Mike Babcock's Brief Tenure As Head Coach Of The Columbus Blue Jackets W/ Mike Harrington & Bruce Garrioch.

This is the Bob McKellan podcast, brought to you by Pet Rivers. Download the Pet Rivers online Casino and Sportsbook app today. Well, another week, Derrem Alart is with us for these five shows. Welcome again, Mr. Thank you. I thought we would branch out into some other sports, but hockey's back in the focus. I know there's going to be text all over social media too much hockey, too much. I have to get blame for it. Yeah, well, yeah, I like to put the blame elsewhere, but I'm not sure. It's funny. The Bobcock story, obviously, is dominant for a for Canadians. I'm not sure it's a big story where you live. I'm not sure it's a big story in Philadelphia or in the US, but it's a it's it's a big story in the hockey world. And it does need to be addressed quickly and at some point, because the Columbus Blue Jackets have to find the way to get themselves out of this hole, don't they? Yeah, I will say I think it's a bigger story than you might believe because of the coach player relationship. And there's so much of that in sports now that it kind of transcends hockey a little bit. Well, and you know, as as training camps begin for national hockey league teams and earnest this week, I'm sure that there are going to be a ton of questions of every coach and every player in every camp. Are you sharing photos? How do you what's your relationship with your players, particularly your young guys? So this is, you know, the ramifications of what happened with the Blue Jackets and Bobcock are deeper than just the Blue Jackets. It's going to be across the board for the other 31 NHL teams, don't you think? Yeah, and I think every coach will take a look at how they handle things, just do a little bit of inventory on their approach. Well, we have two hockey scribes to discuss what on with Mike Babcock and two guys that are really plugged into what's going on in the national hockey league. Mike Harrington and Buffalo, Bruce Garriak and Ottawa on the Macau and podcast, John Shannon Derimelard after this. Hi, this is Bob Macau and for betrivers.com. Hey, if you're looking for a sports book or casino app, you should check out the betrivers 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 betrivers.com. Welcome back to the Macau and podcast Derimel week for Bob. Actually, we're going to hear from Bob at a later interesting year. His take of what's gone on both in baseball and in hockey joined by Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, Bruce Garriak of post media and boys. Last week, we did an NFL show after the first week. And of course, the Monday night football debacle for the New York Jets. And we had Booger McFarman on and the first words I said to Boogers is, well, we have nothing to talk about. Well, you know what? I'm sorry to be repetitive. And as Derimel tell you, I hate things that are repetitive. Here we are, the National Hockey League training camps are about to start. And we have nothing to talk about, right? Not a thing. No. OK, you guys have had front row seats to all of this. You've been following it closely. I'm sure you, even if it's on social media, Mike, what do you make of what's gone on in Columbus? Well, let's not forget here. There was a lot of Mike Babcock stories out of Buffalo back in the day in 2015. Remember, if the Sabers had won the lottery to get Conor McDavid, I remain convinced Mike Babcock was going to be the coach. But he couldn't convince his wife to come when that didn't happen. And then he took his $50 million contract offered by the Pagula's and took it over to the Leafs and got his contract with the Leafs. So that when I went to his press conference with the Buffalo television reporter, it was like I was striking down the carnival of Toronto, daring to ask King Babcock about why he did the around about on the Sabers. Well, he's just not a good guy. You can find everyone in the league to talk about it. And it was almost part of me said, what are the Columbus Blue Jackets doing here? Dallying with Mike Babcock. And this whole PR tour of he's reformed and he's working on players, mental health. I didn't ever imagine this would go down, but it was almost a matter of time before he was going to screw up. And John, something that Elliott Friedman wrote really struck me the other day. People are allowed to make mistakes and coaches do all the time. Mike Babcock has no rope left. He had to be perfect in his job with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Not only was he not perfect, he wasn't close to perfect. He didn't even make it to the first practice. To me, if I'm the ownership of the Columbus Blue Jackets, I have serious questions right now about Yarmul Kekalainen and John Davidson for even going down this road at all. Well, it's interesting to talk about the Buffalo situation too, Mike, because I think that one of the things that Tim Murray promised when he went into the Pagulas was that he could bring Mike Babcock with him. You know, he and Brian had hired Mike in Anaheim. They felt like he was going to be the answer for that team. And then at the last minute, he spurned them. You know, I look at it now and I just wonder why the Jackets went this route in the first place. Why did they decide that Mike Babcock guys was going to be the person to lead them to the Promised Land? I think in 10 years is General Manager. I think that Yarmul Kekalainen's team has been to the playoffs four times and eliminated. I