Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Tom Callahan previews the Stanley Cup Final, Game 1 tonight in Raleigh, Can Vegas continue their improbable run (?) + more

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Tom Callahan previews the Stanley Cup Final, Game 1 tonight in Raleigh, Can Vegas continue their improbable run (?) + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: This is the Sean O'Connell Show.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: You were home of the best inside of your hughes.
• 0:12
  Speaker 3: Let's get back to OC from the Murdoch Chevrolet Studio
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  Speaker 3: of ESPN seven hundred at ninety two to one f M.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Thank you, Oh, welcome back to the Sean O'Connell Show.
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: Welcome in Tom Callahan, NHL Insider trend of the program
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: as we get ready for Stanley Cup Final Game one.
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: Can't believe this season is winding down to a close,
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: but not until we figure out who will hoist Lord
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  Speaker 3: Stanley's Cup. Game one can be heard tonight on ESPN
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  Speaker 3: seven hundred and ninety twoe FM puck drops righter after
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  Speaker 3: six Tom Callahan, welcome back.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: How are you, sir?
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Doing well? I'm pretty excited and like you, I am
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: shocked that this is the end of the hockey season.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: It's crazy.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, we're almost there, which is not doesn't feel like
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: a good thing. You know, we're we're finally on this
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: hockey bandwagon officially in Salt Lake City. And then we'll
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: have to wait and see how things play out in
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: an offseason. And I guess Mammoth fans are championing at
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: the bit to see what next year looks like after
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: the first fora into the playoffs, and here we are
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: watching the team that eliminated you, the team that you
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: gave a really good series too, and they could that
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: series with you know, a different result in Game four
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  Speaker 3: could have been very, very different. But they are contending
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: for a Cup, and I think in a lot of
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: people's mind they are on their way to winning another
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  Speaker 3: Stanley Cup. But Vegas versus Carolina will start on the
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: Vegas side of things. In your mind, what's going to
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: be the key for them to not only take Game one,
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: but to set the tone for the series.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: You know, to your point and just to you know,
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: talk about Utah fans for a second in here, I
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: mean really think about it. Utah is the team that's
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: given Vegas the most trouble so far for a couple
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  Speaker 2: of reasons. And this is what Caroline is going to
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  Speaker 2: bring to the table against Vegas is they have the
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: ability to use speed. They can for check and when
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: they do, they're very effective with it. Same thing with Utah.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: When Utah was using its speed, when Utah was for
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  Speaker 2: checking aggressively, Vegas had some issues with it. And so
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: for Vegas to me it's a lot of can they
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: handle what Carolina is going to throw at them? And
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: I don't mean that from a standpoint of maturity. I
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  Speaker 2: think both of these teams had plenty of veteran presence.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: I think a lot of them have seen the elephant before,
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  Speaker 2: and I'm not too concerned about it, although you do wonder.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: You know, Tortorella coming in as the new Vegas coach,
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: he obviously jumps started that team. He put some electricity
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  Speaker 2: into that room, got him going. And now you've got
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  Speaker 2: a guy in, you know, Mitch Marner or Icel You know,
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: you want to see how they're gonna do it, but
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  Speaker 2: especially Marner, right, he has been the key to vegas
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  Speaker 2: To success in the playoffs so far. Vegas has a
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  Speaker 2: core of guys who've won a Stanley Cup now and
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: this is their third appearance in the finals in nine
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  Speaker 2: seasons that they've been around, so it's a pretty impressive record.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: They've won one of those three. They'd love to make
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: it two out of three. But really the X factor
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  Speaker 2: guy is Mitch Marner. He's had an excellent playoffs and
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: believe me, people in Toronto have been kind of crusty
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: about it, but he's excelled, He's excelled in the Desert,
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  Speaker 2: He's done really well for himself, and I think that
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: for Vegas to succeed, he's got to be their best
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: player once again in this series. And that is no IFFs,
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  Speaker 2: hands or.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: Buzz would you do? These two teams is deeper.
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  Speaker 3: We saw Carolina take advantage of some of their fourth
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  Speaker 3: line production in the Eastern Conference semi and I think
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: that the depth of this Vegas team, especially against a
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: banged up and injured Colorado Avalanche squad, helped them get
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: through to this final. So when you look at this matchup,
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: who do you believe in? Further down the line.
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  Speaker 2: I actually I like Carolina a little bit better. I
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  Speaker 2: think again the playoff pedigree here. It's been a while
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  Speaker 2: since the Hurricanes have lifted a cup and now they
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  Speaker 2: have a coach who knows what it's like, but he
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  Speaker 2: was a player last time it happened, So I think
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  Speaker 2: that edge goes to Vegas and experience. But I really
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: do like Carolina's lineup, and they do it with a
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  Speaker 2: bunch of guys who might not be household names but
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  Speaker 2: are very effective. They are very deep throughout this lineup
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  Speaker 2: on defense, at forward. They've also done it with you know,
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  Speaker 2: a goaltender that I think a lot of people myself included,
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: didn't think had this kind of a run in him.
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  Speaker 2: But also Freddie Anderson, who's a veteran guy and number
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: one has been calm when he's been called upon, but
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  Speaker 2: he hasn't even been called upon that much. And I
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: think the buy in from Carolina top to bottom playing
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  Speaker 2: their system is what has really enabled their playoff success.
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  Speaker 2: And I believe that every player on this roster plays
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: the way Rod Brindlemore wants them to play, and they
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  Speaker 2: do it every single night and they are seeing the results.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: So I do like Carolina from that standpoint. Not that
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: Vegas is a slouch in this department. I think both
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: of these teams are very good, but really the secondary scoring,
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: the scoring from the blue line, could make a difference
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: in this series. And I mean, honestly, I'm not jumping
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: the gun here to say I don't know who's gonna win,
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: but man, this is going seven. I don't see any
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  Speaker 2: other way because these two teams are going to just
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: be going at at hammer and talk.
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: When we talked about this already with the couple of series,
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: you know, going so smoothly for the Hurricanes, and they
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: got a little stiffer test from Montreal. But they haven't
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: had to play as much playoff hockey as Vegas has,
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: or as much as most teams that make it to
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: this point in the Stanley Cup playoffs have. Is that
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: a significant advantage for them, knowing that at this point
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: in the year, nobody's one hundred percent healthy, nobody's one
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  Speaker 3: hundred percent fresh. They've had more rest and you know,
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  Speaker 3: they've played less hockey, which of course a fewer opportunities
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  Speaker 3: to get those bang up injuries.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that is part of it, right, And we discussed,
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  Speaker 2: as we have actually a couple times, not only during
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: the playoffs, but even after the Olympic break, what is
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: that rest versus rust argument? How much is too much?
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: And I honestly thought Carolina was going to have more
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: of a problem with it, but they haven't. It seemed
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  Speaker 2: to have played right into their hands. They have found
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: a way to come out, keep their momentum high, and
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: just really come out and play their best possible game.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: The flip side of that for me is that Vegas
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: is have they faced a little more adversity? I think so,
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: at least as far as the number of games they've
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: had to play. But I don't think that Montreal was easy.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: I think some people have kind of almost dismissed Carolina's
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: path to the Stanley Cup, saying, well, Autumn it was easy,
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: Philly was easy. Montreal, I mean, you know, nobody even
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: have Montreal on the radar. Montreal was a really, really
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: stiff test for Carolina and it was a difficult series,
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: but Carolina happened to come out on top, and so
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: to me, I think that just says how well they're playing.
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: And you know, as far as rest versus Russ, I
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: honestly believe Carolina hasn't been affected by it. So does
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: Vegas have any kind of edge for having had to
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: play a few more games? Not necessarily?
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Whose goalies hot are going into this series?
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: Oh well, I talked about Anderson a minute ago there
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: and said he really hasn't been called upon that much,
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: so it's hard to say he's hot. He's been good.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: I think Carter Hart has had to make some of
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: the bigger saves. I think he's been called upon a
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: little bit more. Probably if you wanted to talk about
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: a guy just I mean hot for many many reasons
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: you know, there's a lot of storylines following Carter Hart
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: throughout this playoffs, but Anderson just had to do much
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: and his team has been taken care of him. What
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: he has, He's come up with some big saves. Don'ting
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: me wrong, but I really feel like the goaltender, who
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: if you're shining a spotlight on one guy coming into
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  Speaker 2: the final, it's probably on the Vegas side with heart.
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: By the end of these playoffs, we've got to decide
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: who the MVP of the Playoffs are, and that person,
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: of course gets to add a con smythe Award to
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  Speaker 3: their resume. A lot of the guys in this series,
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: of course, you can make a case, but is it
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: Mitch Marner's award to lose?
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: At this point?
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: It does feel that way, doesn't it. It does feel
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: that way. He's really probably been the most impactful guy
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: in either conference as far as the team winning and losing,
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: the points he's been putting up, just showing up in
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  Speaker 2: all facets of the game. For Vegas. I think that
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: the Golden Knights have really loved having him emerge as
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: a playoff performer and they've really needed it, and he's
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: done a great job I mean, yes, there are other
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: players we can talk about on both sides, and of
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: course the Carolina wins. I think Logan Stankovin's probably all
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: of a sudden at the front of the conversation, the
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: guy who most people, unless you're a Carolina fan, didn't
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  Speaker 2: even know before the playoffs. But at this point, I
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: really do think you're right. I think Mitch Marner is
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  Speaker 2: the guy right now.
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: And if he can pull that off, what kind of
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: redemption story are we looking at here? Because he was
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: really I mean even his teammates have come to his
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: defense and said he was not treated fairly. He was
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: blamed for a lot of Toronto problems that weren't really
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: about him. He has acknowledged that, you know, it's better
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: for him in Vegas than it was in Toronto.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: Maybe the fit is better, whatever.
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: But if he can pull this off, and he probably is,
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: you know, a Stanley Cup champion if he ends up
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: with the con smythe although you could win it without
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: also being a champion, what kind of redemption arc are
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: we really talking about with Mitch Marner here?
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: It's I mean, it won't be too much of a
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: surprise to the league outside of Toronto. I don't think,
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: because he's always been an exceptional player. The surprise may
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: be the level he's played to in the playoffs, because
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: I think a lot of the criticism around him as
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: fairly or unfairly. I mean, Marner and Matthews were inseparable.
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: As far as these guys should carry the leafs, these
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: guys should be able to just pick them up and
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: get them to the Stanley Cup Final all by them.
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: Else Carolina is showing that that doesn't work. In the East.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: It's a team game and everybody needs to be pulling
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: equally on the rope. I think Marner has come over
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: to Vegas, and remember he didn't even necessarily get the
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: jump start. I think everybody thought he might getting into
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: the playoffs. But I mean, twenty one points now, and
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: he's distributed well. He's got fourteen assists. He's putting up
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: points in the power play, which is huge for them.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: He's got four short handed points, which is crazy, and
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: all those are assists. But that also tells you that
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: he's playing big minutes on the penalty kill and for
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: him to be able to do this, and even if
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: they don't win, even if they get swept by Carolina,
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: Mitch Marner has already silenced the critics. In my opinion,
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: I think he has shown this is the guy who
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: he's always been. This is the player that maybe the
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: pressure in the market to Toronto did get to him.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: Maybe he wasn't properly supported, they weren't using him the
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: right way, or there was just too much pressure. But
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: in Vegas he has been thriving and I think that
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: for him, winner lose the Stanley Cup Final, he's already
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: got his redemption.
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: Tom Callahan, our guests here on the Sean O'Connell Show,
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: talk in the upcoming start of a Stanley Cup Final.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: You can listen to game one right here on ESPN
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: seven hundred and ninety two one FM tonight. Tom is
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: of course also the host of Lockdown Mammoth Mammoth Insider
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: NHL Insider. I don't know that John Tortorella needs any
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: boost to his reputation in NHL circles. But if he
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: can take over eight games before the end of a
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: regular season and then lead this Vegas Knights team all
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: the way to a Stanley Cup, what does it do
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: for him?
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: It would just make him laugh. Honestly, he's just laughing
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: at everybody else at this point because for all the
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: guff that has been given to John Tortorella over the years,
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: he did win a Cup with Tampa Bay. But it's
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: been a while, but he's really he has taken teams
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: in the past and turn them around. And what it's
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: almost funny. Everybody hates how honest he can be, whether
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: you agree with his opinion or not. Number one is
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: never boring. Number two he basically called out the Flyers
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: and said, I can't coach this team and I don't
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: think this isn't the team that's going to win, and
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: no one else has been able to really, you know,
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: turn them around. And all of a sudden he goes
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: into Vegas and really with a TV analyst the week before,
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: but he doesn't lose his coaching chops. He goes in,
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: He gives this team a boost of energy. He asks
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: a lot of his players, but he will also go
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: and stand behind his players. He will back them up
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: one hundred percent as long as they give him the effort.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: He is the coach that, believe it or not, I
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: think guys want to play for unless they get in
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: the doghouse. And if you get in a doghouse, it's
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: kind of hard to get out. But for the most part,
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: with the success he's having right now, I think that, no,
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: he doesn't need another Stanley Cup, but I could easily
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: see him getting it. And I love Towards. I absolutely
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: love just from the media perspective. He's a lot of
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: fun and I think it's wildly entertaining to have him
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: over there coaching Vegas and seeing the success he is.
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: How much of a copycat league is the NHL, like
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: the NFL is a notorious copycat league, where you see
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: somebody have success with something, and half the teams in
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: the league try to jump on that bandwagon and follow
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: that exact same model. I don't know if you can
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: do that right now in the NBA and try to
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: follow the Spurs because seven foot five inch aliens don't
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: grow on trees.
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: But that's another conversation.
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: If either of these teams, you know, hoist the Cup
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: is a bunch of team, a bunch of the other
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: franchise is going to say, all right, how did Vegas
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: do it? Let's also do that. How did Carolina do it?
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: Let's also do that? And they are either team, you know,
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: distinct enough in their approach that you would have to
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: even adjust anything from what you're already doing for like
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: the Mammoth for example.
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: You know, I love the quote about Carolina and they
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: basically saying they haven't changed the way they played in
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: eight years since Rob Britdan Moore has been the coach
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: of this team, and they've played the exact same game
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: and it's not catching anybody by surprise. But they play hard,
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: they go at it, and it's you know, if you
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: believe that hard work brings results, this is the absolute
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: model for that. What they've done is they have drafted
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: into a mode of player, and they've signed into a
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: mode of player that fits the kind of hardworking, scrappy
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: game they want to play, and they have executed that
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: to a t and they have the guys that are
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: bought in. That is the Carolina model. And if you're
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: going there, you know what you're getting into and with
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: they is you know that the expectation there is nothing
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: less than a Stanley Cup. They are absolutely only in
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: it to win it every single season and they are
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: cutthroat about it. So if you go to Vegas, you
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: know that you better bring your a game. The pressure
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: will be there. To perform, well, they'll just get rid
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: of it. They will fire the coach right before the
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: end of the regular season. They will trade players whether
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: they're popular or not. They will make the unpopular decision
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: to sign Carter Hart and they don't care because they
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: feel like he gives them the best chance to win.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: That is all that matters to Vegas. So that's what
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: the role or that's what the blueprint is there. So
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: it's kind of two different ways of accomplishing the same goal.
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: And there are other ways you can accomplish the same goal.
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: You can be big and physical and hard to play against.
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: You can be you know, a fast speed team. You
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: can be highly skilled and puck possession, whatever it is.
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: But what makes these teams different that reach the Stanley
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: Cup Final, especially on a consistent basis, is the buy in.
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: You don't make deep runs without being bought into and
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: committed to a system. And so whatever the Utah Mammoth
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: want to accomplish, we hear a lot of talk, you know,
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: about the culture and about what this team's identity is,
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: and you know, there's still a lot of discussion about it.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: Once they figure that out, they need to make sure
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: they get the buy in from most players, and if
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: they don't, whether it's popular or not, some guys are
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: going to have to move. Some things are going to
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: have to change. And that's why teams like Carolina and
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: Vegas have repeated success, have repeated deep runs. Tampa Bay
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: is another one. Florida got crushed by injuries this year,
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: but you know, for a couple of years they had
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: the same thing. They said, we're going to play this
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: way and if you want to follow us, jump on board.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: This is going to be a winning hockey and they
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: commit to it.
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: Can you maintain your reputation of, like, you know, family
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: friendly and culture based and all that, while also having
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: that sort of ruthless mentality in the NHL while having
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: a little bit of that Vegas cold heartedness you're if
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: you're not helping us, where you're just going to get
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: rid of you can Can those two things coexist in
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: one franchise in your mind?
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: I don't think Vegas worries about that. Honestly, I don't
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: as Utah. So I mean I me, having covered the
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: Golden Night three year, I can tell you that they don't.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: Can Utah do it? Yes? They can't, because I believe
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: Carolina does it. You look at Rod brindanmore and he
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: is someone who is committed to his team and the
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: I'll just use and I don't like the word, but
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: I'll use a family of the Hurricanes and that whole organization,
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: that group. He embodies what it is like to be
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: a Carolina Hurricane. Same thing with John Cooper in Tampa Bay.
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: One of the nicest guys you're ever gone on, a
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: great salt of the earth human being, and he's won
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: cops with Tampa Bay and that's the culture he embodies.
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: So yes, I think it is important to have the
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: buy in of whatever that culture is. You can't nice
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: guys can finish first, but you have to work extremely
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: hard along the way to do it, and you have
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: to be bought in and behind your coach. And look,
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: sometimes someone has to do something you're not gonna like,
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: whether it's they're gonna have to play physical hockey when
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: maybe they're not a physical player. They're gonna have to
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: work hard when maybe they're tired and they're injured. But
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: that's what gets you over the hump, and that that
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: is the buy in that Utah needs. I do believe
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: you can be family friendly and fun and entertaining and
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: have a great show and put that show on and
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: still find a way to win a Stanley gup.
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: So who's going to win it?
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: Oh? I know you're gonna stand that, you know what
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: I mean. Honestly, this feels like such a coin flip series.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: I feel like a lot like Vegas is the sexy
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: pick right now, and for that reason, I almost want
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: to go to Carolina. I really do feel like this
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: this has to go seven's. There's just so much going
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: on here in the context of everything. But one thing
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: that I am a little hesitant about with Vegas, they
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: have been a little streaky, especially in the secondary, and
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: they I really do believe Mark Stone is a big,
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: big driver for the Stimo hasn't been talked about as
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: much lately because of Marner, because of Kael, but he's
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: been in and out of the lineup, and I think
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: if he's not healthy enough to play, because he's not
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: one hundred percent healthy, clearly, but if he's not healthy
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: enough to play, that is a big difference for Vegas,
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: and I feel like just over the course of seven games,
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: Carolina will be able to wear them down and end
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: up winning it.
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: Well, we get to figure it out, starting tonight right
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: here on ESPN seven hundred ninety two one FM. Tom
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: Callahan always appreciate your time and your insights, sir, thank you.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: Very much, OHC, thank you very much for having me,
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: and we'll talk to you here.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: Great stuff, as always from Tom Callahan