August 17, 2022 • 22 mins
Former NHL player Dan Boyle joins Ron to talk about his life and career. From 1998-2016, Boyle scored 164 goals and played over 1,093 games for the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2004, San Jose Sharks and the New York Rangers. He was also a member of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Gold Medal-winning Canadian Hockey Team.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Ron Bar and this is today's edition of
Ron Barr's Sports Byeline USA podcast on the eight Side Network.
This is America's sports talk show Sports Byline USA. Here's
Ron Barr. Dan Boyle joins us on Sports Byline. Defenseman
(00:23):
who played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey League with Florida,
Tampa Bay, San Jose and the Rangers, and he has
a place in NHL history. Is one of four defenseman
to lead two different franchises in scoring, and he won
a Stanley Cup Championship playing with the Lightning. Also, he
won a gold medal for Canada in the two thousand
and ten Olympic Games in Vancouver. Dan, you grew up
(00:44):
in Ottawa and to an American, baseball is certainly the
national pastime, but Canadians it's hockey. What is it about
hockey that makes it so special? God, I don't know.
I mean I would venture to out of ten boys
probably pushed on the ice as soon as they can,
as soon as their fathers can. So um, you know
(01:05):
the weather has something to do with it. Obviously it's
cold for for more months than than it is in
some of the warmer states. And uh, you know, you've
got to find something to do outside. And with the
with the frozen ranks and the frozen ponds, people you
know like to to send their kids out to play
hockey or skate, and I was just another Canadian boy
that you know, pretty much was on the ice all
(01:25):
the time. Don Cheverier was a good friend of mine,
and of course he hosted Hockey Night in Canada. We
used to talk about it sometimes and he said, you
really couldn't put your finger on it, but it's almost
like the d n A and Canadians, especially the kids.
Was he right about that? Yeah, and and and again
it transfers from from one, you know, from parents to
the kids. You know, you you grow up, you it's
(01:47):
usually on TV. You know, back in you know, on
Saturday nights or whatever. My dad and my mom would
be watching TV. So as a as a young child,
I'd do the same. And you just kind of fall
in love with the sport and and then know it
keeps going and going. Who are your favorite players growing up?
I had too, In particular, I worked my War twenty
two because of Rick Talkin. I was a Philadelphia Flyers
(02:08):
fan growing up, and my favorite defenseman was Brian Leech,
who was number two. So, um, those two guys are
probably the two U two guys that I like the most. Damn.
The physicality of the game a little bit like football,
of course, but how does one develop that physicality from
being a kid to growing up and do eventually playing
(02:28):
in the National Hockey League. Yeah, some guys some Obviously.
I was not a big body, so I had to
work at it. I had to get in the weight
room and uh, put in some extra time and try
to strengthen my body because I wasn't going to be stronger,
bigger than most of the guys. So you know, some
guys have that natural gift where they're born and there
they grew up to be six five and two thirty forty.
(02:50):
But I wasn't that. So I just spent a lot
of time in the gym and a lot of time
in the weight room, and um, I think what helped
me was was really my brain. I had to be
a little bit smarter out there then then other guys
and and kind of no understand the situations when you're
an undersized player and you know what where to go
and how to get there. You were undrafted out of
(03:11):
Miami university. Did that surprise you that you weren't taken
in the draft? It did not, because it small documented
I was. I was kind of an underdog my whole life.
I was overlooked. I was told early on that I
would never make it, so it was kind of in
grain and whether it's right or wrong, I just kind
of never expected to to make it, even though you know,
(03:32):
I was always the top player on my team growing up.
I just never really realistically thought that I had a
chance because I was told that I wouldn't have a chance.
Do you smile sometimes when you think back seventeen seasons
playing professional hockey for somebody that they said couldn't play
at that level. Oh for sure. I had a chip
on my shoulder from day one and I still haven't
(03:53):
now even though I'm retired. Um, I h I never
gave up. I never quit and I believe that myself,
even even though others didn't. And uh yeah, I mean
to every day. Every day was a bonus for me.
I wasn't expected to play one game, let alone over
a thousand, So it's a It's an absolutely amazing story
and I'm really proud when people take a look at
(04:16):
players no matter what the sport might be. Because I've
had my other friends that were in pro football say
the same thing. I was either undrafted or drafted, Like,
what is it that they don't see in the evaluation process. Yeah,
I mean for me that the biggest thing was size.
I think that the skill was there, but size being
back then, you know, the bigger players was. You know,
(04:37):
you don't you don't see it as much anymore, but
back then, a defenseman under six feet they wouldn't even
look at you. So you know, in football, quarterbacks need
to be a certain size. But you look at a
guy like Russell Wilson, who's my favorite player in the NFL.
You know, he's the kind of guy cheer for because
he's an undersized quarterback and he's doing obviously amazing things
out there. So it was just a size thing for me.
(04:58):
And that's something that you can't change, and you can't
go in the in the gym and work on that.
You're only gonna be as tall as as uh as
God wants it. And uh, you know, that's the one
thing I couldn't I couldn't change, and that's the one
thing that people thought that we're not allowing me to
be in a NHL player, Dan, one of the things
that I've known about any sport hockey, Uh, the wings
(05:20):
have a certain mentality, The defenseman have a certain mentality,
the goalies have a certain mentality. Helped me out a
little bit with a defenseman's mentality. Yeah, Well, usually the
goalies are the weirdos. They're the ones that you know
are going in net to face a hunter mile on
our shots. So they're usually not all all all right upstairs. Um,
I think Fowards and Demander, you know, identical. I think
(05:42):
that that you know, it's changed over the last twenty years. Defenseman.
Back then we're a little bit more. You're tougher guys,
are slower guys, bigger guys. But um, it's changed now
to where you get a little bit, you get more,
more mobility in the back end. So I would say
that the goalies are definitely different, different birds, but the
Fords and the defenseman are are usually more of the same.
(06:05):
You finally got your chance with the Florida Panthers a
couple of years and the Miners, and then you come
up as well being a guy from Canada and now
playing hockey down in South Florida, was it kind of
a strange situation for you? I mean, how do hockey
fans in South Florida react to the sport? Yeah? It was,
you know what they I came in. The Florida Panthers
(06:25):
made it to the Stanley Cup Finals a year or
two before I got there, so hockey was kind of
a big thing. They were in Miami and they had
just moved to where they are today, which is Sunrise,
so that was kind of new. But no, hockey was
kind of a big deal, especially the team was had
been doing well. So um, again, for me, I was
just so happy to be up. I didn't care where
(06:47):
I played. Um, I was just so thrilled. And it
was a great quality of life, you know, and you
can go to the rink and and in the middle
of December and driving in the sun, and you know,
maybe go play golf on a day off. I mean,
was it was a pretty amazing way to live. Yeah,
you're not shoveling snow out of the walkway, are you? No? No? Absolutely.
(07:09):
In two thousand two you were dealt to the Tampa
Bay Lightning and in two thousand four you lifted the
Stanley Cup Championship with the Lightning for the first time
the Cup. And I just wonder how you look back
on that period of time with Tampa Bay because it
was upsetting the way it ended. But tell me a
little bit about the team that won the Stanley Cup
Championship in your time there. Yeah, very very similar to
(07:32):
my personal story. I think the team had some um
undrafted you know, Marty Sanduley being the other one in particular. UM.
You know, there was a lot of under UH guys
that weren't expected to be there, and we were a
team that wasn't expected to win, and we just kind
of all came together, um, very much like my story
(07:54):
and then kind of an underdog team in an underdog
city and we all came together in the right place
at the time. Guys found their way on that team
from different scenarios and it was a short uh. I
mean by the time from the time I got there,
went from a non playoff team to you know, a
playoff team to a Stanley Cup winner within you know,
two years, So it was it was quick and that
(08:16):
doesn't happen very often. But it's a it's a credit
to UH, to the management that you know went out
and found some of these players in different situations and
put put the team together in championship season, there's always
kind of crossroads. What was it for the Tampa Bight team.
I don't I mean, I don't know. It was just
it was just it's like the stars aligned, you know.
(08:39):
We we made the playoffs the Europe again after I
got there for the first time and forever. We lost early.
We kind of learned from that. So I think that
loss it was, you know, maybe a crossroads. I don't
know if you want to call it that, but it
was just kind of showed us what it would take
to win. And then we went on to win the
following season, so it was a it was a quick lesson,
(08:59):
but it was a good one. You know, Championships really
do mean an awful lot to players, no matter what
the sport is. Because I've heard a lot of my
friends say, you know, I would give up all the
numbers if I could get a championship. Tell me a
little bit in your particular case, what that meant to you,
Because after what you told me about how you had
to always fight to get anything, I would assume that
(09:20):
that meaning was probably a little bit deeper for you.
I for sure I'd I'd give up all my goals
and assists for another for another chance of a Stanley Cup.
I statistics, you know, we're never important to me. I
never had a you know, I never had a milestone.
I never said, you know, sometimes they say to set goals.
I never had goals. As far as actual goals and
(09:43):
assists are concerned. It was it was always about winning
for me, and I'd be willing to, you know, take
away all my personal points and for another chance of
the championship. And that was my number one goal and
the only goal I had going in every season. I
know that the players get a day to have the
Cup in their presence and and to do what whatever
they wanted. What did you do the day you had
(10:04):
to come? Too much? They literally warned you. They say,
don't they say, simplified, don't overdo it, because other guys
have done in the past. And and sure, sure, sure enough,
I overdid. I did way too much. I ended up
getting a day and a half. I got it the
night before. Uh. And I told my wife that I
just wanted my my, my my friends. My buddy is
(10:27):
just kind of the guys I grew up with, and
not kind of have, you know, other people around, and
she understood that. It was just kind of one of
those things for me. So we kind of went out
a little too late and a little too much. And
then the next day it was it was more family
oriented friends, you know where I grew up. We raised
some money throughout the day on three separate occasions, so
you try to give back to the community a little bit,
(10:48):
and we did that, but it was it was a
long day after the night before, and uh, you know,
it was. It was amazing. I wouldn't I wouldn't change it,
but it was definitely, uh it was. There was a
lot of stuff going on boils with US defenseman who
played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey League, won a
Stanley Cup championship, and also won a gold medal in
the Olympics in two thousand and ten. We'll talk about
(11:09):
that aspect of his life and other things as we
continue across the country and around the world. We've got
you on Sports byelone. You're listening to Ron Barr's Sports
Byline USA podcast. This is America's sports talk show Sports
Byline USA. Here's Ron Barr Dan Boyle with us here
(11:34):
on Sports Byline Usa. We're talking about his career and
also his life. Grew up in Canada and then played
seventeen seasons when nobody thought he could play in the
National Hockey Like, take me back for just a second
to that two thousand four, two thousand five lockout season.
