Simmer and Gabby 9 - Hello 2024!

[00:00:14] Speaker A: Greetings and welcome to a simmer and Gabby podcast. Rob Simpson along with Bruce Boudreau. Pleasure to be here for vancouverhockeyinsider.com. Seattlehockeyinsider.com. Bruce, how the heck are you in 2024? [00:00:27] Speaker B: Hey, it's a new year. I still feel young, so it's all good. [00:00:31] Speaker A: Very nice. You just came from a Hershey Cubs junior game. How did it go? [00:00:36] Speaker B: Yeah, well, our Cubs are doing okay this year, and they won four three this afternoon, and so swept a weekend series against a team from Buffalo. So they're solidly in third place and it's a good season for them. [00:00:54] Speaker A: Very nice. I have to bring up, unfortunately, the Spengler cup. Now, I wasn't watching it. You were coaching Team Canada in Davos, Switzerland, over the holidays. I was following it, couldn't watch it. But you were up three one in the third period. I'm like, oh, they got this. Gabby's going to the final. Suddenly I click back, bang, bang, bang. Four three loss. What the hell happened? [00:01:22] Speaker B: I'm glad you brought it up like that. Actually. We were actually playing a very good third period. Get it out. Get it out. Then we took a penalty for, like, we had seven left handed defensemen, and it was on the right side, and the defenseman grabbed it and he shot it over the glass for one of those penalties. And then they made it three to two on the power play. And you're thinking, okay, there's under five minutes. And they got what I thought was a pretty fluky goal with about a minute and a half to go in the game to tie it. And I'm saying, okay, let's just take this to overtime. We will win it in overtime. We will regroup and everything. So I had my best defensive players out there, and it was a clear in from the point, basically, where the guy's just throwing [email protected] and it hit one of their guys, sticks in midair and went between his legs with 38 seconds to go. And you went, oh, my goodness, what's just happened here? So it was pretty frustrating, but a great experience nonetheless. It would have been nice to win that game. I don't know if our chances would have been good the next day because this started at 815 local time, ended around 11:00, and the game was the next day at noon, and it would have been our fourth game in four nights. So, I mean, it was bad enough that game, by the way, just to make my little excuses here. We got three guys injured during that game, and two of them were two of our best three defensive players. So in the last five minutes and penalty killers, it became a little, probably double shifting, a little bit of too many people. Because the one thing about the Spangler cup, when you go over there, I don't know any of the players. So we have one practice and then you're learning by osmosis getting there. But the experience itself, fabulous. The fan reaction of 7000 people just standing up and singing and screaming the whole game. Great. The little town of Davos was super. And right in the middle of we look out our hotel window and the ski slopes are right there. They're landing at the foot of the hotel. So it was a really great experience. And to be able to put on the Canada jersey or to be part of Team Canada was really special. Of all the things it'll be, it'll go down as one of the more special things. [00:04:13] Speaker A: Very cool. And just for fans that are unfamiliar and many aren't, even hardcore NHL fans aren't. Spangler cup is basically an elite level senior men's tournament, considered amateur. Although during, I believe one of the lockouts we had the likes of Patrice Bergeron and others over there winning a Spengler cup for Canada. But one of the elite men's senior tournaments during the holiday. It goes back decades. It's in beautiful Davos. [00:04:39] Speaker B: 100 years. It goes back. I mean, that's amazing how long this tournament has gone on. I think Canada has been involved since about 1985, but the tournament itself is on all tv in Europe. It's a huge club tournament. If the world juniors weren't going on at the same time, it would be the one everybody's talking about. So it was a pretty cool deal. [00:05:07] Speaker A: Well, you did very well and you had the fluky finish. And was it. I don't know how to always never get that one right. Party. [00:05:16] Speaker B: Part of Bouche I just called Partridge tree because I couldn't pronounce it either. [00:05:25] Speaker A: That's the hockey club that you lost to. You did better than the other. Former Vancouver coach Travis Greener didn't win a game last year over the he. Now he's with the new. [00:05:35] Speaker B: That was a goal of mine. I did not want to go down there and not win a game. [00:05:40] Speaker A: You won two, right? [00:05:41] Speaker B: We won two. We won the first game. Four nothing. We lost the second game. This is the craziest thing that happened. In the