[MUSIC] Welcome back. >> What is this, hour four? >> Hour four, Maddie. >> Hour four. >> Fan Morning Show. That Marquesi Danieli Franceski with you here. Live at Coppinwood Golf Cup for the NHL Alumni Association. Golf tournament and we are joined by Keith Hockey Royalty. I don't care what- >> Absolutely. >> There's not even, there's not even a chance that he is not in the conversation. It's Brian Trotche, Hall of Fame forward. How are you? >> I'm great, guys. Thank you very much. Well, you guys are, you guys are committed. This is a, you guys are, fourth hour, I heard. >> Yeah, they were veterans of war, right there. >> Yeah, they, that's why they passed the big bucks. >> That's why we're doing it in the summer and not- >> Yeah, exactly. >> Six times- >> A big builder falling out of your pocket. >> Yeah, that's it. That's monopoly money, you just haven't seen it yet. Six times Stanley Cup champion, here's what, here's what I will say. Your offensive numbers speak for themselves. There's no question about that. Wayne Gretzky mentioned Sasha Barkov in the same conversation with you among best defensive forwards ever. And Wayne talked about how hard it was to play against you in those Stanley Cup finals. When you look back on your career, I hate to be this guy, but you are way too good offensively for people to give you credit for how good you were defensively. Do you feel that way sometimes? >> Well, you know what, it's kind of fun being under the radar, but what a wonderful compliment. I mean, Wayne was very, very nice to say something nice. And you know, when you're battling guys, and you're in that war, there's a such respect, right? Like we respected that and all this team. But at the same time, you kind of have that kind of mutual hatred, you know, because- >> Of course. >> It's a war. >> Trying to win. >> When it's all said and done, you shake each other's hands. And years later, we talk about the good old days, the once mighty oilers and the once mighty islanders. And you know, being teammates with Paul Copping. Here are some of the stories from Paul when they walked by our locker room in Wayne sand. Well, we didn't pay a price. Look at those guys have ice packs on there. Well, our version of it was they had to walk by our locker room to get to their bus. >> Yeah. >> So we had a kid out there that we don't want to rub salt in the movies. >> Yes. >> The hockey guys. And we're like, okay, when a couple guys walked by, you just let us know. And we'll just kind of settle down for a little bit. >> And when they're gone, we'll start scooping up again, right? We'll start champing it up. And it kind of bit us in the butt because here, Wayne took it like, oh my god, we got to pay a bigger price. They go back to the drawing board. And so, but there's a learning process, right? And I think that's what Wayne was talking about. You know, you got to learn and you got to learn how to win. You got to learn to earn it. And you know, our islander team did, you know, we were a young team. You know, we watched the Montreal Canadiens, how they were four straight Stanley Cups. And we watched how they practiced, how they behaved, how they carried themselves. And public and their behavior. Everything that they did, they looked like champions. And that's what we did. We learned from the Canadiens. And the Oilers did the same little thing from us. It's a wonderful compliment in a way. But yeah, to be compared to, I think, you know, Markov to me is probably a much stronger, bigger body than I was. You know, maybe not, he doesn't sting people, but he's heavy on the puck. He's strong on the forecheck. You know, he battles, he's in front of the net. Nice touch, great with the puck. You know, pretty smooth hockey player. So it would be to be compared to somebody like that smooth on the ice. Was like, I don't know if I played exactly like Markov. Thank you for the compliment. But yeah, I think when I look back and people say, you know, I was always about helping defense. I was helping my goaltender and, you know, taking face-offs or killing penalties. There was really kind of like a pride in everything that I took. And it didn't matter if it's forechecking, back checking, pressure in the puck or whatever. This is Mike, Mike Bossy, I said, "Mike, I don't need you in our zone." But it's from the red line in, man, do your magic, you know. And he did it pretty well. He even did it very well. And as I said, you miss something. I'll be there, I'll support you. Not a big deal. So a lot of talk, a lot of communication. You know, we had a great team at the island. There's a lot of fun in Pittsburgh playing with Mario and Yeager and Ronnie Francis and Larry Murphy and the gang. Paul Koff is a teammate. It's just really wonderful. But you play with great players, great things happen, right? Sure. But it's also chemistry and it's also, I think, guys respecting each other and caring about each other. And you saw that in Florida. You know, they came so close last year against Vegas. And these guys kind of like recommitted themselves, kind of rebooted the computer. And they all kind of focused in. And boy, they became like a team. Like they all played the same. Didn't matter third line, fourth line, whatever. You know, like guys were going out there and they played a certain style, certain system. Heavy, banging, you know, physical presence. So it's really kind of good when people recognize those kind of things. So, yeah, looking back on my career and saying, oh, you know, yeah, good offensive numbers, not too bad. But I was like, oh, for me, you're a little modest. That's for me. But for me, it's all about goals. 