Bottle Rocket with Alena Sycheva Episode 49: Allan Kreda | Stanley Cup Final Breakdown

Veteran hockey writer Allan Kreda joins Alena and Stan Fischler to break down the Stanley Cup Final and the biggest stories around the NHL.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Yeah yeah yeah yeah welcome back to Bottle Rocket. I'm Elena joined by Maven Alan today. Hey guys, how are you?

SPEAKER_02 0:16

We're good. Okay, yeah, okay, okay, I think you've been watching the playoffs.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

What did you think of the last game? Do you think Tortorella made the right call?

SPEAKER_02 0:29

What do you mean by the right call? What does that mean?

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Right call and what? Coach's challenge. We think he made the right decision by doing the coach's challenge.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

Well, why would it be the wrong decision?

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Because it might have cost them the game.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

It was a goal. What's the why would it be disallowed?

SPEAKER_01 0:55

Well, the whistle, did do you think it went in before or after the whistle?

SPEAKER_02 1:00

I don't hear any whistle. I know is that the puck went in, it was a goal, and they took it away from him. So in the post-game, he said I would do that 10 out of 10 times, and I agree with him.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

What about you, Alan? What do you think?

SPEAKER_04 1:16

I think the what I understood there was this, it was a blown, a whistle blowing it dead. So the they didn't see it go in until they reviewed it, and then they reviewed it. I don't know. It was a lot of confusion from the referee who couldn't see it.

SPEAKER_02 1:31

But my question is, what's the rush for the what is the rush for the referee to disallow a go? What what is he getting? A bonus if you do it really quick? Why not try to wait and see what happens? The puck went over the line, it's a goal.

SPEAKER_04 1:48

I have a hundred cameras and review everything, right? I agree. Wait and see. It was clearly over.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

My answer to you, my dear Elena, is that the blame, blame is with the referee or the referees, and we can't get them. They don't do a thing post-game. That torturella has get uh got these how many hundreds of media things, answered them, said I do it 10 out of 10 times, right? So that answers that. Now, do we have a referee to say why I blew my whistle so fast? Uh what is he going out for a pint after the game and he can't wait? I don't know. So my answer is blame the ref.

SPEAKER_04 2:41

Fair enough.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

It kind of sounded like he was a little cross with the media again after the game during the post-game interview. He seemed a bit grumpy, which we've seen from him before when things aren't going particularly well.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

I don't know. What's your point? Are you saying that he was bad with the media?

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Not bad, but uh not as outgoing as uh he could be, you know, when they're winning.

SPEAKER_02 3:04

If your team had the winning goal taken away from you by a referee who was couldn't wait to blow his whistle, would you come on right after the game and be howdy duty? No, you would be pissed off, which he was.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

But he's a trained professional. Shouldn't he?

SPEAKER_02 3:29

No, no, no. He's uh he's a coach of a team who just got, in his mind, a raw deal. So he's not gonna do a handstand of joy, he's gonna reveal his honest feeling. I would do that 10 over 10 times. Goodbye and good luck.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

Do you think they're going to bounce back and win the next game?

SPEAKER_02 3:52

I want them to win. I'm rooting for them. I said they'd win it in four straight, and if that goal counted, they would have won it in four straight. But okay, it doesn't matter. I'm uh hope I'm hoping very much that they uh they win. I'm a big fan of Tortorella and of Vegas. And of a guy who used to play for the Rangers. Guy named Howden who's leading in scoring. How about that?

SPEAKER_01 4:19

What's your take on that?

SPEAKER_04 4:21

Brad Howden's story is remarkable. I mean, here's a guy the Rangers cast aside for nothing, really. A fourth round pick and a player that never played, and he, you know, they Vegas has made him into a player. He's role players taking advantage of every opportunity. He's leading the goals tally in the entire playoffs. It's it's pretty remarkable, I'm sure. I'm sure Torrets has done something to unlock him. Uh uh similar to Keandre Miller with Carolina, like a player again, the Rangers couldn't get right. He's found something. So the howden story is I mean, he's trending toward Conn Smythe. Who would have ever guessed that uh a year or two ago? Uh he's just he's in the right system, he's playing the right way in that system, and he's there for the opportunities and burying them. I mean, he had he had both goals in what could have been a 2-0 game before it unraveled in the third in game two. So uh I don't expect it to be any different next game.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

I would like to uh uh bring up the situation with uh Claude Lemieux, a huge tragedy. Yes. And as we I mentioned in before we went on on the air, that Rajan Tremblay, who is uh I go back with Roger Rajon Tramblay when he broke into the business a long time ago. He became uh certainly one of the most uh well-known, well-read uh columnists in the uh francophone uh uh wrote for the uh uh one of the big French papers in Montreal. And uh what I read is that he suggested that one of the reasons why uh Claude Lemieux committed suicide was a broken heart because he never was voted into the hockey hall of fame. My point is, why wasn't he, after his accomplishments, why wasn't this guy put in the Hall of Fame?

SPEAKER_04 6:23

He certainly should have been.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

Yeah, he certainly should.

SPEAKER_04 6:27

He he he absolutely should have been there. I was shocked to realize he wasn't in, actually. Uh with all the playoff heroics he put forth two cups with New Jersey and Montreal and four cups a total, and the amazing amount of game-winning goals and the heart and soul. I don't know, it makes no sense. Makes no sense. The Hall of Fame often makes no sense as we know. So bizarre. Bizarre and unfair.

SPEAKER_01 6:57

Absolutely. The committee can be pretty political. You need people in your corner who are willing to nominate you and back you up. I don't know exactly what happened, but I wouldn't be surprised if politics played a role.

SPEAKER_02 7:10

Do they are you a member of that Kakamami Association?

SPEAKER_04 7:17

I have been, but I you know, it's minimal return. I yeah, I have been just uh for appearances, but I don't even know what they achieve. It's a lot of nonsense.

SPEAKER_02 7:27

It's a lot of nonsense that a bunch of well, one could say that maybe it's a lot of nonsense, but if there's anything to what Tromblay says, then it's not a lot of nonsense.

SPEAKER_04 7:42

Well, but the writers, the writers don't do the voting either, it's that committee again. So the committee votes for the players and builders, and then the writers vote for the Elmer Ferguson, and we know that fiasco every year.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

I think uh I think some uh explanation uh is in order from this uh Kakamami Association to uh what Ray Jean Tremblay asserted. Um but well but we know there won't be. We won't we won't uh we know there won't be. And so time time marches on and we uh we forget about it. But it certainly was something that should have been addressed beyond what it was. Definitely.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

You should be in the hockey hall of fame, Mae.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

Oh, I'm not I should not be. I should not be. Well, you're should not be because uh I will tell you why I should not be, okay? Uh starting, I guess, about 52 years ago, probably before you were born, right? Uh a guy, a guy who was then one of the editors of the hockey news, which I was writing for, uh submitted my name for the uh Elma Ferguson Award. And uh it was obviously rejected. And from that point on, I guess every year I've been rejected. So that's a record, right? Uh 51 years re of rejection. Don't you think I got the hint?

SPEAKER_04 9:24

It's it's wrong.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Did you hear what I just said? Yeah, Elena?

SPEAKER_01 9:29

Doesn't matter. I I disagree.

SPEAKER_02 9:32

Don't you think after 51 years I should stop wasting anybody's time? No, never give up. Huh? Why do you think wait a minute, why do you think 51 years I I've written a lot of books and I've been on uh they don't give a shit about uh TV or Emmys, but uh hey uh uh if I don't qualify, that's good by me. It's good by me. Because that means that means that if I got if I had I had I would have to go to Toronto for the ceremonies, and I would have to I'd have to meet people who I know who've rejected me year after year after year. So what's the point? What am I a schmuck? 51 times? Do I not get it? Of course I get it. Who wants it? Who needs it? I think one might say, one might say an active member of uh this Kakamami organization might want to find out who is on this committee.

SPEAKER_04 10:40

Every year it seems to change. We don't know who votes unless we can't why don't you know?

SPEAKER_02 10:45

What is it? What are we talking about? Atomic secrets?

SPEAKER_04 10:48

It's there's a different leadership.

SPEAKER_02 10:50

Why don't you why do you think we don't know? Why do you think they they're hiding?

SPEAKER_04 10:55

Because they they play games and put in who they want.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

Uh there's your answer, Elena. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 11:02

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 11:03

It's if you if if uh you want uh there's there's one man's answer. He belongs to the group, although he's not interested in anymore. So so total for me, total waste of time, waste of breath, not even worth discussing, really, because uh uh baseball player goes oh for three strikes out, right? I go oh for 51.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

I would still keep trying. It's it's uh because the management or the committee changes every year, as Alan said.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

So who says uh who how do you know they change every year?

SPEAKER_04 11:42

I I believe different people get the vote each year, but it's based on I don't know what any I had the vote for but I'll give you I'll tell you one story, okay?

SPEAKER_02 11:53

A friend of mine who writes uh covers the Seattle NHL team, the Kraken, okay. So when uh he heard that uh I was up for nomination, he volunteered and he tried to uh, you know, a lot of visiting teams are obviously coming into Seattle and he schmoozes with them. And uh and he said, you know, you should vote for you should vote for Stan. Get in, get to E. Ferguson, blah, blah, blah. And he tells me a lot of people acknowledge. Then he went up to one person, and when he mentioned my name, she uh I would say she just sort of vomited. Oh, there you go. Why would I want to go into a it's the old Groucho Marx line? I would never join a club that would have me for a member. Let's discuss something more significant, like what the Leafs are gonna do with their captain. Okay?

unknown 13:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

Well, what's what what do you think they should do?

SPEAKER_02 13:05

Trade him.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Okay, and get whom?

SPEAKER_02 13:09

Uh well, then you gotta give me a list of who's available.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

They probably need a good defenseman. That's what I would do. Most likely they'll draft McKenna. I'd be honestly surprised if they didn't. And I think passing on him would be a huge mistake. I know John Taker traveled to the Yukon where McKenna is from. And from what I've heard, they had a really good conversation. So everything seems to point towards drafting McKenna. So I think that's what they're going to do. But uh, they still don't have a particularly strong blue line. And we're probably looking at several more years of Morgan Riley. So that's still an area they need to address. And then he needs to be.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

You don't know, you don't even have a starting goalie, do you?

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Yes, our goaltending hasn't been the most reliable. Stollard seems to get hurt quite often, and Wall has dealt with issues as well. We do have two very good goalies with the Marlies, our farm team. I think the Leaf should take a serious look at Dennis Hildeby and Arduch Temov. He has been the Marley starting goalie, and he's played extremely well. The Marlies are now one win away from the Calder Cup finals, so clearly the organization has some promising goaltending prospects in the pipeline.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

Everything you've said so far, Lena, is iffy. It's an iffy and a and a gamble. Just like the graph choice is iffy. We don't know whether he's gonna be uh good or he's not gonna be good. But how how this new management can start a season without a name goalie is ridiculous.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Yep. Something needs to be done.

SPEAKER_02 14:46

They need a goalie, they need a goalie, that's what they need.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Everything starts with a goalie, yep. I think Rangers in a similar situation, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:55

The rangers, the rangers, gotta the rangers. One of the things the rangers did is they made they gave this guy more money than any other goalie, so they got a good goalie. They got a good goalie, but it's shown that you have a good goalie. He doesn't score goals, he stops pucks. So, what good did this good goalie do for them? He played well, he wasn't outstanding, was he, Alan?

SPEAKER_04 15:20

No, he uh no mediocre, great at times, not great at all at times. The year before was even worse, leading up to the contract. He gave up five goals, I think 12 times. So two two mediocre seasons. I mean, he got hurt this year, that's when they totally went down the drain. But I mean, yeah, he's got a lot to prove based on the numbers. Uh, but the team in front of him hasn't been uh much the last two seasons either.

SPEAKER_02 15:50

So they're stuck. They got this guy. He may he probably he should be able to play better, but even if he plays better, how much can he do for the offense? Yeah. And uh they're uh they're they're in this they're in the they're basically in in parallel with the Leafs. Two two the two richest teams in the league have major problems, and we'll see how it we'll see. We'll see. But you see, uh, as we we know, uh the guy who owns the Rangers also owns the Knickerbacker basketball team, and uh that tends to overshadow any of the Ranger woes because New York City is going crazy over the Knickerbacks, yes, and the Rangers are forgotten completely right now, yes.

SPEAKER_04 16:45

And that maybe takes the pressure off next year if things don't go well again.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

Do you think they have a solid chance next year to make the playoffs or they have to make major changes?

SPEAKER_04 16:57

Definitely need major changes, a mystery right now. I mean, it's been talk, but the roster has constructed, no way that's a playoff team.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

They have to. This is talk of uh them trading with the Leafs for Trochek. Um but the point the point is the point with the Rangers is that they have to go with young guys. The higher their higher score is are getting old, they're over 30. There's nothing wrong with being over 30. I was over 35 times, but and uh that joke just died. That joke. I heard it. I heard it terrible anyhow. So what are you gonna, you know, if you trade Trochek, what what do the Leafs have to give the Rangers? Really?

SPEAKER_01 17:56

What didn't they check to see if Matthew Nice was available? I heard the Habs tried to acquire him. Thankfully, the deal never went through. They were reportedly offering prospects and draft picks in exchange for Matthew Nice. I'm very happy that the Leafs kept him.

SPEAKER_02 18:12

Oh, why should they get why should Toronto get? He's he's what the Leafs' future is about.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 18:20

How old is he? How old is he?

SPEAKER_01 18:22

He's 23.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

Yeah, there's a guy on the ranges with a funny name who's the equal of him.

SPEAKER_04 18:34

Shamash Jaroslav Shamash scored a few.

SPEAKER_02 18:39

This guy scored 20 goals this year, and he has a funny name.

SPEAKER_04 18:44

Which will Cooley?

SPEAKER_02 18:47

Yeah, yeah. So it's trading similar guys. Now, Cooley in Toronto, I think he's from Toronto. He's he was he was what was wrong with the Rangers this season. A guy who should have been a 25 goal scorer and should have been an inspiration, playing hard, and for some reason, half the time he was dead from the neck up, and you couldn't so so maybe maybe that's a good trade. You take him and give us nice, but you don't want to give up nice, so we just killed that deal.

SPEAKER_04 19:29

I mean, uh jury's got a got a major challenge. He's got there's so many holes, and it's just weird karma. The nice, interesting young guys at the end there. Little hope that the games were meaningless. I mean, there was I don't know, it's already been forgotten, but there was some glimmers of hope. But who knows?

SPEAKER_02 19:50

I think I I say you got the right word, karma. And their karma was non-existent in the dressing room, and it was reflected on the ice. They bought, they they made, uh, they made, I want to ask you a question. I want to take, I want you to take a guess. So the captain of the team is JT Miller, okay? He's the captain. What do you think his plus minus was in relation to the other players?

SPEAKER_04 20:22

I'm gonna guess. I didn't look, I'm gonna say about negative uh minus 18, 20, somewhere around there.

SPEAKER_02 20:30

Okay, he was supposed to be, he's the captain, right?

SPEAKER_04 20:33

Right.

SPEAKER_02 20:35

This guy had the worst, the worst plus minus on the team. Minus 30, 3-0, minus, so that's what's wrong with the team, okay? He they're stuck with a schlameel for a captain. Uh, who would you make captain, Alan, instead of uh this guy? I'd make I make Adam Fox the captain.

SPEAKER_04 21:01

Fox, I mean, he's quiet. I don't know if he wants the role, but in terms of leadership, he quietly gets it done. I just someone's got to be willing to take the heat when they lose, and it wears guys down, and not everybody wants the role. Mika doesn't want to talk every night about why they lost, and Kreider was the same, didn't want to analyze every night. I I saw that role wear down Callahan, wear down even Ryan McDonough when they were winning. Just it becomes too much of something. I don't know if it's overblown, but need a certain personality to deal with it in New York. And I don't know how the whole captain thing can be overrated, and but still, they're the one that has to stand there every night, win or lose. And it JT Miller certainly doesn't embrace that role.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

He he's one point, one point is evident. JT Miller is the wrong captain. Yep. So you're gonna keep riding with the wrong captain, you're gonna get this. Square root of no player of team.

SPEAKER_04 22:03

Right. It was pretty obvious, right? And he just he just doesn't want to be in that role. He doesn't.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

I think some players are great players, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're great captains. The same goes for Austin Matthews. Personally, I don't think he's been a particularly strong captain. I actually think the Leafs should never have taken the C away from John Tavares. I know Stan and I might disagree on that one because I don't think he's the biggest Tavaris manager.

SPEAKER_02 22:30

I just I'm glad to know he's still with the team.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

He is.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

He is. So he's gonna say you don't have to worry about Tavares being poor. Yeah, he's good. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

He was a good leader. He handled the media well and always seemed comfortable in that role. I don't think Austin Matthews particularly enjoys the spotlight or the pressure that comes with being captain. That's a big part of the job.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

Well, let's talk about let's talk about the playoff the final now. I want to hear what you guys think about the final. Elena, who's gonna win in your mind?

SPEAKER_01 23:06

Well, I picked the Hurricanes partly because I wanted to be a little different from everybody else. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing Vegas win because I'd love to see Mitch Marner finally lift the Stanley Cup. At the same time, I'd be happy if Carolina won because I'd love to see Freddie Anderson get a cup as well. If I'm being honest, I think Freddie probably deserves it a little bit more. That said, Vegas looks almost unbeatable right now. So I'd be surprised if they lost the series. But anything can happen in hockey. I'm sticking with Carolina though. I've got the Keynes in seven.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

What uh why do you think uh uh why does Anderson need more of your uh love than uh and Mana? Why did what did Mana do to to uh hurt your feelings?

SPEAKER_01 23:55

Well, he did something similar to what Tavares did with the Islanders. From the Leafs perspective, if you weren't planning on staying long term, it probably would have been better to know that earlier. There were some reports that other options were available, like including potentially acquiring a player like Make Arantin. Instead, the Leafs were left in a difficult position, and I think that's why some fans are still frustrated. And now there are some stories coming out in the media. Apparently, Marner has said he'll talk about some of the dark times he experienced in Toronto, but only if Vegas wins the Stanley Cup. Personally, I find that a little unusual. If there's a story to tell, why should the outcome of the final determine whether we hear it?

SPEAKER_02 24:39

Okay. Who's gonna win, Alan?

SPEAKER_04 24:42

I like storylines on both teams. I I feel like Carolina somehow wear them down. I don't know how to fully uh elaborate that, but it's just a feeling that four lines are relentless, they find their footing after an off game. Uh they've only lost twice in these playoffs. This Rod Brindemore seems to have struck a chord with this group. Uh Logan Stankhoven, these play, these newer players are a different feeling than a previous teams that couldn't get this far. And I the goalie's hot. And uh they're finding ways. They're finding ways after some hiccups, but not too many hiccups. So I leads me to think they can they can somehow wear down Vegas just enough uh and score enough big goals, but it goes at least six, maybe seven. It's it's going to go long.

SPEAKER_02 25:32

Anderson to me is the key, and he's played well, better than I thought he would. But uh, we've only seen two games, so uh I I say if Anderson is is uh up to the challenge, uh Keynes will win. And uh Hart will have to play. Uh you know, Hart is basically uh he's uh inexperienced compared to Anderson. But Anderson's history is losing.

SPEAKER_04 26:05

Right, right. This is his probably one chance to do it all, 36 with all the injuries and the other complications. It it's a lot. It's got to be his one and only, I would think. I mean, they have a 32-in goalie who hasn't played a minute in the playoffs backing up. The guy practically was Ves in the quality this year, Brandon Bussey.

SPEAKER_02 26:27

So they have the backup, but he's yeah, the backup is very good, very, very good. But I I I'd say the other difference in my mind is uh Tortorello's a better coach than Brindamore. And unless and this will either prove me right or wrong.

SPEAKER_04 26:45

And it would be amazing 22 years apart. That would be the longest stretch for cup per coach cap-wise.

SPEAKER_02 26:52

He's something that Brindamore isn't. He's a character.

SPEAKER_04 26:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:00

And he's a character. Brindamore is not, in my estimation.

SPEAKER_01 27:05

Yeah, I think he's very effective in the short term. That's what Vegas did, right? They brought him in with a specific job to do, and it's working. They needed to change the momentum and shake things up a little bit. They were getting close to missing the playoffs, so they made a coaching change and it seems to have paid off. That was a great move. Vegas has never been afraid to make bold decisions. They're known for making quick, effective moves when they think something needs to change. And this is just another example of that.

SPEAKER_04 27:33

I wonder if he even wants to go through the grind of the season all over again. I wonder if win or lose, this is it.

SPEAKER_02 27:38

It's just aime may not. So uh, but the point is he's there now and he's getting paid to win, and we'll see.

SPEAKER_04 27:50

And they seem like the their mood lightened, they play they're just loose. They're playing with house money or something. They're just playing their game without I don't think they they had time to to get uh or him to get under their skin, or vice versa. He just came in and said, Look, I'm I'm coaching with you, not at you. I heard heard him say that, and and he's just it's a it's a definitely a mellower towards from what I can see from a distance than I saw in New York or every other stop. He's he's got a few players that he had in the past, they're winning. He he's had this great comeback a couple of months. Uh just sort of happened, and here they are. So I don't I don't feel like he's had time to really yell at them or or get into it, but he's just letting them be. And and and the results are obvious. And they're a veteran team that knows how to win and and play under pressure. So no surprise. I mean, sweeping Colorado is remarkable unto itself. You know, yeah. Again, the president's trophy curse lives.

SPEAKER_02 28:52

Elena, who do you want to coach the leaves?

SPEAKER_01 28:56

Cassidy, um, or well, Cooper is not available, but they're my first two choices.

SPEAKER_02 29:02

What about Patrick Hua?

SPEAKER_01 29:04

Patrick Wah would be incredible as well. Yeah, I heard they had an interview with him and it went well. Uh, so I don't know if they're still deciding whether to hire him.

SPEAKER_02 29:15

Uh what about LaViolette? Didn't he get interviewed also?

SPEAKER_01 29:18

He was interviewed as well, yes.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

Well, if you had to pick between those two, who would you pick?

SPEAKER_01 29:24

Uh, Patrick Wah, I would go with him.

SPEAKER_04 29:27

That would be fascinating.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

That would be interesting. Complete change of the entire management team, coaching stuff, and everything else. And we're getting the first pick, yay. I don't know. I want to see it. I don't want to get my hopes too high, but I'm still hopeful that's it's going to change the team a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 29:45

Well, I take Laviolette. Why Patrick War uh uh let the island his self-destruct at the end. It was uh he l it was clear that he lost the team. Laviolette, didn't La Violette win a president's trophy?

SPEAKER_04 30:06

He did.

SPEAKER_02 30:06

Isn't there some point you get for that?

SPEAKER_04 30:10

It should be.

SPEAKER_02 30:12

But the second year wasn't and uh Cassidy can't uh Cassidy doesn't have uh any right to talk to anybody.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

He's uh he's in Vegas prison. He's imprisoned by Vegas.

SPEAKER_02 30:28

He signed it, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:29

Yep, true, and he's getting paid, so right, right, right.

SPEAKER_02 30:35

I mean uh we'll see. We'll see. It's very intriguing, very intriguing. And uh there's gonna be some uh interesting stuff. The islanders are gonna be doing some trading. I am sure of that. I don't know whether they're gonna sign Anders Lee or not, but I have a feeling that if Lee if Lee is smart, he will do a team-friendly deal.

SPEAKER_04 31:00

Right, yes, agree. I I feel like he's the one veteran they should keep out of the options there.

SPEAKER_02 31:07

And yeah, but not to pay him, not to pay him crazy money.

SPEAKER_04 31:10

Right. Something team friendly, but but they're also stuck with Braden Shen six and a half million and Andre Palat six million. I mean, these are that's sort of hamstringing it right now. What do they do with it?

SPEAKER_02 31:23

That's a whack against the GM.

SPEAKER_04 31:26

Yeah, yep. I think the trades were not great in retrospect. The Palat trade in particular was No, it didn't work.

SPEAKER_02 31:35

It didn't work.

SPEAKER_04 31:36

So but he's they're stuck with a big number now.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

He's got it. He's gonna be there forever if he doesn't straighten it out.

SPEAKER_04 31:43

Right.

SPEAKER_02 31:43

No question about that.

SPEAKER_04 31:45

Bruce how hard the job is. It's a tough job in any situation. But I my theory is they were so excited with the greatness of Matthew Schaefer and what he brought, and that's valid. And he's had a fabulous season at all that to look forward to, but I think they got a little ahead of themselves with the playoff balloon hovering above them and uh went for it, where they probably should have said, Okay, let's let's not roll all the dice here and and and then build on next year. And he was so good they couldn't resist. That's my theory. Uh, because no one expected that kind of season from from him. But now they're now they sort of overextended to a degree capwise.

SPEAKER_02 32:25

Patrick Ward made a critical mistake. He overplayed Sorokan. And Sirokin, and he had a he had a a uh his backup was a competent guy.

SPEAKER_04 32:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 32:38

What was he afraid of?

SPEAKER_04 32:39

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

Yeah, that was that was uh that was uh decisive, decisive on a wall in early March.

SPEAKER_04 32:48

There were a few bad let late losses, and it just yeah viral.

SPEAKER_02 32:53

What are you tiring the guy out? When you got a guy, you're paying him decent money, and he's an experienced goalie. He was ready. But that's uh you know, Elena, we're smarter than them in a lot of ways, but we don't we should get a cut when we do when we tell them something that works, we should get a cut.

SPEAKER_00 33:17

Absolutely, I agree. Yes, they should hire us, yes.

SPEAKER_02 33:28

You know, I was I was looking, I was reading Punch Imloch's his Leafs experience. Uh one one is uh hockey is my hockey is my life, I think was one of them. And uh but it doesn't matter. But Imloch uh was from the era before the modern era. And one of his one of his hockey's a battle. That's the name of the book, hockey's a battle, and it's a cover, the cover on the book is Punch walking behind his bench. Great, great photo. But my point is no assistant coaches, and they're holding things and they're showing this to these guys, and blah blah blah blah, and then they got people upstairs. And I wonder, I wonder if somebody tried that for a season or a month or so, but he won four cups, and he didn't have one guy who's assistant coach or assistant GM. He did it all by himself.

SPEAKER_04 34:41

Amazing. Right now, four cups or this legion of people. I mean, every bench has five coaches, everybody coaching this, coaching that. I don't know how I don't have room for everybody back there. I've counted some nights with some teams, plus the trainers. There's like 12 guys back there. It's it's Looney Tunes, this defensive coach, the PowerPlay, this coach, I mean the coach Looney Tunes.

SPEAKER_02 35:05

Looney Tunes is a very, very apt description. Might as well have the roads and merry melodies.

SPEAKER_04 35:18

And I'm I'm watching, and they're plotting it on the screens and on the iPads, on the on the erasable screens, and nothing. Nothing.

SPEAKER_02 35:28

I uh I am I just wrote something today uh commending the rangers. You have to wonder what is that to commend the rangers for? And they just announced that they hired an a head coach for their farm team in Hartford, the Wolfpack.

SPEAKER_04 35:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 35:49

And they hired a guy that I like a lot. His name is Jay Leach. Now, why would I like a guy named Jay Leach? He played for the Devils. And there were some guys, you know, when the Devils had their wonderful run of three Stanley Cups, their defense was pretty well set. You know, you had Scott Stevens and you had Scottie Nidemeyer, and then you had Kenny Danico, and then you had uh uh some other good guys, right? Remember anybody else besides Danico Stevens, Nidemeyer, Bruce Driver is a wonderful, right? They were set. So uh Jay Leach went to Providence. Lou Glamarello, of course, was the uh great hockey guy at Providence for so long, and he brought up uh Jay. And I really liked the way he played. There were two guys, uh one Jay Leach, and uh I can't even think the other guy's name because he was a cup of coffee. And but in the short time that Jay was with the Devils, I got to like him as a player and like him as a guy, and uh he wound up into the coaching business. So I and I like the fact that he's gonna be uh coaching Hartford. They need it. Hartford was terrible last season, this past season. Terrible. Yeah. So I I wrote a column today uh commending commending Chris Drury from uh for hiring this guy.

SPEAKER_04 37:27

When Leach was a devil, they had uh Paul Martin, they had uh Colin White, Bryce Salvador, uh a few other uh Yeah, they had good guys and uh was on that team.

SPEAKER_02 37:41

But the point is, uh I didn't I don't follow too many other guys who were like up for a cup of coffee, but there was something about him. In fact, when I found out that he was going to uh Seattle, I contacted my guy there and uh uh tell him to say hello. So we'll see what happens. There, I mean, anything that that the Rangers can do to improve themselves, they need. Certainly, certainly the way Hartford was terrible. So last year. Still this year.

SPEAKER_04 38:14

No, yeah, I mean it because it rarely have players really have gone there and excelled and then come up and excelled. It's like this wasteland, so maybe better. I mean, Socorro and Shem Shemish were the only two that showed something after extended time in Hartford last year, so we'll see. But the the team wasn't good and I don't know, never hear never hear much excitement out of Hartford. Fans don't go and uh feel like I've always for years felt like the team should be closer to New York City. But that's another story.

SPEAKER_02 38:45

Where would you put where would you put it?

SPEAKER_04 38:47

Maybe in Bridgeport, where there's now not a team, that long running show. It's closer. It's Connecticut's more ranger country than the Islanders uh would have been now with the Islander farm team in Hamilton. You know, why not Bridgeport?

