The "Puckers" get together to talk the looming Dawson Mercer show down. A re-cap of game 2 of the 2003 Finals. A deep dive into a fun night in Atlantic City & which goalie do you want between the pipes when the cup is on the line?
[00:00:06] Hey everyone, Mr. Devil here, Kenny Danico, three-time Stanley Cup champion of the New Jersey Devils.
[00:00:12] You're listening to the Uncle Puckers New Jersey Devils Podcast with Chris, Dan, Bobby and Tony, the Uncle Puckers. Let's go Devils!
[00:00:24] Welcome to the Uncle Pucker New Jersey Devil Podcast and back in the Uncle Pucker studio here in the wonderful town of Toms River, New Jersey.
[00:00:35] Dan is back. He's joining us once again. Welcome back, Dan.
[00:00:41] It's great to be back. It really is. It's been a long time. I've probably made one or two of the shows over the summer.
[00:00:46] And I know you guys have been putting a lot of good stuff out, so I'm so happy to be joining you once again.
[00:00:51] Well, we're glad you're here. I mean, yeah, Bob and I killed it all summer. I have to admit.
[00:00:54] I read the reviews.
[00:00:56] Mostly. Just Bob and I. But on this Monday, you know what the best part about this show on Monday?
[00:01:02] Like, normally we do a Monday show. Like, I start with asking everybody how their weekend was.
[00:01:06] We all actually fucking hung out this weekend.
[00:01:09] You don't need to ask.
[00:01:10] No.
[00:01:10] In person. Real life.
[00:01:12] Real life.
[00:01:13] That was, yeah. I mean, it was completely unexpected, right?
[00:01:19] Bobby, we're trying to schedule a show for Saturday.
[00:01:22] Bobby says he's got tickets to see Jane's Addiction down in AC.
[00:01:26] Dan then throws it. Well, I'm going out with my wife and I can't do a show Saturday.
[00:01:32] So then Dan goes and reads the text. Well, I'm going out with my wife, but we're going to see Jane's Addiction in Atlantic City.
[00:01:38] And Bobby is going with his wife to see Jane's Addiction in Atlantic City.
[00:01:41] So I figured I have to take off work and go see Jane's Addiction with my wife in Atlantic City.
[00:01:46] That's it.
[00:01:47] And yeah, dude, what'd you guys think of that show?
[00:01:51] I thought the show was great, man. I thought it didn't really sound like they lost a beat to me.
[00:01:56] I thought it was really cool to see Navarro up there because he hadn't played with them in a long time.
[00:02:00] I didn't realize how young he was when he was playing with them in the band.
[00:02:03] So just great energy. We had a couple rows back in the front pit.
[00:02:07] I wouldn't change anything, man. It was just the perfect show.
[00:02:10] It is a good place to see a show at the Hard Rock.
[00:02:12] I didn't know what to expect the first time I was there, but the sound's really good.
[00:02:15] You got good sight lines everywhere.
[00:02:16] I thought the band was super tight.
[00:02:18] I mean, Perry Farrell's always been a bit of a whack job.
[00:02:21] And he seemed like he was off at times, but he still has an amazing voice.
[00:02:25] And it's so fun to watch them all together.
[00:02:27] He had that weird little machine he kept playing with that was distracting him, you know?
[00:02:31] Well, I think Perry Farrell, yeah, he's a little bit lost there.
[00:02:36] He's a little bit all over the place.
[00:02:38] And, you know, I was really bummed when he told the story how Fentanyl has screwed up his crack habit.
[00:02:45] But regardless of that, his ramblings, which I thought were funny and whatever.
[00:02:51] But Dave Navarro is a fucking guitar god.
[00:02:54] And I could just watch that man play all night.
[00:02:57] He was ridiculous.
[00:03:00] I mean, that was, to me, the best part of the show.
[00:03:02] Just I watched him for basically the entire hour and a half show.
[00:03:05] I didn't even know he was playing with them when I said yes to these tickets.
[00:03:08] My buddy told me after.
[00:03:09] It's like a reunion type show or whatever they were calling it.
[00:03:12] And I was like, that's just incredible.
[00:03:14] And it turned out to be kind of like a high school reunion.
[00:03:17] I mean, we didn't see a lot of people live.
[00:03:19] But after I got home, I saw all the posts that was coming out.
[00:03:22] It was like a whole class of 93 was at that show somewhere.
[00:03:26] I ran into way too many people that I really didn't care about running into at all.
[00:03:31] I have to say that.
[00:03:33] But what was your favorite song that Janes did?
[00:03:37] Well, for me, it was three days.
[00:03:39] I was saying that even before the show, I hope they play that one because that is a great song.
[00:03:43] It's got a couple different parts in it.
[00:03:45] And when you talk about Navarro, it's got incredible guitar work in that song.
[00:03:49] It probably is the best song to see everything Dave Navarro can do in one song.
[00:03:54] So I love that.
[00:03:55] It was excellent.
[00:03:56] That was my favorite.
[00:03:57] But they did so many great ones there.
[00:03:59] And really, I didn't see one they did that I was like, oh, they shouldn't have played that one.
[00:04:03] It was pretty good.
[00:04:04] Maybe that opener that was from, I think, their original self-titled album.
[00:04:09] Yeah.
[00:04:10] That one, honestly, I think we said this before the show.
[00:04:13] I'm like, yeah, two albums, two albums.
[00:04:15] They had three albums.
[00:04:16] Yeah.
[00:04:16] And that self-title often is forgotten because it's a little uneven.
[00:04:20] Nothing shocking is way better.
[00:04:23] And Ritual continues that.
[00:04:26] But yeah, the show was fantastic, man.
[00:04:28] I would see him again.
[00:04:29] Sure.
[00:04:30] For me, definitely.
[00:04:31] Three Days blew me away.
[00:04:34] That was ridiculously great.
[00:04:36] And Mountain Song, which I really wanted to see.
[00:04:39] And Navarro just went off on that song.
[00:04:42] Dude, it was such a good show.
[00:04:44] How about you, Bob?
[00:04:44] What was your favorite?
[00:04:45] I mean, those two probably.
[00:04:46] And then, you know, Caught Stealing.
[00:04:48] I mean, it's just so great to hear that live.
[00:04:50] I really never thought I would ever see them live.
[00:04:52] It wasn't on my radar at all.
[00:04:53] I know he's like 70 years old or something.
[00:04:55] And so, you know, it was a little nostalgic in a way.
[00:04:58] And I always liked the kind of high-energy songs.
[00:05:02] But it was all great.
[00:05:03] I have to say.
[00:05:05] Clint Eastwood, good, bad, and ugly look to him.
[00:05:08] Yeah.
[00:05:08] The hats and ponchos and shit.
[00:05:10] It was good looking.
[00:05:12] I will say this, though.
[00:05:13] So we were all hanging out beforehand, right?
[00:05:15] Just having a casual drink or two.
[00:05:17] And we're going in.
[00:05:18] We're already going in late.
[00:05:19] Like, strategically, we didn't really care about the first band.
[00:05:22] We wander in.
[00:05:23] They're not on yet.
[00:05:24] Nobody's on yet.
[00:05:25] I assume the first band was done.
[00:05:26] And when the music finally plays, we go in there.
[00:05:28] And I'm standing off to the side of the stage.
[00:05:30] I'm like on song two or three.
[00:05:32] And I'm like, when is James going to play a song that I know?
[00:05:36] You seriously don't want to watch the love and rockets.
[00:05:37] I'm like, I didn't know what was going on.
[00:05:39] I never saw what Perry looks like.
[00:05:41] You are watching.
[00:05:42] And I'm like, what is this crap?
[00:05:44] And then they went off.
[00:05:45] And James didn't come on for a really long time.
[00:05:47] That's why that show went so late, man.
[00:05:49] What's with the weird shoulder pads, Perry?
[00:05:49] Right?
[00:05:50] Yeah.
[00:05:50] Everything.
[00:05:51] I'm like, what am we doing?
[00:05:52] I just figured by the time, they had to be on.
[00:05:54] I thought love and rockets were really good.
[00:05:56] They were.
[00:05:57] Yeah.
[00:05:57] I thought they were really good.
[00:05:59] I knew more of their songs than I thought I did.
[00:06:01] Yeah.
[00:06:01] I thought just I knew so alive.
[00:06:03] And then I think your wife mentioned that another one.
[00:06:07] I know.
[00:06:07] I'm like, yeah, this is all before the show.
[00:06:08] But as they were playing, I'm like, shit, I've heard this.
[00:06:11] I've heard this.
[00:06:11] You know, tale to tell is the other big one that they did.
[00:06:15] And my wife.
[00:06:16] Yeah.
[00:06:17] She was a big Love and Rocket fan.
[00:06:19] So she loved that set.
[00:06:20] She was, you know, a little nostalgia, little like guilty nostalgia for her there.
[00:06:25] But that was a fun show.
[00:06:26] It was a lot of fun.
[00:06:27] We definitely need to do that shit more often.
[00:06:30] Especially these small, close shows, man.
[00:06:32] I love going to venues like that.
[00:06:34] Yeah.
[00:06:35] Everything's so close.
[00:06:36] That place is a good size.
[00:06:38] You can get some people in there.
[00:06:40] Great sight lines.
[00:06:41] I thought it sounds great.
[00:06:42] Because when you walk in there, if they turn the lights on, it kind of looks kind of cavernous.
[00:06:46] Like maybe it's going to echo or not.
[00:06:47] It was good.
[00:06:48] Yeah.
[00:06:49] The sound was fantastic.
[00:06:50] And when you go to Atlantic City, you always have the possibility of winning some money.
[00:06:53] So that was good.
[00:06:54] Yeah.
[00:06:54] Yeah.
[00:06:54] Good thing that happened too.
[00:06:56] Yeah.
[00:06:56] That was a good thing that that happened.
[00:06:58] That was nice.
[00:06:59] You don't want to disclose the giant number to the IRS here on the air.
[00:07:02] One million dollars in nickels.
[00:07:06] That's what I walked away with.
[00:07:07] You just run off like, I got to go find a bathroom.
[00:07:09] Three minutes later, come back with a nice ticket.
[00:07:12] Nice ticket.
[00:07:13] Bought a.
[00:07:13] Bought a.
[00:07:14] Bought a payroll.
[00:07:15] You finally got a little something.
[00:07:17] Did some shots.
[00:07:18] Enjoyed ourselves a little.
[00:07:19] It was fun.
[00:07:20] It was definitely fun.
[00:07:21] So it's nice to, because I was like, our main thing was like with all the shit that we've
[00:07:26] been paying with, you know, my daughter going to college and everything.
[00:07:29] It was like, man, it's going to be a little tight.
[00:07:31] Like we don't have the extra cash right now.
[00:07:33] And then, so winning a few bucks was nice.
[00:07:36] Hell yeah.
[00:07:36] You did not end up in the red on that show.
[00:07:38] Great way to go.
[00:07:39] Exactly.
[00:07:41] And then to top off this weekend, that was a ton of fun.
[00:07:47] My Vikings, I'm sorry.
[00:07:48] I know we have probably have a lot of giant listeners, giant fans that are listeners here,
[00:07:52] but it was glorious to watch them just dismantle the Giants yesterday.
