WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>Utah Hockey Club with an emphatic win last night. It

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<v Speaker 1>was seven to one over the Kraken here in Salt

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<v Speaker 1>Lake City. Our next guest joins us on a weekly

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<v Speaker 1>basis to hockey, Utah Hockey Club and big picture NHL storylines.

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<v Speaker 2>He is the great Neil Smith. Neil, Happy Wednesday, sir.

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<v Speaker 2>How are you?

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<v Speaker 3>I'm doing just great? Thanks guys, how are you doing? Spence?

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<v Speaker 2>Doing well? Doing well?

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<v Speaker 1>So, I mean, look in a vacuum, you know, seven

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<v Speaker 1>to one, a home win for the Utah Hockey Club

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<v Speaker 1>over a solid Seattle cracking team, not a team that's

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<v Speaker 1>going to the playoffs this year. I mean, in a vacuum, Neil.

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<v Speaker 1>I guess it's good to experience winning like that. So

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<v Speaker 1>a nice win for the hockey club last night, but

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<v Speaker 1>it will, you know, be in vain as the.

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<v Speaker 2>Wildcard playoffs will not happen this year.

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<v Speaker 1>But just for a moment in time, let's focus on

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<v Speaker 1>a fun day last night, Utah Hockey Club.

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<v Speaker 3>Getting a win, yeah, and a record setting win, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>scoring seven goals and the first time that's happened. And

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<v Speaker 3>I got to say that if we reflect back on

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<v Speaker 3>the season, had Utah learned how to win at home

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<v Speaker 3>earlier in the year, they might be a number of

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<v Speaker 3>points ahead, and maybe you know, in that eighth spot,

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<v Speaker 3>it was really not winning at home and getting used

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<v Speaker 3>to Salt Lake City for whatever that means, that has

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<v Speaker 3>cost them some points here in the end.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it was two things, Neil, really all year long.

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<v Speaker 1>It was as you reference, it was the inability to

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<v Speaker 1>win at home. You know, when you look at the

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<v Speaker 1>amount of home wins they have eighteen, I mean that

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<v Speaker 1>would be tied for it would be tied for the

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<v Speaker 1>worst home record in the Eastern Conference, which by the way,

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<v Speaker 1>is an honor that my New York Rangers have with

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<v Speaker 1>only eighteen home wins at Madison Square Garden.

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<v Speaker 2>How is that possible?

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<v Speaker 3>Let me ask you that, you know what You've got

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<v Speaker 3>to ask how anything possible that's going on inside the

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<v Speaker 3>garden on Ranger game nights there. I mean, they have

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<v Speaker 3>been pathetic, they're they're leaderless. They look completely disoriented, and

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<v Speaker 3>they looked like they can't wait for the season to

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<v Speaker 3>end and get back home wherever they're from. Just just

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<v Speaker 3>they just played horribly and and for the talent that

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<v Speaker 3>they have, they just I mean, you know that Chris

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<v Speaker 3>Krider had seventy five points at this time last year

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<v Speaker 3>and this year has twenty five. He's off by fifty points.

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<v Speaker 3>That's just one example. They just Sstkin carried them to

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<v Speaker 3>the President's Trophy last year, but he wasn't able to

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<v Speaker 3>do it with the way this group played this year,

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<v Speaker 3>and they're gonna they're they're going to miss the playoffs too.

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<v Speaker 3>They've they've got a game tonight against Philadelphia tomorrow night

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<v Speaker 3>in Long Island, and you know they're not far from

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<v Speaker 3>being eliminated.

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<v Speaker 1>So only four games left for the hockey club. The

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<v Speaker 1>final home game will be Thursday against Nashville, and then

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<v Speaker 1>they end on the road for three straight Dallas, Nashville again,

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<v Speaker 1>and then Saint Louis. If you're coach Tourney, if you're

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<v Speaker 1>Bill Armstrong understanding what the deal is where playoffs won't

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<v Speaker 1>be a reality, what are you looking for from this

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<v Speaker 1>young team to close out the season the right way?

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<v Speaker 3>I just want to see that there's still fighting the

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<v Speaker 3>team and that they have pride in wearing the jersey

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<v Speaker 3>and that they're not going to go down. You know,

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<v Speaker 3>they're not going to just let these games go. There's

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<v Speaker 3>still a lot to play for. On a team basis.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, for example, Clayton Keller is only three points

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<v Speaker 3>a week from having his best season ever point wise,

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<v Speaker 3>He certainly, I'm sure, would love to accomplish that feat.

