Woodcroft Out In Edmonton + Calgary Blockbuster Incoming? | November 13, 2023

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I know that some in our audience know the finer points of hockey. The Chris Johnson Show. We are your friends. The biggest stories bringing you inside the game. What are you doing here? Powered by Sports Interaction, your homegrown sports book. Always remember to bet local. Here's Chris with your host, Julian McKenzie. Part of the game. Big money siege. Another big Monday for you. Nikita's a door of the reported trade request. We'll get to that today. We'll touch off on why you're going to Sweden. It's also Ask C.J. Monday. And a few other topics. Maybe we'll get to Conor Bedard of the New York Rangers look like they're very interesting with Alexi Lafganiaev. But we start off with the biggest story of the weekend. Jay Woodcroft out as Edmonton Oilers head coach. Chris not blocked in as Edmonton Oilers head coach. Where do we start with this one? And also why did the Oilers fire Jay Woodcroft after a win? And instead of just doing it after he lost to San Jose, the worst team in the league? I'm sympathetic on that one. I saw a lot of sort of commentary on this. I mean, they just hired someone who was working for another franchise as a gel team. And just the logistics of being in Seattle and Chris not block coaching a team based in Hartford. And what has to happen in terms of getting permission from, in this case, the Rangers who's who, you know, that's the affiliate of the Rangers, the Hartford team. Then you have to negotiate a contract with them. And then you have to bring them in physically get them across the country or the continent. I can understand why that took more than just, you know, 10 hours. So I think that's why it happened. I mean, clearly the decision, the wheels were in motion. But before the game in Seattle, I think to make that coaching change, but there there was logistical hurdles there. You know, as for the decision itself, I mean, what a abject failure this season has been for the Oilers. I mean, I think to, to make a change like this, this soon into the year is really an admission of, you know, things not working there for a team that a lot of us, including me on this show, had pegged as a Stanley Cup contender. And you know, what's funny is there's still enough season left is that that could still manifest itself. That could still happen. But this, this group stumbled badly out of the gates. You know, I think that there's real questions to be asked about who's in charge and what the direction is. And are there too many cooks in the kitchen? So to speak, I mean, I think, I think from a process standpoint, this looks clumsy. But with that all that being said, you know, I know a lot of people that think extremely highly of Chris Knoblock. And so, well, you hate that you're here on November 12th, November 13th, making a coaching change. That's soon into a season where, you know, people had branded you as one of the best teams in the league. You might not like how it all looks like, I think optically, it was not sort of a great view of the way things function in Edmonton. You might end up in the right place, you know, after all of that. And, you know, this is, this is a coach, you know, I've been here about Julian at least three or four years. Like he's one of the, you know, he's, he's a name to watch. He's one of the next ones. He's, you know, got a lot of promise about him. And, you know, it might have took a little bit longer than that I would have guessed for Chris Knoblock to get this kind of chance. But, um, you know, from everything I've heard just an extremely impressive guy and, and, you know, the Oilers, the urgency to win is pretty evident, um, in terms of making a call like this. So we'll, we'll sit back and watch what happens now. But, uh, you know, very, very interesting first month in Edmonton. Oh, that is for sure. Also, we, we, we would be, uh, we have to have mentioned the office with Chris Knoblock too. I'm sure his qualifications are great and he seems like he's doing great work and hard for it. He also coach Conor McDavid with the year he orders, uh, in junior. Like that's, that's a very obvious connection between the two men. Yep. And Conor Brown and Travis Thurman and a bunch of other former clients of Jeff Jackson when he was an agent and now Jeff Jackson is the president of the Oilers. So, you know, I don't think it's very difficult or hard for us to connect a lot of dots about how this would, would come up, you know, for those that don't know much about Chris Knoblock, he won a WHO title as a head coach in Kutney and OHL title as a head coach in Erie and then, you know, moved, had a couple seasons as a flyers assistant under Dave Hackstall and then it's been these last five years in the HL with Hartford. So, you know, pretty long run of coaching success, I would say. And, and, you know, he's still a young coach, he's in his early 40s. So, you know, he's, he's, uh, won a lot of hockey games and as you mentioned, has that, that connection to, you know, McDavid specifically and, you know, this is now the fifth head coach of the McDavid Dry Sightle era, what we'll call that in Edmonton. And, you know, could be the, could be the last one, you know, I'm not predicting the end of that era, but, you know, it's, it's, this is, this is, this is one that they really hope to get right. You know, Jay Woodcroft for a long time, I mean, we should mention he won a ton of games as Oilers had coach, you know, 640 winning percentage, I think so, something like that. For a long time, he was thought to be the answer and then that quickly soured. And so, you know, I, I think what most of us look at this, you just wonder how much of the Oilers issues to start the season are coaching related. I mean, that was my next question. You know what I