Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: What's going on, hockey fans? It's a good old hockey podcast. Your go to stop for all hockey news across the board. We got NHL, college hockey, international hockey, everything you can think of hockey. You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, x, TikTok. Listen to all of our podcasts on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple podcasts at Settledown Media. So enjoy the episode.
[00:00:36] Speaker B: All right, welcome back, everybody. Hoped you liked that little intro there. That's a little weekday project that I did. A little quick intro. I feel like we need to spice it up a bit. But welcome back. This is episode number 26, good old Hockey podcast galley. We got some, some fireworks coming up here soon. Tight playoff race, some college hockey drama.
Sidney Crosby hitting 40 goals. We got some crazy stuff coming up ahead. I mean, we've got eight days. By the time this comes out, we got eight days till the playoffs. And I not. I can't be more excited. I'm excited this year. Some good hockey.
[00:01:13] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: But before we get into that, how was your weekend?
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Weekend was pretty good. I did a decent amount of things. I went this one of the. The weekends, I went out to the bars, decent amount.
Went to Meridian and Boise. Meridian on Friday night in Boise on Saturday night, my company had a award show for advertising for the city of Boise. So went to that. That was pretty cool. Lots of company sponsored training, drinking and events and whatnot. So it was a pretty good pre game, but yeah, ended up going downtown. Boise is a good time. Downtown Meridian was always a good time, but.
[00:01:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:53] Speaker A: Yeah, man, it was. It was kind of a degenerate weekend, not gonna lie. Yeah, yeah. Had a good weekend, though. How about you?
[00:02:01] Speaker B: It's pretty decent.
See, Friday we actually downloaded monopoly on the PlayStation, and we're ripping some monopoly. Got pretty boring. Not boring, but I could tell everyone was a little bit out of it towards the end. Saturday, though, went to end zone. Had a good night. Definitely called it early, though.
[00:02:21] Speaker A: Yeah, you almost came downtown.
[00:02:23] Speaker B: I almost. I was so close to it. I.
That wouldn't have been good if I made it downtown, honestly. But the bank account and just me in general, that was. I live. Like, when I was texting about going, I looked at my phone and it was like, 1130. And I'm like, holy shit. Like, this is way too early. And, yeah, would have been bad, but stayed in. But we do definitely need to go sometime, whether it's.
I'm down for this weekend. I didn't do anything this last weekend.
[00:02:52] Speaker A: So, yeah, we'll. We'll see. I also, uh, speaking of bank accounts and whatnot. I lost some money on, uh, NC State. That was, that was the tough. I was a tough toll swallow. And of course, bama so made my picks. Whatever I'm picking at this time, this, this comes out, I actually have a produce spread. So we'll see if that hits. Third time's a charm. Yeah, tons of charm, especially for the final four. So we'll see.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: Yeah, we'll see, I guess. But yeah, we got basketball. We're recording this on Monday. So we got basketball a little bit later today, tonight. But then it turns into full hockey, which is what we'll get into right now.
[00:03:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:31] Speaker B: Jumping right into a little bit of coast to coast. Just talking shop before playoffs.
We had some, you know, good storylines. Sid, Sidney Crosby just hit 40 goals this last, the other night, which I didn't know this, but he, between him, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, the other two, Lemieux and Gretzky did not hit pass 40 goals over the age of 30. And now Sid has done. I think he's got. What is this season number four of 40 goal seasons? I don't know, but he.
[00:04:11] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, no, that's, that's, that's crazy, man. I think Cindy Crosby is definitely one of the best players of all time. I feel like this, this sort of statistic, I mean, at 36 to put up 40 goals is impressive. Um, I don't know if you, I don't know if you said that, but, yeah. Lemieux hit 50 goals at 34 years old, which is insane. I mean, his predecessor for the pens. Yeah. But, uh, yeah, it's, it's kind of surprising that Gretzky didn't hit, uh, over 40 after 30 years old, but, yeah, I mean, Sidney Crosby is going to be, he's going to be in the league for a while. I feel like he's going to play. I mean, he has three cups to his name. He's got Olympic gold, world championship gold, I think, too. World junior gold, World cup of hockey gold, dude. So, I mean, he's, he's, he's one of the most coveted players and successful players of all time and shit. I mean, the Pittsburgh Penguins were in such a dumpster fire when he first was drafted there and came on even his first season, they were, they were really bad. So it's pretty awesome to see what he's done with that franchise. And I feel like Pittsburgh has. I mean, I feel like the city of Pittsburgh so much behind their hockey team. I feel like the Pirates probably lack a little bit in that popularity, I'd say the Penguins are probably second behind the Steelers. And the Steelers, I mean, big part of that's probably Crosby, you know, so. Yeah, awesome. And I mean, I don't know if he's, you know, top five yet, but, you know, going towards the end of his career, I think that there's a very good chance, I mean, he could crack that top three even. Yeah, possibly top two. I don't know about that, though. What do you, what do you, what's your take on that?
[00:05:55] Speaker B: Crosby at three, Lemieux at two, Kritzki at one.
[00:05:58] Speaker A: Damn right.
I, I, I'd have to disagree with that right now. I still think Yager and Gordy how better than Sid even. I mean, even Bobby or too. I mean, Bobby or changed the game for defense. He did. Gordy Howe changed the whole sport. I mean, he's. And talk about not aging. I mean, that guy played into his close. I think he played 50 years old. 51 years old or something like that, like in the NHL, which is unheard of.
And then, same with Yager. I mean, still playing to this day. And yogurt was on top of the league for like almost two decades. I mean, in the nineties and two thousands, he was like putting goal, putting points up. I mean, he was, he was unbelievable in a way. Yogurt did change the game, too. So I don't think he's top five for me yet, but I think Crosby will, will get there. I mean, yeah, just because you gotta, you gotta think about legacy.
[00:06:56] Speaker B: Think about, I know up to the, like, I know his career is not over yet, so it's hard to give him, give him his flowers at that time yet or number three. But I mean, I don't know. I don't think Yager, I mean, he played, it's hard because, like, gordy Howe and Yagur, they both played in the league for a long time.
[00:07:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:17] Speaker B: Now, obviously they're going to have crazy points and stats and yeah, Yager's two overall, like second overall most points, but a lot of that has to do with how many seasons he played. And yes, that, that is a part of how good you are, but Sidney Crosby is.
I think he's better than Ovechkin just as an overall player. Goal score, that's a different story. Way different story. Obi's the greatest goal scorer ever. He's like, we're going to, he's going to break Gretzky's record. But Crosby as an overall player, I think sits at number three for me.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: I just think it's hard to. As a Levitt place of all time in points, it's hard to say his career's not over yet is top three. I know. I think eventually. I think eventually, Crosby could even be top two.
[00:08:05] Speaker B: I could see that.
[00:08:06] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, eventually, I think that he could be top two. Just his. His play IQ and his playmaking ability is. And also very defensive, too, which. Yep. I feel like Gretzky Lemieux lacked. I mean, I wouldn't say Gordie Howe lacked defense at all. Yager, maybe a little bit. But, I mean, it's hard to compare these players. Cause it really is 40, 50, even 60 years between these players in terms of, uh, uh, when they were playing. But, yeah, I feel like still, he hasn't maybe cracked that five spot for me. But, uh. Yeah, I mean, no disrespect, though. I love city crossing. Crosby's one of the biggest reasons I got into hockey. He had such a big buzz around him, like, in around 2007, 2008, and I remember seeing him on Sports Illustrated kids, I was like, dude, this guy's legit. And then watching him, I was like, this guy's even more legit. Seeing the documentaries about the Penguins and shit.
He's a legend. And I, for forever, will love Sid. I mean, he's in on top of that. I mean, I think the biggest thing about him is he's such a good leader.
He's been in the league for so long, and I feel like since he's been in the league, he's been coaching his teammates. He's been just such a good leader. Like, incredible.
[00:09:20] Speaker B: So, yeah, no, I agree. I think it's. It's like you said, it's tough to compare. His career is also not over yet. Um, but, I mean, it's kind of like. I don't know, with McDavid, obviously, it's. He's too young in his career to say where he's at on the leaderboard, but just with his skill alone, he's the greatest hockey player to have ever played the game. But, yeah, that's because of skill. But Gretzky was miles above everyone else, and I think Sid was kind of like that. He. The unfortunate thing with Sidney, though, was that he was hurt for a lot of his prime.
[00:09:56] Speaker A: Prime years, which affects it, dude. I think. I think if he wasn't hurt, he'd probably be top five and in points. I mean, those were. Those were two issues. He. He missed a significant amount of time, and especially in his prime, like, you're saying if he had those two years back, I mean, those could potentially be hundred point seasons. So, yeah, I think that's a really good point. And, yeah, I mean, it's debatable, but I do feel like just, I got to give respect to the elders.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:28] Speaker A: Their whole career and.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't.
Yeah, I mean, I disagree with you, but I don't hold it against you because, I mean, I understand, like, that's a fair point. I think, you know, Bobby or all those guys, yager, Gordy, howe are great players, but that's just what I think. But we'll move on because we're not going to move. Each other's not going to change.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: I could talk about Sid forever, though.
[00:10:50] Speaker B: Yeah, no, we could, but we also had some. We're switching gears a little bit out of the NHL and into college hockey. We do have the frozen four coming up this week. If you're listening to this on Wednesday, it's tomorrow. 03:00 p.m. 04:00 p.m. Central time and what, the other one's 07:00 p.m. 07:30 p.m. Central time for the other one, so make sure you go watch those. But before we get into that, I got some. I got to defend my man will smith really quick.
[00:11:20] Speaker A: Well, first of all, we should. We should talk about our bracket. It could become. Okay, I don't think. I don't think it's perfect right now, but the finals could be BC versus bu, which I think would be such a good game.
[00:11:32] Speaker B: I think so, too.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: I mean, BC versus Michigan, that's that second game, and then Bu versus Denver. I'm excited for. For tomorrow just because, I mean, those are going to be two lights out games. I'm so excited for them. But it would be pretty sweet if we did guess that, that finals, right? I mean, that'd be a good start to predicting, and we'll see if we can figure it out some way next year, some crafty, creative way. We are going to be doing a bracket challenge for this frozen four. Because I scanned across the Internet, there's nothing. There's nothing. So we're going to do something like this. Maybe it's going to be tickets to the next frozen four. Maybe it's going to be something as the prize. But we're going to try to get the wheels turned on this because this is a good opportunity for us to connect to you hockey fans out there and get this, this official bracket challenge going for the frozen four.
[00:12:18] Speaker B: For real? Yeah. No, for sure.
Yeah. I'd be excited, honestly. Bu versus BC, it'd be a rematch of the hockey east tournament. Yeah, but I think it'd be a good game. You know, it's one game. You know, they. Yeah, they won in championship game for Hockey east, but could be a different story after that.
[00:12:39] Speaker A: Yeah, but yeah.
[00:12:41] Speaker B: Sorry. Sorry for.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: Pump the brakes on that. I just wanted to touch a little bit on the bracket challenge and our perfect potentially finals matchup. So.
[00:12:50] Speaker B: Yeah, it could be. Could come true. We'll see. I think we had BC winning, if I don't remember correctly, or I think.
[00:12:56] Speaker A: We did a coin flip.
[00:12:59] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Who knows? But go watch two episodes ago. We have it on there if you want to fact check us.
That being said, we also got news this week pretty much right after we actually released the pod, I think. Or maybe it's Friday, I don't know. But they released the three people left in contention for the Hobie Baker award. Hobie Baker award is essentially the MVP for college hockey and Heisman. Yeah, Heisman. Pretty much same thing. But there's three names on there and one being Jackson Blake from University North Dakota. He had 60 points, 40 games. Great. Awesome. Jason Blake's son, and he is a sophomore this year. Other one, Macklin Celebrini out of Boston University. If you don't know his name by now, what are you doing?
He had 32 goals as a rookie, 64 points and 37 games. And then we also out of BC got Cutter go tier now. He had 64 points, 39 games. And he led the NCAA with 37 goals.
[00:14:03] Speaker A: And he had a controversial trade to Anaheim, too.
[00:14:06] Speaker B: He did. I forgot about that. He was behind that whole. Yeah. Gosh, I forgot about that.
Yeah. So those are the three in the top. Now.
I've been sitting on this for a while now because we haven't recorded, but Will Smith, I think, kind of got snubbed. I understand, but Will Smith was leading the NCAA in points. He had 69 points. So he was, I want to say, like four or five points ahead of everyone. 39 games. Also a freshman.
You know, I understand how to go ta. He's leading the league in goals. 37, was it 37 goals in 39 games? Almost a goal per game.
And then Macklin celebrating. You can't really leave him off, but you kind of can't. I mean, from what I read, it seems like they're trying to. Or they were trying to kind of like, get off the.
They didn't want it to be just a Hockey East BC versus and bullet final three. They had to throw in a little west coast, west side, University of North Dakota in there.
So it's hard to say because, like, do you leave off Cutter go tier, who led the league in goals, or do you leave off the guy who's leading in points? I don't know.
[00:15:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:15:19] Speaker B: And it's. It's. It's tough. I also think Will Smith does play on a line that is very stacked, or he plays on a great line with him. Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perot, they're all, I want to say, like, top ten point per game guys in the NCAA. So I understand it's hard to just give it to him, but he led the league in points. I don't know. It's.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it's an absolute snub.
This pisses me off that he can make it just because he won these whole league in points. As a rookie, though, as a rookie to do that. And I know two of these. These players on here are first year freshmen.
So, I mean, to be fair, but, I mean, to put a sophomore with, you know, nine less points than him, that's. That's a. That's ridiculous. I think that he got left out, and I think it would have been kind of weird that it was all Boston University, Boston college players. But to be fair, I mean, Will Smith is an incredible player. He's one of the best player, I mean, easily top three in the NCAA. And, I mean, he's. He could be gone next year. So I think it's kind of ridiculous that, uh, they left him out. Um, I know there's been some pretty famous Heisman snubs, and this is. This is definitely going up there for. For, like, you know, a pretty big snub for. For a college sport award. Yeah, but, yeah, I mean, it makes me mad, but, you know, I mean, I.
I don't. I don't know, man.
[00:16:51] Speaker B: It's ridiculous. It is. I see their point.
[00:16:54] Speaker A: I see their point was putting a und player in there. Like, und that division is very hard to play in and 60 points in, 40 games in. Of course, you got. You got a hockey name, too. Now. I feel it's probably a little bit hard to leave them off.
[00:17:07] Speaker B: Yeah, but I do four. Like, what's. I mean, I don't know. I guess they have to narrow it down to three people.
[00:17:14] Speaker A: They should have it like the Heisman, though. I mean, yeah, I know they've done three historically, like, um, in all previous years, but this scenario right here, I mean, I just feel like it's. It's.
[00:17:27] Speaker B: This.
[00:17:27] Speaker A: This year is probably one of the tightest Hobie Baker award like races I've ever seen. Yeah. I mean, all four of these play. I mean, I think it. It's between Will Smith, Cutter and Macklin. I think Jason Blake's kind of a. I don't want to say, like, a mako ish combination, but, like. Yeah, I mean, I don't think he. He is necessarily deserving of it as much as Will Smith. I mean, to do that as a freshman, you can't. You can't leave that off the ballot, no matter who your teammates are, no matter what new conference you play in.
And he's a highly coveted player. I mean, if you're going to have the argument. Oh, Macklin Celebrini, he's first overall draft pick. Well, I mean, Will Smith was a top five draft pick, too. But not only that. I mean, he's 18 years old. I mean, to be doing that at 18 years old, whoever your teammates are, that's an impressive feat. So, yeah, I think that's. That's b's that they left them often. Um. Yeah, come on. Hobie Baker, uh, nominee committee. I don't even know who.
So.
[00:18:28] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't know. I mean, it's hard. Like, I'm pretty biased. I love, obviously, the Sharks you can see behind me, but, um. I don't know, it's just weird that you. You know, a player that. I understand the circumstances, though. I mean, it's. It's tough to say, like, oh, yeah, he led the league in points, but look at the line he's with. Like, you know, put. I mean, you can't just put anyone there. But, I don't know, the leading goal score, 37 goals. It's impressive. You can't leave that off, but you also can't leave off the leading score. But you also can't put two BC. Like, why does that matter? Like, if they're good, they're good.
[00:19:05] Speaker A: Yeah, put him in the final. I mean, I would even probably put Will Smith ahead of Macklin Celebrini, in my opinion.
[00:19:14] Speaker B: I would, too. Yeah.
[00:19:16] Speaker A: But, I mean, out of any of these three, Jackson, Blake, 100%. I mean, I don't think that.
I mean, no. No offense to me, he's a great player. He's a excellent player out there, and he's und's best player. Probably one of the best player in the NCHC. But, you know, I do think Will Smith is deserving of that spot. And, hey, maybe this might light a fire to him and be like, fuck the NCAA. We're going to go to the NHL next year. So hopefully that happens because I'd like.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: Or go and win a. Go and win a what's called the title. Go play bu again. Play Macklin Celebrini in the finals again because, like, will smith in the hockey east championship, he scored a hat trick on them to secure that victory for them. So I don't know. We'll see how the frozen four plays out. Maybe. Maybe that'll let a fire under him. And he's like, fuck this. I don't know.
[00:20:09] Speaker A: Who knows? I will say. We'll say respect to all these nominees.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:13] Speaker A: Who do you think your pick is to win it?
[00:20:18] Speaker B: I mean, 37 goals is impressive in one season. I would give it to Cutter.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: I would give it to Cutter, too.
[00:20:24] Speaker B: I mean, 30 sharks win the lottery drafts, and I give it to maguine celebrity.
[00:20:29] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I just.
I think Maguin Celebrini had an excellent season. Lights out season. But yeah, I mean, compared to Cutter Gautier scoring those 37 goals, I mean, I just feel like it's a hard argument to be against Macklin Celebrini or against Cutter Godier. Pardon me.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:49] Speaker A: Over. Over Carter Gar Ta, whatever. I don't even messing up my words right now, but it's all right.
[00:20:56] Speaker B: But we'll move on from the NCAA playoffs, move into NHL playoffs. We have one of the tightest races I've seen in a long. In a while. Big time.
There are currently, as of when we are speaking at 652 on April 8, there are five teams in contention right now for the third spot in the metro and also another wild card spot. Lightning have it locked down. They're making the playoffs there. I think ten points ahead of the wild. Whoever's second wild card right now. But as of right now, again, right now, we've got the islanders at 85 points in that third spot in the metro.
Detroit is at 84 points.
They are in that second wild card spot. And then the Penguins, Capitals, and Flyers are all 83 points. So this is a race where, I mean, majority of those teams, flyers, caps, hens, is Detroit in the metro or they Atlantic? They're Atlantic, right?
Um.
[00:22:01] Speaker A: I think Detroit's in the metro. I know they're in the Atlantic. Pardon me.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: God, so weird. Detroit's in Atlantic.
[00:22:06] Speaker B: I know. Well, they were always a west coast team, which is weird in itself, but yeah. So Detroit is fighting for that. They're the only ones that can get that wild. They can only get the wild card spot while everyone else can fight for that third spot in the metro.
But, man, like, I mean, a lot of these teams, too. We're looking at the Flyers a kind of fell off because they were sitting second. Um, dude, pens, penguin.
[00:22:36] Speaker A: We were like, pens are making it, like, throw the towel in. I mean, I know, I know the caps and fires are really close up the trade deadline. The Red Wings are in the mix.
I mean, holy shit. Coming out of nowhere, six, two and two in their last ten games, four game win streak. They're playing right now.
Last time I checked, it was one to one. I mean, everyone's going to know the score of this game, but as we right now, they're playing the Leafs end of second still one to one. So really hope. I mean, from their perspective, they really want to win that game because it's going to put them in a lot better situation. If they do win that game, they're going to slot into that. I think they should slot into that third spot in the metro.
[00:23:17] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:17] Speaker A: At least a playoff spot.
[00:23:18] Speaker B: So, yeah, they will be. Yes.
[00:23:21] Speaker A: And, yeah. What, what a turnaround, though. I mean, I feel like they've traded gensle and they're like, dude, like, not making the playoffs, but Cindy Crosby, like, yeah, never mind. Something that I saw that was very interesting today about Crosby, which I'm just like, I think such a, such a fucking beauty is someone was like, some reporter asked him about the solar eclipse.
[00:23:44] Speaker B: Which was how I was gonna bring this up. Yep.
[00:23:45] Speaker A: And he said like, no, I'm. No, I'm not. I don't pay attention to that because I got my pregame nap and it's like, sid means business. He's going to. I think the pens have a very good shot of making the playoffs, whether that's going to be in the second wild card or if that's going to be that three spot. I think the pens should make it.
[00:24:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
Yeah. I think, as a Sharks fan, we do have their first round pick this next year. So I don't, as a Sharks fan, really want them to make the playoffs, but as a hockey fan, I want to see them push for the playoffs. He. Sydney. Sydney Crosby in the playoffs is always good time. It's always good to watch. I think it'd be cool to kind of see maybe the Penguins in that third spot and the Caps get that wild card spot. So we've got Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby back in the playoffs.
[00:24:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:36] Speaker B: Like, we've seen that in a while. With both of them in the playoffs, I feel like, what, maybe 21, 22 season?
[00:24:45] Speaker A: Yeah, it's been, it's been a couple seasons, but also like, dude, the wings. I mean, the wings got cane this year, and that would be, that would be a story itself. And then again, somehow, if the Flyers got in, I mean, they've been like, everyone's been saying, oh, they're not, they weren't going to make it all year, and then they're in a playoff spot. They're like, oh, maybe they actually might make it, but they're fucking falling right now. They're sliding. There's all sorts of internal troubles. I'd be surprised to see if the Flyers make it. Um, torts is running that team like a dictator this season, so.
[00:25:14] Speaker B: Oh, I bet. Yeah, sounds like him. Um, but, yeah, I think.
I don't know. I would love to see Sidney Crosby play.
I don't know. Who, like, who, who are your picks for that third spot in the metro and the wild card spot? Who do you want to see slotted in right there?
[00:25:34] Speaker A: Like, the Islanders are looking decent with five games left.
I mean, they have to, they have to kind of mess up. And they're in a four game win streak. As when we speak right now, I like to see the Penguins at that, that three spot, I think that would be a pretty good game. Gensle would play against the Penguins, against his old team. I think that would be a hell of a matchup.
Keynes versus penguins would be sweet. And then it's hard for me to see the islanders not making it, though. That's, that's the thing about it. And see if the pens are going to slide into that second spot. I mean, they'd be playing the Bruins or Rangers, which would be a crazy game. But, I mean, it's, it's so hard to say. Hockey, especially this type of shit. It's like, I have no clue. And I feel like I'd say that about the playoffs, but. Cause, like, you still got the Red Wings in the mix, too. We're not playing that bad of hockey right now.
I just don't, I don't think the Capitals are going to make it. I think the Flyers are just kind of falling too hard right now. Um, and there's, like I said, there's lots of issues right now with them. So I think out of these teams, though, I think the Pens have got to make it somehow. I think it's between the pens.
Wings and Islanders are going to make it out of those. Those. I mean, it's going to be between them because, like I said, the caps and fires kind of shaky for me.
[00:26:56] Speaker B: So, yeah, I agree. Uh, we'll move on to the next topic, but I do have to go to the bathroom really quick, so I'm going to pause this.
All right. Up next, we've got the New York Rangers.
They right now are getting pretty hot. Pretty good. We talked about Alexi Lafreniere last episode.
He's still been turning it on. I feel like he has.
He's been definitely a pivotal player for them, which they've needed out of him. And I've thought a little bit more about my comments and I don't know that I would classify him as a bust.
