Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Foreign it's time for the Game Sports Podcast. It's Your host David McCaig Jr. The Game Sports Podcast is powered by 91 Network. You can head on over to the 91N YouTube channel to check out all video editions of the Game Sports Podcast as well as other podcasts as well. The Game Sports Podcast is also featured on Spaces, that's through Suited Day and Village Media. You can head on over to Suited A.com and you can check out the Spaces section of the content and check out all of the unique spaces that are going through here in the Sault State Re community as well as other communities throughout Ontario. And as it continues to expand, you don't want to miss out on if Spaces will be launched near you very soon now. The Game Sports Podcast had a very unique schedule and it of course is the summer months now typically when it comes to NHL Draft night and right after NHL Freedom see it is a frequent schedule. We are still following normal rotation but however yours truly just having a newborn come into the world, my son Arlo being born on June 19 did cause a little bit of schedule adjustments on both my end and also here with the team of the Game Sports Podcast. So we appreciate everyone's patience as we have went to more of a bi weekly kind of episode upload for the last little bit. And as we approach further into summer, we are going to continue to look at having more of bi weekly episodes until we hit after Labor Day where we get back right into the weekly episodes. However, I can assure you that we are looking to have some big episodes this summer when it comes to getting back to our interview shows as well as much more content as we continue back in September and so on. So if you don't want to miss anything, which you shouldn't, make sure you lock all of the platforms that you tune into. If it's audio or video. Wherever you get the Game Sports Podcast, get it flagged, make sure you're following location liking, subscribing, commenting. Make sure you're a part of it because you don't want to miss what is going to be upcoming. Now just to remind you, you can also follow us through social media. That's Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. That's at the Game Sports Podcast through those social media channels. Now you're going to have yours truly here for tonight and you know I like having these solo editions. I love having my family though join me. But obviously given the summer months and the conflicting schedules, as I mentioned to you, you're going to be Stuck with just me tonight. Tonight, however, I got an action packed segment. Here's what I'm going to get into tonight. NHL. All right. There's going to be a lot of NHL when it comes to brief reaction about the draft, when it comes to the signing season news to date, when it comes to overall transactions, signings, overall reaction around the National Hockey League, I got you covered. I know you've been waiting for a few particular reactions, I'm sure and trust me, I'll get to that. I'll also be getting into some topics of the NHL that is on my mind in a bit more detail and that is NHL taxes. And I also want to get into Gavin McKenna and his commitment to Penn State and what that is going to open the door more for. And then I'm going to do a round and round with Dave to conclude the show tonight and that's going to feature some Messiah Jerry news, some Toronto Blue Jay news and also to make sure that I don't forget, I'm gonna do a little shout out to maybe one of my new favorite hockey players. So you don't want to miss this. So let's go right to it. And I'm going to start off with the these signings. Now look, I'm not going to get into everything, okay? Because since draft night on June 27th till today, which I'm recording on the evening of July 9th, your upload enjoyment is on July 10th. And who knows something could have happened as soon as I hit upload on this. Nonetheless, the total transactions of all types, okay? Look at veering to the NHL.com and getting this confirmations 269 different type of transactions. Okay? Trades are under 15 but signings and movement over 269. Okay? So I'm not going to sit here and go through all of those because how do I fit that into a show? But I'm going to go through some highlighted ones. All right. When it comes to draft night, I feel that the draft was was very entertaining to watch. It was great to see Sue's own Brady Martin and I mean Sue's own because he's on the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He was not born here in Sault Ste. Marie. He isn't from Southern Ontario, but he is obviously loved here in Sault Ste. Marie. He goes fifth over overall to the Nashville Predators and I knew that he'd be getting his cowboy hat on and I knew be getting those boots on. He could check out our Tiktoks for that. But congratulations to Brady Martin. For that draft. But the Islanders picking first they picked Matthew Schaefer obviously earlier in that day they traded Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens and they got more draft picks. The overall draft I was very impressed with the New York Islanders did and I think Nashville is also very successful in the draft. Those were two teams that highlight out to me. And you know what? Honestly, this draft could could go any any which way 20 years from now, maybe that's a little bit too far. Ten years from now we're going to look back and yes, Matthew Schaefer is going to be a cornerstone defenseman, a top two pairing. He is going to be those that type of player that is top defenseman in the National Hockey League as I mentioned. But this draft can go any way without where Hagens fell down. Can't believe Hagens went went that low. I I've always been a fan of Hagens but Michael me said a San Jose look, we're going to be looking back at this draft and from 2 to 10 and this is what Jordan Trudeau and I talked about in our finale of chuckapuck for the seasons that it doesn't matter where you go from 2 to 10. You can have anyone and be successful with what you pick there. Heck, even 2 to 15 had a lot of even ground. I thought this draft was very balanced. Not saying it was the most exciting draft where you had a McDavid, Crosby, Bedard and a McKenna all in the same draft. But you had Schaefer who's a cornerstone defenseman, Misa who's a great playmaker, Hagens who obviously have fell a bit further than I expected to. But Brady Martin, somebody who's going to be a complete wing and center, fill a top six role. Different impacts are what these players are going to have on this team. And I think the 20, 2025 draft is going to be a draft we look at and say, okay, wow, maybe there wasn't a generational talent and that's no offense to Matthew Schaefer. Okay. I'm just not comparing him to Bobby Orr or to Connor McDavid. Yes, I know he's a defenseman, but