The Chris Johnston Show. Your number one destination for a behind the scenes look at the game of hockey. Does this thing on? Here's NHL insider Chris Johnston and host Julian McKenzie. CJ, let's begin with Leafs Corner for today's episode. A few moves to talk about including Max Paturetti signing a PTO with the Leafs. What do we know? Well, we know that the Leafs have spent the last, you know, few weeks, maybe even month, you know, looking to find some more options for themselves. At left wing to feel better, you know, heading into training camp at that position. And, you know, I think for some time, Max Paturetti has been a player that they've viewed, you know, very favorably was kind of at the top of the wish list as we got towards the latter parts of the summer. And now, you know, it's with training camp coming next week, you know, that they manage to bring it together. And, you know, I'll say this, he's officially signed a tri-out agreement. But I would expect that this will be, you know, it's the, it's an indication that he's going to sign a contract. And, you know, between now and October 7th or 8th, when the Leafs set their opening night roster, there's going to be more movement on the team. I mean, as we look at it now, they are above the salary cap in a manner of speaking. That will be taken care of, you know, through training camp, battles for jobs. You know, some, someone on a one-way deal out there on the Leafs roster, whether it's a player like Connor Timmons, you know, some other forwards perhaps down the lineup. Yeah, there's not going to be room for everyone to be on the team. And so, I would suggest the reason that you're not getting a max patch ready contract announcement at this stage is because they have to let that play out, you know, maybe put some of those players or on waivers and send them to the American Hockey League. Maybe they lose them, of course, on waivers to another team. Maybe a trade materializes. I think the Leafs have kept all options open here. And when it gets to, you know, the start of the season, they'll see exactly how much cap space they have to devote to a contract for patch ready. It's something we've seen them do in the past. I mean, it was, I believe two seasons ago, they had Zack Aston Reese in camp on a similar understanding that, you know, it wasn't necessarily battling for a job, but that, you know, the exact dollar figure they could give them would be determined in the late stages of the training camp period. And so, I think that's where we're at with patch ready. It's also been a big week because they signed Nick Robertson, right? It was a long time coming, you know, a bit of a stalemate there, where the restricted free agent had asked for a deal, was wanting a new opportunity. And he also plays that left-wing position. So the Leafs are starting to guess to get some of their ducks in a row here, you know, just a week or so out from the start of camp. You mentioned Nick Robertson. He did sign that deal. So this should be the end of that stalemate. There should be nothing else to report. He still wants to be a Leaf. Does the story end there? Well, no. Look at the beauty, the beautiful thing of all stories is there can be many chapters, right? And I think that ultimately now it's eventually come around where Nick Robertson realized his best opportunity was to sign a deal in Toronto. It's a one-year contract, you know, there's a chance to reassess things in the future. You know, there was no trade for Nick Robertson. I mean, that's just the truth of the matter. I mean, he went public with his trade request. It was a tweet I sent out on June 30th. So every team has no one since at least then, and perhaps even before, that he was available via trade. You know, obviously nothing materialized. It's not to say there still couldn't be a trade, but I just don't think that's the most likely outcome here. Really, the ball is in Nick Robertson's court. You know, what did he want? He wanted an opportunity. Really, that's said to be what his biggest beef is here. It's not as though he hates living in the city of Toronto or that, you know, there's this wasn't a fight about money. It was it really came down to he felt that he wasn't given enough of a fair chance at playing meaningful minutes with some of the better players on the team over these last couple seasons. And, you know, I think he's 100% going to get that now. Now, does he grab a role? Does he find a fit with one of these lines? Does his ice time go from 10 minutes a game last year to 15 minutes a night? I mean, some of that will really is in the players court. And so I think let's see where it goes in terms of how he performs. You know, the Leafs have a new coach too, right? I mean, when you talk about opportunity, it comes down to two things usually. One is roster. Well, right now the Leafs roster, there's definitely fewer people, I would say that are ahead of Nick Robertson on the depth chart than there were in the years past. The second is a coach and the Leafs changed coaches. Craig Rubre was hired in the off season to replace Sheldon Keefe. The coach gives out the ice time, right? The coach decides who's on in the lineup every night and then he's got to send you out over the boards to, you know, play shifts. And so, you know, under Sheldon Keefe, and I'm not blaming at all on Sheldon, but I'm just saying, you know, Nick Robertson didn't get the opportunity. Like, well, now there's someone else making those decisions. And Robertson's, you know, a month's older, presumably, you know, he's had another summer to train. Like, like, he's still a young enough age. I think it's totally plausible that you're going to see him get a little bit better. He's going to have a better crack because, you know, really Matthew Nizis is reasonably ahead of him on the depth chart. But after that, there's question marks. I mean, where does Patrick Ready fit? You know, there's other players like Connor Doer or Pontus Homburg, maybe Kelly Yarnkroke plays the left side. But, you know, there's, there's not an abundance of options. I mean, I don't think it's at all crazy to thank Nick Robertson's elite second line left winger to start training camp and, you know, see how he grabs it. So sure, I can't say that everything is all rosy and it's all going to be fun. And there's, you know, he's going to be a lifelong Toronto Maple Leaf now. I mean, I think reasonably there's, there's still a little bit of friction in this situation. But, you know, what's happened here in the last few days and really last weekend as Nick Robertson, I think, came