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Ladies and gentlemen, it's The Hockey Show. My name is Roy Bellamy, and that's David Druck of The Hockey News. I am back from vacation. Vacation, something that I direly needed. This is a... Oh, my God. You look refreshed. I am. You do. I'm very much rested.

It's nice to see that you haven't shaved in a while again. I I do like the facial patch hair thing that you got going on. I know it's not a full thing, but I do like that a little better. The clean shave and Royce scares me.

Yeah. Does it? A little bit.

It like Dexter scares me.

I'll keep the goatee. So, yeah, We're back. We're going to do some offseason stuff. But right now, I just want to talk about the offseason, the draft and free agency. And we have a guest today. We have the Big Honcho from the Hockey News. Ryan Kennedy, who is the editor-in-chief over there at That very much famous publication. It's a good spot. Before we get into the draft and free agency, a bit of news happened today regarding the Stanley Cup being stuck in St. Louis, Dave. What happened?

Well, supposedly, I never thought I'd be talking about a software issue on a hockey show or in a hockey story, but here we are. A global software outage has caused flights to be a mess globally. Stanley Cup was in St. Louis for a little over a day with Matthew Kachuk and his family. It's apparently He's still there. It has not traveled on to Minnesota, where Kyla O'Kposa was supposed to have a day with the Cup. Right now, the last I saw was they're still hoping that it gets there. Hopefully, he can have his day. They don't know. I would think that they're going to figure it out, but I've never heard of something like this happening. It's crazy.

Kyle L'Ocposo, that should not happen to him.

Of all the people, of all the guys, Kyle L'Ocposo, who's waited forever to have his Stanley, his name on the cup. He gets his day with the cup. He gets to take it home. He was the veteran. Every Stanley Cup team got their veteran that they rally around. Yeah.

And he rented out an arena for that, too. So his day has been postponed. Today has been whatever events that have happened have been canceled. So hopefully, he'll have his day down the line and everybody will revel in it. Now, let's get off to the offseason right now. We'll start off with the draft with Ryan. You were at the Sphere, so was David. And just go over your time during the draft.

I was super impressed. And the Sphere was obviously a big deal, especially because this was going to be the last draft under the current format. We're still not really sure what they're going to do next year, but we know that the teams are largely going to stay at home. So it's going to be more like the NFL draft, it feels like. So this felt like a last hurrah. It was in Vegas, which is fun for everyone. But the show they put on, I thought was fantastic. They really used the Sphere well. The trade alerts were fun, and the atmosphere was great. So just overall, and I ran into Steve Maher, who runs all the big productions for the NHL. I ran into him on the way out of the draft, and I had to stop and tell him. I was like, That was fantastic. I thought the NHL hit it out of the park with that one.

Who do you think did well during the draft?

I really liked Calgary first first and foremost. Zane Perak was their first pick, but I thought they got a lot of value throughout. Kareel Zeruben is a goal tender that I believe could be a hidden gem. Montreal did very well. The Ivan D. Madoff pick, I thought was great for them, but also getting Michael Hage later in the first round, that really helps their forward depth for the future. So I like Montreal as well. And then, of course, San Jose, sure, they had the advantage of picking first overall. We knew they were going to take Max Celabrini. But then to get Sam Dickinson, one of the best defensemen in the draft, outside the top 10, that was just a major coup for them. Just the way that the picks went down, we saw a lot of the elite defensemen fall, guys like Dickinson and Steve Bouyum, who went to Minnesota, and even Anton Zyliev, who I thought could have gone top three, New Jersey got him later on. So San Jose, not just the Celabrini pick, but the Dickinson pick, just those two work out, which they probably will, San Jose would have had a smashing graft.

Let's say that they do work out, at least up to the next season. How much of a point difference do you think is going to be in the standings for them?

