The Kevin Karius Show - Mar. 23rd, 2026 - Mark Spector

0:00Hi, this is Pablo Torei from Pablo Torei finds out and today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile because we spent a lot of time analyzing inefficiencies in sports, overvalued contracts, money tied up in the wrong places, and so on, but those inefficiencies aren't just on a roster. Sometimes they're in your own monthly expenses. Boost Mobile says switching to their $25 unlimited forever plan can unlock up to $600 in savings a year. That's $25 a month for unlimited data, talk and text when you bring your own phone. If that money is trapped in a pricey phone bill, it might be worth a second look. Visit BoostMobile.com to learn more. After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience lower speeds, customers pay $25 per month as long as they remain active on the Boost Mobile and Limited plan. Savings claim based on a January 2026 boost mobile survey of a thousand Americans with single line on limited plans, comparing average annual payments of major carriers to 12 months on the Boost Mobile and Limited plan. For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com. The hustle doesn't have to hurt. If performance pressure is making it hard to breathe,

1:01growth therapy helps you navigate stress, set boundaries, and actually feel like yourself again. Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th, grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you, not the other way around. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability, and get started in as little as two days. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments. You just pay per session. Grow helps you find therapy on your time. Whatever challenges you're facing, growth therapy is here to help. Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans, including Medicaid in some states. Sessions average about $21 with insurance and some pay as little as $0 depending on their plan. Visit growththerapy.com. Start now to get started. That's growththerapy.com. Slash start now. Growthherapy.com. Slash start now. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

2:15How do you do it? I don't know, sometimes I wonder. Have you been to Utah before? Oh yeah, I was at a game there last year. Okay, wasn't sure. Yeah, so I think they've redone that a rink a little bit since then. What's guy doing a Monday night in the summer? Tell you right now. What's Tabernacle Choir? What do you do? I will tell you right now what time do you land? Yeah, like three or something. You head down and you can watch the Toronto Raptors play the Utah Jazz tonight. Hmm. Oh, are they playing tonight? There you go, Spek. Last time you said that it was a banger of a game too, Kevin. Where was it? I forget where. But you told Spek to go to a game? Yeah, the last time. Well, it wasn't the Raptors weren't playing, but it was a good game. It was a Monday night football game. Remember, you were in Pittsburgh Spek. You didn't go to that either. It was freezing that night. I wasn't going to that game. Yeah, maybe. We'll see what happens. Yeah, maybe. So, Spek, in this piece that you have up, I mean, you got it up so quick,

3:20we felt as not even able to get eyes on it. Reddit, man. Come on. Wait, I haven't read it. So, what's it in town? What are we looking at here? We're just digging in a little bit on McDavid's gushing over John Cooper's fine work the other night after Cooper's team came into the town and beat him five two. I thought that was a little and I thought it was interesting. When he, Chris Naublach thinks of those words, voice. Well, that's something you'll ask him today, I guess. I guess you might see him today. I won't see him because I'll be in the air, man. I suspect Connor will be asked to speak again today and I, you know, what? It's just, it's funny. Like, if a dry cycle had a little shot at Naublach before Christmas, or before the Olympic break, I should say. And, you know, I don't know. It's like, I was standing there and listening to Connor say it. And it, you know, it wasn't as confrontational as it might have sounded if you just read the quotes, but either way, you know, usually when you go

4:26in a dressing room, guys, that I've been in lots of them one year when a team loses, they don't, they're not effusive in praise about the team that just whipped them. And that was a, that stood out for me. It was a little strange. I know we played for a Cooper at the Olympics and I know they have a lot of respect for each other and all that, but I thought if I was Naublach listening to this, I wouldn't love it much. Hmm. See, I, to me, like, listening to them on Saturday night spec, as you just said, you're standing there. You didn't think much of it. And then I think the more people started piling on and, and, and saying that he was slagging Naublach, I think there were more people that went into that camp because they don't like Naublach. Oh, there's always going to be that. You can't let social media, like you're right, Cal. Absolutely. That's correct. But I always tell myself, don't shape your opinion by what social media is doing because it's stupid. You know, there's no