to the understanding, realization, maybe maybe made peace with the fact that his best chance was just to stay in Toronto. And so that's what he's done. I think it was a smart decision by him to sign a deal and to show up on the first day of camp, ready to work and, and, you know, try to go about playing well enough to deserve or warrant more of an opportunity to play minutes. Anything else we can expect from the Leafs in terms of PTOs or any other ways they could bolster up their roster ahead of training camp? You know, nothing else I would expect that, you know, as I think I mentioned, perhaps in our last episode, the, the Jani Hakumpa saga, if we'll call it that. I mean, that's probably overstating what it is. But I do expect he will be at training camp with the Maple Leafs. Again, not 100% confirmed, but it's still my understanding that's likely where that goes. And so, you know, there's going to be a lot of bodies or options. Maybe a better way to put it in the bottom half of the lineup. And, and so that's, I mean, really, that's why you have a training camp. You know, Stephen Lorentz is also coming to Leafs camp on a PTO. And so, you know, those players are fighting for jobs and, and, you know, there's, there's a whole bunch of exhibition games and lots of days of practice where the evaluations will take place. And then, you know, when it comes to early October, the Leafs are going to have to make some decisions. And as I said, the things available to them, the tools available to them are waivers or perhaps a trade, you know, last year at the end of training camp, they kept Fraser Minton. If you might remember for, for a couple weeks, they, they were having a cap issue and they sent Sam Lafferty to Vancouver because he was the odd man out in that camp in a trade, you know, right before the season started. So I think, you know, that, that's instructive in terms of what might happen. Obviously, they can use waivers to their, you know, to their, for their use. They can bury contracts in the minors, for example. And the truth of the matter is, as much as you might look at the cap picture, tell you, you call up Puckpedia, you go, look, how does this all fit? You know, I'm not wishing this for anyone, but often players get injured in training camp or the preseason games. And there's, there's a world where all, all of this, this sort of toing and froing could be taken care of itself if the Leafs end up with, you know, a player who makes a significant amount of money, unable to start the year healthy, then, you know, perhaps from a cap perspective, they don't have to do anything and they can just sort of waltz into the season as is. So, you know, I think that right now it seems like they've, they've kind of lined things up. I don't, there's nothing else on my radar in terms of expectations of them acquiring another player, but, you know, the next few weeks is going to determine what the opening night roster looks like. And I can't say, I don't think anyone could say with any certainty, including Brad Shuliving or Craig Brube, exactly who the top 12 are, 13 forwards, who the top seven DR. I mean, there has been some talk, Rich Winter, the agent from Mark Giordano was on radio. I believe it was with you guys in Calgary, Julian. And, and, and mentioned that Giordano was being looked at as a maybe possibility for Toronto and a couple of the teams. So I guess maybe he could work his way to the mix, but beyond that, I think you're kind of seeing what the team or the players will be competing to, to be on the team is right now. Okay. While we're on the subject of, of PTOs thinking back to Max Pack, anything else on that watch, I know that James Van Reemsdike is still out there. Just before we start recording, you mentioned Kyler Yamamoto will be up at Utah's camp. Anything else on that watch? Yeah. I mean, it's getting to that point, right? If you're some of these veterans, we're hoping for a contract before the season, you know, that they need to make decisions now. I mean, there's just, there's a practical functional part. You have to physically fly somewhere and be ready to compete for a job. You know, James Van Reemsdike is a natural next kind of domino to fall for me just because, you know, he plays the same position as Max Pack ready to the same age. You know, I think some teams that were in the mix for one, were looking at the other at the same time, including the Maple Leafs. And so Van Reemsdike, you know, I do know that he's still in touch with multiple teams and, you know, it's about finding, you know, there's two types of PTOs, I would say. Some teams just bring players on a PTO because you have to address so many so-called veterans and pre-season games, you know, gives them a, it's just basically a way to get to the veteran minimum. It's giving someone an opportunity, but, but, you know, realistically, maybe there isn't high likelihood of a contract. You know, I think the priority for James Van Reemsdike is to end up in a situation where, you know, if he plays well, he knows that team really does want to sign him. If he does, if he holds up his end of the bargain, there, you know, he's not just there to fill out a roster in a couple of pre-season games. And so, you know, what we'll see, where it ends up with him, Sam Gagne is going to Carolina on a PTO. Something Park PTO did put out first, but I've since confirmed. Yes it did. You know, I think that, you know, teams to keep an eye on are the likes of Carolina, Columbus, Detroit, I think Calgary, or all teams that are looking at possibly bringing in, at least one more forward on a PTO. And then, you know, we'll see where it goes from there. I mean, at the end of the day, it's not the best position if you're someone like James Van Reemsdike, or, I mean, Max Pachredi has a little bit more of an assurance here. I think that he's getting a contract, but, you know, you get to this stage, your career, and you're, it's almost like you're back to the start, a circle of life returns, because you, you know, much like when those players were 18 or 19, and we go to a camp, they had earned a job. I mean, that's, that's back to where they're at. So those are some of the ones I'm, I'm looking at now. And, you know, it's been interesting, like, I don't know if you saw Nick, like, cool him in after six years in the KHL is going to Ottawa's camp on a PTO. We've seen a number of players earn contracts this way in years gone by. And so, you know, it's not not the worst thing, but you do go there with not a lot of promises. The flip side of that coin, though, is Julian, you could