The Hockey News Big Show: What Can McKenna Deliver As Maple Leafs Rookie?
Michael Traikos, Ryan Kennedy, and Drew Shore discuss Gavin McKenna's expectations as a rookie for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the top prospects to watch at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Alexander Nikishin's future, and more.
Video Transcript
It's a little terrifying because you absolutely cannot miss.
Goalies now are completely at a premium.
Not, right?
Like, Canada doesn't have a ton of great options.
Welcome to the Hockey News Big Show.
I am Ryan Kennedy, joined by Michael Traikos and Drew Shore.
I am back from vacation in Ireland, where there was not a lot of hockey talk.
But County Mayo did upset Kerry in the Gaelic Football Championship.
I am now a lifelong fan until I forget about it in the future.
But it's nice to get back to some hockey talk because that's what I know most of.
San Jose made some news, re-signing Colin Graff to a three-year extension worth $12.75 million on Friday.
Graff had 21 goals and 25 assists last year in a breakout role with San Jose.
He's a two-way player out of Quinnipiac who is quickly establishing himself as a regular.
Mike, I will start with you.
What do you think of the contract?
Yeah, I like this, and I, I liked a lot of the moves that Mike Grier has made this summer, Ryan.
I feel like the Sharks have had sort of a similar summer to what we saw out of Anaheim last year and, you know, bringing on, a lot of seasoned veterans to really complement what we know is gonna be a good, young core.
So Colin Graff, we, we saw what he could do last season in San Jose and, you know, hopefully he builds on it.
I don't think he's gonna be a guy that's gonna be riding shotgun with Macklin Celebrini, but, you know, you do need these kind of players.
Especially if you're going to make that jump from, you know, a pretender to a contender this year.
Yeah.
Drew, Colin Graff was one of the, you know, most coveted NCAA free agents of his class, and recently, you know, a lot of those guys tend to end up as, like, AHL tweeners.
But Graff has already, sort of found a niche for himself.
Why do you think, he's been successful, and, and do you like this contract for San Jose?
Well, I think he's a really good two-way player.
And I mean, I think you look at a lot of those guys, they're really good offensive players in college but aren't great defensively, so then they kind of get stuck in no man's land when they, turn pro.
And I think that he's a player who's clearly shown and gotten the trust of Ryan Warsofsky.
Now, I don't actually love this contract as much for San Jose, and I think that the reason I don't is 'cause if you look at every team who won, these are the type of players that you historically have to make very calculated bets on, and then if you make good bets on them, they're gonna set you up really good for the future.
If you look at, like, what Florida did with Forsling or what- Mm-hmm Carolina's done with Stankoven and Blank.
So I don't necessarily love the term for San Jose because I think that if you kind of look at their progression window, they're gonna be a team that in three to four years, hopefully, is gonna be a Stanley Cup contender.
So I think that I would have liked, on the San Jose side, to see them lock him up for longer term at a lower number so they kind of have a guaranteed price.
But I think for the player- I'm pretty sure he wasn't, eligible for an offer sheet or anything.
He didn't have a ton of leverage.
So I think it's a pretty good bet on himself, and I think he's gonna continuously get better as a player.
Excellent.
All right, another signing on Friday.
The Pittsburgh Penguins inked Tommy Novak to a three-year extension, that will kick in for 2027-28.
He will get 13.95 million over that span, with a cap hit of 4.65.
Drew, Tommy Novak, what do you think of this deal?
I think it's just very fine all around.
Right.
It's, like, just very vanilla.
Like, I mean, he's a good player who puts up good offensive numbers.
Pittsburgh's kind of stuck in that murky middle or whatever you wanna call it.
I'm happy for him.
I know him.
He's a great guy, so happy to see him get paid.
Yeah, I'm kind of with Drew on this one.
Like, it has been an underwhelming summer for not only the Penguins, but, you know, Kyle Dubas.
Like, you gotta remember, this is a team that exceeded expectations.
I don't think any of us picked them to be a playoff team last season.
And then going into the summer, you'd think, all right, gotta build around that core group, which includes Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Erik Karlsson.
Instead, I feel like Pittsburgh has taken a step back while watching a lot of the teams in the Metro, you know, just kind of pass them.
So Tommy Novak's not gonna do anything for the playoff chances.
You know, underwhelming to say the least.
Yeah, it is very interesting because, you know, the elephant in the room is Crosby and Malkin, you know, getting into the twilight of their careers, but at the same time, they're still really good.
So you're never gonna be bad, but you're not good enough.
And you think about the off-season that Washington had.
You know, you think about, you know, New Jersey getting a healthy Jack Hughes back.
It's gonna be very interesting to see what happens, in that Metro division that is still lorded over by the Carolina Hurricanes.
So we shall see.
Um- Guys.
Yeah.
Quick que- quick question here.
Yeah.
I was ready to give it to Sam or Wyatt here.
I was going through the rundown.
We're talking contracts, but I feel like we have not brought up the biggest contract that's still undecided in hockey- out of Anaheim.
What do we th- Gonna get to it.
Yeah.
What do we think's gonna happen?
What do you think he should get?
Ooh, I mean, you can't, you can't give him too much just because of cap space, but I, I hear what you're saying.
Like, Leo Carlsson's a center, Gauthier's a winger, so there's a little bit of a difference there, but Gauthier is an incredible goal scorer, and he's probably only gonna get better.
So if I'm Cutter Gauthier, I'm probably asking for, like, 15.
Easily.
It, it, it was- Yeah.
I- Matveychyk set the You know, well, the Flyers set the tone for them.
I was just looking through this earlier this morning, and if I'm him, I'm asking right in the middle Of the Karlsson and Bedard deal.
And some people think that if you actually look at, like, points per 60, time on ice, and everything else.
So I think that's gonna be interesting, 'cause I actually could see him even not starting the season.
'Cause I could see Verbeek not moving, but also- I mean, everything states that he should fall right in between those two deals.
A- and Drew and Ryan, like, everyone talks about how rare it is to find a number one center and how difficult that is, and I guess that goes into the whole Leo Karlsson gets this much amount.
But how hard is it to find a power forward who can score as much as Cutter Gauthier did last season?
And again, those guys don't grow on trees either.
Like, you're looking at, you know, Toronto's, got one in Matthew Knies who would, you know, you would love for Knies to score like Cutter Gauthier does, you know?
Yeah.
A- and it's just like, you know, not a lot of guys do that.
So I would argue that he's just as valuable, if not more valuable, than what Leo Karlsson is to the Ducks.
Indeed.
So yeah, if you thought the soap opera was over in Anaheim, not so much.
That's a good call, Drew.
Let's stick with SoCal and the, the LA Kings.
They were This is, they're, they're the opposite of the Ducks.
They were the third oldest team in the NHL last season.
And in this off-season, GM Ken Holland signed 35-year-old Matt Zuccarello, 40-year-old Corey Perry-ish, and 35-year-old Erik Haula.
Darcy Kuemper's 36, Anton Forsberg's 33, Joel Edmundson is 33, Ryan Dulem's 34, Drew Doughty is 36, Artemi Panarin is 34.
Drew, I'll go to you first on this one.
Are the, are the Los Angeles Kings simply too old, or are they going to age like a fine wine?
I mean, I think they have aged like a fine wine over the last couple years, but I think they're too old.
I do think the one thing that gives me a little bit of optimism is I love the coach that they hired there.
I think that, like, they've just been so painful to watch for so long offensively.
And I think that if there's going to be a coach that can bring some offense and creativity out of this group, it will be him.
So I think that, I think that they're gonna make the playoffs.
I don't see them doing much in the playoffs.
And I kinda think that's just where they're at right now.
Mike, what do you think about the Kings?
I- What do you think?
Things were not trending well.
And I do feel like the X factor is Quintin Byfield, one of their youngest players.
If he can really take charge, then maybe things are a little different, where those veterans can play a secondary role behind him.
But that's a big if.
Yeah.
It's such a Ken Holland summer from LA, Ryan.
Like, they just keep going after the, the old guys.
And everyone always criticiz- criticizes Ken Holland for doing this, whether it was in Edmonton or now in LA, but it always works.
Like, Ken Holland brings on a, like, an old team.
They bring in, like, a Peter Laviolette, and you're going, "Oh, all these guys are all past their prime."
But you know, I kinda feel like I'm with Drew here.
Like, I could see LA stealing one of these wildcard spots.
Like, I don't think they're top three team in the Pacific.
I think that, you know, either Anaheim or San Jose might finish ahead of them, along with, you know, let's just put Edmonton and Vegas in that mix as well.
But- after that, you know, I could see them competing for, you know, the fourth and fifth best teams, in the Central.
So it'll be interesting.
You know, it kinda feels like Anze Kopitar could've stayed around because, you know, he fits in well with this group.
Yeah, really.
All right, going back to the East, the Ottawa Senators, they've opened contract talks with Drake Batherson.
But reports are that the, the deal's not close yet.
The two sides still have some negotiating to do.
Batherson had 33 goals and 71 points in 79 games last year.
Now, Brady Tkachuk is already in Florida.
They can't lose anybody else, clearly.
And I'm not saying that they're gonna have to trade Drake Batherson, but, is this the number one priority for the Senators right now, Mike?
Yeah, 100%.
Like, you've gotta get Batherson signed.
And I think Batherson and his agent realize that as well.
It's like- they know that Ottawa cannot afford to lose Drake Batherson after losing Brady Tkachuk.
So he's even more valuable.
You probably need him to be, along with teamst- Tim Stutzle, your top two performers along with, Eklund, who they received in, that trade with San Jose.
So yeah, big summer, for him.
And I, I think it's, you're looking at this season as, you know, can Drake Batherson be not just the offensive guy that he's been, but can he kinda replace or take some of that load off of what Brady Tkachuk was in terms of being the kinda emotional heartbeat of that team?
Drew, you mentioned earlier in the show about contract length, with Colin Graff.
What do you think about Drake Batherson?
What should he be looking for?
Like, should he be going long-term, or should he bet on himself and do, like, a two, three-year bridge?
I mean, I, I think if I'm Drake Batherson, I mean, it all depends on, I don't know the player or his agent, but does he wanna be there, right?
And that's, like, everything that we can criticize and say.
I think that if I'm him, based on at this point in my career, I'd probably try and do a blend, almost like an Austin Matthews type deal- whether it's four or five years.
So pretty much set myself up l- for life, security, and financially, but then also give myself for a big, let's call it seven-year payday in a new environment, when I have a chance to win if it doesn't work out well in five years.
So I mean, without knowing him or what he wants, I would be looking for a four or five-year deal.
Definitely starting with double digits.
And I think that, like you said, I think the Brady Tkachuk narrative and kinda what's gone on in the past just gives him and his agent a lot more leverage in this.
If you're the Ottawa Senators, though, don't you need him to re-sign for max term?
Oh, yeah.
Just because, you know, it, it's, it's not an easy place to attract free agents to.
Like, I don't, I don't know if they're as bad as Winnipeg or as challenging a market as Winnipeg or But I would put them along with, you know, the Buffalos of the NHL, where it's not like- You know, Ottawa, no offense, it's not a glamorous city where a lot of free agents are going, "Hey, I want, I wanna sign there."
The fact that Brady Tkachuk left probably makes you a little worried that, you know, you could only have Drake Batherson for a few sudden, like Drew, like, Drew, four or five years.
That's got me worried if I'm a Sens fan.
Yeah.
But honestly, like, if I'm, if I'm Steve Stamkos, if I can get five, that's a lot better than three, you know?
That's fine.
Sure.
You know, like at that point, I think you say, say to yourself, like,, "Okay, well if we can get him in his prime, and, and maybe make a little bit of noise, that would be great."
And I agree with you guys.
Like, they gotta hang on to him and, and try to rebuild after, you know, Brady Tkachuk's exodus.
But you, you also do have to be realistic and say like, "What's our, you know, where are we at as a franchise right now?
Like, are we a contender?
Are we just kind of in the mushy middle right now?"
It's, it's not an easy situation in Ottawa and, you know, I mean, fortunately for them, they do have some pretty good young players.
Like Jake Sanderson's gonna continue to get better, and he's already very, very good.
But yeah, it's, as you pointed out, I mean, it's, there's no palm trees in Ottawa as, uh- Yeah as Kevin Adams said when he was in Buffalo.
So it is a bit of an uphill battle.
One place that is not going to be an uphill battle, for free agents in the coming years is Carolina.
They are the Stanley Cup champions, but they do have a significant restricted free agent, to get under contract, and that's Alexander Nikishin, who was a highly touted defenseman out of Russia, when he came over.
Had a promising NHL debut, 11 goals, 33 points.
But not great in the playoffs.
I thought he really struggled in the Stanley Cup Final, and it stuck out because the rest of Carolina's blue line was so good.
Like, they were all awesome from top to bottom.
Nikishin, you could tell it was a, an eye-opening experience for him.
Not eligible for an offer sheet.
There have been trade talks.
But he is still a pretty, intriguing asset because he does have offense to his game.
He does have size.
Mike, what do you think?
Carolina and Alexander Nikishin, is, is this a long-term fit or do you think ultimately the Canes will trade him either this summer or maybe even during the season?
They, you know, maybe they sign him this summer and, and deal him during the year.
What do you think?
I think he gets traded, Ryan.
And it feels like, you know, I got to see Nikishin when the, Habs played the Canes, and it did feel like it was kinda like an oil and water kinda scenario where, you know, the kinda style of defensemen he is just doesn't mesh well with how the rest of Carolina likes to play.
Especially now that you've got, you know, Gosses Bear is playing, you know, power play minutes that Nikishin probably should get.
So, you know, you're using Gosses Bear basically as a power play specialist, so where does that leave Nikishin?
Like, you know, he obviously is gonna grow into, you know, a better defenseman, but for what I'm seeing and how Brind'Amour likes to coach, it just doesn't make a lot of sense, with the kind of player he has.
So I think Carolina's better off, while his value is still high, move him out, try to get a more of a two-way defenseman, a guy that can do some offensive stuff that Nikishin probably could do, but then also be the defender that, you know, Brind'Amour's gonna be able to trust out there in five on five.
Drew, what do you think?
I mean, Carolina has had a very quiet, off-season.
They're, they're basically just running back the same squad that won the cup.
Which, hey, why wouldn't you?
It was a great squad.
But, where do you see Nikishin fitting in, or do you see him going elsewhere?
Yeah, I actually agree with literally every single thing Michael said.
I think that- Yeah we're actually on the same page today.
No, I mean, I think that, like, he hit the nail on the head.
Like, yes, he struggled a little bit in the playoffs, but he had an am- he had a really good year.
He's got a lot of things that show promise that he can be an elite defenseman.
I don't think if you're not gonna use him on the power play and stuff like that, you can't pay him like an elite defenseman.
And we all know the ruble's down these days, so I doubt he's willing to take any type of Carolina pay cut.
I don't see that happening based on, him or his agent.
So I think he gets moved.
When that happens, I don't know.
I also think for Carolina, like, based on their lineup, like, it's more, it's a better investment for them to kinda bet on a guy who's like a mid, mid-tier, two-level defenseman to kinda fill that spot if you're not gonna use him in all those areas.
Fair enough.
And here's the follow-up.
If he gets traded, who wants him?
What's a, what's a good landing spot for Nikishin?
Who could use somebody with his, his raw physical tools and that offensive upside from the back end?
You know what?
Tampa Bay needs a defenseman.
They just lost Darren Raddysh, who- Yeah you know, you're gonna need to replace a lot of that power play, points.
You know, Victor Hedman is getting older.
I think that would be a perfect landing spot.
You know, you put him there, he's automatically probably your top two if, I don't know, maybe, maybe a top three defenseman on that team.
And those guys love Miami.
So you can get them to take a little pay cut there 'cause the s- Yeah sun is out, no taxes.
I think that's a great one.
Yeah.
What about Boston?
I'm wa- You know, like they got Charlie McAvoy obviously, but, it feels like they need more depth on the back end.
You know, Mason Lohrei, you know, his, his second half was, a little shaky at times.
I know they brought a couple of guys in over the summer, but nothing major.
I wonder if they could use that boost.
'Cause again, like you think about Boston, they've got David Pastrnak, they got Kiki.
But offensively, you know, maybe they could use some help on the power play Yeah.
What about Toronto?
No, Toronto doesn't need anything, Drew.
They're, they're all set now for the Cup.
Oh.
Yeah, there you go.
All right.
I like it.
I like it.
I wanted that to go there.
We're back on the bandwagon.
We'll see how it goes.
Yeah.
Yes, they got Rash.
Well, speaking of Toronto, even though it's only August, training camps are fast approaching and there's already a, a big spotlight on Gavin McKenna, the number one pick in the 2026 draft and Toronto's new left winger.
What we saw from McKenna last year was interesting because he went to the NCAA from the dub and, you know, he was good at the start.
I'm not gonna say he's gonna struggle 'cause I was at his first two games and he was just fine, but he really took over in the second half.
He was one of the best players in college in the second half.
So what are your realistic expectations for Gavin McKenna?
What kind of role is he gonna play?
How many points is he gonna have?
Mike, I'll go to you first on this one.
I think he starts the season something like on the third, quasi-fourth line.
You gotta remember Mitch Marner when he was a rookie, he started out on a line with Leo Komarov and Matt Martin.
It wasn't until the end of the year where he was sort of elevating into a top, six kinda role, and I think McKenna is in a kind of similar boat.
Like, the Leaf's got Jack Roslovic for a reason.
You know, he's a really good player.
He scored 20 goals last year in Edmonton.
He can play in your top six.
I don't think he's a long-term solution, but for the first couple of months, like you said, while Gavin McKenna's getting his feet wet and getting used to the NHL, which is gonna be a hell of a jump, let's face it.
Going from Major Junior to the NC- NCAA was a huge jump.
Going from the NCAA to the NHL is an even bigger jump.
So I think by Christmas time we'll see him playing with Auston Matthews, and from there, you know, I think the expectation is that this guy could finish as a Calder Trophy, finalist.
We'll see if he can win it, but, I'm putting it right now, you know, he'll score at least 60 points.
So what you're saying is if people do, like, you know, the, the daily fantasy, they should get Colton Sissons for the first month or two, and then drop him once McKenna goes up.
Yes.
Drew, what do you think?
Do they, do they try him with Auston Matthews?
Do they try him with John Tavares?
Or do you see him play more of a depth role to begin with?
Well, I agree with Michael.
When I was kinda going through this, I think he's gonna have 23 goals and 40 assists.
Yeah.
That's kinda what I see his numbers being.
I do completely disagree on where he starts.
I think he gets the full red carpet treatment.
I think he starts, alongside probably Tavares and Nylander on the, call it their second line behind Matthews and Knies and Roslovic.
Um- I think the interesting thing is gonna be where they use him on the power play.
And I think that that's gonna have a tremendous amount of impact on his total numbers, and I think that, I was kinda going through it earlier, they definitely have a lot of interesting decisions to make there.
So I think he's gonna have a good year.
It is gonna be a jump, but I think he's gonna kinda get the red carpet, red carpet roll out, right from the start, different than Mitch Marner.
Yeah.
That's a great point about the power play because, you know, and, and Mike, you can chime in here because obviously you and I are in Toronto.
We saw the Leafs a lot last season.
It felt like the power play was a lot worse than it should be- Mm-hmm based on the talent they had, and it almost just felt like nobody wanted to be the guy.
And I wonder if with McKenna, I mean, you know, he can shoot it, but, you know, his bread and butter is his elite playmaking and his hockey IQ.
So if you give him a f- you know, a run on that top power play, and then of course now you have Darren Raddysh with the big point bomb, I wonder if it would be a lot more effective because you can sort of slot guys into roles where it's like, "Okay, like Matthews, you're a shooter.
Nylander, you're a shooter.
You know, Raddysh, you're a shooter.
McKenna, you're a playmaker," that kinda thing.
Yeah.
I think that if you look at all the good power plays historically, like that's what every one of them has had.
And it seems like, I mean, you look at, I don't know, Tampa, Winnipeg, Philly, all these teams- Edmonton and all the, yeah, Edmonton.
Edmonton's probably the only one that free, like kinda freelances a little bit, like those two guys kinda do roll whatever.
But historically they have a lot more structure, and I think that their power play has way too much talent to not be operating as one of the best in the league, and especially with kinda the group that they have, they need that to be good.
So that's gonna be a huge challenge for their coaching staff to figure out how that's gonna work.
Yeah, and if he's as good of a playmaker and passer as we've seen him to be in, in college, Ryan, I think, you know, having him on the, the half wall makes a lot of sense and- Yeah you know, basically doing the things that Mitch Marner had been doing for the Leafs, which they didn't have last year.
So, you know, maybe he's the guy that gets your, you know, the power play going.
He gets the entry into the offensive zone, and then from there you can kinda move it around and then, you know, set up either Raddysh for the point shot, set up Matthews for kind of in the high slot or whatever.
But, you know, I think the Leafs have so many options now.
You know, you could even have McKenna even start on the second unit, and that way at least you have a bit of a boost if the first unit's not going.
Sure.
Yeah, definitely.
Lot of options there.
And, you know, the other thing too is, like you think about all the great passes he made in college for goals, let's not forget now he's gonna be playing with NHL-ers where the passes that maybe some of those college guys didn't pick up, you know Auston Matthews and John Tavares and William Nylander are gonna pick up those passes and know exactly what they're supposed to do when the puck is coming.
So that's gonna be very interesting to see.
We do have some hockey going on right now.
The Hlinka Gretzky Cup has begun in Edmonton.
This is a U18 tournament.
It's kinda the kickoff to the prospect season.
And, it's a, it's a great format for getting a sense of some of the players that are gonna be up for the 2027 draft, but also we've got some prominent 2028 players as well.
We got Canada, Team USA, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Germany, and Switzerland.
So Mike, let's start with 2027. Who's somebody that you are watching for in this tournament?
Landon DuPont, who I believe is the captain for Team Canada.
Th- this guy's, you know, got exceptional status granted to him to play in the WHL.
Just a, a tremendous, you know, offensive defensemen.
I think those guys are, you know, we're seeing it.
Y- you saw it in the draft this past year, where Dax and Rudolph got, you know, went a little higher than probably a lot of us were kind of maybe expecting going to the draft.
But, you know, e- exciting young defensemen.
A guy that can control, the play.
He's an, he's a guy that's got me excited, but there, there's a number of tw- 2028 guys that we're gonna have to wait a while on who are probably gonna be just as, interesting to watch in terms of grabbing that spotlight at this tournament.
Indeed.
And Landon DuPont headed for the University of Michigan this fall.
That'll be exciting.
For me, on top of the- That's sad.
That's not exciting.
He should be at the University of Denver.
Of Denver?
Yes.
You don't have any room on your blue line between- th- that's true Ryan, Lind, Jackson, Ru- like, where's he gonna play?
Uh- I agree.
No, I'm excited for him.
Yeah.
You'll- You'll be fine.
Denver will be fine.
Yeah, o- on top of DuPont, Alexi Joseph, for Team Canada out of the queue.
He's, to me, is gonna be very interesting to watch.
He's a pure center, 6'4", moves really well, plays that sort of power Nathan MacKinnon game.
And then Milan Sundstrom, whose dad Nicholas played in the NHL, he has already got an overtime winner where he went end to end against Slovakia yesterday.
This is a kid with a lot of upside coming out of Sweden, so he'll be interesting to watch.
But Mike, you mentioned 2028, and, you know, usually this tournament is, you know, obviously about the, you know, the current draft class.
But this year is very exciting for both, cohorts.
You got Joey Cullen from Team USA, son of Matt, brother of Wyatt, who went to Nashville in the first round, just this summer.
Joey Cullen, who will be at the NTDP this fall after playing for the fantastically named Moorhead Spuds High School team in Minnesota.
He's gonna be one to watch for Team USA.
And also, the Regina Pats have a deadly duo for 2028, Maddox Schultz and Liam Pugh.
They're playing for Team Canada.
So if your team is gonna be okay this year but maybe bad in 2028, still a lot of reasons to watch the Hlinka Gretzky B- because you could get the latest Cullen brother, who is certainly one to watch, or one of those Regina Pats kids.
So it'll be interesting to see what happens in the tournament.
And, from there, we turn to our ad r- read.
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So let's get to some rapid fire here.
We're going back to Anaheim.
Drew, yes or no, will the Anaheim Ducks make the playoffs this upcoming season?
This kills me because I love their coach, but my answer is no.
Ooh.
I think that Troy Terry being out at the start of the year, and I think this contract situation I could see lingering all the way through the start of the year.
So I think missing those two top wingers from your lineup are gonna put them too hi- too far behind the eight ball that they are not going to be able to recover.
Mike, what, what say you?
You know what?
Drew's been agreeing with me this whole show.
It's now time for me to return the favor, and I completely agree with you, Drew.
And I'll also add to that the pressures that Leo Carlsson is gonna be under this year- now that he is the second highest paid NHLer.
I think that's gonna be a factor in why they might take a dip.
And, you know, it's different when no one's expecting you to be a playoff team and you exceed expectations, which is what Anaheim did last year.
Now that you're going in as a team that, you know, not only made the playoffs but shocked some, people in that first round, going into the season, you know, you've got a target on your back, and I think it's gonna be a little too much for Anaheim, especially with how competitive I think the West is gonna be this year.
They lose John Carlson, Jakob Chychrun, Radko Gudas, and Olli Sllberg from the blue line.
So unless Jackson LaCombe and Pavel Minchukov play, like, 35 minutes a night, it's gonna be tough sledding.
I agree with you boys.
Over to Cole Caufield in Montreal.
How many goals for Cole Caufield?
I don't know how many Saturday nights Montreal play this year.
Probably a lot.
Mike Tricase, what do you think?
I don't think he's gonna be a runner-up for the Rocket this year, Ryan.
I'm gonna say, you know, he gets between 40 and 45, which is still a really- really good year for him.
But, you know, let's face it, Montreal had so many players have career years last year, whether it was Caufield, Suzuki, Demidov, obviously as a rookie.
Juraj Slafkovsk had a great year.
You know, will everything go Montreal's way again this year?
Maybe not.
You know, I think Cole Caufield, while he's still gonna be a tremendous scorer, I don't think he gets anywhere near 50 this year.
Interesting.
Drew, what do you think?
Does Cole Caufield get 50 or no?
This is annoying me today.
I like where- It makes me- I, I like where he went with that.
I mean, I think he's a guy who his whole career, is gonna score around 40 goals.
I think that e- like, everything went right for them.
I don't see him having as much puck luck probably this year, but he's still gonna have a tremendous year and end up with around 40.
There you go.
I'll say he gets 50.
Why not?
All right.
This one you guys can, you can disagree, or pick your own, I would say.
Who's the biggest sleeper for next season?
You can go with a team or a player.
Mike, I'll start with you.
I'm gonna go with the team, and I'm gonna say the St. Louis Blues, guys.
And I like the summer that they had.
I think, you know, getting, Mason McTavish, made a lot of sense.
I think- You know, trading Jordan Kyrou, was a good move.
I think they're They, they've got some interesting young pieces.
And if Joel Hoffer and Jordan Binnington can, you know, get the job done in, in the net, I think I could see the Blues being a wild card team, and maybe even bypassing, the Utah, Mammoth for one of those playoff spots.
Drew, how about you?
Who's a sleeper in your mind?
I wouldn't say he's a sleeper, but I think that Porter Martone wins the Calder Trophy.
And I think that he obviously is not a sleeper based on the success that he had.
But just watching him in the playoffs, I was so impressed with his game.
And I know that your boy in Toronto probably is the favorite to, take it home, but I think he's gonna have a huge year and win it.
Yeah.
I, you know what?
I know, I think- I think Martone might be the favorite I was gonna say the betting line is all Martone, so you know, I'm kinda with you J- Drew, again.
Like, I think Mackenna's gonna have a good year, but- Martone is, you know, he's already a superstar in my mind.
Like, it's just what he did last season in Philadelphia, boy, oh, boy, if he can replicate that, then, you know, Philadelphia's gonna be a team to watch for a number of years.
Indeed.
For my sleeper, I'm gonna go with Logan Cooley, who had a fantastic year with Utah.
But I think he's gonna keep getting better, and he's got the weapons around him where he could make, a lot of bank.
He could get a lot of points for that Mammoth attack as they continue to evolve.
So it'll be fun to see what he can do.
All right.
Let's go, let's go Hollywood right now.
Sean Avery, former NHLer, is in his third Christopher Nolan movie, as he has a role in The Odyssey.
So Drew, I ask you, when all is said and done, will Sean Avery have made more of an impact on Hollywood or hockey?
So this is embarrassing to admit.
I actually have not seen The Odyssey yet.
Um- Neither have I but I do think the answer is yes.
Based on just kind of the hype and the trajectory of his off-ice career, I think he will.
Mike, what do you think?
Hockey or Hollywood for Sean Avery?
Where, where will he be remembered most?
I think it's gonna be hockey.
I know he's become Christopher Nolan's kind of go-to now for kind of bit roles but again, they're bit roles.
Like, I saw The Odyssey.
I don't remember seeing Sean Avery in the movie.
And it's just, like, the same role that he had in, like, Tenet and, like, some of the other Christopher Nolan movies.
Oh, yeah It seems like he's, like, yeah, he's just, like, a guy.
He's not, like, the guy.
