Noted - Episode 119: Blues v Kraken

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St. Louis Blues podcast for fans by fans Jake.

It has been a very tumultuous 24 hours for the blues.

It came down about mid-afternoon yesterday that Colton Paraco,

that Doug Armstrong and Buffalo Sabers had reached an agreement for Colton Paraco,

for the services of Colton Paraco.

Return looked really good as reported by Darren Drager.

We had a game coming just a few hours later.

Hour after hour goes by, no finalized deal in place.

They are waiting on the player approval.

While the game happens, still no final report.

We wake up this morning, still nothing, and then later,

I would say about noon, Pacific time, maybe a little bit earlier.

We find out that Paraco has rejected the move to Buffalo,

and he is staying as a blue at least for now.

This is the biggest story in St. Louis 24 hours before that.

It was Robert Thomas.

Man, could you give the fans of St. Louis any more anxiety,

any more excitement as we get into the trade deadline?

Of course, we will talk about the Seattle Cracking Game last night,

three to one victory, three to two victory for the blues.

But this is the biggest news going, Jake.

How are you feeling today after Colton Paraco,

or rejects, doesn't wave.

He rejects the move outright and says,

nope, I'm not fucking leaving.

Well, I'm kind of feeling a little bit of everything to be honest.

On one hand, the fact that Doug Armstrong was able to get a team

to offer that type of package,

and let's make no mistake about it.

This Murt Cook kid was a Matthew Schaefer away

from being the top defensive prospect in last year's draft.

That's pretty thick when we're talking about a 32-year-old defenseman

who, yes, had a career year last year,

but, frankly, has not been a difference maker offensively this season.

It's been a pretty steep decline

from what was a pretty awesome peak last year.

You couple that with the first round pick.

I mean, it's hard not to get excited about that kid joining up

with Logan Mayhew in an Adam Year check.

That's pretty fucking exciting.

I'm not going to share code it.

It excited me.

But I also feel excitement towards the fact that Colton Peraco wants to be a blue.

Now, my understanding is that he's not saying that he won't wave his no trade clause entirely.

You know, and if he ends up staying,

I'm not going to be hurt by that because this is a guy that's been on this team

for a decade plus now.

He's not a number one defenseman, as you said earlier,

but he's on a reasonable contract

and he's still a good, good guy for this team,

especially as we transition and welcome younger players into a lineup.

I can't be disappointed about that.

With that said, if we get a similar offer

with the same type of value, I'm hopping all over it, 100%.

You know, I mean, I don't think you can say no to a deal like that.

And when you think about, because something we've been talking about

is like, at least you and I, not Felie.

You know, I know we'll get to him and where he stands.

But I think you and I have said on numerous occasions

that there are probably other guys we would rather see traded first

before Colton Peraco.

And I do believe that.

But those players that we would rather trade before him

would not return that type of value in a trade.

So now that we know like that,

another team was willing to give that type of value

for an aging defenseman.

Now I'm kind of like in the camp of I want to do that.

I want to do that.

Now what other team could give us that type of package?

Hard to say.

I mean, at least a team that would make sense that would be in a position

to make that type of offer for Colton Peraco.

That's a little hard to identify.

But the truth of the matter is Doug Armstrong convinced the team to do that.

So that's pretty, that's pretty cool.

And it also goes to show how aggressive he's trying to be

in giving us a proper shake up.

Look, I agree with all those sentiments.

One thing that I just want to urge blues fans.

Do not direct your animosity towards Colton Peraco.

Do not be mad at Colton Peraco for waving his no trade clause

for exercising his right to decline a trade based on the contract

that he has earned as a blues player.

If you want to direct your animosity towards someone,

direct it to Darren Drager.

He reported a trade was basically a done deal before the player had any knowledge

that the trade had gone through or that a deal had been struck.

That I think is a little bit premature.

Now you're putting all the pressure on the player.

And to me, I think, look, as a journalist, you got to get your clicks,

you got to get your money.

I understand all of it.

And certainly being the first to report it, there's, you know,

there's some value in that.

Having said that, he created a pretty shitty situation for blues fans,

for Colton Peraco, for the St. Louis Blues dressing room.

By reporting a deal that had not been done, it could all be,

you know, he could have done it in a, in a, in a different way.

That's, that's my stance on it.

Number two, I think Armstrong really blind siding by all reports,

he kind of blindsided Colton Peraco.

This is a guy who's been with the organization for 11 years.

As far as I'm concerned, Colton Peraco is St. Louis Blues hockey.

This is a guy who has bled for the note, who has raised a cup here,

who has done a lot of work in the community,

is a leader in that locker room.

And by all consideration is a stand up guy.

I don't think Armstrong needs to let Peraco know that he's trying to do a deal

because, you know, you don't have, there's no news until there's news, right?

Like you don't need to disrupt a locker room or disrupt a guy's personal life

when there is nothing to report to him.

So I understand getting, trying to get the, the structure of a deal done.

And then you go to the player, but the fact that this all kind of came out after the report

and you have to go to the player and now it's all up to him,

I think he deserves a little bit more respect than that.

I think he deserves a little bit more respect from Darren Drager.

I think he deserves a little bit more respect from Doug Armstrong,

who now second time in three years, essentially where you've had a trade next by a player

because of the no trade clause that you gave him.

That's a difficult situation, but everything that I said about Colt Peraco,

I'm happy he's still a blue.

I understand the return, fantastic return, very fair.

And in some ways, I think it's almost a steal for Doug Armstrong.

So in some ways, it's like, yeah, dude, you still got it.

You made it, you made a trade for Sanheim.

That was next, unfortunately.

You know, I think we would love to have Travis Sanheim in a blues jersey right now.

But you made another deal for Colt and Peraco.

Got a steel form in my opinion, a first round draft pick and a top,

top prospect, right handed defenseman.

These are good returns.

I'm not unhappy with that.

All that said, I'm happy that Colt and Peraco is still a blue.

This is a guy who represents the city and represents the sweater,

as well as anyone could.

And it's not a bad thing to have a player of his caliber as we are rebuilding,

to have a guy like him in the locker room, to show the new kids the ropes.

And is frankly still a very capable defender.

It's not like he is lighting the world on fire with his goal scoring prowess.

We know it's in there.

However, at this point in his career, he's a shutdown defenseman.

And there's a ton of value for having a guy like that on your roster.

Whether it's a second or even third line, you got a guy who can kill penalties.

You got a guy who can play on a five on six situation.

You have a guy who can play really, really meaningful minutes, 20 plus minutes a game.

That's really valuable.

And I know that there's a lot of discussion in Canada about how maybe he wasn't the guy they should have brought.