5:27sense. There's no reality. There's no, you know, I try to think of, I'm just looking at precedent, Cal. You've been in lots of rooms. Like, not only did Conor McDavid say it once, they're perfectly coached. And the next question he answered with talking about how well coach they are again. You know, like he knows. Okay. So he says stuff that it reverberates to the hockey world. He knows that. So we were talking about this Eddie and I before you came on. So you can say they're perfectly coached through all that. So what about all the dumb mistakes that the Oilers players made on Saturday, the dumb mistakes Conor made on Saturday. So is the coach telling Conor and Matthias Ekholm, Ryan Nugin Hopkins? Is he telling them to play that way? Absolutely not. So this has to rest on the players here a little bit. No. Well, for sure, like this, the fact that these guys can't really have it figured out their game all season long. I would blame in the coach

6:31for this. These guys are this is a team. No one's played more playoff games than them in the West. You know, in the last five years. Exactly. So do we need a coach to come in and reteach this veteran group how to play a proper defensive game? How to to, you know, to find a consistent game that can win more than three in a row. Like is that on the block? I don't know. I mean, he redid his defensive system after the Olympic break. So that's a serious bit of coaching and they've been better defensively for sure. But then in the end, the same guys are making the same mistakes. I mean, look at it. Like it's a complicated scenario when you're when you're coaching the greatest player in the world. But I'll say this, the greatest player in the world's got a five on five gold differential, a plus 11 and and Kuturov and McKinnon who both have this roughly the same amount of points as him or like plus 40 something. There you go. Yeah, plus 40 something. He's a good 30, 35 gold

7:33behind those guys. So it's defensive work this year. Economic David defensive work this year. Haven't been very good. It's been very bad. It's right. Like it shows glimpses. It's their spec. But the attention to detail. And again, this will be the fifth time I said it this morning until the top six, not just Connor until the top six. Play as hard and with awareness and with passion defensively as they do offensively, they'll never win the Stanley Cup. Right. And you know, it's sure. Like I would say to you that, you know, I mean, when you when you invoke the Stanley Cup, we always seem to forget like this whole issue of, oh, the others are a failure. They never won the cup. Well, there's an there's an element of that. There's one thing you're trying to win. But they have been to two cups in a row and got to game six and game seven. So obviously they know how to play. Obviously they play a good enough defensive game to have it in their arsenal. You don't get there. Lose you lose game seven and all of a sudden your crappy team or crappy defensive team. The scoring that game was two one. I'll remind you.

8:34And they had the minute 15 power play spec with two chances and a crossbar. That goes in. They still got a power play and they're they've got control of the game. Right. So the point is they have been they played at a championship level. They have a one the championship, but they've played at that level and they've done it more than once. You know, they won six playoff rounds the last two years. So it's like they all know how to do it. It's my point. Everybody knows what it takes. We've been hearing it from them all year. We know how to play. We know how to play. Well, you know what? We're seven one games in. When do we get to finally see it? When do we open the present here? And that's not on the coach for me. Sorry. If you could say it's on the GM because he didn't get it up. Good players here or he made a bad trade there. We can talk about the personnel and all that. But the top six is still the top six around here. And if those guys aren't playing well defensively, don't tell me no blocks. The one that's got to get Carnivic David to stop, you know, trying to make a solo rush and turn it over

9:36a bad puck, right? Wow, boys. Coming with some real faxes morning, you guys. You really are. And it's the truth, though. This team and spec. You said something. I'll kind of counter it. You'll push back. Maybe I assume a bit, but you'll understand where I'm coming from. And look, you talk about how they played at a championship level, but they have nothing to show for it. You know, they just because they got there. And you know, we respect the efforts, but they have nothing to show for it over the past two years. So in reality, they haven't played up to that level. To say that, you know, they can just flick it on the way that they can be switched flickers. I just don't see it. And I personally don't think that this is going to be their year that they go deep in the playoffs. No, I mean, all of those things are true. I don't think this will go deep this year either. I mean, I guess you can get through the Pacific because it's so gall-off. They can get to the final four. You're easy. Yeah, you could. I agree that no team

