Part 2

Announcer: You've got it. On Vancouver's sports station. The Team Ten Forty sports radio. And this is Pratt and Taylor.

Two twenty-three. Welcome back to the road show, everybody. We're going to be joined with Phil Esposito in just a moment. Phone lines are open at two eight oh team. That's two eight oh eight three two six. The Sammy J. Peppers what's hot poll question is what would you do if you won the six forty-nine tonight? The forty million? The best call we've had so far is from the guy who said two chicks at the same time. Forty million dollars, that's where the money is going. We're joined right now with Phil Esposito. Phil, thanks for doing this. We do appreciate it. How're you doing? Phil: Okay. That guy's got a good idea. Yeah, I'm thinking. I'm going with him. I'm going yeah, okay. So pay off the mortgage. I'll buy a new car. And then get two chicks at the same time.

Phil: I like that. Anyway.

How are you doing?

Phil: I'm doing fairly well, thank you. So, the new rules. What do you think of them?

Phil: So far, I'm - I like the fact that the game seems to be more quick. It's quicker for sure. Yeah.

Phil: I don't know. There doesn't seem to be as much physical contact as there used to be. I like the fact that the red line is out. I never thought I would like that, by the way. But uh, there's a lot of plays that can be made with that, and I like that. I like that they're calling penalties when, you know, you impede guys and interfere with guys and all that, but man oh man. It can't be all hooking. That's all I ever see is hooking and holding, hooking and holding. I mean, it can't be all hooking. And uh, I don't like that. I wish I was playing today though. In today's game. They're getting eleven and twelve power plays a game, each team. And it's like twenty twenty-four power plays. You imagine that Boston Bruins team in the seventies with the power plays we had?

Yeah, yeah.

Phil: Man oh man would I have a ball!

So would Orr. I mean you and Bobby- Phil: That's what I mean. Wow!

Wow!

Phil: I mean you've Orr, and Stanfield on the play with me and Bucyk and Hodge up front or me Bucyk and McKenzie and sometimes Cashman. So, my lord, what a power player.

What would Orr do in this league?

Phil: Well, you wouldn't be able to stop him. There's no doubt about that. Because he was the best give and go guy I've ever seen in my life. So if you tried to impede him after he passed the puck and he took off to get it back, you'd get a penalty and then we'd go on a power play. So, our buddy with - would definitely - there's a lot of guys that played in the seventies that would do very, very well in this league now with these rules. Now you, with your game, where nobody could lay a hand on you in that high slot. I can't imagine the numbers you'd put up. Phil: Well, yeah. You can't - you can't do anything about it really. If you - if you get too close to the net they let you, they let you go, you know, go about it a little bit and push and shove a little bit. But when you're up in that high slot by the hash marks, they can't do anything to you. What are they going to do? I mean they-they can get interference penalties and it seems to me that's all you have to do now is fall down. Imagine Billy Barber and Bobby Rousseau in these days.

Phil: They'd be getting penalties called on them every time. They were the best divers I've ever seen in my life. Oscar winning performances.

Phil: Oh, Oscar winning wasn't the word. Talking with Phil Esposito. Phil, uh, they've come out- come out now today, I don't know if you've seen this or not, the NHL zero tolerance on head coaches that criticize the game, the rules or the officiating. Already Quinn and Carlisle have been hit with a fine. Uh, this to me is garbage. Is it - is it- Phil: Well, I agree with you. I'm over this. I'm over this zero tolerance B S and everything. I mean, I'm over it. Because it - this is baloney. Why can't you talk? Why can't you criticize? Why not? It's a game, isn't it? It is free country isn't it? I just don't understand - I don't understand that. Because, listen, the players can be criticized. The fans can be criticized. The owners can be criticized. The coaches can be criticized. Why can't the game be criticized? And why can't the referees be criticized? I don't understand it. I don't. They try to make this game too much into basketball.

If a game's going to evolve, do you not need critics? If the emperor does- Phil: They're going to have critics if it was the most perfect thing in the world. You'd still have critics. Let's face it. I mean, we need - we're a society of criticism. We criticize everything and everybody and that's just the way it is. And that's the way the world is. What do you think of Bettman?

Phil: I think he's done a terrific job with this collective bargaining agreement. I really do. And I think he-he's done a good job. I'm not so sure it's him with all of these rules and stuff like that. Oh, I do.

Phil: Oh, I'm not so sure. Because, maybe it's because of uh, you know, the general managers and everything else. Because there's a different breed of manager in there now. Yeah, they're no longer the ex-players and guys that played the game and all of this. Now you're getting lawyers and when you get lawyers involved, everything gets screwed up. That's the point I'm making with Bettman. Just another lawyer.

Phil: Yeah, but uh, even it gets to Tony Ziegler was too, wasn't he? I don't even know. Yeah, yeah.

It's funny how the closer you get to the real problem there's always lawyers around. Phil: Well, that's right. I remember one time when my dad passed away. I mean, he didn't have a lot, but he left it to my sister and I was, had to take it - there wasn't a lot of money, there was what, seven hundred and fifty bucks he had or whatever it was. And it cost me eight hundred dollars for a lawyer. I said 'cause he died. I said what is this? I don't need to pay you? But I had to because you have to have a lawyer to certify. I mean, that's absolutely ridiculous. We're talking with Phil Esposito. Phil, uh, biggest surprise, what do you think? Nashville?

Phil: So far, in the young season, yeah. And I watched, I watched their game a little bit last night against the Blackhawks. Vokoum was unbelievable.

I have him ranked top three in the game right now.

Phil: Well, I agree with you. I mean, Luongo was really up there to. 'Cause Florida Panthers would be doing nothing without him. And um, I can tell you that this guy, Vokoum they probably would be maybe a little bit over five hundred, but not much over five hundred. He's just absolutely playing terrific. It's funny, the big names, Brodeur, Khabibulin, Nabakov, Theodore, are all struggling. All of them. And they've all got big contracts. To me its - they talk a lot about the changes in the game and the arrival of all these new young players, but boy, there's been a lot of veteran goal tenders that have really struggled. Have you - have you not noticed that?

Phil: Well, they have. There's a lot of them that has struggled, but a lot of them have not been uh - they never played last year, you know. And a lot of them, it takes a while to get back, back into that rhythm when you're a veteran. But, I always thought that Khabibulin was struggling to tell you the truth. I didn't think that it would um, he wouldn't struggle. Maybe, maybe I was wrong. But he had a tremendous playoff last year, no doubt about it. He got into a roll. When Khabi gets into a roll, he can be as good as anybody. But I thought he was going to struggle and certainly wasn't worth all that money they were going to pay him. As far as Theodore's concerned, can't be doing that bad. The Canadians are winning four in a row or something, they've won or whatever it is. Four of the last five.

Yeah.

Phil: And he's played them all. So, he must be doing okay. But, um, it's-it's just a different game now and I love the fact that the goal tending equipment is down, cut down a little bit. I think it's really really helped. Although, the players, even when the game's wide open, you don't see a lot of shots, it seems to me. Guys are passing the puck too much. We're getting too much like the Russians were in the seventies. Passing, passing, passing. I watched the Lightening play and they passed the puck way too much. Always trying to make the cute little play and when you do that you're going to get yourself in deep trouble. We're talking with Phil Esposito. Phil, uh, we don't really get a sense of what's going on in the U.S. and you're down there in Tampa Bay. Is the game back there? I mean we-we as you know in Canada, we just brought it, yeah - welcome back. Couldn't get it into our living rooms fast enough. Uh, what - what's it like in the U.S. Is hockey still off the radar or what?

Phil: Yeah. I think, no it isn't. It's really - I'm shocked. At the Lightening for example. We have three preseason home games and we averaged twenty-one thousand. We packed them in. At the preseason, which is unheard of. Yes, they're the defending Stanley Cup champions, but still. And so far, during the course of the season now, we've uh, we've sold out every game except for the last one against Ottawa. And to tell you the truth, they don't care about Ottawa and they don't care about, like they don't care about Toronto. Because in Montreal, because that's established. And people down here don't know about Ottawa and some of these other teams and so they don't really care. Now, for um, I love that they - they sort of cut the schedule where you play more in your own conference and own division and stuff like that. That I do like also. Because then you can get these rivalries going. And you can have a sense of rivalry. But, Toronto and Detroit's not playing as much as they should. Because that rivalry's been there for a hundred years. Yeah, absolutely. I agree. Um, Martin St. Louis, what's happened to him? Phil: Well, Marty is struggling. There's no doubt about it. He's squeezing the stick. It looks like if these sticks were still wood, there'd be sawdust coming out. But now they're all aluminum and all this stuff, they can't squeeze 'em out. So, but he's really really struggling in a sense that he's not utilizing what he's doing - what he does. And what brought him here. I remember Yogi Berra saying to me you've gotta do what brung ya. And he's not, he is not doing what brought him. And uh, and that's his speed. He's not utilizing it. And boy, oh boy oh boy is he passing the puck way way too much. Him and Brad Richards, I think Tortorella is going to have to break them up. Because they're just passing the puck to each other too much. They're in the top of the slot and they're looking to pass. You-you can't do that. Look in to make the nice play.

Talking with Phil Esposito. Phil, can the uh, the Lightning repeat?

Phil: Well, I don't know. I mean, that's the hardest thing to do in sport. But um, if the cards fell far right, it's just like um, when they won in 2004 when Boston lost to Montreal after being up three games to one and Ottawa lost to Toronto, 'cause those are the only two teams that I thought the Lightening would really really have trouble with. Beaten, and that's Boston and Ottawa. When they did that, they fell, I remember saying to Michigan my broadcast partner, right after I saw Montreal beat Boston, I says, you know what? I think the Lightning ain't going to win the Stanley Cup. And then the next night Toronto beats Ottawa. And I said Oh my lord, they're going to win it because Philadelphia and Toronto are going to kill each other and whoever we play, it's going to be okay. And we're going - we're going to kill Montreal. And well, of course we beat 'em four straight. So, um, I just - I just thought that after the cards fell right for the Lightning, and for anybody to win the Stanley Cup or any championship, you've gotta stay away from injuries. The key personnel. And in 2004 the Lightning did that. They didn't have a lot of injuries. They didn't have any injuries to their key people. And if you can do that and stay healthy, then actually - get the breaks, you're going to win. And, but whether they can repeat or not? Who the heck knows? Boy. The league is very very equal now.

Yeah.

It's going to be a crap shoot. Phil: Well, I tell you the truth. You know, last I picked Vancouver. And I'm not saying that because I'm talking to you on the phone. Right.

Phil: I really think they're the team. I thought they were the team last year. And I was quite surprised that they lost to Calgary. But the truth was, they lost to Calgary because of the tackling and the clutching and the grabbing and the holding.

And no Bertuzzi and no Cloutier Phil: That's right. And you didn't have Bertuzzi who is a big big plug in there. And um, and I just thought that, I think this year that the Vancouver Canucks are going to be the team that comes out of the West.

I guarantee you Phil, they're already planning the parade route. Phil: You're kidding? No.

Phil: I hope not. Because if you plan to early, you're really in trouble. Phil, it is always great to getcha. We've gotta do this more often. Just terrific talking to you man. I really do appreciate you taking some time.

Phil: My pleasure, thank you.

You take care my man.

Phil: Bye Bye.

That's Phil Esposito from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Does color for them. We're back in a moment. We're going to kick up the boards at two eight oh team. That's two eight oh eight three two six on the cell star team. Our Sammy J. Pepper's what's hot poll question is, if you won the six forty-nine, the forty million, what would you do? What'd you spend that money. You can email us live at team ten forty dot CA. Back in a moment. You've got it on the Team Ten Forty. Announcer: Dave Pratt and Don Taylor afternoons. And the home of the BC Lions.

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