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1:20

Hello, Matthew. Hey, Matt.

1:23

Matthew. Matthew,

1:25

Chuckie, Matthew. Chuck, Matthew. Chuckie,

1:28

are you there? Can

1:31

you hear me? What's

1:34

up, guys? Oh,

1:37

I would die for you. I would

1:39

die for you. This is embarrassing. All right,

1:41

back off from the microphone. All of this is embarrassing.

1:44

We've got a genuine bona

1:46

fide hockey superstar. South

1:48

Florida is falling in love with him because he gets the dirty

1:50

goals. And

1:53

I thank you for your service, but

1:55

also I want to reprimand the- Yes,

1:57

thank you for your service. Yes. I

2:00

want a very brave way of doing it. It is

2:02

brave. It is brave. Yeah, especially against the

2:04

Bruins. Isn't that a forecheck? They blew up their rockets.

2:07

Red Claire! They blew up their blueprint

2:10

to get this guy. Because this guy knows how

2:12

to play off hockey. He

2:15

gets you dirty goals. You guys aren't going to embarrass

2:17

me though by not being a journalistic entity

2:19

when we talk to him, correct? Oh, shut the hell up,

2:21

Dan Lebitt Tarn. KATOKE YOU'RE THE BAAAAAAAT!

2:25

Let's go to Flaney's brother!

2:28

How do you pronounce your name? Matthew

2:32

Brandon Kachuk. I told you, you didn't

2:34

believe me. Jonathan

2:38

Ziazlo said it was pronounced Kachuk

2:40

and we're like, I've never heard that. They don't

2:42

say that in the arena. They don't say that to

2:44

Matthew's dad. I've never heard anyone

2:47

say Kachuk.

2:48

It's not really a question. He's just shouting

2:50

at you. Have you heard someone? Is Zazlo

2:52

making this up? No one in the family history

2:55

has corrected you. You've been pronouncing your name

2:57

wrong all your both generations of

2:59

hockey lives. Oh no, it sounds

3:01

pretty good to me. I just tell everyone T

3:04

silent and however you pronounce it,

3:06

it's good for us.

3:07

How surprised are you by what is presently

3:09

happening? It seemed unclear that you were

3:11

going to make the playoffs at all. I

3:14

don't think necessarily

3:17

surprised. To be quite honest,

3:20

we just come to the rink today. Today's a practice

3:22

day. Enjoy it out there. Have

3:24

some fun. Lots of laughs. Prepare

3:27

ourselves. Get a workout in.

3:29

Go home. Do everything we can

3:31

to be ready for the game tomorrow and go in and try to win. It's

3:34

not really surprising what's going

3:36

on. It's just a lot of fun. We're

3:40

not really treating this as a series either.

3:42

We know we're ahead, but we're coming in

3:44

tomorrow and we're trying to win. It's

3:47

really a simple, very simple plan we

3:49

have for it for us. It's just been

3:51

a ton of fun on the bench. We're just trying to really enjoy

3:54

it all.

3:54

Sam Bennett almost stole your signature move

3:57

in game three with the between the legs shot.

4:00

it is it like everybody's

4:02

playing loose everybody's relaxed this

4:04

is the playoffs like this is a high

4:07

pressure situation

4:08

are you guys relaxed yeah

4:10

for sure I mean he went he went through the legs

4:13

with two or three minutes left in a playoff

4:15

game when I was tired like I think that just shows you

4:17

everything right there like we're just trying

4:19

I mean it was probably the best way he could have tried

4:21

to score or going maybe great save but like

4:23

that's just our team right now like we're having fun like

4:25

we're all but the the people were critical about

4:28

it being too flashy for that game situation

4:31

I think as somebody

4:33

I've scored a few of those before sometimes that's

4:35

the best way and the only way to score so.

4:39

I don't.

4:41

I think that was the good it was a good

4:43

move. How much fun is it playing

4:45

on this line with Benny and Nick Cousins

4:48

because anytime you guys get on the ice

4:50

I feel like you're just dominating the other line.

