Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Speaker A: Booyah. And it's time for the Game sports podcast is your host David McCaig Jr. The game is powered by 91 Network YouTube channel. Head on over to it, just give it a search wherever you are tuning into and also we are featured on spaces as to Village Media and Sue today as I mentioned, David McCaig here with the game. I am joined right off the hop getting into our strike zone portion of the show by the one, the only, the legend, the rookie of the year. If you know, you know Connor Henderson, my friend. How are you?
[00:00:35] Speaker B: I'm doing great, Dave. We have some great baseball news to get to today and we're going to do it short and sweet. I love it. Let's get right to it.
[00:00:41] Speaker A: Love it. The new format starting to to percolate a little bit as September rolls around where we're going to have a full kind of new format as we get used to everything But Hendo, look, you and I talked a little off air about local baseball and I got to give a quick shout out to that Sault Ste. Marie local baseball look if you have a men's league where you' hopefully it's a competitive league and it's fun. Fast pitch I'm talking about not the slow pitch. Our league has grown to six teams this year and for fast pitch and Sault Ste Marie that's very good. Three competitive teams that have generational type black sock players which are rep players whatever way you want to look at it and you got three teams that are mixed and the Panda Dynasty. I don't know if the dynasty is going to be continuing after some of these teams that have won on but optimism and the season has started so we hope if you're playing baseball you're having a good time. Hendo, I wish you were on the field but I will say one brag. I got. We got one hit last team, last game, our team and it was me that went one for two. And who was it against?
[00:01:33] Speaker B: Our dear friend Jordan Trudeau.
[00:01:35] Speaker A: Yeah, nice hit off Trudes. It was a nice hit. Thank you Trudes for the nice pitch. I don't know if you meant to do that or not, but it was a nice, nice pitch. Now enough about the Pandas. We'll save that for another time when we have time. Hendo, I'm going to pass it on to you about something that we waited to talk about until this very week. Pete Rose, Shoeless Jackson. All you man.
[00:01:54] Speaker B: Yeah, Dave. So Rob Manfred, commissioner of MLB recently announced that upon death players will be re eligible if they were permanently banned from consideration for the hall of Fame. Now, you've been on record on this show numerous times over years and years saying that Pete Rose should already be allowed in. And it would be a disgrace for them to only let him in after his death. As we know he recently died. And sure enough, I don't even think it's been a year. They say that he's now eligible. It is insane. Shoeless Joe as well up for consideration. But Dave, first your thoughts on Pete Rose and then I've got a little bit on Shoeless Joe.
[00:02:29] Speaker A: I'm going to give you Shoeless Joe a lot. I'm going to. I'm only going to focus on Pete Rose. Look, the. The statistics are there and there's been a lot of worse in the world of baseball, in the world of sports, when it comes to violations in part of your game or extracurricular activities, whatever way you want to look at it, okay? In the way of the game. And they've punished players rightfully in terms of steroid abuse and so on. But at the same time, I even have some question about that because look at the era and it wasn't enforced. If something wasn't to enforce, it's not to the fault of the player. But we're not getting into Barry Bonds and so on. Pete Rose should have been in the hall of Fame a long time ago when he was alive, to be able to enjoy that piece of his legacy because no one's ever touching that hit record. No one is ever going to touch what he did. No one's going to be as effective as a hitter as he was. He deserved to be there because of his scandals off the field. That were nothing that I feel. Not that there were nothing, okay? But they were. I believe they were forgivable actions is maybe the appropriate word. Correct me if I'm wrong, Connor. I think those are the appropriate terms. He deserved to be in the hall of Fame and be able to enjoy it while he was alive. And he didn't have that night, like you said, said it on record that it would be awful to put him in this quick after he died. If it was five years or something. Okay, maybe I can swallow that, but not even a year. Go back on Tick tock. Look, you got your phone. Go to the game sports podcast. Scroll down. It's there. I looked at it today. It says Pete Rose right on the thing. If you go to the profile, it is there and let us know what you feel about that. But Pete Rose should have been there a Long time ago. And of course he passes. And now commissioner decides to step in and say this comment not I like that he's going to be in there more than likely. Great. But I wish he would have been able to enjoy it while he was.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: Alive, especially in a day and age where sports gambling is so prevalent. We've got guys like Jameson Williams getting burned in the NFL, but you know, some can say rightfully so.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: Every podcast talks about sports betting. Like, like I, I'm probably the only one that doesn't have sports betting on here.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: It's an entertainment business and gambling for many people makes it more entertaining. Let's get with the times here, people. Pete Rose is going to get in. He's the all time hit leader in, in the history of the mlb. For those who need to know, Shoeless Joe Jackson quickly before we move on. You know, historically was on the Black Sox scandal, 1918 White Sox team. For those who don't know, there was this White Sox team in the World Series who threw the World Series. There was a conspiracy. I won't get into all the details, but essentially they threw the World Series and I think about eight players got banned from the MLB for life. One of which Shoeless Joe Jackson, who many say wasn't intricately involved in the scandal itself.
