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00:00:01
Two Man ForeCheck Episode 415B
4 Plays1 year ago
Sunbelt Problem? Not really.
Boston Bruins RFA's
PWHL Expansion
Poll question
Recommended
Transcript
Challenges in Team Performance
00:00:02
Two Man Forecheck
um So complacency is the real issue, not the low not the address. Quite frankly, it comes down to geographic bigotry.
00:00:13
Two Man Forecheck
And if you really want to, and well, you can also call it just sheer laziness and entitlement, but
00:00:16
Chris
Geographic bigotry. Okay. That's a term I've not heard much.
00:00:23
Two Man Forecheck
um
00:00:27
Two Man Forecheck
this isn't about where a team is located.
00:00:27
Chris
Well,
00:00:31
Two Man Forecheck
Because none of them complained when Columbus and Nashville came into the league and did diddly squat for 10 plus years.
00:00:31
Chris
I don't think so.
00:00:38
Chris
See, I can simplify this. I can simplify this.
Smart Spending in Sports
00:00:45
Chris
I figured it out.
00:00:47
Chris
For those who are worried about the supposed Sunbelt problem and, oh my God, they have more money down south or they they can give more money or whatever, that's not the problem. Because ultimately, whether you're paying them $3 $300 or $3 million,
00:01:05
Chris
players still have to play to win
00:01:10
Chris
So whether they're making $6 million dollars in one market or $9 million dollars in a Canadian market or $12 million dollars in the Sunbelt, players still have to play to win.
00:01:25
Chris
So it doesn't come down to the dollar it doesn't come down to the dollar spent.
00:01:25
Two Man Forecheck
They have to play to win.
00:01:29
Chris
It comes down to spending the dollars on the right players.
00:01:35
Two Man Forecheck
And... Which goes back to Competence.
00:01:42
Chris
Yes.
00:01:43
Two Man Forecheck
Competence. We're not seeing it from... Owners and general and front offices.
Success through Right Choices
00:01:50
Two Man Forecheck
Look at how many people the Pagoulas have...
00:01:50
Chris
Jim. yeah
00:01:54
Two Man Forecheck
run through the garbage disposal that is the front office for the Buffalo Sabres in the time they've owned the team.
00:02:02
Chris
And Bill Zito in Florida with the Panthers.
00:02:03
Two Man Forecheck
Look at...
00:02:07
Chris
Jim Neal in Dallas with the Stars. they are They're not spending the most money. They are spending the money on the right players.
00:02:21
Two Man Forecheck
And it's not just on the right players. It's the rest of the personnel as well. You have to remember, Jim Neal is the guy who brought Jim Montgomery into the NHL.
00:02:29
Chris
Yep.
00:02:32
Two Man Forecheck
That's not an accident.
00:02:33
Chris
And they did and they didn't they didn't fire him... specifically because the team was bad or because he was a bad coach. my
00:02:43
Two Man Forecheck
He was let go because of off-ice issues that he's since addressed.
00:02:46
Chris
Exactly.
00:02:48
Two Man Forecheck
And then went on to become, ah to set a record for the winning, the most wins and points in a season.
00:02:48
Chris
and
00:02:55
Chris
His winning percentage while his two with his two-plus years in Boston, his winning percentage was like 70%, 72%, something like that.
00:03:03
Two Man Forecheck
Mm-hmm.
00:03:05
Chris
Something crazy? Yeah. Okay. Cause he's a terrible coach. No, sorry. Wrong answer.
00:03:14
Chris
I'm sorry. The man was, the man was literally unemployed for what? Four days. i mean, St. Louis fired their head coach said, yeah, you got to hit the brakes. We got this other guy. Come on. You're gone.
00:03:26
Chris
You're out of here.
00:03:29
Chris
I mean, Yeah, it's bringing in the right personnel, the right people, the right coaches, not just throwing not just throwing money at the problem.
00:03:39
Chris
And that's not that's not why Florida, that's not why Tampa Bay, that's not why Dallas are successful.
00:03:45
Two Man Forecheck
The business is all about people.
00:03:51
Chris
It's not why George McPhee and and Kelly McCrimmon have been successful in Vegas since the day they started. It's not because they can throw more money at people. It's because they're bringing in the right people.
00:04:03
Chris
Did they, in Vegas's case? Yes. They also found a way to maneuver and make deals. I get it, but still it comes down to, they brought in the right personnel, whether it was but beyond just head coaching, they brought in the right people through the expansion draft.
00:04:22
Chris
They brought in the right assistant coaches and whatever. And that's why they've been successful.
00:04:26
Two Man Forecheck
They brought in the right scouts. They brought in the right development team.
Fan Reactions and Predictions
00:04:32
Two Man Forecheck
bit ah Doing it right is way more important than doing it in a cold climate.
00:04:42
Chris
Sounds like a little like sour grapes to me. I don't know. I i mean, i didn't want i didn't want to throw it out there, but it sounds like some fans are experiencing a little sour grapes.
00:04:44
Two Man Forecheck
it Maybe just the teeniest, tiniest bit.
00:04:57
Two Man Forecheck
Oh, please allow me to.
00:04:59
Chris
incredible
00:04:59
Two Man Forecheck
It's absolutely sour grapes.
00:05:01
Chris
Thank you.
00:05:06
Chris
It's not a Sunbelt problem.
00:05:06
Two Man Forecheck
Now, having addressed that,
00:05:07
Chris
It's a grape. Yeah, I know.
00:05:11
Two Man Forecheck
um
00:05:14
Two Man Forecheck
let's talk about the Stanley Cup Finals.
00:05:16
Chris
oh
00:05:20
Two Man Forecheck
Before we get into anything else, name one team, name the other. Who's winning the Cup?
00:05:27
Chris
Florida.
00:05:30
Two Man Forecheck
I have to agree with you. um My reasons are pretty simple.
00:05:37
Two Man Forecheck
I think that even if Edmonton had Zach Hyman,
00:05:46
Two Man Forecheck
the Panthers are getting better contributions from more, or getting more consistent contributions from more people. And...
00:05:58
Two Man Forecheck
that to me pushes the, uh, pushes the weight in their direction.
00:06:06
Chris
Sounds a little like what ah sounds a little like my reasoning,
00:06:06
Two Man Forecheck
That said,
00:06:12
Two Man Forecheck
that said earlier in the show, I referred to, ah Ryan Nugent Hopkins as the most overlooked man in the NHL.
00:06:13
Chris
yeah
00:06:21
Two Man Forecheck
And I desperately, deeply, madly mean that I,
00:06:25
Chris
If he's not, then he's in the top five.
00:06:29
Two Man Forecheck
um People talk about the team being two forwards deep, and I want to throw up every time it happens, um
00:06:38
Chris
That's because most fans can only...
00:06:38
Two Man Forecheck
because literally, literally, literally, there are exactly 31 other teams in the NHL who would take Ryan Nugent Hopkins if he became available.
00:06:49
Chris
They would take this Ryan Nugent Hopkins, not the one that came out as an 18-year-old because he was thrown into a situation that he shouldn't have been in. They would take this version of Ryan Nugent Hopkins without a doubt, yes.
00:07:03
Two Man Forecheck
And I said at the time that Nugent Hopkins should not have been in the NHL in his first two pro years.
00:07:03
Chris
I agree with that.
00:07:08
Chris
No.
00:07:11
Chris
And I absolutely agree with that. he he needed He needed a year at least either back...
00:07:17
Two Man Forecheck
To physically mature.
00:07:19
Chris
Yes.
00:07:19
Two Man Forecheck
There was nothing wrong with his game.
00:07:23
Two Man Forecheck
But how can you overlook a guy... who has five goals, 13 assists, 18 points, and is a plus eight through 16 playoff games this season.
00:07:37
Chris
Because sadly enough, the, the fair weather fans, the, the, the ones that come in and watch the Stanley cup final, because, Ooh, the Stanley cup final is on. Not the ones who've watched
00:07:48
Two Man Forecheck
Including the ones in the studios, yes.
00:07:50
Chris
not not just the ones who've watched all year and and talk about it like we do and dive into the numbers like we do. The Fairweather fans, as you said, do not see past McDavid and Dreisaitl.
00:08:05
Chris
The fact that Evander Kane is on the team, the fact that they've got um um Evan Bouchard, the fact that they've got Corey Perry, ah Zach Hyman, Nugent Hopkins, they don't see that because the spotlight is always affixed on Connor McDavid and Leon Dreiside.
00:08:16
Two Man Forecheck
Yep.
Playoff Contributions and Strategies
00:08:27
Chris
and that's And that's a broadcasting problem because they tend to focus on those two players when they show Edmonton Oilers games.
00:08:37
Chris
So a Fairweather fan who's just checking in to see the Stanley Cup Final... sees the broadcast is focused on these two guys and that's immediately what they think of. They don't look deeper into it. They don't look at who's on the third line, who's on the fourth line.
00:09:00
Chris
And they need the broadcast partners to be a little more thorough, educate themselves.
00:09:05
Two Man Forecheck
Educate themselves.
00:09:07
Chris
Okay, that's a possibility. Sure.
00:09:09
Two Man Forecheck
I mean, Corey Perry, at 39 years and change, in 16 playoff games this season, is has seven goals, three assists, 10 points, 21 shots on goal, and a
00:09:13
Chris
Yeah, he's pushing 40.
00:09:27
Two Man Forecheck
What's this? Shots through percentage, um which is a new one for me, and a ridiculous shots through percentage of 44.7%. point seven percent
00:09:40
Chris
And oh, by the way, at 39 years old, is still one of the guys who crashes the front of the net constantly.
00:09:46
Two Man Forecheck
Constantly.
00:09:48
Chris
At 39. Pushing 40.
00:09:50
Two Man Forecheck
um
00:09:54
Chris
pushing forty
00:09:56
Two Man Forecheck
I mean, d is it any wonder that if you asked me which one do I want on my team for a playoff run next year, despite the decade and change of difference in their age, if you said Austin Matthews or Corey Perry for a playoff run next year, next year, a year from now, I would say Corey Perry 100 of 100.
00:10:26
Chris
For a playoff run, yes. I mean, obviously you got to get there, which means you to get through the regular season. And obviously Austin Matthews is going to get you there because regular season ah and Austin Matthews can score goals.
00:10:41
Chris
at a higher rate than Corey Perry can.
00:10:44
Two Man Forecheck
I will feed you in 20 minutes. Give me a minute.
00:10:49
Chris
um
00:10:52
Chris
the The reason that I'm picking Florida, like I said, sounds similar to what you said, but because I'm i'm into the well-rounded as well, as I just said, with the they just have, from top to bottom,
00:10:56
Two Man Forecheck
Yep.
00:11:08
Chris
I believe that they have a more well-rounded system. And I'm talking from goaltender out. the The last game against Dallas, all they wanted to talk about was how good Stuart Skinner has been. Well, Stuart Skinner was good in the Dallas series.
00:11:23
Chris
Wasn't so good before that because they had to sit him and put Calvin Pickard in. Calvin Pickard went 6-0 before getting hurt. So you're taking your chances on which goaltender you're going to start and is are either one of them going to be successful?
00:11:37
Chris
Which one's going to show up? ah youre going to get good stewardt skinner Are you going to get Skinner Stuart Skinner? Sergei Bobrovsky has been consistent throughout the playoffs.
00:11:49
Two Man Forecheck
He really has. And going back to the Oilers... the oilers Evander Kane, again, how are you overlooking ah guy who did not play a single regular season shift?
00:12:03
Chris
I hope you're not asking me because I don't overlook a Vander King but
00:12:07
Two Man Forecheck
Jump into the playoffs, five goals, six assists, plus five 15 games.
00:12:15
Chris
I love me some of Vander King.
00:12:19
Two Man Forecheck
And this is a guy who was also piled in 68 hits into those 15 games after not playing a lick of regular season hockey.
00:12:25
Chris
Oh, still physical.
00:12:30
Chris
Still physical.
00:12:32
Two Man Forecheck
um And despite his physicality, despite his, um shall we say it, ah pugilistic nature, he's only got 12 penalty minutes through those 15 games.
00:12:49
Two Man Forecheck
So he's played very smart hockey.
00:12:49
Chris
That's not bad.
00:12:54
Chris
He's played within himself.
00:12:56
Two Man Forecheck
he's He's played within the whistles.
00:13:00
Chris
He's not drawing, he's not drawing stupid penalties, which he has been known to do.
00:13:00
Two Man Forecheck
And all five of his goals are at even strength.
00:13:04
Two Man Forecheck
All five of his goals are at even strength.
00:13:10
Chris
Yeah.
