November 18, 2025 • 37 mins
On this week’s episode of Energy Line, Nate and JSB react to Brad Treliving calling the Leafs “vanilla”—and dig into what that really says about Toronto’s identity right now. Then, inspired by Jonathan Quick’s reaction to the Red Wings shooting on his net after the final horn, Nate and JSB break down the unwritten rules of hockey, including:
• The most prominent unwritten rules players still follow
• Whether guys break them on purpose — and why
• The media’s own unwritten rules
• And one very specific guideline about jersey numbers that Nate thinks even applies to rec-league players
Finally, they preview the best games on the schedule this week and what to watch for.
Enjoy, and we’ll see you back here next week for more Energy Line.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Energy Line is a production of the NHL and iHeart Podcasts.
(00:27):
Welcome on into Energy Line with Nate and JSB. I'm
Julie Stewart Binks and I'm joined by every time former
NHL R Nate Thompson. Energy Line with Nate and JSB
is a production of iHeart Podcasts and the NHL.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Nate.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
We are coming on here on this Tuesday morning, just
right after the Toronto May Beliefs have graced us with
their presence with a press conference from general manager Bradtree Living.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
As we know, the Torontome Beliefs.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Are in one right now, and the timing of this
press conference one would imagine might.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Be to liver some news.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
However, it really wasn't any news on the part of
the Leafs, but we can gain news by what they
decided to do, how they decided to say, things, including
the fact that Bradtree Living had said that the responsibility
lies on me as a general manager.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Not surprising.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
He also said, I've got all the faith in our
coach right now. I set you up to tell me
what do you think as a media member now, Nate,
about why the Leafs would come out and do this.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
To address the media and I guess let them know
that you know everything's going to be okay. And also,
I my take on it, as Julie is, I think
he knows people are speculating that there's going to be
a trade, there's going to be a firing, there's gonna
there's something gonna happen, and he's coming out to let
everyone know. I'm not doing that right now, right now,
(02:00):
but he still believes in Bruby now the least. Like
they are in serious trouble right now. It is a
major major concern. You look at their numbers, everything, it's
it's bad. It's really really bad. And I believe, I
do believe that Craig Ruby is safe. Brad Tree Living
(02:21):
brought him in for a reason. I don't think it's
Craig Beruby. It can't be. Like at this point, are
you going to keep blaming coaches. It's not coaches and
you can't blame I don't think you can blame I
just don't think you can blame Beruby at this point.
Like it's it's on the players, and it always is
going to be on the players, and this is more
(02:41):
so it's on the players, Like they have to get
themselves out of this them like no one else is
going to come save you guys, you know, like you
can't feel sorry for yourself.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
This is this is.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
In their room. This is this has to be done
by them, and there's no other solution.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Right, And you said two very interesting things there. It
has to be done by them. It has to be
done by their room. However, when you talk about the
underlying numbers being bad, a lot of the times, the
personnel that they have is not good enough. Seeing a
projected lineup on the weekend before they took on Chicago,
(03:18):
I took a picture of it and sent it to
a friend being like, is this a playoff team? Because
I looked at it, and I mean, obviously Austin Matthews
was out, then Chris Hannev and those guys are coming back,
and Joseph Wall was just getting his first start. But
I was looking at it thinking the personnel on this
team is not good enough, to which you then connect
it back to Brad tree living because he is a
(03:40):
general manager. He is the one steering the ship in
terms of, you know, if they are going to go
out and get somebody, they do have to deal with
the cap I also listen to the fact that I've
heard people say people don't want to help out the Leafs.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
They're not a team you want to.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Help out necessarily, And so I think that there is
more pressure on the fact that the Leafs need to
do something to make that room better. But Nate, I
want to go back to this presser you said to
You got the vibe that like they wanted to come
out and say like, everything's okay, it's all good.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
But this is Toronto. When you come out and say.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
It's my fault, don't worry about anything, We're okay, blah
blah blah. But you're not really saying anything. You're not
announcing a player trade, you're not announcing an injury, you're
not announcing anything. What do you gain by saying some
of these things, making noise, getting into the news cycle,
of which Toronto definitely does not want to be in
(04:38):
unless it's for something good.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Is Toronto media ever?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Is there ever a point when things are good though,
like if they're winning, they aren't. They always speculating something's
going down. It's always something with Toronto and the media
always And this is what I'll ask you too. Julie
the Boston Bruins. If you look at their roster, would
you say that they're a playoff roster? Would you say
that they're playoff team? Probably not right. If you looked
(05:02):
at their roster and you and you put it up
against the Toronto Maple Leafs and you put and you
compared it, and you saw and you looked at other
teams and other teams that have injuries. Everyone else goes
through injuries, everyone's roster gets depleted. But I look at
the Toronto Mayble's roster and they should be a playoff team.
They should be, And I don't think it has anything
to do with Brad tree Living. Like Toronto Maple Leafs
(05:24):
have bona fide superstars. Other teams don't, and they're in
playoff positions. So on for me at this point, I
don't believe it's on Brad tree Living right now, he
says it is, and it is in a way, it's
he's accountable, but this is on the players, and the
players in the room need to know that, and no
one's coming to save them, no one.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
It's on them.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
And like I said before, like I think what was
gained for this for the media. I don't know if
it's even for the media to gain. I think it's
I think he's coming out and it's a little bit
of a warning shot to his players and everybody else,
like saying, Okay, I'm coming out to the media. I'm
doubling down that I believe in you guys that double
(06:07):
down in the coach and this is kind of the
last chance. Maybe this is the last chance. Maybe this
is it. Maybe this is their final straw. And that's
why he came out and said this in the media.
But I don't mind it. I'm a brad shre leaving fan.
I think that he's done a good job so far.
I mean, obviously with what's going on right now, it's
doesn't look good. But yeah, this is uh, this is
(06:32):
tough because the Leafs have put themselves in this position
and like you said, the underlying numbers, everything's just not good.
No one's you know, the most consistent player for their
team has been Jonathan Tavares. Like he's been Jt' has
been unbelievable. Yeah, he's been really really good. And yeah
they've been hit with injuries. Austin Matthews, he sings, but
(06:53):
a lot of a lot of their teams have been
hit with injuries, like I don't feel sorry for them,
and this is this is what teams are dealt with.
This is this is how it is. And I don't know,
I mean, this is it's interesting that he came out
and said this. But I just think tonight tonight is
a good chance for the Leaf So I think they
play against the Blues tonight.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Teams. Yeah, both teams.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Are really really struggling, and this is a must win.
I hate saying that, but this is a must win
on what is it, November eighteenth, a must win for
the least on November eighteenth.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, I mean you make some really great points there.
The state of the team not good enough, the drop
off absolutely excruciatingly. It's it's almost like it's it's very
jarring of how you went to Game seven with the
eventual Stanley Cup champions last year and then now you
(07:49):
are one of the worst teams in the league. You
are below San Jose, you are at the bottom when
you look at the standings. It's it's it's doesn't make sense.
I could never have predicted it would have been this bad.
After Marner left and after you know, some different guys
here there. It didn't really seem like it would be
as big of a drop off. But to your point
about the guys on the ice, in the room and
(08:11):
if there aren't going to make any trades or anything
like that, Brad's putting the pressure on the team. And
he said this in the press conference earlier today that
was directed at the team.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
I think there's been too much vanilla with our team.
And that's a big part of what you try to
establish your team is what it's going to look like
on a nightly basis. Right when you're going, when you're going, well,
you have a really good indication there's going to be
good nights and bad nights, but you have a pretty
(08:45):
good idea how it's going to look like from night tonight.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
A large part of the frustration is you don't know
how it's going to look like. Right.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
It's been in spurts, it's been in periods, it's been
within periods. I think you can count on one hand
how many full complete games we've had. So that's a
big part of it, going back to how do we,
you know, how do we want to look like and
trying to get to look like that on a more
consistent basis.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
All Right, Nate, after hearing Bradtree Living called the team
vanilla two yes, you know the Toronto media that loves
to eat on everything.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Was this a good idea or bad.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Good? I mean, what else do you do?
