EP. 13 "Mark Your Calendars"

Stevie Z gives a breakdown on the Bolts 2026-2027 game schedule, starting with the preseason. He finishes talking about Steve Yzerman's "promotion" in Detroit, Hagel's contract value, and Patrick Kane going back to Chicago and why that could impact Kucherov's next contract.

Transcript

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What is going on, everyone? 41 channels like podcast. Here happy Friday, July 24th. The Tampa Bay Lightning had their regular season schedule released last Thursday by the NHL. So I want to get into that. We'll get into a little bit of former Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Igerman taking on a new role with the Detroit Red Wings. And we'll tie up some loose ends on what is starting to become a very long summer. And I'm sure many of you like myself are beginning to miss hockey. So let's get into it right with this schedule. We'll talk, we'll cover the whole schedule in totality, kind of give you my analysis of it. We'll start with the preseason. This year, with the NHL preseason, what's in the new CBA is all NHL teams are going to play a max of four games. Like some teams in the past would play six, seven, eight. The lightning used to be on like the heavier side of that. Seemed like they were always playing seven or eight preseason games. But that's no more. Okay. So they're gonna play four. The first one being September 20th versus the Nashville Predators at benchmark at 5 p.m. Second one being in Nashville uh September 22nd at 8 p.m. Then they'll come back home and play the Panthers in a preseason game September 24th at 7 p.m. And then they'll finish off the pre-season games down in Sunrise on September 26th at 6 p.m. So a couple caveats with how preseason is going to look now, according to the CBA. Uh skaters with more than 100 or more career NHL games are limited to dressing for two preseason games. So it's easier for me to do it this way. I'm just gonna cover right now the players who don't meet that 100-game career threshold, 100 NHL career game threshold that's currently on the Tampe Lightning roster. So you got VL, James, Das Du, Hildeby, and Crozier. So if the coaching staff wanted to, those guys could dress for every preseason game. The other caveat to preseason this year under the new CVA is players who played in at least 50 NHL games the previous season will only be allowed to participate in 13 days of training camp. So here are the Tampa Bay Lightning players who did not meet the 50 game threshold last season. So Victor Hedman only played 33. Uh Ryan McDonough only played 48. Dominic James, 43. Uh Jeffrey Viel, he played 45, and he's got 45 career. Well, yes, 45 NHL career games. No, he's got 90, I'm sorry. Uh Hildeby played 20 games last year, and Crozier, who played around 35. I have to check. I didn't write his down. But that will be interesting to see how the veterans are handled, especially the likes of Hedman and McDonough. Um I'm sure that they will get more than enough, you know, more than enough time off uh throughout throughout preseason, right? So whether they're not overly taxing their body. Because new to the NHL, I don't want to say new, but new in what over 30 years, I guess you could say the NHL this year will have an 84-game schedule, right? It'll be the first since the 1993-94 season. Okay, uh, the regular season will open on September 29th and it'll end Saturday, April 10th of 2027. Uh, each team will have two additional games versus a divisional opponent, so a home and away, if you will. Uh so how does that break down uh schedule-wise? So 28 divisional games. So the lightning will play 28 divisional games, so there's eight teams in the division, they'll play, they'll play all the remaining seven equally. Uh 24 non-divisional games. So the lightning will play the Metro Division 24 times, and then they will play 32 games against the Western Conference. All right, so the Bolts will open the season on Thursday, October 1st at MSG versus the Rangers, and they'll then their home opener is that Saturday, October 3rd versus the Capitals of Washington. Um, all-star weekend returns this year on February 5th and 6th in Long Island, which is interesting. I um you're kind of looking at it from the jump, just initial takes is that there is no like large extended break, which is good, especially if you follow the lightning closely and you know what happens when they come back from long layoffs. Kind of getting into the lightning schedule a little bit before we get into some specific games. So there is 13 back-to-backs for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Uh, comparatively against the division, other teams in the division, Florida, Boston, and Ottawa have 14 back-to-backs, and Montreal will only play 10 back-to-backs. Okay, so the first the first back-to-back for the Lightning will occur on October 23rd and 24th, where they head to Colorado and Utah. And the last one will take place in April, the last week of the season, on April 5th and 6th at Buffalo and New Jersey. So out of their 13 back-to-backs, they've got eight back-to-backs on the road. They've got one back-to-back at home, and they've