It's not like he's- Yeah Matt Damon where- Yeah he's literally on The Odyssey.
Yeah It feels like he's along for the ride, whereas- He was in The Hobbit he's a player.
It's hard to not notice Sean Avery.
Yeah, but that question was- He was in The Hobbit.
Yeah Ryan asked you, Ryan asked you what you, will you remember him for more.
Not what will he will have a better career in.
So yes- Hockey because he was so different in the way he played and the things that he did, I would agree with that, but I, I couldn't see- Yeah him having a very long off, on-screen career.
I will say we have a Sean Avery rule in hockey.
We don't have a Sean Avery rule in Hollywood yet.
So at the least- to be determined, but right now I would give hockey a, a slight advantage.
Okay.
Couple more here.
Ducks versus Sharks.
Going back to Anaheim again.
Whose D-core has the potential to be more impactful this season?
We talked about all the changes on the Ducks' back end.
Sharks made some big changes as well.
Darnell Nurse coming in, as a big, name there.
Drew, what do you think?
Ducks or Sharks?
Sharks for me.
I think that Darnell Nurse is going to be a better player in a system outside of Edmonton that is a little bit all over the place historically, defensively, and he's almost been asked to do, a little bit more than he's probably capable of doing due to his contract and some of the other things in Edmonton.
I'm sure it's been a long time coming for him with a lot of the scrutiny he's faced there.
So I actually could see him stepping into San Jose and being a productive two-way player.
So for me, it's the Sharks.
Mike, what do you think?
Yeah, I'm going with Drew here.
I, I think the Sharks are gonna have a better D-core.
And I, I think, you know, Darnell Nurse is gonna be that reclamation project that we're all talking about at the end of the season.
And, you know, Jacob Trouba, we saw what he did in Anaheim last year.
This guy's, you know, he, he's a better defenseman when he's not under the harsh lights of New York City.
And let's not forget, they got Sam Dickinson coming up.
And, you know, I think Sam Dickinson is gonna probably lead their D-core in points.
Yeah, I think, you know, with Trouba and Nurse coming in, that's gonna be fantastic for Dickinson's development because that'll give him so much more space to continue to develop and grow.
So it will be interesting to see.
That's a g- That, that's kind of a saw for me 'cause it'll be interesting to see how those players in San Jose fit in, ultimately.
All right.
Final question.
If you could attend any hockey game in history, which one would you choose?
Mike, I'll go to you first.
I'm probably gonna go back to 1967 there, where the Leafs won their final cup.
I think it'd be good to go, you know, finally see the Leafs actually win a Stanley Cup and see what it was like, because I don't know if w- you know, Ryan and I will ever get a chance to, to cover a Maple Leafs team that even played in the Stanley Cup Final, much less won one.
So yeah, I'll go back there.
See Johnny's- All right Bower, Terry Sawchuk, and all those old guys.
There you go.
Drew, how about you?
Mine would've probably been game seven when the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup at home.
But for a good answer, I thought I would've loved to have been at the Olympic Games this year.
I thought that would've been great, so.
Well, we can tell you it was pretty great and, uh- It's okay.
Great.
It wasn't a great finish.
Yeah.
For me, I would, and Drew, I think you'll love this answer.
I would actually have loved to be at the Miracle on Ice.
Um- Yeah because if you think about- But which game, though?
What's that?
Which game would it have been, Ryan?
Because- The semi-final.
Yeah, the, against, against the Soviets.
Yeah.
See, I know that's the one that gets all the play, but it's like, wasn't They had to beat Finland still.
Like, isn't that the one where it's like- They did, but like, yeah, but that didn't have Cold War intrigue, right?
And that didn't have everything sort of, you know, on top of it.
And, like, I visited that, that rink, I mean, years ago now, and it's incredible.
Like, it's not a big place.
You know, Lake, Lake Placid is not It, it's incredible to think they held an Olympics there based on the size of it.
But it's a really cool, intimate atmosphere.
So I can only imagine what a game like that would've been like with such stakes.
So, that would be my answer and, that would be interesting to see.
Well, that's all we got for today.
It's a lovely summer, so after you listen to this show, go outside, touch grass, jump in a lake, do whatever you gotta do.
Get some ice cream.
I've been Ryan Kennedy.
For Michael Traikos and Drew Shore, this has been the Big Show and the Hockey News, and we'll see y'all later.