Maybe it was Schaefer.

I don't disagree with that.

You know, they probably should have brought Schaefer.

I don't know if it's over a guy like Peraco or over a guy like Drew Dowdy.

But as far as I could tell, Colt and Peraco did not look out of place in that tournament whatsoever.

And he still doesn't look out of place in a blues uniform.

He still performs extremely well.

Jake, any thoughts on that?

And I do want to get to an official statement from our buddy, David Feldman.

Um, yeah, I mean, this is why I'm so torn because like I see benefits to both.

And like we don't want to just get rid of every leader we have and go completely young here.

You know, um, I just, it's hard for me to.

Not like the idea of bringing in not just another first round draft pick that you can use for something good.

But the idea of this six foot six check kid who frankly could have a way higher ceiling than Peraco.

It doesn't guarantee anything, of course, but that's the risk you take when you make these types of deals and you try to accumulate this type of talent.

His profile is much higher than a Colton Peraco.

We probably just wouldn't see it right away, of course.

Um, but that's part of, you know, transitioning from one court to another, you know, you just you have to take those chances.

And if it seems willing to give you that high profile of a guy, I just.

It's really appealing like we're not, we want, we know that we need to trade Justin fall.

But we're not getting that type of return for a Justin fall. No way.

That's probably why this deal manifested is because I think Doug is trying to be pretty stingy and extract similar value to what the flames got for Rasmus Anderson.

And I don't think teams are budging on that.

You know, so this screams of like, Hey, how can I extract some more value?

And, you know, in trades here because it's my last trade deadline.

I, we need to shake up this core isn't working. And who's going to get us good value?

It's players like Colton Peraco or Robert Thomas or Jordan Cairo.

Like if you want different difference making talent coming back to us, it is going to take trading one of those big names.

So like, I do recognize that. And that's why I'm like, okay with it.

But I'm, you know, I'm okay with Colton Peraco staying too.

But that comes with a caveat.

There's a lot of caveats here.

There's, there's so many and no one knows the, the, the perfect answer.

Otherwise, it would have already been done. And we would be hoisting the cup already.

Like, it's not that simple. I just, if we can't, if Colton doesn't want to go and we can't get that type of return for him again from another team.

Like, I mean, we, we cannot miss out on this deadline.

The opportunity that comes with this deadline.

And I'm not going to speculate on like who absolutely has to go.

Or somebody more than one person needs to be traded at this buy in less than 24 hours.

And it's crazy how it's kind of turned from a buyer's market to a seller's market.

Yeah, it's been labeled as a buyer's market.

Like, I know you talked about this last podcast.

You're not the only one that's calling this a buyer's market.

And I'm just struggling to see how that's the case when, you know,

you're, you're seeing some of these returns that teams are getting for like four flying players.

You know, let alone high caliber players, like a Colton Parick go or a Robert Thomas or a Jordan Kyrgyz.

Like, I don't.

What about this screams a buyer's market teams are giving shit up because they want to be aggressive because God damn is it going to be hard to win this Stanley Cup.

Especially if you're in the West right now in the East.

It's pretty tight, man. It's extremely tight in the East.

Yeah, it's tight. I just, you know, I don't see a Colorado, a Dallas, a Minnesota, an Edmonton in the East right now like Florida.

Obviously, we know what they're capable of, but they're not even in the playoffs right now.

So it, you know, of course, you always fear teams like Tampa Bay and no team from Canada, of course.

But I just don't see the same type of gauntlet necessarily that it would take.

I mean, you going through the West, it's like you're fucked round one no matter who you are.

It just doesn't matter, but I think it might be just a little bit easier to swallow this year for sure.

But it is, it is still a tight race.

Yeah, it is, but you're seeing the results of teams really wanting to be aggressive like Buffalo.

Are you kidding me? You're going to trade for Colton, look at the fucking top four you've got right now.

And you're trying to trade for Colton.

I mean, granted, this is a starved team, you know, like they, they can smell the playoffs.

It looks like they're going to make it finally.

But that's not necessarily what I would have expected them to do is go after a Colton paraco, but.

I think they owe it to their fan base to push the chips in.

Absolutely. Well, when's the last time they were able to push the chips in like this?

And they don't, you know, they can afford to give up these types of assets because they've just been accumulating them for like 80 years.

Yeah, don't they have like eight top 10 picks in the last 10 seasons?

Like it's absurd.

It's absurd.

I want to read Feldman's official statement. This is from David Feldman about the declined trade by Colton paraco.

Number one, Colton paraco obtained a no trade clause.

And he has every right to use it very big of him to admit.

I don't blame him for not wanting to go to a cold and depressing city such as Buffalo.

Part for the course for David.

Fair enough.

Two, however, I will still choose to dislike Colton paraco even further after making this decision.

Okay.

Three, we had a glorious opportunity to obtain a young talented, a young and talented future top pairing caliber defenseman plus a first round pick.

And instead, we are stuck with a flawed and aging Colton paraco.

My disappointment is a measurable.

I still hold out hope we can trade paraco to a team with a better climate and living conditions.

Perhaps the Kings or the ducks could provide us with a similar similar tantalizing deal.

Obviously, it's come out today that the the Kings and the ducks are among some of the destinations.

It is believed that he could go to or that he would be willing to go to fair.

Five, while I know Brendan sees paraco as a valuable shutdown defenseman.

I only see good, bad and in between defenseman.

We can find a prospect with a higher ceiling than paraco and get younger at the same time.

If we can get a similar return as Buffalo had offered, it is such an obvious trade in my book.

Six, I'm sorry to add a mere sec.

You have been robbed of playing with your fellow world juniors teammate and making St. Louis a check capital in the US.

If anyone is more disappointed than myself, it must be Adam, you're a sec.

That is so unbranded for for David Feldman.

It's incredible.

And you know, I really can't disagree with with any of the points he made like, you know, taking a shot at Buffalo.

Like, you know, people in glass houses, right?

You know, St. Louis, I think at times gets a bad rep.

I think those of us who live in St. Louis and know St. Louis.

We understand how great of a city it is.

For people who have played in St. Louis, understand how great of an organization it is to play for.

I'm sure Buffalo Sabers fans would say similar things.

But if I'm looking at Sam Reinhart, if I'm looking at Jack Eichel, if I'm looking at star players who have left the team, I'm not sure the same could be said of the Buffalo Sabers organization.

Things might have changed a lot can change in a year, but the optics are not good.

And you have another really big time player who is declined to go to Buffalo, even when there's a very strong possibility of playoff hopes here.

I think that says a lot.

