The DFO Rundown

Latest Episodes:

Surprising division winners, surprising playoff teams, and McDavid's wild run Nov 11, 2022

Show notes

The regular season is almost a month old and both the Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks are tied for a playoff spot. It’s safe to say that the start of the season has not exactly gone the way most of us expected. The teams on hot streaks, like the Devils, Bruins, Jets, and Golden Knights, have kept them rolling for a long time. On the other hand, the teams on cold streaks, the Blues, Penguins, and Flames, have really struggled to snap out of them.

Frank and Jason took a trip around the league and answered a bunch of big questions. Who’s the most surprising division leader right now? Which division is most likely to produce the Stanley Cup Champion? Can the Kraken miss the playoffs? Will there be any big playoff races? Or could this season be just as boring as last year? How many goals will McDavid finish with? They got to all of that and they had Tyler Yaremchuk pop in for a new edition of Buy or Sell delivered by Doordash.

0:30 - Teams on extended skids

4:40 - Lack of playoff races?

6:30 - Surprising division winners

12:40 - Buy or Sell

26:30 - Jack Campbell’s struggles

31:30 - Do one of the Caps or Pens miss?

35:05 - Believers in the Kraken?

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Breaking down the Mitchell Miller signing & Leafs goaltending options Nov 07, 2022

Show notes

An all news episode of The DFO Rundown is here to get your through your Monday afternoon. Frank and Jason kicked off the show with an in-depth conversation about the Boston Bruins signing and subsequent release of Mitchell Miller. What were the Boston Bruins thinking? Why did the NHL approve the contract? Was Don Sweeney pushed into this move? The two tried their best to answer all of those questions.

After that, they went around the league and checked in on a bunch of different teams. The Devils are still red hot and rolled through western Canada. The Kraken keep surprising us as well. Are they a legit playoff contender or is this just a team on a hot streak? They also touched on the Red Wings and Senators before getting to Tyler Yaremchuk for ‘Fill in the Blank’ delivered by DoorDash. Tyler asked the guys about Connor McDavid, the Blues losing streak, and goaltending options on the trade market that the Leafs could consider. Frank and Jason wrapped up with some talk about coaches on the hot seat as well.

0:40 - Mitchell Miller and the Bruins

15:07 - Are you a believer in the Devils?

18:20 - The Kraken and the Red Wings

25:30 - The Senators struggles

42:05 - The Blue Jackets plan for the year

46:40 - Dorion’s vote of confidence for Smith

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The All Disappointment Pod (Blues, Penguins, Flames, Senators) Nov 04, 2022

Show notes

We are past the point of early season overreactions and now getting to the point where it’s time to wonder if struggling team members can get things back on the rails. That’s where Jason and Frank started today on the podcast. The Blues, Penguins, Flames, and Senators are all struggling to varying degrees right now and the guys broke down what’s going wrong with each of those teams. They also hit on the Ryan Reynolds rumours and the Senator's potential sale.

They eventually did get to some positive surprises around the league starting with the New Jersey Devils. With Blackwood potentially out, will their goaltending hold up? They also hit on the Hurricane's strong run, the Kraken’s stunning start, and Erik Karlsson’s continued dominance. They also brought in Tyler Yaremchuk for a new edition of Buy or Sell delivered by Doordash!

3:40 - The Blues struggles

7:10 - Worst-case scenario for the Pens?

11:55 - Are the Flames disappointing?

17:30 - The Senators & Ryan Reynolds

21:05 - Disappointing players

23:20 - Are the Devils legit?

26:25 - The Carolina Hurricanes' hot start

28:00 - Karlsson’s bounce back

30:15 - The Kraken

35:30 - Buy or Sell delivered by DoorDash

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Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald on Hughes, Bratt, Culture Change, & Goaltending Oct 31, 2022

Show notes

It’s Halloween night and we dropped a spooky edition of The DFO Rundown to celebrate the occasion. The Toronto Maple Leafs have certainly spooked their fan base with their play early in the season and now, Sheldon Keefe might be losing some sleep as the team wraps up their western road trip. For Bruins fans, this start to the season has definitely been a huge treat. The team is rolling and David Pastrnak is shooting the lights out, which led Jason and Frank to talk about what his next contract could look like.

Tyler Yaremchuk then stopped by for a special Halloween edition of Buy or Sell delivered by our friends at DoorDash. He asked the guys about the Jets, Golden Knights, and also Erik Karlsson’s resurgence and if that could lead to the Sharks defenseman having trade value around the league.

They then got to their big guest of the week: New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald. The team's had a quick turnaround after a few tough games to start the season and Fitzgerald talked about the culture change that the team has gone through over the last few years. He also hit on the current goaltending tandem and the emergence of the team's young core. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt are leading the way and are giving the fan base reason to believe that the Devils can compete for years to come.

5:31 - Leaf's struggles

18:10 - Pastrnak and the Bruins

22:10 - Trick or Treat

37:30 - Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald

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The Bruins hot start, ASU overreaction, & McDavid's Rocket Richard chances Oct 28, 2022

Show notes

The guys are back with a fresh Friday edition of The DFO Rundown as they went around the NHL and dug into the biggest storylines from around the NHL. To kick things off, they looked at the team that’s surprisingly being talked about more than anyone: The Arizona Coyotes. It’s not because of anything they’ve done on the ice but instead how things are looking off the ice as they get set to play their first game on the ASU campus.

From there, they hit on a bunch of other teams. The Bruins are looking like a juggernaut early in the season, the Flyers are leading the Metro Division, the Canucks finally slid into the win column, and the New Jersey Devils are starting to find their groove after a slow start.

To wrap up today’s episode, they brought in Tyler Yaremchuk for a new edition of Buy or Sell delivered by DoorDash. Tyler asked them about the futures of the Kraken and Canucks, Sorokin’s Vezina chances, and the percentage chance that McDavid wins the Rocket Richard.

3:15 - ASU/Coyotes overreaction

10:15 - Bruins red-hot start

12:40 - Who’s worse: the Sharks or the Ducks?

20:05 - Carter Hart and the Flyers

27:10 - Canucks finally grab a win

31:00 - Devils finding their groove

33:25 - What’s next for the Leafs?

35:04 - Buy or Sell delivered by DoorDash

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Stars GM Jim Nill on his busy summer & the team's hot start Oct 24, 2022

Show notes

Last week, it was all about early season overreactions. Now some of those early season concerns in some markets are becoming more and more legitimate. In no city is that more true than Vancouver, where the Canucks went another week without getting a victory and things are fully off the rails. Frank and Jason discussed the comments from Bo Horvat, Jim Rutherford, and Bruce Boudreau. Can things get better in Vancouver or do they need to make some serious changes?

They also talked about Sidney Crosby’s dominant start to the season and they debated where he could finish in the all-time scoring race. Is Crosby the kind of player who could be productive into his 40’s?

Their big guest today was Dallas Star’s General Manager Jim Nill. His team is off to a flying start as one of the few teams remaining who hasn’t lost a game in regulation time. It was a busy summer though as Nill not only had to find a new coaching staff, he also made some big splashes in free agency and he had to lock up a few pieces of the teams core. Jim talked about building this version of the Dallas Stars, the transition from the Benn/Seguin core to the Heiskanen/Robertson core, and his career as an executive in the NHL.

8:35 - Canucks struggles continue

18:00 - Crosby’s early season dominance

21:35 - Mullett Arena Opener

36:40 - Jim Nill joins the show

38:45 - The Stars busy summer

46:35 - Transitioning cores

51:10 - Wyatt Johnston

53:40 - Roope Hintz

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Early season surprises & warning signs Oct 21, 2022

Show notes

It’s early in the season, but plenty of great storylines are emerging. The Buffalo Sabres are surprising the league. The team is being driven by Rasmus Dahlin, who made history over the last week, and Eric Comrie's hot streak. There are some rookies who are playing well too. The Canadiens have a pair that are making headlines for completely different reasons. Jason and Frank discussed talked about that and debated whether or not its best for players like Juraj Slafkovsky in Montreal and Shane Wright in Seattle to spend the entire season in the NHL.

From there, they talked about the news that the salary cap could go up as much as $4.5 million this summer. Frank explained how that could happen and Jason shared a few teams that would really benefit from this happening.

To wrap things up, Tyler Yaremchuk joined the guys for Buy or Sell delivered by DoorDash. He asked them about some potential 40-goal scorers and he shared who the most profitable team in the league has been from a betting perspective so far this season.

2:10 - Coaches' comments and overreactions

5:55 - Surprising Sabres

10:10 - Rookie decisions, the Draisaitl debate

25:00 - Could the cap go up?

26:30 - Penguins, Golden Knights rolling

32:10 - Buy or Sell delivered by DoorDash

51:55 - Positive surprises & warning signs

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Goaltending Analyst Kevin Woodley talks Matt Murray on LTIR, plus Thomson, Hart, and more! Oct 17, 2022

Show notes

Jason and Frank are back with a Monday episode of the podcast and today, they focused on the world of goaltending as Kevin Woodley from InGoal Magazine joined the show to discuss a handful of topics. To start things off, Woodley broke down how Matt Murray looked between the pipes for the Toronto Maple Leafs and shared his thoughts on if there's any reason to think he can go back to being a true number one once he's healthy. He also talked about a pair of young netminders in Jake Oettinger and Carter Hart and what he's seeing from them early in the 2022-23 campaign. To wrap things up, he gave us his sleeper Vezina candidate in Rapid Fire.

Before they got to Kevin, Jason and Frank talked about the first week of the NHL's regular season. The Canucks are struggling out of the gates, the Flyers are surprisingly 2-0, the Golden Knights might be better than we thought, and the Battle of Alberta was thrilling on Saturday night. Oh, and also Frank's Phillies are off to the NLCS.

5:43 - Week one thoughts from the NHL

9:10 - Crosby's hot start

11:50 - BOA recap

19:50 - Fill in the Blank delivered by DoorDash

26:45 - Woodley joins the show

27:46 - Matt Murray talk

35:10 - Logan Thomson in Vegas

42:30 - Is Carter Hart back?

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Early season overreactions, mice, and Christmas lights Oct 14, 2022

Show notes

The NHL season is underway and naturally, there are some fan bases who are concerned about how their teams started the season. Which ones deserve to be worried and which ones just need to take a deep breath? Frank and Jason started the podcast by talking about some overreactions from around the league.

We’ve also already seen a few players go down with some long-term injuries, most notably Patrik Laine in Columbus. Could this be enough to sink their season already? Frank also gave us some insight into a situation that’s unfolding between the NHLPA and the Arizona Coyotes.

Finally, after a long tangent about mice and Christmas lights, they brought in Tyler Yaremchuk for a new edition of Buy or Sell, delivered by Door Dash!

0:55 - Overreaction season

9:40 - Injury bug bites early

12:50 - Coyotes schedule & NHLPA

21:55 - Beniers and the Kraken

33:20 - Buy or Sell

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Former Maple Leaf Jay Rosehill on joining the media, playing in Toronto, and life in the NHL Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

Regular-season hockey has finally arrived in North America! After San Jose and Nashville started their seasons over the weekend in Europe, the rest of the NHL schedule gets going tonight with a doubleheader. Frank and Jason talked about a handful of different roster squeezes from around the league and how some teams were able to maximize their LTIR pools with some creative moves ahead of opening night.

They also touched on the controversy surrounding Ian Cole and the news we got over the weekend from Hockey Canada.

Their guest today was former Toronto Maple Leaf and Philadelphia Flyer Jay Rosehill. Jay is joining our company as the co-host of a new Maple Leafs daily talk show that starts on October 12th.

He also shared some hilarious stories from his time in the league, talked about being an enforcer, and told us about one Head Coach that he couldn’t stand.

4:00 - Teams balancing LTIR space

11:05 - Fill in the Blank

18:05 - Player over/unders for Pointsbet Canada

22:05 - Jay Rosehill joins the show

56:00 - Teams could announce captains this week

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