second game we lost four three two and again. We were winning three one in the third period. The bullies, unbeknownst to me, even changed on the fly. One had cramps. He came to the bench. The other guy went on, the play was down at the other end, and I didn't even know we changed goalies till the next morning. [00:06:09] Speaker A: Wow. [00:06:10] Speaker B: It was crazy. I mean, I said, are you kidding me? Aaron Dale was in for the last two goals, and they said yes. And I said, I didn't even know he was in the net. [00:06:19] Speaker A: Wow. Changed on the fly. [00:06:22] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, the play was down at the other end. Goalie had cramps anyway. [00:06:27] Speaker A: Wow. All right, let's jump into, well, since we brought up the Canucks and coaching the Canucks, we'll get to our favorite. By the way, our favorite number this week is going to be number one, but we'll wait on that a little bit. Let's get into Vancouver. They're the top team right now in the Pacific division. They've shown signs. They're starting to give up goals here and there in bunches. They held off a beat up New Jersey team six to four the other night. And what do we think about what you've seen lately? [00:06:57] Speaker B: Well, this is what I mean. I didn't realize Jersey had so many guys out, but I thought Vancouver swarmed all over them. And, I mean, I was a little worried at the end of the first period. I think they had a one goal lead, but they completely outplayed them and they should have had. That's when you need to get a two or three goal lead to feel comfortable. But I think this trip is. I think they have four more games on the road or three more. [00:07:26] Speaker A: Seven total. [00:07:27] Speaker B: Okay. [00:07:28] Speaker A: They got five more. [00:07:30] Speaker B: They have the Islanders, the Rangers that I know of, and then after that, I really haven't followed the schedule that tight, but I think this will show what they're really made of as far as the team that I think they know. They're good players. Finally got back on track. I think when I say they're good players, I mean they're star mean. They've been getting great. I think great efforts from the guys, the bottom six and who are scoring goals, and it was Pedersen scored two the other night and Miller got a couple and, I mean, they hadn't done that in a while, but those guys, if they keep going, Dempco is going to be mean. There's no doubt in my mind. Casey DeSmith has been really good this year. So you get good goaltending and you get your star players playing the way they can. And Quinn Hughes continuing with his Norris Trophy type season, I think they should be up there the whole way, but I will say this, and I'm not saying this with any negativism, is that I look at Edmonton is crawling really quickly up there and I think LA and Vegas will get their stuff together and they will be coming back and I think it's going to be. And then I look at the Kraken that have gotten points in nine or ten straight. I don't know the number. If they continue doing that, there's going to be a five team rush at the end. And this is why this road trip for Vancouver is so important. If they can keep their head above water on this road trip, I think they'll be fine. But if all of a sudden they go into a little bit of a slump, like a lot of teams have, like Vegas hand has an mean, they've lost four in a row going into this afternoon's game. I think it would really tighten up the mean. The biggest problem is when you're that far behind like Edmonton was and like Seattle has, you've got to keep that pace up. And that pace is really difficult to keep up for the whole season. I mean, yeah, they've got points in ten straight, but I mean, the first time they lose they'll realize, oh man, we haven't made that much ground so they got to keep it up. But if they do, it's going to be a heck of a race. Come down in March and April. [00:10:02] Speaker A: Yeah, it'll be a lot of fun. By the way, Canucks, they have the Rangers and Islanders back to back as you mentioned. Then a day off, then they're in Pittsburgh, then a day off, then they're in Buffalo, then a single day off again and they're at the Columbus Blue Jackets before they return home. Speaking of the Kraken eight and two in their last ten six game winning streak, longest in franchise history. Here's an interesting thing about that lineup right now. They got some healthy bodies back. And for as much as we kept comparing last season to this season, not having geeky sprung or donato around anymore and not getting the scoring from that bottom six like they were, that has suddenly changed because you have Pierre Edward Belmar, who's more of a face off guy, doesn't score much out of the lineup with an injury, Ty Cartier, the kids move to the center position, you get Andre Burakowski healthy, you get Jaden Schwartz healthy. And suddenly this depth thing is a little frightening for opponents because Dave Haxtahl can roll lines. They're on a six game road trip and right now you got Jared McCann and Burakovsky. He's back in the lineup on the fourth line. So defending that team kind of starts to look a little bit like last season again as it relates to him being able to roll out these lines. Roll the lines well. [00:11:25] Speaker B: I mean, if you're rolling out McCann, who scored 40 last year, if I recall, and Burkovsky, who's been hurt along, but he's got that talent. He scored last night, I think, or the last game on the fourth line. It is reason and it is cause for concern if you're another team and if that goaltender continues to mean, which is out of the blue, quite frankly, and then they're going to be a factor. And I mean, when we're talking about Vancouver again, don't forget Vancouver hasn't played LA yet. I think they played Vegas once and they played Seattle once and they still have to play them multiple times. And even Calgary is playing a lot better. So I mean, it's going to make the Pacific a really tough and probably as interesting a race as there is in the NHL. If anybody back east ever watches those guys late at night, they will see some great hockey. [00:12:30] Speaker A: Yeah, I was going to say they should be watching because it is the most interesting race. It is a very strong division and there's still some funky stuff going on. You mentioned Edmonton streaking. It's like they just took off and then had a setback again and now it looks like they're taking off. [00:12:45] Speaker B: It's just like a. Yeah, and that's what I was saying earlier. It is tough to continue without having a break. You've got to be so mentally focused for every game all the time. And when you have a setback, it's like taking two games off instead of one. Because there's usually when you're in that position, there's so many teams ahead of you that when you drop one, it's like dropping four points instead of two. [00:13:11] Speaker A: Right? Hey, one quick thought on Joey decord and somebody asked me this in the dressing room after the game the other night in Seattle and I was a great kid, North Andover, Massachusetts. Love chatting with him. Great attitude, but about 45 games of NHL experience, so you have to be cautious. And the first thing that comes to my head is Spencer Martin in Vancouver because it was the second coming in the spring. Spencer Martin. Oh, our problems are solved. And I remember writing, I'd be a little careful about this being your savior come the fall and the winter. If he gets thrust into a situation where your number one goes out, guess what? That's what happened. And now let's give decor the benefit of the doubt as it stands right now. But let's also remember we're talking about 44, 45 games of NHL experience. [00:14:05] Speaker B: Well, there's a big difference, and this is what happened to Spencer. There's a big difference between. [00:14:13] Speaker A: Filling in. [00:14:14] Speaker B: Backup and coming in periodically. And then I think he started his career in Vancouver by getting points and nine straight, then being the man. And when you're the man, then the pressure seems to mount from all sides because you're the guy. And that's why goaltenders with experience are usually the number ones in the NHL and anybody. You've got that big thrill of getting in there and playing, but you know that when you're done, you usually have a couple of games off. He's been the guy, so hopefully this is where you can make your bones. If he can do it, then he'll have a long career. If not, then we'll see where he ends up. [00:15:02] Speaker A: Yeah, I wish him nothing but the best and I hope it just keeps rolling for him. [00:15:06] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:15:07] Speaker A: He has been fantastic and it's been really fun to watch. So let's see if that continues. I want to get into a hot topic before we pick our one. Hot topic or semi controversial, if you will, before we pick our number. Kevin Biexa. He calls out Nick Cousins on hockey Night in Canada. Nick Cousins repeated hits from behind. Hits and open ice headshots on and on and on. He brought up his old teammate Rafi Torres. He mentioned, got a 26 game suspension at one point, a 41 game suspension. The way the game is now, enforcers are gone. No one's riding shotgun to protect you. A lot of the hits are followed with fights that are unsubstastantiated. It's like, what the hell's going on? And now you got this guy running around and we've seen a series of hits from behind lately. What do we do? Is it up to the league just to hand out these gigantic suspensions? Is that where we're at? [00:16:05] Speaker B: Boy, it seems to be. It's the one penalty in today's game that it seems that the players haven't caught onto it yet. They've caught onto the hooking. They don't hook anymore. They don't hold anymore. The hitting from behind came in at the same time as all these guys did. But that seems to be the one emotional aspect of the game where guys can't wrap their head around getting in there and seeing a body and hitting it. And so I find it funny that Kevin talks like that, too, because Kevin was no angel when he played. I will say this, as much as I love the guy, and I do, I got to like him an awful lot more when I wasn't coaching him. We became good friends, but I mean, he did some stuff that was sort of borderline a lot of times, but usually in the protection of his teammates, which was a great thing with Kevin. But I mean, the hitting from behind, the other thing that bothers me about that is players know a lot of times that they're getting hit from behind a lot of times. And they know how to turn their body to try to draw the penalty because you never think you're going to get hurt and then it happens. So it's a tough call, but. [00:17:35] Speaker A: I. [00:17:35] Speaker B: Wish I was smart enough to know how you could cure that in an emotional game like hockey. Because things, unless you are right on the ice level, I don't know if you can't get it from tv, but it is so fast. Things happen so quick, unlike any other sport. In a quarter second, you can turn your body and you can get hit from behind and so much damage can be done to the body. So I'd like to say let's take it out, but I just don't think as long as you have boards and you have corners of the rink that it's ever going to be taken out. [00:18:15] Speaker A: Right. I guess we can go back to peewee and put little stop signs on the guy's back. [00:18:20] Speaker B: It doesn't seem to be working, though. They know that the word is when you see the numbers on the back, you don't hit them. Right? That doesn't seem to be working. [00:18:30] Speaker A: No. All right, well, we'll be hearing more about this down the road, by the way, obviously, since we're picking our favorite number ones, they're going to be goalies. And real quick, as an aside, since I wrote about it today in Simmers Sunday nine, Mark Andre Flurry, crazy play yesterday in the process of passing. Process of passing our boy Patrick Waff or number two all time. And had, you didn't have him in Minnesota, you were gone by then, but you obviously had some major when we had sid the kid versus the grade eight Washington versus pitt. You ran into this guy plenty too. [00:19:08] Speaker B: Many times for my liking when he was younger. The greatest thing about Mark Andre that as a coach against him was his quickness because he's not a big guy. And when he was younger, you could never beat him in a shootout. He was just too quick. But I mean, we had a real famous seven game series against Pittsburgh. And they beat us in game seven. And their goalie was better. He was better than our goalie in game seven. And they went on to win the cup. And remember Ted Leonzas telling me he didn't care when I first got there, who we beat, how I coached, as long as we beat Pittsburgh. And we did really good during the regular season. But I mean, in the playoffs against them, only the one time did we have success. And that's when they went on to win the cup. But Mark Andre is a surefire first ballot hall of Famer. From everything I've heard. An unbelievable teammate. He's not only a great goaltender, but I was talking to was on another show the other day, and they said, what's your biggest peeve? And I said, it's the lack of good canadian goalies. And he's almost the last of a dying breed. Like, who's the best canadian goalie? Is it Carter Hart? Like, you mean after. I mean, um. It's hard to find really good canadian goalies. We develop everybody fabulous in Canada, but I mean, goaltending has been a problem in recent years. [00:20:50] Speaker A: By the way, who was your goalie when you lost that series? Who were you cycling through at that point when you lost? [00:20:56] Speaker B: Think. And it's an interesting story. It was Varlamov. [00:21:01] Speaker A: I was going to say Varley. I thought it was maybe. [00:21:03] Speaker B: Well, we had Varlamov and Theodore, not Shay Theodore, but the other Theodore, the Montreal goalie, Jose, Jose, Theodore and Varlamoff had only played four games for us the whole year. He had come up, played four or five, and we lost the first two games with Jose. And that against the Rangers of the first. I mean, I can't wait to game four to put in a rookie. I mean, if you're going to try something new, you got to try him in game three, where you can still put the big goalie back in. And so I put him in, and he was outstanding for the rest of the series. We beat the Rangers in seven, and he was outstanding for the first four games in the Pittsburgh series. And you started to see a little bit cracks in his armor in game five, game six, I think we won six to five. And then in game seven. And this is why I'm talking about when other teams. It's so hard to stay mentally