And he historically, these guys had comical numbers. He had a career batting average of.356 at the time he was banned at age 32 in the World Series. I think he batted about.375. And there is some discrepancy between the clean games and the games they threw. But suffice to say there's a strong argument out there that he was not intricately involved in them throwing the game. Thus the White Sox were, were named the, the Black Sox or dubbed the Black Sox. And that's why in Sault Ste. Marie, the logo for a rep team is the White Sox logo, but they're called the Black Sox. It's a cheeky play on this scandal. And Shoeless Joe being named Shoeless Joe because of having blisters on his cleats back then. And somebody saw him go out into the field without shoes on and said, hey, you son of a gun, Shoeless. Like it was, it was the 19 people talked like that, I guess, apparently. But cool story.
He's got a chance to get in there. And if you've ever seen the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams, they get into a little bit of history about Shoeless Joe or the legend around Shoeless Joe, he's got a chance to make it into the hall of Fame now.
[00:06:15] Speaker A: Yeah and I I both deserve but Pierrot should have been there while he was alive. That makes me my blood boil that and I I can't but good autumn from getting in but I wish he would have been able to enjoy what was his he had I don't have his I don't have his statement up or anything like that but he sent a letter in I believe it was like a year before he died or it was like very much prior before he died he had a statement or he had a letter or something that he had sent out I think Connor, I don't know if it was you that was telling me about that when we talked about it that episode but he had something set up where he was saying that he wished maybe it was before he died. I don't know. It could be it's around that realm a year before he died, close to when he died or right before he died but he wanted to be forgiven for what he did but also have the chance to be in the hall of Fame. So I think that's something worth while to Google. I'm not trying to create rumors but you know, too bad he passed away with the sadness of not having that opportunity to ate away until he passed away. Just saying. Not making anyone feel guilty but it's true. Couple points I want to get to I know you were at tyre school's game and you watched that complete game. The Tigers looking real good. I'm going to give you that. Then I got two quick topics before we wrap up. Strike zone 10 minutes comes and goes, my friend.
[00:07:20] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:07:20] Speaker B: We are in an era where pitchers do not go full games, especially in the regular season when it doesn't matter. You could make the argument that it also doesn't happen in the playoffs because you know, everybody's got these super relievers now that they'll that they'll roll in after one time through the batting order. Tarek Skubal 9 innings, 13 Ks a master class. Less than 100 pitches. It's very rare nowadays.
And of course he won the Cy Young last year, but he's looking even better this year. It's very rare nowadays for pitchers to not only be given the leash to go deep in a game, but also be able to rack up that many strikeouts while keeping their pitch count that low. Usually if you keep your pitch count down, it's because people are getting out early in counts by, you know, soft ground balls, weak pop flies. But for him to be able to pound the strike Zone to the point where he's getting 13 strikeouts in a game and still keep his pitch count under 100. The place was electric. Comerica park was rocking on a Sunday afternoon and it was so cool. Dave, you would have loved to see it. Tarik Skubal was an absolute force. And when he, he ran out onto the mound, the energy in the building, the crowd started cheering, and he ended the game with a 103 mile per hour fastball, striking out the final batter, which broke the record previously held by Justin Verlander for hardest strikeout, her hardest fastball thrown by a starting pitcher in the ninth inning of a ball game.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: So I like that.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: Love stats with legendary company. Suffice to say, the fact that he had that much juice in the tank that late in the game not only speaks to his stuff, but his endurance. And he's in hall of Fame company. When you're talking about guys like Justin Verlander and Detroit legends as well.
[00:09:03] Speaker A: You know what? Tigers looking real good. Obviously there's some teams that aren't looking as good out of the gate. The Red Sox being one. The Jays are very inconsistent. The AL is. The AL east there is looking a little bit inconsistent. The Ray Yankees having some success despite amid the injuries that they have. So there's a lot of openness in the league this year, but there's some teams that are looking real strong and the Tigers are certainly a part of that. One point that I want to mention before I get into our last topic. Ramon Anthony, I got a message for the Red Sox. Call up this guy. I know it's a hot topic, okay? Like there's a lot of different leagues now with management being involved. And I dove into this topic a little bit. The Red Sox, look, you're playing like garbage. You need a pickup. And there's a young guy in your system looking absolutely like a student right now. Call up that guy. Get some motivation. He has confidence out the wazoo right now. He's the guy you got to call up. And he's looking real good. Looking real good. I gotta say that there's a lot of impatient Red Sox fans and they're a lot like, I'm gonna say it. Trauma leaf fans where they don't like not being successful. Okay? So get Ramon Anthony up. Last topic that I'm gonna bring up, Paul Skonner. Okay. I want to know if you think Paul Skeens. I know they say he's not going to get traded. General manager, I'm reading this quote from Ben Sherrington has Firmly stated that he is going to be the reigning NL Rookie of the Year. May I add you is not available for trade. Duh, you hope so. But do you think he's telling the truth? Do you think he'll be the one? Do you think Paul Skin will be traded within the next calendar year?
