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Kroger, fresh for everyone, fuel restrictions apply. Chris Johnston, show. Let's go! Your number one destination for a behind-the-scenes look at the game of hockey. Just thing on. Here's NHL insider Chris Johnston and host Julian Mackenzie. Big money siege. Let's start in Boston. Jeremy Swamans still unsigned as of right now. The restricted free agent, not going to take part in training camp until his matters resolved. Don Sweeney, the general manager of the Boston Bruins, took to the media yesterday, expressed his disappointment about the situation, refuted a few other things that have been reported. Yeah, this is a weird situation. And we've got to dive into this. What's your insight on what's going on and what's next? Well, clearly this is a critical negotiation for the team. And to me, when you see Don Sweeney, who's a very measured guy, not one to come out firing in the media too often, he used the word bullshit yesterday when talking about some of the reports he's seen, went after the Spit and Chicklets podcast, in particular for some of the things that they've put out there about negotiations. I mean, that being out of character, I think that really does underscore how much heat there is around this, how much stress there is, how disappointing he really is. And it is quite notable to me that he brought up December 1st. That is the deadline that any restricted free agent has to sign by at 5 p.m. Eastern that day in order to be eligible to play in the current season. But when we're sitting here in just past mid-September and you're already pointing at that deadline, I mean, to be fair, he was optimistic. He said, I think we'll get him in by December 1st. That's a little bit troubling. I'll be honest, I mean, I just think that tells you negotiations are not at a good place. And I suppose the situation itself speaks to that. It's the first day camp. Now they're gonna be first day on the ice and Swamin has removed most of his equipment from the Bruins practice facility. So there's still lots of time to get a deal done but the stakes go up as time goes along, right? And right now the stakes, it's on both sides. If you're missing training camp but it's not good for the player or the team, once you get to opening night of the season, then Jeremy Swamin is giving up a day's pay with each day that passes. And I'll just point to the fact that Swamin is represented by Lewis Gross, who's an agent who has used this in the past, who's negotiated hard for his clients, who obviously understands his clients 'cause not every client can hang in through this sort of thing. But he does represent William Nylander and he was the last player to sit out right till the December 1st deadline. They actually got his extension done like within an hour of the deadline at that point in time in Toronto on a second NHL contract. And so Swamin clearly believes in himself. It's an agent who's not afraid to negotiate this way. And I think my sense is it's just, there's a lot of stress building around Boston and that's all you can do is a player who's restricted for agent, right? I mean, we should point out, you know, the CBA, the only thing you can really do is maybe sign an offer sheet with another team. I don't think other teams are too interested in doing that with Swamin because they're not convinced the Bruins won't match it. So there's not a lot in it for the other team. And if you're restricted for agent, the only other thing you can do is withhold your services in essence and it's not, you know, it's not as though he's actually withholding your services. He doesn't have any services to provide 'cause he's not signed to a contract. But, you know, you can only not play and just wait until you get that deal. And so, you know, this is a negotiation with a lot on the line for the team and the player. And, you know, it just feels like it could stretch on for a little while now based on what we saw on the opening day of camp in Boston. Do we know what the exact reason for this impasse is? Like, what does Swamin want? What do the, we know it's about money. We know it's about money. But how much does Swamin want? How much are the Bruins willing to give? What do we know about that? Do we know anything about that? Well, you know, he wants to be among the highest-paid goalies in the league. And if you look purely at his numbers, he has a case to be made there. What the team is countering at is saying, you actually haven't been our number one goal tender for an entire full season yet. I mean, obviously he ended last year's campaign, you know, carried them out for them in the playoffs, played a lot of the games down the stretch and played at a very high level. But, you know, I think that the team is trying to make the case, first of all, you don't have a lot of rights here. So they don't have to necessarily pay them at the absolute top dollar. And the second part would be that we want to see it a little bit longer the way they have with other players in the past. And so, you know, we're the solution to that lies. It could go a lot of different ways. I mean, maybe Boston rethinking things and signs them to a long, long term deal and pays them that money. And just says, do you know what? The cap's going up. We expect him to be our goalie for the long foreseeable future and we think he'll be among the best at what he does. You know, maybe it ends up being more of a compromise, you know, something like a four year contract. You know, maybe they get to 7 million, 7 1/2 million, something like that could make sense. But, I mean, the reason it's not done is 'cause they see the world differently. And, you know, I don't think either side, quite honestly, is taking an unreasonable position here. It's just that it's a tough pill to swallow. I think if you're Boston, to make him among the highest paid goalies in league just because you feel like you need to get more sample size. But, you know, I'm a player guy in the sense that, you know, it's generally millionaires negotiating with billionaires. And so, it's hard to argue that Jeremy Swamman isn't worth among that if you look at where his numbers have been and what he's done. And the fact that, you know, I still think there is a little, just a little whiff of lingering, you know, frustration, tension, whatever you wanna call it because the Bruins did take in the salary arbitration last season. Now, he got a one year award, which set him up now to negotiate a much higher contract than that award. But, you know, he got a taste of the business by having to go through that last summer. And now, it's real business. And as I say, the stakes are high. And it's clear, you know, I think just the fact that you have Don Sweeney out of character to me, saying those things, it really is a sign of how tenuous this must feel right now. But, you know, this is sometimes, sometimes the negotiations are rocky. And then, in one day, one side or the other just takes a step in the right direction