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- [00:00]
Max Bultman
Thy ticket, Lady Jennifer of Coolidge. Well, many thanks good sir. Here is my Discover card.
- [00:09]
Farnoosh Torabi
They accept Discover at Renaissance fairs.
- [00:11]
Max Bultman
Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times. With the times. You're playing the loot.
- [00:22]
Mark Lazarus
Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right?
- [00:23]
Max Bultman
Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report. Everyone deserves to be Conn T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Our networks are coming together bringing more T Mobile coverage all over the country. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com Switch and now T Mobile is available in a US cellular store near you bigger network. The combination of T Mobile and US Cellular's network footprints will enhance the T Mobile network's coverage savings versus comparable Verizon plans plus the costs of options, benefits, plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third free line free via monthly build credits credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required.
- [01:00]
Schwab Advertiser
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- [01:45]
Mark Lazarus
This is the athletic hockey show.
- [02:00]
Max Bultman
Hey everybody, Max Boltman here alongside Mark Lazarus for another episode of the Athletic Hockey Show. Fun show on tap. Today we're going to talk about what is at stake and which teams have the most at stake on this NHL playoff race. Aaron Porceline is going to join us shortly to talk about the Columbus Blue Jackets who have been one of the best stories in hockey since the Olympic break and even actually before that. But first as I want to get to kind of the news of the night here as we record this Sunday evening and that's the AJ Greer suspension. It is a three gamer for the Florida Panthers forward after the boarding hit on Connor Zeri and it's kind of the second. You kind of have to view this in tandem I think with the Matthews suspension from last week. The Radko good is hit on him that gets five games because of that one Department of player safety, I think, and because of the high profile nature of Austin Matthews, the department of player safety was under more spotlight, more scrutiny than even it normally is. It's kind of a constant conversation that we have year round in the NHL and I think the Greer one is going to be another lightning rod in this.
- [02:59]
Mark Lazarus
I hate that we have to qualify everything, right? Oh, it's a bigger deal because it's a star player. It's a bigger deal because a player got hurt. It's a bigger deal because it's a playoff game. Is it a dirty hit? Is it something we're trying to get out of the game? And whether it's the goodest hit on Matthews, which was a dirty hit that we want out of the game, whether it's Greer on Zary, which was a dirty hit we want to get out of the game, whether it's one of any number of Matt Rempe hits in the last couple of years or Jacob Trub or any of these headshots. Do we want to get it out of the game? And if we want to get it out of the game, it's got to be better than this. It can't just be three games, four games, five games, two games, phone hearings, all this nonsense. Nothing is going to change with the kind of punishments they're doling out. And the Greer suspension is, is absolutely laughable. Laughable. That was such a violent and dangerous hit and to get only three regular season games for that. I don't know what we're doing here.
- [03:53]
Max Bultman
All right, so a couple of things there. So the first one is the hit itself and the hit is a bad head. It's one of the more dangerous hits you can make in hockey is it's actually in a lot of cases more dangerous to hit someone at that distance from the boards. And really this wasn't necessarily even a hit, it's more of a shovel. But he shoves him down far enough away from the boards that he is going to run basically head first into the boards with the stumble. And that's, I think, where the fear comes in here. And then that's the reaction that you're having, right, is that this is a head and neck, you know, super risk for a, for a play like this. I think the issue with the suspension length is always comes back to precedent. And you look at like, okay, if we wanted a higher number of games here, you would have to find precedent, I think, to why deliver that?
- [04:43]
Mark Lazarus
Why? The precedent is the whole Justice. The precedent. The precedent is not sufficient. It's failed us for years. Why? Just because they screwed up three years ago and they screwed up two years ago and they screwed up yesterday, do we have to screw up today?
- [04:59]
Max Bultman
Because you are going to get an appeal. You are going to at some point go before a judge and you are going to be asked why, why you're drawing the line here. I guess you could raise like the minimums for certain suspensions. But the issue that I think is going to keep coming up here and it's going to be, it's the defining issue with trying to get higher suspensions is in order to do that, someone's going to have to file a grievance. You're going to have to fight for it. Who would file that grievance less?
- [05:26]
Mark Lazarus
I don't know. But part of the problem with this is the. No, there's an answer is protecting both.
- [05:31]
Max Bultman
That's the answer. So the, the body that is responsible for trying to pursue that is the same body that represents Greer. And at some point, whenever there's a guy injured, we take the, you know, the sympathetic look, I think for good reason and be like, hey, you know, someone has to stand up for this guy. But who's going to file that grievance on the players and say, hey, we want all these, all of our guys to, to get five games, 10 games, to lose 20% of their salary, to lose whatever it might be sitting out these games because of this hit. I don't think that's ever going to happen.
- [06:03]
Mark Lazarus
Well, no, and that's the problem is the union is representing both the victim and the perpetrator here. Right. It's a, it's a flawed system. And I know the union has to represent all of its members. Everyone who plays in the hockey game is a member of that union. If, you know, if I was at work and I got decked by somebody who was in my union, it would be complicated and weird. I understand that, but we have to figure out a way to better legislate this, to, to be more consistent, to be more severe and to actually get this stuff out of the game because this just keeps happening because the punishments are so weak and pathetic.
- [06:35]
Max Bultman
Well, that's, I think, like, what I wanted to talk about is I think that you can make an argument they should be more severe. I don't think it's going to happen at a dramatic scale. Maybe you could go get this from three games to five or six. I don't think it's ever going to be a 10. Right. Unless it's like a consistent repeat thing, which, which is a factor a little bit for Greer. He's a, he is considered a repeat offender here, but it's not on the level of like a Gudis or even like a Matt Rempe, who I think we're going to talk about in a second here. The consistency, I think can be missed. I think that's one of the most common complaints is that it's completely, wildly inconsistent. But I went and looked for, I just searched, you know, NHL boarding suspension and the plays that came up. You know, there's a couple recent ones. Right. So there's Mo Ranan, you know, with, with what we talked about earlier this year, he had the consecutive boarding penalties and so his was, I think a mandatory suspension for that reason because he had con boarding penalties in consecutive games. Obviously this hit I, I would consider worse than either of the two random hits against Alex Romanov or I'm spacing on who the second one was against that he actually got the suspension for Matt Coronado. So also against the Flames here, There was the J.J. moser one and that was two games and that was against the Florida Panthers here. And I think that's interesting because to me the Moser hit is a more violent hit. It's probably not a more dangerous hit, but it is like head right into the dasher, pressure applied. It's. Fortunately, this is the instance where we
- [07:55]
Mark Lazarus
talk about swung his arms like it looks. It looks worse.
- [07:59]
Max Bultman
Yeah, it looks worse. Yeah. It's probably not as dangerous because the board in some way is actually bracing and he's not going to crumple his neck in that way, but it looks worse. And that got two games. If you go much beyond that with the Florida Panthers, they're going to go to you and say, how did our guy only get the protection of two games? And you're going to give it against our guy for 4, 5, 6, 7, double, triple the suspension length. So they gave him more probably because Greer is a repeat offender. But both of those two recent examples tell me that this actually is. We can have the debate about severity, but it is consistent.
