NHL Hockey on Rogers' Elliotte Friedman (6/16/26)
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey, it's Bob Stauffer. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Oilers Now ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Welcome back, and we're going to head straight off to the River Cree Resort Casino Hotline, and welcome back to the show. Elliot Freeman brought to you by Abe's Door Service, where services are specially visited at abesdoor.ca. Hello, Elliot. How are you? I'm good. How are you doing, Bob? It's been an interesting stretch here.
What insights does Elliotte Friedman provide about the NHL playoffs?
Hey, are you back in Toronto and getting a chance to reconnect with your family after a massive two-month run here?
I am back at home, yes. I am reconnecting with my family, yes. But things just won't stop.
There's a lot going on around the league, isn't there?
Things just will not stop.
All right, before we get to the present, briefly into the past, and we do have Tyler Dello coming up a little bit later on. Oh, nice. And, you know, I've always had a lot of time. He's coming to do his Edmonton victory lap. Well, I'm the one that booked it. So it's not like he called me and said, get me on your show. As you know, there was a time in which he was a regular guest on this show with a weekly hit. And I've always had a lot of time for analytics. I know I couldn't personally do it. that it required, and I think the owners have a really good guy now by the name of Michael Park County, but the hurricanes, and I took the hurricanes in six on one of those rare occasions, Elliot, I actually got it right.
Were you surprised when it was 2-1 Vegas that Carolina seemingly was able to find another gear?
No, the thing is, I saw Carolina in the Montreal series in the Eastern Conference final, and they're a pretty relentless team. So I wasn't surprised. My Stanley Cup pick was Hurricanes in seven. So I think the one thing that kind of surprised me, I would say, is two things, Bob. Number one is that there were games Vegas could have won in that final that they collapsed and lost. and they almost suffered the biggest Stanley Cup final collapse ever. So I think Vegas is pretty airtight, and they are very well-structured. I was really impressed with how Carolina busted up their structure a couple times. I was really impressed by that. And the second thing is, in all three of their first wins, against Anaheim, Utah, and Colorado.
As the series got better, Vegas really separated them. Sorry, as the series got deeper, Vegas really separated themselves from their opponent. Like, the gap between them and the, you know, the Mammoth, the Ducks, and the Avalanche by the end of those series was very large. And this was one where they lost it. Like, Carolina really separated themselves over the last, You know, really, if you really think about it, three and a half games. So I give full credit to the Hurricanes. And I was shocked at what they were at. Not that they won, but how they did it against Vegas.
Yeah. Well, I mean, look, it. As it turned out, with the series and the balance in Game 5, an injury played a part with William Carlson. That was a big loss for Vegas. And Carolina, I've already talked to Tyler, and he said, hey, we stayed relatively healthy. And it plays a factor. That war of attrition does matter. So Rod Brindamore, so much part. But they had to make a goalie switch in the middle of the final. They did, and that was a wonderful story to say. Yeah.
And that was one of the biggest reasons they won.
Yeah. And I, you know, I credit Carolina because they stuck to their guns. They are who they are. Right. I think that's so. Worst kept secret, the NHL today that John Tortorella will not be back as the head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights. Are you surprised by that?
Only a little bit. And it does sound, Bob, like Ryan Craig is going to be the new head coach. I don't know if they're going to announce it today, but I heard everything is pointing in that direction. I don't know if I would like, you know, Tortorella admitted on the eve of the Stanley Cup final that he had been told, you know, his contract is through June 30th and we'll see. And I think some of us were wondering, the more success he had there, would it get to a situation where they kept him?
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Chapters
4 chaptersSpeakers
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