Noted - Episode 140: Robert Thomas is leading the ship

0:00This episode of the noted podcast is brought to you by Olympia Cababhouse. When the owners are taking a trip to Greece as we speak, you know they take inspiration and cuisine very seriously. Enjoy the taste of Greece at Olympia Cababhouse. All right, let's play some puck boys. This is noted, a St. Louis Blues podcast, four fans by fans. I'm joined by my line mate, Jake Shanis. I'm Brendan Liss. David Feldman is a healthy scratch. Jake, you look like you're fresh off the course here, man. You're looking good. I love the polo, love the Blues hat, retro grade. Where you playing golf? Is that my understanding? Well, that's, you could call it that, but I don't know if you could call it that. Uh-huh. It was, you know, it was one of those days that I know you and every golfer is quite aware of.

1:08So it wasn't golf. It was, it was you're taking, you're just taking swings with a stick. Essentially, it was batting practice. Taking a lot of swings, a lot of L's, you know, a lot of golf. That's showbiz, baby. Yeah. Yeah. At that point, you're just trying to like minimize the damage of how many balls he lose that day. Hope you were shopping at Kirkland. Yeah, I've been rocking the reloads actually. You know, I hear good things about the Kirkland, but I've been getting reload balls. I've never heard of reload before in my life. They're just taking the name brand balls and refurbishing them. They cost under a dollar a ball. Oh, yeah. Gotcha. Yeah. That's been my game. Get some bank for your buck. Yeah. I want to get names. It's getting outrageously expensive. And we're going to get to the hockey, but I got a quick rant on golf real quick.

2:12And it's getting outrageous. I don't know how it isn't St. Louis right now. And where'd you play? A grief core. Beautiful. Beautiful right next to the ice ranked there, huh? Oh, yeah. Same facilities. Beautiful. Beautiful. Yeah, I like that track. I don't know how it is in St. Louis, but in Arizona, you know, you used to be able to rely on some pretty cheap rates in the summer because you have to be an absolute psychopath to be out there in 115 degree heat. And in an afternoon with no cloud coverage, I am one of those psychopaths. So I can't like completely ride it off. But that's the time where you can play cheap golf here. Otherwise, you know, even like a sub park course is a hundred bucks a pop. That's an, that turns into an expensive hobby. And one that gets increasingly hard to justify to my Mrs. And yet you still go.

3:12And yet I obliged myself. Yes. You have that. And you are being obliged. But I do commend you for being a psychopath out there. You know, it's hard enough in this St. Louis humidity, you know, when it's 95 plus out, you know, it, it feels like a wet desert, you know, on those days. But you do get some shade here and there. So that, that does help. Yeah, there's no shade to be had. There's no shade to be had out here like your own. Yeah, you're pulling your cart under just a barren tree. No leaves. And yeah, it still feels like paradise. So you get a little bit of shade and you're like, this is okay. I can, I can tolerate this for the next five minutes. And then you're just taking a shower next to the water cooler every couple of holes. Yeah. Yeah. No need to drink it. No, you can't drink it because it's out of a hose. And like that hose has been just chilling outside, getting dust stormed on.

4:17You're drinking dirt. You're drinking dirt. So you got to bring your own. You definitely, I would advise bringing your own takes a new level of psychopath to drink out of those coolers. But I've tried it. It is horrible. It's gritty. It's gritty water. Well, for a gritty sport. Yeah. Yeah. Not as gritty as hockey and look, I want to let's get down to it, dude. Some big news this week. Our last conversation, Jake, we talked a lot about that leadership group. We talked about Robert Thomas's candidacy. Well, the waiting's over. The the surprise, the cats out of the bag. Robert Thomas is the next captain of the St. Louis Blues. I for one, I'm really happy about it. I know I said I was 99% of the way there to to being ready to name him captain. Apparently, Alexanderstein, the rest of the blues organization, we're 100% they're on equivocal. I'm happy about it. How could you be upset, Jake?

5:17I'm well, there's always going to be upset people, but I for one and not one of those people. I, this is what I expected. This is what I think is the right thing to do. You know, considering how they're setting up the team now. You know, Robert Thomas is the natural choice to be the leader of this younger generation. Because he's still young, but he also still has room for more. And he's our best player. You know, we go as he goes. And I, I loved just like so many other people, obviously ownership and management, you know, how he responded after the Shen trade. I thought that was the audition right there and any nailed it, you know, past. You may not have gotten to the playoffs, but we became relevant and, and we had hope at a time that it was hard to find.

6:18And Robert Thomas was, was leading that charge. Absolutely. That whole first line, but for sure him, right? And it was one of the most productive lines in hockey. There was like a, I don't know, like a 12 game stretch where they didn't even get scored on as a five on five line. That's really impressive. And it's hard to do in, in this day and age in hockey. He let it. He, he led the team. And it's not just on the ice, too. I mean, all the media availability. It seemed like they were talking to him after every single game he was making himself available. He's doing the post games. There was a lot of times where he's the first star. So naturally, he's going to be the one to talk to Andy Strickland there. But he always conducted himself with complete class. And we've seen this from. You know, leaders in the past. And Steve, even parakeo Ryan O'Reilly. Patrangelo, like these guys just made themselves available to the media every single day.

7:22And that's what we were seeing from Robert Thomas. And that's what I love to see, especially for someone who wasn't named captain, but was clearly gunning for it. You can see that this is what he wanted. And he took it on in his shoulders. He took the team on his shoulders. What can we expect from Robert Thomas is here. I mean, I'm not trying to go into like a bold prediction or, you know, whatever. I mean, if you want to give some numbers, but I'm just curious. Like, what does a successful season look like for Robert Thomas? Oh, well, criteria have obviously changed. But ultimately, I think it. It maybe hasn't, you know, I think Robert Thomas just needs to be the best version of himself. We all know what that looks like at this point. And it's, you know, a guy that I can carry the, the freight. You know, and.

8:23I like that. And do it from the front. We've gotten the glimpses. You know, I think ultimately that is probably the number one thing that they're going to be looking at is, can he do that for an entire season? You know, health permitting, which, you know, he's, he's done a pretty good job of being available overall so far in his career. I think that's ultimately what it looks like. And, you know, also in, in how we play like he's got to be the one that sets the tone, you know, for the style that Jim Montgomery wants this team to play. And it, it seems like it's a really good, you know, fit between that style and what Robert Thomas is capable of showing. So I, I think that's it. I, I, I don't believe that he should be judged on whether or not we make the playoffs exclusively.

9:24You know, obviously it's a factor, but. It's going to be in, in how the team plays and how, how together they are. And that's how you should judge him in his first year. Well, he's going to be responsible for that, right? I mean, as a captain of the team and, and we'll get into the larger leadership group. But for me, it's starting on time, starting on time coming into camp, being ready to go, being in shape and ready to go. And by game one, being ready to lead this team. I think that's the first thing on my agenda is, is those first 10 games. We need to see him producing and, and leading from the front. Like we, like we talked about. I think the other element here, as well, is by the end of the season, I'd like to see some silky votes. You know, like I, I know that's a big, I know that's a big ask, but this is a guy who we've seen shut down players like Connor McDavid.

10:30He's extremely frustrating to play against on the defensive side of the puck. We know how good he is offensively. And I do expect him to put up, you know, really solid point totals this year, centering a line of Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggard. But I think that silky candidacy, I'm not saying win it. I'm saying get a couple votes. Put yourself in that radar, put yourself in that conversation. Because I think we locally know that he, he is that kind of player. He has that in him to be that guy. Yeah. But I think nationally, he doesn't necessarily get the respect he deserves. And it comes down to, I mean, you know, the top 20 rankings, the top 20 center rankings. Obviously Robert Thomas didn't make it. And as I look at that list, it's a good list, right? There's a lot of really great players in it. It's really hard to replace anyone on that list in my mind with the Robert Thomas.

11:39If I'm being completely objective here and not a complete Homer, that's it's, it's a good. Those are, those are star players, Jake. And that's you know, whether or not he's getting the respect he deserves. I would argue he's not. But if you look at that list, you say, you know what, that's actually a pretty fair list, all in all, Jake. I definitely think so. I mean, as I look up and down, I'm struggling to see somebody that I would swap out for Robert Thomas. It's, yeah, it's pretty tough, tough to do, you know, but this is a very good top 20 and all the teams in the league would are dying to have guys like this. I do think that Robert Thomas was starting to kind of get that recognition. And that's the end of not last season, but the season before.

12:43Well, this season kind of kind of hurt that progression there. Intruder's, he got a success slow start. And, but I think he was being talked about as potential, you know, on the radar, selfie type of guy until that. And now that he's the captain, there's going to be more eyes on him. I think that he can hop right back in to that conversation, especially if we extrapolate that last stretch there in terms of not just the offense, but the defensive metrics as well. He's able to do that this entire season. I don't think it's really far fetched to see him as a finalist. Because yeah, there weren't a lot of five on five goals going in against us when he was on the ice. And ultimately, you know, to be a real selfie candidate, you've, you've got to have some good linemates with you.

13:50And you can't do it all yourself. If your linemates are weak on defense, then like you're just not going to have the stats to even be considered a selfie candidate. But I have a lot of faith in Robert Thomas is linemates on both ends of the ice. So for sure. And this can be the year where he really announced himself. I mean, you know, you look at Nick Suzuki, right? Like they put him immediately in the top 10. Why? Not just because he's, you know, go to face offs and salad defensively like the dude also put up 100 points, right. Robert Thomas has yet to do that. And this is probably the best chance he's ever had up until, you know, up until his point in his career. And this season is his chance to do that. And if he does like, how do they not put him in there at that point? Like if you're going to give Nick Suzuki that type of type of cred, you're going to have to pay up for our tea. Number nine on NHL network. Yeah.

14:52And this is a guy that I think, you know, he's been kind of softly competing with in that ranking for quite a while. I think Nick Suzuki firmly separated himself this past year. And in quite a big way. I mean, 100 points is a huge number. But, you know, if I'm looking, if I'm really looking at this list and I'm saying, OK, who, who do I think Robert Thomas is legitimately better than right now. I know we're hearing like a lot about Connor Bedard and Leo Carlson, not being better players than Robert Thomas. I don't know that I'm necessarily on that page. I mean, it's hard for me to say that he's better than those players right now. Even though I think defensively, he's he's definitely better than Connor Bedard. And on the face off dot, I think he takes him, but like goal scoring, playmaking. Yeah, I think he's close playmaking. I definitely think he's close, but scoring absolutely not.

15:58Like not even close. Connor Bedard is a freak of nature with with that shot. I'm thinking more like players like Nico, he's here, team Stutz, Dylan Larkin, you know, Dylan Larkin had a great, great year. This past year. And he's been a perennial, you know, top center in the league for a long time. There's a reason he's on this list. Would I rather have Dylan Larkin or Robert Thomas? I'm taking Robert Thomas. That that's me personally. I'd also say the same for Timmy Stutz. I'd rather have Robert Thomas than Timmy Stutz. Personally, why at Johnston, great player, right? Phenomenal player. Five on five. I think I'm still taking Robert Thomas there. That's kind of my take on on on that. Nico, he's here another great player, great two way player. Has he really led a top line in this league? It's kind of in Jack Hughes on that team for me.

