Could A Canadian Team Win the Stanley Cup?

Could A Canadian Team Win the Stanley Cup?

series arrives not tonight. They played in Toronto last night, but yeah, I think it’s the only game tomorrow night. Leafs up two zip on the Panthers. Mike Schopen, the Bulldog here, joined now on the Western Hotline by ESPN’s Greg Washinsky. We’ve enjoyed Greg’s visits many times over the years, especially I’m grateful when it’s during the playoffs like this. ESPN has the double header tonight. And Greg, let me let me say first, really Bulldog should be the one to say it. He enjoyed your work on the broadcast last night. on on ESPN Bet Live, you mean? Uh, no. On the No, on the the intermission show I with the the the parade. Oh, no. No, dude. That’s That’s my buddy Ardo. We look the same. We both look like Dude, are you kidding me? The incred. Yeah. No, that Oh my god. You can always tell because he’s the one putting over Toronto and I could I could care less about Canada. That’s right. That makes that makes a lot of I feel like such a donkey now. I I went I went to your Twitter feed and looked and I saw the picture that you had posted. I’m like, “Oh, yeah, of course that’s you.” Do you guys Do you guys think they’d let me within 20 ft of the adult table? Well, that’s I was so impressed. I’m like, “Oh, we’re talking to GR. I was watching with my son. He thought it was you, too.” I’m like, “Oh, yeah. That’s Greg Wajiski. We’re talking to him tomorrow. Cool.” Man, I feel like such a jerk. I’m sorry. Sorry, everyone. Yeah. Well, Greg, it’s nice talking. Why does Greg care if there’s a parade in Toronto? I know, right? I I thought you were just trolling Canada and I you know I I could get behind that. It’s a good bit. Yeah, it is a good bit. I mean, I’ve been doing the bit on on on social media myself, but actually I don’t think it’s a bit. I mean, like I I’ve I seriously think we’re in trouble here, folks. There’s a chance the Leafs could win the cup this year. Like, it’s it’s not great for those of us who have enjoyed the shot in Florida of of of no Cup since 1967. I mean, like, they’re talented. They’ve yet to have a moment in these playoffs where their psyche has been broken, which is usually when they’re eliminated. And uh and they might have the guy behind the bench and Craig Rub who’s, you know, has some proof of concept visav keeping his team focused and and shutting out the outside noise with what he did in St. Louis. So, I’m a little beat I’m a little concerned like if they can get past Florida, I think they beat whoever comes out of the metro and then you know, well, we’ll see what happens with the Western Conference with Dallas and Edmonton. like uh it’s it’s a little disconcerting right now that this could be the lease here. Yeah, they have really changed. It’s been a it’s been a storyline if people have been following them. I’m sure some people in our audience have been uh all season long like stylewise how they play. It even came up watching I think that one of the games in the Ottawa series um that Bucharrass and Weeks were doing, John was saying like, “Yeah, it’s just not a lot of offense from Toronto tonight.” And I’m thinking to myself, this is how they’ve been mostly all year. like they’ve got the star power so you know they can still do it like just on a dime bang just just boat race you but mostly they’ve been playing I think they’ve been learning how to play all year and now it’s coming home to roost for them. Yeah, they’re fundamentally sound defensively. They they’ve got good goalending finally this year with with Solars when he’s healthy and with Wall who was pretty good last night or as good as he needed to be. Um, but you know, you also have some guys that for all the criticism that the core four has gotten for not performing in the playoffs. I think Neander’s been insane. Maybe maybe the second most valuable player in the playoffs behind Miko Ranton at this point. And Martyr’s gotten his points. Still waiting on Austin Matthews to uh announce his his uh his his attendance in the proceedings, but that’s fine. Um, but they’re they’re good and and and they’re also tough. I mean, there’s a certain toughness to this team to with withstand what Ottawa was throwing at them, to withstand what Florida can throw at them. Obviously, Florida’s already cost them their goalender with what Sam Bennett did in game one. Um, they’re tough. They can push back and and also they’re they’re not they’re not dumb. They didn’t do dumb dumb things last night and trying to uh exact revenge for what the Panthers did in game one, which is usually what happens when you play the Panthers, but the the Leafs didn’t take the bait. Yeah. Very different. Yeah. Ecman Larson and McCabe on the back and Tanv too. I was worried when they signed him that he would, you know, be on one leg by the time the playoffs got here, but they managed to get through that