The Hockey Show: Training Camp Is Here, McDavid And Kaprizov's Contracts Are Not

Summary

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The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: The Hockey Show: Training Camp Is Here, McDavid And Kaprizov's Contracts Are Not
Date: September 19, 2025
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, David Drucker, Roy Bellamy, Ethan, Rosie
Guest: David Pinota (The Fourth Period)

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Episode Overview

This episode marks the kickoff of hockey preseason and training camps, with the panel dissecting the league’s biggest offseason storylines: drawn-out contract talks for stars Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild) and Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers), media day reveals, early injuries, team outlooks, and a detailed inside look at the evolving player market from NHL insider David Pinota. Energy is high as the team debates who’s set for another run, who’s facing tough roster questions, and what subtle off-ice shifts (like the end of rigid grooming policies) signal wider league changes.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Arrival of Training Camps & Fun Traditions

• The annual release of Brandon Tanev’s headshot is cited as the true start of the season, with jokes about his notorious "lunatic" expression and the Utah Mammoth's logo (“It almost looks like the Mammoth logo is looking down like, ‘Oh, he’s doing the face again.’” – Roy, 02:19).
• New Utah Mammoths jerseys are praised for their updated logo and color scheme (Ethan, 02:28).

2. Buffalo Sabres Positivity & Nostalgia

• David compliments Buffalo, one of his favorite teams, and highlights goalie Alex Lyon’s mask tribute to Dominik Hasek (03:04).
• The panel reflects on Sabres fandom, their quality, and aesthetics in the new season.

3. Contract Stalemates: Kirill Kaprizov & Minnesota Wild

Main Developments:

• Talks are private, with the GM stating, “Things are fine. The most important thing is that we want to sign Kirill. He's a franchise player.” (Bill Guerin quote, 04:10).
• Kaprizov, the panel agrees, is saying "all the right things," but skepticism lingers:
  “It does not sound good. … feels like they’re about to post that ‘this is fine’ meme.” – Roy Bellamy, 04:41
• Ethan notes Caprizov’s agent appearing unannounced at camp as a positive, but the public statements are tinged with uncertainty.
  “That Garen quote did not sound overly confident at all.” – Ethan, 06:05

Locker Room Dynamics:

• Players want their guy to get paid, but there is awkwardness facing teammates after turning down league-high deals.

• “You want to probably use his contract as a comparable, but you don't talk about another teammate’s contract.” – David Drucker, 07:24

• The panel foreshadows that McDavid’s contract will likely shape how (and if) Caprizov signs.

4. Contract Stalemates: Connor McDavid & Edmonton Oilers

McDavid’s Vague Messaging:

• Quoting McDavid’s recent comments emphasizing love for Edmonton and desire to win, but leaving the future “to be seen”:

  "We have time. It's our decision, basically. We've earned that and we're going to take our time with it."
  — Connor McDavid, 08:00

• When asked if the team needs to do more to keep him, he deflects:

  "Nothing. All the pieces are here for 25, 26. It's going to be a feeling… But as of right now, just excited to get the season going."
  — Connor McDavid, 08:29

Panel’s Anxiety:

• “If you’re an Oilers fan, I’m freaking out. That’s the last thing you want your star player to say.” – Ethan, 10:37
• Zach Hyman’s injury and the Oilers’ slow start history are highlighted as additional worries for Edmonton.
• Rosie jokes McDavid should "go to Florida if he wants to win" (11:23), cueing laughter and debate about salary caps and the appeal of South Florida teams.

5. Florida Panthers Media Day & Injury Updates

• Bill Zito’s updates on injuries: Matthew Tkachuk (returning December), Tomas Nosek (out a few months) (12:16).
• Roy shares Brad Marchand’s frank comments on the league’s “no tax” teams:
  “It’s not so much about the no tax, it’s about the competency in the front office that makes players want to come.” – Roy, 12:42
• The crew ponders Marchand’s long-term impact if the Panthers enjoy more Cup success.

6. Anze Kopitar’s 20th Season and “Mr. Team” vs. “Best Player” Debate

• Kopitar is called “the greatest Los Angeles King of all time” (not “best player to play for the Kings,” à la LeBron vs. Wade with the Miami Heat) (15:19).
• Analogous comparisons draw laughs and agreement.

7. Fan Q&A (15:55)

• Chances of the Florida Panthers three-peating? “Definitely get into the conference final. Biggest competition will be Carolina.” – David Drucker, 16:10
• Dallas Stars’ playoff outlook? Ethan expresses skepticism about their defense and ceiling.

8. Wins and Fails of the Week (16:51–24:25)

Wins:

• End of the Islanders’ Facial Hair Ban:
  Players celebrate the end of Lou Lamoriello’s “no facial hair” rule.

  “Let’s bearded up! Dumbest rule ever. I’m so glad it’s over.” – Roy, 17:14

• Visibility for Black Players:
  Senators prospect Jabril Torre wears a do-rag after losing his helmet in a prospect game.

  “As a black player, I just want to bring my culture. I should showcase that for future kids to come.” – Jabril Torre via Julian McKenzie, 18:23

• New Jersey Drops:
  Panel loves the new Centennial uniforms from the Red Wings, Rangers, and Capitals (“These should be their permanent home look.” – Ethan, 19:12).

Fails:

• Goalie Own Goal:
  Anaheim Ducks prospect goalie Thomas Sushanikoler accidentally scores on himself in a prospect game (21:20).
• Duclair–Patrick Roy Fallout:
  Patrick Roy publicly criticized Anthony Duclair while he was playing injured, but later apologized in person.

  “As the head coach…how could you not know Duclair wasn’t fully healthy?” – David Drucker, 23:13

• Football Woes:
  Ethan laments as his college football teams underperform and Matthew Tkachuk snubs his Gators as College GameDay guest picker (23:41).

9. Hot Topics with NHL Insider David Pinota (26:55)

Carter Hart (and other players) Re-Entry

• Multiple teams (Utah, Carolina, Minnesota, Nashville, Vegas, Pittsburgh) have inquired about goalie Carter Hart. Expectation is for a multi-year deal, with readiness only after several months of platoon play due to his long absence. (27:16)

Assistant Coach Mitch Love Suspended

• Ongoing NHL investigation into previous relationship behavior; all prospective teams informed, with the Capitals taking a cautious approach (29:55).

Kaprizov & McDavid Contract Risk Analysis

• Pinota predicts McDavid signs a shorter (2-4 year) deal, likely at $16-17M, not the max 8, to maintain leverage.
• Kaprizov is likely maneuvering for either higher AAV given an uptrending salary cap or a shorter term.

