00:00So, Mike, this week Ovi comes out with the news, makes it official that this will be his last year
00:04playing in the NHL.
00:0622 years all spent with the Washington Capitals.
00:10He's a guy that doesn't really want the spotlight on him media-wise, so we can understand why he did
00:17this.
00:17He didn't want to be asked about, are you coming back? Is this your last year?
00:21What did you think of Ovi coming out with that news? Were you surprised by that, or did you expect
00:26that to happen?
00:28You know, I don't think I was surprised. I don't think I was, I would have kind of taken either
00:36way and understood it.
00:38I mean, it's, I was kind of hoping that he wanted to play longer, and just the way this team's
00:45built,
00:45I think this team is built really well where they're a contender this year,
00:49and they've done a really good job of kind of turning over the soil the last number of years
00:54and have some exciting players that made trades.
00:57They have signings and young players pushing where I think they're going to be a good team for a few
01:01years.
01:02So I could have understood a world where Ovi kept trying to play a little bit longer,
01:09but I mean, he's the only one that knows when he's kind of at that point.
01:14And great players, they measure it differently than a guy like me or a guy like you.
01:18So, yeah, I mean, I'm not surprised. I'm always kind of disappointed.
01:24I just, just because it's Ovi, like that's been the one staple in the National Hockey League
01:30is that Alexander Ovechkin was there to, he's going to entertain.
01:34Whether you're a Caps fan or not, I go back to him and Sidney Crosby carried this league for 20
01:40years plus.
01:41So, coming out of the lockout in the round of 4-5 and then just the fact that we've got
01:50all this great young talent
01:51and superstars in the league now, the Conor McDavid, the Nate McKinnons, all that good stuff,
01:58it's still Sid and Gino's league.
02:00Until those guys are done, like that's what it is.
02:04And then they still play at a high level.
02:06So, I'm not surprised. It's just going to be a sad day when you sit there
02:12and you just want to see the passion that Ovi brings and it's going to be in memory.
02:17So, just the way he did it over a long time.
02:20So, yeah, we'll see what type of run this is, but what a way to go out on a good
02:24team
02:24if this team could put together a special run.
02:26Well, yeah, Mike, you've alluded to it being a good team, a potentially Stanley Cup contender.
02:31What do you like about the additions of guys like Alex Tuck and Kyrou and some of the other guys
02:36they brought in?
02:36What do they bring to this team?
02:40I mean, it's probably the most talked about thing with this squad is how big they are.
02:44But they're not just big. They can move.
02:46They can get going there.
02:48And I think last night was a good example.
02:52We've seen it a couple times this year where their speed gets in there on the forecheck.
02:56We had last night Alex Tuck created a turnover, and that ends up being, I believe,
03:02Pierre Luce de Bois' goal or Tom Will's.
03:04I'm my first one.
03:05But, you know, just getting in there and using that reach.
03:08Big bodies, great space for yourself.
03:11But the reach of just breaking up passes.
03:13And I'm watching the game, and I'm thinking to myself, man, the Penguins look small, man.
03:18They've got a lot of guys that just look undersized out there.
03:21So I always lean into size.
03:24If you've got a team full of size, that's what's going to pay dividends in the playoffs.
03:28But there's size and speed.
03:31And speed kills.
03:32We know this.
03:33But if that's true, then speed and size is dominant.
03:39So that's something that jumps off the page for me.
03:42They've got depth, and they've got size.
03:45Regular season should go really well for them in that category as far as making the playoffs.
03:50But if they're a healthy team, I wouldn't want to play against those guys.
03:53Joined by Mike Rupp, 14-year NHL vet, Stanley Cup champ back in 2003.
03:59Works for NHL Network.
04:00Tell us about the players-only version of NHL now that you'll be hosting on Wednesdays.
04:05How fun is that for you, just doing it with the former players?
04:10Yeah, no, it's fun.
04:12Wednesdays, yeah.
04:13So far, it's the first two weeks of the season.
04:16I've moved over to the host chair.
04:17There's, I'm sure, going to be an opportunity for other guys to hop in there.
04:22I'll tell you what, it's nerve-wracking.
04:24Hopping over there, I did the hosts on any, I guess, news platform, sporting platforms,
04:33whatever it is, I don't envy their position.
04:36That's a lot more difficult than just giving your opinion about a game last night.
04:41So trying to pick up on that.
04:42And the good thing about the players-only, we're trying to get the feel of kind of being
04:46inside the locker room.
04:47So we got the guys kind of ribbing on each other.
04:50I remember last week, I was going to break, and I had to kind of, you know, one of those
04:55things where, you know, stay tuned.
04:57When we come back, we got this.
04:58And I used the phrase, on the flip side.
05:01And Corey Schneider made fun of me.
05:02And he was like, I don't remember what movie it is with Paul Rudd, but he's kind of like,
05:07what, on the flippity-flip?
05:08Like, are you trying to be cool?
05:11So we just kind of go back and forth with each other.
05:14But it's great.
05:16I love sitting there and breaking down hockey, breaking down games.
05:19And then, you know, it's great when we have our hosts involved.
05:23It just, it feels a little bit different on Wednesdays.
05:26And we have people pretending to be hosts, and we mess up when we get made fun of in the
05:30process.
05:30So it's a good time.
05:31All right, Mike, so talk about this game, the next Caps game, here in D.C. against the
05:36Rangers.
05:37The Rangers have already played five games.
05:39They're on a four-game win streak.
05:41They've outscored their opponents 16-5 in those four games.
05:46Tough matchup, but you know the Rangers very well, obviously.
05:49Just talk about this matchup.
05:51This is tomorrow night here.
05:54Yeah, I love it.
05:55I love these early season matchups where you're starting to see, I mean, coming into the
05:58season, everyone said, and everyone believes still, that Washington,
06:01is going to be one of those really tough outs in the East.
06:04The Rangers, there was a lot of murkiness and not knowing what they would be.
06:09They've played really well.
06:10I mean, they had that opener.
06:12They had that stinker in Boston where they got shut out 3-0.
06:15And since then, on home ice at MSG, they've come alive.
06:19There's a lot of good vibes around the team.
06:21Igor Shosturkin's been incredible.
06:23So, assuming that he is the one that gets a start in D.C. there, you know, you've got
06:28a dominant goalie.
06:30I think the best goalie in the world.
06:32But you also have, we talked about, a lot of big bodies that can get to those hard areas
06:37of the ice, take away his eyes, make it tough on him.
06:40I don't know, maybe inadvertently bump him a little bit, try to get under his skin,
06:43see if you can get him off his game.
06:45This could be a really great matchup.
06:47I think the Rangers are a team that has infused some youth into their lineup.
06:53But one of the things, too, with them kind of off to this great start, I hate to keep
06:58going back to the size of the Washington Capitals.
07:02It's a different animal, though.
07:03So, everything that's worked up to this point in the games that you've played, this is a
07:07good test for the Rangers because you haven't played a team like this.
07:11There might not be another team like this in the league.
07:13So, I think it's going to be a great, great game, good pace.
07:17Both teams like to play the game fast.
07:19And, yeah, there's been some nasty history with these two teams, too, just not liking
07:25each other, running into each other maybe in the playoffs.
07:27So, maybe some of that can come to the surface.
07:29So, Mike, you played a long time in the NHL from 2000 to 2014, 82 games every year.
07:35Now it's two more games thrown onto the top of that.
07:38You know, for those of us sitting at home, we might not think it's that big of a deal.
07:41But, talk about those two extra added games for every team, you know, all the bumps and
07:45bruises and injuries that you pile up throughout the year from 82 and now goes to 84.
07:50Is that a big deal or just kind of a medium deal?
07:54No, I think it's a big deal.
07:56I think it's a big deal, but I think it's one that players welcome, to be honest with
07:59you, because on the converse side of that, you have, there's no less preseason.
08:07I think players would sit there, I genuinely believe players would say, just get rid of
08:11preseason all in all.
08:12I mean, if you want, if the league wanted to go 86, or whatever that magic number is,
08:17go there.
08:18Like, just to have no preseason games.
08:20Guys would be, I think guys would be totally fine with that.
08:23Now, we've seen some maybe adjustments, maybe some sloppy hockey at the beginning of the season.
08:30But, I mean, outside of the first night of the National Hockey League, I think this year,
08:34opening night, opening day, had three games.
08:37And there wasn't a ton of action, a ton of scoring in those games.
08:39But since then, it's been, it's just been an explosion of goals.
08:44So, at the end of the day, all right, the sloppy hockey, everybody's starting on the same
08:47page, in the same spot.
08:50Like, no one's going to have, if you ever got to that point where no one has preseason,
08:54I mean, it seems like the results of not having that is a lot of goals, which is great.
08:59Everybody loves that.
09:00That's exciting.
09:01That's fun.
09:02That's a way to kind of start the season with a big pop.
09:05So, yeah, I mean, as far as the body and handling things throughout the season, I mean,
09:12once you, this is such, I think that's one of the things, and it's no knock to any other
09:17sport.
09:17I'm a huge fan of all sports.
09:19And that's the one thing that I feel like hockey has, though.
09:23It almost has the, it almost has the football preparation mentality, but closer to the
09:31baseball amount of games, even though it's only half of that.
09:35Yeah.
09:35But you know what I mean?
09:36So, it's a really challenging thing mentally, physically.
09:41But I think you leave it all out there.
09:42I mean, adding two more games, it's just like, all right, we're already going to be dead at
09:45the end.
09:46So, let's try to, I'm sure we can figure out two more games there, but that's what makes
09:51the game great.
09:51I remember coming into training camp, and you see guys, and we've got our strength training
09:57or strength testing, I should say, your body fat tests, all this stuff.
10:02So, on training camp day or opening day, you're walking around, you're like seeing guys, you're
10:08like, wow, man, that guy hit the gym, but he's huge.
10:10Like, he put on, you know, 15 pounds of muscle this summer.
10:14And then you end up looking at that same player come April, and it's just like depleted.
10:21Lost all the gains.
10:22The gains are gone.
10:23Yeah.
10:25It's amazing.
10:26I mean, it really is.
10:27It just gets to the point where it's hang-on mode, and that's what kind of makes our sport
10:32great.
10:33So, I would love for him to get rid of all the preseason.
10:37I'm sure most guys would, and do the rest of the play games.
10:40Hey, Mike, thanks a lot for the time, man.
10:41We really appreciate it.
10:42You can check him out on NHL Network, the players-only version of NHL Now airs on Wednesdays.
10:48Thanks again, man.
10:48We appreciate the time.
10:49Thanks, bud.
10:50Thanks, Mike.
10:52Yep.
10:52All right, buddy.
