The DFO Rundown

There just a few weeks left in the regular season and the races are really starting to heat up. The Flames and Predators are still alive thanks to the slumping Winnipeg Jets. Can the Preds really slip into the playoffs after selling off at the deadline? Jason and Frank talked about that today on the pod.Want to know how much pressure the Panthers are under? Just go watch how their Head Coach Paul Maurice acted on the team’s bench last night. They guys started the pod by joking a little about what makes them lose their minds like Maurice. It also led to a conversation about whether or not the NHL is protecting their officials too much right now. Frank thinks the league is getting a little bit soft when it comes to how they coddle their referees.They also broke down Frank’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents list starting at the top with Maple Leafs winger Michael Bunting. Frank got ratio’d on Twitter for putting him there, but he explained why it made sense. Gregor compared him to another former Leaf that left in free agency and found success in his new home: Zach Hyman. They also hit of Tyler Bertuzzi, Vlad Gavrikov, and John Klingberg.They wrapped things up by ranking the teams in each conference and Tyler Yaremchuk stopped by for a little Buy or Sell brought to you by Pointsbet Canada.0:40 - Maurice & the Panthers4:30 - Western playoff race21:40 - Upcoming UFA class31:50 - The Wild stay hot36:00 - Pacific seeding battle49:50 - Buy or Sell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Mar 20231h 2min

It was a hectic weekend around the NHL with both conference's playoff races still not over yet. The Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, and Nashville Predators are all on the outside looking in and haven’t exactly taken the bull by the horns over the last seven days. On the other hand, the Winnipeg Jets and Pittsburgh Penguins could have put those teams right out of it with a solid hot streak and neither of those teams has been able to do that. That means the final few weeks of the regular season should be very interesting. Frank and Jason talked about that today on the pod. Before that though, they recapped Frank’s week off and his trip to Disney World. He’s been a handful of times this year and talked about his disdain for the whole experience. Jason has never been and is planning on taking his boy, but Frank gave him some insight into how things work and kind of scared him off of the idea.They also talked about the playoff format, the LA Kings heading into the playoffs, and Auston Matthews tremendous weekend. The talk for a lot of teams right now is about peaking at the right time and playing their best hockey as they head into the playoffs and both the Kings and Leafs have been hitting their stride. Tyler Yaremchuk also got the guys to guess some price tags on players eligible for extensions this summer.8:15 - NHL playoff races12:00 - Lottery talk19:05 - Matthew’s finding form23:30 - Playoff format30:15 - Kings heading into the playoffs38:05 - Fill in the Blank for Pointsbet Canada Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Mar 202354min

It was a wild weekend around the NHL as playoff races continue to heat up. We had multiple 7+ goal outputs from different teams around the league and some of the teams that were victims of those offensive explosions were teams that were in the mix. Frank and Jason opened up the show by talking about the sliding Penguins, who are just barely hanging on in the Eastern Conference with the Florida Panthers lurking. Will they hold on?If they miss, could Ron Hextall pay the price with his job? It could happen and Frank also talked about an interesting story out of Toronto that ties into a possible GM change in Pittsburgh. From there, they went out West where it seems like nobody wants to grab a hold of the playoff race. The Jets, Predators, and Flames all continue to play very average hockey and it’s led to the wild card race staying wide open.They also hit on McDavid’s race to 150 points before bringing in Tyler for a new edition of Fill in the Blank brought to you by Pointsbet Canada where he asked the guys about the upcoming free agent class in the NHL.0:40 - Penguins slide6:08 - Dubas to Pittsburgh?10:50 - Western playoff race16:30 - McDavid a lock for 150?30:20 - Fill in the Blank Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Mar 202351min

Jason and Frank are back with another episode of The DFO Rundown and they kicked things off with some fireworks as they talked about the Jordan Binnington vs Marc-Andre Fleury “non-fight”. Frank says this was just another example of Binnington’s fake tough guy act. Gregor wanted to see the linesmen let them go at it.That spilled into a conversation about the state of fighting in the sport. They talked about some talks that happened at the GM meetings about this topic and how some in the sport want to see an end to fights after clean hits. The QMJHL is also becoming the first major junior league in Canada to outlaw fighting completely.The NHL has two 100-point scorers already this year, and they’re both on the same team. The guys talked about Draisaitl’s remarkably productive season, if he’d be able to do it without 97, and where he ranks all-time amongst European centremen. Is he going to be the best ever? They also talked about McDavid’s remarkable season, which led to some talk about Connor Bedard and who’s doing the best tank job right now in the NHL.Tyler hopped in with some Buy or Sell questions which started with one about McDavid’s historic season. He also asked them about which second seed has the best chance to catch their respective division leader. He wrapped it up with some talk about a very unique way that Gregor uses a frying pan.4:30 - Binnington vs Fleury9:00 - Fighting in the game30:15 - McDavid & Draisaitl36:30 - Draft lottery talk39:15 - Buy or Sell48:24 - Svechnikov injury Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Mar 202351min

Frank and Jason are back for another Monday edition of the pod. There was some major news late last week with the Flyers moving on from General Manager Chuck Fletcher. They broke down what led to this firing, where the Flyers go from here, and Frank gave some insight into Danny Briere’s chances of being named the full-time General Manager.They also talked about what’s expected to be tabled at this week’s GM meetings down in Florida. From the salary cap to fighting, there will be some pretty big topics on the table as all 32 GM‘s meet up for one of their annual meetings.We are over a week removed from the NHL trade deadline as well, which means we have a pretty good sample size for some players on their new teams. Jason brought up two players in particular who are off to surprisingly strong starts with their new clubs and one of them could have a big impact on how the playoffs go in the Western Conference.They also dug into the playoff races and declared a few more teams as dead. Tyler also popped in for a new edition of Fill in the Blank delivered by Pointsbet Canada.1:05 - GM Meetings topics14:02 - Flyers GM search26:50 - Deadline adds34:30 - Playoff race update42:00 - Fill in the Blank Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Mar 20231h

The conversation on the pod has shifted fully from trade talk to discussion about the playoff races and suddenly, there are playoff races in each conference. Last year, there was something to watch down the stretch in the Western Conference but no race at all in the East. This year, there are two teams in the West and a handful in the East who still have a legitimate shot at taking one of the final two wild card spots. Jason and Frank started off the pod by talking about which teams they like to keep things close in the final month of the season and which teams could slip out.After giving their thoughts on teams that have a lot to play for down the stretch, they talked about teams that have their focus solely on the first-overall pick and Connor Bedard. They dug into which teams would be the best and worst fits from both a league perspective and a hockey perspective.Tyler also popped in for ‘Buy or Sell’ brought to you by Pointsbet Canada. He asked the guys about Connor McDavid’s ridiculous season and relocation rumours.6:00 - Western Playoff Picture15:50 - Leafs & Dubas24:00 - Best & worst spots for Bedard34:30 - McDavid’s season43:20 - Buy or Sell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Mar 202351min

With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, Jason Gregor and Frank Seravalli sat down for a full breakdown of what happened over the last week in the NHL. They talked about which teams they feel made themselves better, which General Managers might be kicking themselves for not doing enough, and also which ones maybe went a little bit too crazy with their deadline spending.As expected, there was a lot of talk about which teams did the best job of loading up but Frank and Jason also took some time to talk about which organization did the best job of selling off at the deadline. The Blues and Predators both made some tough decisions, but they could end up being big winners down the line.They also talked about the Senators' playoff chances, the Sabres’ trade deadline moves, the Carolina Hurricanes' lack of activity, and some of the teams that stayed quiet.Tyler Yaremchuk also joined the guys for a new edition of Fill in the Blank brought to you by Pointsbet Canada. He asked the guys about the Calgary Flames' plummeting playoff chances and more.Episode 199 of The DFO Rundown is brought to you by Athletic Brewing Co. Join Frank’s Dry Jan challenge powered by Athletic Brewing – available onlineacross Canada and the US. Use FRANK20 for 20% off your first purchase at athleticbrewing.ca. Tune into today’s show to find out how you can win a sign jersey from Athletic Brewing!3:40 - Calgary Flames11:50 - Best & Worst deadlines33:40 - Who was the best seller?38:00 - Senators’ playoff hopes41:50 - Questionable teams48:00 - Salary cap projections51:50 - Western playoff race Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Mar 20231h 6min

Is this a deadline preview show? Or a deadline wrap up show?We are still more than 24 hours away from the NHL trade deadline and most of the names at the top of Frank Seravalli’s Trade Targets board have evaporated. Chychrun, Kane, Ekholm, Gavrikov, Granlund, and more have all been traded since we recorded our last episode.To break down all the activity we’ve seen over the last 48-72 hours, Frank and Jason went division by division to go through every team around the league. They started with the Bruins, who made two major moves today with the Pastrnak extension and the Tyler Bertuzzi trade, and then got to the rest of the Atlantic. The West has not been as active, but some teams have made big moves. In the Central, the Avs have nibbled around the edges of the trade market and everyone is watching to see if the Dallas Stars will make a big splash.They then went back to the Eastern Conference and looked at the Metropolitan division where the Rangers have loaded up but the Canes have been quieter than expected. Back in the West, the Oilers and Kings have both made major adds. They finished up the show by talking about what else could go down in that division including a fascinating situation in Calgary where GM Brad Treliving is in a tough spot.Episode 198 of The DFO Rundown is brought to you by Athletic Brewing Co. Join Frank’s Dry Jan challenge powered by Athletic Brewing – available onlineacross Canada and the US. Use FRANK20 for 20% off your first purchase at athleticbrewing.ca. Tune into today’s show to find out how you can win a sign jersey from Athletic Brewing!1:55 - The Bruins busy morning6:27 - Atlantic division24:50 - Central Division39:45 - Metropolitan Divison50:00 - Pacific Division Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Mar 20231h 15min