That was one of the strangest things I had ever
seen in sports to lose a whole season. Now in
(11:55):
baseball they lost a portion of the season in the
World Series, but what was that like, how did the
of years approached the possibility of a lockout and then
go through that whole season lost. It's tough, It's it's
a it was a miserable time for for the players,
the owners, the fans, everybody. You know, again, there's the
business side of things that sometimes you have to unfortunately
(12:18):
take care of and and and nobody enjoyed it. Nobody
liked it. It It was tough. You know, we had just
come off a Stanley Cup win. We ended up losing
you know, a handful of players because you know, our
contracts rolled over, so we lost some guys. So when
we came back the following year after, we weren't the
same team we would we were. That had one So
I think it hit us harder than anybody else because
we didn't have a chance to defend it with the
(12:39):
same team. Uh. And you know it didn't do any
good to anybody that you know, the fans, the owners,
the players. It was, it was. It was a tough one.
Did it may hockey any better? I don't know. Time
will tell. I mean, you know, I don't. I don't
know if I have that answer. You know, I think
you know, they wanted parody and leave. They do have it.
(13:00):
They wanted the cap, they have it now. So um,
time will tell, you know, hopefully hopefully the answer is yes.
But I don't know that. You know, I've watched minor
league hockey back when Seattle had a hockey team in
the w h L, and I remember how the game
was played. And now the introduction of European players and
other players around the world and everything, how has that
(13:21):
changed the game? Dan, Yeah, there's certainly they play a
different style in Europe. I was over there that that
year in two dozen four. I ended up playing in
Stockholm in Sweden for a year, So, um, you know,
it's it's it's nice to have guys that think the
game differently. Um, so they I certainly welcome those guys.
You know, if you want the best, if you want
to be in the best league in the world, you
(13:42):
got to bring in the best players in the world.
And a lot of them come from overseas, and uh,
you know, they're They're part of what makes the NHL
so special. One of the things, and talking to Paul Korea,
that I like about hockey pedel players in general, is
is that they are blue collar athletes. I mean, we
know what the money is around professional sports, but I've
never seen anybody with an attitude that I thought was
(14:04):
associated with how much money they were making. How have
they been able to maintain that balance and perspective on life? Yeah,
I agree, I think you know, seventeen years guys, you
know a year, I never have either. Guys are down earth. Um,
it's just the culture. I think it's it starts with
the parents. Um that that teach the kids the right way.
(14:28):
And then when players come to teams, Um, everybody's making money. Um,
the veterans, the older guys kind of show the younger
guys the ropes and um, you just keep everybody in
checking and then it just rubs off. And then as
you get older, you start to take care of the
younger guys, and it's just an ongoing thing. And you know,
(14:48):
we take pride in what we do. We're we're thankful
and grateful for what we do. I mean, we're playing
hockey for a living, so I don't think anybody takes
it for granted. So I agree with that you mentioned
about the business side of hockey, and you certainly had
to deal with that down in Tampa Bay. At the
very end. You had signed a six year contract and
then it went crazy. They wanted you to to waive
(15:09):
your no trade clause or they were going to replace you.
And I think that hurts you more than anything else.
But you're a principal person, and I think that's the
other thing that came into play as you left Tampa Bay.
Am I correcting that observation? Yeah, I mean, I mean
those owners were therefore I think a year and a half,
So I think that speaks for itself to show what
kind of character and what kind of people they were.
(15:31):
I I've never had a problem. Everybody can get traded,
So whether you sign a six year deal or not,
that's that's that's fine. I don't I was never upset
with that. Um, I was just told, you know, I
was told certain things that was not true and and
there were things that were happening behind my back that
we were relied to, and that that that's that was
(15:52):
the thing that I was had a problem with. If
you if you want to trade me or looking to
trade me, then then let me know. Don't tell me
that that's a lie and and it's untrue when when
it is so that that that was the big problem
I had. So um, you know, like I said, there
was those guys are there for a year and a
half and thank god for Mr. Vinnick that came into
Tampa and and rescued that team from from a tough ownership.
(16:15):
You closed out your career playing six years for the
San Jose Sharks and two seasons for the New York
Rangers as well. You go from East coast to West coast?
Is there much difference and and just the whole atmosphere
around hockey between that because I often hear the Western
Conference in the Eastern Conference in the NBA, different type
of basketball and everything. What is it like for hockey?
(16:35):
What was that like for you? Just even from a
style standpoint. Yeah, again, I'm earlier on At the start
of the career, there was a difference in the West
Coast East Coast, but um, it's a copycat league. Teams
try to emulate the past winners and it became, uh,
it just became all the same. I think the biggest
difference is to travel. I think when you're especially when
(16:57):
you're out west here in San Jose. Um, I'm in
the six years I was here, I think we set
the record, you know, three or four years in a
row as far as miles traveled. So you've got your
time change, which makes a difference. I mean some people
don't understand that, but when you're when you're going somewhere
east and you've got three hours you know of of
time change, and then you're coming back out west and
(17:17):
it just gets tough. The sleeping gets tough. So I
think the travel morning more than the on ice stuff
is it was about the harder adjustment. And certainly San
Jose is not New York as far as media h
size and everything else. How did you find that? Yeah,
it's different. I mean, I you know, obviously you've got
(17:37):
ten times more media coverage out east than you do here. Um,
you know, it's it's it can be both. You know,
if you're playing well, you're doing the team is doing well,
obviously you're gonna media is gonna jump on board. And
if they're not, they're they're going to find a way
to get after you. So there's there's pros and cons.
I personally loved it here in San Jose and the
(17:58):
way we were treated as players, and um, you know
I preferred it, Yeah, Dan. One of the things that
I have been critical of, uh in talking about the
sports media is that a number of them will criticize
athletes when they've never played the game themselves. And you
certainly had that in New York because I know, uh
New York Post writer Larry Brooks and and I know
(18:20):
you two had a falling out there and I thought
it was justified on your place because you called him
out on something that was right on the mark. And
I'm just wondering, Uh, the media is it has it
because it's become more entertainment oriented that it's that it's
harder to deal with them. How do you see them? Yeah,
it's I think I mean especially the newspapers. Listen, people
(18:41):
are with the technology today, they almost have to do
something and and and shock instead of you know, in
order to get people to read what they're reading. And
you know, I listen. I'm my hardest critic. Okay, if
I'm playing bad or if I'm doing something bad, that's fine.
I will. I have for seventeen years accepted, you know,
(19:03):
what has to come my way. But when it's not
your fault, when people go out of their way specifically
to make you look bad for for things that are
untrue or false, and especially when someone's never even played
the game, and you know that that's what that was
frust frustrating. It was it was a personal attack in
New York um and and that I had a big,
(19:23):
big problem with. And and again I was for seventeen years,
I've dealt with tons of media people, some of them
might call my friends. Uh, never had a problem with
somebody called me out. But when it wasn't warranted, and
when it was all the time and you could you
know it was personal. That's obviously when it hit the
hit a boiling point for me in New York. And
Larry's known for that. I'm not the first one he's
(19:46):
come after, and I won't be the last. Um you know,
And and in New York Unfortunately he's the guy for
some reason that um the rest of the media look
up to for some reason. But meanwhile, you know the
players and the opposing players, you know, it's the opposite.
So it is what it is. I mean, it was.
(20:07):
It was unfortunate, but I don't I don't take it
back because you know, our team and me personally didn't
deserve to be treated the way we uh we were.
So we only have a little bit over a minute left.
And what are your memories of standing on the medal
stand and hearing the Canadian national anthem and getting the
gold medal in the two thousand ten Olympic Games. Yeah,
(20:28):
it's amazing. I've been asked for which one do? What
do I prefer? I mean, for me, it was a
Stanley Cup that was kind of my dream growing up.
But for the gold medal, I think it was it
was about everybody else. It was about the thirty I
don't know how thirty three million Canadians. Um, it was
more of the Stanley Cup was more for me personally,
and then the the Olympic goal was for for everybody
(20:51):
else and for all the Canadians. So it was a
different feeling. You know, you come together. You're only together
for a very short period of time, so you're you're
definitely playing for your country, and it's it was a
different feeling. I love what you said when you retired,
the quote being I've been fortunate and blessed to have
had the opportunity to do what I most loved to do.
All I wanted to do as a young boy was
(21:11):
have the opportunity to play one game in the NHL.
Over a thousand games later, this whole experience seems surreal,
great way to end a career. Yes, thank you, It's true.
I mean I, like I said, I was told I
don't even think about it, so I would always think
I wouldn't even dream about winning the Cups so much
as I was just skating out playing one game, one shift,
(21:32):
and and a thousand and god knows how many games later,
it's all been. Uh, it's it's a pretty amazing, amazing accomplishment. Well,
it was great to watch you play, Dan, and you
had a wonderful seventeen year career championship both in the
National Hockey League and also an Olympic gold medal. Take
care and thank you for joining us here on Sports Byline.
Thank you very much. Dan Boyle with us de Fetzman,
(21:54):
who played seventeen seasons in the NHL with Florida, Tampa Bay,
San Jose and the Rangers, and he that NHL Stanley
Cup Championship while playing with Tampa Bay. We continue with
more of you and America's sports talk show. You have
been listening to Ron Barr's Sports Byline USA podcast on
the eight Side Network
Hi, I'm Ron Bar and this is today's edition of
Ron Barr's Sports Byeline USA podcast on the eight Side Network.
This is America's sports talk show Sports Byline USA. Here's
Ron Barr. Dan Boyle joins us on Sports Byline. Defenseman
(00:23):
who played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey League with Florida,
Tampa Bay, San Jose and the Rangers, and he has
a place in NHL history. Is one of four defenseman
to lead two different franchises in scoring, and he won
a Stanley Cup Championship playing with the Lightning. Also, he
won a gold medal for Canada in the two thousand
and ten Olympic Games in Vancouver. Dan, you grew up
(00:44):
in Ottawa and to an American, baseball is certainly the
national pastime, but Canadians it's hockey. What is it about
hockey that makes it so special? God, I don't know.
I mean I would venture to out of ten boys
probably pushed on the ice as soon as they can,
as soon as their fathers can. So um, you know
(01:05):
the weather has something to do with it. Obviously it's
cold for for more months than than it is in
some of the warmer states. And uh, you know, you've
got to find something to do outside. And with the
with the frozen ranks and the frozen ponds, people you
know like to to send their kids out to play
hockey or skate, and I was just another Canadian boy
that you know, pretty much was on the ice all
(01:25):
the time. Don Cheverier was a good friend of mine,
and of course he hosted Hockey Night in Canada. We
used to talk about it sometimes and he said, you
really couldn't put your finger on it, but it's almost
like the d n A and Canadians, especially the kids.
Was he right about that? Yeah, and and and again
it transfers from from one, you know, from parents to
the kids. You know, you you grow up, you it's
(01:47):
usually on TV. You know, back in you know, on
Saturday nights or whatever. My dad and my mom would
be watching TV. So as a as a young child,
I'd do the same. And you just kind of fall
in love with the sport and and then know it
keeps going and going. Who are your favorite players growing up?
I had too, In particular, I worked my War twenty
two because of Rick Talkin. I was a Philadelphia Flyers
(02:08):
fan growing up, and my favorite defenseman was Brian Leech,
who was number two. So, um, those two guys are
probably the two U two guys that I like the most. Damn.
The physicality of the game a little bit like football,
of course, but how does one develop that physicality from
being a kid to growing up and do eventually playing
(02:28):
in the National Hockey League. Yeah, some guys some Obviously.
I was not a big body, so I had to
work at it. I had to get in the weight
room and uh, put in some extra time and try
to strengthen my body because I wasn't going to be stronger,
bigger than most of the guys. So you know, some
guys have that natural gift where they're born and there
they grew up to be six five and two thirty forty.
(02:50):
But I wasn't that. So I just spent a lot
of time in the gym and a lot of time
in the weight room, and um, I think what helped
me was was really my brain. I had to be
a little bit smarter out there then then other guys
and and kind of no understand the situations when you're
an undersized player and you know what where to go
and how to get there. You were undrafted out of
(03:11):
Miami university. Did that surprise you that you weren't taken
in the draft? It did not, because it small documented
I was. I was kind of an underdog my whole life.
I was overlooked. I was told early on that I
would never make it, so it was kind of in
grain and whether it's right or wrong, I just kind
of never expected to to make it, even though you know,
(03:32):
I was always the top player on my team growing up.
I just never really realistically thought that I had a
chance because I was told that I wouldn't have a chance.
Do you smile sometimes when you think back seventeen seasons
playing professional hockey for somebody that they said couldn't play
at that level. Oh for sure. I had a chip
on my shoulder from day one and I still haven't
(03:53):
now even though I'm retired. Um, I h I never
gave up. I never quit and I believe that myself,
even even though others didn't. And uh yeah, I mean
to every day. Every day was a bonus for me.
I wasn't expected to play one game, let alone over
a thousand, So it's a It's an absolutely amazing story
and I'm really proud when people take a look at
(04:16):
players no matter what the sport might be. Because I've
had my other friends that were in pro football say
the same thing. I was either undrafted or drafted, Like,
what is it that they don't see in the evaluation process. Yeah,
I mean for me that the biggest thing was size.
I think that the skill was there, but size being
back then, you know, the bigger players was. You know,
(04:37):
you don't you don't see it as much anymore, but
back then, a defenseman under six feet they wouldn't even
look at you. So you know, in football, quarterbacks need
to be a certain size. But you look at a
guy like Russell Wilson, who's my favorite player in the NFL.
You know, he's the kind of guy cheer for because
he's an undersized quarterback and he's doing obviously amazing things
out there. So it was just a size thing for me.
(04:58):
And that's something that you can't change, and you can't
go in the in the gym and work on that.
You're only gonna be as tall as as uh as
God wants it. And uh, you know, that's the one
thing I couldn't I couldn't change, and that's the one
thing that people thought that we're not allowing me to
be in a NHL player, Dan, one of the things
that I've known about any sport hockey, Uh, the wings
(05:20):
have a certain mentality, The defenseman have a certain mentality,
the goalies have a certain mentality. Helped me out a
little bit with a defenseman's mentality. Yeah, Well, usually the
goalies are the weirdos. They're the ones that you know
are going in net to face a hunter mile on
our shots. So they're usually not all all all right upstairs. Um,
I think Fowards and Demander, you know, identical. I think
(05:42):
that that you know, it's changed over the last twenty years. Defenseman.
Back then we're a little bit more. You're tougher guys,
are slower guys, bigger guys. But um, it's changed now
to where you get a little bit, you get more,
more mobility in the back end. So I would say
that the goalies are definitely different, different birds, but the
Fords and the defenseman are are usually more of the same.
(06:05):
You finally got your chance with the Florida Panthers a
couple of years and the Miners, and then you come
up as well being a guy from Canada and now
playing hockey down in South Florida, was it kind of
a strange situation for you? I mean, how do hockey
fans in South Florida react to the sport? Yeah? It was,
you know what they I came in. The Florida Panthers
(06:25):
made it to the Stanley Cup Finals a year or
two before I got there, so hockey was kind of
a big thing. They were in Miami and they had
just moved to where they are today, which is Sunrise,
so that was kind of new. But no, hockey was
kind of a big deal, especially the team was had
been doing well. So um, again, for me, I was
just so happy to be up. I didn't care where
(06:47):
I played. Um, I was just so thrilled. And it
was a great quality of life, you know, and you
can go to the rink and and in the middle
of December and driving in the sun, and you know,
maybe go play golf on a day off. I mean,
was it was a pretty amazing way to live. Yeah,
you're not shoveling snow out of the walkway, are you? No? No? Absolutely.
(07:09):
In two thousand two you were dealt to the Tampa
Bay Lightning and in two thousand four you lifted the
Stanley Cup Championship with the Lightning for the first time
the Cup. And I just wonder how you look back
on that period of time with Tampa Bay because it
was upsetting the way it ended. But tell me a
little bit about the team that won the Stanley Cup
Championship in your time there. Yeah, very very similar to
(07:32):
my personal story. I think the team had some um
undrafted you know, Marty Sanduley being the other one in particular. UM.
You know, there was a lot of under UH guys
that weren't expected to be there, and we were a
team that wasn't expected to win, and we just kind
of all came together, um, very much like my story
(07:54):
and then kind of an underdog team in an underdog
city and we all came together in the right place
at the time. Guys found their way on that team
from different scenarios and it was a short uh. I
mean by the time from the time I got there,
went from a non playoff team to you know, a
playoff team to a Stanley Cup winner within you know,
two years, So it was it was quick and that
(08:16):
doesn't happen very often. But it's a it's a credit
to UH, to the management that you know went out
and found some of these players in different situations and
put put the team together in championship season, there's always
kind of crossroads. What was it for the Tampa Bight team.
I don't I mean, I don't know. It was just
it was just it's like the stars aligned, you know.
(08:39):
We we made the playoffs the Europe again after I
got there for the first time and forever. We lost early.
We kind of learned from that. So I think that
loss it was, you know, maybe a crossroads. I don't
know if you want to call it that, but it
was just kind of showed us what it would take
to win. And then we went on to win the
following season, so it was a it was a quick lesson,
(08:59):
but it was a good one. You know, Championships really
do mean an awful lot to players, no matter what
the sport is. Because I've heard a lot of my
friends say, you know, I would give up all the
numbers if I could get a championship. Tell me a
little bit in your particular case, what that meant to you,
Because after what you told me about how you had
to always fight to get anything, I would assume that
(09:20):
that meaning was probably a little bit deeper for you.
I for sure I'd I'd give up all my goals
and assists for another for another chance of a Stanley Cup.
I statistics, you know, we're never important to me. I
never had a you know, I never had a milestone.
I never said, you know, sometimes they say to set goals.
I never had goals. As far as actual goals and
(09:43):
assists are concerned. It was it was always about winning
for me, and I'd be willing to, you know, take
away all my personal points and for another chance of
the championship. And that was my number one goal and
the only goal I had going in every season. I
know that the players get a day to have the
Cup in their presence and and to do what whatever
they wanted. What did you do the day you had
(10:04):
to come? Too much? They literally warned you. They say,
don't they say, simplified, don't overdo it, because other guys
have done in the past. And and sure, sure, sure enough,
I overdid. I did way too much. I ended up
getting a day and a half. I got it the
night before. Uh. And I told my wife that I
just wanted my my, my my friends. My buddy is
(10:27):
just kind of the guys I grew up with, and
not kind of have, you know, other people around, and
she understood that. It was just kind of one of
those things for me. So we kind of went out
a little too late and a little too much. And
then the next day it was it was more family
oriented friends, you know where I grew up. We raised
some money throughout the day on three separate occasions, so
you try to give back to the community a little bit,
(10:48):
and we did that, but it was it was a
long day after the night before, and uh, you know,
it was. It was amazing. I wouldn't I wouldn't change it,
but it was definitely, uh it was. There was a
lot of stuff going on boils with US defenseman who
played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey League, won a
Stanley Cup championship, and also won a gold medal in
the Olympics in two thousand and ten. We'll talk about
(11:09):
that aspect of his life and other things as we
continue across the country and around the world. We've got
you on Sports byelone. You're listening to Ron Barr's Sports
Byline USA podcast. This is America's sports talk show Sports
Byline USA. Here's Ron Barr Dan Boyle with us here
(11:34):
on Sports Byline Usa. We're talking about his career and
also his life. Grew up in Canada and then played
seventeen seasons when nobody thought he could play in the
National Hockey Like, take me back for just a second
to that two thousand four, two thousand five lockout season.
That was one of the strangest things I had ever
seen in sports to lose a whole season. Now in
(11:55):
baseball they lost a portion of the season in the
World Series, but what was that like, how did the
of years approached the possibility of a lockout and then
go through that whole season lost. It's tough, It's it's
a it was a miserable time for for the players,
the owners, the fans, everybody. You know, again, there's the
business side of things that sometimes you have to unfortunately
(12:18):
take care of and and and nobody enjoyed it. Nobody
liked it. It It was tough. You know, we had just
come off a Stanley Cup win. We ended up losing
you know, a handful of players because you know, our
contracts rolled over, so we lost some guys. So when
we came back the following year after, we weren't the
same team we would we were. That had one So
I think it hit us harder than anybody else because
we didn't have a chance to defend it with the
(12:39):
same team. Uh. And you know it didn't do any
good to anybody that you know, the fans, the owners,
the players. It was, it was. It was a tough one.
Did it may hockey any better? I don't know. Time
will tell. I mean, you know, I don't. I don't
know if I have that answer. You know, I think
you know, they wanted parody and leave. They do have it.
(13:00):
They wanted the cap, they have it now. So um,
time will tell, you know, hopefully hopefully the answer is yes.
But I don't know that. You know, I've watched minor
league hockey back when Seattle had a hockey team in
the w h L, and I remember how the game
was played. And now the introduction of European players and
other players around the world and everything, how has that
(13:21):
changed the game? Dan, Yeah, there's certainly they play a
different style in Europe. I was over there that that
year in two dozen four. I ended up playing in
Stockholm in Sweden for a year, So, um, you know,
it's it's it's nice to have guys that think the
game differently. Um, so they I certainly welcome those guys.
You know, if you want the best, if you want
to be in the best league in the world, you
(13:42):
got to bring in the best players in the world.
And a lot of them come from overseas, and uh,
you know, they're They're part of what makes the NHL
so special. One of the things, and talking to Paul Korea,
that I like about hockey pedel players in general, is
is that they are blue collar athletes. I mean, we
know what the money is around professional sports, but I've
never seen anybody with an attitude that I thought was
(14:04):
associated with how much money they were making. How have
they been able to maintain that balance and perspective on life? Yeah,
I agree, I think you know, seventeen years guys, you
know a year, I never have either. Guys are down earth. Um,
it's just the culture. I think it's it starts with
the parents. Um that that teach the kids the right way.
(14:28):
And then when players come to teams, Um, everybody's making money. Um,
the veterans, the older guys kind of show the younger
guys the ropes and um, you just keep everybody in
checking and then it just rubs off. And then as
you get older, you start to take care of the
younger guys, and it's just an ongoing thing. And you know,
(14:48):
we take pride in what we do. We're we're thankful
and grateful for what we do. I mean, we're playing
hockey for a living, so I don't think anybody takes
it for granted. So I agree with that you mentioned
about the business side of hockey, and you certainly had
to deal with that down in Tampa Bay. At the
very end. You had signed a six year contract and
then it went crazy. They wanted you to to waive
(15:09):
your no trade clause or they were going to replace you.
And I think that hurts you more than anything else.
But you're a principal person, and I think that's the
other thing that came into play as you left Tampa Bay.
Am I correcting that observation? Yeah, I mean, I mean
those owners were therefore I think a year and a half,
So I think that speaks for itself to show what
kind of character and what kind of people they were.
(15:31):
I I've never had a problem. Everybody can get traded,
So whether you sign a six year deal or not,
that's that's that's fine. I don't I was never upset
with that. Um, I was just told, you know, I
was told certain things that was not true and and
there were things that were happening behind my back that
we were relied to, and that that that's that was
(15:52):
the thing that I was had a problem with. If
you if you want to trade me or looking to
trade me, then then let me know. Don't tell me
that that's a lie and and it's untrue when when
it is so that that that was the big problem
I had. So um, you know, like I said, there
was those guys are there for a year and a
half and thank god for Mr. Vinnick that came into
Tampa and and rescued that team from from a tough ownership.
(16:15):
You closed out your career playing six years for the
San Jose Sharks and two seasons for the New York
Rangers as well. You go from East coast to West coast?
Is there much difference and and just the whole atmosphere
around hockey between that because I often hear the Western
Conference in the Eastern Conference in the NBA, different type
of basketball and everything. What is it like for hockey?
(16:35):
What was that like for you? Just even from a
style standpoint. Yeah, again, I'm earlier on At the start
of the career, there was a difference in the West
Coast East Coast, but um, it's a copycat league. Teams
try to emulate the past winners and it became, uh,
it just became all the same. I think the biggest
difference is to travel. I think when you're especially when
(16:57):
you're out west here in San Jose. Um, I'm in
the six years I was here, I think we set
the record, you know, three or four years in a
row as far as miles traveled. So you've got your
time change, which makes a difference. I mean some people
don't understand that, but when you're when you're going somewhere
east and you've got three hours you know of of
time change, and then you're coming back out west and
(17:17):
it just gets tough. The sleeping gets tough. So I
think the travel morning more than the on ice stuff
is it was about the harder adjustment. And certainly San
Jose is not New York as far as media h
size and everything else. How did you find that? Yeah,
it's different. I mean, I you know, obviously you've got
(17:37):
ten times more media coverage out east than you do here. Um,
you know, it's it's it can be both. You know,
if you're playing well, you're doing the team is doing well,
obviously you're gonna media is gonna jump on board. And
if they're not, they're they're going to find a way
to get after you. So there's there's pros and cons.
I personally loved it here in San Jose and the
(17:58):
way we were treated as players, and um, you know
I preferred it, Yeah, Dan. One of the things that
I have been critical of, uh in talking about the
sports media is that a number of them will criticize
athletes when they've never played the game themselves. And you
certainly had that in New York because I know, uh
New York Post writer Larry Brooks and and I know
(18:20):
you two had a falling out there and I thought
it was justified on your place because you called him
out on something that was right on the mark. And
I'm just wondering, Uh, the media is it has it
because it's become more entertainment oriented that it's that it's
harder to deal with them. How do you see them? Yeah,
it's I think I mean especially the newspapers. Listen, people
(18:41):
are with the technology today, they almost have to do
something and and and shock instead of you know, in
order to get people to read what they're reading. And
you know, I listen. I'm my hardest critic. Okay, if
I'm playing bad or if I'm doing something bad, that's fine.
I will. I have for seventeen years accepted, you know,
(19:03):
what has to come my way. But when it's not
your fault, when people go out of their way specifically
to make you look bad for for things that are
untrue or false, and especially when someone's never even played
the game, and you know that that's what that was
frust frustrating. It was it was a personal attack in
New York um and and that I had a big,
(19:23):
big problem with. And and again I was for seventeen years,
I've dealt with tons of media people, some of them
might call my friends. Uh, never had a problem with
somebody called me out. But when it wasn't warranted, and
when it was all the time and you could you
know it was personal. That's obviously when it hit the
hit a boiling point for me in New York. And
Larry's known for that. I'm not the first one he's
(19:46):
come after, and I won't be the last. Um you know,
And and in New York Unfortunately he's the guy for
some reason that um the rest of the media look
up to for some reason. But meanwhile, you know the
players and the opposing players, you know, it's the opposite.
So it is what it is. I mean, it was.
(20:07):
It was unfortunate, but I don't I don't take it
back because you know, our team and me personally didn't
deserve to be treated the way we uh we were.
So we only have a little bit over a minute left.
And what are your memories of standing on the medal
stand and hearing the Canadian national anthem and getting the
gold medal in the two thousand ten Olympic Games. Yeah,
(20:28):
it's amazing. I've been asked for which one do? What
do I prefer? I mean, for me, it was a
Stanley Cup that was kind of my dream growing up.
But for the gold medal, I think it was it
was about everybody else. It was about the thirty I
don't know how thirty three million Canadians. Um, it was
more of the Stanley Cup was more for me personally,
and then the the Olympic goal was for for everybody
(20:51):
else and for all the Canadians. So it was a
different feeling. You know, you come together. You're only together
for a very short period of time, so you're you're
definitely playing for your country, and it's it was a
different feeling. I love what you said when you retired,
the quote being I've been fortunate and blessed to have
had the opportunity to do what I most loved to do.
All I wanted to do as a young boy was
(21:11):
have the opportunity to play one game in the NHL.
Over a thousand games later, this whole experience seems surreal,
great way to end a career. Yes, thank you, It's true.
I mean I, like I said, I was told I
don't even think about it, so I would always think
I wouldn't even dream about winning the Cups so much
as I was just skating out playing one game, one shift,
(21:32):
and and a thousand and god knows how many games later,
it's all been. Uh, it's it's a pretty amazing, amazing accomplishment. Well,
it was great to watch you play, Dan, and you
had a wonderful seventeen year career championship both in the
National Hockey League and also an Olympic gold medal. Take
care and thank you for joining us here on Sports Byline.
Thank you very much. Dan Boyle with us de Fetzman,
(21:54):
who played seventeen seasons in the NHL with Florida, Tampa Bay,
San Jose and the Rangers, and he that NHL Stanley
Cup Championship while playing with Tampa Bay. We continue with
more of you and America's sports talk show. You have
been listening to Ron Barr's Sports Byline USA podcast on
the eight Side Network
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