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WELCOME BACK TO LEAFS LATE NIGHT! Presented by Inside The Rink
Roscoe / Galaxy Biehn
- Dubas Out?!?
- Remember All The Good Times We Shared
- I Don't Love Our Options
- Matthews Next Deal?
- Keefe's Fate
- AI Mascots
SPORTS! IS FUN
Roscoe / Galaxy Biehn
- Dubas Out?!?
- Remember All The Good Times We Shared
- I Don't Love Our Options
- Matthews Next Deal?
- Keefe's Fate
- AI Mascots
SPORTS! IS FUN
Remember to follow us on Twitter @LeafsLateNight & IG @LeafsLateNight
Check out Mike, Josh, and Nathan's articles on the Leafs + many more! insidetherink.com
Creators & Guests
Host
What is Leafs Late Night?
WELCOME to Leafs Late Night, Where It's Never Too Late For The Leafs!
Presented by Inside The Rink
www.insidetherink.com
Join us after EVERY GAME for a breakdown of each period, Leafs and NHL news, wild stories, and hot take games. Hosted by Roscoe with The Fanalyst, Suthy, Biehner, and Darty Brodeur
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @LeafsLateNight
Opinions are our own!
Roscoe:
Well, we ended off before our little break with Leafs Nation appreciation. You know, looking back on the positives of the year, everything seemed like it was going to be OK. You know, everyone was going to just sign across the dotted line. It seemed like everything was set. It just needed to be done. And all of a sudden, which even came as a surprise. seemingly to Brendan Shanahan. Kyle Davis is no longer the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. I did not see this coming at all. Roscoe here leaves late night joined by Beener. This one caught me so off guard because I mean, first, it was the weird press conference where he said, you know, I'm taking some time to think about it, you know, talking to the family and, you know, if I'm not here, I'm taking. a year away and that kind of struck everybody a little strange but it was the I'm here or I'm not doing it that kind of reassured everyone that okay that's the part we're going to focus on. But it seems the rest of that statement really rubbed MLSC the wrong way because they, like the rest of us, thought it was just a matter of signing along the dotted line. And here we are with no GM. Austin Matthews needing a contract. William Newlander needing a contract. Probably 65% of the team needing contracts. And what do we got? Brennan Pridham and no longer Jason Spezza. Like what? What the hell happened over the last week?
Biehner:
Exactly.
Roscoe:
There's no answer
Biehner:
I
Roscoe:
to
Biehner:
was...
Roscoe:
that. I don't expect you. That's a really hard question to just throw at you. What happened? Oh, you know, a billion
Biehner:
No.
Roscoe:
dollar franchise just kind of collapsed on itself after almost a decade.
Biehner:
Like, I was a little surprised by Dubas' comments, clearly like everybody was, at that press conference, and then... I thought it was a really... Just, on the surface, I thought it was a really bad mistake on the Leafs part, and then Shanahan explained himself a little bit. I'm still not necessarily happy with it, and I don't know if we're gonna be getting crazy deep into it tonight or not, but... At least I can- kind of see where Shanahan was coming from. Like if you try to look at it from a purely managerial standpoint, like this is the guy I'm giving the keys to my car to and he's questioning whether or not he wants to do it.
Roscoe:
There's that and then there's also what's come out about Shanahan blocking or at least, you know, MLSC blocking some trades that he wanted to make and maybe not, you know, giving him the keys to the car as though it seemed like it was, you know, you can take my motorcycle out on the weekend, but I'm not giving you the Porsche. And I feel like Dubas was starting to get tired of that. And this seemed like the first year where maybe he went. you know, swinging for the fences and they let him do whatever he wanted. And, uh, the fact that there might've been some pushback on that, maybe rubbed them the wrong way, plus all of the mis- I don't want to say mistreatment. The death threats. I don't want to gloss over it and make it less than it was the death threats that him and his family were getting. Like, I mean, I, I get it. It's not an easy market to be a part of. It's the same reason players don't want to be here. He's the face of it all. Like more than- than Shanahan is, which I think is to his credit, his benefit at this point. Like this is the first we've heard of and seen his name in the news this long in years. Like he's never really showing his face or or making any statement of of substance. So this is the first time we've really seen anything powerful. And it's the ball dropping on everything. Like, honestly, I'm sad to see Spetsa go with him.
Biehner:
I am too, but you have to wonder, basically Speza's front office career is still in its infancy, right? Like really, he just
Roscoe:
Well
Biehner:
retired.
Roscoe:
yeah, I just wanted to keep him around.
Biehner:
Oh, so did I. I have no doubt in my mind that still having him around benefited the players immensely. And the coaching staff and the front office just having someone who was right there with, you know, the majority of these players. Um... But... I don't think it's gonna go this way because of everything you hear, but I really hope that maybe they just kinda let Pridham run with this?
Roscoe:
I was hoping so, but I mean, the point's been made, and I don't disagree that he is like, he's the cap wizard. Obviously he was part of the creation of the salary cap in the first place, but is he, I don't know how much he's involved with scouting of other teams or like talking with the scouts or knowing what's going on with other players and like the trades that happen as much as he is just internal affairs with the Leafs and being able to move guys up and down and telling them, you know, the dollar amount they have to bring in and what players might. be useful to bring in to achieve certain cap gymnastics. Like those things are important, but I don't know how much he's done as far as like, we know that these trades happen by networking essentially. Like if the GMs don't already talk to each other, it's kind of hard to get things done. So I don't know how much Pritam is connected to the other GMs to be able to pull off deals and things. Like I don't hate it. I just think that there are some limitations that I don't disagree with.
Biehner:
Yeah, like there's so much we don't know. Dubus has a, in my opinion, a fairly good track record with drafting and developing from what we've been able to see. Like, realistically, the fruits of his labor are only just starting to rise to the top, right? But at the same time, was it him? Was it just... the scouting staff that he put in that is just that good, right? Like we don't really know, we were given all the credit to do this and really maybe it wasn't even him. We will never know that.
Roscoe:
So I guess that's a good point. I mean, what things, what are some good things and bad things we can credit to him? Like, let's try to get a picture of what Kyle did with his career over, I mean, nine years total, but five is GM of the Leafs here. So obviously one of the first things was Mitch Marner, right, like bringing him in. That was when he was kind of interim with Mark Hunter.
Biehner:
They were both part of the front office, but realistically that was still really a no-brainer. Like
Roscoe:
I mean, there's reports
Biehner:
the fact
Roscoe:
it
Biehner:
that
Roscoe:
wasn't.
Biehner:
Hunter was there, the fact that Hunter was there though, there was no way they were going to let him pass.
Roscoe:
I'm just thinking like what what are some good trades that he's made like contracts
Biehner:
He got
Roscoe:
aside?
Biehner:
rid of the... he got rid of Zaitsev.
Roscoe:
Yeah, getting rid of things is one thing, but I'm thinking of who he's traded for. Like the deadline was one thing, but I mean, it's been a lot of.
Biehner:
Muzzin
Roscoe:
I guess
Biehner:
helped.
Roscoe:
it's hard to make big moves when you've got the big four, right? Like it's just been a lot of smart pieces around, which is not easy to do. And I think they're they're kind of taking for granted how good he was at finding. diamonds in the rough for this team.
Biehner:
They definitely are, nobody gives them credit for that. It's not just the Leafs going through this. With the way the cap has been put into effect, all teams build around a quote unquote core, and then you go to Salvation Army or Goodwill for the rest. Like...
Roscoe:
And the other thing that we, I mean, we talked about it a lot over the last couple of years, but it's been a while since we mentioned it. The cap was supposed to be a lot higher right now. So yes, obviously that affected every team in different ways, but it affected the Leafs disproportionately because they were at the point where they had just signed all these contracts expecting the cap to go up. You know, so yeah, he had a lot of gymnastics to pull. finding people like Michael Bunting, finding people like even Ilya Lebushkin. Like there were guys that he brought in to fill out the wings there that were just on defense. Even Connor Timmons, like guys that you would never expect to be playing the NHL minutes that they were and he gave him the shot. And
Biehner:
Wanna
Roscoe:
on the flip side of that, getting rid of guys to give them NHL time.
Biehner:
That's the thing, and people are mocking it, saying that he made it too much of a comforting atmosphere, but how much of a boomer mentality is that? Like,
Roscoe:
Yeah.
Biehner:
really, we're mocking the fact that he made the workplace a better place to be.
Roscoe:
And on the flip
Biehner:
When you-
Roscoe:
side, we make fun of what's his face for Lou for making all the guys shave like pick one.
Biehner:
Yeah, with the way the Toronto media is, and I say Toronto media because they're based out of Toronto, but they're so anti-Leafs, it's ridiculous. With the way the media is, you need something that's a little bit of a safe haven, and if that's your team, which by right it should be, then I don't see a problem with that. Like, he brought players in, he talked players into coming over from Europe to give them a chance in the NHL, like Miko
Roscoe:
Some
Biehner:
Lehtinen.
Roscoe:
of them got stolen from us in the process.
Biehner:
Some of them got
Roscoe:
Harry
Biehner:
stolen.
Roscoe:
Satere.
Biehner:
But and he had the gentleman's agreement with them like hey if we can't find you a spot here like we'll move you we will find you a home a place where you will have a chance to play
Roscoe:
Jimmy Vesey.
Biehner:
and that's and that speaks volumes and then another thing that I hadn't noticed from any other GM's maybe it's just That I didn't notice it, but when he made a mistake He realized it relatively quickly and he dealt with it. Like Nick Richie. Signed it, didn't work out, gave him ample opportunities, moved him on and
Roscoe:
Peter Morazi.
Biehner:
got a return. Murazic tried it, didn't work out and got out of that contract without having to give up anything crazy. Everybody makes fun of him for giving up a first round pick for it. Okay, he dropped, what was it? 10 spots, 12 spots.
Roscoe:
I think it was 13 or something, yeah.
Biehner:
and he ended up getting knives. I think that's a win.
Roscoe:
Yeah, especially
Biehner:
Like.
Roscoe:
because of how impactful NICE was immediately. Like if that's going to pay off there, I mean, that's a that's a W. I guess some of the negatives or I guess it's hard to say because it's kind of just being speculative. But were the moves and the and the the system that he was leaning into the right one, like was there was this ever going to hit or, you know, was he just going after a. system that would be good in the regular season but like everyone's saying you know it's not going to get you through the playoffs
Biehner:
See, that whole question in my mind is flawed. Like, the fact that you can honestly be asked, and I'm not trying to dig at you here, the fact that you can honestly question whether or not you can have a team that is consistently a 100-point team in the regular season and then turn around and say, oh, they're not good enough. So over the course of 82 games, they're in the top five, top ten in the league almost every year. but then they're not good enough. Now, why is that?
Roscoe:
I'm just glad that everybody stuck to their, sorry, go ahead. I'll say what.
Biehner:
No, no, no, like I was just gonna say, like the game is the game. If you're playing the game in October and you're playing a game in, in, in May, the same rule should be there and they're not. But, but that is not, I'm not sitting here saying that's why we lost. We got goalie. That happens. It's one of the most random sports in the frigging world.
Roscoe:
Yep. I'm just glad that everybody that was saying the regular season doesn't matter stuck to their word and completely ignored the fact that the regular season was great. So good for you on Twitter for actually holding yourselves accountable for something and completely ignoring what was one of the best Leafs regular seasons in franchise history after what was the best Leafs regular season in franchise history. So yeah, if we're just gonna look at... what happened in the playoffs. It sucks, but there was a tweet that I saw here. I'm just gonna pull up real quick because I do wanna give credit for this one. It was originally about Boston actually, about how they had such a good time this season, regardless of how it ended. And just people saying, retweeting it about the Leafs saying, here, found it. This is at. It's Mitch Marnie, Katie. Um, exactly. Even the most heartbreaking end doesn't change the fact that for months, the team literally made you happy every day. The bittersweet taste of remembering it now doesn't negate the fact that for months you woke up happy. And I gotta say, we covered every game this season. It was, it makes it really easy to do that when we don't have to talk about a lot of shitty losses, like the first little bit of the season was really hard. when they were awful and people were talking about blowing it up because they started like shit. Yeah, that was hard. And we haven't been doing this that long, so I feel like we've been pretty lucky to have two very good regular seasons to talk about. And yeah, you know, don't forget about that.
Biehner:
And
Roscoe:
That's all.
Biehner:
you bringing that up, that is part of like one of the things that kind of makes me nervous. Because
Roscoe:
Hehehehe
Biehner:
yes, people like Lou are in the Hall of Fame for a reason, but the things they're in the Hall of Fame for happened 20-30 years ago. right? The fact that they still are employed in the position they're in doesn't necessarily mean that they should be.
Roscoe:
Oh, dude, the fact that any important vacancy at the Leafs has opened up, like anything above assistant coach, I'm worried because all the candidates out there are shit. Like, I don't like anybody. You have to go like 10 people down the list for me to be like, OK, I wouldn't mind that person.
Biehner:
Like Eric Tolsky, Brandon Pridham, Hailee Wickenheiser.
Roscoe:
Yeah, great. All of them.
Biehner:
Like, yeah, I don't want the list to go past that, basically right now, unless you're gonna go completely off the board and, like, Gary Roberts or something. Like,
Roscoe:
Well, yeah.
Biehner:
someone that nobody's thinking of.
Roscoe:
I'm trying to find the list. I only have a short one here. I want like the full one. But here from Sports Interaction, Brad Treleving is the number one at 2.23 odds. That's...
Biehner:
terrifying.
Roscoe:
Yeah, that's really scary.
Biehner:
Jim Benning was reported as a possibility? That's terrifying.
Roscoe:
The Tulski, Pridham and Hunter are the next three. Stan Bowman, no thank you. Jason Boderil, Peter Scirelli, Lawrence
Biehner:
Nope, nope.
Roscoe:
Gilman, who's AGM right now, the Leafs. Jim Benning, no thank you. And Mark Bergervan, absolutely no thank you. Yeah, I don't like, I don't like this. I don't like it. I don't like it.
Biehner:
So the only thing I'm hopeful for is that maybe, like maybe it's just me, but does it seem like basically since Bob McKenzie retired that none of the insiders are actually insiders anymore?
Roscoe:
Except
Biehner:
Like
Roscoe:
for
Biehner:
they.
Roscoe:
Kevin Weeks for some reason.
Biehner:
That's because he's always just sitting outside of people's houses figuring out what's going on.
Roscoe:
Hahaha
Biehner:
Um... Like... Here, I'm on, I'm at 426 Main Street at such and such's house and this is just breaking. No, um...
Roscoe:
Well, I mean, if you're watching NHL Network, it seems like he's the only one that they're paying. So, yeah, it makes sense that he's the only one with any information.
Biehner:
Like, because like you look at Sara Veli, he was so upset with Dubas at the deadline, right? And then it seems like anytime anything happens, one of the first people to tweet something is
Roscoe:
Oh yeah.
Biehner:
And I really just hope that that's what it is. Everybody's looking at names available and the job and saying, okay, yeah, they fit.
Roscoe:
Yeah, okay, here I found a longer list here. Pridham, Ryan Hardy, Jim Benning, Jason Botto, Ron Hextall. No, thank you. Brian Burke. What are we doing? Ray Whitney,
Biehner:
So,
Roscoe:
Doug Gilmore,
Biehner:
that, oh, okay,
Roscoe:
Eric
Biehner:
Whitney.
Roscoe:
Lindross. Get the fuck out of
Biehner:
So,
Roscoe:
here.
Biehner:
Gilmore, I'd say no, as much as I would love it, because he's a legend. I don't think he's suited for that position. Whitney is kind of interesting, because if I remember correctly, I think he's actually been a general manager of a couple of Team Canada's, for the World Championships and stuff like that, because he's been an up and comer in that position since he retired as a player. So that one's kind of interesting. Could be the nostalgia in me. Like I wouldn't mind maybe seeing Joe Neuendijk. You know, he was general manager of the Stars for a while. I loved him when he played for the Leafs. But that could just be me remembering seeing him fly up the wing and score on the Senators to oust them from the playoffs.
Roscoe:
I'm trying to find, it doesn't say anything on his Wikipedia page about his GM record, Ray Whitney.
Biehner:
Who's that? Who's that, sorry?
Roscoe:
I'm trying to find, it doesn't say anything on his Wikipedia page about his GM record, Ray Whitney. I'm trying to find, it doesn't say anything on his Wikipedia page about his GM record, Ray Whitney. I'm trying to find, it doesn't say anything on his Wikipedia page about his GM record, Ray Whitney. I'm trying to find, it doesn't say anything on his Wikipedia page about his GM record, Ray Whitney.
Biehner:
Oh. Um...
Roscoe:
Apparently last year he was in the Running for Sharks GM. They were interviewing him for it. So he has been, you know, talked about for the job. I mean, I just, not that I'm against ex players getting these jobs. It's just, I don't know. There's something about repeating the system of just bringing people from within instead of people that actually are like sports professionals instead of players.
Biehner:
But I don't think that's gonna happen for the Leafs, at least not this time, because basically that's what Dubus was.
Roscoe:
That's true.
Biehner:
right, like the last two teams that have tried
Roscoe:
Oh
Biehner:
that.
Roscoe:
god, we're gonna get Trump now, aren't we?
Biehner:
That's basically what friggin' Shirelli would be. The last two teams that have tried that, it came back and punched them in the face, right? Look at the Coyotes with Shaiqa and look at us with Dubas now.
Roscoe:
Yeah.
Biehner:
Like at least Dubis built something that was successful and sustainable. And come at me all you want. It was sustainable, especially if the pandemic didn't happen. Like you said, like the cap should be $10 million higher than it is right now.
Roscoe:
Yeah, and wasn't it supposed to go up like, didn't they say something like six or eight? And then they were like, actually it's gonna be like two.
Biehner:
Yeah, because I think it was by 2025. I think they anticipate it being up another 10 million. Like
Roscoe:
Yeah.
Biehner:
that would be drastic. Like that would have such a drastic impact on the team.
Roscoe:
Like that's the difference between adding your missing, you know, first line left winger or filling out the defense or adding like three guys. Like there's so many. I hate this. I hate this so much. This is stupid fucking COVID, man. Okay. So let's say, you know, worst case number one on the list here. I'll not on this list, but I mean Brad for Living is one of the most talked about ones. Let's say Brad for Living comes in. What do you think he'd move? Like, I mean, really, as far as people that are under contract, there's not many of them. Besides, you've got Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Nylander, Kelly, Yarncrook, Sam Lafferty, Matthew Nyes. And then like Morgan Riley, TJ Brody, Jake McCabe, Lillagren, Timmons, Geo. and Marie. That's like everybody under contract. Holy
Biehner:
We
Roscoe:
shit,
Biehner:
for-
Roscoe:
whoever comes in has a ton to do.
Biehner:
Nicky Bobby, Bobby McMahon. Joseph Wall, like there's still some players, but there's a lot of space, like a lot of roster space and a decent amount of cap space. Like whoever's coming in, they don't even have to move a big name and they can have a drastic change on this team.
Roscoe:
Yeah, it's just a matter of how you play with the money that's now available. I mean, like, uh, Achari, Aston Reiss, Bunting, Camp, Kerfoot, O'Reilly, Simmons, Gustafson Hall, Shen, Samsonov, Mete, all either you or RFAs. Like you pretty much can do whatever you want here with a couple really good players still under contract. So, I mean, everyone says Dubas walked into a team that was already set. The fuck are we gonna say about this person? They're walking into a team that's already in its prime. Like this is if I were to do this on on NHL 24, I'd be like, no, this is boring. I'm doing a team that actually, like, you know, is worth rebuilding. This is already there.
Biehner:
Realistically, and I'd have to look, but I don't believe they can actually even technically talk to him until July 1st. But the first matter of business is trying to get an idea of what Matthews wants to do. Like, I'll be on the record, I don't want him gone. Like I understand sports is a business, players move on, players retire, players get traded. But it has been such an incredible thing to have, to be able to watch a player like that on your team. I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to watch that on my team.
Roscoe:
I mean, we've talked about him and Marner have been breaking records left and right because the Leafs historically do not have a star like this. And it feels unfair to have one ripped away at the age that he is like it's we drafted and developed him. We should be able to figure this fucking contract out and keep him. It's so frustrating. Like,
Biehner:
He's 25 years old. Like, he's
Roscoe:
whoever
Biehner:
not even
Roscoe:
comes
Biehner:
hit
Roscoe:
in,
Biehner:
his prime yet.
Roscoe:
whoever comes in needs to be really good at players that are. already in the league like they need to know the league as it is because they have a lot of contracts assigned and a lot of gaps to fill and they don't need to worry about drafting like the prospects are kind of already there they so I think that kind of allows mlsc to get specific about who they bring in I hope they do this in the right way but I don't know they're also hockey guys so I don't fucking trust them
Biehner:
Like.
Roscoe:
to make a smart decision
Biehner:
Honestly, if I was thinking... If it was me, if you gave me the keys right now and said, hey, this is your team... It would be money dependent, but I'd be trying to bring back Rhino and Achari for sure. And Shen would have a lifetime contract as far as I'm concerned going forward.
Roscoe:
Yeah, please.
Biehner:
Um, if I was going to shake something up, I might try to move Brody.
Roscoe:
Honestly, I think that's one that's doable because he's still a valuable asset that I I think we can replace with some younger guys and I I feel like you can still get something for him Like he's not on the the point where you're trying to pay to get rid of that contract Like I think it's a good one to be able to move. That's not a bad idea
Biehner:
Like you have McCabe in at 2 million, that's basically your new Brody.
Roscoe:
Yeah.
Biehner:
Right? Like a little more physical, maybe not quite as good with the stick knocking stuff away, but you can kind of balance that out with him being a little more physical. And if you bring Shen in, or if you bring Shen back with what we saw he did for Riley, if they can do that over the course of an entire season, like, you're laughing. So if you could free up that 5 million. and you know those minutes are getting spread out over McCabe, Lilly, Timmins, Gio and Shen. I think that's very doable and that frees up a ton more cap space.
Roscoe:
Yeah, because you're able to keep Shen probably at a league min. And I mean, what's Brody at right now? Like four?
Biehner:
Five.
Roscoe:
Five. Yeah. That's, you need that five million because obviously Riley is here forever and he proved he's worth seven and a half. McKay bet two, like Lily at one and a half. Like all your defensemen you're keeping around are so cheap. If you have Giordano and Brody at like eight or a Shen at 800K, like you're laughing.
Biehner:
Yeah.
Roscoe:
It just. Man, it's the whole bottom six. That's really up in the air. It's nice to know that Matthew Nyes can potentially be your first line left winger next year, regardless of whether you lose. Fuck it. I don't even want to talk about it. But I hope I don't even know. It's like I don't I don't want to talk about any of these guys still being here because then it's like, but it could be gone.
Biehner:
Like, and people are ripping on the thought of, because it's been rumored that Matthews is going to kind of go the NBA route, right? Like he did with his last contract, maybe go for five years instead of eight, because
Roscoe:
So what?
Biehner:
then he can cash it again. My thoughts exactly, like the NHL is the only professional sports league that routinely asks players to take less than what they're worth.
Roscoe:
Yeah,
Biehner:
and
Roscoe:
his
Biehner:
and
Roscoe:
agents
Biehner:
and
Roscoe:
just like taking, like you said, from another league, from the NBA, and being like, no, my guy, I don't care what your league is running as far as their bullshit salary gap and financials. This is what my client is worth.
Biehner:
Yeah,
Roscoe:
And I don't blame them.
Biehner:
now that being said, the fact that we haven't had any playoff success might work in our favor for this one. Like, his cap hit right now is 11.64. Does he really warrant coming to us? What's the maximum going to be for next year? 16 mil?
Roscoe:
Mmm.
Biehner:
Like he's, okay.
Roscoe:
14 and a half maybe? I don't know.
Biehner:
Like that honestly that's kind of where I'm thinking you what's the largest one right now. Sorry. I just got to look it up That's gonna be what? McKinnon starting next year because he's just over he's gonna be just over Connor 12.6 For McKinnon, so you give what Matthew's I Don't know 13.34 or 14.34 like Just,
Roscoe:
point three four.
Biehner:
so many players do that now, so I was just putting that in there.
Roscoe:
It will be.
Biehner:
Like, he gets to say he was, whether it matters to him or not, I don't know, but he gets to say he was, at one point, the highest paid player in the league. He has won a heart, he has scored 60, he has proven that he's a leader of the team. So, a slight raise, okay, I'm gonna get roasted for saying that. but a slight raise, okay.
Roscoe:
It's inflation.
Biehner:
I don't, yeah, I don't think you can go max. Like I really don't.
Roscoe:
I don't either because if you like. Look, if he played the 200 foot game that he played this year and scored 60 goals, yeah, give him max. But like, I don't know, to be a max player, like, I don't know, I look at McDavid where one person can carry an entire fucking team no matter how bad they're playing. Matthews is a different type of player. I don't know if he bring like. This is so hard. Like we're talking about the difference between like Max and like 13 or 14 or 15 million dollars. Like this is splitting hairs. But I think that's kind of the argument we're making right now. Right. If he could do
Biehner:
And.
Roscoe:
it all at the same time, yeah. If he could do it all at the same time in the playoffs and get them through, yeah.
Biehner:
Like, that is the driest stretch of hockey I think he's ever played, and it wasn't for lack of trying. Like, despite what everybody will say because he wasn't lighting up the score sheet, like, he was playing well. He was playing a full 200-foot game, which McDavid doesn't do. I will die on that fucking hill. The guy is incredible offensively, probably one of the best offensive players we will ever see in this game. but he does not play defense. Dry-Sidle is a more complete player than McDavid is.
Roscoe:
He is, I agree with that.
Biehner:
Like, and as entertaining as it is to watch, and I'm not saying I wouldn't want them on my team, but if I had to pick one or the other, historically, players who can do a little bit of everything typically do better with team success. And I don't care what anybody says, I don't care they made a Western Conference Final, they both have the same number of rings.
Roscoe:
Yeah, zero, so.
Biehner:
like
Roscoe:
I guess the only other thing is, you know, Nylander, right? He's the one that's
Biehner:
Okay.
Roscoe:
the odd number. He took a really low number to start with and has since blossomed into, you know, a 40 goal scorer. So what do you do there? You still have another year of him under contract, but it's the same situation as Matthews, right? So, you know, he's the one that's the odd number. He took a really low number to start with and has since blossomed into, you know, a 40 goal scorer.
Biehner:
If it's me, I keep him. Like, sign him long term. I don't think he would do the Riley deal of taking no matter what people say, if people disagree with it, but taking the discount. I honestly think that he is someone that you want on this roster because he doesn't get phased, like ever. And in a media like this, you need a player like that. He didn't shy away in the playoffs. People are saying he shied away from the physical game. No.
Roscoe:
No, we didn't.
Biehner:
That's his game. He picks his moments and then he cuts in and he makes everybody jump out of their seats. Like that's his game. He was still effective. And he definitely still has a place on this team. I don't think he's going to be making North of 10, nor do I think he should. but.
Roscoe:
That's interesting, yeah. What the number is, this is gonna be tough. So what's he at now? Six,
Biehner:
Six,
Roscoe:
6.9,
Biehner:
seven, I believe?
Roscoe:
6962366. What a stupid number.
Biehner:
Um, as much as it pains me to say it, do you go like, see if you can get them to commit long term, go eight by eight and a half?
Roscoe:
Yeah, I'm just thinking to last time when he held out, you know, what are they going to try to get? What's the what's his? What do you think his agent asks for out of the gate? Ten and a half, eleven.
Biehner:
But his, like, Marner's at 11, Tamara's at 11, Matthew's at 11, Nylander's not there.
Roscoe:
Well, I mean, he did score the most goals this year. I'm just talking as his agent, right? Like he can come out and say, you know, my client has turned into part of this core, part of like being on par with these guys. He's played interchangeably with them in the same positions. He steps in for them. If one of them goes down, the four of them are considered the top four. So why is my client not worth 11 million the same?
Biehner:
because rightly or wrongly, it seems like everybody takes into account, or most general managers anyways, things that, like, old school things still. So, perception, because I guarantee you that they'll be going in there saying that, oh, well, he's lazy, shies away, or does this. You also look at, Matthews has been nominated for awards every season he's been in the league. He's won awards, major awards. Marner has been nominated for awards. If not every season, the majority of the seasons he's been in the league.
Roscoe:
Okay, who's a
Biehner:
Like
Roscoe:
comparable
Biehner:
he was in.
Roscoe:
player that's already under contract recently to Nylander?
Biehner:
Um,
Roscoe:
Like
Biehner:
see...
Roscoe:
Mark Shifely.
Biehner:
It's such an odd comparable because he's a winger, right? Like, Schaifflee's a center. They typically
Roscoe:
What does LINEA
Biehner:
get valued
Roscoe:
make?
Biehner:
more. But see, Lina is a borderline 50 goal scorer, too, when he signs those contracts. Um,
Roscoe:
Yeah, he's at 9.1.
Biehner:
What about Ehlers? How's that for, it's not exactly comparable.
Roscoe:
Nikolai Ehlers, six million, but his is up next year. So he's in the same boat as Nylander.
Biehner:
Yeah, it's so tough.
Roscoe:
Linase is 8.7. Total salary 9.1 after bonuses. So I think like that's probably your closer comparison is like nine. So yeah, I mean, his agent comes out with 10 and they, you could probably land somewhere at eight times eight and a half if you're really looking to keep them long-term. I don't think that's crazy.
Biehner:
Yeah, or even if you structure it in ways that the AAV is a little lower, but in the long term, it gets a little higher. Like, even you look at it, like Matthew Kachuk is only at 9.5. And as much as I dislike the guy, he's been flirting with the century mark points-wise. He's an MVP candidate this year. Right? Like, it's, there's so many different things to factor in and it's, it's really like comparing apples to oranges. Because even if you look at like Jason Robertson, he signed for what 7.7, but he signed that before he exploded. right? Like now
Roscoe:
It's always...
Biehner:
someone
Roscoe:
yeah.
Biehner:
looking at him at 7-7 is like, oh man, that's a great deal. Same with H. Thompson, he signed for 7.1. But then you have the flip side of that, Kadri signed for seven.
Roscoe:
So, I mean, maybe you, yeah. No, I think eight times eight and a half or eight times eight is probably what you could get him at. But there's obviously the argument the cap's gonna be going up. So they might pull them up to nine ish, but I think double digits is too much. Okay. The other thing I wanna talk about before we go to something fun is where does this leave Sheldon Keefe? Because obviously it's kind of up to the GM what they do with the coach. And it seems like Shanahan is leaving that up to whoever he hires as GM. It's like, hey, here's your first job. Fire Sheldon Keefe, because I don't want that blood on my hands. That's what this looks like to me.
Biehner:
It's funny that you use that terminology because that is something that Shanahan has not had an issue with through his entire Hall of Fame career is having someone else's blood on his hands.
Roscoe:
Oh, and
Biehner:
Um.
Roscoe:
it's
Biehner:
Um.
Roscoe:
also
Biehner:
Um.
Roscoe:
not even firing him. They just don't have to resign him. So like, I don't get why they haven't announced that Keefe does or doesn't have a contract yet.
Biehner:
So I... Let me start by saying I like Keef. I do. But I don't think he's... At this point in his coaching career, I don't think he's right for this job. I
Roscoe:
No,
Biehner:
really...
Roscoe:
and I mean, we've talked about how hard it is to coach stars, and it just seems like he's gotten as much as he can from these guys.
Biehner:
Yeah, and like I really hope it's a Bruce Cassidy moment that 10-15 years from now he resurfaces with another team and he's taking them on deep runs in the playoffs. Because I do genuinely like the guy and I do think he has a future in coaching.
Roscoe:
Oh, for sure.
Biehner:
But like Cassidy tried to break in years and years ago and couldn't do it. And toyed away in the minors, coached and coached and coached and worked his way back up and now look at him. Like just because... your first attempt in the NHL doesn't work doesn't mean you can't have a career in it or you can't do it, but and this isn't just because I despise a certain player but lineup decisions that did not change despite
Roscoe:
Yeah.
Biehner:
eye tests and analytics both backing a change being warranted
Roscoe:
Oh, this team's gonna look different.
Biehner:
Yeah. So that one specific player, go win a cup with someone else, because chances are you're going to. I just don't need to see you on my team anymore.
Roscoe:
I will gladly have him turn into the next Luke Shen where 12 years from now, we bring him back to the team for 800 grand and he's just murdering people. Like I'll gladly take that. He's just blocking shots left and right. He's the like, yeah. But now, no thanks. I'm sorry, we tried.
Biehner:
We did, but
Roscoe:
We
Biehner:
like
Roscoe:
can't
Biehner:
think.
Roscoe:
say we didn't try.
Biehner:
Things like that, he's appeared to be out coached in playoff series at times, whether it's being refusing to change matchup decisions, even on home ice where he has the advantage, you know, with regards to last change, or... The way certain things, like he has the team try certain things, it's... I think he's hit his limit with this group.
Roscoe:
So the same way that I pulled up the odds for our next GM, I just want to go
Biehner:
Oh
Roscoe:
through
Biehner:
god.
Roscoe:
quickly who the odds for the next coach is looking like. And I hate it so much, dude.
Biehner:
Don't tell me.
Roscoe:
Joel Cuenville,
Biehner:
Oh, well that's not gonna happen.
Roscoe:
Spencer Carberry,
Biehner:
See.
Roscoe:
Gerard Glant, Bruce
Biehner:
Okay.
Roscoe:
Boudreaux, and Andrew Burnett.
Biehner:
So those names aren't near as bad as the general manager names. Quinville's not happening. I highly, highly doubt a team like the Leafs would want that much extra bad publicity, because everything the Leafs does gets scrutinized so badly by the media. Hiring Quinville after the whole Chicago debacle,
Roscoe:
Mm-hmm.
Biehner:
I can pretty much guarantee that's not going to happen. and dammit it better not. Spencer Carberry I think would be a very easy decision as he's currently an assistant with the team. Very skilled coach, up and comer, might Might not be the best option because of the same reasons with Keef, right? Like he was there, the team knows him, yes, they might be comfortable with him, but can he squeeze that extra out of them that Keef couldn't? I'm not saying I want Sutter. By no means do I want Sutter. I've seen some people saying that. I don't want these players to, despite what people say, I don't want them to come to work hating their job. I don't want them requesting trades out of the city. because we've just gotten to a point where players actually want to come to Toronto. Um, Boudreaux, as much as I love him, he does win everywhere he goes, but only in the regular season. Like that's all he ever does is win in the regular season.
Roscoe:
I'm going to take a stab at who the bottom four on this sports interaction list are at
Biehner:
Alright.
Roscoe:
100 to 150 odds to one.
Biehner:
uh, Randy Carlisle, Mike Babcock, um...
Roscoe:
You got one.
Biehner:
Dallas Eakins. And I don't even know who I'd pick for the fourth there.
Roscoe:
Mike Babcock, Kevin Bieksa, Don Cherry, and Paul Bissonnette.
Biehner:
Yikes.
Roscoe:
Yeah, some other
Biehner:
Antrebranets.
Roscoe:
notable names on here. We got Rick Bonus, Dave Tippett, Ty Domey. Like, they're just going off the board with these.
Biehner:
So if you're bringing back a former player, I don't think it could be Domi because it would just be a media circus with Domi. Like really it would. Anytime he talks to the media now, which is few and far between, he just has that look about him, that shitty grin all the time.
Roscoe:
Mm-hmm.
Biehner:
Like I think it would have to be someone like Roberts or Clark or maybe even Dougie.
Roscoe:
Oh, Gary Roberts would be awesome.
Biehner:
Could you imagine him like, yeah, the whole team would be jacked. It would be awesome. They'd all be eating
Roscoe:
Nobody's
Biehner:
like
Roscoe:
getting
Biehner:
sprouts,
Roscoe:
pushed around
Biehner:
but.
Roscoe:
in the playoffs. Oh, buddy.
Biehner:
Andrew Burnett's another interesting one because he had the Panthers team last year when Quinnville got booted and he led them to the President's trophy. He's an assistant right now, I believe, with New Jersey.
Roscoe:
Mm-hmm.
Biehner:
Like, he's a talented young coach as well who has been around for quite a long time. So he's young with regards to coaching, but he played in the league forever. So that's an interesting one, too.
Roscoe:
Okay, so I did reach out on Twitter to see if anybody had anything they wanted us to talk about, any questions or anything. So Classic Kyle's Misadventures asks, what's your favorite conspiracy theory about what's going on? Also, who would you like to see take over as GM? And shout out to Joey Leaves who said, I was gonna say my favorite conspiracy theory is JFK or Marilyn Monroe's.
Biehner:
No.
Roscoe:
So what is your favourite conspiracy theory about what's going on if you have heard any?
Biehner:
With the Leafs,
Roscoe:
Yeah.
Biehner:
I can't say anything's a favorite. Like there's not a single conspiracy theory I've heard with the team that I would consider labeling favorite.
Roscoe:
We're in the worst timeline.
Biehner:
It's so bad. Before the news was announced that Dubas wasn't coming back, I had kind of heard rumblings of what he was requesting, where he wanted more power, basically. Essentially Shanahan would be stepping away and Dubas would be President GM. That was kind of a favorite conspiracy theory, because the thought of someone kiboshing some of the stuff he wanted to do, you know, it could have gone horribly wrong for the team, but it also could have gone incredibly right. Um, there's not a single, like I said, there's not a single conspiracy theory I've overheard right now, unless there's some that I haven't heard that I would like at all, rather like not even labeling it. So that I can't touch on. I just really, really hope they don't do something incredibly stupid.
Roscoe:
Yeah, I honestly, I've been so busy. This is the first opportunity I've had to really catch up on a lot of this and I haven't seen any conspiracies, but... Yeah, I just don't like it. I hope they don't go full, you know, off the board and grab somebody that really shouldn't be part of this organization. Like, I'm just scared, man. I don't like when GM positions are open in any team, let alone the Leafs. It's been too long, like, since we've had just who's it going to be? Like, I can't even remember the last time.
Biehner:
Well, it was before they hired Lamar Lowe.
Roscoe:
Yeah, long ass time
Biehner:
Like,
Roscoe:
ago.
Biehner:
if I had to say something, maybe that I'm hearing that Pridham, it's all but Pridham's job with Wickenheiser taking a bigger role.
Roscoe:
Mikey D, hockey and Leafs aside, what are your summer plans?
Biehner:
Um,
Roscoe:
paddleboard,
Biehner:
so.
Roscoe:
maybe, golf, maybe, the five time.
Biehner:
Summer's a really busy time for work, so that's just ramping up. But aside from that, I spent this entire long weekend trying to get the yard ready for the summer. Pool's open, chemicals in the pool, grass cut,
Roscoe:
noise.
Biehner:
tons of yard work done, so just trying to enjoy the yard a little bit.
Roscoe:
Well, good for you. Sorry, I get tired. It's midnight here now.
Biehner:
Hahaha.
Roscoe:
A long day. I got another one here. Chris, Chris Richet. Maybe too late to make podcast. Nope, it's not. What are your guys opinions about what you would all like to see happen over this off season? I would like to see them hire a competent GM that, like I said, is good at filling out the roster slots with people that are already established in the league. and is good at managing the cap alongside hopefully still AGM, brand and Pridham. And, uh, that's kind of it. I hope they resign who needs to be resigned, uh, in Nylander and Matthews and Achari and Samsonov and maybe just fill out the rest with, uh, the fun free agency pool. And I'm excited to have like a lot of cap space coming into the free agency. You know, Like usually it's, oh, we've got $1.1 million. No, it's gonna be like a lot.
Biehner:
Technically right now I think it's at 8, maybe closer to 9, but that's not including the possibility of putting muslin on LTIR.
Roscoe:
Yeah, I
Biehner:
And
Roscoe:
don't know what
Biehner:
you
Roscoe:
the...
Biehner:
can exceed the cap in the off season by a certain percentage as well.
Roscoe:
I don't know what the deal with Muzzin's gonna be, man.
Biehner:
Like for me, we've touched on a lot of it, but if I had to keep it simple, if I had to pick one thing that I really hope they do is I really hope they bring Shen back. That was such a nostalgia trip and so many memories from the dark times when he was one of our bright spots.
Roscoe:
Hmm.
Biehner:
And I loved seeing him there, what he did for that team was incredible. So if I had to pick one thing that because with regards to general managers, chances are we're not going to be able to, we could throw out a hundred names each of us right now and we're probably not going to pick the person that it's going to be.
Roscoe:
Probably not. And with that, let's start the show.
Biehner:
Hahaha
Roscoe:
No, I'm totally kidding. I just realized it's been almost an hour and I totally forgot to do that. So welcome back to Leaf's Late Night presented by Inside the Rink. I'm your host Roscoe. I'm joined by Beener. If you're still here, it's been 51 minutes of us talking about this. So if you don't know where to find us by now, you do now.
Biehner:
So Marty's got a question.
Roscoe:
Okay, cool.
Biehner:
He wants to know what our thoughts are on the odds that the leafs don't hire externally. Keep Pridham, keep Keith, promote a lot of Marlies, re-sign the obvious players. Basically, run it back, sans dubas.
Roscoe:
Well, I mean, they let go the entire Marley staff, Spetsa walked. It seems like anybody that was part of Dubas's, you know,
Biehner:
I think it
Roscoe:
core.
Biehner:
meant players.
Roscoe:
Well, what I'm what I'm getting at is that I feel like everybody that's part of his system seems to kind of be on the outs. I don't see them keeping key for that reason, just because of how tied together they were like coming up through the whole system, the Greyhounds to the Marley's to the Leafs. And like I said earlier, I think that whoever the GM is, is gonna have a say in who the coach is. I just think they didn't wanna have everything come crashing down at once and scare the players off. So I think they're, I don't think it makes a huge difference, but I think they're trying to be somewhat methodical in how they dismantle this slowly. I don't think they expect it's Betts at a walk, but it happened. And yeah, like I said, they cut the Marlies coaching staff that were all up for. new contracts as well. So they might like like I said, Pridham is an interesting choice. I just I don't know if it's the right move for what the team needs right now. When they are cap strapped, he's awesome. But this time, it doesn't seem like they're going to be in the same position. It's going to be more about, you know, what's the most efficient way to spend the cap that they do have, like the abundance of it. So I don't know. We'll see.
Biehner:
But see, I would almost counter that with it's almost more important now because we can't screw it up. Right, cap wise, we can't screw it up right now.
