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Episode 18: NHL play off and NHL end of season talk, Blue Jays, and even the Masters
30 Plays1 month ago
Landan 'Lando' Semenok is in the hosting chair and is joined by Kyle Backiney as special guest Co Host. They dive in everything Masters, Tiger Woods talk, Also talk about the 16 teams making into the NHL Playoffs, and also talking about some of the teams that didn't. NHL coaching changes, they touch on 3 Broadcasting legends announce their retirement, and talk about a goalie retirement in the NHL and some Formala 1 racing. They cover it all in this episode
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Transcript
Episode 18; Landan 'Lando' Semenok hosts with Kyle Backiney talking NHL, Masters, F1 racing and Blue Jays
00:00:21
Leo Ernewein
Welcome to the Leo Lano Show.
00:00:25
Leo Ernewein
We're doing something a little different on this show. I announced last week on my social media that Leo was going to be on injured reserve on this episode because of personal reasons.
00:00:37
Leo Ernewein
Well, he mixed up his weeks, which does happen from time to time. Anyways, he got called into work today as we're on the recording day. And so he told to go back to the original plan, and that's what I am going to do. I am not doing this show by myself.
00:00:56
Leo Ernewein
I have a co-host on this episode. And you probably guys, everybody will probably remember him back on episode five.
00:01:06
Leo Ernewein
I am so pleased that Kyle Bakke, who was a guest on our show, is willing to step in today and help out. Kyle, your friendship means the world to me, and for you to step up and help today means the world. So welcome back to the show, and you are co-host.
00:01:24
Leo Ernewein
Well, thank you very much for welcoming me here, and guess I'm kind of stuck because it is snowing. You are stuck, yeah. As we're recording this, ladies and gentlemen, for those who aren't in the Bow Valley or in the Calgary area, it is snowing as we're looking outside. Which, at this time year, it kind of sucks. It's ready for playoff hockey. Exactly. Exactly. So, I guess let's get started.
Tiger Woods' Accident: Concerns and Discussions
00:01:47
Leo Ernewein
So, couple weeks ago, the media of North America announced that Tiger Woods got into a rollover accident in Florida.
00:01:58
Leo Ernewein
It was reported at the time he was driving drunk and was under the influence of drugs and was arrested on scene. This is the second time that he's gotten into a car accident. The last time I believe he was in California was the last time that he got into trouble.
00:02:16
Leo Ernewein
The PGA hasn't made any sort of punishment yet for him, but he did pull away from the Masters this past weekend.
00:02:25
Leo Ernewein
Is this now the beginning of the end of Tiger Woods as golfer as we know it? Kyle, what do you think, Matt? I think that is a little premature, in my opinion, to say that because I said that years ago after his back injury and for his recovery on that also win the Masters afterwards.
00:02:48
Leo Ernewein
However, it's not a good look and... You know, his driving on the course is better than off the course, it seems.
00:03:00
Leo Ernewein
So genuinely don't know where he goes from here. I just hope that he might be able to find a shift in priorities that brings him back to focusing what he's good at. And whether you like him or not, that man puts eyeballs on golf.
00:03:21
Leo Ernewein
When Tiger Woods is playing, even if he's not doing well, let's say in the Masters, it's Friday, doesn't look like he's going to make the cut. there's still more eyeballs on the masters when he's playing during that time than when he's not.
00:03:36
Leo Ernewein
Yeah. I, you made some good points, you know, like one of the things that I was thinking about while you were, you know, bringing up your, your, your points was the fact that I don't know where he goes from here either. Other than just remember I was watching, think it was Gary player just before the, the master started. And he was talking about how,
00:03:58
Leo Ernewein
he just feels sick for Tiger because of how, you know, he's in constant pain. Yeah. Right. I mean, it shows, it shows, you know, he's in, he's in constant pain physically. He's in constant pain mentally. And it, you know, and he's, and because of that, he's being reckless in his decision-making and my, my,
00:04:23
Leo Ernewein
fear is that at some point, if he doesn't deal with his problem, that he's going to hurt somebody. And luckily he hasn't hurt anybody other than he's hurt himself little bit both times.
00:04:36
Leo Ernewein
But so anyway, so my, where I'm going with this is the fact that I think he needs to get help. And I think as far as him driving to whatever events or whatever things he's doing, he needs to hire somebody that can do this for him so that he's off. I mean, he will still be on the road, but he's got somebody that can do this for him. and live with him or whatever or live close by that he can pick him up on moments notice take him to wherever he needs to go and wherever if he ever golfs again wherever he goes that somebody picks him up and he takes him to the the event that he's at but For myself, I'm still a Tiger Woods fan because I grew up with him.
00:05:18
Leo Ernewein
To this day, still is one my favorite golfers. It saddens me to see somebody go through his problems and not dealing with it. And, you know, and it saddens me to see how much pain he's in it. Cause mean, for those people who don't know, I mean, he's gone through number of back surgeries.
00:05:38
Leo Ernewein
He's gone through a number of hip surgeries, knee surgeries. and, and, and nothing's catching up to him. It might be, obviously it is catching up to him. Yeah. so that's where, that's where I'm at with, uh,
00:05:54
Leo Ernewein
with Tiger Woods so one other piece that I want to bring forward in this discussion it was around 2010 when we lost Rick Rippin when we lost Wade Belak and what I worry you know for some of you who may not know that we lost a few hockey players in one summer. And it was, it started to push that initiative for mental illness. And lot of the issues that these enforcers were facing was, was around pain medication. And I, I don't want to say as they were reckoning with, with golf in the same way, but you know, professional athletes, similar, I mean, you know, the tiger isn't out there. picking a fight on the ice as a fourth line player or anything but to manage that and be to be doing what he is it's tough and I I agree and I hope that that he can find some help and has interest in help I think that that's the thing you can always lead a horse to water can't always make it drain yes yes no you're you're 100% right and
00:07:03
Leo Ernewein
I mean, I'm sure there'll be more to the story as we, as things unfold as, as months and if not a year come where he's at. And cause I mean, it, it, it was reported that, that yeah, he got taken to a, I wouldn't necessarily say the drunk tank, but yeah, he kind of got taken to that spot and, know, charges were laid and stuff like that. So yeah.
00:07:27
Leo Ernewein
I just, I hope, I wish the best for him. I mean, I agree with Gary Player. It's hard to watch because such an awesome athlete is now, you know, going through stuff and going through constant pain. So I wish nothing but the best for him. That's where I'm going with that anyways.
00:07:46
Leo Ernewein
Anyways, staying on the golf. For those who don't know, the Masters tourney has come and gone, and Rory McIlroy has won another green jacket back-to-back.
Rory McIlroy's Masters Victory and Future
00:08:01
Leo Ernewein
He beat out Cameron Young, Scotty Scheffler, Justin Rose. This is the fourth time in Masters history that someone has won it Like I said, back to back. Nick Faldo did it in 89 and 90.
00:08:17
Leo Ernewein
Tiger Woods, who we just talked about, he won it in 2000 and 2001. Jack Nicklaus, well, you and I weren't even a specimen back then there, Kyle. We probably weren't even considered. The Golden Bear. Yeah, exactly. The Golden Bear, 1965-66. I know, Kyle, you were away over the weekend, but... I still managed to watch it. You did? Excellent. So...
00:08:43
Leo Ernewein
What you think of the Masters this past weekend? It was exciting. It was an exciting tournament. And I really enjoy that you never know where it's going to go.
00:08:55
Leo Ernewein
And there's no path that is straightforward in that tournament. I thought that there was going to be other players that were going to be a lot closer, especially on Sunday. But it almost seemed until the last bit there that it was very much...
00:09:11
Leo Ernewein
not going to be a contest. I'm glad it was. I'm glad we got that, that the bit at the end, but I'm so happy for Rory. He, mean, if you take a look at the whole live golf and PGA and where he stood and he was very much the face of the PGA. Well, all these other guys who especially won the masters have gone on to go to live golf and get massive paychecks. And he was doing it more,
00:09:39
Leo Ernewein
on a principled standpoint, uh, you know, his conviction stood, but you know, what did it take him 14 years to get the first one? And the next one happens the following year. But what unbelievable golf coming from him and, uh, very happy. I was very excited that he won.
00:09:56
Leo Ernewein
I was too. Like I, I, I'm a Rory fan too. I was away in Kelowna and I was visiting my brother and we were pretty much had it every single day.
00:10:08
Leo Ernewein
And we watched quite a bit of it. And one of the things that we, him and I both were talking because we're such... you know, for those who know us and Kyle, you know us that we're such big golfers, but we, we witnessed Rory starting to really fall apart on Saturday. And it's like, Oh, did the, did he peak at the wrong time?
00:10:27
Leo Ernewein
know, did he, you know, was the magic just for the first two rounds and now he fizzled out. So it was, it was neat, nice to see that he rebounded. I mean, I think he had a little shaky start.
00:10:38
Leo Ernewein
I missed, I missed the start of like his first, I think it seven, holes. Yeah. And, and then after that, we were able watch his magic again. But the other thing too, is that the field behind couldn't grasp, couldn't get, couldn't, they just couldn't grasp the, it couldn't grasp the, the lead is what I'm trying to say. And it kind of flip flop back and forth. And you know, and Scotty Scheffler's, you know,
00:11:07
Leo Ernewein
In Scotty Scheffler's fashion, he did try to, and he almost tied Rory to force extra holes because just way Rory finished off 18, it a good thing that Scheffler did miss that putt on 17 because otherwise we'd be talking about another extra holes again, right? Was it him or Spieth that had that really funny shot in the woods? Yeah.
