0:00

Let's get Mike Johnson rolling in here. I feel

0:02

like I haven't talked to him in a hundred years. Our TSN

0:04

hockey analyst Mike Johnson. How's it going MJ?

0:07

JP in the house. I don't know if you've

0:09

been on vacation or on remote or doing other things,

0:12

but you've been ignoring me like the plague, which is generally

0:14

a good move by you. So I can't blame

0:16

on you, but I am just a great to see you here. I'm

0:19

in Vegas. Game five tomorrow.

0:21

I am doing this hit beside

0:23

the pool

0:24

as I do my research for the day and

0:26

the sunrise over the buildings. It's only about 85 right

0:28

now, so it's still a bit cool. You can

0:31

be outside. So that's what I'm doing right now. You

0:33

hear the nice elevator music in the background.

0:35

Yeah, it's about 15 and rainy here

0:37

in Toronto, Johnny. So you're in a much better

0:39

situation than

0:41

all of us.

0:42

Any celebrity sightings, MJ, before we get into

0:44

the hockey since you're, I assume, just roving

0:46

the pool. Our TMZ correspondent.

0:49

In Florida, there were times. Florida

0:51

was like, with our set in Florida

0:54

for the NHL Network, right beside TNTs

0:56

and hockey nights and everything else. So all the

0:58

people were rolling through there. So Koepka and Charles

1:00

Barkley and Lil Wayne and that whole squad was rolling

1:03

around there, which is a collection

1:05

of characters you wouldn't necessarily associate with

1:07

being at a final TMZ. Gary Bettman taking a picture with

1:09

Charles Barkley and Lil Wayne. You're like,

1:13

whoa, Gary. I love it. It's a

1:15

fantastic photo. So we'll see.

1:17

It's more Vegas type here. We feel like, you know,

1:19

Wayne Newton rolling around or whatever it might be. But yeah,

1:22

we'll see what comes up for tomorrow. It could be a big night. And I

1:24

am curious, I'm sure you haven't been to Vegas.

1:27

So the city, we're on the strip, the

1:29

arena's on the strip. I don't

1:31

know how, if they win, does

1:34

the celebration go from the arena

1:36

out onto the street? Because there's no real streets.

1:39

There's just

1:39

hotels, right?

1:41

So are they going to go from hotel to hotel

1:43

or stay? I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow night. So I'm curious

1:45

to see how the party

1:47

sort of develops if Vegas happens

1:49

to win tomorrow night. I'm sure you end up casino

1:52

hopping. Like that's probably what's going to happen.

1:54

Like they'll get the cup and they'll just end up casino hopping.

1:57

But

1:57

there'll be a destination. Like they'll be at XS

1:59

or March.

1:59

or somewhere where they'll end up in a club somewhere

2:02

with a cop at three in the morning. Like

2:06

Washington did. Washington was the best. Obie was parading

2:08

it through every log, every car, every

2:10

crab stable, and ended up in the club, of course. So, whatever.

2:13

I'll find it and I'll let you know if it happens.

2:16

Every fountain, too. That guy ended up in a couple of fountains,

2:18

if I recall. And there's a lot of fountains. Great

2:20

backstroke. Great backstroke, Obie. Absolutely.

2:23

Well, I mean, they got a commanding 3-1 lead.

2:26

Are you expecting that parade tomorrow?

2:28

Like Florida,

2:29

at this point, to me, it just feels like

2:32

everything's rolling Vegas' way. Now you got

2:34

Kachuck, who's playing with one arm.

2:36

I mean, do you give Florida any chance at

2:38

trying to keep this alive and bring it back to South

2:41

Beach?

2:42

I mean, you give him a chance. Florida

2:45

would tell you, we were just here against

2:47

Boston, who was a better team than Vegas, in

2:49

theory, and we came back to win. And

2:52

so, we've done this before. We have

2:55

the greatest equalizer, which is our gold tender, who

2:57

can

2:57

and has stolen games.

3:00

But it feels like something special and

3:02

unusual would have to happen for them to even

3:04

extend it, let alone win it. And

3:07

it's going to take Bob. Or Aiden Hill.