think in the first round three of the four times, except for in the bubble. I think that they brought this upon themselves. I think now the focus turns to Yarmul Kekalainen and to some extent to the team president, John Davidson and just one other small point guys. I think that Joel Quinnville and Stan Bowman, who are trying to get back in the league. They're probably pretty nervous right now. I don't know. Okay, explain that Bruce. Well, I think they're hurting with both of you. I think look, they're two guys trying to get back in. They're probably they're saying all the right things. They appeared at a General Manager's meeting last week. It comes back to, can you change your stripes, Darren? And in the end, it was pretty apparent that Mike Babcock, as much as he paid the lip service, couldn't change his stripes. When you're looking at a second chance, and after all the glory of getting back into the game, and somebody just got one and blew up before the first practice of training camp. One thing if it happens in year two or year three, but it just massively imploded, and Stan and Joel are sitting there. And what's the lead going to do to justify and sell people on letting the back in when it just went off the rails like that. That is a great point by Bruce. And he honestly does that, and then Lee gives them permission to come back. What team would go down that road and traverse that PR nightmare of saying, we're going to go back to Joel Klenville now, because everyone's going to say, well, it's just going to be another Babcock situation. Well, in defense of Joel Klenville, Joel Klenville and his personality are not what my like Babcock's personality is. But it might not have anything to do with Joel or Stan. No, I understand it. My cast, my cast, the question off the top of why the jackets hired Babcock in the first place. And I think that I did the, I think it's 71 days. I think it was 71 days he was the coach of the team, or 77, something like that. And here's my theory on that. I think the success of, and I'm going to say this respectfully, but it's not a very nice word, retreads, the success of retreads in Vegas, in Dallas, in Winnipeg, all these, there were five coaches hired last the previous summer with veteran coaches and Florida, who went on and have really, really successful seasons. So rather than take a risk on a young guy, again, which they had done with Brad Larson, find that unemployed veteran coach that could come work. Now Joel Klenville wasn't available. Because I do believe they would have hired Joel Klenville before they would have hired like Babcock. Yeah, but you tell you call Bruce Cassidy and Paul Maurice retreads. And I get that. No, no, no, no, no, I knew I knew you were going to jump on me for that, because you're a word to him, but he's a veteran guy. Yeah, I mean, they're good guys too. I mean, Reese could be considered a retread, I suppose, that Cassidy not, but it's just, it made no sense to go hire Mike Babcock. And you know what? They go and hire Paschal Vincent and they said, well, he was a candidate before, but why do you just hire him in the first place then? Because I think they wanted a veteran guy. Can I just jump in here on the whole why they hired him? I don't actually blame Columbus for going down that road. They've got to motivate it. I think a motivated Mike Babcock who's gone through the process, stepped aside. He's a high profile guy which Columbus would like. He's a Stanley Cup guy. He's been a multiple championship series. It checked every box just like getting a player who's motivated and coming back. I didn't mind it in the sense of trying to give him an opportunity and letting him capitalize on a second chance. I'm just blown away that that had happened this fast. I can't believe it. You know, and it's easy for us to sit here because hindsight is what we do best and it is 2020. But I look at the situation and I say, OK, you probably shouldn't have gone down that road in the first place. You did. So now, you know, now you've got to get it up off the mat. And I think one of the other things may be thought, Darren, and maybe you tell me, that ranking Columbus is not full. I'm sure they thought this might sell some tickets. You're bringing in a guy with Cache. There's no question that Mike Babcock has Cache. And, you know, Olympic gold medal Stanley Cup champion. One of the most successful coaches in the league. I think that they, they looked at that and enticed every ounce of them. Do people buy tickets to see a coach when the coach sells your franchise? Well, Mike, you know, Mike, you're talking to guys that lived in Ontario where the focal point of the Toronto Maple East for the last 20 years was every up until the Austin Matthews draft was everybody off the ice and not on. You know, that's what he does. And I mean, so, you know what? I would not have hired Mike Babcock. And I think, you know, the point you made that Elliott wrote about last week is he had to be perfect. Because you also knew that there were going to be naysayers and they were going to pick at anything and on everything. And what he did was he didn't, you know, open the door of crack. He flew up in the barn doors and let the horses come in. And that's to me, it does make you wonder. It does make you wonder if Mike was trying to be in touch with the younger players and didn't know how and didn't know how to do it. Yeah, I was actually going to ask you guys, was is there any thought here that he was at his heart was in the right place? He just went around it totally in the wrong route. He was trying to bond with the guys and like, is there is there any crack to buy into that? Because I do think so. So do I, so do I, I just, but, but what he made was an egregious mistake. Yeah. And there and and was given every right of every person to be to criticize Mike the Epcot. And I don't think it was malicious in the attempt. No, I think it was ignorant. But he was ignorant about how to do it. Yeah, that's right. I think he, he, he, I think he, listen, he screwed up. He screwed up. That's really the, that's what he did. But, but, but I don't think he, he did it to say, you know, I was funny. I was talking to my wife about this this morning. She said, she asked me, so what's with that guy in Columbus? And so my answer was is that I just don't think he, he, he knows how to, how to have that level of communication. And I think in these last three years, when he was out of the game, he was told he had, and after all the criticism in Detroit, valid criticism, valid criticism in Toronto, I think he felt he had to try to create a bond with the younger players. And his execution sucked. That's the bottom line. His execution was wrong. Do I think it was malicious? No, I don't think it was malicious. It was wrong. And I don't, I don't think that the team had any choice. I don't think the players, I think the players association did the right thing. I'd still love to know where the commissioner's office was through this. You know, because nothing in this league happens without the commissioner, but we all know that. And, you know, that hole behind the scenes weekend that, you know, by on Friday, after the, with the meeting in New York, and then 48 hours later, Mike is being allowed to, you know, on a piece of paper, at least allowed to resign. I mean, it was untenable. He had to go. They're starting training camp. The distraction factor is massive. And you're right, John. I think, you know, we saw the statements from the quotes from Johnny Goodrow and Boone Jenner. And the veteran players seemed to connect a little. They were talking with their families and whatever. Well, what Babcock did here, assuming that's what happened because he's out of a job now is, it's just dumb. There was no reason for it. Who advises Mike Babcock when he was going through this, this tour of how he's changed his ways? Like, does he have anyone in his ear saying, this is some of the things you do? I don't think anybody would have told him to do this. So, no, but I think he was trying to change his ways. He just didn't know the right way to do it. Does he listen to anyone? Does anyone advise him on how he should be doing this? He did do this in Toronto. You know, this was what he did in Toronto. You went into his office and he said, okay, tell me about your family. Put to report this how you airplane them to my big screen and let's talk about your family and let's see what kind of person you are and get to know you a little bit. The issue Mike Babcock was battling going into Columbus is it has been learned, you know, since he left Toronto that he's, and I, people already thought this bottom because Detroit was happy to see the back of them, was it's all about Mike Babcock. Me, me, me, me, me, and, you know, I think he was trying to do the right thing. The problem with what he did and the way he did was, guys like Patrick Linae and Boone Jenner, they weren't bothered by this, but I think this practice started in development camp and some of the young players like, what is this about, right? Like, what's happening here? And people don't think that, how do I put this? That Mike Babcock gives a damn about you, me, Mike, Darren or John, right? Like he doesn't think that any people don't think the perception of him right or wrong is that he only cares about one person and that's Mike Babcock. So, so here, I'm not giving you a homework assignment, but we had Mike on, we had Mike Babcock on from his lake house, and I think it was the middle of July. And for the first 20 minutes of the conversation, Mike was open and glib and you know, I think trying to create the the perception that he was a different guy. But the last 20 minutes, the last 20 minutes, it was typical Mike. It was, it was buzzwords, cliches, and quite frankly, the funny part about it was, we did not end, it hard to was on with me that day. We did not end the conversation. Mike did, he ended the show, how do you mean? Yeah, he just said, okay, guys, got to go, that's all he said. Just go back and go back and, oh, we got to go look at the button. I can guarantee you sometime in July, I was by the lake myself, worried about myself as well, but I'm standing over a three footer. If you look back, the look on my face and the look on Hodges face were just like, as the 40 minutes went on, he was the same old Mike, it was the same old stuff, it was unbelievable, I love my wife and my kids, I love the coaches here, they're down at the lake, and this is what we're doing, and social media, I mean, he does address social media within the concept of the show, it was just, but the only time, so my trivia question for the group is there are three people that have closed the show, we've done almost 800 podcasts. McCown has closed the show, I've closed the show, that's always my favorite. Well, I'm wrapping it up today. You got it here. Now the challenge is going on. I, you know, and listen, as all of you know, like John David says one of my best friends, he really is, and my heart has been low for the last four days, because as Mike said, we knew it was inevitable. My heart sank on Thursday and on Friday, and deeper on Saturday, and every listener can be out there and saying, well, you know what, you know, you know, I'm, but he's my friend. Yeah, and I love the guy, and it had to be convinced, John, do you think he had to hire him? Yes, to hire him or for fire him, I think the answer to both the higher I'm not on, but I know, I think the answer to both is yes, I think he had to be convinced to hire him. He, and he has not told me that directly, but I think that, I think what John did was, he tried to do his new diligence. I think he asked a lot of people's advice. You know, and I guess it would be early in May and June, and it didn't work out. And I, as I said personally, and I don't care what people think, I am just heartbroken for my friend, because, you know, loyalty is an interesting thing in our business and in the hockey world. And I'm a loyal side at this and this, this hurts, this hurts for my friend. And I feel bad for them as a franchise. You talk about it's a fun arena, it's a good fanbase, it's a fun town, it's a great district around the arena, and they have just had one bad thing happen after another for 25 years. And I think the lack of success of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Atlanta thrashers are one of the reasons the NHL set up things for expansion in Vegas and Seattle, where they can't have these teams losing for 10 and 20 years, because it just makes for a down Trotten franchise that often does desperate things to try to get out of the Perennial hole that they're in. And that led the Columbus Blue Jackets to hire Mike Babcock. I mean, on that point, though, on that point, sorry, on that point, you know, the jackets have never been afraid to try things, you know, look at the Matt Tushain acquisition, look at the Artemi Panarin acquisition, they have never they've never taken all those guys to free agency and rallying the dice with that. Yeah, yeah, that has never been an issue of them. It's not for the lack of trying to win nothing ever trying to get that point, but you're right. There's, you know, it's it's it's it's it's Columbus's version of the curse of the Bambino. I mean, well, but the biggest battle now is is the biggest battle now that John is is credibility, right? And the credibility of their management and the credibility of their ownership. And you know, the owner isn't going to want to take too many hits for John Davidson and your remote cake aligner. And at some point, the ownership will probably step in and turn the page on these two. And that's just reality because the, you know, the his hit the the owner's credibility is now at stake as well drawn into the fact that his management chose to hire Mike Babcock in the first place. But Darren, you miss I said, it's it's all Doug McLean's fault anyway. What's happened? You know, I thought I thought I thought Harrington had heard from McLean because that was his bitch about the expansion draft. I was getting the 18th best player on every team. Doug will Doug will hear about this podcast and then hear about four seconds of it. The part that Bruce just said. And that's it. And we'll all get phone calls. We're all getting phone calls. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Why did you stand up for me? What's he talking about? By the way, I shot a 92. I'm just going to try to do as late as Friday. So it doesn't matter. We're never going to see the thrashers. We're never going to see the thrashers again. We're never going to see the blue jackets again. I'm convinced that these teams, these owners spend too much money to get in the game to lose for that amount of time. And the league is setting it up that way. We'll get the difference. A Minnesota ended up in a conference final pretty quickly. But they're never going to have another Atlanta or Columbus again. That's the difference. That's the difference between Mary and Gabber and Rusty Klesle, though. That's what that is. It is. But but you know there's there's enough time has elapsed for for both those franchises to to get themselves out of it. Like the figure it out. Yeah. Yeah. Like that. I agree. Expansion teams were put in a massively big disadvantage position. But they both had runway and Columbus is still that runway. And then they had tried. But it's not working. A bit to Bruce's point, you have to really give the fan base in Columbus. A lot of credit. They've stuck with the franchise. The fan base has been I mean, I think they finished the season last year with 10 straight sell-outs. You know, the fan base in Columbus has done a an admirable job of sticking through thick and thin. I love going to games. I love sort of why. Yeah. It's a fun place. They do a really good job. I think the arena is is is one of the first modern day arenas that. Yeah. It's fantastic. So the fan base deserves credit for sticking with the organization. And you you you just hope that somehow some way they can make something positive out of this. And I just don't know how at this point. Do you there? Can I just do we have time to take this in a slightly different direction? The whole Badcock story. A lot of people were split on how the story came to light. And through through Biz Paul Biznet and a podcast. And they were siding on one it's podcast. You shouldn't be throwing that stuff out. You're not a journalist or there's merit there. And whether he's not naming names or not, he's still allowed to do it. As Mike and Boo Boo, you guys have been journalist for every year. You're on that side. What was your reaction to spit and chicklets breaking this story? Start with you Bruce. No, I look. I had no issue with it. I had no issue with the way it was presented. I think if it was Mike or I our approach probably would have been a little different because we you know we always the one of concerns we always have with the written word as you're worried about being sued. So you know we wouldn't have just we wouldn't have just dumped it out there like spit and chicklets did right Mike like we would have we would have gone six ways to Sunday to speak to the clubs. You know, maybe try and get some kind of comment from the club. Not just drop the drop the bomb and kind of walk away. Right. I mean there's different standards that we're held to than a podcast with Paul Biznet. I don't have any problem with how it came out. The style of course is different. The one thing that's different to me and John actually addressed this on Twitter is Paul Biznet has you know become a personality through mainstream NHL media through the rights holder broadcaster. He is the guy I didn't think much of the idea of putting him on and the guy has become a star and the guy has clearly worked at it and he's done homework and he's blown people away at ESPN. They're not even close to what TNT is and he has kind of become the Charles Barkley like character TNT hoped. So all credit to him for that. Now can he really be going on social media f bombing his way through his podcast f bombing his way through Twitter? I'm not sure if I'm TNT or if I'm the NHL that's what I want from a prominent broadcast personality on my network. So to me I would say he needs to tone down that part of the act but I mean he broke the story. He didn't have to deal with some of the tenants of basic journalism. I don't know that I necessarily believe the story at the beginning but the one thing I respected was they took a lot of blowback for that and they didn't back down. They broke the story and he doubled down on it and stood by it for absolutely. I was impressed by that and he was getting killed. I would never dump on anybody for that. Like I wouldn't I you know I didn't weigh in on it because but I believe there you know there's always a little bit of truth right? So there was something there. There was something there. What was there was kind of hard to figure out but I do think you know he's got to watch he's got to watch some of the tweets on the aftermath and the profanity and you know you saw him. No we all know Mike you're one tweet away from getting fired right? And that's where he's got to be careful if you're right if he's going to be the Charles Barclay of TNT and he's like he's really really good. He's on top on social media that that could be hurtful too. Here's the thing and you know I did I did talk about it last week when I was asked and if if by the way if Mike Babcock the hockey coach had said in a meeting with his players what Paul Beesonette tweeted and vice versa and vice versa then the Columbus Blue Jackets would have had would have had no choice but the fire Mike Babcock. So Paul you know I'd like Paul I think Paul's entertaining but he's he's not and he's now in the main stream and he's I think he has to watch it. I don't want my 10-year-old grandson. I don't have a 10-year-old grandson for the record. I don't want my 10-year-old grandson or my 10-year-old son you know watching Paul on a on a Wednesday night and then finding him on Twitter and reading half that stuff. I don't you know did I was I skeptical of the story at the beginning I was I was skeptical but as Bruce said you know it's Mike Babcock and what is he what was he trying to do yeah you know I think they're you know and the guy I actually feel bad for today more so than anybody else is Boon Jenner because Boon Jenner picked aside. Boon Jenner and then and then as the captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets Boon Jenner you know said I didn't have a problem with it this was this was okay well I hope and not because and again Jenner's a good guy a good person but I'm not sure I would have had a problem with it like hey show me some pictures in their phone like okay but everybody said but you can't in as a boss I'll tell you what go to Walmart go to Walmart you know download four pictures and send them hard copies don't don't my best hope you put your phone your phone is sacrosanct your phone is sacrosanct I guess remember your question is so you know is what does what kind of weight does this give the new head of the NHLPA Marty Walsh because the the Columbus Blue Jackets sought this would could go away with a statement and then Marty Walshner on Haynesy stepped in and it is former former Blue Jacket player Ron Haynesy too by the way for and to me to me played yeah yeah and you know that's a really good point I think this really what more so than anybody this I said because I'm a Haynesy fan I think he was great he was great for the union when he was a rep when he was on the executive I think he stood his ground he was never afraid to have opinions it's not I don't care how he played he was a player he defended the players and to me this was Ron Haynesy saying you know I'm putting a stake in the ground in that way in so many ways as as a senior guy at the players association fascinating to watch and he has credibility anyway but I think this turns out to be instant credibility from Marty Walsh and he needs it right from the get go and I think a lot of players on a lot of teams are looking at this scenario going hmm the PA really stepped in here the new PA had got right in there he got his hands dirty and made some things happen and I think that really sends quite a message to a lot of teams not just the Columbus Blue Jackets yeah do we think that the Columbus Blue Jackets knew about this before the podcast no I don't think they I don't think they knew that it was going to this level I think maybe they knew Babcock did these kind of things but clearly he did different things with some of the young players apparently that he did with Boone Jenner and Johnny Goodrow I believe there were some complaints during development camp John and I think you believe that too yeah I wonder I you know the idea I do I think that I think that John Davidson and Yarmul Kekaline and we're aware of this issue yeah maybe they don't think much of it because he was the young players yeah that's nice we we listen we've maybe we can talk something positive about hockey after the break because when do I get to sign off what when do I get to sign off you're here all week enjoy the the wheel you would probably just say got to go boys anyway we got to go to break McCowan podcast with Harrington Garriott and Mallard Shannon here back after this welcome back to the McCowan podcast Harrington Garriott Mallard Shannon or as they call it in Columbus the day after um and uh it it does appear that Bruce that ownership in Columbus led by John McConnell has voiced an opinion and they are at this point I guess endorsing John Davidson and Yarmul Kekaline in the positions with Paskel Paskelevins in Saunthe as the coach right yeah but it sure sounds like Mike that John Davidson and Yarmul Kekaline and better put a winning team on the on the ice this season or there will be changes that I mean there's say sounds like they're safe for now but that they did say in that statement Mike what I thought was interesting is we will be in touch with them throughout the course of the season yeah short leash we do not anticipate further changes to our hockey leadership team at this time that's my emphasis the at this time we will not have any more missteps in Columbus is clearly the message that ownership is sending out yeah well it is uh uh it's never boring in the world of sports so so uh on a much lighter topic anybody see Connor Bedard shoot the puck on Saturday night yeah you look like he might have a future in the league you think he's got a chance he's got a chance you know I had a good shuckle that here we are in development camp and on the same day Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilly who got no notice because of Babcock both at Hadrich's in development camp I mean that's what we're looking at this season and you know I love the white Connor Bedard shoots the puck but you know I kind of even tweeted yeah the black ox tweeted I look at a hat trick for Connor Bedard I'm like already I mean it's development camp good for them I mean it's let's you know get some positive thought here that's why the Babcock thing is discouraging it it sucks away all the talk of training camp opening around the league into that maelstrom of disgust we should be talking more about Connor Bedard and Fantilly and all the young players and all these different clubs well and I mean Connor Bedard I mean what a way to make it debut right and and uh it just it all will do is help build the excitement around that foreign choice right now I had a chance to sit down and uh being in the room when uh we were at the player media tour the other day and just uh absorb some of the Connor Bedard and I really got the feeling that uh that the hat trick was a product of just the build up where he was just like I'm in done with answering all the questions about everything about my life I just want to go play and it just erupted the other night I felt sorry for the goalie too like he didn't even move in the last one well okay I don't think anybody's start do you honestly and you I have never spoken to the kid I've seen him being interviewed you know and there's going to be a ton of comparisons Connor Bedard Connor McDavid um how polished is Connor Bedard there he's very similar to Connor McDavid when Connor came into the league he's quiet he doesn't give you a lot like they're they're they're extremely similar in that regard uh I find it interesting that he's he's gravitated or seems that he's gravitated more towards Sid than uh then Connor like Connor's got his own uh challenges and his own expectations in front of him right now he probably doesn't have a lot of time to mentor the next uh guy in in his uh his group but uh but he's he's all hockey and and nothing else and he's a teenager and there's a little bit of talking to your teenager when when when you talk to Connor he did have a big rash on his uh scrape on his chin apparently ran into somebody in a in one of those captain skates uh but he wasn't willing to give us anything about what happened or who it was that he ran into or anything that we could have fun with like there was there was no give it up uh that and uh and his mom apparently he's going to pop into Chicago every now and then he's gonna live by himself which which I was shocked at and mom's gonna pop in and uh out and uh mom and dad are gonna pop in and out and and and and help him out but I was a little bit surprised that uh he's not going to live with another player off the start we saw the combine he was 18 going on 38 times you know he didn't say much but you've learned a lot you know just about his compartment and how he's gonna hand of the situation and all the questions and he understood the role he was faced was dramatically different than anyone else and now he ends up going to Chicago and it's a big market a big city and he's the the hopes of the franchise that just one of you Stanley Cups not too long ago are on his shoulders again so it's quite a dynamic there but I think this guy is so good that they'll be back in the hunt at some point in few years you never know if they're going to win a cup look at mcdavid mcdavid hasn't even made a final yet let alone win a cup but the team will actually but the one thing I find about mcdavid and maybe counterpart is a little bit in that mold is mcdavid lets us play do the talking right and I kind of get the sense from totally similar yeah yeah you know that that he'll just let us play do the talk by the way you know we're we're about 36 minutes into the show and this is a milestone because we've have Gary Ackon and we have not once mentioned some level of senators ownership usually usually for the first three years it was Eugene and then it was eight or nine months of well once Michael and I were going to hold the team Bruce you might as well give us the update well we'll be this week I think the expectation is he will be introduced Wednesday afternoon with his partners at a kind of splashing news conference at the Canadian Tire Center that's at least the plan at this point that could though be moved Friday but it will be this week I would hope it wouldn't be Friday because that's that's a second day of on ice but this is I think there were some issues with some of the way that the liability some of the partners felt about their liability and they're they're needed to be some language changed in the final agreements well the other part of it is that the leagues been a little distracted for the last couple of days yeah so it's maybe David Zimmerman that you know the league's chief council has been able to look at everything about Ottawa because they've been worried about Columbus who knows it's kind of funny to me we're finally going to get the ownership things taken care of so now Bruce you can just go back to every single day of your life asking about the arena now that the ownership is taken care of yeah that's sure he's going to be able to rank it with a Bretton flats or I think look he's bringing back Cyril leader as the president of this team and you know Cyril leader is one of the founders of this team he has Eugene Melanick's plans from their last go around at the Bretton flats in 2016 I would not be surprised at all if if if Cyril leader is one of the reasons he's bringing being brought back is to to figure out where that project should should be at and where it should go that there are sites the city is proposed a pretty good site just down the street from LeBretton flats so to be interesting to watch yeah and how and how quickly do we see new names show up in the front office do you think Daniel I think you'll see decisions this week for sure and I mean I'm I think here and DJ are going to lead this team in the season there is certainly a lot of talk that Steve Steyles is leaving the Evans and Oilers to come here's president of hockey operations that has not been confirmed the expectation is he will be here in some role and then I think Steyles will likely sit down with former captain Daniel Alphardson to discuss a role there so you know I think there's a lot of there's a lot of moving parts just and while we're on the topic of ownership and presidents and Harry Pagol is back in a position in Buffalo Mike do you get a sense of what's what's happening there there's there were as soon as they announced Terry as the president there was a ton of speculation that this was the maybe a discussion of separating the bills and the sabers and creating the opportunity to get rid of one of the two teams yeah I mean that talk is kind of out there I mean he brought in John Roth to be the CEO of both teams a long time friend of his from fidelity investment I just think Terry Pagol still loves hockey as much as he did since the day he bought the team and he doesn't want to sell the sabers he may have to sell the sabers at some point if the cost overruns on the football stadium which are his responsibility become too onerous to deal with but I don't think anything is being set up to sell the sabers I think they've streamlined their operation they've dissolved Pagula sports and entertainment and now you work for the bills are you work for the sabers and you know I think we're all adding two and two here and maybe someday we'll get four but right now I think we're getting three and a half I think the guy after all the money and 12 years of missing the playoffs just when his team might be getting good I don't think he's gonna jump ship here so I think we're all a little premature on it but yeah there's things going on here that are interesting to watch and I just think right now he'd like to you know win some hockey games and to say he's not interested anymore Terry Pagol is sitting at these development camps scrimmages he's pretty engaged the the fascination is it and it was more coincidence to have both of you on together I suspect that and add the red wings those three teams are going to make the Atlantic division very very interesting don't you and that's the thing with Dorian and and DJ Smith is to me they're on a short leash in auto with two if the Buffalo sabers fly past the senators this year and make the playoffs I think there's going to be a lot of heat in auto on the coach in the GM because the coach in the GM and Buffalo are obviously very entrenched right now in the feeling around this club is this is the year for them to get in the playoffs you know Detroit I still don't believe in what iserman's doing I should he's iserman but I just don't know how you build a team that way with all these guys from in and out and Buffalo and auto are doing a better job at developing their guys but if the senators are passed and blown away by the sabers here I think that's a big negative in the eyes of the new ownership last year you Bruce you know it would be the expectation here is that this team takes and that's next step Mike of course in place it just signed Jake Sanderson for eight years it's time to get the goal tending and move on well of the sabers and the senators are on the rise the question in that Atlantic division is that whose expense that will be the interesting Mike Harrington the Buffalo news Bruce Garek post media thanks for the time I'm sure we'll talk to you during the season it's the first show of the week on the mk on podcast that means the catch drag didn't mccowan hey Robert how are you good morning hello hello how are you hey Bobcat I'm doing good I'm back again like I'm I'm a cat with nine lives yeah it's early there too huh yeah this it's not bad though get up get it start with the day that's good the leap lowers are out so so they wake me up anyway that's nice okay you're the the kid from Columbus Ohio what the heck with Mike Babcock Robert well I don't know I guess they're out to get him somebody did another search on things that he's done and I don't know is the bad thing what he did and they game they fired him for it I don't know it's uh we we rehashed it six ways to Sunday yeah on this day and uh I it's uh it you I know you do have an affinity for the city that it's been a difficult time to generate any positive for the Columbus Blue Jackets it sure has yeah and this is another bad spot too you know it's too bad all right so we had you on Friday okay go ahead I'm just gonna say I initially thought it was just people like with an axe to grind against Mike yeah I did too tell you the truth yep and and not being a lot more than that but I just I thought there was just players that had played for him that weren't happy and it wasn't a lot more not I don't know you guys talked about this so I won't dwell on it but I'm not sure so we we had you on on Friday and we were actually writing the obituary of the Toronto Blue Jays yeah I know I'm an idiot here's the interesting thing I've been watching baseball for over 60 years you keep making the same mistake all the time you give up on somebody or I just give up on a team I don't know maybe it's the the the NFL theory you know if you're two games out you're really finished and I thought the blue jays were just not playing well and they I I thought that the the four games sweep the Texas killed them and they come back and win three in a row now the offense still are horrible but they're in it you know and they've got to you got to win though they can't tie because they lose time to most of the teams that are going up against exactly and the and the remaining I think it's 12 games are against teams in the American league east that would be the challenge for them the Yankees are horrible they can beat the Yankees Tampa Bay well you know Tampa Bay always does a good team so that would be a challenge it'll be a really interesting week and a half I'll tell you well and and you know in the end the jays there's there's one level that says will they get in and then the second phases will they face Tampa or Baltimore in the playoffs that's the fascination for me that's a hard part but I think it right now at least for me the objective is only to get in getting the playoffs and then see what happens because you know John anything can go on in the season sure it says I mean yeah you really do have to laugh because as much as you and I have been talking about this since the season started it was well maybe this free game winning streak was the spark and and you're hearing it now after after a big win on Friday an extra inning win on Saturday and a night bottom of the night's victory on Sunday maybe this is the spark who knows who knows well 12 games left how many times are you going to bury them how many times are you going to hold them up saying this is our team in 12 games 11 look at they've got a hit and they haven't been hitting it all and I don't know how you get that to come to life in any short time but whatever thank you for this Robert now just so you know can I say something happy birthday to Scotty moment which turns oh 90 today wow this is not amazing he's sharp as he ever was he is he looks on this one trade yeah fantastic hey we've had a major issue now on the show you know I we we joked about a little bit in the previous segment with the guys that you've closed the show and for the last couple of months I've closed the show and the name we had Mike Babcock on he closed the show so Malar wants to close the show today go ahead Malar Bob it's been a pleasure seeing you again every Monday that I get to talk to you it warms my heart Shannon I'll talk to you tomorrow to everybody else thanks for being with us talk to you tomorrow on the bottom account podcast with John Shannon bye bye