Stu Grimson Brings It: A Crazy Game 3, What Carolina Does Next and Dylan Larkin Wants Out.

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Speaker 1: NHL Unscripted is a production of the NHL and iHeart Podcasts. Episode eighty six of NHL Unscripted. After all of the wildest hockey games you will ever watch, We've got lots come.
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Speaker 2: Up to, cluding Blake's back.
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Speaker 1: That's right in news about Rob Blake now back with the Nashville Predators.
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Speaker 2: Our special guest is Stuke Grimson.
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Speaker 1: He could beat the crap out of us, but he's got great stories from his entire career and he's a lawyer, so clearly.
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Speaker 2: Stud's a smart guy.
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Speaker 1: Plus he once did Jason dirty when it came to the movie Tombstone.
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Speaker 2: We'll get into that. I'm your huckle Bayer. But it is NHL the Scriptive Finals time. Baby.
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Speaker 1: We're posting again Mondays and Thursdays from the Stanley Cup Final and JD is there Boots in the ground which is watching him right now? NHL Tonight with Pat Maroon and Catherine Tappan and Mike Johnson.
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Speaker 2: JD, you're there right now.
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Speaker 1: And as I said, it was one of the most exciting games you'll ever see Stanley Cup hockey history, unbelievable.
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Speaker 2: What was it like for you?
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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's it's crazy it's you know, it was a great spectacle they put on. You know, everything's a show here, and I thought the atmosphere was good. I still think, you know, the atmosphere in Edmonton my first two years watching and covering the Stanley Cup Finals, it's almost impossible to beat that. But yeah, it was a crazy games on crack, you know. You know, Mitch Marner puts on historic second period, just incredible what he was doing, and you're we're sitting there like Carolina could not have played worse, like that was the worst second period by a team I think I've ever seen by decorp turnovers, goaltending so bad, so you think that it's over. And I even tweeted it, and I think I was sitting with Patty Maroon, and Patty Maroon like tweeted something that Maple Leafs fans being like how we feel in Toronto.
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Speaker 4: And then Carolina proceeds to.
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Speaker 3: Slowly claw their way back in three goals and in thirty nine seconds, We're all sitting there like, what the hell is going on? Because it's such a sloppy series. I feel like it's it's it's sloppy and it seems disorganized, but yet it's entertaining. It's such a great series for the fans. But if you're kind of like a guy that played or a purist, you're just kind of cringing half the game because you're like, oh, it was a bad play, but you know what.
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Speaker 4: A crazy game.
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Speaker 3: And then you go into overtime and I mean eventually it's Shay Theodore from a pass from Brady McNabb who's playing with the broken face. Just so many different storylines in this game, and and and the way for it was only fitting that the goal to go in at end was one off the wall, off the skate of bread and Bussy. And now you have all these question marks going into game four of who starts a net and what do they do with the lines, and Vegas just seems to kind of be chugging along and not changing anything. But yeah, it's it's been sloppy, but like I said, entertaining for fans.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm with you.
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Speaker 1: If you're a purist, you're going, oh my god, the devil's in the details. The details are not being made. But among the storylines and a few that you touched on there. Braden mcnapp played thirty five forty seven with a cage and Freddie, yeah, I mean over thirty five minutes is nuts, and he got rushed to the hospital. Mitch Marner scoring three goals in six y ten that's the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup final history. Well he talked more about bussy, but you're right, Freddie gets pulled after what's been a great post season. He gets pulled it for forty minutes and end up time the game and then the Shay Theatre game winner in double overtime. Well, leading all skaters almost forty minutes of ice time. I mean, those baffling numbers all over the place. Tal for you, you've watched hockey for forty years, what stood out to you most of that game? Three Carolina's brasilience. How about Sean mcdone on the third goal? Just be goes, this is incredible. It was awesome.
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Speaker 5: I just I added a couple of friends who were at the game, and they said that the the emotional toll as Vegas fans was just unbelievable. And they're and then they're main takeaway at the end of the game. Actually they all I do, three guys of the game, they also the same thing. Thank god, we got Mitch Marner. They love this guy. This guy is the King of Vegas right now. They are so thrilled that he's on their team.
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Speaker 4: You know, there's so much to take away there.
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Speaker 5: For me, it's like, it's the first rule of any NHL playoff game, especially in the finals, that goes past the first overtime, the game winner is always ugly.
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Speaker 4: Always, it's always just some you know, it's a Hail Mary from the blue line.
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Speaker 5: It's a bounce off the boards, it's a you know, it's it's it's Patrick Kane and Michael Layton, right, It's just always just if it goes past the first overtime period, it's always an ugly one. I mean, I think for me this is and JD you can back me up on this. Since you were there. Everyone I've seen comment on who is in the building says this may be one of the best games they've ever attended live.
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Speaker 2: Wow.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, you got a lot of those people.
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Speaker 3: And like I said, the pure chaos of it, I think is what made it incredible. There's like two Golden Knights fans sitting in front of us, this young kid and he turns around after the second and he goes, he goes Demurs, he goes Carolina and seven, aha, fuck you Knights and Knights in five and he starts laughing it is four nothing, and I'm like, you're probably right, and it's four to four and this kids have it. He's going through it, just going through and he's sweating. He's turning around looking at me, going like, the refs are screwing us, the refs are screwing us. And I was like, dude, this is just this is just the trials and tribulations of a being a hockey fan in the Stanley Cup Finals. But yeah, it's you got to feel better if you're Vegas in that game, obviously because you're up to one. But if you're Carolina, like you're still like, we haven't gotten to our game for sixty minutes, let alone forty five minutes in any the one hockey game. Like, if we figure it out, we can win this thing. So I gotta think the beliefs there and it's just going to be, you know, the two days after they're getting and what's Rod Brendan We're going to do with net is going to be the big thing, right.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, overall I was listening to Britndan Moore on NHL Network.
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Speaker 1: Rady was talking about count Treamailler leaving Game three the first overtime William Carey plays ten shis for leaving. It's obviously now must winning, so we haven't gotten the good thing that is a couple of days off in terms of is Bussy going to play in game four on Tuesday?
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Speaker 2: But that really I think is the major story.
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Speaker 1: And I would think if I am Rod Brendan Wore, I would go with Bussy, which because to me, jdiots a must win and Freddie hasn't been as strong in the Cup final. I know he's in a remarkable postseason, but he has not been as good. And the rally and the comeback did be game with Busty in game four, So I do think it's risky in some ways, but I personally would go with Bussy in game four.
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Speaker 2: Tallied something else asked with the question of the game.
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Speaker 4: My only question.
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Speaker 5: I was just curious, what do you think now if you're the Hurricanes, Like, are you.
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Speaker 4: Are you bummed about the lost opportunity? Oh?
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Speaker 5: Yeah, you thrilled that you came back from a four nothing deficit, Yeah, it thrilled you. Can you know, like what's their headspace with the xtra day now heading into Game four.
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Speaker 4: Well, Brendan Moore said it.
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Speaker 3: He's like, there's no moral victories, Like it doesn't matter in the Stanley Cup finals or you know, any playoff game. It doesn't matter how bad you play or good you play. It's a win or loss. Like you're trying to get the win, like they got that win and you're happy because you found a way, right. So so to me, Brendan Moore is just like, listen, it feels shitty, it's awful. He was pissed, I guess after the game, but you know, you have the good thing is they have the two days off, the rest and listen, Brendan Bussey's won thirty one games this year.
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Speaker 4: He's streaky, Like it's not like.
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Speaker 3: He's We talked about it on the NHL tonight, like they were going into this playoffs being like we're probably going to have a two headed monster, but Freddy's just played fantastic up until this point, so they didn't have to go to that.
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Speaker 4: Now they have to.
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Speaker 3: So it's like, I think people maybe overthinking the decision. And even I was, I was like, oh, you got to go back to Freddy. But I'm like, wait a minute, Like they were fully prepared to play bussy all series long, and Freddy kind of and Freddy was it has been in years past, just this kind of goalie that does fall asleep and get fatigued.
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Speaker 4: And that's why they had Bussy. And he came in. He'd win some hockey games.
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Speaker 3: This year, and so I just think it's gonna be it's going to be bussy. But yeah, you know, you touch on it quickly at and then the Miller and count you know, Miller was all game, was getting his back work done. You could see him in between every whistle. He didn't look good. It looked like he had a backspasm. And then William Carrey a you know, unfortunate injury. Like it's two big pieces down and Vegas was just running the shit out of them. Early in that game, he was They're just hitting everything that moved. So it's gonna be uh something to watch if they keep the physicality up and Carolina is able to sustain it withstand it.