and it ends and everyone moves on. And, you know, I saw Jerry Jones say this recently down in the Dallas media that generally he's found when there's bad, you know, bad blood or some tough times or negotiation that usually goes away as soon as a player gets paid. - That is very true. I wonder in this situation if this ultimately leads to that, where we see Don Sweeney in the media and then by Friday, hopefully not Thursday, hopefully we could let this episode breathe before Jerry B. Swamin signing. But, hey, maybe by the end of the week, something happens. - Of course, but I would say buckle in for a longer one, just based on everything feels very status quo right now. And I think it's gonna take some time. - For sure. Also, if you're Boston, like, I mean, I get it, you have your grounds, but Jerry M. Swamin, I think right now on paper is a clear upgrade on Uniscore Pissalo, who they got in that Omar trade. Pressures on Boston to get this done as far as I'm concerned. I don't know if, I don't think they could let this get to the beginning of the season in Swamin's on sign. - Ah, we'll see. I mean, I think one of the things with the cap going up is you might see a little bit more of this just league wide because players naturally are gonna push to sort of push the bars up, right? And we've just come through this period where the cap didn't move a lot over a period of time. It was hard for most goalies, let's say like good goalies, but not that the absolute top tier, to get more than five to six million. If you look, there's a whole bunch of goalies that signed in that range in the last number of years. You know, I think that it's time for that bar to move up. I mean, you've obviously had the Vasilabski's, who's a Veso winner, cup winner, gone Smite's winner at the top. I mean, Carey Price, currently still the top pay goal in the league, obviously his career's done due to injury, but he got 10 and a half million. A Montreal, you know, pretty understandable why he was at that time getting that kind of money, long quest before his career ended was in that higher range. But, you know, I think between Igor Schisturkin, he's got one year left on his deal with the Rangers. He can be an unrestricted for agent next summer. So a little different dynamic there. You know, he's gonna get the bag at some point in time, whether it ends up being in New York or perhaps somewhere else, if that doesn't come to pass. And, you know, now Swamin is after it. And, you know, as much as teams have kind of opted to go with the two goalie systems and try to keep their costs down and net, you know, I think that there's a natural reset here. And that's part of maybe the underlying dynamic, is just that he doesn't necessarily have pure comparables that the Bruins can feel good about. But at the same time, he has leverage. I mean, negotiations, not always what you're worth, right? It's your leverage point. And you say they can't get to day one of the season. Well, they can if they're not willing to budge, I would say. And that's what you gotta count on if you're on the player side of a negotiation like this. And it just depends how stubborn everyone wants to be or how entrenched, how dug in they get. And we've seen it before. I mean, it's still a recent enough memory that William Nylander missed, you know, almost two months of a season. Unfortunately, in his case, he actually said at the end of that year, I'll just, you know, if you forget the circumstances, he regretted it in hindsight because he never got up to speed. And that's a skater, that's a player. I mean, I can't profess to be goaltending that square, but it would be very difficult. I would imagine to jump in midstream. But, you know, that's the potential circumstances we're facing if they don't bridge this gap. - Also, none of us, neither of us, will ever profess to be goaltending experts here on the CJ Show. We promise you that. - I might hate to just stop the fucker and guarantee. - That's about the level of my analysis of a goaltender's play, unfortunately. But the good news is there's Kevin Woodley and lots of people out there that really understand the craft and do an awesome job explaining, you know, a lot of what's happening within a goaltender's system work. - 100%. Let's go from one RFA situation to another in Detroit. We've been keeping tabs on Lucas Raymond and Mos Seider earlier this week, Lucas Raymond signed a hefty extension, eight years, 64.6 million, an annual average value of 8.075. So he's off the table. Mos Seider still needs a new deal. What's happening there? - Well, you know, first of all, Raymond, that was a tough negotiation. Like right down till the end, you know, from what I've been told, it sounds like they were, you know, haggling over $50,000 per year on the contract type of thing. I mean, I think they really, you know, it was, it was a tough negotiation. And, but they got to where they were happy. I mean, look, eight years deal in a range, certainly that makes sense based on what we've seen from Lucas Raymond. One of those, one of those ones, there's been a bunch of these when I think about it. Like, like Tim Stutzler's deal and, and Ottawa's kind of, you know, similar range, you know, few players in Buffalo have gotten this sort of contract. And really, it's like one of those ones where you're like, if this player pops, like if he really takes his game up and up and up and up in the years ahead, like it's going to look like a great deal for the team, especially in an environment where the cap goes up, but there's still some risk because you, the teams have not seen it from these players. You know, you can project, everyone's going to improve, but lots of things can get in the way of that, whether it's injury or other circumstances. So that, you know, there's, there's sort of a shared risk there. You know, it seems to me like the, the path to a solution for more, most side or based on, you know, what I believe to be the circumstances of negotiation is not going on an eight year deal. I think on an eight year contract, he's just going to need to be paid above the eight point seven million that Dylan Larkin makes as the team captain. I think Detroit is anxious to sort of establish that for the time being as like kind of an internal team cap, which is something a lot of teams have done over the years to great success. You know, there was years there that the Bruins had, you know, certain numbers, no one would go ahead, Tampa, same thing. I think they kept a really good internal team structure. So it's almost like when you get in a negotiation, I don't care what so and so is making down the road on this team. This is, this is our hierarchy. This is what we do. And so, you know, I can understand why the Red Wings would want to do that. And I can understand why most side is looking around saying, I'm a right hand defenseman. Look at my points. Look at what I produce. And so it does seem like the path there is to do something shorter than eight years, you know, could come