3:09

Because I think the goalie is to swing drastically

3:11

in Florida's favor, which, now Bob

3:13

may be great, but Aiden Hill has shown no signs of being

3:16

poor or struggling with the moment. So,

3:19

no. I mean, all the reasons you mentioned, and

3:21

what people will reference the comeback from Boston,

3:24

that was Matthew Kachuck at the height of his power. He

3:27

was running off the call in overtime. He was saying,

3:29

we'll be back here to win the next game. He was setting everything

3:31

up. I watched him so closely

3:33

in warm-up, maybe, and like,

3:36

forget about the game. He couldn't shoot the fucking warm-up.

3:38

Like, he shot it softer

3:40

than I can shoot it. Like, he just

3:43

can't play. He loves

3:45

contact. Five's on contact. He was everything

3:47

in his power to avoid contact. That's

3:50

not who he is. And even a guy as talented as

3:52

he is. He had four shots. He almost tied the game. He's still okay.

3:54

But five on five through the game. He was a non-factor.

3:57

Understandably, he's got a shoulder hanging by a thread or whatever it

3:59

might be. might be. So you put all that

4:01

together, loose to Ryan and being

4:04

out of the lineup, launch or miss some time, do

4:06

play or miss some time. Kachuk has

4:08

hurt. Like it's just one team is absolutely

4:10

rolling and one time team is

4:12

sort of decimated and struggling and

4:14

scrambling and they get

4:17

to that home, chat to win it. They have plenty

4:19

of cup winners and people with cup experience that

4:21

I don't know if they're going to get lost in the moment, which

4:23

we've seen some teams do. I guess

4:25

I'm saying it was like an 85% likelihood Vegas wins

4:27

tomorrow night and you

4:30

know, they'll be the cup winners and what a crazy run it's

4:32

been for six years for this organization.

4:34

How much does Matthew Kachuk not being healthy,

4:36

does that factor exclusively

4:39

swing this for you MJ? Like

4:41

if he was healthy, if he was going into tomorrow

4:44

night's game in his full powers, how differently

4:46

would you feel about the game? 35%

4:47

chance of

4:49

winning. You know what I mean? Like, yeah,

4:51

Florida doesn't generate

4:53

much five on five. Like really, they

4:55

just don't have a lot of quality.

4:58

And the one guy that can sort of do it on occasion

5:01

and the one guy who they try to make their very, their,

5:03

their, their not very good power play run through is

5:05

Matthew Kachuk. And he's

5:07

been in the moment, the big moments, the tight

5:10

games all the time. And

5:12

him not being able to be his

5:14

best self changes the dynamic

5:17

of that team completely. Like I thought Sasha

5:19

Barkov had his best game of the series in game four,

5:21

maybe in no surprise, cause Kachuk

5:23

was out, but, um, you know,

5:25

he's not alone enough. So yeah, he

5:27

swings it big time. Florida's entire

5:30

plan, JT, is going to be, let's keep

5:32

the game close. Let's keep it within

5:34

one goal. Let's get ourselves to the third period

5:36

with a shot, whether it's a shot with a goalie

5:39

out or a shot on a power play or whatever might shop

5:41

for our goalie to steal it. Like that's how

5:43

they have to play. Like they don't have a game available

5:45

to them. It says, let's go dominate and

5:48

win five one. They just don't have

5:50

that available. So it's only got to be sort

5:53

of through timing and close games

5:55

and, and, and a little bit of luck that they were

5:57

able to get games. And this series should be over.

6:00

by now. They should have won game three. They weren't

6:02

the better team. So, you

6:03

know, it's just, it's just a tall task.

6:06

Not about effort, not about will, not about

6:08

they know what they're supposed to do. They just can't do

6:10

it.

6:11

Well, Chandler Stevenson's

6:13

two goal output was the difference, I guess,

6:15

in game three and Mystic Mike predicted

6:18

a Chandler Stevenson breakout game. So

6:20

kudos to you on that one. But like Johnny,

6:23

this is a guy who makes $2.75 million.

6:25

Like how come he never comes up when

6:28

discussing value contracts around the NHL

6:30

because he is really, he's

6:32

a such a good player. He's been under the radar

6:34

for so long. I feel like maybe this is like

6:36

the coming out party where people are starting to put some respect

6:39

on his name.