17:03But great two way player. And one that I think every team would want on their team. But you know, if I'm pulling hairs here or if I'm splitting hairs. I'm thinking he's better than Timmy Stutz, Loneko, he's here and Dylan Larkin right now. Maybe I would throw a while at Johnston in there. I would also say Braden Point. I'm a huge Braden point fan. As you know, I love that guy. But he didn't have a great season last season. And even so, I feel like he still had like a point per game. But, but I'd have to look at the I'd have to look at the details there. He did not. It's bad season. Yeah, it wasn't his best season, right? It just he got hurt though. He got hurt. Yeah, that that's just that's a tough year for him. But I think generally speaking body of work style. Yeah, Braden point is is I would even say he's underrated. I would I would put him closer in the top 10 in terms of body of work.

18:08But that's probably my bias coming into it. But he's had 51 goal seasons set 46 goal seasons 90 points plus as a centerman. And he's not playing and he's not playing with Kutra off a lot of the time. He's these leading his own line. So, yeah, I mean, I don't know. I would say last season, I'd probably take I'd probably take Robert Thomas over Britain, Jen, but or Braden point. Definitely over bridge and but and I love you, Jen. Great captain. Best of luck to you in New York. But yeah, those those are the four or five. I would say that maybe Robert Thomas could could supplant coming into this season. Yeah, I I fully expect that to happen actually. I really believe in and where Robert Thomas is going.

19:12His relationship to the to the team to the city and the fans and in ownership and steamer. I don't know. This just this this feels right to me and screw all the stats. Like all he's got to do is have that that career year and he is going to be in this list. He's going to knock somebody out. Yeah, it's it's he said plenty of time to prepare for this moment. You know, he's been doing it for a long time now, even though he's still only 27. I don't know. Yeah, like you said, I think he's got the line mates this year to absolutely do it. I think Dylan Holloway, someone who can lead his own line as we saw on the Kyru, Braden, Jen, line two years ago, you know, you could make the argument it was it was Jordan Kyru. Running that line, I'm sure David Feldman would say that was the case. I would vehemently push back on that and say it was Dylan Holloway that was driving a lot of the success on that line.

20:22We're going to go as far as that line can take us because I do think that depth scoring is going to get better this season. But if that top line is clicking at that pace, like that's a lot of pop. It's a lot of pop on that first line. And frankly, we've seen it a lot in the modern NHL game. One line can take you really far. One player can take you really far. But that line specifically is really good, Jake. And the leadership group. Was there anyone in there that you thought was missing or do you think that's just like a perfect compilation of talent and character in class, all of those things kind of put together. Was there anyone missing there? Do you feel like that that's that's the that's the definitive leadership group on this team? I think it's pretty spot on. Like, you know, you can you can make a case for somebody like a camp fowler to have some responsibility just because of his experience. And I still I'm not like just out on camp fowler entirely, you know.

21:27I think he's going to be coming out and running our power play to start. I think that somebody needs to. You know, I still I think it's spot on. I think Colton, for echo, earned his earned his stripes. He said, I want to be a blue. I don't want to be anywhere else. And that means something, you know, no matter what you think of his game or where he's at in his career. He's still only one year removed from a career year. Well, he's the only guy in that group that I don't think has changed a letter on his sweater, right? Like he's he's been an assistant. He has and he deserves to keep it, you know, like I love the group. You know, Jake neighbors. I obviously want to see a lot more from he's probably doing all the things that we don't hear about. I'm working. I'm hearing about it, Jake. I'm seeing him. I'm seeing him work. There have been some workout videos posted of Jake neighbors this off season.

22:27Well, that's fantastic working on his edges, working on skating. Sorry. I believe in him and he still is super young himself. Like it's. He's it's not a it's not a linear path for all these guys. So I believe in him. And I'm glad he has a letter. If if he has that type of respect in the dressing room, then that's who you want. But I mean, the biggest, biggest part of this for me. It's not my guy like Brobe. This is not a surprise to me. It's still in Halloween getting the letter to I mean, I guess I can put them both in the same category of, you know, holy crap. Like these guys just came in and are on the professionals and send it. It's still the highest of the decade, you know, in the NHL. These guys are special guys and, and you know, if we didn't have these other high character guys that we're talking about called pericode Jake neighbors.

23:29Like to me, Dylan Holloway was already standing out as captain material himself, just from how he's shown coming into St. Louis. So I'm super thrilled that he is in that group because it's like you said clearly the guy is capable of leading his own line. It's just special that we're going to get to watch and play with Robert Thomas and Jimmy Stungrude. And I'm just I'm just had for him and he's like, honestly, as much as I love Brobe and make it known to you guys, how much I love Brobe. If I'm buying a blues jersey with a name on it right now, I'm thinking I'm picking Dylan Holloway. I couldn't blame you. First of all, it's a great number 81 great number, great hockey number. I think, you know, we just signed them to a long term deal. You feel like, you know, as long as is the team is trending in the right direction, he's going to be on this team for a long time.

24:32I think that was the surprise for me, but it's like when you think about it, it's not a surprise at all. Look at the way that the guy plays. Does he cheat the game at all? No. Is he does he play it in a way that, you know, St. Louis fans really appreciate sacrificing his body hitting guys laying guys out, getting in the corners, mucking it up. High end skill, great one time shot. These are all things we love. Right. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm just fantasizing about the next time we make the playoffs, like as we're talking about Dylan Holloway, because for some reason, it's just like he's the one that I think of. Like when we're in that biggest game, you know, next time we get the chance, Dylan Holloway is going to be that guy that has those moments where he literally wills a series in our in our favor single handedly, you know, at the point, I just that's what he feels like. Because we didn't have them in that jet series, did we? He was hurt from a hit the right. Yeah, it's like he's a huge difference maker on this team and certainly would have been a difference maker in that series.

25:42We haven't seen him in playoff hockey. He is the perfect kind of forward for playoffs. In terms of where you score goals in terms of how you win games, it's it's done in the corners and the his ability to come out with the puck and make a play. I mean, it's it's right up there with Robert Thomas, right. Yeah, I think so. You trust that he's going to win the battle if he's if he's really in it, not just chasing it, but if he's in it. And it's not an easy, you know, dump out for the other team right away before he even gets there. Yeah, I have he creates he creates extra possessions for our team. Yeah, I love the way he four checks. I love the way he back checks. I love the way he hits guys, even though I'd wish he might. You know, take it a little easy on that front in the regular season, just so you can play all 84, right. You know, but that's part of his game. That's he thinks of himself as a power forward, which is kind of crazy to think, but that's that's how he thinks of himself.

26:47And I love that. I love that tenacity. I love what he brings to the table. He's an absolutely incredible hockey player. He's a pure hockey player in every sense of the word. And on top of that, he has that super high end skill that we have seen flashes of over the course of his two seasons in St. Louis. I love I love the leadership group. There are no notes for me in terms of addition subtractions. This is this is the perfect balance of of character and quality on that on that leadership group. I do think that there is going to be a letter for Jimmy Snuggler, who'd here coming up. I think that you could make the argument, maybe even Jordan Bennington is part of this leadership group without having that letter. But I think he's very much a part of the group in my mind and it's very rare that you see a goalie with a letter, but he is he is that guy.

27:47Now I will ask you is this Jordan Bennington's net or is this ho for a net like who what are we doing on in that position. That was the one thing we did not touch when we did our our starting lineups a few weeks back. We didn't talk about the gold tender and I think that's a very interesting conversation coming into the season. You know where I stand. I think everyone who listens to this podcast regularly knows where I stand on this. I think I think that's the majority of blue fans at this point. And I think everybody knows that this is ho for his net. It's his future. You know that Jordan Bennington has one one year left. I know Joel Hofer does too, but he's, you know, in his mid 20s. Not in his mid 30s. So, um, but I also like this. This organization clearly values having two guys that you can trust and no matter, you know, what Jordan Bennington's regular season stats have been over the past couple of years.

28:55They still trust him, you know, and he's good for Joel Hofer as well. I also think that Jordan Bennington, of course, he's a competitor and wants to play as many games as possible, but you know, he knows this drill. You know, he's done this. He's been on the other side of this type of situation. You know, and I do think that he loves this team and this organization and clearly he's content. He's not demand. You know, you haven't heard anything about Jordan Bennington this all season, you know, maybe wanting out or anything like that. Sure, there's been trade rumors, but nothing from him. Like I think this guy is all in, even if it's his last year here. And I think it's a pretty good situation for us to be in. And ultimately, if Joel Hofer does falter, we got a cup winner waiting for us to help when we need. And for now, it's, it's Hofer's net.

29:55It is Hofer's net. It's Hofer's net. I think every team in the NHL has two gold tenders right now, except for maybe the jets and even them, you know, comery. I think has done a really good job of stepping in when he'll buck is either been hurt or, you know, not very fresh or. I play a lot of games because he'll buck wants to net every, every opportunity. And I like that. And goalie will get more into the he'll buck stuff later. Every other team pretty much has two gold tenders and it's one A and one B on this team, but Hofer's one A right now. And I'm actually shocked. Talk about someone who's not getting a lot of national attention. I know he didn't start that many games, but then to put that in comparison with how many shutouts he had last season and how many starts he had that is impressive. That sticks out to me. I think he was second in shutouts behind Ilya Serokin.

30:59Is that does that ring a bell to you? Is that accurate or am I lying? Yeah, no, that sounds. That sounds legit. You know, I'm not saying Vesna votes. I'm just saying like a little bit of recognition from the from the national media or, you know, EA sports, given him an 85 overall rating. You don't think I saw that I saw it. I didn't like it. Yeah, I don't blame you. It's pretty it's pretty savage. I'm like as we're talking about it, I was just looking for, you know, NHL top 20 goalies right now and came across this hockey writers article and they're ranking the top 32 starting gold tenders and Joel Hofer isn't even on the list. I like I take that personally. I take that personally. Yeah, that is offensive.

32:02It's offensive. He was the best goal tender in the league. Well, not the best, but in that back half of the season when he was getting a lot of starts, man, he was up there. He was putting the points up. You know what I mean? He was his save percentage. His shut out his shutouts. His shut out number. How do you not put him in a top 32 in the league? I got to be honest. This this article is is more offensive than I even realize it first because they got Tristan Jari up there. They they okay. So they have skinner 32 starting gold tenders. So they don't use Joel Hofer. They use Jordan binning tin. But then they put Jordan binning tin 32 out of 32. And I'm sorry like I don't care what you say about it. You've got Tristan Jari fucking Montenbo up. You know all ahead of these Joey Dachord Akira Shmay.

33:09Joey DeCord. Luke and it Buffalo Stewart Skinner. I'm sorry. All these guys are better than Jordan Binning tin. Angel Hofer. Yeah. Dude, they've got surrogate a brovsky at number 29. So you know, okay, this is all suspect. This is all very suspect. And yet it's one of the first things that pops up when you type in NHL top 20 goalies. It's it's it's beyond comprehension. Yeah, you put in brobbrowski in a bottom bottom half of the league. You got I'm taking issue. Yeah. But regardless like that that joke of a of an article aside, the fact that you aren't you like we're not hearing anything about Joel Hofer even in the top 15 or 20. I don't know what the dude has to do.

34:11We're gonna put it together for a full season. That's what he's got to do. Yeah, okay. Well, then maybe that's it because these guys that are supposedly better, you know, I'm sorry. What if they don't? I get it Logan Thompson. He's established himself. He's he's legit. You know, he deserves it. But that's just one dude. You know, all these other dudes. I'm sorry. You just you can't do it. Dustin Wolf. I'm sorry. You can't put him ahead. Joseph. They put they put Dustin wolf after the season he just had. I mean, every goal is better than our goal is apparently. So, you know, I'm out. Then I'm out. Then I'm out. Then I'm rioting. It's there should be riots in the streets. I mean, this is the biggest deal. This is this is let's see here. I want to find it on the athletic and see.

35:14See what they're doing. You know, yeah, we're out there for a place, swing a little D on this situation. It's this is not even no, even the I and I really like the athletic. Yeah, trust somebody. No, see, this is from October of 2025. So I can't I can't. I guess they haven't released one yet for the new season. But you don't see Joel Hofer anywhere. He's just not getting talked about as one of these rising ascending young goalies. And I just don't see how that's how that's possible with the work that he has done here. And yes, bad start. Very, very bad start. But like, let's not forget that he had a good season before this last season also.

36:14And then had a dominant dominant majority of the season last year. We're talking two years basically minus one month. The Joel Hofer has been a way above average goalie way above average. And that's enough to be in the top 15 top 10 in my opinion. So I think so. You're not going to get me pushed back from me on that. That's for sure. I think he's going to be in the running for Canada for team Canada him and Logan Thompson. I think are the top contenders for that job right now. Sure, shit isn't mountain bow. I'll be honest. And Jacob Dobish. He's American. Isn't he check? Check. I think so. He just went to Dismant. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Fair enough. Fair enough. Yeah, I think we can I think we can move on. I feel like we we covered that pretty completely.

37:15Want to talk a little bit about the league right now. We're seeing crazy stuff happening. Macar getting a 20 20 million a av. We're seeing Leo Carlson. Sign huge numbers. Maclin, Celebrini broke the record right after Leo Carlson. And then you got my car breaking another record. And you got Quinn Hughes coming up for contract. What is that going to look like? The dark signs a huge ticket, which I think was actually a really good deal for the black ox. Frankly, what do you look at everything else that's being tossed around? Number one, do you think that's good value for for Kay on the car? And for these other players, let's say. I mean, the kale salad. Oh, he is indispensable. You know, he's the most special defenseman of this generation.

38:16And ultimately, you know, I'm not a GM. You know, I'm not looking at all the cap. It's not your money. It's not my money, but like we what we do know is that typically the best players in the game. You know, can eat anywhere between 18 to 20% of the total cap. You know, that's how it's been done before all these rises. That's where kale is at now. And also like who am I to say it's not good value, particularly when he's one of a kind. You know, I get it. Quinn Hughes is elite. Like he's right there. He's right there. But he is not. I just he hasn't done the same things that kale McCarr has. He has the championship pedigree at this point. The multi norris pedigree. I mean, he truly is a unicorn. And you know, it's hard to argue with it.

39:17Like he Colorado can't lose him. You know, and I guess I don't remember how much Nathan is making. Not that much. Not that much. You know, they've got him sign long term. So he's he's set. He's good. But he's he's in the eight figgy. You know, the A A V right. He's got to be. Oh, yeah, he's well into it. If anything, if anything, I'm just a little shot that kale. You know, he was even pursuing that type of A A V when he shares the ice with Nate the great. That's a little surprising to me, but ultimately it's his right. You know, I don't think this is what kale McCarr was shooting for. I just think this is what the market dictates for a player of his caliber. And when we're talking about value, he's invaluable. He's invaluable. And you can you can basically rip up all all the rules about, you know, gold tenders making 10 mil or, you know, players taking 20% of the cap.

40:28None of that matters anymore with the with the with the new salary cap. It just doesn't matter. Like the rules have yet to be written because there's not enough data to say what is right and what is wrong. I think, you know, players like Leo Carlson and Maclin, Celebrini, Kale McCarr, Quinn Hughes, whatever he gets paid, even, um, career Caprice off. These are good deals. And this is what these players should be paid when you look at, you know, their comprables and other sports, you could make the argument that they're underpaid significantly. And I would make that argument, but the revenue stream is what it is for the NHL when you compare it to these other sports. So that's that's what it is. But I mean, pay these guys as much as their worth. And I think they're worth that much. And I think that makes it a little bit more hairy for our team as you look at guys like Jimmy Snuggaroo, if he has a big year, what is he going to command, whatever, whatever he wants, whatever he wants.

41:39I don't think the guy, I don't think there are guys in our locker room that are going to take objection to Jimmy Snuggaroo, you know, taking, taking a contract that takes advantage of the market that we're in right now. I don't think so either, but to an extent, you know, and really, I know we want to get him locked up before he skyrockets his value, but, you know, like we are in a pretty decent spot, Caprice. And to be honest, like, I don't think we need to worry that much, unless he like puts up 50 goals and 100 points. Like at that point, if he does that this year, then yeah, it's going to get uncomfortable. But I don't get uncomfortable for the ownership group. It's going to get uncomfortable a little bit, maybe for the people in the room, the fan base, you know, this is this is where you, you hope that the guy just loves this team and wants to make it work for everyone, you know, because

42:53you know, look like putting up that season, that type of season basically puts them in a space to where he is making that, that type of money that we've seen dished out this off season, you know, like basically double our highest earners. You know, so if we can keep him closer to 11 and 12, obviously, it's still a lot more than everyone else, but it's respectable enough in in terms of percentage of Cap. It takes him to account inflation. Right. You know, so I think I think, yeah, I might get a little weird, they might get a little weird, especially when Holloway just took in brober, just took the deals that they took. Great bit of business from from our ownership group, but it's going to get uncomfortable. I do, and I hope it does. That's best case scenario for us, frankly, is snuggered pops off and scores a bunch.

43:58And we hope that the draw of playing with a guy like Robert Thomas and Dylan Holloway is enough to kind of get him to take a little bit less, though I don't see a reason why he should or would does that. No, it purely would be because of his love for his line mates and you know how hard they were, you know, I guess that's something that should in theory help us when it, you know, in these negotiations. Do you think it's the type of thing where he's where he even consults those guys like I don't know how this stuff works. Probably not right. Sure guys talk a little bit like any co any company, you know co-workers are going to talk about pay a little bit. No matter how much the owners don't want them to do that. But, but it happens and obviously these guys salaries are public information as well.

45:02You know, I don't know. You look at a guy like Dylan Holloway and just like how hard of a worker he is and he ends up taking less than, you know, what the highest earners make on our team and market. And market. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And with that type of work, I think in skill and production when healthy. Yeah, I mean, that's that's another reason why I love that he's wearing an A was proof to me that he deserved an A. And I just hope that Jimmy Snuggler is watching and just be like, hey man, if you want to make more money than Dylan Holloway and Robert Thomas, you're going to have to score twice as many points as they do. All right, there's your challenge. Good luck. Too hundy. Yeah. Well, that's going to put them in a different stratosphere. But do it. You know, you know, I'd love to see it.

46:02Now, there, there is one thing. I'm going to sound like a boomer, right? Which, you know, no value judgment. I guess I don't want to, I don't want to disparage, you know, my parents or anyone out there who might listen to me. Who might listen to this podcast, but I don't mind guys getting paid a lot of money. That's fine. Good, good for me. The thing that I mind a little bit are these trade requests that are coming in and specifically from what it seems like everyone on the team USA roster. And they all want to go to three markets. They all want to go to Florida. They all want to go to Vegas or they all want to go to Dallas. Surprise, surprise, no income tax in those places on top of just really good organizations, right? That's fine. My problem is you do not want the NHL to turn into the NBA where guys are just moving all over the place creating super teams just going wherever they want because at the end of the day.

47:05The players don't necessarily care about the NHL product, right? They care they they have their own desires goals, dreams, whatever it is. At the end of the day, the reason why the NHL product is so good is because there are 32 teams coming into the season that believe they can make the playoffs. I mean, I can't think of one team outside of maybe Calgary, maybe Seattle, although even Seattle, like they're if they're making moves Vancouver. I would put in that category. It's like there's three teams in this league right now that don't believe they're making the playoffs next year. Name name another league where at the start of the season, every single team believes that they are making the playoffs. That just that doesn't exist. So that's the reason why the NHL is having so much success in my mind is because of league parity is because night tonight and year to year, you just don't know who's going to come home with the mug and who's going to make the playoffs.

48:12We've said this we've said this before every single playoffs. I don't think there's ever been a year where the same teams make the playoffs two years in a row. There's always teams jumping in jumping out. So, you know, it's like Brady going to Florida. I don't really like that. Even though I get it, I understand why that's happening. I don't really like it. I don't like that Quinn Hughes is kind of there's there's there's some trepidation in terms of signing long term in Minnesota because he wants to play with his brothers. That's cool. But like on paper, that's cool. I get it. I understand you got brothers in the league. You're you want to play with them. I get it. It doesn't actually help the local market. It doesn't help the league product because it just be kind of creates this imbalance for me.

49:13And then you look at hella buck. He wants out of he wants out of Winnipeg. You look at Larkin. He wants out of Detroit. What the hell is going on here? What is going on in that team USA group chat? We like winning. I mean, it could be as simple as that is after getting that that taste. You know, that maybe maybe people's priorities have just shifted where it's like they desperately want to replicate that with a Stanley Cup. You know, winnings infectious right in the same way that losing is. You know, so people are totally fair. I feel like people are going to read into it, you know, and create their storylines over it. But like, does it really have to be anything more complicated than that? No, it's very simple. You're right. It's very simple. But you look at what that's why I value a guy like Colton, Paraco, and why I think that says a lot when he could have very easily gone to Buffalo last year, gone into the playoffs and helped them make a deep playoff run.

50:23The fact that he chose here means a lot to me. And when you're seeing all these star players, we're talking captains. We're talking Vezna heart winners. They're all wanting out of their teams. That to me is a problem. You're captain of that organization. I think that sets a bad precedent. I think it sets a bad precedent for the league. But I agree with you. And I think it's, you know, pretty altruistic in some ways, not maybe altruistic is not the right word, but they want to win. And that's fair. That's totally fair. And life is short. You know, these not everybody has a 20 plus career, you know, like Sydney Crosby and Novedgkin. A lot of these guys aren't going to play that long. You know, and the years go by fast. Like it means a lot to these guys to be able to have these moments with their teammates.

51:28And that's that's the the dracularity and brotherhood of it all that we, that attracts people like you and me. Yeah. So I know it's boring, but I don't know. It's like it's understandable. And I actually want to involve brothers, like biological brothers. Then it of course it makes sense. If you are both in that league, you do anything to be able to have a chance at the Stanley Cup with your brother, you know, there's there's no doubt my mind. Yeah, Florida is going to be really good. I do want to talk quickly like Washington. I know we've been chatting a little bit back and forth in the text thread. They are going to be a good team and they're going to be a good team. I think Cairo, some of the additions that they've that they've added the way that they've been able to retool this organization in in real time and not kind of tear it down to the studs and not move on from Ovedgkin.

52:35It's I think it's really commendable and I think carberry is going to have this team ready to go. And they've got young players coming in cycling through contributing immediately. That's going to be a good team. I look at that team and I say, wow, that's that's really good forward group. Yeah, it's hard to argue with that. I mean, ultimately, just like with any team, it's got to fit. You know, there's no guarantees that all the pieces fit together. But, you know, it's a very, very attractive forward group. I mean, I'm very envious of the depth that they have. And they really haven't even fully acclimated the younger pro-tus brother. You know, you've got that sort of kid who is also just extremely good right out of the gate. Brian Leonard. And, you know, yeah, now you add in some of those those veterans like a hot sin dude.

53:40Jenner. Jenner is a great ad. Great. And it plays up and down the lineup. Another former captain. Yeah, he's got great, you know, they'll have great for for sure. You know, their defensive core. I'm not as enthused about that as the forward group. Yes, they a hot sin is a is it is awesome. Chikren's awesome. You know, but you lose car. You need you need you need more than two guys. It's fair. And, you know, that's where I think that the potential weakness could show itself because they've obviously invested a lot in that forward group. And I think it will be good. But if you've got a leaky defense, you know, you're going to get into a lot of shootouts potentially and Logan Thompson could could get cut out, you know, left out to dry.

54:45I could see that. I could see that. But I do think they have, you know, a good mix of high end offensive powerhouse type of talent. And some two way forwards that that can really help out on the defensive side of the puck. It's not going to be Kyru, but I do think he's going to score. I think he's going to score 40 this year on that team. I really do. And we'll see how it works. But I think carbs is the perfect kind of coach for for Kyru and. And look, his time was up in St. Louis. He needed a change of scenery and we needed to move off of him, because I've been steadfast. We cannot win a Stanley Cup if he is our second best forward. And he's not their second best forward on that team. Well, he wouldn't have been ours either. Going into this at this point. That's true. You know, you got Dylan Highway and I think Jimmy Snuggard looks better overall.

55:49So it's a little unfortunate that he could have helped us. He could have helped us. He could have helped us. He would have helped us. But I like what we got in return. I do too. You know, Michael is an interesting player that I think is getting overlooked quite a bit. You know, this is a guy that had, you know, had a 25-ish goal season already and he's a young player. And he's got grit. He's got grit. There may be questions on that. Exactly. You know, these are the types of guys that that you want. You want the more guys that you have on the roster that are willing to go to the net. And it's more likely it is that one of them will do that on any given night. Especially in the playoffs. That's where the goals are scored. It's not always pretty. And it's a part that we, you know, fell short at for.

56:51You know, we have fallen short, you know, three out of the past four years in that area. So increasing our numbers there. I think just gives us a better chance of that being a more consistent part of our game. You know, and Michael fits that. I think Nick Tavish fits that. And really, you know, I think that it's success. If one, if both of those guys have 20 plus goals this year, I think that is a success. That is death scoring. Right. Yes. And, you know, you throw in a pop-up, butch, David, who's going to, you know, his skeleton and all that loose skin is going to drag. 20 goals through the, through the net. It's, you know, by the end of the season, somehow. That's just what he does. It's right. It's how, you know, he's going to do that. If Jakey poo puts in 20, like, okay, we're not complaining about depth scoring.

57:55Yeah, I think the point you make about Jake neighbors. Obviously he's capable of scoring 20 plus. But, butch, David, capable of scoring 20 plus. If we can see some consistency out of him, I think we'd be really happy. You've got Mick Michael, capable of scoring in that 15 to 20 range. You've got Mick Tavish, capable of scoring in that 15 20 range. That's a second line where you can get almost 60 goals out of your, out of your second line. And then you move down the line up. You've got Dallabor Dvorowski. Again, we'll talk about Jake neighbors on that third line. We'll talk about Pius Souter. Also, all of these guys are ostensibly capable of scoring 20 plus goals and have done in their career outside of Dallabor Dvorowski. But 12, I don't think is, is a bad goal total for someone who has stepped in to a pretty significant role on this blues team

58:55before he was really ready to do so. A little bit more power play time. You just, you just don't know. So now you're looking at three lines where you have guys capable of scoring 20 goals a season. There is depth scoring here. And, you know, you remember that year where we had like nine skaters hitting 20 plus. It really looked like we had a team that could make a deep run. Now, I know there's a lot of good teams out there. And there's a lot of teams with depth. But I like what we have. And if it all, if it all clicks, we could be looking at a good season here, Jake. I agree. I think that we again are being underestimated. But I think where I get tripped up with with all this talk of like, oh, yeah, we've got all these guys capable of scoring 20 goals is. Like, yeah, that's, that's fine and all. No, that's great and all you want a lineup of players that are capable of doing that.

59:58The problem for me is what are who who's going to be making the plays to put those players in position to score those those goals. Great question. That is where it gets a little murkier. And we have to obviously hope that Mason McDavish is is one of those guys. Like, yeah, we wanted to put up 20 to 25, but we also need him to make plays for his teammates to set them up so that they can score 20 goals. Absolutely true. And Dala Bordivorsky is another guy, right, that we are hoping will show that he can make those plays consistently to set up his teammates. I don't have any doubt about his goal scoring abilities whatsoever. You're right. 12 is not bad considering the circumstances that he was put in. And, you know, the ice time and all that. Like, there's plenty of reasons to be excited about his goal scoring prowess.

1:00:59Is he going to be able to separate himself, win board battles and make those passes to the slot? That's not a good total for a center. And again, it's having these guys are nice. But if we don't have people making the plays to set them up, then they're not all going to score 20 goals this year. And Robert Thomas can't be the only one doing it because he's he's got two guys. They're going to cash in for him. Yeah, but he's not playing on every line. I think that's great context. And what level of contribution or what level of responsibility offensively is this on our decore as well. I think a lot. I think a lot. Like we we've seen that when our decore is activating night in night out and making plays and not afraid to be a part of the offense as Feldi says to want to play offense.

1:02:02And then the team is a whole let's in less goals. Retend to win more games when our decore so they have a massive amount of responsibility in that. You know, but we also can't rely exclusively on them for that. And I think that's a great point. And that's good context. I think, you know, there's there's there's a dynamic that that is at play here. It's not just that these guys are capable of scoring that total. And I think that's really do need to make plays and drive offense. Not just from a goal production standpoint, but from a playmaking standpoint and a compete level. We we need to see it because last year.

1:03:04If if that's repeated, we can expect that this team might be close to playoffs, but just might miss out. And that's the difference. I want to close this out on a little bit more of a somber note, being in Arizona, working very closely to Mullet Arena and in the ASU hockey team. And obviously, you know, as a blues fan, got some news about one of the blues prospects, Mayich, that he, you know, obviously is in a coma suffered, you know, what seems to be a pretty significant life threatening event. I know they're looking into it, but regardless of of what that investigation entails and the results of that investigation, it's just a really sad story and one that you never want to see to a young person. And obviously their family is grieving their reeling right now. And I think it would be great for, you know, the St. Louis community, the St. Louis hockey community, as well as the Arizona hockey community to really rally around this kid.

1:04:13And what is a really tragic event. So I just want to, you know, put my, put my thoughts out there and send our love to that family because that's, it's just something you never want to see a young person or a family have to go through. And it's not only not all you can do is just send as much positive energy and thoughts there way, you know, because once, once you're drafted to be a blue you and your family are a part of the blues family, you know, forever. Definitely, definitely not, not something that anybody should have to go through. And, you know, just, we just got a hope for recovery. I know they're saying it's going to take a miracle, but hey, do you believe in miracles? Yeah, it's, it's tragic, man, it's, it's absolutely tragic. And it just reminds you of how fragile life is, you know, we, you see these guys, they, they go through war right in night out, the amount of training it takes.

1:05:30But, but, you know, in just everyday life, anything can happen when you drive to work or, you know, it, it just really reminds you of the fragility of life. And, and so, you know, just hug that, how that loved one. Tell your friends you love them, tell your parents you love them, tell your kids, you know, surround them with love. Because you just never know. And sometimes it takes events like this to kind of remind you how, how important, you know, the people and your, and your surroundings, your circle really is. And so, yeah, again, just sending our love to the family and, and, you know, when you're part of this, like you said, when you're part of this blues family, you're in it forever. And just, just really feel for them. And, and so I, I hope that in whatever way this St. Louis team in, in city can provide for them in terms of emotional support.

1:06:32I hope we do it. Because they, they need us right now. Anyway, not, not a great way to, to, and the podcast, but something I definitely wanted to just put on people's radars. And, you know, send our love and condolences to that family. So, Jake, anything else before we, we close things out? The only thing I got is, just that I'm feigning, I'm feigning. And I know that you already know that. But it's starting to get very real, you know, we're cyclos blood is starting to circulate. Really, really, really is, you know, the whispers of training camp and, and prospects coming in people arrive, you know, the players arriving in St. Louis to work out, start working out here and, you know, talking about that short and preseason and, you know, and then even still hearing whispers here and there about potential moves that can be made.

1:07:40And, you know, just, it's all starting to feel, feel really real. And knowing we've got the earlier start this season. I'm just chomping at the bit. And I'm just excited to see this team. Surprise people, because that's what I think is going to have. Yeah, I tend to agree. And I, we're definitely going to get into some training camp previews. Are there spots available? Who do we think might be able to stand out? Are there guys overseas that we are potentially overlooking or should be excited about over the next couple of years? I think that's an exciting topic that that we can get into on the next podcast. But Jake, it's always a pleasure to see you. I appreciate you finishing up your round early so that we could get this in. And, um, yeah, just like you said, I'm, I'm fiending. I can't wait. I cannot wait to get some hockey back on the board here and start watching some hockey.

1:08:40Although I don't necessarily still understand how we're going to watch it. But that's going to be going. That seems to be clarifying itself. And it's not in a way that I'm particularly excited about. But at least we're starting to get some clarity around that subject. You'll be able to watch games. You a prime member. Yes. Well, then you're good. Just give them more money and you'll be fine. Can't wait. Can't wait to choose. Anything for the know. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, brother. All right, man. Well, good to see you. Thank you to our listeners. Thank you to Olympia Kabab house. Thank you to our partners at the hockey podcast network. I do have to read. Actually, I completely forgot our our ad read. So we're going to add that in right now. The way it is over football is here in so's draft Kings. Draft Kings is now live in all 50 states. One app every sport nationwide.

1:09:41New draft Kings customers sign up with code THP and spend five bucks to get $200 and rewards within 21 days. This includes all markets that code is THP and in partnership with draft Kings. The crown is yours gambling problem called 1 800 gambler 1 800 my reset Connecticut call 8887897777 visit CCPG dot org on behalf of boot hill casino in Kansas. Bet tax pass through may apply in Illinois 21 plus and it's void in Canada. Bet with draft Kings sports book to get bonus bets that expire in seven days or trade with draft Kings predictions to get predictions dollars that expire in one year. Event contract trading involves risks of loss. You got should know that predictions offer void in New York. Non withdrawalable rewards issued as $50 click to claims every seven days for 21 days.

1:10:42Terms at DKNG dot CO slash offer limited time offer nationwide based on sports book predictions and free to play sports contest availability and that varies by state my apologies for the late ad read there just completely split my mind when you get in the motion of talking hockey sometimes you just forget things but appreciate the time today Jake thank you to our listeners thank you to Olympia Kabab house draft Kings and the hockey podcast network. This has been noted.