← The Athletic Hockey Show
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- [00:00]
Robert Mase
Hi, this is Robert Mase from the Athletic and today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile. You know how the holidays can get with all the shopping, spending and stress between games, travel and everything else, it's a busy season for all of us. Boost Mobile is making it easy to treat yourself and your wallet. When you bring your own device and switch to the $25 Unlimited plan, you get unlimited talk, text and data for just $25 a month with no trade ins, no contracts and no hassle. So while you're checking everything else off your list, you don't forget to put your own name on it too, because simplifying things is always a good game plan. Visit boostmobile.com to start saving. After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers will pay $25 per month as long as they remain active on the Boost unlimited plan.
- [00:44]
Michelle Bernstein
Mic check 12 Are we recording? Hi, I'm Michelle Bernstein, an award winning chef, restaurateur and mom. I have a lot on my plate, including my psoriatic arthritis symptoms. That's why I was prescribed Cosen. It helps me move better.
- [01:02]
Cosentyx Announcer
Cosentyx Secukenumab is prescribed for people 2 years of age and older with active psoriatic arthritis. Don't use if you're allergic to Cosentyx before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur like tuberculosis or other serious bacterial, fungal or viral infections. Some were fatal. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. However a vaccine or plan to or if inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, serious allergic reactions and severe eczema like skin reactions may occur. Learn more at 1-844-cosentyx or cosentyx.com Ask.
- [01:39]
Michelle Bernstein
Your rheumatologist about Cosentix.
- [01:46]
LinkedIn Jobs Announcer
If you've ever hired for your small business, you know how important it is to find the right person. That's why LinkedIn Jobs is stepping things up with their new AI assistant, so you can feel confident you're finding top talent that you can't find anywhere else. The best part is those great candidates are already on LinkedIn. In fact, employees hired through LinkedIn are 30% more likely to stick around for at least a year compared to those hired through the leading competitor. That's a big deal when every hire counts. Here's a scenario. You need to hire an employee. You go through the whole process. You pick someone and it turns out they're not right for the job. It's really hard to calculate the cost of being stuck with that bad hire, which is why it's so important to hire right the first time. And let me tell you something, hiring doesn't have to be complicated. With LinkedIn Jobs AI Assistant, you can skip the confusing steps and recruiting jargon. It filters through applicants based on criteria you've set for your role and surfaces only the best matches so you're not stuck sorting through a mountain of resumes. Hire Write the first time, host your job for free at LinkedIn.com athletichs Then promote it to use LinkedIn Jobs New AI Assistant, making it easier and faster to find top candidates. That's LinkedIn.com athletichs to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply.
- [03:23]
Boost Mobile / T-Mobile Ad Voices
This is the athletic hockey show.
- [03:32]
Cory Promen
Foreign. Welcome to Athletic Hockey Show My name is Cory Promen. I'm here with Scott Wheeler, here on a busy Friday night where one of the biggest blockbuster trades in modern NHL history just occurred with superstar and Norris Trophy winning defenseman Quinn Hughes being traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Zev Boyum, Marco Rossi, Liam Ogren and an unprotected first round pick in a 2026 NHL Draft. Obviously a massive move for the Wild in an attempt to win. Right now they are a team that is high atop the Western Conference standings right now, right below the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights and of course the Colorado Avalanche in points percentage. And Scott, I guess the ultimate question that while fans are going to be wondering, and I think, I hope the Wild management think this is true given they made this massive trade, is when you look at the top of the Western Conference, in particular the Colorado Avalanche. Are the Minnesota Wild in the conversation now with those teams?
