Happy New Year! Deep dive on the William Nylander extension in Toronto. Did his laid-back personality inadvertently help his negotiating position? Could the Leafs had landed a better deal in the summer? The Winnipeg Jets are soaring to the top of the standings and defying expectations when looking back to the time of the 2023 draft in Nashville. The Oilers seem to have righted the ship… how much credit should Kris Knoblauch be getting? Hats off to another milestone for the ageless Marc-Andre Fleury.

RC/YC/NC looks at the Cole Perfetti/Ryan Hartman saga.

What’s going on folks welcome to got your back NHL Edition our first podcast of 2024 thank you for all your downloads and subscriptions in 2023 Let’s Get Set for a hell of a year here on gotback NHL Edition shall we as always it’s brought to you by our fabulous title sponsors

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Back to the podcast my friends now big debate between Jason strudwick and I Johnny Pierre on how deep into the year you can say happy new year and and hey hope your new year is going great do you have a hard and fast rule Johnny we can

Start with you because I can tell you struds is straight up being rude to people straight up being rude to people rejecting their happy new years’s you know what I I think str’s actually doing a service to people so that they don’t have a social FAA I am

From the school of Larry David you have to like the third or fourth at the lest and that is all you get after that it’s hello if we’re like five six seven days in the year it’s the eighth today shogy I haven’t seen you well since New Year’s

I’m not going to say happy New Year it was a week ago so much has changed so I am Larry Davis I am strudy absolutely I don’t have time for a new year wishes well wishes sure hey how you doing hope everything’s going well Pier hope you’re

Great I don’t need to say Happy New Year to your Pierre we are way past it January 4th my cut off deadline for sure also I totally agree and also if you don’t know who Larry David is or have never watched curb you enthusiasm I don’t want to be your

Friend it is good TV it is it definitely is good TV and uh uh it’s it’s you know it’s that quirky TV and lot not a ton of people had heard about it and then it’s just one of those ones everybody absolutely has to watch uh I I’m sort

I’m with you Johnny I’m kind of in that like third fourth fifth range sort of thing the one thing I’ll say is that happy New Year is it’s different than Merry Christmas or happy Easter New Year is a concept it’s like I hope you’re I I’m not saying I hoped your December

31st evening went well I’m saying I hope your new year and the days that have followed since have been joyous and good and I wish you well wishes on those said days moving forward as well listen I don’t care what how you interpret it I don’t want to hear it I

Don’t want to hear about January I get freaking I know what you mean but I don’t need it absolutely not absolutely not uh Pier you got the Vintage look yeah go ahead well I was get to say I can’t believe you just reference happy Easter I don’t think I wished someone a

Happy Easter in about 30 years but anyway I guess that’s a comment on there’s not a lot of that there’s not a lot of that Pierre you got the Vintage look going today you got the old school Whalers in behind you got the leque there on the shirt you just you’re

Feeling little vintage today are we yeah my wife got me this Nord E’s t-shirt um it’s kind of funny there’s a picture of me when I was eight or nine years old in Hurst Ontario where my late grandmother was really excited about the hockey sweater she got me for Christmas

And it was a nordique sweater except you didn’t know I was a Hobs fan and the and my face because I’m trying not to disappoint Grandma but yeah that’s a classic I still have that photo somewhere fantastic uh okay guys Lots going around on around the National Hockey League so

Let’s dive into our breakdown brought to you by kin print over a 100 combined years of experience If You Can Dream It kin print can make it happen providing embroidery signage printing logo design let K print help you take your brand to the next level they’re high quality top-of-the-line apparel they can help

You with promotional products to Showcase your company with class U it’s a great family company see how they can assist you with your needs visit kin print.com time 9:00 eastern time and perhaps by the time people are listening it’ll be dated in that a William neander

Deal will be announced we don’t know for sure Pierre um but we’re going to assume that it’s you know that it’s close as you’ve reported it is in fact close and that number Pierre I don’t know how you want to do this 11.25 11.5 we’ve heard a few different things assume it’s that

Range it’s going to be 11.5 unless something has changed here in the last 24 hours and uh could be announced this morning so by the time you watch this perhaps already announced but it uh my sense is it’ll be 11.5 million a year times eight years uh and all the Bell bells and

Whistles that goes with a contract of that magnitude yikes for William neander Johnny clap was for the agent for Welcome to the wiser Hood well done sir well done golf clap well done because you know what um every we should celebrate moments when athletes you know

