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Coast 2 Coast Show Episode 10
The Coast to Coast Show Is Here. Now Let’s Talk About Everything That Just Happened.
The podcast is dead. Long live the show.
After months of building Coast to Coast into what it is, we are officially rebranding to the Coast to Coast Show, and this first episode is exactly the kind of conversation that earned that upgrade. Ian and Olin sat down to do something they have been promising for a while: a full 2025-26 NHL season retrospective, from the opening night goalies to the Storm Surge on T-Mobile Arena ice. This one runs over an hour and covers basically every storyline that mattered this year, so settle in.
The episode opens with the Brady Tkachuk trade to Florida, which sent him to reunite with his brother Matthew and Sam Bennett on what Twitter has already started calling the January 6 line. Insiders like Elliot Friedman and Chris Johnston had been telegraphing this move for weeks, and the writing was on the wall the moment Ottawa’s playoff run ended against Carolina. The guys break down what the Senators actually got back, whether the return was fair value, and why there was realistically no destination other than Florida. They also dig into the broader trend of Team USA players requesting trades to the same four or five organizations, the role the Olympic gold medal run played in that shift, and whether the NHL is quietly becoming a destination league for only a handful of franchises.
From there it becomes a month-by-month walkthrough of the season. October through the Carter Hart signing in Vegas and what that meant for Aiden Hill. November through the Buffalo Sabres beginning one of the most improbable division title runs in recent memory. The show pauses on December long enough to acknowledge Jarmo Kekalainen arriving in Buffalo and Lindy Ruff quietly turning that roster into something real, though the guys are quick to note that Kevin Adams built what Jarmo inherited. Then February, which was essentially the Milan Olympics consuming the entire hockey world. Team USA winning gold for the first time since the Miracle on Ice gets its proper treatment here, including the debate over whether a Nathan MacKinnon missed shot actually changed the direction of the league or whether the trade requests were coming no matter what.
March brings the trade deadline and the Bruce Cassidy firing in Vegas. This is one of the more interesting stretches of the episode because Ian and Olin relitigated the entire Cassidy-to-Tortorella transition in real time. The hire looked insane when it happened. Then it kind of worked. The guys explain why that chapter unfolded the way it did and what it tells you about Kelly McCrimmon as a GM, someone who has made enough questionable moves to fill a highlight reel of bad decisions while somehow still building a perennial contender.
The second half of the episode turns to the playoffs. Anaheim eliminating Edmonton in six games in the first round, with Jackson Lacombe having a full coming out party against McDavid and Draisaitl. Vegas dispatching Utah with a familiar formula. Carolina sweeping Ottawa without surrendering a single lead, then rolling through Philadelphia and getting nearly two weeks of rest before the conference finals. The guys spend considerable time on how that rest advantage shaped the Stanley Cup Final, why the Hurricanes going into Game 1 against Vegas healthy and fresh was a massive competitive edge, and how Rasmus Anderson’s turnover in Game 2 might have been the actual turning point of the entire series. They also cover the Montreal Canadiens making a surprising conference finals run, the Mitch Marner storyline that built each round, and what the Tortorella-era Vegas team reminds them of from recent NHL history.
The episode closes with offseason news already starting to break live, including Dylan Larkin’s trade request, Sergei Bobrovsky’s uncertain future, Mike Babcock heading to Edmonton, and a Pierre LeBrun report on Zach Werenski drawing league-wide interest. Plus a brief and very heartfelt plea from Donny Waddy to Don Waddell to not break up what they just built.
The NHL Draft live stream is coming. Night one is locked in. Night two depends on the hangover. If you want to be a guest, reach out.
Subscribe to the Coast to Coast Show on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a review, share it with someone who cares about hockey, and we will see you for the draft.
Get full access to Donny Waddy at donnywaddy.substack.com/subscribe
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By Coast 2 Coast PodcastThe Coast to Coast Show Is Here. Now Let’s Talk About Everything That Just Happened.
The podcast is dead. Long live the show.
After months of building Coast to Coast into what it is, we are officially rebranding to the Coast to Coast Show, and this first episode is exactly the kind of conversation that earned that upgrade. Ian and Olin sat down to do something they have been promising for a while: a full 2025-26 NHL season retrospective, from the opening night goalies to the Storm Surge on T-Mobile Arena ice. This one runs over an hour and covers basically every storyline that mattered this year, so settle in.
The episode opens with the Brady Tkachuk trade to Florida, which sent him to reunite with his brother Matthew and Sam Bennett on what Twitter has already started calling the January 6 line. Insiders like Elliot Friedman and Chris Johnston had been telegraphing this move for weeks, and the writing was on the wall the moment Ottawa’s playoff run ended against Carolina. The guys break down what the Senators actually got back, whether the return was fair value, and why there was realistically no destination other than Florida. They also dig into the broader trend of Team USA players requesting trades to the same four or five organizations, the role the Olympic gold medal run played in that shift, and whether the NHL is quietly becoming a destination league for only a handful of franchises.
From there it becomes a month-by-month walkthrough of the season. October through the Carter Hart signing in Vegas and what that meant for Aiden Hill. November through the Buffalo Sabres beginning one of the most improbable division title runs in recent memory. The show pauses on December long enough to acknowledge Jarmo Kekalainen arriving in Buffalo and Lindy Ruff quietly turning that roster into something real, though the guys are quick to note that Kevin Adams built what Jarmo inherited. Then February, which was essentially the Milan Olympics consuming the entire hockey world. Team USA winning gold for the first time since the Miracle on Ice gets its proper treatment here, including the debate over whether a Nathan MacKinnon missed shot actually changed the direction of the league or whether the trade requests were coming no matter what.
March brings the trade deadline and the Bruce Cassidy firing in Vegas. This is one of the more interesting stretches of the episode because Ian and Olin relitigated the entire Cassidy-to-Tortorella transition in real time. The hire looked insane when it happened. Then it kind of worked. The guys explain why that chapter unfolded the way it did and what it tells you about Kelly McCrimmon as a GM, someone who has made enough questionable moves to fill a highlight reel of bad decisions while somehow still building a perennial contender.
The second half of the episode turns to the playoffs. Anaheim eliminating Edmonton in six games in the first round, with Jackson Lacombe having a full coming out party against McDavid and Draisaitl. Vegas dispatching Utah with a familiar formula. Carolina sweeping Ottawa without surrendering a single lead, then rolling through Philadelphia and getting nearly two weeks of rest before the conference finals. The guys spend considerable time on how that rest advantage shaped the Stanley Cup Final, why the Hurricanes going into Game 1 against Vegas healthy and fresh was a massive competitive edge, and how Rasmus Anderson’s turnover in Game 2 might have been the actual turning point of the entire series. They also cover the Montreal Canadiens making a surprising conference finals run, the Mitch Marner storyline that built each round, and what the Tortorella-era Vegas team reminds them of from recent NHL history.
The episode closes with offseason news already starting to break live, including Dylan Larkin’s trade request, Sergei Bobrovsky’s uncertain future, Mike Babcock heading to Edmonton, and a Pierre LeBrun report on Zach Werenski drawing league-wide interest. Plus a brief and very heartfelt plea from Donny Waddy to Don Waddell to not break up what they just built.
The NHL Draft live stream is coming. Night one is locked in. Night two depends on the hangover. If you want to be a guest, reach out.
Subscribe to the Coast to Coast Show on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a review, share it with someone who cares about hockey, and we will see you for the draft.
Get full access to Donny Waddy at donnywaddy.substack.com/subscribe