  “If I’m taking $16 million now, that’s going to be equivalent to $19 million in six or seven years.” – David Pinota, 33:00

Would Kaprizov Get Traded?

• Yes, if a deal stalls, expect a bidding war with Carolina and the Rangers among top suitors. No grand slam return, but still a premium (34:21).

Rangers’ Outlook and Artemi Panarin’s Future

• Don’t expect a fire sale; Panarin’s extension talks will depend on first-half results, and a Caprizov trade could shift priorities. Must watch if the Rangers rebound from last year’s down season, and how the team balances offense with evolving roster depth (36:29).

Other Trainings Camp Holdouts & Team Concerns

• Ducks’ Mason McTavish likely to remain unsigned longest, with disconnected expectations over both contract value and on-ice usage (38:38).
• Nashville and New Jersey handle their own moderate holdouts, but not as worrying.

Toronto Maple Leafs Without Mitch Marner

• Can't fully replace Marner’s production; success depends on Matthews, Nylander, Tavares, and promising young players like Matthew Knies. Team has gone for more physical, depth-heavy lines to compensate (40:20).

Sidney Crosby Trade Rumors: Dead on Arrival

• Pinota gives a firm “no” to the idea Crosby leaves Pittsburgh midseason, out of respect for Malkin’s potential last season and Penguins management’s plans—even if they end up “riding out” a rough campaign (42:09).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Caprizov’s contract:
  • “This is as close as you’ll get. Can’t just assume you’ll ever get closer than you are right now.”—Ethan, 10:58
• On Islanders new freedom:
  • “With Lou Lamoriello gone, the current Islanders players are leaning into the fact that they can now grow their facial hair out…Good for you Islanders. Enjoy it. Bearded up!”—Roy, 17:14
• On diversity:
  • “As a black player, I just want to bring my…culture. I should showcase that for future kids to come.”—Jabril Torre, quoted by Roy, 18:23 (Julian McKenzie story)
• On McDavid’s contract philosophy:
  • “I’m expecting two, three, four years as a bit of a feeling out. … I anticipate that being around that $16, $17 million mark over a shorter term deal.”—David Pinota, 31:52

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:11 – Buffalo Sabres & Alex Lyon’s Hasek tribute
• 04:10–06:22 – Kaprizov/Minnesota contract storyline
• 08:00 & 08:29 – Connor McDavid speaks on future and “all the pieces” in Edmonton
• 12:16 – Panthers media day injury updates
• 15:19 – Anze Kopitar: “Greatest LA King”
• 19:12–20:12 – New jersey (uniform) drops around NHL
• 21:20 – Prospect game goalie own-goal
• 23:13 – Patrick Roy and Duclair: injury fallout
• 27:16–35:54 – Pinota on Carter Hart, Kaprizov, McDavid, and trade markets
• 36:29 – Pinota on Rangers and Panarin’s future
• 40:20 – Pinota: Maple Leafs’ Marner replacement dilemma
• 42:09 – Pinota: Crosby trade not happening

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Tone and Style

The panel maintains a blend of humor, banter, and sharp hockey analysis, frequently poking fun at both league quirks (bad headshots, grooming bans) and the sometimes frustrating circumnavigation of stars during contract talks. Pinota delivers detailed, well-connected insider information, while the primary hosts keep the mood lively, relatable, and rapid-paced.

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In Summary

From the zany start of training camps (and Tanev’s annual mugshot) to the looming uncertainty around two of the league’s biggest stars, the panel lays out the key power dynamics, player movements, and team shifts for the coming NHL season. Highlights include insightful contract breakdowns, an in-depth look at locker room culture, and an appreciation for ongoing league evolution, both on and off the ice. For fans seeking a smart, entertaining catch-up on what matters most in hockey’s preseason, it’s all here.

Transcript

[David Pinota]

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[Roy Bellamy]

When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans. Send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom 60th and never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone.

[David Drucker]

Learn [e-mail] Training camps have opened. Preseason starts on Saturday. Hockey is back. And you know what that means. It's time for the Hockey Show. We got David Drucker, the Hockey News. In the other room in the shipping container, we got Rosie and Ethan. Welcome back, Rosie. You are not bothering Lucy for college football this week. Thank you very much.

[Rosie]

I'm bothering you now.

[David Drucker]

Yes, unfortunately you are. Well, very much. Fortunately. Thank God you're here. The Hockey show has a new YouTube page. You can follow us there at the Hockey show dls. So please go ahead and search for our content on YouTube. We also have TikTok at the Hockey Show 7 and on X Instagram and threads at Hockey Show DLS. Rosie, am I missing anything?

[Rosie]

No, you're not. We're just live right now on TikTok while we'll do this.

[David Drucker]

Excellent. We are live on TikTok while we are recording this show. Thank you very much. Anyway, you know the season has started as far as preseason and training camps are concerned when this happens. That's right. Brandon Taniv has his headshot. The new Utah Mammoths player looks like a complete lunatic. It is a yearly lunatic tradition. We are ready to go, David.

[Roy Bellamy]

It almost looks like the, the, the logo, the Mammoth logo is like looking down like, oh, he's doing the face again.

[David Drucker]

I got to deal with this guy over here.

[Ethan]

I love those jerseys, guys. They're going to look, I think they're going to look really good when they're on the ice. They've already, they've got great colors and their jerseys were good last year, but now they have like a nice official logo on the front of their uniforms. I think they're going to look great.

[David Drucker]

Also something that looked really good. Came out of Buffalo. David.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. For. Are you complimenting Buffalo? I thought I was going to have to set that.

[David Drucker]

Yes, it was a.

[Roy Bellamy]

You said something nice about Buffalo.

[David Drucker]

Buffalo is one of my favorite teams. It's been one of my favorite teams.

[Ethan]

Since I was going to say. Didn't you grow up a Sabres fan? Yeah, it was the Blackhawks and the Sabres.

[David Drucker]

Right.

[Roy Bellamy]

You've been holding their feet to the Coles for a while now, though. You're very hard on the Sabres.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, I should be because. Not as hard as the Islanders, which is not one of my favorite teams and haven't been and never have been.

[Roy Bellamy]

But they're giving you good reason not to be.

[David Drucker]

Absolutely. But, yeah. Take a look at this mast, Steve.

[Roy Bellamy]

So this goalie mask from former Panther and just all around great guy, Alex Lyon. This is a mask that pays tribute to Dominic Hasek.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

Best goalie in Sabres history. One of the best goalies in NHL hockey history. So just a little love to Hashuk on the mast. I love it. Training camp is here. I love that. Maybe the Sabres are going to be good. I guess that would make you happy.