The bet on yourself is a been an overplayed term but you know he was willing to foro the guarantee of a contract in the summer to prove how good he is to get more leverage to support that he last year was not a one- here

Wonder he could do it again and he has done that and then some and he is gonna get paid and the fact that he probably you know we’ll get into all the but he probably made himself an extra $20 million by how well he played in these

Last in these last whatever three months so I give them full credit and the agent as well um but you know that’s that’s a big number and um if it ends up being eight times 11 and a half whatever that is that $92 million that makes him uh

You know one of the highest paid Wingers or the highest paid Winger in the NHL that that that might be right Pierre ahead of Panera now and ahead of fock um but he’s producing like he might be the best Winger in the NHL right now may be on COV obviously who’s who’s got

A contract that exists so um what’s fascinating me is we dissect this we my my first initial reaction is one that’s a lot because I think the the first comparison would be like that’s more than poock he’s not as good as poock like I think that’s where the

First place people will go and I think that’s sort of fair I don’t think he’s as good as posto um they’re exact same drafted together they know each other very well very comparable um but then there’s the well how much better is Austin math used than him because

They’re on the same team that internal comparison uh and how much he deserves relative the internal comps on his own team but um I don’t know Pierre like the 115 that seems like a very big number for an amazing player and this entire conversation it’s not about down you

Know selling short how great neander is it’s just you know when you’re talking this much money Pier how do they get to that if it ends up being 11 to5 a number that big yeah certainly I think one of the impacts in this negotiation was that when Gary bman

Finally confirmed that the board of Governor meeting in Seattle a month ago exactly a month ago that the cap would indeed go up 4.2 million I think that emboldened the neilan or Camp to say this is a conversation about the percentage of the cap and not so much just the AV right so

Yes he’s going to end up making more than past but the percentage of the cap is what you got look at you know Pastak a year ago is negotiating on a cap at the time that’s 825 and that they knew still that would go up 1 million to

835 neander is negotiating off a cap that’s going up to to 87 plus that that’s the real life you know world that agents and and front offices live in percentage of the cap correctly yes yeah and so I I don’t think the leaps are announcing they think neander is better

Than Pastak what they’re acknowledging is that those negotiations happen 12 months apart that’s life the wheel keeps going and the Cap’s going up so I mean not to bring everything back to Emon all the time but imagine if you’re Leon dyle who might negotiate this summer a year

Out yikes MJ you uh and I’m not throwing this in your face in a negative way MJ because this speaks to what neander has accomplished but you handicap this or Mystic might did in and around the 9.7 range I think and now you see where this

Comes in he begins the season I know you don’t like that you I’ll you can clarify in a minute he begins the season on a 17 game point streak in a year where he’s got it all on the line like that I mean that’s just baller kind of stuff the

Same kind of baller stuff that has you come out post game with no T-shirt with no shirt on and a gold chain to do your media like the guy’s just he’s all Pizzazz he is now okay you’re right I had him at 9 97 I think I might have

Said 988 just to be cute because he wears 88 in that that area but I had that in August and and I think Pierre you know the confirmation of the cap going up and the fact that he has been one of the best offensive players in the league

This year changed that Dynamic and I said you know a month ago it probably is more like 10 and a half yeah but I did not think he’d get all the way 11 and like I I appreciate percentage of the cap as much as anyone yeah I that’s

Entirely how this works that’s why Conor MC that’s Conor mcdavis is not the highest paid player in the league he’s he the best player he’s not the highest paid this is how it works as caps go up your contract comes due when you get the same percentage but I but what’s

Fascinating to me and this I think the any criticism of this deal should not fall to William Mander no he got the best deal he can get the one he’s he’s he’s he’s earned the one that’s comparable to other people that have done what he’s done on his own team

And around the league what’s fascinating it to me is the Toronto Maple bels in the summer we’re kind of hoping to get him at like around 9 maybe under nine some people in the organization thought maybe just over nine and I think William neander was looking for something

Hopefully closer to 10 could they have gotten Pierre in August 15 neander eight years 80 million here you go no trade provision same structure all the rest of it like I I wonder because the Leafs wanted to say prove it that how much money it may have cost him

While he’s proved it and then some um over the last three months yeah no question MJ and I think that let’s put it this way let’s go back to where the negotiations really started and it didn’t start well if you remember we we did some reporting on this at the draft

