The Sierra discovered top workout gear at incredible prices, which might lead to another discovery. Your headphones haven't been connected this whole time. Awkward. Discover top brands at unexpectedly low prices. Sierra, let's get moving. The 2024 F-150 Lightning Truck gets dirty and runs clean. With an EPA-estimated range of 320 miles with the available extended range battery, it's the only electric vehicle that's an F-150. Visit 4.com/F-150 Lightning to learn more. Excludes platinum models, EPA-estimated driving range based on full charge, actual driving range varies with conditions such as external environment, vehicle use, vehicle maintenance, high voltage, battery age, and state of health. Chris Johnston, show. 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 McKenzie. CJ Cutdown Day is behind us. The rosters are set across the NHL. We are days away from the rest of the NHL getting themselves going. We know the Sabres and the Devils have already done so out in Czechia, but now it's time for the rest of the league to get going. Let's try to make sense of all these different roster moves that went down yesterday. What's the biggest one that caught your eye? And it's okay if it's the Leafs because that's the team you do cover every day. Well, I got to say it's probably a top three uncomfortable day for players around the league. Obviously, trade deadlines, probably the big daddy top one that just a lot of players wake up that morning. Not sure what's going to happen to them, to their families. It's in season, but we saw massive number of players on waivers, a couple trades even being made. And so the one move that stands out, it's tough to say. I mean, I think I look at the series of moves in Vancouver, where they're able to trade Tucker Pullman's contract to Colorado. They get Eric Branstrom back. They extend Niels Hoaglander to a deal. Looks like they're one of those teams now that's not going to have to operate this season and long-term injured reserve, which if you're not interested in knowing the finer parts of the cap, what it means is they're going to be in a much better position as the season goes along to make trades or add players, I guess, on the waiver wire or any other way. They're going to have more flexibility than they would otherwise. And that's a small trend. It's not a big capital T trend yet, but because the cap has gone up, we've seen more and more teams that are trying to win the Stanley Cup this year be able to have preserved that flexibility. And so those moves stood out to me. And of course, Toronto, I mean, the Leafs had a lot going on. They signed two players that were in camp officially on PTOs. The Max Patrick signing, I don't think, took anyone by surprise, given that it was expected that his was a PTO with a little bit more of a promise of a job. It's Stephen Lawrence as well, signs with the Leafs. They put Matt Murray on waivers. They shuffle some things around. They got some injured players. I mean, it's a great day for the capitalists out there to show their their medal because in the Leafs case, they are an LTIR, but they're there by one dollar, meaning they absolutely maximized. You know, well, it's not great to be an LTIR. You'd rather not. If you could avoid it, they maximize the pool of money they'll have as a season goes along. And that's because Brandon Pritum who works for them is one of the best at what he does. Absolutely. What about some of the September sweethearts that you've mentioned in terms of young players trying to crack lineups? I think of guys like Samuel Hansak in Calgary, who took a lot of people by surprise and training can't put the way that he played. And he's going to start the season on a roster, whereas guys like Jacob Peltier, we've talked about on the show, he'll be down in the American Hockey League, but Colsch went to another young player in that system, claimed by the Vegas Gold Knights Carter. Yakum Chuck's another example out in Ottawa. He got sent to the Calgary hitman yesterday. There's a few of those September sweethearts. Yeah, and ultimately, not many of them are sticking around, right? I mean, two draft picks from this most recent draft, Macklin Celebrini and San Jose and Judd Lechenko in Philadelphia are the only two that were drafted in June that are even just starting the year on rosters. Obviously, there's a few more teenagers, as you mentioned, and that is the reality. We get to the end of camp and a lot of some of those storylines for the most part fade away, but not all of them. Of course, some of those players still did end up sticking with their teams, and so maybe in Calgary, someone like Hansak could become a story for a team turning things over, right? They want to create that internal competition. You see Peltier clear waivers, he signed a two-way contract, and it's kind of been pointing in this direction. I know in the market, there seems just because he has that first round pick branding, I understand why fans and maybe some members of the media might think, "Oh, they can't wave this guy," but when they signed them to a two-way deal, it's sort of to me at that stage of his career as a sign that they're seeing him as an in-betweener, and they're not sure which way it's going to go, and as camp ends, he ends up down with the Wranglers. It's a funny time of year where we look at all these teams in the opening night roster, and I know what's going to come next. We're going to want Cup picks and this and that, but the reality is it's like the first step in a series of many steps the teams will take and where every team starts isn't where they end up, and that includes the camp that the September Sweetheart. That's part of the story of every season for teams, but very few of those players manage to break through and make an impact. When the real games get going here, it's what happened in training camp will quickly be forgotten in terms of the preseason anyway. The Cup picks are later in the show, CJ, by the way. I don't have an exciting one this year. It could be exciting enough for the rest of our viewers. You know what, don't spoil it. Save it. Save it. This is a tease. This is a tease. What a tease it is, and I'm like, I don't even have an exciting one. Don't even stick around, because what about to tell you, you've heard somewhere else? That's not true. One player we should mention from that cluster of September Sweethearts and our good friend, Arpen Basu, forever in front of the show, wrote a really cool article on him for the athletic. Lane Hudson, so many Canadians fans, have been enamored with his play at the back end, and he makes the team out of camp. What did you think of that story? Well, it's not a surprise to me he made the team, but I think he's certainly one of the players that's going to be pretty intriguing to watch this season. An undersized defenseman, I think he's 160 pounds, give or take. Never know how reliable those height and weight list things are, but he's a very slight guy. Maybe in the model of kind of a Quinn Hughes, if you're looking for just an obvious example of a player that obviously in the last number of years in Vancouver has become their captain, but it plays a position in a unique way and has become such an effective part of what Vancouver does. What's intriguing about Hudson is a couple things. He has that skill. He's