The Chirp with Daren Millard

Daren is joined by head  of the Vegas Golden Knights Bruce Cassidy. Cassidy talks about how he got his start in coaching, the transition to Vegas, dealing with injuries, and how he goes about fostering relationships with his players. He's a big golfer, but explains why he hasn't been on the course a lot and he also discusses some of the dynamics that go into coaching at the All Star game . Plus, t...

Daren is joined by Dave Goucher and Gary Lawless for a roundtable that covers a heck of a lot, including the state of the Vegas Golden Knights and whether or not the injury bug will once again keep the club from reaching its full potential. Goucher and Lawless are both convinced that the Bruins will represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final and they look at potential players that t...

Daren is joined by the TV voice of the Seattle Kraken John Forslund. John hops on to talk about the reasons for the Kraken's success in year 2, provide a behind the scenes glimpse into Matty Beniers and explain the organization's approach to Shane Wright's development. He discusses his transition from Carolina to Seattle and the great chemistry he has in the TV booth with Ed Olczyk. Plus, he gives...

Daren is joined by TNT analyst Rick Tocchet and they snap it around touching on a number of subjects, including Connor Bedard's potential impact on a franchise, Tage Thompson's development and the defensive issues plaguing the Florida Panthers. They talk about Connor McDavid's status as an all-time great and look at some of the reasons why the Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights h...

Daren is joined by Jim Montgomery (2:00) to talk about the Bruins amazing start to the season, the minor tweaks that he made when he took over, his relationship with Bruce Cassidy and Linus Ullmark's incredible run of play. He touches on Patrice Bergeron's unique leadership qualities and Brad Marchand's hunger to consistently learn. What's he looking forward to most about the Winter Classic at Fen...

Daren is joined by Barry Trotz to discuss Alex Ovechkin's latest milestone and his quest to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record. Barry offers great insight into what makes Ovechkin ticks, his growth as a player and person, his unrivaled durability, his Russian background and his drive to be the best goal scorer in history. Barry also discusses how he's been spending his time away from the i...

Daren is joined by NHL.com Senior Writer Dan Rosen to discuss a myriad of topics around the League. Are the Devils for real? Dan is convinced that the Devils will win their division. He's concerned about the Winnipeg Jets being able to hold off the Dallas Stars in the Central. They debate who the best player on the Toronto Maple Leafs is and what the best story of the season is thus far. They talk...

Daren is joined by Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey (1:15). Morrissey talks about some of the reasons behind his breakout season, including an important conversation he had with Rick Bowness prior to the season and his off-season training program with Adam Oates. He discusses how Blake Wheeler handled losing the captaincy and why Wheeler has been so important to him throughout his career. D...

Daren is joined by ESPN's Ashley Brewer (1:00). Brewer is a huge hockey fan and grew up in Phoenix rooting for the Arizona Coyotes, she reminisces about her favorite NHLers growing up, including Jeremy Roenick, Shane Doan and Mark Messier and talks about who she enjoys watching the most now. She shares some Charles Barkley stories and explains her connection to Auston Matthews. What does she think...

Daren is joined by Howard Baldwin (2:00). Baldwin founded the New England Whalers ice hockey franchise in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and retained ownership when the team became the Hartford Whalers and joined the National Hockey League. Baldwin talks about how he was able to secure the franchise, the growth of the WHA, Bobby Hull signing with the startup League, how the Whalers were able t...

Daren is joined by Alex Tuch (2:00) and Jack Eichel (23:04). Alex talks about the Sabres hot start, playing for his hometown team, the motivation that the Bills success has provided to the Sabres and what he'll do if the Bills win the Super Bowl. Eichel discusses why he's become a fan of the UFC, his skating technique, how he's became more comfortable in Vegas and why his stick pattern hasn't chan...

Daren is joined by his old friend Nick Kypreos and they go back and forth on the biggest surprises of the early NHL season, the panic surrounding the Maple Leafs slow start, and the reasons why the Buffalo Sabres should be thought of as a real contender. They discuss Jack Eichel's impact on the Golden Knights, the uncanny grit of David Pastrnak and examine the results of some of the rebuilding tea...

Daren is joined by Cale Makar (2:00) and Trevor Zegras (18:15). Makar talks about his day with the Stanley Cup, clearing out space for his trophies and learning Nate MacKinnon's sarcasm. Plus, a game of Major/Minor/Let it Go leads to Cale questioning everything he's ever known. Zegras chats Daren up about being on the cover of NHL 22, the moves he's been working on during the offseason, his tattoo...

Daren is joined by Jordan Staal (2:51) and Max Domi (30:30). Staal talks about his favorite fast food options, trying to slow down the League's top goal scorers, his belief in the Hurricanes as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and an epic trip to California to play Pebble Beach. Domi shares some Rod Brind'Amour stories, talks about playing with his idol Patrick Kane, the growth of his golf game,...

Daren is joined by Nick Suzuki (2:26) and Mark Scheifele (17:55). Suzuki talks about his new role as the Montreal Canadiens captain, the impact of Martin St. Louis, his favorite golf courses and why anything but white skate laces is a faux pas. Sheifele goes into detail about getting ordained this summer, his experience as a wedding officiant, getting used to being a veteran on his team and playin...

Daren is joined by Matthew Tkachuk (3:20) & Jonathan Huberdeau (21:50). Tkachuk talks about adjusting to his new lifestyle in Florida, golf outings with Brady and Keith,  and his thought process behind wanting to leave Calgary. Huberdeau discusses signing with Calgary and why he believes Calgary is set up for even more success than Florida may be. He reminisces about his first fight, driving a...

Daren closes out the 2021-22 season with John Shannon (1:00) and Paul Maurice (25:50). Shannon breaks down all the early free-agency moves, including Johnny Gaudreau signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the trades made by the Carolina Hurricanes, the Pittsburgh Penguins re-signing Letang and Malkin, the goalie moves made by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers, the Islanders inactivity a...

Daren is joined by Andrew Cogliano of the Colorado Avalanche to talk about his journey to winning the Stanley Cup, the celebration that immediately followed in Tampa Bay and how a "unique" hotel room number led to Nathan MacKinnon's comfort ahead of Game 6. He also discusses the nifty equipment modification that allowed him to play with an injured finger, the reason he spoke to the team before the...

Daren is joined by Ray Ferraro to talk about various Stanley Cup Final storylines, working his first Cup Final on television (13:20), trade secrets he's learned from working between the benches and life on the road. Ferraro dissects the goalie decision that Jared Bednar faces ahead of Game 4 and marvels at Andrei Vasilevskiy.... Ray has Vasy pretty high up on his list of goalies that he's seen pla...

Daren is joined by Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau to get the coach's perspective on the Stanley Cup Final after Game 1. Boudreau worked for the NHL Network before getting hired by the Canucks so he put back on his analyst hat to talk about the storylines surrounding the Cup Final, the matchups between the Avs and Lightning, the goaltending advantage for the Lightning and the luxury th...

Daren welcomes in Mike Rupp to talk about the Avalanche advancing to the Stanley Cup Final (2:50), Cale Makar entering the "top player in the world" conversation (5:00) and the mental challenges that players face when shooting against elite goalies (18:30). He also goes into detail as to why he was double drafted (13:00)... it's quite an interesting story and makes a few analogies related to the N...

Daren is off the injured list and is joined by his pal Nick Kypreos to talk about the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including the Toronto Maple Leafs failure to advance past the first round, the decisions surrounding the Panthers head coaching position and the potential landing spots for Barry Trotz.  The two debate who they'd take right now.... McDavid or Vasilevskiy? and they look ahead to the spectacle...

Daren is joined by Katie Guay (1:26), the first woman official to referee an AHL game and one of the first four women to officiate at the NHL level, working in an NHL Prospect Tournament. The conversation with Guay covers a lot, including how she got her start in officiating, her style when dealing with players (5:40), and how she balances her regular 9 to 5 job with her officiating assignments. S...

Daren starts the episode with John Shannon to talk about the legacy of Eugene Melnyk and how the NHL, Ottawa community and the Senators are reacting to his death (1:20). Shannon goes on to talk about teams that he considers contenders and teams that he believes are pretenders (18:30). He dissects some of the goalie issues that are lingering in Edmonton and Toronto, and tries to explain why Martin...

Daren is joined by Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon (:54). Of course, Spurgeon talks about the Wild's acquisition of Marc-Andre Fleury and some of the "inside" info that Bill Guerin shared with him about Fleury after the trade went down (2:37). Jared goes onto discuss the team's new goalie tandem, his responsibilities as the team's captain to help integrate new players to the team and the exp...