Latest / Backchecking the Bolts / Patrick Present Breaks Down John Carlson, Jeffrey Viel & the Leo Carlsson Offer Sheet
Transcript
- Jason Linkes: Coming up. I'm back checking the bolts. What he means to the franchise is is more than not more than eighteen million dollars, but it's more than four first round picks. And that's the that's the kind of g the pickle that ⁓ Danny Briere has put Pat Verbeek in here is is Leo Carlson worth eighteen million dollars? Hi everybody, it's Jason Lincas from the Back Checking the Bolts podcast. Today we have a great episode coming right at you. Earlier this week, the Bolts signed two former Anaheim Ducks, John Carlson, the big right-handed defenseman that's there to replace Darren Radish and Jeffrey Veal, a little fourth line grit for the Lightning. So we were wondering what to talk about on this podcast. We decided to bring on Patrick Present. Patrick is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and is the Anaheim Ducks team editor and reporter for the Hockey News. Patrick's gonna break down the two signings that the Lightning have made, but also we're gonna talk about the Leo Carlson situation. And for those of you who are not aware, Leo Carlson was offered an $18 million per year offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers. The Anaheim Ducks have now less than a week to decide if they're going to match or not. If they don't match the offer, they receive the next four first round picks from the Philadelphia Flyers. We're gonna talk about all that and more. Here's the interview right now with Patrick Present. Welcome to Back Checking the Bolts. Back Checking the Bolts is your cup of coffee to get you the latest on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Join hosts Jason Lincas and the managing editor of Raw Charge, Justin Godfrey, as they break down the Lightning's most recent games and go beyond the highlights, telling you what the box scores didn't. It's time to drop the puck. With all the moves that the Tampa Bay Lightning have made, the John Carlson signing, the Jeffrey Veil signing, we decided there's no one better to talk to than Patrick Present from the Hockey News. Patrick, thanks for joining us today. Of course, Jason. Any any time, you know, it's it's busy, busy weirdly busy off season. It's supposed to be beach season, but all of a sudden it's we're right in the thick of hockey right now. Well, you might be one of the busier guys out there in the hockey world right now with everything that's going on. And I do want to talk about Carlson and Jeffrey Veil, but let's start with the big story, and that's Leo Carlson. And for those of you who don't know, Leo Carlson signed an $18 million a year, five year offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers. Now it seems like the Flyers are always the one sending these offer sheets. You had Chris Grattan back in 97, Shea Weber in 2012, and now you have Leo Carlson. Did this catch Pat Verbeek and the Anaheim ducks by surprise? I think a little bit, but there was always a kind of looming threat of this happening because of the way the offseason was kind of projecting, because of the lack of free agents that were available, impact free agents, the way the trade market was and the draft picks that were being traded this offseason, that this seemed like one of the only avenues that teams could explore to kind of add to their roster. All in all, it kind of just led to a perfect storm of this being the only way that a team like Philadelphia who's been in need of a number one center to attempt to acquire that player. So it it didn't catch anyone off guard that it could happen, but as far as how big the number was, that's I think the part that kind of the ducks weren't expecting because they were going back and forth in negotiations from reports we're he we've heard. And, you know, I think it sounds like Verbeek, general manager of the Ducks, Pat Verbeek, and his team were expecting an offer sheet in the like fifteen, sixteen million dollar range. So for it to go to eighteen is just it it kind of I think and by design kind of flipped the whole ⁓ flipped the script on the on the ducks off season here. Do you think Verbeek miscalculated the market? A little bit, yeah, definitely. Es especially with the lack of foresight, because you know, he's he's done this in the past where he's taken RFAs down to training camp with some of some really high picks with you know Trevor Ziegris and Jamie Drysdale and Mason McTavish. Like he's taken them all the way to training camp. and we we knew that this was coming the as far as you know, July 1st was the day where you have exclusive rights to negotiate with