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Do you stay quiet and continue to have a media,
you know, pick them apart like they already do.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
I think what he said is true. The truth hurts.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
They are they're vanilla. Have they had any complete They
haven't had a complete game.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
With defense.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
It's a choice. It really is a choice. Do you
want to play D or do you not want to
play defense? Team defense is a choice everyone buys in.
Everyone everyone knows that this is how we have to
play to win. Offense is hard. Offense, it's hard to
score goals. And they have that gift that they can
score goals.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Now if they.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Played D like they did last year, see what happened
when they played good defense last year. They were one
of the best defensive teams in the league last year
and look and look how good they were. That's all
it is. They have to make the choice to play
good D. Like they haven't done that at a full,
complete game yet. Like they haven't done it not once,
not once. Have they had a complete, full defensive game.
Maybe they have maybe one, but I I'm hard pressed
(10:31):
to find one. And the vanilla part. The example against
the Bruins, Austin Matthews gets buried from zador Off. Yeah,
and it takes. It takes, and good on Max Domi.
He gets the smallest guy on the team, right, But
he was a little too little, too late at that point.
Like there's opportunities to jump in as a team and
(10:52):
express team toughness. We talk about team toughness and it
has nothing to do with fighting and taking your gloves off.
It's getting in there and being in there for and
supporting your teammate right away with not even thinking about
For the example of Matthew Schaeffer against Boston, he gets hit,
goes in zador up. The whole team is jumping on
Zadora up. They're all jumping on his back. Not one
(11:13):
guy from the Leafs is going after zador Off until
a period later after it was addressed in the locker room.
That's vanilla, boom Man.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
You just said it so perfectly right there, and there
is no instincts from them to do that, to go
and play hard and to obviously respond to the Zadora
of hit on their best player on their team. That
is extremely concerning for the DNA that they have been
trying to change this year when obviously you had very
(11:42):
good DNA in the regular season. In terms of team defense,
by the way, that is literally how Florida has won
the Cup every year has been everyone committing to team defense,
amongst many other important things.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
However, I want to ask you, if you are.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
In that room, how do you feel hearing as a
player your general manager say this kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
I mean, you're being called out and you're being challenged.
I think that's what it is. They're being challenged and
and then and it's a test now and it's kind
of what are we made of? Are we gonna? Are
we gonna? Are we going to write the ship change this?
Uh starting tonight? Are we going to continue to do
the same thing? And then this team is going to
be dismantled because I mean, there's no other there's no
(12:28):
other way. I don't understand. I don't understand how you
keep going the way you're going. I mean, it's a
definitions definition of insanity doing the same thing over and
over again and not getting not getting results. So I
think for them inside that room. It's all right, even
if we don't score goals tonight, even if we you know,
we have to we have to buy into playing team
(12:51):
defense and playing the right way, playing Craig Beruby hockey,
which they've done in the past and it's been successful.
It's not like they haven't played the right way under
Craig Bruby and it hasn't worked like it's worked, you know,
and other teams. And he's won a cup. You know,
he's won a cup with Saint Louis. They were one
game away from beating the Florida Panthers last year, one
(13:13):
game away.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
That would have changed the whole narrative.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
There's a whole narrative, and they have to get back
the way they played last year. Now, is it a
per personnel thing, Maybe a little bit maybe, But like
I said, a lot of their teams deal with personnel issues,
and for them, it's a mindset. It really is a mindset.
At this point. They have the talent, they have, the players,
(13:39):
they have, the coaches they have you know, it's the leafs.
Then they can pull this together. I've said this over
and over again, but it starts, like you said, Julie,
it starts in that room. They have to have the
belief if I'm in that room, like you said, it's
it's just them. They can't They're not worried about everyone else, us,
Toronto media, everybody else. It's just them and that's how
(14:02):
they have to get it going.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
It's on them at this point when you say that
them in the room as well, and they have to
get it going. And I remember speaking not you know,
I'll pick this up off the floor, but Mark Messier
told me that when he went through slumps in his
career after having one, and I mean, obviously he won
six Stanley Cups, but it wasn't always perfect smooth sailing.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
That it was about keeping everyone in that room.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Has to keep everyone else accountable, regardless of the situation.
Every play, every practice, every game, every moment you look
around that room and you're like.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Are we all in this together? Like, hey, you know
what I mean? Is that what it felt like?
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Yeah, you've ever been through that. I think when you're
holding your teammates accountable, Like if your teammates are holding
you accountable more so than the coach and the GM, like,
it means more. It means more of a player is
holding you accountable, saying man like, come on, we need
better from you. You know, when you hear that, or
you hear that from the other players in the team
and they're talking about that, that hits much harder. And
(15:05):
maybe they're not doing that, maybe they're not holding each
other accountable, and this is the results they're getting. And
now Brad Trievelan came out and said, I'm going to
hold you accountable and this is what and this is
what I'm going to say in the media.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
How do you think guys respond to that when they
have a teammate that says something at that to them, Well.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
I mean, I think every teammate it should handle it
the right way. I think when a team, you know,
if I've had instances where, yeah, I've had players teammates ask.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
There.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
There was a situation when I was younger, I think
with when I was in Tampa when I wasn't playing well,
and I'm pretty sure as Marty Saint Louis came to
me and said, hey, Nate, like I've seen you play well,
I've seen you do things. This is not the player
that you are. And to hear that from a guy
like Marty Saint Louis and your teammate. You want to
(15:56):
do well for your teammates at the end of the day, Like, yeah,
you're playing for your coach, you're playing for your GM,
but like you're playing for the guy next to you.
You know, you guys are you know? I always say
like individual success for every player comes through team success.
The best players, the best free agents. Why do you
think all these free agents get paid when they win
cups or they don't go on long runs and you
(16:18):
know they do great things with their teams. Well, it's
because they they're doing well because of their team. So
to answer your question, it means a lot coming from
a player or your teammate holding you accountable.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
We've got so much more to come here on Energy
Line with Nate and JSB, including some of the unwritten
rules for hockey players, but also for media. So stay tuned,
Welcome back to the Energy Line with Nate and JSB
and really Shirpinks. I've got Nate Thompson here with me
and we want to discuss, of course, what was a
(16:52):
very exciting, very sort of chaotic moment this past weekend
Rangers Red Wings. There's a scrum at the end of
the game, after the puck was shot into the open
Rangers net on Jonathan Quick he went over to Mason Appleton,
that was the guy who shot the puck into the net,
(17:14):
and the benches cleared, and it.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Was a full on brew haha, hoot.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
And Nanny Nate, what did you think about why this
happened and if this was the right response?
Speaker 4 (17:28):
It was the perfect response.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
And I love Jonathan Quick, I mean, just just a competitor,
you know, and he had an unbelievable game, too unbelievable game.
You know, Rangers took too many penalties. Obviously that's neither
here nor there. But I love the response. And there
are there's things that you don't do, Julie, and you
do not shoot the pucket an empty net after the
(17:51):
whistle of the horns gone. Like this happens all the time.
You see scrums happen because of this, and I loved it.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
I love this.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
That's you know, that's Quickie's net, Yeah, that's his net.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
And Appleton.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
I played with Mason Appleton in Winnipeg, and I don't
think he was thinking much of it because the game
was over. But like quick he said after in the
postgame presser, like there shouldn't be any surprise for them.
This happens all the time, and he's right. I think
him doing it too. It just it means more coming
from Jonathan Quick. Like if I'm those guys and on
(18:25):
the bench and I see Johnathan Quick jump over the
bench to go go after Mason Apton, I'm fired up.