in at six years or seven years, I think. And that might be a way to keep him below that eight point seven million dollar bar. So, you know, it's hard to handicap when any of these things will end, but that path is kind of clear, I think. And so, you know, let's see if they can get that done sooner than later. But I think that it's helpful now. I mean, they had Jonathan Breggren, who they signed, obviously, not the same caliber of these players. And then they signed Raymond. Now all the attention is on getting the cider deal done. You know, they were juggling a lot of balls through the summer, frankly, in Detroit. And so, you know, this doesn't feel like one that needs to drag on and on and on. But as I said, the Raymond contract, I do know right down to the almost the moment it was they show cans or signed on the dotted line, they were still kind of going back and forth on the specifics. So, you know, that's every cap dollar is important for these teams. And obviously, if you're a player, you want to earn as much as you can as well. - Yeah, look, if we were in these negotiations, who's to say we wouldn't act the same, right? - Yes, we'd probably have one last zero and maybe a little bit less in that. But yes, the same kind of principle would be at play. - Very true. There's a few other teams I want to get to as well. I don't know if we need to spend hours and hours on them, but we should do some kind of wrap around or whip around around select teams who also got their training camps going and had media availabilities this week. - I like that. It was like a fire hose yesterday. I don't know if you've felt that, but it was just because, you know, in most cities, you got the GM talking that sometimes the coach, the president, the, you know, and then the impactful players like it, there was a lot of news to start these camps. - Yeah, let me go through the list that I have with a few teams on this list. Let's start with Vancouver, out west. We've mentioned their goaltending situation. Thatcher Demko looks like he's not going to start training camp with his injury. A bit of a weird one there. We know Archer Sealov's had some knee inflammation that came up a couple of weeks ago as well. They've signed Dylan Ferguson to a PTO. We've talked about how Kevin Langkin could have been in the fold, but maybe he wants more money. Antiranta wasn't interested in joining them. What's your insight on what's going on in Vancouver? - Well, you know, what I could tell you is there's definitely optimism around where things are at with Demko, but, you know, there's still not a lot of specifics. And, you know, I thought it was interesting, Patrick Levine, the Canucks GM, you know, sat at the podium, took questions from the reporter who's out in Pitton-Ticton where they're opening camp. And, you know, he did confirm that Demko won't be on the ice to start camp, but he also said he wants to tell you whatever he wants to tell you. Like he was, basically the GM was not going to provide any specific updates on the health. You know, there's all this discussion about perhaps Demko had a subsequent procedure in the summer after, you know, obviously not being able to finish the season was injured during their playoff run. And so, you know, that's expected to happen on Thursday. And so, you know, perhaps it will have happened by the time you're listening to this and there'll be a lot more to fill in there. But I thought it was interesting that they didn't, you know, usually by the time you get to the first day camp, most GMs just read out specific injuries and timelines, just, you know, it's kind of standard operating procedure. But, you know, I think that there'll be a lot of interest in how, and what Demko says, what his timeline is. I mean, there's certainly, I've heard rumors that he could be, you know, out for some time into the regular season, but obviously that's, those are unconfirmed at this point. And so, you know, when we talk about big stakes, I mean, Boston and Vancouver, different circumstances, but they could be missing their number one goal is, and these are teams with high expectations, but also in competitive divisions, competitive conferences where, you know, I think we start the season, both saying, both of those teams are pretty comfortable, you know, you think playoff teams, but, you know, the margins can be small in this league. And so, you know, Albion wouldn't commit one way or another if they're maybe gonna get another goalie. So, you wonder, do they circle back on Langdon? You know, I think all things being equal, Langdon would love to be somewhere in camp, but, you know, he's weighing his options. He's, you know, wants to find the right fit and circumstance. I don't think it's necessarily about money. It's more about, is the opportunity right for him. And, you know, he's gotta be the best UFA goalie sitting out there right now. And look, there's a lot of teams with question marks and net. You know, let's fast forward six weeks. I bet somebody is going to have some regrets about what their plans were in the crease. There's a lot of hope at the start of camp, but then reality tends to hit once you play three games a week and, you know, start losing some of them. So, you know, developing situation there, but let's keep your eyes on Demko and your ears on what he has to say, 'cause I think we're gonna get a significant update here in the coming future. - Oh, we will. Let's stay on the West Coast, Los Angeles. Los Angeles Kings earlier this week, signing restricted free agent Arthur Calle. They have one year deal, $825,000. That interesting, a one year deal for this player. What do you think about that deal? - Well, look, it's a disgruntled player to a degree, you know, not feeling like he's had the best opportunity. I think it's still open to a fresh start. You may recall he was a regular on the trade board last season because, you know, certainly I think the Kings, you know, pretty significantly explored their options with Callea. I don't know that there was a ton out there at that time. But what I can say is this, is even though he signed this deal now, it does not guarantee he won't be traded. And there have been teams that have engaged with LA, at least just, you know, gauging the cost here, weighing the merits of it. It's probably easier to trade a player who signed as well, even though it is only just for the one season, but, you know, versus trading for a restricted free agent who, you know, maybe doesn't want to play in City X or, you know, there could be some other issues there. And so while that situation got settled and he'll obviously be in camp with the Kings, stay tuned because I do think it's possible that we see him ending up on the move, perhaps even before the season, you know, even though the interest has been light, I do think that there is still some teams on the hook there that are considering the possibility of acquiring him. - You know, young player, early 20s, if you want to add to your youth movement, maybe thinking