Rangers Free Agency Frenzy

We break down the Rangers’ July 1 roster shakeup move-by-move and argue about what each signing and trade actually fixes. We keep coming back to the same uncomfortable question: are we building toward a Cup window or just trying not to miss the playoffs again. 
• first reactions to free agency chaos and a rare one-day roster overhaul 
• Oliver Bjorkstrand as a one-year bet and whether he belongs in the top six 
• Joe Veleno as a cheap speed and faceoff upgrade on the fourth line 
• Jonas Korpisalo as backup goalie insurance and how it changes Igor’s workload 
• Marcus Pettersson replacing Will Borgen and what “better puck moving” really means 
• the Vinny Trocheck trade to Utah and the return of Sean Durzi plus Cole Bodine and picks 
• cap space math, short-term deals and whether flexibility is still the real strategy 
• projected lines, Metro competition and the playoff team vs Cup team argument 
• draft night stories, Albert Smith’s media presence and expectations for prospects 
• Pavel Dorofeyev’s scoring impact and the pressure on Lafreniere and Perreault to take a leap 

Transcript

Free Agency Chaos And First Reactions

SPEAKER_02 0:56

Well, here we are. The free agent frenzy is underway. We've seen an insane amount of movement today. This is the day that we have all been looking forward to for the last separate weeks and months, and some of us even a couple of years. And it's finally here. Chris Drury has officially put his entire stamp on this team. As the Rangers made a total of what seven moves today? Eight moves. Can't remember the last time a roster was turned over this much on July 1st. And here we are. Yeah, we've signed like 2019. We signed a whole bunch of our you know rookies, you know, like Igor signed, crap, so like all the Russia from Russia with love, you know, all came over at the same time. Yeah, July 1st, you know, signing day. This is the uh this has been special, it's been it's been unique, and I'm sure we both have completely different views on the day. So, Rock, how are you? How did you spend your day? Let's let's let's hear how you got your your news today. So, unfortunately, my plan was we were gonna do a show with you, which I'm kind of glad we didn't because obviously we would have been on for eight hours.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Uh, so what happened was uh the girls had some friends over, though it was supposed to be a girls' thing. I was gonna get to sit and sit on the bed and in the living room and and digest all this stuff. You know, told my wife, I go, This is great, you guys do your thing. Well, that didn't happen.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

She wound up inviting other friends over, so it turned into a big pool thing and uh friends from school, and uh I'm now getting off my information just as the trade with Vancouver comes down, or the comp like just when I sent you the link, that's when I had to go outside, and it all and it'll hell all hell broke loose. Um, so of course, I didn't unfortunately didn't get to see everything in real time. Uh, so I'm not really sure. I'm still I was reading and trying to like catch up with stuff and get these kids to bed and so we can get on the show with you. So I did read some stuff, and uh yeah, that's pretty much how my afternoon went. The old days would have been me with a laptop, a phone, right, the TV. I would have had everything set up, and I would have gone to I would have did that was my day, but uh unfortunately that didn't work out. So I'm not sure. I'm I know you were taking meetings, you were doing your thing, you were kind of all over the place, too. I was in Jersey all day today, driving. Yeah, so we all uh unfortunately the days of us sitting in front of the computer hanging out, and I used to take the day off from work. If this was yesterday, I would have been doing that when they when I stopped doing that the offseason they signed Namaste Koff and Jack Johnson. Okay, so I'm not taking the day off anymore for this shit, right? But uh yeah, today was uh was a lot of moves. Yeah, good at that for now. So let's let's get into each one here. Let me pull up all the uh the ranger transactions again. This was a busy, busy day.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

So first this, and then I do want to talk about draft night. Uh more about moves on the moves on draft night opposed to the the players because we don't really know the guys, right?

SPEAKER_02 4:09

We have a we definitely have a lot to get to. Yeah.

Bjorkstrand Signing And Top Six Debate

SPEAKER_02 4:12

Um, so the first move of the day, the first substantial move of the day was signing Oliver Bjorkstrand, which to me was we talked about this earlier, where you know the by-low someone with high upside type of type of deals was something we were gonna look at. We talked about Patrick Line being somebody that we would look at. Still out there, he's still out there, and I'm sure the Rangers have turned over every rock and they've they've every single player that we've talked about, they've talked about. Right. Does Line fit? What if Sullivan, you know, Sullivan's got to coach whoever they bring in, also. Is Line that much of a pain in the ass? What Sullivan? Yeah, I'm not happy with him.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

Well, going. Well, well, we're gonna get into it. So yeah, finish, finish your thought.

SPEAKER_02 5:00

So obviously they settle on Bjork Strand as the guy that they want to go after. Now, Bjork Strand had you want to talk about someone who's been just consistent their entire career. The guy is 20 to 25, 26 goals on bad teams every year. On bad teams. Time on bad teams. He's been to the he's been to the playoffs six out of his 10 years in the world. And he played with Columbus and Seattle. Those are bad fucking teams. They weren't bad when he was with them in the playoffs. Bad teams. Playoffs, bad teams. 60% of his career's been spent in the playoffs. Another loser, another losing team, losing teams. What Winnipeg was great too for how many years? And Roslovik still sunk. Doesn't matter. Roslovik wasn't really good with them either. Keep going. So the guy's consistently 20 goals. He goes to Tampa. Last year was his first full year with Tampa, and he had a very unique season in that he had 12, he only scored 12 goals. Now he was hurt, he played on a third line, he got some time on a second line, and by the playoffs, I don't know if it's because of injury, whatever, he was on the fourth line. Here's the unique part of his season. He scored 12 goals, only three of them were at even strength, which is an anomaly because he usually doesn't score a lot. He doesn't score a lot on the power of play. He's always been a five five-on-five producer. Okay. He led more than he had more goals than Kucharov on the power play this year for Tampa. He led the team forward-wise because Radish had 10 on the power play. So he had nine power play goals this season, which led all of Tampa's forwards on the power play. So the offense is still there, and that's what they're bringing him in to do. Again, I don't I didn't do a whole deep dive into what his injury was, how much time did he miss, how much did it hamper him. I'm sure I could go back and look at beat writers and probably you know DM a beat rider from Tampa. I'm curious. I'm curious to know because the back of his hockey card tells me this guy's gonna put up 20 goals if he's healthy this year. Um, I don't see him being brought in to play on a fourth. How many games last year, Sean? Okay, um I read that he was hurt, so again, I don't know if he was JT Miller where he played minus 14, minus 14 on a number one team. Okay, minus 14. One year contract, four and a half million with a 15 team, no movement clause, by the way. Which was they just read. It's one year, it's one year, but Sean, he's not a top six guy. No one's playing in the top six. Well, who's he's playing in a play on the top six on this team? He's not gonna want to make a bet. I'll be so surprised. He's not playing in the top six. I'll be very shocked if he's in the top six. I don't see it again. We didn't need a third liner either. Well, we'll see. Who were you signing that was gonna play? Sign nobody, sign nobody. Why so then how does that make us need to spend the money for? And how does that make who find is it your money? Somebody's taking loose. Why are you so desperate to sign somebody on day one? I like the fact that they went after someone who has the ability to put in 20 goals every single year. This is Riley Stiff all over again. No, not Rolly. I bet you a million dollars right now, a dollar to your my million to your dollar that this guy puts up the same fucking numbers as Riley Stiff. Guaranteed. Players don't get better after 30. I I don't know what planet we live on. He's 31 years old. He's gonna get better. No, he's gonna put up his his normal year. Other than Michael Krappner. Gonna want Pouliot. How old is Pouliat when he came to the ranges? He wasn't 31. 27. There you go. That's the difference. Okay. And we move on. If Pugliot was on the third line, and Pugliot was on the third line. He played with Brasard. So that means Cooley's on the second line again. Well, we already said he isn't good. We're not done. They're not done. I don't think so. They're done. I don't think so. Where how? Where they've got trading Brandon Schneider now. I you don't know that. How do you know that? Well, who's gonna play on the right side? Brandon Morrow? I'm sorry, Scott Morrow? That's what we are. That's how shitty he is. I don't even want to remember the fucking name. I'd rather Brandon Morrow be our third pair defense shot defenseman. Right shot defenseman. I'm sorry, didn't talk to the media yet. So finish. No, I don't hate Schneider. I'm fine with Schneider being here. I'm fine with Schneider being here. I no, I don't

Joe Veleno Flyer For The Fourth Line

SPEAKER_02 9:28

have a problem with Schneider being here. So next guy on the list was Joe Veleno. Which uh Joe Veleno is very interesting. Guys who were just gonna look in the fact, oh, he he he had two goals last year or whatever, the whatever it was. This is a kid who's supposed to be a top five pick when he was drafted. He fell on the draft to the end of the first round. He can fly, he's very fast, great on face off, great on face-offs. I'm fine with that. He fits the fourth line. The thing that basically the entire NHL world is waiting for is his offense to eventually kick in. Now he's had for you know for the amount of ice time and the roles that he's that he's gotten in the NHL, he has scored like in 24. Well, yeah, in 24, I have his numbers right there. 12 goals, 28. 12 goals, 16 assists, right. Now you have it up there too. That but that's an and he was actually played a full season. The guy has not played 80 games since that year. This could be a Sam Farracks type move, right? But you kind of unlock something. It's 1 million for one year. If it doesn't work, he gets controlled. Right. Exactly. He's a useful parsonin, buried contract, no, no harm no foul. I'm fine with that. I'm okay with taking a flyer on a 26-year-old center who actually has some kind can kill penalties, win face-offs, and is playing on your fourth line. I'm good with that.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

I'm good with that.

SPEAKER_02 10:56

Now, now let's jump on you.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

If I jumped on you, I apologize.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

I'm just wanted to say something else about that.

SPEAKER_02 11:03

So now oh, Jeffrey Ford gang joining us. What's up, Jeff? Oh, wow. Oh, yeah, I just saw him.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

Oh, that's he's not happy about it either. He's not happy about it either.

SPEAKER_02 11:14

No, he's he's definitely in your camp way more than way more than mine.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

He's a kid in my camp.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

He's on a one player. Here's the one who where on Twitter all day long I saw the most vitriol. The most what the fuck are they doing?

Korpisalo As Insurance Behind Igor

SPEAKER_02 11:28

Here we go. And that's Jonas Corpusala. That's the goalie. Okay, no, I saw the things that I saw slung at this man. Well, can I get to why I like it? Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna tell you why. I'm gonna tell you why I what my opinion of it was. So Igor has missed a month just about every season. Every season he has had it, he has had one injury where he loses an entire month. And it's been up to whoever the backup is, whether it's been quick, we had um Louis Deming for first spell. Who else would we have in the last three years that would come up and be the third goalie when uh when Quick had to become the starter? Kincaid. Keith Kincaid. So it obviously didn't work last year with Spencer Morton, and it costs us any chance of making the playoffs, and it caused the season to spiral out of control. Now, Igor's now 30. So if he's missed a month every single season, the odds of a missing a month are are pretty fucking high again. And to throw that all on Dylan Garand, now here's what I've heard about Dylan Durand. They signed him to the two-year deal, they have to expose him to waivers if he goes down. Right. If there's a team going into pre-season that's going into their preseason camp who doesn't have their two goalies situation already figured out, that they're claiming Dylan Garand, then that's a disservice. Every team's gonna have their goalies figured out before before this happens. Very rarely, like if Dylan Garand gets waived, there's no team that's sitting there salivating, saying, gotta claim that guy. The islanders claim JF Baruby, who's a high goalie prospect, and they went with three goaltenders for a while. You remember that? That's the only time I can honestly remember that remember what I'm talking about. Yes, but it it it rarely happens. Listen, anything can anything can happen, but I don't think that they were comfortable hinging their season. They're they're making this investment, which we're gonna get to the the next two moves later, and on top of what they did on draft night, they're making a big investment into this team to to make the playoffs this year. And if you goes down for any amount of time, right, to just hand a 24-year-old who has what three NHL starts. Hey, look, don't get me wrong, Grant looked fine when he came up last year, but I think he only played three or four games. This is not like he played was already eliminated. This is not like you know, when when Hank got hurt and Cam Talbot came in and played for two months. Yeah. All right, you kind of knew what you had a little bit. Corpusalo can start on 10 teams in this league. Right. So yeah, he's wanted him. Edmonton wanted him. So you're you're paying him three million bucks to be your backup, he's an insurance policy. Also, it allows Sullivan to not feel like he has to play Igor three out of every four out of every five games. Maybe he could play three out of every four instead of four out of every five or two out of every three. You know, take the onus off a little bit instead of having him, you know, have to play so goddamn much and expose him to to injury. Yeah. So that's part of it. I I'm I'm all right with it. I I don't like I don't like the salary, but I guess under the circumstances and the cap and everything else, I mean, you know, it listen if Goran beats him out, Goran beats him out.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

I mean, that's what it is. But I mean, I then you expose Corpusala to waivers. And you're gonna you're gonna you're gonna be on the hook for two million dollars. But obviously, you know what, it is what it is. I mean, I don't I don't think I don't think it really matters at this point. I don't I I I agree with you. I mean, I don't love it. I don't love it, but it also gives Garand a little bit of incentive to be like, you know what, I don't have this job. I I need to I need to put the work in.

