WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.000 Hello, hello, hockey fans. It's Daria Miranova 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.860 and Ken Filler. Ken, say hi. Hello, everyone. 00:00:06.160 --> 00:00:09.900 Hope everyone is having a wonderful day and enjoying 00:00:09.900 --> 00:00:12.259 lightning hockey as they come down the stretch. 00:00:12.580 --> 00:00:15.140 Yeah, because that's all Ken cares about. I want 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:16.800 to talk about the Florida Panthers. I'm just 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.120 kidding. I don't. No. Yes, let's talk about hockey 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:23.640 on the beach, also known as the Tampa Bay Lightning. 00:00:24.059 --> 00:00:27.859 So things are going pretty well on one side. 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:31.539 Previously, we talked about the away trip. It 00:00:31.539 --> 00:00:36.740 was a good one. Three wins out of four. There 00:00:36.740 --> 00:00:39.479 are some issues, but we're just going to talk 00:00:39.479 --> 00:00:42.340 about them later. Then the Lightning comes back 00:00:42.340 --> 00:00:45.960 home. And I'm sure you can see the same thing 00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:51.920 that I do see. Defense! What is going on? The 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:56.520 last two games, John Cooper and his coaches, 00:00:56.820 --> 00:01:00.679 whatever. stuff they decided that it would be 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:03.659 a great idea if they start the game with the 00:01:03.659 --> 00:01:07.459 third line which what does it mean it means that 00:01:07.459 --> 00:01:10.000 it's gonna set the mood and what did we have 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:14.459 we had a lot of fights and if you pay attention 00:01:14.459 --> 00:01:17.819 nikita kucherov when the game is too aggressive 00:01:17.819 --> 00:01:21.040 nikita kucherov doesn't produce much because 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:25.700 it's not his game and unfortunately things didn't 00:01:25.700 --> 00:01:28.739 go well Against the Minnesota Wild. Yes, you 00:01:28.739 --> 00:01:31.599 can say, ooh, they got the win. Yes, it's awesome. 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:35.060 But they got punished for everything they started 00:01:35.060 --> 00:01:40.019 on Tuesday. They got it back on Thursday. Ken, 00:01:40.459 --> 00:01:43.959 what's going on? I'll use the excuse they were 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:46.599 still a little bit tired and had heavy legs on 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:49.319 Tuesday against Minnesota, even though they won 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.819 the game. They started off, as you know, against 00:01:52.819 --> 00:01:57.090 the Wild, very sluggish. The other thing, too, 00:01:57.209 --> 00:02:03.230 this is a hard time of year to win games. 20 00:02:03.230 --> 00:02:08.229 of the 30 teams or even 25 of the 30 teams are 00:02:08.229 --> 00:02:11.389 still battling for a playoff spot. From now on 00:02:11.389 --> 00:02:13.930 through the rest of the season, you're going 00:02:13.930 --> 00:02:18.030 to get everybody's best shot. Seattle is right 00:02:18.030 --> 00:02:21.909 in the mix for one of the wild card spots or 00:02:21.909 --> 00:02:26.139 possibly a third place. playoff spot in their 00:02:26.139 --> 00:02:29.159 division. They brought it all. And I was surprised 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:32.960 they had a 2 -0 lead at one point. And the Lightning 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:36.539 should have won that game. I looked at the score. 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:41.460 It was 2 -0. Shots on goal. And the Kraken had 00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:43.960 like nine shots on goal. Maybe this was in the 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:46.979 second period. And three goals allowed. That's 00:02:46.979 --> 00:02:49.280 not going to win you playoff games. And definitely 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:51.340 you're not going to have a long playoff run allowing 00:02:51.340 --> 00:02:55.400 three goals. on nine shots. Things seemed to 00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:58.439 settle down after that. Lightning got their legs 00:02:58.439 --> 00:03:01.199 under them, and they had pressure on Seattle 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:05.259 all night. I mean, you can talk about the defensive 00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:08.939 breakdowns, but I don't know how many shots they 00:03:08.939 --> 00:03:12.120 missed as a team. You know, they had Grubauer 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:15.860 out of position, just missed the net, hit the 00:03:15.860 --> 00:03:18.580 post, couldn't get the shot off. It wasn't a 00:03:18.580 --> 00:03:22.469 very good offensive performance. Let's just say. 00:03:22.509 --> 00:03:25.750 So I lay that more on the offense last night 00:03:25.750 --> 00:03:29.310 against Seattle. And Vaz is going to take a little 00:03:29.310 --> 00:03:31.030 bit of the blame because you can't be letting 00:03:31.030 --> 00:03:34.810 in three goals on nine shots. I was at the game 00:03:34.810 --> 00:03:37.909 on Tuesday. And at first I was really surprised 00:03:37.909 --> 00:03:41.610 because last year when Minnesota was in town, 00:03:41.770 --> 00:03:47.250 it was very empty. I mean, the fans wise. And 00:03:47.250 --> 00:03:50.909 on Tuesday, it was insane. so many girls i guess 00:03:50.909 --> 00:03:53.590 everyone is so excited that queen hughes was 00:03:53.590 --> 00:03:57.270 in town i'm i personally don't see anything special 00:03:57.270 --> 00:04:02.289 but i guess the girls other girls do and so i've 00:04:02.289 --> 00:04:04.930 seen a lot of t -shirts a lot of banners and 00:04:04.930 --> 00:04:07.569 things were so wild it's like minnesota wild 00:04:07.569 --> 00:04:10.889 wild yes they were so wild it actually looked 00:04:10.889 --> 00:04:14.389 like they have more fans than the tampa bay lightning 00:04:14.389 --> 00:04:17.290 you know when the team gets out for the warm 00:04:17.290 --> 00:04:19.709 -ups, like the Pimple Bay Lightning side was 00:04:19.709 --> 00:04:23.250 emptier than the Wild side. I was like, what 00:04:23.250 --> 00:04:26.069 is going on here? It was not the same picture 00:04:26.069 --> 00:04:29.189 last year. So I'm not sure if it's only all because 00:04:29.189 --> 00:04:31.970 of the Queen and also because of the Olympics 00:04:31.970 --> 00:04:35.610 and the Wild are doing better right now. But 00:04:35.610 --> 00:04:39.870 I was surprised. It was wild. Wild, no pun intended. 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:42.600 I think the other thing with Minnesota, too, 00:04:42.779 --> 00:04:45.279 a lot of those northern teams, it depends what 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:47.740 time of year they come to Tampa. It's the height 00:04:47.740 --> 00:04:50.839 of spring break season, so a lot of folks from 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:52.519 Minnesota thought, you know, let's go down to 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:54.759 Tampa, get warmed up a little bit, we'll see 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:58.000 the Wild play. The Wild are a much better team 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:00.399 this year than they were last year. They're pushing 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:04.839 Dallas for that second spot in the Central Division. 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:07.259 Colorado's going to win that division, hands 00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:10.990 down. But Dallas is in second. Dallas and Minnesota 00:05:10.990 --> 00:05:14.649 right now, they're not separated by a whole lot 00:05:14.649 --> 00:05:18.850 of points. So I think their thinking is the Wild 00:05:18.850 --> 00:05:20.790 gets on a good roll here toward the end of the 00:05:20.790 --> 00:05:22.730 season. They can move up into that second spot. 00:05:22.910 --> 00:05:24.810 And when you're doing well and your team's on 00:05:24.810 --> 00:05:27.810 a roll. you tend to travel a little bit better 00:05:27.810 --> 00:05:30.209 and who doesn't want to go to florida in march 00:05:30.209 --> 00:05:32.889 when you're still freezing your arse off in minnesota 00:05:32.889 --> 00:05:36.350 it looked like the minnesota wild wanted to say 00:05:36.350 --> 00:05:39.910 you know here we go we're so tough we don't care 00:05:39.910 --> 00:05:42.389 about you guys and we're gonna show you all and 00:05:42.389 --> 00:05:45.990 that's what they did but when the lightning actually 00:05:45.990 --> 00:05:48.949 played hockey the minnesota wild couldn't get 00:05:48.949 --> 00:05:51.709 to them Nikita Kucherov and his line, you know, 00:05:51.709 --> 00:05:54.149 the guys are so fast. That's what you do. You 00:05:54.149 --> 00:05:57.569 just fly, go there. Do not focus on all the fighting 00:05:57.569 --> 00:06:00.310 and on the penalties. Because after the first 00:06:00.310 --> 00:06:02.610 period, it was like the Lightning got first. 00:06:02.850 --> 00:06:07.000 I mean, they got five penalties. And the Wild 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:09.639 got four. You know, I understand when you get 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:12.259 your third line out there. Yeah, it sets the 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:14.779 mood. But once again, they were supposed to play 00:06:14.779 --> 00:06:17.660 hockey. They got so lucky that they scored three 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:20.560 power play goals and they were able to get back 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:23.860 on track. Yes. But like you said, when it came 00:06:23.860 --> 00:06:27.060 to the Seattle game. And once again, it was not 00:06:27.060 --> 00:06:30.160 the best performance for everyone in Nikita Kucherov, 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:32.819 too. We talk about him a lot because we want 00:06:32.819 --> 00:06:36.579 him to do better. And the last three games, like 00:06:36.579 --> 00:06:39.600 I said, it's been only one point each night. 00:06:39.899 --> 00:06:43.860 Yeah, he's definitely cooled off a bit. He'll 00:06:43.860 --> 00:06:45.939 get going, though, unless they play the Florida 00:06:45.939 --> 00:06:48.399 Panthers miraculously in the playoffs. And then 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:52.339 he'll disappear the next fall. No, I'm kidding. 00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:54.819 But that's been the way Kucherov has played. 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:57.279 in the first round of the playoffs the last couple 00:06:57.279 --> 00:07:00.319 of seasons but to your point about the physicality 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:03.079 and the way the lightning come out to start some 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:06.560 of those games you and i have talked about this 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:10.959 before it was a given that last year and the 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:13.379 year before to a certain extent the lightning 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:16.000 had been bullied and pushed around in the playoffs 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:20.120 no one had an answer for that breeze boy went 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:23.259 out brought in some players that have a little 00:07:23.259 --> 00:07:26.019 bit of toughness to them a little bit of sandpaper, 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:29.259 a little bit of an edge. And that's proved to 00:07:29.259 --> 00:07:32.040 be good for the Lightning because now we have 00:07:32.040 --> 00:07:34.279 somebody that there are a couple of players that 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:37.839 are going to step up when there's a egregious 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:41.060 hit, when there's something out of bounds that's 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:44.439 not part of the play. However, I think as we 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:47.139 get closer to the playoffs and the deeper you 00:07:47.139 --> 00:07:50.000 go into the playoffs, when your skill set is 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:52.579 going to be more important than your physicality, 00:07:55.659 --> 00:07:58.860 that physicality tool, if you will, in your toolbox. 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:02.399 And you can bring it out when needed. But you 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:05.699 don't want to use the hammer all the time. That 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:08.540 disrupts the flow of your game. It disrupts your 00:08:08.540 --> 00:08:11.680 offensive system. You have guys out there that 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:14.740 maybe shouldn't be out there at that certain 00:08:14.740 --> 00:08:18.220 part of the game. So physicality is a good thing. 00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:23.160 You just need to learn how to use it. And I think 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:27.259 Cooper and the coaching staff will get on that 00:08:27.259 --> 00:08:31.000 as we come down the stretch and get into the 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:33.860 playoffs. They'll be more mindful of when to 00:08:33.860 --> 00:08:38.299 use that. Use it. Don't abuse it. Yes. Because 00:08:38.299 --> 00:08:40.539 sometimes you're absolutely right. Because sometimes 00:08:40.539 --> 00:08:44.100 it looks like they're overdoing it. Please don't. 00:08:44.100 --> 00:08:46.919 Just play hockey. It's okay to, you know, punch 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:49.620 some guys around. Just don't overdo it and don't 00:08:49.620 --> 00:08:53.460 focus on that. You know, stick to the plan. and 00:08:53.460 --> 00:08:56.460 also it means injuries and we don't need any 00:08:56.460 --> 00:08:59.600 injuries right now speaking of the injuries did 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:03.399 you see cory perry's face yes he got that blue 00:09:03.399 --> 00:09:06.200 eye i've seen the fight i do have that i will 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:08.659 try to edit it actually i've seen it you know 00:09:08.659 --> 00:09:11.259 like i said i was there it didn't look good and 00:09:11.259 --> 00:09:14.240 immediately when he was able to get up i could 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:18.980 see that his face was covered in blood so i felt 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:22.620 really bad also you know it's just the same with 00:09:22.990 --> 00:09:25.970 We just discussed the March Madness with that 00:09:25.970 --> 00:09:31.009 seven, nine layer. And there's all actually really 00:09:31.009 --> 00:09:35.850 funny reel on YouTube where Shaq O 'Neal, like 00:09:35.850 --> 00:09:40.230 he's trying to bully a smaller guy. And the text 00:09:40.230 --> 00:09:43.830 says, find someone your size. And then he turns 00:09:43.830 --> 00:09:49.169 around and he's facing like chest of that. Canadian 00:09:49.169 --> 00:09:51.769 basketball player from the Florida Gators. So 00:09:51.769 --> 00:09:55.269 it was about the same. It's like that guy who 00:09:55.269 --> 00:09:58.990 is much taller, younger, it's like, yeah, I feel 00:09:58.990 --> 00:10:03.309 good about punching a 40 -year -old great player 00:10:03.309 --> 00:10:05.809 who is smaller than you are, who just wants to 00:10:05.809 --> 00:10:08.210 stand up for his team. It was just not necessary, 00:10:08.409 --> 00:10:10.750 okay? Yes, there was a brawl before that, and 00:10:10.750 --> 00:10:14.049 it stopped. So it's like, dude, why do you want 00:10:14.049 --> 00:10:19.149 to continue? Stop. Do you feel better? It's been 00:10:19.149 --> 00:10:24.809 a long time since Corey Perry got beat like that 00:10:24.809 --> 00:10:30.389 in a fight. It was similar to me to when Buster 00:10:30.389 --> 00:10:33.909 Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in Japan years 00:10:33.909 --> 00:10:36.090 ago in that heavyweight fight. All the money 00:10:36.090 --> 00:10:39.029 was on Mike Tyson, and Buster Douglas catches 00:10:39.029 --> 00:10:43.710 him with one punch, and that's it. Corey Perry 00:10:43.710 --> 00:10:46.649 doesn't get beat like that very often. He's 40 00:10:46.649 --> 00:10:50.470 years old. He's another one of those tough guys. 00:10:50.570 --> 00:10:54.570 But he knows when it's time to bring it and when 00:10:54.570 --> 00:10:59.370 it's time to play hockey. He's smart about that. 00:11:00.090 --> 00:11:05.230 And going forward, you know, I think he'll be 00:11:05.230 --> 00:11:08.649 a little more judicious about where he chooses 00:11:08.649 --> 00:11:13.450 the spots to get involved or just to let things 00:11:13.450 --> 00:11:16.950 go. But that was a bad one. Yeah, I feel bad 00:11:16.950 --> 00:11:18.950 for him anyways, because it's like it was too 00:11:18.950 --> 00:11:21.529 much. It was too much and it was just the start 00:11:21.529 --> 00:11:25.409 of the game. It also like from my side, I could 00:11:25.409 --> 00:11:28.960 see that a lot of shots. Vasilevsky was facing 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:31.559 a lot of shots that he didn't need to just because 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:34.600 the guys were not focusing on their work they 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:37.220 were focusing on the fight and obviously the 00:11:37.220 --> 00:11:39.799 Minnesota Wild was bullying the guys but that 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:41.980 was their job that's what they wanted they just 00:11:41.980 --> 00:11:44.240 wanted to distract the lightning and they did 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:47.039 a great job in that but luckily the lightning 00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:49.720 got the win okay speaking of the injuries it's 00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:51.960 not necessarily the injury but we talked about 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:56.059 victor headman a lot too and he hasn't been playing 00:11:56.059 --> 00:11:59.659 since vancouver i think it was march let me see 00:11:59.659 --> 00:12:03.139 in my notes somewhere it was march i can't find 00:12:03.139 --> 00:12:07.840 it now so it was march something anyways and 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:11.659 so he only has 33 games this season one goal 00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:16.039 17 points it's a very complicated season for 00:12:16.039 --> 00:12:20.600 him injuries surgery also i mean you have to 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:24.580 care about the human side and his favorite dog 00:12:24.580 --> 00:12:28.899 passed away you know olympic pressure there's 00:12:28.899 --> 00:12:31.940 just a lot going on and also when he came back 00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:35.779 after his surgery obviously he could not you 00:12:35.779 --> 00:12:39.500 know play the game he used to and he could also 00:12:39.500 --> 00:12:44.230 see that He cannot fit in right now. There is 00:12:44.230 --> 00:12:47.450 no spot for him, too. Anyway, something is going 00:12:47.450 --> 00:12:50.610 on. Yeah, he has a leave of absence right now 00:12:50.610 --> 00:12:53.169 from the team. And we just wish him, you know, 00:12:53.169 --> 00:12:57.210 to get back on track, obviously, but also just 00:12:57.210 --> 00:13:00.429 the best wishes and whatever he and his family 00:13:00.429 --> 00:13:04.769 is dealing with. I just wish them the best. No, 00:13:04.850 --> 00:13:08.629 absolutely. I mean, he's been everything that 00:13:08.629 --> 00:13:11.529 you want. in his 17 years as a member of the 00:13:11.529 --> 00:13:15.169 Tampa Bay Lightning. He's been a great defensive 00:13:15.169 --> 00:13:18.909 player. He's not so much now, but when you look 00:13:18.909 --> 00:13:21.950 at the scope of his 17 -year career, been a great 00:13:21.950 --> 00:13:24.190 defensive player, been a great leader in the 00:13:24.190 --> 00:13:29.330 locker room, been good in the community, and 00:13:29.330 --> 00:13:33.409 now that he needs to take a break and refresh 00:13:33.409 --> 00:13:36.490 himself, both physically and mentally, I think 00:13:36.490 --> 00:13:40.500 he deserves that. And the fans and the media 00:13:40.500 --> 00:13:46.740 need to give him that space to get well and to 00:13:46.740 --> 00:13:52.539 recoup, get over what it is that happens to be 00:13:52.539 --> 00:13:54.559 the issue at the time. And when he does come 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:59.340 back, hopefully he'll be a little bit of the 00:13:59.340 --> 00:14:02.340 old Victor Hedman of old. He's 35 years old, 00:14:02.379 --> 00:14:04.940 so he's not going to play like he was at 25. 00:14:06.350 --> 00:14:08.830 But the time off and, you know, just refreshing 00:14:08.830 --> 00:14:12.629 himself, hopefully he's got a couple of good 00:14:12.629 --> 00:14:15.830 games left in him. And we talked about it a lot. 00:14:15.929 --> 00:14:19.750 You can listen to our podcast, Hockey on the 00:14:19.750 --> 00:14:22.850 Beach, on Apple, Spotify, and pretty much anywhere 00:14:22.850 --> 00:14:27.190 you can find it. So, like I said, we wish him 00:14:27.190 --> 00:14:29.350 the best. And like you said about the community 00:14:29.350 --> 00:14:34.500 outreach, I kind of just figured it out. season 00:14:34.500 --> 00:14:37.179 the camper bay lightning doesn't have that many 00:14:37.179 --> 00:14:41.840 fan fans events as they usually do i'm not sure 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:45.139 why do you think it's maybe because you know 00:14:45.139 --> 00:14:47.179 the team is still in the process of changing 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:50.879 ownership and obviously things internally they 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:55.539 are changing so the franchise is not as as they 00:14:55.539 --> 00:14:57.799 usually are i mean everyone is still nice you 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:00.039 know things are happening but it just used to 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:03.000 be so much more you could see the players around 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:05.899 you know they try to produce different shows 00:15:05.899 --> 00:15:09.259 events here and there it's just not this season 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:11.419 you made a good point that could be due to the 00:15:11.419 --> 00:15:17.299 ownership change and jeffrey vinik his ownership 00:15:17.299 --> 00:15:21.919 style was totally different than the owners that 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:24.960 we have in place jeffrey vinik was first and 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:28.980 foremost let's get into the community let's be 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:32.580 about the fans let's do all these different things 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:34.759 to bring the fans in and build the organization 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:40.120 a lot of times when you're got investment brokers 00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:43.740 and those kind of folks running the team all 00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:47.799 of a sudden the almighty dollar becomes most 00:15:47.799 --> 00:15:51.100 important a lot of the events that you have seen 00:15:51.100 --> 00:15:54.159 in the past cost a few dollars to put on they're 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:57.379 not going to put out you know that that kind 00:15:57.379 --> 00:16:00.279 of money i'll give you a you know example with 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:04.139 these investment brokers for most of my adult 00:16:04.139 --> 00:16:08.159 life i was in the restaurant business the worst 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:11.539 thing that could happen if you worked in a restaurant 00:16:11.539 --> 00:16:15.419 was to hear that your restaurant chain or your 00:16:15.419 --> 00:16:17.620 restaurant was being bought by an investment 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:23.179 firm what it meant was All of a sudden, your 00:16:23.179 --> 00:16:26.840 expenses, your labor costs, your food costs, 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:29.440 all those expenses were going to be slashed in 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:32.360 half. And these idiots were going to sit there 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:36.500 and wonder, how come sales are down? How come 00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:40.700 nobody's coming in the door? Why are things the 00:16:40.700 --> 00:16:52.159 way they are? Well, let's talk about this. businesses, 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:55.500 and trying to put their stamp on them. Because 00:16:55.500 --> 00:16:58.059 the only thing that they worry about is the almighty 00:16:58.059 --> 00:17:01.500 dollar. They do not worry about anything else. 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:04.099 Don't try to tell me any different. I'm not going 00:17:04.099 --> 00:17:07.079 to believe it. I've seen it happen too many times. 00:17:07.940 --> 00:17:13.000 Too many times. Okay, and what do you mean by 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:18.210 that? What's your conclusion? My conclusion is, 00:17:18.309 --> 00:17:22.829 as Bob Dylan sang in the 1960s, times, they are 00:17:22.829 --> 00:17:25.910 changing, folks. And this is a new ownership 00:17:25.910 --> 00:17:28.690 group. They're going to do things a little bit 00:17:28.690 --> 00:17:31.869 different than Jeffrey Vinnick. Let's face it. 00:17:31.890 --> 00:17:36.009 We've been spoiled by Jeffrey Vinnick. Not only 00:17:36.009 --> 00:17:40.170 does the commissioner of the NHL praise Vinnick 00:17:40.170 --> 00:17:42.630 for what he has done in the community, for how 00:17:42.630 --> 00:17:46.579 he runs the Lightning. Organizations in other 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:50.440 sports have looked to Jeffrey Vinnick as an owner 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:56.180 and asked themselves, how can we run our business 00:17:56.180 --> 00:17:59.400 similar to what he does, where we get a lot of 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:02.680 fan support, where we're the number one team 00:18:02.680 --> 00:18:07.119 in the community? How do we do that? This new 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:09.759 ownership group, they always say when they take 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:13.109 over, Oh, we just want to keep things the same. 00:18:13.269 --> 00:18:16.210 Yeah, nothing's really going to change. But bit 00:18:16.210 --> 00:18:20.069 by bit, little by little, as you pointed out, 00:18:20.130 --> 00:18:23.430 things are changing a bit. And this is only year 00:18:23.430 --> 00:18:28.390 one. Now, I'm not saying that, you know, the 00:18:28.390 --> 00:18:30.470 Lightning fan experience is going to go down 00:18:30.470 --> 00:18:33.269 the toilet and just be absolutely horrendous. 00:18:33.890 --> 00:18:36.869 But there's little things that they will change 00:18:36.869 --> 00:18:41.650 and the fans won't like it. Unfortunately, just 00:18:41.650 --> 00:18:45.309 the way it is. I want to see what it's going 00:18:45.309 --> 00:18:49.349 to be. It's not even excitement. I really want 00:18:49.349 --> 00:18:52.269 to know and I want to see what's going to change. 00:18:54.910 --> 00:18:59.690 Well, you pointed out one change. Less community 00:18:59.690 --> 00:19:02.769 events. They do with the fans. Less community 00:19:02.769 --> 00:19:07.190 events. Let's hope it doesn't affect the payroll 00:19:07.190 --> 00:19:10.869 and the money that they're willing. to pay the 00:19:10.869 --> 00:19:15.289 players when the contract's up, when they have 00:19:15.289 --> 00:19:17.829 a chance to bring in a marquee talent. We're 00:19:17.829 --> 00:19:20.130 going to see what's going to happen here real 00:19:20.130 --> 00:19:23.950 soon. Not with Jake Gunsel, but with Darren Radish. 00:19:24.710 --> 00:19:32.529 Oh, that's a big one. And he's making $650 ,000 00:19:32.529 --> 00:19:35.029 this year. Now, that's a lot of money to you 00:19:35.029 --> 00:19:37.990 and I, but for a hockey player and for the way 00:19:37.990 --> 00:19:42.269 he has played, Defense, that is a pittance. Hold 00:19:42.269 --> 00:19:44.490 on, hold on. You don't know that's a lot of money 00:19:44.490 --> 00:19:49.190 for me. It is for me. It is for me. I'm not ashamed 00:19:49.190 --> 00:19:55.170 to say it. It is for me. Yeah, I could live well 00:19:55.170 --> 00:19:59.490 on $650 ,000. No, it's not as much as you think. 00:19:59.750 --> 00:20:02.190 I know it's not. It's about half of that by the 00:20:02.190 --> 00:20:06.130 time you pay taxes, your agent fees, and all 00:20:06.130 --> 00:20:08.829 the other nonsense that you're required to pay. 00:20:09.319 --> 00:20:11.759 But you get my point. And the Lightning has to 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:14.160 decide, are we going to give Radish this new 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:17.259 contract? Yeah. Or are we not going to re -sign 00:20:17.259 --> 00:20:20.680 him? And if we do re -sign him, what is he worth? 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.859 Five million. What's your guess? Five million, 00:20:25.059 --> 00:20:28.759 five years? I would say five to six million dollars. 00:20:28.980 --> 00:20:32.240 Yeah. Now, I'm going to tell you something else, 00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:37.180 too. As a fan, my answer would be, I don't care. 00:20:37.910 --> 00:20:42.069 Just re -sign the man, okay? Let's just get him 00:20:42.069 --> 00:20:45.329 for the next, you know, five, seven years. Let's 00:20:45.329 --> 00:20:47.670 get him on a contract. I mean, who was it that 00:20:47.670 --> 00:20:49.950 signed that contract a couple of months ago? 00:20:50.009 --> 00:20:54.630 Was that Moser? Yes. That big contract too? Yes, 00:20:54.630 --> 00:20:58.390 that was heavy, yeah. Yeah. I mean, if you're 00:20:58.390 --> 00:21:01.029 Darren Radish, you're sitting there, hey, what 00:21:01.029 --> 00:21:06.509 about me? Hello? You know, and Breeze Boy spoke 00:21:06.509 --> 00:21:09.609 about it. And he said right now there's no defenseman 00:21:09.609 --> 00:21:16.470 in the NHL that's playing like Radish that has 00:21:16.470 --> 00:21:20.150 a contract that they can look at that would be 00:21:20.150 --> 00:21:23.509 similar based on his years of experience and 00:21:23.509 --> 00:21:27.450 what he's done. He is a little bit older, so 00:21:27.450 --> 00:21:30.950 you have to ask yourself, is this just a one 00:21:30.950 --> 00:21:33.750 -year run? Is this the kind of performance we 00:21:33.750 --> 00:21:36.509 can expect from Radish in the next two, three 00:21:36.509 --> 00:21:40.180 years? all that stuff comes into play and believe 00:21:40.180 --> 00:21:42.799 me the folks in the lightning front office are 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:45.559 thinking about that as they decide you know what 00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:48.099 to offer him how many years how much money etc 00:21:48.099 --> 00:21:51.759 he evolved and like i just want to point out 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:56.079 that he's 30 years old and he has 20 goals 45 00:21:56.079 --> 00:22:00.099 assists in 64 games and it's not even about that 00:22:00.099 --> 00:22:03.259 you can see that he is really confident he's 00:22:03.259 --> 00:22:07.109 a changed player that's great but i just hope 00:22:07.109 --> 00:22:10.549 he in his heart he feels like you know tampa 00:22:10.549 --> 00:22:14.650 is his number one spot because if it is he will 00:22:14.650 --> 00:22:17.809 be able to manage this deal it's you know it's 00:22:17.809 --> 00:22:20.289 not only about the agents it's not only about 00:22:20.289 --> 00:22:22.849 the front office i understand that people want 00:22:22.849 --> 00:22:25.930 to get as much as they can but he also like ask 00:22:25.930 --> 00:22:28.430 nikita kucherov he wouldn't want to go anywhere 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:33.059 He will be very flexible. He lives here. He loves 00:22:33.059 --> 00:22:36.660 it here. He doesn't want to go anywhere. But 00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:39.099 the other thing about Radish, too, not so much 00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:43.759 with the contract, but I believe that I saw 20 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:46.339 goals this season. I think with his next goal, 00:22:46.579 --> 00:22:50.700 he will break Victor Hedman's record for goals 00:22:50.700 --> 00:22:53.980 by defensemen in a season. I believe that's right. 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:58.190 So we still have... A few games left in the season, 00:22:58.269 --> 00:23:01.789 odds are he's going to get that. Good for him. 00:23:02.289 --> 00:23:06.089 Yeah, absolutely. I just hope that they can appreciate 00:23:06.089 --> 00:23:09.470 it in terms of the new contract and they will 00:23:09.470 --> 00:23:12.349 be able to get that deal. Because it's still, 00:23:12.450 --> 00:23:16.539 he evolved for sure. Yeah. Because Darren Radish 00:23:16.539 --> 00:23:20.000 in previous two seasons wasn't as powerful as 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:22.539 he is right now. You could really see he was 00:23:22.539 --> 00:23:25.000 working off season. And whatever he was doing, 00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:27.539 whatever he was coaching him, it really works. 00:23:27.640 --> 00:23:30.259 Good for him. And the partner's chemistry, obviously, 00:23:30.299 --> 00:23:33.539 too. Let's just, you know, before we go off the 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:36.039 air, talk about Nikita Kucherov a little bit. 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:41.529 We have two 40 goals. 40 goals, 121 points, plus 00:23:41.529 --> 00:23:46.569 45. Jesus Christ, in 67 games. I understand that 00:23:46.569 --> 00:23:50.930 McDavid, you know, got him again. He has 121 00:23:50.930 --> 00:23:55.690 points and 41 goals. But please, people, when 00:23:55.690 --> 00:23:58.329 you do the math and pay attention to all the 00:23:58.329 --> 00:24:03.069 details, Nikita Kucherov done that in less time. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:07.740 And his plus minus is so much better. Although, 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:11.160 yeah, it's not like his entire team is playing 00:24:11.160 --> 00:24:13.680 for him. You know, it's teamwork. It's not just 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:16.099 one person. Yes, there is a franchise phase. 00:24:16.200 --> 00:24:20.259 Yes. But still, it's a lot of teamwork. Anyways, 00:24:20.460 --> 00:24:25.200 what do you think about that, Ken? I agree 100%. 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:29.640 In fact, I wrote an article on my website. Talk 00:24:29.640 --> 00:24:34.960 about it. On why. Nikita Kucherov should be the 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:41.079 MVP. And I break it down. It's not so much about 00:24:41.079 --> 00:24:43.900 scoring. They have an award for that. It's called 00:24:43.900 --> 00:24:49.460 the Art Ross Trophy. But the MVP is, to me, for 00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:52.200 the player that makes the team better. How do 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:56.220 you enhance your teammates' role? How do you 00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:59.519 make them better players and, in turn, makes 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:02.069 the team better? That was the crust of the article. 00:25:02.250 --> 00:25:05.349 And Kucherov does that really well. Now, before 00:25:05.349 --> 00:25:09.690 we move on, I don't know whether you heard this 00:25:09.690 --> 00:25:13.970 or not. This is reported by Jeff Merrick, who's 00:25:13.970 --> 00:25:19.789 an NHL reporter. And this guy, not Jeff Merrick, 00:25:19.849 --> 00:25:23.750 but he's quoting a guy. He has got to be one 00:25:23.750 --> 00:25:27.710 of the biggest ignoramuses that I have ever read 00:25:27.710 --> 00:25:30.559 a quote from or heard in my life. He ought to 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:34.079 have his voting rights taken away from him for 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:37.259 the Hart Trophy. What he said, yeah. He says, 00:25:37.480 --> 00:25:42.279 oh, Kucherov had a two -and -a -half -week break 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:45.980 for the Olympics. Everyone else was playing high 00:25:45.980 --> 00:25:49.559 -level hockey and came back tired. He's had a 00:25:49.559 --> 00:25:54.680 chance to refresh himself. Sir, you are an idiot 00:25:54.680 --> 00:26:00.730 if you wrote that. I mean, if you want people 00:26:00.730 --> 00:26:03.849 to take you serious as a hockey analyst and a 00:26:03.849 --> 00:26:06.490 journalist and a reporter, you can't be putting 00:26:06.490 --> 00:26:12.750 out nonsense like that. You just can't. I have 00:26:12.750 --> 00:26:16.190 no other words to say. I mean, the man's an idiot. 00:26:16.930 --> 00:26:20.490 I actually love your article. Yeah, obviously, 00:26:20.630 --> 00:26:24.009 it's been pretty loud. You know, the quote that 00:26:24.009 --> 00:26:27.950 you just... renounce that's how i'm gonna relate 00:26:27.950 --> 00:26:32.130 to that pronounce that quote and you know no 00:26:32.130 --> 00:26:35.589 matter how you're trying to play with this and 00:26:35.589 --> 00:26:38.450 we discussed that a lot it is a little bit of 00:26:38.450 --> 00:26:42.349 political and saying once again oh he had time 00:26:42.349 --> 00:26:45.750 off well first of all he didn't if you actually 00:26:45.750 --> 00:26:48.930 walk around tampa everyone knows that nikita 00:26:48.930 --> 00:26:52.849 kucherov works non -stop although you know some 00:26:52.849 --> 00:26:56.750 people maybe don't follow NHL that closely but 00:26:56.750 --> 00:26:59.390 you know even the reporters who don't live in 00:26:59.390 --> 00:27:01.789 Tampa area and don't know much about the city 00:27:01.789 --> 00:27:04.109 they've heard about it that Nikita Kutcher was 00:27:04.109 --> 00:27:07.549 working out really hard with Adam Oates non -stop 00:27:07.549 --> 00:27:11.130 non -stop even if it wasn't for Oates he would 00:27:11.130 --> 00:27:13.609 still be working out he's shooting he's skating 00:27:13.609 --> 00:27:17.170 he does everything to get better every day he 00:27:17.170 --> 00:27:20.700 did not have any time off he works or All year 00:27:20.700 --> 00:27:24.160 long. Although, if we go back to the politics, 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:28.000 unfortunately, once again, why did Nikita Kucherov 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:30.259 did not go to the Olympics? Because of people 00:27:30.259 --> 00:27:32.839 like that, who say that they're not going to 00:27:32.839 --> 00:27:36.099 vote for Nikita Kucherov because he had two weeks 00:27:36.099 --> 00:27:39.059 off. And why did he have two weeks off? Because 00:27:39.059 --> 00:27:42.549 some other guys... Maybe I should call them idiots 00:27:42.549 --> 00:27:45.950 too. They think that it's Nikita Kucherov's fault 00:27:45.950 --> 00:27:49.049 what's going on around town. And just to make 00:27:49.049 --> 00:27:51.670 this matter even more spicier, I can tell you 00:27:51.670 --> 00:27:53.970 this. Nikita Kucherov doesn't travel to Russia 00:27:53.970 --> 00:27:57.730 right now. He spends all his time here. So please 00:27:57.730 --> 00:28:01.829 stop making this political and give this man 00:28:01.829 --> 00:28:04.349 the well -deserved heart because this is a joke 00:28:04.349 --> 00:28:08.829 now. It's the third season in a row. Yeah. No, 00:28:08.829 --> 00:28:12.650 absolutely. And if that's going to be your mindset 00:28:12.650 --> 00:28:18.130 toward players, you're not being objective. You're 00:28:18.130 --> 00:28:24.190 putting your personal feelings into how you feel 00:28:24.190 --> 00:28:28.829 about a player instead of looking at everything 00:28:28.829 --> 00:28:32.609 evenly across the board and then casting your 00:28:32.609 --> 00:28:36.660 vote. Bottom line. You are fired, man. You are 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:39.720 fired. You should not have a vote. Go vote in 00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:41.759 your high school league for MVP if that's your 00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:44.460 thought process. It doesn't belong at the NHL 00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:47.119 level. I read that article. It was hot. Go read 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:49.799 it. Tampa Bay Sports Journal. Go read it. It's 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:52.829 awesome. I can see that your heart is pumping 00:28:52.829 --> 00:28:55.589 up right now. So I want to ask you about what 00:28:55.589 --> 00:28:59.049 is going on with all this basketball story with 00:28:59.049 --> 00:29:03.450 the USF. Once again, I read another great article 00:29:03.450 --> 00:29:06.470 by you. And I was like, oh my God, Ken is making 00:29:06.470 --> 00:29:09.430 really great points. What is that with all these 00:29:09.430 --> 00:29:12.970 coaches who think that it's okay just show up 00:29:12.970 --> 00:29:15.910 here for one season and then like, oh, you know, 00:29:15.930 --> 00:29:18.630 beach was fine. Now it's time to move on. Yeah. 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:24.099 Well, in USF, the S stands for stepping stone. 00:29:25.319 --> 00:29:28.960 Unfortunately, that's the way it's been with 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:31.559 Alex Golesh leaving after a couple of seasons 00:29:31.559 --> 00:29:36.940 and Brian Hodgson. Here's the thing that just 00:29:36.940 --> 00:29:42.200 irritates me about the whole situation. On day 00:29:42.200 --> 00:29:45.359 one, when these coaches have their opening press 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:51.559 conferences. They say how great USF is, how wonderful 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:54.700 of an institution it is, how they have everything 00:29:54.700 --> 00:29:58.339 they need to win. Brian Hodgson, the coach that 00:29:58.339 --> 00:30:03.220 just left for Providence, he said USF has things 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:07.180 in place as far as facilities and behind the 00:30:07.180 --> 00:30:10.019 scenes work, the meal programs that are better 00:30:10.019 --> 00:30:14.819 than some big universities. USF is ahead of that. 00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:19.420 three four days after the season see you folks 00:30:19.420 --> 00:30:23.660 i'm off to providence i don't i don't understand 00:30:23.660 --> 00:30:26.759 there there's there's a big disconnect and the 00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:31.400 bigger thing is what is what is wrong with usf 00:30:31.400 --> 00:30:37.460 why are they having this problem recently now 00:30:37.460 --> 00:30:40.839 rob higgins he's the ceo of athletics i think 00:30:40.839 --> 00:30:44.539 he's great okay that does a great job and you 00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:50.700 saw What happened when Alex Gilles left? It wasn't 00:30:50.700 --> 00:30:54.740 a couple of weeks. Brian Hartline was hired as 00:30:54.740 --> 00:30:56.779 the new football coach, one of the up -and -comers. 00:30:57.940 --> 00:31:02.220 Hodgson leaves. Boom. Less than a week later, 00:31:02.259 --> 00:31:06.220 we have Chris Mack as the new head coach. And 00:31:06.220 --> 00:31:09.059 it was funny. I thought it was kind of funny. 00:31:09.119 --> 00:31:13.839 They hired Miss Curry, the women's coach at Alabama. 00:31:14.650 --> 00:31:17.710 to come to USF. And within 48 hours, they announced 00:31:17.710 --> 00:31:22.710 the hiring of Chris Mack. So Rob Higgins is on 00:31:22.710 --> 00:31:27.369 it. His motto is all gas, no brakes. And he exhibits 00:31:27.369 --> 00:31:29.930 that in the way he works and the talent that 00:31:29.930 --> 00:31:33.750 he brings in. But one thing is holding USF back. 00:31:34.130 --> 00:31:36.650 And it's up to Rob Higgins to make it happen. 00:31:36.769 --> 00:31:40.769 And I know he's working hard behind the scenes, 00:31:40.930 --> 00:31:44.410 but it can't happen quick enough. USF, has to 00:31:44.410 --> 00:31:48.450 get in to a bigger conference. They have to get 00:31:48.450 --> 00:31:52.970 into the Big Ten, the Big 12, ACC, or the SEC. 00:31:53.329 --> 00:31:56.309 Those are the four big ones. Rob Higgins has 00:31:56.309 --> 00:32:01.609 to make that happen. Until that happens, unfortunately, 00:32:01.670 --> 00:32:05.410 the struggles are probably going to continue 00:32:05.410 --> 00:32:09.609 with coaches leaving before their contracts up, 00:32:09.670 --> 00:32:13.509 with players. Leaving for bigger Neil money that 00:32:13.509 --> 00:32:19.769 had committed to USF. That's just the state of 00:32:19.769 --> 00:32:22.369 college athletics right now that we're in. It's 00:32:22.369 --> 00:32:26.650 unfortunate, but I think that's the truth. So 00:32:26.650 --> 00:32:28.950 basically, it's all about money, no pride. I 00:32:28.950 --> 00:32:31.369 mean, hello, it's Tampa. It's beautiful here. 00:32:31.509 --> 00:32:33.970 USF is a great school. I just cannot believe 00:32:33.970 --> 00:32:36.490 that a person is ready to pay off $2 million 00:32:36.490 --> 00:32:40.289 for breaching a contract. Let's call it that 00:32:40.289 --> 00:32:42.569 way because that's breaching a contract. You 00:32:42.569 --> 00:32:45.190 signed it. You committed. And now we're like, 00:32:45.269 --> 00:32:49.529 oh, whatever. Two million. No problem. Let me 00:32:49.529 --> 00:32:54.950 ask you. If I told you you could go to Providence, 00:32:54.950 --> 00:32:59.029 Rhode Island or stay in Tampa, Florida, which 00:32:59.029 --> 00:33:02.180 one are you picking? I can even tell you more. 00:33:02.259 --> 00:33:04.859 I can give you an example. Some of the players 00:33:04.859 --> 00:33:07.299 that were drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning, 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:10.559 they are sent to Syracuse, and some of them are 00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:14.059 sent to Orlando. It's the CHL affiliate. And 00:33:14.059 --> 00:33:17.079 some of the players, they prefer to stay in the 00:33:17.079 --> 00:33:21.119 lower league just to be in Florida, in Orlando, 00:33:21.500 --> 00:33:25.779 close to the beach, in great weather, than suffer 00:33:25.779 --> 00:33:29.200 in Syracuse. Because they get paid the same. 00:33:29.789 --> 00:33:32.369 Does the sun even shine in Providence before 00:33:32.369 --> 00:33:35.970 June? Does the temperature, like, get above 50 00:33:35.970 --> 00:33:39.750 degrees before June? I mean, I just think of 00:33:39.750 --> 00:33:44.230 Providence kind of like Seattle. Miserable, drab, 00:33:44.250 --> 00:33:48.789 dark, rainy, 300 days out of the year. You know, 00:33:48.869 --> 00:33:51.950 July 1st hits and everybody says, okay, folks, 00:33:52.109 --> 00:33:54.170 let's go to the beach. We only have two or three 00:33:54.170 --> 00:33:55.710 weeks. It's going to start getting cold again. 00:33:56.869 --> 00:34:01.220 Well, good luck. I know. But, you know, God bless 00:34:01.220 --> 00:34:03.900 Rob Higgins. We got a good man in Chris Mack. 00:34:04.059 --> 00:34:06.319 Has a lot of experience. He's been to the NCAA 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:09.820 tournament numerous times. Yes. Took a team to 00:34:09.820 --> 00:34:14.179 the Final Four. His press conference will be 00:34:14.179 --> 00:34:16.960 Tuesday, which will be the last day of March, 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:19.800 to officially introduce him as the new head coach. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.519 And I'm sure then we'll learn more about what 00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:29.800 attracted him to the South Florida position style 00:34:29.800 --> 00:34:32.300 of basketball is going to be what kind of folks 00:34:32.300 --> 00:34:35.000 he wants to bring into this program etc so i'm 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:37.260 looking forward to that that means we're gonna 00:34:37.260 --> 00:34:41.059 have more next week and maybe we can even use 00:34:41.059 --> 00:34:45.780 some of the videos yeah real quick can i just 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:48.699 talk about john cooper for a second of course 00:34:48.699 --> 00:34:52.800 make it big yeah he coached i i think what was 00:34:52.800 --> 00:34:57.650 it his 1000th game um recently Yes. Where's my 00:34:57.650 --> 00:35:02.349 puck? Where's my puck? Yeah. Anyways, Cooper 00:35:02.349 --> 00:35:07.309 has the highest win percentage in NHL history 00:35:07.309 --> 00:35:09.610 for a coach who's only been with the team 13 00:35:09.610 --> 00:35:13.510 seasons. Cooper had his 13th anniversary with 00:35:13.510 --> 00:35:17.010 the Lightning this week. That's right! And Cooper 00:35:17.010 --> 00:35:22.349 is second in NHL history among coaches with the 00:35:22.349 --> 00:35:25.360 highest win percentage after games coach. He 00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:29.780 has the third most regular season wins in history. 00:35:29.840 --> 00:35:34.559 He's at 611. He was the second fastest to win 00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:38.900 600 games. He did it coaching in 1 ,044 games. 00:35:39.260 --> 00:35:44.079 He has 11 postseason appearances in 12 seasons. 00:35:44.159 --> 00:35:48.920 And the man has never won coach of the year. 00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:53.260 What is wrong with you people? NHL hockey writers 00:35:53.260 --> 00:35:57.719 should be ashamed of themselves. Ashamed. They 00:35:57.719 --> 00:36:03.840 should be. And it was December 31st. Tampa Bay 00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:08.300 Lightning were facing the Anaheim Ducks. Let 00:36:08.300 --> 00:36:14.440 me remind you, 4 -3 win. Yes. So I just wanted 00:36:14.440 --> 00:36:18.880 to... That's a good one. And end on a positive 00:36:18.880 --> 00:36:21.500 note here with... With the best coach in the 00:36:21.500 --> 00:36:25.219 NHL, John Cooper. Absolutely. All I can say this 00:36:25.219 --> 00:36:27.420 year, not only the Tampa Bay Lightning should 00:36:27.420 --> 00:36:32.139 get at least to the finals, but John Cooper finally 00:36:32.139 --> 00:36:36.480 will get his Jack Adams award. And Nikita Kucherov, 00:36:36.539 --> 00:36:42.219 hard, hard. Don't forget, he's coached in four 00:36:42.219 --> 00:36:46.800 Stanley Cup finals, winning two of them. We need 00:36:46.800 --> 00:36:52.019 three. Repeat. really consecutive but that's 00:36:52.019 --> 00:36:59.500 okay yes right yeah so nothing else to add Cooper 00:36:59.500 --> 00:37:04.619 should win coach of the year Kucherov for MVP 00:37:04.619 --> 00:37:07.860 of the season and I'm doing an article now getting 00:37:07.860 --> 00:37:10.800 my research together on why Cooper should be 00:37:10.800 --> 00:37:13.239 coach of the year the same way I did with Nikita 00:37:13.239 --> 00:37:16.920 Kucherov Yeah, do it. Let's do it. Don't forget 00:37:16.920 --> 00:37:20.539 to share so I can actually use all of the links. 00:37:21.000 --> 00:37:24.300 Yes. That was awesome, Ken. Thank you so much. 00:37:24.300 --> 00:37:27.239 Hockey on the Beach, Tampa Bay Sports Journal. 00:37:28.579 --> 00:37:31.659 We love you all. Not all of you, just the Tampa 00:37:31.659 --> 00:37:34.579 Bay Lightning fans. I'm just kidding. Thanks 00:37:34.579 --> 00:37:37.039 for listening to the Hockey on the Beach podcast.