Carolina Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky joins the show | October 17, 2025
[Music] Welcome into NHL tonight. First shift for Friday, October the 17th, 2025. EJ Radic alongside my friend, my pal, sometimes my nemesis, Dan Rosen from NHL.com. Good to have you back today. Yeah, not this week. Not nemesis this week, but I think we’re off to a flying start because you got the date right. I think you were thinking about I think you were thinking about the year for a you had to think about it as you were talking. Well, I like to have a little bit of like you know maybe somebody at home is like is it 2026? We don’t know. I understand dramatic pause. Let me tell you though for the bring the viewers in for a second on this one. I have screwed up the date like three times since we started doing it this year. So I’m trying to be better like to give the date. Let everybody know where we are. All right. Let’s uh let’s get let’s get right into it. All right. Let’s get the first things first. We’ll get to Sam later. He’s got a a spot on the show later. our producer Sam Wilder. First things first, Carolina Hurricanes and then there was one one perfect team thus far. The Canes are 4-0. I know the Avalanche are 40 and one. Canes are 4-0 and they got it done against the Anaheim Ducks last night out west as they’re in the midst of this six-game road trip. And uh boy, what a great start for the Canes. And they’re doing it the Can’s way, right? I mean, exactly. They have there there’s some new additions there. Eers, Keandre Miller, Alexander Neshian’s been very good. He came in very late last year, played a playoff couple playoff games. Uh they’re but they’re plus 15. If you look at it, they’re averaging over 36 shots on goal per game and giving up uh about 21. So they’re about plus 15 per game in that category. That’s the Kane’s way, EJ, right now. And they they’ve been doing it for years that way. And they’re doing it. Sevetchnikov has no points. I know. Nikolai Elers has no points. No points, right? Sebastian Nah scored his first goal last night. Yeah. Right. Seth Jarvis has five. Okay. So, he’s been off to a great a terrific start. And they just they just keep getting it done in the manner with which they can that you expect them to get it done. And look, I mean, we’re we’re talking about this in October. You don’t want to fast forward, but we need to be talking what are we talking about in May? That’s what we’re talking about, right? With that’s always when you discuss the fast forward there. But when you discuss the Carolina Hurricanes, they’re like a couple of different teams. I think the Toronto Maple Leafs kind of fall into that as well. There’s a couple that, you know, they would like to fast forward if they could and get to the playoffs, but it doesn’t work that way. As we know, it’s a long regular season. The Carolina Hurricanes have proven to be a very, very good regular season team and they find their way usually through the first round, maybe through the second round. They haven’t been able to really find their way past the third round. So, that is the onus on their group. And we’re going to have Eric Tolski, their general manager, on the show a little bit later. So, we’ll get to talk to him about some of that stuff. But you can’t fast forward. The games are in front of you. They’ve found a way to win all these first four and they’re playing very well. And another guy I want to give a shout out to is Shane Gostaspar, who’s got seven points, six assists, but he’s a plus nine. Now, I know, you know, in the world of advanced statistics, plus minus isn’t that big a deal anymore, but still plus nine is pretty significant. And especially for a player that a lot of people knock and say doesn’t defend that well. It’s a pretty good start for Shane Gospel. It’s a terrific start. And listen, they need Gossbury. They need Nikesh. You know who’s their best defenseman? It’s Jacob Slavven who hasn’t played the last couple games, right? So they need these guys to all step up. And then you you got to figure that Nikolai Eers is going to find his footing offensively. That Andre Svchnikov is going to find his footing offensively. That Aaho maybe Potton won last night. That gets him going a little bit too. maybe Jarvis cools a little bit in this whole process, right? But these other guys who they have, you know, are there and they’re top six and they’re relied upon guys, they really haven’t done much. And here’s this team starting out 4-0. I’m not surprised they’re 4-0. I think I’m a little bit more surprised of how they are 4-0, how they’ve gotten there without slaving for two games and no points from special either. As I said at the start, it’s a six-game road trip they’re in the midst of. the schedule’s getting going to get harder because they’ve got LA coming up on Saturday. You see there, and then they’re in Vegas, they’re at Colorado, and they’re at Dallas. I mean, so that’s a gauntlet. This is a six-game trip that sees them away from home traveling for about two weeks really. So, it’s a pretty significant bite of their schedule, but they’re playing well right now. They’re going to see some really tough teams, have some good challenges. See an old friend, Brent Burns, in Colorado. So, uh, you know what though? If they end up six and two on this road trip, it’s a, you know, I mean, at the end of the road trip, right now they’re 4 and0, four and two for the trip. They won the two games, you expect them to win, right? And now, if they split the next four, they’re six and two coming home. I mean, that’s pretty darn good. Yeah, no question. I I look forward to that game against Colorado, Brett Burns, and that two teams that play at a really high high pace. So Canes the only unblenmished team at this point through the four first four games for them. How about the Montreal Canadiens last night? I mean they’re down to the National Predators late. Clock is ticking down. There’s a chance for Mariso and there’s Lane Hudson with the save and then the long pass and Cole Cawfield. Wow. Yeah. Short side. 20 seconds left to tie it. You can do it one better as Nick Suzuki is going to come out with this puck. Nice little play by Suzuki. Gets it to Cawfield and he don’t miss in those situations. Three seconds left in overtime. There’s a little hugging going on in Montreal. The fans love it. Nothing better for me in hockey than when the Canadians are good and exciting in that building. There’s so much passion there in Montreal