this player. They could he could have extended Leo Carlson a year ago, a year and a week ago now. so it's like that lack of foresight was mis ⁓ was misread. And then the the the the reading of the market as far as who wants what and what they're willing to pay, I think that was a little misread as well. The ducks still have a couple big RFAs out there. Cutter Gautier's the one that really comes to mind. If they match the Carlson offer, it's $18 million a year, are they gonna have an issue with Cutter Goatia? Absolutely. Yeah. ⁓ as Puck Pedio says that you know the ducks have about nine million dollars right now in cap space with Carlson's eighteen included. ⁓ they'll get a little bit of relief ⁓ at the start of the season if they choose when they cause they could put Troy Terry on L T I R ⁓ to start the season because he's recovering from a hip surgery. ⁓ so that'll give you some relief, I think, in the tur in the range of like three to four million because of the way the new CBA is ⁓ projecting out. But still that's ⁓ as far as his Cuttergoche's next extension, he's a 41 goal scorer. If Leo Carlson is signed to $18 million, you can expect Cuttergoche's camp to ask for something close to that, you would assume, if that's the market being set right now. So What once was maybe a week ago you would have said Cutter Gauche would have signed for may have signed sorry for ⁓ ten million dollars. He might ask for, you know, thirteen now or fourteen now. I mean he's a twenty-two-year-old, again, forty-one goal scorer. ⁓ so no, the ducks don't have the couch space to match and sign Gauche right now. They'd have to do some major surgery to their ⁓ depth chart, cut some High salary players, maybe ⁓ Alex Kalorn, who you are familiar with in Tampa Bay. Sure. maybe a Chris Kreider, who they both make over six million dollars, maybe Mikhail Granland, who makes seven for two more years, maybe Frank Vetrano, who has been you know, ⁓ has been rocky with him a little recently, but he has two more years left at four point five million dollars. So definitely gonna have to trim some fat on the ducks lineup if they're gonna fit Carlson and Gautier into into their roster for next season. The Ducks have been rebuilding for the last few years. They made the playoffs. They had the second round exit. With everything that's going on with the RFAs, assuming they lose Gautier or Carlson or maybe a lot of the depth that they have, does this set the rebuild back a little bit? ⁓ I don't think it sets them back into a full on rebuild, unless they do lose Leo Carlson. But definitely they l seem to be it staring down the barrel of a reset at least or like a like a ⁓ a setback year because they aren't as deep experienced or talented as the team that lost in game six against Vegas two months ago. They've lost we'll get into them, but VL, Carlson, Truba, Gudis, ⁓ McTavish, Zellweger, and they're replacing them with f more fringe players or and ⁓ rookies or younger players who are inexperienced in those levels who will now get the opportunity, yes, which they would have needed eventually, but now they're being relied upon in in heavier situations and heavier minutes. So I'm expecting a bit of a setback year for this team, ⁓ no matter which way they go with the Carlson ⁓ match or or don't match ⁓ saga. When do they have to officially make their decision on Carlson? Yeah, I don't know of a time of day, but it's ⁓ July tenth, so Friday. is the is the deadline so when they have to make a decision. And the compensation is four first round picks if they decide not to match. What's your prediction? Do they match or did they let ⁓ go? So so I'm leaning That's a loaded question. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm leaning match presently just because of what Leo Carlson means to the franchise. He was the light at the end of the tunnel of this long rebuild, he represents the reason why teams rebuild in the first place. You know, he the the top center who teams like like Philadelphia was never able to get or Detroit was never able to get with their rebuild, that franchise level skilled centerman who can lead you to a Stanley Cup, like That's what he represents to the Ducks in the darkest of their times, the the the midst of their rebuild, they got Leo Carlson. So what he means to the franchise is is more than not more than 18 million dollars, but it's more than four first round picks. And that's the that's the kind of g the pickle that ⁓ Danny Brere has put Pat Verbeek in here is is Leo Carlson worth $18 million? No. And he probab may not might not even be worth that over the course of these five years. But he's certainly worth more than four first round picks, especially if they are to be late first round picks, as you would expect them to be, because if you add Leo Carlson to the Flyers, all of a sudden they're a good team and they're picking in the late twenties or even the thirties. So he's Leo Carlson is worth more than that. So ⁓ right now I'm leaning towards match. Well, we'll have to see what happens. Somewhere Ed Snyder from the Grave has to be smiling. at the fact that his general managers are that aggressive because he was an aggressive owner and he always encouraged going after free agents, going after RFAs. And I I got a feeling he's smiling from the grave right now. Fortunately for Pad Rabique and the Ducks, Gauche is not eligible for an offer sheet. ⁓ unless next year he signed for like a one year or something. But right now he's not eligible for one. So he's kind of protected or the ducks are protected of from that. ⁓ and Thank goodness. But I do appreciate that the Flyers are willing to do this and they recognize that this is kind of one of the only ways that they can get this player or this caliber of player their center that they desire. And, you know, it's a non traditional way to go about it. And I do respect how aggressive they are because, you know, this this is a completely underutilized tool at the GM's disposal, going with offer sheets. And this is a huge one. But it's still a tool that, you know, can be used and should be used because it's again, like Detroit is ⁓ my example here. But that's how hard it is to get players of this caliber, these number one centers. And if this is a way for GMs to do it, then by all means do it. It's it sucks that, you know, it's the ducks for, you know, for their purposes, but but I'm glad that this this might like open up a floodgate of of more to come in the future. And it's kind of a a warning shot across the bow for GMs to be like, hey, we need to lock up our young players when we can and to start these negotiations early and they can't be kind of dragged around like they have in the past. And sorry to be long-winded here, but also they get the opportunity to make, you know, more money at a younger age, which they kind of deserve at this stage because these are their their prime years as far as their playing career. Like these are what they should be paid for, not when they're, you know 29, 30, 31 years old when they sign these mega deals. They should be signing these more lucrative deals from a younger age. You're right in other sports, when you look at baseball, you look at football, the guys that really get paid, you're paying them for what they had done, not what they're going to do. And it's a little bit different with hockey. Now I want to talk about some guys that signed with the Lightning, John Carlson for one, the big defenseman, the veteran. You guys acquired him from the Washington Capitals for a conditional first and a third round pick. Tell us what John Carlson meant to that young blue line that Anaheim had for this playoff run. Yeah, so bringing in Carlson was definitely another one that was kind of unexpected. ⁓ it was late the day before the trade deadline when we got the news. He represented a steady veteran, experienced presence who kind of put in his 10,000 hours as a defenseman in the NHL. But with how young the the team was and how young the impact players were, he was kind of a calming presence, I would say, both in the locker room and on the ice, ⁓ when things got a little frantic. it was always a head scratcher as far as the fit because you think of John Carlson in the cup winning year when he was with Washington and in his past where he was ⁓ like one of like maybe like one of the better two-way defensemen in the league, but that has kind of as he's gotten older, he's just more of an offensive defenseman, which The Ducks kind of had a lot of, so it was an interesting kind of path for Verbeek to take ⁓ trading for John Carlson. But, you know, his play down the stretch, he was nearly a point per game, really helped out the power play, definitely helped out the power play in their first round series against the Edmonton Oilers and was a major driving force in them advancing to the second round. Had a bit of a tougher time in Vegas. As far as what Tampa is getting in this player, he's calm. ⁓ I would say he's He's a breakout like machine. I think he can fend off the four checks of teams like the Florida Panthers or Carolina Hurricanes, who kind of rely on that and he kind of just takes the takes the blow, moves the puck. ⁓ he'll fit in better in Tampa Bay's system than he will in Anaheim's. Anaheim's played more of a ⁓ a zone, ⁓ defensive zone coverage, and Tampa plays a man de defensive zone coverage as did Washington, and he was really successful in that. So he just reads the play well and he can get pucks up to his forwards efficiently and kind of always gets pucks through from the point. So that's not an issue. ⁓ so kind of a a a legit quarterback from the top of the from the offensive zone and and moving pucks up ice. One of the biggest concerns for Lightning fans was the loss of Darren Radish, who signed the big deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Carlson's brought in to, in a sense, replace Darren Radish. Yeah. Carlson's much older. Do you think he still has it in him for those next two years to be that replacement for Radish? I do. And especially, you know, with the talent that is on Tampa Bay's ⁓ death chart right now. I think he might frustrate in like hit it looks like he's not trying very hard, but he's a long he's a big guy and he d you know, he's not as fleet of foot as he once was, but again, efficient and ⁓ I think he has enough in the tank to Especially dial it up around the playoffs like we saw in the first round against Edmonton. And if if he g was relied on for heavy minutes, I think he can kind of take on that load. If he's used heavily on the penalty kill, maybe not. But ⁓ again, I I think he has enough in the tank to def to ⁓ because again he has he has ⁓ transformed his game a bit and adapted with his his ⁓ older age and his older body. So he'll be he'll be a contributor and I think those two years It's it's a pretty good deal for that player, I think. Were you a little bit surprised the Ducks weren't able to retain him? Now I know there were some rumors out there he wanted to go back east and they ended up trading his rights to Carolina, but were you a little bit surprised considering what they gave up for Carlson that they weren't able to get him signed long term? That was definitely a goal of the Ducks to sign him long term and d the price that they paid, they tried. 'Cause now it doesn't seem so worth it to part with a a first and a third for twenty some odd games of John Carlson. But ⁓ yeah, we we had been prepared for this just based on he ha he grew up on the East Coast, he spent his whole hockey playing life on the East Coast and wanted to return there, ⁓ which is completely understandable. He's a family man, I think he has like four or five kids or something, and so that part wasn't as surprising, but as much as it was disappointing for the ducks. ⁓ definitely the duck's front office. Let's talk about Jeffrey Veal. Jeffrey Veal only 99 career games, gets a five year contract. Now, I went on the podcast, I was a little bit surprised that Julian Brisbois would take a guy who's gonna be thirty years old and reward him with that long of a contract, considering he hasn't played a full NHL season. This year he was traded from Boston to Anaheim. Played 35 games with the Ducks and was very productive in that fourth line role. What was your impression of Jeffrey Veal this season? Well, yeah, when the Ducks initially traded for VL, I had never heard of him. ⁓ I looked up his stats. He had like, what, 60 career games, and the Ducks parted with a fourth round pick. So to part with a fourth round pick and a roster spot on for who was at the time the Bruins, you know, 14th forward. Who was a bit of he, you know, he had to carve out a role in the NHL, so he's just a fighter. That's what I was, you know, anticipating. ⁓ but with the way he played down the stretch, very impressive. He is a ⁓ like a just a good teammate, a guy who will lay it all on the line to win a puck battle, to fight his way to the front of the net, just like he's had to fight his way for a job in the NHL. you know, not the most talented, but s one of the most tenacious players on the ducks. ⁓ roster last season. never gave up on a play, would was always a willing, you know, combatant in a fight if you care about those kind of things, but the team does care about those kind of things. And he'd had a knack for scoring like huge goals, game-winning goals in times when the Ducks desperately needed them. And he pestered Edmonton ⁓ when they played him, tried like he was one of the only effective four checkers that the Ducks had in the last in the Vegas series. That's kind of what you're getting out of him is is just he'll fight tooth and nail for every inch of ice for every puck. From a personal level, it's good to see him rewarded for that. And, you know, the that two point five million dollars is gonna be nothing in five years. So as far as, you know, percentage of the cap. ⁓ but if he can build on like his success and really carve out a role for Tampa like he did in Anaheim, I I I wouldn't put it past him, you know, and he'll be a fan favorite for sure with the way he ⁓ does his approach to the game. So, you know, I'm just I'm happy for the player and I think Tampa Bay and their fans will be will be happy not too short into the season. They'll they'll kind of realize what he brings. One question I do have is because he made such a positive impression, were you surprised the Ducks didn't try to sign him? You wouldn't think that it would have taken a lot considering he's a guy who's played ninety-nine career games, unless his agents said, Hey, I think there's a bigger deal out there. Were you surprised the Ducks didn't try to re-sign him. I think that the agent the agent angle definitely, like you just said, played a played a part. ⁓ it was, you know, he's he's not gonna have this opportunity many times to like kind of cash in like this. and I think w it's pretty clear the ducks were kind of working on other things or trying to because they were super inactive ⁓ in the first couple of days of free agency until the offer sheet kind of came down. So they were clearly keeping their powder dry in case something happened and they because they didn't know what the these numbers were going to look like for their RFAs, their high profile projected, high paid RFAs. ⁓ so I think that had something to do with it and just trying to yeah, just trying to trying to look elsewhere for for a replacement for someone like VL and maybe internal. So it it didn't really surprise me. It surprised me that Verbeek parted with a fourth round pick and then didn't re-sign him, but I think it he he and his agent had had grander plans and and they found them. The one thing ⁓ in looking at Vial's history, in 2018, he was the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff MVP, 23 points in 20 games. Is there a little bit more to his game offensively than maybe we're getting him credit for? Now, when you're undrafted, you have to take whatever role. they give you. And sometimes you've when you're in that fourth line role, you have to be the physical presence. Should Lightning fans maybe expect a slightly better offensive player than what is advertised? Maybe. but not in the sense of like he's not going to be a play driver. He's not going to have the puck on his stick a lot, leading rushes and things like that. But he will forcheck. He makes little plays after he does win those battles, like little slip passes to his teammates and He's able to find them and keep Pucks moving in the offensive zone, things that you need. And then, like I said, yeah, he finds his way to the front of the net. He also finds his way to those kind of soft areas of the ice where he makes himself a passing option. And he has a finishing ability. That would the Ducks have seen, or the Ducks did see when they had him. like I said, with those big goals. So I don't know if he's ever gonna be a half point per game player or ⁓ you know, average more than twenty-five points a season for the Lightning, but I think he to a way lesser extent can kind of do what Sam Bennett did in the playoffs a couple of years ago, which is just go on an absolute heater and, you know, chip in huge goals when they need it in the playoffs and and when when Tampa Bay is really looking for those those kind of plays from their ⁓ from their depth on their forward group. So I think he has that in him. I don't think he has like forty, fifty points, but there's definitely something there. Well, we went to our mailbag and I asked people, I told them you were gonna be on the pod and said, Hey, what questions do you have for Patrick? Now, you always have to love Instagram handles. This is from Log and H on Instagram. It says, Does VL seem responsibly defensive? And is he good enough to play with Homburg and Gord? And is he a good enough skater to to keep up with those guys? That's tough. So that would be a third line like matchup role, right? Right. Okay. maybe because he did find himself, ⁓ again, I keep going back to the Edmonton series, but you know, that was kind of the defining moment of from the duck season. He r pestered the hell out of, you know, some of the Oilers' best players, Connor McDavid, Leon Dreisidel, and he was he was a pest. And he's ne he's not one to make a c catastrophic mistake. He doesn't like just throw pucks away. He keeps Moop Puck's moving north. He keeps Puck moving in the offensive zone. ⁓ so I think he might be defensively responsible enough. Like that is a that is a hefty role to play over 84 games now. but the foot speed might be a little bit of an issue. He's not fast, but tenacious is is more the the term I would use. And he's kind of smart with his angles. If you're relying on VL in those in that situation and for him to become that, I'd advise against it. But it is a possibility, yeah. Another question we got from Mary and Roy Stokes on Facebook. They ask, with the market changing for players, what do you think a Kucharov extension looks like? Okay. How old is Kutarov? He's thirty three. So this is tough because he's in that range where like he could still get years. He's not in like the not quite to the Artemis Panarin like two year big money deal. He might be in in terms he might be ⁓ seeking more of a five year and we've seen like what Florida does where they kind of just they just go way way high in the in the in term and just to bring the AAV down as a kind of a circumvention method. I don't think Bill Zeto has a first round pick until about 2032. Yeah I don't I don't know if that's the the the case, but I could see what what does he take a discount to stay with Tampa maybe Is fifteen million dollars too much over four or five years? I could see something like that. Like it it sounds like a lot of money based on how we perceived fifteen million dollars a couple of seasons ago, but we kinda have to we rewire our brain now ⁓ to the new age. I just wonder with McDavid coming up in a couple of years, you have Kucharov eligible for an extension, if Leo Carlson's gonna make eighteen million, are they worth twenty? Are they worth twenty two? I mean I I w I bet you Bedard gets close to twenty right now because Chicago is desperate for a player and they don't want to let someone sign him to an offer sheet. I think they would sign whatever offer sheet was presented in front of them. That's what I just am not sure. Where does this continue to go? Because if Leo Carlson is the top, there's a lot of players that are saying, Hey, I'm better than the seventy point score. I mean, yeah, you got Macklin Salabrini up. up the state in ⁓ in San Jose who's who I'm expecting a a twenty million dollar ⁓ contract from any day now. because like that's that's the next that's the next one because McDavid and Kucharov like they're not old, but I mean for hockey they're kind of on the older side now and they're they might be willing to take these discounts to win. And they have ⁓ especially McDavid has these off ice endorsements and I'm wondering if like Macklin's gonna be the the gold standard for the next generation for this upcoming generation of of of ⁓ earners in the NHL. So that's the one I'm circling of the like that's the max deal that I think happens at some point. We're actually gonna have Victor Matheson on in a couple weeks, who's an economist with the Wall Street Journal NPO. And we're gonna talk about the dynamics of hockey economics. Now in Tampa tax-free state. You're in the complete opposite. You're in a high tax state. How much do you think that impacts the ducks to sign free agents and bring in players? ⁓ not as much as winning, but definitely it it is in the calculus as far as like maybe ⁓ a a veteran will come to Carolina or, you know, the stars for seven million dollars e season where with the ducks they might require eight point five. So it's like that those little haircuts that the tax free states, the income tax free states might get, but that adds up, right, over time. And then you can that equates out to maybe a player or two down the road, ⁓ by shaving off, you know, a million or two on every single contract that they that they can kind of sign. So that's kind of where I'm I'm at it, ⁓ as far as like You attract players by winning, but like how much those players sign for, that's where ⁓ you get the kind of breaks. We don't get to see the Ducks a lot. We see ⁓ twice a year. Who are some of the young players on the Ducks that Lightning fans should look out for this coming season? Well, the Ducks need their young players to step up in a big, big way. And Jackson Lacomb did that last year. Cutter Gauche did. Leo Carlson definitely did. ⁓ I'm expecting another step from Beckett Seneca to kind of ⁓ he was the Calder ⁓ third place in the Calder vote, I believe. With his with his 60 points. ⁓ so I'm expecting him to kind of push towards 70, 75 next season. And then they're gonna have young defensemen coming up because again we the Ducks lost four right shot veterans on the blue line. So Tristan Leno is a second round pick from 2022 who I'm expecting to be with the Ducks all season. And he's kind of the next ⁓ under the radar maybe star caliber defenseman as far as his talent ha and his ⁓ trajectory kind of ⁓ equates out. ⁓ and then we're kind of wondering if the no matter what happens with Carlson, they're gonna need depth from major maybe a guy like Roger McQueen who they drafted 10th overall in 2025. So that's that's another one who they need those guys to kind of hit and hit early if they're gonna you know, have $18 million tied up into Leo Carlson moving forward in these next couple of years with these players on their ELCs. Patrick, tell us what you have going on at the Hockey News. Man, it is there's a lot going on right now. Just this ⁓ this offer sheet has kind of spurned a whole ⁓ slew of of articles and videos that we're kind of producing over there, myself and my colleague Derek Lee at ⁓ at the hockey news and This is kind of the center of the hockey universe right now, which it should be because it kind of changes the landscape of everything. So ⁓ I'm gonna be covering this and ⁓ Cutterkoche's hopeful extension thereafter at some point, ⁓ moving forward. But July tenth is the date circle. That is the big will they, won't they date. So that is kind of what we're all kind of counting down to right now. So one final question. John Carlson and Jeffrey VL. If you had to make a prediction, say two years down the road, what is their role and how did they do for the Tampa Bay Lightning? Okay. so J Carlson will be around a 55 point, maybe 60 point defenseman, especially with if he gets that top power play role. ⁓ I'm not sure how the dynamic would work out between him and Hedman and what Hedman's ⁓ health is right now, but I f I expect him to kind of be that. ⁓ that kind of presence on the blue line there and kind of make that that ⁓ that power play kind of click and be like a missing piece maybe. ⁓ so that's what I'm expecting maybe 55 to 65 points from him and to definitely be a factor in that w come playoff time. And then for VL ⁓ I'm like I said before, I'm expecting him to be a fan favorite. And I think he's gonna be that like under the radar guy who gets under everyone's skin. and produces about twenty five points in the regular season, but maybe closer to half a point per game in the playoffs and be a contributor ⁓ in he might score a game winning goal or two in a in a series and and be like game three in twenty twenty seven. That was the Jeffrey VL game. Like you can expect that. Okay, so and I said one final question, but I'm gonna a I'm gonna end with this. If there was one NHL player that you could say his game mirrors, who would it be? ⁓ that's I'm being put on the spot here. Martinook maybe that kind of ⁓ player. Yeah. I think Jordan Martinook from Carolina, that that depth ⁓ pest, heart and soul team guy. I think that that ⁓ that kind of makes sense for me. Patrick Present, thank you very much for joining us today. For everyone, check out Patrick on Hocky News. We're gonna have a link to Patrick's site as well. So be sure to jump on that. Patrick, thank you for your time today. Jason, anytime, anytime you need me. But that was really fun. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thanks again. We'd like to thank Patrick for joining us today. Some great information about John Carlson, Jeffrey Veal, and that ongoing Leo Carlson situation. I got a feeling there's a lot more to this once Carlson makes his final decision on what's gonna happen. And my question is, what's going to happen with NHL salaries now that you have a guy who's twenty one years old who's gonna be making eighteen million dollars a year? We know Nikita Kucharov Is looking at signing an extension. Connor McDavid in two years will be eligible for free agency. What's that going to mean for the guys who are one and two in the MVP race? We are going to be back next week with another episode. Justin Godfrey wasn't here with us today. You can read him each and every day at Raw Charge, www.rawcharge.com. Each and every day he has different articles, insights, and opinions on the Tampa Bay Lightning. I'm Jason Lincoln. Thanks for joining us today. Please like and subscribe, Back Checking the Bolts. And one final thing, if you'd like to submit a question for the podcast to be a part of the mailbag, email backcheckingthebolts at yahoo.com. Again, thanks for joining us. Have a great day and go bolts. Thank you for listening to Backchecking the Bolts. We are free and available on all platforms, including Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon, YouTube, and Deezer. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe and leave a review. You can follow Justin on Blue Sky at rawcharge.com. You can follow the show on X at Tampa underscore bolts underscore pod and on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube at BackcheckingTheBolts. If you're interested in advertising on the show or partnering with us, You can find more information in the show notes or email Jason at backcheckingthebolts at yahoo.com.