mean? Like, you have goalies that are not playing very well. And ultimately, we saw Jack Campbell sent to the HL with a $5 million contract. You have shooters that are shooting abysmally. And, you know, some of these things, depending on how you view them, we're probably going to regress to the mean or move to a point where, you know, probably the Oilers are going to score more. And, you know, you've, you've got an injured star and Conor McDavid, clearly not at 100%. You know, a lot of things were have sort of come together to put the Oilers in the position they are with a 39-1 start. But, you know, I just don't know how much of it's coaching. I suppose what this, you know, really what this tells us though is how urgent the situation is for the organization and how badly they can't risk the season, you know, going in the wrong direction. And, you know, maybe that win with James Woodcropp on the bench in Seattle will start something, right? I mean, a 4-1 win on the road. They get a lead in the first period and they really shut things down. Don't give up many shots in that game to the crack. And, you know, win the way a team that's supposed to be dominant should win. And, you know, maybe that's that is the start of something here and this this coaching change will work. But, you know, it all just, it does wreak of a certain desperation, I guess. And, as I say, I mean, this has been a failure at all levels of the Oilers organization to get to a point where you're making that decision. One more thing on the Oilers here. So, we have chronic David on a team where his agent has become the CEO of hockey operations. And now he gets his former junior coach as the head coach. We're not saying, I'm not saying he got that, but this is the situation that we're in with the team right now. But all that to say, like, you have these pieces in place. It's, does it sort of not feel like this team having guys that are very familiar to chronic David, like, there's a long play at this in order to appease him. And I guess to be able to go one step further because I forget who made that comparison online. But it feels very like LeBron James Esquare. He's the centerpiece on this team. You're doing everything you can to appease him. You get all these people around him, whether in the front office or on the court, who are around that he likes that are going to ensure, okay, he's going to stay in this franchise for a while. We saw that lot in Cleveland as an example. Is that a fair comparison? Are we jumping to shark on this one? What do you make of the pieces in play that are surrounding David that have those connections now? Well, I think it just makes sense, honestly. I mean, you have a singular talent like Connor McDavid. You know, I'll give you, I was looking at the, there's a site called adjusted hockey. I was looking at it because it's a whole fame induction weekend. And on adjusted hockey, they have basically the gentleman that's put that together. He ranks players all time. Connor McDavid is like 11th or 12th among all time forwards in terms of his whole fame eligibility. Like if he never plays another game, the guy's not even 30. You know, when you have a player like that, I don't think that we should read into it that he's hard to please or that he's demanded all this because I don't think that that's the read that I have on the situation. But I do think if you have that person, I mean, you're going to want to do everything you can to get the most out of them because that's that's probably the path for success for the team too, right? And for the organization. And so, you know, I don't, I don't think Connor McDavid, you know, made this coaching change. If you know what I'm saying, like I think sometimes that sort of stuff does happen in the NBA a little bit more. You know, I think it's more from the CEOs level there, Jeff Jackson, you know, saw a situation where he thought a move needed to be made and obviously knows Connor so well understands, you know, the relationship and would, would, you know, knows Chris Noblock well too, because he has had so many clients over the years play for Noblock, including McDavid. So, you know, I think it's it's more coming from the top levels of the organization, but of course, I think it's about putting McDavid in the best position possible. That includes fighting teammates that he likes. I mean, I know it hasn't worked out at all to start this year, but they did sign Connor Brown in the off season, who played an eerie with Connor McDavid was coming off an e injury and, you know, he said a tough start to the year, but, you know, you've seen that consistent pattern and I, and I, I do think it, it's not a bad way to operate. I don't think it's causing the Euler's problems, you know, really to me, I just wonder if they're, if they've made good enough decisions down the roster to be to warrant that that contender status that we've all anointed them. And, you know, I'm going to we're going to have to see now. I think a coaching change does sometimes spark something in a team and clearly gets everyone's attention for for a period of time here. And, you know, as I say, it's one of these weird ones where I actually can't criticize where they got to because I don't think it's a bad decision to have Chris Noblock as her head coach, but it just, it doesn't feel right the way the process played out to get there. Actually, another thing we should get to as well is the fact that the press conference went the way that it did where I'm sure you caught this too, but it felt kind of weird. I mean, maybe, maybe I'm reading into it wrong, but it seemed as if Ken Hall and was trying to make the point that he did discuss this with veterans and then Jeff Jackson made it seem as if there wasn't that consultation. Did you pick up on that? I saw the clip, you know, I think the way I viewed that is Ken Hall