[00:10:31] Speaker B: Seen these rumors? My answer is no. This GM does not have the guts and nor should he to let go Paul Skenes. It's the one bright spot that abysmal franchise has going for them. All due respect to their pitching staff as a whole, they've been pretty decent this year. But Paul Skeens is their shining star and he just got up to the MLB last year.
Ride it out. Build around him. You're never going to get a player better than him in their lineup. And it would be really hard pressed to find a team who could afford a talent like that who's so young, cost controlled and and has got the.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: Juice 100% won't be traded. And with the publicity you can get with him being as good as he is, but also, dare I say his other half has some pretty darn good followers. Okay, that helps the Pirate fan base, okay? Help expose that organization. Give it a little bit of credit. When Livy Dunn I said her name on the show. I can't believe I said her name but wearing the Pirates hats at games, tick tocking or whatever she's doing.
[00:11:31] Speaker B: They're minor league teams naming games after the the Duns. The Livy Duns. They're changing their jerseys for Dave.
[00:11:38] Speaker A: Look, it's bananas. It's bananas. You got to keep a franchise and I bananas reference if you know what I'm talking about. You know what I'm talking about. But that is someone that you keep on your team and especially being a stud pitcher. What? Look, if not, I'm sure there's some teams taken. I'm in. Why not the Tigers? Connor? Why don't the Tiger? Why not? I would, I would. I would. I'm sorry. I would. I imagine skiings. But just go see the Jays and Tigers. It'd be the Jays Tigers. Levy Don be in the crowd. You know what I'm saying? Then Detroit Michigan's just going w. Look, look, look. It's a match made in heaven for the Tigers. They looking real good, but I'm not surprised. Connor, that's all the time we have for strike zone tonight. I want to say thank you to you my friend. As always, it's always a pleasure. We didn't get into standings in teams too much we had some story time but this week a little bit more short and sweet. Next week or the week after, whatever week we have you on back on. We'll get into a little bit more and we'll have a bit more time when it comes to str zone. So I want to say thank you to you, Connor, for always taking the time, my friend. Yeah, you. Thanks, buddy. Go Pandas. Now, as we wait to get in here, Connor Henderson. Thank you again. The game Sports Podcast. Brendan McCarthy is joining us and is all set. Look at the timing. Look. It's like we've been.
[00:12:49] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:12:49] Speaker A: It's like we've been doing this for years. And listen, we have just started doing this. Okay, everybody. This is a whole new. That goes off of, let me tell you, David time, if you know.
[00:13:02] Speaker C: Jesus.
[00:13:02] Speaker A: So if we're coming on boat board on time with these transitions, you make my life a lot easier. But this is impressive. Okay. You don't see the tickers at the bottom yet, but that, that, that's coming. Okay. That's just pure laziness by yours truly here to be transparent with you. We got the brand on the top right here. I can't see. There it is. We got the brand on the top right there that you can enjoy with our logo. But Brandon, my friend, how you doing?
[00:13:24] Speaker C: That was seamless timing, Dave. But trying to nail down a time today via text was like trying to get a job interview with you or something. Holy.
[00:13:33] Speaker A: And when you were calling, I was like a mid sentence venting about Pete Rose. I couldn't well make sense.
[00:13:39] Speaker C: That makes sense.
[00:13:40] Speaker A: So. But nonetheless, this is now, ladies and gentlemen, and to all those enjoying the game here today, make sure you like follow and subscribe on all the platforms. We're transitioning from strike zone to top shelf.
They're in top shelf. Today we will be focusing on the professional level when it comes to the Memorial cup and to major junior such as strike. Such as chuck a puck. Sorry, we're going to be having that next week, just so you guys are all aware. So this week we're sticking with top shelf and Brent and I are going to get into that right away. Park couldn't join us. He has something going on. He's got a supper. He's got a view and he's got a. He's got to run.
[00:14:11] Speaker C: He's got it all.
