Offside with Hawes and Maguire
Offside: with Hawes and Maguire is not your typical hockey show. This weekly
45-60 minute show is a potent combination of humour and genuine hockey insights that pushes the envelope.
- Liam is renowned for his photographic memory, lively storytelling, vast hockey knowledge and sometimes over-the-top passion for the game of hockey.
- Chris is known for his unrehearsed humour, contagious laughter and uncanny ability to make even the most serious debates end in boisterous guffaws.
Between the two, there is an infectious enthusiasm and professional chemistry that is evident from the outset. It can only be described as lightning in a bottle.
Offside with Hawes and Maguire
Politics: Anthem Debates, 4 Nations Hockey Thrills, and Happy Birthday to Phil Esposito!
What if the worlds of politics and sports are more intertwined than we think? On this special 4 Nations edition of Offside with Hawes and Maguire, we kick things off by challenging conventional norms with a spirited debate over the political undertones in sports. We tackle the touchy subject of booing national anthems and the complex impact of political figures like Donald Trump on international relations. As we explore the controversial exclusion of Russia from sporting events, we blend humour and serious insights to explore the broader implications of nationalism and sportsmanship.
With the Four Nations tournament on the horizon, anticipation runs high, especially when it comes to Team Canada's performance. We've got a lively discussion lined up, dissecting Canada's roster strengths and potential pitfalls, with a spotlight on the forward lineup and the hotly debated goaltending situation. We even share our own adventures of catching hockey games while on the road. Speculation is rife about the viewership potential of a Canada-United States showdown, and we couldn't be more excited about the young talent emerging, including promising stars like Landon Dupont and Schultz.
As we wrap up, we shift gears to a more personal note with plans to catch up with the legendary Phil Esposito. We're buzzing with excitement at the prospect of connecting over a meal during a golf tournament in Tampa, reminiscing about past hospitality, and extending heartfelt birthday wishes to Espo. With a blend of camaraderie, appreciation, and a touch of nostalgia, we sign off, leaving you with a passionate exploration of hockey, politics, and international sportsmanship. Join us for a ride that's as unpredictable and thrilling as the games themselves!
it's offside with haas and mcguire. Hey, it's offside with haas, mcguire. I'm haas, I'm mcguire. All right, welcome to our. This is our special show. Yeah, this a specialty show dedicated to the Four Nations tournament. Okay, huge tourney, it is a huge tournament. And which Four Nations are they? Well, first of all, there's Finland, yes, right, yes, okay. Where the Finns come from, that's where they, it's the Fin, and land Right. There's the Swede land, right, okay. Or Sweden, yeah, right. So the Swedes are from there.
Speaker 2:Interesting start to the show, all right.
Speaker 1:Then there's Canada, yeah, okay, where the Cans are from, okay.
Speaker 2:Or.
Speaker 1:Canada, whatever you know. And then there's the fuckers in the United States.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Okay, and so we're going to start with. I wasn't at a game recently, but I would have booed the US anthem myself and I know that you know this. It's a very controversial thing, okay. But what bothers me is, you know the oh, if you see something, say something. You got a guy who wants to fucking take over our country. He wants to do all these things to us. The last time a guy wanted to do that, it was called the Anschluss and it was the fucking 1930s, and he ended up having like a really weird mustache going Okay and a hair slicked over. I mean, okay, donald Trump looks different?
Speaker 2:Was it René Lévesque?
Speaker 1:Yeah, Exactly, it was René Levesque, Le Parti Québécois. No, you know what? And I was down in the US and I've been inundated with this 51st state. Everybody's going so well, pretty soon you'll be the 51st state and I say not a fucking chance.
Speaker 2:Of course not. It's all a joke. Oh no, no, it's not a joke. He's serious. No, he's fucking serious.
Speaker 1:No, he's not, he is. No, no, he absolutely is, and they think it's great, they go. Well, why wouldn't you want to join us? And so I told him. I said you want canada. I said, first of all, it's not one one state okay. There's 13 territories and provinces, okay. So it's 13, okay, and there's approximately 40 million people, most of whom identify as democrats. So if you want to add 40 million new democrats to your country, they oh, oh well, geez, I don't want to do that. Yeah, it shuts them up all the time.
Speaker 2:Well, how many electoral votes would we get anyway? So well, no you get?
Speaker 1:you get two senators for every state, now, the electoral college being a little bit. Two senators for every state, now the Electoral College being a little bit different Two senators for every state.
Speaker 2:We'd be one state though.
Speaker 1:No, we wouldn't, We'd be 13.
Speaker 2:No, no, that's not what Trump said.
