The Tom Gazzola Show - Sept. 9th, 2026 - Derek Van Diest

0:00Hi Podvans, Max Russian here from the Chart Topping Guardian for the Weekly Podcast. Don't not to crow. If you enjoy the World Cup with us, you'll be glad to know we're back for the new Premier League season except three episodes a week, questionable predictions and the biggest stories in soccer from the Premier League to the Champions League and beyond. Watch now on YouTube or listen wherever you get your Pod Cup. This is the story of the one. As a shipping manager, he's running the dock, stocking supplies, and making sure every order goes out on time. And Granger helps him stay prepared. From shipping supplies to PPE to hand tools, he counts on Granger to keep products moving and trucks rolling. So his operation runs smoothly, no matter the shift. Call 1-800-GRAENGER. Click ranger.com or just out by Granger for the ones who get it done. DVD, welcome to the show. I look forward to seeing you tonight when we watch Wednesday night football as the NFL kicks off because I'm sure you and I will convene and watch and have a beer or two together.

1:01The order is making some news, signing Alex Formington. This was discussed by others in the market. I don't really understand why they need to bring in another bottom six type of guy. I'm going to guy who hasn't played in the league since 2022. Obviously went with went through all that stuff on the personal side of things. And then Schlamer said, well, why not? You know, maybe you find a diamond in the rough here. How do you look at this signing? Well, I'm a little surprised it's not a PTO, right? Like you could have brought a man on a PTO. You know, you have four exhibition games, put a plate of him in those four exhibition games and see where is that? Yeah, you know, this guy that can skate and probably kill some penalties for you. He's not going to provide a lot of offense. He had 13 goals in the Swiss league last year. So it's not like he has a lot of offense. And obviously then there's going to be the baggage that comes with that. So, you know, is he going to help you out? Maybe. Obviously, they probably think that they need some help on their bottom six. So they brought him in. But yeah, I was a little surprised that it wasn't a PTO and they brought him in.

2:05We'll see if they bring in any other guys to kind of have a look. But, you know, that's the deal. Maybe there was other teams around interested in him as well. I'm not sure. Maybe that's the reason why they could just give a professional throughout. But we'll see how it goes with him. You know, another guy that he's been gone for three years from league, another bit of a reclamation project. And maybe he's fired up to kind of prove people wrong. So we'll see what kind of player we get in here. But they obviously think they need some help in their bottom six. So that's one of the reasons they kind of went out and got him. Yeah. And listen, opinions were they're coming in via the text line all over the map with this one. A lot of people don't like it. Some say, hey, second chance. People are worthy of second chances. This Oilers franchise has a history and pension for it. We went over a lot of the names in the last segment. You've covered this team for over 20 years now. Why is it always the Oilers? That's a good question. Yeah. Why is it always them? I honestly think I don't know if they have a road map to be honest with you.

3:07You know, they have their two star players that they, you know, they have a pretty good topping. But I think the plan after that is just there's no plan. Let's just see what we can throw the wall and see what sticks type thing. And I think that's kind of the issue. It's been that way. We don't come to management. It's been that way when it comes to coaches has been out. There's no real steady plan here. They keep kind of flipping and going different directions and seeing what work, seeing what's taking what doesn't think. And that's just been the MO of this organization. This is basically Jarl's case to go over the team. There's been a lot of, you know, in flux and movements, like, especially upper management and things like that. So I just don't think they have someone to set up that this is our plan. And this is how we're going to get there. I just think they're kind of doing it on the goal here by the sea of their pants. And I think this is another kind of example of that. Like very fresh. Oh, let's see if this guy will go. Let's see if this guy will work. I type things. So I had my questions in regard to decision making and whatever process is utilized

4:13during the Paul coffee return. And I've always I've had big questions about how this team is run and who is calling the shots and who's in power, who's not in power, which guy is the flavor of the week and DVD. I think you outlined that nicely. Shlummer, you got anything for DVD though. Yeah, yeah, I think I couldn't agree more on that. I mean, I think we know who's in charge now. I think I think that's going to be Babs. Been some talk over the past couple of days from Babs talking about the Oilers team defense and you know needing to play away better away from the puck. Have you heard anything tactics systematically that he wants to install into the oilers system? Well, not yet. I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, but I you know, like before why do we understand? And I've known Babs back in the days when I was covering the Western League in Medestand Hat. So like I remember sitting in his office and spoke to him and we had a long chat. Like he's eat like you talk about it next to the nose guy. He is that guy. Like he is a guy that can kind of make adjustments in game and then see

