September 17th, 2025 – “I Don’t Doubt For a Second That They Will.”

September 17th, 2025 – “I Don’t Doubt For a Second That They Will.”

CJ OB. Hello. Welcome. On the eve of Winnipeg Jets training camp, I say hello to Jim Toth. One more sleep. What do you do on Christmas Eve? You go to bed. You sleep easy. You panic. You panic. You panic. Like, I got to get to that gas station and buy my wife something. Is that what you just like? Like, no. It’s Santa Claus is on his way. God, I have a son now. I got to go buy him something. And it’s midnight on Christmas Eve. A bag of Cracker Jacks ain’t going to cut it there, Jim Toth. They haven’t for years. Although I do enjoy Cracker Jacks. I haven’t had Cracker Jacks in a while. Um, no. Santa Claus is coming to town. You know, somebody’s going to have to guzzle that glass of milk, eat the half that carrot, give it to one of the reindeer, eat the cookies, eat some cookies. Yeah. Yeah. It’s the Someone’s got to put those presents under the tree. Do you think any player anywhere for any team is like, “Oh, I didn’t do enough this summer. I’m nervous.” Any player? Yeah, I think so. There’s got to be some. Yeah. Yeah. Cuz some players like, “Oh, I kind of thought I’d feel better by now and I should have got on the bike a little bit.” There’s got to be some guys. I mean, I don’t think so. That get to this. There’s some guys that are just coasting. You think so? There’s got to be. It’s How many How many teams? 32 teams. How many people right now going, “Well, we’ll see how this goes.” cuz I probably should have lost another six lbs. It’s like, yeah, should have should have hit the drive-thru so hard all those times, man. I I maybe I I would think everybody I’m saying most of them by far, but there’s got to be some guy that’s like, man, too many of those uh roast beef sandwiches from Arby’s is just taking me down. So, even if there is, like I would presume Dustin Bufflin sometimes are like, let’s just go. Well, that’s He wouldn’t be sitting there going, “Oh, I’m worried about this.” Cuz he never worried about it. There’s like There’s a lot of different people in the NHL. I’m saying some guy, you know, is like, “I should have been in the gym a little bit more.” Going, I had a goal to put on 8 lbs of muscle and I I actually lost 2 lbs. Yeah. Somebody Somebody wasn’t happy with their summer. Well, then they will not sleep well, too. Yeah, they won’t. Uh, Jets is brought to you by Wash Method Car Wash. 690 St. An’s Road. VIP take on the text line. will win a VIP car wash from our good friends at WashM method 2047806868. We’ll announce the winner later in the program as we’re coming at you live from the Boston Pizza Studio. Boston Pizza where kids eat free all September long. Conditions apply. While you’re at it, download the Jets and podcast free now on Apple, Spotify, Face to Face, on YouTube, wherever you find your favorite podcast with Jet plenty of memorable Jets talk and episodes and special content exclusively found there. So you can take Jets at noon wherever you go whenever you want. We had a great conversation about pressure and some playoff numbers across the NHL in regards to Connor Halabach. It’s a must listen to uh segment, exclusive segment on the Jets and podcast. Go ahead and tune into that. It’s uh it’s great stuff. Under pressure, one of my favorite alltime jams of all time. Like if you had a I mean it’s so hard to have like a top five or 10. Yeah. But in the top 50 of all greatest of all songs, I think it’s in the top. You ever try to like rank your top 10 songs? It’s actually impossible because you always think of something says, “Oh, that’s in there.” Because it depends on your mood. Yeah, it’s true. Um, so we’re going to be down at training camp uh tomorrow and then you’re going to be on location uh for a radio thawn uh coming up on on Friday and I’ll be down at camp for both days. So, I’m looking forward to that. You know, get the smell of the rink, you know, get you know the some rink smell. Yeah. Well, I just like going down and and getting, you know, seeing how it’s going, what the pace is. You get a fever, especially like going to a game in the press box. Like, you can watch all the games you want, but there you get a feel for it. Hanging out by the by the glass, just in the atrium there at Hockey For Center, just talking to some of the Jets fans that that come by, just having a little quick chat. I I I I do enjoy that. And one of the big topics for sure is going to be around, one of them for sure is going to be Jonathan Taves. Another one is going to be Kyle Connor. Um, no one’s no one’s worried about Adam Lowry resigning a contract because I think it’s essentially a foregone conclusion. Um, I heard he’s going to hold out. Yeah, I heard I’m just joking. Uh, but Darren Drager on Insider Trading on TSN came out and he said this quote, “I don’t think there’s any doubt that the Winnipeg Jets have put a priority on extending Kyle Connor for as long as they can and I don’t doubt for a second that they will.” That is a very strong strong statement from someone like Darren Dreger. Again, I don’t doubt for a second that they will. Also says there is no impending deal, but that the two sides continue uh to communicate. Um yeah, Jim, I mean, what’s what’s your read on this? Is is uh you know, Kyle Connor, he’s he’s sort of back in town now. Um he’s got to be in town. I mean, it’s physical today, training camp tomorrow. Do you think that this is where the conversations are really starting to be like, “Okay, let’s sit down. Let’s let’s hash this out. Is it physicals today or tomorrow? Uh they’re on on starts tomorrow. So it’s physicals today. Okay, physicals today. So wait and tag. Uh look, this is what I kind of was assuming was happening. I I think that and this gets lost in a lot of fans because if you’re going to get offered 10 or 11 or nine or whatever million dollars a year for several years, you kind of want to get that done, right? But I don’t think they think that way. I think they had their exit meetings. I I would presume that Kyle was the one who said, “Look, I don’t want to get a call in the middle of July and then another one at the end of July and then another, you know, when I’m on the lake or I’m on with my kids, my kid and and my wife or my family or on the golf course.” Um, uh, we have a year and I would be more than happy. I want to be here. Can we discuss it when we get back before the start of the year? Much like you did with Shley and Hellbuck. Now I know Sha and Hellbuck they had before and then throughout the and then so I just think this is starting now. I think that’s why the insiders have this information. I think they got back and they’re like hey can we yeah for sure let’s talk it. I’m in the hockey mode right now after having my summer off and no hockey uh other than keeping in shape and workouts. So I don’t read too much into this at all. I I think he wants to be here. I think the team wants him to be here. And I think now they’ve just started. I think what everybody’s been speculating about on why it hasn’t happened yet is because we don’t know the parameters of when they want to do it. And there are parameters like when do you want to discuss this? Some guys are like, “Hey, I’m open throughout the summer.” I would presume if you’re need rider, you’ll do it in the season. You want to talk extension? Let’s talk it. Let’s blah blah blah. But for guys of this ilk, if they don’t want to spend their summer on emails and phone calls, and I know that sounds ridiculous, but the business part of it, it’s not like this business is not going to be done is my point. And when they want to do the business, and they both probably agreed. Kevin Shival’s probably the same way. Yeah, I would I would like to have my summer, too. So, I’ll focus on everything else like the draft and stuff, and we’ll get it done when you’re back. You’re back. So, I think the work is now being done. Yeah. And there’s always um angst, is that the right word to use when it comes to these sort of contract uh negotiations and extensions and all that. Everybody wants it to have already happened, right? Do you feel that there’s any sort of rush here, Jim, to get this done? Is it like it has to be done before the preseason starts on Sunday or it has to be done before the regular season starts or it has to be done uh before Christmas? I mean, is there a timeline here that you’re thinking like if it if it gets past this point, it’s time to panic? No, I I don’t I I think Kyle, like I said, he’ll he’ll dict not dictate, but he’ll say, “This is when you can or his agent will go, “This is when Kyle wants to get phone calls and emails from me about this and and wants to, you know, get into it.” So, yeah. And when I say that, like the agent probably does 80% of this, right? And Kyle has a number in his mind and he would have a discussion with his agent, but then the actual back and forth and all that like most agents. I mean, the angst around Capri off, we’re going to talk about that at the bottom. The angst around Conor McDavid, why are these players not panicking? Why is one turning down $128 million in Minnesota? Cuz the money’s going to be there. It’s just uh I think there’s angx