and basically said that he's like he's talking to his players about basically taking information in about what's going on, what's going wrong with the team. I would presume that would be how is the coaching situation, you know, like I think and but then Jeff Jackson, I thought he was a sort of clarifying to say like, Connor McDavid didn't didn't fire Jay Woodcroft. That was how I read it, but I mean, look, it's a weird situation. Ken Hall is a GM on the final year of his contract, not likely to be back. I think, you know, he's pretty close to retirement at this point as we all expected. When he signed a five-year deal to go to Edmonton, it was kind of viewed as his last hurrah as a GM. You've brought in Jeff Jackson just this last summer, who's now I guess on the he's the boss on the hierarchy. You know, it's I think that that's there is a question in general of leadership, you know what I mean about who's really pulling who's manning the controls here, who's got the most influence and who's making these types of decisions. So I didn't I think it's fair to wonder if everyone's on the same page entirely and maybe that kind of moment of press conference highlighted that fact. Okay, we'll have to keep an eye on that situation as we go. We're going to take a short sports interaction break and then we're going to get to Nikita Zidorov and the reported trade request on the other side. Welcome to You Can Bet That. Remember to hit up sportsinteraction.com slash SDPN for all of your gaming needs. It's a really fun one on sports interaction. Stanley Cup winning state or province. If you think the Stanley Cup will be awarded to state or province like Alberta or California, you can make that that there. If you think it'll go to any other state that isn't Alberta, California, Florida, New York, Ontario, Pennsylvania, your odds are 1.43 to 1. But if you're picking Alberta as an example, the odds are 12 to 1. California 15 to 1. 23 to 1 if you're picking Pennsylvania. This is kind of a funny one, Siege. Yeah, I don't even know how to put my mind around it. Obviously, some states and provinces have multiple teams. Some of the teams at the top of the league aren't in that situation. I'm thinking Nevada for the Golden Knights, maybe Massachusetts for the Bruins. But I never think of the jurisdictions. What about Texas? Dallas, that's a pretty good start. Texas isn't on that list, so they would count as any other state or province. Right. I mean, I guess you got to go, you got to go New York, I guess. By the way, Siege, if you want to pick the state of New York, odds are 9 to 1. And that includes the Islanders, the Rangers and the Buffalo Sabers. Don't forget the Buffalo Sabers are in the state of New York. Yeah, I think I think New York's ultimately where I land on this one. But as I say, it's meant it's bending my brain on a Monday morning to try to think of which state or province that the cops going to. I mean, I understandably you have other things on top of mine. But yeah, I'm I'm final answer New York. Okay, New York is for CJ Sports Interaction.com slash SDPN for all the best odds before game in game and the best props Sports Interaction.com slash SDPN. Siege, it's time for us to get to another story that broke out this past weekend. Calgary Flames Defense, Mniquitas Adorov and a trade request that has gone out. Good work on your reporting with regards to Niquitas Adorov in the fact that he wants out of Calgary as has been reported. The Toronto game where we got to watch him in action. He blows up Tyler Bratuzzi. Who would have thought that that would have resulted into this weird domino effect where now we're having trade destination pieces. I have one up on the athletic by the way, you should check that out. And we're trying to figure out when or if the flames will move on from the 28-year-old Russian defenseman who is a pending UFA at season's end. What do you think of this situation? Well, it was a strange night, right? I mean, you had Dan Milstein who was Niquitas Adorov's agent sort of tweeting about that that hit and and you know, making a comment about his ice time on Twitter and you know, expressing some dissatisfaction there. Everyone's already made the connection. I mean, Brad Trilovic built the Calgary Flames before coming to Toronto. He's only been in Toronto a few months and the Leafs look like they need some defensemen. And so the fact that you have three pretty notable defensemen that are pending UFA with the flames of which Adorov is one. You know, I think we've all sort of connected that thought just intuitively and then so you wonder if something is happening. There's this trade request now, you know, there's talk of teams like Toronto Vancouver, maybe New Jersey, being places that might appeal to Adorov. I mean, I think my redone's Adorov himself is, he just wants to put himself in the best position possible heading into for agency. I think he wants to play for a team that has high aspirations. Obviously, he wants to play up the lineup and hence the ice time comment from Dan Milstein and really set himself up well to do well on July 1st. I don't think that that's unreasonable by any stretch. And you know, I think stepping back even more just from this situation, Julian, it really is feeling like the flames are headed towards, you know, I don't think that there's a timeline to trade someone like Adorov. I mean, there's a timeline. March 8th is a trade deadline. So that's the timeline, but I don't sense that this is a move that has to happen now, whether he wants it or not. I mean, I think that the organization is in a position where they've got to maximize their assets and they have to make a smart trade. And of course, if someone calls Craig Conrad this morning with a massive offer, I'm sure he'll take it. But you know, more than likely to get the bidding going, you're probably going