got four that are mixed home, whether they play either the first game, home or away, and then they finish the second one the opposite of what the first game was. So those games will usually involve the likes of a Florida, Carolina, or Nashville, where the Lightning can play at one of those places, or they play at home and then they fly in or out because it's an easier flight. Kind of looking into it, right? So for some heavier months of the back-to-backs, and we'll get into the monthly breakdown of games. The Lightning will have three back-to-backs in November, three back to backs in December, and three back-to-backs in February. Kind of looking at it as I get into the monthly breakdown. So the Lightning will have 13 games to open up the season in October. And looking at it, it's not a heavy month, I would say. Uh, especially how the sea how how the month is spaced out. So the lightning will play 13 games, six on the six at home, seven on the road. And if you look at October for the Lightning, right, they they like there is a part in the month where after that first back-to-back, they have a four-day break, and then they come home for one game on October 29th against Winnipeg. If you know, like I said, and I'm gonna go back to this a couple times, if you know how the Lightning are, if if you're like dialed in as a fan and you pay attention to how they play when they get off of, I guess you could say, extended breaks, and I guess you could say just a random four-day break is that's extended for the Lightning in the regular season. That home game against Winnipeg is like the most Tampa Bay Lightning-esque scheduled loss. Like it's unbelievable. It's just weird because really, for the entire month of October, they're playing nearly every other day, and then they have that back-to-back at the end of the month, and then four days off, boom, just a random home game versus Winnipeg before they go back out on the road for uh Halloween to play an early afternoon game against Nashville. Looking at the month of October, they'll have 13 games again. Eight at home, five on the road. This month of no the month of November will be Lightning will play the most home games throughout the month of November than they will the rest of the season. In December, they'll play 15 games, and this will be their heaviest month, um, where they'll play seven at home, eight on the road. January, 12 games, five at home, seven on the road, February, 11 games, also the All-Star Weekend, uh, seven at home, four on the road. March, 14 games, six at home, eight on the road, and then April, they play six games, three at home, three on the road. Kind of looking at it from a monthly breakdown, excuse me. Looking at it from a monthly breakdown. February is obviously the lightest month for the lightning, and it it is, I would say um less taxing from the standpoint of obviously out of those 11 games, seven are at home. And then you get to March and April, and I think really like that will be like those 20 games will be incredibly challenging for the Lightning because it's a lot of those games are versus divisional opponents, and kind of looking at looking at how the schedule divbies itself out. The lightning will have two six, you know, two homestands where they have six games. So the the first one is in November, uh, six games in 14 nights from November 14th to the 27th. Uh, they begin with the Detroit Red Wings and they end with Ottawa on the first half of a back-to-back. That's Black Friday. And then the next night they're in Sunrise to play their the first game against the Florida Panthers. And then they have another one in February, I guess you could say an extended homestand. I wouldn't say extended, six games, six games and 12 nights uh from February 12th through the 23rd, beginning with Dallas. It's the first night of a back-to-back where they'll play Dallas and then Colorado, and then it'll end with San Jose. And then they have a couple, they have a couple four-game road stretches. Um, the first one being November 7th through the 12th, begins in Minneapolis and it ends in Columbus on the second night of a back-to-back, the first game being in Buffalo, and then they'll have their Western Canada Pacific Northwest trip in early January from the 5th to the 11th, beginning with Seattle and ending with Edmonton. And so, kind of looking at it, I made a note that I I think March is really a tricky month for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and it they have two four-game road stretches where they play four games in six nights. And so it's the first one being the California trip from March 3rd through the 6th, and then they'll end in Chicago on March 8th. So they'll start on March 3rd at the LA Kings, and they'll go, they'll get to Anaheim, they'll play San Jose, Anaheim, San Jose on a back-to-back, and then they'll fly to Chicago to finish out that Monday on March 8th. And then the second four-game and six nights stretch on the road is literally a week after they get back from Chicago in early March, March 15th. They go to Washington, and then that week they'll play Washington on that Monday, which is March 15th, and the 17th and 18th is a back-to-back at Toronto and then Montreal, and then they'll finish out the week at Ottawa. Then they'll get two days off and they come back home and play the Panthers. So you're kind of looking at it and you're saying, yeah, like it's March and April will be though that 20-game stretch for the Lightning will be incredibly important. And looking at it comparatively to last year, the schedule this year, I think, favors the Lightning really well. I think it's incredibly balanced. I think when you look at it compared to last year, when I saw the schedule come out last year, knowing that there was the Olympic break, the three-week Olympic break, I was incredibly concerned with the schedule after the break. Because, number one, I know how I, as well as many of you listening, know how the Lightning perform when they get back off those extended breaks. And I keep harping on it. The Lightning had to play 27 games in 50 days. And honestly, through those 27 games, the Lightning, I believe, had to win 10 or 11 of those games to just solidify a playoff spot, and it was a slog for the Lightning. The Lightning looked unrecognizable. I would imagine that some fatigue set in. Now, this year, there is none of that type of extended break for the Lightning, which I think is really good. I think the schedule is balanced well enough for the Lightning to remain engaged throughout the entire season. I just also think that those games in March and April are going to garner their attention a little bit more because it's going to be divisional games. And seeing how the Atlantic division finit you know shaped up last year and how it's potentially shaping up this year and how tight it is, I really do think that just the consistency and scheduling for the Lightning without the extended break, I think benefits them really well throughout the season, and especially on the latter half, you know, the last two months of the season. And so looking at it, I kind of wanted to get a gauge of the lightning strength of schedule. Uh, so bench rates, for those of you who who follow them or read their stuff, um, bench rates.com listed the the NHL strength of schedule for all the teams heading into next season, 2026-27. The Lightning, they have the Lightning listed as a team with one of the most extreme swings. And so they they kind of rank it by percentages. And so each month that they give for each team, each monthly percentage is a percentile rank uh based on you know how their schedule for that month compares to the other 31 teams in the league. So, for example, if a team is given a 97%, it means that the team is facing one of the toughest schedules in the league that month, they're in the top 3%. Uh, whereas if if they get like a 3%, it means that they're facing one of the easiest schedules in the league that month in the bottom 3%. And then a 50 50% means that the team's schedule is right in the middle of the pack comparatively to uh all the other 31 teams. So the lightning, they get they gave the lightning a 91% in the month of December, a 0% in January, a 94% in February, and then a 97% in April. And looking at it, like that's the balance that I'm talking about, where they they kind of have that hard December, that you know, the lighter January. February is a lighter month in terms of games, but they're games that are really important. Then they get a March where I from from my perspective, uh the schedule is compacted a little bit, especially with the travel. I don't think they're I'm not sure if they're taking travel into consideration here. And then finishing out that month, the the regular season in April, where April is nearly just straight divisional opponents for those six games. And so looking at where the lightning strength of schedule ranks comparatively to, you know, in 32 teams, they have the lightning ranked as the 15th strongest schedule, which their hardest month being April and their easiest month being January. And they wrote in their note as the takeaway that the Lightning have a middle-of-the-pack schedule, they have the most extreme swings, that they should be able to uh feast and collect and munch points in the month of January, and then they have to survive the spikes and brace for the month of April. So looking at the schedule for the Lightning in the month of April, and I'm going to get to this, the Lightning will play four of their six games versus divisional opponents. Knowing how it was last year for the Lightning, where it came down to really the last week, week and a half, and knowing how this division is currently, you can't fall asleep on it. You know, for the lightning, you can't fall asleep at the wheel if you're the lightning. Right? I I think last year, let's go back to last season, they opened up the season, and the lightning were struggling out of the gate. Struggling out of the gate. They couldn't buy a win. And some of it was due to puck luck, some of it was due to whatever. Right? I I think they were 0-5 and 2 to start the season last year. Or was it one 1-5-2 or something like that in the first seven or eight games? And you're thinking, how? I mean and how this year what you're hoping is that Lightning don't