WEBVTT

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Let's do it. Let's go. Hockey. Cold Tampa. What's

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up? What's up? It's Daria and Ken. Barbie and

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Ken. Also me. How are you doing? It's extremely

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cold. I mean, I am still freezing after the stadium

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series and I don't understand what's going on

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in Tampa. It's that global warming everybody

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keeps talking about. Haven't you heard about

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that? But it's not warm. It's freezing. I know.

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Actually, they had to not use the word global

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warming. They had to use uh climate control or

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some other word like that because when they use

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global warming then people were expecting the

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temperatures to just rise all the time and of

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course that's not the case climate does change

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and if you go back and you're a student of history

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every so many years there's a cooling down period

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and then there's a warming up period and then

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a cooling down period and we're just in one of

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those cycles we'll go out of it 70s next week

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and then it's spring break middle of february

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and we're off and running with this nice Florida

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weather. And here we go. Weather lesson for you

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kids. That was a bonus. No extra charge for that.

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Okay. Tell me, Ken, how was it? How was the stadium

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series? Because you told us last time you're

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going to watch it at home. So how was it? It

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was fantastic. It was one of the most exciting

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games that I have watched. And I've watched...

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A lot of Stanley Cup games and playoff games

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with the Lightning, but this one was right at

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the top. And I think the nation took note of

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that as well because it was the highest game,

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regular season game, watched since ESPN has had

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the NHL contracts. And they've had the NHL contracts

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at four different times since they've been televising

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sporting events. 2 .2 million, 2 .3 million watched

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it. A great game. entertaining engaging and it

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had everything that you wanted in a hockey game

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if you want scoring there was a lot of scoring

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if you wanted some roughness and some feistiness

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you had that if you wanted a goalie fight which

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is extremely rare i might say you had a goalie

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fight you had a comeback you had a team that

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was all but dead in the second period and the

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fight was the catalyst that inspired everyone

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to come back and give it their all. And they

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ended up winning it in a shootout. Great game.

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Awesome. And if you want it to be cold, it was

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cold. It was really cold. Yes. Yeah. I think

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everybody was a little worried going into the

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game a couple of weeks prior. Once we got closer

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to the game, we knew what the temperatures were

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going to be, but without that roof over the stadium,

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like they had down in Miami. They were concerned

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that the heat might interfere in the heating

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of the day with the ice. And it wasn't that way

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at all. It was pretty much perfect conditions.

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Even Kucherov, who did the pregame skate the

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day before, said the ice was absolutely horrible.

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But on game day, he had a nice game. I think

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he finished with four points. So he was able

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to adjust to the quality of the bad ice, as he

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calls it. So I think it was a great event. Again,

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spotlighting. the city of Tampa, and it just

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shows what a first -class city, you know, Tampa

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is. We can put on these big sporting events and

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just be a huge success for the teams and the

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families and the fans that come here to enjoy

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that. But once again, it's so much to say here.

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Tampa is a very sports -oriented city all over,

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and you can really feel the vibe. Because even

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right now, if you watch the Florida Panthers

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games, All of those fans, they just don't go

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to the games. Empty seats. You cannot see that

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in Tampa. Even at the beginning of the season

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when the team was not doing so well, I haven't

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seen that many empty seats. No, and that's one

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of the things about the Tampa market that drives

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me crazy. They're willing to sell to the highest

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bidder the tickets for an event. It doesn't matter

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if it's baseball. You go to baseball, Yankees,

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Red Sox, Tigers, Phillies. You go to football

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when the Jets and the Eagles and the Steelers

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and the Bears come in. And the same way with

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hockey. Montreal, Toronto, Boston, the Rangers.

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You live here. Cut the freaking cord. Okay? You

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don't live there anymore. You come here. You

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want to enjoy our sunshine, our warm weather,

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our beaches. As they say in Boston, Forget about

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it. It's Tampa now, all the way. So we have to

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do a better job of getting some more homegrown

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fans and people that grow up with the teams.

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The other thing I think that contributes to that

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is most of the teams that you see being represented

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from out of town in the Tampa market have a very

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long history. Tampa's got a very short sports

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history. I mean, the Rays, Only been around,

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you know, 30 years. The Lightning, not much longer.

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The Bucks started in 76. That's very short when

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you compare their tenure to what some of these

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other dynasties and original six teams in the

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NHL have. So that has something to do with it,

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too. But hopefully we get there and it'll be

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a majority of Tampa fans here as we get this

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playoff run kicked in after the Olympics. And

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you already talked about the ratings, right?

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And I also found this stats. Yeah. They'll actually

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say that most attended pregame festival. I was

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there too. Yes. It was crowded. The line was

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huge. I, we had to stand there, I think for 40

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minutes because in the winter classic in Miami,

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it only took us like 15 minutes and the area

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was much smaller, of course. But anyways, about

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the TV rate, I mean, 2 .1, 2 .4 million. Ken,

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I'm in shock. This is really low. I agree with

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you. It is low. But when you do comparison by

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comparison, that's an excellent number. I think

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the, what was the... I can't think of the name

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of it. The international series they had last

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year at the All -Star break were the Four Nations

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Tournament. The U .S. and Canada, I believe,

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if I'm not mistaken, we had 15 million people.

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The country watched that game. And they were

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just going crazy over that. I mean, the Super

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Bowl will get 100 million people. Yes. So it

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just goes to show you that hockey still has a

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long way to go. It's a fabulous sport. It's considered

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more of a northern sport. But in the last 20

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years, I mean, look at the growth in markets

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like Dallas and even Phoenix. Even they don't

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have a hockey team anymore. They hadn't for 20

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years. Dallas is a good market. There's a lot

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of minor league teams that are in some cities

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now. San Diego, Houston, New Orleans. They're

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trying to grow the game at the grassroots level.

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And I think that's what it's going to take. to

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really get the sport on the same level as even

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NBA basketball. I mean, let's start with the

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NBA. The NBA is third ranked overall in viewership

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behind the NFL, and Major League Baseball and

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the NBA kind of go back and forth. But if the

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NHL could consistently generate those kind of

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numbers from a rating standpoint, that would

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be a good starting point and would be fantastic.

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But they're trying. They're working. It's a slow

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process. I cannot say that they're working and

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trying really hard if the NHL blocks the entire

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country or people who speak one language like

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Russia, Russian. I don't want to be too political,

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but it really matters. Well, that's more of an

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international growth challenge than it would

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be anything domestic here. Well, there's a lot

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of Russian -speaking people here, and they still

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prefer... you know, not the English exposure

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and coverage but russian speaking and it's all

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blocked but anyways let's not go there let's

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talk about the fun part what about the outfits

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it was really funny i was crossing the street

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with my boys and i see that like a tourist bath

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like real really regular bus like nothing special

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about it but it was surrounded by police on the

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motorcycles and i could see like the guys sitting

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inside in those triangle hats i was like oh the

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lightning then i looked at the And it was about

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3 .30. I was like, no, Boston Bruins supposed

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to arrive at this time. I'm like, hmm, why are

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they wearing hats? Are they pirates? Isn't it

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our theme? It's very interesting. And then, of

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course, when I saw that little trolley, it's

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not even a bus, right? What is this? Like trolley

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car. Yeah. And I see the NFL players. I'm like,

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oh my God, this is amazing. The outfits were

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amazing for the Boston and for the Tampa players.