go to you, you know, Calum Mobile can go to Utah, but he could sign the next day with L.A. if they wanted to sign him. So the commitment is very minimal on both ends of the ledger. The team isn't committing much to you, but also the player has the ability to sign out where if another team comes knocking in the meantime. Yeah. You mentioning that makes me think of Tyson Barry, another former leaf, signing a PTO at the Williams and being in contact with his representation over the last few days. They've said that different teams have been interested. So hey, it could be Calgary, but it could easily end up being somewhere else for all of these players on PTOs. One other thing with, with JVR on the subject, were the Leafs into bringing him back at all? I'm curious. Well, he was certainly interested in coming back to Toronto. I think the Leafs were at least open to the possibility because of what I said. They've been looking to address their left wing option, but you know, they had patch ready, you know, rated or ranked ahead of, of JVR. And so, you know, I think that that ship is now sailed, but I mean, look, who knows, injuries, you know, as we say, you spend the whole summer planning what the team might look like. And then two days in the training camp, something that could happen that changes the wins. But yeah, certainly, I think that there was some mutual interest between JVR and the Leafs, and, you know, they've ended up getting matched patch ready instead. And so I just don't see room for, for both of those players in their lineup, where they're at in their careers, all that right now. Max Patrick ready in a Leafs uniform, that it's going to look really weird. Maybe, maybe it's just because of what I've seen Max Patrick as, but I'm just going to say it's going to look really weird. But I mean, he's not the, he's not the first Canadian Leafs player to ever exist. Where do you land on the possibility of a wearing 67? Do you have it? How do you, how would you feel about that? That doesn't do anything for me. But I know there are probably a few people who would feel away about that. I have no thoughts, I have no thoughts on him wearing 67 as a leaf. I could tell you on Wednesday morning here, when I tweeted the news that he was officially coming to camp at a PTO, a lot of the commenters seem to be hoping he wears 67. And some of them did appear to be like Leafs fans. So I don't know that people necessarily feel badly about it. But obviously 67 has been, has come to, I mean, look, it represents the last year and then the decade, the 20th century in the 1900s, when the Leafs last won a Stanley Cup. But it's come to be used against them quite often, right, by opposing fan bases. Occasionally I've even heard it chanted de-risively at the Leafs, and so I'll be interested to see. I mean, it's probably just safer for him to, to pick another number, but he's worn it throughout his career. So let's see. Yeah, that's his, that's his number. Also, I don't like you saying 1900s. I get it. We're both four of the 1900s were not that old. I don't know, man. The 1900s. That's a very Gen Z thing to do. It'd be like, oh, you're from the 1900s. Dude, I mean, I don't want to shock you, but we're almost a quarter of the way through this century that follows the 1900s. Like, it was a while ago. It's all I'm saying. Yes. Yes. Thank you for, thank you for inviting us. And that's the whole point of the chirp. It was been a long time since the Maple Leafs organization won the Stanley Cup. So that's why that 67, it's kind of, it's become a dubious thing rather than something to be celebrated. Okay. Let's not piss off Leafs fans anymore. Let's go on to RFA watch. Do you have any FID report on that end? I know we've talked about Jeremy Swamin before. You mentioned the two RFA's in Detroit and Mositer and Lucas Raymond. Anything else to report on that before we move on? Well, Swamin I make is the best place to start. I mean, it's funny. This one seems to be taking like a lot of twists and turns publicly. But what I could tell you privately is it just doesn't seem to me like there's necessarily a lot of drama. Like, I still expect him to sign a deal in time to, you know, be ready to play the season and be a part of that team. You know, the fact he is skated in Boston is encouraging. I think that dialogue from what I can gather has been reasonably okay or what you might expect. I just don't sense that there's a lot of behind the scenes, you know, sometimes these things can get tense. It doesn't seem or feel tense behind the scenes. And so, well, obviously, you know, Swamin has a very, you know, look at it. He's had a great start to his career. But, you know, there might be some trepidation from the team's end just because it's not, you might get into sample size issues. Like, do you really want to make him one of the highest paid goal tenders right now on a long term deal? Or is there perhaps something shorter that might, you know, hedge the bets a little bit? I mean, I think that that still is being worked through. But I don't have any reason to think this one is going to, you know, result in like some lengthy holdout or anything like that. I just I just feel as though there's there's right mutual desire and the right things are happening that they obviously still need a breakthrough and need to agree to a contract and get all that finalized. But, you know, to me, it doesn't feel like it's not going to happen or anything like that. You know, the Troy ones are interesting because it involves two players. Lucas Raymond and Moritz Cider, you know, two players that are pretty important, clearly pretty important parts of the team long term. You know, the red wings have to consider if they go long term with both players, you know, maybe almost a little bit of an internal cap kind of view, you know, where do they line up with, you know, compared to what Dylan Larkin's contract is, the captain of the team, you know, but, you know, it sounds like that ones, they're just kind of grinding away on it. The fact there's two players though, and, you know, I'm not going to say there's ill will necessarily, but it just it feels like there's maybe more ground to be covered to get both of those guys signed. So, I mean, maybe one or both of them aren't there for the sort of training camp. You know, obviously any of this it's hard to handicap any of it can change in a day. I mean, all of a sudden, Steve, I'm like, like, your last, you know, what you want, we'll give it to you. And then, you know, you can get a contract done pretty quickly, but, you know, wouldn't