SPEAKER_02 39:03

But Yeah, why not?

SPEAKER_04 39:05

Why not? So uh Hartford's Hartford's really tilts toward Boston more than New York always has. Strange. Strange for years, but yeah, good hire. I I like it. I like it. And uh I assume there'll be some confluence with with the with the Rangers high command and Hartford, maybe more, maybe more so than there had been.

SPEAKER_02 39:30

Well, if uh if the team goes right through the bottom of the league, you can be sure that the present coach is gonna be there all season. Right. That's so who knows, maybe this guy will wind up with the Ranger. You can never tell. We know, we know from the Buffalo experience that you give a you gotta give the team at least until uh Christmas. Christmas to be definitive.

SPEAKER_04 39:58

Right.

unknown 39:59

Right.

SPEAKER_04 39:59

I mean, Sullivan, yeah, needs another year for sure. He's on a five-year contract, yeah. But I mean, another another disaster, and who knows? I mean, uh we'll see.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

At least the Knicks are doing well.

SPEAKER_02 40:13

Well, the Knicks doing the Knicks doing well could have a double effect. One good or bad. The good effect is that the guy who runs, who owns the garden, Jim Dolan, be he loves baskets. He's more basket than hockey. But now that he's got a successful basketball team, he may feel, well, now I gotta get lift the ranges up. Okay, so it's a good incentive, motivation there. On the flip side, he could say, What the hell? I don't why am I wasting my team with the Rangers? We're gonna sell out every game anyhow.

SPEAKER_03 40:58

Right. Yeah, true.

SPEAKER_02 40:59

So, what the hell does he care? So it depends on how he views it, and and as we know, he can go either way, right? Right.

SPEAKER_01 41:09

So, you think they took the focus away from hockey and just focused on the basketball?

SPEAKER_02 41:14

No, you New York's hockey fans are entrenched, especially the Rangers, because the Rangers get all the corporate loot. That's right, and it's guaranteed. Guaranteed. I still say that if you can get 20 cockroaches to teach them how to skate and stick handle, they'll still sell out the joint, okay?

SPEAKER_04 41:44

And a cockroach play all.

SPEAKER_02 41:46

I'll leave you with one story before we get to the joke, okay? When they uh decided they're going to put a team in New Jersey, John McMullen was the billionaire, or whatever you want to say. He owned a franchise out in uh Denver, which was a failure. Bought the team, and he was told over and over and over again, you're gonna make money on this devil's team. We hadn't named them yet, you're gonna make money on this team because all these Ranger fans who live in New Jersey, now they're gonna come over and root for your devils. Well, you know what? It didn't happen. So somebody once asked McMullen about five or six years after, into the, you know, now he had the franchise and it was starting to play. Hey, John, how come you didn't get all these Ranger fans? What's the reason? And McMullen, who was a very, very funny guy and a very smart guy, he says the reason is simple. It's genetic, it's in their genes, it's passed on from the grandfather to the father to the kids. And what better proof of that is Adam Fox. He grows up in Long Island, right in the midst of Islander Country, but his grandfather, who I met incidentally a couple of weeks ago, 99 years old, his grandfather, came to visit in Israel. Mel Fox still uh got a lot of piss and vinegar. So Mel Fox told me he's the grandfather of Adam. Mel Fox groomed his son to be a ranger fan, which of course he became, and Fox's father made Adam a Ranger fan. Genetic. John McMullen was was right a hundred percent. But now you know the devils have built up uh under McMullen, or rather under Lou Lamarello. Devils built themselves a nice, nice clientele, a very nice clientele. Indeed.

SPEAKER_01 44:06

We're coming towards the end of the show. Maeve, do you have a joke for us?

SPEAKER_02 44:10

Yeah, I'm trying to decide whether I should tell you a doctor joke or uh uh or not. This is Joey, Joey Adams told us. Well, tell you, tell me what you think. He says the thing that bothers me about doctors is that they give you an appointment six weeks ahead, then they examine you, and then they ask, why did you wait so long to see me? Okay.

SPEAKER_04 44:37

See you all. You too, Stanley.

SPEAKER_01 44:40

To everyone watching and listening, please subscribe, like, and follow us on social media. Thank you for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on Bottle Rocket. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.