I'm saying from a generational perspective, I think we're going to be looking back at this draft and we're going to be saying, wow, this was a pretty even draft that could have went anywhere. I don't know if there is going to be any busts in that first 15 picks. You're going to have players that likely make the National Hockey League heck, the whole first round Are players are going to have a have a career in the National Hockey Leagues, but if they're impactful, Top six, bottom six, backup goalie, fifth six defenseman. Whatever the case may be, I think this draft was very well balanced. But the teams that stood out to me were the Islanders and Predators. Islanders for obvious reasons and the Predators getting an absolute stud at five. Those are the two teams that have my eye from draft night. But overall, from a trade perspective, besides the Montreal Canadiens, I wasn't too floored by excitement as I predicted the draft would be. I thought there'd be maybe some more movement because of the balance in the draft. Maybe teams that didn't have a pick to maybe get into that draft but didn't. So nonetheless, the draft, all in all exciting. And congratulations to Matthew Schaefer going number one overall. But more on Matthew Schaefer later on to conclude the show. When it comes to trades, I like to highlight. I've always been a fan of John Gibson. Okay, Detroit Red Wings moving him from Morazic and draft picks. I think Gibson's going to have a chance to revitalize his career there in Detroit. But this is the thing. The ISER plan is not looking as sexy as I thought it was going to look. I thought the Detroit Red Wings were going to be a playoff team this year and I've given the promise that they showed the year prior. But I still don't see a team that has made that change. It's going to put them over, but however, a lot of young guys are growing. I'm a huge cider fan. Edmondson, Raymond, this team has the pieces and could be absolutely dangerous this year. And adding what they've had in between the pipes, that's one trait that I wanted to make sure that I highlighted. Chris Kreider to Anaheim. Look, Anaheim moved out deals by trading Zegras, right. To the Philadelphia Flyers, right. And Drysdale and Zegrist. The boys are back together there in Philly. Okay, but I like what Anaheim's doing. I feel like this is a team that's trying to get back in that contention level and trying to do it with having that youth and a balance in their team. Kind of what worked for them in the past. But that move with the Rangers. Look, if Kreider can get back to what he was doing with the New York Rangers when he had over 50 goal season, had a 50 goal season, that is something that is going to be a big win for the Anaheim Ducks and he has a chance to do that with a young team because he's going to get that additional ice time. He's going to be relied upon a little bit more. Maybe this will boost his confidence. Maybe this change of scenery will be a good fit for Chris Kreider and overall with the Anaheim Ducks. But obviously lot to be had there with Kreider. But those are two highlighted trades that really stuck out to me from near, from near draft night to current day today.
[00:08:54] Now as I mentioned these, these 269 total entries that I mentioned could have been from April onward. Right. That's where where it comes from. Sport tracks NHL tracker but looking through the NHL and through Sportsnet we're over 200 transactions in terms of trades and signings which is unbelievable.
[00:09:15] The NHL had a signing season that had had a lot of players come off the board a little bit earlier. Some news get leaked a little bit earlier. So friend of the show James Duthie, I felt felt for him on free agency day. I thought it was going to be a boring day. But you know what it wasn't for for the crew there at TSN and at Sportsnet and for those at espn. Nonetheless they all had some news to talk about and obviously one that really stands out to me, the number one and this might come surprise to you were signing that I think is the most impactful because I am absolutely a fan of it and hats off because I didn't expect this to be the case. Brock Besser to the Vancouver Canucks look when Bessler resigned in Vancouver and he had his reaction after stating that he was loyal and his heart was in Vancouver. Thought the guy was checked out. I thought given especially the drama that went on Vancouver this year, the coaching carousel that continues to happen. You'll foot beam now in there and obviously you would talk it going back. Well going back he is going to the Philadelphia Flyers where he spent his obviously a big highlight of his career. But Brock Besser staying in Vancouver a seven year deal and he's making an annual AAV of 7.25. For somebody in the Canadian market and someone who has the potential to be a 3040 goal scorer every year and someone who can get 6070 at least points for you in a season I think that is a steal. He's 28 years old and he is known more as a sniper and Vancouver having that playing with with Pedersen and some of the crew there in Vancouver Garland these this is a team that's trying to keep that nucleus together And Brock Besser believing in resigning with Vancouver was arguably my favorite signing of the offseason. The one that, you know, that I'm going to talk about. Mitch Marner. Now. I, I uploaded a re.
[00:11:04] A prediction for signings and I was pretty correct on. On a fair chunk of them. Obviously, I wasn't about Brad Marchanth and I'm going to get to Florida a little bit later on as I combine that with the taxes discussion. Mitch Marner. All right, There's. There's a lot that's coming out now, and it's a lot for me to digest. And I want to make sure that when I talk, I don't get too lost in a rabbit hole and spend too much time on this first thing. I'm ignoring whatever was before this year. I know there was rumors about trading them last summer and him saying no to a trade and all that. Look, I'm, I'm all controlling. Deleting that from my, from my reading, from, from, from reports. I want to go from this trade deadline to now. Mitch Marner had the no movement clause, right? The, the, the mentality for Marner was that he wanted to win a cup here in Toronto. The Leafs. Yeah, I think they should have traded them before his no movement clause kicked in. But I said I'm not going back to that. Marner had the right to say no to leaving, just like Sundin had the right to say no to leaving when he was here. And I'm not comparing Marner to Sundin. Okay, but why, why can't they have the same effect? They're both loved players in Toronto when they were here. Except obviously Marner's playoff performances. Sundin had good playoff performances and they had almost a conference final victory against Carolina in 2002. And they went deeper. They went past the second round a few.
