The Hockey Show: The Inferior Hughes

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz: The Hockey Show – "The Inferior Hughes"

Date: October 3, 2025
Hosts: Roy Bellamy, David Dwark, Ethan
Special Guest: Adnan Virk

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of The Hockey Show (a segment of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz) is packed with spirited hockey analysis, focusing on the ongoing preseason contract drama, the changing economics of the NHL, and team-building strategies, especially regarding the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and New Jersey Devils. The show digs into superstar contracts (Kaprizov, Mikola, Hughes), future roster constructions, and potential super-teams. They also welcome Adnan Virk to discuss the broader sports landscape and upcoming NHL content on Amazon Prime.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Monster NHL Contracts and Cap Implications

[02:13–09:57]

• Kirill Kaprizov’s Record-Setting Extension

  • Wild sign Kaprizov to 8 years, $136M ($17M/year), making it the richest NHL deal ever.
  • Lively reactions to the pressure that comes with a deal of that size.
    • “$17 million per year…that sounds like when you take your kid to the pizza place and they’re like, better be good enough.” – David Dwark [02:21]
    • “The richest deal in NHL history. Yeah, you better like that.” – Roy Bellamy [02:34]
  • Minnesota GM Bill Guerin’s challenge: cap space is heavily weighted toward one player.

• Florida Panthers’ Team-Friendly Extensions

  • Nico Mikola extended: 8 years, $40M total ($5M/year).
  • Panthers lock in 11 players through at least 2030, including Barkov, Kachuk, Forsling, and others.
  • “Not just any players locked up – those are core players.” – David Dwark [07:18]
  • The rising cap (up to $113M in two years) provides the Panthers long-term flexibility and might make them future free agent magnets.

• Different Philosophies on Team Building

  • Comparing the all-in cap hits for stars (like Kaprizov) vs. balanced rosters where stars take less for team flexibility.
  • This dichotomy leads to speculation on Connor McDavid’s next contract (“all the money” vs. “leave some for a contender”).

2. Future NHL Super-Teams and the "Hughes Tax"

[09:57–14:23]

• Luke Hughes’ Extension and the "Hughes Discount"

  • Devils sign Luke Hughes to 7 years, $63M ($9M/year), generating debate if his value is boosted by being a Hughes.
  • “Does Luke Hughes get this contract if his last name is not Hughes?” – Ethan [13:50]
  • Panel consensus: Not likely. There’s a “brother lure” to potentially attract Quinn and Jack for a New Jersey reunion.
  • Notable observation: “By 2030, it’ll be the Elderly 11, but it won’t matter if Panther fans get another cup.” – Ethan [09:40]

• Other Big Contracts: Ducks’ McTavish & Lacombe

  • Anaheim signs young core to long deals after tough negotiations.
  • Speculation if Ducks can leap into playoff contention.

3. Team Deep Dives: Florida, New Jersey, Anaheim, and Minnesota

[14:33–17:37]

• Panthers:

  • Biggest core-long-term contract group (“Magnificent 11”).
  • Discussion about sustainability, veteran transitions, and keeping the window open as salary cap rises.

• Devils:

  • Excited about elite young talent; concern over depth and heavy reliance on top players.
  • “Very, very top heavy team…things kind of get ugly in the middle and at the back end.” – Ethan [12:07]
  • Question mark about value/expediency of Dougie Hamilton moving as more Hughes family potentially arrives.

• Ducks:

  • After tough contract negotiations, optimism for improved performance.
  • “Ducks are a hot pick for a wild-card chase. Excitement and underlying goalie numbers suggest improvement.” – Ethan [16:06]

• Wild:

  • Future cap flexibility despite giant investment in Kaprizov.
  • “With Caprizov signed, is he enough to entice bigger name free agents?” – listener question [16:33]

4. Mailbag: Audience Q&A

[16:34–17:37]

• Cap Management for Minnesota:
  “It’s a spicy meatball.” – David Dwark [17:05], on balancing star contracts with depth signings.

  • Caution: big deals can hamstring the lower parts of the roster, especially in playoff crunch time.

• Predicted Bottom Feeders:

  • Roy: Pittsburgh Penguins (“The league is going to help them out, just like with Crosby.”) [18:10]
  • David: Chicago Blackhawks (“Good luck, Chicago.”) [17:51]

5. Weekly Highlights: Wins and Fails of the Week

[18:53–27:06]

Wins:

• Epic KHL Goalie Fight
  “Maybe the best goalie fight I have ever, ever seen.” – David Dwark [19:04]
• Florida Panthers New Scoreboard
  • “That is a big-ass scoreboard…” – Roy Bellamy [21:09]
  • Major franchise valuation jump for the Panthers: up 51% to $1.89B.
• John Buccigross vs. Ben McDonald MLB Diss
  • “My win of the week goes to our good friend John Buccigross, who dunked on this dork.” – Ethan [22:27]

Fails:

• Swedish Division 2 Nightmare: Puck Gets Stuck in Goalie Mask
  “Nightmare fuel... Lucky he didn't lose it.” – David Dwark [24:01]
• Ottawa Senators Ragdolled by Jackeye Brothers
  “My fail of the week goes to the Ottawa Senators for not knowing your opponent.” – Roy [25:49]
• Devils’ Over-Passing on Breakaway
  • “Somebody's got to shoot the puck and bury it.” – Ethan [26:31]

6. Arena & Franchise Developments

[27:06–28:25]

• Utah Mammoth arena redesign—highlighted by dangerously steep seating:
  • “If you trip and fall, you are dead.” – Roy Bellamy [27:27]

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Guest Segment: Adnan Virk Joins

[32:07–49:05]

Prime Monday Night Hockey Assignments

• Adnan’s first assignment: Maple Leafs vs. Red Wings on Canadian Thanksgiving (October 13).

Sports Culture Differences:

• Dave quizzes Adnan about Canadian Thanksgiving traditions and how they (don’t) equate to American football + turkey synergy.

  • “Honestly, you guys do [Thanksgiving] better because you get the football and the turkey.” – Adnan Virk [34:43]
  • “Turkey's overrated.” – Ethan [35:55]
  • “You shut the hell up. How dare you.” – Roy Bellamy [35:56]

Kaprizov & McDavid Contract Impact

• “Caprizov just made it that much more expensive for the Oilers [to retain McDavid]." – Adnan Virk [38:35]
• Adnan’s dream: McDavid plays last season with no extension – “a LeBron saga, decision-style.”

Panthers' Cup Chances in Face of Injuries

• With Barkov and Tkachuk injured, do they have enough?
  • “Until you get beaten, I’m riding with the Panthers… road gets tougher every single season.” – Adnan Virk [41:16]

The "Hughes Super Team" Hype

• “Are we lining up for a Hughes super team in New Jersey?” – David Dwark [42:03]
• “The Devils are tying so much money into Dougie Hamilton and the inferior Hughes.” – Adnan Virk [42:29]
• Panel jokes: “Elderly 11” for Panthers, “Inferior Hughes” as episode title.

Dark Horse Teams & FA Watch

• Ducks are a “hot pick” to contend for a wild card; Joel Quenneville as coach boosts legitimacy.
• Carter Hart Watch: still unsigned, with caveats due to off-ice issues.

Amazon’s “Behind the Scenes” NHL Series

• Panel raves about upcoming docuseries, especially Brady Tkachuk and Panthers’ family insights.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Panthers' Core:
  • “I've heard of Core 4 – that's Toronto. I've never heard of a Core 11.” – Roy Bellamy [09:11]
• On Kaprizov's Contract:
  • “He is the richest paid hockey player.” – Roy Bellamy [06:13]
• On the Devils' Roster:
  • “Too many Hughes right now.” – David Dwark [10:27]
• On Steep Utah Mammoth Arena:
  • “If you trip and fall, you are dead.” – Roy Bellamy [27:27]
• On Thanksgiving:
  • “Turkey’s overrated.” – Ethan [35:55]
  • “You shut the hell up. How dare you.” – Roy Bellamy [35:56]
• On Ducks’ Playoff Prospects:
  • “They could be the Flames for a playoffs team... very excited to watch Anaheim.” – Ethan [16:06]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Kaprizov’s Contract, Panthers' Extensions: 02:13–09:57
• Devils, Hughes Contracts, Ducks Signings: 09:57–14:23
• Core Roster Strategies/Window: 07:18–09:57
• Mailbag (Free Agents, Bottom Feeders): 16:34–17:37
• Wins/Fails of the Week: 18:53–27:06
• Adnan Virk interview: 32:07–49:05
• Panthers Franchise/Venue Growth: 20:00–22:27
• NHL Amazon Series: 46:12–48:49

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Closing Thoughts

This episode is an engaging, irreverent, yet insightful roundtable on the business of building and sustaining winning NHL franchises, spiced up with listener questions, panel banter, and cultural commentary. The contract arms race, the shifting landscape of player value, and the unique dynamics of building a "family core" take center ice. Adnan Virk’s appearance adds depth (and laughs) as the group looks ahead to the new season and new frontiers in sports broadcasting.

Perfect for fans who want six months' worth of NHL narratives condensed into 90 raucous minutes, with enough memorable quips and stats to make any hockey conversation more interesting.

Transcript

[David Dwark]

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[Adnan Vork]

Here we have the Limu emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual.

[Roy Bellamy]

Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us. Cut the camera.

[Adnan Vork]

They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] liberty liberty liberty liberty savings vary unwritten liberty mutual insurance company affiliates excludes Massachusetts.

[Roy Bellamy]

The regular season starts next week and we start wrapping up the preseason right now. On the Hockey show, that's David Drucker, the Hockey News. Ethan's on the other side in the executive producers chair because Rosie, our lead producer, is still on vacation. Yeah, you need to come back quickly.

[Ethan]

Girl, because I'm not good enough for you, Roy.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, you're not. This is the Hockey Show. My name is Roy Bellamy. We have a YouTube page, ladies and gentlemen. Please follow us there at the Hockey Show DLS. We also have tick tock at the Hockey Show 7 and on X Instagram and threads at Hockey Show DLS. Now we get into contracts discussions here because following the Kirill Caprice off 8 year $136 million extension at $17 million per year. And by the way, that led to this funny exchange between he and while general manager Bill Guerin when they announced the contract. Big chair, Big chair.

[Ethan]

Excited.

[David Dwark]

Better be.

[Roy Bellamy]

$17 million per year.

[David Dwark]

That sounds like when you take your kid to like the pizza place and they're like, I guess I'll have you Better be good enough.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, yeah.

[David Dwark]

Drag your ass out to Pizza Hut. You better like it.

[Roy Bellamy]

The richest deal in NHL history. Yeah, you better like that. All right. The Florida Panthers have also made a deal. They have extended Nico Mikola's contract. He's going to be making $5 million a year for the next eight years at $40 million. Very good team friendly contract that the Bill Zero signed. And they're not going to be able to do that a lot, a lot further once the new CBA deal, once those rules start kicking in next season. So I would say it's a great contract and probably the last one The Panthers will be able to sign.

[David Dwark]

No guys can still take team friendly deals. I think the way that they, the way that they structure the deals, I think that's kind of where we're going to see a little bit of flexibility. As you know, Bill Zito, he's, as he did again with Mikaela's contract. The base salary, which is what gets distributed throughout the season, is just like a million bucks. Everything else is paid out as a bonus. Obviously players are going to want to get a big chunk of money every July 1st as opposed to getting, you know, smidgens here and there. So a lot of the deals that he signed players to, I think they're pretty happy with it. But man, when you, when you compare the Caprizov deal with the Mikola deal and you get like one guy who, who's making more than anybody else and he had another guy who's like, no, I want less money so you can make the team better. It's just like two different ideologies. And I'm sure we're going to get into it. But man, Bill Guerin probably just like, how am I supposed to build a team when you know, so such a big piece of the pie goes to one guy.

[Ethan]

Let's talk about Minnesota. So I was listening to 32 thoughts this morning. Their contract situation is pretty strong. Surrounding Caprisov. Boldy's on a really good deal. Faber's on a really good deal. Ericsson is on a really good deal. They're all young and they're all locked up pretty long term and on good deals with the cap going up, they'll be able to have some flexibility around Caprisov and I think they're already have a really good team. I'm actually really excited about the Wild this year. Like, I'm very excited to watch this team. I think they're going to be very interesting to me. The more interesting thing is, and Roy and I kind of touched on this in our reaction video, which you can watch on our YouTube channel. You can watch. We did a quick video reacting initially to the news as it broke. David, we didn't get to hear your opinion though. How do you think this will affect the McDavid negotiation, if at all? Because I kept going back to, well, Caprizov is more valuable to the Wild than he would have been to any other franchise. And every situation is different. They had to keep this player. Obviously McDavid is more about win. Now try and build a team around me. Do you think this will have a big impact on the McDavid negotiation, or do you think it's just kind of something we should look at on its own?

[David Dwark]

No, I don't think it's going to have an impact because we already knew McDavid is going to get as much as he wants. Whether that's max value for a contract or whether that's, you know, leaving a little bit on the table to make the team around him better. I think whatever Connor McDavid decides he wants to do in free agency is what's going to happen. So I think Caprizov decided clearly, I want the highest contract I could possibly get, and that's what he got. And I'm very, very curious to learn how it plays out for McDavid, because I want to know what he wants. Is he going for the big payday or is he going for the Stanley Cup? And based off what we've seen the last couple years, I would think that he'd be happy leaving a few million on the table to pursue a championship because look how pissed off and upset he's gotten.

[Ethan]

And he keeps going back to, we have enough for this year. We have enough for 25, 26.

[David Dwark]

He's hedging his bets.

[Ethan]

Beyond that, I don't know. Like, it's very interesting. Roy, I want to ask you about something. Do you think the Minnesota Wild kind of put themselves in a bad position here with their owner coming out and saying, nobody can pay Caprizov more than we will? And then kind of, he was right. I don't know that anybody would have paid Caprizov more than the $17 million they did.

[Roy Bellamy]

I mean, I kind of. He's kind of showing his hand there. He's willing to pay for Caprizov in that situation. So if you're Caprizov's agent, I probably want my hand a little bit greased on that situation because it seemed like he had some leverage and he definitely took it as, again, he is the richest paid hockey player.

[David Dwark]

A little bit more leverage than Sam Bennett gave his agent.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Oh, speaking of Sam Bennett, I want to get back to the Panthers here on players signed long term on this club. They have 11 players signed through 2030. Alexander Bachoff, Matthew Kachuk, Anton Lundell and Seth Jones are signed through 2030. Brad Marchand signed through 2031. Gustav Forsling, Sam Reinhardt signed through 2032. Sam Bennett, Carter Verhage and Aaron Ekley signed through 2033. And Nico Mikola, with his new contract, signed through 2034. Eleven players signed long term. Seems like they've got half the roster locked up.

[David Dwark]

Yeah. And the cool thing about that, Roy, is they've got all those. It's not like just you mentioned any. Those are like core players that are locked up for long term, the salary caps and to keep going up. Yeah. You gotta remember it's up to 95.5 this year. Next year around 104. A year after that, around 113.5. So that's two years from now where Zito could potentially have like another 15 to 20 million dollars to work with.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[David Dwark]

In addition to having all these guys locked up. That's got to be scary for the rest of the league. Connor McDavid, come on down.

[Ethan]

Yeah, I think.

[Roy Bellamy]

Jesus.

[Ethan]

I think the biggest thing is the Panthers have clearly established a window and they're not worried about what's going to happen after that wind. And you kind of look at the way these things are going to age. They're going to have more and more salary cap space as these contracts age, which means these guys will start becoming the veterans. And some of the new superstars that take place that hit free agency, those could be the guys that they bring in to extend the window around the core that they've had for a long time.

[Roy Bellamy]

I don't know, because, I mean, if you look down on the farm. Yeah, it drives up.