[David Drucker]

All right, Rosie, you said Sam Reinhardt coming out of Buffalo. Thank you for that.

[Ethan]

Great call, Rose.

[Rosie]

Thank you very.

[Ethan]

Call now.

[David Pinota]

I know.

[David Drucker]

All right. One of the biggest stories that we have is a couple of guys dragging out contract negotiations. Let's start with the first one with Kirill Caprisov. The situation in Minnesota. There's an update. Apparently, they don't want to talk about it. All right, let's. Let's take a look at the Michael Russo tweet that he made Michael Russo of the Athletic. He tweeted a quote from Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin. These negotiations are private. I can't really get into it. Things are fine. The most important thing is that we want to sign Kirill. He's a franchise player. We want to keep him here. He's a big part of our team. We're working towards that. We're doing the best we can. Meanwhile, Kritsoff himself said some things to the media. He said that he loves playing in Minnesota. He wants to stay at this moment, and he has to focus on hockey.

[Roy Bellamy]

So saying all the right things.

[David Drucker]

Refer all questions about his contract situation to his agent. David, what do you make of this?

[Roy Bellamy]

It does not sound good. It sounds like the next statement that they're going to make is just going to be that gif of the dog sitting at the table surrounded by fire, saying, this is fine. Yeah, like, that's what the situation feels like. Reading between the lines, it doesn't sound like Caprisoft wants to have a future, a long term future in mini. Kind of sounds like when Miriko Rantman went to Carolina. Like this great place, but get me the hell out of here. He's. Minnesota is offering him top dollar.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

And he's like hesitating.

[David Drucker]

Literally top dollar.

[Roy Bellamy]

So that should tell you everything you need to know. What else could he be asking for? Less money?

[David Pinota]

No way.

[Ethan]

You guys already know. I find this situation fascinating one, because I think Caprizov is a great player. I love him. He's one of my favorite players in the league, to be honest with you. But also just because of all of the things that go into this that could make the situation really sticky, especially if he waits out what happens with McDavid. And we'll get to that in a minute. But I think the big thing here is, first of all, Garon's quote, if we can put that back on the screen, sounds like a guy like the. Like you said, the this is fine meme, David. Like, this doesn't sound overly confident at all. You know, this is a lot of sentences, very, like, choppy speaking ways. So when I read this, I wasn't very confident. Now, if you're a Minnesota fan, you have to feel better when you hear that Caprizov's agent showed up unannounced to camp yesterday and met with Garon and one of their other executives as well. So it seems like they're still open to negotiations. I think you have to be happy that Caprizov says, I like Minnesota. I'm inclined to believe him there. So, you know, I think that it's, it's, it's sticky right now, but I do think there are some encouraging signs if you're a Wild fan. But also at the same time, that Garen quote did not sound overly confident at all.

[Rosie]

And I read something and I'm going to sound very intelligent right now.

[David Drucker]

No. Very good. Yeah.

[Rosie]

Because they don't want to say anything also because it's starting camp, so they don't want to create an environment within Minnesota and the players to get down.

[David Drucker]

Well, you got to keep in mind that all this happened during the captain's gate. That. That. Yeah.

[Ethan]

And apparently he was very embarrassed when it got out there that he turned down that offer. And then he had to face his teammates in the locker room that he turned down the highest. That's a weird contract in NHL history.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, Rosie. Rosie's absolutely right. That's a Worst you got to deal with your teammates over here like, you don't want to sign.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's a tough line to walk. It really is, because you've got to take care of yourself, but you got to take care of your teammates, keep them happy. You want the team to win. It's. Yeah.

[Ethan]

I also think we forget that a lot of guys are just kind of like, look, that's his situation. We're going to stay out of it and we want our guy to get his money. They probably believe he deserves that kind of money or even more. So I don't know that it'll be as awkward as people make it out to be. I'm just interested to see how this next situation we're going to talk about affects the Caprizov situation.

[David Drucker]

Well, you don't want to pocket watch as a teammate, you know, like, you want to probably use his contract as a comparable. But I mean, you don't talk about another teammate's contract like.

[David Pinota]

Correct.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. You don't do that.

[Roy Bellamy]

No.

[David Drucker]

As we are, as you mentioned, there is another contract situation that's going on right now in Western Canada. The oil is Conor McDavid continue to slow the roll on contract talks. Conor McDavid said some things. He talked to Elliot Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast, and he invoked his family on his potential decision. Here's what he had to say as far as what his family has to.

[Connor McDavid]

Do with my wife and I obviously love being here in Edmonton, and we have every intention, as I said, to win here in Edmonton and have all the faith in the world in this 25, 26 season and beyond that still remains to be seen. We have time. It's our decision, basically. We've earned that and we're going to take our time with it.

[David Drucker]

He was also asked, what what do you want the Oilers to do to make the team a little bit more competitive and be a viable option for him to say to stay? And his answer was this.

[Connor McDavid]

Nothing. You know, all the pieces are here for 25, 26. It's going to be a feeling, you know, it's going to be, you know, when the time's right, the moment's right. I think it'll just be a feeling. But as of right now, just excited to get the season going.

[Ethan]

Really terrifying.

[Roy Bellamy]

If you're watching, as uncomfortable as that's making us imagine being an Oilers fan listening to that, like reading, it's like, yeah, my wife and I, we love our house. We have a great house here in Edmonton. We don't want to leave our house. Like the city. We don't want to leave our house.

[David Drucker]

This is going to drag on for a while and I'm already annoyed with this. Just like I'm annoyed with the Sidney Crosby trade room. I'm tired of it.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, this is going to drag for a long time. You better get used to this story because it's going to stick.

[Ethan]

I'm with you, Dave.

[David Drucker]

Sorry.

[Ethan]

Go ahead, Rosie.

[Rosie]

We're going to have an entire show just on Sydney's.

[David Drucker]

No, no, no.

[Ethan]

I crosswalk.

[David Pinota]

My.

[Ethan]

I like that. Crosswalk.

[David Pinota]

That's good.

[Ethan]

I think the thing here is what, what is going to happen? Like, is McDavid just going to wake up one morning and be like, all right, we've got enough. Like, that doesn't. That's not going to happen. He's going to play out the season or at least a portion of the season, or maybe they're going to trade for a goalie and then all of a sudden he's going to wake up and be like, all right, I'm ready to sign my contract. Like, I don't see that happening.

