A Couple of Goons

Madness reigns: Neil’s out this week, Walt is joined by Insider’s Tyler Lauletta and FiveThirtyEight’s Emily Scherer to talk about hockey broadcasting and the bold new future for the sport as they leave NBC for ESPN and TNT. * Team of the Week, as sent in by Neil, as “interpreted” by Walt * How Tyler became A Hockey Guy * The new NHL deal and how it was announced in literally the funniest possible...

It’s time. Topics of conversation include: * Team of the Week! * Wayne Gretzky This is the first of what we increasingly realize is a multipart series on the works of Wayne Gretzky. Consider this an initial overview of his accomplishments and influence. Here’s that video of the fight Neil talks about: Neil is on twitter @neil_paine, Walt is @WaltHickey, and this podcast is @GoonsPod. We are now on...

Topics of conversation include: * Team of the Week! * Who did good trades and who did the bad trades? * Your #13! * A flawless segue into the next section * The Shootout! * Dekes * Dangles * The perverse incentives in Hockey game points and Neil Paine’s modest proposal to fix that. Neil is on twitter @neil_paine, Walt is @WaltHickey, and this podcast is @GoonsPod. We are now on Apple Podcasts and...

Topics of conversation include: * Hockey history lesson from… walt??? * TEAM OF THE WEEK * Your #12 * Vancouver is in a bad way right now * THE TRADE DEADLINE * What’s the post-Trade XP situation? * Which players evolve after trading? * Who’s getting traded? * The good game of the week is on IMMINANTLY if you download the podcast right now Neil is on twitter @neil_paine, Walt is @WaltHickey, and t...

Welcome back to Emily Scherer of FiveThirtyEight! Topics of conversation include: * The Isobel Cup! * Settling Bets with Fudgies the Whale * Team of the Week! * Your #11 * The Pledge * The sartorial aesthetics of hockey * Yo which hockey jersey is the good one though really * Sublimation and YOU * The Turn * Neil attempts to sell Walt on a credit card * The top five jerseys in the NHL according to...

Welcome back to Emily Scherer of FiveThirtyEight, where this week we talk all about the Isobel Cup and this weekend’s NWHL Championship! Topics of conversation include: * Team of the Week! * #10 * A referee got sent to the penalty box! * Just kidding, he got very fired. * Hockey refs, the most athletic refs * Who would win, the least athletic NHL ref or the most athletic MLB ump? * The Isobel cup...

This is the ninth episode of A Couple of Goons. This week, with Neil’s Flyers playing Walt’s Rangers, the goons look at RIVALRIES. Topics of conversation include: * Team of the Week * Let’s Talk About A #9 * The Original Six and enmities so ancient they must not be crossed * Local Crosstown Rivals: when bridge v. tunnel * The greatest of enemies: Genuine Beef in the NHL * Denver and Detroit, or, a...

This is the eighth episode of A Couple of Goons. This week, the goons look at the state of the league as we approach the halfway mark, and Rangers fan Walt begins kicking the tires on the lifeboats. That and more this week, on A Couple of Goons! Topics of conversation include: * Team of the Week * Ratatouille on Ice * The Central question * Several incredibly nice things said about the Capitals in...

This is the seventh episode of A Couple of Goons. This week, the goons have on Insider’s Jake Lahut, and explore an immortal question: where do hockey players come from? That and more this week, in Episode seven of A Couple of Goons! Topics of conversation include: * Whatup Jake? * The Once and Future Wings * 0.0% * Team of the Week * A Global tour of hockey development * Junior hockey * Is Canada...

This is the fifth episode of A Couple of Goons. This week, the goons tackle Russia and the geopolitics of hockey, and also Neil explains how exactly he feels about Gary Bettman. That and more this week, in Episode Six of A Couple of Goons! Topics of conversation include: * CORRECTING THE RECORD: The Messier * Team of the Week * Nevada is a cursed yet beautiful state * Neil Talks About Some Guys: #...

This is the fifth episode of A Couple of Goons. This week we have on inaugural guest Emily Scherer of FiveThirtyEight for the episode you have all been waiting for: we assign tiers all of the awards given out to hockey players for participating in hockey in one form or another. There are like thirty! That and more this week, in Episode Five of A Couple of Goons! Topics of conversation include: * H...

This is the fourth episode of A Couple of Goons. This week we get down to fundamentals: ice. Somehow Neil makes this topic fascinating. That and more this week, in Episode Four of A Couple of Goons! Topics of conversation include: * Team of the Week * Ice is important for hockey * Ice is also used to keep viruses alive * Ah crap * The Great Canadian Title Drought * Fighting: fine. Grabbing the puc...

This is the third episode of A Couple of Goons. Walt sees a first goal and Neil is surprised it didn’t already happen, this week, in Episode Three of A Couple of Goons! Topics of conversation include: * Walt hypes up Neil’s GitHub * Bottom five and top five * Why Boston really deserves nice things to happen to them in sports after all that they have been through. * Team of the Week * Crusader King...

This is the second episode of A Couple of Goons. Walt Hickey’s journey into hockey continues led by the inimitable Neil Paine as we hit week two of A Couple of Goons! Topics of conversation include: * Peacock and You: How to cope with the forthcoming death of a pretty good television network * Dallas is really good! * The Montreal-Columbus trade, or, why centers are good. * A Bunch of Lines, With...

This is the first episode of A Couple of Goons. Walt and a few friends are trying to get into hockey during The Plague Year. Neil has been obsessed with hockey for decades and took the liberty of preparing a number of projections for this forthcoming season. Today, these journeys converge into A COUPLE OF GOONS: EPISODE 0001. Yes, we are aware of how ambitious that title is. Topics of conversation...