Round two check-in + offseason preview for Buffalo and Anaheim

Round two check-in + offseason preview for Buffalo and Anaheim

Hello and welcome back to Ringside Regression. Um, this is like our 15th episode, I think, which is kind of crazy. Um, I’ve lost count. Yeah, I’ve lost count. I think that’s a good thing, right? Like cuz once you get past 10, I feel like you kind of stopped counting. So, um, so that’s good. Thank you for everybody who’s been listening. Um, views have been pretty steady, so that’s that’s uh that’s a good sign. That means we’re not losing uh everybody. But um, so yeah, thank you again for for watching. And if you want to watch the uh the full videos, they are available on YouTube. If you don’t know that, if you just want to listen to the audio, um we do offer on uh Apple and Spotify as well. So, make sure to go there and rate, give us five stars, go like the videos, um do whatever you need to. And then follow the Instagram. Um we’ve been lacking on clips, but uh we’re going to work on that because, uh I think those are important. But we’ve both been busy. So, yeah, it’s a summer. We’re stepping up our game. Yeah, exactly. The playoffs are ramping up. Everything’s Everything’s going pretty good. Um, so let’s uh let’s begin by going giving a quick little uh um check-in on the second round and then we’re going to do two um team offseason outlooks as well. Uh so we’re going to do Buffalo and Anaheim today. Um so let’s begin first of all with the uh the bracket and uh Dallas Winnipeg three games in. Has this series been like everything you expected it to be so far? It definitely has. And I think my favorite part about this series is all the narratives that were sort of established towards the end of the season and the first round with Miko Ransin and Connor Halabuk arguably the best player on each side of this series showing out and performing their best. Obviously Hellbuck the shut out in game two and Miko Ransin multiple three-point performances in this series including a hat-tick in game one. So, it’s been a really entertaining series. I still think it’s going seven and I think it’s been probably the best one out of the four so far in my opinion that for my enjoyment at least. I don’t know about you probably, man. There’s been there’s been three like I think I think Washington Carolina pretty easily has been the worst. I think the other three you can make an argument for any of them being the best series so far um this round. They’ve all been really good, but this is definitely in that conversation. Um quick note on Miko Ranton. Um he had I think it was like he had he has had uh contributions so a goal or an assist on like 14 of Dallas’s last 17 goals in the playoffs which is crazy including a streak of 13 straight. Um, which is like like that that’s that’s insane for for like at any point in the season to to be to be contributing to 13 straight goals um for your team, much less in the playoffs. Um, so I I guess my question to you is like uh how like what what’s like the fewest number of points from now until the end of this the end of the playoffs that Miko Ranton could get for him to not win the Cons like what’s the barrier from now until like if Dallas were to win the cup like if he had like seven more points from now until the Stanley Cup final is he still winning the consm because I think he probably is which is insane like that’s how good he’s in the last like six games. Um I’m curious to know if you if you kind like I I couldn’t put a number on it, but I think like seven or eight points from now until the end of the playoffs is like the threshold for him to like not How many is he at 18 right now? I think so. Yeah, 25. He needs 25. Yeah. Like that’s crazy. Like he could get that by the end of the series. Like if he’s if he’s a point a game, he’s winning the consp. Yeah. I think like the next closest person would probably be Jakeer. I think odds wise um Jake is the next I think like the odds for the the con smite. I was looking at it earlier. I think Brandon’s at like plus 450 which is insane for the second round of the playoffs. Like that’s crazy. And then like Jake Ginger is like plus 2,000 and he’s the next like most likely like it’s insane how like the difference in you know like Miko Randon is hands down the favorite to win the the Cons. I mean like I can’t really disagree like he’s he’s been pretty easily the best player in the playoffs. Um yeah, 13 stri. I couldn’t believe that when I when I heard that sat. Um I guess quickly we can talk about the controversial goal um in game three. Uh the 8 minute review that happened. Um yeah, it was wild. Yeah. What were kind of your thoughts on it? Because I was I wasn’t watching it with sound. So I was at a a Mother’s Day um dinner and they had it on uh on the TV. So we were watching it, but we couldn’t really figure out what the conversation was for the the replay. So obviously like I I watched it after and heard all that. But at the time um all we really had was the video. There was no I didn’t have anything to go on. So it was really it was really hotly contested debate going on over rules that nobody really knew the full extent to. So it was kind of a crazy uh a crazy couple minutes. But uh personally the way I look at it is if you’re reviewing something for more than like seven or eight minutes you kind of just have to go with what the call on the ice was because clearly there’s nothing definitive either way. Um, and that’s what they ended up doing. So, uh, in that context, I think they probably got it right. I’m in the same boat as you. I think if you have to look at it for that long, then just human judgment at that point initially is best. And as well, I didn’t watch the game live. I just watched the recap and then I saw it and I was like, “What the heck?” And then I was like watching I watched it a few times. I was like, “Yeah, I feel like the people in the video room right now like looking at this so much.” And yeah, I mean that’s just a part of the sport too, right? Having the referees, it’s a whole dynamic of it. It’s part of sports culture and tradition, especially in hockey too, right? Not every call is going to be perfect, but the best teams find ways to work around that and still win. So, yeah. And I think like uh and just to that point finally to kind of cap off the series, I think that’s that’s a good point because Jets fans were acting like that’s the goal that that ended the game, but really it was the 4-2 goal like a minute later that ended the game. And I think not having that bounce back after a call not going your way um is something that good teams um get over and the Jets didn’t. And uh that could be a defining moment of the series um potentially. And uh I think that’s that’s something to note is the fact that the Winnipeg Jacks absolutely collapse after not getting that call. And um you don’t really see that happen to to to the top teams in the league. So, I think that’s land to watch uh as this series goes on and as uh