2 Guys 1 Cup : A New York Rangers Podcast
A New York Rangers Podcast by 2 die-hard fans Shawn Stein and Jonathan "Roc" Papadimitrios. We aim to bring you insightful guests, information, and offer our opinions on the Rangers.
2 Guys 1 Cup : A New York Rangers Podcast
Trouble at the Dome
We torch two grim losses to San Jose and Calgary, call out the sleepwalk starts, and lay out fixes the coaches and front office can make now. The finishes aren’t there, the hunger isn’t there, and the clock is ticking on a core that was supposed to contend.
• why Celebrini brilliance can’t excuse a home loss
• Calgary no-show and the danger of “we’ll be fine”
• leadership admitting complacency and why that’s fatal
• veterans generating chances but failing to finish
• Lafrenière, Kakko, Cooley ceilings and usage
• fourth-line energy versus top-six responsibility
• shooting percentages due to regress but urgency required
• short-term fixes: move Mika to wing, test Laf with Panarin
• call-ups versus placeholders and ice-time as leverage
• GM trust issues and the cost of holding prospects too long
• trade for a true star if you can’t draft one
• fans, tickets, and belief when culture slips
We should use this as a perk down the road if we're able to do this more often.
SPEAKER_01:Good afternoon, everybody. An actual afternoon show. As you can see, the sun is shining behind me. It's shining here. It is not shining in the Ranger locker room. Shorn and Rock here with a nice little matineck. Afternoon Schmooze. An afternoon. After what we've seen the last couple of uh the last couple of games, I I have hockey tonight and tomorrow. And I I I don't want this to wait. I don't want this to fester. I'm pissed. I'm pissed. Usually this is rock that's coming on here, and I'm the voice of reason and all those fun things. There's a lot of things I'm actually really upset about. And this, I listen, I don't know if this is because finally the last two games, I've gotten to watch every uninterrupted second of both of them. I was at the Thursday game against San Jose, eight o'clock Sunday night game. My daughter's already asleep. Didn't you know I wasn't having to sit there and you know follow the game on CBS Sports and then jump in, you know, 17 minutes left in the second period and kind of just follow along and try and catch up. No. This my undivided attention was on both of these games. I'm pissed. I'm pissed. Um, and and for two different reasons. Like both of these games were against two opponents that they had no business losing to. And on top of it, they lost in two completely different ways to two uh uh inept opponents. Now, we'll start with San Jose real quick, and and we'll do it quickly because uh Calgary is gonna take up a lot of a lot of this because to me that's even worse. Um the league's on notice that Macklin Cellebrini is everything you see with Nathan McKinnon and Austin Matthews and that that caliber elite top five center in the league. Get used to Macklin Cellebrini because he's that fucking good. So I I I still don't accept a loss to the San Jose Sharks on home ice in a game that you knew you needed to get back on the right track with and falling down 2-0 before you know my ass was even fucking warm from the seat. But at least it was an all-world talent that was had like a historic type of game for a 19-year-old. At least there was that. The Rangers scored their goals, they fought back. You got a hat trick out of Taylor Raddish of all fucking people. Well, like there was a lot of things, not that listen, there's no good feeling to take away from it. They still didn't defend worth of shit in that game. Um, but at least they got beat by an all-world uh a kid who's coming into his own as an all-world player, and he was on full display, they had no answer for him. Igor had no answer for his shot. I don't know if he didn't if he didn't respect the kid and didn't realize what kind of you know what kind of shot that kid could get off. That wrister that he took as falling away to the left side across the slot was oh my god, that was filthy. Yeah, but at least, at least, if you want to look for anything, you could at least say, you know what, tip your cap to the fucking guy. And plenty of San Jose shark fans tipped their fucking caps to the guy. There must have been 50 fucking hats I saw fly that didn't even reach the ice. Yeah, there were a lot of shark fans at that time.
SPEAKER_02:That team's gonna that team's gonna be good, Sean. They are gonna be good. Will Smith, uh Misa is another guy. I mean, that team's gonna be good. They did the re did the rebuild right, they did their rebuild right.
SPEAKER_01:But this kid is this kid's special. Oh, he's filthy. He is special. And and again, I still don't excuse the laws. This isn't, you know, oh well, hey, you know, but at least this there's an answer for it. Last night, are you guys fucking kidding me? I gotta listen to the captain who I love and respect, come out. And listen, if you watch the game, JT Miller's not the one to blame on this game when you talk about not showing up on time, not realizing it's an eight o'clock start. You know, he made those comments, but he is the captain and he needs he needs to drag his team into the fight. He needs to get those guys going if they're not on their own. Because holy shit, did they sleepwalk again in the first period? And then again, second period, they fight back, but they can't finish. This team cannot finish, and I don't know what it is. And if I have to watch Mika Zabanajad, who again, who I love and respect, if I have to watch Mika Zabanejad whiff on a wide open fucking scoring chance, and not only does he whip on the scoring chance, it goes back the other way for a goal again. That's twice now this season, the same fucking thing. La Fannier gets robbed. Great, he got robbed by Dustin Wolf. All right, that's one fucking scoring chance that got robbed.
SPEAKER_02:Mika, no, no lava, noah lava got Noah Lava got robbed too on a on a lava got robbed.
SPEAKER_01:Mika, you have a fucking gift coming out of the penalty box. A gift. JT Miller, you got a gift when you stole the puck across ice pass in their in their their uh defensive zone and you walked right in. I get that there was a guy on you.
SPEAKER_02:Finish hit the next up to you though. Calgary, for whatever reason, has owned them. Fuck that beat, they haven't beat Calgary. Is not back there. Since since Glenn Metropolitan took Chris Drury out with a concussion 15 years ago, they have not been able to beat that team. They don't have one player worth of shit on their rust. Look at their record against Cal. Doesn't matter. Look at their record, and Dustin Wolf's owned them too. The last two the two times he's played.
SPEAKER_01:Dustin Wolf had 60 safe percent. The guy's one in seven going into the game last night.
SPEAKER_02:But to just interrupt you, because I I'm I'm loving this, by the way. I'm loving your your passion right now because I I kind of feel like you know, feel like a proud Papa right now. But you you you you look at look at the opponents, the last three opponents they faced. They've they've they're they're facing these opponents at the wrong time. They faced Minnesota off the after they were embarrassed two games in a row where they had a combined total of 30 shots that placed that team. They held their own. Igor held held his own. They lost in overtime. Or they lost, they barely almost made it to overtime, they lost the regulation. Then they play a San Jose team that hasn't won, who's been just dying to win. And then they play a Calgary team that hasn't won in eight games. I mean, they're facing these teams where they're hungrier than them, which is shocking to me, which I've said this a thousand times. This leadership group, and it shocks me because JT Miller is the captain now, but again, it's one guy can't drag Lafreniere, Panarin, Mika, Cooley, all the guys that were here last year, and I'm just talking about the forwards. I can't the defenseman. I know Susie and Schneider on the ice for three goals minus three. They're on the for the first three goals against. But I mean, they're facing these teams at a really crappy time, and just they're just hungrier than them. So I don't know. I don't I I mean, you I don't know. Were you done? Did you have anything else you wanted to add before I go? Wake the fuck up!
SPEAKER_01:Wake up! Like who why how is Calgary hungrier than you? They know coming into the season this when their season ends.
SPEAKER_02:This team has a woe is me mentality. When things don't go well, they don't know how to handle it.
SPEAKER_01:Jonathan Huberto already knows Jonathan Huberto already has tea times booked for April. These guys know that their season ends April 10th or 12th, whatever the fucking last game of the season is. They're not playing for a playoff spot, they're certainly not contending for a cup. The Rangers came into this season, you hired Mike Sullivan, you paid Igor all this money. You you you made the trade last season for JT Miller and gave him a captaincy. That's not a rebuild. You guys came into this season ready to win the cup.