for hockey and in the Bell Center. I mean, I know it’s been years since they moved out of the forum. I’m old enough to remember that. But it’s it’s when things are going good in Montreal, it’s special. And you can see fastest to 10 overtime goals. Cole Cfield uh takes the mark. I remember covering Frankie Fin back in the 20s. And Carell Capri off did it pretty quick, too. How Moren’s another legend of the past, but congratulations to Cole Coughfield and the Habs who’ve also gotten off to a very good start to the season. They’re sitting there at top the Atlantic division with a 4 in one mark. Not bad. Well, we sat here last week and I did my Super 16 and I told you, well, I didn’t have the Habs in it, right? And I thought to myself, well, the Habs, they’re the team that uh, you know, they they jumped up and they they they made a push and and maybe it was a little too much too soon and then they lose on opening night and I’m thinking to myself, you okay, may maybe right here. No, I’m wrong. I’m dead wrong. And I’ll eat it I’ll eat it on this one. I am dead wrong. They’re exciting. They’re fun. They’re fast. They they are good. and they’re confident. Okay. All of those things. And Cole Cfield, US Olympian, right? I mean, you need guys who score. Yeah. And he scores. He scores a lot of goals cuz he puts the puck in the net like that like we saw last night. Team USA for Cole Cfield. That’s what I think. So, yeah. All right. I think so. And I like it. You know, hey, I I’m going to, you know, I hate to be in the position ever defending you about anything because I don’t I like it when you’re like I don’t even like you defending me. I don’t want to throw you the rope. I want you to sit there and struggle. But I will say this, if you remember the Montreal Canadians last year, and this is a different year, and I think this is a better team and it’s a little bit older, but they were one of those teams that were a little bit of a roller coaster. They had some really good stretches. Then they had some stretches where they were really bad and then at the end they kind of figured out and got in the playoffs. So, it’s early. Well, they figured it out after the Four Nations. They dominated after they went on a huge run after Four Nations last year and that’s what got them in the playoffs last year. And that’s why I thought to myself, like, you know what? It was a nice big It was a nice sample size, but it was it too much too soon. And then you look them in the playoffs and they’re like, well, they were close with Washington, but they really I mean, they didn’t they didn’t they a little scary. It was a five game series. Yeah. But they were they were I think their the size issue that was a bad matchup. Washington is so much bigger and stronger than them and we saw remember when Wilson leveled Kerier on the wall there and thought it was the end for Ker. So, uh, you know, that wasn’t a great matchup, but it was a great learning experience. And I’ll say this, talking to me remember Ken Hitchcock in years gone by, one of the great coaches, he talked about when teams are, you know, trying to move up the ladder, making the playoffs last year for Montreal and being part of that accelerates their development dramatically. Yes. And so that was a big thing for Marty San Louis and that group. We’ll see how it goes this year. They are off to a good start, but it is very early. Very. So, but so far you’re dead wrong. Okay. All right. All right, let’s I was at the I went to the Rock last night for the Devils home opener. It was the last of the home openers. They’re all 32 teams that played at home now. And you saw Jack Hughes had a great shot there to beat Teras off. And then there was a deflection there by by Team Umayer. And that ends up being the game-winning goal in the game. Terrific hustle play there by Dawson Mercer. Gets it over to Heir. Three to one. Devils ended up winning it. And I thought the Devils played very very well in the game. Uh the first couple of minutes they got behind early it was a little bit dicey but they figured things out pretty quickly and you know Terasoft played really good in the game as a number two new number two goalie was formerly in Carolina or excuse me in Columbus and now in Florida. He was excellent and talked to Paul Maurice afterwards he said yeah he gave us a chance. Was reading between the lines with Paul Maurice. He did not like the performance last night. So the Panthers the defending champ two twotime defending champs. They won their first three at home. Looked good. They’ve gone on the road now, lost three in a row on, you know, on the road. They have a five-game trip. They got two more games. It finishes up in Boston where they take on where Brad Marshon visits his former club. But you can see last 12 regular season road games. This is not good. Now, to me, take this for what it is because in the playoffs, the Florida Panthers were the road warriors. They killed everybody. You could see the bottom line there. 10 and three plus 30. So, it’s a little bit strange. The the thing I do wonder about the Panthers, you know, missing Barkov and missing Kachchuk for such a, you know, Barkoff for the whole year and Kachchuck for looks like two months. That’s one thing to miss what they can contribute on the ice. But those guys are unique personalities in different ways and actually in very different ways, but they impact that team, especially you’re on the road and maybe you’re going through something. having those guys there, not only in terms of what they do on the ice, but what they mean to the team around, you know, in the room and on those trips. I asked Paul about that. He goes, “Yeah, it’s uh it’s a thing.” And he goes, “You know, at some point in time, I’d like to get them back out here with us depending upon their, you know, their rehab situations, but you know, that’s something that we don’t talk about a lot. You know, we talk about what they do on the ice, which is significant.” Yeah. But those guys are important pieces away from it as well. I I I mean I think it’s an important point that you make there and and Paul, you know, agreed with it, right? I think it’s an important point there, but the guys there are veteran guys. They got to they got to be able to figure that part of it out and and and it’s different for them, right? So, let’s you got to give them a little time here because yeah, they are unique personalities. They’re different. Barov’s the 100%. He is the leader of that team in in