Speculating On Mitch Marner | The Chris Johnston Show

On This episode of The Chris Johnston show Julian McKenzie and Chris Johnston go over a variety of topics including:

0:00 World Hockey Championships
10:00 Berube & Marner
14:30 Maple Leafs hire Craig Berube
14:00 Marner speculation
25:00 Keefe hired by Devils
33:00 Dan Bylsma hired by Kraken
34:00 CBJ & Don Waddell
46:15 Sharks coaching job, Will Smith & more
52:45 Ask CJ

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uh I know that some in our audience know the finer points of hockey the Chris Johnston show we are your friends the biggest stories bringing you inside the game what did you hear the Chris Johnston show here’s Chris with your host Julian McKenzie part of the game CJ how was Prague it was good bud it was uh it was sort of a quick trip mhm by the time you get sleeping right you’re already coming back um but I’ll tell you the the hockey was Electric like it was so cool to be on the ground there um and pretty neat to see the checks win you know on their home soil in their home City like that Arena anyone who’s listening to the last few episodes while you were away I I raved about it I’m sure on both of them I’ll just say it one more time before we put it to bed like that Arena was among the loudest Arenas I’ve ever been in for anything and I’ve been really fortunate to be a lot of big games in different parts of the world and the Olympics the Stanley Cup finals the playoffs I mean it was crazy there and so yeah the entire experience was really cool I think you know I was able to get access to a lot of people and still rolling out the stories from my time and honestly it like it made a little impression on me it been a long time since I’ve been into a world hockey championship and felt pretty felt pretty neat to return and even just seeing all the reporters that are there from the the foreign countries that obviously I don’t encounter in dayto day I mean it’s a lot of the same people that were covering the tournament 12:30 1 years ago when I was last doing it are still around doing it so it was uh it was really unique experience and um I think there’s still a lot of hangovers in Prague after that the checks finally finish that thing off on Sunday I was uh my my good friend Aaron Vickers was also uh covering the world championship and he was sending us photos of like getting getting just getting beer from wherever people were just handing out beers in Brock apparently well I’m sure I mean it it already felt like it was free anyway because it wasn’t that expensive to to buy beers there uh and I I mean I didn’t last through to the very end so I’m glad that Aaron stuck it out and and had a chance to experience that obviously he and I did spend some time together well on the ground during the tournament and and I mean like the content was insane if you just like if you just follow the the Czech hockey association’s official account like they just rolled it just was endless streams of the guys spraying the crowd or David Pastak had his wife and his baby with the earphones on like dancing on stage like the Czech royal family or you know Martin nist was who I know we’ll talk about later was like oh we will out greeting fans like it it was quite something I mean you know I I think that we have to step back and remember first of all the Czechs hadn’t won Gold Medal in in the men’s tournament since 2010 so it was a long time coming it’s you know maybe a new generation you know with pook playing you know NES isn’t that old Pavo zaka came over uh but also Lucas doell who was incredible for them in Gold you know doesn’t get a lot of attention maybe over here yet in North America but I wonder if that’s about to change he made 104 saves and 107 shots in the last three games which are the quarter final the semi-final in the gold medal game so games that really mattered he was a Difference Maker for them and so you know I think it it it’s sort of a compelling final that you have two of the not top top teams I mean I think Switzerland’s making a pretty good case with how often they’re getting through to these these gold medal games that maybe they’ve they’ve climbed in the world a little bit more than we fully realized yet but to have the checks and the Swiss two teams that aren’t even invited to the four nations faceof next year uh play the final of this tournament as we you know transition towards a 2026 Olympics I think it just it sets the table nicely for a new era it’s going to be a new era of international hockey any way you slice it any team there’ll be a couple faces that were around on each team in SOI say but they’re just every country is going to be introducing a wave of of players that haven’t had this opportunity and I I kind of got the bug honestly like it gave me this isn’t best on best and you know I’m certainly not claiming it is but it gave me a kind of the the itch that that we’re about to get scratched here in the next you know 12 months 18 months in in in the hockey world one more thing before we get to our rundown which yes you’re right we’ll talk about Marty hes we’ll talk we’ll have a Leaf’s corner and a few other Rumblings and and musings around the NHL world I just want to say seeing David Pasto celebrate the eventual game-winning goal in that championship game that was an an incredible celebration but almost as EP epic as his Instagram post after the fact where in the caption he’s like so do we get an invite to the four nations face off now that dude he has the sauce he has had himself a wild last few weeks well and don’t look past the fact that he said that he might have to have offseason hip surgery like he came over to the tournament not at 100% coming out of that second round loss for Boston obviously he had to convince the team somehow that that was something that they would allow him to do because obviously they do have some say in releasing him to go to that tournament he really wanted to go there he you know makes the transatlantic flight plays the next day the next game after that’s the quarterfinals you know had they lost in the quarterfinals you know his tournament would have been over after those two games and but you know he made sure um to to find a way to to put himself in a position to score a goal I think people in his country will never forget and you know for all the goals he scored in the NHL he scored a game seven overtime winner in round one against the leaes I’d still think that the one he scored to win the gold medal or secure the gold medal it’s probably the biggest of his career to date and you know David pasnak of course would much rather be competing for the Stanley Cup but that was the next best thing he could go and do once the the Bruins were eliminated by the Panthers and and I’m with you I I like this the Swagger of it he was upset right from the beginning that the checks were were passed over um for that four nations tournament I think we do have to understand it’s it’s essentially an exhibition it’s only going to be played with NHL players you know at this point the you know Ceta doesn’t have enough enough NHL players I’m not defending the decision but it’s it’s kind of just quickly explaining how we got there I think everyone has to take the right view of what that tournament is I don’t I don’t think it’s historically significant I’ll put it that way I think it it will be the appetizer to what’s to come over for fans watching more closely North America but you know winning the world hockey championship as as David pasnik just did is more significant than winning that that tournament to come next February in my view now What’s significant about next February is going to be you know it’s going to be one of Canada the US Sweden or Finland winning it I mean it’s going to be a top nation that wins it and that that Nation will kind of be in the driver seat or will be looked at a certain way as we go the following year to the Olympics in Milan so you know I I can understand why panak is disappointed to be excluded I didn’t have a chance to ask Roman Yosi who was so good for Switzerland in this tournament I’m sure he’s not happy Neo Neer Rider niik heier the other players over there that had great tournaments for Switzerland but you know I’m not as down on the concept as a lot of people are because I just view it for what it is it’s replacing the All-Star Weekend essentially yeah it’s it’s it’s an international break that’s been created by the NHL for NHL players only which means Finland can’t draw you know some of the players from the national league that might actually they might prefer to have in some cases maybe in fourth line roles or specific roles on the team but you know it’s still going to be pretty damn good and like you saw what that meant to Pastak and that was I mean it was pretty cool all around I mean it you know even as a Canadian I can honestly say at this point like I’m not like rooting for Canada I’m not rooting against them either but I’m it’s very easy for me to go to that tournament and