That says a lot to me, but I don't necessarily love the shot against Buffalo because frankly, the best hockey fans in the United States live in Buffalo.

I mean, they consistently rank in the top TV ratings for the playoffs.

They're never in them.

If you look at the top US markets for the Olympics this year, it was Buffalo at the top.

I mean, you couldn't ask for a better fan base than the Buffalo Sabers have.

Frankly, then the Buffalo bills have.

I mean, that's just a sports town.

You know, but I understand his points and I think he makes a lot of good points here, Jake.

Yeah, no, I totally agree with, with all of the sentiments except for the shots that themselves, you know.

There, there is something to be said, you know, about Colton, Paraco.

Being, yes, a quality defenseman, but.

It's not a game breaker, you know, it is true.

And, and that's kind of what I was talking about earlier, just the opportunity to get a player with that type of profile.

And then that draft capital on, on top of it, like, I do think that that could be more valuable than holding on to Colton, Paraco.

As much as I love him and.

I've always been on his side, I've never thought that he wasn't good enough and I, I don't think that now.

But ultimately, they're playing it.

Well, ultimately, there has to be a sacrifice here somewhere, you know, we have to change up this core.

It's not good enough and no, Colton, Paraco's not my number one choice, but like.

God damn, I want that.

I want what Buffalo offered.

That's a top 10 draft pick.

And like Feldman said, a potential top pairing defenseman to add to the mix.

That is the same size is Colton, Paraco and just has a different profile and a much higher ceiling on paper.

Then Colton, Paraco in terms of being in all around defenseman, and it is just really hard for me to say that.

Well, we just can't move Colton, Paraco, even if, if, if we're getting this like we got a taste of it.

Like I do feel somewhat disappointed, but like I don't blame him. It is fucking Buffalo.

Did why did have to be fucking Buffalo that gave us such an amazing offer for Colton, Paraco?

You know, like if the LA Kings call and offer us a, you know, brand Clark and return for Colton, Paraco, I'm saying yes immediately.

You know, they're not going to do that, but maybe because he needs a new deal.

And he's young and he's going to be more expensive than Colton, Paraco.

So like that's something I would do if they're one of the possible teams.

But I don't know, I think it's, it's a weird psychological phenomenon that I'm feeling right now of like wanting to be a Homer and respecting the fact that we've got us.

Extremely tenured St. Louis Blue who's done everything for this organization.

And frankly, he has returned a ton of value when you look at the draft price that we paid for him.

Yeah, it was the body of work.

The body of work, I think is really strong.

It's extremely strong.

And there is no doubt about that, but like getting a taste of what we could extract for him.

And that's where I'm like really struggling now is like now that we've gotten a taste for it.

Now I really want it.

Tori Krueg made it easy for us by ending his own career.

Now, okay, that's really mean he didn't end his own career, but essentially it's over.

Like he took that out of our hands, you know, after we got the taste of saying hi.

But now I just kind of want more of this.

You know, I want to see what else we can get.

Because there's just, there's just a lot of young talent that hasn't even broken into the league yet.

And apparently teams are willing to give us some of that to get some of our best players.

And now I'm just like, wow, I really want this.

And I want a top, a top three pick in this draft at the same time, which would maybe happen.

You know, if we get rid of some of these big names.

So I just like the idea of it for the future of the franchise.

Yeah, and look, I could be.

I could be coming back here in five years after seeing my.

You know, tearing up the league dominating wherever he eventually goes.

Or even if he stays with Buffalo, I could look back on this and say, wow,

we had an opportunity to get a player like that.

What a missed opportunity.

And it is a missed opportunity.

But I don't think.

Paraco deserves the same.

Iron that we gave or.

You know, he doesn't, he shouldn't be the same victim of the fan bases,

but I don't think he's the same player as like a Tory crew.

Because frankly, Tory crew.

I don't believe his heart was ever in St. Louis.

I think he still considers himself a Boston Bruin.

Even though he is still contracted with the St. Louis Blues.

To me, and really, he never lived up to his potential.

I think you could make a similar argument for Paraco.

Although I just, I'm not willing to go there because of what he has provided.

He sacrificed to play with us.

And, you know, like what a difference a year makes.

I mean, would we have been even discussing this last year with the,

with the year that Paraco had offensively?

I mean, you say he's not a game breaker.

He kind of felt like more of a game breaker last year.

On top of the defense that he provides.

It's, it's just kind of a great, it's just been a really weird season.

But I, I totally understand where you and Feldman are coming from.

Like we had an opportunity here to get younger and potentially better long term.

I get it.

I totally get it.

But it feels good to just have Paraco back in a blues uniform and not having to say goodbye to him.

Yeah.

And, and I look at the prospect for next year.

You know, Colton Paraco with Yerasek and Mayu.

On the right side is pretty damn good.

Now, what do you do with Justin Falk?

I mean, I think we're both on the same page.

I'd rather see him traded than a guy like Colton Paraco.

If we can get a deal like that done, it's not going to yield the same return.

I, I understand that.

But from a, from a roster complexion standpoint and from a roster makeup.

I'm actually much more comfortable going into next season with two young right handed defensemen, particularly as Mayday has grown over the course of the year.

I think it's really important to have a guy like Colton Paraco who can take on a lot of the pressure of the defensive responsibilities that, you know, I don't think Mayday or Yerasek are really up to at this point.

So, you know, I'm, I'm looking at next year and I'm, and I'm thinking to myself, it's not the worst thing to have Colton Paraco on the back end there.

No, certainly not, you know, there's, there's always pros and cons to each side.

I, I think a lot of, you know, the feelings around this right now are purely centered in a desire to see some electric talent come to this team.

You know, whether it's by draft or by trade for agency is a whole other matter.

That's really, I think we're just looking, you know, people are looking for a spark.

Man, they want something to get excited about.

We know in this room that there is already plenty to be excited about when it comes to this team.

But who could be content?

It didn't work this year. It hasn't worked the past four years now.

So there's just this desire, I think, among the fan base to like, man, we've got these really exciting pieces.

We have to find a way to supplement it so that we can take that next step back towards annual contention.

Because we're just not there right now.

So hearing about something like this, I just think.

Yes, you're right. The reporter proud like Doug Armstrong doesn't usually he's pretty good at keeping this shit type lift for sure.

That's why that's why you always hits us with these trades that are like, wait, what?

Yeah, that's why I'm so surprised.

It's why I'm really surprised that this came out.

It happened, you know, and it got people's, it got people hard a little bit, you know, little, little job, you know, warmed up.

You know, little warmed up and, you know, we all know what, what comes next, you know, once that begins, you want to see it through to the end.