SPEAKER_02:Sean, that's the problem, too. Now is you know, you want to dump Panarin, okay. You don't want to sign him? That's fine. He looked like he wants this game. Gabrikov seven years. You just gave a 29-year-old defenseman seven years, right? That's you can't rebuild now. So now we're back to well, that's the problem. You need to, you need to. I mean, in all honesty, and I and I understand where you're coming from, and I'm not I'm not knocking in, and I'm not dis I'm not just disagreeing with you because I agree with you, but this team needs to rebuild, they need to do it right, and but the problem is is you have a mix of of crap, you've got guys that you're stuck with. I mean, let's be fair. I mean, you're stuck with I mean, I don't know. I you're stuck with a lot of guys, you're stuck with the guys you want to get rid of, or the guys you're stuck with.
SPEAKER_01:But all these kids that they all these kids that they're anointing to all these spots, you can't say, I mean, they're playing 19 minutes a night, Laferniere and Cooley. Can either one do a thing? You guys, here's what and when I say you guys, I mean what I see on Twitter. So please, it's this isn't the Facebook people. I'm talking about the more the Twitter people when I when I say you guys. This fan base loves to sit there and rip on Taylor Raddish and Connor Sheary, like them playing fucking 14 minutes a night is what's destroying this team. Not the fact that Will Cooley plays 18-19 minutes a night and hasn't done a fucking thing all season. Can he hit somebody at least? He's had one game where he has five hits. One, he had like four or five hits every game last year, right? So he's not hitting anybody. Did it go to his head? I'm a top six player now, I don't need to hit. That's your game. You're gonna last in this league, it's gonna be as a physical, a physical guy. La Ferniere. I I'm I'm at I'm finally I've defended this guy time and time again. I'm I'm at a loss with what this guy's gonna be because I I don't get it. I don't I don't understand how many more opportunities. I don't get it, but how many more opportunities do you need to be given? You're playing, you play with Zabanajad 19 minutes, you play with Panair in 19 minutes, he's not good, he's not good.
SPEAKER_02:First power, he's not good. That's the problem, Sean. That's the issue. He's not good. We've seen them all. Nell Yakapov, they all have talent. Alexander Daig, Doug Wickenheiser, Brian Lawton. The list goes on and on. It doesn't matter. He's not good. He's an NHL player, but he's not a star. He's a second line, third line guy, best. He's not good on the power play. He has a decent shot. He can't skate, he can't defend. That's it. Plain and simple. We fucking it's a bust. The Rangers can't draft. Like Nick just said, La Frenere, Heedle, Kako, Leah Son, Kratzov, Hugh Jetsiman, Dylan McElran, Manny Malhotra, fucking Jeff Brown, Dan Clutier, Nicholas Sandstrom. The list goes on and on. It doesn't matter. They can't draft forwards. They can't draft forwards. It has been, it is, it is a it is a a fucking if they ever draft a star forward, a hall of fame forward, we're gonna be dead by the time that happens. We're gonna be dead by the time that happens. I don't know what it is, I don't care who the GM is, Seder, Maloney, John Ferguson, Neil Smith, they can't draft the star forward. When Chris Kreider, who is not an all-time great player, is your third leading goal scorer of all time. That is a fucking problem. You have a hundred years. A hundred fucking years. And Chris Kreider is your third all-time scorer, and Adam Graves is number four, who wasn't even drafted by the Rangers, and Pat Hickey or Steve Vickers is in your top ten still. I mean, it's crazy, it's ridiculous. Look at go back and look at the top 10 and scoring for the Rangers. I got the whole book. It's embarrassing. It's fucking embarrassing. But yeah, Mark Betsy and Adam Graves are in your top 10. They weren't even drafted by the Rangers.
SPEAKER_01:I want to try and keep this to this team. I want to try and keep it. I don't want to talk about 100 years. This is my point. Thank you. Pavel Brandle's another one.
SPEAKER_02:Jamie Lundmark's another one. The list goes on and on with the drafted players, but this is where crux of the problem. Lapranier and Kako, Philip Heedle, Leah Son, um, DeAndre Miller, all those guys were supposed to be the next wave. That when when Panarin was too old, those guys were going to take their spot. Just like they did with in Tampa, where Point and Kutrov and all those guys took over for Matt Carl and Jason Garrison and all those guys that they signed. That next wave of star, they went, they were good, and then they were bad again. And then Stancoast got better. And all the guys that the young players that were on that team grew up and took over. Who's left? You got La Fournier standing by himself who's collecting a fat fucking paycheck and do and scoring on his own goalie. He has more goals on Igor than he does in the on the other teams next. Yes, he does. I can't take it anymore. I can't take it anymore. I can't take the mediocrity that this team has done. And we and we anoint these young players. We can't trade them. Can't trade anybody. Hold and hold and hold and hold. And even and even Vince McCarthy Anderson said on his trap, they hold on to these fucking guys for too long. Jory needs to go, Sean. He's the problem. He's not a good general manager. He doesn't know what he's fucking doing. He doesn't know what he's doing. So what were you gonna say? I'm sorry. It's just so many years. I'm just tired of it. I mean, you're not tired of the way they've drafted and how these they can never draft a star player. I mean, other than that.
SPEAKER_01:I'm worried about how to fix this team this year. I'm not you can't fix this team, Sean. It's impossible. It's impossible. It's it's October, so they need to figure the figure it the fuck out. Who's coming up? Sorry. I'm not letting them off the hook.
SPEAKER_02:Who's coming up? That's the only that's the only way that it's gonna be a good idea.
SPEAKER_01:It doesn't matter if they were turned into the NFL. It doesn't matter. No, no, it doesn't matter who they play because they just played the two worst teams and got embarrassed by both of them. So going forward, it doesn't matter who's on the schedule. Because if you couldn't beat them, then it's not like, hey, well, they'll beat up on the bad teams and it's the big the good teams they gotta worry about right now. So far, they've looked great against the good teams. The good teams are the ones they look good against. Give us a shit team, and we'll play down to their level. So that's horse shit. That's that this is I find this all to be horseshit. But again, the point I was trying to make before is this fan base can't get over, can't get off of fucking Connor Sherry's dick, and can't get off of Taylor Radish's, and they ignore they've always done that. Panair. I have you heard one ounce of criticism of Panarin this year?
SPEAKER_02:One one, no, and he has been as pedestrian as possible. He's worrying about that contract.
SPEAKER_01:I'm telling you, it's not gonna look good for him if he doesn't put up points.
SPEAKER_02:It's not he ain't get well, he will get he will get 10 12 million dollars from some more.
SPEAKER_01:Not if he puts up 70 points, he won't. You'll see because he's on a pace to put up about 70 points.
SPEAKER_02:Not 90. I don't know. Not 120. What this team looks lost, and they look so different without Chris Kreider in this lineup. I'm sorry. I know that's that's I know that I buy it, Sean. When Chris Kreider is the mo was the motor of that offense in a lot of ways, their power play is not the same, their penalty kill's been okay, but their power play is definitely not the same. La Frenier is not a speck on Kreider's ass as far as the talent goes. He is not a speck, he's not nearly as good. And I'll go a step further. Trochek is better on the power play than La Frenere. And you know how I feel about him on the first power play. So, I mean, it's it's just it comes down to a rhythm.
SPEAKER_01:La Frenere has no rhythm with those guys. It's like Paul Haglin on the power play. It's four guys and and and a fifth guy that tries to react to what the other four guys are doing.
SPEAKER_02:And when he has any type of pressure on him, he doesn't know what to do with the puck. He flubs it or he gets knocked off the puck easily. And and again, I mean, it's embarrassing. I mean, I hate to say this, but every time this juror gives this this these guys an extension, they just they drop off, they fall off a cliff. These guys fall off a cliff. Maybe they need to do what fucking Sadher did. And for everyone that wants to criticize Glenn Sayers, a general manager, he was fucking tough with his own free agents. He put them through the fucking ringer. He still gave Girardi too long of a deal. He still gave Mark Stahl too long of a contract. I know.