In Nashville Ryan there was a bit of a whoa you guys want what and we want to do this and the two sides weren’t very close which by the way is kind of predictable when we start but back in Nashville andate June you know I think that the ask was

Around 10 million a year from uh from Neil Ander camp and I think the least were’re hoping to get something in at the time maybe in the eights and again totally understandable when you’re starting and and looking back now you would have taken 10 if you’re the least

But you don’t know for sure that this guy’s going to go from an 80-point player which he was for two years in a row to now he’s on Pace for what is it 117 or 118 that’s another stratosphere has brought his game to a whole other

Stratosphere here in in half a season um and you know top top seven or eight in NHL scoring peak of his career 27 years old I mean what is the alternative and this deal is I think will get criticized by a lot of people because Leafs never

Get a break and never get a bargain with their top players and that’s legitimate criticism but what is the alternative at this very point at this juncture how do you replace William neander in July with what’s available Johnny do you want to address that in that I mean people will look at

This and it’s topheavy in terms of the the forwards people look at the Leafs and know that it’s the blue line that may makes it prohibitive to getting to where they want to go and Pierre you make a great point you have to keep your best assets you can’t lose them it just

So happens their best assets have all been up front but is this prohibitive to being able to raise a Stanley Cup with some of the best players of their generation because they’re so heavy up front and are they going to be able to do what they need to do through the rest

Of their roster yes they’re keeping their guys but are they building a team that can go all the way in the meantime yeah I mean until they do they can’t right Pi like until they do people will say you can’t right like would would how many clubs around the NHL would take the

Toronto Maple Leafs success the regular season mhm in the last five years like they are one of the top three four teams in the NHL now I understand one playoff series and that’s all and that’s all that really matters but they they have had good teams I do think clearly next

Year is going to be very difficult right Austin will be on his new deal Willie be on his new deal it’s the last year of tarz making 11 and even though the cap goes up that cap increase will be eaten up by neander and Matthews and their

Increases so you’re not going to be able to change your team very much you’re going to entry LEL contract for one year you’re going to get both goalies on entry level deals next year you know like that you’re have $2 million in goers next year that will help them in a

Little bit as well but it’s after next year and you know think about this like four more years of Austin eight more years of Willie Mitch will probably resign for another eight years as well like yes the windows now because they’re at their best but they’re not leaving

Next year is going to be hard Pierre because of John tarz in his contract the year after you know tarz will get scaled back maybe half as much the cap will go up another million all of a sudden then you’re going to have that $10 million to

Play with that that you’d like to address the other teams the question is what do you do like what are you gonna do without William neander what do the Leafs look like say okay take your take your 11 million shogy take it he walks whatever you’re not GNA trade him this

Year you’re gonna let him play it out so he walks you got1 million in space what are you gonna do and how is that team going to be better than right than what the T beliefs look like now now I don’t know who’s a pending UFA defenseman they

Can sign some you know they go sign Noah hanifen you know like he’s a very good player and they could probably sign another pretty good forward alongside with it so you get hannahan and Tyler berzi back for $ 11 million are the leaps better off than neander in an

Entry-level contract defenseman I don’t know and think about this because we know Marner and Matthews are so good together someone else has to drive that second line as Tara’s age is up and like make it go on his own and as great as Mitch is you know he’s probably not

Quite as as uniquely talented as Willie to do that like they need Willie and what he brings the style he plays Pier going forward so this is the conversation Toronto had like you know we we explore these ideas but they keep their best player the one that makes

Their offense go next year will be hard Pierre but then after that it probably eases off to be more like other teams yeah so so you nailed the most important point it’s a 12-month issue John dearis will come off 11 million a year in a year and a half and and uh presumably

Will want to stay El the elaf will want to keep him but he’ll come back I think at a much reasonable figure so it’s a one-year issue but it’s still a big issue number two is if you really want to peel back the onion this is why the

Dramatic divorce of Kyle duus and Brendan Shanahan was maybe the worst time event ever for this organization because there isn’t a gem aot that’s going to come in as the new GM of the TR mate beliefs and within four weeks decide to trade either William neand or Mitch Marner the reason I bring

That up is that Mitch marner’s full no move kicked in last July 1 yeah R TR in in about a span of four weeks have to decide two things am I getting rid of either neander who I got to try and sign in the next 12 months or am I getting

Rid of Marner before his no move kicks in and and I think 99% of GMS who just took over that job with this team that gets 100 points points every year despite their playoff issues would have said yeah I’m not not trading those guys and that’s fine that’s reasonable I mean