Okay, I see where you're going.

Yeah.

I mean, the reality is that we kind of got blue ball the little bit in the situation and, you know, it hurts, but you move on.

You move to the next one.

But I, I really think that's what all this is based in that is just we want to generate excitement and what is exciting is accumulating talent.

And players with a profile that project to be higher than what we have currently.

So that's what we need to pursue.

Well, let me, let me ask you this, Jake, because it didn't seem like any of the returns that were possible or projected for Robert Thomas seemed nearly as exciting for losing a guy like Robert Thomas.

Am I correct in assuming that you didn't feel the same way about a trade for Robert Thomas based on what was out there?

Well, I, it's hard to say because like this was the package.

This is what Buffalo agreed to do.

We don't really know what other teams have agreed to send us for Robert Thomas.

Now, you know, I've heard, I've heard whispers about, you know, the whole Utah thing and how they could be willing to give up that the number four pick in last year's draft at day only.

Caleb kid who is definitely profile to be a number one center. I mean, he is absolutely crushing wife right now.

And looks like a potential star.

I would be excited about that. There's no doubt about it. Like, obviously, he couldn't be the only piece. You know, you got to throw us a defenseman too.

You got to throw us a first round pick and more probably.

I don't know if that they're willing to do that. If they were, then I do think that I would feel a sense of excitement, you know, similar to what happened today.

Because Robert Thomas like is a sure is our surefire best player in our most the closest thing to elite we have.

But again, we're talking about a kid who's, you know, almost two points of game in juniors right now plays the center position has the profile of, you know, easily becoming a number one center on whatever fucking team he's on.

I think that that would be exciting. But overall, I'm definitely not as excited about the prospect of training Robert Thomas.

Because it's, it's, I mean, he's our best player like what more needs to be said like that's a tough pill to swallow.

And a team has to pay way more than what they have to pay for Colton perico.

And I said last podcast that I think that teams will be willing to do that.

But it's, it's obviously a lot harder to pull off.

Yeah, it's harder to pull off. And frankly, it's harder to replace.

You know, like you can project as a one C. That doesn't mean you'll be one.

I do think it's a lot easier to replace a defensive defenseman like Colton perico, you know, top four, let's say defensive defenseman.

Then it is to replace a guy like Robert Thomas.

So, yeah.

Like that's, that's another fact there. Like Logan may you looks like he could be, you know, that replacement that's already here and already improving.

Whereas like what center on this team is just like waiting in the wings to be Robert Thomas.

None. We don't have that.

Very few teams really do.

So getting into May day, because I do want to talk about last night's game against the Seattle Kraken.

I know we want to lose games. I get that nice to see a win though.

And I have to say maybe Joe Hofer is a little bit too good for what we're trying to do right now.

Because he really saved our bacon there towards the end of the game and really throughout the whole game outside of that first.

You know, pass off the pads to Jane Schwartz.

I was vintage era like he's always in the right place at the right time.

He still looks great. By the way, Jane Schwartz is still a gamer.

Really great to see him last night.

But Logan may you.

All right.

Gotta talk about this kid because dude, he looks something happened over the Olympic break.

He must have been on the ice twice a day and just really working on his craft.

Because what I've seen from him over the last couple games is just a complete turn.

He looks like a different player.

He looks like he's ready to assert himself and be a different maker night in night out.

He gets the wrap around goal last night off of like a nice pass from Robert Thomas.

He makes a shot from the slot following in on the rush.

And then he completes the play by following it up.

And with a beautiful wrap around.

I mean, this kid.

He does really look like a tantalizing prospect right now.

And the way that he's been able to learn on the fly, especially.

I have to give him a ton of credit, especially after the first half of the season that this kid had.

People were saying he's the worst defenseman in the league.

And statistically, that would it would be backed up, right?

So you have to have some kind of mental fortitude to come back and have the kind of back half of the season.

Let's say that he's having, I mean, to get some kind of confidence back.

After the first half of the season, I give him a lot of credit, Jake.

Yeah, I mean, it's, it's really impressive.

Honestly, you're right.

Like the blow blow blow back he was getting in the first part of the season.

That, that was probably a lot for a young kid to take.

And like, he is a rookie.

This year, which is, it's crazy to think about.

Just because he got a cup of coffee with the, with Montreal, doesn't mean that he's a, you know, a veteran hit this point.

Like he is on paper eight rookie.

He would be eligible for the call there this season.

But he's not eligible because of that first half.

Well, because you know, it's safer, dude.

Like what?

You know, like what are we talking about?

It's awesome.

They may not have been win.

Like, shaper may not even win, which is insane.

Because, Senuka is is absurd over 50 points already.

That's insane.

Yeah, way more than any player on our team.

Oh, Nana.

Oh, God!

Joe, this fucking deal.

High flying offense, great coach, whatever.

Yeah.

Yeah, and your boy cutter, obviously, helping out there.

But.

go score the cheer. Cutter. Cutter. The quarter. You know, I love Logan May use game right now.

He is flowing out there. He his facial expressions. He just looks calm, composed, confident,

and I see a player that is choosing the right times to be aggressive and push up the ice.

And then in the D zone, it just like I can see him. He looks structured like you can tell that he's

like structured and intentionally trying to reposition himself in the D zone. Once the putt carrier

has gotten to a certain point or beyond him, you can just see that he's connecting the dots a

little bit better in terms of his positioning and processing. I've been really impressed by his

processing. Like I think it's gotten much quicker. He is computing the gameplay around him and

making smarter quicker plays. Yeah, ultimately, you know, that's that's being connected, you know,

to your teammates. And also, you know, he's choosing to be a guy right now. Like he wants to be the

guy ever since the break ended. Like and he's honestly has been our most dynamic defenseman

in these four games since the Olympic break. It's it's it's pretty sick, honestly, to see because

like he's showing like different things. Also, it's not just he's not a one trick pony like the

wrap around goal last night. Like that's that's the ending of what what we've seen, you know,

is a willingness to activate and really being a part of the rush, making good passes like,

but the wrap around, you know, that's a new thing. But uh, that's new. That's a new move.

He honestly should have had more than one last night too. Like he was he was he was he was he was

absolute dynamite and like a very clear contributor. Um, if not, you know, leader in creating

offense for this team. Yeah, like it's a notice of whole difference in our team offense with what

he's doing and how he's joining the forwards. One offensive minded defenseman and a guy who can

move the puck and a guy who can skate and a guy who can shoot. It changes the whole look.

I mean, you saw what Camp Fowler did for the season last season for what he did for this team.

