Who do you like in the East?

Well, I mean, those two teams I like a lot.

I mean, I really like Montreal long-term.

I think they still need a second center.

Like, you know, I think we've had this conversation about Carolina in the past, and we've had this conversation maybe about Winnipeg and other teams.

You know, it's hard – 32 teams, it's hard to acquire, you know, every single piece you need all the time.

They're waiting on Michael Hage, who's a college player at the University of Michigan.

But if Buffalo were to somehow figure out a way to get Connor Hellebuck, Would that make you feel differently about the Sabres?

... not gonna move him.

Yeah, well, listen, Don Waddell said it the other day.

He said, "I'm not interested in trading players for, you know, the player for prospects and picks," because again, you know, in Columbus, 25, 26 years, I mean, what do they got to show for it right now? Not a ton.

They got a good player there.

There's no question about it.

If he doesn't wanna be there, they gotta move him.

Maybe they gotta move him, but like, "You know what? We're gonna do it on our terms because he's still got some time left on a contract." So, you know, these things change because the season starts, the team underperforms, people ask questions.

How much differently do we look at the Detroit Red Wings if Mason McTavish and, uh, Dylan Larkin are one-two up the middle?

So got to serve the people here.

Yeah, I mean, I pay attention.

I mean, I'm covering hockey on a national basis.

So I'm trying to pay attention to everything that goes on.

But obviously living in this area.

Rangers, Islanders, Devils, they're more kind of right under my nose.

The Rangers get a lot of attention in the media in this area, so it's easy to keep track of what's going on with them.

I wanted to ask you about how you see the cap ceiling going up and with the Adam Fantilli contract coming in, what your opinions were about that.

Yeah.

He talked about it.

"I was just less, uh, timid.

I wanted the puck more." He ended up with, uh, an assist.

He ended up with, uh, I think he was a plus three on the night.

But more than that, he looked very comfortable.

He was dancing.

EJ, looking around the rest of the East, uh, starting with yourself, w- who's gotten better, who's gotten worse, and who are the biggest hurdles for a team that's looking to be better like the Leafs to jump?

Did this catch you off guard with two years left on his deal? Well,

I don't know about off guard.

I mean, I know that this has been, we've seen these guys, especially these guys who were part of that team USA at the Olympics and the four nations of, that's been something that's brewing that maybe some of them want to change places or they want to join forces or whatever you want to call it.

I mean, I just think this is going to go three ways.

I mean, I think it could go status quo this year and you deal with the noise.

I think you could put your, Donnie Waddell could put his flag in the ground and say, and try to maybe call the Red Wings and say, listen, you're trading Dylan Larkin, we want him.

We'll give you Fantilli, we'll give you maybe something else, we'll figure it out.

Yeah.

And, and that will be, uh, something that he will have to get himself used to, for sure.

Yeah.

No, I mean, it's...

I think that move to Penn State probably helped him.

I think the ability to go play NCAA hockey is a huge benefit for these guys.

The, now these, these kids have more choices.

Uh, I think each kid, Neal, and you know, you could, you've s- you've been, you know, you've been involved in scouting and being a manager for many, many years, and you've seen it in different eras when different choices were presented to the kids.

Isn't it because the, the, the-- there's just not enough quality guys out there when you're into a 32-team league?

Yeah.

And the teams, I think, look at it that way.

So yeah, it's really, really important for Carolina to win tonight.

That's why I thought it was really, really important for Carolina to win game one [laughs] because, you know, they're at home.

And even though, uh, you know, teams on the road have had a lot of success in this post-season, I don't think you wanna be in a situation to lose game one at home, particularly in the f- in the fashion they lost it, blowing a two-goal lead, and then now have to ...

You know, they're in a, kind of a must-win situation tonight.

So Vegas doesn't seem to be bothered or rattled by anything.

What's been the biggest difference in your eyes of what they have done over the last month?

What the heck happened? All of a sudden-- And more specifically, what's gotten into the Knights under John Tortorella? What has been the biggest difference that they've just become this dominant force of 18, four, and one?

Well, I would say it's a couple of things.

I mean, I watched that team a lot this year, guys.

They did not like Bruce Cassidy anymore.

I have no idea why.

I'm not there, but they were not playing hard for Bruce Cassidy during the regular season.

It was very, very clear.

Mm

How do you see Vegas going forward in this series, and are they a legitimate contender going forward or is this just a favorable matchup against the Ducks?

Well, I will say this.

I'll definitely make the argument the Ducks were the better team in the first two games.

I mean, really if things would've bounced better for them in game one, they could've won that game and they'd be up two-nothing.

But last night I thought Vegas played their best game in the postseason.

I just thought they ate the middle of the ice.

They made the Ducks stay on the perimeter for most of the game.

He was under siege by that [laughs] by that Colorado attack essentially.

But there's a group of like six or seven beyond them that are absolutely fantastic, and they just don't get the same type of credit.

Yeah, you know, I was going through the defense the other day and just like the list of point leaders, but just go through it.

You got Bouchard, Wierenski, McCarr.

Lane Hudson over 70 points.

Quinn Hughes, we know what he's all about.

Darlene.

You got Radish who's had this unbelievable year this year, so good for him.

The crowd was just chanting his name.

But if people were watching the game, really, if they don't get that goal right there – maybe the game's over the other way, isn't it?

Yeah.

Listen, you just never know.

And three on, you know, especially three on free hockey.

I don't, I, you know, I don't think anybody loves that necessarily beside a single elimination, like a playoff game or a gold medal game.

It's just, but those are the rules and you live with the rules, whatever they are.

And it's just wide open.

I mean, absolutely amazing what they did on the defensive side in those situations.

in

these first three games.

So it's important to do well.

And I think Team USA at the end of the day, They did really what they were supposed to do.

They won all three games.

They won by a good enough margin.

I guess they finished plus 11.

But I mean, what can you say about his impact for Team USA? Yeah.

To the halfway point, who has been more impressive in their new locale, Trevor Zegers or Mitch Marner?

I'd say Trevor Zegras.

I mean, I just got to see him the other night playing that game.

I dubbed it the Orange Bowl.

They should never allow the Flyers and Ducks should never be allowed to play one another if they're going to wear those uniforms.

Because, like, there were guys passing the puck to the wrong team.

There's too much orange and white out there.

That's the territory that we're in right now.

Is there anybody that you are really focused on or maybe even just, like, excited to see? So that maybe years from now down the road, you're like, I remember watching that guy in, you know, in 2025 playing at the World Juniors.

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, doing the U.S. games, obviously, it's always nice to track the development of the American-born players, right? So, you know, you mentioned Eizerman and like I've watched him.

He wanted to be part of the team two years ago as a two-year underager.

And John Van Briesburg was recently talking about that.

The idea that, you know, they had to have a conversation about that and he let Cole kind of give him his views on it.

And, you know, he ended up being on the team last year and he's obviously a leader for that team, for the team this year.

So it'll be interesting to watch his development.

And I know these are kids, but like in watching your coverage when it's there and it's in Canada a lot, it just seems like there is a white hot Montreal, Canadian Toronto maple leaf pressure, which would be fine again, if they weren't 17, 18 and 19.