the pressure continues to heat up for them. Yeah, absolutely. Should we move on to Vegas? Yes. Um another really fun like man uh you talk about the the 1.4 second goal um in game seven with Winnipeg and and uh St. Louis. Well, um the the Vegas Golden Knights uh eclipse that with a 0.4 second goal um to win the game in game three. Uh what a like I I think the the the play on that whole goal um I think it was William Carlson that that started that rush, right? Am I am I losing my mind? Yeah, like that play by William Carlson is like the defining play of the playoffs for me. Like I don’t think anything’s going to beat it. Like the fact that he just took that puck when they were hemmed into their zone to pretty much end the the period. Um and he took it and then instead of just trying to wind the clock down, he’s like, “We have like five seconds left. I’m gonna go try to score.” And then uh the play by Rally Smith just to like wait out Steuart Skinner um with like a second left on the clock is insane because most players just want to get that shot off, right? And uh he was able to kind of hold on to it for like half a second longer. Um wait out Skinner and then obviously got a bit of help from Leon Tricettle. Uh, man, that was like I I don’t think we’re going to get and maybe we will because we’ve had some pretty good finishes um so far in these playoffs, but that might be the craziest finish to a game um that we see for quite a while. Never mind these playoffs. Uh that’s been a fun series, I think. So, yeah. And I I kind of don’t like the narrative that it was Skinner’s fault for coming out like that. I actually didn’t hate that he came out and challenged Smith as much as that, especially considering the time because if Dry settle doesn’t touch that puck, the trajectory of it is going through the crease and it’s going to overtime. So again, just like an unfortunate circumstance and a player that has a narrative surrounding him that just takes the beating for it. So, but I think it’s been a great series. I know some people that were at the uh game where I got walked by McDavid for the overtime winner. So, they said that was insane live. So that was also one of my favorite goals of the playoffs as well that overtime for dry side just traditional between the two of them. And you’re thank god your cup pick won game three or else it was not looking good. So it’s still alive. I’m shocked you they lose the first two on the road on at home and then they win game three on the road in Edmonton. So yeah, we’ll see what happen. Game four is going to be big. It really feels like if if Vegas wins game four, like they kind of have the series. Like it felt like they really lost it in the first two games and then that game three win really changed the momentum of this series. Um so game four is going to be a big one. Um I can’t believe Yeah, I’ve heard. But like it feel it feels like Calvin Pickard is like the the X factor in the series, right? Like if he comes back like everything’s okay in Edmonton, which is which is crazy because like I never thought I’d say that. It feels like I don’t think Skinner played that bad uh in game three, but obviously we’ll see what what happens in game four. Um he was like a prodigy prospect like 10 years ago. Yeah, even like four years ago. Who pretty uh who did he play? Who was he a pro? Was it Who did he start with? I have his Skinner. Oh, I was talking about Pickard. Oh, Picker. Oh, he’s been around. I I don’t Yeah, that’s a Who do you start with? I have his rookie card. He Oh, it was a team in the Central. I think it was Colorado, right? Or it might have been Yeah, it was Colorado. I think he played for the Blues at some point, too. He’s been around. Let’s see. Um, yeah, overall like Colorado, Toronto for one game. Was St. Louis on there? Tell me St. Louis is on there. Uh, no. No. St. Louis. Colorado, Philly, Arizona, Detroit. He spent most of his entire career in Yeah. basically Colorado and Edmonton. I think he was the starter for that historically bad Colorado team. Yeah, I believe he was, which is Yeah, he played 50 games that year. So yeah, it it definitely feels like uh like game four is uh I mean game four is be a swing game in in a lot of these series, but uh I think more so in uh in really both the West Series. I think the the game fours are the most impactful there. Um yeah, even more so than game four was for for Florida. Like I think if they’re up if they’re up 3-1, I think there’s still enough like baggage there that uh that I still like have some faith in Florida. But in terms of both Winnipeg and uh and Vegas, I think if they go down 3-1, the series is basically over. But we’ll see. I don’t know. Crazier things have happened. Speaking of the East, why don’t we talk about Florida Toronto? Yeah, this one’s been fun, man. Uh it’s been a really good series. Yeah, it’s been it’s been and I think um you know, it’s like the animosity in the series has been like ramping up every game. I feel like, you know, a lot of people are like, “Oh, they like the refs have to get control of the series before it gets like I think the the stakes of the series will kind of calm everything down. Um, in game five, six, and seven, like as the games get more meaningful, um, you know, the the Florida Panthers aren’t really going to want to hand the Toronto Maple Leafs power plays and vice versa. So, uh, that’s been really interesting. I also think it’s really interesting to note that, um, uh, Notable, uh, doesn’t have the dog in him, William Knander. um was getting the Alex Barov line in both games in Florida, not Austin Matthews. So, uh just a little fun tidbit there for uh for all the Mike Rup supporters out there who uh agree with William Knander sucking and he’s been really good. So, uh Paul Maurice seems to think so because he’s playing his best defensive line against him instead of Austin Matthews. So, that’s kind of fun. But, uh Toronto’s hung in it, man. Toronto’s looked they they’ve looked fine even in the last couple games. Uh I didn’t think they were that bad. There’s been a couple games that could have went either way in the series. Um like even in game four, like I think Florida was was that was probably the best game of the series. Um and it was one- nothing for for a lot of it. It felt like it was just one bounce and and Toronto was right back in it. And then obviously um the Panthers got the second goal which which iced the game. But uh overall like I’ve been really impressed with the Leafs. They probably been the most impressive team to me um in the second round just based on uh how much of a chance I gave them. And uh they’re right there, man. They’re two games away from the the Eastern Conference final, which is crazy to say. Um and they still have home ice advantage. So, uh we’ll see how they bounce back in uh in game five. Yeah, absolutely. I gave them I gave them two games at least. So, there wins the next two and I also said they win the first one, which I was right about. So, yeah. I was a little