Well, it's not going to be a huge bump. I mean, the Sharks are still in what I like call the trough of the rebuild. They're still accumulating assets. And Will Smith, turning pro, that will help. But this is going to be another learning year for the Sharks. They're still going to be very young, and it's very much going to be about getting Celabrini and Will Smith acclimated, because three, four years down the line, that could be an incredible one, two punch down the middle. If Celabrini and Smith are your top in a couple of years, you're going to make some moves, especially you have Logan Couture as the veteran. He could very well, again, in a couple of years, just be your shutdown Jordan stall guy at that point in his career. So I like that the table is being set by GM Mike Greer, but I would still expect the Sharks to struggle most nights. And whether Dickinson plays for the Sharks or goes back to junior hockey with the O HL's Londonites, either fit works. I think he's the rare teenage defenseman that with his size and his defensive abilities, he could jump straight to the NHL, but it's certainly not necessary.

One of the cool things that we're seeing, Ryan, for, I think, at least people that are close to our age, we're seeing guys that we grew up watching now their kids are starting to show up in the NHL. One of them was drafted, TJ Agenwa. Obviously, it would be tough to fill his father's footsteps as a Hall of Famer. But what do you think the chances are that he's going to have anything close to a career like his dad?

I mean, it is a high bar, right? The one thing Teej has is he was drafted higher than his dad, so he can always hold that over Jerome, even though Jerome could show him Olympic gold medals, Hall of Fame, induction speeches, and whatnot. Teej Aguila, this is a kid that just kept ascending throughout the year. I saw him at the CHL Top Prospects game, and he looked very good. And then it just kept going from there, playing for Kalona in the WHL, playing for Canada at the World Under teams where they won gold over a heavily favored Team USA. So this is a kid that he's got all the makings, right? And the junior team he plays for isn't the strongest. So When we see him play with more talent as we did on Team Canada, you can really see him as that top line forward. And he's already pretty strong. He's already got a great shot, and he's got a great work ethic. So it's all there. It's just a matter of continuing to develop and put the pieces together. But the potential is certainly there for him to be quite a good NHLer.

Will he be a Hall of Famer like Jerome? That's It's tough to say right now, but he's got the genes.

Before we move on from the draft, I did want to just ask you one more thing about the Sphere. I agree with you. I thought it was amazing. I don't see how you couldn't, considering just the way that the building is. It's so unique. But the way that everybody's raving about it, this was supposed to be the last year that it was the centralized draft, right? Everybody's supposed to go their own separate way starting next season. Do you think that since this year went so well and everybody seems to be receiving it so well and it was so It's awesome and so cool to be there. Could the NHL maybe be thinking about changing their minds, or are we still going to be going about the routes like the NFL has gone with everybody in their own studios doing it their way?

Well, I think there's a middle road there, which is they could have it at the Sphere or a similarly famous building, maybe a Madison Square Garden, or maybe they do it in Toronto, where obviously it's a ravenous hockey market. The fact the scouts wouldn't be in attendance doesn't really impact the entertainment value for fans. It's more for the teams themselves and the GMs getting trade on the floor and stuff like that. And we did So you can see some of that at the Sphere. The only thing I would say, though, is apparently the Sphere is incredibly expensive to rent.

You don't say.

You got to pick all those lights.

Yeah, exactly. That might be the only consideration where maybe Maybe they don't do it at the Sphere again just because of the ticket price for the league. But maybe they continue to do it in Vegas. No shortage of venues where you can get a whole bunch of fans in there and have the players go up on stage and shake hands with Gary Bettman and put the jersey on. So I can see that.

Well, maybe not in a place where it's 110 degrees out during the draft. Maybe not. Just a suggestion.

Just a AC situation.

It's hot outside, dude.

That's where all the money is going to as well. You got to cool things down in the spear. Let's move on to free agency. We'll start with the Stanley Cup champion, Florida Panthers. So they did what they had to do. They got to send Reinhardt extended, eight years, 69 million dollars. They also got Antoine Lindell, and they kept Dimitri Kulikov, but they also added Nate Smith. They got the both crests, and they lost Reina Montor. They lost O'Hill, they lost Kevin Stanley. And Ryan Lomberg. But it seems like the Panthers still have enough to make themselves a good team in the playoffs. They're going to have a long run. Do you agree?

