The Athletic Hockey Show

Hailey, Max and Sean preview the eight first round matchups in the Stanley Cup playoffs, including an intriguing series in the East with the battle of Florida between the Panthers and Lightning, Toronto and Boston, the Hurricanes and Islanders and the Rangers vs Washington. In the West, the marquee matchup between Colorado and Winnipeg, and Vancouver and Nashville are set, with Edmonton and Vegas and Dallas and Los Angeles still waiting for the outcome of tonight's games to see who gets who. They provide their thoughts on the final game in Arizona Coyotes history, (for now) and it's polarizing owner Alex Meruelo and we praise Nikita Kucherov for joining the exclusive 100 assists in a season club, and Auston Matthews, who led the league in goal scoring with 69.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sean, DGB and Frankie Corrado discuss the NHL playoff picture, which is now set, with the heartbreaking end to the season for the Detroit Red Wings in Montreal last night. The guys wonder if Auston Matthews will score his 70th goal tonight in Tampa, if Nikita Kucherov will join Connor McDavid with 100 assists this season, and if the Winnipeg Jets have the advantage over the Colorado Avalanche in their playoff matchup. Plus our old friend Craig Custance joins for a discussion on if Joel Pavelski is a hall of famer and the role that new NHLPA boss Marty Walsh played in fixing the Arizona Coyotes situation in our questions from the App segment.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max and Corey, along with Flo Hockey's Chris Peters look back on the Frozen Four tournament and the championship team the Denver Pioneers led by their breakout defensemen Zeev Buium and one of the hottest coaching prospects in hockey, David Carle. The guys discuss Cutter Gauthier signing his entry level deal with Anaheim and how far away his teammates at Boston College, Ryan Leonard, Will Smith and Gabe Perreault are from debuting in the NHL. Plus the guys discuss which players have the most on the line at the upcoming U18's and we get a sneak peek at Corey's new draft board. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ian Mendes and Mark Lazerus, along with Chris Johnston and Pierre Lebrun discuss the Coyotes relocation from Arizona to Salt Lake City, what Billionaire Ryan Smith brings to the NHL, and what the future is for Alex Meruelo and NHL hockey in the desert state.  Ian and Laz track the Eastern Conference playoff race which is going to go down to the wire, they discuss if Joel Quenneville will get another shot to coach in the NHL, and Jesse Granger chats about the Colorado Avalanche's achilles heel: their goaltending, and Tomas Hertl's successful debut with the Golden Knights. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hailey, Max and Sean discuss the latest news out of the NHL and Arizona, involving the future of the Coyotes in the Grand Canyon State, if Billionaire Ryan Smith and the city of Salt Lake City are a good solution for the league, and if NHL hockey could one day return to Arizona. Plus they take a look at the evolving Eastern Conference playoff race where two spots remain for the Islanders, Capitals, Red Wings and Penguins, and Hailey provides an update from Utica New York, at the Women's World Hockey Championships.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on 'A Frank between two Sean's', the boys discuss the MVP two horse race between Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov, the positive development of Juraj Slafkovský in Montreal, and the push to the playoffs in the East between Detroit, Washington, Pittsburgh and the Islanders.  Plus Sean and Sean present what they learned in the NHL this week, with the playoff candidate Flyers imploding, maybe this season is a failure after all in Philadelphia? Meanwhile, DGB demands an Islanders/Rangers playoff series, plus they provide their thoughts on the atrocious non-call on Noah Dobson after he cross checked Vinny Trocheck with a hit from behind into the boards, and the boys 'video tribute' Alex Ovechkin and Auston Matthews goal scoring prowess ahead of another edition of TAHS question and answer period in the app.