more nice to the Leafs than you were. So, yeah, it’s nice to see that they’re playing up to their potential here and maybe they’ll get to the conference final for the first time in this Matthews era. I think that’d be really cool. Yeah. And I mean like I I feel like and I think I said this in the in the round two preview too, like I wasn’t trying to be mean to the Leafs. I just thought Florida was a juggernaut. Um but like if the Panthers do end up going on a run here, how thankful are they going to be that the the Lightning series was only five games because they had that extra time off. Like I think that’s going to be if if the Panthers end up going on another run to the final, um that’s going to be a big catalyst as to why I think was the how short the uh the Lightning series is because this is going to be a dog fight with Toronto. like this could easily easily go seven and it’s been a brutal series. Um and then what is most likely Carolina coming out of the other side. This looks like the most competent Hurricanes team they’ve had in a while too. So um I think getting that extra break in round one uh could be a uh a big factor moving forward and something just kind of keep in the back of your mind. But I could also see the other side too before we transition to the next series is that they can beat a Carolina Washington in five games too. That’s true. Yeah, that that is also true. So, uh yeah, it could work that could work out as well. And then obviously there’s like the the 4-day break the NHL usually does between the the conference finals and the finals. So, yeah, um Florida could be I mean obviously they need to like we’re we’re thinking two rounds ahead here, but um really the situation is that that that break could be good especially for a team Florida more so than anybody else in this bracket just because of how much hockey they’ve played in the last uh in the last three years. So, uh you know, just something to to kind of keep in mind. uh as we move forward. But uh speaking of that that Hurricanes Capital series, uh pretty easily I think the worst series so far. Um I feel like Washington is just getting thoroughly um manhandled out there by the Hurricanes. Uh and yeah, I I don’t I don’t see a ton of uh hope here outside of Logan Thompson for for Washington who’s been really good um in these playoffs. I I don’t know. Is is there is there a light for the for the Capitals here? Because I didn’t I don’t really see one, but I mean this is a team that won the Eastern Conference, right? So, there is something there. Um I maybe you can find it. I I watched game two on the plane coming home. I believe it was Thursday night, last Thursday. And they looked really good in game two. They actually played a very good game. They were actually controlling possession in game two up until the third period, which is obviously when you have score state effects. Carolina was down a goal. Obviously, they started they had like one or two shifts there in the third where they probably accumulated like eight or nine shots which was insane. They had possession in the zone for like two minutes. Washington was cast. They did like two full line changes. They had like 15 different players on the ice. Washington only had five. But I thought they looked really good in game two. And if they can show any of that, they can show any of that then they can make this a series. But I think Carolina’s probably going to walk away with this one. I think we’re seeing them back in the Eastern Conference final again. Yeah. The only way we’re not seeing Carolina in the Eastern Conference final is the New York Rangers at this point. Yeah. So, true. Yeah. Seems like everybody’s got their cryp tonight, right? Like it’s it’s really uh Yeah, it’s really fascinating to see how all these teams always lose the same. I mean, Washington, it was the Rangers and the Penguins for forever in the second round. So, uh and they eventually got past those Demons. So, I don’t know. We’ll see. So, transitioning now away from the uh the playoffs to some uh lottery teams. Um the Buffalo Savers, uh a team that going into last season or uh I guess two years ago going to not this season, but the season before a lot of people had as a playoff team, including myself. Um I was very high on the Buffalo Sabres. I thought this is the when they turn it around, everything’s gonna be great. Um obviously they didn’t. And then going into this year, I don’t think anybody had the Buffalo Sabres as a playoff team because people were kind of tired of falling for it. Where do you go from here? Like what? Because like the prospect pool looks good, right? Like everything looks good on paper, right? Like I think like you you look at the prospect pool, it’s like you they have a ton of really really fascinating young players, especially young forwards, um that I’m really excited about. Uh they have, you know, they they have the the guys kind of at the top of this lineup. You know, you have your um your Tae Thompson’s. Um I think there’s still a lot like Alex Tuck is still a really strong player. Jack Quinn looks looks really good. Purka looks good. Um you know, on the blue line obviously, you have power. You have uh Rasmusene who’s maybe the most criminally underrated defenseman in the NHL. Like he needs he needs a playoff run like Thomas Harley’s having right now. Um, so people can realize how good Rasmus Dalene is cuz I don’t think people really have fully grasped that yet. But it just it doesn’t seem like they can bring it together. And I don’t like they’re very they might be the most confusing team in the NHL for me right now because I don’t really know like what what you do in this situation. And I think it’s really interesting, too, because from a savvy cap perspective, Josh Norris is the highest paid forward on this team. Yeah. And you have Taige Thompson and Alex Tuck on this roster, which is just astounding to me that they’ve done a pretty good job with their contracts. Delen’s 11 million kicks in, I believe, this year, 256. So, they don’t really have like any killer contracts here. I mean, they extended Jason Zucker and I believe it was Jordan Greenway to like bridge deals, but that’s not really going to have any long-term effect. So, like you look at this team, good prospect pool, no contract sinking them. They have some core pieces there now that are pretty good. So, I mean, they’re I feel like spot. Like, you look at the Sabres, they’re in a good spot. They just can’t put it together. And yeah, I don’t know. just because of the attitude surrounding the organization from the upper level management or they just haven’t found the right coach, but definitely not the worst spot to be in if you’re a Buffalo Sabres fan. And what are some potential moves? like where do you go with this is really interesting because it’s not like I can point out one thing on the roster or with the contracts or trades and be like that’s the reason this team is in purgatory. I can’t and the only thing I can point at is