4:52

Yeah it's fun like we all have a similar mindset

4:54

I wouldn't say it were similar players but we think

4:57

at the same way like when we don't have

4:59

the puck we're going to be a dog on the bone to get

5:01

it back like we're hunting the four

5:03

check we're

5:04

trying to get back as fast as possible we're

5:07

trying to I

5:08

know we're playing against great players on the other team

5:10

we're trying to limit everything that they have and like

5:12

not just limit them but we're trying to score

5:15

and trying to produce as well so we're

5:18

trying to finish their deal like it is when it when

5:20

it comes to playoffs like you got to remember it's a series

5:22

too so

5:23

like what you do in game one and game

5:26

two and game three and game four like we saw in the

5:28

Boston series like everything our line

5:30

did or our team did like it

5:33

seemed to keep evolving evolving

5:35

and then you see it for the game seven

5:37

you see it like happening game seven

5:39

where maybe there's D those D don't want to go back

5:42

for pucks in overtime which led to the goal so

5:44

it's stuff like that and I think that's kind

5:46

of the identity of our team and the identity of our

5:48

line right now. So you've had a rep

5:51

a reputation entering this season as someone that

5:53

gets under the skin of opposing players and I think

5:55

the Boston series was a good example you're mixing

5:58

it up with the goalie over there.

5:59

and carrying over this season and specifically

6:02

that Boston series, it almost looked like Toronto

6:04

went out of their way to put bodies on

6:06

you very early on to try to set a tone.

6:09

Did you feel like they were doing something a little different, like you were

6:11

starting to pay for stuff that you did the previous series?

6:14

I'm not sure. I know that teams make adjustments

6:16

and stuff, but

6:18

I don't think like that hasn't been what

6:20

Toronto is doing all year, so if they want to do it now, I think

6:23

that like just kind of works to our advantage.

6:26

So we'll see what happens in the game tomorrow,

6:28

but the both series

6:30

have been challenging. Both are great teams, but

6:34

if Toronto, if they change up their game for

6:36

that, I think that works to our advantage. So

6:38

playoffs are all about the little advantages that you can create,

6:40

and it starts with your play on the ice, and

6:44

like you brought up the chirping.

6:46

I mean, that just happens in playoffs

6:49

and what guys say, which is just

6:51

kind of what happens. So

6:53

it's intense, and when the stakes

6:55

get higher and higher, everybody wants to win

6:57

that much more. Yeah, and you kind of live for that

6:59

stuff too. You can see that you're kind of enjoying

7:01

it, and for whatever reason, you can almost

7:04

point to that moment is where things kind of turned

7:06

in that previous series with Boston. Something

7:08

that I can't really describe well

7:11

is the absence of something, and everyone expected

7:14

the core four of Toronto to

7:16

continue to be a match up problem, like they've historically

7:18

been for damn near everyone in the NHL.

7:21

I'm not asking for industry secrets here, but

7:23

what are you doing to neutralize those

7:25

four guys in particular?

7:27

It's almost unrecognizable.

7:29

Well, they're unreal players, and they have

7:31

been since they've been in the league, and since they've

7:34

all been on Toronto together, and have

7:37

kind of provided problems for everybody they've played against

7:39

and continue to do for us. Like, there are

7:41

real threats out there, but

7:43

for us to shut down those guys and their team,

7:45

we have to do it. Like, there's not just one D-pair

7:48

or one center man. Like, everybody

7:51

has to play together, and like all

7:53

five guys, I just have to be close together and support

7:55

in case one of those guys, like they're great one-on-one

7:57

players. So, say, you know,

7:59

one of their guys beats me, like I need Benny

8:02

there to be covering for me. And then if something happens like

8:04

Kuzi needs to be behind them or the D, like it's,

8:06

it's, that's kind of been like the key our success

8:09

too is, is like everybody

8:11

is gelled and like playing to this

8:13

identity that's, that's hard to play. And so

8:17

I think for them, they're unreal players and they'll

8:19

continue to,

8:20

to, you know, play the way that,

8:23

you know, they have in their, in their careers

8:25

in the series, those guys on Toronto. So it's up to

8:27

us and a challenge for us to be able to stop them.

8:30

Hopefully we can continue it tomorrow. Matthew, you

8:32

know how hard it is to win playoff hockey.

8:34

You know how tough these ridiculous,

8:36

insane human beings skating around on swords

8:39

around you who are tougher than most

8:41

human beings. You know that

8:43

it is really difficult

8:46

to surpass the pain threshold to be

8:48

as great as you are at

8:50

hockey. And through, I don't

8:52

know how many of those teeth are real. I don't

8:54

know what happens to the human mouth during hockey

8:56

games, but I see you smiling. You

8:59

love that you're an asshole that bothered Boston.

9:01

You love that. Like you're being all

9:03

polite hockey guy, but that team had

9:06

a historic record and you bothered

9:08

them because you're an irritant. You're

9:10

annoying in front of the goals,

9:12

dirty goals, dirty goals taught by

9:14

your father. You're an asshole.

9:16

It's delightful. I love you. Oh,

9:18

I appreciate it. I guess. But

9:21

I think that, I think that

9:23

we, just talking about the Boston

9:25

series,

9:26

it was really refreshing for us to be able

9:28

to,

9:29

we really did limp into the playoffs.

9:32

We won a lot to get in, but getting

9:35

in by one point, as an 8C,

9:37

that's playing to the bitter end. So I

9:39

think when it came into the Boston series, we know

9:42

they had 40 or 50 more points in us. We know

9:44

they've had this record breaking season

9:46

and all these great players that they have and

9:49

traded for at the trade deadline. They were

9:51

best team in the league. Right. And I think

9:53

what helped us out a lot is going

9:56

into that series at zero zero. Like

9:59

there's no.

9:59

records anymore, there's

10:02

nothing like it's all even and we can start from scratch

10:04

and we can start from this game and even

10:06

though we lost game one I felt we played really

10:09

really well in the first bit of the game that I think

10:11

surprised them in a sense like

10:13

these guys aren't just like these guys are for

10:15

real like these guys are a playoff team and I

10:18

think that's what helped us and just continue to wear

10:20

them down where I'm down where I'm down and ultimately got

10:22

that game seven win. What sparked you

10:24

guys more for this late seat regular

10:26

season into the playoff push was it Maurice

10:29

laying into you guys on the on

10:31

the bench in Toronto or your dad

10:33

calling the team soft on the radio?

10:36

I'm gonna go

10:38

with I'm gonna go

10:40

with C I'll go with Lion King

10:42

coming in yeah yeah

10:46

yeah

10:47

he he was unreal to

10:49

get us into the playoffs and played great at

10:51

the start and then obviously we know what Bob's done

10:53

since he's come back he's he's been our most

10:56

our best and most important player and

10:58

can't say enough about both goalies they've been unreal. Bob

11:01

Maurice said that the

11:03

players have taken over the bench as in the

11:06

coaching staff doesn't have to make any adjustments the players

11:08

can react and adjust on the ice

11:10

how important is it for a player like yourself

11:13

to have that trust from the coaching

11:15

staff?

11:16

Very important I don't think it's just given and like that's

11:19

earned and that's shown over the course of the year

11:21

like this isn't I know we've been in the playoffs

11:23

for a couple weeks now but we've been playing playoff hockey

11:25

for months so like this isn't

11:27

all new to us like come to the rink and these must-wins

11:30

or the big-time games like this

11:32

is just how it is for us and how it's

11:34

been so you know

11:36

I think there's obviously they're back

11:38

there and when they see stuff they

11:40

let us know but I think when when

11:42

he says that I

11:44

think it speaks more of like

11:46

we know the type of hockey we have to play and

11:49

if there's a shift or two or three

11:51

or a few minutes span of us not playing

11:53

that like

11:54

we know that's not us and we're able to adjust

11:56

and get back to what's making us successful and

11:59

and I think that's been really good and we have a lot

12:01

of guys on the team that you

12:02

know that a mix of older guys and younger guys

12:04

but going through this like we've gained a

12:06

lot a lot of important like

12:09

valuable lessons this year that are hopefully

12:11

paying gonna pay off and have paid off to this point.

12:13

Can you explain to me from a marketing standpoint

12:16

and fame standpoint playing in this

12:18

market how famous are you locally

12:21

if you you'd be dominating Canada

12:23

in fame if you were doing this for Canadian teams

12:26

is the sport international enough that

12:28

your fame in South Florida translates to

12:30

you walking around okay or do people

12:32

bother you? No I

12:34

can definitely walk around okay

12:37

down in Florida it's it's a it's different

12:39

than and how it was in Calgary

12:42

for sure I mean like you're playing on a Tuesday

12:44

night and regular season in Calgary and you

12:46

know everybody knows who you are wherever you go afterwards

12:49

or you know

12:50

whatever but since we've

12:52

made this crazy run

12:55

and the more success we've had down

12:57

here like the second half of the year was a lot

12:59

different than the first half of the year for me and

13:01

then playoffs have taken a whole another so I actually

13:04

think that a lot a lot changed after

13:06

all-star game down here I think that was great

13:09

for

13:09

the city the town like myself

13:12

and Barkey

13:13

and then through the run it's gotten a little bit crazy and

13:15

then ever since playoffs especially since the game

13:18

7-1 it's been it's been a lot

13:20

different. Well one of the delightful things that happens

13:22

in community around a team

13:24

like this that is being celebrated in that

13:26

region I remember this distinctly about

13:29

the last time this happened down here is all of a

13:31

sudden you're walking in everywhere and you're getting standing

13:33

ovations you are people

13:35

are buying your meals is that something

13:37

that's happening now down here have we not gotten

13:40

there yet?

13:41

We got a meal the other day

13:43

but I haven't I

13:45

really haven't been out too much

13:48

during this I'm trying to try

13:50

and to do everything I can to

13:52

keep that focus but the

13:54

other day for

13:56

for meal a few of us went out and we got it

13:58

paid for so

13:59

That's a you will never have to you

14:02

will never have to pay for a rockin rib roll at

14:04

the Westchester Flanagan's Have you been gone

14:06

yet? Have you gone to Flanagan's yet?

14:08

I've been to the Flanagan's by the ring, but I

14:11

haven't been Chucky

14:16

do you I love the way you chew

14:19

your mouthpiece I've never seen it actually

14:21

fully in your mouth the way I see

14:23

you when you're on the bench chewing that thing and it's dangling

14:25

It's disgusting. I imagine you sleep with

14:27

it at night. Do you?

14:29

I do not I actually need a fresh one

14:32

here soon. No don't change it I'm

14:34

all over I go through a handful more

14:36

than a handful I guess ever actually have

14:39

it in your mouth the way it's supposed to be or

14:40

do you just start the game with it dangling?

14:43

out of your mouth I'm not gonna lie

14:45

at that at the beginning of every shift I

14:47

try to Try to make sure

14:49

that it's fully in but

14:51

within seconds. I'm sure I just don't

14:53

think about it and that's Being

14:55

chewed on don't change it's good luck Don't change it Can

14:58

you explain to us please the

15:00

level of pain threshold that is

15:02

presently required at this level of play

15:04

that you're playing at? Because hockey

15:06

players are notoriously tough who's

15:09

toughest right now? Gritting through

15:11

God knows what in your locker room?

15:13

Yeah Hockey players

15:16

are the toughest from the stuff. I've seen I don't won't

15:18

get into Individual stuff for what

15:20

people are playing through or half play through

15:23

this season But it's not just playoff hockey

15:25

with guys play through its game 10

15:28

of the year You know, I got hockey players

15:30

are tough from and it's not just

15:32

you know It's up and down your lineup your your

15:34

best players to you know Your new

15:37

goalies or guys that aren't even

15:39

playing that want to be playing that having

15:41

you like it's just it's just the culture And

15:43

how it is so?

15:45

This time of year like you gotta block

15:47

that big shot You gotta get that puck out even though,

15:49

you know, you're gonna get crushed You gotta

15:52

go to the net hard. You got to stay there. You gotta take a

15:54

few cross checks Just just the way it is

15:56

guys. So To make hockey

15:58

so great you remember that dorky guy

15:59

with the glasses that we brought to that

16:02

interview with you before the

16:04

season and he was just a little emo about

16:06

Jonathan Huberdow. He is refusing

16:08

to capitulate. He won't give you your flowers.

16:11

So just for me and my group chat, can you just

16:13

say, screw you, witty?

16:15

Well,

16:18

I'll just say, cause he's not on here. That's the only reason

16:20

why I'm saying it. He's not on here. So screw

16:23

you way for not being on here.

16:24

Yeah. I told him to

16:26

come in and apologize

16:27

to you face to face. He refused.

16:30

He said, I got a thing. How dare he? He stared

16:32

at the camera. You

16:34

guys are embarrassing me. You're not journalists

16:37

anymore. Dan, you called him an asshole.

16:39

You see what I love? Super compliment. I asked

16:41

him what is here. He said, what's your name, buddy?

16:47

Thank you for being on with us, Matthew. Has

16:49

your dad, does your dad concede that you're the better

16:51

player? How does that one work? Whoa, whoa,

16:53

whoa. You remember Keith. Like, let's.

16:56

We got to do a lot more in

16:59

my career before we can be in that conversation

17:01

with him. But hopefully we can start with

17:04

a long playoff run and play for

17:06

multiple more weeks. I love you.

17:08

Does he? Thank you so much for making my life so

17:10

much better now. Seriously, I just want to hug you. Can I just

17:12

hug you right now? Can you just? It's uncomfortable.

17:15

Just be here forever and just

17:18

keep playing the way you're playing. They've got him signed

17:20

forever. Isn't it like a million year contract?

17:23

No trade pause? You've got the greatest

17:25

thing that ever happened to me. And I'm just

17:27

so grateful for you.

17:29

Well, thank you guys. Hopefully you guys can watch

17:31

for a few more rounds. I'll be there. Oh,

17:33

I'll be there with a hat on. I

17:36

don't know what that means. Neither do I. Just

17:38

a hat. Just a hat. Just a

17:40

hat. Only a hat. And if you score three,

17:42

that's coming off too. Awesome.

17:46

Thank you, guys. Love you. I'm embarrassed.

17:49

He

17:49

didn't say it back. He didn't say I love

17:51

you back.