Frank The Tank | Frank Walks
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00:00Today I'm walking with P.K. Subban, NHL legend. He had a 13-year illustrious career playing for the Canadiens, the Predators, and the Devils.
00:09While with the Devils, he provided youthful guidance to Jack Hughes and Nico Heischer.
00:14He won a Norris Trophy in 2013 and was a three-time All-Star. I can't wait to meet P.K. Let's go for a walk.
00:31Hey, how's it going?
00:32What's up, man?
00:33How's it going?
00:34Thanks, thanks.
00:35You invited me to do this. I'm pumped.
00:37Do you mind? I like to have my water bottles.
00:39Sure, why?
00:40Good. Dude, let's do this, man.
00:42By the way, I couldn't be any more pumped to do this.
00:47So many people in the city are fans of yours, and I've seen some of your clips, and Mel has sent me some of your stuff.
00:54Even while I was playing, I've seen some of his clips before.
00:57So it's like a real honor to do this with you.
00:59I'm glad you didn't take it too personally.
01:01No, no. I never take anything personally. Are you kidding me? No.
01:27I was just frustrated, yeah.
01:29And you know, I'm a passionate Devil's fan.
01:34Did you say something about me? I haven't seen it, so good.
01:37I gotta see the clip now. I have to see the clip.
01:40All right, let's do it.
01:41Well, 2019-2020 season, I mean, the first game you played with the Devils.
01:45I'm a Devil's season ticket holder, and I was there that night against the Winnipeg Jets.
01:51Yeah, so we went up like 4-0.
01:53And yeah, and the door period just like disintegrated.
01:57Yes, I remember that.
01:59I mean, that just set the tone for that whole season.
02:01Yeah, I remember that.
02:02I mean, one of my favorite players right now is Jack Hughes. I love Jack Hughes.
02:05Okay, so do you want me to go back to that game for a second?
02:08Yes.
02:09I was pissed off in that game because there were some critical moments where I honestly wanted to be on the ice.
02:18For me, my whole career in coming to New Jersey was based on the fact that I played in the playoffs.
02:23Yeah, a veteran leader.
02:25A veteran leader.
02:26And when the game was on the line, I just felt like I wasn't always in those positions to make a difference.
02:32And that was the frustrating thing was that this was a game we had to win.
02:35We couldn't lose that game because you set the tone.
02:38You're up 4-0, 5-0 on a good team, a team that has experience.
02:42Shively, all these guys that have played together for a long time.
02:45We knew that they had a good enough team to come back from 4-0, but we had to put them away.
02:50And I don't know. I was a little bit frustrated.
02:52But the first game is always tough.
02:54You're trying to get everybody in the mix, everybody in the flow.
02:56I think it was a back-to-back. Was it a back-to-back?
02:59Yeah, the next day.
03:00Yeah, we played the next day.
03:01I think that first week, you were third period leads like three times.
03:07Oh no, that was one of the toughest starts to a season.
03:11And it just set the whole tone for the whole season.
03:13Well, listen. I look at that team.
03:17We were very, very young.
03:20We brought in some veteran players, but the chemistry just wasn't there.
03:25We didn't gel well enough.
03:27New coach, GM, and then a couple months into the season, GM gets fired.
03:32Coach gets fired.
03:34It ended up just being a shit show.
03:37I mean, by the end, you're ready.
03:44The five-year window after 2012.
03:47And I knew 2012 was going to be the end of the Devils.
03:50I really wanted them to win a Stanley Cup that year.
03:52I knew that was it. I knew that was the last run.
03:55And it was great that Martin Gordor got them to the finals as a 40-year-old.
04:00I love Martin Gordor, by the way.
04:03But let's keep it real about the Devils for a second.
04:07Because when I think of the Devils,
04:10I think of one of the toughest teams to play against all the time.
04:15So when I played in Montreal, especially in the East,
04:19you knew you had to pack a lunch when you were coming to the Prudential Center
04:22because you knew, A, it wasn't going to be free bee night.
04:25You weren't getting any free cookies.
04:27There was no free points. It wasn't point night.
04:29Actually, you knew it was going to be probably one of the most frustrating nights of the season.
04:34Any night you were playing in New Jersey,
04:36it wasn't about the glitz and glamour of being in the tri-state area.
04:41It was like, you have to get ready to get your nose, your hands dirty.
04:45You got to put your hard hats on.
04:47You got to go to work because they're going to 1-3-1 you.
04:50They're going to trap it up.
04:51It's going to be tough coming through the neutral zone.
04:53They're going to try to frustrate you.
04:55They got Travis Zajac, who's got one of the best sticks in the league.
04:58Green's blocking shots.
05:00They got great goaltending.
05:02They just play a style of game that's frustrating.
05:05So when I went to New Jersey, I was super excited because I'm like,
05:09oh my God, I'm at this point in my career now where,
05:12yeah, I can take the puck and go end-to-end, but that's not winning hockey.
05:16I want to play winning hockey.
05:18And I knew that New Jersey had that culture.
05:21So to come there, and for us not to have that same feeling,
05:26to put on that jersey and not feel like every team that came into the building
05:30was scared to play us was so different for me.
05:34And I think a lot of that had to do with just the changing of the NHL.
05:38The game got younger, the players are younger, and it's more exciting.
05:43But let's be honest.
05:44Do people really want to come to the rink every day, 41 games a year?
05:48Do you want to come as a season ticket holder
05:50and watch games be 1-0 and 2-1?
05:53No, you want to see goals.
05:54You want to see excitement.
05:55The number one thing is winning, but it is sports entertainment too, right?
05:58Yeah.
05:59Right? Be honest. Tell me.
06:00Yeah, and the Devils had that.
06:02Actually, now with Hughes, the only question is they just need someone to protect them.
06:07Well, they need to get, listen, Wayne Simmons came in that year that we had.
06:13Wayne Train.
06:14Wayne Train.
06:15They want to get tougher, but you need the right toughness.
06:18Like, listen, I would love, every team would love to have a Tom Wilson on their team, right?
06:23A guy like that, that plays physical, that can score goals, bring all those elements to a team,
06:28but it's hard, man.
