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Swedish Superteam
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As promised, we're back, just over a week after our last episode, to discuss BOTH Ottawa Captains leaving. Topics include:
- Brianne Jenner leaving and other Charge offseason news (5:15)
- Welcoming William Eklund, our newest meow meow (28:40)
- Is Brady Tkachuk Swedephobic?
- Could Elias Pettersson be the key to building a woke Swedish superteam in Ottawa?
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Welcome
00:00:06
Speaker
I don't even know what he's thinking, he's just a complete brickhead. Brady Kachunk. Thomas is my best friend. I got a lot of good-looking nukes on my team. You just got nuked.
00:00:17
Speaker
I just have. Just have OC.
Podcast Scheduling and Listener Engagement
00:00:20
Speaker
Hi everyone, and welcome to episode Tyler Boucher of Elite Sense Brain. As always, I'm Beata, and I'm joined by the artist formerly known as Erickson's Burner, long time no see. yeah Yeah, I feel like I can't even continue the bit. Is this like the closest our episodes have ever been? i know that like for a period we were doing like once every two weeks, like pretty consistently.
00:00:46
Speaker
but that was yeah this has to be
Impact of Brady Kachuk Trade on Listenership
00:00:48
Speaker
the closest. i I don't think we've ever done episodes one week apart, which is what we're doing now. Yeah. So congrats to us. This will not continue. You might not hear from us until the season starts. Yeah.
00:01:02
Speaker
Oh my gosh. We're kind of amazing for it though. Yeah, and ah our last episode also was the most listened to episode in the history of this podcast.
William Eklund's Move to Ottawa Senators
00:01:13
Speaker
So thank you to everyone who tuned in I'm assuming you were all doing exactly what I was doing right after the Brady Kachuk trade, which is just like listening to every single podcast you can possibly find because you need to consume like all the content about it. um So yeah, I'm assuming it was just that because of what happened. But if we have any new listeners who are tuning in, welcome.
00:01:34
Speaker
yeah I feel like we might. Didn't you say? i feel like people, like former Sharks fans, were maybe going to tune in. That'd be nice. Yeah, so we'll get to this later. a lot of people are following William Eklunds to the Ottawa Senators,
Ottawa Fans' Dedication and Trades Reflection
00:01:49
Speaker
apparently. He was a very popular San Jose Shark. I don't know how many of them are serious about it and going to stick with it, but um I recommend this podcast to any Sharks fans who want to follow William Eklund's To The Sens. It was shared by a few Sharks fans that I know.
00:02:08
Speaker
So if there are any Sharks fans listening, welcome. We will talk about your boy later. Yeah, oh my gosh. That's the thing. I feel like that's so nice if they actually do that because I feel like I've said I was going to do that for players and then been like, I actually don't have the time care that much anymore.
00:02:26
Speaker
Yeah, I kind of think if I didn't follow Eric Carlson to the Sharks, I will never follow a player yeah anywhere or ever. Like that was the most devastating trade that ever happened.
Surprise and Reactions to Eklund's Trade
00:02:40
Speaker
Nothing is ever going to beat that. And also with like the state of the team at that time, like that was if I was ever going to jump ship. It was in September 2018. And I didn't jump ship. Well, I did a little bit. And then I came back. But like I didn't fully jump ship, you know. but I definitely tuned out of hockey a little bit. And yeah, because I didn't leave for good, there's nothing that can drive me away, I'm afraid.
00:03:07
Speaker
full respect to Sharks fans, who apparently love William Eklund so much that they're coming over to our side. Yeah, which did not know the Eklund hive was so big.
Brienne Jenner's Departure and Team Impact
00:03:21
Speaker
I knew about, obviously, like, Celebrini and Will Smith. I knew them. And also, it was so funny, I was telling someone, I was like, oh my gosh, did you see the William Eklund trade? Like, they were like, what? No, that's crazy. Like, we got William Eklund, that's crazy. And the entire time they thought that I was talking about Will Smith. And then they were, like, slightly sadder than that.
00:03:41
Speaker
we're like, oh no, no, that's still good. I just thought that you meant Will Smith the whole time, so. good Right. I get the impression, I don't read Hockey RPF or anything, but I get the impression that he and Fabian Zetterlund were, like, probably the couple that shows up in the background of every, like, Celebrini and Smith fic.
00:04:04
Speaker
Oh my gosh, that's so funny. Yeah, probably. It's like, you know, the secondary characters that everyone's like, we like these guys too. This is a random guess. I'm not going to fact check this.
Ottawa Charge's Expansion Decisions
00:04:16
Speaker
It's so funny. Very like, oh, this is too niche, but you'll get it. Very season four scam when like Isak and Evan were just like in the back and being like, oh yeah, they're still here, by the way. Like, I feel like that is the vibe. Yeah.
00:04:32
Speaker
That's the vibe I got from the glimpses of Sharks Twitter that I saw. yeah. like But anyways, we'll get to Eklund later. where We're jumping ahead a little bit because I feel so bad in our last episode. I said that we were going to talk about the Ottawa Charge. We didn't get to it. We're so behind. But like, I really, i really do want to talk about the Ottawa Charge for a little bit and everything that has happened with expansion. So if you are only here for the Sens or for William Eklund, I will put a timestamp in the description to say jump to this part if you're not interested in the Ottawa Charge talk. But, like, we want to talk about the Ottawa Charge because unlike the Ottawa Senators, they got rid of a captain that we actually like and are sad about
Jenner's Influence and Team Dynamics
00:05:14
Speaker
losing. Yeah.
00:05:16
Speaker
We did, like, use it as a bit a couple times, like, to be like, ah, a huck captain of a beloved captain left. but We'll talk about her later. But, yeah, was very, very sad. up Yeah, and it's kind of, it's a little bit ironic because i feel like when i learned that Brienne Jenner was leaving, one of my first reactions was like, oh my god, that's another Ottawa captain that the organization has driven away, that has left under, like, really bad circumstances, and it's super heartbreaking, like, being an Ottawa hockey fan just sucks, your captains are always leaving, like, I was really seeing it in this pattern of captains breaking our hearts, and then, like, a few weeks later, and Brady Kachuk leaves, and I'm like, eh, loser, you know?
00:06:02
Speaker
No, literally, like, I think that also people were somewhat pointing out like the difference in like everything, but truly like the difference between like the team's farewells and like the captain farewells. I was like, yeah, I, I think that Jenner was like battered, which
Speculation on New Ottawa Charge Captain
00:06:23
Speaker
is nice. Like it sounded weird. Like the whole circumstances sounded odd to me. i don't know.
00:06:29
Speaker
Cause like, okay, here's the thing, right? It sounds like, so there are all these phases of expansion. And during the first phase, the Charge and every other existing team had the opportunity to sign their free agents, of which Jenner was one.
00:06:43
Speaker
But if they signed a free agent during that phase, they would have to protect her during like the first phase of the second phase, I guess, right of expansion. And the Ottawa Charge decided not to sign Jenner.
00:06:58
Speaker
you know, unclear what the discussions were like, but at the time, I assumed that the discussions were probably like, hey, we'd love to keep you around. We're just not going to sign you right now.
00:07:09
Speaker
You know, let's reconvene later and and work this out because they just got, you know, they wanted that extra protection slot for Rebecca Leslie because, yeah, the charge... You know, we didn't get to this. They hadn't announced this when we did our last episode, but... um Or the last one about the charge. But they protected, obviously, Gwyneth Phillips, Savileinan, who was, like, pretty much a sure thing as well. And then they opted for Leslie for that third spot, and that was the one where, like, it could go to multiple players, right?
00:07:33
Speaker
they chose Leslie over Jenner. But then Jenner posts this, like... announcement on Instagram and she says the same thing in her um interview with P.W.H.L. Hamilton where she's like yeah I actually really wanted to stay in Ottawa but they just didn't want me so it's like okay did they not want you at that phase or did they just straight up say like we're not signing you at all like it's so weird yeah
Brienne Jenner's Community Contribution
00:07:56
Speaker
like very weird circumstances like I said I don't know it's like if the organization just straight up didn't want her it's like ah like are you like dumb no offense
00:08:07
Speaker
Like through the auto chart. You know what i mean though? It's like, what? Like why? Like if they were just straight up like you're not in our vision. i just don't understand that. Yeah, some people speculated that it might be the extra term. Like, I think Hamilton gave her three years and maybe Ottawa was reluctant to do that. I don't think there's, I don't think Ottawa has said anything about why they did that. So that's just speculation. But honestly, like, women's hockey players age pretty well. Jenner is getting up there, yeah, but I don't think she's, like, you know, about to be completely useless. Like, I would still give her that term.
00:08:45
Speaker
it's It's weird. Yeah. It is weird. i don't know what else to say. It's just like, what the heck? Just leaves a bad taste taste in your mouth, you know? And it's like for... It's sad for on ice and off ice reasons, right? Because on ice, like, she was literally our best player last year.
00:09:06
Speaker
and like, obviously I hope that Rebecca Leslie can, you know, keep scoring at the rate that she did last year. But that was literally one season. Yeah. And if you look at her goals, it's a lot of easy tap-ins off of great feeds from Brienne Jenner, you know Like, I'm a little bit hesitant to just be like, we can give up our top score because we have Rebecca Leslie now. And I'm like, I feel like Jenner was probably carrying her a lot.
Expansion Draft Timing and Player Protection
00:09:32
Speaker
And then, yeah, Off-Eyes, it's just like, don't know. I didn't realize until she left, like, how much she means to me and to the community. Like, I was actually really, really upset about her leaving.
00:09:42
Speaker
Yeah, it was like, i think that like, because when we were doing like our like list of players who we would protect, right? I was like, like, yeah, I don't know if like, I would protect Brayden Jenner just because like, I think there's like other like players that are really good and all that stuff. But then i was like, Oh my gosh, I can't believe that actually happened. And they didn't protect her. Like, I was like shocked and so sad and everything. So i don't know.
00:10:10
Speaker
Another reason why i was on expansion, which like I know everyone is like, ah no, my players, like they couldn't have waited a little and then just let us protect like one more person.
Reasons Behind Jenner's Departure
00:10:23
Speaker
Yeah, and it's also, it's just like the specific circumstances where she's not saying, yeah, I want to be closer to home or, you know, um i yeah, i I decided that this was a better opportunity. I was making more money here. She's straight up like, I wanted to stay here. And the organization said, no, we don't want you. So I went and signed with this other team.
00:10:47
Speaker
And like, you know, PWHL Hamilton didn't steal her either. She chose to sign there. They could have stolen her. And in that case, I would have been like, PWHL Hamilton is evil, which I am still saying that. But I would have had been more angry at them than at the Ottawa charge Charge Organization. Because now I'm just like, why did the charge let her leave?
00:11:05
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know that whole situation was that. Oh, sorry. Go ahead. Well, yeah, it's just like, I can't imagine anyone else wearing the C. Like, she was our first captain. Who's going to be captain now?
00:11:19
Speaker
I know, it's actually like so messed up. Like, I don't know. i can't even imagine anyone else to be captain because honestly, I feel like probably people were going to be like, Emily Clark should be captain or something. and like, first of all, disagree.
Debates on New Captain for Ottawa Charge
00:11:34
Speaker
Second of all, not an option.
00:11:37
Speaker
Literally the most evil team in the whole world. No, literally, ah, so sad. Yeah, people a lot of people are saying Leslie, which I could get behind.
00:11:48
Speaker
It's just, again, i want i want to see one more good season from her, you know? Like, I'm just a little bit skeptical of a player who was, like, not that good and then randomly had one, like, incredible season where she was near the league lead in points.
00:12:05
Speaker
I'm like, I just need one more season where you can maintain that production without Brienne Jenner. Obviously love her for off-ice reasons, happy to keep her around and all that.
00:12:16
Speaker
um Just for the on-ice stuff, purely, i am a little bit skeptical and I feel like giving her the C and putting all this pressure on her... might end up going badly. So I'm a little bit reluctant with that.
Gabby Hughes as a Potential Captain
00:12:31
Speaker
Yeah, I think that makes a ton of sense. I think also like it might just be like too much pressure. Like it's like a lot of pressure, I feel like to be like, okay, follow up like your amazing season. Also, you have first teammates, no offense now. And also like you're the captain. Like I feel like that'd be too much.
00:12:50
Speaker
Yeah, it's just, I don't like it. i don't like the idea. I, as always, am must have a Savalainen truther. I think Ronja Savalainen would make a great captain. We should give it to her. She was our best skater last year, other than Jenner.
00:13:03
Speaker
i am fully on board with that. I've seen people say La Roque, which could be cool. That's the equivalent of... bad timing but you know what you were talking about last episode of giving Jake Loo the captaincy for year two um maybe she could use it as a yeah ah bargaining chip in his contract that that's worked out before I was just gonna say i don't know if people were saying about like Jocelyn the Rock but like I think she should be the captain because I think that it's like the exact opposite of being like oh my gosh you have to follow up such a good season like now you're the captain it's very much just like hey oh think
00:13:36
Speaker
You don't have much on your plate, but we'll just slot that in for you. And that's like what you can focus on this this season. Actually, you know what know I feel like this would have been the equivalent of giving Chris Phillips the captaincy after Alfie left, or at least after Spezza left. Just like, Defender, who is not that good anymore, but, you know, you've been around, not necessarily in Ottawa in her case, but you've been around...
00:14:01
Speaker
You're very old. You've done a lot of leadership. Just wear the C for a couple of years. There are two mentalities that I feel like here. Number one, it's either like give it to your best player who's probably young and whatever.
00:14:16
Speaker
hard. Too much pressure, like I say.
Ottawa Charge's Expansion Roster Changes
00:14:18
Speaker
Number two is just, again, give it to the old person on the team. Perfect. They're like, it's like a retirement party present or whatever. Like, it's so good. Yeah.
00:14:28
Speaker
Yeah, we'll see. I've seen a surprising number of people wanting Gabby Hughes as captain, which I'm not really a fan of. I don't know if you've mentioned before, she has like, yeah she has kind of right-wing views. Like, she has some she had some weird Twitter likes. Yeah, when we drafted her, she had some like kind of right-wing Twitter likes. I think she posted about Charlie Kirk as well. oh it just like...
00:14:51
Speaker
I don't know, I'm done with like American captains with vaguely right wing vibes. ah Also, she's just not that good. So I would not give it to Gabby Hughes. I know she's a fan favorite. And I think that's just like why people want her to be the captain. But she does not have my vote. Yeah, i honestly, well okay, this is actually dumb. Because literally an Olympics just happened. In my head, Gabby Hughes was Canadian this whole time. don't know who what I was watching. um But that's rough.
00:15:20
Speaker
Yeah. So, yeah, we lost a bunch of players. The thing is, like, so the charge lost a lot of players. But I think that other than Jenner, those were all players that I was prepared to lose. Like, they can survive losing Rory Gilday, Emily Clark. I know that one hurts a lot for off-ice reasons. And also because, like, she has lots of talent and potential.
00:15:45
Speaker
But as we've said before, like, she wasn't that great in Ottawa, so it's not, like, a huge loss. um Even the others, like, was it Peyton Hemp? um Like, you know, lots of good players, but, like, not game breakers.
00:15:57
Speaker
And thankfully, in their second, well, i got the second round of protections, which was, like, I don't know what phase of expansion it was, but the charge were able to protect Katerova, Hughes, and Woz, which is awesome.
Post-Expansion Roster Evaluation
00:16:10
Speaker
Very good. Yeah. That's the thing. I still don't know how that happened. Like when I, cause like when the second round of like protections came out or whatever, i was like, I don't know what's going on, but I'm happy it's happening.
00:16:21
Speaker
Cause I feel like everyone thought we were going to lose Katarova. Like, I'm very happy. Yeah. so I'm really happy we didn't. I'm not a hundred percent sure how that happened, but like, okay, we're, we're happy. We don't question it.
00:16:35
Speaker
Yeah, well, it sounds like they really emphasized player choice in this. So there were very few opportunities for teams to force players to play for them. And it sounds like Katarova really, really wanted to be in Ottawa. So, you know, the teams didn't force her to play for them. Like she wasn't a big enough name, I think, that when it got to the like, we're just going to choose players. um She wasn't like at the top of people's list, you know?
00:17:02
Speaker
hmm. So yeah, definitely thrilled. It was like, the thing is, for Ottawa, we had the most pain at the very start of expansion, where we lost some very prominent, very well-liked players early on. And then for the rest of expansion, it was like, oh, actually, we're doing okay while everybody else is losing their stars. So, you know, the vibes kind of like came back toward the end, you know?
00:17:27
Speaker
he yeah I feel like that's also like how you would prefer it to happen. Like, Just rip the bandaid off. Yeah. Oh my god. We said it at the same time.
00:17:39
Speaker
So yeah, it was we're we were so over. Now we're so back. Is this team going to be good? Probably not. But you know what? The vibes are there. We're gonna have fun. Yeah, exactly. Also, like, is anyone else that good? Who knows?
00:17:54
Speaker
I am, like, mildly concerned that we don't have any centers. um Like, guys, who is going to play ah with Rebecca Leslie and Sara Woznevich?
Dara Gregg's Acquisition and Potential Impact
00:18:06
Speaker
i don't I don't see anyone. this somebody in the draft going to step up? Like, but what are we doing, guys? Yeah. yeah i That's the thing. i don't know if there was ever like a mentality of like protect based on position because obviously like when you draft that's certainly not that it's like draft best player available.
00:18:28
Speaker
But I wonder if we did consider that like who's gonna play what where and everything. I feel like we did draft a few forwards. Well, we definitely drafted forwards. I think we drafted a few centers just a little bit later because our first pick was a defender who's definitely going to play in Gilday's spot next to Savalainen, which, like, that's fine. But yeah, the whole time I was like, hey, so we really need somebody who can play first line center between Woz and Leslie. This is really, really important. All the way you're centers! Yeah...
00:19:03
Speaker
yeah But hey, you know who we did bring in? was really exciting. We did not make any big splashes in free agency. We didn't bring in any big names from other teams. But we got Dara Gregg.
00:19:18
Speaker
Yeah, I was just nodding. And then I remembered this is an audio form. But like, i think that was that was funny because I think I texted you this. I swear there's like a contingent of like Ottawa hockey fans, we'll call them, who are like,
00:19:35
Speaker
Mae Batherson and Dara Gregg to the charge like that's yeah like it has to happen and it's like okay honestly I don't watch a ton of non-charge games so maybe you know more than me and maybe they're amazing but I feel like maybe you just noticed their last name but like I think that like it's cool like i've I like I'm glad she's here probably is she good who we know so what I've heard a lot of Big 12 fans really like her for off ice reasons because she's very fun.
00:20:10
Speaker
That's mostly what I see about her. A lot of people also seem to like her for being a bit of a shit disturber on the ice. And I was like, oh, interesting. That sounds familiar.
00:20:21
Speaker
A lot of Big 12 fans also seem to dislike her for taking way too many penalties. So i was like, okay, how does Ridley, oh my God, how does Dara Gregg play? what What is her playing style like? All I know about her is her last name and I don't want to just assume that she's like her brother. And then every Big 12 fan I spoke to was like, yeah, super fun. She's a great shit disturber, but like, man, those penalties. And I was like, you know what? This is the place for her because these people, we know exactly what to expect.
00:20:51
Speaker
Yeah. Welcome to Ottawa, Dara. Drew, we're so happy to have you.
Sibling Dynamics in Professional Hockey
00:20:58
Speaker
Also, like, does Ridley Gregg, sorry, I'm going sentence, does he, like, have a contract? Like, is he how long is he here for?
00:21:08
Speaker
So, okay, he is under contract and everything. i am a little bit worried because I've heard his name in some like trade rumors and stuff, and he does make sense as a player to potentially move if the Sens need to upgrade at forward.
00:21:22
Speaker
And like he hasn't said anything about Dara signing with the charge. He didn't post anything on Instagram. So I'm like slightly worried that we're going to celebrate Dara coming to the charge and then...
00:21:34
Speaker
before the season even starts, Ridley will be gone and we don't have the Greg siblings after all. Yeah, that'd be so rough because honestly, I feel like they should make content together. Like this is a golden opportunity.
00:21:48
Speaker
No, it's so fun. And finally the Sens can stop um having celebrating Mae Batherson at every women in sports night because there's another sister of a Sens player who plays in the PWHL and she's actually in Ottawa.
00:22:04
Speaker
Yeah. Awesome. I feel like that's
Ottawa Charge's Free Agency Strategy
00:22:08
Speaker
cool though. I don't know if there's any other sibling pairs in the same city at this point. So there's one other. It's the Comper siblings. Oh, I was going to say. Because Jesse signs in Detroit and JT plays for the Red Wings.
00:22:24
Speaker
Oh my gosh, I thought JT Comfer was in Colorado this whole time. He may have been at one point. And then I was like, oh, it'll never happen. We win. But that's cool. That's good for them. And they did it first, too. It was really upsetting. Oh, really? No, what's funny is that they did it first, and then a bunch of Charge fans were like, it should have been the Greg siblings.
00:22:45
Speaker
And then it was the Greg siblings as well. That's so funny. so yeah, I kept waiting for the Charge to, like...
Hillary Knight's Free Agency Drama
00:22:53
Speaker
bring in a big name because I was like there are free agents going everywhere we have so much cap space clearly from losing Jenner and Emily Clark our highest paid player but um no no just darker Greg yeah which like i don't know if there was any other like crazy signings I feel like other than like the charge losing players because those are the craziest to me i feel like everything uh
00:23:20
Speaker
Was there something with Hilary Knight or did I like make that up? Oh yeah, there was drama because she apparently wanted to go to Detroit. She was planning on going to Detroit. Several of her Torrent teammates were like, I want to go to Detroit because Hilary Knight is going there. And so they signed with Detroit under the assumption that Hilary Knight would be there. And then Vegas gave her like a you know franchise offer whatever when that she's not allowed to turn down.
00:23:48
Speaker
And so then they made a deal where they were like, okay, we'll sign you to this and then we'll trade you to Detroit for a first round pick. So messy. Like, all this Hillary Knight drama. oh my gosh.
00:24:00
Speaker
Not my freaking captain, I'll tell you that much. That's like, wow. I feel like that's interesting. is Something about that feels weird, but I guess it's all fine, technically. Yeah.
00:24:13
Speaker
Yeah, it's whatever. Detroit is interesting. They, i think their first signing was Daryl Watts, which was funny because I was like, Toronto fans, look how it feels. Yeah, i feel like Detroit was, and then they signed like Britta Curl, right? is that Yeah, well that's the thing. I was like, oh, that's kind of funny. And then Britta Curl was like, o those are not good vibes. I don't like that.
00:24:35
Speaker
yeah we're like Yeah, originally I was like, so I'm so jealous of Detroit. And then it was like, okay, never mind. they're like We're fine. good. Yeah, and then Montreal just signed like everyone.
00:24:49
Speaker
So that sucks. I hate them.
Ottawa vs. Montreal Free Agency Strategies
00:24:52
Speaker
And then Ottawa, look, Ottawa didn't bring in... many new people but our players re-signed which I do appreciate that has not happened in the past yeah glad that people seem to like it here i was scared because wasn't there those rumors that it's like by the way every charge player hates it here and hates everyone and wants to leave Yeah, well, maybe it's the move to the CTC that they like because they didn't like the old arena. god can't imagine the CTC is more fun to play in, but sure. Even Mrazova came back, which I wasn't sure about. I absolutely love her. i was a little bit kind of prepared to lose her um during expansion. And then, yeah she was a free agent and there were rumors that she was testing the market. I was like, don't do this to me see she's another She's another dark horse candidate for captain. um Because she, I think, has always been wearing an A. But I was like, can't you can't take away Cheddar and Razava, please.
00:25:50
Speaker
the Yeah. It's all good. It is all good. That's the thing. It's like, I feel like I didn't expect us to sign anyone.
00:26:03
Speaker
i don't know, like other than our own players. I don't know if that's just my defeatist attitude. But yeah, so I wasn't disappointed. I was just like, that's okay. Yeah, especially because of how badly we've done with Canada and US Olympic team players. Like, just stay away from them.
00:26:24
Speaker
yeah I don't know. Look, is this team going to be good? No, but we will lose with friends, you know? Exactly. Players that you like will be on the roster and losing games together with us.
00:26:37
Speaker
Exactly, exactly. And that's what it's all about. That is what it's all about. People forget that the point of hockey isn't actually to win. Many people forget this.
00:26:49
Speaker
It's about the friends we make along the way. Exactly. and if they don't win, guess what? The playoffs are cancelled that year. It's perfect.
Ottawa Charge's Drafting Strategy
00:26:59
Speaker
And you know what? Maybe some random player that they drafted will turn out to be elite and they're just going to randomly make it to the finals again and lose in the finals again.
00:27:10
Speaker
That's, yeah. I feel like that's their, like, game plan. Which I respect. Just Gwyneth Phillips and a dream. Mm-hmm. Actually, I feel bad saying that because I always get annoyed when other fan bases are like, oh, the Ottawa Charge are just Gwyneth Phillips in a dream. And I'm like, respect Rania Savalainen. Just because our best players are not Canadian or American Olympic players other than Gwyneth Phillips, obviously, doesn't mean that they don't exist and aren't valid. It's true.
00:27:39
Speaker
It's very true. So yeah, we'll just have a random player show up out of nowhere, even though we drafted a bunch of Americans this time. Which is really disappointing because I was ready for just like a random collection of various other countries.
00:27:51
Speaker
hey i feel like that's like the Ottawa Charge vibe where it's just like we are like Just like, I don't know. It's like, obviously, like, that like, college sports is like where a lot of people like find their players, but it's like, no, give me someone who was randomly elite in their home country, who no one has ever heard of. I feel like that's just the better vibe.
00:28:17
Speaker
Yeah, well, and it's weird too that as the Sens are going through what I've heard some people describe as a de-Yankification process of becoming more European and less American, the Charge are drafting a bunch of American players. Like, I don't like this. Get me my my weird Europeans, please.
00:28:38
Speaker
no literally. This was a very big NCAA draft class, so i i think it was mostly just like there were a lot of Americans in the draft still. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Speaking of the Ottawa Senators de-ankification process.
00:28:54
Speaker
Now let's talk about the Eklunds trade because that happened very shortly after we recorded our Brady Kachuk trade reaction podcast.
William Eklund's Trade Analysis
00:29:03
Speaker
And in that episode, we were like, you know, can't really evaluate the trade because this was only part one, you know, getting rid of Brady.
00:29:12
Speaker
now we don't know what they're going to do with these picks and they did in fact trade one of the many draft picks that they received in the trade to san jose for william ecklund and two prospects which i liked that's a good trade that was a good trade especially i feel like the reaction of sharks fans i think we've alluded to it they were not happy with the trade i don't think so i was like okay we won Well, I would say the reaction to me seems a lot like the way that we reacted to the Josh Norris trade. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where what I saw on social media was a whole bunch of Sharks fans losing their minds going like, you can't trade Eki. He's the backbone of this team.
00:29:55
Speaker
You can't just trade him. You were supposed to be, he was supposed to be the piece that you were building around and just all this like... freaking out about what was happening. um And then, of course, yeah, I was like, oh, so he's really good then. And then I read stuff from more level-headed analysts, you know? No offense to the Twitter users who might be listening to this, but, like, you know, more serious, like, hockey journalists who cover the Sharks who were like, no, actually, from an objective standpoint, like, even though we love William Eklund, he wasn't quite fitting with the Sharks' timeline, and, you know, it made more sense to get the ninth overall pick, you can draft a defenseman.
00:30:38
Speaker
It seems like it was a win-win trade. But yes, he is very beloved by Sharks fans. Which is so beautiful. Like, that's the thing. That's who i that's my analyst. That's who I want, like, who won the trade. Like, who gave up, who gave up the heart and soul of their team according to, like, I don't know, just like a ah really hardcore group of Sharks fans. That's who I want telling me who won the trade. And according to that, we won the trade.
00:31:08
Speaker
In pure vibes, we absolutely won. Yeah. I'm so excited about this kid. i know. i have you yet to look up any of his actual like stats or anything.
00:31:21
Speaker
just know adoration on Twitter for 60 goes crazy. So like that's all I care about. Yeah, from what I understand, he he's kind of a in the 50-point range, but also people said that last year he was coming off an injury, so that's maybe why his point total was a little bit lower than it could have been. He was drafted seventh overall in 2021, so he's a year younger than Tim Stutzler. Apparently the Sens really, really liked him in that draft, which doesn't say anything to me because they drafted the namesake of this episode in that same draft, so
00:31:57
Speaker
oh I don't really trust them. But no, like apparently he was that was a weird draft and he was occasionally ranked like much higher than seventh by some people, you know, like he's a very, very talented, very skilled player. Just like it doesn't look like he plays that much with Celebrini. So he didn't really have like a a good teammates to play with.
00:32:19
Speaker
you know, decent second line winger might have the potential to become more, which I really like. I like
Ottawa's Long-standing Interest in Eklund
00:32:27
Speaker
that as our Brady replacement because Brady was also like a solid second line winger who might be better or might be worse. We're not sure. Right.
00:32:37
Speaker
This is so funny to me. It's so funny to me that like literally the Sens wanted him so bad that their brain short circuited 2021. Like, think All I'm hearing is that he's elite.
00:32:52
Speaker
Ow, let's get that guy You know what else is so funny about that? I feel like this is like tangent. But in that draft also, like there was Brant Clark, who's like from like Nepean or whatever, right? So I literally think that on their draft board was like, okay, William Eklund, number one, obviously, for some reason, I don't know. And then they were like, that's fine, that's fine. We'll get our Nepean kid. And then they were like, fuck, I don't know. But then in perspective, like...
00:33:19
Speaker
Well, you know, it's all good now. We we got the guy we wanted in 2021. No harm done. Everything's fine. Don't look at the draft. Yeah.
00:33:30
Speaker
But like, honestly, from that from like a hockey perspective, if you think about like people keep going like, oh, he can't be a Brady replacement, which like obviously he's a very different player from Brady. Yeah.
00:33:41
Speaker
a little less guaranteed, you know, you know, you don't really know what you're getting with him. But if you look at what the Sens had with Brady Kachuk, right, they had a solid second line winger, kind of like close to a point per game, usually a little bit under that in the like 70 point range, if he's healthy, 70 to 80 point, I would say if he's healthy, um has the potential we hope to one day become the 30 to 40 goal, a hundred point player that his brother is, which honestly, I don't think that was ever going to happen. And that's like, you know, if he's in the exact ah perfect scenario, worst case,
00:34:20
Speaker
the injuries might already be catching up on with him and he might end up declining very quickly and turn into like a fourth liner within a few years. So to have William Eklund, who is like, you know, a 50 to 60 point range guy right now, we know that that's what he is. Like he is a legit top six player, decent second line winger, has the potential to maybe become a point per game player one day if he is in the exact right position.
00:34:49
Speaker
situation much like Brady where it's like if you if you put him in the perfect situation he might turn into it's a better player than he is now and then worst case is just like the 50 point winger that he was in San Jose like I take that bet I like that mm-hmm Yeah, I don't know what the take was on, because, like, what, I don't remember what pick it was. Like, the, I don't even remember.
00:35:17
Speaker
What number overall was the pick that we gave up for Eklund? Nine. Okay, because that's the thing. I also feel like, okay, like, obviously, like, a top 10 pick, but, like, i don't know. Top nine, I feel like, especially in this draft, this draft seemed weird.
00:35:31
Speaker
So, like, i don't really care that much about that pick. Like, I honestly don't think the Suns have done anything better with it. So, like, whatever. Like, I don't know if the take was that, like, that was too high to give up. Like, I don't know if people preferred that we would have given up, like, the whatever, like, the 20 whatever that we had.
00:35:47
Speaker
um i guess something think... I think the idea is that we could have gotten like a little bit more for the ninth
Eklund's Playing Style and Potential Impact
00:35:56
Speaker
overall pick. Like, you know, we could have gotten more of a sure thing um or a higher caliber of player. People were saying like, you know, Jason Robertson or something.
00:36:05
Speaker
I mean, could still happen, but doesn't sound like he was ever particularly keen on signing at Ottawa. Yeah, he's turning down like $1 billion dollars to go wherever, to go to Seattle. So like we weren't going to get him. It's fine. Yeah.
00:36:18
Speaker
Yeah, it's fine. um Yeah, but also, like, we didn't, it wasn't one for one, the ninth overall i'll pick for Vladekland. Like, we also got some prospects, and apparently, like, decent prospects as well, so um I don't mind it.
00:36:32
Speaker
Also, like, it sounds like he plays a style that is going to fit Ottawa's system so well. Like, again, what I was saying about, like, maybe if you put him in the exact right situation, he could kind of explode to become this, like, point-per-game player.
00:36:47
Speaker
I mean, it sounds like Ottawa is the best situation that we could put him in. it sounds like he's really defensively minded. He's really fast. He has high hockey IQ, just like a ton of raw skill.
00:36:59
Speaker
Put this kid next to Tim Stutzler and see what happens, you know? Yeah, I feel like especially because I guess, like you mentioned on the Sharks, he wasn't playing with like, like Celebrini or whatever. So I feel like it could be interesting to see him play with like our skilled player, like, maybe that would work out.
00:37:21
Speaker
Well, yeah, because I was a little bit skeptical initially when people were like, oh, if we put him with more skilled players, he'll perform better. And I was like, he had a really skilled player on his team. We don't have anyone better than Macklin Celebrini. So clearly if the Sharks weren't playing him with Celebrini...
00:37:37
Speaker
there was a reason for that, right? Yeah. Also, I did i did look up his most common line mates on HockeyViz, and this past season he didn't play with Celebrini, but the season before that, I think Celebrini was one of his most common line mates. So, I don't know. Maybe it's just playing style. I don't know that much about Celebrini's playing style, but I do know that every description I've heard of William Eklund sounds like exactly the type of player that Tim Stütze is and the type of player that he really, really needs on his wing. Yeah. Yeah.
00:38:06
Speaker
Oh, I feel like it's good. i feel like we won the Brady-Catuck trade in the end. Absolutely. And we still have that 2029 first overall pick. for First overall. nice pick which Which will be first overall, but it will be first overall in 2030. Because the Panthers are going to face plans. They're going finish last 2029 and 2030. Yeah.
00:38:31
Speaker
So yeah, like we can still do something. I'll bet there are teams willing to take that swing on that 2029 first round pick from the Panthers, you know? um Also, we forgot to mention the other great thing about William Eklund is that he's Fabian Sutterland's best friend.
00:38:47
Speaker
Yeah. Oh my God. So iconic. I,
Ottawa Senators' Swedish Team Identity
00:38:50
Speaker
uh, you sent me that quote where Sutterland was like, I mean, he'll, he'll hang, he'll like, little room with me and if there's no room we'll sleep in the same bed I was like oh excellent perfect bye Well, no, that's that was not what you texted me. Do you want to tell everyone what you texted me in response? I think you tweeted it, so whatever. If no one fault oh i did saw then I'll re-say it. oh This is how I met. Okay, because I was like, because, yeah, you told me he's a hockey Twitter meow meow iconic, and he is Fabian Zetterlund's best friend, and I was like, oh my gosh, a hockey Twitter meow meow, and someone's best friend. Like, welcome back, Josh Norris. So...
00:39:31
Speaker
perfect vibes I also like how you were like oh their reaction when he left is like our reaction when Josh Norris it's like okay it's all fitting he is sweet as I know it feels like we're we're in balance again it's like oh the vibes are back we have we have our Josh Norris replacement at long last also low-key he kind of looks like Josh Norris wait I need to look at him that's so funny we just take our intro and like oh my god he kind of does ah hairline oh my god wait he like actually looks a lot like like zoomed in and thought oh wait and also yeah the other thing is that he's from the shark sharks josh norris rips from the sharks if you remember so it's like it all fit um that's so funny though this is just telling me that we should just like do like a swedish translation of our intro and then he just keep it because like it's basically the same but swedish now
00:40:24
Speaker
God, the Sens are so back. We needed to go back to Swedish. Like, you know what i mean? the American era was too long.
00:40:35
Speaker
i say that like Jake Sanderson like Shane Pinto and like whatever. we forget about them. Well, and look, it makes sense because Swedes have always loved Ottawa. Ottawa is a very Swede-friendly city. we have a paddle club founded by Daniel Alfredson, I think.
00:40:54
Speaker
We have similar weather. Like, Swedes love it here. So I think the strategy is if we just make the team extremely Swedish, then everyone will be happy here and nobody will want to leave.
00:41:07
Speaker
Literally. Our IKEA is huge and in the West End. Like... I remember when Linus Olmark did his first press conference at the season launch event a few years ago, people asked him, I forget like what the exact question was, but it was something about like what are you really excited about with living in Ottawa? And he was like, back in Boston, the IKEA was so far away, and here, the IKEA is a seven-minute drive.
00:41:34
Speaker
Which I might be doxing him when I say that. Oh my god, yeah. Sorry if I'm doxing Linus Olmark. Linus Olmark lives a seven-minute drive away from the IKEA. so funny. Oh my gosh.
00:41:46
Speaker
I will see him at baseline station. but ah that's so funny. Wait, that's so sweet though. I feel like it feels stereotypical, but I like that they actually like Ikea.
00:42:01
Speaker
Yeah. I remember Eric Carlson used to talk about going to Ikea all the time.
Ottawa's Strategy for Attracting Swedish Players
00:42:07
Speaker
I'm kidding. It's like how... i go I don't know. I don't know the equivalent because I don't like I don't know a Canadian expert that's like that. I don't know. I guess it's like how I genuinely love beaver tails or whatever. But i even like when i go to the States and I'm like, oh, yeah, I'm a massive hockey fan. I have a hockey blog and a hockey podcast. It's like, OK, I'm just like fitting all the stereotypes right now.
00:42:35
Speaker
Yeah, or actually the most apt one is like how if I travel somewhere without a Tim Hortons, I like genuinely miss it a bit, even though it's awful. But I feel like IKEA is better than Tim Hortons. I don't know. We need a better cultural export. That's like a store. And then it'll fit perfectly.
00:42:53
Speaker
But anyway, that's nice. guess the equivalent is like, imagine if there were Canadian tire stores like everywhere, except they also had a restaurant section where it was like the only place you could get good poutine.
00:43:06
Speaker
I don't know. Yeah. it all It all fits. Oh my gosh, such a tangent. Not really. It's related. I had the Swedish meatball nachos at Ikea and like vouched. They're really freaking good. Everyone should get them. If you're listening to me, like um William Eklund, this is your first thing that you do in Ottawa is get the nachos.
00:43:35
Speaker
It sounds awful, but it's so good. damn I gotta go to Ikea sometime I haven't been in ages because I haven't moved in a while yeah but the food is so good it's just like the Ikea in Montreal is kind of hard to get to if you don't have a car which is understandable because like if you're buying furniture why are you trying to go there without a car but like I should be able to bus there just for the food and I also like genuinely love buying like their frozen meatballs yeah I feel like They should just like open independent IKEA restaurants that like don't have furniture and it's just the restaurant. I feel like it might defeat the purpose a bit because it's like the whole point is that you eat and then go buy your bookcase or whatever. But well, you know what i learned actually when I visited Stockholm a few years ago is in Sweden, IKEA is like a store that is in a mall, you know, like it's much smaller than it is here in Canada. It's not like this massive store that you go to drive to
00:44:33
Speaker
Yeah, that's interesting. But I didn't go into any of the Ikeas in Sweden. I was like, I feel like i feel like the whole point of Ikea in Canada is you get like your taste of Sweden in this this store. And if I'm actually in Sweden, why would I go to Ikea? But any any Swedes listening, let me know if I missed out by not going to Ikea in Sweden and if I should plan another trip to visit the actual Ikeas.
00:44:57
Speaker
who Oh my god, that's so funny. Yeah. you don't even know. I guess we got here by just talking about IKEA and Swedish players. But anyways, it's not just William Eklund. Steve Steyos has decided to just make this team really Swedish.
00:45:15
Speaker
like Yeah. I don't know what Brady Kachuk had against Swedes, but like as soon as he left, Steyos was like, we need to get more Swedish right now. Unfortunately, brought in some not very good Swedes.
Team Dynamics Post-Brady Kachuk
00:45:28
Speaker
As in, like, the worst goalie in the league last year.
00:45:32
Speaker
And also Andrzej Burakowski, who might be good, we don't know. ah He hasn't been good in a while. Yeah. um I think that that's so funny. And I would also fully believe if like Brady Kachuk was one of those like old Don Cherry types who's like, oh, I don't like Swedes. like they just They don't play the game right. like Don't bring me any or whatever. would actually believe that... okay...
00:45:59
Speaker
or okay You told me about this. The rumor that we were gonna bring Eric Carlson back and then like it would undermine Brayden Pichuk's leadership so they were like no no we can't.
00:46:10
Speaker
I think that's bullshit. There's no way that's true. Sorry to Bruce. I know. i For my own sanity I have to just believe that that was never true. That, like, can't be true. But if it is true, then it's almost like they were, like, no Eric Carlson. And honestly, even the mention of another Swede will just send Brady Kachuk into a tailspin. So, like, just, like, no more for now. We'll only draft Americans from North Dakota.
00:46:35
Speaker
ah That's why he had all that drama with Omar. Literally. No, but that's the thing. I feel like his whole family has the vibe that they think that, like, Europeans are soft. Like, I really believe that they think that.
00:46:50
Speaker
Oh, i don't know. I've decided to run with this. Brady is Swede phobic. Oh, it's so sad. He also like fully, I don't know. There's something with Tim Stutzel there where he was like, whatever, that's as youre that's as like Euro as I'll get. Like German, okay. But anywhere other than that, no way.
00:47:14
Speaker
I also love that so many people are talking about Ersan, the goalie that we acquired, as like, almost like he's an emotional support animal for Linus Allmark, where they're like, well, Allmark will be a much happier when he has another Swede with him. No, but actually it kind of makes sense.
00:47:33
Speaker
it's like No, I get it. It's just funny the way people are talking about him. It is funny. Like, he's not a player. He's just like, oh, whatever. We'll spend two million to make, like, Lena Selmer happy. But I feel like... I mean, that's what Josh Norris was toward the end. Exactly. Like, who cares? Like, that's... And he was making eight million dollars. So, like, whatever. And I was happy about it. I was like, good. This is what we need. Um...
00:47:59
Speaker
But I feel like goalie is definitely like, I don't know. i feel like it seems isolating because it's like you're out there alone. bad all the time if you lose, which like Ulmer was like definitely like losing a lot. Like that can't be easy. And obviously he had his like, um like personal struggles, all that stuff. So it's like, I feel like it would be nice to have like a tandem where you're both Swedish.
00:48:22
Speaker
Mm hmm. miss He probably missed Jeremy Swayman and whatever, like, you know, there's probably a lot of emotion. I mean, Jeremy Swayman was American, but I get what you mean that he like a a buddy before.
00:48:36
Speaker
i know That's the thing. Why couldn't... Who was our backup? Who was a other goalie? Reimer? Yeah, i understand why you didn't bond with Reimer. Fair enough. Before that, it was Mariline. Oh, the Finn and the Swede don't get along. big surprise. Yeah. far as well. the The Dane and the Swede don't get along. Actually, both our Danes have left the team now that we've become really Swedish.
Roster Strategy and Player Friendships
00:48:59
Speaker
so checks out yeah so I feel like it makes sense that like obviously Jeremy Swinman was American but whatever we actively made it so that Allmark could not bond with our other goalies so it's fine now we got him a friend perfect that's that's all that matters we got him a little friend Pierre Dorian school of roster construction where it's like we have him who's his friend now we'll get him a friend
00:49:31
Speaker
It's like people are also talking about that with Fabian Sederland where they're like, we got him a friend. It's okay. He'll go back to scoring 20 goals now. yeah It's just so interesting. But like if it works, yeah, that is what they needed. They just needed friends.
00:49:48
Speaker
I mean, the first set of friends that they acquired didn't work out, but that doesn't mean that it was a bad strategy. Yeah. People both forget that, like, Albertson and Carlson were friends. Like, that that was a good friendship pair. Mm-hmm.
00:50:04
Speaker
Yeah. oh that I mean, it was always more of a father-son vibe. Yeah. Like, fathers and sons can be friends. It's fine. And I love whatever Zetterlund and Eklund have going on there. i think it's lovely. Good for them.
00:50:18
Speaker
First ever hockey player to invite the there's only one bed trope? Like, okay. That's... like like good for you yeah yeah no it was so great yeah he was like I have a spare room he can sleep there or he can sleep in my bed if he wants please like yeah I feel like why is that gonna get lifted directly into some like fix I feel like I said I will not check this but I'm I'm sure it's happening already yeah Oh my god. do you think there are any like sharks RPF writers who now have to who were writing like Zetterlund Eklund fic for a while and now they're gonna keep writing it but now they have to learn about Ottawa?
00:51:00
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Honestly i hope so. Or they're just like AU where they're actually both still in Thanos.
Elias Pettersson's Potential Move to Ottawa
00:51:10
Speaker
That's so offensive.
00:51:11
Speaker
I know. They're Ottawa boys. people So many people on Shark Twitter were like, oh my god, Ekwit has to go live in Ottawa now. Swedish players love Ottawa. How many times do we have to say this? That's so funny. Oh my gosh. Pick writers, if you're listening, make them go to the Great Gleave Garage Sale.
00:51:32
Speaker
i feel like that would be fun. Make them play paddle with Daniel Alfredson. yeah you don't know what paddle is, that shows that your city is not as Swedish as my city.
00:51:43
Speaker
It's true. It's very true. i didn't even know that... Was San Jose very Swedish? i feel like no, right? Like, the team?
00:51:54
Speaker
feel like no more than other teams. Yeah. oh thats I mean, they just drafted a Swede second overall, but that was like after Eklund. Yeah, so that doesn't even make any sense.
00:52:07
Speaker
Like, what what a confused direction they're going in Why would a Swede like the weather in San Jose? Coobe warm. I've never been to Sweden, so I actually am not very familiar with the rule weather. I feel like it but like it's very similar to here.
00:52:22
Speaker
That's so interesting. There you go. It's too... Yeah, and... In San Jose. Okay. Do we think that this Swedification of the Ottawa Senators is just for the sake of good vibes? Just we like Swedes? Or, conspiracy theory time, are we trying to entice a big-name Swedish player to come play for us? Which could be Eric Carlson, who has one more year left on his deal.
00:52:50
Speaker
but Low key. Elias Patterson? Full no move clause that just kicked in? Any interest, you think? i feel like, I don't know if this was something that I just like made up in my head, but I feel like I've been thinking, like oh, because he needs a change.
00:53:08
Speaker
But if you're listening, Steve Stales, the right one. There's two of them. Please get the right Elias Patterson.
00:53:17
Speaker
Oh my god, I know. i I did text one of my friends who's a Canucks fan, like, you know, what do you think it would take for Elias Pettersson to come to Ottawa? Do you think that would be a good idea? And they were like, which Elias Pettersson? Yeah.
00:53:30
Speaker
So it's very confusing, but please make sure. need a meeting of the minds. You need to be in agreement about which Elias Patterson you are trading for.
00:53:40
Speaker
yeah I honestly would love that because I feel like he has been so like disrespected. I don't know if like the Vancouver crowd like disrespects him, but I feel it's just like league wide. People are just like, why does he suck now? And it's like, I don't know. He got cyber bullied.
00:53:55
Speaker
And then he maybe this is like all like from when I was a kid. But I feel like he was like, I play video games and then people were like, quit your video games. And then he got like really bad. And then they were like, okay, bring them back. And then he got like minute it really bad for him. Cause it's also like, he had like, so he was so good when he first like started, like won the Calder and everything. So very sad.
00:54:18
Speaker
Yeah, well, and every Canucks fan I know, um including my mom, have been saying that, like, he definitely just needs a change of scenery. Like, there's something mental. They need they to get him a therapist. Like, he has all the talent. He just, like, there's something wrong. So maybe the Sens are, like, acquiring all these Swedes to make a great environment for him, you know? absolutely.
00:54:43
Speaker
Well, and also, like one thing that interests me is that Travis Green was Elias Patterson's coach for his first few seasons in the NHL. And, like, from what I understand, like, he wasn't – those weren't his best years. Like, obviously, he won the Calder under Green, had some, like, decent seasons, and then really exploded afterward um with the next coach that they had, and then got bad again.
00:55:07
Speaker
So, like, I'm not saying that going back to Travis Green will fix him, but I have no doubt that the Sens are talking to Travis Green, being like, hey, what did you see in this player? ah Do you think that he could rebound with a change of scenery? Like, how would you use him in this lineup and stuff? Like, i i I would love to know what they're talking about and what Travis Green's assessment is, but they have this, like, resource, you know? Yeah, I feel like that's really interesting. i would certainly really like Elias Pedersen. Because I still, like, again, when I was a Canucks fan, he had, like, just won the Calder. And then I stopped paying attention when he got really bad. Like, in my head, he's excellent. And, like, I think he can return to that. I also feel like, um, I think this was, like, unsubstantiated rumors. But weren't there weird rumors that, like, actually, like, Quinn Hughes was, like, the problem. And was, like, everyone was bullying Elias Pedersen.
Pettersson's Fit and Revival Potential
00:56:05
Speaker
something like I feel like that was the wasn't it also like JT Miller that was bullying yeah JT was bullying Leona Pettersson they traded JT Miller then it was like wait Quinn Hughes was bull I maybe made that part up maybe qui maybe there was never a rumor that Quinn Hughes was but I believe it and they got rid of Brady Kachuk because they were like Brady Kachuk and Quinn Hughes are functionally the same guy right so then they made way for Leona Pettersson because they were like literally no more like scary American weirdos than just the British people for you.
00:56:37
Speaker
Wasn't there also a rumor that was like, this is definitely unsubstantiated. It was like some random fan on Reddit saying that like, Patterson was really woke and like, was getting bullied by the MAGA crowd.
00:56:50
Speaker
I believe it. I believe that Elias Patterson is really woke. He always gave that vibe. He always gave the vibe that he was like, really, like, just like, was like, listen, like, why is there like racism? Like, he seemed like he would like, believe that. And like, I agree. with this, the comparison I've constructed in my head, where he's like, it just makes no sense to be bigoted. I agree with him.
00:57:18
Speaker
Perfect. We need this guy in Ottawa. And like, and obviously the main problem is his contract. Basically, it sounds like the Canucks are shopping him, but the problem is the contract because they don't want to retain and nobody wants that contract.
00:57:32
Speaker
I feel like the Sens could do it. Like, they'd have to move some things around, but... It's not impossible for them to fit his contract there. Especially if there's little bit of retention. he has a full no move, so he has full control over where he goes. And he doesn't give off the vibe of like, a I need to go to Vegas or um Minnesota. Definitely not going to Minnesota. Definitely not going to Florida. um I feel like...
00:57:59
Speaker
Ottawa seems like the perfect destination for him. i guess the the only other concern is like, if we're going to get that much cap space to a guy who like might rebound, but might just be bad now that that's, that is a big swing. I understand. But like, I do trust this front office to do their due diligence and really try to figure out if it's going to work.
00:58:19
Speaker
Yeah, because it's like not like a situation where he was just like, ah so good and like junior or whatever. And then came and suck like he was like very good at the and NHL level for like multiple years.
00:58:30
Speaker
Like it doesn't make sense that he's just like randomly bad. I believe the bullying rumors. I believe someone bullied him. and the media probably a but whatever um I also think that um I think that like if it's a situation where because like I know that some people view like Vancouver as like a tough market because like obviously it's like quite big and like Canadian and all that stuff so like I feel like Ottawa would be nicer to him like still Canadian but chiller um I also you like I maybe made this up in my head. Canucks fans, if you're listening, you can just tell me I'm wrong about all this. I'm pretty sure he did the Tim Stutzle thing of he was like, I'm struggling. I'm going to shave my head. So like, they can yeah for that
00:59:15
Speaker
oh, there you go. I feel like it's perfect. I really want Elias Pettersson to go to Ottawa. I love Elias Pettersson and I've always loved Elias Pettersson. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. I mean, obviously, I feel like Jason Robertson, just from a purely hockey perspective, made the most sense because we need a goal scorer, and he is a great goal scorer. And even there's a part of me that watches all this stuff, and he's basically, he's not even saying what he wants. He's just like, yeah, I want more money than what Dallas is offering me, but also I don't want to go to any of these teams that are offering me this money. And it's like, buddy, if you want that kind of money...
00:59:50
Speaker
the best team you can possibly go to is probably Ottawa. Like, nobody better than us has the cap space for you. and So I keep thinking, like, it should it should work. But also just, like, vibes-wise, I like the idea of bringing in Petey, and we can rehabilitate him.
01:00:07
Speaker
He can be happy now that he's on our woke Swedish team. but Literally, like Obviously, heated rivalry, they construct a woke gay team, and that's not quite what we're doing. But, like, we are constructing a woke team in Ottawa. Like, we're following part of the playbook.
01:00:26
Speaker
But, yeah, I would love Elias Pedersen in Ottawa. And, honestly, like, Jason Robertson... is giving like me when someone asks where I want to eat where it's like don't know and then he's like well do you want this and he's like no and it's like okay so like just pick I don't know like I see myself in him in that way so he should i don't know like I feel like he's just stay with
Jason Robertson's Contract Disputes
01:00:50
Speaker
Dallas and then this whole thing is gonna be silly like at that point why don't you take that Seattle offer it's actually so confusing to me
01:00:57
Speaker
Yeah, i truly feel like he is just playing around with these other teams as a way to like force Dallas to pay him what he's asking for. cause Isn't that a difference of like $2 million dollars a year? Like obviously that's life changing money, but for an NHL player, what is the difference between like $12 million and $14 million?
01:01:17
Speaker
No, literally. It's also like, I feel like Dallas has like, is it like a no, or like Texas, obviously, like a no income tax state, I'm pretty sure. So it's like, you're doing great. Like you're doing amazing. It's going to be fine.
01:01:31
Speaker
um or yeah I don't know. It's very interesting to me. Like, yeah, when it comes down to money at that level, I understand potentially feeling like disrespected and like, you're not paying me what I'm actually worth. And like, that's the real issue. um And like, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. But at the same time, it's like, I don't know if you clearly want to stay in Dallas, just take $12 million, dollars I guess. Like, I don't know. Yeah.
01:01:55
Speaker
Yeah, well, I think in his case, it's also like they brought in Mikko Rantanen and paid him basically like a little bit less than what Jason Robertson is after. So he's like, well, you were giving that money to him. Why aren't you? Why didn't you save any for me? You know? Yeah.
01:02:10
Speaker
Yeah. It's rough, but, like, again, sometimes it's hard to sympathize. Like, I don't know. You make so much money. And I know that's unfair.
Vision for a Swedish Super Team
01:02:21
Speaker
Like, they should get paid what they're worth, and it's, like, the owners who are bad and whatever. But, like, I don't know.
01:02:27
Speaker
Yeah, but you know what my real plan is? What I think the Ottawa Senators should try to do, and i I've been saying this on social media, I feel like this is what Staios is after. There's all this talk about the Team USA players forming a Team USA super team in like Florida or whatever.
01:02:45
Speaker
Guys, we need a Team Sweden super team in Ottawa. We need to acquire one guy who is in that Team Sweden group chat who can go in and be like, hey guys, have you heard about this amazing, the amazing Swedish city of Ottawa, Ontario? We can all sign there and we can win the cup with our Swedish team. And Elias Patterson is the key to that group chat.
01:03:11
Speaker
It's honestly very true. And like, let's not stop at the players. I want to poach the Sedins as like front office people. want it all.
01:03:21
Speaker
want to do it up big. Perfect. I mean, we draw them in with Daniel Alfredson, right? We're like, who wants to coach by Daniel Alfredson? He's really good at coaching the power play, by the way. Don't look at our power play results.
01:03:35
Speaker
This is why we needed to draft those twins that Pittsburgh drafted. Because then we could be like, look, guide these twins. Abandon Vancouver. Yeah, that's the dream.
01:03:49
Speaker
I did think it was hilarious, though, when we were approaching the 25th overall pick, and i i was making jokes like, hmm, so who is the best Swedish player available since apparently the Sens only want Swedes these days? And then Gary Badman gets up to the podium and he's like, from Sweden. I laughed so hard.
01:04:09
Speaker
little funny Wasn't it like also a very off-the-board pick? like It may not have been best sweet available. Yeah, it was not the consensus best suite available. I kind of love this pick, though. I have to say, I'm not like a prospects person. But basically, it sounds like they got a guy who some people rated like top 15 or something. Like, I mean, teams when they draft a player always say like, yeah, we had him rated way higher than this or whatever. But yeah, lots of like possibly a top 15 talent who got injured last season.
Ottawa's Draft Strategy and Player Development
01:04:44
Speaker
So he just like didn't play. But he had this...
01:04:46
Speaker
insane stat line his last full season where he had like what 40 goals and three assists or something which like that takes talent to do I don't even know how you accomplish that and then this past season he had nine goals in nine games so like you know what amazing either either it works out or it doesn't you know like I'm almost in favor of just like bring this guy to training camp put him on Timmy's wing like give him his nine games in the and NHL Either he's the next Ovechkin or he never plays another game.
01:05:20
Speaker
Yeah. I also like, i don't know. It's hard for me to get worked up over like, whatever. Like that when you reach like pick 20, it's kind of like, okay, now let's do a silly one. you know, like I feel like it like becomes a bit of a crowd shoot. So it's like, whatever. I really like our 32nd overall pick. I thought that story was like so cool. So I'm happy about that.
01:05:44
Speaker
Yeah, and i love taking a bet on a guy who has crazy talent and amazing work ethic. That seems like a great combination. so Yeah, so overall, I liked i like the draft outcome. I did not watch it, though, because from what I hear, it's like six hours long now, like day one. So respect to everyone who watched it. I did not tune Yeah, I signed up to cover the 32nd overall pick and forgot the implication that like I would be, in fact, waiting for the final pick of the night to write my article. uncle um But it was fine because I got to cover Jackson Cobra and now I know everything about him.
01:06:22
Speaker
That's so cool. ah feel like I'm very excited about him in Ottawa. I also feel like this is also tangent because but it's like about the draft. It's so weird now. Like, I don't know why they do it like that. And like why like none of the team people are there. But like Justin Bieber was there. like That's so weird to me.
01:06:43
Speaker
Well, and I felt so bad every time, like, Gary Bettman had to announce a pick. Like, that sucks. it it it's It says to the players, like, the team couldn't be bothered to show up to draft you, you know? Like, at least have someone from the organization walk up to the podium to announce it. Uh-huh. I think it might be how they do it in other sports. I'm not 100% sure, but I think in other sports it is just a commissioner. Yeah, I know. It's like, whatever. Like, it's like...
01:07:11
Speaker
I don't know. i don't like it as much. Because then obviously Gary Bettman can't sound that excited about it. Because it's like... Otherwise it's like bias or whatever. i don't know. Bring back the old draft format.
01:07:24
Speaker
you Yeah. So a lot of people are kind of dooming about the Sens right now. i think people overrated Brady. And that's why they're convinced that the Sens are going to be worse. But i feel good about things. I still think they need a few more pieces. But like...
01:07:41
Speaker
I don't think they got substantially worse. Especially because they brought back Spence. Yeah. I know there was like. That was up in the air I feel like. People were scared. um There were a lot of rumors that they were going to trade him.
01:07:54
Speaker
And then it never made any sense. So I'm like glad they didn't. who Yeah. I feel like one. Like ah some of the signings conf confused me. I know we talked about them. But like I don't get it. Maybe there's a bigger plan in place.
01:08:08
Speaker
And also like Giroud. Like. Code Giroux, are you coming home? I know, I'm so scared. The thing is, like, there's probably going to be a decision after this goes out, and I'm so scared. Because as we record this, basically, like, it's it's on it's July 2nd, and he hasn't signed anywhere.
01:08:27
Speaker
And it sounds like the Sens want him back, but he wants a test for agency.
Claude Giroux's Contract Situation
01:08:32
Speaker
So it's like, there are rumors that he might be going to Philly, which like, okay, if that happens, like, sure. I respect it. Whatever. Go go do one last tour with the team that you spent most of your career with.
01:08:44
Speaker
But I don't know. Yeah. No, don't do it. I don't know.
01:08:51
Speaker
The thing with him is, like, he's not that good anymore. So, like, do we need an upgrade on him? Yes. But also, if we're not upgrading on him, I'd rather just have him here. And also just for the vibes.
01:09:03
Speaker
Like, I would like him to stick around. I also feel like he can still take a mean face off. Like, teach it to the younger guys. Like, that's that's honestly, like, all his value. If that's, like, I mean, like, if that's all his value, it's still good value, you know? to Teach everyone how to take a face off. Except...
01:09:21
Speaker
remember we taught Josh Norris how to take a face off and then Josh Norris's shoulder like did what it does like so maybe we hold off on it do not learn face offs from Kloji who yeah maybe we hold off on giving our new guy from the sharks who like whatever has all the Josh Norris parallels maybe you just don't know he's a wier he doesn't need he doesn't need to do face offs is fine perfect perfect Yeah, I just want him back, especially like with all these rumors that Carlsen might come back next year because he's a free agent next year. So it's like maybe he just does one more year with the Sens. It's like, don't give me that, that hope and then have pretty much that exact thing happen to another fan base. You know, like we we hold on to Knojiru until Eric Carlsen comes home.
01:10:10
Speaker
Yeah, also doesn't What's his freaking name? Trevor Zegers played for the, like, Flyers now? Mm-hmm. Claude Giroux, you would not like Trevor Zegers.
01:10:21
Speaker
I feel like Claude Giroux would not like the TikTok generation.
Fallout from Brady Kachuk Trade
01:10:24
Speaker
And, like, obviously there's TikTok generation on the Sens, but I feel like Zegers is too TikTok generation. That's so true.
01:10:34
Speaker
He wouldn't like it there anyway. not his vibe at all. Yeah. Okay, anyways. i Also, we need to talk about... A little bit, some of the fallout for the Brady trade, because talked about a bit of this, but, like, this is so crazy of how silent the whole team was. Like, we alluded to this. We talked about this a little bit last episode, but, like, truly, it is so funny how the entire team went completely dark, except for Jake Sanderson. He was the only one who posted an Instagram story, which, like, I'm eyeing you, Jake Sanderson. Yeah.
01:11:09
Speaker
But yeah, ah the whole team like went dead silent about Brady. The organization is now like doing a whole promotion where people can trade in their Brady jerseys.
01:11:19
Speaker
Meanwhile, Jordan Spence signs an extension and the whole team, every single player, is celebrating it. like Interesting. Yeah. it's like, I'm actually really confused because obviously people are like,
01:11:33
Speaker
I, apparently now there's, like, you sent it to me, or there's rumors that, like, for four years now, Brady has been, like, in that locker room, like, I'm not re-signing, blah, blah, which, like, I don't know. another Bruce Garriock rumor that hmm.
01:11:47
Speaker
I feel like can't be true because like there wasn't like a chill until I feel like recently. Like i feel like they were still like partying with Brady and like whatever. Like everyone was loving Brady until like kind of recently. But it's honestly so interesting to me. Also, did you see that the Sens posted like about like how you can swap your old Kachuk jersey? Yeah, I just said that.
01:12:11
Speaker
Oh, wait, that's so funny. Mm-hmm. yeah No, it's it's good. I really hope the organization just goes full scorched earth with this guy. Like, just let everyone know how much you disliked him.
01:12:24
Speaker
Also, yeah, I looked it up and Timmy like basically did not play with Brady this year. Like there was a tiny stretch in December where they were on the same line, but I think they played power play together and that was it, which is interesting. Yeah.
01:12:39
Speaker
I just i remember finding it weird. i i remember finding it weird toward the end of the season when I was like, why does Tim Stutzler have two right wingers on his line and Dylan Cousins has two left wings on his line? Like that doesn't make any sense.
01:12:53
Speaker
So the pieces are coming together. I'm like, they hate this guy the whole time. It's shades of JT Miller and Elias Pettersson is all I'm saying. Like, it seems like the same thing went down, whatever went down. That's so weird, though. Jim Stutzler is woke. We've always said this.
01:13:10
Speaker
Jim Stutzler is like, oh, this is too, like, I'm too woke for this locker room. Like, this guy, I hate him. I honestly would believe it. But actually, no, I don't.
01:13:22
Speaker
He and Pedersen will get along so well. They can talk about leftist theory. No, literally. They're just, like, gonna, like, start a book club. Oh my god, it's, like, the Christian book club, but, like, for leftist, like, literature.
01:13:36
Speaker
oh my god. They start, like, a discussion circle about, like, the merits of, like, whatever. oh my god. Perfect. I've solved it.
01:13:47
Speaker
The version of the Ottawa Senators that exists in my mind continues to be so cool. so literally. Like, it's so perfect. I'm so excited for the woke Ottawa Senators. I can't wait to see what they come up with. Because, like, they'll win the cup and then they'll, like, solve poverty, you know? Like, it'll be perfect.
Senators' Social Advocacy and Public Perception
01:14:07
Speaker
They're gonna take it um on the campaign trail with Catherine McKinney. Exactly. Exactly. Like, they're all putting their pronouns in their bios. I'll tell you that. like think They're all negotiating their next contracts going, yeah, um I really want to stay in Ottawa because of the high taxes.
01:14:28
Speaker
is there like a way to increase this? They're like, they're going to like city council meetings being like Mark Sutcliffe. Like, please increase my property taxes. Can you believe my income? Like, that's way too high. You gotta tax this.
01:14:43
Speaker
I know. oh my gosh. It's actually so good. my woke king. I'm so excited for the woke Swedish era of the Ottawa Senators. Me too, because the other thing is I feel like people for so long were like, ugh, the gross Ottawa Senators with their evil captain. And it's like, fair. Like, yeah, you got us. But now we're fun again. And now we're woke. And now no one can no one no one can hate us.
01:15:11
Speaker
They can hate us, but like, yeah. Especially, it was so annoying. Every time the Sands posted anything about Pride, which they do all the time, ever since Melnick died, they've been very woke. The organization, the social team. Unrelated though, it was unrelated. message Yeah.
01:15:28
Speaker
Unrelated to the players, the messaging of the team has been very pro-LGBT and for the past few months, every time they posted something, so many people online would be like, ah Brady is fuming seeing this. like, imagine you know the hypocrisy of posting this when Brady is your captain. And i that was really annoying.
01:15:50
Speaker
Yeah, because it's like, I understand, like, a little bit, like, when a team posts something that, like, you are like, this is hypocrisy, because it's like, a team, whatever, Twitter account is like the public facing forum where you can go to like talk to the team, like, as like close as possible, right? But it's like, okay, but like, the organization...
01:16:12
Speaker
can still like post what they want like regardless of like who the captain is and like yeah it's also like I don't know i don't understand like essentially shooting down like positive things just because you're like um that actually your captain hates this and it's like okay a lot of teams aren't like posting pride stuff so I feel like it's like a net positive to post it even if like obviously players probably don't agree with it um but yeah Yeah, well, and it's also like, I get that Brady is the only player that you guys know. And he's also the captain in the face of the team. So like, I do get it on some level. But like, he's not the only player on this team.
01:16:50
Speaker
And now people will finally have to acknowledge the other players on the team. Yeah, or we go back to being invisible, which honestly is way better. i don't want the the spotlight.
01:17:01
Speaker
The lights were too bright for me. I didn't like when Brady Kachuk was like, at like, obviously, like, on all the pod, or on the, like, whatever, on everyone's mind. I don't like it. I'm happy that everyone's anonymous again.
01:17:16
Speaker
Yeah. Well, and Brady hasn't said that much about the trade because I don't think he's done a solo interview. He's always with Matthew. fucking loser. i think on Instagram he posted, thank you, Ottawa. Yeah. Okay, you're welcome. that There were like three sense players who liked it.
01:17:32
Speaker
Oh, God. Interesting. So funny. What happened? Like, I know. Like, that's the thing because I don't know what happened. Is it like I guess it might be the like Olympic stuff, but it's just like so interesting. Like thinking back to like Brady and Timmy especially, i feel like a few years ago, those two were like boys. Like they were like friends. I feel like it's so interesting. i wonder what happened. Yeah, but then the thing is, also when I think back on when things changed, I'm like, you know what? They haven't been that close for a while.
01:18:06
Speaker
Now that I think about it, like I didn't notice it. i mean, good on them for keeping this secret. Like whatever, whatever happens between them, which it seems like there was something, um they did a good job of making sure that it did not get out to the media and the fans didn't notice until Brady got traded. And we were all looking back like, wait, the signs were all here. Yeah.
01:18:25
Speaker
There was even a moment, and i don't I don't think this is, I don't actually believe this, but there was a moment where I was like, wait, did Brady request a trade this offseason or last offseason because Staios' wording in his press conference was so weird where he was like, a trade request changed things for me or whatever. And then I was like, wait, Brady was really checked out this past year. This is when all the drama started. This is when the podcast started. Like, did he request a trade last offseason? And now he was just like super upset and all that this season. I don't even think that's true. but it's just, it's stuff like that where it's like, things have been so off.
Rumors of Brady Kachuk's Trade Request
01:19:04
Speaker
Yeah. Especially this past year, things were so off. It was weird. That would be so funny if like you make your first ever playoffs and then you're like, okay, get me out of here. Like I'm done. Like if it was last off season, like that's so that makes it very obvious. Like, yeah. That was also like the time we booed the anthem and Four Nations. So like, yeah it was kind of like, okay, it's the anthem booing. That was the problem that would have been last year, not this past year. Cause we didn't boo the anthem this year. We were too afraid that it would drive Brady away.
01:19:36
Speaker
my gosh, I can't believe that people were right about it. Which, like, I'm sorry, that's, like, so soft. Like, people boo your anthem and you're like, i can't, like, I don't know. I just can't imagine being so patriotic that, like, you become loser. Like, a luther I don't know.
01:19:54
Speaker
Yeah. It's pathetic. And yeah, there's there's so much that we don't know what actually happened. It sure doesn't seem like the team is sad about him leaving. And also, i've I don't know, I've heard a lot of stuff kind of suggesting that Timmy was stepping up as a leader more than we realized for the past few years and doing a lot of Brady's job, which has kind of made me come around to the idea of Timmy potentially being captain. I think that like either way, the leadership group is like Timmy, Shabbat, and Sanderson.
01:20:25
Speaker
who but it's interesting like I hadn't really considered him one of the like leaders on the team you know but he clearly is now he's clearly getting a letter of some kind yeah Yeah, I feel like that's all very interesting. i would kill for like a tell-all, like in like however many years.
01:20:43
Speaker
Like I need a book, I need a documentary, like I just, somebody on the Ottawa Senator is just like, tell me everything and I won't tell anyone. Just just like, I can be trusted. Just tell me everything that happened,
Future of Ottawa Senators and Team Dynamics
01:20:54
Speaker
please. I want to know.
01:20:56
Speaker
Yeah, because it's also too niche. you know how sometimes like those like those like YouTube videos happen or whatever. It's like, what really happened inside? Blah, blah, blah. It's like this is too niche for that. Like no one actually cares that much. So that'll never happen. But yeah.
01:21:13
Speaker
Yeah, well, even the stuff about, like, the rumor that he had been talking about wanting out for the last four years. If you do the math, that was 2022, which would mean, if this is true, that a year after he became captain, a year after, specifically, Thomas Chabot got passed over for the captaincy, Chabot was hearing Brady feel like, yeah, I'm out of here once my contract's up.
01:21:37
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Okay. Like, it is a wonder they we didn't get another fight in the CTC parking lot. Oh my gosh. That's actually so sad if that's true. Someone tell us.
01:21:50
Speaker
We won't. Like, literally, I'm really good at keeping secrets.
01:21:56
Speaker
I don't know. Anyways, I think that was all we had to discuss. think so. Yeah, so, you know, looking forward to the um new era of the woke Swedish super team in Ottawa.
01:22:12
Speaker
Hopefully the vibes will get better and so will the team. i'm I'm honestly like so excited for this next season. Like I still hope that there's a new move coming, but because I do think they need a lot of help at forward. But I am just so looking forward to what this team can do now that the drama is behind them.
01:22:28
Speaker
Now that they have something to prove, you know, like I just so, so badly want them to have a good season. Yeah, I feel like it'll be so... Because, like, again, like, we didn't know there was drama, but it's cool that now there is supposedly no drama. Like, that's awesome. And yeah, I hope that the wokeness continues. I hope they do local sponsorships. We will call them the Mushu ice cream line. It'll be perfect. you like it Perfect.
Conclusion and Social Media Plugs
01:22:56
Speaker
Yeah, so on that note, thanks for listening. We will see you if there is news during the offseason. um Follow us on Twitter and Blue Sky EliteSenseBrain. Read Silver7Sense.
01:23:10
Speaker
Go Sens go and go ChargeGo. Sens go and go ChargeGo. Bye. Bye.