The Hockey Show: We're Going Back To Edmonton

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz Episode: The Hockey Show: We're Going Back To Edmonton
Release Date: May 31, 2025

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Introduction to the Stanley Cup Final

Roy Bellamy opens the episode by introducing the highly anticipated Stanley Cup Final matchup between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. He sets the stage for an in-depth discussion, teasing that the rematch promises intense competition and unexpected twists.

“This game takes and it takes.” [01:07]

The Group Chat Anecdote

The hosts delve into a humorous and relatable anecdote about a group chat conversation with Rosie, who inadvertently derailed their hockey-focused discussion by texting about "sandwich day." This light-hearted moment showcases the camaraderie and playful banter among the hosts.

“Rose says, we did have sandwiches for lunch yesterday. I thought it was talking about going to lunch after the show for months now, and we haven't done it.” [03:18]

Wins and Fails Segment

The show transitions to their "Wins and Fails" segment, where each host shares their triumphs and mishaps from the week.

• Roy celebrates the IIHF World Championship victory by the United States, highlighting the country's first gold medal in 92 years.

  “The Buffalo Sabres for Tage Thompson, carry the puck into the zone… This win earns United states men their first IIHF gold medal in 92 years.” [10:35]

• David applauds the Carolina Hurricanes for their pivotal win in the conference finals, commending their resilience and strategic gameplay.

  “Congratulations to you for your win of the week. Your first win in the conference final in 16 tries.” [10:13]

• Ethan humorously shares his own "fail of the week" related to a hot take about the Edmonton Oilers, which he later jinxes by supporting the Panthers instead.

  “If you take McDavid out of the game… I just don't see them as a real threat to win the Stanley cup right now.” [16:24]

In-Depth Analysis with Bob Rashuzen

Roy Bellamy introduces special guest Bob Rashuzen from ESPN, who has an extensive background covering the NHL and particularly the Florida Panthers. Bob shares a nostalgic story from the Panthers' early days in South Florida, highlighting the organization's efforts to cultivate a fanbase through educational initiatives like instructional hockey videos distributed via Blockbuster Video.

“Wayne Huizenga had John Van Biesbrook record this… instructional video of this is hockey.” [19:00]

Bob emphasizes how these grassroots efforts have transformed the Panthers into a beloved franchise with a strong and diverse fanbase, now viewing the team as a potential dynasty.

“To introduce this sport to a population that probably never saw ice before… they grew up with it, love this team.” [21:02]

Travel Woes and Team Dynamics

The conversation shifts to the logistical challenges Rosie faced traveling to Edmonton for the finals, detailing the myriad of flight changes and road trips stemming from weather disruptions. This segment underscores the dedication required by the team and the hosts to support their favorite team.

“First I had to go from Miami to Houston. Then I lost my flight from Houston to Denver… We run out of gas. So we had to go to Calgary.” [07:30]

The State Income Tax Debate

A contentious topic arises when the hosts address Pompous Annette's remarks about the Florida Panthers allegedly taking advantage of Florida's lack of state income tax to build a superior team. David Drucker vehemently rebukes the criticism, arguing that financial benefits have been a staple for several teams and praising the Panthers' strategic management.

“I'm just so sick. It's like a crutch. Like, get over it. The Panthers have built a great team.” [45:14]

Predictions for the Stanley Cup Final

As the episode nears its conclusion, the hosts engage in lively debate over who will clinch the Stanley Cup.

• David confidently predicts the Florida Panthers will triumph in seven games, emphasizing their balanced roster and deep team dynamics.

  “The sum of their parts. It's Florida.” [35:43]

• Ethan offers a nuanced take, acknowledging the Panthers' strengths but also highlighting the Oilers' physical prowess and star power led by Connor McDavid.

  “It's McDavid and dry Seidl and their supporting cast against a team that probably has the best antidote for that of any team in the NHL.” [28:24]

• Rosie initially supports the Oilers, citing McDavid's formidable leadership and the team's dominant performance, but ultimately jinxes her own prediction by siding with the Panthers.

  “Then I just don't see them as a real threat.” [16:24]

• Roy wraps up with a consensus leaning towards a seven-game series favoring the Panthers, yet acknowledges the unpredictable nature of the finals.

  “We have the Panthers in seven.” [50:56]

Final Thoughts

The episode concludes with the hosts reflecting on the unpredictability and excitement of the Stanley Cup Final, reinforcing their commitment to covering the series thoroughly and entertainingly. They express anticipation for the upcoming games and the dynamic matchup between two powerhouse teams.

“It's going to be an unbelievable Stanley Cup Final with some unbelievable storylines.” [49:08]

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Notable Quotes

• Roy Bellamy: “This win earns United states men their first IIHF gold medal in 92 years.” [10:35]
• David Drucker: “The Panthers have built a great team. You want to get mad at someone, get mad at Bill Zito.” [45:46]
• Ethan: “If you take McDavid out of the game… I just don't see them as a real threat to win the Stanley cup right now.” [16:24]
• Bob Rashuzen: “To introduce this sport to a population that probably never saw ice before… they grew up with it, love this team.” [21:02]
• Roy Bellamy: “We have the Panthers in seven.” [50:56]

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Conclusion

In this episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, the hosts provide a comprehensive and entertaining analysis of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. Through engaging discussions, personal anecdotes, and expert insights from guest Bob Rashuzen, listeners gain a deeper understanding of the teams' dynamics, challenges, and the passionate journey leading up to the championship series. Whether you're a die-hard hockey fan or new to the sport, this episode offers valuable perspectives and plenty of laughs, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in the thrilling world of hockey playoffs.

Transcript

[Roy Bellamy]

I found a kid who swings a.

[David Drucker]

Golf club like a dream.

[Ethan]

I'd like to try to qualify him.

[Rosie]

For the US Amateurs coming to Apple tv.

[G]

Plus, what's your name?

[David Drucker]

I'm not into older guys, but I'm flatter.

[Roy Bellamy]

A new comedy series. Stick, I don't want to go on this trip.

[Ethan]

Your mouth's saying one thing, but those eyes are saying something else. From the home of Ted Lasso.

[Roy Bellamy]

This is your shot at redemption.

[David Drucker]

This is your mulligan.

[Ethan]

Owen Wilson.

[G]

This game takes and it takes.

[Ethan]

The game's finally giving me something back.

[Roy Bellamy]

Stick.

[David Drucker]

You know, Arnold Palmer iced tea lemonade makes it. I'm missing a nap for this.

[Roy Bellamy]

Streaming June 4th on Apple TV.

[Mike Ryan]

Now's a good time to remember where tequila's story truly began. In 1795, Cuervo invented tequila. Cuervo, what are you doing here?

[Ethan]

Cuervo.

[David Drucker]

Anytime someone says Cuervo, I show up.

[Mike Ryan]

Well, I do know that to be true. But even during ad reads like Cuervo, I think he could lay out especially for one of our great partners.

[G]

Sweet, delicious Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

Since then, Cuervo has stayed true to its roots. The same family, the same land, the same passion.

[G]

Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

So enjoy the tequila that started it all.