[00:07:57] It was, I mean, here, check this out.
[00:08:00] The Vikings won by 22 points.
[00:08:02] This is the first time that the Minnesota Vikings have beaten a team by three scores or
[00:08:08] more in over five years.
[00:08:11] Wow.
[00:08:12] Yes.
[00:08:13] And I have said this, I maybe, I know I've said this on this show, especially when Tony
[00:08:17] and I talk football and stuff, but I have said this for a long time that, that Kirk Cousins
[00:08:23] is a gravitational pull to mediocrity.
[00:08:26] And he is the reason that every game is a nail biter in the fourth quarter.
[00:08:30] You're either getting blown out or, you know, you got it.
[00:08:33] And then, you know, he goes to Atlanta and does the exact same thing in Atlanta they did
[00:08:37] for us for six years, completely shit to bed with the game on the line and throws an interception.
[00:08:42] It was glorious.
[00:08:42] I had a great weekend.
[00:08:43] Now, Minnesota might not win another game all year, but I'm happy at this moment.
[00:08:47] I was going to ask you how much of that win, you know, that lopsided win is Minnesota
[00:08:51] and how much is New York?
[00:08:53] I'll say this.
[00:08:56] When going into this game, and I've said this for a while, everybody, a lot of people
[00:09:00] have Minnesota pegged as one of the worst teams in the league.
[00:09:03] Everybody shits on Sam Darnold.
[00:09:05] And I have been saying it, uh, that that this team is going to, is very underrated and anybody
[00:09:11] that, uh, you know, sleeps on them, you're going to get beat.
[00:09:15] They have weapons everywhere.
[00:09:16] It's really hard to find a glaring hole in their entire lineup.
[00:09:20] So I thought if Sam Darnold plays well at quarterback, they're going to be really good.
[00:09:26] And they might even be able to contend for the division.
[00:09:29] Now to your question, I think that the giants are terrible.
[00:09:33] I think Daniel Jones is dog shit and he played like it yesterday, but when you are a good team
[00:09:41] and I don't know if Minnesota is, you beat the teams you're supposed to be, and then you
[00:09:45] beat them soundly.
[00:09:46] So I'll say right now, I'm feeling good.
[00:09:49] We have a huge game next week against the Niners.
[00:09:52] Uh, so that is probably going to be an L test.
[00:09:55] Yeah.
[00:09:56] Yeah.
[00:09:56] But you know, right now I'm happy.
[00:09:58] I like the way it was.
[00:10:00] What'd you think about the giants, uh, hockey jerseys?
[00:10:02] Dude, they are the ugliest uniforms ever.
[00:10:07] They were so frigging ugly.
[00:10:09] Like who Tony texted me.
[00:10:11] Who designed the giants jerseys?
[00:10:14] Marty.
[00:10:14] It was ugly.
[00:10:18] That's Pete.
[00:10:19] Yeah.
[00:10:20] So let's stay on the football real quick, Chris.
[00:10:21] I told you I wanted to talk a little bit about it.
[00:10:23] Cause you know, we, we talk a lot about how like I zone out when you guys talk about football,
[00:10:26] that's just all in fun.
[00:10:27] I actually do love this time of year.
[00:10:29] I love that.
[00:10:29] You know, it was the first football Sunday.
[00:10:31] You could just turn on TV, watch a bunch of games.
[00:10:33] I usually don't start getting disinterested for a little bit longer into the season.
[00:10:37] What?
[00:10:38] I got to ask now that I've seen this kickoff several times, it absolutely sucks.
[00:10:44] I don't get it.
[00:10:45] There's no fun to it.
[00:10:46] Why don't they just start every play on the 30 yard line?
[00:10:49] It does nothing.
[00:10:50] I haven't seen, I saw maybe one returned.
[00:10:53] Well, okay.
[00:10:53] Okay.
[00:10:54] So the NFL's logic behind changing this.
[00:10:58] Now, now keep in mind that they adopted a kickoff, um, I guess, uh, idea how they changed
[00:11:05] it.
[00:11:06] These, these changes, they adopted this from a league in the XFL that, that stopped doing
[00:11:12] it this way.
[00:11:13] So their reasoning was they felt that it would limit, uh, you know, head, head injuries
[00:11:19] and I get the safety part of it.
[00:11:20] Yup.
[00:11:21] Right.
[00:11:21] Now their logic was also that there would be more kick returns.
[00:11:26] And when you do it this way, it's more like an actual running play because your, your receiver,
[00:11:33] nobody on the line can move until your receiver handles the ball.
[00:11:36] And then it's a straight gut.
[00:11:38] So now you're, you know, it's more of a straight running play and people are going back and forth
[00:11:42] about, you know, all off season.
[00:11:44] Like these special teams coaches can get super creative with this stuff and, and all this
[00:11:48] other stuff now back it up a little bit.
[00:11:51] The original way that they did kickoff returns, like there weren't any kickoff returns anyway,
[00:11:58] like go back to the Superbowl.
[00:11:59] There wasn't one kickoff return in the entire Superbowl.
[00:12:02] I think they said it was getting too predictable.
[00:12:04] So they also want to change it up.
[00:12:06] Yeah.
[00:12:06] And teams are just booting it into the end zone and then you're starting on the 25 or whatever.
[00:12:10] Right.
[00:12:11] Uh, the 30 yard line, 25 yard line.
[00:12:13] I don't remember exactly what it is.
[00:12:14] So this was supposed to give us more of a, um, a play on that kickoff, make the kickoffs
[00:12:20] more interesting.
[00:12:22] And I think if you go back and look at the numbers, the kickoff returns are probably,
[00:12:27] um, the exact same amount of returns between this new look and the way it was.
[00:12:33] So I don't know.
[00:12:36] Maybe, but it still looks drastically more boring.
[00:12:39] Like the kickoff used to up to the moment of kickoff used to be a kind of a big deal.
[00:12:43] I find myself, I can't even watch it.
[00:12:45] I just don't understand it.
[00:12:46] Would they be open to going back or is this definitely something they're doing all year?
[00:12:50] This is only a one year trial.
[00:12:52] So they're, yeah, this is, they're only doing it for this year.
[00:12:55] We'll see how it goes.
[00:12:56] So.
[00:12:58] Maybe teams will adjust and find a way to make a play, uh, in that situation.
[00:13:03] Maybe as the season goes on.
[00:13:04] We'll see real quick.
[00:13:06] I, I, in the room that I, uh, do the podcast and I have a French door that goes into it
[00:13:11] and there's a tiny little bottom window that I popped the glass out so the cats can get
[00:13:15] in and out and they can use litter box in here.
[00:13:17] My dog, who's like a 70 pound dog, Rigby, get over here.
[00:13:22] Just stuck his fat ass through the fucking little hole in there.
[00:13:25] And now he's in here with me so we can look out the window and bark at people.
[00:13:28] So I apologize.
[00:13:29] Yeah.
[00:13:30] Yeah.
[00:13:30] It's great.
[00:13:30] Rig.
[00:13:31] Come here.
[00:13:32] Calm down.
[00:13:33] All right.
[00:13:35] Rigby.
[00:13:35] He's got an ear infection.
[00:13:36] Probably sub in for Tony.
[00:13:38] I mean, content wise, we might not lose a beat.
[00:13:41] Tony, what do you think?
[00:13:43] What's up, Tony?
[00:13:45] Oh, you like that when I pet you be on your ear?
[00:13:47] You like that Tony?
[00:13:48] So I keep throwing out the digs to find out which one of the puckers aren't listening to
[00:13:52] the shows when they're not here.
[00:13:53] Oh, you could just.
[00:13:54] I know Dan's not.
[00:13:55] Yeah, we would have heard something.
[00:13:58] All the shit talk that we did.
[00:14:00] I don't know.
[00:14:01] We did shit talk you one day on purpose to see if you listened to it.
[00:14:05] It was funny.
[00:14:05] Yeah.
[00:14:06] I'm sure it was.
[00:14:06] We were joking around.
[00:14:07] I'm sure it was a good one.
[00:14:09] Guys, we still don't have Dawson Mercer signed.
[00:14:11] Is this a problem?
[00:14:12] That's troubling.
[00:14:13] I really wanted to start this season with that off the table.
[00:14:17] I mean, you've been in this situation before.
[00:14:20] I hate it.
[00:14:20] It reminds me of the Jesper Bratt situation, just dangling all year, something to gnaw
[00:14:26] at you a little bit.
[00:14:27] I'm not going to let it bother me.
[00:14:28] It is going to be what it is.
[00:14:29] And as the year shakes out, we'll look for signs of like, hey, he's not staying.
[00:14:34] He is staying.
[00:14:35] You know, the longer it goes, the more likely you're not going to keep that player.
[00:14:38] But that doesn't really change the odds that much.
[00:14:41] But he won't be at training camp if this doesn't get done.
[00:14:44] Yeah, that's true.
[00:14:45] That's true.
[00:14:45] Yeah, so I mean, and I know that they're talking bridge deal, something like I saw two years.
[00:14:50] That's likely that you're going to get.
[00:14:52] Or even on one year.
[00:14:53] Two years, like three, three and a half, 3.7 a year or something.
[00:14:56] Like, we only have five million to play with.
[00:14:59] Like, you've got to, we've got to get him locked up.
[00:15:02] I mean, this is our, you know, basically our first line winger.
[00:15:06] Yeah, that's the way I see it.
[00:15:08] And then to play with, you know, Meyer and Hughes, he's got to get signed.
[00:15:13] So I really hope that chances are he doesn't play the first game and it's not done by his training camp,
[00:15:18] which I was kind of thinking that we had to get this signed during the year.
[00:15:21] But you're right.
[00:15:22] We've got to get it done now.
[00:15:25] I don't know.
[00:15:26] I think that it's a huge hole in the lineup.
[00:15:28] You know, I mean, the guy doesn't miss games.
[00:15:31] He's healthy.
[00:15:32] I know last year was a down year.
[00:15:34] But all indications of his play over the course of the first two seasons, this guy could be a steady 30-goal scorer for us.
[00:15:43] You've got to get him locked up.
[00:15:45] Do you think that what he is asking for is just impossible?
[00:15:49] Or do you think that Fitz is holding out to maintain more cap room for later on in the season or a combination?
[00:15:56] Or is this maybe even some bad blood that we don't know about?
[00:15:59] Bob, you want to take this one?
[00:16:01] I don't really know.
[00:16:02] I mean, my gut says that they're just close.
[00:16:04] Just I don't think it's purely a money thing.
[00:16:07] I think Mercer is smart enough to probably know this probably has to be a bridge type deal because it's just not going to fit structure-wise any other way.
[00:16:15] One creative option is to do your typical kind of bridge deal at like two years, three, seven, and then sweeten the pot a little bit.
[00:16:22] Throw that third year, you know, at four million, four one, something to show them that they're serious.
[00:16:27] But I just think it's kind of Tom doing what he has to do for the team to save a little bit of money for, you know, trade deadline and where he realistically thinks Mercer can go.
[00:16:37] But at this point, you do start to get pretty nervous, you know, because if they are that close, why can't you just figure it out?
[00:16:44] But we need them.
