- 3 hours ago
Alan May joins the show to discuss the shocking Washington Capitals move that sent veteran John Carlson to the Ducks.
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00:00John Carlson, 17 years as the rock of the blue line for your Washington Capitals, traded.
00:08And I'm going to get right now a good angle on how much of a haul they got for him.
00:12And you just heard the report from Savannah saying, hey, could be back next year.
00:17Could be one of these rental things.
00:19Alan May joins us now.
00:21It's been a while since we've talked.
00:22Monumental Sportsnet NHL analyst Mayday.
00:25Nice to talk to you again, my friend.
00:27How are you?
00:28I'm doing great, guys.
00:29Great to be with you as well.
00:30What's happening, Alan?
00:31So on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being so shocked you couldn't be more shocked that this happened.
00:371 being, yeah, I figured it was coming.
00:40Where would you rank this trade?
00:42I'm going to go with the 6-7 right in that neighborhood because we had heard John's name for a
00:48while.
00:48And you're wondering with the team, with where they are in the standings, you know, the number one assets that
00:53they have.
00:54And this is the hard-cold reality of sports is that, you know, teams have to make tough decisions.
01:00And, you know, where are they at?
01:02Are they going to make the playoffs?
01:03Right now, Money Puck, one of those analytical sites that rates your strength of schedule and everything, has the caps
01:09at 21.7%.
01:11Last night, they were at, like, 17.1%.
01:14Every team basically lost that they're, you know, in a race for those wild card spots.
01:20And so when you look at how these things are made, like, I hate to see John go.
01:24I love the guy.
01:25I think the team is very lacking without him.
01:28And we've seen that since his last injury here.
01:31They haven't been able to put up any type of consistency.
01:34And the guy is just a rock.
01:36But at the same time, for a player of his age, you get a first-round draft pick.
01:41You get a third-round draft pick.
01:42And you have to look at that.
01:44You know, if they don't screw that up in a couple years, this could be a pretty good trade for
01:48the Capitals.
01:49And you never know what happens with these players.
01:51I know that he is absolutely heartbroken, torn apart, that he was traded.
01:55And, you know, finding out late, late last night, like he did, he's still in shock.
02:00There is nothing like getting traded during the season.
02:04It is so tough on your system.
02:07And, you know, granted, the guys are making millions of dollars and all that.
02:10But at the same time, he's got huge family roots in the area.
02:14He's a youth hockey coach.
02:16He's a father of four.
02:18He's loved living here.
02:19He's a big part of the community.
02:20And it's a big blow to what he's always known as an adult.
02:24I'm on the site moneypuck.com.
02:27Is that the site you go to look at the playoff odds?
02:30In baseball, they call this the Poff.
02:32I would always joke about, what's our Poff?
02:34You know, playoff odds.
02:36So this is the hockey version of Poff.
02:38And, yes, the caps are at 21.3% to make the playoffs.
02:42And you said that changed almost 4% just based on one night of play.
02:46Yeah, they had four teams blow their games last night.
02:50Yeah, that helps.
02:51You know, I'm one of those guys.
02:53I'm like B. Mitch.
02:54I'm an underdog.
02:54I'm a guy that believes you.
02:56You know, like the old line from Dumb and Dumber.
02:59So you're saying I got a chance.
03:00You know, if it's a 1% chance, I'm believing you have a chance.
03:04But, you know, they've got a tough road in front of them.
03:07And now you look at your number one defenseman forever,
03:11and he was still playing excellent brand of hockey.
03:14He plays a style that's not appreciated by, you know, a lot of the fans.
03:18But, you know, the guys that have played their entire lives,
03:20you look at guys like this,
03:21and like every team wants calm, cool, steadiness, confidence.
03:25The way he plays the game, the big shot,
03:28the ability to move the puck out of the zone.
03:30He's so strong on the wall and in front of the net.
03:32And he's a consummate defenseman.
03:34He is what you want to pattern your players after.
03:37So when you look at those two that had a move earlier, too,
03:41with Nick Dowd, is the Caps team better overall now or worse?
03:46Well, no, certainly they're not a better team right now.
03:48You take out the mainstay of your fourth line.