[Ethan]

No, it dries up. And that's why they're going to have to go out and be aggressive in free agency. It's just interesting to think about what it's going to look like six years from now. But I think the biggest thing is just the stability is amazing. You look at the top four. Okay. Gustav Forsling is entering the first year of an eight year contract. Aaron Ekblad is also entering the first year of an eight year contract. Then you go down to the second pair. Seth Jones is entering the fourth year of an eight year contract and Nico Mikola has one year left before starting another eight year contract. So it's pretty amazing the stability the Panthers are going to have. I don't know that I can ever remember if there's a precedent for a team having a core that's going to be together for as long as the Panthers will be. It'll be really interesting to see they like each other a lot now while they're winning. And I don't want to say they're going to stop liking each other, but it's going to be really interesting to see a team staying together for this long because it just doesn't ever really.

[Roy Bellamy]

Happen right you know, I've. I've heard of Core 4, obviously, that's Toronto. I've never heard of a Core 11. I mean, I never really seen a team that's been able to sign as many players as long term in a long term contract as much as the Panthers have.

[David Dwark]

I'm trying to come up with like something alliterative that goes with 11 that would fit that narrative. And to God, the Evangelical 11, like.

[Roy Bellamy]

I don't know, Magnificent 11 or something like that.

[David Dwark]

But it's got to be alliterative. It's got to start with an E.

[Ethan]

It'll be the elderly 11 by 2030, go, if I'm being honest. But it won't matter for Panther fans. It won't matter if they get another cup after this or another cup or two even. Who's going to give a shit what happens in 2032? If this team wins four cups in a decade, it's not going to matter.

[Roy Bellamy]

Another signing that happened in the NHL this week, the Devils extended the contract of Luke Hugh seven years. $63 million at seven million per year.

[David Dwark]

Good deal.

[Ethan]

When ax nine million per year. Seven years. At nine million.

[Roy Bellamy]

Nine million, seven years. That's a bad arithmetic. That's a bad multiplication by means. Because, you know, nine times I was.

[David Dwark]

Told there would be no max.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, well, there you go. When asked about his brother playing with his brothers playing with him. You know, Quinn's playing in Vancouver.

[David Dwark]

Too many Hughes right now.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, he's already playing with Jack, who's the. The devil's captain. When asked about all three of them getting together somewhere, somehow, he said, I think the three of us would love to play together someday. But whether it happened or not, who knows? I know Quinn loves Vancouver and he's the captain there. We love being here. You never know. So never say never. Now look, Hughes is set, you know, set in New Jersey. And their defenseman, the defensive corps is also set in New Jersey as well. They got Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pricey, Brendan Dillon, Jonathan Kovacevic, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Seamus Casey. So, yeah, that pretty much said. Obviously what happened last year was, you know, they got hit with the injury bug and they bowed out last, early last season. The Carolina, now how you think they're looking?

[David Dwark]

I am excited about the Devils because of how excited you are about the Devils. Like, I honestly was kind of looking at them as like an afterthought almost, but you've reminded me injuries decimated them last year. I like Jacob Marstrom. I thought he was great for them last year. They've got a lot of young, very high end talent. I think like Timo Meyer is a good guy, good veteran guy to have there. I don't know. Like I think the Devils to be a playoff team. Yeah, for sure. So I Nico Heer. I don't think we talk about Nico Heer enough to be honest. Like the more I watch him, the more I'm impressed by his two way play, by the little moves he can make with his hands. Like I think a breakout year from Nico Heer would be in the cards in the not too distant future. Just because he's that whole team is like yeah, the more I talk about it, the more I think that that team, yeah, it could be a breakout team.

[Ethan]

Their forward depth is very top heavy. Like you look at the Athletics season projections for them for their top five are the only players that have positive projected net ratings. And Steven Nason, Stefan Nason is just 0.07. Everybody else, Meyer brat. He sure. And Hughes. Hughes leads the way with a 19.1. He sure's projected rating is in the 88th percentile. Like this is a very, very top heavy team. Things kind of get ugly in the middle and at the back end. What I'm really intrigued by is to see they're paying Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes $9 million piece now. They're kind of very similar players. Nobody really knows who's going to be on Power Play 1. And it kind of seems like they've now made Dougie Hammond Hamilton expendable. A lot of people think that he could be moved here soon. I don't know that that's the greatest idea because I kind of like the idea of two pairs, one with Hamilton, one with Hughes and the other with Seagan Thaler, you know, and then you have Segan Thaler and Pesci matching up with whichever guy you like better there because that's kind of an offensive guy and a shutdown guy that you can match together. I think that can be the best way to line up. I wouldn't move Dougie Hamilton, but to me the more interesting discussion here is does Luke Hughes deserve this contract? Because, well, a guy we'll talk about next. Jackson Lacombe got the same contract as Luke Hughes basically, but he got one year more the same aav. And if you look at the analytics, Jackson Lacombe is a much better player than Luke Hughes. So my question is with Quinn Hughes having two years left on his contract, Jack Hughes having four years left on his contract or five years, excuse me, it's pretty obvious that the only way these three are going to get together is they. They come to New Jersey. So here's my question for you boys. Does Luke Hughes get this contract if his last name is not Hughes?

[Roy Bellamy]

Probably not.

[Ethan]

Not this kind of seems like there's a bit of a tax here of we want to keep you around so that we can take a run at Quinn when he becomes a free agent in a couple of years because otherwise this seems like a bit. I know they expect him to evolve into a star, but he's had two like 44 and 47 point seasons. I believe like $9 million. I know the cap's going up, but man, that's a big contract for this guy. Especially when you watch Lacombe, who like I said, is a better player, get the same deal the next day.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, I doubt that he would get that contract if he wasn't Hughes. But you mentioned Jackson lacombe. The Ducks also signed Mason Marchmont. So they got Marchmont.

[Ethan]

Marchman's in Seattle.

[Roy Bellamy]

Sorry about that. McTavish. I don't know why.

[David Dwark]

Former Panthers on the brain.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, I don't know what's going on. They signed Mason McTavish and Jackson Lacombe. McTavish, six year extension. Lacombe, eight year extension. But the Ducks played hardball with both of them. I mean, Jesus. Like, so I think the Ducks are going to look better this season. What do you think?

[David Dwark]

I think Pat Verbeek, we got to give him a little credit for being a little bit more hard nosed GM than maybe we realized. I don't know the Ducks, I'm, I'm curious because we know they're young, obviously. You know, McTavish is awesome. Troy Terry is a, is a quandary to me. I don't, I never know what to make of him because I feel like he's a good goal scorer, but he's got his deficiencies in his game. Remember they brought in Chris Kreider, they got Truba last year. They got a new coach this year that I'm sure we're going to be paying attention to how that goes. Cutter Gauthier is fun to watch. So I, I don't know like they'll be. I forgot also one of our favorite guys in AEIM to keep their, keep them on point and that's rad to do.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes. So yeah, the captain, the captain, Frank.

[Ethan]

Petrano signed a long term deal there as well. Former Panther.

[David Dwark]

Yes. Yeah. Frankie had a good year for them last year.

[Ethan]

Yeah, he did. So he's Been a nice player.

[David Dwark]

It's. It's interesting. Anaheim, you know me, I'm excited to see both, both of the non playoff Southern California teams from last year, San Jose and Anaheim. Yeah, both could be vastly improved on this year. But yeah, I don't know, man. What do you think about Anaheim?

[Ethan]

Right.

[David Dwark]

Do you have as a perhaps playoff team?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, I think so. I think that. I think they might be close in contention for the wild card. So we definitely will look forward to the end of the season and see where they are.

[Ethan]

They could, they're the hot pick. They're the hot pick. They could be the Flames for a playoffs team. Yeah. And they have a little more excitement than the Flames had last year and the Flames obviously took a run at it. Just missed out. But yeah, I'm very excited to watch Anaheim. I think they're going to be a really fun team to watch. And I can't believe you didn't bring up Lucas Dostle. Torquay, your, your fraternity brother. Yeah, your goalie fraternity brother. He's been. He was really good last year. His num. Underlying numbers are insane.

[Roy Bellamy]

So.

[David Dwark]

Yeah, good point.

[Roy Bellamy]

We appreciate everybody who watches and listens to this show. You guys can ask us questions on a vast array social media outlets. And we have a question from Ben from Wisconsin. With Capritz all signing in with Minnesota, is he enough to entice bigger name free agents to come and play for a while? Now we mentioned that he is making $17 million and you know, with a cap situation, $17 million is a pretty big. I mean that's like what, 10%?

[David Dwark]

That's a spicy meatball.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. So that, that's. They. Will they be able to afford big name talent to come in Minnesota?

[David Dwark]

That's the question is what else are they going to be able to do to build around Caprizov? Like obviously if you have the opportunity to sign another big name or two, like you want to try to pull the trigger on that, but it's going to have to. That check's going to come due somewhere and if it's going to come in your bottom six or in your, your final D pairing like that can really bite you in the ass when the playoffs roll around and that depth gets tested. So it's going to be something to watch with Minnesota over the next few years for sure to see how that Billy Darin and those guys played out.

[Roy Bellamy]

Another question from OG which team do you see as a pure bottom feeder going for the first round pick in the draft coming up? And obviously you know my answer to this.

[David Dwark]

Yeah, I know your answer to this. I don't know if you're going to like my answer to this. I think I'm looking at Chicago, again as just another down year. As much as I love Connor Bedard and what he did there, and he's fun to watch, there's not much around him at all. And they didn't do much in the off season to add to that, so good luck, Chicago.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right. Obviously my answer to that is Pittsburgh Penguins. I mean, they're a terrible team, so, yeah, look for the Penguins to be doing what they did, actually, I think the league's probably going to help them out, too.

[David Dwark]

I was going to say, like, you.

[Ethan]

Think they're going to get that ping pong ball?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes, they are. There's going to be a folded corner on that envelope. Exactly what they did for Cindy Crosby. I mean, that's how it goes in it. They're going to try to save that franchise yet again. It is time for wins and fails of the week. Sponsored by Jagermeister. Jagermeister. Serve a cold. Don't serve it at all. Jagermeister. Damn, that's cold. For more visit jagermeister.com Drink responsibly. David, what is your win of the week?

[David Dwark]

I'm struggling right now because I'm picturing Gavin McKenna in a Penguins jersey. And I'm like, just that right there is a little jarring to me.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, he went to Penn State, so, I mean, good point.

[Ethan]

We are.

[Adnan Vork]

Yes.

[David Dwark]

All right. My win of the week. We got a goalie fight. And not only did we get a goalie fight, we got an one, maybe one of the best goalie fights I have ever, ever seen. Adam Huska, he's a former Rangers prospect. He's wearing white there, so he plays for the Admiral. Vladis. Vladis. Vladis.

[Ethan]

Yeah. You buried the lead here, Dave. We didn't just get a goalie fight, we got a KHL goalie fight. Yeah, you buried the lead.

[David Dwark]

This is great.

[Roy Bellamy]

Wow.

[David Dwark]

And then you've got Andrey Misharov, who's playing for Avant Garde Omsk, the home team, wearing the dark and, oh, my, the footwork, the edge work, like their hands placement. And this fight's going on like we've been watching this now for, like 45 seconds. That's a maybe the best goalie fight of all time. 100%. My win of the week. That was awesome.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. That looked like a legit street fight, right? Yeah, that was. It looked like boxes like Klitschko out there.

[David Dwark]

That was. I Want to watch it again? That was really good.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. So the Florida Panthers have officially unveiled a new scoreboard. This week. Is rather massive and for those who are listening on audio. David provided the specs on his write up about it on the hockey news. The scoreboard delivers a total LED area of 4,762 square feet. That's 180% larger than the previous scoreboards. That is a big ass scoreboard, y'. All. They got four screens under the scoreboard. There's a LED halo above the scoreboard as well. And the Panthers have added a second ribbon wrapping around the arena. So yeah, they have made significant improvements on the in arena entertainment area as far as the score is concerned. I took a video of it during Monday's win against Carolina in the preseason game.

[David Dwark]

Not only is it a great video of the game winning goal on the ice, but then you immediately panned to the scoreboard and got the whole scoreboard reaction to a goal, which is something that we're gonna be seeing a lot of fans for the first time. So like awesome camera work by you here. Like I thought this was an excellent video start to finish.

[Roy Bellamy]

Thank you. It was an Android and as you know, the Android cameras are better.

[David Dwark]

I'm not talking about the quality, I'm talking about what you shot. I'm trying to give you credit, not your silly non iPhone.

[Roy Bellamy]

Hey, listen, I'm a pretty good photographer. Thank you very much.

[David Dwark]

Good work.

[Roy Bellamy]

Now I mentioned all these improvements because the Panthers, according to Sportico, had their evaluation. The value of the franchise go up. In fact it's at $1.89 billion now. It's gone up 51% from last year. That's 1.89 billion with a B, ladies and gentlemen. Now they've gone up nine spots from last year. So they're 17th now they're in the middle of the league. Since the President's trophy winning year, that's 20, 21, 22, the ticket sales have gone up 86%. Sponsorship's gone up 155%. Revenue from events other than hockey at Emirate bank arena has gone up 45%. Team revenue is up, is at $290 million. And 90% of the season ticket holders have renewed. Their value has gone up since the trophy President's trophy winning year, 218%. That is the highest increase of any team in the NHL since that time. So all is well in sunrise. Ethan, you have win.

[Ethan]

Yeah, my win of the week. Guys. I don't know if you were watching this Live.

[Roy Bellamy]

The. The.

[Ethan]

The baseball game that was going on at Wrigley Field. I think it was game one. And they did the promo for the NHL and there was the whole thing with this guy. Chris Chelios was there. Yeah, blah, blah, blah. And he made a whole big deal about, oh, I'm so cool. I'm not going to watch hockey. I got to watch playoff baseball, blah, blah, blah.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, Ben McDonald's do both. Yeah.

[Ethan]

So anyway, so that's not my win of the week, Obviously. My win of the week goes to our good friend John Butcher Gross. Who took to Twitter and dunked on this dork and said zero is also how many postseason innings Ben McDonald pitched in his MLB career. Score one for the hockey guys. Roy. I love it. I love baseball, too. But why? Why, why take a shot at hockey? It's unnecessary. First of all, it looks bad for espn. It looks terrible.

[Roy Bellamy]

Is terrible.

[Ethan]

Sure, their execs were happy about that promo and just. It's just an unnecessary shot at hockey. I thought it was lame.

[Roy Bellamy]

You. You do realize that you just called a man who's six foot eight a dork. You. Yeah.

[David Dwark]

Now, he shouldn't have talked about hockey. That's his bad. Not Ethan's foot. Look, I will get on Ethan's shoulders and we will take this down.

[Ethan]

Yeah, we'll take this guy down. We might not even be taller than him still, but we'll take him down.

[David Dwark]

Little Jewish we.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Ethan]

Let's go twerky.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's great.

[David Dwark]

Six foot person.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, by the way, I hope your fast was easy yesterday and the day before.

[Ethan]

Thank you.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right. And partake. Yes, absolutely. You too, as well.

[David Dwark]

Thank you.

[Roy Bellamy]

You're welcome. Fails of the week. That goes to you, Dave.

[David Dwark]

Nightmare Fuel. My win of the week was like, goalie beautician. I loved it. This is goalie Nightmare Fuel. My fail of the week, the NACA Rockers, who play in Division 2, which is the fourth tier of ice hockey in Sweden. So these are my people. Last week, their goaltender, Adam Lindholm, received a stare that might cause some people to leave the sport completely. He took a slap shot to the mask that got wedged in his mask.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's not good.

[David Dwark]

He's lucky he didn't lose it. Like, that thing is, like, so close to going through. If you guys are listening on audio, check this out on YouTube or look up the video online. It's scary. It's happened before. I remember when it happened, like, Brian Boucher, I think it was in a playoff game years back. But this. It Happens rarely. I've always made sure that I've got either double barred or just a little tighter cat eyes. Not that I'm playing with anybody that could do anything like that, but good God, is that scary. So like I said, nightmare fuel. No, thank you. 100% fail.

[Roy Bellamy]

The Ottawa Senators should know better than to mess with the Jack eyes now. And obviously they're new to Florian. Jacky. But Auburn, I mean, you need to be. You need to do a better job than that. This week, the Canadiens played the Ottawa Senators and felt the wrath of Arbor and Florian. Jackey and Arbor embarrassed Zach McEwen. I mean, just completely embarrassed. I mean, look at.