season and he’s still there. The guy that really to me is a piece that these Leafs have never had through this window is N to me. like he is just such a different sort of player than any of the the core group and I feel like just adds an element there like he’s going to be a problem I think for years if you’re you know interested in the Atlantic division like we are in Buffalo for sure and the other part about him too is he’s young so he he doesn’t he doesn’t carry the burden of you know a dozen seasons of of playoff disappointments and and and get the blame for it and have the media on him all the time asking him why he can’t win. I mean, he’s he’s also like new to the proceedings still in in some ways. So, um it’s they’re they’re quite good. I I uh I hesitate to put them over Florida because this Florida team could could easily just put on the afterburners and and take the series. But, uh but they’ve in order to do that, you’re going to have to plant the seed of doubt in the minds of the Maple Leafs that that this isn’t the year. And like I said, no no one’s been able to do that yet. Uh even even in the slightest. Even even Ottawa couldn’t do it despite pushing him to game six in the first round with Greg Washinski. Mike Schopen, the bulldog here. So would for you or maybe you even know a number. Would the odds of a Canadian Cup be better than 50/50? Yeah, I’d say so. I mean, I I I had Dallas coming out of the West and winning the cup and as as long as Miko Randon is continuing to tally hat-ticks every game, I feel pretty confident about that. Um, but there’s definitely I mean like if you if you if I had to stake my life on it, right, I would say the Cup finals Edmonton and Toronto in in which case we don’t have any escape. We’re going to have the first Canadian Stanley Cup since 1993. But I mean like it kind of feels like it might be headed there, you know, and then you get Matthews versus McDavid. You get the Leafs versus the Oilers. You have the Oilers trying to win the cup that they lost in game seven last year and trying to and we’ll probably have all of Canada outside of Ontario uh behind them in trying to prevent the Leafs from winning. Like it’s a really really compelling final and I I it kind of feels like it might be heading there. The Oilers are playing really well too. Like I I was super impressed with them defensively the last few games. Their depth is good. I I still really like Dallas especially if they get get they can get Heinen back at some point. But I mean it kind of, you know, you could just take a deep breath, go outside, smell it in the air, boys. It’s Toronto, Edmonton. Yeah. Yeah. He’s going to What is Do you have a guess there? I mean, it just feels like once he started taking morning skates, I thought, “Oh, it’s got to be happening soon.” And we got through the whole first round and now we’re two, you know, a g a game into round two and still no change. Is there any news on that front? No, I mean, he’s still working his way back. I mean, maybe maybe, you know, with with some of the, you know, with the win in in game one, they probably maybe can give him a little bit more time to work back, but I’m I’m honestly shocked based on everything that we had heard and everything they had been saying uh towards the end of the Colorado series that Robertson made it back before before Hastkin did. But, you know, listen, they they they gutted out the the Colorado series, which is extremely impressive when you consider what the Avalanche had on their roster and and who was missing for Dallas. Um, and then they they go and do what they did in game one of of the Winnipeg series. And so they can they can afford to be patient right now with their injured guys. Checking the odds before well two days ago the I guess the second round had started but barely. I saw Dallas as the favorite by a little bit over Carolina. And Washington was the longest shot on the board at plus a thousand to win it. And I wasn’t expecting that Greg. I mean, I saw game one and maybe that now I get it. But as qu as someone who questioned Washington all year like I was doing, they get the fivegame win in the first round. I did not expect the betting markets to to think that to show that Washington was like the biggest long shot. Not by a tremendous amount. Um thoughts on on that matchup? Well, I’m I’m in DC now, uh, hence the sirens, and, uh, and I’m going to the game tonight, and I’m I’m really intrigued to see what their counter punch is going to be because, uh, they that game one loss was the kind of loss that happens and has you questioning whether you can win a series. Now, their coach actually had to come out and say today before the game, we we believe we can win the series and play our best hockey against Carolina. The simple fact that it needs to be addressed, it tells you what a what a what a uh what a humbling defeat it was in game one