Jay Beagle’s violent response to Trevor Zegras’s latest incredible goal reflects poorly — and accurately — on a franchise simply lagging behind the others.
Video Transcript
JUSTIN CUTHBERT: There are a lot of great standout rookie performances. But the one that stands out the most, because of the highlights, is Trevor Zegras, who scored another sensational lacrosse goal earlier this week, and then added to that by one of the– by providing one of the most candid, interesting, I’m not going to say eloquent, but raw post-game interviews that we’ve seen in a long time. Basically all over Beagle, calling him out for what he did. So I guess I should run it down, what exactly happened. Trevor Zegras scored that goal, lacrosse style. Again, I think it’s even better than the first one, because he did it around his teammate, fittingly, Sonny Milano. Unbelievable. He scores another lacrosse goal. It’s a blowout game for Anaheim. And Jay Beagle, of the Arizona Coyotes, playing out the string in his career, an angry old man, at least it seems, takes exception, cross-checks Zegras to the chance that he gets. Troy Terry steps in for Trevor Zegras, eats about five or six punches to the face, looks like an absolute mess in the post game. He’s cut up. He’s bruised up. Awful. Jay Beagle just teeing off on a guy that shouldn’t be fighting anyway. And Trevor Zegras comes out in the post game, says he should be embarrassed for himself. He should be humiliated that he put himself in that position, Jay Beagle, that he did that, that he took exception to that. The Arizona Coyotes broadcast team is under fire for saying, if you want to skill it up, this is what– the price you’re going to have to pay, which is the most archaic thinking imaginable. And I’m glad everybody jumped on them, Tyson Nash in particular. So a lot that went into it. Basically, if you boil it down, it’s the most skilled player in the entire NHL, in terms of what he can do with the puck, scoring maybe his best goal of the season in a long line of extraordinary goals. And then an old guy, who got shipped out of Vancouver, because he was a problem, and probably doesn’t get a contract next year, probably has 10 games or 11 games left in his NHL career, if we are so fortunate, beating up another player who tried to stick up for the player who’s trying to take the game to another level. So what did you make of this whole situation? Zegras, Beagle, Tyson Nash, Troy Terry’s role, everything that went into this fracas. JULIAN MCKENZIE: Woo, you said a mouthful. First off, I think Trevor Zegras deserves so much credit for, not just hiding behind hockey cliches, and just not trying to talk about it, instead just putting himself out there, and calling out Jay Beagle for his stupid antics. I thought that, for me, was– like we were talking earlier about the league needing to be more and more personality driven. It’s stuff like that that needs to come out in order to help it get to that point. Because yes, the league is trying to have more skill embedded in its game. Like, I didn’t even watch the Trevor Zegras goal until like not too long ago. And I’m like well, of course, this should just be part of the game. This should just be natural. Like, we have to stop thinking of skill plays as a way for teams to just hot dog it, or whatever, and appreciate them for what they are, a skill play that helps make a goal happen and helps the team get to winning. The fact that Trevor Zegras is in a position where he could do that, that should be just an accepted part of this game. And if you are going to try to stop it, why are you going to put yourself in a position where you’re going to try to clock them after some random play that doesn’t matter, when you could, I don’t know, defend the play, defend the front of the net? The fact that the only– his only obstacle is Sonny Milano, and otherwise there’s an open cage there, the Arizona Coyotes should be ashamed of themselves and humiliated, why don’t you say that, for not defending that play properly. If anyone wants to feel embarrassed for that, the whole team should be, for letting that play happen, because they couldn’t defend well, not because they should be– not because of the fact someone has more skill than them. And maybe Jay Beagle just feels that way. He’d just be like, oh, well Trevor Zegras thinks he’s some hotshot. Yeah, there’s a reason why people are looking at Trevor Zegras as one of the most fun and exciting players in this league, and why Jay Beagle’s contract was shipped off to Arizona from Vancouver and he is where he is. No disrespect, but all due respect, there’s a reason why where you’re at, and why Trevor Zegras is where he is. And fighting him, and getting off on hurt feelings, and trying to one up him for that, is absolutely ridiculous. So the fact that Trevor Zegras actually went to the media and called them out for it, maybe it’s the media person to me talking, I loved it. And I hope that more people take that stand going forward, because we don’t need Neanderthals like