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Speaker 1: Nate Thompson among those who was winded just after watching the game. That's why Nate is not with us today and I'll be remissed by not mention. Jason Newersey now clearly is battling it cold. I was watching in NHL tonight it's gonna be battling a raspy throat. And even now, JD you seem a little parks Is it just a tickle in the throat?
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Speaker 2: What's going on with you? You're still a little rasper of the norse Kathleen Turner, right now.
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Speaker 3: It's getting it's getting pulled to go see the chain smokers the first night here and then literally feeling like I chain smoked myself that dry Vegas air, that dry Vegas air. But you know, once I get on air, was I rast that rasp rast?
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Speaker 2: I was watching that. I was surprised. My guy seems a little little mellow the normal. He's a little raspect. I think he's nouner the weather.
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Speaker 3: Actually my phone, fucking Christ, He's Louise, come on, Jason, it's all right.
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Speaker 1: Then, Pat Maroon, I mean he said, he goes, this is the best Taly Cup finals I've ever seen. I was like, oh my god, just an outrageous statement.
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Speaker 2: I agree with you.
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Speaker 1: It's like in baseball, it's entertaining. What it's back and forth, but there's twelve airs. Like, well, it's not great baseball, so like I I can't call the race, like if I've seen like sloppy.
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Speaker 3: Yeah great though, Yeah Patty, Yeah he just throw he threw it out there.
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Speaker 4: Patty threw it out. He laid it out for them to play it out. Yeah. Now it's it's it's tough. It's really you kind of.
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Speaker 3: Look at the game and you're like, oh, mistake, mistake, mistake. But yeah, looking through the lens of a fan, you're like, this is this is exciting, exciting hockey. And the fact that it's you know in Vegas and the way they put on the games and the show and you know, they had Nick Carter spinning the siren and then they had some I didn't know because you know, you I haven't seen many games lot.
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Speaker 4: Well, you know, I played against.
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Speaker 3: Vegas, but I never realized that they do a siren person for every period. And I was like during the double overtime and they had with the drummer of simple plan, Yeah, like what if it goes to like three or four overtimes? Who they bringing out like like a show girl or except like a prost like who didn't come out.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, Field, he's just his good disappear.
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Speaker 3: His magical ass is just gonna appear, and just Chris Angel. Yeah, but I didn't know, so that was pretty funny. I was just like, simple plan, like this is what they're They're going to the well right now, big time.
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Speaker 1: One last thought on the atmosphere, because I remember talking to Amazon Prime guys. You know, everyone knows there's no better place to watch a hockey game in Canada the Montreal.
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Speaker 2: What's the US equivalent?
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Speaker 1: And each of the guys go on, you know, Boston's great when it's rolling Madison Square Garden. You talked to the fact that lighting, you know, someone hit or miss depends. Philly can be great if you know, if the team's good. Chicago and then shee and he goes off. Vegas is the basket. Hang on a second, you're telling me Vegas is the Montreal of America. I got a Montreal, the atmosphere of the prestige, the fans, you know they're gonna tell me Vegas because I'm just telling you, if you go to watch a hockey game in Vegas, you'd be blown away by it. But it's not just gimmicky and silly. He goes, No, it's a great atmosphere, is that true. Yeah, it's loud.
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Speaker 3: You know, you can't when you say prestige and stuff like that, right, you know it kind of knocks and not yeah, knocks San Jose out of it, because like San Jose say, is probably the loudest building when it's rocking in the States.
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Speaker 4: But yeah, it's loud. It's loud. It's good.
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Speaker 3: I mean, you're we were talking. I interviewed Shane Nidy for the Stanley Cup Live and you know, it's so funny because you're like, you know that classic saying of you just you don't know you're in the good times. I wish I knew it was in the good times when I was in him and because they're gone and passed and I probably butchered that quote. But yes, yeah, but thanks buddy, appreciate it. Go buck yourself.
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Speaker 4: Uh, I'm battling my ass off here right.
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Speaker 2: Now, six am, right now, six am.
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Speaker 4: Battling.
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Speaker 3: No listen, and the way they pilfered the expansion draft and the way they've operated, I mean, the fan base here still in its infancy, like they have no idea what a drought is of like, you know, they think this is how hockey is, Like you're just in the finals. It's the most arrogant fan base in the world being like, yeah, we're just always gonna win because Vegas is great.
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Speaker 4: Like I cannot wait.
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Speaker 3: Who's who told me we were sitting up to Like, I can't wait till they it's because it's gonna happen.
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Speaker 2: It has to happen. Ye can't speak good forever? Years? Yeah, like three or.
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Speaker 3: Four yeah, three or four years, or you're finishing at the bottom of the division. I want to see where this fucking oh yeah, this great atmosphere goes.
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Speaker 2: You know, it's talis and you can't beat the building location at the very least. So that is good.
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Speaker 4: That's great. Downtown sow you build a franchise.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, Nashville as well. Of course they got the right downtown as well.
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Speaker 1: All Right, we moved from the Cup file over to some other hockey news wing stop major news last week. They're apart from multiple Storces Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin's request to treat it out of hockey town. Larkin Lee's All Red Wings and Points is coming into the league in twenty fifteen, has spent his entire life playing in Michigan, University of Michigan, the Red Wings course development program.
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Speaker 2: What was just mean for the Redpens stradi This is a slap of the face.
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Speaker 1: I would think Tylon Larkin's your boy, the guy like he is Detroit Zone. He's gonna I'm tired of shit, iSER plan Seya.
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Speaker 3: I wonder what that group chat was with that team USA team that was probably the biggest. Every GM's probably like fuck this goddamn stupid ass Olympics.
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Speaker 2: Now it's all collusion. If you go here, I'm going to here.
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Speaker 3: Well, I think we're gonna see in the next year or two kind of the first I'm trying to think, has there ever been like a super team kind of like in the NBA, we're gonna see like a first super team, Like yeah, maybe Vegas, but yeah, this, I think Larkin just they just weren't on the same path. I think he he was hoping that they'd be in a different position. I mean, what a contract, Dylan Larkin eight point seven million for five years, Like you can't beat that for a two C borderline one see obviously, but but man, I could see like a Vegas keating them too. You look at like this is like prime for Vegas. You got that hurdle contract, you got Doro Fiev. You move those guys for Dylan Larkin. But you know, because I can't see eisermen trading them out East. There's no way especially if it yeah, well like he's not going to help anybody out. But it's uh, it's interesting because we talked to Elliot Friedman yesterday and he said, there's no that the power the players kind of wheeled. It's pretty interesting. We're seeing this now of players demanding more in terms of trades, and top players specifically. But it's worked out for all these guys, like you know, you you say the saying the grass isn't always greener. It's been greener for all these guys that look at Mitch Marner. Like Mitch Marner, everybody in the league's like, oh wow, this is what happens when you kind of you know, work over a franchise, like you win.
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Speaker 4: A Cup year one. He's got a chance to win a Cup.
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Speaker 3: He's give me the con smythe So Dylan Larkin's probably saying the same thing. Jack Eichel goes to the Olympics. All these guys start talking, they go this, this is the way you get treated. So Larkin's probably like, yeah, get me out of cold Detroit, put me into the Sun. Because the two things the three teams I'd put is Utah, Vegas and Anaheim as a team said a little star power went on, they can be the face of the franchise. I like that Utah call. Yeah they got they got the assets too. And but I could see like an Austin Matthews going to Utah, Like, I think we're gonna see some big names traded in the next year or two, some really big names all from Team USA.
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Speaker 2: It's crazy to think, speaking of trades. I mean, there was all the rumors right Toronto Montreal had a deal to deadline. What was it?
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Speaker 1: Now we get the news Matthew Nis one minute short of being shipped to the Habs. I probably the least would have gotten back prospect Alexander Zorowski, two first round picks another prospect. The deal never went through, sixty seconds past the official deadline, it was submitted to the league, so hapsham Ken Hughes allegedly cussed out then leaves Jim bradstre Living insisting he honored the deal. This summer, I want to issue True Living is gone. So that looks the nice deal is officially dead. How wild this news? Jad this doesn't happen. Habs leaves don't make trades. This would have been unbelievable. Matthew NY's gonna trade and it's not gonna happen.
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Speaker 3: I think Hughes is gonna be pretty happy that it didn't happen because Zarowski two first round picks, another prospect. I'm all for selling the future, but this is enough for Matthew NY's anthey and is a great player. But it's not like you're That's like something i'd be proposing for Dylan Larkin, you know what I mean. So but yeah, Tree Living just this guy just came in and just said, screw it. I'm just gonna do my own thing. Get fired on the way out. He's asked him to honor the deal. Man, He's like, imagine he's on the phone being like, what do you want? They're coming up here to fire me. I get a meeting in an hour.
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Speaker 4: What do you want?
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Speaker 6: Just give me a job with the HAPs Yeah, tell Gordon, give me a job. What do you guys want Do you want Austin Matthews for two and or grand to me?
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Speaker 4: Yeah, let's do it.
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Speaker 1: I'll make it happen. One last top before we get to our friend Stug Gramson. Vassi gets to Vesna. Andre Vasklovski winning his second Vesna. You know, Ilio sarrokn and Jeremy swimming for the honor, earning seventeen and thirty one first place votes. It's the longest gap between Vesna wins is the NHL started giving it to the league's best individual goalie in nineteen eighty two. Tampa is still looking for its first playoffs ther he wins is twenty twenty two. I know Vassi has been great jd in the postseason, even this year, last year, but in terms of top goalies in the league, he's still what top three, top five?
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Speaker 3: Yeah, he's still there. I mean, first ballot Hall of Famer. I think he had a great, healthy year. They had a good season. It's disappointing they lost to him on Atreal, but I just think for the season they had, with all the injuries they had, I mean, it was it was a classic Vassilevski year and it was nice to see him kind of bounce back and Sorokin kind of Sorokin had it in my mind early on.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, lost to late oscillate Swimon as well.
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Speaker 3: Great season, but yeah, Vassie Vassie was was just picture not picture perfect.
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Speaker 4: But at Dimes it was.
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Speaker 3: It was the it was the dynasty Vassilevski that had won, you know, back to back Stanley Cups.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, I still think if you tell me the best boys in the league, it's Talabucks, A Stirkins, Bobrovsky when those guys are still in the mix. But obviously Vaskolevski is one of those guys as well. One more topic before we get to Stup Grimson. This is perfect for our man JD. Joe Pavelski. According to multiple sources, the future Hall of Famer is on the maple LEAs radar as a team begins the next phase. It's interview process, with one describing him as a Mark Tanse tay Luis style. Canada love that. No one's yawning at that. JA would Joe Pavowski make a great coach in Toronto? They're not gonna get David carl He's really like f you guys, He's not interested. David Carl does Toronto. What about Pavolski, This would be a real wildker. First, Chaika, now Pavowski.
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Speaker 3: Yes, Like like David, Carl's funny to me, just tickling everybody's taint. Oh, it's like, you're not going to go anywhere and just stay in college. Why are you going to leave the nest right, you know? For anything less than eight million or whatever? He's what number he wants? Who knows, but yeah, PAVs listen, it's it's I heard he's was considering it and they called him and everybody thought why because he's playing on this golf circuit right now, he's making money, he's coaching his kid, he's got his house in Wisconsin.
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Speaker 4: Life's good, there's nothing.
00:20:53
Speaker 3: Why would you throw yourself into that market, have your kid be going to school, have parents all, you know, having the question marks in that market too, where it's you're really just a glutton for punishment. So I I don't know why, but you know, Mike Johnson said something.
00:21:15
Speaker 4: It was great too.
00:21:16
Speaker 3: He's like, listen because Mike, Mike Johnson's insulated in that community like that. That's he knows more about Toronto than I think anybody. And he said, He's like, they interviewed fifty five candidates, so they could be just casting a wide net and it's kind of greasy. But they're probably just bringing these people in like a Pavelski and saying like, what do you think we're missing?
00:21:37
Speaker 4: You tell me, and they're just sitting there taking out.
00:21:40
Speaker 2: Exactly taking notes.
00:21:41
Speaker 3: Ye, people realize, oh you would trade Austin for what a first and a yeah, okay, maybe a third?
00:21:47
Speaker 4: All right, okay, cool, cool, cool, cool cool, good, thank you.
00:21:49
Speaker 2: We'll call you back.
00:21:51
Speaker 4: We'll call you back in a bit. But you know, I don't.
00:21:55
Speaker 3: I guess Marty Saint Luis kind of opens up for you know, it opens up the door for teams to be a little bit more creative with the guys are bringing in and bringing in the next player. So PAVs would be listen, when I played with him, he's he's a hockey nerd.
00:22:10
Speaker 4: He's a smart guy. He understands the game.
00:22:13
Speaker 3: He loves the game more than you know, anyone I've seen, or as much as anybody I've seen that that is just addicted to it. So you know, I could see him coming in and really helping a franchise a team because I think he would. I think he would be a positive impact anywhere you put him in a franchise or an organization. But I just don't know if head coach would be it. Maybe assistant, But it's worked out for Marty. I guess when you coach your you're able to coach like you know you fifteen with all those crazy parents.
00:22:47
Speaker 4: That coaching on professional hockey teams easy? After that?
00:22:50
Speaker 2: Right? Do you imagine the Steve Simmons press conference? What you like on from you fifteen? Steve Simmons?
00:22:55
Speaker 3: The oh my god, Steve Simmons. Would Steve Simmons would come to ask, HAVEVS a question? Stevie Simmons?
00:23:04
Speaker 2: All right?
00:23:05
Speaker 1: Still they come here an hll in scriptor the grim Reaper, our friend Stu Grimson of Nhldon ever will.
00:23:10
Speaker 2: Tell us the toughest guy he ever fought his thoughts so far on.
00:23:13
Speaker 1: The Stanley Cup Finals. All that more coming up, Stewie after this our next guest draft. In the tenth round of the nineteen eighty three draft of the Detroit Red Wings were being selected the seventh round the nineteen eighty five draft of the Calgary Flames. He collected seventeen goals, thirty points and two one hundred and thirteen pounty minutes in seven hundred and twenty nine career games. The Flames, Blackhawks, Mighty Ducks, Red Wings, Whalers, Hurricanes, Kings, and Predators.
00:23:50
Speaker 2: Not bad for a lawyer. Everyone's favorite Stuve Grimson, the Grim Reaper. Still great to see you.
00:23:58
Speaker 7: Hey, good to see you guys. Sorry you're going through all my teams. I started nodding off there a little bit.
00:24:03
Speaker 2: It's kind of a long but it's amazing to think.
00:24:07
Speaker 1: But the thing I always tell people, like, listen, Stu is such a great guy, and they go, come on, he could beat the shit out of you.
00:24:11
Speaker 2: I go, no, I know he could, he could at any point.
00:24:13
Speaker 1: And yet for a guy who had this resume for being so intimidating, is so fearsome. Again, attorney, cerebral fan of Broadway. I'm sure you're watching the Tony Awards.
00:24:22
Speaker 2: Last night.
00:24:22
Speaker 1: We talked about MJ the musical MJ Cercusila. We talked independent films like Anora, like how can you be a guy who was so vicious on the ice and yet be a man of culture off the ice?
00:24:35
Speaker 7: You know that's a funny thing. Uh, you know, I was thinking about this this morning. You and I have a lot in common where the arts are concerned. We love to discuss, you know, the latest great things that we've seen. And honestly, those those the part you referenced my you know, my kind of tendencies as a player, My role as a player kind of dovetail into my affinity for the arts because you know the role, and I'm sure you've heard lots of guys in my that played this role say this, but it's really it's a hard role to play. It's very taxing. It'd be very taxing on you. So Honestly, nights before games when I was pretty you know, I knew I was going to be tangling with somebody else on the other side that looked like my size, my dimensions, I was actually out trying to find a distraction. I would be at the movies the night before. I just wanted to take my mind off the game, get a little separation, a little space from it, because again, like gearing up to do hand to hand combat eighty two times a year with you know, guys that are six foot four, two hundred and forty pounds and they can crush human bone with their fists Like That's that's why I wanted to kind of get a little distance from it, just take my mind off it. I go see the movies.
00:25:50
Speaker 4: It's crazy to think, you know, and.
00:25:53
Speaker 3: Most the majority of the physical imposing the enforcers in the league, when you talk to them, they're all very soft spoken, intelligent, you know, the George.
00:26:04
Speaker 4: As you and you know, is it just the do you almost have to be cerebral to be doing that job?
00:26:12
Speaker 3: And because it is a decision, but it's also like you have to be analytical about it. And also I never heard somebody say, like gearing up for the fight is you're thinking about it, but you're also like I need to get away and be distracted.
00:26:29
Speaker 4: So it's so interesting to hear that. But like, is there such an analytical side to it more than people even realize.
00:26:39
Speaker 7: You know, that's a great question, JDA, And I don't think I've ever been asked in quite that way. But two things come up for me, and the short response is yes, I think you're right, And maybe a couple of things kind of play into that one because guys in my role have learned over time, Hey, I'm not a thirty goal forty goal scorer. I may have had some points in you know, a college or junior but if I'm going to survive and carve out a roll a niche for myself in the NHL, I've got to find a way to be this physical catalyst, right. I got to find these different moments in the game where I can I can help turn the game, I can help my team win in a in a kind of an obscure way. So that takes a bit of a tactician, right. That takes somebody who's constantly assessing the game for these moments, and you act when you think it's appropriate. So there's a good bit of analysis going on there as you're somebody like me is sitting on the bench or on the ice watching things evolve. And then number two, you know, there's there's this selfless piece to it, like nobody jumps out of bed in the morning, like when you're you know, twelve thirteen years of age, Han, I'm going to go out and be the next heavyweight enforcer in the NHL. But it's it's a selfless person. It's a it's a person who has the team's kind of best interest at heart that I think makes that decision that's not to say that goal scorers don't care about their team, but you know you're willing to make one of the ultimate sacrifices in the game, which is to put your physical well being in harm's way to assist the team. So those are the couple things that kind of come up for me. But I do think there's some merit to that.
00:28:21
Speaker 2: You Bet Stewart a great book.
00:28:22
Speaker 1: It's called The Grim Reaper, The Life and Career of a Reluctant Warrior, and I want to read is a passage from it, just to his point about being tough and fighting.
00:28:30
Speaker 2: This is a story you told about fighting.
00:28:31
Speaker 1: I stepped in with two of my buddies, waded into the fray, got the party store up by cold cock, and the guy doing most of the talking his two front teeth launched skyward.
00:28:38
Speaker 2: We quickly became the main event.
00:28:40
Speaker 1: Within seconds, I pinned the trash talker against the theater wall and was slamming his head against the bricks over and over and then a few more times for good measure. I left him sprawled in the ground bleeding. The only damage I suffered was the loss of one of my stan smith sneakers. During the fight, I never tied my shoes back then. It flew off my foot sometime after I threw.
00:28:57
Speaker 2: My first bunch, I lok into the shoe quickly and bent over to grab a big mistake.
00:29:03
Speaker 3: You and your study, Wait, how do you usually you hear you get hit so hard you fly to your shoes, Not that you hit somebody so hard that your shoe comes up.
00:29:12
Speaker 1: You and your sister adopted you were the son of an RCMP officer, Like I would think. It's a lot over a househole that you're out there stuke kicking the shit at the guys.
00:29:23
Speaker 7: Yeah. Yeah, it was crazy, and you know it's really odd about that av is you know? That was actually the moment at which as all this is going on in front of my hometown movie theater, downtown Camlton Movie Theater, this miniature brawl is taking place on the corner of the street. The head scout for the Regina Pass of the Western Hockey League happened to be driving by and he goes, oh, hey, that's the Crimson boy. I think you can play for us. They listed me after that moment. I'm sixteen years of age. I'm getting into a dust up on a street corner and their head scout drives by. They listed me at that point. I played three years a junior with the Regina Pats and you know, went on to a seventeen year professional hockey career. But that really is the moment, not to say that it may not have happened other ways. Yeah, but that got Regina's attention.
00:30:21
Speaker 1: Well, later on you talk with the fact it is amazing, he said, isn't officially a party until Stu strip's naked and jumps in the pool.
00:30:27
Speaker 2: You actually jumped off a friend's house into the pool. And no, I was not clothed.
00:30:31
Speaker 1: I had a few beers, but I was not drunk. I knew what I was doing. It was about becoming the story I wanted people to talk about me. I believe that was the quickest way to find acceptance and admiration. That is how I believe the world worked when I was in my teens.
00:30:46
Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, it was a strange mindset.
00:30:48
Speaker 4: It really was.
00:30:49
Speaker 7: Growing up a Cops kid back back then. You know, we moved around a lot. Our family was never in one place any more than two or three years at the most, So you know, changing towns, changing schools, finding new people to you know, to to fit in with, to socialize with became a real challenge when you're you know, in your teens. And for me, my twisted way of thinking was if I could do things that were completely outrageous and get everybody talking about me Monday morning back at school, that must mean that I'm accept I'm accepted, and I'm respected by these people. So it was kind of an empty, you know, thoughtless existence when you when you really think about it. But you know, as teens we go through this and it sure it got me into a lot of trouble as a kid. It really did.
00:31:39
Speaker 3: Well, you know what you go through your NHL career, and we'll get to that as we kind of pivot back, but you know, going to the end of it, you know what prompted you and to get your law degree after retiring and then you know, working for the NHLPA as well, so as in house counsel. But take us through that of your thought process and why that tickled your fancy.
00:32:03
Speaker 7: Yeah, so I had, I had, I signed my first pro contract. I was two years at the University of Manitoba, so I kind of had a head start on my undergraduate degree and I took actually some correspondence courses while I was playing, and got to a point towards the middle stages of my pro career was like I couldn't really take any more correspondence had exhausted basically everything that had any interest in merit for me. So I knew I wanted to finish that off after I was done, and kind of the last handful of years during my career, I started serving as a player rep. Had the you know, the really exciting responsibility of actually serving a term as vice president of our executive committee for the Players Association, and I just I found the union side of the game really interesting, and for that reason, JD, I kind of decided, you know, as I pivot from playing to now, you know, doing something else in my life, I really think I need to kind of invest in the marketable skill. So I knew I wanted to do finish my graduate undergraduate degree, and I knew I wanted to do another advanced degree of some kind, and the law made the most sense. I'd seen a lot of other players, you know, like the Mike Leutes, the Ken Dryden's, the the Neil Sheehee's of the world earn law degrees go on to work at some really exciting jobs within our game. So it was kind of for those reasons. I knew I wanted to stay in the game in some way, and I thought getting a lot of degree might make a lot of sense. But then again, that's what makes a lot of sense to a guy that suffered a lot of head trauma over the course of his career, Like going to law school as a thirty seven year old man makes makes great sense to anybody.
00:33:58
Speaker 1: Well, I can imagine that alluring. You would have to do, Stewey back in Detroit. You're on a roster led by Scottie Bowmen and featuring names like Eiserman, feder Off, Lidstrom, Coffee Fatiso, Constantinov, Larryanov, and Vernon.
00:34:11
Speaker 2: What was that room like?
00:34:16
Speaker 7: It was amazing, It was amazing. It was, you know, one of the most memorable stretches of my career. You know, for me, it was coming full circle. The club that originally drafted me Detroit, but I never turned pro with them. Originally it was ultimately via Calgary, but I kind of came full circle. I came back to Detroit at a much later stage in my career, but I came over at the deadline of the lockout shortened season ninety four ninety five. And you know, Detroit had an amazing team, all those characters you reference. You know, I left Anaheim, a team that didn't make the playoffs in the priory in that year to go to Detroit, a team that was heavily favored to win it all that year. And boy, we I've never been a part of a team an organization where winning came so easy. The talent was incredible. Scottie really had you know, everybody on the same page had a lot of respect for him. But assembling a group of people like that av I'm left with this, you know, wonderful reminder of just how rich and like interesting the personalities and the characters were on that team. You know you mentioned Coffee and Fatissov and and Stevie Y. Chris osgood was so you know, he's kind of cutting his teeth entering the NHL and sneaky, funny, quiet, interesting character. But we we had a lot of a lot of great memories. And JD Will you know, can attest to this when it's going well, when you know, when you're meeting expectations and you're having success, as a club. Those are some of the Those are some of the best moments you can enjoy as a professional athlete. It really is a wonderful time. And that that was Detroit.
00:36:10
Speaker 3: Yeah, you when it's going great, you're like, it's there's nothing better. And then you also can be on the opposite side of it, where it's you you can't even imagine going to the rink because it's just you know how bad, it's going to be miserable. But you know, after you started your career with Calgary in Chicago, you're on that inaugural roster for the Mighty Ducks Anaheim. How was that being part of a team that literally is owned by Disney And what do you remember from those kind of years because those are probably some lean years in that those expansion teams, because it's not always a Vegas Gold Nights.
00:36:46
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's most of the time. It's there's some struggles early on. Yeah, it was.
00:36:55
Speaker 7: It was a different experience, but it was no less enjoyable to me, and I really do consider it an honor. Do you have had a part in kind of, you know, helping that organization, that that franchise get its start, and you know, we all felt like we were kind of contributing to some of that initial foundation. But for many of us, i mean, third fourth line players from all over the league cobbled together. We all felt, hey, you know, we may not be the most competitive, but for all of us, it's going to mean more responsibility. It's going to mean there's an opportunity to kind of to play more, to do more than we have at earlier stages in our career. And we all experienced that in varying degrees. So it was a wonderful, incredible experience. JD. You know what this is like. You know, there was a day when you know, the California California had just a single team, it was LA, and when you went to LA, it was like the highlight of of the year. It was the West coast trip. We're going to LA. But now you know, you're actually somebody that's playing in southern California, And that was an incredible experience all by itself. I mean, I woke up most days just pinching myself. It is just, you know, we always looked at it, my family did, as an extended vacation of some kind. We knew we were gonna never we never would live there. But it was just a wonderful experience. And Disney just to put up bow on all of it. Disney owned the team, treated us as players so exceptionally well really Disney silver passes, we could take it. You could take as many people to the so the theme park as we wanted with it, merchandise. I had two young daughters. I had two young daughters when I was playing for the Ducks, the Mighty Ducks back then. And let me just tell you this, Dad was never more popular than when he was working for the Mouse. I mean, we would go to the theme park all night long and just ride the rides. It was a ball.
00:38:51
Speaker 4: What it's you know, how much access and how easy was it?
00:38:55
Speaker 3: You know, you get the silver pass, but what are some other things in some of the benefits that Because it is early on, I feel like they're trying to make you guys as happy as possible as players.
00:39:06
Speaker 4: So what other kind of things?
00:39:07
Speaker 3: I mean, not to mention, you have the gruff Ron Wilson behind the bench as your bench boss. So how how's having a guy like that?
00:39:15
Speaker 4: Yeah?
00:39:16
Speaker 3: With Disney, I feel like Disney and Ron Wilson does not doesn't mix, you know, that's.
00:39:23
Speaker 7: That's really interesting. You say that because Ron and that was Ron's first head job, head coaching job in the NHL. But I'll tell you this, like all of us loved it, because all of us got, you know, this this unique experience. And again, the club, the organization just treated us so exceptionally well. For instance, they were testing the Indiana Jones ride for the first time. They had not released the new ride to the general public, so they invited the entire team down one evening to kind of preview the ride, and we went on it, say ten times. Can I just tell you, JD. Nobody was more tickled, nobody was more excited than Ron Wilson dragging his family down to the Indianage.
00:40:10
Speaker 2: Oh my, he was like, he was giddy.
00:40:12
Speaker 7: He was he was just giddy. You could hardly shut the man up. And he went on the ride as often as or more than any of us. It was just hysterical. But he loved it. He was he was fully in and it was you know, it was a It was again just an amazing experience.
00:40:28
Speaker 2: That's great.
00:40:29
Speaker 1: We've all witnessed the caroll And hurricanes it built over the past few years too, But very different story. When you first arrived and probably to the Hurricanes first season. Again, the Whalers stories are so plentiful. You were great in Tal's doc that you put together. John Forrest has told me stories. But you'd be in a rink rat wanting to get to the rink earlier in harperd the Civic Center back in the day.
00:40:46
Speaker 2: But what was it like from Raleigh? I mean, at least in harfrond it was a small town, but at least you had hockey fans. Probably must have been different, right.
00:40:56
Speaker 7: Oh, super different. I mean just to look now to see how far that market has come. So when we migrate from Hartford to Carolina last year, Hartford existed. First year of Carolina, we didn't have a rink and the rink was going to be two years out before it was ready, So believe it or not, I mean, everybody on this call knows this, but for folks that hadn't followed this part of you know, NHL folklore. We played our home games ninety miles an out ninety miles away in Greensburg, North Carolina, to the to the north, and I mean we played out of an SEC basketball venue. It was I mean it was great, but I mean this was basketball country, this was monster truck country. We had immediate family show up for our home games. Like we drive ninety miles one way to our home games and there might be two thousand people in the building. And when I say two thousand people, I am not exaggerating. I mean it was immediate family. It was so bad. They used to drape off these big black curtains. They would drape off the upper tier so that it didn't look so cavernous and empty for for television as they're you know, as they're they're they're covering our games. But it was a really bizarre experience. But my family's first experience in the South, and you know, got to know and understand that North Carolinians are just some of the sweetest people. And you know, we did sense it back even back then. There's there's a following for this team, and I think they're going to do really well here because momentum just seemed to gather year after year after year, and you get what you see today as you enter that building and this this franchise in the Stanley Cup finals again.
00:42:47
Speaker 3: Well, you know they're tailgating now and keeping it in in that same vein. You know, talk a little bit about what you've seen so far in this series and what are you making. We mentioned it it's an exciting and entertaining Cup final, but it's very sloppy and disorganized a little bit, it feels like to me, yeah.
00:43:10
Speaker 7: Yeah, it does have that feel. And I think especially Game three, because a couple, at least a couple important goals, really impactful goals were more a byproduct of, you know, a puck mishandled, a puck miss read, a puck misplayed than they were this you know, this this brilliant playmaking or goal scoring. But we've you know, we have had plenty of both. The thing I'm left with j D. And I've I think I've been, in spite of all that, kind of enthralled with this final. You know, when you cover it as an analyst, you're no longer you know a player or a fan. Really you just want to see a competitive series and you want to see good hockey. I have been blown away by the level of drama that we've seen from Game one, two, and three, Like each of these game games kind of stand on their just in terms of the drama, the lead changes that we've seen and the way the leads have been changed. I mean, it's nothing for one of these teams to go on a three goal tear inside the space of three or four minutes and turn the contest on its ear. It's just been really remarkable. So at the end of the day, you know, I kind of I have this one takeaway. In a typical Stanley Cup final, as long as it's competitive, you know you'll have one or two of these games that are really really memorable. All three of these games seem to have had that kind of drama. Leaves me kind of believing, you know, whatever way this shakes out, we're in for a five game series at a minimum. But it's it's it's a lot of fun to watch and you don't want to step away from it while while the clock is running.
00:44:57
Speaker 1: I've asked you before too, but toughest guys you fought. Dave Brown definitely high up on that list. But again, a great story from your book, The Grim Reaper, The Life and Career of a Reluctant Warrior is about another flyer, and Ron Hextall. Thirty six years that are people still debate who should be blamed for the brawl. My take it was Hextall's fault, no question. Our coach Bob Strom called Hextall the.
00:45:16
Speaker 2: Eye of the tornado.
00:45:17
Speaker 1: He said, when the referee let the team's back in the as you saw Hextall's eyes letting up like a pinball machine. He led the charge of the visitors dress room, skated through our zone, waving his goalie stick over his head like a Viking wielding a battle axe. And an editorial The Regina Leader Post referred to Hextall as junior hockey's version of Billy Smith and Attila the Hunt.
00:45:35
Speaker 2: And know that nobody bothers the pats more than he does. Take me back to that, Oh it was.
00:45:43
Speaker 7: It was just the strangest, strangest doubting and that is a that is a full scale brawl, like we're not talking, you know, line brawl, a bunch of guys kind of you know, smashing their gloves in one another's face. This was full on. Everybody's everybody's in it. But it, you know, the start of the night had no there was no indication it was going to be that messy, that bloody. But you know, the zamboni breaks down, so they usher us off the ice and it takes us a little out of our normal, normalm And what ended up happening is when the Brennan Wi Kings, our opposition, came back to start the game, they skated right through our zone and Hextall, for whatever reason, is just waving his stick in there.
00:46:32
Speaker 4: Psychopath.
00:46:33
Speaker 7: Of course, that brings a bunch of people. He's just he's just a little loopy, and it brings a bunch of players together. And the moment that happens, Hextall brings his stick down on our team, one of our captains, Bob Lows, who's actually now a scout for he's director of Amateur Scouting for Vegas. And you know, that was like dumping six gallons of jet fuel on a fire. It just it just exploded, and everybody's paired off and everybody's got a dance part partner. I was in and out of the penalty box about three different times that night, and I ended up I'm kind of leaning over the first time I got put in there. I'm leaning over the boards after I got separated from my fight, and I'm watching everything that's going on the ice. Guided by the name of brad Well sidles Down. He's kind of like goes under the radar. He comes down the side of the boards next to the penalty glass, outside of even my peripheral view, and he just clocks me. He sucker punches me from the side, and all of a sudden it is on again. I leap out of the penalty box. I go after brad Wells. It's just you know, that whole brawl took forty five minutes to play out and settle down eventually, and then Jd'll appreciate this, like as a team, this is back in the days of VHS. Right, as a team, we'd have practice, but for the next three four days after we would sit in the room after practice was over and we would play that thing a lot. We played that thing on a loop. Oh, here's here's the part where LB goes. But what this is awesome?
00:48:10
Speaker 4: It was just crazy. Yeah, you got everybody goes in the room.
00:48:14
Speaker 7: All has lived on in WHL. Oh, just it's lived on in WHL folklore, you know, since ever since it happened. Yeah, it's crazy.
00:48:23
Speaker 4: And those are so good because everybodys in the room, like you saw that, Yeah you saw that.
00:48:26
Speaker 3: Everybody's all the guys are so excited and happy and altogether.
00:48:29
Speaker 4: But you know, speaking of disputes and great.
00:48:32
Speaker 3: Segues like I'm gonna pull you you while working with the PA, I'm sure you saw a ton of stuff. Is there any kind of wild disputes or anything that you were just I don't know if i'd say pinching yourself, but you're like, what did what did I get myself into? I mean specifically, there's a whole tint advisor with alexovech Kid.
00:48:50
Speaker 4: I don't know what you remember from that, but any disputes that stand out in your mind when you were at the PA.
00:48:59
Speaker 7: Well, yeah, I mean there's lots of stuff that comes up day to day. I did served as Labor Council for about two years, and I will say one of the craziest parts of my whole tenure at the NHLPA was not so much a dispute that we had with the League, but it was a kind of a civil war internally. If you remember when the Union and the League went from a let's call it a free market system to all of a sudden, you know, this year plus of workstop, which led to a total, you know, kind of capitulation by the Union to accept the salary Cap. If you remember all that, Bob Goodnow was removed as the executive director. Ted Saskin was installed as the executive director, but he was installed in a way that wasn't compliant with the constitution. So there were a bunch of players, this kind of you know, kind of outlaw bunch that we're trying to get Ted removed. And Ted was the guy that hired me. You know, he's the architect of Salary Cap. He was the new executive director. He signed to this new contract and almost from the day he got the job, this this group was was trying to remove Ted and it was just, you know, day after day of dealing with that and it was just like internal strifele like I had never seen it.
00:50:24
Speaker 1: Pretty crazy to think about what a life for Stu Grimson's remarkable career and obviously a terrific analyst for NHL Network. And most importantly, you've given Jason de Murz a humbling to remember, just absolute ass kicking on words with friends, win ghost do we Oh.
00:50:39
Speaker 4: I didn't know what I was getting myself into.
00:50:42
Speaker 3: But before I handed over to you, Stu, I got some awful letters and there's a little bit of luck.
00:50:52
Speaker 7: Well, let me ask you, this is it the Is it the archer? Or is it the arrow always torn?
00:50:59
Speaker 2: Is it the archer?
00:51:00
Speaker 7: Is it the I will say a lot of your rough In spite of your rough, in spite of your rough start, your rough start to our first game, I was I was able to eke out a win by just a narrow margin of two hundred and one point.
00:51:14
Speaker 2: I think.
00:51:16
Speaker 4: So I've battled back to you.
00:51:21
Speaker 2: I've battled back.
00:51:22
Speaker 7: Here's to you being more more competitive in the games to come.
00:51:26
Speaker 4: Yeah, I looked forward to it.
00:51:37
Speaker 1: Time for a little centopol and sixty. A new movie called Tuner what you just went and watched in the theater. It's still an independent movie. It's a really interesting concept. A guy who's a piano tuner for those who are musically inclined. He's got a great ear of knowing, you know, this key.
00:51:49
Speaker 2: Is off, this key is off.
00:51:50
Speaker 1: But then he gets hooked up with some criminals. Because he's got such a great ear, he can crack some safes as well. The rare piano tuner turned criminal accomplice.
00:51:58
Speaker 2: It's a good movie. I enjoyed it. Slickly edited and the great.
00:52:01
Speaker 1: Dustin Hoffman is in the movie. Doesn't happen so eighty eight years old. He shows up for more than a glorified CAMMI for twelve minutes. But I just loved Dustin Hoffman. He's always good to watch the movie, and I enjoyed the film. Daniel war Is the director. Make sure you check it out. It's called Tuner. Also note that Tony Awards were last night. JD knows this as a wife who is in the musical theater.
00:52:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, nothing bigger. I'm watching.
00:52:20
Speaker 1: I know you hate a war show, so so I'll watch it on Behalf of Us and I look up and I see the Rocky or Picture show, the guys in a mustache, wearing like a boostier and like a falling.
00:52:29
Speaker 2: Of the Jesus.
00:52:30
Speaker 1: I just I just imagined Middle America. What's on CBS tonight, Just recoiling at this image.
00:52:36
Speaker 4: You know, the Broadway community. They're gonna show up and show out.
00:52:39
Speaker 1: Absolutely, They've got absolutely.
00:52:42
Speaker 4: They don't give they don't give a yeah, Baker's fuck. They just they are. They're They're out there cherry and love it every minute of it. Yeah. Yeah, I just woke up this morning.
00:52:52
Speaker 3: Well my wife watched it, of course, because yeah, our friends you know, big A Jambrie. They were up for nominated for Titanique, so they performed as well and nice they they were nominated. But La but yeah, so she was watching Supporting and I just like opened my phone and it was like there's literally Josh Gadd singing about Jesus on the cross and like humping the hair, and I'm like, this is fucking this is insane, but I love it.
00:53:21
Speaker 1: You've been the only guy there who's locked in on the Tony Wards. At least it even has a semilance of an idea. Like imagine if you're talking, I know, I know that they're.
00:53:27
Speaker 2: On Maroon, Like just even knowing that they're on, Like Pat, you wouldn't even know what the Tony Awards are. You're gonna watch the Tony Words site. What's that like?
00:53:35
Speaker 4: Yeah?
00:53:35
Speaker 2: I think Johnny might know what it is, but would never watch Tony Words. Is that the Broadway thing?
00:53:39
Speaker 3: I think so, because I think Johnny is expressed how he likes he goes and see shows and stuff like that.
00:53:44
Speaker 4: I'm sure there's some people, but yeah, the.
00:53:46
Speaker 2: Tony's not making plans to watch.
00:53:49
Speaker 7: Uh.
00:53:50
Speaker 3: Katie Wentz saw The Wizard of Oz at the sphere. So I think I'm gonna try to I'm gonna try to do that, so I mean close, you know, close, it's on the way.
00:54:00
Speaker 2: If I've just mentioned to Mar at some point today, Hey, you see Josh.
00:54:03
Speaker 3: Gadd last night and just just Josh can't talking about coming all over Jesus or some shit like that. Like it's just like the weirdest that's the weirdest lie.
00:54:14
Speaker 2: That is the probably community.
00:54:15
Speaker 1: Tal has a centiphile in sixty Office Romance with Jlo. Jlo is still as hot as ever, tals all in on her new film.
00:54:22
Speaker 5: Yeah, I don't want to gush too much about how good Jlo looks because the.
00:54:26
Speaker 4: Restraining order and everything.
00:54:27
Speaker 6: But office romance, you know, well you're not allowed to restrain it or you can still talk about I know, but you know sexual Devian from far No.
00:54:38
Speaker 4: Well, we know Nate and j D are the big rom com guys.
00:54:42
Speaker 5: So this is this is a solid one. I gotta say. Brett Goldstein stars in it. He wrote it with Joe Kelly. They're both involved with Ted Lasso. It's legit funny, it's I I actually did have some out loud laughs in this one.
00:54:55
Speaker 4: They did a lot of the sort of.
00:54:57
Speaker 5: Brit expat in America humor that was that was pretty good. And you know jlo Is is she's Jennifer Lopez is great in it.
00:55:06
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:55:07
Speaker 5: I mean, if you're looking for a for a rom com to you know, kind of just enjoy with with a loved one or by yourself, whatever it is you're doing, I'm gonna recommend Office Romance.
00:55:18
Speaker 2: Is it streaming somewhere? You didn't go to the theater on Netflix?
00:55:20
Speaker 4: Just came out on Netflix, right, Office Romo? Do you uh all to go check it out?
00:55:31
Speaker 2: I do recommend. I do you recommend The Wizard of oosit Sphere?
00:55:33
Speaker 3: I did see that with Yeah, I heard, Yeah, I'm trying to go see today is uh it's like a hundred it's great.
00:55:39
Speaker 4: Well, how about what are your thoughts on Masters of the Universe.
00:55:42
Speaker 3: He man getting some good reviews right now. Yeah, but then it absolute flop? Fifty four million worldwide? Is that that baud wow opening weekend.
00:55:51
Speaker 1: What's amazing is the two movies that are carrying the box office are made by twenty year old YouTube directors, like Obsession is huge.
00:55:58
Speaker 2: Back Rooms open at eighty one million dollars.
00:56:02
Speaker 1: It's startingtel A G four and Rensvey and I'm a little bit classer ff.
00:56:07
Speaker 2: I'm gonna watch this movie.
00:56:07
Speaker 1: But apparently you go into a building and there's all these back rooms and there's like no ending and to get trapped, and probably it's based on some video game. And the dude that did it, I'm not kidding, he's twenty one years old. I don't know how he gets a budget four million dollars. It's eighty one million dollar opening.
00:56:20
Speaker 2: I mean, tell them, like, oh, let's go make the Mandalorian grogolm like f that noise. Go give these kids some money. They'll go make some scary ass shit. They'll make a ton of money.
00:56:27
Speaker 4: The most profitable film in a twenty four history already.
00:56:30
Speaker 1: Crazy And they made Tim maybe Marty Supreme, which was a very profitable film that was made for like a sixty million dollar budget, made one fifty worldwide.
00:56:37
Speaker 4: It's not Safty. You know, we know about Safty.
00:56:40
Speaker 2: We know who the good Safty is. Okay, all right, that's the story.
00:56:43
Speaker 1: When it comes to Citiphile in sixty How about Blake's back. JD who played with them in San Jose, Nate played them in La rob Blake is back NHL front office after joining Chris McFarland in Nashville, hall of Fame player and former Kings general manager as the Pretor's knew executive vice president of hockey Operations. What is Blakey bringing to nash Vegas.
00:57:02
Speaker 3: Well, just that calmness, the godfather Bobby Blake. I think it's a good That's a nice move by Nashville.
00:57:10
Speaker 4: You know McFarlane.
00:57:10
Speaker 3: I think the pedigree of McFarland and Colorado and then you bring some of that. You know, you always see that veteran, you know, kind of legend that played paired with not not an analytics guy, but but somebody that's been around and in the managerial position for a while and is very effective. So I think it's great to ford Nashville. I think they needed to make a good move, make a splash. It took a long time. I feel like they've been looking for somebody for decades and they got their guys. So it's gonna be good for nash It's a big year for them. It's everybody's getting traded or they make the playoffs. I think half through.
00:57:48
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was weird.
00:57:49
Speaker 1: A couple of years ago they were a massive disappointment in this past season. They're like a pleasant surprise and still on the outset looking into you're like, Okay, where are we going here?
00:57:55
Speaker 2: That's it's an interesting time for that franchise.
00:57:57
Speaker 1: Perry trots out Blake sim Big news are the USHL announcing plans to established new teams in Arizona, California, and Nevada. New rules aligned players are transfer between Canadian Junior Hockey and the NCAA put the USHL in a tough spot. So could expansion JD saved the league while assisting hockey development out West.
00:58:17
Speaker 3: Geez, I don't know, like the youth, not the youth like I mean, you can still consider it youth, but like the junior level and college level, and there's just so many options.
00:58:28
Speaker 1: Now, Yeah, I don't days if just your sixteen year old you're play in the OHHL or the.
00:58:32
Speaker 2: Q and the W that's it.
00:58:34
Speaker 4: And then yeah, maybe you go to college.
00:58:35
Speaker 3: Maybe you you know, maybe you don't make the NHL and you go college in Canada and get red shirt if you go to the States, and I like it, but you know, it's just gonna I just wonder how it's gonna listen. I think that them talking about maybe moving the draft to nineteen years old, I think, I think is a smart thing to do.
00:58:58
Speaker 4: I think.
00:59:00
Speaker 3: Going to college and maybe these guys coming out a little bit later is smarter like coming out. You look at Michael Hage in Montreal's he's gonna come out at twenty one, twenty two and he's you know, fully developed, and he's kind of ready to go and understanding that understands the game a little bit more is a little bit healthier. I feel like when you come right at a junior, you're still learning about the game. So I think, you know, I think it's good that guys coming to the league later and when they come in because the NHL is not a development league, it's a it's a win now league. So you know, that's for the AHL, that's for college. Guys that come in should be ready to play, period.
00:59:40
Speaker 1: And bottom line is this, when it comes to having to vote, every vote, counch, you hear that when it comes to voting, like in the world at large, how about in hockey, Elliott Freeman and Michael Russo come from the forty broadcasters failed to return their ballot for the Jack Adams award, which is voted on every year by members of the NHL Broadcast Association.
00:59:58
Speaker 2: Like, yeah, who gives a shit? Are the best coaching hockey is?
01:00:01
Speaker 1: So should the NHL consider imposing a rule for award vote who don't return.
01:00:05
Speaker 2: Their boot on time? Or is it like, well, if you have the ballot you don't want to use, it's up to you. What do you think, Jenny?
01:00:10
Speaker 4: No, you you you should fucking one thousand percent be voting.
01:00:15
Speaker 2: If you don't have to get a vote, cast your vote.
01:00:17
Speaker 4: Yeah, don't.
01:00:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, these these guys, these guys that vote anyway are bad enough as it is with who they pick.
01:00:23
Speaker 4: Now you're not even voting.
01:00:25
Speaker 3: That's if you don't cast a vote, that's a vote for the Democratic part of the Republican Party right now, what it is that it is in the States, if you don't cast your voters to the Republican Party always.
01:00:37
Speaker 4: You get to vote for the Dems right the other way. Yeah, this is not a political show, guys, So just relax.
01:00:43
Speaker 3: But yeah, I think I mean, listen, I guess nobody wanted to vote for Ruffles.
01:00:50
Speaker 2: Yeah that was if he wins, fine, I'm just saying to vote him Cooper is who I wanted to win. So I'm glad that that's it.
01:00:57
Speaker 3: If you didn't cast the vote for Lindy and you didn't submit, that's a vote for John Cooper exactly. O.
01:01:03
Speaker 2: Livia Rep's fear is right now it gets screwed.
01:01:05
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's but yeah, go ahead. I just got to hand out.
01:01:08
Speaker 2: Flowers of Hockey Fights Cancer.
01:01:10
Speaker 1: Awesome news from the NHL, NHLPA and the v Foundation for Cancer Research. You're the twenty twenty five, twenty six season the Hockey Fights Cancer Camp being raised over nine point one million dollars. Since it's launched in nineteen ninety, Hockey Fights Cancers raised more than fifty three million dollars, staggering numbers.
01:01:26
Speaker 2: Dude, that's awesome.
01:01:26
Speaker 3: It's it's you know, you want to throw a joke in on this, Sid please, it's amazing. It's it's amazing the support you know that is garnered for for these organizations and we.
01:01:41
Speaker 2: Still can't solve cancer. Why why are you taking my fifty million dollars?
01:01:48
Speaker 3: List feel like all this money being thrown at it, I feel like, well, we'll figure it out eventually. It's kind of like homelessness in California, right, it's all the money thrown at it and they still can't figure it out.
01:01:57
Speaker 4: That's interesting.
01:01:58
Speaker 3: Just just just put them in the homes, build homes, right, Uh no, I listen. It's it's incredible. It's amazing.
01:02:06
Speaker 4: You know.
01:02:07
Speaker 3: I feel like you can't I don't want to see you can't go through life without having it affect somebody close to you. But it is prevalent, you know, seems to touch everybody in some way, shape or form. You have somebody you know or or a friend or a family friend, and so it's it's something that connects all of us, you know, not a good way, but you know, the support I think that everybody gives for it, and the initiatives are great. So it's listen, it's it's it's amazing the amount of money raised. I just you know, come on, pharmaceutical companies.
01:02:41
Speaker 4: Figure it out.
01:02:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's one thing you can't trust. It's the FDA also want to hand out flowers. But one and only Connor McDavid. He wins the Ted Lindsay Award, formerly known as a Lester Pearson Best Player, voted by his peers, fifth time in ten seasons. That ties Wayne Gretzky for the most ever, but the bottle on his JD. He couldn't give a rats ass Edmonton's season and terribly his offseason is going to be bad.
01:03:00
Speaker 2: They have a new coach.
01:03:01
Speaker 1: This might be the most meanless award given to any player this year. He had, Lindsay to McDavid, he probably gave the award away. You can't care less.
01:03:08
Speaker 3: See I disagree with you first time ever. You know, I think that Ted Lindsay holds more weight than getting a vote from some you know, some guy with a mustard stain on his shirt.
01:03:17
Speaker 2: I think this one actually matters. It's it's a fellow players, it's.
01:03:20
Speaker 4: Your peers, you know, it's your it's the players, And it's kind of one of the most unbiased, honest.
01:03:28
Speaker 3: Votes you'll get because guys are voting purely on you know, some guys will vote for somebody on their team, like you know, everybody in Vegas will vote for Jack Eichel. But the fact that unanimously everybody goes Connor is the best player in the league. This is our this is this is the best player, and I think it does carry more weight.
01:03:46
Speaker 2: And it's this is bigger than the Heart Trophy.
01:03:50
Speaker 1: You couldn't argue. You could argue in a bar. And you say, this guy won this many Heart trophies. How many people are going this guy won this many Ted Lindsay Awards.
01:03:57
Speaker 4: I mean Gretzky won five and Connor's now tied him. Right, so you know that won eight hearts.
01:04:02
Speaker 2: People know the heart like Bobby are won the Heart.
01:04:04
Speaker 3: See, I'm gonna start, I'm gonna I want to change this. I want the Ted Lindsay to become that trophy. Listen Mustard saying beat anyway.
01:04:16
Speaker 2: All right, you're the rare guy. I know you are pro Ted Lindsay war over the Heart trophy.
01:04:19
Speaker 3: All right, fellow, I'm not an awards guy though, so you know me like this is like this, I don't consider the Ted Lindsay Award other than that's like a peer reviewed you know, it's just guys. It's a popularity contest. I don't know, like all awards, just throw them out.
01:04:38
Speaker 1: You know, it isn't popularity because you said, even like the guys in Vegas are voting for eicles, So I don't even trust this award that much because players just vote for the guys for.
01:04:44
Speaker 3: A possible It was like one there's like one defector on one team that like, you know, like yeah, like Brad McNabb like hates Jack Eichel, So he throws a vote to Connor McDavid.
01:04:55
Speaker 2: This is still like mc david's is the most popular guy.
01:04:59
Speaker 4: Yeah.
01:04:59
Speaker 3: When I was like younger in my career, I would like throw a vote to, like, you know, some random fourth liner like George Perils would be like he's the Ted lindsay.
01:05:11
Speaker 2: Because you have a vote, at least you used your vote. I used it. Yeah, use your vote. Last political thoughts be on this up. Tell the Knicks.
01:05:20
Speaker 1: I'm hoping you're gonnaweep the Spurs, but if they lose, it's Trump's fault. Trump is coming to the game tonight and they have to cancel the watch parties outside, which have been a huge success because who can afford eleven thousand dollars to go watch this?
01:05:31
Speaker 4: Do you see those prices?
01:05:32
Speaker 2: It's staggering.
01:05:34
Speaker 3: I think I'm pounding the Spurs tonight. I think you're right. I think I'm gonna pound the Spurs tonight.
01:05:37
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think Wenby after missing that jumper in game two to pretty clean, look at the turnover in game one, I think he has the game of his life, and mainly Trump being there saying it, booed vociferously, Spurs win Nixon five.
01:05:47
Speaker 2: What do you gotta tell?
01:05:49
Speaker 4: Yeah, a lot of people hitting on the on the Spurs hard in game three.
01:05:55
Speaker 5: I mean, this is tough if you're you know, if your family's been going to these watch parties and now you can at least for one game because the President's going to the aim.
01:06:02
Speaker 4: I mean, that's that's a little rough.
01:06:04
Speaker 5: I'm I never thought this was going to be a sweep a longtime Knicks fan, first time, long time, but uh yeah, I mean, at least they do have the built in excuse if they drop Game three, they can just blame it on the President and move on from there. It's going to be a complete fiasco. I mean, celebrity row of Madison Square Garden is crazy enough as it is, so this just bumps it up a notch.
01:06:26
Speaker 4: But I will say it's it's incredibly exciting.
01:06:29
Speaker 5: It's incredibly exciting as a long time Knicks fan to see them doing any of this. My wife, who has no idea anything about the NBA, so Rick sorry. Jalen Brunston given a postgame interview was.
01:06:39
Speaker 4: Like, how old is that guy? He looks like he's fifty. It's all she cares about. Who's that guy?
01:06:43
Speaker 2: How old is he? Where's he from?
01:06:44
Speaker 4: What's his.
01:06:46
Speaker 2: She looks Jilli Brunch looks bad for his age.
01:06:49
Speaker 4: Yeah, he's making seven. That was her only Takeover seven.
01:06:54
Speaker 2: Won the first championship with fifty three years.
01:06:55
Speaker 4: She's like, hey, she doesn't care about that.
01:06:59
Speaker 3: How funny is that, though you want to go to Game three for the next you sell your kidney just to get it there.
01:07:05
Speaker 5: It's cheaper to buy a flight to San Antonio and book a hotel and go to the game there.
01:07:10
Speaker 4: Then it is too for a local to get a ticket at MSG.
01:07:13
Speaker 3: It's cheaper to put a down payment on a two bedroom condo in Hell's Kitchen, and it is to go to that game.
01:07:18
Speaker 1: Jad Benji Goldsmith, director at MLB Network, diehard Knicks fan. He flew to San Antonio, got hotel, twelve hundred bucks. He's behind the next bench twel hunter backs a steal and then he was on the broadcast Mike Bringers, we got all these New Yorker fans, it's Benji. And then they should have shot up on the roller and Charles Barkley goes, look at these cockerroaches. All these cock roads come from New York.
01:07:37
Speaker 2: Like, there's Benchi again. He came back directed quick bit. So the next time it will be Network. It was the steal too.
01:07:43
Speaker 3: That's unbelievable. Charles Barkley said, look at these cockroaches. I mean, these people can't afford anything.
01:07:50
Speaker 2: Eric researcher MLB Network, he's going to Game four. His ticket right now. He could sell for twenty five thousand dollars. I go, nay, sell the ticket. If they win, it's still not worth twenty five grand. If they lose, you'd be so pissed. Go get twenty five thousand dollars.
01:08:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, Mondam.
01:08:04
Speaker 3: He's trying to reduce costs, but he can't reduce tickets to the It's not the Cathedral, not MSG.
01:08:11
Speaker 4: That's Dolan's land.
01:08:12
Speaker 2: It is Dolan's land. Trump's his buddy. We'll see what it goes. Thanks for JD battling right now. Is it that bad? It's noticeable? Tell us it's okay, tell us always.
01:08:22
Speaker 3: Well, you're very yeah, you're very sensitive to any voice change and yeah, your your voice is that But that's a big thing being on TV, like I have to watch my voice.
01:08:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is true.
01:08:33
Speaker 4: I'm trying to. I'm on vocal arrests at Chainsmokers.
01:08:37
Speaker 1: Just go watch The Wizard of Oz. You can't talk for that two hours to enjoy the movie. It's a great spectacle its sphere. Hopefully we'll get Nate Thompson back for the next episode again Mondays and Thursdays. Thanks to to Grimson and Hell Scripted coming at you. Let's hope the Cup Finals continues to entertain.
01:08:49
Speaker 2: We'll see you next time.
01:09:06
Speaker 1: NHL Unscripted is a production of the NHL and iHeart Podcasts. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.