Jamie McLennan on the Canucks loss to the Flames, the NHL product this season and more

Jamie McLennan on the Canucks loss to the Flames, the NHL product this season and more

Donnie and Dolly, the team is supported by abblections.ca. Closing your business. We can help. Monday and all of our guests today, including Noodles, Jamie McClennon standing by. Sponsored by Bassant Motors. Basant is the home of No Tax November. Let Bassant pay that pesky GST on your next vehicle purchase with them. Stop by their dealership located at 16315 Fraser Highway in Siri or check them out online at Bassant Motors, basant motors.com. Joined now by Noodles from TSN, Jamie McClennon. Thank you for doing this, sir. How are you? Not too bad. How are you guys doing today? Very, very, very well. Uh, Flames over the Canucks uh 52 as people can tell by the picture in the background. You used to play for uh those Flames. But let’s talk about the Canucks if you don’t mind. Lack of energy, uh, giveaways, uncovered opponents in front of the net. Jamie, they’re having all sorts of trouble defensively. The stats bear that out. What are you seeing when it comes to the Canucks in their own end of the ice? Lack of commitment to detail. Now, it’s funny. I’m not going to defend them, but I’m seeing that throughout the league. I I call it the dog park defense where I I don’t know where the lack of structure has come from in a lot of these teams. Now we’re we’ll call it 20 games in. Some are 22, some are 19, all of that, but let’s call it 20 games in. I don’t know if the lack of training camp or lack of games in training camp, lack of practice time because of sports science and a condensed schedule, whatever’s happened, the league, the product stinks. I’m sorry. And and I’ve I’m in the rinks, you guys know. I call many games. I’m in the rinks. It feels like every day. And I watch all these teams play. It’s rare you see a great game. If anything, I would say eight out of 10 games are are not very good, where the structure is missing, where the details of the game are missing, the league is the parody is there, the league is watered down, but you know, the Canucks fall under that umbrella. Uh, you know, they look sloppy last night. The details were not good. you know, could you have gotten an extra save from Lankin and yes, but at the end of the day, uh, you know, Calgary is a team that people are sleeping on because they look at where they are in the standings and now that team’s won three in a row. So, does it speak to how well Calgary is playing and maybe they’re getting some puck luck or to what you talked about with Vancouver not being very sharp last night? They score early. Heronic gets that goal. I thought, okay, they look pretty good. Calgary is in a back-to back situation. going to catch a tired team and Calgary gets five goals in a row and and to me it looked like Vancouver was looked like the tired team. So, I don’t know. I I I don’t have an answer, but they do not looked uh like they’re very organized in their own zone and I don’t and that’s not a shot at the coach. It’s a more of a shot at the players and the execution of the detail of the game. We’re talking to the head of the National Hockey League PR department, Jimmy McClennon. Hey, hey, Jimmy. You you you mentioned training camps, short training camps, a lack of practices. What about earlier than that? At the minor hockey level, junior hockey level, so much skill. The skating is absolutely beautiful. But but what about the defensive game? Is it being taught well enough? I don’t, you know, well enough. I don’t know if that’s the right term, but it’s certainly not a focus. And and you’re right. Like you look at it, my my kid is eight years old and on Thursdays they have a skills session from five to six where it’s they hire an outside guy who makes a boatload of money because all these parents will pay it to run through these kids, you know, to handle the puck and go through cones and do all these things. But you’re right, there’s no advancement of where to go on the ice. what is a danger area as as far as handling the puck and not like the the hockey IQ is being taken out of it for just the raw speed and skill and and I don’t know how many times I’m sure you watch it going what what was he thinking on that play and I I don’t know how many times and whether it’s at the NHL level or lower you’re going where where is the you know the hockey sense to make to identify hey I’m the last guy back I probably shouldn’t curl and drag somebody, I should probably just make a safe, smart play. And you’re not seeing that consistently. And you’re right, at a younger age, the focus is on skill because what pays the most in the NHL, it’s goals and and skill development and it’s speed. Uh but you know the throwback of people who are responsible in their game, they might be the outlier right now, which is crazy to say, but I I feel like that, you know, players that have high hockey IQ might be those might be the ones you covet because everybody else can skate, shoot, and score. It’s just a matter of who can think the game at a high rate. And to me, the the best teams are the ones who are organized and and know how to play. I watched Colorado play last night. I don’t know if they they seem like they’re never going to lose another game. I know I’m joking, but they just can beat you in every different way. Yes, everyone goes well, Mar and McKinnon, but their their depth, their goalending, their structure, everything looks really sharp. Hey, Jamie, tomorrow is going to be two weeks for Thatcher Demco. It’s a groin injury. Uh any history of groin injuries at at the NHL level for you? And you know, some people think this might be four or five weeks, but uh what’s your feel on it? Depends on the grade. Uh grade I I think it’s a grade one. Okay. So, yeah, I’ve I’ve had like mild strains, hip flexors, all of that. The problem is is I would say this is it, you know, every doctor that points to, you know, the groin, well, they say it’s attached to the kneebone, attached to the ankle, you know, that there’s a song that goes with that, right? And and a lot of times when I deal with these therapists, they say, “Well, the groin is, you know, yes, that’s the injury, but you also have to look at the hip hip flexor and the pelvis and and the knee, and he’s had all sorts of lower body issues. So, are they being extra careful with this so that, you know, you you get the groin healed, but something else isn’t