. Yance, anything to say?

[Mike Grinelli]

No, not much. I think you crushed it. Yeah, I think he's earned the right to, you know, like you said, he's going to be a free agent this summer. He's earned the right to kind of pick where he wants. He's a superstar in the league. He's, you know, a guy that's won. And I honestly think he did them a favor by, you know, telling them before the trade deadline so they could get assets for him. And it's, it's one of those things where if he just kind of stuck it out and was like, ah, you know what, I'll just finish the year here in Carolina and then figure out in the summertime. But he didn't do that. He, you know, essentially he said he didn't want to be there, so they had to trade him and they, they get, they get a good player back. And, you know, I don't think he deserves any of the blame on this. I think it's kind of one of those things where he wasn't happy somewhere, obviously. And, you know, when you're that stature in the league, you can kind of determine where you want to be. And, and, and I think he's earned all those rights.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I just think the energy is being misplaced a little bit for Kaynacs. And I actually think that you should be happier about the situation you're in because you have a player who plays exactly how you guys play and he's cheap as hell and he's going to want to be there. And then what you guys keep telling me you have all this cap room. You can go address any needs you have this summer. And you guys are laughing and in good shape. And. And. And I'll stick to my word here. I still think they're going to the Eastern Conference finals. We'll see if they can get over the hump this time. So that's a wrap. Great Last. Last minute breaking news there. Sucks we didn't have Whit on board, but great pot, everyone. And we'll see you next week.

[Greg Wyshynski]

Thursday noon. Watch it. Tune in. Happy birthday. Busy.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Thanks, boys.

[Keith Yandle]

Away. Even if I.