that trying to stuff the game. If Jay Beagle and people like him really want to get on– if they really want to stop a play like that from happening, play some damn defense. JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Yeah, I mean, if Trevor Zegras quote, unquote, “embarrassed them,” it pales into in comparison to how they embarrassed themselves, both Jay Beagle and Tyson Nash for acting the way that they did. And I get it. You know, it’s Nash’s thing, it’s the entertainment thing. It is insanely biased, obviously, but there’s some entertainment. You’re trying to entertain the viewers. I guess that’s the excuse. But if that is the way you look at the game, and if that is the way that the Arizona Coyotes look at the game, well then it’s perfectly emblematic of who they are and what they are as a franchise. They are behind, in every sense of the word. They are behind in the way that they look at the game. They are behind in the way that they create a fan experience. 3,200 fans, potentially, for the next couple of years. They are behind in all facets of the game. And this was a perfect example of it, with a aging player, who has no other answer for a play and a situation like that, than to drop his gloves and try to beat the tar out of someone who shouldn’t be in that situation. So it’s perfectly Arizona Coyotes for me. It’s perfectly Arizona Coyotes. They are behind, and this showed it, in so many ways. And if you want to skill it up, maybe the Arizona Coyotes should think about skilling it up– JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yeah. You know? JUSTIN CUTHBERT: –in some degree. Because the only way they’re going to be not in this situation is by getting more skill into their roster, and just trying to win hockey games. Maybe they’ll get a rink if that happens. JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yeah, at this point, they have to worry about filling up their arena at ASU, while everyone else gets to enjoy Trevor Zegras, and Jack Hughes, and Cole Caufield, and a wave of young talent trying to just use their skill to their advantage and help the game actually be better, as opposed to just being some– I don’t know, just being an idiot, just trying to get a guy on a play that happened well after the lacrosse play. Like, I just think it’s just absolutely ridiculous to get to that point. Again, if you want that stuff to stop happening, you don’t want to feel embarrassed, actually defend the damn play, and don’t put your team in a position where you’re going to allow stuff like that. Just getting to a fight well after the fact doesn’t solve anything for anybody. It’s absolutely abhorrent. And for Tyson Nash to go up and try to uplift that viewpoint that he was saying, I mean, come on. I think everyone else has dunked on it enough. We all know people should not be thinking this way. I think for– you got to give your head a shake when it comes to the Arizona Coyotes, as far as I’m concerned. They do not look good in this. If we had the opposite of tire pumps, you give them like the L of the week or something. You got to give them that, as far as I’m concerned. Because the way that, pretty much on down, from the organization, to the broadcast team, they took a big L for how they handled the Trevor Zegras experience. It’s one thing to have that goal scored upon you. It’s going to happen. You’re going to get embarrassed. But to just kind of act as outwardly as they did, like come on, dude. Like, get over yourselves. This has me really heated, if you can’t tell. This is absolutely, absolutely ridiculous. And again, I give Trevor Zegras a lot of– a lot of points for stepping up and saying something about it, and calling out the BS that it is. JUSTIN CUTHBERT: The opposite of the tire pump has to be the whoopee cushion. It’s air coming out of something and making a noise that– you know– you know what happens with a whoopee cushion. JULIAN MCKENZIE: You should workshop that idea. That’s a good idea. JUSTIN CUTHBERT: There you go. Trevor Zegras, it was interesting. What do you think he was looking around? Like my buddy said the other day that, you know– is he looking for– was Jay Beagle going to pop up? I thought it was like [INAUDIBLE]. Like, I think he went rogue there a little bit, because it was like in the hallway. It was like, is the PR guy coming? Like what’s going on here? I think I actually respect him more that he’s cognizant that he probably shouldn’t be doing this. And he probably wouldn’t have done it around the PR guy, but he was– he slipped out the back door and was talking to just one or two reporters and provided that sound clip. There is one– JULIAN MCKENZIE: Shout out to the reporter. There was like one reporter, like after that edit. He’s like, that’s good for me. JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Yeah, yeah. That was good. JULIAN MCKENZIE: He was saying what everyone else is saying in that moment. We all would have said the same thing. Like, I don’t need him to say anything else. He said, what we