I I don’t think as a new person I would have either except that now you’re in this very interesting situation because with Neil Ander signed and obviously full no move for William neander this extension Mitch Marner now this summer what happens with him one year out with one year left on

His deal and again he’s got full no move that’s where the interesting situation is going to come up especially depending on how the playoffs go you know if it goes well then my guess is Marner you know probably plays ball and he wants to keep the ball rolling the Leafs are

Getting closer and closer but it’s a if it’s a Gong Show and all the Heat and Marner seems to take a lot of the heat every year the Leafs get knocked out in the play is he like you know what maybe I’m not extending but then what doesn’t mean you can trade

Him so yeah this whole thing has more layers coming how about Mitch Marner and Leon ddle same thing same time very similar scenario my goodness ex yeah except Leon has earned and deserves like a$ four and a half million dollar raise per year right Mitch maybe has earned a $500,000

To a million dollar raise like the Gap that Leon has earned and has been underpaid is so much bigger than Mitch but other one other point about this is like yeah two things one you mentioned the no T-shirt thing like part of what makes this contract good for William

Neander is he is that guy like he is a guy who doesn’t seem quite as phased by the noise in Toronto as evidenced by this year if anyone was going to be kind of bothered by the pressure and the Heat and what this at stake it would be

Willie given what was at stake with this new contract he does not let this stuff bother him he just lets it flow off his glorious hair and just rolls right right off back he does not care I think that’s important if you’re going to commit to a

Guy this kind of contract and the expectations and pressure that goes with it it’s important Pier yeah I well think about we had mark shley on this podcast and I think Mark shley frankly was more representative of most players in that situation Mark shley did not hold back

Right Ryan when he said yeah the relief that he felt when he got his extension done one year out like that was a big deal for Mark shley I think 90% of NHL stars are more like Mark shley is a unicorn William manland is like UFA

Year let’s go let’s go g up bring on the pressure don’t worry about the8 million I’ve left it on the table like that’s okay I’m just gonna throw down a 17 game point streak just I’m just gonna hit the ground running with that he got points

The thing I would say is I know so I think Austin Matthews next year oh I wish I had written it down it was in my KNE Lander piece from Thursday in the athletic but I think Austin Matthews percentage of the cap when his extension kicks in next

Year is around 15% does that sound right MJ think it’s around 15 yeah roughly yeah I mean if I’m Leon dry saddle that’s the society you live in I know I’m just saying you’re in the Austin Matthews Society so I don’t know how you take 15% as podcast host I’m

Stepping in here I’m stepping in because you open the door to the Leon dry side of exension then leads to the McDavid extension Which percentage we’re not doing that you know why we’re not going to do that today guys because we respect the Winnipeg Jets fans far too much

They’re already screaming at us for going this long on the Leafs we maybe should have started with them this is all the Winnipeg Jets have done rattled off six in a row points in 12 straight played three games in four nights ah go ahead and win them all you got the best

Goals against in the league at 2. 38 nine straight games allowing two or fewer goals number one in the NHL with a 718 winning percentage like it’s it’s really been something MJ and and when you watch the Winnipeg Jets play and you cross reference these numbers I mean we

Probably should start talking about him as a cup Contender here legit yeah I mean what they’re doing and and the idea that the foundation piece of this Jets team is largely based on keeping pucks out of their net what are they at now 29 games of three or less

Like it’s anene number in today’s NHL 20 like what are we talking about that’s that is crazy and the fact that Conor huk has been excellent as he always is but he’s not been the only reason that their goals against is good he’s not the only reason why they’re on this streak

Of keeping the goals against down um I I give the players so much credit look at all their numbers their chances against their expected goals against their actual goals against Pierre and if defense wins championships in some sports um you know Winnipeg should be considered like it feels like even

Though they’re best in the league we’re halfway through the year you are what your record says you are Pierre and yet if you to ask the te people to Cluster your top four or five staning cup favorites Winnipeg would not be in a lot of people’s they would be in the next TR

Like that you know six to 10 like they there but they’re not really one of the favorites I think we might start to recalibrate that because they have something pretty special going on right now um in it and and maybe in a departure for some of the criticism of

Their teams the last three four years where this year the hole is greater than the sum of its parts not less than right it’s not like they got a good roster but they don’t play that well they got a good roster they’re playing better than that and that’s the team that’s the

Group that’s the leadership that’s the coaching like that’s an organizational thing and I think part of you know the changes they’ve made have allowed them to maybe you know hit this next level you know and I tweeted this on Saturday and it’s funny because it’s a tweet that for whatever reason got way

More reaction than I thought it would because I was just pointing out facts but what’s amazing is if we go back again to the June draft in Nashville which now looking back has has been this time period last June where so many things could have happened or did happen

But Pier L Dua after asking for a trade gets dealt that week and when you talk to other teams that week they took that as a signal as oh boy the Jets are headed for a at the very least some kind of reboot or or or retool where’s shley headed where’s

Haluk headed and let’s not do revisionist history and pretend this didn’t happen Conor haluk was on the market but but but the issue was I don’t think teams were willing to extend him to the kind of contract that anyway let’s not get into the whole

Thing but the bottom line is he he was out there and then he got brought back in as the summer went on and the patience of Kevin shovel off and the Jets front office to say let’s just let these things play out and see and then the heart-to-heart meetings that chevel

Dale have had with huk and chle late in the summer extend those two core pieces and by the way that trade with LA for dubuis and listen DUIs may win a cup in La so it’s not like I’m criticizing the Kings but Jet’s got some pieces back there

That is that are working for them and and so to where we were in June in Nashville thinking oh boy where is this whole jet thing headed to where we are today where they have the best record in the National Hockey League is an absolutely phenomenal Story by any

Measure really is no question no question goad I think I think you have to just take consideration like the players are not immune to what’s going on on on their team like they see wheeler getting bought out they hear like they know hobok may is out there

They know shley is likely leaving they both want deals that maybe they’re not going to get whatever I I just the players deserv so much credit for kind of re-calibrating with the group they have because this is not what they thought in August like when like when before these

Deals were signed this is not how everyone was sort of approaching this team who was like a we’re in transition we’re going to reload we’re going to trade all these players we’re going to try to reset but like we’re taking steps back before we go forward and and

They’ve recap like they’ve just been able to make that adjustment on the Fly which is which is impressive well and one one of the narratives this year has been attendance issues out there um for the team to turn around and and do this I mean if there

Were ever a reason for jets fans to just bite right back in and buy right back in um you know this is it their star players resign and are leading the Char Char and they are one of the if not the best teams in the National Hockey League

And certainly in this moment they are uh Pierre you had a chat with Ken Holland nice Resurrection here for the Edmonton Oilers Chris noblock couple of significant winning streaks he’s put together in his time became the random stat first coach to co coach his team to two seven game winning streaks in the

First 25 games of his NHL coaching career it’s a little bit random there but based on your chat with Ken Holland that article is in the athletic uh he showed some Sage patience there I would say by not overreacting yeah and I think it’s because part of it is it’s it’s near

Impossible to make a trade in October and number two making a trade when you’re 29 and one is like the worst leverage ever so he I think Ken alland definitely uses experience in that lowest of lows moments to try and not do anything stupid and uh but he was forced

Into a coaching change and one of the things that he reiterated you know in our conversation Ryan was that they just felt as an organization that they they couldn’t go too many more games in the abyss that if they were going to salvage the season that was that was the moment that they

Had to and you know they didn’t enjoy making that coaching change Jay wood cr’s a good coach um but the results speak for themselves however when they had that little three- game losing streak Ryan right before the holidays one of the things Ken Holland said to me is that don’t underestimate those

Back-to-back wins right before the holiday break in New Jersey and New York he he referred to them as character wins they were down entering the third period in both games and he said a to go into the holiday break in that frame of mind after those two wins but B those two

Wins got them to 500 NHL 500 and he said that he believed when they made the coaching change that getting to 500 Before Christmas was Paramount for them to try and then take on the next fight it’s interesting so it’s all sort of happened the way he had hoped from that

Moment on and again they’re in a dog fight the rest of the year I mean they’re in a walk card spot now but they they can’t afford to regress but I tell you what I like their chances to make it over the other teams in that cluster right now in the Western

Conference yeah they’re gonna I think they’re they they’re the favorite to make it for Shier although you’re right it’s going to be probably tighter than they they would want it to be you know I think part of it shogy is an inevitable they were way better than

They were losing with right like they you could have gone behind the bench and they probably would have done better than they had done with Woodcraft right like they were just due for that um but I I you know what we all want action fire trade bury buy out whatever

Like staying the course with this team taking his time with the genders even still like he’s not sort of forced a move to go get Peter Mor I or like whoever you know some guy that might be an upgrade on picker whatever um they give him credit and I guess the team for