to see this stretch into the new year. And you know, but there's just starting to feel more and more like all those UFA's are likely headed out to Dore and Calgary. You know, which will be interesting. It's a GM, first time GM in his first year. And those are big organizational moves. I mean, if you end up trading, Noah Hanuffin, if you trade Tana, if you're trading Adorov and maybe Elias Linholm, I mean, those are those are pretty established players. And I would suggest you, I mean, we haven't quite got to the point where we got the trade board going yet at the athletic, but those those will be names at or near the top of the trade trade board. If we started, I don't think there's going to be a lot better players necessarily that are going to be out there from other teams as we get towards the deadline. So it does start. It's certain to feel, even though it's still early in the year, it's starting to feel like Calgary is going to have to look at a change in direction and be shopping these guys. And the Doreov piece might take some time to fall into place, but certainly pretty dramatic night in Toronto with, and of course, you and I are there together, randomly working a story. It was, it was kind of cool. It was a really cool experience to work that story. I'll also say that it really wouldn't be the worst thing if it gets to a point where the flames ultimately have to sell off assets and retool. And they have all these pending UFA's. There's an opportunity for for them to get as many assets as they can, whether it's draft picks or young players who could be inserted into a lineup. I mean, we're seeing now over the last few days where they have Conner's area up in Martin Posposal up. And I know they gave Dustin Wolf a chance they got to lost, but he still looked fine. This team looks better with younger players in the lineup. It's something that the fans would welcome. I know that for sure. And as they prepare for a new building in two, three years, that just kind of, there's a pathway for them to take. And in a really funny way, I mean, I wasn't, I think for for the flames, maybe they were still a lot of point where they were trying to not go to that way, but it feels as if like that's a door off trade request. That might be the thing that kind of sets them over the edge in terms of kind of resetting things for this team. I don't know if it's fair to call it a full scale rebuild if it gets to that point where they sell off those assets, because they'll still have Hubert O on the fold, Marcher in the fold, Codring the fold, unless something crazy happens where those assets are being offloaded and made available to. But I mean, I think we have that opportunity there to make your team better. I don't see, I can understand why you go down that direction. I think it makes sense. Right. And sometimes you create the circumstances, sometimes the circumstances are presented to you, right? I mean, this is just kind of the way it's turned out. And you have a leadership change in the organization. And you have all these, I mean, we talked about it over the summer, did they sign all these guys? Like, how do you handle it? I just think it's, it's pretty apparent with the start that this team is not going anywhere, right? I mean, as currently constructed, it's sort of an interesting one to me. Like, like, I was at the game Friday, obviously, I'm looking at the lineup. Like, it, it looks good on paper. Like, I can understand how, you know, I just, I just think something is not quite working there. And, and it's, you know, it's been, it's been a lot of years, I think, going a certain direction for the flames. You know, they've been a competitive team for a number of years. Eventually, fans do get a little tired of it if they feel like the direction isn't, you either have to sell winning or sell hope, right? That's the, that's the saying. And so if they're not winning enough and I don't really see a path in winning enough, you have to start selling the hope. You have to start turning things over and bringing young players in and, and, you know, making shrewd trades. And, and, you know, I think that's the opportunity now for, for Craig Conroy. And so, you know, I don't know that this is going to be a team that falls right down to the bottom of the league next year. I'm not necessarily predicting that, but oh, they definitely can't do that with the, is it next year or the year after the, the first round pick is in a really weird state with a bunch of Canadians. Right. And so, but I, I, I also think there is a path to, to trade some of these veteran players away that you're probably not resigning them. Maybe don't want to resign at this point in Calgary. And, and, and, you know, start to freshen up the paint a little bit before you're opening that new ring. So, you know, it just, it just feels like that path is becoming more and more clear. Like, I wasn't sure, you know, if we were having this discussion a month ago, I wouldn't have necessarily felt like it was that defined. But at this stage, you know, from what I'm hearing around the league is just, just of expectation that, that those players are all going to be moved as we get into the training period. And, and, you know, it'll be interesting to see what those moves look like, what the flames look like on the other side of it. And as you mentioned, I do think it's, there's, there's an opportunity here to, to really add some, some valuable pieces to the organization moving forward. Absolutely. It's a, again, just like everything else. We're going to keep an eye out on that. Some other quick news and notes, just to get to before we get to ask CJ here. Just want to briefly just mention the New York Rangers unless there was something else you wanted to add. I was, I wasn't sure if you were going to add something else really quickly here. I did want to just get