[00:14:12] Speaker A: He's got to run laps. He's got a. He's getting interview for the trial maple. He's executive vice president position. I don't know. He's got Lots going on that lad. So he sends his wishes to everybody but Brandon, I. You got you and I got this. And we got some good topics to get into in this next about 15ish minutes or so. I wanted to start, if it's okay with you, because I know we're. I don't want to talk about the conference finals yet. I don't want to. I don't want to get into that. We can save that stuff for the end because it breaks my heart to talk about certain things. And obviously out of the Western Conference finals, there was some big news today on the Oilers side. They're missing a former leaf for the rest of the season. But I wanted to lay a fact onto you and I had to type this out. Okay. I wanted to make sure I stayed on point. I typed this out all by myself. Everybody, I want you to know this, okay? So I'm gonna talk about the Maple Leafs about something. Yeah, we're gonna talk about the Leafs here. And here's. Here's why. And it spins off of credit to spin Chiclets and credit onto all the platforms that people are talking about right now. Okay? The Leafs lost game seven to Florida. It was basically not even a hockey game. It was like watching an absolute joke on the ice. And as everybody knows, and the first thing that everyone does. Core five, four. Core four. I'm saying core five, but you point at the core four, core five, whatever. You want to look at it. But you know what? I will state before I get into this point. Shake up and change is needed. Okay? Something has happened already since we last talked, and that's Brendan Shanahan. Brandon Shanahan is no longer there in Toronto. Okay. And since he's been in Toronto, look, they've made the playoffs, they've have progressed. There has been.
They've ascended. They haven't went down, they've went up. Yeah, they haven't won a cup or basically many playoff games, but nonetheless, they. This is still. Shanahan's tenure with the Leafs has done. So there's been the first shakeup that everyone knew would likely happen. Do I think Marner will sign or not sign? Look, I've left that opinion listened to a previous episode. But I will say again, I think he is going to sign elsewhere. But let me lay in some stats. 19. The Toronto Maples lost the Boston Bruins. The Boston Bruins made the Stanley cup finals in 2021. They lost the Montreal Canadiens. The Montreal Canadiens made the Stanley cup finals in 2022. They lost the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay Lightning made the Stanley cup finals in 2023. They lost the Florida Panthers. Florida Panthers made the Stanley cup finals. 2024. Nothing.
2025 is the question mark. But let's say it. Date of recording here, May 28th, Florida and Edmonton. It's probably going to be the matchup. Likely, Very much likely. And what does that mean if Florida makes the cup finals? Well, as of now, four out of the last six years, not including this year, it would be five out of seven years where teams have made the Stanley cup final with only one time that a team's won the Stanley Cup. But again, that's not including this year, four to six years that a team that Toronto has played in that first or now second round has made the Stanley Cup Final. Now everyone's going to say that. Look at the other teams that, that have also lost to Florida, lost to Tampa. Yeah, there were other teams that have lost, but okay, but look at that Atlantic Division. Did you not hear the teams that I put down on throughout your ear waves and throughout everything you're hearing on Tampa, Montreal, Florida, just to name those teams? Of course, these are teams that have made the Stanley cup final. And right now the Panthers are having their way with Carolina. And this shows Toronto's players are not the problem. It's mindset. The players don't show up to the big game. It's pressure, I guess, if you want to point it that way. But I'm saying mindset. They don't have guts, they don't have dogs. And the big times when it matters. And that insane. I'm going to say management change, player additions, we're going to see that happen this offseason. But we sit here and say the core five, let's call it, has not showed up in the big moment, but four to six teams have made the Stanley cup finals with one of them winning five out of seven once this year happens. But here's what I'll say, that insane. Marner, take a pay cut. Tavares, take a pay cut, Add a dog or two, run it back. Do they get.
[00:18:14] Speaker C: No.
I was like, what is this? Hold on a second. I was waiting. Like, how is he going to pose a question to me? Or how is he going to land this plane? And I was like, wait a minute. In the last 30 seconds of your just epic rant, I was like, he's going to be in the party of running it back with the Core 4. No, he can't be. He is. And I need par here because he would absolutely annihilate you as well, because.
Don't, don't. Don't get into that. Don't get into that mess, Dave. You got it. You got to stay the course. You got to. You got to commit to change. Don't, don't. You don't want to step back and say, hey, run like they've already made a move. Okay? We're like, what, a week and a half, two weeks out from that abysmal loss to the Panthers in game seven. You've already made the move at the top. You had to let go of Shanahan, okay? He was just so committed to this core four and committed that they would actually get it done. It didn't happen. You got to accept it. You got to rip the band aid off. You got to move on. What's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.
Right? You gotta let them go. Okay? If you look at Edmonton, right, there's two guys that control that team. At the end of the day, it's number 97 and number 29. And they are playoff dogs. They get it done when it matters. For the Leafs, there's too many cooks in the kitchen. That's what I'll say. There's too many cooks in the kitchen.
[00:19:35] Speaker A: That's a good reference.
[00:19:36] Speaker C: Right? Tavares, look it, if you want to give this guy a discount.
[00:19:42] Speaker A: Sure. Million. Would you give him five? Two years. Five per. Five per. For two.