SPEAKER_01:No, those guys deserved it, but at least they earned it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you paid La Frenier based off of one playoff series. One one season. I don't get it with these teams. They did the same thing with Brady Che paid him up and he was in, he was called a bad season, and they gave him six million dollars. Right. I just don't understand. I don't understand what these GMs are seeing that I'm not seeing. And I know it's better to sign a guy too early than too late, but you mean to tell me that if La Frenier put up a 70-point season, he was getting$9 million next year? 60. I mean, was he getting$9 million next to up season? He's a restricted free agent. Right. It's the only time that this team has any power over these players. All right, I just yeah. Say that would say I'm sorry, you're just gonna go down to the bad bad comment. Say that there's one of the best GMs the Rangers ever had. And if you don't like that comment, I don't give a shit. Because he was. He never made a bad trade. He made a lot of shitty free agent signings, but he always got out from underneath every mess. And say that they made fucking hockey trades.
SPEAKER_01:Say, there after and again, I don't want to make this a re I don't want to make it a revisionist show here. No, but say there after the lockout was a very good general manager.
SPEAKER_02:The point is this is my point. Drury is the problem. He just keeps firing coaches. The coaches are the fault. It's quint's fault. It's Galant's fault. It's quite it's La Violette's fault. Now it's how do you go from being a president's trophy team to not making the playoffs? That's the coach? That's the coach's fault. And then let's say let's roll into this season. Oh, that's right. Let's bring in now. They didn't even have Kondashiri in place. He was on a PTO. So they already went into this season with a hole.
SPEAKER_01:Now no, they went into the season Parson and was supposed they didn't expect Lava to be what he was, and Parson was going to be a 3C.
SPEAKER_02:They also were hoping that Othman, Perot, and Broad would be a good one.
SPEAKER_01:I the the one game Eval is in for me for this year. Because it's compounding out of everything we saw last year. He's not he's not an NHL player, Brennan Offman. Brennan Offman. No, he stinks. He's not an NHL player. He stinks, he stinks, he stinks. He stinks. I don't want to hear, oh, he was nervous last night. No, no, no. He's had cups of coffee before. He played 20-something games last year.
SPEAKER_02:This was and if you think you're getting anything for him now.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, he's he's good.
SPEAKER_02:He's Libor Hayek and he's fucking well you just saw what's his name's point.
SPEAKER_01:Or was that guy Lucas Reichel or something that was traded yesterday? Yeah, that's all that's all you're gonna get for Rothman. So you may as well just you may as well just keep him in Hartford and I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:Maybe you could maybe you could keep him down there and he could develop into like a Dale Weese type of guy that can maybe can reinvent himself and kill penalties and be a third or fourth line player, right? And maybe chip in the odd goal. He's not gonna be an offensive threat.
SPEAKER_01:I I mean it's fucking nuts, dude. It's it's it's it's sickening, and you don't find a more optimistic Ranger fan than me.
SPEAKER_02:When you were texting me last night, I said, Let me think. I I didn't know how because I wasn't sure if you were fucking with me because you like to fuck with me after I because I overreact after certain games. So I'm like, is he fucking with me right now or is he being dead serious? And then you kept going with that, and then this today you were like, I need we need to we need to jump on. I need I need to, you know. I'm like, oh wow, he really is pissed. And no, you are, and then when when you said to me, like, I I just can't anymore. And I'm when you when you turn on Mon Mika and La Fernier, all guys that I trashed who you defended, and you said enough's enough, I was like, Wow. Uh they had again I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_01:For anyone who wants to know my the so the like this the summary at the end of the last text I sent rock last night after all the venting was effort is there, legs are there, scoring chances are there. Guys who have scored goals for years, why can't they score? I'd understand if they were just physically shot, but they're not shot, and that's that's what I see. I Zabenajad's still flying all over the place, so his legs aren't done. Miller may have lost a half a step, but he's still in the right spots to score. These guys are still generating scoring chances. I think he's hurt. I think he's hurt, and that's they score one goal on 10 on 10 gradient scoring chances, they score one time each.
SPEAKER_02:They're not what's the thing is they're not finishing. This reminds me, tell me if you remember this. This reminds me of uh God, I'm trying to think of the years that were that it was like a a spam where they just they just couldn't score. No matter who was on the on the team, no matter what the lineup was, they just couldn't score goals. And that reminds me, and I'm and it's gonna come to me after the show's over. Yeah, but I was thinking about 2008 to 2011. Maybe. I mean, they just they they they don't have any. If if if Panarin's not scoring, they're not getting any other secondary. I shouldn't say that they are getting secondary options. I mean, Parson has two goals. Oh, it's the top six that's not scoring. I mean, that's the problem. Radish and a hat trick. That's incredible playing on the fourth line. I would love to have known what the prop bet was on Taylor Radish getting a hat trick. I so someone, someone, one of my friends texts me in the group chat in our group chat about it. He goes, What do you think the prop bet would have been on Taylor Radish? I go, How much do you want to make? I said millions. Millions. There has to be a million to one, right? Taylor Radish scoring a hat trick. They'll never make a bet a million to one. But I'm just saying, like, what you're you're a betting guy. Like, yeah. If I put down ten dollars, if I put down ten dollars tomorrow night, that friggin' um Sam Tarrack's gonna score a hat-trick. What do you think the odds would be?
SPEAKER_01:Let's see here.
SPEAKER_02:10,000 to one?
SPEAKER_01:Let me see if it allows me to pick more than one goal.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, because that's that's just incredible. So just me, just me 77. They I we we talked, I don't know if you heard our previous shows, we've talked about they had to trade Crider. And no one's a bigger Krider fan than me. Because they had no other choice. They would have loved to have gotten rid of Mika Zabinajad. I know, I know they would. But I will say this he was never asked to wave. And why was he never asked?
SPEAKER_01:Let's be let's go because he doesn't want to go. Forget that. Why was he never asked? You'd only ask the player if you had the deal in place. So clearly, there was never anything coming back to us where no one was willing to eat the contract.
SPEAKER_02:Would you want him, Sean? Would you want him for five more years? No, no, not at that contract. I mean, he's already declining now. But what's decline? This is what I can't figure out watching him play. What's declining? He just he's just he's just not good anymore. Why? I don't know. He can't finish. Golden. I said I sent you his numbers. What was the big the biggest problem with him is he can't score anymore. Why is why the trying to figure out? I'm trying to figure out why he can't generate his own offense. He needs a guy that's gonna be that's why he played so well with Miller last year because Miller dug in the corners, he made plays, he was able to do stuff, and Mika just finished up clean up his garbage. Mika can't drive an offense, he can't score anymore.
SPEAKER_01:So Chris Kreider drove his line.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, they've been endlessly searching for a third guy to get towards the end, then neither of them drew shit. And Kreider wasn't a good five on five player at the end. He was a special teams guy, just like Mika's a special teams guy. It wasn't special teams players.
SPEAKER_01:That was a long time ago.
SPEAKER_02:No, it was a long time ago. And I'll tell you right now, they probably would have kept him full for that year if they if they knew they weren't getting Iichel. But listen, it's frustrating. But I I feel for you because you are the uh I'm used to this shit. Right. I'm used to feeling this way. I'm I'm used to having a pit in my stomach and going to bed, mad. I didn't go to bed till almost one o'clock in the morning. I was so annoyed. Um, and it's it just ruins your night, it it ruins your next day. Um and my biggest problem, and and I don't know how you I just don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. And that and I I'm starting to accept that, and you you almost wonder if it's just better for them to just not get in, try to get this lottery, and and and and and hope that you know Gavin McKenna falls into their lap.
SPEAKER_01:Because you want you want another 5'11, six-foot winger? It'll be another, like, hey, we got the first overall pick, and there's this generational talent, but he's a winger, it's gotta be once again at some point once again we get involved or what's that well they have they're gonna have two first round picks.
SPEAKER_02:I'm just saying, Columbus. Well, I mean, they don't draft centers anyway, they don't draft any centers, they need to, but who? All right, so they've they've drafted Brady Schneider instead of drafting Hendrix Lapier. How's that work out?
SPEAKER_01:These are guys that they're drafting at the end of rounds. I know the first round. I'm talking about centers at 10 pick.