It changed the entire DNA and we looked like a competitive capable team. I think Logan may

you it's not to the same degree, but it certainly looks similar in the way that he's able to attack.

Um, he's just been very noticeable. He's been very noticeable and and for all the right reasons.

Now you still see him. Maybe at times biting off a little bit more than he can chew. There was

a moment last night where he tries to skate it out himself, try and make a move. He loses the puck

in our own zone. These are things that he's going to learn. Um, and these are things that he's

learned over the course of the season. You have to pick your spots. And I think at times he's been

more selective with those opportunities. And you're, you have to live with the warts as a guy is

developing. And I think that he's been able to do that extremely well. Again, I have to give him

all the credit in the world based on what we saw in the early parts of the season. He has brushed

that all aside and said, I know what I'm capable of. And I know what my teammates and what my coaches

expect to me. I believe I'm capable of producing. And what we're seeing is a guy who is

more than capable of producing who looks like he could be solidly in the top four defensive

pairings of this team going forward. Yeah, I think at the end of the day, like what's,

what's most encouraging is that like he's kind of reaching a point now where

when he touches the puck, like, you kind of start to feel some excitement, like, oh my God,

something could happen here. Like just that simple fact is, is enough for me, you know, because we've

we've been kind of craving more of that and more players to provide that level excitement,

like a Jimmy Schneider or Robert Thomas, obviously. Um, on the defensive end, we haven't really felt

that way about anyone this season, maybe minus Philip Broberg, who also still makes mistakes

from time to time with with the puck. Um, but I just, I think that's really awesome. Like,

we literally went him in this trade. Again, still not done. It is still not final. But look at

what's happened this season. They have gone on completely opposite trajectories where Zach

Balduk scored a goal every game to start the season. Now he can't even break the line up.

Logan, may you can't do anything right at the beginning of the season, still getting minutes,

but does end up getting, does end up getting scratched, uh, you know, some games and now he's just

getting better and better as the season goes along. And I just like this, this, this, this is what

it's all about. This is how, this is how you get better in the near and long term by making those

types of tweaks when the team as a whole isn't getting it done. You need things like this to happen

to get you closer. And I just want to make one more point when you said about excitement.

When that puck goes low to high and it goes to Logan, may you right now and he's just firing

immediately. I believe anything can happen. Like he's got a pretty good sifter. Like the type of

wrist shot that just kind of gets through all the traffic and gets to the goalie. He's got one of

those and we know he's got a big bomb as well. But that's what gives me excitement is now we have an

option when we go low to high. We have a guy who's willing to take a shot and who is a scoring threat

and has got a hot hand at the moment. So yeah, it's like when he gets that puck there, I'm, I'm,

I know he's going to fire it or he's going to make a good play. That gives me a lot of excitement.

That's how you score goals, man. And having a guy like this right now who who is growing in

confidence, I think it's, it's brilliant for the team. I do want to talk about another line.

The Shen, the Shen Thomas, who else was on that line last night?

Nagi? Snuggie. Yeah, I really liked that look last night. Now there's some other lines that I

wasn't as thrilled with. But the Shen Thomas snuggler route line, I thought was really good,

particularly that pass that Shen made to Thomas in the middle for the goal in the third period.

That was an elite pass. And you know, you, you kind of see the, the, the verbals after the

goal is scored in Robert Thomas. It's like, what a pass, Shenner. That was awesome. I do want to

ask you though, like there was something different about Robert Thomas' body language last night.

I don't know if you got a good read on it, but it was different. It was a little different. I

thought kind of during parts of the game, he didn't look all that engaged. He didn't have

just quite the same sharpness or edge to his game that we're usually seeing. And how could he?

I mean, after the week that he's had, it would be pretty hard for me to, for my heart to be fully

in on hockey at this moment. And I thought the post game press conference was really, it was

really interesting as well. Didn't get into the trade topic. He was certainly kind of nudge

in that direction, but I thought he handled it beautifully. I'm curious what you saw from him.

I have my own thoughts, but you know, what, what'd you make of that?

Of the interview or his play? This is play and interview, really both. Like just the whole,

the whole body of his work last night. I mean, I think it, I'm not really going to complain

about any of the player, his body language on the ice. Like, I mean, it's another multi-point game,

you know, like, and it didn't feel like it was his strongest game. Not at all.

Not at all. He still ends up with two points there.

You know, the body language, it's so hard and we only get, we only see what we're shown,

you know, so it's tough for me. I've been critical of this body language at times,

but I really liked his interview. Like, to me, it can be interpreted in different ways, but

the way that I read it was that this is a guy who has been listening to the noise. You know,

it's there. You could tell. You could tell it's on his mind. Of course, it's on his mind. How could

it not be? I mean, this, this really has not been a good season. And by this time last year,

we had already picked it up like pretty heavily. So, you know, we're not really it. He really had.

He was the best player in the NHL for that time. That's not happening this year,

but obviously he's been dealing with injuries. I, I, man,

this is just, it's challenging. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Like, because

what I might perceive through that interview, I mean, it could just be, obviously, it could be

totally wrong and I'm okay with that. It's just, I thought that I saw a guy on National TV,

he. Try and show that he's a more mature player. That's kind of how I read it. That he's

somebody that is relishing the responsibility that he has, wearing that a on his chest.

And also putting the noise behind him and doing the best that he can for this team,

regardless of where we are in the standings. I thought it was actually really encouraging.

I think that it could be, you know, seen as like, oh, maybe he's just trying to look good for

whoever's going to make offers for him because he wants, he wants a better situation and doesn't

have an appetite for a rebuild or a three to four year process. That could be true, too.

But I'd like to believe that it's more of the positive mindset for being a leader in St. Louis.

That's, that's kind of how I read it. Yeah, I'll just talk about the interview right off the

bat. I thought he handled every question beautifully. He, he, it was clearly some kind of script

going there. But like, I think, I think he just handled it with incredible diplomacy.

I did see a leader there. I, you know, one could make the argument. There was so much like kind of,

it was almost dispassionate. So you could make the argument. Maybe this guy knows this is his last

game as a blue or it feels like it could be his last game as a blue. And he's just giving, you

know, an interview that was extremely professional and didn't have a lot of other fluff in it. But I

thought he handled himself extremely well. And about the performance, you didn't see the same

excitement after he scored the goal is you usually see the big, big smile and just celebrating

with the teammates. It almost dissipated almost immediately after the goal was scored. And he was like,

you know, it's almost like he realized, oh, yeah, I'm still in trade talks. That's kind of what I

thought I saw. But who knows, who knows what's going through his head. It's got to be a lot no

doubt. But what I saw from his play, I saw a guy who didn't have his fastball last night and still

ended up one in one getting a goal and an assist. If that doesn't tell you what kind of player he is,

I really don't know what does because he was extremely effective last night and getting on the

scoreboard and getting a result for the team, even with him not looking like his normal self. And

some of that could be injury. Maybe he's battling something. Maybe it's the mental side of the game

where he's just been grinded down over the course of the season and with everything in the headlines

you know, hockey playing that hockey game was just one of the things on his mind. I don't know.