[00:16:45] I think it changes the entire dynamic of the team if we don't have them.
[00:16:47] Oh, yeah.
[00:16:48] Yeah, I agree.
[00:16:49] I agree.
[00:16:49] I think that Mercer probably wants something a little longer term and wants to know where he's going to be for a while.
[00:16:56] And I just, like you said, with the way that the cap is, with the way the money we have, that's just not possible.
[00:17:02] People talk and say, oh, he's got 30 goal potential.
[00:17:05] No, he's a 30 goal scorer.
[00:17:06] He already had 27.
[00:17:07] This guy's going to get you 30.
[00:17:09] And after two or three years, he's going to be in the prime.
[00:17:11] He's got to know that next contract's going to be big.
[00:17:14] And I know that there's concerns because, you know, you never know when you're going to play your last game and all that stuff.
[00:17:18] God forbid, an unforeseen injury or whatever.
[00:17:20] But, I mean, realistically, it's still a pretty good payday for what he's done.
[00:17:25] And they want to keep him long term.
[00:17:28] He should know that.
[00:17:29] Yeah, it's really two questions, though.
[00:17:31] But, like, do you think that even though we – with the cap going up in future years, can we structure a deal to kind of allow for that future space?
[00:17:41] If we're thinking that the main legit concern not to pay the man this year is that at least no cap room, do you do a one-year – your first year is, you know, 3.7 or something low.
[00:17:52] But you make him a five-, seven-year deal.
[00:17:54] How does that work with the cap?
[00:17:57] And you say, like, you will have years two through five at a higher number.
[00:18:01] I think when it comes to Dawson Mercer, I think, you know, you look at the – especially look at our top six, right?
[00:18:09] You know, Timo Mayer, you know exactly what you're going to get or at least you're hoping you know what you're going to get from him.
[00:18:14] And I think we will this year.
[00:18:16] He sure has proven it.
[00:18:18] You know, Hughes has proven it.
[00:18:19] Jesper Bratt has proven it.
[00:18:21] They've all been solid top six guys for their whole careers.
[00:18:26] Dawson Mercer is the new guy.
[00:18:29] And he, you know, hasn't proven it.
[00:18:31] And I think a two-year, 3.7 – look, if I'm 23 years old and you're offering me $7.4 million over two years, I'm going to take it and be really happy about it.
[00:18:42] And then prove yourself.
[00:18:43] I think Fitzgerald wants him on this team long term.
[00:18:45] But I also think he doesn't want to lock himself into something long term.
[00:18:49] And maybe Dawson Mercer doesn't live up.
[00:18:52] Well, that is that second question I was going to ask you.
[00:18:54] Is it worth, even if you could financially do it, giving him a five, seven-year deal at, you know, top six money when he hasn't proven it?
[00:19:02] So, yeah, I think you make a great point there.
[00:19:04] Maybe that bridge deal is not only, like, necessary financially right now but appropriate for him.
[00:19:11] Yeah.
[00:19:12] It is kind of what he deserves.
[00:19:14] And he's a great player, but you can see why you take a guy like Jack and you just throw him that next contract.
[00:19:19] You're betting on him, but you can see the pedigree is already there.
[00:19:23] And Dawson's going to be a hell of a player.
[00:19:25] But if someone told you right now, hey, you could pencil him in for eight and eight, I'd be like, whoa, I don't know that he's an eight-eight guy.
[00:19:32] No.
[00:19:33] Not yet.
[00:19:34] Right.
[00:19:34] Not yet.
[00:19:35] He could be.
[00:19:35] But he could also be a great, you know, second, third, and eventually fourth liner over his career, which might not run as long as some.
[00:19:44] Those are possibilities.
[00:19:46] My money's on him is going to be amazing.
[00:19:48] But, you know, I say my money's on it.
[00:19:51] I don't know if I bet that kind of money on it.
[00:19:53] You know, I kind of look like two old players that I can kind of look at.
[00:19:59] Like, Dawson Mercer plays a very solid defensive game.
[00:20:04] All right?
[00:20:05] He's a very good two-way player.
[00:20:06] Can beat, I think, a lot better.
[00:20:08] But he's a very good two-way player.
[00:20:09] And he has some good hands.
[00:20:11] So is he going to be Peter Sikora or is he going to be Sergey Breeland?
[00:20:17] Either one is fine and helpful, but – and the team needs that type of player.
[00:20:24] But one is $4 million.
[00:20:25] The other one is $6.5 million, $7 million.
[00:20:28] Exactly.
[00:20:28] And that's – so, yeah, I think it really does come down to not only does Fitzgerald not know exactly what he has.
[00:20:34] Because I think when it comes to Mercer himself, you know, he does – you've got to have him prove it a little bit.
[00:20:39] I mean, because if he goes out and scores 30-plus goals over the next two years, maybe he flirts with 80 to maybe even 90 points.
[00:20:47] I know I'm pushing it, but I'm just saying –
[00:20:49] If you're getting first-line minutes, yeah.
[00:20:51] You know, if he's pushing 80 points, a 30-goal score, yeah, he's worth over $6 million, $7 million.
[00:20:59] You know, then you give him the deal in two years.
[00:21:01] And, you know, we have our core top six locked up long-term.
[00:21:07] Yeah.
[00:21:07] I mean, in all honesty, my gut says this kid loves to play, and I think when push comes to shove, he might be one of those guys that just says,
[00:21:13] all right, agent, just get it done.
[00:21:14] We've got to get something done.
[00:21:15] I don't want to be late.
[00:21:16] I don't want to miss.
[00:21:17] I want to be part of this.
[00:21:18] He hasn't missed the game in three years.
[00:21:20] This team really looks ready to pop.
[00:21:22] I mean, can you imagine if you're him and your agent's telling you, dude, I can get you three years at five or six.
[00:21:29] Don't take this 3.7.
[00:21:30] And, you know, you miss out on this team ready to pop.
[00:21:34] He's got to feel that they're in a good position where he could totally add mega points, come out that bridge deal looking like a bona fide top winger,
[00:21:46] and, you know, then he gets paid.
[00:21:48] Yeah.
[00:21:49] And, you know, even if you're Mercer, you have to look at it this way, too.
[00:21:53] Like, I sign a two-year deal and I go off.
[00:21:56] Even if Jersey isn't the place that's going to give me the bag, I'm going to get it somewhere.
[00:22:00] He might get even more to leave.
[00:22:02] Right.
[00:22:03] He might have to leave when you start running all the numbers of who we got to keep on this team in the future.
[00:22:07] The math is staggering and beyond me.
[00:22:10] And thank goodness there's some cap, you know, limits coming, going up.
[00:22:15] But, yeah, we're going to have a problem in three, four years.
[00:22:17] And I'll make difficult choices.
[00:22:19] Oh, yeah.
[00:22:20] Two, three, four years down the road.
[00:22:22] Isn't it funny how, you know, it's called a bridge deal when, like, 20 years ago it was just called your next deal.
[00:22:28] You know, you step up.
[00:22:29] Right.
[00:22:29] Right.
[00:22:29] And now they're so used to taking these young kids and giving them their big contract next to get, I guess there's an art to it, to getting the most serviceable time from them and all.
[00:22:37] Right.
[00:22:38] Like, you look at you.
[00:22:39] You actually got him at a discount right now.
[00:22:41] You didn't know that going in.
[00:22:42] You're going to have him at a discount for a few more years.
[00:22:43] Then he'll get more money.
[00:22:44] But it really used to just be your next contract, you know, entry level.
[00:22:48] Now you get a couple years at a few million.
[00:22:49] And then if you really pop, you're super rich.
[00:22:52] Yeah.
[00:22:52] Not too many people do their prove-it deals anymore.
[00:22:55] No.
[00:22:55] And that's basically what this is one's going to be.
[00:22:59] So, you know, let's see.
[00:23:00] I'm waiting for my prove-it deal.
[00:23:01] Yeah.
[00:23:02] You know, really, you know, I think he's going to be a great player.
[00:23:06] I think he is going to fit in really good in that spot this year.
[00:23:13] But we got to lock him up.
[00:23:15] And we have, what, like 10 days until training camp starts?
[00:23:18] What's today's date?
[00:23:20] Ninth.
[00:23:21] Today's the ninth.
[00:23:22] We have five days until training camp starts, right?
[00:23:24] September 14th or 15th they come in.
[00:23:27] So, yeah.
[00:23:28] Yeah.
[00:23:29] So, five or six days until camp starts.
[00:23:31] So, they got to lock this thing up.
[00:23:32] I'm pretty sure it's September 15th because they're playing in October 4th.
[00:23:37] Sure.
[00:23:37] Yeah.
[00:23:38] We're getting closer.
[00:23:40] We're finally out of the dog days of summer.
[00:23:42] I mean, even the cool weather came in.
[00:23:44] It might not last forever, but it does feel like hockey's right around the corner.
[00:23:48] Football's here and hockey's around the corner.
[00:23:50] I mean, I think I would just – I just want the Vikings to win the Super Bowl the same year that the Devils won the Cup.
[00:23:59] That would be great.
[00:23:59] Don't curse our chances at a Cup.
[00:24:01] That's all I want.
[00:24:02] Yeah.
[00:24:02] That's all I want.
[00:24:03] What do you think?
[00:24:03] It's hard enough to win a Cup.
[00:24:05] I don't need to tie the Minnesota Vikings to that wish.
[00:24:08] Fair enough.
[00:24:09] All right.
[00:24:09] Let's do a little shout-out to our sponsors before we dive into Game 2 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals.
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[00:25:26] The crown is yours.
[00:25:29] The show is sponsored by BetterHelp.
[00:25:31] And Dan, it's been so long, we're on the second consecutive month of this read, so I'm going to pick on you for a second here, buddy.
[00:25:36] Good.
[00:25:36] Has there ever been anything you always wanted to learn but didn't?
[00:25:40] Yes, absolutely.
[00:25:41] I wanted to learn to play the flugelhorn.
[00:25:43] That is a good one.
[00:25:44] Matches all the other instruments that we were talking about.
[00:25:47] Exactly.
[00:25:47] Mine was juggling.
[00:25:48] Yeah.
[00:25:49] Mine was guitar.
[00:25:50] Yeah.
[00:25:51] Which I learned that you taught yourself.
[00:25:52] I did.
[00:25:54] I'm not very good at it, but good enough to have some fun with it.
[00:25:57] So I agree.
[00:25:57] It's pretty good.
[00:25:58] It's totally great to learn some stuff.
[00:26:00] It is great.
[00:26:00] There's always things I want to learn.
[00:26:02] And BetterHelp thinks you can do that.
[00:26:04] They want to remind us that as kids, we're so filled with curiosity and wonder.
[00:26:07] We're always trying new things.
[00:26:08] But as adults, we don't seem to make the time for the things that we want to do nearly as often as we should.
[00:26:14] Effectively, it's like our curiosity goes away.
[00:26:17] Therapy is not just for traumatic events.
[00:26:20] It can actually help you get back in touch with your inner curiosity.
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[00:26:41] Visit BetterHelp.com slash THPN today to get 10% off your first month.
[00:26:46] That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash THPN.
[00:26:51] That's awesome.
[00:26:52] Well, guys, let me take you back to what date was that actually?
[00:26:58] May 29th, 2003.
[00:27:02] You got to start up that Uncle Pucker's time machine.
[00:27:04] We already went back to 95.
[00:27:05] We already went to 2000.
[00:27:07] And now we're 2003.
[00:27:10] Continental Airlines Arena.
[00:27:11] Or was it the IZOD Center?
[00:27:13] I've seen it both ways, so I'm not sure.
[00:27:17] It might have been IZOD.
[00:27:19] So to just refresh everyone's memory,
[00:27:22] Game 1 was a 3-0 New Jersey Devil win.
[00:27:25] It was Brodeur's fifth shutout of the playoffs.
[00:27:28] Up until this point, at home, Brodeur has a 0.90 goals against average at home in the playoffs.
[00:27:37] Wow.
[00:27:37] That was the second best in the NHL since 1944.
[00:27:42] He also, in his playoff career up to this point, had one goal and seven assists, which is, like, I think probably better than Danico.
[00:27:52] I think so.
[00:27:53] Paul Correa had one shot in Game 1 with 22.18.
[00:27:57] 22 minutes, 18 seconds of ice time.
[00:28:01] Friesen was working on four goals in his last seven games.
[00:28:05] Let's see.
[00:28:07] The Ducks penalty kill up to that point was 44 out of 50 at 88%.
[00:28:11] Their power play was 11.1%.
[00:28:14] They were 6 for 54.
[00:28:16] Devil's power play was 15.4% going into this game, 10 for 65.
[00:28:22] First period was no goals.
[00:28:24] This was a...
[00:28:25] No goals.
[00:28:26] I mean, this was no goals.
[00:28:28] No goals.
[00:28:28] No goals.
[00:28:29] This was just a defensive goaltending game, but this was a defensive gem by the Devils.
[00:28:36] Another one.
[00:28:37] So we roll into the second period.
[00:28:41] There was a carryover power play for New Jersey starting the second.
[00:28:46] They did not...
[00:28:47] They didn't score on it.
[00:28:49] Then at 223 of the second period, Patrick Elias takes two minutes for holding the stick.
[00:28:54] And at 319 of the second, Peter Sikora takes two minutes holding.
[00:29:01] So now it's four on four.
[00:29:03] Right.
[00:29:04] And with a minute for power play time left, when Elias came out of the box, Sikora is still in.
[00:29:12] At 442, Patrick Elias scores his third, a power play goal, his third at the playoffs from Trevor Dotsky and Scott Gomez.
[00:29:19] This was a really...
[00:29:22] This was just a great goal by Elias.
[00:29:25] He was just in the right place at the right time.
[00:29:27] Trevor Dotsky takes a shot from the point.
[00:29:29] Jaguar makes a nice save.
[00:29:31] The rebound goes right to Patrick Elias, who's standing, like, to the left of Jiggy.
[00:29:37] And he just banged it in.
[00:29:39] And it was a 1-0 power play.
[00:29:41] Nobody picked up Elias.
[00:29:42] Trevor Dotsky hit a rocket.
[00:29:44] And that was that.
[00:29:45] I'd just slow this one down and take a look at it again, because there's a few more things on this play that...
[00:29:49] Really stand out.
[00:29:51] Niedermeyer actually dumped it in from the left side.
[00:29:53] And Gomez was behind the boards to set up Trevor Dotsky.
[00:29:56] He was, again, just kind of getting mugged.
[00:29:58] Like, he really showed a strong play getting out of there with the puck.
[00:30:00] Throws it up to Trevor Dotsky.
[00:30:02] He takes a shot, excuse me, from the blue line.
[00:30:04] And if you watch that initial shot, which was a scorcher, it didn't actually get saved.
[00:30:09] It looked like it hit the boot of Kirk Sowers.
[00:30:13] And it bounced out to Elias, like you said, to the left of Jaguar.
[00:30:15] So it would be like the top of the right circle.
[00:30:17] I thought that JS got the save.
[00:30:19] All right.
[00:30:19] And then...
[00:30:20] Well, so did a lot.
[00:30:21] So did a lot of people get in Conn Smythe.
[00:30:22] Yeah.
[00:30:23] Elias, actually, this wasn't a layup.
[00:30:25] This wasn't a straight-up bounce to the slot with a wide-open net.
[00:30:28] He actually had to corral it and stickhand it a little bit.
[00:30:30] Yep.
[00:30:30] Right?
[00:30:30] To actually get control of it.
[00:30:32] So it was a very impressive goal.
[00:30:34] But bang-bang, structure goal.
[00:30:36] Really nice.
[00:30:38] And now it's 1-0 New Jersey.
[00:30:40] Later on in the second period at 12-11.
[00:30:42] I tried to get all the audio of these goals, but 21 years old audio is not good.
[00:30:49] It was very tinny and it was a lot of just crowd.
[00:30:52] Yeah, sometimes you come across something older that sounds good, but it's rare.
[00:30:55] You know?
[00:30:55] Yeah, it is rare.
[00:30:56] That's not that old audio.
[00:30:58] It's not a kind of tinny.
[00:30:59] No, it's good.
[00:31:00] So at 12-11, Scotty Gomez gets his second of the playoffs, also from Trevodoski and Patrick
[00:31:06] Elias.
[00:31:07] This goal was just hard work by Elias, man.
[00:31:12] He started this whole play.
[00:31:13] He was pinned up against the boards.
[00:31:15] He ended up kicking it to Gomez, who skates behind the net.
[00:31:19] He reverses, comes back out the other side, gets the puck up to the point where Trevodoski
[00:31:24] is, and he just rockets one.
[00:31:27] And Gomez tips it.
[00:31:28] And at first, everyone was saying that Marshall had gotten a goal, but after they went back
[00:31:33] and looked at it, they saw that Gomez had gotten a tip.
[00:31:36] Marshall even thought that the puck hit him a little bit.
[00:31:38] He was celebrating like he scored it.
[00:31:40] But it's Gomer's goal, his second of the playoffs, 2-0 New Jersey.
[00:31:45] Anything on that, Bobby?
[00:31:47] Just to reiterate how hard-working goal this was, and that's kind of the way this team
[00:31:53] was playing in that finals.
[00:31:55] So a lot of hard work to get it out.
[00:31:57] And yeah, that deflection shot was an incredible shot as well.
[00:32:00] Bounced all over.
[00:32:01] I don't even know if Gomez deflected it with his stick or if it was just his body.
[00:32:05] It's probably like part of his stick also hit Marshall, which is why Marshall might have
[00:32:09] thought it was his.
[00:32:10] But either way, it was set up nice, and it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for
[00:32:13] the hard work.
[00:32:14] You know, those little intangibles just working up that much harder than the other team.
[00:32:18] And when you go back and watch that goal, like Elias was pinned up against the boards,
[00:32:23] and he just outworked.
[00:32:24] I don't know who the defenseman was that was on him, but he just outworked him and got
[00:32:28] the puck to Gomez, and Gomez made the play happen.
[00:32:30] Yep.
[00:32:31] And Gomez is such a sneaky player, too.
[00:32:33] He was always great at, like you said, he went around back and reversed it.
[00:32:37] I mean, that's the kind of thing he was really known for.
[00:32:40] He's very unpredictable.
[00:32:41] And, you know, on that play, I would assume that's a typical Gomez kind of play.
[00:32:46] Yeah, Gomez was, you know, for the short time he was here, he was a great devil.
[00:32:51] I mean, after the second, we're going into the third now, and the Devils held the Ducks
[00:32:58] to two shots in the second period.
[00:33:01] I mean, scoring chances after two, New Jersey 11, Anaheim 6, shots on goal through two, Anaheim
[00:33:09] 9, New Jersey 13.
[00:33:11] So two shots in the second period, nine total, and they don't end up with a whole lot more.
[00:33:16] I'll tell you that.
[00:33:18] It just, this was, like I said, this was all Devils.
[00:33:22] We go into the third, a couple penalties we're not going to get into, but at 422, he does it
[00:33:28] again.
[00:33:29] Jeff Friesen is eighth of the playoffs, is sixth in the last seven games from Gianta and
[00:33:35] Scott Niedermeyer.
[00:33:38] This was just really hard work along the boards.
[00:33:41] Friesen comes away with the puck.
[00:33:42] He throws a backhander on net, and it goes right under Jaguar.
[00:33:46] Gianta was crossing the crease, and it was just like a perfect screen.
[00:33:50] Rigby, stop.
[00:33:51] Sorry, my dog's acting like an asshole.
[00:33:53] There he is.
[00:33:54] And he just, you know, just Gianta gets in front of the net, right in front of JS Jaguar,
[00:33:59] and it was just one of those perfect timed, where as soon as he crossed Friesen through
[00:34:06] the backhander on, and Jaguar didn't, what the hell is going on?
[00:34:10] It's a lot of activity over there.
[00:34:12] Chris's zone over there.
[00:34:14] It's crazy.
[00:34:16] So, yeah.
[00:34:16] And that was it.
[00:34:18] And that's three nothing Devils.
[00:34:21] And that's pretty much where this game ended up.
[00:34:23] You nailed that play again.
[00:34:24] Again, the theme here is hard working goal.
[00:34:27] They took that puck from behind the net.
[00:34:29] The way Friesen came out at the top of that circle, he wasn't looking at the net at all.
[00:34:34] He just whipped this backhand, like purely instinctually.
[00:34:37] You know, of course he knows where the net is, but it had a lot of zip behind it.
[00:34:40] And like Chris mentioned, it was just a perfectly timed play.
[00:34:43] You probably do it a few more times, and it's probably not going in.
[00:34:47] It definitely surprised Jaguar, for sure.
[00:34:50] Yeah.
[00:34:50] Yeah, which is hard to do.
[00:34:51] I mean, even though I do think, and everybody, I think, agrees, he was out-dueled by Brodeur
[00:34:56] in the series, and maybe Brodeur should have got the consummate over him.
[00:35:01] Jaguar was awesome that year.
[00:35:03] He had a hell of a year.
[00:35:04] It was really tough to beat him.
[00:35:06] Devils did it the only way that you really could.
[00:35:07] Of all the games in the series that the Ducks didn't win, this one here is one where the
[00:35:16] Devils really could have scored a lot more.
[00:35:18] Like, I was watching, I watched the kind of condensed version too, Chris.
[00:35:21] Right.
[00:35:21] Man, they had some glorious chances.
[00:35:23] This could have been a 6-0 game.
[00:35:25] So he definitely lived up to his billing in this game.
[00:35:28] But this was all Devils.
[00:35:30] So we're two games into the 2003 finals, and games one and game two, both and 3-0 with
[00:35:36] shutouts for Brodeur.
[00:35:37] This is his sixth shutout of the playoffs.
[00:35:40] He has yet to allow a goal in these finals.
[00:35:42] And after this game, he tied Dominic Hasek for most shutouts in a playoff.
[00:35:48] And, you know, he just keeps rolling.
[00:35:51] So face-offs, Anaheim.
[00:35:53] I mean, forget they had Adam Oates on that team.
[00:35:55] It was just a face-off master.
[00:35:57] They were 63.3%.
[00:36:00] New Jersey was 36.7%.