needed. JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Yeah. It was like– and he had the clip too. Like he could have probably cut that, like, little end off, but he doesn’t have to. It’s funny that way. A little comic relief on what was, obviously, a bit of an intense situation. I will say, though, this is an example– a lot of people want fighting out of the game, want fighters out of the game. Does this happen if the Ducks don’t trade Nick Deslauriers to the Minnesota Wild? Nick Deslauriers one of the tougher guys in the league. Nick Deslauriers, one of the league leaders in fights. Is Jay Beagle going out there and throwing punches at Troy Terry if Nick Deslauriers is still on the team? I am not sure, but it’s more evidence to suggest that maybe having those players could prevent a guy like Troy Terry from getting beat the way he did. So again, I like functional toughness, personally. I think like Nick Deslauriers is actually functionally tough. I think he can play a little bit. But you know, that was the situation that would call it Deslauriers, for sure, and he wasn’t there because they traded him. And they should have. You get something for Deslauriers, you should do that. But another example of like, that’s just something to consider. JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Yeah, like functional– I like the way you put it, functional toughness. Like fine, you’re in the lineup to be tough, but you’re able to contribute to the actual aspect of the game that matters, which is scoring. And I also think, with fighting, while I’m not the biggest fan of like, OK, two guys just like doing some kind of premeditated fight, when scrums, like, break out, and chaos breaks loose, like, there’s a part of me that looks at it and is like, OK, there’s chaos. And like, I think that’s ultimately going to be a part of the game regardless of whatever happens with fighting. Like scrums are not going to stop, and people aren’t going to try to get out of the scrum and do a one-on-one thing. Like, that’s just going to happen. I’ve just kind of accepted that as a thing. But yeah, I’m not, like, the biggest fan of fighting, so to speak. But yeah, I think if, at the very least, if Nick Deslauriers was there, maybe if Jay Beagle was going to pick on– was going to pick on him, maybe if he’s on the ice, he tries to break that up and tries to make that happen. But like, I don’t know. He can’t be on the ice all the time. And you certainly can’t– you can’t have a guy, your enforcer, come off the bench and try to fight. That’s not something that can happen. That’s just– it’s unfortunately things that are going to happen. What has to happen, though, is that the league has to spot stuff like that and have the wherewithal to say, OK, we can’t have stuff like this happen. Jay Beagle currently was clearly making an ass of himself, and he should be disciplined as such. That’s what I think should have to happen. That’s a way to try to curb some of that. But is the NHL going to do that? That remains to be seen. It’s been a couple of days we haven’t heard anything from the DOPS. So I’m led to believe nothing’s going to to Jay Beagle. JUSTIN CUTHBERT: Yeah, I don’t think anything’s happening. Yeah I mean, I think Jay Beagle, I guess I don’t think he– I think he thought he was the toughest guy on the ice, and I don’t think he would have thought that if Nick Deslauriers was on the other bench. But, you know– JULIAN MCKENZIE: I agree. JUSTIN CUTHBERT: You’re right, it’s more on the Department of Player Safety to try and curb this sort of behavior. But you know, sometimes it has to happen within, because Jay Beagle can find himself on the ice with two star players and think he’s basically untouchable. And I think in that moment, he did believe that. And that’s– as we mentioned, that’s about all he can say for the rest of his career here, because there’s not much of a spot for him, I don’t think, in the NHL anymore, with how this game is going. As we mentioned off the top, with all this skill, and everything that’s happening, I mean, that’s not what’s being prioritized, what Jay Beagle provides, and that’s clearly evident with what we saw this week.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Thursday the forfeitures that volleyball teams are willing to take to avoid playing San Jose State is “not what we celebrate in college athletics” and that she is heartbroken over what has transpired this season surrounding the Spartans and their opponents.
Four teams have canceled games against San Jose State: Boise State, Southern Utah, Utah State and Wyoming, with none of the schools explicitly saying why they were forfeiting.
A group of Nevada players issued a statement saying they will not take the floor when the Wolf Pack are scheduled to host the Spartans on Oct. 26. They cited their “right to safety and fair competition,” though their school reaffirmed Thursday that the match is still planned and that state law bars forfeiture “for reasons related to gender identity or expression.”