[00:12:21] Marner has not been that sexy playoff performer that everybody has hoped to be. Along with Matthews, the only one who arguably has been has been William Nylander. Right. So Montreal, for example, that series against Montreal is something that highlights for me because that was a year that I thought Toronto would have been able to break through because of COVID 19 and them being in that Canadian bubble and then being able to make the cup finals. Would they have one? I don't think they would have beat Tampa that year. Heck, it would have been maybe even more tougher to beat Vegas in the conference final. But that was a year where I noticed the culture needed change from that time. Never mind 2019, obviously, it's Columbus. It was brutal. Boston before that. Brutal. Right? But 2021 was the breaking point for me. And since 2021 to now. There has been changes. They've made moves at deadlines, they've signed players. And this year obviously really solidifying the decor. Okay. And really trying to really get Morgan Rielly to bounce back. Who hasn't?
[00:13:21] But Mitch Marner has believed in this Toronto Maple Leaf core in the core four, as we like to call it, and it did not work out. Mitch Marner signed. It had a sign and trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs to Vegas. Okay. Toronto signs them and immediately ships them to Vegas. And it's a big splash for both franchises in two ways. One, Vegas gets an elite playmaker. Top 10 player in the National Hockey League, okay? To argue that if you must, someone who's going to be an absolute stud in the top line, not the top six. And he's going to get 100 points and he's going to a Stanley cup contender in the Vegas Golden Knights. That argument that Marner might win a cup before Toronto is still a high potential. If not, it could be right. Mitch Marner, $12 million per year. When it comes to money for him to stay in Canada, you're looking at what, 13 and a half, 14. 14 and a half. Whatever million dollars. $14 million. Maybe. Maybe the exact Miko rant and deal is what was reported. Right. And that's why I'm going to go to the deadline for a second. We had the opportunity to trade them. And I mean we from a Toronto Maple Leaf perspective. And I'm speaking as a fan right now to you. Mitch Marner was asked to move and he said no. What she had the right to. And you know what? I cannot hate Mitch for that. And hate's a strong word, but it's the only thing that's coming to mind right now. He had that in his contract.
[00:14:39] He wanted to win a cup here in Toronto. And I say here because I'm Canadian, I'm in Ontario, I consider Toronto a second home because how much I go watch them and cover them and how much they echo through my household. But Mitch Marner had the right to say no. And he did say no. And yes, it screwed the Toronto Maple Leafs in a lot of ways. They could have had Miko Rantnen, that being the Toronto Maple Leafs. And then you sign Miko, ran into an extension. This whole playoff run, this whole franchise outlook is on a different, different look. But that didn't happen. And fans said, oh, Mitch Marner screwed us. Mitch Marner, yes. You know what for? To get assets. You're right. You're right. We didn't get that asset in return. At the trade deadline, we didn't get Miko ran in. But you know what? He had the right to exercise that option. And the Toronto Maple Leafs did get someone back from Mitch Marner. That's not even close to Miko Rantman, but somebody who is going to solidify that bottom nine and help be a part of changing that DNA. Somebody who I've reached out to a few connections that have played with Nicholas Rough has stated that he's a team guy. He's very much a leader on the ice and off the ice. Somebody that will hold his team accountable. And he works hard, throws the body and he can score goals in front of the net. This is somebody that teammates will love. Okay? And instead of Mitch Marner walking for free, no matter what tampering that the Leafs maybe had on Vegas, they got something for him. And it was time for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner to move on, no matter what. As sad as that makes me. And I sit here and I'm looking right now into my closet that's open and the leaf jersey that is sticking out right now is Mitch Marner's jersey that I can see. And my wife and I made a joke because that's her jersey. If we should change the name tag on the back, you know what, we probably will. But you know what? This was a Marner fan household, especially with my wife. And honestly, Marner, I thank you as a Toronto Maple Leaf fan for the memories and the moments that you did give for this, for the duration that you had in Toronto. On the other hand, I will also mention that your playoff performance does not meet expectations. You're unable to get it done. And you know what? Despite that, the Leafs nation's going to miss you. This was a change that had to happen and you did not get the job done. You were unable to help elevate the team along with Matthews and other people. But I'm sticking to Marner right now. You're unable to take that next step and you did not show that heart and determination when. When it came and mattered most. You were only a regular season player. You had some playoff moments, particularly mostly in first rounds, but you were somebody now that gets to move on and it's time to turn the page. This trade sign, a trade didn't have to happen because Marner could have just walked and nothing could have happened. But we did get something in return. And I'm speaking of that as a Leaf fan. The Leafs did get somebody in return for Mitch Marner. Marner goes to Vegas, he looks all excited. He's got his videos, he's got, he's got the Woo going, he's got his family there, everyone's welcome. Look, he's going to go to Vegas and go to a room where he has no pressure. He has a team full of all a lot of stars on him is what I mean to say. Theodore Stone Eichel, he has a lot of stars around him. He's going to be able to flourish. He's likely going to get 100 point season again and we'll see what he does in the playoffs for Vegas. Maybe he will step up. Maybe it will be a change for him. Maybe another coach is what will change Mitch Marner. But the era in Toronto is over and Mitch Marner is no longer a Maple Leaf. And as much as that pains me as a fan to say because I wanted to see this core four win change was needed. And overall, if you don't want to be on this team anymore and if you're not going to be able to step up in those games that matter and show that pride and that accountability, then you shouldn't be on this team. And that's my point. Mitch Marner goes to Vegas at a sign and trade for Nicholas Waugh. Toronto and I mentioned big splash for both sides and both franchises. Obviously Vegas knows what they're getting. But Toronto loses a piece of that room, that piece of that culture and that's where the DNA shift can start taking place. And it starts with a move that they did by training for Matthias Maceli and that's what I'm going to touch on right now. Mattias Maceli is a young playmaking forward. Okay. Somebody who may get the opportunity to play on the first line with Matthew Knives and Auston Matthews. And I'm pretty excited because of Michelle's vision on the ice. It's very good. His vision is underrated and underappreciated. Okay, but is he really going to be the replacement for Mitch Marner? No. But let me also tell you this. There is no replacement for Mitch Marner. You cannot replace a hundred point guy on your team unless you go out and sign another 100 point guy who is the same type of player. And those don't always come around often. This guy, Mitch Marner, the guy that was available was a leaf and he went to Vegas. Melli is someone who could, has potential to get over 50 points. He's going to be in a contract here. It could be very exciting to see what Melli can do if given the opportunity and if he can capture that moment. But the Toronto Maple Leafs should not be done. There's been rumors about Raquel, Brian Rust, Nazem Kadri, the Leafs have been rumored on everybody but Tree living is cooking in Toronto and I think he is doing the right things in Toronto and I think if you're a Leaf fan, trust and see what the rest of the summer brings. Assets are very low on Toronto. Tree Living understands the window is now given what's coming up and I think there's going to be more coming in Toronto Land Next signing I want to touch on Nikolai Ehlers Carolina Hurricanes took him a couple days to sign. I think this was somebody that could have had the chance to go to Toronto or even a potentially jump ship over to Edmonton given that potential over there. But Edmonton doesn't really have that cap space and him to go from Winnipeg to Edmonton, you know obviously it would be quite an interesting move but this is certainly someone that maybe Toronto could have bounced gone on but seeing him go to Carolina it makes sense. I truly thought there's more of a fit for Nikolai Ehlers on the Columbus Blue Jackets but after the Blue Jackets signed promo long term caught in Charlie Coyle I figured okay maybe they're not going to be making any big splashes when it comes to free agency. So Nikolai Ehler is going to Carolina Hurricanes. It adds a top six going forward to Carolina's already pretty impressive group that is featured obviously with Stankovin, with Svesnikov and Ajo trying to get over that hump of the third round where they've lost to the Florida Panthers consecutive years. Jonathan Drew in to the New York Islanders 2 years 4 million per I like this signing because a low risk production signing and Jonathan Druan has the opportunity to go to a team that has already had a pretty impressive offseason in terms of drafting and movement and he's had a good bounce back when he went to Colorado and I like with Druanne getting on onto the Islanders core I think this would be a very good fit. Dimitri Orloff San Jose Sharks 2 years 13 million short term I like these short term deals with the San Jose Sharks in particular this one because they're going to have some contract signings coming up. Celebrini There's a list of players they're going to want to bring in and maybe make splashes just committing to two years but paying the bank to get these guys is a good fit. That's a veteran presence on that back end for San Jose that is now being absence now with Mark Edward Velasic who is no longer with the San Jose Sharks. Bree Suter believe that someone like we're talking about Bruce Stewart who's coming up through the HL ranks goes into Detroit system, goes over to to Vancouver and this is a coveted free agency signing and this is no offense to Suter but obviously this free agency core is not as strong as other years have been but he gets two years of 4.125 with St. Louis pivotal third line player Gavrikov to the Rangers. Obviously they moved out Kreider's contract. The Rangers are trying to retool but not be not relevant anymore. Especially what they've given shusturkin as a contract 7 million per its immediate boost to their defensive corpse and I can see Fo and Gavrikov playing together and being a pretty impressive pairing now speaking of the Rangers will Coyle signing for two year bridge deal depth winger? Look you also move out Kreider. This is where they would expect him to try to jump in and take this role on. I think the most and this is now going to transition me to Florida. The most surprising signings this offseason have been with the Florida Panthers. They have re signed all three Ekblatt Bennett and Marchant Ekblad. Bennett not surprised about. What I am surprised about is the money especially for Ekblad. This is a guy that could have got $9 million. Maybe I'm a little bit. Maybe a little bit high on that 8 at least on the open market. If he went to somewhere like Detroit, maybe if you would have went to Edmonton, if they would have moved out Nurse's contract which I don't think they'd be able to do it. I don't think Nurse also wants to leave. Or maybe this is somebody the Leafs could have went after. If they want to move on from Riley and bring in Eggplant again Plazas can get involved in that. Maybe this is somebody that could have flown to the Western Conference and thought about going to Dallas or thought about going to Vegas. Right. This is somebody that took less money to stay a part of a dynasty that's in the making with the Florida Panthers. Admarchant I was talking to my wife and two hours later he signed this contract. I don't know if Bill Zito is listening to my phone or other people's phones. I don't know what kind of wizardry that this Bill Zito guy has going on. He's not just a Beatle. Bill Zito Guy, he is a great gm. I'm just saying out of vent. He signed a six year extension obviously with the Florida Panthers with a hit of over $5 million. This pays him till he's over 43 years old. And I told my wife, I said look, if I'm the Toronto Maple Leafs, I'm throwing Brad Marchant A five year contract at 5 million per just so he gets paid when he retires like a Shohei Ohtani contract. And look what Florida does. Not saying that they picked up my brain, but I don't know if there's microphones truly in this and Bill Zito has a direct line to potentially my computer or if he's around the world somewhere getting these ideas. But Brad Marchant, what, what a retain for all three. And Sam Bennett, I'm very cautious about paying north of $8 million for a guy who can barely crack 50 points in the regular season. But you got to gauge his playoff performances and what he's done the playoffs. He was pivotal on the Four Nations. This is somebody who's a character guy, somebody who's really changed his Persona from not being able to do a chin up, basically a combine to somebody now who is a pest on the ice, can put up goals, steps up in big moments. And the Florida Panthers are able to re sign three pieces and retain their full championship core. Essentially what they lose Nate Schmidt and bring in Jeff Petrie. Give them the cup, give them the Stanley cup already. I just can't. That is unbelievable. Florida stays strong by retaining the Ekblad, Marchand and Bennett and they have this core till what, 20, 30. The 2000s belong to Florida teams, notably the Florida Panthers. It obviously seems like okay, so I want to get into. I'm trying to really wrap this up. I'm going to go north of 30 minutes. I can see it's been trying to get these other topics completed as, as efficiently and as quickly as possible. So I can see within my time parameters. I want to get into the taxes and I think that's a very big veered nice way from me talking about Florida. And then I'm going to give some grades. All right, then Gavin McKenna, then my round and round before we round out the show. So getting into the state taxes. Look, Gary Bettman said he doesn't think state taxes matter in the effect of a player's decision or that it's not going to be bad for the National Hockey League. Not saying that as an exact quote, but this is somebody who has said that and are you kidding me? It is. And I get emote, I get very emotional in a, in a, in a venting way. But I'll start. I'm not crying here. But look, Canada, the Canadian market is, I'll say it, that, that's the word. They are. They are so that they cannot sign these players because Florida, Tampa, Vegas, Dallas, these teams are going to come in hot with these no taxes or less taxes in Ontario. And they're going to take these players and be able to keep and retain these players once there is success.
[00:26:18] Players looking for the bag. Look, I'm going to get into why it matters. Okay. In just a moment. But it does absolutely affect NHL roster decisions and it's naive to say otherwise. And that's my message to Bettman. It is naive to say otherwise for you to say that you don't think it does. And I'm not saying that in a cry baby type way. I'm not saying that in a way, oh, poor me. As a Toronto Maple Leaf fan or just wanting Canadian team success in general.
[00:26:47] Any other team that has that penalty to them, even some state teams, and they, and they, and they have the luxury of not having to pay taxes is going to be a problem for teams going forward. Because gone are those days that players are like, look, I want to play for an original six or I want to play for this market. And obviously in a salary cap era, you're tight, right? And you want to try and make as much money as you can for yourself and your family, but you also want to have success. But really what it comes down to is that net salary, okay? But if anyone who thinks that state taxes don't matter, you are. You fly a kite because you're. That is the most naive thing. All right? And here's why it matters. Number one. And I had to make sure I type these notes out so I get them out. Net pay is what counts, all right? NHL players are like employees of your business, okay? They care about net salary, how much money they take home after taxes. Yeah. You want to be doing something you love. I'm one of those people. I have a full time job that I love doing, okay? Would I like to have $40 million or the Lotto 649 or Lotto Max, whatever the $65 million is this week? You don't think I'd rather have that in my pocket and not work 100%?
[00:27:55] And you think I'd rather have 65 million than go make what I'm making at my current job and have to work Monday to Friday and yes, that is a fair comparison because NHL players, like any other employees, care about net salary. And this is where it matters. States like Florida, which are the home of the Panthers and Lightning, you got Texas, where the Dallas Stars are, Tennessee, the Predators. Who wouldn't want to play in Nashville? I know if I wasn't on the Toronto Maple Leafs, I would be really excited to go play in Nashville. I think that'd be kind of cool, especially if Taylor Swift is going to be coming out at a bar with Travis Kelce with a surprise singer. Nevada, the Golden Knights have no state income tax. And when you compare that to California, New York, Quebec, Ontario. Right. Where taxes can go up to 10 to 15% of a player's gross salary.
[00:28:42] All right, let me give you an example. $5 million AAV.
[00:28:46] AAV contract in Florida face California could mean a 400 to 600 thousand dollar take home difference per year. So over five year deal as I typed this out, that's $2 million plus in the player's pocket from staying there and that's $2 million. Think of it, if you had $2 million in your pocket nowadays it's you can spend $2 million quicker, but if you're smart with that $2 million, if you got it handed to you right now, you can pocket it and you can what, Invest it, You can sit on it and you'll be able to retire at your 55. Heck, you might be able to retire 45 if you have that $2 million in there. Especially if it grows. Right? Think about it that way.
[00:29:27] All right, let me give you an example of this. State taxes. Florida Panthers, they just re signed key pieces to their team. They have Sam Reinhart, their long term, they have Forsley. Long term they have Lundell. I talked about who they resigned already. Ekblad, Bennett, Marchant. Right. Barkov's there for the foreseeable future. So here's the thing. Did they take less than market value? Possibly. But playing in Florida means that the net dollars are comparable or better than the AAV somewhere else. And it gives the Panthers a huge, let's say tool in negotiations along with these other teams where they can say if I'm Bill Zito, hey, not only are we a good team, but if you want to make a little bit less, you can still bank more. And we can still bring you personal success by bringing in more players. Unbelievable. And there's one person that I purposely miss and I'm sure people are yelling at this through the microphone, but I did it on purpose. John tavares. Took a $4.38 million contract. I love John Tavares for that. I love it. But I'm going to get to John Tavares and my round and round. That was going to be one of my surprise topics. And yes, he is one of my favorite hockey players already. But we'll, we'll pause Tavares for just a minute or, well, probably the next 10 minutes. Let's get real. This is why Gary Bettman downplays the taxes. He wants the league to maintain the image of fairness and parity. Right. Tax advantage. He acknowledges the tax advantage but denies its effect.
[00:31:00] And he mentions revenue sharing. He mentions the cap smoothing out the playing field, but that does not address income. Net income is a factor today. It's always been a factor. But now in a salary cap era, you want to make the most money for yourself and your family. And personal success is taking a back seat now, even though players won't admit it. But think of it. They don't need to think about personal success because they're making more money for their pocket with a less AAV for their team to follow the same cap as everybody, but be able to take less so they can bring in more star players and retain players. If you have a championship level core, AKA the Florida Panthers, Bettman will say the cap is the same for all teams. Taxes are just one of many to consider. He'll be like, okay, weather matters, family, team, culture. The contention window was another thing that people are thinking. But look, and that is technically true, but ignores that reality that $7 million in Florida is 8 million plus elsewhere. All right. And let me tell you something about weather. Yep. Check for Florida. Family. Yeah, maybe your wife wants to go suntan in Florida. Okay. Maybe they want to be on the beach while you're at practice. And if you're on video, you're getting a heck of a show right now. With my emotions here, team culture makes me laugh the most. The Florida Panthers. My wife went to a game there against the Carolina Hurricanes just after Covid and she was sent further down for free and there was nobody in the upper levels. The Florida Panthers culture has only gotten better because they've started to win. Vegas has always been hot because they've been able to win. I want to see these teams once they start sucking, once Vegas starts to suck, and if Florida ever starts sucking in the next decade, if they're still getting the same sales. But then let's look at Montreal's, Toronto's and all their revenues. I bet you it doesn't change, we'll still be suckers being these Canadian team fans going to games with the hope that we're going to see some long playoff runs when really. And most of them being Canadian, by the way, going to these areas in u. S markets for these less taxes and being contenders for longer periods of time because of the way the ERA is set up. Okay. And the contention window that Bettman brings up that I talked about, whatever. There's so many teams have a contention window. Winnipeg, Toronto, Edmonton. Heck, Ottawa's getting into a contention window. They made the playoffs. They look really good. They were good. If you look at them in a one to eight seed, they wouldn't have played Toronto in the first round. Carolina hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, L.A. kings. Who wouldn't want to go play in LA? Heck, that's the. That's just the rich land of the United States. Not saying it is, that's not a fact. I'm just saying trying to keep the emotions in check. Let me give you something with angle. Okay. And let me ask you, do you really think free agency decisions or resignings that really factor that taxes do have a have a piece in the negotiations? If you say they don't, I need you to comment below or I need you to find a way to get a hold of me and try to prove me wrong. Outside of all these points, there is no way, okay. That state taxes don't matter and I don't know how the NHL is going to address it. I'll be doing a brief mention about the CBA in a few near my round and round as well. There's nothing in there about the taxes and they're not, never will be. You can't just say, oh, every team's going to pay the same taxes. It depends on the state that you're playing in. So this is something that I'm interested to see what happens as we progress further. Not just with Florida, but these other teams that have the ability to pay more for players and if they can keep players because of this and how this will affect the national hockey league. Gavin McKenna. Gavin McKenna. Look, you know, I had a quote from a friend of mine and looking at it, he doesn't think this is going to cause further issues for junior hockey. This change in rules for the ncaa, the OHL and the CHL in general, I love it. Not saying it would have helped me as a player but a lot of friends that I know would have had a lot more success in their hockey career. I feel like if this would have Been around but it wasn't. So there is a lot of positive to this change between the rule of ncaa, but it's really going to change the landscape in the future when it comes to junior hockey and how long someone stays in junior hockey and if they get drafted and what their team that they got drafte drafted by wants them to do. I'm not even going to throw a Brady Martin comparison out there to scare any Susane Marie fans. Where again the game sports podcast located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Let's say Gavin McKenna. Aside from Gavin McKenna, let's use Landon Dupont, who's another projected number one pick. He spends his time in the queue. He gets, you know, he's, he's, he's doing successful. He gets wins a championship, gets more cup, winter loses and he still has a few years left in his draft here. He gets drafted by say, let's say what team would maybe not be strong in the future here they're gonna. I don. Let's say San Jose is still rebuilding. Maybe they're a couple years away perhaps. Okay, let's say the San Jose Sharks draft land and dupont. San Jose goes. You know what we want you to go to ncaa. You're very accomplished defensive player of the year. You had one of the most points in the league. You've won a championship, you've been a leader. Go try to do that. The NCAA level right there. Ticket sales boom affected in that league. Boom. All star player sets the sets the sets the stage for the future, for how things may go. I do fear that when it comes to generational talents that we see here in the CHL is what's going to change the landscape. For those that aren't generational talents, I don't think the effect is going to be that much greater. They'll stay here. Hopefully they go to the NHL. If they don't, then they'll go the NCAA route. But it's the players that are on the upper threshold that have had special exemption status. There are these players that are complete studs that are Bedard McDavid Crosby level. Okay, so here's what I'll say for Gavin McKenna. He committed to Penn State and it marks for a monumental shift. Okay. It's going to be not just for Medicine app, but for the Western Hockey League and NCAA college development, all in all. All right. And here's what I said it means from the medicine hat Tiger hat. Medicine hat Tigers perspective. Big gap left behind. Your leading score is gone. There's going to be obviously Kaden Lundstrom's left and Ryder Ricci are players that have all left in general, but I'm talking about Gavin McKenna in particular. This is a chance for more of the youth players, sure, but it's an overall league wide concern is my other point. BHL and CHL officials have acknowledged and there's some, some connections I've talked to that have knowledge. I've acknowledged that the shift and say they're monitoring it, but the words that I was told, it's being monitored, but there's no rush for concern yet. Let me reword that though, for you. There's no panic yet. I mean, sure, Gavin McKenna's one, but if Landon Dupont goes, I start hitting the panic button. What this matters for NCAA hockey, okay, is it's a turning point. Look, money is the second point. Penn State, what off 600, 700 grand to Gavin McKenna, right? This can be extremely persuasive. You go get your schooling and you're making this money. Can't compete with that in chl. Will this open the door for more? Absolutely it will. The NCAA is now a valuable alternative for elite Canadian prospects. Not just an option, it's an alternative. Success on the on ice and overall exposure between if you're successful in the CHL and then if you're successful in NCAA will increase draft stock or your potential make in the National Hockey League. Third point. Money, money talks. And all in all, what this is going to matter, how it's going to open the doors for more, is the strategy shift. Not only does NCAA have a different strategy now in terms of making their programs more competitive by bringing in and attracting these players, but the WHL needs to look at a different strategy in terms of more developmental roles to ensure that they can completely keep their stars for their duration. But I'm not worried about just stars. Generational talent will be the pro will be the question. So let me, let me tell you this medicine hat. The Tigers, they lose key takeaway, they lose their top score, uhl, CHL take away. They're starting to lose elite talent, NCAA college hockey. They gain credibility and have a competitive edge because of their deals, especially money. Future recruiting takeaway for that. His move, Gavin McKenna paves the way for others that are generational talents to expect similar commitments to make similar dollars. And right now I'm looking at Landon Dupont. We'll see what happens there. All right, that's 43 minutes. I'm 13 minutes over. I guess if you were guessing if I'd go over 30. If you had your money on the Over. You were correct. Lots to get into this week, but we're going to get into the round and round and to get into that, I'm going to start with going with hockey, because we've been talking about hockey. Number one, Matthew Schaefer might be my favorite hockey player right now, given what what I saw him experience at the National Hockey League draft, his interview on Spit and Chiclets. This kid looks like a stud. He looks like a great guy. His heart's in the right place, his mind the right place. For someone to be that emotional of losing his mother and be able to go up there and cry and be emotional and state his feelings. I had. I was tearing up. My wife and I were tearing up for Matthew Schaefer because of what he had to go through to get to where he got to today. So hats off to Matthew Schaefer. John Tavares, I want to kiss your feet. $4.3 million. He's making less than Cody Cece. Put that around. Former Leaf legend Cody Cece. John Tavares is making less than him on the aav. John Tavares is committed to Toronto. It's almost like he walked into the, to the room with Brad Tree living and said, hey, I'll play for free. And Brad's like, we can't do that. We're going to give you some money, okay? Tavares bleeds blue. He wants to be here, he wants to win. And yeah, he may not get 40 goals this year, he might only get 20, 25. But this is somebody that can still help you win big games. Move them to the wing, keep them center, whatever you want to do. But look, Tavares, you are king. You are. As a Toronto Maple Leaf fan, we should be giving you the biggest ovation when you touch that puck next year because you have shown your commitment. The Leafs only have what, over 5 million in cap space right now. If Tavares went on the open market, he would have gotten what the Leafs have in cap space remaining still on top of what he maybe have gotten. He would have been a seven and a half million dollar guy. And if you think I'm nuts, I'm not. Look at Brad Marchanta, signed for for five years. Yeah, Marchand has more of a pedigree than Tavares at this current point right now. But look, a centerman and can be the effect of what Tavares can do. If Tavares would hit the open market, he's getting north of $7 million. But he stays in Toronto for 4.38 you gotta love it. Gotta love it. Hats off to Virus. Thank you for doing that. Toronto Blue Jays. Look, I wish I would have had a bit more of exciting entrance into this talking here in my round and round. They had the opportunity to win 11 in a row today. They did lose the Chicago White Sox, but ten in a row. You know, Santander's down, they have Varsho down. They've been dealing with a little bit of injuries, but this has been a hot team. Barger Springer, Absolutely. Studs, these guys are looking great. First in the AL East. Will they be able to hold it? Look, it's going to be tough for the New York Yankees to keep them up, to keep them out of the way, but this is a team now that when they approach the All Star breaking deadline, there better be a buyer sticker on everything in that room. And do you want to change the mojo? Not much. But the Blue Jays have an opportunity to add pieces and those pieces are in the bullpen. Maybe a starter. Be interested to see what that is. The bats. It depends what you want to look at at batting. If Santandera comes back healthy, which we probably won't see him back for quite some time. Varsho, these are pieces that could be pretty good bats that they have right now. Listen, Heinemann did a bunt single for an rbi and I watched the Cleveland now Guardians have Andrew Miller come out of that bullpen against the Blue Jays and they didn't have all these all stars on their team that the LA Dodgers have, okay? They played small ball to win games. You get good bullpen and you solidify that rotation and bullpen and let these bats cook like they've been doing, that will be what the Blue Jays should be doing. But either way, no matter how hot you are, whoever's coming out of the al, you're going to be facing a mammoth in the Dodgers. No matter how much struggle the Dodgers have, I'm telling you right now, it's going to be hard to defeat them. But I won't get into too much baseball because Connor Henderson and Strike Zone is not currently the segment. I just want to give love to the Blue Jays. Love seeing them in first. Very exciting. It's been a great run. Keep it up Blue Jays. Masai Ujiri is going to be the last topic that I get into this evening. Okay, I'm already 17 minutes over and I typed probably a few notes here and it's probably honestly enough for a 10 minute segment, but I'm not going to give you that. I'm not going to give you that. It's an end of an era. And we're going to dive into a few pieces here with Messiah. Jiri, let me give you his legacy in Toronto, his timeline. He arrives in 2013, playoff appearances, success still for the Raptors after that, trades for Kawhi in 2019. And included in that trade was a Larry O' Brien Trophy, arguably the boldest move in franchise history. You can look at anything with Vince Carter, but you move DeMar DeRozan a key piece, and you move Portal and you move picks to get in. Kawhi Leonard, it paid off. We, the north, the culture shift. He changed the identity of the Raptors. And that was a good point brought up to me by a friend. I can't take credit for that, but we the north was something that he started. Speaking of culture shift, we the north look at development Van Fleet Siakam og, who's doing sick in New York, by the way, success. And he attracted players to stay here and play here. Each draft hit on picks. Scotty Barnes, for example. He also had a very big impact on the community beyond baseball, his global leadership from, you know, of Giants of Africa, and his involvement in Toronto and development in basketball in general for Basketball Canada. He has a big part of that. And Messiah Jerry's legacy in Toronto, those are key points to the breakup. What happened? What happened behind a bull, Thor, behind the doors, right? There's been a lack of direction. They say the rebuild's been stalled. Look, Messiah jury, you should always trust in Messiah. That's what I always said. And I don't feel betrayal. I don't feel sadness. I feel gratitude. And I'm grateful for all the Messiah's done, for the moves that he did, presence that Kyle Lowry had, bringing in Kawhi Leonard, the We, the north, everything that he did is nothing but respect. And this guy brought a championship to Toronto. And out of the three big sports in Toronto, well, TFC needs to be included in there. They have won a championship, so I can't include them. But I'm going to stick to basketball, baseball, hockey. Right now, if you don't mind, soccer fans, he brought a championship before the Leafs and Blue Jays did in the 20th century. Okay, blue Jays won in the late and early 90s. They had a heck of a team. The Leafs are sitting here wondering what the heck it takes to win iu. Jerry had a pedigree to win, and he had an impact in the league. And the Raptors, losing them, I think, was a big mistake. What's going to be his next job. What's he going to take over? Who knows who's going to take over for him? Is it Bobby Webster's job? What does this show to the fans and to the NBA? Can players still be attracted to come play for the Toronto Raptors? I think yes. Big picture for you. His legacy championship matters, but so do cultural shifts. Say Yujiri shifted a culture, enhanced the factor of entertainment and basketball for Canada. And despite what people think about the NBA right now not being a great league or great time to watch, he brought forward something fresh and exciting to watch here in Canada and he brought a championship. I think it's an opportunity for a fresh start. But I, still speaking as a fan, wish the Messiah was at the helm, but obviously Messiah just didn't bring a title. He brought belief to the Raptors nation, to Toronto. He brought what we say today, a run that's unforgettable in Toronto 2019 Raptors championship. I couldn't believe that was happening. He taught the city of Toronto, the country of Canada, how to feel victorious, how to expect more and actually achieve it. I say this as a goodbye to Masai and big piece of gratitude for being a big part of my sports memories, for letting me witness something so amazing in Toronto that the city has been craving and that the city deserves in this as a sports, as a sports city. But as fans, you did the unthinkable and brought an NBA championship to the Raptors organization. And I think this is just more of a heartbreak. But I have gratitude and I have respect for the best in the business and that was and is Messiah we the North. What happens next for the Raptors? You let me know and let me know what you think below on that. All right, we're 53 minutes in. I'm almost double my time. I should probably, you know, really consider the time management piece. But I hope you enjoyed this and this is why we do pre record. If I was live right now, people would be my ears. I'd probably be fired, to be honest with you. But you know what, when you haven't had a show in a few weeks and you're solo and you don't have someone in your ear or you got friends following different times, allow me to be a bit more free. And I hope you enjoyed all the content here today and see the heart and emotion that I have with not just this podcast, but the sports in general when it comes to all sports, not just if you heard a lot of hockey today, when it comes to baseball, basketball, love talking football when that comes back, a lot of great things coming here for the Game. As we say every year different changes we do each year. We look at different formats and try to do different interactions to keep you entertained. The Game Sports Podcast has been around since 2016 anywhere 2016. We are hitting our 10th anniversary in January and we got to do something special and we're going to look at doing something special for you, the listeners for being a part of us for this over past decade here on the Game Sports Podcast. 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And for social media at the Game Sports Podcast, Tick tock, Instagram and Facebook. Again, we hope that you enjoyed this edition of the Game Sports Podcast. We will be back next week. We are planning to have an episode next week on July 15th and 16th is where we're looking to do a recording. But after that we're going to be looking at one more episode, if not two before we take a vacation for the rest of the summer. So we're going to be looking at likely having our last new show for the first week of August and then we're not going to be back until the until Labor Day. Around that area where we're going to be a lot of us are going to be taking vacations. So make sure if you want to be a part of the show, jump on the show or have your quotes or interaction for any of these pieces and you want to make sure it stays relevant. Make sure you comment below or reach out and we'll make sure that we give you that feedback. And if you're okay with me saying your name, let me know. I know a lot of people that text me, I say, my friend, this person text me. It's because I didn't get their approval for their name. So if you want me to say who you are when I talk to you, or when you say a point in reaction and you want me to get back to you, please do that. You can also email the gamesportshowssmail.com yeah, we didn't change the show part in our email. You got to keep a little bit of nostalgia, but you can also fire us a mention on any one of our platforms. Until next time I'm here to remind you, keep your stick on the ice, swing your bats, catch touchdowns, join your threes and shoot your shots. Booyah.
[00:50:46] It.
