Spittin' Chiclets Episode 635: Featuring Rick Middleton

Summary

Spittin' Chiclets Episode 635: Featuring Rick Middleton

Release Date: April 7, 2026
Summary by Podcast Summarizer

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

This episode of Spittin’ Chiclets from Barstool Sports features the legendary Rick “Nifty” Middleton, along with hosts Ryan Whitney, Paul “Biznasty” Bissonnette, Rear Admiral (RA), and Producer Mike Grinnell. While the episode’s central focus is on the NHL’s playoff race (with special attention to breakout rookie Macklin Celebrini, wild team runs, and major late-season coaching changes), it also features a deep-dive, hour-long interview with Rick Middleton about his Bruins career, old-time hockey, and his later work in sled hockey. The episode closes on a somber but heartfelt note as Whitney shares a personal loss that’s rocked the show’s extended family.

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MAIN THEMES

• Intense Playoff Races & Wild Card Drama: The NHL’s late-season madness, with multiple teams—Sharks, Ducks, Oilers, Islanders, Flyers, Sabres, Senators, and Red Wings—in dogfights for the final playoffs spots.
• Macklin Celebrini's Unprecedented Rookie Impact: The 19-year-old's earth-shattering season in San Jose, discussion of his Hart Trophy credentials, and historical comparisons.
• Coaching Carnage: Recap of shocking late coaching changes for the Golden Knights and Islanders, and analysis of their impacts.
• Fan, Media, and Organizational Drama: From MVP, Norris, and other awards debates, to viral fan moments and notable parent rants that influence entire franchises.
• Classic Hockey Storytelling: Featuring Rick Middleton on Bruins legacy, Don Cherry tales, the “too many men” myth, life after hockey—and his surprising role in sled hockey gold.
• Emotional Closer: Whitney shares the heartbreaking loss of a close friend’s wife to cancer.

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KEY DISCUSSION POINTS AND HIGHLIGHTS

1. Playoff Picture Mayhem & Rookie Phenoms

• [06:30–13:42 | Playoff Races & Celebrini’s Heroics]

  • The Sharks are repeatedly declared dead, then come storming back thanks to Macklin Celebrini, who is outscoring his teammates by an unfathomable 52 points and may break both Wayne Gretzky’s and Joe Thornton’s teenage scoring records.
  • Yance: “If Maclin Celebrini ties Wayne's three-point game record and breaks the San Jose points total, even if they don't make playoffs, he’s my MVP, hands down.” (10:25)
  • Celebrini’s defensive play & franchise-changing presence called out: “He doesn’t cheat the game… he is changing that organization right in front of your eyes.” — Biz (13:23)

• [13:42–15:54 | Rookie Contracts & Salary Cap Talk]

  • Celebrini’s looming monster contract is discussed.
  • “Right now, if I was San Jose, I would say eight years, the 20% max.” — Yance (14:02)
  • Side conversation: NBA/NHL cross-sports business comparisons (NBA excitement down, NHL up).

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2. Award Debates & Viral Media

• [15:54–18:17 | MVP & Norris Trophies, Media Buzz]
  • John Buccigross’ controversial takes on Olympics factoring into NHL awards.
  • “I thought he was just throwing shade at Biz!” — Biz, tongue-in-cheek debate about online hot takes and stirring the pot.
  • Norris chatter: Bucci, Werenski, and Bacardi Boosh (Evan Bouchard) as favorites.
    • “If I had the first 10 games of the season that guy had … I’d be on SUI watch.” — Yance (17:27)

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3. Coaching Chaos: Wa Out, DeBoer In

• [18:17–29:38 | Coaching Firings, Team Identity, and Copycat Moves]
  • Patrick Roy shock-fired as Islanders implode down the stretch, replaced by Pete DeBoer with 4 games left. Discussion of GMs, “coach bullets,” and the effect of Vegas’ own late coaching pivot.
  • “Not only do I think maybe with four home games left, we could figure this out and get in, but also I’m taking DeBoer off the market.” — Chris (24:20)
  • Islanders playoff hopes: DeBoer’s first-year magic, Sorokin’s heroics, and whether the move can spark a turnaround.

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4. Eastern Conference Wars: Battle for Wild Cards

• [29:38–39:08 | Bruins, Sabres, Hurricanes, and Playoff Opponents]

  • Boston’s nightmare: Who do you want to play, Buffalo or Carolina?
  • Buffalo’s amazing resurgence after being left for dead. Whitney’s “0.000%” playoff take comes back to haunt—and delight—him.
    • “I am so pumped up for these fans, so fired up for that city.” — Chris (30:01)
  • Carolina’s relentless conference finalist status and goaltending/defense arguments.

• [39:08–43:44 | Detroit’s Collapse]

  • Red Wings’ devastating late-game penalty and blown comeback, their playoff drought, and the emotional weight of perpetual disappointment.
  • “Imagine being in a playoff race and getting booed off the ice by your home fans. That's fucked.” — Biz (39:08)

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5. Ottawa’s Soap Opera & Fan Psychology

• [44:54–50:59 | Ottawa’s Drama, Kachuk, and Social Media Firestorms]
  • Big Walt Kachuk’s podcast rant sends Ottawa into a media/comms tailspin.
  • Debate on accountability, captaincy, fans’ love/hate for Brady Kachuk, and the power of outside voices on team culture, including classic stick-in-the-rib moments courtesy of players’ parents.

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6. Flyers & Penguins Resurrected

• [54:11–65:54 | Rivalries and Surging Rookies]
  • Flyers rookie Porter Martone takes over the city after a string of heroics—deemed “best since Lindros” by local media (58:17).
  • “He should have eight goals right now, buddy.” — Yance (54:57)
  • Tipett’s rise as a prototypical Flyer; goaltending, D-core, and the resurgence of the Flyers-Pens rivalry.

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7. Classic Hockey Tales: Interview with Rick Middleton

• [86:13–164:02 | Rick “Nifty” Middleton, Bruins Lore, Don Cherry, Sled Hockey Gold]
  • Middleton’s legendary Bruins career—hockey roots, New York debauchery, Cherry’s coaching, “too many men on the ice” heartbreak, and playing with/against Hall of Famers.
    • “Cheevers claims he gave me the nickname Nifty ... nobody else claimed they did.” (93:06)
  • Epic stories: Bruins brawling, Cherry’s media mind games, the Isles and Habs dynasties, and wild lineup calls.
  • Transition to sled hockey coach: the unlikeliest path to Paralympic Gold, ice-cold USA vs. the world, and the rise of American sled hockey.
    • “Long story short, we go in, first game’s against Japan … we end up winning 3-0 … our next game was Saturday night… in front of 6,000 fans. We spanked them 5-1. Canada didn’t win another game.” (~151:19–156:15)

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8. Moment of Reverence: In Memoriam

• [187:04–198:05 | Tribute by Whitney]
  • Whitney shares the passing of a close friend’s wife, Laura, after a long battle with cancer. A raw, heartfelt conversation about life’s unfairness, the strength of family, and the importance of supporting loved ones in grief.
    • “This one’s the toughest... She was beautiful inside and out. Everyone, hug your loved ones and be thankful for today.” — Chris (198:05)

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NOTABLE QUOTES & TIMESTAMPS

• Celebrini’s MVP Candidacy:
  “If he ties Wayne's three-point game record as a teenager and he beats the San Jose individual season point total, even if they don’t make playoffs, I would vote him number one as MVP in my ballot. I don’t vote by the way.” — Yance (10:25)

• The Power of Fan Suffering:
  “That kid, who looked to be about 6-2, 200 pounds, was at Disney World as a six-year-old the last time they were in the playoffs. This kid has been watching game after game year after year and now he gets to see playoff hockey.” — Chris (74:29)

• Rick Middleton’s Humility:
  “If I had the shot David [Pastrnak] has, I’d have over 500 goals.” — Rick Middleton (86:13)

• On Classic Bruins Hockey:
  “We had a tough team. It gave me a lot more room because they had a lot of these other guys to worry about more than me. So I was able to do my thing, you know.” — Rick Middleton (125:24)

• On Sled Hockey Gold:
  “You should see the hit with a little over a minute left … my captain Joe Howard from Brockton, MA, flying down the left wing … we won the gold in a shootout.” — Rick Middleton (~156:39–159:09)

• On Loss & Love:
  “We will be there for our guy … all you can do is be there for him when he’s sitting there and he doesn’t have his wife. ... Rest in peace, Laura.” — Chris (194:43–198:05)

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TIMESTAMPED GUIDE TO MAJOR SEGMENTS

| Timestamp | Segment | Highlights | |----------------|----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:53–05:21 | Banter/Branding, Podcast intro | Pinkies up, Biz’s TNT appearance, start of hockey discussions | | 06:30–13:42 | Playoff races, Celebrini | Celebrini’s legendary rookie performance, MVP race, historical comps | | 13:42–15:54 | Contracts/Cap/Awards | Celebrini’s future contract, NBA/NHL viewership comparisons | | 15:54–18:17 | MVP, Norris, Media buzz | Bucci’s comments, online trolling, Norris picks (Werenski/Bouchard) | | 18:17–29:38 | Coach firings & hires | Vegas & Islanders fire/hire, DeBoer’s never-miss streak, Patrick Roy’s ouster, playoff impact | | 29:38–39:08 | Bruins/Sabres, wild card | Playoff opponent debate, Buffalo’s run, Carolina’s consistency | | 39:08–43:44 | Detroit struggles | Detroit’s heartbreak, Kane’s penalty, fan reactions | | 44:54–50:59 | Ottawa’s drama & media | Kachuk family podcast, Brady Kachuk captaincy debate, fan psychology | | 54:11–65:54 | Flyers/Penguins resurgence | Flyers rookies, Porter Martone, Tippett’s growth, playoff atmosphere nostalgia | | 86:13–164:02 | Rick Middleton interview (Bruins legend) | Career, nickname, Cherry, “too many men,” playoff heartbreak, sled hockey, Bruins culture | | 187:04–198:05 | Tribute—Passing of Laura | Emotional tribute by Whitney, loss, cancer, family grief |

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MEMORABLE MOMENTS

• Legendary Old-school Bar Stories: The Monday “Tittle Tattle” in NYC with football and hockey players, Don Cherry’s locker room wit, and how the 70s/80s were “before cell phones” (120:24).
• Classic Bruins/Canadian Playoff Tales: The “too many men” penalty, heartbreak in ‘79, fans welcoming losing teams back at the airport (119:00).
• Gold Medal Sled Hockey Shootout: Nifty called on memories of Don Cherry’s dump-and-chase tactics for the US Paralympic team, who won gold in an OT shootout (151:19–159:09).
• Emotional Tribute to a Friend’s Wife: The last 10 minutes, sharing the shock, sadness, and the supportive community that steps up during grief. “Anyone out there who’s lost somebody to cancer ... it’s fucking brutal, man.” (194:43–198:05)

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TONE & STYLE

The tone is classic Chiclets—irreverent, quick-witted, affectionate, but also deeply sincere, especially in the personal segments. Banter is peppered with inside jokes, hockey lingo, and “boys being boys” storytelling, but the show pivots effortlessly to respect and realness for serious topics.

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IN SUMMARY

• Hockey Reality TV: This episode is a nearly three-hour whirlwind featuring the entire hockey ecosystem—from drama-filled playoff races and social media showdowns to in-the-room tales from a true Bruins legend.
• Essential Listen: For Chiclets fans and hockey culture devotees, this is near-perfect episode—mixing future superstars, media madness, playoff pressure, unforgettable tales from one of the game’s most underrated stars, and a moving tribute to the importance of friends and family.
• Don’t Miss: The Rick Middleton interview (86:13–164:02). If nothing else, listen from 151:19–159:09 for his sled hockey gold story—a window into a whole new side of the game.
• Heartfelt Ending: The final tribute is a reminder hockey, at its best, is about more than the game.

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For those who missed the episode, this summary captures both the humor, hockey smarts, and heart that make Spittin’ Chiclets a can’t-miss for puck fans everywhere.

Transcript

[Host]

Hey, Spit and Chiclets listeners.

[Biz]

You can find every episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music.

[Chris]

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[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Me and Ryan

[Biz]

have been officially welcomed to the jungle

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

that is Barstool Sports.

[Yance]

I brought it toward the coyotes and I asked them if it was okay if I joined the Spit Chickens podcast full time.

[Chris]

Ryan Whitney's got a pink Whitney out there now.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Sandbagger. Get that on camera.

[Chris]

The song man is a full time member. Marley just got an assist from Chris Beat.

[Biz]

Whoa, we're buzzing right now.

[Chris]

Welcome everyone to episode 635 of the Spit and Chicklet podcast, presented by get those Pinkies Up. Pinkies Up. Taking the world by storm. Biz, I see you doing it right now. I've seen different tweets of people almost reaching. If they see some fans in the stands making like moves with movements with their hands, they're like, that's close to pinkies up. Yeah, like we'll do that. I could do that with my ears. Biz, the Pinkies up has taken the world by storm. You may think I'm making that up. Maybe I am a little bit. But I'm trying to kind of get this into existence. I'm trying to discuss it enough where

[Yance]

all of a sudden it was actually Mr. Gallo's son. Like Nepo baby, to the. To the highest form. And he was in the boardroom and he goes, I think we should do pick his up. And he says, that's genius.

[Chris]

7.

[Yance]

And then all the way to the top and fucking here we are. And it was a hit. So I think he's going to be getting bumped up and I think his, his family will just got a little bit better.

[Chris]

Okay, I like that. Now Biz, you were back at TNT a little bit this week and it was nice to see you there. It was nice to see you. I know you had the weekend off, right? Y. Yep. Some crazy games. You were still watching some great videos on Instagram. But I did get a, I did get a kick out of the game. The Macklin celebrating and we can get into it later. But an awesome, awesome moment by Ryan Reeves just busting through in that interview. So that's something we could talk about.

[Yance]

Just letting everybody know he's. He stuck around. What that like 970 Number for games played. So you know, San Jose. I, I would like to see him get to the thousand there. That would be. That would be really, really sick.

[Chris]

Yeah, for sure. And, and actually we'll, we'll talk about that later because I, I want to get into it a little bit. But Peing is. I think you're leaving today for peeking.

[Yance]

Yeah, Won's here. I just showed him the, the miny stain.

[Chris]

I'm peeking. We peeking.

[Yance]

We're going to.

[Chris]

In the house right now.

[Yance]

He's here.

[Pasha]

Wow.

[Chris]

Okay. Okay. That is interesting. Like just picturing him like in your. In your house right now. Like I don't know what the, what Won does in his free time. Right. Like he is very organized right now.

[Biz]

He's can't be worse than having miny.

[Yance]

Oh yeah, that's the thing. Once I've had Mincy, it's like it's only anybody at the company can now stay at my house because it can't get worse than that. But he's, he's very organized. He's. He's going through all like the, the sleeping bags, the tent situation. Do we have enough dry food? Last time we, we. We only brought one water bottle that had the filter on it. So that was pretty stupid. You know, Learn from your mistakes. We didn't die, so let's just keep going and learning. And season two of peaking we did the pilot that was in Tennessee in the Smokies. La Conte. Mount La Conte, the most biodiverse national forest in the United States or if not North America in a sense of like how much different vegetation it has. And then obviously we took our efforts to BC and we did all that. We, we did the three part series that was season one and now Havasu Falls. I think it's going to be a two episoder and who knows It's a really cool thing. You hike in I think about 10 miles and then there's these, these falls there and then there's also then another hike within a hike. It's like the inceptions of hikes. And then you hike back that same day. So you basically sleep at the same place for two nights and then you, you hack, you hike back out. So it's basically a three day journey.

[Biz]

Can you promise me one thing?

[Yance]

Yes.

[Biz]

You get the dawn on a bicycle again because that was some of the best television watching I've ever seen. Remember him on the mountain bike going downhill? He was like a three year old.

[Yance]

Yes.

[Chris]

Remember he wanted, he needed like a warmup. It's like, it's like he hit the range before not playing golf in three years. But it's riding a bike so it's not really like hitting a golf ball.

[Yance]

So he, what he, what he lacks in athleticism, he makes up for in intelligence. So that's why I think we make a good team. Like I have half a brain, he's got one and a half. I am, you know.

[Chris]

You're the, you're the man child.

[Yance]

Yes. That's a great way to describe it. So I'm fired up for that. We had a lot of good hockey this week, boys. I'll throw it over to you. I know you guys had a bit of a difficult weekend and.

[Biz]

Yeah.

[Chris]

So I'm going to, I'm kind of going to discuss it at the end of the episode. But you know, really kind of tough thing going on with somebody Keith and I are very close with. So in terms of our golf trip, which was awesome and some it was, it was this cool place, Cabot Citrus, out in Brooksville, Florida. And we'd, we'd love to talk about it, but it's like, it's a weird time to try to be like laughing at stuff right now. I'll kind of address it at the end of the episode. So we'll talk about that maybe later this week or something like that. And there was, there was so much good hockey. We don't have to. To waste it with the golf stories. And I guess starting with last week, the first show and I terms I talked about the first for you biz. The, the Sharks come back and the Sharks, they're somehow still in the mix. They were in it kind of all year. Shockingly. Then they. It looked like they were dead. Now they're somehow still alive. And the race in both conferences is just wild. It's this weekend. It was so cool to see. I. Unfortunately I didn't see a lot of it, but watching highlights and kind of catching up this morning before the show. There's a million different ways we could start, but The Sharks team and Celebrini on Wednesday night, like, what else can you say about him? The tying goal. Now this is last week. I know, but the tying goal is just a complete rocket. There's no chance there's any goal in the league stopping that puck. And then he gets an assist on the winner by Wenberg. And the Ducks all of a sudden are like kind of. They're in the playoffs, but they had that division. I feel like.

[Yance]

Yeah.

[Chris]

And now I do think Edmonton or Vegas is going to get it. What did you kind of take away from the game and watching him live, I know you've done it a bunch this year, but that was different on Wednesday night.

[Yance]

Yeah, I mean, like, I think going into the game yet. 101 points and the next guy in line on his team was. Was obviously Smitty Will Smith at 51. Will Smith has missed a bit of time, but to be that much ahead of the next guy on your team. And like, I think Will Smith would also tell you if he didn't have Macklin Celebrini, he might be at like 40 points, maybe, you know, high, high, high 30s. And then we're talking about a team who's obviously probably picking in the lottery, top five worst teams easily. And then your leading score being in like the 40, 45 point range. So what he's done individually when Smitty has been out like just the whole year, the fact that he went to the Olympics and like, I think the. The one thing that we all brought away from that was like, man, he was playing with McDavid and McKinnon and he's like, give her the beaver pelt. Like, yo, yo, yo over here. Like, like that's. And then to like come back in, not get tired from that and then just keep going and doing what he's doing. The, the most alarming stat, I think. Well, there's two. How bad his team in when he is. When he doesn't record a point.

[Chris]

That's wild.

[Yance]

I think they had at the time, I think the other night did it again. I think they might have done it the other night again. Maybe I'm crazy here, but maybe two wins all year without Mac on Celebrini getting a point in the lineup. And then most three point games in a season by a teenager, which wayne Gretzky has 19. And when he, he did it the other night when he had four with us, that was his 17th three point game of the season. So literally, if you're looking at even just do. He's responsible for, for 17 of his team's wins this year because if he's not there, like they're fucking not obviously getting three goals. So that's just. So we've always evaluated the heart on whether you squeak in a playoffs. The, the easiest example of, of this right now I have is Taylor hall and how much of a gap there was to him into the second guy in line. But I think we could also agree that year I think a lot of people might have thought that McKinnon should have got it. But regardless like what he's doing right now for his team and based on like the, the, the characterization of, of what the heart means if they squeak in the playoffs, he is hands down the hardware. Like it's not even a debate.

[Chris]

And you're. And you're saying top three finalists no matter what. Oh, I honestly kind of.

[Yance]

I would, I don't know if a player has ever won it with missing playoffs. I would. If he just continued to do this and he's like in like a he. If he breaks the San Jose Sharks points record, which Joe Thornton I believe did the year that he won MVP, which was 107, maybe 114.

[Biz]

114.

[Yance]

I think it was 114. If he breaks that as a 19 year old and is still over 50 points ahead of the next guy in line. I don't know man.

[Chris]

Like I was seven games left and I think he would need nine points to break Jumbo. He's 106 right now. That's, that's below his scoring pace. So I'll tell you this.

[Yance]

If he, if he ties Wayne's three point game record as a teenager and he beats the San Jose individual season point total, even if they don't make playoffs, I would, I would vote him number one as MVP in my ballot. I don't vote by the way.

[Chris]

I don't vote and you don't dig.

[Biz]

Yep. The, the, the craziest thing I forget who we were talking to was either GM or one of the coaches for Team Canada. And basically every guy like Sid McDavid, McKinnon, every guy said for Olympics I want to play with celebrini. For a 19 year old kid to get those praises of your, your peers is that should give him the MVP right there. It's just like here's a kid playing in San Jose on a team that shouldn't even be in the mix right now and he's getting them in the mix as a true. Like he's changing that franchise overnight. Right. As like a guy that you get lucky to get to draft him and now your team is set, your GMs are going to have jobs, your coaches are going to have jobs. You're putting asses in seeds. Like he is a guy who is changing an organization right in front of our eyes, similar to what Schaefer is doing. But I think for sure he's a top three. If he doesn't win, he deserves to win. And you know, it'd be one of those things. He'll be in the race I think for the next 15, 20 years.

[Chris]

Yeah. And right here we got it. Mario Lemieux in 87, 88. He led the NHL with 168 points in 77 games, won the MVP. Penguins missed the playoffs by one point. So it will be if, if San Jose misses, It'll be right one two or one. One or two points. I believe they do. They only have 75 games played, so they got the game in hand on everyone while being two out. And that actually broke Gretzky's streak. Eight straight years of Gretzky winning the heart. So wait, the.

[Host]

The next closest guy to Mario Lemieux was almost a hundred points behind him. Dan Quinn had 79 points while Mario had 168.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Holy.

[Chris]

So celebrities at 50. Celebrities at 52 points more than Will Smith. I do wonder right now in the league, how much more is that over second place in. In a team scoring list? I imagine that's one, right? I mean Conor has Leon and Kucherov, who would be second on Tampa? It might be decently behind. Behind Cooch actually, but I don't think it's 52.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I don't know.

[Yance]

It's really like Hagel and ah, I feel like he got.

[Chris]

Let's see.

[Yance]

Quick point was hurt though.

[Biz]

Even Radish. Radish is good.

[Chris]

We got Tampa, Kutrov's 1:25, Gensel's 84 points. So it's, it's, it's. What would that. That'd be 41. So I mean it's still a big difference, you know, 52 points more. And in terms of San Jose, if they don't get in, it sucks for all hockey fans out there besides Predators fans and Kings fans and you know, the team's vying but just to see him in the mix. But if they don't, it's a hell of a year in San Jose. It was like. I don't think they thought it would be like this. Like this. This is getting beyond Mike Greer and Wasofsky's wildest expectations for this season, I believe.