management at this point to be honest with you. Yeah. And I mean, but even that, like I mean, you look at the roster, like there’s nothing like fundamentally wrong with the the roster itself. It’s just kind it it’s such a strange situation cuz like I think it’s just kind of like the and this is going to be such a 200 hockey man like buzzword thing, but it’s just like the aura of this team just non-existent. Like there’s just there’s nothing like there’s nobody on this team that I look at. It’s very similar to like the pre-C Conor McDavid Edmonton Oilers where they were just like they had this great accumulation of talent. They had all these high draft picks, but they just like they didn’t have anything to bring it together. And like I I really think and like we really didn’t see the Oilers pop off until they kind of cleaned the entire system of those young players that they they had built around, right? Like Hopkins is the only one remaining. Like Hall and Everly were shipped off and and and everything. I’m not saying that the Sabers should trade everybody away, but I I do think it’s really interesting that like like obviously we saw the Josh Norris trade and and at the time we we said that the the Sabres lost that move, but you know, they brought in a different player in a key role and who’s like, you know, similar enough level to to what they gave up um you know, give give or take a bit, but like same general tier of player. And maybe that’s just kind of what they need to do. Maybe they just need they just need to make hockey trades to kind of swap out players in this roster because the guys in the room right now aren’t buying in and don’t believe in the Buffalo Sabres as a like as a organization. And I like it that kind of seemed to work for the Oilers. Um and they had to go watch Taylor Hall win an MVP like the next season. But like but like but I’m saying right the Oilers are in a better position now than they were 10 years ago. So, well, I mean, you know, who knows? They haven’t won a cup yet, so that that’s up for debate, I guess. But like, realistically, right, they’re a perennial playoff team now, so that’s better than when they weren’t. Um, it feels like Buffalo kind has to do the same thing, but the problem is they don’t have their Conor McDavid, right? They don’t have or Leandra, but at the time, Leandre said it wasn’t really projected to be the player that he is now, but like they don’t have that that true like anchor player on this team. And like Tage Thompson’s a really fine hockey player, but he’s not, you know, Conor McDavid. So like I I don’t know what and like they’re not going to be bad enough to get a top three pick next year like you hope. So that’s kind of the one problem I see with that is like you can make all these moves to kind of swap out the players that are there right now, but when you don’t have that that anchor piece and I guess you can look at like Grass Stallene being the best player on the team, but and I think he’s great, but he’s not he’s not even like a Kale Mar, right? Where it’s like that’s kind of your main driver. Like I think that’s what they’re lacking is that like that true like star option. I don’t think every team necessarily needs one. I mean, Vegas, you could argue won a Stanley Cup without one. Um, and St. Louis won a cup without one, but like when you’re rebuilding the culture of an organization, I think you kind of do. Yeah. And I think another thing involved with this whole Sabres dilemma is I feel like we as public people don’t realize how important those glue guys are in the locker room. even though they might not have the most impressive box score or yeah I agree underlying metrics and I think we saw that with the Rangers too. They had Joe Mleti on a podcast who was the assistant announcer for Sam Rosen for 40 years and he talked about the raft and all the issues that were called with the whole Jacob Trouba and Barkley Gudro saga having a captain and assistant captain waved and then treated poorly in trade talks for months and how that really affected the Rangers locker room. We saw that on the ice. Oh, for sure. This season for the Rangers going from President’s Trophy to missing the playoffs. So, maybe it’s something for the Sabres like that where they just need a few of those guys. I’m not saying load the roster with all these guys who hit heavy and kill penalties, but maybe you can get a couple of those guys and try and find some glue guys to maybe bring some of this core together. Maybe everybody on this roster is very similar, like Payton Krebs, Zack Benson, Isaac Rosen, Yuri Kulich, Jack Quinn, like they’re all like young talented players, but maybe this roster just needs some more diversity. No, I I definitely could see that, but like I guess my and I mean it could just be like getting the right guys, right? Because I mean they just signed Jordan Greenway and Jason Zucker to to extension. I think both those guys kind of fit that role, but those are guys that have been here for a couple years or I guess suckers here has been here for a season and it really hasn’t done anything. So like I I I don’t know like I I I can see that being an option for sure. I just don’t know who you get. Like I don’t know who you bring into this room to like fundamentally fix the culture. There’s just didn’t do it. So like like but like I I don’t know if there’s somebody strong enough on the market like that could have been like the Patrick Maroon move, right? But again like Chicago tried that for two years and it didn’t work either. So like maybe it did. I there it’s too early to tell I guess. But like I I I I don’t disagree with that with that line of thinking. I just don’t know who you go get. Like I don’t know who what like I got it core like who is it? Tell me. Speaking of Chicago and Patrick, she bring in the hometown Buffalo man, Patrick Kane, fix the Buffalo. No, I was just kidding. No, I don’t think so. Maybe Jonathan Taves comes out of retirement. There it is. Found it. The Jonathan Taves rumors have ended. He’s He’s not signing in Winnipeg. He’s going to go to Buffalo. It’s basically the same city. I mean, I think they have a goalie, too, now at UPL. He’s looked pretty damn good the last year or two. He does. That’s what I mean. like the the the roster itself look like the the shiny pieces on the roster look really good. I have a good I have a good question for the Sabres. Yes, sure. If the Sabres play in the Pacific Division last year, did they make the playoffs or this past season 20? Yeah. I don’t know. Like they probably finished fourth in the I don’t know if they’re better than Edmonton. Yeah, cuz Edmonton finished third, right? like I I think if I I don’t think they’re better than LA either. So like I I don’t I don’t know if they beat out either of those two teams. Obviously their their strength of schedule would have been easier, but um they are in part like a a symptom of being in the Atlantic division. Like I I can acknowledge that. Um, but you’re still going to