just kind of get taken in by the emotion of the crowds to you know to be happy for someone like Pastor neck who’s just always been a first class guy to deal with actually even we had a little chat over there I bumped into him the mixone and he’s like hey bud what are you doing look he was surprised to to see me out of context but I mean he had an army of of check reporters following everywhere he went they literally were doing interviews with his mom during the games they’re posting pictures of his kit like it’s a huge deal like that tournament gets more viewers than the Stanley Cup Final does in in total around the world now it doesn’t get North American viewership anywhere near that way you know Finland played a quarterfinal game and they drew 1.45 million in their country for that game and it’s a five and a half million population country I mean they got 25% of the people in the country watch a quarter final game at the World Championships I didn’t see the final numbers in the Czech Republic but I heard it’s even higher percentage than that and so it’s a it’s a huge deal for a lot of the these countries you know Pastor KN grew up wanting to win the tournament and not only does he win it he wins it by scoring the goal in Prague on a bad hip with his baby there his wife there I mean what a what a cool thing and his wife by the way is Swedish and and they beat Sweden quite memorably in the semi-final game so there must have been some divided emotions in in that house but I think think that all the emotion was in the right place when it got to the gold medal game for sure uh great work covering the tournament for the athletic uh great to see your content over the last few days and uh what an end to a spectacular tournament let’s get to Leaf’s Corner why is every and I’m purely asking this as someone who has kind of checked Twitter a little bit on it off the last few days why is everyone making a big deal about Craig Berube and Mitch Marner meeting somewhere there’s like this photo that circulated on social media of the two media was is that a coffee shop is it a restaurant they’re just talking they could literally be talking about anything but we’ve decided to make it a big deal CJ why are we talking about this yeah Mar weren’t a blue jays had me maybe they could have been there you know begrudging the state of the the local baseball team it doesn’t maybe he was leaking maybe he’s talking about those new uh City connect jerseys yeah exactly I mean it could have been anything I mean it’s it is that way it’s it’s been made such a big deal I think because that’s how hot the story is Mitch marner’s future will he be here is he are the the team going to pursue a trade with him this offseason you know that is I have to say in Toronto that is the story right now like I I’m I’m getting asked about that everywhere I go I was getting asked about it in the Czech Republic when I saw a few Canadians on the ground there um you know I just think that it it’s it’s a very it’s such a hot story and no one has the answer definitively and then you’ve got a new coach and that player and then obviously the the clandestine nature of the photo it’s like someone I don’t know if they hidden the other corner and I mean I I I must say at the risk of sounding like the the man yelling at a cloud here I I do not like that photo just like what it represents and there’s nothing bad and I get it they’re public figures and they’re in public and no laws were broken but I don’t like the spirit of that kind of photo like I feel like if you’re in the coffee shop you’re like oh my God there’s Mitch Martin and Craig Brew like I think you should just go over to their table or wait maybe for them to have a break in their conversation be like hey do you guys mind if I get a selfie and you might have got a selfie honestly because I you know I think it’s it’s more the when when someone does it sneaky and then you know my understanding actually is the photo the meeting happened some point last week the photo came out on Monday so I don’t even know why there was a delay in that I mean h i don’t know but it there’s been so much of this Julian like I don’t know if you’ve been keeping tabs but even when Todd Mullen interviewed for the Leaf’s head coaching job there was there was like a little video of him at the Air Canada gate in La I saw that I did see that you know there was a brad TR living brenon Shanahan photo going around when they were at a dinner there was that Austin Matthews photo with uh Dean Shanel who’s the Le assistant coach and and some people thought it was Adam wild somehow I saw that too like my point is there’s a lot of this like what’s going on in this off like it’s this those I’ve just cited two or three examples from like the last two weeks like what’s happening when did when did TMZ decide to camp out in Toronto and cover the Leafs well and the truth is not in any of those photos is anyone doing anything wrong I mean it’s no it’s the offseason and people that work together are like having a dinner together or a beer or a coffee and a chat like there’s nothing unto going on and so you know to bring it back to Marner baru I I literally don’t think it tells us anything other than that Craig baru is doing what any new coach is doing right now and meeting his players you know probably laying out his expectations for how he he wants to work how he wants their relationship to go you know probably asking some questions about you know for feedback from the players what do they need from the coaches you know what has you know I think just totally normal questions and we’ve had so many coaching changes around the league like these meetings are literally happening everywhere right now uh in fact I saw Travis Green briefly in in Ceta you know he’s just recently been named the coach of the the Ottawa Senators well guess what Brady kachuck was over there playing for Team USA Jake Sanderson Ridley Greg a few other players representing the Senators and look their new head coach goes over along with Steve stals to to at least have some face-to-face meetings like again I think this is all totally normal behavior but what isn’t normal is the reaction that we’ve seen and quite honestly we still don’t know any more about Marner situation I mean I think that you know it wouldn’t be Craig brub that would be working through that anyway Craig brub all he sees is a player that’s on his roster a very important player who has a contract for next season and he’s starting to build a relationship with him so with Mitch Marner when exactly are we going to know when there could be like a flash point or a turning point or when when exactly can we know something about that situation because it seems at this point now all we’re left to do is speculate well we’re getting to June right so I do think at some point in June something’s going to leak out I mean certainly at the Leafs are having trade conversations with other teams I have a hard time believing that would stay completely under wraps as much as everyone involved probably would like it to and will do their best to have that happen you know or alternatively if the Leafs asked Bitz marter to to wave his no movement clause or or inquire but whether he would and if he says 100% flat no not happening we might hear about something like that but you know the reality is the trade itself if there is one still a very big if if if if 10 ifs you know probably isn’t happening until July 1 or after when Mitch Marner would be officially eligible by the rules of the CBA to sign an extension um because you know I think that if this kind of trade happens it would be similar to the Matthew kachuck deal which happened you know in mid or even Late July uh where he went from Calgary to Florida because he signed an eight-year deal as part of it and that helped inform that the package of flames got back and so you know I think that that I’m not saying it would have to happen that late in July but it’s probably not coming um you know until basically a little more than a month from now and so you know in the meantime of course we’re going to get a little bit more tangible information than we have today uh I have no reason at this point to believe the Leafs have formally asked him to wave a no move Clause I have no reason to believe he’s given an answer either way I I think that they are only still just getting to the point of of their own offseason and their planning meeting with Scouts and the like to to start charting a path ahead and see you know which directions they want to go and so you know I know that’s not the question everyone wants to race ahead and know the answer yesterday um but I I think the truth is there isn’t yet an answer and probably some of the very key people involved still don’t know 100% which way this is going to go and so you know the the good news for you and I is we’re going to do a show twice a week uh between now and and into July and and that will probably give us a lot of content but you know as of today what we know is