surprise me if if that one takes a little bit of longer and you see either one or both guys not around for the start of Red Wing's training camp. So, you know, it just seems like they're they're kind of grinding along on that one, but but doesn't doesn't seem like a breakthrough is at least yet on the horizon. But every day is important. Now I'll say that. I mean, it's as much as when we were having these discussions in August or early September. And I said, like, look, it doesn't even really matter. Like, there's not really a deadline. I mean, the start of training camp is a soft deadline for both sides. I mean, all things being equal, no player wants to miss the start of camp. No team wants a player not in camp. And so, you know, everyone knows September 17th, 18th, 19th, you want to have these sort of players signed. And we're now within a week of that window. And there's going to be a little more urgency, I would think to get things done. Okay. With that done, what about Sidney Crosby? We've talked about his situation over the last few weeks. He spoke to the media this week. I'll read this quote out here with regards to signing up a contract extension. I'm pretty optimistic it's going to get done. I don't know what day specifically it's been really positive. Hasn't been a real difficult process. I'm optimistic that something will get done. Should penguins fans feel optimistic? What say you about Sidney Crosby? Well, reading that quote, I would say they should feel optimistic. I mean, there was kind of a bit of a vacuum of information over, you know, a period of whatever, six weeks or, you know, through August and into start of September, I think it's natural to wonder why the contract hasn't been completed yet. If you're, you know, if you're interested in the penguins or, you know, Sidney Crosby's legacy. One thing I would point out is this is an over 35 year old contract for Crosby. And so, you know, I think part of this, at least, is him deciding how long he wants to sign for. Because, you know, if it was a three year deal, and that would mean he's under contract this year, plus three more. And if you were, for whatever reason, to decide during the middle of that contract that he didn't want to keep playing, the penguins will still be tagged with his cap hit. And so, you know, I think the term is something he has to come to grips with just in the sense of, you know, how much does he want to commit to? Because there's more to that commitment than just, you know, deciding arbitrarily what a number is. And so, I think that's part of it. I mean, let's face it, when you break down these lasts, whatever remaining days, years, months in Sidney Crosby's NHL career, he's in full control. I mean, there's no reason to think the penguins organization isn't going to do right by him. Isn't going to want to honor his wishes. And, you know, basically pay him back for all that he's brought to their city, to their team, all the success they've had, the way he's carried himself. I mean, this is all Sidney Crosby. So, you know, we're not in his mind, but when he says something like that, I mean, I think that's, that should make you feel good as a penguins fan. What I would point out, though, is that, you know, it feels like signing the contract before the season, it just removes a question, right? It removes, it removes when he comes through, you know, Canada in the first part of the season, I know the penguins have a trip, you know, like he's going to have to address that if there isn't a contract. But he could sign a contract and still, at some point, be traded. I'm not saying he will be. So, aggregators don't, don't do as dirty here. I'm not trying to, but I'm just saying, because of what I pointed out before, this is entirely going, like the way Sidney Crosby's career ends will entirely be in his court. And so, he could still sign that extension, quite the noise, and then who knows, maybe I have a change of heart down the line. It doesn't seem likely, let's face it, this is a very conservative guy, he's very comfortable in Pittsburgh, very loyal guy. I mean, there's no world he wants to have to leave Pittsburgh. But I guess the question that's always been in the back of my mind, it's a point I've made before, but I'll reiterate now, is if the penguins don't take a step forward this year, if they're out of the playoffs again, any sign for one or two more years after, like, how long does he want to, how long does he want to play on a team that can't compete for the playoffs? So, you know, some of that will be answered by the way the penguins perform. And if they're in the playoff race, I think there's nothing to certain, there's nothing to see here, but if they're out of the playoff race, even if he signs an extension in February, or into March, what are we going to be talking about? Does he want to stay? Do they move with the deadline, all those types of things? And so, you know, it's not easy, it's not easy getting old in the NHL, man, he's still so good, but the team is clearly headed in one direction, at least partially, which isn't, you know, trying to compete for Stanley Cups this year or next year, when he still has those years to be played. So, long way of saying, I'd be optimistic because it sounds like he's in the of a mind to sign a contract, but I still think there will be some ongoing discussion, even after that happens, depending on unless the penguins are in a playoff spot, and then we're not going to be talking about this, you know, come the come next spring. Man, I'm with you on the optimism, but at the risk of sounding like a flip flopper, I wonder if just with the potential media hollow balloon, whatever you want to call it with the whole thing with the contract and think about where he wants to play and you consider his legacy. I know I was very excited about the possibility of him playing in a different uniform. I think I'm starting to go back to the other side where he just ends up staying in Pittsburgh. And maybe he doesn't sign a long extension, maybe it's just something small or whatever. But I don't know. I'm starting to feel that Sydney's just it's not going to like he'll you'll stay in Pittsburgh. And after that, it's all done and dusted from there. I'm starting to to come back to the other side of the discussion that we've had over the summer. Just that's fair. I mean, but are you are you not at least somewhat curious about, you know, Stephen Stamkos in Nashville. Yeah. Oh hell, yeah, I absolutely am. And I still think that if Sydney Crosby were to decide to go somewhere else, that's a big