[00:00:03] Speaker A: The following program is brought to you.
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The Daily Gazette Company presents the parting Shots podcast.
[00:00:18] Speaker C: Now here's your host, Daily Gazette sports editor Ken shot.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: Thank you, Scott Keesy, and welcome to the Parting Shots podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me from the parting Shots podcast studio in Schenectady, New York, we have another great show for you. I'll speak with Lenny Chiles, the now former Union College men's hockey assistant coach. He stepped down earlier this week to become the head coach of the Omaha Lancers in the United States Hockey League. And we'll talk to Lenny about that. And Joe Jordan will make a second straight appearance. Last week we talked to him about the firing of Don Granada as Buffalo Sabres head coach. Well, the Sabres didn't waste any time. They brought back a familiar face, Lindy rough. He will be the second go around as the head coach of Sabres. And Joe will join me to talk about that as well. So a lot of hockey talk on this edition of the party Shots podcast, so stay tuned. Coming up, Lenny Childs talks about taking over as a head coach for the Omaha Lancers in the USHL. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:01:25] Speaker D: Hi, I'm Rick Marshall from the Daily Gazette's martial arts podcast. In each episode, I interview artists from around the region, from musicians and comedians to dancers, sculptors, even video game designers. After you finish the latest episode of the parting Shots podcast, I hope you'll give martial arts a try.
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[00:01:57] Speaker A: Hey everybody, this is Don Barnes from.
[00:01:59] Speaker E: 38 Special, and you're always rocking into.
[00:02:02] Speaker A: The night when you're listening to the parting shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott.
[00:02:08] Speaker E: Hold on loosely, Ken. Just don't ever let go.
[00:02:13] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. My first guest is former union men's hockey assistant coach Lenny Childs. On Tuesday, he was named the head coach of the United States Hockey League's Omaha Lancers. This had been in the works for a couple of weeks. There were some reports about that a couple weeks ago, but nothing was firmed up until Tuesday. Lenny spent two years with union.
He was main responsibility. Besides recruiting was the team's penalty kill. And if you recall, last season, that Cornell game at line of rank and Ithaca, they gave up six power play goals in that ten one route by Cornell over Union. That was sort of a blip because it power the penalty kills getting better as the season was going on. And this season it was fantastic. Number two in the country. For a time there, it was a top ranked penalty kill in the country. Boston College ended up being the top penalty kill in the country. But the job Lenny Childs did, they just allowed 17 power play goals all season.
It was remarkable what they had done and they just, they did well and they made a threat. They scored on some shorthanded opportunities. Carter Corpi had three shorthanded goals and one of the top shorthanded goal scorers in the country. So Lenny probably missed on that portion. And of course, a lot of good things were said about him by Josh Algae. And I talked with Josh on Tuesday and Joshua said he will miss Lenny very much and he's happy for Lenny that he's going to get a chance to be a head coach in the USA. Shel. And it could be a stepping stone for Lenny to become maybe a college high coach somewhere down the road. So here's my conversation I had with Lenny on Tuesday. Of course, if you had a chance to. My story is in the print edition on Wednesday's papers, also
[email protected]. Dot but there's also some of the things that we talked about that did not make the paper. So here's my conversation with Lenny Childs.
[00:04:16] Speaker F: Well, Lenny, first of all, congratulations on the job. How excited are you?
[00:04:21] Speaker E: No family is really excited. You know, we're, you know, I'm sad to be leaving union, but, but excited for the new opportunity to be a head coach in the OSHL. It's definitely a dream of mine and a really awesome organization to have a crack at it with.
[00:04:37] Speaker F: How did this all come about?
[00:04:39] Speaker E: You know what? I think kind of maybe three weeks back, ownership reached out and just kind of sparked some conversations about, you know, them wanting to restructure their hierarchy a little bit. Move GM Dave Wilkie wanted to make a move to general manager and wanted to bring in, you know, a little bit of youth on the coaching side of things and, and, you know, some energy into it. So, you know, started talking with them and kind of all came about, yeah.
[00:05:09] Speaker F: How ready are you for this?