Speaker 1:Yeah but he doesn't get to make a meeting. No, nobody does. We're all these different jurisdictions, because it was a joke.
Speaker 2:It's not a joke years, even once considered.
Speaker 1:In my opinion, are you a trumper? No, you're a trump.
Speaker 2:No, I'm not, you are. No, I'm not. You got the hair, thank you. No, never for once did I take it, uh, with one grain well, initially I thought you know, but not initially not on the back end no, he said the end. I don't care what he said to me, chris, it never mattered one thing and certainly would never have driven me to want to go to a sporting event and boo the anthem well, and you know what you're.
Speaker 1:You're probably a nicer guy than I. I. It pisses me off and listen my wife and my two kids are both american. Okay, they're u citizens, yeah, and you know what and and and and. I know so many people who are like upset that he has crossed that line. Yeah, it's not even something like first of all.
Speaker 2:We had this before we had it happen in Montreal.
Speaker 2:It's happened well, oh, the booing yeah, the booing yeah we've had it over the past couple of decades and and uh, you know, I I had an issue with a group of people in behind at montreal and I was with my then very young son, rory was only nine or ten at the time. I gave him my keys, which he would not been able to use the drive, but I figured in the ensuing fight that's about to happen, I will pop, probably lose these, and I had my aunt's address written down. I said you go to the closest police officer after I get dragged out of here. Go find a cop and tell them what happened.
Speaker 2:I told the people behind me if you boo the american national anthem, I'm gonna fucking hit you yeah yeah, because that's not the venue to show any bipartisan toward what you think is happening politically in the world, when an anthem doesn't represent that.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, but okay. So if that's the case, then why the fuck isn't Russia in the tournament? If we're doing that like talk about hypocrisy, they don't allow the Russians in because of Putin. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, very hypocritical, right, very hypocritical.
Speaker 1:And I'm not pro-Russian.
Speaker 2:Not in the sense of the tournament, but the unbelievable effusive prose that's been praised, piled on. Ovechkin, who's a noted Putin supporter, is so hypocritical when we will not let the Russians and now, now it's been extended, they're now already officially out of not being able to participate in either the world juniors or the olympics, or any other, or the world so you're penalizing kids you're penalizing kids for the political stuff that's going on there's absolutely, totally agree with you, but I just I you know my views of the national anthems I take a little bit different, obviously, than you do.
Speaker 1:Well, no, no, listen. I respect the national anthem and I believe it. However, how do you send a message Like, listen, I'm not you?
Speaker 2:think booning a sporting event?
Speaker 1:Well, fuck they're calling death to Canada in the streets, these fucking Hamas supporters. In our own country we're having protests.
Speaker 2:How the hell did you get there from the National Anthem?
Speaker 1:No, I'm just saying people disrespect so many things.
Speaker 2:Well, we go down there and take care of that.
Speaker 1:But articulating your displeasure in a vocal way and, yes, using sport as the conduit to a message by saying, hey, we are unhappy with this. Well, we differ there. Well, I believe in the right to express yourself, but, that being said, I would much rather it not be the case, but again, I wanted to bring it up and talk about it because, we're heading into a very nationalistic tournament. It should be in a very short period of time yeah, it could be.
Speaker 1:Could be within days that we have this tournament. Okay, yeah, you know so so yeah okay, so so we're going to start here with this. It's a big thing. Now you probably prepared some thoughts on this tournament. I'd like to ask you first of all, what is your number one prediction? First of all prediction.
Speaker 2:I predict Canada will win. I think we'll win. However, I'm saying that mostly. I do think we have the best group of forwards, so I like our chances to score better than anybody else. Uh, our goaltending has been absolutely thrown under the bus by anybody, and everybody who can make a comment has absolutely belittled our goaltender to no end. We're apparently got the worst goaltending in the history of hockey about to take part in this tournament, so we'll see how that performs, I think we'll be okay.
Speaker 1:Is it the guy from Thursday Night Hockey in?
Speaker 2:Manitou. I don't know. They've got Bob Yermuth-Storton coming back or something. I don't know who's playing. I mean, I think Aiden Hill will carry the mail at the end of the day, but if not, you've got Binnington 2019 cup, you've got Aiden Hill 2023 cup and you've got Montebeau. Should be Logan Thompson in three, but it is what it is. The third guy should not see the ice anyway, regardless of who he is, and you've just got to save the savables.
Speaker 2:I like our decor, led by Cale McCarr and Taves. They're saying well, there isn't a lot of international experience with these guys Josh Morrissey and guys like that. Okay, well, you know what? Connor Hellebuck, who's been anointed as the next thing since Terry Sawchuck, is nine and 28 in the playoffs since 2018. His goals against average is 3.13 and his save percentage is 903 or 904 or something, and everyone's talking like he's Terry Sawchuck 2.0. So, at the end of the day, I like Canada's chances, chris, but it's a made-for-TV event and I know I've recently been with a ton of local auto media people and they were asking me. Everybody's saying it's not really on their radar and I go we don't really have a choice. There's no other hockey. The NHL is shut down and you know unless you're going to watch local which there is a lot of great local stuff going on. But I mean, you know what I mean. Yeah, in terms of on TV, what really garners our interest Is it going to be covered Because I well, yeah, it's massively covered.
Speaker 2:No, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I I fly home right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So you know, you know there's not a lot of access here and there.
Speaker 2:Well, you're saying cause you're going to be in states or something right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, but uh, but uh. I mean, every time I turn, I can't. I. How do you say that? What's the past tense of fly, whatever, that is Okay, you flew Avion, anyway. So I arrive in Toronto, let's just change that, okay. And I've got a layover and it's Saturday night. Fuck, great, right, perfect. I can't get them to fucking put on the Sens game, all the TVs. Yeah, on the Leafs-Vancouver game.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's frustrating. That would drive me crazy too. They can't even find one screen, one screen.
Speaker 1:One screen oh no, no no, we can't do that. So are you like? You know what I mean? Yeah, and I just and so, and then down in Arizona, you know I get, I've got the prime right, so I get a game a week and then I have trying to do it. Evan's got the NHL package but I can't be over at his house all the time right why? Not, yeah well.
Speaker 2:I used to go to Hammer's place on the River Road when his parents got a satellite dish in the mid-1980s and I would just phone over and eventually I didn't even care if Danny was home. I would talk to his parents, mr and Mrs Kelly, and say, well, yeah, liam, come ahead over, we'll put the Montreal game on for you. And it got to the point where Mrs Kelly got lovers and said why don't you come over earlier, liam, and join us for supper? I said okay, so I'd have supper there. I'd dutifully walk in with my 24 Molson X, I'd sit down, have five or six pints and supper, then go sit down with with young Mike and and watch the game. So you should be able to do that with your son, no problem, if need be?
Speaker 1:yeah, I know, but but my point is is that that it frustrated me? I came all the way home to Canada and I couldn't even and it still couldn't catch a freaking Senators game.
Speaker 2:That would drive crazy, and I've had it happen. There's been times. Now, thank God with the phones, you can watch on your phone. If you want to, you can dial it up. But it is frustrating going to a bar. You can't get something on, and I've had to do that Even here in Ottawa. Believe it or not, you go around, you're trying to get some different sporting events on, not Liam McGuire's are much more attentive to these types of things.
Speaker 2:You need a game here and a game there and a game there. You get it when you go down to another sports bar shall remain nameless, but just to no no, tell me what's the name no I don't want to say it.
Speaker 1:What's the name? No, I don't want to say it. Okay, where's it located? It?
Speaker 2:doesn't matter Where's it located In a game on here, a game on there, and it was a struggle. It was a struggle to do, and so it's just different. Having said that, this tournament, I think, will start slowly, but it has potential to finish strong. If you end up, say, for example, with Canada-United States final, I think their ratings would be pretty big. They do play each other, depending on when this airs.
Speaker 1:They play right off the top, don't they? No, they don't actually. It's.
Speaker 2:Canada's second game. Oh, second game, right so we play the Americans on Saturday night the 15th, we open against the Swedes on Wednesday, the 12th, and then we play the Finns on Monday, the 17th. Then, chris, it's the top two teams out of the four meeting a one game shot. It's a made for tv thing. It spreads out basically over two weeks, although it's the 12th to 20th the games. So eight days, we got two days ahead. Two days after there's another 12 in the weekend weekend that you get two weeks.
Speaker 1:So it uh so my question is is how many guys who aren't in this tournament are going to come back?
Speaker 2:Tanned.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The majority. Well tanned, Tanned.
Speaker 1:And you know, with liver issues.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I was talking to Ian Mendez on the weekend, who now is working in the media relations for the centers Okay. For the centers, yeah, and the Sens, of course, have been on the Florida trip. They had the unusual list of the schedule with back-to-back home games in Tampa followed by a home game in Miami to play the Panthers.
Speaker 1:And that didn't go well.
