Three-time Stanley Cup champion Justin Williams a.k.a. ‘Mr. Game 7′ joins JD Bunkis to discuss Auston Matthews’ similarities to Alex Ovechkin, Ovi’s struggles this season, his first taste of media, honing his skills in big moments, and if he ever considered joining the Maple Leafs.
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0:00 – Matthews & Ovechkin
1:25 – Ovechkin Struggles
6:08 – Williams’ Entry to Media
8:26 – The Big Moments
16:45 – Williams to Toronto…?
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#NHL #Hockey #MapleLeafs
Justin Williams three time Stanley Cup champion this is the best that ever it’s like he’s got a k SM which is incredible but eight- one in game sevens most points in game sevens the Mr Clutch himself good morning buddy how we doing good morning I’m doing great how
Are you I’m doing all right does that surprise you a little bit when you hear that stat Matthews has as many goals through 5009 as oetkin surprising me I think so yeah you said it and you know maybe think that’s definely just makes you think wow right
Yeah interesting and uh and you know we always rever you know Alex is probably the best goal scorer ever I know he’s probably the best goal store I ever played with probably that I’ve ever seen um but I mean you got to give you know props where props is do and Austin
Matthews is a very unique shot unique release just like Alex AUM has that very unique powerful onetime and they’ve they’ve sound ways to put gold in the back of a net but you know what it is kind of weird like this this market we’ve nitpicked the Leafs to to death
This season because everybody has such high expectations and yeah Matthews did he’s had a bit of a weird year where he scored a bunch of multi-goal games he’s had a couple of hat-tricks and then there’s been some there was a lull period for him where he basically didn’t
Score for I think seven of them and people went oh my God what’s happening here now you just kind of look up at it it’s like okay all right 25 and and 28 maybe I get a little bit of the the stuff when it comes to media and the
Pressures of this Market um but I want to ask you about oie because you did play with the guy and I was I was talking to someone yesterday that wrote this big article about his start to the season you’re aware with what’s going on with him right now right correct okay so
Yeah it’s for those that don’t he’s got one five on five goal this year three on a goenda in 28 games and he’s gone 13 games without a goal um you played with the guy do you think that he will chase this record no matter what like do you
Think that he has the makeup where this means so much to him that he’ll go into his 40s even if it means that you know he’s he’s chipping away at this thing slowly I do think that there’s going to be a lot of positive regression here
Like a lot of the numbers are saying it’s shooting percentages it’s power play numbers that are unsustainable that he probably will finish with you know 25 plus goals this year but that that still puts him pretty far off the pace when he’s going to be entering his age 39
Season yes uh yes and I’m I’m obviously completely aware of of of what’s going on and and I’ve watched some of the games obviously um and seen him and it just like he he was able to you know in in previous years a little bit more uh impact the game
Just not on the power play right like he would people people people just assume because they see the highlights they see him scoring one ERS the all the time that but there were a lot of other there were a lot of other times he scored goals from in front of the from second
Efforts from hitting the guy turning a puck over from going to that tipping one in like those opportunities still um happened for him and they just don’t seem to be happening this year um for you know whatever reason whatever it may be but um to answer your other question
About you know will he Chase it um I mean obviously it’s it’s a discussion right now but it it seems to me like yes I mean he signed that contract for a reason you know he wants to be there he wants to be the best goal
Scorer of all time of course he wants that but um you know if things get so bad that he’s just you know what I I don’t feel great on the ice and and you know the body tells you something else sometimes you got to listen and um you
Know I don’t think it’s you know this year next year but but at some point if if this is still lagging and and the production is just not there and he’s just not uh feeling it uh bodywise because there’s a lot of miles on that
And a lot of hard miles um you know OB uh Obie Obie uh is a hard is a hard guy and and and and plays hard and a lot of hits on that body So eventually it wears down a little bit I mean I hope it’s not
And and I hope he does go on to to to score 10 goals in the next 10 games and kind of rejuvenate himself just um not really at the Hurricane’s expense if he plays them yeah I I I think there was a couple assumptions that we made that
Might have been a little wrong one is that it was like okay he’s always going to have these power play numbers like they’re always going to be there and so that alone should be able to get into the record now I’m not as certain about that um especially given some of the
Other guys that are on that power play two is that all right he’s 38 but I I think a lot of us were basically just always looking at him saying he’ll be new yogger he’s just he’s such a big forceful player he’ll find a way but you
Said it he’s so much more physical and those miles are so much harder that I I don’t feel that same confidence anymore I just wondered hey whatever I feel like when he goes back to Russia he’s got a team of like 84 doctors that are working
On his body every single summer to get him right right back in shape to make sure that he’s good to go but yeah I yeah the hard mileage that you talk about I do wonder how that’s going to start to wear on him as Seasons go on
And especially as it’s like yeah age 39 seasoning you’re in game 43 of the regular season and you’re trying to chase this goal record and it’s it’s it’s still looking like another maybe year away that that’s when I start to wonder if it’s ever going to happen well they play teams are starting
To play a lot differently too like you look at good penalty kills and and you could see when he played against us I mean we were basically just taking him out of the equation right and and and I think obviously that’s a big point to it right you get on the penalty kill
Against Washington you’re like don’t let him beat you okay that’s that’s that’s the goal don’t let him beat you if somebody else beats you that’s okay okay we don’t love it but don’t let him beat you and and teams are really really taking that away they’re playing more of
A diamond against the against the 131 power plays that are going on right now and um just just really putting more emphasis on on him not being there and a lot of times you can just look at him sometimes and he’s just standing there with a guy right next to him and you
Know completely you know what the heck am I doing so um 514 some sometimes turn into four on threes when he’s on the ice and um you know teams are teams are being smart and and doing their best to make sure he does not he does he’s not
The one that hurts them so you’re a Carolina guy you’re still with the theme but you you’re popping up on television you’re popping up on shows like this one you’re dipping your toe you know like you’re taking you’re you’re checking the temperature on the media stuff what what’s why
Now well I think just the whole basis of it is when you retire from hockey you got to figure out what you want to do when you grow up yeah uh you know I’ve been a hockey player my whole life and and I’ve been fortunate
Here that uh you know in the two years that I’ve I’ve been retired um I’m able to dip my toe in a lot of things and and a lot of opportunities have Arisen where I can kind of you know ease my way into and into a
Direction that I want to go and I’m enjoying the media stuff I’m enjoying the the advising stuff for Carolina um I’m enjoying coaching my son’s 15-year-old team I mean there’s there’s things that are uh that are that are really I’m able to do a lot more now now
That I’m not playing anymore and be quite honest I’m just a lot more busier than I am now than I ever was playing hockey I was always told where to be and and what time practice is and when the plane is and and and now it’s all on me
But uh I’m uh I’m fine there’s not enough time of a day sometimes yeah I I got a a little offering for you if if you’d like to hear it you’ve seen what consultants make right it’s a nice job uh well what Consultants any that buddy that’s the beauty of
Consultants is that it’s just like you have to be an expert on something and then they go okay but then a lot of times like from my experience anyways no offense to Consultants listening to the show no offense no offense no offense in my experience I’ve met a lot of
Consultants where it’s like that’s what you did like all right that’s not that all right fine I guess so like okay whatever let’s listen to this person that’s their fee that’s pretty nice I think you should just be clutch consultant I think that you should just
Go team to team you know town to town knocking on doors and telling people what you think about clutch and consult them on that and then charge an exorbitant fee for you to basically give some series The the problem with this plan though I will admit is that because
I’m giving you this idea I want you to give me kind of what you think it is for free you know and don’t worry we’ll drop this part from the podcast but seriously you you you are man like you’re you are Mr game seven and it’s like this isn’t
Even just you know some people always point to playoff stuff and say like hey small sample size some guys have had luck but no like you look at your game-winning goals throughout your career like you’ve always just had a big time sense of the moment and so this is
Kind of vague and big and I’ve asked this to other people who seem to have it but what like when you’re looking back on it now and you’ve had a little bit of space do do you feel like there was something about you that put you at an
Advantage in those spots like what is clutch to you I I don’t know if there’s something that put me in a at Advantage I think the advantage was the teams that I was on I was on some pretty damn good teams and and we’re able to rise the occasion we we just we
Just we had just a lot of a lot of Gamers um you know and that that’s a hard word to describe right what’s a gamer you know guys who are able to to block out the bad thoughts in your head and just go out and get it um I mean
That was my main thing when I was playing these games I said you know what okay I I I know I’m not the best player on the ice but for this game I’m gonna pretend that I am and I want to be the guy and if I make a mistake it’s okay
Okay but I I’m G to want to be the guy that make the difference today and I’m not going to be scared uh for the moment and I’m going to try my best to go and get it and um you know listen things worked out for me um for my teams in in
A lot of instances where her backs are up against the wall and um you know I’m very proud of that now that I’m retired and I can reflect on it but do you think that like you so it sounds like you were actually saying that you were able to
Coach yourself before these games even started that would actually help you get into that moment because the the consensus you usually hear from people is that they want to be like I don’t even want to think about it that it’s just nothing has changed nothing is different yeah well that I think that’s
That’s a wrong way to approach it definitely I mean you’re not playing this game like you know a game seven like any regular game like you just you’re just not you know and I don’t think that’s the right approach to have it right and you know my my thing was
Right you always see things twice right you see things once in your brain okay and then hopefully you see it actually happening on the ice and um I think visualization the power of of of thought are are two things that are really becoming um more used in the NHL
Where guys are working on their physical body and working on their mental game as well see I like this though because again there does seem to be uh more of a consensus of the let don’t over think it you know don’t grip the stick too tight
And it feels like actually maybe one of your advantages was that you did have a deeper appreciation for that moment and that that that did help you focus in a little bit more and I would say this too is like this is me reading off of some
Of what you’re saying but if that’s the case then I would think that you could teach someone to be a gamer um I I think you can teach certain parts of it but I mean listen that that’s the hardest part of it if you go
To a golf event right and you watch the guy in the range I mean who looks different right everybody’s got a swing and everybody pierces the ball and everybody can hit every shot in the bag but when they go out on the course okay that’s where it changes right can you
Hit the shot when you need to can you make the putt when you need to can you um you know can you can you just rise to the moment and and hit the shots that you know you can over and over and over again and this the same thing for every
Sport right can you hit the game winning three you know can you can you make the play when it matters when there’s a guy in your face when the pressure’s on and then you just can’t be scared to take your shot well what do you think it
Would say then if one certain team you know since 2017 has only been able to close one series oh I’d say they do okay okay so oh wow that’s you’re like hey can you go out and can you execute your cuz on the Range this particular golfer is nasty
You know if you were to combine this and on the Range in the regular season range oh my God you should see a ball Striker gorgeous swing you know it’s just it’s lovely to watch you’re thinking maybe long drive competition but then yeah the actual big pots struggling a little bit
Uh and I just yeah I don’t know if you can teach that out to someone or there is a certain accumulation of scar tissue that ends up happening where it’s just it’s harder to focus in the way that you did or block out the failure the way that you probably didn’t experience as
Much and I know you didn’t yeah no no I mean listen yes there is there is scar tissue that that is there right and it makes it even harder right obviously when you have success a little bit earlier you know every snowball starts from a little little tiny one right and
Uh you know it can accumulate and it can accumulate both ways um so obviously yes it’s easier when you’ve had success early um you know just like you score a goal in the first game of the season you’re like okay now I’m on a roll now I
Can get rolling as opposed to not scoring the first 12 games and all of a sudden you think about it more now it becomes an issue right and you know that might be where Toronto is now being like okay I’m assuming that you haven’t need Name by name but I’m assuming that’s who
You’re talking about you make your own assumptions you draw your own conclusions to who we’re talking about in this conversation it’s a roar Shack test yeah so obviously there is a little bit of scar tissue there that you got to just you know bleed off and and keep
Brushing away and um you know they they get a heck of a team everybody knows that and um you know they’re a team that is that is uh you know people I’m not going to say scared to play but uh if they had their choice they probably wouldn’t want to
Play them yeah again there’s a lot of talent it’s just yeah when you see something over and over and over again materialize like there’s some Trends where you go okay there’s probably something to this right like there’s a reason why you get the moniker of Mr
Game seven is because you go eight And1 in the game sevens and then when you go you know not 8-1 in the game sevens and it’s kind of the opposite in the series for you yeah I think that it’s fair for people to go well hey maybe this is
Actually more of a thing now that we’re accumulating more and more of a sample of it um but yeah when you did play them in 2017 and yeah they like they played fast they played free they were up and coming they weren’t supposed to be there they
They actually did push you guys could you have ever imagined that like this is where they would be like I’m sure at some point when you were looking at them you thought man these guys are going to be a wagon for a really long time and again regular season wise they have
Been yeah there was no doubt we played him in Washington in in uh you said it was 2017 yeah yeah I mean it was that that was I think three over times a really close series and and that’s exactly what I thought I said wow this
Team this team is good because they were young at the time were expected to push us pushed us you know like it was it was something and um you know listen they’ve run some really good teams themselves right it’s not like they’ve lost the Chumps you know they they lose they lose
The teams that end up going almost the whole way sometimes the whole way so um you know the way things are set up sometimes is some really good second round matchups that might should have you know been played later on and um but listen a really good team and and and
You know I think Tonto should still have really good optimism about him I will say that if you are Mr Clutch you know you lost two overtime games to the team that’s supposedly the least clutch yeah beliefs that’s you loost you guys lost two overtime games to them that
Series right it’s sort of the one it’s basically the one hole in your resume is it’s just like man look at I mentioned all those stats I went over those numbers but it’s just like you put it all together at the end of the day and you’re like what’s this and it’s like
2017 Justin Williams lost twice in Cas C scored too in over time maybe boek I don’t know something like that exactly those ones are tough though you know like that’s at least minus one of those eight and one game sevens you it’s more like seven in one since you lost those
Two to the leaves um okay so at the end of your career though you know you’re age 38 and you’re getting courted by a couple of teams it makes sense that you went back to Carolina and like you’re there now you clearly have Roots there and yeah you there’s there’s a very deep
Tie-in for you but were you close with the Leafs like did like did you really consider you know what I’m a cober guy maybe I do this thing maybe I join that team um well I mean there has to be a two-way street right there has to be you
Know hey I’m interested and you know you can’t just be like hey I want that girl to be my girlfriend but she doesn’t like you you know there’s got to be a two-way street right there’s got to be tway Street and and you know right when I was
Kind of when I semi-retired a little bit and you know I I had I had thought about it we had discussions um and it did it just didn’t it didn’t happen but um you know when I look back at my career yes I would have you know perhaps liked to
Have played for a Canadian team that’s for sure uh you know it didn’t happen I’m I’m not losing any sleep over it but uh I think it’s something that uh that uh you know almost you know it’s not for everybody but I think it’s it’s it’s something that everybody should
Experience playing in the Canadian team so it sounds like you know they talked to you and then you reciprocated the interest and then that more closer to the 11th Hour they were like yeah thanks but no thanks well there’s there’s discussions all the time that that uh that happen
And um you know it just it just you know just didn’t come to fruition and and you know that’s fine but uh you know I don’t I don’t look back with any regret in my life but uh um you know playing for a Canadian team would have been nice yeah
Because I was G when you you must have thought you must have taken a long hard look at like where the team was at and how you would fit in and what you could have brought there and yeah just it seemed at the time again for a team that
Was looking to get over the hump even to just have like I really do believe in the power of this and I and I do think that this is something was to bring a winner into a locker room and especially this I felt like this was something that
The least lost when Jake muen kept getting hurt was that there was a vacuum of a guy that had been there and done it before that could have preached that kind of message that we were talking about when we were discussing clutch earlier yeah I think that that’s
Actually a really strong point that I thought when Jake mozen went there that was a really really good smart signing um it it it really does help when you just look around and be like this guy’s won like this gu one like we’re we’re not alone here like it just brings that
Just that extra element to the dressing that maybe you need right because the margin of error and the margin of difference between winning and losing in this day and age is so small it’s that it’s that it’ll extra 1% it’s that little extra second effort it’s that
Whatever it is the the mentality um but he was uh he was a player that unfortunately that you know hasn’t played for a while and and looks like might be done but um you know he he he was a he was I think he was a really
Good pickup for for Toronto and you know they’ve tried to bring guys in Ryan O’Reilly that you know have this experience um but let’s be honest R’s had a lot of experiences themselves now um I wouldn’t say they’re um a young team they’re a team that’s right in the
Window right now and expectations are high and um I think uh you know I guess to answer your question yes I think it’s important to have guys like that in dressing you but it’s not the end I’ll be all yeah no I think that’s it is that
If you’re trying to pin it as okay that’s the reason you’re going to win uh yeah duh that you’re going to you’re going to drop the ball you want to have talent but to me it’s like you got to have a little bit of that blend and for
A team that had been through it that many times and when you were available I guess I’m a little surprised that they weren’t a little bit more forceful with trying to bring you in given that yeah um this was something that they had kind of failed to accomplish over and over
Again and whatever they they brought in other vets but they also did bring in a lot vets that hadn’t won and that had a lot of track record of kind of getting close and then not really closing the deal and and I I’ll always look back on
This and wonder hey how how much of that mentality did seep in in those moments how much of that part of it again if we’re all agreeing that there’s a portion of it that does matter like and this is a life thing too you know if you’re with someone who’s just a winner
You feel like you’re going to go into whatever it is like you’re pitch meeting and you’re going to do better right like you be playing any type of sport and if you feel like oh crap our team has this guy on it and he’s had this type of
Success maybe this will you know rub off on somebody even just a little bit and so yeah I would say that that’s a that’s a bit of a Miss if that was yeah not appreciated enough I guess maybe is the way to close it oh well I mean thank you for the
Uh thank you for that but uh I mean listen as I said it was there I’m not going to get too much into it sure um but yeah I mean there was there was interest on both sides it didn’t happen and uh I’m you know I’ve my last few
Years here in Carolina were we’re we’re great we made it to a Conference Finals um you know but uh and you know I’m very proud of of the relationships that I’ve cultivated here and I’m hoping that uh you know this team here that I’m working
With now can um can get other help them hump themselves because that’s what they’re kind of we’re looking to do exactly as well right made made some jumps not a young team team anymore just a team that is in the wind now mode and um you know hopefully uh hopefully it
Happens here I will say on the behalf of Canada we think you guys have had enough in Carolina you know you’ve had enough you can you can chill out for a while it’s fine you guys you guys can have a little bit of a down period you know
We’re sick of seeing the pigs and the you know we’re good you know you guys go suck for a while you guys going to be terrible let a Canadian team win stop stealing stuff from Canada hey man this was really fun uh again congrats on
Everything and I I do hope that yeah the media stuff your son the stuff with the canes like all of it continues to be a success and I I do appreciate the time today all right my pleasure thank you take care
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