I'm like, this is our backup Hall of Fame goalie
that is going after them because they shot a puck
in the empty net after the game was over. That's
how much he cares, right, I love the response. I
think that's that's the way it should be.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I agree with you, and I think Jonathan Quick is
a remarkable goaltender, person, player, everything about him, teammate, you know,
on the ice as a backup as well, having watched
him covered him with the Rangers and with the Kings,
and to your point, like this is kind of like
when Morgan Riley went after guy who I forget a
couple of years years ago, when he did when he
(19:05):
shot the puck into the net, and it was like,
well he was not a goalie. But I think with Quick,
with you know what he had said afterwards, I don't
know why they were surprised. It's usually the response when
something like that happened, so boys jump in. And I
think that that's almost like that gene that you were
just discussing with the leaves, like not having really right now,
(19:27):
I don't know if that would have happened with with
the leafs for sure, but I think with Quick, I
got it.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
I'm going to pivot a little bit.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
But I think, do you think goalies like itch for
a moment like this because they can't hit guys really ever?
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Yeah? I think so.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
I mean, I think that's why you always see goalies,
especially when they're scrums and the I think we've seen
it a few times this year where you know, goalies
get involved in the scrum down and then you see
the other goalie from the other end scale all the
way to the red line and kind of wait looking
for the goalie to see if he'll fight him.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
I mean, I play with so many goalies that definitely
want get involved when it comes to scrums or those things,
because yeah, they don't, they don't get to partake normally
through throughout the game, So I think they like to
get in the mix. And I know, I know Jonathan
Quick is not going to back down from anyone or anyone,
So I know he likes to get in.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
The mix too.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Yeah, they got the shakes certainly. And I know Igorshusterkin,
oh gosh, he would also be doing that too if
he was in net that night. That that guy loves
to mix it up with with everyone else. And and
I love that about a goalie. I just think it's
it's just it's a wonderful moment in hockey. So we
also said it was a great jersey matchup, perfect photos.
(20:40):
You want to hang it, they say hang it in
the loop. We can't really use that phrase anymore. It's
going to be stolen done, so like print it out
and put it on our vision board or something like that.
Just wonderful hockey felt old school at best for the
best of times. So, but we want to talk more
about unwritten rules in hockey because that felt like the
beginning of what are some of the things you do
(21:02):
and you don't do on the ice and off the ice,
and so like Nate, I mean, what are some of
the things that come to mind for you when we're
talking about unwritten rules in hockey that guys just know, Well, the.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
First one we've just talked about, is you know, never
shooting a puck after the whistle and you know after
the horn goes into the net, you just don't do it.
The next one I would say is celebrating celebrating a goal.
If you're up, say you're winning six to seven nothing,
and you celebrate after you score the sixth goal. No, no, no,
(21:40):
you don't need to do that. You know, show a
little bit of respect to the team you win in
you're already kicking the shit out of them, Like, you
don't need to celebrate after that.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
What if it's like a rover rookie scoring the first
ever NHL goal.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
I've seen that, and a lot of rookies in that
instance don't don't celebrate. They won't because they're like, you know,
it could warrant for the other team. It could warrant
be a warrant for the other team to you know,
run it up again. So I think that's one.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
I believe.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Wearing number ninety nine or number sixty six, and I'm talking,
and I'm putting all you men's league players out there too.
I don't care who you are. If I see the
number ninety nine at ten thirty pm at night, and
you're skating around the arena. I don't care if you
started hockey a year ago. You don't wear number ninety
(22:29):
nine or number sixty six. It just you just don't
do it. And don't do the tuck too. Don't do
the tuck like, don't do the Gretzky tuck. That's a
no no.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
As well? What else we got you?
Speaker 2 (22:40):
I love this.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
I would love for you to come talk to my
men's league because there's definitely guys like that.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Oh, I would make them cry. No, that's not not happening.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
One quick aside with that, is there an unwritten rule?
You've played with girls before and women right if a
guy goes after a girl or woman on your team,
is there not an unwritten rule that the rest to
the team just destroys that guy?
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Yeah? Why? Why? Why would he be going after a girl?
Speaker 2 (23:09):
It happened to me.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
What did you do to.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
I was just I was just getting in front of
the I was just yeah, I was just mixing it up.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
I was just getting you know, I got.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
To get down there and be ready for a tip
in whatever, because I obviously can't shoot the puck, so
I got to be like right down there to just
get the jam the puck in and a guy cross
checked me from behind and then he said some very
inappropriate words for a podcast to me, and then I
turned around and then I just basically sucker punched.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Him, and then everyone else and then everyone else came
it came in.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
That's yeah, and he should and then the rest of the
game they destroyed him.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Every shift he was on the ice dead good.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
That's good. Those are good teammates. I would say the
next one to your to that point. The next one is,
you know, if guys are fighting, I used to it's
kind of a code. Is you know, you don't hit
a guy when he's down on the ice. You know,
you never really see that very often. Maybe there's some
skirmishes and guys are wrestling around, but you're not punching
the guy while he's down. And then I would say
another one unwritten rule. And I think this kind of
(24:18):
it's more superstitious. But you know, say you're winning by
you're winning two nothing, three nothing, and you know it's
a third period, You're you're not saying the word shutout.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
We need to get the shutout. You're not saying that.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
That would be like if you're playing baseball and someone
children no hitter and you're like, Okay, we got to
protect this no hitter.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
You're not saying that, okay.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
And there was one instance I remember when I was
in junior and we had this guy from Europe that
came over to new our coach, and he came on
the bench when I was playing in Seattle, and I
remember we were up by two goals, we were winning to nothing,
and we were winning by like a minute and a half.
It was a minute and a half left in the game.
And remember he was in the back of the bench
and yelled protect the shutout, Protect the shutout, and our
(25:04):
whole bench did like this one look back at him
like you can't be serious, right, So that's another one.
I think those are ones that really stick out to
me that those are unwritten rules that everyone should know.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Okay, so you mentioned that guy that was saying project
the shutout and some guys that don't necessarily follow them.
Is that Do you find that there's there's rule breakers
or do does most of the league just kind of
know this stuff?
Speaker 4 (25:33):
Yeah, everyone knows.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
I think some guys will break these unwritten rules on
purpose to stir shit up.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
You know.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
I think that's that's the case too. Like sometimes you're
gonna see guys do things to cause players to get
mad or come at them, you know, like for example,
Mason Appleton, maybe maybe he wasn't thinking of it, maybe
he was maybe he was like, I'm gonna shoot this
in the net no matter what, and something's gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
But oh wow, So there's leeway for the rules sometimes.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Sometimes sometimes there's lee way, sometimes there is, but they're definite.
Is unwritten rules that you follow and that everyone follows
and everyone kind of knows and you learn along.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
The way, and is one of them not saying to
the media about your friends, your former teammate's girlfriend, your
former teamate having a girlfriend aka Jumbo Joe on TSN
about Austin Matthews and his girlfriend, which then took the
world by storm. Knowing that Austin Matthews now had a
(26:29):
girlfriend because of Joe Thornton.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Yeah, Jumbo Joe gave him a little hard launch, didn't Hey,
not on purpose? But yeah, I don't know, I don't
know about those unwritten rules. But yeah, that was that
was funny. That that's funny. That's really funny.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Yeah, that was that was That was quite funny and
also just so perfect because it's like everyone already everyone
knows his marital status in the world, but mostly in Toronto,
and is curious about it. Are there any unwritten rules
when it comes to media.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
Well, I should ask you that, Julie.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
No, But from the player's perspective, the.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Player's perspective, I would say it's, you know, we always
talk about whenever you're talking to a media reporter or whoever,
it's if you want things to be off the record,
you say off the record. And I've learned sometimes with
certain reporters, certain media members, sometimes it's not always off
the record. But I would say that that And I
think the biggest thing players want they just want they
want to be They want to have respect. They want
(27:24):
respect from the reporter. And it goes both ways. But
I think they just want respect from the reporter. They
want to know what's going to be said, what's going
to be there, I guess. And I think to another
thing is is making sure that there's a dialogue after,
like if the reporter, I think the big thing is
(27:44):
does that reporter show up the next day? You know
what you just reminded me of I know, I already know,
I already know, and that's rest in peace, Larry Brooks.