SPEAKER_02:What what center, Kirby Doc? I mean, I I have to go back and look at the drafts, but you know, Lindell was a top 10 pick. You know, was he was he in the top 10, or was he just drawing the top 10? Okay, but I mean, is he a first line center or is he a second or third line guy? I know he's playing now, isn't he? Well, he's playing first line now because they have no choice, but you know, he's a nice player, but is is he a first line on a great on a good on a on a bad team? Is he is he a top guy or is he does he slot it in perfectly with Florida? They're not asking him for much. And they're probably never gonna ask him for much if long as Mark Up's there.
SPEAKER_01:He's second on the team in scoring. Playing 18 minutes tonight. Uh-uh.
SPEAKER_02:You know, I mean, look, look at Braden Point. He wasn't drafted in the first round. I mean, maybe Lava can be a second line guy. A first line guy. He's playing great, but I I don't, I just don't I don't know. I mean, the drafting if if the free agencies and free agent players are not going to be there and they're stuck with players, they're gonna have to their draft that their drafting has to get better. Has to get better. And I'm I'm not talking about guys that play on your third and fourth line. They need guys that are that are superstars. They need to find a guy in the late first round, the late second round, the third round that turn out to be stars, like Tampa Bay did with their team. I know Stancoats was first overall, but Kutrop was in the second round, point was in the third round, Pilat was in the sixth round, uh Color was in the third round. Um, who are whom am I missing? All got Kavasky was a first round pick, but it was a late first round pick. But all those guys were drafted, and I understand that they just did it without drafting. I fully understand that.
SPEAKER_01:They did it with a complete I think that's got to be the route that we go, though. I do because you got everything, but they're never gonna stomach what Tampa stomached with having you know, having those guys as kids.
SPEAKER_02:So the next franchise star through the city. So the next big star that's available, the next Mark Stone or or trade La Panier for him. Whoever, whoever the next big star is, they have to be all in. They have to be all in then.
SPEAKER_01:Trade La Panier and and the second the Dallas first round pick. Unprotected.
SPEAKER_02:And is it Dallas or is it Carolina's first round?
SPEAKER_01:No, it's the better of the two, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02:That's the it's from Dallas.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, in Tankathon it has us with Dallas's pick. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Which right now, which right now is Carolina 21 better.
SPEAKER_01:Right. And for those wondering, right now, we would have the fourth overall pick. And we've lost to the teams with the first and second. And third. Sorry, we've lost they're the last three games we've played. Are the three teams? No, we're the fourth worst team in hockey. Oh, that changed. According to point percentage? Oh. Because that's what that's what Tankatano goes by. Okay. Because we've played more games than these other teams. We have eight points, and so does Columbus. But Columbus has played eight games.
SPEAKER_02:It's it's just years of frustration. And you know, you you I feel like I said, I feel for you because you always feel like the that they're gonna make that turn. That things are I still think they can.
SPEAKER_01:I I know I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:I look at this roster and they're so bad, but they're not.
SPEAKER_01:But they're not that's and that's what did I what did I how did I start off our text chain last night? I'm so confused as to how to feel about all this. Because my eyes are telling me one thing, but logic goes against it by saying there's no way Panarin's gonna finish with 70 points. There's no way JT Miller's gonna finish with 40 points, there's no way Zabenijad's gonna finish with 45. Like, that's just not gonna happen.
SPEAKER_02:So the has to be part about it, is usually with the new coaches when you get the big bump. Now, to be fair, when Vigno's first year didn't they start off really shitty too?
SPEAKER_01:Not 10 games in. Was it 10 games?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, are you sure? Five. They were on that really crazy road trip to start the season, too, to be fair.
SPEAKER_01:Thomas Thomas Hurdle ended uh Baron's career and all that stuff. We're 10 games in now. We've had like the all right, shake the rust off, regroup. We got a couple of days off. Let's figure it out, right? Bomb against Minnesota. All right, shake it off.
SPEAKER_02:But did they I mean they bombed against Minnesota, but they they held it together, they only gave up two goals. I mean, what happened in these last two games where again I've said this, and I've said this to you, I said this to my friend on the thing. They walked into San Jose. I know they walked out of that Montreal game up, winning that game the way they did, and they had they were all peacocked out, man. They were like, Yeah, we can we're we're fucking better than we're we're the we're good. We don't have to we don't have to work hard anymore. Then they get steamrolled by Minnesota. Oh, oof, we blew that. Oh, don't worry. San Jose's coming in. Easy game. They haven't won all fucking season. And the captain says they didn't take the game seriously, they didn't take the opponent seriously. He admitted it. He admitted they didn't take the opponent seriously. Then he said it again last night. That's not a championship team.
SPEAKER_01:It's not not with that attitude.
SPEAKER_02:It's embarrassing.
SPEAKER_01:But that's where but again, that's where I'm conflicted because I can't see how these guys don't regress back to the mean. I just I can't see a season where the back of their hockey cards is worse this year than it was last year.
SPEAKER_02:Sure, and it could just be a season where everyone declines.
SPEAKER_01:That was last year, but it's not the club, but I'm seeing what's on the ice, and it doesn't look like they're they're shot physically. I'll give you the perfect guy, Tyler Sagan. Uh-huh. He's shot. He's shot, he can't move. And he couldn't move, he hasn't been able to move in five years. Okay. And Dallas still, you know, they drafted, well, like you said, all the drafting, you know, with with Fox with um Wyatt Johnson and uh the other Robertson, Rabbit, Rupert Hans. So they were able to push these guys down, you know, Sagan's playing on the third line, essentially, sometimes even fourth line.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:But I mean, he hit 31 years old, and that was it. He couldn't move. I'm not seeing that with Zabanajet. I thought I saw it sort of at the beginning of last year with Zabanajed, where he couldn't move, and that's what got me scared. And then the second half of the season, he's getting a lot better. This year he's flying.
SPEAKER_02:We've seen plays where the legs are there, but what also happens is the hands slow down too, and you've noticed that with him.
SPEAKER_01:I don't know, man.
SPEAKER_02:Why he's flubbing the puck and everything else.
SPEAKER_01:It's it's my it's mind-blowing to watch.
SPEAKER_02:I listen, if they come out and throw lay another egg against against if they lay another egg against Vancouver and then another egg against Everton and they lose all three of these games. I don't know. You gotta do something. I don't know what to do. I don't know if you have to call up Perot. I don't know if does Cooley have options. You gotta you gotta shake, you gotta send a message to somebody. Sullivan's here for five years, whether you fire Drew or not.
SPEAKER_01:And then and you're not getting a better coach than that. So no, no, you're not. So you you go you go with the coach. This is not the coach you fire. This is the coach that you let him make the decisions on who stays and who goes.
SPEAKER_02:But they did the right thing, they move Cooley down the lineup. The problem is by moving Cooley down the lineup, now Connor Shiri's playing so much, and Taylor Radish, these are not guys that should be in your top six, but you have no choice, right? Connor Shiri and Taylor Raddish in the perfect world, and I apologize to Taylor Raddish, he's actually played well the last three or two games. So Shiri. They both have. Shiri's not getting the offense, so he did get an assist though. On what's his name's called, didn't he? Yeah, primary assist. So um, in a perfect world, those guys are third-line players, right? But on this team, they have to be they're forced again. We're forcing guys into spots they don't belong in.
SPEAKER_01:Well, because because Trochec's out. Cooley's the first one. Well, they also do Cooley down. But I'm saying, but the it's not like when they went into roster construction for the season, you don't plan on a player getting hurt. No, so your depth has to take, you know, everyone moves up a step. Right, right. So that's all that that is.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, exactly.
SPEAKER_01:But but this cooleie thing, I don't get it. Does success go to his head? Sophomore slump.
SPEAKER_02:It's a season three, isn't it? I mean, it's just real, it was last year was his real full first full season, though, no? His real first full season? No, he played 81 games the year before that. Did he? Yeah, all that's right, because they remember he played one last game and he missed out on that bonus, remember? Yeah, they they they sat him. Maybe they need to sit him down. They gotta make an example of somebody, and unfortunately, you're not sitting, you're not sitting, Mika. And they tried playing Mika oh what on the third line, and he cried. I mean, he complained about that last year when Laviolette did that.