Speaker 2:No, it did not. No, the Sens lost all three but didn't lose any ground in the standings, so they're still in the playoffs. Because the Atlantic has all of a sudden really started crapping the bed in behind. Nobody in behind has really made it. You know, nobody in behind is really made. Columbus and detroit are right there and everybody else has just slipped back. But having said that, ian said that on the plane back from florida after the game against florida said we'd be lucky, we have nine guys, like everybody was just stayed just getting out of town like they're just staying in florida or they're going even wherever you know barbados
Speaker 2:bahamas, uh, other parts of warmer climates and and more festive uh locales. So you know Barbados, bahamas, other parts of warmer climates and more festive locales. So you know. I just think that we were, of course we were talking about the tournament. I said, look, all it's going to take is Brady or Matthew to throw one big hit in one of their games and that's going to wake up the other team. And I think this thing has potential, like it'll. It'll go in so far as the players want it to go right.
Speaker 2:If, if they say, if they go out, if you and I went out and said, hey, we're gonna go hard on this shift and go in the corner and throw a big hit, work the puck down low, get it out front, bang home a goal and really celebrate, you not think the other team's gonna say, hey, holy shit, boys, you know, yeah, they're into it and I think that's what's gonna happen here. So one guy said, well, it's gonna be a glorified all-star game. You know it's gonna be an all-star game on steroids or something. I said I don't think so. I think it's gonna be more than that. I really do. But you look at the least with matthews, marner and nylander, right?
Speaker 2:you got the captain of the americans got marner, who's gonna be on, at least if our first, if not our second line? And and Nylander's going to be on the first line for the Swedes and they're supposed to go right from this in the throes of jockeying for position in the Atlantic. And now they're playing against each other. And what? Nylander's going to take Marner in the boards and really give it to him. No, there's no way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because you know what. You know what. That's what the NHL was worried about with the Olympics, right, yeah, and the injuries that can happen, and all that because you're playing.
Speaker 2:Look at the guys who are out already. Yeah, Quinn Hughes out. Petrangelo out, Markstrom out the goaltender, Swedish goaltender Down the line. There's a half dozen guys that are out already. Petrangelo's playing and is opting not to play in the four nations. Right, Well, Not to play in the four nations.
Speaker 1:Right? Well, because you've got to recuperate.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, this just goes to show it's where it's at Like, in the 2016 World Cup, we had three or four guys that didn't play that maybe could have. You know it's Jeff Carter didn't play, tyler Sege, jamie Benn they were all out and we replaced them. Anyways, it doesn't matter, we rolled, we went undefeated, as we typically do. We typically win these.
Speaker 1:Well, you know what I would really like to see us do? Well, I'd like to reassert some dominance, right?
Speaker 2:Well, we've had it in the top scene.
Speaker 1:Wow, we haven't had a chance to play we haven't, but we haven't seen it in the last few years in the juniors. Well, but we haven't seen it in the last few years in the juniors. Well, two years, yeah, well yeah, but then we had an off year and then we lost again. So out of the last five years, five years we lost four times. We won once.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:No, we didn't win. If you don't.
Speaker 2:No, that's not right. I don't want to sound like.
Speaker 1:Ricky Bobby but, you're either first or you're a loser. No, we lost, obviously. Didn't medal in 25, didn't medal in 24, won gold in 23.
Speaker 2:And Americans won in 22.
Speaker 1:Won a medal in 22.
Speaker 2:Gold in 21 and gold in 20. So in the last six years we've won three times.
Speaker 1:Not one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we've won gold three times in the World Juniors in the last six years. I don't know.
Speaker 1:I think you may. I'm not here.
Speaker 2:I'm arguing with your stats. No, I'm telling you straight up, that's what it is. I thought we won in 20 and 21 and 23.
Speaker 1:So okay, but out of the last four, the Americans have won three. No, I don't think so. One, two, three.
Speaker 2:Well, two in a row.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right, the last four.
Speaker 2:They won three and we won three out of the last six. Yeah, and our best teenagers are in the NHL.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm just saying. I want to piss on some trees. I want Canada to have some dominance in something.
Speaker 2:We won both editions of the U18. Last year we won gold and silver in the U17. We haven't done that since 2009.
Speaker 1:The women just beat the ladies. I'm going to criticize those tournaments because they didn't have the Russians, doesn't?
Speaker 2:matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter in the Alenka, because we pounded the Russians there for decades. When we have our best, absolutely best available and in the U-17, they break us into three.
Speaker 1:By the way, is the Olenka tournament like the Olenka tournament or whatever? Is that the Olenka-Gretzky tournament? Yeah, they've changed it right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they added Wayne's name to it about 10 years ago or so, so we've competed in that 32 times times. The Russians have competed in it 30, 29 times, 30 times, and we have 25 goals in 32 years.