[00:05:12] Speaker E: I'm definitely prepared. I think they, you know, they tell you you want to be over prepared for a job. I, you know, I definitely say that now, but I definitely feel that I have the steps taken to know what it's like at the next level in college that all the players want to get to. So now it's just kind of paving that pathway for them and being able to dangle the carrot in certain ways and give them some pushes and nudges along the way to get them to that level. So, you know, just excited to have an opportunity to work with some really good young players.
[00:05:44] Speaker F: Yeah, I know union has a couple recruits coming from Omaha next season.
[00:05:48] Speaker E: Said, yeah, we have at least one, JT Veney from Rochester, Minnesota. He's six foot seven, good skating defenseman that can move pox well as a good brain. He's a good player and he's lucky to have him for sure.
[00:06:06] Speaker F: Yeah, you recruited him, too. I remember that.
So it's, um. Yeah, I gotta be obviously, be careful. Obviously hasn't have been officially accepted yet. So what to watch comments and all that stuff. But what, what, how would you describe your coaching style for me?
[00:06:24] Speaker E: Like, from a coaching style standpoint? Is I a big motivator, big in player development and, you know, everyone says, you know, players coach, you know, I think, you know, what that means is that players aren't afraid to come talk to me and can also respect my decision and also get them excited about the next steps ahead in their career. Right. So for me, like, I'm super detailed, you know, super demanding for sure, but not demanding in a way that players don't want to come play for me. Right. We're going to get the most out of guys.
We're going to push them to new heights that they haven't even seen yet or experienced, but we're going to do it with smiles and energy on the way.
[00:07:04] Speaker F: What's the adjustment going to be like going from college to junior hockey?
[00:07:09] Speaker E: You know, I think that the number one adjustment is there's way more games, right. So there's more games to be had and a little bit more roster movement is possible. Right. With trades and, and affiliate players. So, you know, you could come in one day and have, you know, a different roster than you did a week before, which obviously in college you have the same, you know, 28 guys there. So for us that'll be, that'll definitely be a different change. But nothing, nothing that wasn't used to since I had it in Des Moines and Janesville. So it's a fun time to have a lot of games. You know, not, not every game means as much. You know, you can get on some streaks and if you lose two or three, it's not the end of the world, right? You can. You can really reload and get going and make some headway.
[00:07:53] Speaker F: Could you imagine if they had trades in college?
[00:07:57] Speaker E: We're almost there. Hey, with the free age in the.
[00:07:59] Speaker A: Summer, so.
[00:08:01] Speaker E: You may be onto something.
[00:08:04] Speaker F: What, in the two years at union, what are you most proud of?
[00:08:10] Speaker E: Probably the relationships built and, you know, the development in between the classes that we've already seen has been probably the most enjoyable to be a part of. Right. Coming in and having the seniors that just left that were juniors last years that, you know, almost all of them, if not all of them, had careers, years for themselves, which helped propel our program forward and that, you know, get to see guys that, you know, came as first years and now are sophomores now going to be juniors next year. Crazy. All time flies, but seeing their maturation process happen before our own eyes has been something that I, you know, was super adamant on and happy for. And that's something I can look back on and say, you know, really excited to be a part of it.
[00:08:56] Speaker F: What about the penalty kill? You were in charge of that? It was the number two penalty kill in college hockey this season. How proud of you of the job that they did this year. And talking with Josh, he said you guys made a change sometimes a little bit in the style of penalty kill last year. It's really got things going.
[00:09:15] Speaker E: Yeah. You know, I think definitely the guys are the number one reason why we were, you know, we were on that level. They bought in. In the summer, I had guys like Ben Tucker asking me for video on the new kill that we're going to be running, you know, so last season we made a change, change mid year just to a little bit more of a stagnant look, much like the NHL did. There's a lot of teams in the NHL that switch from kind of forced down, push down, which we ran to more of a diamond shape. And we took a little bit of that and then we revamped it yet again over the summer, adding a few more nuances, adding a few more tactics and habits that fit our style a bit better.