- [08:33]
Mark Lazarus
No, no. I always laugh when people say that it's not consistent because it is because they always underdo it. They never give out an adequate suspension. You know, the one that I thought about was Evander Kane on Nazem Kadri in the play playoffs a few years ago in Edmonton. It was kind of that same thing where there was distance from the boards.
- [08:48]
Max Bultman
Yeah.
- [08:48]
Mark Lazarus
When you hit a guy in the back, four or five feet from the boards. That's where the neck injury comes into play. That's where the really scary, if you get smeared into the, into the, into the glass, that's not fun. Nobody's looking for that. But it's not as dangerous really. You can still get a concussion, it's certainly dangerous. But the neck injuries that can happen when you get flung into the board from distance is so much worse. So that Evander Kane hit on Kadri and Kane got one game. Now, we all know the rules. One playoff game is two regular season games.
- [09:16]
Aaron Portsline
Yeah.
- [09:16]
Mark Lazarus
Still not enough, right? It's still just two games. And again, just because it was bad last time doesn't make it good, doesn't make it right to be bad again. Two wrongs don't make a right at some point. And maybe this comes with a change of leadership at the department of player safety at some point, but we need to change the scale here. We need to drop the hammer on some of these guys if we ever want to get this stuff out of the game. The penalties are just not severe enough.
- [09:40]
Max Bultman
Do you think that Greer, in that moment, like he's, he's not really battling for it. And I think that's the most damning thing is this is not even the goodest one. You can make an argument that he's scrambling to just try to get any piece of Matthews. And I think you still need to be accountable and responsible for your, your body and your hits. This one is not a scrambly play like Greer has the time to gather himself here. He's kind of been holding or hooking him on the way in and Zeri breaks free and then he gives him the shove. I don't know that I fully expected, if I was A.J. greer, I don't know that I would be fully expecting it to be as bad as it was. But I think it's a case where you're accountable for your body and for your, your hits.
- [10:20]
Mark Lazarus
Right. And it was, it was a violent hit. It didn't have the, the arm pendulum swing that we were talking about with, with the Mosier hit, but it was a violent two handed shove. And when you violently shove a guy who's bent over at the waist on ice skates, on a sheet of ice, what do we think is going to happen there?
- [10:38]
Max Bultman
But the thing is, no way he
- [10:39]
Mark Lazarus
didn't think that guy was going down.
- [10:41]
Max Bultman
That play away from a corner you see five, six times a game. And I think that's like constantly what I think about When I look at DPS decisions, is that like, you know, one of the. One of the things that drives people crazy is the cross check, right? And there can be some brutal cross checks in front of the net that do not get called. And so then when you see one and you're like, well, how is that not more? It's because there is some element of hockey play to some of these moves, Even if it doesn't look like it, even if it's kind of like inconceivably like, no, he's not going for the puck. He's just shoving this guy down. We let defensemen shove guys down. And the issue is where it was on the ice. But if this occurred at center ice, this is not a suspension of any kind. It's a suspension because it's boarding, because it's near the boards. And I think that's like, once you kind of establish that we're in a framework here of like, this is a problem if it's a little light. It's probably should have been a four or five gamer. But I think the conversation shifts a little bit when we're talking about, okay, it should have been one or two games longer. Instead of, this is a. They're allowing this horrible thing that they would never otherwise allow. They actually do allow it elsewhere on the ice.
- [11:41]
Mark Lazarus
They do. That's true. And the funny thing is they actually initially called this interference. That's what the penalty was. The puck was right there. It was not interference. Like, he was playing the puck and Greer was playing the body while Zeri was playing the puck. That's allowed. It's the manner in which he approached playing the body that is, you know, you hit a guy directly in the numbers, basically lower back, and just shove him to the ice like that, right near the boards. I don't know. Five games. I would have been more. I would have been happier with that than I am with three. But to me, that's seven, eight, nine games. The only way we're going to see a change, the only way you're going to actually affect change and change the way these guys think on the ice. And we do need them thinking. I know it's an instinctive sport, but you have to think, think in these moments, I am near the boards. He is bent over at the waist. This is a dangerous hit. And the only way to do that is to really knock him down for an eighth of the season, a tenth of the season. Take that money away from them, take those playoff race games away from them. That's the only way that's going to get these guys to change their mindset because three games is nothing. It's a drop in the bucket.
- [12:40]
Max Bultman
It might be the case. I mean, you might be right, that that is the line that, where it would become, you know, thoroughly enough disincentivized. I just, I struggle to see them going that far when it would be a doubling or a tripling of all the past precedent. And when you think about the money at stake, and that's obviously the disincentive. I fully agree. But the, the body that I think is, is the most likely to address this is the body that you said represents both sides. And that's why I don't think we will see like it get dramatically larger than this.
- [13:12]
Mark Lazarus
I mean, maybe this is something that needs to be negotiated into the next CBA. Because I think about, you know, 20, 30 years ago, used to have bench clearing brawls all the time. Guys would leap over the boards and get involved in these line brawls and there'd be 10, 20 guys out there.
- [13:24]
Max Bultman
Yeah.
- [13:24]
Mark Lazarus
Then they changed the rules. It's a 10 game suspension for leaving the bench now and it's five games for your coach if you leave the bench. It is a massive, ridiculously over the top penalty to get involved in what happens, you know, ten times a night. But it changed the way people think it worked. If you get dramatic with this, you can, we can get headshots out of the game to like 90% degree if you just make it 20 goddamn games. If you hit a guy in the head, that's the only way you do it. And this league is never going to do it and the union's never going to go for it. And I understand all that, but that doesn't make what they're doing right and it doesn't make it sufficient.
- [14:00]
Max Bultman
It's a very good point that, you know, there are examples of this that things used to happen and a, you know, significant enough, severe enough punishment was established to deter it completely. I mean, this is maybe a little different than that. I think there's a little more pre, I don't know, decision to decide to jump off of the bench. Like you're a little more, you're in a seated position, you're not premeditated. That's the word I was looking for. But I look, this is a bad hit. Like I think it should have been another game or two that more than it was. And this is like, I think one of the more dangerous plays in hockey. I, when I see a guy go down Two feet from the boards you cringe every single time because you just don't know what's going to happen when the head hits and if the neck, you know, is in a vulnerable position. It's one of the scariest plays in hockey.
- [14:45]
Mark Lazarus
Yeah, yeah. And we need to start legislating the hit, not the result of the hit. It's got to be the intention and the act. It can't just be oh this guy wasn't hurt so we don't need to suspend this guy. That's nonsense.
- [14:55]
Max Bultman
Oh for sure. I mean you can get hurt and it goes the other way too. You can get hurt on a play that wasn't a penalty at all and we're not going to be suspending guys for that. And so likewise, certainly you can't be saying oh well he, because he didn't get hurt, we're going to let him get away with it. No, because the next guy might get hurt. I mean the Rantman sequence earlier this year, like he gets nothing for the first one on Romanov. I thought he should have got a game for that. The mandatory one only came because it was two boarding pounds. We don't know if he would have gotten a penalty on the Coronado hit at all if it wasn't a mandated thing for the two consecutive games with a major penalty for boarding. So you might have, Matt Coronado might have avoided that play had they suspended. I mean would have avoided that play had they suspended Miko Ran and for the Romanov hit. So I just wanted to say Zeri's day to day. So it to your point, like this one, he was not injured and we don't know if that factored in.
- [15:46]
Mark Lazarus
And you brought a Matt Rempe. He had the eight game suspension for his hit on Miro Heiskinen and now that was, that wasn't that. I think that was a reputational suspension. Right. Because that hit wasn't so bad. That was a close up hit. Like when you hit a guy against the boards and he's already basically against the boards, you're not doing a lot of damage. Rempe is massive but it wasn't violent. He didn't swing his arms, it wasn't a two handed shove. He just used his gigantic body to smush Miro Heiskin in against the boards and he got eight games for it just because he was Matt Rempe.
- [16:17]
Max Bultman
The other part of that was they, they ruled that it was both boarding and elbowing. So I assume that went into it too that it was like you violated this on every level. But I agree. I thought, I thought the Rempe on Heiskin was less dangerous than Greer on Anzeri. And so that one, I think it's a reputation. And you know what, to your point, again, they gave him eight games. We don't hear a whole lot about Matt Remy suspensions anymore and it haven't really since. So I, I think you have a point. I'm just trying to, you know, kind of say why I think it historically has not gone that way and why I, I think it is more consistent than we give credit for sometimes.
- [16:48]
Mark Lazarus
I, I agree with you. It will not change because this is the NHL. I'm just saying it should.
- [16:51]
Max Bultman
Yeah. All right, let's take a quick break right there. When we get back, we'll have a, a happier conversation. I think about one of the most exciting things, hockey teams the last two months. We're doing it at an interesting time. I will Grant, but Aaron Portsline will be with us when we get back from the break to talk about the Columbus Blue Jackets. Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter?
- [17:14]
Farnoosh Torabi
Right? And the best part, they accept Discover.
- [17:17]
Max Bultman
Except Discover in a little place like this?
- [17:19]
Mark Lazarus
I don't think so, Jennifer.
- [17:21]
Farnoosh Torabi
Oh yeah, huh.
- [17:22]
Max Bultman
Discover is accepted where I like to shop. Come on baby, get with the times. Right. So we shouldn't get the parachute pants.
- [17:30]
Mark Lazarus
These are making a comeback, I think.
- [17:34]
Max Bultman
Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.
- [17:41]
Farnoosh Torabi
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- [18:31]
Schwab Advertiser
with Schwab is like spending a Saturday at a great farmer's market. You can fill your reusable tote with a bit of everything. Maybe you go for some free range self directed investing. Or perhaps you pick up A few farm fresh trades while you peruse. You can even get help from a dedicated advisor. That's full service wealth management. Mix, match and change your mind whenever you want. Because at Schwab you can invest your way no matter your goals or appetite for investing, Schwab has everything you need all in one place. Visit schwab.com to learn more.
- [19:07]
Max Bultman
All right, we are back and I feel a little bad. Laz, I think we're going to jinx or we did jinx the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight because we knew we wanted to have Aaron Portsline on to talk about the Blue Jackets. They've been the hottest team west of Buffalo for the last two months and as soon as we booked 40 we I see you there party as soon as we booked it. Of course. The Blue Jackets get shut out by the New York Islanders tonight, but they are still in a playoff spot. They have still been Red Hot 40. The biggest reason is Rick Bonus, right?
- [19:38]
Aaron Portsline
Rick Bonus has to be came in January 12th. They were 19, 9 and 7 and they've been on a tear since then. I've got the 18 with. With tonight, 18, 3 and 4 under bonus in his time here. So I mean barely two months and. And they've turned it around. Yeah, it's all over the place. It. It started with communication. It started with him demanding more engaged defensive play, which is the sexy answer. But that's resulted in more offense and life is better for the goalies. Elvis, Mars, Leakins, even his steady but jet Greaves looks like a star now. And yeah, it's just this team is kind of playing how they thought they could play. And you know, GM Domino made the change. It's. It's a, it's a bold move in the middle of the season, but he doesn't make that change if he doesn't think that this team should have been performing better than they were. And I thought it was a little early. I thought maybe it would wait till the Olympic break. But he didn't think it could because he thought this thing would be a lost cause if they waited much longer. Turns out he was right.
- [20:54]
Mark Lazarus
It's really crazy. I mean, on January 10th, Columbus was dead last in the conference. They were behind the Rangers. They were what, nine points out? They had by far the least amount of regulation wins in the conference. They had no chance of making the playoffs. And here they are showing you actually can make up ground in the NHL even with the loser point out that you just have to win every single night. How does Rick Bonus. How does one guy come in and I was, I was looking at some of the numbers in those 24, 25 games, whatever it's been since Bonus has come in, you got 10 guys with at least four goals. You got six guys with at least six goals. I know Carl Connor Garland is not going to shoot 30% forever. But how does a coach get this much offense out of a team? We see Barry Trots come in and make a team defensively sound. How does a guy come in and make a team offensively? Dangerous.
- [21:37]
Aaron Portsline
Yeah. Well, strangely enough, by making them better defensively. They have the puck now, they work harder to get the puck. They check. Now I sound like Ken freaking Hitchcock here. Actually, actually, Rick Bonus sounds like Ken Hitchcock a lot. If you just look at the transcript, if you listen to how he says it, it's much more congenial. It's much more. It said with the. He has like this default smile, you know what I mean? And I think guys like Marchenko and Fantilli certainly is a guy that's really upped his play defensively. There are others. Look, this team finished seventh in the league in scoring last year. They scored as many goals as the Maple Leafs did, and that got missed a lot because they missed the playoffs. There's some offensive talent here. Warrensky, marchenko, Fantilli had 31 goals last year as a 20 year old. There's some firepower here, but they were, they were playing without the puck so much, they were gagging up leads in the third period at an alarming rate. There's probably 10 plus points that they've left out there by blowing leads in the third period. So confidence was absolutely an issue. And Bonus doesn't say, we're going to try to do this. We don't. There's no real problem. It's just bad bounces and this and that, which is what they heard before. And what Rick Bonus says is, we know what the problem is, this is what the problem is, and we're going to fix it. And again, that's the same kind of stuff that Tortorello would say, Hitchcock would say, the coaches who've had the most success here, Bones delivers it in a much more appealing way, especially to today's players. But it's essentially the same message. You check to create offense, you defend, you work hard to get the puck back. You can't just rely on your skill. The National Hockey League, and I think they've taken that message to heart.
- [23:34]
Max Bultman
I want to go back to Greaves because to me, he's one of the big stories here. Three or four years ago. Elvis Mers Leakins was the rising great hope of the Columbus Blue Jackets post Bobrovsky. And it didn't stay that way. And that was my biggest fear about the Blue Jackets direction was like, this was supposed to be the answer and goal and it wasn't materializing. Greaves had a storied AHL career, but like, when did it start to turn to this level where he's been a bankable, like every night starter in the NHL?
- [24:01]
Aaron Portsline
You know, it's so great about Greaves and I hope I don't go on too much with this because it's one of my favorite topics. He came to rookie camp in Traverse City, Max. You're probably there as an invite. Wasn't drafted, played, played well. Okay, kid, we'll keep your name. You know how the rookie tournaments are.
- [24:19]
Max Bultman
Yep.
- [24:20]
Aaron Portsline
They signed him the next year when he was still in junior with numbers that frankly weren't that great. Entry level deal. Invited to the rookie camp there was really, and I don't. I would say this to Jed, I think he would probably agree that at the time there was no expectation that this was going to be a National Hockey League goalie. And then it was the East Coast League. And they put that before him and he, he devoured it. They brought him to the ahl. He's only going to be a backup in the ahl. This is who he is. He devoured that and just kept pushing for more and more and more. And every little thing they've put in front of him, he's not only met, but exceeded. And one of the things with the struggling franchise, a franchise that's in a tough spot, is they either don't wait or they can't wait long on players that are having the least little bit of success. And if Jet Grieves were a draft pick, a first, second round, third, whatever, he was a player that they had high expectations for. There's no way he would have developed and been able to develop and allowed to develop as long as he did in the American Hockey League. So their own, I think their own sort of skepticism or doubt towards who this player could be, in a weird way helped them develop him the right way by just letting him play in the American Hockey League. I mean, you would hear it, people would say we're not, I mean, maybe we call him up for a spot start, but that's, that's not the answer. Right. And then you go back to, to Cleveland and win eight in a row and with three shutouts and he's a beloved player in Cleveland. He's a beloved player here. He's a wonderful person. He's the kind of guy that people root for in the dressing room, and we've seen that already. He's a great story. He's a great story. His dad's a firefighter. His dad played goalie, plays goalie in a men's league and it's. Yeah, it's. It's great. He's really grabbed things and run with them. Not a rookie, or he'd be really, I think, challenging Schaefer for rookie of the year with his numbers, but he's played too many games previously to count as a rookie.
- [26:31]
Max Bultman
It's the small goalie effect, right? I mean, like, none of us want to believe in these 60 goalies. And now you got Alex. I don't think it's quite. Quite as small, but like another guy just. He was in the AHL forever and now he finally gets the Runway in Buffalo and he's leading the way. It's. It's pretty incredible.
- [26:46]
Aaron Portsline
How big's Bussy?
- [26:47]
Max Bultman
Let me look.
- [26:48]
Aaron Portsline
Is he six one?
- [26:49]
Max Bultman
Brandon Bussy is. They list him at six four. I think that's generous.
- [26:54]
Aaron Portsline
Really? That's really generous.
- [26:55]
Max Bultman
Might be six two.
- [26:57]
Aaron Portsline
Yeah. Okay.
- [26:58]
Mark Lazarus
Columbus has to lead the league in likable goalies between him and the Mers Leakins. I mean, what a tandem that is to work with as a beat writer.
- [27:06]
Aaron Portsline
Wow, Elvis. Yeah, we have had some doozies, that's for sure.
- [27:11]
Mark Lazarus
He was my favorite guy to talk to at the Olympics. I went to him like four different times for stories that had nothing to do with him. I just wanted to talk to Elvis. Mers Liekins, he was fantastic.
- [27:20]
Aaron Portsline
Right?
- [27:20]
Mark Lazarus
But tell me about Charlie Coyle. He had this incredible gold binge right when Bonus was hired and came in. But his defense, I mean, he's. He is maybe the leading Selkie trophy candidate right now. Since Bonus has been in running things, he's only been on the ice for 11 goals against at 5 on 5. I mean, his defensive numbers are terrific. He's really owned that third line center spot. What has he meant to this team this year? What void did he fill?
- [27:47]
Aaron Portsline
Yeah, well, that's going to be the Monday. The Monday gathering Lead is the players on this team deserve awards. And Charlie Coyle, I think does deserve the Selkie, or at least lengthy consideration for it. He. First of all, he is such a. I've always thought this before he played here, one of the most underrated players in the game. Every team he's on, he's Never missed the playoffs and that tells me something. He's never missed the playoffs in 14 years. He is a luxury as a third line center. And one of the things that that probably isn't appreciated enough in Columbus is that this organization for 25 years has never had enough depth at center. They've never had high quality centers. Usually it's at the top. Sometimes they have a decent one or two center. But that has been a weakness forever. And now to have Fantilli emerge. Monahan, Charlie Coyle, Boone Jenner is the fourth line center on this team. He was the first line center two years ago. Like that's how much things have changed here. Charlie Coyle, I think there could be a revolt in that dressing room if he is not resigned. And ownership was very care. Ownership GM Don Waddell was very careful. He didn't even really get into contract talks with those players. It's him, it's Jenner, it's Marchman. He didn't want to upset the apple cart. He didn't want to sign one guy and not the other. But Charlie Coyle has centered a line with cylinder with Olivier. That is the third line but they use it. It's become a scoring line a lot of nights, mostly because of Coyle. But Olivier's got 14 goals again, it checks, it can defend, it can possess the puck and Charlie Coyle is just a really smart guy. The power play numbers since January 6, it's one of the top 10 power plays in the league. And what happened on January 6? Not that January 6, this January 6 is Charlie Boyle came in and joined the Blue Jackets first playoff unit. And just having him in the middle, the right shot, they wanted him because of his presence, his leadership, all of those great things. They also wanted a right shot to take face offs and they finally figured out to put his right shot on the power play and it's really opened things up and that unit has been dangerous. I think better than its numbers would suggest. But it's still a top 10 unit in the NHL since that, that January 6th coil inclusion if you will.
- [30:24]
Max Bultman
Yeah. All right. I want to go to Zach Warrenski here because he had such an outstanding year last year. He, he made my heart ballot. He was runner up for the Norris and all he's done this year is get himself on pace to surpass those. And I, I'm thinking very strongly about him at the very top of my Norris ballot this time around. I get a little bit of your take on Marinsky season and you know he, you don't Often hit a new level up at this point in a career. Usually that happens at like 24.
- [30:49]
Aaron Portsline
Yeah, can I read my. My Monday gathering for you, please? You know, so I think there's a couple of things here. I think there's a few reasons why I think he may have a better shot at the Norris this year. I think there are more people that. That more people are going to vote for. I don't think it's just Makar this time around. Like, I think Schaefer's going to take some votes. I think Hudson's going to take some vote. Montreal is going to vote for Hudson, right? I think there's going to be some votes for. For Schaefer.
- [31:25]
Max Bultman
Quinn Hughes.
- [31:26]
Aaron Portsline
Quinn Hughes for sure is going to get some votes, especially the way. And he should. The way that the Minnesota's turned around. I think Warrenski, I think with these awards, and we've seen it before, you have to have a great season to get yourself in the conversation first. And when you're in the conversation, sometimes you stay in the conversation longer than you deserve to. But you got to get into that conversation first. And I think last season got Warinski into that conversation and now people are paying attention to him. The other thing I think is going to be really big is everybody has seen that golden goal by Jack Hughes. Everybody saw the play that Werenski made out battling Nathan freaking McKinnon. That is a hell of a play. Like, Hughes gets the credit because he scored the golden goal, of course. But watch the. You've seen it a million times. I'm sure the play that Warinski makes to get the puck from McKinnon to pass the puck basically right at McDavid's feet, I think. And I double IHF play is not supposed to impact the Norris, but damn it, people saw that, right? And it burns in people's mind. I think he's going to. I'm not sure he wins it again this year. I'm not sure there's a better candidate this year. And last year it was hard to look at Cale Macar's goals and not be blinded by those goals because it's a stunning number. He's right there with everybody now. Points, goals, leads the way or second maybe in ice time. So he's got a hell of a resume and I think he's really put himself in the back of people's minds, maybe in the front of people's minds now.
- [33:06]
Mark Lazarus
I think you nailed it. The Norris, more than any other award, is a narrative award, right? It's always Whose turn is it? It always feels like that's what we're doing. And not only is it Warrensky's turn, but he also deserves it. And that's the perfect storm for how you win your first Norris. And then once you win your first Norris, you're in the Norris conversation until you retire, basically.
- [33:23]
Aaron Portsline
Right?
- [33:24]
Mark Lazarus
So I think, I think that, I think you're right. This is going to be his year. Let me ask you about, I mean not, not to again spoil your story, but Rick Bonus, can he win coach of the year having only coached like 30 some odd games?
- [33:36]
Aaron Portsline
So little research on this today. There have been three coaches who have come on mid season and have won the Jack Adam, not mid season. In the season that are won the Jack Adams. It's rare, but it has happened. No one's come along as late as he did. I think one thing that will really help Bonus is I have yet to meet anybody who does not like Rick Bonus. He's worked for a ton of teams. These are broadcasters who vote on this, right? Remember, remember that. Don't blame the, the, the writers on this one, but broadcasters love Bonus. He was one, he worked at TNT before he got back in into the coaching biz here. I think that that helps him. But I also think Warrenski, I think Coyle and I think Bonus. All of it obviously depends. They have to make the playoffs. That carries so much weight with voters. None of it happens. I don't think any of them win. Any of them if they don't win, if they don't get into the playoffs. But if they do get into the playoffs, I think people will, will, will consider all of them. I think Bonus absolutely deserves it. But there are lots of candidates out there this year too.
- [34:50]
Max Bultman
It's interesting because like we're going to have a similar conversation about Buffalo and executive of the year and does Jarmo get it for basically everything that was done by Kevin Adams. This is at least different because it's bonuses. You can clearly see the Bonus impact there. But the answer to any problem in the NHL seems to be fire somewhere. Yes, that's been a, that's been a punchline. Like the answer to everything is just go fire someone right now. It actually is the answer to everything,
- [35:13]
Aaron Portsline
isn't it funny too how like you hear players say all the time like coaches can only do so much.
- [35:18]
Max Bultman
I say that and it's like I've just been proven completely McClellan in my market, right? Similar deal. I was very coaching agnostic and now it's like, well, I see It. Every day. And it's happening in Columbus.
- [35:28]
Aaron Portsline
Yeah, Yeah. I remember Hitch taking over here, and the first day they practice, Rick Nash on the penalty kill, and we're all like, this guy's crazy. Like, Rick Nash killing penalties, that just. That's not a thing. It cannot be a thing. And he turned out to be one of the best penalty killers in the NHL in his career. Completely changed his game. Yeah, coaches matter. John Tortorella, same thing. Oh, my God, this guy's a lunatic. And within, like, two weeks, the players in the room absolutely loved him. Now, there are times they wanted to murder them, but they loved him, and they played their asses off for him. Let me just. They made the playoffs four years in a row under torts, which this organization's never done.
- [36:14]
Mark Lazarus
What.
- [36:14]
Max Bultman
What they. What they. Where they differ in kind of demeanor. Bonus and Tortorella, they. They re diverge or reconverge on experience. They've both just seen a lot. And I think that's the secret sauce to all of this, is when you've seen every kind of situation, you know
- [36:28]
Aaron Portsline
what buttons to push and. And like, bonus to 71. And, like, you know what? Hell with that dude. 71. He looks like he's about 54. He kind of looks like Lou Graham a little bit from Foreigner, too. He's got that 70s boat. Like, tell me he's not yacht rock on his boat, right? I'm.
- [36:48]
Max Bultman
I'm expecting that story sometime around August from you.
- [36:51]
Aaron Portsline
So I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go to ride the boat with him. This. I hate water.
- [36:54]
Mark Lazarus
He was a head coach in the NHL in the 1980s. Yeah, the 1980s. He has seen, like, five different NHLs.
- [37:04]
Aaron Portsline
Do you know why he got fired for Boston? Because he was told he talked to the players too much directly. That's how long ago it was that he was the coach. You're supposed to fear your coach, not verse with them.
- [37:20]
Max Bultman
Unbelievable. That's so good. All right, we better let Porty get out of here so we can go keep covering. The hottest team in the NHL, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Thank you so much for doing this with us. Party. Before we do, I just wanted to give our thoughts and condolences to the family of Jesse Pierce. And that's. That is a tragic story and a beautiful story on our site today by Mike Russo and Joe Smith that we would highly encourage everyone to. To check out. Yeah, our thoughts are with them. It's that time of year again for taxes. We all know the stress of the old way of filing you send your documents off and then absolute radio silence. You're stuck refreshing your inbox and sending awkward just checking in texts, wondering if they've even started. But with TurboTax Expert full service I know my TurboTax Expert takes taxes fully off my plate and updates me every step of the way so I don't have to worry. That way I can get back to the things that matter matter to me. Like going on vacation in the spring or enjoying the NFL off season. So stop chasing updates. It's time to switch to the modern tax filing Solution with Intuit TurboTax. The best part? You can get experts progress right on your phone while you go about your day. So go for a run or grab a coffee. You'll know your dedicated expert is handling it, looking for every last deduction to get you the best possible outcome and every dollar you deserve the file with confidence. Visit TurboTax.com, only available with TurboTax Full Service Experts Real time updates only in iOS mobile app hey, this is Adam Grant, host of Ted's podcast Rethinking with Adam Grant. Let me share with you why smart finance leaders turn to Bill. They know that clarity isn't just helpful, it's strategic. As the intelligent finance platform, Bill uses AI to automate the busy work for nearly half a million businesses so they can focus on intentional growth, eliminate the friction and start scaling with the proven choice. Visit bill.compenven to talk with an expert about automating your business finances and get a $250 gift card as a thank you. That's bill.com proven terms and conditions apply. See Offer page for details.
- [39:22]
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- [39:58]
Max Bultman
All right, we are back. And Laz, before we head out today, I just wanted to talk about a really extrapolate on a story that we read on the Athletic over the weekend about what's at stake for some of these teams and some of them the answer is nothing. I thought that was very funny reading through them Today and see how many.
- [40:12]
Mark Lazarus
A lot of it was nothing.
- [40:13]
Max Bultman
How many markets were like, nah, there's no stakes here anymore. But there are some teams where those stakes are very high. And I'm in one of those markets, Laz, where in Detroit right now they officially fell out of a playoff spot when the Islanders moved back ahead of them with their win over the Blue Jackets just a few minutes ago. As we record this and I haven't really scrolled around to see how the fans of Detroit are taking it, but I know they are super well. I bet they are living and dying every period, let alone every game right now. So it is, it's high stakes hockey here as the Red Wings try to break a nine year playoff drop.
- [40:46]
Mark Lazarus
I mean the stakes across the league, there's a lot of teams, especially in that Eastern Conference, a lot of teams that are fighting to get in for the first time in a while. But honestly I went through that list and the one that stands out to me is the Florida Panthers, their top 10 pick. They have a, they traded a top 10 pick to the Blackhawks along with Spencer Knight to get Seth Jones last year and they're not going to regret that. They won the Stanley cup and Seth Jones played a big role, but that pick is top 10 protected and right now the Panthers are kind of right on that line. I think they're, right now they're at number nine, but they're neck and neck with like Seattle and San Jose, Louisiana, New Jersey, all these teams that could change that up. And if they can get a top 10 pick and hold on to it. This is a team that's expecting to get right back into the mix next year. Right. This is a team that, you know, we could look at the Brad Marchand contract and say, oh boy, I don't know about that one. But this is still a team with a bunch of guys signed in their primes to team friendly deals. Sasha Barkov comes back next year. Year. Matthew Tkachuk will be healthy after his first long summer in a while. This could still be a Stanley cup contender next year and Stanley cup contenders don't get to add top 10 picks. So in the terms of the long game here, I feel like the Florida Panthers mini tank and players don't tank. Organizations do. Players don't. I understand that this is a huge deal if you're a Florida Panthers fan right now to make sure you get to keep that pick because next year's might be the 28th pick.
- [42:01]
Max Bultman
So you're saying that the Florida Panthers actually would be okay. With a longer suspension for AJ Greer,
- [42:06]
Mark Lazarus
I'm not sure AJ Greer is the guy going to really make the difference in that, but yes.
- [42:10]
Max Bultman
Yeah. Now, it's interesting, too, because of the, the 10 range in this draft. Like, if you ask Scott and Corey about the, the tiering of their lists, you can go look. It's right around eight, nine.
- [42:19]
Mark Lazarus
Yeah.
- [42:20]
Max Bultman
You're getting a premium prospect if you're picking in. In that 8 to 10 range with the Panther, which the Panthers still have a chance of doing right now. And you're right. Like, that's, that's the only way to keep a dynasty like theirs, or I won't use the word a wagon like theirs rolling at a high level is to keep loading up. And they've traded away so many assets, there's almost no way for them to do it, barring something like this.
- [42:42]
Mark Lazarus
And imagine if you're Chicago, you're going to have a top five pick of your own. You might have two top ten picks in this draft, or you might have one, and then, like the number 27 pick next year. Like, this is a huge deal for two franchises, neither of which has any hope of making the playoffs.
- [42:57]
Max Bultman
It's very funny. Like, there's a player in this draft, Ethan Belches, and he's, he's a Florida Panther, if you've. If you've ever seen one. Right. He is a big, physical, skilled winger, plays for the Windsor Spitfires. And I just pulled up Tankathon to see where they sit. They sit right in line. The mock draft right now has them taking Ethan Belch's.
- [43:15]
Mark Lazarus
There you go.
- [43:15]
Max Bultman
The world will. Will explode. I think if, if this is the way it plays out. Imagine if they win the lottery and they get. Just get number one.
- [43:23]
Mark Lazarus
It's just. Anything could happen with the Florida Panthers. They are, they are charmed or cursed, depending on who you talk to.
- [43:30]
Max Bultman
Yeah, I think there's some other teams that I think have very high stakes, too, and maybe we could circle back to the Red Wings toward the end of this and flesh that out. But the Pittsburgh Penguins is one that, coming into the year, I certainly. I remember an early season episode that we did and we were talking with, with Rob Rossi about it and the Penguins, and I was very ready to just say, like, this season is pointless for them. They need to trade everybody. That might actually been a prospect series. I don't know if it was with Rob or not.
- [43:53]
Mark Lazarus
I probably were talking Gavin McKenna since, since the middle of the summer for the.
- [43:56]
Max Bultman
The Pittsburgh Penguins, and somehow here they are and not only that, like they're in line to potentially have home vice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Like this is a legitimately good team. I owe a mea culpa there, especially when they, what they were able to do without Sidney Crosby. I have been thoroughly impressed. I'm still not sure that at how long of a run that they can really go on, but it's very hard to continue questioning them at this point.
- [44:20]
Mark Lazarus
I think you should trade Sidney Crosby like you were planning to anyway. He's clearly not that important to the team.
- [44:24]
Max Bultman
There's, there's the takeaway from all this.
- [44:26]
Mark Lazarus
Don't, don't make that the social clip.
- [44:29]
Max Bultman
It's a. It, it would be a validation, I think, of how they've approached things that they're able to kind of start this rebuild without completely punting and tanking. I still think at some point they're going to have to pick really high and, and it's. You always have to pay the bill at some point. But as long as you're getting into the playoffs with Sidney Crosby without mortgaging the future, which they've done, they found a way to kind of get younger, better, more strategically positioned for the future and not sacrifice the present. I'm floored by what a good job Kyle Dubas has done.
- [44:59]
Mark Lazarus
Absolutely. I'm fascinated to see what the long term effect of this Penguin season and this Bruin season to a lesser extent, this Islander season, because they did luck into a number one overall pick. But does this end the era of just these tear downs that like Detroit had, like Buffalo had, like Edmonton had, like Chicago had, like San Jose had Anaheim to a degree. Does this end that because, oh man, we don't have to go through nine years of abject misery in order to get good again. I mean, it helps to have a core to build around. But like, I'm curious to see if this changes the way not just GMs think, but ownership thinks. Because owners are the ones who allow these GMs to tear everything down and give them these long leash. If I'm the owner, if I'm like Danny Wirtz in Chicago and I'm looking like, well, what the hell do they do over there? Why couldn't we have done that when we had Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strom? Why is this taking eight years when we could have just done that?
- [45:48]
Max Bultman
If that is the case, I don't know if that's going to be the case or not, but if that is the case, it's going to be fascinating for what it means for teams like the Chicago's in the next year or two. Like you know, all these teams that are now on the rise that have spent all this time stockpiling capital, expecting to be able to at some point trade either those prospects or their future picks for ready made players. There's no more free agency. You're not getting, you know, veteran help that way. You really have to rely on teams that are starting a tear down to get better and build up with veteran players. If teams kind of stop tanking, I am fascinated what that's going to mean for how teams like your Chicago's, like your San Joses, that are starting to come out of these rebuilds and how they approach it.
- [46:28]
Mark Lazarus
Absolutely 100%. Like the Blackhawks have made it clear that they're basically just doing this exclusively through the draft. Like they got 11 first round picks in four years. They've got two more coming potentially this year, two more the next year. But you know how many have to hit for you to actually be able to build a championship team without real free agency, without there being a Marion Jose you can add to supercharge your rebuild, Right? So like it's going to be really fascinating to see how this, this summer plays. This summer could be absolute chaos because there might be a lot of guys with term getting traded or absolutely nothing might happen. I'm fascinated to see how this will all play out.
- [47:02]
Max Bultman
I'm living it right now in Detroit. I mean they've tried to do that style of rebuild, right? And eventually, you know, they've gotten to a point now where, you know, they traded a first round pick for Alex DeBrincat a couple of years. Kind of a unique case like star player with the hometown ties. And they had a second first round pick that they traded. This year was the first time that they traded their own first round pick under Steve Eisenman and they traded it to St. Louis for Justin Falk. I like that move. I still think that's a good move. But they might miss the playoffs and that pick may be a lottery pick and it's probably going to be like the 15th or 16th pick, but it could still move up as high as five or six. And if they don't make the playoff, the only way that could happen is if they don't make the playoffs and you don't make the playoffs and you've traded your first round pick. I mean I talk about the high stakes. That is a really uncomfortable position because you find yourself just hoping that these guys are. These, these young players are going to click. I mean, I thought this would be the year Nate Danielson really clicked. He got some games, still spent a lot of the year in the ahl. Spent a lot of the year hurt. You don't know when it's going to happen for these guys, even the top 10 guys.
- [47:58]
Mark Lazarus
And it's tough too, because I look, I've been very critical of the ISER plan. I think it's been ridiculously long. And they were still, they were still trading guys for first round picks as recently as last year, I think. So I've been critical. But this is a good team that's going to have mid-90s points. If this team was in the Pacific Division, they're running away with the division and they're looking at them as a potential Final Four team. The east is so strange this year that the Red Wings could finish ninth and it could feel like a disaster, but it actually was the step forward that they needed and that everyone was waiting for to get to that tier. Because 95, 96, 97 points, that should get you into the playoffs. And this year in Eastern Conference, it might not. So it's. It's kind of like the Red Wings are doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing, but so are nine other teams. And it's really complicating the big picture, you know, analysis of what these teams are.
- [48:49]
Max Bultman
That's the frustration here.
- [48:50]
Mark Lazarus
Right.
- [48:50]
Max Bultman
And one of my preseason bold predictions this year was that they would finish with. I don't know If I said 92 or 93. I think I said 92 because that's a number that would have gotten them in in each of the last two years and that they would still miss this year. And I thought that that was possible because of the way that the east was kind of structured. There was no real heavyweights, but there was a lot of teams on the rise. I thought that it was possible they were going to have a number that would have gotten them in in the past and wouldn't get them in this year. I never in a million years would have thought that number could be 97 or 98 points, which looks entirely possible. I mean, they would be leading the Pacific Division right now, as would basically every team in the Atlantic, and. And yet they're not in a playoff spot. And I think that's going to make it a really complicated off season if they're not able to get it done. Because how do you assess that? Do you. They. They would have taken a step forward by like 12 or 13 points. They would have been a team that in years past would have been a divisional seed with that point total. And yet by definition they wouldn't be one of the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference. You know, I have no reason to think that Steve Yzerman's on like a hot seat. And so you talked about kind of the, the criticism of the ISER plan hot seat in that traditional sense, at least where it's like, right, you keep your job, but yet the public pressure, I think, is just going to keep until they get into the playoffs. The public pressure is going to just ratchet up and up and up. I see it every single day. I get, I've been getting tweets from fans for like eight years now. And I can tell you the temperature is as hot as it's been. It's, it's not quite, you know, at the level of like what the Toronto Maple Leafs were experiencing in the first round year after year. But the Red Wings fan base's reaction to the month of March and anytime something goes wrong in the month of March is significant and notable. And it's only going to get worse if it happens again this year.
- [50:27]
Mark Lazarus
Absolutely. In the Western Conference on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, teams that are just guaranteed to make the playoffs and had been making the playoffs. I think there's a lot of stake for Colorado and Dallas. To a lesser degree, Minnesota. I don't think Minnesota can win that division at this point. I think there's too much ground to make up. But Dallas, you know, Colorado was running away with this thing and Dallas got right up on their heels with that incredible. I think it was like 14 oh and one run they went on Dallas. If they can get out of that first round matchup with Minnesota and let Colorado worry about that, that is a huge deal for a team that has to win right now, that has been to the conference final three straight years but has not reached the Stanley Cup Final. If they can get that top seed and play some garbage team from the Pacific Division or whoever gets in as the, as the fifth place Central Division team, that is a huge advantage because that first round matchup between either Dallas or Minnesota or Colorado or Minnesota is going to be an absolute knockdown drag out war that's going to take a big chunk out of one of those teams. So getting out of second place in the Central and winning the Central Division, if Dallas can do that, that is a massive, massive deal. And it's just as massive for Colorado, which lost in the first round last year to Dallas to secure that first place bid and avoid that same pitfall themselves.
- [51:37]
Max Bultman
Totally. And those are the right two teams to identify there because those are both all in win now teams. And I think Dallas is a team like they're young enough. They have enough good young players that they'll still be around for a while.
- [51:47]
Mark Lazarus
But we don't know if Jason Robertson is coming back. This is their best chance this year right now.
- [51:52]
Max Bultman
I agree. And in Colorado, same deal. I mean, they were one of the best teams we've ever seen through the early part of this season. And certainly even a month ago, if you had told me they're not going to win their division, I would have been, I would have, you know, not even entertained the idea. Now it's at least in play and it's going to be fascinating down the stretch. You know, Minnesota, you're right, is kind of in the sweet spot here where they look, you know, completely on the rise. They're the team that Colorado and Dallas have to be worried about because if they keep Quinn Hughes and you're able to go forward with Caprizov, Hughes, Faber, Boldy, they're going to have to find a center at some point. We all know that. They have as good of a core in the league, I think, as anyone right now.
- [52:28]
Mark Lazarus
Yes, 100%. But that's also a fan base that has seen it. A first round loss like every year for the last millennium, it feels like. So they have all this excitement and they have a really great team. They have the third best team in the league if you ask me. They're better than any team in the east in my mind. If they go out and they lose to Dallas in five or six games or they lose to Colorado in five or six games, that's going to be crushing for a fan base that deserves better and wants more. Even though, yes, they are, they are better situated in the long run. I think we all think Quinn Hughes is kind of falling from Minnesota and is going to stick around long term. They are situated to be good for a long, long time, but man, it would be such a letdown, such a buzzkill if they can't get out of the first round again this year.
- [53:09]
Max Bultman
It would. And you know, we're going to go back to the Leafs, I guess, a little bit with this. But there was an element to that too in the Toronto saga where, you know, they were okay, clearly better in some of those series that they still lost. And it was, you know, the famous quote was like there was more respect in the handshake line. And that obviously is not a good quote to have out there. And yet I completely understood what it was because I respected them more after watching that series, too. And I could see something like that happening with Minnesota where I'm willing to write it off and say, oh, well, they're. This is not the same five or six game or seven game, even first round loss as what we've seen in the years past. And yet, you know, how, how much are people willing to tolerate it? My guess is Minnesotans will be a little more patient with it.
- [53:49]
Mark Lazarus
I don't know, man. I. That's a fan base I'm well acquainted with. Over the years, I, I covered three straight Blackhawks wins over them in 13, 14, and 15.
- [53:57]
Max Bultman
Well, they want to win. They want to win.
- [53:59]
Mark Lazarus
They're desperate for it. They need it. It's been there. It's such a great fan base. And they've had nothing to celebrate, basically the entire existence of this incarnation of the franchise. And it's funny because, like, you know, I'm an advocate for going to 116 seating to saying to punish the Pacific Division for what they are and to let more eastern teams. And this is a perfect example of what I've been harping on for years is you do have years like this. At the least go to 1 8. But, and I hate to say this, it kills me to say this, I sort of agree with Gary Bettman. The NHL first round, the Stanley cup playoffs first round is so far and away the best round of the Stanley cup playoffs. It's so much better than other playoffs, first rounds because of this kind of matchup that we get, because the series go longer, because it's unfair, it makes for better entertainment. The first round is so much fun. It's chaos. There's four games a night, there's all these great series. And then the second round is like, oh, God, we still got like six weeks left of this. This isn't that exciting. And then it ratchets up again in the conference final. The Stanley cup playoffs first round is the best round in all of sports, except for maybe the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. So Gary Bettman is not wrong. And oh my God, it's painful to say that when he says that this playoff system does what it wants to do, it accomplishes its goal.
- [55:13]
Max Bultman
Yeah, because the conference finals and the cup finals sell themselves. So all you got to avoid is what the NBA has, which is knowing that all your first round series are pretty much going five games, meaningless.
- [55:22]
Mark Lazarus
They're just, they're worth.
- [55:24]
Max Bultman
Yeah, but I go back to Minnesota, like, I'm not disputing that. They're desperate and I think they're. They deserve to be desperate. I think they're good enough that they can. I think they win the Stanley Cup.
- [55:32]
Mark Lazarus
They can win the Cup. Absolutely.
- [55:34]
Max Bultman
I think they can win the Stanley Cup. But I'm just saying, like, because of the positive momentum, I don't think it's quite the same stakes there as it is in the other places because I think everyone would agree that it's arrow up in Minnesota and that they should be here for some. A few years to come yet with. With more and more improving quality chances.
- [55:51]
Mark Lazarus
That's fair. How about Edmonton? Speaking of arrow up?
- [55:54]
Max Bultman
It depends. They have talked.
- [55:56]
Mark Lazarus
They have to make the playoffs.
- [55:58]
Max Bultman
It's true. I like, I thought about bringing them up earlier, but I was like, well, do they have that highest stakes in the regular season? But if we're talking about, you know, doubting whether they're going to make the playoffs and in fairness, like, they are five points up on the Nashville Predators right now. The Predators have a game in hand. It's a little hairy there. We've talked about them all year, though. In the light of just get in and then it's. It's McDavid and dry Seidle.
- [56:20]
Mark Lazarus
Sure.
- [56:20]
Max Bultman
The rest of it doesn't matter.
- [56:22]
Mark Lazarus
They gotta hold onto that lead without Leon. Dry Seidel too.
- [56:25]
Max Bultman
Yeah. And they should get Dry Seidle back for the playoffs at some point, at least in the playoffs. And you know, is it the end of days if the Edmonton Oilers go in and they have to have a really tough first round series? No, but I certainly wouldn't want the one against Colorado. Like, I think Connor McDavid can beat anybody.
- [56:43]
Mark Lazarus
But you are. You are in the Connor McDavid prove to me we can still win phase. These might be the most important years, most important two or three seasons in the history of the Edmonton Oilers short of the cup years.
- [56:55]
Max Bultman
Oh, I'm not saying that going out in the first round wouldn't be a disaster. I'm just saying, like, I still think they could win a series against anyone in the NHL because they have Connor McDavid. So I'm saying, like, if they all stuck with Colorado, that's still, it's, you know, you still have a chance in that series.
- [57:09]
Mark Lazarus
Yes. And in that Pacific Division, they can still make it to the, the conference final relatively easily.
- [57:13]
Max Bultman
Oh, yeah.
- [57:13]
Mark Lazarus
But they could also miss the playoffs and. Oh, my God, that would be quite a scene in Edmonton.
- [57:19]
Max Bultman
If they get a divisional seed, I'm going to expect them in the conference finals. Like as long as that they're as long as their path is through the Pacific and not through the Central, that's
- [57:26]
Mark Lazarus
going to be the case. Vegas is trash. Anaheim's not there yet. San Jose is not there yet. I mean, Edmonton's the only team in there you could have any faith in whatsoever.
- [57:34]
Max Bultman
Which is shocking to say after they made one of the worst trades of the NHL season. Somehow trading we, we asked for a goalie trade and the Genie had a cruel sense of humor on that one.
- [57:46]
Mark Lazarus
It was one of the monkey paws. Curling. Yeah.
- [57:49]
Max Bultman
100%. All right, let's, let's wrap there. Good show today. Thank you to Aaron Portsline for joining us on this one. You can Sean's will be with you on Wednesday, as well as Frankie Corrado. Don't want to leave him out there. We'll talk to you soon.
- [58:03]
Aaron Portsline
Foreign.
- [58:07]
Farnoosh Torabi
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Max Bultman
this is Pablo Torre from Pablo Torre finds out and today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile because we spend a lot of time analyzing inefficiencies in sports, overvalued contracts, money tied up in the wrong places, and so on. But those inefficiencies aren't just on a roster. Sometimes they're in your own monthly expenses. Boost Mobile says switching to their $25 Unlimited Forever plan can unlock up to $600 in savings a year. That's $25 a month for unlimited data, talk and text when you bring your own phone. If that money is trapped in a pricey phone bill, it might be worth a second look. Visit boostmobile.com to learn more. After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience lower speeds. Customers pay $25 per month as long as they remain active on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Plan Savings claim based on a January 2026 Boost Mobile survey of 1,000Americans with single line unlimited plans, comparing average annual payments of major carriers to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Plan. For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com Investing
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