deal. And in from a media standpoint, we're all going to jump on that. But it's just as time goes on, I don't know, just my gut feel is just telling me that he will sign and that this will probably be it. Like, I don't know, just he seems like this guy who but he's he's a penguins lifer. And even if there is that possibility where he could play somewhere else, I think it would have to be a really unique situation that would make him say, you know what, man, let's do it. I'm heading off to insert city here to make this happen. I know I'm flip flop and because I've probably said differently before, but I'm just, I don't know. Now that with time and a little bit more thought about it, I'm thinking maybe it'll go the other way. What's kind of crazy is the discussion we're having without saying it explicitly is we should all get our minds around the fact that this guy is not going to play forever that we are that we are down to not a lot of time left in his career. Most likely, I mean, we have seen the odd player end up playing to his mid forties. I just don't know if that will be the way things go for Sidney Crosby. And, you know, to me, it makes all kinds of sense for him to stay, you know, wanting to play at least through the 20, 25, 26 season because it's one more crack at the Olympics. And yeah, I think that that would be pretty exciting and an enticing opportunity for him to go to, you know, one more Olympics as the old guy, frankly, he's not that old, but he's he'll be old compared to a lot of the teammates he plays with their kind of a passing of the torch thing. So I would think you got at least this season and next where Crosby's going to be motivated to play. But beyond that, I think it's a question mark. And some of that question might be answered by whether he's willing to move on Julian, because if it becomes clear in those in that time, this season and next, I mean, he's already missed a playoffs twice in a row, which never happened, of course, prior in his NHL career. You know, if they miss a playoffs this season and they're like, how long does he want to that? That's where gets interesting to me. And it's funny. I wish I remember which podcast it was, because I just saw the clip on social at some point this summer, but I saw Corey Perry somewhere doing an interview, and he mentioned that Hattie didn't move on from Anaheim. He'd be likely retired by now, but because Anaheim at the time bought him out, and then he went to Dallas and, you know, had a chance to play for Stanley Cup. And it's obviously been to a couple of finals since then, but like it's sort of kept the fire burning in him that he moved on to these other teams. You know, that could be the experience. I'm just saying, I mean, that's that's another NHL player that could be the experience if Crosby does move on. Maybe the chance to chase a cup on a different environment might energize him. But anyway, I'm with you. I look at it. I just think at the end of the day, whatever he decides, I think everyone should be fine with. That's how I feel about it. I feel like he's been so good for so long, been such a great representation for the league, for the Penguins, for our sport, just like from top to bottom. However, he wants us to play out. I hope there's no hot takes, because I just think if he wants to move on at some point, that's really cool. And I think it'd be interesting if he decides, hey, look, it's Pittsburgh for life for me, then that is what it is. But I do think if he stays in Pittsburgh for life, so to speak, or like with the Penguins only, I mean, we might not have that many seasons of them, because realistically, it's just hard for me to see how they're going to get better short term. I know they made tons of moves this summer, and maybe they can squeeze out 10 more points or something in the standings. That's probably overly optimistic. But they're not all of a sudden, like, because their best players are still their older guys. So everyone's getting a year older each passing year. So either way, let's celebrate and appreciate whatever time Crosby has left in NHL sweater, because might not be forever. 100%. Anything else you want to bring up before I get to questions, we've had a few dropped in our discord, which you should join the SDPN discord, if you haven't already. You absolutely should. Now let's do some questions. Friends don't let friends overpay for wireless. 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This episode of the Chris Johnston show is brought to you by Shopify. Gone are the days where you only had to get up out of your bed and walk into a brick and mortar store to get what you want. Now from the comfort of your own home, you can buy stuff online and there's a very good chance you have to use Shopify to get it. And if you have a business and you want to take it to the next level, you should upgrade your business and get the same check out that we have at the SDPN with Shopify. Sign up with your $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com/johnston. All lowercase Shopify.com/johnston to upgrade your selling today. Shopify.com/johnston. Okay. What's on everyone's mind out there? Okay. There's one question on Discord that I saw got posted a couple days ago and I very much, I don't know why I'm not finding it right away, but I'm going to get to it. Actually, I found it. Here we go. Haterade asks on Discord. Haterade for CJ. Yeah, that's a, we're not about Haterade over here. Are they hating on us, sir? Are they okay with us? I mean, they're in our Discord and this question is not really a hating question, so I would presume we're fine. Question for CJ. What is the definitive power ranking for condiments? So, and I know the problem is, Julian, you didn't come up with a question, but are we, like, is this a condiment that's being added to a sandwich, a burger? I know we did hot dogs. It's hard. What does that matter? You should broaden it out and think like it could be added to a sandwich, but it could also be added to fries. Or I don't know you, just think of con, think, think of it this way. Well, like, because when you put ketchup, I'm just saying, like, number one, not for me, but, well, mayonnaise is number one for you. I know that. Yes. Mayo would be number one, but here's the thing is, it's just because there's like almost no, there's no sandwich I would put ketchup on, like as fair, but, but I caught a burger and a hot dog or whatever, like 1000% every single time. So, but mayonnaise, I would put, I mean, I don't really put Mayo in a hot dog, but I would, but Mayo on a burger and a sandwich. I