But what I will say is again, I was extremely proud of that performance. I was extremely proud

of the way he handled himself in the interview. If that is the last game that Robert Thomas plays

as a blue, we can ask for nothing more. He's given it to us. And he's given us a lot of good memories

over the years. I hope by Friday afternoon when we play our next game, he's still on the team.

And I know I'm a homer. I know I am not always the most visionary armchair GM where I'm looking

five years ahead and saying how good could we be. I'm of the opinion that Robert Thomas

is as much a part of the DNA of this Blues team. He's been as much a part of our success and our

failures. And when you have a horse like him, you got to ride him. And I think we've set it

before. We're not that far away. It kind of seems like that based on the standings and our

performances this year. I still don't believe that we are that far away from being in playoff

contention. So that's kind of my peace on it. I will say there are some weird lines that came

out last night. I was not overly thrilled with the Pauvel-Booch-Navitch Jordan Kairu Jake

neighbors line. They didn't look that connected all night. I do like, I do like Pauvel-Booch-Navitch

at a center position. Like he has looked really good since switching to center. I just don't know

that was the combo that really worked for us. I mean, we talked about Robert Thomas and not having

his fastball and still being productive. What is Jordan Kairu's excuse? I have no idea. But he did

not do anything as far as I could tell last night. And certainly didn't help that that line gel

because I saw Pauvel-Booch-Navitch work in hard. I saw Jake neighbors work in hard, but they just

weren't really connecting on a lot of passes last night. And I don't think I want to see that line

ever again. You mean like you third line players playing with the Jordan Kairu, who's

clearly no more than a second line player? I can't imagine why you don't like that line.

Yeah, I get, I mean, you can put it like that. That's fine. That's not really how I was reading it

or seeing it, but I mean, fair play. Well, I mean, that was our second line last night. And,

yes, Pauvel-Boochee has been one of our best players for a while now, but I don't think any of us

are really of the mind that he is just this automatic top six sure-fire guy,

whether he's playing center or wing. Completely. I mean, it's tough to kind of wrap your head around

because like, you know, without thinking about how they look last night, you know, if you

told me that that was going to be a line, like I probably would be intrigued by it, you know,

particularly because of the work ethic of Pauvel-Boochee and Jake neighbors.

Theory, it should work. In theory, it should work, but I guess the issue with it is that you don't

have like, like, who's the guy on that line? Like, it should be Jordan Kyrie, right?

It's only one game. I think that that line, you know, with some repetition could do some damage,

but like, in this scenario, like, you are asking Jordan Kyrie to lead the line and, you know,

hey, this has kind of been a conversation we've been having for years now. Like, he may not be

that type of player. You can be on some nights. He certainly looks it, but it was the link-up play

for me. They just did not look connected. The one touches just were a little bit off, and that's

not Jordan Kyrie. That's the other guys as well. They just didn't look like they were on the same

page. Maybe they do need more time. I don't know, but I just hated the way that it looked,

and I didn't like the results either. So, you know, I don't know. Like, Jordan Kyrie, he was

active last night. He had the puck on his stick. He didn't really do anything with it.

All the twirls in the world can't get you to the net, or any chances on goal for the other

guys on the line. It just, it didn't seem to work. So, yeah. But I did like the Dallabor divorce

kit Dylan Holloway line. Conversely, like, you know, Pia Souter, I think, not always the fastest

player, and it looks like he's maybe lost a step over the course of the season due to some of

the injuries he's been dealing with. But, you know, Dylan Holloway, another goal last night,

off a great link-up play in the Ozone. He just goes straight back door, and who was it?

Fall, who found him back door? Great play. Fowler. Oh, yeah. Fowler season.

The best pass. Yeah, no doubt. I mean, I thought he had some questionable plays. He also had

some pretty decent plays last night. I like the look of that line. I think Dallabor Divorsky and

Holloway together is a really interesting look. Yeah, I agree. You know, I don't think it was

necessarily Dallabor's finest night, and obviously he's been a little quiet since the Olympics,

which we've talked about. But I'm not really worried about him. I think putting him with a

player like Dylan Holloway who just just works so hard. It was Dylan Holloway the type of player

that can lead a line for you. Um, I mean, it sure looks like it from time and time. Um, you know,

here's the thing. Like, because I'm obviously thinking about what I had said about Jordan

Cairo, and now you asking this question. Yeah, sorry, and I probably ruined your trying to

thought there, but no, no, it's totally fine. Actually, it helps. Um, Jordan Cairo, and you said

this in the past that one of his greatest traits is availability, right? The dude's just been super

fucking healthy in his whole, in his career. Very fortunate to play as many games he has. You know,

Dylan Holloway has not had that luxury, you know, and like, so it's kind of hard to compare the

two. Not that I'm necessarily trying to do that. But like, the reality for me is that when Dylan

Holloway is healthy, um, yeah, he like does everything. Um, and he's just a massive difference maker

and just gives this team energy. Jordan Cairo does that too. But like, only half the time,

if even, you know, like, that's my biggest problem with him, you know, is like, the skill is

there. It's just inconsistent. Like, it's, it's all off the Puck stuff with Jordan Cairo. He was

irrelevant. He was irrelevant last night. And I think we've seen games like that from Dylan Holloway

for sure. But I also think that he wasn't healthy during those games because like, he looks healthy

now. And, you know, when he was healthy last season, before he got hurt, like, he was showing that

more consistently than like any player on our team minus Robert Thomas. So like, he really is

starting to convince me that he is that type of guy, you know, um, and with what we know about him

being a rink rat and just like, being the last to leave, he just, he lives in Breed's hockey.