[Biz]

And he also doesn't cheat the game too. Right. Like, he's not one of those guys and we all love cooch and stuff, but he's not given the defensive effort that celebrity's given for his team to, you know, have a chance to win games because he knows he can do it offensively. But for his team to win, he's got to play really good defensive hockey. And he does that every single night.

[Yance]

It's almost better that he's so young and naive to the fact that he's literally, he's feeding so many mouths right now, it's fucking insane, buddy. It's insane. And, and, and I don't know what the answer is for the contract he's going to sign. Like, he would be one of those guys right now. If I was San Jose, I would say eight years, the 20% max.

[Chris]

Seven.

[Yance]

Oh, I thought that he is it, I thought that this was the last year you're allowed to do eight.

[Chris]

Oh, okay. Maybe this summer until.

[Yance]

You would have to do it, I believe, before July 1st.

[Chris]

Okay.

[Yance]

And, or it would, it would.

[Chris]

Yeah. But you can't do it till July 1st. Right. Because he still has one more season.

[Yance]

Wow. That's an. He. They gotta be able, because he's his property to almost have that like, grace to get him. That's, that's a good point though.

[Chris]

I know. I wonder if, but, but I, I will be shocked if he's not a four year guy like we've talked about. Like, but here's, but here's the thing

[Yance]

though is it's, it's, it's, it's humming right now. But listen, when it gets to that close to 130 range, like it might plateau for four or five years.

[Chris]

It has to, right?

[Yance]

It has to. It has to.

[Chris]

I'll tell you this, the, the number I saw, and this is totally off topic, but I believe that never in the history the NBA has, has like 10 games in one night been decided by like 30 or more points, an average in the past. It's happened twice in like the past week. So I, I, I know the NBA still is, is above the NHL by a log shot, but it's going in the opposite direction in terms of the excitement and where the NHL is heading and viewership. But you're right in terms of the cap, like in seven years, it's not, it's not gonna be a 165. Right. Like, unless, unless if that happens, we're all laughing. We're all loving life. So I do want to bring up something in terms because we just mentioning mvp.

[Yance]

Going back to your basketball thing, do you know that the salary cap actually went down? I believe it's next year. It's going down very minimally, like less than like half a percent or maybe a percent. But you talk about it, it going, oh, oh. All of a sudden it's a. It's a broken product. It's awful. And that's just good news for hockey.

[Chris]

Yes. And in talking about kind of MVP discussion quick here, our guy Bucci is just getting dragged online in terms of his comments about Warrensky winning the Norris, no doubt. And how he's including the Olympics in his kind of process of figuring out award winners. I don't really know how people took that, like, super serious. Like, I knew he was just even in the clip.

[Yance]

It looks like he's fucking around by his.

[Chris]

Yeah, it's like he said tongue in cheek. He wrote tongue in cheek. I think your brain's rotted if you don't realize. I'm a little tongue in cheek here. I guess people maybe listening, you couldn't see his face and you weren't sure that. But he's just kind of like, I think, rubbing some salt in the wound of Canada and reminding everyone that Warrensky was a big part of Team USA winning gold. But, yeah, people were fuming about that. And they were also fuming about his idea for college hockey getting, like a super league. I think that the fact that that's like, kind of somewhat been in the works, that might not be the right term, but been thought about and discussed, it's just not that insane. People were big mad. They were. They were big bad online. But I think that's like a good thing when you. When you do a podcast.

[Biz]

I thought he was just throwing shade at biz. I thought strictly just going at biz for saying, rubbing in the salt in the wound for Team usa. Like, obviously he wasn't serious.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh. Oh.

[Yance]

But I would have. I was nodding my head and saying that I would be totally fine with Lorenzky winning. Winning the Norris. Now, I. I'll. I'll give you my vote. My answer right now, though, as to who I'm picking. I'm picking boosh. And the reason I'm saying that.

[Chris]

Thank you.

[Yance]

The reason I'm saying that is because if I had the first 10 games of the season that that guy had, I would be in like an insane asylum. I would be on SUI watch.

[Chris]

I wouldn't have any or At Betty Ford. Bacardi Boosh. Like, boozing.

[Yance]

That was that, that might have been some of G's best work, but cardi bouche just rolls off the tongue real nice. Like, what are we getting tonight? But after those first 10 games where I was like, oh, this guy might be in Bakersfield by the end of the year, all of a sudden I'm saying, this guy led the scoring, but I think he'll probably finish 10, 15 points ahead of the next guy. I know it's not all about points, but I was watching him the other night, man, he is so fun to watch. Like the, the, the risky seam passes. He'll try. And when he's going, man, it's fun, man, it's fun. It's fun hockey to watch. So Bacardi Bush. You got my vote, buddy.

[Chris]

Thank you. I, I, I appreciate that as an Oilers guy. And, oh, was there some action in the, in Rogers the other night with the Oilers? You're getting that to him in a minute. But I think first is the major news that broke on Easter Sunday. Oh, you know, we thought, we thought the most shocking firing and hiring of the year was Bruce Cassidy let go, eight games left in the season, Stanley cup champ and the content machine, John Tortorella comes in, but the Islanders and Matthew Darch said, hold my beer, hold my pink Whitney, because we have four games left, all at home. We are having a collapse of epic proportions right now. And Patrick Wa. You are no longer the head coach of the New York islanders. And Pete DeBoer comes in. Pete DeBoer, who's now been a head coach in the NHL for 19 years in a row, is that 31, including Junior, has never had a year off paycheck biz. He's never missed a paycheck in that many years. And while I feel bad for Patrick wa, I, I kind of love this. And there were Islanders fans I saw that were, like, confused and like, what are we doing?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

These hoes ain't loyal.

[Chris]

Yeah, no, they are not loyal. But Matthew Dar, man, it was a little surprising, I guess, that he took over as gm, and then you hear the news that he went and met with Patrick Waugh, and he was very comfortable and confident, him being the head coach, and, and he runs with him throughout the year, and what a year they've had. It's been the Shaffer story. It's been Sorokin, who I think wins the Vesna, and it's been all these different things, and they're cruising towards a playoff spot. And then since The Olympics, it's just been kind of a disaster. Now biz, you brought up a while ago on TNT the underlying numbers and how Sorokin and Schaefer to a certain

[Yance]

extent, I said if they off a cliff, I them in Pittsburgh. I said, if they fell off cliffs, I wouldn't be surprised. Penguins fans are like, you haven't been watching. Hey, and with all respect to the

[Chris]

Penguins, may CPA on that one.

[Yance]

No, hey, hey. There was a lot of. Lot of things going on. Like Latang wasn't even playing that great. Like all of a sudden they switched their goalie. Like Skinner obviously played awesome. There were some variables as to why we could. And then Crosby going down was out.

[Biz]

Yeah.

[Yance]

And then Malin 5 deemed suspension. Like the resilient. Resilienceness, resiliency.

[Biz]

You got it wrong.

[Chris]

I got this episode. You down.

[Yance]

I got the early gun. Like in the sandbagger there. I thought I had it.

[Chris]

Never got the early gun.

[Yance]

Unbelievable job by the Penguins. And congrats to them. Milestone too. I think Gino hit 1400 points the other night. So what did Sid hit? Sid hit another one.

[Chris]

Well, sid hit his 21st straight year with per game. Oh, that is one that I. I don't know if that's touched again, dude. Does anyone even play 21 years? I mean, seriously, this is just. This is just completely insane. And it was an absolute snipe in their two beatdowns against Florida that got him that, that I think that passes Gretzky. Gretzky had 20 and he got 21.

[Yance]

So to go back to the Islanders, though, like, obviously this is a hard league and there's. There's factors that, you know, after the Olympics as to maybe why it led to this decision. Maybe DeBoer have them wanting him not to go and talk to other teams and say, hey, if we hand them this, you know, this is a good situation for us moving forward and Patrick Watt, it's looking like he's not our guy moving forward. But obviously my diabolical mind is thinking they fucking sent this hall of Fame goaltender into a hotel room with Braden Shen to convince him to wave his no move clause. Hey, man, I love what we got going here. Come on over. And essentially not bullied him. But how the fuck are you gonna say no to Patty Wall when he's convincing you about this winning culture? And two years in a row now this team's try to trade you in St. Louis. So you're probably thinking, oh, okay.

[Chris]

And then, oh, that was Sonny in the Bronx tale saying, you know now you can't leave to the guys in the bar like that door shot, like you're like you're coming to the Islanders.

[Yance]

Hey, that's, that's a hell of an analogy. Pinky's up to that one. Double pink.

[Chris]

Chen was the biker and, and WA was the mobster. You ain't leaving. You're coming with us to.

[Yance]

Then three weeks later, boom. Bullet in the back of the head. Do you think two weeks later, Sorry, I stand corrected. I stand corrected. Two weeks later, you now get called into the room.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Boom.

[Yance]

Bullet to the back of the head. Do you think that he on Easter

[Chris]

biz on Easter, on Easter Sunday, do

[Yance]

you think that he had any inkling that that was coming? Patrick Walker?

[Chris]

No chance.

[Biz]

No. And you're telling me the NHL isn't a copycat league? Like if Vegas doesn't go out and do that bring in Torch. Do you think that's even on the Islanders mind to even be able to pull that trigger?

[Chris]

Great question. That's a great question. I saw Barcelona today. He said, like in the room when the news broke about Cassidy and then towards the Vegas, they were like, holy shit. Like the guys in the room, like, oh my God, only eight games left. And he's like, now we're just like, oh, what? Like we waited four more. And I do think a mid season

[Yance]

shakeup compared to what just happened.

[Chris]

But, but Yance, you know what, it's a great point. Also Vegas is, has looked phenomenal. They beat Vancouver off the hop. They had to do that. Then they took care of Calgary, then they waxed Edmonton in Edmonton in the stoff Thumb matchup of the century. The Thumb gets the last laugh on that one. And maybe it's like Darsh is like, oh, look at these guys now. When Darsh met with WA in the summer and decided, you know, I'm comfortable with him being the head coach, there is a part of it where, what have we always said? And like everyone says, a GM gets three, if not two. Coach hires, right?

[Yance]

Got one, he got one, he got one. Coach you got. Laugh all you want.

[Chris]

We're on the Leafs and we're on to.

[Biz]

I think GMs used to get three, now it's one, maybe two.

[Chris]

Yeah. So he's probably like, all right, I, I, I like what I see here, meeting with them and I'm not wasting one of my bullets. But when the collapse has begun and the Islanders, the four in a row, the losses at one point, I think before the four losses in a row, they were 70% chance to get in the playoffs. And as of Monday, April 6 at 2:57pm they're, they're at 30% because teams have a game in hand. And it's like he's like, all right. Not only do I think maybe with four home games left, we could figure this out and get in, but also I'm taking DeBoer off the market. And you said that biz like DeBoer, he was gonna have his options almost to the point where I was like a little surprised that he took the Islanders job.

[Yance]

Well, he had to wait for a team to open up that he hasn't coached already. You la. You laugh. I bet you he could. Like, you're telling me, like New Jersey, like what? Wouldn't have considered bringing him back. Like, what about Vegas?

[Biz]

Would he want to go there, though?

[Yance]

Well, that's what I mean is like now like he's probably like Vegas, like even like not to say they would, but like torts ain't the long term answer. What other good coaches are out there?

[Chris]

Well, and, and listen, if Edmonton loses first round, like Knoblock's gone.

[Biz]

Yeah.

[Chris]

And, and then it's like he's got to think like.

[Yance]

But they already got their next guy though.

[Chris]

Who? Stoff.

[Yance]

Yeah.

[Chris]

Yeah, right.

[Biz]

Coach. And GM DeBore is a hell of

[Chris]

a coach though, boys.

[Biz]

I know. I think it's too with. With Darsh. Like if they, if they end up winning these next few games and get in, he looks like the ultimate, ultimate genius. Right? But if they, and if they stayed with Juan, they got in, it's like, okay, we got lucky. If they stay with him, don't get in. He looks like a, you know, like he's not doing his job correctly because he didn't go out and make a change. So I think for him it's a. Such a ballsy move to go against a. Another French Canadian legend. You know, French on French crime right there.

[Yance]

So I don't think they're going to be hanging out in Montrembla this summer.

[Chris]

No, that was a one time thing. That was probably a one time thing. Like imagine their members at the same golf club like that, that. That match and the member. Member could get awkward. But like Deborah, his. His first year with a team, every year they, they go on absolute runs in the playoffs. Now if he could just get in. I don't know. Now Biz, here's my question. All the underlying stats, right, where Sorokin has just saved this team. So their defensive play is a disaster. Is that coaching where Deborah can Come in and fix that. Or is it personnel where it's like, was like, all right, well, I, I, I'm kind of dealing with what I have here.

[Yance]

So first of all, it's a no lose situation, which is a great one for, for Deborah to step into. Like, he probably gets a nice, handsome, you know, money up here and then a four, four years beyond this year.

[Biz]

Wow.

[Chris]

So, like, is that, is that true?

[Yance]

Yeah, I think that's what Elliot Friedman reported.

[Chris]

And three beyond this year. Three beyond this year. This includes it. Sorry.

[Yance]

Oh, yeah, I thought I read. Okay. I saw the number four. My apologies.

[Chris]

No worries. So Pinky's up.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

He's up.

[Yance]

So no lose for him situation. I think that he's a smart enough coach to make, like, adjustments quickly with these guys and be like, hey, let's expose these guys here, here and here and clean these things up. Like, look at what, look what Bonus did with a team that had the worst offensive numbers in Columbus. And as quickly as he did it, it's really sometimes just going in there with like a, a more concise message and, and explaining it and getting through to the guys in a better way. Like, I wasn't in the room. I don't know how Ruach communicates to these guys. It seemed like he's gotten a lot better at it and he's a lot more of a players coach than maybe he used to be. I think there's like a lot of things he worked on recently. If you watch the press conferences, he was taking a lot of accountability and he looked almost like dejected. So in order to kind of insert this team with a little bit of life, kind of like Vegas did, I. It makes a lot of sense. And another thing, too, if you end up getting in, more than likely, you're probably going to get third in the Metro, right? Because you, because like, it's almost like you're fighting for that Metro spot. I mean, if they were playing Pittsburgh, like, I would Pitts pick Pittsburgh to win, but like, with the board behind the bench, I would, I'd be like, oh, fuck. All right, let's see what he can cook up and how he can shut down. I mean, he's, he's helped coach sit at the Olympics. Like he, he's aware of tendencies. Like he's keeping his radar on anytime he's around these guys, and he's done it for as long as he's done. So he knows a good game plan against certain systems. So, yeah, I would say that if he gets in that they could get to the second round. I don't think they're beaten. Carolina.

[Chris]

No.

[Biz]

Now if they get into the playoffs, does he win coach of the year?

[Yance]

It's in his contract. Now this is a side topic. I we wrote in the group chat. Who would you rather play if. If you're Boston, Buffalo or Carolina? I said I would rather play Buffalo because I feel like if you're boss, then you can rope them more into like the bullshit like bring them down to the swamp because they'll also try to play that way. Carolina. I think that their head down, fucking skate, skate, skate, skate. And they'll skate into a ground for if you're Boston.

[Chris]

I asked that question and I'm with you. I think that Buffalo just a lack of experience and let's. Let's get into them because God damn. Shout out Buffalo. And yes, most people in my seat sitting here, the man in the arena who said there was a 0.000% chance they got in the playoffs only for them to become the best team in the league.

[Yance]

From.

[Chris]

From that quote on, most people would. Would be embarrassed and disgusted with themselves and just. Just sick over the fact that like you look that dumb. But I'm happy as hell that it happened. I am so pumped up for these fans, so fired up for that city. And I've been wrong so many times in my life as a podcaster that that is one that I could hold my head high and really, really understand that this team deserved this. And you, you had to do your part in making such an idiotic exclamation point on a team that I truly thought sucked. That turned out to be great. So I wanted to get that out of the way. But back to Boston, they. They haven't been there. They haven't done it. Carolina, they're just, they're in the conference final every year. Like, I don't want to put Carolina

[Host]

from Boston, but they have no dogs. Rasmus Doll has never been in the playoffs before. Buffalo has been itching.

[Chris]

A ho's a dog. He's not a superstar, but obviously he's a dog.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah.

[Yance]

Cause it's hard you say that. It's like once again, Wit just pointed out he's been to the conference finals. It's not just like scrubs are getting to the conference finals every year.

[Host]

Yeah, but wait, you. You've always said, like they don't have the one guy. They don't have that one guy win

[Chris]

the cup to put.

[Host]

Yeah, exactly. I don't think they have the one guy to beat the Boston Bruins either. No, it wins playoff games too. Jeremy Swayman, goaltending, that's the one thing

[Yance]

you got on him.

[Host]

I think we got better defense too. I really do. I think the Bruins defense this year has been fucking awesome.

[Yance]

I think you, but you're, you're looking at it from like a roster. If you're going one for one down the line on Demon, I'm. It's a five man game. Like I think the other night Carolina fucking outshot somebody like 40 to 10. Like I think that that's kind of what they end up doing to the Bees if they meet them.

[Chris]

I mean Carolina, Carolina in the past week they beat Columbus back to back, possibly crushing their season. Then they got wa. Fired beating the Islanders and then Ottawa got, got a big one. We'll talk about that in a minute. But Carolina, I always just chirp them in the conference final the first two rounds. I'm just like moving them along in five games every time. So I granted, I'm not saying that they would just walk all over the Boston Bruins if Swayman's playing like he has all year, but I think I'd rather play Buffalo.

[Host]

I just think going into Buffalo too, like they haven't had a playoff series in so long, that whole mice advantage is going to be fucking scary in there.

[Biz]

Now that's how every team is in playoffs. Every, every, every fan base is excited. Everyone's ready to go. It's a new season. Yes. Buffalo hasn't done it in a long time. But I think every, every, every stadium you go into, you're getting high octane, you're going to get a lot from the, from the fan. So I don't think that matters as much for the players.

[Yance]

So here's another example. Yes. When we made playoffs the first two years in Arizona, we played against Detroit, buddy, they just, they were, they had the experience like they just knew how to beat us. They swept us the one year, they beat us in seven the next. And I feel like from those experiences we learned and then the following year we go to the conference final like, like that excitement and those fans going crazy and having home ice advantage is great, but it's also a little different when you're not used to maybe getting punched in the face and, and dealing with the ups and downs and staying even keel. Those are the types of things I tend to value just as I've gotten older. So like, no disrespect to, you know, no disrespect to Buffalo at all, but you know, it's, it's going to be a learning curve. But they could also go on a run. I'm just saying if you had. If I had to pick first round hand pick, I would rather, I would rather pick sabers. And also because if you're Boston, if you're playing that greasy game, I feel like Buffalo not having the experience would quote unquote lower their standards. They've come down to the swamp with you where Carolina might be like, hey guys, we've seen this act before. Just keep skating, keep putting it at those areas and we're going to keep chipping away. Chip, chip, chipping away. That's my thought on it.

[Biz]

Great call.

[Chris]

But back to the Islanders. We'll see what can. We'll see what can happen here. Gee, look up quick. I think they have Toronto, which that should be a dub, right? And like I mentioned, they're all at home. Do they have Florida too? Which they should be able to get that win based on. That's a full blown tank.

[Host]

They got Toronto, the Senators, Montreal and then Carolina.

[Chris]

Okay, so it was the center, so that's a huge one. Montreal, Carolina, they could maybe be. They're in, right? So maybe they're not exact. Maybe they rest guys, I don't know. But it's going to be awesome to, to see and it's going to be amazing to see if DeBoer can come in there and turn it around this quick. And if Soroka stands on his head, they could win all four. I mean he's won him plenty of games this year already, but it was still shocking and it was still kind of crazy to see that news break on, on Easter Sunday. Like we thought, eight games to go. And torts was the big news of the season. Nope, because Peter DeBoer's back. And the other thing is, I don't know, I wonder when Darsh called DeBoer. Right? Or he would have had to ask Dallas for permission.

[Yance]

Do you think, do you think he met with Wa in person?

[Chris]

Oh, I would think so.

[Biz]

No, he texted him.

[Chris]

Oh fuck yeah, he had security with him.

[Yance]

Imagine, imagine having to tell Patty Wa that. What do you think?

[Chris]

What do you think he said back Tabernac Kous Kus. Yeah, man, that's a. That's a ballsy move, Dars. Don't give a. And the last thing, bro. Schaer has now the most points ever by a defenseman as an 18 year old coach killer. Whenever we interview the Shaf daddy next you finally have some ammo. He went after your nose. He went after your Your skill in the game. He went after stop and now you could burn. I'm not. You're a Coach Killer.

[Yance]

Post this. I'm don't take this tongue and cheek either.

[Biz]

Nice.

[Yance]

I'm not voting for Matthew Schaer for rookie of the year because he's a Coach Killer.

[Chris]

You want to get that out there right now?

[Yance]

Oh, yeah. Set up the Noble sponsorship. They should call it the Coach Killer. The Coach Killer Twos. Fucking Noble. Noble's new shoe. There'll be boots so you can stomp on them on the way out of town.

[Biz]

It's got spikes on them.

[Yance]

They bring back the metal spike golf shoes because you send them to Patty. Hey, hit the links, buddy. You'll see. You'll see. Darcy at the Member member.

[Chris]

You mark your ball with it in a blue jay sandbagger. Then you put a spike into someone's throat as you fire.

[Yance]

Yeah. You hit a button and then. And then like a little knife pops out. You could stab him in the back just like you did your head coach.

[Chris]

Collect your rookie of the year. Get called a Coach Killer by the guy doing the broadcast at the awards. Walk out of there with your head hung. God damn. I thought I was a good player. So Biz just ended an amazing rookie season for. For a franchise defenseman.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah. Oh, great.

[Yance]

But now. But he's going to really be after me. Oh, yeah.

[Chris]

Sticking with this Eastern Conference race. I want to just say I'm so sorry to the Detroit Red Wings, man, and their fans and for them to go into MSG and somehow, some way, the Rangers look unreal lately. The Sakura kid parole hat trick. They got all these young guys. It's like the worst thing you can have happen. It's like they're just like playing their way out of a higher pick. But I guess. I guess you're happy. Is Chris Drury or Mike Sullivan seeing some young guys? But these games are. I never put too much stock into the games. When you're out, you see young guys light it up.

[Yance]

That's when the Oilers flourish during the. The. The what? The.

[Chris]

But they kept the first overall pick that we didn't. We didn't.

[Yance]

Scary.

[Chris]

We never got too high.

[Yance]

But they were the only balls in the fucking machine. Just a hundred Oilers balls now.

[Chris]

Quick did make some incredible saves in that game, but. All right, we're going home. Back to back against the wild and they go down. And I believe Biz at one point the fans were booing them.