the room. He sets the tone and Kachchuck is the emotional guy, right? I mean, he does in that in that way. But they’re also missing Noshik. They’re also missing Kulakov. Yeah, Kulakov’s a big loss. He’s a big man. He plays minutes, important minutes in the game, right? We talk, what do we talk about when it comes to playoff time? We talk about depth. We talk about how a team looks. We talk about the third line, right? The second deep pair and the third deep pair, thinking the top six and the top D pairs, maybe they’ll cancel each outage, you know, every once in a while. And the team that wins the seven game series is the depth. Well, they’re missing big portion, big chunks of their depth. And they’re going to go through it a little bit. This is I’m not surprised like this is going to happen for them. They have to just figure out a way to manage it, stay in the race, which I don’t think they’re going to have a problem doing. Manage it, stay in the race, get in, cuz then they’re the most experienced. If they get in and they get everybody back or most of these guys back, it’s a big difference. But it’s it’s going to be a long year. And listen, they have a great situation down there and Bill Zo is done, we all know, I mean, he’s done an unbelievable job. Paul’s done a great job. They’ve added these pieces to the puzzle. saw Aaron Eckplad last night and played a ton of minutes, great player, Seth Jones being part of it. Like this is still a really good team, but hard to replace number one center and then you know, say what you want about Matthew Kachchuk like he he brings that energy in so many different ways and plus he’s a really high player. Also not easy to try to snap out of something a little funk when you go into a team’s home opener and that team’s all juiced up and the crowd’s and they’ve been waiting to play their home opener too for a while. Uh, I mean the Devils weren’t great at the start, but they really picked up their game and and they look good when healthy. They’re good. Yeah. And they don’t have Marstrom right now and that’s going to be interesting, but he’ll eventually come back. Yeah, with the condensed schedule, it’s tough, especially lose a goalie. So, Jake Allen was good last night. He’s a competent goalender. Nico Daw is going to have to play a little bit. We’ll see how things go. But the Devils did look really good and they’re off to a nice start as well. So, that’s we’ll see. Yep. We’ll see where they better be cuz Carolina’s going. Yeah, that’s true. That’s true. You know, we mentioned Matthew Kachchuk and you know, he’s dealing with injury. Brady Kachchuk, of course, we found out yesterday, right? He’s going to miss six to eight weeks. So, the Ottawa Senators, you know, they’re up against it. It’s a tough start to the season. They’re playing, you know, I think a team that has played pretty well this year at the start of the season, the Seattle Kraken, but was kind of a crazy game. Philip Gruber was in goal for Seattle. Was his first start of the season. And in the end, Shane Pinto does it again, leading the league in goals. He scores in the game and then scores the shootout winner. And I that’s a I think that was a big win for the Ottawa Senators having be one and three. Tough loss the night before. And you can see the goal leaders in the league. Pinto and Dorf is both they tied at six. Caulfield Eel Shley Jarvis with five. But boy Shane Pinto is uh he is picking up the slack right now for Brady Kachchuk. And that’s that’s important. He’s a quick release and knows where to go, right? And and we saw it we saw it in the shootout. Quick release. We saw it on his goal to, you know, in the game there go knows where to go, right? Finds the finds has a little bit of a nose for it. So, six goals for him. He He’s been very good. They need it. But listen, this was a really good win for them. It’s going to be hard without Brady Kachchuck. Like that’s that’s the thing. It’s going to be hard without him. And I do worry a little bit about their backup goalending at the same time. That’s they’re not defending well and even in this game they they gave up some, you know, more goals than you want to give up. So, but when you talk we talk about the Panthers losing Matthew Kachchuck, they got a veteran group that’s won, right? They can handle this. Brady Kachchuck is the leader. There’s unquestioned leader there. And this is a team that’s still trying to grow and build on what they did last season. To lose him for six to eight weeks, it’s going to be a hard loss. No question about it. All right, so that was some of the action last night. Tonight, we got four games on the docket for you. Tampa and Detroit at 7 in Mottown. You have the Caps hosting the Minnesota Wild. And thanks again to Spencer Carter for jumping in with us yesterday. We had a great interview with him. 8:30 Canucks and Blackhawks in Chicago. Chicago looking to keep it rolling. Canucks had a nice win last night over the Dallas Stars. Happy for my guy Max Sassin. Had his first goal of the year. Part of that AHL championship team with Abbottzford last year getting a chance in van again this season. And then at 9:00, the Mammoth at home against the San Jose Sharks who are looking for a W tonight. Let’s let’s talk a little bit about the Lightning and the Red Wings because the Wings have gotten off to a good start. Remember opening night against Montreal bad not good not good Todd Mlen reason the riot act they make a goalie change they put Talbot in I mean Gibson played in game one they didn’t defend in front of him great but he didn’t play well Talbot has played a couple of really good games now tonight they’re at home they come back they they come back and they’re going to go with Gibson tonight now they traded for him they want to get him going but like it’s interesting to me Talbot has been so good it’s not a back-toback situation I might be tempted to go with Talbet again in this game I I’m a little surprised to be honest with you because you want to roll with what’s got you there and it’s early, you know, like if you have a backtoback, it’s different. Now they play Sunday afternoon against the Oilers. That one is in Detroit. The Oilers play Saturday afternoon in New Jersey, so it’s a backto-back for them. Like I don’t know. Like the Red Wings are, you know, they’re trying to get this good start and build up some points and get back into the playoffs for me. I mean, Talbot’s been good. I’d roll with them. Yeah, I would roll with them, too. But