The DFO Rundown

Latest Episodes:

Brooks Laich on Ovechkin's record, having #8 as a teammate & his post-career life Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

Episode 180 of The DFO Rundown is brought to you by Athletic Brewing Co. Join Frank’s Dry Jan challenge powered by Athletic Brewing – available online

across Canada and the US. Use FRANK20 for 20% off your first purchase at athleticbrewing.com.

Few NHLers know Alex Ovechkin better than Brooks Laich. In fact, only two players have spent more time on the same team as Alex Ovechkin during his career (Niklas Backstrom and John Carlson). So who better to join the pod to discuss ‘The Great 8’s’ milestone week than a guy who was there for a good portion of his 800 goals. What’s Ovechkin like in the room? What were Laich’s first impressions of a young Ovi? He answered all those questions and took us through what he’s been up to since his playing career ended. His business has taken him to almost every continent in the world and he had some fascinating stories.

Tyler Yaremchuk also hopped in for his weekly segment and asked the guys about Logan Thompson’s Calder Trophy case, the Metro division, and John Tortorella’s decision to bench the Flyer's leading scorer, Kevin Hayes, even though the team is averaging under 2.5 goals per game. He also shared some of the latest odds available on Pointsbet Canada.

2:30 - Ovechkin’s record week

6:55 - Brooks on Ovechkin

14:25 - First impressions of Ovi

31:40 - Rapid Fire

48:38 - Buy or Sell

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McDavid's comments & scorched earth rebuilds Dec 16, 2022

Show notes

Episode 179 of The DFO Rundown is brought to you by Athletic Brewing Co. Join Frank’s Dry Jan challenge powered by Athletic Brewing – available online

across Canada and the US. Use FRANK20 for 20% off your first purchase at athleticbrewing.com.

Frank is back from the Board of Governors meeting in Florida and shared with us what he learned from his time around some of the most important people in the sport. Could the cap go up by more than $1 million? Frank thinks it will, despite Gary Bettman’s comments.

From there, Jason talked about the controversial call last night that negated an Oilers overtime victory. McDavid wasn’t happy about it, but was he right to be upset? Gregor gave some insight.

He then asked Frank for the latest on Bo Horvat before getting into some other names that could potentially be available ahead of the 2023 NHL trade deadline in March. Could the Anaheim Ducks go full scorched earth and move some players that we currenty view as key pieces?

Tyler Yaremchuk also stopped in for a new edition of ‘Fill in the Blank’ delivered by Pointsbet Canada and DoorDash.

1:45 - Board of Governors recap

4:55 - McDavid’s comments

10:45 - Bo Horvat update

15:40 - Other names on the market

21:10 - Scorched earth rebuilds

25:58 - Fill in the Blank

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Brent Thompson on his son Tage's rise to stardom Dec 12, 2022

Show notes

Episode 178 of The DFO Rundown is brought to you by Athletic Brewing Co. Join Frank’s Dry Jan challenge powered by Athletic Brewing – available online

across Canada and the US. Use FRANK20 for 20% off your first purchase at athleticbrewing.com.

Frank Seravalli’s background was a beautiful blue sky with an abundance of palm trees as he’s in Florida for the upcoming Board of Governors meeting. He speculated about some of the potential discussion points that some of the most important people in the sport will be going through including the salary cap, the future of Gary Bettman, and some on-ice ideas.

From there, the guys hit on the surging Washington Capitals, the struggling Florida Panthers, and Darryl Sutters recent comments following a loss in Toronto.

Our guest today on the show was Brent Thompson, the Head Coach of the Bridgeport Islanders. Oh, he’s also the father of the hottest player in the NHL, Tage Thompson. We talked with Brent about where he was when Tage popped home five goals against the Columbus Blue Jackets and got his take on his son’s rapid rise to stardom in the NHL. He’s also getting set to coach against his other son Tyce for the first time ever later this week and he talked about that experience.

1:25 - Board of Governors agenda

7:55 - Capitals surge

9:30 - Panthers struggles

12:10 - Darryl Sutter’s comments

14:35 - Brent Thompson joins the show

47:10 - Buy or Sell delivered by DoorDash

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"Yaremchuk's Earning His Paycheck today" Dec 09, 2022

Show notes

Episode 177 of The DFO Rundown is brought to you by Athletic Brewing Co. Join Frank’s Dry Jan challenge powered by Athletic Brewing – available online

across Canada and the US. Use FRANK20 for 20% off your first purchase at athleticbrewing.com

This was a big week for Jason Gregor. As the President (unofficially) of The Tage Thompson Fan Club, Gregor has been really enjoying the wild run that he’s been on and his second six-point performance of the season was an absolute masterpiece. Could this season be the best non-entry-level contract bargain in the salary cap era? He and Jason discussed that.

From there, they went around the Western Conference. They started with the Blues, who may be forced to make a tough decision regarding Ryan O’Reilly. They then went to the Colorado Avalanche, who could be in the market for a big-name forward. They then hit on the Vancouver Canucks, who are stuck in ‘NHL purgatory’ as Gregor put it.

To wrap things up, they brought in Tyler Yaremchuk for what some are describing as the most entertaining edition of Fill in the Blank we’ve ever had.

6:00 - Tage Thompson’s big night

14:00 - What do the Blues do?

19:55 - Avs targets

22:00 - The Canucks are stuck

29:35 - Fill in the Blank

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Brock Boeser's Future & Aaron Portzline on The Blue Jackets season Dec 05, 2022

Show notes

Episode 176 of The DFO Rundown is brought to you by Athletic Brewing Co. Join Frank’s Dry Jan challenge powered by Athletic Brewing – available online

across Canada and the US. Use FRANK20 for 20% off your first purchase at athleticbrewing.com

What a wild weekend it was in the NHL. The theme of the season has been streaks. From teams being on wild heaters, to long losing skids, to remarkable point streaks from a couple of the games stars. There have been some amazing runs this season.

Frank and Jason started the podcast by talking about one team that has really struggled this season: the Washington Capitals. What could it look like if they become sellers? From there they talked about Tage Thompson’s hot streak, teams tanking and Tyler Yaremchuk stopped by for Buy or Sell delivered by DoorDash. He asked the guys about Brock Boeser, Robertson/Marner point streaks, and the Boston Bruins.

They then welcomed in Aaron Portzline, who covers the Columbus Blue Jackets for The Athletic. Aaron has seen it all in Columbus as someone who has covered the team since they started in the NHL. He spoke about their struggles this season and where things have gone wrong for an organziation that was looking to turn a corner.

6:20 - Could the Caps become sellers?

11:20 - Tage Thompson’s run

19:00 - The Penguins

22:42 - Buy or Sell (Bruins, Boeser, Robertson/Marner)

34:00 - More on Boeser

36:30 - Aaron Portzline joins the show

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Pacific Division Goalie Woes & Alex Formenton's Future Dec 02, 2022

Show notes

Episode 174 of The DFO Rundown is brought to you by Athletic Brewing Co. Join Frank’s Dry Jan challenge powered by Athletic Brewing – available online

across Canada and the US. Use FRANK20 for 20% off your first purchase at athleticbrewing.com

It’s December and that means the holidays are just around the corner. Jason started the show with a rant about how some parents handled a certain Christmas-time tradition for their kids.

They did eventually get into some big stories from around the league starting in the Pacific Division where seemingly ever team with the exception of Vegas is having a bit of a goaltending problem. Cal Petersen has already been sent to the AHL, should the Oilers follow go down that path to try and fix Jack Campbell? Jacob Markstrom has been wildly inconsistent for the Flames as well and the Canucks could be without Thatcher Demko for a while. There are a lot of teams out West with goaltending problems. Frank and Jason gave some insight into that.

From there they got into the Alex Formenton discussion. Why did he stay unsigned? Frank provided some context on that and talked about where he could go now since he’s ineligible for the remainder of the 2022-23 NHL season.

Tyler Yaremchuk also popped in for a new edition of Buy or Sell delivered by DoorDash and Pointsbet Canada.

5:10 - Kings & Petersen

9:50 - Oilers & Campbell

15:45 - Flames & Markstrom

21:50 - Canucks & Demko

25:40 - Who should be the most concerned?

27:50 - Jason Robertson

44:20 - Alex Formenton

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Sara Orlesky on what's propelled the Jets to first in the Central Nov 28, 2022

Show notes

After taking the back half of last week off for American Thanksgiving, Jason and Frank returned today with a new episode of the podcast. Off the jump, they talked about their weekends which featured Frank’s run in with an interesting uncle and Gregor had some takes on the World Cup.

They eventually did get into the hockey side of things and started by talking about the surprising number of comebacks we’ve seen over the last couple of days in the NHL. From there, they talked about Matt Murray’s strong play between the pipes for the Maple Leafs, the Kraken and their strong play through the month of November, and the Rangers struggles. Tyler Yaremchuk also had a couple of awards questions in a new edition of Buy or Sell delivered by DoorDash and Pointsbet Canada.

Their guest today on the pod was Sara Orlesky. After 14 years with TSN, she’s now in a new role with the Winnipeg Jets. The team is off to an incredible start as they currently lead the Central Division. After not making the playoffs last season, there were a lot of changes for the Jets. They brought in Rick Bowness to be their Head Coach and they took the Captaincy away from Blake Wheeler. Sara talked about the impact of both of those moves and everything else that’s propelled the Jets to their red-hot start.

9:00 - Blown leads

12:30 - Matt Murray and the Leafs

15:55 - Kraken rolling through November

19:50 - The Rangers struggles

22:45 - Buy or Sell

29:25 - Sara Orlesky joins the show

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Chris Therien on his career & battle with alcoholism Nov 21, 2022

Show notes

Jason Gregor and Frank Seravalli are back with another episode of The DFO Rundown. To kick things off, they talked about children's sports/activities and which ones drive parents the craziest. From there, they moved onto something that’s driving Leaf’s fans crazy: Auston Matthews' goal total. The Leaf's superstar is on pace for undergo 40 goals right now and only has two even-strength markers through 19 games. Is this concerning? Or will AM34 heat up?

Their big guest today was Chris Therien, the Philadelphia Flyers' all-time leader is games played. He talked about his battle with alcoholism and the book he wrote about both his struggles and triumphs. He also spoke about his career during Rapid Fire.

After that, Tyler Yaremchuk stopped by for a new edition of Fill in the Blank delivered by DoorDash. He asked the guys about the Hart Trophy, Shane Wright, the Penguin's playoff chances, and Thanksgiving!

If you’re struggling with addiction and don’t know where to start, you can reach out to bundyrecovery@christherien.com

5:30 - Auston Matthews

13:55 - Geno hits 1K

19:28 - Chris Therien joins the show

26:40 - Rapid Fire on his career

53:10 - Fill in the Blank

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It's been a streaky season! Nov 18, 2022

Show notes

Today to start the podcast, the guys got a little personal. Frank is struggling with what to get his wife for Christmas, especially considering what she’s asked for. He also has a problem with the youth hockey team he runs.

After that, they dug into the New Jersey Devils' winning streak. It’s now up to 11 games. For a team that most expected to be a fringe playoff contender, it’s been wild to watch them emerge as one of the best teams in the NHL. It’s been a season full of streaks. The Bruins have been dominant on home ice, teams like the Blues and Sabres have seen each side of things, and the Penguins have struggled to get going. Are they the team that should be the most concerned? Frank thinks so.

They also brought in Tyler Yaremchuk for a new edition of Buy or Sell where he asked them about Jakob Chychrun, the St. Louis Blues, and the Ottawa Senators. They also discussed Stanley Cup odds courtesy of Pointsbet Canada

10:05 - The Devils heater

12:00 - It’s been a streaky season

16:10 - Which teams should be concerned?

25:55 - Buy or Sell

36:40 - San Jose Sharks & Karlsson

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Devan Dubnyk on his career and retirement. PLUS: Our thoughts on Hall of Fame weekend. Nov 14, 2022

Show notes

It’s Hall of Fame weekend in the world of hockey and that is where Jason and Frank started today on The DFO Rundown. The love shown to Bjore Salming over the weekend was incredible and the Leaf's tribute to their legend was the biggest story of the weekend. From there, they discussed this year's HHOF class which includes three Swedish players. It’s an interesting class as none of the NHLers inducted have won a Stanley Cup and that led to a debate about players who still aren’t in the Hall yet.

They then shifted their focus to the action on the ice over the weekend. The Devils can’t stop winning and the Canucks struggles continued. Will changes come in Vancouver? Frank seems to think so.

Former NHL goaltender Devan Dubnyk then joined the show. He talked about his long career as both a starter and a backup. His 12-year run in the NHL had a lot of ups and downs and he spoke about his mentality through it all. He also shared his plans for retirement and they had some fun in Rapid Fire.

0:40 - Bjore Salming

3:00 - Hall of Fame debate

15:37 - Ruff & Devils Fans

17:40 - The Canucks slide continues

20:05 - Buy or Sell

29:30 - Devan Dubnyk joins the show

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