Like not waiting for a move but turning things around and mcdavid’s obviously chasing down the scoring lead incredible dry settle but how about Zack hman I mean like the like so what I like about this story is that I remember sitting in the TSN offices when Zach first got to

Toronto like his first or second here and you could see the things he did really well right like the work you know the for check the you know the facilitation of other good players but he could not score like he could not put the puck in the net and we’re having

This conversation and I remember trying to like yeah but like you know his shooting percentage is four and like there’s no forward in the NHL who shoot 4% and they got like no he’s got no hands like this idea that he was a guy who could not score no matter how good

The players he’s playing with and now is he got three hattricks got like 25 five goals he’s on Pace for like 50 for a guy that couldn’t score um I think it’s brilliant that he is sort of stuck with who he is but just you know evolved and

Grown his game uh but talk about shedding a rep Fier the idea that he was you know stone hands couldn’t put it in the net and now he’s he’s one of the better goal scorers in the league and listen obviously K Allen deserves to be criticized on the ERS front office for

The Jack Campbell signing there there’s no other way around it that’s been a complete disaster but it should be mentioned the same breath every single time that the the The Other Extreme of July 1 decisions for the Oilers has been the Zach Heyman signing which arguably

Is maybe the best in a decade in free agency in the National ackey League I mean that’s how good that signing has been by any measure at all and I get it maybe the contract doesn’t age gracefully because of his age and the way he plays hard who cares we’re about

To be maybe a year from it paying for itself inway like I mean it’s it’s it’s and real quick you know the least should have kept him he’s incredible real quick though shogy one thing I may do something on this later Zack Heyman has learned to become the mirror image

Of Sydney Crosby when it comes to back door availability have you seen like you know Sid goes down there he turns a skate sideways he’s got a stick in front of it he gives you all kinds of things that he can hit on the back door and

You’re gon to tip it in Zach Ary doesn’t same thing all the time he’s back there and he’s got to skate sideways he’ll take him off the hips off The Shins like he knows like here’s the backboard fired off me he I it’s like you know righty

Lefty not quite the same but I watch him like that’s I don’t know if he picked that up off Sid or it’s just kind of intuitive but Sid was the first one to sort of offer all those different targets and Zach does the exact same thing and he has really good passers

Throwing it down there most of the time it’s on his stick but I don’t know how many banking off his shins or his you know butt or his hips or whatever I just think it’s interesting that he’s kind of you know mastered that little Nuance on the back door like Sydney Crosby yeah

Interesting to watch in Edmonton and by the way Chris noblock I know the team was ready to turn around but he deserves a lot of credit here they’re 17 and six under him but Johnny this is interesting he’s done things a little different here the line combinations are something to

Watch in Edmonton because noblock has loaded up the McDavid line Heyman and Newen Hopkins he’s got Leon Dr Leon dry Sidle playing with Ryan McLoud and Warren Fogle Evander Kane is on the third line with Derek Ryan and Matias Yanmar so it’ll be interesting to see if that is sustainable moving forward uh

Because don’t you think Brian I mean McLoud should be at center Long Term right I mean yeah you would think so although man was he bad at center for the first chunk of this season he’s been he’s been pretty darn good on the wing but yeah that’s what the design is this

Gets me to where I wanted to pick your brain Ryan um you know I think they should trade for a 1B or a veteran backup goalie all due respect the Calvin picker I think they need to give Skinner more insurance but where else would you go I

Mean is it a bottom six center if you’re Ken Holland is it a right-handed shot upgrade on CC like what would you like to see well I think a top six right winger is probably at the top of the list with the idea that McLoud will land

Back in the three Center spot if you’re committed to McLoud the wing then you need a third line Center flat out no question so maybe you get a third line Center Johnny who could also be a top six Winger if you needed him to be just another option at Center in case you

Want to keep McLoud on the wing but without him at Center it is thin I mean you got all due respect you got James Hamlin and Derrick Ryan as your three four centers so I think you know top six right winger if you’re keeping if you’re

Willing to put McLoud back at Center and remember they they knew this and they took a swing at a top six right winger was brown they did right that was the guy who was supposed to fill that role to put the you know the lineup in the

Order that you’re looking it for but I I think I do like the idea because when Edmonton took off right away it was NJ Heyman and McDavid their numbers were otherworldly the goal differentials all that but it wasn’t driven by high shooting only it was like that’s how

Good they were they were killing everyone and then when they lost they they tried to they broke that line up to try to help Leon out a little bit more um you know I’m with right winger given that I was one they’re not that hard to

Find like you know mean like like if you’re asking what’s harder to get right like a top six right winger that can work with a guy as good as Leon dry settle that’s not impossible to find um as opposed to a top pair defenseman or

You know I mean so I would think path of least resistance if you want to to kind of keep the top line it up and go get yourself a Winger and that would probably be something they’d be able to do before the deadline all right great

Stuff um two quick things before we wrap up the podcast we got a red card yellow card no card coming up because well it’s the nation’s favorite game uh but a quick shout out here to Mark Andre flurry ties Patrick W record second most regular season wins

551 has a chance to take over um number two against the Dallas Stars Johnny your career has overlapped with his and Pierre you’ve covered him for you know most of your career do we have any good Mark Andre flurry stories Johnny well I think first off how he got

That tying win kind of sums off his whole career right like the fact that he was on his way to the bench he comes flying back with a Superman dive and they back and rally he makes that crazy glove save like one of the most stylish

Perfect glove saves I think it was in the overtime to keep it alive and then he wins it um I I think two things stand out I mean I I’ve met Mark Andre many times never played with him but um he is like so affable so lovely so nice and personable

And you know if you’re going to think traditionally goalies are in their own world and maybe you know on their own program he’s the the exact opposite like that and he’s been that way for 20 years that’s 20 years he’s been like that and he’s never changed he’s done it all with

A smile and a good attitude including moments when he lost a starting job and they won a Stanley Cup and you had to be the back up in really tough moments where he took it all with Grace in class um so yeah that one always and the other

One is that strikes to me is like not that it would have derailed a career that’s going to be a Hall of Fame career but if you think back to the world junr that he was supposed to you know be the the the star of and he ended up shooting

A puckin off Patrick O Sullivan and losing a gold medal like you know from those sort of traumatic Beginnings he’s carved out this incredible career he’s um yeah he’s one of the best but I love the way he got that win because it was so him in a nutshell not textbook

He’s not a Blocker of pucks he’s an athlete in there Pierre and he does it with great style and a smile to go along with it yeah one of the nicest guys I’ve ever covered ever I mean just I mean you describe them perfectly but such Grace

And a smile that lights up a room I don’t think that guy’s ever had a bad day despite you know he’s had some adversity not only leaving Pittsburgh via the expansion Drive I think was hard on him but but then after finding this new home in Vegas where he’s beloved

Getting punted out of there right I mean it’s interesting the things that have happened to this guy but I’ll tell you a story of that expansion year in Vegas I I had written a piece that the Winnipeg Jets were going to mop the floor with the expansion golden knights and that

Piece had made the rounds in the golden knights dressing room I remember James Deal giving it to me pretty good uh Mark Andre didn’t say anything but in the hallway after I left the dressing room that day in between games one and too I remember that flurry’s agent Alan Walsh

Was walking out with flurry’s wife and uh and she turned around and said is he the guy who wrote that piece and I was just like oh my God please and we all had a pretty good laugh about it but uh just just uh an awesome dude Mark Andre

Flurry good for him real interesting on the side shogy and we won’t go down this road but like for the next the best on best in 205 is he like he might even be in the conversation for Canada like it’s I don’t know what to tell you is saying a

Few that’s that’s that’s a testament to him and also a bit of but he might be in the top five six contenders to be on that team which is crazy you just popped open a count of worms and we’re just going to walk away from them lying all

Over the floor it up because it is time for red card yellow card no card gentlemen for this we’re going to go to one of the juiciest most interesting stories in the National Hockey League over the last I don’t know month or two I thought this one because just the

Granular level that we seem to get detail on I’m talking Cole Peretti and Ryan Hartman so Cole Peretti takes a stick in the face off of a draw post game basically tells the media yeah he told me that he did it on purpose if you will remember kol Capri

Off got cross checked brenon Dylan and left the game and the sense was Hartman did it for Revenge that’s what Hartman told Peretti yeah I did it on purpose well after the you know after Peretti says that postgame Ryan Hartman then has a chance to have his saying he goes ah he was

Chasing me around asking me if I did it on purpose asked me a few times and I said I didn’t not do it on purpose and then kind of says you know are things that we say on the ice really going to come out in the media like