- [04:44]
Scott Wheeler
I'm not sure whether this gets them into the conversation with the Minnesota or with the Colorado Avalanche, but I think this gets them into a much tighter potential series with just about anybody else in the Western Conference. I do still think that the avalanche if Nathan McKinnon and Cale McCarth at the peaks of their powers, I think the Avalanche are still a cut above. They've had some surprising depth stories with with Colorado this year, but you look at this Wild roster and suddenly you've got the three or four big pieces that a typical contending team, Stanley cup level team has. Like the emergence of Matt Boldy, we know what Kirill Caprazov is, but the emergence of Matt Boldy and now a real two headed monster on the back end in Brock Faber and Quinn Hughes who could potentially pair together. That's four studs and I'm not sure they quite have the depth to match up with a Carolina Hurricanes or a Colorado Avalanche. And they might not have the star power to match up with an Edmonton Oilers or a Colorado Avalanche, but I don't know they're firmly in the mix.
- [05:46]
Cory Promen
Now the one concern I would have with the Wild is you see the skill. Like obviously guys like Boldy and cappers off have a ton of ability. Now you had Quinn Hughes, that power play is going to be absolutely deadly. He's already been a very good power play start the season. Their underlying numbers aren't amazing. This is not a team that tends to tilt the ice. And you know, probably one of their best players, if not their best player in the first half of the season has been goaltender Jesper Walstedt, who has been absolutely phenomenal to start the year. And I think we agree that he's a very good young goalie. However, Scott, I do wonder if Walsted ever comes back down to earth. You know, I do wonder how good this team is as a pure, even strength team right now. Even with Quinn Hughes, who will change that conversation significantly.
- [06:34]
Scott Wheeler
Yeah, yes. Certainly the 25 minutes a night that he's on the ice, your even strength metrics are going to change. But I think it's a fair question to ask. Like even Tarasenko and some of the sort of quote unquote complementary pieces that they have are not drivers at 5 on 5. They can score, they can finish, they can make plays but they don't really have those those true, true drivers. And you do still wonder about down the middle and just what down the middle looks like when you've got Nathan McKinnon on the other side or you've got Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and potentially Ryan Nugent Hopkins. We'll see whether Hopkins sticks on the wing or whether he ends UP as a 3C again in Edmonton or that kind of a they that that's still the area of concern for me is that the middle of the ice is not their bread and butter and playoff hockey is one predominantly down the middle and with hot goaltending and I I still don't know to your point about I think what your point about well made this kid's this is still a kid who's never started a playoff game. So more there's still some questions that they have to answer but I think you feel so much better about some of the metrics starting to trend back in the right direction when you've got Quinn Hughes out there for half the game when it matters most.
- [07:49]
Cory Promen
If they can or can't get Quinn Hughes extended, how will that change your perception of this trade for the Wild?
- [07:58]
Scott Wheeler
Well, I almost wonder if we end if that's the scenario they're going to have to make a difficult decision similar to the one that the Carolina Hurricanes made on Miko Ran. And like I do wonder if that's a conversation that we're starting to. If they can't when, when the summer rolls around and he's eligible to be re signed on a new long term deal. And those rule, those rules on long term deals are also changing with the new CBA kicking in. I do wonder if a year from now we may be starting to have similar conversations to the ones we had around Nico Ran and if, if they can't lock him in. But I'm sure Bill Guerin, with the relationship that he has with Quinn Hughes, feels pretty confident that he's going to be able to get that done. They spent a pretty punny penny though to get that done on Kirill Caprazov, which I think also raises the bar. You don't have a sort of high end talent who signed on a team friendly deal that you can rely on in order to build that culture like they did in, in Tampa and in Boston with where they the upper limits were. The upper limits. The upper limit now is the highest paid player in the league and Kirill Caprav and Quinn Hughes is going to want to be paid, I would imagine, like Kirill Caprav is paid. So it is a tricky dynamic that they've now put themselves in and you have to recoup if you can't get that deal done. You have to recoup assets. Like there's, there's just no question you can trade Z Boy and Marco Rossi and we can get to what those guys mean for Vancouver. You, you cannot give those assets away and then not retain him or not find a way to deal him and recoup a lot of it like, like Carolina did with Logan Stankovan and company.