[Roy Bellamy]

They're going to play out this season.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

And then they're going to go into the off season and that's where. That's where it's all going to have to happen. Bank account. Figure out a way to make it work with however much they're going to have to give McDavid, because he's going to get a lot of money.

[Ethan]

Let's be clear. I don't think this is anything about money. This is clearly about can he win in Edmonton? Do. Does he think he has a chance to win in Edmonton? And from what he's saying when he keeps talking about 25, 26, he made it very clear in that quote right there. We have all the pieces for 25, 26. Beyond that remains to be seen. If I'm hearing comments, if I'm hearing that from. From. As an Oilers fan, I'm freaking out. That's terrifying. That's the last thing you want your star player to hear or to say.

[Roy Bellamy]

Argue that the Oilers are worse today than they were at Game six.

[Ethan]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

So look at their lineups are in place. I don't think he's saying all the pieces are in place to win.

[Ethan]

He's saying.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's saying literally all pieces are in place.

[Ethan]

We know what McDavid and dry seidel are here. That's what he's saying. And he thinks they're probably enough to get him as close as he'll ever be. And right now, if you're Connor McDavid.

[Roy Bellamy]

Kings in the first round again, you.

[Ethan]

Have to assume this is as close as you'll get. Like, you can't just assume that you'll ever get closer than you are right now. You've been to back to back Stanley Cups. You have another chance to go to a third one. This is terrifying. If I'm an Oilers fan, you got.

[David Drucker]

To keep in mind Zach Kyman is not going to be in a lineup until November. Like, he's got that wrist injury that he sustained in the Western Conference final. There's going to be a bad start to the season, Rosie.

[Ethan]

And they're not good starters. They haven't gotten off to good starts the last few years.

[Rosie]

So I actually like David Stake. He should go to Florida if he wants to win.

[David Drucker]

Crying out loud.

[Rosie]

The only one that kind of point.

[David Drucker]

Going to take this money. Everybody goes to Florida. Come on.

[Rosie]

Exactly.

[David Drucker]

Why?

[Rosie]

Because that's the only team that cares to win.

[Roy Bellamy]

Why have they won two times?

[David Drucker]

I'm trying to be objective here.

[Rosie]

Yeah, no, you're objective. No, I'm, I'm, I am objective. Two time champions. They don't care about the money.

[Roy Bellamy]

Paying attention.

[Ethan]

Rose. Rose is.

[Rosie]

I've been killing it today.

[David Drucker]

Salary cap they have to deal with.

[Rosie]

Yeah, but Bill is going to do something there.

[Ethan]

Yeah, they have a lot of cap room next year. Bob's contract comes off the books. They cap is going up. They have space. I don't know if they'll have enough to do that and realistically they're not going to. But I think the bigger point here is it doesn't seem like McDavid signing this year. And if you're an Oilers fan and you play out the season, that's a lot of pressure to be under where we basically have this year to get it done. And if we don't, he's gone.

[David Drucker]

All right. Media day for the Panthers as well as across the NHL happened. David, you were at media day. The biggest takeaway for me was Bill Zito giving a timeline on Matthew Kachuk's injury. He won't be returning until sometime in December. Tom. Tomas Nosek will be out for few months as well. What did you learn at Panthers media day?

[Roy Bellamy]

I mean, those were the big things for media day. I. I think some of my takeaways, you know, like Brad Marchand's awesome.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

He talked about like we've talked a lot about the whole no tax thing and whether it's an issue or not. And Marchand just Basically said, yes, it plays a big part. However, the team has to not be garbage. Like, just looking back, I looked at like the Stanley cup, like Stanley cup matchups. We've had a no tax team and let what, three, five of the last six Stanley Cups. Before that, none from 2004. Before that, only one, the Dallas Stars. So before this little block of no tax success, there was nothing for decades. So let's all just pump the brakes. It's not so much about the no tax, it's about the fact that they've got competency in the front office that makes people want to come. But anyway, I did like that Marchand got into that. He's a very smart guy and we love Brad Marchand now. Not so much a few years ago, but yeah, we love him now.

[David Drucker]

It's still crazy to me that he's on this team for a long time.

[Ethan]

I'm over it. He won a Stanley Cup.

[David Drucker]

No, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, Ethan. It's crazy that he's on his team. It's crazy that he's starting the season with this team.

[Ethan]

And if he wins two Stanley Cups, does he go down as a Panther more than a Bruin?

[David Drucker]

No.

[Roy Bellamy]

If he plays out the six years of his contract, if he plays till he's 43 years old and the Panthers win one or two cups in that span and he retires with four cups, three with the Panthers and what, seven seasons with the Panthers.

[Ethan]

I'm just saying.

[Roy Bellamy]

Not crazy.

[David Pinota]

Three.

[David Drucker]

Three of the Panthers, three.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay. If he plays another six seasons and.

[Ethan]

They win two more, that would be three.

[Roy Bellamy]

This Florida team winning two cups in six years is not far fetched at all. So, yes, I think that if that happens.

[Ethan]

I'm just saying.

[Roy Bellamy]

Very possible.

[Ethan]

I'm just saying.

[Roy Bellamy]

But I think also he would be smart and he would play the card that Leandro played and say, I'm going to wear a Canada jersey, especially if he goes to the Olympics this year.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, it's a gold medal. Yeah. Yeah. We can't assume that they're going to win a gold medal.

[Ethan]

I'm saying if they do, if they do, they're not going to win the gold medal.

[Roy Bellamy]

We already know.

[Ethan]

Greg Wishinski already told us they're not winning the gold medal.

[Roy Bellamy]

Place our bets on Team USA and Wishinski's got us covered.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. So, yeah, that's, that's what happened out over there in Panthers training camp and pretty, pretty positive coming out of Fort Lauderdale right now in Sunrise. So that's, that's A good thing a little bit. Uh, finally, uh, this upcoming season for Anze Kopitar, if it will be his 20th with the Los Angeles Kings and his last of his career. So that's automatically numbering the Raptors, he might just very well be the greatest Los Angeles king of all time. Not the greatest player that's played for the Los Angeles Kings, but the greatest Los Angeles King of all time. It's the same argument that we've had with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James with the Miami Heat. LeBron James is the greatest player to ever play for the Miami Heat, but Dwayne Wade is the greatest Miami player of all time. This is the same situation here.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, I. Well, it's because Wayne Gretzky played a few years for the Kings. Weren't even his best years, but I know, I think it's. I think you kind of hit the nail right on the head there. Like you're not going to say that Anzi Topitar is better player than Wayne Gretzky, but he's a better King. He is, Mr. King.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, the Western Conference should be interesting. I think maybe the Kings might do it. Maybe they might be.