03:51So we had Jay Beagle for years,
03:53and then we had Nick Dowd come in just after him
03:56and really put on a good display every night as a fourth-line center.
04:00People go, what does it matter?
04:01Well, when the Caps won the Stanley Cup,
04:03one of the most important players on,
04:06like when they didn't have the puck, was Jay Beagle.
04:08He was shutting down the other team's top players.
04:10He was helping with another line.
04:12And then he was also the number one PK and face-off player.
04:16Nick Dowd became that guy for the Capitals as well.
04:19So, you know, there's a huge blow right there to the fourth line
04:22because we'd always called it the Dowd line,
04:24regardless of who the parts were on the left wing or the right wing.
04:27He was the engine.
04:28And so you're missing that right now.
04:30So someone's going to have to assume that role.
04:32And it's going to be a great learning opportunity for whoever fills in.
04:36And then on the other side of it, you can't replace John Carlson.
04:39And so right now, they're not as good as they were yesterday or the day before.
04:44And they've been struggling, but they didn't have Carlson in the lineup.
04:47But those are two important leadership pieces out of the room.
04:50As part of the, you know, people that, you know,
04:53have never really been in a pro sports locker room.
04:55You have to have a good culture inside.
04:57And those were two of the guys who were a big part of the culture inside of,
05:00you know, what made this team, you know, click and be, you know,
05:03just very proud and representative of the community.
05:06The Ducks have got to be excited.
05:09I mean, they're good and they have a real shot out in the West
05:12and they get a guy who's going to really help them
05:14and be a great guy in the locker room.
05:16So I'd imagine they're happy.
05:18They already have a very good looking defense there.
05:21Now they just went to elite level.
05:23And they have, you know, one of the best coaches
05:26in the National Hockey League all time in Joel Quenville,
05:29who is, I call him the coolest guy in hockey.
05:31He's a guy that's just outstanding.
05:33John doesn't know what he's in for yet.
05:34He's going to love this guy.
05:35I look at their roster between their up-and-comers
05:38and the guys that they have on the right side.
05:41All of a sudden, they're a Stanley Cup contender.
05:44So, you know, they still have some holes to fill,
05:46I think, in the third and fourth round.
05:47They probably could have used the Nick Dowd as well,
05:50as third and fourth line.
05:51But they're loaded with young, talented hockey players
05:56that are just starting to blow it up.
05:59And, you know, what they've done, you know, people are surprised.
06:02But it's kind of like Detroit and Buffalo.
06:04At some point, these players get old enough that they start to cook.
06:07And that team is primed right now.
06:10And they look really good.
06:12Adding John Carlson, the confidence that gives them every game.
06:15They've got a true power play player.
06:17They've got a guy with a rocket, penalty kill.
06:19He can play in every situation.
06:22And he's gone out.
06:23Like, you have to have good righty-lefties.
06:25They might have the best righty-lefty combos in the league right now.
06:28How does Jesper Vickman fit into this, the guy that they got back from the trade?
06:34Well, you know what?
06:35Basically, what they traded for in the trade, you know,
06:38they put the player's name because he's a living body in pro hockey.
06:42He has a pulse.
06:44It's the second and third round draft picks.
06:46And when you get a, you know, Nick Dowd is going to be 36 in May.
06:51And he's got one year left in his contract at $3 million.
06:55He's going to pay less taxes for the rest of the season.
06:57And, you know, next year if he's still with Vegas.
07:02But Jesper Vickman is a prospect goaltender.
07:05And he'll come into a system that does a really good job with goalies.
07:09And sometimes when you're adding players like that,
07:11the Caps have signed and added a lot of goalies in the last little while.
07:14They've been a lot of shuffling.
07:16So it makes me almost think that there could be another move on the way.
07:20And I don't know if I, you know, I don't mean to start rumors or anything,
07:23but you add another goalie to the system, you know,
07:25does it push goalies up or does it push goalies down?
07:28Interesting.
07:29So if this is the beginning of the unwinding of this incredible era,
07:34then what will be the next move that really signals there's a turn coming?
07:40And what do you think the plan is for this big turn of a long run
07:46of great and Stanley Cup winning hockey?
07:49Well, I hope that they don't do, and I don't believe that they will,
07:53because I think our fans and, you know, tickets are expensive.