of teams who would fit that category, I want to say? - Yeah, I mean, look, this team's with any hole up front. You know, he's, he was very accomplished at the Ontario Hockey League level. You know, he's had his moments in the early days of the NHL, but hasn't established himself at that level yet. But, you know, sometimes a fresh start is good. You bet on the talent, you bet on the person. And again, I don't, you know, we're talking a draft pick going back, like this isn't, the asking price I don't think is too significant here. So it's more about teams looking out to fill out their forward group. And, you know, look, the list of teams could change and evolve as camp goes long and injuries come up or other situations. So, you know, just one I wanted to flag there because you might just say, okay, signed, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's playing in LA this year. - Okay, a bi-low candidate in Arthur Calia, that 23 years old. I was trying to make sure I got the age right. And I had to do a quick Google. So when I said mid 20s, 23 is not quite mid. So it's early 20s. - No, but 23, generally speaking, is kind of when the rent comes due for a player. Like you're moving out of, you're not considered a prospect anymore. You know, in Calia's case, he's got a couple years of pro hockey under his belt. Like it's the time where you sort of establish yourself where you start to, you might fall through the cracks. I'm not predicting an outcome here for him, but I'm just saying that it's an important time because eventually the teams are looking at the guys they drafted in 2022 and 2023 and 2024 now. And they're less concerned about those that are age 23, 24, 25, if you're not already contributing or proving some value to the team. - From when you need meal time inspiration, it's worth shopping Kroger for thousands of appetizing ingredients that inspire countless mouth-watering meals. And no matter what tasty choice you make, you'll enjoy our everyday low prices, plus extra ways to save, like digital coupons worth over $600 each week and up to $1 off per gallon at the pump with points. So you can get big flavors and big savings. Kroger, fresh for everyone, fuel restrictions apply. - This episode is brought to you by Honda. When you test drive the all new Pro Log EV, there's a lot that can impress you about it. 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Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/johnston. $45 upfront payment required equivalent to about $15 a month. New customers on first three month plan only. Speed slower above 40 gigabytes on unlimited plan, additional taxes, fees and restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for details. Okay, let's make like Pierre Loutubois and go from LA to Washington. TJ Ochi is the topic of discussion there. He will start the season on long-term injured reserve just gonna read part of a statement that dropped yesterday. Of the last season was challenging for me, my family and my teammates as I dealt with a chronic back injury that kept me out of the lineup. Ochi said in a statement yesterday, I have used the off season to explore and pursue long-term solutions for my injury. Obviously a very tough situation for TJ Ochi, but what could that mean for the Washington capitals if they put them on LTIR? Well, I hope TJ Ochi finds those solutions 'cause really one of the good guys around the league over the years and were as hard on his sleeve was very top end player and you hope for his long-term health that as well, what it means for the capitals is it actually flashed me back to this last 12 months where Nicholas Baxter started briefly the season last year and had to walk away from the team because of his health. Obviously the capitals went through the beginning 'cause Netzoff situation ended up setting him to the miners trading him to Carolina 'cause Netzoff has since left and gone back to Russia. But you look at 'cause Netzoff, Ochi, and Baxter, I mean three of the absolute key cogs of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2018. You really, what do you have? Tom Wilson, obviously Alex Ovechkin standing, I mean, John Carlson, but most of the remnants of that team no longer are playing in Washington and so they've turned things over there. And what it does is, it just doesn't come as a surprise to the organization, I think they've been well aware of the circumstances with Ochi but could potentially free up some money for them to make a move. I don't think that they're of the mind to have to do that right away. I mean, they did make a number of acquisitions over the off seasons including Pierre-Luc Dubois as you mentioned. So they're, I think Washington for me is one of the under the radar interesting teams this year. They had, you know, you might call it a weird summer because they behaved in a way teams at their stage usually don't but I don't, I'm not critical of them. We know why they did it. They want to be as competitive as they can for as long as they have Alex Ovechkin in their lineup as long as he's obviously chasing or trying to chase down a goal record. I mean, he's the most significant player by a mile in their organization and franchise history. And so they're behaving in a way we don't usually see teams either you're like competitive or you're kind of like just flat out rebuilding. You know, you're going to San Jose Sharks throughout the Anaheim Ducks. You know, Chicago teams that have, you know, lost a lot of games in recent years. You know, whereas they're making some bets like the Dubois trade is absolutely a bad. I mean, if he discovers some of the form that he's had in his best days, you're going to be like, wow, you just got him, you know, they got him for Darcy Kemper. But if, if not, you're on the hook for this year plus six more at a pretty sizable ticket and you know, I think that's a player that could be running out of runway. So what does it mean for the capitals? They're really, they're trying to evolve and grow and still be relevant in a world, in a way that NHL teams don't. And that's why I find it interesting. Like lots of, lots of trade action there. And you just get the feeling that they won't hesitate either. If the seasons doesn't start well, if there's issues, like I think that they're going to be continue to be aggressive trying to improve their team because they're not just waiting for the number one overall draft pick. They're trying to, trying to win today as long as they have that 39 year old captain, the scoring goals. - Mm hmm. So yeah. Oh, she starting the season on LTIR, but look as if Washington could be a team to watch. Let's start, let's not start. Let's go to Tampa and Chicago. Two places who named captains in the last day, Victor Hedman in Tampa Bay and Nick Felino in Chicago. What do you think of those captains picks? - Well, Hedman, it's a no brainer, right? If you're moving on from Stamps Coast and obviously they signed kind of went under the radar 'cause the Stamps Coast stuff took