Roscoe:
Yeah.
Biehner:
with the holes that are there, the amount of players that they need to sign. Like, if I had to give a percentage of my thoughts on that, honestly I would probably say... maybe 65% that they stay internally, but that's
Roscoe:
Oh wow.
Biehner:
still me thinking Keef is gone.
Roscoe:
See, I'm thinking, so sorry, to say that it's gonna be staying internal, you think for just the GM rule?
Biehner:
I would say, I'm kind of thinking and somewhat hoping that it's like Pridham and or Wickenheiser for GM and then Carberry gets promoted to coach. Now we did touch on it, maybe Carberry is not the person to be the coach right now because of the fact that he's still young and up and coming, but it's happened before. There's so many good people in that organization right now, it would be a shame to blow it up. Like there's a reason
Roscoe:
I-
Biehner:
that everybody is always constantly asking for permission to talk to the coaches, the general managers, the assistant general managers.
Roscoe:
So what I think is gonna happen, I'd say 70%, they're gonna keep everybody in the positions they're in, but they're gonna bring in a GM from outside because of the fact that the team is kind of in win now mode, they need somebody, or they're gonna think they need somebody with experience that has a fresh set of eyes on this team that can bring a different take to changing 20% of this team around to see. if it's going to take them over the edge there. Like I don't, I see the argument for keeping it internal because it's the people that know this team the best, but I think that's kind of what they're trying to move away from right now is, is bringing in somebody who can take a fresh look at this team and go, okay, here's what I've been screaming about from my office that you guys need to do. Let's do it. I could go either way, but
Biehner:
Yeah.
Roscoe:
I'm gonna say 70-30, it's gonna be somebody outside for GM.
Biehner:
Yeah.
Roscoe:
Yeah, either way. Last thing, let's go something fun. This is super old. I've been meaning to do this for so many episodes. This was posted May 9th. So this is from bar down and TSN's Instagram. These are AI generated mascots. Did you see these?
Biehner:
terrifying.
Roscoe:
They're horrible. So I'm just going to kind of zoom in on this. Yeah. So the Montreal one, if you're just listening, is like a. It's like a bear with a Montreal jersey on, nothing crazy. They get increasingly strange though. The Senator's one looks like a weird bug for some reason.
Biehner:
It does.
Roscoe:
Made out of a Senator's hat. The lightning is like, I
Biehner:
Victor Headman.
Roscoe:
don't even know what, the what?
Biehner:
It's Victor Headman.
Roscoe:
Oh my god. It looks like some weird Thor type thing with like a burglar mask made into a hat. I don't know. The leafs though. It says OI your row yo lane leers. Like words on AI do not compute.
Biehner:
No they don't.
Roscoe:
But I got to give it to them the hands don't look shitty even though they are mascot hands Okay, next one Bruins nothing too crazy. There's the bear in a Bruins costume buffalo sabers. This one's better than theirs Just a giant buffalo
Biehner:
Yeah.
Roscoe:
I love those fucking Detroit Red Wings though. You know those, you know, those things were like, Oh, my teacher made everyone's drawings into like a stuffed animal. It looks like a kid drew a duck and then they made it into a mascot. Like it's a it's a child's drawing of a duck. With hair.
Biehner:
That's so weird.
Roscoe:
And why is it a duck? The panther one just looks like a furry. I'm sorry. I mean I know they all kind of do but like that's just Okay, the penguin one again is like...
Biehner:
It looks like a snowman.
Roscoe:
It looks like a kid drew a penguin but it says no man, that's so good.
Biehner:
The Washington one's a little weird.
Roscoe:
It also says anus. I don't know why.
Biehner:
Zoom in on that, I think it says canals, doesn't it? Oh
Roscoe:
No,
Biehner:
no,
Roscoe:
that's
Biehner:
that's
Roscoe:
his
Biehner:
definitely
Roscoe:
armpit. Yeah.
Biehner:
anal.
Roscoe:
Oh my God. Okay, no, gritty is so much better than this, but I love that it's almost gritty.
Biehner:
It's very similar to Gritty, but if he went to like first choice hair cutters.
Roscoe:
Yeah, it's like his head is just an orange pom pom with a gritty face. But this this New York ragers, but it's it's just like ear pins. I don't I don't know what this thing is. I also don't know how it's also kind of crazy that an AI was able to make this much of a thing like obviously this is the devil's just the devil. What is this nip, though?
Biehner:
think this must be the Islanders?
Roscoe:
I know, but like, what is it?
Biehner:
Maybe?
Roscoe:
He's got a little bowl hat on. He's like, they either look like something from an 80s horror movie or something from Sesame Street. and speak of 80s horror movie.
Biehner:
The hurricanes one?
Roscoe:
Uh, both of them?
Biehner:
The blue jacket's
Roscoe:
Oh
Biehner:
one
Roscoe:
my
Biehner:
looks
Roscoe:
lord.
Biehner:
like the next Saw villain.
Roscoe:
Yeah, I don't. It's like a ghost face yeti. And then the Columbus ones like a reborn Confederate soldier or something. What do we got here? What is this one? This looks like a basketball one, Rodohan?
Biehner:
Yeah, that's gotta be a basketball one. Maybe, isn't there a basketball team that Bobcats or something?
Roscoe:
But these are NHL ones. Yeah, they're all NHL ones. What the hell is that?
Biehner:
Hmm... the colors don't match up to...
Roscoe:
No.
Biehner:
Phoenix Coyotes.
Roscoe:
Oh my god, thank you.
Biehner:
That's because
Roscoe:
That was
Biehner:
we're
Roscoe:
gonna bother me.
Biehner:
so used to the idea of that team not being in Arizona anymore.
Roscoe:
Yeah, and if you'd like to hear more about the city of Tempeh voting no, napping at an arena, check out Sports Is Fun, hosted by Marty Zoster. He's got a two-parter on that ordeal. Meanwhile, what is this Blackhawk thing?
Biehner:
Looks like an orangutan.
Roscoe:
It looks like his like behind his eyes are like black eggs, like bird's eggs.
Biehner:
Like, Google a picture of an orangutan. Like, that's like the face of an orangutan with a beak, pretty much.
Roscoe:
O-rang... how do you spell orangutan? Oh, okay. Wow.
Biehner:
Right? Or am I wrong?
Roscoe:
I'm trying, oh yeah, I need to share this tab.
Biehner:
Right?
Roscoe:
Yeah, no, you're right. OK, and then we got the avalanche, which is
Biehner:
That one
Roscoe:
a
Biehner:
I'm
Roscoe:
brown
Biehner:
okay with.
Roscoe:
yeti? A what?
Biehner:
No, I was just gonna say that one I'm actually okay with. That one's not bad.
Roscoe:
That's pretty cool. I don't get this Dallas Stars one and why he's got like a puppet on a stick.
Biehner:
Yeah,
Roscoe:
Looks like an evil bear.
Biehner:
is that supposed to be like a bulldog or something?
Roscoe:
I don't know. It's like a green bear dog thing with like a white ghost dog with like a, it looks like Kenny from South Park reversed. It's like white with an orange face inside on a stick. Okay, the Winnipeg Jets one is sick. It looks like a pilot chicken. It looks like the mascot for like a fast food place.
Biehner:
Like Chick-fil-A had a baby with Winnipeg Jets.
Roscoe:
Sorry, what did you just call it?
Biehner:
Chick-fil-a? I don't know, I've never been to one.
Roscoe:
Chick-fil-A.
Biehner:
Whatever.
Roscoe:
Because it's a filet of chicken.
Biehner:
Okay, I've never been.
Roscoe:
I think they're only in the States. Anyway, the St. Louis Blues one's pretty cool. I like that it looks like he's just walking down the street.
Biehner:
Yeah.
Roscoe:
It's like a big band leader. It looks like kind of a melted Mr. Peanut cousin.
Biehner:
I was thinking of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
Roscoe:
Yeah, it looks like some already made corporate mascot, like in a suit. I don't know. Weird. The wild one is sick. Actually, both of these are pretty cool. Do I have to zoom out here? Is that what's going on?
Biehner:
The Nashville one's actually kind of terrifying.
Roscoe:
Yeah, I don't get what the head is. It looks, oh, it's a predator. So it's like doing like predator from. Predator.
Biehner:
Ah, got it.
Roscoe:
I hate that I had to say Predator three times for that to make sense.
Biehner:
You could have said Xenomorph.
Roscoe:
Yeah, yeah, true. Okay, the Mighty Duck one is dope. Like, it looks like Donald Duck in a duck's jersey.
Biehner:
Yeah.
Roscoe:
It looks like if Disney were to do how they're live actioning everything, if they did like a live action Mighty Ducks movie, but it's like a live action animated Mighty Ducks movie, this is what it would look like.
Biehner:
It's like the son of Howard the Duck.
Roscoe:
Oh god. It does look like Howard the Duck. This is why you have to watch this on YouTube. It's up on Inside the Rink. If you are listening up to this point, switch over to YouTube. It's so much better. What is this Calgary flame? It looks
Biehner:
I- I-
Roscoe:
like a stunned fish with like a bunch. It looks like a betta fish.
Biehner:
It does. It looks like something you might run into if you walk down downtown Calgary at one in the morning.
Roscoe:
I like that the C just has like, they took the flame out of the middle and it just flipped it to the outside. Like some of the logos are untouched and the AI just botched other ones. Oh my god, what is this? Okay, okay. The Edmonton Oilers have like... I don't know what to call this. It looks like... It looks like if you were to play some weird like cartoon hockey game on Nintendo Switch what your character would look like.
Biehner:
Yeah,
Roscoe:
It's like...
Biehner:
kind of. Or like,
Roscoe:
how would you describe this?
Biehner:
sloth from the Goonies?
Roscoe:
with a disco ball helmet strapped on him.
Biehner:
Yep, he's got the tinfoil hat on.
Roscoe:
I love that it's like very much strapped on like it's not just on their Like a normal helmet. It's it's fastened and he's also huge Like comparatively these ones look like normal sized people. This is like... The guy's head is at the fucking Oilers logo. That's nuts! And on the flip side, this needs to be the Los Angeles Kings mascot.
Biehner:
The King's one is pretty good.
Roscoe:
This giant crown?
Biehner:
It's merging the current colors with some purple from the original colors.
Roscoe:
Yeah, it's like a hairy,
Biehner:
King.
Roscoe:
I don't know, king. Yeah, it just looks maybe like a dog. Yeah, it's like a Shih Tzu kind of terrier type looking dog, but it's a blue and white with a gold, silver and black get up. What the fuck? Have cavities these two beside each other just doesn't seem fair.
Biehner:
Yeah,
Roscoe:
Like.
Biehner:
you can clearly tell Batman was involved with this because the Golden Knights had to look good.
Roscoe:
I guarantee you're going to scroll up and there's going to be a sick Seattle Kraken one. So the Vegas Golden Knights get like a Marvel character?
Biehner:
Pretty much.
Roscoe:
Like, it looks like a villain from a Power Rangers episode.
Biehner:
Yeah. And then the
Roscoe:
And then...
Biehner:
Canucks get what looks like someone squeezed toothpaste into a Canucks jersey.
Roscoe:
And it's just shrugging like, I don't know how I got here, guys.
Biehner:
Hahahaha
Roscoe:
And it says Cavabees. Why does it say Cavabees? Of course. So the sharks are the Kraken. Just get a shark and a kraken.
Biehner:
This shark
Roscoe:
I don't
Biehner:
isn't
Roscoe:
even
Biehner:
even
Roscoe:
know what
Biehner:
that
Roscoe:
it's...
Biehner:
well done though.
Roscoe:
No, it looks like...
Biehner:
Someone's in pajamas with a shark hat on.
Roscoe:
Yeah, yeah, it looks like shark pajamas, like something you'd rent from party lines for like a kid's birthday. And then like you just rented the head and it comes with like a little onesie you throw on. And then this Kraken is like. A drama club project for. Like a public school play, I don't know. It's a good one, but like, look at these fingers.
Biehner:
Well, it's supposed to
Roscoe:
Can
Biehner:
be all
Roscoe:
you imagine
Biehner:
the tentacles,
Roscoe:
he comes
Biehner:
right?
Roscoe:
up and tries to like, just like grab you with these tentacles, he's like putting this like thing in your face. It's like trying to try to like hand you a shirt. It's like hooked onto the tentacle
Biehner:
Like, what's his name from Scary Movie? Here, take my good hand.
Roscoe:
That is like the fifth time we've referenced that
Biehner:
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Roscoe:
on the show, I love it. Oh my god, okay. Oh, I need a laugh because I don't know what the hell is gonna go on with this team over the next three months, but... We're all in this together. I don't know man. Close game alert, I don't care. Denver Nuggets. So this is not the Final Four I thought we'd be seeing, but whatever. Is
Biehner:
No,
Roscoe:
Florida
Biehner:
it's
Roscoe:
gonna
Biehner:
not.
Roscoe:
win the cup?
Biehner:
They're up three nothing now.
Roscoe:
I feel less bad. Like. If they just go on a tear, it's like whatever. They were just on a tear. Like Bobrovsky literally carried them all the way. Bobrovsky and Kachuk have put the entire team on their back and just carried them through this. Like fine, if that's what happened, I can live with that. It just sucks that they're blowing it all up in response to getting goalied. I know that's a very reductionist way to look at this, but it's just what it feels like.
Biehner:
Yeah, that definitely is what it feels like. And it's continuing to happen. Like his goal saved above expected is 2.14 for tonight's game.
Roscoe:
Hmm.
Biehner:
Like, even Freddy was.92, goal saves above expected, it's not like he played poorly.
Roscoe:
Ah.
Biehner:
If you look at expected goal percentage for the Hurricanes-Panthers game for tonight, which was a 1-0 win for the Panthers, the entire Carolina team is above 60% expected goals at 5-1-5.
Roscoe:
Holy shit.
Biehner:
The entire team. The entire Panthers team is below 50%.
Roscoe:
Of course they are.
Biehner:
like
Roscoe:
I hate this.
Biehner:
Yeah.
Roscoe:
Okay, let's end off with some wise words here. We are going to be okay. Thank you for listening to Leaps Light Night. Any today in anything history.
Biehner:
Not for tonight.
Roscoe:
We outta here. Good night. Check out sports. Sports is fun.