Frank The Tank
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00:00I'll see you at the top.
00:01♪♪
00:09All right, you know, when you go walking,
00:11sometimes you need an enforcer.
00:13And just like you try to stay hydrated with the body armor,
00:16well, I got an enforcer right here,
00:18Paul Bissonnette from Spinnin' Tickets.
00:20This is your hood.
00:21We don't need an enforcer around here.
00:22This is your block.
00:23Yeah, this is Hoboken, New Jersey, my backyard.
00:28And, well, thank you for joining Frank Walks, you know.
00:32Hockey season, we're getting almost to the midpoint.
00:35We're getting late in December, you know.
00:38October is kind of like the slow start.
00:40November is when you start like the ramp up.
00:42Now you feel like the season's really underway.
00:45You know what they say, right?
00:4680% of teams that are in a playoff spot
00:49at American Thanksgiving end up getting in.
00:52So it's looking real good for you, New Jersey Devils.
00:55It was great to spend some time with you
00:56at the game the other night.
00:57Yes.
00:58♪♪
01:07And, I mean, part of the reason why we're here,
01:09congratulations on everything
01:11that you've been able to accomplish.
01:12With not only this series, Frank,
01:13but, you know, your weight loss
01:15and you're helping out a lot of people, man.
01:17It means a lot to the world and you're doing a great thing.
01:19Oh, it really is.
01:23I mean, it's just like, it's so natural now to walk.
01:26It feels, I can't even imagine not walking anymore.
01:30It's, I got to do it every day.
01:32It's 10,000 minimum, 15,000 is the goal,
01:36and it's great.
01:39It's almost therapeutic, I'm sure, right?
01:41Almost like meditation now.
01:43Yeah, especially with some of my teams have done.
01:48Although the Devils are playing really well so far.
01:50The problem is...
01:51Do you have to walk more if they lose?
01:54Like, relieve a little bit more of that stress?
01:57The problem is they've played better on the road.
02:00And they've not been that great at home.
02:02And I'm a season ticket holder,
02:04so it gets a little frustrating sometimes
02:07that they're so much better on the road.
02:12Okay, so I got a question for you.
02:14How are you liking Sheldon Keefe as their coach?
02:17And just a comment, from the other night,
02:19watching Bratt and Hughes play together,
02:21that is just like, it's like ballerinas on ice, man.
02:25It's just magic happening all the time.
02:27A lot of sustained ozone shifts,
02:29and they're just like working with,
02:30they're sharing the same brain out there.
02:32Oh, it's just incredible.
02:35Jesper Bratt, I think, might be one of the most underrated,
02:38underappreciated players in the NHL.
02:40Nobody really talks about him, but he is like,
02:43if you look, he's like among the top scorers.
02:45He's got these assists, goals.
02:47I mean, him and Hughes are like a lethal combo.
02:52They're just playing so good together.
02:54I mean-
02:55You know what, another Devils jock sniffer,
02:58Pasha, told me a rumor.
03:00He says he thinks the Devils are going to go try
03:02to get Alex Tuck in order to maybe play on those guys' wing.
03:06Jack Hughes and Bratt.
03:08Would you like that move,
03:09or do you think things are smooth sailing right now,
03:11you don't want to change it?
03:14Getting another scorer, another winger is good,
03:17because you never know, it might be someone gets hurt,
03:20he might need a little extra touch here and there
03:23in the playoffs.
03:25I mean, Paul Cotter came up and played so much better
03:29than anyone could have possibly expected
03:31early in the season, and now he's kind of,
03:35not that he's playing bad, but he's kind of like-
03:38Well, I mean, he's not a natural,
03:39he's not like maybe a natural NHL goal scorer,
03:42so if you end up getting 20 goals out of him,
03:44that's a very productive year.
03:46It seems like he's probably filling in more of a role
03:48than Holtz could.
03:50Mind you, Holtz probably wasn't getting the ice time
03:53with Lindy Ruff.
03:54Now, I'll go back to my question,
03:55because we were too busy giving Jack Hughes
03:58and Jesper Bratt the double-wrister there.
04:00How are you liking Keefe so far?
04:01It seems like he's gelling well with the players,
04:03and he's really getting through to them.
04:05He's done well so far.
04:06I like the fact that sometimes he's like,
04:09even when they win games, he's like,
04:10okay, now you guys got to be playing better.
04:13I like that, I hear those comments from him sometimes.
04:16Okay, good.
04:17One thing that I would like to see the Devils need
04:20is they're not too hot on the face-offs,
04:24and they lost their face-off specialist last year,
04:27and they haven't replaced him yet,
04:29and I would like to see if they could get somebody
04:32who could win a face-off here and there,
04:34especially when you get to the playoffs and crunch time.
04:38So you want a utility guy,
04:40a guy who can help kill penalties a little bit,
04:42like a third-line center?
04:44Yes.
04:45Who would you like to have?
04:46Like, have you given any thought?
04:47Have you read any of the message boards?
04:50No, but I'm just, that's the type of player
04:53I think the Devils would be nice to add.
04:55Okay, all right.
04:57I'll keep my eye out.
04:58I'll send you some text messages about some options.
05:01You have your own scouting department, Frank,
05:03for the Devils.
05:04Yeah, the face-offs are, I would say,
05:08could become problematic.
05:09Even when they killed the Rangers last week,
05:13they only won like 40% of the face-offs.
05:16In that game.
05:19What a beautiful walk this is.
05:20Oh yeah, Hoboken got the skyline here.
05:24Now, what NHL teams would you say
05:26are in trouble so far this year?
05:29You just mentioned, talked a little bit
05:30about the Devils had off to a great start.
05:33I think one of the biggest disappointments
05:36so far this year has been the Nashville Predators.
05:39Yeah.
05:39I thought with Stamkos in March or so
05:41having the revenge fuel and going to play
05:46with Ryan O'Reilly, Roman Yossi.
05:48They got Saros there.
05:50I thought, you know, I think Brunette's still a good coach,
05:52although I'm a little bit worried for him, man.
05:54I think they've dropped seven games in a row now.
05:56And I just can't see them bumping anybody out
05:59who's in a playoff spot now.
06:01Like you'd hope that maybe they'd go on
06:04like an eight and two stretch here in the next 10 games.
06:06And you know what happens?
06:07They fire the coach first.
06:10Who?
06:11Well, no, no, every sport.
06:13Right.
06:14So we were talking to a guy, Jeff Merrick,
06:16who brought up a good point, Frank,
06:18and you would know this.
06:18I would say, you know, before the hard cap era,
06:21a team would make a big trade
06:23before they would fire the coach.
06:24They would try to change things up
06:26from a personnel perspective.
06:27But now, because of the hard cap, it's so hard.
06:29Like everybody's at that cap dollar amount.
06:32So it's hard to make a,
06:33and then also to get rid of any type of guy
06:35who has money on your team.
06:37Sometimes the other team doesn't want that on their book.
06:40So.
06:40You know what it is?
06:41It's chemistry.
06:42Doesn't work out.
06:43The Mets in baseball have had spending sprees
06:47which have been disastrous.
06:48Yes.
06:49Like bringing Max Scherzer and Verlander together
06:52and those two hate each other.
06:53And it caused such a cloud in the locker room in 2023.
06:57How do you know they hate each other?
06:58It's, everyone knows they hate each other.
06:59It's documented?
07:00It's, everyone knows they hate each other.
07:02Come on, two of the biggest pitchers in the game,
07:04they were button heads?
07:05They were teammates in Detroit
07:06and the rumor was they hated each other in Detroit.
07:08And so the Mets tried to bring them back together.
07:10They tried to rekindle it?
07:11Yeah.
07:12And by now, both of them are in their high upper 30s.
07:16Almost like 38, 39.
07:17Yeah.
07:18Both, are they both,
07:19they're both Hall of Famers, those guys.
07:20Oh, yes.
07:21Yes, they're in Hall of Fame.
07:21Yeah, maybe the ego.
07:22Maybe they actually do like each other
07:25and that's just the rumor.
07:28No, I don't know.
07:28Well, as far as you're saying,
07:29Scherzer doesn't like anybody, so.
07:31So, to answer your question outside of that,
07:35I would probably say for the most part,
07:36it's been a disappointing start for the Edmonton Oilers,
07:39but they're starting to pick it up as of late.
07:42They're now, they now found themselves
07:43inside of a playoff spot,
07:45but coming off of a Stanley Cup performance
07:47and going all the way to the finals,
07:49I think that my biggest concern for them
07:52is they still need a D-man and-
07:54They had a little bit of a hangover
07:56and they had some injuries already.
07:57And they went from being younger and faster
08:00to a little bit older and slower.
08:01And it's a speed game.
08:02And the West, you got, right now,
08:05I think Colorado still looks like a contender.
08:07They gotta figure out the-
08:08Playing the Devils tonight, well.
08:10I know that's right.
08:11When we're walking.
08:11That's right, while we're walking.
08:12Oh, they're playing them right now, as we speak?
08:14No, no.
08:15They're playing them tonight.
08:15But today, we're walking.
08:17Yeah.
08:18Just so the people that listen know,
08:19what day we recorded this.
08:21I would say that those are probably the,
08:24I mean, obviously, Oilers out of the gate,
08:26stumbling, Nashville disappointing.
08:29I mean, G, do you have any teams
08:30that you felt have been disappointing?
08:33No, but I still want to-
08:35So, Boston.
08:36So, there was high expectations
08:37based on how they played the last two years.
08:40And I mean, obviously, they had the first domino to fall
08:43with the coach being fired.
08:44But at that time, they were only one game below 500.
08:47So, everybody was hitting the panic button.
08:49And here we are.
08:50But the change so far has played dividends.
08:53The one argument, the other way though,
08:55is they've only played two playoff teams in that stretch.
08:59Or maybe even a longer stretch.
09:01So, that's what people keep harping on.
09:03So, once they start getting battle tested,
09:05we'll figure out what Boston's actually really made of.
09:08Eventually, that window's going to close.
09:09They've been good so long,
09:11and they're getting a little longer to tooth.
09:12I mean, even though the Penguins
09:15have played a little bit better as of late,
09:17the Penguins are a team that you just look at them
09:19and you see how slow they are.
09:21Yep.
09:22Rangers, too.
09:24Yeah.
09:25Yeah, yeah.
09:26So, we're getting a couple names thrown at us.
09:27Pittsburgh has won five of their last six.
09:30So, now all of a sudden,
09:31I think they find themselves in a wild card.
09:32But they had a brutal start to the season
09:35where LaTeng and Carlson weren't looking that good.
09:38They're pretty poor defensively.
09:40So, I mean, this is great hockey chatter, man.
09:44We could start our own hockey podcast.
09:46I don't need wit.
09:47And the Islanders, Lula Amarillo has got to go.
09:53I mean, devil's legend.
09:55They should put him in the ring of honor eventually.
09:58He, the game has passed him by long ago.
10:01I'm, see, I'm gonna, he's a legend.
10:03He's a Hall of Famer.
10:04Yes, obviously.
10:05I'm, I'm gonna wait.
10:07He built the devils.
10:08I'm gonna wait and see,
10:09because just sometimes when you think those guys are done,
10:11they go and surprise you.
10:12I think that right now, the Islanders look like dog shit.
10:16It doesn't look like they're gonna make the playoffs.
10:17They look old and slow.
10:19Yeah, the Islanders are a mess.
10:21And the only young speed they have
10:23is Duclaire and Barcella, who are out of the lineup.
10:25So.
10:26And the coach is a nut.
10:29So, you know, he's miserable right now.
10:33I'm just, I just can't believe
10:35that they didn't address these late game,
10:38these late game issues where they cost themselves.
10:41Like this year so far,
10:42they have seven third period blown leads.
10:46Seven.
10:46The devils beat them.
10:47They were down, they took the,
10:50they tied, the game was tied.
10:52The Islanders scored two goals in like 45 seconds.
10:56Had a two goal lead with eight minutes to get left.
10:59And then the devils ended up tying the game,
11:00winning the game in overtime.
11:03Yeah.
11:04So they just, they can't figure things out.
11:07They got, they got some demons that they gotta exercise,
11:09but is there anything else you wanted to ask me?
11:11Well, I know that you've had a bit of news lately.
11:14Oh yeah, I have, I have.
11:16With these, these jackasses.
11:18I guess he didn't.
11:20Hey, let's go.
11:21I guess he didn't know your history.
11:23I mean, I looked up your stats
11:25and it's like you had a hundred plus penalty minutes
11:29every year.
11:31Yeah, it was, it was weird, Frank.
11:33I just think these guys were being assholes.
11:35And like, I never saw the prior video.
11:38Like I never heard about any of that.
11:40So like, I'm just at this restaurant
11:41and what happened happened.
11:42And all I remember is the guy in the lime green shirt.
11:45This guy was being a dickhead and being an antagonist.
11:48So, oh, there we go.
11:49Hey guys, we got a couple of Frank fans over here.
11:53So then like two days later,
11:56when that video ends up coming out
11:58where this dickhead was doing it at another place,
12:00I was like, oh, okay.
12:01These guys just do this.
12:02They think they go around doing this for fun.
12:04Just harassing and assaulting staff members
12:07at golf courses, restaurants.
12:09So Frank, you know, I would expect you to do the same.
12:13I'd expect you to do the same.
12:14And especially your, your right hand man.
12:16Like if people are in need and they're outnumbered,
12:19you gotta go in, you gotta go in there
12:21and you gotta give them the business.
12:22That's it.
12:23Now, what is it like to be a hockey enforcer?
12:25Or someone who, like the old fashioned,
12:29your job is to like protect everyone and drop the gloves.
12:34So I am like a lover at heart, Frank.
12:37So it was hard for me to eventually make that adjustment.
12:41And I wasn't that tough.
12:42Like I didn't do it all the time growing up.
12:45Like you had some of the heavyweights,
12:46like Probert, Colton Orr,
12:49like some of these like legendary guys,
12:51like legendary heavyweights, Ty Domi.
12:54And these guys were doing it throughout junior.
12:56So for me, like I knew I had to do it to stay in the NHL,
13:00but I was nervous the day of the game.
13:03I could barely nap sometimes
13:04cause I was so nervous
13:05knowing that I had to go in there and fight.
13:07So, hey guys.
13:09Hey everybody.
13:11But now-
13:13I think we're breaking something up here, Frank.
13:15I got the cheer team or something.
13:17Now, you also have an association
13:19or had an association with the Arizona Coyotes.
13:22Yeah.
13:23What went wrong in Arizona?
13:25I just think they couldn't get stable ownership.
13:27And I think they made a wrong decision the one year
13:31when they were thinking about building the new arena.
13:33They actually broke ground in Scottsdale.
13:36So they put a shovel in the ground.
13:37Shane Doan went to like a photo op.
13:39And then last minute, after they did that,
13:42Glendale came in and said,
13:44we're going to give you this free land down here.
13:46And at the time, Frank,
13:49Glendale from a statistics standpoint
13:51was the fastest growing city in America.
13:54But they were just building up all these condos
13:56and they had all that land out there.
13:57They built a football stadium.
13:58And they built a football stadium
14:00and they had that whole area going in called Westgate.
14:04And so they hopped on it.
14:07They said, okay, free land, let's do it out here.
14:09And for football, it makes sense
14:11because you get the eight
14:14or with a couple of preseason games,
14:16let's say 10 home games a year.
14:17So there's plenty of land there.
14:19People can go, they could set up their campers
14:21and it's a full day experience.
14:22And it's on a weekend.
14:24Well, it's kind of a pain in the ass
14:26for all the people from Scottsdale and Tempe.
14:29How far is this from like those areas?
14:31I would say it was a good 35, 40 minutes.
14:34And so it ended up becoming,
14:36it became an issue where people,
14:38you go to the games and you can't even drink
14:40or you got to start, you can have a couple of drinks
14:41and then you got to stop
14:42by probably midway through the game.
14:43So you're sober enough to drive home.
14:45So that plus, you know,
14:48maybe not the best ownership
14:50in certain situations and in cases.
14:53You know, it found itself in a different city, buddy.
14:55And they tried as long as they could to keep it around.
14:58And I was there.
14:59They tried it.
15:01They went out of their way to try it.
15:03I mean.
15:04Yeah.
15:05And the fact is that they put the team in suspension
15:08because they really want them to go back to Arizona.
15:11I mean, they're keeping their history.
15:12Although to me, severed history.
15:16Give Winnipeg their history back.
15:18Yeah.
15:19We talked about that the other night.
15:21You're more into all the stats and the record stuff.
15:24I don't know.
15:25Cause they came over from Atlanta
15:27and then they moved them to Winnipeg.
15:29And then you want,
15:30you're saying you want Arizona's records
15:32cause they moved from Winnipeg to stay there.
15:34So what happens with Atlanta's records?
15:36They just stay in Atlanta?
15:37Yeah.
15:38They might get,
15:39they're talking about expanding like 40 teams eventually.
15:41And I know they want to go back to Atlanta,
15:43especially with Turner's involvement now.
15:46I did.
15:47They want to go back to Atlanta.
15:48So they could become the trashes again.
15:51They want to take those stats to Winnipeg.
15:53And what mainly I want is the WHA Winnipeg stats
15:56to go back to Winnipeg.
15:58They won the Afro Cup three times.
16:00Okay.
16:01I wasn't around for the WHA.
16:03That's old school.
16:05Well, I liked the WHA.
16:06I studied it.
16:07It wasn't as popular as the ABA.
16:11It wasn't as successful as the ABA,
16:13but it was run by the same people at the same time.
16:16You know.
16:17But it was a disruptor league.
16:18Yeah.
16:19They're pushing the envelope.
16:20They were getting,
16:21I want to say some of their top end players
16:24were being paid more than guys were.
16:26They were.
16:27Top end in the NHL.
16:28They were.
16:28That's why they got Gary Chevers.
16:30Chevers.
16:31Then Sanderson signed the first million dollar contract.
16:34Bobby Hull.
16:35In hockey.
16:36Bobby Hull.
16:37Or was it Bobby Hull?
16:38Bobby Hull left the,
16:38he signed a big contract,
16:39left the Blackhawks to go play for the Winnipeg Jets,
16:42which one of the reasons they got nicknamed Jets
16:44is because he's the Jet, the Golden Jet.
16:48So you were around when this happened.
16:51No, I was four years old when the WHA folded.
16:56Okay, okay.
16:57So you were,
16:58but you remember the history.
16:59Yes.
17:00I assume you're around for it.
17:01You're talking like it affected you personally.
17:03Yeah, well I like the WHA history.
17:05This is where the Hartford,
17:06the Hartford Whalers are called the Whalers.
17:08You say it was the WHA-lers.
17:11Okay.
17:11I mean, I like the history of it.
17:13I like.
17:14Do you think that if the NHL expanded,
17:16even to let's say 36 teams,
17:19is that too much?
17:20At what point is it too many teams, Frank?
17:22I think we're getting close to it.
17:23I don't love that they're talking about expanding,
17:27but it's.
17:27I just think it maybe waters down the product
17:30a little too much.
17:31Yeah, I could see that.
17:33But,
17:36thanks,
17:37thanks for.
17:38Buddy, I could talk to you for hours.
17:39I could do this for another 20 hours.
17:40I mean, it's good to have a nice little hockey episode.
17:43Hockey doesn't get the love it deserves.
17:46Let's look at the two winter sports.
17:49We got one winter sport where everyone plays every day,
17:52no matter what.
17:53They play back-to-backs.
17:54They get pucks off their shins.
17:57They got bruises up and down their body.
17:59You got another one that's hyped up completely,
18:02and all they do is just
18:04to dunk,
18:05lay up,
18:07a three-point shot.
18:08Is this a I hate basketball rant?
18:09This league?
18:10Hashtag this league?
18:11This league sucks!
18:13I was trying to watch the Knicks game yesterday,
18:16and I was bored out of my mind.
18:19It's just like.
18:19Nothing compares to hockey and the intensity
18:22they bring to all 82 games.
18:23And there's no such thing as load management in the NHL.
18:26Hey, let me ask you this though, last one.
18:29Is this the devil's year?
18:30Are they gonna get it done?
18:31I think they're one or two players away.
18:35I think they're maybe one or two years away.
18:38I think they're the type of team that can maybe make
18:41a little run to the conference finals,
18:43but I think they have to grow a little bit more
18:45to get to the Stanley Cup.
18:46You think something special's brewing?
18:47It might not be now, but it's brewing.
18:48Yes, it's brewing.
18:49Whoa!
18:51Yeah.
18:51Whoa!
18:53That's how you're supposed to laugh, isn't it?
18:55Is that the devil's laugh?
18:56Whoa!
18:57Whoa!
18:58Whoa!
18:59Whoa!
19:00Whoa!
19:01Whoa!
19:01It's the devil's!
19:02Whoa!
19:03Whoa!
19:04We're the devil's!
19:05Whoa!
19:06We're number one!
19:07We rule!
19:08The devil's!
19:09The devil's!
19:10Go leave a skull.
19:11That was awesome, man.