[David Dwark]

Oh, he got dragged.

[Roy Bellamy]

Jeez. And Florian. Absolutely. Yeah, of course he's pissed.

[David Dwark]

Like, put up a better fight.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. And Florian ended up ragdolling Carter Yakimchuk. Yakim. Chuck. Sorry, mispronounced his name. Yeah, he absolutely rag down him. And it's just it. These two guys are going to be a problem for this league. So my fail of the week going to the Ottawa Senators for not knowing your opponent.

[David Dwark]

Dude, that makes me think if the. If the Canadiens get in the playoffs again this year, like, that could be trouble. Yeah, like that series against Washington last year was fun.

[Ethan]

That got chippy.

[David Dwark]

So look out for Montreal.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, that's going to be more ways than watch Ethan.

[Ethan]

All right. My win. My fail of the week. Excuse me. Comes from a preseason game between the Devils, who we talked about earlier, and the Washington Capitals. Check out this breakaway by. I believe it's Chester Bratton, Luke and Jack Hughes. 3, 4, 5, 6 passes. 5 passes. And then Charlie Lindgren with the save. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and a 6 saved by Charlie Lindgren. Somebody's got to shoot the puck and bury it before.

[Roy Bellamy]

Go high. You got to go high.

[Ethan]

That's ridiculous.

[Roy Bellamy]

Why are you going low?

[Ethan]

Too many passes. If this is what it's going to look like in the regular season for the Devils, I don't know about how we're feeling about their chances to contend. Anything real. I know it won't. They'll clean this up.

[David Dwark]

Two on O. I'm a little worried about.

[Ethan]

Yeah, I don't like this either, but man, they were just toying with Lindgren and they still couldn't get it past him. He got to score on that one.

[David Dwark]

You got to score on that one. And he's a left handed goalie, so he's not even windmilling the glove on that side. He's out of seven. Stick on that side.

[Ethan]

And he shot it right into his patty, didn't he?

[Roy Bellamy]

Right into his patty. That's what I'm saying. Go hot.

[David Dwark]

Credit to the goaltender for being in the right position when he just had to go back and forth like five times in the span of a second. But yeah, get the puck off the ice.

[Roy Bellamy]

I want to point something out. The Utah Mammoth have reconfigured the Delta Center. At least the ownership group has. So.

[David Dwark]

Yes. Yeah. They've been posting videos all summer.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. And so the Utah Jazz and the Utah Mammoth gonna have some new sight lines. In fact, the area which was, you know, obstructing, like there's an obstruction near one of the nets.

[David Dwark]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

They've reconfigured seats there. And as you can see, it is steep. I mean, if you trip and fall, you are dead. If you are drunk, most likely you're gonna trip and fall and you're going to die. That's how high those seats are. I mean, it's like a mountain. Like it's going straight up.

[David Dwark]

Right? Like, that's what they have in Utah. So maybe the people of Salt Lake City are like used to steep inclines and climbing mountains and stuff. So maybe that's just like the home field advantage. The away fans, they're the ones that have to worry. But the home fans, they'll be fine.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, that's ridiculous. But they got more seats in there now, so good on them.

[Ethan]

It's a little gonna throw up sitting in those seats, dude. Like, yeah, you know, forward to.

[Roy Bellamy]

You're gonna get Roto goes. That's ridiculous.

[David Dwark]

Mammoth did have an interesting season.

[Ethan]

I'm intrigued by the Mammoth for sure. There's a lot of teams out west. I'm intrigued by Mammoth Ducks. I don't think the Sharks are going to like come anywhere near the playoffs, but I'm excited to watch them at.

[David Dwark]

Least when the Sharks make the playoffs, I'm going to be celebrating. Like, I'm from San Jose, by the way.

[Ethan]

Just to touch on one thing, clean one thing up on the Wild, they're going to have $23 million in cap space next year and they really only have one UFA that you would be like, that's a hole you need to fill that you can't fill in free agency. Maybe Zach is going to be. And then Tarasenko, they have two forwards that they would need to fill. So they're going to have plenty of money to work with to build around. Tara sank or. Excuse me, to build around. I think they're going to be able to do A really good job building that team.

[Roy Bellamy]

For those of you who are watching on DraftKings Network, coming up next, we have Adnan Verk from Prime Monday Night Hockey. We are going to get into the storylines going into the regular season with him at nanvirk is coming up next.

[Mike]

Hey, Jeremy, old buddy, old pal.

[David Dwark]

Hey, Mike.

[Mike]

I want to talk to you about Miller Lite. You and I have bonded over these last few weeks talking about our shared love of Miller Lite.

[David Dwark]

That's right.

[Mike]

A great partner of our show for practically its entire existence.

[David Dwark]

It's been a partner of this show.

[Ethan]

Since I was 10 years old and.

[Mike]

It'S been around for 50 years and they've been a part of our show for almost 20. We're approaching incredible partner status with Miller Lite.

[Ethan]

I mean, to think that people were.

[David Dwark]

Celebrating at my bar mitzvah with Miller Lite as they were a partner of this show is pretty incredible.

[Mike]

You're talking about the moments that are made better by making those times, those special times. Miller Time. Jeremy, there's nothing like cracking open Miller Lite with your crew this football season. It's especially true whether it's a touchdown you didn't see coming or just arguing about fantasy lineups you already know you're gonna lose. Miller Lite has been the taste you can depend on for 50 years. Brewed for flavor with simple ingredients, rich toffee notes that iconic golden color. And here's a kicker, Jeremy.

[Roy Bellamy]

What's that?

[Mike]

It's just 96 calories.

[David Dwark]

I still can't believe that we say it every week. I can't believe it.

[Mike]

It's just 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. It's the original light beer since 1975 and still hittin different five decades later. Miller Light, great taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Dan]

You ever try to name all your financial accounts and their balances? 401ks, investments, properties? I can barely remember what I had for lunch, let alone all that stuff. That's why I started using Monarch Money. It's an all in one finance tool that pulls everything together. Your accounts, budgets, goals, into one clean dashboard on your phone or laptop. And let me tell you, it was.

[David Dwark]

A wake up call.

[Dan]

I found a 401k from some job I forgot existed and it wasn't some small change. Ended up being a nice little chunk of change there for the boy. I realized that I had cash just sitting there doing nothing in my investments. Not as smart as I thought it was. Monarch makes all that obvious and actually feels doable. No spreadsheets, no hopping between apps. Just a real clear view of my money. You can even share with your partner or financial advisor.

[David Dwark]

No more.

[Dan]

Wait, let's see how much we spent on that coffee or that takeout. Monarch puts everything on the table. Literally. Don't let financial opportunities slip through the cracks. Use code danonarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with code DAN.

[Adnan Vork]

What does Zyn give you? Not just smoke free nicotine satisfaction, but real freedom. Freedom to do what you love and choose your rewards. With Zin Rewards you can redeem points for premium tech, outdoor gear and gift cards to your favorite retailers. Find your Zen and keep finding rewards that fit your [e-mail] rewards warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

[Roy Bellamy]

He is the author of the book Cinephile Interview Essays and Tales from the Red Carpet. You probably saw him on Pitch Clock earlier with Jeremy Tashay represent representing the Mob Network. Now he's on our show representing Prime Monday Night Hockey. He is the studio host. His name is Adnan Vork. Adnan, what is your first assignment of the season?

[Adnan Vork]

Roy, it's great to see you. And David, let's get to this right away. So I got officially the word that I'm going to the Major League baseball winner meetings in early December.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh right.

[David Dwark]

There we go.

[Adnan Vork]

What this means is specifically for David to go ahead and get the Panthers tickets now because I said I need the earliest flight. December 6th. I have a 7am flight. I believe I'm landing in Miami around 10. No, sorry. Shit. Are we gonna be able to make this work? I'm flying to Orlando, then I have to get the rental car and meet you guys in Miami. Three hour drive.

[David Dwark]

Which day?

[Adnan Vork]

December 6th is a Saturday.

[David Dwark]

Yeah, but it's a 3:30 game.

[Adnan Vork]

Oh yeah, I can do it. Okay, land at 10am I'll get a rental car, drive right there, meet you guys for the game, etc.

[Ethan]

Perfect.

[Adnan Vork]

It'll be awesome. We're doing it.

[David Dwark]

The arena is right by the turnpike so we'll make it happen for sure.

[Roy Bellamy]

And then you do realize we're gonna have to get you a credential, right? You want to be in the press.

[Ethan]

No, no no. Admin sitting with me. We're having beers in the seats with. What are you talking about man? In the cheap seats.

[Adnan Vork]

I've never been to a Panthers game. I want to see the defending Stealing cup champion with Badowski, David and Roy. It's going to be awesome.

[David Dwark]

Come on, we'll go out after the game and have a drink together.

[Roy Bellamy]

Well some of us will have a drink.

[David Dwark]

Well maybe not too much if you're driving straight back to Orlando but drinking water. We'll figure it.

[Ethan]

This is going to happen. This is going to happen.

[Adnan Vork]

I think I'm going to try to do is this David do the hockey game with you guys, book signing with Stu guys afterwards and then Orlando. That could be dicey.

[David Dwark]

Nice.

[Roy Bellamy]

So what's your first assignment officially for Prime Monday night hockey at man.

[Adnan Vork]

So I'll be on NHL network next Thursday. Can't wait. Obviously with the season kicking off on Tuesday as we all know. So next Thursday, NHL network and the first assignment for Amazon prime night at hockey back home in Toronto. Red Wings and Maple Leafs part of a doubleheader. It is Canadian Thanksgiving, October 13th. We also the Canucks later that night. So I can't wait to be a lot of fun. As always. These Toronto Maple Leafs fans are so delusional. They always think this is the year. So we'll get those fans fired up and it should be a lot of fun. And as far as the Red Wings are concerned, still waiting for the ISER plan to come to fruition. We'll see what happens their opening night we fun.

[David Dwark]

So Thanksgiving in Canada Hockey. Like I'm trying to think the American, you know, equate, equitable. Right. So we Football on Thanksgiving is like a religion here. Like people go to the games. It's Detroit, it's Dallas. So Thanksgiving hockey in Canada. Is it similar? Like is Vancouver in Toronto? Explain this to me because I feel like I should know this but I have no idea.

[Adnan Vork]

No, you shouldn't have to know it David. And honestly it's not quite the same. I'll be totally honest here. I'm not just playing to the American audience. Growing up us Thanksgiving was better cuz we'd get football. So I would go to school, I'd come home like oh Lions giving 12:30 great. And then I watched the Cowboys at 4 and then later on of course now there's a third game being added which is NBC Peacock or Amazon, whatever it is. So yeah in Canada Thanksgiving, I mean it's cool. It's always the first Monday In October, it's meant to signal the harvest. And, you know, timing wise, I would argue Canada's better because it spaces it out with Christmas. But honestly, you guys do it better because you get the football and the turkey and the shirt and then John Madden getting after it. So. No, hockey is not synonymous with Thanksgiving. I think Amazon's making a ploy this year to do so. But generally speaking, it is not the case.

[Ethan]

What do Canadians eat on Thanksgiving? Is it a typical Thanksgiving, like traditional American Thanksgiving meal, or do you guys have other things that you guys go to?

[Adnan Vork]

It is typical Thanksgiving meal, Ethan. But I'm telling you, you guys, you guys do it right? Like, I remember growing up and my mom would get a turkey. It was good. Like, you know, I like the dark meats. Great here. Like, you go to someone's house and it's like six different types of things. You haven't had this stuffing, you're gonna lose it. Wait till you have the pumpkin pie with a vanilla ice cream like my grandma's pumpkin pie. As I'm saying, Americans and Thanksgiving, like, it rivals Christmas or Hanukkah. Whatever major festival you have, like us Thanksgiving, that's like a number one seed for me. It's awesome.

[Ethan]

Turkey's overrated.

[Roy Bellamy]

You shut the hell up. How dare you. Like you. You weren't here when I cooked my turkey.

[Ethan]

Oh, Roy. I've been trying to get my family to do a deep fried turkey for years now.

[Roy Bellamy]

I didn't do a deep fried turkey. That was great.

[Ethan]

Something different. We got to try something different because it's fine. We're not like typical white people that don't season our turkey at all. We seems like a little bit. But I need something different. I need to try deep fried. Or like, Roy's got to make a bird for us. Something like that. Or we just go to ham and steak. Or we just go to ham and steak.

[David Dwark]

What is happening?

[Ethan]

I'm just. I'm done with turkey. I'm over turkey. I'm over it completely.

[David Dwark]

Turkey is like the. The star, but it's not everything. Like, you correct. Thanksgiving is putting on one fork a thing. Or turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, veggies. Putting it all in one fork and eating it at the same time. And that is the deliciousness. My mouth is watering. I can't even finish the sentence.

[Ethan]

I'm just saying that we need. We need a new star. We need a new star.

[Roy Bellamy]

Speaking of stars. Just.

[David Dwark]

I'm just saying that's just poor coaching. You've got a good player and you're.

[Roy Bellamy]

Just not coaching them up. Speaking of, you haven't had my turkey. You got.

[Ethan]

I would love to have your turkey.

[Roy Bellamy]

Anybody?

[David Dwark]

No.

[Ethan]

I would love to have your turkey.

[Roy Bellamy]

No. You can have asked anybody in that office because I cooked the turkey for everybody in that office. How good. Mine was nine.

[Ethan]

I know.

[Roy Bellamy]

Citrus forward turkey.

[David Dwark]

There's everyone in that.

[Ethan]

Everyone in the office. Nobody's.

[Roy Bellamy]

Here's not a single.

[Ethan]

Okay.

[David Dwark]

Speaking of stars, Adnan had something, though. Adnan, what did you have to add there?

[Adnan Vork]

Saying turkey, sometimes if it's not done right is too dry. Like, the first thing you see is a guy adding ketchup. You go, okay, clearly the turkey was not shop.

[Roy Bellamy]

Who's adding ketchup?

[Ethan]

Yeah, no cranberry sauce. If anything.

[Adnan Vork]

Yeah, great. Danny Canal. Who I worked for the ESPN for many years, proud Florida State guy. I've seen him add ketchup to turkey, and I was like, wow, clearly that.

[David Dwark]

Turkey almost as bad as putting ketchup on steak. Almost as bad.

[Adnan Vork]

That's worse.

[David Dwark]

Yeah, it's worse. But that's. It's. Oh, what are we doing?

[Roy Bellamy]

I'm speechless. Catch up.

[Ethan]

The yeah boy's offended.

[Adnan Vork]

Whoa.

[Ethan]

Yeah. Okay, so speaking of stars, let's talk about the Caprize of McDavid situation here. Caprizov contract. He gets $17 million. McDavid still in negotiations, we think. We don't even know if there are negotiations going on. Adnan, to transition finally into hockey. How do you think the Caprizov situation is going to impact the McDavid situation, if at all?

[Adnan Vork]

Yeah, I think it's fascinating, Ethan. $17 million a year. I immediately said to my buddy Jason Dimmers on our podcast, and he's on scripted. I said, is he overrated, underrated, or properly rated? And he goes, he's properly rated. I said, okay, 17 million. You think he's one of the best players in hockey. Then he's again at the age of where he is and the ascendant rise he's on for Minnesota. It makes sense to get a superstar player, and I do believe he's a superstar player.

[David Dwark]

All right.

[Adnan Vork]

And as it now impacts Connor McDavid, especially after next year's UFA, Kyle Connor, I mean, there's other guys now. You'll see that salary bump for McDavid. And again, I know we've talked this before with you guys, I still think the most fascinating situation is this, which I don't think happens, which is that he just plays out the entire year without a contract. Like, I think that'd be amazing. Like Just, just a lame duck situation. He's like, no, I want to just finish here and see. I mean, he'd lose his mind with all the questions. He'd be at every major city. He'd be going to Connor. What about signing here? What about signing here? But I do think that the Oilers will sign a two year deal, maybe a three year deal. 18 a year. Can we do three for 54? Is that possible? Something like that? I mean, I know they're up against it. He's going to swallow the rest of the cap. But Caprisop just made it that much more expensive for the Oilers. But again, my wish fulfillment is just he plays up the year. It'll be a LeBron type saga. I'm taking my talents to South Beach. I don't think it happens, but it'd be fun to see.

[David Dwark]

It's gonna happen.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right. Alexander Barkov visit the visited Miami Heat at their training facility. This was at fau and Miami Heat head coach Expostra said that he talked to Barkov and he said that he will be back in five to six months.

[David Dwark]

Yeah, I think it's way too early for anybody to know that right now. Like he just had surgery a week ago today. We're sitting here a week ago, right now talking about how he was going under the knife as we were talking until his knee heals to the point where he can. Well, first he's not be able to put all his weight on it, which he isn't doing yet. He's gonna have to stayed on it, then he's gonna have to push off on it. These are all steps that are going to be happening as we get into like Christmas time and into January and hopefully like he's on schedule. So nobody knows if it's going to be on the early side or on the late side. It's impossible to tell. But let's be optimistic. I'm down for that. But we don't know.

[Adnan Vork]

But to David's point, one of my great frustrations in sports, what happens is a guy gets hurt and he goes, oh, that's four to six or it's three to four. I'm like, you don't really know. And I'll tell you, in the baseball playoffs with the Blue Jays, Boba Shet went on the Il September 6, like, oh, 10 day, Il knee contusion. I go, yeah, that's what you think. But like it could get worse. It could be worse than they're letting on. Now it's Yankees Blue Jays starting Saturday. It's been A month. And there's no guarantee Boba Shed's playing. So I'm with David, especially with hockey and an injury of that size. Five or six months sounds great. Because why you say, oh, he'll come back in March, he'll play like 15 games, he's ready for the playoffs. Or he comes back in April, he'll play five games, he's back for the playoffs. No guarantee of this. Yes. Fingers crossed. We'd love to see Barcock back. It's going to be a battle. It's a war of attrition for the Panthers every year to try to win a third straight cup. Already with a Tkachuk out till December. But yeah, if spo's an expert, let's hope he's back in five or six months. I'll take it.

[David Dwark]

All right, so Adnan, no Tachuk, no Barkov. Are the Panthers still potentially a Stanley cup contender? With Reinhardt and Bennett and Marchand and Neckblad and Forsling and Bob, and they've still got a stacked roster. Where do the Panthers line up right now, today?

[Adnan Vork]

Again, David, I still feel like no matter what, until you get beaten, I'm riding with the Panthers. But you're taking out two enormous pieces. I mean, Kachuk, as I said, will be back, but as you said right now, he's not there. And who knows what kind of hole you could dig the first couple months of the season. I still think they have more than enough firepower and a staunch enough defense and a great enough goaltender and Bob, that they should be fine. But we saw this last year like it wasn't so critical to win the division. It was more important for other teams to do so, at least in the division. Fine. Palmer, he says, yeah, whatever. It wasn't that they're playing possum. They just want to make sure that they're a healthy come playoff time. And sure enough, it didn't matter if there's Homemade's advantage or not, they could win. I do think the road gets tougher every single season. Every other team is gunning for them. They're the, you know, the hunter, not the hunted. So I do think the Panthers still have the team to beat.

[Roy Bellamy]

But.

[Adnan Vork]

But yeah, if you tell me Tkachuk's injury is worse than expected and Barkov's definitely out for the year, that road becomes a lot much harder.

[David Dwark]

Another thing that I wanted to get to and Roy kind of alluded to it before and I think Ethan actually mentioned it too. Are we going to get a Hughes super team in two years? Potentially in New Jersey, because that's where, you know, two thirds of the Hughes are signed. But is that like. I feel like we're kind of dancing around it right now, but are we lining up for a Hughes super team in the metro New York, New Jersey area?

[Adnan Vork]

This Hughes, not Queen Hughes getting that kind of a contract. I'm like, holy moly. The Devils are ling so much money into Dougie Hamilton and the inferior Hughes. I mean, the rumor has been for a while inferior Hughes.

[Ethan]

Title of the episode, the inferior Hughes.

[Adnan Vork]

All along, David, the rumor has been the Hughes all want to play together. And why not? I mean, I'd love to play with my brother. If I was good enough at playing hockey, that'd be so cool. Family affairs. I think the Vancouver Canucks will do everything in their power to make sure that doesn't happen. They'll offer Quinn Hughes Moon. He can have whatever mountain he wants named after him in Vancouver. Like, let's figure this out. You are a franchise generational player. Unless he says no matter what, there's nothing you can do. There's no price you can pay. I want to play with my brothers, period. It feels like, I don't know that the passion is really for that. It feels like that it's leaning. Like everything that I've heard as far as rumors, innuendo. They want to play together. That's their dream. It's like Gordie Howe playing with Mark and Marty Howe all those years later, you know, the Whalers. So it feels like it's leaning. But again, banker will do everything in their power to make sure that doesn't happen. The law from the Moon.

[David Dwark]

Give him the caprize of.

[Ethan]

I was just going to say I see Quinn Hughes like a caprice of situation. They have to keep that player, lose that guy. They will revolt in Vancouver. I want to ask you off the Hughes contract. Another contract we saw, saw, signed the next day was Jackson Lacombe. Same AAV one more year. A better player. Like statistically a better player. Jackson Lacombe than. Than Luke Hughes gets the basically the same contract. I want to ask you more about Anaheim, though. They're kind of a hot pick to be a dark horse in the playoffs this year. We were talking about them earlier. You agree? Do you see that this team could really push for the playoffs under Joel Quinville.

[Adnan Vork]

Well, again, Ethan, your point. Lacombe, where he's at right Now, I mean, 24 years of age, that's a good contract for a guy who's coming into his own. I do think Mason McTavish signing was important. Like, he didn't want any sort of dissension there. I think he's a key young piece. You know, they're clearly in win now mode. I mean, you get Joel Quinville, there's your head coach. And I think like a Terry Francona in baseball, Q comes in there. That's going to improve that team. I thought a year ago they were adventurous and on the rise. Now you trade Zegras, which could be addition by subtraction because clearly he'd fallen out of favor there. I think the Ducks challenge for a playoff spot. I'm not maybe as bullish as my buddy Jason Demersis. He thinks they're a playoff team for sure. But I think Ethan, they'll contend for a Walker, definitely. Team on the rise, a good coach, good young team. It'll be fun.

[Roy Bellamy]

Are there any unsigned free agents out there that you can see being signed? I mean, and that includes Carter Hart.

[Adnan Vork]

Yes. I was about to say Carter Hart's the only one, Roy. And it's like when this whole situation happened with Hockey Canada, you know, he's the one guy, they go, dude, he's a good goalie. Like, at one point they thought in Philadelphia he was the franchise goaltender. And then I think he dipped a little bit. But overall it went from like, Carter Hart's a generational goalie to his great. To he's very good to be still good to still now. I mean, he should have a job in the NHL if all things are being equal. Carter Hart can be a starter some places can definitely be a backup for almost any team. And the one thought I had was, you know, Edmonton would make so much sense. He's from Sherwood Park, Alberta. But I think because of the trial and the negative attention associated with it, it's almost like, Carter Hart can't play for a team in Canada. Whereas if he's playing for. I know the Dallas Stars have Jake Ottinger, but let's suppose it was Dallas. It's like, well, who cares? They don't know what happened to this guy. Oh, he used to play for the Flyers. He had some trials. Something happened. Oh, he was acquitted. Okay, whatever. Like, he's our goalie. I was. I think in Canada, it's such a sensitive issue. That entire trial faced so much scrutiny that I think it'd be a different story. So Carter Hart is going to be playing hockey. I think Carolina Hurricanes are definitely the mix. Was one of the teams. I read Las Vegas is in the mix to sign him. He's a good goalie and by all accounts is a good guy. Again, I don't know what happened with that situation. Clearly, you know, his record has been tarnished, so to speak, but they've been exonerated. For now. He's going to play hockey. He's good enough to play hockey in the NHL.

[David Dwark]

So I want to talk to you real quick about something that I'm guessing you have some privy knowledge to. And that's the new. And it's Anaheim.

[Roy Bellamy]

Anaheim.

[David Dwark]

Amazon NHL behind the scenes show. That's. I think it drops today, does it not?

[Ethan]

That's correct.

[David Dwark]

So I was lucky enough to see a little bit ahead of time, as I'm guessing you have to. Adnan. The the Four nations episode had me feeling like I was watching it for the first time again. I was like my heart was beating. I was just like, I was so into it. What have you seen? What do you think? And what should people be the most excited about?

[Adnan Vork]

Yeah, David. I don't want to be a total company show, but it's outstanding. When we had the Amazon meetings in September in Toronto, they unveiled that episode you're talking about, and it was unbelievable. I know how much you guys were into it. Ethan, Mike, run everybody there in Montreal. I mean, just seeing the Kachuks behind the scenes, like, I can't get enough of Brady.

[David Dwark]

Yeah, that's right. It was the Brady Tkachuk episode that did the Four Nations. I'm calling it the Four nations episode.

[Adnan Vork]

But forgive me, Brady, but Brady is like such a showman, right? He's just funny, he's entertaining, he's great for the game, and he lets you in. Like, there's nothing unvarnished about him. It's like, yep, this is who I am, love it or not. And, like, seeing those fights in full and seeing his dad, he could just watch in the stands and then telling his wife, don't worry, there's gonna be more coming. Like, it was. It gave me chills watching it, man. It was awesome. It's highly produced. It's really well done. I saw a bit of the William Nylander episode as well. The one I really want to see is stuff about Crosby, because for a superstar, I know Roy hates him for good reason, but for a superstar, there's really not a lot. We know a ton about Crosby. Right. Really doesn't let you. He's from Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia. He's a nice guy. He, you know, rent, stayed with Mario Lemieux the first couple of season. That's about it. Like, you don't really know a ton about him. So I'm hoping with this Face off series, he finally lets us in a little bit, lets us see what is Sidney Crosby's life all about. But the Brady Tkachuk episode. Fantastic Is what I saw.

[David Dwark]

Yeah, it's cool. Sorry Roy didn't cut you off.

[Roy Bellamy]

I am not interested in the Cindy Crosby anyway. Go ahead, Dave.

[David Dwark]

No, what I thought was really cool about. Because there was. I believe the sixth episode is called, like, the Rat Kings, and it's all about the Panthers and the final and all that. So we see a lot of the Tachuks. I love how the family dynamic works, as they're all very. Not very different, but they're all very particularly different in that, you know, Matthew's a little bit more of, I guess, like a wilder one, where Brady's a little bit more reserved, but then when you get him on the ice, he's a madman. And hearing Big Walt talk about them when they were at the final game where Taylor Swift was, where he's like, giving his wife and his daughter shit because they're looking for Taylor Swift, and he's like, I guess I'm the only one that's going to watch my son play hockey. So it's just so funny to me. I just love having those looks behind the scenes, even if one of them may be of Sidney Crosby. I'm sorry, Roy, but I love when we get to see behind the curtain. And this show's done such a great job of that.

[Ethan]

Did you guys get to see the Johnny Hockey episode? I heard that I. Incredible.

[David Dwark]

I want to prepare my. I feel like I need to be sitting in a dark room. I watch that. That's. That's going to be profound. It's going to be impactful.

[Adnan Vork]

Yeah. His. His widow has been so passionate and outspoken just about Johnny's impact. And, like, you know, sometimes in these types of tragedies, people just fade away. Right. People don't want to deal with anything and just. Just want to move away. But they've done such a great job honoring Johnny's memory and being so forthful about it. I'm sure that's going to be a. A three hanky weeper, for sure.

[David Dwark]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right. The season starts on October 7th. That is Tuesday.

[Adnan Vork]

Tuesday.

[Roy Bellamy]

And the Panthers will raise their Stanley cup banner on Saturday. What's that, Eden?

[Ethan]

The nlds. The alds.

[Roy Bellamy]

This is the hockey show.

[Ethan]

We're moving in the baseball playoffs, baby. Adnan, real quick, who's your World Series pick?

[Adnan Vork]

You know, I'm Calling Phillies, Blue Jays. Rematch.

[Ethan]

I like it.

[David Dwark]

Yankees. Let's go Yankees. Happy wife, happy life. Come on.

[Ethan]

I think the Phillies are going to win the World Series as well. Though I will obviously be rooting for myself Saturday.

[David Dwark]

Ethan, which is where I thought you were going with. This is Kane. Seminoles.

[Ethan]

Oh, who gives a about that?

[David Dwark]

Everybody not from Gainesville. I'm sorry, you guys.

[Ethan]

College football's dead to me. Baseball is what I'll be watching.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay, all right. He wrote the book C Interviews, Essays and tales from the red carpet. You see him on mob network, you see him on NHL network, you see him on Prime Monday Night Hockey.

[David Dwark]

And you'll see him in South Florida the beginning of December. Two more six Panthers, Blue Jackets.

[Roy Bellamy]

Bill.

[Adnan Vork]

I can't wait. This is going to be awesome.

[Roy Bellamy]

Brandon Burke, ladies and gentlemen. He is coming down. We are going to party or at least watch hockey.

[Adnan Vork]

By the way, I love the hockey show, the name, but now that David mentioned the Rat Kings, it's a pretty good name if you guys want to steal it.

[David Dwark]

It's taken though.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's taken. Thanks, Adnan for joining us and thinking of a brand new name for this podcast even though we are now two years in.

[Adnan Vork]

Thanks, guys. Appreciate you.

[Roy Bellamy]

Thanks again to Antburgh for joining us. We are almost there. October 7th, Tuesday, that's when we drop the puck on the regular season and we're going to see the Panthers try to three peat and this one's going to be the toughest test yet. They're not going to have Alexander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Thomas Nosek is not going to be there. So the fourth line is going to get hampered a little bit. So yeah, it's a bit of an injury bug before they even get started.

[David Dwark]

It'll be that much sweeter when they get it done.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. So we are looking forward to that. For Ethan, for Danny B, for Jason in the back, for Rose, who is not here, that's David Dwark. My name is Rory Bellamy. We will see you next week and that's going to be us talking about the first week of the National Hockey League regular season. We'll see you guys next week.

[Mike]

Hey, Jeremy, old buddy, old pal.

[David Dwark]

Hey, Mike.

[Mike]

I want to talk to you about Miller Lite. You and I have bonded over these last few weeks talking about our shared love of Miller Lite.

[David Dwark]

That's right.

[Mike]

A great partner of our show for practically its entire existence.

[David Dwark]

It's been a partner of this show.

[Ethan]

Since I was 10 years old and.

[Mike]

It'S been around for 50 years and they've been a part of our Show for almost 20 we're approaching incredible partner status with Miller Light.

[Ethan]

I mean, to think that people were.

[David Dwark]

Celebrating at my bar mitzvah with Miller Lite as they were a partner of this show is pretty incredible.

[Mike]

You're talking about the moments that are made better by making those times, those special times. Miller Time Jeremy, there's nothing like cracking open Miller Lite with your crew this football season. It's especially true whether it's a touchdown you didn't see coming or just arguing about fantasy lineups you already know you're going to lose. Miller Lite has been the taste you can depend on for 50 years. Brewed for flavor with simple ingredients, rich toffee notes, that iconic golden color. And here's a kicker. Jeremy what's that? It's just 96 calories.

[David Dwark]

I still can't believe that we say it every week. I can't believe it.

[Mike]

It's just 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. It's the original light beer since 1975 and still hit indifferent five decades later. Miller Lite Great Taste. 96 calories. Go to millerlight.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. It's Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Ethan]

Julian Edloe here from DK Network.

[David Dwark]

Tune in to DKN Daily Bets Monday through Friday.

[Ethan]

A fun, quick hitting podcast where we.

[David Dwark]

Bring in knowledgeable guests from across the sports betting industry to break down our favorite bets of the day.

[Ethan]

Find DKN Daily Bets wherever you listen to your podcasts.