KEVIN WEEKES On The Florida Panthers' Conference Final Sweep, Dallas vs. Vegas and The Stanley Cup Final

♪♪ Hi there everybody. Welcome to the BobbiCon podcast. Brought to you by BETT Rivers. Download the BETT Rivers Online Casino and Sportsbook app today. Why are you laughing, Shen? Well, when you start to say hi again everybody. Sounds like Harry Carey. Well, I do know I'm in trouble. No, half the audience has to go Google, Harry Carey. How are you? Don't you miss weekday afternoons at one o'clock? Oh, turning on the television and watching the Chicago Cubs play an afternoon game? It is one of the travesties of our time. Sure. I love to go up every second of it. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm not a Cubs fan. I didn't care whether the Cubs won one. But I watched because Harry Carey was doing the play by the play. It made Wrigley Field look like a palace. It was? A beautiful summer after, well, you ever been there Bob? It ain't no palace. Well, I know it's a dump, but more often than not it's full. Well, it was, I still remember a couple times I'd be driving west to British Columbia. And I just would happen to time my arrival in Chicago at 1215 on a Friday afternoon. I'll bet you. And phone somebody and say, hey, can I get two tickets to the Cubs today? And park and sit at Wrigleyville and have a beer and then walk over to the stadium and oh God, it was, it was just a great afternoon to sit and watch baseball. Yeah. The only problem was you had to put your piece into here. Harry, I'm sitting at home watching WGN, was it? WGN, yeah. Yeah. And and Harry was on every day. But but every every game before the game started, Harry would walk across the catwalk and people would be on the con course and he'd look down and say, Hey, how are you? Everybody said they saw Harry. It was legendary. In Toronto, coaching is the issue. The Raptors don't have one and they may believe still have one. Although apparently there were two guys or are two guys in town right now interviewing for living as supposedly here and Steve Nash is either here or was here. He's been here. He's been here. Yeah. What do you think of those two names? Well we talked about Brad. Brad's I think Brad could do a good job. I wonder if anybody's prepared to work in this town right now because it's it looks like a hornet's nest and I'm still pushing Becky Hammond to coach the Raptors as opposed to Steve Nash. So why? I think she's a good coach. Well you think she's a good coach, but she said she'd be the first woman coach. So professional sports. So the pressure. Let me ask you this. If Steve Nash was not Canadian and an alleged in our country, would he even got an interview? No. Probably not, but maybe not. No. Look at the guy. He wasn't he hasn't been a failure as a coach. He's got an over 500 record. If I had Kevin Durant on my roster, I might have over 500 too. Really? Were the Phoenix Suns over 500 with Kevin Durant this year? No. Well Monty got fired, but he just got 20 million in the bank to do it. So good question though, isn't it? We have a guest coming up here. Not right now. We don't. Do we? Yeah. Oh, I've taken I've taken breaking the truth to guests then. Yes. Yeah, I do that. Well, that'd be a good idea. Kevin Weeks of ESPN will join us after these messages. Hi, this is Bob McCowan for bet rivers.com. Hey, if you're looking for a sports book or casino app, you should check out the bet rivers sports and casino app today. Play all of your favorite casino games for real money anywhere and anytime. Plus get in the action with each sports game with hundreds of sports betting options and get ready to feel like a VIP because you'll earn both loyalty level points and bonus store points on every real money wager you make. You must be 19 plus available in Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 or speak to an advisor free of charge bet rivers.com. Hockey on the agenda today. McCowan and Shannon back with you and were with Kevin Weeks of ESPN. Once again, just back from Florida and a quick four game series there. You got to be shocked at that, right? Yeah. I'm shocked at it because the canes are such a quality opponent and Roddy and the staff have done such an incredible job with that team. And even in light of their injuries, there's no way anybody could have gone at that series thinking that they'd lose for nothing. I don't think ultimately that it reflected the fact that they got swept because they played hard and they played well. But you got to tip your cap to the Florida Panthers man in the run that they're on right now. It's a historic run for them. This is awesome to see for them. Is this as simple as Babroski being that good? Yeah. Yeah, Bob's was unreal. Bob's was really dialed in, locked in. We have the same agent, you know, and Paul Tiafaunas. But I'm going to share this for a lot of the viewers and the listeners that nobody's really kind of delved into. When you watch Babroski play, watching the pregame show when they show the warm up. You can see him literally deep breathing. He's visualizing. He's so mentally locked in and stop it just in play. You can see it in TV time out. You can see it. He's at a whole different level mentally. And that's really kind of part and parcel with his game physically right now. He's absolutely dominant right now. One of the questions then becomes like, how long can you do that? How long can you be in that zone? I don't know. Were you ever in that zone? I guess so. Yeah, I was. But if there's a way that it was a Tuesday in December 1998, whatever. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, listen, I got a business proposition. If there's some way, if there's some way that we can bottle that soul. The godfather, John Shannon, you could take, I don't know, we're going to give you a little more than a third. Well, I've got, we're going to give you more of the majority and I'll just take a little slice because if we can bottle and sell that zone, yeah, what man, we'd all be billionaires. So I wasn't in his own in December. Why wasn't he in this zone in January? Yeah. So we didn't want to be. We didn't feel he needed to be. That's when he was getting the $10 million bomb. So here's got it anyway. Regardless of how he played here, here's the crazy thing about about him and about gold hunting in general, which is really interesting. I think for the Florida Panthers specifically, they're a team that's really been a high octane team. Remember last year they're the comeback cats. Yeah. They had an unreal regular season. They could score their way out of problems. They could rescue games being down three one in the third. Come back that bad win a game for three, right? But they've never really been as solid defensively as they are now. You can see guys taking pride in how they defend and it's now become infectious up and down the lineup. And with that, you can also see that with their killing penalties. And Bob's came from playing in Columbus where they had that structure especially under torts to come into Florida where a lot of guys were playing, not to be disparaging, but a lot of guys are playing to run numbers. They weren't necessarily playing a win. That fit wasn't quite a fit per se. And I think with with Paul Maurice coming in there, my former head coach and Jamie Compound on the assistant side and Sly LaFave, so that LaFave, they've really been able to impart on these guys. Guys, let's play from the middle of the ice out. I know I sound like we're talking minor hockey here, but it's that basic. Let's play from the middle of the ice out. Let's defend. Well, let's get Bob the shots from the angles with be a lot more predictable and a good way defensively. If and when we buy into that, we're going to give ourselves a shot. And to me, that those two things kind of coincided with Bob hitting his stride. And we know he got sick coming down the stretch, lion had to come in there and he was amazing props to him, especially with Spencer and I being in the program. And in the assistance program, and once Bob came back, he was able to hit his stride and he looks like the two time Bezna Trophy winner, that is Browski. But he would tell you the way the guys are playing in front and around him as well. It allows him to maximize his game. It is difficult to assess what impact a coach is having over the course of a season, et cetera. Right. Well, I wonder if you can look at this, the Florida Panthers and the way they have played the last three or four weeks and point to figure out palmories and say, you know, this guy has made them play this way and it's been successful. Do you think so? All day guys, I have goosebumps with you saying that. I literally have goosebumps right now with you saying that because that brings me back to playing four palmories in 2002 with our group, when Rod Britton, more Ron Francis, Jeff O'Neill, our whole squad in 2002, when we ended up going on this improbable run in a lot of people's eyes. Before the playoffs started, palmories pulled me in the office. He had a very pointed and respectable conversation with me individually, but I know he had that with other guys, pardon me. And when I got up out of his office, the hairs on the back of my neck started standing up. And I really knew then at that time that our group had a chance to do something and we were had a chance to shock the world, like a Cinderella team in the NCAA tournament. Let's just say March Madness tournament. That's what I felt we could do. The game in Toronto, which you guys remember coming down the stretch when he had to lay into the guys on the bench. Remember that is coming down the stretch right before the playoffs. He laid in the middle of March, middle of March, right? So he lays into the guys on the bench, not in a way to devalue anybody or to discredit anybody, but to rally them. Guys, this is right here. This is a moment for us. This is what we can do. This is what we have to do. We do this. We're on. Let's go. And that, to me, was the jumper cables from Canadian Tire on a Tuesday that was minus 25 Celsius equivalent of that to get what seemed to be a car that was stalling to get it going and the rest is history. So to answer your bobcat in a long, long-winded way, absolutely. So in theory, do you think it took 65 games for them to buy into what Paul was saying? Is that the simple? Yeah. Totally. Listen, guys, Matthew Kuchuk, and I'll probably get some stick for this because my wife's in Alberta. I've told you this how many times. I told the people, tell me when they dressed in this guy, this guy's the man. He's the man. Chuck, he's the guy. Chuck, he's the guy. I won't even talk about how that ended out there because to me, that was kind of a box on their part, but even though I knew he wanted to part, but that's another story. Matthew Kuchuk told me when he first signed, we see we're going to do something down here. NHL All-Star Week in Fort Lauderdale Beach. Matthew Kuchuk, remember how we had the outdoor skill session at the little outdoor rink there by the beach? This would be an accuracy shooting. He pulled me in. He's like, we see. Love it down here. I love it. It's awesome. We're going to do something. I could feel him. I could feel it. I was even, I'm not a teammate. I could feel him tell me that. And it's almost as though he will the team. In addition to his dad, the great Keith Kuchuk, Big Wolf, some of his comments on the radio here in Toronto, it's almost as though they will the team into the fight because Matthew Kuchuk is the guy that brings guys into the fight. And he's certainly been able to do that with this group. It's incredible what he's doing. We're going to find out right now whether we have two sweeps heading into the Stanley Cup final. I don't know. I'm going to just guess. I don't know statistically. I'm going to guess this has never happened. Wrong. We've had, we have had both teams swept. 1992. Really? Pittsburgh swept the East, the Boston Bruins. That's when Cam Mealy got hurt by Alsamellson and Chicago with Mike Keaton as a coach swept the Evans and Oilers. You know, 1992 was the last time. That's pretty, you know, I, and then by the way after that, another sweep. Pittsburgh beat Chicago in four. I'm in the Cup final. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. That's how we'll see your guys point. That's how rare this is. Well, I was, I can't, I couldn't remember that. So, you know, just logically you'd say, look, you get to the third round. Usually that's, you know, each round is more competitive. You know, to have two guys in the second, two teams in the second round both coming out of sweeps, that wouldn't, you know, that wouldn't be that odd. But two teams going to the final on sweeps and that might happen tonight. The Vegas wins. That's pretty rare. But the floor, the floor to four games. Yeah. What do you think about it? I mean, three games, two and over time. Then this thing that we saw in game four where Bob, you and I talked about this yesterday, referees not putting whistles away. They call a power play in the last, what, 110 or 170 seconds of the game. And the Panthers score in a power play with five seconds to go. I mean, really three overtime games in so many ways, three overtime games. One of them lasted more than more than two games. And then the other game was a one nothing victory. If you could tell me, I think with a few little tweaks, Carolina could have won all four games. They could have won all, but they could have. Well, no, but they didn't know. So it's difficult to say, well, there's a sweep. You know, we've only seen of the seven games played so far. Really, there's only been one route. And that was game three in Dallas with Vegas controlling the first 10 minutes of the game and then going on cruise control. Well, really, that's what happened. It was three nothing after 10 minutes, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So and they went four nothing. What occurs to me is you've got, if we wind up with the obvious, if Vegas, Florida, Stanley Cup final, you know, one thing. One is a new still new NHL market. Awesome. And the other one is maybe the second worst market in the National Hockey League in terms of fan interest. Plus, you've got the Miami Heat in play, which is taking, you know, a lot of the attention away from the Panthers. You know, God love them, but that's not a big NHL market. It's not a market that has fans all over Canada and the United States. Vegas is another story. I think there are lots of Vegas fans out there, but nonetheless. So it's funny to floor, you know, when Vegas went to the Stanley Cup final in its first year, they were Cinderella. Yeah. Of course. Cinderella is on the other on their foot now. Cinderella is in Florida. Correct. Probably. Yeah. But, you know, did so you try and evaluate that series. I'm at a loss. I have no idea, no anticipation, expectation of what might happen. It could be absolutely anything. What do you think? I think it goes six or seven. Do you? I think it goes six or seven. And the reason why I say that is the way both these teams are playing, they both are playing a heavy game. I don't want to say it's fully akin to what the LA Kings played when they won their two cups, but it has some similarities to that. They lock you down, they're playing hard in the middle of the ice, they're winning board battles, they're back checking. And you can see guys aren't just trying to live and die with making plays offensively. That's exactly how the LA Kings to get their own sort of credit in that group, how they won. Now, we know they had the great Jonathan quick. He was outstanding and the other co-patart can go up and down the list. But the way those two teams are playing, they're not just playing a high flying, high octane, give and go game looking for. No, they're playing hard. They're playing hard and you got to keep those guys credit. That's why in that matchup to me, they say styles make the fights. I think it could go six or seven if it ultimately ends up being what we think it is with Vegas and Florida. I think it'll be an unreal final. Actually, before we jump into the final, I got to ask you, Jamie Ben, what was he thinking or was he? He wasn't. I just think he blacked out. He blacked out. He just blacked out. And what he did is inexcusable. I've always been a big supporter of Benner. I love his game. I love his resurgence this year. It's just such an irresponsible play by him. And I understand the frustration and you guys are at home and you're trying to be physical and make it. And I know Stoner loves to talk. And Jamie does. And Stoner loves to talk and he won't. I'm not saying he can't fight, but very rarely will you see him fight, especially with the back. And I'd be responsible where that's concerned and try to protect his back. But Jamie Ben, as you guys know, could have played in the mid 90s. And he could have played in the 80s because he's a throwback player. And when you're, I'm not excusing him. I'm just saying, bringing you into his mentality when Stoner keeps talking and chirping him after a while, I was like, you're going to get it. So he was back playing with Rick Talkett or like Rick Talkett in an era where we are, where we are today. So that's what happened. It was an inexcusable play. It's a play you can't make. It was a very dangerous play too. Okay. So he screwed up on the ice. No question. Then it was a no show after the game to talk to people about it. And what that did do was put so much pressure on his teammates. Sure. No question. To talk about him. If you're in the dresser, you're home and something happens to a teammate and he won't address it. Every guy comes to you to say, what do you think of what he did? What kind of captain and leadership is that? That was not a good choice. And that's not captain leadership, ilk in that moment. And the hard thing I think for a lot of guys is very seldom are a lot of guys in spots where they're embarrassed. And you know he was embarrassed. Yeah. And that's what it's like to be embarrassed, but not everybody in the league. In spite of how hard guys have fought to get their stay there, not very many of them are in positions where you're embarrassed. And when you're embarrassed, especially publicly in a world where we have this mass multimedia, transmedia, social and everything else, a lot of times your first instinct to subtract as opposed to to come forward and just embrace it and speak to it. I think that's really what happened to him. And I know for a fact, he was really embarrassed with his teammates because I talk to different people there. He felt like he let the team down. He felt like he let the fans down. You know, he's close to him with his family. He felt like he let he let them down. And his first instinct was to retreat and just kind of stay in that sense of embarrassment as opposed to wearing it on his shoulders and just coming forward and speaking to it because even in the presser yesterday to piggyback your point, even when he said, well, I actually that, you know, I landed and I wouldn't have done it this way and I would have used my stick to land. It's when when you're in that embarrassing kind of situation and especially publicly, it's a tough feeling. As a, you know, as a 48 year old now, I can speak to it differently than I would have been able to at 2021, 22, whatever the case or a young player and not suggesting as a young player now, but that I could tell that's exactly what happened. And for speaking to people there, that's, that's what I was able to gather. I just don't know. It's just to me, it's to me, it's one of those ones where you say, gosh, Jamie, you know, we've given you that C for sure. You've got to walk out there. You don't have to speak for long. You don't even have to ask questions. Answer questions. You can go out and make a one minute statement and say, listen, I screwed up. I apologize. I'm embarrassed for my teammates. I'm embarrassed for the franchise. I'm embarrassed for my parents. I'm not taking any questions. We'll see what player safety does. That's all he needed to do. Absolutely. That's all he needed to do. And then the way the world goes on Joe Pavelski, to try to figure out what, and Joe Pavelski does, what hockey guys do. He's a good guy. He's a great captain. He's my teammate. I'm going to stand behind him. No question. You know, and, you know, I just, I felt, to me, you know, Kevin, it was reminiscent, sorry to get on a soapbox. It was reminiscent of me of what Tim Thomas did in Boston when he refused to go to the White House. Right. And he said, I'm not going to the White House and I'm not going to talk about it. Right. And so every other guy in that Boston room had to talk about why is it Tim Thomas go to the White House? Sure, sure. That's going to be it. I mean, that's not fair to them. Yeah. No, you're right. So that's what last night and, or the two nights ago and then yesterday morning's press conference was, I tell you what, whoever wrote that speech for him, need a new speech writer. That's all I know. Exactly. You guys, you guys think that could be the difference between these two teams in game four, his absence. I mean, how, you know, it's one guy. How important is he? No, no, I'll tell you what Dallas is, Dallas is still a talented hockey team. Right, Kevin? Yeah. Yeah, there's still, Dallas is still stacked. It just two things. Number one, they need to start on time. And number two, they need to honor to play the way Otter can play. Jake Otter in the net. You get those two things. You start on time, Jake Otter is playing the way he can. They can make a push here in this game for they can make a push, but they have to start on time. It's hot guys. It's hard to rescue games, man. The great Patrick will always said, he's like, guys, get the first one and I'm going to help you do the rest. And if you look statistically, and I'm not, you know, I've got grade 11, no, great 10 math from Scarborough. I didn't go to MIT. How's your friend? It's not great. But I didn't go to MIT. All right. Let's be honest. I'm not a quad. So the numbers bear out that better than 60% of the time when you score first, you've got a good chance to win. And you can crank that up in the Stanley Cup playoffs. So to me, if you follow sleep or the suit of Fred's haven't kicked in, the espresso haven't kicked in, the red blossom kicked in, and you're getting kicked in because you're down to nothing. That's a tough way. That's a tough way to start games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, boys. Well, it sounds like you would have picked Dallas at the beginning of this series, like my friend Shannon. I did not. I picked fake. What are you talking about? No, you did not. Yeah, now stop it. Stop it. Now you're just making stuff up. You can't remember what I said yesterday. How can you remember what I said last week? Pardon? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I had Vegas because my belt, George McPhee, you know, we used to live in Summerlin. You know, we played golf. Oh, right. And you get, I get tired of it every day. Yeah, I see the golden nights. It's on the license plates, you know, I do have, I do have, I have a Vegas golden night license plates on my cars. Matter of fact, original. I can't believe he didn't buy in to Bill Foley's franchise. We sell and Bill was selling shares. They didn't offer any to me. Look, it was my hometown for a number of years. I went, I got invited to and I went to games in the first season. I went down to Vegas and then I went to a playoff game in the final against Washington. I love what they've done there. Honestly, guys, like, listen, we've been around these, we've been around the leagues a long time and specifically our league a very long time. You guys way longer than me because you're way younger than me. But I'm saying that. God bless you. And saying that in terms of an atmosphere that I've experienced as a broadcaster now, the last 15 years, they'll say 12 years ago, or 13 years ago now, rather four years back, I told you a great 10 math. It was the Vegas Stanley Cup final. And prior to that, it was the National Stanley Cup final. And when I was at the Stanley Cup in Nashville, I thought we were like on Mars. It was so amazing, unique atmosphere going bonkers. Yeah. Keith Urban, this person, that person, Alan Jackson on the set, like, hey, that place was unreal in terms of the job that they did hosting the Stanley Cup. And then it was Vegas's turn. And then we went to the International Space Station. That was even more incredible. So what they've done there is really impressive. I always do a hat tip to Bill Foley and their group and what they've been able to cultivate there. And I go back to Bill Foley telling me he was doing season ticket drives himself. And self going to meet and greets himself at sports bars and restaurants in around Las Vegas. If that's not hunger and commitment as known around, I don't know what it is. It's really impressive. We're halfway through. Kevin Weeks is with us and we'll take a break and come back with more after this message. Spring is here and so are the long days, warm weather and yard work. If you're anything like me, then you know how easy it is to get behind on your spring to do list. But factor is here to help. The number one ready to eat meal kit can help you fuel up fast with ready to eat meals, delivered right to your door. Giving you time to get the things you need to do done. Factors fresh, never frozen meals are ready in just two minutes. So all you have to do is heat and enjoy. We offer delicious flavor packed options on the menu each week to fit a variety of lifestyles like keto, to calorie smart, vegan or veggie. With over 34 chef prepared dietitian approved weekly options, there's always something new to try. To get the factor, you can rest assured you're making a sustainable choice. Head to factor meals.com slash Bobcast 50 and use code Bobcast 50 to get 50% off of your first box. That's code Bobcast 50 at factor meals.com slash Bobcast 50 to get 50% off of your first box. We're counting the channel with you. Kevin Weeks is along with us from ESPN. Where are you? Are you in Toronto now? No, no, we're at home in Jersey now. So it's back home. You know, you've got mansions everywhere just for the record. I understand. Hey, listen, I keep it real. You see this? That's a Regina pizza rea cup from Boston. I don't have that. That just means you don't recycle. That's all that. Why do you have a cup from Boston? See, because Regina pizza is one of my favorite spots. It's Boston. Big deal. Throw it out. See, it's done. No. You see my wife tries to throw this out all the time. I literally put a little security chip in the bottom of it. Oh, God. Those things wear out eventually. I never kept a store bought plastic cup. You know, the full Star Wars ones. Remember the Star Wars ones from the 80s? Sort of. Yeah, we have a couple of those. My parents held us back home. My God, they're 40 years old. I'm in a garage sale. Oh, man. Vintage boys vintage. Now you're sounding like the kids. I talked to everyone. So, they talk about the good old days. Absolutely. In 1997. Yeah. So, would you assume that Florida Vegas might be the worst Stanley Cup final potential final that the NHL would anticipate? Maybe some people there. But to me, I look at this to say in two things. Number one, South Florida's on fire since and during the pandemic, it's been on fire. And you've got a lot of transplants. We've got a lot of people that have left here in New York area, a lot of snowbirds from back home, a lot of Boston is a lot of people that live down there, either a full time or part time that love the game, that love it, that group playing it and watching it. Of course, they might have their favorite team. But the transplants down there are alive and well. It's fun to them and wait and there's been an influx of more of them in the last three years. So, you think that's a solid hockey market now? I think it's going to, I think it will improve. And I think I think it's got to improve. No question. But I think this will give it a nice bump in addition to the all-star game being down there. That's a one-off. Yeah, that doesn't matter. That's a four-one-off. But just with it happening in the same season, you go from that the great year they had last year to the all-star game to the way in which they got into the playoffs, as you guys alluded to earlier. Oh, I know. And then now you have this, which you also alluded to. Now, you don't only have the heat owning everything, which they do, don't get me wrong. But you also now have Panthers on their run. And the Panthers are already locked in. It's a great time down there in South Florida. So I think it's going to be better than people that anticipate and answer you there. Well, maybe. And you know the Vegas deal. You know how unreal Vegas is and set up there. Yeah, and it'll be interesting to see if being in the Stanley Cup final for the second time in four years, I was there during the first one. It was exciting. Yeah. Will it be as exciting this time? Here's the interesting thing for me is that certainly the teams are not original six teams. They're not the Philadelphia Flyers. They're not big giant hockey markets. Well, tell you what, there's some stars. There are some stars. Matthew Kachuk is a star. What's that? It's an inevitable job office. No, no, it's no, it's not. It pretty much is. You know, you'd make us if Dallas one winds up winning that Vegas series, which they won't, you'd make some stuff. You'd say there are players on the Dallas roster that are stars. I'll tell you what, not like Matthew Kachuk or not like Jack Eichl or Mark Stone. Honestly, I don't know about that. You know, you know, when you when you look at it, that to me is you can't stop thinking about when you just say the Florida Panthers, you can't stop thinking about that damn Matthew Kachuk and what he does and how he plays the game. And not only that, how his approach, I mean, I watched his interview last night on TNT after the game. One. Yeah. Yeah. As, I mean, man, oh man, as as affable as anybody could do. He was, he was glib. He was fun. He wasn't rude. It was something that I think people could really grasp onto and say, Hey, I want to be, I want to be part of this and watch this. I do think that you're right, Bob, small markets, you know, and you know, the Florida has not had a great following. And there's reason to think that it's, it's not a great matchup that way. But the people and the personalities of these two teams are starting to come through. And I think we're going to see that through the whole Stanley Cup final. If if it is, in fact, as we, as we've discussed though, the fact that the heat are where they are, well, they're not out of the woods yet either. By the way, you know, they're going back to Boston for game five, whatever, whatever the case is. Yeah. Look, we know that the heat is getting four times the publicity to the Panthers in the media. Sure. And the radio you turn on the television, you pick up a newspaper, you go online. The Miami heat are the story in South Florida. And people recognize that the Panthers are on their way to the Stanley Cup final, but are they really going to become fans of hockey? Yes. Well, that's basketball team is, is on a roll. Yes. I don't think so. Yes. I think it's really unfortunate for the Panthers. You know, here's happened. Here's where, here's the thing with the Panthers now, which is really unique because I was drafted there, should have never left downtown. The original Miami arena, they should have gone in with the heat down where the heat are, which is like five minutes from house downtown. They should have gone in there with the heat. We know that that's a black, that's a foregone conclusion. And the reason why I bring that forward is one of the cool things about the heat is where they're located. You're just across either causeway from South Beach. Right. The Venetian Islands are right there. Brickles just a little bit south of there. When what is just in the next door to Brickle? Like I can go out. So geographically it's an incredible spot. However, with the Panthers right now, because it's not the regular season, because you don't have to get all the way out there to sunrise for 82 games right now, every game is almost like an NFL football game, plus right now for the Panthers. So they love going out to Hard Rock for the 60 games or whatever it is they go out there for, right to watch the Dolphins play. Sure. But that's kind of what it's become now at this point in time in the playoffs for fans going to watch the Panthers. And I've got to tell you, they're getting a lot of celebrity support down there right now, which you guys know helps to amplify things. That's really important. Yeah. I saw more of Brooks Keptke at the hockey games than I did at the PGA Championship. He's loving it. He is loving it down there. Yeah, man. So it's catching wind. But I think the biggest thing and the big takeaway and you just mentioned this here, Godfather, when you just said, look, there's not, there aren't original six franchises. There aren't legacy franchises that are established. But here's what I love about this. What I love about this is this just goes to show you how unique the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs are. How unique. Respect all the tradition, respect all the generations, respect the history and a lot of the great clubs and great players and legacy. But in the Stanley Cup playoffs, unlike any other sport and any other league in the world, you are not entitled to anything. You have to come and earn it. And it's a hard, unforgiving gauntlet to go through to be able to win one round. Yeah. Let alone to be able to get to Stanley Cup. And this is another example of that. So I think in that respect, it's really cool for the sport. Sorry. When you said that, I was reminded of something I said, something on a radio interview yesterday. I says, we're five and a half weeks in. I mean, it's a really, really tough journey to get through this from the start of the middle of April to here we are in, you know, the 25th of May. And we still have, in theory, probably three more weeks of hockey to play, not games every night, but hockey to watch and play. And these guys, every guy, I assume every guy is banged and bruised at some point right Kevin right now. Oh my God. Yeah. The medical staff of these teams, the strength and conditioning staff, the medical staff, the medical trainers and staff, doctors, they're performing miracles on a day to day basis. Like, if you see some of these guys off, like off the ice and behind the scenes, shoulders up here, broken fingers, some guys playing maybe with like a half of an ACL or partially torn MCL, like major, major injuries and the fact that these guys are even playing. I remember being in the playoffs in each and every year, but specifically our cup, our cup, your, your, an O2. We had Dr. J. Stevens down there in Carolina and our other doctors that were literally in there multiple times a day. And okay, we have to address this player's injury. We have to adjust this player's wound. Okay. Now we have to, in some players were getting stuff done two, three, four times a day. Like you think back to guys that were bone on bone, I play with guys and I won't mention some of them because it never came out, but whose knees were basically bone on bone, like part of the shot. And the stuff that I saw those medical people perform on them, it was crazy. And even for some of those players, guys, they would literally be getting treatment for a lot of viewers. Some, some, some players would get treatment like six times a day, like into the evening, into the night, right up to before bed, first thing in the morning and do it all over again. And couldn't necessarily function with that injury in certain ways in everyday life. And somehow when that pluck drops, they're out there. It's unbelievable. It's so inspirational, man. It's crazy. But that kind of, respectfully, that kind of thing has been happening since the beginning of time. Correct. Correct. 50, 60 years ago, when I was sort of talking hockey, correct. We were talking about the same thing. A hundred foot. To the Stanley Cup playoffs. Guys are hurt. All the guys are hurt. But it was 60 years ago, you know, we all, everybody, you know, the famous Laura of Bobby Bond. Correct. They only played two rounds. Exactly. You know, Darrell, you know, they're early 70s. There was only three rounds. We're now four, seven round, seven game series. With the speed, with the pace, the tempo, with the travel. So it's only further built on that lower. Right. And become increasingly more demanding than it even was at that time, which was already crazy in the first place. Yeah, it's impressive. It's really impressive to watch. Hey, that's are important. Yeah. You know, there's a whole league out there that isn't playing hockey that there's lots of changes coming. There's lots of things to be hired. What's your thought on Craig Conrad being the new general manager in Calgary? I just reading some of the articles this morning on it and my guy, do a hat check. And some of the other folks that wrote about it, Pirela Brun and some of the other folks, I think it's great for Connie. I think it'll be great for Calgary. I respect Connie a lot playing against him. The majority of guys that I've talked to that played with them that are more vocal, all raved about him and all rave about him. I've spoken to some of them since. A few of them are over at the World Championships right now in different roles. And they were literally, I was talking to one of them yesterday from the world. And it was like, we see it couldn't have happened to a better guy. There could be somebody that's more deserving. He's worked exceptionally hard. He's very attentive. He's a great people person. Certainly he understands that everything about the DNA of that franchise and being in Calgary and being in Alberta. And he's worked his way into this position. This is another progression for him in a different way. We all have our own ways that we get into stuff. But I think it's a great hire. I really do. And I think he's going to be able to relate to a lot of the young players. But he'll be able to have some good new school, old school, which I think is very important. I think he'll do a nice job there. I'm happy for Connie. Well, there are a few general managers jobs open. And the one we've talked about, I guess, the most is here in Toronto. Yeah. The Dubas leaving. Neither John nor I think that George McPhee would be a candidate for this job in terms of him, his interests. Although he would be the number one guy in my mind. What about tri-living? The former Calgary GM? He's a guy who a lot of people think is the leading candidate for the Maple Leaf job. Yeah. And I'll tell you, the one thing I like about him is the fact that last offseason, he had to create something out of that mess that was created for him or maybe partly by him. Or partly with their top two players. And I think he did. In spite of their failure in the playoffs or not getting to the playoffs, I think he did a good job. The person who comes to Toronto, don't you think has got to make some very, very tough decisions and then probably trade a significant player? Yes. I think they'll have to. I think where Toronto is now, and I give Shani a lot of credit for what they've done and what they've gotten to, what they've become. They're now on the mountain. They're probably almost midway up the mountain. But at this point, they have to make some hard decisions to be able to elevate and get up and then get to the sun. And they have good pieces. There's no question about that. They're in a good position because they have good pieces. We all know here and a lot of the fans that are watching know that they're well resourced. So there's no lack of any resource. And you don't always have that in every ownership group now. So they're very well resourced. I think whoever comes in is going to have to be very strategic, very forward thinking, very contemporary in how they think because we have as many young players as you do. Boy, that sounds like Kyle Dubas. Well, hey, listen, the challenge is, you're going to be able to do it. It sounds like he had his eyes on another lawn and it looks like he could be going over to that very house here in the not too distant future based on what I'm hearing. That's right. So I really think that the Leafs are in a good spot, but you're right. They're going to have to make some big decisions and they need somebody that's going to be very contemporary and a forward thinker. So I'm curious to see what that looks like for them. Well, tell me, if you were the general manager, would you trade Matthews? I would not rule anything out at this point if I was. In other words, you would if you got the right deal. I think everything's up for consideration. Austin Matthews is an amazing player. He's one of the best players to this point that's ever going to leave Jersey. We know that hands down. But at this point, you're trying to get up that mountain and you have to take somewhat of a calculated risk or two to be able to get you there. So I wouldn't take anything off the table at this point. Do you think somebody will throw a big time offer at the Leafs in order to get Matthews theoretically for one year? I really think that since we're now further out of the pandemic, revenues were huge this year again. They're going to increase again next year. Why not? Why would a team not knowing what the situation is? Like I'm not going to speak for Blakey and Luca in LA and they're doing a really good job. We talked about it before. Their pantry is more stacked than anybody else's pantry in the league. Hey, Austin's born in Cali. We know he's raised in Arizona, but he's born in Cali. They've got the assets to do it. Could I see a team like LA presenting that type of an offer or being a trade partner? Why not? I could see that. Yeah. Well, I would have said Arizona because he's perceived as an Arizona kid. They're in such a mess. They're in such a mess economically. And who knows if the franchise is even going to be there a year from now? I doubt they will be. My thoughts is barring anything unforeseen. And it would take something unforeseen like a shivia who owns a son's or somebody else that has that appetite to buy them knowing how tainted things have become there at their own doing over the years and it's compounded now with what's happening again. My thought is they ultimately migrate to Salt Lake City. Bob's heard that before. Bob's heard that before. Shannon has said Salt Lake City on numerous occasions. Sure. There we go. Yeah. Listen, Ryan Smith, their owners met with Gary numerous times, Mr. Bethany numerous times. He's very bullish about wanting a team there. It still keeps him in the Western conference. He's got a ton of bread. They're going to build a new arena for the next winter Olympics that they're going to be hosting. I ultimately think it departs and it goes to Salt Lake. And they can still play in the Vivante Center for the foreseeable future where the jazz play. So and by the way, Salt Lake City as a market is bigger than four of the US markets that the NHL is in right now. So it's not a question of that it's a little hamlet sitting out in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. It is a pretty big city. There's lots of money in Salt Lake City. And so I think it can only really be a positive. I'm going to throw you a curveball, a tough curveball. Who's the best coach not coaching in the NHL and you can't use Joel Quenville? Why not? Because he's not allowed to talk to anybody yet. So I'm just saying anything we want. I'm asking Kevin. I'm not asking you. I'm asking Kevin. I'm making the rules. Who's the best young coach out there that's going to that deserves a chance to coach in the National Hockey League as some teams are looking for a new head coach. So that wasn't just a curveball. That was like that was a circle change because it was with you on the curveball. I was. You were going to say Joel Quenville. No, no, no, no, no, I was going to say Patty Wahl. Whoa, really? I was going to tell you boys Quebec City, Quebec Ram Park in the Moro Cup. Just won the QMJHL again. I remain steadfast on Patrick Wahl. I interviewed him back home in Toronto. I was coaching his first year in Colorado. I'm bullish on Patrick Wahl. I think he can bring not only this swagger. And of course his experience and winning and everything else. But the fact that he's coaching these young players, you asked about young. The fact that he's coached a lot of these young guys, Kucharov, Palat, Du Claire. I can go on and on. Two of those three guys, of course, won multi Stanley Cups. But the fact that he understands today's player, buddy's old school, like I said, so he has the new school old school. I think Patrick Wahl is a guy that I would go with in that. Do you think he's learned how to coach in 2023? Because when he got the job in Colorado, there was not one ounce of strategy in his life. It was all emotion. I think he's learned how to coach. And I would do a deeper dive on it. But I would tell you this. One thing that's really important, as we're seeing now, you don't necessarily have to be the best tactician, but you have to be able to be one of the best connectors. You have to be able to connect with these guys because the players are the product. You have to connect with them. And even if you aren't the best tactician, you have somebody on your staff or other people on your staff that could really help. Everybody doesn't have to be a specialist at everything. And as we're talking Florida Panthers, boys, listen, JD Compon's done an unbelievable job there. But he really has. You know, I love Mo, I were going to get more flowers. But Jamie Compon and Sly Lefeb, too. So bad Lefeb. Those guys, you watch Florida. They're not running around. You remember they would just run off into the corner. Two guys alone in front. Then now you have a guy stretching outside of your blue line of Panthers forward, looking for a home run pass for a breakaway. The way they're planned out, and even remember last night when they had Matthew Chuck miked up and was saying, we're defending his five. We're defending at five. We're five defense men out there in the D zone. I've never heard that from Florida. Even last year in their amazing year, my man Andrew Burnett was awesome for them last year in the regular season. But I never heard that type of commitment. So that's why I say for Patty, when you have other people in your staff that can help in those areas, I think that helps. You don't have to be a one-stop solution as a head coach. See, I thought you were going to say Andrew Burnett, Sean. Well, Bruno, I think Bruno, because he's in the NHL, that's why I didn't mention Bruno. But outside of the NHL, that's not coaching. You know what I really like? I'll give you a few names to keep an eye on. I really like what Mitch Love has done down there in the America League Calgary Records. Mitch Love's done an outstanding job, boys. Two-time NHL coach of the year. Mitch Love has done an excellent job. I would then say the gentleman with Milwaukee Admiral, his name always escapes me, but who coaches Nashville's HL team, he's done an excellent job as well. Will Gabby do a good shot? Does Gabby get another shot? It's possible. I think it's possible. I wouldn't rule him out. I think it's possible. But I think it's possible, though, that he's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. 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He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. He's not going to be able to do it. For John Shannon, Bob McCown, we'll see you. Thanks for watching your listening. Goodbye, everybody. ♪♪