Mitch Marner met with Craig Peru last week in a tobaco someone inhumanely I love in discreet took a just like a discreet photo and circulated it and everyone’s reading into it all kinds of things and really I just think they’re two people getting to know each other I even think like someone said well if they wanted it to be so private why do they do it away from the rink I’m like it’s because think about the difference between meeting your boss in their office or if you if you have a meeting with your boss over a coffee or a beer or whatever somewhere outside of the official environment I think it’s a different level of connection I think there’s a different Comfort level it sets a different Dynamic like I think it makes perfect sense to me if it’s two people just starting to get to know each other keep in mind there’s no business to be done between the head coach and the star player on the team until like well into the summer perhaps not even until training camp in September I mean at this point it’s literally about probably trying to understand each other setting you know some expectations and and getting to don’t want to I’ll mention this too I haven’t even brought it up but I I spoke with John Taris while I was in Prague he had had a 10 or so minute conversation with Craig bre at that point and he he pointed out to me that as soon as he got back to Toronto he was going to schedule a meeting to meet him soig rub didn’t just meet Mitch Marner I would suspect at some point here with the world’s now over that that tarus will meet with him and and probably any other members of the roster that are still in the city and and look it wouldn’t be unprecedented for a coach or a new coach to even go on the road and say visit Austin Matthews in Arizona at some point I think that that would be totally um a normal thing to do that we won’t have to freak out about if there’s a picture at the airport with him some point stay tuned for a photo of Craig buub and Austin Matthews to surface on your Twitter timeline I saw that yesterday kind of before it went big like somehow I just got my algorithm or something served it up to me and and I was like oh boy this is gonna be something like this this is gonna get blown right out of the water I agree with you with the idea that taking a photo of those two knowing very well it’s those two and knowing very well what’s going on I don’t agree with it it’s not something I would do if I was a fan I’d try to wait I would do like a mental picture in my head I mean obviously for if I’m a media member in that market I don’t know if I I don’t know if I take a photo either like if you were in the if you were in wherever they were Zer I don’t think no chance you do that either right like I’m not doing that that’s just you see that there you file it in your head you remember it for a story you want to write or just for yourself I I wouldn’t take the photo but you know keep in mind like our job’s a little different I could go back to one or both of them after the fact and say like hey I saw you here care to like share what the conference you know like there’s I’m not saying I wouldn’t use in some way to report that that they were had met together but I I wouldn’t be taking a sneaky photo and under like a you know not not your real name putting it out on social media kind of thing like I just I honestly like I’m assuming the person who did it is probably a Leaf’s fan maybe that’s a maybe that’s the wrong assumption to make but if you wonder why some markets look better than others in the league this this could be an example of why this isn’t the greatest place to play because there are probably 25 other cities at minimum where even if the same circumstances were at play where you’re talking about a star player and their future is uncertain and it’s a new head coach and they’re meeting sort of in the corner of a coffee shop like I think in most places that photo wouldn’t surface but it did here it would in Montreal you know that that’s the kind of place for sure where that absolutely it’s not just Toronto but I’m just say I’m just I don’t say in a threatening way I just say it pointing out kind of what’s obvious to me is or apparent to me is this is part of the downside of of being on certain teams is stuff like this takes on a life of its own it’s probably why it’s not wise to live in Toronto year round if you’re a maple leaf and unfortunately the team has a number of players that are from this area so it makes sense for them to to either spend their summers in Toronto or up in Moka which is basically like an extension of Toronto but with tree and water and cabins um but you know I think there’s just the lack of privacy could be difficult all right uh well looking forward to the next month in a bit where we get to talk about Mitch Marner and the rest of the Tron M Bel can I tell you once please one thing that happened to me is is once or twice I’ve been somewhere and then someone has like tweeted like a weird grainy photo of me and been like just saw reporter Chris at Starbucks or whatever and I’m always just I’m not I have to be clear here I’m not comparing myself to Mitch Marner like this probably happens to him every day and I’m and I’m referencing a one-time thing that happened a couple years ago but I just remember how violating that kind of felt I was like why wouldn’t you just come up and say hello because lots of people say hello you know I hope that I’m always as pled as I can be I mean maybe I’m in the middle of something sometimes but I like I’m always happy to chat with people about hockey everyone always wants a little tidbit I don’t mind giving out a little tidbit here and there a photo you know whatever like I just I find it I don’t like when someone is sneaky about it that’s that’s really my main issue I think it would be totally normal to see a player on the Leafs or the coach or the GM out in in the city and say hi to them and be like hey even to say to Brad Trin like hey bringing back Marner like I don’t think that that would be a bad thing for a civilian to say I’m sure he’d make a joke back he would but but like or ask for a selfie or whatever like I just think it’s the doing it sneaky style and releasing it a couple days later and I don’t know that’s what again I’m getting older and the world’s getting younger and maybe maybe uh maybe what’s acceptable is Shifting but to me it just it doesn’t feel right I think someone last year spotted me at a Calvary FC game I don’t know if they tweet a photo or not but not only did they Point me out but they took the time to point out that I am a short person so I [Laughter] understand well again to your face no problems I’m fine with it like hey didn’t like that you wrote this column or you you got this dumb opinion like I don’t even mind like Ser I don’t I actually don’t mind mixing it up with people a little bit in public it’s just more what it’s like you you say it’s 10 minutes later and you look at your phone you’re like man I just went and got my latte and like people are taking pictures of me and tweeting about it like what are they trying to achieve here spotted reporter Chris getting it has not happened much but I can’t imag it must happen it actually happened way back when I name the player but a visiting player who I knew pretty well told me of a similar story when at I saw him at the morning skate he’s like get this I went and got a coffee this morning and someone and he like showed me this photo and I’m like it’s creepy like come up and ask for an autograph or a selfie or whatever but anyway is this it’s a celebrity culture well especially in Canada with hockey players I guess that’s part of part of it I guess just but you’re right I I’d much rather someone just be like hey man can I say hi I think that’s a lot better than just someone creep around but uh I didn’t expect us to talk that long about that photo and then have that extra stuff don’t apologize at all this is funny it’s kind of got me riled up and but I’m trying not to too riled up because I do realize at the end of the day it will be forgotten about like by the time you’ve heard this episode it’ll already be fading from view like it’s not and it wasn’t that didn’t violate them to that degree but I just I don’t like it doesn’t feel right we’ll start a new segment uh and quit doing it like it’s there’s like five leaf related ones like in the last three weeks like let the guys have an offseason beer or coffee or something you hate this we need to come up with a segment about stuff you hate oh I’m not that grumpy though like there’s not like a long list of things I hate how long okay well maybe that’s for that maybe maybe we save that for the end of season episode maybe we save that okay anyway um it’s like CJ is like his like list of grievances CJ’s it’s my f episode like f Fus we could do it on the day of Festivus if you want which is December 23rd or 21st yeah December 23rd yes a Festivus for the rest of us anyway Sheldon Keefe uh introduced as New Jersey no longer burdened