I think the the I and I and I I’m surprised that it’s not him tonight. But I do you look at the other side of it. You got Gibson. You looked at him as a big-time guy for you. He had a tough go in game one that he played. They didn’t play well in front of him. He didn’t play well. He’s been sitting on that now, right? So now you want to give him another like don’t want to hold him out too long to where he continues to sit on it for too long. Like let’s get him back in. I kind of understand that. But at the same time, this team’s rolling here and they could roll one more time at least with Talbot and then maybe go to Gibson on Sunday. It it’s it’s a tossup. It’s a tossup. And listen, and Gibson is going to have to be part of this. And you know, they’re hoping he’s still going to be their number one, I guess. But but he played one game and and Talbot is one of those goalies, too, by the way, who he’ll take it personally. Like he if you like he he will he will 100% take it. He’s a competitive guy, right? They’re all competitive guys, but I mean, he’s like that way where you’re going to tell him that he’s not going to be the guy. Well, I’m going to go play like I’m the guy and then now you’re going to have to take it away from me again. And they may they may very well do that. But that’s the the situation. Hey, one more thing on the Red Wings who are playing a Tampa team that has not gotten out of the gate fast here. They’re one two and one. So, a good chance to maybe give it to them. But how about this young kid, EMTT Finny? Yeah. First of all, I love his name. Yeah. EMTT Finny. Emtt sounds like a hockey player. Western Canadian kid played in played in Cam Loops and was a seventh round pick for the Detroit Red Wings and you know when they drafted him in 2023 he didn’t have huge numbers at Cam Loops. So obviously somebody in their scouting system and it’s it’s really an area scout talking I was talking to our friend Craig Button today who was a scout for many years and you know Craig talked about the fact that’s an area scout pick that’s somebody who’s watching that team a lot and so they pick him. He played a couple more years in Cam Loops and now here he is. He’s sitting on the first line because Lucas Raymond is out, but he’s playing with Larkin and Appleton and he’s been a really good player for them. So, nice job by the Wings to find a guy in the seventh round who’s a helpful player. Listen, a couple of assists, 14 minutes a game. I mean, he’s playing a role right now. It’s early, but good for him. Who who would have thunk it, right? One of those things. But this is what Detroit Detroit needs this, too. You remember they haven’t won the draft lottery. They haven’t been that team. So they’re their their scouting and development has to be good because they haven’t had that pick. Cider was a high pick. Raymond was a high pick. But they never had the one. Never got the one. And even the two and nope. They Well, I don’t think they got the three either, you know. So, um, they need some of these other guys to come in and be like, “All right, this guy’s going to be a depth guy for us.” And here we go. Got one. So, the Red Wings and Lightning tonight in Detroit, one of four games on the docket. When we come back, we talked about the Canes off to a great start. Their general manager, Eric Tolk, will join us next. Talk about his team in Raleigh. That’s next on First Shift. [Music] Take a look at the best records thus far in the National Hockey League. and the Avalanche have nine points. They do have an overtime loss. Carolina Hurricanes, they’ve played four games. They won them all. So, I would say that’s the best start of the season. And with that, we bring in their general manager, Eric Tolsky, who’s with the team on this road trip out west. Eric, thanks so much for for stopping in and joining us today. And I want to start with that trip because you’re on a six-game trip that has you guys traveling kind of out west for about two weeks, it seems like. Do you like the fact that I I think you you mentioned to us that you you this is a thing you guys do a lot of years because of uh scheduling locally, but like do you like it? Yeah. No, it’s a great opportunity to get the team off on the road and you know get guys spending time together and away from you know all the distractions of home. Like it also gives them a chance to spend time with the family as the season wears on and it gets longer and longer. It’s nice to be able to sleep at home in your own bed and see your family and so you know this the way it works out for us nice every year. What is it? Is it I think you said it’s the state fair that shares the facilities there. Yeah. So we’ve got a state fair in town uh sort of mid to late October every year and so they need our parking lots. They need us not creating extra traffic and so we get out of town. All right. All right. It makes sense. Eric, Eric, one of the one of the things it’s always with the Carolina Hurricanes, a key thing is a balanced attack, right? A fourline, 3D pair attack, and you want to get to that. You guys have had a very balanced attack, it seems like, through these first four games. When you can get to it early, I mean, every team is different. Every year is different. When you can get to it early, what do you think that does for your team and the development of the team to the team this season? Yeah. No, it’s been great for us. We, you know, we up and down our lineup. I think every player we have is capable of contributing. And right now, every line is clicking and, you know, it’s it’s really hard to play against a team that applies the kind of pressure that we apply when every line is doing it. And it just wave after wave of pressure and guys on you and creating chances. And you know, the first couple games our fourth line was our best line. It’s, you know, it’s hard to play when every line can do that to you. Eric, you went out in the offseason. The big acquisition was getting Nikolai Eers to sign as a free agent to come in there and and you know, so far no points, but you guys have won all four games. Those points are going to come for Nikolai Eers. I mean, as you’ve watched him in training camp and in the start of the season, has he been as advertised for you in terms of what he brings to the table and how he fits with what you guys do? Yeah, he’s created a ton of chances for us. I mean it watching the games like he is every bit as dynamic as we hoped he would be. He is putting the puck