Carlsson Chaos, Bobrovsky Bye-Bye, The Next Captains For Teams Needing One (Show 13)

Sean is here to breakdown all the drama of the Leo Carlsson offer sheet! What wild week it was for the Ducks and Flyers. He then voices his confusion and frustration with Sergei Bobrovsky not resigning with the Panthers and taking his talents to Toronto. What did Sean's wife say about it that made him burst out laughing? Lastly, Sean names which player should become the captain of the eleven teams that don't currently have a captain named. It's Biscuit Breakdown! Consider yourself served!

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Transcript

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It's time for biscuit breakdown, where hockey is the only thing on the menu. And welcome back, whoever you root for, wherever you live, whenever it is, it's time for Biscuit Breakdown. I'm your host Sean. Thank you again for tuning in. I'm excited to be here today. We got some fun things to talk about once again. This NHL offseason continues to keep us on our feet, basically, wondering what's going to happen next. We'll get into all that in a second. But basically, if you want to follow the show wherever you get your podcasts, I would really appreciate it. Please rate five stars and leave her a view. You can follow us on Instagram at biscuit breakdown, Twitter, Biscuit Breakdown without the O, or an email, biscuitbreakdownpod at gmail.com. All the ways that you can get in contact with me, I would love to hear from you. Pose some questions, some debate topics, uh, some would you rathers, you know, would you want this player over this player? Whatever you really want to say, um call me out, tell me that I was uh stupid for having a certain take on a certain player or team. I would love to have a debate with some of the listeners that we've got here. Alright, we are gonna move into the news of the last eight days or so. Um free agency started on July first, and it wasn't super crazy because there was all that crazy trade uh happenings and draft um implications that occurred before July first, so free agency was not that insane. One thing that I do want to talk about though is Sergei Babravsky signing a three-year twenty-one million dollar deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs instead of re-signing with the Florida Panthers. Now, we can say that, you know, we don't know exactly what Sergei Babrovsky wanted in terms of years and money. We don't know exactly what the Panthers were offering in terms of years and money, but you have to imagine that the two of them should have been able to figure out a way to make it work, in my opinion, because they got a good thing going. Um, you know, Babrovsky has helped them get to three Stanley Cups in a row, winning two of them, and now all of a sudden you're telling me that a 37-year-old is willing to uproot himself and go to Toronto of all places when he's living comfortably in South Florida, he's got all his Stanley Cup winning buddies, um, you know, you couldn't take a little bit less money to make it work, Sergey. I don't know about that, because now you're going to Toronto for seven million a year, but you're now paying Canadian taxes. So are you even making more than you would have if you would have just stayed in Florida and maybe signed a three-year deal worth, you know, four million a year? Um, you know, something like that. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I was listening to various hockey podcasts over the last few days, and no one can make sense of this. So I'm not coming in here with any sort of crazy take that's different than anyone else. I am just reiterating the fact that this move to Toronto makes zero sense. Um for Toronto, you're signing a 37-year-old goalie who is coming off of basically his worst year. Granted, the Panthers were very injured and sucked last year, basically. Um not exactly their fault, but all around it was not a great year for Sergei Babrowski, and now as a 37-year-old, the Maple Leafs are turning to him as their number one starter and they're gonna pay him seven million. Sort of a weird move by them as well. And like I said, Sergei is you know, he'll play well, I think, but it's not gonna be like world-changing. But as soon as that news broke that he was going to Toronto for three years, seven million a year, I was like, why, dude? Like you could just continue to be on the Panthers, not have to move, not have to figure out all that BS that comes along with it, learn a new team, new teammates, new system, new city. You're thirty-seven years old, you're you know, you're in the twilight of your career. The days are dwindling, Sergey. Why don't you just stick to the beach? You've made over a hundred million dollars after taxes, so what are you doing? Is the money that important to you that you wouldn't rather just take a discount and stick with the Panthers? I sound like a bitter fan of the Panthers here, but I mean I am disappointed to see him go, but if he couldn't get to a good number, then I don't want them to overpay him because they have a lot of other people that they're trying to make work with their cap situation, so if Sergei's not willing to play ball and make a smart choice for him and the team, then he can gallivant his way to Toronto and see if the other side is greener. Literally. And before we leave this subject, I gotta give my wife a shout out because she said something that really made me laugh when I brought up this whole situation to her about how I just couldn't understand why Bobropsky was taking a deal to go to Toronto when really he's not even gonna make that much more money and he's gotta uproot his family and he could have just stayed with his buddies and lived on the beach, yada yada yada. She said just flatly, well maybe he doesn't want to play until June anymore. Maybe he's tired. Maybe he just wants to fulfill the length of his contract each year and play until mid-April and then be done with it. Then he can have a nice long summer with his family and rest because he's getting old. And when she said that I just like burst out laughing because she was like half sarcastic but also half serious, and I was like, Well, I mean, I guess, I mean, Toronto, you know, who knows if they'll make the playoffs or not. Maybe you're right, maybe he just wants to be done in mid-April. So we'll see if the Maple Leafs can actually make the playoffs and um put Bobsky through more work and stress. Another major thing that happened this week that really rocked the entire NHL world was the fact that the Philadelphia Flyers signed Leo Carlson, a twenty-one year old center of the Anaheim Ducks, to an offer sheet worth five years ninety million dollars total. This was a bananas story because sometimes young players will become a restricted free agent, which means they are um basically with one year left on their deal, and they can re-sign with their current team, or another team can just come off the top ropes and send an offer sheet to that player, and if the player signs it, their current team has a chance to match that offer, otherwise, let them walk to that new team and then get draft picks as compensation. So basically, the Flyers, like I said, came out of the rafters on this one with a stone cold stunner, and basically signed Leo Carson five years, ninety million dollars, most of it in signing bonuses. So this kid's about to make forty million dollars over the next two years by the time he's like twenty-three years old. So good for that guy on becoming the highest paid player in the NHL at 18 million dollars a year. So good for him once again. And the ducks were now in a predicament of oh shit, do we match this offer and pay him 18 million dollars, which is way more than we budgeted, or do we let this young stud walk to Philly and get four first round draft picks as compensation, knowing full well that the four first round draft picks we receive will probably not be in the top ten of those drafts because the Flyers are about to be much better, and then the first round picks aren't as glittery and glitzy and glammy as they sound. So basically, they had to think through all of this and say, like, alright, do we match this money or do we take the four first round picks and maybe trade a few of those first round picks to get a new first line center that can be a uh a cornerstone piece of our franchise? So they had to debate this all week, they had to have a lot of conversations, and just today, July 9th, um, it was announced that the Ducks are going to match the $18 million a year offer. So he will be staying in Anaheim and helping them, you know, make the next step towards winning a Stanley Cup, except this is now screwing up their cap situation mightily because they still have other young players that are due for contracts soon, and you are now paying Leo Carlson eighteen million dollars a year when really you did not have that in your budget, and now all these other young players that you have to resign are gonna be way less likely to take a ten million dollar a year deal because that would mean they're eight million dollars less than Leo Carlson, and that is gonna just throw off the dynamic in the locker room. The agents of these players are gonna be licking their chops knowing that they got 18 million for Leo, so now we're gonna ask for higher, and basically the ducks are gonna have issues. They are going to potentially be shot out of the air before they really took flight. They have a lot of young, good players, but if your salary cap is in shambles, you are not gonna be able to have sustained success, and you're gonna have to trade away pieces or you know, I don't know, maybe get some you know younger players drafted and hope that they pan out. It's it's hard to do. It's hard to get everyone to buy in and get contracts that you know work with the salary cap, but also players are happy with the money that they're making. So basically, I know I sound like a homer again. The Florida Panthers um have done a great job, the players and the management, of figuring this out because Alexander Barkov makes ten million dollars a year. Everyone else slots under that. There's no one making more than him. You got Matthew Kachuk making nine million something, his brother Brady, who's now on the team, is making eight point two five. You've got like Reinhart and um you've got Reinhart making seven something a year, you have Bennett making eight million a year, so everyone's in that range. You have gu uh Gustav Forzling, one of the best shutdown defensive players in the game, he's making five and change a year. Ekblad's making six and change, Marshon's making five and change, so everybody took less in order to keep the band together. Also, as I've said in the past, no state tax in Florida helps that because they're only paying federal taxes, so that five point six million that Brad Marshan is getting goes farther in Florida than it does in, let's say, Boston, where he used to play, because he would play he would be paying the Massachusetts state tax, so he would have federal and state taxes taking money out of his pocket. In Florida, the players don't have to worry about that, so they're more willing to take less, and that's why there's been all that hubbub about non-state tax teams having an unfair advantage, which they kind of do. Um, we don't know if there's gonna be any solution to that, to be quite honest. Um, but there's some other people that I've been listening to that say, you know, every team has its advantages no matter what. Could be the location, could be the amenities of the city, blah, blah, blah. So the general managers really got to work hard to make their team somewhere that players want to go, even if there is state taxes. So, all in all, it will be interesting to see how the Anaheim ducks manage the rest of their roster and sign these players that are due for contract soon and make it all work with the salary cap. And if they can be competitive, um time will tell. No team has ever won the Stanley Cup with a player making more than ten million dollars a year. So that right there should be sending off alarm bells to any team that has a player making more than that. Because if you got a guy taking up too much money, there's not enough money to be spread around. It's just kind of basic, I don't know, logic. Um but one thing that was said today once it was announced that Leo Carlson was going to be staying in Anaheim. Let me pull up the uh tweet here. He said in an interview, I always wanted to be here. I really wanted them to match. I always, always wanted to be a duck. It is my home. I just wanted to be here a long time. I'm just super excited to be back. One, you technically never left. Two, um, you didn't always want to be a duck, Leo. Clearly, you were willing to be a Philadelphia flyer. You would not have signed that offer sheet if you were um that interested in being an Anaheim duck, because if you were, you would have told the Anaheim ducks, hey, listen, the Flyers offered me this. I think you guys uh should come close to that. I would love to be here, yada yada yada. No, he just went and signed the offer sheet. He guaranteed himself eighteen million dollars a year, which you can't be, you know, blaming the guy for that. You know, who wouldn't want eighteen million dollars a year? Um But he put money first, then the team, which he's allowed to do. You know, you got one life to live, you never know if you're gonna get injured. Secure as much money as you can. That's you know, he's perfectly allowed to do that. But to say that you always wanted to be a duck and it's your home, well, you risked that and you you got lucky because the team matched it. Now you get to have your cake and eat it too. You're making 18 million, you're living in Southern California, living it up, 21 years old, you got the world in your hands, and uh, you know, now it's just time to perform. If he goes out and sucks ass next year, all those Ducks fans and management, they're not gonna be happy with him. So he put a target on his back, he's now the highest paid player in the league. Can he show up when he's walking around with a fat, fat wallet? Alright, we're gonna change it up here and get to our next segment, which will be Who will be the captains of these captainless teams? There are currently eleven teams in the NHL that are captainless. They just have a couple of alternate captains without an official C on someone's sweater. So I'm gonna go through each of the eleven teams and then say who I think the captain should be. Um starting out with the Anaheim Ducks, um Leo Carlson, will you please stand up? This guy needs to be the captain of the Anaheim Ducks. You just strapped your eighteen million dollar a year wagon to him, so it's time to strap a C to his chest and make him earn that money. Make him lead the troops. If he can't do it, well, you're even more screwed than just having salary cap issues. Uh moving into the Chicago Blackhawks, I think this is another easiest, obvious one. Um I think Connor Bedard should be the captain of the Blackhawks moving forward. News just broke today, actually, that he is going to be out for the next four months with uh shoulder surgery recovery. So that sucks for the Blackhawks. That means he won't be back until mid-November at the earliest. He'll miss the first six weeks of the season, it sounds like maybe more. Big blow for them as he's their best young, exciting player. Um, you know, so I think he should be the captain, though, and that will help their chances at keeping him in Chicago, which they obviously want to happen. Um let's see here. Another easy and obvious one. I'm starting with the easy ones. The San Jose Sharks do not currently have a captain. You have heard me talk a lot about Macklin Celebrini, their young 19-year-old stud. Um, the dude is gonna make a boatload of money, no pun intended, the sharks. Um he is gonna make a boatload of money because the fact that Leo Carlson just got paid $18 million a year, um, that is gonna drive up the price of all these young guns in the league. You know, the salary cap is going up, so everyone's salaries are gonna go up. All these people that are becoming free agents soon, restricted free agents, they're gonna demand more money because the salary cap is higher, and you know, prices always go up, basically. So Macklin Celebrini will be interested to see um what he makes on his next contract, but he will be, without a doubt, the next captain of the San Jose Sharks because um he's awesome. The players look to him, and you know, he was just named team captain of Team Canada at the World Championships back in the end of May and June. So he is a certified stud and he will be the captain of the Sharks. Alright, moving into the Boston Bruins. Um I am going to say that Charlie McAvoy should be the captain of the Boston Bruins. He's a heart and soul guy, he plays with passion, grit, toughness, everything that Boston um is about. So I think he should be the next captain of the Bruins. Um another easy one, the New York Islanders. There's a lot to be said about their um young defenseman who will now be going into his second year, Matthew Schaefer. He really wowed the crowd all year long, and he won Rookie of the Year. He was unbelievable as an 18-year-old defenseman, which rarely ever happens. Um but a lot of people talked about his maturity and his decision making and how he treats others on and off the ice, so this guy has captain written all over him. Alright, moving on to the Ottawa Senators, who lost their captain Brady Kachuk in the trade to the Florida Panthers. They should elect Jake Sanderson, the defenseman, as their next captain. He is currently signed through the twenty thirty one thirty two season. So he's gonna be there for the long haul, unless he starts bitching and moaning that he doesn't want to be there and maybe he gets traded. But for now, he is content enough. And he's a good player. He's good on defense and contributes offensively. He should be the next captain of the Ottawa Senators. Moving on to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are currently captainless, I think they should choose Sean Monahan. He is a center, he is a veteran, he is well respected in the league, he's got a strong voice in that locker room, and he should be the next captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Now you might be saying to yourself, why the hell are you not picking Zach Werensky? Their stud defenseman. Well, because it is rumored that he is not going to re-sign with Columbus, and he only has two years left on his current deal. They tried to trade him a couple days ago to the Dallas Stars and he vetoed it. So that's awkward. Basically, they're trying to get something for him before he walks away for free, which I can't blame them there. But you're not going to make that guy your captain when his future with your team is a bit murky and he might want out, or you might trade him soon, so you're not going to pick him. So I would go with Sean Monahan. Next up is the Dallas Stars. I would choose their defenseman Miro Haskin. He is an awesome defender and contributes a lot on offense as well. He is signed for at least three more years. He is a solid choice as their next captain. Alright, after that is the Los Angeles Kings are on the lookout for a captain, and to me this is an easy one. I know he's an older player, but it should be Drew Dowdy. The guy has been awesome for you for his entire career. He's helped you win two Stanley Cups. He's been an alternate captain for a long time. Now that Anj Kopatar has retired as your captain, you gotta give the C to Drew Doughty. The guy's a legend. He's only gonna play for a few more years, so after that, you know, when there's a full kind of rebuild for the Kings, then you can figure out who your next captain's gonna be after that. Um, because the Kings have a lot of older players. It could be an ugly year for the Kings, in my opinion. Not sure what their future holds, their near future, but we know that in a few years they are probably gonna stink, especially with the fact that the Ducks and the Sharks and a lot of other teams in the West are on the rise, so the Kings could have issues in a few years. Um, but for now, give the captaincy to Drew Dowdy. Alright, another captainless team, the St. Louis Blues. They should elect Colton Pereco, their defenseman. He's been there a long time. He's still signed for another four years, it seems. So he should be the captain. He is a steady force for that team. He's helped them win the Stanley Cup back in twenty nineteen. Choose Colton Pereco, St. Louis. That's in order. And lastly, the Vancouver Canucks, the worst team in the NHL last year. Um this roster is a disaster. Um looking at it, I feel like there's only one clear choice as to who should be the next captain based on who's been there for a little bit and who's got a decent amount of years left on their current contract. A lot of guys have about three years or less on their contract, a lot have one. Um so they could have a lot of new players over the next few years here, and you're not gonna elect one of those players. So I believe the Vancouver Canucks should select Brock Besser. He's been there, I would say, probably four or five years by now. Says he still has four years left on his current contract, so he should have a good understanding of the room at this point. Um he's a little bit of an older player, probably late twenties if I had to guess. Um you could choose him as a captain and he will help hopefully lead you out of the sewers that you've been living in over the past few seasons. And once again, if you agree or disagree, I would love to hear from you. You can reach out on socials or email. Um before we go, I want to quickly um give a shout out to Matt from Connecticut for uh listening. One and two, we were um hanging out over the Fourth of July weekend, and he mentioned that um basically we were talking about how Travis Kelsey was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs for another three years, and I was like, I don't know why the Chiefs would do that, and he brought up a great point that I hadn't thought of. He was like, Well, they know that Taylor Swift is gonna be involved for at least three more years with the Chiefs, which will um make them a lot more money, so it's worth the risk of having Travis on the field running slower than a tortoise, and having Taylor Swift up in the suite making them tons of ad dollars and merchandise, who knows, getting people to the stadium. Um so that was a good point by Matt. Hadn't thought of that, so thanks Matt for listening. I appreciate you tuning in. And to anyone out there, if you enjoyed today's show and you listen from start to end, please tell a friend. We all have at least one hockey friend out there, and there's plenty of room for hockey shows, so send this to them, send it to a family member, a colleague, send it to anyone that you think would enjoy this show, and I would really appreciate it. Be sure to follow this show wherever you get your podcasts and leave a five-star rating and review. Thank you very much. Um, you can follow me on Instagram, Biscuit Breakdown, Twitter, Biscuit Breakdown without the O, or Gmail Biscuit Breakdown Pod at gmail.com. Thank you for tuning in to Biscuit Breakdown. Consider yourself served.