And that could take away some of the bigger threats that are kind of copycat and in the league that we were seeing. So, yeah, I couldn't be. Couldn't be happier and more proud of the guys that. That put forth the effort every single day. And it was fun to work with high, highly driven individuals and that wanted to be the best kill in the nation. Right. And they went out, achieved that.
[00:10:17] Speaker F: What was it like working for Josh Halge? And how much of an influence has.
[00:10:20] Speaker E: He been for you, the top notch human being?
Honestly, he. He cares so much about the individual that, that it's.
You want to work for a guy like that, right? So for me, it was definitely, you know, fortunate that he brought me on to union and that I got to, you know, be with him for two seasons and definitely to see him interact with the players and, you know, the way he cares about players is something that super genuine and honestly, not as many people, I don't think, do that the way he does. So that's why guys are willing to play for him and play for the. For the U on the front of the jerseys, because he puts so much onus on the individual that they really feel cared for.
[00:11:02] Speaker F: How much are you going to miss Union, especially the final year of mess of rink?
[00:11:06] Speaker E: You know what? It's honestly, the community support and the people that surround the program, the players inside the program, the staff and the support staff, gonna miss them. But just seeing how well supported this program is from the outside looking in is something that. Something I didn't know about union, frankly, when I came into it. Obviously, you have the national championship team and things like that, and that obviously helps bolster and get things going to another level. But, you know, to walk around that rink before warm ups with my little guy and my wife and the new little guy, it was awesome to see the people, the fist pounds, the handshakes, the, you know, the good luck we'll get them next time like that. That support is replicable, you know, in college hockey and something that union stands above the rest.
[00:11:58] Speaker F: Well, Lenny, appreciate a few minutes. Congratulations again, and we'll look forward to seeing you guys success there in Omaha.
[00:12:05] Speaker E: Thanks, Ken. I really appreciate it. Thanks for all you do and all your time the last two years. Really appreciate that.
[00:12:12] Speaker F: I appreciate that.
[00:12:13] Speaker B: Thanks, buddy.
[00:12:14] Speaker E: Of course, of course. All right, we'll talk soon.
[00:12:15] Speaker B: Okay. Take care.
We'll continue our hockey talk. We're going to talk National Hockey league. Joe Jordan of noted hockey will join me to talk about Lindy Ruff coming back to coach the Buffalo Sabres. That's an interesting move by the Sabres made just a week after they fired Don Granado. You're listening to the Farting Shots podcast.
[00:12:46] Speaker D: Hi, I'm Daily Gazette news columnist Andrew Waite and host of the Weighing in podcast, which takes you inside my award winning featured news column by offering the backstory, thought process and interviews that inform my work. Plus, readers have their chance to respond. The weighing in podcast is
[email protected]. Or wherever you get your podcasts.
[00:13:08] Speaker E: Hi, this is Kenny Albert, the voice of the NHL on TNT radio, voice of the New York Rangers and the NFL and Major League Baseball on Fox Sports as well. You're listening to the parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott.
[00:13:23] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. And last week we had Joe urine on from a noted hockey to talk about the firing of Don Granada as a Buffalo Savers head coach. Well, the Sabres have named a new coach and it's an old coach, Lindy Rough. And Joe joins us now to talk about that. And Joe, when we signed off last week, I said I have you on when the Savers name the new coach. And here we are a week later. And are you surprised that they move so quickly?
[00:13:50] Speaker A: You know what? No, I'm not.
When we spoke with Adams a week ago, he made it sound like he was going to do due diligence, but he wanted to get this done quick. He wanted to get a new person in place and start going over the roster with them and making some key decisions on players and whatnot and deciding, you know, who's going to stay around and who's going to go and, and all that. Now there's, there's not a lot of spots up for grabs, mind you. It's, it's a, it's a really young team. But, but we know, but we know what Lindy rough's like. Everybody in Buffalo knows what, what Lindy rough's like. But, but, yeah, not surprised. Not surprised at all. This went very quickly. And, you know, I was able to get a question into Adams yesterday, or, excuse me, on, on Tuesday, asking him, you know, how many people did he talk to? He wouldn't divulge the number, wouldn't say names, all that, you know, you usual. But, but decided, you know, once he talked to these people, once he talked to people and it just kept coming back to Lindy. So here we are. It's, it's pretty crazy. Yeah.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: It seems to me probably didn't talk to anybody but Lindy. And maybe they were focused in on that. And to have a guy who is familiar with the organization, how was this met by the fan base out there in Buffalo?
[00:15:07] Speaker A: You know what, it's interesting, I think, with how, I don't know how upset people are about the step back the team took this year and, you know, how close they were to the playoffs to see, you know, two years ago.
It was, it was something that required, it was a move that required somebody that, that, I think everybody felt was, you know, was going to be a coach that, that could, you know, could, to drop the hammer and, you know, you know, lay down law when needed and all that. And if you, if you hire somebody who's not familiar to the fans, you're kind of, you know, the fans are basically taking everybody's word for that. Yes, this is the guy. And whether Adams felt like that wasn't the right move or if he felt like or, you know, if he, you know, he obviously truly feels that Lindy's the guy.
But, but Lindy's the guy that people know and people here know that Lindy is, it can be tough and he can, you know, be hard on the players, but he'll get the best out of them. And I think that was part of what goes into, into making this kind of move where you're bringing somebody back that, you know, the organization fired eleven years ago.
You know, fans need to know that, need to know what they're getting from the axe head coach. And they, everybody knows what they're going to get out of Lindy. So I think that's a big part of selling this to the fans is that you know what you're getting. Whereas you bring in a Jurar Galant or somebody else, you've seen stuff, but you don't know for sure what you're getting.
[00:16:46] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, you mentioned last week you were curious how things were going to be smoothed over between rough and Timo or Terry Pegula. It seems like things have been smoothed over. I mean, I obviously didn't depart on the best of ways, uh, eleven years ago, but, um, do you think the relationship has been repaired?
[00:17:05] Speaker A: I think it's, I think it's as repaired as it can be. I mean, you know, time, time heals all wounds and all that, but, um, you know, that him coming back, I think it's something where, you know, you, you can put that, you can put that aside as just being business that, you know, sometimes this is just what needs to happen.
And I think that's what happened here. I mean, it was, you know, this, Lindy interviewed, interviewed for the, for the job back in 2019, but, you know, back when the team hired Ralph Krueger. But, you know, so it was, it's something where, you know, I think Lindy really wanted to come back and, you know, maybe finish the story, so to speak, in Buffalo and, and get it right. It's just, it's, it's just wild that, you know, the team hasn't made the postseason since, you know, since he was coached the first time around and now he's coming back in and he's the guy that they're hoping that can get him back to the postseason once again.
[00:18:08] Speaker B: Of course, he was the guy who got him to the cup finals in 99, right?
[00:18:12] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, that's, yeah.
[00:18:13] Speaker B: And they were, and they were close and they almost there. Got there in 2006 after the strike season that ended that prevented the 2004 2005 season from happening. Wasn't for that delayed game penalty.
[00:18:27] Speaker A: Well, it's, it's that, and if everybody forgets, they were in the east final the following year, too.
[00:18:32] Speaker B: But that's right. Against Otto, I forgot.
[00:18:33] Speaker A: Yeah, really good. It got really good pretty quick, too. So, yeah, I got, you actually got the best out of everybody there. But it's, I know, it's, it's just kind of funny because it's, you know, he's the guy that everybody knows and it's just, you know, I can, I can understand the view from, from outside of Buffalo being like they, they don't really know anybody else, do they? You just got to go right back to the old guys.
[00:19:00] Speaker B: Yeah. Does Lindy style, how would you describe his style? I mean, does he mention he's tough, but with this day and age, can that style work?
[00:19:12] Speaker A: It can, and I think Lindy got talking about this a bit at the press conference about how, you know, he's had to adapt himself over the years and, you know, going from, you know, from, from coaching the Sabres, he was, he was one particular kind of guy in style and, you know, he goes from there to coaching the Dallas Stars and, you know, he evolved from there and then he was an assistant coach of the Rangers and, you know, that was a different style, you know, different type of coach to be because, you know, you're not the main guy. You know, you're not the guy doing the interviews all the time. You're, you're working with the players and doing different things there. And then, you know, with the Devils, he was coaching a very young team and really got the most out of them. And I think, you know, given what the players were saying following Don's dismissal about how, you know, they, they wanted somebody that can hold them accountable, that can be tough. That can, it can be the, you know, can be the, you know, the mean guy when it's, when it's called for. I mean, Lindy, Lindy can be that he can do all those things, but I think what's important for, for Lindy is that he's going to do all that, but he's not going to coach a style that's stuck in the nineties. You know, he's not, he's not going to have these guys doing, you know, you know, dump and chase and, you know, one, three, one, you know, four, check and, and making everything miserable to play and, and, you know, to make it like that. He's going to coach a style of hockey that fits the roster. And, you know, this is, this is a team that wants to play fast, that wants to play, you know, high tempo hockey, that wants to score a lot of goals. And Lindy's a good enough coach that he can, he can find that balance between, you know, you know, letting everybody go, you know, go out and blaze, you know, blaze the ice for, for 60 minutes every night, but also make sure that they're getting back and covering, covering, covering their own end of the ice, too. So I think he, I think he understands what, what goes into this. And, I mean, you know, he was a player for a long time, too, so he, he, he has an understanding of what it's like to be on the other side of that.
I mean, obviously, time will, will prove this out and we'll, we'll see how it works. But from what I've seen of Lindy over the years, you know, not, you know, and having not covered him, you know, I got to Buffalo right after, right after he was, after he was let go. So, but seeing him, seeing how it's gone for him on the outside in other places, he, he seems to get what it means to be a coach these days.
[00:21:52] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, I've been around hockey a long time. I was trying to rack my brain before he came on the air. And the only time I recall coach going back to the team he once coached. I go back to my Flyers and Bob McCammon, he coached them after Fred Scher left, and he was there for the 78, part of the 78, 79 season. Got basically sent down back to Portland, the main Mariners. They brought Pat Quinn up and Pat coached for a couple of years, got him to the cup final in 80, and then a couple years later, he was firing. They brought McCammon back from, from Maine, and he ended up getting fired after the 84 season. But, I mean, can you recall, I mean, any other teams have had, like I said, my brain is shut down here for a lot of things, but I can't recall the coach coming back to his old team.
[00:22:39] Speaker A: You know what? I was struggling with this, too, because I was trying to think of other instances where this has happened. I was trying to think of guys who had been, you know, guys who have been at head coaches in a lot of places because sometimes, you know, when you, when you go one place, you can wind up coming back to a place in the end. And one guy I was thinking of, and I don't even think it were, it happened with him, was Roger Nielsen, but I don't think he ever was someplace, coached a few places, came back, came back to that. To that original. To that original spot or whatever. But this is definitely unique.
[00:23:14] Speaker B: Especially the difference.
The difference in years. I mean, eleven years, that's a long time between stints.
[00:23:23] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, I mean, how many coaches stick around long enough to want to, you know, that they can circle back like that, you know, you know, sometimes, sometimes you have a few different jobs and it's like, you know, maybe I need a break. Maybe I need to not be doing this for a little bit. And then, then, you know, may either you find your love for it again or you just decide, you know, what, retirement's fine. I can, I can just watch hockey games at home. But this is, this is definitely, this is definitely unique. And I think it's, it's the fact that it's. That it's. That it's happening with the Buffalo Sabres. It feels like it would, it feels like this would be the city and this would be the team that, that would have something like this happen for whatever reason. You know, it's not even something where it's like this happens. Well, I guess it did happen at football. Mark Levy. Yeah, Marley went away, then came back, but, but it feels like it's the kind of thing where we're in Buffalo, it's like, yeah, that makes sense. You know, on the, on the grand scale of things, you just see it. You're like, yeah, yeah, I could see that happening.
[00:24:25] Speaker B: Did Lindy talk about assistant coaches? You know, obviously we've mentioned last week about Seth Thapper, maybe a possible candidate, not maybe after a head coaching job, but maybe being Lindy's right hand man in Buffalo after the, Rochester gets done at season.
[00:24:39] Speaker A: Yeah, I did throw that question at him, asking, you know, if he was going to be looking for an assistant because there are still a lot of coaches on the staff right now. They, when the, when the group of guys came in, there was, there was still five or six, five or six guys who were still part of the coaching staff, you know, Marty Wolford, Mike Bales, Mike Ansel trying to go through that, you know, Dan Girardi, Matt Ellis. Like, all these guys are still here.
But he did say he's, he's going to be looking for an assistant and didn't divulge anything right now. He said, you know, I know I just got here, you know, just kind of settling in, getting to know these guys. So he goes. But, but he did confirm that he's, he's going to be adding an assistant to the staff now. I mean, the fact that he didn't name what, you know, that there wasn't one picked out right away and the doors open still is going to kind of leave that possibility open that maybe, maybe it'll be Seth appert. But, you know, Lindy's got his guys, though. Like there, there are guys from his past where you might want to bring, bring some people in and, you know, who knows, maybe it'll be a, you know, former sabre player from the past that, that he would love to bring in and be part of this. You know, I know, I know Michael Peck is with the Rangers now. You know, Mike Weber's with the blues.
You know, guys out of that sort of mold where, you know, they're, they're young, they're, they're up and coming. But, but, yeah, I think we went over this. I think we went over this last time. Yeah, maybe, you know, they go, if they go to a veteran guy, that maybe having somebody, somebody like Seth on hand on the bench would, would do a lot to help kind of bridge the gap between, you know, the current staff and the young, the younger, the youngest of the young guys here that, you know, that, that he's actually worked with.
[00:26:29] Speaker B: Will Lindy be able to make the choice with his owners are going to get some help from GM Kevin Adams?
[00:26:34] Speaker A: Yeah, that's, that's interesting. That was not a follow up. I had a chance to ask if that was, if that was something that, if Kevin was going to have a hand in. I know that that's always part of those kinds of hirings. It's not always just the head coach that gets to make that call. Although, given if it's just one spot you're filling, I could see this being a tricky one just because, you know, if you are concerned about bringing, you know, bringing younger guys along, like if you're thinking, you know, Yuri Kulik's got to be part of this team next year or he's a Roseanne or, or somebody, you know, somebody else where, you know, it's another guy that Seth has worked with for a while that maybe Seth is the guy you want to have on, on board. But, but my but my podcast cohort, Lance Laszowski, reported, then you got a two year deal. So it's not a lot of years for, for a guy coming back into play. So I do wonder, although, I mean, given the usual turnaround time for coaches in Buffalo, two years is about right on the long guys last.
[00:27:45] Speaker B: Yeah, it could be one of those things where you bring Seth up and, you know, Seth watches and Lindy, and maybe Lindy decides there's a gentleman's agreement. Lindy retires after two years and Seth takes over.
[00:27:58] Speaker A: Yeah, it's conspiracy theory. Possibilities are open there. I mean, you know, I think if Lindy had gotten a three year deal, then it's. Maybe Seth isn't the guy then, but two years is, you know, tinfoil hats, break them out, baby, because, you know, you don't know. You don't know what that could lead to. Now, that could be, I think that that possibility that, you know, Lindy writes the ship, gets this team to the playoffs, and, you know, if Seth is there to be the, the understudy, so to speak. And then Lindy says, all right, I got you there. You know, time for me to hang, you know? You know, let me move it upstairs.
[00:28:34] Speaker B: And so we'll be 60. Yeah, he'll be 66 in two years, so maybe. Of course I'm 60, so, I mean, I'm about that age as Lindy there. So.
[00:28:45] Speaker A: Do you want to coach the next. No, you could be next.
[00:28:49] Speaker B: No, thanks. I don't need the stress. I got enough stress.
Listen, I don't know if I asked you this question last week, and if I did, forgive me for asking it again, but what did you think of the move the coyotes to Utah?