00:13:13
Two Man Forecheck
Um...
00:13:14
Chris
but it's But he has been known in the past to take stupid penalties because he is physical. He lets himself get beyond himself, and he does something dumb. He's not doing that this season.
00:13:26
Chris
Now, granted, like you said, he didn't play.
00:13:26
Two Man Forecheck
No, and that's why I think this is going to be a very interesting series. I do firmly believe that Florida
Player Contracts and Resignings
00:13:33
Two Man Forecheck
is going to win.
00:13:34
Chris
Yeah, I do too. I mean...
00:13:36
Two Man Forecheck
i will not ah be stunned silly or anything like that if Edmonton pulls it out.
00:13:44
Chris
I mean, oddsmakers have it basically a push. I mean, it's like one to ah like like one to one or one two to one or whatever.
00:13:56
Chris
I mean, it's big.
00:13:56
Two Man Forecheck
I mean, you very quietly have a guy like Trent Frederick playing fourth-line minutes. He's picked up a goal and three assists after being injured for a good chunk of the time after he was traded.
00:14:09
Two Man Forecheck
um
00:14:10
Chris
Yep.
00:14:10
Two Man Forecheck
He has nine penalty minutes through those 16 games. He also plays physical. He's got 12 block shots, 59 hits. um He's got a few... He's got a couple of takeaways...
00:14:26
Two Man Forecheck
He's playing very solid hockey. He's hungry. And I think the fact that you can have him, Trent, Trent Frederick, Evander Kane, and Corey Perry, just those three providing physicality. And if someone gets out of line, being able to play beat cop against a team like Florida, who have guys who will cross the line and instigate um up and down their lineup, I think that bodes well for Edmonton, particularly when you look at the fact that...
00:15:05
Chris
I think it bodes well for them, but I also think that if this becomes a physical series, i think that Florida wins.
00:15:13
Two Man Forecheck
i don't think it I don't think there's any way it cannot be a physical series, but I think that this is a way that if the coaches are smart, and I think both coaches are Florida will at some point spread those three physical guys out ah top ah across their top three lines um and make sure that when Dreisaitl and McDavid and Nugent Hopkins are on the ice, that one of those three guys is out there with them.
00:15:45
Two Man Forecheck
Because we know that Bennett will run people. We know that Kachuk will run people. We know that Brad Marchand lives rent-free in the heads of 99.999% NHL players, fans,
00:15:57
Two Man Forecheck
announcers coaches and officials
00:16:02
Two Man Forecheck
um
00:16:03
Chris
That's true. I just think that, and just to coin a phrase, and I don't know if I'm coining it or not, but it's not even a real thing, but I think that if it comes down to it, yes, Florida can and will out physical Edmonton.
00:16:20
Two Man Forecheck
And they've also been patient about picking their spots for Retribution this year. Last year's Florida team was less patient about it, and the team two years before that was not patient at all.
00:16:32
Chris
No.
00:16:32
Two Man Forecheck
um So this is this is absolutely going to be a chess match, even if it occasionally looks like a Pier 6 brawl. um I think that people need to be...
00:16:45
Two Man Forecheck
Very cautious about saying that one team can run the other out of the building and any particular value. um you look at You look at Brad Marchand and Seth Jones as the a the big ads on the other side. Yeah.
00:17:02
Two Man Forecheck
Both of these teams have made smart pickups, and that's why they're back in the Stanley Cup finals. It's not an easy thing to do. You know that. I know that. Most of our listeners are smart enough to know that.
00:17:13
Two Man Forecheck
And if they aren't all by themselves, they've just heard it from us and what higher authority is there.
00:17:21
Chris
What higher authority is there? That's a good question.
00:17:27
Chris
So where do we go from here?
00:17:31
Two Man Forecheck
That, sir, is up to you.
00:17:34
Chris
Oh, goodness. Well, based on what's left here, let's talk about some ah RFAs real quick with the home team. Or no, no, well, yeah, let's do that. And then we can we can talk about the women's.
00:17:46
Two Man Forecheck
we'll we'll We'll limit it to the ah RFAs who actually play for the home team currently. um
00:17:53
Chris
Okay.
00:17:53
Two Man Forecheck
Looking at those players,
00:17:58
Two Man Forecheck
Morgan Geeky, John Beecher,
00:18:02
Chris
Resign. Resign.
00:18:14
Chris
It took me a while to work on that one.
00:18:15
Two Man Forecheck
Wallstrom, Mason Lerai, Henry Yokiharu, Drew Bavaro.
00:18:19
Chris
Morai. Resign. Well, Yokiharu is a UFA, not an RFA, but okay.
00:18:25
Two Man Forecheck
um No, he's listed as an RFA on cap for a cap wages.
00:18:32
Chris
Oh, okay. on the On the Twitterverse here from Bruins Capspace, he's listed as a UFA, so.
00:18:38
Two Man Forecheck
I'm going to trust cap wages a little bit more.
00:18:41
Chris
I'll take it, yeah.
00:18:42
Two Man Forecheck
um Geeky, I think they'll resign.
00:18:45
Chris
Yes.
00:18:45
Two Man Forecheck
Beecher, I think, is a kill is a coin flip. Lauko, I think they'll re resign.
00:18:50
Chris
Beecher's a coin flip? Really?
00:18:53
Two Man Forecheck
They traded him away a couple of years ago for a reason.
00:18:57
Chris
Beecher's never been traded away.
00:18:59
Two Man Forecheck
No, Lauko. Lauko.
00:19:01
Chris
loud No, you said Beecher was going to be... the Beecher, they weren't going to re... I think I'm reversing that. I think Lauco is take it or leave it. I think Beecher gets re re-signed. I think Gigi gets re re-signed.
00:19:16
Chris
Lorai, if he doesn't get res re-signed, somebody needs a slap in the head.
00:19:22
Chris
And on draft day, if you had heard me saying that, you would have been slapping me in the head because I didn't even know who he was on draft day.
00:19:30
Two Man Forecheck
I mean, you look at Beecher's stats last year to this year. Last year in 52 games, he had 10 points. This year in 78 games, he only had 11. um The team was definitely worse, but he also got more ice team more time on ice per game.
00:19:47
Two Man Forecheck
In fact, when you figure in the 26 more games and the minute and 40 seconds more per game, he got significantly more ice time throughout the year.
00:20:00
Two Man Forecheck
i
00:20:01
Chris
I'm not saying you give him $7 million dollars a year. And I'm not saying you give him a seven-year contract either.