weakened?” That’s probably whenever when I first heard about his injury, they always say, “Well, it’s not it’s not the injury he had before. It’s something new.” But they all seem to be in some form. And I I I’m only just quoting my therapist who’s worked on my back and and worked on other things in my life saying, “But they all are connected. Your body’s connected and you know, you work on something and something else gets weakened.” It concerns me because you guys know how much I love him. M his biggest challenge is staying healthy because when he was healthy, you look at what what he was doing at the start of the year. He was unbelievable. But you, you know, his biggest knock right now is just actually putting a jersey on because he hasn’t been able to do that consistently where the word trust comes in where you trust him that you’re going to get 60 games out of him because you know he’s just going to play every night. That’s not the case right now. And it concerns me for Thatcher because you’re right, a grade a grade one groin strain should have a timeline easily attached to that and the rehab is quite simple. But with him, you don’t know because you don’t know if something else flares up attached to that. And that’s what concerns me for Denmco. Uh, you know what’s concerning is your hometown team there is dead last in the Eastern Conference. Uh Craig Ruby not happy on Saturday said that performance was inexcusable. I think shots were 16-1 Montreal in the second at one point. What’s going on in to0? Okay, so I’m I’m certainly not going to make excuses. I always say excuses are for losers. So um they do have I believe seven regulars out which you know the the big boys too, right? Keep in mind it’s Matthews and Ny and their their we’ll call it number two defenseman in Tanv and then you know the part of their tandem in Stallars is the goalender. So yes injuries uh but you look throughout the league everybody’s dealing with it injuries we’ll call it adversity including we just talked about Vancouver losing their number one goalender in Thatcher Demco. you know, Quinn Hughes was out for time. So there, you know, everybody’s got to understand that right from the start of the season, even when Matthews and when N was in the lineup and other players, Stolars, they weren’t playing to their capabilities. I think N had a good start. Outside of that, Matthews was hit or miss. Stolars was inconsistent. Um, you know, Tan have looked his age. So, this is a this is a team that’s built heavier. They’re certainly a veteran team, so we’ll call them older. So, they’re older, slower, and a little bit heavier. Um, that’s not jing on a Tuesday night in in November where the league, we just talked about it is speed and skill. So, you know, I’d like to see them healthy before a judge 100%. But Craig Barub is not wrong. The effort, the lack of execution, and then, you know, the injuries have all caught up to them. And that’s there’s a reason why. Buffalo wins yesterday and they climb over top of the Toronto Maple Leafs. So, you’re right, they’re last in in the Eastern Conference. And here’s the other thing I’ll add as a cherry on top that people aren’t focusing on. They if you look at strength of schedule, they’ve had the easiest schedule in the National Hockey League. They have only played, I believe, seven or eight road games. Everything else has been at home. where I look at, for example, the Edmonton Oilers have played eight home games and 16 road games. So, you look at strength of schedule, that has not favored the Toronto Maple Leafs. If anything, it’s favored them too much because they’ve played all these home games and the farthest they’ve traveled has been to Chicago and to Detroit and Columbus, which are hour, hour and a half flights. So, you know, they’re they’re in one. They’ve got to sort it out and do it in a hurry or else they’re going to be at the bottom of the standings. I can’t believe you didn’t correct Rick. Toronto’s not your hometown. You’re an Ebbiton boy. You’re there now, though. Listen, Grant Fur and all that. Yeah. I hail from parts unknown. You’re right. I grew up in St. Albert, Alberta, but I played junior in Lethbridge. I played for the Flames. Uh, yes. I’ve lived in Toronto the last 15 years. We’ll just say where I live now. That’s what it that meanwhile wild over Winnipeg three nothing this wallat 32 saves his third shut out in four games 60 and2 in the season 2021 firstrounder he’s taken the league by storm are you a believer Jamie I am and I saw him at the AHL level in the all-star game he’s a hell of a goalender and you look at Gustoson they got from the Ottawa Senators you look at uh Walstead who’s a a a developed goalender for Um, they’re in really good shape in net. They really are. And I like that. That’s a healthy competition there. I like Wstead. I think he’s got tremendous skill. I love his feet. I think he’s got a, you know, a he might be a starter in the NHL. Put it that way. So, they might have two starters on their hands, which is really impressive. But, you know, Minnesota, everyone doesn’t think that’s a sexy organization, but you look at it. Yeah. They overpay for Capri off on paper right now, but you know, keep in mind they the Bill Bill Garin had his hands tied behind his back with the the buyouts of Perez and Sudter, right, for many years and was still putting together a pretty good product. They’ve got good players there. I like Faber. I like Baldi. You know, they they’ve got some players coming. But this Walstead is a is a player and he’s a good goalender and Minnesota’s in really good shape and net for the for many years to come. Five straight wins for the Wild. Just hearkening back to something you said earlier. If the Conucks have a doctor who thinks the groin is attached to the kneebone, maybe that’s their problem, Jamie. Maybe should they I was trying to think of the nursery rhyme. My kid is eight and I’ve heard that the kneebones connected to the close enough. get it out fast enough. That’s my verbage. It’s not the doctor. It’s It’s Dr. Mlennon here who doesn’t know what’s going on with his anatomy. Put it that way. Maybe the Conucks will hire you. Thanks for this, Jamie. Appreciate it. We’ll talk to you in a couple of weeks. All right. Thanks for having me, guys. We’ll chat soon.

TSN NHL Analyst and Former NHLer Jamie McLennan joined the guys and recapped the Canucks loss to the Flames last night and the defensive issues we are seeing around the league.