Keller, whom co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke talked to at the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas last month, discussed getting started with the Utah Hockey Club, the journey from Arizona, the uniforms, experience so far and what the team could do this season.
"It's kind of unique where it's like being traded but it's not," Keller said. "You're going to a new city, but we all get to experience it together, go through you name it, new fan base, rink, practice rink, living, everything kind of combined. It's definitely a fresh start for all of us and we're super excited for it."
Before the interview with Keller, Rosen talks about his on-the-ground experience in Prague covering the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal.
The Sabres and Devils will play at O2 Arena on Friday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSGSN, MSG-B) and Saturday (10 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSGSN, MSG-B).
Rosen told the story about his trip to Kladno to see Jaromir Jagr play for his hometown team Tuesday. The co-hosts talked about the impact of starting the season in Europe and how it can help a team bond and grow their chemistry. They also talked about the injuries the Devils are dealing with, notably defensemen Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes not starting the season on time, and the impact that could have on them.
They also went in depth on the Swayman contract stalemate. Roarke said he thinks the Bruins should trade him if he's asking for more than $8 million per season. Rosen said the Bruins traded away their leverage by dealing Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators on June 24.
After the Keller interview, they talked about Utah's playoff chances with both agreeing they should be in the mix all the way through the regular season. They then played the interview they did with MacKinnon at the Player Media Tour, where the reigning Hart Trophy winner discussed trying to build on last season, his focus and determination to try to win the Stanley Cup, and more things like having a personal chef and the benefits of that.
The episode finishes with Rosen and Roarke debating the topic of preseason games versus regular-season games, and if the League should play fewer preseason games and more regular-season games.
Not surprisingly, there was some thoughtful analysis and some emotional disagreement.
The "NHL @TheRink" podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