- [09:28]
Cory Promen
Well, you mentioned Z Boy, so let's get to the Vancouver part of this trade right now. I think Z Boyam has been one of the more interesting stories this year in the NHL. He got up to it, you know, a great start. I think it was a point per game through the first 1112 games. He's leveled off a little bit more recently. I think there's been some concerns with his defensive play at times. However, still a very young player. You know, this is Just, you know, one and a half years removed from being drafted in the NHL. I think the question Canucks fans have is I don't think people are realistically expecting him to replace Quinn Hughes or become what Quinn Hughes has become. I don't think that's ever going to be a realist expectation for any young player. But just how good can boy and be? You know, how has the first few months of the NHL season colored your perception of this player and where does he go from here?
- [10:20]
Scott Wheeler
Well, if you're a Vancouver Canuck fan and you were in a sort of haze after the trade happened or a bit of a panic after the trade happened, not sure what to think you are and you're tuning in right now, you are lucky that the two of us are on this call because we, we're both very, very high on Z. We've both been high on Ziv dating back a year, two years now. I'm still a big believer in Z. I know the defending has been a bit of a struggle for him at times, but he just turned, we're recording this on the evening of December 12th. He just turned 20 years old on December 7th. So he's five days past his 20th birthday. Basically every game he's played in the NHL to date has been as a 19 year old. This is while we watch 21 year old Simon Nemetsch still figuring it out and David Jirachek figuring it out. And it takes time. It's very. Despite what Matthew Schaefer is doing, it's incredibly hard to play at this level as a teenager. So I think that's going to come. I still love him on the power play. I love him creating offense at 5 on 5. His ability to shake pressure actually is a little Quinn Hughes esque just in terms of the head fakes and the shoulder fakes and beating the first layer of pressure. So. And he's got good feet and a good stick and a smart and he's competitive for his size. Like I do think the defending is going to come. So I think there's. There should be a ton of excitement in Vancouver. I know it's tough to lose your captain and a franchise defenseman the way that they did. You should be retaining those players. They deserve criticism for not retaining him. All of that is true. But given what they're getting back, like maybe we can touch on it. But whether it was Simon Edmondson or Simon Nemec in New Jersey, some of the comparable pieces that they would have been asking other teams who were rumored to be in the mix. I think Ziv is a comparable player to any of those names that were floated out in terms of pure, pure upside.
- [12:07]
Cory Promen
I don't think he's quite the skater that Quinn Hughes is and I think that's going to hold him back from be able to defend at the way that Quinn Hughes can defend even at his size. Even though I don't think that's what you make. It's excited about Quinn Hughes's game. You know, I think of like maybe what I've watched Z like I think of Chris Latang a little bit in terms of like the potential comp for him. Like I still think there's a guy who could be a potential top pair, top power play type of guy. You know, a really impactful young defenseman. But obviously again Quinn Hughes is a special, special player. I don't know if it's getting to that level is quite interesting. It's quite realistic. Sorry. And then Marco Rossi, I think Liam Ogren, I think we'll get, we can get to him but I think we kind of agree he's kind of, you know, a meat of potatoes, hard working guy. Maybe, you know, maybe second line if you're not that good offense isn't hired. But I think Marco Rossi is going to be one of the most interesting pieces here because he's really been up and down over, you know, really the last five, six years. He's had some really high highs and some so and some lower lows here and he's been a productive NHL player. You know, he's, he plays a premium position even if he's not the biggest or the fastest. You know, you're one of the biggest Marco Rossi supporters. So we'll hear the maybe the pro Marco Rossi argument here is like what is the projection for him going forward now into Vancouver?