get off to a start like that, but that they can kind of get into the season and just work their way into it. Because you know what they say, like you can't make the playoffs in October, but you can certainly work your way out of it. And honestly, after the the season opener at at the Rangers, right? They have three home games, and then they go back to New York to play the Islanders and and the Rangers again, and they come back home and play Seattle, Vancouver before they go on the road for their first true road trip out west to begin the season. Right. So those first ten games of the season are the Rangers, the Capitals, the Flyers, uh, Minnesota, the Islanders, the Rangers, the Kraken, Vancouver, Vegas, and Colorado. And I'm looking at it, teams that made the playoffs, well, they're playing one, two, three, four teams that made the playoffs. And they're also playing Washington and the Islanders who were on the cusp of making the playoffs last year. So six teams who were either in the playoffs or on the cusp of making the playoffs last year. So it's certainly not an easy month, but it's it's something where the lightning will have to be dialed in a little bit sooner. There's no easing their way into the season this year. And looking at it just that last month, I mean, yeah, I mean it the lightning are certainly going to have to be dialed in for the entire duration of their their schedule this year, but I like it. I think there's good balance and bench rates even says so, um, says much in their article. So kind of getting into some of their games here a little bit, and I'm kind of gonna get through. So there's 84 games uh this year. I'm kind of kind of grough my quarter, my 21 games that I think that if you were to watch from a Fans' perspective, um, one of every four games, games that I think you should pay attention to or or attend. Uh, but before that, so the the Lightning will play their first divisional game versus Detroit on Tuesday, November 3rd at home, and then they will finish their divisional play the last day of the season versus Boston uh on April 10th, a Saturday night game at 8 p.m. Kind of looking at it, here are some of the games that I like if I had to give you 21 games, if you're just like a casual fan and you just enjoy going to the games or you just enjoy watching the games, right? Like you're not really, you don't care so much about the analytics and and all the stuff that goes maybe why a team is struggling or having success. Right. So obviously the the season opener on Thursday, October 1st at MSG versus the Rangers. That's one to tune into. Uh the second game I have on here is the home opener versus Washington. Third game, uh Tuesday, October 20th at Vegas. Right, they're playing the I guess you could say the runner-up in the Stanley Cup uh final or from the Stanley Cup final. Uh fourth game is at Colorado that same week, Friday, October 23rd. Um I just enjoy watching McKinnon and Kuchoff and their teams uh just duel it out on the ice. I I I enjoy watching uh great players, I enjoy watching great teams. I always think that when the Lightning play teams like that, they're measuring stick games, they they've seem to play them early in the season the last couple years. Friday night primetime, 9 o'clock p.m. versus versus Colorado, McKinnon versus Cooch, Lightning Aves. I think it'll be great. The fifth game I have on here is the first divisional game versus Detroit on Tuesday, November 3rd. Uh that just opens up divisional play for the Lightning. The sixth game I have on here at Minnesota, Saturday, November 7th. My note for this is can the Bolts finally get a win in Minneapolis? So in the Twin Cities, they have struggled tremendously. And for whatever reason, that arena has been a house of horrors for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Uh, later on in that week, right, the Lightning will travel to Buffalo on Wednesday, November 11th. It'll be the first game uh versus Buffalo since last season. Really excited to see what that looks like. If anything carries over, you know what the Lightning, for whatever reason, everything always carries over. The next game I have on the list is versus Washington on Tuesday, November 17th. I have this game listed because if you're just like a casual fan or just a fan of hockey in general, uh, this could be the last time that we see uh Alexander Ovechkin play in Tampa. Obviously, I have no idea, but there's the potential of that. Two nights later, uh, versus Edmonton on Thursday, November 19th. Look, Connor McDavid and company come into town. Anytime the lightning and the oilers play, there is fireworks. It is so much fun. I've had the privilege of being in the arena really the last couple of years when the Oilers come to town, and every time the Oilers and the Lightning play, at least from when I get to see it here in Tampa, they put on a show. Last year, who remembers that overtime game? Vasi makes that incredible save and the lightning go down and win it in OT. Absolute, I mean, just firecracker of a game last year here in Tampa. And then obviously they finish out that week or they start the new week versus Buffalo, Sunday, November 