by these weird photos because he’s gonna go work in New Jersey dude he’s gonna you know he’s got a great hockey team to coach he’s got lots of stress and worry and all the things that comes with the job but he’s got a few less personal worries because not everybody’s going to be up in his business in New York or wherever he settles out there in New Jersey dude can go to uh a New York Jets game or Giants game somewhere in East Rutherford or a New York Red Bulls game whatever he wants to do I guarantee very few photos will be taken of that man good for him he’s earned his peace he has earned his peace and he’s earned a team he’s taken over you know one thing that stood out to me in in listening to Sheldon’s words at that the opening press conference in New Jersey was just how he’s never coached a team that wasn’t trying to win a championship which you know it sort of sounds like an obvious thing but in his position like when you’re a coach getting hired into a situation sometimes you’re taking over a team at Rock Bottom sometimes you’re taking over a team that you know is a project stepping in there and that it’s going to take a few years before it’s really trying I mean you’re always trying to win every game but before the the real ambition of the organization is to win and so you know it really does sound like the job was his to to have right from the get-go and that Sheldon had to work through things with his wife and his kids and decide am I ready to work again is this the right place and the more he kind of went through that process and you know they went down and had a kind of a site visit there and got to meet some people on the ground with the organization you came to realize that this is a perfect opportunity and it’s it’s hard for me to see it any other way from afar because you know he’s he’s had a lot of success as a regular season coach the Leafs under his tenure well documented of not had a ton of success but he’s taking over the kind of team that you know we could be talking about as a Stanley Cup Contender maybe as soon as next year I know they had a big step back this season uh from where they were two years ago but you know when you look at the core of young Talent there and I think a pretty well-run front office that that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes that will have some opportunity to make decisions on players this Summer that could probably look forward to being a little healthier next year because certainly part of the devil’s last season was just key injuries to to players like douge Hamilton for significant chunk of time that it’s hard to replace that when you’ve already you know walked that someone like Damon Severson out the door the previous summer uh so you know they they took some some blows on on the blue line and obviously have really young Talent Simon neich there and and Luke Hughes but you know it’s a long way getting to the point that you know Sheldon’s I mean this team is going to be going to have the same expectations and Ambitions as aafs would have when when he was working there except you know it’s a fresh start for him it’s a fresh look at new players and and you know pretty new environment for him to go apply his trade all right um anything else oh go ahead well the other thing that stuck out to me I’m sure you saw his Farewell video in Toronto he actually detailed he how that came together yes please talk because that was what I was going to ask next well because I heard all this there’s like this weird speculation he’d like made it days ahead of time and had like a professional crew filment I was like I never I never heard I never saw any of that and that clearly looked like that clearly looked like you know spur of the moment we knew it was he probably figured it was going to happen and then he was wherever he was and he said you know what let me just do a personal thing here’s my phone let’s do it it didn’t look like a professional thing it just look like a of the there was a lot of nonsense of like that locally and I that never made sense to me I was like no this look like I mean we all have pretty powerful cameras in our pockets now I mean cell phones uh are you know it’s like carrying around a digital camcorder back in the day anyway the uh he he told the story and basically he kind of figured it was coming he had a Restless sleep the night before he was you know contacted by Brad Sher living and called in for a meeting and he sort of decided he wanted to do this and maybe you know I’m sure he thought a little bit of his messaging and what he would want to say and he thought it was an important part of closure and so he said he went right from the meeting from Brad sh living where he got fired he went to that spot that he called his happy place near his home uh you know lived in one of the suburbs of Toronto on the lake and you know spoke from the heart I think that’s why so many people connected with that message because it did come out you know within a couple hours or not even maybe within an hour of his firing officially being announced by the team and maybe that maybe that timing is why everyone thought it was like this big Stage production but I think he just literally spoke from the heart right after getting the news and then he said he took his wife Jackie to lunch and that was it and and he just figured that that was one way to have closure on his situation with Toronto it would keep him from having to do all this media in after the fact like he kind of said his his piece if you want to say it or he kind of explained where he was at and was was stepping back from the public Spotlight as it turns out it was only two weeks but he didn’t know at that time he’d be back working so soon because he did have term on his contract and anyway I just thought that was interesting and maybe something we see more people in his situation do in the future because I you know I haven’t seen a whole lot of that especially so quickly um and I think honestly it it was a it was I don’t think it was done with like a big PE spin but I think it was a brilliant PR move because it’s about the classiest way you could leave a situation and I’m sure this is not on Sheldon’s mind today obviously but I actually think it creates a circumstance where he could one day be brought back in the future whether it’s 10 or 15 years down the road like it’s he he left the bridge was not burned on either side at the end at the end of that relationship and he’s still a very young coach and you know I bet his best days are still ahead that’s that’s a pretty safe thing to be predicting uh Circle back to this episode in about 5 to seven years when the rumors of Sheldon Keefe should he return to the Toronto Maple Leafs uh circle the wagons I mean the Paul Maurice went back to Carolina cedo Gaston came back to the Blue Jays Lindy Ruff has just been hired back in Buffalo you know not those aren’t perfect parallels but you know if Sheldon goes on and wins a cup or cups elsewhere and he’s a distinguished coach and one of the best in the games and the Leafs are still trying to get it right in 10 or 15 years we just not surpris me at all if you started to see that those kind of rumors go around I mean that’s what’s old is new again that’s how it is I’ve seen Michelle tyon and cl Julian coached the Canadians twice it’s entirely possible exactly twice I still can’t believe that happened jesz I just feel like because it’s such a classy way to go out too and like he even today it was so well spoken at his introductory press conference I mean he seems like a new man again because he can know he can have a coffee with niiko heier here in the next few weeks and no one is going to bother him they’re just going to they’re just going to go do their job and and get working on trying to bring the cup to Jersey yeah wherever I’m trying to think what’s like what’s the I mean then again whenever we travel I imagine for you it’s you’re not trying to have dinner in New Jersey you’d much rather have it in Midtown if you have to ever be at a devil’s game but there’s some good restaurants in Jersey man oh okay so I don’t know I tried not to hang out too long in Jersey during the time near the rank I went to the Dinosaur Barbecue Fair bit over the years they have a Dinosaur Barbecue in Jersey just down the street from the arena man oh come on I would have gone you’re all being snobby like I ran into New York City and you ran I just trying I was just trying to right past the Dinosaur Barbecue Dinosaur Barbecue is manhatt Dinosaur Barbecue in Syracuse is Elite I would have G some there’s also some like old school kind of restaurants that I’ve been to over in New York that are like really good okay well uh don’t sleep on New Jersey I will I will never sleep on New Jersey ever again let’s let’s keep talking about coaches and Dan BMA speaking of what’s old is new again even though it’s in a completely different City from Pittsburgh uh Dan BMA is back coaching in the NHL uh with the Seattle Kraken uh what do you think