THURSDAY SHOW RECAP: THE VEGAS LOWDOWN

Thursday’s Episode 157 of The Rod Pedersen Show included a lot of hockey talk! Here are the highlights:

• Rod and Dupes opened with The Rollout for Flooring Superstores and they went immediately to Ottawa where the Vegas Golden Knights play Ottawa Thursday evening. Golden Knights Insider Gary Lawless joined the show via video chat to explain Wednesday’s firing of head coach Gerard Gallant. Lawless said it’s obvious that the move has GM Kelly McCrimmon’s fingerprints all over it, simply because he’s the man in charge. He also said he pointed out via Twitter that the move was entirely performance-related because many people questioned if the firing was off-ice related. Gary reiterated that it was not.
• Rod further questioned what the management hierarchy is between George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon since they’ve both held the GM role in the franchise’s first three seasons. Lawless explained that the pair is lock-step together, but McCrimmon is the GM and makes the GM decisions. Gary also stated how high the expectations are from Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, and that led to Wednesday’s move.
• The daily Capital Auto Mall/Universal Collision Centre poll question was: Was the leash too short for Gerard Gallant? A whopping 80% of respondents said yes.
• Hockey analyst Al Dumba joined the bunker for more discussion on the Vegas move, and Al’s recent Toronto trip where he spent time with NHL icons Wayne Gretzky and Brian Burke. He talked about some of the scheduling and rule tweaks coming down the pipe from the NHL, or at least what the rumours are.
• Of course the guys discussed the Kassian/Tkachuk situation and told some of the all-time stories of hockey brawls they’ve been involved with. Dumba was part of the worst brawl in junior history (around these parts) between the Pat Blues and Estevan Bruins in the 1970’s which involved ambulances and police at Exhibition Stadium. Al said “it was bad”, and everyone agreed that it’s good those days are gone.
• The Voice of the Regina Pats Phil Andrews joined the show from Portland where the Pats are currently on their west coast trip. Phil The Thrill recapped the Pats games in Everett and Portland, and what the rest of the season looks like for the Queen City Kids. “The guys still believe they can win every night,” Phil stated.
• Edmonton sportscaster Bryn “Mighty Mouth” Griffith joined the show to recap his trip to Europe for the 2019-2020 World Junior Championships, a little more on the Kassian/Tkachuk fracas, and escalating ticket prices in the NHL, particularly with the Oilers.
• Thursday’s show is available for viewing now on our Facebook page or you can listen to the podcast by clicking on the PODCAST tab at the top of this page.
• See you at 10 am Friday for another Football Friday episode. Our guests include John Frenzy and Hamilton Tiger-Cats special teams coordinator Jeff Reinbold!