be battling. Like I’d rather be in a weird way, like I’d rather be in the strong division of my conference than not because like the Metro and Pacific are only going to send three teams whereas like the Atlantic are going to finish are going to send five. So you have like a higher obviously like there’s the wild card too, but like it like fundamentally from the standings like you only have to reach fifth in your division to make the playoffs instead of third. Like I feel like the the amount of teams you have to leaprog is is lower in a weird like psychological I don’t know if that makes sense. Yeah. Because like finishing fourth in the Pacific probably doesn’t get you into the playoffs because you’re not going to beat out like St. Maybe they could have beat out St. Louis. I don’t know. But like maybe I I maybe St. Louis but I like I don’t know. It’s they would have been close like they would have been in that race with with the Blues. I think they would have put up a bigger fight than the Flames did. Flames put up a pretty damn good fight. Well, Joseph Wall put up a really good fight or Joseph Wall um Dustin Wolf put up a really good fight um for the playoff spot. Let’s not let’s not uh get it twisted here. But Joseph Wolf’s putting a pretty good fight in the playoffs. Uh even though he’s lost his games, but uh um I guess we can we can uh Oh, yeah. So, how are we fixing the Sabvers? Which player are we bringing in? Who Who are we signing? Jonathan Taves. Is that the move? Jonathan Taves. Just a troll episode. Um, like I’m not even kidding. Like, I don’t think that’s a like I I genuinely don’t think that’s the worst option. Sure. I mean, if he’s gonna play like if you want somebody who’s going to change the culture and play like 10 minutes a night on your fourth line, like there’s no better like unless you’re trading for Sydney Crosby. Like I don’t know. I mean, the last time the last time the Sabers team had aura is when Kylo Posa was captain. So, hell yeah. I’ll give it to Thomas back. I’ll give it to my boy. That was so crazy. Like that time in Buffalo Saber in like the the early 2010s when they traded like five captains away in the span of like two years was insane. That was a crazy time to be a Buffalo because it was like J it was like Jason Pomville was traded. Um Derrick Roy retired or something. Vanic was traded to the Islanders. Um Steve was traded to Montreal I believe. Um Aposo, what happened to Aposo? I think he just bought out. They traded him to Florida. He won the cup. They did trade. Yeah, that’s right. No, but like before like or I guess he was on the captain in like the the early 2010s. Um he was with the Islanders. That’s right. Yeah. Yeah, that’s right. That’s right. And then he signed that long extension with that afterward. I’m talking more like the uh like the 20 like 13 to 2015 say. So he had signed, but he wasn’t uh he wasn’t the captain. I think he might have been the captain that that ended that streak of like Sabers captains getting traded in the span of like two years. It was insane. They had like five. Let’s look up the list of Buffalo Sabres captains cuz they it was Palmville, Vanic. There’s I think Brian Gianto was in there at one point. Yeah. Mhm. Definitely. It was just like it was this weird and they all went to Montreal. Vanic was in Montreal after Steve went to Montreal. That was after G left. J was in Montre went to Montreal. But it was just crazy. They had like had like four c four or five captains in like two. Oh, and then it was Eke. Yeah, that’s what I It was Eickel. Ekeel was the one that ended the streak and then they traded Eickel and then it was Aposo. They traded Ekeel, too. Yeah. Jesus Christ. Uh, if you want out of Buffalo, just become the captain. We’ll ship you out. There was three. It was It was definitely Vanic, Pomville, and the one before. Yeah, before it was Craig River. I think they bought him out cuz he was he was in Montreal, too. Yeah, it was him from he left. It says from October 2008 to February 2011. So yeah, he must have been after that was Palmanville, right? Yeah. Then Palville traded up the deadline. Yeah. And they tra the deadline in February and then it was Palville who was traded. So that means Rasmus Stallene’s getting traded in the next couple years. That’s all you need to know. Well, they might want out. There’s been rumors. So it makes sense if that’s it’s insane though. like just like the the short span of time that all these captains removed. Anyway, so if you want if you want out of Buffalo, become the team captain and yeah, Palmanville was named captain in 2011 2012 and Gianto was traded away in 2017. So five years you had four captains there. It’s insane. It’s crazy. There’s some hockey encyclopedia stuff. There you Yeah, it’s like the defense against the dark arts teacher of the NHL is being the Buffalo Sabers captain in the early 2010s. That’s that’s your Harry Potter reference for the day. Um let’s jump over to Anaheim. Um this one’s timely because they just hired a head coach. Um not controversial at all, by the way. Very universally agreed upon um decision. And I I’ve I I want to get your thoughts on it, but I kind of want to talk about it for I’ve been kind of thinking about how I’m going to say this, honestly. Um because my my stance on on the the whole Chicago Blocks thing has been and before before I start this, I want to point out that like Joel Quinnville is one of the best head coaches of my lifetime on ice. Like tactically, he fundamentally changed how we play hockey. He’s he pioneered more or less the the possession style hockey that like everybody plays now except for the Hurricanes. Um he’s the one who who created kind of the the the modern day 2A defenseman in Duncan Keith activating like all the time and he has three Stanley Cups, right? Like like the the resume is there. He’s a Hall of Fame head coach in the same way that Stan Bowman’s probably a Hall of Fame GM. So like for if if everything else didn’t matter, this is a home run hire by the Ducks because he is somebody who has worked very well with young teams. This Ducks team reminds me a lot of the 2008 Blackhawks, honestly. So, like I I get it from from an on ice hockey perspective, but my point of view has always been everybody who’s in that room in 2010 in Chicago should never work in the NHL again. And I’ I’ve been pretty firm on that because I I I I hate people using the word mistake for what happened because like it wasn’t a mistake. A mistake was writing Alex Knander’s name on the lineup card for game six against Ottawa, which by the way, if the Leafs lose that series and Alex Knander had to play in or they William Knander was unable to play in game six, whoever did that was fired would have been fired and never been in the NHL again. I just like to point that because like that’s that sorry like that’s just a fact. But like for real, right? Like that person’s never in the NHL again. Um Joel Quival has been out of the league for four years. I get it. He has the resume