love a sandwich, man. Wait, I have a question. Do you not consider burgers in hot dog sandwiches? I don't have an opinion. I know this is like a meme. The way you worded it just like makes it, that's why I have to ask the question. No, I think of them as different. You think of them as separate. Yeah, but like, not enough that I would argue with anyone. Like, I don't have a passion. It just in my, my point is like, in my brain, I think of a sandwich is anything that's like between two pieces of bread. And I know I realize a bun is, but that's what, but that's what hot dogs and I know, but I think I'm just old school, man. I just think of the old school, like the bread on the loaf of bread. So have you ever been in a situation where you didn't have buns in the house and you just like toasted bread and that was your burger? Those were your burger buns? No, but I mean, I would do that. Like, I don't think that's gross, but I've never, I've never personally done that. Anyway, I'm going to go mayo ketchup mustard. Okay, I don't know. I'm kind of, I don't, I don't ever put relish on anything, but I don't think it's gross either. I just don't, for me, it doesn't add a lot. Like, I guess the things that you would put relish on, like say a burger, I usually have like pickles and onions on anyway. So it's still, it kind of like, it's funny though, I was somewhere recently, oh, when we were at the athletics summit in New York and our buddy Arpen Bassu got a burger at the sports bar we were watching NFL games in on Sunday, and they didn't have relish and he was like flabbergasted. Like they didn't have it. Like he, they, it wasn't even an option that he could have and he couldn't believe it. So I could see him being completely beside himself at that at that. I wish I was there to see how he would have reacted. That's all I heard. Sorry, he didn't treat anyone with any lack of respect or anything. He just was like, no, that's not what I mean. Just like, just like, like, what the hell? Like, why don't they have it? Like I could see him making a big deal about it. Not to someone, just. Put it this way. I actually, I arrived a little bit late to meet up with him. He'd already eaten the burger and he still brought up the fact they didn't have relish for his burger to be. So like, I didn't even witness, I didn't even witness the interaction, but it was still rattling around in his brain like an hour later by the time I got there. So it's just like, they didn't have relish. Right, so Arpen would have the relish higher on his power rankings, but I'm going to go Mayo ketchup mustard. Okay, one more thing. How do you feel about spicy mayo? Like mayonnaise and then you add like sriracha? Yeah. I like, I like Mayo in kind of all of its forms more less. I mean, maybe there's something really weird out there, but I spicy mayo, no problem. Like that's great. So Mayo, sriracha sauce, add some black pepper on top. Perfect. You're down with that. Oh, man. That actually, I would say that improves basically every sandwich if you did that. That's also an elite, like, like I love ketchup and I love dipping fries and ketchup. I have no problem dipping fries and in spicy mayo. Oh, yeah. Amazing. Amazing. Little aioli, bud. Life changing. Yes, sir. From Ren Hero, hey, CJ, what's the weirdest or most uncomfortable set of clothing you've had to wear for a run and why? Oh, wow. Weirdest. Yes. The second part of the question, like, is there a world where your luggage gets misplaced and you're stuck running in the suit you flew with? No, because I would say I always make sure to have running clothes in my carry on just in case. I mean, for the most part, I don't check a bag. Anyway, but if I go on a longer trip where it's necessary, I would still make sure to have running clothes. There's a couple summers ago, I went to Europe, though, and I didn't do that. And I didn't have running clothes with me, but I went and bought some with my luggage. Sorry. To be clear, my luggage didn't arrive. And I just went immediately and bought a pair of shorts and running and actual running shoes and a shirt so that I could run. So I've never had to do anything too uncomfortable. I would say the biggest discomfort is sometimes I don't dress proper. I don't pack properly for the climate I get. And like, I'm just absent minded or whatever and I got to run in shorts and it's pretty cold out. That's that's happened a few times. But nothing never had to run in a suit, never had to run in jeans or anything like that. I seem to manage just fine. Okay. From J-Rob 13. By the way, this, yeah, go ahead. I am three days from 1600 straight days. I like big, round numbers. There we go. Standing ovations, come on. That's not necessary. And I actually don't mean to brag, but it is. It's like getting to be a big number. Like it's getting. I'm like, that's a lot. That is a lot. That's a congratulations. That's amazing. Yeah, 1,600 days in a row. Crazy. Well, I'm only a 50, 97 as of this recording. So who knows still that's maybe wake up on the wrong side of the bed tomorrow and I follow a couple days short. Who knows? But ever. Okay. Well, let's not let's not get to that point. But everyone listening, if you're on social media, be sure to shout out CJ and congratulate him on his streak about to reach 1600 kids, second of days of running. That is an amazing achievement. Next one from J-Rob 13. This will sound crazy. But as there ever been any discussions about changing the dates of the NHL season and basically playing it in the summer, they have a list of points basically just getting out of the way of, you know, of other sports like the NBA, making sure that, you know, for scheduling for the Olympics and stuff, it's a little easier as well. I can go into more detail about those points if you want me to read them, but in the interest of time I saved it. But I'm very curious about your your answer to this question. Well, I know there've been a lot of discussions about the NHL schedule shifting it and I'm not talking pandemic related. That's sort of obvious. But like even outside of that, just what we would call a quote unquote normal season, you know, when the Olympics were actually first proposed for NHL players, the NHL tried to get into the summer games because they didn't want to they didn't want to interrupt the schedule and they thought it would be better to have that tournament play in July or August whenever the games were scheduled. But obviously the IOC didn't go for that. I mean, ice hockey is one of the main drivers, one of the main points of interest for the winter games, even