[Yance]

Oh, well, they were up one nothing after the first. After putting up a Staggering three shots on goal. I. I'm like, holy fuck, get these guys a sniffer. I. If I was the head coach, I might have gotten like at the TV timeout, started banging one of the guys, sticks on the boards just to kind of get some type of fucking emotion. Well, they're up one nothing. Kirill Capri Sav in the Minnesota Wild. Just start firing. Tarasenko had another one. That was a pretty, that was a snipe there. I think they had a power play to also go up 2 nothing. And their power play even going back to the game before, like, couldn't get them any fucking juice. No momentum. Like, you think with like some of the guys they have on that power play, they would have got going. But, but you know, they, they go, they go into the locker room. I think it was 4:1. And for about the last five minutes of the period you could hear some booze. And then after 40 it was. Imagine being in a playoff race and getting booed off the ice by your home fans. That's. That's fucked.

[Chris]

I'll tell you. Darren McCarty wasn't booing. He wouldn't have. He wouldn't have. I know he wouldn't have, but you can't blame these people. But then what happens? What. What was going to be a season saving comeback of the century against the top team in the NHL? They tie it up.

[Yance]

4.

[Biz]

4.

[Chris]

They were down and dead. And all of a sudden it's like, oh my God, we're alive in this game. The greatest born American player in the history of hockey takes just no other word besides a bonehead penalty. I don't know what he was thinking.

[Yance]

Did he glit. He glitched out a. He glitched out the puck was nowher it. I thought because the play wasn't around, they would have just let it go. Did it impact the play moving forward too much where it was like, ah,

[Chris]

yeah, but it, it doesn't even matter really. Like it was, it wasn't. Like, it wasn't contact. That was just. What? I can't think of the word. Like, is it miscellaneous contact? That ain't, that ain't the word. But he, he just, he stuck his stick in. I saw somebody on Twitter say it was like when you just try to poke check a guy in NHL video game 500 times, like, and it just looks so weird. And then the guy falls and I don't know what he was thinking. And Caprisov, absolute snipe one.

[Yance]

They had five chances to get the puck out. They couldn't they couldn't get the puck out. The one guy tried to go up the middle. He went tape to tape with. I think it might have been Quinn Hughes middle of the blue line, just like he, like he was on his power play with him. And. And then they kept snapping it around. Then eventually Capri soft goes cross body, elbow down, elbow bar down the. Now, Yans, what did you think of the penalty? Like, can they let that slide for the greatest American born player of all time? Like, come on.

[Biz]

I mean, looking back, you, you'd hope for his sake that they would, but I don't think you can. It's one of those things. It's a great comeback, great story coming in, but you can't let that go. I'm sorry. As much as I'd. If I was the ref, I would have let it go, especially if I was American. But the ref was probably Canadian.

[Yance]

We needed Timmy Peel calling out.

[Biz]

I think, dude, that, that shot by Caprisoft though was a sick, sick joke.

[Chris]

I know, I know in the past too, like, Baldy didn't wait at all. He like saw it and immediately it's over there. And that's not like a light pass. That thing's rocketed cross seam through the seam and he's just like on one foot and just as Biz said, elbow down. And then you're just like that crowd. Like at least get a point out of that thing. Just get it to ot and then like the camera pans over and Kane are skating out of the box. You're like, this is just down bad as the Wings have been. Cause in all these years, not being in the playoffs, like, this was the one. This was the. Their top of the division at one point. They're just looking good. March hits again. Like, you might have been able to see the March breakdown the prior few years, but this year it was like it's different. And then they went out and they got Peron, who has, I think one goal, no assist in 11 games as a Red Wing. You get Justin Falk. They did. They made some moves and it's just happening again now. They're still alive. They have, they have the. They're tied. They're two points back of Ottawa, who's sitting in the second wild card.

[Yance]

Hey, that's. That's the gift that keeps on giving a. The Ottawa Senators.

[Chris]

The Ottawa Senators. And I. I love it.

[Yance]

I want to show Toronto is dramatic. You think Toronto's dramatic?

[Chris]

Well, once to's out, it's like some. There's another team In Ontario that could get all of the media headlines.

[Yance]

I think they've gotten jealous and they wanted more of the headline. The headline hogs.

[Chris]

And I. I just want Ottawa in because I. I want. I want to kind of try to rub it in your face in a way. And I know if they don't get in the video that you may release on Twitter, like, it might make the Martian and some other senators fans find that house of yours in Scottsdale and burn it to the ground.

[Yance]

Well, we already had a fan, another fan find it. I had a Flyers fan send two cannolis to my house. That escargot guy who was posting all those AI memes of me and talk it. Yeah, he sent two cannolis to my house.

[Chris]

When you sent the picture, I thought you wrote at a restaurant and the guy was a Flyers fan. That was to your crib.

[Yance]

To my house. He's like tweeting at buddy. Isn't that fucking crazy? I just upped my security system.

[Biz]

How were they?

[Chris]

It's wanton. Don is the security guard now.

[Biz]

How are the cannolis biz?

[Yance]

I. They're in the fridge right now. I kind of. I. I DM'd him. I said, are these safe? And he said, yeah, they're safe.

[Chris]

I know. Can you trust the Philly guy, though? All the Mechkov talk, all the talk at backing.

[Yance]

There's going to be a turd in the middle of it is what's going to happen if I take a nice warm bite. It's going to be like those ones in Van Wilder where the guy. They filled up the. The donuts, the stuffed donuts with jizz, the dog jizz. Wasn't that in Van Wilder?

[Biz]

But biz, like, they should be backing. Talk it right now. What you've said about them is all coming true right now.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

They're.

[Biz]

They're on the. They could be making playoffs legit.

[Yance]

I had a fan or not. DM me. Message me after. I said to Jordy from Barstool, like, oh, fuck a Dvorak. A career year shocker. He had him in Arizona and now he knows how to use him. And he fucking. He's having the best year of his career. Good for him. And a fan wrote, what changed the season around is after Olympics, a podcaster asked, talk about moving Zegras the center ice. And then Meech got back to his right wing position, and that's what's done it. Collectively, those two have had five goals in this run after the Olympics. But that's what's done that's what's done it. That's the only thing that's changed this fucking team around.

[Chris]

Well, you had. Let's save Philly for a minute. Yeah.

[Yance]

Let's say Philly. What were we talking about right before?

[Chris]

We were talking the gift that keeps on giving. The Ottawa Senate and the true. And the true content machine in the. In the game of hockey. Big Walt Tkachuk and Big Walt went on Matthew and Brady's podcast and a complete shitstorm came out of it. And it was. I. I really did think he was just chirping Florida the whole time. I. I didn't really see it as going after Ottawa, but we had discussed all Mark not playing in that game and saying he needed a rest and. And maybe he was kind of like, throwing a little shade at them. But Ottawa Senators fans caught wind of that podcast and they lost their mind. And at one point, gee, you had tweeted some video where there was a reporter or a Senators fan calling out Brady.

[Host]

He went on Feudi's show on Sportsnet. Not just like any show.

[Yance]

Oh, yeah, yeah. That was like a. That was a big clip. Just stirring it up, calling him out.

[Chris]

Yeah, No, I guess Brady's like, goal scoring's been down a bit, but fuck, man, he answered. On Sunday, they got an enormous win against Carolina. They. They. By the way, did you see Stutzel's goal in that game? It's disgusting.

[Biz]

He's so good.

[Chris]

Just so fast. He's been so nasty. That guy and Brady had two. I think. And then after the Senators fans, this is why I wanted to show them out. They were. They were writing me in there saying, all you do is on the sens, fans. I. Which I feel like I don't, but maybe I do. I don't know. And all you're saying is Brady's gonna leave and Brady's out of town. And the fans were where they were. They were giving it to Brady in a good way. They were loving him. He gave an awesome interview after, where it just looks like, man, this is the Brady Kachuk that I think Senators fans have always loved. He'll put his life, his body on the line to get wins. He does whatever it takes to win games. They're looking good right now. I think they are in right now. As of. Yeah, right now, they are the second wild card team. So I guess, like, Senators fans are saying, like, we love this guy still. And I don't know if the noise is. Is the vocal minority in terms of, like, saying he hasn't been Getting the job done and he doesn't care as much as he used to.

[Yance]

I would probably label him saf. Crowd was the ones who were barking when he got back from the Olympics.

[Biz]

I think it's more the media than the fans.

[Yance]

The fans dictate what the conversation is like. You see online, if so many people are barking about it, I think they kind like, I mean they tend to like obviously pander to that subject. We, I mean, I know I go on there. It's like what the are Ottawa Senators fans talking about? They're talking about all this nonsense about the Omar situation. Like the only reason I'm talking about is because they're talking about it.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Right?

[Yance]

Is that, is that fair for you guys?

[Biz]

100%.

[Chris]

Keith, what did you think of Big Walt on there? Like, do you think what. When he was saying that stuff, both of them were like, oh, fuck that.

[Biz]

No, I think I took it as he was talking about Florida. But let's not forget he, he pulled this a couple years ago and turned Florida's franchise completely around. And they went on to win back to back Stanley Cups. Got them in the playoffs that year when Leo the Lion, right, that was that same year.

[Chris]

That was the rant he did on the radio.

[Yance]

I think that was when they were in Toronto on a road trip.

[Biz]

And that was the year they lost to Vegas in the finals, right?

[Yance]

Yes. Yes.

[Biz]

Yeah.

[Yance]

That was when Matthew was hurt.

[Biz]

He, although I thought I, I, I know he was talking about Florida. It might have had a little bit to do with Ottawa and he changed them around. And if he gets them in the playoffs again, gets another team in the playoffs, like what are we talking about? The guy's a legend, a legit legend.

[Chris]

And I just think having him on, you know, he's going to say something. One, that's hilarious. And two, he, he speaks his mind, dude.

[Yance]

He does not care.

[Chris]

He says exactly how he feels, which is why I love chatting with him and running into him and he, he pulls no punches. And man, we pulled no punches with all Mark. Now all Mark did play back to back. Correct. He's played the last two games. And I think that, you know, you should shout him out. If we called him out, we should also shout him out. And I love Ottawa's team. All we've said all year basically is that when they get goaltending, they're nasty. And dude, if Tampa plays Buffalo somehow what is Tampa in Carolina right now if, if Ottawa gets the second. So Tampa's two points behind Carolina with a game in hand. So Whoever wins the east, if Ottawa gets the eighth spot, Buff, Ottawa can win that. Win that series no matter who they play. I. I really believe that. And so the fact that they got the win Sunday against Carolina, Brady was a big part of it. And Sanderson's back, that is like, they're looking good here, I think.

[Yance]

But you kind. You kind of alluded to, like, the. The hot topic, though. Like, Walt's a Hall of Famer. While he's gonna be like, he speaks his own mind, he speaks for himself. Like, I think you could tell by the clip that it made Matthew and Brady uncomfortable, like, talking about their teams. And like, you know, he could laugh about it off maybe off screen, but I think that it got some unnecessary attention. But, hey, another galvanizing moment for Brady to stuff. Stuff all those fucking idiots who want to stir it up in a locker. And if. And listen, this off season, if that's. He ends up deciding he wants to move on or, or two years from now, the one thing you can't. You'll never be able to hold against him is his effort. Like, even if. Even if his decision ultimately ends up, he doesn't want to be there. He's not the type of guy to pack it in. And if you think that, then you just obviously don't know him and you don't deserve them in the first place.

[Biz]

And not to mention, Big Walt has played more games, scored more goals, been around the league. Like, he. He knows what he's talking about. It's not just some random guy talking about a team. Like, he has the. The. The leg to stand on.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Is that the.

[Biz]

Is that how you say it? But, like, he. He's a guy that speaks his mind. He's been through every situation in the NHL. He's been in the NHL or his kids have been in the NHL for the last 35 years or however, whatever it is. So I, I think whatever he says holds weight. He's a guy that knows the game more than you know, that we've. He's forgot more than we all know. So it. I think for him to have a mic in front of his face is outstanding and we need more of it.

[Yance]

And he's more likely to talk about, like, kind of how it was in the locker room back then. Like, if. If like going back to the all mark situation, you said with full marks for, like, bouncing back back in the day, if the goalie would have been like, hey, no. And then like a. A couple leaders would have found out, they might have went up to him and been like, what are you doing? Why aren't you playing tonight? Like, they might have done that back then. It's handled differently. So the extremes of. Of how much 20, 25 years in playing time can make, would you agree with that? With back then, if that would have happened, there might have been a couple guys who would have went up and been like, no, you're playing.

[Biz]

All the stories you hear. I mean, we heard all the stories about Walt and Phoenix playing there from the trainers 1,000%. I believe if a goalie tried to. Or any player just said they didn't want to play, he would have. He would have called them out 100% to their face.

[Chris]

So quickly here I looked it up. So Ottawa has Tampa, then they got Florida, and then they have a monster matinee Saturday with the Islanders in Long Island. And then biz. They actually finished the year, and this could get them in the playoffs against Toronto. That's their last game of the year.

[Yance]

I actually looked this up the other day, and I think I sent it to the chat.

[Chris]

If you have a chance, you gotta go end their season Biz. That would be.

[Yance]

You know what I'm gonna do?

[Biz]

Go to the game.

[Yance]

I'm gonna make you beg for my juju. You better beg for the.

[Chris]

They don't want your juju. I don't think.

[Yance]

What do you mean? If I'm usually. If I'm not rooting for them, it's the. The opposite happens. They better be begging for my juju.

[Chris]

For the Leafs.

[Yance]

Yeah.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yes.

[Chris]

Okay, okay, okay. So you're saying that. That if the Ottawa fans beg you enough, you're nice. Yeah. You'll ignore the game.

[Yance]

Yeah, they're nice enough. But if not. And they're not, you know, they want to still be mean. Listen, they're more dramatic. They're more dramatic than the Leafs. It's just the Leafs have more media around. Yeah, I would expect. Maybe. Maybe. You know what? Also some apologies because they're such hypocrites, because they call Toronto such a clown show. And I think they've proven this last half of the season that they're an even bigger clown show. As far as the whole circus, can

[Biz]

we not agree, maybe with Toronto being out, some of the Toronto media is going down to Ottawa and causing a little bit of a clown show.

[Chris]

Oh,

[Yance]

you think? Okay. You think it's like an inside job, like sports that.

[Chris]

And everyone's giving them a little bit more attention with Toronto out, and then that's created the madness, huh?

[Yance]

I mean, the biggest in Toronto Was William Nylander wearing a tank top and like giving the finger to the camera?

[Chris]

They have not had any of that. That is.

[Yance]

There was like fidelity rumors this year. Like there was. What do you mean? It's been a three fucking ring circus.

[Chris]

Yeah, but those rumors were created by some clown. It wasn't actual a story. Flipping off the camera in a tank top, buddy.

[Yance]

Exact. And then the donkey fans ran with it the same way they ran with trying to spin whatever Walt was saying to make it about them. You probably think this song is about you.

[Chris]

Bout you so vain. I, I, I think that another part of the Eastern Conference playoff race is if you told me before the year that with five games to go, we were staring down the barrel of an all Pennsylvania matchup in the first round. Like one, I would have said, you're crazier than ra. I love ra. He's crushing ra's world. He's crushing crazier than RA and two, there's just no chance it's happening. And right now the Penguins would play the Flyers. And what the Flyers have done. And this Porter Martone kid coming in four games played, three points, one and one yesterday. Sunday afternoon Easter matinee against the Bruins.

[Yance]

He could have eight goals right now, buddy.

[Chris]

He's nasty.

[Biz]

It's crazy.

[Chris]

He is nasty. And just to see him get the chance with the season on the line on a five on three. The kid was playing against Western Michigan three weeks ago and now he's in the middle in front of the net on a five on three and ot. He buries the first career goal. Pro. We've, I think at one point this year we talked about like coolest ways to score your first career goal. How about in the middle of a playoff chase at home on a five on three and ot tackled by Zegris on the way to his celebration. But this fires team man. I. There has to be fires fans out there that just right now, like just say you guys were right talk. It's a great, great coach. No, Meof still may be an amazing player, but Porter Martone might be even better than him right now.

[Yance]

Oh, they're saying the best rookie since Lindros. That's already being talked about on Philadelphia. You're. You're laughing at me right now. 30 minutes before I hopped on this podcast. They're talking about it right now. Best rookie since Lindross. And. But I'll say with four games and how he's shooting the pill and he should have had a couple in that game before the OT winner like he can shoot it off the rush like a fucking bb. And that play that he made inside

[Chris]

the D zone to take Buddy, that was an assist. That's not. It might look like a second assist or it was first one because he could devora. Gross. Gross pass.

[Biz]

To have the balls to do that in your fourth, fifth game with a guy come down on you, like putting it to the middle on your backhand. It's so. I think with him, Forester and Tippett, like big guys can skate well. They're hard to play against. And they all have absolute piss missiles for sure. It's like those guys are. That. That's going to be a fun. That could be the next Legion of Doom line.

[Yance]

The Legion of Poon. Was it Uppie, Loople and one other guy. Umberg, Was it?

[Chris]

Actually, no. Was it Carter?

[Yance]

Yeah, Carter. Holy. That is a Legion of Poon.

[Biz]

That was the Legion.

[Chris]

That.

[Yance]

That's.

[Chris]

That's an old time.

[Yance]

That's like Ski and who Throw.

[Chris]

Whoever else could have been Loophole, Uppy and the equipment manager. That was the Legion of Poon. It was loop.

[Biz]

Nasty.

[Yance]

It was.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

It was.

[Yance]

But what were. Oh, Porter Martone. Yeah, that, that, that like one touch assist on your backhand. The D zone right to Dvorak. And I touched on one earlier in the pod. Like Dvorak, what a season he's had. I mean, obviously it's helped. Like I. They have really good strength on the wings. Forester was out a while with that up shoulder. I think he like busted his shoulder on a slap shot or something.

[Biz]

One timer.

[Yance]

Yeah, a one timer. He's got nice Chiclets, eh?

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Yance]

Are those real?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I'm not sure.

[Biz]

I'm not his dentist.

[Chris]

I'm gonna.

[Yance]

Why I figured you played with him, right?

[Biz]

We never. We never talked about that. But he did when he shot. When we would play darts, he'd go like this. That's all I remember about him. So his teeth were hidden.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Okay.

[Yance]

Did he actually do that?

[Biz]

Yeah, it was unbelievable. He called him the MJ of Darts.

[Yance]

Oh, is that. Is that why he was doing it?

[Biz]

Tongue out. Yeah.

[Yance]

Well, Vladar has been unbelievable. That's probably their overall team mvp. Another thing too, man. Like to management, they didn't get a first rounder for Wrista Linen. Like his name was being floated out there.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

He's.

[Yance]

He's played hard, man, since he's back. Been back in the lineup like he. He's a solid fucking guy back there. Sanheim, who. Who's the other one? I'm drawing a blank on 24. Is it sealer?

[Biz]

Sealer's a nail guy.

[Chris]

Yeah, the buddy. Hey, Drysdale looks awesome.

[Yance]

He's been great. Skates well. Yeah, yeah.

[Chris]

Cause they have Sanheim and Rista Linen and then they got York and Drysdale. Top four. That maybe before the year you're like, I don't know, Sanheim's awesome. Some questions otherwise, but they're. They're playing great. And Biz, you said Vladar is. He's awesome. He looks great. And like I'm saying this now, I want them in. I want.

[Yance]

I want the Flyers in same.

[Chris]

Because, because the, The. The fan base. And, and let's. Let's be honest. Mechkov got 10 points in his last 11 games.

[Yance]

He's been solid.

[Chris]

He looks way better.

[Yance]

Yes, he does.

[Chris]

Way better. Way better. And. And in fairness to Flyers fans, he is getting more ice time. He is getting more ice time. So maybe you were correct on that one. I think maybe like the Olympic break did do him a lot of good. Maybe. I think we might have said it didn't because he looked like shit out of the Olympic rig, but he's looked really good lately. He's playing where they wanted him to be, playing on his off wing and the team's just gelling together. And I think if you're. If you want to talk, fired. And you spent hour after hour carving him. Now you should be able to sit there and say like, maybe I was fucking wrong. Like, this is his first year there and the team looked like shit. Now they're in the playoffs.

[Yance]

How many points did they finish with last year? G, can you look that up? This might end up being like a 25 point improvement.

[Biz]

You know who else wants Philly in? Sid?

[Yance]

Oh, yeah.

[Biz]

Imagine him playing again. He must be licking his chops if that first round matchup mark him down for 23 points.

[Yance]

And well, the one year they did get right, they.

[Chris]

They lost to him. One year.

[Yance]

Yeah, it was a crazy series. Flower and Brisgola. Like if it would have been a beach ball, it's still been like three, two, four. Two games. No, remember?

[Chris]

Yeah, that was the year flat. Yeah. They could not stop the puck every shot. And then they also pit beat him in the year one of their cups. Right when Talbot gave the SH to Carcillo. That was a big. They've had some incredible series. We played them in the year that we went to the cup final as well. And oh, what an atmosphere in that barn. Flyers fans, orange everywhere. Yeah, I mean, it's. I just think that like, they were written off by us, by everyone, by a lot of their fans. And you could see how it's an 82 game season for a reason, man. And. And talk had his beliefs and maybe he has switched up some opinions here and there on guys, but Porter Martone coming in and playing this much, like, that's like an enormous impact. And if Washington, who somehow got themselves back to the mix before they were drummed by the Rangers, the new superpower of the. Of the. Of the league, the New York Rangers. But Cole Hudson's kind of been the same way. Like, if. If Washington was in the mix, you just add one of these college guys that are so ready for the NHL and it's like a big trade at the deadline. So Porter Martone playing this way, it's making an enormous impact and it's pretty cool to see because I had no idea. We might have talked about it at the draft or whatever, but he was like a diehard Flyers fan growing up and he's from Ontario. It's so weird. And then your pick, sixth overall. It's just an awesome story. Last year, 76 points. So already this season, the Flyers have beaten last year by 14 points and they got five games left. So. It's crazy. It's crazy.

[Yance]

Tip it. We didn't really talk about Tippet, like, yeah, it's. You played there when he just got there, right?

[Biz]

I played with him in, in Florida, too, and then he was traded for Giroux, so I got to play with him in Florida and in Philly.

[Chris]

Could you see this?

[Biz]

Yeah. 100 dude. The guy, just like his build alone, like, he was young when I played with him, but he's just like a big, solid kid and you could tell it was going to take him a couple years. And, you know, kudos to Philly for getting him in that Giroud trade, but he's just the guy that's just going to take a little bit of time, which you're seeing it right now. He's been unbelievable. You can just tell he has confidence the way that he plays, because he would do like, he'd make a crazy play in a game, like a crazy toe drag, like once every 20 games. And you're like, man, if this guy just figures it out and he starts doing this when he wants to, now you're just seeing the confidence in his game. He's just more familiar with the league and he's an abutting superstar in this league. He's unbelievable. He. He looks like a Philadelphia Flyer with the red hair, the. With the jerseys on. Like, I, I, I love his game. Yeah, he looks like gritty a little bit, but unbelievable kid too. Like, shows up, does his hard heart, works his nuts off every day. He's earning everything too, right. Everything's not just been handed to him. He started out on the fourth line in Florida when he was young. So he's not a guy who's been bitching and complaining about not getting ice time. He's earned everything. He's earned the respect from his coaches now in Philly and he's been awesome and in the easy guy to root for for me.