6:40

I guess. I mean, you think about Vegas

6:42

acquired it from Washington, I think in 19 for a fifth

6:46

rounder on a salary dump. Like

6:49

where was every other team in the league with a fourth rounder? Like

6:52

what are we doing here? Really? Come on.

6:54

He was in the All-Star game this year. He

6:56

was their leading scorer halfway through the season. He

6:59

is a very fast skater. He's strong

7:02

on the block, defensively reliable. He can be

7:04

streaky while scoring goals, but who isn't?

7:07

For $3 million, you're getting 25 goals

7:10

and 55 points and a two-way centerman.

7:12

He's their third line center, I guess, with

7:14

Mark Stone. I don't know how their captain and their All-Star,

7:16

their third line, but I think that's what it is. He's

7:19

an incredible steal. When

7:22

you can slot guys like that in your lineup,

7:25

it makes it so you can have Jack Eichmann

7:27

at 10 and Mark Stone at 9. You have

7:29

a guy outperforming his contract by millions

7:31

of dollars, right? He's playing like a five, five

7:33

and a half million dollar player, maybe more.

7:36

You're accruing that value, which then you could spend

7:38

elsewhere. That's how good teams are built. It was

7:40

a brilliant trade and signing. George

7:43

McPhee knew him well from his time in Washington

7:46

and he pulled the trigger on him and he fit in perfectly.

7:48

He's a big part of this team. But

7:50

it's amazing. Even Jack Eichmann, every

7:53

single game is somebody different.

7:56

It's not Jack Eichmann every time. It's not Marshall Stone.

7:58

It's not Stone. carlton every

8:01

game you know i don't know maybe tomorrow at the cold

8:03

start or karaoke or wallet

8:05

they just have uh... biggest spread

8:07

it around where no one has to do it always so

8:10

everyone get to do it occasionally and there is

8:12

such a tough matchup because of it

8:14

well you walk me into this one now perfectly

8:16

johnny then is there any

8:19

uh... dark horse cons my

8:21

cases than you can make it's built like mars is

8:23

kind of the slam dunk right now but your point whole

8:25

lot of guys making an impact uh... for this magazine

8:29

so marshes so with the favorite

8:31

i mean i would be inclined to take a look

8:33

at jack eichel because he's got the same number of points

8:35

virtually uh... fewer goals of course

8:37

i thought before the while but it plays and replace

8:40

more minutes he plays tougher matchups although the

8:42

big he got a fifth on a day to the thirteen

8:44

marshes so also they are kind of tied together that

8:46

way uh... he's a bigger name i i

8:49

would think that there might be some value there eight-and-heel

8:52

is like plastic under the like that like you

8:54

got nine thirty eight something you've got

8:56

the highest a percentage and they both

8:58

and i would play fifteen games in the platform

9:01

for now we don't play fifteen and i

9:03

got to play forty fifty fifty but the point is you

9:05

like in thomas numbers when thomas played

9:07

those great years in boston so you

9:10

could do a pretty good he died of the value of

9:12

a bill to get that as well though it

9:15

could be any number of players but i'm also

9:17

for the role of two and he had the fifteen and uh...

9:20

you know the original misfit that the night storyline

9:23

but there is no value there because you well

9:25

it is a favorite i don't think he should be

9:27

a a wide favorite

9:29

now i can say i'm looking at the numbers right now minus

9:31

six hundred favorite the next is a great

9:34

pain helps plus twelve hundred jack eichel

9:37

plus twenty two hundred yeah i think that's worth

9:39

it worth more than a sprinkle

9:41

more than a sprinkle you know i mean i don't

9:43

know what i'm not good right after i've

9:46

got you guys that there's one right around the corner for me

9:48

i can't back in there you go i don't get a little piece

9:50

of that anytime i want yes that's that's

9:53

the priority i thought

9:54

it'd be like minus one fifty and

9:56

i could be plus two hundred

9:58

but exactly something like on those lines

9:59

But I mean, listen,

10:02

the Vegas odds biggest knows what they're doing. So maybe I don't but

10:05

that's surprising to me No, I know

10:07

I completely agree Like I've got some

10:09

marchessot ticket so I do hope that that cash

10:11

is cuz that'll be very nice for for myself

10:14

But yeah, there's some there's some good value out

10:16

there If you think that you know, I cool or Aiden

10:18

Hill might be in the conversation We're

10:21

chatting with Mike Johnson or TSN hockey

10:24

analyst,

10:25

Johnny I was listening to Paul Maurice

10:27

yesterday and and he was talking about

10:29

how the Panthers now that it's 3-1 You

10:32

know, there's there's no pressure on them. Apparently they

10:34

can play with less pressure now at 3-1 I

10:36

mean in your experience, I guess their merit

10:39

to those comments. Like how is that? How's that

10:41

the case? Or is this just pure lip service from

10:43

Paul Maurice?