22nd. That's the first home game versus Buffalo of the season. Uh Buffalo fans travel well. I would, it's a Sunday night game at 5 p.m. I would imagine that that arena will be it's leading into Thanksgiving, you know. Um, so people are on Thanksgiving break. Uh I could see that arena being packed out for that game. And I hope it's a it's a good split because honestly, you kind of get tired of getting run out of your own ring sometimes by opposing fans. Um the night before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 26th, Carolina comes to town. Obviously, they won the Stanley Cup last year. That'll be the first game for the Lightning versus the Hurricanes. If you can remember last year, early on, the Lightning played, well, not early on, but in December, the Lightning uh came back and beat Carolina to kick off that that 21-1 stretch that they had, where Carolina goes up 3-0 in the first period, Lightning battle back, end up winning the game. I believe it was 6-5, 6-5, or 6-4. But that was an excellent game. Anytime the Lightning and Carolina play, it's also a really good game to watch just from a fan perspective. Saturday, November 28th. It's the second night of a back-to-back where the Lightning will travel down to Sunrise and they will play the Florida Panthers. So that will be the first game versus the Panthers of the season for the Lightning. Um, the following week, they're in Montreal. Wednesday, December 2nd, that'll be their first game against Montreal at Montreal since obviously the first round loss. Uh Saturday, December 12th, they play Pittsburgh here in Amelie. I believe that's a 3-3-30 game. I put the question is this the last time that we will see Sidney Crosby play here in Tampa? And it's not to be nostalgic or anything. I just enjoy really seeing great great players of other teams and legends of the game, right? Bona fide Hall of Famers. I enjoy watching them play. So it's like whenever Crosby comes to town or Ovetskin comes to town or McDavid comes to town, I make sure my ass is in a seat because you can't you can't take that for granted. I'm sure people now want to see Nikita Kucharov. Right? Like it was it's a it's a show to behold. So don't know how good Pittsburgh will be, but if it's Sydney Crosby's last game, it's something that I think you want to tune in. Sydney Crosby's last game in Tampa. I think it's something that maybe you want to consider attending or tuning into if you can't go. Tuesday, December 29th, as we kind of round out this list. Stamcos comes back to town with the Nashville Predators. Uh look, everybody's favorite bolt from a sense of former captain. He's he's our most beloved. Uh Stamcos comes back with Nashville that night. And then the Lightning get a nice little New Year's Eve game versus Montreal on December 31st. It's the first home game versus Montreal, 2 p.m. game. I always like the early games on New Year's Eve. So that way you can kind of get the game out of the way and then have a great night the rest of the night, as long as the Lightning win. Then we get a back-to-back here in February. So we skipped the entire month of January. I mean, it is what it is, right? Bench rates has it listed as a as a zero percentile. Um I just didn't really find any games that I could that that were of interest to me that I should make note of out of these 21. But in February, the Lightning have a back-to-back of Friday versus Dallas on February 12th, and then they play Colorado on Saturday, February 13th. Just once again, great teams, great players. Just something that you should either consider attending or tuning into for sure. Coming off of that back-to-back Tuesday, February 16th, we get the first home game versus the Florida Panthers. And then later that week, Saturday, February 20th, uh, versus the Maple Leafs of Toronto, Paul and Radish tribute night, I'm assuming, for those of you who love to see the tributes and all that stuff. Not sure how long they'll be. I'm sure they won't be as grandiose as what we've had for foreman players in the past. But if you enjoy tributes, I'm sure Nick Paul and Darren Radish will get theirs. And then for this last one, obviously for game 21, I cheated a little bit here because I put down the entire last week of the regular season. So the last week of the regular season, the Lightning will play four games. Three of them will be versus divisional opponents. So the first week on April 5th, that Monday night, they're in Buffalo. This is part of their last back-to-back of the season. Then Tuesday night, they're in New Jersey. Thursday night on April 8th, they play Montreal. And the last game of the season, like I had mentioned previous, they're playing the Boston Bruins on April 10th, 8 p.m. Why do I have that listed? Why did I cheat a little bit here? Because, like I said, the season, the division was so tight last year. I could envision it coming down to the last week, week and a half again. Now that's just saying that that's just giving a summer outlook. I can I can see that. I wouldn't put past it, but that last week of the season, and really that entire month of April where they play four, they play four out of six divisional games to close