07:56I don't love teams that tank.
07:59We've already had that.
08:00We have had that with the Wizards and you see what's gone on there.
08:03And, you know, everyone's always hopeful, but, you know,
08:06they're, they still got a long road in front of them.
08:08When you tank, you never know what you're going to get.
08:10You don't know, you know, say if you're for, you know,
08:13had first draft this year, you have no idea how these guys are going to pan out.
08:17It's not like an Oveskin draft or a Crosby draft or a Connor McDavid draft
08:22or Nathan McKinnon.
08:23You know, that's not there right now.
08:25And I don't see that in the next few years having the big name.
08:28So, you know, I don't believe they're going to tank.
08:30We have some prospects that are on the verge in Hershey,
08:34an American Hockey League team, that are on the verge of making it.
08:38And, and being, uh, Ilya Protis, Alexei Protis,
08:41his younger brother is a rookie American Hockey League player.
08:44He's leading the team in goals down there with 22 in his first year.
08:47And it's a really hard league to score in.
08:49And, you know, one of the things that he's got going for him
08:52and you can't teach at his size, he's like six, six or six foot seven.
08:56Uh, and he's going to get stronger.
08:58I equate him to a baby giraffe right now, but once he strengthens,
09:02like Ilya, like Alexei, he's going to be a legit NHL player.
09:06So you've got players like that in the cusp.
09:07You're waiting for Ryan Leonard to really take off.
09:09He's been up and down all season long.
09:12He finally scored a goal the other night after 14 games without,
09:16but you're waiting for the young players to start popping off.
09:18And then I do believe with the amount of draft picks they're stocking up on,
09:22uh, they're looking to make more trades.
09:24And I think before the day is over,
09:25there will still be more trades coming out of the Capitals locker room.
09:29All right.
09:29That brings us to the big Ovi question.
09:32What is the Ovi prospects looking beyond the end of the season?
09:36Well, someone asked me this morning and I get in arguments all the time
09:40with friends of mine and they're saying, he's got to chase a thousand.
09:43He's got to chase a thousand.
09:44You'd think, you know, he's got to be, I said,
09:46you're going to try to think like a, like the greatest of all time.
09:51Like you're going to tell me the common man and the grinders on the team.
09:55They don't even know what the great ones think.
09:57We don't understand what they're capable of and how they think.
10:01Uh, I think that body has been through so much over the course of his career.
10:05Uh, he's played basically the physicality that he played for the first say 15 years
10:11of his league was like B missed running the ball.
10:13Uh, you know, it's painful and it's, it's hard on the body.
10:18And the fact that he, at this age has still been grinding it out.
10:22Uh, it's just like tape ibuprofen and heart is what's keeping him going.
10:27But I don't know.
10:28I, it's just so tough and I know that he hates to speak about himself.
10:33Uh, he loves the team.
10:34He loves the game, but at some point your body says enough is enough.
10:39And it's hard getting out of bed.
10:41Like at my age right now, I take really good care of myself.
10:44I wake up some days.
10:46I went to bed feeling pretty good.
10:47I wake up and I'm like, what the hell happened last night?
10:50You get into those fights of your dreams.
10:53Exactly.
10:53And it feels like I lost every one of them.
10:56There was no victory.
10:58So I can only imagine he's played longer than I have.
11:02I, like, like I said, I've continued to take care of myself.
11:05He still worked hard to get ready for every game.
11:08So it's so hard to tell, but you know, I don't want to handicap it at all, but I just
11:14know he doesn't like to talk about himself.
11:16The team is winding down.
11:17Uh, he's losing his best friends one by one and it can be lonely as the oldest guy
11:23on the team that, you know, Carly was his closest mate right now.
11:26Right.
11:27And, you know, TJ's gone back.
11:29He's gone.
11:30Who's he's gone.
11:31You know, you look at this as you start to lose the players that you grew up with and
11:36it takes a different tone in the room.
11:38Like he's old enough to be some of these players father, like legitimately be, you know, old
11:42enough to be Ryan Leonard's dad.
11:44And, you know, you look at that and it's just, you know, I don't know if it's time, but I
11:51just can't imagine how he feels.