[00:19:46] Speaker C: I think. I think it's got to be in. Personally, I think it's got to be in the four and a half range. And if he doesn't bite, then. See you later, Marner. He's gonna get like 16 million from the Sharks. And you know what? So be it. Because there's two guys that are going to run that team. It's going to be Matthews and Nylander and the rest. You sprinkle in a good supporting cast, keep the primary defenders back there. You got Stallers for another year. You got Ruby taking on a bigger role, and you have Trey Living taking on a bigger role. That's what Keith Pelly said in the end of your. In the end of your media availability that I want Trey Living and Craig Ruby's role to. To expand more of a say and kind of the internal stuff that goes on. So we're already making moves, but this is so classic and I'm. You're a very smart. You're a very smart media professional, but this is very. You're talking like a very, very classic Leaf fan to be irate after Another playoff failure saying blow it up and then 14 days later or whatever it is, it's like, well, hold on a second. Maybe, maybe run it back. Yes. Is it satisfying to know like, wow, Florida is that good?
Because they are just absolutely kicking the Hurricane's ass. But at this point it could have been any team and I think the Leafs would have revealed their true colors eventually. Right? Any, any playoff team that is like they started to show it a bit against the Senators and the sentence forced them to six.
[00:21:06] Speaker A: So I think I'm drinking the business juice.
[00:21:09] Speaker C: You are drinking that big glass of business juice. You cannot, you cannot come back with the same team. You cannot come back with the same team. The only people are going to show up are the suits who can afford it and that upper bowl will be crickets because people are not going to show up to watch that team again. Honestly, Nylander, I said this when they were eliminated. The Untouchables are Matthews, Nylander, tanv, Stallers, and Nice. Everyone else, it's like you might be like Morgan Riley, sorry, I know you're on a seven year, whatever, seven mil per year deal. He could be on the trading block, right?
[00:21:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:42] Speaker C: So those guys that I just mentioned, Stallers, 10 of NYS, Nylander, Matthews, I think are the only Untouchables. So you're going to offload a shit ton of cash with Marner walking and Tavares, I mean, probably taking discount. You're still going to, you're still going to save a bunch because Martin is making what, 10, nine and. And Tavares is making over, over 11.
[00:22:03] Speaker A: Yeah, just right.
[00:22:04] Speaker C: So you could get, you could get like, you know, even if you, if you don't get a Sam Bennett, like you could get a Nick Ehlers or a Brock Besser, just someone with a little bit more, you know, grit, maybe in the bottom six as well to bolster the depths going because that was a big, big major concern in the playoffs, right?
[00:22:22] Speaker A: Brutal, brutal statistics from the bottom six.
[00:22:25] Speaker C: Yeah, it was brutal. But hey, this is one for the Socials, Dave. This, this is one for the socials. Are you ready? And hopefully my, my frame will be better because usually I'm like way maximized in your living room. It's like in the proud family that one giant who just is like maximize. Anyway, here's something that I think will get a lot of clicks. Mitch Marner, okay? One team or, sorry, three teams that he potentially signs that would absolutely just infuriate any Leaf fan. And three teams that they'd be like, okay, see you Enjoy your. Enjoy your dough.
[00:23:01] Speaker A: Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights. I feel like that would infuriate Leaf fans just because it just would.
[00:23:07] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:23:08] Speaker A: And then the next one, Tampa Bay Lightning. I'll go with the three staying in the Atlantic teams. They'd be like, ah, see you later. San Jose Sharks is a hundred percent one of the teams. I would say that one team that they wouldn't care is Calgary. I feel like that would be okay if you went over to Calgary again Western Conference. And if I am again looking at the West, I'm gonna say Utah. Those are the three teams that I would say that they wouldn't care about. Three that they would. And three.
[00:23:33] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:23:33] Speaker A: I didn't include key team Boston because I don't think Boston would pitch that anyways, to be honest with you. But I think Florida would. You lose Bennett and Marchant and Ekblad. I'm just saying they got some defense coming.
[00:23:45] Speaker C: Barkov, Barkov, Kachuk and Marner.
[00:23:48] Speaker A: Just saying.
[00:23:48] Speaker C: So. So.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: But I think San Jose has got to be the front runner. They got to be that hidden guy, I think team. Because Marlo I think is involved. Look, conspiracy with Marlo, maybe a little bit. But I think San Jose needs to be the front runner for Marner.
[00:24:01] Speaker C: Davey, I gotta say, I don't even think he's gonna stay in the East. I think if you're Billy Zito and Paul Maurice, I think internally you're like, I don't actually want Mitch Marner because we have a bunch of dogs. Even if we have the likes of Marshawn and Bennett leaving because every player top to bottom has bought into that system. Right. So they could be saying like, we don't want Mitch Marner and we don't want to pay him that boatload of money. So I would be shocked if he actually goes to Florida. But that would definitely infuriate Leaf fans. That's number two for me. Number three is Tampa and number one would be Boston. I think that would be the ultimate punch to the face. I don't think that's going to happen.
[00:24:37] Speaker A: No.
[00:24:38] Speaker C: In the West I would say, oh, I'd have Vegas too. That would infuriate teams. Just because no state tax. It's like, okay, you just want to kind of do it the easy way. Like a Kevin Durant with the Warriors. Right.
[00:24:49] Speaker A: All the time.