[Roy Bellamy]

We were sure they were going to do it last year. Were they up to nothing in the series? They were up big in Game 3 in Edmonton and then they came back and then Edmonton just didn't lose for like until the final, basically.

[David Drucker]

Rosie, there is a question from a fan of ours.

[David Pinota]

Yes.

[Rosie]

So now that we have YouTube, Klaus Hisler is saying I love the DLS and I love hockey. Really rooting for this show. What are the chances that Florida can three peat? And the second question is, do you think the Stars will be any better this year?

[David Drucker]

Yes and yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yes to both questions or chances are the Panthers? I don't know. Definitely. They definitely get into the conference final. Now the biggest competition with will be Carolina. They might be aggressive with the roster come trade deadline time. The Stars.

[Ethan]

I don't know how I feel about the Stars, guys. Their defense is.

[David Drucker]

Well, he's got that sign.

[Ethan]

They've got rant in for a whole year now. They might be better in the regular season.

[David Drucker]

They're going to end up signing them, but I.

[Ethan]

Well, they did already sign him. He's got an eight year deal for $12 million. AAV. I, I think, I don't know. I. I don't love their defense. I think they might be a better regular season team, but I don't know how far they'll go in the playoffs this Year, to be honest with you.

[David Drucker]

All right, let's go to wins and fails, brought to you by Jagermeister Servicot. Or don't serve it at all. Jagermeister. Damn, that's cold. For more visit jagermeister.com Drink responsibly. David, what's your win of the week?

[Roy Bellamy]

My win of the week? All right, well, don't get mad at me, Roy, but my win of the week is.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, I know. I'd like. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm a soothsayer. I already know what's going to happen. This is about the Islanders, isn't it?

[Roy Bellamy]

It's about the New York Islanders. See, I already knew, but I think this is something that you can get behind.

[David Drucker]

Okay.

[Roy Bellamy]

With Lou Lamarello gone, the current Islanders players are leaning into the fact that they can now grow their facial hair out. They can have beards, they can have goatees, they can have mustaches. And last week, a bunch of players were at a team golf tournament or something in their golf polos, and pictures were shown. There's Anthony Duclair. He's growing the hair back out. He's got the beard growing strong. A bunch of the guys were there. Their facial hair was showing. I just love this. Good for you. Islanders enjoy it. Bearded up and let's. The dumbest rule ever. I'm so glad it's over.

[David Drucker]

So am I. Stuff like this. I'm glad the Yankees did the same thing. I'm glad that's all done before the Islanders. Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

So. So you agree?

[David Drucker]

I agree.

[Roy Bellamy]

A positive Islanders endorsement from Roy Bellamy.

[David Drucker]

I agree with you. I didn't say anything about positive Islanders endorsement. I just agree.

[Roy Bellamy]

Positive endorsement.

[David Drucker]

You. That's it.

[Roy Bellamy]

I'll take it.

[David Drucker]

All right. So I've never seen this in the National Hockey League before. This came in a prospect game between the Maple Leafs and the Senators. Senators prospect Jabril Torre had his helmet taken off during the skirmish, and it revealed that he was wearing a do rag. This is the first time I've seen a do rag.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[David Drucker]

On a NHL playing surface. So that. That's. That's great. That's great for me. That's great for the black community to see that. And I say this because Julian McKenzie of the Athletic talked to him about it. Tory said, as a black player, I just want to bring my. In my culture, I should showcase that for future kids to come. So I was happy that I did that. It's a good thing to hear. By the way, Tory is six foot eight. Oh, my God. Six foot eight defenseman.

[Roy Bellamy]

Like can we get like a CCM sponsor do rag? Can we get those mass produced now?

[David Drucker]

Yeah, yeah. A CCM Durang. Right outward. And I don't wear durags at all, so. Yeah, like that. I've never seen that before. Maybe I've seen it on like the Mighty Ducks or something. That's the closest thing that's.

[Roy Bellamy]

That was cool in real, real life.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. Ethan.

[Ethan]

Bunch of good jerseys coming out around the NHL are my win of the week this week, boys. Starting with the Red wing centennial look. 100 years of the Detroit Red Wings this season and this look is beautiful. They already have great uniforms. These might be even better now. Our friend Sarah Sivian said in the hockey group chat, these are the best jerseys that have been released in the last decade. And then these next jerseys that I'm going to show you guys came out and I said that take didn't even last for 15 minutes because look at these Washington Capital sweaters. These should be their permanent home look. Love their colors, obviously. Red, white and blue. And I love the Screaming Eagle in the red, white and blue. Look here. That is delicious. Now these aren't as good as the first two, but these are still really good. I like this look a lot. The Ranger Centennial. It's also their hundredth year this year. Celebrating it with a bit of a lighter blue simplified uniform with the classic Rangers diagonal text. I love all these uniforms that have come out recently. These are three absolute beauties.

[Roy Bellamy]

The Rangers one. I don't like the collar. No, I like everything but the collar.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, the collar is.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's a little weird.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

The floating NHL logo with nothing around it.

[David Drucker]

The Screaming Eagle jersey in this situation for the Capitals, as you saw, like the tail wing. The wing, it's forced the captaincy designation to switch from the other side of the jersey to the other side of jersey. So you saw in that picture with Alexander Oveskin, the C for his captaincy is on the wrong side of the jersey. That's kind of what the Red Wings had to do a couple years ago. It's just like an annoying pet peeve uniform thing that I had to go through. Rosie, you don't have a win of the week.

[Rosie]

I have a win of the week.

[David Drucker]

I was lied to.

[Rosie]

It's. Yeah, actually is that we have the YouTube channel.

[David Drucker]

I said that already.

[Rosie]

I know, but that's my win of the week.

[Roy Bellamy]

I think promotion that she's been trying to push.

[Rosie]

Exactly. I think it's. It's something that we're very excited about. We already have like 226 subscribers in six days, so that's very exciting. And thank you for everyone that's following us and whoever wants to go subscribe, go subscribe.

[David Drucker]

Thank you for everybody who subscribed to our new YouTube page. That's awesome. David, what's your fill?

[Roy Bellamy]

My fail of the week goes out to California Anaheim Ducks prospect goaler Thomas Sushanikoler. Oh, wow, that's a nickname for a goalie.

[David Drucker]

I've never heard that before.

[Roy Bellamy]

So this goalie, this goaler, he went out to play the puck at his face off dot and accidentally shot it into his own net.