06:30It's hard to build a hockey team, you know?
06:32I don't, like, it's difficult.
06:35The Devils had looked so great last year.
06:38You thought they were going to improve on it,
06:41and then just such a setback year, and Hughes injury played a big role to it.
06:46And Luke Hughes is a good defenseman, but he looked young sometimes.
06:51He's young.
06:52No, he's still young.
06:53He's still young, and he needs time.
06:55Like, D, Frank, D need, you've got to give him three seasons.
07:00I always say for a defenseman, whether he comes in at 18, 21, 20, in that area,
07:08you've got to give him three seasons.
07:09Yeah, I wasn't concerned with Luke Hughes.
07:11I wasn't concerned.
07:12No, I'm not concerned.
07:13And I'm not concerned with Simone Emich either.
07:15No, but what does that mean?
07:16It's the Brendan Smiths that bother me.
07:17Okay, but hold on a second, right?
07:21When I look at the New Jersey Devils now, the clock's ticking now
07:26because you've got Jack Hughes locked up.
07:28Jack's going to do his thing.
07:30You know what you're getting with Jack.
07:32Nico, you know what you're getting with him.
07:36The guys now have to take that step because when you look around the rest of the league,
07:41you look at Lafreniere in New York, right?
07:44You look at all the young players around the league that are in team situations.
07:48They're all taking that step, and it's not just on them individually.
07:52It's the situation that they're in.
07:54You need the right balance between youth and veterans.
07:58You need the right players.
08:00New Jersey beats the Rangers in the first round of playoffs.
08:05Hold on.
08:06I said Devils and seven, right?
08:09Oh, well, PK, why did you say Devils and seven?
08:11Well, because I knew that if the Devils were going to beat them,
08:13they weren't beating them in six or five.
08:15They weren't doing that because we knew that the Rangers were a deep team.
08:19I said for Devils to beat them, it would have to be in seven games,
08:22and it's because of their speed.
08:24The Rangers, I did not think, could handle their speed
08:27because I just played with them, and I saw how much trouble their D would have with our speed.
08:32Well, they came out, and you could see the speed cause turnovers.
08:36Rangers didn't look themselves.
08:38So now when I think of the New Jersey Devils, they have to build that team on speed.
08:42But when you get to the playoffs, right, what happens to the rink?
08:45It shrinks.
08:46It gets smaller.
08:48So you need to have that balance of speed, skill, and toughness.
08:52That's why the Rangers, you see them now get through Carolina.
08:56They withstanded that pressure, right?
08:58The ice shrunk.
08:59They got through it.
09:01Chris cried at some big goals.
09:03I'm disappointed.
09:04I thought Carolina would win that series.
09:07You know, I picked the Rangers because I'll never go against a goaltender like Shuster.
09:11It's very difficult.
09:12That's why I think now it's going to be difficult to pick teams
09:15because you're looking at all great goaltenders from here on in.
09:18But with the Rangers, I still, here's the question, it still remains,
09:23and I'll go back and say it earlier in the season,
09:26when they played Florida at MSG, they ended up beating Florida in shootout,
09:30I think it was, or in overtime.
09:32And Florida was missing Barkov and missing some of their main guys.
09:36If the New York Rangers do not win their battles in front of their net
09:43and in front of Florida's net, they will not win that series.
09:46I'm going to tell you that for free.
09:47It doesn't matter.
09:48If they do not own that real estate, if they can't get in front of Bobrovsky
09:56or Swayman or whoever they're playing and own that real estate there
10:00and then do it in front of their own goaltender because that's the biggest test.
10:04Are they going to be able to defend in front of Shusterkin?
10:07Because you know Florida's going to be in there.
10:09You know Boston's going to be in there.
10:11But Florida, more importantly, I think it's going to be Florida that they play.
10:14That's my opinion.
10:15Yeah, I agree.
10:16But, yeah, I don't know.
10:18I thought Carolina could have won that series too.
10:20But Rangers did what they had to do.
10:22They're the better team.
10:23Yeah, I think what ended up happening is Hurricane just at the beginning of the season,
10:27beginning of the series, just their power play just was dreadful.
10:32Their power play is not dreadful.
10:35It's actually frustrating.
10:36For someone who's not, like, am I a fan of the Hurricanes?
10:40You know, I'm not a fan of the Hurricanes.
10:43I think that they have a good enough team.
10:45I like their style.
10:46I like that they work their bags off.
10:48They have a bunch of guys that leave it all on the ice every game.
10:50That's what I do love.
10:52But their power play to me can be so frustrating to watch.
10:56It's like, I'm like, they have so many good weapons.
10:59It's just like, you've got to get over the puck.
11:02Get shots.
11:03Simplify it.
11:04They've got D that can shoot the puck, that are mobile.
11:07I just didn't get that, how their power play couldn't do it.
11:09But then you look at the Rangers, and you see the way they move the puck around,
11:13and they don't have that personality, right?
11:15So, you know what I'll tell you?
11:19Like, I'm watching the Stanley Cup playoffs right now, and I'm seeing players out on the ice,
11:23and the first thing I think about is like, okay, hey, is the player injured, right?
11:28Because it's so easy to be critical of a guy.
11:31Like, I'll give you an example.
11:32Aaron Ekblad in the finals last year, I'm like, what the hell is going on with Ekblad?
11:38Like, why is he not skating?
11:40And then at the end of the finals, I hear he's got like a broken leg.
11:45No, he's got like three different injuries going on, and I had no idea.
11:49Ribs.
11:50So, it's like, you never know why a player looks the way that they look on the ice.
11:55And in pro sports, hockey, they don't ever disclose it.
11:59Upper body, lower body injuries.
12:01But, dude, sometimes it has nothing to do with injuries or anything.
12:05Sometimes it has to do with the fact that the player's just got no confidence.
12:09Like, a guy just might not have the confidence.
12:11It's like, well, you know what?
12:13You're making $12 million a year, $10 million a year.
12:16You've got to go out and perform, but it's like, where the fuck is the coach?
12:20Frank, you've got a guy making $9 million, $10 million a year.