on the stick of his teammates and you know shots haven’t gone in when they came off his passes. They went in off other passes so he doesn’t end up with the points but he’s helping create offense for us and um you know I think yeah like he’s he’s bringing that speed and the dynamic play with the puck that we were looking for from him. You know I Eric I was there. I remember seeing you during the playoffs last year and Alexander Nikeshan came in and he was, you know, he was a guy that, you know, the fan base was looking at us saying, “This is this guy’s got something special.” And a lot of you guys were talking about how special he could be, but you know, it was he it was new for him. Everything was new and different. Now he’s gotten in. He had a training camp. He’s got four games in. He’s playing 16 and a half minutes. He’s got a bunch of points already. What are you seeing from Nikeshan right now? Uh, and where does his game now go? Yeah, I mean there’s there’s still a lot of adjustments for him. The way we play is so different from even the way most NHL teams play. It’s completely different pace and expectation from what you would be used to playing overseas. And so it’s going to take time, but the talent is clearly there. And, you know, he’s he’s getting by on talent right now. And he’s creating plays with the puck and without. He’s providing some physicality. He’s got some offensive instincts. Like he has a lot of ability. And what’s exciting is he’s already contributing at a high level. And as he gets more and more acclimated, we expect it to just get better and better. And and in addition, I wanted to ask you about him, the acclamation, the, you know, off the ice. Uh he he had a he had a chance last year to see a little bit of it and be around it, but what have you seen from him in terms of that acclamation off the ice with the team? and he scored he scored a goal and Trip Tracy on the broadcast goes you see how much they love this guy. So that could just be Trippy and Trip we love him but you know uh what have you seen in terms of how he’s acclimated off the ice? Yeah. No, it’s been good. I mean we have a really solid group of players and I think they’re very welcoming of every new person who comes in. You know, it’s something I hear from guys when they come in that they’ve they just feel like from day one they feel like they’re part of the family. um you know it’s a little different when someone’s coming from overseas and he’s away from you know everything he’s ever known but I think he’s felt like in the locker room with those players like he’s part of the team and he fits in and you know they embraced him he embraces them it’s been great all right I asked you about Eers who was a big acquisition via free agency let me ask you about Kandre Miller who was part of a big trade you brought him in you went to that New York Rangers pipeline again that I think exists somewhere between Raleigh and New York City there’s been players that kind of moved up and down that pipeline over the years. Brady Shay is one that comes to mind, but you get Keandre Miller again early on here. Has he is he been what you have expected? Is he more than you’ve expected? How is he fitting in? What can you tell us about his process of becoming a Carolina Hurricane? Yeah. No, he’s been great. I mean, he, you know, just the way he plays like instinctively has such a powerful closeout and such good length and physicality to his play. It’s really natural for what we ask defensemen to do. Again, you know, like I said with Nikian, it’s a it’s a difference from what he was asked to do with his previous team. And we will see ramp up as that gets more and more instinctive for him over time, but it’s it fits his natural skill set. And so from day one, you could see he stepped in and was ready to play what we wanted to play. and it’ll get better and better as he gets more and more used to our expectations and knowing where we want him to be and you know I just like he had a huge impact on game one and think it’s just going to get better from there. I also wanted to ask you about Seth Jarvis. I think he’s on pace for 98 goals. Um I don’t love Yeah, you’d love that. So, I won’t ask you, is he going to score that many goals, but he does have five and four games, but more importantly, I think he’s fully comfortable and confident in who he is now in this league. And what does that and how does that translate in your room? Because I remember when he came in, he’s bursting with personality and and it doesn’t seem like that’s changed. How has that how does that impact your group? And in addition obviously to his almost 100 goal pace. Yeah, I mean, you know, I think he said he wants to score a million goals and, you know, he might have a hard time hitting that, but I wouldn’t doubt him on anything. Like, he just everything he wants to do, he can do. Like whether it’s bringing offense, whether it’s playing the two-way game, penalty killing, power play, being a glue guy in the locker room. Like, he just he’s he’s exactly what you want in a player. He fits our culture so well and he fits the way we play on the ice so well and he just you love having a guy like that who can do anything you ask of him on or off the ice. All right, Eric, let’s get to it. Goending Freddy Anderson, he’s back another year and you know, listen, he’s been play he’s been a good goalie for you. The the issue has been, you know, has he always been healthy? He’s getting a little longer in the tooth. You see, they picked up Brandon Busussy. He played very well in in the game. You got Coachette is out right now. I mean, what’s the update on Coachette? And, you know, just generally speaking, I mean, do you when when the playoffs start in April, I mean, are these the guys that are going to be there for you or is it are you are you open to something if it’s available? I mean, look, we’re always looking to improve at every position if we can. We’ve gotten our team deep enough and strong enough across the board that it’s getting harder and harder to upgrade. Yeah. like there aren’t a lot of elite superstars available and we’re getting to a point where that’s almost what it takes to improve our team. So, you know, for now my instinct is what we have may be what we have, but we’re never going to stop looking. Like we we try to be the most aggressive team in the league in terms of looking for opportunities to make our team better and not being afraid to take a swing. But that being said, like