Should it be that way maybe it’s just the kids these days he feels that what went on on the ice should have stayed on the ice and that Peretti was out of line for talking about it post game so I’m gonna give you guys the opportunity to assign any cards

Anywhere you want here red card yellow card no card for either Cole Peretti for saying what he said postgame or Ryan Hartman for either the high stick or what he said Johnny you can go first buddy okay so I like to head out multiple cards I’m going red card Ryan

Hartman don’t you dare say oh poor me he told on me when he’s not so how you stop swinging your stick around of people’s heads how’s that how’s that all right not propety but like he’s been fine like seven times so I don’t want to hear him

Say that’s not fair you can’t do that to me how about you stop hitting people in the head you can’t do that to them so red card for Ryan Hartman for the actual clip okay I’m gonna say red card no I’m G say yellow card for cing to it because listen like for

Ryan Hartman saying oh yeah I did it on purpose like I would say people say all kinds of stuff on the ice and not all of it’s true and not all of it’s you know they intend to if that was the case I would have been killed a hundred times

Over because I was being threatened to be killed every single game I’m gonna kill you Johnson I never died on the ice right so like you say stuff that’s not necessarily true before after during so yellow card for saying it and for Peretti I’m going no card you got

Smooshed in the face if you want to say that the guy told you he was going to do it on purpose when you oh yeah a microphone that validates what you’re saying he’s not making it up he not open to interpretation he was miked up the organization has heard Harman compid l

So no card for Peretti you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to you want to keep it on the ice you can do that but if you don’t want to keep it on the ice you don’t owe that to Ryan Hartman just cracked your jaw open no Carper Fetti

Yellow for the comment red for any problem Hartman has with anything because of how many times he’s crossed the line so two red R cards is this the first time ever we’ve given out two red cards to one person in one in one show I

Think it might be two red cards for Ryan Hartman from Mike Johnson yeah I’ll give a red card to Hartman as well and the other thing about it too is that he knows that profet is wearing the mic the players in the other dressing room know before each

Game who’s wearing a mic in those games there’s no excuse not to understand the fact that you’re about to say something that the world may find out about uh the guys wearing a mic so why are you being a dummy in saying that so that’s the red

Card for for Hartman and I’m not going to give a card to Peretti because you know we are still the worst sport for athletes being willing to share stuff compared to other sports in terms of drama and and controversy bring it on we need more of this quite frankly in the

NHL uh it was a story for a week and for a reason so I’m going to go red card to Hartman for doing it because nowhere in the code of keeping each other honest out there does it exist that it is ever okay to stick a guy in the face as

Retribution for anything that’s not part of the code you square up and drop your gloves you deliver a hard hit you get in a guy’s face but a high stick across the face when a player’s bent over and vulnerable in a face off that is brutal

So I could give multiple red cards for that I would but only one red card per per specific event so he’s got a red card there the coping to it I don’t care I think it’s funny if you did do it on purpose you might as well tell the guy

Just to troll him a little bit too I don’t have a problem with the fact that he admitted it and no card for Cole Peretti on this that’s the one thing we all agree on and guys this is a this is a he said he said Hartman says it was in

A different context Peretti said but the audio exists Pierre What’s it gonna take to get that audio leaked how can we hear that audio we need to hear that audio over the NHL paa’s Collective dead bodies I guess man somebody sitting in the back of the broadcast truck somewhere knows the

Answer all right great job today fellas that’s going to wrap up the podcast a big thanks to our sponsors Kuma outdoor gear and K print as well we’re happy to be rocking and rolling again here in 2024 another podcast coming your way next week in the meantime thanks for

Your downloads and your subscriptions keep an eye on our socials um really appreciate it’s been a fun ride here on goty back and it’s going to continue we’ll talk to you soon folks have a fantastic week happy New Year Johnny Happy New Year

4 Comments

  1. 100% AGREE WITH PIERRE. We need more drama, passion and violence (my words, not his) in the sport! Most of these games are like watching millionaire rec league.

    It's great to have high skill but the contrast and other end of the spectrum that attracts people to the sport is AGGRESSION.

    I would watch Wendel Clark 100% of my time as much as I want to see McDavid 100% of the time.

    You want characters, rivalries and DRAMA in your sport. Not just fancy boys prancing around trying lame ass Michigan goals.

  2. The last 3 home games the jets have averaged 14700. When people were complaining they were averaging 12000 in a 15000 seat arena. This weeks home stand looks like they will have some good crowds.

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