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Yeah, again, I thought that the NHL and the organizations

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did a great job of just coming up with something

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that was entertaining, a bit different. It wasn't

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the old tried and true boring thing. They really

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stepped outside the box, tried to bring some

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excitement to it. You know, they had Baker Mayfield

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and Tristan Wirfs in the lightning jerseys, and

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they were kind of leading the team into the stadium.

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I thought that was... that without that was a

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great touch and kind of got everybody fired up

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and It was good it was fantastic the way they

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did their entrances, you know what bothered me

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Obviously, you know Nikita Kucherov and there's

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another Nikita Nikita Zadorov. He is a giant

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I guess he's a brutal mr. Brutality guy now like

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he's very brutal not always placed by the rules,

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but what? surprised me in a bad way how rough

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and bad he was to nikita kucherov it's like you

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are from the same country i understand that you

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are playing against each other but it's so not

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necessary trying to crush the best player in

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the world near the boards that can lead to an

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injury i referenced last night did you see with

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makola last night kucherov is standing there

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minding his business And then that blowhard coach

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for the Panthers, Paul Maurice, oh, we only hit

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guys with the puck. Get the freak out of here.

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He took a chop at Couture. What do you think

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is going to happen? I mean, it had been a fairly

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clean game, I mean, up until then. Yeah. Rough

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stuff. But, you know, a boxing match broke out

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then. And I don't know why they have to go to

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that. Level you're getting your ass beat. Just

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take your ass with you. Go home. Paul Maurice

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cannot take that I Don't know but I don't know

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why players and it's not just you know, the the

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guy you're mentioning but there's a lot of other

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players that Cheap shot artists Tom Wilson in

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the Capitals. I can't stand him. Okay, I Wrote

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a piece one time he should not be allowed to

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ever skate in an NHL arena again. All he does

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is headhunt. That's all he does. He has no skill.

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Ask him to score 10 goals a season, he couldn't

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do it. 15 goals. Ask him to be part of the second

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power play unit or be on the penalty kill. Nope.

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Nope. He only knows how to headhunt and instigate

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and antagonize. I guess in the sport of hockey,

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you need a couple people like that on your team,

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but they have to know. Okay, when's the right

00:12:21.490 --> 00:12:23.309
time to jump in? When's the right time to bring

00:12:23.309 --> 00:12:26.230
it? And when's the right time to pull back? Like

00:12:26.230 --> 00:12:30.169
Marshawn or Sam Bennett on Team Canada. Yes,

00:12:30.389 --> 00:12:33.190
you need to know when to stop. Stop word. Yeah.

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Except for the one time where Shan, when he was

00:12:36.169 --> 00:12:40.129
with Boston, did spit in one of the Lightning

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players' faces. I forget who that was. That was

00:12:42.830 --> 00:12:45.870
really emotional. That just got out of the hand.

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But he's trying to behave right now. He's trying.

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He didn't even play last night because he was

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getting ready for the Olympics, which I cannot

00:12:54.710 --> 00:12:57.269
say about Matthew Tkachuk. I don't know what

00:12:57.269 --> 00:13:00.090
is wrong with that guy. Why are you trying to

00:13:00.090 --> 00:13:03.870
injure Jake Gansel? You are going to be on the

00:13:03.870 --> 00:13:06.250
same team, dude. You're going to be fighting

00:13:06.250 --> 00:13:10.889
against Team Canada. You need him. Well, maybe

00:13:10.889 --> 00:13:14.950
it is a situation similar to what we saw at the

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end of the stadium series with Vazzy and Jeremy

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Swayman. After their fight, lining up to shake

00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:23.480
hands, they meet one another, they hug, they

00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:25.720
embrace, have some small talk. Hey, how's the

00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:27.679
kids? How's the wife? Hey, I'll see you later.

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And there's no hard feeling. They just leave

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it on the ice and go about their business. Well,

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I don't know. Who votes for, like, you know,

00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:37.659
after this season, usually athletics or NHLPA

00:13:37.659 --> 00:13:41.600
ask who is the most hated guy? Mr. Tkachuk, always.

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Yes. Yeah. Well, he brings that on himself. with

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the style of play. And to be honest, I don't

00:13:50.539 --> 00:13:53.100
think they care. I don't think they care. He

00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:56.659
joins it. Yeah. One way or the other, that brings

00:13:56.659 --> 00:13:58.879
them attention. If they have to be the villain,

00:13:59.059 --> 00:14:01.159
they'll be the villain. They'll be the hated

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one as long as they can somehow help their team

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get that emotional edge, put their team over

00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:11.799
the top. That's all they really care about. I

00:14:11.799 --> 00:14:15.360
mean, it was a good game. Lightning won 6 -1.

00:14:15.460 --> 00:14:18.580
That's ridiculous. I mean, that's too much, but

00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:22.019
it was not the best game for Daniel Tarasov,

00:14:22.019 --> 00:14:28.519
who also got injured. What was the injury update

00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:32.559
on him? I did not follow up, but I actually...

00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:35.899
because it's just the habit that's it he always

00:14:35.899 --> 00:14:38.620
records stuff because you can also use it you

00:14:38.620 --> 00:14:41.139
know for your media coverage purposes and it

00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:43.740
looked like he pulled his groin a little earlier

00:14:43.740 --> 00:14:46.360
yeah because you know there's a lot of movement

00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:50.279
a lot of shots and he couldn't move but he tried

00:14:50.279 --> 00:14:52.940
and he only made it worse like you could see

00:14:52.940 --> 00:14:56.299
the moment when he was actually feeling discomfort

00:14:56.299 --> 00:15:00.809
but he understand he still had to move towards

00:15:00.809 --> 00:15:03.830
the right side and he did and that's it that

00:15:03.830 --> 00:15:06.029
was the goal and he just couldn't get up after

00:15:06.029 --> 00:15:10.769
that yeah yeah it i i was surprised because i

00:15:10.769 --> 00:15:13.370
didn't think that that would affect him you know

00:15:13.370 --> 00:15:15.769
like that but you know when you're goalie and

00:15:15.769 --> 00:15:18.230
you're moving around like that if you are not

00:15:18.230 --> 00:15:22.429
able to move laterally oh you're done yeah you

00:15:22.429 --> 00:15:26.049
know you you're done so yeah that was i'm sure

00:15:26.049 --> 00:15:29.090
maurice didn't want to put Bob in but at that

00:15:29.090 --> 00:15:31.309
point in the game, you know, what what choice

00:15:31.309 --> 00:15:33.190
do you have to just go out and finish the game

00:15:33.190 --> 00:15:37.990
and Get out of there And it also a little upsetting

00:15:37.990 --> 00:15:41.490
once again, it was an amazing game by Andrei

00:15:41.490 --> 00:15:45.769
Vasilevsky He just switched his whatever it is,

00:15:45.830 --> 00:15:49.929
but he is outstanding He plays like he owns the

00:15:49.929 --> 00:15:52.889
world and it's little sad that he didn't get

00:15:52.889 --> 00:15:57.539
that shot out, but it's okay it's still very

00:15:57.539 --> 00:16:00.919
sad that he's not going to the Olympics. Nikita

00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:03.419
Kucherov, they're both in their prime, and they

00:16:03.419 --> 00:16:06.620
probably, from the entire team, Russia, for the

00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:09.600
entire Lightning organization right now, those

00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:12.840
are two players who should be there. They deserve

00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:16.039
it. Absolutely. Absolutely. And don't forget

00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:19.019
about Sergeyev, the other Russian defenseman

00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:21.139
that was here a few years ago before he got traded

00:16:21.139 --> 00:16:25.529
to Utah. I'm sure he would be... Could be on

00:16:25.529 --> 00:16:30.009
that team as well. But I'm sure they're disappointed.

00:16:30.070 --> 00:16:31.929
They're not going to be able to represent their

00:16:31.929 --> 00:16:35.009
country. But at the same time, how often do you

00:16:35.009 --> 00:16:37.730
get the chance to take a two -week vacation in

00:16:37.730 --> 00:16:40.090
the middle of the season and just kind of chill

00:16:40.090 --> 00:16:42.529
for a few days and do nothing? Now, you've got

00:16:42.529 --> 00:16:45.610
to be careful with that because February 25th

00:16:45.610 --> 00:16:47.500
will be here before you know it. So you don't

00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:49.679
want to lounge around and have too many barbecues

00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:52.120
and cookouts and get out of shape and not keep

00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:55.679
your fitness and conditioning up because that'll

00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:58.980
be not so good for you. If you step back onto

00:16:58.980 --> 00:17:02.039
the ice for your first practice session, you're

00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:04.619
winded, you can't go. So they have to maintain

00:17:04.619 --> 00:17:09.440
some type of fitness and training, obviously,

00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:11.500
during the break if you're not going to the Olympics.

00:17:12.269 --> 00:17:14.390
I'm sure you know you're not talking about Nikita

00:17:14.390 --> 00:17:16.450
Kucherov right now because he's probably already

00:17:16.450 --> 00:17:19.769
practicing and training for the playoffs. Yeah,

00:17:19.869 --> 00:17:23.710
he probably works out 365. Yeah, that sounds

00:17:23.710 --> 00:17:28.950
about right. Four hours a day. He is ready. So

00:17:28.950 --> 00:17:31.410
basically you enjoyed the game. That's what I'm

00:17:31.410 --> 00:17:34.809
trying to get. It was an awesome game. It was

00:17:34.809 --> 00:17:37.190
fantastic. I actually saved. I'm going to make

00:17:37.190 --> 00:17:41.470
a. a collage. I have this photo collage on my

00:17:41.470 --> 00:17:46.490
wall in my living room. It has a place for 10

00:17:46.490 --> 00:17:49.670
pictures. And I picked out 10 pictures when the

00:17:49.670 --> 00:17:51.990
Lightning won the Stanley Cup and put them in

00:17:51.990 --> 00:17:54.730
there. Pictures of them raising the cup and in

00:17:54.730 --> 00:17:57.589
the bay tossing the cup around and having some

00:17:57.589 --> 00:17:59.430
fun. And I'm going to do that with the stadium

00:17:59.430 --> 00:18:01.769
series. I've got a lot of photos saved and I'm

00:18:01.769 --> 00:18:04.890
going to make a little collage and put it right

00:18:04.890 --> 00:18:09.079
up next to that. Because it was just a A shiny

00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:12.039
event and a real neat event, you know, just like

00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:15.359
the Stanley Cup Finals. Ken, you always talk

00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:17.940
about all the pretty stuff that you have, but

00:18:17.940 --> 00:18:19.940
you never share it. Like, we still don't have

00:18:19.940 --> 00:18:22.819
the pictures, videos. You have to start sharing

00:18:22.819 --> 00:18:26.599
so I can actually insert it. I know. I will do

00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:31.819
that. I promise. I just get busy. yeah and i

00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:35.900
also got my john cooper 1000 game puck oh you

00:18:35.900 --> 00:18:39.099
did they still have some yeah good good they

00:18:39.099 --> 00:18:41.799
probably got some extra ones because i remember

00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:45.559
when nikita kucherov got his 1000 points i was

00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:48.079
i went to the store i think it was like in two

00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:50.500
days and they're like oh we're out i'm like what

00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:53.799
are you kidding They said that they only produce

00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:58.200
2 ,000. I'm like, that's not fair. Nikita Kucherov

00:18:58.200 --> 00:19:01.140
is a star. And they said that they're probably

00:19:01.140 --> 00:19:03.980
not going to have any more. But in a few weeks,

00:19:04.140 --> 00:19:06.500
guess what? They did. They actually delivered

00:19:06.500 --> 00:19:10.500
more. That was awesome. Yeah. And I went to the

00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:13.920
store yesterday. It was crowded. It was so hard

00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:16.619
to move. The price is still the same. There is

00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:19.079
no sale for the stadium Sears. And people still

00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:23.480
buy it. So it's very popular. Yeah, it's a nice

00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:30.559
colors, nice alternative. I have the black jersey

00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:34.359
with the bolts on. I have the blue regular home

00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:38.579
jersey, the white home jersey. I have the stadium

00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:42.619
club series jersey. And there was another one,

00:19:42.680 --> 00:19:45.519
I think they played in Nashville. So I have about

00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:51.170
six or seven different styles. Lightning jerseys,

00:19:51.170 --> 00:19:54.250
and you just never know when you'll get the urge

00:19:54.250 --> 00:19:56.829
to put one on. You hate to wear the same thing

00:19:56.829 --> 00:19:59.369
all the time when the playoffs are going on.

00:19:59.410 --> 00:20:03.210
You like to keep it fresh. I do. Oh, I actually

00:20:03.210 --> 00:20:06.769
wanted to ask you something more fashionably

00:20:06.769 --> 00:20:11.470
personal. Okay. There's a lot of women, obviously,

00:20:11.470 --> 00:20:15.990
out there. Some outfits were outrageous. and

00:20:15.990 --> 00:20:19.230
like there was a lady she was really tall like

00:20:19.230 --> 00:20:23.809
she was probably i don't know six five or something

00:20:23.809 --> 00:20:26.869
like that and it looked like she's wearing jersey

00:20:26.869 --> 00:20:32.569
with no skirt or shorts and high boots so everyone

00:20:32.569 --> 00:20:36.769
was like what is going on here did she forget

00:20:36.769 --> 00:20:40.549
to dress or what it was i i felt uncomfortable

00:20:40.549 --> 00:20:43.670
i am i am very you know open -minded person but

00:20:43.670 --> 00:20:46.460
it was like What is going on here? Am I still

00:20:46.460 --> 00:20:48.279
in the game? You have to cover your children's

00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:55.279
eyes. Yeah, I did. Yeah. It's like, oh, my God.

00:20:55.339 --> 00:20:57.160
You know, I have a little boy here. Close your

00:20:57.160 --> 00:21:00.160
eyes. And he's like, what is she doing? So I

00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:04.640
don't know. Some fashionable choices. I don't

00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:08.359
know, people. You have to be blocked. Get out.

00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:13.009
Yeah. Well, if you saw. Not to change the subject,

00:21:13.150 --> 00:21:16.509
but if you saw any of the fashion statements

00:21:16.509 --> 00:21:20.890
that some of the women in the entertainment industry

00:21:20.890 --> 00:21:23.789
were trying to make at the Grammys, you would

00:21:23.789 --> 00:21:28.569
have bawled. That's all I'm going to say. Oh,

00:21:28.910 --> 00:21:34.730
okay. So it's going there. Got it. Yes. Okay.

00:21:36.589 --> 00:21:38.849
You know, what works in Hollywood on the red

00:21:38.849 --> 00:21:42.230
carpet will not necessarily work. in tampa at

00:21:42.230 --> 00:21:46.109
an outdoor hockey game i love it i love it yes

00:21:46.109 --> 00:21:48.630
because players still cannot see you they're

00:21:48.630 --> 00:21:53.210
a little busy yeah exactly they're a little busy

00:21:53.210 --> 00:21:58.750
girls okay get busy yeah yeah what about another

00:21:58.750 --> 00:22:04.529
outrageous event during this week Panarin, Artemi

00:22:04.529 --> 00:22:07.470
Panarin rumors. I mean, he never made it to Tampa.

00:22:07.630 --> 00:22:10.250
I wish he would. I even, like, created social

00:22:10.250 --> 00:22:12.410
media posts. But I knew it's not going to happen.

00:22:12.569 --> 00:22:16.230
Because knowing Artemi, his logic, and his family,

00:22:16.430 --> 00:22:19.450
they only care about, at this point, only about

00:22:19.450 --> 00:22:22.250
big cities. And obviously, after New York, there's

00:22:22.250 --> 00:22:25.819
only one city left. Los Angeles. And yeah, Los

00:22:25.819 --> 00:22:29.220
Angeles. But he would be so useful here. John

00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:32.039
Cooper would find him the best spot. He would

00:22:32.039 --> 00:22:34.839
open up everything that's holding back there.

00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:40.440
Well, you had a couple of problems trying to

00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:43.099
get him to Tampa, number one. The first thing

00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:45.880
was he wanted an extension. And the Kings ended

00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:49.420
up signing him for $22 million, two years. That's

00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:53.970
an average of 11 mil a year. What kind of cap

00:22:53.970 --> 00:22:56.650
space does the Lightning have right now? That's

00:22:56.650 --> 00:23:02.049
the second question. They don't, okay? So that

00:23:02.049 --> 00:23:06.190
kind of prohibits that player and that type of

00:23:06.190 --> 00:23:08.509
math from working with Tampa. I was thinking

00:23:08.509 --> 00:23:11.089
about it. You bring in somebody like Panarin,

00:23:11.210 --> 00:23:16.549
a lot of times it takes a while for them to get

00:23:16.549 --> 00:23:18.650
into the flow of things with their new team,

00:23:18.869 --> 00:23:22.650
you know, become part of the culture. And everything

00:23:22.650 --> 00:23:25.150
is just clicking right now, man. Cooper's got

00:23:25.150 --> 00:23:29.730
his hands on that team. He knows the pulse of

00:23:29.730 --> 00:23:32.430
that team. Everything that he's doing right now

00:23:32.430 --> 00:23:36.430
is working. And even though you can possibly

00:23:36.430 --> 00:23:39.430
bring in a talent like that, at the end of the

00:23:39.430 --> 00:23:42.170
day, is the move going to help you this season

00:23:42.170 --> 00:23:46.609
and also help you down the road? And I don't

00:23:46.609 --> 00:23:48.450
know that that would have been the case with

00:23:48.450 --> 00:23:52.599
Panarin. Short term, yes. Long term, I don't

00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:55.559
know. I was only talking about today, right now,

00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:58.079
because we would need extra power for play. And

00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:00.500
I was hoping that he will be able to open now

00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:03.599
because he really wants that Stanley Cup. I just

00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:05.960
don't. I'm happy with the guys that we have.

00:24:06.140 --> 00:24:12.859
True. Hegel, Kucherov, Gunsel, you know, even

00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:16.599
Radish got 32 points, you know, as a defenseman.

00:24:16.619 --> 00:24:20.539
That man. is the most improved player this year

00:24:20.539 --> 00:24:24.440
on the Lightning team. So as these young kids

00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:27.079
come up and they get an opportunity, I'm hoping

00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:29.039
that they will develop. I'm still waiting on

00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:31.980
Connor Geeky. I don't know what he's buried in

00:24:31.980 --> 00:24:35.880
Syracuse for. He was the big player and piece

00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:38.140
in that Sergachev trade. Had a little cup of

00:24:38.140 --> 00:24:41.240
coffee with the Lightning. They sent him down

00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:42.940
to Syracuse. He's never been back since. Now

00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:45.000
his brother's a pretty good player for Boston.

00:24:45.740 --> 00:24:48.480
Morgan, his brother Morgan's doing well. I would

00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:51.480
trade for his brother because his brother is,

00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:54.099
I don't know, he just looks better. I'm sorry,

00:24:54.200 --> 00:24:58.559
but our gig is very raw. But, you know, these

00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:04.839
young kids are coming in and I think that they've

00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:07.000
bought into the system. They're not trying to

00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:09.599
be something they're not. They're not trying

00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:14.019
to, you know. maybe be the big stars that they

00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:15.980
are down at Syracuse. I mean, look at that line

00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:18.559
last night, the fourth line, Douglas, Finley,

00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:22.000
and Sabourin. If we would have talked about that

00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:24.000
line and said, hey, you know, these guys are

00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:26.539
really going to play an important part of this

00:25:26.539 --> 00:25:28.460
lightning team this season as we go down the

00:25:28.460 --> 00:25:30.819
stretch and make that push for the playoffs,

00:25:31.019 --> 00:25:33.079
people would have looked at us like we have four

00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:35.200
heads. You know, what are you talking about?

00:25:35.539 --> 00:25:39.720
But here we are. And we would not be in the position

00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:43.109
without, That line, because all that line does

00:25:43.109 --> 00:25:49.789
is bring a lot of toughness, tenacity, physicality.

00:25:50.849 --> 00:25:55.150
They're not afraid to do anything to help the

00:25:55.150 --> 00:25:56.710
team win the game. They don't care about scoring.

00:25:57.049 --> 00:25:59.910
They're not there for the accolades. They are

00:25:59.910 --> 00:26:02.329
there to do whatever it takes to help their team

00:26:02.329 --> 00:26:05.210
win. And that's what the Lightning was missing

00:26:05.210 --> 00:26:08.970
the last couple of years. Especially in playoffs,

00:26:09.190 --> 00:26:11.750
yeah. In their playoff series with Florida. They

00:26:11.750 --> 00:26:14.650
had nobody that would stand up. Nobody that would

00:26:14.650 --> 00:26:17.670
answer the bell. They get run off the ice by

00:26:17.670 --> 00:26:21.569
the Panthers, you know, and trot off like a dog

00:26:21.569 --> 00:26:23.329
leaving the yard with the tail between their

00:26:23.329 --> 00:26:27.029
legs. It's like, this isn't, you know, it's not

00:26:27.029 --> 00:26:29.670
the way it's supposed to be. Now, give Breeze

00:26:29.670 --> 00:26:33.049
Boy credit. He realized that, and he took some

00:26:33.049 --> 00:26:36.759
steps to... correct that and bring in some guys

00:26:36.759 --> 00:26:39.559
that are really going to, you know, help the

00:26:39.559 --> 00:26:41.599
culture and the chemistry of the team and help

00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:44.720
that overall toughness. And, you know, we've

00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:47.180
seen a whole different Lightning team this year

00:26:47.180 --> 00:26:50.440
in that area compared to what we did the last

00:26:50.440 --> 00:26:54.839
couple of years. So with the Panarin thing, yeah,

00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:57.779
he's there to score goals, help you on the power

00:26:57.779 --> 00:27:01.460
play. Other than that. That's about it. He disappears

00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:04.000
in playoffs. That's true. Everything you said

00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:09.180
is 100 % true. The grind lines win playoff games

00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:13.220
in hockey a lot of times. It's not your superstars.