All those schools, except Southern Utah, are in the Mountain West. New Mexico, also in the MWC, went ahead with its home match on Thursday night, which was won by the Spartans, 3-1, the team’s first victory since Sept. 24.
“It breaks my heart because they’re human beings, young people, student-athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention,” Nevarez said in an interview with The Associated Press at Mountain West basketball media days. “It just doesn’t feel right to me.”
Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the cancellations, citing a need for fairness in women’s sports. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee in this year’s presidential race, this week referenced an unidentified volleyball match when he was asked during a Fox News town hall about transgender athletes in women’s sports.
“I saw the slam, it was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard, hit the girl in the head,” Trump replied before he was asked what can be done. “You just ban it. The president bans it. You just don’t let it happen.”
After Trump’s comment, San Diego State issued a statement that said “it has been incorrectly reported that an San Diego State University student-athlete was hit in the face with a volleyball during match play with San Jose State University. The ball bounced off the shoulder of the student-athlete, and the athlete was uninjured and did not miss a play.”
San Jose State has not made any direct comments about the politicians’ “fairness” references, and Nevarez did not go into details.
“I’m learning a lot about the issue,” Nevarez said. “I don’t know a lot of the language yet or the science or the understanding nationally of how this issue plays out. The external influences are so far on either side. We have an election year. It’s political, so, yeah, it feels like a no-win based on all the external pressure.”
The cancellations could mean some teams will not qualify for the conference tournament Nov. 27-30 in Las Vegas, where the top six schools are slated to compete for the league championship.
“The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, so if a team does not play them, it’s a forfeit, meaning they take a loss,” Nevarez said.
Ahead of the Oct. 26 match in Reno. Nevada released a statement acknowledging that “a majority of the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team” had decided to forfeit against San Jose State. The school said only the university can take that step but any player who decides not to play would face no punishment.
OTTAWA – Travis Green might not have liked the end result, but he’s counting on his team learning from the effort.
Green’s Ottawa Senators were handed a 3-1 loss by the New Jersey Devils Thursday night in a game that highlighted the importance of sticking with things.
“I thought both teams played pretty well,” said Green. “I thought we had a lot of the game that I liked, but I thought there’s a few moments where it got away. We got away from our game, and they stuck with their game a little longer.
“There’s always momentum back and forth for one team to create some chances. It’s a fine line between winning and losing in the league, especially when you’re playing, two good teams are playing.”
Jacob Markstrom’s 30 saves also played a part, with the Devils goaltender only getting beat with 65 seconds left in regulation as the Senators were on the power play with an empty net.
Brady Tkachuk tipped a Claude Giroux shot to spoil Markstrom’s shutout bid.
“Outstanding,” said Devils coach Sheldon Keefe of his goaltender. “Just terrible that he doesn’t get the shutout that he deserves in this one here.
“You feel for him when they make that (penalty) call. You can just kind of feel like it’s going to give them a little extra life. But he was outstanding for us, no question.”
The two teams were scoreless after the first period, where each had to fight for every opportunity. Noah Gregor rang a shot off the crossbar for the Senators, but otherwise, neither team was able to generate much offensively.
The Devils capitalized in the second as a power play expired with Erik Haula redirecting a Johnathan Kovacevic shot past Anton Forsberg, who made 32 saves.
Less than four minutes later, Nathan Bastian took advantage of a Giroux giveaway and beat Forsberg low blocker for his first of the season with the Devils short-handed.
“I liked our second period a lot,” Keefe said. “We took hold of the game and didn’t give up much, and when we did, I thought it was really from the perimeter, only a couple there.”
The Devils tightened up defensively in the third and were able to make it 3-0 when Paul Cotter was left alone in the slot.
“I think for stretches of the game we played the right way and kind of get in on the forecheck and play that way,” said Senators centre Nick Cousins. “It seems like when we get down a couple goals, we kind of change our game, which isn’t a recipe for success in this league.
“I think we’ve just got to keep doing the right things over and over again, even when it’s 2-0.”
With the Senators just four games in and still learning and adjusting to a new system, Green understands there will be growing pains along the way.