But like that, that's a big thing. That's a huge thing.
And John Torrella talked about that, that's a huge thing.
You know, a lot of players will get a ton
of respect from for that reporter. The fact that he's
there the next day. He's there the next day to
(28:05):
talk it out or if he wants to hash it out.
Like that's that's what players want to see.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Right, And Nate was just referencing, of course, the late
Larry Brooks, who tragically passed away last week and was
a longtime writer for the New York Post, worked with
the Devils, really did everything, was the highest standard of
reporting in New York, in really all of hockey. He
was in the Hall of Fame. I was at his
(28:32):
memorial service on Sunday, and you could just tell the
respect that he had based on how many people were
there in the hockey community too. I mentioned to you,
Nate that Billy Garrion flew in and he had.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
To fly out.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
He flew in and gave his condolences to the family
and then had to fly out. But it was such
a show of respect that he made that effort, and
it showed how much people respected Larry, because Larry would
write stories that maybe not everybody liked, but he would
be there the next day. Yeah, like and that's to
show up and he did his work. I mean, he
(29:08):
was really the he's the standard of reporting and I
was obviously I'm very very upset sad that he's gone
as a human, but also in terms of the level
of reporting that we now don't have on in this world,
like that level was so high, and it reminds me
(29:29):
also of Grant Wall too.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Also rest in peace, the late Grant Wall, who is
a soccer writer.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Those reporters have such great respect from the players, from staff,
from media. They don't always write the things that you
want to hear, but as again we say, they do
it the right way. Would you ever go talk to
a reporter after if you saw them maybe later, and
you thought a conversation was off the record, and then
you see them and you're like, hey, buddy, what was
(29:59):
up with that?
Speaker 4 (30:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
I think there might have been a instance when I
I can't remember completely, but I think there might have
been instance when I played in Montreal. I can't remember
the reporter wrote something and I read it and I
didn't agree with what he said. And yeah, I went
up to him and I talked to him and I said, hey, listen,
like I didn't say this, and you know, we we
(30:22):
hashed it out and he apologized and there was a miscommunication,
but we hashed it out and we were fine.
Speaker 4 (30:28):
And I respect him for that. I respect him for.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Taking what I wanted to say and taking with a
grain of saltants and we were and hash it out
like we did. So there was an instance. But I think,
like you said, I if player and the reporter can
communicate and to your point, like, that's why I think,
you know, Larry Brooks was one of the best, if
not the best, because he was able to do that.
And I think also John Torrella talked about that and
(30:56):
and said that's what he loved. He loved the fact
that he could debate with him and he would come
back the next day and has save a smile on
his face and say hi. You know, that's that's important
because at the end of the day, Julie, everyone's doing
their job. Everyone's trying to grow the game. You reporters,
they're trying to tell stories, and those stories are going
to help and they're going to sell the game, and
(31:17):
we're trying to do the same thing and going out
there and putting our bodies on the line and doing
all things and sell and sell a product at the
same time. So I think everyone's trying to sell the
game and they have to remember that, right.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
And I'm just looking at rules of things.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I mean, God, don't ever walk back into a locker
room if you've ever walked on that logo.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
Yeah, that's a good one.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Why is the logo even there when it's I know
some teams put something over top of it, but it's
like we're dancing around with like our camera and our
cable trying not to step on the logo.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
I don't know, that's a good question. I don't know
why they put it. I mean there's a lot of
teams now they're putting the logo on the ceiling above,
which is smart. So I don't know, that's a good question.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Every locker room.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
I going to don't step on the logo. Don't step
on the logo. So this feels like it not a
good place to put a logo.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
That's pretty funny because how many times I've given reporters
or anyone shit about stepping on the logo, and I'll
be sitting there be like, hey, off the logo, off
logo and there, and people get reporters and immediately they
gets so nervous too if they're stepping on it and
there's a player that calls them out that they're on
the logo.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
It's actually it's actually funny.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
You literally wanted to dig mess with them.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Yeah, yeah, because you also sometimes are running in there
to get a guy like or get an interview, and
then you step on the logo and you're just like,
oh my god, like I need to retire from life
right now.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
I cannot come back here again.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
We're going to take a quick time out, but when
we return, we're going to give you our thoughts on
the biggest games of this week leading into the week
that is American Thanksgiving here on Energy Line with Natan JSB.
Welcome back to Energy Line with Nate and JSB as
we wrap things up up and look ahead some interesting
games on the dock at this week.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Nato Tator, what do you have your eye on.
Speaker 4 (33:12):
I'm gonna say the Bruins and Ducks.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
I'm going to the game on Wednesday, and I'm looking
forward to this one.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
The Bruins have been playing really good hockey as of late.
Same with the Duck.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
The Ducks have been struggled a little bit, but they
got a huge win last night against the Mammoth and
we all know how exciting they are to watch. So
I'm really really looking forward to that game. Both teams
that I used to play for as well, so it
should be fun.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
What about you, Yeah, I love that for you. It's
like two of your high schools like that. I don't know,
are two people you dated that you're watching. It's like weird,
like who do you have an affinity to?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
More?
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Probably the Ducks. I was there for three years. I
was drafted by the Bruins. There is a lot of
history there. I'm gonna go see my good buddy Marco
Sturm too, say hi to him after as well.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
End of the show.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
End of the show exactly. So it'll be fun. It'll
be fun to go to that game and watch whole
and hopefully it's a good game.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Yeah, hopefully it is a good game and you'll get
to see the speed and the excitement that Steve Valaquet
had talked about with some of these shots from the
younger players that his system had never even seen before
because of the level of creativity and decision making and whatnot.
And you know, just as an aside, like how Paul
Bisnette on TNT talks like made the joke about he
(34:26):
calls it like pass off pads him and did you yeah, Pop?
Speaker 2 (34:31):
I talked to Valley about that. I'm like, so do
you know about Pop?
Speaker 1 (34:34):
And he was like, what am I pass off pads
that Gretzky like razzed biz for?
Speaker 2 (34:38):
But then you ye are scenes. I mean, I don't
think it's on purpose.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
It's sometimes it can be if you have nothing, you
can know the options, but it's not really your first
choice to shoot it off the pads.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
I do like that that has become I just love
Gretzky being like.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
What what are you talking about?
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Okay, So there's some other games going on I'm interested in.
Other than obviously seeing if the Leafs have a backbone
or not, is seeing the New Jersey Devils who have
been able to still have the flex Seal guy there
despite Jack Hughes being out, and I want seeing them
(35:19):
taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who also have multiple
flex Seal guys trying to stop any kind of issues
of happening because they've had so many different injuries. Guy, like,
it's a revolving door there. But they've been able to Nate,
as you remind me before he came on, that gone
seven and three in their last ten and that has
been mostly without mcdonna and Headman and Sorelli and Hegel
(35:43):
and James and a ton of guys. But it looks
like Sorelli will be back and potentially Hadman who practiced
the other day.
Speaker 4 (35:51):
Let's have a great week of hockey.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
I'm looking forward to some good things and lets Leafs,
it's going to be okay.
Speaker 4 (35:59):
It's gonna be okay.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
We're gonna get our crystals out. There is a new
there is a full moon. There is a new moon
or a full moon in Scorpio on the twentieth, and
that's all about power and intensity, and we are going
to channel that power and intensity into the Leaf's locker
room because Sports Astrology. That's going to be our new podcast.
We'll talk about it after this. Thanks guys so much
(36:23):
for listening to Energy Line with Natan JSB. This is
production of the NHL and iHeart podcast Thank you so
much to our producer Matt Heavier and all of you
guys for listening and subscribing, liking sharing the podcast.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
We really love it.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
It means a lot to us and of course our
bank accounts, so please keep doing that and we'll see
you guys next week. Energy Line is the production of
(37:01):
the NHL and iHeart podcasts. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
your podcasts.
Energy Line is a production of the NHL and iHeart Podcasts.
(00:27):
Welcome on into Energy Line with Nate and JSB. I'm
Julie Stewart Binks and I'm joined by every time former
NHL R Nate Thompson. Energy Line with Nate and JSB
is a production of iHeart Podcasts and the NHL.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Nate.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
We are coming on here on this Tuesday morning, just
right after the Toronto May Beliefs have graced us with
their presence with a press conference from general manager Bradtree Living.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
As we know, the Torontome Beliefs.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Are in one right now, and the timing of this
press conference one would imagine might.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Be to liver some news.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
However, it really wasn't any news on the part of
the Leafs, but we can gain news by what they
decided to do, how they decided to say, things, including
the fact that Bradtree Living had said that the responsibility
lies on me as a general manager.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Not surprising.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
He also said, I've got all the faith in our
coach right now. I set you up to tell me
what do you think as a media member now, Nate,
about why the Leafs would come out and do this.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
To address the media and I guess let them know
that you know everything's going to be okay. And also,
I my take on it, as Julie is, I think
he knows people are speculating that there's going to be
a trade, there's going to be a firing, there's gonna
there's something gonna happen, and he's coming out to let
everyone know. I'm not doing that right now, right now,
(02:00):
but he still believes in Bruby now the least. Like
they are in serious trouble right now. It is a
major major concern. You look at their numbers, everything, it's
it's bad. It's really really bad. And I believe, I
do believe that Craig Ruby is safe. Brad Tree Living
(02:21):
brought him in for a reason. I don't think it's
Craig Beruby. It can't be. Like at this point, are
you going to keep blaming coaches. It's not coaches and
you can't blame I don't think you can blame I
just don't think you can blame Beruby at this point.
Like it's it's on the players, and it always is
going to be on the players, and this is more
(02:41):
so it's on the players, Like they have to get
themselves out of this them like no one else is
going to come save you guys, you know, like you
can't feel sorry for yourself.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
This is this is.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
In their room. This is this has to be done
by them, and there's no other solution.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Right, And you said two very interesting things there. It
has to be done by them. It has to be
done by their room. However, when you talk about the
underlying numbers being bad, a lot of the times, the
personnel that they have is not good enough. Seeing a
projected lineup on the weekend before they took on Chicago,
(03:18):
I took a picture of it and sent it to
a friend being like, is this a playoff team? Because
I looked at it, and I mean, obviously Austin Matthews
was out, then Chris Hannev and those guys are coming back,
and Joseph Wall was just getting his first start. But
I was looking at it thinking the personnel on this
team is not good enough, to which you then connect
it back to Brad tree living because he is a
(03:40):
general manager. He is the one steering the ship in
terms of, you know, if they are going to go
out and get somebody, they do have to deal with
the cap I also listen to the fact that I've
heard people say people don't want to help out the Leafs.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
They're not a team you want to.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Help out necessarily, And so I think that there is
more pressure on the fact that the Leafs need to
do something to make that room better. But Nate, I
want to go back to this presser you said to
You got the vibe that like they wanted to come
out and say like, everything's okay, it's all good.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
But this is Toronto. When you come out and say.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
It's my fault, don't worry about anything, We're okay, blah
blah blah. But you're not really saying anything. You're not
announcing a player trade, you're not announcing an injury, you're
not announcing anything. What do you gain by saying some
of these things, making noise, getting into the news cycle,
of which Toronto definitely does not want to be in
(04:38):
unless it's for something good.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Is Toronto media ever?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Is there ever a point when things are good though,
like if they're winning, they aren't. They always speculating something's
going down. It's always something with Toronto and the media
always And this is what I'll ask you too. Julie
the Boston Bruins. If you look at their roster, would
you say that they're a playoff roster? Would you say
that they're playoff team? Probably not right. If you looked
(05:02):
at their roster and you and you put it up
against the Toronto Maple Leafs and you put and you
compared it, and you saw and you looked at other
teams and other teams that have injuries. Everyone else goes
through injuries, everyone's roster gets depleted. But I look at
the Toronto Mayble's roster and they should be a playoff team.
They should be, And I don't think it has anything
to do with Brad tree Living. Like Toronto Maple Leafs
(05:24):
have bona fide superstars. Other teams don't, and they're in
playoff positions. So on for me at this point, I
don't believe it's on Brad tree Living right now, he
says it is, and it is in a way, it's
he's accountable, but this is on the players, and the
players in the room need to know that, and no
one's coming to save them, no one.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
It's on them.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
And like I said before, like I think what was
gained for this for the media. I don't know if
it's even for the media to gain. I think it's
I think he's coming out and it's a little bit
of a warning shot to his players and everybody else,
like saying, Okay, I'm coming out to the media. I'm
doubling down that I believe in you guys that double
(06:07):
down in the coach and this is kind of the
last chance. Maybe this is the last chance. Maybe this
is it. Maybe this is their final straw. And that's
why he came out and said this in the media.
But I don't mind it. I'm a brad shre leaving fan.
I think that he's done a good job so far.
I mean, obviously with what's going on right now, it's
doesn't look good. But yeah, this is uh, this is
(06:32):
tough because the Leafs have put themselves in this position
and like you said, the underlying numbers, everything's just not good.
No one's you know, the most consistent player for their
team has been Jonathan Tavares. Like he's been Jt' has
been unbelievable. Yeah, he's been really really good. And yeah
they've been hit with injuries. Austin Matthews, he sings, but
(06:53):
a lot of a lot of their teams have been
hit with injuries, like I don't feel sorry for them,
and this is this is what teams are dealt with.
This is this is how it is. And I don't know,
I mean, this is it's interesting that he came out
and said this. But I just think tonight tonight is
a good chance for the Leaf So I think they
play against the Blues tonight.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Teams. Yeah, both teams.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Are really really struggling, and this is a must win.
I hate saying that, but this is a must win
on what is it, November eighteenth, a must win for
the least on November eighteenth.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, I mean you make some really great points there.
The state of the team not good enough, the drop
off absolutely excruciatingly. It's it's almost like it's it's very
jarring of how you went to Game seven with the
eventual Stanley Cup champions last year and then now you
(07:49):
are one of the worst teams in the league. You
are below San Jose, you are at the bottom when
you look at the standings. It's it's it's doesn't make sense.
I could never have predicted it would have been this bad.
After Marner left and after you know, some different guys
here there. It didn't really seem like it would be
as big of a drop off. But to your point
about the guys on the ice, in the room and
(08:11):
if there aren't going to make any trades or anything
like that, Brad's putting the pressure on the team. And
he said this in the press conference earlier today that
was directed at the team.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
I think there's been too much vanilla with our team.
And that's a big part of what you try to
establish your team is what it's going to look like
on a nightly basis. Right when you're going, when you're going, well,
you have a really good indication there's going to be
good nights and bad nights, but you have a pretty
(08:45):
good idea how it's going to look like from night tonight.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
A large part of the frustration is you don't know
how it's going to look like. Right.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
It's been in spurts, it's been in periods, it's been
within periods. I think you can count on one hand
how many full complete games we've had. So that's a
big part of it, going back to how do we,
you know, how do we want to look like and
trying to get to look like that on a more
consistent basis.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
All Right, Nate, after hearing Bradtree Living called the team
vanilla two yes, you know the Toronto media that loves
to eat on everything.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Was this a good idea or bad.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Good? I mean, what else do you do?
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Do you stay quiet and continue to have a media,
you know, pick them apart like they already do.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
I think what he said is true. The truth hurts.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
They are they're vanilla. Have they had any complete They
haven't had a complete game.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
With defense.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
It's a choice. It really is a choice. Do you
want to play D or do you not want to
play defense? Team defense is a choice everyone buys in.
