Eichel follows McDavid's lead with bargain Vegas extension

Summary

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The Athletic Hockey Show – Episode Summary

Episode: Eichel follows McDavid’s lead with bargain Vegas extension
Date: October 9, 2025
Hosts: Haley Salvian, Sean Gentile, Dom Luszczyszyn

Overview

This lively Thursday edition of The Athletic Hockey Show marks the start of the new NHL season, with Haley, Sean, and Dom offering analysis on opening week storylines, including Jack Eichel’s new extension in Vegas, the impact of Mitch Marner’s move to the Golden Knights, and immediate reactions to marquee games, player performances, and early-season league narrative. The trio also hosts their signature "award draft" segment, picking favorites for the major NHL awards.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. College Hockey & Blue Jays Bit (02:24–06:42)

• State College Vibes: Sean reports in from a generic hotel room, ready to cover Penn State and watch top prospect Gavin McKenna, who instantly caught his attention with his “forks down” celebration against Arizona State:

  "He hit it hard...it was planned out. My level of interest...ratcheted up by a factor of 10 because of that." (04:11, Sean)

• Blue Jays Ticket Queue: Haley’s “rivalry” with Dom surfaces when she misses the Blue Jays ticket queue while setting up the show, only to find Dom deep in line for ALCS tickets.

  "Turns out he was in the ticket queue for Blue Jays...made the ALCS. I’m in the queue. There’s 90,000 people in front of me." (04:28, Haley)

2. NHL Opening Night: Kings vs. Vegas and Stars Performances (07:10–13:48)

• Quinton Byfield’s Breakout:
  Sean and Dom highlight Byfield’s critical role in LA’s future:

  “They basically need Byfield to fill Kopitar’s shoes, which is a tall order...nights like that cement his potential.” (09:43, Dom)

• Brant Clarke’s Limited Ice Time:
  Despite his game-tying goal, Clark plays sheltered minutes:

  "...as someone who likes entertaining hockey...give me Brant Clark running around out there...we need more playing time for this dude." (12:23, Sean)

• Kopitar & Doughty Milestone:
  Their 607th regular-season win as teammates ties them for 5th-most all-time as a duo.

3. Mitch Marner and the Vegas Golden Knights (13:55–19:26)

• Marner’s Debut in Vegas:
  Dom praises Marner’s chemistry with Eichel-Barbashev and the apparent joy in Marner’s game:

  "He looked more free. It did look like a weight has been lifted...he seems happier." (14:17, Dom)

• Eichel's Extension & Team Building:
  The panel discusses Eichel’s 8-year, $13.5M AAV contract and its model-setting implications:

  "Jack Eichel is a $13.5 million player. That’s the prototype...he’s the guy. He’s the top dog in Vegas and Marner...he’s the 1B." (17:40, Sean)

  Haley emphasizes the stability this brings to Vegas’s top six.

4. The McDavid and Eichel Contract Ripple (19:26–25:09)

• Market Dynamics & Cap Comparisons: The group debates if Eichel, McDavid, and Marner contracts make the Caprizov/Wild deal look risky.

  • Dom:

    "McDavid is a freak and could have asked for $20 million...he’s like, no, this $12.5 is fine." (20:45, Dom)

  • Sean on Caprizov’s unique value to Minnesota:

    "Kirill Kaprizov is more important to the Minnesota Wild than Connor McDavid is to the Edmonton Oilers." (22:37, Sean)

• Cap Reality Takeaway:
  With increasing salary cap, hefty contracts for true franchise players are easier for teams to digest if they win other deals (e.g., Matt Boldy in Minnesota).

5. Leafs Without Marner – A Mixed Opening Night (28:20–38:45)

• Game Review:
  The Leafs beat Montreal 5–2 but lacked spark.

  • Dom:

    “First two periods: mid, bad, boring, bland.” (29:38, Dom)

  • Matthews struggles without Marner as linemate; the power play looks pedestrian.
  • Riley’s performance a bright spot:

    "He looked like the best version of himself...the Leafs need that more than anything." (31:46, Dom)

• What’s Next for Toronto’s Top Line?
  Can Matthews excel without an elite setup man?

  • Sean, on Michel’s fit:

    “Offensively, he’s Walmart Marner...makes sense they gave him early run there, but he didn’t really deliver.” (33:09, Sean)

  The line juggling underscores questions about the team’s ceiling.

6. Bruins and Capitals Brief (38:57–40:42)

• Boston tops Washington, but analysis is muted:

  "They have some of the best players at each position, and yet they’re still going to be bad. That confuses me." (40:28, Haley)

7. Battle of Alberta: Oilers vs. Flames (40:54–44:47)

• McDavid Watch:
  Dom tunes in just to watch McDavid’s brilliance:

  “He looks like a man possessed...he wants 150 points again.” (41:40, Dom)

• Edmonton’s Goaltending Woes:
  Skinner’s meme-able play continues to haunt the Oilers:

  “We’re going into another season of Stuart Skinner memes...this is why Connor McDavid said, ‘I’ll give you two years. Figure it out.’” (43:33, Haley)

  Jack Roslovic’s signing is met with sarcasm as a supposed upgrade.

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Notable Quotes

• On Marner’s Vegas Vibe:
  “He looked more free. It did look like a weight has been lifted off his shoulder.” (14:17, Dom Luszczyszyn)

• On Jack Eichel’s Contract:
  “That’s what a $13.5 million player does...he’s the guy. It’s Jack Eichel’s team.” (17:40, Sean Gentile)

• On Caprizov’s Value:
  “He is the franchise for them at least equally to the degree that McDavid is in Edmonton. That shouldn’t even be a hot take. It’s true.” (22:58, Sean Gentile)

• On LA’s Youth Movement:
  “Byfield...he’s probably all they have in terms of guys who can be a tier 2 player. Nights like that sort of cement his potential to be that.” (09:43, Dom Luszczyszyn)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:24 – Opening banter; Blue Jays ticket queue & McKenna hype
• 07:10 – NHL season “officially” starts with Canadian teams; Opening night analysis
• 09:43 – Quinton Byfield discussion, LA Kings' future
• 12:23 – Brant Clarke minutes & Kings' coaching criticism
• 13:55 – Mitch Marner’s Vegas debut & Eichel’s new contract
• 17:40 – How Vegas structured their payroll and core
• 19:26 – The broader market: Caprizov, McDavid, and team-building deals
• 28:20 – Leafs-Canadiens review, life without Marner, Matthews’ struggles
• 40:54 – Battle of Alberta recap, McDavid and Edmonton goaltending

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Award Draft Segment Breakdown (47:10–67:53)

Format: Each host picks their projected winners for Hart, Norris, Vezina, Selke, and Calder (5 rounds; snake draft format).

Sample Picks & Logic:

• Dom: McDavid (Hart) – “He looked great yesterday, I think he’s got one more in the bag.” (48:21)
• Sean: Yvon Demidov (Calder) – “He’s a lock...value in getting Demidov is important.” (48:46)
• Haley: Quinn Hughes (Norris) – “He was MVP-caliber good last year, if the team’s less chaotic, maybe he’ll get more juice.” (49:55)
• Others: Hellebuyck/Shesterkin (Vezina), Nico Hischier/Anthony Cirelli (Selke), Zev Bouilliam (Calder)

Narratives:

• Value of reputation for Selke (Hischier, Cirelli)
• Dom seeks the best “PR campaign” support (the Russo block for Caprizov)
• The trio muses on the importance of stats, media narratives, and injury luck in awards voting

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Memorable Moments & In-Jokes

• The Blue Jays ticket queue saga runs throughout as a background gag.
• Sean’s dry wit, e.g., on the LA Kings’ usage of Jarvis:

  “Is it when Jim Hiller isn’t the coach anymore? That’s my question.” (11:15)

• Running debate about how much “narrative” awards are reputation-driven versus stat-driven, especially for the Selke.

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Episode Tone & Style

• Conversational and irreverent, full of inside jokes and hockey “bestie” banter.
• Expert yet light, with a focus on both analytics and the emotional side of watching and covering hockey.