[00:29:04] Speaker A: You know, I've got, in a weird way, I've got a lot of history with coyotes, from writing about them for years with NBC. And, you know, a lot of my, my Internet quote, unquote, celebrity, I guess, in hockey circles, comes from, from dealing with, with Coyotes fans and a lot of the nonsense that, that has gone on there for years, but I'm equal parts not surprised because this has been coming. I mean, this team. This team has ducked, ducked the moving truck for a few, you know, a few different times, but I'm more surprised this time and just kind of aghast, really, just because this happens so quickly and without any sort of lead time, without any sort of preparation or anything like this.
You know, it reminded me a bit of when the thrashers moved to Winnipeg, except that was, that was a little bit clearer. Although there was at that time. There was also coyote stuff going on, too, because they were, you know, you're one city council vote away from the coyotes going back to Winnipeg and then them figuring out Atlanta, you know, after the fact. But, but I'm. I'm just. It's. It's nuts to me to see how. How quickly this moved. A and I think moving. I think moving ultimately is. It makes sense.
It was. It was a tough situation. It was even tougher that they were playing at Arizona State, you know, and I get, you know, some of the talk was that, you know, they were making confirmed money there. They were doing better there than they were in Glendale, which is.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: I don't have that a lot.
[00:30:55] Speaker A: There are a lot more costs and overruns and stuff like that in Glendale where they owed money to more people. I don't know, but it's a good market.
I know I sound like I'm, like, carrying NHL water on that one, but it's a good hockey market. And, you know, the fact that you're seeing guys coming out of Arizona now, especially coming out of there, is nuts. You know, like, you're getting guys that. Who would not have maybe taken a hockey if it were not for the coyotes, if there was not hockey in air in Phoenix.
I think the NHL will be back there someday, but I think the NHL would be crazy to deal with. Alex Marula.
[00:31:41] Speaker B: Yeah, don't let him near there.
[00:31:45] Speaker A: I know all the paperwork is set in place for him where, you know, he can be the guy to bring the team back there. But, I mean, just everything that you read from Katie Strang at the Athletic, from Craig Morgan at, you know, at Phoenix Sports in Arizona, you know, who's covered that team for, you know, for decades now, all the stuff that you read about what's going on there, it's like, the biggest issue they always had with the coyotes there was that they had criminally, criminally poor ownership and people that didn't want to take care of it, that didn't have interest in it, and that ultimately got burned out on it really fast. And Marulo seems like.
Seems like the guy that wants to do it and wants to do it on his own accord, but, like, I don't know that he's got the cash or the stroke to do it now. You know, like, I mean, he's getting the money from the sale, but, you know, how much of that is he have to burn to buy the land for this arena and then start buying the, you know, start building the arena and, you know, dealing with all the, you know, the politics that go into it, all that stuff, like, it's crazy. It's crazy. It just mellow screams to me to be somebody that the NHL is better off not having within their circle of ownership and if they could find anybody else to take charge of that situation, they'd be better off for it. But, and I remember they've been trying to do that for 25 years and they haven't found the right person to do it. And that's, it's tough. It's a bad circle to be in and it's a great market. It is a great market, but it's really hard. It's really hard. And with all the up people they've had for years, it's not something that's an easy sell anymore because people are going to be left wondering all the time, well, what am I spending my money on? Is this, you know, is this owner going to take off and go to some other suburb or are they going to leave town or what's going on here? So it's, it's hard.
[00:33:51] Speaker B: I think elites are going to have probably expansion down the road if you're going to add another team in the Arizona market. I know I'm hearing Atlanta for a third time. Really?
[00:34:00] Speaker E: I would.
[00:34:01] Speaker A: I would. I would, I would.
If I were the gambling sort, I would put a lot of. I would put a lot of future financial interests on Atlanta being, being next in line there because I think they're going to put one team, one in one of the east, one in the west. And if Marula can't get Phoenix done, I think Houston is number, is number two. I think that's. I'm honestly surprised.
[00:34:25] Speaker B: Bring back the arrows.
[00:34:26] Speaker A: Didn't move there.
Toland Fertitta is the owner of Houston Rockets. Wants hockey down there pretty big.
[00:34:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:35] Speaker A: And, but he want, the problem he has is that he wants it down there, but he doesn't want to pay a lot of money for it. He doesn't want to pay that, you know, the billion dollars to get it down there. He's like, well, you know, 600 million. I'd be willing to spend that. But I mean, he had, he would have needed to buy an NHL team ten years ago to get it for that cost. So it might not happen, but Atlanta, they're building a new rink somewhere in, somewhere in the Atlanta suburbs there.
And it's going to work out kind of like it has with truest park with the Braves.
But they're going to get, they're going to put the arena nearest to where your fan base would be and kind of go from there. And they're going to have ideally very good, strong ownership, which they did not have once Ted Turner sold the Thrashers, because that became a nightmare once, once the, I think it was the spirit group, the Atlanta spirit group took over and those guys owned the Hawks and, and they started suing each other and that was game over at that point.
[00:35:34] Speaker B: Yeah. So, I mean, the Flames worked out. I mean, I thought the Flames worked out back when I was growing up, but I think there were some financial issues there because they were drawing pretty well back then. But. So it'll be interesting to see what happens. I mean, I know Quebec's screaming for a team and there's some people out there in Hartford wish they bring the whalers back, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon.
[00:35:56] Speaker A: No, I always, I always like to have a laugh with people and tell people, you know, because anytime it's still knickerbocker arena to me, anytime they see that, anytime they see the nick, whether it's, you know, it's NCAA's or whatever, like it's a really big arena in Albany. And I go, well, you see, back when Jim Coyne built the place, they thought they were going to get the NBA or the NHL and Albany. And the reason was, well, Hartford has a team, why can't we have one? And then what was it? Eight years later, the Hurricanes moved to. Or the Whales moved to Carolina.
[00:36:31] Speaker B: Yes, of course, Jim Corey never built a press box and there's still no.
[00:36:35] Speaker A: Press box to this day in that place. It's funny how that always seems to be the last thing everybody thinks, oh, press box, that's what we needed, right?
[00:36:45] Speaker B: So, Joe, appreciate a few minutes, enjoy the rest of the Stanley cup playoffs and we'll talk soon.
[00:36:52] Speaker A: You got it, Kenny. Thanks for having me.
[00:36:54] Speaker B: That's Joe Jordan of noted hockey. We're back to wrap up the podcast and have the latest winner in the Daily Gazettes auto racing contest. In just a moment, you're listening to the Farting Shots podcast.
[00:37:36] Speaker C: Where do my friends and other students find their voice?
We find our voice through the performing arts, along with millions of other high school students.
By expressing yourself in a role, on stage, through an instrument, or at the debate podium, the performing arts give us freedom to find ourselves, to find our place, the stages where I can play, perform and compete with my friends.
Performing arts at your school is where creativity meets courage.
Encourage the students in your life to find their voice through the performing arts.
This message presented by the NFHS, where we encourage all students to play, perform and compete together.
[00:38:31] Speaker F: Hi, this is Union Men's hockey alum Charlie Moxam. You're listening to the parting shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott.
[00:38:40] Speaker B: Back to wrap up the podcast. The week ten winner in the Daily Gazette's auto racing contest was Daniel Cropsey of Schenectady with 25 points. Daniel wins a $50 gift card. Congratulations, Daniel. The VIP winner was Scott Lusher of capital land GMC with 30 points.
I'll announce the auto racing contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Saturday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the auto racing contest banner.
Just because COVID-19 mandates are easing, that does not mean you should relax. Be vigilant. If you have not gotten vaccinated or received a booster shot, please do so. Do it for yourself, do it for your family, and do it for your friends. That wraps up another edition of the parting Shots podcast. I want to thank Lenny Childs and Joe Jordan for coming on the show.
If you have questions or comments about the podcast, email them to me at shot. That's sch o t tailygazette.com. Follow me on x and threads at Slap Shots the views expressed on the parting shots podcast are not necessarily those of the Daily Gazette Company. The parting Shots podcast is the production of the Daily Gazette company. I'm Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schott. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the parting shots podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day. Good hockey.