SPEAKER_01:See, I mean, we're 10 games in, and if you had to ask me who our best forward has been this year, it's been Mika. So I almost on one hand, I'm very disappointed in what I've seen the last couple of games. On the other hand, there's a lot of good things he's done. Here's here's my here's my next move.
SPEAKER_02:Sam Carrick, Sam Carrick has been very good to start this season, too.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, but he also has zero, he also has zero points.
SPEAKER_02:He also has hit three posts. A lot of guys have hit posts, and a lot of guys have been running. I mean, can we hit the goddamn net? I mean, how many times have missed the net, Sean? How many times? I mean, I mean this this is again.
SPEAKER_01:This is a not a this is not a this year problem. Every team does though. I mean, how many times did did what's their faces miss the net last night too? But they're bad.
SPEAKER_02:You're gonna miss the net also trying to be better.
SPEAKER_01:Igor was 15 feet out of the net last night, and that guy had a wide open net, and Gavrikov is able to somehow stop it. We'd be fucking killing our guy if that was us. So it does work both ways with with shot, you know, the the the shooting accuracy.
SPEAKER_02:The next star player that becomes available, the rangers have to be all in on him. I don't know who that is.
SPEAKER_01:Rock let me ask you this. Here's my next move that I want to do. As well as he's played, they need to figure out how to score. I want to put Zabanajed back on the wing with Miller again. I'm not blaming Mika with this. I think Lava deserves a chance to play more offense, especially after the game we saw last night. So move him up to two. I want to move Lava up to the two. I want Lava to play with Panarin. We've seen we know that Panarin can't play with Miller. We know we can't play with Zabanejad. Lava, you're up. Is Ryan Strom's contract almost up? Not yet. But let's let's see what he does with a with a player like Lava. So put LaFernier back on on the line with them, and let's see, let's see how that one works.
SPEAKER_02:I hate putting a young that kind of young player. I mean, he might be he's more I think he's mature beyond his years, but I get nervous putting a young player with Panarin because I I feel like they always try to, you know, uh, what's the word?
SPEAKER_01:Uh we were good with Heedle doing it, and Heatle was only 22. Yeah, how'd that work out? He got hurt. Um he had seven points in 10 games and got hurt. He did. He's hurt again, the poor bastard. Yeah. Um that's my next move.
SPEAKER_02:Is let's it's not a bad idea. I mean, I guess I guess you gotta try something. Are they are they practicing today? Or are they travel? Is this a travel day for them?
SPEAKER_01:Hopefully, they're practicing on the train.
SPEAKER_02:Or whatever, however, whatever motor transition is NHL NHL 26. Yeah, on say on uh almost said Sega Genesis.
SPEAKER_01:Take them to you know what it is, you know what you know what you do, you take them to Bam. Let them go stay at Uncle Slats house. Oh god, let them let them skate on that frozen lake with the mountains in the back. Yeah, slats with the cigar.
SPEAKER_02:I'll tell you that that that uh hotel. Well, you sent me a hotel like years ago. I I would love to stay at that. That thing is beautiful. I would love to do that.
SPEAKER_01:That's that's where slats is at. That's why he doesn't leave. I would love to do that. Would you leave there if that's where you lived?
SPEAKER_02:No, but we we actually have tried to do a hockey tournament up there, and the timing never worked out. We tried, we tried it a couple of times. Um yeah, man, I it's just it's just frustrating, you know, because you know, you see a hundred years, Sean. I don't care about a hundred years. I can't even hear me out a minute. You see this, and I don't care about the celebration, I'm caring about how in a hundred years you look at this franchise and they've really not accomplished a lot. And it's kind of embarrassing how how you're always a foot, always in footnote in a negative way. It's it's it's it's embarrassing. And then you see the all-time great players, and a lot of them, especially over the last what 20 years, a lot of these great players have either been goaltenders or they've been guys from other teams. Jagger and and Panarin and guys that haven't been drafted by the Rangers, and Messier and Graves and Mike Gardner, and you know, the great players that they're just they're just never homegrown guys, they're never guys that that are here their whole career. And I know those players are are are unique, you know. Gretzky didn't play, and I know the old expression of Gretzky got traded, anybody can, and I get that, but you're telling me in a hundred years you have what three guys that play. I mean, even Leech didn't play his whole career with the Rangers.
SPEAKER_01:So when Vegas wins their second cup this year, you think they're gonna be crying about who who drafted who? No, but the point is that they've been they've been able to make true trades. So did the Rangers for a hundred years. They made true trades. Shrew trades some worked, some didn't work. Well, Messi worked, right? And trading Brad Park and Rattel didn't. So although West Po did get us to a final, so I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you know, and they got to a final, they did get to a final with long with long quist, and you know, they the trades they made with with Nash and Richards and St. Louis, but that was saved there. It's all saved. I get it, I get it. I don't trust this GM, Sean. I don't trust this GM to make the right moves. I don't think he knows what he's doing, and I think the league knows it. That's the problem. Then he reeks of desperation and he holds on to these guys, and then and you're like, all right, well, you don't want you want to hold on to them by all means. We're giving you this. If you don't want to do it, goodbye. So I don't know. But I mean to just now you fire him.
SPEAKER_01:Guess what? New GM's gonna come in with Sullivan having four years left on his deal and be good with it.
SPEAKER_02:Well, you would have to find the find a Sullivan help you find the GM, and you find you find the GM that's just you gotta find that you gotta find a GM that I mean, I think Sullivan's been around the block long enough that he knows he knows what it takes to win a championship. I mean, let's be fair, Sean. I mean Jim Rutherford leaving and coming here, that would be hilarious. I would love for him to come here. But again, what has he won recently? How many cups has he been involved with? None, none.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, what's I mean, everyone has their run.
SPEAKER_02:It's easy listen, it's easy to win when you draft crossfire. Well, that's the problem. I mean, that I mean, that's really the ultimate problem. I I just don't see how a team, you know, you need a top five, top ten player in the league. And I just don't know if Panarin's a top five or top ten player in the league anymore, especially a skater. You need an eichel, you need a crossby. You need a you need a Ovechkin, you need that type of player, that generational superstar.
SPEAKER_01:What does Panarin look like he's lacking to you this year that he's had in the that he had in the past?
SPEAKER_02:He's not shooting. He's not shooting this year at all, Sean. Is it because of his year's space or I I don't know if it's what his issue is, but he's not shooting. He's not shooting the puck what at all. He's just not shooting. I mean, that's what he did last year. The last two years. I mean, he almost scored 40 goals last year. He almost scored 50 goals a year before he was shooting the puck. I like I don't know, but would but why are you not shooting? Who are you diverting to? Conan Shiri. He's got 30 shots on goal. It doesn't feel like it's three shots on goal.
SPEAKER_01:What's he where is he in comparison to the rest of the vanna Zabanajan is 36. Panarin's second.
SPEAKER_02:Lafernier's third, and Millennium's fourth. It definitely doesn't feel like that's that's the case. It definitely doesn't feel like that's the case.
SPEAKER_01:But again, I mean it's it's just very frustrating in the sense where none of their top guy this is this see, this is what I mean when I say regression to the mean. Shooting percentages. Like 10% is a solid shooting percentage, right? None of their guys other than Miller's close. Miller's at 9.1. How many shots on goal does he have, Miller? 22, 22, so 2.3 shots a year. Right. So Banajet is 36 shots on goal, 8.3%. What's Mika's career? Like what's his average? So Mika usually averages, yeah. So last year was 10.9. His I mean his insane year was 19.7 percent. I know. So that's the other side of the mean. But he sits around anywhere between 13 and 15 most years. So and he's at eight, which is a career low. Let's see what uh JT Miller is. So I said Miller's at 9.1. Last year, Miller was at 23 and a half as a ranger. He had 13 goals in 32 games, 23.6 percent. Yeah, but he usually sits 16, 19, 15, 15, 14, 16. So he's he's way below his ass. It's like every single player is all of a sudden, boom, hit a wall way below their normal shooting percentages. La Frenier 3.8 percent. It's terrible.
SPEAKER_02:That's like a fourth-line player shoots 3.8 percent. And you know what the thing too is you see the body language of these guys. I mean, you see La Frenier's body language, he doesn't want to be here. I don't, I say I don't I don't I that's unfair. Yeah, maybe, maybe that's all right. Oh, you're right, you're right. You don't know what guys are thinking. I he's I'm just basing it off what I'm seeing body language wise.
