- 6/30/2025
Josh Appel joins the show to discuss Bill Zito getting snubbed again for NHL GM of the year and an update on where things stand with Marchand, Ekblad and the Panthers roster options.
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00:00I had brought you on, had booked you this morning to talk about Bill Zito not winning
00:05NHL GM of the year and talk about the Marlins being on a heater and maybe even a little
00:11inter-Miami, but obviously I would be remiss if we didn't start with the Dolphins and Jalen
00:18Ramsey and Jonu Smith going to Pittsburgh, Minka Fitzpatrick coming back to the Dolphins.
00:24How do you, I mean, I won't ask you to grade it, but how do you view what transpired this
00:30morning with the Dolphins?
00:31Well, you and I were talking during the commercial break, and this is something that you said
00:34during the first segment.
00:36I was expecting because the Dolphins had basically no leverage in Jalen Ramsey trade talks because
00:43he had requested a trade and he wanted to be out of here.
00:45So that's it.
00:46You take what you get and that's that.
00:48So to be able to get a player for player trade, a guy like Minka Fitzpatrick, 28 years
00:54old, who we know has been excellent, not only for the Dolphins, but for the Steelers as well.
01:00That's a, that's a pretty good job there by Chris Greer, get a draft pick back as well.
01:03I don't know if, if Minka is the same player he was, he obviously got hurt in 2023 and last
01:09year, despite being a pro bowler was not very good.
01:12Um, I wonder how he'll fit back in, uh, in this defense, but I think safety was a, was
01:19a concern, uh, one of the few positions of concern for the Dolphins this off season with
01:24Javon Holland leaving.
01:25Uh, I think they've kind of shored that up a bit with this.
01:28I, I think it's hard to give an all encompassing, like great on what they're, they're not, they're
01:33not going to look like this in September week one, they're going to address and probably
01:38bring another tight end in.
01:39Uh, there have been reports already that they're trying to, uh, work the trade market
01:43for a tight end.
01:44And I would imagine that one of these handful of veteran corners, they'll bring at least
01:49one of those in as well.
01:52Um, so I think all things considered, you kind of have to applaud the move today as difficult
01:59as it is to give up, uh, John O Smith.
02:01The one thing I am a little curious about is I can understand the Dolphins not wanting to
02:05lock up John O Smith for multiple years at $12 million.
02:09But if he was willing to sign one year for 12 with Pittsburgh, could the Dolphins not
02:16have done the same for one year and say, Hey, all right, you had a great year record setting
02:20Dolphins.
02:21I think it was just a line in the sand.
02:23They're not after Jalen Waddle and Tyree, which is fine.
02:26I think they're not doing it anymore.
02:28And I don't know.
02:29I don't know if John O Smith is this player that we saw last year, or if he's a product
02:33of being in this offense, because he showed flashes of this throughout his career, but
02:38he was never what he was last season at any of his other stops.
02:42So I don't know if the Dolphins think they can get somebody else that can fit in, or if
02:47they go less times in the passing game.
02:49And you see a lot more Malik Washington.
02:51You see a lot more Nick Westbrook-Kine.
02:52You see a lot more of A-Chan in the passing game.
02:55So we'll see what happens.
02:57And something else we talked about earlier, Josh, with the captain situation, because
03:02one captain went back to Arizona, Calais, the other captain retired in Tehran, Jalen
03:07Ramsey got traded, and David Long Jr. got cut halfway through the season.
03:12Should we read into that at all?
03:13Is that just coincidental?
03:15Because we've heard of the lack of control, lack of leadership in the locker room.
03:19Well, yeah, we kind of talk about that a lot, right?
03:22How they're void of that aspect.
03:26So if the captains that were contributing to that are now gone, maybe it's addition by
03:32subtraction in that regard.
03:33Not saying that you wouldn't love to have Calais Campbell, or you wouldn't love to have
03:37Toronto Armstead's leadership on the team again next year.
03:41But on the whole, you know, you need more than just your captains to lead anyways and
03:45set that example.
03:46So I don't know.
03:47I don't think there's much to that.
03:50Super Bowl or no?
03:51Yeah, for sure.
03:53Okay.
03:53Because you're in agreement with me on that one, I thought.
03:55Josh Appel is with us.
03:56We'd be remiss if we didn't talk.
03:57See, we have a time constraint.
03:59Florida Panthers, which is why we originally brought you on today.
04:03Bill Zito.
04:04I saw a Tim Reynolds tweet that 12 ballots out of 42 did not even have Bill Zito in the top
04:11three.
04:12Now, I think it's a Shonda that he didn't win NHL GM of the year.
04:17I cannot figure out for the life of me how 12 ballots could not even have him in the top
04:22three.
04:22So tell me why the Dallas GM was a better GM last year than Bill Zito.
04:28I mean, he made the Miko Rantanen trade, which was great for Dallas, but they just lost for
04:37the third consecutive season in the conference final in the West.
04:41And I can understand Bill Zito not winning it the year of their first cup run.
04:45All right.
04:45I can even understand it last year, this year, you vote on this before the end of the second
04:50round of the playoffs, I believe he had made the two best deadline acquisitions in the entire
04:55sport and had made a team that had basically no flaws going into the posties.
05:02We had talked about how they had a fifth line and an extra defensive pairing that was quality
05:06enough to play on a lot of other teams.
05:09I don't really understand it.
05:10And I would imagine as frustrated as Bill Zito is, he would much rather have the two
05:16Stanley cups than the multiple general manager of the year awards that Jim Nill and Dallas
05:20has.
05:21So they have $11 million to work with after Sam Bennett, which is somehow no longer like
05:28the biggest piece of news in the South Florida sports scene by like 30 things that have already
05:33trumped it.
05:34But okay.
05:35Marshan and Ekblad appell.
05:36They have $11 million left.
05:38I think they still have to pay their new goal tender, Tarasov.
05:42Yeah.
05:43Is that right?
05:43Tarasov.
05:44And did I also read they have to pay Mackie Samuskiewicz as well?
05:48Whatever.
05:49Like, how do they get this done?
05:50Is it like, is it genuinely possible?
05:52Should we be getting our hopes up that both Ekblad and Marshan are actually going to somehow
05:57be back next season?
05:58So I came on here last week and I said, you know, I'm having a funny feeling that I think
06:03all three guys are going to be back.
06:04And quite honestly, the more I thought about it, I have no idea why I ever thought that.
06:08There's just not enough money to go around unless they make other moves to offload some
06:13salary or those two guys take significant pay cuts than what they would get on the open
06:18market.
06:19Like Sam Bennett might've gotten $10 million.
06:21He said he took eight here to make Marshan and Ekblad work.
06:24The discount that both would have to take would have to be a lot less than that.
06:29I think that the Panthers will end up retaining one of those two players.
06:33I know they've pushed hard to keep both.
06:36We'll see how it all shakes out.
06:38It is, it is kind of sad that we're not going to be able to keep this specific band together
06:43for another season, but, or I guess multiple seasons, because they want multiple years on
06:48these contracts, but you got to trust whatever will we do and this front office are going
06:54to put together here.
06:55You just have to close, so close to not having to hear that.
06:59Hey, well, speaking, I'll go back to the, to the, to the GM of the year with will we do.
07:04So is it hate because I hear all the time, Oh, the no state taxes and I was watching like
07:10a NHL today, ESPN, not no, you know, rinky dink podcast.
07:14And they kept bringing up the damn no state tax crap.
07:17Is it the other, like the other NF NHL teams, other NHL fan bases, just pretty much hating
07:22on the Panthers.
07:23That's all I could guess.
07:24Oh, there's that.
07:25This franchise is definitely hated amongst like, especially the cities where this team
07:30has ended runs of other franchises, but hockey traditional markets don't like this team
07:36very much, but the state tax thing, it blows my mind.
07:40Number one, because we've talked about it before, but the Panthers have been a no state
07:42tax team for years and years and years and years and nobody ever said anything until now.
07:48And they're not the only no state tax team in the NHL.
07:53So I'm curious is Dallas is in a, in a, in a state in Texas with no state taxes, right?
07:58So why don't these other teams take advantage of no state tax and sign players to these great
08:03contracts and have players that want, and will be willing to sign those contracts for
08:07their franchises.
08:09It's, it's the dumbest talking point.
08:10How about have better front offices and sign better contracts?
08:14I would submit to you that the no state tax thing, whatever Texas has Whataburger.
08:21And so Dallas has an immediate advantage, has nothing to do with their general manager.
08:26They've got the advantage of Whataburger.
08:28Although you know what?
08:29We do have Whataburger up North.
08:31There's Whataburger in Tallahassee.
08:33So maybe it ends up helping Tampa, but it certainly doesn't help, uh, Bill Zito down here.
08:38What about the beaches and the women and the restaurants and the nightlife?
08:43Raising canes.
08:44What about that?
08:45Yeah.
08:45And raising canes.
08:46Yeah.
08:46Yeah.
08:46I mean, we've got, we've, we've definitely got, uh, attributes.
08:49So, um, out of the two Ekblad, Marshan, who would be your choice to keep?
08:55Okay.
08:56So I've, I've, I've, I thought about this all weekend.
08:59Cause I think it's going to come down to one of those two as well.
09:02What a boring weekend.
09:03I wait till you're 55.
09:06I had the time.
09:07I mean, that's what I did all weekend too.
09:09I had the time of my life between Caitlin Krems on Instagram and that I was, uh, I was
09:14busy all weekend long.
09:15The Panthers were skating around with the cup on the ice and I'm stressing about how
09:19they're going to keep all three guys, but I think it's going to come down to one of the
09:23two.
09:23So which one is the better choice?
09:28And I, it pains me because I think I came up with Brad Marsh and being a better choice
09:33as much as Aaron Ekblad has meant to the Panthers over many years.
09:37Sometimes it's time to part ways and Marsh and I feel like it's just starting.
09:43Here's what I would say in another off season where the options to replace a top two pair
09:51right-hand defenseman were more vast.
09:54I would say, yeah, like the no brainer is probably Marsh and, but the drop-off in right-hand
10:00defenseman of Aaron Ekblad's quality after him in this free agent class, it is a steep,
10:08steep, steep drop.
10:09And I think he would be tougher to replace than a player on the Panthers third line, which
10:14they've shown over the last three years.
10:17And you figure with Anton Lindell and as to Lucy Rainin developing into what they have
10:22that you can plug somebody else in there, excuse me, and have the same relative success,
10:29not to the point of a hall of famer like Brad Marsh and, but we saw Sam Reinhart three years
10:35ago thrive with those two.
10:37We saw Vladimir Tarasenko thrive with those two and we saw Brad Marsh and take a huge leap
10:42looking like the Brad Marsh and of a decade ago playing with those two guys in this postseason.
10:47So I think that Aaron Ekblad probably a lot tougher to replace than Brad Marsh and would
10:53be.
10:53And so because of that, it's probably where I lean.
10:55Do you think the Panthers front office thought about just keeping both of those guys drunk
11:01all the time into free agency today or tomorrow?
11:06Just keep them drunk.
11:07Not bad.
11:08Not a lot of things.
11:09Throw that in with a little raising canes.
11:11He's onto something.
11:13Listen, I think that Will Wido in this front office look and account for every possible.
11:18Can you call him Will Wido after he lost for the third straight year as general manager
11:22of the year?
11:23I mean, it's almost Lil Lido.
11:25Hey, how many cups did the guy hoist the last two years?
11:29Just talking about what have you done?
11:30No one cares about the GM of the year award.
11:32All right.
11:33This bogus award that nobody cares about.
11:35The only reason we care about it is because Bill Zito didn't get it.
11:39Well, no, of course.
11:40I mean, I didn't even know they had the award.
11:42Right.
11:43You know, kept getting passed over for it.
11:45But yeah, no, I do think that's, I mean, ridiculous that he hasn't won it.
11:50Especially for Dallas in the last three seasons.
11:52Like somebody's going to win it for the third straight year and you're not going to give
11:55it to literally the guy who's constructed the best hockey team over the past three years.
11:59And if you're going to win it three straight years, you'd think maybe you had three straight
12:03cups or something.
12:05Like that shows absolute domination in the world of hockey business.
12:10Well, show me where the domination is on the ice.
12:13I love the visual of Bill Zito.
12:15If there is a trophy for GM of the year, taking it into the Atlantic ocean, like the
12:19Panthers took the cup, Bill Zito at the top of elbow room, pouring beer out of the top
12:25of it.
12:26Is there a trophy for it?
12:28I'm not sure.
12:29I hope there is.
12:30There's three drunk guys down there drinking.
12:34They have no idea who Bill Zito is.
12:36They just see a guy pouring beer over the railing.
12:40I think his name's Will Weedle something.
12:42I don't know.
12:43I heard some real big drunk guy over there say Will Weedle several times.
12:49What?
12:49Will Weedle?
12:52Real quick.
12:53Marlins are on a tear.
12:54We're out of time here.
12:55But what do you have to say about this Marlins team?
12:58I mean, there's something about these Marlins, man.
13:00There's something about this team.
13:02Something about them.
13:04You can't do.
13:05I mean, I had someone DM me today.
13:08They're like, hey, you're going to retract what you've said about Clayton McCullough.
13:12They're the hottest team in baseball.
13:13I'm like, they're the hottest team in baseball.
13:14There's still only three teams in the National League worse than them right now.
13:18So how bad do you have to have been to be the hottest team in baseball and still only
13:23be better than three teams in the National League?
13:25But that being said, I'm rooting for them.
13:28I love the fact that they're putting together wins and they're doing it in an exciting fashion.
13:32Like, I like it.
13:33I love it.
13:33I root for the Marlins.
13:34I hope Clayton McCullough is the next manager of the year.
13:38But, I mean, they're not exactly contending for a playoff spot right now.
13:43The Dallas GM, the Stars, will win manager of the year if the Marlins end up making the
13:48postseason.
13:50Look, we can't say that they were going to be the worst team that we've ever seen assembled.
13:55And then, I'm not saying that you're poo-pooing it, but just in general.
13:58No, that's fair.
13:58You're right.
13:59Poo-poo, you know, them being eight games under .500 right now.
14:02And they've lost a lot of pieces, and some guys that they were relying on to be better
14:07have not been.
14:08Like, Sandy Alcantara, he's been better over the last month, but Sandy's got like a six
14:13and a half ERA this year.
14:15Ryan Weathers, hurt.
14:18The list goes on of things that they've kind of been able to overcome.
14:21Matt Mervis, unfortunately, being shadow banned is another.
14:25Crazy.
14:26But they've been able to win in spite of that, which is really cool.
14:30And hopefully, they're able to keep this up.
14:32They're a fun little scrappy bunch, this team.
14:34See, Hawk, you've never seen the movie Major League, see?
14:38See that, boys?
14:39That's called a winning streak.
14:42Skipper Brown?
14:43I know who the grizzled old manager is, though.
14:45That's not a bad limited take.
14:47Yeah, man.
14:48Great movie, by the way.
14:50But I will say, if you're going to embrace shadow ban, then I'll embrace Will Weedow.
14:55I'll give you that.
14:56That's a fair amount.
14:57Don't do it, Josh.
14:58Don't do it.
14:59It's hard to argue.
15:01It's hard to argue.
15:01That's my point.
15:03It's very hard to argue that Mervis has been shadow banned by the Jumbo Shrimp and the Marlins.
15:09And how else do you explain all this winning?
15:12Explain to me why.
15:14I like to think of the shadow banning as almost a ritual sacrifice.
15:18Right.
15:19I don't know if he's been ritually sacrificed, though.
15:21I'm going to stick with shadow banning.
15:24See?
15:24No.
15:25Ride with your buddy.
15:26Ritual sacrifice.
15:27Well, then when he shows up in the batter's box, what are we doing?
15:31He's...
15:31Ritually unsacrificed him.
15:33Yeah.
15:33He's supposed to be at the bottom of a volcano or something.
15:36I don't know where he'd come from if he was ritually sacrificed.
15:41Josh Appel.
15:42I mean, holy mackerel, did we cover a lot of ground here, Josh.
15:45We appreciate the time.
15:47And he's got the azalea hat on.
15:49Nobody knows what that means.
15:50He's a huge, iggy azalea hat fan.
15:52And we'll move on with our lives.
15:54Thank you, Josh.
15:55Thank you, guys.
15:57There you go.
15:57Josh Appel.
15:58Let's take a break.
15:59And we will come back with more Hockman, Crowder, and Solana after this.
16:02Let's take a break.