and everything. But what they did wasn’t a mistake. It was a deliberate effort to put winning over the safety of one of your players. And I I I the the the ducks have went on the media the media campaign’s begun where Verique’s coming out and saying that, you know, he’s changed and and he’s learned from his his error and the the ownership has come out and and said what they had to say. Um I haven’t heard anything about like the league talking to to Cal Beach. I know they did um when they reinstated Stamp Bowman. And I I genuinely hope that he’s at a place now where he’s at peace with what happened and he’s healed. Um but let’s be honest, if you would have come out and said, “I don’t want these guys in the NHL ever again,” the very vocal minority of hockey fans online would have ripped them apart even more than they already are, right? right? Like he would have become the villain in that situation cuz now it’s like well now you’re tearing down the careers of two Hall of Fame like legends of this era and that that’s that’s what the the reaction would have been. So I I really hope that his he’s his okay for these people to be back in the NHL is genuine. Um but we we’ll never know in the same way that we really won’t know if all this like soularching that Joel Quentville has done over the last four years has done anything right. Like the only way we’re going to know is if a situation like this happens again, which like I god I hope it doesn’t, but like realistically, right? Like we’re never going to know if he has learned from it or Sam Bowman’s learned from it. Um and I guess like the the the two things I want to say on this and then I do have a caveat at the end. Um, like if I if I was a parent of a 17 or 18-year-old kid that’s going to get drafted in a month and I was putting my faith in an organization to take care of my child for the next 20 years of his career, I I wouldn’t want him playing for the Anaheim Ducks straight up. Like I just I wouldn’t feel I wouldn’t feel safe with that. That’s been shown. Um, and my my my one caveat to this, the one butt, and this is a really small butt, because I don’t think it matters, but it’s there. And I have to I have to talk about it. Like, if if all this soularching is genuine, right? And I have a lot of questions about that because all this soularching didn’t happen until they got caught. Um, so there’s that, right? like they had to live with with this for over a decade that this happened and nobody said anything and nothing came out and everybody lived their lives like nothing happened. So the oops I made a mistake didn’t happen until you got caught. But if all this old searching is genu is genuine and Joel Quinnville and Stan Bowman are changed and they understand what they did wrong and they want to be better people, there really isn’t anybody more qualified to be able to see a situation like this developing and act upon it if that’s the case, right? And that’s what we want. We want people to change and we want people to improve from situations. And unfortunately, we won’t know if that’s actually the case unless like this happens again. And I guess my my last point on it before we get into the Ducks is, and there’s really no right answer to this, I guess, but if Kyle Beach’s name was Jonathan Taves or Patrick Kane, does Chicago handle that situation differently? And either way you answer that question isn’t the right answer because of how they actually did handle it. Um, so I hope that Cal Beach is at peace with this. I hope that he’s at at peace with the fact that two people that directly led to the worst experience of his or at least didn’t do anything about the worst experience of his life are back in the NHL. I hope that he’s he’s at peace with that. Um, and I hope that they have learned from that situation and are better people and are going to be champions of protecting the athletes that they’re hired to protect. Um, on ice, Joel Quenville is the, like I said, one of the best coaches I’ve ever seen. Um, but I I I wouldn’t have made this move. I think there’s there’s enough very qualified coaches who have never got a shot at an NHL job that could have even including Greg Cronin, who was fired after improving the Ducks by 21 points. the way I I think that there’s there there was a lot of other options they could have went with um instead of this. So that that’s my soap box on it. Um I I don’t know if you have any comments otherwise we can get into the roster itself. But yeah, sure. The one comment I will make is I have seen Joe Glennville actually in the last four years since he’s been out of the NHL. I’ve met him in person when I was playing and back in my playing days. He came and he gave in my team’s locker room and he gave a pep talk during a playoff series for us which was kind of cool. That’s cool. Despite what he did, I had a book uh a hockey analytics book called Stat Shot which I’m sure some of our viewers are familiar with right there. He has signed the he did sign the inside cover for me. So obviously it seems like he’s done some soularching from my experience with him. Obviously, like you said, he’s a great tactical head coach. Was it the right move to hire him? For me, it’s a TBD. I believe in redemption and giving people second chances. I don’t believe that he should be banished away forever, but I think he should be held on a very tight leech. And I don’t know if this is the move I would have made just by believing in forgiveness. Yeah, I I think it’s it it’s I mean, it hasn’t been as much of a PR. It’s well, honestly, it’s been about as talked about as I expected to be talked about by the hockey community. um in terms of uh the Stan Bowman hire, right? Like it was it was in the news cycle for like a week and then nobody really cared anymore. Um and I think that’s a symptom of of the NHL in general. Like I think whether or not you want to rip them apart for it, um I I think that it should still be a topic of conversation, right? And I think when it comes to to Hall of Fame voting, I definitely think it should be part of that discussion as well. Um, but like like I said, like if if they truly have learned from the situation and have changed, there there really shouldn’t be anybody more qualified to notice a situation like this and act properly, right? Like realistically, like these are the two people if everything that they’re saying is true. There isn’t anybody else in the league that should be more qualified to properly handle this situation if it does come up again. And I mean there is that that’s a good positive light and a good way to look at it as well because there is an instant to come up again having people that have been through that experience and have done redeeming stuff to make a comeback I think is good as well. So hopefully people like Joel Quenville and Stan Bowman for the future of hockey can be a part of something like that to help prevent those situations from happening in the future. So absolutely. Yeah, for sure. Um, but let’s get to this