[G]

Cuervo. Cuervo.

[Mike Ryan]

The tequila that invented tequila. Proximo. Cuervo.com, please drink responsibly.

[Ethan]

Cuervo.

[Roy Bellamy]

This is the Hockey show. My name's Roy Bellamy. That's David Drucker. The hockey news. Ethan and Rosie is in. Are in the shipping container. They are our producers. We have the Stanley cup final matchup set and ready. It's a rematch between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oils. Game one is going to be on June 4th. We're not going to talk about that right now.

[G]

Dude.

[David Drucker]

No, we're not going to talk about it right now.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, we're not going to talk about that right now.

[David Drucker]

I'll take a step back.

[G]

The whole.

[Ethan]

Shut up.

[Roy Bellamy]

Shut up.

[G]

It's one of the great Stanley cup final matchups of all time. What do you mean we're not going to talk about it?

[Roy Bellamy]

I said right now.

[Unknown]

Right now.

[Roy Bellamy]

Right now. We're not going to talk.

[G]

Okay, what are we going to talk about?

[Roy Bellamy]

We are going to talk about.

[David Drucker]

Welcome to the hockey show. We're not talking.

[Roy Bellamy]

We're not talking hockey right now. By the way, Bob Rashuzen is going to join us in a little bit.

[David Drucker]

We talk about hockey.

[G]

The voice of hockey.

[Roy Bellamy]

The voice of hockey is one of the voices of hockey. He works for espn.

[David Drucker]

Will we talk about hockey with Bob.

[Roy Bellamy]

We will talk about hockey with Bob.

[David Drucker]

Non goalie Bob.

[Roy Bellamy]

Non goalie Bob. Okay. The. You know, the guy that talks for a living.

[David Drucker]

Broadcast Bob.

[G]

Yeah, the voice of hockey.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's one of the voices of hockey.

[David Drucker]

Ethan's a big fan.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, he's a big fan. He has his phone number. That's how he booked. That's.

[G]

That's my friend. Love, Bob. Great guy.

[Roy Bellamy]

Little buddy. Anyway, we're not going to start talking about the Stanley cup final yet. What we are going to talk about is a conversation that we had with Rose last night.

[David Drucker]

Oh, no, that.

[Roy Bellamy]

That was not hockey related. You and I separately were watching the Western Conference final, obviously, right?

[David Drucker]

We were.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, we were. And out of the blue in our.

[David Drucker]

Just as Connor McDavid scored.

[Ethan]

Yeah.

[David Drucker]

Just the breakaway. Yeah, that was pretty beautiful. That was. Yeah, we'll talk about hockey soon. Yeah, we're not doing it yet.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, you're trying to angrier, but we're gonna. With this. This conversation that we had, the four of us, we're in this group chat, you know, usually for show prep and stuff like that. As Rose just can't stop laughing because she's thinking about what happened last night, yesterday. All right. She said it was sandwich day. That's the. That's the first thing she said. It's sandwich date.

[David Drucker]

Connor McDavid scores.

[G]

And Rose says, we did have sandwiches for lunch yesterday. I thought it was talking about going to lunch after the show for months now, and we haven't done it.

[David Drucker]

That's what.

[G]

I'm not doing it today.

[David Drucker]

Are we all gonna make sandwiches?

[G]

Are we going. Are we going to Mr. Baguette after or something like that? Yeah. What are we doing?

[Roy Bellamy]

I didn't pay in any mind.

[David Drucker]

Sucked me right in.

[Roy Bellamy]

But. But David didn't know what was going on, and. And he wanted a little bit of further clarity. Clarity.

[Unknown]

It was the best. Because they did answer so well because.

[David Drucker]

Rose and, you know, just to explain what she was doing, she decided to go line for line of a scene from Lilo and Stitch.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Oh, man. But then I'm trying to relate the story over here.

[G]

Wait, Rose, text me. I'm also watching the game. I'm exhausted. And Rose texts me, if you know what I'm doing, don't say anything. And I texted her back, rosie, I have no idea what you're talking about.

[David Drucker]

Nobody knows what you're talking about.

[Roy Bellamy]

Knows what you're talking about. She said, every Thursday, I take pudge to fish a peanut butter sandwich. And today we are out of peanut butter. That's when I got sucked in. Because I don't know what she's talking about.

[David Drucker]

No. Like, who feeds their fish peanut butter?

[Unknown]

I don't know what that means. And then I'm like, and today we were out of peanut butter. And then Roy.

[G]

Yeah, this is the best message here. Rose writes, do you know what tuna is? And Roy writes, bill Parcell tuna.

[Unknown]

No. And the best part is, like, and today we don't have peanut butter. And then, bro is like, you have a fish, dot, dot, dot, and you feed it peanut butter and bread. That's when I started laughing.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

And I couldn't stop with the joke.

[Roy Bellamy]

And then. And then, you know, obviously, we're talking about cannibalism with fish over here.

[David Drucker]

Like, I'm like, fish only eat fish. What are we talking about? We're getting back to this again.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes.

[David Drucker]

But you don't want to feed the fish. What else are they eating? Is the fish having steak for breakfast? Like, what. What are we doing here?

[G]

Well, do regular fish, like, let's say. Okay, I don't know what they're. So I'm just gonna refer to them as Nemo characters.

[David Drucker]

Just.

[G]

Just like. No, I know, I know. Thank you. I know Nemo's a clownfish, but I don't know what Dory's called. Right? It's a blue fish. Blue something. No, Dory's not an angelfish. Dory's a blue something. Does Dory eat Nemo, or is it more like Sharks eat Nemo? And I think sharks eat Nemo.

[David Drucker]

Dory is a blue tang.

[G]

A blue tank. Thank you.

[David Drucker]

A regal tang, also known as a.

[G]

Blue tank, by the way. Finding Dory.

[Roy Bellamy]

We love clan.

[G]

We love movies. We love Pixar. On this podcast, finding Dory is better than finding.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, wow. I never seen it.

[Unknown]

Oh, man. Yeah. But the.

[Ethan]

The.

[David Drucker]

The. The.

[Unknown]

The thing is that it ended with Roy saying, she at gummy, didn't she?

[David Drucker]

Yeah, yeah. That's when it all made sense to me.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Yeah. I thought that you were hacked. I asked you offline if you were hacked.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. Yeah. Did you really?

[Roy Bellamy]

I did.

[David Drucker]

That would have been horrible.

[Unknown]

WhatsApp was hacked.

[Roy Bellamy]

I'm like, yeah, fine. I mean, I think I threw in.

[David Drucker]

A picture of Pudge Rodriguez at one point.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes, you did. That's the only Pudge that we know.

[G]

Pudge, Pudge Rodriguez and Bill Parcell's references. That's a great conversation.

[Roy Bellamy]

When I asked her if her WhatsApp was hacked, that was where our chat is. She Said wahahaha. No quote unquote.

[David Drucker]

I'm just looking at the messages that I added to this. What the bleep are we talking about here? Fish literally only eat fish late to what, what's happening right now. And then Pudge Rodriguez.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's. That's unbelievable. I thought, you know, I actually thought that this was her distracting us from having to think about traveling to Edmonton for games, potentially games five and seven yet again. And I can feel Ethan's look, listen, I'm going to.