out the season, like like I said, the lightning cannot fall asleep at the wheel. I think it's very important for the Lightning that last week of the season, if they have not clinched or if they're close to clinching, uh, or even if they have clinched, opponents that will have their attention uh kind of going into kind of kind of going into the playoffs so long as they clinch. Um, because as we have seen, I just don't, I'm I'm just not sure if, and I said this last year, you kind of want to see the lightning kind of gear it up just a little bit sooner, right? You don't want you don't want them to be gearing into playoff form game one of round one, right? But that we are looking so far ahead, we're assuming the lightning make the playoffs, right? So those are my 21 games plus. If you just want to tune in or watch, I'm nothing really analytical about it, just games from the schedule that I I took note of. As we kind of round out here, there are some notes that I just want to get to, and the first one being Steve Iserman. So call it what you will, uh Steve Iserman transitioning to a special assistant, to the general manager, or to the owner, whatever have you. This is like a nice way of saying, hey Stevie, thanks, but we're you're we're just gonna we're just gonna control the narrative here of you being fired from your role, but you're no longer gonna be the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. I freaking called this. If you have been a longtime listener for the, and I say long time, but it's like 25 episodes or whatever, if you've been listening, and I've mentioned this recently, especially right before the playoffs, before Detroit's collapse again. I just wondered if Steve Irgerman's days were numbered as the general manager. Like, and he's like family to the he is like blood to the Illich family. So you knew that he was he was just gonna be given another role within the organization. They weren't gonna necessarily come out and say, hey, you're fired. No, they were getting just new role, you get promoted. Whatever that is, whatever that promotion looks like. Um, why didn't it work out for Steve Iserman? Right. Well, you kind of look at it, he couldn't figure out the goalie situation there. Like it was like kind of a rotating cast of goalies. He drafted a lot of goalies. Did any of them actually ever make the NHL? They were still in college or they were young, they're playing in Grand Rapids. I know he traded Sebastian Casa, I believe, to Utah. You know, like did he ever was he ever able to use those goalies? But I know he had John Gibson and who else did he have? I mean, Alex Lyon, Nadelkovich. I mean, he just had a rotating cast of goalies. And I and I know what people are thinking, well, Carolina just uh Carolina just won a Stanley Cup with a rotating cast of goalies. I I firmly believe that teams in this league don't want to do that. If they can get by with it, okay, they'll make it happen, right? But you you kind of also have to realize that that the Carolina Hurricanes are a bit of an anomaly, an anomaly because they shoot more than any other team and they block more shots than any other team. So like their shot suppression is incredible. So as long as you get average goaltending, your your goalie is not seeing a lot of pucks, ideally, if you're the Carolina Hurricanes. And that's not even like I'm getting on a tangent, so let me digress here. But it just didn't work out for Steve Eiserman in that regard. He couldn't figure out a goalie. I thought he drafted well in the sense of he drafted complementary players well. He just never, he just never got the stars. Like, I know he traded for debrinkett, and I and I made a silly, like I'm I'm checking myself here for a couple episodes ago, where I said that you know he traded for debrinkett, and he traded a conditional first-round pick, and Dominic Kubelik and Sabrango, and um, I believe a fourth round pick to Ottawa for De Brinkett. And I said De Brinkett wasn't a star, and he led the team in scoring last year, so I'm an idiot for saying that. But just that was one swing, I guess you could say. But outside of that, like he drafted complimentary players, he never really swung big with trades, he drafted more with cider. He's a I mean, he's a stud defenseman. But outside of that, like, where's the star power for this team? He just he's either he's just acquired a lot of complimentary players, and I just feel like he was afraid to take the big swing. I understand the mess he had to clean up, like the first three years left by by the previous previous manager, general manager Ken Holland. I I understand that completely. I'm not I'm not saying anything about that, but what has happened the last couple years for Detroit to not be able to close out and secure a playoff spot and how they've collapsed the last couple years, there's just no excuse for it. And I kind of understand, like, I feel like Dylan Larkin is validated in what he said in questioning what management was doing by not improving the team. Like this past year, he traded a first round pick and a third round pick. Eiserman traded a first and a third for Justin Falk, 33-year-old right-handed