SPEAKER_02 15:23

I need to get going here because he was not good in preseason last year, if you remember. No, I remember that in preseason. Yes, and but we've also seen a lot of goalies. We saw Jonathan Quick, his first preseason, he was awful, Brian was awful his first preseason, Talbot was bad in preseason. So we can win the honesty thing. I I think it's Corpasalo's job. I don't think they make this move and they're willing to not for a guy that has two years left. Yeah, he's gonna six million, he's they're gonna pay him six million dollars. He's gonna he's unless he gets hurt, yeah, or gives up nine goals in the first preseason game. Yeah, like this isn't an open competition. They could they could phrase it that way to not you know to give Garandi incentive to to bust his ass.

SPEAKER_00 16:03

Up in some ways, though.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

Sean, but hey, this is but this is the business of what it is, he's still only 24. I know, I know. I I I think he saw Devin Levi get traded today to to Edmonton, and then Edmonton turns around and signs Freddie Anderson two minutes later. Yeah, then they have and they still have Tristan Jari, too, right? Yeah, wow.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

That's the best problem. You're right, we did by Mario Ferraro, thank god. Um, we got we got other two, two other stiffs, so it doesn't matter. So keep going. Who who's next?

Pettersson Trade And Defensive Identity Shift

SPEAKER_02 16:33

All right, then we get to basically what I call the three-team trade of the day because this is this whole swap to me feels like and I'm gonna I'm gonna get to to Trochek last, because to me that has the most significance. Yeah, because I want I want your I want your I want to so I've never been a Marcus Peterson fan. No, so I'm not gonna be a hypocrite and come out and not say I am jacked about it. Me neither. But here's the thing, he is an upgrade from what we've had. And that that's the truth. He does skate, he is a pain in the ass pest. He takes some bad penalties because he is constantly draped on people. Now that has its you know, that works sometimes, also. You get away with a lot of shit, but it's not like he gets beat and drapes on you. He's just a non-stop, high energy, high motor, pain in the ass to play against. When he was on Pittsburgh, I mean he in that in that playoff series, if I remember correctly, he took two really bad penalties.

SPEAKER_00 17:34

Great, flipped right in.

SPEAKER_02 17:36

Yeah, he was 25 at the time, but Sullivan had him for seven years, and obviously Sullivan is the one who's saying that this is a guy I want to bring back. Yes, Robert Doback. I know you don't like giving up a first-round pick, but you have to pick up here, Robby. Drury will not be here. Mark my words, when that pick is made, he will not be here. He does not give a fine fuck about a pick in 2030. But you have to put this all in context. This is about a dick measuring contest with Sullivan getting his guys here. Yes, it fucking is because Conashiri played all the last year when he shouldn't have. My point is, my point is this is a Sullivan acquisition that we are gonna be solid with five fucking years. Who cares? We were gonna be dealing with Will Borgan then. I'd rather I'd rather Borgan. No, we needed a left shot. Why did you need a left shot? Because this didn't work last year, having Schneider and Borgan, one of them playing on their offside. It didn't work. Oh, so you're telling me Schneider. Well, everyone thinks Drizy, whatever the hell his name is, Snoozy is gonna be playing on the second pair, so you still got Braden and Schneider on your third pair, so nothing changed, but every but rightys are on the right side and lefties are on the left side. It's it's a balanced defensive core now. I know that, but it's still Borgan could have moved down to three, and Schneider could have moved up to two, right? So what's the difference? We're stronger this way. Oh, we're much stronger today than we were last year now on defense. So the Pederson move makes sense in the fact of Borgan being moved out. So the difference in money is a million bucks. So they are paying Pederson one million dollars more than they were paying Borgan.

SPEAKER_00 19:20

Correct.

SPEAKER_02 19:21

They protect so this 2030 first round pick is top 10 protected. So if they suck five years from now or four years from now or three years from now. At this rate, they probably would. I forget, I forget what year it is right now. So four years from now, if they fucking be here in five years, it's not gonna matter. So keep going. We don't lose the pick, so who cares? You know, it becomes you know the next year's problem or whatever it is. Toniclass when he's the next GM. But we got back for the fuck is his name now. Now you you made me laugh, so I fucking forgot uh Borgan. We traded Borgan over to Boston, got back a second round pick and a conditional third. So to me, the way that I look at this is we traded back from the first round of 2030 to the second round of 2028. So you're talking at worst 30 picks? No, the second round picks in 27, the third round pick is in the 2013. Right, no, I'm saying 28. Okay. Yeah, but that's what I'm saying. We're uh it's a closer pick. So there's there's value in the fact that it's a pick that we're gonna have three more years of in our lifetimes than the pick that's in 2030. Right. So there's value there, but you're trading back from a first-round pick to a second round pick, paying an extra million dollars to get a better player that also fits this team by having it on the left side. I do not own a Will Borgan jersey, and I don't own a Schneider one. I and I own 41 jerseys. Robbie, I'm not saying that Borgan and Schneider. My point was Borgan could have moved down to the third pair, and Schneider could have moved up to the second pair. Yeah, I mean, this guy Drizy, who let's be fair, he's now oh he's gonna be 28 in. We didn't get to this one yet. Okay, go we didn't get to him yet. But my point, my point was is that you could put Borg Borgan could have been on your third pair and you could have been fine with that. They didn't like it. He doesn't move the puck enough. That's literally what Sullivan said. He wanted better puck moving defensemen, and the two guys that were brought in today on defense are both much better puck moving defensemen than Will. They're still not good, they can move the puck better, but they're still not good.

Trocheck Deal And What Came Back

SPEAKER_02 21:30

They're not good defensemen. So Vinny Trochek, who obviously I have an affinity for, as you can tell by looking over my shoulder, was moved today. We all knew it was coming, right? You know, we all whether we liked it or didn't like it, except you know, I think we all accepted it. I thought maybe they weren't gonna do it, to be honest with you. I was I was starting to get closer to 50 50 that there was a chance he was staying, but I think we all that was more optimistic for me thinking he was staying. I think once he hired the agent, that was it. Um he didn't go any he didn't go anywhere where we thought he was gonna go. No, Utah. I mean Utah yo, yeah. You said you are going west. You went to the wilderness. You went to where there's you are flying a three-hour flight to the your closest rival. Yeah, Utah has the worst travel of any team in the league because they're nowhere near anybody. Vegas is the closest. Vegas, I think, is an hour, hour and a half flight. That's the closest one. Um, so they trade Showchick to Utah for Sean Dersey and Cole. I think it's Boudwin, is how you pronounce it. Yeah. Love the so he's a 20-year-old wrecking ball center. Forget, and I agree with Steve Corneanos on this because he made a comment on it. He loves boot Bodwin. He's probably profiling as like a true Jordan Stahl type 3C. Where he's gonna win draws. First round, well, I guess that's fair. It was a first-round pick. Yeah, it was a first-round pick. But I'm saying, like, he's overall, but yeah. The fact that he has 88 points in juniors this year, it's because he's 20 years old playing in juniors, which is similar to Green Tree putting up insane numbers, or Nathan Aspinall putting up insane numbers, you know, in juniors right now. Right. You're 20 years old and you're a big dude, you're gonna just overpower 15 and you know, six 16 and 17-year-olds, and that's just the way it is. But really likes the player. Um, I really like the player, everything I've read about him. It's not like I listen, I've never seen him play. I'm going by everything I've read, and I agree with Steve Cornianos on his assessment of the player. So those are great. You get a third-round pick added in. That's fantastic. Sean Dersey, I like he people want to say he had a down year last year. Healthy, though, Sean. He's only played, I think he's only he's never played 80 games, he's always hurt, he's been hurt the last two years. Another minus player, and a six million dollar cap hit for this year and next year. So what you got to get over the cap hit. I can't get over no, but Sean, you missed up the point. We need to stay flexible if so if a star player becomes available, you got to be able to acquire them. You can't be tying money up in these shit players. This is not a rebuild, this was a retool. They are trying to win.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

I'm not talking about it.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

They're not sitting here, they're not doing the next summer of LeBron, where oh, let's move everything out of the way and pray that Connor McDavid will bless us with his presence. They're not doing that. Sean Jersey Sean has been on three teams. He's gonna be 28 in October. He's already been on three teams. This is his third team, right? This will be his third team. So he got hurt two years ago. He played 60.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

He played 60 games this year, right?

SPEAKER_02 24:48

He got I don't know what his injury was this year. This was his best season per for his time played. He had he averaged 1.3 points per 60 minutes, which is way more than he's ever averaged at any point in his career. So for people who want to sit there and say that he was oh, he was really good with LA in his first year with Arizona when he put up 41 points, that was at uh 0.87 points per 60 minutes. He just played a lot more minutes. He played three minutes a game on the power play back then instead of one a minute 15 on the power play this past season. He's gonna play none now. He's gonna no, he's gonna probably quarterback power play too, which is fine. He used to power he used to quarterback the first power play for LA and and when it was the last year in Arizona. So he has power play experience. We have a legitimate guy that can run the power the second power play right now. So the fact that he was able to average playing reduced time, he was able to average 1.3 points for 60 minutes to me is excellent. So we will see. Again, taking a chance. Listen, I wanted more for Trochek. I think we all wanted more for Trochek. I think we all, you know, based off what Drury's ask was what they got back to me is better than a first-round pick in Strammel still. It's not getting Yurov, but I don't think that that player was clearly wasn't on the table. Or Drury would have pulled the trigger on a trade like that. It didn't happen. Right. So if this is the deal that he got, like I said, to me, this deal getting back Jersey, who's 27, you know, he's gonna be 28, he's still 27, he's gonna step in next year, you know, for the next two years and play on our second pair on the right side and and be the second power play quarterback. And he's he's a high motor guy, which which I like. I want to see that. To me, it reminds me of Tori Karuk, he's that type of player, 6'1, 200 pounds, so he's not small, he's not the fastest guy in the league, but I actually looked up his uh his edge stats. He's like just outside the top 10 for defensemen as far as speed. So another guy who is good size, he's fast, he's played in the postseason, he's run a power play, he brings a lot to the table. And I'm sure he's got you know, he's another guy who's got a chip on his shoulder that has a lot to prove. He's playing for a contract in two years. I'm sure you're gonna get the absolute best out of this guy. Okay. I I don't know what I don't really, I really wish I could give you and it's Jersey, that's how you pronounce it. All right, whatever. Um I just I just I don't know, just very lackluster, just not nobody that really moves the needle. It's mostly guys that you're you're hoping and praying again, question mark guys, reclamation guys, guys who have been injured in the past. I just nothing, nothing that you can really sink your teeth into. They're just changes for sake of making changes. Did they get slightly better? Maybe. But I I well I'll believe it when I see it. They these are guys that are I don't know. I just nothing, nothing to me. I'm not it can't get excited about anything they did today. It's all okay. We'll see what happens. Is a 40 when healthy, he's a 40-point right-handed shot defenseman who's about to turn 28. And he's making six million, not 10 million.

SPEAKER_00 28:26

He's not scoring 40 points here because he's gonna barely get any play of power play time because play one stays on for a minute and 50 seconds. He's not even gonna get close to that. He's just not gonna put up those numbers. So, I mean, if he can move the puck and get the puck out of the zone and that's all they care about, then that's fine. But, you know, I mean, again, it this is what is this about?

SPEAKER_02 28:47

Is this about getting us to a cup, or is this about getting us just to make the playoffs? Because these guys, as presently constituted, you know, maybe you're a playoff team. I mean, that that's really it. I don't think you're that much better. I mean, the only the only saving grace, I'm gonna be honest with you, the only reason I'm not completely disgusted is that what they got Dora Fayev. I mean, other than that, I I don't think that this is a absolute needle moving offseason by any means. I think it's a a lateral to slightly above lateral moves. He didn't get better in your top six, which is what you really needed, other than you got Dora Fev, but you got Panarin last year. And to be fair, Panarin's gonna put up more points than Dorfeev, right? Panarin's capable of putting up 37 goals. He's also capable of putting up 70 assists. Dorfaves are putting up 70 assists. So, where did you get really how did you get better from Panarin? You didn't, so you didn't improve there. You bring in a guy, a reclamation project based off of a 12-goal season on a very good team. And I mean, if he if he scores 50 40 goals, you can't keep him. And if he doesn't, he's gone. I mean, it he really didn't. I I just I don't know. There's nothing about nothing about what they've done. They're not, they're not, they're better than they were the end to end the season, but they're not, I don't think they've they've moved ahead of anybody. I I think they're not a baseman team, but they're also they're they're a borderline playoff team with this group. Borderline playoff team. So I think their defense has improved so much, and they've improved the goaltend the backup goaltending. So we're not gonna have issues when our goaltenders placed. I thought Quick was fine last year. It was terrible last year. Not to start last year. Not to start the season. He was bad when Igor got hurt, but he was not, he wasn't bad to start the season. Yes, he was. He was shot. I have to go back and look at his numbers. They lost you're gonna blame him. You're gonna matter. No, the defense, the defense wasn't good either. And so they went out and addressed it. They got an entire new second pair. It's Marcus Pederson, they gave him away for nothing. What does that tell you? They gave him away, they dumped him. They got a first round pick in five years, still a first-round pick. It's still a first-round pick. You can't send a game. Give him away for a seventh round pick is for nothing. Not a first-round pick is not a salary dump. Five years from now, it's a salary dump. That's not fair because there's no thing to say either of those GMs are even going to be in that position in five years. But what is that? What is that? Who is doing this for salary cap flexibility and to be a good one? Of course they are now. Yeah, they're tanking. They're tanking. He's not good. He's okay. He's a Sullivan butt buddy. I mean, that's really what he is. Call it what it is. Sullivan butt buddy. I mean, that's really what it is. I mean, I don't mean to I shouldn't have said that, but I'm just saying he's a Sullivan crony. And the other guys essentially, you know, if he was that good, why is why is Utah who's trying to build something get dumping him? Came from Vancouver. Oh, Jersey, you mean?