[G]

I've come around a little bit on this because Rosie told me about her adventure last time. I didn't know the full details. Where she had to fly from here.

[David Drucker]

To Dallas, saying it for years.

[G]

Then she had to fly. No, I. Listen, you guys, you know, it was. Hold on, hold on one second, one second.

[Unknown]

Travels, I'm gonna see.

[G]

No, one second. So let me just say that I. When I heard your travels, I heard seven different cities and I didn't know how they all went. And then you had to drive from Calgary to Edmonton, which sucks, don't get me wrong. But still. Okay, so Rosie had to go from the first time.

[David Drucker]

Had to go from Florida here, Dallas, San Francisco. At one point.

[G]

Yes, that's what I'm saying.

[Unknown]

First I had to go from Miami to Houston. Then I lost my flight from Houston to Denver. So they had to change it from Denver to San Francisco, then from San Francisco to Edmonton. In Edmonton there is a storm so we have to fly all over Edmonton. Oh, we run out of gas. So we had to go to Calgary. We fill the tank and then we go back to Edmonton.

[Roy Bellamy]

That was just game four.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, that was the first.

[G]

Listen, don't get me wrong, that's brutal. But.

[David Drucker]

And then they lost 8 to 1.

[G]

You guys still 7 to 1. But you guys still interviewed. No, it was 8 1. You guys still interviewed Alexander Barkov on the ice after he Stanley Cup. So you didn't have to go to Edmonton if you didn't want to.

[Roy Bellamy]

We did.

[G]

But you went.

[David Drucker]

There's no way. Because they, it sucks. They wouldn't have gotten beaten, what, 13 to 2 in those two games or whatever. Horrible if they would have actually closed out the series there like so many of us thought they would. There was no way we're gonna miss that. Yeah, there was no way.

[G]

Well, remember Dmitry Kulakov and Vladimir told us that him and Vladimir Tarasenko, even they didn't believe they were going to close out the series of game six. You remember that?

[David Drucker]

Speaking of belief, I mean that locker.

[Roy Bellamy]

Room Was trashed at the game.

[David Drucker]

Total side note. And I know we'll get to this later. Speaking of belief, The Panthers down 2 nothing in game 5 in Carolina the other night when it looked bleak as hell and Carolina looked great.

[G]

So angry.

[David Drucker]

I ran into Max Ivanov, Panther skills coach, in intermission, and I just look at him, I'm like, rough period. And he goes, I think we're coming back.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, nice.

[David Drucker]

Believe, like, straight dead face.

[G]

An amazing team.

[David Drucker]

And then I saw him in the second intermission and he just laughed at me.

[Unknown]

It's rigged.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's rigged.

[David Drucker]

That's what my mom thinks. My mom starts chiming in on hockey. All of a sudden she's like, I think the NHL is rigged because they didn't want the Panthers to go to the two. It's like, dude, why would they put Florida up three to nothing if it was like, oh, my God, wherever there's money, there's.

[G]

Let's go to wins and fails.

[Roy Bellamy]

What just happened? Did Rose just glitch before I transition? Like, what was that?

[David Drucker]

What was that?

[G]

That's why I said, let's go to wins.

[Roy Bellamy]

But she told me, no, no, I want an explanation. On the call.

[David Drucker]

Just dropped.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, I was like, into the microphone.

[Unknown]

No, I was going to say, let's go to wins, but I didn't want to get your. Steal your thunder.

[David Drucker]

When did that ever stop you?

[Roy Bellamy]

Winds and fail is brought to you by Jagermeister. Serve it code or don't serve it at all. Jagermeister. Damn, that's code. For more visit jagermeister.com Drink responsibly. Rose, I'm sorry. You just distracted me. I'm done for the rest of the show. Now I'm just, like, off because of a. What you did last night and you just short circuited. I mean, what is going on, man? Dave, go ahead.

[David Drucker]

So speaking of things that are cold, referencing our awesome sponsor, Jagermeister. My win of the week is cold because.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, no.

[David Drucker]

Because my win of the week is the Carolina Hurricanes. Congratulations to you for your win of the week. Your first win in the conference final in 16 tries. So congrats. Nothing really to it I don't want to, you know. Yeah, just, you know, slow clap. Good job on you guys. Next time when you don't play the Panthers, maybe you'll win two or three or even four. You know, it might be a few years. I think the Panthers kind of set themselves up pretty well for the conference final for a while. But props to you, Carolina. You didn't get swept. The streak is Over. I know, Rod. The bod was happy to not be able to talk about it anymore.

[Roy Bellamy]

So happiness did not show during the handshake line. We'll talk about that later. My win of the week comes from the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Championship. For the men, the United States plays Switzerland. Switzerland. With both teams going to overtime. The Buffalo Sabres for Tage Thompson, carry the puck into the zone, into the face off circle and fight a rester for the golden goal. This win earns United states men their first IIHF gold medal in 92 years. 92 years. It's been a good run for USA Hockey this year. In 2025, you just saw the men win gold. Four nations team won silver. The world junior team under 21 gold. The world Junior. That's for the men. The world men junior team under 18 won bronze. The world women won gold. The world Women under 18 on silver.

[David Drucker]

Is that a lot of goodness for our country?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. And they still got three Winter Olympics coming up in Milan in 2026.

[Unknown]

I'm going to try to go with that one.

[David Drucker]

You look like you're dressed for it.

[Unknown]

Yeah, no, I'm. I'm going to try to go to the Milan. Can you imagine that?

[David Drucker]

Can you imagine the hockey show covering the Winter Olympics?

[Unknown]

Oh, guys, that might happen.

[G]

We got to do.

[Unknown]

I am going.

[Roy Bellamy]

Good luck trying to.

[David Drucker]

Rose will be representing the Hockey show in Milan.

[Roy Bellamy]

Like I. I gotta do the talking for that one, Ethan.

[G]

I don't have a win of the week this week.

[Roy Bellamy]

Roy Rose.

[Unknown]

So my first win of the week is of course our boy Barky when he did that assist the game. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That assist. Look at him.

[David Drucker]

This was sick.

[G]

Oh, this might be his statue. That was the best holding off Orlov here.

[Roy Bellamy]

That was a holding penalty, by the way. That was a holding penalty on Olog. Did not matter.

[David Drucker]

They let a lot go.

[Unknown]

And my second win of the week is actually Roy. He scored also. Look at him in practice.

[David Drucker]

Whoa.

[Ethan]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Yeah. 1, 2, 3. And there he goes and scores.

[David Drucker]

Hey, yeah. You got the crisscross tape job going too. I like it.

[Unknown]

Look at that. Look at that.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, Yeah, I am. I'm in pain. I'm hurt.

[G]

Get your legs into that, Roy. Get your legs in that chop a little bit.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, my feet were hurting. My shoulder feels like it's out of place right now because I kept crashing into the boards.

[David Drucker]

Untuck the jersey in the back. It's pants.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's bad luck.

