Ryan Whitney

The St. Louis Blues have a 100% chance to win the Stanley Cup

They're a really good team. And it'd be one of the coolest stories ever. Last place, January 3rd... I mean, they got a lot of good weapons there... So there's a chance 100% that they could get the Cup.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are the winners of the trade deadline for going all-in

Columbus is a winner for me. They went out and made a bunch of good moves. ... They're trying to win one, and they never even won a playoff series. ... I think the fans kind of deserve it.

Patrick Kane is the greatest American-born hockey player ever

Kane, holy shit, he keeps getting better. It's the best I think it's the best he's ever been. It's just he's the best American-born player ever. That's my hot take of the day.

The New York Islanders are not 'for real' and cannot win the Stanley Cup

I'm going to say, like, no, right? [to are the Islanders for real] ... I understand, too, they think this is the beginning of what will be a successful year... But I don't think they can win the cup.

The Washington Capitals have a 20% chance of repeating as Stanley Cup champions

Pittsburgh did it for the first time in like 20 years... I'm going to say 20%. They're a good team, right? ... I just think that it's tough because guys are exhausted and they've ripped it up extra hard.

LeBron James is a piece of shit teammate and a bad look for the sport of basketball

Big Cat, I know you love hoops, but what he's doing right now... It's actually pathetic. It's just so embarrassing. He's the worst role model I've ever seen. ... He is just a shitbag. He's such a shitty teammate.

Calgary's Saddledome is a complete shithole

It's really cool to look at from the outside, but it's a complete shithole. For a current day pro sports arena, it's in the very, very low bottom percentage of that entire list.

Montreal is the best atmosphere in North American hockey

Montreal... you should see this place. Just the fans right on top of you... the seats just go straight up. It's loud as hell. The French are completely nuts. By far and away, it was my favorite place to play.

Teams play better on 'Dad Trips' because they are afraid of being tortured by their fathers for playing poorly

It's not even about like, I want to play good in front of my dad. It's like, if I play bad, I'm going to get tortured by my dad like I did when I was 11. If I didn't play good in the NHL, he'd still give me the same shit. I'd get on the bus, sit next to me, wouldn't talk to me.

NBA players are egotistical 'assholes' compared to modest NHL players

It's the ego on these assholes [in the NBA] to think that they're bigger than the team. They're bigger than the league... LeBron carries wine into the fucking game. Looking like a clown. And by the way, no hockey player would ever do that. They're going to say my teammates are the best teammates of all time because they don't need everything to be about them.

NHL players skip the All-Star game to win titles, while NBA players go to 'get kills' and get recognized

NHL players care about their team and trying to win the Stanley Cup. And by skipping the All-Star game, they're going to save themselves a cross-country flight and Alexander Ovechkin will be ready to play in the playoffs as opposed to wasting energy going back and forth across the country. NBA players just want to try to get some kills in a city where they're going to get recognized because they're all 7'1 and have huge wrenches.

My lock of the week is the Dolphins -3 over the Raiders

I really like Miami this week at home against Oakland. It's only minus three, and Miami's actually sneaky, like not that bad, I don't think... Dolphins are my pick this week.

Derek Carr is an overrated quarterback

Derek Carr's overrated, I think. It's the Raiders. They've been a gong show forever.

The Patriots will roll over Matt Patricia and the Lions

I also think the Pats roll over [Matt] Patricia. Big Cat, you have sources. They hate Patricia, huh?

Vontae Davis retiring at halftime was a selfish move

You can't quit on your team. If you want to quit after the game, fine. You've got to finish the game. You've got to at least be standing on the sidelines rooting the guys on that you're trying to help or hope to win... It was a selfish move in a weird way to, I mean, everyone's going to remember how that guy retired instead of his career.

The NBA Finals celebration was a joke compared to the Stanley Cup Finals

Sick celebration that was at the end. Looked like they won that Saturday morning men's league that Big Cat plays in. But they won their NBA title. They're checking their phones to see how quickly they're on Instagram... Vegas, Washington had people on the edge of their seats. People were sleeping at the Golden State Warriors Arena. Snoozing if they won the title. What a league. What a joke.

If you don't like the Vegas Golden Knights' pregame show, you are a 'piece of shit'

If you're not into that pregame ceremony, I actually said you got a dump in your pants, and I'll reword it here, you're a piece of shit. Because it's awesome. I love it. I get a kick out of it. It's Vegas. You know it's a show.

Braden Holtby's poor rebound control and lack of mobility will cost the Capitals the Cup

My biggest worry for a Caps fan is [Braden Holtby]... these rebounds, those are not – that will not win you the cup, those rebounds... his mobility isn't nearly what it used to be. So if you're going to come out and take away those angles, the rebounds can't go anywhere but the corner.

The NBA is an embarrassing joke of a league because it lacks parity

Being completely serious, it's the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen for a sport. Four goddamn years in a row and you've got the same team... How about you get the Golden State Warriors owner... complaining about what team you're playing against. That shows how much of a joke of the league it is.

Chris Paul not playing Game 7 with a hamstring injury is weak compared to hockey players

So my hammy hurts so bad you can't go out and jump up two inches off the ground and take a jump shot because you're hammy? Are you kidding me? You can't get a shot? Like hockey players, you know how many shots? There's probably, I bet you 18 or 20 guys got a needle somewhere in their body last night just to go out and try to battle for the cup... It's a long way from the heart.

Golden Knights forward Thomas Nosek is the definition of a true 'hockey player' who shows up in the playoffs

Say [James Harden] makes 20 million... and you know who had two goals last night? Thomas Nosek. And what does he make? I don't know, a million? That's a guy who shows up to the playoffs. That's a hockey player.

An expansion team like the Golden Knights winning the Cup in their first year is a bad look for the NHL

The one thing you make sense is it's not a great look for the NHL in a sense that— Right... every GM around the league is like, all right, this team's lighting it up. Like, my owner's going to be like, why the fuck isn't your team good?

Mark Scheifele is an NHL superstar now

I want to get respect out to Mark Scheifele. I don't if you've been watching the Western Conference. He's a, I'd say superstar now, Scheifele. He's incredible.

Modern hockey is much better than the 'old school' era

No, because the game is so much better now. And when you say old and grumpy, there's a generation above us that the best players didn't make much money... But for me, like, I love seeing guys get paid... I love seeing guys get [money].

The NBA is a show where players stay down after contact so people can take pictures of them

LeBron, he caught a pinky to the side of the head today. So he stayed down for 45 minutes, make sure everyone could take a picture of him. And then he went in the locker room five minutes later. It's a show. Probably liked a couple pictures on Instagram and then was like, all right, everyone knows I'm out.

Until the Capitals actually beat the Penguins, I will never pick them to win a playoff series

Until Washington does it, I will never pick them to beat Pittsburgh. ... Crossy's the best player in the world. I know it. But he is. And he turns it on in the playoffs. ... and I just am not picking the Capitals. I'm not doing it.

The Vegas Golden Knights are the greatest expansion team in sports history

I mean, it's the best expansion team in the history of pro sports. I mean, that's saying something.

The Nashville Predators are winning the Stanley Cup

I'm on Nashville because I picked them to win the cup, and I have a big futures bet riding on them.

I hate the NBA and the entire league is disgusting

The whole thing is disgusting to me. I haven't changed my opinion on any of it. I hate the NBA.

The Blackhawks will make the playoffs next year but aren't Stanley Cup contenders anymore

I think that this is maybe just a one-off year, and next year it could be quickly fixed. I think they'll get back to the playoffs. Contenders, that could be in trouble now.

The Capitals will lose in the second round because they can't beat the Penguins

They have to play Pittsburgh and they can't beat them... Malkin won't lose to Ovechkin. So unless Pittsburgh gets upset in the first round, they're done. I mean, they will lose in the second round.

The Golden Knights will lose in the first round of the playoffs

I've stuck by my guns that they're going to lose in the first round. I'm just staying on it. I don't think they can match up with a team who has, like, a superstar.

The NBA regular season is a joke because the top seeds are so heavily favored that there is no value in betting on them.

The first round, the first one through eight, it's just a complete... You can't even gamble on it because the one seed's like minus 900 to take the series, so it's a complete waste of money... The league blows.

Nashville and Tampa Bay will play in the Stanley Cup Final, and Nashville will win

I have money on Nashville. I've had it for a while. They're my pick at the beginning of the year. Them and Tampa to play each other. Nashville is a wagon.

The Olympic hockey committee ruining the games by banning NHL players is a joke

It's a joke. You can't. The NHL asked if they could at least show the videos from the Olympics, which you can't do. They wanted the NHL logos on the board. They wouldn't do that. So at some point it's both sides, but it does suck for the game.

Russia is the heavy favorite to win Olympic Gold with no NHL players involved

Unfortunately, it's Russia. They're going to win and then they're going to take the flag out and they won't play an anthem. But it's going to be pretty crazy to see because they're loaded. They got all these guys over there that never, I mean, some of them couldn't play in the NHL because there's a chance of them could. They're playing in the KHL.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the best team in the NHL and my Stanley Cup pick

Yeah, they were my Cup pick. I think I picked them when I came on your show, fellas. They're nasty. They have four legit superstars. Hedman, Stamkos, Kucherov, and their goalie, Vasilevskiy. They're the best team in the NHL, for sure.

The NHL does a terrible job of marketing the league

I feel like the NHL just doesn't do a good job of marketing the league. It's so goofy. I don't understand it. You do stuff that really kind of confuses the casual fan. They haven't talked about [the All-Star Game] at all.

The Pittsburgh Penguins might miss the 2018 playoffs

That's how it looks right now [that the Penguins won't make the playoffs]. I refuse to believe it because even though they're in last or second to last in the division, they're only like five or six points out... But they look like they're in a bad place right now.

Tampa Bay is going to win the Stanley Cup

Tampa's nasty. Tampa's going to win the cup.

I'm hammering the Vegas Golden Knights at home whenever their opponent has a night off in Vegas beforehand

Whenever a team has a day in Vegas, I just bet the Golden Knights, and they've been great. People get fucked up there. In Vegas? No. It's an 82-game season. You get there, you're just going to rip it up.

Gordon Hayward would have stayed in the game if he were a hockey player

You gotta think that that Gordon Hayward coming back for the third period if he's a hockey player. I mean you have to snap it back in, dude. He's at least going for the twirl to see if he can give it a go. You tie the skates up real tight. You use a fucking stick as a splint.

Coyotes rookie Clayton Keller is so skilled he should have been a lacrosse player

I'll give you Clayton Keller, and since he's on Phoenix, Arizona Coyotes, nobody will really know him. Clayton Keller. That guy's lacrosse. He should have been a lacrosse player, yeah.

There is a 30% chance Alex Ovechkin gets traded this offseason

Do you think that that's [Ovechkin being traded] really going to happen? I would say it's like 30% chance of happening. But that's 29% more than last year... I wouldn't be shocked, put it that way.

The 2017 Stanley Cup Final will go to seven games

Where do you see the last three games going? I think it goes seven. I mean, you say that it looked like it wouldn't have been a long series... I think home team's going to win game five, Nashville's going to win game six, and then kind of a coin toss in game seven.

Hockey is the only sport that truly has karma

Hockey is the only sport that I think truly has karma. That's a fact. Yeah, I can go with that one.

The Washington Capitals will finally win the Stanley Cup this year

The Washington Capitals, it's their year. I think this is the year they finally win the Stanley Cup. They certainly have all the pieces. They have all the pieces.

The Maple Leafs and Islanders will take the final two playoff spots in the East

I like the Leafs and the Islanders out of that [group]. The Leafs are really exciting. I think they'll get in. They got a great coach... and then the Islanders have just kind of turned things around with Doug Weight as their coach.

The Chicago Blackhawks will win the Western Conference this year

No, I actually think [the Blackhawks] are going to win the West. I love their team this year. I think that they're really deep. Kane and Toews will be there when it matters. I love their team. They've got a lot of young guys that are playing really well.

The Chicago Blackhawks will win at least one Stanley Cup in the next three years

I love their team. They'll be right there. I wouldn't be worried at all. They're right in the midst of that window to win a couple more. I think they at least get one in the next three years.