roster because it’s a pretty interesting roster. It is. I think it’s it’s it’s got a lot of similarities to Buffalo, honestly. Um, minus the 20 years of of negative history. Um, I do see a lot of similar similarities to this roster. I think they have a lot of really good young talent coming up. I don’t think that their prospect pool is as good as Buffalo’s. Um, but I think their their their on ice roster might be better. um very similar in points. I think they’re like two points apart, but obviously the Ducks were in the Pacific. So, there’s that if you want to, you know, use that as a negative to them, but uh obviously they did have the big um improvement from from this year to to last year. And uh it seems like they found their true number one goalie in Lucas Destall and and John Gibson had a fine season as well. So, uh they they seem to be okay there. I don’t know other than like just patience, I don’t know. if this team’s necessarily in need of like a big ad. Um, especially with like the the the the hockey tactics of a Joel Quinnville coming in, like I don’t know how that’s going to change anything. I don’t know if being out of the league for four years is going to affect him either, right? So, there there’s a lot of on ice factors there that um that could potentially be uh negatives, but I I don’t know. Um, I’m curious to see what kind of what your thoughts are on this roster as a whole. I definitely think that there’s a lack there’s been a lack of development. I’d say um is the biggest the biggest thing from the players that are supposed to be like the future of the Anaheim Ducks. I think that’s my biggest concern is that like it seems like Mason McTavish has hit a bit of a wall. Trevor Seagris has clearly hit a wall. Um I I didn’t see as good as Troy Terry’s been, I don’t think I saw like a next step from him this year. So obviously you have like Leo Carlson, Kar Gochi, it’s too early to to to say on their development, but I I definitely based on the track record of the development system so far. I that that’s probably my biggest concern going into this this off season. I do have a question. I don’t know if you’re on Pedia right now, but why is it say that Tim Walsh makes $7 million? Do you see this? Yeah, that’s uh that’s fun. I Pedia is uh a strange uh strange place. I So outside of that, it’s two-way contract though, so that’s cool. Yeah. So outside of that, Anaheim’s interesting because they have I think they have those more established glue pieces that we talked about with Buffalo. They have a Alex Khorn, they have a Ryan Stro, they have a Frank Vetrono, Robbie Fabry. like they have a couple of those guys that are those glue guys that are veterans that have paid got paid a little extra salary to come pay play play here from free agency but then they also have those young guys too right they have the Leo Carlson’s they have the Mason McTavishes and then we’ve also seen some stunting growth from Trevor Zris like you mentioned I think he’s one of the most he could be one of the most interesting players this offseason for the Ducks like is this a guy that you move on from with one year left on his contract is this somebody that you continue to develop and hope that Joel Quenville can unlock something new in him. I just think there’s so many different routes you can take. But for me, for the Ducks this off seasonason, the whole goal for me would be to stay the course because if you have a guy like Joel Quenville coming in to coach this team, I think you just ride it out with a similar roster going to next year. And I think you stay stagnant and you bank on some growth development with a new head coach knowing his capabilities and history. Joel Quenville. I think this could be really interesting during the jumping points they had. I think you just ride it out next year. I’d love to see what a player like Jackson Lome could come become, especially like you talked about with Duncan Keith becoming the two-way defenseman. I think if you have Joel Quenville working with Jackson Lome, we could see 50 60 points next year. Yeah. And I mean, even like we saw like the the bit of stagnation in Mikov’s game um this season, uh another guy to watch, too. But doesn’t it feel like I feel like I feel like the Ducks hold on to to Zess at least until the deadline this year simply because like he is like the best suited player on this roster. Now I’m going to get flamed for this, but I want people to understand what I’m saying. I’m not comparing the two players in terms of like talent level, but he’s he’s probably the best suited to play the Patrick Kane role on this team. Yep. In terms of like his skill set. So, like if if you’re going to plug guys into this system in the same way that like the 2008 uh Chicago Blackhawks looked and now again like if if you want to get into the history of it, um the Blackhawks the year before Joel Quentville got there were not a playoff team and they went to the Western Conference like semi-finals this first year and then they won the Stanley Cup. So, you know, um I I see a lot of similarities in the way this roster is put together to that team. Um I just don’t know if like the talent like it feels like a Walmart version of what that team was right now. Um cuz like I don’t know if Leo Carlson can be the the elite two-way center that Patrick Kane was. I don’t know. Like obviously Travis Dress isn’t going to be what Patrick Kane was. Um, but you have enough like interesting pieces here that I think you kind of just ride it out and you know, maybe you make a couple like edge moves to to sh up the roster, but I really don’t know if there’s like anything significant. Maybe you add a defenseman. Um, depending on how you feel about Jacob Chuba playing in your top four. Um, but like I even Radco Gudas I think is is more suited at this point to be like a a bottom of the roster, more of a bottom of the roster guy than a top of the roster guy. Um, so maybe you go out and add like a another puck moving defenseman. But other than that, like I feel like you just got to stay the course and and see what this team looks like in December. Yeah. Right. Like I I feel like there’s enough here to like in a division that’s extremely weak with teams that are kind of in flux, right? Cuz like it seems like LA is going to kind of go a bit of a different like who knows what they’re going to do um this season. Like Vancouver is kind of in flux. Um you know, San Jose is probably be a bottom of the league team again. So there’s already you know Seattle’s a mess. So there’s already opportunity for the Ducks to like like the floor for Anaheim is pretty high. It’s just it’s just about how high this core can get you with the ceiling. So, I think you give it till like mid-season and then you see what you see what you kind of have to do after that, right? Like if if Trevor Zos hasn’t figured it out by December, he’s probably the first guy off this team. It’s like you’ve given him enough I think you’ve given him enough leeway. Um and you