SPEAKER_00 32:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:23

They got Sergachev and they've and the Simish, and was it Simishev? What's his name?

SPEAKER_00 32:27

Oh, I don't know. I just this is to me, this is not no.

SPEAKER_02 32:31

They had they had a kid that they picked sixth overall, who's ready to step in and play. So that's what happens.

SPEAKER_00 32:39

Yeah, I don't, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

Just like EJ Emory is gonna probably step in for Sean Dersey at some point and play.

SPEAKER_00 32:44

You talk, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 32:45

And Albert Smith is gonna step into somebody and play. Brian, come on. Jersey does not excite you. If Jersey, if Jersey excites you and you're getting all giddy over this guy, then we are we are in really bad shape if that guy is gonna excite you. It's not see, it's not the one player that excites me. It's the fact that you look at the best defense. He is he was a first pair guy before this on a bad team. LA was bad when he would win. That was right after they won the cup, right? When they started going downhill. No, no, how he's 26, he's not 42. Jonathan Quicksage. Don't get me wrong. I love you and I know you, and I knew I knew that you would zero excitement about any of these guys, and you're gonna see it. Okay, I guess I I mean I was have I who have I been wrong with other than Trochek? And Trochek again, I'm telling you, was we're gonna see he's not gonna score the points he was with on the heels of Panarin, which we've all saw. When was the year his last year there? 22 23.

SPEAKER_00 34:05

We got this package for a 33-year-old center.

SPEAKER_02 34:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:08

Listen, if you guys are happy about it, I'm happy for you.

SPEAKER_02 34:11

But when when when when when this all blows up in our face, I'm gonna be sitting here smiling. There you go. So, because I have not been right wrong about many guys. So Jersey Dersey was a second pair for uh Panarin has made players. I mean, how many times are we gonna say that? Panarin made Trochek, he made Ryan Strom, he got them both, made them much better than both of them. Both of them were. Let's be fair. Can I just can I just give you just a little course correction there? Yes. So Jersey's last year with LA, 38 points in 72 games, played 20 minutes a game. He was their second pair defenseman. The team's uh the team had 104 points, so not on a not on a bad team.

SPEAKER_00 34:58

Okay, I stand corrected. Why'd they trade him?

SPEAKER_02 35:02

Uh Brent Clark. Because Brent Clark was ready to step back. Brandt Clark has Sean Brandt Clark has him is still trying to crack the top six. He barely started last year. Brandt Clark came in that year, played nine games. He was 19 years old. So they traded him for just to bring in a 19-year-old player. To bring in a 20-year-old player. Who do they trade him for? Brent Clark had 33 points the next year and then 40 points last year. Who do they trade him for? They got a second-round pick for second-round pick for a top four defenseman. Yeah.

unknown 35:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 35:37

They also had to pay him. Clearly, that they weren't going to pay him.

unknown 35:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 35:42

You're not, I'm not, you're not going to try to convince me that this guy's listening this is this is not getting Nikkeician. We would have all done it done a dance outside if he was able to get Nikkei Charge. We took the cheap and easy way out. It's not the cheap Nikishian. It is the cheap and easy way out. Even Dorfeev was for draft picks. Again, we're we have not still not made a significant hockey move. But why does that bother you so much? He made because instead is trading draft picks. No, because in essence, in essence, he traded Borgan for Peterson. He traded Borgan for Peterson. He got a third team involved. That's literally what happened. The trades were made within two minutes of each other. So one trade doesn't happen without the other. So it's essentially a three-team, a three-team trade. If this was the NBA, which does three, four, and five, and ten team trades all the time, right? We very rarely see them in hockey unless there's someone's eating you know a percentage of cap, which you can't do anymore. Do you agree that this team is not is a border, maybe a maybe? I mean, not even like we're like on the periphery of making the playoffs, though. This is not a playoff team. No, because and here's and here's where I again, I put a lot more stock into what I saw the last 20 games than you do. To you, the last 20 games of the year never happened. Tell me right now when Lap Recare starts the season with no goals, four assists, playing 20 minutes a night. I want to hear everybody say, I will trade it up. I'll eat all the crow in the world. I'll eat all of it. And the same with and the same if Perot doesn't put up the same type of numbers he put up. Because you because I'm relying on those two guys not only to do what they did, but to take another step forward, especially Perot, who's only 20 years old. So I expect him to take another step forward. I expect Lafreniere. He's 20 years old. Not a guy that's been in the league now for seven years. I'm not a La Frenier guy either. So I want to gone. I wanted him gone. They should have traded him three years ago. They're gonna they're gonna ruin the day. But that's another thing. He's just so fucking afraid to trade anybody. But when their value's at their peak, that's when you trade somebody. You don't trade it when it's down here. Because now look what they got. They got a second round pick, a third, two third round picks for Kacko. In essence, now, right? Right. For a top two pick, you got a two-set, a second, a conditional second, and a third for a top for a second overall guy. Because you waited too fucking long to trade him. So they should have traded him a year into his career. They should have traded him two years into his career, or more, or more so, they shouldn't have he shouldn't have played his first fucking year. But again, we have to play the first with the first overall, second overall has to play. They have to play. God forbid they don't play. If anything, the best news here was that Albert Smith is most likely not going to be on the roster to start the season. And he will play in Hartford or whether he goes. I don't think he's gonna go back to Europe. I think he said he wanted to play in North America. So he he'll play in Hartford.

SPEAKER_00 38:49

That's where he should play.

SPEAKER_02 38:50

And Fortescue will most likely play in Hartford unless unless he beats out Robertson. All of them. All of them should be playing in Hartford. All of them. I was thinking about this. There have only been two defensemen that have come in and played, actually, one come in at an 18-year-old, and that was Delzado. Or was he even 19? 19. He was 19. So he wasn't even 18. Every other defenseman, Mark Stahl and Delzado are the only two defensemen that stepped right into the NHL without playing in Hartford. Didn't Dave Maloney? I remember going back that far, but maybe, maybe Dave Maloney did because he was 18. Yeah. But I mean, Shea, Lingrid, uh, Drenn Girardi, Feder Tutin, McDonough, they all played in Hartford. Why is it such a fucking problem for these guys to play? Who says it is? Well, you said you want to get this guy were penciling him into the lineup the minute he was drafted. Who? The Rangers. The famous are idiots. I mean, have we learned nothing? I mean, that's why the fans I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 39:58

Us included, we're idiots.

SPEAKER_02 39:59

But I'm gonna be honest with you, when they passed on Chase Reed, I said, I said the first thing that popped into my brain when they drafted him that he's gonna be in the lineup next year. They drafted him. This is Leah Sanderson all over again. They are drafting this guy so he can be he's eight most how many times, Sean, how many times did they say at the draft the most NHL ready, the most NHL ready, the most NHL ready, the most I mean they said it at least 10 times. 10 times. So I said, Oh, I got flashbacks, but this is Leah Son. Well, we heard we heard like when the Rangers drafted Leah Sanderson, it was an overreaction to the fact that we didn't get Elias Pederson. That's what we learned. We learned that the Rangers wanted Pederson, they wanted Cody Glass, and when those two guys were gone, they pivoted and took Leah Son.

SPEAKER_00 40:47

Should have taken Nature this time.

SPEAKER_02 40:49

We've heard from everybody and their mother, and we didn't want to really listen because we all wanted Reed, I wanted Carols, but we heard everyone say the Rangers are really high on Smith's, and we heard it for two weeks. Yeah, so when they took him, it wasn't a surprise. No, it wasn't a surprise. I told you on this show, again, I don't watch these guys play, so all I go off of is what I read, some highlights, blah, blah, blah. And I said, Chase Reed scares the shit out of me. It scared the shit out of three straight GMs because he was the fourth defenseman taken when everyone thought he was gonna go second.

SPEAKER_00 41:27

What'd you think of what'd you think of uh Rudolph going uh I mean Randolph, Rudolph, Rudolph?

SPEAKER_02 41:32

Rudolph, Daxon Rudolph, who I thought was gonna go like eighth or ninth in the draft, and he went fourth. That's insane. It is insane, but what does it tell you that one two that three straight teams that took defense on Chase Reed? But I wonder if I wonder if Buffalo had taken Smith's if the Rangers would have really passed on on Reed at that point. Yeah, I don't know. I I really just think that this is a Fox, this is a Fox base base bias. I don't think so. I don't think so. No, because they didn't take Carol's either, and he's a lefty. So no, I don't I don't think that's it. I think they just this is this is the this was their guy, and again, we heard it for two weeks. It wasn't like he played with men, he's still growing into his body, too. Um anyway, and how impressive has he been in his interview since he came here? He was great. I swear, if Chris Drury, if whoever did not see the Albert Smith interview, you gotta watch this. He did everything but say if he dies, he dies. He's Ivan Drago, and he's Ivan Drago, one and two, and two, Chris Drury must have been giddy beyond belief. This guy gave you nothing, he didn't even smile, but answered every question. And I have not seen a player from a different country handle the media as well as this guy had handled it ever, and it wasn't coached, no, he was not rehearsed, he just was money calculated in every answer, poised, just stared them down like yeah. I'm not talking about like right. Oh my god. I mean because you know what that does. Here's what here's what happens. Here's what happens. Here's the New York media, and we've seen it in every sport, our whole lives.

SPEAKER_00 43:36

Taco was scared shitless in his first interview.

SPEAKER_02 43:38

I remember kid comes in bright eyed, can't wipe the smile off his face, no matter what you do. Super, I'm so excited to be here. You know, what's your favorite pizza? You know, answer every question and you know, make themselves they're so conscious. It's New York media. I want to make myself as available as I can and and really get in good with them so they don't crush me when I'm not playing well. And all that shit. And what happens is it's like you look at Matthew Schaefer on the other end, right? With the Islanders. It's like you're almost just waiting for him to have a DUI because no one's this perfect. Right. And the New York media salivates, waiting to take that guy down. They put you on the pedestal and they wait, they wait to knock you down and then build you back up because those are news stories. That's what the media is dying to do. And so what happens is when you make yourself too available to the media, they feel every time they need something, they can go to you. And they're waiting for you to give them something. So Smith's day one, when there was something you want to discuss, said I'm not going to talk about that. Right. Like he was 35 years old talking about whether, you know, like he was Benny Trochek at 33, you know, not wanting to talk about whether he was going to be traded or this, you know what I mean? And it was so calculated what he was willing to talk about, what he wasn't going to talk about. He answered every other question. Some of them were two-word answers. How many languages do you speak? Three. You didn't say which three? Three. What what what uh who called you? Who called you to wish you to congratulate you when you came? I'll keep that, I'll keep that to myself. Something along those lines. But it's just like gave them nothing. And they weren't coaching. He had to been wetting himself with joy. That's the this is the type of kid who doesn't seem like he will get caught up in all that New York City has to offer. No. And this is a kid who seems like he's gonna live in the ice and live in the gym and live a pretty quiet Westchester Greenwich, Connecticut life. Yeah. Yeah, we'll see what happens.

SPEAKER_01 45:51

I'll post that one. Eddie's good. Eddie's on fire tonight.

SPEAKER_02 45:55

Yeah. I uh yeah, I mean, I I I personally think like I obviously Eddie, she's she's no she's no Emily Kaplan. Um I will say this. I mean, we don't know. I don't know if anyone saw this on Twitter, and if you have, you can convey this to us. Is Drew planning on saying anything about anything? I mean, have we heard that? Because usually these GMs do not talk until they're you know they're done, until they're pretty much done. So there you go. I don't know, but I don't know if he spoke last year. Does anyone remember? I don't. I know well he told Vince and everybody he was going to speak after the free agency. So that doesn't necessarily mean today. Because they asked him if he was going to talk after the draft, and he said that he was gonna talk after free agency.

SPEAKER_00 46:41

I just heard that it was declined, that he declined to speak to the media.

SPEAKER_02 46:44

No, he said he was gonna talk after free agency. You you heard that and take it what it was. I don't think I do not foresee anything major after this. I just don't think they have where where they want to do it. I wonder how far apart they are in negotiations with Schneider. Now, is this a situation where they're content on bridging him and doing the Ryan Lindgren thing where they sign him, you know, on the night before camp opens, and they're not gonna worry about it. And if it gets offers sheeted, so be it. We take our money and go elsewhere. I don't know. I mean, all of a sudden we have a pretty good farm system now. So they have assets if they did want to look to make you know some sort of a big deal. I don't know if they have the cap space to do anything. They have six million in cap space right now. They still got a sign Schneider.

SPEAKER_00 47:37

Well, I'm saying if they chose if if if someone's is that Taylor Radish on the line in the lineup?

SPEAKER_02 47:43

Uh you gotta see, you gotta think that he's gone, right? I don't know, unless he's unless he's gonna play on the fourth line. That was another stupid signing, too. Vill Vili Hainola signed with the uh the Vegas Gold the Nights for those. I think I mean listen to me, Lane to me would have to me would have at least I I think short term would have made a lot of sense. I don't know where where he's looking to go. I haven't heard anything about Line today, but it seems like a lot of those older veterans, Kane, Line, um, Teresenko, um you know, oh actually Obi's not gonna sign with anybody else, but though those guys we have Line, like I said, we though other than Zuccarello, right?

SPEAKER_00 48:34

Giroux still out there.

SPEAKER_02 48:35

I can't believe Zuccarello signed for a million bucks.

SPEAKER_00 48:38

He got he's getting gonna get five million in bonuses because he's over 35. Oh, so four or five million dollars in bonuses. I saw, but that goes on to next year, next year, yeah, which I I don't like doing that. We did that with uh we did we we do that with Shani, and that wounded up burning us, yeah. Shanahan, because then the guy's gone, and then you're stuck with that freaking dead cap space. Uh yeah, I know all those guys, we haven't heard anything about them. So I don't know, they're probably gonna see where the dust settles and then uh and then kind of go from there, right?

Cap Flexibility And The Star Chasing Question

SPEAKER_00 49:17

You know, you know what it is, Sean.

SPEAKER_02 49:19

Like I said, I mean and the cap's gonna go up to also hear this part out the cap's going up another 10 million next year.

SPEAKER_00 49:29

Next year, you look at the numbers, they have a lot of RFAs next year, a lot.

SPEAKER_02 49:34

Cooley, Ty Cartier, Laba, Hemelosh, Perot are the RFAs next year. Everybody else on this team is signed. All the big ticket guys are signed. But that's that's the that's the issue, too. The big ticket guys are but but you talk about you talk about them having the cap flexibility if Austin Matthews shakes free next year, if Connor McDavid shakes free next year. You have Bjork Strand's four and a half coming off the books, you have Cooley's four million dollars coming off the books, Radish's one and a half, Cartier's one and a half. Corpusalo, you could move easily for three million in the last year of his contract. Like all of a sudden, they're back up to 20 million dollars in cap space to do whatever the fuck they need to do. Yeah, obviously they know Matthews is not being moved this year, you know McDavid's not being moved this year. Zach Werensky wasn't coming here.

SPEAKER_00 50:31

I guess I guess it's it's a stopgap, it is a stopgap move for now.

SPEAKER_02 50:39

But everybody's of age. Yeah, nobody's old. The oldest guy on the our oldest defenseman is Gabrikov at 30. Him and Pederson are both 30. Jersey's 27.

SPEAKER_01 50:52

He was 29.

SPEAKER_02 50:53

I didn't say he was old, but I'm saying like our defensive core can stick together for two, three years. How old is Peterson's not 30? He's 30. Oh I said him and Gabrikov are both 30. 36, yeah. 36 million, but you only have 12 guys in the contract. 13 guys under contract for next year. And how many kids that are now gonna be 20 that are gonna be year older that are pushing for jobs?

SPEAKER_00 51:24

You signed a 12 12 goal score to play in your top six.

SPEAKER_02 51:28

I still think that there's another guy coming, whether that's I mean, Sean's gonna bust enough for me saying this. Whether it's Patrick Kane, whether it's Line A. Who else is out there out of that ilk terasenko? If they do it, it's gonna be a trade.

SPEAKER_00 51:49

But I thought I thought I thought they were gonna trade Schneider in that move. Like I said, I don't know. We'll see what happens. I I I just to me uh also four four forward signs. Yeah, four forwards. Um I uh I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 52:10

I don't know what to think. I want to be positive, Sean, but I just I just feel like we've seen you just feel I want to be don't. I really do.

SPEAKER_00 52:19

I just I just feel like we've seen this before with these type of moves.

SPEAKER_02 52:24

I just think I just feel like we've seen this. We've seen this before. What was out there? I mean, so you just make trades for the sake of making them. No, they they got better. They got better. I mean, they definitely got their prospect pool got better.

SPEAKER_00 52:38

I mean, we're gonna see what happens with this Cole Boot Bunon. You know, we're gonna see what happens with him. I mean, again, he's not projected, he's projected. Bodine is a pronouncement.

SPEAKER_02 52:47

They could Jethro Bodine. Okay. Uh, I mean, obviously, um, yeah, they'll be a bit better, Eddie. You're right, they'll be a bit better. It's not like you know, I you got people telling me, oh my god, they reinvented their defense. Oh, they're gonna be the iron curtain, they're gonna be freaking, they're gonna be the Soviet Union. You got Fatisov back there, you got uh, you know, who else? Uh Larry Anno's playing defense. I mean, you got everybody back. When you when you have when you have time, go through and look at some of the better teams' second pairings, the top fours. Go look at the top fours of some of the better teams. I get that. To me, that's the best one. That's the best one, and that their second pairing makes 18 million dollars. And they have a cup four years ago. They lost last year. They still made it back, they've still been there twice more than we've been in the last. I'm not disagreeing, but you know what? That cost them Dora Fayev. Rasmus Anderson cost them Dora Fayev. That's what they chose.

SPEAKER_00 53:47

They chose when you have Eichel and you have Sorns. No, no, Robbie, he Robbie. I always look to complain.

SPEAKER_02 53:54

So listen, I'm surprised Ryan, I'm surprised Ryan Reeves didn't come back.

SPEAKER_00 53:59

Still time, still time. The fact that they said a 28 pick tells you that they aren't sure.

SPEAKER_02 54:09

No, I don't think that I don't really think they're gonna be good next year. I don't and I the reason that they kept the 2027 pick is God forbid they don't make it. Yeah, first the first four players in next year's draft would have all been the first player overall this year. The fourth pick of next year's draft would have gone first overall. He's better than McKenna. That's how good next year's draft is. I personally think that they they're maybe listen, they're they they are gonna they're hoping they're going to be better. But I I honestly think, Sean, that they they don't know. I mean, they don't know. I mean this is I mean, I mean, look, look, I mean, let's let's put it this way. People praised Nashville when they got Marshus, when they got Stamp Coast, when they got Brady Shea, when they made all those moves, big ticket items were awful. Big ticket items. We didn't do big ticket items, we got guys to fill roles. We got we did the opposite. We got bargain basement guys, it's not bargain basically guys that people didn't want. Yeah, they get you had to give up a first round pick for Pederson. Well, I don't care what year it's in, it's a first round, it's a first round pick.

SPEAKER_00 55:20

That's because RGM gave up a first round pick because he won't be here when they make that pick.

SPEAKER_02 55:26

These are Hail Marys. You really understand that right now? What he's doing, he's every trade he's making, he's doing the sign of the cross because he knows every step he makes digs himself a dig a deeper hole. He doesn't care. Doesn't he does not care? He doesn't care about draft capital down the road because he might not even be here in five years. Then why didn't he make he got draft capital back for Borgan? Why didn't he try and get a player to help him now? Well, maybe because maybe because he don't need another right shot. I didn't hear what you said. It didn't go, it didn't come through. Maybe they don't need another right shot defenseman. The only thing the only saving grace, and what I will agree with you with, was that if you look at it, I don't Rampy might be done with his thumb. We're gonna see because if the guy can't fight, he shouldn't be playing in the NFL. He's gotta be a deterrent. If he's not a deterrent, then he shouldn't be playing. And that's why Sully, who's on my shit list, Edstrom couldn't play. Guy missed months with an injury, couldn't play. Oh blah blah blah. Gave all the excuses in the world. Meanwhile, he plays Matt Rempey with a bad thumb for two weeks. What was Edstrom's injury? Ankle, I think. Was it not an ankle? Lower skating. He still keeps Sean, he's not a deterrent if he can't get hold of the stick. No, I I agree with you, shouldn't have been playing. Anyway, my point was the Pedterson. I though I don't I don't like the player, but it's a little bit easier pill to swallow because it's it is it what it's really essentially one more year than Borgan had, right? Yes, Borgan had four more years, but then again, I drew that's again. This is this GM. He had to sign Borgan. You will look for the ring class anywhere, dude. But all but all he does is keep cleaning up messes that he's made. Have you noticed that, Sean? Nemeth cleaned up, Reeves cleaned all he's doing is cleaning up. You're talking, you're talking about stuff that happened three years, four years ago. Morgan's not years ago, and we're still paying for Patrick Nemeth trade, we're still paying for that. The the first second round pick that they got in this year's draft would have been almost a first round pick, but no, they traded it to get Patrick Nemeth's contract off the books. So, yes, I am still gonna talk about it because it's still relevant. But what's wrong with them trading trading Borgan for a second and third? But what was the reason? If what changed in a year? What was it about Morgan that he liked two years ago that he doesn't like now? Marcus Peterson's that much better. Left shot, the experiment of playing them both. I don't think he can't borgan the third pair. I don't think eat I don't think he felt either one was worth playing on the second pair, that it didn't work. So and we'll see what they do with Schneider. Maybe they don't like Schneider enough. But again, all you're doing, all you're doing right, is you did the same exact thing. You brought in Drezy, and he's taking the take gonna take minutes away from Schneider anyway. And then you're trading Schneider, you're getting another right shot back, or are you playing freaking Iorio or are you playing Brandon Moro? We'll see, we'll see when he's done what with what this team looks like. Anything of this stuff does not make sense. I'm right now, right now, I'm assuming that Schneider's gonna be the third pairing right shot defenseman. The bottom line is he didn't feel that Borgan or Schneider earned coming into the season as a second pair D. Okay. Is that not what the case? No, I guess that is. I guess I guess he was able to get what he got for Borgan. Borgan was the easier, palatable, more player to move because of the salary. He had to cut salary because he because of of and listen, unless you love unless he still loves Schneider and Schneider's gonna play 20 minutes with Pederson and Jersey's the third pair. I don't know. I don't know what their plan is. That would be I'm assuming that Jersey's gonna make sense. See, if that's the case, then that would make more sense. But then you're paying your third pair guy six million bucks for two years. Granted. I mean, does it does it matter in the great? No, it doesn't. Once they're on the team, it is what it is.

SPEAKER_00 59:46

I mean, I I we I I guess it's I don't know. I don't have to say. So you you so you're you're comfortable, so you you're right with Matthew Robertson as the third pairing.

SPEAKER_02 59:58

Yes, I love Robertson.

SPEAKER_00 59:59

I I do too.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:00

And I'm also fine if Fordeskew beats him out. I prefer Fortescue to get a at least a good half year playing in Hartford. It was a nice I agree. It was nice for him to get in the NHL and field last year, right? And I think he should. I think all those guys should. And if and if throughout the season, if guys get hurt, because guys always get hurt, or if somebody falls off a cliff, you know, play-wise, not literally. Um you have those guys in your back pocket. They were so decimated down in Hartford. They needed, they needed to bring in guys down there that could play. You talked last year about all they had was Jackson Dorrington on D. Yeah. So Scanlon's still oh Scanlon's a UFA, so he's gone. William Trudeau, they traded for. Yes. Morrow. Yes, Dorrington, yes, and then you're gonna have whoever doesn't uh win jobs, whether it's Oreo. Well, they all signed that other guy to Delgaso. Del Gazio, yeah. They signed him to a two-year deal. Yeah, yeah. So they got him coming in. He fought with uh guys, he fought Will Cooley last year. I saw that. I heard Lazarus was talking about that. That'll be fun in camp. Yeah, and then coming up behind them. I mean, it won't be this year, obviously, but we could talk a little bit about the draft.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:17

Well, they also but they also the other nice part about it is is that is that guy, um Cole, whatever the hell what's his last name again?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:24

Bordine. Bodine gonna be in Hartford. So he's gonna be in Hartford, Green Chase is gonna be in Hartford, Aspinall, Bataglia. Yep, all those guys are gonna be in Hartford. Carrie Terrence, that's great, Brody Lamb. That's great. You know, we're still in Rubrik. We should look into going for a game. I let's try to do it this year. If all these kids are playing, all those guys are there. I think we should go because that's an incentive. I don't want to see Alex Bazil and freaking Casey Fitzgerald, you know, and and Andrew Hutchinson. I don't need to see these guys play, right? But if all those guys are there, that would be I saw Hartford play in the lockout, and Tutin was there, and uh Kondrachiev and Matt Gill. It was like a who's who of like Yorko Eminem was there. It was like all young, he's gone, Trey Fitzwillenski, but that's a good one. Uh but I mean that that was a fun thing because you got to see these young players, and you said, Wow, this guy looks good, and this guy looks good. Um, so we should try to see, or maybe if BSU does their trip, maybe we'll jump in with them. Yeah. Um, Adam Sakura, we're not even talking about whether he makes the team or Himalach. Yeah. Well, Himalach, I think he makes the team Himalaya. Yeah, because I think Sullivan loves him. Yes. I think that's what made Edstrom expendable. Himmaloch was great last year. But the difference between here's here's the difference between Himalach and Edstrom. He finished. Edstrom, Sean, you and I watched the first half of the season. How many breakaways and how many opportunities did Edstrom have the first six to eight games of the season, and he could not finish? I mean, he had he was he was fast, couldn't finish for the his life, and that's the difference. Himalach gets out there, boof, boof, boop, be scoring left and right, and you're like, where the hell did this come from? And I think that's the difference. He he also had better what I could what I call body control. When Himalach was at top speed, it's one thing to have control of the puck when you're you know you're not gliding, but when you're just you know skating at a normal speed. When he was at top speed, he was still able to control his body and control the puck with a guy draped on him to be able to still do what he wanted to do, whether that was put in the corner and go get it, whether it was. I mean, didn't he have a um a breakaway where a guy was on him and he still like got off a backhand?

SPEAKER_03 1:03:51

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:53

So sick. He's a better athlete. I mean he's not 6'7, but he's 6'4. He's still huge. And he's still a kid, he's only 22, so he's he's gonna grow up even more.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:05

I love I love their bottom six. I love Laba, I love Skorra. Uh, I think uh Valeno is gonna have uh, I think he's gonna have a positive impact.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:20

Cartier is gonna be good. And then, like I said, Cooley, Cooley on the third, on the third line, that bottom six, you get you it is a formidable bottom six. So you think York Strand's playing on the second line? 100.

unknown 1:04:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:38

That's my opinion. I again I know Eddie's in the chat, he's gonna get mad at us for doing line combinations, but I think it's important to have context. Well, that's what I would do. I mean, if if you're telling me where he's playing on the depth chart, I think they're I think what they're banking on is this guy stepping in here and having a resurrection season, playing on the top six, getting big minutes. That's what they're banking on. They're rolling the dice because obviously they're, I guess he fit their once once again, their financial quote unquote had nothing to do with finance. I think it had they had a number they wanted to go at. I think there was a number. I think there's always a number with the Rangers. I think that's the way they do it. They they acquire players based off of their salary in a lot of ways. But they could have they could have really gone cheap and gotten they could have they could have gotten Zook for the same amount of money.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:33

They should have.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:34

I'm just saying, they I think they like the player.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:37

Zook didn't want them.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:39

I doubt that. I love how someone today put that uh Zuccarello and Panarin are reunited in LA. I'm like they never played together. They never played together. Fucking idiots. There are some really stupid people that write about this game.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:53

I know, it's bad.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:54

It's really go ahead, do the lines. These new players, my head's scrambled.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:59

Please. Well that's that's really the only really true exciting part about everything is is at least I'll give it this we got some fresh peep faces.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:09

We're not looking at the same freaking lineup and in and day out and getting sick and getting pissed off and get and at least it's something new. Answer me this, yeah, because I need you to have a little bit of ray of sunshine today when it comes to Oliver Bjork. I love Dora Fayev. You know me with the Russian. We're gonna get to him and we're gonna get to the draft. I think that's also why I'm butthurt because I wanted Nikeshin, I wanted wool-to-wall Russians, I wanted every Russian player, and it's funny because someone posted this. Igor started following Nikeshin on Twitter or on Instagram, one of them, right? So I was like, hmm, that's interesting. So I don't know, maybe Nikishin is still gonna try to force his way here. I don't know where he's playing. They did say Nikisha could play his offside, so there's something just a thing to think about. But I don't know if they're trading Schneider for another defenseman. I would be surprised, I think, if they do trade him, but I then again, I I don't I think what you see is what it is. I think that you you the top six is presently constituted what the top six is going to be when the season starts. What does it say about Tampa, who we all agree was probably the second best team in the East, right? Nick Paul? No, why they played him on their top power play? He got three minutes a night on the power play. Yeah, I don't got that much. Is he a net front guy? Is he like a tippin' tipper? No, personally. No, he's a he's a he's a shot guy. He's not big. He's not playing on this power play. But I'm just saying, what does that say about his skill level? I don't know. I I mean what I was was anyone hurt for well, point has been hurt, was hurt a lot this year. But this was the whole year. This is this he played 80 games, and so on an eight-game basis, he played three minutes per game on the power. Yeah, that's weird. I mean, let's just let's just think who else would be. I mean, so point Kucharov, Darren Radish, which is crazy to say that's on, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:09

It's on Peter Holland, Peter Holland's probably saying, I got traded for this guy.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:13

Um, where's my 10 million? Where's my 10 million? I know Anthony Sorelli, Sorelli, Latin Hagel, Jake, Jake Gensel.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:21

Yeah, yeah, that's nuts.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:24

That's nuts. How the hell is he playing on the top five? I would trade Schneider for Nikkei right now. I I just don't tell me what the plus is. What's the plus? Like who you have to have to trade a forward. If it's plus next year's first, I would still do it. I think Nikitation has a chance to be that good.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:50

Yeah, I would do that too. Shit that is well, see two two years.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:57

I traded 29 first. Summary. Why not? We're trading 28 and 30. So why not? I was gonna say, why not? Why not the uh the 20, 30? I just I'm just not confident that they're gonna be that good next year, and I'm deathly afraid that they're gonna trade a top five pick, Sean. It would be it, it would be completely what I would do, what I would do, this is what I would do. You can have next year to pick its top 10 protected if you don't if you get the 29 first. That's what I would do. That's how you'd handle that. That's how that goes. Why can't you like Nikeshkin? I looked at his numbers though.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:31

Um, his playoff numbers were not good, and he did not play a ton the last three games of the ser of the play of the salad finals.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:40

So I and I and I had heard that he was not happy with Brenda more about that, and that's kind of why he wants uh his way out of there. Interesting. So all right, I gotta click on individual players. It's not giving me so Gensel.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:55

What are you looking at right now? What are you looking at?

SPEAKER_02 1:09:56

I want to see power play time for all these guys. Oh so Gensel played four minutes a night on the power play. Let's find some of the other wings. Khrushchev, obviously, you know, he probably played every minute for season. Zach Jones with the mammoth. Wow, mammoth is real reuniting all the X-Rangers, huh? So Brandon Hagel only played two minutes tonight. Are you a little surprised? I mean, while you're looking that up, are you are you a little surprised that Borgan got traded? I'm a little surprised. No, I I thought you didn't hear his name out there at all, though. We didn't hear his name out there to be fair.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:44

Borgan's name being traded.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:46

No, we just all assumed it was Schneider and that they were gonna have to keep Borgan. Right. So the fact that they were able to I because I wanted to keep Schneider over Borgan, I'd just rather keep and to be fair, you and I were both Borgins. You and I were both Borgon fans. Right? Would you say is that fair to say you and I were both Borgon's? Yeah, but I said you can't have I said you can't keep both. I thought they were too similar of a player. But I thought Schneider would be a puck moving guy, wasn't he? We've seen signs of it, we've seen signs of it. It's been inconsistent, which again, he's a 24-year-old defenseman, and as we've seen throughout history and throughout the league, defensemen sometimes take longer. I think they're wait, could they afford even to to acquire Nikitian? He's gonna won eight million dollars. You're gonna pay, you're gonna pay, you're gonna have how you're gonna do that now, unless you're gonna be able to do that. You move radish. It's one and a half right there. So now you're up now you're up to but I'm saying right there, you're up to seven and a half. I don't think you can do that. You find a way. Oh, also when when you're talking about that they have six million dollars in cap room, that's with having how many players on the roster? A lot. That's 13 forwards. I don't I don't think you're getting him.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:58

I I don't think you make these other two trades or get these other two guys if you think you're getting him. That's my opinion.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:04

13 forwards, 73 goalies. Oh, three goalies. That's 20. Yeah, so that's 23 players under contract to get that money to come to six million dollars. So it's more like seven and change. Right. And again, if you needed to move Radish, there's one and a half to free on the other.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:23

I I'm just I don't I just don't see them it it to me, they make the other trades because they know they're not getting him. That that's me. Probably that's how I look at it. No, probably, yeah, which is the very disheartening, which is very disheartening.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:41

The point was was to get younger, which they didn't do with those. Well, they did, they did, oh that's not true because Jersey's young three years younger than Borgan. So he's three yeah, that's three years younger. Dorfev is Dorf, I'm not counting nine years younger than Panarin, if you want to because they essentially they essentially replaced each other. They essentially replaced each other. Dorf. But again, this is this is again my problem. You couldn't score last year with Panarin. You added one guy and a question mark. You added one guy and a guy that might be able to get you 20 goals. You needed to how you explain to me how you're replacing 100 points. You're not, you're banking on everyone else. I'm banking on Lafreniere and you're getting that. That's exactly what you're doing. That is, but that would that's the same thing we were hoping for last year, and it didn't happen. Well, we saw it at the end of the year, but again, you don't you those games never happened to you. That was a video game that wasn't real. I'm just saying, like, every time you every time you bank on guys getting better, they never do. I mean, that I'm just saying, like, from what I've seen from this team, you know, we had this con I had this conversation with friends that this morning. They're like, well, why aren't they not leaving spaces open for young players?

SPEAKER_00 1:14:05

I go, well, they're trying to make the playoffs. They're trying to.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:08

They're gonna try this this this roster to let's be honest, this roster is constituted as they're trying to make the playoffs. 100%. Yeah, they're not, they're not not trying to make the playoffs. So uh which again, why are you paying Igor $12 million and why are you paying Fox $9 million instead of trading them if you're not trying to make the playoffs at their age? You want you you've as you've said several times on this on this show, no one's getting better after 30. So he goes 30. All right, so I'm gonna just give you just this is just a Peter Baugh, the athletic, put out a probable lineup, okay, just to give you a an idea of what the beat

Projected Lines And Metro Reality Check

SPEAKER_02 1:14:48

writers are thinking. The top line is the Benijad, Lafreniere Dorafea. Okay, uh Perot Miller Bjorkstrand. Laba Cooley Radish. Cheer me out. Yeah, Cartier, Villeno, Pimelash, that's your forward lineup, Gabrikaff Fox, Pederson Drizy, Jersey, what the hell his name is. Uh uh Robertson Schneider, Shushirkin, and Corpusala. Flip uh Radish and uh Cartier is not that is not a great lineup. I think it is. I think it I think cluster. I think with the way that the Metro is set up, isn't a team that they can't beat. I'm just I'm just saying, I'm just saying that I don't like do we add up I wanted to read you this. Sure. You'll talk, talk. I'm because I'm gonna find it. Do we add up on paper compared to the Florida Panthers right now? No, I don't know. No. Not with their well with their goalie situation, maybe. Let's let's just play let's play devil's advocate for a second. Are you better? Who are you better than right now? Are you better than Carolina? No, right? But they won the cup, so I can't say are you better than than Jersey, then Washington, then Philadelphia? No, no, I think so. I think so. Oh, no way are you better than those teams. I'm I'm you're not better than Pittsburgh, you're not better than Pittsburgh, you're not better than Pittsburgh, you're not better than Tampa, you're not better than Toronto, you're not better than I'm not worried about the Atlantic, I'm worried about the Metro with the way the playoffs are set up. You gotta be you gotta worry about both sides. Uh let me worry about getting to an Eastern Conference Finals and I'll go from there. God, this fucking met lose a met mentality. I can't take it. Get me to an Eastern Conference Finals and I'll Because think about it. What did I say before this past season? Okay, I want to read this before I forget.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:55

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:55

Cam Robinson, who works for hockey references, right? Yep, wrote this about Bodine. Cole Bodine is an absolute mutant in the best way.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:06

But uh, but that return feels a little light for Trochek, true value, uh, as reported for three first-round assets at the deadline.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:15

So though he likes Bodine, he felt like he did feel like the return was light, which I have a feeling is what's gonna be the consensus. Um, but he does like him, and I respect his opinion. I'm not gonna the Trochek prospect. I'm not, I cannot, I'm not gonna sit here and shit on because I don't never saw the kid play. I'm gonna hope and pray that he's something. I mean, I guess at that point you just hope he can just play. If he's a third line center, he's a third line center, even though we need top six talent. You take what you can get for a 33-year-old guy, as as Brian said, and and you're gonna move on. Uh I don't like I just don't I the the the the Jersey part of it just is to me is just so unappealing. That's the part of it I don't like. I so you would have rather uh again, I just don't like Jersey as a player. I just well let me ask you. Let me ask you so there's nothing about him that so you would have rather you would you have rathered Utah's first round pick. Yes, I would have rather Utah's first pet round pick and used that and traded it for for a better player. That's what I would have done. Okay. I'm not saying it's not fair. I mean, I'm just I'm just looking at it from what is the what is the ultimate goal here? Is the goal to just make the playoffs? If that's the case, then fine. There is a distinct possibility if everyone hits, I mean, if every guy hits the way we hope they do, well, then there's a distinct possibility this team can make the playoffs. But again, there's also a distinct possibility that you know Marcus Peddersen's gonna be 31. These guys start slowing down, and there's no guarantee Miller's healthy this year. There's no guarantee Divina Jets healthy this year. You have an older club. I mean, you need it, you needed you needed more, but you needed more. That's my point. You needed guys that were gonna be able to help them. I mean, top end players. Granted, those guys weren't there. Dorfe was there. That they they got one. 35 and 37 goals back to back years. He's 25 years old. Like that's a legitimate sniper. I absolutely love him as a player. It's a great trade. It was Drury's probably one of Drury's best moves as a general manager to date. We'll see what happens. He could fall, he could this guy could, you know, whatever. We don't know. He also didn't get burned on the trade. He didn't get burned on the trade. 26th overall pick and a and a protected pick two years from now. Correct. And a third rounder, which was their last of their four third round picks. They had so many third-round picks. Right. So that's not a big deal. Yeah, that wasn't that wasn't the end of the world. My my only thing is is I sick, I said, you still have not replaced Panarin's production. Well, the goals he has, the goals, no, not the assists, and you couldn't score last year. But Perot, but that's the thing, is you're we're all banking on Perot and La Ferniere taking steps forward. Man, that is that is especially Perot, since that's really the position that Perot's stepping into is Panarin's. Correct. So is he gonna put up 70 assists like Panarin? No, that's unrealistic for anyone to think. Can he put up 45? What are realistic numbers for those two guys this year? If realistically, I don't tell me could put La Frenier through the what's a realistic I'm being realistic with you, where I think that there's a chance if he plays on the first power play of the entire season, and that was gonna be my bet for the year with you, is that he would have 70 plus points this year, LaFournier. If he plays on PP1, if he gets full power play time, like he should, like he earned at the end of last season. I think he's gonna put up 70 plus points on the top power play and not La Fournier. Listen, if it wins in games, I don't give a shit. But Sean, again, all you're but it's a different, it's a different role. If they do that, all they're doing is shooting themselves in the foot again. Because La Fernier traded them. La Fournier is gonna play the net front, which is where he played at the end of last season. York Strand doesn't play the net front.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:26

No, no, and I'll tell you right now, our first power play is already.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:30

I'm gonna say this. This is the first time they have a pure shooter in a very, very long time. Like Brassard was a was a pretty was it was a was a shooter. Mika's a pure shooter. Mika passes up passes up the shot a lot. This guy's not passing up a shot. 41 goals in 57 games is not passing up the shot. That was one year. How many times have we seen him because he tried to get tried? He tried to get his best friend the the the range all the time. We've seen him pass up many times, pass up a shot to in the slot to pass it off to the side. Don't don't go there now because you know it's true. This guy is going to shoot the puck. There's no bones about it. He gets it, he's blasted it. Which is even better for Mika because that frees him up on the other side. Goalies can't cheat. Correct. Goalies can't cheat, which they have done for years because of the whole for writing system. Mika's gonna have a career year. That's my that's my I I think he's gonna put up 80 points. Dorafev puts, I mean, he had 80 points last year. Mika. I thought you did he? I thought he had 70 something. Oh shit. Did he have 80 points last year? Oh wow, that's impressive then. I didn't think he had that many. JT Miller being healthy is gonna be. I mean, obviously, Igor be so Igor, Miller, Zaben and Jed. Zaben and Jed's usually always healthy, so I never really worried about him. Fox. Those guys have to stay healthy for this team to be what I think it can be. Like I said, when when we go up and down the metro, and you you tell me Pittsburgh's better, Pittsburgh doesn't have Fox. Eric Carlson's Fox now. Eric Carlson at this age is is Adam Fox. No they don't have Igor. Yeah, they have Crosby and Gino. You give you you still give them their credit. Crosby's still a top 10 center in the league. You know, Gino when he's healthy, is you know, he's pretty he's still productive. I don't think Gino is better than JT Miller at this point in their careers. But you know, obviously Zabanajad is not Sydney Crosby.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:37

What I wanted to ask you was how how bad was the market like that the Rangers would rat bring in Marcus Pederson for five more years?

SPEAKER_02 1:23:53

Like, is is Marcus Petterson is he much better than Mario Ferraro? I know you guys all hate Mario Ferraro.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:02

I'm just I'm but I'm just but now I'm using him as an example. Mario Ferraro's 27, he signed three years at four million.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:10

Right. Is this just a Sullivan like bring bring my guy here? Well, they're totally different types of players. Ferraro's undersized. Yeah, but it's not like Pederson plays big. He does. He's physical, he's very physical. So I guess why he takes penalties because he's gets hit a lot. He's very physical. I saw the metrics on him. He gets hit more than any player in the NHL. Because he puts himself, he puts himself in harm's way. All right, he's not a big one. I mean, honestly, don't pick take off the rose color glass. I'm taking off the rose colored glasses. He's not really like that grade. He wouldn't be my first choice. No, he wouldn't be my 50th choice. But who, but again, that's I think we all got set up wanting Nikeshin, and we all went to bed thinking there's a chance Nikishan's going to be our second pair left-handed defensive. I think that's really what it comes down to. Or that within two years, Gavrakov would slide down to the second D and Nikishan would be you know our top guy. So yeah, did I all did what did all of us think that? Sure. And but once the dust settled on a trade and you realize what they really did, it was swapping Borgan for him. To me, that made them better, and they didn't have to really give anything up to get there. And that to me, that's that's that's a good idea. And now they're saddled with another guy with an old. I'm not, I don't care about saddled. I don't I don't care about saddled. Because it doesn't bother me. Why? How can I the cap is gonna keep going up and up and it's a cap? I'm not worried about five million dollars. He's not good, he's not good. I don't give a shit about the cap. The cap's not the problem. See, the problem is a difference in a cup. Is this guy if this team is not ready? Is this guy gonna help you win a cup in three years? Yes or no? I don't see why he can't. He's gonna be 33, almost 34 years old. Okay, this guy's gonna help you win a cup at that age. Our window, our window to win with Igor is the next three years. So I'm not worried about anything after that. You are confident that this guy and Drizy are gonna be able to help you win a cup in the next three years. That is a second pair. That second pair is a cup contending second pair. Do you think that they can win a cup with those two guys in your second pair? I gotta see it. I gotta see how they play. I don't even know if they're playing together. This is our assumption, six hours after the trade's been made. Mark my words is not it's not what happens. I know. Well, mark my words, La Frenier and Perot are gonna put up good numbers. So mark my words. Mark your words. I'm gonna I'm gonna remember that. You already said La Frenier's putting up 80 points. I said if he plays PP1 all year, he's gonna play I said 70. I didn't say 80, I said 70. 70, 70. Okay, he will put up 70 points if he plays.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:59

I gotta get post-its and put him up on this column. Yeah, of all the bets we have.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:03

You'll look like more of a psychopath than you already are, post-toto, like a serial killer. If I haven't long, he's gonna have news clippings, it's gonna be like uh what is it, a beautiful mind of all the shit on the walls. Lafernier had four points. He's got the news clipping from from you know Tom Rock on the uh newsday clipping. Uh you know what I think it also boils down to. And and Robbie, Robbie, you'll like this one because he says I can play all the time.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:28

I just feel like we've seen this time and time and time again with these guys, they bring in these guys, and they just never work, they just never work, you know, and it's just so frustrating that you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:45

I mean, they they brought in Will Borgan and they've signed him to a five year deal, and and we were both okay with it because, like, well, we said, All right, well, Borgan's gonna be their third pairing defenseman down the road, it's gonna be fine, and within a year and a half, he's gone. And so, I mean, but again, but I understand that, but my point is, is what does this guy know what he's doing? I mean, it it doesn't it doesn't concern you, Sean, at all that we bring in Patrick Nemeth, he's gone in a year. We bring in Will Borgan, he's gone in a year and a half. We bring in this guy, he's gone. We bring in that guy, he's gone. Nobody lasts, nobody stays. Even project was gone in a in a it's a cap league. But look around the league. You don't you don't think that other team you see this with 30 other teams? Signing guys to three and four-year contracts and then they and they're gone within a year and a half. Yeah. A year, wait, a year and a half? Signing a guy to a three-year deal, he's gone. How many years does Bernie Kachuk have left on his deal? He got traded. How many years do Zach Worinsky have left on his deal? They don't want to be there. They don't want to be there. These guys don't want these guys want to be here. Worinsky, no, why didn't that's my other point? They love bringing in these losers from losing organizations. It's just, it's just it's so much fun bringing in these guys. I mean, Marcus Pettison was a lot of people. That's all Florida did. He was on a shit friggin' Pittsburgh team, but those guys were young. They didn't bring in a 31-year-old. Reinhardt was young, Worsling was young, Burhage was young. They all came from shit organizations, but they all were young. Not a 20, not a 31-year-old, not a 29-year-old. That's my point. They bring in these losers, these guys from losing organizations. And I'm not just talking losing in the sense where they're organizations where players don't even want to go. Carolina won a cup. John Carlson still hasn't signed there. He's just won a cup. Miko Ranton didn't want to play there. Kensell didn't want to play there. How many other guys don't want to play in these losing organizations? Guys just people want a cup. These guys still don't want to play there. There are certain places around the league that are desirable and for different reasons. I mean, Zach Worensky turned down Dallas. Talk about a tax-free state for a contender. That's weird. Well, he knows because he knows he knows he needs to go through Minnesota, uh Colorado, and and Vegas to possibly win now. If you just if you just came off back-to-back 80-point seasons, you think of yourself as being why would he want to go to Toronto? I know he's friends with Austin Matthews. So that's why that is that is balls. But that's why. These guys want to go to big cities, big markets. No, people are going the other way. They want to go to fucking Parkland, Florida, Sunrunks, Florida.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:42

That's true.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:43

Well, that's a different story because that because that's the new hot, hot, new hockey, hot head that hot Tampa, Nashville, Vegas. They don't want to go, they don't want to go to big cities. All places where they can hide. That's what you said it the other day. The Russians, they're the only ones who want to come to the big cities, right? Well, they I mean Elliott said it on his thing. He goes, Nikisha would play here. Like there are places he doesn't want to go. Right. So, I mean, maybe maybe he signs a one-year deal, you revisit it next year. I mean, I I just think I just think I don't know what they wanted for Nikisha. That I would love to know what who do they want? Who did they want? They want Perot. I thought they wanted Trojak. I mean, I think they wanted another young player, but I mean, who what is who does Carolina, what does Calorana Carolina need? I mean, they don't have anyone in their farm system. I mean, it did they want Liam Greentree? I mean, did they want EJ? I'm just saying, like, I know they wanted a player, but I mean, the Rangers, they wanted a player from the Rangers. Well, who did you want? You want Schneider? I'm sure they would have made that trade. I mean, I'm sure they would have given up Schneider for him, but did they want Schneider plus plus plus plus plus? I mean, what did they want? That's what I want to know. What did they want? I thought we heard two weeks ago that that they made an offer for Trochek at the deadline and that they were still an offer Nikishan, though. No, but I'm saying that Trochek was a player that they wanted. Well, I know they did, but I heard it. I heard it wasn't I heard it was for picks, it was there were no players involved, right? But if they're set on trading Nikation because Nikeshan is yeah, I know that he wants eight million dollars, then Trochek's a player you wanted. Maybe Trochek has them on there and he's no trade. I mean, I find that hard to believe. I find that hard to believe since he played there and enjoyed himself there. Did he? We don't know that. He didn't re-sign there. That's true. I mean, maybe he doesn't like Brendan more. Maybe. That's true. I didn't think about that.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:31

I mean, I'm not saying it's a it's a fact, but I'm just saying it it I don't know. I mean, I just think that uh yeah, I don't know. But I I think what you see is what's gonna be go what we have going into training camp. I think this is I think pretty much this is where we stay in the stand. I think they'll sign Schneider. I don't know what they're gonna give him. I guess I'm guessing a one-year or two-year deal at five million, five and a half, right? I mean, he I mean, maybe I don't know, I don't really even know now. I wasn't even thinking about Scott.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:10

So it looks like the Rangers have made another signing. Gil Godwin. I know I said that earlier. The cruise director on Out to Sea with Wolton Mathau and uh Jack Lemon. Did you ever see that movie? Yes. Wasn't that his name? Gil Godwin? A two-year deal. That you would know. That I won't know. Yeah. But a uh a two-year deal for Glenn.

SPEAKER_00 1:33:39

I saw that. I saw that earlier. I forgot to say I don't even know. I just I saw Puck Pedia had it first. He had it on the thing. I just saw it someone. What does he even play?

SPEAKER_02 1:33:52

Who does he who does he even play? I don't know. I click on his name and then it it disappears.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:58

I'll look it up.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:01

All right, so here's who's left. Let's let's do this real quick, and then and then I want to get to draft night.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:10

Yeah, so the guys who are left. Let me take RFAs off. Yeah, UFAs. You got Anthony Manta, Patrick Kane, Claude Giroux, Marcus Johansson, Vladimir Tarasanko, Jamie Ben.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:26

Glenn?

SPEAKER_02 1:34:28

Yeah, Glenn Godine, something like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:31

How do you spell the last name?

SPEAKER_02 1:34:33

I I'm on a different page. I've I've already I've already forgotten about him. Ily Tolvin, who was a name that we thought was gonna be someone that the Rangers were were looking at. My good friend and yours, uh Michael Bunting.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:49

Oh boy, he's still out there.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:50

Yep. James Ann Reensdike, Evander Kane, David Turan, Riley Smith. Evander Kane is out there.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:59

Wow. Oh, that was a lot.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:02

I thought Philip Kuroshev signed. No, he did not sign. So Philip Kuroshev is still out there, Oscar Sundquist, Tyson Jost, Adam Henry. So now we're getting into you know really left over scraps of the day. Um but I mean Mantha, you know, 33 goals, 64 points. Patrick Kane, you know, 57 points still, still effective, you know, in a certain role. Ely Tolbanen was a guy that I thought was someone that the Rangers might target. A lot of people actually brought that up. He had 23 goals last year for Seattle, only 12 this year. Um just didn't have as good as the uh uh he's more of assist. So last year was 23 goals, 12 assists. This year was 12 goals, 24 assists. So same, same point total. So 41, 35, and 36 have been his point totals the last three years for the Kraken. You know, uh I don't know if the Rangers take a take a flyer on him for a million bucks, if that's all it's gonna take. He said you you got Jamie Ben out there, but I can't see Jamie Ben going anywhere else. Did you see with um what uh what did what did Andrews Lee sign for? Just curious.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:23

You're still uh three million, three or four million. I'll I'll look it up.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:28

I'll look it up. Boom Jenner signed like a three-year, four and a half million a year deal, didn't he? Something like that. He got money.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:36

Yeah, hold on, let me look that up. Godwin's a 29-year-old. Of course, his name is he's a 29 journeyman. Um, let me look, let me look that one.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:49

Uh so let's talk about draft night.

Who’s Still Available After Day One

SPEAKER_02 1:36:52

So I went to a ranger viewing party in the city for season ticket holders, got to hang out with your friend and mine, uh Billy Flynn. Yes, so it was nice, kept kept me and my wife very entertained for the night. He's hilarious. Billy can Billy can go. Billy can Billy can talk. Oh, I thought Michael Benning signed, but Michael Benning. Oh, keep going. So, and here's the here's the fun part of the night. I forgot my phone at home. That's hilarious, dude. I have no idea how the pig and did that. I would have I would have gone home. I was tempted to. I would have went how you without a phone that night. So my it's an hour before the baby's. So we had to catch a six o'clock train or going to this event made no sense. Like, I was not gonna get there and not see the Rangers pick, you know, fifth overall. Wasn't gonna happen. So my babysitter was gonna be late. So she got to the house at 5 40. Okay, I was so dead set on having my phone at 100% that I had it on the charger. And when the babysitter got there, I grabbed my beer out of the fridge and I ran out of the house and completely forgot my phone on the charger. So, not only did I not get any information on the hour-long train ride into the city, we get there. I'm not getting any information unless it's on TV, which they could give a shit about anything that's going on with the Ranger. So I'm not hearing any rumors. I didn't hear about the Dora Fayev trade until they announced it on television, which was 20 minutes after it was reported on Twitter.

unknown 1:38:27

Right. And uh I was surprised.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:30

Can't hear you. You're too far away from your mic. Oh, sorry.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:32

I uh I I texted you right away, and uh I was like, we need to get back to you. I was like, is it all right?

SPEAKER_02 1:38:39

So I didn't go through the the what you guys all went through, where the trade was announced before the Rangers made their fifth selection, to where I think some of you thought that the Rangers were trading the fifth overall pick to get him. So the Rangers had already picked Albert Smith, and then I find out, you know, two I think it was two picks later, I think it was when the when the seventh pick was made um that they announced the trade. And when you heard, you know, like holy shit, we got Dorfev, and then you find out what it is that they gave up, and it's A, great, I don't have to stay for the rest of this draft. This rest of this draft party, I don't have to sit here and wait till 26. Can uh head out and go get some weeds somewhere else? What the Black Hawk signed Connor Mackey. Uh yeah, I saw that earlier today. Anyway, so that was my uh that was my drift, my draft day experience. But obviously, the Dora Fay of trade is to me excellent. Outstanding trade. Like you said, you think it's the best trade that jury is made. Actually, I've seen one person go, they gave 11 million dollars and 65 points.

SPEAKER_00 1:39:52

I I the the the Kipper and Bourne show kind of put poured a little cold water on it.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:58

If you go back and you listen to them talk about a little bit, that guy scored 12 goals in the playoffs. That guy was a demon the entire playoffs. He was leaned on. You talk about all the stars that are on that Vegas team, right? They all leaned on him to score goals.

Draft Night Stories And The Dorofeyev Trade

SPEAKER_02 1:40:13

He was their go-to. I mean, how many overtime winners did he have in the playoffs? Three. That guy's uh as as the community would say, that guy is a dog. That guy is he goes to the net. He's not the biggest guy, but he goes to the net. He's not a perimeter, yeah. He could score from distance, he is that good of a shot. His one-time on the power play is excellent. He's also not a quote-unquote power play merchant, and I hated that that was something that was mentioned about him because he had 20 power play goals last year. Andres Lee's AAV was 5.4 million for how many years? Three-year deal. 16.2.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:54

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:54

On a on an on a see, like I'd rather have Bjork strand at one year, four and a half than get Andreas Lee or I don't want that.

SPEAKER_00 1:41:01

I don't want that.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:03

So yeah, I don't want that. Um yeah, but getting Dorf A change changes so much about what this team is capable of doing because that's what that would, and that was a big point of contention last year that you made was they let Chris Kreider go. Where were they replacing those 35 goals? Well, now they brought in the guy to replace those 35 goals, and that's gonna be big. That's that's gonna be really big. And now you got to hope that the point production of La Fernier is gonna go up enough, added to what Perot gives you, that's gonna try and offset as much of Panarin as possible. But it's also the team's changing. This is no longer gonna be a team that's gonna try and out that's gonna try and score five goals a night and outscore you. You know, Sullivan plays a defensive first system, they invested heavily into the defense this year. Igor is their best player. They should be winning a lot of three to two games instead of five to four games. You know, they were on a president's trophy, they still weren't great defensively. They had an excellent penalty kill and excellent power play. I still expect the special teams to be very good. Um, all their penalty killers are there. That power play, when you look at the way the power play should be set up with Fox at the top, Miller's gonna be in the bumper. You're gonna have Dorafev and Zaben and Jad is the two fronts with one timers. I think I agree with you 150%. I think their power play is going to be lethal, right? And they're gonna have to, they're gonna need it because I think if someone's hurt, York Strand scored nine power play goals last year.

SPEAKER_00 1:42:40

I think that's gonna be the only way they score both goals this year. I don't either gonna be boom or bust on the power play. I think it's gonna be power play or bust.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:48

But again, we're not trying to play the same offensive style of hockey that we played when Panarin was here. It's a different team, it's going to be a different style. I think they're gonna play. That's it's a great way to live life. Just always, just always wait for the rain cloud on the other side of the on the other side of the mountain. Sean, it always does. That's the that's the safe part. Just wait for the rain cloud. It always does. When it changes, I'll change. Okay.

Draft Picks We Actually Like

SPEAKER_02 1:43:23

So first pick, they select Albert Smith. I think we've beaten that one enough.

SPEAKER_00 1:43:28

Uh every you're not going through every draft pick, are you?

SPEAKER_02 1:43:32

No, no, because there's no player.

SPEAKER_00 1:43:34

I don't think I have it in me.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:36

I don't um the guy that I like. This so the two guys I really want to touch on that we drafted, our second round pick. This guy is his last name is Beth.

SPEAKER_00 1:43:45

Yeah, is that is that how he pronounced his last name? Macbeth?

SPEAKER_02 1:43:48

It's McBeth. Fucking love that. It's not spelled the same way as uh I don't care. It's still a Shakespeare aspect of it that you have to love. Yeah, no one had more ups and downs than William Shakespeare, and it completely shows the way the ranges are. So how much how could you not love that? So Macbeth has been what people would consider to be a late bloomer. He's 6'2, 190 pounds. Uh he's going to University of Denver, I believe, which is North Dakota.

SPEAKER_00 1:44:18

Oh, sorry.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:18

Right. Denver's Matt Carl, the guy that every NHL te wants to sign as their head coach.

SPEAKER_00 1:44:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:24

Nice. All right. So that's where um isn't Denver where uh Lava played? Well, it's Colorado. Colorado is Lava. Denver's Denver Colorado University is where Lava plays. All right. So he's going to play University of Denver under Matt Carl. He was one of the highest risers over the last year. He got his way into the second round. That's a little later than some of the people thought he would go. I haven't seen one person not like list this as one of the best picks in the draft. Including Steve Korianos, who hates all our picks. Loved him. Loved him. So Koryanos loved Macbeth. And he loved the forward we took in the fourth round. Thomas Cherenko. Chorenko, yeah. I heard about him. Chirenko. 5'11, 172 pounds.

SPEAKER_00 1:45:20

Center.

SPEAKER_02 1:45:21

Center. Probably will play wing in the pros. But he's just an app he's a burner speed-wise, great hands, great passing ability, and an absolute cannon, accurate cannon of a shot. Why he fell? I don't know. Maybe he doesn't play any defense whatsoever. Maybe they feel he's too small. Again, it's 5'11, 180 pounds. He's not, you know, he's not 5'9. He's bigger than Vigo Bjork. I know somebody that loved him. Oh, Corneanos had him in the first round. Well, that was him, but I know someone else. Who?

SPEAKER_00 1:45:59

Our other friend who was a big Pavel Dorafev fan. Oh, Stack Boy. Oh, yeah. Pavel Dorafev. He must have mentioned that guy a hundred times.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:07

A thousand times. Him and Drew Way are smiling. They were probably arm in arm doing the dance of joy from perfect strangers. I wouldn't be surprised if Stat Boy's already got a uh Dorothee jersey. Well, now the Trochex gone, he can wear 16 now. You saw that they already had him as 16 on the Rangers website. That's so fucked up. That's so fucked up. So that happens when you let the interns run the run social media for this team. Yep. Terrible. But the the fact that they gave oh, that was my comment today. Um they gave a you know thank you and good luck uh thing on social media today to Connor Sherry. I saw that. I thought that was nuts. Unbelievable. Oh, yeah, I just pulled up. That's nuts. Thank you to Connor Sherry. Insane. All right, anything else you want to uh touch on? Draft Day story. I uh I was like I said, I was very um when I didn't hear from you, and I'm like, I hope he's alive.

SPEAKER_00 1:47:12

And I was like, how is he not answering me back after this? And it was funny because, like you said, like you you had you had your wife text my wife.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:20

Can you have John text me on on my phone so that we could talk? I needed to, I needed to talk to somebody. I would well Billy was there, but I mean Billy. I already asked my wife to do that before Billy came over.

SPEAKER_00 1:47:31

Okay, but uh it was I was not so my drap, my story is my only story. Is this is this is really simple. So my wife puts the girls to bed. I go, Can you put the girls to bed tonight? I really want to watch this. I said they have a very early pick. Um, and uh she's like, All right, she goes, Are we gonna watch because we've been we've been binging Lioness? I don't know if you've seen it, I don't know if you watched it yet. So we've been binging Lioness, and uh, because the new season's coming out in August, I said, let's let's watch it. And she's like, Do you think we're gonna we're gonna be able to watch any episodes tonight? I said, Mike, you deal. I said, the Rangers have the fifth pick and they have the 26th pick.

SPEAKER_02 1:48:12

If they trade the 26th pick, I'll what we can watch it and I'll just follow it from my phone. Right. I don't I don't need to watch it from there. So when the trade went down, I started laughing and because she came out and I said, uh, we can uh we can watch Lioness in about 30 minutes when the Rangers make this pick, their fifth overall pick, and then uh we can watch whatever you want. But uh I was shocked that it was him. Like, see that that's the really the crazy part about this team in general, is that nothing, nothing gets out. Borgan didn't get out. There was nothing about I mean, they must have been negotiating with Vegas for Dora Fea for a while if they have an $11 million contract sitting on the table. I mean, we also heard about Mason McTavish, which I honestly think if they had gotten him and Dora Fayev, I would have been fine with the offseason. I would have been like, all right, good, I'm good. I'm good. I don't need anybody else. Right. I'm I mean, obviously, I you obviously would have needed, I would have got I would have preferred a better left shot defenseman, but from up front, I would be been fine with those two guys. I'd be like, all right, good, we got a 23-year-old and a 25-year-old. You know, they're young, they're hungry, let's go. Um, but obviously that didn't work out.

SPEAKER_00 1:49:33

I I also had heard, I don't know if you saw this, they they talked about this on the draft floor, that Zellwigger was supposed to be part of that St.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:43

Louis uh that uh trade with Anaheim with the Rangers. And when he went to Buffalo, Friedman, then that's when Friedman said that trade kind of fell apart. So I really don't know what they were offering. I don't know if it was Schneider. Someone had said Schneider was going. So that's interest, that's an interesting part of it. If if Zellwigger and McTavish are here, how would you feel if they had Dorf Thav, McTavish, Zellwigger instead of Bjorkstrand, and Paterson? Zellweger or lefty or righty? I think he's a lefty. I mean that would make sense if he was a lefty. I mean, I I mean why Zeldiger I mean he's a don't get me wrong, he is a flashy and like you notice him on the ice. You know, he's got the puck.

SPEAKER_04 1:50:42

He's exhausted the crowds.

SPEAKER_02 1:50:45

He's an exciting, exciting player to watch. I don't know if he died. I mean, obviously, clearly he didn't do it for Anaheim as far as his ability to play defense. And that's why he was moved and he was moved for a second round pick. Um, you know, Buffalo has so many, I mean, Buffalo's a team of trees walking around on defense. So they they can afford to have you know an undersized offensive guy, you know, to partner with uh with one of those giants better out there. So I don't know. I mean, I wanted McTavish. Not gonna lie. I obviously I'd rather have McTavish than Yorkstrand. That's that's a no-brainer.

SPEAKER_00 1:51:30

But you rather so you'd rather have Pederson over Zellwigger?

SPEAKER_02 1:51:35

Yes, for what this team's trying to do, yes. I don't agree with that, but Zellwigger can't play defense. If he's if Zellwigger is essentially a Tony D'Angelo type of player, without without the snarl that this D'Angelo gave you, then how is that getting how is that getting you anywhere?

SPEAKER_00 1:51:53

I mean, I guess if you can't defend, I mean you're making it out to be Marcus Peterson being a freaking you know he's very good.

SPEAKER_02 1:52:00

He's very good defensively.

SPEAKER_00 1:52:01

He's just I don't know every time I see every time I see him, he's freaking has somebody skating past him. But I don't know, maybe I'll be proven wrong, Sean.

SPEAKER_02 1:52:11

I want see this. You don't like them to be you I do. I want to win a cup. I want to win a cup. If this team wins a cup, I will buy, I will sit there and I will applaud every fucking one of them. The odds of them winning, yeah, but the odds of them winning. I didn't like Jay Wells. I hated Jay Wells when they got it. I hated Randy Muller more, but I hated Jay Wells as a player, but they wanted to cup. I'm go, I'm I'm clapping for Jay Wells now. I didn't like Glenn Anderson, I'm clapping for Glenn Anderson. I want to win a cup, that's what it's about. It's all it's about. But did Carolina not just show you that it's more about the team than the sum of the parts, and it's about the opportunity. They're in a weak metro. Carolina. Carolina was not, they were not the best team. They were not. Right, they weren't at all. They weren't even close to the Buffalo. I don't know that.

SPEAKER_00 1:53:05

All things being equal, they're not as good as Carolina, they're not as good as Florida, they're not as good as Tampa. There's three teams. I can't.

SPEAKER_02 1:53:14

I mean, I don't know what you're doing. What makes you say I get that they won the cup? I get that they won the cup, but what makes you say that they're not better than Carolina?

SPEAKER_00 1:53:23

They don't have the they don't have the offensive talent that Carolina has. They're offensively much better than we are.

SPEAKER_02 1:53:32

They had one guy hit 80 points less. They had one guy, one guy hit 80 points less. Not this year. Which is crazy, which is crazy that of all years they win a cup and it was the worst year by far. Um Brandon Bussi is their goalie. They don't have Jordan Stall. I mean, goalie's the only only area where they they they beat out Carolina. And I hate Keandre Miller too, which he's getting so much praise. It's disgusting. It's disgusting. Because he made the same mistakes.

SPEAKER_00 1:54:03

I know. Yeah. It doesn't matter. I hated that he won. I wanted Vegas to win so bad. I would have rather seen Brett Howard win two cups than Keandre Miller win one.

SPEAKER_02 1:54:14

But they're league with Sebastian. I gotta hear him on the ice. People doubted me. Shut the fuck up. You won a cup, just let it go, asshole. Freaking doing shit like that. You once won a championship. You're talking about what happened last year. You stunk. You stunk. You stunk.

SPEAKER_00 1:54:32

And I'm supposed to feel sorry for you for because you got traded.

SPEAKER_02 1:54:35

Sebastian Aho, Sebastian Aho led that team in scoring last year with 80 points. I not sitting there with a hundred-point guy. No, they had one guy hit 80.

SPEAKER_00 1:54:44

How many guys we had one guy hit 80?

SPEAKER_02 1:54:46

That's it. Well, they had, I guess all the guys just kind of came together last year. I don't know. It's just I it's it's taking advantage of a weak division and a weak path, just like Vegas did. Vegas wasn't the best team in the West. No, they took advantage of teams that were that were beaten up. So then Colorado would beat up. So then what's wrong with that?

SPEAKER_00 1:55:05

I like I said, I still don't think that they're as good. I still don't think I listen. I don't know. We'll see what happens. Let's play. I listen, Sean. If they start out next year in the in the first of the metro, I'd be more than happy to tell you I was wrong. I was wrong about Troch himself. I was, I was. He was better than Strome. I said he wasn't as good as Strome, or he was equal to Strom.

SPEAKER_02 1:55:29

Ryan Strom's replacement is what you call it.

SPEAKER_00 1:55:31

He was in that he was Ryan Strom's replacement. That's that's a fair that's truth. That's truth.

SPEAKER_02 1:55:37

But he was an upgrade.

SPEAKER_00 1:55:42

Ryan Strom's upgrade. We can call him that now it makes you feel better.

SPEAKER_02 1:55:46

Uh but I mean, in in the grand scheme of things, they he got just as far with Trochek as they did with Strome. Didn't take him any further. Well, they won a president's trophy, and he was a bigger part of the reason than Strom was.

SPEAKER_00 1:55:57

What I will say though is you know, Panarin had a career year.

SPEAKER_02 1:56:01

I mean, a hundred and twenty-point season is you know it's what you paid him for, and yeah, and both Lafreniere and Trochek benefit from it. And if Dora Fayev scores 50 goals, what would we say? It's what it's what we're paying him for. We're paying him to score goals. No, that's exactly what he is. And and if he puts up 90 points. You know, needs to have the puck, needs to get the puck. Means someone needs to get the puck. Let me rephrase that. I apologize. I just hope which is why I'd rather him play with Miller than Zabenajad. We'll see. And they may, he may, he may. I liked seeing the two kids play with Zabenajad because Zabenajad's a finisher and those two kids can pass. I I Miller passes. Miller's a excellent. I don't know what. See, that's the my problem with Sean with with La Frenier is I'd really he doesn't do either well. He does he does either. I get it the lesson. He doesn't do anything exceptional, he does things well, he doesn't do anything exceptional. Can you I mean would you disagree with that? You think La Frenier does something exceptional? Yes, what do you do exceptional? He doesn't skate exceptional. Excellent. He's actually a very good skater, he's not overly fast. Excellent skater. Body control with the puck, he's excellent. Yes. Okay. He makes guys miss. When he has the puck, he makes guys miss. That tells you he's a good skater. Okay, does he not dangle through people? We'll see what happens. I don't answer the question. Does he not dangle through people? No, he did. I mean, he dangled through against well, against against I'm not talking about the one play against Detroit. He did that five, he did that five times this year. That same move. Scored on three of them. I don't remember. You didn't watch the games. You admitted you didn't watch a lot of the games on the stretch games. All right, so I did. I wanted them to lose. So how can I watch games I wanted them to lose? I'm not I'm not arguing that aspect. I'm saying that I saw it, and I saw it at the NHL level against teams fighting for playoff spots.

SPEAKER_00 1:58:06

So there's nothing, there's nothing easier to do to play hockey and play any game when there's nothing to play for.

SPEAKER_02 1:58:13

I don't think there's ever an easy time to play at Madison Square Garden, regardless of what the stakes are. We considering, I think to be fair, I would say most of the fans there were either there because someone gave them tickets, so they didn't care. So real fans were there. No, that's the difference, that's opposite. I don't know. Real fans who normally couldn't afford tickets.

SPEAKER_00 1:58:32

The passionate fans wanted them to lose those buildings.

SPEAKER_02 1:58:35

I'm telling you, I went to I went to three games down the stretch. I went to more games down the stretch in those last 20 games than I went to before that. Yeah, I got it. The place was loud, and it was loud because again, like you said, people didn't want to go, gave their tickets away to people who wanted to be there. And those people went nuts. It's called saying it how it was. Of course, we're gonna see how it is. Of course. But if we're not going on the back of the hockey cards for some guys, we're not going on the back of the hockey cards for other guys. No, you're right. I um I'm going to hopefully feel better about everything tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 1:59:18

Like I like I did after after I had a I had a night to think about Brady, when Brady didn't sign here. Um, you know, uh tomorrow, after I had a night's sleep to think about it, maybe I'll feel differently. I don't think this team is a cup team. I don't think they're I think they're a borderline playoff team now. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel differently. I don't know. Right now, right now, I just think it's a lot, I think it's a lot of disappointment because I thought that possibly that we were going to get a bigger fish than what we're doing.

SPEAKER_02 1:59:56

A bigger second fish to go with Dorf. I think I I just thought that you know hearing what we heard and everything that is, to to to walk away with what we walked away with is just it's just not it's not impressive. It's just not it's not sexy. I mean, maybe that's my problem. I I don't I don't view the guys they got today as long-term solutions, they are band-aids, for for lack of a better expression. They're they're they're stopgap people that I don't see here playing a major role for this team. But what's wrong with that? What's wrong? Put it to you this way Perot, I mean, you go down the list of guys who are on this team that are gonna be here for a long time. You hope whether it's La Fernier, Cooley, Perot, um, maybe a cartier, he's 24 years old. You know, maybe he's maybe he's a piece, maybe he's yes, the yes for Foss that's gonna be here for 10 years. Who knows? Yeah, which when you you know, you you put the Millers and Zabana Jads and those guys to the side, even Fox, who's now 28 years old, you kind of put him to the side, and you really start to think about all the young kids that they have brought in, you know, whether it's Green Tree, it's uh Bodine, uh the Draft Smiths, you know, uh McBeth, you start to really think Fortescue. You start to think of all those names. Isn't it doesn't it have value of them coming into a situation where a team's winning games, a team's going to the playoffs, a team's getting experience? Oh, absolutely, as opposed to them doing another bottom five season next year, and just you just playing out the string, waiting for the lottery, playing games that you consider to be meaningless, and whatever they do doesn't mean shit anyway. At least at least next year, they have players if they do were to bottom out and not play well, they have guys they could bring up that you will at least be able to look at to say, okay, well, we'll bring up a green tree, we'll bring up a bodine, we'll bring up a four to skew, we'll get to see like we did. That would that was the one nice part about last season. We got to see Cartier play, we got to see Fordeskew play, we got to see some of these younger players in those are the guys I'm looking at, the guys that are fresh that are that are new to the team, that are fresh into the team, that haven't experienced anything. Like, how did how did they play? Because they're they're playing for for um, you know, they're they're I'm trying to think of the wording I want to use. They're playing for for a future for this team. Where these other guys that have already been here, they've they've already been here, have been experienced. Perrot and Lafayette weren't they already experienced Perot Perot, maybe. I can't say Lafreniere because he had all year Perot came up, but it's a different role. But when a guy plays a completely think of a goaltender where a guy's been a backup his whole career, and then he's finally getting the chance to play as the number one. You're telling me that just because the games are now meaningless, that that him getting his shot as a number one goalie is not gonna be

Lafreniere Pressure And Final Takeaways

SPEAKER_02 2:03:04

great, right? But that's my point. Laferniere went from being sec a secondary player to really being like the alpha to being the guy. He played the most minutes, he played in every you know, he played in every offensive situation.

SPEAKER_00 2:03:19

All right, Sean, but you do realize though, now this is it.

SPEAKER_02 2:03:23

The excuses are over. Well, there's no one blocking him. This is his it's his role. Excuses are over, yeah. So this is I don't want to hear anything else. Oh, wait, I don't hear about that. Oh, no, but fame took his job now. Oh, yeah, he's playing. Now he's getting all the play. It's always been an always been an excuse for this guy. Oh copper's got run over by a truck. They he never got a pass for nothing. They railroaded the guy. But he's this guy has gotten a pass left and right. Oh, he's being blocked, he's doing this, he's not playing here, he's not playing there. He's getting up, he's gotten a pass the entire time he's been all any all anyone has ever said is that he never got power play time. Did Copper get not playing power play time? He sucks. Did he? But we do we know that? But he sucks, yes. He's playing in Seattle for two years now and he still sucks. So you're gonna base La Frenier off of a season where he hung on the coattails of Panarin. One, and two, you're basing it off of 20 games when they were eliminated last season. That's what you're basing your career here. I saw a complete change in how he played hockey. He went to the net, which he never did in five years. Why? His role changed when they went to the net with Panarin. He didn't, for whatever reason he did. Now he did. So what does it matter what the why is? Panarin's fault. Panarin's fault. I didn't blame Panarin. If Panarin's on your team, he should have the puck 90% of the time. But you're saying he crashed the net, he couldn't crash the net with Panarin. I'm saying that he for whatever reason he came back from the Olympic break and went to the net. And wouldn't you know he's fucking deflecting pucks into the net left and right.

SPEAKER_01 2:04:57

I hope you're wrong.

SPEAKER_02 2:04:58

I hope you're right. I hope you're right. I do. Now if he shies, if he shies away from the middle, because quote unquote the pressure's on, because the games count, then all right, I'll agree with you. And yes, this is this is a makeup, this is it. This is this is because he's 20, he's gonna be 25. And he has no draft, he has draft his draft protection. This is his last year with no draft protection. And the Rangers have to be able to move him wherever wherever they want. So this is it. This is it. It's make or break. If he and again, uh I would have traded him when he was here. If he flops, if he falls, you're not getting this market, you're getting back, you're going back down what it was before. It's a very, very difficult decision. And if he's an 80, and if he's a 70-point wing, making $7 million a year, yep, then then then it's a win. It's a huge win. And it's a win. And he's your guy. And he's your guy. That matters too. And I'll tell you what, you know why things matter like that? I'm watching the Mets right now with a $350 million payroll, and I can't name five guys on the team.

SPEAKER_00 2:06:14

It's enjoyable. That's because you have a GM who who uh thinks small. It's another GM that thinks small.

SPEAKER_02 2:06:21

If it wasn't for Colin, you wouldn't have Soto either. But that's my point, is you know, Alonzo Alonso's gone, Nimo's gone. All these all these guys that I that I love watching play baseball are gone. So I got nothing to watch. I have no interest in watching it. They lost five straight. No, I'm saying it's not it's not even wins and losses. I I have no connection to anybody on the team anymore. Lafreniere being our guy matters. See, I don't care about that. I know you don't. I've seen too many young players come here and fail. I love Crider. Crider was my guy, right? Same. But Crider from day one gave me something to stamp and cheer about. Lafreniere hasn't. So it takes me once once you've kind of lost me, it takes it's gonna, it may never come back. I may never like him. I didn't like Derek Stefan for the longest time. He lost me. Cryder came onto a team that couldn't score goals. And what did he do? Score goals, single-handedly carried them to the Eastern Conference Finals as a college player playing in a first place. That is a that is what a money player is. LaFronier is not a money player, that's the problem. And that's why that's why I'm not a fan, and that's why that's why they like Derek Stefan. There's a lot of guys wide, they were good in the regular season, they had their moments, but I want a guy that when the chips are on the table, he wants the puck, and he's the man. He was our best forward against Florida in the Eastern Conference Finals, but that's you know that's because they had two guys on Panarin. Well, well, that that makes a difference. Something's gotta matter. We could do another half hour on this, and we're not gonna so yes. This was fun though. Yep. If uh what do you want to do? Are we done now? Are we at cottage after this? Or we do one more? Unless unless something happens, I think we're we're at the cottage. I'm on the boat, the boat's my cottage. Um, but don't get me wrong, if you know something happens.

SPEAKER_00 2:08:19

Drury Drury last year um spoke to the media the night, because he signed Gabrika and Radish day one, he spoke to the media that night. So he has not addressed the media that I know of. So it either means he's something else is going on or all this stuff ended so late that he couldn't do a press conference, so he might he might do it tomorrow. So we'll see what happens. If something else happens, one of us will jump on if we both can't and kind of go from there. All righty. Thanks for a lot, guys. Thank you. Later, later. Oh man.