I don't think he really cares about anything other than being the greatest possible hockey

player that he can be. Um, and, and I just think that it shows like, and I think it shows more

consistently than some other players on our team. So I, of course, want to see this manifest over

an 82 game schedule. I want to see him stay healthy for an entire year. I think ultimately, we

can't really pass that type of judgment on him until we've seen them. Um, but each shirt looks

good when he's healthy, man, like he, he, he looks like a leader out there, um, who's willing to do

anything and everything or this team, not just score goals. The biggest difference for me between

Dylan Holloway and Jordan Cairo. And this is not trying to compare them. I guess it is. We are,

I am comparing them, but it's everything off the puck, you know, like Dylan Holloway is capable

of doing some similar things that Jordan Cairo is capable of doing. I would say Jordan Cairo is

probably a little bit more capable with the puck on a stick. But without it, Dylan Holloway has

everything that Jordan Cairo doesn't. I mean, when you talk about being on the right side of the

puck, when you talk about going into puck battle, said he should lose and wins. When you talk

about getting us extra possessions, he gets it terms of work ethic on the back end. Incredible,

you know, like the back check, the work on the walls, like he's, he's there. He's doing it.

That is what Jordan Cairo is not doing. Um, that's not the type of player he is. He's gotten better

at that. But that is why I think it works so well for them last season is because Dylan Holloway

does do those things. And together, they're able to create magic. So that's why I, I still want to

see that line. I still want to see, and frankly, I think it should be Dallabor Davorsky, Dylan Holloway

and Jordan Cairo all on the same line. Put them on the second line and see what they can do. There

might be, there might be an element of, you know, does Dallabor Davorsky have to defer a little bit

to let those two. But I think it actually opens up his game a little bit. You have to worry about

Jordan Cairo and Dylan Holloway flying around. Dallabor Davorsky can easily get lost in that mix

and find quiet ice and be available for a shot or do some work down low, like whatever he needs to do.

I think he's shown that he's willing to do it. But right now, that is the second line of the future.

If nothing else changes, it is those three. So I'd like to see them go together. And I think, I think

based on what I've seen from, from Pavel Bucinavic, I would move him back up to the first line and

have it go, what we thought this lineup was going to look like at the start of the season. Pavel

Bucinavic, Robert Thomas, Jimmy Snellgarood. Now you've got Dallabor Davorsky instead of Braden

Shen or Pia Souter in that second line. But you got Dallabor Davorsky, Dylan Holloway, Cairo

on that second line. Then you go Pia Souter, Shen and Jake Neighbors on that third line.

Like that to me feels like a really solid top nine that's capable of doing damage. But I know

we're not looking for wins right now. So it's kind of a tough position. But now you've got three

games. You got three wins and four games. And it's just like, what is this team trying to do to me?

What is our plan here, Jake? Our plan is the same as it's always been. But like their plan,

that's what I'm referring to. It's the same as it's always been. It's look like shit so that

everyone doubts you and so that everyone's for sale. And then all of a sudden start playing

good hockey and looking like a real team and making things interesting and giving us hope that

we have the right pieces in place. And it really does kind of seem right for that right now.

And it's just obviously I love watching winning plays hockey. But god damn like I've been like

I've said it before. I just think that this is such a unique opportunity when it comes to this

this year's draft where we're like not so bad that like well we got to tear it down to the

studs and we're going to be awful for years to come. We're going to need many top five picks over

the neck like we're not that bad. But yet we're so close to being able to get a top two top three

pick without being that bad. And I just don't think about it's not really the case in the NHL

from you know every year where where the teams at the bottom are like in that type of state.

It's like if you're at the bottom you're just you're a shit team and yeah you're not good with some

fucking time. Yeah you're not good. We see Chicago slip like dude we are one point behind Chicago now

like we're one point behind Winnipeg like my god the shit that these teams are starting to fall off

and we're starting to play better and it's like fuck we're going to end up with a god damn 14

15th pick you know which I'm which we're great at but like that transcendental talent that we just

so great for um we have an opportunity but we are going back to your lines though like I

I do agree like I want to see Jordan Kyra with Dylan Holley again um centered by Dallabor like

who who obviously isn't as fast as them but what he is fast in his decision making and um

get it in that that puck up the ice and you know thinking about Jordan Kyra with Jake

neighbors and Paula James which is like you're with two of the slower players on our team.

Like how could that ever be a fit you know like I'm not saying

that Jordan Kyra shouldn't transcend that and you know make that line better single handedly

as one of our highest paid players um because I do feel that way to an extent um but I think like

stylistically like it does make more sense to have somebody like Dylan Holley who can at least come

close to matching that speed so that Jordan Kyra can play in you know the effective style that he

has. I'm sure that David Feldman would probably say the same thing about you know him playing

with with Jakey and and Bucci you know it's like well of course he's not going to do anything

he's playing with two tortoises you know like how could he possibly be effective um you know

I think I think that he's never has that excuse no he's still being productive so I don't know

well oh you know this is this I guess this kind of happens with like the the more skill

type players in the league you know they get sheltered um from from the hard parts of the game

you know and and need it's always got to be because of who's around them so that they can be

effective um you know must be nice being the highest paid player on the team and uh having that

luxury but uh I know someone else does by the way no one else of our highest paid players have

that excuse but we got to make an exception we do um but you know I'm open to whatever I just

want to see some excitement I want to see some assets coming in that like we get really excited about

while maintaining our trajectory towards the top three pick um that's that's really my main focus

and you've said it like a thousand times now like compete and lose like look good losing like

that's probably best case scenario at this point for sure for sure all right hot showers dude

let's get it taken care of who do you got in the first hot shower

hmm

ah well this one's hard for me because like on one hand I think it should be obviously Jill

Hovert um because he was a stud last night and looked like a uh not that he hasn't at multiple

points a season but he really really looked like a little Jake did a mid starting goal tender um last

night um but I'm sorry I'm going with Mayday I am going with Mayday for the body of work since the

Olympic break not just last night because I think that the changes that he's made in the conference

that he's building is I believe having the most massive impact on our team right now

like the difference that he's making in our team game in our team offense and our excitement

levels when we're in the ozone he's doing the thing that allowed us to make the run last year

that we made and and and that's the defenseman activation and just willing to join and help the

forwards want to score goals I think right now it's one of the biggest impacts on this squad

and why we've taken three impressive wins since the break second most time on ice for defenseman

and he did not look one bit out of place last night huge step forward for for Mayday for sure

gotta give it to Joe Hovert though he clearly did not get the memo of what we're trying to accomplish

like hey we need you know we need we need some losses and Seattle pushed and that was when

you know you needed to break but he didn't and again it just makes me think

we've we've got a good goalie we've got a good goalie tandem but if Bennington should go

I am very confident with Joe Hovert back there so he's in my first hot shower Jake second hot

shower Joel Hovert like you know I mean there's more to be said he would talk with electric

we got flip flop the little bit you know and I see cases for both um you know I think that