900 assists for me is all about winning. I want to win the last game of the year. Yeah. You don't want to lose that last game. And so you play, you know, 18 years, coach, another 10. You say to yourself, OK, 28 years and only seven Stanley Cups. I'm like, OK, you know, six of the player was a coach. Like, you know, that a lot of losing years there. But still, the ratio is pretty good. So I'm pretty proud of it. Pretty good. OK, so you mentioned Mike Bossy there. Mike left us, unfortunately, a couple of years ago. But when you look, you know, we talk about this Alex Ovechkin, Wayne Gretzky Chase. Yeah. And I, you know, I look at, you know, you look at the numbers for Mike Bossy. Yeah. That is, you know, we taught. There's always this thing in sports where we look and say, if there was a player that you wish was healthy for the entirety of their career, what they could have done, I know a lot of people will point to Bobby. And I understand that same. But Mike Bossy's numbers. I firmly believe that if Mike Bossy was healthy during his, in the entirety of his career and played a long career, that we would be talking about Alex Ovechkin chasing Mike Bossy's record and not Wayne Gretzky's record. Agree or disagree with that? Oh, I totally agree. Like, and no disrespect to Wayne or, or Vechkin or anybody. Sure. Great number. Mario Lemieux. Like, look at Mario. I think Mike, Mike's number one, Mario's number two. Yeah. Very close is like for games played and their goals per game. Yeah. And to me, that's, that's, that's recognition right there. Through an era that was very physical. Yes. Through an era that very clutch and grab. Through an era where guys want to take your heads off. Yeah. Pretty much every night. And, you know, you got to fight through that, battle through it. And, you know, Mike just had that, that style. And I always tell, I love telling the story because we're playing in an old, like we call it, you know, alumni games, so to speak, old timers. But we're playing down in Tampa. And it's kind of the battle of the big lines. So we've got Pete Mahablich, Giddlerflur, Steve Shutt. Oh, wow. There's like the Triple Crown line from, from LA. Yeah. The French Connection from Buffalo. And our Trio Grande from Long Island. And it has four teams. And we've got some, some wannabes that want to, or plan on our team. Sure. That's a four and four tournament. So Mike hasn't played. He said, and he hasn't skated for like three or four years. His back is sore. You know, his knees here. You know, he hasn't stick handled a shot of puck for a long time. He said, shut up. I just need to be there. You're on you for the blue line. I'll take care of him. Don't go outside, right? And you know, Mike's always, he's always a little cranky. Anyway, you're like, you know, but I tell you, he just, he, I think he came out of the womb, scoring goals. Yeah. He was that kind of a guy, like he, born to score goals as a way Tuko Rech said it. And so we're playing in somehow we make it to the finals against the French Connection. And Gilbert Perot and so I'm like, Mike, you know, I'll deflect to be getting the offensive zone just by. So we end up beating him eight to seven. Mike scored seven of our goals. The game winner with like 20 seconds to go. Typical Mike Bossio on the stick turned around. She has to go through everybody's legs. The goal tender, the before he's ready, whatever. We're shaking hands and Gilbert pros. That's the same thing. I'm Brian. I think I'm like, boss, you come out of a giant. It's like, I'm like, all right. And I just love that line. He had a little French accent. There's perfect. And I tell him like that story, Mike's like, oh, yeah. But Mike was a goal scoring machine. And I love the guy. Friendship, off the ice, everything about him. You know, like it's pretty, pretty amazing person career that he had and proud to call him my friend. He left us way too soon. But it's, you know, that darn smoking. So his daughters are bringing a lot of awareness to the lung and smoking aspect of his life and awareness and getting early detection, that kind of stuff. He and Gila Fluren, I think that's wonderful legacy. Yeah, Brian, I do want to circle back. You know, we touched on Barkov there at the beginning. And I thought of it, you know, bigger picture in terms of what that sort of says, or maybe doesn't say, about the state of the game today a little bit. Now you watch hockey. You watch a pretty good two-way player down in Pittsburgh. And Sidney Crosby, who's still doing it at this stage of his career. But do you think that there's been an evolution in terms of like the way in which players focus or cater their development? Like, we don't see as many like well-rounded, elite two-way players in the NHL. And maybe that's part of it. It's tougher to do that and meet the demands while still being offensively gifted. But it feels like it's sort of skewed more in the direction of, you know, pace and space and skill as opposed to being somebody that is just completely well-rounded, but you might not have the same level of offensive ceiling as some of these elite point producers do. Well, I like the-- you know, like, you look as Steve Eisenman's career. You look at Mario's career. You look at-- even Wayne Gretzky, like, he caught-- he took great pride and kill penalties. But he wasn't the first-- he come up towards the end of the penalty, kind of catches the power play a little tired. You know, maybe get-- sneaking off-- shorthand a goal. And those are the talents of the great players, you know, to be able to read, opportunity, deflect pucks off to the side. And when they take that pride, and all of a sudden, they're, like, killing penalties. The pride of taking face off. And Joe Sackick, like, 200-foot player, you know, Peter Forsberg, coach those guys in Colorado, Chris Drewer, young Chris Drewer, and he-- his game away from the puck. Chris, it's not just about what you do when you get the puck. It's-- when you don't have the puck on your stick, where are you making yourself available? Are you pushing the puck to a certain-- so, like, the game away from the puck, I think they had Wayne Gretzky, I think, was-- had the most time with the puck on the stick during a hockey game of six minutes. So, like, when you think about-- the ice time, it gets 20 minutes a game. And the puck's only on the stick for six of that-- six minutes of that 20 minutes. You know, the rest of us, it's even less. So, like, I get on-- I'm passing it. I'm not sticking it down nicely. Joe Bear Perot, or, you know, end to end. But it's really kind of cool when you can make some magic happen. You don't have that puck. And so, the game away from the puck is just as important. And so, the great players start understanding that. And they take pride in that. And then, all of a sudden, the media, and they have success, they start wrecking it. Oh, my God, look at Steve Eisenhower. You know, 160 points. Now, he's getting 100 points, but they win championships. And so, that, to me, was just-- reflects on their ability, not make the transition, but to make that awareness that, you know, the defensive side of the game is just as important if you want to win a Stanley Cup. I've heard Tom Brady reference this quote many times. And it's one of my favorite. You know, they ask him, well, how-- you know, quantify this championship, X championship that he's won. And he always said, my favorite championship is the next one. And you've won six Stanley Cup titles as a player, one as a coach. But I mean, in the moment-- and I'm sure you enjoyed it in the moment-- but do you think that maybe there was not-- or how would you quantify the level of enjoyment in the moment versus now when you look back on what you actually accomplished? How would you sort of juggle or assess that actual dichotomy between, in the moment, how did I feel versus now when I actually look back? Did I actually soak it all into the deepest extent possible? Well, that's a great question. But it's not a question a lot of people ask. But I'll tell you this. It's kind of a fun story because when we won that first cup, we're celebrating. The locker room going crazy. Everybody's-- we're drinking out of the cup in the next two or three days after the celebrations are over. And you're kind of like coming down, right? You say, how the hell am I going to do this again? And how can I keep this feeling? Now that becomes your motivation, right? I want to do this again. I don't want to lose this feeling. Yeah. And now I got to get all my guys think in the same way. So you got 19 other players. And I don't talk to the dance pop in our cabinet. Dance, do you feel like this? I'm sure it does. Many of you feel like this. Hey, if our lead players are all thinking the same thing, then we want to keep this thing going as long as we can. We're young enough. We're healthy enough. Maybe dumb enough. You call everyone I call. But we're just kind of making things happen. And that's really kind of that initial feeling on reflection. Like when I look at it now, and you say to yourselves, mine, what a run. What a great run. What a reflection on. Like Dennis brought it, he kind of pounds us into me a lot. He goes, you know, we won 19 series in a row. Wow. That's wild. That is insane. And that's maybe a tough one to break. Sure. Because there's so many series now. Like when Montreal won their five cups in a row, they only had two rounds to do it. Now, we had four rounds in order to get those four cups. And we almost made it to five. Those creepy orliers came along. [LAUGHTER] With a bunch of all of it. Yeah. And this world I would drive for five, but it would have been 20 in a row, right? So that's an amazing feat. And that's nice to reflect on. But it also gives us an appreciation of who we were playing with, the team that we had, the coaching that we had, you know, the manager. Everybody, there's an appreciation factor that comes with that. So yeah, it's wonderful. You guys notice those little intricacies of like reflection on at the time versus after. But for us, it's such a wonderful appreciation because when we're in there in a moment, yeah, we enjoy the pride we take and the fun of winning. But when we look back, now here we are playing golf. And people are like, what a team you, I always have. What a team you guys had in Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh. So now we get to reflect and get that feeling all over again. So that's the kind of the fun of it. Absolutely. You guys had a team that could kind of beat you in any way. And which I think is, I think that says something about the greatness of those Islander teams. I wanted to ask you, because you talked about being here at this event. And we are at Coppenwood Golf Club for the NHL Alumni Association Golf Tournament. What does this event mean to you? Because this is, you know, you come back to, you know, to spend some time with people that maybe you didn't even play with or, you know, maybe a lot. It's probably a lot of guys that you didn't play with. But you played a game store, you know, you recognize their career. What does the Alumni Association and this, you know, being at this golf tournament mean to Brian Trotche. Well, I think Glenn Haley put it best when, when he kind of revamped the whole idea of our golf tournament. He said, we want to honor the past. And for me, it's the Jean Bellavos. And the guys at Gordy House have played ahead of us. And obviously we're all going to be through the new crop of guys coming in every year, you know, a new alumni. Yeah. So for all of us, we just want to keep honoring the past and paying tribute to those guys that made it good for my generation. Obviously these guys are coming that are playing now, are making a little better for our generation. So like we're all trying to do something for the past. Mental wellness, health of players, you know, to some benefit that we didn't have that generation before us didn't have. So we're trying to honor that, that wonderful history that we have and traditions that we have in the game of hockey. So yeah, to be able to talk about those kinds of things together. So really proud of our hockey guys. As a group, very humble, very, very down to earth. I thought I would have no friends after hockey. You know, he bump a guy up and he's going to hate my guns. And then you beat Larry Robinson. He's the nicest of you being here. I'm like that giant of a man who used to press me against the boards, lift my feet up and hold me up against the glass. I couldn't move until he let me down. I'm like, Larry, you used to drive me crazy. He goes, well, you're just a little guy. I'm like, a little guy, but you know, he's such a big and he's such, I'm so proud of our hockey guys that we can all get along after our careers. Hold no grudges, water under the bridge area, whatever. You know, some of the crazy things we say to each other on the ice. And you know, and we're all coming from the same family. Some somebody, a lot of us from the same background, but you know, humble roots, whatever you're going to call it, but all family, you know, good and oriented guys. But we're all not about ourselves. We're about helping everybody. So like, that's what that's what this golf tournament means to me. It's a really fantastic thing. And I know, I mean, I've been dealing with heels for years in this business. And honestly, like, I just love, I love what he's done with it. And obviously your appreciation for as well. Brian, thanks so much for taking the time for us. Really appreciate it. Thanks, you guys. Make it fun. Thank you. We try. Give us a try. Give us the good work, you hard workers. Thank you. There you go. The bosses are listening, yeah. Honestly, there it goes. Brian Troche, Hall of Fame Hall of Fame forward. Stanley Cup champion, both as a player and a coach, and just an incredible, incredible career. And we go from one Hall of Famer to another and joining us now. Another member of that Stanley Cup winning team, the Pittsburgh Penguins is Mark Wrecky. Mark, how are you today? Great. How are you doing? We're good. So I'm before we get into a whole bunch of things, you know, I'm looking at the roster from that Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup team. And I just say, like, the amount of talent that was on there is absolutely remarkable. Like Brian was at the end of his career there, but still an effective player. And when you look at, you were the leading scorer on that team. And then, you know, Mary only had 44 points that playoff run. And unfortunately, you had 34. And some people are like, hold on a second here. Mark Wrecky had a fantastic playoff. When you look back on that run specifically with that team, what do you remember most about that? Well, it was incredible. I mean, we had such a great group of guys and obviously Trots. I mean, it's tough fall on him. But, you know, I learned a lot from Trots and the guys around, but it was incredible just playing with the group of guys we had. We kind of grew up a little bit together and we had a couple of years. And, you know, it was just a group of guys that Craig Patrick did a heck of a job. And obviously Badger Bob Johnson was a heck of a coach. And it was just such a great run. And we knew New Jersey was going to be our toughest battle. And it ended up being our toughest battle. And, you know, we just about lost in the first round. And we were down 3-2 going into New Jersey without Brasso and Mario. So, you know, we ended up pulling it out, which was good. But then we went from there. Mark, one thing that's always impressed me about your career is the longevity you had. Like you played, you played a long time. And I pay that as a compliment. Like somebody that played and essentially went through various eras and generations of the National Hockey League. Pre-Locker, post-Locker, like you saw it all in different variations. And I guess maybe in the moment you're not fully cognizant or paying attention aware of the fact that you're pushing through and seeing all these different eras of hockey. But at the same time, I guess in reflection on your career as a whole, how much was that longevity piece really important to you? That fact that you were able to experience so much throughout the duration of your two decades in the National Hockey League? Yeah, I mean, it was honestly like, I never, I was hoping I'd play four or five years. You know, all of a sudden it just keeps going and keeps going and you just keep playing. And, you know, I retired when I was 43 and I was like, I never even imagined that, you know, and I just, you know, I don't know why they brought Braga Marie back. But I was very fortunate and, you know, I was able to extend it. And, you know, but I accepted my role at that point too. You know, your last five, six years, you got to accept a different role than what you had. And that was the important part. And I wanted to win another championship. And I was very fortunate to get a couple in my last five, six years. What do you think was the hardest part of making that adjustment? From when you start your career as this prolific offensive player, you obviously have an incredible resume across the board. And again, there is probably a natural recognition and acknowledgement of where you are at any given juncture of your career. But what was the most challenging part of trying to play that long? Like year in year out, I guess I'd imagine towards the end, you're making decisions. Every year like, okay, do I want to keep doing this? So what was that part of that thought process in arriving at those decisions? Yeah, it's just, it's the summer work you got to put in. You know, that's, you know, I was, you know, always very fit. But, you know, you know, you sit down at the end of the year and you say, okay, how much do I have enough in the tank to get me to where I need to be. Come September for, you know, for training camp. And, you know, and then you get to work and you do it. And, you know, when I did retire, I did miss it. You know, it's like, now all of a sudden, I gained a bunch of weight. And I was like, oh, geez, I better get back to some kind of routine. But, you know, it was, it was just a, you know, I, I loved it. And I loved the grind of it. And it was fun. Wasn't a grind because it was fun for me, you know. And it just, it was great getting preparing and being ready. And knowing I was ready for the start of the season over here. Mark, you, you talk about the post-playing career. When you, when you realize the career was starting to wind down and you win that cup with Boston and that's the, I mean, that is the perfect swan song. If there ever was one, win in a cup and say, I went out on top. This is fantastic. But when you, when you, when you're done, you're playing career. There's obviously that drive because that's part of the allure of playing in the NHL. It's that, that constant battle. It's that constant, like, you're just playing, you're being, you're in the moment. And it's, you're playing for something. When you look back on the career and then you look how you got into coaching, did you maybe think you might have gotten to it a little bit faster? Or did you say like, you know what? Maybe I need a little bit of a break to figure out what I want to do. Yeah, well, I took a little bit of a break after, but I got, I got involved in management. I was in management for probably seven years before I got talked into coaching. And I got talked into it. So I, I like, loved the management side, but, you know, so I did take a break to take a couple of years. I, you know, just to be with my kids and coach my kid, my oldest son and did a few things like that. And then jump back into player development with Pittsburgh for a number of years. And then obviously you got into coaching after that when talk at left, they, you know, they, they asked me if I'd go into coaching. So it, it coaxed me into that. I was going to say, because that, that's like, I know people they taught, you know, the glamorous life of an NHL player, like there's work that goes into it. But the other thing too, is I don't think people realize how much work goes into coaching, especially nowadays. And you've seen from your, the start of your playing career to how the game has evolved to today. And there's numbers, there's your watch and tape, like there's a lot that goes into it. Can you just speak to the daily grind of, and not even being a head coach, like even as an assistant coach, even if you're just in charge of the power play, like there's a lot that goes into that. Can you speak to just how much work goes into the day to day job of a coach? I tell you it wasn't how heck of a lot of player better being a player. It is a grind, you know, you're there, you know, we get there seven, eight in the morning and, you know, we're there until, you know, four or five. And on game days, you really don't get a break. You got, you know, you got your preparation. And then, you know, you might be prepared for the next day as well, because we might be back to back. You might be two and three, three and four. It's, it's long. The video is now in, in Columbus, we have a young team. So you're, you're extended video, like you're, you're always working with the young guys to, you know, sit down with them and spend 15, 20 minutes, you know, try and get a day or two a week with each one. And, you know, and after a while, that just, you know, it's just, you know, it's hard. And it's a lot, it's a lot of work, but it's, it's rewarding, though, when you see it, when you see the, the player is grabbing onto it and, and trying to get better and working with you. And, and that's the most important part when you, when you, when you get a young guy that wants to work with you, and even older guys, you know, there's, you know, I loved it when the coaches talked to me when I was older and, you know, it could be different things. And, you know, I love that. So, you know, just that feedback and that working relationship with the coaches. And so, but it is, it's a, it's a long day. Like the head coach is, you know, they have, you know, they always say, how all the pressure is, we could go there. Assistant coaches don't have the pressure. Obviously like that. I mean, but we're all in it together. So, we feel that same pressure and we're, we're trying to get better. Okay. I have to ask you about SID, because you played with SID and then you coached SID. Yeah. And talk about a guy with the evolution of his game. You know, they're defensive, deficiencies in his game as a, as a young player, which there is. That's, that's the hardest part, because it's effort based. And you got to want to do it. It's not necessarily a skill. But now you've seen SID, the player growing and becoming still at, you know, an advanced age for a hockey player still putting up incredible numbers. When you look at that evolution from SID, what do you, what do you say to that? Because you've seen him at different stages, you know, being a rookie and then coaching him when he was a little bit older. When, like, what is the, what is so impressive about the phenomenon that is Sydney Crosby? Yeah. Well, SID, SID is just, he's an amazing person, number one. And, but he embraced, he embraced trying to be a champion right off the bat. And, you know, he wanted to be a champion. You could tell it right away. And, you know, so he was willing to listen, willing to learn from the coaches, from, you know, older players. And he, you know, he's just, he's such a humble person. And he's such an honest person. And, you know, when you have that, and it just, to watch his evolution over, and it just, you know, he's a great leader now. He leads, you know, he just, it's unbelievable. He's a, you, you want a guy like that in the dressing room? Because he builds culture because of his, how he works. And he, he leads everything by example in the gym on the ice and practice. I mean, we, when we have a flow practice, he hated it. He wants to grind. He wants to grind. He wants to daily grind. That's when he, that's when he feels his best. So it's, it's amazing to be around it. And when you have a guy like that, you don't worry about as coaches, you don't worry about the gym, you don't worry, because players have no choice but to follow him as your captain, as your leader. And, and it's unbelievable in practices. Pace was always in Pittsburgh. And I mean, still as their, they, I mean, Sid leads the way. And you got to keep up. Like we, we would bring players in from trades. They couldn't keep up the start because of the pace that we, they played at it and Sid led the way. And it's, when you have that, it's, it's so, it makes life easier for coaches. I don't know if it was Ryan Whitney or Colby Armstrong, but they basically said, Sid is the best first line grinder in the history of the NHL. And it's true. You see it night in and night out. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, he just, you get the puck, he gets the puck down below the goal line. Good luck. Have fun. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he's just like a beast down there. And it's, it's so fun to watch still. And, you know, he, he's, like I said, he's just, he's a great person. He's such a great hockey player. But to me, he's just a, he's an awesome guy. So, yeah. I don't know if you saw this, Mark, but like on Friday night, so Canada men's soccer team beats Venezuela. He visits the locker room afterwards. The one thing that really stood out more than anything. I was struck. His calves, his legs look like tree trucks. I'm like, oh, my, like, we're talking about he's he's standing next to athletes in, in Alfonso Davies and Jonathan David, guys that are at their physical peak right now, right? Like they're in their 20s. They're elite athletes. And this guy looks like an absolute tank out there. It just, it just speaks to how much work and the commitment that he has to being an elite level athlete in every possible way. I just think it speaks to how great he is. And, and, and it's overall a testament to, to his greatness and the impact he's had on the sport. Oh, absolutely. His ass and legs are so bad. And his back. Like, people don't realize his back. Like you kind of look at him and he's like, you know, upper body, but you look at his back. It's like what? Yeah. It's like, yeah. It's like, wow. I mean, he's, he's just a, you know, that's, but he's put all that work in and he does it and he grinds like he, he is a, you know, he has a tremendous appetite to, to be the best and, and can you continue to, you know, find ways to get, you know, stronger and faster and, you know, he just keeps working at it. Yeah. Mark, you pretty good player in your own right, Hall Famer, 1500 points in the NHL. And the 1500 points is great. The 1652 games is something to really marvel at. I don't even know something that I've done 650, 650 times. So I mean, maybe waking up. That's probably it. Thanks so much for taking some time for today. Enjoy the day. It's a beautiful day here at Copanwood. Have fun and hit him straight. Okay. Yeah, that doesn't happen. There he goes. Thank you very much. Mark Reki, all the fame forwards, Stanley Cup champion, coach, you can go down the list of, of all the accomplishments for Mark Reki, just a wonderful, wonderful career and played in some pretty man, pretty tenuous markets, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, a muntry all lost. That hotbed of Atlanta. Oh, you know, when you look so memorable. Yeah. We got to take a break when we come back more on the fan morning show. Oh, yeah. If we can squeeze one more person in here. Matt Marchese, Danielle Franceschi here with you live from Copanwood Golf Club, the home of the NHL Alumni Association Golf Tournament for 2024. We'll be back in a few moments covering the blue J's from an analytical perspective. J's talk plus with Blake Murphy. Be sure to subscribe and download J's talk on Apple Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back. It's a fan morning show sports net 590 the fan live at Copanwood Golf Club, home of the 2024 NHL Alumni Association Golf Tournament. Matt Marchese Danielle Franceschi with you here as we well, we're going to wrap up the four hour banger as we like to refer to it in the business. This has been a lot of fun. It has been fun. I haven't done very many of these as a host as a producer. It's like you've done tons of. Oh, yeah. You know, as a