10:44

Yeah, I mean that doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. I mean

10:47

Perhaps when you're at 0-0 You

10:50

might expect the win and somehow that applies

10:52

pressure because you know You don't want to be disappointed in that

10:55

3-1. You're not expected to win at all. So

10:57

that frees you up But I think I

10:59

think it's mostly coach speak. Are you saying you'd rather

11:01

be down 1-3 than 3-1 up? Like what's what

11:03

are we talking about here? Right? They're not

11:06

in a good place now Paul Maurice is a very

11:08

very good Speaker he owns

11:10

the podium in a great way. He's magnetic

11:13

up there But you know, he's trying to sell it to

11:15

his team through the media Like we got

11:17

nothing to lose all the pressure on Vegas.

11:20

They're supposed to win. They're the better team there at

11:22

home He's trying to plant the seed in his

11:24

team's mind and in Vegas's mind

11:26

that if somehow Bob steals

11:28

one tonight What were what out

11:31

of the pressure swing does Vegas get tight? Like he's trying

11:33

to find an angle the

11:34

problem is

11:36

Vegas has whether six original members

11:38

who were there in 18 They have another half

11:41

dozen guys who wanted from the tarantula

11:43

to quick Martinez

11:46

the deal and Phil Castle who's been around

11:48

us they have guys who've been here and I think that's

11:50

gonna be a real asset

11:53

for Vegas today and tomorrow

11:55

leading up to the game where they don't let themselves If

11:58

there's ever gonna be a day and night, I can only imagine Because

12:00

I would fall victim to this too, of letting

12:02

your mind go of what it will

12:04

be like when the game is over and you win. And

12:06

your families are coming in and you're getting tickets for

12:09

the parents and the ball and all the whole bit, right? But

12:11

I think the fact that they have so many players who have done it and

12:14

been there, it really helps insulate

12:16

them from not becoming a problem. And

12:19

you know, it's just another reason why I think

12:22

it's likely that the series ends tomorrow.

12:24

Yeah, so if that is the case MJ,

12:27

I feel like every year in the NHL, no matter what team

12:29

wins, NHL, Copycat League, we say it all the

12:31

time, kind of follow the recipe

12:33

and other teams around the team kind of follow the recipe that

12:35

the winning team is successful

12:38

at with winning with. So

12:40

if you were to look at Vegas, what do you think is the copycat

12:43

recipe that we see becoming a trend maybe

12:45

this offseason around the league?

12:47

Alright, Jay-T, I got four things for

12:49

you, okay? Four. Big

12:51

four pack. One,

12:52

coaches matter when they're the best coaches available.

12:56

So I mean, I think there's something Bruce Cassidy is an incredible

12:58

coach and there's something to that. Now

13:00

the problem is there's not that many as good as him, but I think

13:02

that will cause you to look at coaching.

13:04

Two,

13:05

the idea that you need to stack your top six

13:07

with your best players, not the case. It

13:09

is Marciso and Eichel and I guess

13:11

Barbara Shav, but then it's Riley Smith and

13:14

Carlton and they got a Mario and then

13:16

it's Stone and Jay and Stevenson

13:19

and they have Houdon. Like they don't play their best players

13:22

together. They spread their offense through three

13:24

lines and not just have loading

13:27

up the top six. Think

13:29

about Toronto, think about Ottawa. Teams with like four,

13:32

five, six good boards. They don't have to play the top

13:34

six, they can play the top nine. Number two.

13:36

Number three. Size still

13:38

matters in front of your own net. And

13:41

I think this might be the biggest takeaway that

13:43

they have the fencemen who can move. They're not like

13:45

tough, like fighting tough. They're

13:47

just big and rangy and tough to get around.

13:51

And they're good at protecting the front

13:53

of their net and they make it hard for whoever,

13:56

Conor McDavid or Matthew

13:58

Gichuk to get to the front of the net. I think teams

14:01

will watch that and think, you know

14:03

what, we still need a little size, a little

14:05

half down in front of our net. That's number three.

14:08

I think teams will clamor for anyone who's got any side. Number

14:10

four, do we

14:11

need to overpay on gold tenders? I think again,

14:14

it comes up.

14:15

Aiden Hill is their third, fourth best

14:17

goalie. He is very good,

14:20

as was Laurent Vossois, as was Logan

14:22

Thompson, as was Robin Leonard, as

14:24

has been John Nick quick. They

14:26

are system built, like, you know, if you

14:29

have UC Saros here or Shastrzukin

14:31

or Sorokin, like maybe they would be fractionally

14:34

better, but is it better to spend two million bucks on

14:36

a gold tender or four million total instead of eight

14:38

and spend that extra three, four, five million dollars elsewhere?

14:41

I think that conversation comes up. Those

14:43

are my four takeaways from Vegas

14:45

that people might

14:46

want to look into when they're putting their

14:48

teams together for next year. I like it. And

14:51

Caroline has done that a lot too. Like you look, they're kind of similar,

14:53

right? Good defense. So they haven't

14:55

spent big on goaltending, but

14:58

they've always kind of been able to get

15:00

good goaltending. Peter Merazik was a great goaltender

15:02

in Carolina. Look what happened here.

15:05

Yeah, Nadelkevich, Roncza, Anderson,

15:08

they're all great goalies in Carolina. Exactly. The

15:10

only thing Carolina didn't have was sides up

15:12

front. And I didn't touch on

15:14

that because I don't think it's quite as important. But Vegas

15:16

has big guys. Not tough players, but

15:19

big players. Like Houden's big and Soane's big and

15:21

Eichel's big and Barbasheth's big. They all

15:23

kind of play, Will and Carlos is not tall,

15:25

but man is he thick. They all play

15:27

kind of a rugged, strong game,

15:30

which matters in the playoffs more than the regular

15:32

season. I think that would be the difference. I like Carolina

15:34

too for all the same reasons that you suggested.

15:38

And that's where maybe a little bit of a difference occurred, just

15:40

kind of the sides of the forward. So, look, Vegas

15:42

is built. Now they also have, they're also a few million over

15:44

the cap with Soane returning to the playoffs. And

15:47

Barbasheth was available to them because of it. They

15:49

took advantage of an unfortunate situation. They

15:52

can't bring back the exact team next year, but for

15:55

now, they're just a very,

15:57

very hard team to play against.

15:59

So if we relate that. to the Maple Leafs, Johnny,

16:01

you know, there there's been a lot of discourse

16:04

about the coach, whether or not he's the guy

16:06

to bring back. But I think also when I look

16:08

at this group, maybe look at the back

16:11

end, like, is that something that Toronto if they

16:13

do play copycat, is it the back

16:15

end that potentially Brad Chuliving looks

16:17

at and says we need to make some changes here? Yep. 100%.

16:23

100%. I mean, I think and it's not to suggest

16:25

they don't have good players, the Toronto Maple Leafs have good

16:27

defense and they were a top what eight defensive team in

16:29

the league this year over the course of the regular

16:31

season. They're unquestionably very good.

16:33

The players are very good. So I'm not saying

16:36

that, but maybe the mix, maybe

16:38

the mix of players might

16:41

need tweaking, which means, you know, maybe

16:44

losing someone who's a little bit smaller and perhaps

16:46

a little bit more skilled for someone who's bigger, but not

16:48

someone who can't play like I don't want big who

16:50

can't play a B that that's the kiss

16:52

of death. You can't fall in love with the side that if you

16:54

forget, there's a puck on the ice. Like the Fages defenders

16:57

can pass the puck still. Jack White,

16:59

Nick Hague, like those guys who have third pair of defensemen,

17:02

they can still pass the puck on their own end. So you got to find

17:05

both, but I think you're right. That's where

17:07

it comes. And I think, you know, TJ Brody is

17:09

an excellent defender, but he's, you know, he's getting older. I think

17:11

the one year left in his deal, he's a slight defender losing

17:14

Jake Muzzin. They're never quite replaced.