of that hiring well it’s interesting right because on one hand you might View and go like oh just another recycled coach but there’s nothing recycled about this I mean sure d has had two previous stints as an NHL head coach but he did something pretty unusual he went back to the American Hockey League and in the first year he went there he was an assistant coach in Charlotte uh was then for the last season in this year the head coach of the new Coachella Valley team that the farm team of the Kraken had all kinds of success got the game seven uh of the CER Cup Final last year and and he’s actually between getting unveiled as the new coach in Seattle he’s going to race right back down to Coachella Valley where he’s you know starting the Western Conference finals later this week with the Firebirds and so you know I think it’s it says something interesting about Dan bosma that that after having the success he’s had prior in his career that he was willing to do that and and I wonder if he doesn’t come back for it a different coach I mean it again not perfect parallels but you know Mike Sullivan is someone who’s who’s kind of who did had a similar path earlier in his career you know had a stint back in the HL uh before he had this this run with Pittsburgh that’s made him so successful I mean Bruce Cassidy uh had a long wait from when he was a coach in Washington uh coached the American Hockey League with Providence and came up with Boston and he’s since won a Stanley Cup and so you know I think it’s kind of a an interesting set of decisions by bman he told the reporters in Seattle today that you know it kind of rejuvenated him as a coach from where he was at and so you know it’s it’s an interesting hire and another thing you know Dan BMA hired Jessica Campbell yes to be his assistant coach in Coachella Valley and he mentioned today I mean certainly nothing’s done as of this point but that he that she would be under consideration uh to to join his staff in in Seattle and and she was the first sort of full-time assistant coach in the AHL like on the bench running the power play for the Firebirds if she was elevated to the NHL alongside him she would be the first in the NHL level to do that as a you know full-time female assistant coach you know there’s video coordinator in Washington Emily nangeli uh but you know it’s it’s interesting like he he he you know that’s an organization that’s had clearly they’ve wanted to establish themselves in a different way made different kinds of hires really made you know diversity in every possible aspect of organization a priority and so I I think he fits in nicely obviously he’s been part of the culture of the team because he’s been in the AHL uh you know with the the organization but you know brings maybe a an openness to do things differently than than know some of others around the league so you know I think that that team is going to be interesting to watch this year didn’t go well in Seattle at all that the scoring just totally disappeared they had kind of a bit of a Cinderella run into the second round last year knocked off producer nicks’s Avalanche in in the first round producer Drew producer Drew’s a oh producer Drews man now I’m I’m sorry Nick I don’t mean to label you producer Drew producer Nicks team did go to the second round that year too we know what happened after that though well you know but yeah I think I think bowma is there’s a little bit more than on the surface if you just read the headline there I think is kind of what I’m getting at that I think he’s an interesting hire because of what he’s done since he last was in the NHL uh he’s taking over an organization now that you know their their expectations are going up internally and you know I’ll be very curious to see if if chess Campbell ends up on his bench too uh producer nick uh for the first time in the history of the show decided to use the chat feature don’t be sorry I would rather be an ABS fan less heartbreak you might as well just do that for yourself buddy why not anyway you can’t just change like that that’s that’s not how fandom works I mean I think if you’ve suffered a Duff and you commit to going on another team I don’t see the issue as long as you’re not bandwagoning it purposely just going on a really good team I’ll say this I have no personal issue I just think people have a difficult time doing it like your heart kind of is where your heart is you know what Nick says he’s a gold fan next year okay well clearly he took the second part of what I was saying he did not take that to heart but I also understand where you’re coming from too like you grow up cheering for a team you see the misery you endure the misery you want to distance yourself from it but you just can’t leave it’s a terrible relationship to be in but for whatever California man it’s Hotel California you can check out but you can never never leave you’re absolutely right um I mean that’s me with the blue JS right now like I don’t even want to go in on them but I am so close I am so frustrated I’m so apathetic oh man I oh man oh I’m sorry dog sucks this Dam sucks I know the only like I’m actually I’m at the stage where I’ve convinced myself it’s a good thing cuz I assume everyone is going to get fired I mean that’s what has to happen at this point right like there’s been there’s no confidence in Mar shap pyro and atkids why was there ever there was never they they suck like bring back Alex anthopoulos right the wrong he ain’t coming back bro he might come back you think he comes back get that big Rogers money on the table some point down the road like why not I mean I guess but like we just went on we just went on about how so many times players or coaches or Executives can come back to a place I guess I don’t know I I’d be I’d be surprised about it I think he’s doing all right for himself uh in Atlanta I I think he’s fine there but that would be very interesting if they decide he started in the mail room with the Jays like literally he did yeah he came up but boy did his thing an intern but I’m just saying like you can’t tell me that if they didn’t go to him and be like we were wrong here is so much money you’re going to need like help counting it and we need you to save this and get it right like I have a hard time believing he like I don’t know his contractual status I should I’m just a fan man I’m not this is this is no Insider reporting but like if he gets to a point where he might be a free agent you can’t tell me there’s no world he wouldn’t come back he’s loved here he people loved him here and they and the J still said screw it man you’re done like they should never let that they’re going to look to the to the Cleveland organization because they’ve got it right so many times they they’re gonna they’re gonna solve this mess oh man tell us tell us how how you really feel s but anyway I can’t do that I I can’t say this and then go become a Yankees fan like it’s just it’s not happening ever I will just suffer through this summer it’s going to be brutal I mean you could but you could become like no not really a Mariners fan no no there’s nowhere there’s nowhere for me to go that’s why I can’t wait till uh the Expos come back and then I can hop right back on that bandwagon yeah years Fair that’s fair all right haven’t seen you for a week and we’re already just like all over the place I love it okay let’s let’s get out of our feelings with our baseball teams and talk about Don woodell joining the Columbus Blue Jackets can I just say something real quick here because in our group chat you know we talk about a lot of different stuff you when you first brought up the possibility that Don woodell would be joining the Blue Jackets I was like why like really huh and then all of a sudden the wheels start turning in motion and then one thing leads to another and another report another report I kept thinking of you the entire time because I was like how but also still why can you make sense of why Don woodell would jump ship from Carolina to Columbus also it’s hilarious that we wondered about Rod brind More’s future when the whole time we should have been wondering about Don woodell well I mean there’s there’s a lot there I mean he he worked lot Carolina for a long time I think it was just time for a new challenge a new set of circumstances money talks too although I I don’t want to I don’t want to introduce that as like a main thing but you know there’s there’s an opportunity you know he’s he’s like any free agent he was coming up on the end of his deal and there was outside interests and you know that’s usually a good thing right I mean if you’re if you’re Sam rein height right now on 57 goal season and Florida isn’t paying you what you want even as much as you love playing there it’s pretty nice that on July 1st every single other team in the league can pick up the phone and sign you to any amount of dollars as long as it’s not more than 20% of the cap on a seven-year deal so you know that’s partly what happened and and look Don woodell has