even when NHL players haven't gone. If anything, quite honestly, and we've sort of seen it, I guess, with the most more recent scheduling, they seem more inclined to start later. And so not as far as I know, it's never even been seriously looked at or for anything, maybe more than, Hey, would this be a good idea? No, move on to move the season up into the summer. You know, the biggest concern in a lot of the US markets, and there's obviously many more US markets than there are Canadian markets is just going head to head with the NFL. It's pretty much that simple. And so, you know, the NBA doesn't really do it. If you think about it, the NBA starts a bit later. They have the luxury of being able to play games, I think, on a more compressed time schedule than the NHL can. So, I mean, I think we're more or less stuck with what we have plus or minus a week here or there, like, there's a world where maybe it ends up moving up a little bit. But I don't see, I mean, personally, I wouldn't mind if we were playing games right now. But I don't know if I'm in the minority. But like, if NHL training camps were the end of August, start of September, and you're starting mid season, or sorry, you're starting the season, like, mid September or early September, like, I don't think that that's, I think that would work to a degree, except it wouldn't do the one thing I mentioned earlier. The NFL season just started last week. I just watched a whole bunch of football games in the last few days. And I think there would be concern that if the Renee Chull games played at the same time, no one would be watching those or they would be, you know, challenges to sell tickets in a lot of markets. So, I think we just are where we are. I mean, every year, it seems like we're going to whine and bitch about this. But, I mean, we're, you know, this year with the four nations break in February, like, the Stanley Cup is going to go late in June again. It's just how it is. Now, the draft is still going to be decentralized. So, all the reporters should be complaining less, because very few will be traveling to the draft compared to what the numbers were in the past. But I just, I think we quite literally is what it is, which is, I realize, very unsatisfying to hear. But NHL season takes a long time, right? 82 games and then full playoffs where a team can play 28 more. I mean, you need, you need from October till the end of June to squeeze all that in and try to put the players in the best position to be healthy and at their best. Let me read one of the points from J-Rob 13 on this question on why they think it would make sense for the league to start the summer. Based off a lot of the 10 team trade lists that have been more or less public knowledge, it seems as if, if you have a 10 team trade, no trade lists, there's probably a few colder markets on that list. It seems as though NHLers would rather not live in cold environments if they had a choice or say in it. And later on, further down, he's, they say more and better players might be willing to play in Canada could potentially mean more playoff rounds and more revenue coming in. So, I think they're trying to make the point that if you start in the summer, the idea of playing at a colder market like Edmonton doesn't seem so bad. It's, some players want to play in cold environments though. Like, like, I mean, I don't, I, but I think some prefer it. I mean, hockey's a game played on ice. It's played primarily by people from regions of the world or countries in the world that get a true winter, that gets no, that get ice. I mean, like, I mean, it's only natural because at some point we didn't make ice artificially. And, and so people played it in those countries because there was frozen lakes and frozen rivers or whatever to play on. Now, so I don't look at, I don't dispute the idea that that may be true. But I just, I don't think it's, it doesn't make, here's the thing, I'm a Canadian in the sports in my blood. But the only time I wouldn't want to be an arena is July. Like, I just, it's like one of the few really, really nice months we get and pretty much every part of Canada. Like, I, even people who like have grown up and love the sport and may almost maybe love almost no other sports or whatever, like hockey is their thing. Even those people, like your hardest of hard cores probably want to be outside in June, not in an arena. So I just, I just say could be very challenging to create interest and, and everything you need to make it make sense. Few more here from soap dispenser. CJ has talked extensively about the various high points in his journalism career. Stanley cups, the masters, Olympics, etc. Questions for me. As you are comparatively early in your journalism career, do you have a holy grail event you hope to one day cover and what is that event? It's the Olympics for me. I want to cover an Olympics and it doesn't even have to just be for hockey. Like, if someone, whether it's the athletic or someone else said, hey, you get to go cover the summer Olympics as an example. I'm there. I'm going to do it. That is like the, I have a list of things I know I want to do. I'm working on that list right now, actively. But I know the Olympics for me, that's right at the top of my own personal list. Like, I've, I mean, I know, I know there weren't a lot of people in the building, but I could say I've covered a Stanley Cup final and that's going to stay with me forever. If I get to cover another Stanley Cup final, amazing. But like, for me, I'm, I can live with the fact that I've been in the building for a Stanley Cup final, for Stanley Cup final games. I'm okay with that. If I get to cover, if I get to cover other championship finals and other sports, that's amazing. But for me, I need to be at an Olympics. That for me is like, that's number one. That's got to be there for me. Makes sense, man. That's, I mean, I've done two. I'm lucky to do two, but I want to do three. I mean, that's that's it. It's that simple. It's like, for me, that's the absolute highlight. Being at the British Open at St. Andrews was pretty cool. And it was Jack Nicholas's last major, and it was Tiger Woods winning the British Open. And I'm a big Tiger guy. So like that, that was a pretty cool experience. But like, I don't know, if I could wave a wand, I mean, but I've been incredibly lucky. I shouldn't even like, even this stuff I've been able to go to as a fan. It's just hard for me to say. I mean, if the Cowboys made the Super Bowl, I guess I'd want to be a fan at a Super Bowl, which is not the spirit of the question. The