SPEAKER_01:He just looks frustrated and like I mean, they all really do, but he could be he could be thinking about what his girls, you know, that she promised me the whipped cream bikini tonight if I fucking you know, if I scored and I didn't score. You do I just don't know.
SPEAKER_02:I just don't know what you're getting. You're gonna you would I think you still would be able to trade La Fernier to a team that you know maybe needs to get to the floor that thinks they can resurrect him on maybe a young team. He's still fairly young. I guarantee you he still has a lot of value. But I don't know, man. I mean, it's think about the question is it's contract. It's reasonable now, and he'll probably very reasonable. And so it's talking about probably um I think in his peak, he's a 60-point guy at the top of the mountain. So he reached that at 23 years old. 30, 30. I think I think he's a 60-point player. And I think I think for seven and a half million or whatever he's making, a 60 point is is not is not bad. My feeling is, and I've said this a thousand times, how many times are you gonna keep going to the well with the same guys? I just I just don't I don't understand it. You didn't change much. No, listen the same team that ended last season, awful. You brought the same six, the same six guys are in the lineup this year until Trochek got hurt. I I just I I get it, I get you can't move people, but I don't know what you expect. You expect Sullivan to work miracles, you expect him to walk on water?
SPEAKER_01:You can only coach one criticism I'm gonna make of Sullivan, and I said it to you before, um, before the show, biggest criticism I have of Sullivan was was a situation like last night where you have Miller come out and say, you know, we were guys, the the boys were raring to go. We couldn't wait to get out on this West Coast trip, and you know, everyone was ready, and then game starts, and no one's ready. Coach has to realize that all of a sudden, like when we were playing really, really good hockey against really good teams. What was the what was the common denominator? The fourth line was playing a lot of minutes, right? And for them, you know, they were playing 12, 13, a couple of games they played 14 minutes, right? Adam Edstrom and Sam Carrick, every single game have been noticeable guys out there. How do you the last two games they've been buried? Against San Jose, they got buried. Last night they got buried. That's literally the job of the fourth line is to go out there and and spark energy in the city. Who was the was Parson on the fourth line last night? Parson was the four the other guy, and he's hitting everything.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, I I think he's I think he's a limited player, but I I do think that he has a role. He has a role. I don't think he could play every night, but I do think he has a role. And he's chipped on, and the goal he scored the other night was beautiful. Very nice. He has he has shows glimpses of talent, and I do think he has a role.
SPEAKER_01:The problem is is that you guys too many guys he's got points in six games playing eight minutes a night parson in.
SPEAKER_02:It's crazy. It's really crazy.
SPEAKER_01:I don't get how you don't let your fourth line go out there last night and try and spark something. I don't mean drop the gloves and fight. That's uh to me that that rarely sparks anything anymore, unless it's really warranted. Yeah, you know, the staged fights I I don't think it does much. But get in there on the four check, start making things difficult. I mean, they got guys like Lomborg last night that weren't even he didn't even have to be at that. I've got to be on the team. Lomborg. He's the weirdest looking human being that that plays in the NHL. He has like a six foot five face and a five foot five body. It's hilarious. I have to see that. I didn't I didn't notice it. If you just looked at his face, you would think that he was like one of those, like you know, the one of those Romanian guys, you know, that's like six seven in the Princess of the Bride or something like that. Oh, really? And then he's just like five eight. Small human hockey-wise, not you know, I don't need uh yeah, you know, small people's association of America coming after me here.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I I don't know. I I don't even know what to expect. I I didn't expect last night. I'm gonna be honest with you. I I expect a lot of things, I don't expect them to be good, but I definitely did not expect the effort from last night. And you knew it. That even shocked that even surprised me. That even surprised me. Like, I wasn't shocked about the San Jose game. Like, I was like, ah, you know, it is what it is, didn't take a team seriously. But then to come out the second night against the second worst team and do the same thing. I'm like, five goals? Six goals and five goals in back-to-back games, eleven goals you gave up to the two worst teams in the sport. But celebrating it's just good. Oh my god. It's just uh it's just it's just remarkable how this team just has to be a goddamn fucking the cure to all ailments, play the Rangers. You haven't scored in a while, play the Rangers. You need to put up 17 shots in one period because you only scored 15 shots the whole game, the previous game, play the Rangers. You haven't won? Play the Rangers. I swear to God, Sean, they just there's just something about this franchise that is cursed.
SPEAKER_01:Teams still get up to play us because we're still in New York Rangers, especially at the Garden. They just they get up to play us, you know. They come in, they come in. I don't know how you get better. I just don't know how you get better. These West Coast teams that come to the New York area, they play the Rangers, Islanders, and Devils in a row.
SPEAKER_02:I don't understand why Offman is called up and not somebody else.
SPEAKER_01:I I don't enough with the Barard though. That guy could he can't defend, he can't defend worth a shit. He's a what a minus six already in Hartford. Is he four games? He couldn't defend up here last year. That's that's so I'm going off of what I saw last year and seeing the numbers look even worse this year. They got he clearly just can't defend. I'm not saying he can at some point, but right now, no.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, but again, there's just guy, there's just guys that but you honestly you need a goal. You need goals right now, too. I mean, that's fine about defending, but I mean you you're you're not getting any offense.
SPEAKER_01:I get bringing I get bringing Othman on the trip because you want to have a 13th forward on the trip in the West Coast. You don't want to have to call someone to fly halfway across the country if they needed to get in the lineup that night. Well, if someone gets hurting is one showcase.
SPEAKER_02:What did you what did you showcase to? I know that's the problem. I mean, that's the problem.
SPEAKER_01:I mean Johnny Brodzinski should have played last night.
SPEAKER_02:If Rapid, and he might and he might play Wednesday, he might play tomorrow night.
SPEAKER_01:We've seen when Brodzinski gets it like gets like a chance here and there.
SPEAKER_02:He gives a little spark, yeah. So I just I don't disagree with that. Yeah. Um not that he's the answer in any way, shape, or form, but no, no, no, no, no. So they play tonight, they play tomorrow night, they play Thursday night, and then they play Sunday, Saturday?
SPEAKER_01:They play tomorrow against Vancouver, uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02:Thursday against Edmondson.
SPEAKER_01:Thursday against Edmonton, Saturday against Seattle, and then they're back home Monday for Carolina. Yeah, that's the game I'm going to. Might wind up going too because nobody wants my tickets. Nope.
SPEAKER_02:Would you want would you want him? I'm scared. I mean, has the season ticket holder and this is just a deceased ticket holder? I'm very worried. Yeah, you and me both. I'm very worried because if they can't win at home and they can't score at home, why are play people gonna want to go spend$200 to go see to see them play? I mean, we're we're stuck with them, but it's it's just getting really bad. And I you know, after on the heels of last year, I think people are just gonna say, you know what, I've had enough, it ain't worth it. I have one guy that that bought for me for five years. He said, He took Billy McTex me, fuck the Rangers. And then I'm not interested. I mean, he's kidding, but he's kidding. I know where he's coming from, but I'm like, okay, that's one person, and I'll tell you, there's a lot of people don't even ask me anymore.
SPEAKER_01:There's a lot of bandwagon fans in this with this team. I get it.
SPEAKER_02:But the point is, Sean, and and again, I mean, are you spending but no spend would you spend financial financial fifty dollars to see the Jets play? No, I haven't gone to a jet game in years. Well that's my point because it's losing every time I went. I also didn't grow up going to jet game, so it's not it's not the same for me, I guess. And it's harder to get to and everything else a pain in the ass. But I'm just saying, like, from a monetary standpoint, if you're gonna spend money, you're gonna take your your your kid, you're gonna spend three four hundred dollars to yeah, to what to to just sit there? You're not they're not scoring. I don't know, it sucks. I I didn't expect sharks game. I mean, just gonna be better.
SPEAKER_01:If I was not if the Rangers weren't in the situation that they're in and everything like that, it was a very entertaining game Thursday against San Jose. Every two seconds, my ass was up off the chip.