up so much of the, so much of the oxygen around the lightning, around the free agent period, but they did sign Hedman to a four year extension as well. So, you know, while saying goodbye to Stephen Stamps Coast, they basically put in place a contract that will likely take Victor Hedman to retirement or right to the doorstep of retirement. Maybe he can add another year or two on after that. And so, yeah, I think he's the natural successor in Tampa, but it's gonna be an interesting year there. A lot of things were said in the media, like there was a lot of quotes yesterday from around the league. One of the more interesting quotes I thought of them all in TSN and Bardam made this into a graphic. It's actually where I saw it first. But Andre Vasilevsky said something along the lines to Stamps Coast that he told him, "You know, when you score on me, tap my pad, "and it's not if, it's when." And I just thought there was some real humanity in that. And I think it kind of underlines how difficult it's gonna be for the Lightning this year. I really, and this isn't about hockey. Like I'm not saying, like, look, Jake Genssel, younger player than Stephen Stamps Coast clearly has some of the same skillset, can put the puck in the net. Like, you can understand the rationale there. They make the big trade, you know, sending Sergey Chev out, but they get players back that could jump right into the lineup. Moser, you know, obviously they required Ryan McDonough who was a very popular Lightning player in their cup year. So, you know, it's not about the moves. I think all the moves are logical. But I've had a few people around a league just in my conversations the last few days mentioned that don't underestimate how much Stephen Stamps Coast kind of took care of behind the scenes, you know, how he set a certain tone for the organization, clearly beloved. I mean, that quote from Vasilevsky. It's funny 'cause he's always been a little media reluctant Vasilevsky. But I mean, that tells you, I just feel like it tells you a lot. A player doesn't say a lot, but that's what he says of Stamps Coast. You know, it's gonna be a tough job this year. So, if anyone could do it, obviously, Victor Hedman has been in Tampa just, you know, virtually as long as Stamps Coast has been a huge part of their success. But things are gonna change. You don't feel weird, I think, for everyone. Not having him there. And, you know, Hedman and Stamps Coast are such good friends. I'm sure Victor saw, like, had a really good view into what it meant to be the captain, what Stephen did that helped make that such a special place to play. But anyway, just want to put that on your radar. And, you know, Nick Felino, maybe a bit of a surprise, right? Except, you know, when you sit back and look at it, I mean, he was brought there to try to help along a young team that's, you know, in the process of a major rebuild. He's been a captain for years before in Columbus, you know, respected veteran in the league. He's got a couple years, you know, under contract to the Blackhawks. And so, this is more of a, this is almost like what the old school captain used to be. I just remember really kind of growing up in the '80s and early '90s. Often, the captain was like an older player on the team with, who has lots of respect around a league within the locker room. And then it's, you know, it's over time, it's largely gone to like your biggest star, right? It's sort of evolved. And, but this is, this feels like a throwback option. You know, it would make no sense at this point in time, for example, to put it on Connor Bedard. You know, I think right now if we had to place a bet, and this would be a silly bet, but I would say Connor Bedard will wear the sea in Chicago one day, but, but why rush that? You know, look at, even this year, Austin Matthews is entering his ninth season, and that's when Toronto gives him the sea. You know, I don't know that, even though John and Dave's obviously wore it with distinction at such a young age, and Sidney Crosby, you know, Connor McDavid, all players that sort of got it really early in their careers, but I don't think there's anything wrong with, with letting it wait. And, and if you're going to pick someone who's great with the media, who knows, you know, has been around a league so long, as Nick Felino so universally respected, you know, pretty good choice for the Blackhawks. - You grew up in the '80s and '90s? - Yeah, buddy. - Could have fooled me. - I actually don't remember a lot of the '80s, but... - I'm just kidding. I know you did. This is funny. - Well, I've looked this up. The first NHL game I ever attended as a fan was in 1990. So, it's really, and I have memories of Gretzky, like, vague memories of Gretzky as an Euler, and he was traded, what, in '88, I think. So, like, I do remember the late '80s a little bit, but more of a '90s baby, I guess, or young boy, not baby. - Yeah, I was just making, just, I heard '80s and '90s. - I know. - You joke about your age a lot. I was just trying to get into it. - That wasn't a joke, though. I was more framing what I was talking about, like that. Definitely that era. It would sometimes be like the fourth defenseman on a team, but he's been around a league, and he's grizzled. Like, those guys were the captain more than the 21-year-old hotshot. But the world's changed. The league's changed. The league's a lot younger, too, that's part of it. And obviously, I think a lot of players are showing up ready to do it because, you know, Sydney Crosby took the Penguins to the Cup final his third year as the captain and then won it as fourth. So, clearly, he was up to the job. - Yes. Let's go to Toronto, where Mitch Marner was really excited to talk to you guys about his contract situation. - Yeah, I mean, he shut it down before it started, but-- - Yes, he did. - I will say, after doing so, he was quite comfortable in front of the microphone. He just, it's clear, it's gonna be an interesting situation here. The Leafs clearly don't want this to play out publicly. Marner and his camp don't want to play out publicly, but it's hard to, like, how do you keep a cap on everything? I mean, he's such an important player to the organization. You know, he's about to be the seventh, he will soon be seventh on the all-time points list. Like, if he stays in Toronto and other, like, if he signs an extension in Toronto, he has a chance to be one or two in all-time points for a 100-plus year old franchise and he's a home-growing guy and all those things. So, there's going to be a lot of discussion. There's clear that there's been discussions happening with the team and Marner's camp. You know, I think that both sides, the best I can gather, are comfortable with where things are at. I think it's a little bit of the William Kneelander playbook where let's start the season. You know, there's a lot of good feeling about the summer Mitch Marner had. You know, he attended that camp in Vail. Obviously, he had a lot of nice comments from other players