[Yance]

Right? Yeah. Like, I mean, one clip from yesterday's game, just like when a guy gives up the puck and then when you see him go full hoso where he's like you, I'm getting that.

[Chris]

Yeah, that is the Marion hosa. Yeah, Unreal call.

[Yance]

Yeah, he turned it over in his own end and it was in a die the dying minute. I think they were up one nothing at the time. And buddy, you turn over like that in your own end, they score like that might be your season. He just out of a cannon went and stick lifted. The guy grabbed the back and you know, you know, out of harm's way. So a lot of respect for his game. I think it comes down to consistency. Like this year, like majority of the games you're like, okay, tips. Got it again tonight he's buzzing. He's creating chances on his own, physically imposing his will. So just an absolute mutant.

[Chris]

Jens, when you say for people sometimes, like it'll, it was gonna take a little time. Like what do you mean by that? Because it's so evident with some guys you're like, oh my God, this kid's gonna be good. But it might be three years from now. Like, what did you see? Is it like trying to beat people one on one when you don't need to or.

[Biz]

Yeah, little, little stuff because he's got those, those first three, like violent strides where you can, he can just get as, as fast as he needs to in three strides. And I think that like, it's more figuring out the league when you're a young kid. Like you get thrown into the league at 18, 19, 20 years old, like it's going to take you some years. And he hasn't been on the teams that are winning. He hasn't, you know, hasn't made the playoffs in Philly. So just gaining confidence in the league, learning to how to play against certain guys, learning how to play with certain guys. But the tool, the tools that he Has. He's got an absolute cannon of a shot. He skates really good. His hockey IQ is good and only going to get better. It's just one of those like you come from junior where stuff's easy for some guys, right. You're scoring 50 goals, you're playing every situation. Then you go to the NHL and you got to earn it. You got to find a way to get in on the power play, get in on the pk. And I think he's just kind of put his head down and put in the work. He's had all the tools and you know, having also having a coach believe in him too. A guy like talk that's helped him out probably immensely as an unbelievable power forward. That that talk was. He's probably looked at him and like, hey dude, like you're a big strong guy. You gotta be more, you know, physical on the, on on the forecheck. Just stuff like that. So I, I think just figuring out the whole 200 foot way to play the game in the NHL is taking a little bit of time, but you know, it takes you five, six years. And now he's going to be a superstar for the next 10.

[Yance]

And he's got a pretty good deal too. It's like a 7 million bucks.

[Biz]

I'm not sure is it?

[Yance]

I think, I think he, I think he only makes like seven and change. Maybe seven and a quarter.

[Chris]

Yeah, but, but it. And then Zegras has been a big hit there. He's been awesome and kind of pissed

[Biz]

at Zegras, by the way. Why would he do fucking cock blocked Martone's celebration. He was gonna go jumping into the crowd, I think.

[Chris]

I know, I know. It's like, it's like we might make the playoffs here. Like, oh, who did that to you, Biz?

[Yance]

Taylor Pyatt. But one.

[Chris]

Yeah, but he might have been nervous you were gonna whip your cock out or something. He's like, I'm trying to save this guy a fine.

[Yance]

No, I, I actually appreciated it. Like he calm. I probably would have done something stupid. You're right. Right.

[Chris]

I was like, you're like giving it the something about Mary like finger licking old woman. I always thought it would be kingpin woman thing. And like everyone's like, oh, get Biz if he ever scores, get.

[Yance]

Yes. I always thought it would be silly if you put your stick between your legs and you started fucking the camera hole in the corner. I just thought that that would be like silly. It was silly, right?

[Biz]

Amazing. And be a last day on the, on the Ice.

[Chris]

Oh, yeah, you're out of the league.

[Yance]

What if Meechkov does that? First round, game seven, OT winner.

[Chris]

Meech. Golf. I was actually thinking, and I'm not trying to be a pain in the ass, Flyers fans, but, like, he probably was, like, a little rattled when Martone's on that five on three and he's not.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Don't.

[Yance]

Don't be a Sens fan. Don't be a Sens fan.

[Chris]

Oh, I'm just. I'm just totally around. Guys. The Montreal Canadiens, they finally lost on Sunday. The Devils. And by the way, I think Jack Hughes has, like, 35 points since the Olympics. He's been unreal. If he hadn't cut his hand when Frank the Tank was there. God knows what we're looking at for a Devil's season. They beat the Canadiens, and they stopped them. They've been on an incredible roll. They got a hundred points for the first time since 1617. They had 103 then. They should beat that this year. They clinched a playoff spot. They're in back to back years, and they have a core that is set up for a long time. And I know we've spent a lot of time on the Canadiens, but did you guys see Caulfield is in the hunt for 50 goals right now. Did you see what he said to the crowd as he got off the ice?

[Yance]

I re. I can read lips. Yeah, I can. I saw that.

[Chris]

So he basically. Screw. I don't know if he screamed or said it quietly, but you could read his lips. Shut up now. I don't think. And I really hope Canadiens fans aren't, like, upset at that, because it's the.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

It's.

[Chris]

It's all they could talk about right now. They're in the playoffs. There's guys with balloons. 50 balloons, like, 5, 0.

[Yance]

It was front page of the paper

[Chris]

every time he gets the pocket, and I love it, but I think he's just like. It's just kind of like, oh, like, let me just try to get this. Like, you're making this such a storyline. Like, I'll get it. Just shut up now. I don't think it's like, he loves the fans there. Look at his smile after he scores all his goals. But I did get a kick out of him telling, like, 20,000 that are obsessed with him to shut up because they're cheering too hard for him to get his 50th goal at home. And he had a bunch of good looks. But even St. Louis said after the game, like, we kind of just like, he didn't he did not say, we need this to happen. He's like, it's going to happen. We believe it's going to happen. It'll be cool if it could happen at home in front of the fans. But. But it is like the main thing right now. Whereas it's like, let's just get it over with, you know?

[Yance]

Let me ask you this. Would you rather have every time you're at the top of the power play because you guys did that? Like, this is the perfect question for you guys. Have the fans yell shoot and. Or. And.

[Chris]

Or whatever else you're gonna say next.

[Yance]

Every time you get back to the bench, bang guys behind the glass and he's there and he's just like knocking on the glass constantly. Just like you rather have bang guy.

[Biz]

Yeah, all the time.

[Chris]

Shoot. Sends a chill through your spine.

[Yance]

What if it's like the commercial I did for DraftKings where you're taking your shower in the morning and bang guys there and you're in the glass window on the side of the house?

[Biz]

I. I think, dude, the shoot. The shoot guy. Especially from a guy that didn't really shoot the puck that often. It used to drive insane. It was like.

[Chris]

Although I. I think at some point when they realized I had a muffin, they kind of stopped yelling shoot. They're like, yeah, pass, yeah, but. But if you hear shoot. Now, the worst part about the shoot is shoot, shoot. And then you maybe get a shot blocked, and then they're like, oh, it's like Reed cider. I only shot it because you were yelling at me to shoot, so. Oh, that was Baldi at the end of the game that blocked that one. Are you saying cider gets a lot of them blocked?

[Yance]

I just. From the games I've watched, I don't know if they're pan.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

They're.

[Yance]

They're. If they're yelling that in the building and he's feeling it. He just. Tough, Tough. Couple games I watched were.

[Chris]

I feel like he takes a lot of big clappers. Whereas, like, Queen takes. Quinn Hughes doesn't take slap shots.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

No.

[Chris]

Just snaps those whatever 24 inches, 26 inches off the ice. Snappers, floaters. And they're hard and they're getting tipped or they're going in.

[Yance]

Who was a guy. Who was a guy that you would, like, you play with. I would always get his shots blocked.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Like.

[Yance]

Like off the shin pad, out of the zone. The forwards are just looking up this guy.

[Chris]

I feel like I don't. I can't think of anyone on. On on that in that aspect. But I remember Ross Lupus Chuck, who's a great player. Pittsburgh player in Wilkes Barre. He had a cannon. He missed the net a lot. He. He had a little propensity that was

[Yance]

like double Dion Dion for not. He would miss high a lot, but fuck, they'd be coming by your chicklets and nobody would want to block him.

[Chris]

I remember hearing from guys, it was. It was Penner and a couple other guys on Edmonton that when Surrey was there, he was whistling 103 mile an hour one timers in practice. High heavy and just like Penners like I had. I like I. I was legit myself. I think he might have put a full face mask on maybe in practice. I might just be imagining that or he said he wanted to but the defenseman who do not care that rip it high and hard as a forward in front. Like that's just beyond petrifying.

[Biz]

And it's usually those guys just have one speed like the Shea Webers and the Sheldon series. Like they're never just like getting it by the first guy they're shooting. Either score or kill someone.

[Yance]

Yeah, it's. Oh, you want to block my shot while you're gonna have a broken ankle.

[Biz]

And it's even in practice too. The practice ones are crazy.

[Yance]

Was it you last pod saying Marner is going to be wearing Ludwig?

[Chris]

Ludwig was in a Dallas alumni game and I think he got new shin pads. No, buddy, they has them. Oh, boys. Before we throw it over to Rick Middleton. Nifty. This is.

[Yance]

Oh yeah. This is awesome.

[Chris]

A great interview. He's an awesome guy. I think we should discuss Buffalo and just the fact that we didn't go fully into it. But. But man, like the way that it's happened and I almost think it's cooler that they were that bad at the beginning of the year. Like if the whole season they were great. Yeah. Awesome story. No matter what. It's great. But like that clip. All I think about is that clip of the kid leaving opening night and just that team walking down.

[Biz]

Chip, was that opening night people listening

[Yance]

driving right now they're probably Buffalo fans and saying, wow, what a run. What a rip this has been in the there just the craziest part of. Of Lindy Ruff being behind the bench as it's going all. All the way down. Did you guys see that Generette? Like the voiceover.

[Chris]

Oh.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh my God.

[Yance]

RJ's.

[Biz]

How good was that?

[Yance]

Oh, goosebumps.

[Biz]

It makes me want to go to every Buffalo game in the playoffs.

[Chris]

Merles will be there.

[Biz]

Hey, we should, we should rent Ernie Clements sprinter van and go to a game. Merle should have to drive Betsy or whatever it's called to the game.

[Yance]

That would be a nice night. Well, because it's probably halfway to from his house, right. Because he's in Albany. So you have to drive there. By there anyway.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

It's hard, boy. You can't score one goal in a hockey game. He's got a Lindy Ruff jersey on.

[Yance]

Even more ironic.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Too bad I couldn't get it all on record.

[Chris]

Six years old. That's how old I was when they made the playoffs. Six years old I was at Disney World. Every the time my life.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Shut up. It's unbelievable.

[Chris]

We're so bad now. Now the best part is these guys, they got jerseys, they got hats, they shelled out money for opening night. And year after year it was gonna end and that was opening night, boys. And in their mind, and in my mind it was already done. And just the fact that that kid who looked to be about 6, 2, 200 pounds, he was, he was at Disney World riding the Teacups as a six year old. The last time they were in the playoffs. And this kid has been watching game after game for year after year and now he gets to see playoff hockey. And not only is it playoff hockey, it's a team that like biz. If they won the east, would you be surprised? Would you be like holy shit. Or would you actually be like, yeah, I guess I could see it. Cummings and no, because it's believable at this point.

[Yance]

Yeah, I think like you said before, I think it's awesome that they started out kind of shit and everybody was writing them off and then all of a sudden they fired their GM and Kekalainen goes in and has a word with them and they go on this absolute heater. They went on one of the best runs in NHL history through like a 30 game segment. I think it was like top. I think it was the best but just, yeah, remarkable. And I'm happy for him. No more deserving fan base. And kind of weird how they thought this year was going to be their year to win the super bowl. And then they get let down on that four interception game and then, and then all of a sudden the Sabers elevate them. I'm just trying to look up here who they lost to opening night and what the score was, as to why that guy was ranting like that.

[Host]

They lost to the New York Rangers four to nothing.

[Yance]

Okay, okay.

[Chris]

God in the league So I read an. It was an article on the athletic. I apologize, I don't have the author's name. Who mentioned. Since the Olympic break, Owen Power has taken over the number one assignment playing against the other team's top line. And Darlene had been doing that for so long. Darlene's offense has always been there, but just creating not as much responsibility defensively has made him be even better on offense and Power with more responsibility. And part of it is like, I know as a player, if I was. Maybe one night I somehow was like, all right, you're playing against the top line tonight. If there was some crazy thing happening or the coach took drugs, I was like, you know, you're. You feel so proud and you feel so excited for the chance to do that. Maybe that's changed Owen Power, too, for the better. Like, wow, you actually play him against better players and you get a better Owen Power. It doesn't seem like it would necessarily work, but.

[Yance]

But also, like, I don't think there's like any. I don't think there's any expectation for him to put up points and numbers. And sometimes, like, that gets maybe a little bit less.

[Biz]

When you make that much money in. In your mind, you probably think you have to do.

[Chris]

Do you agree that when you get straight shutdown matchups or a job, it's like, all right, I don't care about points.

[Biz]

Perfect exam. I remember having a conversation with Ekblad, you know, when they were going on their runs last year, two years ago, he was like, man, like, I came in first overall pick. Same as. Same as Power, right? Like, those get. They're expected to get points, expected to put up numbers in the power play. He's like, ever since Maurice came in and I've had the job to be the shutdown guy with Forsling, it's been like, I've taken so much pride in it and I've. I've, you know, changed my whole game to basically just be like, you know what? I'm going to be the guy that shuts down McDavid in this finals. I'm going to be the guy who shuts down Leon. Like, so you can have that pro, that pride of not only just getting points and stuff, but really putting your team at an advantage, shutting down other teams best lines. And if you can do that night in, night out. And Owen, Owen Powers has the build for it. He's got the stamina, he's got the offensive, like the. He. He's going to make good breakout passes. Like, he's A prototypical shutdown, like just body type alone, prototypical shutdown demon that can make good passes, get you 30 points a year. And I it, from the looks of him, the way he's playing looks like he's having way much more fun being in that role. And who knows if it was Kekalainen who came in and was like, hey, listen, don't worry about even getting another point for this team. Just shut down these guys and you're going to earn every single dollar that you get.

[Chris]

I remember G says it was Matthew Fair Fairburn who wrote the article. I remember talking to Rob Scuderi who was an incredible shutdown defenseman. And he wasn't super physical, he actually had great hip checks, but he was just, just an unreal stick, an incredible skater and just was a true shutdown. And, and he would, he was like saying to me one time, like, the fact that I have zero pressure to get points, like it's way easy. Like it's easier for me. Like I, he, I do. I think he said, I don't need to get one point this year and I could do my job. And like the pressure of getting points as a defenseman. And that's why when you see guys who do it all, like Doughty in his heyday and like Duncan Keith, you're just like, this is fucking insane that you're getting 50, 60 points and you're playing shutdown roles and against the best player. Like that is as Prongs talked about, the true, true number one.

[Yance]

Not a lot of them.

[Chris]

Not a lot of them. And, and Owen Power, even if he's enormous and not, I don't think he's over.

[Yance]

You know what I would compare him to?

[Chris]

Who?

[Yance]

Jay Bomeester?

[Chris]

Yeah. And Jay Bowmeester's in this outline as well. Bizarre because Darlene is set to make his first career postseason appearance after eclipsing 400 points. He's, he enters the playoffs, he's got the most points by any defenseman in NHL history. Prior to making their first postseason appearance, only two other blue liners had at least 300 points prior to their first playoff game. Bomeester and Thomas Shaban.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh, hey, Ottawa.

[Yance]

The reason I say that is I think that when, obviously when he got to Florida, they were not a very good team. And it's like kind of like, hey, you skate like a gazelle. You were playing world juniors at this age and you were kind of essentially a prodigy coming up. Like Power was, he was one of the most sought after guys before he went to Michigan. And you know, all of a sudden it's like, hey, we want you to be that the guy you just described that, that, that Chris Pronger, given his size. Right. I also think that I don't want to say this and speak out a turn for Ekblad, definitely for power. My biggest issue was like, okay, you're trying to be this flu, flu offensive defenseman. Like you're that big. You gotta impose your will a little bit like in front of the net, like. And I don't think maybe necessarily, you know, I, I don't know. Was that blad like that? Would he give a guy a cross check? Would he be a mean son of a.

[Chris]

He is now.

[Biz]

Maybe not in the beginning of his career when he was trying to be the, you know, true, you know, offensive guy, but the last five years he's been an absolute prick to play against. Yeah, that's a main reason why they've won two Stanley Cups.

[Yance]

Right. That's kind of what I was saying. Like, was it there before or. Because he was trying to focus on these other things where it's just like, oh, he was trying to be this silky smooth defenseman where playing against him, especially if you're a top one guy, it's like, oh, you're not getting that extra bump, you're not getting that extra little cross check. Oh, I don't have to fight as hard against him for this, for this box out to get to the net where all those little details to, like you said, Powers game have made the world of difference. And I think that because Byron was buzzing so much offensively, I don't think he's playing power play much anymore, is he?

[Biz]

He was when Darlene was out. He was. He actually did a pretty good job of it. But since he's been back, I don't think so. But it's also too like, when you're, you know, more of the, the shutdown guy, you're going to use your energy in places in front of the net by working a guy over, finishing a guy in the corner. But if you think you have to go out and get points, you might not be. You're like, I'm not going to waste my energy here because I got to get up in the play and try to get points. So whoever has sat down and talked to him and kind of figured out his role with that team, it's been unreal, unbelievable.

[Chris]

If you look at their, their first power play unit, Zucker, Norris, Jack, Quinn, Thompson and Darlene. Second unit is Tuck, McLeod, Benson, Josh Doane, And Bowen Byram, I think in the playoffs now, Bowen Byram is 39

[Yance]

points, but he's been unbelievable.

[Chris]

He's awesome. But I do think you put Darlene on either unit. It's the number one unit. Right. So maybe Darlene's getting a minute 40 in the playoffs.

[Yance]

Maybe not just talking about that.

[Chris]

Oh, like just now.

[Yance]

No, but like I think you mentioned it, like first unit sometimes now, like if they're that good and it's Darlene that you're getting the 1:30, the second unit, you're just trying.

[Chris]

Those four forwards I think are interchangeable.

[Biz]

Yeah.

[Chris]

With Darlene up top and that's no, no shot at Bo Byron. So, yeah, incredible races here. Talk a little in the west after nifty Rick Middleton. For people who aren't aware, this guy was so good at hockey and he's a great interview, awesome human being and I hope you all enjoy. It's about an hour, 15 minutes and he's, he's a legend for sure. So right now, Rick Middleton.

[Host]

All right guys, real quick, just gotta jump in before we go any farther. This episode is brought to you by Body Armor Flash IV in A three official partner of the NHL. Flash IV is packed with electrolytes delivering faster, longer lasting hydration without any of the artificial dyes, flavors or sweeteners. So whether you're training, traveling, or just feeling the heat, Flash IV is for you. And like I said, game notes will have boots on the ground in Las Vegas this week. So the boys will be all over the Flash iv. It's got the heat, we're going to be traveling and you know, we're going to be drinking as well. So we need the Flash rv. Strawberry Kiwi. It's my favorite. Always a go to. You can find it at 7:11, so work hard, hydrate with body armor flash IV. Grab yours today at 7:11. All right guys, real quick. Before we go any farther, we got to talk about our great friends at DraftKings. No sport flips faster than hockey. One power play, a goalie pulled with two minutes left. And everything changes. DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NHL is built for that kind of chaos with live betting from puck drop to the final buzzer. And DraftKings has your back with early exit protection. If you place a pregame player prop bet and your player starts the game but leaves in the first period due to injury and doesn't return, you'll get your bet back in cash. What a deal. No bonus bets, no opt in, just real protection. When injuries happen early new Sportsbook customers bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets instantly. Download a DraftKings sportsbook app and use code Chicklets so you're ready for the moment. That's code chicklets. Turn five bucks into $300 in bonus bets. If your bet wins in partnership with DraftKings, the crown is yours.

[Yance]

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[Chris]

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[Yance]

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[Biz]

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[Yance]

Void in Ontario, restrictions apply.

[Biz]

Bet must win to receive bonus bets

[Chris]

which expire in seven days.

[Yance]

Minimum odds required four additional terms or responsible gaming resources.

[Biz]

See dkng co audio limited time offer.

[Yance]

Copyright 2026 NHL. All rights reserved.

[Chris]

It's an absolute honor right now to be joined by this man, and I'll tell you this, my dad, when I said, we're interviewing this man, he said, that's David Posternak before David Post. 55 time, 40 goal scorer, 100 points, 90 points. A legend of the game. Nifty Rick Middleton. What's going on?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, thank you for that, but, you know, I don't, I don't have. I didn't have the shot that David has. Okay. I wish I did. I'd have over 500 goals.

[Chris]

Well, we appreciate you coming on, and it's great to talk to you. We love talking to the guys who played in the heyday of hockey and what you did for the Bruins, I gotta be honest, I didn't realize I wasn't really, you know, watching then. And I looked at your hockey db, I was amazed. And then talking to older guys, you're playmaking, you're scoring. So it's, it's an honor to have you on right now. We really appreciate it.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Thank you. I, you know, I was fortunate. I got drafted by. I grew up in Toronto. Original Six Leafs, won four Cups in the 60s. What's it. What's a young Canadian boy to do in the 60s with three television shows on TV, you know, so I played a ton of street hockey and just worked my way up like every other hockey player and got, got lucky. Ended up getting drafted by the Oshawa Generals, played Junior A there, had the best year of my life, my draft year, which again, you know, sent me to the stars and the Rangers took me in the first round, another original 16. And then a couple years later I get traded to another original 16. So I, I've had a lot of luck and blessed for to, to be able to play with those organizations.

[Yance]

I know the Bruins were signing your checks, but are you still at heart a bit of a Leafs fan? Why are you shaking your head like that, Yance?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I'm sorry, I, I can't be. Because my nephew lives up in Toronto and he's an avid Leaf fan and I, I just can't cheer for them.

[Yance]

Is loving this. Oh, yeah.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

After they won their fourth Cup, I grew up and I wasn't a Leaf.

[Yance]

That sucks.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

And you know what? I always dreamed of playing a Maple Leaf Gardens. And when the first time I did with the Oshawa General, I hated it. It was hot, it was stuffy. There was no airflow.

[Yance]

Oh, God.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

But it was my dream to play there as a kid.

[Biz]

I was just going to ask you the, the nickname Nifty. It's one of the best nicknames of all time. And the fact that you were so good with the puck and didn't use tape on your stick, like, how, how were you able to do that?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

You know, I've been asked that a lot. It wasn't a gimmick. I mean, if you, if you look at Buc Bobby, he had only one strip of tape on his stick. I mean, it, it's, there's really no. To me, there's really no reason to use the tape. I didn't have the big booming slap shot, so it wasn't like I was breaking sticks every day. Every day. And I think what happened was I played a ton of street hockey right in front of my house. We had that neighborhood in Toronto. And you don't use tape on your stick when you play street hockey because all the snow sticks to it. So I think I, I, I liked the way it felt, you know, controlling the frozen tennis balls in those days, no street hockey ball. And I must morphed it over and tried it on the ice when I was younger and I like the feel of it and of the puck, you know, And I think that's just the way it happened. I have gone to tape when I've been in a slump before.