spirit is professionally. But, you know, there's not much else I love doing what I do, but there's not much else I have to say. I don't have like a bucket list that remains with many items to tick off. I'll, I'll, I'll get to mine. I have a life bucket list, though, like, it's, it's not to say, it's just professionally. I'm just really grateful for my continued ability to do this, but I'm not, I mean, that stage of my career where I'm not like where Julian is, where I'm, I have to do this, I have to do that. Like, I get it. I was there when I was your age, but now I'm just like, I'm Zann and just happy and lucky to still get to be doing this. From Matt, I know the answer to this question. CJ, who can crush more beers? You, you in your prime or me now? Probably me in my prime, but I don't know that, I actually don't know that for sure, because we've been out socially where people are drinking, including one or both of us, but I've never like, it's not, I've never like clocked. Like, I don't know. Yeah, I've never, I've never, we've never competed or anything, obviously. So I don't, you're winning. You're winning. I'm not, I'm not a big beer guy. Like, I, I'll drink a beer, but like, I'd much rather drink other things. I'd rather cider, I'd rather other like, beers and stuff. I'd, I'm not someone who's going to be like, yeah, man, I'm pounding like 12 beers back and forth. Like, give me all the pilsners and whatever. Like, I'd rather drink something else. Yeah. So then that's an easy answer, because beer would be my drink of choice. I like other things, but it would be my favorite, favorite drink, alcoholic fizzle. Yes. In the alcoholic division, coffee's probably my favorite drink, like straight up, like just my, my favorite liquid to put in my body is probably coffee. Welcome to the CJ show where we totally talk about beers and other alcohol over here. Defizzle. Defizzle. Last one for you. Favorite cereal. Did it change when you became an adult? Can I make a confession? Sure. I don't think I've had cereal in at least 15 years and maybe longer. That's impressive. So I don't, I, I really can't even joke that I, I, here's the thing. So when I was a kid, I did have occasionally, like my parents tried to put guardrails around it, but my favorite cereals were the sort of obvious ones with like sugar in them. And so like, I couldn't have them all the time. I don't remember all the rules, but so like, as a kid, it was definitely something like Lucky Charms or, I liked Honey Nut Cheerios back in the day. I mean, let's face it, anything with freaking sugar on it, because your kid was amazing. But then I almost stopped eating cereal by the time I got to an adult where I theoretically could just eat any of that stuff anytime I want. Um, so I don't really have one today. So it hasn't, it hasn't changed much because I just, I don't, don't eat cereal. Um, I know this will probably out me as a weird person. Uh, I'm a big Raisin Bran guy, but I don't really eat it nearly as much as I used to as a kid. I don't think that's weird. I liked Raisin Bran in the day. I like Raisin Bran a lot too, but like I wasn't like, and I know there's sugar on the raisins and stuff, but people feel weird about raisins. And also, I wasn't one of those kids who begged their parents for Lucky Charms or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Like I, I actively wanted Raisin Bran. Like I would go to my, I would go to my grandma's house and she would have these like massive boxes of Raisin Bran. And I have every, every time I'd leave, she'd just sit, she'd just give me one. Cause she knew I loved it. So that, that's what I mean about being a weirdo with that. But like, I like that or honey bunches of oats or um, almond crisp is pretty good too, I guess. Oh, wow. I don't know. You had a refined palette. Like you were making good decisions compared to like at our house, we needed like rules on like what days or what's their circumstances. Cause left to my own devices, it would just be like a never ending loop of frosted flakes or fruit loops or Lucky Charms, or frankly, just anything I could get my hands on that would, would get me a sugar buzz. I used to be a much bigger breakfast guy than I am now. Like for me, like I was not starting my day without cereal. Now like the working world has changed my, my, my diet for better or worse, but like I'm, I'm not as big of a cereal guy anymore. My diet is better because I'm not, as I, for the reasons I'm saying, like as a kid, I get why you want to eat that stuff. Look, and I'm not going to judge anyone. But I mean, if you want, if you, if you're an adult, you still want to eat those cereals, that's fine too. It just, it's not my jam. Okay. Thank you to everyone who sent in questions. That was really fun. If you have more questions, you want to send us the discord is available. And also tag us on X or Twitter, whatever you want to call the social media platform. And we'll get to them the next time we do an ask CJ, we love doing ask CJ. So yeah, give us a call the questions, fun stuff, hockey stuff, whatever you want, we'll get to it. And when we get back to our next episode and our regularly scheduled schedule, I guess, we'll, we'll get to stick taps and other fun stuff at the CJ show. But great work today, Seach. Thanks, buddy. We're getting, we're getting back into our groove here. Slowly, but surely we don't want to peak too early though, either. I mean, it's a long season. No, I don't worry about peaky too early on the show at all. Like I, I know these early episodes. I think, I think compared to previous years, I think our earlier episodes this year have been really good. Like, I think we're miles ahead of what we would normally be like at the beginning of the season, like in season one or season two, like I think we're miles ahead. I'm glad you remember all that. Like for me, it becomes a bit of a blur. So you're, you're like the institutional memory you and Nick, like have a better grasp on those things. I, for me, it's just like, I don't know, time, time just whizzes by. I mean, some, some, some things do blend together. But I don't know, when you have actual arguments about chocolate bars, those things tend to just stick with you. You know what I'm saying? Like, well, not that you just don't remember that, that period of our time. Yes. I will never forget that time. Anyways, thanks to everyone who listened to today's episode and subscribe to the podcast. We out. Bye. The Chris Johnston Show. Follow Chris on Twitter @ reporter Chris and follow Julian at J.K.A. Mackenzie. The Chris Justin Show.