[David Pinota]

You should call that a goal or a goalie, Doler.

[Roy Bellamy]

A goal or goal or. It's just I feel bad for the guy because I hate playing the puck as a goaltender too, but I'm five' eight with, you know, five' eight size arms. Yeah, but yeah, that was just. That's a major fail in the definition of the word. Thank God it was just a prospect game, but the poor guy was hanging his head.

[David Drucker]

If you remember last year, the New York Islanders were a disaster and I made fun of them and I continue to make fun of them to this day. I'm not going to bring up why I'm gonna usually make fun of him. That's, that's for, that's for like whatever you already know. Anyway, remember when Patrick Ra lit up the performance of Anthony Duclair, who you mentioned as your win so far this week? Ross said that Declare was God awful, not playing up to what we expect from him following a loss near the end of the regular season. Now Duclair took a leave of absence and did not play another game. Well, there's an update to the story because Wall had drove to Declare his house in Montreal to apologize and both men have agreed past what happened this season. Duclair ended up telling that, telling Raw that the extent to his groin injury, the same injury that forced him to miss two months, had hampered him. All right, so my fail in this situation is as the head coach of the team. How could you not know, right, that Anthony Declare wasn't fully healed. Obviously he's not going to play 100%. You over here calling him God awful and not playing to what what we expect from him because he's hurt.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's a guy whose game is predicated on speed and he has a groin injury.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

Like hello.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. And he was out for a major, major portion of the season and he publicly called him out.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Not cool.

[David Drucker]

That's not. That's not cool at all. And you have a racist on your team. It's just a bad look. And hopefully, hopefully Duke does better this season. And I'm sure he will because now he's fully healthy.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's healthy. He's growing his beard. He's a happy guy. Hopefully.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. Hopefully. Ethan.

[Ethan]

My fail of the week, guys. It's been a rough few weeks for me as a football fan, and it's about to get a whole lot rougher this weekend. My teams are.05 in their last five games, and now the Gators are coming down to Miami off a game in which DJ Lagway threw five picks, and Matthew Kachuk is going to be the guest picker, which means he's obviously not going to pick the Gators. He's going to pick for the hometown Canes.

[Roy Bellamy]

So this fail of the week and he's going to pick the Canes.

[Ethan]

He's thrown up the U in this video where he says that he is going to be the guest picker.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, he kind of gave it away. Yeah.

[Ethan]

Going to have to, you know, watch him pick the Canes over the Gators and then going to have to watch the Gators get their asses kicked by Miami. So fail the week. To me, it's been a rough, rough football season so far.

[David Drucker]

Rosie, do you have a fail?

[Rosie]

I don't have a fail.

[David Drucker]

Okay, well, there you go. That was the one thing that she didn't have.

[Roy Bellamy]

There we go.

[David Drucker]

All right, great. So if you are watching on dkn, we are going to have David Pinotta to talk about the storylines that has happened so far and will happen in this upcoming season. David Pinotta. The fourth period is coming up next.

[Roy Bellamy]

This episode is supported by FX's the.

[Ethan]

Lowdown, starring Ethan Hawke. Allow us to introduce you to Lee Raybon, a quirky journalist slash rare bookstore owner slash unofficial truth seeker who's always on the tail of his latest conspiracy. This time, his most recent expose puts him head to head with a powerful family that rules Tulsa. Meaning only one thing. He must be onto something big. FX's the Lowdown premieres September 23rd on FX stream on Hulu.

[Dan]

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[Roy Bellamy]

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[David Drucker]

We are joined by NHL insider D David Pinola of the fourth period and last week we mentioned that the five players who were acquitted for sexual assault will be eligible to play in the NHL later this season. David, you heard that a team has kicked the tires on looking at Carter Hart. Who is that team and why?

[David Pinota]

There's a few teams, there's a few teams that have been engaged and have reached out now to varying degrees. There are a lot of teams that are now denying it publicly, but they're.

[David Drucker]

There are.

[David Pinota]

There are a number of teams that have in some capacity reached out to inquire about Carter Hart's availability. I know Kyle Dubas with the Penguins said he hadn't. I know the Penguins have, so maybe somebody else in the organization has. Utah has been engaged. Carolina's been engaged. Philly, although they were told no, he's going in a different direction. You know other teams that have reached out, Minnesota, Nashville, Vegas, they've poked around as well. There are, there are other clubs. I also mentioned, I thought that San Jose was one of those teams as well, but that's not the case that I was able to later confirm. But there are a lot of teams that have reached out on Carter Hart to See what the availability is like and just what type of contract he'd be looking to get. You know, I don't anticipate this being a one year, $1 million contract. You're probably looking at a couple years and probably going to be 3,4 million a year kind of, kind of thing, maybe even higher, depending on how things get negotiated. But there's interest in Hart. I anticipate him locking into a team or committing to a team by October 1st, and then because players are able to do that, those five guys are able to commit to a team and agree to something in advance of the 15th, and that's when they can formally sign.

[Roy Bellamy]

Where do you expect him to be, Carter, Hart to be in terms of his physical abilities? Because he hasn't played like a game really in like over a year. I know he's been training and doing what he can, but like, let's just say he signs and he's with the team, you know, pretty quickly. Is it feasible that he could play and be like, productive this season and lead a team potentially into the playoffs?

[David Pinota]

I mean, if he comes into any, any environment that he comes in, at best it's going to be a platoon scenario. So. And it's going to take him probably half a season to get into that game mode, into, into game shape. Like you said, he's been practicing and he's been skating, I think in Nashville for, for most of this, most of his time away from the ice. But to get to game readiness, it's going to take, you know, more than a regular training camp, which he is not able to partake in. So he can commit to a team by the 15th. He can't start, he can't join that club for, you know, game day practices and things like that until November 15th and then obviously eligible to play December 1st. But it's probably going to take him again, platoon type scenario, probably going to take him at least half of a season. So for him, you're probably looking at, know, February, March, well after the Olympic break, before he kind of gets into.

[David Drucker]

His stride, the Capitals that place assistant coach Mitch Love on administrative leave as the NHL investigates improper behavior from Love. He was supposed to be potential head coach somewhere. He was doing interviews. What information do you have about that?