“We’re also trying to define our game,” he said. “I think we’re getting there. Both teams play fast. It was a fast skating game. There wasn’t a lot of room to move out there for either team.”
In his short tenure behind the Senators bench, Green has seen his team play very different styles of games and knows there will be nights like this along the way, but learning from them will be key.
“There’s going to be a lot of nights where you kind of got to earn everything you get,” admitted Green. “It’s not going to be freewheeling. Good teams don’t play freewheeling hockey.
“You learn when you win, you learn when you lose games that you don’t play well. You learn when you lose games that you had a pretty good game but you still lose and you’ve got to find a way. Good teams find a way to win those games.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens fell 4-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. They also lost their top minute-muncher in the process.
Matheson logged 7:35 in ice time during the first period but did not return for the second because of an upper-body injury. When or how Matheson sustained the injury was not clear. The Canadiens said he would be re-evaluated on Friday.
The game was tied at 1 before he exited, forcing the Canadiens to play with five defencemen for 40 minutes.
“Mike is one of the biggest parts of our D core, and I think losing him — he’s playing against top line, playing power play and we want him on the ice — definitely losing him was a big loss,” teammate David Savard said. “We got to figure out a way to get the two points, even if a player goes out.”
The 30-year-old Matheson of Pointe-Claire, Que., led all Canadiens defencemen with 62 points and a 25:33 average ice time last season.
With his absence, rookie sensation Lane Hutson played a whopping 30:05 in only his seventh NHL game. The next closest player? Kaiden Guhle at 23:09.
Head coach Martin St. Louis was impressed with how the 20-year-old Hutson handled the challenge.
“Lane doesn’t take a shift off,” head coach Martin St. Louis said. “I love the consistency of his compete level, and he drives possession. For a guy who played 30 minutes, I think he gave everything he could to try and help the team.
“I’m not surprised. I know it’s challenging at this level, losing Mike definitely made him play many minutes, chasing the game made him play many minutes, but I just love his compete level.”
Canadiens fans have been clamouring for Hutson — a five-foot-nine, 162-pound defenceman with world-class skill — to take Matheson’s spot on the No. 1 power play.
The Canadiens, however, went 0-for-3 with Hutson running the show after Matheson went down. In the first instance, Kirby Dach took a hooking penalty early in the man-advantage to end it. On the second, the Canadiens failed to generate any zone time.
The third came in the final minutes, but the Kings buried an empty-netter.
“It wasn’t a lack of opportunity, lots of ice time, lots of shifts,” Hutson said. “It was good, it was fun, but obviously you want to be on the other side of it, winning.
“Means a lot (to get that opportunity), but obviously, you want to get more out of that opportunity. It’s a lot of ice, and you want to keep taking steps in the right direction.”
‘IMMATURE EFFORT’
The Canadiens fell to a Kings team that had lost three straight games and was coming off a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
Under those circumstances, the Canadiens were brutally honest with themselves after the game.
“Definitely disappointed,” captain Nick Suzuki said. “It was an immature effort from us, especially with them playing yesterday and getting in late, so I think we gave them too much life, and let them feel comfortable in the game. It’s on us to be a lot better than that.”
Before the game, St. Louis stressed the need for a good first period against a fatigued Los Angeles side. That’s not what he saw Thursday night.
“I think we had 14 turnovers in the first period. It’s unacceptable. It gives them life,” he said. “Then you’re chasing the game for the second half of it — we didn’t play to our standard.
“I’m really disappointed. Really disappointed.”
BIG SAVE DAVE
Kings goalie David Rittich played his second game in two nights — an unusual occurrence in this day and age of the NHL. He made 25 saves after allowing four goals on 14 shots in Toronto.
“We always believe in him anyway, but he performed today pretty well and bounced back,” defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov said. “It’s probably like most important for himself, that’s huge, and for the team. He played outstanding today.”
LONG ROAD
The Kings are opening the season on a seven-game road trip because of renovations at Crypto.com Arena. They’ve collected six of a possible 10 points so far.
“Pretty much worse (than expected),” forward Phillip Danault said. “We’ve been on the road for three weeks … It’s good team-bonding, whether we should do it again I’m not sure, but it has turned out well let’s say with six points out of 10.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