00:27:13.259 --> 00:27:15.619
Yeah, they'll be in the scoring, but you got

00:27:15.619 --> 00:27:18.480
to have them guys that are going to do the dirty

00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:22.039
work, take the hit, put the hit on. And I think

00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:25.980
the Lightning have a good crop of young folks

00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:28.400
on that team and young stars that do that very

00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:31.559
well. 100 % too. It's a little bit too late because

00:27:31.559 --> 00:27:35.059
I wish we had that fourth line last season, especially

00:27:35.059 --> 00:27:37.380
in players, because I've been screaming about

00:27:37.380 --> 00:27:40.460
it. Like, why don't you use the guys from the

00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:44.279
Syracuse Crunch? Come on. We need toughness.

00:27:44.359 --> 00:27:46.960
And when it comes to Artemi Panarin, I think

00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:50.559
I was a little bit selfish and thinking more

00:27:50.559 --> 00:27:54.779
about him because it turns out he's already 34.

00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:59.490
He is. He's old. Oh, my God. Yeah. the time actually

00:27:59.490 --> 00:28:02.549
is going down now. He's really have to start

00:28:02.549 --> 00:28:05.930
thinking about the Stanley Cup, not the money.

00:28:06.410 --> 00:28:09.890
And so I was like, oh my God, he will be able

00:28:09.890 --> 00:28:13.230
to reach his potential with John Cooper because

00:28:13.230 --> 00:28:15.369
he's amazing. That's probably the only coach

00:28:15.369 --> 00:28:17.869
who would be able to do something. Or Cannavale,

00:28:18.049 --> 00:28:21.410
Mr. Cannavale, Anaheim. But no, he chose L .A.

00:28:22.170 --> 00:28:25.089
But for our team, yes, it's amazing what John

00:28:25.089 --> 00:28:29.410
Cooper has done. It's like, from being one of

00:28:29.410 --> 00:28:31.549
the worst teams in the beginning of the season

00:28:31.549 --> 00:28:35.309
to the best one, I'm like, yes, this is why this

00:28:35.309 --> 00:28:40.349
guy is the legend. Well, here's the thing about

00:28:40.349 --> 00:28:46.769
John Cooper. This is his best coaching job that

00:28:46.769 --> 00:28:50.630
he has done during his time in Tampa this season

00:28:50.630 --> 00:28:54.289
because he has had to put a different lineup

00:28:54.289 --> 00:28:57.059
out there, sometimes almost. on a nightly basis.

00:28:57.140 --> 00:29:01.759
He's had to rely on a lot of kids from Syracuse.

00:29:02.539 --> 00:29:07.160
And for this man to have 600 wins, over 600 wins

00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:10.480
now, been to four Stanley Cup finals, winning

00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:16.339
two and not even be coach of the year one time,

00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:19.380
somebody should be taken out back and horse whipped

00:29:19.380 --> 00:29:25.289
for that. That is a travesty. It really is. But

00:29:25.289 --> 00:29:29.589
Cooper is just... He's not one of those hard

00:29:29.589 --> 00:29:33.990
-ass coaches. He's a player's coach, but he's

00:29:33.990 --> 00:29:38.470
a good observer of people. And what I mean by

00:29:38.470 --> 00:29:42.430
that is he looks at his group. He won't necessarily

00:29:42.430 --> 00:29:47.329
play the best people together, but if you are

00:29:47.329 --> 00:29:50.200
really well with... This person over here, you

00:29:50.200 --> 00:29:52.299
have good chemistry. We're going to try to play

00:29:52.299 --> 00:29:54.700
you together and see what happens. We'll give

00:29:54.700 --> 00:29:58.500
it a try. He's done that late in some games with

00:29:58.500 --> 00:30:00.779
his line combinations when he's tried to come

00:30:00.779 --> 00:30:06.740
up with a new line that can play more minutes.

00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:08.839
He's put some guys in and out just to see what's

00:30:08.839 --> 00:30:11.259
going to mix well, how they're going to react

00:30:11.259 --> 00:30:14.910
to it. That's what he does. really well he steps

00:30:14.910 --> 00:30:17.269
back looks at the whole picture and says okay

00:30:17.269 --> 00:30:19.329
there's a little bit of chemistry here yeah they're

00:30:19.329 --> 00:30:22.049
not the best individually but you put them together

00:30:22.049 --> 00:30:25.029
and there's some kind of magic he's a philosopher

00:30:25.029 --> 00:30:28.029
that's a philosopher yeah creative thinking it

00:30:28.029 --> 00:30:30.869
all all of his background really works yeah and

00:30:30.869 --> 00:30:32.809
i'm sure his law background helps him because

00:30:32.809 --> 00:30:38.670
he's able to to bloviate and explain his changes

00:30:38.670 --> 00:30:41.130
in the lineup why he's doing what he's doing

00:30:41.130 --> 00:30:42.789
and how it's going to work out he's probably

00:30:42.789 --> 00:30:45.950
very good yeah he's used to solving problems

00:30:45.950 --> 00:30:49.309
analyzing paying attention to little details

00:30:49.309 --> 00:30:51.730
like you said things that people don't necessarily

00:30:51.730 --> 00:30:56.089
look at and not from the hockey standpoint yeah

00:30:56.089 --> 00:30:59.670
you you have to part of your job now as a head

00:30:59.670 --> 00:31:02.509
coach and as a leader of an organization obviously

00:31:02.509 --> 00:31:04.950
to make sure you're you're putting the best product

00:31:04.950 --> 00:31:08.819
out there but also have your Pulse on your people

00:31:08.819 --> 00:31:11.380
every day. Know what's working, what's not working,

00:31:11.500 --> 00:31:14.299
when to make a move. I'll give you another example

00:31:14.299 --> 00:31:17.880
just recently. Victor Hedman came back Sunday,

00:31:18.140 --> 00:31:21.559
Stadium Series, against Boston. The first couple

00:31:21.559 --> 00:31:24.880
of Boston goals, especially that one goal, I

00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:28.180
mean, Hedman, he just got toasted. And it's like,

00:31:28.339 --> 00:31:32.079
oh, my God. Is this because it's his first game

00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:35.730
back? He's 35 years old now. He's losing the

00:31:35.730 --> 00:31:38.650
step. What's going on with this? He has been

00:31:38.650 --> 00:31:41.529
an amazing player for Tampa. He'll be a Hall

00:31:41.529 --> 00:31:44.789
of Famer. There's no doubt about it. But everyone

00:31:44.789 --> 00:31:47.730
gets to that certain point in their career where,

00:31:47.890 --> 00:31:50.509
hey, you know what? You can't play first -line

00:31:50.509 --> 00:31:54.549
minutes anymore. And Cooper dropped him to the

00:31:54.549 --> 00:31:58.490
third line with Carlisle. Because you have Radish.

00:31:58.869 --> 00:32:01.109
Radish and Moser play, and then you have Chernak

00:32:01.109 --> 00:32:04.240
and McDonough. So those are your defensive pairings

00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:06.880
now. And that was a good move, putting Hedman

00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:09.440
on the third line, because he was on the first

00:32:09.440 --> 00:32:12.859
line. That would create some problems. And Cooper

00:32:12.859 --> 00:32:16.160
was smart enough to realize that. And I'm sure,

00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:18.859
you know, he had conversations behind the scenes,

00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:22.099
which we're not privy to. But as a professional,

00:32:22.339 --> 00:32:25.880
you take the coaching, you're part of the team.

00:32:25.960 --> 00:32:30.819
He's still, you know, an excellent mentor. For

00:32:30.819 --> 00:32:33.160
the young defensemen, for the youngsters on the

00:32:33.160 --> 00:32:37.559
team, a good player coach, if you will, take

00:32:37.559 --> 00:32:41.140
some of the guys under his wing, but to play

00:32:41.140 --> 00:32:43.660
those kind of minutes and expect him to play

00:32:43.660 --> 00:32:48.839
like he did 15 years ago, I don't know if that's

00:32:48.839 --> 00:32:51.579
feasible because we all lose a step at some point.

00:32:52.460 --> 00:32:54.700
I'm glad that you talked about Victor Hedman.

00:32:55.079 --> 00:32:58.460
If I forget, please remind me to go back to him

00:32:58.460 --> 00:33:00.400
because I wanted to talk to him. to talk about

00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:05.160
him uh so once again john cooper versus paul

00:33:05.160 --> 00:33:08.210
maurice i mean the level is not even there anyhow

00:33:08.210 --> 00:33:12.869
hockey wise personality please anyways when i

00:33:12.869 --> 00:33:15.329
went to the winter classic obviously we all know

00:33:15.329 --> 00:33:18.509
that kachuk was skating at that point barkov

00:33:18.509 --> 00:33:21.650
was trying to there's actually one thing he was

00:33:21.650 --> 00:33:24.670
skating behind the closed doors and whenever

00:33:24.670 --> 00:33:27.609
people saw him or they were passing by they were

00:33:27.609 --> 00:33:30.009
asked to leave the area because no one wanted

00:33:30.009 --> 00:33:33.910
to see that barkov was skating by himself Yeah,

00:33:33.930 --> 00:33:36.569
I do have some inside information. So anyways,

00:33:36.849 --> 00:33:39.130
and I would expect, I mean, it's a big deal.

00:33:39.230 --> 00:33:42.410
It's a big deal for the team, for the city, for

00:33:42.410 --> 00:33:47.809
the NHL. So I expected Matthew Tkachuk or Alex,

00:33:47.970 --> 00:33:52.210
Sasha Barkov to have some sort of participation

00:33:52.210 --> 00:33:55.789
with the team. I don't know, touch the ice, something.

00:33:56.430 --> 00:34:00.390
But they never did. When it comes to John Cooper.

00:34:00.990 --> 00:34:03.630
Obviously, he understood how important that is

00:34:03.630 --> 00:34:07.289
for Victor Hedman. He actually skated like two

00:34:07.289 --> 00:34:11.250
days before. It was his first time since December

00:34:11.250 --> 00:34:14.750
9th and after surgery, taking the ice. And he

00:34:14.750 --> 00:34:17.550
was out there. He really wanted to try it. Yes,

00:34:17.550 --> 00:34:19.949
at first, it was really interesting how they're

00:34:19.949 --> 00:34:21.769
going to put it together. And like you said,

00:34:22.409 --> 00:34:26.289
Victor Hedman was not great at a first few shifts.

00:34:26.289 --> 00:34:30.190
And obviously, if you put the star back, Darren

00:34:30.190 --> 00:34:32.610
Reddish was playing less, and it did not look

00:34:32.610 --> 00:34:35.289
good. I was sitting out there and yelling, please,

00:34:35.690 --> 00:34:38.829
bring Reddish back, please. He needs to be out

00:34:38.829 --> 00:34:41.650
there. It doesn't look good. If we go back to

00:34:41.650 --> 00:34:44.530
the game against Buffalo, once again, it's mesmerizing.

00:34:44.570 --> 00:34:47.030
How did they do it? I don't understand. Victor

00:34:47.030 --> 00:34:49.650
Hedman, I think he was on the ice for all three

00:34:49.650 --> 00:34:52.750
goals that went in, so it did not look good.

00:34:54.079 --> 00:34:56.900
against the florida panthers it was a different

00:34:56.900 --> 00:35:00.340
victor headman you could see that he is getting

00:35:00.340 --> 00:35:03.019
ready for the olympics he knows he has to be

00:35:03.019 --> 00:35:06.639
the leader most of the time even the way he skated

00:35:06.639 --> 00:35:10.179
all the smooth angles you can see he's trying

00:35:10.179 --> 00:35:13.139
he's mentally and physically setting himself

00:35:13.139 --> 00:35:16.280
up for the winter olympics that's amazing that's

00:35:16.280 --> 00:35:18.820
being professional he was amazing yesterday so

00:35:18.820 --> 00:35:21.840
many shots from the blue line he is trying to

00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:24.369
get in shape also there's another thing a few

00:35:24.369 --> 00:35:27.309
days ago so the game was on Friday right I think

00:35:27.309 --> 00:35:30.750
on Wednesday Victor took his young I think it's

00:35:30.750 --> 00:35:33.809
his youngest son I'm not sure he's about four

00:35:33.809 --> 00:35:37.710
years old he's just learning to skate so he was

00:35:37.710 --> 00:35:41.750
actually the power pole ring in Tampa and he

00:35:41.750 --> 00:35:45.010
had a private session his son so Victor watched

00:35:45.010 --> 00:35:47.550
the most of it and you know it was good quiet

00:35:48.599 --> 00:35:51.199
A few other private coaches were out there. But

00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:54.219
all of a sudden, you know, his parents came in.

00:35:54.539 --> 00:35:58.219
He was flooded by the parents, fans. Everyone

00:35:58.219 --> 00:36:00.559
was taking pictures. And you could see he was

00:36:00.559 --> 00:36:03.139
very uncomfortable because he was there. Yes,

00:36:03.239 --> 00:36:06.039
he's Victor Hedman. Yes, Tampa is all about hockey

00:36:06.039 --> 00:36:09.849
and sports. But he was there. As a private citizen,

00:36:10.250 --> 00:36:14.289
as a dad, watching his son and trying to focus,

00:36:14.349 --> 00:36:18.289
to see things around, just relax. And even though

00:36:18.289 --> 00:36:21.650
he's a nice guy, he had to take it all as a professional.

00:36:21.690 --> 00:36:24.289
But you can see he was really uncomfortable because

00:36:24.289 --> 00:36:28.869
people just don't respect privacy. No, they don't.

00:36:28.869 --> 00:36:31.110
And I was at the arena. This has been a few years

00:36:31.110 --> 00:36:33.550
ago now. It was preseason. They were getting

00:36:33.550 --> 00:36:37.059
ready for their first. regular season game in

00:36:37.059 --> 00:36:40.940
Brandon, and it was open to the public. And when

00:36:40.940 --> 00:36:44.219
the players came off the ice, it was like, whoa.

00:36:44.920 --> 00:36:49.099
I mean, it didn't matter who it was. Everybody

00:36:49.099 --> 00:36:51.280
just, you know, can you sign my stick? Can you

00:36:51.280 --> 00:36:56.079
sign my glove? And it's like, guys, let the players

00:36:56.079 --> 00:36:59.579
have a moment here. Relax. Let them breathe.

00:36:59.659 --> 00:37:02.000
They just got out of the ice. Let them breathe.