12:23How do you not sit down with that guy and say,
12:26what do you need to perform the way that you perform?
12:30The reason why we brought you here.
12:32We brought you here for a reason.
12:34What do you need to perform at your highest level?
12:37The New Jersey Devils need a good coach.
12:39They have to nail this coach.
12:41Okay, 100%.
12:43This is the most important.
12:45In my opinion, over the past five years,
12:48this is going to be the most important hire for the New Jersey Devils
12:51because the youth on the team are not so youthful anymore.
12:56They have some experience under their belt.
12:58They've gotten a little bit of playoffs.
13:00They've got regular season.
13:02They've had the...
13:03What's up? What's up, guys?
13:06They've had the opportunity now to run with the ball
13:10and be a part of the leadership group to take the organization to that next step.
13:17Now it's going to be on who's the person guiding them now, right?
13:22Who's not stripping them away from their confidence or anything like that,
13:25has the experience to be able to take them to the next level,
13:28both individually as players, but also as a team.
13:32Now it's about being a pro and showing up every night and the expectation.
13:36I think that in order to do that,
13:38I really believe that they have to go and get an experienced coach.
13:41They have to get somebody that has been in the game long enough.
13:45It's easy for me to say that.
13:47It's easy for anybody to say, go out and get a Joel Quindle
13:51or go out and get someone like that.
13:53But...
13:54Would he hire Quindle? Is he able to be hired?
13:58I'm not saying that it should be him,
14:00but I think it's got to be somebody with that type of resume.
14:03Quindle, I think, was an original devil.
14:05Oh, listen.
14:07And by the way, Joel Quindle also has to want a coach for the New Jersey Devils.
14:12It has to be that as well.
14:14But I would like to see somebody with that type of experience.
14:18Not a coach that's coached a year.
14:20Listen, I've heard things about Sheldon Keith potentially being there.
14:25I've been open and honest about what I thought he did in Toronto,
14:28but you have to be very careful.
14:30Toronto's got young players too.
14:33It's very, very similar to New Jersey.
14:35I don't know if I want that guy.
14:37Well, I'm just saying.
14:39I would like to see a more veteran guy come in.
14:43Well, P.K., we just had Lindy Ruff.
14:45Well, Buffalo goes and hires Lindy.
14:48And does that make any sense based on what happened in New Jersey?
14:51No.
14:52Like, I don't know.
14:53Buffalo hired him because they're trying to bring back the Echoes.
14:59I mean, listen, when I played for Montreal,
15:03I saw Lindy Ruff behind the Buffalo Sabres back.
15:06She was coaching the Sabres.
15:08So that just shows you how things come full circle.
15:11I think for New Jersey, they have such a special group there.
15:14Dougie's going to come back.
15:16That was a big loss.
15:18They missed him.
15:19Whenever you miss a guy that eats 22, 24, 25 minutes,
15:23that scores 20 goals a year, that's putting in 60 points,
15:26I mean, you don't replace those guys.
15:28No.
15:29You know?
15:30He would have helped Luke and Nemex last year.
15:35Big time.
15:36But those guys are going to be studs.
15:38You know they're going to be studs.
15:39Yes.
15:40They're going to be studs.
15:41Well, we're now in the—we're now getting—
15:44by the time this comes out, we're going to be getting close to the finals.
15:46Okay.
15:47What do you think we're going to see this year in the last few rounds?
15:50ESPN, by the way, has got the exclusive coverage this year of the Stanley Cup final.
15:55Yeah.
15:56And, Frank, I'm extremely excited about it because it's my first Stanley Cup final, first of all.
16:03The only time I'd ever done a Stanley Cup final game as an analyst was NBC
16:09when Washington played Vegas, and Washington ended up winning in Vegas.
16:13It was one of the coolest experiences.
16:15So to now be able to have two years of being an analyst under my belt and the experience,
16:21to be able to, like, sit there now and watch the Stanley Cup final
16:24and analyze it and know the players, I couldn't be any more excited for it.
16:28But I think that this might be—like, the conference final and the Stanley Cup final
16:32might be some of the best hockey that we've seen over the past decade.
16:36Well, last year we did a good conference final, too.
16:37Oh, no.
16:38I think this year, though, it's going to be an absolute war.
16:41If you're thinking about Rangers, potentially Florida or Boston, Dallas, Edmonton, Vancouver,
16:49like, these are the elite teams right now left in the game.
16:53So I think it's going to be—
16:54Yeah, there's been almost no upsets this year.
16:57No, because there's so much parity.
16:59What's an upset?
17:01What's an upset if Detroit makes it into the playoffs over Washington,
17:04which probably should have happened?
17:06Yes.
17:07Do the Rangers—
17:08I don't like to delve into the NHL's point-breaking—
17:11Okay, so why don't you talk about that?
17:13Because I get that question a ton.
17:15And remember, when I was in Nashville, we won the President's Trophy.
17:18We played Winnipeg second round.
17:20It was the second-best team.
17:21We lose to them in seven games.
17:23And everybody wants to ask me where my cup is.
17:25And I was like, well, dude, I mean, we took—
17:27Go back to 1-8.
17:29You really think that?
17:30You don't like the rivalries?
17:31I love the rivalries.
17:33I do like seeing Boston and Toronto.
17:36I do like seeing that.
17:38But I do like spreading it out to the rivals.
17:40So the best teams are in the later rounds.
17:42I think that it would be nice to have a mixture of both.
17:46I think it would be cool if they had a format where they had the same format now
17:52with the wild card, and after the first round—
17:55Receded?
17:56Receded.
17:57I would like to see receding happening as you get closer to the cup final.
18:03Because winning, you should get more of an advantage as you go on.
18:07I think the best team, the better team, should play mid-dead.
18:13For example, you could be lucky and get a Kimbrough's pass.
18:19Meanwhile, the team's going to a goal and playing the top teams.
18:23And then next thing you know, here comes Canada Cup Finals, and you're done.
18:28Well, I mean, think about it.
18:32We play Vegas Golden Knights.
18:35They get anybody but Dallas in the first round.
18:39Maybe they find their game, get into a rhythm, but it's on Vegas too.
18:45You can't be finishing eighth.
18:47So now the way this format is set up is it doesn't allow you to coast through the regular season.
18:54You want to be the highest-seeded team.
18:56You do.
18:57You want to get home ice advantage.
18:58You want to be the highest-seeded team.
19:00Vegas, look, as great as they were, they won the Stanley Cup,
19:04but they had nine guys who got off-season surgery.
19:07So they end up in A spot.
19:09So I think it's a couple of—
19:11But that's why it's so hard to repeat.
19:13It's so hard to repeat.
19:14It is very difficult to repeat.
19:16But if I was going to tweak something, I would like to see a receding happening.
19:21I don't mind the wild card.
19:23I don't mind the way it's set up right now.
19:25I think I would like to see a receding after maybe the first or second round.
19:29Just to get it, you've got to—the top teams have to get into bed.
19:33You can't have the President's Trophy team playing the second-place team in the second round.
19:37I just—that's just tough.
19:39And, I mean, for me, you could argue I could be the most pissed off about it
19:43because in Nashville, we lose Fiala.
19:46We lose Johansson.
19:48Before the cup final, we lose to Pittsburgh in six games, right?
19:52Okay, missed opportunity.
19:54In the second year, we win the President's Trophy.
19:57We have all the opportunity in the world to win the Stanley Cup.
20:01We have the team for it, goaltending, everything.
20:03And we run into a stacked Winnipeg team.
20:06Like, I don't know—Winnipeg was good this year.
20:09That team this year had nothing on that team in 2016 that we played against, or 15.
20:15Now, one thing that's noticeable is that when I was growing up,
20:20it was the Canadian team that won the Stanley Cup.
20:23There hasn't been a Canadian team that's won the Stanley Cup,
20:26and it's hard to believe since 1993.
20:29Could Vancouver or Edmonton, the winner of that series,
20:33can they be the one to break through, break that drought?
20:36Well, I mean, the Vancouver Canucks definitely can.
20:41I mean, Elias Pettersson, he woke up in Game 5.
20:44You saw him last night.
20:45He looked unbelievable, a couple big plays.
20:47And by the way, I want to talk about him for a second because it is important.
20:52We're talking about Edmonton and Vancouver, two teams, right, that could get there.
20:57But if I'm talking about Vancouver solely,
21:00who had one of the best seasons that we've seen in a long time.
21:02They've been terrible for a while.
21:04And Rick Tockett comes in, changes the whole culture of that team.
21:08J.T. Miller, which team wouldn't take J.T. Miller on their team right now?
21:12Elias Pettersson's making, what, $11 million a year right now?
21:16If that guy plays 80% of what he can play moving forward, oh, my God.
21:24I don't see Edmonton beating them in the seven games.
21:27Like, I just don't.
21:28Not if they're healthy, not if Vancouver's healthy
21:31and they continue to get the great goaltending that they're getting.
21:33With Edmonton, it's the goaltending that's hurting them.
21:35I hate to say it.
21:36It's the goaltending and the defense.
21:38They just, you know.
21:39And I hate, I don't even want to talk about defense
21:41because every time I mention defense,
21:43everybody thinks that I'm shitting on everybody's defense
21:46because they never took me on their team before I retired.
21:48So everybody always thinks, whenever I talk about defense,
21:51they're like, oh, yeah, he's got a thing for Edmonton.
21:53He's got a thing.
21:54No, it's just.
21:55Every year, it's the same story.
21:57They have Connor McDavid, who I think is the best player in the league.
22:02And he's just, him and Dreisaitl are just like, score every, at will.
22:10And then the playoffs come and it comes down to a big save
22:14and they just never make it.
22:16Yeah, well, it's difficult.
22:19You've got to build out your teams.
22:20And here's the thing, though, and this is what I say to Edmonton.
22:23You don't have goaltending.
22:25At least go out and stack your defense.
22:28Like, put skit.
22:29You've got to retool that defense.
22:31Like, where's the emphasis on that?
22:32And listen, their defense, Paul Coffey comes in
22:35and their defense looks a lot better.
22:37They got a lot better once he stepped on the bench.
22:40I will say that.
22:41But when you're talking about winning a Stanley Cup, like, I don't know, man.
22:49I look around the league.
22:50Vancouver's got a better defense than Edmonton.
22:52There's no question.
22:53So there's no question.
22:55They have a better defense than Edmonton.
22:57And if you don't have defense in this league, it's very, very difficult.
23:01Very, very difficult to win.
23:02But that's how good Dreisaitl and McDavid are.
23:06They give their team a chance.
23:08And you can never count those guys out.
23:10Right?
23:11So you know that, that those guys can win a game.
23:13Yeah, they can.
23:14They can win a game for you.
23:15So we'll see.
23:17I think right now it looks like it's going to be Vancouver.
23:21I think they just got the momentum.
23:23I watched them last night.
23:24I like their game.
23:26They're battle-tested like that Garland.
23:28They just have so many guys.
23:29That Josh was going now.
23:31Ias Pedersen comes now.
23:34We don't want to go through the mud again.
23:35I think Vancouver right now looks like the team that could do it.
23:38Frank, you've been an opinionated guy.
23:40I think you've been way too nice today.
23:42And I'm sure you've been opinionated about me.
23:44Because I know you're a big Devils fan.
23:46This is honest-to-God truth.
23:48I've never seen a tweet or a video about it.
23:51And I want you to be honest, Frank, about what you thought.
23:54I was pretty harsh.
23:55Especially the first two years you were at the Devils.
23:57Because I was actually at the event.
24:00They brought you in.
24:01They put the robe on.
24:02The Subinator.
24:03They brought a bunch of season ticket holders in.
24:06I was there.
24:07I was there for that.
24:08And I was really hopeful that this would be the piece that gets the Devils to the next level.
24:14So, Frank, you're trying to avoid the question.
24:17To be clear, here's one tweet.
24:19On February 15, 2022, P.K. Subban just fell on his ass like Fred Flintstone.
24:27Do you remember that play, Frank?
24:29Yes, I do.
24:32What happened afterwards?
24:33I think he got like trying to make a save going backwards.
24:36And his legs just like were moving and he didn't do anything.
24:40What's another one?
24:42April 18, 2021.
24:44I told you the Nets will all get hurt.
24:46I'm cursed.
24:47Mets gonna lose 90.
24:48Dolphins 7 and 10.
24:50Devils fucked forever by P.K. Subban.
24:56Another one.
24:57Let's hear it.
24:58P.K. Subban sucks.
25:0010-15-21.
25:02Francisco Lindor, sorry, 5-2-21.
25:05Francisco Lindor is the baseball version of P.K. Subban.
25:08Total fucking bust.
25:145-20-2022.
25:16P.K. is gonna be a good announcer.
25:18Oh, okay.
25:20Well, I'll tell you this.
25:21First of all, my time in New Jersey, let's be honest.
25:25You compare that to my time in Montreal or Nashville.
25:29There's a big difference.
25:31Now, you know, I'm not one of those guys that looks back and like ever wants to make excuses.
25:37Like I've always, I'll be the first to say that when I played in Montreal, I got a lot of love.
25:43When I played in Nashville, I got a lot of love.
25:46And maybe over my career, I've got more love than most players ever get.
25:50From fans, their own fans, people from around the league.
25:54So, number one, I always respect a fan's opinion.
25:57And I know when I'm playing my best and when I'm not.
26:00But I'll tell you this.
26:01Coming into New Jersey, I came in with the right attitude and the right approach.
26:08I knew I was coming into a situation, coming off of A, being in the playoffs.
26:14I think at that point, probably 8 or 9 out of the first 10 years of my career, like playing playoff hockey.
26:20I played 96 playoff games.
26:22So, you know, I didn't miss the playoffs much.
26:24So, coming into the devil situation where A, they had...
26:31How's, I think that's for you guys.
26:33I mean, it's a Corvette.
26:35I mean, if it was a Lamborghini, I'd give them a shout out.
26:38It's like it's a Corvette.
26:39It's probably a rental too.
26:41Anyway, so no offense to the Corvette.
26:44I like Corvette.
26:45But I don't know if I'd be walling myself up on a Friday afternoon, interrupting a crazy interview here with Frank.
26:51Like, I wouldn't be doing that.
26:53You know what I mean?
26:54And it's like a teal green too.
26:56It's not even like a black.
26:57Not even a good looking color.
26:58It's not.
26:59It looks like the cracking uniforms.
27:01I'm also not hating on the Corvette because I like Corvettes.
27:05But, you know what I mean?
27:07It's got to be like a Ferrari or something like that.
27:09Anyway, so I'll say this.
27:12That coming into New Jersey, into a situation that was a non-playoff situation and a young team.
27:18Like, I never asked for a trade.
27:21Out of everything that went on, I never asked for a trade.
27:24I never complained about playing in New Jersey and not wanting to be there.
27:30I never did any of that.
27:32And I wasn't healthy.
27:34Like that first year I was coming off a drop foot in Nashville.
27:37I had a nerve injury.
27:38I couldn't lift my foot for six months of the whole year.
27:43That's why I missed 20 games and then came back and played against Dallas in the playoffs after drop foot.
27:50So, people didn't understand that during the summer I was doing rehab when I got traded.
27:55I wasn't even.
27:56I didn't get to train the way that I wanted to.
27:58So, coming into that season was difficult.
28:02That's why in a lot of ways my third year in New Jersey was my best year.
28:05It was my best year.
28:07Yeah, because I was healthy and I was happy.
28:10I was feeling good.
28:11I was energetic.
28:12I wanted to go to the rink.
28:14I was happy with my teammates.
28:20No problem.
28:21So, to your point, Frank, I probably had a couple shitty nights the first two years that I played in New Jersey.
28:28But I would agree that the third year in New Jersey I thought was my best.
28:32Yeah, I definitely say that.
28:34That's true.
28:35And your third year you won the King Clancy Award.
28:37Yep, King Clancy.
28:40One of the cool things about coming to New Jersey was figuring out what I was going to do from a philanthropic standpoint.
28:46Because I always like to try to do something in every city that I play in.
28:49And starting the Blue Line Buddies program was awesome.
28:53In Nashville and being able to bring it to New Jersey and Blitz.
28:57David Blitzer, Josh Harris, Allison Blitzer, they embraced the program.
29:03I don't know.
29:04I've been actually talking to them a little bit.
29:06I'm going to be doing more stuff in New Jersey, actually, for the Devils.
29:09Oh, that's good.
29:10Oh, of course.
29:13One thing I'll say to everybody in New Jersey, you guys treated me so well when I was there.
29:21As much as it was tough losing, I'm not a good loser.
29:26But I was on a young team and I had to set a good example for those guys.
29:30So, you know, that was different.
29:33I'll tell you this right now.
29:35There were a lot of restless nights for me because it was difficult to accept losing.
29:42It's very, very difficult to do that.
29:45But I loved my time in New Jersey with the players and they treated me so well.
29:51So I'm excited to help out the city of Newark and continue to help the community as much as I can.
29:59You can ask me about anything.
30:03There's no ego here.
30:06So this is all good stuff.
30:08And I know what you do and I love what you do.
30:10So feel free to ask me about anything you want.
30:13Now, one thing that I personally think that you have a chance to get into the Hall of Fame.
30:19Okay.
30:20And I'm rooting for it.
30:22Oh, thank you. I appreciate that.
30:24Well, I've heard that from a couple of people, actually.
30:27You know, people in hockey that have told me that.
30:30And, you know, for me, part of me retiring wasn't about, like, everybody always says,
30:36like, you could still play. Why don't you go play?
30:39Retirement isn't about leaving the game when you can't play anymore.
30:45I think it's about understanding, like, what are your goals and aspirations?
30:49My dream was to win a Stanley Cup.
30:52I wanted to do that.
30:55I wanted to be a part of that.
30:58But I think that also, like, I know what I can bring to a team.
31:02So for me, when I decided to step away from the game, it was about the situation that I was in as a player.
31:10And I think as a player, I knew what I could bring to a team.
31:13And I didn't want to have the frustration of going to the rink every day and becoming a bad teammate.
31:19Because, Frank, I didn't believe that I could leave everything on the ice.
31:22Because you know what? Fans like Frank are going to say, what the fuck is going on with PK?
31:26Like, where the fuck's his energy?
31:28Like, what the hell? He's not hitting anybody.
31:31Where's the big hits? Where's the energy? He's not talking trash.
31:34Where's his one-timer? Like, what happened to his one-timer?
31:37Well, you know what?
31:38Run across here. There's a nice little path right here.
31:41You know, Frank's going to say, where's his one-timer?
31:44Like, you know, and I'm going to say, well, there's a certain...
31:47Montreal, no matter what I thought about Michel Therrien,
31:51no matter what anybody thought about Michel Therrien, and I love Michel.
31:55I had a great relationship with him off the ice.
31:57But people were opinionated in how he would coach me.
32:00But it didn't matter to me. You know why?
32:02Because at the end of the day, Frank, when it came down to it, he put my ass on the fucking ice.
32:07When we needed a goal, my ass was on the ice.
32:10When I came to New Jersey, dude, I was on the powerplay for two weeks,
32:14and then I never went back on the powerplay for three years.
32:17So you've got to understand that.
32:19Like, if I'm keeping it real, it was a situation where it was a rebuilding team
32:24and they prioritized playing younger guys.
32:27So, you know, like, dude, you've got to give me the reins to run with the ball.
32:31I've never been a player that gets spot played, and I'm a bigger guy.
32:35I've got to play minutes to get into a flow of the game and to get there.
32:40So, you know, I think that some of those frustrations you can control and you can't control.
32:46And for me, retirement was just like, you know what?
32:49I've left everything. I've always left everything on the ice.
32:52I think people will look back at my career,
32:54and they can have an opinion on whether they believe I should be in those conversations or not.
32:59But I feel really good about the 13 years that I played and the impact that I had.
33:05Well, yeah, I mean, you had a great career. You won the Norris Trophy.
33:08Yeah.
33:09I mean, that's something right there.
33:13For one season, you were the best defenseman in the league.
33:15Yeah, and I didn't even think that was my best year.
33:18Like, I thought the year after that was better.
33:20I had, I think it was, I think I had almost 60 points.
33:23I had like 18 goals, plus 20.
33:25We had a really good team that year.
33:28I thought that my second year in Nashville, when I was up for it, was a really good year as well.
33:35Because I led the team in scoring for most of the year.
33:38Like, there were some really good years there.
33:40But there's a lot of good defensemen in the league, too.
33:42So I think that, like, it's not so much that I won it.
33:45I think to have been in the conversation with the top three defensemen for eight, nine, ten years of your career,
33:51I think that's where my pride comes from.
33:53Because whether I won it, Dowdy won it, Eric Carlson, Victor Hedman,
33:57like, you could give us all a trophy every year, you know, for the impacts that we had on the ice.
34:02But to be in that conversation was cool.
34:05It was pretty, it was validation enough for me.
34:08Alright, who do you think is the all-time starting five for the Devils?
34:12Starting five? Okay, I'll give you a goalie, too.
34:14Broder.
34:15Yes, obviously.
34:16Scott Niedermeyer.
34:20Scott Stevens.
34:21Yes.
34:22Now, some people may not put Scott Stevens on that blue line.
34:26I, it's no question for me, and I don't know, maybe I'm nuts, but it's no question for me.
34:32I'd put him on that blue line.
34:33There's a lot of good defensemen that come through New Jersey.
34:35But I think it's him, Niedermeyer.
34:37Niedermeyer.
34:40I'm going to go with, up front, you've got to go with, like, see, I was a big old, like, old, like, Teberdowski fan.
34:51I liked Teberdowski when he played back in the day.
34:54Big shot.
34:55But I would say up front, I'm going to go with Patrick Elias.
34:59You've got to go with him.
35:00Yes.
35:01All-time DDS four.
35:02Right?
35:03You've got to go with Patrick Elias.
35:05And now I've got to be careful, because I will play favorites here a little bit.
35:10Okay?
35:11I'm going to go with Scott Gomez.
35:12Yeah.
35:13That's my guy.
35:14Scott Gomez.
35:15He won Rookie of the Year there, too.
35:16Yes.
35:17Okay?
35:18Scott Gomez.
35:19No question about it.
35:20I love the way that guy could dance and dish.
35:22And I'm going to go with...
35:28You know what?
35:29I'm going to go with...
35:32I'm going to go with Brian Gionta.
35:36Oh.
35:37Brian Gionta.
35:38Yeah.
35:39Undersized.
35:40Underappreciated.
35:41But...
35:42Gio, I know you like that one.
35:44That's for Harvest.
35:45That's for all the kids.
35:46For everybody at home.
35:47Remember, I played with Gio in Montreal.
35:49He's my captain.
35:50Yeah.
35:51Yeah.
35:52Yeah.
35:53Undersized, but he could score.
35:54He could score a lot of goals.
35:56Big time.
35:57Big goals.
35:58And he went to all the dirty areas.
36:01Yep.
36:02So, those are my guys.
36:03What's your starting five?
36:04I'd pretty much do the same thing.
36:06Yeah?
36:07Steven's has to be.
36:08He's the captain.
36:09He's got to be.
36:10He's the captain.
36:11I mean, everyone loves Kenny Danico.
36:13But Scott Niedermayer was so much a part of everything that we did.
36:18So, those are obvious.
36:20Only obvious.
36:22Because, to me, Martin Vardor is the greatest goalie of all time.
36:25Really?
36:26Yes.
36:27Over Patrick Waugh?
36:29Yes.
36:30Wow.
36:31Over Dominic Cashion?
36:32Yes.
36:33Wow.
36:34And why?
36:35Take the New Jersey out of him.
36:37Why?
36:38Because he has the most wins and the most shutouts.
36:41And he played every day.
36:44Like, it's hard.
36:45He did play every day.
36:47He played every day.
36:48He averaged like 75 games a year.
36:50I mean, if you're the guy you work with now, Kevin Weeks.
36:54Yep.
36:55He was a backup for a couple years.
36:56Yep.
36:57With Marty.
36:58With Marty.
36:59He had the cushiest job in the NHL.
37:01He sat, watched hockey, got paid,
37:04and he got to watch Martin Vardor weave magic night in, night out.
37:08Unbelievable.
37:09Unbelievable.
37:11And Kevin Weeks had his moment in Carolina.
37:13I'm sure that playing behind Martin Vardor and learning from him
37:17and seeing that had a big impact on him having that run as well
37:20with Carolina and Art Deserve and the whole team there.
37:24But if somebody had, like, Pat, I'm a Montreal guy.
37:30You know that.
37:31Yeah.
37:32I'm a Montreal guy.
37:33And, okay, so here's the thing with me.
37:35I'm not going to disagree with Marty Broder being number one all the time
37:39because I can't.
37:40A guy, if you have the most shutouts, like, come on.
37:43The numbers, you can't argue the numbers.
37:45But when people ask me about the greatest of all time,
37:49more goes into it than just the numbers.
37:53In my opinion, it has to.
37:55And Patrick Waugh, the fact that he won cups with two different teams,
38:00went to Colorado, the way he did it, the storyline behind it,
38:05Patrick being his authentic self, being that guy, the way he won,
38:11the rings, the MVPs, it's hard to argue that Patrick Waugh
38:18shouldn't be number one at all times.
38:21I'd put him too.
38:22Okay.
38:23I'd put him too.
38:24Okay, okay, now I have another question for you, okay?
38:26I'm not saying that Marty's not number one, by the way.
38:29I'm not saying that.
38:30I'm just, you've got to talk about Patrick.
38:32You can't talk about Marty being number one and not bring up Patrick Waugh's name.
38:36Yeah, Patrick Waugh, I mean, there's no doubt how great he was.
38:39Okay.
38:40You also can't bring, you can't talk about those two guys
38:42without bringing up Dominic Kashuk.
38:44One game, you've got to win one game.
38:47Who's in that?
38:48Kashuk, Waugh, or Broder?
38:50Broder.
38:51I'm sticking with my guy.
38:52Wow.
38:53I'm sticking with my guy.
38:54Over the Dominator.
38:55I'm sticking with my guy, and I remember in 94, that playoff game,
38:59that like, we were like, what?
39:01Six overtime before the goal?
39:04Nothing, nothing?
39:06Yes.
39:07Yes.
39:08But Dominic Kashuk, okay, hold on.
39:10Was he not one of the most amazing?
39:12Yeah, he was.
39:13He was unbelievable.
39:14Yeah.
39:17Like, there's a lot of people that say he's the best goaltender of all time.
39:23There's a lot of people, and they're not from Buffalo either, or Detroit.
39:27But you know one thing about Marty is, the trapezoid behind the net,
39:34that was put there because of what Martin Roderick could do with the stick.
39:40You sound, hold on.
39:41Now Frank sounds like he watched PK's Places on ESPN.
39:44Hey, did he not watch PK's Places on ESPN Plus?
39:47Exactly, because we had a breakdown on that.
39:49By the way, this was all a trick question for you,
39:52because I always had Marty as number one.
39:54I just wanted to know if you were watching PK's Places
39:56when we gave the breakdown about Marty being the best puck handler of all time
40:01in the NHL, and a big reason why the New Jersey Devils were so good in the 90s.
40:06I mean, 2000, it was against the Maple Leafs, elimination game.
40:13They held Toronto to six shots on goal.
40:16I mean, it must have been, like you want to pull your hair out
40:19from playing against them.
40:21No, and this is why I tell you, when I was going to play for the New Jersey Devils,
40:26why I was so excited.
40:28Because I'm like, you know what, I couldn't want to buy in more
40:33to a team system that results in us winning more than I am right now in my career.
40:38Just think about it.
40:39You know, when you start your career as a pro athlete,
40:41you have all this raw talent, this ability, this energy,
40:44this electricity running through your body.
40:46Like Jack Hughes, that's what he's going through right now.
40:49He's so talented.
40:50Every game he can beat in so many different ways.
40:53He's trying to manage, how do I use all these tools
40:56to A, help myself be successful, and help our team get to our goal?
41:01When I played for the Devils, I lived in Millburn, like Short Hills area.
41:05So I lived on Old Shored Hills Road for two years,
41:08during the pandemic and everything.
41:11Oh my God, what a godsend that was.
41:14Living in New Jersey during the pandemic?
41:16Beautiful.
41:18I had no idea New Jersey was so beautiful until I moved here.
41:22I mean, yeah, New Jersey, this park, this park in particular,
41:26you come here during the early part of spring?
41:29Yeah.
41:30Nothing but cherry blossoms.
41:32Really?
41:33Yes.
41:34Come on.
41:35Nothing but cherry blossoms.
41:36So this is a good date spot, Frank?
41:37Yes.
41:38Really?
41:39Yes, and if you come here, like I did a walk here,
41:43and I saw dozens of people,
41:46like I don't even know if they're getting married that day,
41:49with their wedding dress, and they're taking their pictures by the cherry blossoms.
41:54Oh no, this would be beautiful out here.
41:56You get a nice little blanket, nice little picnic table, bring your basket.
42:01And then you got the church, the basilica over here.
42:05If you want to elope.
42:07If the date goes well, right?
42:09Yeah, and that thing just glows.
42:11It glows over everything.
42:14Oh no, this is beautiful.
42:16I love New Jersey.
42:18I mean, I've lived within a few miles of this park my whole life.
42:23Yeah?
42:24Yep.
42:25So this is like a home walk for me.
42:27So, and where, what part of New Jersey are you from, Frank?
42:30I'm from this part.
42:31I lived in Newark for like ten years.
42:36Then when I was ten, I moved to Bloomfield, and then I moved to Balboa.
42:39And all those towns border each other.
42:42And I still live in Balboa.
42:45I mean, I live like a couple blocks from this park.
42:48So, I know this park very well.
42:52When I get turned around, I'm not a great navigator.
42:57Any other questions for me, boys?
42:59We talked earlier about the Blue Line Buddies program.
43:03Yep.
43:04Describe it for me a little bit.
43:06So, I started that program when I was in Nashville.
43:09And a lot of it was because, you know, I don't know.
43:15I'm not a divisive guy, Frank.
43:17I try to bring people together.
43:20I try to build bridges in communities.
43:22And always try to find a solution to issues.
43:25That's just how my mind's wired.
43:27So, you know, I don't really see much else.
43:29I just see, like, what's the problem?
43:31How do we fix it?
43:32What's the solution?
43:34And then how do we pull everybody into it so that everybody can share this, right?
43:39And be a part of it?
43:40Because that's what it's about.
43:41Yep.
43:42And so, for me, when I started the Blue Line Buddies program, I said, I'm leaving Montreal.
43:46I did this huge thing with the hospital.
43:48You know, I'm probably not going to do another huge thing.
43:50Because I have that commitment that I want to fulfill and continue to work with.
43:54So, I'm going to do something that may not be on the scale of a donation to a hospital.
44:00But could be more impactful than what I'm doing at the hospital.
44:03And I thought about it.
44:05And at that time, you know, there was the election.
44:08There was a lot of tension in the United States.
44:12I was also moving to Nashville.
44:14It was my first time in my life living in the United States.
44:17I visited the United States.
44:19Never lived there.
44:20So, I was 25, 26, going, getting traded in Nashville, going to the South.
44:25And all this turmoil was going on.
44:28Colin Kaepernick's kneeling.
44:30You know, people not standing for the national anthem.
44:32I'm a Canadian guy.
44:33My mom's worried.
44:35And I'm like, Mom, I'm going to play hockey.
44:38Nashville could not have been any better than what it was for me.
44:43The people in the South were so nice and so beautiful and so gracious.
44:48And I get there, and I remember I had to answer questions about it.
44:52And I said, you know what?
44:54I'm going to get tickets to every home game.
44:58Four tickets.
44:59And let's bring law enforcement, underprivileged youth.
45:03We'll go to the team.
45:04We'll have them get a program or find a program where we can actually be able to pull some underprivileged youth out of it.
45:10Bring them to a game.
45:11Have them experience what it's like to be at Bridgestone Arena for one night.
45:15And do it with law enforcement officers.
45:17Because growing up, law enforcement officers, like, we had names like 5-0, Control-O.
45:24The whole thing in school is like you're not supposed to talk to the police.
45:27Like, it's like a stigma.
45:28Like, you've got to be afraid of the police if you don't talk to them.
45:31And I'm like, well, what if we can get rid of that stigma and get people comfortable around law enforcement officers
45:37and get law enforcement officers comfortable around these kids?
45:40Because that's how you change it.
45:42You're not changing it by bringing in some guy who's 50 years old who's lived a whole life already.
45:46You've got to start with the kids.
45:48So I said, you know, let's start this program.
45:50We set up dinner for the kids with the law enforcement officers before the game.
45:54They come down, meet the players after the game.
45:56And it was just an experience.
45:58And, man, it just took off.
46:01We had law enforcement officers taking kids on their own dime to games.
46:06You know, keeping reports with the kids.
46:08Keeping tabs.
46:09The police chief was very, very complimentary.
46:12Gave me an award, an honorable award for that.
46:17And they continue the program now in Nashville.
46:19And it was just well-received.
46:21So it was super impactful.
46:23And that's what I wanted to do.
46:25You know, I could have done probably 15 million different things, some of them divisive.
46:29But I felt that this was the best way to do it.
46:31And it's been well-received since.
46:33And I'm looking forward to hopefully growing it.
46:35I'd like to do it in the tri-state.
46:37You know, I'd love to do it with multiple teams.
46:39That would be good, actually.
46:41I think you've got to get the underprivileged into hockey.
46:45Yes.
46:46That's how you grow the game.
46:48Yes.
46:49To me, that's how you grow the game.
46:51I mean, I don't think it does enough.
46:54For example, players like Jerome Nguyen.
46:58Now, he played in Calgary.
47:01Yeah.
47:02But I don't think a lot of Americans know who he was.
47:05No.
47:06I don't think a lot of Americans know who he was.
47:08But you know what, Frank?
47:09You have to also understand this.
47:10And I tell this to people.
47:11I get really annoyed with this in today's sports.
47:15Not everybody is an activist.
47:17Not everybody wants or can do all...
47:20Like, Frank, at the hospital, I take people on walks.
47:23Like, you take people on walks like this.
47:25I take people on walks to the hospital.
47:27There's some people who can't go on walks in that hospital.
47:30They can't handle it.
47:31They can't see the kids like that.
47:33They can't see families like that.
47:35They can't deal with it emotionally.
47:36So, who am I to tell anybody that they should start a foundation?
47:39Like, it's not everybody is built like that.
47:42You have to do what you're asked for.
47:44Right.
47:45Right.
47:46So, you know, with Jerome Nguyen,
47:48I'm happy that he did his career the right way.
47:50Because guess what?
47:51In 2017, when I was on the cover, or 2019,
47:55when I was on the cover of the NHL game,
47:57all I could think about was seeing Jerome Nguyen on the NHL cover of 2003.
48:01And the example that he set for a guy like me coming into the NHL.
48:04So, without him ever opening his mouth
48:07or doing something that impacted me in a community,
48:10he did so much that impacted my life.
48:13Well, that's nice.
48:14And I'm so glad that you did this walk.
48:16Yeah, man.
48:17This was a lot of fun.
48:18Thank you, Frank.
48:19Thank you.
48:20Watch the hockey Stanley Cup playoffs finals exclusively on ESPN.
48:24And we got a lot of stuff coming up with the Stanley Cup itself.
48:27So, watch that too.
48:29Watch that too.
48:30And thanks again.
48:31And make sure you watch my man Frank.
48:33Make sure you watch.
48:34I'll be keeping tabs on all your watches from now on.
48:36All right?
48:37Thanks, Frank.
48:38Thanks.