00:20:14
Chris
I don't know what his number was this season. Was he on an entry level? Was he making $925 something?
00:20:20
Two Man Forecheck
John Beecher this year was on,
00:20:25
Two Man Forecheck
i it was his entry level.
00:20:31
Chris
Okay, so he was making, i'm I'm looking it up because I want to, he was making 925,000.
00:20:35
Two Man Forecheck
Nine and a quarter in the NHL, yeah.
00:20:41
Chris
So unfortunately, it's a it's a league where even if you have a yeah season, you still get a little bit of a raise. So you give him a two-year deal or a three-year deal and you make it,
00:20:59
Chris
Under $2 million per. Or you make it $2 million per. um I'm thinking 1.75.
00:21:05
Chris
But I'm not saying you give the guy a huge raise and you you you suddenly make him $7 million.
00:21:06
Two Man Forecheck
i
00:21:10
Two Man Forecheck
I wouldn't give him more than two years and 1.1 a year.
00:21:10
Chris
dollars Okay.
00:21:17
Two Man Forecheck
But still, most of I mean, that's still over 100,000 raise. It's not that much.
00:21:23
Chris
I mean, Mason Loi is going to get himself a decent raise.
00:21:27
Two Man Forecheck
Mason Lowrise should get paid. um
00:21:29
Chris
Yes, that's what I'm saying.
00:21:30
Two Man Forecheck
Not necessarily 14% hit.
00:21:30
Chris
That's I'm saying.
00:21:34
Two Man Forecheck
fourteen percent cap hit But Mason Leroy should not say not be looking forward to his UFA status um after being irked with the ah with the dealings with the team this year.
00:21:38
Chris
No, but if you give him
00:21:53
Chris
somewhere between four and five,
00:21:56
Two Man Forecheck
If you sign him three years, four million a year, I'm good with that. If you sign him four years, four five million a year, I'm good with that. I think any longer and either with either, any bigger with either number um and you're running into pushback from him.
00:22:13
Two Man Forecheck
um I mean, if you really, if you really think a seven by six, a seven year contract, 6 million is worth a roll of the dice with the way the cap's going to go up and you think he'll bite, think it's probably a win-win.
00:22:27
Chris
miss He's 24 now. I'm willing to give him like... I'm willing to give him three years, four and a half.
00:22:41
Chris
If you want to you want to extend it out to...
00:22:41
Two Man Forecheck
i We know my opinion on Mason Leroy. I think he's wonderfully talented. i I will be happy to see him wearing the Bruins uniform, even though I hate the number that he's been wearing.
00:22:48
Chris
I think...
00:22:52
Chris
Oh, the number six is cursed. ah he should He should definitely get rid of that number. he should
00:22:58
Two Man Forecheck
I would be delighted to see him in something like in almost any other number this year.
00:23:05
Chris
if he wants us If he wants the six for whatever reason, wear 26. Does anybody else wear 26? Not that I'm aware of.
00:23:12
Two Man Forecheck
He could wear 26, could wear 76, he could wear 86, he could wear 96, he could wear 56. don't care. it can wear fifty six i don't care
00:23:20
Chris
Yeah, just get rid of six. The only one that's worn six, and actually I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, the only one that's worn six that I can actually say i enjoyed watching wearing the number six was Joe Thornton, his rookie year.
00:23:39
Chris
He didn't get 19 until his second season in the NHL. His rookie year he wore a six.
00:23:50
Chris
But other than that, yeah, six on the Bruins is just no. And I keep referring back to Glenn Featherstone. He was just God awful defenseman. Not Joe Corvo God awful, but close.
00:24:04
Two Man Forecheck
Of the guys to wear that number in the last since Thornton, Gordon Murphy, Dan McGillis, Brad Stewart, Dennis Weidman, Greg Zanin, Wade Retton, Corey Potter,
00:24:19
Chris
Craig. great. Weidman. Oh God. Bad.
00:24:23
Two Man Forecheck
colin pitt Colin Miller, Mike Riley, and now Mason Lorai.
00:24:27
Chris
That's right. Colin Miller Warren.
00:24:29
Two Man Forecheck
I want to say that Brad Stewart is probably my favorite, and he wasn't even that good in the time that he was here. He had other good years in his career. And,
00:24:42
Two Man Forecheck
like, I really do not like Bruins players in number six. Um...
00:24:47
Chris
No, it's just, it, No, date they should retire that number for entirely different reasons than any other number. Like nobody should be allowed to wear it ever again because it's an awful number.
00:25:00
Two Man Forecheck
Unless Marco Sturm is coming in as head coach, give him the number 16 this season, because only Kasper Zdagovens has worn it since Marco Sturm.
00:25:10
Chris
Oh, that's right. I forgot about dogmans.
00:25:13
Two Man Forecheck
um And before him...
00:25:14
Chris
you can't Well, no, you can't. Stop. Wait. No. You can't give 16 to anybody because it was retired for Ricky Middleton.
00:25:23
Two Man Forecheck
It was... Oh, you're right, it had it was...
00:25:28
Two Man Forecheck
i forgot i I saw the ceremony and somehow still forgot it was retired.
00:25:28
Chris
I know my...
00:25:31
Chris
I know my Bruins. I loved Nifty when he when i but when he was playing. oh Loved him. But yeah, no. You can't wear 16. That's why I said 26. And I don't know if somebody's wearing 26 or not. Actually, you know who wore 26?
00:25:45
Two Man Forecheck
Wallstrom.
00:25:47
Chris
Did he wear it this year?
00:25:49
Two Man Forecheck
Wallstrom and McLaughlin both wore it at some point.
00:25:51
Chris
McLaughlin was the one I was thinking of, but he's gone, so I figured it was free and clear. Anyway, point being that six has got to go. End of story.
00:26:00
Two Man Forecheck
He could wear 36. One of your ah favorite players actually wore it back in 2016.
00:26:08
Chris
twenty sixteen
00:26:11
Chris
thirty six twenty sixteen who
00:26:16
Two Man Forecheck
Zach Rinaldo.
Team Culture and Traditions
00:26:18
Chris
Oh, he was he was never my favorite.
00:26:23
Two Man Forecheck
and the Actually, that's a very interesting list of players, and I will i honestly think that this number...
00:26:27
Chris
Dave Reed was 36.
