The Hockey Show: Barkov Injury Reaction

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

The Hockey Show: Barkov Injury Reaction

Date: September 26, 2025
Hosts: Roy Bellamy, David Drucker, Ethan, Guest: Jessica Blaylock
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers raw, in-depth reactions to the devastating news that Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has suffered a serious non-contact knee injury and is undergoing surgery. With Barkov set to miss significant time, the crew processes what the loss means for the Panthers’ prospects, line combinations, and emotional state heading into the NHL season. The panel also covers major injuries around the league, depth scenarios for Florida, journalism ethics in hockey, and classic sports culture moments—culminating with a visit from Panthers studio host Jessica Blaylock for deeper insight. The tone is notably emotional and candid, with humor and camaraderie as the crew copes with shock and disappointment.

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Main Topics & Key Insights

1. Aleksander Barkov Injury: The Panthers' Devastating Blow

• [00:55–02:43] The show opens with the grave announcement: Barkov suffered a non-contact knee injury in the first drill of practice and is having surgery, sidelining him for a significant portion of the season.
  • Roy Bellamy: “Alexander Barkov is getting surgery on his right knee. ...He went down in a non-contact injury and could not get back up. ...He’s going to miss a significant chunk of time this season.”
  • The crew immediately acknowledges the emotional gravity and its implication that the Panthers’ season trajectory is suddenly uncertain.
  • Ethan: “It’s the worst possible news. ...It feels like your team’s season is over before it even starts.” (02:05)

2. Is the Panthers’ Season Over? Debating Doom and Hope

• [02:15–03:31] Heated discussion about whether losing Barkov is a season-ending blow.
  • Roy firmly rejects a defeatist attitude: “We’re not going to say that the season is over. That is a defeatist attitude.”
  • Ethan draws painful comparisons to other teams losing superstars to injury before the season.

3. Next Steps: Line Combinations and Depth Evaluation

• [03:31–06:05] The hosts analyze how the roster might adjust to the major loss:
  • Anton Lundell likely becomes top-line center, Evan Rodrigues’ versatility and value soar, and there’s speculation about creative reconfigurations.
  • David Drucker: “That’s a very solid top nine... If Sergei Bobrovsky is Sergei Bobrovsky, they’ll be okay.”
  • Hope hinges in part on goaltending and future returns (notably Matthew Tkachuk).

4. Trade Market Wild Speculation

• [06:05–07:09] Brief speculation about possible high-profile trades (e.g., Evgeni Malkin), ultimately dismissed as unlikely but illustrative of the “crazy day” emotions.
  • David Drucker: “It’s a crazy day, dude. The Panthers center is having surgery.”

5. Panthers' Depth: Zito’s Roster-Building Skills

• [09:05–10:15] The group credits GM Bill Zito’s work constructing a deep, flexible lineup, emphasizing how this organizational philosophy could lessen Barkov’s absence.
  • David Drucker: “You reap the fruits of that labor. ...When all’s going well you’re winning back-to-back Stanley Cups, and when things aren’t going well, you’re still right there.”

6. Other Major NHL Injuries

• [11:15–13:13] Discusses Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn’s collapsed lung, which could sideline him for months, and the odd coincidence of several captains suffering serious injuries.
  • “What’s going on with captains? The captains go down like in the same day.” — David Drucker (11:34)

7. Credibility, Anxiety, and Journalistic Ethics

• [13:35–16:20] David Drucker opens up about frustrations and anxieties in breaking news, sitting on the Barkov story out of journalistic caution.
  • David Drucker: “I’m angry because I’m over cautious as a journalist... I didn’t want to screw up or piss off the wrong people. But I guess that’s part of the business, right?” (15:55–16:06)
  • Introspective and humorous moment as the crew offers informal “therapy”.

8. Around the League: Marner’s Debut, Journalistic Tensions

• [16:26–19:49] Mitch Marner has a strong start with Vegas Golden Knights. The hosts then voice support for journalist Mark Lazerus, who lost his credential for asking a tough question—discussion on press freedom in the NHL.

9. Fun NHL Tidbits & Fails

• [20:00–28:13] Lighter moments include:
  • Jack Eye brothers both score and fight in a preseason game. Canadian hockey culture stories.
  • Minnesota Wild's alternate jerseys spark nostalgia and playful debate.
  • San Jose Sharks mistakenly hanging a “fake news” banner for the Presidents’ Trophy. “How does that happen, Roy?” — David Drucker (26:42)
  • Dangerous glass-shattering incident in the OHL and reminiscing on historic hockey brawls.

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Interview with Jessica Blaylock

[33:47–54:29]

Introduction & Mood Check

• Jessica Blaylock (Panthers studio host) joins. Even her typically cheerful presence is shadowed by Barkov’s injury.
  • Jessica Blaylock: “It is a knee injury, but again, the captain currently in surgery as we speak. ...It certainly does not look good.” (34:15)

Covering Barkov’s Impact

• Jessica breaks down the challenge:
  • “It’s an absolute gut punch. ...He’s hands down the best two-way forward in the league.” (38:25)
  • Expresses sadness not only for the Panthers but for Barkov personally missing the Olympics: “That, to me, is the most devastating thing of all of it because he is the face of Finnish hockey.” (38:43)

Why There’s Still Hope

• “Bill Zito has done a tremendous job building depth. ...You’re not going to replace Barkov... but you can soften the blow. ...This team finds a way time and time again no matter what they are up against.” (39:29–41:41)

On Evan Rodrigues and Line Versatility

• “Paul Maurice has referred to him as his Swiss Army knife...he becomes even more significant to the lineup.” — Jessica Blaylock (42:17)

Defensive Depth/Jeff Petry Acquired

• New addition Jeff Petry brings experience and toughness; team will need him now more than ever.

Lighter Moments: Favorite Sports Movies

• Jessica’s childhood sports movie heroes: “Mighty Ducks taught me everything I knew about hockey...I am still personally waiting for some team in the league to perform the Flying V in a game. That’s all I want to see.” (51:44)
• Sandlot and Naked Gun also cited as personally influential and formative.

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Emotional Pulse & Memorable Quotes

• Ethan: “As a fan, it feels like the season is over before it even starts when you lose a guy like Alexander Barkov.” (38:00)
• Jessica Blaylock: “You’re not going to replace Barkov... but with what the Panthers have, they’re at least going to be able to soften the blow.” (41:29)
• David Drucker: “I’ve worked my ass off to get where I am...now I have legit sources...I just...sit on it.” (14:40)
• Roy Bellamy (about Barkov injury): “I can’t do this, man. ...How was your summer, Jessica?” (35:17)
• Ethan (about Tampa Bay fans): “They’re losers. They don’t know how to win like the Panthers know how to win.” (30:21)
• Jessica Blaylock (sports movies): “Mighty Ducks taught me everything I knew about hockey. ...Still waiting for an NHL team to do the Flying V.” (51:44)

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Additional Segments of Note

• [54:29–56:02] Rose calls in from Guatemala, voicing her heartbreak and considering avoiding hockey entirely in protest of Barkov’s injury.
  • Rose: "I'm not gonna go to any of the games. I'm gonna do any video. I'm gonna disappear forever." (55:11)
• The crew bonds over their shared grief, but with humor and support: “This injury news is getting worse and worse for us.” — David Drucker

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Conclusion

This episode is a cathartic session for Panthers fans and hockey lovers, filled with real-time shock, therapy, and a stubborn flicker of hope. The crew’s banter and vulnerability blend with thoughtful analysis of roster mechanics, league news, and the importance of journalism. Special guest Jessica Blaylock’s deep ties to the team and resilient optimism ground the segment, reminding everyone—fan or professional—that hockey, like life, is sometimes about pulling together during the hardest stretches.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Barkov injury and reaction: [00:55–06:05]
• Trade speculation and depth talk: [06:05–10:15]
• Jamie Benn injury & captain curse: [11:15–13:13]
• Journalism anxieties: [13:35–16:20]
• Marner-Vegas debut & Lazerus story: [16:26–19:49]
• Jessica Blaylock interview: [33:47–54:29]
• Rose's emotional check-in: [54:29–56:16]

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For New Listeners

If you missed the episode, know this: you’ll find a thoughtful breakdown of how one injury can shake a team and its community, the value of organizational depth, the perils and joys of covering hockey, and the ways sport binds us through both heartbreak and humor.

Transcript

[Jessica Blaylock]

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[Roy Bellamy]

The first week of preseason has started in the NHL and the Florida Panthers have devastating news thrust upon them. We talk about it here. This is the Hockey show with David Drucker, the Hockey News, Ethan across the glass and Rosie on vacation. Or actually she's in Guatemala right now going to a loved one's wedding. Congratulations to whoever that person is. My name is Roy Bellamy. This is the Hockey show and we got some bad news for Panthers fans out there.

[David Drucker]

Good news for everyone else.

[Roy Bellamy]

Good news for all the rest of the 31 teams in this league. Alexander Barov is getting surgery on his right knee. The injury that he sustained yesterday in practice, basically the first drill of practice. He went down in a non contact injury and could not get back up. He had to be helped off the ice by two members of the Panthers staff. Could not put weight under his leg. It was a bad situation and has gotten worse because he's going to miss a significant chunk of time this season.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, it sucks.

[Ethan]

Yeah, it's the worst possible news. It is. And it's the worst thing in sports, which is when you feel like your team season is over before it even starts.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, we are not going.

[Ethan]

What are we doing? It's Alexander Barkov. The Panthers are not winning anything of note. If Alexander Barkov is out for the entire season, that's it.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, no, no, no, no. Okay. First of all, focus on the playoffs. Make the playoffs. Then we'll worry about that then. But we're not going to say that the season is over. That is a defeatist attitude.

[Ethan]

Are the Panthers, Are the Panthers winning anything? If Alexander Barkov doesn't play this year at all in the regular season or.

[Roy Bellamy]

The playoffs, I'm not going to Say no, but I'm definitely not going to say yes. But come on, that's a defeatist attitude. That is.

[Ethan]

I'm just saying that's what it need to be a realist. I'm not saying that's necessarily the case. That's what it feels like. It feels like your season ends before it even starts. It's the worst thing. It's like the Yankees this year when Garrett Cole went out and needed Tommy John surgery before the year even started. It's the worst thing. You lose your best player before the season even starts. It feels like. It doesn't mean it necessarily is because we don't know what Bill Zito is going to do. If they decide he's going to be out for all of the regular season and all of the playoffs, they can replace his $10 million salary in LTIR, and then we can let Bill Zito go and do his thing. So we don't know what they're going to do. But as a fan, that's what it feels like. It's a crushing blow before the season even starts.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, let's talk about new line combinations here. Obviously, Anton Lindell is going to end up going up to mo. Most likely center spot in the first line. Most likely. Most likely. But also Evan Rodriguez. Oh, boy. He's more important than ever now, huh? We were talking about him possibly getting traded, but now.

[David Drucker]

No, no, no. He's. He's centering the third line as of today with Jesper Boquist and Matthew Samostevich. That line that you mentioned, The Anton Lindell, E2 Lusterainen, Brad Marchand line, is that your top line now? If they. Based off the playoffs, it was. And then you've got Rhino and second line. Rhino and Verhadi being centered by Bennett.

[Ethan]

I imagine that'll be the first line, if we're being honest.

[David Drucker]

So look, that roster that we just talked about, okay, Bennett, Verhadi, Reinhardt, Lundell, Loosesterine and Marchand, Irod Mackey. And who's the other winner?

[Ethan]

Greer.

[David Drucker]

No, no, no. That's. That's not a Stanley cup. Smack you in the face. Top nine. But that's. That's a very solid top nine. If you compare that to a top nine with Sasha Barkov and Matthew Tachuk, obviously lesser than. But just putting that grouping up against any other group in the NHL, that's a playoff team. Yeah, that can hurt you as long as. And when you said. When you. When you start off by saying the most important player out of the lineup, and I hesitated the Only thing that made me hesitate, if Sergey Barovsky is Sergey Barovsky, they'll be.

[Ethan]

Okay, let's be. Let's be clear here. Also, they'll have options when Matthew Tkachuk comes back, right? So eventually, Matthew Tkachuk, we all expect he'll be back around sometime around the Olympics, right, Which are in February. Hopefully, he'll be back before that. So the Panthers can feel some of that impact on their regular season. But if he comes back for the Olympics and then he returns to the team after, that'll be great. You have all kinds of options then, because Sam Reinhart can play one C. So you. Sam Reinhardt is only a winger because he plays with Alexander Barkoff, but if you put Sam Reinhardt on 1C, all of a sudden he can be flanked by, let's say, Matthew Kachuk and Cardiffer Hagee. And then what you can do is you can drop Sam Bennett down to 2C and have him with maybe Mackie and Erod at 2C. You have the Lundell, Lucerine and Martian line at 3C, and then you have all kinds of options on your fourth line, whether that be JBO Greer, Luke Conan. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So the Panthers will have plenty of options, and they'll still be a very, very, very good team. It's just. How high is their ceiling without. It's a huge question mark.

[David Drucker]

I'm laughing because, as you were saying that the name that popped into my head of somebody that they could bring.

[Roy Bellamy]

In, boy, oh, boy.

[David Drucker]

I showed it to Roy and the look on his face. Who's a veteran player? That's not Sidney Crosby.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, that's not.

[Ethan]

I thought we were cooking it up.

[David Drucker]

Bear with me. Who's a veteran player who has. There's been.

[Roy Bellamy]

No. My face would have been a lot different.

[David Drucker]

Reported interest in Florida not making a ton of money, offensive upside. And you're on the right path.

[Ethan]

Older, is it not? It's not. Karok Pre office. No, no, no, no, no.

[David Drucker]

Dude, are you crazy?

[Roy Bellamy]

I don't know. I don't know.

[David Drucker]

That would be $20 million in cap space. Let's bring in Caprio.

[Ethan]

I'm lost here.

[David Drucker]

Crosby.

[Roy Bellamy]

Gino Malkin, dude. Malkin. If.

[David Drucker]

If.

[Ethan]

If Crosby. Crosby's not. Well, first of all, we all kind of assume that Malin's going to play out the season up there. And if Crosby's not going anywhere, then Malin's definitely not going anywhere.

[David Drucker]

But if Crosby wants to stay, we know Crosby wants to. He's a Penguins guy that we know. Like, he's Made that clear. I don't know what Evgenie Malkin's thinking.

[Ethan]

I mean, that would be an option. We're getting a little crazy here, but that's.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, we're getting a little crazy here.

[David Drucker]

It's a crazy day, dude. The Panthers center is having surgery.

[Ethan]

It's a crazy day. The best player on your team is.

[David Drucker]

Probably going to be out there on your team.

[Roy Bellamy]

Speaking of goaltenders, you mentioned Bob and also Daniel Tarasov. Really suitable backup for this team.

[David Drucker]

I think the positive transition there, I like it.

[Roy Bellamy]

I have no choice in the matter.

[David Drucker]

You have lots of choices.

[Roy Bellamy]

I have lots of choices. I could mention Tomas Nosek not being there. Another true center. So the Panthers are thin center, right? Actual. Actual centers.

[David Drucker]

Erod's playing center.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[David Drucker]

That's why you're gonna see Sam Reinhardt taking a lot of face offs.

[Roy Bellamy]

A whole bunch of plug and play situations, man.

[David Drucker]

But yes, you are right. Danil Tarasov was unbelievable. He's been great in practice, too. I think it was one of the first training camp practices where there was a bunch of fans there. I think it was last, maybe it was last Saturday, but he made a couple of these ridiculous behind the back stick saves that had a training camp practice crowd making more noise and oohing aahing than I'd seen in years. So that was really cool. If he's the guy that he looks like, he is, I mean, look, Bill Zito liked Tarasov a lot when they were in Columbus together years ago. Now they're back together, Tarasov's looking like the guy who got the whole connection with Bob idolizing his dad back in the day. And it's very cool. But I'll tell you what, man, if he is what he has appeared to be early on, that's going to go a long way towards mitigating these injury issues that we've been obsessing over for the last, you know, 10 minutes or whatever.

[Ethan]

I'm drawing up the lines here, guys.

[David Drucker]

Coach Ethan.

[Ethan]

So right now, and I've got the folded paper. I don't know, I just pulled the first paper I could find back there.

[Roy Bellamy]

Herb Brooks over here.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, right.

[Ethan]

19, 13, 20 or. Yeah, 19, 13, 23. Yeah, 25, 9, 17. That's. Or 25 is now 11. Excuse me. Mackie, Samiskiewicz, Sam, Ben.

[Roy Bellamy]

You mentioned Rodriguez, you mentioned 19. This, this is a playoff.

[Ethan]

I'm saying this, this is when you get to the playoffs and you have everybody healthy. All right, 27, 15, 63. Of course, Lucer, Ryan and Lundell and Marshan and then same fourth line as last year. Greer. No sick and Boquist.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[Ethan]

That's still a very formidable team. That's still a team that can absolutely get to the Eastern Conference final.

[David Drucker]

We have to take into account that we've talked about ad nauseam, you know, over the course of the life of the show, really, what an amazing job Bill Zito has done and building one of the deepest hockey teams that we've ever seen in our lifetimes. So this is where you, you know, for lack of a better term, you, you reap the fruits of that labor.

[Roy Bellamy]

Like stay ready so you don't have to get ready situation.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, exactly. I, I mean, and when all, when all's going well, you're winning back to back Stanley Cups and everything is awesome, and when things aren't going well, you're still right there, which is kind of the point of it.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, boy. All right, so that's, that's. That. That. That was me being exasperated.

[David Drucker]

That was.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, not good.

[Ethan]

Not good. Right. And. And you can, you also can flip this middle six and have the Lundell line be the second line. And then all of a sudden you're looking at Sam Bennett, who just won the trophy as a 3C. Like this team has options.

[David Drucker]

Well, that's the thing about the Panthers. Like their top nine is so interchangeable. Like it really, you could base like which line you think is the top line on the minutes. And that changes night to night depending on who they're matched up against. That's the luxury of what Bill Zito has done with this team.

[Roy Bellamy]

Paul Maurice is basically going to look like Eric's bolster as far as starting lineup combinations is concerned. He's going to put these lines in a blender the season just to make up for the loss of Alexander Barkov and Magic Chuck and Thomas, Tomas Nosek. So that's the situation right now. The Panthers are in a bit of trouble. They are going to lose their first line center, their captain for a good bit this season. Hey, the Hockey show has a new YouTube page. Please follow us there at the Hockey Show DLS. The Hockey Show DLS, that's on YouTube. We also have a TikTok the Hockey Show 7 and on X Instagram and threads at Hockey Show D all us. So we are on social media and I'm sure Rose is very happy that I mentioned that right now everywhere. So there was another significant injury that happened. This one happened in Dallas. The Stars lost their captain, Jamie Ben, who was diagnosed with a collapsed lung. A collapsed lung.

[David Drucker]

It's painful.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. That was during the Stars 3, 2 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild. Ben skated off to the bench after shift. He took a hit in the third period. Said he wasn't feeling right after taking that check. And lucky for him it was a home game because you cannot fly with a collapsed lung.

[David Drucker]

No.

[Roy Bellamy]

That would have been a disaster.

[David Drucker]

I have been in the hospital with a collapsed lung before. It is not fun. They what for me was partial so I didn't need a chest tube. If Jamie Ben needs a chest tube, that is a painful recovery. It's not a long recovery. Like I don't think if that's what it is, you'll probably only miss like a couple months while the heals up, I think. Yeah, but that is not going to feel good. And what's going on with captains? The captains go down like in the same day. We find out that two of the captains that would be contending captains to hoist the Stanley cup are now out for extended periods of time.

[Roy Bellamy]

That was a complete hole. What's going on in Jimmy Ben's lung? A hole. Just a straight up hole.

[David Drucker]

If you're an NHL captain today, are you like driving a little cautious to the rink, you know, making sure the seat belts clicked on and looking both ways before you cross the parking lot tying double knot. I don't know, like, are you worried?

[Roy Bellamy]

Well, if I was a New York Ranger, I'd be worried if I was going to be traded because that's what they usually do to captains.

[David Drucker]

They don't usually score a goal.

[Roy Bellamy]

Last night actually, the contract. Yeah. J.T. miller. Congratulations. You are now the captain of the New York Rangers. Watch your back.

[David Drucker]

Never played for Vancouver. That never happened.

[Roy Bellamy]

It was like Rocky 5, apparently.

[Ethan]

I feel like he probably wants to protect. That's true.

[David Drucker]

So happy to be back in you.

[Ethan]

Where did the stars go from? I mean, I, you know, they have.

[David Drucker]

Cover, but the stars will be okay too. Like the Panthers. They are. They're not as obnoxiously deep. I think it's more of a little bit sneakier depth on Dallas. Yeah, they've got some really good players. Like, I think they'll be okay.

[Ethan]

Things get tough here. I'm looking at their lines now after. I mean, they've got three lines. I would say fourth line is kind of okay. They're defensive depth isn't my favorite in the entire league, but I know they'll be fine without Ben. I think they have plenty to cover it off, but certainly, you know it's going to be a big Question for them how long he's going to be out for. Because that doesn't sound very fun.

[David Drucker]

Don't sleep on Leon Bichel on that blue, on that Stars blue line. He was really good last year saying.

[Roy Bellamy]

David, why are you angry?

[David Drucker]

You're going to do this to me, huh?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes, I am.

[David Drucker]

I'm angry because I sit on information too long. I'm angry because I'm over cautious as a journalist. You know this.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[David Drucker]

The Barkov news just came out as we record this. It's around 11:30 noon on Friday. I, I, I had this yesterday, but I held off. I wanted to be sure. I, I'm frustrated because you remember when the Winter Classic happened, You know, I showed you the, I had that like a month before it came, before it was out.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, I had to sit on that too. I, I can't mention it here. You showed it to me like, hey, let's talk about it. Nope, we can't do it.

[David Drucker]

So I, Roy, viewers. Roy says I need to be less cautious and apologize later. That's the advice that Roy gave me. And I don't think he's that wrong. I think maybe I, I don't know. I feel like we're getting really personal on the hockey show right now. But, yeah, I'm upset, man.

[Ethan]

Like, yeah, the mood has been, I think everything is just like you mentioned, everything is just down. It's just like we're all just sad. I can feel it in the air. Like this news is just crushing us and we're doing some introspection here, Dave.

[David Drucker]

Well, I mean, how would you feel? Like I've worked my ass off to get to where I am and in my career, and now I have, like, legitimately good sources that feed me so really good information. And I just.

[Ethan]

I'm gonna be your therapist.

[David Drucker]

Sit on it.

[Ethan]

I'm gonna be your therapist for a second.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay, here we go. Here we go.

[Ethan]

Imagine you're on the couch.

[Roy Bellamy]

Lean back. Jeremy, over here.

[David Drucker]

Look at this guy. Lean back here. All right, lean him back. Dave, hat down.

[Ethan]

What scares you? Why, why do you refuse to share the information when you have it? What are you afraid of? Look deep.

[David Drucker]

Afraid of, afraid of it being wrong.

[Ethan]

And, and, but you trust your sources.

[David Drucker]

Never been wrong before. I've never been fed bad information. So then this fear.

[Ethan]

I don't trust your gut. Are you afraid of people getting mad at you?

[David Drucker]

I don't want Bill Zito to be mad at me. Why would Bill Zito be madraid Mergino Malkin?

[Ethan]

Why would he Be mad. What are you afraid of? Go deep into yourself.

[David Drucker]

Oh, my. Dude.

[Ethan]

All right, now, come on.

[Roy Bellamy]

Deep into yourself.

[David Drucker]

All right.

[Ethan]

You had to take it there. I'm just trying to. I'm trying to do some introspection here.

[David Drucker]

Look, if you trust your. What I'm gonna.

[Ethan]

I think what I'm getting at is if you trust your sources, you trust your information, go for it.

[David Drucker]

I very much do. I'm just such. I'm so fearful because it's been. It's been a long path to get to where I am, and I don't want to screw that up. I don't want to piss off the wrong people. But I guess that's part of the business, right, Roy?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Listen, it's not like you're a part of some podunk radio station in the middle of the outskirts of Arkansas. I mean, you work for the Hockey News. Like, this is a major problem.

[Ethan]

You work for the hockey show as well, Dave. That's. I mean, that's the biggest thing.

[David Drucker]

The fact that I've been able to associate myself with so many things that have the word hockey attached to them makes me feel good. So that's a positive.

[Roy Bellamy]

Well, some good news out of Las Vegas is the Mitch Marner era has begun for the Vegas Golden Knights. He played last night, got an assist on Jack Eichel's goal to make it two 1. Utah was leading at the time, and the Golden Knights ended up winning 3 to 2 over the Utah Mammoth in that preseason game. So he's already made a valuable contribution to the team. Congratulations, Mitch Marner trade.

[David Drucker]

Money well spent. Yeah, well, well done.

[Roy Bellamy]

Good on you.

[David Drucker]

Good on you. I, I. Who are we talking to? I think it was Jeremy before the show. We're talking about Mitch Marner going. Going away from the Leafs.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[David Drucker]

And basically we're saying, was Mitch Marner the problem in Toronto where he didn't perform in the playoffs, or was that just the Toronto problem because the whole team doesn't seem to perform in the playoffs?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes.

[David Drucker]

So we'll see. I don't know. Like, obviously the people in Vegas are very confident that it's a Toronto problem and not a Mitch Marner problem. I tend to agree with that. Just as Mitch Marner's got so much talent, maybe getting out of Toronto, getting out of that headspace, his home, you know, team and all the treasure, maybe Vegas will be better for him. But I don't know. I think Vegas is going to be a judge or not this year.

[Ethan]

I mean, considering that Mark Lazarus has had his Credential revoked for asking a question about the Canada5 and their interest in Carter Hart.

[David Drucker]

Speaking of fear, let me get my tone off.

[Roy Bellamy]

Go ahead, go ahead. Before. What I was going to say is. That made me.

[Ethan]

What I was going to say is he'll fit right in in Vegas if reporters aren't allowed to ask the tough questions.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. Oh, he'll be happy that did that piss.

[Ethan]

I mean, I, I don't know how much you guys know Laz. I listened to the Athletic Show Hot. The Athletic Hockey show sometimes. He does a great job. He's a great reporter. He asks all the important questions for him to be. Have his credential revoked for asking a simple question that I think a lot of fans have interest about. That was not a good look for.

[David Drucker]

The Vegas Golden Bush League. It's, it's not like it's unheard of like that. When I read that, I'm like, oh, that's, you know, been in situations like that before. But like, it's just, it's a nice glimpse into. I guess what journalists and media are aware of is that every team, every PR department is so different. You can have some that are just open and like, let you kind of do whatever, and you can have some that are much more tight and about what they want their players to talk about and not talk about. But that was, I mean, to like to go up to a guy and to, to ask him questions about a very topical thing and then to have your credential revoked because you, quote, ambushed a player in the locker room. Like, what is ambushed a place? I mean, approaching a guy in a media open locker room and asking him questions like that whole thing. I did not like that at all.

[Roy Bellamy]

Under zero circumstance should a journalist lose their credential because they asked the question about somebody who's not even on the team.

[Ethan]

A completely fair question, by the way. Completely fair question.

[David Drucker]

If they're, if the PR department asks @ these journalists not to. Not to bring this stuff up and then they do it anyway, that's another story. But that does not sound like that happened here. So. Yeah, I don't know. I don't like this at all.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, that's, that's completely inexcusable. And we're seeing. I was seeing a lot of that everywhere outside of sports, inside of sports, of journalists just not being able to do their jobs. And that's just inexcusable.

[David Drucker]

We want you to report the news that we want you to report.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Right?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Ethan]

We don't need you to ask about why we're considering signing these five players. Anyway. I just wanted to bring that up because I wanted, I know as a show. We probably all want to, to show our solidarity. Solidarity with Laz there.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's a great stand with you.

[Ethan]

And we. I wanted to show we, we stand with you. So by the way, you're doing your thing last. We love you.

[Roy Bellamy]

There is another Jack guy in the NHL. Did you know that?

[David Drucker]

I, I, I do now.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Two Jack guys on the same club, apparently, because Florian Jack guy got to play with his brother arbor and the Canadiens 242 win over the Flyers on Tuesday. In fact, both of the Jack Eye brothers scored a goal in the game.

[David Drucker]

One of them got in a fight, right?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. One of them got in a fight.

[Ethan]

Sounds bad, right?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's what they do. Jack eyes fight.

[David Drucker]

Two Jack eyes don't make a right.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Okay. Florian made it 2 nothing in the first period and Auburn made it 4 two in the third with an empty net, shorthanded goal, and the mom, Simona, was in attendance.

[David Drucker]

That was cool. I like that they show the mom.

[Ethan]

Wait, I heard a great story about this on 32 Thoughts this Morning. The moment works at a Costco in whichever part of Canada they live in. And the, the manager at the Costco told her, what are you doing here? Go watch your son's play. And made her leave her job and go watch her son's play. So that was, that was really, really cool.

[David Drucker]

Canada thing too.

[Ethan]

Like Canada thing ever.

[David Drucker]

I love that.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's a hockey mom right there, man.

[David Drucker]

What's a hockey Costco? That's a hockey Costco manager. Like, that's.

[Roy Bellamy]

I love that Canadian Costco. And that's what it is. Windsor Fails of the week is presented by Jagermeister. Serve a cold or don't serve it at all. Jagermeister. Damn. That's code. For more, visit jagermeister.com Drink responsibly. David, what's your win of the week?

[David Drucker]

My win of the week was from a preseason game in Dallas earlier this week. Somebody decided to show up ready to go. You got to stay ready to be ready.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, you got to stay where. You got to stay ready so you don't have to get ready.

[David Drucker]

Yes. Well, that's what this man did. He showed up full goalie gear, sitting. He's like, the only thing missing is like a sign saying, ebud ready. I love this guy. It must have been a huge pain in the ass, so. Because I'm sure he drove there yet. Get out of Your car, you got to walk to the arena and all that gear. It's hot.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[David Drucker]

It's not easy to move around. And not. It's Dallas, it's. It's August, September, whatever it is right now. September. So, yeah, it's the end of September, for crying out loud. But yeah, I thought that was awesome. Anytime you see a goalie dressed in full gear and he's not in between the pipes, I think it's pretty cool.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. So, yeah, get on him. Yeah, definitely e buck situation. Danilo Turasov had a fantastic game, and the Panthers 42 went over the Hurricanes on Wednesday. That was the last bit of good news that we got. Panthers related. But Anyway, he had 47 saves on 49 shots. And he did it with style because take a look at his helmet here. For those of you listening on the podcast, audio wise, Cho Soft's helmet has what appears to be a robotic panther head with his mouth open.

[David Drucker]

It's like a Thundercats vibe a little bit there. That's really cool.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, it's similar to John Van Beesbrook's Panther on his helmet. If you remember his helmet from the early 90s.

[David Drucker]

That's like the most iconic Panthers thing, you know, Anyway.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, don't get me started.

[David Drucker]

Beesworth's awesome.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. So, yeah, it's a badass helmet. It's a beautiful looking helmet. It looks like a robot panther.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, I like the whisker area, too. I think that's pretty cool.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, it's probably made of metal.

[David Drucker]

That is a badass helmet.

[Roy Bellamy]

Ethan, what's your win of the week?

[Ethan]

Staying in the aesthetic department. We had another great alternate jersey drop this week, the Minnesota Wild. I believe they're honoring their 25th anniversary or celebrating their 25th anniversary this year. They pulled out these absolute beauties of an alternate uniform. I love the numbers here, especially 97 is such a great hockey number and Caprizov looks awesome. But I really like the gold accents on this uniform. I think it's something they could look to incorporate more into their look. I'm personally a fan of the Wilds look. I know that some people aren't, especially the kind of far throw, the fallback. Minnesota, the fauxback. Excuse me. Thank you. Minnesota North Star look that they go with. I have one of those jerseys for Kirill Caprizov and got the green one, right? Yeah, the green and yellow one. But these are really, really good. Like, that's a much better look than they have going on now. I would roll with these full time if I were. If every team Just went back to how they looked in, like, the late 90s, early 2000s. I think sports as a whole would just look better.

[David Drucker]

All right, quick question for you guys. When you look at that jersey, first goalie, you think of.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, man, I don't remember. Oh, I don't remember.

[David Drucker]

Come on, Dwayne Romanez.

[Ethan]

Come on out of my hockey wheelhouse.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. I mean, you put me on the spot. Well, that's what you're old, dude. I'm usually better at that game.

[David Drucker]

I know you are. That's why I put you on the spot. And play the old man card.

[Roy Bellamy]

I'm always going to play the old man card because it's true.

[Ethan]

I went to Ilya Brisgol off. Was he later in his career a wild God?

[David Drucker]

That is a fun goalie. I was just talking about Brzev with, I think maybe. Was it Randy Moeller? Moeller. We need to have Randy Moeller on the show at some point. He was telling me some amazing goalie stories.

[Roy Bellamy]

Have a good one. Next week.

[David Drucker]

Back with his time with Buffalo. Like Grant Fear, Dominic Hoshik, stuff like, oh, man, we need to have moles on the show. For sure.

[Roy Bellamy]

Him and Buffalo. That was Alexander. Yeah.

[David Drucker]

John Muckler, I think, was the coach.

[Roy Bellamy]

Alexander Mogilney was on that.

[David Drucker]

Like, this was like the. The game that never ended against the Devils. I think it was like the four overtime.

[Ethan]

Moller was a Buffalo saber from 91 to 92, 92 to 93, and 93 to 94. So 91 to 90.

[Roy Bellamy]

I think LaFontaine. Pat LaFontaine was either on that team or he's on the Islanders at that point. I believe, if I'm remembering. See, I remember that when you get to, like, mid-2000s wild, I'm like, oh.

[David Drucker]

It'S the goalie stuff that fails you.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Oh, by the way, I want to admit something. I'm not a fan of that. Those Wild jerseys, really. I don't like the font, the font on the back. Yeah, yeah.

[Ethan]

It's just our friends on the what Chaos show don't love the Wilds branding, but I do. I think they have great colors. They've got a great logo. You got to keep in mind really good jerseys.

[Roy Bellamy]

Two Bears are in this league because you got the Bruins. Yeah. And now you got the Wild. So you got two bear mascots.

[Ethan]

That's true.

[Roy Bellamy]

So, yeah, they're kind of flooding the zone with. With Bears in this situation. But, yeah, that's the situation in Minnesota. They got themselves throwbacks now, isn't there.

[David Drucker]

Something weird about the Wild logo that it doesn't look like.

[Ethan]

If you look at the full body, it's like it's jarring to see it with a full body. Dave, we got to get to your fail of the week.

[David Drucker]

Okay, My fail of the week. So the San Jose Sharks decided to put up some new banners. They wanted to condense them. You know, teams have done this when they get several banners. You know, the Miami Heat down here did it. The Panthers didn't have to do it at some point, I'm sure. So the Sharks put up some new banners, but the problem is they put up fake news in their. In their rafters. They decided to take credit for the President's Trophy and 201516 when they finished third place in their division that year.

[Roy Bellamy]

That wasn't them.

[David Drucker]

No, that was the Washington Capitals. That was the year that the Panthers won the Atlantic Division, when the winning was tripped year. That was. Yes, exactly. Yeah, but how does that happen, Roy?

[Ethan]

Ethan, there's so many layers for this to get through, for it to end up in the rafters.

[David Drucker]

It's not just like one person sends an email and then that's it. Like this has to go through like several sets of eyes and then it.

[Ethan]

Has to actually go up.

[David Drucker]

Are like, I've been waiting all week for the, like the message that, nope, they were just trolling us. And hahaha jokes on you guys, but no, I haven't. I haven't seen that yet. So I don't know what they were thinking.

[Ethan]

They did win the Prince of Wales trophy that year, so maybe there was some kind of confusion. But they haven't won the President's trophy since 2009.

[David Drucker]

No, I. I think maybe that was supposed to say Western Conference Champions.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's what I'm doing. That's what the banner is there for.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, I. I don't. I don't know. Like, what do you guys do in San Jose? Whatever.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, well, they have since fixed that problem.

[David Drucker]

I would think so. No, just. Yeah, whatever. Just leave it up there. Yeah, who cares?

[Roy Bellamy]

A potentially serious situation happened in the Ontario Hockey League. The London Knights played the Windsor Spitfires on Saturday. And the Spitfires scored late in the third period of their 41 win. And the ground was celebrating. In fact, the fans were pounding the glass so hard that shattered. And the glass, all the shattered glass fell holy. On Knights head coach Dale Hunter. And he ended up getting minor cuts when the Plexiglas hit his head. He's so lucky.

[Ethan]

That's only minor.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. So it Was a bad. It was a bad situation. He got lucky. Oh, man. It just shattered and fell all over him. It was a bad situation.

[David Drucker]

Showered in glass like that. That. That's. Is he okay?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Ethan]

Have you guys ever seen that video from like a. I don't even know what level hockey it is. It's like youth hockey. And a dad, like, breaks the glass and somebody from the back with a heavy Minnesota accent yells, way to go, Paul. No, that reminds me of this video. If you've never seen that, that's a good one. It's a something I reference in my life all the time.

[David Drucker]

You probably don't remember this, but Roy probably does. When was it? Tai Domi in Philly.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. The fans fell over. He fell over the glass.

[David Drucker]

The glass broke, the fan fell in the box and Domi pummeled him.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. And there's a famous highlight of Trevor Linden checking one of the. One of a St. Louis Blues players into the glass. Shattered over fan. Yeah.

[David Drucker]

That's pretty famous bench fighting, by the way. Next time we have Billy Lindsay on, you got to talk to him about. He was involved in a very famous bench brawl in juniors. That's actually on YouTube.

[Roy Bellamy]

So.

[David Drucker]

Awesome. Yes.

[Roy Bellamy]

Ethan, what's your fail?

[Ethan]

My fail of the week goes to. I'm not sure exactly who the player is on the Utah Mammoth, but they leveled a hit on Kale Makara and then got their ass beat by Gabriel Landiscog. Yeah, that's not a good idea to mess with Kale Makar. And an even worse idea to mess with Gabriel Landiscog. You don't want to be hitting superstars like Kale McCarr in the preseason. You're going to end up paying for it. This was almost my win of the week because it's so awesome that Gabe Landiscog was beating guys up in the preseason. We'll give it to whoever decided it was a good idea to mess with Gabe and Makar.

[David Drucker]

Sam Lipkin.

[Ethan]

Thank you, Dave.

[David Drucker]

Yes, sir.

[Ethan]

All right. That's a journalist right there, boys.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right. For those of you who are watching on DraftKings Network, we have Jessica Blaylock. She is the Florida Panthers studio host for Script Sports. She's on as a guest and she's going to be crying because of the news that happened with Alexander Barkov. It's just a sad, sad situation down here in Florida. I'm sure everybody's happy. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I've already seen comments of Maple Leafs fans and all his fans happy with his injury, you know, kiss my ass.

[Ethan]

Because they're losers. They don't know how to win like the Panthers know how to win.

[Roy Bellamy]

Jessica Blaylock joins the Hockey show next.

[Mike Ryan]

Hey everyone, it's Mike Ryan. One thing about me that everybody knows, I absolutely love Miller Light. You know what else I love?

[Roy Bellamy]

You.

[Mike Ryan]

That's right. You listening? On your way to work right now, wondering whether or not today is the day to tell your boss what you really think of the new reports he needs filled out every week. I absolutely love you. That's why I'm thrilled to tell you that we are again partnering with Miller Lite to give you a chance to play along with weekend observations starting September 22nd. You'll be able to go to DraftKings.com and guess what will happen during Weekend Observations on the show. Monday, September 29 how many beeps will there be? Who's the first person to interrupt? How many people will talk about the used chances to win a national title? Spoiler alert.

[Roy Bellamy]

Definitely me.

[Mike Ryan]

The winner will get a trip for you and a guest to come to Miami and hang with us at Flanagan's for Thursday night football on October 30th and a visit to the studio to see a taping of the show. Make sure you go to DraftKings and play for you to win and then tune in to the show and check out how you did. Must be 21 to enter. Eligibility restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. See DraftKings.com for details.

[Roy Bellamy]

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[Roy Bellamy]

Jessica Blaylock joins us. She is the Florida Panthers studio host for Scripp Sports. And normally I would say like a little joke, you know, a little icebreaker to have some fun here. And what I was going to say is she had a better summer than anybody in this studio and in that studio over there. But now I can't even do it. I can't do it because the Florida Panthers captain is hurt.

[David Drucker]

The summer's over, so it's okay. Well, didn't ruin the summer, right, Jess? So your amazing summer is still intact. Like every all the amazing photos that we were following on Instagram, like that all still happened. You're still.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Yes, correct. An amazing summer is still intact. However, my mood for the time to come is obviously not nearly at the excitement level that it was 48 hours ago because like we heard Roy mentioned just the devastating news about the injury to Alexander Barkov, who currently is in surgery as we speak. And we should be getting a statement from the team later on this afternoon giving us more information on the extent of the injury and the time frame that we can expect the captain to be out. And Palmer, you know, we just spoke to him less than an hour ago after the morning session for the Florida Panthers and he said that they are going to be very transparent when it does come to this injury. It is a knee injury, but again, the captain currently in surgery as we speak. And we'll have more information later on this afternoon as to the extent and the time frame, but it certainly does not look good.

[Roy Bellamy]

I can't do this, man. I'm sorry. How did your summer go, Jessica? How was the summer?

[David Drucker]

Holy cow.

[Jessica Blaylock]

The summer was amazing. I had my first off season in probably 10 to 15 years. So I traveled, I read books, I went to the movies, I rode my bike, I got back in the gym, spent time with my dogs. Of course, that was the top priority. So, yes, summer was amazing. And feel fully rested and ready to get back to Florida Panthers hockey for sure.

[David Drucker]

So the reason that you had a full summer just to give everybody a glimpse into the Blalock Magistrate, is that you are working full time hockey now. You're no longer doing baseball, which was a big part of your life. So I have a question for you kind of on that regard. You've covered baseball, you've covered basketball, you've covered a lot of sports in your professional life. And my question is, which athletes are the most fun to be around and why are they hockey players?

[Jessica Blaylock]

So what's funny is I would actually say it is a tie between hockey and baseball because the biggest thing with baseball is the pure amount of time that you spend in the clubhouse and especially the fact that I was on the road. So it wasn't just the clubhouse, it was the team playing. It was getting to the hotel collectively at sometimes 3, 4 o' clock in the morning. Whereas, you know, I have been with some of these hockey players for now 11 years, you know, in particular Alexander Barkov, Aaron Ekblatt. And so it's, it's so different in the sense that obviously the way we get media for hockey is a lot more structured, but the time we spend in the clubhouse is so much more extensive and there's a lot more downtime to just have like a regular conversation about, hey, how's your family? Who did you draft for fantasy football this year? And so on and so forth. So it's a, it's a different vibe for sure, between the two. But I'm lucky in the sense that, like, the Panthers at this point, so many of them feel like my little brothers or my children, to be honest.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, come on, Jessica.

[Jessica Blaylock]

No, I'm like, guys, I'm like 20 years older than Mackie Samiskevich. Like, there is a large age gap now between me and the players. But.

[Ethan]

But, yeah.

[Jessica Blaylock]

So I think. I think for baseball, there were just. There was a lot more downtime to have just like regular life conversations versus it's a formal interview, if that makes sense.

[Ethan]

All right, Jess, we. I know we none of us want to talk about it, but let's get back to the news here. Talk me off the ledge. Tell me why.

[David Drucker]

The Gators.

[Ethan]

We'll get to that. Tell me why.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, we will not.

[Jessica Blaylock]

What ledge do you want?

[Ethan]

Me? Yeah, I mean, there are. There are multiple ledges. The Dolphins, the Gators, the Barkov.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, pick a ledge.

[Ethan]

Okay, we're gonna go with the Barkov ledge. So, Jessica, tell me why I started the show just today saying that as a fan, it feels like the season is over before it even starts. When you lose a guy like Alexander Barkov, convince me that this is not true. And the Panthers can still win a Stanley cup and three Pete without Alexander Barkov.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Yeah, no, I feel your pain. And honestly, it's. It's a gut punch. Like, there's just no getting around it. It's an absolute gut punch. To lose a player like Alexander Barkov, not just because of what he does out on the ice and really impacting every aspect of the game. Right. Even strength, special teams, defensively. I mean, I think he's hands down the best two way forward in the league. And he's got a couple of selfies to prove it. And it's absolutely, like, breaks my heart that he's most likely going to miss the Olympics. That, to me, is the most devastating thing of all of it because he is the face of Finnish hockey. And you wait so long for this opportunity to represent your country like that, to me, is just the part that absolutely is gut wrenching. Now, me trying to put a positive spin on it, on why I think this team is built to be. To be able to overcome a devastating injury even to a player of Barkov's caliber. You look at the past couple seasons, there are lengthy stretches that they're. That they've had to play without an Aaron Ekblad, without a Matthew, could chuck without an Alexander Barkov. There have been stretches where they have had to be with multiple elite players for a lengthy amount of time. And what have we seen from this team? Everybody finds a way to step up. Whether it's Anton Lundell who is going to obviously shoulder a huge amount of responsibility this year. You got to assume that he's going to be your top line center at this point. You know, whether it's to me having a guy like Brad Marchand in your dressing room now who wore the seat for the Boston Bruins for so many years. Right. And his ability to be a vocal leader. The fact that you have a guy like Sam Reinhart who finished second in the Selkie voting, who is like Barkov, that defensive minded two way forward, that you have a Sam Bennett, that's an identity player, that you have a Carter Verhege who is able to come up with so many clutch goals at key moments. The one good thing about this team, Bill Zito has done a tremendous job building depth. You still have so many talented, elite players in that dressing room. The fact that this team finds a way time and time again no matter what they are up against to, to come through to get the job done. The fact that Paul Maurice has had in past seasons to be creative with his line combinations and you have, you know, an Anton Mundell who's played with Etulo Sterrinen and Sam Reinhart. If you make that a line again. The fact that you have a Verhege who has played on that top line, who has also played alongside Bennett on that second line. The fact that Loose Dorian and Jesper Boquist, there's several players who can shift from playing the wing to being a center. You have so many players that you have tremendous depth with and you have so many players that you have position flexibility with that. I do think the Panthers are one of the few teams in the league that could have this devastating of an injury and find a way. You're not going to replace Barkov, you're not going to replace him in any way, shape or form. But I think with what the Panthers have, they're at least going to be able to soften the blow of everything you lose in losing the captain for an extended period of time.

[Ethan]

I feel better now.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay.

[Ethan]

I do. I do. Yes. I feel better now.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[David Drucker]

I still feel like crap.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right. So as you, as you were saying, appreciate the effort. As you were saying, Jessica. I mean the Panthers do have a top five in the Selkie trophy candidates in Sam Rinehart. They also have Evan Rodriguez.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

And he's plug and play. And about a month ago we were all wondering if he was going to get traded if Matthew Tkachuk came back early. Well, now he's more important than ever. Do you agree?

[Jessica Blaylock]

Absolutely. I mean, Paul Maurice has referred to him as his Swiss army knife. You've played Evan Rodriguez on the top line. You've played Evan Rodriguez on your fourth line. He has been that one guy that when you need to plug a hole, you've been able to plug that hole with him. So I. Yeah, I think his role becomes even that much more important. He becomes even that much more significant of a player in your lineup because he is probably going to be one of those guys that does have to do some moving around while the Panthers figure out what their new lines are going to look like without Barkov and without Tkachuk and without Tomas Nosek to start the season. So, no doubt about it, Evan Rodriguez is going to be a key, key component.

[Roy Bellamy]

We saw Jeff Petrie yesterday, and he's basically the replacement for Nate Schmidt. What. What gaze you have on him?

[Jessica Blaylock]

Well, he's obviously a veteran. He's got a ton of experience. I think he's a guy that plays a physical brand of hockey, so I think he's a guy that's going to fit into the Panthers system pretty easily. I mean, I think there's always, when somebody comes in, there's that period of adjustment where you're kind of trying to balance your skill set with what's being asked of you and the system that you're trying to learn how to play. But again, he's one of those players that's going to provide depth for the blue liners, because obviously you've got your top two pairings set, Right. We know that Ekblad and Forsling are going to play together. We know that Seth Jones and Nico Mikola are most likely going to play together. So now you've got some options between Ubis Balinskas and Jeff Petrie to pair with Dimitri Kulakov.

[David Drucker]

I want to move off the Panthers for a bit, Jessica, because it's very dark cloud over the show at the moment. And something else hockey wise, caught my eye this week and I wanted to get your take on it. It's regarding Alex Ovechkin, who we all love, right?

[Roy Bellamy]

Sure.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

I like him better than the other guy. You know, the guy that plays in Pittsburgh.

[David Drucker]

Yes.

[Ethan]

Who's going to be a Panther.

[David Drucker]

Always had to make it about him.

[Roy Bellamy]

Shut the fuck up.

[David Drucker]

Whoa.

[Ethan]

Not in front of Jess, Roy. Jesus.

[Roy Bellamy]

Not very gentleman.

[Ethan]

Running out in front of Jesse in.

[David Drucker]

A Panther's Uniform is weird. Imagine that.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Hockey for a decade. There is no combination of words that you could use that I've either never heard before or that I'm going to be offended by.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, well, he brought up a red button issue, so. Yeah. Yes.

[David Drucker]

So, getting back on topic.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, go ahead.

[David Drucker]

So TSN put out their list of their top 50 players yesterday or today, which. It's fine, whatever. Ovechtion is number 49 on that list. And then earlier this week, Brian Hayes, who's a TSN host up in Canada, he was on with Jay Onre, and he said he doesn't even think Ovechian is in the top 50 of the NHL players anymore. That kind of blew my mind because this guy has been like, he's Alex Ovechin. He scores a million goals, he changes the game. Everybody's watching him. He's very. I don't know, he's just really good. He's gonna be a Hall of Famer. I don't know. Like, is that surprise you, Jess, as much as it surprises me that he may not be a top 50 player in the NHL anymore?

[Jessica Blaylock]

It really does surprise me because all we talked about this season was how unbelievable it was that Alex Ovechkin broke a record that was previously held by the Great One.

[David Drucker]

Right.

[Jessica Blaylock]

And how impossible everybody felt like that was going to be for this record to be broken. So that's point number one. Point number two, his longevity in the league. And he is not just a skill player like Alex Ovechkin has consistently stayed in the lineup throughout the years, despite the fact that he does play, like, a pretty solid physical brand of hockey. So I think just the longevity as well, considering his style of play, the consistency that he has given the Washington Capitals throughout the years. Yeah, I find that to be a little bit surprising, especially. Especially with what OB accomplished this season. And how many times do we talk about it? Alex Ovechkin, that one timer on the powerplay, you know, it's coming and you still can never stop it. Like, this guy has just an incredible, incredible shot and incredible skill set. So I find that. Yeah, I find that to be a little bit surprising.

[Roy Bellamy]

He broke his leg last year. He came back in, like, three days.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, that was crazy.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Right? And he was averaging. When he got hurt, he was averaging a little over a point a game, which is just impressive at his age. Right. Because everybody's like, oh, is Obi starting to slow down a little? He's starting to get to kind of feel his age a little bit? No, not at all his, his production this season was, was incredible. You know, so. And then you look at the points that he put up, factoring in that he did miss a stretch of games. So. No, I think Alex Ovechkin still continues to impress after all this time.

[Ethan]

The Athletic in their player tiers have OVN 5B, which is the support tier in between Ryan Nugent Hopkins and Morgan Riley. That seems a little bit crazy to me coming off a record breaking season. All right, Jess Roy, let me ask you another question. So I'm going to use this opportunity.

[Roy Bellamy]

And swear to God, if.

[Ethan]

What are we going to do about the. What are we going to do about the Gators? Yes. What are we going to do?

[Roy Bellamy]

What are we going to do? Hockey show. What are we gonna do? They have a hockey team in Gainesville.

[Ethan]

Yes, but I'm talking about the football team.

[Roy Bellamy]

What the are we gonna do? They had club team. Oh, Miami. Kick their ass.

[Jessica Blaylock]

It is, you know, and it's, it's. It's not necessarily our defense that is problematic. It's the fact that our offense cannot consistently stay on the field and, and put up points and, and when you've got a solid defense, but you're constantly putting them back out on the field and asking them to make a stop, it's just not a great recipe for success. Right. And honestly, you know what they say in all kinds of weather, we all stick together for Flor Ida. So I, oh, I'm gonna rep my, I'm gonna rep my alma mater through and through. I, I bleed orange and blue but we, we are going to continue to be in for a long year when it comes to Gator football because we still got to play Florida State, who looks legit this season. We still got to play Georgia.

[Roy Bellamy]

Ole Miss.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Ole Miss struggled out the gate, but that's still going to be a tough game. So. Yeah, just to quote Samuel L. Jackson from Jurassic park, hold on to your butts.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay. All right. Forget about the game. All right, so let's, let's talk about this. Since we got this injury situation with Florida, let's talk about the division at large. Do you see any changes happening in the top three and potentially any wild card implications as compared to last season?

[Jessica Blaylock]

I still think the powerhouses are going to be the powerhouses, and I still believe that about Florida. I still think that the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to be those other teams that are right there super intrigued with the Leafs, especially with Marner going to Vegas, who I think is actually going to crush it in Vegas. So I'm always fascinated by the Leafs just because of their history being such a good regular season team and then not being able to get it done in the postseason. You know, Tampa, I love what that rivalry has turned into and how much Florida and Tampa just absolutely hate each other. Buffalo, I'm not going to believe in until they actually give us a reason to believe. Boston, I'm intrigued by because obviously they made so many changes last year and sold off so many players at the deadline. But, yeah, I think. I think when it comes to the division, you're going to see the usual suspects. You know, Montreal obviously making it to the playoffs last year. Ottawa as well. Do they just get that much stronger? Montreal especially having so many good young players. So the Atlantic Division is. It's just brutal. Every single year, it's just brutal. Continues to get better and better. So we'll see what happens. You know, Detroit, they've had several disappointing years. Do they finally make a comeback this year? So there's a lot of intriguing storylines around the Atlantic Division, for sure.

[David Drucker]

Now, before we let you go, Jessica, I wanted to ask you about something with your Sam Jackson line. Kind of made me think of something that we were talking about yesterday when we're all hanging out at the Panthers practice. We're getting into some pop culture Y topics. Talked a little bit about the Mighty Ducks and some things like that from our childhood. So what sports movies or TV shows were the most significant to you, Jess, that helped shape your career as a sports journalist? When you think back, are we talking Mighty Ducks? Are we talking Air Butts?

[Jessica Blaylock]

I think I'm a little.

[David Drucker]

Just as a dog person.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Air Bud came out when I was, like, a senior in college. I don't know if I was necessarily watching Air Bud.

[David Drucker]

I thought it came out when we were kids.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Did it?

[David Drucker]

I thought it. No, I gotta look it up.

[Ethan]

Air Bud came out in 1997, so it beat me to the world.

[Jessica Blaylock]

But okay, so I was in high school.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, we're in high school.

[Jessica Blaylock]

I'm sorry. Airbud beat you into the world?

[Ethan]

Yeah, I was born in 98. I was born in 99.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, listen, like, we already sound old, but that doesn't help. Thanks.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Gosh.

[Ethan]

Sorry.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Oh, my gosh. Okay, so movies that defined my childhood from a sports perspective, honestly, the Mighty Ducks, like, I did not grow up with hockey. So everything that I knew about hockey, I knew from watching the Mighty Ducks. And I am still personally waiting for some team in the league to perform the Flying V in a game. Like, that's all I want to see. That's all I want to see.

[David Drucker]

But Iceland already debugged it. Like Wolf. Dentist Stanson showed us how to beat the Flying V. No, we're not.

[Roy Bellamy]

Interference.

[Jessica Blaylock]

We're not. We are not debunking anything. I just want to see the flying beat. The flying beat it in an NHL game. Baseball, sandlot. I mean, right? Like, sandlot was every kid's kind of dream, that. That backyard baseball. What would you do if you really lost that ball over the fence property that they had to come up with to try and get it back? Going to the pool every day in the summer with your friends, like so. And honestly. Okay, I know this isn't technically like a sports movie, but to me, it's one of the greatest sports scenes from a movie. The Naked Gun. Enrico Palazzo singing the national anthem in.

[Roy Bellamy]

The home of the free.

[Jessica Blaylock]

A bunch of bombs in the air.

[Roy Bellamy]

That thing over there.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Oh, my gosh. The.

[Roy Bellamy]

The.

[Jessica Blaylock]

You know, the. The game. The Angels game in. I think it was the Angels, right? In Naked Gun. Like, that whole sequence. I must kill the queen. Like that Reggie Jackson, one of my favorite sports scenes. And like, how far ahead of its time it was the fact that they had like 15 people in the booth. Because how often now do we see analyst tests where there's like eight people?

[Roy Bellamy]

Dr. Joyce Brothers.

[Jessica Blaylock]

Yeah, exactly, exactly. Those for me are probably like the Mighty Ducks taught me everything I knew about hockey. The sandlot was kind of my go to baseball movie. And then just the baseball game from Naked Gun to me is like one of the most iconic sports scenes from any movie of all time.

[Roy Bellamy]

And of course, he. He who shall not be named, rolling down the stairs in that wheelchair and then flipping up like 35ft in the air and then fall into the. Falling to the ground. Yeah, that was a great ending to that movie. Jessica Blaylock is the Florida Panthers studio host for Scripp Sports. She is going to smile while hiding her tears. We will see you on Monday when the Florida Panthers play the Carolina Hurricanes for their first home game of this preseason. Thank you for joining us, Jessica.

[Jessica Blaylock]

I appreciate the time. And yeah, you nailed it, Roy. I'm gonna go cry in private now.

[Roy Bellamy]

Again, thank you to Jessica Blaylock for joining us to talk about the sad, sad news of Alexander Barkoff. Well, not. Contact injury. Going into surgery and missing a significant chunk of time. Rose is with us, who is currently in Guatemala. She has heard the news. What is your thoughts on the injury to your beloved Alexander Barkov?

[Rose]

I don't know if the party top. But I might not watch anything. I might not watch hockey this season. I don't know.

[David Drucker]

You're gonna boycott hockey?

[Rose]

Yeah, no, I'm gonna disappear from hockey, and you guys are gonna have to do all the work by yourselves because.

[David Drucker]

Oh, my God.

[Rose]

I'm not gonna go to any of the games. I'm not gonna do any video. I'm gonna disappear forever.

[Ethan]

Caitlin Clark and Barky in the same year is tough, Rosie. That's tough.

[Rose]

I did not watch the whole UMBA.

[Roy Bellamy]

Because, Rose, you are a credentialed media member who goes to these Panther games to do a job along with me.

[David Drucker]

And David, you can light a candle at Barty's locker. Or like, maybe that's a great idea. Maybe not like an actual. Maybe like one of those fake candles that the restaurants have on the table. Maybe you should just bring one of those and, like, put it on his locker stall.

[Rose]

Yeah, I'm gonna put something there. No, that's true, Roy. So you're gonna have to find some. Someone to go with you guys.

[David Drucker]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Ethan]

I'll go take.

[Roy Bellamy]

Hell no. Hell no. No, take me.

[David Drucker]

This injury news is getting worse and worse for us.

[Roy Bellamy]

The credentials are already ending.

[David Drucker]

I'm sorry.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right.

[Ethan]

We love you, Rosie. Yeah, we miss you.

[David Drucker]

You back next week, Rose?

[Roy Bellamy]

No, no, no, she's back. She's going to another college football site, another campus.

[Rose]

No, I am san.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, she's all. I'm sorry she won't be here.

[David Drucker]

University of Guatemala.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. U of G. U of G. The Mountaineers or something. Anyway, thanks to the Catellis, the Cachellis, the Coachelli's.

[Rose]

Oh, my God, yes.

[David Drucker]

We. We sounded so. So American when we said that.

[Roy Bellamy]

I'm sorry that we offended you.

[Rose]

Yeah, you offended me, guys. Like, I offend you all the time. You offended me now.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Okay, great. Thank you to Gino and thank you to Jason for everything that you do with us. Thank you for the video support. You guys are awesome. Ethan, I don't. You know, you can kiss my ass over here. Talking about Cindy Crosby and the Gators. What are you doing? You're sabotaging us.

[Ethan]

I have another plan.

[Roy Bellamy]

Brady Tkachuk, thanks to Rose for doing her job while abroad. And, David, I'm sorry that you got beat to the story today.

[David Drucker]

I almost just said I beat myself.

[Roy Bellamy]

But, you know, that's not a good thing.

[David Drucker]

That's not a good thing to say on a microphone.

[Roy Bellamy]

Not a very good visual. My name is Roy Bellamy. We will See you next week.

[Mike Ryan]

Hey everyone, it's Mike Ryan. One thing about me that everybody knows, I absolutely love Miller Lite.

[Roy Bellamy]

You know what else?

[Mike Ryan]

I love you. That's right. You listening? On your way to work right now, wondering whether or not today is the day to tell your boss what you really think of the new reports he needs filled out every week. I absolutely love you. That's why I'm thrilled to tell you that we are again partnering with Miller Light to give you a chance to play along with weekend observations starting September 22nd. You'll be able to go to DraftKings.com and guess what will happen during Weekend Observations on The Show Monday, September 29 how many beeps will there be? Who's the first person to interrupt? How many people will talk about the used chances to win a national title? Spoiler alert. Definitely me. The winner will get a trip for you and a guest to come to Miami and hang with us at Flanagan's for Thursday Night football on on October 30th and a visit to the studio to see a taping of the show. Make sure you go to DraftKings and play for you to win and then tune in to the show and check out how you did. Must be 21 + to enter. Eligibility restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. See DraftKings.com for details.

[Roy Bellamy]

Julian Edloe here from DK Network.

[Ethan]

Tune in to DKN Daily Bets Monday through Friday, a fun, quick hitting podcast where we bring in knowledgeable guests from.

[David Drucker]

Across the sports betting industry to break.

[Ethan]

Down our favorite bets of the day. Find DKN Daily Bets wherever you listen to your podcasts.