Chris Kontos -NHL-Tampa Bay Lightning 4 Goal Game

Mike Hartman, performance mindset strategist. This is Develop the mindset of a Champion with former Stanley cup champion Mike Hartman. Welcome to another episode. Today my guest is Chris Contos. Chris is a former professional hockey player who played over 16 years of professional hockey. Chris was also a first round draft pick of the New York Rangers, went 15th overall in the 1919-82 NHL Entry Draft. I was fortunate enough to play with Chris. Chris, great to have you here today with us.

Hey, Heartsy, great to be on the show. Thanks for having me.

Yeah, so what we do here, we talk a lot about stories, mindset and champions and we're going to get into a little bit about your story, so just share a little bit about yourself. I knew you grew up in the Toronto area and just share your story about, you know, young kid playing hockey through, you know, you made it to pro hockey. People would love to hear it.

Well, probably a story very much like yours. Just a kid with the dream and, you know, somebody came up to me when I was 10. What do you want to do when you grow up? You want to be a fireman or. I want to be a hockey player. So that was the goal. And, you know, that's. I was kind of blessed to maybe have some talent to get to the next level. And my dad was an immigrant from Greece who bought a pair of skates when I was like two or three, I think, for him and myself at the same time. And we both learned how to skate on public rinks in Toronto back in the day. And I can remember the first day of racing them, you know, when I was probably 9 or 10. And you know, you race from blue line to blue line or whatever. And I can remember beating them. And it's almost like that rocky moment where you think, oh, I can beat my dad now in a race. So that's how it starts. And then you start playing minor hockey like all the kids do in North America and Europe and all over the world now, and you try to hone your skills and maybe somebody will notice when you get to the age when they start sniffing around, looking for prospects and agents are looking and I got lucky and I kind of, I got to the next level.

Well, Chris, I have to say something. It can't be like me because you did something different than me. You knew how to find the net. You were a first round draft pick. You scored some great goals. Your story kind of sounds like Nick Kyprios a lot. My good buddy who I just had on the show and, you know, his family was in the in the restaurant business for years and parents came over from Greece and started playing hockey. So it's a similar story. So you're, you know, you play your junior years. I know you played for the Toronto Marlies. Correct. I think you played for the Marlies in your hometown.

Yeah, I started with the Sudbury Wolves and then I finished with the Marlies when I got drafted by the Rangers. Yep.

So you get drafted by the Rangers. Share that story. What was it like going to, to a big market team right away? I know you lived in a big city, but just share that, like coming, you know, from where you are, then all of a sudden now you're getting drafted to the New York Rangers.

Well, you can look at it too. I mean, it was great to get drafted by them, but back in those days, I know you won a cup with them, but they were looking for the fin like the crowd used to go 1940 because they hadn't won a cup in so long. Right. And management was just buying like a, that club. Namansky just went into the hall of Fame, the NHL hall of Fame. He was like 38 and I was 18 and you know, he, he was old enough to be my dad. But they were just looking for guys to help them get a cup. So as far as, you know, developing young kids, it wasn't the place to be, to be developed. I can tell you that from hindsight, myself. Dave Gagne was a first rounder. Terry Carpner, the only guy that really stuck around was Jeep Patrick, James Patrick. But there was a lot of up and down to the minors, back and forth and you know, it helps you grow as a person and get thick skin. But I mean, it wasn't a Wayne Gretzky career where you get there and you just start lighting it up till you retire.

Well, it's always tough to play in a place like New York. I don't care if you're traded there unless you're a superstar. It's a very hard place to break in. I don't know what it is. I found it. I was fortunate to go to a small market team like Buffalo and they gave you a chance. But for some reason New York just doesn't give everybody this, this big opportunity, whether you're the first round draft pick or even you're a free agent. I mean, I have friends that were free agents. Phil Bork, who's going to be on my show and he says hello because I think you guys played together. He mentioned that you guys, I think Pittsburgh together.

Great guy.

Yeah. Yes.

I'M going to have doing a great job.

Well, Phil signs a four year contract. Four or five years a big, big money back then when two, he wins two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh and then comes to the Rangers and he finds himself sitting in the press box every night and not even playing. I mean he would sit out 15, 20 games in a row. Then they finally traded him to, to Ottawa. But I just think New York's a very difficult place to break in. They almost set the table for you right away they'll say, okay, hey, you're coming here, but you're going to be an insurance policy and great place to play, great organization, but very difficult to break in. So you had that stretch. You played a lot of years in the minors and tell us a little bit about your minor league stories.