[David Pinota]

Yeah, you're right. He, he was, he was interviewing for a number of different vacancies for head coaching roles. The issue that's related to him and I don't know, I don't know how much I can really say, to be honest, because there is an ongoing NHL investigation and I don't know the full facts of everything, but I do know that there's an individual from a previous relationship that he was engaged in years ago that started to contact some of the teams that he was interviewing with and that caused, you know, obviously a bit of a stir. The league started to investigate this and this goes back to the spring. You know, the league started to investigate things and that's been ongoing up until that point. I think letters were sent to Pittsburgh and Seattle, to places that he was, you know, applying for and the Capitals were well aware of that situation as well. So I think as the investigation has continued, the Capitals felt it was, you know, given the circumstances, in the best interest of everyone to, you know, put him on leave until the investigation concludes in the league and everybody involved in that comes to some type of conclusion.

[Ethan]

Pax, I want to ask you about the two most interesting storylines I think in the NHL right now. The Kirill Kaprizov situation and, and the Connor McDavid situation. So one thing I'm really curious about with Caprizov specifically is let's say McDavid does eventually sign, which it doesn't seem like he's going to sign anytime soon in my opinion, maybe even at all this year. And let's say he takes a team friendly deal around that 16 million mark that Caprizov just turned down reportedly. How is that going to affect Caprizov and is he possibly risking screwing himself out of a lot of money here by passing on this 8 by 16?

[David Pinota]

I don't think so. I'm of the belief that Connor is going to resign in Edmonton and it'll be a shorter term deal. I don't expect a full eight year term. I mean if you, I don't expect six or seven. If you go six or seven, you might as well just go the full eight. So I'm not expecting that. I'm expecting two, three, four years as a bit of a feeling out to see how, how this team is going to do and how they're going to kind of reshape part of this roster in the coming years. So I anticipate that being around that 16,7 million$17, excuse me, million dollar mark over a shorter term deal. More term you get, more dollars are attributed, you know, certainly. So I don't think Caprizov kind of screwed himself out of this big ticket. He's still going to cash in heavily. You know, he spoke the other day and was just saying, look, I, this is my second home, I like it here. Everybody knows I like it here. There's plenty of time to figure this out now, which leads me to believe one of two things. One, maybe he's considering short term as he wants to see how this team does moving forward before committing to a full eight, which will eventually be max of seven years. Or maybe they are fighting for more dollars with the way that the salary cap is going up. You know, it's projected to go up to 100, it's at 95 and a half million now. Next season's cap is projected to go to 104 and the following year is projected to go to 113 and a half. I keep saying projected because there's a good chance that based on how revenues go over this, this season, that that may increase. If that continues to increase and the numbers continue to sky to, to, to go skyward and with the prospect of the league expanding, which doesn't contribute to hrr, the expansion fees, but everything else does, you know, the cap may jump significantly more within a five year period, within at least this next cba. So he may say, well, okay, I'm willing to commit long term, but If I'm taking 16 million bucks now, that's going to be equivalent to like 19 million bucks in six or seven years. So let's find a happy medium. There's a possibility that that's part of the equation as well. And that's what his agent, Paul Theophanos may be maybe fighting for. To say, look, yeah, 16 looks big now, but in a few years, not so much given the caliber of player. And if he, if they believe him and the team believe he's going to be around 100 point guy consistently, maybe it's 17 that they're pushing for.

[David Drucker]

All right, so let's say they can't get a deal done in Minnesota. I'm looking at Carolina and they seem to want to be aggressive with the roster. Could we see. No, no, they're not. They're not going to. Are they going to.

[David Pinota]

I was agreeing with you. I was agreeing with you.

[David Drucker]

My apologies there. Do you see Carolina possibly trading for Kabrits off?

[David Pinota]

I think so. Some teams have reached out to say, hey, if you get to a point where you want to trade them, give us a call. And I think Carolina is one of those teams. So I think there's an appetite to do comes with an extension. Kind of like I think they've learned that from the Rankinen scenario where if you're trading for that caliber player, it's got to come with an extension. So we'll see kind of, I mean, obviously where this unfolds. First they gotta, they gotta figure out if they can get a deal done. If it's concluded that they can't, then I think Billy Garon, their GM and everybody in Minnesota has to go on the offensive in terms of trying to, trying to move this piece out. But I think Carolina would definitely have significant interest now. You trade Kirill Caprice off, you're going to want a premium back. The premium is probably a home run, even though they'll want a grand slam. And I don't see a team willing to give up a grand slam because they can just say, well, the hell with it, we'll just wait a year and try to sign him as a free agent. Now there's risk that he gets traded somewhere else and commits to another team. The point is Minnesota, if they do decide to trade him, will get a good return, but it won't be an astronomical return because of where he is contractually. So not the greatest and most optimal of situations for the Wild if it comes to that, but it's not going to be detrimental to the organization if they do decide that. They have no other choice but to go this route. But I think Carolina would absolutely have interest. I think the New York Rangers would definitely have interest. I think you're looking at 20 teams that would probably have legitimate interest in at least exploring the possibility of getting their hands on Kirill Caprizov.

[Ethan]

10 words or less. Bags, you said you expect the oilers to resign. McDavid, when does it happen?

[David Pinota]

I don't know. It's, it's, it's honestly, it's up to him and it's, it's when he's comfortable, he's ready to go. And the Oilers are just saying, you tell us when and we'll figure it out.

[Roy Bellamy]

Dave, I want to ask you about the Rangers. Kind of surprised by how down of a year they had last year. Not a very busy off season. They lost Keandre Miller, they lost Chris Kreider. However, they have a big decision coming up with Artemi Panarin, who's going to be UFA after the season. What's going on with the Rangers? Are they turning it around? Are they going to maybe blow it up and let Panarin go? What do you foresee for the Rangers happening?

[David Pinota]

I don't think there's any blow up scenario there because I don't think Jimmy Dolan would let that happen. They tried going through their little quasi rebuild and then they got the lottery and then they Won, you know that and got left Rainier and they escalated things. I, I just don't see that that type of scenario now. I do think they'll wait a bit to see how the season goes before they determine whether or not they want to lock in Panarin long term. I know they'd love to keep them, but you know, some people believe they may wait to determine how the season goes before they make that determination. You know, like, like for example, if they do get in on. On Caprice of if the Wild decide to trade him, well, they have the same agent, him and Panarin. So I'm sure that's going to be a bit of a factor there and it's probably going to cost you a package that includes lafreniere. So they're going to have to decide what route they want to take. I think they want to in terms of making big impact and I'm saying this and they may make a huge trade tomorrow, but the incense that I've gotten for now has been they kind of want to wait to see how the season goes at least in the first half to get a good indication of where they're at. You know, is Panarin going to go back to ninety hundred point form? Is the Benedict going to rebound and have a good season? Is J.T. miller now their captain going to be that, that 80 to 100 point player, big gap but point a game, at least caliber player. Now that he's restarting a full season with the Rangers, how's Will Cooley going to adjust? Is he going to take some next steps into his game and enter a more offensive, albeit physical role with that club? You know, how's the blue line going to look? And it's just Turkin going to rebound after a subpar season, performance wise for him last year. There are a lot of factors here for the Rangers that are going to dictate ultimately what they end up doing as the season progresses. But again, preface this by saying if a player like Caprice off is available to them, I think they take the opportunity to pounce as soon as they can.

