Frankly Speaking: Frank Seravalli takes your questions!
To end the year, Frank asked you to submit your questions, professional or personal! Over this hour-long episode, Frank answers 40 questions about hockey, his career, and food (+wine).
1:00 – from JT: Assuming Ovi breaks the all-time goal record, will other “untouchable” records stand the test of time, and if not, what do you think will be surpassed next?
2:45 – from SportsMag416: What’s the most noticeable difference between Sheldon Keefe and Craig Berube that has immediately impacted the Leafs for the best and worst so far?
4:18 – from Ryan Mead: Could you eat one Swedish meatball a minute for 60 mins for $50,000?
4:45 – from Ryan Ouimet: What are your thoughts on goalie interference? Seems like teams are taking advantage of pushing the offensive player into the goalie, knowing the chance is very high that the goal might be called back. Should it be goalie interference if the defender clearly pushes the offensive.
6:30 – from TheBrattPack63: Why did you have Jesper bratt on your trade block for 2 seasons in a row when everyone involved with the devils and his camp all said that was never even close to being on the table.
7:40 – from Joshua: When will the entry draft move to 19-year-olds? Rebuilds are difficult when picking 18-year-olds.
10:05 – from Pat Pascall: Do the Sabres need to sell the team in order to fix their problems?
12:20 – from Fish Dancer: Have you had any serious threats come your way from releasing insider information?
13:45 – from Glenn Keeping: With Arizona now in Utah, if another team starts to fail are there ready made markets available, including ownership, rink, enough local TV rights? Not a good look to be in college rinks, minor league ballparks or shrinking TV viewership in 3 sports.
15:50 – from Turpin19: We’ve seen insiders and media in other sports get front office jobs, if you got offered a GM spot, or another front office gig from any NHL team, would you consider taking it?
16:50 – from Bowie Puck: Do you text or call sources? Wondering if people avoid text so what they leak can’t be proven in writing. And question 2: how did you manage to leak the entire Kraken expansion roster ahead of the broadcast? Did it all come from 1 source?
19:15 – from Kruger Industrial Smoothing: If you have to pick a team that will win two cups in the next 10 years. What is that team?
20:50 – from Shawn McIntosh: What would happen to a team who purposefully disregarded the cap and spent whatever they wanted on players? What would happen to them if they ignored the punishment and continued to ice the same team? Could multiple big market teams collude to do this?
20:20 – from OilersAlways97: I’ve always been fascinated with trades, deadline day, GM’s gathering on the draft floor wondering who exactly and what potential picks they are talking about. How many of your contacts are actual GM’s and how many are assistants, scouts or insiders? No names, just numbers.
23:30 – from Not That Jake in Abbotsford, BC: Completely personal thought and not “what you’re hearing”. What do you think the Canucks should do with Petey and JT?
25:40 – from Dan Marcus from NJ: What specifically do you provide to NHL insiders (GMs/ scouts/AGMs/coaches etc) that ‘motivates’ them to provide you with inside information about their organizations?
27:55 – from Jacques Strap: How much do you hear that you are unable to report? (Don’t want to burn the bridge, it’s off the record etc) 2. Do you think the Leafs make a bigger move this year/off-season or will go for smaller moves?
30:10 – from Dan the Fan in Toronto: Do you consider yourself the new Bob McKenzie and if so what Marquita or other drink are you going to pioneer as the next great drink mix? Seravalli Sambuca? Or Franky Grappa perhaps?
31:30 – from Alex Wheeler: How did you gain the trust of executives so quickly?
33:40 – from Chris Gerics in Hamilton, Ontario: What advice would you give someone trying to break into the industry and work towards getting “an in” with an established network? As a journalist kind of spinning his wheels, I’d like to know how to best utilize my skills.
36:10 – from Den Polland, Oilers fan: What was the biggest trade/transaction you knew about that you never got to break because it fell apart last minute?
40:00 – from Matt Bergen: Why is the NHL and its players OBSESSED with tax rates? I never hear it mentioned in coverage of other sports. Huge free agents go to high tax jurisdictions in other sports. But this is so important to NHL players that it needs to be a CBA issue?
42:05 – from Steve T: If a team starts a period on the powerplay, should the faceoff be moved from center ice to the offensive zone? If a player ends OT in the box, should he be eligible to participate in the shootout?
43:55 – from Six High Eclipse: Who will be the coach of the Blackhawks next season?
45:30 – from Mike in Amherst, NY: You are in charge of taking the reins for the Sabres going forward. What are you doing to get them back to competitive status and fighting for a playoff spot?
47:00 – from Jonny Lazarus in New York City: What moment from your career are you most proud of, one that you look back on and smile about?
48:50 – from Shane Moberg: How do hockey players get paid? Is it weekly? After every game? 1 year / season salary upfront at the beginning of the season?
50:05 – from KJ: Do you still have a favourite NHL team? Is it hard to stay neutral or level-headed about your team during tense moments? I ask this because I wanna get into broadcasting but turn into a nervous wreck during the dying moments of a game.
51:35 – from Trin in Grande Prairie, Alberta: Hey Frank, will we ever see a time when officials have to do press conferences. People make mistakes and they are human, but I believe respect would go a long way to officials from fans if they had to answer questions about a questionable call they made. Just my two cents.
53:50 – from Glenner: If you had to pick one team to relocate, who would it be and to where?
54:55 – from Kyle in Parry Sound, Ontario: How do you stay on top of everything going on in the NHL on a night to night basis ?
55:55 – from Kerry McGowan: Brunello query. Biondi Santi or Solera?
56:50 – from Jay Kuul: Your thoughts on The NHL dropping to fifth most popular sport by viewership in the United States.
59:25 – from Gavin in Montreal: With Montreal’s recent insurgents with Laine, do the Habs stay the course or do they become more aggressive buyers?
1:00:15 – from Forklift Guy in B.C.: Was being an insider your dream job back then? If not, what was your dream job, if there was.
1:01:40 – from Ragnar in Ottawa: Thoughts on Nick Jensen? Been a saviour for us.
1:02:50 – from Carson, the Flyers Truther: Is the league concerned about major US market teams continuing to struggle – Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia?
1:05:08 – from Charles Houle in Elliot Lake, Ontario: Can you talk about a trade that you sat on (make it about retired players maybe) because you needed confirmation which never came and the deal broke down.
1:06:08 – from PDO King: How hard have all the miles been?
1:06:20 – from Greg Huether: How long have you had grey hair?
1:07:30 – from Kelly Jones: What keeps your passion for the game from waning?
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