coming into a team that badly needs it in a fan base that's clamoring for it, but it also sounds like he's going to get a lot of opportunity through even learning, essentially, through making mistakes. I suppose the one benefit if you're entering a league on a team like the Canadians is I think they can be more patient with him than if he was being introduced on a blue line where the team is trying to win a Stanley Cup this season and the stakes were maybe a little bit different. It's not to say I'm not by any means suggesting my child doesn't care if they win or lose, but I think that there's more of an opportunity to take a bigger picture view of his personal development through their season. I think this guy is going to be fun to watch. I don't know how deep we're going on the predictions, but I'll say this. If we're doing a Calder Trophy prediction, I think Lane Hudson's the kind of player that has to be in that conversation. I'm not saying that there's Matt Vey-Mitchkoff and maybe Macklin-Salabrini, Stankhoven and Dallas. There's other places we could go when we're identifying the player most likely to be rookie of the year, but I think Hudson's got a real shot at it because of the way he plays. He's going to produce points as long as he's in the lineup regularly, just has those kind of offensive gifts. I can't remember which Canadians team made. I saw a clip on TV this week and he's like, "My hips just hurt watching a move out there." I thought it's a good visual for how Hudson plays. He's so elusive and really can can skate in an effective way along the blue line, move the puck. There is a little bit of excitement on the horizon in Montreal. Tough preseason, obviously losing Ryan Becker and Patrick Liney to significant injuries, but a player like Hudson will help ease the pain. You've got all over Capinan, made their team as well a centerman. It's funny. I actually wrote a story on him. He was playing for Finland at the World Hockey Championship in May. If you recognize the last name, yes, it's Finland's first family of hockey. He's a third generation player that played for the national team. Basically, the grandfather of his cousins of Casperi Capinan, his uncle is Sammy Capinan, whose Casperi's dad. Sammy's dad, Hanyu, is actually in the Finnish hockey hall fame. It's a pretty famous hockey bloodline over there. Really strong two-way player. I think the plan was to send him back to Sweden to play actually in the SHL, had he not made the Canadians, but he's sticking around too. As I said, not all the September sweethearts fade away. Some of them will be here all year. I think Hudson and Capin are two guys that should have Canadians fans feeling pretty good. What about Easton Cowan for the Toronto Maple Leafs? He gets sent back to the London Knights of the OHL. We've noticed a lot of fans over the last few weeks basically ask for your opinion on Easton through Ask CJ. What are your thoughts on that story? It's a tough one. Easton's 19. He won the OHL MVP and playoff MVP last year while playing in London. So, naturally, I think it's fair to conclude. What more does he have to prove? Well, unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you view these things, there is an NHL/CHL transfer agreement. Doesn't allow someone in Easton's case to play anywhere but the Ontario Hockey League, if he's not in the NHL. He just didn't make the decision hard on Leafs Brass. It's not that he had an awful camp, but he didn't have a break the doors down camp. He wasn't making an impact and the games were like, "Wow, how can they live without this guy?" I think the reality is Cowan's on a team that obviously has, first of all, a lot of forward depth. I think the Leafs this year are entering the season with far more depth at the bottom end of their forward core than they had last season. You've got Bobby McMahon, for example. I think he had 11-12 goals last season. He's already starting the year as a healthy scratch when they play Wednesday in Montreal to start their year. And that doesn't include an injury to a guy like Calli Yarmkroek, who's obviously been part of their lineup. So, the Leafs are running 14 or 15 forwards deep at this point and Cowan just didn't get his way in the mix. And I imagine there's some disappointment for him. Not that mine's going back to London where he's had all kinds of success. It's just that he was pretty highly hyped through September and the rookie tournament and was thought to have a chance at the lineup, but it just didn't materialize. And so, you hope that he can get the positives in his mind. Obviously, he's going to go to a great program in the NHL, a place where he's comfortable. I imagine he's going to put up like one and a half points just by showing up for the games because he's already shown himself to be a cut above a lot of players at that level. He's going to get a chance to play for Canada at the World Junior Championship in December and next year he'll be a pro one way or another. Next year he'll come to camp with a chance to be a Maple Leaf or go and play for the Toronto Marley's. So, it just didn't force management hands or the coaching staff's hands, but I don't think it's not a setback because he is so young and because you have to be realistic about the roster you're trying to crack here. I mean, until Nick Robertson scored five goals in the preseason, there was at least some question about where he fit on this team. And Nick's a few years beyond his OHL career. There's a progression, especially when you're trying to crack a roster with the players the Leafs have. And so, for Cowan, I think that the best he could do is just go down there and try to enjoy each day because next fall will come sooner than he thinks. Put it that way. Not to jump all over the place, but I realize we haven't really touched on Nick Robertson's preseason much. What a preseason for him. It started with us wondering if he still wanted to be on this team and now you can't see this Leafs roster without him, at least with the way that he's been playing in preseason. Yeah, and you know, it doesn't stop here, right? That's kind of my view of it, but that's the kind of preseason when you're not, when you're standing isn't secured entering camp. Like, if you're not named Austin Matthews or Mitch Marner, I mean, you need to have that kind of performance in order to earn the spot in the lineup that he has. And essentially, I guess he's bumped a Bobby McDan down, you know, Max Pacharedy signing obviously does that. Those two right now, Robertson and Pacharedy are due to start on a third line with Pontus Homburg. You know, the fourth line, I think they're trying to do some different things with that's where you've got Lorentz and Camp and Reeves. But, you know, for Robertson, it wasn't just said he scored five goals. You know, he killed penalties, which is not something he's done a lot in the NHL in the past a little bit last season. You know, I think he showed sort of a determination to win puck battles along the wall, which, you know, is always going to be a bit of a, I don't want to call the struggle, but a battle for someone like him. He's a smaller player. So he's got to, he's got to find a way to be able to be effective in that position, even though he's giving up size to a lot of the, the, the defenseman or wingers, he's going to find himself up against in those situations. But, you know, he, he really caught the new coach's eye. And, you know, that so much of our conversation, whenever we touched on this in our summer episodes early in September before he signed was, you know, I understand his frustration with the lack of opportunity he's perceived to have been had, but there is a new opportunity now. There's a new coach, right? And, and, you know, Craig Brubei has put his own little stamp on the Leafs here. I mean, Timothy Lilligrin was a top four defenseman for the Leafs last year. He might be eight right now in their depth chart based on what we've seen in training camp. I mean, he makes $3 million, but, you know, he's, he's right at the bottom of the order. I mean, we saw Connor Timmons leapfrog him, looked like Philippe Myers may have leapfrog them to right hand shot players that may play ahead of him until there's injuries or something else that forces Lilligrin to the lineup. As I mentioned already, McMahon has been supplanted. You know, I don't think that's caused for huge alarm. He finished last year with an injury, but there's the point is there has been a shakeup in the bottom half of the Leafs roster. And I think a lot of it is a new coach viewing things in a different way. And, and maybe not having allegiances where, you know, the previous coach would have had relationships or preconceived notions. I mean, this is all natural, but it was a fresh slate for these guys. And Nick Robertson took his fresh slate and has done great with it. But that being said, the Leafs play Wednesday, Thursday, Julian, to start the year in Montreal and in New Jersey against old friend Sheldon Keefe on the other bench. If Robertson has two tough games, I mean, maybe by Saturday night, we're talking about a lineup shuffle. I mean, that that's the reality of the league is I think he's still going to have to fight for his position and, and, you know, keep earning Craig Brube's trust. But I mean, he's done everything you could ask for through that training camp. Probably Philip, Philip Myers making the opening night roster would be the biggest surprise for the Leafs, I would say. Like if we, if we had that discussion on September 18th, I'm not sure I would have entertained the conversation for too long. I just wouldn't have thought it was something that was going to happen. But I'd say Robertson had the best individual performance by someone who had to do something to get the attention of the team. And, and, and management and coaching staff. So, you know, credit to him for that. And here we go again in Leafs land. It's going to be an interesting regular season on all kinds of fronts. I mean, I, I think that you have this season starting with, with Joseph Wall and Anthony Stollars splitting the net. Neither of them has played 30 games in one regular season in the NHL. I mean, if you just do the math that they split the starts, they each have to play 41. So it was actually very important in my view that they got Matt Murray through waivers because well, I, I realized Matt Murray at this point in his career, you don't know what he is. He missed almost all the last season after bilateral hip surgery. You know, what you do know is he's played a lot of NHL games and he's played even, even two seasons ago in Toronto, he played as a league average goalie. Like he was still at least league average. The issue two years ago was he wasn't healthy. They couldn't rely on them for three or four starts in a row. You know, he kept having to have delays with time off. He hopes he's dealt with that. But you know, they, they put a signing bonus in his, his contract that I think helped get him through waivers and much like Martin Jones last year, like I, I played this game with our colleague Jonas Siegel just in over text. I said, Matt Murray over under 10 and a half starts this season or appearances. I think I said, and he said, hard over. He said, hard over. And I, it's hard to say because Joseph Wall obviously just has had his own injury struggles. Anthony Stollars has been sort of, he's been a very effective backup. He looked at his last few, few years, but you know, can he handle more of a workload? I mean, I think, so I think you're going to see at least three goalies play games, like a significant number of games for the Leafs. And then it's the Leafs. There's going to be some other drama or something that, that, that goes on through this season. Hard over. I mean, is Dennis Hildleby getting, getting starts this year too? I mean, I don't know if we should live with just three if it gets to that point. I think it's, obviously it's possible he could, you know, last year he was called up a couple times and didn't, didn't get into a game. It's natural progression. I think a lot of it will be, you know, how he plays. But you, you don't, it's not, this is no, no shade of Dennis Hildleby, who if you're not following the Leafs day today, you know, he's a six foot five goaltender from Sweden, you want a championship at a young age over there, like a, there's a lot of promise for him. And I do think he'll be in the mix in the years down the road for the Leafs as more of an option. But if you want some certainty, and, you know, I'll say this about Matt Murray, because there's been a lot going on the CJ Show chat about him lately. The man is 30 years old. You know, Joseph Wall is 26. He's only four years older than Wall. And, and I grant, like, who knows after hip surgery what will be, but you know what his, his ceiling prior to an injury was incredibly high. And while I would not predict you're going to see him get back to the form he's had just because I think age and injuries will probably preclude him from doing that. You know, even if he gets partway there, you've probably got a goaltender next year. I don't know if it'll be in Toronto who's, who's going to have a job. I mean, look at, look at the goalies around the league right now. Like James Rimer, bless him, just, just, you know, picked up on waivers by Anaheim. James Rimer's in his late 30s, you know, and, and, and he's still got a guaranteed job in the NHL right now. And there's a number of other players that I'm just saying that, that play on and on and on and on, and I could, I can just see, I, I had a, maybe I'm being a little biased here. I had a good chat with Matt Murray the other day, but I was like, man, this guy is in the best place I can recall seeing him. Like you could just, you could feel it from him. And it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he goes on and now has a second chapter of his career that that, again, not predicting the heights. The guy entered the league by winning two cups at age 23. So like, I'm not saying he's going to do that, but I could see him having a totally serviceable career because he seems very driven. He seems optimistic that, that, you know, the, the hip procedure is really not only just fixed his hips, but he said, has made the rest of his body feel well in areas he might have been compensating for that issue. And he's only 30. Let's not, so I put him out the pasture yet. So anyway, that's a, that's a lot of thoughts thrown together on a Nick Robertson question on the Leafs, but you know, it was, didn't end up being a, it was, I think it's an interesting camp. I think it ends up being kind of an interesting camp. Like the, the defense was the biggest change for this team. And, you know, I don't know what happens with Timothy Lilligrid. I mean, the Leafs are starting the year in LTIR, as I mentioned, but once players like Yarnkrope get healthy or maybe Yadi Hakampah, you know, there, there, there's the possibility they're going to be faced with some roster decisions that could, you know, include a trade or a notable player on waivers. And right now Lilligrid's scrapping for a spot. And, you know, he's only 26 and just signed a $3 million per year deal. So buckle up. That was an excellent Leafs corner off of summation. Yeah, you didn't even tee up Leafs corner. I just jumped into it. That's amazing. Love it. Love it. Um, anything else about the Leafs before I move on, because I want to just lightly mention Carter Jakob check. I know what kind of did, but I'll, I'll go in a little bit more on his situation too. No, I don't think so. I mean, Leafs-Canadians on Wednesday night, uh, that'll be a fun game. You most excited. Oh, I bet. Yes. Yeah, it's, it's in Montreal. I'm not on the road, but I'll, you know, I'm excited just, I'm excited for the start of the season. Honestly, I was excited watching the games in Prague. Like, I know some people are down on that. I watched both a good chunk of both of those games over the weekend. Like, it's just exciting to have real hockey back. You know, we're recording Tuesday morning this week. Shout out Julian for your move across the country. And by, you know, tonight, hopefully, I mean, I'm no weather expert, but I've been following this hurricane news and it seems very concerning for, for people in Florida to stay safe if you're down there. But, you know, Boston's supposed to play the Panthers tonight and hopefully that's able to go ahead depending on what happens with the weather. Um, and obviously the Panthers will put their Stanley Cup banner up. They've got their new rings splash around on social media. So, I'm, I'm just pumped for the start of the year. It's not just for one game or one team or anything in particular. I'm excited for, for the set in season, obviously, consider going to be covering them. Uh, they will host the Panthers in their first game on Thursday. Uh, Carter Yakubchuk, just really quickly here. Um, 19 years old, turning heads at camp, he gets sent back to the WHL. I think it's the right move, but man, like he really made it tough on, on Sen's brass, leading into, into Monday. Uh, just talking to Travis Green yesterday about it. He, they were, he emphasized the fact that it was a pretty tough decision to have to send him back to junior. Yeah, it would have been a really cool story if he somehow made the team though at 19. But if, if it was looking as if he was just going to be this in and out player in the lineup, it's not the best for him. But man, I, I, I liked him in camp. He's, he's surprised to be a lot from when he got drafted to now. He's really surprised me and surprised a lot of people in that senators front office as well. You know, it's funny, this isn't just specific that Yakubchuk, but like part of me would like to see teams give players in that situation a couple of games. Um, and I know it can be tough, but even if you know in the back of your mind, like he's likely not here for the season, like I, I think there's value in keeping a player around, even just to practice for a couple of weeks, you know, give them a few games. You know, there's even the option. I remember LA did this with Brent Clark a few years ago, but if, if you end up scratching a player for five games, you can send them to the HL on a conditioning stint for two weeks. So there's a way to sort of stretch out his time in Pro Hockey, even knowing again that you're going to send them back likely. And you know, I don't know enough about the Yakubchuk situation specifically. So it's not a comment on him only, but you know, I thought at one point, you know, had Easton Cowan made more of a noise with the Leafs. I wondered if they tried to do that now. The cap for the Leafs would have made that tough because there's, it's hard for them to keep a player around who really, they don't have the room to keep a player around who isn't going to play or isn't going to play regularly. Um, but you know, basically we're seeing big change now in the NCAA that allowing major junior players going there. Like, I think it's time for there to be a change in some way to make, maybe make it easier. I don't, I don't know what, where the slackening could be. But you know, I just like to see more players in Yakubchuk shoes just get a few games. Like, I think there's value to it. I mean, you might say, oh, what's, you know, Fraser Minton last year played three games for the Maple Leafs. He went back to WHL from that point. Like, like, I still think he shows up a little bit more feeling part of the team, just knowing what this is. Like, I think, I think there's value there, but you know, there's all kinds of limitations and the rules for it. But yeah, I mean, I noticed Yakumchuk you know, he started off, he played that first preseason game actually in Toronto. And you know, was part of basically that point that the nonsense game group and then his time went along. You know, he had established himself, I think Ottawa has some, some room to improve on the blue line. So there was arguably a spot from the, to jump in there. But that being said, not, I mean, very few defenseman in this day and age playing the league is teenagers. It's just just the reality. Obviously, the guys picked right at the top of the draft tend to, but even then it takes some time before, before you're ready, typically. I was trying to think like, how many defenseman at 19 have made that jump? It's one thing if you were forward at 19, but I was trying to think yesterday, how many 19 year old defenseman have been able to make that jump? It's not, it can't be that large of a number. No, did Eric Carlson, I think he played in his 19 year old season. If I'm not mistaken, like the first year he was drafted. But then even then, I remember, I actually remember once I was covering a game at what was in the Air Canis Centre, and Eric Carlson was a healthy scratch and he was sitting behind me in the press box. Like, just the way they had the, where they had the scratches. And I remember seeing him and I didn't know a lot about him at that time, which is, you know, kind of funny given how, how significant of a player he ended up being in his era. But he looked like, I was like, this guy looks like a pianist. Like he was so skinny. He was so small at that time. It was just hard to imagine because, you know, he's obviously it's a physical sport against pretty large opponents who were out there to make your life difficult. But anyway, it might be wrong. It might have been his age 20 season, but I think he might have played at 19. Obviously, a few players had done it over time, but, you know, I mean, largely-- Do you believe Mr. Comes to mind? Sure. Did Eric Johnson, I mean, I know he got injured. He was drafted first overall by St. Louis. He got injured, I think, as a rookie, but then might have played his next year. I mean, it happens, but it's tough to do. You know, how old's Lane Hudson? We just talked about him. I know he was drafted a couple of years ago. He's 20. So like, you know, we're talking about, this guy's a miracle. He's 20 and he's 160 pounds. He's going to play in the league. But like, there's, the truth is, is just it takes, you know, how old was more at cider? Did he, did he get in there as a teenager? Probably. I could double track that. I don't remember. Anyway, yeah, I mean, sorry. Now it's just you and I just blindly taking stabs, but they're obviously-- In fact, check in. The good news is, I say, the good news is I'm going to look at my Twitter feed in a couple hours and there's just going to have people just giving me answers. Like, how did you think of this guy? Partly because it's an early morning for Julian and I, and I'm still on my first coffee, so my brain isn't fully tuned up yet. I haven't had any. More at cider began in his age 20 season with the Detroit Red Wings. We've gone through a lot of the September sweethearts and and training camp roster moves. Let's get to one final piece of business before I ask you some season preview questions and also for those of you who are I, I'm scared about what comes next. For those who sent in, ask CJ questions. We're going to get to them on Thursday. Just better for how the show is going to go out today for us to just kind of get to more ask CJ questions at the end of the week. This episode of The Crit-- The 2024 F-150 Lightning Truck gets dirty and runs clean. With an EPA-estimated range of 320 miles with the available extended range battery, it's the only electric vehicle that's an F-150. Visit 4.com/F-150 Lightning to learn more. Excludes platinum models. EPA-estimated driving range based on full charge. Actual driving range varies with conditions such as external environment, vehicle use, vehicle maintenance, high voltage, battery agent, state of health. Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. With the price of just about everything going up during inflation, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing. Mint Mobile unlimited, premium wireless. 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I mean, I got to do that again. I can't have that mistake. No, you don't. No, it's okay. It's more. It's just more because it's in my head because Cam nearly said he had 64 million reasons to go to camp. And I'm like, wow, but Swayman says I got 66 million. Okay, hold on. Jeremy Swayman, eight years, 66 million dollars. Even the best ones mess up. I'll tell you this. It's a sensible conclusion to what was, you know, a pretty emotional negotiation. The fact that was signed on Sunday, as listeners of the CJ show will know there had been no pain inflicted on either side until Monday. And so the fact they got it on Sunday, I don't think as a coincidence. You know, it's funny. I was on overdrive in Toronto that the drive time show and they were, you know, they were saying that they thought this was a loss for Swayman. You know, it's hard to call anything a win loss, but I think it's a win for a player who, you know, fought for what he believed in, stuck to his guns, ended up getting them above that 64 million dollar number that the president of the team, Cam nearly floated publicly. He didn't miss a day of pay. He got an eight year secured deal, even though he's never been a full time number one, played, you know, lots of games. Now, obviously there's a, there's a universe from here where Swayman becomes a just a bonafide stud number one. Like I think that he's on that kind of path. Obviously the Bruins think so too with the contract that gave him. And maybe this looks like a bargain in a few years. It's possible, but it's also possible that Jeremy Swayman has injury issues or performance issues or things that maybe interrupt his career and make things, you know, words, not just a straight line to start them. And if that happens, I mean, obviously he's secured a nice future for his family. I liked some of the social media content. I know if you didn't get a chance to see it, but like the Bruins put him out there like driving into practice and bringing his bag into the rink. And, you know, I don't, I don't think even as public as it was, even as clearly emotional as it was, I don't think there'll be bad blood there. But there's, there's no getting around the fact there's now a considerable amount of pressure on Jeremy Swayman shoulders. Probably is anyway on a number one goalie, but I mean, this guy, Miss Camp was skating at Boston University trying to do what he could to keep up. But that's obviously a step or two down from being part of an NHL training camp and playing exhibition game against NHL players. And now he's got this contract. And if he doesn't stop the puck, it's going to be a storyline in Boston, right? There's, there's going to be discussion about this. There's going to be people referencing what happened in September. And so that's part of the deal here. But from a strict business standpoint, I think he's pushed the bar up for guys like Jake Ottinger or Stuart Skinner, or other goaltenders kind of of a similar age that are going to go into their next contract negotiation and say, Hey, that 8.25 million times eight looks like about what I'm worth. And so, you know, in the end of the day, I think Swayman achieved what he wanted to achieve. I'm sure he feels he might have left a little bit of money out there, but he also stretched the team pretty far. And he did so most importantly, without missing days of the season. I mean, this is the truth for every negotiation. We'll discuss this again with some other player next September, October, I bet Julian, the system is stacked against a player. If you missed days of the season in a contract to dispute, whatever you want to call it, you're going to lose money you can never earn back. You know, Swayman was going to give up $43,000 a day by missing even one day or two days would be 86, three days, 129. So, I mean, there's just, that's a lot of money in the real world. And it's hard to ever get that back in any way. So, you know, I think that this was the right ending. I do think they're going to make good. And now really, the focus for me is just like, how quickly does he get up to speed? How good is he? Is he ready to handle the spotlight? That's going to be even a little bit brighter on him because of everything that went on in his contract negotiation. Eight years, 66 million for Jeremy. So, that number is going to bug me all for the rest of the recording. What's we get out of here? I'll be fine. And you got to take it one shift at a time, one segment at a time. You just got to put that behind you. We can't change the past. I really appreciate your words of reassurance, CJ. You made me feel a lot better after that number. I do know this of who makes the most mistakes on this show. It would be me. So, no, I, you've got a lot of forgiveness for me. Okay. Well, I, we don't have a counter here for that. So, we will never know the answer to that question. Speaking of questions, are you ready to answer some questions when it comes to a season preview? You're right. A lot of these season previews around the league are the same. Who's going to win this division? Who's going to win this award? I just have a list of questions and possibilities and I'm wondering what you think will happen. How does that sound? Is that at least a little bit different from what you would normally hear? Yeah. Sorry. I'm not begging on you. I mean, it's, look, there's only so many ways to look at the, you know, we're holding the globe up and we're spinning around and trying to see it from a different angle, but I mean, there's only so many ways to see it. Yeah. If you were begging on me, I would have, I would have, I think you would have crucified me for the swab and mistake. I know you're not. Oh, okay. So, yeah, here's the few questions about the upcoming season. I would love to know your answers to. First one, which storyline are you most looking forward to covering around the league? It's got to be the Oilers. You know, I just think that this is the most compelling team by a long shot this season, given the way last year ended, given everything we've seen on the face off show, which I know we've covered extensively, given that they have two of the world's best players, but certainly the number one player in Conor McDavid and what he's gone through, given an off season. I mean, they changed general managers. They've made changes in their front office. They brought in some veteran players and got a lot of flowers for them, but does that work out? You know, does, you know, see Jeff Skinner is already down on the third line there after what seemed like a slow preseason? I got Victor Arvinson around. I, you know, I think that that's a team for sure. We're going to be talking about adding a defenseman in a year. The feeling their blue line is at the snuff. Can Darnell Nurse bounce back and maybe, you know, give a performance that's a little closer to what he's paid because I think that's probably the biggest, the most inefficient contract on their books now that they've moved on from Jack Campbell in the off season. I just think that the stakes couldn't be higher for Edmonton. I mean, lots of teams might say Cupboard bust. I mean, it's clearly Cupboard bust there within coming within one goal. And I really, I just, for me, that's like the storyline that has me most interested. Maybe it's because it's where we left off a little bit, right? I mean, I was obviously covered game seven of the cup final. Like that's, if you see one season of the next is a continuation of a story, you know, just curious to see if they can get back there and what they go through. Do they have a lull to start the year? The Oilers to me are, it's like the days of our lives. Like, I think it's got the potential to be soap opera. You know, look at it, they might just be focused machines and they might just rip through the league. Like, I'm not saying it's definitely going to become soap opera. But I think the stakes are massive there. And, you know, they've, the truth is they got to get the job done. I mean, Conor McDavid is this season and next-sider contract. He's more likely than not to stay is good buddy Lee Andry side will sign on long term. But that's not guaranteed as of this moment. So I, I just think all those, you throw all those components into a stew. And that's a pretty tasty stew. Stew sounds really good right now. The one question I have about the Oilers is this. I've seen teams in the past who go through a grueling Stanley Cup final run. And there's a let down where that not for every team, like the Florida Panthers are clearly, clearly an example of a team that's been able to get through that. But there clearly is some kind of let down with a bunch of teams who go through that run in particular when they lose. And the next season, it's just you're trying to get up from that from that for the Oilers. In this case, this season ran as long as it's ever been. And they had a short off season. And now they go out and play. I just wonder if that plays a role in how their season goes this year. I'm not saying they can't get back to the Stanley Cup final. I'm just wondering if let's say the Oilers come out to a so, so start this season, like we're going to point to the fact that they had a short off season, right? Like I sort of anticipate that. I think if they they have a banner season, that's going to stun me more than anything else. Really, I'll say this, this is the prediction part of our show. This is how I see that going because you're right. Some teams get there and then it's like they can never get back to that level. But I think some teams get there and they know it's their one shot. Like some teams get there and maybe their core players are at a certain age and I just don't know if they're going to get there again or maybe the salary cap does something to their roster that makes, you know, just makes it so much harder to get back. Like I think Edmonton, like the best players on that team are still right in the prime of their careers. Like I think it's more than likely to be just another little source of fuel, not saying they needed it, but man, I don't think it's going to hurt that they got that close. You know, in that face off show, you see Matthew Kachuk hugging, I think it was Sergey Babrowski after they won the Eastern Conference title and he's like, I told you we'd be back. I told you we'd be back. Like I bet that Edmonton is going to, I just think they're going to be that kind of team. And the truth is they went through everything you could go through last year, but winning, like with how often they were down and out and got off the mat. So that's why I entered this year confident that, yeah, if it's a so, so October, if they're like four, five and one after the first 10 games, I just think that they're going to know they're going to still have a self-belief that won't waiver that they can be the team they always were designed to be. So, you know, it's only a prediction. I don't, you know, I don't have all the answers. Unfortunately, actually, I'm glad I don't have the answers. It wouldn't be as fun to watch if you knew what was going to happen, but my sense is when I when I call them the biggest story of the year for me, my senses are going to be on a mission and I think it's going to be something to watch. Like I think it's going to be just fascinating. And then you get to the playoffs and sometimes the best team in the league doesn't win, right? And that's, that's, they've got to somehow navigate that gauntlet of four best of sevens if they're going to, they're going to actually get their hands on that thing. So I'll say this. I still have the others as a playoff team, but I will say they are not might pick to come out of the Western Conference to make it to the Stanley Cup final. Do you have the Edmonton Oilers returning to the Stanley Cup final? That's an actual question I have on my list. I have them returning and I have them winning it. And you might recall I did, I did call them last year, which looked terrible in November and looked a lot better in late June until they didn't win, but I did, I did pick Edmonton to win last year. And I'm sticking with it. I just think that they are the best, deepest team with the best player on earth. And, you know, that's, that's a pretty good mix to have entering a year. Do you have them winning the Pacific at least or are you, are you predicting just the middling season where they just can't quite put everything together and they do it the hard way. Do they need to win the division? Like they don't, but I'm just here, because you're, you're predicting them not to get out of the West, which is fine. But are you, are you, are you, are you forecasting a year where just again, if they finish second division, doesn't mean it's a bad year. Yeah, that's fine. That's more than fine. I think they're at this point where like, if they finish second or third in that division, no one's going to get mad at them for, for again, to that point, we all know it's cup or bus for that team. I think if anything, they're in that second or third, just because again, just they might go out to a start that's not perfect. And it's going to take them time to get back. Plus they already went through last year, where they went through a horrific start. And they've did it a complete 180 to get to the playoffs. They've gone through worse. So literally, if it gets to that point, it's not going to be the end of the world for them. Do they win the position? They're almost in Tampa territory of a few years ago, where it was just like it got in. You were like, you don't care if they're starting on the road, which they did the one year they went in the cup. Like, like, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who the matchups don't matter. It's like, as long as that team has a chance to play for the cup, they're one of the most likely to win it. Man, that's actually a tough question because what Vancouver would be. Vegas, maybe. But Vegas is also in that situation, too, where they also don't need to win it. But like those three teams, Vegas, Edmonton, yeah, Vancouver, like they all are playoff teams in that division for me. I guess there is a world where Edmonton could still win it. I guess it's just I'm just all I'm just trying to say is that I'm not expecting them to win the president's trophy. I'm not like if they find a way to do that, then that's going to surprise me. I'm expecting them to win everything. I'm expecting like a year where it's just the right place at the right time. And like, I think like Conor McDavid's winning a heart, I think, okay, the Oilers are winning the president's trophy. I think they're winning the cup. Like, I just think it's just like a rampage year for this team. But man, if they if their season ended a little earlier, I'd be all on board with that. It's just it would be insane for them to go on that run, considering they've had what basically like, well, barely two months off. Did you read, by the way, Dan Robson story at the athletic or our colleague incredible story, incredible story on a missed after that. I just want to shout out Dan. And I'm sure Julian feels the same way our colleague, but he he had some basically detailed like sort of Conor McDavid summer from when he lost to now and he his bachelor party was supposed to start two days after game seven in Europe. And they were going to go to the UEFA tournament and see a concert in London. Anyway, that ended up getting scrapped. Obviously, with with how long the season went, they went down to the Bahamas. Obviously, we know Connor got married this summer. But you're right, it was not only was it a short time to recuperate, but it was also a busy summer in Connor's life. But I don't know, I just think. Great story. Anyway, great story. I'm still predicting rampage year for the Oilers. Hey, you know what? If it happens, we'll go back to this episode. And if it happens, here for the sake of the soap opera, it's it's a great storyline that we're all going to follow. And in you going all in on the Oilers, you answered a handful of my questions, including who's your pick to win the heart trophy? And I did have if well, now that you have your cup pick in, I mean, that's that basically takes care of that with them into the Oilers. Love it. There are a few other questions on my list I do want to get to. Is this the season? Alexander Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky's record for most goals scored. I don't think you can get there quite 42 goals. 39 years old. 41 to tie it 42 to break it. I mean, obviously, if anyone can do it, it would be Ovechkin, but I don't I don't think he gets through this year. I'll tell you what I kind of hope for just for the drama. I hope he has a big October, like I think it'll be interesting if he if he has a really strong start and it and it seems possible, because this is the rare story. I think in the NHL that can kind of go beyond hockey, you know, conversation, like I think as he gets closer, he already has. Yeah, but I think like when he gets it within 10 or whatever, you know, whatever show you're watching whether it's Sports Center or what have you done in the States, like I just think it will be tracked and followed and it will, you know, it's sort of like if you weren't, I mean, Julian, this is a dated reference for a young and like you, but in the summer of '98, you didn't have to be a baseball fan and you're following Sami Sosa, Mark McGuire, you know, chasing Roger Maris' home run chase and literally, like at that time in a different world, but they were cutting in live just for those players at bats if you're watching other shows, because like that was a level of interest. I think it's going to be similar to that doesn't obviously work. You don't just drop a washing capital's power play, you know, into something else, but I mean, it'll be quite something. I don't think he gets there, though. That's my, I mean, come on. I'm actually taking the safe side of the bat. The odds of a 39 year old scoring 42 goals are pretty long. That's fair. That's fair. I'll say, I agree with you. I think you'll get close and then maybe next year is the year he does it, but it would be something if he found a way to get to that level this year. Hey, and hey, we were starting to doubt Alexander Ovechkin partway through last year, and then he was a good reasoner on a pretty good note with good reason. He had the worst stretch of his entire NHL career in terms of, I don't have the exact number in front of me, but I don't remember writing a story about it. It was by far the longest stretch with the fewest goals he'd ever played in the NHL. He was changing sticks, went to Dubai on his bi-week. Like he was riding camels looking for it. I mean, I'm just getting around with that part, but he was, he was searching for something and then he scored like eight goals in eight games in February and he ended up with a total somewhere where you'd expect. Okay. Next one for you. Do any of these four teams make the playoffs this year? Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa, and Montreal? Yes. I think... Which one? I'm gonna ride with the Sends on this one. I think the Sends will be a wild card team from that group. Believe it or not, my number two, if I had to identify it, would be Buffalo. And I know that they just started Owen too in Chetia. And it's like the ghosts of the last 13 seasons are rattling around everyone's brains in Western New York. But I think Ottawa and Buffalo are the most likely of the two to grab it. And as I said, I'll pick the Sends to take a wild card spot. Okay. I also have the Sends as a playoff team this year also in the wild card. Something about the Metro tells me that I don't think there's going to be... It might be a little week this year after the top three teams. So I think there's an opportunity for all the way. So you got... I'm sure the devil's arrangers and the hurricanes is your top three. Yeah. There'll be my top three. Not necessarily that... Yeah. We can figure out the order later, but yeah, those three teams. But that's what you're thinking is the main three in the Metro. So then the kind of teams with ambition that you're doubting a little bit, like the Islanders probably still have some ambition. They absolutely do. And I would think... Obviously the capitals and the penguins... Not sold on those two teams making the playoffs this year. Right. Capital's had a kind of an intriguing off season for me. I know. You've been very interested in that off season. I'm not as sold on the caps. I mean, I think because people look at it as like, what's the plan there? It's like, well, the plan's evident. They're trying to be as good as they can be right now. And they don't want to have pain for it. They don't want to go to the bottom of the standings. So that's why I find it interesting. Because so many teams in league and I'm not... This is just what it is. So many teams are either really good or rebuilding, right? And it's just interesting to see others try a different way. You know, I always kind of respected that Boston never truly rebuilt in this era. Like they just kept going and going and going and sort of doing it on the fly. And you know, that's really tough to do. So the caps are at least trying to do that. I'm not saying they'll be able to do it. It's not going to the playoffs last year. We'll see. Um, the hockey club. Oh, all good. I've done that a lot. So you can get a pass on this one. I don't know. I'm already fighting a cold. It's only October. What's going on? It's flu season, man. It's flu season, man. I'm just getting through one thing myself. The Utah hockey club. Are they a playoff team? Yes. I think the excitement of being somewhere new. I think that that errors, if you look at the coyote season last year, and obviously this is the the former coyotes, like other than that stretch where they, I think they lost 13 games in a row or something. Um, right around the time, all the, the news started like, and I know any team, I guess you could do that you could play this game like other than that one stretch where they were the absolute worst team in a league. They were pretty good. Um, so I'm viewing that as like an outlier with their situation where the weight of everything going on around them crushed them. I like the young players on their team. I like what they did, you know, getting really serious about building out their blue line. I, and I think the excitement of being in a new market, like that, I think they're just going to energize everybody. I'm, I'm picking Utah again, wild card spot. I don't think they're going to be challenging for division titles or anything like that, but I, I could see that being one of the really sort of charming stories of the season. Um, getting freed from the tent in Tempe where they had to walk through a tented area from their dressing room into their, into their college room. Um, I just think getting, you know, and I realized the facilities are actually a bit makeshift in Utah because of how quickly this came together, but I think I think that that's a team. I've got them as one of my surprise teams entering the year. I like that pick. Uh, what about the Toronto Maple Leafs? Where do the Leafs finish in the Atlantic and how far do they go in the playoffs? I think they win the Atlantic division. Uh, it's something they've never done. The, the only, for all the regular season success Elise have had in the last seven, eight years that they won the North division back in that weird realign season and COVID times, but other than that, they haven't won the Atlantic. I think that they're most incentivized to do so in a sense. Um, you know, obviously teams like Boston, Florida, Tampa. I think that they're, they're, they're really veteran. I mean, the Leafs are a pretty veteran team now too, frankly, but you know, they've, they've kind of been there, done that for them. It's about getting to the dance. I think under a new coach, um, and trying to maximize our opportunities, I, I do, I also think the Leafs are deeper. I mean, I mentioned the four group when we did Leafs corner, even defensively, I, I liked their off season. In a couple years, some of those contracts might not look great. Uh, just long term deals for, for players in their thirties, but right now I, I think they're in a position to compete at a level greater than they were where they were last year. And so I think they win the division. I got no idea what happens in the playoffs though. I mean, that there is an element with this team that is hard to ignore. I mean, that it's, it doesn't matter how good the team is, like they, they haven't lost all those playoff series because they were the worst team, right? They've lost those, a lot of those playoff series, because they're, they're key performers didn't, you know, game break for them. Um, I don't know if it's the pressure or the what's in their minds. So like, even if I forecast them having a great regular season, which I do, I don't know what'll happen when we get there again. Like, there's the, the Toronto star, I can't remember exactly how they quantified it, but like, no team has had this, the regular six season success, the Leafs have had with no playoff success. Like it has never happened in actual history, at least of like the fourth or third most points in like the last five regular seasons and they have one playoff series win. So I don't know if they're breaking curses or streaks or whatever this year, but um, you know, I do think they're going to have a great regular season. And we'll be there for it. One more. Just give me one more before we wrap up here. Edmonton versus who in the Stanley Cup final. Toronto. I'm kidding. I just said, I don't know what the Leafs are going to do with the playoffs. I was looking for a laugh there. I wanted to give you a decisive Toronto after saying I don't know what's going to happen. How about, how about I go wild card and, uh, I'll say Edmonton, New Jersey, Stanley Cup final. Interesting. I have Dallas, New York. I have Dallas, New York Rangers as a Stanley Cup final this year. I would sign up for that. I would sign up for that in a heartbeat. You went through the preview, uh, unscathed. Uh, we'll see about your Edmonton, Toronto joke, though. Uh, that was good. It's not really a joke. I mean, I give me a try to do, I give you a try to do. Um, as I mentioned earlier, ask CJ, we'll do it on Thursday later this week. Uh, we'll get, we'll have more time to get to all the questions. So thank you to everyone who sent them in so far. And, uh, well, enjoy the start of everyone else's regular season, uh, beyond Buffalo and New Jersey. Obviously it's going to be a lot of fun. Hopefully these, this protection, this prediction segment, uh, gave you something to think about and gave me a lot to think about, especially with how hard CJ is going in on the Edmonton Oilers. Yeah, that's, that's probably the biggest pick that I made with, you know, whatever. I'm, I'm predicting a, just a savage year for them, like, start to finish dominance. Let's see if I'm right. Let's see. Let's see if you're right. We'll be back later this week. The Chris Johnston Show. Follow Chris on Twitter at reporter Chris and follow Julian at J. K. A. Mackenzie. The Chris Justin Show.
