Montreal Canadiens Shea Weber to HHOF, Panthers win Stanley Cup, NHL Atlantic Division trade chaos
hello everyone and inside today’s lock on Canadians sha Weber’s headed to the Hall of Fame and the Panthers win the Stanley Cup you’re locked on Canadians your daily podcast on the Montreal Canadians part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello everyone and welcome to episode 10,097 of locked on Canadians your daily Montreal Canadians podcast part of the locked on podcast Network where you get your team every single day of the week wherever you get your daily podcast Google Apple Spotify or on youtube.com and today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase some terms do apply I am one of your hosts I am Scott matlea you’ve been very familiar with me for the last week and a half and if you’re not sick of me yet well we may have news on that in the relative near future but that’s for another show I am once again joined by my fantastic co-host the active stick Laura sabba who is back from a well well deserved vacation uh to redacted oh I could say where it is now that I’m oh yeah because you’re not there anymore so it doesn’t matter Laura got to live my dream and go to Scotland for a week and a half um I’m also gonna go back one day if we have any listeners in Scotland please hit us up um I do want to know more I fell absolutely insanely in love with your country while I was there it has always been a bucket list of mine to bucket list item of mine sorry I should say to go to Scotland um and I was there obviously for the Heartbreak of the Euros uh which I’m so sorry about but it just like I love your country so much I want to come back like in a couple years please please please hit us up and also Scott Scott also wants to go to Scotland so yes hit us up so you can give us both recommendations I absolutely adore it and I highly recommend everyone go just remember that it is the UK so it’s going to cost you three times as much as you think it would for people from Toronto they’re used to that at this point so uh we’ve got a lot to cover because originally I was going to lead the show with hey the big news is the Panthers won the Stanley Cup and then nine zillion things happened from like the middle of that game until the time that I got home from work today and we are a Hab Centric podcast so we have to lead with the biggest Habs news of the day and that is that former captain and current Utah Hockey Club member Shay Weber is headed to the Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2024 and if you’re wondering why is he going into the Hockey Hall of Fame when he has two years left on his contract I say it’s because the NHL is making it up as it goes but he hasn’t played a game in three years which is their before loophole they’re like they’re cheating it’s it’s why yger hasn’t gone in because he refuses to stop playing hockey games at this point uh but Shay Weber goes in uh 38 career NHL games 224 goals 365 assists played 275 games over five season with the Habs with 58 goals 88 assists and he was obviously the captain of this team when the Canadians went on that run to the Stanley Cup Final I am surprised he was a unanimous first ballot Hall of Famer I thought he would eventually get in with thanks to you know his Olympic medals and everything but there’s not a lot of other Hardware in that case and all this really done has done for me Laura is reinforce the fact that Carrie Price will be eligible to go into the Hall of Fame I believe next season because it’ll be have been three years since he last played a game he better be unanimous first ballot if I’m looking at some of the other people have gotten in Henrik lanquist got in and has a SIM maybe a little bit more personal Hardware but car price has a bunch of other awards has the Olympic gold and everything to go with that he’s won at every level except the Stanley Cup I think that he’s near going to be a near unanimous first ballot Hall of Famer uh this just reinforced that fact um it is very weird that sheay Weber is still being paid for two more years as the Chris Pronger situation all over again but with the same team no less right he was an Arizona coyote up until about a month ago and he’s currently the only defenseman signed for next year by Utah which is very very funny to think about out loud it is really funny but like let’s look let’s examine sheay Weber as a candidate so at first glance he is he does not have the same kind of background as a lot of the people who do get in right like there’s multiple cups there there’s consit there there’s other there there’s other Hardware but for me sha Weber is something that uh defined let’s say the Nashville Predators for quite some time while he was there he was one of their first Superstars and there was a point you you can remember the offer sheet to sha Weber there was a point where he was the most coveted defenseman in the NHL right so there was a point so like I think like the uh the fact that he’s one of the pillars of a franchise is part of it um and when he was in his prime he was phenomenal you couldn’t think of a team like if you were picking a team you couldn’t leave him off right that was it whether it was Allstar whether it was Olympics whether it was you know inviting him to the World Championships whether or not he chose to go sha Weber was the guy for such a long time and for all intents and purposes like as many issues as people have with this idea of the pick like he went through his career for the most part just being known for hockey he wasn’t known for any serious controversies or things like that like this is the kind of guy that hockey people look at and they go we want him right like he is a hockey man’s player and so it makes sense to me that he would be in the conversation this early it makes sense to me that he would be unanimous um it’s just like for me I just think that as time goes on and as we get out of that era of like real true greatness like our criteria for the Hockey Hall of Fame has over time gotten looser and looser and looser and that’s something where it is inevitable with such a diluted pool with like so many players and so so much parody it isn’t inevitable it’s kind of just an illustration of how these decisions change over time and I have tried especially in the last couple of years to try to look at the people who do get nominated and who do get inducted and who do get chosen in the absence of who I wanted or who was robbed or etc etc because that for me like I have to separate the two because otherwise what’s happening is my disappointment in one is tarnishing my joy for the other Scott you have thoughts I’m glad that you mentioned the people who did get picked and the people who didn’t get picked for this Hall of Fame class because uh it’s kind of a wolf situation here uh there were two women elected to the Hall of Fame Natalie darwitz who was just recently Let Go by the Minnesota pwhl team in a whole lot of things and Christy wend pole were both nominated and or and elected to the Hall of Fame this year pav datsuk makes perfect sense going in one of the best two-way defensive forwards and all Superstar for forwards you’ve ever seen and then from there it gets a little bit dicer I understand the logic behind David pil getting in there are two names on this list that I really take a that I take umbrage with over anything else and that’s Jeremy ronic and Colin Campbell getting into this well Alexander McGinley was once again left off the Hall of Fame I I don’t get it anymore I don’t understand how Alexander McGinley is not in the Hall of Fame he’s done literally everything that Jeremy ronic hasn’t Stanley Cup all these other things all individual Awards more points everything and he’s just not in and I don’t get it uh Scott wheeler had a very good tweet that I want to look up here but while I am doing that I want to point out that I don’t understand why Colin Campbell is going in if you will remember Colin Campbell was famous for saying Mark seard should have kept his head up and deserved what happened to him when his career was ended with a concussion and then basically sent a black not a blackmail but some kind of email to prevent players on his son Gregory Campbell’s team during the 2011 playoffs from suffering punishment and this is who the NHL has thought just to put in there Builders category it’s absolutely mindblowing to me that they thought this was a good idea and I have the tweet in front of me from Scott wheeler they do a ghost committee at the athletic has given him a new appreciation for this process but Jeremy ronic has never won the Stanley Cup never won an NHL award was never a first or second All-Star team pick and finished top six in the league in scoring in his best season not first not second not third top six that is who they elected to the Hall of Fame over Alexander mcy this year and I truly don’t understand what why they are not doing this Alexander mcgil as as soon as I can get Elite prospects to load up because it’s almost insulting that he hasn’t been put in at this point he has Olympic gold medal he has a world championship he has a world junior medal he’s a triple Gold Club member he has a world junior silver medal he has a lady Bing trophy he has a rocket Rashard trophy he has two All-Star nominations he has a Stanley Cup thing and then he was named to several IIHF uh Allstar teams what are we doing here it blows my mind that he’s not in the hall and then he has also in his career over a th points he had a couple of Seasons where he hit you know 20 30 40 goals and he’s not in it’s when you look at who got in today and who did not it’s almost insulting to some of these other players and that’s kind of upsetting to me a little bit um Laura like yeah that’s why like it is upsetting so like I think like I am upset and then I have to separate that because I also want to be happy for sha Weber right so like that’s that’s to me is the biggest thing is that there’s always going to be this and we have to kind of separate it and I agree so much with you on Coen Campbell as well as uh Jeremy ronic but I think we have run out of time in this segment and we will have the same debate over and over again every year until the people who are deserving do finally get elected yes and we have so much more to get into including a Stanley Cup champion first time Stanley Cup champion and that’s coming up next but passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or dive vehicle alive and eBay Motors has everything that you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance from superchargers to roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you’re into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one Rider die you’ll always find exactly what you’re looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you are burning rubber you’re not burning cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it’s easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins so keep your ride or die live at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply eBay guaranteed fit is available only to United States customers we are back here at locked on Canadians and this is what was going to lead the show originally because why wouldn’t it this is the reason that we didn’t do a Monday show is because I wanted to see who was going to win this game before I recorded anything at all and then other chaos broke out because the NHL refuses to let either of us rest even a little bit but as of last night at about let’s say 10:30 or 11:00ish the Florida Panthers are your 2024 stand Cup champions for the first time in their history I believe that’s now 30 31 years since they entered the league uh everyone remembers the original Rat phase uh this was a game that it was close and then the Oilers you could just see the gas tank just spill out onto the Ice uh and there was nothing left in that the Panthers got a 2-1 goal but brovsky was incredible they held that lead and then we’ll get into some of the baffling things that happened at the end of this game but first Laura you and I both predicted the Florida Panthers to beat the Edmonton Oilers when this all started we said six games and people said we were disrespecting the Oilers maybe we did a little bit given their three down three nothing coming back to tie the series but also I’d like to say that we were right which is the most important part of all of this is that we were right uh even rooting for a divisional rival who I have yelled at about a lot of things in my time on this podcast but the Florida Panthers for the first time in history are Stanley Cup champions there’s so many players on that team and people in management that I’m very excited for and happy for in that uh that I don’t feel the same way about the Oilers for a lot of different reasons but it was a fun fun series it didn’t look I was having fun the whole time if the Oilers lost in four games I was having a great time regardless but fun series very nervy final game you can tell that this was a Last Stand kind of thing obviously and the Panthers didn’t let it get to overtime they’re not going to give McDavid that chance and boy oh boy uh being in a division now that has three of the last five Stanley Cup champions in it plus the Bruins having an appearance in there recently the Canadians technically having an appearance in there recently uh the Atlantic division is uh I think the place to be if you want to really test your B so far you know who doesn’t have a recent Stanley Cup Final appearance is the Toronto Maple Leafs I thought you say the AWA senators or Buffalo sers or it’s been longer for the Leafs though hasn’t it yeah it has been a long time I was gonna say buffalo hasn’t been there since 99 and Ottawa was there in 06 when uh Chris Phillips famously threw the puck into his net and gave Travis mowen a Stanley Cup winning goal against Anaheim but I’m just going to I’m just going to give my myself a pat on the back you can give yourself a pat on the back we were right in that series and I guess my question is I think we learned a lot about how you can structure a how structuring a roster and finding a coach that fits can really get you a long way in these playoffs and having a goalie uh that just turns into God when the time comes upon him right and I will be honest like I did not have a lot of faith in the Panthers coach and you know I did want to point out also that this was an exciting series because it had a lot of storylines in it and like one of the like the potential reverse sweep to was a big thing like the Edmonton Oilers finally getting one but my question now for the Oilers is where do you go from here right like you’ve been criticized so much for not having enough goal tending and defense you finally make it to a Stanley Cup Final and you come up short what do you do um do you learn the lessons from that but in with respect to the Florida Panthers I think you know a lot of our listeners who constantly talk about size and grit Etc will be happy because they did they were a gritty tough team they are a hard difficult team but who won them that series and who actually got them this far is the talent on that team and you cannot forget that like and and the Panthers as much as they are a division rival who gives us fits and we don’t like them personally the story is good I really like that it was thought out it was well done it was you know there was a method to all of their Madness and they learned less lesons from the mistakes that they made in their past which is fantastic like that to me is huge and I also do want to point out that they used to be known for plastic rats but now they’re known for a human rat which I think is so poetic um and I am really happy that kachuck won uh a Stanley Cup and I honestly like I think they showed that you need all of the elements you can’t just win with size you can’t just win with skill you can’t just win with Goal tending you have to have all of it coming together you have to be a tough team to play against but on the end of that you also have to have that talent to drive your offense and you need both you can’t win with just one and I you do need all of those elements and you do need to have a plan you need to have a vision you need to have a plan you need to execute and if things don’t work you need to make changes right away like there were a lot of Trades that the Panthers made that didn’t work out there were a lot of decisions that they made that didn’t work out right like they were overly reliant on one thing and they let this other player go and they you know but the changes that they made finally came together because everyone bought in and that’s what we want for the Canadians to build I think the Canadians are not going to be exactly like the Panthers they’re they’re just different team philosophically but they I have faith that this organization will be able to understand and recognize you need all of the elements to really complement each other and work together you can’t have anything missing it cannot be like a Toronto Maple Leaf situation or even sad to say another Oiler situation because the Oilers still have glaring issues right they got to the fight like like who won the K SM Conor McDavid because he was the one that drove them through this entire playoffs like he literally carried this team on the back on their back on his back sorry and it’s because they had so many flaws so you have to be able to either eliminate the flaws or compensate for them if you are going to win you can’t be a perfect team there are very few teams that will have the opportunity to have everything going on all cylinders at all times particularly in the playoffs you’re going to run into problems you’re going to have to be able to complement your weaknesses and I think that that is really the difference for the Oilers is that they weren’t able to cover up mask and compliment adequately when it really mattered the biggest thing about the Panthers that people like oh they’re big and they’re nasty but they’re big in a way that is not 2011 Bruins they are a team that moves the puck extremely well they’re nasty and they’re physical but it comes with a level of skill to that that is important they can play a heavy skillful game their back end is tall they are and the Canadians can mod can you know look at that if you can find guys that can move look at Arbor Jacky he’s a big dude who can move the puck out you can work people into that system you asked where the Oilers Go From Here dry cidal is a UFA at the end of next season mcdavid’s a UFA in two years the Rumblings have already started that it’s like is are you splitting things they have $10 million in cap space and they have seven forwards five defensemen and two goalies signed for next year they have a roster of 14 players out of 23 and yeah they’ll promote a few people up that is not a team that’s going to go deep again uh Dylan Hollow is gonna need a contract but Conor Brown is gone Sam Carrick is gone Warren Fogle who was very good for them in the playoffs gone Sam G gone Adam Henri gone Matias Yanmar also very good for them gone Corey Perry gone on defense Philip broberg RFA Vincent de har UFA Troy stetcher UFA Kelvin picker their backup goalie UFA this is a team that has to change things they they are not in a position like Toronto where they can run it back and make this work like I look at the end of that game and I know this segment’s going to run a little long so you you’re all gonna have to deal with that is they were out of gas their depth players showing up is what got them to game seven yes McDavid was very good but guys like Fogle guys like Conor brown guys like uh Dylan Holloway and Matias Yanmar helped get there Matias yanar scored their only damn goal of the game and then they just went Big Five McDavid dry Sidle Heyman uh buard and then uh whether it was eckholm or nurse and then another forward out there and then they waited forever to pull Stuart Skinner and it just didn’t work and by the time they got to the last shift mcdavid’s done he’s playing through injuries that are prior surgery dry cidal hurt they don’t have the gas you have no fresh legs in Florida’s depth because even with them rolling it all of their legs are fresher and that just came down to Paul Maurice out coached the Oilers at the end there and that’s the thing like Paul Maurice out coaching somebody was like honestly for me that was the biggest surprise throughout like last season when they went made it to the finals and this season it’s it’s a it’s a wild Wild Thing obviously I refer you to lockdown Panthers and lockdown Oilers for their takes on this that are from a less than neutral perspective uh we have one segment left to go here because the Atlantic division in the last 24 hours has just decided to go a little bit crazy we’re going to get into all of that coming up next but first as I said off the top of the show today’s show is brought to you by game time and it’s summer hockey’s over basketball’s over football’s still months away but it is baseball season and if you’re like me and you love going to the ballpark to catch a game at any time maybe spur the moment you’re going to want to check out game time because they are the authorized ticket Marketplace from Major League Baseball which makes getting tickets faster and easier and prices on the game time app go down closer to first pitch unlike other places so you can find Flash Deals you can get last minute deals up to 60% off for things baseball games concerts shows anything at all all on game time and the best part is when you were looking at that view from your seat and you decide these are the tickets you’re buying you can check it out and see the price that you are paying when you go to cash out no hidden fees nothing else at all so take all the guest workk out of buying tickets with game time just download game time app create an account use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase some terms apply again create an account and redeem code l o c k d o n NHL for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed oh boy all right we’re in the home stretch here because every NHL team uh I shouldn’t say every NHL team the Atlantic division in the last 24 hours has been like hey the Panthers about to do something cool we’re g to get in there and make it about us and uh I guess we’ll start with what happened just before game seven puck drop yesterday the Bruins and Senators worked out a trade for goenda olark so lenaar is now headed to Ottawa he has one year left at $5 million heading in the opposite direction go Hender Unis Corp pasalo Ford Mike Mark celik and the Senators first round pick this year which is 25th overall which the Canadians are picking 26th overall and if you want a real war flashback here the last time that happened the Bruins picked David poock at 25th overall one pick before the Montreal Canadians so that’s deeply sading when the Canadians picked McCarron that was when the Canadians picked Nikita sherback uh M was the was two years before that so uh I like the sherback pick it’s just that David poock became an international Superstar and sherback kind of became no longer a Montreal Canadian yeah he became part of the fodder of the uh Michel tyon CL Julian Silvan LEF Mark ban era for the good and the bad there uh this trade I hate it because the senator seemingly got a competent goalie I don’t know if it’s actually going to help them or not because I don’t know if it’s their goal tending or if it’s their defense that’s the problem there I think it’s the fact that they’re the Ottawa Senators to be honest um I just don’t understand why the Boston Bruins would help a division rival in that way which is not to say they they obviously had to figure out what they were doing with their two goalies right their two talented promising extremely competent you know goalies that both could have been of the future right like it was great fun watching them in tandem but when the time comes to pay one of them you need to get value for the other so I’m not against them getting value for their goal tender I’m also like I’m intrigued by this because obviously they’ve got a player who can be a backup goal tender let’s say um and then you’ve got you’ve got a pick like I don’t I don’t know much about the player but I do know that like a first round pick is a first round pick so I don’t fault them for trying to get value I just fault them for assisting a division rival of all things a division rival that’s my only issue with it and I think with this that I believe I was talking to some of the Bruins fans in the uh the former SP Nation slack is that they haven’t had a first- round pick in a couple of years which they were in need of to replenish their pool there Unis Corp pasalo is signed for the next four years at $3 million and Jeremy Swan is RFA this off season so Swan’s getting paid he’s the guy who got them through the Bost or through the Toronto series and onwards and they got to make the most of it because they have a lot of guys coming up for contracts Brad Marian’s do a contract after this season Charlie Coyle’s up uh a lot of guys are coming up in 25 26 so they’re trying to create the cap space uh for the Senators I get why they did this and they’re clearly cutting bait on a guy they thought was going to be the guy uh they have $1 million in cap space they’re only have seven forwards signed they have six defenseman two goalies uh obviously Josh Morris is on uh injured reserve still but they’ve got to resign guys like Shane Pinto this off season who are you g what are you gonna pay him we’re gonna see whether or not this was a the Bruins made olark good or olark is good kind of move uh they weren’t the only teams creating some chaos here the Detroit Red Wings made two trades that seemed a little bit weird to me they traded their 2023 second round pick or Prospect Andrew Gibson to the national predators for a second round pick and Jesse kinan and then promptly turn traded that second round pick and defenseman Jake wman a guy that analytics people really loved to the Sharks for future considerations I don’t get it I love this that was weird like that love this for J real thing sorry you were saying I was like I love this for JD I don’t get this on a red wing side unless they are clearing and now into the next page of cap they have $32 million in cap space now when they cleared that to make that though like well they have two big contracts due up this off season Lucas Raymond in RFA and Mort ciders in RFA and they’re both going to get pretty hefty deals yeah and maybe they’re GNA spend on an actual starting goenda huso and get someone in there who can but the thought is they’re going to try and make a splash here because they have some ufas to resign they have some rfas to resign here they’ve got a lot of guys on entry-level deals outside the NHL that they can that they may be counting on guys like Axel sandine pel Seaman Edinson William Wallander uh and see maybe what are these guys going to do but I don’t get the Wallman trade when now your highest paid and longest term defenseman is Ben sherat and your second longest term defenseman is Justin Hall oh it’s Justin Hall cider’s up for a contract so he’s not even signed yet like okay so I know in in our um locked on group chat the Red Wings guys were pretty puzzled so please check out locked on Red Wings tomorrow to see if they figured out um why they did this but Scott I think you made a great point with them needing to make a big splash because they did come within a whisper of making the playoffs at a time where their rebuild is supposed to be turning into contention so it’s been a couple years where last year they were exciting and they didn’t make it and then this past season they were exciting and they almost made it they really need something like you know like we talked so much earlier this offseason about should the Canadians make a splash do they need to and we said no but do the Detroit Red Wings need to make a splash yes absolutely they need to take a step forward whether it was you know whether they need to add a bigname free agent or they need to make make a big trade or whatever they do need to take a step forward this season otherwise they’re going to be at risk of staying in that Treading Water position for years and years and years so I understand them making moves I just don’t understand this particular one unless they have you know something up their sleeve and I do appreciate though and this might be you know Stevie or whatever it is I do appreciate that it wasn’t an instant reaction to not making the playoffs like this was a watching ing everyone else in the playoffs watching all of that stuff waiting until the market started to move waiting until it was okay like it was you know okay to start making trades and like making things about themselves as you put it and then they kind of decided to do things and just for me I’m just a bit confused as to what the endgame is here but I’m sure there is one I don’t think this is something that’s been done without a plan in mind yeah it’s I it’s I’m curious to see where this goes and obviously Steven Stamkos is the big you know name that’s out there I’m wonder if they’re chasing in Ufa if they’re going to bring back Patrick Kane on a little bit bigger contract it’s we’ll leave that up to locked on Red Wings to uh guide you guys through there obviously they’re awesome guys they’ll definitely check their podcast out we love them yes uh we will well Laura will be back tomorrow we have some draft stuff from our friends at lockdown NHL prospects we’re going to be keeping up with the news I will be at a wrestling show so if you’re in Buffalo and at aew uh just wave and you know yell about Mark shley being a coward or something like that because we love you and appreciate you uh you can follow us on Twitter at lorc Canadians lockon Canadians gmail.com for any of your questions you can follow Laur at the Active stick you can follow myself at Scott Mata you can find us wherever you get your daily podcast and here on youtube.com the draft is closing in we can’t wait to share it with you live show Saturday after the draft is over we’ve had a chance to process a little bit come hang out and talk about it with us folks that’s going to do it for us but we will see you all next time
Inside the latest Locked on Canadiens
It has been a crazy few days around the NHL and your hosts have a mountain of content to sift through in today’s show!
First up, former Habs captain Shea Weber was announced as one of the latest inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame, despite still having two years left on his current NHL contract. Scott and Laura discuss his time in Montreal and the accolades that led to his induction. Scott also has A LOT of questions about some of the other inductees, which means it’s time for a rant.
Speaking of big news though, the Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions for the first time in franchise history! Scott and Laura take a short victory lap for getting their Finals predictions right, and discuss what lessons could be learned from this series.
Finally, the Atlantic Division in the midst of the Panthers’ celebration have decided to go buckwild in the trade market. The hosts discuss the moves made by the Red Wings, Senators and Bruins and how they might impact the Montreal Canadiens this upcoming season.
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