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Conclusion

The episode delivers a free-flowing mix of sharp analysis and playful hockey talk as the NHL season launches. Listeners are treated to instant reactions on major games and market-moving contracts, as well as a unique, dynamic look at the season’s biggest players through the award draft. From the chaos of hotel-room podcasting to the earnest dissection of contract hierarchies and on-ice performances, it’s an essential listen for hardcore fans wanting informed, personality-driven perspective as hockey’s new year begins.

Transcript

[Sean Gentile]

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[Haley Salvian]

Hello everyone. Welcome to the Athletic Hockey Show. It's Haley Salvian and Sean Gentile here with you for the first Thursday edition of the season. Our friend Dom Luccion will join us today to celebrate another season of hockey here on the Athletic Hockey Show. But first, let's say hi to Sean who is in a very generic looking courtyard in State College. That's how you know hockey Season's back is all. Your favorite hockey writers are at some Marriott in some town with a hockey team. What's up? What's the vibe in State College? You're there for Penn State, the coming debut of Gavin McKenna. What's the vibe? What's going on?

[Sean Gentile]

The vibe is. Yeah, it's. I was gonna say, like, everybody needs to get ready for video of people sitting in front of, you know, hotel beds and in front of weird, you know, completely generic art. Like, that's, that's. Yeah, that's where we're at. State College is State College. I've. I've been. I've been here. I've been here plenty, plenty of times. It didn't seem all that much different last night than it. Than it does on. On your average. On your average fall Wednesday. But no, it's going to be. It's going to be fun. I'm psyched for the Gavin McKenna Experience. Only more psyched after what we saw him do. Experience Arizona State over the weekend too. So, yeah, it's going to be fun.

[Haley Salvian]

Coming into college hockey and showing immediately that he might not be like a very boring but good hockey players. Very exciting for me. Doing forks down Selly. Incredible hater vibes from Gavin McKenna. I am very excited about him.

[Sean Gentile]

He reason he hit it hard too. Like he wasn't. He didn't.

[Haley Salvian]

He didn't have finished the move.

[Sean Gentile]

Yeah, it was, it was, it was planned out. It was execut very well. Like I said, my whole. My level of interest in the overall experience ratcheted up by a factor of 10 because of that. So, yeah, let's go. Let's see what he does against Clarkson.

[Haley Salvian]

All right, so let's bring in our friend Dom. He's going to be with us for the entire show today. We'll maybe bring him on more this season for the bestie edition of the Athletic Hockey Show. We're in a little bit of a fight right now, though, so for some context, we started recording the show right around 10am that's when blue Jays tickets went on sale. And because I'm being the dutiful host, I was getting everyone set up for the show and I forgot to join the ticket queue. Dom was very silent in the early few moments of lining up the show. Was wondering what was going on. Maybe he didn't care. Turns out he was in the ticket queue for Blue Jays. They made the ALCs. I'm in the queue. There's 90,000 people in front of me in it. And we'll, it's.

[Sean Gentile]

It'll be fun.

[Haley Salvian]

We'll keep track of this. Will I get off the wait list? Will there be a single ticket left? There's no way. But we'll, we'll Keep track of that. Dom, hello. Thanks for joining us. I hope you have fun at the alcs, dude. It's great.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Thanks for having me.

[Sean Gentile]

You even like baseball, man?

[Haley Salvian]

That is like, yeah, I'm wearing a Blue Jays hat. Like, what even are you wearing?

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

I'm wearing my Maddie's patties hat because I love Toronto, and that is why I'm going. I will openly admit that I am as casual as it gets, but I will cheer loud for the city that I love that Sean is not from. He's a Pittsburgh. He's a Pittsburgh guy, so he loves baseball. I love Toronto. If we could combine, that would be great.

[Sean Gentile]

People in a trench coat. The fact that there's playoff baseball five hours away from me is as good as it's going to get, I think.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah.

[Sean Gentile]

Because it ain't.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

It.

[Sean Gentile]

It ain't coming to the city where I live.

[Haley Salvian]

I took my dad to the US Open for Father's Day this year, and those tickets were incredibly expensive. And then we bought really cheap seats to watch the Pirates the next day. And he wouldn't shut up about how beautiful the ballpark was and how he had, like, more fun at the baseball game than the incredibly expensive US Open. And I was like, this team is Doo doo. Skeens wasn't even pitching, and these tickets were doll dollars. Don't say that to me.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

So $10 is great for that view.

[Haley Salvian]

It's. It's beautiful. Yeah. So whatever. It's fine. Dom and I are in a fight. I'll keep everyone posted on the Ticketmaster line throughout the show. I think it's a great bit. So the NHL season, that's obviously the reason why we're all here. Officially started on Tuesday, but I would argue the season really kicked off last night because it doesn't count. There was no Canadian teams.

[Sean Gentile]

I was gonna. If you were setting yourself up for that one, because I. I was going to jump and be like, oh, yeah, it's because. It's because there were no Canadian teams playing.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah, that's right. The season started on sportsnet in Canada last night, which means yesterday was actually the official start of the NHL season. Tuesday was the soft open. Yesterday was the launch. Four Canadian teams in action. There was four pretty good games. The first two were fine. The. The late games were unbelievable. Plenty of intrigue throughout the night. Leafs first game without Mitch Marner. Mitch Marner's debut for Vegas. We had a battle of Alberta. What was the appointment viewing for you last night, Sean? Let's start there.

[Sean Gentile]

I mean, obviously made a point to watch Vegas Vegas Kings for the, for the Marner Eichel of it all. But man, Quentin by field, like, like that's the. That was the takeaway for me. Like that, that game to some extent. And what they got from him in it is the model that, that's like best case scenario for the Kings, right? Like that's the model that they need to follow if they're ever gonna drag themselves out of this one round and then you're out circuit that they've. That they've stuck themselves in. They need that guy to be really good and they need him to any good as he was last year, they need him to find another level beyond that too. It needs a man itself in, in production for him. He's a play driver, you know, he's. He'll go and spells where. Where he produces. They need night in, night out stuff from Quinton Byfield. And I feel like what we saw last night was, was a pretty solid example of that. Like that was. That was something we heard continually over, over the summer. As we talked to people about Quentin Byfield and as we talked to people about the Kings in the league, it's like that guy's. That guy's good. He's capable of being great. And that's the only thing that's going to help them, you know, get over the hump if and when it comes to that point.

[Haley Salvian]

Dom, how important is a night like that for you? And looking at Quinton by field in the future of the LA Kings, he was in tier 4B in player tiers this year, obviously he had a great finishing kick that resonated enough for you guys to have him on this list. And just how important is it to see a game like that from him, a goal and an assist? He was driving play pretty consistently throughout the night. Important for the Kings, especially knowing that this is going to be the last season for Anzay Kopitar.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah, they basically need Byfield to fill Koptar shoes, which is a taller order. Yeah, hall of Fame guy, obviously a Tier 1 player in his prime. I don't know if Byfield has the tier one upside, but he's probably all they have in terms of guys who can be a tier 2 player. And nights like that sort of cement his potential to be that. We saw a lot of it last year in the back half, especially when he played online with I think Kempe and Fialo. That line was unreal. That I think should be their top line. It's just about repeating that, doing it over and Cementing it. It's sort of like, okay, we saw you do it for a little bit. Let's see how consistent you can be over a full season. Let's see you sort of raise the bar for a longer period of time.

[Haley Salvian]

So obviously the LA Kings, they rally for a 6, 5 shootout. When they scored twice in under three minutes in the third to rally from a two goal deficit, they tie the game up. The game tying goal actually came from Brandt Clark, who had the lowest ice time among Kings defenders. Despite the fact that he looked great like Cody Cece, Brian Dumoulin. Hey, go over the boards. Brant Clark. Sit down. Even though you look great, he scores the game tying goal. Sean, I think Brant Clark was someone who stood out to you. Wondering when he'll start to play more than Cody cc. It's one game in and I'm already annoyed for Brandt Clark.

[Sean Gentile]

Is it when Jim Hiller isn't the coach anymore? Like that's, that's my, that's my question. Does there need. Is. Does something need to happen there for Brant Clark to play more than 12 and a half minutes at 5 on 5? Like that was one of the big stories coming into the season for the Kings is you know, what kind of ice time they're going to get from Brant Clark, what kind of production he was going to, he was going to give them even with the new group of players that they have. Right. We see him. Yeah. You said Cece and Dumlin. That's. I think we got a little bit of an indicator in game one how the initial plan is to use Clark. Offensively gifted. You know, he did well in sheltered minutes last year and I don't. The way they use him last night suggests that, you know, at least for now, there's not really much of a plan to do it to do things differently, which is as someone who likes watching entertaining hockey, especially when it's at the end of the night and it's a West coast game and whatever, man, gimme Brant Clark running like running around out there. Give me, give me him doing aggro stuff in the, in the offensive zone. I want more of that and I'd certainly like to see him out there selfishly more than, more than the Cody ccs and Brian Dumlins of the world. Yeah, his on ice results were really good. The Kings were better with him on the ice than they were with him off it. And then obviously we see the net crash and goal late there. I mean like we know what this guy can do. He's offensively Gifted and he's still super young. Just need to see him. We need more playing time for this dude. So, Jim Hiller, if you're listening, please, please just do us a favor and throw that dude out there a little bit more.

[Haley Salvian]

Just a nice young duo for the LA Kings. And Brant Clark and Quinton Byfield showing up in game one. But here's a cute stat. Since it's the bestie hour of the Athletic Hockey show, we can stick with the theme of friends. Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar won their 607th game as teammates in the regular season last night. That's now tied for fifth most by a duo in NHL history. The only pairs with more wins in the regular season be Nicholas Lidstrom and Chris Draper, Henrik and Daniel Sedine, Larry Robinson and Rob and Bob Ganey and Nicholas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. So one final year of the Doughty and Kopitar show to see how far they can get up the list. Number one is Lidstrom and Draper at 664. So maybe the Kings will be way better than we all thought.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Just wins 63 games.

[Haley Salvian]

Maybe. Yeah, I think I'm all in on the Kings now.

[Sean Gentile]

Just Norris. Norris finalist Joel Edmondson. Yeah, let's. Let's make it. Let's make it happen.

[Haley Salvian]

All right, let's move on to the Vegas side of the conversation. Obviously, the big story. Mitch Marner makes his debut with the Vegas Golden Knights after the sign and trade this off season. Dom, did you have some first impressions on Mitch Marner's debut to assist that Eichel Barbashev Marner line looks like it's going to be a problem.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

It sure does. It is always great to see, I think, two superstar duos. Sorry, superstar players coming together and becoming this force that I think is better than the sum of its parts. We saw that with Marner and Matthews for a long time. And now Eichel gets that with Marner and Eichel gets. That looked unreal yesterday. Marner dished some great passes, as we know he can in that line. Looks, as you said, like it's going to be a huge problem. Where I think the one takeaway with Marner is he looked more free. It did look like a weight has been lifted off his shoulder. He looks a lot closer to the guy he was when he came into the league. Obviously, it's only been one game. You don't know what's going to happen through the run of a full season. You don't know what's going to happen in the playoffs now that he's being paid for.

[Sean Gentile]

I think we know what's going to happen in the playoffs.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Inter I oh stop. In terms of how he handles it in a different market because I do think he got beaten down a lot in Toronto and he seems to. He seems to be happier and I am genuinely happy for him and I hope it leads to a fantastic season with Eichel and it sure looks like it started off well.

[Haley Salvian]

A bit of news as it relates to this game as well. Jack Eichel signed an eight year contract worth $108 million earlier on Wednesday before puck drop. That's a $13.5 million AAV. He could have been a free agent on July 1st. He's now the highest paid player in Vegas franchise history, topping Mitch Marner's $12 million deal in the sign and trade this offseason. Dom, do you want to start, do you have a thought on this contract and how this is going to work for Vegas and Jack Eichel? Do you like the deal so to speak?

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

I do like the deal. I think a few years ago I had some reservations about whether Eichel was this tier of player, about whether he could be a top five center. And when he had this con science run I think those reservations were silenced a bit. And over the years he's built it up over strong regular seasons with last year being I think his best one. He finally like really put a stamp on his ability to have strong offensive ability. His defensive game I think really improved in 2023, 2024 and last year I think he put a stamp on that as well. And when you can have those consistent seasons at that level, I think you prove, I guess your bona fides of where you stand in the league. And Eichel showed that over the last two seasons. Show that in the consmyth run and I think over the next eight years if he continues playing at that level, if he repeats what he did last season will be an easy bargain in no time.

[Haley Salvian]

And as we're talking about Mitch Marner's debut with the Vegas Golden Knights, obviously playing on a line with Jack Eichel, these two guys are now locked up long term. It just completely solidifies the top of the lineup for this team. Tomash Hurdle is also a core piece. They have contracts running through at least 20, 29, 30. Sean, what do you think about kind of the pecking order at the top of the lineup here for Vegas moving forward?

[Sean Gentile]

It's set at the top of the lineup but it's also set at the top of the payroll. Like I think that's, I think that's important. Maybe we're seeing Mitch Marner learning his lesson from the way things went in Toronto. Like Jack Eichel is making 13 and a half, he's making 12. That's the way it's going to be for the duration of their primes. And I think that that's a good thing for Vegas. First off, Jack eichel is a $13.5 million player. That's like what, that's the prototype. That's what a $13.5 million player does. Like we, we can use him as the, as you know, the model going forward is he's got the production, he's got the two way game. You know, he's got everything you could want from a dude who's in that echelon of salary. So we can check that box. But you can also say like he's the guy. He is, he's the, he's the top dog in Vegas and Marner is as high end of a running mate as you could possibly have. But he's the one beat like he's paid like it. And it seems like the fact that they had that locked in relatively early in the game is. It speaks well to the process I think over the summer for them and I think it speaks well to the way things are going to go moving forward. Like that's, that's Jack Eichel's team to some extent. He's, he produces like it and now he's paid like it too. So everybody can just move on. We can get that out of the way and not have to deal with, you know, the Eichel contract thing lagging on and then it would turn into, I guarantee you we'd have speculation over, over Mitch Marner and his in his camp and his father and how much who wants to get paid and blah blah, blah. Like that's done. And I think that's a really good thing for Vegas. Not just now but you know, eight years from now.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah, we avoided a lot of the extra commentary that happened for years which really kind of poisoned the well here in Toronto over the years with all the contract talks. It's not necessarily about Vegas, but I saw this and it was just like a goofy tweet or a post on X, just someone kind of laughing about.

[Sean Gentile]

You call it X?

[Haley Salvian]

I was trying to, but I didn't like it. I usually just call it Twitter but sometimes people are like, it's X. I don't Know why I did that? It was a. I called it a tweet.

[Sean Gentile]

Are you big Elon fan? Are you.

[Haley Salvian]

I called it a tweet on X. None of that made sense at all. I saw this post that was like, just kind of laughing at almost. Yeah, almost laughing at the Minnesota Wild. Just being like, Bill Garon. Like, watching everyone take, like, quote, unquote, lower market deals after signing Caprizov to the biggest deal in the league. Does the Michael and the McDavid contracts make you guys play a bit of hindsight with the Caprisov deal, or do you still feel like he's worth it? I'm glad they paid it. Or does that make you think, like, I don't know. I can just imagine Bill Garrett being like, so everyone's taking a discount now. Wish this would have happened a couple weeks ago.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

I don't know if you can compare what happened Caprisov to what happened with McDavid. McDavid is a freak and could have asked for $20 million. And he's like, no, this 12 and a half is fine.

[Haley Salvian]

I appreciated that. He said his dog Lenny wasn't gonna starve. I was like, that is the.

[Sean Gentile]

That is the single best Connor McDavid quote we've ever gotten.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah.

[Sean Gentile]

Possibly the best we'll ever get. I was shocked when I saw it. I crowbar it into a story I wrote a couple days ago just because I thought it was funny. Like, thank you, Connor McDavid. This is. This is your gift of the world.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Among many.