probably say that for a couple guys, right? Like I don’t think that you I think you have to have a conversation about Mason McAvish’s future on this team, too, if he hasn’t like turned the corner. Um, which is crazy to say because like three years ago everybody thought he was gonna be the next Sydney Crosby. Um, because he scored like 20 points the World Juniors. Um, but um, you know, I I think we’re getting closer to to throwing McTavish into the pool of great world junior performances that never truly took that next step in development than we are calling him the next Sydney Crosby. Uh, I think you give it you give it like half maybe you even go till like the trade deadline. That might be a little bit far far because team’s trying to make the playoffs. You probably want to it probably you’re probably looking like end of December at at making moves. But at this point, you just kind of ride it out and see what happens. Add a couple edge guys. This could be a good like Joel Aria team, I feel. Um, just to sh up like the defense and the power the penalty kill. uh if he doesn’t get resigned, I would be kind of surprised if Montreal doesn’t resign him for like a two-year deal. But if he hits the market, this could be a team um where he fits. He feels like somebody that would work in a Joel Quinville system. Um but other than that, like I don’t think you’re really doing anything crazy. And I think it’s scary the comparison to this 2009 Blackhawks team. By the way, I’ve just been looking through the roster and I’m going to It’s really similar. It’s crazy. I’m going to list off my comparisons. Tell me what you think. Patrick Kane, Trevor Zris. Sure. Duncan Keith, Jackson Lome. Sure. Yeah. Jonathan, we’re not like comparing these players. They’re like just stylist. Jonathan Taes, I think you argue is Mason McAvish in this case. Sure. Sure. Patrick Sharp, Cutter Goceier. Can’t convince me otherwise. Yeah. No, absolutely. Marian Hosa, Leo Carlson. Yes. Although Hosa was Yeah, Hosa was uh added later, but yeah, same thing. Andrew Lad. Yeah, Andrew Lad, Alex Khorn. Sure, I could argue him or or Stro, but yeah. Yeah, I guess it’s a winger. Um Khorn, Dustin Bufflin and Brett Sebrook, Rako Gudas and Jacob Trouba. Yeah, just just move Raguas to forward and everything will be fine. Like that’s that’s that’s what you do. just throw him on your third line and that’s your your power forward on the because this is the pre this is like he he was drafted as a forward which is crazy like he didn’t become a defenseman until like was it late in the Chicago days or was it when he got when he went to Atlanta I can’t I don’t think he played defense till he went to Atlanta because he left No 2010. Yeah, it was it’s crazy. The Thrashers just made him a defenseman and he was like an all-star level defense. Like it’s crazy. And you can move Gudas to forward and have a top four with Lome Zelwiger, Mchikov, and Dua. I don’t see a problem with that. Well, Zelwiger is kind of like a young Brian Campbell. That’s that’s like Yeah, there you go. There you go. Like, man, it’s it’s really scary how how similar these teams are. Um, and Becca Senica could be Christopher Ste. There you go. There you go. There you go. Oh, but who’s Can we talk about Nicholas Ymerson back in the day? Oh, god. So good. So underrated, man. Like they don’t have a Nicholas Ymerson yet. They don’t. They don’t. I don’t know who’s who’s on the market. Who’s like your true shutdown defenseman they could bring in that for like a million dollars that nobody’s gonna talk about? David Sevard out of retirement. Yeah. No. Yeah. Like I I think I think you just kind of ride even on the market. I don’t know. There’s there’s not a whole lot I don’t think. Um it just depends. Yeah. Um but like that my mindset on the Ducks wasn’t stay the course like two days ago. Um but now it is. But now it is because I think that the the the the situation has changed like dramatically, right? Um although I could have made an argument that based on the the points jump that they had like you could have just stayed the course of Greg Cronin too. Um but fundamentally like the the the situation has changed in Anaheim and I think that that’s that’s important. So yeah I think I think you kind of just stick it out um and see what happens in by like December January. We fix the ducks by doing nothing by moving Ragus to forward and pairing them to the Blackhawks. Yes. Exactly. Um, so yeah, there you go. Um, uh, thank you for for listening. Um, when does the second round end? Does it end before It doesn’t There’s no way it ends before Monday, right? Uh, let’s see. I will check my phone right now. There’s no way it ends before. I can’t There’s I don’t Maybe I don’t know. Uh, Monday would be game seven for Dallas and Washington. Yeah. So, it’ll be it’ll be the Dallas and Winnipeg game seven then. Um cuz Washington’s going to win in six. Uh you mean Carolina? No, Washington’s going to win it in six. Um you think Washington’s winning? I know what I said. Uh you weren’t very high on them. Uh no, I’m kidding. Um yeah. Uh so likely a third round. Third round. Yeah, likely. Likely. Although that Dallas Winnipeg could go seven. Yeah. really good. It depends on what happens in game four, right? Like if Winnipeg wins game four, then sure, it’ll go seven. If Dallas wins, I I can’t see Winnipeg winning three and a half. Maybe we’ll do a podcast live during the game, maybe. Yeah. I mean, uh this is one of those late game. It’s going to be Well, it might be if if Carolina Washington goes to game seven, that game’s not starting until like 9:00 p.m. But, uh yeah, maybe we’ll do an episode at like 1 in the morning, uh previewing the second round. But anyway, next episode is likely going to be the round two preview. Um well we’ll be and if that game’s in seven then we’ll just do hypothetical situations for both. Yeah. Um yeah. Thank you for listening. Uh let us know what you think uh of the second round down below. I think the second round so far the the first half of the second round has been better than the first half of the first round was. So hopefully um they can carry that into the last half because the last like week and a half of hockey has been crazy. Um this weekend was crazy. Uh this is a wild we didn’t even talk about Mason Marchman. slashing the ref. Um, that was a that was a crazy situation. Um, I don’t know how he didn’t get suspended for that, but I whatever it’s and the Nick Wall cross check. Oh my god. Yeah, the Nick Wall cross check happened. It was bloody murder. You had the You had the the the point4 second goal. You had the 10-minute review. Um, you had the whatever’s going on in in Florida and Toronto. uh Sam Bennett killing Anthony Solars. Like it’s just been it’s been wild. What a round two. Um thank you for listening. Uh, and we’ll see you next week, probably for more chaos.

This week we check i with the 4 series in round two as well as do an offseason outlook for the Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres.