Sabres vs. Lightning, Avalanche vs. Wild, and Trade Deadline Takeaways

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2:18Welcome to the hockey video cast. My name is Dimitra Filippovic and joining me is my good buddy Thomas Trans. Tom, what's going on, man? Well, been a fun week of NHL games, I mean, and fun week of NHL news. The trade deadline was wildly interesting, I thought I thought this was a really interesting window into where the markets evolving, like a really fascinating stress test for teams just across the board. I thought there were some interesting teams that decided to keep their powder relatively dry. I thought there were sky high prices on right-handed sentiment and right-handed defensemen. In particular, I was surprised by how affordable left-handed sentiment, who are of equal or better quality than some of their right-handed counterparts, how depressed those prices were. Did we even see a big time trade for a lefty defensemen? It just felt like it wasn't even on team's radar as a priority to add.

3:21Yeah, I guess I'd say Mackenzie Weger because I believe that he's better on his left side, but he's probably a true righty. True righty, yeah. I mean, right-handed defenders, right-handed sentiment, those were the premium pieces. You got to be productive, you got to be tough, you got to be big, you got to be able to crash and bang and play play off hockey. That's what teams will pay for. If you don't meet that description, like if you're just a solid defensive piece, especially if you're left-handed, even if you can play center and win some draws or an ace on the penalty kill, like the value didn't seem to be there for you. So I thought it was a really, really interesting deadline. I also was surprised by how frequently teams actually were still willing to pay to get off of problems, right, or at the very least in the case like Ryan Strome, right, which I sort of view as a part of the Nazum Cadre sale, right, the flame sort of take on 5 million in salary this year and next to upgrade at center in the wake of trading, Cadre, but that was a seventh round pick.

4:21Yes. I thought the extent to which teams are still willing to, if not pay, then give away for free, term that's inconvenient. So I think that's sort of an interesting window to and to where the market's going. This is clearly a market that behave very differently from what we've been used to during the flat cap era where we're sort of just getting for lack of a better term woke to what the cap growth era is going to mean in terms of how teams behave in terms of what the trade deadline looks like. Are you saying the woke took fun trades from us? No, I actually, I don't know, I think I actually think a flat cap is woke. I'm going to go ahead and say that. But the, I thought we got a really good glimpse into where the game's going at the deadline when you just still it. And I'm excited to get all into all of that, but also into some of the incredible games that we've been treated to over the course of this weekend. Well, that's the thing. So we're recording this on Sunday evening later. Then we typically do and we were going to start earlier, but then we started watching

5:25Sabers lighting and we realized pretty quickly on that we had to just watch that game and enjoy the spectacle and then record right after. And so we are recording about 48 hours after the trade headlines passed and you know, we spent this weekend using the opportunity to digest how things shook out on Friday allowing to settle in a little bit. We wanted to circle back and take a bigger picture of you, I think, of where things stand league wide coming out of the trade deadline and we will do so and maybe we can even kind of use that as part of this discussion. But as you noted on this Sunday, we got a banger back to back essentially out west with Minnesota first Colorado and then followed by the Eastern Conference matchup, the Atlantic Division tilt for first place in the division between the Sabers and the lightning and we're recording right after that and we're not going to treat it necessarily as our typical post game show, but it really does feel like that because I think you and I are both pretty electrified coming out of that eight with seven win from the Sabers and I've got a lot of notes on both games as well and you know, that's going to tie into I think

6:27naturally our conversation about the trade deadline, particularly because I wanted to start with a conversation about the abs who are clearly the main team dominating the headlines because of their activity, the volume of trades, but also the significance of them capping it rather fittingly with the Nazum Kajri trade right after the final wire. And so I don't do want to start with the abs or do you feel like lightning Sabers was so good that we almost owe it to ourselves and our listeners to just embrace it change our hierarchy here and just get right into I think that was a special regular season game. I think that was a regular season game. That was less a regular season game and more a novel, right? The I mean, the lightning certainly treated it like a playoff game and I think that's the ultimate sign of respect for the Sabers team in terms of having our attention, but also clearly Tampa Bay's. Well, and Tampa Bay came out to fighting immediately so they were treating the Sabers with the sort of respect that they give the Florida Panthers. We're going to actually try to hurt you, which I think is telling in and of itself, right?

7:28There's no there was no moment at which the lightning didn't view this as, you know, a really important one, a game in which you want to first of all sort of put the shell lacking that the Sabers put on you a couple of weeks back in the rearview mirror and be potentially, you know, come out and sort of give a young upstart opponent a challenger in the heavyweight sort of Atlantic division, something to think about in the back of their minds when the puck drops on your potential second round series in eight weeks time. And I thought their intention, their bad intent, the way that they were finishing hits throughout the game, how they were celebrating goals, right? Like beefing with the Sabers players after every goal they scored. You know, I thought all of that spoke to a Tampa Bay lightning approach where they wanted to administer a punk test where they were trying to win five games in one. And, you know, that's like that was championship level swagger that the Tampa

8:28Bay Lightning showed and it looked like it was going to pay off until the Sabers recovered. Yeah, each goal reminded me of that clip of Scott Hartnell scoring and at front goal and then immediately getting in a fight with Deon for enough from back in the day. And that's the vibe here in terms of, I mean, listen, the seeds for this were planted in that game that you're mentioning where Buffalo near the end of February coming out of the Olympic break went into Tampa Bay on that second leg of a back to back after beating the Panthers, the previous night and really handed it to him. I think the final score was six to two. And as that game progressed, even the broadcast at the time was talking about how like the lightning were almost trying to set the tone for this upcoming meeting between the two and the significance that it would carry. And we saw that right out of the gate. I, I mean, this game is so many twists and turns to game that finishes with 15 combined goals and a hundred combined penalty minutes and like 70 shots on goal or whatever between the two teams. But it started early on with exactly that were the lightning were kind of going out of their way trying to almost bully or big brother. The Sabers to be like, yeah, well, it was, I mean, Hagel and Sirelli on every

9:30single play. Yes, we're just like the bash brother is just getting in after it. Well, Kutra was mashing guys too. I mean, it was a full team. We're going to finish every hit and play with some level of intensity that, you know, it's probably not playoff intensity, but it felt pretty close. It did. And I loved early on that the Sabers were like, all right, feel free to do so. We're just going to burn you on the power play. I believe their first three goals were a scored with the man advantage and then the lightning come back, take a multi goal lead. I thought we're the game really ultimately flipped. And we were talking about this while watching it here together in studio was Lindy Ruff made the adjustment up front. Yes, of bumping Zach Benson up the line up. He essentially started using this makeshift line with him. No, Oesland and Tage Thompson. And Benson made a number of plays that I thought in very fitting fashion dragged his team back in the fight to the point like we talk about how underrated his guy is. The play he makes is set up back Mallon's science goal. Yes. In the third period, he gets the primary assist on it. But even the Sabers broadcast goes out of its way to essentially crop him out of the highlights on the replay

10:34and not even mention what he did to set the table for it with his beautiful anchor play in the neutral zone with his back to the defender where he gets it to him with a clean run away like totally willing to take the hit. And then by the time, you know, he makes it down the ice to join his teammates in the celebration where he made the key play. I mean, nice finish by Malinstein too, but he made the key play to open up and set up a two on one. Sorry, I think it was actually Sam Carrick. Oh, it was a carrot. Yes. But but he makes the key play to set up a two on one that Carrick finishes. By the time he makes it back down the ice in in typical Zach Benson fashion, despite having been absolutely mashed on the play, just laughing his head off, right? It was an incredible like cue the Woody Woodpecker music. No, I thought I thought early in the first period right before Hagel sets up Kutra for a gorgeous go ahead five four goal that the lightning score. There's a sequence where there's sort of a dump in opportunity at one end

11:36and Matthias Samuelson doesn't finish his guy along the wall. And the puck goes the other way and another similar like ringing hard hard rim around the at this point, the Sabers net. And Jack Quinn goes to make a play on the puck. And I don't remember which lightning player it was, but it gets absolutely destroyed. Like the similar like the lightning were intent on playing playoff hockey and it was a playoff hit on Jack Quinn around on the boards. Play goes the other way. That's where the Hagel goal comes from. And in that moment, I thought to myself like I think the Sabers are going to need to elevate the players that have the stomach for this type of game. And it took them a little bit too long in my opinion to do so. And you know, then the lightning sort of add kind of a kind of a weird goal on that York Strait or was it point that point rush chance that Owen Power ends up putting into his own net off of Byron Skate. And it just felt like the lightning had

12:39a sense of how they had to play to win the game. And I wasn't sure if Buffalo had enough horses to do so. Once they stacked the deck, because it wasn't just that they went Osland and Benson with Tage Thompson. And Osland and Benson are two guys that I think absolutely had the stomach for that type of environment. And then I think Norris and Josh Done played with Tuck, which was, I think likewise, two absolute dogs with another one of your high end scoring forwards. And then you know, from that sort of ten minute mark of the third on, like I think that third line was Zucker Quinn and Zucker Quinn and the center would rhyme a cloud. I think they only played a bit. They only played like three shifts. Now Zucker ends up scoring a key game time goal. So it's not that they played poorly, but they also shortened their bench, right? They really did sort of keep it to you know, I think they're the guys with the speed and the doggedness to hang in that type of

13:40game with the lightning. And I think it switched the game. So kudos to Lindy Ruff. You know, I haven't been overly impressed with his work in Buffalo, but I thought that adjustment completely turned that game on its head. And he demonstrated exactly the feel that he needed to, like they needed to lean on the players that were going to make the types those types of winning plays in an environment where the Tampa Bay Lightning were going to play to take their heads off on every single opportunity. Well, part of this is due to the fact that Benson gets hurt and in one of their final games before the Olympic break, then he misses their first one coming out of it. And upon re-entering the line up, he winds up on the fourth line. And you know, Peyton Krebs, who I think is a more limited and more inefficient offensive player has to his credit been quite good. Nexotage Thompson has really made a bunch of nice offensive plays in the meantime. But I do think this is the logical blueprint for the Sabers in terms of getting Benson up there. And you know, there's an element as well to these types of games, which are very emblematic of

14:41playoff hockey, especially as you progress later into the later stages of the postseason of understanding the assignment, which you're talking about where like, at some point, you need to treat it differently. And Benson had this other play that didn't result in a goal or anything where he's kind of skating into the offensive zone. I believe it was Connor Geeky, who just like very visibly obstructs him long after the puck's gone. And instead of complaining or, you know, just stop playing or allowing it to rattle, you Benson just goes right back at him and takes him down. Yeah. And he's like, the reps aren't going to call it. No. And so that's because they've already let the other guy get away with interference. Yes. And so like, yeah, that was awesome. You need to play that way, essentially. And when they need, they need the guys who are capable and have the instinct, the first instinct to play that way, to be the guys they're leaning on. You know, I mean, the Sabers have some really good players that I don't think quite match that description. I don't think there are players that aren't going to be useful for the Sabers. But once you get into games against teams like the lightning that

15:44know how to win when the chips are down, that's where I think having a guy with Benson's level of nastiness or the Josh Done game winner, right? And I mean, forget that he's puts the rebound home and gets the goal. Obviously a huge goal. But it's the play after, so they come up ice and it's a double drop set entry. And I don't remember who the puck carrier was who ends up with it on his stick, but he fumbles it. It's a sloppily executed double drop and and don't salvages it with like just nice the puck like hustles nice the puck and then wins a 50-50 along the wall just to get the puck down low again. It's not like he controlled possession and made an incredible skill play, but that moment of dogginess because he he also on the on the play that they end up drawing the penalty on. There's a lightning chance and they're sort of doing some fun stuff up high to create. It's kind of like a three on two. It's his back check and his stick lift that causes possession to change leading to Byram drawing the slash that sets up the game winner. Like that was it wasn't

16:47it wasn't a dusty because he didn't draw the penalty, but I mean he's he sort of created the environment where Byram draws the penalty with pure dog and then his hustle play at the at the offensive blue line gains them possession leading to Dolly and hitting the post and and don't putting home the goal. So that's the those are the sorts of plays you're going to need to be able to make especially because as we saw with like that incredible Rasmus Dalin goal the obviously the Zucker finish like this Sabers team has the sort of skill you need to negate a team that's playing you the way that the Tampa Bay Lightning played them tonight. Like they have the sort of skill to go toe-to-toe with the Tampa Bay Lightning. That's an incredible place to be in like that's that's the sort of requisite level you have to hit to but it's insufficient you also have to be able to take a punch and we learned today that the Sabers can take a punch. Oh undoubtedly and you know there's so many we've talked about Benson don't certainly with the multiple goals and all the plays he made

17:49you know Dalin considering how much he was being targeted by the lightning and not allowing it to rattle him and coming back with the goal to make it seven six I believe in third and then getting that shot through ultimately to wind up winning the game. This game had it all it was high event it was peak competitiveness it had the adjustments it had the storyline of you know the incumbent in the lightning even though they've lost in the first round the past couple of years still like what they represent in the lead hierarchy and our belief that they're either the first or second best team in the east and then this upstart Sabers team that's been playing remarkable hockey for about three months now but it's still relatively untested and unproven and this is kind of uncharted waters for them and it's only a regular season game we're still in early March we got about 40 days left until the playoff start but man if this is a taster for what's to come I think I'm you and I are incredibly excited and yes and this is what the Sunday specials all about if we have a chance to talk with a Buffalo Sabers gosh darn and we're gonna do yeah all right let's put a pin in that

18:51because I'm actually doing a saber show tomorrow for the patreon and so I'll get more into that then let's pivot and talk about the other game today that really captured our attention and it was out west the abs and the wild we got to see I don't want to call it not some cottage debut I guess reemergence on the abs it was this debut and in a second stint with them sure reintegration into the lineup sure nicoa played against the stars on friday in his first game but was once again is it a sequel if you get a second stint with with the team is it a sequel sure let's go with that I don't it doesn't all that matter what a weekend for the abs yeah because you know they dominate the trade deadline of course they land cadre on friday um it adds to their deadline hall of of him nicoa bread kool-acc they beat the stars in Dallas in a really fun game where they come from behind I believe in the Valentian scores with the internet with 13 seconds 13 seconds left they win and shoot out and then beat the wild here on sunday um two high event entertaining dramatic finishes

19:54against their two biggest rivals in the division now they're not going to have to beat both teams because one of them is going to be out before they get there in around two tilt um but still it was I thought very interesting in this game in particular because as you and I were talking in the aftermath it was very telling the way the wild approach this game um in terms of how they played it what they're trying to do especially once you got into the later stages of this we've been focusing a lot from the stars perspective if they're the team that gets through that round one matchup and faces the ads and round two what they're going to try to do and I think the the Tyler Myers and Michael Bunting acquisitions the deadline were very telling on what their approach is going to be in terms of trying to drag the game into a special teams battle and stay as far away from five on five play as they can I think a wilder better equipped to pose some of their own challenges at five on five yes but I think still ultimately no one's going to want to play the ads five on five until their power play proves that it's not a weakness and you know they

20:59scored a bunch of power play goals before cadre made his redebue um in that stars game they didn't and had a couple opportunities early on I did like what I saw though from nature's being in that shooting flag on the left and he really should have scored at least one if not two goals and had great looks and walls that made a remarkable save on one the other one I think it might have hit Brodie in front out of still don't know how it didn't go in yeah um but I like that wrinkle we saw a little cadre on one of those opportunities had a great look where as a left shot he comes over to the middle of the ice and works that triangle with him natious and McKinnon and gets a great a look from the slot the walls that's able to fight off so I think all of a sudden now there's starting to figure out some adjustments and kind of problem solving methods that are going to hopefully lend themselves to this postseason setting where it's not going to be a liability for them and they're not going to be a league worst power play and even a league average one for them is all of a sudden going to put that thread in the back of your mind if we can't afford to you know mix it up like this and just try to beg for calls and try to draw stuff and really go out of

22:01our way to initiate and the wild did that here and they were pretty effective because they nearly stole this one yeah they killed the road and and you know they were up to one after that and equals term uh shorthanded breakaway goal but I thought that was very fascinating and like I said we still have a lot of runaway to the playoffs teams aren't going to necessarily an empty the bag in terms of all their tricks and what they're going to try to do in a potential meeting so we need to keep that in mind but yet it was still a fascinating watch it was instructive yes I think it was instructive more than anything else because that game lacked the playoff heat that we saw from Tampa Bay tonight in Buffalo I thought that was a game that felt more regular season felt more like a you know like uh take the measure of a potential playoff opponent a division rival as opposed to a you know we're going to come in and try to big brother you and try to win five games in one yeah get get some get some stuff on tape and then we can reassess what for sure but I but I but I did think that the way that the lightning were working the referees john hines was working the referees in an incredible amount even just as captured on broadcast uh in that third

23:06period I thought there was basically no play where the wild weren't appealing for a call of some variety um and then you know it worked right like the the Caprizov uh slash that he drew um which he didn't sell to be clear like them I'm not suggesting that he did but it was just a soft call on to chushkin on that slash uh sort of in the high slot after Caprizov was cutting in uh late in the third period that's a super high leverage penalty gives the wild a chance to really put them on the brink in that game uh and then well ryan harman did the opposite of what we just said zack bansan did yes that that ryan harman I mean how many times have you seen ryan harman strong on his skates in the blue areas just sort of waiting to tap in a puck uh based off of what zookarello and Caprizov are doing with their weird mind meld stuff puck movement right I mean impossible to push over when he wants to be yes um no I thought it was a really fun game I thought the wild certainly um and I do think this is instructive of what you probably need to do against the

24:11staffs team because you cannot really afford to defend them in zone the way you might have a different opponent and I did think the wild did a good job with sort of their they did it helps when your goal is making a lot of big saves and also if he's not playing at that level maybe it looks a little different from the sequences where you're building up two three score and jats at a time ultimately dams gonna but I thought in the third I thought in the third like I would say I mean I think the underlying numbers have them like 10 attempts 10 attempts but in terms of who had the puck and who was trying to create I felt like the abs probably had like 65% of it and they you know they weren't actually pulling off a lot of the stuff that they tried even false there was there when they did they still had their looks I still felt like in that third period the abs were leaning on counters right where sorry the wild were leaning on counters where the abs were dictating with the puck on their stick but I but I thought the abs were having a mighty tough time breaking the wild um open down low which you know it's pretty rare to see the

25:11abs frustrated in terms of generating you can sometimes see them not score but it's often you know luck and goal tending and I actually did think that the way that the wild coped with that sort of compressed zone puck movement that the abs do so well I thought was really impressive in that third period I will say you know like in it and and land a scog in particular probably two other better bets to win a battle yeah in tight there and maybe create a potential opening that they didn't have in this game and neither of those guys were available in this one so maybe the dynamic changes a little bit there but yeah um it was a fascinating one you want to talk a little bit about the abs deadline approach and kind of decision to go all in in the capacity they did I don't necessarily want to frame it that way because while they clearly you know empty the clip in terms of futures I I believe they wound up sending out two first two seconds and two fifths they get a fourth back from the flames in the cadre trade they're down to just a 27 second and a 28 third

26:12in terms of remaining draft capital in the first three rounds the next three drafts I don't necessarily view this as all in from their perspective even though there is a bit of risk I guess with the age Audrey's at and the commitment even after the retention because of how many alternatives are still available to them with the guys they have under contract entering this offseason right where obviously their Stanley Cup or Boston firmly positioned as so because of their place in the standings and how the past couple years have gone for them regardless of how this postseason goes though um something I've been talking about in the show is I imagine they're going to get creative with either and maybe even two of these of a Ross Colton Valner Chuchkin or Jaggery potentially um because I believe they've tried to already extend them at a abs type of number and I think he's quite smartly even though he doesn't have the counting stats I think everyone appreciates his value and yes you know one year away from unrestricted free agency and should get up pretty sizable pay raise off the 1.75 wherever he makes

27:14if that proves untenable we saw them do this with a guy like Alex Newhook for example was at 23 and that offseason where they wind up trading him for 31 and 37 overall and then just get his replacement in Ross Colton with one of those picks and essentially bank and extra pick bringing a player they can get use out of they could explore that so they're going to be up against the cap but they also have a bunch of desirable players that they're going to be able to monetize and recoup a lot of this capital they've spent and then rebuild their roster and reload and in Kalmokar's final season and 9 million right so it's not all in from the perspective of like I think of the Bruins in 23 when they spent all those picks I believe was two first the second the third a fourth and a fifth on Oralog and Bertuzzi and Hathaway and it was kind of a one last ride type of situation they lose and run one all those guys leave Bertuzzi's version on retirees that's clearly not the case here where the team is going to look different next season regardless of what happens this this playoffs but it might be as good or even potentially better because of

28:18the optionality they still retain yeah the I mean there we know that the apps will keep problem solving and I thought they were wildly impressive and so doing at this deadline I mean even little things like obviously using the Gerard cap hit or that cap space to upgrade at center was kind of an o-brainer given sort of what their needs were but to also flesh out your blue line death right and and I mean the prices that were being paid for right handed defenders were so absurd and like one it one edge we talk a lot or we we're talking a lot and then we had to sort of correct ourselves because we kept saying these things about like Samolinsky right being sort of like you know somewhat undersized puck mover jack a con can just like fit into the app's lineup and but there is a meaningful edge I think in having a system that benefits these smart puck moving undersized defenders that like they those types of players can slot into

29:20because the acquisition cost if you're willing to be like oh Blankenberg's great like Blankenberg's perfect for us and he is by the way Blankenberg's awesome but you you pay a fifth versus paying a massive haul for a Luke Shen Logan Stanley package versus paying a massive haul for like even a Justin Falker or what have you right I mean we saw the prices on these right handed defenders around the league um you know Blankenberg for a fifth is tidy business and if you emerge minus your art but up with you know up both Coolak and Blankenberg and granted you paid a second and a fifth to accomplish it like their defense or their blue line group is just as good as it was and and is in fact deeper than it was while they also carved out the space they needed to upgrade elsewhere I mean those are the sorts of those those are the sorts of like holistic maneuvers that it just feels like that that organization does better than anyone else in the league. Well and those are the only two of the guys they acquired that don't have term on their deal

30:23right beyond this season and I imagine considering how Coolak's already looked and I know like the abs front office generally approaches stuff the same way you and I do in terms of appreciating players and I imagine they're quite high on Coolak and that's why they went this route assuming it goes well I think they're probably going to try to to bring him back um especially with with Brent Burns being a free agent and then Blankenberg will see if he even factors in at any point this season and it'll probably take some sort of an injury to actually get a good viewing of him here but given his size and generally I mean you just said he was available for a fifth here and I don't think there was a big market for it I imagine they're going to try to bring him back as well and get too pretty cost-controlled options moving forward so I thought the thing that I loved about it is beyond just like it was an aggressive approach but I thought it was controlled aggression and doing in a pretty pragmatic thoughtful way with regards to how the pieces all fit and also how to squeeze the most juice out of this window they've got in front of them and it was

31:24also I think correctly acknowledging both the opportunity in front of them this season and also maybe the challenges as well right in terms of the path and the teams are going to have to beat and and we saw one of them here and what a grind it was against the wild so I don't know um I really enjoyed it in a deadline where we saw some other contenders not really make any sort of meaningful upgrades I do have to commend them for doing so like they certainly paid a fair price to improve their team and yet I think it's one you do every day of the week and you have a chance if you want to to get a bunch of those picks back as soon as this off season so well and but even if they do get those picks back they're surely going to use them to buy players I mean that's how you keep reloading 100% like that well and you know there there's going to be some really interesting opportunities to do so right like you know you you mentioned Dury obviously but we've seen them too in addition to doing the new hook type trade where a guy's you know expiring or or close to expiring but has RFA sort of eligibility like we've seen them do with

32:27coil the if you have two years right you might be a guy that we can shop to create flexibility too they've got like Nikwa I mean as much as he could be a long-term fit or a partial answer for them next season he could also be a means to an end you know he could very much fill that that coil role as could Ross Colton they kind of have two options to do it this off season so you know yeah there when you're creative enough and know who you are and have built your team to where depth players can come in who are particularly undervalued like I think that part of their puck possession game where where they almost want their third pair to be a little bit undersized or at least very adept at moving the puck actually creates this incredibly straightforward route to netting value right and and I think that's also sort of a big part of the story for me that blanket bird price versus everyone else and how little or how easy it is for the apps to fill out the depth of

33:31their blue line group as a result of how they play and sort of how thoughtfully they exploit that I thought that was a really fascinating wrinkle or part of you know what was kind of a masterclass in loading up the deadline in fact the apps did such a good job at the deadline I'm a little worried that it's going to ding Nathan McKinnon's MVP case right we've got 25% of the season left basically 20-ish games left for everybody and when you think about the McDavid of it all especially and you know he's going to win the art Ross he is the best player on the planet we know this and his team just surrenders four five goals again against again every single oilers game follows the exact same script it's they will be down for two at some point and it'll just be a question of whether a dry saddle in the game it can score enough goals to win six five yeah or whether they're going to give up an empty netter and lose six four it's it's unbelievable and in fact that hurricane's game that they most recently played was like the a carbon copy of that yeah well and they do it in season they do it in playoff series I mean

34:32it's really a remarkable they are the ultimate in escape artists but you know you compare those flaws and you know all the all the injuries that Tampa Bay has had like in terms of the description most valuable you know there there's going to be cases made that for me are too cute by half like at the end of the day McKinnon's the best goal scorer and the key driver of the best team in hockey by a lot and for me he should be obviously the MVP based off of what we've seen to this point the season provided that he keeps it up which I have no doubt he will so I almost worry that the avs excellence might cause that conversation to get silly over the balance of the season and I really just don't think it should I just think this has been the season of Nate and we shouldn't factor in the Olympic miss we shouldn't factor in well I how good the avs are at at this team building thing like we should we should at least be focused on the fact that he is the MVP of this season in my

35:32I mean forget the miss in the gold medal game and I spend every day trying to I think we came out of that tournament a little worried about his health right in terms of the way he was playing especially after that hidey took against France I believe in the group stage and he's come out of the Olympic break and him and natures have been incredible I feel I could even leveled up and we talked about how natures was kind of carrying that cheque a team and even on a team of David Pasterack was their most dangerous player yeah and he's been lights out out of this world yes I watched the game they played last week I believe against the kings and you know they absolutely shredded them and then put up a crooked number on the stars on Friday were great again here so yeah they've been they've been phenomenal in carrying this team let's take our break here and then we come back we're going to close out this week's Sunday special you're listening to the hockey PDO cast streaming on sports and radio network this podcast is sponsored by talk space last year I went through many different life changes I needed to take a pause and examine how I was feeling in the inside to better show up for the ones who need me to be my best version of myself when you're

36:34navigating life's changes talk space can help talk space is the number one rated online therapy bringing you professional support from licensed therapists and psychiatry providers that you can access anytime anywhere live in a busy life navigating a long distance relationship becoming a first step father talk space made all of those journeys possible I could speak with my therapist in the office I could speak with my therapist in the comfort of my home I was never alone talk space works with most major insurers and most insured members have a zero dollar copay no insurance no problem now get eighty dollars off your first month with promo code space eighty when you go to talkspace.com match with a licensed therapist today at talkspace.com save eighty dollars with code space eighty at talkspace.com we're back here in the hockey video cast running by Thomas trends for Sunday special tom um

37:34what do you want to talk about here because we want to certainly stick with the with the deadline theme and kind of circling back to that I initially wanted to focus on you know big picture consequential items in terms of the good teams that are going to matter in the post season and what they did or didn't do and and we can certainly do that I've got some some notes on a lot the lightning a team we talked about the hurricanes as well um I've also got notes on teams that probably aren't going to be in the playoffs though and ones that I liked or didn't like in terms of what they did deadline so I don't know I'll give you the floor here what what do you want to start with or do you have like a personal preference or an item coming out of Friday's deadline that it's kind of burning a hole in your pocket and you want to you want to get it out here right now the man I'm trying to think through there's um well do you want to do hurricanes quick sure so their only ad was Nikoloria yeah for I believe a conditional seven super fun

38:35I really hope I'm never traded for a conditional seven any day you get to stand the lead that's true that's true um you know they we've talked about the internal kind of hardline valuation system they have right in terms of defining a price for every player in terms of their value and for the most part not budging on it and being pretty pretty strict and disciplined and that's a difficult thing come the NHL trade deadline on an annual basis because it's the time we see teams throw that out the window for the most part and get into either bidding wars or paying premiums out of desperation or because you know the market's all wonky the way I was this year and all of a sudden it's like well this is kind of the going rate or if we want to improve our team there's not that many players available so we're going to have to pay this price and that's how we're going to justify it the hurricanes don't do that the past couple years they've certainly made the big splashes right they got Gensel they got tried mechorantan and last year and then pivoted and got stank open on the first stroke mechorantan

39:36they did and and you know as we talked about at the time like it wasn't ideal in terms of the optics of it or ultimately the end of it be from last year's postseason perspective and we saw how unreal ranch was and getting dials as far as they did but for the most part we felt that they made the most of it in terms of the assets they got back especially with the stank open extension the kicks in next year and then the first which they still haven't used and will at some point and the other first which they used to get counter mill yes now I get all that I come away from it feeling a little bit disappointed just from the perspective of they're going to enter the post season with a game day lineup that costs about 77 million dollars which leaves 18 and a half or so on the table in terms of unspent resources and it's a team that's clearly really good is certainly still in my opinion one of the two best teams in the east and you could argue the most likely team to make the eastern conference final because of their respective path

40:39compared to what the the lightning for example are going to have to go through and they have a long-term I mean the sabers the sabers are number one and whoever comes out of the Atlantic um they're going to take this long-term view and it's not going to be judged on just one year certainly yet I just talked about how the abs viewed like the opportunity in front of them and made it happen and the hurricanes did not add a player of of significance or consequence to this team that's already really good but I feel like it could certainly get better in some ways and I don't view Vincent Trochek like if they had added him I would not have viewed that as an meaningful upgrade especially at the price that they certainly would about to pay um so I'm not sure what that option would have been I'm sure they explored a variety of ones including players with term and long-term at that um but I don't know do you have any thoughts on that in terms of coming out of it and our view of them as a contender out east and how they chose to

41:39essentially keep their powder dry still with the assets they have and roll on the cap space over and they're going to enter with a ton of flexibility again this off season and we're probably going to see them make some sort of a pretty aggressive move the way they did with Kendra Miller this past summer yet they have a great opportunity to compete for a Stanley Cup this year and they did not improve their team in a meaningful way so I think we can actually think it helps to think about three consecutive deadlines for the Carolina Hurricanes right you have the Gensel by which turns into a rental they they but they did their absolute most that they possibly could design them and only once they realized it wasn't going to be tenable did they make sure they got something back from him even then they wouldn't let him get to July one without recouping whatever they could even if it was just mid-round picks. Renton they test drove and when he wouldn't sign an extension they were not going to go down the rental road again and now this year they don't do anything

42:40and I think what this speaks to is a organizational philosophy that you know we're good enough to win a cup and what matters most for us to actually get it done is not to load up and buy a Justin Falk type or a Nick Watt type to sort of further reinforce our third line what matters most is to have the longest possible window where we're a team at this of this quality to try and win now and to add a a difference maker eventually yes right so so a they're willing to buy at the deadline provided that it's sort of a a barbell strategy see they're free Nick Dolores style or relatively free Nick Dolores style or it's incredibly expensive because the players worth the price of acquisition yes Renton or Gensel style they're not going to trade a mid-round pick for Luke Shen like they're not going to play in that market they

43:45think that's a bad bet they don't think that that those types of players clearly help them win and sort of they're not going to value adding marginal improvement during their window what they're instead going to value is the moves that extend their window and and that's the bet now they are definitely sagging where everyone else in hockey zigs and so I do think that opens them up to criticism and I actually think criticisms fair if you want a second guess that approach like we'd second guess you know a team that's always retooling and refuses to rebuild because their philosophy is that you know if you just make the playoffs you can anything can happen like it's totally fair to second guess that I think it's totally fair to second guess this but I'd say that way rather be a fan of a team that's betting on like time right betting on lengthening their window as opposed to a team that's that's sort of betting that everything might just magically

44:47hit one year also it should be noted that you know the context of and I haven't necessarily seen any reporting on this I'm not sure if you have any takes on it but you know we've talked about like an awesome cadre for them or Orion O'Reilly certainly who doesn't have a no move clause but sure predators essentially treated him as such and he clearly wanted to stay in Nashville and did like I I imagine they went down that road to at least some capacity and those would be the types of players like I prefer an O'Reilly for them sure to a cadre but given the spot they're in and you know the assets they have and also the just embarrassment of cap space they have moving forward where you can afford to take some of these risks and even if the player declines or gets hurt it's like it won't box you in like you'll be able to pivot off of it there probably isn't a price for the most part assuming its futures or prospects who aren't contributing to this team like I'm not including stankelvin and Blake in terms of these trades that is too rich for me given their proximity to the Stanley Cup right and I think that's completely a completely

45:51reasonable rate in fact I think you're right but I understand the sort of obsessive value minded approach and you know the truth is too is we didn't other than Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota wild like we didn't have a rant and caliber guy move at the deadline this year yeah we almost got it with Robert Thomas we almost got it with Robert Thomas but we didn't get over it we didn't get over the hump there yeah and the and the hurricanes were reportedly in on that so as they should have been yeah as they should have been so I think short of something that really moves the needle I just think that's going to be how they approach it for better or for worse and I think it's completely you know it's I think this season it's disappointing because of the panthers angle of this well in the lightning similarly like they had Corey Perry for a second but yeah I would have felt a lot better about them if they had turned and leveraged all your books and as we were talking about for weeks and months now for a guy who's going to score goals on the power play from that shooting plank and yet on the other hand of everyone in the east is

46:53kind of playing a longer game and being a little bit scrupulous or at least a little bit careful in what they're paying even though the Buffalo Sabers tried to do more with paraco right I mean Logan Stanley Luke Shen and Sam Carrick for the Sabers how good was Logan Stanley on the on the Sabers broadcast the start of the second period first of all he looked like menacingly yeah from from the perfect storm actually I loved that sweater it was great it looks super cozy yeah I mean it wasn't a fleece if it was like a cool pattern fleece that would be out where then I would have been even more in on I thought I thought the optics of him just towering over not only their play-by-play guy but then in general like menacingly looking down from press box as all mayhem is breaking loose on the ice and just knowing how desperately I bet he wishes you out there is such a cool visual so good the but you know the Tampa Bay lightning add Corey Perry and the Carolina Hurricanes ad Nick Dolore I mean I don't think any of the team Montreal did very little yeah right Detroit sort of bought the biggest player and it was Falk and I would say they paid too much so I want to talk

47:59about a team that I think showed an incredible amount of discipline actually I thought there was one team that I think we should be holding up as an object case and really thinking about and talking about in the years to come because so many teams find themselves in the position that Ottawa or Columbus are and end up sort of you know buying a little bit you just kind of dip a toe in the water as opposed to really committing to something and I thought the Washington capitals yes before this weekend we would have talked about in the same sentence as both the senators and the blue jackets and now we won't because they sold but I think their decision to sell was fascinating to me mostly because it's a window into the sort of self discipline that I think is required if you're going to be the retooling team like if you're going to be the team that is always pushing to make the playoffs next year I think there's there's a cost to it

49:05obviously we know that there's cost to it the the middle in the middle of the NHL standings is death you don't get access to the draft picks that are most likely to return future heart trophy level players and you know you so anyway there's there's a cost to being in the middle but I think the way to offset it is if you're constantly good your players have value for all that we were talking about the lack of value for guys like Scott Lawton like the you look at Scott Lawton versus Nickwa right I mean I think they're pretty comparable players in terms of actual quality I think you know there's reasons to prefer Lawton especially as a two-way guy he's also faster you would say that I would but I'm also right no no I don't think so defensively and well I just I mean Nikwa is a better player I think he's certainly a much significantly more impactful playmaker yes and he has more versatility to win but I mean Lawton's got the speed

50:07in the defensive chops I mean it's not it Nikwa 3 million next year's nice very nice so the term plays a role too but we're talking a huge gap right price first and a fifth versus a third Michael McCarran versus Nick maybe I should have used Michael McCarran versus Scott Lawton maybe that's the more or or Sam Carrick versus Scott Lawton Sam Carrick returned an extra draft pick there's no world where you want where you'd take Sam Carrick over Scott Lawton as like a full you know in terms of their playing ability I guess yeah no I think it's fun I like Sam Carrick me too yeah me too I also like Scott Lawton I just don't know yeah that's well documented on video you know the I think there's a cost to being in the middle and I think the way to the way to offset it is to be extremely ruthless with your self evaluation at midseason during those years that you don't have it and and I thought trading Carlson and moving to trade Nick Dowd and being

51:08good enough that like Carlson returned more than just about any right handed defender except I mean did he return the most of any of the right handed defenders I mean you could argue that we could return more because he had three but let's pretty close right pretty close value wise and then Rasmus Anderson pretty close value wise I mean he was right at the top of the market and yeah he's been productive this season and obviously he's a winner and a power play ace and on and on but I don't know that his form dictated him being at the top of the market given the quality of right handed defenders that moved and then Nick Dowd was the exception to the left handed centerman yeah don't seem to be netting huge returns they do the second and the third they bring back camp I mean you'd rather have doubt he's a way bigger threat to score 10 goals but they're still going to have the guy to do the yeoman's work with the extreme deployment that Carbure is going to use in camp so I mean I just looked at that and thought this is the cost this is the cost of always being in the mix and this is a team that's willing to sort of make

52:14those hard decisions in real time in the midst of a season in which they don't have a chance of contending I just felt like it was a really you know the deadline tells us a lot about various teams like philosophical assumptions and I thought that was as revealing as the canes deciding not to buy undoubtedly I talked about this a lot on the Friday show like in the immediate after math of the deadline but I love what they did you know at the time they had about a 30-ish percent playoff probability and I think on true form they're better than that like they're probably are one of the eight best teams in the east but the season's gone away from them for our idea reasons there is also the element of like I and we've talked about this the sooner they and I think they're you know they even said as much in the meantime they kind of pass the baton or sort of turn this over in terms of hand over the car keys to this next generation of capitals players right and we've already seen the the outline of what it could look like from Ryan Leonard we're going to

53:15hopefully get some reps from the second pro die early a protest down the stretch and and Cole Hudson after the NCAA season and so they have a lot working for them in terms of what the next wave of capitals hockey is going to look like and they just in general need to be faster and more dynamic in those players are going to be their path towards doing that and it was a tough pill to swallow but I think a necessary one almost eating your vegetables in a way where they now have this extra first they have a ton of cap space they have a lot of young players they've dropped through the past couple years they're going to be highly desirable in any trade for one of those players that they're craving a top the lineup and so their malleability and I think optionality to get there um was certainly helped by this you know you're talking a lot and I did want to quickly know it I don't spend too much time on the games no it argues talk way too much about them this season yeah they don't deserve it I loved I in general I actually loved what Ken all and did yeah over the past month or two and it certainly helped that are you know the way things evolved and they're championship eventually after the four other teams are kind of out being like all right I want

54:17to go to LA and that dictate the price we don't have to go over that again but he essentially since the Christmas break turned filled to no war and fogal Corey Perry Liam green tree and two thirds into our Tammy Panarin Scott Lawton as a rental and three seconds which is nice but I also love that all these trades had some sort of condition on the pick that involved LA kings playoff success right and it was the ultimate like wink yeah because you're not getting the upgraded version of that pick no although I think the lot and one actually does upgrade if they just make the playoffs yes so it doesn't necessarily require success or even that seems a little far fetched I think so given a state of the team just the injuries have piled up against them but yeah you know what credit to them right like that that is without waving a white flag in copatars final season they did make some you know necessary choices to look to the future and that's not easy to do given the weight that copatars had for that franchise so I do think Ken Holland deserves a

55:19tip of the cap for that I think a less veteran general manager might have found themselves chasing you know chasing bad money with good money and he didn't he managed to avoid that very obvious landmine well especially getting off some like if you include the phogo money in the dino one in particular for next year like they're clearly going to be very positioned to try to leverage when consolidates of these assets into a player that can fill a spot down the middle higher the line up yeah and not only the picks but also the cap space that comes with it is probably going to make or break the ability to do so do you want to quickly talk flames I would love to talk flames so I know this is going to sound like talking out of both sides of my mouth because I just said I love the the cadre addition and I thought the price was totally fine for the for the abs in the earlier segment especially with the retention that allows all of this financially to work for them but a trade can beneficial for both sides yes I know it sounds like a bit of a cop out though in terms of like I don't know but the the for the flames for example like retaining on cadre

56:20for the abs were in a win now cup window you know not just this year but for two three years beyond maybe five years beyond given how good they are at rejigging things a 35 year old Nazim cadre with the level of term that he has especially if you're able to lock a million plus off his cap it is the sort of risk that's well worth taking to put you over the top for the Calgary flames holding cadre as a depreciating asset with that level of term on the deal especially given what the corner you're painted into with the Hubert O contract is anathema is far too risky I mean they can't hold that much hockey value in a player that age on on a in a lineup that's going nowhere that's self-defeating that's fatal and and it's especially fatal because the big problem that the Calgary flames have had is despite making a ton of rebuilding moves over the

57:22course of the past what two and a half years like two and a half years they've basically completely yes sorry with the last day they're roster right I mean so sorry was it last year no is the year before yes the last year and a half yeah they've sort of completely detonated their roster they've picked 16th ninth and 18th yep you're never you're like so they're getting the sorts of picks you get as a mid team while all of us know that they have no path to contention as it currently sits like they had to decide to get worse they had to that that's the issue cadres good enough to prop up a team like this and good enough you know as a leader to motivate guys and to buy into the rebuild and all all of the stuff that's the reason why he makes sense for Colorado to put them over the top actually harms yes a team in Calgary is positioned same with Weeger same with Rasmus Anderson and how you know those guys can hold up and toughs and on and on now the flames have you know very little path to

58:23have the sort of floor that they've maintained across the past two three seasons even as they've lost Hanuffin and Kachuck and lend home and you know that all of those guys that were on those division winning teams that they had in the early part of this decade absolutely necessary this was an absolutely necessary deadline for the Calgary flames you know I like that they set an incredibly high market price a month for right handed defenders with the Rasmus Anderson trade and then leaned in to the market to the inflated market that they helped create yeah this is the going great yeah double dipping like set the set the market price exorbitantly high and then hit it again with the Weeger trade I think this was the step back that they've needed for years and I thought they were creative and how they went about it I mean even the Ryan Strom value resuscitation project that they took on it's not an exact analogy for what Montreal did to them

59:25with the Sean Monahan gamble but it's the way that you have to go about doing that in the in the cap air I think right it's like no one's paying a first to get off Ryan Strom anymore in fact the ducks still needed to get paid nominally to to part ways with the player but you're creating a huge vacancy on the power play and at the top of your lineup and you need an incredible NHL body to fill it so at the same time that they send Cadre out for a haul they also bring in a guy that they can speculate and try to rebuild his value and at two and a half million at the deadline next year if if Strom's a 45 50 point guy again as opposed to what does he have 10 points this year something like that having fallen out of the ducks lineup I mean that that's a pretty straightforward path to getting a third round pick I mean these are the sorts of small value wins that I thought they were able to net just about everywhere with what they did at the trade deadline mall also putting themselves seriously in the running with the likes of Vancouver in the Gavin McKenna or sorry the Kevin McKenna the Landon Dupont sweepstakes no one's catching Vancouver in the Gavin McKenna

1:00:30sweepstakes but the Landon Dupont sweepstakes I mean they they have a real shot at being a bottom two or three team next year and that's what they've needed for the last three years more than any single factor so I thought this was the sort of deadline that Craig Conroy and the Calgary Flames absolutely needed and I thought it was executed with a high degree of creativity so they turned Rasmus Anderson McKenzie-Wieger and Nazum Kodry and a fourth round pick they sent to the abs as well into three seconds this year including the Rangers one which is really a late first 27 first and second 28 first and second exact white cloud who I would very reasonably argue as a significantly better asset than Rasmus Anderson at this point yeah I mean already right yes because listen like I know Rasmus Anderson is like an 830 on I say a percentage in Vegas and that's going to make anyone look bad I think the first 14 games though have looked bad enough that I think the proposition of giving him eight years as he turns 30 is downright harrowing

1:01:35whereas white cloud at 2.75 for two more years is immediately become a premium asset who they obviously value enough to like keep him around because he plays the right way and is useful and cheap but the day will come at some point over the next year or two where they turn that into another first yeah almost certainly given the premium for right handed defenders and so special ones with mobility who are willing to throw big hits and he's willing to do both and now I will say they'll that's a great point you make about like they were already kind of in the race to finish 31st yeah this certainly helps push them further in that direction though and they've got 20 games left and they're only one point back of the Black Hawks and the Rangers for the second best lottery odds which we guarantee a top four pick now ironically enough that the win on Saturday night against the Carolina Hurricanes does not help matters but there's going to be a lot of losing over these next 20 games and over the next couple of years and I think that's perfectly fine and adjustable part of the process and picking 18th last year as fun

1:02:36as that story was and we appreciated how competitive they were and Dustin Wolf being so incredible you can't have that no you can't you cannot have that net they also even did well with the pick like resident would go higher than 18th in a redraft today just just 10 months after that draft was held so it's like you know they've done a lot of things well they've drafted well they've found good value and and all of this matters like they're going to eventually be positioned with a ton of the sorts of assets that can help you win the bidding for one of those dudes that matter but the Calgary Flames aren't getting back to the top of the Pacific division especially with you know what what we're seeing from McLean Celebrity and Leo Carlson not to mention what McDavid's still got in the tank and what Vegas does year after year even if those two teams are having down years relative to their usual form and frankly relative to the level that we think they'll probably hit in the playoffs or at least be capable of accessing in the playoffs you're not getting back to that level without two and a half heart trophy level dudes like that's

1:03:40that's the whole goal and everything Calgary's done is prevented them from accessing those types of players over the next 18 months I think they're going to have multiple swings at the plate or multiple chances up to bat to find and land the sorts of real game like math altering game changes so that that organization needs desperately this was I thought a masterful deadline for Conroy and Company I think they were the winners among the seller teams and I actually don't think it's all that close I wanted to also talk Kraken and Islanders um but maybe we can just save that for for next week or down the road um you know I was watching that Kraken Gaming as the Senators and I was like yeah tough they don't have it well they certainly don't have it and regardless of the outcome of that game or whatever happens I could also argue that they did not need their 17th middle six forward that they just added in Bobby McMahon. Yeah so also it was like they made the Marchment Trade Costs neutral and then basically paid

1:04:40the same price as they got back for Marchment having paid for him the first time I guess you could say that it's like they hedge their bets in December when things looked grim and then right and then decided to bolster a team to try and make a playoff run in a market that is saturated it is Seahawks Country down there the Mariners are hot as heck um it's pretty easy for them to you know fall off the map in the context of sort of the Seattle sports like guys especially with you know news now that the Sonics might come there so the Kraken are always sort of fighting against this business case but yeah but no I mean Bobby McMahon isn't going to increase their stronghold in the market nothing kills you more than being mid yeah nothing kills you more than being mid and and they just continue to spin their wheels despite you know some good work from Lane Lambert to really tighten up what they're doing in zone and then I thought the Braden Shen trade was probably a you know kind of like the key for sure with trade like I like the fit for them in some ways in that they've added you know I think some high character people

1:05:49uh to their forward ranks some guys who I do still think have some game left even if they haven't been as good this season as they typically are in in Shen and Pilate but you know I it just felt a little too soon for me to be giving up those sorts of assets for a for a player at that stage of his career see I view it the opposite like it's too soon in terms of how good they are even though they're sitting in a playoff spot that they're in the Metro they've got 50 plus percent playoff probability they keep finding ways to win games laid and overtime and shoot out and there's so much to like in terms of you just get in and it's like all right Elias Rokin is playing as the best goalie in the world and Matthew Schafer is going to be on the ice for 27 and to 28 minutes yeah and is going to make a huge difference and this is fun and I get all that I view it as like Schafer is so good and this team has still has so much work to do around him that maximizing his ELC years is actually an interesting idea I don't know necessarily the taken on Andre Platt's money next year and bringing it back to JG Pazzo and now acquiring

1:06:51brain shen is necessarily my definition of maximizing that window yeah now they did get off of the Jonathan drew our money for next year as well and that was a big swing or a minute swing and miss for them yeah and so like the actual cap cost is pretty low and that first is the aspect so it's I don't want to portray it as like you know they went all in because they certainly didn't no but if anything I would have liked to see them be more aggressive and like an actually meaningful way especially if it was for a player that's going to fit the timeline a little bit more and not be someone who's 35 plus yeah it just feels like now a lot is going to hinge on like geeky hsson and eclan providing that second wave of young talent for them I would definitely would have liked to see them give themselves more outs over like a three to four year horizon to find you know that one other guy that's going to matter as like a running mate for shaper right like ideally ideally a center who's going to be a player at that level for this franchise at the time

1:07:52that you know shen pazzo and bojorvett begin to age out of being really good. All right buddy um let's get out of here this is a fun Sunday special I feel like we covered a lot of ground I mean still so much I want to talk about with you but we'll be back next Sunday to cover the rest of it what do you want to promote in the way out oh you know a lot of a lot of connects talk at connects talk on sports net across the sports net radio network you know I ironically find every time I appear on the show there's not as much connect stock as you think we really are not talking connects very much yeah um and it's a high quality show it's I think so yeah we have lots of fun conversations what you know what realistically come listen to connects talk it's your it's your home for chatter about the 2026 NHL and the 2027 I've got a lot of positive feedback on the show we did a week or two ago where we just on national Pokemon day yeah you just spend a full segment talking about like the evolved forums of various connox players yeah and including

1:08:53feedback from people who I know aren't connox fans or even live locally here in the market and they were just tuning in and they're like yeah this is this is podcasting at its finest well we can appropriate the bit for for our needs at some point on a Sunday special uh but yeah so we'll you know we'll be talking Pokemon and other things on connects talk so check that out and then you know I'm I'm I'm gonna do some fun stuff at uh at the athletic that'll be connoxy but also sort of more focused on on big picture rebuilding ideas um you know at which I think I'll have some interest for for connox fans and non-connox fans alike over the course of the next two months all right buddy keep up your great work looking forward to having you on next Sunday um give us a five star review wherever you listen subscribe to the PDO cast patreon got a couple fun shows book to start the week right off the hop will have jack honon uh we'll also do a saber's deep dive so join us for those that is all for today uh the trade deadline may be over but we're not going anywhere in fact business is just starting to pick up here for us um we're gonna get ready for the stretch run uh which will be a sprint heading towards the playoffs so a lot of fun stuff ahead

1:09:57thank you for listening to the hockey PDO cast streaming on the sports net radio network