I do agree. They're not as good, obviously. They lost a lot of depth, but they still know how to win. I guess the only thing you could caution against is they have now gone to the final game of the NHL season twice in a row, right? Lost the final, then won the final. That's a lot of extra hockey. And we saw it with the rival, Tampa Bay Lightning, where they made a few runs in a row, and all of a sudden, the wheels fell off. And it's understandable. That's a lot of games to play. I still think Florida will have a very good regular season, and I could certainly see them go a couple of rounds again in the playoffs. It It's just a matter of, will they remain healthy? That's a big reason why Vegas ran over them in the final two years ago. And conversely, it's a big reason they beat Edmondson. Is the Panthers were remarkably healthy throughout their Stanley Cup Championship. Can you do that twice in a row? It's tough.

The Western Conference champion, Edmondson always also made some moves. They kept some of the other guys and got some agents as well. How do you grade them?

I think they did very well. It's an interesting situation in Edmondson where the President, Jeff Jackson, was in charge of things because obviously Ken Holland wasn't returning, and they hadn't named a new GM But I know a lot of Oilers fans are like, just give the job to Jeff Jackson. He seems to be doing great. Getting Matt Savoy, the highly acclaimed Buffalo Saber's prospect in exchange for Ryan McCloud. I thought that was a really cool deal for both teams. The Sabers desperately need to make the playoffs this year, and the cloud can help them there. And Matt Savoy, I don't know if he makes the Oilers this year because I think you probably want him getting a substantial role, and I don't know if they have that for him right now. You could put him in the bottom six, but he's a skilled guy, and I would almost rather see him dominate the American Hockey League for a year. But when you look at the Oilers, they're pretty much ready to run it back. I think they might start slow, just looking at McDavid and Dreisaddle's injuries, and maybe they'll be ready. Mcdavid, it sounds like maybe he won't be ready for the beginning of the season, but who knows?

We thought the same about Matthew Kuchuk, he was there after breaking his entire body. So who knows? But I think the oilers are in a spot where it's going to be tough because Dallas and Colorado are still in the West, and both those teams are going to want revenge for falling short in the Western Conference this past year. Having said that, there's not a lot the Oilers need, right? I mean, we saw how good they were in the final. I think Evan Bouchard is going to be even better on the back-end than he was this year. So beware Edmonton. They're not going anywhere soon.

So another team out West that I thought had a pretty good summer, I they were already pretty good, is Nashville. When you add Stamkos, Marchesau, Brad Shea, you've already got Philip Foresberg, who had a great year last year. You've got Roman Yosey. They extended UC Sarros, which could make things fun with the Ascaros, but we have to save that for another time. But in terms of Nashville, are they now potentially right up there with Edmondson as a cup contending, potentially favorite type team out of the West?

I think they're in the mix, especially because Philip Foresberg basically Basically, hasn't played with anyone his whole career. Nobody to the caliber of Steven Stamkos at center. I guess Ryan Johansson came close at one point, but maybe. Steven Stamkos, we're looking at a future Hall of Famer. We're looking at a number one center. And yeah, he's got a lot of miles on the odometer, but he's so smart and he's so driven that I think he'll be reborn in Nashville. I think he'll have that chip on shoulder that hockey players love to have. No one believed in me. Tampa let me go. And he's a super nice guy. So I am very excited to see what Nashville can do, because Stamco will be that number one center. Jonathan Marchesau gives them another threat offensively. And again, another guy who probably is thinking, I'm going to make Vegas pay. They decided that I wasn't in the in their future plans because of the salary cap, I'm going to get my revenge and show them what I can do. And also, you mentioned Bradley Shay. I mean, that's an underrated signing where he's not the sexiest defenseman But he's very effective.

And for a Nashville Blue Line that already has Roman Yosey and traditionally has been very strong, I think this is finally the year where we might see Nashville win They haven't had a good run since they went to the final against Pittsburgh, and that was a while ago.

Let's talk about winners and losers throughout the entire league. Let's go over the entire landscape of the National Hockey League and find out who the winners and losers are in free agency.