5:15what's not working and what is working and kind of and he runs the bench well. And I think that's maybe kind of what the Oilers need is is it's in game adjustments and I and this goes back to Conor McDade of the 2024 Stanley Capano. He's like, we kept doing the same things and it wasn't working. And I think that was kind of the first shot over the bio Chris Noblog saying change it, change it and he never changed it. Sorry, that was 2025 Stanley Capano. And and I think they want a guy that's able to kind of work on the fly on the bench here. Uh, and yeah, he's they're going to be defensively sound. They're going to be well structured. But I think that's maybe where they might get into an issue. When you tell Conor McDade, you need to be on the power play for a minute and 15 seconds and then get off. I want to be there that first time they have that conversation or me on dry settle throws a backhand sauce up the middle and it comes back the other way for a goal. Whether or not he sits in for a shifter to let we'll see how that kind of pans out or where they say, no, you got to this is your defensive responsibilities

6:15first and then offense second. Like that's the thing that has always been an issue with this team. They have so many offensive creative players and can you really stifle that creativity by saying, you got to be here at this side of the ice. You got to be here at this side of the s this is your defensive responsibilities. And I think that's where my class a little bit. But then again, I could be wrong. Backhand is a very smart hockey coach is a very smart guy. And for what I hear and what I understand he runs a fence very well. And he can make in game adjustments. And I think that's something that the owners are looking for in a coach right now is someone that can kind of work on the fly. See what's not working and change it if he needs to. Yeah, I think that's a great point, Derek. I mean, like just looking back at last year, you know, even when a goal was McDadevitt's fault. No one's calling one. No one in the media. No one on the broadcast is calling them on it. So I do think it will be interesting to see. I think that's a great point moving on to another Canadian team with some issues. What's the latest on Connor Hellbuck? I'm hearing Carolina buff or Utah.

7:17What are you hearing? Well, I think Carolina is a pretty good one there. Like they obviously got rid of pretty Anderson. He's coming here to Edmonton. They're going to go with a with a young guy or two young guys. So we'll see if, if you know, those contending teams, they're going to have to make money from it. And you look at Hellbuck's contract and when it was structured, it's not a bad contract. Like that's not a huge contract to get on your books. You got to have to find some money, move some things around. But I think the Winnipeg Jester better serve dealing with this now and letting it drag out into this season. The guy doesn't want to be here. Do what Ottawa did when they said Brady contract says, Ah, I don't want to be here anymore. And they were, okay, you're gone. See, we're going to move on without you. And I think that's important. And I know, like I know Kevin Shibble, they help well. He's the guy that's going to do what's best for Winnipeg. Sounds like he had a pretty good deal on the table at the draft with Buffalo, but he decided against it. And I think the deals now aren't going to be as good or as sweet as they may be were at the draft. So he's going to have to bite the bullet here.

8:18And it's a situation where he signed a long term contract. Obviously for whatever reason, the car, how it does not want to be in Winnipeg anymore. So you just got to say, okay, bite the bullet. Let's see what we can get from the Winnipeg Jester. They still think they can contend this year. They still think they had the core of that team that won the president's trophy. So they're not going to start blowing things up. So if you're going to get a goal in return, you're going to have to get a good goal in return. So you got to have to look at what's out there. Can you get a goalie? You know, obviously not at the level of corner halibut, but now you have Stuart Skinner there and maybe get a 1a1b thing going on. And I think they, that's why they signed Stuart Skinner. They knew this was coming down the pipe. They knew this was the situation. And now I think they're better off handling it as quickly as possible. Don't let this linger over the team because they're going to start coming back to training camp and all the questions for every player are going to be, hey, what's going on with corner halibut? What's going on with corner halibut? I think the quicker you do with that situation, the better off you're going to be if you're the Winnipeg Jester. Could you imagine if they go and sign Conner Ingram?

9:23I'm just saying. I'm just saying. He's still available. A lot of people last year thought that Ingram Skinner would work. Yeah. Like Ingram jarid didn't work for this. Hey, maybe Ingram Skinner would work. And yeah, it would be interesting to see a little surprise. The Conner Ingram still out there. I think he could help a hockey team out. But I think once the dust settles, we'll see what happens. But yeah, they need to bring in a goalie. Obviously, yeah, starting goalie and just starting goalie. Obviously not to the caliber of halibut, but I think if you have a disgruntled employee, you want to get rid of him as fast as you can, just to team you and you see. Hi, I'm Max Rochden, the host of The Guardian Football Weekly, alongside me Barry Glendering, my co-host, hey Barry. Hello. Now, although every American found us during the World Cup, for the two that didn't, what can they expect? Found us and fell in love with us, Max. They can expect three episodes each week of occasionally insightful analysis, covering the Premier League, Champions League, and beyond. Football Weekly is back. Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

10:53Who get it done? Yeah, DVD, um, Shevel Day Off has been the GM of the Jets since they moved from Atlanta. Since day one, I think he's done a pretty good job. There's obviously loyalty with him. Um, he's proven that he's not going to get pushed into a lot of things and, and put into an uncomfortable scenario. And I think we're kind of seeing that again. But you alluded to the deal that was on the table from Buffalo and him not pulling it off. And it sounded like it was, it could have been a pretty good one. Is he a little bit gun shy? Or is that, is it unfair to paint him with that brush? Yeah, I think he's going to be a little different than most GMs because of the market he's in. Like Winnipeg strictly has to draft and develop because they're not going to bring in some flashy free agents. No one's going to say, Hey, I'm going to go to Winnipeg. Uh, right? Like it's not a flashy sexy place to go. If the team is competitive, yes, you can bring in guys to help you out. But he's got to keep that market competitive and they do it by drafting and

11:55developing. So I think that was a situation of maybe in Buffalo. Like I heard that it was the number eight pick it, but they wanted for and return or something like that. It was and basically, that the basically said, eight before you're kind of the same fix. So we're not gaining, gaining anything from that. So I think it's a situation where it's just he's got to play the market. And he knows the market incredibly well. He knows that they have to draft and develop well. They've done a really good job with that. And they kind of have to have their players home grow. They're not going to bring guys in. So I think this is a situation where where he's looking at that, say, okay, how do we can kind of continue that? Because would have paid the minute they're not competitive anymore. People will stop going to those games and then you're going to get into a situation where, oh my god, maybe the markets not working on Winnipeg. You can't bottom out and start all over again there. You have to remain competitive. You have to keep adding to to that core. And I think that's what he's looking at doing. I think he's done a great job for the market that he's in because it's a really, it's a really different market than let's say some other teams that around that could attract some free agents, could bring some players in.

12:59It's tough to ask someone to go to Winnipeg and play in Winnipeg. Just like an eminence is when eminence is struggling when it's minus 30 in January. Like it's tough. It's not a very appealing place to go. Definitely not. Beauty, I wanted to ask you about, I mean, just I guess the state of some of these contracts and how it's going to affect some transactions and stuff like that down the road. Like I'm looking at, see, Bui, I'm 50 games played, science for 9 mil, A, A, V, Fraser, Minton, about 100 games played, science for over seven, A, A, V. And then I mean, you look at, I mean, the year or two years ago, the guys are signing for like basically half. I mean, Hudson had to have like an unbelievable record breaking, record breaking season to get that 9 A, A, V and a couple of years later, it came with 50 games, who has an average season is getting it. So I mean, looking a few years down the road, how is this going to affect trades and that like are these really good contracts? Going to be untradable or how do you see that working out?

13:59Yeah, you know, there was a time where guys were getting paid for what they did. Not necessarily what they were going to do, right? Like you know, that contract. Like, oh, you know, you had to kind of put up certain numbers to earn that money. And then but there was always an argument, I was like, well, who cares what he did in the past? You're paying him for what he does in the future, right? It doesn't matter that so and so I had 50 goals last year. It was only going to get 25 this year. Like you want him to know what he's going to get this year. So there was always that, well, do you pay him for what he did? Are you paying him for what you want him to do? Or you think he's potentially capable of doing? And I think we've gone back to that situation where we're going to pay some of what we think he's worth and what he's we's potentially capable of doing. Now, you might be overreaching like it's funny because now the GMS have this money to spend that they didn't have for the last four years. Right. And they say, okay, we have a star player. We think he's going to be a star player. We're going to pay our star player what we think he's worth and what the agents think they're worth. And yeah, the contracts are kind of getting out of hand here, but we saw that earlier on.

14:59So my question to Fama GM is I want to do I want to bring in a guy that's kind of earn that deal, but I'm not sure if I'm the back end, he's going to make that be the same player. Or do I want to take a chance and a good young player, give him the money and kind of give him something to kind of work for you. You're paying a lot of money. Let's see if this works out for you. I think you're gambling either way. But yeah, this is going to change the entire structure of how you do deals and like if Carlson doesn't work out, if Carlson's not a hundred point player, right? Like he's basically has to be a hundred point player now from now on until until that contract is over. Yeah, or if he's completely overpaid. Right. And now that's a lot of pressure on him. It's a lot of pressure on some of these younger guys. And if I'm one of those guys that's 26, 27 going into maybe my pay off contract, like if I'm going to use, what are you going to pay when he was now? Like, are you going to pay him 20 million dollars a year? What's safe for you? Yeah, what's safe for getting what coming out of his ELC? He's going to get north to 20s. Got it. Exactly. So yeah, yeah, yeah, Shaper, like what are you going to pay him?

16:00So, so I think yeah, it's set the bar. It's set the bar really high here. But I think it also tells teams that if you have a star player, if you're not going to pay him, someone else will. So that's what you're going to have to do now. So yeah, so it's half a one, six and one half a dozen and other. You pay a guy for what he did or you pay guy for what he hope he's going to do. So I mean, I've always been, you should pay a guy for what you hope he's going to do. Because you want him to do what, what, what he, what, what your potential, at least potential of doing. I don't care what he did three years ago somewhere else. I'm not going to pay him for what he did three years ago. I want to pay him for what he's going to do three years from now. Well, like, okay. So now let's say you're Hudson and like how much resentment do you have at the end of this deal? And are you thinking like I'm getting paid now? Good point. Yeah, no, exactly. Like, yeah, that's the point. Like now you start, you know, the bar has been set. Okay, it's obviously a high buy with the car. But now everyone's going to kind of come to underneath there. And now you look at the Bousher I did.

17:01You're like, Oh, love deal. Doesn't look that bad. Yeah. All of a sudden the Bousher I feel is a great deal, especially if he becomes this, you know, this great offensive player that he's already looking like he's going to be. So, yeah, about, you know, you're looking back and there's going to be some big, big contracts being paid out here. And then you kind of circle back two years. What's Conor McDavid going to be worth on the open market? Who's going to pay him? Who's going to pay him more to $25 million? Like, because he worked $27 million in two years. Like, that's going to be big, big money coming, coming to talk about a guy like Conor McDavid, especially with these other guys, setting the bar at 20 million. That Matias Samuel since seven year, $30 million contract doesn't look so bad. Or does it? That's, yeah, that was one where like, who and how much and why? And then Buffalo doesn't look too bad doing it back then. Okay, DVD. We ran out of time, man. That's, that's because lots of talk about when we went over and I know you, you got to scoot down to the ring. I'll talk to you tonight. Okay. So, thanks for having me on, guys.

18:04Hi, putt vans Max Russian here from the chart topping Guardian football weekly podcast. Don't not to crow. If you enjoyed the World Cup with us, you'll be glad to know we're back for new Premier League season. Expect three episodes a week questionable predictions and the biggest stories in soccer from the Premier League to the Champions League and beyond. Watch now on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. This is the story of the one as a shipping manager. He's running the dock stocking supplies and making sure every order goes out on time and Granger helps him stay prepared from shipping supplies to PPE to hand tools. He counts on Granger to keep products moving and trucks rolling. So his operation runs smoothly no matter the shift call 1-800-Granjer click Granger.com or just out by Granger for the ones who get it done. Hi, I'm Jack Ravietje Kramer host of the best one yet at T-boy. We're always talking about small decisions that can have an outsized impact. One of the simplest is staying hydrated, whether I'm traveling, getting a workout in or heading into a busy day. I keep liquid IV on hand.

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