there, Nathan McKinnon and the like. But there's a sense that Mitch is in a really good place, that he had a great summer, that he's ready to have a strong start to the year. And I think if that happens, we're probably looking at a mid-season extension. You know, I have no reason to believe Mitch Marner wants to leave Toronto. I think on the Marner side, he has a little bit of doubt and it might be, I think it's just natural doubt anyone would have about does the team really want to keep them? Do they want to make them, do they want to give them a big raise? Like, all those things, you know, I think have to be worked through, you know, and it's notable that it didn't happen in the summer. But yeah, to open camp, it was obviously a major storyline for reporters in Toronto. And he, he's just like, I'm not talking about that before there was even a question, lobbed at him. So, you know, this, this will be a bit of an ongoing saga, I would say, unless, look, he plays really, really well. And the team's went like winning at a normal clip. You know, it, it will get quiet, you know, to start the year. That's, that's what Neelander did, right? If, if things went sideways for William Neelander in October, November and he was in a getting, you know, he's struggling. Of course, Mark Masters or Jonas Segal or the, you know, the reporters that are around the team every day are going to go up to Neelander and be like, Hey, you're like, is this contract weighing on you? Like, I think those questions are natural. You know, Jim Rutherford actually yesterday in Vancouver, you know, long, long time executive. He had a good quote, I actually noted it in my phone, but I think it's telling for this situation and others. And just let me call it up. - All good, all good. - So Jim said whether players say they think about their contracts or not, deep down they do, everybody does. And so he's talking about players that enter a contract here. He was referring, it was a question about Elias Pedersen last year, you know, he, he entered that season in Vancouver without his extension, he got it done during the year, ultimately, but he, he felt that weighed on Elias. And, and I think the same could be said of, of anyone. I mean, look it, I'm going to take Jim's word. He's not only playing the NHL, he's been in management for like 40 years since. So anyway, just something to keep in mind. That, that Marner story isn't going anywhere. It didn't end up, he, he did a good job of not saying anything yesterday. Maybe he and the Leafs will not say anything privately or publicly for the whole time. But there's, it's going to be a point of speculation and people like myself are going to find out what we can. And I think right now Mitch is a little unsure of his standing with the organization, just like a little bit. And, you know, that, that will get worked through again. If he plays well and the season's going well, I could see it being a getting done, you know, long before the trade deadline. - Yeah, well, to, to Jim Brotherford's quote, any human being on any type of contract, whether you're an athlete or just any other civilian, we're all going to think about it. We are all human beings at the end of the day, right? Like, there's no way Marner's not trying to, I mean, especially in that market that he's in, there's no way he's not reminded of his contract status every single day that he's there. I just wonder if he's going to find a way to take all of that pent up energy from this past summer, all of what's been talked about around him and turn it into this, this great season for him where he's able to put up points and say, "Hey, I'm the guy." Like, remember a couple of years ago he had played in the playoffs, he had the chain swinging after a goal, like some of that swagger that he had. I wonder if he's able to do that. - Well, he's got a new coach, which I do think creates a new environment. I'm not saying he and Sheldon Keefe had B for anything, but it just, it's going to feel fresh. And this is a big year. I mean, this four nation's tournament is a massive carrot for players, Marner's age, right? Who haven't had a chance to play for, you know, the true best on best team Canada situation. You know, I think it's fairly safe to say he's going to be on the team, even though he wasn't among the first couple players named over the summer. But, you know, I think he's going to want to be there. He's going to want to be playing on one of the scoring lines, which is a little, which is definitely not quite as assured. Although, again, I think he's in a pretty good spot. But, you know, having a strong start to the season, getting attention for that, going and playing with your peers, you know, having Nathan McKinnon say you're one of the best players in the world. I think all that stuff, especially if you've been through a rough period, it's got to help mentally. And if all that stuff, again, if all that happens, this could take care of itself if you, you know, follow my drift. He maybe doesn't have to worry about the contract. If you're playing well, I don't think you have to think about it every day or dwell on it. - Okay, let's go to one last team for our look around the league and we'll end in Columbus. The Blue Jackets unveiled details on how they plan on honoring Johnny and Matthew Goudreau for the preseason and for the start of the 2024/2025 season. Just going to go through some of these stuff revealed in their statement from yesterday. Beginning with their first preseason game on September 23rd against the Sabres, Blue Jackets players will wear a special sticker on their helmets. It's blue with great trim and features Goudreau, two doves between the numbers 13, which that's the number Johnny Goudreau wore and 21, which Matthew wore at Boston College. And then for their first preseason home game against St. Louis, a moment of silence will be held in remembrance of the two brothers. And then you have the first regular season game against the Minnesota Wild on October 10th. Players will wear a patch featuring number 13 for Johnny Goudreau. I believe also for October 15th, they'll play the Florida Panthers that night. All fans will get a 13 patch that they can take home. There's a few other details on the Columbus Blue Jackets website. Yeah, obviously we've expressed our condolences. We will continue to express our condolences to the Goudreau family, but the Blue Jackets starting to unveil plans on how they'll honor him throughout the season. - Yeah, the other thing too is that they're going to keep his locker stall in the dressing room with a jersey hanging in it as well. And then kind of a nice touch, really adds a touch of sadness to it, but they're going to have Sean Monahan, who is obviously Johnny Goudreau's close friend. And a major reason why Sean Monahan and for agency signed in Columbus this offseason was to try to have the chance to play with him again, but he's going to sit beside Goudreau's stall. And Monahan addressed reporters Wednesday for the first