SPEAKER_02:If you were playing Edmonton, if you were playing Edmonton, that would be an impress that would be an okay score. But you're playing the worst team in hockey and you give enough six goals. I I mean that's just that's just not good enough. And listen, Celebrini's played well. But I mean third in the league in scoring. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So he's gonna say to them. But uh, so yeah, so I that was one of the other things I text you. The last 11 years, seven of those 11 picks have turned out to be franchise players.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Who are the four guys that weren't?
SPEAKER_01:La Frenier, uh-huh, Owen Power, uh-huh, Nico Heshir, and uh Slachtopsky.
SPEAKER_02:Well, there, I mean No one's a franchise player of those four guys. To be fair, Slavkowski and and Owen Power are still very young, but they're not franchise players.
SPEAKER_01:Daline's a franchise player. Owen Power. He's very good. Non-franchise players. Same with uh you know, I think there was a devil fan that was on here earlier. He was talking about the devils. He shear is a very good player. I take he shear on my team any day, right? He's but he's not a franchise, he's not Jack Hughes.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. No, so that's that's at least at least, but at least he contributes. Oh, he's very good. And La Frenier is not scoring, he doesn't contribute anything.
SPEAKER_01:Nothing. He might be the worst of the 11 first overall picks in the last 11.
SPEAKER_02:And Kako, you throw him in the into the well, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_01:I'm sure if I went into second overall picks, it would be a good one.
SPEAKER_02:Oh no, no one would be Nolan, no one, Nolan Patrick, and uh first is first, yeah. I just can't. I did I mean, are you the am I the only one who just like like says to myself, how the hell do you have a first overall and a second overall pick, and then seven other first round picks, and nobody pans out?
SPEAKER_01:Nobody, nobody, not one guy. There will be books written about this because it makes no sense. And it's two different scouting directors, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:It's not even like it's the same thing. You know, and then and then you want to, and then then you throw off in you're probably gonna throw offman into that into that category. You know, I mean when Braden Schneider's the the best first-round pick you've drafted in, you know, I mean, Heedel and Keandre Miller.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, I can still say Miller was still an excellent pick, especially from where they got him. Right. I mean, he was a good enough player that a team was willing to pay the price that they paid, and he got paid.
SPEAKER_02:I just I just can't figure it out. I just can't figure out they can't figure this shit out. I mean, year after year after year. I mean, and but then we get franchise goaltenders. I I I just just I still get it.
SPEAKER_01:What's crazy to me? Here's the thing that's crazy to me about Achman. I know nothing about amateur amateur hockey. None. But I know we needed a center. And Zach Bolduk was a name that I had heard for two years. And he was there when we went. And we didn't take him. And now he's turned into being a really nice player. He's been already traded once, too. Yeah, but he was traded for need. That's the only reason he was traded out of St. Louis. They don't he's he's never gonna move up in the lineup. And the who they they traded to Montreal. Logan Mayu. Right, they needed right, they got defensemen. Yeah. And something else, too.
SPEAKER_02:So it was Mayu, and I think a second round pick. I don't remember, but it was uh it was a it was a good trade. It was a good trade. Um and Wyatt Johnson.
SPEAKER_01:Right there. He's good enough to be Dallas' first top line center. Right there. So you know you need centers. You got two of 'em sitting there. I don't know how to miss.
SPEAKER_02:Another wink. It's a miss. It's a miss. And it's an even more of a miss because they did they should have traded them three years ago. They're holding on to these guys too long. They're holding on to them too long. I mean You know, again, not not to keep rehashing Say there, but he knew when to trade guys. He knew when to trade, you know, Korbakoski and you know Inisimov and Dobinsky. I mean he knew when to trade people. He didn't hold on to every fucking prospect. It's just so frustrating because they just they just hold and hold and hold and hold. You know, I mean you want to say he traded Mancini? Maybe traded Mancini on a high? But I mean he traded him for a guy that was only coming here. The only guy, the only biggest trade this guy's made in his history was for a guy that was only coming to play here.
SPEAKER_01:Well, they were also able to get out of Heatle's contract, too.
unknown:Right.
SPEAKER_01:We all loved Phil and we all liked his talent, but we all knew this was happening. Right. That he was only gonna play so many more games before his career is over. I can't imagine. I mean, is he really gonna come back from this? I don't know. I don't know. Just think of his career. It's hard to ever get into any type of rhythm in your career when every time you turn around, you're Crosby.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, Crosby had that concussion problem for for a brief time, but not like this. And he went away.
SPEAKER_01:It went away. Right. But this but Crosby is one of the most cerebral hockey players, no pun intended, one of the most cerebral hockey players there is. Right. He'll that hit with Tom Wilson. I I have no problem with the hit. There's no penalty on it. Forget that it was no penalty called. There's no penalty on a hit. I don't know what he's talking about. And I'm the last person to have to defend Tom Wilson. But I don't know what he was looking at there. Really on Heedle, not right. He's watching the pass. Johnny Lazarus broke it down perfectly. He goes, Heedle made the pass and then watched the pass go instead of looking around.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Sucks. It does suck. They've just they've just made so many boneheaded moves, you know, with Leah Sanderson. He was drafted in the wrong spot. They should have never drafted him. Um, you know, Kratsoff was a mess, should have never drafted him. You know, I know Zadina, I know you know, well, Zaznot, not not that they could have got Zadina, but you know, Zadina was supposed to be such a great pick and he never panned out. So I mean, listen, I get it, but to just have so many misses and to have really nothing to show for, you know, essentially seven first-round picks, I don't know. It's just it's just very disheartening. And now we're searching again, we're searching again for a star player. Again, that's what we're doing. Because if you're not bringing back Panarin, and and from all it counts, based off what I've seen, unless he explodes, I'm not giving him any type of big deal. No, neither am I. And I think it's you know, Johnny Lazarus made a great point. He goes, you know, we've we've we've been down this road with him as our star guy, as our number one guy, and it hasn't worked. You know, they gotta change something up at some point. The problem is, is there's just nobody available, especially through the free agent market. And with the with the cap going up, maybe these guys say, you know what, I got it good here. I'm not leaving. You gotta hope that a guy like that that wants out of Winnipeg or out of Ottawa or out of you know a bad spot. Winnipeg Winnipeg was able to resign every one of that guys. I know I'm just saying, like crazy. I'm just throwing up, I'm just throwing destination again. It's not the most desirable. But they kept everybody. So that's a disheartening spot, Sean.
SPEAKER_01:You know, that way you could say to yourself, all right, well, if they're gonna throw a ton of money at Martin His.
SPEAKER_02:I don't know. He scares me too. He's really fucking good. He's good, but is he is he is he a franchise player? Yeah, that's the problem.
SPEAKER_01:The Rangers need a franchise player. But he's big, he's fast, he's skilled, he'll hit, he does like he does everything. So he's been playing wing, but he's been playing wing, even though he's a center, he is a center, he's been playing wing the last couple of years.
SPEAKER_02:So I don't know if that's because he's not a good enough center, or it's just you know, the circumstances of heal's been playing center for five for what eight years now, and he's an awful center. He can't win face us for his life.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, but if you're gonna give a guy 15, if you're gonna give a guy 15 million dollars, I can't have the uh yeah, you know, the hurts not exactly. Yeah, I don't, I don't, I don't know.
SPEAKER_02:I I I don't know. I mean, like we said, Colorado has the money to pay him, have the money to pay him, and and wait, were you gonna leave Colorado with that team that has a great chance to win a cup to come to the Rangers where you're a freaking tire fire? I mean, a dumpster fire. I mean, that's essentially what it is. I mean, it's a dumpster fire, it's it's scary. So, what are they doing with$30 million? I don't know, Sean. Maybe like I said, I said this on our last show. Maybe you just sign guys to one-year deals, you patch it together, and you pray and hope that someone drops into your lap. Right. I I just to me, for them to go out and spend money just for just to spend it, I think is stupid. But and also to bring back guys just for the sake of bringing them back because they're the only ones available, you gotta change something up at some point, and and maybe this is the time.