[00:24:50] Speaker C: But in the West I would say, and I think this is probably the route he's going to take. It's going to be like San Jose, Chicago or Utah, San Jose. It's like, hey, it's A good pitch. You can play with Macklin and you can play with Will Smith. Chicago, you got Connor Bedard and then Utah. It's just like, okay, you know what? I can really, really escape and, and kind of get.
Get mine and not have to worry about pressure right now.
You can get paid. But that's what I'm saying. If he goes to Vegas, he might sniff around and say, you know what? Yeah, at least like their window isn't closing. And I think ultimately Marner is. Is in kind of that point of his career. It's like, do you want to win? But I want to go somewhere that's like, you know, not as high strung, high media pressure where I can kind of coast and not be like, recognized but still be on a competitive team. Because if he goes to San Jose and Chicago, it's like, good luck, buddy. You're not going to win. But Vegas, Vegas could be certainly an option, but that would. I would infuriate Leaf and just. Because it's just like, of course, no state tax, you know, it's just yucking up in Vegas.
[00:25:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:25:56] Speaker C: No, so.
[00:25:57] Speaker A: So give me the would you rather. Would you rather question. First time on this show. Let's go with the would you Rathers TAVARES Marner for 11 combined? Not realistic. That's not realistic. But let me give you that. Combined or Bennett Marchant for 15 combined.
[00:26:13] Speaker C: I mean, at that. Okay, but no, but that's.
[00:26:15] Speaker A: That's.
[00:26:17] Speaker C: Yeah, but you're telling me that Mitch would make six and Tavares would make five.
[00:26:21] Speaker A: Okay, like, that's 13.
That's not good. That's not gonna happen.
[00:26:26] Speaker C: Like, you can't.
[00:26:26] Speaker A: I. I guess, I guess you can. I'm just saying, hypothetically, would you still go after the dogs or would you run it back? That's my.
[00:26:34] Speaker C: Okay, you have to eliminate the. The hypothetical salary cap.
[00:26:38] Speaker A: Okay. Both. Okay. Who would you rather between the two?
[00:26:40] Speaker C: Like, sorry, sorry. You have to eliminate that.
[00:26:42] Speaker A: That cap at 11 in general.
And this won't be a social. Just what people know. I want to ask Brennan as like a qu. Would you rather just them two or them two? How's that? No cap, no nothing. You have Marner Tavares or Bennett Marchand?
[00:26:57] Speaker C: I would take. I would take Bennett Marshon.
I. I think. I think that's pretty easy. I mean, I think what, what. Why people are hesitant is that, you know, in the regular season, like, they don't really do too much, but then people also get kind of like, you know, lifted and swept off their feet because it's like, oh, look what Marner and Tavares are doing. Just like, you know, racking up points, accomplishing all these big feats of the regular season, but then they, you know, don't get it done when it truly matters. Whereas Marshawn and Bennett, it's kind of just like, all right, just kind of like fly through the regular season and, and get ready and get geared up for the playoffs. So that's what you're paying for. That's what you're hoping materializes, right?
I mean, truly, this set of players versus this set of players, it has to be Bennett, Marshon or cap. Question of 11 mil combined between Tavares and Marner and 15 and 15 for Ben and Marshall. Of course I'm taking Tavares and Marner.
[00:27:59] Speaker A: I just knew you would take Bennett Marshan. It's trying to make it harder. I was trying to make it harder.
[00:28:04] Speaker C: Yeah. Oh, man. Imagine the Leafs pitch that. Hey, Mitch, we'll, we'll give you a six mil. Perfect. I mean, Johnny I think would take five. He knows that he's not worth anything above five anymore, right?
[00:28:14] Speaker A: For term. If he wants term, he's going to have to take that to take a lot lower. Right? But if he wants like a two year bang on contract, he might get his five or six.
[00:28:24] Speaker C: But I just think you have to be careful with how you want to go about because I said this before too, Dave. You don't want to lowball low ball too much where you cause a rift. Like what did, what did Breeze while offer to Stamcoast. Wasn't it like a lot of term? But it was like three years.
[00:28:39] Speaker A: It was low, Sal.
[00:28:41] Speaker C: It was three. It's three by. It was three by eight. And Stamcoast is like, wow, I'll take four. And we got a deal. And they said no. Was it something like that?
[00:28:49] Speaker A: I think it was. Then he left. Yeah, for Nashville.
[00:28:51] Speaker C: Then he left for Nashville.
[00:28:53] Speaker A: But like, I wonder if you're like hockey. Illuminati said this and here I am quoting biz and illuminati. This show 2 people getting shout outs today on this podcast. But he mentioned, why don't you just give Tavares like five years, give him four or three million bucks because, you know, guess what? He's going to end up on Roboda by the time he's 38 anyways. Probably right? Jokes aside, I find if I'm Trey living, I'm here. Like, here's your two year deal at five. At five per six.
Like I would Talk to him and get that feeling first.
[00:29:23] Speaker C: I think, I think you have to be very, very careful because. And I think you always have to just use the standpoint situation as an example, as a bad example where things can go south. Because this is a, this was your captain. This is a guy who probably wants to, you know, hang around after he hangs him up to like be part of, you know, the off the ice. Yeah, the off the ice, you know, ongoings around the team. So you have to approach it like if anything it's like see a Mitch and then Tavares. Let's try and, let's try and work together to make something that both sides are happy with. But also at this point, you know, Tavares is, Tavares is like, I know, I know I'm not worth what I'm making right now. So yes, I'll take that and go out and get, and get guys to fill out this team that can compete for a cup marner. He's younger and I think some team is truly just going to be like, hey, Mitch, we're offering you this. And of course it's like, it's, it's. He already, he already has life changing money. This is going to be basically like for, you know, generations upon generations.
[00:30:24] Speaker A: Pittsburgh Dubas Islanders for the Tavares. Karma is that we're gonna see.
[00:30:29] Speaker C: I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say like 7, 70% he goes to the west.
[00:30:34] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:35] Speaker C: 30 chance he goes to these like.
[00:30:37] Speaker A: I agree.
[00:30:37] Speaker C: I could just think because someone in the west is like the Sharks and, and the Blackhawks I think especially are going to be like, we will give you 14, five.
[00:30:47] Speaker A: Like they'll just Backlin or Bedard. Who do you want? Right?
[00:30:50] Speaker C: Who do you want? Exactly. They will basically be like here and pitch them all the great things. I think San Jose because he's good buddies with Patrick Marlowe.
[00:30:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:58] Speaker C: Right.
[00:30:58] Speaker A: Stay there.
[00:30:59] Speaker C: And he can, and he can stay there. Right. So it's going to be a lot. I mean he just, he just had a kid with, with his wife. So it's going to be a lot of, a lot of thinking for them to do. But I'm pretty sure he's thinking like, God, if I go anywhere in the Atlantic, it's going to be like playing in Toronto because I'll be in the spotlight. I think he just wants to get out of here.
[00:31:18] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree. That topic went a little longer but like it. I knew I'd get a rise a little bit. It was intended. I, I just that I, I'M there's, there's stats are hard to ignore but right now in the Eastern Conference final you got Florida up 3:1 on Carolina at the time that we're talking. That can change by time this show's uploaded so I don't want to go into too much there but obviously Florida looking like they're running the show in this series and it's not looking like Carol Carolina has a chance. To be honest with you now that I change said that I probably jinxed a little something. It might go a little longer but the the Western Conference final between Dallas and Edmonton. I'm actually a little bit surprised. It's 3:1 Edmonton and not because I'm doubting Edmonton, but Dallas seemed like such a dog type team that I thought this was the team that Dallas could get over that hump. But Edmonton did face some bad news today. Zach Hyman is done. Former Leaf the Zach Hyman 54, 54 goal man prior not this year obviously, but a guy who is a big presence on that power play and in that top six role will be out for the remainder of the playoffs. Brendan, does this hurt? That's an obvious question but does this hurt their chances if they do make it to against say a team called Florida where they need those type of dogs. I said dogs a lot in this episode in front of the net does how much is this? What could Edmonton do to try to rebound and replace Hyman? Or is that even a proper.
[00:32:38] Speaker C: Not even like hurts. This just absolutely demoralizes the team like crushes the team. I mean obviously Draisaitl and McDavid get most of the headlines but Zach Hyman you could argue is the heartbeat of that team. Like night in and night out, he brings it. He's physical, he's, he's tough to play against. He sets up shop in the crease and you know, he plays a really, really, you know, I don't want to say dirty game but just very like in there like he's got a bunch of snarl and tenacity to him and since he came to the league, he was really the only guy that Mike Babcock would actually praise and how important he was to the Maple Leafs. But it's, it's, it's really, it's really disappointing. I think this really hurts them. Especially you know, I'm going to say when they get to the final like they're going to do it. I think, I think Dallas is running out of steam. I agree with you though. Like I didn't expect it to be 3:1.
I thought Dallas would put up a little bit more of a fight. Especially how game one went with their big comeback. You're kind of riding momentum.
Stuart Skinner is just that guy, just, I don't understand. He's so, he's so inconsistent but he's, he seems to be cooking right now. So I think, I think you know, it's, it's safe to say Oilers are in and if they get a Panthers team, man like Hyman is one of those guys who can, you know, push back against the Tachuk and the Bennett's, you know, and who else? Rodriguez. Like just, just, just those Pet Marshand of course just, just, just those guys that are, you know, in the crease and pushing and shoving. So I think this really hurt, like hurts their chances of actually winning a cup. Like it's that drastic.
Very.
[00:34:17] Speaker A: Fair take, fair take.
[00:34:19] Speaker C: So it's, it's extremely disappointing. Looks like Kane's gonna miss some time. Connor Brown is, I don't think gonna play in game five. Oh, is it Jeff Skinner time perhaps he's only played, he's only played one game and that was game one against the Kings and he registered one assist.
You know they signed him as a free agent. They gave him, you know what a one or two year deal with worth like one or two mils. You know, this is a guy who hasn't ever seen playoff hockey up until game one of this year. So perhaps you get him in as the 12th forward and see if he can inject a bit of energy because they're gonna need him in the final.
[00:34:54] Speaker A: Are going to need a hundred and fifty percent. But now next time we talk we'll know the, we probably will know the Stanley cup final matchup but. And we already kind of have a good idea of what that is. But Brandon, I want to spend the last few moments on this to, to continue something with the Florida Panthers and it's getting to our all time team that we're going to have that we started to do on the show. Obviously we've done Washington prior. It felt like it made sense to put ourselves through a little bit of punishment. If you're a Leaf fan, to talk more about the Florida Panthers but to also talk about Florida because they're still going and they looking pretty darn good. And I didn't feel like doing the Oilers this time around because it's too obvious to pick an Oilers all time team. In my honest opinion. I'm just being honest with you. I think it's one of the easiest ones that you can just say and you can name all the players right off the hop. But Brennan, you and I, we're going to do the all time team for the Florida Panthers. Brennan, go to you first. Florida Panthers all time team. Go.
[00:35:49] Speaker C: All right, so starting with the bench boss, I'll go with Paul Maurice on the back end I'll go Jay Bomeester and Aaron Ekblad and then for my forwards I'll go Matthew Kachuk, Sasha Barkov and Pavel Bure.
[00:36:02] Speaker A: Pavel Bure from the top ropes. And who's your tender?
[00:36:06] Speaker C: Bobby Lou.
[00:36:07] Speaker A: It's almost like who else would you pick? I got Paul Maurice as the coach. Paul Maurice is a friend of the show. He's been a guest on the show.
Obviously with being a friend but also he is from Sault Ste. Marie. He's won a cup. Look, gotta go Paul Maurice. Okay, so that's the coach defense. I got Ed Giovanowski and I got Jay.
[00:36:25] Speaker C: Nice.
[00:36:25] Speaker A: And I got Jay Bowmeester. Okay. Aaron Akblad was close. Hard not to choose for Jay Bowmeester but Jay put a lot of time in there for the Florida Panthers. From the Florida forward perspective, I got Jonathan Huberdeau who was elite. He, he's second on the team in franchise points. Even still now being on Calgary, Alexander Barkov is the second pick for me and I don't mean that in order but the second forward is Alexander Barkov. He has the most points in franchise history and a cup as a captain. I don't need any more points to that. The third forward I'm going with legendary. Okay. This was the face. When I think of Florida back in the day of forwards, I think of Oli Yokonen. Okay. That's where I am. The Oli Yokin and was the other forward for me and Annette. If you're thinking anyone else outside of Roberto Longo, I'd be curious to know. And if it's a name that I'm thinking of that I won't say on the show because just because I don't want to spoil it. Comment below if you think there's another goaltender because no, not Sergey Bobrovsky. I am going with Roberto along with still the best Florida Panther goalie of all time.
[00:37:27] Speaker C: I love it.
[00:37:28] Speaker A: That's a list. That's a list from yours truly and the carts. Yes. I have almost went a whole episode without saying it, but I had to. All right man, it's been fun. This has been the game sports podcast in general. I'm gonna. Before I get to the usual sign off portion Brennan, I want to say thank you to you, my friend, for taking the time and no thanks to Par for not joining us tonight.
[00:37:48] Speaker C: Yeah, boo.
[00:37:50] Speaker A: You would have loved that rant I had, though. Fourth guy is gonna have to comment on the on this story. He's gonna have to give me crap on the next edition. Yeah, we'll be back next week, my friend and I. I look forward to talking more top shelf next week.
[00:38:04] Speaker C: Thanks, Dave. Appreciate it.
[00:38:05] Speaker A: This has been the Game Sports podcast, of course. Thank you again to Brendan. Thank you to Connor Henderson. We had Strike Zone and we had a top shelf segment here on the game here tonight. The Game Sports podcast is powered by 91 Network. That's the 91N YouTube channel. Head on over, hit like, follow, subscribe and all the platforms, which also includes Tick Tock, Facebook and Instagram, which is at the Game Sports podcast. And you can also check us out on Spaces. That's through Village Media and Sue Today. Make sure you're following and keeping tabs on what we do and also interacting. We obviously do it do these shows because we love it, but we also want to make sure you're interacting. We enjoy having the chirps or the good feedback, but either way, if you're tuning in, you should be following along going forward until next week. I'm here to remind you, keep your stick on the ice, swing your bats, catch a touchdown, train your threes and shoot your shots. Puyall.