I think the goalies we have are very very solid. You know, I I know Freddy has missed some time. I don’t know that any of the issues that he had the last two years are things we expect to see recur. You know, a blood clotting issue isn’t a recurring thing. That’s managed now. He had surgery that kept him out for a long time last year. He’s felt great since he came back. Obviously, he’s getting a little older and anybody at that age, their ice time needs to be managed a little bit. Um, but we’ll do that and we’ll rotate goalies and do our best to keep them healthy. Yodar’s dealing with something minor. you know, it’s early in the year. We’re trying to be cautious with it and make sure he gets back to 100% and isn’t dealing with it all year long. Um, and in the meantime, we picked up Brand Brandon and he was great for us in this opening night. It was a great story. You know, it’s his his NHL debut and he was, you know, arguably the star of the game. Yeah. Did a nice job. You guys are aggressive. We know that from last year with what you guys were out trying to cook up during the season. Before I let you go, what else you got going? You got anything else good? There’s always something on the works. I don’t know that we have anything imminent right now, but we are never stopping on our search to see if we can find ways to make the team better. That’s it. Hey, listen. That’s a job, right? That’s a job. Always to be better. Yeah. All right. Eric Tolski, the general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, the unbeaten, unblenmished Carolina Hurricanes in the midst of a six-game road trip. Eric, thanks so much for the time today. We really appreciate it. Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for having me. It was fun. All right, Eric Tolski doing a great job there at Carolina. Poor Rangers. They can’t even be goalies when they lose their mask. What a struggle. What a save by the way. That was a great save by Stal Jersey guy. We’ll talk about that next on First Shift. It is time for a new game. Put it on the board. That’s right. We got our whiteboards here ready to go to come up the edge. We bring in our Urs producer Sam Wild. Hello. Hello. And Sam, well, you are going to read a statement of sorts to us and we are going to basically give like a percentage chance of what we think this this will be, whether it’s a high percentage, low percentage. Do I have that correct? You have it correct. I cannot wait. All right. All right. So, I turn it over to you, Sam. All right. So last night the Kings blew two nothing lead to the Penguins got some bad news on Jaikupitar will be out week to week with a foot injury. We just heard that today. Oh what are the chances the Kings miss the playoffs? Miss the playoffs that they miss the playoffs. EJ, what do you say? I’m going to say 50%. And I am also going to pose the question, who is Dan Rosen? Really? Really? All right. But I’m gonna say 50%. 50%. All right. Well, you got I’m going they miss 75% the chance. Hold it up higher. That they miss 75% chance. And as we are already aware, yes, I am always right. That’s We’re both in a The bottom line is aside from going after each other, that’s a pretty high percentage. Well, I didn’t have Well, I went only 50. You went 75. Here’s the thing. I didn’t have a make in the playoffs to start. There you go. you already. So I’m already at 50%. Okay, cuz I’m, you know, I mean, I hit or miss on these predictions. But now without Copitar in the start to the season, it’s just emboldening that position. Well, you’re mostly miss. All right, Sam. All right, Matthew Schaefer is really impressed. Extended his point streak to four to start the season. Youngest defenseman to ever do that. Take a look at the Calder Trophy odds this season if this helps. What are the chances Matthew Schaeer wins the Calder Trophy, Dan? All right, here we go. Well, I I almost want to say 100%. But I will not say 100%. I will go 80%. Oh my goodness. 80% that Matthew Schaefer wins it. And the reason it’s not 100 is because there may be more votes in Montreal. That’s right. That’s true. Well, listen. Look at that. The same number after I was writing a high number only because like I was thinking I was knew it was going to be high, but 1980 in significant first Stanley Cup 19. Okay. All right. 80%. 80%. Now I got to erase this. EJ is always wrong because well see there you go. You never know. I don’t have to race. I am right. Yeah. All right, Sam. All right. Sam, the Rangers. The Rangers continue to struggle to score. And they weren’t even at home this time. They were in Toronto. Take a look at this. Okay. This is the largest differential in expected goals to actual goals. Even though they have the second worst goal scoring by any team, they have the biggest difference. So, they should be scoring way more goals. and they’re number one in expected goals this season. So, what are the chances the Rangers finish top 10 in goals this season, EJ? All right, I’m going to say uh 32%. That they finish that they finish in Why did you say 32? I don’t know. Jonathan Quick, doesn’t he wear 32? He does. Yeah. 32 zero zero 0.0% and it’s not a knock on it’s not that I think that they won’t score. I like that. I like your bowls. Yeah, I don’t think it’s not that and you go to the garden a lot. And it’s not that I think they won’t score. I think they will score. They’re generating a lot of high danger chances. In fact, uh 47 high danger shots on goal is third in the league right now. It’s 15th in per game, but right now it’s third in the league and they’re only getting about 12% scoring on those. Okay. So, they will score more. They’re going to score more. But here’s the thing. Top 10 though. Top 10 is a lot. And I don’t think that their depth will allow them to score more, you know, score in the top 10 this league. Are they going to be in the bottom 10? I don’t think so. I think they’ll be in the middle. I agree with that. And, you know, with Troche being out and he’s going to be out for a while longer, right? Like it puts people in different spots in the lineup. And like when you have guys in different spots in the lineup, it makes it harder to be at your best and to score goals. It thins them out. and they wanted to play Mika Zaban with JT Miller and because they had Troche there and now they can’t do that. It thins it out and they’ll score. They’re going to score. Okay, the the chances are there. Not going to be a top 10 team in scoring. We got to save that tape. At least I said 32. All right, Sam. All right, last one here. It’s kind of bitter irony for Rangers fans where they can’t score, but Chris Kris Krider, he does nothing but score. He’s got four goals this season. You look back at his last four years, he scored 52 goals back a couple years ago. 36 39 just 22 last year. So EJ, I’ll start with you. What are the chances Chris Krider gets back to the 30 goal mark this year? I’m going to go I’m almost almost all in. 94% for Chris Krider scoring 30 goals. And again 1994 last time the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. You’re looking for numbers. I’m looking for numbers. I don’t want to be like Dan zero or 100, but I think it’s pretty I’m pretty sure that Chris Krider who’s going to get a lot of power play time. They got good young players in Anaheim 94%. You’re going all the way. All in. You’re an all or nothing guy. I’m all in. All or nothing. I like round numbers, too. Okay. I’m all in. Listen, this is what he does. He does this is what he does. He scores on the power play. He He gets to the front of the net. He scores goals. This is like And it was And he’s healthy now. He wasn’t healthy last night. Listen, it was an interesting thing to me that the Rangers traded him and people thought, “Well, they’re trading him. He’s not. He’s done. He’s not done.” They were changing the makeup of the core of the team. That’s what they were doing. They weren’t trading him because they didn’t think he could still score now. All right. They need his goals right now. But that’s different. To be fair, like listen, we’ve given a lot of love and a lot of flowers to Chris and he deserves them because he’s a great athlete. He’s had a really good career. He scores goals. But listen, he’s not a perfect player. He does things that, you know, like he does sometimes doesn’t get pucks out in the D zone and five on five not always great, but he’s a good kill penalty killer. He’s good on the power play. He’s good around the net. He’s a good fit in Anaheim. The question wasn’t isn’t he a perfect player. The question was, will he score 30 goals? And the answer is we both agree. It’s pretty certain he’s going to he’s going to do. You got any more for me, Sam, or what? That’s all we got. That’s it. You guys you guys did great. I like it though. And again, I do wonder who is Dan Rosen really. And look, this answers it right here. 100% EJ is always wrong. I am always right. I’m Listen, let’s just let’s just go to break. There’s so many ways I could take it, but let’s just let’s just take a break right now. Tracy Meyers coming up next from NHL.com. She just talked to Joel Quenville. We’ll talk about Quenville coming back to face off against his former team in Chicago. That’s next on First Shift. [Music] Let’s take a look at some notable storylines for this weekend, the second weekend of the NHL season. Tonight, two Russian stars head-to-head, Ovuchkin and Capri Soft in DC. So, that should be an entertaining tilt. Saturday, the Bell Center, the Rangers, the struggling to score Rangers take on the red hot Montreal Canadiens. And on Sunday, Joel Quenville getting this out of the way early in the season returns to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. And with that in mind, we bring in our friend Tracy Meyers from NHL.com to talk a little bit about Quenville’s return to Chicago. And you just talked to Joel Quenville. So, what is he saying about this? Well, obviously it’s not his first time back. It’s uh you know that that happened a couple years ago, but still for him there’s always that special feeling of when he came comes back to Chicago and he mentioned it. He said as soon as he walks down the ramp and he sees familiar faces and uh then you get behind the bench and you hear that crowd, you hear that anthem, you know, just the whole atmosphere is something that uh obviously he’s very familiar with and uh the Blackhawks did some incredible things in his time here and so yeah, it’s it’s all going to come back to him when he’s uh when he’s back here on Sunday for sure. Well, last time he went back January 21st, 2020 with the Florida Panthers, by the way. The Blackhawks were similar to what he left. There’s like nothing similar to what he left with Chicago right now. But but but Tracy, like by the way, EJ2HL.com and you. That’s right. Right. Ganging up. Okay, that’s okay. Bring it on. I like Tracy. Well, that’s Tracy is actually really, really good. She actually watches the games and knows what goes on. You on the other hand completely lost but set myself up. All right. Um anyway, uh Tracy Quenville as a coach back in this league, right? So the the story is known uh what he’s back now and the impact that he’s having on the Ducks. What what did he give you any insight on on what it’s like to coach this team and in particular what it’s like for him to be back in the league and if there’s any changes that he’s noticed. It hasn’t been that long since he was out, but any changes within the league that that he’s noticed? Well, yeah. Uh, first of all, just with him being back, he’s very excited because much like the Blackhawks around 2008, 2009, he he’s got some veteran players, but he also has a very young core of guys who uh much like the Blackhawks back then are trying to bring this team to prominence. He said he senses this excitement. There’s a hunger with this team. uh you know a lot of these young guys are are tired of losing uh a familiar sound and uh yeah they’re really willing to put the work in and everything and as far as Q’s side of it uh yeah you know I talked to Jonathan Taves about this last week when I was in Vancou or sorry Winnipeg same thing with him he’s been out of the league for a little bit the game changes it gets faster uh players have gotten a little stronger but uh he said one of the things there is he has a new staff you know the the guys that he’s working with out there he hasn’t worked with before and everything and and they’ve been uh running a couple of things. They’ve had some ideas as far as penalty kill, power play, and everything. So, he’s learning from some of his new staff members. Now, he’s watched the game the entire time, but certainly doesn’t hurt to get uh you know, a few tidbits here and there from guys who probably been there the entire time. Did you talk at all about like Carlson or or or Senica or Goceier or McTavish? I mean like they have so Tracy they have you’re so right. It’s very similar to what he walked into in Chicago there where