defenseman. Like, that's is that really moving the needle at all? At all. So that you have to so you make that move. Dylan Larkin is upset, he's now requesting a trade, right? Patrick Kane, although like it's after him, he wasn't gonna resign with the Red Wings. So now it's like they're back to square one. And another reason why I I I don't think it worked out for him that Steve Eisenman Magic, the Jedi Mindricks that he was known for down in Tampa, like he just didn't have the same quality of staff, management staff in Detroit. At least I don't think so. You look at teams who constantly are looking to either pluck management or assistant coaches from the Tampa Bay Lightning organization, and it's happening on a yearly basis, it seems. Compare that to Detroit. Like Detroit doesn't have, didn't have an Al Murray, who is a renowned, renowned talent evaluator in the NHL Scouting world. Didn't have that in Detroit. I know he tried to get him there from from what I read. Didn't work out. The Lightning elevated, they gave him a new role, assistant general manager, and of something. I can't remember, forgive me. Then his assistant general manager at the time was Julian Brisbois, right, who is now the general manager of the Tampa Lightning. You look at the coaches who have who have circulated through Ruth He, the organization. He hired one in Derek Lalonde, Steve Eiserman did in Detroit. Like you just look at it, and it just didn't work out because I just don't think he had the same quality of stuff. Now looking forward for Detroit, I don't know. I I think they're back at at square one, to be quite honest with you. What is it gonna look like for Dylan Larkin? Is he gonna get a trade? He doesn't have he he they don't have to trade him, right? But I don't know if you want that unrest in the locker room, and he's it's been that way for a couple years. Maybe maybe you look to move him off if you can, and if you get a good return, and maybe Cider is now the next captain, right? But they just don't have like you have De Brinkett, you have Larkin, you have Cider, and then you is Lucas Raymond a star? I I don't know, you know he isn't mentioned like he is one, but like they have a lot of complimentary pieces. There's just Larkin, Cider, De Brinkett. Like as guys who you would you can maybe build a team around. And and honestly, like Larkin produces like he's a second-line center anyway, right? So it's really debrinkett and cider. They don't have anything else. They've drafted well for complimentary pieces, but no stars. And Eiserman didn't make any move to acquire them. So, you know, I I don't know. I think they might maybe you're tearing it down to the studs. Maybe they're looking at uh Sean Horkoff, who is the general manager of Grand Rapids, and maybe maybe you get a little bit of continuity and you just promote from within. And maybe that's the new general manager of Detroit, of the Detroit Red Wings. I don't know. I'd be interested to see uh what happens with Detroit. Um but like I said, I called it. I called it. Stevie Y's days were numbered. I I just too many things were going against him. And I think the Larkin, the Larkin trade request and how vocal he's been about what management has has or hasn't done was maybe kind of the final the straw that broke the camel's back on top of the playoff collapses where they've been so close and they just they don't do anything to get it done. Moving on from that, right, Brandon Hagel was listed, Brandon Hagel's contract was listed as the third best value contract according to the athletics Dom lescision. Right. So if you if you if you have the subscription to the athletic and he gives the he gives the top ten um best contracts for 2026, Brandon Hagel was third on that list. Right, so and and I think it's important to remember, right? So he's got Brandon Hagel's market value at 14 million per year. His contract is 6.5 million for six years. He's got a positive value probability, whatever the hell that means, at 99%. Here's the thing is that Brandon Hagel was at an 85-point pace this past season and had a lack of power play time. And this is written in this is written in his article while continuing to be an elite two-way driver at 515. You look at that and you're saying, wow, yeah, he didn't have a lot of power play time, but still producing at that clip at that that cap hit. And like he the article even goes on to state that his comparable is Mark Stone at the same age. That that is that is an excellent. comparison. Now obviously like Mark Stone can't stay healthy, but just from when he is healthy from a couple years ago in Ottawa and how he was able to play, like what he built his his career on being a dominant two-way player, that is a that is a great comparison. And to get him for what is he was written in the article just under Mason Marchmint money, that deal is an absolute steal. Kind of just let me throw this in there kind of just goes back to this idea of when people say well what the hell has Julian Breeswall done right here. You just you got the third best that's it's subjective of course um you got the third best value contract according to one writer but still like it