[Yance]

I was just gonna ask you if you ever. I went through a bit of a. Not many, not very often.

[Chris]

Yeah, most guys change the color of their tape. He's like, I'll actually put tape on now, now, because I haven't scored in a couple of games, but I think a little heavier, but with the wooden. With the wooden twigs. Right. There's a little more give. Like now when guys don't have tape on the stick with. With, you know, the composites, I'm like, that's crazy.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

You can't. I tried it with the alumni. With the Bruins. Alumni. When I was playing, the puck just flew off.

[Chris]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Yance]

I had that problem, too.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I got the one that has the texture in the holes in it. Oh, the name escapes me. They make it out of Boston, and they got the NHL to.

[Yance]

Is it called Tovey Toby?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah, and I don't use tape, but it's got holes and it's very light, and it's got, you know, like, a lot of texture, so you feel the puck very well. It's like using an old wooden stick without the tape. There you go.

[Chris]

Okay. I don't know how.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Whoa. It's. It's great for alumni, let's put it that way.

[Yance]

So nifty. You're gonna think I'm crazy. I'm trying to get my whole ball hockey team. Switch these for next year so you can finally win our own time.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

They got a great feel to them, and they got the NHL to endorse them, I believe. I don't know if anybody's using them in the NHL, but you're telling me

[Yance]

that guys are going to. You think guys can use these on the ice? Hey, I was thinking about ball hockey. You're telling me this ball hockey, too,

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

But I mean, I used it. Alumni hockey. Come on.

[Yance]

Okay, okay.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I'm not firing it very hard, but, you know, the sticks, and it doesn't have the whip. I don't know about the shaft on it. They can't have the whip that the regular sticks do, but. No, you can't have. You got to put tape on those. Those sticks, you know, because I tried it. The buck just flew off.

[Yance]

I want to go back to your nickname. It says that you were one of the best at the time of challenge, challenging and beating guys one on one. Like. Like, I feel like back then it was a little bit more uncommon, and maybe there would be a lot of, like, pushback from coaches to challenge guy, where, you know, it's just a different game. Like, how did. How did. How did that all go down? And would you agree that you were one of the best guys at beating guys?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, that was. That was what I was good at. You know, I didn't have the big slapper, like, ghee from the outside or. Or the. The super snapshot. You Know like boss he had from, from the song. I, I had to work in three feet to the net to get the, into the net and a lot of them didn't hit the back of the net. But you know, my, I just, I had developed somewhere along the line how to get the fencemen to look down. And I used to like to stick the puck between their stick and their feet, not through their feet, but so they can see it. You know, they're trained to watch you here, but as soon as they look down, they're, they're in trouble. And in those days, not, not saying the offense, we couldn't skate. But in today's game they have to be able to turn and skate because they can't interfere with you. In the old days, they just grab you and you know, cuff you, knock you down. You know, there was never any call. So you could draw, draw a lot of penalties if you got halfway around a guy and he reached out and grabbed it and. But a lot of times and I didn't get around him all the time. You know, it's kind of a percentage thing. And Don Cherry actually helped me. Instead of like doing it all the time, he said, you know, mix it up. That way they won't know what you do every time you come down. But in the little Boston Garden there's not a lot of room. And in those days you could, you could slow the game the pace down if you had enough time, which really screwed up the defense because they're backing in the top of their goalie before they know it. So you and I had a. Barry Peterson was my centerman that was, he always got me the puck at the right time and it, it was a lot of fun.

[Yance]

And who gave you the nickname and when.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Jerry Cheevers claims he gave it to me maybe in the late 70s when you know, we were teammates under Don Cherry. You know, I'll believe him because outside of that I, nobody else claimed that they.

[Chris]

So it is a great nickname if you're a hockey player or like, you know, Nifty is legit.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

This just one that stuck when I did some in between periods analyst stuff with the on Nesson New England sports network from 02 to 08. And we had Katherine Tappan. I'm sure you guys know Katherine, who was great. He used to call me Nifty on the air and I'd have little 8 year old kids coming up to me go, hey Nifty, how you doing? So they had no idea about where I got the name or when I Played. They just knew me as Nifty. I thought that was great. Another generation, you know.

[Chris]

Oh, yeah.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

So everybody, everybody just calls me Nifty now. Nobody calls me Rip.

[Chris]

So when you say, you know, you're a young kid growing up, the Leafs are winning Stanley Cups, and hockey's just such a part of the culture, there, was there, was there one person, maybe your dad or another coach, that you look back on as, like, an enormous influence in your life as a young player?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, I, I really only had two coaches growing up. One was with Wexford in Toronto. I'm sure you're, you're aware of a lot of, of Toronto organizations. Wechster's been around there forever with Glenn Mortley. He made it fun. That's when I was a young kid. And then I, I moved to the Toronto Hockey League and got invited to try out for the Toronto Young Nationals under a coach by name of Frank Miller. And Frank, over a couple of years, changed my game around, improved my skating. He was a skating nut and I, I still see him. He still lives up in, near Ajax and Pickering. And he, I, I would say that Frank was responsible in those three years. I got six full scholarship offers. I got drafted by the Generals. I got an offer for, to bu. I almost ended up in Boston. Going to call away, thank goodness. Thank goodness I didn't. But I ended up. My house in Toronto was only half an hour from Oshawa, so I lived at home during my junior career, which, as you know, not many guys get to do it. I get the pocket, the 60 bucks.

[Chris]

Yeah. So back then, like, now, you see all the Instagram and all the power skating coaches, like, what was a way to improve your skating then? Like, what were you told? Was it a different type of stride? Was it maybe more, you know, weightlifting, things like that, then, like, what did you do? Or was it more just being on the ice?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Really? Just being on the ice. I mean, my, I think, you know, maybe I had a growth spurt or whatever, but it, I used to play football in high school. I play rugby in high school. In those days, nobody cared because I was playing hockey outside of school. They didn't know what I was doing. And then, you know, and then, but they didn't know I was playing football, so I, I just, I didn't do a lot of weights or anything, but I just maybe had a growth spurt and I, I, I think I had a pretty good stride, you know, and it just, As I got stronger and bigger, I, I developed it into the game that I ended up playing, you know, but there wasn't, you know, there wasn't a lot of like tie a rope around them and. And get the resistance and you know that. Not in those days, that's for sure.

[Chris]

The parachute now.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah, yeah, just a lot of over and backs.

[Biz]

What age was that when you started doing all that power skating? Like how many years before junior?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

A lot. To the young nationals at 13 to 16. And then I played their first year in 17. I got drafted by the Generals, but I didn't feel I was big enough because I'm watching the Toronto Marleys and the Hamilton Red Wings on freaking TV and I'm like, I'm not ready for that yet. So I played a year B in Toronto the first year the young Nats had a B team and that really gave me another year. One rookie of the year and all that stuff and prepared me. So I was always late. One step back, two step forwards, you know. I played a year in the American Hockey League when the Rangers drafted me and then got me ready for the NHL.

[Biz]

So you must have known your timing because, I mean, you stepped right into junior and you know, your first year you had 70 points. Your second year with a monster year, 137 points. Was. Was it mostly all you or were you having. Did you have good teammates, guys that

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

made it to the league? Right. I had a line with Brian Casella and Billy Lawhead and Billy. They both got drafted. Billy got drafted by the Red wings. I scored 67 that year. Billy scored 52 and we really didn't go anywhere in the playoffs. I don't know why, but I just had one of those magical years that everything seemed to go in and with great teammates, that was. Set me up. We set each other up and Brian was a great center and, you know, you know how it goes. You just. It was a magical year. We obviously had a pretty good t other around us, you know, but everything seemed to go in that year.

[Yance]

When you were younger, were you watching a ton of hockey where you were dissecting it and learning that way? Like, were you a bit of a hockey nerd, as they say?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah, but I wasn't that cerebral that, you know, like way, you know, Gretz, you know, dissecting where the puck isn't where I should be and everything. But I was, I was a huge Leaf fan. I think I hated the Canadians starting at 5 years old if you're a Toronto fan. And that kind of continued for a few years. But no, I, I just love watching the game. I, I would make up games because there's only six teams. So I'd run my own seasons with dice and when I was a young kid and you know, see who, who would fantasy. I knew everybody. I had hockey cards of every player in the league. And so when it got popular, I called my mother and I say, where all those hockey cards go? Like, oh, I threw those out long ago.

[Chris]

Oh man, it was probably 200 grand worth of cards if they were in good shape.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Exactly. Stanley cup teams. Oh, yeah.

[Yance]

Who were your favorites? Like who, like who were your guys?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

And Frank Mahablish, the big M. Yeah, yeah. You know, I love Johnny Bauer and that, you know, played against some of those guys later on, you know, but they were, it was a magical team. I mean, in those days as a young boy in, in Canada, but without cell phones and computers and a lot of it was, that was all there was to do. Watch Gunsmoke and Bonanza on Sunday and Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday.

[Chris]

When you talk about that magical year, like you say it's great timing. It's your draft year, so you go first round to the Rangers. How do you go second round in the WHA Draft? Like, I'm thinking if it's first round in the NHL, you'd be maybe even higher in the, in the WHA at

[Yance]

that time, they probably don't think you're coming.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

You could use it as a bargaining power. But since I went first round to New York, you know, I didn't have a lot of bargaining there and I never really thought about. Because of that, you know, I, I just always want to play in the NHL. Not the wha, but was nice for Minnesota to, to draft me. But no, I was, I was adamant that I was going to play in the NHL. And, and I never. If you remember, the Bruins beat the Rangers for the cup in 72, so, you know, they still had a really good team. I didn't make it out of camp and they said, we want to send you down for some seasoning. I really never spent a lot of time in the United States, so I just had to get a, get a map, got a brand new car for my signing bonus and find Providence, Rhode island somehow.

[Chris]

Luckily it wasn't too far then the, the NHL. I mean the amount of fighting and brawls, it was, it was amazing. And was the AHL even crazier then?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I don't remember it as like a brawl a night, but there were teams, you know, like we, we've called like a. So long ago, it's, it's hard to clearly remember, but we called up Nikki Fatihu for the playoffs from the Cape Cod Cubs, I believe. First time I ever met Nikki. And because we thought, they thought that we were going to play Rochester, who was coached by Don Cherry, and Johnny Winsink was his tough guy. We had already had a brawl during the year with Johnny, and we thought, we're going to play him in the playoffs, so you better, you know, get ready. And they ended up getting beat up by New Haven, so they sent Nikki

[Yance]

back

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

and then he ended up up with the Rangers later on. But yeah, it wasn't as. As much as you might think or, you know, it wasn't like slap shot or anything like that.

[Biz]

I mean, even your. Your time in with the Rangers, only two years, you were young player, but a great player. Like, how surprised were you when they traded you? Because back then, you know, guys seemed like they played their whole career on one team. And, you know, especially for you, a young stud, it must have been a bit of a shock for you.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

If you had about an hour, I could tell you the whole story, but perfect.

[Yance]

We're gonna go deep.

[Chris]

Exactly what we love here.

[Yance]

We're talking about hockey lesson.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

New York was. Was crazy town. First of all, you never practice in Madison Square. So we lived in Long Beach, Long island, small town where alternate practice rink. Charlie McAvoy was born there. He grew up playing on through there. I was like 20, 21 years old. And you're stuck in this little town, you know, and there's not a lot to do and you're a lot of downtime. So it was in the 70s, there were no rules, you know, so we had a lot of fun. And that probably caught up with me, especially when you're on a losing team and not a winning team, you know. And so the first year we lost out, first round of the playoffs, the Islanders, I think in a two out of three, I didn't have a bad year. I had 18 goals. By Christmas, I was. I had a shot at the rookie of the year. But in January, I got a stick in the mouth from Bob Daly and lost my first four teeth and 16 stitches. So the Rangers put a football helmet on me, right? Because alone on the road to Chicago and, and Chicago and St. Louis and then Minnesota, it's like hit me here, right?

[Yance]

An actual football helmet.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Football. Well, yeah, I look like Fran Darken.

[Biz]

The punter. The punter, you know.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

So a week late, I wasn't eating very well, and a week later we go into Minnesota and a guy comes in to hit Me along the boards and all my, my memory was. I, I, I went to slide the check because he came in to run me, and I think it was Dennis Hextall, but I, I'm, I'm not sure. Positive all this time, and I went over on my ankle. I ended up breaking my ankle, Michael. So I was out eight weeks, like, almost to the end of the year. And there goes rookie of the year. And I came back, scored, scored four more goals. Maybe that's why I ended up with 22, but I had 18 by Christmas. And the next year, Derek was on the team. I forgot to mention that Derek Sanderson is the reason I wore 16 when I went to Boston. A lot of people don't know that Derek and I were friends, but they felt they traded him early in 75 to St. Louis because they, they thought he was getting some of the younger players. And they actually put this in the paper. The, the owner, Bill Jennings of the Rangers did an article like, a month after Derek was gone that they asked him why they. He traded him. He says he's getting two of the younger players, Rick Middleton and Ron Greshner, into training problems.

[Yance]

Too much.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Her name was in the frigging paper. I'm like, what? Come on. He was already gone. They were just, you know, making it, making it up, basically.

[Yance]

Like, you guys were boozing too much.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh, yeah, for sure.

[Biz]

I mean, we, we, everyone was.

[Yance]

Were you?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah. Well, what's too much? Come on.

[Biz]

You're still here.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

This was, it was before Studio 54 even. It was. We used the jets, and the Giants would play on Sunday afternoons. We play home games on Sunday night. We'd all go to a bar, a bar on First Avenue called the Tittle Tattle. And. But Derek was going out with a Ford Agency model, a beautiful girl. And, you know, he was seven years older than us. I didn't realize Derek was that much older, but he wouldn't stay up. Me and some of the other young guys, Ronnie Greshner, who I still talk to with the Rangers, and we stay and have a good time as long as we get back on the ice at 10:30 Monday morning out in an hour away in Long Beach. So that, that was kind of the lifestyle. Maybe not every Sunday, but then that was kind of the lifestyle. But the fact that they put the names in the paper. So I didn't say anything. And a couple weeks later, I get the winning goal against Billy Smith up in, in the Island. And some reporter came in and asked me about it, and I was so naive. In those days he wasn't a beat reporter. And he just asked me innocently about it. And I said, well, I couldn't believe such a well educated man like Bill Jennings would believe in such gossip because it wasn't true. Dere Derek wasn't like corrupting us. Next day I go into practice and one of my teammates hands me the New York Post. I open it up at Inch High. Headlines, Middleton takes shot at the boss. Oh God, that was February. I got traded in May.

[Chris]

That's a panic. That's a panic.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Shit. I still got the article and I, and to this day I should have thanked that reporter for doing that because that's what got me trained.

[Biz]

Got you out of there.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

That was the year the big trade, Espo came over. I got a chance to play in New York with asphalt on the same line. That was a great honor, you know, but the team never gelled. And it's the only year we never made, I never made the playoffs in my career was that year. And then John Ferguson traded me right around Memorial Day for Ken Hodge.

[Chris]

Yeah, so that's what I was going to say. The Rangers and the Bruins had already had the big deal. It was Retell and Brad park for basically Espoir. And that trade worked out pretty good for the Bruins

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

and Joe Zanussi was in there also.

[Chris]

But then the deal with you and Ken Hodge, I mean, you were 10 years younger and I looked it up. I couldn't believe he only played about a hundred more NHL games and he'd been a legend on those cup winning teams. But that was a hell of a deal for the Bruins. Getting a guy your age and then realizing like, your potential.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I had always heard that, that Espo wanted one of his old wingers and I, I only asked him recently. Oh, no, no, I didn't tell him that. It wasn't like get rid of Middleton for, but you know, he, I, I, whether he wanted one of his old wingers or not. And then when I got to Boston, I had heard that the Bruins had soured on Kenny. I don't know if they were playing him or, or what, but I think that's what happened. They were, they were sick of me in New York and I was having too much fun and the team never made the playoffs and, and I ran into John Ferguson at the All Star Game in Washington in 83, and he's across the room and he looks at me. I did it for your own good. I said, I know, Josh, thank you. But you got to remember Harry Sinden And John Ferguson were the coaches on the 72 Canada team. So they knew each other very well.

[Yance]

You're. So you're throwing a lot of names out. Who, who was the boss again? What was his name, sir? At the time?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

John Ferguson. Was Ferguson. Ferguson coach GM in New York that year.

[Yance]

Did you have a conversation with them after that article came out?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Did you go, hey, oh no, no. He said that, oh, we're going to meet with Bill. We're going to straighten this all out. Never happened.

[Yance]

Okay. And my last one regarding that subject, how many times did you go from that bar right.

[Biz]

To practice every Monday?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, we would drive in together. I drive in with Steve Vickers and you know, depending on whether he wanted to drive home that night or not. So I'll boy, I'll bullying him.

[Chris]

Dui. Our good buddy is friends with Jeff Vickers who's. Who's his son and he. Yeah, the story's back there. He Merle's claims that there was times there was just a couple pops after pregame skate before the game. Now I don't know if that's true,

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

but why I never saw. I never saw that.

[Chris]

Okay.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

You know, there was enough, you know, nights before sometimes you go on the road. I mean we flew commercial in those days. We were always somewhere, you know, the night before the game. And as you guys know, you can't pick your spots. It just happens sometimes. Right.

[Yance]

What was the name of the bar again? And were you Nifty on the dance floor? Were you kind of getting.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

There was no room to dance. It was jammed with football players and hockey players and women. It was like it was 1974 or 75, you know, would you spit?

[Yance]

Like what? You know, would you just like have a nice conversation with a lady? How would you spit game?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh, geez. Yeah. I wish I could remember back to those days.

[Biz]

Yeah. Better numbers than Barry Bonds though. I heard

[Yance]

Nifty just buzzing around the bar.

[Biz]

He didn't get the nickname Nifty from his ice.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

His right. Well I had other nicknames in New York, but I'm not telling you going, you're good.

[Yance]

Let's transition to the Bruins. Don Cherry was the head coach when you moved over and it talked about how he helped you with your two way game. Could you ever have imagined he would have went on to do what he did on television? Like could you see it then?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

No. But we were the biggest draw on the road so he always loved to talk dawn and. And they hunted him down the press because they get a byline in for the Newspaper, so, so he was always talking to the press, always, you know, building up the team. He was a player's coach. He loved, he loved this. But he'd come out and have a few pops with us from time to time. He loved this guy as long as we were winning, you know, but. Which we did a lot of. But no, he was, he was a great coach. The funny story, the first time I met, I met him because I played against him in the America League. And, and then I, I'm not sure the year before he was coaching the Bruins when I was in New York. So he must have played against each other then. So we know, knew of each other, but I had never met him. And so very first day we're a training camp in Boston, up in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. So I go on the ice and I'm skating around with Peter McNabb who just got traded from Buffalo. Him and I roomed together for eight years, God rest his soul, and Wayne Cashman and I think Bobby Schmoz. And we're just talking, you know, loosening up. And all of a sudden Don skates over and takes his glove off and sticks his hand out. And he always called me Ricky boy. Hey, Ricky boy, you're looking a little bigger. He says, you've been working out. I said, no, Don, I just had a good summer.

[Biz]

That the tittle towel.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I didn't mean to. Come on. Maybe the only time I ever saw Don speechless and Bobby Smarts fell down, he was laughing so hard and, and that just set up our relationship. From then on, we were always very sarcastic to each other. You know, kind of a two part

[Biz]

question, but like, how was it having one coach? Like the fact that there was only one coach back then. It was just Don Cherry. Like how much work was he doing with players? Or. Or was it more like players helping out each other? And then you talked about your relationship with him. And in your jersey retirement speech, you, you chirped on Cherry about having too many men on the ice.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I didn't think of that until a week before because I knew he was going to give me a shot. We had that relationship, so I had to get him with something. And the look on his face was priceless.

[Biz]

It's so good.

[Yance]

Well, I want him to answer that about only having one coach. So there was no D coach. There was no nothing like one guy.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, in the 70s that was very common. You know, guys would stay out extra or what they call the black aces if they're not playing, playing a lot would stay out and do drills or, you know, Terry O'Reilly was always the first on, last off, and sometimes didn't come off. It would skate out there and do a. Whether you call it two pass down, you know, with. With the guys that are playing a lot. So, you know, you didn't have to tell the guys. You know, the guys who weren't playing stayed out and did more. And the guys that are playing a lot might. Might go off a little early. If the puck came in above Jerry Cheever's waist, he'd just get out of the net.

[Chris]

But what about during the game? Where is Don Cherry calling up who's next up front and who's next on D?

[Biz]

That's why they had the too many men.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah. Pretty. Pretty. Well, I mean. Yeah. I mean, now that you're asking me, I'm. I'm trying to think. But he was the only guy behind the bench. Yeah.

[Yance]

And, you know, and the trainer.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah, right. Exactly.

[Yance]

He's sold a guy up. He forgot to call. Who was up.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, I mean, that might have been

[Yance]

a pair of states.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

There are too many men on the ice in 79, you know, which nobody really knows, except Don knows who he called up. And I was one of the guys on the ice. I have no memory being on the ice, so nobody knows who shouldn't have been on the ice. It wasn't like somebody jumped too soon or the guys were. Six guys were skating around for about 10 seconds, you know, and nobody really realized it.

[Chris]

So another thing, when I told my dad we were interviewing you, I got the whole breakdown of that 79 semifinal series with the Canadiens and didn't know you went down two zero in Montreal. One game three and four in Boston, lost game five, Montreal win game six in Boston, and then that legendary game seven. I mean, obviously, the too many men and the heartbreak is. Is what everyone remembers, but what else do you remember about that series?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

The heartbreak was more also because we lost two cups to them the two years before. In 77, maybe it is four games to nothing, and we just couldn't match up to them. You know, they're nine guys in the hall of Fame.

[Biz]

Yeah.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

You know, I'm not even going to name them, but then in 78, we got so sick of these guys. We. We knew that, you know, maybe. I think Cornwall might have retired. Lemaire was still there, I think, and we just thought, you know, we can challenge these guys. And we won two at home. We. We forced game six, but we couldn't. We could never win in Montreal. And they always had that extra game and then by 79, we thought we, we can beat these free good guys, right? We ended up playing them in the semis and we, the big thing that, that helped us was winning. Well, we won all the, everybody won their games at home and forced that game seven, which again, we hadn't won in, in Montreal yet, and, but we felt positive that we could play them. We were up 3:1 going the third period and we knew we were going to get in penalty from problems. We knew the fans get them one penalty.

[Chris]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Yance]

I was going to ask you that. Did you, did you feel even from the years prior you said you never beat them when they were at home, did they get the calls?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah. I don't want to be a, you know, a whiner. I'm just saying I think everybody in the league knew that Montreal, the fans would get them at least one call a game, you know, and, and having to be in the third period. And I think they got one power play goal out of the two. They tied at three, three. And I, I ended up scoring with four minutes to go to put it up. Four, three. And we thought we had them. And a funny story that nobody ever heard was we had a third goalie in the stands. His name was Jim Seaweed Petty. He's still Seaweed because of his hair. And he may still hold the record for the most penalty minutes in the East Coast League for a goalie. But he, you know, you always dress a third goalie. So he goes, we're sign him in between periods. And he goes, nifty. I've been watching Dryden. He likes to put his paddle down like all the goalies do today, but dry and like to put his stick right across like this. He goes, if you ever get a chance, shoot it to the far side. It'll go in under the knob, you know, like, like I didn't know that, but thanks, Jim. Yeah, okay. Right. So if you look at the goal, I was, I came, I was playing left wing. That game with, with Wayne Cashman on right. I played a lot of left wing. Don Cherry played me on left a lot and Jean Retell at center. So I was in the left hand corner and I came around behind the net, picked up the puck on my backhand. It must have flashed in my head for a moment because I tried to fire it to the far side, but I didn't have the angle. And Dryden had had his, his paddle down and hit the inside of his blocker and it Went in and so we went up four, three with four minutes to go. And, you know, they were worried. They were very worried. And. But. And I wanted all the credit, you know, and it.

[Chris]

And that's what I was told, is that it was kind of. It was kind of the Cup Final. Like, I think they beat the Rangers 4 1. It was like you two were the power. Like, you're probably beating the Rangers. Not Rangers.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Rangers 1, game 1. And Montreal was still pretty tired from our series, and then Montreal rolled over.

[Yance]

But what was the guy's name again? The. The goalie.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

The.

[Biz]

Seaweed.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Jim Seaweed Petty. I mean, who passed away not. Not too long ago.

[Yance]

Unbelievable. So he was the original E Bug.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

E Bug.

[Yance]

That's what they call the third. The third goalies that hang out.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah.

[Yance]

Yeah. Oh, that's awesome.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, yeah, he. I don't think he got in any playoff games, but he always had the B handy, you know, but he played during the year quite a few games.

[Yance]

What was the blowback like after the. Like the. Too many men. I know you joked about it in the speech, but, like, was.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Were the.

[Yance]

Were the fans and the media pretty hard on you guys?

[Biz]

All about it?

[Yance]

And even Don.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

The Bruins fans, you know, they. They just wanted. They love you if you work hard. You know, they. They're. That's the way they were and store. And they. They were as heartbroken as we were. You know, there are a couple thousand people showed up at the airport. You know, one of the only times I really got emotional, you know, coming home, not winning and seeing everybody, you know, were there to sort of console us because they knew that we had them and we're two minutes away. Whoever won that, they felt that we'd beat the Rangers. They. You know, obviously Gresher doesn't agree with me, but who doesn't? Ronnie Grushner, we still keep in contact. He was on. On the Rangers in those days for, like, 14 years. I don't. I don't know if you know Ronnie at all. Great guy.

[Chris]

No, but.

[Biz]

And, I mean, you said that the fans were there meeting you guys at the airport. But, you know, the guys that I talked to, like Whit, my. My dad and his friends, they're all Charleston guys. And they said that, but they. They'd be hanging out at bars, and you guys would all come in, like, you guys were men of the people back in the day, just, like, hanging out with fans. Not really how it is anymore nowadays because guys get, you know, a little bit more harassed, I'd say, but you guys. It seemed like you guys were just regular dudes.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Thank goodness there was no cell phones in those days.

[Yance]

That's all preaching.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Preach it. But there was a sports bar downtown, Daisy Buchanans, that. Oh, yeah, Eric owned at one time. And that was kind of the. Not just for hockey, baseball and everything. That was kind of the jock bar, little bar, like, nothing to write home about, but it just had that atmosphere. And the guys would go there after games, a lot of us and. And then across from the Garden, you know, Sully's Tap is still there. I actually. They actually filmed me in Sully's Tap for the documentary. And. And I'm not really sure why, but one of the oldest bars in Boston. So the guys in those days, yeah, people would recognize it, but they were always great. They're always great here, you know, because they. They loved the Bruins.

[Chris]

I actually was at Daisy Buchanan. That's where I was on my official visit for bu. I puked there. So I know Daisy Buchanan. I remember it's closed down now. I think I wasn't the only guy who puked in there, but a fun time. But it's funny looking at your teams, great Bruins teams. It was like. Like you ran into these Canadians, dynasties, and then that kind of ends, and the Islanders come along. So it must have been just so difficult for you guys. You're like the second best team all these years. Did you ever have any good battles with the Islanders in the playoffs during their run of Fourth Street?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, 1980. I remember there was a big brawl in the Garden. I can't remember how the series went, but 83. We finished first in the league. We had home ice advantage all the way through, and we lost in six in the 70s.

[Chris]

I do want to pump your tires. Sorry. You had 33 points in 17 playoff

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

games that year, most of them against Buffalo. One one team. It's still an NHL record. I think 19.

[Chris]

How many points that series?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

19 and seven games.

[Yance]

Wow.

[Chris]

Wow. So it was a good series, though.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Five goals, 14 assists, and I think Barry had like 18. I just ended up getting the rush record because I have one more point.

[Yance]

Were you playing against a French Connection then? Is that why they were lighting the lamp?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

3. I don't. I think. I think they might have been gone by 83. I can't remember. They had a good team. Danny Gear and.

[Yance]

But.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

And they. They pushed us. They pushed us, Won seven games. And I. I mean, you can't get all those points unless you play in seven games. But. Yeah, no, I was just lucky to have a good series. Unfortunately I didn't do it against the Islanders.

[Yance]

This one's a little vague. Do you have any more Don Cherry questions? And the last thing here, I, I noticed that I believe that after the, the run where you guys got the too many men, he didn't come back to coach after that, right? That was his last.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

That was, the handwriting was on the wall. Him and Harry weren't getting along anyways. I, I, I often wonder that if we had gone on to win the cup, I don't know what Harry would have done because they weren't even talking to each other.

[Chris]

You know what they were battling about, Was it just like ice, ice time.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I don't want to say that what it is because I'm not really positive, but I think Don wanted a little more say in the team or maybe who's going to the Miners, who's coming, you know, almost what you know, GM's job is. And Harry, I don't think wanted wanted to do that. And then they got into the, the war of words and in the press and then they just went, went opposite directions from the stuff that I kind of remember. But too bad because he was a great coach and the guys loved him.

[Yance]

Any other awesome stories that you could share about Don? Yeah, just like interactions like maybe games where you guys got in brawls, like maybe he was going at it with the other coaches, anything. I mean I feel like a lot of our listeners feel like he really got shafted with his situation up in Canada and they, any chance they can hear about one of the throwback stories from him, they fucking lose their mind.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I remember they, I said that he always went in, we always went in the night before the game for the most part. And the press would always hound them to, to get a byline for their headline the next day. So we went into Colorado to play the Rockies and they were, I think they were in like last place in their division in their car and we were in first place in ours. So the reporters asked them, he said so how do you guys get up for a game like this? You're playing, you know, a team that's not very good and they don't very many points. How do you, what do you, what do you say to get your players pumped up? And Don says, well I think tomorrow night I'm just going to tell them to wear their left skate. So don't, you know, they got that friggin thing pinned up in their dresser. There was a brawl. There was a brawl. He did it. He Knew that he didn't want us to have an easy game. He knew they were going to come out and play like World cup champs. I think they just have more their left skate. Yeah, thanks, Don.

[Biz]

Brawl.

[Yance]

I can't remember before the game and say, this guy, we're in one now.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah, we had a tough team. I mean, I got a lot more room out there because of, you know, the lineup that we had and teams. It was like teams didn't want to go in the spectrum with Broad Street Bowls, and they certainly didn't want to come into the little Boston Garden because there's nowhere to hide, you know. And so it gave me a lot more room because they had a lot of these other guys to worry about more than me. So I was able to do my thing, you know.

[Yance]

Who was the biggest killer in the league then? And specifically for you guys, like, who was the guy where.

[Biz]

Terry O'Reilly.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh, Terry.

[Yance]

He was the heavyweight.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh, yeah. Oh yeah.

[Chris]

But he had 90 points one year too. Like, I don't know.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

He led the team in points and penalty minutes. One year. Yeah.

[Chris]

What about Johnny Winston?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Johnny Winston. The line was Peter McNabba, center, Terry on the right side and, and, and Winston on the left side. They weighed over 600 pounds. Can you imagine playing against them? You know, who you line up and they're just looking at you because £200.

[Yance]

Back then you were a, you were a beast, right?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah. And Peter was, was huge. He, he just wasn't a fighter. You know, he could fight, but he wasn't, you know, paid to do that. He was a goal scorer. I mean, he scored 40 goals a year since the time he got the Boston.

[Yance]

Wow.

[Chris]

Was Wenick the one in front of the bench that time? Challenging?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

They challenged the Minnesota bench. Changed the franchise forever. There was a brawl that started. They didn't have a lot of tough guys in their lineup. Terry O'Reilly beat up one guy, Winsink beat up the other, and then he comes over in front of the bench. The challenge. Not one guy jumped over.

[Biz]

Everyone's like this.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

The coach was so embarrassed that next game in, there was a brawl. Six seconds in and there wasn't a guy under six' three. And they're lineup. I think each team had five guys left on the bench. By the end of the game, I

[Chris]

would have been tying my skates. If he's over there like, oh yeah.

[Yance]

Do you. So, so back then, if a guy went up to your bench and he went like this, you're saying that a few guys would have just Hopped over the boards and went.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Somebody did it to the Bruins bench. What are you kidding me? Everybody would have jumped over because you know, as soon as two or three guys jump. Very common. So you might as well just everybody. But you know, and there were so many. There was a fight down the hallway because no days of Boston Garden you had to go down the hallway between the penalty box and the Bruins bench and go down the hallway to the visitors dressing room and the bench was across the ice. So more than one brawl Nyland got. They started one with Kenny Hunsman, but Minnesota started one and went down into the hallway. I think that was that game after that, that thing with Joanie.

[Biz]

What were the fines like back then for even jumping on? Because nowadays if you jump on the ice it's either a suspension or suspension.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I had heard I didn't get fined a lot for fighting. You know, I won a lady Bing. Come on.

[Chris]

But

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

check the game. I heard in those days that the, the players would have to pay the fine, but they got reimbursed.

[Biz]

Oh nice.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

You're not going to penalize a guy and cost them hundreds or thousands of dollars if he's doing the job that you want him to do. So those, I don't know, I don't think they can allowed to anymore. But how they track that. But in those days, yeah, I think it was under the table here.

[Yance]

Now you get suspended in junior leagues if you call a guy a pussy.

[Chris]

Oh really?

[Yance]

Yeah, exactly, exactly. It's fucking crazy.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

You get penalized for speech. Where's the world coming to?

[Yance]

I don't. Five games a guy got for call. We were calling it gate. We tried to bring it up on here. It was a big, big ordeal. But times have changed, man. Where I agree, man, if a guy's going like this to your bench, every guy should be hopping over. But as Yan said, It's a 10 gamer now.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

It's right.

[Yance]

It's crazy.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well and they just really didn't have a very tough team. But at the time, but they, that changed them forever. Minnesota, they ended up going to the cup in 80. I think that was probably 78, maybe 79. And they changed their, their whole lineup. I mean Brad Maxwell and Stevie Payne and you know there's some, some big

[Chris]

kids after that, that loss to the, to the Canadians, the game seven the next year, that was Ray's rookie year, right?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Chris]

So I, I can't imagine like you know, his numbers and what's been said about him and just what the career he had his rookie year, were you like, holy, this is different.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, we knew he was special. You know what was great about Ray, he wasn't coming in to be another Bobby Orr. He found his own game, you know, and then in the first few years he do the end to end rushes once in a while and all that and show the offense. But I think he worked out a lot in order to play as long as he did because that when you came in the 80s, it was really not a lot of working out. In the 70s, 80s you started working out a little more and by the 90s, guys are lifting, they're doing, you know, they've got coaches and you know, it all changed. But in the 70s and 80s it wasn't a lot of that. If you see Ray's not all that big. When he first came, he was young too. He's only 18. But you know, over time, in the 90s and then, you know, 2000s played 20 years, he worked hard on his strength and then he turned into just, you know, a defenseman, a quarterback back there, and it helped his longevity. But the numbers that he put up and the games that he played, you know, and the Bruins actually took him to arbitration. Harry took him to arbitration and he's played another three years for them. He didn't leave, but it was right at the end. He, he wanted a shot at a cop and they agreed to, to send him and word was that he was going to go to Philadelphia. They ended up training him to Colorado, thank goodness, because Philly never won the cup after that.

[Chris]

No, when you bring up arbitration for him, like, at what point did salaries become public? Like, were you playing at the beginning, middle of your career and you wouldn't even know what your teammates were making? Would you ever talk about that stuff or. No?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

No. I, I had Eagleson as my agent my first eight years and he was, he was like, yeah, you guys don't want, want a public, you want to keep it private. You want to, you know, and we all know why now.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

But he was out. He was gone by 91. And it wasn't a coincidence that the salary started to go. I had heard like, I don't know, maybe it was a day after he was gone, he was booted from the Players Association. The St. Louis GM signed HUL and Stevens. The million dollar contract. Scratch and Lemieux were the only guys making that money back then. And then when, when they signed those guys, then Boston had to sign Neely and Bork and, and the arms race was on and, but it didn't happen until the early 90s, mid-90s.

[Biz]

I've never heard anything good about this Eagleson guy. And is there anything like what did, what was his, for people who don't know, like what did he do? Was he, like you said, he was an agent and then what, he went over to the players association.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

He, he had about one third of the league at one time and he, he, he did that because he got Bobby early in Bobby's career and that went with him. And you know, I can just talk about my experience. I can't say that he didn't get me some pretty good contracts, but you know, in those days they were, you were paying them 10% to, you know, invest your money and, and do this and that. The other thing, and there wasn't really any of that that I saw. Not for me anyways.

[Yance]

Oh.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

And then by, there was a lot of scuttlebutt in the early 80s about him. And so I actually tell you the truth, I went through a divorce and all my paperwork was subpoenaed. So I got all my stuff where I heard a lot of guys, if you quit them, you know, you find your boxes on bay street, you know, but I ended up getting all my paperwork and such and, and then Russ Conway wrote the book, game misconduct. I don't know if you guys ever, ever read that, but look it up. Russ was a small town reporter that worked for seven years uncovering everything that, you know that the U. S. Justice department used to file 32 counts of racketeering conspiracy against them.

[Yance]

Against Eagleson.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah. And they, they couldn't get them. They couldn't, they, they wouldn't extradite him out of Canada, the u. S. For four years. And he ended up, they made a deal that he pled out on three counts of wire, fought, came to Boston. I was there that day. Gordy was there, Bobby was there in the courtroom. And then he went to Toronto and played out on eight counts I think in Toronto. Went to jail for six months and paid a million dollar Canadian fine. He was out.

[Yance]

That's, oh my God, that's a slap on the wrist now. So you're saying that if like guys became unhappy with them maybe because they didn't feel like they were getting what they want, and they said, hey, I want to switch agents. You're saying he would just basically all the investments you were, thought you were making, you just like, he's like, oh, they went tits up. You're not getting any money back.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

We were all young and dumb you know, I, I didn't know. Nobody talked about stock market in those days, in the 70s and such. So, you know, you really. I didn't really know that much about. I heard of a lot of other guys with other agents that got robbed blind, lost all their money. You know, it wasn't, I'm not saying that's what Al did. It's just he wasn't doing what we were, that I was paying him for, so that's why I left them. You'd have to ask some of the other guys what, how they handled them.

[Yance]

And you mentioned he had Bobby, so that's probably what gave him a lot of like validation in a sense of getting other guys.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, I was a ton of kid, right? First round draft pick. Who else am I going to get but the head of your union? Who else could you trust? Right?

[Biz]

And then he was the head of the union and an agent.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah, he was the head of the players association.

[Yance]

Yeah. And, and then I, I would say the worst one that's been talked about is at one point Boston, the Bruins would have been okay giving Bobby or just based on what he was bringing to the table. And he was revolutionary and he was like Wayne Gretzky that they wanted to give him a percentage of the team.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I had heard that too. I don't know, I heard that like you, a percentage of, of of the team to keep him a Bruin and apparently Eagle and Chicago made an offer for him. And I believe from what I heard that Eagleson recommended to him that he take the Chicago deal, so.

[Yance]

And never slid the equity portion across

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

his desk till even I, I personally don't know. But that, you know, that was what everybody heard and you'd have to ask Bobby that for sure.

[Chris]

Another guy that came in at that time, Cam Neely, like Barry Peterson, I don't think people realize how great of a player he was, but Neely came over and just the physicality like just so perfect for Boston, right?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

When that happened, when the trade happened, Barry had injured his, his arm. He had a cyst. I don't think it was cancerous, but he missed most of 85 because of that. And then we never played together. We played three years together basically, and, and we, we tore it up. We, we, we had some really good years with Mike Kruszielinski was our left winger when, when he first came up. And then I got a puck in the head in practice in 86 and I missed the rest of the, of the season. I got a blood clot in the brain and then that summer they traded Buried. So we never played again after 84, pretty much. And when they traded him for Cam, I'm like, Cam Neely, he was a fourth line winger for the Vancouver Canuck. They never played him. You know, he get on a couple shifts and bang a few people. But I'm like, you're trading Barry Peterson for Cam? That was just my thoughts about it. But they had seen him in junior. I guess the scouts knew, you know, what he could do. And, but Vancouver for some reason never turned him into what he turned into in Boston. It was a great, it turned out to be a great trade for, for the Bruins. I actually got to play left wing on his line the first full year he played in 80, 86, 87 with Thomas Gradine from the Vancouver Canucks was the centerman and I played left wing that year. So it was fun to play, play a line with him. He was just becoming Cam Neely then,

[Chris]

just starting to run people over.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

And yeah, I mean he was so strong. I mean he had the shot, you know, and, and you learn, you know, it's all the timing of it. You just can't run and bang guys and, and, and you know, the puck doesn't go in the net by itself. You gotta, you gotta look, look at what in the 90s he played with Adam Oates. When you have a great centerman. I had Barry Peterson, I played with Jean retell in the 70s. You know, when you have a great winger, has a great sentiment, they can do so much for them. And when Adam came to the Bruins, you know, him and him and Cam lit it up. If it wasn't for his injury, you know, he just would have kept going.

[Yance]

Nifty. I think that Yans, what have you played in two or three all star games?

[Biz]

Three.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Three. Got voted on to one in 82, the year I, I scored 50, I guess vote on the second team. You know, they always put me on, on as a right winger. I play a lot of, a lot of left wing, but I was. And I'm always going up against Bossy and La Fleur. I'm like, yeah, I got a good chance.

[Chris]

I'm a left wing.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I'm playing left wing this year. Yeah, but I was always listed as a right winger.

[Yance]

Do you, do you have any unreal memories from those games and like what it was like maybe meeting some of your idols for the first time. And do any, do anyone on any of them stand out, particularly your first one?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, when I first got to the Rangers, you know, I'M in training camp with Roger Bear and Eddie Jockerman, you know, and Peter Stamkowski, you know, all these guys that I watched growing up, you know, John Retell. And then I. I never, never got a chance to play with Ratty in New York because Roger was always his right winger. So I never got. I didn't play with Ratty until he came to Boston. And then I got traded there and they put me. They put me on his line. My very first game was a Bruin. They put me on the line with Busick on left side, two hall of Famers, and Retell at center. I got a hat trick. My first game was a Bruin. I said, how can you not get a hat trick playing with those guys?

[Biz]

I mean, you were in the middle of your career when Wayne Gretzky came in. When he came into the league, what was the hype and kind of the lore around him with everybody? Because it, you know, the social media wasn't like. It was like. Was it just the word of mouth, everyone talking about how good this guy is up in Edmonton?

[Yance]

Yeah, like William Wallace and Braveheart.

[Chris]

Right.

[Yance]

Hearing about this legend coming up, like. And you. We had. We could see clips of McDavid. You couldn't see clips of Wayne, Right?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Right. No, pretty much. And, you know, but we were in the east and they were in the west, and we. We didn't really see it. See a lot of them, but anytime you watch the highlights or, you know, you actually did play against them, you could see he played a different game out there. And in the. I played in two Canada Cups in 81 and 84. And I only made 81 because Jaber Perova broke his ankle, I think. And so again, I played left wing on the. On the third line. But in 84, I. I went to camp and. And they put me on the line. Regrets. So I. It was me, me, Gretz and Gule. And we had lost the. To the Russians 8:1 in the final game in Montreal Forum in 80:1. Same team the 1980 team beat, right? Oh, wow. The only time I played against Tread Shack, they put. They put Michigan in. In the round robin, we beat him 7 3. I put one over his shoulder in that game. But in the final game, they put Trechiac in and his.

[Yance]

His.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

His glove looked like. It was like this big. It was one one. Halfway through the game, they beat us eight. Wow. Had to sneak out of Montreal, that was for sure. But then we. We played him in the semis in 84 and Eagleson out of his because he didn't want to take the chance of losing a one game. He made this final a two out of three in 84. And we beat them three two in overtime. Boss. He tipped in a. A coffee shot, and we beat the Russians 3 2. And we played the Swedes 2 out of 3 beat them. So he got the Canada cup back. But 87 is the one that everybody remembers because Lemieux and Gretzky played together.

[Chris]

That's the drop pass to Lemieux that he buried. Y. Oh, wow. Okay.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Chris]

When did Mario come into the league? When was that?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Mario played his very first game. Scored his very first goal against the Boston Bruins. He turned Ray inside out. Goal G. Busted for it for his first NHL goal. He. He was playing us, and he beat. He beat Ray. Yeah.

[Chris]

Oh, yeah. I've seen that video. Walked him.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

He scored a few more like that, too. Everybody thought he was kind of lazy because he had that lumbering kind of.

[Biz]

Yeah.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Skating style, but they didn't understand that, you know, he. He could do strides. He'll be around you.

[Biz]

For those of you, though, that don't know like that. The series, when you guys played Edmonton in the finals, that fog game.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah.

[Biz]

Why did they finish the game in Edmonton and why didn't they just finish it in Boston?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

That happened to be my last game in. In the Boston Garden because we went to Edmonton. They beat us out, and then Harry bought me out of my option year. Thank you very much. Harry said it 12 points from a thousand, so.

[Yance]

Oh, you got Phil Castle.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Before Phil Kessel. The. The rule was that. That they explained that it. And it's. It has been written before, if you cannot finish the game, the game reverts back to the other team. And then if the series went seven, we would get game seven in Boston. Not sure why it read like that, but that. That's. That's. That's the. The explanation.

[Biz]

It was probably Eagleson who did it.

[Chris]

Piece of.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, yeah, we were down three games to nothing. We just, you know, we didn't get blown out in any games, but we just couldn't match up. And Grant Fuhrer was awesome in that.

[Chris]

That was Gretzky's last cup in Edmonton, Right. Yeah.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah. He got training. Yeah.

[Yance]

You're bitching about Maple Leaf Gardens and. And how hot it was in there. I mean, and you guys had fog, obviously. It probably wasn't too cool in there.

[Biz]

The cigarettes a little warm in the

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Garden in those days. Yeah. In May.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh, yeah. There's no air conditioner that's why it blew. I mean, whatever air conditioner they had going blew the whole freaking thing, I think. And that was, I think, the nail in the coffin for getting rid of the old Boston Garden. They had, they had to upgrade. It wasn't Fenway, unfortunately. Really, they couldn't do anything about it.

[Chris]

We do want to get into, you know, after you were done playing and actually, I guess I should ask Harry buys you out of that option.

[Yance]

Yeah.

[Chris]

And you're so close to a thousand points. Was there any other team you could assign with or was it. Was it you kind of being like, I'm, it's over here. It's kind of.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, you won't believe where I played.

[Biz]

Switzerland.

[Chris]

Right.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

People know that I, I got a. I had a verbal deal with Harry that if I could stay and, and skate as a pseudo assistant coach, of course I wouldn't be paid. And just stay on the ice with the team and travel with them the beginning of the year. Maybe I'll go to Europe and I'll stay in shape because their season starts earlier, ends earlier. Then I'll come back and play down the stretch. Don't try to get my 12 points. That was the thinking. So I remember I was. We were in. It was November and I'm in Buffalo lying in bed and the phone rings and an agent friend of mine, Mark Peron says, hey, I got good news and bad news. I said, all right, give me the good news. I found you a job in Switzerland. What's the bad news? He says, they're the last place team in the B league and they want you there Thursday. One line of bed in Buffalo on a Sunday. Are you gonna go like. Yeah, I'm going. Oh, I didn't even call my wife.

[Biz]

That's how we got divorced.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I knew I wasn't going to be there very, very long, but, you know, I was going. I mean, I was adamant. I wanted a shot at it. I got over there, the hockey was so bad, you can imagine the average. Seven goals a game. A game. And I said, I can't scare her.

[Chris]

8.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I'm 34 years old. I'm sorry. And the coach couldn't speak English. And you know, all the kids on the team were young. The other import was from owned by Edmonton, the goal. Our goalie, the highest he ever played was senior hockey in Toronto. You know, so now I'm, I'm playing in this league in Switzerland. You know, open ended rinks with waving the flags like college. I'm like, what am I doing?

[Yance]

Life comes at you fast, eh?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I got two 10 minimis conducts in like six weeks, sir. The referee was so horrible and I. I came home. I flew home for Christmas, see my wife. I flew home three days.

[Biz]

Where you been?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

The Locker.

[Yance]

You said you were going for groceries.

[Biz]

Thought you were going to get a haircut.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah, I'll be right back. I flew home three days after the Locker be crashed. So I'm nervous as hell when the plane went down to Scotland. And I'm flying Swiss Air and I'm thinking, well, I should be all right. Nobody wants to kill the Swiss, right? So I flew home for Chris. I said, I gotta go back. I said. I told him I would and contract, but we're out of the playoffs before you know it. I went back. My last game was in Geneva. I got two goals in the third period for a 6, 6 tie. And we're statistically out of the playoffs. So I said goodbye to one guy, bought a plane ticket. I flew home January 6th and never went back. Never went back. And I got home and it was just, you know, I'm done. I'm not. I'm not gonna. Mike Milbury called me. He said, harry wants to know a week later, do you want to go to Maine, get your legs? I'm like, no, no more training camps. I got to move on with my life sooner or later and it's time to do it. And that was it.

[Biz]

Harry was known as like a. A cheap owner. Right. Back in the day. Was there like a certain. Was there like a bonus you would have got at a thousandth game or a thousand points?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I would. That I would got for the points.

[Biz]

Yeah, something. Why didn't he sign you?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I don't think that was the reason.

[Chris]

They would have charged him for the Silver Stick.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah, that last year I wasn't playing regular for. For the first time in a decade, I wasn't on the power play. I didn't even dress for the beginning of the playoffs. But they were having trouble against Buffalo and they knew I was a Buffalo killer, so they threatened me and we ended up beating them out in six and.

[Chris]

But it was a.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

It was an awesome year because we had Craig Janney came to the team and Bob Joyce and gave us another whole scoring line. Cam played right wing on that line. We had Willie Platt at the end of his career, Jay Miller, we. Lyndon Byer. We had a tough team and we went all the way to the finals. I mean, we. We rolled through. We didn't roll through it. We beat Montreal for the first time

[Chris]

in 45 years I was at that game.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah. No share game five in Montreal.

[Chris]

Oh no. Then, then no. Then I was there when you beat him. Then they, the Bruins beat him a couple years later in Boston. Maybe it was the first time they'd knocked him out there.

[Yance]

I scored a goal.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I scored a short handed goal. I went down and, and the guy shot it and hit my pad and kicked my knee back and tore some of my, my cartilage in game four. And I couldn't dress for game five. I was so, so pissed. I wanted to be in that game but I couldn't drive. My, my knee had blown up and I, I wasn't at full speed so I was in the, in the stands in a suit, sweating. We were up 3:1 with 3 minutes ago. I was still nervous because I so many. I seen it happen before when that one cam scored. Make it 4:1. It was all over and, and the rest is history.

[Yance]

50. This has been awesome, dude.

[Biz]

Amazing.

[Chris]

This is great.

[Yance]

And we might just add you the pot if you don't mind. Maybe get you on every week.

[Chris]

I gotta do quick AD here.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

So old time hockey, lunar sex. Old time hockey. Yeah.

[Chris]

Oh, that's the best, the best talk. But this is Roback. Last question. Use code [e-mail] for generous 20 off your first purchase through the end of the week. That's C H I C L E T S on R H O B a c d k.com 20% off all polos, hoodies, joggers and more. So a lot of people don't know that you won the Canada cup, but you also got a gold medal and you were the head coach of the sled hockey team in the 2002 Paralympics in South USA for the US and what's crazy is I was reading about it after you mentioned this before we started recording that they'd only played one game prior to this and you'd never coached it. And kind of take us through how that all came about.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I call it the bizarro world of sled hockey. Back in those days, USA Hockey wasn't even involved with it. They, they threw some money at it, but it was, it was being run by wheelchair sports. But I got a call in in like January, February of 01 from a friend of mine, Paul Edwards, who was on the US disabled ski team. Unbeknownst to me, he was also a slat hockey player. And he goes, hey, I heard that the US national team's looking for a coach. And I didn't know it at the time. But in the World Championships in 2000, the coach quit because it was in shambles. They didn't win a game, and. And on and on and on. So he said, they're looking for a coach because the Paralympics are in Salt Lake City into next year. Would you be interested? And then in the same breath, he goes, you do know what sled hockey is, right? And I panicked. I thought I. I didn't have a clue. But I. If I said no, he'd say, well, never mind. So I said, oh, yeah, yeah, I know. I know what's going on here. Yeah. Never didn't have a freaking. I just heard hockey, Paralympics, I mean, right. So I was intrigued. So I talked to the manager the next day, and he said the same thing. Like, they never won a game. They went to Nagano in 98, their first time, and they didn't. They didn't meddle. They didn't win a game in the same world championships. The coach quits, they were in a mess, and now they're the host team. The only reason they were invited was because they were the host team. They would never have been invited if it was anywhere else. And we were the sixth seed out of six teams. We're behind an exit one time turned out to be Estonian. So long story short, I get the job. And training camp is in August of 01 in Buffalo. And 30 guys. They had to leave it open because it's a disabled sport in those days. Anybody that played slant hockey could come and try out for the national thing. They didn't want to get sued, right? So out of 30 guys that we had to pick, 15, they only. Those days, they. They only played for six forwards, four defense and two goalies. Just. And you had three guys in the stands. So we picked the team. But there was another coach out of Chicago that had this team in Chicago that wore the Blackhawks jersey, and they were. They got money from the Blackhawks and they were the best funded. And they. You're the best team in the country. And as it turned out, about half the guys we picked for the national team were from Chicago. But there was other good players from around the country also. And we were supposed to play in a tournament in Canada against Japan, US and Canada. September 12 and 9, 11 happened. So we never played another team. We never went to the tournament. We didn't. We didn't have any games in six months before we went into Salt Lake City. All we did was one time, one weekend a month for four days. We'd go to a city where some of the guys live. We go Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Minnesota for like six or seven months. And the next thing you know, we're going into Salt Lake City and we have no clue whether we're good, we're shitty, you know, we're going to get our ass kicked in front of our own fans. I, I didn't know how good the other teams were. Canada was number one seed, Norway was two because Canada beat him in the world. But I, I knew we had some talent. You know, I, and, and I had to teach the guys the system in six months, six weekends, because they'd never been taught a freaking system. So I taught him the old Don Cherry system so that. Because a lot of the guys couldn't skate, carry the puck all that well. Some could, but, you know, once you make the red line, I said dump it in the other corner. That way the other winger doesn't have to slow down and go in and just bang the defenseman. Because like women's hockey, most of the goals come from, you know, 10ft around the net. You got to get the buck down low. You're never going to score. So I, we worked on that system for six months. Long story short, we go in first games against Japan the four seasons. There's nothing, nothing going into the third period. And I, I, if we don't, if we don't win this one, we might as well just go home. We're not going to medal, right? Turns out we won three. Nothing. But our next game was Saturday night in front of 6,000 fans at the East Center Salt Lake against Canada, the number one seed. And boy, the guys were, they never played in front of 6,000 people before. Yeah, and we spanked them five 1. Canada didn't win another game and didn't win a medal. So now we're two and, oh, third game is against Norway. And if we beat Norway, we're in the gold medal game. And we ended up beating them two one in our, in our hardest game. And then you beat the Sweden 6 nothing and Estonia 6 one. We all scored the opposition 22 to 3. Now. Holy. I don't know if you, you know much about sled hockey, but it's not, it's not a recreational sport. It's dirty as hell. It's full check. You know, they come off bleeding because they have razor blades on the end of their sticks.

[Yance]

Jab.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

This is at the Olympic level. They're dirty as hell, right? Oh, yeah.

[Yance]

Respect your honesty.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

They have a, they, they have a, a penalty called t boning. You're not allowed to run your sled into a guy. But what they would do is right before they hit him, they kick the end up like this.

[Yance]

Oh, Jesus.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Knock the wind out or catch you in the side. In the kidneys.

[Biz]

Oh.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh, yeah, yeah, it's in.

[Biz]

You must have been teaching in the documentary.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

You should see the hit with. With a little over a minute left. Well, anyway, the, the gold medal game was against Norway because Canada never won another game. And make a long story short, we were up 3:1 early in the second period and we got tired. This is an 8317 people, maybe the largest crowd that ever see a slide hockey game. That is. Thank you. Because they play in smaller venues now. And they tied it. They made a 3:2 in the second. They tied a 3:3 in the third. Our goalie saved us. Manny Guerra goes into a 10 minute overtime with a little minute over a minute left. My captain, Joe Howard from Brockton, Massachusetts, flying down the left wing. He's got one guy to beat. The biggest player in sled hockey. His name is Robblestad, defenseman for Norway. Joe cuts in. Robinstad hits him so hard, he went three feet in the air because he was a double amp and he lands on his face. Bravo said I got a penalty for t boning and we couldn't score on the power play. So now it goes to a freaking shootout. I had never been in a shootout. I had to fill the players out beforehand who would be doing it. And we lost the flip. So we had to go first. And I had defense from the war, number four, Sylvester Flis, call him Sly. He scored 11 goals in five games with three hat tricks for us. It was unbelievable. He was Bobby Orr out there. You should see this guy. Once you see the films, you'll see it, right? He's, I put him first. He goes in, pulls the puck. Puck hops over his stick. He misses. Their, their captain goes in and scores. Are down with nothing. My captain, Joe Howard goes in, scores. Their second guy goes in and scores. So after every shooter, for whatever reason, the goalies had to come over to the bench. And then the shooter goes out and the other goal goes out and so on, right? So now I'm thinking I got to say something to my goalie, Manny. You know, I gotta build them up. You know, he just let the first two shooters go in. So he comes over to a bench. I looked at him, I said, I said, manny, are you gonna stop one how to pump them up? I said, well, not be a good time. I don't know what else to say. Oh, and he ended up stopping the next three shooters. And we won three two in the shootout. We won the. Holy shit. Right down to the last shooter. They had the last shooter. He had to stop it.

[Yance]

You're a funny guy, Nifty.

[Biz]

You must take so, so much pride in, you know, what, where USA Hockey sled hockey was before you got there to where they are now. Like, they're the, you know, top of the class, right?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Like, it must unbelievable since we won the goal. They won a bronze in Torino and they won four golds in a row. They're Canada, can't beat them either. They're the best team in the world. Declan Farmer is like the McDavid of sled hockey. You should see.

[Chris]

So he wants to come on the show biz.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Hey.

[Yance]

Fucking baby. Yeah, we should have him on before the Paralympics.

[Chris]

Yeah, that's. They, they reached out to me.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Super guy. Met him a few times. Times, yeah. But it was, we didn't know. We didn't even know what we were doing. You know, USA Hockey didn't take it over until 06, and ever since they took it over, they ran it like a freaking hockey team, okay? And that's why they're winning, winning, winning, winning. And so they got a good shot of getting five in a row. I said, if they had kept us on as coaches, they might have.

[Yance]

Like, you're like, you're like Tate. You're like Tate McCray right now. You're kind of going to the other side, aren't you?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Hey, I, Nobody was calling me to go coach any national team. So when I got the offer, I didn't care if it was in like, frigging Kazakhstan.

[Yance]

I feel like, first of all, this has been so fun for us, man. This is like snapping around one of the boys.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah.

[Yance]

I want to go back to Don. You talked about how much of a players coach he was, how much you loved them. You just talked about implementing his systems at the Paralympics. So just like, like, I guess, like, did you kind of follow what happened up north? Like, you still keep in touch with them?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Like, Don came, Don came to the night they retired my jersey in 2018. He was in the, the New England Sports Museum was honoring him the night before. And my, my night was the next night. And he said that was probably going to be the last time that he came to Boston, which I think it was, was. So we really haven't spoken in a few years. But, you know, I, I, I see him, he's, he's Always in the press, you know, he's always in the press. And the big push now is for him to get the Order of Canada. Been getting the Hockey hall of Fame. And he should, he's, he's a Canadian gem, you know. Yeah, yeah. And he should be, and I hope that happens for him.

[Yance]

Well said.

[Chris]

About eight years ago, you got your number retired, and just, just to have your number retired by an original six franchise. Like, what do you remember about that night? Probably got maybe a little emotional watching the highlights, seeing the jersey get raised up there.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, you know, when I got emotional is, Is when Cam called me. It was the middle of the summer, and I had like four months to work on my speech. I mean, and it was 30 years after my career. I mean, I had a lot of people in 30 years, you know, but when Cam called me and he. I was the president of the Bruins alumni at the time, and, you know, I thought it was alumni stuff, so I wasn't even thinking. He, he caught me off guard and a little small talk here and there. How's the golf game? You know, and all of a sudden he says, well, we decided we're going to retire your number 16. I went, what? I didn't think I heard him right. And I did choke up. And my wife came home like five minutes later, and she thought somebody died. Said, what's wrong? I said, no, Isaac, it's good, it's good. And so I, I, But I didn't think of that line about the. Too many men on the ice about a week before.

[Biz]

So good.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Only the people of a certain age would remember would know what I was talking about. Right. Yeah.

[Yance]

You're not going for groceries again, are you?

[Biz]

He's in Switzerland. But even, like, you know, the Bruins have been around now for over 100 years, and I think you were number 11 to get your, your number.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

12, I believe.

[Biz]

12. Okay.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Like Willie, Willie came. Oh, maybe I was 11 and Willie was 12 and now. And now 13.

[Biz]

Yeah, but like the, the, the just the rich history and, you know, they're not giving it out to everyone, though, right. Because there's been so many good players

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

and then, you know, I'm not dissing the hall of Fame or anything, but to be. Have your number retired in the city that you still live in and played for and finished your career there, you know, I, I can't even explain what an honor it is and to look up and see the, the players before me going all the way back, you know, Eddie Shore, Dick Clapper. I had, I didn't really didn't know Dick Clapper was, I had to look him up. He played, he was the first player to play 20 years in the NHL and those in that era. And he played forward and defense, you know, I mean to be, and then Bobby of course, and Phil and you know, all these guys is, to be part of it, of that group is, you know, I can die a happy man.

[Yance]

I said, yeah, I was going to ask you like, what's the, you know, what's the, what was the best thing about being a Bruin? But I feel like you just kind of broke it all down right there.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Well, you know, not winning a cup, I mean, Daisy Buchanan being, being on those teams. It was like two different eras. The 70s, the end of old time hockey. When the helmet rule came in in 79, that was, you know, even though we were grandfathered in and the game was changing and I got a chance to meet some of the old time players that I grew up watching and played with and against. And then the new breed, Ray Bork was coming in, Cam Neely and I got a chance to play with that breed, you know. And then at a time when my game was just getting, you know, reaching its heights and Jerry Cheevers became the coach and Jerry wasn't, you know, he was an old goalie, he wasn't a big X's and O's guys, but he, he played me to death. I mean I, I, I heard, I heard a saying once, somebody asked, so how do you know when to take Nifty off? He says, when he turns blue, you know, and I said, just, just play me, man, play. And so that's, that's why I was able to put those points up those years along with having Barry come, come on the team. So the, the timing was great for that and I feel I played two different eras in Boston and for, and then Terry O'Reilly became the coach with three, three great coaches and all the great guys. Wayne Cashman, I mean Wayne should have his jersey retired. Two Stanley Cups. Only a Bruin ever. Captain, you know, Captain Cash, he was the all time best.

[Yance]

And that's when your nickname changed from Nifty to Smurf.

[Chris]

Smurf.

[Yance]

Yeah.

[Biz]

When your face turned blue.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I didn't say my face was blue. I said when it turns blue, yeah.

[Chris]

Did you throw a helmet on ever?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I put a helmet on because I got a puck in the head in practice and got a blood clot in the brain and it was on the outside of the brain, but unfortunately I told the Neurologist that I heard this song three times in a row in the dressroom. But the radio wasn't on. So he said I had a seizure. So they put me on anti seizure medication called Dilantin. And so my head injury healed six weeks later. So I'm like, all right, I can come back, right? So I work, I go down, ride the bike or something. I call up, shower. I'm walking down the hall in the garden, they're coming off the ice. They started hyperventilating. And I knew what it was because my mother had suffered from it. So now you gotta go lie down on the table and breathe into a paper bag and get carbon dioxide back in your system. So now I go to the doctor, he goes, well, we don't know if it's a medication or your head injury. We don't want you to stop the medication. So that's why I missed the rest of that year. I remember it was right after the season, they're out of the playoffs and it was May. And I said, screw this. I gotta know.

[Yance]

I'm.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I'm not even thinking hockey. I can't raise my heart rate. Come on.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

And it turned out it was a medication. It was screwing me up. But I, I read, even to this day, I read on the Internet that the reason I retired is my recurring headache dicks. Who do you call on the Internet to tell them, no, that's wrong right now.

[Biz]

This is you.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I got nobody to call.

[Yance]

This is your platform.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah, well.

[Chris]

Nifty. This was incredible. What a legend you are. And I'm really, really thank you. Thankful you reached out.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Thanks for having me on. And the, the documentary is Ice Gold. Ice Gold.

[Yance]

We'll do a special episode with, with the gentleman you mentioned who's basically.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh, yeah, Declan. Yeah, Declan Farm.

[Yance]

Yeah. And then. And also get my buddy Tyler, who's going to be competing in, in the snowboarding over there, so.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh, yeah, right. Yeah.

[Yance]

Yeah. So I, I kind of got introduced to some guys through a hike this summer that are in the Paralympics. And the one kid who was doing the oh, goal that ended up getting to the top of the mountain, he just qualified for, for the Olympics as well. So. Very cool. I'm fired up and like, cool to hear that you're a part of it as well.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

You're going over.

[Yance]

No, but we'll be supporting them. And I just did a FaceTime with them yesterday. I'll pro. I'll FaceTime them before they take off. And I'll just be rooting from a Distance. But we definitely want to get them on to tell their story because what these guys do is fascinating and, and, and it's also a good message for other people that have lost limbs where it's, it's not the end. Like it's, you know, there's, there's plenty of resources now where you can get back in and enjoy different sports.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah. And it changes lives. It really does.

[Yance]

It does.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I'm just hoping that I'll be around in eight years because it's coming back to Salt Lake City.

[Yance]

Yes. They want the blind, the blind hockey in those Olympics at that point. So we're, we're trying to push that as well.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Good, good. Yeah. Nifty.

[Yance]

You're the man, buddy.

[Biz]

Thank you so much.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Really appreciate it.

[Host]

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[Chris]

Thank you so much to Nifty Rick Middleton. Awesome guy. And the legend Declan Farmer. At some point we're going to be sitting down with him. I'd love to chat with him. And I've been lining up with Seamus from USA Hockey. We're going to figure that out. But God, Middleton was a player, boys. Looking at those numbers and just realizing how good he was. We appreciate him coming on.

[Yance]

Funny bastard too.

[Biz]

He's one of those guys that like our dads. Obviously he was a little before our times, but my dad's been asking me since we, since I told him that we interviewed when it's going to come out. But like they all say he's like the David Post and I like how good he was. And yeah, you know, you talk to anyone that ever watched him and they just say how special of a player he was and, and, and what a special guy sitting down with him. That was so much fun not knowing

[Chris]

a ton about him. Like, I did hear my father a lot of times, like, yeah, he reminds me of Rick Middleton. I'm like, oh my God. Like, he's talking about like a, a superstar in the league right now. Like, who is Rick Middleton? And feel bad saying it now because I didn't, I didn't realize how good he was.

[Yance]

So RA gave me a buzz recently about this is it park, an old Bruin.

[Chris]

Brad Park.

[Biz]

Brad Park?

[Yance]

Yeah, Brad park. That's, that's RA's all time favorite hockey player. And he wants to get him on the pod, but like, remember, RA is a little bit older than us, so like, obviously the guys that impacted him and who he got to watch in, in some of his favorite years, you know, going to Bruins games. So I said like this summer it'd be fun to launch almost like the, the ra's World, but where he, he lines up the interview and we get whoever, whoever he wants to get. The last one he ended up digging up was, was Vokota, right?

[Chris]

Yeah, Mick Vakota. That was one of our person too.

[Yance]

Yeah. So it'd be cool because, you know, during the, the offseason we have a little bit more time and, and less hockey to talk about. So maybe ra's World's coming at you, you know, twice a week and maybe it's these one offs. Maybe if he wants to do it or, or, or if we all get in the mix too. But, but Brad Park's the, the guy that he wants to get on, I think, to launch it all for RA's interviews.