they had a lot of young talent. I mean here’s a list 25 or younger. I mean this is a significant boatload of young talent that if they could just figure things out with some of the veterans they have there a handful. Yeah they are. And uh yeah, he he talked a little bit just uh kind of uh glossing over a lot of these guys and everything, but just mentioning how uh eager they are to learn and how much they’re ready to get better and everything. And uh you know, he’s putting the pieces together. They’re trying to become a strong four-line team. Yeah. Um you know, he mentioned that this is very similar to uh the way he started out with Chicago with their young group, but as he put it, that’s been proven here in Chicago. This is still a work in progress. But uh but he loves the pieces that he has here and he loves their eagerness and willing to work and everything and and uh yeah, he’s very excited about what the future holds with this group. You know, Tracy’s been, by the way, bouncing around. She’s been doing a lot of different a lot of different stories on a lot of teams that are not the Blackhawks, but I’m going to ask you about the Blackhawks. All right. I think I remember them. Yeah. You know what? They listen, there seems to be a little bit more energy. Um maybe maybe a little bit of growth, which you would expect and they need to have. What have you seen? I mean, what’s what’s the where is that growth? What have you seen from the Blackhawks early this season? Well, I think what I’ve really enjoyed seeing is that they’re in closer games and and that may sound kind of ridiculous, but this is a team that when a go a goal was scored against them last year or the year before, you would just kind of see this slump where they thought, “Oh boy, here it comes.” You know, and and usually it did in the form of more goals and everything. Now they’re keeping their composure. Now they’re staying in these one-goal games. Now they’re realizing, okay, this isn’t going to kill us. Just wipe the slate clean. Get back to it. Get back to fighting. I I think the game against Montreal was a good example because they were very undisiplined in that game. They put Montreal on the power play 10 times. You put a team on a power play for 10 times, you’re really you’re beyond playing fire. You know, uh but they kept their composure and everything and they were within 15 seconds of taking that game to overtime. So, you know, it’s doing what they have to do. Jeff Blashel talked about it this morning. He so says, “Listen, we’re two two and one. That’s not where they want to be.” And record-wise, no. But they’re showing broke. They’re not getting rattled. They’re leaning on each other. Uh you know, you see what Frank Nazar and Conor Bard, the starts that they’re off to on their respective lines and and they don’t even play on the same line. So, this is a young group and they’re starting to learn. Uh and having an experienced guy like Lashel certainly helps them. All right. Well, Tracy, thanks for the time. Appreciate it. have a great weekend. And you and your colleagues at NHL.com continuing to do a great job carrying literally physically carrying Dan Rose into the finish line year after year is one of the under reportported stories in hockey. As long as you go to nhl.com and read her stuff. That’s right. All right. I feel like I’m I feel a sibling rivalry. Dad always did like me best. Thank you, Tracy. Have a great weekend. We appreciate it. Tracy Myers from NHL.com. We come back. Last night, the referees had a little bit of indecision on one of the goals late in the game. What have we changed our minds on? We’ll tell you next on First Shift. [Applause] After review, the call on the ice stands. We have a goal. Oh, sorry. Wow. Wait a minute. Excuse me. I have to review. There is no goal. Florida will be charged a bench by a penalty for delay of game. And that was referee Michael Marovic at the Rock last night for Devils and Panthers. Was late in the game. And if you’re going to make that mistake, and listen, it’s a mistake. People make mistakes all the time. These guys are out there. They’re trying to hear the headset, right? He turned it around right away. If you’re gonna make that mistake, it’s good to make it in favor of the home team. You know, you know, you make it the other way, bad news. So, you know, we’re all entitled to try to change our minds when, you know, we get we realize maybe we were wrong. How about we early season? Have you changed your mind in anything yet? Well, I mean, I did go over the thing with the Canadians earlier where I didn’t have them in the playoffs and now I admitted I was dead wrong. Then I wrote on the whiteboard, by the way, that I’m always right, which everyone knows you’re not. Which means I was wrong, by the way. again. Again. Yeah. All right. We It was fun. It was a joke. All right. No, I have changed my mind on the Calgary Flames. I had It was a Listen, I put them in the playoffs to start the season as a prediction. And it was a bit of a All right, let’s just see. Let’s throw this out there. Let’s see. Cuz I like that team. I think that team has some talent. I like Dustin Wolf in net. I like the way they were coached. They’re lost four in a row. They don’t score. They don’t look very good. Dustin Wol’s got a goals against that’s around four, a little, you know, creeping up near four. So, I’m not so sure on the Calgary Flames. So, I changed my mind on that. I I think I’ll stay in Canada for our sports set viewers. I think I’ve changed my mind a little bit on the Ottawa Senators because And listen, they have a pretty significant injury with their captain out. But more than that, they just don’t defend well still. They’ve got to figure that out. They give up too many goals. I mean, they could Pinto’s redot right now and carrying them and hopefully they get Brady back, but to be where they really want to be, they got to defend better. So, I got to see it. All right. Well, two teams in Canada that uh we don’t think are going to make it now. Well, maybe we’ll see. Dan Rosen, ladies and gentlemen, always right. Or at least that’s what he says. We’ll see you next week. NHL Now is next.
10/17/2025 – The Carolina Hurricanes are on fire to start the season, and Canes GM Eric Tulsky stopped by the show to talk with Dan Rosen and E.J. Hradek about his squad!
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2 comments
EJ treat Dan Rosen with great respect or he won't come back.
Skip to 19:38 to hear Tulsky