where the Cavs couldn’t get anything going. That being said, it’s still the Hurricanes which meant that it was a one-goal game in overtime. you know, even even when they’re that dominant, even when they’re that good, this this is a team that that they constantly play to the margins in in the postseason and and is and is in constant dire straits because they’re winning games one, you know, by one goal and and hoping that someone can find that goal. That’s why they traded for Rantinon earlier this year. That’s why they traded for Gensel last year. They’re perpetually the team that has to hope somebody scores in a in a in a perfect situation to get them over the hump. So again, it’s not the most encouraging game one for Washington. Uh the people that were heavy on Carolina are probably feeling pretty good about life right now, but at the end of the day, it was a one bounce game. Yep. Right. Yeah. That that is it. It would be fitting if Carolina were to go on some kind of a run here because this was the year I finally decided I’m done backing them in any way, shape, or form because it just every year it’s just like they look like one of the best teams in the league and then it’s like I don’t know, Boston has their number for some reason or whatever it is. they just can’t seem to to get there. Um, do you do you think there’s any fatigue there with front office, coach, anything? Like if they if if they if the wheels were to come off of this thing, I mean, I imagine if they win a second round series that everyone is safe, but it feels to me like they’ve been, you know, this team for five or six years now. Yeah. I mean, Eric Tolks is their new GM. He took over for Don Wadell, so they there’s a little bit of new blood there. I mean, he was the assistant to Wadell, who’s now in Columbus. Um but but I mean he’s going to be given some time to kind of put his stamp on the roster. Uh they took a big swing with Ranton and the fact that he you know didn’t sign and they had to trade him again to Dallas. There might be some virtue in what they got back and Logan Logan Stankov who’s a good young player but it still is kind of embarrassing to take that kind of swing and then not have the guy in the playoffs. Um and Brydemore listen he gets him to the playoffs every year. I don’t think there’s a lot of a lot of concernation about his role right now and and his job right now. I think he when he leaves it’ll be him deciding when to leave. But, you know, may maybe it’s the the new pope that has me feeling a little bit religious today. Let’s go. Let’s go. You know, there are there are hockey gods. We know that. I mean, Buffalo fans know that more than anybody that there’s hockey gods. Yeah. And uh you know, maybe the hockey gods decree a Toronto a Toronto Edmonton final. Or maybe they decree a Mo Ranton and revenge tour of beating Colorado in the first round and then facing the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup final. I mean, that could easily be what the hockey gods decree as well. I only felt compelled to ask the question about Brenda Moore’s future because the Sabres just hired Eric Stall as a special assistant to the GM and you know just when we could see how many 06 Hurricanes we can fit under one tent. Beautiful. It’s wild to me like you guys are collecting them like Pokemon. Is Joe Corvo walking through that door anytime soon? Like my god. Um I mean but again that it’s also like hockey nepotism, right? I mean why is Eric Stall there? Eric Stall there is there because he played with Kevin Adams. You know, you guys mentioned on the on the update, why is Joel Quenville in Anaheim? Because he was a teammate in Hartford in New Jersey with Pat, their GM. Um, you know, like it’s it’s always like this familial relationship incestuous thing in the NHL. So, I’m not surprised that Kevin is surrounding himself with some former teammates up there. Saying that, the Sabres in this interminable playoff drought have gone, if you will, outside the box. uh not always in a good way, but you know, first time GMs and coaches, not first- time coaches in Krueger’s case, but still a little bit of a different hire. And then Granado, too. What’s left to say, Greg? I mean, 14 years, um, you know, no no one of these names that we see bounce around running franchises all all the time. The guys the the Wadell’s that get the next job the day after just because, I don’t know, there’s some credibility there or something. The Sabres seem to just they can’t be bothered to to make a move like that up top. I mean, is is Ball’s got to be one of the few guys. I mean, I guess Bilesma, too, like that that got rehired after after not working out in Buffalo. Like, a lot of these guys haven’t gotten another job. Um, and it took many years for both guys to get top jobs again. It did. It did. It did. I don’t I mean, I don’t know. I I’ve I’ve in thinking about the Sabres, like I I think it’s pretty clear that they might be at the point where they need to start packaging some of these younger guys that they’ve been waiting on together to go and get guys that are maybe in their mid20s that are a little bit closer to their prime. I mean, you know, I know Elias Patterson’s name has come up a bunch with the with the Conucks looking to maybe move him, but who knows? You’d be buying extremely low on him and uh and and he’s, you know, not the same player that he was a couple years ago. But, you know, that that’s one path they could take. And then it ultimately comes down to whether or not you have the faith that their front office is is the right one to to make those kinds of moves because once you do start packaging young guys and sending young players out the door, um, as every Sabres fan knows, it could come back to haunt you in a pretty severe way. So, uh, that’s that’s the trick. And and and you know, they’re in a pickle right now. No kidding. It can come back to haunt us. I mean, It’s it’s not even believable the the way we watched the savers trade players who went and won the K smite or won cups immediately for just over and over it’s happened. Um Josh Norris is hopefully not the next example of a trade gone wrong but he only played two games here. He was injured three maybe. Yeah, maybe three. Was would Norris from Ottawa not have been available? Would he have been available if not for the injury history? Um potentially. I mean, you know, like Cousins is younger. Um, I think he’s got a bit of a different skill set. He’s he’s, you know, controllable contractwise, too. So, there were still, you know, reasons to make that deal outside of of the frustration with him being unable to to stay healthy. But, I mean, obviously, like the fact that they’re looking for a bit more stability and they’re looking for a guy to stay in the lineup certainly factored into their decision. I like him as a player. I’m I’m kind of bummed that he can’t stay healthy because I do think that he’s actually a a pretty solid offensive player and a good hand to have in the middle. But but again, you know, the the concern was health and then he played like you said like what two games. So, I mean, it’s kind of it’s kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point. Yeah, it sure is. So, how how about like the the overall here, Greg? We It’s been a pretty incredible year for the league with the the the success of the Four Nations faceoff. I feel like these playoffs with the with the game sevens we just had over the weekend that were just I mean great theater. I feel like the league is maybe riding as high as it as it ever has been. I I wonder how much they would be fearing an all Canadian Stanley Cup final like you were talking about a few minutes ago. So I mean there’s there’s good and bad, right? I mean, Four Nations was a massive success to the point where now they’re rethinking their international calendar and what they’re going to do with the All-Star game and and and and I think that’s probably right, even though I do think that the conditions were very specific to this year uh geopolitically as to why that thing popped off the way it did. Um, you know, they’ve got a collection of young stars. Scoring has been over six goals per game for for the last few seasons. Power plays clicked in a way they hadn’t clicked since the middle of the 1980s. There’s a lot of things that are going right and and I think next year’s Olympic tournament’s going to be even, you know, a bigger a bigger boom because I think the Americans have a legit shot at winning gold. Um, but you know, the Canadian thing, the Canadian part of your question is an interesting one because while those games will be awesome and the atmosphere will be awesome and I do think a lot of American fans really enjoyed watching the atmosphere in Edmonton and really enjoy watching the atmosphere in Winnipeg, for example, and kind of get that uh almost like college football vibe from how much the community cares about these things. Yes, it is tough for this league to really thrive without the Rangers, without the Bruins, without the Penguins, without the Flyers, without the Blackhawks, without the Red Wings, without all of the teams that kind of 2x the audience when they’re contending. And so that’s that’s kind of the downside right now is that we have a lot of really good teams and a lot of really good players and some amazing hockey and and they’re not necessarily the franchises that the casual fan wants to watch. Interesting. I mean, I’m I’m very much with this group. I’m just I get bored by those other teams, you know, the New York, Philadelphia stuff. I’m glad to not have it. Um I’m I’m a Hockey Night in Canada kid, though. Uh I I look forward to those those ratings lists when they come out, the top 10 cities for viewership because Buffalo’s always on it. And so