[David Drucker]

Bad luck.

[Roy Bellamy]

It was a bad look.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, it's bad luck. That's all.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, I would do.

[David Drucker]

You don't want to see your hockey pants.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay. I would do that two weeks from now because I think next week, Wednesday, he's going to get postponed because again.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, no. Here's my question for you though, as I watch you move and when was the last time you got your skate sharpened?

[Roy Bellamy]

About a month ago, I think. Oh, two months ago.

[David Drucker]

Might be. Might be time to get him sharpened.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think so. Yeah. I look pretty slow out there. I kept falling.

[David Drucker]

I feel better.

[Roy Bellamy]

What's your fail, Dave?

[David Drucker]

My fail of the week comes from the PWHL finals between the Minnesota Frost and the Ottawa Charge. Pretty funny moment when man Emcmahon and Melissa Chanel Watkins got their helmet cages tangled up and the referee, for whatever reason, didn't. Did not want to stop play. She's literally standing next to them. They're screaming at her, we can't move. Help. And the ref was just like, nah, keep playing. And this was a fight. This was game three of the final. The game that ended up going to triple overtime.

[Roy Bellamy]

Can you imagine it being four and four after that?

[David Drucker]

Oh, my God. So Minnesota eventually won the game. They eventually won the series. Congratulations to them. Back to back champions for the pwhl. But that was one that I had not seen before and I hopefully won't see. John.

[Roy Bellamy]

My fail of the week comes from this play by. Yes. Perry, Kaka, Nieme. Seth Jones was handling the puck behind the net. And look at this.

[David Drucker]

I hate this.

[Roy Bellamy]

Leapt. He left his feet right. He left his feet, jumped his skate, went horizontal. He put his elbow up like he was trying to elbow him, trying to get a piece of Jones. And then he swung his stick with his left hand and the stick at the board's head level.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

Right where Seth Jones would have been.

[David Drucker]

That's not. I hated that so much.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's four things that I just mentioned right there that were so dangerous.

[David Drucker]

Some people were saying that he was trying to avoid neon e contact, but when you watch the replay and the way that he's coming in and the angle he's coming in, he's just trying to make contact. There was like their legs were kind of lined up, but it wasn't going to be a neon he hit because.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, Jones moved his leg out of. Anyway.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. So I. I don't know exactly what he was thinking, but thank God Jones was out of the way there because it was like one of those matrix things where like slow motion things are just whizzing by that could potentially hurt him, but I didn't like that at all.

[Roy Bellamy]

Dude, that's ridiculous. Ethan.

[G]

All right, my fail of the week goes to me. A few months ago I went to watch the Oilers and Panthers play and afterwards I had a hot take and that take has not aged very well. We're going to roll it right here. Went to watch the Stanley cup champion Florida Panthers last night, take on the team they knocked out in the Stanley cup final, the Edmonton Oilers. And the Edmonton Oilers are three, six and one in their last 10. They've lost five in a row. I got a hot take, boys. They're going nowhere this year. Rough start to the year and you kind of knew, okay, this isn't who Edmonton is. They're a lot better than this. They'll get hot. Listen, there's ups and downs for every team. They've played a lot of hockey. I just don't think this team is going anywhere. I think there are too many good teams in the West. Dallas, Winnipeg, Colorado is still really dangerous in my eyes. Even without Ran and what I saw from them last night. If you take McDavid out of the game, which the Panthers kind of did, they're relying on a lot of Brett Kulaks and Arvidssons and Skinners. And for what it's worth, these guys killed the Panthers Stanley cup final last year. Look, they can always make a big move at the deadline and make a big play and get back into this thing, but I just don't see them as a real threat to win the Stanley cup right now.

[Unknown]

He jinxed them even worse than I did.

[G]

Rose and I are even on bad Oilers takes. One of the reasons this is so bad is because their depth has been phenomenal in the Stanley cup playoff. And I said that if you just take McDavid away and you make Arvidson and Kulak and whoever else beat you, it's a good strategy of attack. Well, I mean, McDavid's getting his, don't get me wrong, but their depth has been phenomenal. They look incredible. I cannot wait for the Stanley Cup Final. And I and Rosie are both the reason that they're back.

[Roy Bellamy]

Rose fail.

[Unknown]

My fail of the week is that we have to go to Edmonton. But what can I say? That's my only fail. So.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, for those of you watching on DraftKings Network, you can watch our interview with Barbara Susan from ESPN and you can watch the rest of the show on YouTube. The Dan Levitar It's Levitard and Friends YouTube page, click on the playlist tab and Click on our folder. Barbara Susan's coming up next.

[Mike Ryan]

Howdy, listeners, it's Mike Ryan. That temperature, it's starting to turn up a little bit. Maybe you're going out on the boat. Maybe you're having a pool day. Maybe you're just hanging out in your backyard, your patio, and you're grilling. Oh, you're prepping the meats. You're looking at the family. You're enjoying your time with the friends.

[G]

You're.

[Mike Ryan]

And guess what's in your hand? A Miller Lite. That's right. Miller Time is the best time, especially when the temperature starts ticking up a little bit because you have a beer that's brewed for people like you and me, people who love their beer and it cools your body down. I've been stocking the cooler with it for years and for good reason. It's brewed for taste only. 96 calories and 3.2 grams of carbs. This year, Miller Lite turns 50. That's five decades of cookouts, laughs and ice cold moments that never miss the original light beer. And it's still my go to 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. Cheers to 50 years of Miller time. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces.

[Roy Bellamy]

We have Bob Rashuzen from ESPN. He's been covering the National Hockey League and very many other sports for the Worldwide leader. And Bob has had a majority of his career down here in South Florida. And he has seen many iterations of this Florida Panthers hockey club. And there's always, there's a story that he tells a lot about what the Panthers as far as an organization does to attract people to the game. Bob, can you share that story with us?

[Ethan]

Like going all the way back to when they were first founded?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes.

[Ethan]

Yeah. I was at WQAM 1993, the summer of 93. I arrived my first job out of college and that happened to coincide with the Panthers being founded. So I was at opening night, I was the first ever Panthers game. And then we were there. I'm non stop. I was probably if they played 41 home games, I was probably like 38 of them because wasn't getting paid a lot, realized that the media buffet was free. So that was nice. But I remember obviously Wayne Huizenga owning the team back in those days. He also owned not Just waste management. But Blockbuster Video, and there was a Blockbuster Video across the street from our apartment complex, myself and John Chavy, and we used to go rent movies. And I remember when the Panthers were first coming into existence at Blockbuster Video to teach South Florida, which I don't know if this is still the case, but I remember being told that, you know, Dade county spoke Spanish as a first language. Like 70% of the people. Now we're trying to do hockey in downtown Miami. And so Wayne Huizenga had John Van Biesbrook record this, like, I don't know, 10, 15 minute tutorial video of this is hockey. And it was like, this is icing, this is offside, this is hooking, this is fighting. You can't do that with your stick. And when you went to rent a movie back in the early 90s, you would get, if you wanted it, a free John Van Beesbrook Explains Hockey Tutorial video.

