Greg Boysen Stops by Again + Training Camp Begins Thursday

Greg Boysen Stops by Again + Training Camp Begins Thursday

[Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Hey, [Music] hey, hey. [Music] Oh, wow. [Applause] Heat. Heat. N. Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Woah. Woah. Feeling heat. Heat. Heat. N. [Music] This is Chicago Hockey Radio with your hosts Justin Lynch, Charlie Weber, Natalie Chibi, and Andrew Nolan. Welcome everybody. Wednesday show of CHR. We got a big one on the way today. Charlie Nolan, Natalie, myself, and Greg Boyison from Second Balcony podcast, Blackhawk Upwriting. We are so excited to have him on. One of our favorite CHR guests is back for year two once again. How are you doing, Greg? Do we got you? Yeah. Uh, you guys get way too excited for me. It’s it’s it’s slightly No, for sure. No, I think we’re not excited enough, honestly. I think it’s warranted. I think it’s more. Absolutely. Absolutely. Um I think just to start off um just let us know how you’re doing. Um how are your new gigs going? Yeah. So far so good. Excited to start the uh the season, but uh you know, I’m doing the uh my writing is now available over at Blackhawk Up. Got a great team working with me over there. So that’s that’s going to be really good. We’re going to pump out a lot of good content. You know, still credentialed this year, so nothing’s really going to change. uh started the uh the second balcony podcast with my old pal Frank Nova from uh the old school days of uh the Blackhawk world uh while while you guys were uh you know probably in grade school we were cranking out uh on these things called blogs. I don’t know if you’re familiar with them. Yeah, that rings a bell. Yeah, I think I’ve heard of them. Yeah, right. not as old as newspapers, but almost as old as newspapers. Um, but uh, you know, he he ran a site called Hockey Night back in the day, which was a big influence on me. So, uh, really looking forward to talking once a week with Frank. And I’ll also be doing the um, postgame shows on CHGO after all home games this year, too. So, a busy season, but uh, that’s what we want. Awesome. Really glad to hear that. Um, that’s that’s that’s great. I think um I think the first kind of area to start here at this Blackhawks team is uh what training camp storylines are you going to be most looking at? Uh Hawks start training camp tomorrow. Um what are you kind of looking for there? Well, that’s good timing because I literally just published a uh article on what I’m looking for at training camp. So, thanks for the uh thanks for the free plug. Um, it’s going to be interesting because for the first time in a while, there’s going to be legitimate roster battles. The last few years, it’s kind of been like, yeah, we we know, you know, you bringing in your placeholder veterans. They’re going to they’re going to play, but now there’s some more open spots for some of these young players to grab a grab a position. Maybe not as many as some want. When you break down the roster, you kind of go, “Oh, okay.” Um, you know, up front forward-wise, there’s really only three open spots. Um, you know, you you have your nine guys that you know for sure are locks. Um, you know, the 10th guy there is probably Sam Laughy. You don’t trade for him to not make the opening night roster. I think is if he’s still on the team, you have Lucas Reichel will be on the opening night roster if he’s still a Blackhawk. That remains to be seen. Um, but I don’t think they’re going to try and and put him through waiverss and lose him for absolutely nothing. That makes no sense. So, that gives you three spots if you’re going to carry two extra furwards. So, um, you know, two guys that I’m really going to watch for and hope that they step it up are Coltton Doc and Landon Slagger. I mean, they’re two guys that I think Blackhawk fans like a lot. Um, they’re good they’re good kids. They they they bring certain things to this team that others don’t. But they need to really have big seasons and starting tomorrow, it’s got to kick in for those guys cuz if you look at this prospect pool, they’re only going to get passed up if they don’t step it up. So those are the two guys I’ll be watching for sure. And then you have like Oliver Moore and Ryan Green. I think one of those two guys will will be on the opening night roster. So, it’s going to come down to what Jeff Blahield really wants out of this team. And you also have to consider those first two games of the season are against the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins. Two veteran teams that play heavy hockey, you probably going to see Doc Slagger and Ryan Green out of camp, but lots of things can happen. Yeah. No, very true. I mean, look at this roster. Like, I just like the I like the prospects of it being a younger team all season. Kind of like what we saw in March and April. I think that’s going to be a lot of fun to watch for sure. Yeah. I mean, I much prefer to see these uh camp battles happening than, you know, Davidson relying on the veterans that he brought in the offseason. You know, this is what we’re here for for the rebuild to see who’s got it. Uh speaking of uh Moore and Green, I just wanted to see which guys impressed you the most over the prospect showcase this weekend. Well, they both uh had their moments. Um, you know, Oliver Moore was fantastic uh in that that first game, the game he played against St. Louis. You know, he was noticeable every time he, you know, stepped over the boards. The Blues had to be aware of where he was. And, uh, excuse me. I think he had, you know, him scoring that goal in overtime was huge for his confidence because he’s talked a lot uh during camp and even last year that he needs to be better at finishing his plays. He knows that, you know, you can have all the speed in the world, but if you can’t put the puck in that, you know, you’re, you know, slightly less attractive Victor Stalberg. I mean, that it doesn’t do a lot. What a pull. Yeah, there you go. Um, it doesn’t do you a whole lot of good if you’re really fast and you get to the net and then you And Andreas Anthony see you at every time. I was just going to say you beat me to it. That’s another one. Also, finish no finish. Yeah. Victor for Victor Stalberg’s for our generation. you you guys could have uh Anthony Su. So, him scoring that overtime goal was big for him. I think that gave him a lot of confidence. Uh he definitely does not lack that at all. Oh, no. Talking to him during rookie camp, uh I expect big things from him this year. I think he still needs some time in Rockford to kind of fine-tune his all-around game. Um Ryan Green probably will be some time in Rockford for two, but I think um you know that first period of that second game, he struggled a little bit. He had some you know trouble getting the puck in at the blue line. You know uh some rather pedestrian decision making there. But then that second period he scores the goal and he looks a lot better. Um you know I think it took him a little time to adjust because that roster was different. he didn’t have some of those other big name prospects out there. So, um, but Green is a guy that plays in an allaround 200 foot game. Not going to be a guy that’s going to score 30 goals in the league, but he’s going to be a guy that that I think on a good team, which this is hopefully going to be here in a couple of years, plays a very important, you know, bottom six PK defensive shutdown kind of role. You need those guys to win. No doubt. for sure. Um, there’s one player I think we have to take a look at here in terms of what’s going on with their contract situation. Wyatt Kaiser, what’s what’s the deal with him? He’s entering training camp and still hasn’t been signed. Uh, do you know what’s what’s going on there? Well, I think it’s, you know, he’s got zero leverage. Uh, that that’s his problem. He couldn’t sign arbitration. He’s a restricted free agent. Um, so it sounds like uh based on Scott P reporting and there’s no reason not to believe him. He’s definitely the most in tune uh on the Blackhawks beat says that the offer was just under a million dollars. Um, of course, you know, his camp is going to want to get as much as possible. I have a feeling it’s got to do with term as well. I don’t think the Blackhawks want to go more than one or two years here just for the fact that they their blue line is is so much undecided, undetermined. He’s not going to get the long-term uh deal um at this point because they still don’t know what he is. They still don’t know what so many of these guys are. So, um, he’s kind of going to have to just, you know, uh, grin and take whatever they give him at this point because a hold out would be silly. Um, because every day he’s not in camp and every preseason game he doesn’t play, somebody’s taking his spot. You know, Ardam Levoff cementss his spot. Ethan Delmro takes his spot and it’s going to be harder for him to get that back. He needs to be there from day one. So, I’d still be surprised if he’s not there tomorrow, but you know, you never know how these things work out. I think it’s, you know, uh they’re playing chicken and the Blackhawks, you know, they don’t have to blink. Uh Kaiser is the one that if he wants to play is going to have to just take that one-year deal, bet on himself, and see where he’s at at the end of the year. Yeah, of course. And kind of going back to that whole roster roster spot question, um, we’ve been talking about Lucas Reichel, we’ve been talking about Kaiser, we’ve been talking about all of these current Blackhawks that are fighting for roster spots. So, which players need to have a really good preeason in order to secure their spot? Well, I mean, you mentioned Lucas Reichel. He’s definitely going to have to make be a difference maker. Find something that he can do consistently and bring that every night. Um, you know, he’s got another fresh set of eyes on him. Um, you know, a new coaching staff, so we’ll see how that goes. Um, I still feel that, you know, something could be done here before opening night where he’s dealt in one of those change of scenery type deals. Um, you know, there’s some other guys having the same situations across the league, so maybe you do a one for one swap there and and see what happens. Uh, I mentioned Colton Doc. He’s got to have like this year is so crucial for him to where the point if he doesn’t become that that player they envision, he could be on a different team next year. I mean, there are guys coming that are that provide what he provides and could do it better. You know, you you think of next year, next training camp. Uh Anton Fondell is going to be here. Is gonna be uh Merrick Vaner is going to be here. Um and whoever they draft top five this year could be here. So, those are guys that are already past him on the organizational depth chart. So, he needs to have uh a big training camp. And uh on the back end, I want to see Kevin Kinsky dominate out there. Yes. Still 20 years old. Yeah. A uh a huge an impressive training camp is will lead to a breakout season. The ceiling is so high on him, too. I’m not panicked about him. He’s taking the normal development path for a young defenseman. Um there was a lot of chatter this off season about, oh, they should trade him. Trading him just to trade him to me is is asinine. It’s stupid. Um, you know, there is no reason to give up on Kevin Cchini just because he hasn’t won a Norris Trophy by the time he’s 21. I mean, yeah. Uh, we have a very dangerous and and just silly way of of looking at prospects and young players in all sports. Um, you know, we’re seeing it with the Bears, too. If you don’t perform right away, you’re you’re you’re considered a bust. if you if you don’t have a great game in your first game and it’s hard to take that label away from a young player. So, um perception is is not great. Um but you got to give these kids time. So, I want to see Kchinsky just look like the seventh overall draft pick uh starting from day one. I I was impressed with how he played in the playoffs last year for the Icehogs and I want to see him carry that over into this year. Do you think Kinsky starts a season with the Blackhawks? Do you think he needs any more time in Rockford? It’s a tough one because when you look at the defensive, there’s a lot of guys that you could argue could play night one, but also could use more uh NHL time. I mean, like the two only locked in guys to this roster right now are Conor Murphy and Alex Flick. Um I think Sam Renzel is pretty much made this team. He’s shown nothing since becoming a pro. that tells you he’s not going to be a top pairing defenseman rather quickly. Um, and then you look at, okay, that’s three, that’s half your defense right there. So now you have Lebanon, you have Kchinsky, you have Allen, you have Del Mastro, you have Kaiser if and when he signs a contract. Uh, and and you brought Grizzle in for a PTO. So that’s and and don’t forget Louis Creier, who I think is the ideal seventh defenseman for this team. So, I want to see Kevin Kchinsky start the season in the NHL. Um, but it’s going to be up to him. If he’s still not ready, there’s nothing wrong with giving him some more time in the AHL. Yeah, I’m about to make a really bad joke here, but it seems like there are a lot of guys uh skating on thin ice right here. Oh man, that’s brutal. But I do kind of want to ask a follow-up question to you, Greg, kind of piggybacking off of what Justin is saying here. Which players that are currently in training camp do you see being sent back down to Rockford? Uh, well, you know, at least one of those defensemen are going to have to go down. Um, you know, Delmro, Allen, possibly Kinsky. Um, you know, I mentioned guys like Oliver Moore, uh, are still, you know, um, still needs probably some time down there, uh, unless he just completely, you know, forces you to keep him in the NHL, which I’d have no problem with. Um, you know, there’s still plenty of of younger guys that were in Rockford last year that are going to need more time. You know, I know uh Sam Sawaz is is a popular player and could have a role with this team. I don’t know if that’s going to happen right at training camp. Um, you know, guys like Gavin Hayes and Paul Lewinsky definitely need more time in Rockford. Um, so, you know, Nick Lardis, I know everybody loves him and and wants to see him. Uh, but he definitely needs um some AHL experience. you know, he’s uh they got to still coach the junior out of him. They still got to he’s got to get used to the pro game. Uh I think he’s going to be an effective player at some point. It’s just probably not going to be right out of training camp. Um so the Icehogs are going to have plenty of of good young talent to to pay attention to this year and even more next year. I mean, it’s it’s an exciting time to be to be out in Rockford, that’s for sure. They seem to be the Toronto Maple Leafs of the HL. They always have these really good regular seasons, but then these early playoff exits. So maybe they can work on that this year. Yeah. Hopefully. Hopefully. You know, the more games the guys the better. Yeah. It’s the AHL is weird though because it’s it seems that it’s never the teams with all the prospects that go far in the playoffs. It’s always the Chicago Wolves or the Hershey Bears or the Milwaukee Admirals cuz they got, you know, a roster full of 29year-old dudes that, you know, are career AHLers. Um, so, um, yeah, it’d be fun to see a long run down there, but I don’t think it’s a, you know, an indictment on the rebuild if they if they don’t win the CER cup. Yeah, for sure. Um, yeah, switching gears from AHL up to the big team. Uh, I just wanted to get your thoughts on the recent Spencer Knight uh, extension, how you feel about the term and the money and just comparing it to other deals around the league for top goalies. uh and I guess you know Nazar as well if you uh wouldn’t mind you know sharing how you feel about that deal as well. Sure. I think they’re both good deals for the team obviously. I mean uh I think some people kind of I don’t want to say freaked out but you know reacted to Knight only getting three years. Uh some people might have thought that, you know, he should have got that Dustin Wolf long-term deal, but you know, to me, I am never a fan of long-term contracts for goalenders, especially young goalenders, cuz you never know. Um you know, they’re more susceptible to injuries and like how many times have we seen a young goalie take the league by storm and then three years later he’s picking me up in an Uber. Like it’s it’s you never know what’s going to happen with these guys. So, giving him a three-year extension uh gives him four years total now with the Hawks. And that gives you plenty of time to figure out if he’s your long-term guy. And it gives more time for for some of these younger goalies to develop. It gives you more time to figure out exactly what you have in Drew Kzo. It gives Adam Gianne more time to um develop and take his path to being a pro. and and you know the um Binoi is a guy we saw over the weekend and he looks like he might be he might be something. I’m not saying you know why do we sign Spencer Knight? We got this Russian kid but like you can never have too much goalending and and credit to Kyle Davidson who inherited a team that had no goalending prospects. I mean, yeah, Drew Kesso was there, but he was still, you know, uh, in college at that point, and he’s taken probably their weakest position, and now they’ve got a lot of depth at that position. And it it starts with Knight. So, it’s good for the team and it’s good for Knight because now that gives him three years to then say, “Okay, I am that guy. Pay me the Sergey Babroski money.” Um, I’d rather much do it at that point when you know more certainty about him, uh, than doing it now because that might be a deal you regret down the road if you know cuz goalies are weird and you never know what’s going to happen. I mean, there were guys two years ago that couldn’t wait to buy out Sergey Barsky’s contract in Florida and how’s that worked out for them? Pretty good. So, um, a big fan of not giving goalenders seven or eight year contracts. Um, and as far as the Nazar deal, I love that deal. It’s It’s going to be an absolute bargain. Um, I I think Frank Nazar is going to be a star. The kid just has um everything that you want. Um, you know, he’s got the swagger, he’s got the confidence, but he’s also humble and and he puts in the work. Um, and he knows that nothing’s given to him. So, I think that deal is going to be a an absolute bargain. as soon as it kicks in. Um I I think this the sky’s is the limits for Frank Nasar. I’m super excited about him. And um if there’s one thing Kyle Davidson has proven is that he knows how to sign his own talent to to team friendly deals. We saw it with Vic and Nazar and and you can add Spencer Knight to that deal cuz if Spencer Knight is, you know, a franchise goalie and you’re getting him for under 6 million a year, that’s pretty darn good. So, um, he’s got to step it up in in bringing in players from outside the organization. Um, but he hasn’t really had to at this point. He hasn’t had to go get that top free agent, but um, you know, those days are coming soon. You te you teed us up really nicely there. What do you make of these uh this these Krill Capriov rumors and, uh, the McDavid situation, Ebon? Uh do you think there’s any possibility that uh you know somebody pretty nice can be available this time next year uh that Davidson might be able to take a run at? Yeah. Um it’s wishful thinking at this point because as we saw last year these guys just don’t hit free agency. Um you know the Capri off stuff I think is just a lot of negotiating in the press. Um but there’s something there. I mean, like, if he turned down that offer, there’s a reason. Like, I don’t think he wants the 8-year deal. I think he wants a shorter term four-year deal because then, you know, four years from now when the salary cap’s as high as it’s ever been, you can hit that free agency market while you’re still in the prime of your career and cash in again for even more money. And I don’t I don’t blame him for that. I am always 100% pro player when it comes to these things. Get paid. You only play for a certain amount of time. get as much damn money as possible. Uh I I don’t I never understood fans who get upset about players salaries. It’s not your money. Who cares? Let these guys get as much as they can while they can. Um Capri off I don’t know. The Wild are dumb enough to to screw this up. Um you know, Bill Garren to me is one of the most overrated general managers uh in the game. I I mean he was handed you know he said he was going to do all these things once he got those the the Capri uh Pereiz and Sudter money off the books and now that’s happened and he can’t get Carl Capri off signed. Um so long way to go. I could see Capri off getting traded before like I don’t see think either of these guys are becoming free agents. Sure. So, you know, Kyle Davidson would have to give up a lot to get a Curo Capri off and and I don’t know if like I love him. He’d be an amazing fit here, but it all depends on the price. Uh, and what it would cost. I mean, if it’s going to cost you a couple of first round picks and one of your young defenseman and maybe one of your young forwards, I could see, you know, putting it together. He’d definitely make a call. Um, and as far as McDavid goes, I mean, there’s no way he leaves Edmonton, right? I mean, I just there’s just I can’t see that. Even Stan Bowman can’t screw this up, right? Right. Maybe. Um, I think they get a deal done there. I don’t think there’s any way you can. You’re not trading Conor McDavid. Um, because I don’t think anybody can give you a package that is equal to him. Um, and I just there’s no way you can let him leave for nothing. Um, I just I don’t I don’t see that being a possibility. Um, so I mean it’s not Mitch Mner, it’s not, you know, Miko Ratnant. Those guys are great, but it’s Connor effing McDavid. I mean, he’s going to go down as one of the greatest players of all time. Yes, Wayne Gretzky got traded, but that was, you know, a different time um and a different sport at, you know, so I I don’t think McDavid is going anywhere. But then again, it’s Stan Bowman and, you know, he’s galaxy brain things in the past. So, never say never, but I wouldn’t bet on it. If anybody could screw it up, it’s him. Yeah. Yeah. Don’t don’t disagree with you there. But, you know, I mean, I want to see him stay there. I want to see him win that cup there. So, Mhm. Yeah. Yeah, good good luck to him and his team signing that. Yeah, we shall see. Um, you knew this question was going to come up at some point. Um, speaking of contract extensions, what do you anticipate the Bedsy extension to look like? Um, that’s a good question. I’m terrible at trying to predict these things because I’m always wrong. Um, you know, I don’t I think it would be a nice uh deal on both sides. Um, you know, Connor Bdard is not a guy that cares about the money. Um, that’s why he has an agent. His agent cares about the money because the more money Connor makes, the more money he makes. Um, so, um, I don’t think it gets done anytime during this season because why would you if you’re Conor Bart? Uh, why would you sign now and then have that breakout season we’re all hoping he has and cost yourself money? Um, while money is not the the be all end all for him, it’s still nice to have as much as you possibly can. Um, so I I think he gets probably something close to what, you know, Austin Matthews got as far as like I don’t I don’t think they’re going to do a long-term contract right off the bat. I think they’ll do a four or five year deal and then, you know, see where it goes from there. Um, but based on what we’ve seen so far from Kyle Davidson and locking up his own, you know, his his young talent, um, I don’t think he’s going to do anything that’s going to this team going forward financially. Even though the cap is going up, but, you know, with the cap going up as dramatically it is, that also means the salaries are going to go up, too. So, um, it’s not like, oh, we’re going to get all this cap space and still pay these guys $7 million a year. No, you’re going to get all this extra cap space and now those $7 million guys are going to be $10 million guys before you know it. So, I think it would be fair. I would say maybe a uh you know a four or five year deal in the, you know, 9 million 9.5 million range would would probably suffice. You think? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, everybody loves to say that. So, I’ll say uh you know 9.79 just to screw with everybody. Very nice. Interesting. Yeah. I believe our producer Nolan has a question for you, Greg. Yeah, I uh I don’t want to, you know, put myself on cam here. Uh still trying to work out the kinks of this, but uh out out of the three contracts that have already been signed so far, the Vassic, Knight, and Nazar extensions, you could throw Donado in there, too, if you want to. What do you think is uh who do you think got the best value for the team, and who do you think got the best value for the player? Um I mean, they’re all pretty good. I think Donado got the best deal for the player because at his age. Um, you know, I I I like Ryan Donado a lot. He’s he’s a great fit for this team, what he does on the ice, being as versatile as he is, and you know, the what he brings to the room. Um, but, you know, I don’t see another 30 goal season coming from him. So, I think he got the best deal for him. They gave him the extra year, so good for him. me earn that. Um, as far as best deal for the team, I to me I I just look at ceiling wise and it’s it’s going to be the Nazar deal. I think, you know, if if he is a 25 30 goal scorer consistently, getting that for for his price going forward for the next few years is is a is a bargain. Yeah, definitely. I also kind of want to ask a question. you know, being the resident Lucas Reichel fan here, we discussed kind of on our show a couple days ago about possible outlooks for him, and we kind of discussed his stats as well, and we noticed that he plays noticeably better on an international stage and an AHL stage compared to the NHL. So, what do you think is the best option for Reichold? Do you think he should go back to Europe and play over there? Do you think he would look better on another team? And if so, I know there’s been talks about him going to Edmonton, but what team do you think Riel would be the best fit on? And what do you think needs to happen in order for him to be successful? Well, I think part of the reason he plays better on those international teams is because he’s playing with better players. Um, it’s funny how that works. you put talented players with other talented players and they look good. Um, you know, it’s a no matter who he was playing with on team Germany, it was probably a step up from Pat Maroon and Craig Smith just going to go on without looking at the rosters. I’m going to guess he was on with better linemates. So, that helps. And the bigger ice obviously uh helps his game too. Um, you know, I I’ve always been a big fan of Lucas Reichel. Um, first and foremost, Lucas Michael, the person the first season he was in Rockford, I got to know him a little bit covering the team and just an an easy kid to root for. You want to see him have success. Uh, and when he had that stretch at the end of the the 22 23 season, I was like, “Okay, this is it. He’s he’s hit it. I was ready. I was declaring him, you know, leading scorer, all that stuff.” And then, you know, he made me look like an idiot again. Um, so you know, my my I don’t know if it’s ever going to work for him here. Yeah, especially now especially now with all this influx of young talent coming in. I just think the best situation for him, as much as I’m a fan of his, is is it’s going to have to happen somewhere else. Um, I know people love saying Edmonton because Bowman drafted him and it’s an easy connection there. Um, and he’d probably, you know, again, better players, he’d have better, but to me, Lucas Riel just screams Columbus Blue Jacket. Oh, interesting. I like that. I never thought of that. They have a lot of successful Russian players over there you have good chemistry with. Yeah. I mean, he just feels that the Columbus Blue Jackets is where these like maybe they’ll be good someday, maybe not guys always seem to go. Uh, and they’ve got a couple they’ve got a disgruntled young European forward there too that wants to get out. So maybe you make the uh maybe you make the chino for rile swap, everybody’s happy and you see what happens. But like he’s got Columbus Blue Jacket DNA in him. I think that would be a nice jersey to get. One of my favorite like draft clips on on Sports Dead is when the Blue Jackets drafted Chinov and they just had absolutely no idea what they did. It was like they really went off the board with this one. But he’s turned into a pretty decent player. Um, I’d be down for a move like that. That’d be interesting. Um, bit of a different question. Um, um, what are your thoughts on the Matt Grizzlick PTO? I mean, because you you spoke about never having enough goalenders, you know, there is a saying you can never have too much defenseman as well. What do you make of this signing? Do you think he actually um, you know, makes the team and they give him a proper contract or is this maybe a chess move to get the W Kaj situation figured out? Um, what do you make of the Grizzl PTO? Yeah. Uh it’s it’s to me it’s it’s a it’s a smart move. Um you know, of course there was instant knee-jerk reaction and overreaction online and oh my god, he’s going to block a young kid. That’s not going to happen. Um there’s a lot of factors into why you do something like this and it’s a it’s a smart move. First and foremost, outside of Conor Murphy, you don’t have a veteran defenseman at all on this team. And when was And do you expect Conor Murphy to play all 82 games this season? I don’t. Uh if he plays 60, I’ll be thrilled. Um and you know, he could be a a prime candidate for trade deadline move if he’s healthy. You know that he’s the type of a defenseman that teams looking to make deep playoff runs drool over at the trade deadline. Um especially at his price tag, it’s very reasonable. Um, so there’s some insurance in case Conor Murphy gets a little ouchy in camp. Um, there’s some insurance in case uh Wyatt Kaiser, you know, that could be a like, you know, hey, we don’t we don’t need Wyatt Kaiser. You know, we we we we’re showing you that we don’t care if you don’t sign this contract. We brought Matt Grizzlick in, who is, you know, what you’re going to be in six years, maybe. Um, and and and it also, you know, brings in another guy that that’s been around the league. Um, he’s coming off a career season. I mean, he had 39 assists last year. You tell me you don’t you you tell me you don’t want 39 assists on your blue line. Most of the Hawks blue line last year. Yeah. For not even close. Yeah. Which is crazy that he didn’t have He’s coming in on a PTO. He played all 82 games last year, but up 40 points. Like I I don’t I know I don’t know. I know his defensive metrics aren’t great and he’s not the type of defenseman Kyle Davidson usually goes after being a little bit smaller, but when you have all these giant defenseman you can afford to have one guy under six foot tall. But I don’t think he’s going to steal anybody’s spot. And and another thing to think of is also a favor to the player and his agent because he’s not only just trying out for the Blackhawks, he’s trying out for all 32 NHL teams. When you’re on a PTO, you can get signed by any other team at any time. uh he could play one preseason game and get a contract offer from, you know, the Buffalo Sabres and be gone. Like, so, you know, and his agent has some nice clients out there that may or may not, you know, want to be Blackhawks one day. So, that’s also kind of what GMs have to do, but like, hey, remember when I gave your guy a try out and he signed that three-year deal elsewhere because he looked good in my training camp? How about you give me a break on signing this player? So, there’s a lot of factors that go into it, but ultimately, I don’t think he’s on this team come opening night. I just think there’s enough good talent here that it’s not needed. But, you know, hockey is a physical, violent sport. Maybe you get an injury or two and and a couple of these young guys aren’t ready to go for opening night. So now you have him here for a few games and you know he’s another guy that could be easily flipped at the trade deadline, get another asset for something you you you gave nothing to. So it’s it’s an no risk all reward type of move that in the end by this time next year we’re going to even forget he this happened because I don’t think it’s going to affect the roster. Yeah, he’s just a fill-in guy. That sounds right. I don’t think we will remember. No. Yeah. No, not at all. Um, so I was I was checking content day shoots today and I did see the A on J Jason Dickson’s jersey. I’m not sure if that’s been announced yet, but the fact that that’s there leads me to believe he’s going to be the uh Phil and alternate this year along with um Conor Murphy and Nick Feno still the captain. Uh what do you make of that move and uh what do you think the Hawks future leadership core could look like? Yeah, I mean I think it’s the right move. Dickinson is definitely one of the the veteran leaders. He’s always one of the guys that, you know, is not afraid to speak up in the room and and lead by an example guy. Um he’s a guy that I want to see have a big bounceback year. Last year was not great. Um you know, he dealt with some injuries that obviously affected his play, but he was never he didn’t look anything like he did the previous year. Like he there were there were a lot of plays where I was like, “Hey buddy, I thought you were our best defensive forward. What are you doing there?” um you know, all of a sudden Ilia Moff became the the defensive darling of this team. So, I want to see him have a bounce back here. Being healthy will help. Um so, yeah, I that if that’s the the trio they’re going with, that makes all the sense in the world. Um you know, going forward, um there’s no doubt that Alex Vic is going to get a letter on his sweater one day. Um you know, I I think it’s a foregone conclusion Connor Bdard is going to be captain of this team one day. uh maybe as soon as next year. Um you know, I think Frank Nazar is is part of that leadership group going forward. Um you know, and and down the road maybe a guy like Sam Renzelle is part of that too because he’s he’s a vocal guy too and and a lead by example guy. So they’ve got a lot of options going forward. I mean, but that’s what happens when you constantly draft high character guys that have been captains or or assistant captains for their juniors or college teams. You’re going to get guys that um you know are going to be part of that group. But personally for me, I think you know, letters on sweaters, the fans like it, but I think it’s one of the most overrated things in in the sport. It really doesn’t matter. It it it’s like, okay, you get to go talk to the refs. That’s what that means. because Jonathan Taes was the captain of the of the Stanley Cup teams, but everybody that was in that locker room will tell you Brent Sebrook was the leader. So, you don’t need a letter. You don’t need to be captain to be the leader. You could be a leader a hundred different ways. Mhm. Couldn’t agree more. Yeah. Um just, you know, we were talking about, you know, the future of the Hawks leadership group. Uh I kind of want to bounce it to when do you think this leadership group could get that team into contention? Um, I guess when do you think they could be pushing for a playoff spot uh in this rebuild? I would love this year to see them be like Utah was last year where you know it’s January and you know, hey, technically we’re mathematically alive for a spot and then you know, things happen and then you luck out and you get, you know, you win the lottery too. you know, you miss the playoffs by five points and you get, you know, you move up in the lottery. I mean, perfect scenario would be you’re this year’s Islanders. Oh, perfect. McKenna, let’s go. Yeah. Yeah. Almost almost make the playoffs and get the number one pick. That would be great. Um, you know, and we, you know, it would it would also ramp up the uh, you know, the the league is rigged in the Blackhawks favor and I love that chat. That’s that stuff just gets me going in the morning. But um this year this year will be better. I don’t foresee them being much more than maybe a 75 point team, which is an improvement. Um but you have to think, you know, having Spencer Knight here all year is going to be worth at least three more wins he didn’t get last year. Having a real NHL coaching staff should get you three or four more wins this year. Um so it should be better. And as these these kids improve and and take strides and come together, uh you know, it it’s going to be this is going to be a year where I don’t think the points and wins and losses really matter because it’s going to be how that this team looks. Cuz if you finish this season with 85 points or 90 points and you you almost make the playoffs and your leading scorers are Tavo Terrainan, Tyler Bertusi, and Nick Felino, that’s not good. No. If if you finish this season with 72 points, but your leading scorers are Connor Baddard, Frank Nazar, you know, and and these and Ardum Levoff and Sam Renzelle look great. That’s more important than almost missing the playoffs, but it’s your veterans doing all the heavy work. So, um, as far as when they contend, I would think, you know, next season could be that season where like, hey, maybe something’s happening here. maybe you squeeze your way into a wild card spot depending on how things break down, but realistically we’re looking, you know, probably that uh 2728 season is that one where like we could sit here and go, “Yeah, this is the year we’re going to actually predict the Blackhawks to make the playoffs and not sound like we’re on drugs.” Very nice. I think we’re all looking forward to that day. Yeah. You got next one, Nolan has a question, actually. Yes. Yes, I do. Uh we were talking earlier about the uh prospect showcase, but there was a lot of prospects that weren’t in the uh showcase talking about guys. Well, I mean I wasn’t going to bring up Canerov to begin with, but guys like Fondell and Bav and Mustard and Canerov, you know, out of that group of talent, who are you most excited to, you know, follow and watch this season? Well, I mean, you mentioned the two guys in Europe and Fondell and Cancer off. They’re those guys uh are off to good starts. Um, you know, and they’re playing pro professional hockey. Um, so I’m I’m looking forward to seeing what they could do. Uh, Bav at BEu is definitely intriguing. Um, you know, I I want to see, you know, I mean, it’s not like he’s coming from a slouch of a program, but he is stepping up in class a little bit. Um, so I want to see him carry that on to the next year. I want a huge season from him. And hopefully we we get him here, you know, end of March, early April for a couple of games. Um, you know, there’s, you know, all the first round picks from this year are going to be intriguing to watch. You know, what does Mason West look like when he’s done playing football? You know, what’s he going to do to the U USHL? Yeah, the Bears might steal them from us. Yeah. Hey, why not? Um, you know, the Blackhawks are going to have a 4,000 yard passer before the Bears. How sad is that? But there are a lot of intriguing prospects out there. You know, uh Jack Pridom, who who’s going to be in camp and was at the rookie showcase, I want to see what he does because I I I’m still kind of scratching my head on why he didn’t go to BEu and decided to stay in the OHL. I mean, he his reasons he gave were good, you know, closer to family, enjoyed the team, you know, that I’m that’s fine. Um, but I kind of I I always kind of wonder about guys who prefer to be a big fish in a small pond than go out and prove themselves in a bigger program. So, I’ll be paying attention on, you know, what he comes up with this year. Yeah. Switching gears here. Um, we asked your uh your buddy Jay on Monday um on his thoughts on like Jeff Blaso and if if he could be the guy for the Blackhawks. I’m pretty sure we already asked you about last show when we had you on last year. But I guess um just uh seeing if you have any new thoughts on him and uh I guess what he can kind of get out of this Blackhawks team that maybe we haven’t had in them past coaching years, good habits he can instill, things like that. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, as we talked about before, you know, I don’t think there was a ton of excitement when the the reports first started coming out that he was the guy. Um, but you know, as I’ve gotten to talk to him a couple times and and and hear what he’s got to say, I think he’s a good fit for this team. You know, he’s got a lot of experience working with younger players. Um, you know, as I broke got into, you know, the systems he runs and kind of the entries he likes to run with with young mobile defenseman and and he likes a lot of speed up the center of the ice uh to get out of the defensive zones. We definitely has that option. I think he’s got the right team for how he wants to play hockey, which he ne which he didn’t have a whole lot of in Detroit. Uh I think he’s got a good roster for his style of play. Um and I think he’s learned a lot from uh you know, his time in Detroit and then going to spend three seasons in Tampa. If they had just hired him directly from Detroit, I’d be like, what are we doing here? But three years under uh John Cooper, I mean, it has to make you a better coach. If it doesn’t, I don’t I don’t know what you’re doing there. But and his coaching staff is really good. You know, the head coach only does so much, but bringing in um you know, Mike Valucci, who has won a Calder Cup in the AHL, has has done a lot of work with young players is good. Uh Michael Pekka is a two-time Selki Trophy winner as a player. He’s going to get these guys like Connor Bard and Frank Nazar to to round out their games and and learn that good defensive habits will lead to a lot more time with the puck and scoring goals. The better you play defense, the more you get to play offense and have all the fun. Um and even keeping Andre Sorenson, I I I like that move, too. you know, he’s a good like one-on-one skills guy. Um, you know, I he’s not an NHL head coach to any degree, at least not yet. Um, but he’s really good at getting messages across to young players and working with them, you know, on a personal level, and that’s going to be good for this team. So, I think overall as a staff, um it’s it’s a good move and it’s it’s uh an upgrade for sure. Um it’s probably the best coaching staff they’ve had here since, you know, they let go of Quinnville and that gang. I just think you have a a staff that’s more in tune of exactly what’s needed to to get this team to the next step. But I know the uh comments from uh Muel Sergeef. Oh, he beat me to it. went went viral. I just shook my head like okay, here’s a guy that got traded by Tampa to Utah. So of course he’s got sour grapes. He’s just he’s bad mouth. Like and I read that and I go this there’s no way this is true. I mean maybe he said it, sure, but like then what’s John Cooper doing? Like if if John Cooper comes in and lets Jeff Blasil change the way his old team’s playing, what do we That’s more on Cooper, not BL. That’s a fair point. Yeah, of course. And now I really want to talk about kind of going back to the Quinnville era and the dynasty years. We have two big Blackhawks that are doing very big things. And of course, I’m talking about Jonathan Taves and Patrick Kane. Taves just signed to Winnipeg. And Kane is trying to make an Olympic roster again. So, I’m very intrigued to hear your thoughts on the Taves debacle with Winnipeg and him coming back. And I also want to know your thoughts. We asked Jay this on Monday as well, but I want to hear what you have to say about the expectations of Kane and if he’s going to make an Olympic roster or not. Uh, I’ll start with Taves. I’m I’m very intrigued to see what he has to offer, you know, two years away from the game. um you know going to India to you know do whatever the hell he was doing over there drink whatever weird liquids he was drinking to what you know um I’m always going to cheer for Jonathan Taves um regardless of of you know where he’s playing I hope it works out for him um he’s just so competitive um but I just worry that he’s a guy that refuses to listen to his body tell him I don’t want to do this anymore. Um, so I’ll be pulling for him. I hope it works out well. I just wouldn’t um I wouldn’t bet on it, but I you know I I don’t want to bet against Jonathan Ta because he is, you know, he’s one of the most competitive players ever. Uh I just don’t know if his body and his brain are on the same page. Uh I hope so. I’ll definitely be watching that. I know his return to Chicago will be an emotional night for sure. Um, and it’ll be I’m looking forward to that. So, I I hope he does well. Uh, except for the four times he plays the Blackhawks this year. Um, as far as Kane on the Olympic team, if he’s on that Olympic roster, I want it to be because he deserves to be there and not for some nostalgia record stuff. Of course, uh he didn’t make four nations last year. Um I I I think it’s honestly I think it’s going to be tough for him because you got to remember the Olympic game is on a bigger ice surface. Um you know, you probably want younger, faster guys, guys that play with a little more edge. Yeah. Um and not this time around, but stranger things have happened. I I just if if he is if they are going to use a roster spot for Kane, I just hope it’s because he is one of the best American players out there, not because they just, you know, they want TV ratings or they want him to finally, you know, get that gold medal to complete his trophy case. I don’t want it to be a feel-good story. I want it because he’s going to be one of the best players to help them win. Yeah. And I even think he was quoted saying that too, like he wants to make the team solely because of the player that he is now, not the player that he was back then, and for the nostalgia and for all the accomplishments. Uh, so I definitely agree with you there on that one as well. No, for sure. I mean, and if I’m a Red Wings, if I’m a Red Wings fan and I’m reading those quotes about, you know, him wanting to make the Olympic teams, I’m just like, “Hey, why don’t you focus on getting this bum ass team to the playoffs? It’s a fair point. They haven’t been there in over a decade since 2016. They’re still weighing in on the wiser plan there. Yeah. For sure. I just don’t think he’s going to win a cup with them ever. Like if he wanted to win a cup, I don’t think the Red Wings was the team to go for that. Yeah. I think he appreciates his connection with Debrinky. I know Mickey has got connections there. Um and his son loves it there. So, he has his reasons for playing in Detroit, but um yeah, if he still wants to win and go out, you know, swing at a fourth cup, probably not going to happen in Detroit. Yeah, he’s definitely walking around collecting original six teams like they’re the Infinity Stones. He’s already halfway there. He’s already halfway there. Only three more to go. Let’s see if he could uh pull that off. But he had that really good connection with uh Paneran as well. So, who knows? Let’s uh I wish him the best. I feel like everyone in Chicago wishes him the best, but yeah, we’ll see what happens. Yeah, Tyler Tyler Peteri might beat King to the uh the uh original six gauntlet there. He might uh he might get him. He’s got what, four of the six already. He’s got the wings. He’s got the Hawks, Bruins, Leafs. Yeah, you’re right. Four. Yeah. Yeah. He just he just needs the Canadians and Rangers. So, uh he might beat him. Yeah. We were talking about this on last show actually. Eric Gustin’s another guy who uh Habs, Rangers, Hawks. Was there another one? I I don’t know if there’s He’s got three or four. He’s got three or four as well. Yeah. Um Greg, you’ve been super grace of your time. One more question, more of an NHL question. Um, who’s your early way to early cup winner this year? I hate to be that guy, but until someone beats the Florida Panthers. Oh boy. I mean, I can’t disagree. Listen, everybody last year wanted to give a million reasons why the Panthers wouldn’t win it, and they just went out and kicked the out of everybody. Yeah. Um, and and did it with a smile on their face and then told you you sucked after they did it. I love that the the the the league needs more villains and if if the Florida Panthers are now the villain that people just can’t wait to see lose, bring it on. That’s good for the sport. Um Yeah. And the fact that Kachchuck is going to be out till December or later, that just makes him even more effective come playoff time. So, just be better rested. Yeah. They I think they’re a team that’s learned that, you know, you don’t have to go full throttle through 82 games. just get to the playoffs and let’s do our thing. Right now, if that team is healthy come playoff time and you know they’re going to go out and make a deal at the trade deadline that’s going to make them even better. They kept everybody. I just don’t think there’s a team that can beat them in a sevename series right now. Um they are the they are a perfect playoff roster. Um so something would have to go terribly wrong health-wise for them not to win. Um because I I look at these other teams that people pick every year and I just don’t see them having it. Edmonton still doesn’t have the goalending. Um Dallas eh Dallas maybe maybe without pizza to screw it up and and light the team on fire and and pour gasoline on his way out. Maybe that maybe maybe that makes a difference. Um you know I’m not sold on Colorado at all. I think they’re going to be a good team, but they’re not a They’re not built for playoff hockey. Um, even in the East, who’s going to beat the Panthers in seven games in the East? It’s not going to be the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes every year. Oh, this is their this is your year. And they lose in the second round like they do every year. The stars of the of the East. Yeah. Well, because they’re another team that just refuses to go get a stud goalie. They every year they’re like, “This is the year Freddy Anderson doesn’t fall apart.” Nope. Um I don’t think the Mnerless Leafs are going to get it done either. Yeah. No, no. The M even with Marner, they couldn’t get it done. Um so, you know, maybe the Devils, if they stay healthy, can have a fun team this year, but I just right now I don’t think anybody’s beating the Panthers in a seven game series. Yeah, it’s fair. It’s hard unfortunately hard to uh hard to disagree. I mean, maybe the Oilers in a McDavids last season. I’m just kidding. We shall see. No, but I really agree with you when you say that they’re the villains of the NHL now. And personally, I feel like they really solidified their villains data. Don’t say his name. But yes, with a certain signing. But hey, I can’t nobody can be too mad. We could just be salty, but nobody can be too mad because we got Spencer Knight out of it. So, it’ll work out. It’ll work out. It’ll work out. It’ll work itself out eventually. At least he’s not in our possession anymore. But I I don’t know if I’ll be able to watch him win another Stanley Cup. So, um yeah, I mean there’s absolutely nobody who can beat them currently. I mean, unless Edmonton gets their stuff together and um you know, the Stars too, but unfortunately, yeah, it’s you know, Capri off gets traded to a contender. You know, that’s the only thing I can see. That would be interesting. That would be interesting. Super team somewhere out there. But yeah, I mean the Panthers are they’re them. I I have them locked into the final right now. They’re making it there. See if they win it. We shall see for sure. Greg, thank you so much for joining us once again. Everybody on CHR, check out his new Second Balcony podcast on YouTube, wherever you get your podcast, and also check out his writing on Blackhawk Up. Um um really appreciate you for joining us, and you’re always welcome here on CHR as a guest. Yeah, absolutely. Uh always have a blast talking to you guys. So, uh, whenever you want, just, uh, send me a link and I’ll waste more of your time. For sure. No, absolutely not. Are you kidding me? Absolutely not. No, appreciate you. Have a great day. Thank you. All right. We’ll see you guys later. Of course. Have a good one. Yeah. And I mean, when we’re talking about the uh Kane Infinity Stone trial or whatever, I feel like a certain someone on CHR would be very happy if Kane went to the Leafs. Oh, yeah. I think I know who you’re referring. I think I think I know who we’re referring to. Um, but who knows? Who knows what he’s going to do. Yeah, we shall see. Um, I think we got to get into some CHR Lori here. Um, that’s right. I think we should uh let our chat know. I think our chat probably Does this mean I get the uh the broadcast in? Sure. Yeah, feel free to join us there, Nolan. Absolutely. Nolan, join us. Hey guys. Hi Nolan. Hi Nolan. So, unless you’ve been living under a CHR rock, I would say this week, um you’re probably familiar with uh what we did yesterday. Um at Union Station. Yes. Between 6 7:00 morning commute. Yeah. Well, no, that’s actually valid. That’s when we uh when we showed up there. Yeah. Hey, Ben said it. Not me. Not me. I take back what I said. Yeah. Blackhawks held the centennial season ticket giveaway event there. players like Baddard, Nazar, Knight, and Vlastic were all in attendance. It was uh it was very nice. Um we we went there to preach the good word, the gospel of CHR. Did some networking. Um recognized a few times. All of us, not just me, were all recognized, which was pretty cool. Um until the Blackhawks arrived and then we were kind of forgotten pretty quick. Um Betsy showed up and uh he was kind of uh he was mobbed like a zoo animal. I I got to say I felt kind of bad for him. Um I was hoping to meet him, get a picture, but I also didn’t really want to contribute to um what he was dealing with because I felt for him as an introvert. I know how that feels being in a big room with a bunch of people around you. It’s never fun. The analogy that I was making, it was like, you know, it was a Black Friday sale with 75% off and you know, Bedsy was the uh the product on sale. It was insane. Yeah, it really was wild. Like I probably should have expected it, but it was even crazier than I expected. Um but we did get to meet um Frank Nazar. That was awesome. What a guy. What a chill guy. Awesome. Uh absolute legend. We all got to meet him. And uh um No, he’s just his aura is just as noticeable in person, I must say. Um I can just feel his aura transmitting off of me. So good guy, Frank. He really Frank has ever taken a bad photo. No, absolutely. Neither is Justin. Yeah, neither is Justin. Yeah, we were talking about this yesterday. I don’t think we have a single bad photo of you. Is that right? Am I a good picture? Yeah, you are a good picture taker. Oh, thank you. I appreciate the mom. Let’s go take a picture. I’ll I’ll give her the credit for that one. Yeah. But no, good guy Frank over here out of all of them, I really want to say that he was the one who spent the most time and engaged with fans the most. Like regardless of how long it took people to talk to him, he was always like very very very respectful and very nice and people were the same back to him. Like I remember when I walked up to him for my picture. Uh he asked me for my name. I introduced myself. He introduced himself. It was very nice. He’s a very very good human being and I’m so excited to see what he does this year. Yeah, he’s just a guy you want to root for. I remember I was uh I was talking to him because four years ago during the uh rookie dev camp that he was in um I I I had mentioned that I met him and he was trying to you know think back. I obviously he probably didn’t remember but he’s like he acted like he rep. Yeah. No, he did a very good job of acting like it and he was like, “Oh, dude, no way. That’s sick.” And I was just so excited to see Frank. Frank is the kind of guy you want to root for. And I’m so glad that he’s locked up for the next eight years. For sure. Like I would say of the four players, like he definitely seemed the one that was happiest to be there. Like he was going out of his way to offer pictures and and autographs, things like that. Benzy could just see he’s a little bit overwhelmed. I’ll blame him. Um Yeah. And the and the classic is he is so massive in person, man. Yeah, the Blackhawks have so many like big defenseman. You don’t really notice it like when you’re watching the game, but in person like he made Betsy look like a dwarf who was standing next to him. Might be six foot 6’6. No, I’m not taking the B. He’s like I think he’s 66. I think he’s listed at 656. 65 66. Yeah, six. No, no. Not enough. But um Tom Foolery. Yes. What is this nonsense? Utterwoke nonsense. I do want to say about the uh the meet and greet. If you happen to run into CHR and you took photos with us, please tag us on your Instagram stories and shoot us into the into the DMs. We’ll repost it. I mean, we were uh we were very ecstatic whenever someone came up and noticed the hat. You know, we were giving out business cards. We were uh we were very happy about all of that. So, I’d really appreciate it, you know, if we got, you know, the photos that were taken with Justin, Natalie, and myself. No, for sure. Definitely. Uh growing the word of CHR, uh preaching the gospel oral tradition is very nice experience. for sure. And I mean too, another thing that I want to talk about with my interactions with uh Frank Nazar, um he was going towards one of the uh cameras cuz he was doing an interview and when we were like kind of clearing the way for him. Um he asked me if I got like one of the autograph cards and I told him no and he’s like, “Oh, I’m sorry. Here you go.” And I’m like, “Why are you apologizing to me? You’re Frank Nazar. Like you don’t need to apologize.” like he wanted to make sure that everybody was able to get something. And I got three cards, Knight, Velic, and Nazar. So, um, shout out my little brother. I gave him my Spencer Knight one. So, Eddie, if you’re watching this, you owe me Chipotle still. Um, and another cool thing that they were doing, they were, uh, they were giving out the QR codes and, uh, I actually ended up winning a pair of tickets. No, games. Yeah. Should have been me, not him. It’s not fair. It should have been me. Hey, I I think that’s like one of the big, you know, first raffles I’ve ever won. So, I I I think it’s going to be super cool. I I I’ve had like 50 W 50 people ask me, “Oh, so you’re going to bring me, right?” Yeah. I was just going to say, “So, who’s your plus one?” I have no idea. I don’t know which game it is. I find out in the next 40 hours. We’re the best of buddies, right? No one. Hey, Justin, we had a great time yesterday. That doesn’t mean you’re getting the ticket. I got to put my word in early for a second. You know, and you know, I’ve never doubted you or your abilities for a second, right? Yeah. No, neither of like any of the three of Did I mention just how how good you look today? Like you just you really look nice. I can tell you trimmed up there. Like you just you look really nice cleaned up. You’re just you know, you’re being the best producer possible right now. I don’t think I’ve seen a better one ever. So, you know, Justin is uh spreading misinformation right now. I personally think that he’s lying to you about everything that he’s been saying. If you vote for me, you know, if it was a uh if if it was a fourpack that I got, then it’d be the four of us, and that’d be super cool. But it’s only I I only have one ticket, okay? But it’s not. And you should vote for me, CHR viewers. You should vote for me to be Nolan’s plus one to the Centennial game that he won tickets for. I’m a very nice person, and I know you guys know that. So, please consider me to be Nolan’s plus one. Thank you. That’s it. H well, we could keep this debate going all day, but uh yes, we got some other stuff to get into for sure. Blackhawks content day today. Training camp starts tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll have more to say about that Thursday. One more Hawks related item to get to before we get to the NHL hour on the other side of the break. Um I was I was talking about that Betsy Vassic interview with um at the season ticket giveaway event yesterday. And uh in that interview, some really um good words here that this is exactly what you want to hear regarding his impending extension. Um we’re going to get it done when it gets done. and I’m excited to be here for a long time. That is exactly what you want to hear. So, yeah, they’re in no rush to get a deal done. Um, it’ll probably get done next summer, I’d imagine, um, when the season has concluded. Um, but everything Betsy’s ever said has mentioned how much he loves Chicago and, you know, loves being here and is going to play here for, um, a long time. So, definitely good to hear that exactly what you want to hear. We’ve heard it before, but um, just the more you hear it, the more it fires you up. So, um, and hopefully he’ll be fired up to have a big season ahead. Kucks fans co-arter. Yes. Yes. Absolutely. All right, that’ll do it for the Blackhawks Hour. We will be back. Plenty to say on the NHL side of the break. And uh just a friendly reminder, if you’re listening to us on Spotify or Apple, be sure to leave how many stars a fivestar rating and review. If you’re watching this video on YouTube, like it up, share it around after the video’s gone live. You can hype up your favorite creators three times a week. And you know what, guys? CHR merch drop. Nothing beats a CHR merch. I knew that was coming. the website. It is the standard. The standard is the standard. Shout out Mike Tom you to it this time. Yes, you did. I allowed you to. I didn’t need a quue. But yes, guys, please shop our merch. It’s very pretty, very nice, very demir. That’s right. Buy it. Yes, sir. Lick and bio. We will be right back on the other side for the NHL. Woo. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Hey [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey, [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] All right, welcome back CHR fans for the NHL hour of our Wednesday CHR episode. Before we get into our NHL topics, uh first of all, we we just want to thank Greg Boyison again for coming on the show. outstanding guest. He always is. Every single time he raises the bar. So, um I I definitely think not to be um biased here, but I have to say one one of the favorite guests that we’ve had on the show. Um last year, too, and good to have him back this season and uh wish him the best of luck in his endeavors this year. Um for sure good to have him on and uh it was a really good portion of the show. And uh just a friendly reminder, if you’re listening to this on Apple, Spotify, fivestar rating review. We really appreciate it. Like this video on YouTube, share it around to your friends, right? Don’t be afraid to hype up our videos after they’re live, like hype fair creators three times a week. So, we really appreciate that. CHR merch drop. Uh we’ll keep mentioning it. Y’all have been asking for it for a while and we’re happy to provide that. So, for sure, we really appreciate that. All right. So much storylines to get into here as as training camp has begun this week in the NHL landscape. Um, Blackhawks training camp starts tomorrow, but many other teams have started today and there’s a plenty of story lines to get into here. I think uh we should start off though. I mean, we’ve already spoken about this player plenty. Um, Sydney Crosby though, I think it’s worth having a bit of discussion about him. Um, there’s been a lot of speculation, I’d say last week about his future in Pittsburgh. Um, but he has denied reports uh that he is seeking um that he was please he’s thinking of leaving Pittsburgh. No, he wants to stay loyal to them. he was doing a season ticket giveaway with the Penguins and uh um said they know all his intentions are in Pittsburgh and remaining with the Penguins. So, kind of shot down those talks there and uh looks like he’s going to be remaining to loyal to Pittsburgh just like his uh predecessor Mariel Demie. Uh what do we think about that? I mean, are we really surprised? Yeah, that’s what I was going to say. I’m not I’m not surprised about that. This dude’s built his entire career in Pittsburgh. I feel like it would take a lot an absolute lot for him to leave. And that just goes without saying. I mean, he’s he’s their franchise player. He’s been there for so many years, and I just I don’t see it happening unless there’s a really really really big massive deal from him, like from another team for him. So, yeah, I don’t I saw that coming. I didn’t think anything crazy was going to come out of that. So, yeah. So, yeah. No, for sure. It’s definitely just one of those things that gets talked about in the offseason just so there’s talks, you I mean, obviously it’s a big news Crosby’s last year. You know, uh Pittsburgh’s not really the team that they were in his prime, but you know, he’s clearly a very elite player in the NHL still, despite the Penguins, uh being in the basement. And I just don’t think he’s the guy that’s going to walk out on that to win a cup somewhere else. He’s he’s Pittsburgh, you know, born and raised, you know, not not born and raised, but for the league. He effectively is. He feels like, you know, a Pittsburgh native at this point. truly coming in there at 18 years old and you know growing up as you know a Pittsburgh resident. So I also like the little line he had. He was asked about allegations of the Penguins uh getting worse this season and trying to lose and uh he shot that down pretty bluntly was like that’s not the game I know. Um so Pittsburgh um Crosby not a fan of the Pittsburgh tinking allegations. So, um I mean I think on the ice, we’ll see about that one, Sid, but um he definitely seems intent on the competitive Crosby still seems intent on um you know, having the most successful season he can in Pittsburgh and beyond for sure. And uh this is this is another story line. I don’t know if you all saw this uh if we recall uh couple weeks ago with Lane Hudson and the drama around a potential CAD representation in the future after his dad clearly was not happy about his uh perceived snub from the USA Olympic orientation camp. And late Hudson recently had a response to those comments and I’ll read his quote. I am a USA hockey player. Couldn’t have said better. That’s all that need to be said. That is the correct response. Lane Hudson’s a young defenseman. He’s 21 years old. He’s going to have his whole career and future ahead of him to make future, you know, USA Olympic rosters and teams. So, um, he’s he’s already represented US on the international stage and the World Juniors and one goal at that level. So, um, that’s what you want to see. You like to see that loyalty. and I’m sure he’ll be hoping that the US extends that same level of loyalty to him in the future um beyond 2026 when the time comes. Um what do you all think about that? Yeah, I mean it’s definitely a really really rough not even I don’t want to say rough, but it’s it’s competitive this year. It is very competitive. Um all of these tryyouts, all of these people invited to come attempt to represent Team USA. I mean, it’s it’s a lot. It’s a lot. And I feel like it especially goes for team Canada as well. Like these young players obviously you need them on the ice for your country. They are good. They are skilled. They have a lot of speed. They have everything that some of the older players lack. And these older veterans obviously they have veteran presence and they’ve made names for themselves. But that kind of like how we were talking about with Greg, like it can only be so much. And I think uh Hudson has a bright future ahead of him. And I don’t think he should be taking it personally. And I feel like he’s not. Um he’s staying, you know, loyal to Team USA. And I could definitely see him going to the Olympics in the future like we were. Oh, he’s going to get his chance. He’s going to get his chance. It’s not everybody can get their chance this year and in the future he definitely will. No doubt. No doubt. I think he’s definitely a top six US defenseman. Not if not now then, you know, looking four years down the road. He is probably your I would say top three defenseman if he’s keeps going at the growth that he is. I know that might be a little bit of a hot take, but I mean if you look at it from Lane’s perspective, obviously it sucks, but again he’s 22 years old. there’s a lot more hockey to be played from then. You know, you look at Frank Nazar. I don’t think it’s the end of the world if Frank Nazar doesn’t make it. I don’t really expect him to. Like, that would be a bonus if he made it this year. Just the fact that he was invited to campus win. And another thing, too, I mean, we we were talking about the Patrick Kane discussion with him making the team or not making the team. Like, I don’t really see a lot of change between the four nations team and the Olympic team this season. Maybe a couple adjustments to the roster, but I would say 90 85 90% probably the similar team. as well. And it it’s weird, too, because there’s so many um there’s there were so many snubs from the Four Nations team that I think could be adjusted to. Like I’d rather see Jason Robertson in there. Like I I No, Jason Robertson, dude, he’s he plays at all three facets of the game. He’s put up a 100 points before. Like he is a very good hockey player and the fact that he didn’t make the Four Nations team was kind of mind-boggling to me. Um I mean you could There’s a lot of good players, right? Yeah, there is a lot of good players. I mean, you look at other names like Cole Coughfield, you look at Alex Debrink, you look at Brock Besser, you look at Nick Schmolz, he probably could have been there over guys like Chris Krider, Brock Nelson, players of that. Yes, I would agree. Speaking of USA hockey players, how about JT Miller? Um, recently named captain of the New York Rangers heading into this season. Um, has only been back there for a few months, you know, dating back to last season. Obviously, you know, trade from Vancouver. Um, played many years in New York before um his trade to the Lightning and then, um, Vancouver. What do we think about this move? Uh JT Miller, Rangers captain. I I think that makes sense. You know, I mean, he’s a guy who’s familiar with the team. He’s been there before. And right now, I don’t see who else would have been, you know, appointed at at the guy you trust to, you know, lead. Uh you think he was the best option there? You don’t think there’s anyone else that could have Adam Fox? Yeah, Adam Fox. Obviously, that is the other guy you could look at there. But I think I think having a guy who’s been around is better for this for a captaincy position. And you kind of want Adam Fox to be focused more on the playing side and uh fully, you know, growing into the player that he’s supposed to be. Well, kind of JT can step back and be more of that veteran leader. I think it kind of works out. Yeah, Fox is kind of a guy I want to see more from. Not necessarily from the Rangers standpoint, but um as an American fan, I want to see more from him in this Olympic run. I would say his for nations performance could have been better. Um, so I like to see more from there, but I I still would have given him I would say he probably would have been my top choice uh for captain there. He’s been there his whole career and has been a staple in the blue line as one of the top defenseman in the game. JT Miller, like I’m not saying he’s not deserving, but he just got back there. I mean, it’s interesting, but um he’s got a good relationship with Vinnie Troch. Troche’s another guy probably could have been good. Paneran, you know, his contract’s up, so who knows what if his future’s going to be in New York. There’s some question marks there. Definitely would not have given the Z disadvantage yet at at this rate. Definitely not. Um, so yeah, I’d say, you know, he’s probably a top five option. Was he the top option? You know, question marks. But I will say, uh, supposed locker room cancer captain. So I wonder what Elias Person has to say about that. Oh, yeah. I think it’s super interesting, too, that they do it before training camp just to set the tone. Reference. Set the tone. Shy reference. I know they uh back I believe two years ago when Clint Hughes was named captain, he was named captain before the first game. And I just think, you know, having that extra three weeks to have the expectations on the team and, you know, actually having him lead, I I just think it would have been, you know, better overall for the team. And I think they the Rangers did the right move in there, but still they did not make the right move at captain. It should have been Adam Fox. I mean, but you also have to take a look at Miller’s stats as well. I know stats don’t necessarily have a lot to do with that, but last season he almost put up a point per game. He had 22 goals and 48 assists in 72 games. And 35 of those points came after he came to the Rangers. Much better if the Rangers. He definitely was. And you know, locker room cancer this, locker room cancer that. I mean, it’s it’s proven that he’s good. He has the qualifications. He’s a leader. And I feel like this was definitely a good choice. Could there have been better choices? Of course. But, you know, I mean, you kind of got to take what you can get at this point. I mean, as we’ve seen, you can be, you know, deemed a locker room cancer, get traded, and then when I wonder who you could possibly be alluding to there, say his name. Nope. Absolutely not. Not allowed. No. But yeah, I mean, even looking at other captaincies like with Nick Felino, veteran presence, all that stuff, but like is he the top goal scorer on the team? No, the captain doesn’t have to be the best player ever. Problems. Yeah, right. But I mean that veteran presence is enough for him and I’m I’m interested to see where that leads with the Blackhawks next year. But yeah, couldn’t you? It’s new. I mean, I think on Monday we were just talking about how Rangers are captainless and now all of a sudden we have a captain. We spoke it into existence and CHR is responsible for this. Not really. Delusion. Delusion. I will say the Rangers like it was a rough year for them last year. did look considerably better with JT Miller on the team versus when he was. And so, you can definitely see the impact he has in the room. I’m sure looking forward to a full season of him um as Rangers captain this upcoming season. And hopefully that’ll be that’ll do better than the last captain uh Jacob Trouba there. Hopefully that’ll go better. So, best of luck for them there in New York. And uh I believe segment time. I believe segment time is upon us. We got bad take Wednesday. I mean, the name sort of um explains it. Um, we reveal our worst takes of the week um to everyone listening. So, who would like to go first? Not me. Not you. Charlie, are you going first? You look like you want to go first. I could unless you got a hanger. Yeah, for sure. So, I think my worst take that I saw this week on Twitter has to be uh people comparing Caleb Williams and Spencer Rattler, the quarterback of the New Orleans Saints. And, you know, I mean, it’s through two games. They’re looking at touchdown passes, total yards, and QBR. And people are trying to paint the picture that somehow if having Spencer Rattler on your team would bring you to a brighter future than having Caleb Williams. Those sound like the same people at the most ironic starting. You know what the most ironic thing is, right? Yeah. Is that those two fought out at Oklahoma for the job? That’s right. So, it’s it’s super interesting that, you know, they’re still getting compared. What is that, three, four years later? Yeah. I mean, you can clearly never separate the two. It’s been it’s been years of that. But yeah, I just think people really overreacting to, you know, Spencer Rattler for the Saints. He’s been in a comeback situation in all his games. He’s having to throw for these passing yards and, you know, he’s just not highly regarded as Caleb is around the league. So, I just, you know, such reactionary takes after two games that we see every week on Twitter. Yeah. And you know, Spencer Rattler being mentioned in the same, you know, elite category as Caleb Williams is just beyond me. Also, uh, certified not a Spencer Rattler guy. I’m not a Spencer Rattler guy whatsoever, right? Really? No, I I think uh not not only is the talent not there, but you know, just the things that he uh did you guys ever watch that QB1 on Netflix? Yeah, I saw a little bit. So QB1, he was uh he was on that and it just seemed like he was a complete like, you know, he didn’t take responsibility for his own actions, you know, he was blaming his wide receivers for everything. Yeah. And it’s just like he’s not a team first guy and that’s not what you want out of a quarterback. Yeah. Quarterback’s got to be one of the top players in the team. Some some discussions about that, you know, his attitude and everything like that. And you know, I mean, people have been critiquing Caleb, his attitude, how he looks like on the sideline and stuff, but I just think, you know, Spencer is definitely, you know, more of an issue in that regard than Caleb is at all. And I feel like a lot of that’s just like appearances and speculation, right? It’s like a lot of the same talk we’ve seen with Betsy, like, oh, he’s always like up so upset on the benches and showing emotion, like he has a bad attitude, like maybe he just wants to win. Like maybe K Williams Blooms isn’t happy with the team situation, so clearly he’s showing his body language. I wouldn’t want him to look all, you know, sunshines and rainbows right now when the team’s clearly not in the spot it needs to be right now. So, you need to raise the standards. So, I think a lot of that’s just looks. Yeah. Yeah. Looks early reactions. Yeah. Over reaction. Yeah, for sure. Mhm. All right. I guess uh I will I will go second. And u I guess my I also got a Bears one and I’m just I think I’m just going to copy pasta my one from last week. Um it’s just the overall sentiment of Bears optimism heading into week two against the Detroit Lions. remember seeing the the prevailing narrative across the sphere that the Bears were due for a must-win game in week two. Ben Johnson’s return to Detroit playing his former team when he was offensive coordinator in Detroit. Um that that would be the game that the Bears figure it out and kind of get their season on track after a week one game against the Vikings. They kind of got away from them, right? They could have easily won that game and just found a way to blow it in typical Bears fashion. And this one was the complete opposite. It was not a narrow edge. It just got completely blown out of the water. One of the worst games I’ve seen in my life. I already talked about it on Monday, but um I think for me it’s just yeah the overall sentiment among Bears fans of being delusional like we why are we always doing this? It’s the same thing every year. They always overdilute ourselves and thinking this will be the year we figure it out. And as usual so far, not the case. Um but again, we’re only two games in. So, you know, long way to go though. Long way to go. But yeah, I kind of feel bad for that one guy on TikTok who’s like, “If the Bears lose, I’ll run a mile for every single point the Bears lose by.” 31 miles. 31 miles. O, that’s a lot of running. Rough, but hey, he’ll be have to spread that out probably, right? Very fit though. Very nice. Yeah, very nice. Great success. All right. All right. I’ll go next. Um, this is, you know, it’s a hockey take. It’s It’s a hockey take. Specifically, a take about the experience yesterday at Union Station. I I have specifically here that the Blackhawks Union Station experience was a bust. And there was one Twitter user who claimed that they took off work and kind of camped out at Union Station and got there around 4 in the morning just kind of waiting for things to start. And they were not very happy with the fact that the only thing they won off of that QR code thing was 10% off your next purchase. I mean, you know, I’ll take what I can get, but um they said the advertising was different and they advertised it incorrectly and they said that it was not worth it at all and they got nothing. No pictures, no autographs. I mean, you kind of you kind of have to make yourself known in order to do that. But this user claims that they didn’t want to add to the chaos and the swarm surrounding the players. So, that sounds familiar. Yeah. Right. But um I mean if all like you’re going there just to get a quick picture and an autographed card, like go to a signing event. Yeah. Like the way the vet was described, I knew that wouldn’t be a guarantee, right? That wasn’t really why they were there. So I don’t think you could really complain about something when it’s like that was it wasn’t a picture signing, you know? It’s like they would give it to you. They’d do it if they asked, but that wasn’t why they were there. No, of course not. Like just go to a signing for that. I mean, there’s always chances. It was it was such a It was such a fun experience. It was a very nice experience and you know even if we didn’t get to meet any of the players or see any of the players just you know walking the station I’ve never been there before and talking to our fellow Blackhawks fans enjoyers that was the highlight that was the highlight promoting promoting the people right yeah of course it’s nice to you know meet your heroes and stuff but really to communicate with fans and just preach the good word just just networking just networking it was a great event we met so many awesome people there And yeah, I mean it was a great event. I don’t know why people are complaining, but that’s just me. Yeah, I don’t know. I think uh yeah, overreactions for sure, right? It’s not that deep. I think they’re going to do more events like that in the future. I hope they do at least. It felt very like Kane TA’s era as the Hawks haven’t really done as much things like that. Um I’d say in recent years, they haven’t really done a convention in a while. So bring it back. I hope they do more events like that. I think they will. I think they will. And they picked the right players, right? I mean, Nazar, Knight, Blastic, all recently extended for long-term deals. Beds will follow. They picked uh the Blackhawks core 4. Yeah, for sure. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. No one, you up next. Oh, all right. I am uh I am the last to go here. Um so there was a specific tweet on August 2nd, 2025. Um talking and it said the Cubs will not make the playoffs. Now, fast forward to today. Um magic number one. Magic number is one. The Giants have lost. The Cubs are currently up four to nothing right now over Pittsburgh. And if they win one out of their next 12 games, they’re in the playoffs. Now, let me give some context to that. That August 2nd game, that was the Ryan Samberg game. Uh I was at that game. Uh obviously, you know, knee-jerk reaction was, how did we blow this again? But at the same time, you got to realize that, you know, hindsight’s 2020, right? And the big thing now is that the Cubs are one win away from the playoffs. That was the big thing going into this season. They’re bound to win one of those games. Yeah. First since 2018. Uh 2020. 2020. First full season. First full season since 2018. And I mean that’s a big expectation for this team, right? Is to make the playoffs this year. And they’ve done it. Now, how far do they go? I have no idea because we don’t know, you know, the health status. They won’t win a game. I was literally just about to say that. Do not say anything. No, we get it. You’re a Socks fan. Cope. Love you, Justin. I got hit wits. I got hit watch somebody. Yeah, but I mean that’s that that was my big takeaway is that like you know you had to look at the schedule. There was a point there was a stretch in time where between August 18th and like tomorrow they didn’t play a single playoff team and they’ve looked good. You know they’ve been on 102 game win pace over the last 23 games. Like that that is super super you know extraordinary. Yeah. Exactly. And you should be happy for it, Justin, because you’re supporting the city. Like I said, you know, if you’re a base, if you’re a Chicago baseball fan, you you support one team and one team only. I was even when the Cubs were in the World Series in 2016, I was not cheering for him. I think I was the one person in my school who wasn’t. Stay salty. Little update, Nolan. Oh, are are we? Yeah, I just looked at it. Are we serious? Matthew Boyd has allowed them to tie the game four to four. It is bases loaded. Bottom of the second one out for the Pirates. How do you guys feel about that? I think that’s all Nolan. The Nolan Jinx. Is that going to be a new thing? The Nolan Jinx. The producer over there. Oh my god. I I’m so sorry. I I really am. I should have knocked on one. They’re making it either way. I mean, so now it’s the Charlie Jinx. You can’t put it on me. It’s not the Charlie. Now I’m saying it’s even though they’re tied now, they’re making the playoffs either way. I mean, the Magic number one with 11 days. Like it’s it’s it’s a given, I’d say. How about it’s both of you? I can take that. Yeah, we can take the first not me and you. It’s not us. was texting that they went up 4-0. So, uh, yeah, I mean, I saw things about that, you know, Cubs are going to miss the playoffs. Cubs are going to, you know, fall off the map, not even be near the playoffs. I just there’s so much panic. There’s so much panic around this fan base for a team that has that third or fourth best record in the NL is a lock for the playoffs and people are acting like the sky is fall. If they were in the NLS, they’d be up three games right now for the division lead over the Dodgers who are the reigning World Series champions and the Padres’s who did the most at the trade deadline. Unreal. It’s amazing. Y’all are a playoff team and I see Cubs fans complain. No Justin Steel. That’s I mean that’s the heart and soul of the team to be quite honest with you. That is the thing, you know, like you guys don’t have anything to complain about because you know you complain. No, no, no. But you’re enjoying watching the kids play because you know there’s not expectations. Fair. We freak out whenever the littlest inconvenience goes our way, you know. So, I I see what you mean. I see I see what you mean. People with teams in contention tend to be a little more overcritical. You know, you give up a single up six in the seventh inning. It’s over and it’s just like the sky is falling. Why is this happening here? Wash. Yeah, exactly. It’s it’s it’s all knee-jerk. I I think it’s it’s way overblown, but at the same time, you know, that I I think it’s more than inevitable at this point. Yeah, that was a terrible take by whoever that was. Yeah, get ready to learn Iowa Cubs, buddy. Oh, that’s good. All right, I think that that will do it for Bad Take Wednesday. Definitely got a lot of uh Chicago sports Bears themes this week. Uh I bet you that’s probably going to remain the case for probably a while here, unless they could turn around. That would be nice if they could do that. But we’ll see if week three against the Cowboys is their good luck charm. Um if there’s any team you could turn around against, surely it’s the Cowboys, right? Surely. Don’t call me Don’t call me Shirley. Against Matt Eberflow, too. Yeah, that’s right. It’s a revenge game. No way. It’s a revenge game. Matt Eber flub. Yeah. Well, we’ll get into that more as it comes. All right, I think switching gears back to NHL hour here. Um, did you all listen to 32 thoughts today? Um, McDavid and Jasau were on speaking to Elliot Friedman and Kyle. And uh, I would say we gained uh, a heck of a lot more from that interview. We heard a lot of the same things we’ve been hearing from McDavid, how there’s no rush in the process. There has been confirmation though that he will not be entering the season um with the contract extension done. Like we’ve heard rumblings of that, but he did confirm that pretty much in that interview that um you know contract’s not going to be signed before the season. So um the timeline on that is you know they’re not rushing the process there for McDavid. So he’s looking for a deal that would be the best for him and his family. And uh he’s he said once again that he is intent on winning in Edmonton this season. But he did add that beyond is a question mark. Yeah, those like you next say 3 to 5 years. What do they look like in Edmonton? We don’t know. That’s right. I believe there was a quote as well uh straight from this episode. Yeah, I have all the faith in the world in this 25 26 season. Beyond that remains to be seen. Yes. Yes. Which that’s sort of the first we kind of heard about that. I know Freriedman and others have kind of been speculating that if he does stay in Edmonton, which they do seem to still lean towards that direction, that’s probably going to be a shorter term deal. Um exactly how many years, who knows? Three, four years, maybe even less. Um but yeah, McDavid does seem to have some real concerns, you know, with this team’s ability to go all the way and win. By win, he means Stanley Cup. He’s not just saying, um, you know, being a playoff team is good enough at this stage. They’ve been used to that. They need to go all the way and win the Stanley Cup. I think losing the past couple years is sort of, you know, changed that mindset there. So, they’ve gotten as close as you can without going all the way. So, um, but no, and then Dry Style sort of commented on that as well. They had both McDavid and Dry Style in the interview. actually very curious to hear like apparently dry style and McDavid haven’t had too much conversations about this like I would have assumed that they would have discussed the contracted a decent bit over the offseason but um I guess Judge Dile was saying like when he was going through this last year that um you know McDavid wasn’t really in his business so um of course they’d have little dialogue about it but um he’s kind of respected McDavid’s privacy through this matter and uh whatever decision he makes um you know I think you have to let um McDavid’s earned whatever decision that he decides to make he’s given Evson everything and uh you You know, if they can make it happen this year, great. If not, we’ll see. It’s all up to Stan, Bowman. Done. Done. Things are all up to stand. Yes. That’s not a place you want to be. As Greg, as our CHR guest, Greg Boyce said, if there’s anyone who could find a way to fumble this, it would be seen in Chicago, right? You know, um probably should have won more than three cups in that dynasty era, but Stan Bowman found a way to screw that up, didn’t he? Um so, yeah. And uh I think a big area of concern, you know, especially if that roster is the goalending, right? Like the Oilers at the moment are going to stick with the Skinner picker tan. It looks like but they have but they have been looking at the market. They’ve been assessing the market. Um there is one goalender whose you know name has been out there a lot um of late and that is Carter Hart um recently reinstated by the league and uh it sounds like the others will not be taking a look at him. Um, you can understand that, right? Like with Hardy’s been away from the game for over a year and there is some, you know, there’s some baggage there. Um, so you can imagine from the lawyers perspective, you know, that’s already a franchise that’s had some baggage, brand, a guy like Stan Bowman. So, um, Carter Hart too, like there might be some rust there, but you know, look at his days in Flyers land. Like he was, you know, really saw one of the best up and cominging young goenders in the league. Definitely a guy who maybe um could have solved the equation there, but I can understand for the Oilers that could also be a bit of a off ice distraction as well. So, um but yeah, they will not be looking at Carter Hart, but there have been a lot of teams looking at him. That’s interesting. Yeah, I I believe it might have been 32 thoughts earlier this week. Uh they had mentioned that uh they can definitely see Carter Hart going to an American franchise. I’ve heard Utah and Nashville brought up a lot. Yeah. Yeah. But they they don’t see any way that it’s not going to be flyers. It’s not going to be Yeah. No, there’s no signing in Canada for him is what I or Canada. Correct. Yeah. Yeah. Um it’s going to be a change of scenery, a fresh uh location for him. I imagine a team that needs gold thing which which there are plenty of teams that do. Um but yeah, those those could be some teams that they take a look at there in regards to Carter Hart. We shall see if happens in that regard. That’s right. How about a couple uh birthdays in the league today? Birthdays birthday wishes. We have Yeah, we have a few birthdays. Happy birthday. 40th birthday to Alexander Ovet. He’s 40 years old now. Wow. Kind of crazy. Wow. That makes me feel uh Well, I mean, I guess I’m half his age, about 22, but uh that makes me feel old. The uh the one thing I did want to mention on the Carter Hart front that all these players that were in that scandal are eligible to sign October 15th. Correct. And they are eligible to play on December 1st. Yeah. So there will be a rating a waiting period, right? They won’t be ready to go to start of the season. Um not just Carter Harper, everyone involved. So um yeah, we’ll see what happens that regard. Yeah. Um but going back to the birthday friend, happy birthday Alexander Ovetkin and happy birthday to Austin Matthews. Austin Matthews birthday as well. Wow, that’s right. It’s kind of crazy how both of those uh I never noticed that they had the same Are you kidding me? I never noticed they had the same birthday. Yeah. No, it’s a very a very cool tidbit. I remember all throughout the draft process they were talking about it how uh Matthews and Ovetkin both had the same birthday and it was both like two days before the draft cut off. Yeah. The man who’s probably going to steal Alex well I shouldn’t say probably the man who might steal Alex Ovetkin’s goal record. Um we’ll see if he can you know win a Stanley Cup in that time and show up in the playoffs and uh you know the Olympic stage for the US. Um, but no, no. Happy birthday to Matthews and Novet. How old is Matthews now? 27. 28. 28. Born in 97. Wow. Even Matthews is 28 now. That makes That’s That’s wild. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it’s his 10th season, right? He should be like 25. Ninth season. Ninth season. Yeah. And I mean, speaking of international stages, we just received some news today that there are countries and states vying for the chance to host the 2028 World Cup of Hockey. Oo. Yeah. Um, Chicago, when will they get a tournament like this? I mean, seriously, no. It’s It’s ridiculous that, you know, Chicago hasn’t hosted the World Juniors yet, and Chicago won’t be bidding for something like the World Cup of Hockey. They did do the Frozen Four back in 2017, and I thought that was a complete success. But if you’re looking at it from a perspective of trying to get it to the World Juniors, you know, they usually have two arenas. There are two big arenas around the Chicagoland area. You look at the United Center and you look at All State. I mean, those can both hold very big capacity. It’s been outside. It’s not really Chicago though. And then with the steel uh planning on moving into the new facilities that they’re building at Fifth Third, that could open up an opportunity. There’s going to be a just you know, a whole block of hockey activity and uh you know, teams that are going to be able to practice all week long on the they’re going to have four sheets of ice on the on the same block, which is two blocks from the United Center. I was going to say you brought up uh you know that being invested into you know bringing a big hockey community and the ability to host events uh in the West Loop is going to be huge. I was going to say you brought up the World Juniors. I do think that this uh fifth arena expansion the Chicago Seal coming into will open up a door there for Chicago in the future to host the World Juniors tournament which my goodness gracious will we ever be there for that. That would be that would be amazing. Um I think we’re going to try to get to World Juniors in Minnesota this year but love to see it in Chicago some year. That would be that would be fantastic for sure. I mean, you guys, I think I have a hot take. I don’t think the All State Arena is suitable for a big competition like that solely because of how rickety it looks. I’m sorry. You’re not a big fan of all it is. It is old. It’s big. The whole 15 16,000. It needs some major work. I mean, can it happen? Yeah. But as of right now, I mean, it just needs major updates. Like, I’m not I’m not very fond of it. It’s a great concert venue, don’t get me wrong, but it it kind of reminds me of the opening scene of Happy Gilmore when they are doing that try out. It just gives me that old like 80s9s vibes, which I mean is good for the nostalgia, but at the same time, it just um but doesn’t move you does not. At the same time, when you know they were hosting World Juniors over the last 10 years in Vancouver, they went to Victoria, which is a WHL barn. If you look at Edmonton, they were supposed to host it also in Red Deer, which is very nearby, which is also a WHL barn. We’re talking about, you know, it should be it should be, you know, viable to have it at Rosemont. Um, just because, you know, that’s a sheet of ice that is a professional sheet of ice, number one. Number two, can hold the capacity. And number three, it’s it’s not even, you know, you’re moving over one suburb. Yeah, it it’s close to the airport. Like, it’s close to transit. It’s very close to transit. It’s accessible. It’s very accessible. Very accessible. Yes. So, I I just think it’s kind of ridiculous at this point that they’ve gone to Buffalo and Minnesota before they’ve gone to Chicago. Big market, great for hockey and a good location. Not far from Canada, too. So, you know, should get good attendance. Um, another thing too, the NHL and NHLPA are hosting a workshop today in Toronto for the North American cities to kind of learn more about it. And then they are going to hold another one in Switzerland from the 22nd to the 23rd for the non-N North American cities. This event is expected to take place in February of 2028. Eight nations will be featured in this um and two host locations. So will will there be one in the US and overseas? Who knows? I I I don’t think it would be like that. You know, looking back at the last World Cup of hockey, it was in Toronto and Montreal. Mhm. So, yeah. Yeah. And that was back in 2016. So, this will be the first one in 12 years and the first sort of mini tournament of the state since the 2025 46. I’m excited to bring back the World Cup of hockey. You I don’t know where it was the past few years, but um it’s good to see foreign nations back and this will be a better version of that. Double the size and double the stakes. So, I’m as close to Olympic hockey as you can get. So, I’m really excited to have that back and just the further emphasis on international hockey. You know, there was a dark period there for a long time. I’d say nine years between 16 25. So, it’s good to get it revived. Good to see players back in Olympics and good to see the World Cup back. So, I would like to rework my take. I did not realize that the NHLPA it was going to be more like a World Baseball Classic style where they would have uh hosts in one in Europe and one in North America. So, I I think that’s super interesting. Interesting. Yeah. I I mean I’ve seen them do the multi-country, you know, Olympics and stuff, but those are always neighboring countries. Yeah. So, you know, this there’s going to be a lot of travel involved, a lot to figure out. So, I mean, it sounds awesome. you know, both sides of the both sides get to see everything going on. You know, maybe you have the round robins played here and here and then, you know, one final. Uh Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that’s kind of like what they did in Yeah. Like you mentioned, World Baseball Classic. Yeah. Yeah. No, I think the World Baseball Classic is super cool, too, cuz like you get to watch baseball at 11:00 at night, 3:00 in the morning, and then you also get to watch it at 7:00 at night and then noon. And I mean, it’s just it’s hot. It would be hockey all day. What What’s better than that? I’d be absolutely down for that. best hockey all day as well. We will be seated. We will be seated. We will absolutely be seated. Yeah. And there’s going to be like kind of how you said the obvious round robin elimination and the championship game will occur in one of those cities. 12 days in duration, 17 games. And this is the fourth World Cup of hockey in history. The last ones were in 1996, US, US won and beat Canada. 2004 where Canada won and beat Finland. and 2016 where Canada won again and beat team Europe. Yeah, that was that was a rough watch. A rough watch. Rough watch for us. Continent. I love that actually. You know what? Like I I didn’t I wasn’t sure if I loved it going in, but I thought it was pretty fun. I wouldn’t do it again in the future. I think that’s a one time thing. U Europe, whatever. But the the team North America, that was fun to watch. That was so cool. But that’s kind of a one time thing. You want to see actual mission countries. The biggest jerseys on my jersey wish list is a team North America jersey. I was going to say I need that jersey. You know, it had so many stars on that. You look at McKinnon, you look at McDavid, you look at Matthews, like those three are probably three of the best players in the NHL right now. What was the requirement for that? Was it a U24? U23. U23 all of North America. Correct. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean that’d be such a wild concept that they just said, “Yeah, we’re going to do it like this.” You know, I I mean, it’s very entertaining, obviously, but I I don’t think we’ve never seen anything like that, and we’ll never see it again. It was kind of a strange oneoff, for sure. Um, little bit of a segue here. How have we not talked about Krill Capriov yet? We got to get our daily Krill Capriov mentioned. Um, I mostly saw this because I think this quote, it just had to be brought up on this show. Um, from Michael Russo on the top of Wild Insiders. Um, right now, the Wild have not asked Capri off for a list, a trade list. Um before asking for a list and checking it twice, I would have conversations of other teams whether it’s Carolina, New York, Chicago, LA. These are teams I think would have interest again just to see Chicago once again brought up again just it’s just to feed our delusions um that it is possible you know is it wishful thinking maybe but the fact that it’s possible um that that’s enough to get me up in the morning. You know if you talk about it enough you might manifest manifest destiny. You beat me to it. manifest destiny. If you say it’s going to happen enough times, it’s going to happen, right? Delusion. Delusion. Delusion. Yes. Delusion. But what do we think for the Capriov uh talks? What do we think? Yeah. Um I think if they don’t get a deal done within the next couple of days, I think it’s going to be, you know, just detrimental to that team. And then you go further into the season and there’s not a deal done, it’s further detrimental. And I just think you could honestly see a cesspool of just unhappy fans, unhappy teammates, a terrible locker room. And it’s it it’ll happen really fast. It’s like, you know, a snowball going down an avalanche. No, for sure. Um definitely something that again, ideally to get it sorted as quiz as soon as possible. It does feel like there’s a bit of like a game going on, but of negotiations, a battle negotiations between the Capri off and McDavid camp. They’re kind of waiting to see who takes the bait first in terms of what that number is going to look like between the agents. Again, a lot of that’s just me speculating, but it does kind of feel like that could be a part of why we’re seeing this waiting game right now of sorts between the sides and and why neither’s in a rush. So, I’d say the Capri camp. We probably see something done there um quicker than the McDavid camp for sure. Anyway, we have to get a little Capri talk in. Yeah, always. I mean, it’s such a big story and you know, every day we kind of learn a little bit more. We learn more nuggets. We get more details that are worth starting to piece the puzzle together. pieces are coming in and I just think you know obviously he has all the leverage in this situation. Um and you know but he it does behoove him to you know if he wants to be playing hockey uh this season like for the wild it behooves him to you know just uh you know work with his agent and come to a solution that uh you know I mean obviously McDavid he can’t just wait around for that to happen to you know for it to influence the price of this deal. So, I think he just has to uh be kind of agree, not agreeable with the Wild, I don’t want to say, but he can’t let he can’t let this just take over all of their energy and their focus in that front office. He really has to that’s definitely been something with the McDavid side where he doesn’t want to let this impact the season like the 25 26 season in Edmonton. And I could definitely feel like I could see this Capri situation having more of an effect on the team. I would say in the McDavid situation support to have that trust. You don’t want anyone souring on you because you’re trying to make the best decision for your financial future. Like it could be, you know, the teammates, the front office, but you know, fans could start souring the longer this plays out on, you know, do we want this guy around if he’s going to be such a big distraction? And that just causes more internal tur turmoil, you know, from the media, from the front office, and just more pressure on him. Fellas, fellas, I think it’s time for another segment. Yes, we are double we’re doubling our segment talk today. It is now time for weighin Wednesday as the name suggests where we weigh in on any topics of our um concerns, any anything that we feel like we need to get off our chests. Um a little our little uh weekend check-ins midway through the week. Um for sure. Um I think I I’ll get I’ll get the ball rolling for this one. My little Wednesday weigh-in. Um I just I have to say it. I’ve already said on this show, but I’m going to say it again because you know I I think it’s important to be said. Man, I love Frank Nazar. I love that kid. I love Frank the tick. It’s just it’s just good to see it in person. Like everything you think about a player. You just you gain more respect when you see how they kind of conduct themselves like um when they and I say when the cameras are off their cameras on there, but just um how they how they kind of uh conduct themselves with the fans and even like their teammates kind of behind the scenes. And he just seems like a really good guy. Not just like his game, but off the ice. He seems like a really good chap, really good character. And I’ve just gained a lot more respect for him. Just seeing how he kind of worked with the fans. I think that was that’s that’s a leader right there. That’s a guy that you want to have on your team, move with your franchise. And I just I have nothing but good things to say about that guy. So, I just wanted to glaze Frank Nazar for my weighin Wednesday. I know it’s a bit repetitive, but you know what? You repeat things for reason. I think it’s worth uh giving Frank his flowers. Yeah, absolutely. Stick taps of Frank. Yes. Does he know the Frank Nazar in the chats as we speak? This is really that right now. Yeah, absolutely. There we go. We love some Frank around here. Mhm. All right. I guess I will take the next on my wayin Wednesday. Uh kind of a little rant, you know. Uh mine is just I am appalled at the organization and uh I guess how would I call it the spreadsheeting of Illinois Department of Revenue because I think it was four years ago I did a tax return in 2021 and this summer tax docu return like for my job when I was you 21. Uh, and this summer they sent me a letter saying, “Hey, we accidentally gave you, you know, $650 extra than we were supposed to on your tax return for this year. So, yeah, we’re going to need that back.” And it’s just like four years later, too. Four years later, like, “Oh, you gave me this tax return. Everything’s cool. I submitted all my documents.” And then this summer, they’re like, “Yeah, we’re going to need that 650 back because we don’t know.” I was waiting for the butt. What’s the What’s the catch here? Yeah. Basically, because they don’t know the bait and switch. They didn’t enter things correctly back in 2021 and they overpaid me. So now they’re like, “Yeah, like you still got that. Let’s let’s give us that money.” Like that’s Come on. That’s be completely off, you know, off limits to be like, “Yeah, we messed up and we paid you too much price for us. That money’s not still here. What are you guys talking about? You guys have all this revenue and it’s just, you know, ridiculous.” And then they said, “Oh, we’ll uh we’ll just subtract it from next year’s tax return total, so you’ll make 600 less on your tax return.” And I said, “Okay, cool.” Mhm. Two weeks later, they’re like, “Nah, we actually sent your 600 to collection, so you’re going to have to start paying us soon.” Brutal. And I was It’s just a nightmare scenario because Illinois cannot fuel figure anything out financially. So, they have to beg their residents for more money. This is nothing new. It’s unreal, dude. Hey, sorry to get, you know, like money and tax talk in here, but you know, that’s that’s it’s real life, man. It truly has just uh destroyed, you know, not destroyed the week. Uh put a damper on the week, I’ll say. You know, there’s hope. It’s only Wednesday. Yes, I win a million. You’ll get back. Maybe I win a million dollars tomorrow and this is all maybe you win the next Powerball. Yeah, that’d be nice, wouldn’t it? Let’s go. Have your fingers crossed for you, Charlie. Buying a ticket after this. All right, who’s next? Uh, let that go. All right, so you know, Wednesday, middle of the week, lots of stuff going on. Uh, I’m stressed, but uh, you know, aren’t we? I’m here. Um, I’m kind of in that like little not midlife crisis because, you know, 22 years old here. Feeling 22. I’m uh kind of in that like almost quarter life crisis era where it’s like you know um you try so hard and uh you know you work you work very hard you’re putting in the work you’re putting in the work um in the end that nobody sees but it kind of feels like it doesn’t really matter. I mean, I’m kind of feeling like Lucas Reichel here a little bit. Like, you put in all the work, you’re trying everything that you possibly can, but everybody just kind of wants to focus on the downs and the negatives and what you’re not doing. So, uh I mean that that goes without saying for everything, but you know, I just I just feel like I could be a little bit more, you know, respected and everything, but you know, respect is earned and not gained, but I feel like I’ve been working my ass off. So, yeah. I see the work you’ve been putting in and I appreciate it. I see the work. Yes. Thank you guys. You know, it’s not obvious to everyone. Some people are kind of, you know, blind to it, but we get it. We get it. We’re here. We up. And you know what? I’m going to keep proving people wrong. For sure. We’re all here for stick taps. Wnats in the chat right now. I know you hate being embarrassed, but I’m going to embarrass you here. Wats in the chat. This is This is the one time where I will take it because I’m honestly fed up. Oh, I love that. I love it. All right. Yes, sir. Nolan, we’re ready for my take. All right. So, I I was having a little bit of a hard time sleeping last night just because it felt like it was, you know, 85 degrees in my room. I even had the windows open. Was it freick days or that kept you up? No. No, surprisingly not. No, it was uh the fact that it was it felt like it was like 85 degrees in my room. And I’m kind of the person who wants to sleep when it’s, you know, 60° in my room. You know, you need a cold. You need a cold. I I need it like ice cold. Yeah. So, as I was, you know, tossing, what’s cooler than being cool? Ice cold. So, my So, my big thing last night, I was tossing and turning and I was debating on what to put in here and then a thought got into my mind and I was talking to Justin about this a little bit on the way in here. Uh Justin really doesn’t know about the take, but um how got how much are you guys fed up with the Winter Classics and the Stadium Series and all the outdoor games? I don’t want it in Florida. I don’t want it in Florida. Yeah, it’s too much. Um, so I think there’s an untapped market that could definitely um definitely benefit the NHL. Um, we saw it, I believe, in the 2014 Heritage Classic between the Canucks and the Senators where they played at BC Place and because of inclement weather, they were uh they had to close the dome. I think the NHL should tap into those markets in the NFL stadiums where they’re playing, you know, I give the example of playing at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. you know, the Dallas Stars play the Minnesota Wild, having the Minnesota Northstars rivalry at that stadium where it’s 100,000 people playing in that stadium. I think that would be so cool. I mean, you could go down the list like you you go to Sofi Stadium in LA. You could do LA Anaheim or something like that. LA San Jose. Um I I made the uh the troll one of going to Arizona and you can play Utah versus Winnipeg cuz they both left Arizona Winnipeg at University of Phoenix. Yes. Exactly. Or you could go to uh you could go to the uh Georgia Dome and you can do Calgary versus Winnipeg because they both left Atlanta too. Or uh you know I I also saw the uh Caesar Superdome in New Orleans because they’ve got such a big French culture down there. You could do the Halves versus the uh former Nordics now known as the Avalanche. Right. So I like that a lot. I I I think it would be super cool. Even though that you know there’s some markets you could look at it, you know, we could get into expansion talks if we want to. I don’t I I don’t think we have to right now time for expansion talk this year. I promise you that. You know, I I even look at a place like Indianapolis, the Lucas Oil Stadium. I’ve been there. The Indianapolis Racers. Are you familiar with the Racers? I’m not a WHA. That’s where Wayne Gretzky played before I bet. It was the Indianapolis Racers. He played eight games with them. Had three goals, three assists in the 7879 season. You know the stat line. That’s Wayne Gretzky. I I know Wayne Gretzky. I knew I knew he played in Indianapolis. I didn’t know what the team was called. But you look at, you know, a place like Indianapolis, like racing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so you look at a place like Indianapolis. What are the two teams that are closest to Indianapolis in the NHL? Uh, the Hawks and, uh, some Oh, Red Wings. No, it is the Hawks and the Blue Jackets. Oh, yeah. Right. So, now you could do Bard versus Fantelli on a national stage. Indie. In Indie. Okay. Oh, like the Colts. Uh, the Colts stadium. you know, you’ve got 60 65,000 people in that stadium. I just think it’s an untapped market that the NHL hasn’t done yet. And I just think it would be super cool if they actually, you know, had like a college basketball feel. Like you you look at the final four and like, you know, the final four is in all these big stadiums and, you know, they they just haven’t tapped into it yet. I mean, I I’m a marketing genius now. I like this idea a lot actually. I like how you connect it to like the you could do it that time of year, too, right? In March, or would that take away from You probably wouldn’t want to do it. I don’t know what uh what kind of scheduling it would be cuz obviously you’ve got you know in October or November. Sometimes it goes into sometimes it goes into March too uh with the Heritage Classic. Then obviously you got the uh the Winter Classic January 1st, January 2nd or December 31st and then you have the uh stadium series which is normally late February, early March. So I don’t know how it would it would fit into the schedule but I just think it would be such a cool dynamic. I I like that a lot. Yeah, I’m with that. Yeah. So, is this going to be you? You think this is like a stadium series idea for you? Yeah, it it wouldn’t even be a stadium series. Winter classic. A winter classic. No, not even the Winter Classic. It could be its own standalone thing. Oh, okay. Forgive me. I mean, it could replace the stadium series, but I I just think it’s it’s so untapped. You get like a 100,000 people into a uh into an enclosed place. I actually did my research last night. They were doing this. They did it at the 2010 World Championship between Germany and the US. And the US was complaining because, you know, the crowd was a factor. Mhm. I just think getting that kind of environment in there would be absolutely unreal for the NHL. I was gonna say I have a hot take here. Imagine complaining because the crowd is a factor. Sorry. Hot take. I have a hot take. I I think it should just be the Winter Classic in terms of outdoor games. I I don’t think we need the Stadium Series. I don’t think we need any other I like your idea if it’s like a Winter Classic. Like I just don’t think we need more outdoor game series. Like the Winter Classic I feel like it used to mean something. I’m not saying it doesn’t mean anything anymore. Like it clearly still does. But I I don’t know about you, I just don’t get up for it the same way it used to. I mean, it was in Chicago the past year, so maybe bad time to bring that up, but like and even just some of the locations have been doing too, like it’s the winter classic. Like, they should take place in locations that are colder and it’s a classic, so it should be teams that matter. Not I mean, not teams that matter, but like the big market teams that have been around, the historic teams, not these I get we want to grow the game. I understand that. But it’s it’s literally called the Winter Classic, like live up to the name. I think it should be the only outdoor game. I don’t think we need these stadium series games. Like I It was fun at first. I enjoyed the 2014 team one because it was, you know, Chicago Pittsburgh, but I’ve enjoyed some other same series games. I think the one last year with the the Red Wings and Blue Jackets is a lot of fun, too. But I just I don’t think we need all these outdoor games. I think it should just be one a year. The Winter Classic on January 1st, not New Year’s Eve. Why was it on New Year’s Eve? No, no, no. New Year’s Eve. January 1st. Winter Classic. Done. I I also think you can expand this into Canada, too. You look at uh with the Toronto Blue Jays back in the day, Rogers Center, that is a dome. You look at Montreal and the old Montreal Olympic Stadium. That is a dome that holds 57,000 people. Imagine 57,000 Habs fans. Oh, I I my worst nightmare right there. Yeah, it doesn’t have to be. Yeah, I think there should be some in Canada. Why? Yeah. No, absolutely. No question. I just think they’re gatekeeping it to the US. Obviously, you know, the US has the majority of the markets, but like the Canadian markets are debatably the, you know, most highest passionate. Oh, no. I will give I will give them their credit. No, they are the most passion. I will I will give I will give the Canadians that. Even the French Canadians, I will give them that. There’s no there’s no questioning their passion. Absolutely. So, I think this is just, you know, I I think it’s a super cool idea and I I really hope that it, you know, somehow someway someone from the NHL is listening to the podcast and, you know, gives me my flowers in about 10 years. You know, I’d be willing to make exception to bring back the Heritage Classic on a yearly basis. Maybe not every year, but that’s one I’d be willing to make exception for more than the Stadium Series. I I would say I would say I like the heritage better. You know, a heritage classic and a winter classic. You don’t need the stadium. Well, it’s a 232 24 that Oilers Flames one. That was a fun one. That was fun. I I enjoyed that one. Maybe we could play the Red Wings at one point in one of those instead of instead of a Winter Classic cuz they love putting us in those as well. Absolutely. For sure. And then Nolan, I just wanted to add, what are your thoughts on the NHL doing outdoor games in Europe in like Champions League stadiums? Now we’re thinking outside the box. That’s something I want. I was I definitely think that would be so cool. I think, you know, the UFC is starting to do it now. Um I know one of my favorite fighters, Patty Pimble, wants to sell out Anfield at Liverpool. Obviously, me being a big Liverpool fan. I mean, that’s 65,000 people. I think that’d be super cool. Um you know, you look at like Santiago Bernabu and Madrid, but at the same time, do you think those conditions would be feasible? I think uh a few places in Germany, depending on the time of the like Alons Arena. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. That would be unreal. Imagine Lucas Reichel is playing in Lucas Reichel. Who is he? Yeah. Like the Premier League stadium, Champions League. Yeah. You look at, you know, Wembley Stadium in England that holds how many? 80,000 people. Yeah. Oh, can you imagine the Europe, you the European crowd gets really into it, too. If like all the chance, the passion’s very clear there. Yeah, that’d be a lot of fun. That would be I just think logistically though, I know the I know the NHL’s played games in Europe in the preseason, but to do like a big time outdoor game like that, it would take a lot of planning, but I’m sure they’d be able to figure it out. The NFL has done it in recent years. You know, I look at the Bears game last year and London actually won that game. Shocker. But shocking one game since, but yeah, then they get the ice to figure it out. It would be a lot to plan out, but hey, it’s a National Hockey League. They could figure it out. I think I think it’s in their 10-year plan. I think in the next 10 years, we could either see it announced or see one of those games happen in Europe. And you’ve already you’ve already seen like the development with that. You know, they’ve started to play in, you know, Stockholm for their uh global series. They’ve started to play in Prague. I definitely think they can make a step up just because of the amount of, you know, hockey fans out there, right? Hey, the word impossible says I am possible. So, it’s clear. It clearly is. So, hopefully we’ll see it sometime in the 2020s. That’d be nice. Mr. Charlie, Mr. Charlie, what do we have cooking on this Wednesday? Weber’s wagers. What do we have planned here? What we got on the docket? Hopefully some winners, man. I mean, we went 2 and 0 Monday night. Cubs money line. Ching it ching. And what was the other one? I believe it was Chargers minus three. Cubs been giving you better results than the Bears so far. Uh 100%. The Cubs have been much nicer to my money than the Bears this year. There you go. That’s to be expected. Yeah, shocker. All right, before I get into any of these gambling topics, I have to give a disclaimer. The following content may discuss topics related to gambling. Gambling can be addictive and not suitable for all individuals. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available by calling 1800 gambler. Must be 21 or older, please gamble responsibly and be aware of the risk. Thank you for that. Beautifully said. All right, I am very excited for today because my boys are back on the pitch in their first Champions League group draw game and it is Bayern Munich against Chelsea today at 2 p.m. Chelsea Dagger. They actually do play Chelsea Dagger. Get the Hawks in there. Uh yeah, so uh my boys are back. Uh Neuer is starting in net. Harry Kane up front as the striker. No relation to Patrick Kane, right? No relation to Patrick. I don’t think so. Amazing goal scorer as well, you know. uh shootout specialist as well. So, some he’s on the penalty spot. Yeah, another Kane uh to bring us good fortune hopefully. And yeah, we are taking Bayern Munich moneyline verse Chelsea today in the Champions League season opener for them. And the line is minus 130 for Bayern Munich. I think you got to give a little bit of a disclaimer for soccer how soccer wagers happen as well. That is a good point, Nolan. So, in soccer, you can either bet on either team to win the match or on a tie. So that is called a three-way money line and it basically gives you better odds than if you were to bet on either side of the game. Obviously you couldn’t bet on soccer without a tie as an option unless it was a final of a competition. So we are avoiding the tie uh hopefully and we are just taking Bayern Munich to win the game outright minus 130 odds. And then that’s all you got or you got? Uh yeah, that’s all for soccer today. And then I just want to check the pitching matchup of another game for the third pick, but my second pick is the Seattle Mariners to beat the Kansas City Royals today. Uh the Mariners have just been one of the hottest teams in baseball since the deadline, and they’re on a complete tear. Royals are kind of looking in from the outside of the a wildcard race and I think today the Mariners just do a little too much and their pitching has always been better. Their bullpen is a bit more impressive than the Royals. So we’re going to take the Mariners to win today against Kansas City. And then I also wanted to add the New York Yankees run line today. So they they need to win by two or more for these bets. minus one and a half run line and they are at the Minnesota Twins today up in Minneapolis at Luis Heel verse Taj Bradley on the mound. Luis Hill, former rookie of the year winner for the Yankees. So we’re taking them. He’s a Calder winner. Yeah. Yeah, Calder winner. Exactly. So we’re going to take the former rookie of the year to I believe he’s this start then one more start for the Yankees as their season’s about to wrap up. So, his second second to last start of the season for Luis. Uh, he’s going to make it a good one. Get all that good preparation ready for the playoffs for the Yankees. And yeah, Yankees minus one and a half at the Twins is the third pick of today. Very nice, Charlie. Excellent job. Well done. And I wish you the best of luck with those bets. Thank you. We’re going 3 and0 today. The best of luck with those bets. That’s a bit of a mouthful. Yeah. Best of luck with those bets. Yes. Yeah, we can do it. Yes, sir. Before we go, we have, you know, we have we let’s speedrun some more NHL topics here. We got a lot of, you know, comments and things coming out for media day, content day for a lot of teams today with training camp on the horizon. For most teams, it starts tomorrow. And today is kind of a day for um those initial media pressers. We got a really funny one in Toronto. Actually, I got to give him credit here. Craig Ruby was asked about um his comments about the core four, how he doesn’t have to deal with that anymore in Toronto with a martyr gun. So, no more core four in Toronto. He said he’s excited not to have to talk about that anymore. excited to never utter that phrase again, right? No more core four. And they’ll probably just invent a new core four there. Maybe Matt maybe Matthew N is the the new Core Four member and they’ll just keep that or they’ll make it Riley. Bobby McCann. Yeah. Bobby what? I don’t know. We’re We’re throwing people out there. Might as well. David Compox legend. Yeah. I don’t think he played a whole ton towards the end of the year for them. No, he didn’t. No, that’s a guy who could be phased out. There’s a lot of competition for roster spots in Toronto and not really enough spots. So, I could see a guy like Camp Baby being on the move. Yeah. In Europe. Yeah. Europe. Future European legend. Yeah. I don’t see him more to be in the A. I kind of see him as a, you know, I’ll go back to Europe. He’ll be cooking with Lucas Reicho and the Shanghai Dragons next year. I imagine. Yeah. I just I just had to at this point I’m just so I I’m done. Like I had to rage bait there. I apologize. No, the rage bait will not happen. There is no rage baiting anymore. I can’t like it if whatever happens happens with my boy. But uh yeah, you know the vibes. Well yeah, best of luck there. And we do have some Matthew D to Chuck news. He had surgery. He will be out until the least December. Um which honestly, as Boyce said, you know, yes, he’s missing some action here. But that man’s played a lot of hockey this past few years and actually could be a good opportunity for him to sort of reset and uh have fresher legs when not only Florida Panthers need him come playoff time, but for when Team USA needs him in the Olympics uh in February. So should be well rested. I hope we see him at 100% health in the Olympics this year and not uh playing, you know, the way Foreign Nations trying to play through something when he probably should have been. So, I give him credit for trying, but um probably wasn’t the right decision there. And uh it worked out in the end for him. He did miss, you know, the rest of the regular season, but came back for the playoffs and won, you know, backto-back cups in Florida, so worked out nicely for him, but um yeah, some to chuck news there. Absolutely warrior. The recently retired Mark Gordano has been hired by the Leafs. Um, so yeah, good to see him continuing his career. Um, Norris winner, March, that 2019 was it? He had 70 points that year or something like that. Over 70 points at the Calgary Flames. Uh, I wonder if he likes Gyroano’s pizza in Chicago. Has he tried it? Like when he comes to Chicago, does he try Gyroano’s pizza? That’s a question mark, right? That’s a good question. Yeah, it’s a good question. I think flares, but I think Giri is back up for Dish pizza. Pquad. Pquad is also overrated. I have lose at 1 A, Pquad at 1B. Fair enough. Fair enough. Fair enough. All right. Another big thing that uh I just saw over the social media timeline, David Posternok, uh it has been announced that he will miss the first few days of injury or uh training camp with tendinitis. Oh wow. Just train. Did we just training camp? Do we know um is that the timeline? Uh it just said uh first few days of training camp. It wasn’t you know an actual you know day. And then bouncing off of Posternok, the what should be current captain of the Bruins, uh to a former captain of the Bruins, Zedo Char has been hired by the Boston Bruins. Oh, very nice. What role? Good to see him go back there. Yeah. No, I like that. To continue at the Bruins, uh beyond the playing game. What’s What’s his role? Yeah. Uh just working with player development. Oh, very cool. Okay. He’ll be able to work with the young defenseman there in the Bruins. Very nice. Very excited about Mason Lorai. I don’t know that that might just be me personally, but I I I I like Mason Lay and he’s solid. Solid. Speaking of a former Boston Bruins, uh there was a quote from Marian today on ask about how long he wants to play in the league and he said uh he’ll play me out. I saw I saw that that’s tell you how long that deal was he signed there. It’s like I think we’ll be seeing him play for quite a while longer. Yeah. No, I I I think the six years was outrageous, but if you think Do you think there’s a chance he plays the full six years? There’s a chance he does. I think he would. I think there’s a chance in everything. I don’t know if it’s Why would you deal if there wasn’t like at least on the docket? I mean, does he probably know, but LTI stuff? That would be my best assumption. Future 243 at the end of the deal. Yeah, that’s that’s insane. Okay. I just don’t see that. Yeah. Well, when the Phoenix Coyotes return, that’ll be that’ll be a nice contract for him to acquire what he’s retired. Yeah, that was an old joke back at the other coies would always acquire retired players contracts. Their favorite move. Yeah, like like Hosa, Charara, guys like that. They always do. Datsuk had a ton of guys. Retired player is my second favorite player next to player to be named later. I think future. Nobody beats future where where is future considerations these days? I don’t know. He’s always he’s always moving around. Future considerations is the best, man. We had him for a bit last year. We had him for a bit, but uh then we traded him away. Best of luck to him. And uh some Olympic news. Team USA has officially announced their coaching staff. We got Mike Sullley Sullivan is the head coach, new coach of the Rangers, a former a two-time champion of the Pittsburgh Penguins. David Quinn is an assistant. Uh that’s curious. He’s also the assistant under him in New York and he’s the assistant. Very curious, right? Interesting. John Hines and 2016 World Cup of hockey legend John Tortoella is on the staff. Uh jeez. Wow. That’s that’s that’s a very Rangers looking staff there, it must be said. Very Rangersheavy for team USA. Um I wasn’t planning on cheering for the Rangers this year, but I guess uh how the team performs could be a good indicator of how the US does in the Olympics. So we might be having to pull for him a little bit. Yeah. Uh full tweet from Frank Saraveali also including some of the management that is in there as well. Um GM will be Bill Garren, GM of the Minnesota Wild. Brad Boyce was a big fan of Bill Garren, was he? No. Um, also on the management staff, uh, New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald, uh, New York Rangers GM Chris Drury. Uh, Edmonton GM, he who shall not be named. Uh, Bill Zitto with the Florida Panthers. Voldemort is the Warriors GM. Yes. Yeah, sure. Um, Chris Keller and John Van Breezebrook. All right. I would say it’s it’s a solid I mean, is is Bill Garren the best option? you know, qu there’s question marks there, but I’d say that’s a pretty that’s a pretty solid staff, I think. Yeah, I I’ I’d take it. What do we think about the staff coaching staff? I I do like Svin at the forefront. That’s a really experienced guy that could get the job done. That should be a good hire for the Rangers. I think if they’re to turn their season around, I think, uh there’s a good chance he’ll be able to do so. So, um yeah, we’ll definitely be monitoring their progress this year and uh how their season goes there. For sure. Absolutely. Yeah. Just think of USA. Just my personal opinion on the coaching staff, it just seems like it’s just a bunch of older guys. you know, you want to have like an older leadership group. And I I think it’s super interesting in my opinion. You know, they didn’t go for a for a younger guy like let’s say uh I believe it was Ryan Warsovski who was uh coaching for the US at the World Championship who is the current coach of the San Jose Sharks. That’s correct. Yep. Yeah. So, I just think it’s super interesting that they went, you know, all older guys compared to, you know, not bringing in a young talent at coach. Yeah. And maybe that’ll reflect on the roster, too. Who knows? Patrick Kane question mark. I was thinking, yeah, be pretty cool. We shall see. Heading the rumor here, um the rumor mill here. We’re still waiting on a a big contract extension in in New Jersey. I didn’t I didn’t even see his name on the training camper roster, but um Luke Hughes’s contract via Pier Lebrun inside of Pier Lebrun is expected to be long-term as the two sides continue to grind away at it. So, we’re still waiting on that deal to get done. Training camp is on the precipice here, so you know, it’s it’s now or never, you know. So, I did a little bit of research on this uh before the podcast. This has actually happened before with current New Jersey Devils. Uh I believe it was last year, two years ago, Dawson Mercer went a couple days into training camp without being signed. And then in 2021, Jesper Brat went nine days without being signed. And he, you know, honestly, Jesper Brat is the best player in the NHL, the uh the acronym there. No, it’s it’s an acronym all throughout the Twitter verse. There’s there’s some like big Jesper Brat fan, but you could argue that he is probably their best forward. He underrated one of the more. I don’t even know if he’s underrated anymore. I feel like we’ve been saying Jess Brat’s underrated for a while. It gets to the point where everybody calls you underrated. You’re not seeing Nicholas Shaw in Chicago. Everybody was saying he’s so underrated like but everybody’s saying it. So it was kind of like the uh what happened with Alexander Barov like the last couple years. Yeah. He’s no longer under a too guys like that. So um yeah, I think uh Jack Hugh’s at his best as their best forward but he’s not always available. Um whereas Brad is consistently, you know, he plays, you know, the full 82, hardly ever deals with injuries. Very durable player. So, and a bit more all around game. Maybe not quite the offensive ceiling of Jack Hughes, but no. Um six round pick, too. It’s crazy what he’s able to do with the NHL. Got to give him credit. One of the better players in the 16 draft, I believe. So, and another thing to tie into with Jesper Brat. I mean, he was uh training with Anton Fondell this year. So, that that’s very good. You know, Jper Brat is the Swedish standard of offseason training. He is like the guy you want to look up to. So if it means it’s uh it’s good on Anton Fondell, right? Yeah. That’s good for him. Absolutely. No, good good guy to train with, learn from, and uh maybe try to emulate a little bit. Absolutely. As we wish him the best of luck in his season over there in Sweden. All right, that was a that was a big one. Big show today. Big Hawks hour, big NHL hour. A lot to cover. We’ll have plenty more to cover on Friday. As training camp gets underway around the league, there’ll be a lot more story lines to get into. I think that’s a good kind of spot to call it for today. Again, big shout out to CHR legend Greg Boyce. Yeah, one of the best guests we have and always welcome back. We’re looking forward to talking to him again in the future and best of luck of his gigs at Second Balcony in Blackhawk Upwriting. Be sure to check that out. Please implore you to check that out. One of the best covering the Blackhawks for sure. And uh yeah, if you haven’t subscribed to this YouTube channel, we appreciate it. I believe we’re at 956. We’re closing in on 1,000 subscribers. So, we’re there. Help us get there. We’re really close. If we could get there by what is it? I believe we play the Panthers October 7th. If we could get to 1,000 by then, that’d be sick. That be awesome. I I think we could do it. We got a few weeks to do it. So, preseason hasn’t even started yet. So, and another big thing on the uh on the plug standpoint, um just download our podcast on Apple Podcast. It helps a lot. Leave a five star review. We are uh we are currently shooting up the rankings. We’re at 127 right now, but I I want to see better top 100. You know, job’s not finished. jobs. I see 126 names ranked ahead of us. That’s not good enough. So you as CHR, if you’re listening to this on Apple podcast, please download the uh the podcast. Leave a fivestar review. Leave a fivestar review on Spotify as well. Natalie, what does nothing beat? Nothing beats a CHR merch drop for the second time this show. So if I have to keep saying it, you guys aren’t doing it enough. So please, for the love of God, do it. You’re You’re getting better and better at that accent. I literally feel like I’m talking to Hermione right now. If you guys do not buy this merch, I will actually be under your beds. I will be under your beds. Oh boy, this got I will be under your beds in your walls. I will be everywhere. So, buy it, please. And thank you. You heard the woman. And one last thing, hype up the video. You can hype up your favorite creators after the video is live on YouTube three times a week. So, if you want to hype up this video three times or hike up hype up each CHR show of the week, you could do that once. Um, so we really appreciate that as well. All right, we will be back Friday, baby. For Friday, Fondell Friday. That’s right. We’ll be back to break down the early days of Blackhawks training camp and more. See you then. Thank you. Goodbye. See you guys. See you. Take care.

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