11:52And I think there's a quality and a level of play that he wanted to keep up to and adhere
11:57to.
11:57And we saw it all last year.
11:59This year has been a struggle.
12:00And, you know, he started the season somewhat injured, took him a while to get going.
12:03So it's got to be a grind every day to try to get out of bed.
12:08Yeah.
12:08He's currently 921 goals in to try to chase a thousand.
12:12He's talking about two, three seasons.
12:13He's 40 years old.
12:15I mean, you know, he's on pace for 30 something this year again, knock on wood.
12:19But that's a, that's a lot.
12:21That's a lot to be going for that thousand.
12:23And you've already planted the flag on top of Mount Gretzky where nobody I don't think
12:27is ever going to summit again.
12:29So, well, I didn't think, you know, when you say that, I didn't think Wayne was my
12:32favorite player growing up.
12:34I grew up in Edmonton as well, got to play with them.
12:37And I didn't think it would ever get broken.
12:40And the rules, the rules were way different back then.
12:43True.
12:44But you just never know.
12:46And these kids are so serious now with the way that training is, it is guys are figuring
12:52out ways to play longer and longer because we used to get stabbed in the back that on our
12:5730th birthday by the teams that we played for.
12:59And they just ruled you couldn't play.
13:01Yeah.
13:01You're like, yeah, what the hell?
13:07Hey, I think I told B.
13:08Mitch this years ago, you know, my, my last year I played, I think it was 32 or 33.
13:14And I'd look in the mirror and I go, God, I look old.
13:17And I look back, my oldest son used to play these VHS tapes for all those bands.
13:22He goes, dad, come in here, come in here.
13:24And he'd see all the rippling muscles in the veins.
13:27And I look, God, I would love to look like that the rest of my life.
13:30And they had me feeling, they had me feeling so damn old.
13:33I thought I was like 75.
13:35And I go, God.
13:37I was like, God, at some point that, you know, you were done.
13:52And today's hockey player, they don't get that treatment.
13:55And, you know, it's funny, all the worms and analytics are out there.
13:58Well, you drop off when you're 31.
13:59Well, oh, we didn't fall off anything at 31.
14:02He just kept getting better and better.
14:05And, you know, the same thing.
14:06We had guys years ago, the year they won the Cup.
14:08Oh, they're too old to win the Cup.
14:10They got two guys over, too many guys over 30.
14:12Well, those same guys put up huge numbers in the playoffs.
14:15And we won a Stanley Cup.
14:16So I don't buy anything from the eggheads.
14:19I go by what I see on the ice.
14:21And they're allowing players to play longer because they know they can produce.
14:24And they know the way training works, nutrition.
14:27The team spoiled the players rotten, which I love.
14:31I thought I'd get spoiled rotten when I played, but it's nothing compared to the first-class
14:36five-star treatment that the players get now.
14:38So there's everything at your disposal to keep playing, but you've got to depend on your
14:42body to keep coming through for you.
14:45And, like, B. Mitch, you look at him over there, and he's been, like, every shape and
14:49size since I met him.
14:50He's always working to stay in shape.
14:52And he's always got a new thing going, but it's hard to do it.
14:56Yeah, you know, what about that?
14:58Alan May might lose a fight to his pillow now, but I'm on HockeyFights.com, search bar
15:05Alan May.
15:05I've got to tussle with Jeff Hodgers.
15:08I've got one with Sandy McCarthy.
15:10I've got one with Michael Pettit.
15:12These names ring a bell to you?
15:14Oh, yeah.
15:15You know what?
15:16And there's another thing.
15:17I go back.
15:18He knows these guys.
15:19I remember.
15:20You know, it's funny when I don't remember one.
15:22I'm like, God, I must have been, you know, not getting much sleep in those days.
15:25But the...
15:26April 10 of 95, Alan May versus Jeff Hodgers.
15:30That was when we were with Calgary, and Hodgers was with the Sharks.
15:34So, the database is out there, my friend.
15:37We could go on and on forever, but good luck to Carlson out there with the Ducks.
15:41They're going to really like him, and we wish him the best, and we keep moving forward.
15:45Alan, thank you.
15:46Yeah, thanks, guys.
15:47Take care.
15:48Alan May, Monumental Sports.
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