Yeah. I mean, one loser that comes to mind for me is Ottawa, because I'm just really not sure what the plan is. And I'll toss Detroit in there as well. Yeah, they got Vladimir Tarasenko, and they re-signed Patrick Cain. But those two teams playing in that Atlantic division with Florida, with Boston, with Toronto, Tampa Bay, I think they're not as good as they were, but they're still going to be pretty good. I don't see the path for Ottawa trading away Jacob Chikrin, but then they That's the way to bring in David Crosne. After trading away to bring Kron. Yeah, it's like they're going two different directions at the same time. So I don't really understand the plan there. And with Detroit, they came very close last year. If Dylan Larkin didn't get hurt down the stretch, the Red Wings probably make the play. So now you run it back. You're slightly different. No David Peron, but now you bring Tarasenko in. Are they good enough? I look at that defense corps in Detroit, And I really wonder. It feels like they are thinking that Simon Edmondson is going to be an impact rookie, like a guy that plays substantial minutes because they got more at Cider, and he already plays way too many tough minutes.

And they'll probably shelter Simon at the end, but at least he can take some of the slack there. Those are two teams that I'm a little hesitant about Because I'm not really sure the plan. In terms of winners, I think Utah had a great summer so far, whether it's free agency or trades. Getting Mikael Sergechev, getting John Moreno. I mean, we were joking at the draft at one point. It's like, who was playing on their defense core? We were trying to name guys, and it was difficult. The final Arizona Coyote's blue line, other than JJ Moser, who was traded. Josh Brown, I think, maybe? Yeah. And we were like, Oh, Matt Dumba was there, right? Yeah, I remember that. But now when you look at their blue line, it's like, Okay, they got some guys. And you get some growth from Logan Cooley up front. And all of a sudden, Clayton Keller, who's been remarkably consistent, he's got some guys to play with. So I like Utah, and I like New Jersey as well. I think New Jersey got some of the pieces they needed. Brett Pesci on the back end is going to be big for them.

Jacob Markstrom, they needed a goal tender in the worst way. They've got them there. Markstrom has had his struggles, sure. But I think with that New Jersey team and a healthy Jack Hughes up front, they should be one of the better teams in the Metro division.

So the last thing I wanted to ask you before we call it a day is, over your on the right shoulder, there is a jersey with what looks like a rhinoceros. Now, I don't know if that's... Was it Bebop or Rocksteady? That was the rhino from Ninja Turtles. I think it was Bebop. I don't know if that's Bebop or if it's- It could have been Rocksteady because it makes sense. I mean, it was Rhino. No, you're right. It was Rocksteady because Bebop was the pig one. The war dog. You see, Ryan knows. Thank you. Man, I'm getting older. All right, so if that's not a Rock Steady, then I just got to know what is it.

That is the El Paso Rhinos. The El Paso? The NHL.

I Yes. Wow. That is a good jersey. I like that. It's very intimidating.

Yeah. You know what? I think they were switching league. They were going up. They were in another junior league, so they had a big flash sale, and a bunch of us of the hockey used were like, Oh, we got to jump on that. I need an El Paso Rhinos jersey. So yeah, that was a happy purchase.

All right. Before we get out of here, let me just ask, did Bill Zetel get screwed in the Jim Gregory Award?

It's tough. Do you just always give it to the Stanley Cup winner?

No. No, no, no. I mean, it's not even that.

It's three out of four years that he's been nominated. All he's done is take the Panthers franchise from-Exactly. At the time, when he took over in 2020, maybe the best situation they had been in, and he's done nothing but take it better and better and better since then. I think that he absolutely deserves it. I don't think he cares, especially now that he won the Stanley Cup.

I think he cares now. Now that he's won the Stanley Cup, now, give me my recognition.

Right. Yeah, it'd be funny if he won it next year. It would be hilarious.

That would fit, actually, why I'm annoyed about it to this point.

It just doesn't make any sense. All right. Well, Ryan Kennedy, thank you for joining. I'm angry again. Thanks, Ryan. Thank you.

Good to see you, buddy.

Definitely. Thanks for having me, guys.