time about his feelings about the tragedy that's happened. And he mentioned that he was looking forward to at least being able to sit beside the stall and kind of like he's going to try to use the memory as a positive thing, not have it something that's hanging over you, but just remind himself of what Johnny Goudreau, how much joy he brought to hockey. So it's going to be, I mean, there's just no words for what the blue jackets are going to go through these next few weeks, but obviously important to highlight the steps they're taking. And they actually called this, I believe the preliminary ways are going to honor Goudreau. So it's not going to end at the announcement they made on Wednesday. - No, it shouldn't. And I expect so many other tributes around the league, and I expect even details from even the Calgary Flames on this as well too. We know we've seen that they've had their vigil, they had begun the process of preserving some of the items that were left at the Scotia Bank saddle dome. And I'm sure over the next few months we'll hear more and more and see more and more about some of the tributes they'll have for Johnny Goudreau. But with that, that's going to end the whip around the NHL, which, yeah, you're right, a lot of stuff to go through, so many quotes, so many different stories to go through. It's not going to stop, especially as training camp continues to roll around, especially in our markets. - This episode is brought to you by Microsoft Azure. Turn your ideas into reality with an Azure-free account. Get everything you need to develop apps across cloud and hybrid environments, scale workloads, create cloud-connected mobile experiences, and so much more. Discover what you can create with popular services free for 12 months. Learn more at azure.com. That's azure.com and sign up for a free account to start building in the cloud today. - Anyway, we've gone through teams. What about this Amazon Prime TV series with the NHL players? We don't have a name. We joked about it being hot ice earlier this summer. I don't think, I don't think they're going to take that. Also, Amazon Prime TV series. You can watch on TV, you can watch on mobile, whatever. Yeah, what's with that? When are we getting any news about it? I think next week we're supposed to see some kind of press release or some kind of details or something, like I'd like to see something. Not even a trailer. Can we get a trailer? Can we get a name? Come on. - I'm excited. - I want to be excited too. I just want something tangible to be excited about. - I've started to hear about some of the content in the show. - Okay. - And it sounds like this could be straight fire for the league. One tidbit that I've gleaned is that Conor McDavid, apparently there is at least one, but maybe two scenes that will change the way maybe he's viewed publicly. It will be, or maybe more precisely put, it will show you a window into a part of him that we've never seen previously with the interviews he does, the way he is around the game. And it occurred during the Cup final when his team was on their way to being down 3-0 to Florida. And it sounds like he has quite a scene at an intermission in the dressing room, trying to inspire his teammates back, get them out of whatever was happening. And as we now know in history, first of all, he delivered some absolutely epic performances in those games when they came back and they got all the way back to force it to a game seven and fell one goal short. But it sounds like McDavid is going to have a pretty prominent place in the documentary. I mean, I've also heard there's the natural personality stuff. Again, fair to say, Matthew Kachok's gonna be part of it. Obviously, we know that family is not short on personality. I think that'll be part of it. But the idea of maybe seeing McDavid like in the heat of battle in a way we haven't before is pretty, I think it's like this is what fans want, in my opinion, especially hardcore fans. But even maybe if you had someone who doesn't care about the NHL or isn't a passionate fan and they saw that, it might be something that hooks you in because it's the intensity of the game. I think that can separate it from, I'm not saying the other sports aren't don't have intensity, but like hockey is so many highs and lows in the playoffs, especially, it's just a rollercoaster. And it sounds, anyway, it just sounds like they got some amazing footage. I think I've already mentioned previously, I know that the cameras were with William Melander in round one while he was out injured and I think we'll shed some light on what he was dealing with. We're sitting with him, filming him, watching his teammates play a game without him. Remember last year, William Melander played 82 regular season games, played the entire season, had his best season as an NHL player. And then couldn't play game one, two and three of the playoffs. So, I think it was three. Anyway, definitely miss game one of the playoffs. And so, yeah, I think this thing is gonna be awesome, epic, put whatever you want on it, but I just wanna share a little bit of tea because I'm starting to get some whispers. And, you know, I'm actually going on Monday next week, there is a, like a launch party, it's not a party, but a launch event in the afternoon. Gary Batman's gonna be there, actually, Melander's gonna be there. And I think they're, based on what I sort of agreed to in the invitation, it seems like they're gonna show us some of it. I don't know if I'm gonna be allowed to say what I see there. Right now, this is just reporting, reporting the rumors, but anyway, I'm pumped for it and hockey fans are gonna see that drop here in the next few weeks. - And when that drops, the whole show, this will turn into a review podcast. - I'm gonna binge it. - We will. - Oh, I will binge it too, we're both gonna binge it. Like 1,000%. - Oh, 1 million percent. I can't wait to watch it, I can't wait for us to talk about it. - I hope I'm not ruining anything by like giving a note. I mean, but let's, come on. If I'm hearing it, someone else is hearing it, it's gonna get out there eventually, so. - Yeah, I don't think you're ruining anything. Like, you're just talking about it. It's also, once we see the trailer and once we see some of what you're talking about, that's gonna amplify everything. And then from there, we'll, like, it'll be full game, it'll be fair game from there. - What imagine he and the dresser who's seeing McDavid tear into his teammates. Like, under those stakes, under those circumstances, they're at game 105 of the season or whatever it is. Like, pretty, pretty epic. - I love that that's didn't exist. - And he almost, the fact that him and the Oilers almost came back from a 3-0 deficit. Like, I can't wait to watch that footage now. What I'm also wondering is, I think of you mentioning that this could maybe potentially, there's a hope that it could appeal to the casual fan or someone who's not necessarily into the sport. Obviously, the hardcore is gonna get into