producer, and I'll give Jeff, I don't like to give Jeff as a party. A lot of credit here as he does a very inappropriate gesture my way. He's a pro with this. He's done it so many times for sure. It's not an easy thing like when you're wrangling guests and trying to get them in and out, it's a lot. So I'll give him that credit. And that's the only credit I'm going to give him today because he doesn't deserve it otherwise. The stories we could tell. I'm sure I've had my own fair share of experience. Yeah, you've done this. Oh, I've done it. Yeah, I've done it where we've shown up and there's no guarantee of who or if you're going to get anybody and you just kind of kind of try and I don't want to say course, but work your way through the room and figure things out, man. I've I've done it where we haven't had any guests. So I mean, yeah, that's another thing entirely. But, you know, this has been when we look at the the guys that have run through here today, Glenn Healy joined us in the let me look at a second hour. Second hour. Yep. We had Doug Gilmore and Rick Five and Brian Trotche and Mark Wrecky. Incredible. This has been it's a it's a wonderful thing. And I will say the work that I know Glenn Healy will not give himself the credit for this because I know in my dealings in and around hockey for the last 13 years that I've been in this business. Yep. I know the work that Glenn has put into and along with other staff as you can kind of faintly hear bagpipes in the that maybe that's he'll buy in the bag now. I know he's quite the piper. The work that he has put into making this thing run like a machine. Yeah. Has really been impressive. And the the amount of players that he's helped along the way has really been something that has has gone a long way. And we talk about we've talked to all the players like, what does this mean to you? And these guys are, you know, not they're not they don't they didn't make the same bag as the guys making are making now. But you know, they are in positions where, you know, they go out and they're stars. Right. Absolutely. They go to these events and they help raise money for the other guys. Yeah. And so I think it's a really important thing what Glenn Healy is done with the Alumni Association. It's just it's a it's a really wonderful thing. And I can't thank them enough for inviting us to do the show here today. Very I think we're both in the in the camp over very fortunate to do this. It's an honor to be here. And so just thoughts on on the guests that have come through. We've got some we've gotten some really poignant thoughts. Yeah. Some really incredible people. Well, first and foremost, I guess we'll start with Glenn. You can tell how passionate he is about having this role and being involved in in this particular organization. You can hear and in speaking to him how passionate and how proud he is of what they're building and the work that they're doing. We talk about this all the time in a lot of other sports where, you know, in I think the NFL right off the top of the head, that is the one that pops to mind immediately of the the fact that there isn't always a consistent a level of of assistance and resources aren't always there. It feels like especially with guys like, you know, anytime you have somebody like Glenn Healy involved who is at the forefront of this, it makes you it provides reassurance to all the players, current, former, present past that this program that this organization is going to have their best interests at heart. And there's a through line between them, the National Hockey League, the NHL PA. There is a level of, you know, commitment on all all three of those parts that they're going to help the players as they inevitably at some point or another transition from being these elite athletes who have lived in hockey to now transitioning out of that into a different stage of their lives. And it was just that was the most the biggest thing that stood out to me from certainly from that conversation was just how passionate he was. And you could tell it means a lot to him. And I think that reflects positively and what they've done here today. And certainly all the work that they continue to do for current and past players. It really is amazing. And when you have, you know, the guys that we mentioned that were certified NHL stars, Rick, five, you talk about Brian, trot you and Mark reke and Doug Gilmore, guys that are rolling through guys that we have spoken and there's and there's others that are big parts of the Alumni Association. Definitely. Um, you know, Brian trot you is he's one of the most entertaining people in hockey history. Um, you know, on the ice, off the ice, talking about, um, you know, the evolution of the game and just, uh, and I want to, I know we tie it back to the Leafs all the time, but you know, he talked about learning how to win. Those Islander teams had to learn how to win and that that motivation of once you won once, it's like, I want that. It's like a drug, right? It's you want that feeling over and over again. I don't know what it's like to take drugs. I really don't. But I'm imagining, I'm imagining that that's what it's like. I'm just, I'm not speaking from experience. I swear. Uh, but when you, but when you talk, when he talks about that, to me, that's a very impressive way to look at things. And it's something when you talk about this Toronto Maple East team, they've lost a lot. They've lost a lot in the Austin Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Mealyner, John Tavares era. But one thing stood out to me when, when we were talking with Doug Gilmore and talking about this team, he talked about not trading away talent. And