a very unique set of circumstances I think a lot of people focus on what he can’t do or they focus on the fact that obviously he’s had a really strong front office you know in Carolina with Eric tski and Darren York and some others Aaron Schwarz there you know helping make decisions under him just as every general manager has people they lean on but he also has a very strong business background he started as the president of the business side of the Hurricanes before he got added the GMS title and so I think he brings a unique set of skills to the Blue Jackets um because he can you know help them on the business side of the operation you obviously has the top hockey Title Here with John Davidson transitioning into sort of an advisory role and you know he’s he may or may not end up hiring someone else he’s also got people like Rick Nash uh who’s just fresh off being the GM at Canada’s team of the world championship but he’s he’s been in the Columbus front office Josh Flynn has been there for a long time who does a lot of their cap related and legal work you know I I think that when I think of Don woodell I think of someone who’s very comfortable working in a collaborative environment which is a positive thing so why why now well his contract was up I think he was ready for something new he had a intriguing and compelling opportunity and you know he’s getting pretty nice set of titles and one would assume a commiserate uh pay raise on what he was earning and so he went for it and and I actually think it’s a smart move um you know we we’ll see they’re still going to have to sort of figure out how that front office works and I think that that work has really not yet even begun like I I don’t think that there’s been discussions there but you know this is a a pretty unique person just given you know even his experience way back in Atlanta he was a general manager there for a long time he’s got a different set of skills than some and and I think he he’s a collaborative worker and and you know that organization has been down and out for a long time but you know they do have prospects and picks and and now they’re going to have a kind of a fresh fresh look on what needs to happen next to to pull them up I wonder what that next step for Don woodell is now that he’s in charge in Columbus like what’s he thinking about with this roster does Pascal Von stay on as head coach like I I I wonder what he’s thinking next well you know I think that certainly Vincent is Vince is in the crosshairs to some degrees you know tough situation remember he was made the head coach when Mike Babcock parted ways with the organization like a day or two before training camp was first head coaching job on a you know roster that was not well put together and you know it didn’t didn’t go well this year I think it’s fair to say you know he tried to you know take a tough stance with some people but the other part of this is typically general managers don’t like to come in and fire the coach right away I mean usually they want to see a year uh for one it’s just it’s one of the bullets you can have in the chamber uh it’s it’s one of the things you know the levers you can pull if things aren’t going well and secondly you don’t you don’t know the head coach yourself in this case and and so you know why not give that person who’s already under contract a chance to you know maybe pleasantly surprise you if if it doesn’t go well and it’s another Bad season and the the dynamic isn’t right uh then you can make a move next summer I mean you’re also kind of at a disadvantage right now where basically every team in the league has found found their their person uh for the head coaching job it’s only San Jose at this point in time that has yet to fill the head coaching role and so so you know unless Don woodell has someone specifically in mind maybe someone he’s worked with in the past I mean I I don’t know if it makes the most sense to to fire the coach you as for the roster you know Patrick l i mean he he’s been in the NHL NHL pa player assistance program you know where do things go with him I think that that is a big decision um you know if he’s at a point where you know he can come out of that to to enter next season and and be back as a player but there’s a lot of I mean they’ve got a lot of cap space they’ve got a lot of young players I mean Kent Johnson is a prospect that I know teams have shown interest in in the past you stay patient there do you move them I mean there’s there’s a lot you can do I mean it’s a fresh set of eyes on all these these things and really you know I think they’re going to want to turn themselves into what Carolina just was an organization that is perpetually winning that has a chance every year that that excites the local community me the Hurricanes were down and out for a time but now it’s one of the great places to go watch a game I know they haven’t got over the hump I know they have big question marks themselves this offseason um but you know I think what L is shown that he can be part of a front office that does that makes that kind of transformation and so that’s why I do feel it’s it’s a sort of sneaky Savvy hiring here by by the Blue Jackets uh have you heard anything about the vacancy in San Jose I know Marco Sturm uh former San Jose shark in his playing days uh has been listed as a possibility for that job yeah I think that he seems to be the front runner um but that being said I I don’t get the feeling San Jose is in in a huge hurry or on a timeline where they feel they have to wrap something up you know Sturm has said he wants a chance um you know former player in the organization uh a German citizen of which you know the owner Hassel platner is and and you know I don’t know of specific connections between them but it’s not unreasonable to assume there might be some uh and just an upand cominging coach you know who’s who spent time both as an assistant in the NHL and the American Hockey League as a head coach and so you know I think that he seems the most likely but they’re they’re taking their time there in San Jose and and you know they’re looking for a different coach maybe than some others might I mean you’re in this case you’re you’re perhaps doesn’t necessarily have to be a first-time head coach but maybe you’re comfortable bringing in a coach that can grow with the group because you know it’s going to be another pretty young team there I would say moving forward and and you know you’re you’re building up you’re not they’re not setting the bar at make the playoffs next season and that’s it’s kind of what I was referencing with the the key thing right I I’m not sure that that’s the kind of scenario someone like Sheldon Keef would be as interested in as versus being in the fire with a team that’s expected to win you know two out of every three games um you know so I think that they can consider different candidates and maybe not be as rushed as other places because they’re they’re looking uh to to have someone grow with their team uh staying with San Jose Will Smith their fourth overall pick from the 23 draft uh he will uh he signed uh with the team as entry-level deal and now people are wondering uh when it comes time for them to draft mcklin celini does he do the same thing or does he stay in college for at least one other season how do you see that situation going well I don’t know that one necessarily completely affects the other like I think ultimately celebrini is has to do what he and his family think is best for for him and and you know it’s pretty unusual to have a first overall pick not jump straight to the NHL um it’s happened over the years but not not too many times not a whole lot um but you know there’s there’s much worse things than going back to college in in Boston for one more year and just you know spending time around your friends being in the the student athlete environment you know the NCAA has become such a great producer of NHL Talent over the last number of Seasons I mean it it it happened 30 years ago but it’s it’s happening I mean you’re seeing more and more players step right out of college and be Stars I mean kale Mar is is one recent example you know walked right out and and he’s like a point a game defenseman like immediately steps into the league and so you know I think that that development path will will really still be in the celebrini family’s hands you know and talking with the sharks but you know at at the very least he he would have someone basically his own age going through the same things together I mean that was beneficial for example I think of the young leafs when when basically Neil Ander Marner and Matthews were all rookies at the same time along with Zach and Conor Brown I mean they they had a lot of players on that team that were kind of growing up together and so you know I think we’ll just have to see how everything plays out here over the next few weeks after the draft and and where things land but um you know obviously the sharks are excited to get Will Smith signed and