Spittin Chiclets

On Episode 60, our WJC coverage continues with Team USA's Brady Tkachuk. The affable BU freshman and 2018 draft-eligible forward joins us to talk about playing in a major outdoor game, #BillsMafia, having an NHL dad, would he ever chuck knucks with his brother Matthew of the Calgary Flames, the upcoming Beanpot, and a lot more. Whits and RA kick things off discussing the Winter Classic and its future viability, why the Montreal media lets the Canadiens front office/ownership off the hook, and the newly-named U.S. Olympic squad then finishes up with #AllRightHamilton.

On this week's show, Minnesota Gopher and Buffalo Sabres draft pick Casey Mittelstadt calls in to discuss the World Junior Championship that kicked off this week. He also talks about the adjustment to college, pulling on the iconic “M” for the first time, and a bunch more. Before that, the boys break down the Zac Rinaldo hit/suspension, Robin Lehner's hilarious Buffalo comments, and Sidney Crosby having a OT goal in Pittsburgh disallowed. They close with their favorite 2017 stories, #ARH, and some words about the late Johnny Bower.   

On Episode 58, the boys discuss the news that the Isles will be moving back home, the NHL's lack of U.S. marketing for the Centennial Game, Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk's comments that overshadowed the game, Erik Karlsson's future, and more. Florida Panthers President and CEO Matt Caldwell calls in for a chat to discuss his path from Staten Island to South Florida, applying what he learned in the military to the business side of a hockey franchise, the challenges of the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale market, and a bunch more in a very interesting conversation. The gents finish up with #AllRightHamilton and reminiscing about sneaking peeks at toys as young kids.

On Episode 57, Whits and RA open up discussing the MVP-quality performance from Brad Marchand, shrinking crowds in Detroit, the free-falling Senators and corresponding trade chatter, the official retirement of Chris Neil, and much more. The fellas then welcome Tim Jackman to the show to explain his interesting side of the long-percolating beatdown of Whits that resulted in one of hockey's greatest photos. He talks about how, when trying to break into the National, he was not only asked to fight much more but also was told he needed to start winning more. Jackman also fills us in on what he's been up to since hanging up the blades, his favorite things about his NHL career stops, and more. The boys close up with #AllRightHamilton and “Yoda” briefly pops in to torment Whits.

Fan favorite Paul Bissonnette joins Episode 56 in the flesh and does not disappoint. The former knuck-chucker sat in the studio's guest stool to talk about his adjustment from player to color commentary guy for the Coyotes, the retirement of Derek Dorsett, Seattle's likelihood as the next NHL city, Matthew Tkachuk's "spearing" from the bench, Arizona's budding rivalry with Vegas, and his hilarious mockumentary about British Columbia. He and Whits also answer #AllRightHamilton questions from listeners. Tune in and have a laugh. 

On this week's episode, RA announces a major addition to the Spittin' Chiclets line-up and a quartet of the fellas from Barstool join the show to chat. Frankie Borrelli talks about his reign as the Sign Kid at Isles games, his love of Rick DiPietro, and what the future holds for John Tavares. The Wonton Don checks in from Moscow to fill us in on his first KHL game and what Russia is like. Chief breaks down the ANA/NJ trade and gets us up to speed on his beloved Blackhawks. The Flyers might just kill Jordie and he tells us why. The boys close up shop with #AllRightHamilton.

On Episode 54, Ryan “Bugsy” Malone joins the boys to talk about his road the to NHL, the biggest difference in today's AHL vs. 12 years ago, his Olympic dreams, the time he fought Mike Rupp, team pranks, adjusting to pro hockey after a two-year layoff, whether he's actually seen “Bugsy Malone”, and much more. RA and Whits also discuss Radko Gudas' Paul Bunyan imitation and subsequent 10 game suspension, the red-hot Blues, and finish up with #AllRightHamilton questions.

On Episode 53, Whits checks in from Secaucus to talk about his riotous appearance on Barstool Radio, his years-in-the-making beating from Tim Jackman, the Pulitzer-worthy photo it produced, and his Internet redemption when a listener posted a clip of him defending Colby Armstrong after a hard hit. The boys also talk about Wednesday's donnybrook (by today's standards) between Detroit and Calgary, Matthew Tkachuk becoming a modern day Claude Lemieux at such a young age, the NHL players in this year's HHOF class, and much more. The fellas then answer #AllRightHamilton questions and discuss the excellent doc ICE GUARDIANS.

On Episode 52, the boys open with the Matt Duchene trade before welcoming Barstool Chief to discuss his major scoop about the 2019 Winter Classic. Next they chat about the horrendous hit on Dan Paille in Europe before bringing on two-time Stanley Cup champion Nick Bonino of the Nashville Predators. Nicky Bones talks about deciding to continue to play Game Two of the 2017 Cup on a broken leg, why he ended up picking Nashville in free agency, him and his wife's hilarious Halloween costumes, his road to the NHL, whether he's a Sox/Yanks or Pats/Giants fan, and much more. The guys then finish up with #AllRightHamilton questions from listeners.

On Episode 51, the gents start off with some World Series talk as RA and Whits take opposing views about the post-game proposal. They also discuss Crosby's missed empty-netter attempt from center ice that cost RA some shekels and the hideous Team USA jersey before bringing on the always entertaining Colby Armstrong (@armdog). Armdog talks about dressing up as Danaerys for Halloween while live on TV, his NBCSN debut, the sick costumes that NHL players always come up with, what ails the Oil, riding aboard a truck in the Penguins parade, and so much more. There's no way he's going back to the minzies after this ep. The boys then have some laughs as they finish up with #AllRightHamilton questions. Lotta fun once again. Tune in.

Former NHL defenseman and Hobey Baker winner Mike Mottau joins Episode 50 of Spittin' Chiclets this week. He discusses his 14 years as a pro (9 NHL seasons), what is was like playing for each team in the NYC metro area, how he and Whits met as kids, realizing his dream of playing for his hometown team, that time he offered out Sean Avery to settle things in a back alley in Manhattan, and a bunch more. The boys also talk about NHL events from the last week before finishing up with #AllRightHamilton questions. 

On Episode 49, the fellas open up with some chatter about their sister podcast Pardon My Take and their new show on ESPN. The boys also dissect what ails a few teams before discussing the Las Vegas Golden Knights inevitable introduction to Hockey Twitter and the Internet Outrage Machine thanks to quoting a movie. Ray Ferraro then joins in for a fun and wide-ranging interview. The scrappy forward who scored 408 goals in 18 hard-nosed NHL seasons discusses his time in Hartford, the favorite stop in his career, the squandered chance in the 1990 Adams Division Semi-Finals vs. the Bruins, scoring 108 goals in juniors, how the Atlanta Thrashers maintained their sanity during a 14-win season, how he got into TV, the 1993 Islanders epic upset over the Penguins, and much more. The boys then answer #AllRightHamilton questions and close with some words about Gord Downie. Ray is a hell of a raconteur so tune in and enjoy.

In Episode 48, the guys open things up talking about the incredibly moving pre-game ceremonies for Opening Night in Las Vegas. They also discuss the record-making fast start for the Golden Knights as well a few other teams that jumped out of the gate pretty quick. Whits gives some insight on what it's like for a player to get off to a hot start and the psychological effect it has. The guys also discuss teams that haven't gotten off to the start they wanted to. They finish things up with #AllRightHamilton and RA tells an outrageous prom story from four years after he graduated high school. Lotta laughs this week. Enjoy.

The NHL is finally back and the boys kick off Episode 47 by going over a highly-entertaining Opening Night dominated by Wayne Simmonds, Connor McDavid, and Toronto's offense. They also chat about Jack Eichel's new $80M deal before bringing on the always hilarious Mike Commodore. Commie gives us his thoughts on Jagr playing at 45, just how great McDavid can be, possibly getting into the biz (media), a hysterical story about fighting Shawn Thornton, and a bunch more. Once again, Commie does not disappoint. The fellas close things up with #AllRightHamilton and some closing words about real life stuff.

On Episode 46, RA and Whits kick things off discussing the Stanley Cup odds for the 2017-18 season and who might be a dark horse before welcoming Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman to the show. The esteemed Canadian journalist tells us about the road he took to his current position, his insight on the Matt Duchene situation in Colorado, the future of John Tavares on Long Island, whether anthem-kneeling will be a story that carries into the season, and much more. The fellas also talk about the Paul Kariya interview on TSN and Brian Boyle before finishing up with #AllRightHamilton questions.

Episode 45 kicks off with the boys talking about the leukemia diagnosis for New Jersey Devil Brian Boyle, who is also a Hingham, MA native and good friend of Whits. They discuss how it was detected, the positive outlook for Boyler, and how Spittin' Chiclets knows he'll be rarin' to go on Opening Night. The fellas also discuss Joffrey Lupul's LTIR situation in Toronto, Andreas Athanasiou's stalemate in Detroit, and the dopey new face-off penalty before welcoming Whit's former teammate Matt Murley to the show. Currently playing in South Korea, Murley talked about his hockey adventures that have taken him all over the planet, whether NHL exhibition games are having any impact in East Asia, trying to "beat BlackJack" in Atlantic City while in the minzies with Whits, and what it's like living on a peninsula that has been threatened with nuclear obliteration. The guys then finish up answering #AllRightHamilton questions from listeners.

In Episode 44, the guys start out discussing the last minute deal the Bruins signed David Pastrnak to and pre-training camp jitters. Recurring guest Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0) joins in the festivities to chat about his new gig as the Arizona Coyotes radio color guy, the LA/Vegas Twitter feud before the season even begins, his tour of British Columbia, and more. The fellas finish things up by answering #AllRightHamilton questions from listeners.

For Episode 43, the fellas are pleased to bring you an interview with 2004 Stanley Cup and Hart Trophy winner Martin St. Louis. The longtime Lightning RW and former Ranger talked about his adjustment to a non-NHL lifestyle, what kept him going after going unclaimed in an expansion draft, his favorite career moment, the best opponents he faced, playing with Tim Thomas at UVM, his favorite goal vs. his most important goal, Game 7 of the 2011 ECF, the current NHL, whether he thinks about his Hall of Fame chances, and much more. This was one we were honored to do because of Marty's status in the game.

In the summer's final show, Episode 42, the fellas discuss the few NHL stories from the dog days of August (Lindros number retirement, Shane Doan retires), the McGregor/Mayweather fight, how RA became buddies with Jay Baruchel, and then they have a pretty free-wheeling conversation on just about anything that crosses their minds. They close things up with a XXL version of #AllRightHamilton. Hope you have a few laughs. Happy Labor Day Weekend.

On this week's show, Boston Bruins rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy joins the crew for an in-studio interview. The affable Long Island native talks about making his NHL debut in the playoffs last spring, going from looking up to a guy to suddenly becoming his partner, having a misplay that nearly ended his team's season, the whirlwind of the last year, & a bunch more. The boys finish up with #AllRightHamilton questions and a few NHL notes.