[David Drucker]

Oh, man.

[Ethan]

So you could go home and learn like what the rules of hockey were. So if you went to a Panthers game, you'd have some idea of what was going on. And now the Panthers are a dynasty. And you've got kids of like Cuban immigrants with like Hispanic last names that are die hard hockey fans that have grown up with this franchise and it's.

[G]

And they all blow up your phone every single day.

[Ethan]

Yes. Love it. And it's exactly what it's supposed to be, right? Like it's worked. It's proven that it worked exactly the way it's intended to work. To introduce this sport to a population that probably never saw ice before, much less never was probably in temperatures below 50 degrees before, much less conceived of hockey, but then saw it, fell in love with it, grew up with it, love this team. And now great crowds and an amazing general manager has put together an incredible team and they might be on their way to back to back cups. So, you know, to see it from its infancy, to see what hockey in Florida was like, you know, 30 some odd years ago and now what it is, is awesome.

[Roy Bellamy]

I got to tell you, that video is still around. You need to give it to Rosie.

[G]

I was going to say, do you have one, Bob? Do you know?

[Ethan]

Well, you know, again, this is one of those things, like you have no foresight. Like, I would have held on to all of my, like Star wars toys if I would have known what they were, that it was going to be really valuable someday or like a collectible, right? So now, like I didn't know that the John Van De Brook instructional tape was going to Be something that you want to hold on to. I mean, I don't know, maybe somewhere, you know, in the depths of YouTube, you can find it, you know, or maybe there's something out there somewhere, but.

[David Drucker]

I don't have it. I am literally googling my butt off right now trying to like all these different terms. I'm, I'm searching for it, but I'm coming up with nothing right now.

[Ethan]

Oh, yeah, I don't know. I mean, man, but then again, we don't have VCRs anymore that blockbuster Video. But yeah, I guess that probably wouldn't work either.

[David Drucker]

Bob, you were here. You know, you're talking about the Panthers in their infancy. It takes me back to like Miami arena, downtown Miami. How different everything was back then. As somebody. You said you dropped wqam. We have some familiarity with that. You had some veterans in the house. But knowing the hustle that has to come with being a radio producer, especially back then. Give me your best South Florida sports story at Miami arena, downtown Miami, Florida Panthers at that time.

[Roy Bellamy]

Overtown.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. Just what's your best slash worst South Florida sports story from that era?

[Ethan]

Oh, man, I don't even know. Like, you know. Well, you know, I could tell you how, you know, strange, like, careers get started, right? So I get brought down to Miami to be the Hank Goldberg's producer, right? Like I was Hank's button pushing, call screening, traffic recording, guest booking, as you guys do, producer, okay? And I'm getting paid $7.10 an hour. And I'm told to keep this under my hat because there were guys at the radio station that were living at home, but they hadn't cracked seven bucks an hour yet. This is, by the way, 1993, not 1953.

[G]

That's right, right.

[Ethan]

So 1993, I'm making $7.10 an hour, but again, I'm paying rent. These guys are living at home. So I guess they figured if they bumped me up like the extra 30 cents an hour, somehow that would help me make the rent in our apartment complex. And so, all right, I'm working every hour I possibly can. I am burning the midnight oil. I'm working 70 hour weeks just to try and hit overtime to get up to like 10 bucks an hour. And our boy, Jose. Gacky, right? Who, the voice of the Canes, who was our program director at the time and, you know, was probably only about, I don't know, eight or 10 years older than I was. I mean, he was, you know, his early 30s, I'll never forget. He comes into the control room one day. I'm probably there for like two or three months at this point. And I forget exactly how he phrased the question, but do a Josie right here.

[G]

Do you have a Josie? Do you have a Josie in person impersonation?

[Mike Ryan]

Not really.

[David Drucker]

I mean, I need you to cover hockey.

[Ethan]

He comes into the control room, and again, I forget exactly how he phrased it. But the essence of the question was, do you know any other jerk off dumb enough to come down here and do what you're doing? But you have a guy. Give us one idiot that would be. That would be stupid enough to come here and work for $7 an hour. And I was like, I got just the guy. His name is John Schombi. I'm gonna call him up and he'll come down here in a heartbeat. Because Boog was working, I think, at a radio station in Bradford, Pennsylvania, where there's like 100,000 people live in Bradford, Pennsylvania. And I think 75,000 of them at the time worked at the Zippo lighter factory. So that's where he was working. And he was done like, you know, they were sending him with, like, a police scanner to cover car accidents. If someone hit a telephone pole, he'd have to go out and cover it, thinking he was going to be there for sports. So he's bailing. I called him up, and I'm like, you want to come sleep on our couch? And he's like, yeah, I'm on my way. And he basically hopped in his Tercel and drove south. And that was it. We ended up amazing, both finding QAM as a home. And he ended up. I mean, three years later, he's in a Marlins victory parade.

[Roy Bellamy]

Well, I can tell you, 32 years later, not much has changed in radio. Still getting paid 10 bucks an hour.

[David Drucker]

It'S pretty good if you're working in radio. Getting 10 bucks an hour.

[Ethan]

I'm painfully aware.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[G]

All right, Bob, we'll pivot here to actually talking about hockey, which we have not done enough on this show yet. And one thing I want to ask you about is from last night, you saw the stars a lot this year. I feel like you saw them in the playoffs especially. And last night was really just. This whole series has been stunning. But last night, it really feels like things really fell apart, especially when DeBoer pulls Ottinger. And there's Ottinger sitting on the bench next to Ray Ferraro. And this is the guy who I think should play goal for the United States next year at the Olympics. What do you make of all this, what kind of changes could be coming in Dallas? Like, do you think this could be the end of the line for Pete DeBoer where all of a sudden there's a rift between him and his franchise goaltender? Like what, what do we make of all that happened last night?

[Ethan]

To me, that was not about Ottinger. That was about. I realized that I am down to my last button to push really, because outside again of one flurry of power play goals in game number one. I mean, that was a non competitive series. You know, you hate to say it, and to me that's, that's like a football coach faking a field goal or faking a punt in the third quarter of a game that he knows he's probably out of. Like you're just, you're down to kind of your last button to push. And Ray Ferraro said it, it wasn't as much about Ottinger. It was about like he's been on that bench. He knows the impact that making that kind of a switch can have. And that's. You're, you're hoping that that's going to be the last, you know, kind of light the fire under the rear ends of your team move you can make when in reality the Stars were not winning that game and the Stars were not winning that series. And I think to, to micromanage the big picture of what happened in all five games down to one decision made by Pete DeBoer when the series was pretty much all but lost would be, I think, blowing it out of proportion. Next year, Jake Ottinger will be the opening night goaltender. And if they can make a run next year, it'll be because Jake Ottinger is back where he's supposed to be and that is as their franchise goaltender. And I think one conversation between Ottinger and DeBoer can probably put that to rest. At least between the two of them.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, I mean, they're both hockey guys. It's not like it's an unheralded situation that we've never seen before. It was just they were up against the juggernaut team from Edmonton. And that's kind of where I'm taking this now. Bob is with the Oilers. The way that they're looking right now, they really dominated that series. You know, a couple bad periods, double bad penalty kills. But with Hyman going out, Eklam coming back in. Where are the Oilers right now as they head into this final? I know they're confident against the Panthers, but do you see them as better than they were last year. And potentially a team that can get over the hump now.