to the Rangers unless there was something else you wanted to add. My bad. I thought you were going to say something else. That was obviously. No, I'm waiting for you, man. You're in charge of you. I know. I know. I know. I know. It's just, I, it's the thing. I'm just trying to look at visual cues. And then you just, like, literally, it looked as if you were leading it ready to say something and I was like, oh, wait a minute. Did I step on CD? That's the thing you have to account for when you look about, when you do these shows virtually. Anyway, the New York Rangers. That's why we need you to move to Toronto so we can do more live shows, but well, you know what? I'm trying to manifest this. I don't know how it happens, but I mean, you have, you have a direct line to my bosses, essentially. So yeah, but I don't make staffing decisions. I mean, you might have a better chance of making those staffing decisions than I do. Fair enough. I'm just trying to manifest it. That's all I'm saying. So I want to make it happen. Talk to the recipe. It was fun. It was fun all being in the studio together last week. It was really fun being in the studio last week. It was really fun. I really enjoyed that day. That was really fun. I really loud. I mean, yeah, I mean, you were fun. I love time. I love, I mean, shoot. I mean, you were pretty loud too. I mean, you couldn't stop talking. And that's not a bad thing. That was a great thing. You were having the time of your life in the studio. Yes. Now that we've established that you're in the short king pod again. Yes. Order has been restored to the universe. Yes. I am comfortable being 5.8 and not 5.9. I've learned to accept my height for what it is. So what do you want to talk about the Rangers? They're winning a lot of games my man. Yeah, but Alex, he lost again. Yeah. He's playing well. It took him like 46 games last year to score like six goals. It took him 14 this year. Got two goals yesterday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He gets a sweet feed. I fit. Well, here's the thing. I'm not saying he's this generational player. I'm not saying he's going to be this future Hall of Famer. But I think he's starting to beat those bust allegations that were being thrown on him after he was drafted first overall in 2020. Let's see you. Well, that's I hope so. Honestly, it's easy to cheer for people. And I think we have to recognize that not only did it's hard for any player to start a career. Like there's challenges in adjusting the life in HL doing it during the pandemic. I think it goes without saying was probably even more challenging. And that was the the situation for last friend year and the others in his draft class. And so yeah, it's probably helpful to remember this when you're thinking of your ice love Kowski. What's going to happen in Montreal? You know, Jack Hughes didn't like the world on fire right away. And you know, prior to his injury this year was looking like a player that could be in the heart trophy conversation. So, you know, it sometimes takes a bit of time. We should appreciate the true generational players of which I do believe Conor Bernard will be thought of as one. We'll come in who come into the league like he has, right? Is he got nine goals? I think at this recording in 12 games, something like that. Bernard himself. Bernard himself a weekend, by the way. Yes. Well, and you know, he scored in six straight. You're just like that one goal. I love the camera angle on that goal. Oh my God. In Florida, where he just roofs it from a crazy angle and my short side. I'm trying to figure, do you know what was going on with the fans? Like, why did he? Why did he kind of like stare down the fans after scoring that goal? Like, what did you think? I thought that was just something you just, I mean, you're on the road. You're not going to have the fans on your side. I just thought that was just a natural thing to do. I don't think, I mean, unless I'm missing something. I was trying to see like was Brooks Capka there with a pylon or like, what was going on? Like, what? I don't think he meant to do that particularly unless I'm missing something. I think he was just, I think that's just something you do when you're in an opposing team's barn. Like, that's just what you do. That's just what you do. Anyway, yeah, but that was like, it was ice. Like, I love that. It was cool. And then, you know, last friend year, the rangers are cooking right now. I know they really wanted to give opportunity to some of their younger players this year, you know, not maybe make an extra signing or whatever to block basically a roster spot from guys like him and it's paying off so far. So, you know, happy to see that. And I didn't know if, I guess, you know, we're a couple of years in, like, maybe the bus thing was going around. I think it was too soon to be throwing that label out there. Pretty, pretty harsh thing to say too. Yeah, I can imagine that. I want to get to another story here. I know, I know it's the hockey all the fame weekend. A great number of hockey all the famous are going in kind of glunkwist among them. If you're a treasure on that list, Mike Vernon for the Calgary Flames as well. Kathleen Wallet also part of that group to really get great class going in. But you really can't hitchcock can hitchcock as well. There's one story I want to bring up from you though. You wrote this, it dropped this morning. Yarmere Yager, the hockey all of fame and an impasse with no end in sight. So we know there's a three year weight period for when players retire from professional hockey before they can enter the hockey all of fame. But Yarmere Yager is still playing and you're trying to make the point that, you know, like, when are we going to be able to let this guy in? Like, this is, it feels like a too long of a weight for a player that we all know should be in