[Sean Gentile]

No, just.

[Haley Salvian]

Sorry.

[Sean Gentile]

Just the one.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Just, Just, just the one. He loves Big dog guy. Yeah. I don't know, Caprice of. I think the Wild were in a tough spot because they were damned if they do, damned if they don't. They apparently had some tampering charges ready to go for some $20 million offers out there. And with how much cap space almost every team has, I think just the ability to keep Caprisov is the win.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

And if the cap keeps going up the way it's supposed to, they're already talking about it being 107 million instead of 104 next year. I don't think it'll be a huge problem. You just have to win your other contracts. And it helps to have Matt Boldy as one of the best contracts in the league. Like, I look at Winnipeg doing the same thing with Kyle Conner. I don't. I think that contract is probably in the same ballpark of overpayment as Caprisov, and they sort of had to do it because Kyle Conner is their top player. And if they don't sign Kyle Connor, why, why, why bother Hellback. And why bother, right? You. You. You have to. And with how much cap space everything's going to have, I don't think it's going to matter as much as it used to. Where teams had to pinch pennies on a lot of deals.

[Sean Gentile]

Kirill Caprizov is more important to the Minnesota wild than Connor McDavid is to the Edmonton Oilers.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

That was so funny. Yeah, that's actually very like, interesting.

[Haley Salvian]

I think if both organizations lose the other one, they both do respect.

[Sean Gentile]

Kind of do respect. Of course they do. But due respect to Matt Boldy man, If, if Connor McDavid decided to go elsewhere in some alternate universe on July 1 this year, they'd still have LeAndre Sato. Like, if you're, if you're Minnesota and you lose Kiroka Priyazov, you are in. That's ten years of darkness. Like hit. Hit the reset button. There's. There's not enough around him for them to be relevant. Like, like he's. He is. He's the franchise for them at least equally to the degree that, that McDavid is. Is in Edmonton. That shouldn't even be a hot take. It's true.

[Haley Salvian]

That's fair.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

It. It's sort of in line with how people argue the heart trophy race sometimes where it's like most valuable to the team. And Capriso, I think fits that to a tee. I think if the Wild Las Caprisov, as you said, Decade of darkness, they're like an 80 point team. Whatever. If the Oilers lost McDavid, they'd just be the Wilds currently, probably.

[Haley Salvian]

That's fair.

[Sean Gentile]

What's. And what's worse, really? You know.

[Haley Salvian]

That'S mean. All right, so it's. We can't do hindsight.

[Sean Gentile]

Does it suck for Bill Guerin that he's playing his, his best player three.

[Haley Salvian]

Four million dollars more than.

[Sean Gentile]

Right. Three and a half million dollars more. More a season than. Than Jack Eichel long term. Like, yeah, that's not, that's not ideal. But like what, what was the alternative?

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah, what was the alternative? You go back and cap hell for a little bit even though the cap is rising or you lose the best player.

[Sean Gentile]

You let them, you let them walk and try to rebuild and then get fired two years from now. Like, pass. No thank you.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

I think one of the other things is like we had capri savant here. 1C icon 2A. There is a differentiation between them where I think pre SAB should get more. Probably should have been 15, not 17. But like at that scale, I think the differences become a lot more expensive as well. Like the difference between McDavid, best player in the world and tri side of McKinnon is still probably like two or three million dollars, which is just a wild thing to think about.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

And it shouldn't have been three and a half between Capri, Saab and Eichel, but we're going to start seeing those larger discrepancies for sure.

[Haley Salvian]

All right, let's take a quick break. When we come back, we can check in with Mitch Marner's former team. How did they do without him? Not great. They won, but I was bored. I'm not going to lie. That's coming up next on the Athletic Hockey Show. At long last, it's time to talk about Toronto sports on the Athletic Hockey Show.

[Sean Gentile]

Today's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. World Mental Health Day is coming up October 10th. And this year, Better Help is shining the spotlight on therapists, people who truly make the world a better place. BetterHelp therapists have helped over 5 million people worldwide on their mental health journeys. That's millions of stories, millions of journeys. And behind everyone is a therapist who showed up, listened and helped someone take a step forward. Moments in therapy, like the right question, a safe space to cry, or a small win can change lives. This World mental health day, BetterHelp is honoring those connections and the therapists who make them possible, while showing how easy it is to get guidance from a licensed therapist online with BetterHelp. If something is keeping you up at night, talking to someone can help. And we want to help people realize that the right therapist can change everything. BetterHelp therapists work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully licensed in the US This World Mental Health Day, we're celebrating the therapists who've helped millions of people take a step forward. If you're ready to find the right therapist for you, BetterHelp can help you start that journey. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com TheAthleTichockey that's better. H-E-L-P.com TheAthleToyockey.

[Haley Salvian]

Hi, I'm Madupakinola from TED Business, and I'm here to talk about the Financial Times.

[Sean Gentile]

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[Dom Luszczyszyn]

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[Haley Salvian]

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[Sean Gentile]

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[Haley Salvian]

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[Sean Gentile]

Around the world rely on. Visit FT.comSourceFT to read more and save 40% on a digital FT subscription. Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft. Fees.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Fees.

[Sean Gentile]

Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

In a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Ah, really?

[Sean Gentile]

Thanks. Capital One bank guy. What's in your wallet? Term supply. See capital1.com bank Capital One NA member FDIC.

[Haley Salvian]

Blue Jays win. The Yankees lose and the Leaf speed the Montreal Canadiens five to two. I couldn't bring myself to do the full Vlad and David or don't think.

[Sean Gentile]

You'Re allowed to do that.

[Haley Salvian]

She did the voice. Yeah. The Yankees lose. Jeff can. Jeff can put the sound bite in there. Save me.

[Sean Gentile]

Yeah. Just gonna put the sound bite and then everyone's gonna say, oh yeah, she definitely couldn't do that voice. Okay.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah. Well, let's. All right. The Johnny Maple Leafs beat The Montreal Canadiens 5 2. Same scores. The Blue Jays win against the Yankees. By the way, not the prettiest game in Leafs land. It definitely looked like it was their first game back. Kind of still preseason. Some positive observations. Morgan Riley looked great, but obviously the big question and we'll start here with Dom how did the Leafs look in their first game in a maybe a decade? Is it actually a decade or just like nine years? I don't know. It's been a long time without Mitch Marner.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

How'd they look the first two periods? I thought quite mid bad, boring, bland. I was.

[Haley Salvian]

I was scrolling on TikTok first period.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Not gonna lie, it was the first two periods were a tough watch and I think that really starts with the top line. As much fun as Mitch Marner was having in his first game in Vegas, it looked like Auston Matthews was having a really, really tough time without him. Micelli made some plays, him and Knives got an assistant. But Matthews, a year after looking not himself, looked not himself. And I think that's a huge concern going to the season because if he's not Ovechkin time Sparkov, what's the like They're.

[Sean Gentile]

They're not. You love Ovechkin times Parkov.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

That it is it like it really I think is the best way to put it because last year he was maybe just Barkov light. Not as good defensively obviously but like that is what he was, just a two way player who couldn't score.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Puts up his 85 point pace or whatever. He's Matthews when he's scoring at historic levels. And he, I don't think really threatened to score once last night, which was I think the most disappointing thing about the game. Everyone else looked okay, but if Matthews isn't going, the team just doesn't look like what they. They could be. Riley, though, was definitely exciting. A little lore from our athletic fantasy draft is I drafted Morgan Riley and immediately Scott Wheeler said that Riley was watched because he looked bad in preseason. I wouldn't know because I never watched preseason.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah, right. Why do you know that, Scott? Get a job. Yeah. Take care of your kids.

[Sean Gentile]

Morgan Riley's not. Morgan riley's not some 17 year old playing, you know, Owen Sound or, or whatever. He's, he's, he's out of Scott's purview. You don't know what you're talking about.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

He, he might have looked wash. I would, I will never know. I. I had high hopes because he'd have a power play, one job. And it was a very nice surprise how fast he looked in his first game. He looked like he jumps in the play a lot more than last year. He was confident. He wasn't as tentative as he was last season. He looked like the best version of himself and the hope is that he can do that consistently because there are times where he shows flashes of that and then goes back to old habits. But he, he looked dominant yesterday and the Leafs need that more than anything.