Well, they were always, you know, salt and peppered with getting called up. And then, you know, when you get called up, you're not on the first line so you can get lots of success or you know, not first line power play. So you're just like a fill in part and they use you while they're shorthanded and then there you go back to the minors and it's usually a tough mental thing to, to handle. If you're heartsy, I know you and you're, I can say confidently you're kind of a high strung guy. So I would, I would assume that would bother you getting called up and sent down and, and, and I think I was the same where, you know, sometimes it might take you a month just to get over that demotion and the feeling of like, well, am I not good enough? Like what's, you know, I know I'm as good as that guy or that guy and you just have to, you know, figure it out, pull yourself back together, do the things that got you there and climb that mountain again.

Well, that's like the mindset stuff that we do even in my own business, working with executives and working with different people in their everyday life. And I have to say, you're right. I was that type of guy that I took things personal as a player and you take it very personal when you're sent down. But I always believe this and maybe you could agree to disagree, but I always believed that the hardest thing to do is be a goal scorer. Because if you're a grinder, okay, so you play your 7:12 minutes, 4 minutes, maybe 15 minutes, if somebody likes you and you go out there, you do your job, you bang around, you play good in the defensive zone, but as a goal Scorer, it's so tough because you have to be on the first two lines because they don't really put goal scores on the third line too much. I mean, they do, but they. They don't. And when you're a goal scorer, it's very difficult to stay. I. Would you agree with that?

Oh, absolutely. Even the year we played together in Tampa, I think I had 20 goals in the first 21 games. But do you think, I mean, I was, I think, ahead of Lemieux and Gretzky that year and scoring up to that point. But do you think that other teams aren't pre scouting us and saying, who do we watch tonight and who do we give an extra whack to? And who do we, you know, try to disinterest every time he gets the. You know what I mean? It's. It's not like we were the Edmonton Oilers in their heyday or, you know, we were just a bunch of grinding, tough guy, you know, guys that were looking for another shot to play. And, you know, it's. It's not easy. Like you say. It's. It's really hard. Especially when you get, I mean, Vetchkin's and, you know, and McDavid's and stuff.

They're.

They're anomalies. They're like, you know, they break all the rules of. For some reason, they're just given a God given gift that they can, they can do it on an ongoing basis where, you know, other guys, you know, everything has to be right, everything has to go right. And that's hard to get in those situations. But that's the goal, right? That's the goal that you try to get to. And if the door opens, you try to barge through it.

Right? I mean, that's. That's so true. I mean, yeah, some of these players, but some guys, it's funny when you watch a great player and they make a mistake, it's okay. But somebody like us, if we made a mistake, it was like, oh, yeah, we're, we're done. We're gonna hear it.

I'm sure you heard Crispy yelling at me a few times when I was out there.

Well, we're gonna get into those stories. I, I have that said. I just want to ask you too, just some other things. Like, so you played with some great players. So you were in Pittsburgh. You played with Mario Lemieux, which to me was the hardest player. I mean, Gretzky was unbelievable, and I know you played with Gretzky, but Mario Lemieux had been the Hardest player because he was 6 5. He had that long reach. What was your experience playing with Mario?

I just. I mean, to me, I. Like you said, I played with them both. And his skill level was through the charts. His hand, eye coordination. Gretzky was different. He could. He was like a chess player on the ice, where he could still move around and just with pinpoint accuracy, make plays to set guys up and make everything look so easy, like a couple seconds ahead of the game or whatever. Mario was raw talent, though. He. You know, you could crank a puck around the boards, that would be bobbling, wobbling, and he would just so eloquently just take a stick, tap the puck, knock it down, and then start on his way, moving in another direction. But he just did it without even thinking. He was just so talented. And I'd never seen anybody with skills like that. I even played video games with him, like Mario, Mario Brothers, or, you know, Golf on. Back then, it was either in television or Atari or whatever. And he was even on another level with video games back then. I was like. And I thought I was really good at video games. I'm like, this guy's got a special brain. Like, he could just. He could just do things at another level.

Yeah, and he was so composed, too. Like, you watch him play, and it was like he was like. It didn't look like he was trying, but you give him a step, and it's like, if you, like, think you. You give him an inch, I mean, he's gone. I mean, he's going to take a mile on you. And he was. He was so hard to play against, especially those days in Buffalo. So. Well, I have to say this. So you played with Gretzky, and you played with Lemieux. Then I have to ask you this question. Then you sat next to the good one in the dressing room in Tampa. You remember who you sat next to?