and frustration if this goes on for a month and the regular season has started and then Kyle Con like what is holding everything up? But I mean, we might be heading into the regular season and and there’ll be a press conference. We might be doing this on Friday. Yeah. To be honest with you. Hey, Kyle Connor signed. So, I don’t get all worked up about it or anything like that, but um Conor McDavid, real Capri off, Kyle Connor, they all know the money’s going to be there. There’s no rush for this and it’s a commitment. Now, the one thing I will say that’s different from the other two names I just mentioned is I do think Kyle Connor wants to be here. I don’t think it’s a I don’t think it’s a secret. I don’t think there’s a lot going on in the ways of Conor McDavid might be going, “What do we look like in two years? What is your plan in four years?” If I commit to six or seven or eight years with 11 unrestricted free agents, what do we look like two years from now? I think that’s a fair question for a guy who’s going to commit to a team that long. And I don’t think that’s a problem with Kyle Connor. I think Kyle Connor Kyle Connor doesn’t have to ask Kevin Chev what they’re going to look like next year after this year. He knows Conor Hellob’s going to be in the net. Mark Shley is going to be the center. Cole Perfetti is going to be on the right. Gabe Bolardi is going to be on your line with you as is Mark Shley. Josh Morsy is going to be here. We’re working on Adam Lowry. Um and then you can look around the room and see who’s locked up and who’s not. So that’s not a question for Kyle Connor. Well, you that’s that’s such a great point, Jim. And it kind of goes back to what you were talking about yesterday about the Calgary Flames. Like if they had Johnny Gdro, if they still had Matthew Kachchuck, I mean, if they still, you know, look look at all the players that have come and gone from the Calgary Flames and and where they are right now. Uh the thing in Winnipeg is those guys that I just mentioned that left the Calgary Flames, the comparables here in Winnipeg stayed. They signed they signed long term. And you made this point yesterday, Jim, and it’s it’s a perfect way for you to contrast it with the Edmonton Oilers, because there’s no question about this team. It says, are are you going to be challenging for a cup here? Kyle Connor, if you sign here a five, sixyear deal, are you do you believe you’ll be competing for a Stanley Cup? Yes, Mark Shley’s on this team. And not even competing on this team. Kyle would be the first and many of the all the players would be the first to say you never know once you get in. You could finish first in the regular season. You could finish eighth in the regular season. Teams that have done both have gone on to win the Stanley Cup. And teams that have done both have been eliminated in the first round. What they want to know is, are you going to be a playoff team? Mhm. And yes, they are with this core. They might not. There might be a year in the next five where they’re like, they didn’t play well and this these injuries happened and this didn’t work out and they’re not going to the playoffs this year. But as far as you can forecast, this team is in the playoffs for the next three to four years. Kevin Texas show, where’s the fire Chevy crowd? Lol. Well, they’re probably they’re probably saying fire Chevy. There’s somebody who heard that picking up the phone right now. They’re going to say that uh whatever the deal is that uh I I I Hold on, Jim. I’m I’m I’m getting a yes from the future. I’m getting a message from the future. It’s coming in. Okay, understood. I get you. Uh Kevin Chevoff has overpaid vastly for a player that cannot play defense. That’s what they’re going to say probably. Yeah. Yeah. That’s what they’re going to say. Some people are going to be upset with this contract. Yeah. And they should. But that’s fine. Like that. I mean, I totally saying there are some people right now that think Kevin Shovel should have been fired two years ago just on longevity. But I’ll tell you this, unless Kyle Connor gets $12.5 million per year, he’s going to be a bargain. 20478-6868 20478-6868. Call the Boston Pizza Jets at noon hotline. Open 24/7. 2047806800. Boston Pizza Kids eat free all September long at Boston Pizza dining and only sea store for details. Call that line. Number one caller will be awarded a $50 gift card to Boston Pizza on Friday. Did you uh hear anything from the Leafs availability today? Greg Barubet, Brad Living, I heard I heard uh Trin had a quote about Morgan Riley. Yeah, let’s talk about that too. And Buru also had a quote about Mitch Martin not being on the team anymore. I’ll play I didn’t see that. I’ll play that for I want to hear that and Jim Toth on 680 CJ OB. What excites me is I don’t have to hear Core 4 anymore. Uh hopefully I don’t have to hear it from you guys uh the whole season. That’s uh Leaf’s coach Craig Barube joking about without Mitch Mner. I don’t have to hear you guys mention the words core four together. Now guess what Bubveris? Uh you kind of want to when he comes to town go how’s the core four? Well, who’s your new core four? Is Riley now out of the blue though? You know what it is now Jim with William Knander, Austin Matthews, and uh John Tiverus. Now it’s the key three. So, how’s your key three doing? If I were you, I wouldn’t poke Craig Barube too much. I would ask him legitimate questions. I would delve in. I would want answers. There was something, but I wouldn’t poke him. There was something interesting about Morgan Riley that you wanted to highlight to as well over in Leaf’s land. Yeah. Well, uh, I just heard Trion and sorry, I I should have wrote the quote down, but they were basically saying I, you know, he had a good off season and and things and then something. Sorry, I should have wrote this down, but then Morgan Riley replied like, I I did a lot of reflecting this off season and it stood out to me that the GM would mention that about a high-end defenseman like Morgan Riley, but then I liked that he said, I reflected a lot. I think there’s more to come from Morgan Riley. I think as good as a player as he is, he could be better. and do more. And that’s a fascinating two quotes about I think he goes home and gets ready for the season, comes back and plays in the NHL. He could be a top 10 scoring defenseman in this league on that power play in the past couple of years. I think they need more from him. Jesse Pierce, Minnesota Wild reporter and podcaster will be be with us after this. What is going on with Capri Soft in the Wild? We’ll discuss when we come back. Noon is brought to you by Wash Method Car Wash 690 St. An’s Road. VIP take on the text line to win a VIP car washer. My good friends at WashM method 204780 uh 6868 as we’re coming at you live from the Boston Pizza studio. Boston Pizza where kids eat free all September long. It is September. September 17th to be exact. Uh my little guy’s birthday yesterday. Oh, happy birthday little guy. Asked him what he wanted for dinner and he said uh bugs and sauce from Boston Pizza. That’s what he got for birthday dinner. Nice. It’s always fascinating when kids say I had a friend whose son always wanted bacon. So, he’d make him as much bacon as he wanted. Just that one day of the year. He’s a fitness guy like in shape. And your son’s birthday is just a month exactly a month before mine before your birthday or my little guy’s birthday. October 16th. We We’re co-hosts. We have to plan these things. So, that’s good. I will I’ll always remember now because it’s easy to remember now. I just remember that it’s a month. I mean, I knew it was next month because I love you that much. Yeah. Well, our whole lives in our personal lives have to revolve around each other. Did you know that it was the 16th? Like if I would have put it to a quiz, you would have known that. Can I be honest with you? Yes. I didn’t even know you had a son. No, I’m just kidding. Oh, Jesse Pierce, Minnesota Wild reporter and podcaster, is joining the program. Hey, Jesse. How are you? How are your kids doing, by the way? I mean, I just had an eight-year-old, or he just turned eight last week on the 9th. It was my wedding anniversary on the 16th. My birthday is at the end of the month. September. The fall is a great time to celebrate just life, right? Jesse, you come to Winnipeg, you eat for free at Boston Pizza. Just tell them Cam and Jim sent you in. So in Yeah. And you might have to cover it and we’ll have to reimburse you because they’ll be like, “Who?” But you go do it. It might be difficult. Stipulations, right? Yeah. Yeah. It might be tough to track me down, too. I’m not easy to find. Uh uh Jesse, there is a ton going on in the Minnesota Wild. They they have the they’ve had the most interesting week and I think not necessarily well I don’t know I guess it depends what what so what let’s let’s if if you don’t know what’s going on let’s catch everybody up to date there was a report that had came out that has since been confirmed by the general manager uh of the Minnesota Wild Bill Gurian that Kira Prioff was offered a contract for was it seven or eight years uh was it seven or eight uh Jesse for $16 million eight years for million AAV. So 8 by128 which which would have blown away the uh the next biggest offer in the history of the National Hockey League which I believe is held by Leon Dryside at 14 million. Um, since then there’s been somebody leaked something and this got out uh to the press and to the media and since then uh there’s been reports that things are, you know, some people are saying things are going okay. Other people are saying that things are not going well. And then there’s other people that are saying that this is just part of the of the negotiation uh moving forward here where you have a team like the Minnesota Wild that very much need to keep somebody like Capri off um on their roster moving forward here. So, uh, Jesse, what are your thoughts on this whole, uh, situation going on in in St. Paul? I mean, it’s a lot, right? Like, Carell Capri off is the first bonafide superstar that this franchise has ever had. Marian Gabri when he came along certainly fit that quality, but uh, Gabri, you know, they injuries his his whole his whole career here in Minnesota isn’t as beloved as Carell Capri is, and he’s exceeded what Gabri achieved. He’s broken records. He’s won the Calder. He’s done everything. He has been kind of the messiah here in Minnesota. So, naturally, fans want to keep him around. Naturally, Bill Garin recognizes the importance in keeping a player like this around. So, I see that’s where the eight years comes in. From Carell Capri off’s perspective. If I were to put myself in his mind, eight years is too darn long for a team that can’t get out of the first round of the playoffs, right? I think to me that would be the first reason I could see Carill turning down that offer. Yes. a very lucrative offer at that. But 8 years is long. He is in his prime cuz he, you know, Carill didn’t come over here right away as a young pup. He stayed in the KHL and it took a while for him to finally get here. When that contract kicks in, he’ll be 29 years old. So, does he really want to spend eight years in an organization that isn’t quite there just yet. I do think they are getting closer and closer each season, but they’re only going to be able to do that with Carill. And so, it’s paramount that they get him signed. The money situation is the other big question mark because earlier on last season, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leupold very blatantly said, “No team will outpay Carill. No team can pay more than what we are willing to pay.” If I’m Carrill and his agent, I’d say, “Okay, prove it. Put your money where your mouth is and we could do better than 16 million.” So, I like to believe having worked with Carrill in in our media capacity for the past few seasons. To him, it is about winning. He is a guy that wants to win at all costs. It’s less about what that AAB is, but I imagine it’s got to be more surrounding the term. So, I can see, you know, the curious thing is we never heard what that counter offer is, but I bet it’s probably within four to five years, but probably at a steeper price at maybe $17 million. Who knows? First chance we’ll get to talk to him is tomorrow at the opening of training camp, but it is going to be again paramount Bill Garren gets this done. And his last contract that he signed with the Wild, it was for five years. Was it for four or five? It was not a long-term contract. It was for five years. It was not a long term. And it was one of those things. It’s funny you bring that up because we’re all trying to remind the fan base that this is exactly how it went down last time as well. And Caro Capri off ended up signing that contract on the eve of training camp. So, it wouldn’t be completely out of the ordinary for him to do such things, make fans really sweat it out. But it is I mean it’s it’s a lot. There’s a lot riding on this from Bill Garren, from the team. You don’t want it to become a distraction. And right now it certainly is. So along those lines, Jesse, and I’m on the record and I I think Gabriel Capri off is top three in this league. Like I think top five like I think he’s right in there with McKinnon and and McDavid and Dryidle and then him and I think you can pick and choose which year or which month you want to name the best player in the National Hockey League. The money’s going to be there. It from a negotiation standpoint. I don’t know. I I thought I’d hear ah 14, we’d like to pay you like dry cidle. Uh knowing that they would be willing to go to 16. Uh is management and ownership, you know, messing this up by by having a guy sit there and go, “Okay, that’s great, but if you’re offering us this now, why not ask for 17 over5? Why not ask for 18 over six? And I’ll decide the term.” Like I just you don’t see a lot of this and we always equate it to Kevin Chev which we in the media beg for more insight and beg for more content in Minnesota. It’s like some fans might be going can you stop talking about this and just get it done. Like where are you and how this negotiation has gone? It is I mean it gets to be exhausting right? You know how important this is to again the franchise not only his success but its relevancy. Nobody really pays attention to the Minnesota Wild until Carrill Capri off is on the scene and and like you mentioned he is one of the top forwards in the NHL. It is it’s very curious. You know, ownership I think here in particular is very more involved than maybe some other franchises and Craig Leopold is a guy who loves his team. He wants to win. If you’ve noticed Minnesota has never really had a down year necessarily where they’ve had to just completely start from scratch and rebuild. They’ve always just had the moniker of well we’re okay being just okay. we just want to get to the playoffs, right? Which isn’t necessarily the mentality that is going to excite a player like Carell Capri off, right? You want to get in there, you want to win, you want to get to the conference finals, you want to do um you know what Conor McDavid has done for the Edmonton Oilers. I keep bringing it that up because it’s very similar. However, Carell Capri off is everything to this franchise. Like they are really truly nothing without he is the most valuable player. There’s a reason that he won the call, right? He is he was in contention or conversation, excuse me, early on before his injury last year for the heart because he is everything to this organization without them. They aren’t getting anywhere. You saw that in the 41game absence that he had last year. Um, so I do I think there’s been some missteps in general, whether it was communication from ownership, whether it was, you know, even Bill Garin assuming it to be a done deal at the end of the season last year. Bill said, “Yep, July one, no problem.” And it seemed like Caro Prioff was on that same page as well. And so what happened in between the end of the season in May and that July one potential signing date. I’m not quite sure. Right. There must have been something something didn’t quite fit. Something didn’t quite meet for it to have dragged on as long as it has. And again, it’s one of those situations you want to resolve before the season starts. It’s just it’s getting tense. It’s getting awkward already. Um you know, he is he’s so beloved here. We have fans though that are now starting to change their narrative on him because they think that maybe he’s greedy. I’ve never seen so many people say trade Carril Capri off in my entire life, which this is just insane. But that’s kind of where it’s at. So, you knew you need to have a resolve soon. And I don’t want to interrupt you here, but we had this conversation today. I said, Cam, this is this is the beginning of how you lose star players that want to remain with you because is when you make it public. It’s when you sort and Jim and I have Jim and I have opinions on who leaked the information. I don’t know, Jesse, we probably Well, anytime information like this comes out, I look at who it’s benefiting and if you offer $128 million and and 16 million AAV, it benefits the team to let this know he said no to this. And this is how I’m not saying it’s happening or it’s close, but when you have star players that want to stay and you leak information like this, it just this is why Kevin Chevel day off is Kevin Chevel Day Off. It’s it it begins the process of now people are turning on me because you put this out on purpose. The same goes for a player when an agent goes on a radio show and goes, “Oh, blah blah blah blah blah.” Then the team starts to sour and fans B like it doesn’t have to be this way. And I just I look at the Matt Baldy contract. I think that’s fair. We watch what happened with Marco Rossy. They’ve they’ve handled everything so well. Brock Faber deal with how they’ve handled things. This is the anomaly of how I think that I don’t know why this is happening because everything else they’ve done with this roster, I like. Right. And I think Carill’s agent is much tougher than some of the other agents for the roster in that room too. Again, he is a guy that’s very well known to go out and get the most that he can for his player. But at the end of the day, you know, there’s that stark reminder of Carrill is in charge of this as well. Like Carill has some accountability in this situation. It’s not necessarily just his agent saying no. I mean, Carill also said no. And you’re absolutely right. This goaround compared to the last um resigning of Carill. We know too much as fans, as media, there’s so much more known about that contract late. And as you mentioned, Bill Garren never denying that that was fake news, just saying, “I don’t know who leaked it. I’m not quite sure.” And there was even a a quote in the local paper yesterday where it definitely Bill didn’t have the confidence necessarily that he’s always had where he basically had said, um, you know, we want Carrill. And it was kind of a it’s in his court now. It’s in his determination. So again, you’re right. It’s it’s playing out much more publicly this time. And it’s kind of who side are you on? Is it mismanagement and Carill not having the team around him or is it, you know, Carill being greedy and the team trying to do everything they can? We just until we can have a chance to speak with Carill, it’s really hard to figure out which is which. Well, and we’ll all be listening and watching for that conversation tomorrow. One more quick one for you, Jesse. Is Carson Lambos, is he on this roster this year? The Winnipegger. I, you know, possibly with the way that the blue line is kind of questionable. Jonas Broaddin will be inactive um for the on ice portion. will be skating solely or solo, excuse me, with an injury that has been undisclosed as to up to this point. But with that, there’s a little bit of wiggle room on the blue line. Now, you have younger guys like David Uricu, who obviously Minnesota gave a hall for. Um, you also have Z Buiam jumping in, but I think with Broads uh out for at least the the early start of the season, it it very well could be. And Carson Lamos is a guy that they’ve been watching very closely in Iowa and a guy that has been generating a lot of excitement. So, I would love to see him have a great camp, have a great preseason, and see where it goes from there. Jesse Pierce, Minnesota Wild reporter and podcaster, thanks so much for your time. Awesome stuff. We’ll talk again as the season goes on. Always a pleasure. Always great having you on, Jesse. Always, always, boys. We’ll talk soon. All right. Take care. 2047806868. 204780 uh 6868. It It also circles around back to Winnipeg on I I Do you think Kyle Connor will get done in my mind? Yeah, without having to. Is it eight? Is it seven? Is it six? Is it five? Yeah. Years we’re talking about. Yes. Yeah. Um that’s that’s the big question here because the money’s going to be there. You’re right about that. It’s it’s just and that’s what the player will dictate. The player will dictate how long they’ll sign for. The money is there. The money’s going to be there. But that’s interesting. When she said, is it 17 million over five years? That’s interesting, right? The AV goes up. It’s not, it shouldn’t be up to the player to make the roster good. And what I mean by that is last time Conor McDavid got a contract, he said, “Do not pay me this much. I’ll take this and build me a team around.” Shouldn’t be on the player to do that. It should be on management to talk to the player to go, I can pay you up to 20% of the cap. I would like to pay you up to 17 so we can help, you know. Yeah. The player shouldn’t be going there. If you want to give me 16 already, I’ll take 18. I’ll take the 20. That’s the agent. That’s what the agent’s going to ask for. contract’s great, but it’s going to hamper the team, right? I don’t know, but Jesse does. And it seems like he wants to be on a winner. Like, he doesn’t just want the 20% of the cap. So, what are they doing? The problem is is he he I’m like there’s no indication to me that he doesn’t want to be in Minnesota. No, he does want to be there. Confirm that. Yeah. Like I just And he also wants to win. He doesn’t just want to make 20% of the cap. Give me as much money as you can and hopefully we win. He wants to win. So then what is management doing? What is ownership doing? Well, and then ownership essentially and if you know like if if they’re the ones who leaked this and humiliated him, which is what they’ve done. Um I just I just think it’s I just think it’s such it’s such a misstep and it’s been leading up to this for a while with the ownership Craig Leel as she mentioned. I mean there was talk about Chicago wanting to bring Capri off in and he said, “Oh, that’s not going to be a problem. No one will out us.” You can’t say stuff like that because if you’re gonna come out and say it, you better be ready to back it up. As far as I’m concerned, ownership