Joel Hovert was just absolutely electric last night and athletic and getting all sorts of love

on national TV from the broadcasters and um it's great yeah I mean it's it's over he is our

goalie of the of the future and and most likely the present yeah I got Mayday for I don't need to

state anything else that you've already said because you said it beautifully but Mayday is definitely

in my second hot shower third hot shower who do you got this one this one maybe even harder

um and you know just because uh we had some really strong performances last night um you know

honorable mention to to my my my guy Brobe obviously for just being so silky smooth out there

butter butter it's just buttery breakouts just pop your attention and starting breakouts it's no

big deal it's routine apparently and I'll like even though no one else on our team can do it um

so I mean I thought it was a pretty routine play on that one but it was like no it was six but there

was something about it they just made it look better than normal I don't know why maybe it's

because of of how he spun away and then use the you know the past to himself off the board yeah

and just made it made it look so easy but like you and I both know okay it might be a routine for

an elite NHL player but there was nothing easy about that no I agree I agree totally

that uh even for for a good player you know you're going up against NHL competition

you made it look much easier than it actually is correct um but he's not getting my third hot

shower despite how much I want to shower him always I'm going to give it to I'm going to give it

to the captain and Robert Thomas you know I like that I like that because I can't really leave one

of them out um I do think that they showed tremendous leadership in the game last night um

I think it's really difficult to beat a team even like Seattle who you know was in a playoff spot

both of these games to beat them twice in a row home in a way and in a short window of time when

they were like really desperate to win last night um I I think these two guys really really

showed a lot of composure and leadership um oh like at a time where we're hearing

I mean maybe the most I mean this is the most noise we've heard in quite a while you know like

I mean we did trade Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Teresenko in the same trade deadline

100% we did and those were grizzled veterans who helped get us a cup but these are also

30 plus year old players who are still good but past their prime

and now we're talking about Robert Thomas right now we play an elite playmaker in this league

and it just feels different in some ways it is it is I didn't mean to

especially your comment no you weren't degrading it it's just especially like

with how many young players we do have right now and how many more we have coming

and just like just a state of things I thought they handled it beautifully in shenner

with a three assist night that's not the missing he's at he blocked shots he hit people

incredible um it's incredible on the first line that's first line production

it's first line production that's everything you want and I don't expect to get it every night

but what I do expect and what we've come to expect out of brain shen is that he's going to bring

that leadership regardless of whether he's putting up stats or not um and and and Robert Thomas was

just the little engine that that did not just could but did even on his off-night and the interview

I just want one last thing really quickly about that interview because earlier you said

you used the word dispassionate this this might sound strange but there was a part of me

that sensed more passion in that interview compared to like the interviews he does locally with

valleys I don't know why because like he he's kind of monotone let's be real like most of the time

but somehow that interview to me felt like there was a little bit more passion and I just can't

describe it but it's kind of irrelevant the fact of the matter is they produced

they won a big game against a desperate team in a playoffs spot and I think it was impressive

yeah maybe dispassionate was the wrong adjective to use it just it felt very professional

and I agree with you there there was something more to it and I think there's a lot of subtext

and whatever was going on in the facial expressions in the in the words that he said in the

questions that the reporter asked there's all that stuff going on so it is indescribable you know

it's it's hard to it's hard to describe what was going on but it was a really interesting interview

a really good watch um for my third hot showers I'm I'm going the same direction that you did

shame shame shame and uh and Thomas just a really professional night from our leadership team

right there um in a moment where we really needed leadership and uh they they pulled the rope

I'm going to put one more name in it and that's TJ Oshi TJ Oshi on the national broadcast

was singing our praises pretty much all night understanding we are in a difficult position

I thought he handled it again extraordinarily well he said things very delicately um but he also

noted how amazing of a place St. Louis's and why it would be difficult for someone like Colton

Paraco to wave that no trade clause he was extremely complimentary and you can you can see

that he looks back on his time with St. Louis very fondly I mean he he said multiple times he

thought he was going to spend his whole career in St. Louis and and part of me wishes that he did

right um but he was one of the pieces that had to go for us to eventually win a Stanley Cup now it

wasn't the the season after or multiple seasons after but he was one of those dominoes similarly

to what we're seeing this season with the names that are being tossed around the fact that he

looks back on his time with St. Louis and that he can speak about us so fondly and be one of the

ambassadors for the team despite having some really really strong connections to the Washington

Capital's organization um I really just loved the way that he carried himself last night and the

way that he talked about the blue note um and I think that deserves some mention here wow I love

the call out it kind of seems like they've been given TJ the majority of our national broadcast

truly he's been very consistent and like the the excitement that he uh that he shows towards

this organization in the city like um and I don't know if ESPN is doing that on purpose or not

but oh he's been very vocal about how much he was he how pissed he was to be traded like he was

not happy and he's still not over it he said that himself he's still not over it he still thinks

about it I think that just speaks to how highly he regards our organization Jake yeah and I think

players in general regard our organization that way that's why they veto trades to playoff teams

you know like with um it's uh it's a special place to play as as he's been and as we all know um

you know and and I I think it's uh we we should appreciate somebody like that going on national

TV consistently um and singing our praises because it's only going to help our brand more we

aren't like we have a strong brand you know we've played in three winter classics like

we're no joke we show up we show up but when you've got like this man rocket

name tj just like constantly gushing over how good of a place this is to play like that that's

going to continue to trickle down to players um and it's just going to only reinforce what we already

know here yeah he's doing all the advertising for us man and it's great I love that he gets so

many of our games because I think he's fantastic at what he does just from a you know from a

from an analyst perspective from an insider perspective he understands the game he's got so much

respect across the league and the fact that he respects our organization so much to talk about it

in the way that he does in a season that has been less than sparkling um I think that

I just I have to throw him in a hot shower and get him in there with the boys

so anyway this has been fun dude I'm sorry that we didn't get Feldman I know that he was really

eager to talk about the Colton Paraco stuff at least we got an official statement we'll be back

on Saturday to talk about Friday night's game against Anaheim right and the deadline and the

deadline so we'll talk about Anaheim we'll talk about the deadline conclusion and and what the team

looks like um following all the the carnage potential um but it's gonna be a tough task against Anaheim

I believe they've won like 17 of their last 19 they're on they're on a heater I that's an exaggeration

but they are an extremely good hockey team right now coached by uh St. Louis legend

Joel Quinnville so um anyway that's gonna be an enticing tilt and uh looking forward to what the

next 24 hours bring so you know buckle up your seat belts hold on tight we got a ride ahead of us

all right I'm ready you ready I'm I'm geared up I'm ready to go I'm anxious but I'm ready to go

this has been real we'll see you next time thanks to Olympia Kebab House thanks to our listeners

we appreciate it again hold on tight gonna be a bumpy ride this has been noted