Everyone everyone knows that this is how we have to
play to win. Offense is hard. Offense, it's hard to
score goals. And they have that gift that they can
score goals.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Now if they.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Played D like they did last year, see what happened
when they played good defense last year. They were one
of the best defensive teams in the league last year
and look and look how good they were. That's all
it is. They have to make the choice to play
good D. Like they haven't done that at a full,
complete game yet. Like they haven't done it not once,
not once. Have they had a complete, full defensive game.
Maybe they have maybe one, but I I'm hard pressed
(10:31):
to find one. And the vanilla part. The example against
the Bruins, Austin Matthews gets buried from zador Off. Yeah,
and it takes. It takes, and good on Max Domi.
He gets the smallest guy on the team, right, But
he was a little too little, too late at that point.
Like there's opportunities to jump in as a team and
(10:52):
express team toughness. We talk about team toughness and it
has nothing to do with fighting and taking your gloves off.
It's getting in there and being in there for and
supporting your teammate right away with not even thinking about
For the example of Matthew Schaeffer against Boston, he gets hit,
goes in zador up. The whole team is jumping on
Zadora up. They're all jumping on his back. Not one
(11:13):
guy from the Leafs is going after zador Off until
a period later after it was addressed in the locker room.
That's vanilla, boom Man.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
You just said it so perfectly right there, and there
is no instincts from them to do that, to go
and play hard and to obviously respond to the Zadora
of hit on their best player on their team. That
is extremely concerning for the DNA that they have been
trying to change this year when obviously you had very
(11:42):
good DNA in the regular season. In terms of team defense,
by the way, that is literally how Florida has won
the Cup every year has been everyone committing to team defense,
amongst many other important things.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
However, I want to ask you, if you are.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
In that room, how do you feel hearing as a
player your general manager say this kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
I mean, you're being called out and you're being challenged.
I think that's what it is. They're being challenged and
and then and it's a test now and it's kind
of what are we made of? Are we gonna? Are
we gonna? Are we going to write the ship change this?
Uh starting tonight? Are we going to continue to do
the same thing? And then this team is going to
be dismantled because I mean, there's no other there's no
(12:28):
other way. I don't understand. I don't understand how you
keep going the way you're going. I mean, it's a
definitions definition of insanity doing the same thing over and
over again and not getting not getting results. So I
think for them inside that room. It's all right, even
if we don't score goals tonight, even if we you know,
we have to we have to buy into playing team
(12:51):
defense and playing the right way, playing Craig Beruby hockey,
which they've done in the past and it's been successful.
It's not like they haven't played the right way under
Craig Bruby and it hasn't worked like it's worked, you know,
and other teams. And he's won a cup. You know,
he's won a cup with Saint Louis. They were one
game away from beating the Florida Panthers last year, one
(13:13):
game away.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
That would have changed the whole narrative.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
There's a whole narrative, and they have to get back
the way they played last year. Now, is it a
per personnel thing, Maybe a little bit maybe, But like
I said, a lot of their teams deal with personnel issues,
and for them, it's a mindset. It really is a mindset.
At this point. They have the talent, they have, the players,
(13:39):
they have, the coaches they have you know, it's the leafs.
Then they can pull this together. I've said this over
and over again, but it starts, like you said, Julie,
it starts in that room. They have to have the
belief if I'm in that room, like you said, it's
it's just them. They can't They're not worried about everyone else, us,
Toronto media, everybody else. It's just them and that's how
(14:02):
they have to get it going.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
It's on them at this point when you say that
them in the room as well, and they have to
get it going. And I remember speaking not you know,
I'll pick this up off the floor, but Mark Messier
told me that when he went through slumps in his
career after having one, and I mean, obviously he won
six Stanley Cups, but it wasn't always perfect smooth sailing.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
That it was about keeping everyone in that room.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Has to keep everyone else accountable, regardless of the situation.
Every play, every practice, every game, every moment you look
around that room and you're like.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Are we all in this together? Like, hey, you know
what I mean? Is that what it felt like?
Speaker 3 (14:42):
Yeah, you've ever been through that. I think when you're
holding your teammates accountable, Like if your teammates are holding
you accountable more so than the coach and the GM, like,
it means more. It means more of a player is
holding you accountable, saying man like, come on, we need
better from you. You know, when you hear that, or
you hear that from the other players in the team
and they're talking about that, that hits much harder. And
(15:05):
maybe they're not doing that, maybe they're not holding each
other accountable, and this is the results they're getting. And
now Brad Trievelan came out and said, I'm going to
hold you accountable and this is what and this is
what I'm going to say in the media.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
How do you think guys respond to that when they
have a teammate that says something at that to them, Well.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
I mean, I think every teammate it should handle it
the right way. I think when a team, you know,
if I've had instances where, yeah, I've had players teammates ask.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
There.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
There was a situation when I was younger, I think
with when I was in Tampa when I wasn't playing well,
and I'm pretty sure as Marty Saint Louis came to
me and said, hey, Nate, like I've seen you play well,
I've seen you do things. This is not the player
that you are. And to hear that from a guy
like Marty Saint Louis and your teammate. You want to
(15:56):
do well for your teammates at the end of the day, Like, yeah,
you're playing for your coach, you're playing for your GM,
but like you're playing for the guy next to you.
You know, you guys are you know? I always say
like individual success for every player comes through team success.
The best players, the best free agents. Why do you
think all these free agents get paid when they win
cups or they don't go on long runs and you
(16:18):
know they do great things with their teams. Well, it's
because they they're doing well because of their team. So
to answer your question, it means a lot coming from
a player or your teammate holding you accountable.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
We've got so much more to come here on Energy
Line with Nate and JSB, including some of the unwritten
rules for hockey players, but also for media. So stay tuned,
Welcome back to the Energy Line with Nate and JSB
and really Shirpinks. I've got Nate Thompson here with me
and we want to discuss, of course, what was a
(16:52):
very exciting, very sort of chaotic moment this past weekend
Rangers Red Wings. There's a scrum at the end of
the game, after the puck was shot into the open
Rangers net on Jonathan Quick he went over to Mason Appleton,
that was the guy who shot the puck into the net,
(17:14):
and the benches cleared, and it.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Was a full on brew haha, hoot.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
And Nanny Nate, what did you think about why this
happened and if this was the right response?
Speaker 4 (17:28):
It was the perfect response.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
And I love Jonathan Quick, I mean, just just a competitor,
you know, and he had an unbelievable game, too unbelievable game.
You know, Rangers took too many penalties. Obviously that's neither
here nor there. But I love the response. And there
are there's things that you don't do, Julie, and you
do not shoot the pucket an empty net after the
(17:51):
whistle of the horns gone. Like this happens all the time.
You see scrums happen because of this, and I loved it.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
I love this.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
That's you know, that's Quickie's net, Yeah, that's his net.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
And Appleton.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
I played with Mason Appleton in Winnipeg, and I don't
think he was thinking much of it because the game
was over. But like quick he said after in the
postgame presser, like there shouldn't be any surprise for them.
This happens all the time, and he's right. I think
him doing it too. It just it means more coming
from Jonathan Quick. Like if I'm those guys and on
(18:25):
the bench and I see Johnathan Quick jump over the
bench to go go after Mason Apton, I'm fired up.
I'm like, this is our backup Hall of Fame goalie
that is going after them because they shot a puck
in the empty net after the game was over. That's
how much he cares, right, I love the response. I
think that's that's the way it should be.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I agree with you, and I think Jonathan Quick is
a remarkable goaltender, person, player, everything about him, teammate, you know,
on the ice as a backup as well, having watched
him covered him with the Rangers and with the Kings,
and to your point, like this is kind of like
when Morgan Riley went after guy who I forget a
couple of years years ago, when he did when he
(19:05):
shot the puck into the net, and it was like,
well he was not a goalie. But I think with Quick,
with you know what he had said afterwards, I don't
know why they were surprised. It's usually the response when
something like that happened, so boys jump in. And I
think that that's almost like that gene that you were
just discussing with the leaves, like not having really right now,
(19:27):
I don't know if that would have happened with with
the leafs for sure, but I think with Quick, I
got it.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
I'm going to pivot a little bit.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
But I think, do you think goalies like itch for
a moment like this because they can't hit guys really ever?
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Yeah? I think so.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
I mean, I think that's why you always see goalies,
especially when they're scrums and the I think we've seen
it a few times this year where you know, goalies
get involved in the scrum down and then you see
the other goalie from the other end scale all the
way to the red line and kind of wait looking
for the goalie to see if he'll fight him.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
I mean, I play with so many goalies that definitely
want get involved when it comes to scrums or those things,
because yeah, they don't, they don't get to partake normally
through throughout the game, So I think they like to
get in the mix. And I know, I know Jonathan
Quick is not going to back down from anyone or anyone,
So I know he likes to get in.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
The mix too.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Yeah, they got the shakes certainly. And I know Igorshusterkin,
oh gosh, he would also be doing that too if
he was in net that night. That that guy loves
to mix it up with with everyone else. And and
I love that about a goalie. I just think it's
it's just it's a wonderful moment in hockey. So we
also said it was a great jersey matchup, perfect photos.
(20:40):
You want to hang it, they say hang it in
the loop. We can't really use that phrase anymore. It's
going to be stolen done, so like print it out
and put it on our vision board or something like that.
Just wonderful hockey felt old school at best for the
best of times. So, but we want to talk more
about unwritten rules in hockey because that felt like the
beginning of what are some of the things you do
(21:02):
and you don't do on the ice and off the ice,
and so like Nate, I mean, what are some of
the things that come to mind for you when we're
talking about unwritten rules in hockey that guys just know, Well, the.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
First one we've just talked about, is you know, never
shooting a puck after the whistle and you know after
the horn goes into the net, you just don't do it.
The next one I would say is celebrating celebrating a goal.
If you're up, say you're winning six to seven nothing,
and you celebrate after you score the sixth goal. No, no, no,
(21:40):
you don't need to do that. You know, show a
little bit of respect to the team you win in
you're already kicking the shit out of them, Like, you
don't need to celebrate after that.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
What if it's like a rover rookie scoring the first
ever NHL goal.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
I've seen that, and a lot of rookies in that
instance don't don't celebrate. They won't because they're like, you know,
it could warrant for the other team. It could warrant
be a warrant for the other team to you know,
run it up again. So I think that's one.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
I believe.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Wearing number ninety nine or number sixty six, and I'm talking,
and I'm putting all you men's league players out there too.
I don't care who you are. If I see the
number ninety nine at ten thirty pm at night, and
you're skating around the arena. I don't care if you
started hockey a year ago. You don't wear number ninety
(22:29):
nine or number sixty six. It just you just don't
do it. And don't do the tuck too. Don't do
the tuck like, don't do the Gretzky tuck. That's a
no no.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
As well? What else we got you?
Speaker 2 (22:40):
I love this.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
I would love for you to come talk to my
men's league because there's definitely guys like that.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Oh, I would make them cry. No, that's not not happening.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
One quick aside with that, is there an unwritten rule?
You've played with girls before and women right if a
guy goes after a girl or woman on your team,
is there not an unwritten rule that the rest to
the team just destroys that guy?
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Yeah? Why? Why? Why would he be going after a girl?
Speaker 2 (23:09):
It happened to me.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
What did you do to.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
I was just I was just getting in front of
the I was just yeah, I was just mixing it up.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
I was just getting you know, I got.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
To get down there and be ready for a tip
in whatever, because I obviously can't shoot the puck, so
I got to be like right down there to just
get the jam the puck in and a guy cross
checked me from behind and then he said some very
inappropriate words for a podcast to me, and then I
turned around and then I just basically sucker punched.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Him, and then everyone else and then everyone else came
it came in.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
That's yeah, and he should and then the rest of the
game they destroyed him.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Every shift he was on the ice dead good.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
That's good. Those are good teammates. I would say the
next one to your to that point. The next one is,
you know, if guys are fighting, I used to it's
kind of a code. Is you know, you don't hit
a guy when he's down on the ice. You know,
you never really see that very often. Maybe there's some
skirmishes and guys are wrestling around, but you're not punching
the guy while he's down. And then I would say
another one unwritten rule. And I think this kind of
(24:18):
it's more superstitious. But you know, say you're winning by
you're winning two nothing, three nothing, and you know it's
a third period, You're you're not saying the word shutout.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
We need to get the shutout. You're not saying that.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
That would be like if you're playing baseball and someone
children no hitter and you're like, Okay, we got to
protect this no hitter.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
You're not saying that, okay.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
And there was one instance I remember when I was
in junior and we had this guy from Europe that
came over to new our coach, and he came on
the bench when I was playing in Seattle, and I
remember we were up by two goals, we were winning to nothing,
and we were winning by like a minute and a half.
It was a minute and a half left in the game.
And remember he was in the back of the bench
and yelled protect the shutout, Protect the shutout, and our
(25:04):
whole bench did like this one look back at him
like you can't be serious, right, So that's another one.
I think those are ones that really stick out to
me that those are unwritten rules that everyone should know.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Okay, so you mentioned that guy that was saying project
the shutout and some guys that don't necessarily follow them.
Is that Do you find that there's there's rule breakers
or do does most of the league just kind of
know this stuff?
Speaker 4 (25:33):
Yeah, everyone knows.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
I think some guys will break these unwritten rules on
purpose to stir shit up.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
You know.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
I think that's that's the case too. Like sometimes you're
gonna see guys do things to cause players to get
mad or come at them, you know, like for example,
Mason Appleton, maybe maybe he wasn't thinking of it, maybe
he was maybe he was like, I'm gonna shoot this
in the net no matter what, and something's gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
But oh wow, So there's leeway for the rules sometimes.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Sometimes sometimes there's lee way, sometimes there is, but they're definite.
Is unwritten rules that you follow and that everyone follows
and everyone kind of knows and you learn along.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
The way, and is one of them not saying to
the media about your friends, your former teammate's girlfriend, your
former teamate having a girlfriend aka Jumbo Joe on TSN
about Austin Matthews and his girlfriend, which then took the
world by storm. Knowing that Austin Matthews now had a
(26:29):
girlfriend because of Joe Thornton.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Yeah, Jumbo Joe gave him a little hard launch, didn't Hey,
not on purpose? But yeah, I don't know, I don't
know about those unwritten rules. But yeah, that was that
was funny. That that's funny. That's really funny.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Yeah, that was that was That was quite funny and
also just so perfect because it's like everyone already everyone
knows his marital status in the world, but mostly in Toronto,
and is curious about it. Are there any unwritten rules
when it comes to media.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
Well, I should ask you that, Julie.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
No, But from the player's perspective, the.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Player's perspective, I would say it's, you know, we always
talk about whenever you're talking to a media reporter or whoever,
it's if you want things to be off the record,
you say off the record. And I've learned sometimes with
certain reporters, certain media members, sometimes it's not always off
the record. But I would say that that And I
think the biggest thing players want they just want they
want to be They want to have respect. They want
(27:24):
respect from the reporter. And it goes both ways. But
I think they just want respect from the reporter. They
want to know what's going to be said, what's going
to be there, I guess. And I think to another
thing is is making sure that there's a dialogue after,
like if the reporter, I think the big thing is
(27:44):
does that reporter show up the next day? You know
what you just reminded me of I know, I already know,
I already know, and that's rest in peace, Larry Brooks.
But like that, that's a big thing. That's a huge thing.
And John Torrella talked about that, that's a huge thing.