[Haley Salvian]

How big of a concern would it be if like Auston Matthews needs a Mitch Marner to get him the puck? Like where we were used to Matthews being able to get himself open and get himself the puck in scoring areas at times. Right. If he doesn't have a linemate who can tee it up for him. What's, what's that going to, what's that going to mean? Because Matthias Michelle got the first run with him and Matthew Nies and then eventually he got moved down from Max Domi. I feel like we're going to be seeing a lot of that. I know the nylander, Tavares, Bobby McMahon line probably looked the best out of the top six. But part of me is just like, just put Nylander up there because if he's going to need someone to get him the puck, that's a problem because it's going to make that top six.

[Sean Gentile]

Not as impactful because Michelle, Michelle is like Walmart. Offensively, he's Walmart Marner. That's like what they, that's what they got him. That's what they got it like, so it makes sense that they would give him early run there. He's like a pretty decent playmaker on the, on the, on the, on the right side, right? That's, that's who he is. So like I. Is he. Is that. Is that, is that a dangerous comparison to like put those guys into, even to even to say it in, in, you know, in the, in a damning way like that? Probably because, you know, Marner brings plenty, plenty of other stuff to the table and when he's at his best. But you can see like why they were like, yeah, let's see, let's see if this works. Let's put, let's put him with a guy who can, you know, set him up from, from the wing, right?

[Haley Salvian]

And he didn't do that.

[Sean Gentile]

And he didn't. Yeah, it's like maybe. Okay, never mind.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah. Don't want to crash out over one game. But it wasn't a great, it wasn't a great look for the top line. And the power play did not look good either. Obviously that was something we talked about in our season previews of what are the Leafs going to. What is Auston Matthews specifically going to do? And he doesn't have Marner at 5 on 5. And they also don't have Marner on the power play when they were doing the five man power play unit. Morgan Riley being able to move pucks and have that jump that he didn't last year should help if he's going to be the power play quarterback this season. So yeah, some, some good things. Bobby McMahon scores last night, maybe he'll score 100 goals this season. Everything will be great. But I think they're really the only positive from last night if we're looking for them, would be the score Morgan, other than the score would be Morgan Riley. Like that's the main reason to be optimistic because let's say, like, how about.

[Sean Gentile]

This is more of a question for Dom, the past their last three years together, like what percentage of Austin Matthews minutes on the ice, Regardless of whether is it 5 on 5 or the power play came with Mitch Marner.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Well, power play is probably like a hundred.

[Sean Gentile]

I'm saying just like, just like across the board. Like.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah, I'm trying to do the math out loud right now. Power play is probably 105 on 5. I would say like 70%. And I think that's where I had some optimism about Matthews. Being able to do himself because at his peak, I don't know if he really needed Mitch Marner to get him the puck. Matthews got his own pucks. He used to be elite at takeaways, digging corners, getting into open space and finding those areas for himself. I think it was two or three years ago he was on a line with Domi and Bertuzzi and I think that's what really unlocked Leafs offense is seeing that they didn't need to put Matthews and Marner together and Marner can drive his own line and those three caught fire in a way that I think they thought could happen with Knives and Michelle or Knives and Domi. And it's still early. It still could happen. But last year, last night was a very discouraging first look because it really falls on Matthews being the guy that he showed during his MVP form seasons and he just didn't look anything close to that in his first game. And considering how good Tavares looked last year, I'm starting to wonder how heavy that C weighs. Is it made of lead? Is there something to the letter on the jersey? Because it is. It is wild how. How different the two looked as soon as that changed hands.

[Haley Salvian]

Mm.

[Sean Gentile]

Could be amulet related. I don't know.

[Haley Salvian]

Anthony Stolars looked good in net, which is obviously going to be important. That was a. I didn't realize how big of a PDO team the Leafs were last year.

[Sean Gentile]

Oh baby. Oh yes, PDO is good actually. Hi pdo.

[Haley Salvian]

I love pdo. I did a little thing for the Notebook and Chris Branch, who does a great job with the newsletter, I should say. Do you have like a spicy take you want to include in here? I was like, maybe the Leafs are going to have a big regression. No Mitch. And are they going to shoot 12% with incredible goaltending again? I don't know. And then we had Jonas on for the preview and this is probably the most pessimistic I've ever been about reliefs team. And that's, you know, for obvious reasons, a lot of that has to do with losing a 100 point player and adding the discount version of that onto the roster. We'll see. It's been one game, but wasn't a great start. I mean, Matthews scored the empty netter, he out hustled Patrick line. Great hustle, great hustle. Love that energy. Looking healthy. So we'll see. We'll see how it goes. I just feel like this is going to be. It's obviously not going to be as sexy of a Leafs team without Mitch Marner.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

That's sort of like what sexy Mitch Marner, like Barube with St. Louis was also sort of PDO team. Like he does some sort of witchcraft. That's sort of the expectation.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

It's a lot harder to be a PDO team when you lose the superstar playmaker though.

[Sean Gentile]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Who. Who is. Who is good at shooting the puck and good at creating good shots for.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah.

[Sean Gentile]

Other players. Yeah.

[Haley Salvian]

We'll see. We'll see if the addition by subtraction due to the vibes actually works out here.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

And I looked awful yesterday. There was no aura to that game at all.

[Haley Salvian]

We were. There was Blue Jays chance going on in the building.

[Sean Gentile]

Baseball season.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

It's a baseball town apparently.

[Haley Salvian]

All right, let's go. I don't think we need to spend much time on the Bruins. It's going to be. Pasternak's gonna cook and like they went. They won. They beat the Caps, Wayman and Pasternak.

[Sean Gentile]

Good.

[Haley Salvian]

That was the two big takeaways. I feel like we all kind of had Washington dropping based this year. There's just no way they can replace every. You had Washington being good, like really good again.

[Sean Gentile]

Yeah. 115 points.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Hero in Washington if that happens.

[Sean Gentile]

Tom Wilson, 87 points. Is.

[Haley Salvian]

He scored. He scored last night.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

He's on his way.

[Haley Salvian]

Alexi Protus, secondary assist. That's my guy in fantasy. I made a lot of very strange decisions.

[Sean Gentile]

I'm gonna keep gassing up the Cavs until they. Until they prove me wrong. No one's gonna know if it's serious or a bit.

[Haley Salvian]

But they lost last night.

[Sean Gentile]

It's okay.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

They. They outshot that season.

[Sean Gentile]

The season is young. They outshot a team. That's good.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah. Yeah. That didn't happen in the postseason. The Boston Bruins, they beat the Washington Capitals. Big takeaway. Could be a big Jeremy Swayman season to Dom's point. 35 saves. That's going to be a Swayman and Pasternak led team. I think as we kind of all expected lies. Lindholm scored last night.

[Sean Gentile]

Good for him.

[Haley Salvian]

He could have another 40 goal season. The Bruins are just so. I don't know what they are.

[Sean Gentile]

They're bad. They're. They're bad. They're going to be bad.

[Haley Salvian]

They have some of the best players at each position and yet they're still going to be bad. Like that confuses me and I don't want to go down the rabbit hole of like freaking out about the Bruins. I'm confused by them and I want.

[Sean Gentile]

To move on There are unfortunately 16 other players who typically take the ice over the course of a of an.

[Haley Salvian]

NSA trying to transition to the Battle Alberta.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Boy.

[Haley Salvian]

Let's talk about the Oilers. Flames. Oilers. Was was the other game last night. Both of the late games went into shootouts, which is great. Which is why I feel like I was all sleepy and missed my ticket window. I think there must only be 50,000 people left in front of me in the line. I haven't checked in a while. The Flames end up winning. This is the first Game of Connor McDavid after he signs the contract in Edmonton. Woohoo. Leon Dry seidle scores his 400th NHL goal shootout lost. The Flames by the way win four to three. McDavid two assists for Edmonton. Dom, this was a game that you if we Sean and I thought Kings Vegas was appointment viewing. You were kind of locked in on the Battle of Alberta last night, right?

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

My appointment viewing is that if McDavid is on TV, I'm probably watching it because I love watching him.

[Sean Gentile]

You're a smart guy.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah. I have to watch some bland Leafs wins and then I at night I get to watch McDavid dry Seidel Bouchard play electrifying hockey and then Skinner making it electrifying the other way. Both teams have a chance. It's great stuff. Like David looked like he looked like a man possessed. He looks like a guy who wants to score 150 points again. He looks very.

[Sean Gentile]

You should choose to do that. Then he. He probably should simply score 150 points.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

He. If there's any player who could choose to do that, it is Connor McDavid who has already chosen to do that. It was like two or three years ago. I want him to do it again. It'd be nice. David Thomase Thomasek. I don't know. They sell the broadcast. I'm like that's not how I thought it was pronounced. And it is. He, he had a point. He had a nice little assist on the power play. He's on the top power play. That was a nice debut for him. Yeah. As long as Skinner's a net it is a worrying time in Edmonton.

[Sean Gentile]

We got an all timer reusable tweet from or blue sky post from Jesse Granger. I was not watching the game. I was paying attention to the Kings and also doing some recon work here in State College, Pennsylvania. I looked at my phone, I saw oh no. Stuart Skinner from Jesse Granger. I'm like I, I think I have an idea of. Of what? Of what Happens here. Yeah, I think I, I think I know what precipitated this post from. From the J Man. So, yeah, I'm going to. I'm going to screen cap that and just, Just use it. Use it frequently.

[Haley Salvian]

It's.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

It was.

[Haley Salvian]

It's not funny though, is it? It's actually. This shouldn't be happening.

[Sean Gentile]

You said it's not. I think it's really funny.

[Haley Salvian]

That's Stuart. We're going into a. It's. I'm joking. Being like, it's not funny though, is it? Like we're going into another season of Stuart Skinner memes. This is why Connor McDavid said, I'll give you two years. Figure it out. And guess what? They're back with Stuart Skinner. They lose to the Flames. Oh, and they sign Jack Rosslovic. Here you go. Here's some of that money.

[Sean Gentile]

Yeah. Jack Ralston is moving to goalie.

[Haley Salvian]

Actually, one point like, here you go. Here's. Here's your championship roster, Connor.

[Sean Gentile]

We did a bunch of pre writes for. To post whenever top free agents signed, you know, back in. Back in July. So there's been a Jack Rosslovic like news post for me, like in the hopper for. Oh, how however many months did you forget it?

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

You wrote it at that point.

[Sean Gentile]

You know what the. The one that's been written from all of us that hasn't posted yet. If Genny Kuznetsov someone's like, we should probably. Should probably have this ready in case he comes back. I. I think that bird has flown.

[Haley Salvian]

All right. Yeah. So the Calgary Flames beat Edmonton Oilers. Stuart Skinner was doing weird stuff again last night.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

As he does as.

[Haley Salvian]

As one does. We had fun.

[Sean Gentile]

October. Stuart Skinner, baby. October. October and June.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah, that's great. All right. Do you guys want to take a break? I think we've got a little draft that we're gonna. We're gonna bring back the draft. Maybe only when Dom's on.

[Sean Gentile]

I think that's fair.

[Haley Salvian]

We don't need to do it.

[Sean Gentile]

Dom. Only draft.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah. This is our little draft. Yeah. The besties are out draft.

[Sean Gentile]

Choose Chishin.

[Haley Salvian]

That's coming up next.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

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[Sean Gentile]

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[Dom Luszczyszyn]

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[Sean Gentile]

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[Dom Luszczyszyn]

If you want to enjoy an unlimited.

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Plan with a price that never up, do not mistake a wasp nest for a pinata.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

If you want to enjoy an unlimited.

[Haley Salvian]

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[Dom Luszczyszyn]

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[Haley Salvian]

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[Dom Luszczyszyn]

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[Sean Gentile]

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[Haley Salvian]

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[Sean Gentile]

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[Haley Salvian]

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[Haley Salvian]

Coverage vary by state and insurance plan all right, welcome back to the Athletic Hockey Show. We are bringing back the draft and we'll do this when Dom is here and we are going to draft major award winners today. It's going to be five rounds. We'll do the five major player awards and we can pick in whatever order we want. So everyone needs to come out of this draft with a Heart trophy winner, a Vesna trophy winner, a Norris, a Calder, and a Selkie. But you can do Dom is the first pick, then it's Sean, then it's me. And Dom can go Heart or he can go Vesna, he can go Norris. Doesn't matter. We just all have to come out with these five. I think that's kind of fun. Good idea, Sean. It's better than trying to pick a lineup and then forgetting who we drafted and then never talking about it again. All right, Dom's on the clock. All right, here we go.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Well, how long is the clock? Five seconds. We're trying to do a lightning round.

[Haley Salvian]

No, don't time me. Don't time me or I'm gonna freak out.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Okay. I am gonna start with Hart McDavid because he looked great yesterday. I think he's got. Got one more in the bag.

[Haley Salvian]

Okay.

[Sean Gentile]

I think that has to be the first pick, but he hasn't won it. He hasn't won it in two seasons. Like, like, whatever voter fatigue was taking place with him over the last little bit. I think it's. I think it's. I think it's pretty much over with.

[Haley Salvian]

Oh, shoe in. I should have juiced it and given myself that first pick as host. Whatever.

[Sean Gentile]

Sean, to shake it up. We'll do first pick, Ivon Demidov.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Oh, I was actually debating that.

[Haley Salvian]

That was my plan.

[Sean Gentile]

He's a lock. Like Matve Mishkov was a lock.

[Haley Salvian]

That's so annoying.

[Sean Gentile]

Right?

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah.

[Sean Gentile]

And I'm not. I'm not making that comparison because they're both Russian wingers, so get that out of your heads. But, like, we thought that he was the dude that was going to walk away with it last year, and then everyone realized that Lane Hudson existed. Right. So, yeah, I could feel better about this, but I think the value and getting Demid of is important.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

He's a high favorite. Is the way to end.

[Sean Gentile]

Everyone'S favorite. Problematic gambler Dom Lisgian.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah, I feel like those are the two where you could definitively or more comfortably predict what's going to happen other than just saying, like, hella buck for best goalie. But I'm not going to do that. I'm going to go Norris and I'm going to pick Quinn Hughes.

[Sean Gentile]

Oh, I love it. I love it.

[Haley Salvian]

Because he was like, MVP caliber good.

[Sean Gentile]

Last year, kissing ass with Vancouver fans.

[Haley Salvian]

In town in November. If anyone wants to do a meetup. I think that he was unbelievable last year. And if the team can be just like, a little bit less chaotic, then maybe he'll get some more juice. Be even better. Yeah, I'm going to go. I'm going to go Quinn Hughes there.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Great.

[Haley Salvian]

Thanks, guys. Oh, and I guess I get to go again around the snake here. That's fun. I feel. I'm trying to debate if I go Selkie or just like the next best heart contender. I think that's the question. I think I'm gonna maybe go Capri's of heart with the second pick. And maybe that's crazy, but I think coming off of that extension, if he can stay healthy, I thought he was like an MVP caliber player last year before he got hurt, and he's not gonna have to deal with the whole McDavid dry seidel of it all. Like, he doesn't have to compete with a teammate to win the heart. Maybe this is crazy, but I can't decide on the Selkie. I can't decide on the Vesna. Feel like Caprizov's maybe a bit more of a fun second runner up for the heart, because I think we'll do. We'll do, like, based on how many votes everyone gets. Well, we're trying to get the winners, but we're trying to get who comes second and third with their picks. So I don't know, maybe that was.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Dumb, but you'll get Russo's PR army behind you, which I think is huge for awards voting, because it is. It is a campaign after all, the Russo block.

[Sean Gentile]

Yeah.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah, that's true.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Got a lot of votes for favor one year. Capricef was the favorite last year, and Russo. The Russo army is relentless. Yeah, they're fierce. They're determined.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah, I just. Yeah, we'll. We'll see how that goes. Sean, I think you're next.

[Sean Gentile]

I'm gonna buck the Russo army here. I feel like we've. I feel like that's come into play for the Selkie at times with our man, Joel Ericson. Ek. I am not going to picture larks.

[Haley Salvian]

Oh, I was gonna say. What are you doing?

[Sean Gentile]

I'm going. He. Sure. I, I, I think. I think he's as close as there is to a lock left on the board. Like.

[Haley Salvian]

I see. I disagree, which is why I didn't pick he. Sure.

[Sean Gentile]

It's fair.

[Haley Salvian]

And I'm not going to say who the other guy is, even though Dom probably already knows.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

That's fine.

[Sean Gentile]

I think he's had the slow build towards that because Selkie, more than anything, more than any award, is reputation based. And I think he's done enough over the last couple years to really put himself at the absolute top of mind for that. I think he's offensively productive enough to help, because we know that that matters. Whether it should or shouldn't, you know, that's a whole other debate. But we know it's a lot easier to win a selkie when you also rack up points. And Barov's out. Right. So I, I think he is. I think he's next man up. And I'm. I'm comfortable with that pick.

[Haley Salvian]

Dom.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah, I. I guess I'll take Makar for Norris. I guess I probably should have done that, actually. I guess I'll take him. I I really want to take someone else, and I think Sean will take him because we both like him a lot, but I. I kind of have to take Picar here, second pick. I. It kind of would be funny if I took Hellbuk, but I'm actually going to take Igor Shisterkin because I. I see a bounce back after last year. I see a lot of shots against in his future, and I see some saves. So I. I like him. I like him as the. As my favorite for the Vesna, even though Hellback's probably the smarter choice.

[Sean Gentile]

So the wise move here is to take who I believe is going to win the Vesna Trophy. I'm going to take Hella Buck. I don't. I don't love that. I think there is absolutely going to be voter fatigue setting in with him, but also their goalies, man, and it's tough. It's just tough to rely on someone being a healthy and be productive and solid enough over the course of the full season to the point where they can win that award. So I'm not thrilled about it, but I do think he's probably the best value left on the books.

[Haley Salvian]

I'm going to go with a Selkie here, and I'm going to go Anthony Sorelli. That's why I didn't initially pick Selkie, because I was like, I'll just let somebody else decide, and then I'll take the next one on my list. I actually thought about Sam Rinehart for a second here, too. Not to give Dom ideas. Not that he needs me to tell him what to do, but I think the idea that he could, like, step in, in a more, you know, show off a bit more of that defensive side of his game without Barkov in Florida. But I think the center thing always ends up typically. Typically ends up winning out. And then there's also, like, baby Barkov, Anton Lundell. So I don't know. I feel like Sorelli is a guy when we think of the Selkie, it's like when guys, when they're first Selkie, it's because they've been hanging around for a while, at least. When we had Bergeron and Barkov, it was always like, no, no, kids. Like, wait your turn. Like the. Like, the veterans are doing this. And I feel like Sorelli is a guy who's been obviously in and around it for a long time. Like Nico, he. Sure. So I'm going to go Sorelli. Especially if we think that Tampa is going to be the top of the division.

[Sean Gentile]

This year, if you're Sam Reinhardt and you're trying to play defense without Alexander Barkov, that's a good thing and a bad thing because you're the guy. You're not going to split votes anymore, but you're also not playing on a line with Alexander Barkov. So that's. So that's. That's a. That's the choice there.

[Haley Salvian]

The field feels open for the first time in a little while. So yeah, no doubt I'll go Sorelli for. For Selkie. The Calder's tough because to me, Dov seems like the guy. And this is where I'm not totally sure where to go. I feel like Matthew Schaefer is not getting a ton of love for this award, probably just given the Islanders aren't going to be very good and who's going to. Is he really going to put up points? I kind of just want to pass. I just want to let Dom go next. This is where I forget that Kit Kats exist. Like the candy draft and I freak out.

[Sean Gentile]

I can make a pick for you.

[Haley Salvian]

I feel like I want to go Zev Bouilliam, but, like, is it just going to look like I'm picking Minnesota people all the time? I think I'm going to go with Zeve Bouilliam. I love the Wild and the Canucks guys.

[Sean Gentile]

Boohoom. Super talented and he's going to be the guy on that power play. I know he's.

[Haley Salvian]

That's why I'm picking him.

[Sean Gentile]

He's going to rack up points. Right.

[Haley Salvian]

Don't mansplain my pick to me.

[Sean Gentile]

I'm.

[Haley Salvian]

I picked him, not you.

[Sean Gentile]

Yeah. After trying to pass on a podcast. Oh.

[Haley Salvian]

Because I think Nikitian's interesting. Schaefer was obviously the first overall pick. He made the team. But, like, I just feel like the meof is going to win it, so who cares?

[Sean Gentile]

Points, points, points.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah, I'll go booam.

[Sean Gentile]

Defense. Why not? Rasmus, darling. Let's do it. Let's do it. Like, I. Like. I can't.

[Haley Salvian]

He looked great in the preseason.

[Sean Gentile]

I can't pick Hughes. What's that?

[Haley Salvian]

I hear he looked great in preseason.

[Sean Gentile]

I can't pick McCar and Hughes there. Those are the two best defensemen on earth by a comfortable margin. So I'll go with someone slightly. Slightly out of left field as it relates to.

[Haley Salvian]

Went to winning.

[Sean Gentile]

To winning the Norris. Not getting votes. Winning. He's as talented as, you know, as. As anybody else in the field. I think Buffalo's power play almost can't get worse than it was last year. So if. If they're productive there, his point totals are going to be higher. And maybe. Maybe those other guys have some nagging injuries over the course of the season and only end up playing, like, 60 games apiece. Like, that's. That's what I'm rolling for.

[Haley Salvian]

I feel like the number three, like, who comes third in the Norris is actually quite more interesting. We feel like we all just know it's going to be McCar and Hughes.

[Sean Gentile]

Darlene had one of the banger. People love talking about him during. During player tears, and he had. He had some of the most banger quotes imaginable. And one in one former player said very, very profanely like, that this guy is. Has Makara talent in some respects, but he just plays. He plays for the Sabers. And direct quote, they effing suck. And he's. And he's got it. He's got to deal with a fallout. So I'm. I'm siding. I'm siding with my man over there, okay? And saying. And saying that they're good enough to get it done.

[Haley Salvian]

All right, Dom.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

I. I really wanted Darlene. I was hoping to leave you guys, McCarr and Hughes, because I. I think this is Darling's year. I'm big. I'm all in on the Sabers, baby. Loyal to the crest.

[Sean Gentile]

But, yeah, you know, if you're that loyal to him, if you were that loyal to him, you'd have picked him.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Fell into my lap at pick 10. So I just. I mean. Yeah.

[Sean Gentile]

Is it because I made a mistake? Who can say? You know, there's no way to know.

[Haley Salvian]

Sean was all in on. That's why. Yeah. Anyways, Sean was all in on Nico. He. Sure. It's all right.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah. And that's fine. I think what you guys said about he shouldn't really, for a selkie makes perfect sense. I. I wanted to pick Seth Jarvis, but it is a reputation award and he didn't get nominated.

[Sean Gentile]

Cowards.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yes. So he's. He's got to get his nomination first. He's got to earn his stripes. And for that reason, I gotta go with Sam Reinhart. So, I mean, let's. Let's see what you can do without Barkov. Let's see how good you really are, champ.

[Sean Gentile]

I love trying to sniff out, like, narrative awards, like, before we actually see whether they play out or not, because that's like, we're human beings. We apply narrative to. To things to make sense of stuff. And Reinhardt, you can imagine voters getting Swayed by, like, well, you know, he did it, but he's doing it by himself. Like, he doesn't have the security blanket anymore. That's compelling. And I think that's. I think that's a good reason to pick him.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah. I think a fun story is who has the best narrative going the season. Reinhardt's good for the Selkie. I think Darlene is great for the Norris, especially if the Sabers hang around playoffs or even make it. And that does not segue to my next pick because that has nothing to do with the narrative I'll take from Chicago. I think he'll play like 28 minutes a night for a bad team, and that could be enough.

[Sean Gentile]

I don't think she swiped him from me in her draft. I think, oh, yeah, her. It was someone. I was. I was pissed.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah, he. I don't even think he looked that great in night one, but he's gonna get those minutes, and it's a value pick. Could be enough.

[Sean Gentile]

Yeah, it's a value pick, Sean, with my final pick, this is. This is MVP Nikita Kucherov. I think. I think by some, in the eyes of many, he's of a. Of a. Absolutely on par with the McKinnons of the world. And I think there's people who think he got robbed of it last year, honestly. So I'm going to say that he produces similarly. That dude is just such a fun watch. He's a one of one player in the. In the league right now. He's getting. We know that he's going to be productive if he's healthy because it's just impossible for him not to be. And I think that there's a world where people, you know, think about last year and the fact that he could have won it and didn't and apply that logic to whatever happens this season. So, yeah, I'll go cooch.

[Haley Salvian]

He only got 2.9% of the votes in our athletic poll. He got the same amount of votes as Mitch Marner for the Heart trophy, which I just think is ludicrous. Like, I know I picked Kril Caprizov, but it was down to Caprizov and Kutrov for me for that. For that pick. And he's just. I don't know if we think Tampa is the team that's probably going to win the Atlantic, be top of the Eastern Conference. They're going to. They're going to win some. Some major awards because they're going to have guys who can do it in every position in Kucharov.

[Sean Gentile]

There's a world where Kucherov has enough points this year to just. For it to be just completely undeniable, where people are like, we can't. Like, yeah, we can't. We can't do this again.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah, it's tough because there's so many weapons on Tampa Bay, and that sometimes gets.

[Sean Gentile]

Oh, they definitely cannibalize each other for sure. That's why I was worried about that with Sorelli, frankly. But, yeah, I. They're.

[Haley Salvian]

You know, he's their best high end pieces for sure. Yeah. Okay, so my last pick is Vesna. And this is again where I'm like, okay, do I want to go with a Tampa player? Like, do we go with Vasilevsky? Because we think they're going to be great and win a bunch of awards. I feel like I'm going to. I'm. Maybe I'll regret this, but I'm going to go with Jake Ottener. I am. Been all in on the Dallas Stars.

[Sean Gentile]

You and everybody else.

[Haley Salvian]

We all love our Dallas Stars. I still think I hate their blue line, but I think this will be a good year or a big year for Jake. Half of it. So I'm gonna. Yeah, I'm gonna go Ottinger for. For Vesna. Here.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

I see the vision.

[Haley Salvian]

I feel like Vasilevsky is probably the better.

[Sean Gentile]

Does it.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah. Like, Vasilevsky is the easier pick, but I'm worried.

[Sean Gentile]

I'm worried about Vasilevsky's body holding up over the course of. Of another full season.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah. So that's why I'm gonna go with old Jake. Here we go.

[Sean Gentile]

Would you like me to read out the rosters? I've been keeping track.

[Haley Salvian]

So have I. I was gonna read them out.

[Sean Gentile]

You're the host.

[Haley Salvian]

That's good. Who wants to read them? How about we all just read our own picks?

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

That's lovely.

[Haley Salvian]

Okay, Sean, you can start.

[Sean Gentile]

I have Yvonne Dimitov for Calder. I have Nico Heshir for Selkie. I have Connor Hellebuck for Vezina. I have Erasmus Dalin for Norris. And I have Nikita Kujarov for Heart.

[Haley Salvian]

Dom.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

I have Connor McDavid for hearts. Kale Makar for Norris, Igor Shusturkin for Vesna. Sam Reinhart for Selkie, and Sam Rinzel for Calder.

[Haley Salvian]

Okay. And I have Quinn Hughes for Norris, Kirill Caprizov for Hart, Anthony Cirelli for Selkie, Zev Bouilliam for Calder, and Jake Ottinger for Vesna.

[Sean Gentile]

Who's the best candidate that wasn't picked Period. Like, who's. Who's the most. Who's the most viable candidate? That is.

[Haley Salvian]

Well, I don't know if it's like the most viable candidate, but we. Obviously nobody picked Matthew Schaefer, who's going to make his NHL debut tonight. The first overall pick, who was.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Nathan McKinnon for hearts.

[Sean Gentile]

That was a segue setup for me.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah.

[Sean Gentile]

Thank you very much.

[Haley Salvian]

Thanks, Sean. Good Hosting. Yeah. Nathan McKinnon for Hart. Obviously a candidate. Who else?

[Sean Gentile]

Jack Hughes.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Say it.

[Haley Salvian]

Jack Hughes for Hearts. Say Jack Hughes for Heart.

[Sean Gentile]

I. I want to. I want to dumb the door.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

I actually put Hughes down and I was just gonna say Hughes and then you guys asked which one?

[Sean Gentile]

Yeah.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yes.

[Haley Salvian]

Yes. Yeah. Schaefer. No. McKinnon. No. Vasilevsky for Vesna. No. Kopitar for Selkie. I feel like he's always like one people.

[Sean Gentile]

I almost. I almost went with it.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah.

[Haley Salvian]

Because it's his final season.

[Sean Gentile]

If you guys went off like Buck Wild and took Selkies early on and I was left with third choice, I was going to go with Kopitar.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah.

[Sean Gentile]

He's narratives, baby.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah. Last season. He's going to be great and impactful in a way. He always is. And. But I feel like Kopitar is now the guy who everyone just puts like four or five on their ballot because it's like, okay, here's who I think should win. But, like, I'm going to include Anze Kopitar. I think that's just what voters do now. I think those are the main ones. Did we miss anyone for Norris? Maybe Amiro Haskin in? I feel like he probably gets hurt if Thomas Harley takes over on the power play because we know that unfortunately the defensive award looks at points.

[Sean Gentile]

I can see Will Renski getting a lot of votes.

[Haley Salvian]

Those are probably the big ones. Anyone else you guys missed that we missed? No. Dustin Wolf for Vesna.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Someday he's got one coming. Maybe not this year.

[Haley Salvian]

I think I saw a lot of people in the ESPN in front of him. ESPN does their poll. A lot of them picked Jimmy Snuggerud. Did I butcher his name? No.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

He's a partly one as well.

[Sean Gentile]

Yep.

[Haley Salvian]

Yep.

[Sean Gentile]

Power play time. I think the Blues are sneaky good.

[Haley Salvian]

Yeah.

[Sean Gentile]

Too.

[Haley Salvian]

They're interesting. At the very least, I think someone.

[Sean Gentile]

Despite. Despite. Despite what a certain statistical model tells me about them every year, I think the Blues are sneaky good.

[Haley Salvian]

I guess. No Bobrovsky. Nobody talked about Bobrovsky for Vesna. Maybe he could have like some Big Year given all the injuries. That's a narrative. Alexander Nikishan yeah, I feel like we got some good ones here. And we'll figure out. I think the scoring can just be based on like, winners and points.

[Sean Gentile]

Yeah, we'll figure that out. Figure that out.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

We'll rig it so.

[Haley Salvian]

We'll rig it so.

[Dom Luszczyszyn]

Yeah, someone, some, everyone think of their own scoring system to see if you can rig it for yourself. I think that's when you gotta debate why your scoring system's best.

[Haley Salvian]

Yes. Perfect. That'll be great. And then we'll have something to talk about during awards week. Several, several long months away, only two days into the NHL season. It's a long one. 14 games tonight, zero games on Friday. Love that. And that's a wrap from the Bestie Show. Thank you, Dom and Sean and thanks everyone for listening to this episode of the Athletic Hockey Show. The guys in the Prospect series have the next episode on Friday. Sean and I, of course, will be back next Thursday. Enjoy the hockey, everyone. Happy Real Thanksgiving. Go Blue Jays. Sean. Enjoy. State College.

[Sean Gentile]

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[Dom Luszczyszyn]

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[Sean Gentile]

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[Haley Salvian]

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[Sean Gentile]

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