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Défaite de Montréal
115 Plays1 month ago
Now that hockey is over and there are definitely no teams playing anymore, it's time for the offseason. First, we recap the Ottawa Charge's thrilling run to the Walter Cup final and the news about PWHL expansion. Then, we discuss everything that's happened in the Stanley Cup playoffs since the Sens were eliminated, and cap off the episode by handing out the Amelnykan Awards.
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Transcript
Introduction and Banter
00:00:05
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 newts on my team. You just got newt.
00:00:17
Speaker
just had them. Just them, we'll see.
00:00:23
Speaker
Hi everyone and welcome to episode Tyler Cleven of Elite Sunsbrain. As always, I'm Beata and i am joined by my currently very offline co-host, Twitter user at Ericsonsbrainer. How's it going?
00:00:39
Speaker
and doing good. How are you? I'm doing good. but I've also been touching grass. I'm still online, but I've been touching grass because, you know, the hockey season is over. There's no hockey being played anymore.
Life After Hockey Season
00:00:50
Speaker
It's been over for a long time. And I'm just I'm trying to not think about it. It's true. Yeah, that's the thing is I was like, ah For those who don't know, for those who don't keep up with me, I've been deactivated on all social media platforms um because as soon as you something unspeakable happened in the Ottawa Charge lore, something terrible happened, guys. We'll talk about it later. But as soon as I was like, OK, well, there's no reason for me to be here right now.
00:01:17
Speaker
So, yeah. How has touching grass been? It's been good. and It's been... um'm i honestly just, like, lie down in my bed and watch YouTube instead of go on, like, Full Sky, so it's practically the same, but it's good. It's good to watch YouTube.
00:01:36
Speaker
I feel that. What YouTube videos are you watching? um my gosh. Do you know... I've been... Okay, do you know the streamer Northern Lion? no okay if anyone listening knows northern line he's like so funny he's like a streamer from canada and he's like a canucks fan so one time like name dropped like the like the ctc like he was like talking about the ottawa senators and i was like whoa but he's so funny he plays video games so i've been only watching that and talking to my friends about this um but yeah that's such a tangent though if you know if anyone listening knows
00:02:08
Speaker
Comment below your favorite Northern Lion video. Some people on Blue Sky do know, actually, because I'll post sometimes about Northern Lion and I'll get some likes. so Nice.
00:02:19
Speaker
I
Entertainment and Media Discussion
00:02:20
Speaker
do not know that streamer, but I'm happy for you. Thank you so much. What have you been up to? ah Not much, you know, um because at the same time as the hockey season ended, the one TV show that I was keeping up with also ended.
00:02:37
Speaker
And look, haters will say, haters would say that I got queerbaited by the TV show 9-1-1 in the year 2025. But say... but i say It's not queerbaiting.
00:02:50
Speaker
It's a slow burn in romance. They're getting together in season nine. Everyone, you have an extra four months to get into 911. Don't get mad at me when you get caught up. I will finally do it. when In my touching grass era, I will not touch grass. I will get caught up. I will watch the whole series. It was so funny. When Buddy Cannon didn't happen, i feel like...
00:03:13
Speaker
yeah but like the world stop. The thing is, for the whole season, I kept being like, when this goes canon, like the internet is going to explode. And so therefore, I was like, I can't miss an episode.
00:03:29
Speaker
like i have to watch live, you know? Because if it happens and I can't watch the episode live, I'm going to get spoiled, obviously, and I'm going to miss the like celebration. And so there were so many episodes where I was like, I have to watch live just in case, just in case it happens. But And then it didn't happen.
00:03:47
Speaker
I feel like when it does happen, though, because I never watched Supernatural, but I feel like everyone knows. Like the I don't even know. Destiel? I never watched it either, but I was on Tumblr when that happened.
00:03:58
Speaker
Exactly. Like, that's the thing. It was like such like a moment. So I feel like this is going to be like you have to be there for it. Exactly. That's why I keep telling people to get in on it. That's why got caught up because people on my Twitter for you page were like, you know, Buck is bi now. And next season, it's going to be Eddie's season. Eddie's going to be gay. Buddy's going to go canon. I was like, I need to watch this live. I need to get in on this.
00:04:25
Speaker
And unfortunately, which people on Twitter lied to me. I think they were a little bit delusional. Why would they do that? I gotta say, we're talking about YouTube videos. I'm a big video essay person.
00:04:39
Speaker
And after the 9-1-1 season finale, I went and rewatched Sarah Zed's video about Dusty L. And I was watching it and I was like, this sounds a little too familiar.
00:04:53
Speaker
Like... All these people being like predicting that it was going to happen because clearly the show was leading towards this and then the finale happened they're like, oh, there were last minute rewrites. like It was supposed to go canon. I was like, oh, i this sounds too familiar right now. I see what I look like to other people. Maybe maybe i understand what happened with Destiel a little better now.
00:05:21
Speaker
I feel like it's just like, it's cyclical. It's like, it's gonna happen every single like, it needs there always needs to be a show that's actively queerbaiting or something like airing because otherwise, like the whole everything gets thrown off like the space time continuum, like the world will collapse.
00:05:38
Speaker
Yeah, and like, truly, there used to be so many shows doing that at the same time. yeah And now it's just 911. Everyone else is actually making their characters queer. 911,
Ottawa Charge Playoff Journey
00:05:50
Speaker
they're the only one holding out.
00:05:52
Speaker
And obviously, no, 911 has made some of their characters queer and everything. But the big one the character who needs to be gay for his character to make any sense, they're holding out. Today's the first day of Pride Month and Eddie Diaz is still in the closet and it's so upsetting. It's not right.
00:06:12
Speaker
It is true, though, that like, I feel like what was his like Sherlock was doing it, I think, like at the time Supernatural was doing it. It does, I guess, point to like progress that it's all been concentrated into like one show now that's doing it. Everyone else just has like canon couples.
00:06:31
Speaker
And a show that is willing to like make it partially canon. I mean, to be fair, Supernatural did also make their ship partially canon by having one of the characters confess that he has feelings for the other, which is more than nine one one has done. Except 9-1-1 did not send that character to Superhell.
00:06:51
Speaker
yeah So, like... Little... like It's like little wins here and there. yeah that's... it's Because that's the thing. I think in The show, nine one one right?
00:07:02
Speaker
I don't think canonically there can be super hell. So that's like already a win. Yeah, like we know that that's not going to happen. Yeah. And like few months ago, I would have said, well, this show doesn't kill off its main characters. Yeah.
00:07:17
Speaker
Except now they do. Oh my god, yeah, wait, I saw this. I like how we haven't started talking about hockey yet. Okay, was that the one where it's like, this is for context? this Yeah! It's like, oh my god, I don't even remember any of those tweets, but I like saw it. In like, this fandom terms, this is what happened. It was a funny meme. It breached containment. I loved I like that's like the closest I got to understanding. I was like, oh what is happening?
00:07:45
Speaker
Yeah, look, they finally killed off a main character. They did it in a very messy way. the character death also got spoiled because they filmed the funeral out in public on a random like weekend. and everyone was like, well, if they're doing this, it must not be real. They must be like, it must be a fake out. It's a coma dream or something. And I know it was it was real. They fully spoiled it Terrible. Wait, for the listeners, can you put it in... I'm going to put you on the spot. Can you put it in Ottawa Senators or Ottawa Charge context? Can you do the meme for one of the teams? okay. In Ottawa Senators terms, Claude Giroux got traded. And for some reason, Tim Stutzler was not there to comfort Brady Kachuk.
00:08:34
Speaker
But like, I don't know, Nick Cousins was... parable. and get it. Worse than that. A player that we actively hate was there and we got his reaction.
00:08:47
Speaker
What the hell? Why'd they do that to you guys?
00:08:52
Speaker
He should have been there. I'm so sorry. But anyway, all this to say, Buddy Cannon next season. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Buddy Cannon season nine. It's gonna happen. Nine seasons?
00:09:03
Speaker
Oh my
00:09:05
Speaker
How long has it been airing? For like nine years? Since 2018, I think. Oh, wow. They banged out nine seasons, I guess in seven years. That's pretty good, I feel like. Yeah, January 2018 is when it started. Wow.
00:09:19
Speaker
Man. I know it's been going on for so long.
00:09:25
Speaker
They still haven't made Buddy Cannon. I'm telling you, it's coming. hi Having never watched the show, i can feel it. Yeah. Yeah, anyways, that's that's kind of what i was and what I've been doing while touching brass.
00:09:40
Speaker
Been reading books, been not doing much at all, honestly. It's been a nice, peaceful time.
00:09:49
Speaker
um Anyways, do we want to finally talk about the Ottawa Charge? Because in our last episode, we were sort of previewing their playoff series, and we weren't too optimistic, but they they really made a run.
00:10:06
Speaker
They really did. i it was so fun to watch. Oh my gosh, to open up. I don't know if anyone predicted that they would, but they beat the like Montreal Victoire in four, which I was amazed.
00:10:23
Speaker
And like the one game they lost, it was three games. So it's like, it was stressful. Like it was, it was a crazy game. It does. You write that one off. Yeah. Also absolutely hilarious that the team named the Montreal Victoire, La Victoire de Montréal, have won exactly one playoff game in their entire history. And it was a quadruple overtime game. So like you said, barely even counts.
00:10:47
Speaker
They should rename themselves to the Défaites de Montréal. Exactly. Like... Also, ah it was hilarious. People pointed it out. Everyone pointed it out. They picked us and that still happened to them.
00:11:02
Speaker
Embarrassing. It was so awesome. That was such a fun series. Yeah, it was so fun because I feel like my expectations, like we say, i was like not expecting much because like we didn't have a good record against them. and I was just like,
00:11:19
Speaker
I feel like after last playoffs, like, obviously, like, got totally swept last playoffs. So I was like, I feel like they're going to come out hungrier, everything. Nope. And also, like, okay, to be fair, Montreal did not just get swept. They got swept with three consecutive overtime games.
00:11:37
Speaker
So, like, yeah you kind of like, oh, it was sort of a fluke. Like, I'm sure they'll they'll be better this time around. Nope. Yeah, exactly. That's the thing.
00:11:47
Speaker
It only works because we'll go into get like losing with many overtime games. It only is fluky and deserve to go the other way if Ottawa is involved. Otherwise, that's like exactly how it should have gone. And there's no luck involved. Yeah, they're just a loser team.
00:12:08
Speaker
It's true. And it was like, it's especially funny that Montreal has specifically been so good against Ottawa. And so it wasn't just like, oh, Ottawa barely snuck into the playoffs. They're not very good. They're going to get like dismantled by whoever they face. It was like, oh, specifically Montreal has had our number for the
Expansion Draft Insights
00:12:30
Speaker
entirety of this league's existence. And yet we completely dismantled them.
00:12:34
Speaker
Yeah, it was like, was amazed. I was like, I honestly never saw this happening. I saw one post who shout out to whoever posted this. It was a very good one where it was like, in retrospect, Ottawa losing ah four OT game and then being seemingly unfazed should have scared us more or something.
00:12:54
Speaker
And I was like, yeah, it's actually true. Like this team is built differently.
00:12:59
Speaker
Man. And like, I feel like a lot of the players that I wasn't necessarily disappointed in, but that I wanted more out of during the regular season were the stars in that playoff series. Like Emily Clark and Breanne Jenner were the MVPs and they kind of haven't been the best players on the charge in either regular season. So it was nice to see that like they, they step up when the games are important.
00:13:25
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like it was so much of like a ah feeling of like truly make it and anything can happen. Like obviously they didn't end up winning like the whole thing, but it's like truly yes, like make it and anything can happen.
00:13:38
Speaker
And they totally could have won that final. They, yeah, we'll get they should have won if we're being honest. Because someone who scored two goals in a game that they lost, like it was a two, like they lost by one goal.
00:13:52
Speaker
Shouldn't have even been in the game. so we'll get to that, I guess. I'm still so mad. We were saying, like, we need to, we can't record right after they lost. Like, we need to give it some time because we're so upset.
00:14:08
Speaker
We need to let it We need to touch grass. Yeah. But yeah, so obviously they beat Montreal, which was excellent. Then they faced the Frost, who are like the reigning champions. And the game one was so good. It was so awesome. I was there for that one.
00:14:24
Speaker
Full game. We'll also talk about how good Gwyneth Phillips was. But full game, I was like, ooh, I wish she would stop playing the puck so much. I'm a little stressed about her playing the puck so much. The one goal came when she played the puck a little too much. And I was like,
00:14:40
Speaker
Why didn't she hear me? But then it was totally fine because Emily Clark game winner was so awesome in overtime. Yeah, I really wish I could just live in that ah period of time right after game one when the vibes were so good. Because, like, you know, you watch that game. And the thing is, going into that series, the part of the narrative was Ottawa has played a bunch of really tight, low-scoring games.
00:15:04
Speaker
Minnesota has played a bunch of, like, wild free-for-all games that are super high-scoring. which Which style of play is going to win out? So you watch game one and you're like... Ottawa controlled the play because their style of play completely won out in that game.
00:15:20
Speaker
And the Frost didn't even score a real goal because the one goal they scored was with Gwyneth Phillips out of the net. So like, you know, they haven't beaten Phillips.
00:15:32
Speaker
We finally won an overtime game, you know, which is something that the charge have struggled with a lot over the years. And, you know, Emily Clark is so back. So it felt like this is going to go our way.
00:15:46
Speaker
and then I attended game two. We've attended game one. i i was like, I'm making the trip to Ottawa. I'm going to go to game two I brought a friend who is new to Ottawa and doesn't really watch hockey, but she was super enthusiastic. I was explaining everything to her. And god.
00:16:07
Speaker
um like ah
00:16:11
Speaker
I still can't get over that specific game. Like, it's going to haunt me for so long. Because I just remember, you know, it's a 0-0 game.
00:16:22
Speaker
Ottawa has controlled the play the whole time. It's like, we have to fucking score because we deserve to win this game. Shots were ridiculous. You get to the end of the third period.
00:16:33
Speaker
No goals have been scored. Everybody in the arena is now looking at the clock being like, oh, we could be here all night. Like, I'm turning to my friend. Like, you realize? i know you have work tomorrow. Like, do you realize that, like, you might be here for a very, very long time? Because nobody's ever going to score.
00:16:52
Speaker
Then Justin Narok scores. I have never heard the building that loud. I, you know, like, absolute elation. Because we're like, we can go home. And the charge for winning.
00:17:05
Speaker
This is great. We just need to hold on for two and a half minutes. And then that bullshit penalty out of all the people to score.
00:17:16
Speaker
I don't even, don't even say her name. You know who it was. i can't, I can't believe that happened. And then the fact that she scored again, know, over time, Part of me also, because, like, anyone who's been watching, like, you know, we boo her every time she touches the puck.
00:17:36
Speaker
I was like, oh my god. Like, i like, of course that, like, emboldened her or whatever. Like, that's so annoying. And then it was so annoying when the narrative was like, oh yeah, she's embracing the villain role. Like, everyone booed her and she took it as inspiration. And it's like, okay, can we talk about why we booed her, though?
00:17:56
Speaker
Like, she's a bad person on and off the ice legitimately. Like, I know that there's a thing where, like, these are evil people, all this stuff. Yeah. it's like, no, she's, like, legit a bad person. Yeah.
00:18:07
Speaker
For those who don't know, i got to explain this to the people next to me at the game, too. um But so Britta Curl has, she is quite right wing. She was, like, liking anti-vax posts and stuff ages ago. She has a history of being pretty outspokenly right wing.
00:18:24
Speaker
And she has specifically posted about being afraid of trans women playing women's sports, which is a very transphobic position that is not backed up by any science.
00:18:38
Speaker
All of the science says that, like, I mean, look, we could go into this, but there there is no scientific evidence that says that trans women have a an advantage in sports.
00:18:51
Speaker
And even if they did, like, it's still... very cruel to exclude trans women from women's sports. You know, there are so many reasons why this is just an incredibly offensive transphobic position.
00:19:03
Speaker
Yeah. And so she has like actually posted these things, not just liking tweets. She has been outspokenly anti-trans and she did make a kind of vague apology where she was like, I'm sorry for my social media behavior, but you know, there's no indication that she's changed her position on this. That's why everybody boos her.
00:19:21
Speaker
And then she injures players. That too. Yeah. Obviously that's not the main reason, but it's like, what the heck? Yeah, when I was explaining it to the straight couple next to me, I wasn't sure how they would react to the whole transphobic thing, right? And thankfully that was enough for them. like they They also agreed like, oh, that's that's a really that's really shitty of her to say that kind of stuff.
00:19:40
Speaker
um But I was also being like, and she's a really dirty player who just injured one of our best players who's out in during this game, you know? ah And like I said this on Blue Sky, but ironic of her to be like, oh my god, if we let trans women into women's sports, it's going to be so dangerous. They're going to hurt us
NHL Playoff Critiques
00:20:00
Speaker
because they're so big and strong.
00:20:02
Speaker
And then like, she's the danger to women in women's sports. It's true. Like, yeah. the dirt Game one, dirtiest knee on knee I've ever seen. i was like, I can't believe like what I'm seeing.
00:20:17
Speaker
Yeah, like, sorry, I'm not afraid of some hypothetical superhuman trans woman who's gonna, like, you know, that that this imaginary athlete that you've made up in your head when my favorite players are already lining up against Britta Curl who's gonna, like, you know, concuss them.
00:20:37
Speaker
my god. Exactly. But yeah, so that was an unfortunate game too. and Yeah. I don't remember fully how the rest of the games went. I just know that we lost.
00:20:50
Speaker
In overtime. Every single time. Yeah. It's really frustrating. just a lot of ways to lose. Like... Again, when Montreal does it, it's funny and they're frauds.
00:21:04
Speaker
But when we do it, it's like, come on, give us an extra game. We could have won this. Oh my God. Also, okay. I was recapping the ah the final game, game four.
00:21:17
Speaker
So people who read my recap will know this. Absolutely insane a thing happened where I'm watching the whole game. it goes to overtime and like 30 seconds into overtime, I'm not kidding, the power goes out at my house.
00:21:30
Speaker
And so I'm just sitting in the dark and I'm like, what the fuck? For some reason, my data wasn't working either. I don't know what's happening. So I was like, I'm just sitting here in the dark like... Or have the charge been eliminated? What happened?
00:21:42
Speaker
Eventually end up calling my friend who's watching the game and they're like describing everything that's happening to me. And then, so obviously on the phone with my friend, i hear Minnesota score and I kid you not, I hear them score. My friend is like, fuck.
00:21:57
Speaker
And then the power goes on. You're joking. What the heck? I'm not, I promise I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. Yeah. That's, wow.
00:22:09
Speaker
That might be the worst viewing experience I've ever heard. yeah Like, it was so stressful. It's not even like during Suns games when you could just go on the NHL app. I was happy to like refresh the PWHL page being like, what the hell is happening?
00:22:25
Speaker
And it wasn't working because my data wasn't working. Oh my gosh. Literal nightmare situation.
00:22:35
Speaker
I can't believe that. This was like, this was the series from hell in many ways. Like, the Frost series was just like, ah except game one. Game one, pure, beautiful. Everything else, I was like, oh my gosh.
00:22:51
Speaker
Some, like, the devil is writing this. Yeah. I was really mad. And then the fact that right before the final, they announced the expansion draft rules and it was like, you suddenly realize, oh like we're going to lose a lot of players and they're going to be good players.
00:23:12
Speaker
Yeah. And so then it's extra important because you're like, okay, we got to win with these players. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, like, I think it always is, like, the case, like, even when there's no expansion happening, where it's, like, next year, like, this team will probably look different, because, like, some people might not come back, everything like that.
00:23:30
Speaker
This team is going to look very, very different, because the expansion rules, I get why they have to be like that, because they want, like, the new teams to, like, not just, like, be bad, like, they they need to, like, build up, like, the market everywhere, blah, blah.
00:23:43
Speaker
But, like, oh my god, three players, and if two players get picked, you can protect another? Like, I'm afraid. yeah And, like, don't know. have spent so much time trying to figure out what's going to happen.
00:24:00
Speaker
But I think with contracts and stuff, you kind of can't predict this. Because we don't know what these players make. And obviously that's going to factor in.
00:24:10
Speaker
Because it's very easy. Like, ah you know, of course, first I was, like, you know, very scared. Because I was like, okay, you who are our, like, you know, three best players that we're going to protect? protect And then who are the next five best players and we're going to lose four of them, right?
00:24:28
Speaker
Yeah. But then maybe that's not what's going to happen because the expansion teams might stay away from some players who make too much money or something or, like, you know, with positioning and stuff.
00:24:39
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Or they might just be looking more toward the future. then it's like, okay, maybe not? Like, maybe we're going to lose... the players we expected to lose, which is more like, you know, our third pairing defenders and, you know, middle six forwards and stuff.
00:24:56
Speaker
So like, I don't know. oh Yeah, it's like such a toss up. I'm also like it's so obviously, this doesn't apply to like the charge, but like the dynamics of like, well, if you're in a team with like, players who are dating, like, like, I'm thinking obviously, like, Stacy, like, you need to protect, obviously, they're both very good players.
00:25:15
Speaker
But it's like, you kind of have to also be like, oh, what do we do now? like and like they're protecting both of clearly. But was like, wow, imagine if like one player was really good and one player was like more borderline.
00:25:28
Speaker
It's like, what are the dynamics at play? Yeah, and in classic Elite Suns Brain fashion, we are recording this like right before the yeah protected lists go out. like I think they're going out on the second or third.
00:25:39
Speaker
So people might know by the time this goes out. But yeah, and the extra factor of Once two players leave, you can protect a fourth.
00:25:50
Speaker
And it's you know, there's a free agency period too, but it's not traditional free agency where like you can sign players who are signed to other teams. Just if they're unprotected, they can choose to go, which I think is a good system because it's more fair. You give the players who are unprotected the option to like decide if they want to move to Vancouver or Seattle because I'm sure some of them would probably like to go but then it's like okay do you count on if you have say so say if you're Montreal and you protect Debiere Poulet and say Ambrose instead of Stacey do you say well we know that Stacey isn't going to sign so we just have to count on two of our players signing with some of the expansion teams and then we can just protect Stacey and it's fine but then like
00:26:39
Speaker
Will the expansion teams want to sign players who are not your superstars? Because they don't have to sign any players before the expansion draft. So would they rather just like go into the expansion draft with, you know, fewer players protected? Like, it's so fascinating. I'm so interested to see what's going to happen there.
00:27:00
Speaker
Yeah, I think it'll also be nice for me specifically to see it all play out. Obviously, like, I'll be sad to lose players, but I'm like, I think it it needs to play out for me to fully understand the rules because I'm like, I'm so open confused.
00:27:14
Speaker
It's going to be weird. It's like, who are they going to sign in that window? Because obviously, i like i don't know how many of the big stars are going to want to sign right away.
00:27:28
Speaker
yeah you know I feel like they'd like to take their chances with the expansion draft. But also if it's like, you know you do get to choose between Seattle and Vancouver if you sign... Right. So like, again, you know, if if, say, Stacey, OK, probably it's probably not going Stacey. It's going Ambrose who's unprotected.
00:27:46
Speaker
Does she just decide, oh, yeah, I'm leaving no matter what. So might as well like choose which team I'd rather sign with. Or does she go, well, you know, if two of my teammates sign first, then I can stay in Montreal. Like, I don't know.
00:27:59
Speaker
so Yeah, it's also, like, that's a good point about, like, getting to choose and stuff, because obviously, like, one team's in Canada, one team's in the States. Like, I feel like that might be, like, a very big factor for some people. Like, I feel like, obviously, like, you would probably want to stay in, like, the country that you're from, most likely. feel like, especially if you're Canadian.
00:28:19
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. um So that might be, like, a huge factor. But yeah, it's, like, like because I've also heard kind of, like, both perspectives of like it's rough and like not super like I don't know not obviously it's not going to be perfectly fair but it's like that's kind of like how you run a league but then on the other side it's like it's still a very very new league so I wonder if like there could have been like more ways to make it like more fair to the players because I feel like it's like I don't know it's complicated
00:28:51
Speaker
Yeah, and like, you know, it's four players per team that end up leaving. That's not that many overall, but it's the fact that the entire team, except for three players, has to live in this uncertainty of not knowing what's going to happen.
00:29:09
Speaker
Right? Like, even, you know, who I feel really bad for is Emren's Mashmire. And again, it's like it' that thing of, okay, Ottawa is probably going to protect Phillips, right? Because right now, Phillips makes more sense as the player to keep. But Mashmire was one of their initial three signings.
00:29:25
Speaker
She just had a baby. Like, you know that she expected to be, like, settled in... ottawa right and so then you kind of think she's probably not gonna um want to sign right away if she thinks there's a chance she can stay in ottawa but i don't think there's any chance ottawa uses their fourth protection slot on her and like she'll be the best goalie available if in an expansion draft right mm-hmm Yeah, it's, like, it's very rough. Because also, it's, like, obviously, like, parts of this, like, happen in men's hockey, too. And it's, like, that's rough, too. But it's, like, i feel like they, like, obviously just the factor of, like, they make a ton more salary at a baseline. Like, there's factors like that that probably mitigate how shitty it is.
00:30:16
Speaker
where And it's also, like, i don't know, there's an added layer with women's sports of... you know, you are dealing with more marginalized people.
00:30:27
Speaker
wow And so political factors are going to be more of a factor. Like, you know, a lot of all the American teams are in like fairly left wing states.
00:30:38
Speaker
But, you know, especially with the political situation in the states right now, Obviously, you know, there are plenty of, like, people of color in the NHL, not a lot, but, you know, they have to think about that too.
00:30:53
Speaker
But every women's hockey player has to think about stuff like abortion rights, queer rights, you know, or, like, a lot of them do have to think about that. and again, the teams are located in places where that's not as much of a concern as other areas of the states, but I feel like it is a little bit of a concern, especially if you're a Canadian player and you're like,
00:31:15
Speaker
oh, I don't know if I want to live in that political situation, right? Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So that's why I'm like, obviously, like, if you're just treating it like, this is just like any other league. This is how it all works. It's like, fair, but like, also like, no, like, it's like, there's many different factors at play here that you can't just be like, well, it's just like any other league. It's fine.
00:31:37
Speaker
Yeah, and, you know, their salaries are, thankfully, they're
Social Media and Sports Fandom
00:31:40
Speaker
making decent salaries, but most of them not enough that, like, even you know if you have to go to Vancouver, suddenly the salary that you're making in Ottawa is not going to get you as far in Vancouver as it does in Ottawa, right?
00:31:52
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, like, cost of living is varying so much, like, across these places. Yeah, just interesting. We'll see how that plays out.
00:32:04
Speaker
I do you have a ah protection list that you're hoping for um i think mine is like the same as everyone's where I'm like Emily Clark like Gwyneth Phillips and probably like Ashton Bell but I'm like also like that's gonna suck to lose like I could I'm almost positive then we lose Sardacne I'm like that's kind of annoying like obviously like she didn't like play as big a role this year but I'm like like that's like really annoying to lose like your literal second overall pick from the year prior Yeah, although i know i there are so many players that you could make a case for.
00:32:39
Speaker
i I kind of feel like ah people, there's sort of an NHL brain happening with people wanting to protect Sir Dachney.
00:32:50
Speaker
Because I also had the thought of, oh my god, you can't just lose your second overall pick. But you have to remember that like you know she was one year away from from being selected in the regular draft along with everyone else. It's not like she's that much younger than everyone else in the league. and Or, you know, that much better because she...
00:33:11
Speaker
was a second overall pick, you know, like all the best players in women's hockey were selected in that first draft. And the second and, you know last year's draft was like the rest of them, you know, yeah the ones who didn't play in the first league. So yes, when when you're used to watching the NHL, you're like, don't trade your former second overall pick who's super young and everything. But then when you actually at it, it's like, yeah, she's younger than everyone else.
00:33:38
Speaker
But like, It's not the same as in the NHL. It's what telling myself, at least. and That makes sense. But yeah, I think also part of it is just like, this is like, i don't know, this is some kind of fallul like fallacy thinking.
00:33:52
Speaker
But I'm like, last year, missed the playoffs. And then we all felt better because then we got to the acne. But now I'm sad because we missed the playoffs. And then we had nothing to show for it from our first year now.
00:34:04
Speaker
Which, like, assuming she'll get taken, which I'm pretty positive she is. Like, yeah. But then again, with, like, contracts and stuff, with you know, when you think about yeah that would factor in, in the NHL, you would always think, oh, young player on an entry-level deal, they're very cheap, but we don't know what Sir Daphne's making.
00:34:23
Speaker
It's true. So, it's just so interesting, all the different factors. Mm-hmm. I'm sad about Probably losing Savalainen.
00:34:35
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, yeah, wait, so what is your protection list? So I think everyone has kind of agreed finally on Emily Clark and Gwyneth Phillips as the two locks.
00:34:48
Speaker
I still feel like there's a chance they go with Mashmire, but i I think after she won playoff MVP, like, you have to protect Phillips. Um... And then the third, I feel like, has to be... ah I've kind of narrowed it down to, like, okay, it has to be ah defender.
00:35:06
Speaker
i feel like I would go with Savalainen, but... ah and not just... Well, she's my favorite player because I think she's so good. ah but I do think that they're gonna go with Belle. Mm-hmm.
00:35:20
Speaker
And then you know, hope that Savalainen would and be their fourth protected player, but also... do they want to protect two defenders? and don't know.
00:35:35
Speaker
Yeah, it'll be, yeah, it's going to be very sad, like, whoever we lose, but then also, like I say, it's going to, I guess it's going to like, interesting to see how it all shakes out, like, I don't know, hopefully everyone who gets selected actually wants to be, like, in either Vancouver Seattle, wherever they go, like,
00:35:51
Speaker
Hopefully it all works out like that, because I'm like, really hope that like it's not someone who like absolutely does not want to like go there at all, because that would just be like terrible.
00:36:04
Speaker
Well, and then there's stuff like Savalina's fiancé plays for Toronto now. it's like, they wouldn't want to have one of them go all the way to Vancouver. like That's actual long distance.
00:36:18
Speaker
But like if they're both unprotected, do they decide to sign with the same team? Like, I don't know. Yeah. Don't do it. Don't choose love over your hockey team, please.
00:36:32
Speaker
Oh, my God.
00:36:37
Speaker
Yeah, that's like, there's so many factors where it's like so many like extra variables at play. Because also, Ginsey Rose and Teresa Venisova are both free agents right now.
00:36:49
Speaker
So presumably, their protection list is influenced by whether they think they can sign them, right? Because if you think you're bringing back Venisova, then that's your best forward. She was your best forward last season, right?
00:37:02
Speaker
So then maybe you feel like you could spare a few forwards. And same with Jinsy Rose. If you think Jinsy Rose is lo is leaving, then you're like, oh shit, we got to protect our defenders. But um if you know that you're she's coming back, you know, i she had like a rough first season. she was She had a good bounce back last year. So I'm not too mad about them deciding that like Jinsy Rose is is a the future of their blue line.
00:37:29
Speaker
I still think Sveline and N'Bel are better, but maybe they they decide they can spare they can spare some defenders if they can bring back Rose. Mm-hmm.
00:37:41
Speaker
I don't know. I'm just so scared they're going to lose Savalainen. Like, guys, my favorite player in the inaugural season was Daryl Watts. And then she left in the offseason.
00:37:52
Speaker
then I filled that hole in my heart. Like, I'm pretty sure if you go back to our first episode after the PWTL season started, I was like, I have a new favorite player. She's replaced Daryl Watts, Ronja Savalainen.
00:38:04
Speaker
I love her. and she's going to leave.
00:38:09
Speaker
The thing is, is you can just never have a favorite player because they like take note of it It's it's a curse.
00:38:19
Speaker
Never love anything. God.
00:38:25
Speaker
It's going to be so rough. Now I'm like, I truly i feel like she and her fiance are just going to side with the same team. true I don't know if you were thinking that before, but as soon as you said it, I was like, oh.
00:38:37
Speaker
I was thinking it right from the start. Because at first I was like, oh, Savalainen won't want to go to another team because she won't want to move far away from her fiancé. And then I was like, her fiancé is not being protected.
00:38:48
Speaker
i don't know if the other teams would want her, but like... You know, like I said, it's not like they're going to have all the best players available on their team. Like, they have to think about contracts and stuff. So maybe they think, oh, yeah, this player is, like, useful to us in some way God.
00:39:06
Speaker
so upset.
00:39:09
Speaker
Anyways, I guess we'll have more to say after the expansion draft happens.
00:39:15
Speaker
We're just dreading that for now. um Anyways, do we want to talk about the playoffs? Stanley Cup playoffs, not the not the real playoffs. Yeah, we'll we'll throw them a bone, the men's hockey playoffs. um Yeah, I think like you put in the episode outline, and I agree, the only relevant thing is that the Leafs have been eliminated.
00:39:37
Speaker
So, yay. Yeah, yeahp that's the big news since our last episode. it was a little scary for a moment there. It was like when they almost went up 3-0 in the series.
00:39:52
Speaker
That's the screenshot that keeps getting shared around is like them being up to nothing in the game and like the second period with like 13 minutes left or whatever. I'm like, thank God. And then also, though, because I i think everyone like all the Leafs fans have now like been maybe they were thinking this before and like I didn't take credit. But something I said in the last episode was if the Leafs win, i am confident that they will beat Carolina because Carolina are perennial chokers.
00:40:17
Speaker
And that's like the narrative now is like the Leafs, if they had just won that series, like one, like if they had just even gone up like three one against Florida or whatever, or three nothing even they were almost, then like that, like.
00:40:30
Speaker
would have been like their ticket to the cup final basically like it was so obvious that that's what was gonna happen thank god horrifying to think i just and it's also when they beat the sends you know well the whole send series part of the reason that fans were like stressed about that series wasn't just that the sends needed to win it was like oh my god, if the Leafs make a run for it and we know that we could have stopped it and we didn't, that's just going to haunt us forever. like could you
00:41:01
Speaker
i have thought about this. Could you imagine if the Leafs ever won the Cup and they went through Ottawa in the first round and like we would always have to think about how we could have stopped it and we didn't?
00:41:15
Speaker
Yeah, the person I feel most bad for is like me in the parallel universe where like the Leafs are in the Cup final right now. Poor girl. That's terrible. It's horrifying. So it was just a big relief to see them lose in the second round and have a meltdown yeah and panic and decide to blow up the core, which they kind of do every season and then they don't.
00:41:39
Speaker
But sounds like it's actually to happen now. Yeah, it's gonna happen this time. Well, they fired Brendan Shanahan, who will be featured in the Amazon Prime NHL series, which I don't believe I'm gonna watch it, but that's so funny. Like, I wonder if, like, it just ends, like, his arc ends with, like, getting the phone call that he's fired. That's quite interesting. But he has a job again, so it's all fine. and um But yeah, it's also funny that everyone's like, ugh, we don't even need Marner.
00:42:10
Speaker
Like, The guy who gets you 100 points? The guy who gets 100 points every season? i don't know. Fair enough. If you don't think you need him, that's fine. I'd happily take him in Ottawa, to be honest. but I would too. I think that would be really funny. i think it would also be really funny if he said suddenly started performing well in the playoffs.
00:42:32
Speaker
Yeah. ah I don't actually think that's going to happen, but like... It's so funny how every other team is like, we would happily take him. And every Leafs fan is like, well, that's because you're dumb. Like, you don't understand. It's like, okay, fair enough. I mean, I have seen some Leafs fans be like, oh, yeah, he's going to be good in the playoffs, but it was never going to happen here, which I feel like that's a reasonable position.
00:42:54
Speaker
But yeah, I truly feel he just like, it has anxiety or something like that's gotta to be it. Like, he just doesn't want to play in front of his It's not a good place for him.
00:43:06
Speaker
yeah and also it was so funny during that series i saw so many people be like i can't believe i have to play the i have to cheer for the leaps but the panthers are so evil we must defeat them and i was here like skill issue i'm cheering for the panthers i don't care how evil they are it's so true honestly i like everyone being like yeah like you say like i can't believe they're making me do this i was like nope i will never that's your decision You could never make me cheer for the Leafs.
00:43:37
Speaker
I'm stronger than all of you.
00:43:41
Speaker
It was honestly similar in the first rounds in the first round of the Walter Cup playoffs where people were like, I can't believe I have to cheer for Toronto because Minnesota is so evil and I was like, skill issue. I don't want Toronto in the finals.
00:43:55
Speaker
And then look what happens. Now I agree that Minnesota is evil, but still, I still prefer that to Toronto winning the Cup. So yeah, I don't care how evil the Panthers are. i was still cheering for them against the Leafs.
00:44:08
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like it's like
00:44:12
Speaker
but I don't, like, specifically, you don't understand unless you're an Ottawa Senators fan, I truly feel like. Because it's, like, there's something about being in the same province. And also, it's, like, Montreal, it's different because, like, Montreal is such a big market also that, like, it's fine. Like, you'll be fine. Like, you're a storied franchise or whatever. Ottawa Senators fans are, like, truly the most oppressed in all of this. Like, and, like, people just, like, don't take into account, like, our lived experiences.
00:44:38
Speaker
Yeah. When you are rooting for the Leafs to win a playoff series, just think about what that would mean to Ottawa Senators fans. Do you really want to subject us to that after everything we've been through?
00:44:53
Speaker
Like, if you do then you're more evil than every team combined. Like, it's... Just kidding. But, like, you know what I mean? Like, you should understand why we can't ever cheer for the Leafs, ever. Yeah, and it's not political. It's not about the individual players.
00:45:12
Speaker
It's just... you have to understand the rivalries. Like, not to be a gatekeeper, not to be a oh, you just don't understand if you're a new fan. But I do feel like a lot of new fans don't understand rivalries.
00:45:27
Speaker
I think I've said this in a previous episode. When you were talking about, like, what bandwagon fans should know about the Sens, and I was like, I think A lot of the new fans who just cheer for a lot of teams are like, oh, I'm going to cheer for this team because I like this player or something.
00:45:40
Speaker
No, you have to understand some of us don't do that. Some of us, it's about the logo on the front. It's true. Like, that's the thing is that, like, i will put on record forever and ever six team in bio.
00:45:54
Speaker
Don't care. I think that's awesome. Like, that's so cool. You should have, like, 32 teams in bios. That's fine. But then there comes a point when, like, you have to pick. Like, when it's, like, not like you have to pick forever, but it's, like, if it's, like, for example, Battle of Ontario and you say you just want both teams to have fun, I'm sorry, but no, you cannot want both teams to have fun. Like, if you are neutral, you have chosen the side of the oppressor, you know? And the oppressor is always the Toronto Maple Leafs.
00:46:23
Speaker
It's true. It's true. But all this to say, like, I am fully supportive of multiple teams and bio people. Like, I think that it's stupid to make fun of. Like, I think that's so valid. That's so fair. But you must pick the Ottawa Senators if they are one team in your bio. When push comes to shove, you have to pick the Ottawa Senators if they are there.
00:46:42
Speaker
And I would say also, it's like, you have to understand that not everyone watches hockey the same way you do. Like, people will go like, why do why are people cheering for the Panthers when they, like, supported Trump? And it's like, okay, first of all, I'm pretty sure all the teams are pretty right-wing. Like, you know, i get hating the Panthers for that reason. But it's like, lots of people just really hate the Leafs, guys. Like, that's that's all there is to it.
00:47:06
Speaker
it's not It's not about anyone's politics. Let's, you know... Let's understand that. Yeah. Like, i fully understand, like, sports as, like, political and everything like that.
00:47:23
Speaker
But there comes a point when it's just, like, the hater energy just takes over and it actually, like, you're not thinking about which team went to the White House most recently. Because I actually truly believe that Almost every American player in the league, not all, obviously, but almost every American player would be going to the White House if they want if they like could. Not just that, any player in the league who plays for an American team would go to the White House, because plenty of Canadians went.
00:47:51
Speaker
Yeah, so many Canadians would love to go to the White House, and it's cringe. And we can all agree that it's like terrible. But it's just the sport that is but exists, sadly.
00:48:02
Speaker
Yeah. Anyways, also want to say, so fascinated by Carolina. How does this keep happening? How is it possible to lose in specifically the third round?
00:48:19
Speaker
Like, it's one thing if you're always losing in the first round. It's like, okay, you just can't win a playoff series, right? Losing in the second or third round. It's like, what is going on? Yeah, I think I saw I we were talking about this before we started recording and also I've seen this as the take a lot.
00:48:34
Speaker
And i I think it must be it where like it's got to be the playoff format where like the Atlantic is just stronger than the Metro. So then like by the time they get there, like They played weaker teams and like everyone in the Atlantic already like killed each other. So like it just like messes it up.
00:48:51
Speaker
But that's like probably the true answer. The better answer is just like they're choke artists and it's so funny. And like what the heck? Like what's wrong with them? Yeah, like do they just, you know, they're good enough to win two rounds and then they just lose steam?
00:49:09
Speaker
You know, they run out of steam at that point? Like I don't get it And it's so funny. But also every year I'm like, oh, eventually they have to break through. Like I have to pick them for this.
00:49:20
Speaker
And also it's just like, I don't know. don't feel like the Metro has been that bad. Like it's definitely been worse than the Atlantic over the years, but so bad that Carolina can just like steamroll their way through the through the Metro every year.
00:49:34
Speaker
and then every single time, like get swept in the third round. Like there's no way that uneven. No, yeah, I agree. Like, I think there is some kind of, like, there's something more, like, supernatural happening there. Like, I truly don't understand it. But it's also funny because basically, maybe it's slowed down in recent years. I feel like there was, like, a couple years ago, there was, like, a real push that was, like, Carolina is too good. Carolina, like, pick them as cup favorites, like,
00:50:06
Speaker
for many years like I think like a few years in a row people were like Carolina's gonna break through like Carolina like this is their year everything like that and it's like it's so funny because on paper it's not a bad prediction because it's like well you are picking a team that will be making it to the conference finals and that's like yeah it's pretty solid like that's not a bad like place for like if you predicted them to win the cup like that's basically like really close but it's like in real life it's like that's a terrible pick like you know what'll happen you know that they'll never break through and it's just like It's such an odd thing.
00:50:37
Speaker
And like, how do you even process that as a fan? Because it's like, you can't be disappointed and you're in a team that consistently makes the third round. Like, that's that's a really far, like, that you're going really far in the playoffs. That's a good spot to be eliminated. You know, the Sens have been eliminated in the third round before, and I was like, damn, they made a run of it.
00:50:58
Speaker
But if that happens every year, it's like, how would you even get excited after the first and second rounds if you're like, well, the real test is the third round? Yeah, as a fan, I actually don't know how you process that. Because you're right. It's like, you can't be mad. Because it's like, at least, obviously, like, I think Leafs fans...
00:51:14
Speaker
to go back to them, like, have been, like, frustrated and, like, rightfully so. But at least everyone understands, like, your crash out. Like, at least everyone is, like, yeah. like and Like, they'll laugh at you and stuff. But at the very least, like, they find it, like, they understand.
00:51:30
Speaker
But, like, Carolina fans, like, if you are, like, this team sucks so bad, I just feel like you'd get no sympathy from others. Like, they'd just be, like, what do you mean? Like, you make it to the conference finals every single year.
00:51:41
Speaker
Yeah, like, oh, i I would love it if my team made it to the conference finals every year. But then it's like, man, yeah, if they just got swept, like, did they get swept three straight years? Was that it? And then they lost in five this year? Like, that's nuts. yeah And then, like, I feel like this has been quietly happening for a long time, but I feel like this is the year when, like, everyone, like, woke up to it and was like, what is wrong with Carolina?
00:52:06
Speaker
Yeah. Which, like, yeah, what is wrong with them? And then obviously, like, Leafs fans were like, yeah, why does everyone make fun of us when Carolina's right there? and it's like, I don't think many people have very strong, like, feelings about the Carolina Hurricanes is the issue. It's always funny when Leafs fans do that. They're like, ah, this team always loses in the first round. This team is always choking. And it's like, okay, first of all, it's still not as dramatic as you guys. Like, the only team that comes close is the Minnesota Wild because they're constantly losing in the first round.
00:52:38
Speaker
ah But second of all, like, it does not matter. People just really hate the Leafs. Like, that that's what it is. Like, why do you think it's so unfair that people just hate the Leafs? Like, that's your cross to bear as like being a fan of the most popular team, like most popular men's hockey team, like men's NHL team, like in the world. Like, that's what you get for that.
00:52:59
Speaker
And it's like you get many good things from it too. Like everyone, well, they would argue no. It's so funny to hear. I think we talked about this last episode. It's like it's so funny to hear like what the perceived differences are like the panel coverage.
00:53:13
Speaker
Because it's like if you listen to anyone who's not a Leafs fan talk about it, it's like, wow, like they love the Leafs so much. Like I wish they would shut up about how good the Leafs are. And then to hear like a Leafs fan talk about it, it's like they want my team dead. Like they hate me so much.
00:53:28
Speaker
Even during the Sens series, Leafs fans were like, oh my god, could the Sportsnet panel be more biased toward the Sens? And we're watching, like, they did not talk about the Sens enough to be biased in favor of them. What are you talking about?
00:53:43
Speaker
Yeah, I guess it's like a grass is greener type thing, but... I don't know, maybe it is annoying if they spend the whole panel talking about all the problems with your team. But, like, they're only talking about your team.
00:53:56
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Like, it's nice to be mentioned, probably. and don't know. And then, yeah, we were talking before recording about how, like...
00:54:09
Speaker
some people are saying that the Carolina thing is just a problem of the divisional format in the playoffs. And because if Carolina, if it, if we had just done the one to eight, Carolina would have played um Florida in the first round.
00:54:25
Speaker
And I just want to say, i have always been a hater of the divisional format. I have always preferred the one to eight. I thought that was so much more fun The seeding was like there was so much more drama at the end of the season when, you know, things could change so quickly. You never knew who you were going to play in the second round.
00:54:42
Speaker
And I'm still pissed off that the reason part of the reason ah league switched the divisional format was to make brackets easier. And that always pisses me off.
00:54:54
Speaker
That's so dumb. I've always heard it like, ah it makes more rivalries, which is good for the game. And it's like, I guess technically the seeding is why we got Battle of Ontario first round. Like, probably because, yeah, we were like better than New Jersey. So like, it would have been different.
00:55:09
Speaker
But it's like, I will take the hit for like, the greater good. Like, it's okay to not have Battle of Ontario first round if like, everything gets fixed. Because like, also, like the Sens wouldn't have faced because like, Toronto won their defense.
00:55:24
Speaker
like, won the division, but, like, ah the Capitals won, like, the whole thing, right? So, like, won the whole conference. So, like, we would have faced a worse team, and it probably would have been nicer.
00:55:37
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah.
00:55:39
Speaker
It's just annoying. And people always leave out the part where I swear I remember like one of the selling points of the divisional format being that it would be easier to make brackets because with the one to eight format, it was basically impossible because, you know, who the team would play in the second round was completely dependent on like so many different factors because you would basically just like have the standings and, you know,
00:56:02
Speaker
um so it depends if certain teams win but that was more fun there was more mystery you were watching the other series being like so if this team loses we need this team to win you know you weren't just like oh yeah we're gonna play the winner of that series yeah also like that points to the greater trend of like anti-intellectualism of like why is it so bad that it's complicated like maybe we should like work for it a little more yeah I was trying to look up the regular season standings, and I literally cannot find them on the NHL website. They would hide them. It's so annoying. They totally hide them once the playoffs are, and I don't know why. so weird. Okay. No, no, no. I have it here. Eastern Conference standings.
00:56:42
Speaker
So let's see. It would have been 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. this is... Oh, wait. ah wait no, no. I'm looking at the Atlantic Division... Oh my god, it doesn't even give me the full standings for the Atlantic Division. I'm not doing math.
00:56:57
Speaker
I don't want to do this. yeah It just would have been different, and it would have been better. yeah why do they hide it? know what I mean. I know. It's like, sometimes i still want to look at the standings.
00:57:11
Speaker
Look, I'm somebody... Oh wait, i think... I'm somebody who usually has to care about the overall league standings this time of year because of the draft lottery. It's true.
00:57:28
Speaker
my gosh. Yeah, that's the other thing. The draft lottery came and went. i literally don't care. the Islanders one, I guess. Yeah, who cares about the stupid Islanders?
00:57:42
Speaker
ah And we have nothing to say about the Western Conference except like, congrats, Oily Gifts.
00:57:49
Speaker
Yeah, we won't say anything more just to not jinx it. But you know where my alliances lie anyway. We may have jinxed them two years in a row, so we're not going to say anything. yeah That's also why we can't have Oily Gifts back on the podcast, because we might have jinxed the Oilers last time.
00:58:09
Speaker
ah Yeah, well, if we invited her, she'd definitely say no at this point. Just because, like, yeah. Which is fair. is Like, obviously. Like, Oily Gifts, if you're listening, we completely understand why you would have to say no. And there's no hard feelings.
00:58:21
Speaker
We will revisit that discussion during the off-season. what it We'll see. Okay. So with that, we are now moving on to our annual...
00:58:36
Speaker
segment which is the amelnikin awards it's now been several years so you know the drill if you're a long time listener we're handing out some awards to both sends and charge players and we have some finalists listed here but we're mostly going to be making this up as we go okay do you want to say the first award we can switch yeah Okay, so the first award is for the Sens, the Freddie Clayson Award for the Best Vibes.
00:59:07
Speaker
And our nominees are Thomas Chabot, Fabian Zetterlund, and Shane Pinto. And also you could throw in other nominees. I was just whoever I could think of. Oh, yeah, yeah. Zetterlund wasn't around long enough, I don't think.
00:59:21
Speaker
Yeah. I feel like my winner would probably be... I think Shane Pinto had some good vibes this year. I was kind of thinking that too. Like vibes, it's it's not quantifiable. Like I do think Shabbat had a great year and everything.
00:59:36
Speaker
i was really proud of him. But Pinto, there was just something about him. Like the know the sticking out his tongue after goals. The fact that the Sens always won whenever he got a point. Like there was just something about Shane Pinto that was just vibes.
00:59:53
Speaker
her yeah so congratulations to shane pinto um and then on the charge side this is the ottawa charge zoe boyd award for again the best vibes um and our nominees are savalainen and vanisova That's hard.
01:00:11
Speaker
Yeah, I don't, I struggled with this because I didn't know which player was just like the best vibes. Obviously, i loved Savalainen. She was just my favorite. And like, she, I feel like she had good vibes. She was scoring points.
01:00:27
Speaker
She was making plays. She was throwing huge hits because she is massive and I love her for that sometimes she gets penalties and I'm like literally two minutes for being so big and strong like oh so it's illegal now girl I love her so I personally love her but also like Vanasova came out of nowhere kind of just like had a ridiculous season scored a hat trick at one point like oh my god what a player
01:01:00
Speaker
Do you have a... Or also Gwyneth Phillips, especially in the playoffs. Yeah. Gwyneth Phillips, like, yeah, also came out of nowhere and was so good. i don't know. It's hard. who is Who is your winner? I might just yeah agree with you. Honestly, actually, I'm thinking Phillips.
01:01:20
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Let's give it to There's something... Yeah. I agree. There's something I want to mention about her, but I'll save it for... um another I'll save it for the Lexi Agio award I was about to say that yeah yeah ah we'll save it for that one I just went and hurt her down okay okay um so next our next award is the Jean-Gabriel Peugeot award for excellence in rivalry games I feel like this was hard on both of them there wasn't like a huge ah standout winner in either one obviously for the Sens
01:01:56
Speaker
we got a full playoff series with the rivalry. Mm-hmm. And, like, okay, I think I was listening to last episode. Tim Stutzler has basically won this award every year, but I think we gave it to Greg last year because of that Empty Net slapshot. Or, like, I forget what it was. i think it was we gave it to Stutzler, but Greg got an honorable mention. Yeah, that's what it was.
01:02:21
Speaker
Honestly, Greg? Maybe. Maybe. maybe i I think, yeah, because I don't know. I just think that he just it's like it's not fair to reward people who only do it in some cases, but overlook the people who are consistently like haters in rivalry games, you know, so that's why I think I would give it to Greg.
01:02:45
Speaker
Yeah, well, because I remember last year it was something about we wanted to honor the fact that Tim Stutzler was so good against the Red Wings and this was a new rivalry that we were excited about. So we were like overall in all the rivalry games and like, you know, Tim Stutzler also had a great year, great rivalry moments against the Habs.
01:03:04
Speaker
But i just think like Greg was such a menace in that playoff series. I feel like he deserves it. I agree.
01:03:16
Speaker
okay Congratulations, Ridley Gregg. You finally win the Jean-Gabriel Peugeot Award for Excellence in Rivalry Games. Long overdue. We salute you. So for the charge, this is the Daryl Watts Award for Excellence in Rivalry Games, because remember, she was so good against Toronto last year.
01:03:34
Speaker
don't I... i I don't think there was any one player that was just like amazing against our rivals, you know?
01:03:47
Speaker
i agree. i think that like, i yeah, I don't think one player really stood out as like when there's a rivalry game, they like turn it up a lot. Like I'll say Emily Clark was amazing in the playoffs specifically.
01:04:00
Speaker
And one that's what I was thinking. Yeah. yeah I think Emily Clark, we could give it to her. I think Emily Clark is honestly now I'm just going to say that we have a rivalry with the Frost too. So like, there you go. Like, I think she was amazing the whole play. funny because I was thinking like when the league started, in my head, I was like, okay, obviously instant rivalry with Toronto, instant rivalry with Montreal.
01:04:22
Speaker
Also, I hated Boston because they stole Jamie Lee Rattray from me. So I was like, I've decided rivalry with Boston. And then, so the only two teams left that I didn't have a rivalry with were New York and Minnesota. And now I'm like, I hate Minnesota. So now New York is the only team that I'm indifferent to, but we have expansion now.
01:04:40
Speaker
So they've given us two more teams to figure out how we feel about. Yeah, exactly. Although I guess if I hate Boston for taking a player that I really liked, I'm going to have to hate Seattle and Vancouver. It's it's fine.
01:04:55
Speaker
Honestly, the Boston rivalry hasn't ah hasn't really taken off. yeah thankfully
01:05:05
Speaker
so yeah congrats congrats emily clark basically for excellence in rivalry games okay do you want to do the next one sure so on the sun side the next one is the andrew hammond award for the weirdest season and i think our nominee just has to be the default winner, Adam Gaudet. I don't know if there's anyone else who had anywhere close to a weirder season. It's so funny because, again, i re-listened to last ah year's episode and we said the Sens were too normal. We need them to be less normal in the future.
01:05:40
Speaker
And then I was looking through the roster being like, who had a weird season? I feel like everyone was normal. And then I got to Adam Gaudet and I was like, wait, never mind. Literally so weird, his random like hot streak lasted so long.
01:05:57
Speaker
And even the fact that like he came back was weird. yeah like he left and came back. He was their highest goal scorer for like a good chunk of the season.
01:06:11
Speaker
ends the season with 19 goals. And of course, he's on this insane heater at the beginning of the season. You're like, okay, he's gonna he's going to calm down. and He's going to stop. And like yeah, he did kind of... like slow down a little bit but not that much and then like ah you my past strange he in season the fact that whenever he's good like we can just be like the crystals and everyone agrees like I think that just adds to it it's great congratulations Adam Gaudet
01:06:45
Speaker
Yeah. And then on the charge side is the Savannah Harmon Award, again, for the weirdest season. And we have, again, Gwenda Phillips nominated, but then also Vanna Sova. Well, because, like, Venezuela was just good.
01:06:58
Speaker
but it's just we didn't yeah expect her to be that good. Because we got her in a random trade where, i don't know, I just didn't know anything about her before the PWHL started. And so she was just this random player that we got from Montreal.
01:07:11
Speaker
And then she was good, I guess. And then this season, she was randomly our best skater. Yeah. but And then obviously, Gwena Phillips was, like, weird circumstances, but amazing.
01:07:25
Speaker
But also both of them were just players who were just like really good. and it surprised us. So I don't know. It's not like Minnesota was, you know, lucky all the time. And we don't understand how she scored all those goals. Like, no, she was good.
01:07:39
Speaker
Not great in the playoffs, but amazing in the regular season.
01:07:47
Speaker
So I don't know. Maybe, maybe Minnesota. Yeah, I think. Yeah. Also, i'm i don't know if I'm pronouncing her name correctly because some people pronounce it Venisova and others Venisova.
01:08:01
Speaker
Maybe it's Venisova. I don't know. and Yeah. Okay. That's fair, too. Yeah. Oh, I would say Cheyenne Darkangelo also had a great season after, like, I think she didn't have a single point or like she only got one point when we traded for her. So that was kind of a surprise.
01:08:23
Speaker
So maybe her. Yeah, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe Dark Angelo.
01:08:31
Speaker
Well, yeah, okay, she literally scored her first PWHL goal this season and was randomly like one of our best forwards.
01:08:42
Speaker
So, yeah Dark Angelo for the great comeback. Yeah, ah agree. Okay.
01:08:53
Speaker
And then... Wait, I'm doing the next one, right? Yeah. Okay. Next we have the Dylan DeMello Award for Best Social Media Content.
01:09:06
Speaker
And I don't feel like any Suns players really stood out. No, I agree. it's because it was kind of like a lock-in year for them, where they were like, we can't be fun on social media.
01:09:19
Speaker
Or maybe it's the fact that after Josh Norris left, they just all got really sad and refused to do he like to post anything. ah But yeah, I don't think anything really stood out for anyone.
01:09:33
Speaker
Yeah, we can always just withhold the award.
01:09:38
Speaker
Yeah, we're not in the business of giving out participation trophies, okay? so like, if no one deserves it, no one gets it. Yeah, we did that with one award last season, too.
01:09:49
Speaker
So, we are not going to hand out this award because everybody needs to be better on social media. This is what happens when you trade away Matthew Joseph and Josh Norris.
01:10:03
Speaker
Yeah, you trade away your posters and then wonder why we're not giving away the Dylan DeMello Award. Make it make sense. Get better at posting. However, for the charge, we do have a winner of the Lexia Gia Award for Best Social Media Content.
01:10:23
Speaker
Do you want to announce it? Or wait, do we want to say the nominees first? or feel like there weren't that many options. Yeah. Okay, so basically, yeah, the winner for, at least, I'm thinking you're thinking the same thing I am. The winner for the most iconic Instagram post of all time, which won her the whole thing, is Gwyneth Phillips, because after the charge, sadly, the season ended, she posted a picture on her Instagram story that said that she would commit arson for the Ottawa charge. And i agree.
01:10:59
Speaker
She's so real. I love her. Also, she did like a funny photo shoot, too, during the season. like She had good social media and content, I think. She was a good poster.
01:11:10
Speaker
I am so happy to have her in Ottawa. Yeah, just the best vibe.
01:11:17
Speaker
so true. so Okay. Congrats. Congratulations. Yeah. At least somebody in Ottawa can post. Yeah. ru okay our next award for the sense is the dana char award for best former senator with this tragically it has to be jacob chikrin the liver king himself yeah who found god this year apparently you see what a strange which is nice
01:11:51
Speaker
I think that's really nice and cool. And I am... It's interesting that they're having, like, Bible study. i need to know who is participating and who is sitting it out. Yeah.
01:12:02
Speaker
just... It's also so funny because Chikrin... He's still walking that line where he, you know, he's really religious. He doesn't, you know, he eats raw meat. It's just all these strange things that you would, that you feel like are maybe leading him down like a far right rabbit hole. Like, you know, there are other beliefs that tend to go along with these.
01:12:28
Speaker
So... But he hasn't quite gone there yet. Like, he hasn't said anything offensive. he Right now, he's just, like, a very strange man. yeah it's interesting because he's basically just, like, in many ways, if I just, like, listed out all his characteristics, he's almost indistinguishable from just, like, a trad wife.
01:12:50
Speaker
Like, he's just kind of the exact same.
01:12:55
Speaker
What a strange, strange man. I'm so fascinated by him. And what a good season he Why did he have a good season? And I love that so many Caps fans were like, hell yeah, raw milk for the win every time he scored. It was so good. It was such a good fit.
01:13:14
Speaker
Yeah, so congratulations, Jacob Chikrin. You will never be i don't know, i will never understand you. Well, actually, will say we do know his politics, which is he's an RFK Jr. supporter. It's just like the funniest thing. Funniest possible option.
01:13:34
Speaker
didn't josh norris also share some rfk junior stuff at some point this season think so he like shared it or like he like reposted maybe something jacob i don't remember it's just like oh my gosh it's so funny that jacob trickren was obviously also like he never said this but like in my head this is what he said he's just like well both sides are bad so i support rfk juniors And it's like, to be clear, RFK Jr., also a very bad person, very bad candidate.
01:14:00
Speaker
Your politics are not good if you support him. But, like, it is a lot funnier than being just a straight-up Trump supporter. yeah it's like, he's not like the other NHLers. supports RFK Jr. yeah.
01:14:18
Speaker
And then, of the charge side... the award for best former Ottawa Charge player who we have We don't have a name for this yet, Okay, so I went back, again, I went back and listened last year, and we were so stupid because we gave... first of all, we we named the Zoe Boyd Award for, like, um you know, for Best Vibes.
01:14:43
Speaker
And then Social Media Award, we gave it to Zoe Boyd, but we're like, no, let's name it the Lexia Gia Award, but we're going to give it to Zoe Boyd. And then we get to literally the next award, and we're like...
01:14:55
Speaker
It's Lexia Gia. She's the best former charge player. And it's like, who do we name it for? So we're going to name it the Daryl Watts Award. i Oh, no, she already has an award, too. Oh, my God.
01:15:09
Speaker
oh yeah. I mean, the other, the runner up was Michaela Grant-Mentis. So maybe yeah we can do that. Yeah, this can be the Michaela Grant-Mentis Award for best former auto charge player. But the winner this year is Daryl Watts.
01:15:25
Speaker
Which, like, it stings because it's, like, obviously. Like, we all knew that was going to happen. She was so good. I'm still so upset about it.
01:15:38
Speaker
And then maybe next year it'll be several minors. ah
01:15:46
Speaker
I'm so upset. So
Blue Sky vs. Twitter Discussion
01:15:48
Speaker
that's... Oh, wait, no. We have one more award. So we have the Craig Medaglia Award for Sam's Twitter MVP. Did you have any like nominees for this?
01:15:59
Speaker
Anyone that you think really stood out? I feel like...
01:16:05
Speaker
I feel like everyone just like who made the move to send Blue Sky is like an honorary winner of this because I feel like we really built that community like the ground up.
01:16:18
Speaker
There were specific like Blue Sky only memes. Shout out. um like the one error that like the Sens bot kept posting that was awesome that became awesome so I feel like my honorary winner is just like everyone who's on Sens Blue Sky because it's like this was like the Sens Blue Sky year for sure and you know Blue Sky has been getting a bad rep lately um a lot of people are like oh I could never go on Blue Sky it seems so annoying like people there are annoying and here's the thing here's my pitch to everyone okay
01:16:50
Speaker
Yes, the Blue Sky power users, other than Ericsson's burner, of course, are very annoying. Some of them randomly go into your mentions and ah just be annoying. It's true.
01:17:05
Speaker
However, Blue Sky is one of those special websites... where you only have to see posts from people you follow. So if cool people that you followed on Twitter are on Blue Sky, I promise they didn't suddenly become annoying. They're still posting the same things they were posting on Twitter.
01:17:24
Speaker
So it's just very strange when people are like, oh my god, Blue Sky sounds insufferable. like, who are you following on Blue Sky? Like, I'm just following my son's Twitter friends, and they're all posting great stuff.
01:17:35
Speaker
Yeah, like everyone is the same. It's just like, i don't, i I guess it's like, if you don't have like a group of people that you already wanted to follow and then you try to go to Blue Sky, it's more confusing and more like, who are these people?
01:17:51
Speaker
And it's true that sometimes you'll post something and then someone will just randomly see it and just comment a completely unrelated thing and or just be like, what? What is this? And it's like, what do you mean?
01:18:03
Speaker
like If you don't know what it is, just It's scroll past. It makes no sense. It is actually like such a fascinating thing, the amount of like weird comments I've gotten like that, where it's like, where did you find this tweet and you realize they're on the Discover tab? So, okay, yeah, if you don't have a community to already follow, or if you're on Politics Blue Sky, like don't don't do that.
01:18:20
Speaker
But if you're a Sens Twitter account, if you like talking about hockey on Blue Sky, like, Hockey Blue Sky is great. It's true. I think Hockey Blue Sky is, like...
01:18:33
Speaker
solid. Like, I think it's indistinguishable from ah hockey Twitter in many ways. But even then, it's like, I feel like it was hockey Twitter from, like, five, ten years ago.
01:18:44
Speaker
You know? Like, it's it's a smaller community, and it's a lot of the, like, OG posters. And so I think it's better right now, because hockey Twitter right now, it's, well, no, there are lots of cool people left on hockey Twitter, but I feel like a lot of the the old school, like, good posters are on Blue Sky right now.
01:19:04
Speaker
Yeah, because it's like, it's basically everyone who is just like, i don't want to be on, like, Elon Musk's Twitter. And so, like, the vibes are better, in my opinion. but And people aren't annoying about it the way that, again, the politics of blue sky people are like, oh my god, I can't believe anyone is still on the Nazi site. And, like, you know, we're so much better here. People are just like, eh, I didn't like dealing with all of that nonsense, so I'm just going to post here instead, even though I'll get, you know, um i won't do...
01:19:35
Speaker
i I'll get fewer likes and stuff.
Conclusion and Social Media Handles
01:19:38
Speaker
Yeah. Anyway, that was a big, I guess, tangent. That was our pitch for people to join yeah Blue Sky. Yeah. Anyways, so everybody who joined Sends Blue Sky was great.
01:19:50
Speaker
I think there was one poster that kind of stood out to me that I wrote here. i don't know if you agree with this. I agree. i yeah. Yeah. I, and like, okay, obviously, all the people who have won in the past, also great post, like so many good posters this year, but there was one that just like stood out as like, damn, this guy had a good year. And that was Julio.
01:20:12
Speaker
was like, Julio Hashem, I think. I'm hoping that's how you pronounce it. Great poster. Posting on Twitter and Blue Sky, the same things and consistent bangers.
01:20:24
Speaker
I fully agree. yeah I think... Like, especially, like, turn the dial up in the playoffs. Like, it was just all amazing posts. I agree. Yeah, it was truly a big year for this poster. So congrats on winning the Craig Medaglia Award. But again, big year for everyone.
01:20:44
Speaker
So that's it for this episode. Unless there's anything else we got to say. think that is everything. All right. So... We will continue to post episodes sporadically throughout the offseason for now.
01:21:02
Speaker
Go Sens Go. Go Charge Go, even though they're not playing. We're still saying ghostens Go Sens Go. Bravely, in fact.
01:21:10
Speaker
and follow us on twitter and blue sky c beata e she's at erickson spurner we also have at elite suns brain follow us on tumblr elite suns brain.tumblr.com subscribe to silver seven sends.com and again go suns go suns go bye