You know, a lot of players will get a ton
of respect from for that reporter. The fact that he's
there the next day. He's there the next day to
(28:05):
talk it out or if he wants to hash it out.
Like that's that's what players want to see.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Right, And Nate was just referencing, of course, the late
Larry Brooks, who tragically passed away last week and was
a longtime writer for the New York Post, worked with
the Devils, really did everything, was the highest standard of
reporting in New York, in really all of hockey. He
was in the Hall of Fame. I was at his
(28:32):
memorial service on Sunday, and you could just tell the
respect that he had based on how many people were
there in the hockey community too. I mentioned to you,
Nate that Billy Garrion flew in and he had.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
To fly out.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
He flew in and gave his condolences to the family
and then had to fly out. But it was such
a show of respect that he made that effort, and
it showed how much people respected Larry, because Larry would
write stories that maybe not everybody liked, but he would
be there the next day. Yeah, like and that's to
show up and he did his work. I mean, he
(29:08):
was really the he's the standard of reporting and I
was obviously I'm very very upset sad that he's gone
as a human, but also in terms of the level
of reporting that we now don't have on in this world,
like that level was so high, and it reminds me
(29:29):
also of Grant Wall too.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Also rest in peace, the late Grant Wall, who is
a soccer writer.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Those reporters have such great respect from the players, from staff,
from media. They don't always write the things that you
want to hear, but as again we say, they do
it the right way. Would you ever go talk to
a reporter after if you saw them maybe later, and
you thought a conversation was off the record, and then
you see them and you're like, hey, buddy, what was
(29:59):
up with that?
Speaker 4 (30:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
I think there might have been a instance when I
I can't remember completely, but I think there might have
been instance when I played in Montreal. I can't remember
the reporter wrote something and I read it and I
didn't agree with what he said. And yeah, I went
up to him and I talked to him and I said, hey, listen,
like I didn't say this, and you know, we we
(30:22):
hashed it out and he apologized and there was a miscommunication,
but we hashed it out and we were fine.
Speaker 4 (30:28):
And I respect him for that. I respect him for.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Taking what I wanted to say and taking with a
grain of saltants and we were and hash it out
like we did. So there was an instance. But I think,
like you said, I if player and the reporter can
communicate and to your point, like, that's why I think,
you know, Larry Brooks was one of the best, if
not the best, because he was able to do that.
And I think also John Torrella talked about that and
(30:56):
and said that's what he loved. He loved the fact
that he could debate with him and he would come
back the next day and has save a smile on
his face and say hi. You know, that's that's important
because at the end of the day, Julie, everyone's doing
their job. Everyone's trying to grow the game. You reporters,
they're trying to tell stories, and those stories are going
to help and they're going to sell the game, and
(31:17):
we're trying to do the same thing and going out
there and putting our bodies on the line and doing
all things and sell and sell a product at the
same time. So I think everyone's trying to sell the
game and they have to remember that, right.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
And I'm just looking at rules of things.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I mean, God, don't ever walk back into a locker
room if you've ever walked on that logo.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
Yeah, that's a good one.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Why is the logo even there when it's I know
some teams put something over top of it, but it's
like we're dancing around with like our camera and our
cable trying not to step on the logo.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
I don't know, that's a good question. I don't know
why they put it. I mean there's a lot of
teams now they're putting the logo on the ceiling above,
which is smart. So I don't know, that's a good question.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Every locker room.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
I going to don't step on the logo. Don't step
on the logo. So this feels like it not a
good place to put a logo.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
That's pretty funny because how many times I've given reporters
or anyone shit about stepping on the logo, and I'll
be sitting there be like, hey, off the logo, off
logo and there, and people get reporters and immediately they
gets so nervous too if they're stepping on it and
there's a player that calls them out that they're on
the logo.
Speaker 4 (32:28):
It's actually it's actually funny.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
You literally wanted to dig mess with them.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Yeah, yeah, because you also sometimes are running in there
to get a guy like or get an interview, and
then you step on the logo and you're just like,
oh my god, like I need to retire from life
right now.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
I cannot come back here again.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
We're going to take a quick time out, but when
we return, we're going to give you our thoughts on
the biggest games of this week leading into the week
that is American Thanksgiving here on Energy Line with Natan JSB.
Welcome back to Energy Line with Nate and JSB as
we wrap things up up and look ahead some interesting
games on the dock at this week.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Nato Tator, what do you have your eye on.
Speaker 4 (33:12):
I'm gonna say the Bruins and Ducks.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
I'm going to the game on Wednesday, and I'm looking
forward to this one.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
The Bruins have been playing really good hockey as of late.
Same with the Duck.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
The Ducks have been struggled a little bit, but they
got a huge win last night against the Mammoth and
we all know how exciting they are to watch. So
I'm really really looking forward to that game. Both teams
that I used to play for as well, so it
should be fun.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
What about you, Yeah, I love that for you. It's
like two of your high schools like that. I don't know,
are two people you dated that you're watching. It's like weird,
like who do you have an affinity to?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
More?
Speaker 3 (33:48):
Probably the Ducks. I was there for three years. I
was drafted by the Bruins. There is a lot of
history there. I'm gonna go see my good buddy Marco
Sturm too, say hi to him after as well.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
End of the show.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
End of the show exactly. So it'll be fun. It'll
be fun to go to that game and watch whole
and hopefully it's a good game.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Yeah, hopefully it is a good game and you'll get
to see the speed and the excitement that Steve Valaquet
had talked about with some of these shots from the
younger players that his system had never even seen before
because of the level of creativity and decision making and whatnot.
And you know, just as an aside, like how Paul
Bisnette on TNT talks like made the joke about he
(34:26):
calls it like pass off pads him and did you yeah, Pop?
Speaker 2 (34:31):
I talked to Valley about that. I'm like, so do
you know about Pop?
Speaker 1 (34:34):
And he was like, what am I pass off pads
that Gretzky like razzed biz for?
Speaker 2 (34:38):
But then you ye are scenes. I mean, I don't
think it's on purpose.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
It's sometimes it can be if you have nothing, you
can know the options, but it's not really your first
choice to shoot it off the pads.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
I do like that that has become I just love
Gretzky being like.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
What what are you talking about?
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Okay, So there's some other games going on I'm interested in.
Other than obviously seeing if the Leafs have a backbone
or not, is seeing the New Jersey Devils who have
been able to still have the flex Seal guy there
despite Jack Hughes being out, and I want seeing them
(35:19):
taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who also have multiple
flex Seal guys trying to stop any kind of issues
of happening because they've had so many different injuries. Guy, like,
it's a revolving door there. But they've been able to Nate,
as you remind me before he came on, that gone
seven and three in their last ten and that has
been mostly without mcdonna and Headman and Sorelli and Hegel
(35:43):
and James and a ton of guys. But it looks
like Sorelli will be back and potentially Hadman who practiced
the other day.
Speaker 4 (35:51):
Let's have a great week of hockey.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
I'm looking forward to some good things and lets Leafs,
it's going to be okay.
Speaker 4 (35:59):
It's gonna be okay.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
We're gonna get our crystals out. There is a new
there is a full moon. There is a new moon
or a full moon in Scorpio on the twentieth, and
that's all about power and intensity, and we are going
to channel that power and intensity into the Leaf's locker
room because Sports Astrology. That's going to be our new podcast.
We'll talk about it after this. Thanks guys so much
(36:23):
for listening to Energy Line with Natan JSB. This is
production of the NHL and iHeart podcast Thank you so
much to our producer Matt Heavier and all of you
guys for listening and subscribing, liking sharing the podcast.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
We really love it.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
It means a lot to us and of course our
bank accounts, so please keep doing that and we'll see
you guys next week. Energy Line is the production of
(37:01):
the NHL and iHeart podcasts. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
your podcasts.
Hosts And Creators
Nate Thompson
Julie Stewart-Binks
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My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.