10:40just switches, switches, clicks a switch. I agree with that, Eddie. That's not how you do it. We're 10 games left and they haven't found the switch yet, right? They just started out on Holmstand to an O and looked real good. And then two good teams came in and beat them relatively for fun. So they're right back at square one again. They've been at square one about 40 times this year. So all of that is true. I guess I would just say to you, you can't. It's like team can at the Olympics. You know, are they a total failure? Like they got the gold medal game. They I'll play the other team. They should have won the game because they missed two open nets and they lost. So they lost. They didn't get the goal. We all understand that. The goal was gold. They didn't get it. But are we looking at that team and saying, oh, well, there's a million things wrong with that team. That team's no good. They don't know how to win. They're this or that. Oh, they had a bad run. You know, the the the orders proved that they could take a team that no one else could be. They took them six and seven and they didn't beat them. But so yes, I agree with you. They didn't accomplish their goal. They don't have any rings. There's

11:41something left to get settled here. There's no question. But when I hear guys across the country telling me that this team's no good, they don't know how to win. I'll tell me you don't know how to win. Six playoff routes, right? Walk into Vegas and beat them in five. You beat Dallas in four straight after losing the first game last year. Don't tell me you don't know how to win. They know how to win. Right? They weren't as good as Florida. But they know how to win. Hi, this is Pablo Tore from Pablo Tore finds out. And today I want to talk to you about boost mobile because we spent a lot of time analyzing inefficiencies in sports, overvalued contracts, money tied up in the wrong places and so on. But those inefficiencies aren't just on a roster. Sometimes they're in your own monthly expenses. Boost mobile says switching to their $25 unlimited forever plan can unlock up to $600 in savings a year. That's $25 a month for unlimited data, talk and text when you bring your own phone. If that money is trapped in a pricey phone bill, it might be worth a second look. Visit boostmobile.com to learn more. After 30 gigabytes,

12:44customers may experience lower speeds. Customers pay $25 per month as long as they remain active on the boost mobile and limited plan. Savings claim based on a January 2026 boost mobile survey of a thousand Americans with single line on limited plans comparing average annual payments of major carriers to 12 months on the boost mobile and limited plan. For full offered details, visit boostmobile.com. The hustle doesn't have to hurt. If performance pressure is making it hard to breathe, growth therapy helps you navigate stress, set boundaries, and actually feel like yourself again. Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th, grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you, not the other way around. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty identity, or availability, and get started in as little as two days. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments. You just pay per session. Grow helps you find therapy on your time. Whatever challenges you're facing, grow therapy is here to help. Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans, including Medicaid in some states. Sessions average about $21 with insurance and some pay as little as $0, depending on

13:49their plan. Visit growththerapy.com slash start now to get started. That's growtherapy.com slash start now. Growtherapy.com slash start now. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. Mark Spector with us, Kevin Carrius, 80 steel with you on sports 1440. What do you think of that suspension, AJ Greer, three games spec? I think we need to stop focusing on George Parris and focus on the PA. And this is why there's this big argument out there. All is at it. You should should Parris have adjudicated this as a hit from behind as boarding as interference. Who cares, right? Who cares what it was called? Well, the reason they care is it has to stand up to a PA challenge. That's why we always talk about the precedence. What do we have for precedence on this hit? It's because whatever you do, the PA is going to challenge it. So my point is I'll make

14:50it short. I think instead of us always leaning on Parris, I think it's trying to lean on the PA. If players are going to come out and bitch about Parris, I'll tell you what, shut up and go bitch to your PA head whoever is this week, right? Go talk to the PA. If you want player safety, tell a PA to quit appealing every decently sized, you have any proper suspension and get the hell out of the way and protect you guys. I'm tired of the players telling me the leagues not protecting them. It's the PA that's a problem there. Now, are you saying that because the PA represents both the player, the injured player and the player doing the offense? But they, they, they, they, what's the word I'm looking for? They support the player who's on the carpet. They support a great career. Far more than they support Zary. They're working for Greer, not Sorry. Yeah. And they are in every suspension until it gets so out of hand that they can't protect Raffi Torres anymore and they give up on them. But the rest of the time, they're protecting the

15:51AJ Greer's over the Zaries all day long. And that's a PA issue and those players should, like I say, quit bitching about Parris and get inside their own meeting and their own offices and figure it out between them. I'm a little pirate of the whole, you know, I don't feel sorry for George Parris. So I think he's doing a crappy job too, but I think I know why. The other thing I'd like to see spec is, and I know it's, there, once you go from the fine to the suspension, that's the big deal because the player does get hit money-wise. But I would like to see the money, the suspensions, the fines way bigger. Like, you know, you know, how it's like something with its border. Hey, do you think he's going to get a one game of 5,000? No, he'll get 5,000. 5,000 bucks max too. Like, that's laughable, you know, they don't care about that. I'd like to see that. Well, that's collectively bargained. That's right. Well, that's. That's the PA protecting their players. That's your PA question right there. Right. The PA protects the guy that does the crime, not the victim. Sorry, spec, just with this game tomorrow, you know, we talked about the suspension