[00:36:02] And now the series, with a 2-0 double lead, heads back to Anaheim for games three and four,
[00:36:08] which we will cover on the next show.
[00:36:09] But what a game.
[00:36:12] And just, you know, I remember thinking in the beginning of this series, like, this is over.
[00:36:17] We're sweeping these guys.
[00:36:19] But Anaheim had some fight in them.
[00:36:21] And Jaguar would definitely make his mark in this series before it was all said and done.
[00:36:27] But, again, the greatest of all time stepped up when absolutely needed, as we will get into later on in these other games.
[00:36:35] But any thoughts on game two?
[00:36:39] I mean, I think you said it very well.
[00:36:41] I do also remember thinking, they got this.
[00:36:45] And I'm feeling like it's 95 again.
[00:36:48] And we're going to sweep this thing.
[00:36:50] It really did look like that.
[00:36:54] Yeah.
[00:36:54] And I think that is a big difference.
[00:36:57] Jaguar does deserve a ton of credit.
[00:36:59] As much as I didn't agree in the final.
[00:37:00] He brought them back to life.
[00:37:02] He kept them in it.
[00:37:04] And he was really solid there.
[00:37:07] Some of their stars, too, started waking up a little bit, you know, and doing a few more things, too.
[00:37:12] Because, face it, these two games kept them scoreless, you know.
[00:37:16] Yeah.
[00:37:16] And the next games, you know, we'll talk about three and four.
[00:37:20] Maybe we'll do three, four, and five together because we like to always end on a double win.
[00:37:25] But, yeah, I mean, yeah, they started coming to life.
[00:37:27] Babcock got these guys playing much better.
[00:37:30] But, really, they weren't playing bad.
[00:37:32] I mean, it's just a matter of they were dealing with our defense and Marty Brodeur.
[00:37:37] Yeah.
[00:37:37] They had 15 shots on goal that game, right?
[00:37:39] 16, yeah.
[00:37:39] That's because the Devils, you know, did that to them.
[00:37:42] It's not like they just decided not to shoot the puck.
[00:37:44] Yeah.
[00:37:44] Pat Burns had these guys playing such a great system.
[00:37:47] And all four lines were rolling.
[00:37:50] I mean, there were guys that I forgot.
[00:37:51] Like, I forgot that B-Tech was on that team.
[00:37:53] I forgot a couple.
[00:37:54] Even Trevor Dosky.
[00:37:55] Like, you know, I forgot that.
[00:37:57] He basically stepped in for Neuendijk and, you know, was playing great because Neuendijk wasn't in this series.
[00:38:05] And even Danico has now been scratched for a lot of these games.
[00:38:08] And we do see the return of Dano throughout this series.
[00:38:12] But, you know, the only thing that sucks about this series is that it's the last time that we hoisted the Stanley Cup.
[00:38:20] Yeah.
[00:38:20] Yeah.
[00:38:20] That's 21 years ago.
[00:38:23] Yeah.
[00:38:23] We never thought that was going to be the case.
[00:38:25] No.
[00:38:26] We knew it couldn't last forever.
[00:38:27] But I didn't think I'd be 21 years older.
[00:38:31] That's a ton of rough.
[00:38:32] And went through a lot of lean years, man.
[00:38:36] So, Dan, we were talking before.
[00:38:37] I'm not sure if you were on this podcast because it was actually a while ago.
[00:38:40] Because we're always going to bring up this Vezina problem or this MVP problem with Brodeur in the finals.
[00:38:45] But, you know, one of the things we took into account, you know, because, again, Brodeur is going to wind up getting three shutouts in the finals alone.
[00:38:52] Three of his four wins to win the Stanley Cup via shutout is incredible.
[00:38:56] Yes.
[00:38:57] The voting takes place before the end.
[00:39:00] It's not like the voting happens after they find out who won the cup.
[00:39:02] And now it's game seven.
[00:39:03] Let's vote real quick.
[00:39:04] It could happen sometime in the earlier rounds, maybe in between the conference finals and the finals.
[00:39:09] Maybe they play a game or two.
[00:39:10] I wonder.
[00:39:10] I don't know when the cutoff is for that.
[00:39:12] It would have to change.
[00:39:12] It would have to have changed the outcome.
[00:39:14] Because they had to have been neck and neck at the very least.
[00:39:17] Right?
[00:39:17] Give us that.
[00:39:18] Because Brodeur did outplay him.
[00:39:20] You wind up shutting this guy out three times to win a Stanley Cup.
[00:39:23] Yep.
[00:39:24] That's MVP.
[00:39:25] Oh, I think absolutely.
[00:39:26] And you know what, too?
[00:39:27] Leading up to this, let's say the cutoff is somewhere before the Stanley Cup finals.
[00:39:32] You know, it's a great story.
[00:39:34] The Ducks don't belong there.
[00:39:36] The Ducks were carried in there by an outstanding goaltender.
[00:39:39] And I think everybody, I remember them coming through the ranks.
[00:39:42] They were the underdog, I believe, in every series.
[00:39:45] I don't think anybody picked them to come out of the conference.
[00:39:49] And so, you know, I understand all that attention because they did it with stellar goaltending numbers.
[00:39:55] And so, yeah, I understand that.
[00:39:58] I totally get it.
[00:39:59] But it is kind of like, it's kind of silly.
[00:40:02] They should award it based on, you know, looking at the entire series.
[00:40:06] You know, it's not that hard.
[00:40:08] Everybody has their picks and give them a last chance.
[00:40:10] So they did look at the entire series.
[00:40:12] Con Smite's ballads are submitted once there's a Stanley Cup clinching scenario in play.
[00:40:18] Okay.
[00:40:19] So not for the last game, but for maybe the up to the clinching game.
[00:40:22] Like for this, it would be game six.
[00:40:24] Game six.
[00:40:25] Right.
[00:40:25] So, like, you have already six.
[00:40:29] Yeah, they had enough.
[00:40:30] They had enough.
[00:40:31] Well, at that point, yeah, six shutouts for Brodeur in these playoffs.
[00:40:35] Three in that series, too.
[00:40:38] Only two up to that point.
[00:40:39] Only two up to that point.
[00:40:41] So game six, before the end of game six is when they had to vote.
[00:40:46] The fact that Jaguar is getting credit for this is just crazy.
[00:40:51] Like the fact that he got that fucking Con Smite.
[00:40:53] And Dan, the whole, we did, you know, a quick rundown of the whole playoffs of how we got here.
[00:41:00] And then we did game one.
[00:41:02] And like, we kept on just going over and reiterating like what Brodeur did throughout these playoffs.
[00:41:08] And his numbers were just better.
[00:41:11] And even if his numbers weren't better, clutch.
[00:41:15] You know, you're talking about clutch.
[00:41:17] Like when was his next shutout in the game?
[00:41:20] It was game seven.
[00:41:21] Like it's all on the line.
[00:41:23] And he shuts them down.
[00:41:25] You know, there's just to, and I get it.
[00:41:27] Okay, they voted before game seven.
[00:41:29] But to.
[00:41:30] If they would have waited one game, that would swing my vote.
[00:41:33] I think it should have swung their votes anyway.
[00:41:36] Yeah, I agree.
[00:41:37] So much of this like pop culture hype that Jaguar had.
[00:41:43] Had, you know, like Bobby, you said it, right?
[00:41:45] It was that fucking Will Smith song.
[00:41:47] It was, you know.
[00:41:48] Blame Will Smith for this.
[00:41:49] Right.
[00:41:50] Being played everywhere.
[00:41:51] Turns out he's been an asshole for a long time.
[00:41:53] Yeah.
[00:41:54] Exactly.
[00:41:55] And we knew it.
[00:41:56] He didn't know it.
[00:41:56] Yeah.
[00:41:56] So we didn't know it.
[00:41:57] Chris Rock didn't know it.
[00:41:58] Look at this mathematically.
[00:42:01] Seven shutouts in 16 wins to get the cup is 43.
[00:42:06] It's basically 44% of his victories via shutout.
[00:42:10] Almost half.
[00:42:11] Almost half the series.
[00:42:12] Yeah, exactly.
[00:42:12] That's incredible.
[00:42:14] Yeah.
[00:42:14] Some goalies don't ever get seven shutouts in a year.
[00:42:18] Yep.
[00:42:18] Oh, God.
[00:42:19] You kidding me?
[00:42:20] Nowadays?
[00:42:20] Yeah.
[00:42:21] Nowadays, if you get seven or eight shutouts, you're leading the league.
[00:42:24] Yeah.
[00:42:25] Yep.
[00:42:25] You know, I mean, we had one last year.
[00:42:29] We had one shutout all last year.
[00:42:32] Dan was coming.
[00:42:33] Yeah.
[00:42:33] Hard to come by.
[00:42:35] It was Kapokoko.
[00:42:36] I'm lucky we had one.
[00:42:37] Seriously.
[00:42:37] Right.
[00:42:38] And it wasn't even anybody that is now with the team.
[00:42:40] No.
[00:42:41] It wasn't one of our seven starters.
[00:42:43] It was Kapokoko.
[00:42:44] Well, I guess he was a pseudo starter.
[00:42:46] He was.
[00:42:46] And I'll tell you what.
[00:42:47] I did like every game he played for the Dubs.
[00:42:49] He didn't let us down.
[00:42:50] But that was a handful of games.
[00:42:51] Where did he end up going?
[00:42:53] Winnipeg?
[00:42:53] I just saw it not too long ago.
[00:42:55] And now, yeah, that sounds right.
[00:42:57] I got to.
[00:42:58] Yeah, I think he's backing up Hellebuck now.
[00:43:00] Right.
[00:43:01] Because.
[00:43:01] I like him.
[00:43:02] I like him.
[00:43:02] I think he's a good player.
[00:43:03] I went to Chicago.
[00:43:04] I'm an idiot.
[00:43:05] I thought for the longest time that Akira Schmidt was in San Jose.
[00:43:08] He's not.
[00:43:09] He's in Vegas.
[00:43:11] Oh, Vegas.
[00:43:12] I thought he was in.
[00:43:13] Didn't he originally go to San Jose?
[00:43:14] Was there a trade or something?
[00:43:16] I thought he was in San Jose, but I guess not.
[00:43:18] I guess he was part of the Holtz deal.
[00:43:20] Did we send Holtz and him to Vegas for Cotter?
[00:43:25] That sounds right.
[00:43:26] I guess so.
[00:43:27] Oh.
[00:43:28] Yeah.
[00:43:28] I'm like.
[00:43:29] We talked about it.
[00:43:30] Him.
[00:43:30] I thought him and Blackwood were on the Sharks.
[00:43:32] I know Blackwood is, but no.
[00:43:34] Akira Schmidt's.
[00:43:35] So, I mean, we finally.
[00:43:37] There's also, you know, to go back to free agency or RFA status and stuff like you.
[00:43:43] Boston has this huge problem with Jeremy Swayman now.
[00:43:46] Like, no one knows what the hell's going to happen with them.
[00:43:49] Like, talk about painting yourself into a corner by a franchise that doesn't do shit like this.
[00:43:55] Like, to go and trade Omar without having Swayman locked up and then now dealing with this bullshit of whether or not Swayman's even going to be playing for you this year.