is pro so is Providence and one is it uh West Palm. There’s one city in Florida that’s always on the top 10. It’s West Palm. all the all the snowbirds and New Yorkers that migrated down there for so they could buy McMansions. But yeah, I mean that’s that’s the real that’s one of the real tragedies of the way that Sabres have gone for the last, you know, over a decade is when when that team is competitive and when it pops, we know we know what the audience is going to be, not only locally, but all the the same people that that flood buyers on on Sundays to watch the Bills in cities across the country are all of a sudden going to be repping the Sabres if that team ever ever becomes relevant again. And it’s it’s something the league has has certainly missed. Well said. I like the college football comp too. That works thinking about those Canad people outside the Leafs arena and so on. Right. Yeah. So, you mentioned you’re in Washington. Where where can we find you on the streaming slash or just like social media because I I don’t want to make any mistakes here. I’ll be uh I’ll be sucking down Guinnesses at the Irish channel after the game. Oh. Oh, you mean like on online? Yeah, like during the game. Yeah. Sorry, you can read you can read my stuff at ESPN.com as per usual and Piffy comments at Washinsky on Twitter. I should also mention my friend and I my friend Jeff Merik uh and I are doing our podcast again every Tuesday on dailyfaceoff.com, the Merrick versus Washinsky podcast every Tuesday. It’s on YouTube so you can watch two um subtly aging hockey pundits. One of whom combs his hair, me. The other one I don’t know what’s going on, but we do our show every Tuesday now. And it’s great. What is the status of Misison Pod? Oh my god, it’s still thriving. Me and me and my my wife Ruby do Mis Pod. It’s a food TV podcast uh on the Puck Soup Patreon if you’re interested in in food TV or more specifically in Top Chef because we do the podcast every week during Top Chef. We just did the top five and and five worst Restaurant Wars popup names of all time. A bonus episode. Um, big fan of Kucky’s third coast. I mean, think about it. We’ve got two coasts. The low country where you get craw daddies. That’s the third coast. So, yeah, that’s a that’s a that’s that’s the podcast I like to do the most because it’s just me and my wife sitting across the kitchen table having a beer talking about Top Chef. I like it this year. Toronto. Speaking of Toronto, it’s the first time I think they ever went to a restaurant I’ve been to. Uh when they went to Ravine, Ravine Vineyards Niagara on the Lake. It’s like 15 minutes from home. Yeah. Oh, it was gorgeous there, too. What’s really funny is they they they labeled the the season destination Canada and they’ve yet to leave Toronto in about 8 so far. So, so it’s actually quite appropriate when you talk to people around Canada that get pissed off about how Toronto considers itself to be the center of the of the universe. The fact that Top Chef is doing Destination Canada but hasn’t left a few block radius in Toronto, I think is appropriate. I would look forward to hearing you on one of these podcasts talk about your favorite or least favorite contestants. I’ve decided Chris Kristen Kish, who is now the host of the show, is I think my favorite all-time contestant on the show, too. I don’t think the show really misses Padma. I thought I thought she was great, but I I love the current host. She She was awesome. I’m a big fan of Buddha who was on last season because he he’s he was like a fan of the show that studied how to win like scientifically and bought like 200 different molds for like making gelatin and stuff. And any anyone who has anyone who’s a big fan of the show and also has broken the thing down into what Jeopardy contestants do to try to like you know rig the board and everything like to have that down on Top Chef is really impressive. Well, we’re going to have to at some point you get up this way. Uh, Maddie Mat’s place in Ridgeway, Ontario, which is just about a 20-minute jaunt over the Peace Bridge, Rizzo’s House of Parm, has been getting a lot of love and um, you know, it’s tough table, but I think I, you know, we got to try to make something happen for you. Oh, all right. Well, now you’ve got my attention. Anything anything any favors to be called in, right, by med by media moguls in the in the Buffalo area, I have to pay attention. Let’s please not start 914 and one next year, please. Right. Do you have a reason to come here at some point? Let’s get it off the ground. Greg, enjoy enjoy your night in Washington. Thanks as always. Anytime.

Mike Schopp and The Bulldog talk to Lead NHL Writer for ESPN Greg Wyshynski about the NHL Playoffs, The chances of a Canadian team winning the cp, and the Sabres moves in the front office. #bills #billsmafia

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