I think he's still young. He's 22 years old. He's younger than I am and playing in the NHL, so it's tough to say.
You know, I mean, he is a first overall draft pick, but besides the point, I take back my statement that he's a bust. I think we can see some production out of him next season. He's playing on a good team, though. But him and Paneran have been pretty nasty together. So as a fan of the game, I hope he keeps it, keeps it up next season especially and for the playoffs. But Rangers right now are looking pretty good. What do you think?
[00:28:04] Speaker A: I'm going to still stand that he's, he's a bust right now.
[00:28:08] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:28:09] Speaker A: I think he has 56 points, 78 games, which is, is great. It's a good season.
[00:28:13] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:14] Speaker A: It's going to come down to what he does next season. I think if he has that similar season, I'd still classify him as bus. But I mean, his past seasons, he's had 39 points last season, 31 points the season before, and 21 his rookie season, which is, is pretty, pretty dang low. That's like Patrick Stefan, that, that first overall pick.
I mean, I don't know if he's as bad as like Jakapov, but he's. No, he's on. I don't think he's going to get out of the league like that sort of bus, but I don't think he's going to be a first overall pick necessarily. I mean, I mean, you look at the past ten first overall picks and I mean, discoline Jakapov, they're all pretty incredible players and I just don't think Lafayette is like, at that level yet. No, he could prove me wrong and have an excellent season next year, great postseason, whatnot.
[00:29:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:11] Speaker A: But, yeah, I'm still sticking by my, my call with, uh, he's not the best, first of all.
[00:29:17] Speaker B: I mean, yeah, definitely we won't get on it too long because we run out of time. But yes, he will stop talking about him. But I agree with that. You can have a good season next year. Um, but back to what we were saying. Presence trophy brings into me, though, is the question of the curse. The president's trophy. Would you want, like, I don't know. As a Sharks fan, I've seen them win the presence trophy and I watched them lose the first round. Just watch Boston do the same exact thing. They had a historic season and lost in the first round. Um, you know, it's happened time and time before. Happened to the Panthers year before, season before last. Um, I don't know. I. It's hard to say. It's like they're buzzing so hard right now, but every time I've seen it, these teams, especially out of the east, where it's such a stacked conference, I don't know. Do you think this team can beat that curse of the president's trophy?
[00:30:15] Speaker A: I just think at least the first round. Yes. Um, I think they should make it past the first round. There's just such a dominant team this year. I mean, the Bruins were last year, but there was definitely some flaws in terms of age and whatnot. The Bruins are good again this year. I mean, slack on the Brins Bruins could still pull off the president's trophy, too. They could, but I think that if the Rangers keep flying hot into the, into the playoffs, postseason, because right now they're eight two and, oh, in their last ten. I mean, if they keep that up, I think they should carry it into the post season, and they're just looking like the best team in the east right now. So I don't think the curse is necessarily going to be on them. Will they win the Stanley Cup? I think it's up for discussion. It's so hard to say who's going to win the Stanley cup right now. There's no, yeah, but, yeah, I don't think it's going to. It's going to affect them too much this year.
[00:31:04] Speaker B: Yeah, okay. Yeah, I agree. I mean, it's so hard with that. And like you said, predicting the Stanley cup, people try to ask me, like, who's your pick? And I'm like, I don't know. I'll say the Panthers because I want them to win. But there's truly so much that can go on in a playoff hockey series that it's too, it's the hardest, the hardest trophy to win a Stanley cup. I've said this time and time, it is the hardest championship to win across all sports.
[00:31:31] Speaker A: Oh, 100%.
[00:31:32] Speaker B: You got one game. We got four games. But to go through a seven game series of that much physicality, too, like hockey, like you've seen it, playoff hockey is way more physical than regular season hockey.
[00:31:44] Speaker A: Yeah, 100%.
[00:31:46] Speaker B: But I think it's the hardest trope.
[00:31:49] Speaker A: I mean, there's still a decent amount of fighting, for sure. It just depends on the series. Yeah, I mean, yeah, it's definitely more. More tight knit and I'd say closer games, so there's not as much fighting. But I just think with, with the storyline the Rangers have this year and they have a. One of the best enforcers in the league as we've, we've seen Matt Ren Bay is pretty, pretty damn good.
Yeah, it's going to be. It's going to be interesting. I think they got some grit, too, especially after that big brawl they had last week.
[00:32:18] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Mm hmm. Big time. Yeah. Um, did we even talk about that? I don't think we talked about that last episode.
[00:32:24] Speaker A: No, I don't. I don't. I don't think. Yeah, I think it was right. Like, maybe the night after.
[00:32:28] Speaker B: Yeah, it's all old news now. It was on the live. If you missed that. Um, settled down live every Thursday, 08:00 p.m. But it was on there. We talked about it. Um, but, yeah, I don't know. We'll see. Honestly, president's rofie race is still pretty tight. I mean, yeah, like you said, the Bruins could potentially win.
[00:32:47] Speaker A: Um, but I mean, or even the stars, too. Stars got 107 points, so they could be a sneaky. Sneaky that would win that. That prez trophy.
[00:32:55] Speaker B: Sneaky presidents. Yeah, could happen. Um, yeah, I think the next moving on to the west, I think that that race is not as tight as the east, obviously, but, yeah, I don't know. We've talked about this before about Vegas and. And whether or not they're going to even make the playoffs. Also, Tomah Shirtle makes his start tonight with the Golden Knights against the Canucks tonight. Best wishes to him, but no wishes at all to the Knights for that. Um, I won't get into that. Cause I could go on forever, but, I mean, the team that's behind them right now is the Blues, the only one realistically able to catch them. So unless the Knights just fall apart and lose the rest of the, what, five games, six games they have left.
[00:33:43] Speaker A: Yeah, I think they're. They're slotted in to make the playoffs at least. But, yeah, my biggest question is, like, they're only one point behind the kinks in the, for the third divisional, and that's going to be, I mean, in the knight's perspective or the king's perspective, you're either going to be playing the Oilers or you're going to be playing the stars. Most likely the stars.
So I'd probably say out of those two teams, I mean, if I'm either one of them, I'd probably say I'd like to play the Oilers more, even though they have such a star studded rosters, too.
Yeah. Both of those matchups are still a little difficult, but definitely prefer, I mean, Edmonton over, over the Dallas Stars just because Dallas is definitely the best team in the west this regular season. So it's gonna be interesting to see what happens.
I think Vegas might slot in for that three spot, though, just knowing Vegas and how slippery they are.
[00:34:41] Speaker B: No, that's true. I could see them moving in there. I mean, I also wouldn't be shocked, though, if the ltir Knights were able to, you know, kind of slip in and upset the stars if they do play them in the wild card game.
[00:34:54] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, it's crazy to think, like, the second wild card could potentially be the team to beat. I mean, in a way. I mean, they've been so dominant the postseason. They had an excellent postseason and won the Stanley cup last year. So in a way, they kind of. Are the team back?
[00:35:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:11] Speaker A: Yeah. And, I mean, they still have basically the same roster as they did last year, so if not, they have more. Yeah. Yeah, they have more. I mean, it's.
[00:35:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:20] Speaker A: I mean, on paper, the Knights have one of the best rosters in the league, so it's going to be very interesting to see how that fizzles out and how the Knights kind of perform, because they're looking pretty good seven two and one in their last ten games. So if they can carry on that success to the playoffs, watch out for the Knights.
[00:35:36] Speaker B: Yeah, no, for real. But, yeah, that pretty much wraps up our playoff talk. We're into a little, I guess you could say game up next, but, yeah, I mean, we got eight days. When this episode comes out till the season is over, we will be moving to two episodes a week. Once playoffs start, give you guys all the coverage, it'll be shorter episodes just covering playoff talk.
Yeah. Be on the lookout for that. We'll, if you follow us, if you don't follow us yet, follow us on good old hockey podcast on instagram. All the stuff will be there, all the updates and everything. But with that being said, we're going to talk about the best playoff atmosphere in each division.
Now, I think this could be tough because it really does depend on what round you're in.
And also, I don't know. I have a bias in the Pacific division. I know you as well because I. Have you been doing. I'm sure you've been to it.
[00:36:33] Speaker A: Yeah, I've been to. I've been a flames playoff game. It's electric. I don't know if I'd pick them, though. We'll see.
[00:36:38] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't.
[00:36:39] Speaker A: We're gonna start off with the atlantic vision is we'll start out with the east coast.
We got the Bruins, Panthers, leafs, lightning, wings, Sabres, senators and Canadians, which. The Canadians are last in division. They're not going to make the playoffs this year. But, like, holy shit. I think it's a hard argument between.
I mean, these are all the others. I mean, the Bruins, Leafs, even the Wings Canadians, too. I mean, we got four original six teams, so that's, like, really freaking hard between those four teams.
But I don't know, what's. What's. What's your pick for this one?
[00:37:15] Speaker B: I think.
Now are we talking all time or just like this season in particular? Like this?
[00:37:21] Speaker A: We're going to talk all time.
[00:37:22] Speaker B: Okay. If we were talking, like, this season in particular, if the wings make it, I'd give it to the Red Wings because they've been out of the playoffs for a while and they. Their fans are just itching for that. It's going to be electric there if they do make it. But honestly, from what I've heard, I've never been to this game, but Montreal Canadiens are freaking loud. So are the Bruins. I'll give Bruins honorable mention, but I'm going to go with the Canadians.
[00:37:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm going to go with Montreal, too. I just think that they have such a storied franchise there. Their fans are passionate like no other. No offense to Leafs fans.
[00:37:57] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:37:58] Speaker A: But we haven't seen them make it past the first round a lot of the times, so I feel like it might be kind of hard to judge them.
[00:38:05] Speaker B: Yes. They've only got three games played in the playoffs for.
[00:38:08] Speaker A: But I mean, shit, dude. I mean, the Canadians fans are. Are unbelievable. They have one of the biggest arenas in the. In the league, and I just feel like seeing. It's. It's hard to be a, you know, a canadian playoff atmosphere. I think between all these teams, it's probably got to be, like, between Canadians and. And the beefs, which is so weird to say. The wins and wings aren't in that conversation, but just that Canada aspect. But, yeah, I mean, the Canadiens, I feel like the whole city of Montreal shuts down for those games. Like, it's a big deal. And like, I've seen outside of both the leaf stadium and the Montreal Canadiens stadium, um, there's a fuck ton of fans, uh, every playoff game. So I think we're both, uh, fair to say the Canadians. Some people might come at us for this, though.
[00:38:54] Speaker B: Who cares? I mean, I. Like I said, I'll give Boston their flowers because of the recent success, and it's the fact that it's Boston. That place does get rocking. But I'm gonna stay with Montreal.
You know, they haven't had a whole lot of success besides maybe COVID year, but, yeah, I'm confident in that Montreal pick, though. But next one, the metro. This one's a little bit tougher.
Let's see. We've got the Rangers, the Devils, the.
[00:39:22] Speaker A: Penguins, the Flyers, islanders, hurricanes, capitals, and the blue Jackets.
[00:39:33] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I forgot they're. They're in the metro. Yeah.
[00:39:37] Speaker A: They're in the metro.
[00:39:38] Speaker B: Oh, my God. I forgot they existed.
[00:39:40] Speaker A: So this one's a little bit more difficult. This one is like, um.
[00:39:45] Speaker B: It's.
[00:39:45] Speaker A: It's not more difficult than Atlantic. I feel the Atlantic might be the most difficult division to say. What's the best playoff atmosphere?
[00:39:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:52] Speaker A: Um. And it's. It would be hard to.
[00:39:55] Speaker B: This one's hard because there's no clear cut, like, in the Atlantic. You've got three clear cut picks that are all, like, across the entire NHL. Most of those teams are in the Atlantic that you would pick.
But I know.
[00:40:09] Speaker A: I know for the Metro, and it's.
[00:40:12] Speaker B: Tough because, like, we've never been to these games, so 100% on tv or here on tv.
I know Madison Square garden gets pretty rocking, but I'm going to go with the Penguins recent success.
[00:40:28] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah, I think. I think the pens is a good pick for me. I feel like out of any of these teams, and I feel like some people are definitely going to come at me. Cause I'm picking them over the Rangers, but I'd say the Islanders. I think the Islanders play off atmosphere is rocking. I feel like you have some gritty fans there.
[00:40:47] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:40:48] Speaker A: It's in New York, the small barn. I just feel like that place has got to be so cool and memorable to see a playoff hockey game and those fans get behind their team like no other. I mean, there's no other teams in Long island, so I feel like the Islanders, just barely by a hair, would probably be out. The Rangers for me.
[00:41:06] Speaker B: Yeah, I'd give it to that.
Um, yeah, no, I'm okay with those picks.
[00:41:11] Speaker A: This is a tough game, though. This is a tough game.
[00:41:15] Speaker B: Central division. And it's also hard because we've never been to these games, you know. Yeah. Once we've been to all the playoff games and, you know, down the line when we've been to every single game from this podcast, but then we can say confidently these answers, but it's tough because, you know, really get what we get. But, yeah, the central, I feel like.
[00:41:37] Speaker A: You got the stars, the Avs, the Jets, the predators, the blues, the wild coyotes, and then of course, the Blackhawks.
[00:41:46] Speaker B: Yeah, see, this one's hard. This one is very hard.
[00:41:51] Speaker A: This one's difficult.
[00:41:52] Speaker B: Man, I want to give it to Chicago because of their, you know, their record. Like, I'm pretty sure they have one of the loudest NHL arenas.
[00:42:02] Speaker A: Yeah. And they have one of the biggest NHL arenas too.
[00:42:05] Speaker B: I mean, I don't.
[00:42:05] Speaker A: I don't think it's called the. Is it called the United center still?
[00:42:08] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's what I know it as.
[00:42:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, it's. It's hard for me to leave off Winnipeg too. I feel like Winnipeg is like such a great atmosphere to that whiteout. They have had some attendance issues this year, so probably not going to pick them. But for me it's hard to say it's not the Blackhawks because they have had recent success. They haven't always been in the cellar like they are this year.
[00:42:32] Speaker B: This might be a surprise pick, but give me Smashville. They have a whole like name. Like they have, like the Smashville was created in the playoffs, if I'm not mistaken that the term Smashville, right. Like when they had always beat up that car. I think that's playoff time. They don't do that the regular season.
[00:42:50] Speaker A: Yeah, they don't. You know what? I think I do have to. Yeah, I'm gonna. I'm gonna hop on your pick. I hate. I hate to give it. Not to the black. They have such a good atmosphere there. But yeah, I mean, as of recent, since the Predators of the game became a thing, especially after the cup run, I think Nashville is one of the best places to see an NHL game, sporting event, best city to visit. I love Nashville as a city, so I'm going to be biased on this one. And yeah, sorry, Blackhawks fans, but yeah, it's got to be the predator.
[00:43:19] Speaker B: I'm giving it to Smashville.
[00:43:21] Speaker A: Yeah, Bridgetton arena is awesome, man. Just the traditions they have there, the chanting. I feel like I'm in a soccer game in Europe, so it's pretty amazing.
[00:43:28] Speaker B: No, it is. Yeah. I went to the season opener this year, and that game was electric as shit. So that was a home opener, too. Like, it wasn't anything. Super crazy. They're playing the Seattle Kraken. That place gets. That place gets rocking, and I would love to go to a playoff game there. I think it'd be a lot of fun.
So we're gonna give it to the Nashville Predators out of Smashville. All right, next up is the Pacific division for loudest playoff environment. We've got the sharks. We've got the Knights. We've got the Kings. We've got the ducks. We've got the Calgary Flames. We've got the Oilers. We've got the Canucks. Now the Kraken.
While leaving everyone else off, we've got to say coyotes last in the central.
[00:44:13] Speaker A: I think we did.
[00:44:15] Speaker B: That's okay. It may not be a team anymore, so who knows?
Sorry, Tyler. Shots. Shots.
But the Pacific, this one's really tough. I've been to a Sharks hockey game playoff game, so they're high up for me just in terms of how loud it was there, but I don't know. I've been to a Knights playoff game, and honestly, the hype was not it for me.
[00:44:43] Speaker A: Really? Really. I think it might be kind of a tv thing. I haven't been in a Knights playoff game. I've been to a Knights game, and it's pretty hype. I just feel like there's a lot of. Not as much diehard fans. I feel like some of the Knights fans come around once they start making the conference final or snowing.
That's kind of how it is in Vegas.
[00:45:01] Speaker B: But I was in. It was a third round. It was against the night or the stars last year, and it was game five. They were up three one to the stars. And I don't know, maybe it was just a bias to me because I don't like the Knights. I was there because my zooch was. He's a big nights fan, and we wanted to go to a game. I had a lot of fun. We paid like, $40 for two drinks, which was absurd. But I don't know. It just wasn't like they had their whole pregame thing with the night coming out and their little gimmicky show, which is part of Vegas. Like, I get it. It's cool, but it just wasn't like that loud playoff atmosphere, like, I thought it would be, you know?
[00:45:43] Speaker A: Yeah. And I just feel like with Vegas, there's so much going on there. There's people losing a bunch of money like me, and all sorts of shit going on. I mean, there's all sorts of shit going on in Vegas every night. So I feel like the knights is just, like, complimentary to the city of Vegas. And, you know, don't get me wrong, not saying they'd have bad fans or anything, but just the atmosphere compared to somewhere like Calgary or Edmonton or Vancouver, it's gonna be hard to be. And I'm gonna be really biased on this one. I think everyone saw it coming. I'm going to Calgary flames all the way. I've been to playoff games there.
[00:46:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:46:15] Speaker A: And for anyone that's, you know, oh, gal your flames fan, blah blah, blah, this and that, you know, I'd say the saddle dome gets so rock, and the sea of red comes out. There's not a single speck of non red anywhere in the arena, which is pretty breathtaking. That so loud, too? It's. It's a canadian atmosphere. But also, there's the red mile. After all the games the flames win, especially after series wins, there is thousands of people on 17th street, uh, in Calgary, and it's. It gets rockin'down there. If anyone wants to have a fun Google search search up the red mile, it's. It got rockin'in. 2004. Yeah, it's got a little bit rockin'in the past. Um, but, yeah. Oh, my goodness. I mean, I. Calgary's amazing. I've been to around two game, three playoff game against the Ducks. Not a single Ducks fan there. Um, and it was a sea. Sea of red. I've never seen that much red in my life, and it was. It was incredible. Never forget that.
[00:47:13] Speaker B: So, dude, you're making me want to go to a playoff game this year. Just, like, thinking, like, us just thinking about this, and, like, I'm just thinking of, you know, just the atmosphere.
[00:47:22] Speaker A: I know, dude.
[00:47:23] Speaker B: It'd be so fun, but money's kind of tight, and I just don't. You know, anyone wants to sponsor us for a game, we'll vlog it for you guys. Shoot us. Shoot us. A DM email at estoville at settled on media.com or just my regular at Gmail. Hey, send us to a game. We'll promote. You guys do whatever. But, yeah, I don't know.
[00:47:45] Speaker A: What's your take for this?
[00:47:47] Speaker B: For the Pacific? I could go biased.
I feel like I have to, because this is the only one I've actually been to an actual atmosphere besides the Knights. Not picking the Knights. I'm going to give it to the Sharks. They're old.
Yeah, they're. I know as of right now they're not going to make the playoffs for another couple of years, but maybe more than that. But who, you know, there's something about going there and you know they got the chomp going during the playoffs when power play anything like just the. How loud that stick that that arena is also pretty small. It holds 17,000. It's not of the bigger ones, but boy, does it get loud. Um, you know, Bay area is kind of known for their wishy washy fans clearly because of, you know, where they're at right now and the playoffs are in the standings and they can't even fill their arena anymore. Um, but when it is playoff time and the Sharks are in it, it's, it's something else. It's just, it's so freaking loud. Like, I don't know, you can't even hear yourself think. But I'm sure a lot of playoff atmospheres that we've never been to are just like that. So these are just our picks, but yeah. Yeah, I think that's a solid list in terms of, you know, the Pacific we're going to disagree on, but from Atlantic down to the central I feel like was a pretty unbiased picks from us.
[00:49:06] Speaker A: Yeah, 100%.
[00:49:08] Speaker B: Yeah. So.
[00:49:10] Speaker A: Cause some controversy with our picks though. Especially the good. It was so difficult.
[00:49:16] Speaker B: It is.
[00:49:17] Speaker A: There's four teams on there that are just deserving. Yeah, they are deserving of it.
[00:49:22] Speaker B: I think even.
[00:49:23] Speaker A: Even the central too. Yes, it's difficult central. You talk about the stars or abs.
[00:49:28] Speaker B: Yeah, but yeah, I think honestly though, out of. Out of all those, my favorite pick out of outside of the Pacific, we'll get out of there because we got our own biases. But I think smash, Matt Smashville was my favorite pick for us in terms of loudest. Just their whole gimmick there. And Nashville is a cool city and I guess.
[00:49:49] Speaker A: Which one are you going with? Are you going for Nashville as the best in the league?
[00:49:55] Speaker B: I couldn't give it best in the league.
[00:49:59] Speaker A: I'm probably still sticking with Montreal. Yeah, I just think that's a hard place to miss. How die hard those fans are and just how die hard that city is behind the Canadians. I just feel like that's so hard to beat. And to be fair, Boston has. They got the Celtics, they got the Patriots. I mean, they win a lot so I feel like the Bruins aren't doing good. It's like, who gives a fuck?
[00:50:23] Speaker B: Yeah, they got someone else to root for or the Red Sox. Yeah. So one or the other. But Montreal, it's all Montreal there.
So yeah, you know, I give it to them as a number one. But that wraps it up. We've got, like I said, eight days till the season is over. The next episode, we'll be wrapping up NHL season, maybe talking a little most improved player, maybe a little breakdown of the season or just the playoffs in general.
We'll get into some playoff hockey, which I am very, very, very excited for.
[00:50:56] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:50:57] Speaker B: I want to do some live streaming for it. If you're down, gal, I know you're going to be moving closer, but set up the camera I got right here in the living room in front of the tv. And we're just, you know, betting on some games, especially in the first round.
[00:51:11] Speaker A: We got, yeah, watch me lose some money.
[00:51:14] Speaker B: Yeah, watch us the pain and the excitement of the playoffs.
And yeah, it'll be a good time. But without that being said, I mean, thank you guys for listening.
You know, make sure you're following us on all the platforms, our, what's it called, little at right over there underneath galley. And then also if you're listening, it's at settled down media for the main page and then also at good old Hockey podcast on Instagram and X. Go follow us there. Get all the updates so you know it'll loop.
[00:51:47] Speaker A: Yeah, and we are going to do a bracket challenge just like we did for March Madness. We're going to be doing that for the NHL. So stay tuned for that. We're still coming up with a sick prize. Like I said, me and Sean are both a little tight in money, but yeah, we'll get something in the world and yeah, excited for everyone to join that again. And we are really shooting for just as many hockey fans from all over the place. I don't care if you hate us or hate our takes or love us. I want you to be in this and if you win it, you're going to get the prize. And we're still figuring that out.
[00:52:21] Speaker B: So stay tuned.
[00:52:24] Speaker A: Podcasts, follow us. So stay tuned for that.
[00:52:27] Speaker B: Yeah, well, you guys know next episode in terms of the giveaway and also like how to enter, but that being said, you got to go follow us to see all that stuff. So go to good old hockey podcast. Go follow us. Give us a follow. We're at 200 followers already. Galley started it what, two weeks ago? So get on this train before it's too late. But with that being said, galley, been a pleasure. We'll talk next week and talk some more hockey and who knows, maybe have a whole different shake up in terms of the playoff tree.
We'll see you guys next episode. And stay frosty, whatever that means.
Out of here, little ice.