Speaker 1:You know what? What have they done for you lately is what I'm saying? Well, they won gold in the last one. Well that tournament. So the one that you want to. I want to win this fucking tournament.
Speaker 2:I want to do it and you know what I want. It's got no bearing on the World Juniors at all, and you know what this is a made for TV one shot event when they hoist that cup of whatever it is?
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, hopefully it's like Canadian aluminum or steel product.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Okay, yeah, and they hoist it up?
Speaker 1:Okay, I want to. Are we almost Not close? Okay, yeah. So they hoisted up? Okay, I want to. Are we almost we're not close? Okay, yeah. So, yeah, I want to see that happen for Canada, draped in a Canadian tariff and go from there.
Speaker 2:Well, the only thing that would upset me is if we didn't get a win at all. If we get a win and we lose one in overtime and a loss and we don't make the final, I'll certainly be upset. But I am not going to hang any Canadian flag upside down because of the loss of the four nations. Oh no, we would never do that. You don't do that. I mean that just as a description, obviously.
Speaker 2:But this isn't going to be the Olympics in 2026. Or it isn't going to be the 2027 World Cup, which will have seven or eight teams, all depending on if they ever rectify the Russian situation. But the Olympics will have 12 teams, the World Cup will have eight. We've got four. It's a made-for-TV event. I want Canada to win. I think we'll win, providing we're competitive, providing we're competitive when we're right in the games. Let's see how they play out. Anything can happen in these one-game shots and I don't think it'll be anything against us if we're unable to gel.
Speaker 2:Quick is not to say the states of Finland, but if the states are dominant and they roll, then yeah, then I think you know you gotta look.
Speaker 2:You gotta look at some things, because they've obviously done very well the last two world World Juniors and they've been coming, you know, for a decade or so. But, as I just said, our kids that are coming up, these Landon Duponts and the Schultz kid from Alberta coming in, the next wave of youth, canadian youth, they are so freaking good, duponts, Cale McCarr 2.0. Schultz is just an absolute beast of a power forward already as a young boy. And you know, I mean Celebrini is going to win the Calder. I believe he is so freaking scary good, I mean him. Bedard and Benson were all in the NHL and Schaefer got hurt in the first game against Finland. And you take them out of our Canadian lineup and it just, it's just devastating. You know, when you don't have we didn't have the depth to uh, to get by the checks again, goal at 39 seconds to go on a brutal power play call, and it is what it is.
Speaker 2:Stage one give them credit, jesus, I've been told it is what it, and I have been told I do resemble grapes at times is what I say, but I say it much more articulately, I think. But having said that, I thought he was pretty articulate.
Speaker 1:I always liked that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you thought he could.
Speaker 1:No, I thought you know what I thought. He came across very well, Because being articulate isn't using flowery words.
Speaker 2:No, it isn't, but it's being able to complete sentences and things of that nature, and I think he struggled with that towards the end, but he was much older than a lot of guys.
Speaker 1:He just had his 91st birthday. 91. 91 years old.
Speaker 2:Which, by the way, speaking of which, but when he left talking in Canada.
Speaker 1:That's it, buddy, you kind of have to, okay, yeah no, no, that's it One thing we're going to do before we do this. Yeah, I would like, I suppose, okay, yeah, so on, I think it's February 20th, because this will become.
Speaker 2:February 20th is a gold medal for the four nations?
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, but it's also, is it not Espo's birthday? Yes, it is Okay. So. So I want now I, you know, I mean Espo is both American and Canadian and he's proud of both. But I would just like to wish him a happy birthday. Yeah, okay, because this is probably we won't have another episode before that, so I mean we might, who knows, but the point is I wanted to wish Phil Esposito a happy birthday.
Speaker 2:Well, you were talking about international hockey, the greatest 20 minutes ever played in the history of the sport, third period, game 872. And I want to wish Espo, my long time dear friend, a very happy birthday as well. We're going to get him.
Speaker 1:This Is that what we're going to do. Yeah, no, no, we'll make sure he gets this. I'm going to call him when I go down. Okay, perfect.
Speaker 2:Do it man, go and meet him. Yeah, meet him. Yeah, we'll meet him at the restaurant.
Speaker 1:I'm in a golf tournament in Tampa, perfect. So there you go, you're right there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he was so gracious to us last January and gave us just an outstanding hit. And yeah, man, espo, happy birthday.
Speaker 1:All the best to you, my friend all right, and this has been offside with Haas McGuire. I'm Haas, I'm McGuire. G'day.