SPEAKER_01:But then why did you sign Gavrakov? Why did you bring Miller in? Like you could you could have gotten to the end of these contracts, maybe it would have just only been Zabenogen.
SPEAKER_02:Because let's be fair, this general manager's fighting for his fucking career. He's never getting another job after this. Not as a GM. No, probably not. No, and he's just scratching and clawing. He is never getting another job.
SPEAKER_01:Well, he's got the pizza, he's got the pizza business.
SPEAKER_02:He's yeah, he's got the pizza business. Uh Fox says the bagels, you know, never getting another job after this. I mean, look, think about it. They destroyed David Quinn got maybe what two years in San Jose and he fired him. Galant had to go to fucking Russia or China. I forget what the hell he is now. And La Violette, you don't even hear you hear you haven't even heard boo from that guy. He like dropped off the face of the earth.
SPEAKER_01:He's done.
SPEAKER_02:They're gonna write a book about this. There is you absolutely definitely a book.
SPEAKER_01:Vince Ricagliano is gonna write a book 10 years from now.
SPEAKER_02:And also, I want to say this uh speedy recovery to Larry Brooks. Yeah, I don't know. He has a he has a thing going on, a procedure or something, uh, an ailment he's dealing with. I'll be honest with you, the post is not the ranger reads and the post are nothing without him. Agreed, you know, so hope he I hope he gets better wherever he is.
SPEAKER_01:I just want to end the show real quick. Yes. Um obviously, yesterday was one of the saddest days I ever had to deal with as a as a sports fan. Um, for those who know, I'm a huge Jets fan, my favorite player of all time. And it's funny because it's a position I never played. And I had to play offensive line a couple of times as a freshman because I was a 6'1, 150-pound freshman with huge legs, and like, oh, you're gonna be 6'7, 300 pounds by the time you graduate. You're gonna play offensive line. I get my ass kicked every fucking game before I actually became a wide receiver. Um, but Nick Mangold was my favorite football player of all time. It used to be Pennington. After we drafted, like literally, like once we drafted Mangold, and I got to see like his personality and shit like that. He it's it's the only it's the only jersey I wear is my Mangold jersey. And my Dennis Bird. Sorry, I had my Dennis Bird also that I've had for a long time. But uh Mangold's my guy. And when I saw him post on Twitter two weeks ago letting everybody know that he's on dialysis, and you know, if nobody in this family is a match for a kidney, if people would like to sign up uh to donate a kidney, you know, here's the link. And you just saw the outpouring where all you saw was the receipts of all these people that were signing up for him. Um, nobody he couldn't find a match. All those people either he couldn't find a match. This is two weeks ago. So, how long does the process take for yeah? A we have a match, b schedule the person for surgery. How do you get kidney disease? That's so young. He says, so he said he's known about it for a long time that this it would eventually come to this. That they just always it was so young when it was diagnosed that they just kind of always felt like, oh, you know, someone will be a match, yeah, something like that. It'll just happen. And I just saw him on bar. I I've seen someone with kidney disease before, they look yellow, like their skin, like they literally. Yeah, you just saw him on bar stool a few days ago, and he looked fine. So I don't know if they tried a procedure and there were complications from the procedure, like there's not a lot of details, but whatever it is, it is like it, you know, it's just it's it's extremely sad for me. Um, yeah, yeah, it's just I feel for you, my friend. Guy's my favorite player of all time. It's it's weird to have a favorite player who's younger than you. Yeah, I'm 44, he was 41.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I mean, most of the our favorite players now are younger than us.
SPEAKER_01:At least I mean, you know, Greg Jeffries is still my favorite baseball player of all time.
SPEAKER_02:Wow, David, not David West, but Rick Aguilera. Um, I met Aggie as a kid. Uh Ford dealership. I have a couple of Greg Jeffries rookie cards if you want them. We all do. Him and Todd. I have a Todd Van Poppel. Todd Van Poppel in the Ace. Uh listen, I feel for you. Obviously, you know I'm not a football guy, but I know I know I know he's been at a lot of Ranger games, and and I respect that. Um, you never want to see somebody that young.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and even throw in the fact that you know what a Ranger fan he was.
SPEAKER_02:Passed away. And uh, you know, it's it's sad. It's sad. And you know what it is, dude? And I and I said this, I mean, it you start questioning your own mortality when you start seeing you know people that you grow up watching and seeing, and you feel like every time every day you you wake up and and some another piece has been taken from you.
SPEAKER_01:Yep.
SPEAKER_02:And I think that's really where my my frustration comes as a as a sport fan, is that I want to be able to enjoy a championship for my favorite team. And no, every year that goes by, you know, it's less and less. You never know. It's there's less of a chance. And you and I've said this a thousand times. I'm like, we want to be able to sit on the in the canyon heroes and actually enjoy it and have a few drinks and party and dance and laugh and not be there to two old men from the Muppets stand sitting up in the balcony or you know, or in our wheelchairs or our walkers. Because no matter what, I'm gonna be at the parade if if I'm alive, but the problem is that you know, I want to enjoy it as an adult. You know, you were 13, I was 14 when the Rangers won the cup. We were in school. Yeah, our parents weren't taking us at a finals to go see the Rangers go down to the Jackson Heroes, they weren't. Nope. So, I mean, that that see, this is where I say to myself, when you see things like this happen, you're like, Man, I mean, another wasted season.
SPEAKER_01:Let me ask you this question. Let me ask you this question. Yeah, your daughter's a 13 years old, Rangers win the cup. They have a final the next day, they have a final day of the parade. What are you doing?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, see, that's the thing, it's a final, Sean. I guess I have no choice. I have to I have to take them out of school. So do I.
SPEAKER_01:I'm not gonna be like, I'll never forget my parents for that.
SPEAKER_02:Once in a lifetime, it's a once in a life. I'll probably get I'll probably get divorced over it, but it's it's a once in a lifetime. I mean, think about it. I mean, when our kids, so think about it, when our girls are 14 years old, we're gonna be almost 60. Let me halfway to 60. You know, you know, we'll be five years away, four years, six years away from 60 years old. Yeah, I mean, how many more chances are we gonna get?
SPEAKER_01:I'll I'll be I'll be 53. My daughter's four, our daughter's a four. Right. I had nine, yeah, we'll be 53 years old. So if they don't like seriously, if we're 53 and that's the next time that they win a cup, like we don't win any other cups between now and then. It really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, once is how I'll look at it. Yeah, and goddamn that school for you know, there'll be a makeup day. There's no makeup parade. I'm waiting, I'm waiting 40 years for the makeup parade that I missed.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, you had a we were both in finals, right? You had finals, yeah. I had history finals.
SPEAKER_01:I'll always remember it's a history final.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I had a final too. I mean, we had no choice. We had it, we had we could. I mean, I don't know if my father would have taken me anyway. Either way, I went to Nassau Community College, so yeah, exactly. What final is it? Science? Makeup. She said, We're going to the parade. Fuck it. I'm serious. I and oh, I'm serious too. It's it is what it is. I mean, we we don't have many opportunities, you know. And and when you see a guy like who's 41 years old perish, and you know you're sitting there and you're 44, 43, 45, 50, and you're like, how many more kicks of the can are we going to get? And that's what's so frustrating, and that's why I get so upset when I see this team, and you're saying to yourself, I mean, I just want one more. Give me one more. So we'll see what happens. It's not gonna be this year, I don't think. I think this is a transition year. We'll see. We'll see. So this was good. This was fun. We have to do more of these.
SPEAKER_01:This this was good.
SPEAKER_02:Um, are we doing a late night show at all? Uh this the rest of this week. No, this is the show for the week for me. This is the show for the week. Okay. If something crazy pops up in the evening or something nuts, and yeah, one of us aren't available, one of us will jump on for something.
SPEAKER_01:As far as good the actual podcast, this will be the this will be the show for the week. Wonderful. And we got something. I got hockey tonight and tomorrow. We got a game.
SPEAKER_02:And then we got the West Coast games. West Coast, I mean you can't do them before the West after the West Coast games. Yeah. So so all right, cool. This was good. All righty. Later, guys. Later. Wow, we went for an