00:37:02.900 --> 00:37:07.900
Yes. You know, to your earlier point about Cooper

00:37:07.900 --> 00:37:13.079
and, you know, Hedman's skating, getting back

00:37:13.079 --> 00:37:15.960
to this stadium series, it was such a big event

00:37:15.960 --> 00:37:21.219
in Tampa that at one point, I'm not sure if it

00:37:21.219 --> 00:37:24.780
was the day of, the day before, somewhere in

00:37:24.780 --> 00:37:30.300
that time frame, everybody that was up with the

00:37:30.300 --> 00:37:33.110
lightning got to skate. on that ice. And I remember

00:37:33.110 --> 00:37:35.090
John Cooper making a comment. He said, hey, you

00:37:35.090 --> 00:37:37.170
know what? We've had a lot of people that have

00:37:37.170 --> 00:37:39.949
had a big part in the success of this organization

00:37:39.949 --> 00:37:42.889
and making sure that Tampa gets this marquee

00:37:42.889 --> 00:37:45.269
event. So why not just let them throw on a uniform,

00:37:45.510 --> 00:37:47.849
go out there and skate? You know, it's just unfortunate

00:37:47.849 --> 00:37:50.650
we can only, you know, dress the 20 players or

00:37:50.650 --> 00:37:52.130
whatever it is we're going to dress for the game.

00:37:52.510 --> 00:37:56.369
But let's let everyone, you know, at least participate

00:37:56.369 --> 00:37:58.670
in it a little bit and, you know, have a little

00:37:58.670 --> 00:38:01.969
fun with it. yeah that's john cooper classic

00:38:01.969 --> 00:38:08.170
yeah excellent okay the i would say the most

00:38:08.170 --> 00:38:11.469
important question right now can we are going

00:38:11.469 --> 00:38:14.510
towards olympics who are you gonna cheer for

00:38:14.510 --> 00:38:17.849
it's so complicated because yes i wish all the

00:38:17.849 --> 00:38:20.329
best to john cooper even though i don't like

00:38:20.679 --> 00:38:23.159
Tom Wilson being on that team. At the same time,

00:38:23.179 --> 00:38:27.619
yes, I do want Team USA to succeed, but Method

00:38:27.619 --> 00:38:30.519
Kachuk bothers me. And I know many people who

00:38:30.519 --> 00:38:32.920
are actually, I am Russian -American, but there's

00:38:32.920 --> 00:38:35.500
people who are actually, I don't know, third

00:38:35.500 --> 00:38:38.280
-generation American. And they say they're not

00:38:38.280 --> 00:38:40.940
going to cheer for Team USA because they hate

00:38:40.940 --> 00:38:44.139
Method Kachuk and the way he plays against Tampa

00:38:44.139 --> 00:38:48.340
Bay Lightning. No, I think you have to separate

00:38:48.340 --> 00:38:52.130
that. I'm a nationalist first, as most of us

00:38:52.130 --> 00:38:55.469
are. Be careful what you say now. Well, what

00:38:55.469 --> 00:38:58.150
I mean by that is, you know, I want the USA to

00:38:58.150 --> 00:39:01.630
win. We're going to root for the USA. I am. We

00:39:01.630 --> 00:39:05.590
want good things, good things to happen. But

00:39:05.590 --> 00:39:13.010
if the U .S. is ousted and Canada moves on, I

00:39:13.010 --> 00:39:16.849
have no problem rooting for Canada. I mean, Cooper's

00:39:16.849 --> 00:39:22.170
coaching. good Canadians that play here in Tampa

00:39:22.170 --> 00:39:25.449
on that team. So I'm going to go with USA number

00:39:25.449 --> 00:39:29.829
one, Canada, and then let's just draw some names

00:39:29.829 --> 00:39:32.289
out of the bag, throw them in the air and see

00:39:32.289 --> 00:39:33.730
where they land, who we're going to root for

00:39:33.730 --> 00:39:37.190
after that. No, tell me now, who's your third

00:39:37.190 --> 00:39:39.230
choice? What about Victory Headman and Sweden?

00:39:40.809 --> 00:39:46.599
I don't know that they have enough offense. But

00:39:46.599 --> 00:39:50.079
those are Swedes. It's all about being good in

00:39:50.079 --> 00:39:52.300
defense. You know, you just don't let other guys

00:39:52.300 --> 00:39:55.480
to be out there. I think the dark horse is Czechia.

00:39:56.659 --> 00:39:59.920
Interesting. Yeah. That's who I think the dark

00:39:59.920 --> 00:40:03.280
horse is. I would put Czechia third and then

00:40:03.280 --> 00:40:07.239
Sweden fourth. I think they weren't as good since,

00:40:07.239 --> 00:40:11.000
like, Japanese Olympics, Nagano. It's been a

00:40:11.000 --> 00:40:13.320
while. Well, it's been a while. Yeah, there you

00:40:13.320 --> 00:40:19.070
go. Yeah. But the U .S. is not favored. Canada,

00:40:19.250 --> 00:40:24.170
of course, is favored in most of your betting

00:40:24.170 --> 00:40:27.130
institutions. Now, on the women's side, the U

00:40:27.130 --> 00:40:30.610
.S. women are favored. They're favored to beat

00:40:30.610 --> 00:40:34.570
Canada again for the gold. But for the men, it'll

00:40:34.570 --> 00:40:37.690
be really, really close. I would expect a U .S.-Canadian

00:40:37.690 --> 00:40:42.289
final. And I think Canada will probably win.

00:40:42.409 --> 00:40:45.059
So much is going to ride on goaltending. That's

00:40:45.059 --> 00:40:48.159
what I wanted to say. They don't have Bradore

00:40:48.159 --> 00:40:53.340
anymore. Yeah. You get in big games, especially

00:40:53.340 --> 00:40:55.900
deep into the playoffs, we've seen a goalie just

00:40:55.900 --> 00:40:58.739
be able to steal the game or steal a series,

00:40:58.880 --> 00:41:03.519
be the MVP, and that same kind of thing can happen

00:41:03.519 --> 00:41:07.059
in a short tournament like the Olympics. So it

00:41:07.059 --> 00:41:10.780
really depends on how the goalie situation plays

00:41:10.780 --> 00:41:13.909
out, who has the hot hand. who's going to ride

00:41:13.909 --> 00:41:16.090
that hot hand really to determine if it's going

00:41:16.090 --> 00:41:18.469
to be the u .s or canada but i think one of those

00:41:18.469 --> 00:41:20.090
two teams are going to take gold and the other

00:41:20.090 --> 00:41:23.369
one will take silver oh we'll see are you going

00:41:23.369 --> 00:41:25.869
to adjust your schedule because of the olympics

00:41:25.869 --> 00:41:29.090
because you want to see the games i am three

00:41:29.090 --> 00:41:32.449
o 'clock must see tv that's when the games are

00:41:32.449 --> 00:41:35.269
going to be here in the states three o 'clock

00:41:35.269 --> 00:41:38.849
in the afternoon actually 3 10 p .m now the canadians

00:41:38.849 --> 00:41:40.969
are going to be in the morning there's like 11

00:41:42.500 --> 00:41:46.280
11 a .m., 10, 40 a .m. start time. Something

00:41:46.280 --> 00:41:49.639
like that. But the interesting thing is, unless

00:41:49.639 --> 00:41:52.699
I am mistaken, the U .S. does not play Canada

00:41:52.699 --> 00:41:55.679
in the first round. You know, usually they play

00:41:55.679 --> 00:41:57.440
them in the first round and then they go to the

00:41:57.440 --> 00:42:01.480
round robin and get into the semis and all that.

00:42:01.559 --> 00:42:03.539
They don't play each other. So they will not

00:42:03.539 --> 00:42:08.579
play each other until it means something later

00:42:08.579 --> 00:42:10.559
in the tournament. So that's kind of interesting,

00:42:10.760 --> 00:42:13.119
I thought, maybe a little. corking the schedule

00:42:13.119 --> 00:42:17.380
cool well thank you so much i was really looking

00:42:17.380 --> 00:42:19.940
forward to it yeah i think we got another good

00:42:19.940 --> 00:42:22.780
one and next time let's focus on the olympics

00:42:22.780 --> 00:42:25.719
and remember like we discussed we're gonna build

00:42:25.719 --> 00:42:30.960
team russia roster too like fantasy roster that

00:42:30.960 --> 00:42:34.960
would be good yes yeah do you remember i know

00:42:34.960 --> 00:42:37.619
you remember this do you remember nikolai hobby

00:42:37.619 --> 00:42:43.719
bolin of course he was here of course yeah What

00:42:43.719 --> 00:42:46.840
is the story? That's it? You stop? No, I'm just

00:42:46.840 --> 00:42:48.800
thinking, you mentioned we have to build the

00:42:48.800 --> 00:42:51.179
Russian roster and all these Russian players.

00:42:51.500 --> 00:42:53.460
I mean, I don't think we can use him because

00:42:53.460 --> 00:42:56.099
he retired, Ken. He'll be a goaltender coach.

00:42:57.000 --> 00:42:59.960
Yes, the last time I checked, he was doing it

00:42:59.960 --> 00:43:02.760
in Russia, but I'm not sure if he was really

00:43:02.760 --> 00:43:07.369
doing it or just holding the position. But, yeah,

00:43:07.429 --> 00:43:12.349
occasionally I see people wearing his jerseys,

00:43:12.349 --> 00:43:17.309
so it's really sweet. As you handicap the Lightning

00:43:17.309 --> 00:43:19.269
goaltenders, though, throughout their history,

00:43:19.409 --> 00:43:23.409
at best, I think he would probably be third.

00:43:24.849 --> 00:43:27.909
Pazzie would be first. Ben Bishop would be second,

00:43:28.050 --> 00:43:31.159
I think, and then Javi Blum third. Interesting.

00:43:31.239 --> 00:43:34.300
What about Matthew Garron? He's a very big part

00:43:34.300 --> 00:43:37.460
of Lightning culture right now when it comes

00:43:37.460 --> 00:43:41.239
to Lightning youth hockey development. So that's

00:43:41.239 --> 00:43:45.119
a pretty cool thing. That is. Yeah, and it's

00:43:45.119 --> 00:43:48.519
neat to see these guys once they end their professional

00:43:48.519 --> 00:43:52.920
careers that they love the city of Tampa so much

00:43:52.920 --> 00:43:54.960
that they want to stay here, raise their families

00:43:54.960 --> 00:43:56.559
here, put their roots down here, and then get

00:43:56.559 --> 00:44:00.119
involved in the community. Try to grow the game

00:44:00.119 --> 00:44:05.780
of hockey. Yeah, I haven't seen Garan out anywhere.

00:44:06.219 --> 00:44:08.739
You know, you see Marty St. Louis occasionally

00:44:08.739 --> 00:44:11.780
when he's not coaching Montreal. He'll be in

00:44:11.780 --> 00:44:16.699
and out. LeCavalier, same thing. Anderchuk, who

00:44:16.699 --> 00:44:20.119
was on the pregame show. See him. Pat Maroon's

00:44:20.119 --> 00:44:22.559
now getting more involved. But you really don't

00:44:22.559 --> 00:44:27.099
see him much. Well, now I'm going to break the

00:44:27.099 --> 00:44:30.219
news to you. He was actually very active during

00:44:30.219 --> 00:44:32.699
the stadium series too, but I guess behind the

00:44:32.699 --> 00:44:35.559
scenes. So he's someone who really cares about

00:44:35.559 --> 00:44:38.539
hockey initiatives, what's going on in the community,

00:44:38.659 --> 00:44:41.840
but he's just not flashing his face out there.

00:44:42.079 --> 00:44:44.920
And that's perfect because not everybody wants

00:44:44.920 --> 00:44:48.820
to be on camera. Not everybody wants that spotlight.

00:44:48.960 --> 00:44:51.809
They're content to work and do their thing. you

00:44:51.809 --> 00:44:53.829
know out of the public eye and that serves a

00:44:53.829 --> 00:44:55.610
purpose too and a lot of times those kind of

00:44:55.610 --> 00:45:01.550
jobs are just as important as the ones in front

00:45:01.550 --> 00:45:03.590
what everybody can see and what everybody's paying

00:45:03.590 --> 00:45:08.179
attention to If I was a goalie or if my kid was

00:45:08.179 --> 00:45:10.900
a goalie, I mean, I would always get the private

00:45:10.900 --> 00:45:13.780
sessions with him. It's really interesting that

00:45:13.780 --> 00:45:16.500
people don't realize that. I understand that

00:45:16.500 --> 00:45:19.460
not everyone is like a history geek like you

00:45:19.460 --> 00:45:23.539
and I, but still, I'm like, oh my God, NHL goalies

00:45:23.539 --> 00:45:26.099
here? And you can actually skate with him? And

00:45:26.099 --> 00:45:29.260
his rate is not even that expensive. That's amazing.

00:45:29.719 --> 00:45:32.579
I just like seeing the guys get a hold of the

00:45:32.579 --> 00:45:35.440
community. Buy what the Lightning is trying to

00:45:35.440 --> 00:45:38.340
do. Help them grow the game of hockey. And I

00:45:38.340 --> 00:45:41.239
think that's fantastic. The only negative thing

00:45:41.239 --> 00:45:47.880
I would say, I live in Hernando County, Spring

00:45:47.880 --> 00:45:51.840
Hill. And the closest ice rink is in Westlake

00:45:51.840 --> 00:45:54.579
Chapel. That's about 45 to 50 minutes away. That's

00:45:54.579 --> 00:45:59.369
a long drive for kids up here. wanting to learn

00:45:59.369 --> 00:46:01.590
to play the game of hockey and drive back and

00:46:01.590 --> 00:46:04.210
forth for lessons a couple of times a week. And

00:46:04.210 --> 00:46:07.170
then if you have games, there's, I think, Wesley

00:46:07.170 --> 00:46:09.769
Chapel. There's Clearwater. Brandon's way too

00:46:09.769 --> 00:46:15.190
far. There's one in Odessa. I don't know if there's

00:46:15.190 --> 00:46:18.570
another one anywhere or not. Those are the only

00:46:18.570 --> 00:46:21.769
four that I know of right now. But they need

00:46:21.769 --> 00:46:25.719
to put something at the other end of... the other

00:46:25.719 --> 00:46:29.099
end of pasco county not the busy end where you

00:46:29.099 --> 00:46:31.440
know up towards hernando county because hernando

00:46:31.440 --> 00:46:34.599
county is growing i mean it's one of the faster

00:46:34.599 --> 00:46:38.480
growing areas you know in the state and i think

00:46:38.480 --> 00:46:40.880
it would do well maybe we can build the ring

00:46:40.880 --> 00:46:43.559
you call your people and i'll call my people

00:46:43.559 --> 00:46:47.699
let's do that ah that's amazing thank you so

00:46:47.699 --> 00:46:51.300
much for your time as usual see you later alligator