17:16

You know, it's a bit of a challenge. Jake

17:18

McCabe is good, but I

17:21

don't know if he quite fit

17:23

the bill that they were hoping for him to fit

17:26

when he got to the Toronto Maple Leafs. So

17:28

yeah, a hundred percent. I think that's what they are

17:30

talking about. How do we augment the defense,

17:33

whether it means trading, futures, current

17:35

defensemen, or maybe forwards that we have under

17:37

contract to change the dynamic.

17:39

Yeah, I think that's absolutely what Brad Trellis

17:42

is looking to do.

17:42

Okay. So, AB, you kind of head faked about

17:45

Sheldon Keefe. So I'll ask you now, MJ, I like

17:47

how you put it to the, about the Vegas Golden Knights

17:49

had the best coach available. So in your mind, is

17:52

that Sheldon Keefe, if you're Brad Trellis living?

17:55

And that's the best way to put it, Julie, isn't it? Like get the

17:57

best coach available. But I think Sheldon might be that.

17:59

I mean, yeah.

18:00

I played with Sheldon, you know, I

18:02

know him, his record of the regular season

18:05

is literally one of the best in the history of the NHL,

18:07

literally. So he knows what

18:09

he's doing. And at this point, whatever

18:11

it is, July 13th, June 13th,

18:13

sorry, is there a better guy out there

18:16

that's waiting to be hired? I mean,

18:18

I just don't know the answer to that.

18:21

But unlikely that there's an obvious, significant

18:23

upgrade on Sheldon Keith.

18:25

The only difference would be changing, perhaps

18:28

to change the voice more so

18:30

than thinking you're getting a massive upgrade. There is no Cassidy,

18:32

there is no Trot hanging around out there that

18:34

could maybe step right in. And maybe people

18:36

say Quenville or whatever, but I have no idea if that

18:39

would make sense. So yeah,

18:42

I think Sheldon Keith is a very

18:44

good coach and he is very likely

18:47

the best coach available to Toronto. So if he

18:49

is that, then it doesn't make sense to change him. Did

18:51

you get a chance to catch up with

18:53

your pal Shane Doane since

18:56

he took the job? I was listening to you on OD

18:58

last week. By the way, hell of a battle with Hazy

19:00

B over that Matthews contract. I

19:03

was dying listening to that.

19:05

Really solid debate on both ends. But you

19:08

were also talking about how you legitimately like prenaps

19:10

spoke with Shane Doane and you didn't

19:12

say anything. And then you woke up and he was all

19:14

of a sudden part of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Like,

19:17

have you had a chance to talk with him since? And

19:19

like when you think back to Shane

19:21

Doane when you guys were buddies playing in

19:23

Arizona, did you envision him as a guy

19:26

in the future who's going to be in the marinadeurial

19:28

role? Like, did he always kind of have that type of hockey brain?

19:31

Yeah, so

19:33

we've been seeing Texan. He's

19:35

obviously been busy. I was joking like, dude,

19:38

what the hell? I go to sleep

19:40

and you're like, I don't know, you know, whatever. You

19:43

know, nothing. I just, you know, asking about Toronto

19:45

generically. Absolutely nothing is

19:48

suggested guaranteed. And I wake up and you're now getting

19:50

announced by Kevin Weeks that you're going to Toronto. But

19:53

what happened? So

19:56

I haven't spoken to him on the phone, but we have exchanged texts

19:58

and I'm super happy for him and excited. that he's

20:00

going to be in Toronto, we can hang out more, but when

20:02

we were playing, you knew he was going to be involved

20:05

in hockey. I didn't know if he was going to be a

20:07

coach. I didn't know if he was going to be in management,

20:09

player development, ambassador,

20:12

I could be in broadcasting, he was going to be involved in hockey.

20:15

I mean, he had a hockey player through and through, 20 years

20:17

in NHL. He

20:20

saw everything, different

20:22

teams, different experiences, successes,

20:24

failures. I know he hasn't won a Stanley Cup,

20:26

but really put out editing, other than

20:28

that he has done. He owns the

20:30

Kamloops Blazer, so he's got some

20:33

ownership experience. He's been

20:36

in management for a couple of years now. He

20:40

brings, the way I look at AB, like Toronto's

20:42

front office is well

20:44

stocked with a lot of different opinions,

20:47

a lot of different people, a lot of different backgrounds. That is

20:49

a good thing. When I

20:51

think about whether it's Brendan Fridham or

20:53

the analytics group or Lawrence Gilman or

20:55

Hailey Wickenhiser, whoever might be up there. None

20:59

of those people are former NHL

21:02

players. I think there is something,

21:04

Shane, that a current former NHL

21:06

player who's smart enough to appreciate the game

21:08

changing. I sat there for hours in Europe talking

21:10

to him, watching practices, watching games

21:12

about hockey and he's not trapped

21:15

in the 90s. He understands where the game is

21:18

now, but he also is a former current

21:20

player. I think there is something to

21:22

that, a different set of eyes,

21:25

a different skill set than the people that they have in those

21:27

positions. Maybe he'll be able to contribute.

21:30

All he wants to do is win. That's

21:32

been his MO with his entire career. He'll

21:34

do whatever he can to help Toronto do that. For

21:37

Brad Treleving, it's his first hire. It's the guy that he trusts.

21:40

That's his guy, as opposed to one of his

21:43

inherited guys or people. I

21:45

think they'll have a special relationship there. We'll

21:48

see. I'm curious to talk to him. I told him one night

21:50

we were talking before he even had the job

21:52

when he was whatever. I'm like, if

21:54

you're going to do it, do it soon. Charles has got stuff to do.

21:56

If you want to be involved in the situation, you've

21:59

got to get involved. now because they have big decisions in

22:01

the next three weeks. Lo and behold, it was

22:03

three hours later. He had the job.

22:06

So I'm happy for him. I'm looking forward

22:08

to catching up with him whenever he gets to

22:09

Toronto. It's so hilarious because he had probably

22:11

like he was hanging with media for a week,

22:14

two weeks before he got named. We were all with

22:16

him in Kamloops. You were with him overseas. Yeah, nothing.

22:19

Guys got a good poker face. He's a

22:20

vault. He's a vault. He's a

22:22

vault. And the best part is he was playing

22:25

the ultimate because when

22:27

Kyle first left before they had our trail of view,

22:29

he was joking with Doug Armstrong. Like

22:31

every time he walked by with a blue shirt like, Oh, is that a lead

22:34

shirt you're wearing? Like he was

22:37

like, hang on. You're the one who's going

22:39

to wear your blue shirt. I had, and I had

22:41

heard nothing about Toronto, not

22:43

one iota about Toronto from him in Europe.

22:45

It was only when we had a conversation,

22:48

like literally the day he announced that he, we had

22:50

a conversation about and the generic conversation

22:52

about Toronto. So yeah, he is a very, very

22:55

tight lipped source. So I guess, uh, trouble

22:58

for the insiders. They're not getting anything out of shame. That's for sure.

23:00

No, no, not going to get any in there. Uh,

23:02

really quick, Johnny, there was a lot of news coming

23:04

out of Winnipeg in the last,

23:06

you know, a few days here. Um, sounds

23:08

like pure Luke DuBois and Connor Hallibuck reportedly

23:11

not willing to extend in Winnipeg. Like

23:13

if you're Chevy, are you going full scorched

23:15

earth rebuild on this thing? Or are

23:18

you maybe trying to salvage the team

23:20

with some hockey deals?

23:22

No, I'm doing a ladder. I'm doing the ladder.

23:25

I got to go. And first off, like I'll

23:27

say this, I get maybe when it takes fans

23:29

feeling slighted, but

23:32

I don't begrudge Hallibuck or DuBois

23:34

for not willing to find the expansion. Like this is your,

23:37

this is your right. You don't get to be UFA's office.

23:39

So just cause you were in a place and you have to stay

23:41

in that place. And in fact, they're doing an objective favor

23:44

by telling them a year early, like wouldn't

23:46

help. I'll be like, ah, we'll see what happens. We'll see how it goes.

23:48

Play it out, walk away for nothing. At least now you give the

23:51

team a chance to do something and, and

23:53

help themselves out while

23:55

also maybe helping you out. But I don't

23:57

think they can go scorched earth. I think they want.

24:00

young, controllable players. This is a thing

24:02

for Winnipeg, and I say this with great respect. Do

24:04

it ownership, they've been a good team, fan

24:07

support's excellent. It might

24:09

not be the number one destination around the

24:11

NHL for players. I don't think

24:13

that's a stretch. There's several teams that are like that, they're one

24:15

of them. And so they need players that

24:18

they will have control of, three, four, five years that

24:20

they can build and grow with. So that means,

24:22

Hellebok,

24:23

you're getting traded to whoever, let's pick a team,

24:25

it's

24:26

Buffalo.

24:27

Okay, so we need a goaltender, we want Devin Levi,

24:29

our UPL, and then we need a young player, we need

24:31

Peyton Krebs, who's only 21. We

24:34

want those guys, we don't want draft

24:36

picks, because who knows what that may end up being, because we

24:38

still want to be good. We don't want 26, 27 year olds

24:40

who have the chance to leave as well.

24:43

We want a young player who's cost controlled,

24:45

who we will be able to have for five or six years.

24:48

But they gotta do that with like three different deals.

24:50

That's the problem. They gotta do that with Hellebok, they

24:52

gotta do Dubois, they might have to do that with Shaitley,

24:55

Neder Rider, who knows? Like how far this

24:57

goes. I don't think they can trade

24:59

Blake Wheeler, that raise, so

25:02

it's a monstrous path to try to extract

25:04

value when everyone around the league knows you have to trade

25:06

them, and you've lost all the

25:08

leverage. So we'll see how that shakes out,

25:11

and the players will want

25:13

or have to sign an extension, because Buffalo's

25:15

not trading for Hellebok unless he signs an extension,

25:18

right? Montreal is not trading huge

25:20

assets for Dubois unless he signs

25:22

an extension, whatever it might be, wherever the demand of going.

25:25

So you have to work kind of with their list,

25:28

as well as with their demand. So it's a tough summer for Shaitley.

25:31

But don't sleep on the other place too, AP real quick, I

25:33

thought we were running along here. Calgary's in the same

25:35

spot. Calgary's got Hennepin

25:38

and back lane, and like really good players,

25:40

Lynn Hall, that are all up in the year as well.

25:43

And they gotta figure out what those guys are gonna do, if they wanna

25:45

start to get back, and they didn't give a ringing endorsement

25:47

either. So watch out for Western Canada

25:50

this summer, because

25:52

it could be a busy hockey trade kind of

25:54

summer, which we like, we'll take that. Absolutely,

25:57

that's what we need here on this.

25:59

Although it is unfortunate

26:02

when you look at like you can't even utilize

26:04

the draft I suppose because you can't get the aside

26:06

and trade until after July 1 for these guys So

26:08

it's like at the draft you're gonna see the stuff or they

26:11

maybe there could be I suppose like a wink wink

26:13

nudge nudge Kind

26:14

of deal ready to go But

26:16

yeah, it's gonna be fascinating out in Western Canada

26:18

to see how both those teams go throughout their

26:20

their offseason Certainly gonna be something to watch and obviously

26:23

here in Toronto There's expected to be some

26:25

change as well with Brad true living in the

26:27

full look at us still put his stamp on the organization

26:30

Appreciate it. As always Johnny

26:33

stay off the craps table and good

26:35

luck on

26:37

The blackjack your blackjack guy, right? I

26:39

thought

26:39

we had that car I play poker.

26:41

I actually go to the poker room and play poker. Oh

26:43

poker guy that can get dangerous You're

26:46

there for like you could be there for literally like 13

26:48

hours straight Yeah, but I feel

26:50

it's a battle like I'm smart and the guy I'm

26:52

playing against the post to be against the cards Now

26:54

this is true. This is true Which

26:57

is why I always lose Alright

27:00

buddy. Enjoy the cup final tonight.

27:02

Hopefully is there tomorrow night. Hopefully there's a big party

27:04

for you to be a part of

27:06

Sound good guys, and we'll see you soon. Absolutely

27:09

Mike Johnson PSN hockey

27:11

analyst