00:26:29
Two Man Forecheck
has been worn less than like 400 NHL games.
00:26:30
Chris
like
00:26:34
Two Man Forecheck
Dave Reed had it. Mo LeMay, Mike Stevens, Ron Flockhart, Brian Prop, Jim Weimer, yep, John Gruden, Jeff Odgers, Grant Ledyard, Ivan Hummel, Marty Reisner, and your buddy Zach.
00:26:42
Chris
dave reed was thirty six
00:26:46
Chris
I only remember Dave Reed in 17. Okay.
00:26:50
Chris
Jeff Wadges. Yeah.
00:26:56
Chris
Ivan Hummel.
00:26:58
Two Man Forecheck
All of those gents were number 36 for at least 10 minutes.
00:27:04
Chris
And Dave Reed was probably the best of the bunch.
00:27:07
Two Man Forecheck
Almost certainly, yeah, except for your buddy, Zach.
00:27:12
Chris
Yeah. Zach Granato can. No. No. Kusnadinov wears number 92.
00:27:18
Two Man Forecheck
Do you think they're going to issue him number 46?
00:27:22
Chris
um No, I do not believe they will issue number 46 ever again.
00:27:30
Two Man Forecheck
56 is a number that could use some ah um heritage.
00:27:33
Chris
Nobody nobody wears 56. It's like a football number.
00:27:38
Two Man Forecheck
um Darren Banks, Peter Nordstrom, Doug Duell, Ben Walter, Petri Nogolainen, Tommy Cross, and Eric Holla are the players to have worn number 56 for the Boston Bruins.
00:27:48
Chris
Pateri Nocolainen.
00:27:54
Chris
I actually like Pateri Nocolainen. People are going to make fun of me for saying it. I don't care.
00:27:58
Two Man Forecheck
As they should.
00:27:58
Chris
actually liked him. He wasn't he wasn't great, but he's just scrappy guy. I like Pateri Nocolainen.
00:28:08
Chris
You think they'll issue 66 and have
00:28:12
Two Man Forecheck
um I don't see a reason why they shouldn't, but literally no Bruins player is has ever worn it.
00:28:13
Chris
a
00:28:15
Chris
and have a
00:28:22
Chris
Exactly. And they don't want a repeat of ah the New York Islanders issue from a few years ago.
00:28:31
Two Man Forecheck
That was one of the dumber things I've ever seen, and I don't i don't care who dislikes it.
00:28:34
Chris
Yes, it was.
00:28:38
Chris
Joshua Hossang.
00:28:41
Two Man Forecheck
Poor Josh.
00:28:43
Chris
Yeah, all because he wanted to wear a number to honor somebody and everybody lost their minds because, oh my God, how dare he wear it? Are you serious? Shut up.
00:28:51
Two Man Forecheck
yeah
00:28:52
Chris
Sit down.
00:28:52
Two Man Forecheck
Do you think that they're brave enough to issue the number 63 again?
00:28:52
Chris
You're done.
00:28:57
Chris
ah Only if that young man decides to return to the Bruins. And I say young because obviously he's not hockey young anymore.
00:29:10
Chris
But unless Brad comes back, nobody else is wearing 63.
00:29:18
Chris
Nobody's wearing 37. Nobody's wearing 63. Nobody's wearing 46.
00:29:23
Chris
Most likely when he's done and dusted, nobody's going to wear 88. They're
00:29:30
Two Man Forecheck
That's fair.
00:29:31
Chris
the going to have to start going to three-digit jerseys in Boston at some point.
00:29:31
Two Man Forecheck
um
00:29:35
Two Man Forecheck
So we think Lorai will be back with the Bruins.
00:29:39
Chris
I think low-rise back.
00:29:42
Chris
Yogi, I mean, Yogi Haru even, i think, has I think,
00:29:46
Two Man Forecheck
think Yogi Haru has a solid chance.
00:29:50
Chris
I don't think he was terrible when he came here.
00:29:55
Chris
i mean, first of all, he came to a team where nothing was
PWHL Expansion and Impacts
00:29:59
Chris
settled, so you couldn't even settle him in on a particular pairing. They tried to, but with people getting hurt, not knowing night to night,
00:30:11
Chris
you know and and then who was in that did There was just too much fluidity, too much inconsistency.
00:30:16
Two Man Forecheck
Well, you don't even have a real head coach, that that sort of plays into it.
00:30:22
Chris
Yeah, they haven't signed one of those yet either. so
00:30:26
Chris
Although i'm i' I'm with you now. I just want i just want them to get Sturm in house and get it done.
00:30:32
Two Man Forecheck
it it I've said from the beginning, i thought they would go ah do something that's on brand for them, which means either promote the ah AHL head coach or bring in a guy who played here.
00:30:44
Two Man Forecheck
um It appears that's going to happen. um
00:30:48
Chris
It doesn't look like Mujanel, I mean, not that we're going back to a different topic, but it doesn't look like Mujanel is still in the thing in in the mix. Unless he's secretly in the mix and they're going to pull his name out of their butts.
00:31:05
Chris
But supposedly that's done supposedly they're down to two and they're going to make an announcement this week. That's what Pierre Lebrun is reporting. so
00:31:14
Two Man Forecheck
I am, of course, holding my breath.
00:31:16
Chris
you yeah As well you should.
00:31:20
Two Man Forecheck
um
00:31:20
Chris
So Beecher is a maybe for you. Lauko is a definite for you.
00:31:25
Two Man Forecheck
I think Lauko is a definite for me unless Lauko decides he doesn't want to play here. And I don't think that's going to happen.
00:31:34
Chris
Kiki is a definite, which leaves them with a lot of open spots.
00:31:39
Two Man Forecheck
leaves them with a lot of open spots. There's a couple of guys they can probably promote out of the AHL. Um, and then there's free agency and, um,
00:31:49
Chris
I think it's interesting that they've got Minton, and this is clearly, i mean, Bruins Capspace, whoever they are on Twitter here.
00:32:00
Chris
and They actually have Minton as the third-line center.
00:32:06
Chris
And they just acquired him in trade at the deadline. You've Lindholm as your number one. Zaka listed as your number two.
00:32:18
Chris
I mean, there's just so many so many possibilities. i i saw an ah not them im trying to get off ta I saw a thing where I read an article where ah apparently somebody said that Bruins should trade Casey Middlestat to New York Rangers for Chris Kreider in a sixth-round pick.
00:32:41
Two Man Forecheck
No.
00:32:42
Chris
Why? what but Why?
00:32:45
Two Man Forecheck
and I've said this for Chris Kreider's entire career.
00:32:50
Chris
No, that's what I've said.
00:32:51
Two Man Forecheck
Yes.
00:32:53
Chris
I've said no.
00:32:53
Two Man Forecheck
Complete sentence. No.
00:32:57
Chris
We are on the same page on that one. Yeah, we are.
00:32:59
Two Man Forecheck
Chris Kreider is largely like Auston Matthews and...
00:33:00
Chris
on No.
00:33:07
Chris
Well, again, he had one season where he went, oh, my God, he scored 50 goals. That's great. But follow it up? No.
00:33:17
Two Man Forecheck
And quite frankly, he's not even as good a skater as Austin Matthews.
00:33:21
Chris
No.
00:33:26
Two Man Forecheck
I don't want Chris Kreider or, quite frankly, anyone who's been a Rangers forward in the last five years on the Boston Bruins.
00:33:38
Chris
Okay, I can see that.
00:33:40
Two Man Forecheck
None of them.
00:33:42
Chris
Wow, really? You don't want Zibanejad? You love Zibanejad.
00:33:47
Two Man Forecheck
What has Benajad done in the playoffs?
00:33:51
Chris
I'm not disagreeing. I'm just saying you love Zabenejia.
00:33:57
Chris
So yeah, and Husnadinov, I'm not sure with him. He showed flashes.
00:34:05
Chris
He has puck handling skills. He has good hands. Not great, but he has good hands. He's not afraid to go.
00:34:11
Two Man Forecheck
I think he'll get signed simply because...
00:34:14
Chris
i think he'll get, yeah, he'll get a sh...
00:34:16
Two Man Forecheck
No good sign because Sweeney went out to get him. And Sweeney really dislikes.
00:34:20
Chris
oh
00:34:23
Two Man Forecheck
Sweeney falls in love with his prospects and his projects.
00:34:31
Chris
Well, yeah.
00:34:35
Two Man Forecheck
PWHL.
00:34:35
Chris
ah
00:34:36
Two Man Forecheck
p w h l
00:34:37
Chris
So now they named a champ and it's the same.
00:34:43
Two Man Forecheck
No, no, no. A championship, crown a champion team crowned themselves.
00:34:48
Chris
Well, yes, that's true. they they They have another champ, but it's the same champ. So Congratulations to the Minnesota Frost for the second year in a row and for the first two years of the existence of PWHL.
00:35:03
Chris
The Minnesota Frost are your...
00:35:03
Two Man Forecheck
We can say the D word.
00:35:06
Chris
We can say the what word?
00:35:07
Two Man Forecheck
The D word.
00:35:09
Chris
Oh, no, not yet.
00:35:10
Two Man Forecheck
hey Dynasty, baby.
00:35:13
Chris
No, no, no, no. No, no, no.
00:35:15
Two Man Forecheck
Dynasty.
00:35:16
Chris
You can't do that. It's not a dynasty. They've only won back-to-back.
00:35:21
Two Man Forecheck
They have won 100% league's championships.
00:35:21
Chris
Dynasty requires...
00:35:22
Two Man Forecheck
They won 100% the league's championships. 100%.
00:35:24
Chris
Dynasty requires at least three.
00:35:28
Two Man Forecheck
they have won one hundred percent of the league's championships
00:35:32
Chris
Requires three.
00:35:34
Two Man Forecheck
one hundred percent
00:35:36
Chris
Yes, 100% of two years. And by the way, this year they're going into, oh wait, expansion.
00:35:48
Chris
so What are the chances that they're going to repeat a third time? I mean, it's still a good chance, but even as the article points out, you know, you got players like Kendall Coyne-Scofield, who's, and she's a, she's a huge international player. She's won gold medals. She's won championships.
00:36:09
Chris
I'm not taking anything away from her, but she's letting it be known that, you know, this is sad, even though they won a championship because, know, they're going to be losing players.
00:36:22
Two Man Forecheck
But that's ah that's a constant in pro sports, period.
00:36:25
Chris
That's, and, but that's what I was thinking is like, you're going to lose players anyway. I mean, even in a 16 league players are going to move around, maybe not as much, but you're going to move. I mean, players moved when, when they went from year one to year two.
00:36:43
Two Man Forecheck
Correct. And I think, but that said, I'm 100% okay with Kendall ah being sad because you have to engage with your teammates in order to pull them along or be pulled along with them.
00:37:03
Two Man Forecheck
Like guys and gals who sit in the corner, cover their ears and just do their job or pretend to do their job in the case of some office jobs.
00:37:14
Two Man Forecheck
um They don't, they're not,
00:37:20
Two Man Forecheck
They're not an exponential add to a team. They are at best an integer or a null factor. People who care and engage with the team around them, as she very clearly does, those are exponents.
00:37:35
Chris
So the way this is going to work is that each of the league's existing teams is going to lose four players from their twenty four twenty five roster this past year season.
00:37:45
Two Man Forecheck
Mm-hmm.
00:37:47
Chris
Through the player dispersion process, which includes an expansion draft and an exclusive signing window designed to ensure the PWHL's newest teams will be able to compete on day one.
00:38:01
Chris
So they're making everybody available? ah Oh, everybody who's a free agent.
00:38:05
Two Man Forecheck
team Teams will be able to protect three players, and after they lose, yeah each player that they lose after third after the third player, they'll be able to protect up to another um up to one additional player.
00:38:23
Chris
Ah.
00:38:25
Two Man Forecheck
I'm sorry. Once teams lose two players, either through the signing window or the draft, which will be held June 9th, so before next our next show, they'll be permitted to protect one additional player, getting their list to as high as four.
00:38:32
Chris
Ooh, next week.
00:38:43
Two Man Forecheck
um this is This is a very bold move,
00:38:51
Two Man Forecheck
and I say that because even though teams and fan bases long-term... cheer for the logo over the player.
00:39:06
Two Man Forecheck
We haven't hit long-term yet.
00:39:08
Chris
True
00:39:08
Two Man Forecheck
This is a two-year-old league that's a successor to two other leagues that weren't around very long. And a lot of player turnover has happened and awareness for the teams is just hitting.
00:39:16
Chris
cannibalize.
00:39:25
Two Man Forecheck
It's still very fresh. The habit of watching PWHL games in person, online, on TV, is still very new and very raw and very unformed in a lot of the fan base.
00:39:41
Chris
I do love the fact that, yeah.
00:39:42
Two Man Forecheck
That doesn't mean they're not fanatic fans, but... I think with this layer of potential disruption, which is the which is different from actual disruption, you run the risk of having an entire fan base, well, an entire generation of little girls and little boys and big girls and big boys lose their favorite player just as they got to know them
00:40:11
Chris
Yeah.
00:40:16
Two Man Forecheck
And be so mad that they don't turn tune in again this season, which makes it easier not to turn in tune in the season after. And that's very, very perilous.
00:40:30
Chris
But they have... On the other side of that, though, they have to grow. the
00:40:36
Two Man Forecheck
No, oh, oh.
00:40:36
Chris
They just did... they This season, they did their whole takeover tour thing where they went to nine different cities.
00:40:44
Chris
and And two of them are cities that ended up being expansion. And I knew at the time that they announced it that that's what they were doing is they were scouting cities. But my favorite...
00:40:53
Two Man Forecheck
yeah And quite honestly, the 19,038 in Vancouver made that a blindly obvious choice.
00:41:02
Chris
Made that...
00:41:06
Two Man Forecheck
But I think we knew that Vancouver and Seattle, if they weren't in this wave of expansion, were going to be in the next wave of expansion.
00:41:13
Chris
I think they've gone a little... Yeah, I was surprised that they went with two completely West Coast cities. I thought they'd go with one somewhere in the middle. And somewhere...
00:41:22
Two Man Forecheck
I think it makes sense, though, because you can, in the natural, like, 7 o'clock start time, you can have Boston, Montreal, or bostont or New York, Toronto, or New York, Ottawa, rather, start a game on a Tuesday night and do a doubleheader with the 7 o'clock start on the West Coast and not have to worry about
00:41:22
Chris
and Yeah, because it could...
00:41:39
Chris
Yeah.
00:41:52
Two Man Forecheck
Are people on the in on the West Coast going to show up for an early game that's a 5 o'clock start in their time zone versus the 7 o'clock start that, quite frankly, most hockey fans enjoy more?
00:42:05
Chris
It also kickstarts a rivalry. They don't have to try and create one. One is sort of being thrust upon them because they are the two West Coast cities. They're going to play each other.
00:42:14
Two Man Forecheck
And the third part of that is the travel wear and tear on players and teams. you fly out to Vancouver, you come back South for the, uh, for Seattle, you're fairly close. You don't have to readjust to a new time zone.
00:42:31
Two Man Forecheck
Um, and then, you know, you play your two or three games ah out there, you fly back East, um, and you don't have to deal with additional time zones in the middle.
00:42:43
Chris
It'll be interesting to see if they expand the number of games in the regular season.
00:42:44
Two Man Forecheck
Um,
00:42:48
Chris
They did from year one to year two. They went from 24 to 30. Now they're adding two teams. Do they go up to, say, 36 or 34 games? you know. I will say... or thirty eight you know
00:43:00
Two Man Forecheck
I will be very interested to see what the schedule looks like um when it when it's released. um
00:43:11
Two Man Forecheck
But that is a fantastic question.
00:43:11
Chris
and i will say
00:43:13
Two Man Forecheck
If I can get a hold of a hold of anyone in one of the front offices in the next couple of weeks, I will ask that question.
00:43:24
Two Man Forecheck
I don't think they should jump all the way necessarily all the way to 40 games 60 games.
00:43:24
Chris
like
00:43:28
Chris
No, I don't i don't think... No, 60 is way too much right now, but ah I think 40 might be a little too much. But if they go from 30 to 34, 30 to 36, I don't think they're hurting themselves because you're adding two teams anyway. So you're going to be... you I think that if you can take those two teams, incorporate them into the league like you're going to, add four or six more games a season...
00:43:55
Chris
I don't think they're going to feel it. It's not going to feel like, oh my God, what you know this season's a drag because you've got more competition as well.
00:44:05
Chris
So I think expanding to 34 or 36 is a good jumping off point.
00:44:09
Two Man Forecheck
Yeah.
00:44:11
Chris
My favorite thing about the whole PWHL, and yes, I still don't like the way they did it. I don't like the fact that they cannibalized the the the PHF and and whatever the other one in Canada wanted to call itself because it had some long acronym.
00:44:30
Chris
But my favorite thing about it, and it's not just the PWHL, it's international games. It's when USA plays Canada. I love going to the games and you see all of the the the young girls who play hockey in their towns and they're all wearing their They're all wearing their particular team's jerseys. They show up as a team or they show up four or five deep or or what.
00:44:56
Chris
I don't recall seeing that at a regular NHL game where boys are showing up with their youth team's logos on the jerseys on.
00:45:06
Two Man Forecheck
No, but
00:45:06
Chris
But it happens, but it happens at the women's games.
00:45:12
Two Man Forecheck
it's because it's women's pro sports at the level that we're seeing now, WNBA being the major exception, it's still brand new. None of their mothers grew up with professional sports on TV starring women, except for you know tennis and sort of golf.
00:45:36
Two Man Forecheck
those who were the girl Those were the sports that girls were sort of allowed to play?
00:45:41
Chris
And they still didn't get the TV coverage that the men did.
00:45:44
Two Man Forecheck
No. Even though Venus and Serena Williams were two of the best athletes to ever grace any sport.
00:45:50
Chris
Oh, by the time tennis got by the time tennis got to the the Williams sisters, yes, they were getting covered because, oh my God, they were the biggest thing since sliced bread. But it took it took a ah Billie Jean King to to get the women's game noticed.
00:46:06
Chris
yeah It took a ah Martina Navratilova, a Chris Everett rivalry take get the game to get the the women's tennis game noticed, to get them on TV on a regular basis.
00:46:22
Chris
And now with the PWHL, you've got these these girls showing up and and they show up to the stadium and they're wearing their they there home team colors and they're all there and they're screaming their heads off and they're having a great time.
00:46:39
Chris
It's fun to watch. and and it's And it really is a good product. I went back and I watched, I had a game on my DVR. It was just before their international break. ah The Boston Fleet were playing the Ottawa Charge.
00:46:52
Chris
and And goaltending goalending battle, to you know it was 1-0 game until three minutes left in the game when Ottawa finally was able to score on Aaron Frankel and tied up the game. And then 30 seconds later, they scored the game winner.
00:47:09
Chris
i mean, it was, but at no point in time was that game boring. And it was physical. And there was back and forth hockey.
00:47:20
Chris
It wasn't all just clogged up in the neutral. I mean, it is a fun game to watch. And I love the fact that Nesson, here in New England, actually shows PWHL games and not just Boston Fleet.
00:47:35
Chris
They'll show Ottawa versus Montreal. They'll show Toronto versus and Minnesota. So we actually get a variety of PWHL games on the weekends here in the Boston market.
00:47:52
Chris
That's what they need in the other market. They need to have deals in place. They need to get visible.
00:47:59
Two Man Forecheck
They need to get visible. at YouTube is fantastic, but it's basically targeting millennials and Gen Z and not Gen X and older. The parents, grandparents of the current high school age, upper middle school age girls who are going to be fanatical about hockey.
00:48:29
Two Man Forecheck
um I think that
00:48:33
Two Man Forecheck
yeah i think that they should almost always do exactly the opposite of whatever the NHL is doing for marketing.
00:48:45
Chris
Yeah, still on that kick.
00:48:50
Chris
they they Unfortunately, the NHL shoots themselves in the foot when it comes to marketing. I don't know how they can...
00:48:55
Two Man Forecheck
They shoot themselves in the foot and set ah the set there abdominal the flesh surrounding their abdominal aorta on fire.
00:49:05
Chris
um Real quick before we sign off, can I just bring up one thing?
Hockey Etiquette and Player Polls
00:49:10
Two Man Forecheck
Yep.
00:49:11
Chris
don't want I don't want to make it a long thing, but it's just something that... I noticed when in Florida and Carolina, finally when that series finally ended,
00:49:24
Chris
the handshake line, as we all know, one of the best things about professional hockey, you know, they, they at the end of a huge battle, you know, seven game series, whatever, they they line up, they shake hands.
00:49:38
Chris
Paul Maurice, the head coach of the Panthers, went to Rod Brindamore and had a little conversation with him. and ended up not going out and shaking hands, convinced Rob Brindamore not to do it as well.
00:49:51
Chris
And it turns out that he did it because he doesn't believe that personnel that had nothing to do with the on-ice battle should be line shaking hands. as he to To quote him, or or to paraphrase him,
00:50:09
Chris
There's like 400 people on the ice. These guys just finished battling each other for seven games and they're shaking hands and suddenly you're shaking hands with guys in suits that you have no idea who they are because everybody gets out there.
00:50:23
Two Man Forecheck
No, I genuinely think that the handshake line should probably only be the players and the head coaches.
00:50:33
Chris
i I think that, yes, I think Paul Maurice had it right to a point. I think that he should have been part of the handshake line as the head coach because he's directly involved in the game.
00:50:46
Chris
But no, you do not need you do not need the the equipment guy or the second medical staff assistant or the guy who's –
00:50:46
Two Man Forecheck
I will even take
00:50:58
Two Man Forecheck
the statistician and data scientists for the team.
00:51:00
Chris
yeah
00:51:01
Two Man Forecheck
No, no.
00:51:02
Chris
Yeah, you don't need everybody out there. These guys just battled each other and now that and you know, you want it to be between them.
00:51:10
Two Man Forecheck
You're diluting the value.
00:51:10
Chris
And
00:51:11
Two Man Forecheck
if If you really want to go shake hands with the other team, the locker rooms in most arenas are pretty close to to each other. Go do it there.
00:51:23
Chris
that's all he got he caught a lot of flack for it. And I think that it was wrongly thrust upon him. I think that he had the right idea.
00:51:30
Two Man Forecheck
With people complaining about it or flat out wrong.
00:51:35
Chris
Do I think that he it was okay for him to go out and shake hands? Yes.
00:51:40
Two Man Forecheck
Before we go,
00:51:40
Chris
I think he... Yep.
00:51:43
Two Man Forecheck
um last week you wanted him to talk about Jake. We disagreed about whether Jacob Slavin is a top 10 NHL defenseman.
00:51:50
Chris
Ah, yes. The poll question. I almost forgot.
00:51:53
Two Man Forecheck
You said, yeah, you well, we were talking about top six NHL defenseman. I set the poll up as top 10.
00:52:00
Chris
I think he's a top 10 NHL defenseman still. I do. I do.
00:52:04
Two Man Forecheck
The fans agree with you.
00:52:08
Two Man Forecheck
100% of voters agreed with you that he is a top 10 NHL defenseman. I'm going to have to go back and look at this. I wouldn't place him outside my top 20, so I'm not throwing a tantrum about this.
00:52:20
Two Man Forecheck
um But top 10, I really need to think sit down and think a little bit. um
00:52:26
Chris
That's fine.
00:52:27
Two Man Forecheck
This week's poll is going to be one very obvious question. Who's winning the Stanley Cup? I will probably also ask who's going to win the Con Smythe because at this point it's an open question.
00:52:42
Chris
Well, our yeah, our Conn Smythe potential winner was eliminated.
00:52:51
Two Man Forecheck
um
00:52:52
Chris
Would...
00:52:53
Two Man Forecheck
But this show will probably come out in two parts. If you only heard this part, um definitely look for the second part. ah We had some technical issues in the middle.
00:53:04
Two Man Forecheck
um It's not that exciting. um But I will attach this week's poll, who's winning the Stanley Cup, to part two. um And part one will not have a poll link in the in my Twitter, tweet.
00:53:21
Two Man Forecheck
in my tweet um So, ladies and gentlemen, hockey fans of all ages, welcome to the Stanley Cup Finals. Welcome to the best prelude to the offseason that sports has yet produced.
00:53:36
Chris
we promise to work out the kinks.
00:53:39
Two Man Forecheck
Welcome to the beginning of the end and the end of the beginning. Have a fantastic week. Enjoy the summer weather here in New England. We're actually going to have our first hot days.
00:53:54
Two Man Forecheck
And I am probably going to go spend all day outside because I am not a cold weather dude.
00:53:54
Chris
Oh, yeah.
00:54:02
Two Man Forecheck
Chris, last words?
00:54:05
Chris
And my No, I'm good.
00:54:10
Two Man Forecheck
Okay, then. Have a great week, hockey fans.
00:54:12
Chris
Enjoy the hockey.
00:54:13
Two Man Forecheck
we will be back really, really soon to talk more and more and more about hockey in all of its forms. Take care.