I think, yes, if I could read between the lines, he was talking about Mitch Marner 100%. And I've been up the camp that maybe Mitch Marner is one of those, you know, we talk about it in baseball with Boboshette, a change of scenery guy. Sure. There is one thing about Mitch Marner that is undeniable. The talent level is out of this world. I do wonder about that same conversation about learning how to win. And maybe Craig Baruba is that guy to get it out of them. You know, Mitch Marner for, by all accounts, he was playing hurt, not to the point that he needs surgery or anything, but he was playing hurt with the high ankle brain. Yep. I do wonder about where this team would be if healthy, you know, Austin Matthews was not healthy. William Mealyner was not healthy. Joseph Wall ended up having to miss the final game of the season after being so incredible the previous two. Do you kind of get that same sense here where, you know, it's maybe you don't, maybe you try and run it. I hate saying, I know you're hating it, try and run it back again with a different voice. So a couple things. And you referenced Brian Troche and Doug Gilmore. And there were various throughlines in both of those interviews in terms of, you know, from Doug's perspective, talking about, you know, sort of, you know, working through battle scars and and and and, you know, not giving up on the talent and Brian talking about really the word that came to mind for me when he was just talking about some of the battles that they had been through to get to the point where they had their dynastic run with the Islanders and later winning two cups with Pittsburgh was every team needs a good foil. You need a foil. You need something, someone or another team collection of talent that pushes you in a different way. And, you know, the Leafs, you would think by now, you would have seen and should have a worthy foil at the Boston Bruins, the Tampa Bay Lightning, which it felt like maybe, maybe they've gone over them. Heck, and then Florida, maybe Florida's that like, but you still, I'm, I am, you know, it's funny, if you would have, if this question would have been posed a year ago, two years ago, my answer would have been different. I probably would have said, yes, we've seen it too often. It's been proven time. And again, this core group is not capable of winning. My tune has changed on that because I think making a trade for the sake of making a change is is not the right approach. And if it's not advantageous to your team, like I'm not saying don't consider it. But if it's not advantageous, and it doesn't contribute to the overall betterment of your team, then you don't then don't do it. And that's where I've firmly been in the camp, whereas everybody's just like, ship out Mitch Marner for whatever you can just get rid of him. No, he's the problem. Throw him out the door, drive him to the airport. We'll provide the free escort service to get him to the airport. No problem. And I just, I feel like that is a false narrative. And it, it doesn't, it doesn't align with how you're building a winning hockey team. And who knows, maybe the Leafs are better with Mitch Marner than they are. Even though everybody seems to think it's the other way around, maybe there is still scenario, whereas Doug put it, you just, you can't give up on that caliber of talent because they're hard to come by. Yeah, they really are. And I always say it. Like let's not forget, Mitch Marner is among the 10, 12 most talented forwards in the NHL. Yes, maybe it's probably 10. He's a Selkie candidate last year, not this past season, obviously the season before. He is a perennial 90 point score. Yes. And if you have a 90 point score that is a Selkie nominee, that's as a winger, nonetheless. Yeah. Yeah. That's a great point. That is something. I'm shocked that I'm talking myself in it maybe because Doug Gilmore knows a little bit more about hockey than I do, that he maybe convinced me about that. But it really does feel like this team is at a major turning point. And there is decision time, but I think the right guy is at the helm in Bradshaw Living where he says I'm not going to just make a move just to make a move. It's got to be the right move for this organization. We have a minute left. Oh, and if I can just offer one piece of commentary on that, I've heard this narrative float around. He's afraid Bradtree Living that is this front office is afraid to make cutthroat difficult decisions. I think that's patently false. I don't think that's the I don't think they're capable of doing it because of the way the roster that's the key. That is the key. That's all. That was the point I wanted to drive at. Yeah. Just a quick 15 second, just overall thoughts of today. Oh, terrific experience. Terrific experience. We met a lot of tremendous people. Glenn was great. Love the Brian Trotche interview. He was a lot of fun, but yeah, really enjoyed it. It was it was great to be up here. Yeah, it was a lot of fun and a big thank you to Copanwood and the NHL Alumni Association for hosting us here. A big thank you to all the guests that joined us. John Molinaro, we talked some Canada soccer with him. That was great. Glenn Healy, Rick Vive, Doug Gilmore, Brian Trotche, Mark Rechke, all of it. Thanks to the crew here, Stephen Coyle for all setting us all up. Josh Santos Bass, back at Master Control. I guess Jeff has a party. And Denelli Franceski, you and I will be back here not here tomorrow. We'll be back working tomorrow. We're on 12 to 2. And I mean, we could do it here. Thanks to everybody that listened today. Appreciate it. And we'll chat with you soon. This has been the Fan Morning Show on Sportsnet 590, the fan.