00:11:31
Leo Ernewein
where the ball didn't go where he wanted and man did he look just like me when I'm golfing half the time I think it was yeah I think it was Jordan Spieth I don't think that was Rory that I can remember but yeah it was I I thought it was one of the I thought it was one of the best masters I've seen was it was exciting went down to the wire and uh you know congratulations to McIlroy and it's neat to see his, you know, his daughter sure has grown up quite a bit since last year. I mean, all kids do, but it was neat to see his daughter there and his wife and his, he invited his parents there this time. And then it's funny, I think, you know, how special. Exactly, how special. But that just also shows you how confident he was that he'd,
00:12:15
Leo Ernewein
that how confident he was that he knew that he was going to have a chance to win another one and he wanted his parents there. So I think that was, think that was really special. So, one of the things that came up just before the masters was, there's a lot of media and social media that was talking about that. This the first time that, uh, Phil Mickelson and Phil Mickelson, sorry, and Tiger Woods are not playing in that weekend.
00:12:44
Leo Ernewein
Some people were saying that this will be different and the Masters wouldn't be the same. When you hear that, Kyle, what's your reaction to that?
00:12:54
Leo Ernewein
At first, I share that reaction. But at the same time, the game is always moving forward. And the only way that you're going to have other talents come is when some fall out. Yeah.
00:13:08
Leo Ernewein
Those two in particular have been such mainstays in it where I think their absence, you feel that presence without them there.
00:13:21
Leo Ernewein
But that said, I still think it was an excellent
Golf Etiquette: Sergio Garcia's Tantrum
00:13:24
Leo Ernewein
tournament and I really enjoyed it. And I didn't feel for a minute that the lack of their presence was going to impact where it went. I think it also brought an opportunity. I mean, Phil, I always, I always enjoy watching Phil golf, but you know, it's, it's just one of those things where time marches on and some point, you know, it's not kind to everyone. And mean, we might see where it's sort of, you know, you have the, the,
00:13:57
Leo Ernewein
they usually do a green jacket game. They always have, uh, people have won before, or you've got the, you know, the tee off that happens and certain players get to do that. So, and we still see a lot of those, those golfers. I mean, if you're going to talk about Jack Nicholas and the,
00:14:13
Leo Ernewein
They come to that and they have that presence. And so I guess it might be moving from an active field more to an ambassador role in some ways. But just like Tiger, I'm not going count out Phil entirely because that guy has found a way to reinvent himself continuously and he has some strong determination. to do that, but time will tell. Yeah. Well, I mean, for Tiger, we just talked about why he couldn't be there. The reason why Phil couldn't be there is there was some family reasons and they left it at that. And that was what the report is. But one of the, one of the things that I found very interesting when, know, I've heard other podcasts and people talk about how,
00:14:57
Leo Ernewein
Golf is a very funny sport. Like it's very old fashioned. And, you know, there's a lot of people that I think when they say that it wouldn't be the same, it's a lot of people who are, you know, just maybe, don't know, 10 years older than we are there, Kyle, or, in that age bracket but the masters is such a traditional it is event so i can also see maybe a little bit of i i see their point yeah and i agree with you that i i see their point too but one of the things that i i i do attend agree with what other people have talked about that you know golf is like i said golf is such a funny sport that it's so old-fashioned that
00:15:36
Leo Ernewein
We've got such a good field already that it'll still make the tournament that much special or they're both the same with or without them. Everybody some point, we're going to talk about a player in hockey that's going to be retiring. At some point, everybody has to say...
00:15:59
Leo Ernewein
I wish. Or Wayne Gretzky? Yeah. He's actually retired. Yeah, so both of them are apparently. So anyways, yeah, at some point, you know, they're not going to around anymore. But there's such a strong field that I think the Masters is still going to trug on no matter what happens. Well, look at Sergio Garcia. Yeah, well, we're going to just talk about him. My goodness, that was...
00:16:24
Leo Ernewein
I've got a few choice words, which I won't say live, but I'm going to try keep this as rated G as possible. So those people who don't follow golf as much as I do, Kyle does,
00:16:38
Leo Ernewein
Sergio Garcia was in the headlines for the wrong reasons after I think it was hole two of the last round. He hit a horrendous drive, which I get. I mean, I've been there. not throw a tantrum like he did, but I have been there where I get very frustrated with a shot.
00:16:56
Leo Ernewein
And so he slammed his driver onto the ground multiple times. He broke the driver. He made a massive mess on the tee box.
00:17:06
Leo Ernewein
And I think apparently he hit one of the green tables that was on the tee box apparently too. then the funny part is, I think this was John Rahm's bag that he picked up. think you were right. I think it was. And he walked to hit the bag...
00:17:25
Leo Ernewein
on I've walked away I it was the most I think that was one of the most bizarre things I think I've ever I didn't see it live because I missed you know the the start of it because uh I was golf I was actually golfing myself that morning so I didn't I just saw it online so I guess Kyle what is your reaction you know when you see something like that and You know, there's a lot of people that are, that have, you know, said on ESPN and multiple other news outlets and sports outlets that have said they, they, they think he should be his privilege of being there at the master should be revoked. What do you think?
00:18:08
Leo Ernewein
I think that's a challenging thing to balance because on one end, you I'm going to bring it to hockey because we see this in athletes all the time. Connor McDavid recently, couple weeks ago, gave very personal answer towards stuff and people jumped all over him for that.
00:18:26
Leo Ernewein
I guess the question is, do we want... athletes to be authentic or do we want them to be caricature robots that just respond and we just go through the motions. I understand the prestige everything that goes on with the masters and golf in general, but it's not like our worst day at work was filmed and recorded and parsed for hundreds of millions of views in an emotional moment that happens.
00:18:55
Leo Ernewein
I think in a lot of ways it highlights the challenge of a course like that. And for those who may not understand that tournament, specifically with the Masters at Augusta National, they're running that course four days in a row. And every shot becomes a little bit more technical. Everything becomes highlighted. And I think the ability to snowball backwards from that becomes so much greater than just one game. You and I are out playing a game golf and it doesn't go my way.
00:19:24
Leo Ernewein
a lot of eyeballs. It's a lot of attention. And I think his emotions got the better of him. And I don't think that he's going to be a productive golfer for himself if that's the way he's going to keep operating. But I'm not sure banning him entirely because if we're lamenting people moving, I mean, I can go back to times in the nineties where watching Phil Nicholson throw clubs and have tantrums. And are we not hearkening saying that we're missing that? Yeah.
00:19:53
Leo Ernewein
That's my thoughts. Yeah. You know, my my when I saw that, you know, and I remember talking with my brother about this, too, that, you know, it's very childish. Like it's it does it makes you look really stupid. And then completely. And then on top of that, now you have to answer for it and you have to answer for it compared to what you and I or my brother or anybody who goes.
00:20:17
Leo Ernewein
we don't have to necessarily go to the national media outlet and talk about what, what just happened answer those questions. So like I personally, personally, like I just thought it was very childish. don't think it, it, it, it doesn't, it doesn't make himself look good.
00:20:33
Leo Ernewein
And, you know, has had a history of these type of... Not maybe... I think this was maybe the... I would call the bubble burst type of moment. But he has apparently had lots of childish moments on... In rounds past. Now...
00:20:52
Leo Ernewein
We don't see him on the PGA Tour because he's joined the Lyft Tour because, yeah, for more money reasons. But apparently on the Lyft Tour, he's done this a few times. And I think, yeah, so I don't know. I like the guy because, you know, he was also one of my favorite golfers. But I think he needs to realize that it's not a right to be there. it's a privilege and you get invited there. You have a image to maintain as much as you possibly can. Now we're all human.
00:21:21
Leo Ernewein
We all make mistakes. We all show emotions. We all get
Masters Ambience: Real or Enhanced?
00:21:24
Leo Ernewein
angry. We all get upset, but you have, when you're on that, when you're in eyeballs of national TV, you,
00:21:32
Leo Ernewein
and eyeballs on it, you've got to try to keep your composure. And he literally lost it. Do you not think he's going to have a bit of humble pie here with having to see his face and that clip on the TSN top 10 forever going forward? you think he's really going to get away from it? I don't know. guess it'll just depend what it does. But I think his behavior...
00:21:53
Leo Ernewein
At least makes it interesting because I know a lot of people who watch the Masters for the weekend just to really enjoy good nap time. So something to keep you looking and what's going on.
00:22:07
Leo Ernewein
It's always intrigue if you do that. Yeah. I just thought of this question because this is little what we got on our lineup here. What do you think of those bird sounds on the TV? Because the reason why bring this up is because...
00:22:21
Leo Ernewein
again, I, I, cause I visited my brother. not going to say where he's from, but, but I visited my brother and he thinks, cause I asked him about this and it's funny because there was one, one other podcast that I was listening to it was hilarious. It was so funny to listen to him.
00:22:39
Leo Ernewein
He's like, he was on recording, recording live. And I was listening to it on the way out. And he's like, Those, the word, he said the D word, those birds, D birds are very annoying. And so my question to you is...
00:22:59
Leo Ernewein
Are they, well, CBS, let me backtrack. CBS says that they have microphones throughout the trees to give ample sound throughout the whole, whole, or the course.
00:23:12
Leo Ernewein
And they say that there are birds in trees that that they say that it picks up the bird singing and you hear on national TV. Now, there are reports from fans that said they have never seen a bird.
00:23:28
Leo Ernewein
They've gone to the Masters a number times and they've never seen a bird flying around. So I guess my question for you, CBS adding this to the effect to make it more infectious?
Exciting Upcoming Golf Tournaments
00:23:37
Leo Ernewein
on tv for the viewer or is it just or is it both that there is birds in the trees and they're just the microphones are picking them up just thought of it's a question i thought of if it's so quiet that i can hear my heartbeat I'm not immersively enjoying it. There's something about a little bit of bird sounds that just brings you back to nature, connects you, and especially on that course. I'll tell you this, would rather listen to amplified bird sounds than the air horns that they have for Montreal Alouette games that they broadcast on television. That's very true.
00:24:16
Leo Ernewein
That's very true. I just, I wanted to ask you because my opinion I think that there are microphones throughout the trees that they just, it picks up birds and it's just, they're very loud.
00:24:28
Leo Ernewein
They're very loud birds. That's what I think. It could be worse. We could be listening to people have conversations or someone eating a sandwich. We could have all sorts of sounds going on there.
00:24:40
Leo Ernewein
Anyways, I just wanted ask that. This is a wrap-up with... Put a wrap-up in a bowl with the Gulf. Yeah. I guess you've got a couple other terms to look forward to for golfing in the next level. Waste management. Yeah. Oh, it could be waste management. Now that, my goodness. If you're into watching people in an audience, the waste management...
00:25:01
Leo Ernewein
game weekend is probably. I've had a lot of people who have actually gone to that tournament and they said it's nuts. I believe it. Yeah, it is nuts. They're throwing beer on the greens. My goodness. Anyways, wrap up with the golf and congratulations to Rory McIlroy once again. Back to back, we'll see next year if he can be the triple threat that We'll see. We'll see. mean, I don't Maybe Sergio Garcia will have it together. Yeah, maybe we'll see. We'll see. But, uh, I think Rory, I think if I was other golfers, I'd be very concerned now that Rory's got his game back because he's, I mean, like you said on the top, it's been what, 14 years since he's won anything.
00:25:43
Leo Ernewein
I think he's got his game back. And I mean, I, I think I, he's going to stop him from doing the triple crown again, again, exactly. Right. So, uh, stay tuned with rory mackerel so all right well switching gears we're going talk about broadcasters because here in canada within the last few weeks we have three broadcasters who have uh calling it a career Last weekend, Scott Oak announced that after the
Retirements in Canadian Sports Broadcasting
00:26:13
Leo Ernewein
NHL playoffs that he will call it occur after 50 years of broadcasting with. Wow. Yeah, 50 years. didn't think he was around that long. But anyways, that's what announced. He's been on the television since we both ever started watching. Exactly. It's impressive. So he's been doing it with CBC. Yeah.
00:26:32
Leo Ernewein
and Sportsnet, covering a ton of sports throughout his career. I think he's covered, I don't know how many sports he's covered, but I know he's been a big mainstay with Hockey Night Canada. And After Hours, I know he helped report the CFL back when CBC had the broadcast rights.
00:26:52
Leo Ernewein
Yeah. And then also Vic Rauter, who works for TSN worked for TSN. He covered the Tournament of Champions of Curling for over 40 years. He's also done some MLS soccer over the years as well.
00:27:10
Leo Ernewein
And then last but not least, Joe Bowen. who is the radio play-by-play voice for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He's done over 3,000 hockey games, both in Toronto and around the league. So he's done 3,000 Toronto Maple Leafs games since 1982. So he's been doing this since 82, covering probably one of the I know we have a funny opinion about Toronto, but one of the... Nacho Bowen. Yeah. Nacho Bowen. Nacho Bowen. But anyways, he also has now announced his retirement.
00:27:47
Leo Ernewein
First of all, before we dive into their careers, congratulations to the three of them. I am jealous. But Kyle, your reaction to these three?
00:28:02
Leo Ernewein
Big voices. Big voices. going start with Joe Bowen. And I'm not usually Leaf subscriber or interested in Leaf stuff. No. But... Very few broadcasters, especially on the radio, could convey emotion of the moment around that team.
00:28:24
Leo Ernewein
And his, holy mackinac! Or just the, oh no. I mean, there is an emotional depth of him caring about what's happening.
00:28:36
Leo Ernewein
Of course he was a Leafs fan and always will be. You expect a bit of that on a home broadcast. And I always enjoyed listening to Joe Bowen calls because it was the right amount of emotion and interest, and especially listening to radio, You need something to color in the lines between the static. And mean, the voice of curling, Vic Router, the voice of curling for as long as I can remember...
00:29:08
Leo Ernewein
telling the stories it just was very much was a personal mainstay hearing him and i he is one that i am going to miss a lot uh well i am going to say about scott oak and think i'm going to point out one thing and i'm not sure if people have picked up on it but scott oak always tipped his microphone off to the side.
00:29:35
Leo Ernewein
Do you know why he did that? No. So he could show his tie where everyone always holds the microphone right in front of their tie. Like he always holds it off to the side on an angle. So you always see his tie. He always looks good. And that is the, the Scott Oak thing. Uh, I always liked his questions. I mean, it didn't matter if he was covering basket weaving or whatever,
00:30:00
Leo Ernewein
my vancouver canucks it was uh he always had insightful questions he was always connected with people trying to get good stories and keep people interested that's something i'm i am passionate about his project uh with the bruce oak foundation in manitoba and uh his his son's legacy uh if you have a chance please do look that up it is an incredible organization looking to help people create second chances. And I think we need more of that in this world. 100% agree. It is a great foundation. And, you know, it's neat to see that there are some good things in this world that people are doing, and that's one of them. And so my reaction to three of them is, you know, Scott Oak, for me, you know, he's always been...
00:30:50
Leo Ernewein
the last voice you hear on hockey night in Canada for how many years. And, know, that after our show became such a popular popular segment to end off Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights. And, you know, you see the video tributes that the players did and coaches and all that, that it just shows you that he, how much risk, you know, how much respect he has amongst the league. And, you know, one of the things that I thought was really cool was, you know, Kevin PX, who, you know, ended his,
00:31:29
Leo Ernewein
And, like, basically he was talking about how, you know, he – anytime Scott Oak asked him, mean, he always asked, you know, or let me backtrack what I'm trying to say. Kevin Biaxas said that, you know, he always wanted to come on because Scott Oak asked him. And he always said that he had such – he always had such media requests always, and he always – Just, you know, sometimes players just don't want to talk those certain players. He said he always wanted to talk to Scott Oak and be on Hawking and Canada, right? He also got the, mean, just listening to players over the years that, what would it be pregame and what are they talking about? Like, oh, what's the strategy? Oh, you know, get pucks in deep, cycle a puck. Oh, yeah, you know, they're a good hard team. Yeah.
00:32:14
Leo Ernewein
To actually get that mask come off and for them to talk about who they are as people and humanize it, that was the thing that I always enjoyed the most about After Hours and just learning about them as people. Because you don't, you always get the curated piece, but Scott always took questions from fans. Yes, Twitter was always bringing that on. Yeah.
00:32:35
Leo Ernewein
I think that I hope, I don't know what that segment's going to look like going forward, but you know, I hope somebody takes over it. Like I hope that I hope they continue because it's, and, and hopefully it's a person that, you know, players respect and, you know, and that the legacy of that show will continue on it, which I think it will. Cause I don't, I, anybody, any player, least from Canada,
00:32:59
Leo Ernewein
gets a chance to get interviewed on Hockey Night Canada, I think they'll jump at the opportunity, right? Well, and these three... broadcasters in particular have become synonymous for their time that they've had but the only reason that they got that opportunity was there was someone else that had to leave before so in some way in this renewal it's going to give the opportunity for us to find the next voices curling yeah exactly yeah and And I will miss Scott Oak because I know he'll still be on helping out with the playoffs. And then once he's done, he's done, right? So I certainly will miss him. And I'll miss his jokes and things like that. mean, he said a lot jokes. Vic Router, he's one of the reasons why I became a curling fan was just how exciting.
00:33:46
Leo Ernewein
I'll never forget some of his calls. And one call that always resonated with me Gotta go, gotta go, it's gotta go, it's gotta go. And then, you know, when you hear those type of calls and he just, he made curling exciting.
00:33:59
Leo Ernewein
Joe Bowen, you know, I, I've listened to Joe Bowen more times than I can probably, you know, my fingers and toes can count just based on with now that we have serious satellite radio that you're able to listen to Toronto Maple Leaf calls and that Holy Macklemore,
00:34:17
Leo Ernewein
I mean, you've touched on it already that it, wow. just some, or the, oh no, that type of thing. And he always made, he always made radio, even though that maybe the Leafs were not doing so well, he always made it exciting. And that's the neat part about him. He will be missed. And what was so neat about it was last night that the fans in the, in, in, and both teams, the Dallas stars were the, the visiting team. They stopped the game.
00:34:47
Leo Ernewein
I, did they stop the game? No, I think it was in, in, in TV timeout, but anyways, they, did a tribute to him and they, think it was about a five minute standing ovation from, so that's, that's how much, how much respect for, for, you know, people have Roman and I do too. Cause I mean, when you're doing it for that long and that, you know, and,
00:35:09
Leo Ernewein
You know, he's passionate from... Exactly. He's gone through some brutal years with Toronto. Like since 1967? Yeah, exactly. Yeah. But he's done this from 82. And he's gone through some brutal years. And then there's also some really glorious years that Toronto went through. So he went through the highs and the lows through that team more than probably any radio voice in the league. So...
00:35:31
Leo Ernewein
But anyways, congratulations to the three of them. I know I wanted to touch on these three because they're pretty big here in Canada. So congratulations to the three of them. They will definitely
Toronto Blue Jays' Challenging Season Start
00:35:41
Leo Ernewein
be missed. So shifting gears, we'll talk really quickly about the Toronto Blue Jays.
00:35:49
Leo Ernewein
I think in my opinion, way their season has gone is kind of way I thought it would. It's gone very, very slow, which I thought after their World Series run. But what I think a lot of us didn't realize or even fathom that they go through as many injuries as they've gone through. They've gone through five starters that are injured. Yeah.
00:36:17
Leo Ernewein
Barrios, Bieber, Ponce, France, and possibly Max Scherzer injured. George Springer fractured his toe off of when he was batting.
00:36:28
Leo Ernewein
The ball hit funny off his bat, hit his toe, fractured his toe. He's going to be out probably about a minimum of two months. It's been an interesting season for them.
00:36:40
Leo Ernewein
The most interesting part about the Blue Jays is that the teams around them, are not doing as well, are not doing as, are not doing good.
00:36:50
Leo Ernewein
just like they are, and they're not out of it. So I don't think the panic button needs to be there, but Kyle, what were your reaction all these injuries plus their seasons so far?
00:37:03
Leo Ernewein
It couldn't have happened at a better time considering what is happening around in the rest of the division particular, as those other teams are not getting off to a huge start or much better.
00:37:15
Leo Ernewein
So there's an opportunity, but I'm not giving up on this team. And think that there is so much baseball to be played that they go through cycles where, you know, you can, you can drop, you know, what would seem like a lot of games, but if you're playing every single day or nearly there close or sometimes multiple times a day, things can turn around.
00:37:40
Leo Ernewein
Things can really turn around and I hope they can figure out, what is ailing them in the injury department. I've got, I've got all the hope that they're going to be able to turn this back. And I'm not saying that they're going to win the world series this year, but I think that they have a really good,
00:38:00
Leo Ernewein
field to play against that is going allow them to not all of a sudden be buried within the first 50 games of the season. And that's the opportunity where, where, where that clawback can really come back. Yeah. I agree with you. I, I, I agree with you about the, you know,
00:38:19
Leo Ernewein
the panic button not to be pressed. I think my opinion on this team... finally just got merchandise out to people. You can finally get some. That's so true. That is very true. you know, I agree with you about the division. I mean, you look at Boston, I think they were like...
00:38:36
Leo Ernewein
way at the bottom. Tampa Bay's leading it by only like maybe a game and a half. The Yankees were on a five-game losing streak. The Orioles are the Orioles.
00:38:49
Leo Ernewein
And then the American League as a whole isn't very strong too. So I think as far as they're in, you don't want to see players get hurt. You want the best playing all the time as much as possible.
00:39:02
Leo Ernewein
But I think to have this happen April instead June or July or August is probably the best thing that probably could have happened Toronto. And if they can get their players back,
00:39:15
Leo Ernewein
And then, you know, sore like they did last year, they've got a real good shot at repeat at almost or close to repeating as much as they possibly can to get back to the dance. And I think those players also have it in themselves to know, I've been here.
00:39:33
Leo Ernewein
We've been together. And I think that goes a long way to being able to calm those nerves. Yeah, I 100% Speaking of un-calmed nerves... So, but anyways, that's just, that's just what I agree with you. A lot of the things you said that, and that,
00:39:48
Leo Ernewein
For people who are Blue J fans, don't panic about this team. Continue to support them because they're not far off. I still think they're one of the best teams in the American League still on paper. If they get their players back, they get their pitchers back, I think they're going be just fine. At the very least, they're going to be the best Major League Baseball team in Canada. Yeah, for sure. Exactly. So I guess we'll switch gears.
00:40:12
Leo Ernewein
Kyle, did you know that the Stanley Cup playoffs are coming up? I've sort of been seeing that. What tipped you off? A lot of excitement in Buffalo. Okay. Anything else?
00:40:23
Leo Ernewein
Lack of my hockey team playing in it. Thanks for reminding me. Sorry. Sorry to do the job. Yeah. So the Stanley Cup playoffs are about to start this
Stanley Cup Playoffs Predictions
00:40:34
Leo Ernewein
weekend. All the matchups have – or I guess not the matchups. The teams have been set. Yeah.
00:40:42
Leo Ernewein
The teams that are the Philadelphia Flyers, are back in for the first time in a couple years. The Senators are back in again just like they were last year. Buffalo ended their 14-year drought, plus they won the Atlantic Division. So they are in first place in the Atlantic Division. So until – somebody beats them out.
00:41:09
Leo Ernewein
They're going home ice advantage. The Pittsburgh Penguins are back in. They play Philadelphia. Carolina, for the first time in their franchise history, have won the Eastern Conference.
00:41:25
Leo Ernewein
So they are going to carry home ice as far as they go. Tampa Bay's back in. They'll be playing Montreal, whether they'll be hosting them first or they'll be going to Montreal, but it's definitely Tampa Bay and Montreal.
00:41:41
Leo Ernewein
Boston is back in, so it looks like they're, depending on how the... Ottawa or Boston goes, I think, yeah, it looks like Boston's probably, excuse me, is going to playing Buffalo in the first round. So in the West, the matchup was already set between Minnesota and Dallas quite a few weeks ago. Battle of the Green.
00:42:09
Leo Ernewein
Battle of the Green, yeah. They had a line brawl already. They sure did. That's going to be very interesting series. That's one I'll be watching. I'm glad Colorado's not playing Minnesota because Minnesota has been their kryptonite. Colorado won the President's Trophy.
00:42:26
Leo Ernewein
I call it AK the Curse Trophy. That's my personal opinion. And I think everybody else would probably agree with me that one. was the last team to win the Stanley Cup while winning the President's Trophy? It was the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2013. So I did my homework, man. It's been a little while. I did my homework, and yeah, so it's been a while.
00:42:45
Leo Ernewein
The Anaheim Ducks, for the first time since 2018, they're back in. Edmonton is in. Las Vegas is back in, or the Vegas Golden Knights.
00:42:57
Leo Ernewein
The Utah Mammoth are in, folks. Yes, they're in on their second year of being brand new franchise. I think that's the first time since I think Utah slash Arizona has been in since 2012, I think. It was the last time that franchise was in the playoffs. Yeah.
00:43:15
Leo Ernewein
And then the Los Angeles Kings, as of last night, Monday night, they just punched their ticket in, beating the Seattle Kraken under their new head coach, DJ Smith.
00:43:28
Leo Ernewein
so now that all, and I, like I said, all, all positioning might be, might change in the next couple of days, depending who plays who, but that's, I'm not saying in the West, who's going to play who, because it's all going to be based on what happens with Vegas and Edmonton and Anaheim.
00:43:46
Leo Ernewein
and possibly Los Angeles could jump back in. Can you imagine if LA has to play Edmonton again? It could possibly happen again. See, I think it's interesting because tonight, as of recording, Vancouver's playing Los Angeles tonight. And depending on that outcome, it might send Edmonton to Colorado.
00:44:09
Leo Ernewein
Not days, but this is... Oh, I see what you're saying. Yes. Yeah. And so it's interesting how teams on the outside can also have a bit of play in all of this. Not sure exactly where that's going to go.
00:44:22
Leo Ernewein
But I think the team, in my opinion, that this playoff is an absolute make or break for them and getting in was a big step, was Ottawa. And a lot was riding on decisions with what are they doing with Brady Kachuk or where this team is going. They're goaltending.
00:44:40
Leo Ernewein
But, hey, you get in. You got a chance. Yeah, exactly. I'm with you with Ottawa. There was a lot of noise with this team at the end of January, just before the Olympic break. Look how far they've come from that point to now. And,
00:44:57
Leo Ernewein
They righted the ship of Linus Allmark not being there for about a month or so. Absence for personal reasons.
00:45:07
Leo Ernewein
But yeah, Ottawa had to get in, I thought, because based on all the noise that Brady... has Brady Kachuk on him, good or bad.
00:45:20
Leo Ernewein
mean, we all have our difference of opinions on him. But all the noise that's been going on around him, I think that has maybe possibly have settled down a little bit now that he's in the playoffs. So, yeah, Ottawa's really intriguing. I think the team that I'm interested in seeing is the – how –
00:45:42
Leo Ernewein
Does Edmonton still have that same magic that they had last two years that now they don't have Florida to run into if they make it to the Stanley Cup Finals? Are they going to be able to keep going?
00:45:55
Leo Ernewein
think their teams in the past have been way better than what they have now. And are they going to be able to get back to the Stanley Cup Final? Yeah.
00:46:05
Leo Ernewein
I guess time will tell. Will they have a healthy Leon Dreisaitl and Zach Hyman? That's true. don't know. That's a team that's also got a lot of miles on them for the amount of playoffs they've played. Exactly. That stat I read a bunch of years ago that the Chicago Blackhawks, through their dynasty, they played an entire regular season worth of games, like 82 games,
00:46:28
Leo Ernewein
just within playoff games in the postseason. And that's a lot of miles that just adds up on to players and teams. And I think it is unknown. I think it's very challenging with either of those matchups, whether they play Las Vegas or they play Colorado, that, I mean, you got to be able to play the best to be the best. Yeah.
00:46:53
Leo Ernewein
Doesn't mean they couldn't, but that team's got a lot of miles on. I would love switching a little bit to the East. I would love to see a matchup between Ottawa and Montreal in like a second round whatever, but your beloved Tampa Bay would have to go down for that to happen. The thing I'm worried about with the Lightning is...
00:47:16
Leo Ernewein
Injuries too. There's a lot of miles on that team too. Hagel has been absent for about five, six games. Vasilevsky has been very up and down this year. Hedman has been hurt pretty much all year.
00:47:32
Leo Ernewein
But you have experience and understanding how to play as a team. And they have John Cooper too. They have all of that versus a young and up and coming Montreal Canadiens team. And I think that Montreal is playing with house money. I think they are too. I don't really think they have much to lose. This is experience. They're building in the right direction. And that's all just very positive. Yeah. And the thing with Montreal too that I think – worries me with the canadians is the fact that tampa bay is really big and they play nasty does montreal have enough nasty in them because they're they're built for i mean they have a lot of tough tough guys i'm not saying that they don't but tampa bay has a lot of big guys montreal is built for speed and will they have enough
00:48:23
Leo Ernewein
to beat Tampa Bay with that speed. I mean, you have to, in order for you to slow down speed, you have to catch them, obviously. But I worry about Montreal's physicality because Tampa Bay shows that they can play a whole bunch of different types games. And hopefully this is a long, serious...
00:48:42
Leo Ernewein
I guess the long this series goes for Montreal, I think is better for them. if this is a short series, Tampa Bay is... The reason why it's such a short series is because the Lightning have just bullied them, basically. But Tampa also has to walk down the hallway in Amelie Arena and look on the wall and see a photograph of Martin St. Louis laying in a stretcher holding the Stanley Cup because he understands what that sacrifice is too. So at the same time...
00:49:09
Leo Ernewein
he might be able to bring something to weather that storm a bit. How about the Battle of Pennsylvania? man. Rick Talk has done a really good job at being able to get Philadelphia to where they are to be able to get in. And you can never, ever, ever count out Sidney Crosby. Nope. And what's funny about Philadelphia, the last nine games, I think it was somewhere in there, they won six of them.
00:49:35
Leo Ernewein
Yeah. Are they rolling at the right time? Yeah, they are. Are they building on? And what's good about Philadelphia is the fact that they've solidified their goaltending. Like, Arison, the pressure's been off of Arison this year with Dan Vladar being the that I, yeah, and it's neat. It's nice to see Rick talk at getting rewarded for hard work because you know, the players, you could definitely see the players like playing for him and yeah, so we'll see. And you never can count out for the Pittsburgh Panthers, Sidney Crosby and then Gavin Eamolkin. It's nice to see them back because I think, you know, as they age, they're at that point where they're aging, that this might be their last, you know, I hope not that it's not their last swung song, but yeah,
00:50:21
Leo Ernewein
it's nice to see they're they had a better year that, uh, I think they could really get close to the third round. I really do. If not, go all the way. So we'll see. We'll see what they're made of. But Crosby and Malkin aren't healthy either. And neither is Letang Carlson. So we'll see. I mean, we'll see how far they go. Where Philly, they're young, they're fast. Philly's got nothing to lose like Montreal. Exactly. But Pittsburgh, here's another interesting thing about that club and its roster construction.
00:50:51
Leo Ernewein
If I, as I mentioned before, where it was a little bit of make or break with what's going on with Ottawa, which direction they were going to go that, you know, do they hold the nucleus together a little because they have made the playoffs? We'll see. But in the sense of, of Pittsburgh, if you take a look,
00:51:07
Leo Ernewein
Most of their players are coming off the roster entirely within two years. So when teams have that kind of horizon, you want to pay attention to them because they might be finally moving and shaking in a different direction. I guess you could call it the post-Crosby, Letang. if you can even get to muster those words to say that, but if they're not supporting them and they're not doing anything to really bring that team forward, I wouldn't be surprised if in the next 24 months we saw Pittsburgh sort of move into a transformative phase.
00:51:45
Leo Ernewein
Yeah, I can see that too, for sure. I guess one of the last teams we'll talk about is my favorite team. Well, actually, we've got two more teams to talk about. The Colorado Avalanche, I mean, we touched on them winning the President's Trophy.
00:52:02
Leo Ernewein
Do you think, Kyle, that they're – like, I call it the AK President, the Cursed Trophy, but do you think they have enough – To go all the
NHL Team Analysis: Challenges and Changes
00:52:12
Leo Ernewein
way? The thing that I've been most confident with you over the years, and listeners pay attention to this one with Landon.
00:52:20
Leo Ernewein
Every year that he has felt like his team is not going to do something, they win the Stanley Cup. And every year that he's felt confident about the team is usually when they don't. So...
00:52:31
Leo Ernewein
I believe that they are in the strongest opportunity since their 2019 win. sorry. That's okay. With the time. Since win,
00:52:47
Leo Ernewein
And I believe that whomever they match up in the first round should be easy for them to dispatch, including the Edmonton Oilers, if they do match them. Yeah, and let's be clear everybody that the last two, well, the wildcard spot could potentially be...
00:53:09
Leo Ernewein
It won't be Vegas because Vegas has won enough, but it could be Edmonton, Anaheim, or Los Angeles in that last wildcard spot. So depending on how these games go in the next three days here, Colorado could potentially play one of those three teams. I don't feel that that's going to be a big challenge for them. I think if Colorado, if I had a choice. Watch them get swept. Yeah. Oh, I know. It's not the first time. Was that Tampa?
00:53:41
Leo Ernewein
Tampa Bay. They won the most amount of regular season games in league history to be swept by John Tortorella's Columbus Blue Jackets. And good on the Blue Jackets for doing that. Exactly. And then Florida did it on Boston a couple years ago. So it has happened. But I think if I had an opportunity to say who I think Colorado would match up well against,
00:54:04
Leo Ernewein
the two California teams, either LA or Anaheim, if they had to end up playing Edmonton, yeah, that would be... Edmonton has beaten Colorado as a last place team. You have to go all the way back to 98 when the Edmonton Oilers beat Colorado in, I think six games or something like that. Just remember when Landon's afraid of the avalanche, they're going to do well. Yeah. We'll talk about the...
00:54:31
Leo Ernewein
the Vegas Golden Knights a little bit later on. So we'll get, we're going to talk, get talking about the Detroit Red Wings. So we talked about Ottawa Sturgeon just before, after, before, after the Olympic break, Detroit had a 12 point Atlantic division lead going into the Olympic break, they blew that completely. They are out of the playoffs.
00:54:57
Leo Ernewein
They're eliminated for the 10th year in a row after making it 24 years straight in the postseason. Kyle, your reaction to Red Wings collapse and Steve Eisenman in trouble?
00:55:14
Leo Ernewein
What do you think is the problem with this team? Why they can't get over the hump? I think it's just going to take more time. And now there's two sides of that argument about Steve Eisenman has had more than enough time.
00:55:28
Leo Ernewein
It's challenging to build something that can, you don't want to just make it in. You don't just want to barely get there. And then how did Daryl Sutter put it a few years ago facing the Colorado avalanche? Yeah.
00:55:43
Leo Ernewein
I believe he said in 2022 that that would be a waste of eight days. Yeah. And is a push into the playoffs going to give the organization what it needs? And that team just needs more...
00:56:00
Leo Ernewein
more time and, but I don't know if it's going to get afforded to it. The Illich family is very patient with Steve Iserman. And if it goes his way, it's going to be, but they've got the building, they've got the fans at some point it can click, but,
00:56:20
Leo Ernewein
They've made some interesting short-sighted moves over the last couple years and divested themselves of first round picks that I think just complicates this. I don't think there's any right particular way of Vegas showed that you don't have to follow the traditional route of draft and develop to build a championship team.
00:56:40
Leo Ernewein
And I wonder if those change philosophies impact how executives make those decisions. Mm-hmm. One of the things that I've, for Detroit, that I think is that, like, I agree with you. I think the Illich family is very patient with Eisner. I don't think his job is in trouble. I really don't. I think he walked into a situation where the team was still rebuilding I mean, that's a hard thing to rebuild, retool after 24 years of making the Stanley Cup playoffs constantly and trying to win in all those 24 years. In most those years, there wasn't a salary cap. Correct. And so they didn't... They had to...
00:57:24
Leo Ernewein
trade away young assets to get players so they could get over the hump. And it's basically caught up to them. And I think for Detroit, I think patience is definitely going to still have to be put forth for the fans.
00:57:40
Leo Ernewein
I think the problem with Detroit is I think they, as soon as Larkin gets hurt, or anything happens to him, they just don't seem to have the leadership on that team to ride the ship while he's away. Because don't see that with someone like Bort Sider.
00:57:56
Leo Ernewein
No, and that's the problem. There's not enough guys under Larkin that can take that mantle say, I'm going to take the team on the back. And that's where I'll say about with Colorado. Not that I'm saying that's the world's perfect example.
00:58:09
Leo Ernewein
But when Gabriel Landis Kog was out for long period of time as he was. Look at that leadership group. Well, exactly. McKinnon stepped up. Makar stepped up.
00:58:20
Leo Ernewein
Devontae stepped up. You know, there was a lot of guys who did step up. Now, did it affect their game play a little bit? For sure it did. I think it definitely affected them. But I think that's where Detroit needs to, like, I think they've got the goaltending. I think Gibson and Talbot gave them really good goaltending this year. But I think,
00:58:38
Leo Ernewein
as far as, uh, I just, think they had lack of leadership this year and I think it really hurt them. And, uh, and then I think the other thing that really hurt them too is they didn't have enough, uh, scoring outside of Kane and, uh,
00:58:55
Leo Ernewein
Debrinket that they couldn't get over the hump. I just don't think they could get over the hump. Switching gears, New York Islanders made a huge splash with a couple weeks ago Patrick Waugh.
00:59:09
Leo Ernewein
got let go by the Islanders. Pete DeBoer comes in with four games left. The Islanders are one of the teams that are now eliminated from the playoffs. Your reaction to this? Because I know you and were texting back and forth about this. So share your thoughts with the viewers. I think that Patrick Waugh got the most Patrick Waugh experience because if anyone was going to pull a goaltender with at least four minutes left in the game, it was him. And so he gets pulled four games left in the season.
00:59:37
Leo Ernewein
everyone's talked about how Islanders have just gotten ahead in a coaching search and what they're doing. I got a feeling that we might see someone like Bo Horvat step up, whether to actually take on the sea for that team. And as they try to, because I mean, Nielsen's been there forever, Anders Lee. And I think that there's, there's a bit of a renewal change that said,
01:00:02
Leo Ernewein
I'm not sure how well the current goaltender tandem they have there and Pete DeBoer are going to get on because traditionally Pete DeBoer has been very vocal about throwing goaltenders. Under the bus. Yeah, and I don't think that that's going to work particularly well, but you know what?
01:00:23
Leo Ernewein
He gets paid the big bucks, and they've committed to him for a long time. So I think... the way the direction things are going by setting him up that way there they've given him a really clear mandate and message that his message is the one that's clear. Let's see how long it resonates with the players because frankly, his record of coaching is he gets about two, two and a half years before, before the honeymoon's really over with him. And, um, And,
01:00:54
Leo Ernewein
I'm interested to watch that one closely because he's got an interesting playoff record and not all of it fantastic, but maybe this is the right mix of grit and tenacity that he has been pining for.
01:01:10
Leo Ernewein
I want to continue on with Pete DeBoer because one of the things that I remember listening to Elliott Friedman on 32 Thoughts and one of the things that him and Kyle Bacoskis brought up and I'll share with you Kyle and the viewers that there was a report rumors flying around that One of the reasons why he did get let go by Dallas was because, and I guess he admitted it too, that he got a little excited, I guess. I can't remember what term they used, but I think he got very emotional and excited, it got on the players' nerves.
01:01:45
Leo Ernewein
And that I think he let the emotion of the Stanley Cup playoffs get to him. And I think that was part of why I think he lashed out about Jake Ottinger and why his rash decision, what he did in game six last year against Edmonton in the Western Conference final happened. So I hope he's learned some lessons because I do think he's a good coach. Has he been coaching Sergio Garcia in golfing? I know.
01:02:11
Leo Ernewein
It almost seems like they've drank the same water. Almost. really feels that way. But hope that they have...
01:02:19
Leo Ernewein
I hope that they have the right amount of the right pieces in place for him to coach. I think the transformation of players for the New York Islanders, I think, is there too. agree with you.
01:02:30
Leo Ernewein
I think the mantle, I think... Like Lula Morello handing out eight-year contracts to 33-year-old players. Exactly. It wasn't working? The nice thing that Pete DeBoer is that he's got a young stud defenseman, young up-and-coming defenseman, Matthew Schaefer. He's exciting. He's a joy to watch. My goodness. If you're an Islanders fan, which I know one very well I work with, he is ecstatic about him, and I am happy for him too. So Matthew Schaefer, to have – I'm sure he was happy with the coaching changes. Yeah, he was. He couldn't stand well, basically. Yeah. He knows more than I do about the Islanders. So, yeah, so that's what happened with New York Islanders. And we'll see what Pete DeVore does with that team next year. So there was another coaching change a couple weeks ago. John Tortorella, as of today, is 6-0 since he took over with the Vegas Golden Knights.
01:03:29
Leo Ernewein
Was Bruce Cassidy the problem, Kyle? I'm honest. Not sure. I'm going to channel Drew Remenda in a response to this. He has a belief that this is just the dead cat bounce.
01:03:45
Leo Ernewein
And I guess... Vegas had kind gone that view as well by not giving him the type of contract that DeBoer got in Long Island.
01:03:56
Leo Ernewein
And his is just performance based for these games plus the playoffs. And he gets that short little piece and to see where it is. John is an excellent motivator and he can turn any fourth line player into a first line player.
01:04:13
Leo Ernewein
However, there's strong limitations to what those certain players can do. And, uh, he, he finds a way to, to get people motivated and whether it's getting under your skin, and I'm not talking like off the ice. He's John is a very approachable person. And, uh, I had an interaction with him and, uh, he was more than gracious in his time with me. Uh, but I know that that's his main role in that older mentality, Daryl Sutter going to find a way to motivate you. And I'm not,
01:04:49
Leo Ernewein
It's a mature enough group to be able to handle it. Yeah. And isn't it interesting if you take a look at the last three coaches that they've had. They've had Pete DeBoer. They've had Bruce Cassidy. And now John Tortorella. And then they also had... Oh, I've lost his name. I can see his face now.
01:05:06
Leo Ernewein
Who got shipped in the cab from... Yeah. Gallant. Gerard Gallant. Yeah. Between all of them, it seems that McCrimmon has a bit of a...
01:05:17
Leo Ernewein
a profile on the type of coaching that he wants to to go through there and uh which is not dissimilar to his time when he was running the brandon wheat kings a long time ago he had he had that way with selecting coaches and and it is a motivation standpoint but i think that group's got a lot to prove there's there's a lot of changes that could be made with this group a lot of it has to do around their captain and mark stone but They have a good opportunity to be a disruptor in the playoffs this year. And I think that John Tortorella might be the right motivator the right time to do it.
01:05:54
Leo Ernewein
But watch out for Los Angeles kind of trying to do the same thing. Exactly, yeah. And I think I was a little – when I saw John Tortorella come up, I'm like, Of all the coaches you could pick, you had to pick him.
01:06:05
Leo Ernewein
But, you know, it's turned out really well. And, you he hasn't been his antic self. And I think some of that is because I think being away for a year and being on the media side, which he was, I think he has a better appreciation for the game. And I think...
01:06:22
Leo Ernewein
I don't know. He's done this stint every time. I know he has. And that's the hilarious thing is that any new team that he's come to, he's been calm. And then give it a few months and then some bubble burst in his brain and just like, boom. He's back to his usual John Tortorella ways. But the one thing that he's got going for him in Vegas compared to the other teams that he's coached in the media in Las Vegas isn't as much pressure as he was in Philly and New York.
01:06:51
Leo Ernewein
So I think, and Vancouver, sorry, that I think he just wouldn't spend any time with her when he was in Vancouver. Yeah. He lived in Point Roberts. Geographically, you don't know that is a peninsula. that comes off just south of the greater Vancouver area that is part of Washington state. And they coaxed him because he would not hold practices with the team. They coaxed him with building a Murphy bed inside Rogers arena in Vancouver to try to get him to stay.
01:07:20
Leo Ernewein
Cause he didn't, he didn't live in Vancouver. He lived in point Roberts. He crossed that border to come to games. And so I, I'm sure Vegas is not set up the same way for him. Definitely not. But it's a mentality thing. So we'll see if it works. Maybe, maybe he's staying in a new Mexico or, or Arizona or something like that. Cause they're not that far. I'm teasing. Yeah. But anyways, that, yeah, I, I hope that I hope, you know, he, he's, he, he stays the course he's in because I think right now it's working and, and, Like I said, the media is not as much pressure on them because it's not – I mean, yeah, they're one of the only games in town, but hockey is not their number one thing in Vegas, right? So even though they're a popular team there, mean, you see Memo of Bailey everywhere, but they're not – you know what mean? So I was going to talk about the Devils and the Predators, but I think we'll skip those two teams. But the Toronto Maple Leafs season, Kyle,
01:08:22
Leo Ernewein
Couldn't have gone any better. know. Truthfully, though, what an interesting team to figure out what you're going to do. Again, it all seems to be centering around American captains on Canadian teams. Yeah, no kidding, eh? This season has put itself in a position that it's nothing but front and centre.
01:08:43
Leo Ernewein
I am interested... if this time is finally done. But I fear the corporate side of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment does not share the appetite to tear it down and to make the decisions on the core four. I mean, it's been shuffling players around that core four. Finally, one moved.
01:09:09
Leo Ernewein
Turns out he wasn't really the problem, but he was scapegoated to be. And think that that is obviously the people who want that is a that is probably one of the biggest plum jobs you can get in the entire league. At the same time, scrutiny, the.
01:09:27
Leo Ernewein
What you're inheriting and what you have to work with, including with what Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment wants to direct you towards, I didn't get from that presser after they just... What Keith Pelley said? Yeah, didn't get... Weird, wasn't it?
01:09:43
Leo Ernewein
But I didn't get the sense that they know what they want to do and they're... a little more afraid to make the big decision Austin Matthews or, or really certainly or somebody like that and really move, move that around. And it seems to be, they really want everything to work out and still just move the side pieces, which it's not working out.
01:10:09
Leo Ernewein
I think there's some interesting candidates who are coming in to be a part of that discussion. And would be interested to see if they're allowed to go with their mission on it. I know Mike Gillis has interviewed for it, will be the first job that he would potentially have after being asked as the Canucks GM. I mean, was almost 15 years ago. Very forward-thinking person.
01:10:30
Leo Ernewein
don't know if they would take it. And so... Do they take the GM who comes in and says, hey, we'll be a playoff team next year. just got to do a couple little things. Do you get sold on the short term or do you go, we need to actually have a longer approach at this whole thing.
01:10:45
Leo Ernewein
But until then, I think that they're going to be stuck in this slower decline, not moving out of sort of like being caught in quicksand. Yeah, and it's very interesting because you think that they would learn their lessons from what happened with the Sundin...
01:11:04
Leo Ernewein
And, you know, the Darcy Tucker area that they would actually rebuild and redo things. And, you know, and they did do a good job because they did draft Austin Matthews. They did draft Will and the ladder. They did draft Mitch Marner. They did draft Morgan Riley.
01:11:21
Leo Ernewein
But the problem that I think has happened with Toronto is that they were so sold and stuck on them that it actually got into their heads and their play and that those five are the only opinions that matter for how things go. And they were just so sold on these five that they're going to carry us over the hump.
01:11:40
Leo Ernewein
Where everybody else outside was saying, I don't think these guys have what it takes to take them over the hump. And they were just so stubborn, so sold. And it's cost people jobs. And it's unfortunate because I think Craig Berube is a good coach.
01:11:55
Leo Ernewein
But I don't think he's going to have his job the end of this year either. Because... The message just doesn't seem get through Austin Matthews and William Nylander and Morgan Rielly and to get them solved when Mitch Barner was there too, to get them over the hump. They...
01:12:14
Leo Ernewein
They do it to themselves because they think the Toronto Maple Leafs is the pittable part of Canada for hockey, but they're not – they're just an organization. They're not – They're in a city that's popular with hockey, but they're not the organization in Canada. There's six other teams that people cheer for. And the thing with Toronto that I find with MLSE too, they allow the Blue Jays to redo every tool. They allow the Raptors to redo everything that they needed to do. And they're kind of slowly starting to come back to the Toronto Raptors I'm talking about.
01:12:50
Leo Ernewein
And then also with the Toronto Argonauts that they were able to –
01:12:56
Leo Ernewein
do what they needed to do to try to get back to a great cup. So I don't understand why they can't do this with the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's just, it's bizarre. Because it's a billion dollar, multi-billion dollar organization that's selling jerseys and hope is just as important that some marquee player is going to be there And that's why these decisions are really challenging to do, especially in a very large market. And we'll sit there and go, well, this is the smartest decision and they should go forward with it.
01:13:26
Leo Ernewein
We're not the ones signing that check. think that that risk becomes a little bit of it's harder to guarantee the reward. And so known commodity and a marketability thing, I think that's also part of this whole equation. Agreed.
01:13:44
Leo Ernewein
Stay tuned, folks, with the Toronto Maple Leafs. I will hear about it. Don't worry. I will hear about it. It'll be front-page news here in Canada, let me tell you. I'll guarantee you it will be. They'll even probably talk about it in the Stanley Cup playoffs a ton, too. You just can't get away from them. Anyways, Since you're sitting here beside me, Kyle, I'll get an opportunity for you to, because I know I've talked about Vancouver. I've talked about the Canucks quite a bit in our podcast.
01:14:14
Leo Ernewein
I'm not going to... there something going on? I think there is. I think they're last place. But anyways, with you being a Canucks fan, I know what it's like to have the Colorado Avalanche 10 years ago went through of the worst seasons I think I've ever seen an organization. And I never would have thought that somebody else would actually have to take on that mantle again. And it's unfortunately with the Vancouver Canucks.
01:14:43
Leo Ernewein
When Wad left, they had, you know, Jared Bandar had horrible season to coach with because Patrick Wall left.
01:14:51
Leo Ernewein
They, you know, they, they, they had, didn't have a lot of prospects at that time. They had a young Nathan McKinnon coming They had a young Gabriel Lanniscock, but they just, they didn't have enough pieces to help them. And it just showed, I think the same thing is kind of with Elias Petterson possibly. I,
01:15:13
Leo Ernewein
I'm not sure what his deal is, but Kyle, I want you to talk about your Cogs. What has gone wrong in Vancouver this season? Because I know you and I have talked off recording multiple times on the phone and in person that this dates back since the days, basically.
01:15:34
Leo Ernewein
Wow, what an introduction for this segment. Yeah, I think the organization, because I could talk for a long time. am not going to. You're welcome, Flames fans. Yeah.
01:15:51
Leo Ernewein
I think the key in all of this is there isn't organizational unity from the coach to a general manager to the president of hockey operations to the owner.
01:16:03
Leo Ernewein
And because there isn't that unity, there's always a fight in the direction that the team is moving in. And I think it's discombobulated because of that.
01:16:17
Leo Ernewein
We've heard Jim Rutherford, president of hockey operations, say that this is a rebuild. They finally used the rebuild word. I've been waiting since 2012 for that word to be uttered by the organization. They would not. It was hybrid rebuilds and all sorts of stuff in between.
01:16:36
Leo Ernewein
But that organization does not have continuity from top to bottom. And they've said they're rebuilding. but it's this season.
01:16:47
Leo Ernewein
I don't think they have an organizational forecast that shows a longer-term path, and I think we're going to see it in the free agent market and signings that they're going to do. I think they're going to sign a lot of people they already have within the organization and then find it challenging to find good supporting players beyond that.
01:17:09
Leo Ernewein
I think there's so many unknowns with the Pedersen file. I don't know. wear his jersey. I wish him well. I'd like this to be good. I don't know.
01:17:19
Leo Ernewein
And I've toyed between it's time to trade everybody to I genuinely don't know. But until this organization can give good forecast of where it plans to be, don't expect Pedersen.
01:17:36
Leo Ernewein
players and personnel to be, cohesive. They're talking about flipping over all of their coaching staff here this season.
01:17:45
Leo Ernewein
Like, I mean, everybody clean house. That doesn't sound like an organization that understands, even being at the bottom of the league and drafting in the top three, third overall, most likely not first overall. And, and for them, I'm not sure what that consensus is going to look like.
01:18:06
Leo Ernewein
It's just, it's a lot of noise and a lot of chaos. But that's, I guess, the drama of being a fan of this hockey club. Do you think Patrick Alvin's in trouble?
01:18:18
Leo Ernewein
I would hope so. But I guess the question would be, what's the point of keeping Jim Rutherford around as well? Again, don't see cohesion for where they plan to go and their moves and how they operate also reflect that. Adam Foote,
01:18:35
Leo Ernewein
has not shown to be the strongest of coaches. I would agree. Head coach. Yeah. Defensive coach. Sure. I think this was a lot. And I think it's also a lot to saddle him with everything on it. Remember this management group believed this was a playoff team at the beginning of the season, what they had constructed.
01:18:56
Leo Ernewein
And a majority of that construction still sits here. You lose your head coach who walks away, entirely walks away. I would say that's probably because of a lack of practice facility. The last team in the league does not have a practice facility or a planned one. Calgary is building theirs with their new arena.
01:19:14
Leo Ernewein
And... And so coaching can only go so far at that point. Players wanted out. Quinn Hughes left. He wanted to leave.
01:19:25
Leo Ernewein
So when your captain leaves and your coach leaves, I don't know if they saw a future with the organization and the vision it was selling. So that's where I think the focus should remain. And until a clear path is charted, I expect more turbulence from them at the bottom of the Pacific.
01:19:45
Leo Ernewein
Yeah, and it's too bad because I think, you know, I've talked about this with my dad and you, and many other people too, that I think Vancouver would be a really neat city to play in. But until you have a clear vision of what you want to do, you're going to just spiral. And, and, and I, I've, I've said this few times on our, on the podcast, and I know Leo will agree that Vancouver, Vancouver, until they get a clear vision of what they want to do, they're just going to, like I said, they're just going to continue to spiral. And, yeah,
01:20:19
Leo Ernewein
And they've overvalued players. They've undervalued players. They've been in love with a certain type of player.
01:20:29
Leo Ernewein
He walks away. And I'm talking about JT Miller. And... I don't know if this is ownership issue, if this is just management issue. I don't know either, man. I'm with you. The fundamental choosing between JT Miller and Bo Horvat, that choice in that summer, has set the trajectory of where this club has moved to. And it's interesting how, particularly Jim Rutherford is given lot of latitude in, in what he's created in, in Pittsburgh as well as Carolina, but we're not seeing the same in Vancouver and it's a lot of unknown.
01:21:10
Leo Ernewein
And the other thing with Vancouver too, they've traded a lot of their good prospects away to try to keep winning too. They're trying to find these pieces. I don't know. I'm with you. I guess time will Their prospect is currently playing as a 100-point player on San Jose. Yeah.
01:21:26
Leo Ernewein
I believe his name is Macklin Celebrini. Yeah. Bring the kid home. Yeah, exactly. Well, and then, you know, they traded Kiefer Sherwood away to that same very team in San Jose. He's not as young as you think, though. I mean, he's 30. Yeah. So he's good for them. Yeah. Well, you know, time will tell with Vancouver. But, you know, I wanted to talk about this because you're a fan of the Canucks and give your perspective of a Canucks fan.
01:21:50
Leo Ernewein
compared to my, to, to my opinion. So I appreciate you stepping up, stepping up and talk about that. So
Jonathan Quick's Retirement: A Look Back
01:21:57
Leo Ernewein
our last segment, well, actually, no, we got two more real quick. Jonathan quick.
01:22:02
Leo Ernewein
As of last night, called it a career. He's a three-time Stanley Cup winner with LA twice. And then he also was the third goaltender with the Vegas Golden Knights.
01:22:16
Leo Ernewein
He's won a Conn Smythe, and he's a two-time Jennings Trophy winner. And he has the most wins out any American goaltender Any American born goaltender, sorry. And yeah, like I said, he called it quits before the Florida game as of yesterday. So Kyle, your reaction to his retirement?
01:22:40
Leo Ernewein
lot of frustration watching him as a player over the years because he's such a good goaltender. Oh, phenomenal. And Los Angeles and their back-to-back Cups. was, not back-to-back, but their two cups that they had.
01:22:52
Leo Ernewein
Unbelievable. is a champion. He is hard worker, and he never gave up. And, you know, even his later years of playing with even Vegas, he He was still a good mentor and had the right attitude to continue to be and I wish him not the best there, but I also want to say at the same time.
01:23:15
Leo Ernewein
He called a shot at the very end and I like that he gave no time for people to worry about it he's just doing it, he made his choice and. I think sometimes it's hard where we don't get to call our shot and he got to. And the other one is his teammate is Anze Kopitar who also is calling it quits at the end of the year. called his shot And that is a huge, huge change in Los Angeles, Los Angeles's landscape for how that club operates. Yeah.
01:23:45
Leo Ernewein
Yeah. Congrats to Jonathan quick. Yeah. No, you know, I, I have a t-shirt of his, of his, of a King's t-shirt and, I put it away because he got traded to Vegas and then he signed with the New York Rangers and I kept it in the closet for I'm glad I kept the way it is because I knew he was one. No, it's an LA one, Los Angeles one. Yeah.
01:24:08
Leo Ernewein
And I've kept it in the closet and I'm glad I did. Cause he, I knew eventually he would retire, but I mean, he, I just remember his, that when they were in their prime,
01:24:21
Leo Ernewein
I mean, the way some of the saves made and how fast he moved over from one side of the net to the other. I remember one save he I think he was, it's hard to describe this on on recording but he went from just picture yourself wherever you are he's on one side of your wherever you are and then he just with a quick snap with a quick pushover he's on the other side of the wherever room or wherever in just like that like a snap of the finger and he made an unbelievable save and i i remember once that i think it was in the playoffs i think it was against san jose He was so doubting out. And one quick push over, he stopped. think was Brent Burns. And made one of the best saves I think I've ever seen any goaltender do. And I couldn't believe how fast he went over. Henrik Lundqvist is still losing sleep over Yeah, I know.
01:25:11
Leo Ernewein
Yeah. Just how he outplayed Henrik Lundqvist 2012, big So, Congratulations, Jonathan Quick. I definitely will miss him. So really quick, Kyle, you want to talk about F1 racing a little bit before we call our
New Era in Formula One
01:25:28
Leo Ernewein
recording? I do. I'm going to bring in a little bit of an international side to sport. We're talk motorsport for a second. The Formula One season started just over about a month, month and a half ago.
01:25:41
Leo Ernewein
And it is truly exciting because they have major changes to the types of engines that they're using, which is a combination between a V6 engine and a hybrid. It's a hybrid with electric and the body they've changed.
01:25:58
Leo Ernewein
the shape and size of the cars and they allowed them to be more aerodynamic pieces on the front and the back to be able to move as the drivers want to. And it's made it very interesting.
01:26:11
Leo Ernewein
Right they were supposed to have a couple races. They've raced in three places. They've raced in Australia, China, and Japan. And they were supposed to be in Bahrain as well as Saudi Arabia. But there's a lot of world politics and things happening right now, so it's been canceled. So they've got a five-week hiatus. Why I'm bringing this up is it's giving the opportunity for some other teams to catch up to the front leaders, which are Mercedes and Ferrari.
01:26:38
Leo Ernewein
And these teams are going to make it interesting. And the next race is happening on the weekend of the 1st of 3rd of May in Miami. And then a couple weeks later the Canadian one. And that will be broadcast. Well, think both them should be broadcasted on TSN.
01:26:55
Leo Ernewein
The 22nd to the 24th of May. So May 2-4. We'll have that race. and i know we're planning to to watch it together and give landon the opportunity to see this a bit my big sell to you to watch this and why and as a person who's come from diehard hockey fan to now a diehard formula one fan one thing i really enjoy is the lack of commercials There's advertisements everywhere. Everything's got sponsored from home or whatever, but there isn't a single commercial. And if the race is two hours, there's not a single commercial break. And I find that really refreshing to watch.
01:27:33
Leo Ernewein
I will be providing a little bit updates once in a while for this and a few other sports of different things from around the world. So stay tuned. But if you're like, well, what's the Canadian angle? Well, obviously the Montreal race. I went to it last year. It is one, it's unbelievable experience going to that city and to, to see event like that.
01:27:55
Leo Ernewein
These races, when they happen on a weekend, The level and the size of it, it's like the Super Bowl. So every one of these is like its own Super Bowl in size. We're talking like 200,000 people over a weekend coming to this just in three days to watch it. That is a massive pilgrimage to attend. And the other angle is we actually have a Canadian driver. who is in it. And, uh, his name is Lance troll. He drives for Aston Martin. So you can always at least watch the Canadian go around the track and, uh, cheer for him. And so we do have a little bit of an angle there and yeah. So cool. Thanks for letting me bring that up. No, I, I, we were talking off recording that I told you that, uh, I wanted to bring this up cause it doesn't get talked about very often. And, and, and I, At least I don't think there's any podcasts that I know of that are... Are there? Oh, yeah. I'm sure there is. It's just not something that... For you, yes. For me, yeah. Right, personally. But, I mean, for you out there who do watch F1 racing just like Kyle does, I'm sure there are podcasts. But interesting, yeah. I know it's not something that I've really paid attention to other than just watching the highlights on TSN SportsCenter or whatever. But...
01:29:16
Leo Ernewein
But yeah, Colin, I've been talking about this for quite a number of years or not a number, a couple years to actually sit down together watch
F1 for Newcomers: Must-See Content
01:29:27
Leo Ernewein
F1 racing. So I'm also just going to say, if you are interested and you're like, how do I get into this? What do I see? There was the Brad Pitt F1 movie. That's a great place to start. Yeah.
01:29:37
Leo Ernewein
And Is it 100% accurate? Well, I'd argue it's like how Slapshot is towards hockey, right? Where you get there, it has good things. It's not absolutely perfect, but it's a great story. And then on Netflix, they have a series called Drive to Survive where they actually film alongside through the season. and it's really captivating to learn who's who. Like, the entire sport is the equivalent of, like, what a roster of a single hockey team in the NHL is. So you're not learning. If you're already at that level of understanding rosters, it's not that much to know every single person who's in this entire sport that way.
01:30:15
Leo Ernewein
So thank you. Yeah, so anyways, I just wanted to bring that up because – Yeah, because I think it's important to talk about other things other than just basketball, baseball, hockey, and all that sort of stuff. So anyways, I just want to say, Kyle, thank you so much for coming on and being a part of – being my co-host tonight in this recording, this episode. Your friendship means the world to me.
01:30:47
Leo Ernewein
appreciate you talking about the and all that sort of stuff and talking about all the sports that we were going to talk about. So I do usually have a shout-out usually.
01:30:58
Leo Ernewein
But today I'm going to not do one and I'll save it for the next time when I'm with Leo. So, Kyle, I appreciate you coming on and all that sort of stuff. So, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for stepping up. And I know Leo appreciates it too. Perfect. Of course. Thank you very much for having me. And what a blast talk about sports with you guys.