[00:44:06] That's.
[00:44:07] That's not what.
[00:44:07] That's not what they saw coming, for sure.
[00:44:09] Yeah.
[00:44:09] And that's not really what Boston does.
[00:44:11] No.
[00:44:12] Yeah.
[00:44:13] I find that extremely intriguing.
[00:44:15] I also felt like they were going to make a push that Swayman is our guy.
[00:44:19] We're going to get this done.
[00:44:20] He's our number one.
[00:44:22] Yeah.
[00:44:22] Very strange.
[00:44:23] But now the money, I guess, that what Boston, I think they're pretty far off.
[00:44:28] I mean, I think Swayman wants numbers in the 9-10 range and Boston offered him, I think, like six and a half.
[00:44:35] Do you think he's worth 9-10 right now today?
[00:44:38] See, it's a little bit like the Mercer situation, right?
[00:44:42] Exactly.
[00:44:43] We know how good he is, right?
[00:44:45] We saw it in the playoffs last year.
[00:44:47] But you're asking the guy who is backing up Linus Olmark up until last year.
[00:44:53] Exactly.
[00:44:54] So he's split in time, plays great, but you're also playing in front of that Boston defense, which is you've got to give the defense and the team that they're with credit.
[00:45:03] You know, they're extremely good.
[00:45:07] And you're talking about a guy now who's the number one.
[00:45:12] Olmark's not there anymore.
[00:45:14] Can he do what Olmark did last year, two years ago, or at least two years ago?
[00:45:19] I don't know.
[00:45:20] I think he can.
[00:45:20] I think he's fantastic.
[00:45:22] Me, personally, I would pay him because he's just, he's super young.
[00:45:26] I mean, he's like 24, 25 years old.
[00:45:29] How many are making that much money right now?
[00:45:32] And aren't they all more proven than he is?
[00:45:36] Yes.
[00:45:37] You know, like, I mean, isn't that almost touching Vasileski money and, you know, names that you know have been proven?
[00:45:44] I mean, there's no guarantee in any season, but I'm just saying he just hasn't done it yet.
[00:45:49] No, Chris and I had this exact conversation.
[00:45:51] We did then lean a little bit more towards hasn't quite proven it for that level of money, even though we love him as a goaltender.
[00:46:00] You know, I thought the overall theme from both of us back then was like pulling the reins back a little bit.
[00:46:06] Like, you're not a six, you're not a 10, maybe you're an eight, you know, something like that.
[00:46:10] Is he one of the best?
[00:46:11] Probably.
[00:46:11] I mean, it's probably a safe bet.
[00:46:13] You can lock him up and you're not going to regret it.
[00:46:15] But again, it's just the prove it thing.
[00:46:17] That's all.
[00:46:19] Exactly.
[00:46:19] Well, this is the top highest paid goaltenders.
[00:46:23] Okay.
[00:46:25] Kerry Rice.
[00:46:26] Kerry Price is still getting paid by Montreal.
[00:46:28] Isn't that amazing?
[00:46:29] What?
[00:46:30] That's probably left over in some kind of deal they now regret to some extent.
[00:46:34] He did have health problems.
[00:46:35] At one time he was worth how much?
[00:46:37] A 10 and a half million he was getting.
[00:46:39] 10 and a half million.
[00:46:40] Yeah.
[00:46:41] So, I mean, you'd say 9-10.
[00:46:43] I'm sorry.
[00:46:44] I mean, I think you can make an argument.
[00:46:46] Kerry Price was kind of always overpaid a little bit.
[00:46:49] You know, let's talk about prove it.
[00:46:50] But let's talk about the guys that have proven it or, you know.
[00:46:54] Okay.
[00:46:54] So, Sergey Bobrovsky, right?
[00:46:58] He's won the Stanley Cup.
[00:46:59] 10 million a year.
[00:47:01] Okay.
[00:47:02] No one's going to argue that this man deserves that.
[00:47:04] He won the Cup.
[00:47:04] Right.
[00:47:05] Andre Vasilevsky, 9 and a half million.
[00:47:08] Two cups.
[00:47:09] Connor Hallebach, 8 and a half million.
[00:47:11] No cups.
[00:47:13] Ilya Sorokin.
[00:47:14] Veznes.
[00:47:15] Yep.
[00:47:16] Ilya Sorokin has 8.25.
[00:47:18] Now, you can kind of put Swayman and Sorokin a little bit in that same there, right?
[00:47:23] I think so.
[00:47:24] I think so.
[00:47:25] Huge upside.
[00:47:26] High ceiling.
[00:47:26] But untrue.
[00:47:27] I've shown some real glimmers of brilliance even in the playoffs.
[00:47:30] But, you know, not enough to carry him across nor take the entire blame on that.
[00:47:34] You're right.
[00:47:35] They're highly paid.
[00:47:36] But so if I'm Boston, though, if I'm going to comp anything, I'm going to comp the Sorokin contract.
[00:47:43] Yeah.
[00:47:44] You know, that's the one I think that you would say, OK, look, Ilya Sorokin signed 8 for 8.25.
[00:47:49] We'll give you that.
[00:47:50] That's a perfect.
[00:47:51] Yeah.
[00:47:52] You know, John Gibson gets 6.4 million.
[00:47:56] I mean, talk about a bad contract.
[00:47:59] Jordan Biddington, 6 million.
[00:48:01] Jacob Markstrom, 6 million.
[00:48:03] Philip Grubauer is 5.9.
[00:48:06] Igor Shosturkin, as of this now, is 5.67.
[00:48:09] Which is the best deal going in goaltenders that the Rangers have themselves there.
[00:48:14] Well, they don't have it anymore.
[00:48:16] They only have it for one more year.
[00:48:17] Yeah.
[00:48:18] That number will not stand.
[00:48:20] He's going to be right there with Borowski and Vasilevsky in the payment.
[00:48:23] I guarantee you that.
[00:48:25] He wants more.
[00:48:26] He's going to get his 12.
[00:48:27] He's talking 12.
[00:48:29] And I just don't know about paying a goaltender $12 million.
[00:48:34] Here's the thing.
[00:48:35] You know, look, if I'm the Rangers, I think you're going to definitely take it on the chin with him and get as close to the number he wants as possible.
[00:48:43] But your counterargument is you haven't won it yet.
[00:48:46] Now, his counterargument to that is look at the numbers.
[00:48:49] It ain't me.
[00:48:49] You know, that we haven't won it.
[00:48:51] You know, my play is really good.
[00:48:54] But I will say this.
[00:48:55] There's the intangible of clutch.
[00:48:57] I don't know.
[00:48:59] As much as I think Shesterkin has the best play, is he the best clutch playoff goaltender in the game today?
[00:49:06] I don't think you say he is.
[00:49:09] He's up there.
[00:49:09] But he's definitely not the best.
[00:49:11] Well, let me ask you guys a question.
[00:49:13] It's Game 7, Stanley Cup Final.
[00:49:16] Pick a goalie that is playing right now.
[00:49:19] Who do you want between the pipes?
[00:49:21] Game 7, Stanley Cup Final.
[00:49:23] Vasilevsky.
[00:49:24] I'm sticking with Vasilevsky.
[00:49:25] Vasilevsky.
[00:49:27] I'm with you.
[00:49:28] I know they haven't won in a couple years now.
[00:49:30] But, I mean, one game?
[00:49:32] Yeah.
[00:49:32] Maybe with, like, I don't even know who I put second right now.
[00:49:36] It was a while ago, but he's still young.
[00:49:38] I mean, he's not an old guy.
[00:49:41] I would put Bobrovsky, too.
[00:49:43] Yeah.
[00:49:44] I mean, he's proven it lately for sure.
[00:49:45] He's definitely sure he can do it.
[00:49:46] He's right there behind him.
[00:49:47] Right there.
[00:49:48] And that's why, like, even though Vasilevsky seems like he's been around forever, like, he only just turned 30.
[00:49:55] Right.
[00:49:55] And this, like, I don't like what Tampa did this summer.
[00:50:00] I just have a bad taste in my mouth about getting rid of the Stamkos.
[00:50:04] And I just think that I don't know how much better they got themselves this year.
[00:50:09] But when he's your goalie and he's healthy all year, how can you count him out?
[00:50:15] You can go out on any year.
[00:50:17] Yeah.
[00:50:17] Yep.
[00:50:17] Any year.
[00:50:18] In the playoffs.
[00:50:19] And he just gets your ass in the playoffs.
[00:50:21] See what he can do.
[00:50:22] Yep.
[00:50:22] He decides, you know what?
[00:50:23] I'm going to play like the big cat again.
[00:50:26] Then they're winning the cup.
[00:50:27] Yeah.
[00:50:28] Because he will not be denied.
[00:50:30] He was one of the best playoff performing goaltenders I have ever seen in my life.
[00:50:35] And we grew up with Marty Brodeur.
[00:50:38] And that's so that's saying something.
[00:50:39] But Vasilevsky is right there.
[00:50:40] But I'm with you, Dan.
[00:50:41] I agree with you about Igor Shosturkin.
[00:50:43] Yeah.
[00:50:43] It is kind of amazing.
[00:50:44] We don't have I think if you would have gone back 20, 30 years ago, I think you would have
[00:50:49] been able to name some other goalies to without such unanimity to go, oh, Vasilevsky, Bobrovsky.
[00:50:56] And after that, it's all like, oh, gee, I hope I don't know.
[00:50:58] These guys are good.
[00:50:59] We'll see what happens.
[00:51:00] We don't have the dominance that we used to.
[00:51:02] OK.
[00:51:02] We still have the dynasties.
[00:51:05] Kind of.
[00:51:05] It's just that the goaltenders aren't as big a signature as that.
[00:51:10] So let's rephrase the question.
[00:51:12] Right.
[00:51:12] It's game seven.
[00:51:14] So you need a goalie.
[00:51:15] Are you going to take Patrick Waugh or Vasilevsky?
[00:51:19] See, this is a tricky question because you talk to talk about the style of the game.
[00:51:23] But I'm taking Waugh.
[00:51:24] And I think that Waugh would play good even in today's style.
[00:51:28] It's just no way to prove that.
[00:51:30] Right.
[00:51:31] OK.
[00:51:32] I feel like Waugh was a very great money goaltender.
[00:51:35] He proved that in two different series.
[00:51:39] Vasilevsky is it's a toss up.
[00:51:41] It really is.
[00:51:42] But I'm going to take Waugh.
[00:51:43] So, you know, I'm not saying that's less going to be a bad choice at all.
[00:51:48] How about you, Bob?
[00:51:49] Well, listen, I mean, I paint Waugh as the number two greatest goalie ever behind only our own.
[00:51:55] So I'd have no choice but to take him.
[00:51:56] I think that just backs up what I think of him.
[00:51:58] Yeah.
[00:51:59] I would take Waugh, too.
[00:52:00] You know, you go back to that, you know, cup run in 93 for Montreal.
[00:52:04] Like it was all on Patrick Waugh.
[00:52:06] Like that team had no business being there.
[00:52:08] And Patrick Waugh won in the Stanley Cup.
[00:52:10] So I take Patrick Waugh.
[00:52:11] OK.
[00:52:13] We don't know the older eras.
[00:52:14] But if you went back to the older eras, the number of dominant goalies was even like even greater, which was crazy.
[00:52:21] But it was true.
[00:52:23] And that these guys were very dominant.
[00:52:25] You can make good arguments about which one should be the guy.
[00:52:28] A lot of those guys I would not take into the modern era.
[00:52:31] You know, your Billy Smiths.
[00:52:33] No.
[00:52:34] I just don't think.
[00:52:34] I saw Chuck Smith.
[00:52:35] Those guys.
[00:52:36] No.
[00:52:36] Yeah.
[00:52:36] Well, it's just that's just too different.
[00:52:38] When you go pre-butterfly, that don't fly.
[00:52:41] I mean, the guy's not an uptown goalie.
[00:52:43] He's just not going to be able to deal with the way players play the game.
[00:52:46] They would let 15 in on 15 shots.
[00:52:49] Yeah.
[00:52:49] And then every time I see an RVH go in next to some goalie's head, I kind of wish he would stand up more.
[00:52:55] But it's a different style of game.
[00:52:57] The state percentages went way up once the butterfly was invented.
[00:53:01] Yeah.
[00:53:01] All right.
[00:53:01] So game seven, you take Vasilevsky or Dominic Hasek?
[00:53:05] I'll go first on this one.
[00:53:06] I could tell Dan's struggling.
[00:53:07] I think I'm going to go back to Vasilevsky on this one.
[00:53:10] So a little more steady.
[00:53:13] I feel like, I mean, Hasek did wind up winning what?
[00:53:16] Four or three?
[00:53:17] Three or four.
[00:53:18] So that's kind of, I don't want to knock him.
[00:53:20] I just think that he's just more reflex.
[00:53:25] So I think I would just go with the guy who's a little more positionally sound.
[00:53:29] I don't think Hasek ever had a bad playoff game.
[00:53:33] And he was very good in the tight situations.
[00:53:36] I was trying to rack my brains to think about exactly how many cups he came away with.
[00:53:41] Is the answer four?
[00:53:42] Is that what you're saying?
[00:53:43] I think it's three.
[00:53:45] It's definitely three.
[00:53:46] Okay.
[00:53:47] So you got that going for him.
[00:53:48] And I totally get you, Bobby, because his style is like crazy.
[00:53:52] But he always made it work.
[00:53:53] He never let you down with that.
[00:53:54] He never had a bad series.
[00:53:57] It's, I got to go with Dominator there.
[00:53:59] But it was a tough call for sure.
[00:54:03] Three.
[00:54:04] It was three.
[00:54:05] All with Detroit.
[00:54:06] Yeah.
[00:54:07] And, you know, he retired older than Vasilevsky is now.
[00:54:10] No, he's two.
[00:54:11] Was it two?
[00:54:12] It's just one.
[00:54:13] And Vernon got the first.
[00:54:15] Osgood.
[00:54:15] And then he got the next two, right?
[00:54:17] Yeah.
[00:54:17] It was Osgood.
[00:54:19] And then, yeah.
[00:54:20] But he did have some amazing playoff series along the way.
[00:54:24] You know, he did a great job with Buffalo.
[00:54:27] I mean, I think that we all know that we would take Brodeur in a game seven over Vasilevsky.
[00:54:32] Yep.
[00:54:33] Yes.
[00:54:33] What about Eddie Belfort?
[00:54:35] Over who?
[00:54:36] Vasilevsky.
[00:54:37] Because we're saying Vasilevsky right now is the only one that we would say,
[00:54:40] absolutely, game seven, that's who we wanted and we all agreed.
[00:54:43] So I'm just trying to juxtapose that with the 20-year-ago guys.
[00:54:48] Like, there were more of those top-end goalies that you –
[00:54:51] Yes.
[00:54:52] And when you had one, you know, now it's – yeah, they're there,
[00:54:55] but they have yet to kind of put themselves on the map.
[00:54:59] You know, like, Hallibuck's great.
[00:55:01] Win something, right?
[00:55:03] Sorokin's great.
[00:55:04] Win something.
[00:55:05] Sorokin's great.
[00:55:06] Win something.
[00:55:07] Markstrom's good.
[00:55:08] Win something.
[00:55:08] Like, that's what it comes down to.
[00:55:10] Like, who –
[00:55:11] Exactly.
[00:55:11] You go back from Vasilevsky and Bobrovsky and then, you know,
[00:55:15] Darcy Kemper and Aiden Hill and – I'm sorry, but I –
[00:55:19] Ten years before that, you got your Tim Thomas's, you know.
[00:55:21] Yeah.
[00:55:21] I mean, it was great.
[00:55:22] Yes, he was great.
[00:55:23] But they're going to – you're going to forget about the Darcy Kempers
[00:55:27] and, you know, Aiden Hill and stuff.
[00:55:29] Like, they're forgettable.
[00:55:31] I just feel like you didn't really have that back 20-something years ago.
[00:55:35] If you made the finals, you were playing.
[00:55:37] It was, you know, Hasek.
[00:55:40] It was Brodeur.
[00:55:41] It was Watt.
[00:55:41] It was Belfort.
[00:55:42] It was Jaguar.
[00:55:44] You know, there weren't many guys that just kind of pop up and won a cup.
[00:55:49] Even the, like, middling guys that were really solid, but they never won,
[00:55:53] like Kohlzig and that type.
[00:55:55] You know, I think Avi Bullen did win one.
[00:55:58] A huge year with a lot of attention with Washington.
[00:56:01] Again, the whole nickname thing always helps.
[00:56:03] Kujo.
[00:56:04] Goalie.
[00:56:04] Yeah.
[00:56:05] Kujo is another one.
[00:56:06] Kujo is kind of a unique story.
[00:56:08] He's, like, was a great goaltender on a bad team,
[00:56:11] and then when he got himself on a good team, could not do it.
[00:56:14] You know, when he got his chance with Detroit,
[00:56:16] could not do what Hasek did.
[00:56:18] Looked like he was going to try to go in those footsteps.
[00:56:20] So, like, now it's my turn to play with a good team.
[00:56:22] It did not work out.
[00:56:24] He was not as effective on that team as he was, you know,
[00:56:27] keeping lesser teams in the game.
[00:56:30] Yeah, it is completely different.
[00:56:32] You know, Dan, we were talking, and I mentioned to Bobby
[00:56:36] that the one thing that bothers me a little bit about this Devil team
[00:56:40] is that I – not bothers me, but I just wish that we had a goaltender
[00:56:45] in the same ilk as the rest of our team,
[00:56:48] a young, you know, highly drafted kid that we can grow in.
[00:56:53] Homegrown, maybe.
[00:56:53] That's maybe homegrown, been there maybe four or five years in the NHL right now
[00:56:58] or AHL, NHL, and now they're going to kind of take that step
[00:57:01] and be our goalie for whatever the future looks like for New Jersey.
[00:57:06] I agree.
[00:57:07] Yeah.
[00:57:08] That's the one thing.
[00:57:09] I mean, we did tap the well the last couple of years,
[00:57:12] and, you know, I don't think anybody thinks Dawes is the man yet,
[00:57:16] and he might someday emerge.
[00:57:18] I think we saw what Schmidt had to offer.
[00:57:21] I wouldn't mind keeping him in the system, giving him another shot.
[00:57:23] If it made sense to, it didn't.
[00:57:27] You're right.
[00:57:28] I get it.
[00:57:29] I think that, you know, Devils fans, especially ones as old as we are,
[00:57:32] remember the Brudeur story.
[00:57:35] First of all, on any team, the goaltender is kind of like the backbone,
[00:57:38] but then when it's a homegrown backbone, you really feel like that's, yes,
[00:57:43] now we're going in the right direction.
[00:57:44] To some extent, this feels a little, like, backwards, a little bit like, you know,
[00:57:49] okay, we got the team.
[00:57:50] It's ready to pop.
[00:57:52] Marsham should do the job.
[00:57:53] We got two years, and then, you know, maybe we'll have somebody from the system.
[00:57:57] I don't know.
[00:57:57] I'm hearing about this guy.
[00:57:58] I'm hearing about that guy.
[00:57:59] And if not, we'll go out and get another goaltender.
[00:58:01] And the fact is, it feels wrong to us because we always had Marty.
[00:58:04] We were so spoiled.
[00:58:05] Yep.
[00:58:06] We kind of said it back then.
[00:58:07] You know, we don't know what it's like.
[00:58:09] You know, kind of reveled in how awesome it was to have that position,
[00:58:14] not only taken care of, just like, that's it.
[00:58:17] He's great every year.
[00:58:18] We have nothing to worry about.
[00:58:20] That is so unusual.
[00:58:22] What we're doing now is what most teams have to do,
[00:58:24] especially in today's age where we were just saying,
[00:58:27] like, goaltenders are a little bit more interchangeable.
[00:58:30] There's less, oh, we've got to get this guy.
[00:58:32] This guy's a Stanley Cup goaltender guy.
[00:58:34] We got him.
[00:58:35] No, you don't know that.
[00:58:36] I mean, everybody wanted to throw tons of money at Helly Buck,
[00:58:38] and he's got one VESDA, one, I believe, and not much playoff depth.
[00:58:44] Two.
[00:58:44] Yeah, two.
[00:58:45] Two VESDA.
[00:58:46] That's great and all, but I mean, what's his playoff record?
[00:58:49] It's not, like, amazing.
[00:58:51] You know, he didn't, like, ever.
[00:58:53] Like, Colorado scored, like, 25 goals in five games on him.
[00:58:56] Yeah.
[00:58:56] So, like, that last year was.
[00:58:58] Now, the only kid.
[00:59:00] The game's different.
[00:59:00] There's the kid we drafted this year that, you know, maybe he can become something.
[00:59:04] That's Mikhail Yegorov.
[00:59:08] He's only 18 years old.
[00:59:10] He might be.
[00:59:11] Well, he was born in 2006.
[00:59:13] Oh, no.
[00:59:13] He's only 18.
[00:59:15] This is his scouting report on elite prospects.
[00:59:18] This is a bigger goaltender.
[00:59:19] Yegorov's approach is a simple one.
[00:59:21] He keeps his routes around the crease short and sets his feet quickly to give himself the best chance possible to track the puck.
[00:59:29] He seals the ice well when he drops into the butterfly and makes a lot of saves on quick developing opportunities by simply filling space with his giant frame.
[00:59:37] So, that's all it says about him.
[00:59:40] Honestly, every goaltender prospect coming up today can have that same thing written about them.
[00:59:44] I guarantee you.
[00:59:46] So, I don't know.
[00:59:47] I just, I cannot wait for this year.
[00:59:50] So, we don't know.
[00:59:50] I really think this is, the sky's the limit for this team.
[00:59:53] What do you think, Dan?
[00:59:55] I do.
[00:59:55] I do.
[00:59:56] And I think, actually, as much as we were just saying now that, boy, we kind of missed that Marty situation, have the goaltender locked up and homegrown and young with the team.
[01:00:06] You know what?
[01:00:07] This is the way, not only it has to be, but this can really work out for us.
[01:00:11] I see this team, like, so much potential, really needed to improve in goaltending and defense and did.