as well as Bill Garin have set the stage. They they laid the yellow brick road leading up to this up to this moment. This could have been dealt with as a July 1st issue. And you’re right, Jim, they should have came in and said 14 mil and negotiate up to $16 million. Jesse just said just said she’s never seen a higher fever for fans to say trade Cal Capri off. It’s all derived from the leaking of 16 million AE and 8 million and he turned it down. How do you think he’s feeling about management right now? Missed your chance. Get your thoughts on the show today. Call the Boston Pizza Jets at noon hotline. Open 24/7 2047806800 Boston Pizza. Kids eat free all September long at Boston Pizza and only see store for details. I can’t begin to fathom the Wild without him going into next year. I think it’s going to get done, but what it’s going to get done now is is if he wants 5 years 17.5 million. Jesse’s right. He’s or I’ll go I’ll take my chances with the season. What are they going to say? You’ve already said you would give it to him. Conor Halas. Conor Halabach is valuable to this team. I don’t think there’s a player in the league that’s more valuable to their team than Kurel Capri off. I mean like I know this for a fact. There are players who you would put that information out that would say screw you. I’m done. The World Cup of Hockey. It’s taken names. Well, just cities. We’ll talk about that when we come back. On 680 CJ OB. Well, congratulations to our VIP texter. It’s Dick who’s one of our a VIP car washer. My good friends at WashMth 690 Stands Road. I can’t read your text on air because it’s insulting, but I’ll tell you this. You really made Jim and I smile and laugh about it. So, we’ll just leave it at that. Congratulations, Dick. And I’ll let everybody who This is something between Dick, Jim, and I, and all you have to wonder what he said, but it has something to do with uh fans at Hockey Forall Center right now. And I’ll leave I’ll leave it at that. It was a funny tax. It’s worth a car wash to me. It’s worth uh and romance. Yep. And a little bit of romance. Uh 25 cities, Jim, are vying to host the 2028 World Cup of Hockey in Europe and North America. Uh names are not public yet. Winnipeg could be one of those 25 teams. I don’t think so. Probably not. Probably the same reason we don’t have the draft is we don’t have the hotel rooms to be able to accommodate something like this. Uh so I don’t think Winnipeg would be a part of it, but nothing is public. Uh, but one North American host city and one European host city will be selected in 2026 and one of those cities will host the playoffs as well. Um, what do you think about that, Jim? I mean, like I I get what they’re doing trying to have a European city to, you know, get the fervor because um there’s going to be eight nations competing in this and six of those are going to be European nations. So, I I get why they want to be in in in Europe, but it’s going to be tough to have to come back, whoever’s in that, and then have to play here. So that’s why it tells me at least it’s going to be an east coast city. There’s no way it’s going to be even three 3 hours difference on the Pacific. I just don’t think that’s even an option if they’re going to be in Europe. They’re going to have to go for the 6 hour time difference. That at least makes it easier than a 9h hour out out in the Pacific. Yeah, I agree. And you you were saying maybe could Winnipeg host this? No, we don’t have the space. I don’t think so. No, unfortunately. That’d be nice. Pair up with Minneapolis or something. St. Paul’s. Do it there. That’d be great. Yeah, that’d be fun to get across the border, but do it with Winnipeg and Brandon. Hey, and Steinback’s got a nice new rink. Beautiful. Yeah, beautiful rink. Jim to take you all the way till two o’clock. Thank you very much, Jeff Forte, for producing the show. That’s it for me. Be back same time tomorrow. See it.

“I Don’t Doubt For a Second That They Will.”

That’s what TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger had to say about the Winnipeg Jets eventually locking up pending UFA Kyle Connor.
But is there really a rush? Does it need to get done before preseason? Before the regular season? Before Christmas? What are the pros and cons of waiting?

Also on the show: Craig Berube pushes back on the “Core Four” label, the 2028 World Cup of Hockey has multiple host city options, and Minnesota Wild reporter and podcaster Jessi Pierce joins to break down the chaos in the Wild front office — and what it means for Kirill Kaprizov.

All that and more on today’s edition of Jets @ Noon!