you know start I mean they they they’ve they’ve started the rebuilding process but they haven’t introduced that many prospects into the lineup I mean this is this is the next phase right where you actually it’s not just the promise it’s like okay what’s the player doing and watching them grow and you know bringing some excitement to the fan base that I’m sure they’re they’re feeling after that news is Brian barard the last number one overall pick to not start in the NHL right away I was afraid you were going to ask this because I started say you said 30 years ago so I immediately just went to Google I I there must have been one since no well Brian barard like was drafted by the Senators and then it looked as if he thought he was going to play in the NHL and then ends up going to Junior and then gets traded to the Islanders uh I don’t know who Jo is Joe thoron a Poss I know he had a bit of no no he just had a really tough rookie year but he as an 18 played for the Bruins um it might be him unless there’s someone else I’m I’m sure there are people listening to this episode who are someone is yelling they know the answer I mean I mean technically oetkin because well there was a lock out that doesn’t really count right but it well it sort of satisfies a criteria it wasn’t a decision but he’s he’s the first player the last player you can say for with certainty what about Patrick stefen did he go right right to Atlanta I think in 99 he was drafted first so 99 he’s drafted yeah he he played his first season he played the 99 2000 season with the Atlanta Thrashers yes remember there were some questions about slavoski I mean he end there absolutely were there AB playing with the Canadians unfortunately getting injured missing a chunk of that first season but like there was questions about whether it was best for him or what he would do I wondered if he was getting AHL games uh after he was drafted that ultimately didn’t come to fruition right anyway it’s unusual but you know the the sharks are in an unusually bad situation too like that team was flat out horrible last year and garbage so you know you’re not like I I you know I’m just trying to think of like the right way to say it but you you have that that’s part of the calculation like you’re not winning anything like maybe he wants to go back to college I I don’t I don’t know what he’s thinking so I don’t want to say too much more but it’s uh I don’t think one guarantees the other joins him there okay uh and also I’m sure uh if Brian barard is not the guy I guess you could just tweet it as who the last number one overall pick uh lockouts excluded uh to not start in the NHL right away La start in the NHL right away he just had a pandemic kind of derail it right I’m literally we’re literally think something obvious is probably staring Us in the face and we’re just God oh well he sure jumped straight in I believe he did I can’t see any reason why he wouldn’t have we’re okay we’re gonna this is going to bother us we’re going to try to figure out a way to to to figure this out but I I think Brian barard is the last guy anyway uh it’s time to get to questions ask CJ uh thank you to everyone for who uh sent in questions on Discord and on Twitter let’s start with this first one from from our uh friend of the show marada Tes who covers the Winnipeg Jets for the athletic is CJ the sort of fellow that books his next haircut well in advance with regularity he seems like he might be that organized I I’m glad that I’ve somehow projected that to Murat but I am not that person I I am very much booked three to four days out like on let’s say a weekend I’m like oh I got time this week and look for a time with my guy safe and that’s it so I I am I am not that organized I book dentist appointments you know 4 months out 6 months out Whatever frequency but beyond that I’m not I I do fly by the seat of my pants if I’m being honest with a lot of sort of that kind of thing I mean we got busy jobs as most people do untraditional lives a lot of weekend work night work so I just squeeze all the stuff in where it fits when uh when time gives uh from Gavin Jen uh I’m sorry if I’m not saying the name so I’ll say you’re at gav 23 how is the hand CJ you remember when your hand got busted yeah it’s still there just showing the hand off can you remind everyone scar off yeah exactly I had you everyone what happened I had hand surgery in January 2023 so a little more than a year and not quite a year and a half ago uh I have full range of motion with it good I I wasn’t able to play golf really last summer not that I’m a huge golfer but I you know I do try to get out for for some rounds but because of the impact on my palm was still healing but it’s funny I started thinking yesterday I’m like I think I can actually play golf as much as my heart desires this summer because everything feels a lot better so um happy to report no troubles there run streak still intact everything’s still good man just uh keeping this old body moving absolutely uh from Matthew off Discord hi CJ who do you see replacing Manny multra as Leaf’s assistant coach multra just taking the job as the Canucks AHL Affiliates head coach not sure you know I don’t think Craig brub knows you know they also have Dean chenow was on an expiring deal in Toronto you know some questions about whether gibus would be back you know another assistant on the staff and so it might not just be replacing one assistant you might potentially see two or even three assistants uh be replaced and you know there’s a number of experienced assistant coaches around the league that are still looking for work and you I don’t don’t know who’s going to end up in Toronto just yet but um you know that’s not so abnormal I mean usually as we get to June the head coaching situations get settled and then a lot of the assistants you know kind of get done after the fact because you know when new head coaches come in sometimes they keep coaches others get let go I mean Brad laow was just let go in Winnipeg this week when when Scott arneal took over for example so you know there’s not a full picture yet of of who’s available on the assistant coaching front but uh I’ll let you know when when I know um from Luke Hawkin question for CJ Buffalo and Ottawa have both not lived up to the expectations so far with their young core is it time for them to make a change to their respective core groups this could also be a good segue into some of the discussions that have kind of surfaced out there around Brady kachuck and his future yeah I mean those discussions you know I think Jeremy Rutherford our colleague at the athletic got radioed a little bit like I don’t think he was saying he was available but I’m not sure how this all happened that all of a sudden everyone time Brady kaju getting traded because that just is not happening I mean as I mentioned earlier in the show Senators had their brass over in in CIA you know meeting with him um and not meeting with him to talk about trade destination so just don’t don’t do that I think you know because he’s a foundational pillar of their organization and you know it was a right thing to do and so you know I do think both teams B Buffalo and Ottawa will be open to thinking about some bigger trades I mean you know the Sabres have already traded Casey midad away in in a deal that got them Bo byon remember and so you know that middle stat was a corish piece maybe not core core but but you know pretty still a young Center in the league and that that was a big deal but I think it shows where management heads at I don’t think Kevin Adams or Steve stos to the GMS with the Sabres and Senators respectively feel like they can just oh this is all just going to figure itself out I think that they’re going to be pretty actively looking to upgrade on their rosters and you know we’ll see where things will go because both teams have a ton of good players even some great players like it it hasn’t all come together just yet but I mean I I just I have trouble imagining those teams getting worse I think that I think they’re both headed in the right direction but there’s a lot of pressure in both situations to to take a big step and I’m talking next season not two years from now uh you know what I realized just as we were talking about Brady kachuck we teased the fact that we were going to talk about or at least bring up Martin hes I do not think we got to talk about him uh through the Ro like you you submitted and asked CJ question and it just got included in the segment of the show okay um uh schann Kenzie asks um what’s going on with Mary Dees well I’ll tell you because I was around him in in Prague there a little bit they were speaking openly there about sort of dissatisfaction with the way he was used by the Hurricanes some feeling that you know it’s time for a fresh start and you this is going to be a tough trade to make I mean certainly the hurricanes are are exploring moving him you know he’s he’s a restricted fre age and he needs a new contract you know he’s he’s in line for a pretty big raise would not surprise me to see him making seven eight million on the next deal depending on the length and and how it looks and you know the Hurricanes don’t just want to trade him for a draft pick or a series of draft picks they want to get a player back and so you almost need something like the middle stat bym deal to to materialize in which there’s another team maybe with a player the Hurricanes like in a similar age ban maybe in a similar situation where they needed a new contract for things to work and so you know whether that’s heroic maybe in Vancouver have seen that throwing around as a possibility you know th I think those kinds of conversations are going to get going now you know the Hurricanes now are in a search for new GM But Eric tulsk is running the show on an intern basis there right now and and you know I I think absolutely the player is ready for for a fresh start the organization’s willing to give it to him but they’re not going to just toss him away for nothing and and clearly he’s a player as value I mean he had four points in the in the semi-final game against Sweden he was the most dominant player on the ice in that game as an example and that was a game that that featured Hedman and Carlson on the other side and obviously pack and zaka um you know and some others plot on on on the check side so you know it’s uh it’s it’s a spicy meatball cuz he’s a good player and I think it’s fair to say his best years are probably ahead as well but it’s not necessarily going to be an easy trade and so that’s that’s kind of where it’s at but it it I will say it was it was not even I wouldn’t even call it an was like an Open Secret that he was displeased with the way things went this season with the hurricanes and it’s been a lot of years there and maybe he hasn’t taken the step you know chicken and egg he hasn’t taken the step quite the the organization’s been looking for he feels he wasn’t put in the best role to do so and so a fresh start could be in the offing but uh it’s not going to be it’s not going to be a simple trade uh because they’re they’re not just dumping the player Vancouver I wonder if Calgary would be interested because that seems like the type of player that they want young Talent they want especially a good young forward Talent on their team uh he would make sense as a potential trade Target I know someone uh had I did like a little AMA before I went on vacation and someone mentioned that idea I wasn’t sure about the framework they suggested but in terms of him as an actual trade targ for that organization it does make some sense I’m also trying to think of other teams that might make sense as a potential landing spot for NES there’s not that many teams that wouldn’t make sense I mean you’re right obviously I guess the teams at the very bottom of the standings that that aren’t looking for a 25y old forward necessarily they want 18 and 20-y old forwards but like I mean he’s he’s moving into Prime of career has all the tools it hasn’t worked in Carolina for whatever reason but I think lots of teams could look at the skill set package there and be like we can bring it out of him it’s just finding that fit on the trade front and you know Heron is the best one like example where obviously you know he’s on an expiring deal had a great year in Vancouver I know it didn’t end maybe as well as he would have liked but certainly put up strong numbers right shot defenseman needs a new contract probably can’t get the contract from the the Canuck he feels he’s worth I mean maybe maybe that you know just happened to be countrymen but you know maybe there’s a a fit that way but there must be other examples I I honestly haven’t spent too much time on the what the specific trades would be but but I do know the hurricanes are of a mind that they need to get a player back not not just a Futures package for NES for sure uh from Harry uh with Lou Lamar making that trade with Chicago with all those draft picks do you think he’s got another trade lined up no I think that was quite literally what it looked like I think that was Chicago sacrificing you know they got a lot of picks to move up in two in both the first round and the second round uh I know there’s all those sort of pick valuation charts that you know some of them said like why would they do that they gave up too much you know I think it’s reasonable to think Chicago might have their own chart like to however they measure these things and they might have felt that was worthwhile um and so I don’t know that it’s I mean the only weird part about that trade was the timing I mean that’s that’s a completely normal type of trade you see at the draft itself usually you just don’t see it made a month ahead of time but uh I I I don’t not not wearing my tinf foil hat on that one I I don’t think it’s a sign of another deal that’s in the works I think Chicago wanted to move up in the draft they found someone that was willing to do it and and from The Islander standpoint they’re thinking like okay we move back a couple spots but we also add another second round pick so why you know I just think it was two teams that that found something that met their needs okay uh one last one for you here at least two different people ask the same variation of this question so we’ll we’ll just we’ll just throw this one out here uh start bench cut uh CJ show host Edition Julian Jesse and Steve start bench cut yes be honest juli Julian you got to be the starter like we’ve done 200 plus episodes together I that’d be pretty uh it’d be pretty cold of me to put you any worried about that for days brother thank God Jesse’s on the bench and Steve unfortunately has been placed on waivers damn just because your name’s on the network doesn’t mean you start buddy damn I mean in Steve’s defense he’s not normally in the host chair no right whereas I know Jesse like he’s the Jack of all trades like he’s he hosts some shows he he can he can like I feel like he’s ambidextrous in terms of he can be on either side of the the equation I appreciate Steve stepping in I had fun with him but but he’s he’s more of the personality than than the than setting up the questions I guess I mean your personality too though I don’t I don’t know I just feel like Steve hasn’t as much practice at it you’ve you’ve had a lot more practice at it so you’re you’re in the starting five here bud um question though that the episode you did with Steve where were you recording from why are you in this like dark dimly lit room with like can you take us through that setup because that looked really creepy funny some people said that some people said they thought that was my their favorite ever setup they’ve seen that I’ve had on the show so I mean serous it probably looked like I was in like a smoking room or something but yeah Steve called a Shisha Lounge at that point I was still in Prague and I had a very very small hotel room there and so there was like no good shot in the hotel room like I would literally almost have to be sitting on the bed to do it and so there was a there was like kind of a room like a loungy room in the basement and that’s where I did it from uh where just had like coffee and water out during the day and I just found a a the quietest corner I could in that little room and set up down there because I didn’t I didn’t have anywhere else in a pinch to do it I guess I could have went to the arena I’ve done lots of sort of Arena backdrops but um anyway yeah so that I just was I didn’t have a lot of choice I was in Prague and that that room was available in my hotel and so that’s how that came to be it reminded me of the setup you had when you were away for the global series and we had to record with you like in the middle of the night my time time and your voice was really low it was very smooth it was very reminiscent of that setup I don’t know if you were serting him the whole time or what but Steve must have got a kick sometimes I mean look at sometimes we we got our home setups going today like this is all good but sometimes we got to improvise right so whatever whatever it takes for the 100 percenters my friend we appreciate the 100 perers uh I appreciate Steve and Jesse for holding down the fort while I was away and I appreciate you as always Siege I’m I’m I appreciate you too brother I’m glad you had a good trip I presume it was good didn’t want to jump in there but you’re looking relaxed you’re back and uh let’s uh let’s do this we’re in the run up to the Cup Final here yeah uh we’ll be back on Thursday with a brand new episode running up to the Cup Final as CJ just said uh we’ll have stick Tops on Thursday and uh subscribe to the podcast however you listen to the show whether on Amazon Spotify Google podcasts we’re there and on YouTube of course subscribe to the sdpn YouTube channel re workers always sieg we back on peace the Chris Johnston show inside the game twice a week Follow Chris on Twitter reporter Chris and follow Junior Mackenzie JK McKenzie the Chris Johnston show