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ian and Laz are joined at the top of the show by the one and only Down Goes Brown, Sean McIndoe, to discuss the hockey equivalent of a total eclipse, the Rangers and Leafs Stanley Cup droughts, the ideal first round opponent for the Rangers if they got to pick, what a potential Leafs-Panthers playoff matchup looks like, and a little This Week in Hockey History. Plus, the guys talk about yet another Ottawa Senators empty net controversy, the Stars’ 7-4 statement win over the Avs, the Brock Faber-Connor Bedard Calder Trophy debate, best bets for the President’s Trophy and Hart Trophy winners, and more. Subscribe to The Athletic: http://theathletic.com/hockeyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Prospect Series episode of The Athletic Hockey Show, Max, Corey, and FloHockey’s Chris Peters discuss No. 1 college free agent Collin Graf signing with the San Jose Sharks, the 2024 Hobey Baker finalists Jackson Blake, Macklin Celebrini, and Cutter Gauthier, and preview this year’s powerhouse Frozen Four featuring Boston College, Boston University, Michigan, and Denver. Subscribe to The Athletic: http://theathletic.com/hockeyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sean and Max look back on the Wednesday night line brawl in New York to begin the game between the Rangers and the Devils, Andrei Vasilevskiy leading a resurgent Lightning team who is looking to make a move in the East and the red wings fight to capture a playoff spot for the first time in eight seasons. The boys discuss the leading candidates for the Hart and Norris trophies and talk about John Tortorella's passionate press conference in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sean and Sean praise the resurgent Pittsburgh Penguins late season march to the playoffs and Sidney Crosby's dominant stretch of games when it was thought the Penguins were done for the year. They guys explain why the NHL must expand the playoffs and DGB fills us in on why he doesn't care about good teams clinching a playoff spot. The guys discuss Jack Adams coach of the year voting, the significance of Connor McDavid on the cusp of 100 assists in a season, the Minnesota Wild failed goalie pull in overtime and the return of the much loved comments and questions from the app segment! Subscribe to The Athletic: http://theathletic.com/hockeyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Monday, so Ian and Laz are back on a brand new episode of The Athletic Hockey Show to discuss hockey pranks, bubble playoff teams flailing, the Sabres missing the playoffs for the thirteenth straight season, and whether Jeff Skinner will ever play a playoff game in his career, Ian’s feature on Josh Ho-Sang, and more. Then, Sean “Gents” Gentille joins the show to talk about first round matchups if the playoffs started today, whether you’d rather face the Preds or Lightning, Jack Adams frontrunners, and the successful return of the stolen Jagr bobbleheads.  Plus, to close things out, Jesse Granger stops by to discuss USA Hockey’s ambitious “51 in 30” goaltending initiative and whether the US or Canada has better odds to win the Stanley Cup this season. Subscribe to The Athletic: http://theathletic.com/hockeyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Prospect Series episode of The Athletic Hockey Show, Max is joined by Scott Wheeler to talk about Scott’s recent feature on enigmatic sniper Cole Eiserman, Scott’s latest 2024 NHL Draft ranking, including best fits for Macklin Celebrini, and Scott’s too early ranking of the 2025 NHL Draft class to close things out.  Subscribe to The Athletic: http://theathletic.com/hockeyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With three weeks left in the regular season, Hailey, Sean and guest co-host Dominik Luszczyszyn present their dark horses for the playoffs with the Kings, Predators, Lightning, Jets, Canucks and Maple Leafs having a shot of overtaking favorites in Dallas, Edmonton, New York, Carolina, Colorado, Florida and Boston and the lack of representation from the NHL's Metro Division who could be surprises in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sean and Sean present what they learned this past week in the NHL with Gentille asking if the New York Rangers, the NHL's point leader are underrated, and DGB declares the playoff race in the west is over and that the Nashville Predators should be taken seriously. Plus the guys wonder when the last time an offside challenge was lost, if the Columbus Blue Jackets are indeed one of the most hapless franchises in sports and if Johnny Gaudreau's contract is a bad one. They stick-tap Josh Doan who scored twice in his NHL debut for his hometown Arizona Coyotes and rejoice with the news that the missing Jaromir Jagr bobbleheads have been located! Subscribe to The Athletic: http://theathletic.com/hockeyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s Monday edition of The Athletic Hockey Show, Ian and Laz discuss Laz’s great article on multilingual NHLers, Zach Hyman and Sam Reinhart joining the 50-goal club, guys who