You're my. You're my. I think I was your shrink most of the time.

A lot of people were artsy.

Relax, man. I just get out there and, you know. You think I did all right? Yeah, you did fine. Don't worry about it.

Well, I. I was a nervous, you know, that the problem with me is I wish I could have enjoyed it more. And I'm not. I've said this a lot on my shows. Glenn Healey was ripping on me, and. And it's fun because you're around a lot of guys. And I think the fun part about. About that year, I really enjoyed sitting next to you, and I'm going to talk about that night. That, to my, it still sticks out of my mind, you know how. What an unbelievable night you had. We're going to get into that, but I think that year was such a great year because I think we had five or six Buffalo Saber guys and we had a lot of the Penguin guys that came over and they were, they were fun guys. And overall it was a really, a fun team to be on. It was just something very unique playing on the expansion team. We played in that, that big building, that old building where. And we had some funny guys and. Would you ever ask, I gotta ask you the million dollar question. Would you ever bet your life that Mark Bergman would be the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens?

Well, I thought I was a prankster. He was the king of pranksters. Yeah. And he, he went to Chicago and honed his skills, like learned how to get into management. And yeah, he's, he's running the show there. And right now they're looking pretty good. I mean, they're struggling against Philly a little bit, but you never know.

I had a friend. Remind me of a story. So we were playing in San Jose and there's a guy I went to school with and this guy's an engineer, his name is Barry dmac, a really nice guy. And, and Berge and I used to go out on the road to eat. And we're in San Francisco eating. We're playing against the Sharks, but we stayed in San Francisco. And I'm sitting there and I said, I'm going to bring, I'm going to see my buddy. He goes, I'd love to join you. I said, sure, Bert. I went to school with this guy. He'd love to sit with you. So I'm sitting there with him and I said, whatever you do, don't tell some crazy stories or anything nuts. This is a guy I've been seeing in 30 years. Well, without getting into it too deep, you should have seen the stories that he was telling. And he, you know that that's the first prank he played on me. The second one was in Boston where I had him. I made him. I'll never have him order for me again. You might have been out that night. We went for lobster and he ordered me a 30 pound lobster for dinner. I said, just get me a small lobster. I was, I had to make a phone call. And then I'm gonna get it. I want to get to one of your, your funny stories too. But then the, the other funny thing that happened, I was in Detroit and The guys said to Mark, boy, Mark, I love watching you play. And you're like a real stand up, mature defenseman, whatever that meant. So my friend so Burge takes all this ice cream and puts it on his face and it's dripping. He says, you still think I'm mature? So, and then, and then there Kanto story, which, I mean, I remember this great story. You could share it about how you went up to our coach, Terry Crisp. Please share that with us because that was funny. I. You remember what I'm talking about when you went out to him and interviewed him like you're a reporter.

Oh, I was, yeah. So one of my prank things, I, I had chiclets that I'd make up for my uppers and lowers and I had a hat with some hair and, and we were all at the. Was it Sunblades or wherever the practice rink was. And it was just after the game and we were there for practice the next morning. So I stood in front of the dressing room in a kind of like a cheesy tracksuit and I was getting autographs from all the guys on the clipboard. So everybody was great. And I talked to them and got autographs and nobody knew it was me. And then coach Chris came in and he started talking to me. You know, he's a colorful guy. And I, I asked him, you know, why, why isn't Kanto's on the power play more? And, you know, I think you should get more ice on this stuff. And he's being nice about it and answering. He says, yeah, we're in the plans. You know, he's a good player, but we're being nice and everything. So then everybody's in the dressing room and I kind of wait a few minutes and then I, I walk in as this fan with all the autographs and everybody's like, know there was no security and everything back then. So I walk in and I walk right over to my stall and then I, I don't know, I took my gear off, like my stuff and guys jaws are hitting the ground and I can't believe that I punked them like that. So. Oh, that was great.

It was fun. I, I like Crispy. He. He was hard on me. And I remember we were in New York and I think, I don't know if you remember this. You were there and he came in the room and he wanted me to play more physical. He says, I, you know, we got rid of a lot of guys to keep you. He told me, he says, the first thing I'll Tell you, this was early in the year. He goes, don't buy a house, don't buy a place, whatever you do. I said, well, that's. I said, that's great.

So.

So we're in New York, we're playing the Rangers. And he said, he said something to me like, like off the wall. He says, you know, I'm a little frustrated, Hardy. I'm a little frustrated here. I need you to play a little bit tougher. There's guys in Atlanta that would lose a limb to be up here. So that's the last time he talked to me all year. So we go out on the ice and Bergen is putting his sleeve down and he has one arm. Like he's got one arm skating around. And Crispy goes, what are you doing, Burge? He says, well, if Hardy won't lose a limb, I'll lose a limb. And he would laugh. But if I said something like that, I'd be in the Miners. Like, how does he get away with.

I know, it's just there's always two sets of rules, man, and that's. I don't know, I think it's like that in business and everything, right?

Yeah, well, there is some. There's some great stories. So you, you know, one other thing, too. We were, you know, four goal night, opening night for an expansion team. The building was packed. I think we were playing the Chicago Blackhawks. And Chris Kanto scores four goals. You know, you played in the minors the year before. I think he played in la. You played some games there. But tell me about the four goal night. I mean, I scored four goals all year and one of them you set me up on, but I mean, come on, four goals in the National Hockey League opening night expansion team. You have to share that with everybody.

Yeah, well, their goaltender wasn't that good, though. It was. I think it was. Was it? Eddie Belfor just won the resident of a year before. Right?

Yeah, Right.

Just, you know, I actually, the year before, I was on Team Canada and Crispy was the assistant coach with Dave King. And I got cut on the way from Sweden to Albertville to play. I had a bit of a nagging groin injury. And they got Dave Tippett and Dave Hanna lent from the NHL. So myself and Todd Brost were another guy were, you know, pulled aside in the airport. You know, guys is a tough thing to do, but you're not going to be coming to the Olympics. We've got a couple guys come in and cutting, you know, you got flights home. So I went home and Then I played in, I think Italy or something until the next year. And then Crispy had reached out to my agent or somehow and said, you know, Chris, I'm coaching Tampa. You know, tell them, sign a contractor. So I signed like a entry level two way deal and I went down to camp and right from camp, like I worked hard all summer right from camp I think I got in camp and even from camp I was leading or close to leading and scoring. Everything was going great. So it bought me a chance to play in the opening lineup. So that's basically how it went. And then I got on a roll right from there and I think two games later we were up in Chicago and I got two more in Belforce. I had six goals on them in two games and it's a good start for an NHL. And like you said, it's hard to score goals. But I stayed on a roll for the first. I ended up with 27 that season, but I had 20 and 21 and I only played 56 games before I hurt my MCL and I couldn't play the rest of the year. But that's what I had always wanted to do from the time I was drafted as a first round draft choice. So at least I got to do it for a bit, even though that was the last year to play in the NHL.

But I have to say, but they gave you a chance to do it. It's like a guy that plays minor league baseball or he gets called up to the New York Yankees, okay. He has that mindset going in like, okay, boy, I just got called up, here's my chance. That's like getting four home runs in a game. But sometimes the player, the base, the ball player, let's say he's with the Yankees. He's not going to get that chance. He's not going to get the chance because, you know, he might pinch hit, he might come in bad 8th, he'll come off the bench cold. You proved yourself from day one and it was like a foggy night in the. I, I'll never forget it. It was a packed house. The place was going nuts. We had billboards all over town, you know, kick ice. And here it is. You. You became an instant hero, you know, to the Tampa market. Right, right away. Yeah.

You know, and I feel, you know, privileged to even have that chance because it could have gone the other way and never got a sniff like you said, because who signs like a two way deal and gets to play power play on opening, you know, But Crispy was actually really good to me for, for allowing me the opportunity, you know, and luckily it. It worked for me, you know, and, and a few years earlier, I thought I had it made when I was with la, and I was in Switzerland that year, and they signed me right at the deadline and I got to play against. You know, that was the year that Gretzky got traded to the Kings. And everybody in hockey was watching, how's Gretzky do against the Oilers? And we were down three games to one. And I think I had, I don't know, nine goals in 11 games or 11 games. 11 goals in nine games or something like that. And I was kind of. Of walking on water there, and I thought, no, I've got it made. Like, you know, I. I'm scoring, even though I'm not a scorer, I'm more of a playmaker, but, you know, if I need to score, I'll score. That's what's going to keep me here. And unfortunately, after that season, I signed a deal and they changed coaches and, you know, back to the drawing board and didn't work out perfect.

You had to. You have to be mentally tough to go through that. I remember that one of the times I was worried. The reason, you know, I'm worried because I think we read in the paper that a bunch of us are going to get traded. We had an old expansion team. I mean, they took me. The first day I got there, I knew I wasn't a favorite of Crispy. I get there. I was drafted third overall in the draft, which I was really surprised in the expansion draft. I wasn't protected by Winnipeg. I didn't sign a contract there. So. So I get there and the first thing he says, like I told you, don't get a house. You're not the guy I wanted. I said, okay, well, great. And then I read all year, I'm going to get traded. Then I read I was going to the Rangers. And then after that episode, he really, he didn't talk to me much. Then we got on the bus, we flew into New Jersey and we got on. On the bus. I mean, he's not talking to me much. I'm playing every night, playing a regular shift. Played a lot, so I can't complain. And I get on the bus and he comes back and he goes, hey, Heartsy, how you doing? I said, I'm good. And I said, things are good. He goes, ah, how's the family? He goes, a lot of our buddies, you know, they just traded. You know, they just traded Rob Ramage and a. Some of the older guys, you know, off of our team. And I'm sitting there, so I'm doing good. And I look over at you and Adam Kraton, and you both gave me, like, the hand to the throat. You're done. And I got. I got traded to the Rangers right from. Right there. And I got a phone call from Phyllis Bazito, and he says, hey, you're traded. So, I mean, we mentally have to be tough as players. That's one thing that. That I learned. And, you know, and that's. That's why I really wanted to do this interview with you, because I always looked at you as a guy that was as good as. And I'm not. I mean, I bring on people that I really love and enjoy. And you were such a great team guy. You're quiet, funny, but a guy like you that knows he could score. You score 27 goals, right? 27 that last year. I mean, nowadays, you're making 6 million at least. Maybe. Maybe.

Do you know I was making that year Heartsy?

I don't tell me.

Buck and a half. 150. No.

Yeah, that. Was that the league minimum they paid you?

I don't know. It was. I don't know. Yeah. I don't know. That's all I need. Yeah.

Yeah. Oh, my gosh. So back then, the guys were making 3, 4, and 5, and they would sign, and it's just not. I mean, somebody said, you know, life isn't fair. And in. Sometimes I use you as an example, because I have. Sometimes we have these athletes that come to us in different sports, and I'll ask, hey, what kind of a player are you? Well, I'm a goal scorer. I go, what do you have? I have, like, eight goals. I go, well, you know, I don't know if you're a goal scorer. It's funny when you. When you talk to people and their perception, and I use you as an example. I played with a guy that scored 27 in the National Hockey League. He probably could have scored more like 35 or more if he didn't get hurt that year.

And.

And if the table was set a little bit better. And plus, we were on an expansion team that was pretty good. But you could have had a couple better players playing with you. I know I got stuck playing with you a couple times, but, I mean, I mean, you have a lot to be said. I mean, and do you pass that down to your son? Because I know your son.

He is a skilled guy, artsy. And I think he's as Skilled or more skilled than I was, because I've downloaded everything that I had into him, right? So he. He played junior. He was supposed to get drafted. Didn't get drafted, thank God, because he ended up. He went down to the East Coast League. And then I said, you know, you've got a full scholarship package from the Ontario Hockey League. You got to use that, man like you're going to be dying after you try your pro career. So he ended up going to a Canadian, like an Ivy League school called Saint Effects. He played there four years, went to the national championships every year. Then he went pro, played a year in France, had a rough experience, experience with his coach over there in France. But then this year, last year, he went to Sweden, and then he resigned in Sweden again this year. And, you know, it's getting better and better for him, and they. They recognize his skill and they see how smart he is on the ice and how good his hands are. And he's making a career out of it now. And he's got a finance degree to fall back on. If he goes, you know what? I'm tired of this.

Yeah. And. And that's. And that's important. That's great that he has a degree to fall back on, because sometimes a lot of us after hockey, we get stuck in that identity crisis, even though I know you didn't make a lot of. And then it's not that, you know, we're talking finance and money. I mean, you should have made 5 or 600 that year, 750 that year. Like. Like a lot of us. I mean, I. I did fairly well, but I was known as a grinder player. But a guy like you should have got paid a lot more. But for your son, for his sake at least, he'll have something to fall back on, where sometimes a lot of guys don't.

They.

They play three or four years of pro hockey, and then they're scrambling. Okay, what am I going to do in my life? So how did you transition out of the game? Because I know you played many years. You went to. You played in Europe, Team Canada. You played for some great organizations like LA, NY. You were in Tampa, Pittsburgh. Tell me a little bit about life after hockey for you.

Well, it's funny. The year after Tampa, I had a small contract problem with Desposito Brothers, which. That's another story. But it allowed me to go to the Olympics, which I got cut from in 92 in Albertville, playing with Eric Lindross there. And then 94, Paul Correa was Part of the team. Peter Nedved and I played on the Olympics and we lost the gold medal in a shootout to Sweden with the famous Horsburg goal and Corey Hirsch. And then I played another couple years and then Germany was my last year where the team wasn't paying us and I got fired for standing up for the guys going, hey, you got to pay us. I never missed a, a payment in any team that I played in Europe. And I thought this would have been the most solid out of all the teams. But that's life. You learn, live and learn. Anyway, when I came home that summer, there was an advertisement on TV for a sports anchor on a TV station just north of Toronto. I called them, they said, get in here. I said to my wife Joanne, I said, you know, you're gonna have to retire at some point. This could be a good gig. So they said, you got the job. You know, we're gonna train you for a month or so and then we're gonna put you on air. I went down, I followed a guy who's the color guy for the Edmonton Oilers now, Kevin Quinn, he was working there and I, I followed him for two days and the third day I was on air, they threw me right into the water like sink or swim. So I did that for three years. And then my son Kristoff was at, at the age where he was starting to play hockey and you know, practices. If you want to be on TV, you got to be there from 2 o' clock to 11, depending on what news show you're doing or you know, 10 till 7. So I was missing all his backyard rink time and practices and stuff. So I had to, I had to back. I was doing, I loved doing TV and it was awesome. But I wanted, I didn't want to miss my son's, you know, hockey career growing up and you know, my dad, my daughter was in the, she's an opera singer, she was in the singing dance and stuff like that. So now she's just finishing up her masters for opera and she was supposed to be in Italy this year singing, but Covid kind of killed that. But now I've got a, I started a print company which I just sold last month and I have a distribution company that I do more full time even though I consult for the print company that I sold. So I'm doing okay. I've kind of found my way even though I never went to be university college. So it's kind of self taught.

Well, that's great. Yeah, you took the hard work that you did as a player. But I tell you, there's a lot of people that would say, hey, I'd love to have this career playing for some of the best players that ever played on the planet. Playing with a, you know, a Wayne Gretzky, playing with Mario Lemieux, sitting in the dressing room next to Mike Hartman. I'm kidding here. But, you know, you had a really. You had. You had a really good career. You played in the Olympics. You had a great experience going overseas. And. And Glenn. And Glenn Healey says it best. He goes, you know, Mike, we have some guys that play 20 games and they get a small cup of coffee, or you have guys that play more and they get a cup of coffee, or some guys have a large cup of coffee, and some guys that play a thousand games have a pot of coffee. But we're all in this together. We all had the experience of living out our dreams. I'm still angry you didn't get paid more, because that bothers me, you know, And. And Phil was tough. Phyllis Posito was tough. I remember. I. I mean, I've had probably five breakaways in my career, and I had a breakaway, and after the game, I played really well. And he pulled me outside. He says, could I tell you something? I said, sure. I thought I was maybe getting traded. I heard I was gone. Anyways. He says, if you ever try to deke, like I try to deke the goalie.

Yeah. I remember this. Yeah.

If you ever remember, I think you asked me, hey, why is he pulling you outside? You don't ever see a general manager doing that.

That's Phil, though. Yeah.

If you ever deke again, it will be the last game you'll play for the Tampa Bay Lightning. And I like Phil. He was. I go, man, I thought I played a great game. I was hitting. I played really well. And I. And, you know, if you ever deke again, I mean, like, it's almost like we're robotic in those days. But. But, Chris, it was a pleasure having you here. It's always great. You know, you were a great teammate. Great sitting next to you. People should know. Boy, 27 goals. It's like, compare that to, like, someone that hits, like Aaron judge. He hits 27 home runs. That's great. So it was great. It was great having you. And thanks so much for being here.

Okay, Heartsy, all the best. I hope your coaching and your. Whatever you're into now goes spectacular.

Well, we're just taking one day at a time getting through Covid. Yeah. And still got the cliches huh? Yeah, like, I'm trying to come up with new ones. You know, it's funny. You know, my kids are funny. They said, come on, dad, you're. You have the worst jokes. You know, you're not funny. I said, okay, well, that's. I try to be, so. Okay, bud, we'll talk to you.

All the best. Thank you.

You too.