- [13:23]
Scott Wheeler
Yeah, I've, I've been a big proponent of Marcos. I frankly I was probably too high on Marco in his draft year. Like had him at around 5 on my list in his draft year. Obviously he slips and goes closer to 10. But a big, big fan of him and his game. Extremely smart player. Like that's the defining quality of his game. It's just the way he thinks the game. But he's also, despite not being the biggest kid, he's a pretty strong kid and he hardworking, he's competitive. Like he's, he's willing to be in the mix. He's not always going to win battles and, and come out with pucks. But it's never, it has never struck me as a lack of effort thing. It's, it's more maybe a physical limitation thing. And to your point, it's, I think it's maybe the skating that has held him back at times. Like when you're that size you have to be, you don't have to always be a burner. But by and large they're, they're, they're top end skaters or at least strong. Like skating is a, is a primary element for them. That's not really been the case for, for Marco. He works, he gets after it, but it's really this, the skill level on the puck and the smarts that define him. I think he's, he's kind of that, that tweener. 2C, 3C on a like 3C on a, on a team or a three. Yeah, I think he's on, on the current Vancouver Canucks, he's probably a 2C. On a Vancouver Canucks team that wants to win a Stanley cup, he's probably a little bit lower in the lineup. But can he become what he was last year for, for the Minnesota Wild? Like can he become a regular sort of 55 to 60 point guy in the NHL who contributes on your power play and is a solid, productive player? Yes, I still believe he's, he's going to have that kind of a career and be a, an impactful guy. I don't know whether he's a needle mover. Like I don't think he's, he's a true driver on a cup contending team.
- [15:11]
Cory Promen
When you look at some of the star player trade, the recent history, like the Jack Eichel trade, it's a big haul for the Vancouver Canucks getting potentially three or four NHL players in return for Quinn Hughes. We'll have more on this deal on the Monday show. Thanks for tuning in to the Athletic Hockey Show. Talk to you soon.
- [15:32]
LinkedIn Jobs Announcer
If you've ever hired for your small business, you know how important it is to find the right person. That's why LinkedIn Jobs is stepping things up with their new AI assistant. So you can feel confident you're finding top talent that you can't find anywhere else. The best part is, is those great candidates are already on LinkedIn. In fact, employees hired through LinkedIn are 30% more likely to stick around for at least a year compared to those hired through the leading competitor. That's a big deal when every hire counts. Here's a scenario. You need to hire an employee. You go through the whole process. You pick someone and it turns out they're not right for the job. It's really hard to calculate the cost of being stuck with that bad hire, which is why it's so important to hire right the first time. And let me tell you something, hiring doesn't have to be complicated. With LinkedIn Jobs AI Assistant, you can skip the confusing steps and recruiting jargon. It filters through applicants based on criteria you've set for your role and surfaces only the best matches so you're not stuck sorting through a mountain of resumes. Hire Write the first time, host your job for free at LinkedIn.com/athletic HS, then promote it to use LinkedIn Jobs new AI assistant, making it easier and faster to find top candidates. That's LinkedIn.com athletichs to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply.
- [17:01]
Shopify Announcer
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- [17:49]
LinkedIn Jobs Announcer
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- [18:01]
Boost Mobile / T-Mobile Ad Voices
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- [18:15]
Mrs. Claus / Elf Voice
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- [18:19]
Boost Mobile / T-Mobile Ad Voices
Zoe, this thing weighs a ton.
- [18:20]
Scott Wheeler
Drew Ski, lift with your legs man.
- [18:22]
Cory Promen
Santa.
- [18:23]
LinkedIn Jobs Announcer
Santa, did you get my letter?
- [18:24]
Boost Mobile / T-Mobile Ad Voices
He's talking to you britches.
- [18:25]
Scott Wheeler
I'm not.
- [18:27]
Mrs. Claus / Elf Voice
Of course he did.
- [18:28]
Scott Wheeler
Right Santa, you know my elf Drew Ski here. He handles the nice list.
- [18:32]
Boost Mobile / T-Mobile Ad Voices
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- [18:42]
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- [18:53]
Scott Wheeler
Nice.
- [18:54]
Boost Mobile / T-Mobile Ad Voices
My side of the tree is slipping.
- [18:55]
Scott Wheeler
Kimber the holidays are better. AT T Mobile switch in just 15 minutes and get iPhone 17 on us with no trade in needed. And now T Mobile is available in US cellular stores with three full monthly.
- [19:07]
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