16:58too. So this game tomorrow, what, with this you talk team, what impresses you the most about the mammoth? I mean, there's a decent chance that they're going to have more points than the Pacific Division winner. You never know. They're right neck and neck basically with Anaheim right now. So this is a young team. A lot, you know, here's another thing. A lot of people, a lot of people felt that Alex Torney was pardon me, Andre Torney was not the right guy to coach this team. Not the right guy, but everything seems to be coming into place here for the mammoth in the last several weeks. Yeah, good for them. I mean, you know, I'll say to you what I what I always say about these teams like Arizona or Utah Buffalo, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Arizona was garbage for how many years in a row. When's the last time they made the playoffs? You know, well, is it seven years? Is it eight years? Anaheim no different. Like, yeah, they're, they're really nice young team Utah now. They're fast. They got some skill. They got a goalie in Vigmelka, but I like a lot.

18:02I like Torney always have. He's personally the killer great guy. And I think he's a pretty good coach. But geez, they lost forever. They should be good by now, right? Utah should be good. How many years did the others roll through Arizona beat that team for fun? You know, only like 10. So yeah, they're good. Okay, great. They're good. They finally got good. I would hope that that would happen in Utah. They got now they got a, their owner is unbelievable. Ryan Smith is like all over spending every dollar. He could spend on them. They're redoing the stadium. They got a pretty good market there. They're, they're, they're low going and their marketing is all hip and young and good. They got a really good thing on Utah. Batman, Batman landed on his feet after that long stand. He made an Arizona that didn't work. He landed on his feet in Salt Lake City, I think. Well, he landed on his feet and then some because it's almost like a double dip would have happened when Arizona comes back into the league spec because they're going to get another

19:02couple billion dollars here for that. They will. They'll get a couple billion. I mean, they just need to, you know, how many owners did they run through there that turned on off to be the right owner? They got to find the right on and find the right rank. And then hockey will work in Phoenix. And I'll be happy to go there and find out if it's working. Hey, uh, several people texted in spec. It was, uh, spec in Denver for the O.K.C. game. That's right. I knew it was basketball. I knew it was basketball. We had, so we've got the Pittsburgh Steelers one day, Nicky. I watched that game on TV. It was in O.K.C. I was in Denver. I have a Kevin. The look on Kevin's face. I didn't. It wasn't make it. It wasn't making sense to me. These texts. I knew it. And it was way more recent than NFL. It was my late night football. You talked, but it was last week. It's in basketball. It was. It was a good game. What's his name? The Canadian kid, Murray, uh, the kid at the record. What's one? He's got SDA. I mean, sorry.

20:04Anyway, the game you're talking about was in Pittsburgh. It was freezing cold. I watched it. I love the text. I love how they remembered that. That's great. It's text groups. Get out there and get your facts straight. Oh, you know what? Because we love you so much, we hope you get strip search and inconvenience at the airport spec by an ice agent. You took it there. All right, spec. Have fun and Salt Lake, baby. Okay, boy. See you later. Hi, this is Pablo Torrey from Pablo Torrey finds out and today I want to talk to you about boost mobile because we spent a lot of time analyzing inefficiencies in sports, overvalued contracts, money tied up in the wrong places and so on. But those inefficiencies aren't just on a roster. Sometimes they're in your own monthly expenses. Boost mobile says switching to their $25 unlimited forever plan can unlock up to $600 in savings a year. That's $25 a month for unlimited data, talk and text when you bring your own phone. If that money is trapped in a pricey phone bill,

21:08it might be worth a second look. Visit boostmobile.com to learn more. After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers pay $25 per month as long as they remain active on the boost mobile unlimited plan. Savings claim based on January 2026, boost mobile survey of a thousand Americans with single line unlimited plans comparing average annual payments of major carriers to 12 months on the boost mobile unlimited plan. For full offered details, visit boostmobile.com. Visit boostmobile.com to learn more.