it. Like, what if, what if this series sort of does the same thing that F1 has done? Like, I have a whole bunch of friends who I've never seen discuss sports in my life. All of a sudden become F1 fans, largely because of drive to survive. Like, what if the NHL, what if this series gets to be so good, something similar happens where people just get into the NHL off of that series? Maybe that's wishful thinking, but that would be really fun. - I mean, those of us that already love the league, like, I hope that happens. I don't know if it's gonna happen, but, you know, it might not be the same level as F1. I mean, look, what does this success of drive to survive to me? It's, there's a lot of personalities in that sport and that show does a great job. Like, they don't shy away from talking about conflict or talking about these things that are coming up. You know, let's hope some of these personalities in hockey get amplified a little bit in this show. And let's hope it's good enough, they do it again, 'cause you'll probably get better, you know, the second go around, they will learn things. And, you know, the encouraging part to me is box to box as the company that produced it. They produced, you know, full swing and these other shows. So you're talking about people that know how to story tell about a sport, 'cause you are trying to market it to someone who maybe is not an expert on how the sport works, right? I mean, I don't know that much about F1, but when I watched that series, I found it very accessible. So, yeah, that's the hope. Anyway, I just wanted to get everyone a little fired up for that 'cause I can't wait even for the launch party to see what they show us on Monday. - Oh yeah, I can't wait to hear what you got to say about that. One more thing before we get to stick taps, I'll just plug your latest at the Athletic. 25 must watch people in the NHL for 2024, 2025. I'm not gonna go through who's number one on that list and everyone on that list, but I will give you the opportunity to plug it and let people know that you have that going on. - Yeah, it was a tough exercise. I did my best to consider every possible angle person and then you just come up with a ranking. And I really, there's a few names that didn't end up in the 25 that I, at one point, were like solidly on the list. You think 25 is a lot of people, but then you start considering I've got a GM on there, a couple of coaches, it's not that many players. It's hard, you can't cover every storyline in a league. So anyway, it's an imperfect science. Please click on a story, give it a read and then get in the comments and tell me what I got wrong. - To your point about not being able to cover every storyline in the league, here's a story that dropped as we were talking a couple of minutes ago. Caden Gulli, the Montreal Canadiens defenseman, had his appendix removed yesterday. He'll be reevaluated in seven days. That dropped, I just saw this now, but that was announced this morning by the Montreal Canadiens. - Ooh, tough break. - Yeah, tough break for a young top four defenseman on that team to go through that, that sucks. - Yeah, hopefully I don't know if the recovery on that tends to be too long. I mean, I haven't seen the release or what the Canadiens have said, but hopefully it's, it went as normal and obviously people routinely have appendix removed and carry on with their day-to-day life after getting some healing and recovery. So let's hope he's back on the ice soon. - Yes. Let's end the show with stick taps. This is where we show some love to someone in the sporting world. It doesn't have to be the hockey world, but let's give a stick tap. CJ, do you have a stick tap? - I'm taking the layup. Adrian Wojzernowski, the bulge bomb drops his biggest bomb, maybe yet, by announcing he's stepping away from being ESPN's NBA insider. I, in no way, am even 25% of the success of my genres. He does, but I do have an appreciation for what it takes to do it at the level he did it for a number of years. Broke any number of stories on the league. And, you know, I just think it's admirable that he's stepping away kind of still in the prime of his game. And that means, you know, leaving ESPN, leaving a lot of money on the table. And he's going back to St. Bonaventure, which is the college he attended way back when to take over as the GM of the men's basketball team. So, interesting career pivot, but I liked what he said in his statement that, you know, time is, you know, time isn't endless, even no matter how much success you're having in something. And he just felt he didn't have it in on still. And, you know, it's probably not easy for anyone to do. But I kind of admired, you know, recognizing that he doesn't have to be stuck in one thing forever and that he can move on. So, wish him the best there and just want to salute a great career that the Wojz bomb had. It's just amazing to see Wojz get all this respect from so many other insiders around the sporting world, not just in basketball, which is his main domain, but seeing baseball guys, football guys. And now we're getting to hockey guys, like you CJ, show and love to one of the greatest insiders to ever exist. - It's so hard to be as good at that job as he was. Like, I can't even imagine the effort, energy, and time he put into it. - 100%. - I will give my stick tap to Vancouver Connects Forward Dakota Joshua. It was announced yesterday. He would not be available for the start of camp. He was diagnosed earlier this summer with testicular cancer. However, the tumor was successfully removed by doctors as he continues to recover from surgery. Again, he won't start training camp, but just always get to hear good news, knowing that that tumor is gone. And it seems like the worst of it could be over, but just, you know, obviously with cancer, it's a tough situation to maneuver through. So just thinking of him and his family at this time, but at least some news on the positive track for Dakota Joshua, I think is more than worthy of a stick tap. - Here, here. - Absolutely. And with that, that's gonna do it for our Thursday edition of the CJ show. We'll be back on Monday. Get your questions in now. You can tweet them at reporter Chris on Twitter, or J.K. McKenzie on Twitter. If you're on our Discord, get them in as well. And while you're at it, you might as well subscribe to the podcast if you haven't done so already, wherever you listen to the show. - Yeah, what are you doing? - If you haven't done that, come on. - The SDPN page, we're there. Just subscribe to us there on YouTube and just Spotify, Apple, you know the deal at this point. We've been doing this for almost 300 episodes. You should know the deal by now. Anyway. - Yes, sir. - All right, we'll be back next week. And I can't wait to hear both those sweet juicy details of this Amazon Prime Show. Looking forward to its each. - The Chris Johnston Show. Follow Chris on Twitter at reporter Chris and follow Julian at J.K.A. McKenzie. - The Chris Johnston Show. (upbeat music)