[Ethan]

Well, I mean they got the thing to game seven last year, right? Like they don't have to be that much better in order to possibly win the series. As a hockey fan, you know, I know some people rematch, okay. Edmonton, Florida, I want to see it right, Sign me up for seven more games of these two teams because to me, the team that when they can get to their game with their superstars being arguably, you know, I mean, certainly the best player on the planet, another top five player on the planet, what team is built better to come at you physically in waves, put an elbow in your chest and try and take you out of your game when you've got that kind of offensive talent than the Panthers? So to me it right, it's McDavid and dry Seidl and their supporting cast against a team that probably has the best antidote for that of any team in the NHL when they get to their game. And it's going to be which team can get to their game and take the other team out out of it. And you know, I think it's a toss up series. You know, I'll probably pick the Panthers in seven to suck up to you guys, but other than that, you know, I don't know how anybody could sit there and say I've got a great feeling about the outcome of this series. Like, I don't. There's, there's no, I mean, I haven't even looked. I'm not a Vegas guy, I'm not an odds guy. But this has to be almost a pick them series.

[G]

It is, it is. I saw on ESPN last night that it's 110. 110.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Ethan]

I mean it has to be like almost a coin flip result.

[Roy Bellamy]

The Carolina Hurricanes finally won an Eastern conference final game. It took them about 15 games where they finally did it, but they ends up, they end up being one in 15 in the last four East Final appearances. And with the mess with Miko Ranton, where you think they go from here?

[Ethan]

I don't know. You know, because to me that, that team, especially what happened the first couple of games of the Panthers series, there has to be a moment of realization where those guys are all sitting around the room looking at each other and look, I don't know if anybody says it out loud, they probably don't. But you can look into the eyes of your teammate and tell, we can't beat these guys. We just can't. We can play as well as we're capable of playing and we can't beat them. Our goaltender isn't as good as their goaltender. Our stars aren't as good as their stars. Our depth isn't as good as their depth. They're more physical than we are. You know, the Panthers can do to you, especially if you've got a team like I've thought. You know, it's got to be hard to be the Rangers as well, to be committed to guys like the Zabanajads and Panarins of the world and then see the Panthers take those guys out of their game from regular season hockey to playoff hockey better than anybody. The fact that you have to go through that team to do it, look what they did to the Lightning in the first round. Like, you know, you've got probably a hard trophy winner and certainly the, you know, number one offensive player in the league and Kucherov was invisible basically for the entire series. Florida does that to you. And when it's your turn and they do it to you, it's got to be a tough room to be sitting and looking at your teammates going, or at least thinking to yourself, the cartoon bubble coming out of all of those guys heads must have been, we can't beat these guys. And we know it because anybody that watched the series could tell that it was just a matter of time. Even if they won a game. All it did was delay the inevitable.

[G]

Bob, I have a general announcer question for you before we get out of here. You are the voice of hockey and that is a very difficult job. I can't imagine what calling a hockey game is like. I've been dying to ask you this question on things like scrums in front of the net, block shots, saves, where the puck is just flying around like, has your eye just been trained to know what's going on? Or how often are you guessing and just being like, I'll wait for the replay and see what exactly happened here?

[Ethan]

Well, I mean, you know, I appreciate you saying that. You know, I my year ends at the end of the second round every year, so maybe someday it won't, should it? I like to me, if you've watched enough of the game and called enough of the game, it's a combination of calling what you see, trying to keep your eyes on the puck for as long as possible. Obviously, your eyes immediately go to the goaltender to see if you can tell from his body language has he found it in all of that traffic? And then looking at the body language of all of the players around the goaltender, if you've got a guy furiously stabbing his stick. Then you know, either someone's about to get decapitated in a fight because you're stabbing the goaltender who's got the puck, or that thing must still be loose and he must see it. And so it's just describe what you see. That that's really all it is but the mayhem around the net. I mean, I'll. I'll give you a perfect. Well, like the game winning goal where Edmonton ended it against Vegas. You describe what you see, but there's a couple of sticks there and we're kind of low. And on an angle in Vegas, I couldn't see that Kapanen was the player that got the puck in the net in overtime until we saw him celebrate. And he, you knew, you know, when they mobbed him that he was the goal scorer. But you know, that's just the nature of like that little black disc in amongst sometimes a mosh pit. And it's probably a combination of trying to follow that, the goaltender and then the body language of everyone that's involved in the scrum.

[Roy Bellamy]

Finally, you said you had the Panthers winning this one. How many games and who is the only favorite for the consp. My trophy?

[Ethan]

Well, I've seven and I would never pick these two teams in anything other than seven games. And I don't have a problem, you know, like, where is game one? I forgot. I don't have a problem. I would pick the Panthers in seven regardless of venue because they're better on the road than they are at home at times. You know, I mean, it's amazing how good they are on the road. So wherever the game is, I would pick them to have a great chance to win. I mean, the Panthers are so balanced, right? Like they're so deep. They've got six different guys that could be that guy. Maybe I'll lean into Reinhardt. Maybe he's just going to have a big series and score four or five and get a couple in game seven and you know, he becomes the guy almost by default. But if there was ever a team that when they win, you could give that trophy as a group trophy, it's Florida.

[Roy Bellamy]

Wow. Right?

[Ethan]

Like they, they win. They are the definition of the sum of their parts. For Edmonton, if they win the series, it's almost impossible to not think it's one of two guys. For Florida, it could just like seven or eight guys that it could conceivably be if, you know, if you wanted to single one out. But that's a hard team to pick a guy on because they're so deep and so good.

[G]

It feels like because of that, it's Bob's to lose, right? It's. They would just default to the goaltender, especially because he's played really well.

[Ethan]

It's like the quarterbacks, the MVP of the super bowl every year no matter what. Unless they got a running back that scores three touchdowns or something. Right? Like, you just give it to the guy that is never leaving the playing surface, basically. So, yeah, that makes sense.

[Roy Bellamy]

Bob's got the Panthers in seven. You know what that means, Rosie? We're going to Edmonton twice.

[David Drucker]

Oh, God.

[Unknown]

Um. Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. So there. There you go. Bob Rashuzan from espn, thank you for joining us. As we as it was sad that we have to travel to witness.

[David Drucker]

Could be worse.

[Rosie]

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[Roy Bellamy]

Damn.

[Rosie]

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[David Drucker]

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[Ethan]

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[David Drucker]

Help is available for problem gambling.

[G]

Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and.

[Ethan]

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[G]

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[Ethan]

Void in Ontario.

[G]

Bet must win to bonus bets expire.

[David Drucker]

168 hours after issuance.

[G]

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[Roy Bellamy]

I want to touch on for a little bit the conclusion of Game five and what happened with Paul Maurice and Rod Brindamore. Paul Maurice, who said he wants a players only handshake line because you know the coaches as it rose, your mic is on.

[Unknown]

Oh, sorry.

[Roy Bellamy]

Thank you. You could talk a little bit later, but you're snickering in the background. I don't know. This is about the thumbnail, isn't it? This is about the thumbnail for the YouTube.

[Unknown]

Sorry, I did not know I had it on.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay, carry on, carry on. Anyway, Palmer says that this is about the players and the players should do a handshake line only. He did that for Toronto after the Toronto series. He did not do that for Tampa.

[David Drucker]

No. Well, it was after the Tampa series that we first started talking about it with him, where it came up. I don't remember who asked or what brought the topic up, but I do remember after the Tampa series and shaking hands with John Cooper and everything, Maurice spoke about how he thinks it should just be the players, how a guy that just went to battle for potentially six or seven games shouldn't have to shake hands with some guy in a tracksuit that he has no idea who he is. And you know, it's no disrespect to the trainers and the coaches, but it's the players on the ice playing the game. So I get where Paul Maurice is coming from. And as you said, there was no handshake line for the coaches when they beat Toronto. Him and Berube did it all on the benches. And that happened again in Carolina, but got some attention. People were thinking that they were chirping each other or whatever between the benches, like, no. So coaching is former player. One of them just lost the conference final again. So I don't Know, I get it. I like it.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Ry Brynn Moore looked like he was annoyed. As a former player, I would think that. And Paul Maurice, I guess, would think that he would understand especially. Yeah, him and Paul, because he played for Paul. He was on his training. He was on his coaching staff in Carolina as well before Paul went to Winnipeg.

[David Drucker]

So, no, what Paul said after the game made it seem like Broad was fine with it. Like that he understood that it was all good. So their animated exchange maybe was a little bit more visually than what it was like verbally. Like, it sounded like they were very much on the same page based on what Paul Murray said. But again, I agree. I think, you know, I get where he's coming from. The coaches have their handshake line with each other next to the benches, and the players have theirs in the middle of the ice. I think that made sense to me.

[Roy Bellamy]

And a lot of this is because, I mean, he said it himself, the Panthers are really very much a player ran club. It's on the locker room, on the ice, on the bench. It's pretty much all the players. He doesn't have to say anything to this team unless he really, absolutely necessarily have to.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. When he needs to put on other goalies pads and get down and start displaying. Yeah, that's the first thing I thought of was Maurice. You get too in close. You got to go up high. It's like.

[Roy Bellamy]

And that might. That's going to come in handy because, you know, do the same thing as they did last year.

[G]

I'll just say this, like, people are making a really big deal about this. It's driving me crazy. Like, 32 thoughts today. I love that podcast so much. They spent more time talking about this than they did talking about the Panthers. And a lot of other shows I've listened to have talked about this more than they've talked about the Panthers. It's not a big deal. Like Paul Murray's. Yes. He's been in handshake lines before. He's coached a lot of times in the playoffs. This is clearly something he's thought of recently and he wants to try and change it. And it's not really a big deal. I think what he said was very thoughtful. He's always very thoughtful in his approach in press conferences and, you know, if you want to go listen to what he said, go find it. And I think it was very. A very thoughtful approach to. This is about the players and the players. This is their moment and I want to stay out of that. And I don't Think that's a very big deal at all.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's a big deal because of the exchange that was caught on camera. If it's not caught on camera, he doesn't get 100%. He doesn't get asked about it. Plain and simple. So we're going to move on from there. Now, what I should have put as my fail of the week is PK Subhan, because then this is coming back from the beginning of the playoffs. He did his playoff brackets. He was right about two matchups. The Winnipeg jets and St. Louis Blues matchup. He picked Winnipeg Runnipeg to go to the second round. And the Vegas Golden Knights. He picked correctly to move past the Minnesota Wild.

[David Drucker]

Wow.

[Roy Bellamy]

Everything else is a big fat zero. He had the Vegas Golden Knights defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final.

[David Drucker]

That's. That's a little embarrassing.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's. That's not.

[David Drucker]

I mean, I. I get where he's coming from. If anybody, you know, if Tampa knocked out the Panthers, I could have seen them making a run. But that was a big if.

[Roy Bellamy]

I mean, he has the current, the current Stanley cup final match of the same one for last season. Not making it out of the first round.

[David Drucker]

That's pretty bad.

[G]

The Kings almost did it.

[David Drucker]

I was gonna say half of the hockey show.

[G]

They almost did it.

[David Drucker]

Also agreed with the Oil.

[G]

No, I had the Oilers getting out of the first round.

[David Drucker]

No, I had the Kings winning the first round.

[Roy Bellamy]

I had the Kings winning the first round and so did Rosie.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. So of course, second round on. I did the second chance bracket and I'm four for four.

[G]

I don't want to hear about the second chance bracket, Dave. You had to pick two matchups. That's total.

[Ethan]

I don't care.

[G]

That's ridiculous. Don't try and take credit.

[David Drucker]

There it is right there.

[G]

This is the easiest thing you ever had to do. You had to pick Edmonton over Vegas, Dallas over Winnipeg, Florida over Toronto and Carolina over Washington. And obviously we're going to pick the Panthers. And then you just had to pick between the Oil and Dallas. And that's pretty easy once you saw how the Oil were playing in the first round.

[David Drucker]

Wow.

[G]

This is ridiculous.

[David Drucker]

Okay, let's definitely matter how you get there, as long as you get there.

[G]

It does matter because you want to. You got to do it from the start. It's got to be from the start. How did your bracket do from the start?

[David Drucker]

I just told you. I would have gotten the Oilers wrong in the first round.

[Roy Bellamy]

See, this is why I don't do brackets because now everybody's annoyed. And speaking of annoyance, we have a new bid on the show.

[David Drucker]

Oh, nice segue.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, I. I named it Dwarky Sounds off now. We can come up with a better name later. Wait, what is this Dwarky Sounds?

[David Drucker]

You got a new segment starring me that you're just telling me about now?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes.

[David Drucker]

All right, good.

[Unknown]

That's how we do it here.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. I hope you are ready for this, because here's the scenario. Pompous Annette, during the NHL on TNT's postgame show following Game 5 of the East Final, said that the NHL needs to do something about the Panthers, and I guess subsequently the. The Tampa Bay Lightning, since they're in the same states, but specifically the Panthers. The NHL needs to do an investigation about the Panthers taking advantage of the fact that the state of Florida does not have a state income tax. David, you have words on the issue. Please take it away.

[David Drucker]

Stop your bitching. That's for everybody that's complaining about this, all right? We didn't hear about this state income tax issue for 30 years when the Panthers sucked. Now all of a sudden, they're relevant. They got somebody in the front office that knows what they're doing, that knows how to stretch a dollar, that knows how to build a team. Now guys want to come here. So, yes. Take advantage of it while you can. But, dude, it's been around forever, okay? It's not just Florida, Vegas, Dallas. Other teams have the same benefit, right?

[Ethan]

It's not just hockey.

[G]

It's every league.

[Ethan]

It's.

[G]

Every league has this.

[David Drucker]

It's ridiculous hearing about it, because all I feel like the last few years, it's the. They're putting the Panthers up on this. This pedestal of. It's only happening because they can make these great deals and yada, yada. It's like, no, that's not the case at all. I'm just so sick. It's like a crutch. Like, get over it. The Panthers have built a great team. You want to get mad at someone, get mad at Bill Zito.

[Roy Bellamy]

The other thing about this is it only equates to 41 games a season or 61 games a season, or 7 games a season.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, just the games that get played in Florida.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, that's it. I mean. I mean, outside of the teams that play each other, you know, like Florida and Tampa and whatnot. But Canada, so Canada, the other thing. So, yeah, it's only taken. This state income tax is only affecting.

[G]

Half of your paycheck, and I should.

[David Drucker]

Know the answer to this. And asking it in real time. I'm probably making myself like a moron. But does that mean yet that the visiting players when they play in Florida are not paying the tax on those games?

[Roy Bellamy]

That's correct, yes.

[David Drucker]

So, you know, it's just a couple games, but, you know, still a little bit more money that you're getting there. So again, stop your bitching.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, so there's that.

[David Drucker]

I almost just dropped it.

[G]

We have a minute and 50 left in the show and we haven't really previewed the Stanley Cup.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's why. That's what I'm getting to. Because I want your predictions on the Stanley Cup Final. Yes, I know the answer about who you think will win how many games?

[David Drucker]

Seven, unfortunately. Hard to see it not going.

[Unknown]

I think it's going to be a six. Edmonton. Don't hate me. I.

[David Drucker]

You have Edmonton and six.

[Unknown]

I think they're going to win because McDavid is coming with another mentality. And the thing is.

[Roy Bellamy]

You think Edmonton's going to win?

[Unknown]

Sadly, I think I am hoping is the Panthers that win.

[Roy Bellamy]

You think Edmonton is going to win in six games?

[Unknown]

I think so. I am sorry. And you can put me in my place right now because I'm not going.

[Roy Bellamy]

To do that now.

[Unknown]

Just two years that I've been watching this team, but I feel like the Panthers and you can tell me if I'm wrong, but every time that they're down, the Panthers, yeah, it's. It's hard for them to come back. Let's not talk about the last game because they did come back.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay. But they did that. They did that versus Toronto.

[David Drucker]

They did that for them to come back. When they come back.

[Unknown]

But sometimes I feel like they like to suffer. So it's like, okay, they're winning three, then they lose three, and then they come and win it. So this time I don't know. And they're better in the. In the road. So are we. Are we not supposed to chant? That's why they're not playing Good. Because we chant a lot.

[Roy Bellamy]

No. Okay, Ethan.

[G]

All right, so I'm gonna be honest here. I've watched a lot of sports in my life. There are two.

[Roy Bellamy]

Can you be honest?

[G]

In 20 seconds, there are two scenarios that. This has made me think of. 2014, when the spurs got back to the finals after losing to the Heat in seven games. And the spurs mopped the floor with them in 2014. 2009, Florida and Alabama in the SEC championship game. Florida and Alabama got back the next year. Or sorry, 2008. And then 2009. Florida won the first year. Alabama waxed them the second year. Panthers are unbelievable. And there are some unbelievable storylines in this series. You have this juggernaut of a team that can cement themselves as one of the greatest teams in NHL history, I think, by winning back to back Stanley Cups against the greatest player of their generation. Or you have the greatest player of their generation. And I'm getting this takeoff no matter what. So stick with me for a second because we have to set this up a little bit. This is unbelievable.

[Roy Bellamy]

Ask you who's going to win and.

[G]

You have the greatest player of all time trying to cement his legacy against this team that's gone to three straight Stanley cup finals. Now, it's going to be an unbelievable matchup, but there is a look in Connor McDavid's eye, and it just feels like it's setting up for Edmonton. Zach Hyman said last year, they're going to be back.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's not playing.

[G]

And they're back.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's not playing.

[G]

I think Edmonton.

[David Drucker]

He's not back.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's not back. He's gone.

[G]

Part of me thinks Edmonton.

[Unknown]

He has to get surgery.

[G]

Part of me thinks Edmonton is going to win this series because it just seems like it's all lining up for them. But at the end of the day, there has been no point this year. Just let me. Let me roll. All right. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

[Unknown]

Yeah, it is.

[Ethan]

Hold on.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's rolling.

[G]

Okay, thank you, Roy. Thank you. He's rolling for getting the reference. Anyway, look, the Panthers, there has been no point this year where I haven't thought they were going to end up exactly where they are now. And there hasn't really been a point where I thought they're going to lose this series until I saw that look in McDavid's eye. But Jesus Christ, cats in seven.

[David Drucker]

After all that. After all that, I'm looking into the eyes.

[G]

We spent the entire show talking about Joe Zagaki and John Shombie and Dallas, and we didn't set this up at all. This is an unbelievable Stanley Cup Final with some unbelievable storylines, and we didn't set it up at all. I'm trying to set it up here. I'm trying to set it up here.

[Roy Bellamy]

Turn your mic on, Rose. Turn your mic on. Okay. There you go. All right, so to recap, David has the Florida Panthers in seven, I have the Florida Panthers in six, Rosie has the Edmonton Oilers in six, and Ethan.

[David Drucker]

Has the Panthers in McDavid's eyes.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes.

[David Drucker]

I don't know what that was, dude Telling me?

[G]

Yeah, because I'm trying to set it up a little bit, dude. Like, we haven't done anything previewing this series. I'm trying to set it up for our fans at home a little bit. Like, it's gonna be an unbelievable series. It's a toss up, but at the end of the day, I think the Cats are gonna win in seven.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, listen, when you cut up this promo.

[Unknown]

He dropped the name. He dropped the name.

[G]

Sorry, what did I drop?

[Roy Bellamy]

Connor McDavid. You dropped that name. Listen, when you cut up this promo, make sure when you put yourself in this video that you put all three of us in here. All right, let's. Let's. Because that was a long one. That was a long one. I'm just saying.

[Unknown]

But what I'm trying to say also, I gave it to Edmonton because maybe that gives them not low luck.

[Roy Bellamy]

So maybe dependent reverse psychology coming out.

[G]

From Rose, the reverse jinx like the Oilers tried to do last night with touching the trophy.

[Ethan]

Yeah.

[David Drucker]

Oh, God. Total. I'm just gonna throw this in at the end of the show because it just popped into one of.

[Unknown]

It is the end of the show now.

[David Drucker]

I don't have another choice. But I'm adding it in here because apparently our colleague over on the main show, Mr. Greg Cote, is already columnizing Mick Overrated once again. There's a headline in the Miami Herald right now, Cody on Conor MC Overrated Dream Stanley cup rematch and Panthers as face of a changed NHL.

[Roy Bellamy]

God damn it, Greg.

[G]

We don't need to give him any more fuel. Dude, this guy is pissed off, okay?

[David Drucker]

We're like, you can see it in his eyes.

[Unknown]

Four minutes up.

[Roy Bellamy]

Thanks, Rose. I'm pissed off now. Goodbye.

[Mike Ryan]

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