[01:00:17] Now, if those things gel with that experience, that gives room for the forwards to be as creative as they can be and do what they need to, especially in the top two lines.
[01:00:28] You've got the grit throughout the lineup that you needed.
[01:00:31] I see this as a much different team.
[01:00:34] So, like, things start clicking.
[01:00:36] It's going to be insane how much better this team looks than last year.
[01:00:41] They're going to take, you know, you shouldn't be able to take the league by surprise every other year, but it looks like it's going to.
[01:00:46] And I think it's going to happen this year.
[01:00:49] I have one more question to ask you guys, and this is completely off the top of your head without even thinking about it.
[01:00:57] Way too early prediction type of thing, but I just kind of want to get a feel of where everybody's kind of head is.
[01:01:03] Give me your off the cuff and feel free.
[01:01:05] We can change these.
[01:01:06] We're not going to put them down on paper.
[01:01:08] They're not official picks or anything.
[01:01:10] Give me your Eastern and Western Conference Finals, Stanley Cup Final, and Cup Winner right now.
[01:01:16] Devils over the Oilers.
[01:01:19] What do you got for Eastern Conference Final and Western Conference Final?
[01:01:23] Boy, I think that we're, you know, going into last year before the offseason, I would have gone with Carolina, but I don't think so anymore.
[01:01:34] No, I don't either.
[01:01:34] It's kind of up for grabs on who's the number two team emerging.
[01:01:38] And you got some good contenders, you know.
[01:01:42] And other teams that also took a step back could surprise you again, like Boston and stuff.
[01:01:46] So I really, this one's much tougher for me to pick who's going to come out.
[01:01:51] Could it be the Rangers?
[01:01:52] Yeah, it could be.
[01:01:53] Could be.
[01:01:53] Which would be exciting.
[01:01:55] They still have a lot that could happen with them.
[01:02:00] Boy, I don't know.
[01:02:02] I guess I'll pick the Rangers because you asked me to go top of my head, but I feel like there's a better one out there that I'm just overlooking.
[01:02:07] So you're saying Devils-Rangers Eastern Conference Final?
[01:02:09] Could very well be.
[01:02:10] Yeah.
[01:02:11] And I think that'd be exciting.
[01:02:12] You know, we had that first round matchup.
[01:02:14] I'm sure the Rangers would love to see some matchup again, but I don't think they're going to like what they get.
[01:02:19] Now, can that happen, right?
[01:02:20] Seeding?
[01:02:20] Oh, with the seeding, the way it works.
[01:02:22] I think it can, right?
[01:02:23] Yeah, I guess so.
[01:02:24] I guess so.
[01:02:25] With the Rangers seeding low enough or us seeding low enough.
[01:02:27] Like if they were, let's say, the first wild card and let's say we won the Metro.
[01:02:32] I'm just throwing it out there.
[01:02:33] Then they would play.
[01:02:35] Let's say we had the best, most points in the East.
[01:02:38] And let's say Florida was second in points.
[01:02:41] So they would, Florida would play, let's say, the Rangers.
[01:02:44] And then we beat whoever we did.
[01:02:45] Now we move to the second round.
[01:02:47] We would probably play at that point the winner of 2-3.
[01:02:50] Yeah, which makes me immediately take back the Rangers and say, what are you doing with Florida in there?
[01:02:56] Devils, Panthers probably is one of the more likely.
[01:02:58] You got Devils, Panthers.
[01:03:00] Yeah, I mean, like you can't forget the champs there.
[01:03:02] They did a great job.
[01:03:03] And then you got Devils beating Edmonton.
[01:03:06] Yes.
[01:03:06] And, you know, what are you going to get out of Edmonton?
[01:03:08] I don't know.
[01:03:09] I mean, Colorado, I feel like underperformed.
[01:03:13] Dallas looked great.
[01:03:14] Maybe they pushed a little further.
[01:03:16] You know, that's a tough call.
[01:03:19] Always a little hazier on who's emerging, looking better after the offseason in the West.
[01:03:24] So I'm not so sure.
[01:03:25] I bet you there's a few more out there who made improvements and probably should be considered.
[01:03:29] I like your Panther.
[01:03:29] I don't know.
[01:03:30] No.
[01:03:31] I like your Panther and Devil final, though.
[01:03:34] I think that's good.
[01:03:35] Yeah.
[01:03:36] What do you got, Bob?
[01:03:37] I mean, I think picking the Panthers is kind of the safest route to go.
[01:03:41] And I'm thinking that, too.
[01:03:42] But just for fun, I'm thinking it's going to be more of like a Cinderella story type of Eastern competition.
[01:03:47] Like a team like Toronto who shouldn't get there gets there.
[01:03:50] So we're going to go through Toronto.
[01:03:52] In the West, we'll have Vancouver beating Edmonton.
[01:03:56] And then two Hughes is better than one.
[01:03:58] We beat Vancouver in the Stanley Cup finals.
[01:03:59] Great thought there.
[01:04:00] Vancouver in it.
[01:04:02] Matching up against the Devils.
[01:04:04] Beautiful story.
[01:04:05] Yeah.
[01:04:05] I thought that I was going to be the, like, lone guy here by saying Toronto, New Jersey.
[01:04:10] Because that's what I think right now.
[01:04:12] Toronto, New Jersey.
[01:04:14] Eastern Conference final.
[01:04:14] Toronto's finally going to get their run, right?
[01:04:15] They're still not going to win it.
[01:04:17] But they're going to go deep.
[01:04:18] We will get them to the final.
[01:04:20] I would love to stab them in the heart there in the conference spot.
[01:04:23] That would be amazing.
[01:04:23] And then Sheldon Keefe will go take a giant dump all over the city of Toronto.
[01:04:28] And out West, I'm going to go Vegas, Dallas.
[01:04:32] Okay.
[01:04:33] We beat Dallas and win the fourth Stanley Cup.
[01:04:38] I'm going that.
[01:04:39] We're a bunch of homers.
[01:04:40] I know.
[01:04:41] Totally.
[01:04:41] I'll change it.
[01:04:42] But I'll change it.
[01:04:43] This is the point of the year that you can dream.
[01:04:45] I like to be in Kansas City in the Super Bowl.
[01:04:48] I'm just saying.
[01:04:48] Any dream you want.
[01:04:50] And the fans can still dream because they look great in week one.
[01:04:55] They are undefeated.
[01:04:56] They are undefeated.
[01:04:57] And right now, so are the Devils.
[01:04:59] The Devils have not lost a single game yet.
[01:05:00] Exactly.
[01:05:01] I love it.
[01:05:02] Nobody can call you a homer yet for dreaming.
[01:05:05] Especially, I honestly believe the argument you make on paper for this Devils team achieving
[01:05:11] something they haven't done yet is better than you can for any other team who hasn't.
[01:05:16] I mean, tell me which roster that hasn't done it looks as impressive.
[01:05:19] Now, that doesn't mean anything once the season starts.
[01:05:22] I know this.
[01:05:22] They have to play the games.
[01:05:23] A lot can go wrong.
[01:05:25] Look at last year.
[01:05:26] So, you know, I'm not calling it 100%.
[01:05:29] But if you've got to make a call right now, tell me why it's such a crazy call.
[01:05:33] It just isn't.
[01:05:33] I don't think it is either.
[01:05:35] And I think you just look at this team start to finish.
[01:05:38] There's not many holes.
[01:05:40] And then you just think about if all these guys contribute like they can, this team can
[01:05:48] seriously be one of the best teams in the NHL and never fucking look back.
[01:05:53] Yep.
[01:05:54] Cannot wait.
[01:05:55] Speaking of contributions, so we have a birthday today.
[01:05:58] I have a birthday.
[01:05:59] Luke Hughes, 21.
[01:06:01] Nice.
[01:06:02] Think about that for a second, right?
[01:06:03] He's still 21.
[01:06:05] Jesus.
[01:06:06] We've got a lot to get for him.
[01:06:07] And then in sad news, looks like we lost James Earl Jones today.
[01:06:11] No way.
[01:06:12] Yeah.
[01:06:13] Shit.
[01:06:14] Oh, man.
[01:06:15] That sucks.
[01:06:17] Yeah.
[01:06:17] James Earl Jones.
[01:06:18] Great actor.
[01:06:19] Most people know him as the voice of Darth Vader.
[01:06:21] Yes.
[01:06:22] Or that's the tough voice of CNN.
[01:06:24] Yes.
[01:06:25] He did do the CNN thing.
[01:06:26] I don't know.
[01:06:27] Are they still using him on their broadcast?
[01:06:28] I think so.
[01:06:29] Wow.
[01:06:29] That's crazy.
[01:06:31] And then, of course, coming to America is probably his acting job that I like the best.
[01:06:35] Of course.
[01:06:36] I know it's probably not what he would want to hear because he did a ton of stage and other
[01:06:40] stuff over his career.
[01:06:41] The Sandlot.
[01:06:43] Yeah.
[01:06:43] He was great in the Sandlot.
[01:06:44] Sandlot.
[01:06:45] I forgot about that.
[01:06:46] Yeah.
[01:06:46] All right.
[01:06:47] Well, he will be missed.
[01:06:48] Anything else you guys want to add before we wrap this thing up?
[01:06:50] So, we're out of time today, but there has been an article I've been wanting to do with
[01:06:54] at least three of us.
[01:06:55] It actually came out in late August.
[01:06:56] It was just the top 20 centers.
[01:06:58] Maybe the next show if we got time.
[01:06:59] I just want to go through it real quick.
[01:07:00] Not overanalyze every name.
[01:07:02] Is this from NHL?
[01:07:03] Is this NHL?
[01:07:04] Yeah.
[01:07:05] I do remember seeing that.
[01:07:06] I'd love to go through that.
[01:07:07] A couple of people I'm curious where your thoughts are, where they fit in.
[01:07:10] You know?
[01:07:10] All right.
[01:07:11] But it's pretty interesting.
[01:07:12] So, the next show, that's what we'll do.
[01:07:14] We'll try and dive into a couple more games from the 2003 finals.
[01:07:18] Maybe we'll have a little bit of news.
[01:07:19] And, of course, if anything happens with the Mercer contract, we'll jump on and we'll talk
[01:07:23] about that.
[01:07:25] So, wherever you guys are listening to us, thanks for checking us out and sticking with
[01:07:28] us throughout this summer and this offseason.
[01:07:31] And, you know, we cannot wait to get some real hockey going.
[01:07:34] But a like, a five-star review, a positive comment.
[01:07:38] Subscription download helps a little podcast that could.
[01:07:40] We're the Uncle Puckers.
[01:07:41] See you when we see you.
[01:07:42] Puckers out.
[01:07:48] It's over, Johnny.
[01:07:50] It's over!
[01:07:54] Hey, everybody.
[01:07:55] I'm Trevor Sikama, host of the PFF NFL Show, here to tell you what you can find on all
[01:07:59] of our shows throughout the week.
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[01:08:19] So, do you think the planes are being Evely?
[01:08:19] Yes.
[01:08:19] Yes.
[01:08:19] Because there's a overduearing space.
[01:08:19] Yes.
[01:08:20] No!
[01:08:20] Yes.
[01:08:20] Yes.
[01:08:20] Thank you.