doesn't take a lot to realize what Brandon Hagel delivers he he delivers far more and above than what his contract is. And to be able to solidify that contract for the next couple years uh excellent piece of work. Speaking of the Blackhawks or former Blackhawks were those blackhawks that are returning Patrick Kane signed a two-year $16 million deal to return to Chicago. If you remember he was one player that I had on a list of potential free agents the Lightning could look at if they were kind of wanting to maybe kind of round out that top six I am absolutely thrilled that the Lightning did not go to the lengths of the Chicago Blackhawks that the Chicago Blackhawks did who signed Patrick Kane. $8 million for 37 38 year old Patrick Kane I know they have money to spend and you look at their roster and they're probably going to be pretty pretty bad again and Bedard is out for a couple months I mean I had to I had to go back and double take is it is it an $8 million or $8 million contract two years four million per I'm like wow that's actually pretty pretty good he stayed at the same cat head no it's eight million dollars for Patrick Kane let's kind of segue that into Kucharov in the extension. So if Patrick Kane at that age 57 points this past year and obviously there's there is a there's an element of uh sentimentality for Chicago bringing Patrick Kane back and but that cap hit eight million dollars per is ridiculous elliot friedman had come out and said that the Kucharoff extension was on hold for now because the lightning lightning's management was wanting to use 9.5 million as a starting point for Kucharov I'm looking at some of these guys who are getting their contracts right now and you're looking at Patrick Kane getting eight mil a year you're looking at Leo Carson now he's getting 18 uh 18 million a year Connor Bernard 15 million a year starting two seasons from now is it two seasons from now or is it this year? Regardless you look at that and you're beginning to wonder how the landscape is shaping up like I like I have said it many a time I said in the last last episode in the episode before Kuchoff could demand to be the highest paid player in the league he could I'm not sure if it's headed that way I think it was a little naive for management to try to make 9.5 as a starting point for Kucharov I I do think I don't know I mean initially I was thinking maybe they end up somewhere around 12 12.5 because I think Kucharov wants to stay here obviously that's a broad stroke you know generalization like I I don't know that but you know some some based on previous contracts that he's signed and um just how he goes about his business like he he just it just seems like he's going to be a lifer for the lightning but it definitely wasn't going to be at 9.5 I I mean that's like like kind of looking at it now in hindsight it's a little disrespectful especially that Patrick just got $8 million. Like I could see Kucharov asking $15 million plus and he would be right to do so. And uh Julian Brisbois I obviously we don't know if what what he's working on but if he's not working on anything I'm being a little silly when I say that um you hope he's working on it because that that price tag is just driving itself up with all these other contracts. So if Nikita Kutrov wants to drive up you know if he if he wants to drive up the price tag he's got every right to do so. So hopefully the lightning can lock him up hopefully before the season starts you you don't want to I think the lightning are gonna get it done. I just think that you don't want to go into the season with that kind of hanging over your head and then you know somebody else in the league has got an opportunity to pique uh the interest of Nikita Kuchrov seeing if he wants to come play for them, if they can offer him something better. But so long as the lightning are competitive and Julian Breeswall is willing to respect his salary demands without breaking the salary cap structure of the Tempo Lightning you're hoping that Nikita Kuchov stays put um without a doubt. So yeah guys so that'll uh that'll wrap it up for me for today I I said that I was gonna try to get on like last time I recorded it was like I was gonna get on with like three days or hopefully within the week and that absolutely didn't happen. It's been like 10 days, two weeks I don't know I don't even remember so the idea is yes I'm hoping to be able to kind of get it out the next episode to you in a week um we're gonna start kind of looking into some of the roles of some of the players that are currently on the roster uh particularly by the name of Dominic James and how his role could expand now with the likes of Nick Paul leaving so we'll look into that in the next episode uh and we'll kind of look into start playing this a game called Who's on my line where I am going to start just doing little projections and doing pros and cons of line a line mix and matching defensive pair mix and matching what certain guys bring to certain lines what they don't bring to lines and we're just gonna try to armchair GM this bad boy for the remainder of the summer so anyway guys thanks for listening we'll talk soon DVD out