scored 50 once and then never came close again, Tom Wilson’s 6-game suspension, which game is this week’s Game of the Week, the NHL’s silly holiday scheduling, and more. Plus, The Athletic’s NHL insiders Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston return to the show to give their thoughts on last week’s GM meetings, a new, behind-the-scenes NHL-Amazon series, Pierre’s conversation with Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald, Hart Trophy ballots, and more. And, to close things out, The Athletic’s own Jesse Granger joins the show to talk about Connor Hellebuyck as the runaway betting favorite to win the Vezina and which teams have the most money bet on them to win the Stanley Cup. Subscribe to The Athletic: http://theathletic.com/hockeyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hailey, Max and Sean discuss and debate Sean's latest piece at The Athletic, the No. 1 center tiers. A project Sean took on, to classify the top of every team’s depth chart. From the best of the best: MacKinnon, McDavid and Matthews to the other end, where someone has to take the opening face off and everyone in-between, Hailey and Max take Sean to task on his rankings of the top centers for each of the NHL's 32 teams. Plus the crew recaps the very first PWHL trade deadline, the interest in expansion to markets like Pittsburgh and Detroit and the sell out in minutes on Wednesday for a game in Montreal's Bell Centre which will set yet another attendance record in the PWHL's inaugural season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Papa Frankie Corrado joins Sean and DGB to discuss John Tortorella's controversial decision to bench captain Sean Couturier, in the Flyers regulation win over the Maple Leafs. The guys recap the General Manager meetings and the proposed rule changes to reviewing high sticks and the puck over the glass penalty. The guys praise the play of the Carolina Hurricanes, specifically the play of newcomer Jake Guentzel and the resurgence of Evgeny Kuznetsov. Sean and Sean share what they've learned in the NHL in the past week: The resurgent Capitals may in fact be a playoff team and how the once set East wildcard is completely up in the air with 15 games left in the season. The two Sean's also mourn the loss of former NHL'ers Chris Simon and Konstantin Kolstov who passed away this week far too soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Monday edition of The Athletic Hockey Show, Ian and Laz discuss Laz’s devil-may-care attitude about singing out loud at the supermarket, little appetite at this week’s GM meetings to make change to 3-on-3 overtime, and potential PWHL expansion. Then, Down Goes Brown, Sean McIndoe, joins the show to talk about why the NHL standings are a bit of a mirage, the Panthers as the league’s new love-to-hate team, and This Week in Hockey History. Plus, to close things out, Jesse Granger and the guys discuss VHL goalie Artemi Pleshkov stopping a record 124 shots in a 1-0 quintuple OT loss and how many teams could realistically win the Stanley Cup this season. Subscribe to The Athletic: http://theathletic.com/hockeyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a brand new Prospect Series edition of The Athletic Hockey Show, Max and Corey break down Corey’s latest NHL Draft 2024 ranking and discuss the clear gap developing between presumptive No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini and the rest of the field. Plus, FloHockey’s Chris Peters joins the show to talk about prospects on the move at this year’s NHL trade deadline including David Edstrom, Casey Mittelstadt, and Bowen Byram, how Vegas has succeeded in dealing most of their prospects since their inception, what the Penguins should do to facilitate a rebuild, and the guys close things out with listener questions in the mailbag. Subscribe to The Athletic: http://theathletic.com/hockeyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hailey, Max and Sean present their top contenders in the East and West after all the moves that were made, and weren't made, leading up to the NHL trade deadline. They take a look at the current playoff matchups, and discuss the suddenly red hot Buffalo Sabres, the ice cold Detroit Red Wings and the playoff bound New York Islanders and Nashville Predators. Plus Sean reports breaking news out of Pittsburgh, where the Penguins scheduled Jaromir Jagr bobblehead night has been postponed after the shipment of 68's keepsake were stolen on route to Pittsburgh. Get a 1-year subscription to The Athletic for $2 a month when you visit http://theathletic.com/hockeyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices