Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let me start here.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
And I know you've heard this a million times, but
I don't think you can hear it enough because I
don't think people understand number one, how hard it is.
Number two, how big those shoes are. You did a
great job filling in for Locker.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Oh, thank you very much. We're completely different personalities than guys,
but uh, you know the common denominators. We both love
the game of hockey. We've been around it our entire
adult lives. And you know, once you get used to
the rhythm of Joe and how the booth works, uh,
you're forced to think on your feet a lot quicker.
But once again, it's hockey, and hockey's been our entire lives.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Hey, was it like early early days of doing it?
Was it harder than you thought it would be? I mean,
obviously it's different, but was it harder than you thought
it would be.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
I've always I've always had a respect for it, and
you know, the thing with it is when you're doing
the other roles that I do, is that you have
time to think about everything. You know, sometimes from a
post game the other day, I been rehearsing and replaying
the game, or more replaying the game in my mind
as the problems, what we're good, what we're bad, and
(01:08):
you know the solves and the analysis, and then you
do a call the day before and you go over
a few things, but you have time to sit on it,
and you have time to be an armshair quarterback, and
same thing when something happens in a period you have,
you know, you have time to digest and think about
what you're going to say on the intermissions, and the
(01:29):
same for the post game. But it's a completely different
frame of view. You know, whether I'm in the building
in the arena or I'm in the studio watching the game,
it's a different angle. When you're in the press box,
you're right over top of the middle. You're you know,
and even though you know all the players, sometimes because
(01:49):
everyone looks the same up there on the opposition, it's
tough to get a really good read on which exact
player it is. So, you know, it's just more like
live fire versus sitting on your sofa and playing a
video game, basically.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Right, I get that, Hey, did you like the did
you like traveling around and doing all of that?
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Though, well, I've done it before with the team, you know,
before the pandemic. Sure I was traveling, but yeah, uh
I sat one night. We were in Seattle after an
Edmonton game and it was a quick trip, but you know,
there are a delay here, delay there, and I'm getting
up and I'm going, Wow, I said, I'm kind of
tired and I'm kind of sore. And all I did
(02:30):
is work out in the hotel. I didn't I didn't
play a game. I didn't block a shot, didn't take
a hit, make a hit, race anybody for a puck,
you know, twenty times a game. And I was like, wow,
I'm tired. I can only imagine how they feel. And
so it's you know, they've got to get up earlier.
I can sleep in on the road. I don't have
to go to the skate like they do three hours
before they're on the ice. So you know that that part.
(02:52):
But I absolutely love hanging on the road. The dinners
are hilarious. And the part you missed the most when
you were a player as soon as you I always
call it going the real world from our bubble life.
That's absolutely spectacular and amazing is that you don't get
to laugh and all the stupid inside jokes and you
just you know, We got a cameraman, Greg Abernathy, and
(03:13):
when I go to dinner with him, I cannot quit laughing.
And it's just how he orders this food, what he
orders for dinner or lunch or whatever it is, and
you just laugh. And then you know, you have nicknames
for everybody, and that part is an absolute blast. And
once again, when you're around a really, really fun hockey
team with an incredible amount of awesome people, that part
(03:36):
is great as well, because everything about this Capital squad
has been so fun and enjoyable since the start of
the year because there's so many awesome personalities on the team. Hey.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Two things, and then we'll get to the team in
a second.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Number One at the game on on Sunday against Buffalo
was at the game the tribute that they did inside
the building for for Locker for him being back. Dude,
that was awesome. It was great to see that.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
It was and you know, we had our plan. I
thought initially I thought he'd be back sooner, but this
was a game that no no doubt this, We had
this one circle to get his ass back to well
and make sure that he was doing the game and
just do everything right, make sure he's great. But you know,
he's such a beloved member of the community. He came
(04:30):
here in eighty two, he loved for a couple of years.
He started doing the broadcast in nineteen ninety. I usually
have to remind him when he started. And he is
such He loves this team, and the team loves him,
the players, coaches, everyone that's ever been associated with and
and and the fan base certainly because he's got a
very unique personality. He's got a very unique voice that's
(04:51):
gotten better and better and gravel. You know, it's got
more gravel to it with time. And he's an upbeat personality.
I love being around him. No one makes me laugh
more than him, and I always tell everyone he has
the best laugh in hockey. And I try every time
i'm with him, whether it's you know, doing a cross
talk on a show or in a booth, to make
(05:12):
him laugh, because it makes me happy to hear him laugh.
And I was so I was overwhelmed the other day
with you know, the fans reaction to him, and really
his reaction to being back was, you know, we knew
it would be great, and I'm so happy that he's
back on the call. And I felt that it's just
that he's here for the great Chase, and I felt
(05:33):
that it should be he and Joe B and I
hopefully it happens on our air one hundred percent sure,
and so our friend base, So that will live forever.
You'll hear those two guys talking about Obie when he
ties Drets and when he passes Grets.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Hey, Alan, and when the time is right, And listen,
you play a very I don't want to say a
small part, but you play a part in everything that
happened with Locker. We have to figure out a time
when the time is right or we have more time
to do it for to get into how that all
came together, I would love to do.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
That well with Locker. I had been trying for years
and I finally flew down and forced basically forced him
to go into our facility. And that's that's got this rolling. Uh.
You know. He he rides the peloton seven days a week.
He plays tennis four to seven days a week in
the summer, he skates all the time. He's either playing
(06:25):
pick a ball or tennis. He's a very active dude.
And with everything that was going on, something bad would
have happened. And it wouldn't have been great. And and
so with you. I've been wearing you out for over
a year now, and uh, one of these fridays, as
soon as you get out, the air will fly down
and we'll take care of that before we get opened here.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, but I don't want to be Oh, hey, will
you make will you make the same deal if I
end up having to be gone for seven weeks?
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Will you come in and host the show?
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Damn right? So well, I can't wait.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
All right, let's switch gears. Let's get into a couple
of things. Capitals. We are going to get to Ryan Leonard,
but I'm not going to start there. We've dropped three
in a row.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
And I can deal.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
With losing to Winnipeg on the road. I can deal
with even losing the Minnesota game. Why does the why
does a thirteen goal performance we end up with five?
Speaker 3 (07:24):
But that?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
How do we end up losing to Buffalo? I just
that game bothered me on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Well, get used to it because it happens in every
fan base of every top team in the National Hockey League.
And the Caps lost that, believe Sanjose earlier in the
year when they were dead last, and it happens. And
you know, I always say that the season goes in rhythms,
and you know, it's not the end of the world.
A loss is a loss. At the end of the year,
(07:50):
when the Capitals have their final record, are you going
to be able to if you're just gonna complain about
the one game they lost to Buffalo or the day
they lost one in overtime a shootout, and if only
John Carlton would have scored in the shootout, if you know,
if Ovie wouldn't have missed that empty net in the
game against Chicago, and you know, January whatever. So it's
(08:11):
a loss is just a loss to me. A win
is a win, and at the end they start as
your record. But for me, the best thing that can
happen is you you don't lose a close one to Buffalo,
you kind of get your ass kicked, and that way
the coach has everyone's attention and then even the guys.
There was a lot of players the other day that
were on for almost every goal against the Sabers. That's
(08:34):
not and I'm not gonna include the empty netter, right,
but there are players and when they look at the
stat sheet and the fans don't really pay attention like
we do. They're gonna look and they're gonna be They're
gonna be very upset with themselves and the way they
performed and they had. I don't beat guys up over
one bad game. Like I've always talked and used this
example in Canada, everything is the end of the world.
(08:58):
Rasmus san Ben just got mulated up there, and you
know he's come here. He's quiet. You know, if he
walks into a grocery store, the or a restaurant, people
are saying things to him about him. He's got to
listen to it. On the talk radio non stuff, which
they have nothing but all hockey radio, kind of like
around here, it seems like it's all Redskins radio or
or excuse me, football team radio, commanders radio on the
(09:24):
local sports shows, and you know, it's just all day,
every day, and it wears you out here Rastus sending
you know, he could have a he could have ten
giveaways in a game, and he just has to get
his game, his act together with his teammates and his
coaching staff for the next game. He doesn't have to
hide in his house, he doesn't have to hide bodyguards.
He's not going to be brutalized in the media until
(09:47):
the next game, and then they're going to remember that.
You know, he could win the most MVP of the
playoffs and people are gonna say, what about that game
he had ten giveaways, But in Toronto, if he had
one giveaway on November two, they're gonna talk about that. There.
You know, it's gonna be forever, it's gonna be. It
would be on a tombstone, right, And so I just
look at the game. A loss is a loss, but
(10:08):
I'm happy that, you know, they got their butts kicked
the way they did, because once again it makes your
rein everything in it's an attitude adjustment, not that they
needed much. And then you know, on the road they
everyone's you know, the Winnipeg game could have went either way.
It was an excellent hockey game, probably not as great
as it seemed everyone else, but it was still a
great hockey game. Minnesota team that's trying to battle for
(10:30):
a playoff spot, and I don't know what the rest
were doing that game, but the cap should have been
on the power play all night with all the hooking
and the holding and the grabbing of the sticks, and
you know, they lost that one, and they come back
and the Buffalo game doesn't go the way they the
way they want, the way anyone wants, and certainly on
a matinee game like that, you don't want it to be.
(10:50):
You know, you get pumped in front of your fans
and a building that's got every seat is full. But
once again, it's it's a loss. It's an attention getter
for the players to get their act together. It's late
in the season. You want you want to be on
the playoff roster. You want to make sure that you
know you're getting a good amount of ice time. And
(11:10):
there's a lot of good players that had a lot
of really bad games the other day. And on the
other side of it, Buffalo is a team that once
the trade died deadline comes around with these last place teams,
the players starts scoring goals and bunches receiving. In Philadelphia,
we've seen it in Buffalo. Buffalo's won for their last five.
They've scored twenty seven, they've given up twenty. So it's
not like they shut it down defensive. They're trying to
(11:33):
pad their stats. Philadelphia is doing the same thing. They're
winning by and larger winning. You know, but you know
when they score, when they're playing in their games later,
they're scoring a lot of goals. And so it's just
one of those things. I've seen it over you know
my history in the NHL. It's at the end once
the trade line, dead line comes and goes. Players get
called up, players get sent away. Everyone just plays for
(11:54):
their game and has more fun there. They have a
lot less external pressure and it just becomes about putting
up number and playing hard. And that's what happened to
the Caps. It was the perfect storm for some misery
the other day.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Hey, Alan, let me ask you this go back to
Alan made the player. When you are in the situation
that the Caps are in right and I'm not giving
them a pass. I just want to know from a mentality,
because it's easy to sit here and go, oh, they
should have done this, or it should be like this.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
You've already wrapped up the Metro Division.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
You know you're going to the playoffs, like you know
you've got home ice advantage at least for the first round.
Is it hard as a player to keep that same
intensity up? And I don't want to say they're meaningless games,
And there are things, whether it's individual stats, playoff rosters
like whatever it is. But is it harder to manufacture
(12:45):
that intensity at all?
Speaker 3 (12:48):
I honestly don't think so. But then I come from
a different place because my whole game was intensity when
I played, And it's different for different players, the skilled players.
But the biggest thing, and you know why the great
players are great is because they have pride. They have
professional pride. And you know, there are nights when I
was worried and I liked Obi's game the other day,
(13:08):
but there are nights when I thought over the last
few years, I go you know, Obi's heart is always
in the game, and his brain is in the game.
You know, his love of the game is still there
and his heart and his brain, and sometimes they tell
the body to go with the older players and they
don't necessarily listen. So I was always worried with him
(13:28):
that that would happen. But he's found a way to
keep that body going, keep it moving, and you know,
the love of the game, and guys like if Bill
and Strom didn't like his game the other day, he's
got pride in himself and he's going to be upset
that he wants to go out and play better, and
same with Dubois and Eller and Dowd, and you know,
I didn't like the games of the forwards the other
(13:49):
day defenseman, I felt, we're under siege and under attack
because you know, the team was out of sync. But
to me, there's no letting up. And when the Cats
were younger, long time ago, I remember a little dip
in March and kind of April at the start and there,
and some of the players said, oh, we're just waiting
for the playoffs. Well, you know that that's very disrespectful
(14:12):
of that your next opponent, and is very disrespectful of
the team that you're going to play in the first
round when you're that far ahead. So they've learned some lessons. Uh,
Carly's here, Ov's here, Carlson's here. I know I'm missing
a name right now, but you've got guys that saw
some of that with the team, and they're not going
to let it happen. So the players, the grinder players
(14:35):
in the bottom two lines, they're going to be upset
and they're going to be you know, it's almost like
an insecurity when you play in those lines that you
always feel like when you lose, it's your fault, even
though you know your role is not to score all
the goals and all of that, and then the top
players they're going to be upset because they they let
their team down. They didn't do what they should have
done offensively and when they didn't have the bucks. So
(14:57):
I think professional pride takes over and you still have
to play out and everyone loves playing the game, so
no half assing it. You want to be your best
at all times. And they've learned lessons in the past.
They've got a lot of new players here that are
still proving themselves as there's guys who need contracts next year.
You don't want to go down the stretch and not
(15:18):
putting a good performance for next year, whether you're playing
here or somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Hey, Alan, let me ask you this.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
So like obviously here and you've seen it anytime any well,
first of all, anytime ovi's on the eyes, especially now
as close as we are, everybody's on the edge of
the sea going like is this it? If a puck
comes his way and he pulls his stick back, it's
a you kuld I said the other day, you could
hear a mouse qweef. It is so quiet and there
waiting to see if he's going to score like it is.
(15:46):
It's crazy, But I want to know from the other
side when you were on the road, fans and other buildings,
even if they know, listen, he's not going to break
the record tonight.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Is it just is it?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Is it the same thing of people just coming out
of the woodwork just to see a part of history.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
There there are and everywhere we've been, the the fans
have cheered on the opposition. They they they they're getting
to see something that you can talk about forever if
you're a true sports fan, an NHL fan, a hockey fan.
And it's been pretty cool in the other buildings and
like you just go back, like the greatness of Ovepskin
(16:24):
the other night in Minnesota, the way he hauled all
the players back on the ice to give a tribute
and a handshake to Mark Andrei, who was the backup
goalie that night. Right, you know there are moments people
will always talk about that if they had if they
didn't like Ovetskin for some reason, Uh, that would have
won them over. So it the fans in the other buildings,
(16:44):
it's been sensational. There's a there's a sea of red
everywhere we go. Uh, it's funny. Man in Minnesota. Even
though I'm color blind and fans tend to prefer the
dark jerseys, I could see Capital jerseys everywhere, thousand of them.
And it's been that way every road game, everywhere we've gone.
(17:05):
It's the rock star, the ultimate rock star of the
National Hockey League is on this tour to become the
greatest goal score in the history of the National Hockey League.
Right now, he's number two to my guy Grets, but
at some point he's going to be number one. He
will be the greatest of all time when it comes
to scoring goals, and everyone wants to be there, and
we look at I called the game on the radio
with the National Game the night that Obi had a
(17:26):
hat trick against the Blackhawks and he and he got
his eight hundred goal was the hat trick, and the
arena was going nuts and they were cheering him on
to score goals against the Blackhawks in this original sixth city,
and I really I got choked up watching it. I
just thought it was amazing. And then the Blackhawks players,
you know, stopping and reaching out during the game and
(17:49):
honoring it and celebrating this incredible player. So if the
players love it on the opposition. I think a goaltender
if you're smart. We're not smart. You don't you don't
ever want to let a goal in you But if
you're the guy, you're gonna be able to cash in
on that the rest of your life if.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
You let him.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
You know, the guy who left in a last goal
and the guy that lets in eight ninety five, maybe
the guy that lets in number nine hundred. When did
we get to that? Sure, but it'll it'll be pretty
cool because you'll you'll be on the speaking engagement tour
with OBE. Maybe when it's done, you'll be getting twenty
to fifty thousand dollars a pop to show up to events.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Hey, Alan, all right, let me get to uh, let
me get to Ryan Leonard. So Ryan Leonard gets drafted
two years ago. He goes and spends two years playing
at Boston College. They end up getting knocked out of
the out of the tournament. He signs his entry level contract.
His two years at Boston College, he was a beast
World Juniors for the past two years. The kid has
(18:47):
been a beast. Is it like, what what is a
fair expect? Well, first of all, do we know for sure?
Is he playing tonightn't. I haven't been able to look
and see if they made it official. Is he playing
tonight in Boston?
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Do we know?
Speaker 3 (19:00):
I would put my bank account on it tonight that
he's playing. So, yes, he will play. There's a reason
that he was signed yesterday afternoon. He will play tonight. Unfortunately,
someone's going to come out of the lineup. We don't
know who it is yet. But Ryan will play tonight.
And the expectations for him are, you know, just go
play hockey. Don't give him too much information. I was
(19:22):
worried to they signed him and then he was with
the team until Friday. There'd just be too much information
because the game is so different in college. You know,
they're not feeding you all the information all the time,
the iPad life and everything that goes with having I
think we've got eight or nine coaches on this team.
It's a lot of information, and you're coming up here
and then you know you're worried about stepping on toes
(19:44):
with your teammates. You're just basically, he's a five year
old in an that Oult locker room right now, and
he's living out his child dream. His brain's going to
be in every different direction. His entire family will be there.
Every single one of his teammates is going to be
there that you know, the guys that aren't going to
go and play their first NHL game tonight or tomorrow,
they'll all be there. Uh, every one of his friends,
(20:05):
childhood friends, will be at the game. So there's a
lot of things going on. But I expect him to
go out there and play with a ton of enthusiasm
and emotion, and uh, you know, it's gonna be the
most positive, happy experience he's ever had in his life. Uh,
when it happens. Drafton's one thing, playing the World Juniors
is another, But playing in the NHL is the ultimate
(20:25):
goal for every hockey player, especially North Americans. And uh,
it's going to be great to see tonight. And I hope,
I hope he has I hope he has the game
of his life and comes up swinging.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Is it?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Is it unfair? As has too much of an expectation
been put? I mean, listen, we're gonna see some like
you said, we're going to see some good teams down
the end, We're gonna see teams that are playing for pride.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
But if, if, assuming he makes the playoff, roster.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
That's a whole other Like you said, he's a five
year old playing with adults.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
That's a whole other can of worms.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Well put it this way. You know he will be
with the team and regardles one way or the other
with the playoffs, but you don't want to, you know,
take any confidence away. He's got a lot of learning
to do, and he went from playing checkers now he's
playing chess. The most important area of every young player
that goes in the National Hockey League is how they
(21:16):
play without the puck. You know, you got sometimes you
got to quit on the ford checks. Sometimes you've got
to be really really careful with the puck in your
own defensive zone. You've got to know where to stand
the nuances inside the game. And you know, young players
Ovet's get included backs from all the all of the
guys that ever worn this jersey here and every National
Hockey League jersey, the guys that were the elite draft
(21:39):
picks and elite players offensively from around the world. It
takes a while to figure out what to do with
the puck because they've never ever really thought about it.
You know, defensive play to some of these guys was well,
if I just come back on my own zone and
I'm inside the zone that's playing defense, and no it's not,
it's where exactly escape back to. Are you in front
(21:59):
of the player, behind the player, inside position, outside position? Uh?
Are you leaving the zone too early? But you've got
to know where to go in a one on one battle.
How do you battle for that bucket? Where's your body position,
your stick position? And they've never had to really think
about that because I looked at, you know, a lot
of Ryan's games this year. I watched a lot of
his games this year, and there are things inside the
(22:21):
defensive zone that I would say, well, you can't do
that in NHL. He got away with it there because
there's a supreme amount of confidence and he's got he
had a lead ability. It was the game was almost
too easy for him this year in the NC Double A.
And now he's coming out with the best of the best.
Regardless of what fans think of any player in any ross,
they're still the best of the best. Maybe, you know,
(22:42):
maybe some teams have a makeup where they all are
NHL players, but maybe they all shouldn't be playing in
the same game for the same team and you spring.
You know, it's just it makes it tough. And so
he'll have lessons learned, but he'll have more. He'll be
more focused because this is his dream. He wants to
be a good NHL player, not just an NHL player,
(23:03):
not he wants to be in the lineup. He wants
to be a part of the team. So he'll accelerate
his focus on the game. He's not just here for
you know, an NHL spring break vacation. This is this
is the real live Bullets now, and he's going to
be all in and you know he'll learn. He'll give
him a little bit more to take every single game.
(23:23):
And that way, so they just don't want any glaring
errors and they don't want to lose him, to lose
his confidence. And hopefully he can shine and one way
or another, he's a Washington capital and he's got lessons
to learn and hopefully he's a very productive member and
the team goes far in the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Hey, last thing, and then I'll let you jump.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
If Alan May was Spencer Carberry and you mentioned it earlier,
he goes in somebody's coming out.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Where does he where we do? Where do you slot
him in?
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Well? You got to well, this is going to be
very different tonight how they do it. And you know,
the there's a part of me that would love to
see him play with and Stromer or Dubois h you know,
just to highlight it and get him going. But you know,
the way Spencer thinks, Spencer thinks of everything. Actually, he's
amazing for such a young coach in the National Hockey League,
(24:13):
how well thought out he is. And you know, the
slot that everyone always talked about was that he'd be
on the third line when he gets here. But you know,
and a lot of people, a lot of people that
follow the team, a lot of huge fans of the
teams and Psycho fans as well. They they think we
got Wayne Gretzy coming in. They've got to you know,
(24:34):
temper their thoughts and he's got to go out there
and feel comfortable. And you know, the safest thing might
do to playing with Lars Eller in the third line.
So that way, defensively, he's got a back up and
a guy that will who will build him up. And
that's kind of been Lars's role over the years, is
getting these guys, these young players to elevate without the puck.
But uh, there's a part of me that would love
(24:57):
to see him playing in the top line with Ovi,
not to be disrespectful of any of the guys that've
been up there, but then you got to shuffle out
your top six, which has been the best top six
in the National Hockey League this year, right, So I
would expect the third or third line, fourth line. You
didn't bring him here to be a fourth liner, and
that can take away some of your game because you
got to get rid of the puck more often than
(25:18):
not dump it, and you got to play a defensive
role against the top line. So I'd expect he's going
to be in that middle six one way or the other.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Good deal.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
We get Boston tonight on the road, Carolina tomorrow night
on the road back home on Friday against the Blackhawks. Alan,
I appreciate the time as always, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Buddy, Hey, thank you. And I think Friday, if Obie
gets a couple tonight and maybe something to more Carolina.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Oh dude, don't even start.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Don't even start, Allan, please please, I'll lose my mind.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
I will lose my mind on Friday night.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Well, I think on Friday night. Take it. If ob
get the couple the next few days. With the roster
that Chicago currently has, I think the four hundred level
tickets might be going for three thousands.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
All right, my friend, I'll talk to you later. Thank you, Alan,
Let me start here.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
And I know you've heard this a million times, but
I don't think you can hear it enough because I
don't think people understand number one, how hard it is.
Number two, how big those shoes are. You did a
great job filling in for Locker.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Oh, thank you very much. We're completely different personalities than guys,
but uh, you know the common denominators. We both love
the game of hockey. We've been around it our entire
adult lives. And you know, once you get used to
the rhythm of Joe and how the booth works, uh,
you're forced to think on your feet a lot quicker.
But once again, it's hockey, and hockey's been our entire lives.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Hey, was it like early early days of doing it?
Was it harder than you thought it would be? I mean,
obviously it's different, but was it harder than you thought
it would be.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
I've always I've always had a respect for it, and
you know, the thing with it is when you're doing
the other roles that I do, is that you have
time to think about everything. You know, sometimes from a
post game the other day, I been rehearsing and replaying
the game, or more replaying the game in my mind
as the problems, what we're good, what we're bad, and
(01:08):
you know the solves and the analysis, and then you
do a call the day before and you go over
a few things, but you have time to sit on it,
and you have time to be an armshair quarterback, and
same thing when something happens in a period you have,
you know, you have time to digest and think about
what you're going to say on the intermissions, and the
(01:29):
same for the post game. But it's a completely different
frame of view. You know, whether I'm in the building
in the arena or I'm in the studio watching the game,
it's a different angle. When you're in the press box,
you're right over top of the middle. You're you know,
and even though you know all the players, sometimes because
(01:49):
everyone looks the same up there on the opposition, it's
tough to get a really good read on which exact
player it is. So, you know, it's just more like
live fire versus sitting on your sofa and playing a
video game, basically.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Right, I get that, Hey, did you like the did
you like traveling around and doing all of that?
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Though, well, I've done it before with the team, you know,
before the pandemic. Sure I was traveling, but yeah, uh
I sat one night. We were in Seattle after an
Edmonton game and it was a quick trip, but you know,
there are a delay here, delay there, and I'm getting
up and I'm going, Wow, I said, I'm kind of
tired and I'm kind of sore. And all I did
(02:30):
is work out in the hotel. I didn't I didn't
play a game. I didn't block a shot, didn't take
a hit, make a hit, race anybody for a puck,
you know, twenty times a game. And I was like, wow,
I'm tired. I can only imagine how they feel. And
so it's you know, they've got to get up earlier.
I can sleep in on the road. I don't have
to go to the skate like they do three hours
before they're on the ice. So you know that that part.
(02:52):
But I absolutely love hanging on the road. The dinners
are hilarious. And the part you missed the most when
you were a player as soon as you I always
call it going the real world from our bubble life.
That's absolutely spectacular and amazing is that you don't get
to laugh and all the stupid inside jokes and you
just you know, We got a cameraman, Greg Abernathy, and
(03:13):
when I go to dinner with him, I cannot quit laughing.
And it's just how he orders this food, what he
orders for dinner or lunch or whatever it is, and
you just laugh. And then you know, you have nicknames
for everybody, and that part is an absolute blast. And
once again, when you're around a really, really fun hockey
team with an incredible amount of awesome people, that part
(03:36):
is great as well, because everything about this Capital squad
has been so fun and enjoyable since the start of
the year because there's so many awesome personalities on the team. Hey.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Two things, and then we'll get to the team in
a second.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Number One at the game on on Sunday against Buffalo
was at the game the tribute that they did inside
the building for for Locker for him being back. Dude,
that was awesome. It was great to see that.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
It was and you know, we had our plan. I
thought initially I thought he'd be back sooner, but this
was a game that no no doubt this, We had
this one circle to get his ass back to well
and make sure that he was doing the game and
just do everything right, make sure he's great. But you know,
he's such a beloved member of the community. He came
(04:30):
here in eighty two, he loved for a couple of years.
He started doing the broadcast in nineteen ninety. I usually
have to remind him when he started. And he is
such He loves this team, and the team loves him,
the players, coaches, everyone that's ever been associated with and
and and the fan base certainly because he's got a
very unique personality. He's got a very unique voice that's
(04:51):
gotten better and better and gravel. You know, it's got
more gravel to it with time. And he's an upbeat personality.
I love being around him. No one makes me laugh
more than him, and I always tell everyone he has
the best laugh in hockey. And I try every time
i'm with him, whether it's you know, doing a cross
talk on a show or in a booth, to make
(05:12):
him laugh, because it makes me happy to hear him laugh.
And I was so I was overwhelmed the other day
with you know, the fans reaction to him, and really
his reaction to being back was, you know, we knew
it would be great, and I'm so happy that he's
back on the call. And I felt that it's just
that he's here for the great Chase, and I felt
(05:33):
that it should be he and Joe B and I
hopefully it happens on our air one hundred percent sure,
and so our friend base, So that will live forever.
You'll hear those two guys talking about Obie when he
ties Drets and when he passes Grets.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Hey, Alan, and when the time is right, And listen,
you play a very I don't want to say a
small part, but you play a part in everything that
happened with Locker. We have to figure out a time
when the time is right or we have more time
to do it for to get into how that all
came together, I would love to do.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
That well with Locker. I had been trying for years
and I finally flew down and forced basically forced him
to go into our facility. And that's that's got this rolling. Uh.
You know. He he rides the peloton seven days a week.
He plays tennis four to seven days a week in
the summer, he skates all the time. He's either playing
(06:25):
pick a ball or tennis. He's a very active dude.
And with everything that was going on, something bad would
have happened. And it wouldn't have been great. And and
so with you. I've been wearing you out for over
a year now, and uh, one of these fridays, as
soon as you get out, the air will fly down
and we'll take care of that before we get opened here.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, but I don't want to be Oh, hey, will
you make will you make the same deal if I
end up having to be gone for seven weeks?
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Will you come in and host the show?
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Damn right? So well, I can't wait.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
All right, let's switch gears. Let's get into a couple
of things. Capitals. We are going to get to Ryan Leonard,
but I'm not going to start there. We've dropped three
in a row.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
And I can deal.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
With losing to Winnipeg on the road. I can deal
with even losing the Minnesota game. Why does the why
does a thirteen goal performance we end up with five?
Speaker 3 (07:24):
But that?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
How do we end up losing to Buffalo? I just
that game bothered me on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Well, get used to it because it happens in every
fan base of every top team in the National Hockey League.
And the Caps lost that, believe Sanjose earlier in the
year when they were dead last, and it happens. And
you know, I always say that the season goes in rhythms,
and you know, it's not the end of the world.
A loss is a loss. At the end of the year,
(07:50):
when the Capitals have their final record, are you going
to be able to if you're just gonna complain about
the one game they lost to Buffalo or the day
they lost one in overtime a shootout, and if only
John Carlton would have scored in the shootout, if you know,
if Ovie wouldn't have missed that empty net in the
game against Chicago, and you know, January whatever. So it's
(08:11):
a loss is just a loss to me. A win
is a win, and at the end they start as
your record. But for me, the best thing that can
happen is you you don't lose a close one to Buffalo,
you kind of get your ass kicked, and that way
the coach has everyone's attention and then even the guys.
There was a lot of players the other day that
were on for almost every goal against the Sabers. That's
(08:34):
not and I'm not gonna include the empty netter, right,
but there are players and when they look at the
stat sheet and the fans don't really pay attention like
we do. They're gonna look and they're gonna be They're
gonna be very upset with themselves and the way they
performed and they had. I don't beat guys up over
one bad game. Like I've always talked and used this
example in Canada, everything is the end of the world.
(08:58):
Rasmus san Ben just got mulated up there, and you
know he's come here. He's quiet. You know, if he
walks into a grocery store, the or a restaurant, people
are saying things to him about him. He's got to
listen to it. On the talk radio non stuff, which
they have nothing but all hockey radio, kind of like
around here, it seems like it's all Redskins radio or
or excuse me, football team radio, commanders radio on the
(09:24):
local sports shows, and you know, it's just all day,
every day, and it wears you out here Rastus sending
you know, he could have a he could have ten
giveaways in a game, and he just has to get
his game, his act together with his teammates and his
coaching staff for the next game. He doesn't have to
hide in his house, he doesn't have to hide bodyguards.
He's not going to be brutalized in the media until
(09:47):
the next game, and then they're going to remember that.
You know, he could win the most MVP of the
playoffs and people are gonna say, what about that game
he had ten giveaways, But in Toronto, if he had
one giveaway on November two, they're gonna talk about that. There.
You know, it's gonna be forever, it's gonna be. It
would be on a tombstone, right, And so I just
look at the game. A loss is a loss, but
(10:08):
I'm happy that, you know, they got their butts kicked
the way they did, because once again it makes your
rein everything in it's an attitude adjustment, not that they
needed much. And then you know, on the road they
everyone's you know, the Winnipeg game could have went either way.
It was an excellent hockey game, probably not as great
as it seemed everyone else, but it was still a
great hockey game. Minnesota team that's trying to battle for
(10:30):
a playoff spot, and I don't know what the rest
were doing that game, but the cap should have been
on the power play all night with all the hooking
and the holding and the grabbing of the sticks, and
you know, they lost that one, and they come back
and the Buffalo game doesn't go the way they the
way they want, the way anyone wants, and certainly on
a matinee game like that, you don't want it to be.
(10:50):
You know, you get pumped in front of your fans
and a building that's got every seat is full. But
once again, it's it's a loss. It's an attention getter
for the players to get their act together. It's late
in the season. You want you want to be on
the playoff roster. You want to make sure that you
know you're getting a good amount of ice time. And
(11:10):
there's a lot of good players that had a lot
of really bad games the other day. And on the
other side of it, Buffalo is a team that once
the trade died deadline comes around with these last place teams,
the players starts scoring goals and bunches receiving. In Philadelphia,
we've seen it in Buffalo. Buffalo's won for their last five.
They've scored twenty seven, they've given up twenty. So it's
not like they shut it down defensive. They're trying to
(11:33):
pad their stats. Philadelphia is doing the same thing. They're
winning by and larger winning. You know, but you know
when they score, when they're playing in their games later,
they're scoring a lot of goals. And so it's just
one of those things. I've seen it over you know
my history in the NHL. It's at the end once
the trade line, dead line comes and goes. Players get
called up, players get sent away. Everyone just plays for
(11:54):
their game and has more fun there. They have a
lot less external pressure and it just becomes about putting
up number and playing hard. And that's what happened to
the Caps. It was the perfect storm for some misery
the other day.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Hey, Alan, let me ask you this go back to
Alan made the player. When you are in the situation
that the Caps are in right and I'm not giving
them a pass. I just want to know from a mentality,
because it's easy to sit here and go, oh, they
should have done this, or it should be like this.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
You've already wrapped up the Metro Division.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
You know you're going to the playoffs, like you know
you've got home ice advantage at least for the first round.
Is it hard as a player to keep that same
intensity up? And I don't want to say they're meaningless games,
And there are things, whether it's individual stats, playoff rosters
like whatever it is. But is it harder to manufacture
(12:45):
that intensity at all?
Speaker 3 (12:48):
I honestly don't think so. But then I come from
a different place because my whole game was intensity when
I played, And it's different for different players, the skilled players.
But the biggest thing, and you know why the great
players are great is because they have pride. They have
professional pride. And you know, there are nights when I
was worried and I liked Obi's game the other day,
(13:08):
but there are nights when I thought over the last
few years, I go you know, Obi's heart is always
in the game, and his brain is in the game.
You know, his love of the game is still there
and his heart and his brain, and sometimes they tell
the body to go with the older players and they
don't necessarily listen. So I was always worried with him
(13:28):
that that would happen. But he's found a way to
keep that body going, keep it moving, and you know,
the love of the game, and guys like if Bill
and Strom didn't like his game the other day, he's
got pride in himself and he's going to be upset
that he wants to go out and play better, and
same with Dubois and Eller and Dowd, and you know,
I didn't like the games of the forwards the other
(13:49):
day defenseman, I felt, we're under siege and under attack
because you know, the team was out of sync. But
to me, there's no letting up. And when the Cats
were younger, long time ago, I remember a little dip
in March and kind of April at the start and there,
and some of the players said, oh, we're just waiting
for the playoffs. Well, you know that that's very disrespectful
(14:12):
of that your next opponent, and is very disrespectful of
the team that you're going to play in the first
round when you're that far ahead. So they've learned some lessons. Uh,
Carly's here, Ov's here, Carlson's here. I know I'm missing
a name right now, but you've got guys that saw
some of that with the team, and they're not going
to let it happen. So the players, the grinder players
(14:35):
in the bottom two lines, they're going to be upset
and they're going to be you know, it's almost like
an insecurity when you play in those lines that you
always feel like when you lose, it's your fault, even
though you know your role is not to score all
the goals and all of that, and then the top
players they're going to be upset because they they let
their team down. They didn't do what they should have
done offensively and when they didn't have the bucks. So
(14:57):
I think professional pride takes over and you still have
to play out and everyone loves playing the game, so
no half assing it. You want to be your best
at all times. And they've learned lessons in the past.
They've got a lot of new players here that are
still proving themselves as there's guys who need contracts next year.
You don't want to go down the stretch and not
(15:18):
putting a good performance for next year, whether you're playing
here or somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Hey, Alan, let me ask you this.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
So like obviously here and you've seen it anytime any well,
first of all, anytime ovi's on the eyes, especially now
as close as we are, everybody's on the edge of
the sea going like is this it? If a puck
comes his way and he pulls his stick back, it's
a you kuld I said the other day, you could
hear a mouse qweef. It is so quiet and there
waiting to see if he's going to score like it is.
(15:46):
It's crazy, But I want to know from the other
side when you were on the road, fans and other buildings,
even if they know, listen, he's not going to break
the record tonight.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Is it just is it?
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Is it the same thing of people just coming out
of the woodwork just to see a part of history.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
There there are and everywhere we've been, the the fans
have cheered on the opposition. They they they they're getting
to see something that you can talk about forever if
you're a true sports fan, an NHL fan, a hockey fan.
And it's been pretty cool in the other buildings and
like you just go back, like the greatness of Ovepskin
(16:24):
the other night in Minnesota, the way he hauled all
the players back on the ice to give a tribute
and a handshake to Mark Andrei, who was the backup
goalie that night. Right, you know there are moments people
will always talk about that if they had if they
didn't like Ovetskin for some reason, Uh, that would have
won them over. So it the fans in the other buildings,
(16:44):
it's been sensational. There's a there's a sea of red
everywhere we go. Uh, it's funny. Man in Minnesota. Even
though I'm color blind and fans tend to prefer the
dark jerseys, I could see Capital jerseys everywhere, thousand of them.
And it's been that way every road game, everywhere we've gone.
(17:05):
It's the rock star, the ultimate rock star of the
National Hockey League is on this tour to become the
greatest goal score in the history of the National Hockey League.
Right now, he's number two to my guy Grets, but
at some point he's going to be number one. He
will be the greatest of all time when it comes
to scoring goals, and everyone wants to be there, and
we look at I called the game on the radio
with the National Game the night that Obi had a
(17:26):
hat trick against the Blackhawks and he and he got
his eight hundred goal was the hat trick, and the
arena was going nuts and they were cheering him on
to score goals against the Blackhawks in this original sixth city,
and I really I got choked up watching it. I
just thought it was amazing. And then the Blackhawks players,
you know, stopping and reaching out during the game and
(17:49):
honoring it and celebrating this incredible player. So if the
players love it on the opposition. I think a goaltender
if you're smart. We're not smart. You don't you don't
ever want to let a goal in you But if
you're the guy, you're gonna be able to cash in
on that the rest of your life if.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
You let him.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
You know, the guy who left in a last goal
and the guy that lets in eight ninety five, maybe
the guy that lets in number nine hundred. When did
we get to that? Sure, but it'll it'll be pretty
cool because you'll you'll be on the speaking engagement tour
with OBE. Maybe when it's done, you'll be getting twenty
to fifty thousand dollars a pop to show up to events.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Hey, Alan, all right, let me get to uh, let
me get to Ryan Leonard. So Ryan Leonard gets drafted
two years ago. He goes and spends two years playing
at Boston College. They end up getting knocked out of
the out of the tournament. He signs his entry level contract.
His two years at Boston College, he was a beast
World Juniors for the past two years. The kid has
(18:47):
been a beast. Is it like, what what is a
fair expect? Well, first of all, do we know for sure?
Is he playing tonightn't. I haven't been able to look
and see if they made it official. Is he playing
tonight in Boston?
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Do we know?
Speaker 3 (19:00):
I would put my bank account on it tonight that
he's playing. So, yes, he will play. There's a reason
that he was signed yesterday afternoon. He will play tonight. Unfortunately,
someone's going to come out of the lineup. We don't
know who it is yet. But Ryan will play tonight.
And the expectations for him are, you know, just go
play hockey. Don't give him too much information. I was
(19:22):
worried to they signed him and then he was with
the team until Friday. There'd just be too much information
because the game is so different in college. You know,
they're not feeding you all the information all the time,
the iPad life and everything that goes with having I
think we've got eight or nine coaches on this team.
It's a lot of information, and you're coming up here
and then you know you're worried about stepping on toes
(19:44):
with your teammates. You're just basically, he's a five year
old in an that Oult locker room right now, and
he's living out his child dream. His brain's going to
be in every different direction. His entire family will be there.
Every single one of his teammates is going to be
there that you know, the guys that aren't going to
go and play their first NHL game tonight or tomorrow,
they'll all be there. Uh, every one of his friends,
(20:05):
childhood friends, will be at the game. So there's a
lot of things going on. But I expect him to
go out there and play with a ton of enthusiasm
and emotion, and uh, you know, it's gonna be the
most positive, happy experience he's ever had in his life. Uh,
when it happens. Drafton's one thing, playing the World Juniors
is another, But playing in the NHL is the ultimate
(20:25):
goal for every hockey player, especially North Americans. And uh,
it's going to be great to see tonight. And I hope,
I hope he has I hope he has the game
of his life and comes up swinging.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Is it?
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Is it unfair? As has too much of an expectation
been put? I mean, listen, we're gonna see some like
you said, we're going to see some good teams down
the end, We're gonna see teams that are playing for pride.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
But if, if, assuming he makes the playoff, roster.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
That's a whole other Like you said, he's a five
year old playing with adults.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
That's a whole other can of worms.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Well put it this way. You know he will be
with the team and regardles one way or the other
with the playoffs, but you don't want to, you know,
take any confidence away. He's got a lot of learning
to do, and he went from playing checkers now he's
playing chess. The most important area of every young player
that goes in the National Hockey League is how they
(21:16):
play without the puck. You know, you got sometimes you
got to quit on the ford checks. Sometimes you've got
to be really really careful with the puck in your
own defensive zone. You've got to know where to stand
the nuances inside the game. And you know, young players
Ovet's get included backs from all the all of the
guys that ever worn this jersey here and every National
Hockey League jersey, the guys that were the elite draft
(21:39):
picks and elite players offensively from around the world. It
takes a while to figure out what to do with
the puck because they've never ever really thought about it.
You know, defensive play to some of these guys was well,
if I just come back on my own zone and
I'm inside the zone that's playing defense, and no it's not,
it's where exactly escape back to. Are you in front
(21:59):
of the player, behind the player, inside position, outside position? Uh?
Are you leaving the zone too early? But you've got
to know where to go in a one on one battle.
How do you battle for that bucket? Where's your body position,
your stick position? And they've never had to really think
about that because I looked at, you know, a lot
of Ryan's games this year. I watched a lot of
his games this year, and there are things inside the
(22:21):
defensive zone that I would say, well, you can't do
that in NHL. He got away with it there because
there's a supreme amount of confidence and he's got he
had a lead ability. It was the game was almost
too easy for him this year in the NC Double A.
And now he's coming out with the best of the best.
Regardless of what fans think of any player in any ross,
they're still the best of the best. Maybe, you know,
(22:42):
maybe some teams have a makeup where they all are
NHL players, but maybe they all shouldn't be playing in
the same game for the same team and you spring.
You know, it's just it makes it tough. And so
he'll have lessons learned, but he'll have more. He'll be
more focused because this is his dream. He wants to
be a good NHL player, not just an NHL player,
(23:03):
not he wants to be in the lineup. He wants
to be a part of the team. So he'll accelerate
his focus on the game. He's not just here for
you know, an NHL spring break vacation. This is this
is the real live Bullets now, and he's going to
be all in and you know he'll learn. He'll give
him a little bit more to take every single game.
(23:23):
And that way, so they just don't want any glaring
errors and they don't want to lose him, to lose
his confidence. And hopefully he can shine and one way
or another, he's a Washington capital and he's got lessons
to learn and hopefully he's a very productive member and
the team goes far in the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Hey, last thing, and then I'll let you jump.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
If Alan May was Spencer Carberry and you mentioned it earlier,
he goes in somebody's coming out.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Where does he where we do? Where do you slot
him in?
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Well? You got to well, this is going to be
very different tonight how they do it. And you know,
the there's a part of me that would love to
see him play with and Stromer or Dubois h you know,
just to highlight it and get him going. But you know,
the way Spencer thinks, Spencer thinks of everything. Actually, he's
amazing for such a young coach in the National Hockey League,
(24:13):
how well thought out he is. And you know, the
slot that everyone always talked about was that he'd be
on the third line when he gets here. But you know,
and a lot of people, a lot of people that
follow the team, a lot of huge fans of the
teams and Psycho fans as well. They they think we
got Wayne Gretzy coming in. They've got to you know,
(24:34):
temper their thoughts and he's got to go out there
and feel comfortable. And you know, the safest thing might
do to playing with Lars Eller in the third line.
So that way, defensively, he's got a back up and
a guy that will who will build him up. And
that's kind of been Lars's role over the years, is
getting these guys, these young players to elevate without the puck.
But uh, there's a part of me that would love
(24:57):
to see him playing in the top line with Ovi,
not to be disrespectful of any of the guys that've
been up there, but then you got to shuffle out
your top six, which has been the best top six
in the National Hockey League this year, right, So I
would expect the third or third line, fourth line. You
didn't bring him here to be a fourth liner, and
that can take away some of your game because you
got to get rid of the puck more often than
(25:18):
not dump it, and you got to play a defensive
role against the top line. So I'd expect he's going
to be in that middle six one way or the other.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Good deal.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
We get Boston tonight on the road, Carolina tomorrow night
on the road back home on Friday against the Blackhawks. Alan,
I appreciate the time as always, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Buddy, Hey, thank you. And I think Friday, if Obie
gets a couple tonight and maybe something to more Carolina.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Oh dude, don't even start.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Don't even start, Allan, please please, I'll lose my mind.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
I will lose my mind on Friday night.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Well, I think on Friday night. Take it. If ob
get the couple the next few days. With the roster
that Chicago currently has, I think the four hundred level
tickets might be going for three thousands.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
All right, my friend, I'll talk to you later. Thank you, Alan,
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