focused for a long period of time when you're not used to it, whether it's Joey de court or whether it's any team in general. But game seven, and I didn't want to pull him, but we had to pull him. He just couldn't stop anything. And the last thing I wanted to put was Jose back in the net. Only mean, he's a veteran, he's won the mvp and everything else. It was just sort of a bad shot. And I told him, I'm sorry, but you have to go in because the other guy can't stop anything. And matter of fact, it was a Billy Garren slap shot from outside the blue line that did it for. I mean, I know Theodore wasn't happy to go in at. He was. He gave me that stare like, I'll kill you for, uh. And I actually don't blame him because I was sort of taking a first year player over a former NHL heart Trophy winner. So it was a tough call, but that's what you have. You have to do what you have to do when you're coaching. There's things that, believe me, people don't understand. I don't want to do it. Coaches don't want to do things, but you have to do what's right for the team. [00:23:22] Speaker A: Right. We saw something similar to that in 2018 when the Caps actually won the cup. And the current Kraken injured number one, Philip Grubauer, was the man closing out the regular season to the point where they started him in the first two games of the playoffs. And he absolutely melted down. And it allowed Holtby to come back into the lineup, start and carry him all the way to the Stanley. [00:23:53] Speaker B: 100% true. [00:23:54] Speaker A: Yeah, it's crazy. All right, goalies, here we go. Your favorite, number one. [00:24:00] Speaker B: Now, you said you know who it is. I will not change my mind. [00:24:04] Speaker A: What you want me to tell you? [00:24:05] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:24:06] Speaker A: It's got to be Johnny Bauer. [00:24:08] Speaker B: You're 100% correct. [00:24:10] Speaker A: There you go. [00:24:10] Speaker B: Than the average bear. [00:24:12] Speaker A: Sure. [00:24:12] Speaker B: Listen, Johnny Bauer, a first of all, might have been the nicest guy I ever met. Great. When he was retired, he was my goalie coach for ten years at my hockey school. [00:24:28] Speaker A: Wow. [00:24:29] Speaker B: Come in every year. And then when he got too old to do that, his son, Johnny Bauer Jr. Took over. And I remember meeting Johnny Bauer at Weston arena when I was going to a hockey school when I was twelve years old, and there was not a better person. And George Armstrong was my coach in junior, and he used to room with Johnny and he would tell us stories about how he kidded Johnny, who was the most honest guy you ever want to meet, and everything was. He was. When I say simple, not simple minded, but I mean, he was just the perfect mean. He was perfect. And he would make so much fun. Of him all the time because he was so believable. But man, when he came on without that mask and joined the Leafs when he did, from the Rochester Americans, and he played there for twelve years, and I think he won four, five cups, I'm not sure, was the greatest, nicest man I ever met. So he has to be my number one. Who's yours? [00:25:37] Speaker A: He's phenomenal, by the way. Only 5% to 10% of our audience will catch the leave it to Beaver reference right there. [00:25:48] Speaker B: I'm sure that. But you know what I'm talking about. [00:25:51] Speaker A: I know what you're talking about, yeah. Mr. Hugh Beaumont, as Mr. Cleave. I interviewed Johnny at Gretzky's restaurant in Toronto ten years ago about for television. I'm going to try to find the picture and I'll put it up over this conversation if I can. I think it's me, Joe Newendyke, and Johnny Bauer in an interview at Gretzky's. Unbelievable, courteous, wonderful man, Johnny Bauer. So all the stories were true, that it was just remarkable. [00:26:17] Speaker B: Now, quick story. Well, before you know Johnny Bauer, if you ever looked at him, his hands were a mean, his hands were just all meshed together because the gloves back in those days were horrible. And his biggest thing about him is he hated pucks in his net. I don't know if you knew this, so in practice, if you scored on him, he would get a puck out of there as fast as he could. He didn't want any pucks in his net. So that's where George Armstrong would come in and always sneak pucks behind him while he was looking at somebody else, just to tick him off. So it was pretty good. Anyway, sorry. [00:26:54] Speaker A: All right. Now, he's not my number one, but I bring him up because he's a complete opposite personality wise. But for me, in a way, maybe the greatest goaltender of all times. He was hashic. Before hashic, he was fearless. Probably helped that he was drunk. But Sawchuck, Terry Sawchuck was. You may have seen him play. It was before my time in terms of seeing him in person, but man, when I've seen video, read about him and stories, I know era to era, things are different. But for the guy was a maniac and he was stone cold. [00:27:31] Speaker B: Um, well, it was him in Bauer, wasn't it? There for a long time in Toronto, too. But I mean, he made his fame in Detroit, right? Yeah. And if you talk to people, to the old timers, a lot of them will say Terry Sawchuck was the best goalie ever. When him and Johnny were in Toronto, they were both in their late thirty s and playing incredible goal. So I could see how that would be your number one. My son, who's almost a hockey historian, would tell you a lot of stats about Terry Sacha, because he was a goalie. And I think Terry was his favorite. But I've heard so many stories about him being the greatest goalie of all time. [00:28:12] Speaker A: Yeah, imagine those guys wearing today's gear. It'd be crazy. Okay. [00:28:18] Speaker B: Imagine the courage of those goalies with no masks, bad equipment, and the puck still weighed the same. The puck has not changed. [00:28:26] Speaker A: Right? [00:28:27] Speaker B: It's still the same puck even though they don't shoot it as hard. If you've ever had a little, just a wrist shot hit you in the knee, when you're out there, it kills. So I can't imagine it. [00:28:38] Speaker A: Hey, Bobby hall was ripping slappers at these guys. Honorable mention. I hate to say it, because he's treated both of us to some degree like dog manure over the last 16 months. But Jimmy Rutherford, I loved him as a kid. He was my favorite player on the wings who stunk. He was number one. He had a phenomenal mask and I liked his name. And he was very likable goaltender at the time. But Eddie Jackman, all time Rangers great, came to Detroit. I'll never forget. I was actually crying watching this as a young teenager. November 2 of 1975, he gets traded to Detroit from New York. Wings suck. He comes back to the Garden, I think four nights after being traded his first game. And the crowd is chanting, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. Booing the Rangers when they score and cheering for the Red Wings at Madison Square Garden because Eddie Jockman was in net. And Detroit won the hockey game six to four. [00:29:39] Speaker B: Well, it was a famous chant. And the Rangers not only did it that night, but I mean, when Eddie was in the mean, they did it all the time. And there's so many great older goaltenders that we could talk about in this. I mean, I'll bet you you take Lundquist away because he's know you talk to Ranger people and they'll say, eddie Jackman was the best ranger goalie of all time. With Glenn hall was another one. We haven't talked mean. There's no sense talking about Jimmy Rutherford because he's not even in anywhere near this mean. I think his goals against average in his history was either upper threes or upper threes. [00:30:35] Speaker A: Your first NHL goal? [00:30:36] Speaker B: Yeah. He's a small guy, so it was easy to go over top of him. And he played on many teams, but. [00:30:45] Speaker A: Just the timing with the timing with him, because of where I lived and his mask. [00:30:51] Speaker B: I used to watch him when I was growing up. He's a little older than me because he played for the Hamilton Red Wings and they were on every Thursday night on tv in Ontario. So you got to see him play, even though if you ask him when he got drafted, he said he was drafted by the Montreal junior Canadiens, but he only played for them as a pickup from the Memorial cup and he never played a game. So, I mean, I find that typical of his behavior. [00:31:21] Speaker A: By the way, Eddie Jacqueman, first NHL person I ever interviewed. I was a high school radio station. He came into the studio and Eddie, Jacqueline gracious on a Wednesday night outside of Detroit doing an interview. First guy ever. And what bugged me about him and no offense to him, but his eyes. And maybe this was what helped him make a great goaltender or whatever, but he had big eyes, like coming out of his sockets and it was. [00:31:46] Speaker B: Wouldn't you think you need big eyes to see everything if you were a goaltender? It's better than being the other thing and being blind, right? [00:31:52] Speaker A: Yeah, I guess so. We could have taken pick number 30. Maybe we'll save it because we went about that long today, which is fantastic, but we went with the opposite direction with number ones in net and some dandies, I must say. We'll get you out of here. Gabby, great stuff this week, and we'll be talking to you in the not so distant future. Simmer and Gabby, or Gabby and simmer. Rob Simpson and Bruce Boudreau vancouverhockeyinsider.com seattlehockeyinsider.com always a pleasure gab and nothing but happiness, healthiness and prosperity for you in 2024. [00:32:27] Speaker B: I appreciate that. And let's spread the word because this is a pretty good podcast. Good talking to you. [00:32:32] Speaker A: Good talking to you. [00:32:34] Speaker B: And same to you, by the way.