[Roy Bellamy]

That would be awesome. Caprice of msg. That'd be fun.

[David Drucker]

There are some other holdouts coming into the preseason. What team should be most concerned about their player not showing up?

[David Pinota]

It sounds like Mason McTavish. I think Luke Hughes and the Devils are figuring out an eight year deal. Luke Evangelista in Nashville is going to be a two year deal once they figure out the numbers. They just they've been so off on the contract and the demand hasn't, from what my understanding is, hasn't even been that significant. But it'll, it'll start with a three on a two year deal. I know Nashville offered three times, three that wasn't going to get it done. But I think they're trying to focus on a two year. But it sounds like Mason Marchman, unless there's a significant change of, of mindset there from the Ducks, it sounds like that's the one that could linger more than, more than anything. He's already, he went back home. He's in Ottawa. He's. He's training with the Ontario Hockey Leagues, Ottawa 67s right now. I mean Evangeliste, I think is still in Nashville for the time being, but depending how long that goes, you know, we'll see where that ends up. But I think right now the trickiest one seems to be McTavish because it's a combo. It's not just a contract and money and they're far apart on both term and dollars, but it's also just usage. He wants to know is he going to take his game to the next level or give. Be given that opportunity to claim a second line role on that club as a 2C and cement himself in that position? Is he going to get more power play time? What's it looking 5 on 5? What's his usage? He wants to develop and take the next steps in his career. Whereas with some of the additions the Ducks made, there may be some barriers, at least optically for him to do that in the next season or two. And that's part of the concern as well from his camp.

[David Drucker]

All right, so the Maple Leafs have lost Mitch Marner. Okay. And had they made any suitable replacements for him or what is this season going to look like?

[David Pinota]

Yeah, I mean you can't replace 102 point player. That's, that's for sure. And I'm just outside their practice rink right now and the last couple of days have been a combo of look, he's, he's gone. It's a business. He made a decision and we got to move on, which is the right mentality to have. I think the structure of the Leafs has shifted a little bit. Like a lot of their success is going to be their big boys. Like if Auston Matthews has, you know, a 50 goal season, 100 point season, you know, Tavares is in and around 30 goals. Willie Nylander's 90 to 100 point kind of, kind of player. Matthew Nyes takes next Steps is a 70 point guy, cements himself as a first line player then you know that offsets what Mitch brought to the table. Plus you got a lot more physical. Like they're rolling out a third line right now. That, that's centered by Nick Wa has Dakota Joshua on it. They're trying to find another winger on that, on that right side. Like that could be a grindy energy type line that could fit well for, for this club. That's what they're trying out right now. They're deep in their bottom six. They're more physical, they're bigger. The decor is the same as it was last year. Goaltending is the same. They were happy with that as they should have been. But it's all going to come down to what happens up front. And it's a combo of the big boys providing the, the offensive flair and the, the third line and the fourth line doing their jobs in a, in a two way shutdown capacity while also providing some energy to spark this group. It's a different kind of structure right now. I don't mind it. We'll see how Matthias Melli does on the first or second line, how Max Domi does on one of those two lines. But I think Toronto's positioned itself decently. Assuming the big boys do what they're supposed to do.

[Roy Bellamy]

They need to stop lowballing their goaltender. Okay, the last question, the goaltenders union. Last question for me, Roy, if you'll forget.

[David Drucker]

Dave.

[Roy Bellamy]

When, when we get to April of this season, what, what color jersey will Sidney Crosby be wearing? It won't be, Won't be black and gold and white.

[David Drucker]

Stop that. Stop it.

[Roy Bellamy]

Where's, where's Crosby playing when playoff time rolls around?

[David Pinota]

Dave, man, where's he playing? Whatever golf course is close to Pittsburgh. Maybe he goes home to Halifax. He's not getting traded. Oh, I'd be, I'd be surprised. Very, very, very surprised because there's a few factors here. One, it hasn't been official yet, but the strong belief is that this is Geno Malkin's last season and, and I can't imagine that he's going to play his last season and Sid not be a part of that for the whole ride. The other factor is there are going to be a lot more changes coming out of Pittsburgh. More guys are going to get moved out. They're going through a full rebuild even with Sid. And Letang's got more term on his contract. Sid has one more year after this one. If they finish first or, excuse me, if they finish last and the balls drop where they do and they end up winning the draft lottery and get another potential generational player in, Gavin McKenna.

[David Drucker]

Oh, God.

[David Pinota]

I mean, to have Sid there for one season to, to usher Gavin along is very reminiscent of when Mario did the exact same thing with Sid 20 odd years ago.

[David Drucker]

They're going to do this again.

[Roy Bellamy]

Team in the league though, when they got that lottery ball.

[Ethan]

First of all, the NHL will make it happen. Sidney Crosby is going to screw Florida. He's going to get the benefit.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's hard to imagine Crosby and Malkin, especially if it's supposed to be Geno's last season, going through a we're trying to get the best lottery ball situation. If that's what they're doing, fine. But it just like, really, I think they know.

[David Pinota]

Look, these guys have, they've got three rings, they've got a gazillion dollars. They're gods in the city. Just ride it out. Just. I think they're comfortable. Sid said this the other day. I know. And I even tweeted he had a. He was given out like the Penguins do every year. He's given out a season tickets to season ticket holders. And he goes, look, this, I don't know how many more times I can say it. I want to be here. This is where I want to be. This is where I want to finish my career. This is where I want to play. It's not going to stop people from speculating, but he's genuine. And when he says that now they don't win the lottery. Gino's out. Maybe things change for next season. Maybe. But I think this year I would be very surprised if anything happens with, with Sidney Crosby.

[David Drucker]

All right, there you go. So we don't have to ask about Sidney Crosby ever again on the show. Thank you. Right. David Pinota, thank you for joining us. David Pinota, the fourth period. Please check him out. He has all the scoops in the National Hockey League. Thanks, David.

[David Pinota]

Thanks, guys. See ya.

[David Drucker]

Julian Edloe here from DK Network.

[Roy Bellamy]

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