the hockey all of fame. Love for you to talk about your story. Well, it's a very unique situation, right? Because Yarmere Yager is 51 years old. He is a second all time leading scorer in NHL history. So I don't think and as accomplished all kinds of things in the broader world of international hockey. I don't think there's any debate whatsoever about his whole fame credentials. But he also owns a team in Cladno at home in the Czech Republic. And he's good for business, his own business. When he plays, he draws fans and there's still evidence he can help his team. And, you know, he hasn't yet played this season. But it sounds like he's going to based on everything I was able to learn and do my reporting for that story. It sounds as though he's going to play. And so he's forever three years away from being able to enter the hall. And so, you know, one thing I wanted to do with the story is just explore it like has the hall considered waving that three year eligibility period to put him in. The answer is pretty clearly no from from what I could find out. You know, this was a bit before your time, Julian. But 10 players in history have been put in without a three year weight period. The last was Wayne Gratsky in 1999. And at that point in time, they decided no more, no more, you know, waving this period. It's they felt it was sort of creating almost like a two tiered hall fame like the guys who got put in right away. And then those who had to wait. And I think that they also don't want players, you know, coming back where they could avoid it who are in the hall fame already. And so it sounds as though they're sticking pretty fervently to this three year weight period. And I just don't get it the sense at all. I mean, you're a mirror at this point is basically what I would call a part-time player. He's not playing, he hasn't played yet this year. But I just don't think he's going to stop playing anytime soon. And so, who knows? Like, I don't mean to be morbid. I almost joked. I was talking to landing McDonald's the chairman of all favorites. Like, you might have to you might end up having to induct him post humously because I just think he's going to play to he dies. I mean, he's just going to play forever until, you know, and so so here we are. And just find a unique situation. It's not one certainly where I'm pointing any blame or anything. But it's it's it's just sort of a strange one that like Henrik Lunkvis is going in this weekend. Henrik said he talked about his rookie season as with the Rangers. He's like, you know, Yarmher Yager was dominating the league when I was 10 or 11. And then I got to play with him as a rookie. That was so cool. And Henrik Lunkvis is saying that at his hockey hall fame induction and Yager can't yet be in the hall fame. Like it's just still technically playing so great. Check this. He played his first game for Claudio when he 35 years ago. Like 35 years later, he's still again, he hasn't played yet, but he's practicing with the team. It looks as though he's going to play the team. Like, he's still playing with a pro team. 35 years in hockey. Just I mean, that's that's like a golfer's career, right? I mean, that one of the cool things about the sport of golf is is players, you know, are increasingly even competitive till age 50 and they and you can really watch them play for like a generation or more of your life. Well, you know, unfortunately in hockey, you guys are retiring at 32 more often than not. So anyway, he's he's a marvel. I've always been fascinated by Yager. I've been lucky enough to chat with him a number of times over the years. And I'm just not convinced forever going to see him in the hall fame because I just think he's going to play and hopefully live forever. Yeah, well, what's probably like Yarmul Yager like gets to a hundred. He tries to find a way to like what imagine it be like a hundred years old. Just like just put him on skate. Just let him touch the ice just so you could just push the three-year period. Well, Gordy, how came back and played a professional game in the IHL? I think it was at the time in the 90s because he was playing in a new decade, right? Yeah. I'm just saying like I would not be surprised at all. In five years, we're recording this show and we're still talking about Yarmul Yager not being in the hall. Like I it would not remotely surprise me if he just plays a handful games every year because that's the other thing I learned, Julian. It's one game. So if he plays one game this season, it delays when the clock can start on him coming in. And so I just don't see. I mean, hopefully he stays healthy enough. I think he's going to keep playing games for the team. I mean, he owns a team. He started the year on the bench, too. Like he wasn't the coach, but he just watched the games from the bench. Like no one's going to tell him no either. It's not like he needs someone to sign him, right? No. Like, so I mean, he's everything to that team. And you know, he's a businessman ultimately. It makes sense for him to play. People want to come watch him play. So here we are. Yarmul Yager also a great job on that story. You can read that up at the athletic from CJ. One more thing before we get to ask CJ, the sweet and global series this week featuring the Red Wings, the Wild, the Leafs and the Sends. I presume you're going to sweeten CJ. I am. I am mere hours from my flight right now. I'm excited. It's it's yeah, it's going to be a lot. This is so they're having four teams there. And so it's four games and four days. And I think the beauty of that is that there's four teams there. The challenging part when you're trying to wrap your mind around a work assignment is there's four teams there. Like there's like, there's going to be a lot going on. It's going to be very busy. But I think it's going to be super cool. I've been to Stockholm a few times. I've been lucky enough to travel there before, but never of course have seen an NHL game there. So I'm going to get the chance chance to go to four of them in a row. And I think it'll be really neat. You know, I'm looking forward to seeing all the the sweetest stars from, you know, the last generation, I think, we'll be around, you know, with the red wings being there. I think you'll see Nicholas Lidstrom, Hendrick Zetaberg. I would imagine Matt Sandin will be making appearance with with the Leafs there. I don't know if Daniel Alfredson's going with Ottawa because obviously he lives in Canada, but I would expect to see a lot of those guys. And I have to admit, I have a soft spot for those players that were kind of in the league either when I was still watching as a fan or were there, maybe just in my early days as a reporter. And I think there's going to be a lot of that kind of symbolism. And obviously, Sweden's a great hockey country. So I think it'll be a cool place to watch those games. And they'll feel a little bit more elevated, I think, on the ground from what a regular season game typically feels like back home. It's obviously going to be a different and new experience that way. So when we talk to you on Thursday, you're going to be wearing Sweden. Stockholm. Yeah. No, not just like Stockholm, but like you're going to be your hotel, you're going to get the rank like what's the move? I don't know. I don't know how we're going to schedule this. You're going to be back in Calgary. So you're going to be what? Rough math, eight hour, eight times zones apart, man. I don't know. We're going to have to figure out we're going to have to figure out something that makes sense there. But it should be fun. You know, Steve Dangle is going over as his producer drew to do some content for the STPN. So I'm looking forward to seeing them there. Maybe I'm hoping producer drew can dial me in with a good setup so that I don't have to worry about that. I'm better at content. I'm lousy at tech as you know. You try your best. We could delve into Ask CJ here and ask a question that a lot of... I'll ask you a lot of a question that a lot of Leaf fans are wondering about right now, especially since you know the global games are happening, the Golden Sweden, there is a Swedish player on the Toronto Maple Leafs who is doing very well right now, who is indeed of a new contract. Ben Dween asks on behalf of Leafs Nation, Neilander Extension when? TBD, man. I don't have a crystal ball. I think they're still working at it. Nothing has changed as far as I can tell in terms of what Neilander's desire to be in Toronto, in terms of the organization wanting to hang on to him. I suppose one thing that's maybe changed is he's had by far my eyes the most dominant stretch of his NHL career where he's consistently looked possessed. I mean, it's not just numbers. I mean, and his numbers are strong. But if you watch the way he's scoring those goals and the things he's done, I mean, he's very... he's really exerted himself. And I think if you zoom out a little bit, and the Leafs playoff disappointments are obviously top of mind for fans in the Leaf Nation. I mean, William Neilander has been the one guy of this team that's consistently shown up in the playoffs or consistently been able to produce. I mean, I don't think it's as simple to say the other guys haven't shown up, but they've been shut down at times. And he's really been the exception of that rule. And so I think the organization has all kinds of faith in him, belief that he's a big game player. You know, I think he's rounded out his all-around game more in the most recent years. And I think the biggest thing is we just haven't seen a lapse from him. I mean, he's been known for being in and out, I would say, over the years. You know, he might play five games that you just almost don't realize he's on the ice in the past. I mean, there's been no evidence of that to start this year. And so he looks like a guy that can ask for a big contract. And you know, I just, I don't know if they're going to be able to bridge the gap or how they're going to navigate that, what other changes might come. But I still, I'm still of a mind that this is going to get done because I really do sense that everyone involved wants to continue on. It's sort of like pass or not class year, right? That contract didn't get done until March. But all along, it just felt like it was going to get done. I didn't sense that he was trying to set himself up for a big free agency and the team obviously wasn't going to trade him in the middle of their historical regular season. I think the Leafs are in the same spot. I mean, we're not talking about them trading away. William, he landed at any point to share. I don't think there's even a threat of that. So I just think that they're going to grind away at it and get it done. It has crossed my mind. This is not reporting. This is that from a story line standpoint, it would be cool if they ever announced it in Sweden. I don't know if that could ever happen, but it would be actually be kind of cool. But, you know, last, I think it's probably going to take a little bit more time than that. Okay. Next one from Joseph Zita. Given the success from Toronto's fourth line against Vancouver, do you think there is still an everyday spot for Ryan Reeves on this team or is he more of a player who will get in the lineup every once in a while? I would imagine there's teams who would want him, but maybe not with that turn. Yeah, I don't think he's an everyday player. I mean, look, he's was scratched on Saturday for that game. He saw Bobby McMahon come out from the HL, you know, the line produced a couple goals, which is one thing that hasn't happened on a fourth line featuring Ryan Reeves. You know, a lot has gone wrong for Reeves early in the year. He's minus 11 through 14 games. I mean, plus minus is a flawed stat, but I think that that's a reflection of a fair reflection of what's been happening on the ice when Reeves is out there. And so, you know, I don't, I don't know what the Leafs will do with him necessarily, but I just, it's hard, it's hard for me to imagine he's playing every game from here on in, especially after seeing, you know, what a younger member of the organization can do. You know, there's a reason he was brought to Toronto by Brad Triliving, really, you know, a lot of, I think, the things that they were looking for for Ryan Reeves are a little bit intangible in terms of some of the locker room things and off ice. And obviously, whether he's playing or not every day, he can still impact those areas. So, you know, at this stage, I would, my gut tells me that he's not an everyday player for them, but, you know, that being said, I'm not saying they're totally casting him aside just yet either. Sorry for all these questions being so Leafs heavy. Maybe it's because I don't know. Just corner. Yeah, I just kind of turned into that. There's this really interesting one. I genuinely have no idea about this one. Maybe I forgot. This is from Ritec Yes. I repeat my question for a few weeks ago. I guess they asked this question a couple of weeks ago and we never got to it. A few years ago, CJ mentioned a huge potential Leafs trade and he'd only talk about it after some time had passed, has time passed. What are they talking about here? So, I remember that. That was on the SDP. And you can tell me if I'm wrong here, but I think sometimes a little mystery isn't the worst thing. So, I'm not going to tell you what that potential trade was. I think, because here's the thing, it's taken on a bit of a life of its own. I made like an offhand comment and I, if I remember correctly, I gave some hints on like where the player played and then like a lot of these fanatical SDP listeners, like went around and tried to narrow it down. And it's almost like the Jeff Carter middle name. I mean, I just think sometimes a little bit of a little bit of mystery is fun. And so, the player is still in a league and maybe when the player is no longer in a league, I will discuss it more. Why do I want to know this more than the Jeff Carter middle main thing? This is the funny part and I mean this honestly. I was not trying to, and back in the moment, I wasn't trying to be a tease or anything. I just didn't want to say, you know, like I'm not going to, you know, I know, I obviously know things that I can't always say on the pod, essentially, for a variety of reasons, maybe because of who told me and I can't protect that person or what have you. And so, like I wasn't being a tease, but I just mentioned that the leaves might look at what would be, at that time, would have been considered a pretty big move. And it went like wildfire. And evidently, it's like a couple of years later, that's probably three years ago anyway. And people are still remembering it. So, if the trade were to happen today, I will say, well, it wouldn't, it would not be as big a deal if it happened today. Okay. And it wasn't like, I should be clear, it wasn't like a mega blockbuster or anything. It was just, it was for a pretty high quality player, but it wasn't like, we're not talking about some alternate history where it was like Marner for Mick David or something, you know, I mean, like it's not that. It's just like a player who would have helped, like, like, yeah, I have a question, is if this player was on the team today, would we refer to the Leafs as the core five instead of the core four? No. Okay. All right. That's almost the disappointing part of it. Is that I feel like when I tell the trade, you're going to go, oh, oh, just this time, like, like, like, that's why I almost feel like it'll be disappointing to the listeners. So part of me, why don't you just say it now? Just get it out the way. No way. No chance. Okay. Because I don't need to start a shit storm, right? It would start a mini shit storm. All right. There's just, there's no reason for it now. It's a different GM. I think there's a different GM for the team. This player plays on, you know, since that time, like, it's, it's just, it's part of the past and it never happened. All right. Well, we could just leave it there. It's just as a tease. Essentially, I'm not trying to be a tease. I just, there's no reason to start trouble. Okay. Well, we started enough trouble over the weekend. Let's just, let's just try to. Yeah, I could tell about your voice, huh? You got yourself, you got yourself some fun a lot, a few days, huh? Couple hockey, all famed parties. Enjoy it. It was fun. Yeah. I bet, I bet you had fun. I bet you did. Old faces, lots of hockey folks. It was good. And now I get to go to Sweden. So I'm, it's good to be me, a good time to be me right now, man. It's about to say throwing, throwing a, throwing a loss engine in your suitcase, where you get a chance. Okay, buddy? I'm all good. Don't you worry. All right. I'm just checking. You know, I care about you, Siege. I know. I know. All right. Thursday will be back. We'll figure out scheduling. We'll figure out where in Sweden, CJ will be. Subscribe to the podcast, subscribe to the YouTube channel and enjoy our content. And also leave us a rating if you can. Leave us a five star stunner rating. If you leave us four stars, maybe you're a hater, maybe you're not, but five stars. We would love a five star rating if you can give it to us, whether you're on Spotify or wherever else you can do ratings for us on podcast. Proceed, Jay. I'm Julie. So long. The Chris Johnson Show. Powered by sports interact. You're a homegrown sports, but always remembered of that local. Inside the game, twice a week, follow Chris on Twitter, at reporter Chris and follow Julian McKenzie at JK McKenzie. The Chris Johnson Show.