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<v Speaker 3>The Utah Hockey Club is way ahead of where they

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<v Speaker 3>were this time last year. I think they're eighteen points

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<v Speaker 3>up on where they were last year. So that's something

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<v Speaker 3>that they want to keep going. They want to improve

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<v Speaker 3>their record, and on an individual basis, everybody wants to

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<v Speaker 3>prove they deserve to be in the NHL if they're

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<v Speaker 3>going to be a free agent at the end of

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<v Speaker 3>the year, they want to they're playing for the scouts.

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<v Speaker 3>But you know, the evaluation, as I've said, goes on continuously.

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<v Speaker 3>From a Bill Armstrong standpoint, there's never a day that

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<v Speaker 3>you're not evaluating who you've gotten, how to make it better.

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<v Speaker 1>It's weird as I'm looking at the standings because I

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<v Speaker 1>was looking just for a parallel to find a team

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<v Speaker 1>that's only what eighteen home games, and looking at the East,

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<v Speaker 1>I was surprised to see the Rangers there at the bottom.

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<v Speaker 1>But the worst teams in the East are the Flyers,

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<v Speaker 1>the Bruins, and the Penguins. And as a hockey fan

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<v Speaker 1>from the nineties. I mean those are like three of

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<v Speaker 1>the big banner NHL you know organizations. What gives with

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<v Speaker 1>some of the biggest markets and best NHL organizations at

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<v Speaker 1>the bottom of the table, they're out east.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, Philadelphia has been into a rebuilding program. They started

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<v Speaker 3>a few years go, so that's no surprise. They're trying

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<v Speaker 3>to do it the right way, get draft picks, build

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<v Speaker 3>it back up again. It took a while to get

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<v Speaker 3>down to there where they are now, but they're trying

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<v Speaker 3>hard to rebuild the thing. And they made a coach

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<v Speaker 3>and change near the end. John Tortorella was let go

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<v Speaker 3>and Brad shag got made the coach who was an

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<v Speaker 3>assistant in the Boston Bruins case. It's got to be

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<v Speaker 3>the most angry fan base in the league because two

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<v Speaker 3>years ago they won the President's Trophy. Last year they

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<v Speaker 3>had a real good season. This year, they didn't start

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<v Speaker 3>off very well. They fired the coach, they made the

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<v Speaker 3>assistant coach the coach there, and they just started to

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<v Speaker 3>plummet to the point where at the trading deadline they

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<v Speaker 3>offloaded even their captain, Brad Marshad, who's now with the

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<v Speaker 3>Florida Panthers, so they're a minus forty nine on a

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<v Speaker 3>goal differential, which is way down there and second worst

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<v Speaker 3>in the East, only to the next team, which is Pittsburgh,

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<v Speaker 3>which has the accolades of having the great Sydney Crosby

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<v Speaker 3>play for them for twenty years and be fabulous every year.

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<v Speaker 3>In fact, he's had twenty straight seasons of averaging a

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<v Speaker 3>point a game, which is remarkable. Even Wayne Gretzky only

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<v Speaker 3>had nineteen, so he's been fabulous. Malcoln looks like he's

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<v Speaker 3>at the end of his rope. Chris Latang, who's the

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<v Speaker 3>star player for them, is older now not playing poorly,

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<v Speaker 3>but they traded for Eric Carlson that didn't do any good,

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<v Speaker 3>and they're really just a team that should be rebuilding

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know what they're trying to do there. They're not.

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<v Speaker 3>They're half way into rebuilding him, halfway into trying to

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<v Speaker 3>put good players around Sydney, and then right above them

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<v Speaker 3>just to finish it off. You've got the Buffalo Sabers,

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<v Speaker 3>who have now been crowned with a fourteenth straight season

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<v Speaker 3>of no playoffs.

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<v Speaker 2>That's wild.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, another you know, banner kind of organization and

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<v Speaker 1>franchise in the world of pro hockey. I didn't realize

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<v Speaker 1>that it had been that long. We had the beat

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<v Speaker 1>rider for the Jazz from the Trip on the show

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<v Speaker 1>Last Hour, and I asked him a question, and it

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<v Speaker 1>made me think of wanting to ask you kind of

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<v Speaker 1>the same through the prism of hockey, where we find

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves with the Utah Jazz, our basketball team.

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<v Speaker 2>They're very early on.

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<v Speaker 1>They shouldn't be this early on, but they kind of

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<v Speaker 1>botched their early years of the rebuild. So now they're

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<v Speaker 1>trying to build it up the right way for the

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<v Speaker 1>first time this year after two years of kind of

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<v Speaker 1>being in the middle, and it will be a brick

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<v Speaker 1>by brick process.

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<v Speaker 2>Some luck needs to land their way.

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<v Speaker 1>And there are teams in the NBA neal that we

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<v Speaker 1>can look at that we're where the Jazz are now

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<v Speaker 1>just a few years ago, that are now starting to

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<v Speaker 1>achieve some success. Give our hockey fans maybe a team

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<v Speaker 1>or two that were where the Utah Hockey Club is

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<v Speaker 1>at now just a few years ago that have been

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<v Speaker 1>able to rebuild and are now in a spot where

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<v Speaker 1>they're making the playoffs and they're threatening to do something special.

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<v Speaker 1>Like a model of a team that was rebuilding just

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<v Speaker 1>a few years ago that's done it the right way

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<v Speaker 1>and now is in a place where they're being very successful.

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<v Speaker 1>Is there one or two teams that come to mind

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<v Speaker 1>if that makes.

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<v Speaker 3>Sense, Yeah, no, it does make sense. And I'll tell

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<v Speaker 3>you a perfect example of a good job as the

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<v Speaker 3>Ottawa Senators, who are at ninety points. They have clinched

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<v Speaker 3>a playoff spot. They've been out of the playoffs for

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<v Speaker 3>I think it's seven seasons in a row, but they

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<v Speaker 3>rebuild it. They're a small market team of the Canadian dollars,

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<v Speaker 3>so that they can't they can't buy their way to anything.

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<v Speaker 3>But their home record twenty four eleven and two. Their

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<v Speaker 3>road record is about five hundred, and they've been really

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<v Speaker 3>good as far as competitiveness. And it's not an easy

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<v Speaker 3>game against Ottawa ever, but it was only a couple

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<v Speaker 3>of years ago. Last year, I mean, they missed the playoffs.

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<v Speaker 3>Another team that's been shocking in the East is Montreal Canadians,

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<v Speaker 3>who were right down at the bottom of the Eastern

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<v Speaker 3>Conference for quite a few years now. In fact, I

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<v Speaker 3>don't think they've made the playoffs since the bubble, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>since the colded bubble years when they somehow went to

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<v Speaker 3>the final in that season where you played only within

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<v Speaker 3>your division and they had a Canadian division. They got

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<v Speaker 3>out of there and ended up playing in the final

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<v Speaker 3>against Tampa Bay. And so they've missed for a number

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<v Speaker 3>of years. But now they've got a lot of good

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<v Speaker 3>young players and they've called back up. And those two

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<v Speaker 3>teams are teams that have been trying to do it,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, the way that the hockey club is doing

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<v Speaker 3>it through continually drafting and developing players.

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<v Speaker 1>So, Neil, since you and I last spoke, it did

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<v Speaker 1>become official that the world of pro hockey has a

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<v Speaker 1>new goal scoring king and it's Alex Ovan And it

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<v Speaker 1>was a pretty cool scene. It was kind of a

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<v Speaker 1>cool thing to watch. I mean, I would imagine if

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<v Speaker 1>you're a player and you have to sit for twenty

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five minutes and then play again, that'd be a

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<v Speaker 1>little frustrating. But to see, you know, all of his

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<v Speaker 1>family and his friends and his former teammates and Wayne

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<v Speaker 1>Gretzky himself there to celebrate this achievement that when I

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<v Speaker 1>was growing up as a hockey fan, I was always

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<v Speaker 1>told this is something that will never be broken, and

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<v Speaker 1>now it is so now that it's official. Put this

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<v Speaker 1>into context for us in your ecosystem in the world

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<v Speaker 1>of pro hockey. Just how impressive is this that Alex Ovechkin,

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<v Speaker 1>after a number of years in the NHL, was able

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<v Speaker 1>to break the great Ones goal scoring record.

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<v Speaker 3>Now he's been twenty years in the NHL, just like

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<v Speaker 3>Sidney Crosey. They both came in the same year. And

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<v Speaker 3>Ovechkin has always been just a pure goal scorer, like

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<v Speaker 3>obviously the best there has ever been, and he's and

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<v Speaker 3>he's been able to survive for twenty years. A lot

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<v Speaker 3>of guys are great goals, but their back gives out,

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<v Speaker 3>their knees give out, something gives out, and they can't

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<v Speaker 3>make it through all the years that Alex Ovechkin has.

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<v Speaker 3>But he's a bowl big guy. I was at that

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<v Speaker 3>game at Ubs Arena in Long Island against the Islanders.

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<v Speaker 3>I was there. The atmosphere is absolutely electric right from

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<v Speaker 3>the warm up. I mean, there were so many Cat

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<v Speaker 3>fans there, Washington Capitol fans, and everybody was just waiting.

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<v Speaker 3>When number eight came on the ice, everybody's eyeballs were

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<v Speaker 3>on him. When he would go off, he sort of

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<v Speaker 3>relaxed for a minute, and then he came back on.

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<v Speaker 3>But I got to tell you, when the New York

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<v Speaker 3>Islanders took a penalty early in the second period, you

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<v Speaker 3>could just feel that the electricity in the building. Oh

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<v Speaker 3>my gosh, is this going to be it? Alex is

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<v Speaker 3>going to be on the power play where he scores

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<v Speaker 3>a lot of his goals from obviously, and sure enough,

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<v Speaker 3>on that power play, first shot that he had went

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<v Speaker 3>in and the celebration began, and it was quite a

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<v Speaker 3>celebration by all the fans in the building. Everybody knew

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<v Speaker 3>they had seen something historic and it was really a

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<v Speaker 3>great event. The Capitals are now have to try to

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<v Speaker 3>turn around and put it behind him and get back

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<v Speaker 3>to the task at hand, which is trying to win

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<v Speaker 3>the Stanley Cup with the type of season that they've had.

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<v Speaker 3>But he was you know, as far as individual achievements,

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<v Speaker 3>that was certainly one of a kind to see that,

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<v Speaker 3>because you know, in our day when I had Gretzky

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<v Speaker 3>on the team, Spence, every day that he got a

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<v Speaker 3>point or a goal, it was a new record, right

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<v Speaker 3>because he held all the records. So we didn't stop the

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<v Speaker 3>game every time he scored a goal because he had them.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, we stopped the game when he beat Gordy

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<v Speaker 3>Howe at eight o two. That was the La Kings

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<v Speaker 3>he was playing for, and they stopped the game and

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<v Speaker 3>they had a celebration all that. But then after eight

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<v Speaker 3>o two, every goal was his goal. So he went

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<v Speaker 3>from eight o two to up to eight ninety four.

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<v Speaker 3>And then of course now Alex is at eight ninety five.

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<v Speaker 3>Just to put the buff here's an interesting one for

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<v Speaker 3>you to put the Buffalo playoff drought in perspective. For you,

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<v Speaker 3>the Buffalo playoff drought is so long that Alex Ovechkin

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<v Speaker 3>last time Buffalo made the playoffs, was five hundred and

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<v Speaker 3>ninety four goals away from Gretzky's record. Yez he scored

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<v Speaker 3>five hundred and ninety four regular season goals since the

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<v Speaker 3>Buffalo Sabers made the playoffs.

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<v Speaker 1>That is wild, is there? You know, when you have

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<v Speaker 1>a nickname that's the great one, you know, you're probably

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<v Speaker 1>in rarefied air by yourself. Are there any other players

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<v Speaker 1>historically that could be in the debate of who the

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<v Speaker 1>greatest hockey players of all time? Because we do this

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<v Speaker 1>debate in other sports and I think maybe with the

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<v Speaker 1>you know, actually, you know what, even in hockey or

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<v Speaker 1>achieve me.

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<v Speaker 2>Even in golf.

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<v Speaker 1>If you want to say Tiger, then you can talk

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<v Speaker 1>about Jack's major record. Is there any debate who the

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<v Speaker 1>greatest hockey player is of all time?

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<v Speaker 3>I think there's some debate in that. First of all,

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<v Speaker 3>Wayne would say that Gordy how is the greatest player,

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<v Speaker 3>because Wayne will never say himself. But there is a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of folks who were during the Bobby Or era

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<v Speaker 3>when he changed the game in the seventies, when he

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<v Speaker 3>revolutionized how an offensive defenseman would play, and they won back.

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<v Speaker 3>They won to Stanley. Excuse me too, Stanley cups through

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<v Speaker 3>his heroics. There is a lot of people who would

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<v Speaker 3>say that Bobby Or was the best player ever because

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<v Speaker 3>of the way he changed the game. I personally think

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<v Speaker 3>it's been Wayne because Wayne. I saw Wayne play in

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<v Speaker 3>his glory years and he was just absolutely incredible, and

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<v Speaker 3>he's called the great one for the reason of this.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, the Gritsky name is close to a great

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<v Speaker 3>like g R. E. T. The Great Eight is a

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<v Speaker 3>great name for overeitskin, and that's what his nickname is.

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<v Speaker 3>And he certainly has been the Grade eight.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Neil, before I set you loose, you know

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<v Speaker 1>I can remember because I think Ovechkin and Crosby kind

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<v Speaker 1>of came up at the same time, right, like they

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<v Speaker 1>kind of broken Yeah, same year, right, And so I

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<v Speaker 1>can remember back then the debate about, Okay, who's going

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<v Speaker 1>to be better between these two? Can either of these

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<v Speaker 1>two be this generation's Wayne Gretzky? Can either of them

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<v Speaker 1>become you know, in that stratosphere where Wayne Gretzky exists?

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<v Speaker 1>Who are if you have names the players right now

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<v Speaker 1>in their early twenties that are this generation's Sidney Crosby

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<v Speaker 1>and Alex Govetchin. If that's even a parallel we can make.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, the latest two guys are are Barrard that's playing

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<v Speaker 3>on Augall Blackhawks. It was first overall three years ago.

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<v Speaker 3>And then you've got in San Jose, you've got two guys.

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<v Speaker 3>Now You've got Will Smith who's a great young player.

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<v Speaker 3>And you have also I'm going to stumble on this

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<v Speaker 3>name here, but he's up for the Rookie of the

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<v Speaker 3>Year as well, Matt Macklin. Celebrini is a great young player.

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<v Speaker 3>Those are the guys that you need to watch. There's

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<v Speaker 3>a guy in Montreal, Lane Hudson with a T not

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<v Speaker 3>a D, who's a fabulous offensive defenseman, just fabulous. He's

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<v Speaker 3>probably gonna win Rookie of the Year. So between those

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<v Speaker 3>three names, Berrard, Celebrini and Hudson, I think you got

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<v Speaker 3>chance there to see guys that are in that level

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<v Speaker 3>of play that Crosby and Ovechkin have given us, which

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<v Speaker 3>isn't generational necessarily because they did it together, so they

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<v Speaker 3>were that generation together. Gretzky obviously was generational, Gordie Howe

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<v Speaker 3>was way back, and Bobby or It's harder today to

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<v Speaker 3>be a generational player because you don't have the same

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<v Speaker 3>type of game. But I think those are the names

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<v Speaker 3>you're going to be seeing for a long long time.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Neil, tell our listeners where they can go

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<v Speaker 1>get the podcast Retch run Stanley Cup Playoffs almost here.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, we did a great one the other day with

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<v Speaker 3>Craig Laughlin, who's the color analyst for the Capitals and

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<v Speaker 3>done every one of Alex Soovetchkin's games over the years.

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<v Speaker 3>That was really fun and it's on you know, you

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<v Speaker 3>could get it on YouTube or Spotify, Apple, anyplace. NHL

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<v Speaker 3>wrap Around is the name, and I think people would

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<v Speaker 3>really enjoy the guests because whatever is a current topic,

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<v Speaker 3>we seem to be able to talk to somebody that's

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<v Speaker 3>very current with that story into coming on, and we

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<v Speaker 3>had a.

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<v Speaker 2>Lot of fun, good stuff. My friend. I appreciate the time,

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<v Speaker 2>have a great weekend. We'll chat too.

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<v Speaker 3>Thank you so much, all right.

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<v Speaker 1>The great Neil Smith, general manager of the Rangers when

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<v Speaker 1>they won the Stanley Cup in ninety four, stops by

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<v Speaker 1>on a weekly basis to kind of help us in

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<v Speaker 1>doctrine ad the market into the world of pro hockey.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe that's the wrong term anyway. Four games left for

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<v Speaker 1>the Hockey Club Nashville coming up at home tomorrow. It's

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<v Speaker 1>your final chance to see the hockey club here in

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<v Speaker 1>Salt Lake. They finish off with three road He's at Dallas,

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<v Speaker 1>at Nashville, then at Saint Louis. Neil stops bout today

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