[Chris]

I love it. Well, you're talking about launching it all. A life was brought into this world in Edmonton and that was in the arena. And that is just what a sign. What a sign for the Oilers and this playoff run coming up that a woman who was so pregnant and so ready to go was willing to go root and cheer on the Ed McConnell. Kind of crazy that she gave birth in Rogers. And I'll tell you right now, like that sign and that woman, she was probably told by several people like, no, no, I don't know. You know, it could be coming anytime here. Nope, I'm going to watch the Oilers and I'm hoping to get a glimpse

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

of, you know, how she got it out right.

[Chris]

Stoff.

[Yance]

Shoot. Shoot.

[Biz]

If that baby's middle name boy or girl isn't Stoff, I'm going to be so upset.

[Chris]

I know that was. Would be legendary. And I just reading that like, I mean, God, she goes into labor and they're. They can't get out of the arena boys. And I just think it's a. It's a good sign. It's a nice vibe bringing life into this world just as the playoffs are right around the corner and McJesus is there to bless her. And it's just. It's something that. That I think. I don't know if we'll ever see that again. A baby being born in an NHL arena. And that's Edmonton for you. That's how much these people love their hockey team. And while most Oilers fans are just trying to stalk down Leon Dreisidle and will he be ready in game one, there was one who was just. Her Lamaze class had taught her to breathe and as you said, scream shoot. As you give birth in the arena. So an amazing storyline there now, unfortunately.

[Yance]

Well, did you see. You see what they give away for player of the game? Right? The plunger. And then they got the other thing. I think that like the work vest or something. They have two of them like offensive player. They swap the hardest worker out with the umbilical cord. That's their new one. They.

[Chris]

I thought the hardest one got to cut it that well.

[Yance]

That's. I think that one of them keep it. Yeah. One of the arena staff brought it down and then they just. That's their new like NDP or the game piece.

[Chris]

You don't think that can lead a team to a Cup run. They.

[Yance]

Well, they also had placenta milkshakes after the game too do. To restore energy. And that's probably going to give them

[Biz]

like the, you know, most valuable placenta.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Yeah.

[Yance]

Who needs to go to Dubai when. When you got the placenta in you?

[Chris]

But Vegas, man, they. They worked the Oilers 5, 130 under Torts. I. I thought it was. It was pretty cool. Torts was out there and he. And he spoke about Carter Hart. You know, Carter Hart just takes a beating in every arena he goes into. He's was taken off the IR last week. I think Thursday. Maybe Torts can get him going. I'm sure his quotes help the kids confidence. Right. Like I believe in this guy. I think he's a good human being. And the fact is that like, you know, all the noise out there, like we're doing our best and to just Ignore it.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Right.

[Chris]

So that's a storyline we could keep, you know, keep watching. Could Torts get him going? I wouldn't be shocked if all of a sudden the kid's playing incredible hockey.

[Biz]

Torts is a goalie's dream because he's

[Chris]

just screaming at guys to block shots.

[Yance]

Block. Block everything.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Biz]

You talk to Lundquist like those guys, like, remember them selling out, blocking shots. Every guy wearing the shop blockers, the padding on there. Like, he makes guys block shots and show up and. And bail their goalie out and not put so much pressure on their goaltending. So, like, he's a goaltender's dream to have him as your head coach.

[Chris]

Yeah, no doubt.

[Yance]

Yeah. You've been buzzing this pod.

[Chris]

Yeah. You're flying.

[Yance]

This might be. Why'd you look at me like that? You can't take a compliment?

[Chris]

You're flying.

[Biz]

No, I can't.

[Chris]

Big, big games tonight. Big games tonight.

[Yance]

LA Nash.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

They're like a bad rash.

[Chris]

By the way, the. The Preds, we should have shout shouted out when we're talking about the Sharks. They went down three nothing to the Pred Saturday night. Made it three. Three. I'm like, oh, my God. But they end up losing 6 3. The Preds have beat the Sharks 15 straight games. That's kind of wild stats. But they got. We got Pred's Kings tonight. That is going to be just a complete playoff game. Looking forward to that one. And Sharks are at home against Chicago. Like, that's a game like you want to get in. Like, you can't be losing to the Blackhawks. And it's also exciting being in that role in Edmonton for a lot of years. Like, you're. You're trying to ruin a season, right? So it's like, that's like. That gets Blackhawk guys going. I think Sasha boy there scored his first career goal. The former BU Terrier, it was a game winner the other night. And then Sabers Lightning there tonight. They're fighting for the. The top spot in the Atlantic. So a good. A good slate, you know, you'll already know the scores.

[Yance]

I mean, you guys obviously want celebrity in, right? Cause there's only one spot left in the west because these guys locked their ticket.

[Chris]

Buddy. Utah, man, there. That's going to be a crazy atmosphere in the playoffs.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

I would like.

[Yance]

I'm. They're going to probably play Edmonton, right?

[Chris]

Well, whoever wins that division. And right now it's. It's just a lock at the top. So I think Edmonton and Vegas beat them. I think they could beat Anaheim.

[Yance]

I don't think I would rather. Way rather play Anaheim right now than play Utah.

[Chris]

Oh.

[Biz]

Oh, I don't know, man. Coach. Coach Q's experience in the playoffs, like, yeah, they're a young team, and they've kind of gone through some lulls right now, but he'll have them ready for playoffs.

[Chris]

Really?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

You right, okay.

[Chris]

Dostyle gets going, man. I don't agree. I don't agree.

[Biz]

All right.

[Chris]

I don't agree. But, you know, the way Anaheim's playing right now, like, you never want to see that before the playoffs. Like, you want to.

[Yance]

Yeah, I'm just thinking, like, a little bit of burnout. A lot of young guys.

[Chris]

Yeah. Okay. The Wild clinched again. It was actually their second fewest games to get to 100 points in 21, 22. It took him 75 games this year. 77. And Brent Burns, we got to show them out. He's got his thousandth consecutive game. He's 64 away or maybe 63 now from Phil Kessel's record. And Eric Johnson was interviewing him, and he kind of said, like, what? How has this happened? And he's like, it's so much luck. He said four or five times a game, like, something happens. It's, like, dangerous. You're just like, oh. And I don't even really like talking about it, which I totally get. I never brought it up to you, Keith, in that run because it's just, as Bernsey said, like, it's. It's all luck. Like. Like, puck off the foot, dude. It's. It just is what it is, but it's still incredible. And he was talking about the. The nice bottles of wine. He had a little celebration. He had people in town after that. And I want to address a tweet I've been taking major heat for. I said, if you're not questioning the Avalanche goaltending going into the playoffs, you don't know Puck.

[Pasha]

Now.

[Chris]

This was after. I think it was. I always messed this up. Blackwood. Wedgwood. I apologize. Which one was it here?

[Yance]

It was Blackwood that was in net, and people said that they're going to be going to Wedgwood to start.

[Chris]

And Wedgwood has been noticeably better all season, numbers wise, wins wise. So, yeah, they. But. But it's still been a 50, 50 tandem. I think Wedgwood has played, like, maybe six more games right around there. So my question is, like, yeah, he's been great, but he's been doing it as having a partner. Right. And if you go to him and you're the guy, yes. It's, it's, it's different. You. I know it's playoffs, the intensity is different, but you've been used to not really playing like every single game. So the problem was the next game, Wedge would shut out, shut out Dallas in Dallas. And so people said, how stupid are you, Whitney? You're a dumb, dumb man. But I just think like, man, remember the Bruins? They, it was the same exact thing. They pretty much all mark up.

[Yance]

There'll be more confusion as to who do you go to and yeah, I think the good news for them though is their first round series is going to be a bit of a layup so you can get them a little bit of confidence going. So that's why locking in the first spot was so important. Imagine going against Mini or Dallas and you're in your juggling goalies.

[Biz]

That Dallas Colorado game got me excited for playoffs. That was like a playoff type game

[Yance]

that was tighter than a nun's cunt.

[Chris]

This week, Minnesota plays Dallas and that'll be for home ice basically in the first round. That'll be an incredible game, I think, because, you know, you're just thinking, hey, like, chances are this thing's going to seven and this game is to see who's going to have home ice in game seven. So that's one to keep an eye out on the Canucks. They have clinched dead last place. And with that comes the highest, the best odds to get the first overall pick. They've never had the first overall pick. They got a 25.5% chance of getting the first overall pick. They now will pick in the top three no matter what. I'm telling you right now. Is this going to be another whit mush. There is no chance they get the first overall pick. I think if I would rather have

[Yance]

second this year just to not.

[Chris]

Oh, I think it's McKenna in a landslide, though.

[Yance]

I know, but I would just be like off, you know, some. That defenseman kid's pretty good, isn't he?

[Chris]

Well, there's Stenberg. Yeah. And then Verhoff. But Verhoff, I, I think, think. I just think with like Aquilini like always in the news for bad reasons, like they're not.

[Yance]

Oh, I don't think there's a chicken dick's chance to get first pick.

[Chris]

No, I don't know. I don't. And Vancouver fans, that's why I don't

[Biz]

like you saying this because now they're gonna get it.

[Yance]

Hey, and you got who? New York and Chicago right there with like some of the next best odds. Like, come on, you don't imagine Bedard and McKenna on the same team like how much action television wise you're getting?

[Chris]

I mean you, you weren't even gonna take, you got.

[Yance]

What do you mean?

[Chris]

Didn't you say that you'd trade the the first overall?

[Yance]

So with Bucher Grass. Well, I think that would just be. And it would kind of be just be a smart move, right? I think. What was, what was it? It was you would get second overall and who. And, and Boo.

[Chris]

And Booyam. Yeah.

[Biz]

Yeah.

[Chris]

Hey now all of a sudden, right behind him, Biz. And then Calgary right now, that would be the best three odds.

[Yance]

But Calgary's the highest they've ever picked. I think is fourth.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

No.

[Chris]

So that gives Vancouver a better chance.

[Yance]

Oh, here we go. Gary's fucking Canada again. Come on, Gary.

[Chris]

But Calgary, we gave all of our

[Yance]

first overall picks to Edmonton for fuck's sakes. That's what happened.

[Chris]

If Chicago gets surprise on you. If Chicago gets it, it'll be just Meltdown mode from Vancouver.

[Biz]

Name the movie Wit.

[Chris]

I, I, I, I, I don't know it.

[Yance]

Big Daddy.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

You.

[Biz]

Hooters. Hooters. Hooters, Hooters.

[Chris]

Don't blame me, blame your dad.

[Yance]

Yeah, and I piss all over the bed. So we pretty much covered it all, guys.

[Host]

I, I, I do got to jump in real quick. While we've been recording, we did have a little bit of breaking news on the show here and I, I don't feel it would be right for me to break it. So let's bring our guy Pasha in right now to break some, some pretty big news here.

[Pasha]

Wow.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Pasha]

Finally. Long overdue. The New Jersey Devils announced they have parted ways with Tom Fitzgerald.

[Yance]

Boom.

[Pasha]

As you know, I've been pining for this for months and months and months with the fire. Fitzy chants. You know, this is, this is a sad day. Like, I, I wouldn't say that I'm happy it's a sad day. I thought Fitzy had a good start to his tenure in New Jersey. And ultimately anytime your GM gets fired, it means the On Ice product hasn't been up to snuff. So it had to happen. But you know, I wouldn't say that I'm happy about it, but this is the first domino that needed to fall in a series of a few dominoes, I think that need to fall in order to get this team back where it needs to be and ready to properly compete.

[Yance]

Yeah.

[Pasha]

Come October. Emily Kaplan, I saw just, just posted that no interim has been named and the GM search begins now. So there's some interesting names out there. One, I would say my top pick right now would be Sonny Mehta. He's the assistant GM for the Panthers. Obviously knows what it takes to win. Rattling off a couple, couple cups there. He's actually a former pro poker player. Has a really analytical mind. You know me, I like going under the hood. I know he's highly regarded. I know the Maple Leafs have expressed interest. I wonder if that kind of lit a fire under the devil's asses to kind of get some urgency going here. But, you know, it's a. It's a pivotal moment for them. They need to make the right hire. I would hope that whoever comes in wants their own coach and shows Keith the door as well, because I talked about those dominoes. Keith has to go as well. This better not be okay, Bits. He's the guy that we're pinning this on. Let's keep Keef around. No, I've been saying this for a long time now. They both have to go. We're halfway there. I'm a little confused why they let him run the trade deadline if they were going to fire him a few weeks later. Don't love that. But beggars can't be choosers. I think, you know, this needed to happen. So, you know, it's an important first step. It'll be very interesting to see what the new guy does with Dougie, what his thoughts are on Nemetz and his long term, you know, position with the organization. And then, you know, all this noise around a guy like Brady Tkachuk. Obviously we know that Fitzy is his, his cousin or uncle, whatever the exact connection is. I don't think, you know, that'll affect that. Let's say Brady was to kind of want out of Ottawa. I don't think he'll want to play for the Devils less just because Fitz, he's not there. So these are all summer conversations that need to happen in terms of reshaping this team and the dominoes that have to fall in order to make them a contender again. So. So, yeah, big news. People seem to say that Fitze's Nashville bound. That makes a lot of sense. He was their first captain. He's had ties there. So, yeah, it'll be interesting to see what happens. Obviously, this is fresh news, not expecting, you know, full breakdowns from you guys quite yet, but the game notes crew will be boots on the ground in Vegas. They're going and they'll be reporting there. So you'll hear Plenty more on game notes this week from Vegas Frozen four.

[Yance]

Oh, Merle's. Pray for Merle's.

[Chris]

They're going to have a pink Whitney meet and greet on Friday at Tom's watch. Tom's watch bar. I, I, I love Merle's at meet and greets. He's an amazing, personal guy.

[Yance]

You know where I don't love him, though.

[Chris]

Let's say a little in Vegas. In Vegas.

[Yance]

Let's say a little prayer for all the blackjack dealers in Vegas. Put your hands off everybody. All the people behind the scenes, put your hands out like this to all the blackjack dealers out there. We love you. We care about you, Fish. We're sorry about the verbal barrage you're about to receive from one of our own.

[Biz]

He doesn't mean it.

[Chris]

Have patience.

[Yance]

Merles is not a bad guy. He's probably just taken out his list. Stress on you at the tables. May you gave him a lot of doubles and a lot of ups rather than downs. So you don't have to go see a, a psychiatrist after your time at the table. God bless. Happy Easter weekend. We love you, Jesus. Thank you.

[Chris]

Yep.

[Yance]

Thank you.

[Chris]

So what I mentioned at the beginning of the show, guys, we, we've talked about a lot of just, like, heartbreaking things that, and, and everyone goes through stuff in life. And this one, this one's the toughest for me and Keith, guys. I've talked a lot on this show about, About Reggie. Reggie is Kenny Roach, you know, one of my best friends in the world. We live together. We. He was a freshman at BU when I was a junior. Just immediately became really close. We lived together for 10 years. And in the process of living together, I think in 2008, 2009, three girls moved in next door. One of them Laura, and just a beautiful, beautiful person inside and out. And Kenny and her hit it off right away. Started dating, like, pretty much, pretty much immediately. And he was still playing hockey. He was over in Italy. And they came back, and they just were incredible together. They're, they're the, the two of the best people you'll ever know. Like my buddy and Keith's buddy here. He's. He will do anything for anyone. Like, I'm talking the most loyal best friend you could imagine. They got married. I remember Foles and I did the best man speech. It was such a fun night. Laura looked so beautiful. She's got wonderful friends, incredible family. She was in the process of helping her mom out a lot. Her mom was battling cancer, and she battled hard for years. Passed away. I just remember at her funeral and wake, it was just so sad because she had done so much for her. She also has a special needs sister, Jenna, who's been full, full on her entire life, you know, needing. Needing help and needing to live a. A life where her parents were taking care of her. So I think Jenna losing her mom, along with her brother Mike and her, it was. It was heartbreaking and. And she fought so hard. And Kenny and Laura, they ended up. They had their first daughter, Paige. She's nine now. That's my goddaughter. Just a beautiful young girl. So smart. They have Caroline, 7. Luke's 5. Luke and Wyatt are good buddies. They live, I don't know, half mile from me right now. And 17 months ago, Laura was diagnosed with cancer. And it was just like, what, like, you know, like hits you like a ton of bricks. And. And our group chat at home that we always talk about, Keith and I, like, Kenny, we're gonna get through this. She's gonna beat this. There's no doubt. And what's crazy is they never. It was. It was an unknown origin. What type of cancer it was, they didn't know. And I think that that creates such a difficult approach to fighting it and battling it, not knowing what kind it is. And, you know, they went. They went to Houston, they went all over. And, you know, she's on chemo and she's battling now, mind you, throughout this entire thing, she looked incredible. Incredible. And throughout the process, like, they just. They couldn't get a fucking bounce, dude. Like, news after news. It was just like, you know, like, so many people fighting cancer and battling this fucking horrible disease. Like, you see, like, some good times and some. Some good numbers and some good tests and, like, little hope here and there. And Reggie never lost his hope. And I know he. He was. He was doing a lot for.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

For.

[Chris]

For Laura and her and her kind of mental approach to it all. She was always in such control like this. She was. She was such an incredible person. Like, she ran that family, like, cross every T dot every I. And then all of a sudden, like, everything's out of her control. I think that was really hard for her mentally. And, you know, we're. We're doing whatever we can. I know all of our friends, you're bringing over meals, you're doing whatever you can, as she's been fighting this thing and fighting this thing. And they were able to go away to Disney World a couple months ago, which was great. And she was. She was doing great, man. Like I said, like, Looked amazing. And things just took a bad turn a couple weeks ago. And the worst part was she got on a trial. She got on this trial drug, and they were really excited, man. They'd been trying to get on this. This trial for a lot. She met every criteria. She's so young, so healthy. And that was, like, big news, right? Like, all right, like, this trial is hopefully gonna do a lot. It's had some amazing results. And couple weeks after the trial, like, all the numbers, they just shot up, up, and. And there were tumors, you know, everywhere. And all of a sudden, the news was bleak. It was bleak. And it was. I went out to lunch with Kenny two weeks ago, and he just walked in, and he just kind of. He's like, it's bad, man. And, you know, you see your best buddy just hurting, and you just hurt so bad for him. You're hurting so bad for him, dude. And just seeing, like, the kids and, like, she lost her battle on. On Sunday, Easter Sunday. And we got into the hospital, you know, she. She passed, like, shortly thereafter. She had all of her best friends in the room. Kenny's family. Her poor father, man. Her poor father. He lost his wife, loses his daughter, and just sitting in there with. With all our buddies and just. Just giving him a hug, and it's like, there's nothing. You can't. There's nothing to say, dude. There's nothing to say. You're just like, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Like, like, just. Life isn't fair. And I don't. I don't want to, like, overshare, but just her dad, like, just saying. Thank you, Kenny. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for taking care of my daughter, man. Like, this guy is the. The best man I've. The best kid I've ever met, dude. And he's. He's just an incredible father. He was an incredible husband right up to the very end. And, you know, it just sucks because it's just hitting everyone really hard and seeing what he means to so many people and what she meant to so many people and, like, how many lives she impacted. She was so successful at her job. She was an incredible mother, incredible friend, beautiful wife. And so our guy's hurting right now, and that just, in turn makes Keith and I and the rest of us just really hurt. And, you know, now it's time for us to step up, right? Like, that's all we could do is be there for him and be there for him as, you know, the weeks go by when everyone's lives Go back to normal. And then, you know, he's sitting there and he doesn't have his wife. So

[Yance]

her birth.

[Chris]

Her 40th birthday was coming up in a week, so 39 years old. Rest in peace, Laura. Just beautiful soul. And it sucks. Sucks. And anyone out there who's lost somebody to cancer, doesn't matter. Old, young, parents, friends, kids. It's fucking brutal, man. Brutal. So I wanted to, you know, speak on her and kind of honor her and Keith. Just thinking of some funny things about it. We were talking when you guys were down in Charleston for the weekend, and she. She told you guys what she. What she'd done as a job. At one point, none of us ever knew this biz. We never knew this.

[Biz]

Tell everyone that sitting there and obviously just sitting around the pool having. Having some cocktails. And she offered up the information that at one point she just happened to be Blades, the mascot for the Boston Bruins. She was doing an internship for the Bruins and, And the real Blades had, you know, banged in sick or whatever. And just the type of. Type of woman she was, she stepped up that, you know, wasn't part of her internship. She said, you give me the costume, I'll be Blades. There's a bunch of these kids out here looking to see Blades at this. I think it was like a ball hockey tournament or something. She said, said, give me the costume, I'll be Blades. And from then on called her Blades. I was looking back at text and, you know, sending gifts of pictures of Blades and, you know, just someone that. To offer up that information to me. She knew I was gonna run with it and tell everybody. And I'm like, are you really sure you want me to know this? And she was like, absolutely. It's part of my. It's part of my journey. And. And you know, it just.

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

Oh, man,

[Biz]

it just goes to show you what type of. What type of person she was. She. She was looking out for other people before. Before herself. And, you know, I'm sure no one wanted to get into that costume of a, you know, big, sweaty person that was in there before you, but she did it and, you know, true. True class of class. A classy person and well said. Obviously everything that you said was amazing and you know, just going, you know, to Reggie and I. I truly don't think out of anyone that we know, anyone. Anyone else could handle this.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Biz]

And go through this. And he's just such a strong guy and, you know, he's going to be there for those kids. And you know, like. Like everybody says it takes a village to, to raise a family. And those, those three, those three beautiful children. With everybody's help and, and everybody's prayers and Laura looking over them from, from heaven, you know, they're gonna be, they're gonna be just fine. And you know, it'll be our mission to help out as well and be there for them and just. It hurts, man. This is, this one. You know, unfortunately, we've all been through a lot of, you know, in our lifetimes, but this one, man, it hurts more than I can remember anything.

[Chris]

It's like, yeah, this one's, this one's just, it's just so unfair and life ain't fair. But I, I, I, I wanted to bring it up because she was, oh yeah, she was special. So everyone, you know, you get well,

[Yance]

hey, just obviously thanks for sharing that, boys. And like to come on and hop on and talk hockey. Like this isn't really affecting you. Like the minute you log off it's gonna hit you like a sad of bricks again, like with Asian said, like you're, you're so good at speaking and, and you know, getting your feelings across. Like, I'm so sorry for your guys loss. And you could just tell how much it's hitting you guys.

[Chris]

Yeah. And it's just like you just see your kids and you're just. No one. You have no idea. We've said that a lot about people passing on this, people talking about people who've passed away, like, you have no idea what's coming. So puts things in perspective and will be there for our guy. And she was beautiful inside and out. So everyone, I hope you have a good week. Kissed your love, Kiss your loved ones, kiss your wife, your husband and your kids and just be thankful for today. So thank you everyone for, for listening to that and for tuning into the show. And we have a Friday show this week. So we'll be back to you Friday afternoon. All right?

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

It won't happen Won't happen Won't happen again Won't happen Won't happen Won't happen again A bad habit worth breaking but

[Biz]

it's taking time I don't know, it

[Chris]

don't matter it's going to happen

[Nifty Rick Middleton]

again.